luisianalfredo@yahoo.com
Provide us with the following Information :
Your/Sender's First Name. . . . . . . .?
Second Name: . . . . . . . . . . .?
Sender's Country . . . . . . . . ?
Question and Answer. . . .?
Money Tranefr Control Number[MTCN Number]. . . . . ?
And The Money Transfer Control Number (Ask your Bank Employee for the Money Transfer Control Number after you have completed and Signed The Western Union Money Transfer form).
Thanks,
Felicitations
Barrister Luisian Alfredo (sas)
From: peace akima < peaceakima@hotmail.com >
Sent: Wed, Sep 28, 2016 6:15 pm
Subject: Send requested fees
Hello Dear Friend,
If you know you are willing in this deal, kindly send requested fees the lawyer needs to enable Royal Bank of Scotland transfer of my late father's fund to your bank account, so you can help me to come over to your country to settle down also continue my education again.
Have a nice day and hope to hear good news from you soon.
Your lovely, Peace.
From: Uba Bank < ubavisaatmdepartment@gmail.com >
Sent: Tue, Oct 4, 2016 8:27 am
Subject: Threeh undred thousand US Dollars
INTERNATIONAL ATM VISA CARD DEPARTMENT CENTER. UBA BANK
Address: Lot D, Route Des Almadies,
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6. STATE_ _ _ _ _ _ _
7. CITY_ _ _ _ _ _ _
8. AGE_ _ _ _
9. MOBILE NO_ _ _ _ _ _ _
10. OCCUPATION_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
11. PHOTO COPY OF NATIONAL ID CARD_ _ _ _ _ _ _
12. MARRIAGE STATUS_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
We wish to notify you that with all this information's it will help us to open your ATM CARD FILE in our office and to start the process immediately. Again we assure you that your ATM VISA CARD will be issue and ready to deliver in 24 hours fromthe day we receive the above information's and to open your ATM file.
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Credit Card Department
From: peace akima < peaceakima@hotmail.com >
Sent: Tue, Oct 4, 2016 6:18 pm
Subject: kindly send the requested fees to this lawyer
Good evening, l hope that you are in perfect health over there. If you know you are willing in this deal, kindly send the requested feesthe lawyer needs to enable Royal Bank of Scotland to transfer my late father's fund to your bank account so you can help me come over to your country to settle down also continue my education again.
Have a nice day and hope to hear a good news from you soon. Your lovely, Peace.
From: peace akima < peaceakima@hotmail.com >
Sent: Sun, Oct 9, 2016 5:54 pm
Subject: THE REQUESTED INFORMATIONS
If you know you are willing in this deal, kindly send request fees the lawyer need to enable Royal Bank of Scotland transfer my late father's fund to your bank account so you can help me come over to your country to settle down also continue my education again.
Have a nice day and hope to hear a good news from you soon.
Your lovely, Peace. Good Evening, and l hope that you are in perfect health over there. If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more....
One person was killed and another injured in fresh violence in Kashmir, even as normal life remained disrupted for the 25th consecutive day today due to strike called by separatists and curfew imposed by the authorities in some parts of the Valley.
With this the death toll has gone up to 50.
One person was killed and another injured when the personal security guard of a senior government official opened fire to ward off a mob which was trying to set ablaze the vehicle of the official, police said.
The incident took place at Lethpora area of Pulwama district on Srinagar-Jammu national Highway at around 8.30 pm, the police official said.
He said the government official, identified as Baburam, was stopped by a mob when he was on his way to Ramban in Jammu division and asked to alight from the vehicle.
As soon as the official and his personal security guard got off the vehicle, the mob tried to set it ablaze prompting the security personnel to open fire.
In another incident, a group of protesters pelted stones on a police station in Trehgam area of Kupwara district. The police personnel retaliated by firing tear-gas shells, resulting in injuries to three persons.
One of the injured was referred to a hospital here and his condition was stated to be critical.
Many shops and business establishments had opened after sundown yesterday as the separatists had announced a relaxation in the agitation programme to allow people to buy essentials in view of the prolonged shut down since July 9 in the Valley.
However, all markets remained closed today and public transport was off the roads in view of the strike call given by the separatists.
Curfew remained in force in six police station areas of the city, Anantnag town, Kokernag and Khanpora in Baramulla district as restrictions on assembly of four or more people continued in entire Kashmir, a police official said.
"Curfew is in place only in six police station areas of Srinagar city -- Nowhatta, Khanyar, Rainawari, Safakadal, Batamaloo and Maharajgunj," he said.
The separatist groups have been spearheading the agitation to protest the civilian killings during the protests following killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8.
Protests broke out across Kashmir Valley on July 9, leading to clashes with security forces in which 50 people have been killed and over 5600 persons injured.
Mobile Internet services continued to remain snapped in the entire Valley where the postpaid mobile telephony services have been restored across all networks.
American Muslim women have lashed out at Donald Trump for implying that Muslim women are not "allowed" to speak, launching a viral social media campaign after the Republican presidential nominee's remarks about a slain Pakistani-origin soldier's mother.
Through the '#CanYouHearUsNow' campaign, Muslim women activists are sharing on social media the various ways they speak out every day. They will also tweet about who they are and how they speak out.
A user Linda Sarsour tweeted, "Tired of the obsession w/ Muslim women and who you think we are and are capable of. We define us. We tell our own stories. #CanYouHearUsNow".
Another user Rim-Sarah Alouane wrote on the micro-blogging site, "@realDonaldTrump - This is a list of Muslim #Nobel laureates. 3 of them are women. What did you do? #CanYouHearUsNow".
Muslim-American women also highlighted their personal accomplishments and careers across many fields.
Zainab Chaudary wrote "Frmr. Public servant, media expert, defending civil liberties of ALL Americans, proud Muslim woman. #CanYouHearUsNow".
Sumbal Naqi wrote "I'm a female Muslim lawyer. 4 generations of women writers,doctors,lawyers in family. Don't dare say Muslim women don't speak!#CanYouHearUsNow".
"Successfully taught my kids to respect others, share and not throw tantrums on stage. @realDonaldTrump need a lesson? #CanYouHearUsNow," wrote Shadia Igram.
The campaign has been launched in response to remarks made by Trump towards Ghazala Khan, mother of Pakistani-origin US Army Captain Humayun Khan who died while serving in Iraq in 2004.
In a scathing attack on Trump, Khan's father Khizr Khan said during an emotionally charged speech at the Democratic National Convention last week that Trump had "sacrificed nothing and no one".
His wife, visibly emotional and holding back tears, had stood silently next to her husband as he addressed the convention to thunderous applause.
Trump later drew significant ire when he suggested during a TV interview that Ghazala did not speak because she was not "allowed" to do so.
"If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably - maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me," Trump said.
Washington-based Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also joined the social media campaign by American Muslim women demanding that Trump apologise for disparaging Ghazala Khan.
Ghazala later did speak out in response to Trump's remarks, writing in an op-ed that "Trump criticised my silence. He knows nothing about true sacrifice".
Over 450 cases of rape of minors have been recorded by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) this year so far.
"As many as 464 cases of rape of minors have been recorded by the Commission in the last six months, the highest being from Outer Delhi at 136," a senior DCW official said.
According to statistics available at DCW, the commission receives at least two rape cases of minors every day.
"Though we try and ensure that most of the cases reach court but these figures are a matter of concern as the crime rate against women is growing at an alarming rate," the official added.
The data was released by DCW after its chief Swati Maliwal yesterday visited 7-year-old minor who was raped on Sunday by a 22-year-old man in Ghazipur.
"The victim was brutally assaulted, she bled profusely. Delhi is shamelessly rape capital of the world. Even DCW's request for improving women safety is falling on deaf ears. We appeal to the Centre and State to work together to save women and girls from rape," Maliwal said in a series of tweets.
Self-styled godman Asaram, facing rape charge, today hoped that his "painful" days will pass after he was produced in a court here in connection with the case.
"Many accused get acquitted and many get bail. I would also have good days someday and these painful days will pass," he told reporters.
Asaram, who is lodged in Jodhpur jail, also said that Bollywood actor Salman Khan, who had faced a black buck poaching case, had ben acquitted by a court.
Further needling India, Pakistan's parliament has unanimously passed a resolution, condemning the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and demanding the UN Human Rights Commission to send a fact finding mission to the Valley to investigate it.
The 34th session of the National Assembly (the parliament), which began last evening with Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in the chair, extended its support to the Kashmiris.
"The National Assembly of Pakistan strongly condemns the recent atrocities perpetrated on innocent Kashmiris by Indian security forces," said the resolution passed late last night.
It said the use of pellet guns is "deplorable and is against the canons of international humanitarian laws".
"This House denounces these reprehensible acts...It is confident that these blatant violations of international law cannot deter the valiant, oppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir from continuing to press their demand for realisation of their right to self-determination, which is enshrined in numerous UN Security Council Resolutions," it added.
It reiterated Pakistan's continuing political, moral and diplomatic support for the struggle in Kashmir.
The resolution pressed the government to urge the international community, inter-governmental and inter- parliamentary organisations, international nongovernmental organisations and civil society and media to ask India to immediately stop alleged violations of the human rights.
It also demanded that the Human Rights Commission in Geneva should be requested to immediately send a fact finding mission to Kashmir to investigate alleged Human Rights violations by Indian security forces.
The Telangana government today decided to again hold the Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test (EAMCET-II) in wake of the state CID's probe report stating that the question papers were leaked.
The decision was taken after Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao held a review meeting of the ministers and officials concerned today.
Schedule for the fresh examination will be announced soon, a statement for the Chief Minister's office said.
"It is unfortunate and painful incident (leakage of question paper). In the wake of leakage of the paper we have no option but to conduct EAMCET once again. I request students and parents to understand the situation and cooperate with the Government," the Chief Minister said in the statement.
EAMCET-II was conducted on July 9 for entry into medical and dental colleges and the results were declared on July 14. The exam was conducted by Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Hyderabad.
Following complaints of question paper leak, Telangana CID conducted a probe and submitted a report recently.
So far, six persons have been arrested and whereabouts of another five, allegedly involved in it, identified. Investigation had revealed that as many as 200 students and their parents allegedly colluded with various brokers involved in the whole episode, the statement said.
Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence defended a military mom's right to criticize Donald Trump's comments about the Muslim parents of a slain US Army veteran during a campaign stop in Nevada, and then lashed out at the media's coverage of the controversy at the next.
Pence quieted a crowd that was booing a woman who asked Pence at a town hall meeting in Carson City yesterday how he could tolerate Trump's disrespect for American servicemen.
"Capt. Khan is an American hero," Pence told a crowd at a Reno hotel-casino later that evening, emphasizing that Trump shares his view. "Capt. Khan and his family, like all Gold Star families, should be cherished by all the people of the United States."
The Republican nominee implied last week that Ghazala Khan, mother of Capt. Humayun Khan, stood silently alongside her husband at the Democratic National Convention because, as a Muslim, she was restricted her from speaking.
That comment and others Trump made about the family prompted criticism from fellow Republicans and demands for an apology from the families of fallen soldiers.
During his speech at last week's DNC, Humayun Khan's father, Khizr Khan, questioned whether Trump has read the Constitution, and said the billionaire businessman has
"sacrificed nothing and no one," leading Trump to respond.
Pence said he understands and appreciates the attention given to Khan's family. But he doesn't understand "why the media maligned and continues to ignore the moving mother of fallen Air Force veteran and diplomat Sean Smith."
Pence said much of the same media criticizing Trump earlier condemned Patricia Smith's speech at the GOP convention about the U.S. Information officer killed in the 2012 attack in Benghazi.
"Let's demand the media listen to and honor all of the families of the fallen in this country," he said.
Today, Trump's son, Eric Trump, said his father's comments have been "blown out of proportion."
Speaking today to CBS This Morning, Eric Trump said his father is "a great patriot," who "doesn't want to see more Americans dead.
The alleged suicide by a woman AAP worker, for which Narela MLA Sharad Chauhan has been arrested, was the result of police "inaction" on her complaints of death threats, Aam Aadmi Party today said, rebuffing allegations against its functionaries.
AAP leader Ashish Khetan released a set of documents to back the party's assertion. In a letter, written on June 10, the deceased had complained "against the police", and not AAP, he said.
Another leader of the party, Sanjay Singh, questioned police's "refusal" to act against Uttarakhand BJP leader Harak Singh Rawat against whom a woman has filed a complaint of sexual assault in New Delhi.
"Under the pressure created by AAP, police did file charges against the main accused Ramesh Bhardwaj but those were too lenient, resulting in him getting bail. Then she was relentlessly harassed. She was told that Kejriwal will not save her.
"In her complaint, she had named ASI Mukhtiyar Singh and demanded action. But he was merely removed from the case. Her shop was pelted with stones and she received threatening calls and chits," Khetan told reporters.
Khetan claimed the police's remand application for Chauhan does not contain any of the allegations being raised.
Singh said police's "arrest spree" would only expose Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "mentality".
The woman allegedly committed suicide at her home in North-West Delhi's Narela and died during treatment at LNJP Hospital on July 19. The BJP has alleged that the AAP MLA was responsible for her suicide.
Khetan demanded action against all the police officials related to the case who "sat" on her complaints. He wondered why Bhardwaj was initially let off despite the woman having levelled serious charges against him.
"There is no rule of law in Delhi. The only job of the police is to arrest AAP MLAs and defame the party," he said.
Several journalists covering the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) today claimed they were questioned by the Delhi Police in connection with a case, against the women body's chief, of revealing identity of a rape victim.
The journalists said they were questioned over telephone, both DCW and police remain tight-lipped over the issue.
They claimed they have been recieving calls from police since yesterday.
Last week, an FIR was registered against DCW chief Swati Maliwal for allegedly revealing the name of a 14-year-old Dalit girl, who died after being raped repeatedly and forced to drink acid, in a notice to police.
Her name was also revealed in a press release issued to the journalists.
However, minutes later an apology was sent for "mistakingly" revealing the name and urging journalists to not use it.
"I received a call yesterday from North Delhi police asking whether I had received the release and used it, whether it had name of the victim mentioned or not and other such things," said a woman journalist working with a Hindi daily.
Another journalist, working with a TV channel, said "The police asked me how active I am on the Whatsapp group for media updates of DCW? What kind of a question is that? Now being member of a Whatsapp group is also a fault".
"We get so many press releases, I had seen this one but since I had got an updated one with correction a few minutes later, I did not use it for my report. That is too basic, why should we be questioned by police over it? This is harassment," said another TV journalist.
Maliwal, who was severely critical of police for not taking action against the rape accused, has been booked for naming the girl in a DCW notice to the Station House Officer (SHO) of Burari Police station. The FIR has been registered on a complaint of the SHO.
The girl, who was allegedly kidnapped, raped and forced to drink corrosive material, died last week after battling for life for over a month.
Maliwal had dismissed the charge, saying she had not released the victim's name and that she was not scared of the FIR.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today asked the police to take strict action against those trying to fill up wetlands in the name of construction.
"I don't want to get into what happened in the past. But, now police will deal firmly if anyone wants to fill up water bodies. If any promoter sends goons, the police will counter them strongly. We have to enforce discipline," Banerjee said after a law and order review meeting.
She asked the police department to take action even if someone takes the name of the Chief Minister or the ruling Trinamool Congress.
"Some people try to take advantage. I have got 4-5 such cases. In one of such case, it was found that the allegations were not right. The promoter was trying to fill a water body, but faced opposition from local people," the CM said.
A number of wetlands like the East Kolkata Wetlands are scattered around the metropolis, which has witnessed a real estate boom in the last few years.
A crucial part of the ecosystem, wetlands absorb excess water, provide food, filter water and offer a unique habitat for different species.
Banerjee said in case of any violation, the police would file an FIR and take action as per the law.
"It is the job of the police to prevent hooliganism. They have to do it properly," she said.
The Chief Minister also asked the police to be pro-active in maintaining peace.
Amid reports of resurfacing of chit funds, she urged the people not to fall into such traps.
"I request the people with folded hands not to invest in chit funds. The government cannot and will not pay if you loose money," Banerjee said.
"Do not succumb to greed. They are cheats. Your future will be damaged," she said.
Nepal Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" is all set to become the Prime Minister for the second time as he filed his nomination today after receiving crucial backing from the agitating Madhesis by signing a three-point pact.
The 61-year-old CPN-Maoist Centre president's candidacy was proposed by Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba, which was seconded by senior Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara, ahead of tomorrow's election that could bring political stability to the country.
Nepali Congress and CPN Maoist Centre signed a three- point agreement withthe Madhesi Front to secure support from the Madhesi parties for their bid to form a new government led by Prachanda, the only official candidate for the race.
Madhesi parties, which have the combined strength of 42 in the 595-member Parliament, have also hinted that they would join the government led by Prachanda.
Before filing his nomination paper for the Prime Minister's election, Maoist chief Prachanda and NC chief Deuba signed the agreement with the Madhesis, mostly of Indian- origin, which assured the Madhesi communities of addressing their demands through political understanding and amendment to the Constitution.
Although the former premier with anti-India stance is only one candidate, there will be voting for and against Prachanda and it is likely that CPN-UML and its alliance will vote against him.
The Prime Minister's post has remained vacant since last week after CPN-UML chairman K P Sharma Oli tendered his resignation following the Maoist's withdrawal of support to the coalition government.
Despite media reports that a senior leader of CPN-UML, probably, former Deputy Prime Minister Bamdev Gautam, would contest against Prachanda, the party took a last-minute decision not to contest the election, clearing a way for the Maoist chief to become the 39th Prime Minister of Nepal.
He has earlier served as Nepal's Prime Minister from 2008 to 2009.
As the agitating United Madhesi Front has decided to vote in favour of Prachanda, he is expected to get at least 360 votes, though only 298 votes are required for winning the election.
Three Madhesi leaders - Upendra Yadav of Social Forum-
Nepal, Sarvendra Nath Shukla of Tarai Madhesh Democratic Party and Laxman Lal Karna of Sadbhawana Party - have supported Prachanda's candidacy.
As per the agreement, the government-in-waiting would implement the Madhesi Front's demands that include acknowledging those killed during the Madhes agitation as martyrs and providing free treatment to the injured besides amending the Constitution to redraw provincial boundary, while the Madhesi parties would support the new government.
The crucial development comes a day after Nepal's President Bidya Devi Bhandari gave a fresh call to all political parties to form a majority government when the deadline given to them for forging consensus expired without yielding any results.
It is learnt that the Parliament has started preparation for beginning the procedure of electing the premier tomorrow. Speaker Onsari Gharti has called a meeting of the Parliament for 11 am to elect the new Prime Minister after embattled premier Oli resigned on July 24, triggering a fresh political turmoil in Nepal.
Prachanda is likely to announce a small cabinet comprising members from Maoist party, Nepali Congress, CPN-United and Rastriya Prajatantra Party on Thursday after being declared as the Prime Minister.
(Reopens FGN 15)
A senior Madhesi leader said the decision on whether to vote for Prachanda or not will be taken after tomorrow's meeting.
The Madhesi parties are waiting for a written commitment from the Nepali Congress and Maoist alliance to address their demand, said Manish Suman, general secretary of the Sadbhawana Party, a key member of the agitating Madhesi Front.
"Today's talks were positive and we are hopeful that the NC-Maoist alliance will issue the commitment in writing," he said.
"We have not yet decided on joining the new government," he added.
Nepal Maoist chief Prachanda today filed his nomination for the election to the post of prime minister tomorrow that could bring political stability to the country.
Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba proposed the 61-year-old CPN-Maoist Centre president as the candidate for new Prime Minister, while Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara seconded Deuba.
The crucial development comes a day after Nepal's President Bidya Devi Bhandari gave a fresh call to all political parties to form a majority government when the deadline given to them for forging consensus expired without yielding any results.
It is learnt that the Parliament has started preparation for beginning the procedure of electing the premier tomorrow. Speaker Onsari Gharti has called a meeting of the 596-member Parliament for 11 am to elect the new Prime Minister after embattled premier K P Oli resigned on July 24, triggering a fresh political turmoil in Nepal.
Oli tendered his resignation after two key ruling alliance partners - Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Democratic and Rastriya Prajatantra Party - decided to support the no-confidence motion tabled against him by the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-Maoist Centre led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'.
The Maoist chief and former premier known for his anti-India stance is expected to become Nepal's 39th Prime Minister with the support of largest party Nepali Congress, the Madhesis and other fringe parties if there is no dramatic development.
Three Madhesi leaders - Upendra Yadav of Social Forum-Nepal, Sarvendra Nath Shukla of Tarai Madhesh Democratic Party and Laxman Lal Karna of Sadbhawana Party - have supported Prachanda's candidacy.
The Madhesi alliance decided to support Prachanda's candidacy after a 3-point agreement with the Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN (Maoist Centre) but will not join the government, Karna said.
With the support of the alliance, which has 39 lawmakers, Prachanda's election as the new prime minister has become almost certain.
Meanwhile, the CPN-UML has decided not to field any candidate in the prime ministerial election but vote against Prachanda. The party of outgoing Prime Minister Oli decided to remain as the main opposition party.
Government employees from the Kashmiri Pandit community who are staging a protest here against the alleged stone pelting on their transit camp in the Valley today demanded that the government set up a high-level team to hold talks and find a solution to their "miseries".
Their protest at the Relief Commissioners Office (RCO) entered the 20th day today.
"Our members have been protesting for the past 20 days but no representative from the government has bothered to hold talks with the protestors here," Chairman of the All Party Migrants Coordination Committee Vinod Pandita said.
While BJP has formed a four-member committee to hold talks with the protesting employees, the state government is yet to send a representative to enquire about the issues faced by the community, he said.
"Additional Director General of Police S M Sahai has acknowledged the fact that the transit camps of Kashmiri pandits were attacked. When VVIPs, houses of ministers are being attacked with petrol bombs, how can we say that minorities will be safe there," Pandita said.
The state government and the Centre has "turned a blind eye" towards the "miseries" faced by the community, Pandita alleged and demanded that a high-level committee be set up to hold talks with the protesting employees.
"It is evident that the situation in Kashmir is not conducive for these employees to join there. The government should hold talks with these protesting employees and find a solution for their miseries," he said.
Kashmiri Pandit workers employed with the government have refused to return to their jobs in the Valley after the alleged stone pelting on their transit camp.
More than 1,600 displaced Kashmiri Hindu youths had been recruited under Prime Minister's Special employment package and posted in Kashmir voluntarily.
Most of these employees escaped from Haal transit accommodation in Pulwama, Baramulla, Kupwara transit camps, Vessu and Mattan KP employees colonies in Anantnag district after the unrest began and managed to reach Jammu.
International rating agency S&P Global Ratings today said that Indian state-run banks will need Rs 2.5 lakh crore capital infusion over the next three years to meet Basel-III requirements.
"The capital requirements will be sizeable... Public sector banks need Rs 2.5 trillion to meet Basel-III requirements," agency's credit analyst Geeta Chugh told reporters over a conference call.
She said the banks, which are mired in high levels of stressed assets, cannot raise the money from the markets and will have to depend on the government for the infusion.
There are other avenues like issuing additional Tier-I bonds, which is yet to become popular, she added.
However, if the banks fail to raise the required amount of capital, it may lead to them losing market share as they will be unable to fund the new credit demand.
Difficulties surrounding capital infusions may also lead to consolidation, she said, elaborating that weaker and inefficient banks will be taken over by the stronger ones.
Chugh said even though the banks will be reporting non- performing assets of around 8.5 per cent, the overall stress according to the agency stands at up to 13 per cent and the troubles surrounding NPAs will continue at least for a year.
She said this will lead to the profitability of the banks being under pressure, which means the banks cannot generate internal accruals to be ploughed back to meet the higher capital requirements of the Basel-III framework.
Reserve Bank has decided to gradually increase the capital buffers and adopt the Basel-III requirements in full by April 2019.
Specifically, she said, iron and steel, infrastructure, construction and engineering sectors are the pain points for Indian banking system.
The problem of NPAs is much smaller in China than India, where the credit costs have gone up beyond 2 percentage points, she added.
Chugh said among the over two dozen state-run banks, only one --- Union Bank of India --- is having a negative outlook, which means there is a one in three chance of it getting downgraded.
The government had last year announced it will infuse Rs 70,000 crore into the state run banks over four years while they will have to raise a further Rs 1.1 lakh crore from the markets to meet their capital requirements in line with global risk norms Basel-III.
In line with the blueprint, PSU banks are to get Rs 25,000 crore each in 2015-16 and 2016-17 fiscals. Besides, Rs 10,000 crore each would be infused in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Assuming that the government will continue to support the banks, the agency has a 'stable' outlook on all other ratings, she said, adding that it had downgraded Indian Overseas Bank and Bank of India recently.
When asked about the rating impact of SBI's consolidation efforts with the five associate banks, Chugh said it will not lead to any sizeable change.
With Assam reeling under one of the worst flood to hit the state, in which over 11 lakh people have been affected, seven public-sector oil firms today donated a total of Rs 15 crore to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.
Senior officials of the state-run oil firms donated Rs 15 crore and handed over the cheque to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, an official release said.
The seven oil firms are Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Oil India Ltd (OIL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), Gas Authority of India Ltd and Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL).
"Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan took a special initiative under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mobilise the oil companies to contribute to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund," the statement said.
Acknowledging the gesture, Sonowal expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister, Minister of state for Petroleum and the oil firms for helping the people of Assam during this calamity.
As the government circulated copies of the draft Constitution Amendment Bill to bring Goods and Services Tax (GST) among MPs, top Congress leaders got into a huddle to chalk out the party's strategy today ahead of its consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi met Leader of the party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Deputy Leader of the party in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma, among others, in Parliament House and discussed various points regarding the key tax reform legislation.
Congress sources said Gandhi will hold another round of discussion on the issue after which Sharma will meet Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to put across the party's point of view.
"Rahulji held discussions with top party leaders on the GST Bill and discussed the party's strategy," Kharge told PTI after the meeting.
Another top Congress leader said the draft bill has just been circulated and the party leaders will react only after studying it in detail. "The draft of the bill has just come and let us study it first," the Congress leader said.
There were strong indications that the most far-reaching taxation reform in independent India would be supported by Congress and all other major political parties.
The government has said talks are on with major political parties to build a consensus on the measure before it is taken up for consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow.
"We would list the bill for consideration tomorrow in Rajya Sabha. We have talked to all parties and the Prime Minister had said at the beginning of this session that GST is in the interest of all. We hope the GST Bill will be passed with consensus," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters after BJP Parliamentary Party meeting.
At the BJP meet, Jaitley also briefed the MPs about the bill.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, which has been in the making for over a decade, entails introduction of a single indirect tax regime across the country.
According to top government sources, a fresh round of talks will be held today with the main opposition Congress.
Jaitley had yesterday held consultations with Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma.
He had also met CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, besides some other leaders. Later, along with Anant Kumar, he met Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
The government, the sources say, is keen to bring about four key amendments in the Constitution Amendment Bill which will include the scrapping of 1 per cent additional tax provision and grant of more powers to states for providing them full compensation for a period of five years.
The key Congress demand for rephrasing of the language for setting up of dispute resolution mechanism in the GST Council has also been agreed to by the government.
Thirteen more Sri Rama Sene activists were today arrested in connection with the "raid" on a school near here over alleged forcible teaching of Urdu and Arabic languages, taking the total of arrests in the case to 16, police said.
They were arrested on the charge of trespassing into the St Thomas Aided Higher Primary School in Bondantila near here on July 30.
Around 50 Sri Rama Sene activists had raided the school for 'forcibly' teaching Arabic and Urdu to students.
On a complaint from the school headmaster, three activists were arrested yesterday.
Meanwhile, the headmaster said that classes (in Urdu and Arabic) were being conducted for 40 students everySaturdayon the request of parents.
Chief Whip of the Congress in the state Legislative Council Ivan D' Souza condemned the raid by the activists.
In a statement, D'Souza said he had asked the city police to be tough against groups trying to disturb peace and tranquility.
He also visited the school and spoke to students and teachers.
A Rajasthan Minister's son is among six persons named in an FIR lodged in a murder case of a 45-year-old man here in Hanumangarh court.
Harish Sindhi was shot dead yesterday by two accused Sukhbeer and Dharmendra in the court premises when he had gone for hearing of a murder case in which he was a witness.
While the duo was arrested yesterday, police today named Water Resources Minister Rampratap's son Amit Sahu and three others, including Som Muni, Soma and Shrawan, in the FIR under various sections of IPC, including murder, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and 27 of Arms Act, police said.
The FIR was lodged by Monu Singh who was present with Sindhi in the court.
Sahu, however, denied any link with the murder and alleged he was being dragged in the case for "political reasons".
"I have no link with the matter. I am being falsely implicated. The allegations against me are baseless," Sahu said, adding he has not been approached by the police.
"I was present in the court premises. I had gone to the office of the collector which is located near the court. My presence there had nothing to do with the case," he said.
Rampratap could not be contacted as he was in the cabinet meeting.
Meanwhile, Sindhi's funeral was performed today.
Some of his relatives held a demonstration demanding arrest of all the accused.
The Rajasthan government today said it will file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court's decision acquitting actor Salman Khan in two cases of chinkara poaching.
"The government is studying the merits and demerits of the case and has decided to appeal against the decision in the Supreme Court," the state's Law Minister, Rajendra Rathore, told reporters here.
The Rajasthan High Court had on July 25 acquitted Khan in two cases of chinkara (black buck) poaching in Jodhpur, while observing that the statement of a key witness could not be considered as he had "disappeared" and the defence could not cross-examine him during the trial.
The witness, driver of the vehicle in which the actor was travelling when the alleged incidents had taken place, surfaced after the High Court verdict and claimed Khan had shot the gazelle.
Two separate cases were registered againstthe actor under section 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act for poaching two chinkara, an endangered gazelle, in Bhawad village on September 26-27, 1998 and one in Mathania (Ghoda Farm) on September 28-29, 1998.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate's court had convicted him in both the cases and sentenced him to one year and five years of imprisonment on February 17, 2006 and April 10, 2006 respectively.
The verdicts were challenged by Khan in the Sessions Court which dismissed the appeal in the Mathania case and transferred the one in connection with the Bhawad incident to the High Court where two appeals by the state government in connection with the cases were already pending.
Four persons, including a foreign national, were today arrested by custom officials and 159 kg of mephedrone hydrochloride, a banned drug, worth Rs 25 crore was seized from their possession in a raid at a factory near Daund.
"Based on specific information, the officials of narcotic cell, Pune Customs yesterday raided the factory premises of M/s Samarth Laboratories in Kurkumbh MIDC area in Daund and seized 159.10 kg of mephedrone hydrochloride, worth Rs 25 crore," K Shubhendra, deputy commissioner of Customs said in a press release.
He said four people, including the mastermind of the case, who is a foreign national, and one of the directors of the firm have been apprehended.
Mephedrone hydrochloride, a psychotropic substance, has been notified under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act as a banned drug.
The raids started yesterday and went on till early hours today with the officials searching the residential premises of arrested people.
All the suspects will be produced in the court tomorrow.
Moscow today blasted criticism by Washington over its actions in Syria, saying it was "unacceptable" to demand restraint around Aleppo, the city divided between Syrian government troops and rebels.
"As soon as there is real headway in fighting terrorists, made by the Syrian government and army with our support, the Americans started... Demanding that we stop fighting terrorists," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told RIA-Novosti agency.
Britain-based monitors reported that Russia launched heavy air strikes in the Aleppo outskirts, slowing a last-ditch effort by rebels to break the siege.
US Secretary of State John Kerry on yesterday called on Russia and its Damascus ally to restrain "from conducting offensive operations" in Aleppo, where regime forces surrounded rebel-held districts.
Kerry said the attacks prevented the warring parties from meeting yesterday, the target date set for the regime and opposition to agree on the framework for political transition.
"We will see in the course of the next hours, few days, whether or not that dynamic can be changed," Kerry said.
Ryabkov however rejected such talk as an ultimatum.
"To hear from Washington that... The next hours and days will be decisive, that is an ultimatum-like, unacceptable tone. I think this is regular blackmail that is common to the Americans," said Ryabkov.
Moscow had announced the launch of humanitarian corridors out of Aleppo for civilians and surrendering rebels, a scheme that some NGOs said was "deeply flawed," calling instead for a UN-mandated plan of escape routes.
Ryabkov countered that the US itself uses the corridor scheme and is only against it because Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces are crushing opponents who have not joined the ceasefire or surrendered.
"Why can it not be done with Aleppo? Because in Syria the Syrian government has finally begun to separate terrorists from the moderate (opposition) and civilians. That is what our colleagues in Washington were not ready to do" for months, he said.
A day before Home Minister Rajnath Singh visits to Pakistan amidst threats of protest by LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, the BSF today said it was sure the Pak Rangers and other authorities there will take adequate measures to foil the plans of the terror mastermind.
Calling Saeed's plans of undertaking massive protests and march towards the Attari-Wagah border when Singh steps on Pakistani soil a "political" move, Border Security Force chief K K Sharma said the border guarding forces on both sides have been "sensitised" and they will ensure that the SAARC Home Ministers meeting to be held tomorrow in Islamabad is not disrupted.
"This (Saeed's protest call) is the internal matter of Pakistan and I am very sure that my counterparts Pak Rangers are more than competent to handle this issue. I am sure this (Saeed's threat) is not going to disrupt the SAARC meeting. Hafiz Saeed will not be successful," he said.
Sharma, who only last week returned from Pakistan after holding the annual bilateral Director General-level talks with the Rangers, said both the forces have also discussed measures to mount effective vigil at the Attari-Wagah border which is thronged by large crowds that witness the daily retreat ceremony in the evening.
A blast in 2014 at Wagah on the Pakistan side had killed over 50 people after the retreat ceremony got over.
"Yes, this was one issue that was taken up with Pak Rangers...Both of us are conscious of the fact that the threat is there and consequently we both have strengthened our security measures. We have done it on our side (of the border) and they have done it on their side. I am sure they (Rangers) will handle it (Saeed's threat to march towards Wagah) well," he said on the sidelines of an event here.
The BSF DG added at least four battalions of the force (about 4,000 personnel) have been recently deployed on the Punjab frontier and two in Jammu to further fortify security measures and the counter-infiltration grid along the Indo-Pak International Border (IB) running along the two states.
"The LoC in Kashmir is under army and I would not like to comment on that," he said when asked about similar measures in this area.
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Sharma said new equipment have been provided to the BSF troops guarding the border even as the intelligence gathering mechanism has been strengthened.
"I am happy to say that there has been no infiltration in the IB areas guarded by us in Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat in the last 8-10 months.
"The BSF in its area of responsibility is fully prepared against infiltration bids. We cannot stop them from occurring but can thwart them. We will not allow them (infiltrators) to succeed," Sharma said.
The DG added it was important for them and the Rangers to keep talking.
"I feel it is always better to keep open the channels of communication because it is through talks only that we can sort out things," he added.
About a proposal to install a high-mast Indian tricolour along the Attari-Wagah border front, the DG said the BSF was "for it" and developments are taking place on this front.
"Officially we have not taken it up with Pakistan. As per norms nothing can be created about 150 metres from the zero line at the border and this flag that will be installed is proposed to be further behind this. We support it fully and we welcome it," he said
The DG added a land in possession of Punjab tourism board has been identified for the proposal.
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DG Sharma said BSF will observe the remaining part of 2016 as the year of 'Divyaang Yodha' (specially-abled fighter) as he flagged off a para-cycling team that will paddle from Manali in Himachal Pradesh to Khardungla in Jammu and Kashmir between August 5 and 15.
"The aim of the event is to have psychological empowerment of the disabled persons to make them able to overcome their mental inhibitions and to start leading a normal life.
"A 'Divyaang Yodha' skill mission has been planned with a series of activities," the force said in a statement.
The paramilitary has tied up with an NGO to build training expertise in this regard.
BJP ally Shiv Sena today expressed satisfaction over Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' statement on unified Maharashtra in the Assembly and maintained it will not support any Opposition-sponsored resolution on the issue.
The junior ally in the BJP-led Government said it was committed to a united Maharashtra and would not hesitate to quit the ruling coalition if there was any deviation from the stand enunciated in the House.
"If BJP plans to bring a resolution for a separate Vidarbha state, the Sena stand will be to oppose it. The Sena is committed towards a undivided Maharashtra," party leader and Minister for Public Works Department Eknath Shinde said.
"The Sena is satisfied with the Chief Minister's statement on unified Maharashtra and it will not support any unofficial resolution (by Opposition)," he clarified.
Fadnavis said in the Assembly "there is no proposal as of this moment before the Government" for creation of a separate Vidarbha State and disfavoured discussing the issue in the House, where it had not been listed.
The Opposition demanded in the Legislative Council the Chief Minister move a motion putting it unambiguously clear bifurcation of the State was not on his Government's agenda.
Earlier in the day the, Opposition Congress and NCP taunted the Uddhav Thackeray-led party for doing a "U turn" on its anti-Vidarbha statehood issue. The Sena's "tiger" (the party's emblem) has turned into a "lamb" over the issue.
No sooner did Fadnavis make the statement in the Assembly, senior Sena Ministers Diwakar Raote, Subhash Desai and Ramdas Kadam rushed to meet party President Uddhav Thackeray at his 'Matoshri' residence in Bandra.
Later in the afternoon, Sena Ministers held talks with senior Congress-NCP members in Vidhan Bhavan complex. Congress member and former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan met Kadam in the latter's chamber, sources said.
The meetings were held to decide on the strategy to corner the BJP over the statehood issue, they said.
Congress MLC Sanjay Dutt, in a tweet, wanted to know if the Sena is more concerned about remaining in power or keeping Maharashtra united.
Although the Congress, Sena leaders met over the Vidarbha issue, Shinde remarked "Congress-NCP need not teach Sena about unified Maharashtra. If need be, the Sena shall pull out of the Government. For the sake of unified Maharashtra the Sena will go to any lengths."
Shinde, speaking to newspersons at Vidhan Bhavan, said there has been no change in the Sena's long-held stand opposing any division of Maharashtra.
The Centre has assured that it will present before the full bench of Supreme Court a proposal on making Tamil the official language in courts in Tamil Nadu, state Law Minister C Ve Shanmugam told the Assembly today.
When DMK member K S Ravichandran raised the issue of making Tamil the official language in the courts, Shanmugam said the Centre had assured the state government that it would present a proposal before the full bench of apex court, which had rejected a similar proposal in 2013.
"Reminders have been sent to the Central government," requesting it to place the proposal before the Supreme Court, he said.
A demand to make Tamil an official language in Madras High Court has been a long pending demand in Tamil Nadu, which is supported by all political parties.
The Minister meanwhile pointed out that arguments in many subordinate courts were being made in Tamil and in some cases, verdicts were also being delivered in Tamil.
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had also taken up the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, he said.
On the issue of providing security to the High Court, Shanmugam said CISF cover had been provided to Madras High Court as well as its Madurai bench in compliance with a Supreme Court order.
Over 50 courts have been equipped with CCTV cameras at an estimated cost of Rs 7 crore and the rest would be covered soon, he added.
Shanmugam took a dig at the opposition party when he reminded them of a lawyers-police clash in the High Court campus in 2008 when even a judge was injured in the melee.
DMK was ruling the state then.
Insisting that law and order is being properly maintained during AIADMK rule, he said that this was "visible" during the recent "big level" advocates' protest last week, when they tried to lay siege of the High Court here, demanding withdrawal of new disciplinary rules.
Shanmugam said functioning of courts in Tamil Nadu was not affected by the recent stir of advocates against the new disciplinary rules notified by the Madras High Court.
DMK member Dravidamani urged the government to intervene in the issue to find an amicable solution.
Shanmugam said the High court had constituted a committee where lawyers could air their grievances on the new disciplinary rules.
The next meeting of the panel will be held this month, he said.
A second Indianshipwas among foreign flaggedvessels under detention in UK ports after failing a Port State Control (PSC) inspection in July, the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said today.
'Malaviya Twenty' was detained on July 4 at Great Yarmouth in the East Anglia region of England over "five deficiencies with four ground for detention".
The ship's medical certificate had expired as well as record of wages to its employees was missing.
The ship joins 'Malaviya Seven', both owned by Mumbai's GOL Offshore Ltd, which was held at the coast of Aberdeen in Scotland over similarly "missing" wages for its staff members and a lack of "calculation and payment of wages" record in June.
Both vessels' "seafarers employment agreement" were also invalid.
The first vessel was detained by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) union with the support of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on June 15.
'Malaviya Twenty' was among three new international detentions in July and was still being held in the UK as of July 31.
"When ashipis found to be not in compliance with applicable convention requirements, a deficiency may be raised. If any of their deficiencies are so serious they have to be rectified before departure, then theshipwill be detained," MCA said in a statement.
The UK is part of a regional agreement known as the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control, under which information on allshipsinspected is held centrally in an electronic database.
Government asked the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to probe 184 companies in 2015-16, the highest number for any fiscal in more than a decade.
During the 11-year period from 2004-05 to 2015-16, SFIO was ordered to probe 469 companies, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today.
Out of them, investigations related to 252 companies have been completed and probe involving 206 firms is in progress.
"Besides, investigations involving 11 companies have been quashed or stayed or kept in abeyance by courts," Meghwal said.
As per data provided by the Minister, SFIO investigation was ordered against 184 companies in 2015-16 -- the highest for any financial year in the decade starting from 2004-05.
One investigation was "subsequently quashed/ stayed/ withdrawn" in 2015-16.
In 2014-15, the number of companies that were asked to be investigated by SFIO stood at 71 and the count was at 83 in 2013-14.
"There is always a time lag between the occurrence of fraud, detection of fraud and ordering of investigation," the Minister said.
SFIO comes under the Corporate Affairs Ministry.
Noted special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam has said social media cannot pose a challenge to mainstream media despite its popularity, as it was "unrelibale" and prone to misuse by "anti-social elements".
"Social media is no doubt gaining popularity but there is no reliability and hence it is not to be treated as a challenge to (mainstream) media," the noted lawyer said here yesterday while addressing a gathering as the chief guest at the annual awards function of Chandrapur Working Journalists Union.
Nikam, who is the special public prosecutor in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, claimed that the "social media is being often misused by anti-social elements to create a divide in the society or create chaos through rumours and hence it is not reliable".
He also took a jibe at retired bureaucrats who have penned books.
"Authoring books after retirement has become a fashion for those who were at the helm of affairs in bureaucracy. I have no juniors working for me for the simple reason that many of the criminal cases handled by me have very sensitive issues that have to be kept close to the chest and it has resulted in conviction of criminals in all the cases," Nikam added.
Taking the battle to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's turf, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today launched her party's campaign for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election with a massive roadshow here.
Thousands of Congress supporters and workers took part in the roadshow from the Circuit House to Englishiya Line, a distance of about eight kilometres.
The march began with Gandhi garlanding the statue of B R Ambedkar at the Circuit House and the marchers criss-crossed lanes and bylanes of the temple town.
Gandhi, who was initially travelling in a car and later moved to a vehicle with open sunroof, waved at the crowd which cheered and raised slogans against the Modi government.
She came out of her vehicle several times to accept the greetings of the cheering supporters, including groups of Muslim women. As the road show passed through several localities, rose petals were showered on Gandhi and her cavalcade from adjoining buildings.
Dozens of mini trucks prominently displayed posters with '27 Saal, UP Behaal' (27 years of UP's distress) written on them. Placards carried by hundreds of workers also had the same slogan written on them.
Besides the party's chief ministerial candidate Sheila Dikshit, AICC General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad, state party chief Raj Babbar and senior leaders Pramod Tiwari and Sanjay Singh accompanied Gandhi.
Earlier, Gandhi flew in here for a day-long programme in Modi's constituency and was led by hundreds of bikers, waving party
flags from the airport to the heart of the city.
This is Gandhi's first visit to Varanasi after Modi became Prime Minister.
Gandhi is scheduled to visit the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in the evening to offer prayers.
Congress has launched a campaign "dard-e-Banaras" to highlight lack of development in Varanasi, which Modi is representing for over two years in the Lok Sabha.
Congress has been out of power for 27 years in Uttar Pradesh and is projecting that the state has gone from bad to worse in these years through a campaign, called '27 Saal, UP Behaal'.
Varanasi is a key place in eastern Uttar Pradesh having some 160 of the 403 Assembly constituencies in the state.
Congress had only won two seats -- Amethi and Rae Bareli -- in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, while BJP and its ally Apna Dal secured 73 seats out of total 80.
The UP Assembly elections outcome will also have ramifications for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor has been roped in by Congress to assist the UPCC in the Assembly polls. Kishor had planned the campaign strategy of Modi in Lok Sabha polls and Nitish Kumar in the Bihar Assembly polls.
Taking the battle to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's turf, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today launched her party's campaign for the 2017 UP Assembly elections in the constituency.
Gandhi flew in here for a day-long programme in the constituency and was led by hundreds of bikers, waving party flags from the airport to the heart of the city.
The Congress President is also set to participate in a road show which would take her to various parts of the city.
Her choice of starting the campaign from Varanasi for the Assembly elections scheduled next year is significant given the fact that it sends a signal that Congress is daring Modi on his home turf.
This is Gandhi's first visit to Varanasi after Modi became Prime Minister.
Gandhi is scheduled to visit the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in the evening to offer prayers.
She is accompanied by Sheila Dikshit, who is the party's Chief Ministerial candidate in the state, AICC General Secretary Gulam Nabi Azad, UPCC Chief Raj Babbar, senior party leaders Pramod Tiwari and Sanjay Singh.
Congress has launched a campaign "dard-e-banaras" to highlight lack of development in Varanasi, which Modi is representing for over two years in the Lok Sabha.
Congress is out of power for 27 years in Uttar Pradesh and is projecting that the state has gone from bad to worse in last 27 years through a campaign called "27 saal UP behal".
Varanasi is a key place in eastern Uttar Pradesh having some 160 of the 403 constituencies in the state.
Congress had only won two seats-Amethi and Rae Bareli in 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
The UP Assembly elections outcome will also set the stage for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor has been roped in by Congress to help and assist the UPCC in the Assembly polls. Kishore was earlier strategist of Modi in Lok Sabha polls and Nitish Kumar in Bihar Assembly polls.
Sri Lanka said today it was withdrawing permission for a Chinese company to buy the freehold to 20 hectares of land being reclaimed under a USD 1.4 billion port project after India objected.
Instead it will grant the state-owned construction company a 99-year lease on the land next to the port in Colombo, under a new agreement.
"India had a big concern about giving freehold land to China near the Colombo harbour," government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne told reporters.
"We have amended the agreement. There will be no freehold land but it will be on a 99-year lease."
The government had put the project on hold pending a review of all the big-ticket agreements signed under the previous administration of Mahinda Rajapakse.
The former president relied heavily on Chinese investment to rebuild the country's infrastructure after the end of the island's decades-long ethnic war in May 2009, a move which some say alienated India.
The Chinese-funded port was also controversial among environmentalists.
Senaratne said the developers had agreed to drop a proposed Formula One track and increase public park space, and environmental safeguards would be put in place.
The project is being funded by China Communications Construction Company and was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2014 during a visit to Colombo.
Beijing has been accused of seeking to develop facilities around the Indian Ocean in a "string of pearls" strategy to counter the rise of rival India and secure its own economic interests.
But Senaratne said the government had decided to go ahead with the project under new terms.
Colombo would set up an offshore banking centre to compete with Dubai and Singapore, he said.
The reclamation represents the biggest-ever single foreign investment in Sri Lanka. It will add 269 hectares (672 acres) of real estate in the congested capital, which has a population of over 650,000.
Once completed, the Chinese will have 108 hectares (266 acres) on a 99-year lease for commercial development. Earlier, 20 hectares of that was to be on a freehold basis.
Under the agreement, the Sri Lankan government will get 62 hectares (153 acres) and the rest will be public parks and access roads.
China, the largest single lender to Sri Lanka, secured contracts to build roads, railways and ports under Rajapakse, who is under investigation over allegations of corruption during his decade in power.
With a party revamp in the state on the cards, Kerala Pradesh Congress President V M Sudheeran, former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala have been summoned by the party high command in Delhi for talks.
Congress sources said the three leaders would leave for New Delhi tomorrow evening and are expected to meet Party Vice President Rahul Gandhi and other leaders on August 4.
They said the meeting is expected to discuss issues connected with restructuring the party, which was due for a long period.
Last month, Gandhi had met more than 80 second level party leaders from Kerala and sought their opinion on party affairs in the state.
The trip of the three Congress leaders to Delhi for talks with the high command assumes significance as it comes at a time when Kerala Congress (M) led by former Finance Minister K M Mani reportedly plans to sit as a separate block in the assembly following differences with Congress.
Mani was forced to resign as Finance Minister from the previous UDF government following an adverse remark by the Kerala High Court on the bar bribery scam.
KC(M) is the third largest partner in the Congress-led UDF Opposition.
Mani and his followers believe it wasChennithala, as Home Minister in the previous UDF government, who hatched a "conspiracy" in the bar bribery scandal to weaken him ahead of the assembly polls held in May this year.
With thousands of Indians reeling under severe financial crisis in Saudi Arabia after losing their jobs, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh tonight left for the Gulf nation to assess the situation and finalise modalities to bring back those who want to return to India.
Ahead of Singh's visit, the Indian embassy there has launched an initiative to collect details of the Indians laid off by their employers.
Currently, a total of 7,700 affected Indian workers are living in 20 camps and the embassy is in the process of collecting information about others residing in different parts of Saudi Arabia.
Singh left for Jeddah tonight and MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said his on-the-ground assessment will determine future course of action.
Thousands of Indian workers have lost their jobs due to slowdown in Saudi economy, triggered by low oil prices and cut in spending by government of that country. The Indian mission has provided food to the Indians who cannot buy it.
Earlier today, Singh's ministerial colleague in the MEA M J Akbar, who looks after issues relating to the Gulf region, met Saudi Ambassador Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati and discussed the difficulties being faced by Indians who have lost their jobs.
"Had fruitful discussions with Saudi Ambassador to India Dr. Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati on all bilateral issues.
"Glad to receive support and assurances from Saudi government to resolve all outstanding issues, including that of our Indian labourers," Akbar said in a series of tweets.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had yesterday said that all affected Indians will be brought back.
A team from the Indian embassy had yesterday met Saudi labour officials to complete procedures relating to the protection of legal dues of the workers once they have departed from the country.
Swarup said the Indian embassy in Riyadh convened a meeting of community social workers and volunteers yesterday, where the Ambassador sought their help in collecting information about the affected workers.
They were provided a proforma on which the requisite information is to be submitted to the embassy.
Thousands of jobless Indians, Filipinos and Pakistanis are stranded and destitute in Saudi Arabia after the plunge in oil prices sparked construction layoffs, activists and officials said today.
Some Filipinos are forced to beg or sift through garbage to survive after going unpaid for months, said Garry Martinez, chairman of the Migrante group which works for the millions of Filipino overseas workers worldwide.
"Some of them have nothing to eat and have to go through the garbage for food," said Martinez.
India said yesterday it was negotiating with Saudi authorities to repatriate thousands of its own nationals after they lost their jobs, leaving them with no money to return home.
Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told parliament in New Delhi she was sending a junior minister to Riyadh after reports that around 10,000 Indian workers had been left to starve.
Indians are among millions of poor Asians working in the Gulf states, where human rights groups say many suffer exploitation and abuses including non-payment of wages.
In Manila, Migrante coordinator Gilbert Saludo -- who returned from Saudi Arabia last month after two years working there -- said as many as 20,000 Filipinos could be affected.
Saludo said that while Manila had extended financial aid to them so far, it was not clear how long this could last.
The labour problem appeared likely to worsen, he added.
"It will get much worse because so much of the income of Saudi Arabia comes from oil... So their budget for infrastructure and other projects will not be met and more people will be affected," Saludo told AFP.
The Philippine Labour Department said Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello had visited Saudi Arabia last month to address the problem but would not elaborate.
Pakistan said 8,520 of its nationals in Saudi Arabia had not been receiving their salaries for several months.
A foreign ministry statement said that "most of the workers want to leave these companies but only after settling their dues".
The Pakistan embassy had set up special centres and a fund to provide aid, food, medicine and shelter.
"The (Pakistani) embassy has further informed that Saudi King has issued a decree for urgent payment of dues to workers by the concerned," the office of the prime minister said.
"We stand by our hardworking workers who are away from their homeland to earn a living for their families. They are our strength and pride. We will help them out in all possible ways," Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a statement.
Three persons, who had murdered a man while robbing him, have been sentenced to life term by a Delhi court which refused to show them any leniency.
The court observed that the convicts killed the victim "unnecessarily" as they could have easily taken his money and belongings and spared his life.
"The aggravating circumstances may be noted thus that they killed one person just to loot his money and belongings, that they injured another with the same objective, that their acts have ruined family of the deceased and left them at the mercy of fate.
"That the death of only earning family member has put the entire family on the verge of starvation, that they killed the deceased unnecessarily as they could easily have taken his money and belongings and spared his life, and they ran away from the spot," Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Bansal said.
The court, which said the case cannot be termed as rarest of the rare and does not warrant imposition of death penalty, said except this concession, the convicts deserve no other leniency.
The court awarded jail term to Neeraj, Sonu and Vikas, all residents of Delhi, after holding them guilty of the offences of murder, attempt to murder, dacoity with murder and common intention under the IPC. Neeraj was also convicted for offence of dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt.
It also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each on the three convicts and asked the Delhi Legal Service Authority to dertermine and award compensation to injured Mool Chand and family of deceased Jitender.
According to the prosecution, the incident took place in March 2009, when Mool Chand and his nephew Jitender were going to Gazipur Dairy Farm to purchase a cow. They were having Rs 10,000 with them.
Five men surrounded them and while two of them were having knives, the others caught hold of the victims and asked them to hand over their belongings, it said.
Police said when Jitender resisted, the accused stabbed him with the knife and injured Chand. They took away money and mobile phones of the victims and fled the spot.
Chand then called police who took Jitender to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. Five accused were arrested out of which two were juveniles.
During the trial, the accused claimed innocence and said they were falsely implicated in the case.
Alleged shifting of Tea Board headquarters from Kolkata to Guwahati and a demand for setting up a High Court in Andhra Pradesh were among the issues raised by members in the Rajya Sabha today.
Vivek Gupta (TMC) raised the issue of the alleged move to shift Tea Board headquarters to Guwahati after the BJP came to power in Assam, likening the move to "chopping off the hands" of Kolkata.
The Centre, he alleged, has not been consulting the state government on the appointment of chairman of Kolkata Port Trust and Damodar Valley Corporation and was now shifting the Tea Board headquarters.
Kolkata has not just a sea port for movement of tea but also a tea auction house, he said, adding that any move to shift the headquarters would result in job losses.
Shadi Lal Batra (Cong) raised the issue of Rs 50,000 crore ponzy scheme fraud by PACL and demanded that the company's directors and chairman be arrested and their properties seized and sold to refund money to 6 crore poor farmers, shopkeepers, retired officials and widows who, he alleged, have been defrauded.
Ananda Bhaskar Rapolu (Cong) said with the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the High Court at Hyderabad has gone to Telengana state.
Andhra Pradesh is now eagerly awaiting its own High Court, he said, adding that the court complex in Vijawada be allocated for setting up of the High Court.
Top 10 corporate groups in the country owed Rs 5.73 crore to state-owned and financial institutions at the end of March this year, government said today.
The Reserve Bank of India collects credit information from under the CRILC reporting system for borrowers with the credit exposure greater than Rs 5 crore.
"RBI had informed that gross outstanding credit for top ten corporate groups is Rs 5,73,682 crore as on March 2016," Minister of State for Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
RBI is prohibited from disclosing credit information except under certain conditions, he added.
The minister was asked whether it was a fact that top 10 corporate houses owe a huge amount of money to the public sector and financial institutions.
Gangwar further said that government has taken specific measures to address various issues facing sectors such as infrastructure, steel and textiles where incidence of non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans is high.
The government has also approved establishment of six new Recovery Tribunals to speed up the recovery of bad loans to the banking sector.
"The government has recently issued advisory to banks to take action against guarantors in event of default by borrower ...Since in the event of default, the liability of the guarantor is co-extensive with the borrower," Gangwar said.
In reply to another question, he said public sector banks wrote off (including compromise) Rs 59,547 crore during 2015- 16 while their private sector counterparts wrote off Rs 12,017 crore. Foreign banks too wrote off Rs 1,057 crore.
"RBI has informed that write-off details for leading account holders are not available with them," the minister added.
Making an unprecedented assertion, Republican party presidential nominee Donald Trump has said that he fears the upcoming presidential election "is going to be rigged".
"I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," Trump said yesterday during a town hall in Columbus, Ohio.
The 69-year-old White House hopeful who emerged as the winner of a tough Republican presidential primary of 17 candidates claimed his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton had to fight only against Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont.
"I had 17 people. I wasn't running against two people. I had 17 people. I got a similar number to Hillary Clinton, and she had Bernie and she had a hard time putting Bernie away, and Bernie, poor Bernie. He looked so upset. You know what, he made a mistake. He shouldn't have made a deal. He lost, he lost," Trump said.
"First of all, it was rigged, and I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest. Because I think my side was rigged, if I didn't win by massive landslides, I mean, think of what we won in New York and Indiana, California, 78 percent. That's with other people in the race," he said.
"But think of it. I hear more and more that the election on November 8, can you believe, we're almost there. This started on June 16 of last year and I said, wow, let's go do it. Takes guts to do this, believe me. And everybody said no, it takes guts. I could be having a very nice life right now. I don't have to be with you people, ranting and raving. Could have a very nice life," he added.
Trump's comments against father of a slain Pakistani-origin American Muslim soldier has drawn major criticism with his own party leaders coming out openly against the Republican presidential nominee.
While House Speaker Paul Ryan said a "religious test" for entering the US is "not reflective of the country's fundamental values", former Florida Governor Jeb Bush termed remarks as "disrespectful" in targetting a family that endured the "ultimate sacrifice" for the country.
Clinton also slammed Trump for his "absolute allegiance" to Russia that raises "national security" concerns, prompting him to deny having any "relationship" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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"The City of Philadelphia has lost more than 1 in 3 of its manufacturing jobs since China joined the World Trade Organisation - another Bill and Hillary-backed deal," he said, adding that a Trump Administration will renegotiate NAFTA, and "stand up" to foreign product dumping, currency manipulation and unfair subsidy behaviour.
"We are going to bring manufacturing and jobs, lots of jobs, back to Pennsylvania. We are going to open modern mines, and take care of our great miners. We will be producing clean coal, oil, natural gas and shale energy.
"We're also bringing back our steelworkers, whose jobs have been stolen by the dumping of steel all over this state and country by China, and other countries. Nobody has been treated worse than these workers, but that will change on January 20th of next year," Trump said.
He said in order to accomplish these goals, America must cut its ties with the "small, bitter and petty politics of the past".
"We must declare our independence from a failed establishment that has squandered USD 6 trillion on foreign wars in the Middle East that never end and that we never win and that have made us less safe. They've left our borders wide open at home, and shipped our jobs and wealth to other countries," he alleged.
Meanwhile, women and immigrants voiced strong support for the 70-year-old reality TV star at the rally, rejecting the Republican Presidential nominee's 'portrayal' as racist and anti-immigrant and saying his policies will boost American trade and stop illegal immigration in the country.
Women made up a majority of the crowd at the rally, cheering Trump, who has faced severe backlash from various quarters over his treatment of women.
Among those at the rally was a group of immigrants from China, who stood out at the event with their T-shirts with the words 'Chinese-Americans Love Trump'.
Nick Xu, among the Chinese-American supporters at the rally, said he had been campaigning for Trump for several months now and strongly rejected his portrayal by the media as racist and anti-immigrant.
"The media has distorted the truth by portraying Trump as a racist and against immigrants. That is not true. He is not a racist and he is in favour of legal immigration, he only wants to stop illegal immigration, which is common sense," Nick told
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has favoured strong relations between the US and Russia in wiping out the Islamic State terror group.
"You know Russia, like us, has nuclear weapons folks. It would be really nice if we got along with Russia and others that we don't get along with right now and wouldn't it be nice if we teamed up with Russia and others, including surrounding states and maybe NATO and we knocked the hell out of ISIS and got rid of these people?" Trump said during a town hall in Columbus, Ohio.
He said the Russian President Vladimir Putin had praised him to which he responded positively, but this was used by his opponents to criticise him.
"Putin said some very good things about me, people say, oh, Trump's going to be weak with Putin because Putin is saying nice things about me. Ok, all right. And I said he's a strong guy. They immediately say, oh, Trump likes,"
"But, look, I don't like or dislike. I just say it this way," he said.
Trump added that it would be great if the United States and Russia got along and knocked out ISIS together and do other positive things.
He alleged the Obama Administration "forced" the Russians through stupidity into an alliance with China.
"You know why? Because of oil. Because China needs oil. We were driving both crazy. They formed and from the time I was a young guy, I've always learnt, don't ever let China and Russia get together, we forced them together," Trump said.
"Obama forced them together. Because you didn't get along with either and they did eventually, China came in and said, "let's make a deal on oil. They're together."
In fact, they're doing naval exercises together someplace.
Talking about China's dominance in the South China Sea, Trump said, "You look at China, they're building one of the largest military installations in the world right smack in the middle of the South China Sea."
"Then they talk about Donald Trump and Russia, or Donald Trump, but believe me, folks, somebody can say nice things about me, he did call me a genius but these are minor details, somebody can say nice things about me, it has, it makes no difference," he said, adding he does not care about people calling bad things about him.
The Republican presidential nominee also alleged the Russians entered Ukraine under Obama's watch.
He rued that the US media has distorted his remarks on it.
"I said very simply they're not gonna do it on my watch, essentially. I said Russia will not go into the Ukraine, now I said that. And the next day, the story comes out and we really let it roll a little bit," Trump said.
"The person said but they're already in Ukraine. I said yeah well, that was two years ago, that's I mean you wanna go back? You wanna have World War III to get it back?" he asked.
"That was during Obama's watch," he added.
US President Obama said today slammed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, saying he is "unfit to serve as president" as he does not abide by norms and rules.
"I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president," Obama said at a White House conference. "I said so last week. He keeps proving it."
Obama added that Trump has shown he is "woefully unprepared to do this job" after his comments on military families as well as his handle on foreign affairs.
He slammed Trump for his rhetoric, including the one against parents of a slain Muslim-American soldier, and said the Republican presidential nominee doesn't have the judgment, temperament or understanding to be the president of the country.
As such he was highly critical of the Republican leadership who are supporting the billionaire from New York.
"There has to come a point at which you say enough," Obama said of the Republican leaders leaders
"The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family that made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he doesn't appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia, means that he is woefully unprepared to do this job," the president said at the White House.
Obama remarked that Republican denunciations of Trump "ring hollow" as they continue to endorse Trump.
"The question that I think that they have to ask themselves is, if you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him? What does this say about your party that this is your standard bearer?" Obama said.
"This isn't a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. This is daily and weekly where they are distancing themselves form statements he's making.
Obama said this opinion of Trump is shared by prominent
Republicans.
"I think what's been interesting is the repeated denunciations of his statements by leading Republicans, including the speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader and prominent Republicans like John McCain," he said.
"There has to be a point in which you say this is not somebody I can support for president of the United States, even if he purports to be a member of my party," Obama said.
"The fact that it has not yet happened makes some of these denunciations ring hollow. I don't doubt their sincerity. I don't doubt that they were outraged about some of the statements that Mr Trump and his supporters made about the Khan family," he said referring to the statements made by Trump against the parents of Muslim-American soldier Humayun Khan who was killed in Iraq war by a suicide bomber.
At some point, Republicans should realise that Trump has gone too far and that the things he says indicates he "doesn't have the judgment, the temperament the understanding to occupy the most powerful position in the world," Obama said.
The two-term Democratic president said this is different than just having policy disagreements.
While Obama said he has disagreed with former Republican presidents on policy issues, he did not have a doubt that they could function as president."
"I recognise that they all profoundly disagree with myself or Hillary Clinton on tax policy or on certain elements of foreign policy. But you know, there have been Republican presidents with whom I disagreed with but I didn't have a doubt that they could function as president," Obama said.
Obama explained that had he lost to Mitt Romney or McCain, he certainly "would have been disappointed," but that he would have conceded and had the confidence that they would "abide by certain norms and rules and common sense, will observe basic decency."
"But that's not the situation here, and that's not just my opinion. That is the opinion of many prominent Republicans. There has to come a point at which you say enough. And the alternative is that the entire party, the Republican Party effectively endorses and validates the positions that are being articulated by Mr Trump," Obama said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today launched his most bitter attack yet on Turkey's Western allies over the July 15 attempted putsch, accusing them of supporting both "terror" and the coup plotters who tried to unseat him.
Erdogan, who blames the plot on the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, also described the coup as a "scenario written from outside" in an allusion to foreign involvement.
Turkey meanwhile issued arrest warrants for about 100 staff, including doctors, at Ankara's main military hospital, in a new phase of the crackdown after the failed coup that has seen some 18,000 detained and caused international consternation.
"Unfortunately, the West is supporting terror and standing by the coup plotters," said Erdogan in a typically combative speech at his presidential palace, denouncing "those who we imagined to be friends".
Erdogan lashed out at Germany's judicial authorities for not allowing him to address via video conference a weekend rally in Cologne in his support.
He accused Germany of allowing leaders from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to address previous events via video conference.
He said Turkey had previously also handed Germany a list of more than 4,000 wanted militants without having any response.
The president, who had previously alluded to foreign states' involvement, gave his strongest indication yet that external powers could have been played a role.
"This coup was not just an event planned from the inside. The actors inside acted out a scenario for a coup written from the outside," Erdogan said.
Turning directly on Washington, he asked: "How can it be, when we are strategic partners and I ask you on behalf of my country to hand someone over on the basis of a national security strategy document, you keep on hiding and sheltering him?"
Already strained ties between NATO allies Turkey and the United States have been aggravated by the failed putsch, with some government ministers even alleging Washington could have had a hand in the plot, which US officials firmly reject.
On a visit to Turkey yesterday, US General Joseph Dunford condemned the coup attempt.
Police searched the Gulhane Military Medical Academy (GATA) hospital in the capital and detained some 50 staff including military doctors, the state-run Anadolu agency reported, quoting police sources.
A Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed detention warrants had been issued for 98 staff.
The official said staff there were suspected of helping fast-track Gulen supporters into the military by giving them favourable medical reports.
Similar claims have also been made about military schools where officials say exams were rigged. Almost half of Turkey's generals were fired in the wake of the coup.
This is believed to be the first time a medical establishment has been targeted in a clampdown under a three-month state of emergency which has also hit journalists and academics.
Typhoon Nida made landfall in China today causing major traffic disruptions and flight cancellations in the Pearl river Delta region.
The typhoon hit China's coast around 3:35 am today at the Dapeng Peninsula in the city of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, state-run Xinhua agency reported.
The strong typhoon packing winds up to 151.2 km per hour is moving northwest at 25 km per hour, and is expected to sweep across the cities of Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Foshan and Zhaoqing to Guangdong's neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, according to Guangdong provincial weather authorities.
All flights from Shenzhen and Zhuhai were cancelled today morning as were most services from Guangzhou's airport, local media reports said.
Hundreds of trains to and from Pearl River Delta cities have also been delayed.
The intercity line between Guangzhou and Zhuhai halted operations while all services connecting Guangzhou and Haikou will be suspended, the China Service reported.
Shenzhen Bay port will be closed and it is not known when it will reopen, Hong Kong based the South China Morning Post reported.
China's State Oceanic Administration (SOA) yesterday issued the a red alert for ocean waves and storm tides as Typhoon Nida approaches the mainland.
From yesterday night to today, sea waves as high as 11 meters are expected in the northern South China Sea, while the southern Taiwan Strait will witness waves as high as seven meters.
The SOA also issued a red alert storm tides and estimated that the sea level off the Pearl River estuary will rise up to 220 cm.
A 26-year-old Yorkshire Terrier, who was declared as the country's oldest dog last year, died after being attacked by another canine while he was on his morning walk with his owner.
Jack, who had lived equivalent to 117
human years, died yesterday when his owner Ray Bunn was taking him for a walk close to his home at Hartlepool Marina.
The other dog, described as a black Lakeland terrier and not on a lead, attacked him. The owner tried to punch him but it would not let go, the Daily Express reported.
"Jack was the oldest dog in the country, and for him to die in this horrible, violent way, as opposed to peacefully in his sleep, is a tragedy," Bunn, 70, a retired factory worker, said.
"The dog just came out of nowhere and grabbed Jack on his side. He wasn't on a lead. I was desperate to get the dog off Jack. I punched it, but it was about three minutes before it let go," he said.
"He was bleeding heavily but still breathing. Someone had a blanket and we wrapped him up and put him in the back of the car," Bunn said.
Jack died on the way to the vets.
Last December, Jack had become a nationwide celebrity when he celebrated his 26th birthday and was declared the country's oldest canine.
A love of sirloin steak and lots of exercise were the secrets of his incredible longevity.
Cleveland Police have been informed about the incident and Bunn has exchanged details with the other dog's owner, they said.
Jack had been part of the Bunn family for the past 16 years after he was rescued while being tied to a tree to be abandoned.
"He had his own unique character and was loved by so many people. He was very well known in the area for being the country's oldest dog. Everybody will be so upset, Bunn said.
"Police received a report from a male that his dog had been attacked this morning in Hartlepool and sadly it passed away. Cleveland Police will make enquiries into whether any offences have taken place," a police spokeswoman said.
US Ambassador to India Richard R Verma paid a visit to Sai Hospital in Dharavi slum here where a US aid agency supporting a programme to test and diagnose HIV in patients suffering from tuberculosis (TB).
In India, approximately 50 per cent of deaths of HIV patients are due to TB, reinforcing the need to prevent, care and treat HIV and TB as co-infections.
During his visit to the hospital yesterday, he met doctors, local health care workers and patients to discuss the magnitude of TB and HIV prevalence among the vulnerable poor in India, an official release said today.
"Meeting with patients who are suffering from both TB and HIV emphasises the critical need to diagnose and treat both of these diseases simultaneously, and bring our resources to bear so that we can together achieve a TB-free India," Verma said.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) helps private health care providers link TB patients to public health facilities in order to test HIV, saving lives by diagnosing and co-treating HIV and TB.
Additionally, USAID provides advocacy, counselling and support services for HIV and TB co-infected patients.
"I was diagnosed with HIV and TB at my local health care facility, which is now also helping me receive proper treatment and is providing me counselling support. The availability of all three services near my home has been a huge relief for me and my family as we cope with the diseases," said a patient.
India has the largest number of TB cases in the world - more than a quarter of the global burden - and nearly two people die from TB every three minutes in the country.
Since 1998, USAID has partnered with the Government of India to combat TB, investing more than $100 million to help diagnose and treat 15 million people living with the disease and to combat HIV, investing $204 million since 2004 to help create an AIDS-free generation.
The United States remains committed to supporting India in its efforts to treat HIV and TB together and to help the country achieve its vision of becoming TB and HIV-free, the release said.
A 29-year old man allegedly involved in at least a dozen criminal cases was today injured during an encounter with the police in Ganjam district.
The accused, identified as Bulu Patra, sustained bullet injury on his right leg during the encounter with a police team at Babanpur Aska police station limits.
He was immediately arrested.
While the accused fired at least three rounds, the police retaliates by firing four rounds, Baleswar Gidhi, the inspector-in-charge, Aska police station, said.
No police personnel were injured during the exchange of fire, he said.
Patrolling was intensified to nab his accomplice, who escaped from the spot, he added.
Some ammunition, a motorcycle and two mobile phone sets were recovered from the accused.
Describing Patra as a wanted criminal, the police said he was involved in several crimes including murder, dacoity and robbery.
Cases were pending against him in Aska, Buguda, Polasara, Kabisurya Nagara, Hinjili in Ganjam district and Bhubaneswar, the police said.
He was one of the main accused in the dacoity of a jewellery shop, the police added.
A special session of the West Bengal state Assembly will be convened from August 26 and continue till August 30, West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee said.
"The Assembly session will start from August 26 and will continue till August 30," Banerjee said.
Meanwhile, nominated member in the state Assembly Michael Shane Calvert today took oath as the member of the state assembly.
The West Bengal government is inviting private investment to develop fisheries in the state, a senior official said today.
The state has identified bigger waterbodies for the purpose, the state fisheries department official said.
The investment could be in the form of a joint venture or be solely private, Sumanta Chaudhuri, the Additional Chief Secretary of the Fisheries Department, said on the sidelines of an event here.
Chaudhuri said that the state government had last year adopted a policy to encourage private investment in the fisheries sector.
"The policy will encourage those willing to invest in the fisheries sector. There will be separate incentive for them... Capital subsidy, subsidy on the VAT, electricity duty," Chaudhuri said.
The official said that his department faced the same problem of inadequate cold storage and processing as like the agriculture and horticulture departments.
"So far there has been consumption-oriented production in West Bengal, but now we need to think in terms of the consumption, export, value-addition as well as the retail chain and that is very important," the official said.
He said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had taken a big initiative in linking fisheries to the market.
Gopalakrishnan opined that open sea cage farming method
developed by CMFRI is one of the best farming models which could be effectively popularised among the fishermen community in the country.
"The mariculture sector will address the ever increasing demand for the quality seafood for human consumption and, to some extent, bridge the gap between demand and supply in marine fish production as the amount of wild caught fish remaining stagnant for the years and scope for increasing prosecution from capture sector is very little," he said.
The scientist said that mariculture can be considered as one of the best alternate livelihood options for the coastal fishermen community.
He said that the CMFRI, under the AINP, will focus on developing viable and farmer-friendly technologies for marine fish seed production and farming especially cage farming.
"The indigenous cage farming method developed by the CMFRI for the country is well received by the farmers of various coastal districts and economically feasible. National agencies on fisheries development is promoting these activities based on the inputs given by CMFRI through various incentives like subsidies and schemes," he said.
Gopalakrishnan stressed the need for formulating a suitable mariculture policy since the lack of which is a major hindrance to the commercialisation of the marticulture practises in India.
CMFRI will take steps to frame the policy. The institute will intensify the work on demarcation of potential mariculture sites along Indian coasts on a GIS platform, helping to prepare an adequate national policy for the development of mariculture activities inIndia," he said.
The representatives from all the maritime states presented their progress in the meeting.
The meeting discussed various mariculture activities initiated for various species at various maritime states.
Since the non-availability of marine finfish seed is a major challenge for mariculture, the AINP-M review meeting recommended for developing the hatchery technology for new species for farming and also conducting an extensive survey on the availability of natural seeds for cage farming and determining quotas and seasons for exploitation.
The meeting was attended by scientists from all the collaborating centres located in seven maritime states of the country.
West Bengal may soon be renamed as "Bengal" as the state Cabinet today took a decision to change the name of the state.
State minister Partha Chatterjee said the Cabinet took up a proposal to rename the state as "Bengal" in English and "Bango" or "Bangla" in Bengali.
Citing examples of other states like Odisha and cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, he said the word "Bengal" has the state's culture and heritage associated with it and so it was decided to change it.
Earlier, the state government had sent a proposal to the Centre for renaming West Bengal as "Paschim Bango", but that never got the green signal.
"Now we are giving a new proposal and will convene a special session of the assembly on August 26 to pass a resolution to this effect," Chatterjee said.
Another reason for changing the name of the state is that whenever there is any meeting of all states, West Bengal comes at the bottom of the list alphabetically.
"Our CM gets to speak last. There is little time left," a minister pointed out.
Secretariat officials said changing the name would require approval of Parliament.
Voicing concern over use of 'Chinese manja' for flying kites in the city, Delhi High Court today asked the AAP government as to when it will issue the notification banning threads coated with powdered glass.
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal wished to know the status of Delhi government's official order in view of the kite-flying festival celebrated in Delhi on August 15.
"You (Delhi government) know the urgency, kites are flown on August 15. You get instruction from authorities concerned by when the notification prepared by you and vetted by Delhi government's Law Department will be issued," the court said.
It further observed that in public interest it is asking the government to inform it as it has already drafted the notification for banning "Chinese manja" and allowing kite-flying with a "cotton thread".
Chinese manja is a nylon thread coated with powdered glass.
The bench sought the status of the order after it was informed through the Delhi government's counsel that the notification has been sent to LG for his approval.
"That (notification) is waiting (LG's approval) and beyond that we (Delhi government) have no control," Delhi government's counsel submitted.
Yesterday, the Delhi government has told the court that 'Chinese manja' would be banned soon as it is "conscious of injuries" caused by the kite-flying thread made of nylon.
The court was informed that the Delhi government was in process of issuing a notification for banning 'Chinese manja' and only allowing kite-flying with a cotton thread or natural fibre, "free from metallic or glass components".
The Supreme Court has recently sent a similar matter to
National Green Tribunal, observing that since the issue relates to protection of environment and wildlife, same should be adjudicated upon by the tribunal.
The court was hearing a plea of Zulfiquar Hussain who has alleged that earlier the "victims" of the synthetic thread were birds, "but now humans are also under threat" and referred to the recent death of a 28-year-old man in East Delhi whose throat allegedly got slit by such a thread while he was riding a motorbike.
He has also referred to deaths allegedly caused as a result of injuries from the thread in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
The petition contended that use and sale of the thread has been banned by Rajasthan High Court and that the Allahabad High Court has issued directions to take necessary steps to prohibit manufacture, use and sale of synthetic kite flying thread like 'Chinese manja'.
The plea, filed through advocate Tariq Adeeb, also said that Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh governments have banned this thread.
The petitioner has contended that use, manufacture and sale of the thread is illegal under Environment Protection Act 1986 and sought directions to the government to "strictly enforce the prohibition throughout Delhi".
The work to set up an integrated aviation hub at Hisar will begin during the year-long golden jubilee celebration of Haryana.
The 'Swarn Jayanti' celebrations of Haryana will begin on November 1 and last till October 31 next year.
Haryana was carved out of Punjab as a separate state in 1966.
"The state-of-the-art aviation hub would be developed over an area of over 3,000 acres. The central government has been urged to include Hisar and Karnal in the Regional Connectivity Scheme which would come into effect in the second quarter of 2016-2017," Haryana's Civil Aviation Minister Rao Narbir Singh said here today.
He said a series of activities to be undertaken in the first phase of this project include expansion of the existing runway from 4,000 feet to 7,000 feet, provision for night-time landing, construction of additional Hangers for Maintenance Repair Overhaul and renovation of the terminal building.
"A budget provision of Rs 50 crore has been made in the current financial year for this purpose. Apart from this, Rs 20 crore has also been earmarked for development of airstrips at Pinjore, Karnal, Bhiwani and Narnaul," Singh said.
"As announced by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the aerodrome at Hisar would be elevated as international airport, Singh said in an official release.
He said the state government has 196 acres of land at Hisar Aerodrome.
"The Haryana government has already engaged M/s Frost and Sullivan India Private Limited, Chennai as consultant for development of Hisar Aerodrome as Integrated Aviation Hub," he said.
Based on the recommendations of the consultant, several other activities like an aerocity comprising housing, commercial development, would be undertaken in a phased manner.
"This will also help in city side development, employment generation and would have multiplier effect on state GDP," he said, adding Khattar had briefed Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar about the plans during a meeting in Delhi recently.
The Union minister was requested to consider setting up of the proposed MRO Hub of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to serve the aircraft and helicopters of the defence forces at this Airport, Singh said.
Besides, the Union minister also broached the idea of setting up a centre for over hauling of tanks of the Indian Army at Hisar since the location is not very far from the international borders nor very close to it, Singh said.
The Haryana Civil Aviation Department has written a letter for getting approval of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation regarding site clearance for developing Hisar aerodrome as international airport or integrated aviation hub.
World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) today said it is planning to open 4-5 more centres in emerging cities in the country as it intends to expand in the Asia-Pacific region.
"We are considering India as a growing market and see lot of opportunities. We are looking at opening 4-5 new WTCs in emerging cities in the country. We already have 20 WTCs across the country," WTC CEO Scott Ferguson told PTI here.
There are 332 WTCs across 89 countries at present. WTCA serves as an 'international ecosystem' of global connections, properties and integrated trade services under the umbrella of the WTC brand.
"India is now setting tone of for world economic growth under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India is moving ahead in a measured way with definite policies and plans rather than populist approach," Ferguson said.
Ferguson, who is on two-day visit to the city, addressed the board members of the World Trade Centre Mumbai. He will also be visiting Hyderabad, Bangaluru and New Delhi.
"The world today needs strong leadership as there are confusing signals around. It is nice to see India growing and the measured approach taken by Modi in growth as well as his messaging. And the Indian economy is backing him on what he is trying to do," Ferguson said.
Praising central projects like Make in India and Startup India, Ferguson said that WTC network can have a role to play in such initiatives.
"Governments across the world are trying to capture the flourishing startup community and I believe WTCs have a role in this initiative as we have a huge network and connect.
"I believe the WTC Mumbai has many programmes in this segment, which the startups will take advantage of," he added.
On Britain's decision to leave the European Union,
Ferguson said he was disappointed with the referendum outcome.
"The lesson learnt is that global business and politics cannot be controlled. We have lots of members in Europe, they will have to find ways to change their approach and businesses," he said.
Earlier, Scott Wang, Vice-President, Asia Pacific, WTCA said that India is the fastest growing market for World Trade Centres as the number of WTCs in India has risen from a mere 5 in 2011 to 20 in 2016.
"There is change in FDI facilitation in India now. The Make in India campaign has had a huge impact. It is time that WTC Mumbai leverages its service capacities that will make the other WTCs in India grow," he said.
WTC Mumbai Vice-Chairman Vijay Kalantri said it is playing a leadership role among the 20 WTCs in India.
"WTC Mumbai can play a bigger role in the membership seminars. We receive around 60 trade missions annually and our experience can be shared," Kalantri said.
By Timothy Gardner and Ayesha Rascoe
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Singapore's prime minister on Tuesday made sales pitches for a Pacific Rim trade deal that both U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have derided and that has been stalled in Congress.
Aiming to keep alive hopes for a post-election congressional vote in the closing weeks of 2016 in favour of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Obama said its merits would overcome fierce criticism on the campaign trail.
"Hopefully after the election is over and the dust settles, there will be more attention to the actual facts behind the deal. It won't just be a political symbol or a political football," Obama told a White House conference with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during a state visit.
Republican presidential nominee Trump and Democratic rival Clinton have said they oppose the TPP in its current form. Trump has taken a more radical anti-free-trade stance, threatening to tear up the 22-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement and slap punitive tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and China.
The TPP, which counts Singapore and the United States among its signatories, along with countries such as Japan, Mexico and Vietnam, faces a tough fight in Congress. Many lawmakers there are also running for re-election in November and face a rising tide of anti-free-trade sentiment driven by manufacturing job losses.
House tax committee Chairman Kevin Brady, a Republican, has said he would back a vote if members' concerns about TPP, including provisions on financial services, biologic drugs and tobacco, can be addressed by the Obama administration.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has called prospects for a vote this year "bleak", especially now that Clinton's vice presidential running mate Senator Tim Kaine also opposes the agreement.
But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the most powerful business lobby in Washington, is not giving up on a possible vote in the "lame duck" congressional session after the Nov. 8 elections.
"We are a leading proponent of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an effort we can't - and won't - give up on," Chamber President Tom Donohue said at an event honouring Lee on Monday night.
In their conference, Lee cast the deal as pivotal to the U.S.-Asia relationship. "In terms of America's engagement of the region, you have put your reputation on the line," he said.
Dropping out of the TPP could harm U.S. relations with its allies in Asia, and may cause Japan to question whether it can continue to depend on the United States for security, he said.
The TPP aims to liberalize commerce in 40 percent of the world's economy and is widely seen as an economic counterweight to China's influence in Asia.
(Additional reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and James Dalgleish)
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Open office seatings can be intrusive but here's the bad news: It's not going anywhere.
Quite contrary to everyone's liking, the ideal arrangment is still about sitting next to one another, according to a new study.
However, what's new is that it matters who you're seated next to.
Researchers from Harvard Business School (HBS) monitored the seating arrangements and employee output of 2,000 workers as part of the study, Bloomberg reported.
They found that those employees sitting next to a productive lot were positively influenced.
While those sitting next to lethargic employees felt discouraged.
Researchers call this a spill-over effect, but believe the effect of this diminishes outside a 25-foot radius.
Regardless of the spill-over effect, people in general dislike open offices as it affects employee attention span and individuality.
Therefore, in order to leverage effeciency, companies should ideally seat employees to the type of worker they are.
The research concluded mixing people with different levels of productivity can overall have a positve impact.
To create an ecosystem for various modes of communication like e-mail and website addresses in Indian scripts, the government will provide complimentary '.bharat' domain name available for one year on purchase of '.in'.
"We have written to registrar for providing one year complimentary web address with '.bharat' (available in Devanagari and other Indian scripts) when a person registers a '.in' website," National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) CEO Rajiv Bansal told PTI.
The web address with '.in' domain name is being sold across country at starting price of Rs 199 for first year, which can be renewed thereafter for prices starting at around Rs 550.
The domain '.bharat' (in Devanagari script) is being sold by only a few companies registered with NIXI.
"Most of the next billion that will be impacted by Internet or connect with it will not be English-speaking people. We have to create local language content and develop ecosystem so that non-English citizens can communicate online in their native language," Bansal said.
The Department of Electronics and IT had convened meeting of e-mail service providers to make provision for e-mail addresses in Hindi and other Indian languages. The companies, however, said they can provide e-mail address in Indian languages only when there is demand.
Google supports transaction from e-mail addresses in Japanese, Mandarin and some other scripts.
DeitY officials have also discussed providing search support when a text is typed in an Indian language script, but companies do not see business case for doing so at present.
"We have to work on creating e-mail services, online search to enable non-English speaking people conveniently use Internet. We hope that by giving '.bharat' as complimentary Web address, it may encourage entities to experiment and develop content in local languages, including e-mail addresses," Bansal said.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Monday campaigned alongside Democrat Hillary Clinton at a rowdy rally in his home state of Nebraska, where he challenged Republican Donald Trump to release his tax returns and said he would personally drive people to the polls in November.
After delivering a forceful rebuke of Trump's recent statements about the Muslim parents of a decorated American soldier killed in Iraq, Buffett said he wanted to surprise Clinton and "make a little news" by announcing the launch of a get-out-the vote effort.
ALSO READ: Key developments that are shaping the market day
"I pledge today that on Election Day, Nov. 8, I will take at least 10 people to the polls who would otherwise have difficulty getting there," Buffett said.
Buffett also said he was backing a website, Drive2Vote, that would coordinate transportation to cast votes and that he had reserved a trolley that seats 32 people for the same purpose.
"I'm going to be on it all day. I'm going to do selfies, whatever it takes," Buffett said.
Buffett, a Clinton backer, said his goal is to generate the highest voter turnout in the congressional district that includes Omaha of any in the country. Nebraska is one of just two U.S. states that award electoral votes in presidential elections by congressional district. Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) conglomerate is based in Omaha, stressed that this gives power to Omaha residents to affect the outcome of the election.
Clinton responded to Buffett's pledge with a promise of her own, if his turnout goal is met.
"Warren and I will dance in the streets of Omaha together! Maybe if we're really lucky he'll wear his Elvis costume again!" Clinton said.
Buffett earlier challenged Trump to release his tax returns, something that presidential candidates typically do. The New York businessman has said he cannot do so until the Internal Revenue Service has completed an audit.
"Now I've got news for him," Buffett said. "I'm under audit, too, and I would be delighted to meet him anyplace, anytime, before the election.
"I'll bring my tax return, he can bring his tax return ... and let people ask us questions about the items that are on there," Buffett added, saying Trump was "afraid" not of the IRS but voters.
Buffett spoke for nearly 30 minutes to a raucous capacity crowd of roughly 3,100 in a high school in suburban Omaha with Clinton sitting at his side. He said the "final straw" was an ABC interview with Trump that aired Sunday in which Trump criticized Khizr Khan and Ghazala Khan.
The Khans took the stage together at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last week, and Khizr Khan delivered a speech about his son, U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, who was killed by a bomb in Iraq 12 years ago. He also attacked Trump for proposing a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States.
Trump has said he was "viciously" attacked by Khizr Khan, a naturalized U.S. citizen and a Muslim, when he publicly doubted the real estate developer had read the U.S. Constitution.
Trump also questioned whether Ghazala Khan, who stood at her husband's side during the address, was "allowed" to speak. Khan had also said that Trump had "sacrificed nothing," prompting Trump in his ABC interview to say, "I think I've made a lot of sacrifices."
Buffett on Monday bluntly contradicted Trump.
"No member of the Buffett family has gone to Iraq or Afghanistan. No member of the Trump family has gone to Iraq or Afghanistan," Buffett said. "We've both done extremely well during this period and our families haven't sacrificed anything."
A total amount of Rs 36.98 crore was spent on maintenance of non-operational airports over the last three years while Rs 897.28 crore were spent on 24 additional operational airports from where no scheduled airline is operating, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
This amount was being spent from the consolidated fund of India, he said.
Several members of the house raised questions relating to non-operational airports while several others spoke about the need for air-connectivity to various important cities and towns.
However he added that the government is working on a "regional connectivity scheme" and once it takes off, "many (non-operational) airports would be put into service."
Sinha said while private airlines have the freedom to decide their routes, they could be given concessions for operating under the regional connectivity scheme like reduced tax on Aviation Turbine Fuel, Viability Gap Funding, reduced langing as well as route facilitation charges for flying to regional towns etc.
To a question on connecting cities in Maharashtra, Sinha said that while government is keen, the reduction in fuel prices has led to an increase in demand for air travel across the world.
This situation has resulted in shortage of planes domestically and the Mumbai Airport getting "congested" as it is difficult to find landing slots.
To a question asked on connecting various cities in the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh he said that the Centre is willing to work with the state governments on this.
(With inputs from PTI)
The Indian real estate market has seen a huge boom in the past decade thanks to a growing urban middle class population.
Major real estate companies are targetting developable areas and turning them into construction marvels.
Here's a list of the top players in the real estate market:
1. DLF
Based out of New Delhi, DLF is the largest commercial player in the real estate sector.
It has been leading construction projects for over 70 years and has developed numerous residential colonies in Delhi's Greater Kailash, South Extension, Hauz Khas and other areas.
DLF's presence is in over 24 major cities of the country. The company has brought about a paradigm shift in the Indian retail sector by developing malls and retail spaces.
DLF Limited recorded consolidated revenues of Rs 9,819 crore for FY16, up by 20% from Rs 8,168 crore in previous financial year.
2. Unitech real estate
Unitech is one of the largest real estate companies in the country with diversified operations in the sector. It has continued to build luxurious projects across India.
But, recently, the Unitech group drew flak for delay in delivery of the high-end residential project Burgundy on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway near New Delhi.
3. Supertech
Supertech has been scaling new heights ever since its inception 25 years back. It has established its stance in North India with frequent new projects.
Supertech has also ventured into making designer homes like 'Supernova' in Noida, for which the company has tied up with renowned designer Armani/Casa.
However, there have been some challenges. The Supreme Court has asked the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) to inspect Supertech's 'Emerald Towers' in Noida, if it has violated the sanctioned plan and has been built on a green area.
4. Omaxe
Within a very less time, Omaxe has emerged as one of the players that has carved its path in the real enstate business. With its presence in over 30 cities, it has delivered highly appreciated projects.
To continue its upward trajectory, Omaxe is planning to execute quality affordable homes in cities all over Northern India.
5. Oberoi Realty
Led by billionaire Vikas Oberoi, Oberoi Realty is based in Mumbai with a strong foothold in entire Maharashtra.
Like all major real estate developers, the company has been focussing on developing retail complexes and malls.
The company revenue for FY16 was at Rs 1,444.30 crore as against Rs 940.15 crore for FY15.
6. Ansal API
Since 1967, Ansal API has been dealing in residential, commercial and retail properties located in Delhi NCR, U.P, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, etc.
Last year, the realty major tied up with technology companies like IBM and Cisco for developing Smart Cities.
7. Jaypee Infatech
The real estate arm of Jaypee Group, Jaypee Infratech, has been building large townships in Noida and Greater Noida.
The company, though, has seen huge losses as of late due to pressure caused by delayed projects.
For FY16, the net loss of the company increased to Rs 298.41 crore from Rs 350.44 crore in FY15.
8. Godrej Properties
The company has been developing residential, commercial and township projects in over 12 cities over the years.
FY16 has marked Godrej Properties' entry into the Noida market.
The firm witnessed total booking value of Rs 5,038 crore this year as compared to total booking value of Rs 2,681 crore in FY15.
Indian drugmaker Lupin Ltd said it had agreed to buy a portfolio of 21 drugs from Japan's Shionogi & Co Ltd for 15.4 billion yen ($150 million), expanding its presence in its third-largest market.
The portfolio will be transferred to Lupin on Dec. 31, subject to regulatory approvals and certain closing conditions, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.
The acquisition, which will be done by Lupin's Japanese generic drug unit Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry Co Ltd, will give Lupin access to Japanese branded pharmaceutical market and strengthen its speciality business portfolio, they said.
The 21 products currently have sales of $90 million and cover therapy areas such as central nervous system, oncology, cardiovascular and anti-infectives, the statement said.
Cheats are now targeting gullible customers who are looking for lucrative travel deals, insurance offers or other attractive services and are hunting online directories like Just Dial to get their mobile data to dupe them.
The UP police has busted a gang and arrested 13 people for allegedly running fake call centres and making a kill through their fraudulent schemes. Sources say they earned over Rs 20 crore in the last six months through such fake schemes.
According to the police, the gang had three call centres - Karol Bagh in Delhi, sector 57 in Noida and Etawah in Uttar Pradesh.
The breakthrough by the UP Special Task Force came while investigating the insurance fraud case registered by HDFC ERGO general insurance. "We were approached by the company and based on the information we found three illegal call centres being operated from Delhi, Noida and Etawah. Three separate teams conducted the raid and arrested 13 people on July 29. The gang was changing their modusoperandi every month," additional police superintendent Triveni Singh told MAIL TODAY.
During the investigation, the police team found data of different sector. "This gang operates on the principal of leaking data. They have confessed that they leaked customers'data from just dial.com and other sources. Depending upon the nature of data they used to train their staff to dupe people. After getting the insurance data, they offered bonus or attractive deals to inactive account. Currently, they got car owners data and floated a fake car-breakdown service company," Singh explained.
The company had hired female tele-caller executives who were given training based on the data they procured illegally. The gang would lure the victims to deposit large sums of money into different bank accounts on the pretext of expenses for clearance of the bonus amounts. Currently, the gang was selling road assistance and repair facility by floating a non-existing company by the name Road Race. They charged their customers Rs1,500 and assured 24/7 road assistance service but they had no tie-up with any service station. Members of this gang were earlier this year arrested in Hyderabad but after coming out on bail, they changed their base to another city.
"Gang members are very sharp as they used to monitor complaints against them. They used to track volume of complaints on various online consumer complaints site and when they realised that the number of complaint is getting too high, they would change their location and business," Singh said.
Interestingly, the gang had earlier set up swanky offices but presently, they were operating from a residential area in Karol Bagh which was their headquarters, while organised call centres were set up in Noida and Etawah. Cops are also going to tighten the noose around companies from where data of customers was leaked.
"We will write to justdial.com asking them to check their data security. It is alarming that the gang had names, addresses and other details like car numbers, bank details, loan and insurance details. It becomes very easy to target such customers as they would always feel that they are getting calls from the company," he said
According to the police, the issue of data leak is alarming as most of the companies do not follow stringent norms to secure its customers' data and this illegal business is completely based on customers' information. Such fake call centres are mushrooming in Delhi and NCR. Similarly, the Delhi police Crime branch has busted an insurance scam, after an 80-year-old Delhi resident was duped of Rs77 lakh. Police have arrested Sumit Verma (32), one of the directors of Davis Value Card (DVCPL) that duped several people. A raid was conducted at Verma's office in Sector 38 Noida
Police said the accused received money from victims in different accounts owned by DVCPL. The investigation revealed that several complaints were registered against the company in Delhi NCR, Dehradun and Chandigarh.
In association with Mail Today Bureau
Ibec have today warned that a decisive and immediate national response to the Brexit "currency shock" is currently needed.
The group has warned that the brexit has left many key export businesses reeling with jobs already under threat.
The warning from the countrys main business organisation comes as a new survey highlights the intense currency strain on exporters following the UK vote. The survey found that the negative exchange implications of the UK vote is by far the biggest concern of business.
Almost half (45%) saw this as the main threat. Ibec claim exporters are operating with a major competitive handicap in the UK market while domestic firms are facing the prospect of cheaper UK imports grabbing market share.
Separate economic analysis from Ibec also found that the impact on UK focused export sectors, such as agri-food, will be particularly severe. The analysis of the historical exchange rate and agri-food export relationship shows that a 1% weakness in sterling results in a 0.7% drop in Irish exports to the UK.
If sterling was to weaken further towards the 0.90 mark, this would translate to losses of over 700 million in food exports and about 7,500 Irish jobs in that sector alone.
Ibec Director of Policy Fergal O'Brien said, "This is now a full blown currency crisis. For exporters, the speed of sterlings decline is on a par with the 1992 currency crisis. Irish exporters to the UK are already 15% less competitive and things could get much worse. The problem demands urgent government attention."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
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It was announced today that SiteMinder is set to open its new office in downtown Galway to provide around 100 jobs initially with the potential to grow in future.
SiteMinder, the hotel industrys leading cloud platform, will formally announce the opening today in Galway alongside the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, Mary Mitchell OConnor.
The project comes one month ahead of SiteMinders 10-year milestone, to support the companys 20,000-strong-and-fast-growing global hotel customer base and is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation through IDA Ireland.
SiteMinders customer base in Ireland includes Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel and K Club, as well as Galways own The Connacht Hotel host of todays opening event and The g Hotel and Spa.
Galway will complement SiteMinders existing EMEA headquarters in London to service hotels both within the region and around the World and to form the companys fifth office alongside Bangkok, Dallas and Sydney.
Europe constitutes the greatest proportion of SiteMinders total customer base and, with the continent expected to become the first to see offline overtaken by online as the primary booking method for travel products by the end of 20171, the company anticipates vigorous growth will continue to come from the region over the coming years.
SiteMinder is now actively recruiting graduate sales representatives to join their accelerated development program as well as experienced customer training and support analysts.
Managing Director EMEA at SiteMinder, Dai Williams said, "We are delighted to join the thriving technology hub of Galway, which we have identified to be greatly aligned with our companys culture and mission of providing terrific career opportunities for local talent who are passionate about technology and can benefit from an attractive lifestyle and work-life balance."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
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GlaxoSmithKline and Google parent Alphabet's life sciences unit are creating a new company focused on fighting diseases by targeting electrical signals in the body, jump-starting a novel field of medicine called bioelectronics.
Verily Life Sciences - known as Google's life sciences unit until last year - and Britain's biggest drugmaker will together contribute 540 million pounds over seven years to Galvani Bioelectronics, they said on Monday.
The new company, owned 55% by GSK and 45% by Verily, will be based at GSK's Stevenage research center north of London, with a second research hub in South San Francisco.
It is GSK's second notable investment in Britain since the country voted to leave the European Union in June. Last week it announced plans to spend 275 million pounds on drug manufacturing.
Galvani will develop miniaturized, implantable devices that can modify electrical nerve signals. The aim is to modulate irregular or altered impulses that occur in many illnesses.
GSK believes chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and asthma could be treated using these tiny devices, which consist of a electronic collar that wraps around nerves.
Kris Famm, GSK's head of bioelectronics research and president of Galvani, said the first bioelectronic medicines using these implants to stimulate nerves could be submitted for regulatory approval by around 2023.
"We have had really promising results in animal tests, where we've shown we can address some chronic diseases with this mechanism, and now we are bringing that work into the clinic," he told Reuters.
"Our goal is to have our first medicines ready for regulatory approval in seven years."
GSK first unveiled its ambitions in bioelectronics in a paper in the journal Nature three years ago and believes it is ahead of Big Pharma rivals in developing medicines that use electrical impulses rather than traditional chemicals or proteins.
The tie-up shows the growing convergence of healthcare and technology. Verily already has several other medical projects in the works, including the development of a smart contact lens in partnership with the Swiss drugmaker Novartis that has an embedded glucose sensor to help monitor diabetes.
Famm said the first generation of implants coming to market would be around the size of a medical pill but the aim eventually was to make them as small or smaller than a grain of rice, using the latest advances in nanotechnology.
Patients will be treated with keyhole surgery and the hope is that bioelectronic medicine could provide a one-off treatment, potentially lasting decades.
Major challenges including making the devices ultra low-power so that they function reliably deep inside the body.
The idea of treating serious disease with electrical impulses is not completely new.
Large-scale electrical devices have been used for years as heart pacemakers and, more recently, deep brain stimulation has been applied to treat Parkinson's disease and severe depression, while EnteroMedics last year won U.S. approval for a device to help obese people control their appetite.
Galvani, however, is taking electrical interventions to the micro level, using tiny implants to coax insulin from cells to treat diabetes, for example, or correct muscle imbalances in lung diseases.
Galvani will initially employ around 30 scientists, engineers and clinicians.
The company will be chaired by Moncef Slaoui, GSK's vaccines head, who pioneered the drugmaker's drive into the bioelectronics field. Slaoui is retiring from GSK next March but will continue to steer Galvani after that date, a spokesman said.
Galvani will be fully consolidated in GSK's financial statements, following the model of the group's majority-owned ViiV Healthcare business, which sells HIV medicines. (Reuters)
Source: www.businessworld.ie
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LOGAN A judge has sentenced one of the two men arrested last April, accused of stabbing another man during a fight at a house party in Providence.
Jim Tiew appeared in 1st District Court Monday afternoon with his attorney, Joshua Baron.
Court records show, the 24-year-old Logan man waived his right to a preliminary hearing in June, instead pleading guilty to one charge of obstructing justice, reduced to a class A misdemeanor. As part of the plea, the defendant agreed to testify against Michael Sao, the 26-year-old codefendant in the case.
According to sheriffs deputies, early on the morning of April 9, a 22-year-old Hyrum man was driven to Logan Regional Hospital with a slash wound to his head and face, and stab wounds to the chest and back.
Deputies interviewed the victim while he was being treated. They determined that a fight occurred during a party being held at the Providence home. He was able to provide information about Sao and Tiew.
During Mondays sentencing, Baron explained that Tiew witnessed the fight between the victim and Sao, but was so intoxicated he couldnt remember the details.
Tiew told the court he had way too much to drink the night before the stabbing. He admitted to misleading deputies in their investigation.
Judge Thomas Willmore sentenced Tiew to 15-days in jail and placed him on probation for one-year. He also ordered him to write a letter of apology to the victim and complete moral recognition therapy.
Court records show, Sao was charged with aggravated assault, a second-degree felony and obstructing justice, a third-degree felony. He is scheduled to appear again in court August 22 for a preliminary hearing.
will@cvradio.com
Map of the Week: University fees in Europe
Published on August 2, 2016
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Application season is long over; now students are desperately waiting to see whether they'll be offered a place at university. If Mum and Dad don't have the funds to help you, you should avoid going to England to study: that's where the tuiton fees are highest.
Free education has always been a hot topic in Europe - it's a fundamental part of our values. Here we can study for almost nothing, can't we? After all, we don't live in the United States. But in order to get a university degree without spending too much, you still have to choose a university very carefully.
At the European level, it's in England where tuition fees are the highest at 9000 pounds per year (approximately 10.600 euros), after David Cameron's Coailition government tripled the tuition fees. Not astonishing knowing that the former Prime Minister comes from prestigious (and expensive) schools such as Eton and Oxford.
In 2012, that fee increase gave rise to heated debates, and the number of registered applicants at English universities decreased. In addition, we have learned this week that British students are no longer entitled to housing allowances and instead must resort to additional loans. You can thank George Osborne, the young ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer (and another graduate of Oxford), for this latest measure.
Nevertheless, Great Britain remains one of the most attractive countries in terms of education - even if studying is almost free in many EU countries such as the Scandinavian countries, in Germany or in Greece for example, as shown in the "Eurodyce" map below courtesy of the EU Commission.
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Source: Registration fees in (Eurodyce)
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This article is part of our Map of the Week series: charting the stats that matter to Europe, one map at a time.
Story by Katha Kloss
Translated from Map of the week: Studiengebuhren in Europa
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5 Most Vulgar Kenyan Radio Presenters It appears being vulgar is the real deal nowadays especially for the fact that the world is becoming more exposed and civilized. Sadly, but true, young people are constantly being exposed to images, discussions, and content that most people would deem detrimental to the African culture and moral statutes. This is because most of us ...
6 Sexiest News Anchors In Kenya Some news anchors have been stealing eyes every time they appear on-screen. Most of us hardly concentrate on the programme they present as our entire focus is usually on their striking physique and beautiful faces. It is common knowledge that Kenyan women are amazingly beautiful. From the celebrities to the everyday woman, they are all in ...
Interesting Oprah Winfrey Quotes To Keep You Motivated Oprah Winfrey is one of the worlds most powerful women in the media and business sectors. Her life is the typical success story that motivates and lifts ones morale. One amazing thing about this media mogul is her sincerity about past hurts, mistakes, healing, and success. The renowned talk show host and media personality is the first ...
Chinua Albert Achebe Biography- Family, Net Worth & Death Chinua Albert Achebe, of blessed memory, was a Nigerian prolific author best known for his inventive style of writing and simplicity of expressions. Famed as one of the finest writers Nigeria has ever produced, Achebe lived and died an international hero and a literary giant, who left behind unforgettable legacies and footprints in the sands of ...
Steve Harvey His Wife, Kids & Height Steve Harvey is an American comedian, actor, radio and TV show host, producer and an author of different relationship advice books. Steve Harveys Early Life Born in Welch, West Virginia, on January 17, 1957, as Broderick Stephen Harvey, Steve was the last of five children. His family relocated to Cleveland when he was young and there, he attended Glenville High School from ...
Intriguing Things You Should Know About Danny Kokers Rise to Fame and Who His Wife Is Danny Koker is popular as the star of the History Channel reality TV series, Counting Cars. Prior to him appearing on the show, the TV personality was a musician who had embarked on a number of national tours with his rock group, Counts 77. He and his group have released quite a number of songs ...
Fun Facts You Didnt Know About Andy Cohens Rise to Prominence and His Partner Andy Cohen is one of Americas top media personalities who gained prominence after helping to bring the Bravo network back to life. He also hosted a couple of shows on the network, including the popular nightly series Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. After rising to the position of head of production and development at ...
Tracing Isha Sesays Career Until CNN, Her Worth And Why She Divorce Her Husband As far as journalists of African origin go, Isha Sesay is one of the most famous on the continent and by extension, the world. The Sierra Leonean and British journalist has had a successful career since she joined the industry in 1998. In that time, she has worked for a host of major media ...
Open Secrets of How Joanna Gaines Balances Her Career With Being a Wife and Mother Joanna Gaines is the co-founder of Magnolia Homes, a business she runs with one goal: converting houses to homes. She doubles as the lead designer of the company which she co-owns with her husband, Chip Gaines. Lady Gaines gained massive popularity when she became a co-star with her husband on the HGTVs show, Fixer Upper. ...
Juicy Details of Ayesha Currys Love Story With Stephen, Her Family Members and Recent Pursuits When your husband is one of the greatest basketballers that the NBA has ever seen, then it bestows on you the status of a celebrity wife and may not even demand that you do anything extra to maintain that status. However, Ayesha Curry, the wife of multiple NBA champion, Steph Curry, is not one ...
What Is Tarek el Moussas Ethnicity, Why Did He Divorce His Wife and Who Is He Dating? Tarek El Moussa has made himself one of the most recognizable men on reality television, especially to fans of HGTV. Thanks to his expertise in the world of real estate, Tarek has become a national star. But even to his hardcore followers, there are questions about Tarek El Moussa that remain unanswered, such as his ...
Fun Facts About Natalie Beckers Lonely Childhood and Eventual Career Success Natalie Becker is an actress of South African descent who became famous for her appearance in films like The World Unseen and The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior. A multitalented individual, Natalie is also a television/radio presenter. She is also a co-founder of the Thought Leader Global Media which she runs together with ...
Top 3 Female CNN News Anchors You Didnt Know Were Africans CNN is one of the leading news agencies in the world. The satellite and cable news network was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner and has been one of the best sources of news for a number of years. It also boasts of the best journalists and presenters all around in media broadcasting. The company is a ...
Channels That Aided Katie Pavlichs Growth as a Journalist and All About Her Marriage To Friedson If you have ever come across any Fast and Furious featuring Barack Obama, it is the handiwork of Katie Pavlich. The book which claims to have exposed Obamas bloodiest scandal and the shameless cover-up thereof, has been earning Pavlich much praise and fame ever since it was published in 2012. Nonetheless, Pavlich is more famed ...
Is Oprah Winfrey Married? Husband, Children, Biography, House, Facts Oprah Winfrey is a billionaire philanthropist, talk show icon, producer, actress, and writer. The media icon famously dubbed The Queen Of All Media owns and hosts the highest-rated television program in the media circle. Read more about the powerful television star below. Oprah Winfrey Biography Oprah was born as Orpah Gail Winfrey on January 29, 1954, to a ...
Who Is Arsenio Hall, What Happened To His Talk Show and Why Do Fans Think He Is Gay? He is one of the funniest beings to have graced the comedy constituent of the American entertainment industry. Arsenio Hall has a reputation for the rib-cracking disposition always portrayed in his comedy roles. He is not just a comedian; he is also an actor and a former talk show host for his popular show, The ...
What Is Woah Vicky Famous For and Who Are Her Family Members? Like most social media celebrities in this digital era, Woah Vicky is one of those stars that have utilized the internet as a powerful tool to propel themselves to instant fame. The social media space, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, etc., offers lots of people the right opportunities and potentials to become superstars overnight. Not everyone achieves ...
Where Is Michael Strahan Since His Retirement From The NFL and Who Is His Partner? Michael Strahan is a retired American football player turned media personality. He played the defensive lineman position and holds the record for most sacks in a single NFL season. He also only played for the New York Giants throughout the entire 15-year professional career that saw him win a Super Bowl ring. In February 2014, ...
How Wendy Williams Went From Being a College DJ to Having Her Own Talk Show and More About Her Divorce Wendy Williams is a former radio personality, now talk show host, who is known for her outspokenness and brash no-nonsense attitude. She gained fame and notoriety for her on-air clashes with celebrities before moving on to host her own talk show. Since 2008, Williams has hosted the nationally syndicated television talk show, The Wendy Williams Show. ...
Who is Sunny Hostin? Her Husband, Family & Net Worth Sunny Hostin is no ordinary Latina American lawyer but also a successful columnist, multi-platform journalist, and social commentator. A happily married woman and mother of two, Hostin is the Senior Legal Correspondent and Analyst for ABC News and co-host of ABCs popular morning talk show, The View. She is a legal expert popularly known as a former ...
Who Is Robert Costa and Is He Married, Who Is His Wife? Robert Costa is a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC who is regarded as being part of Americas next generation of journalists. The University of Notre Dame graduate, who is of Italian/Portuguese descent, has been lauded for his fresh political perspectives in an industry full of old heads. In addition to his work listed above, Costa ...
Team Valor Pokemon Go 7 Key Facts You Need To Know Team Valor Pokemon Go The craze of the new game Pokemon Go is one that took the gaming world by storm sending teenagers and adults alike into a frenzy and one of its teams Team Valor, has proven to be instrumental in making it so. Before the game was created, Pokemon was a cartoon ...
Sheryl Underwood Husband, Family & Net Worth She is known for her trademark smile which can be described as the brightest and broadest smile ever seen on planet earth. She is none other than Sheryl Underwood the comedian, actress, and TV host whose funny wits has left America in great awe. Although Sheryl has risen to become an important personality in the industry, ...
Team Mystic Pokemon Go: 7 Facts You Need To Know And Signs You Are One Team Mystic of the break out game Pokemon Go is a team that is full of sass and chivalry. With an enchanting monicker, Team Mystic stands out from the rest of its counterparts and deserves to take the crown as champion in the Pokemon gaming-verse. To be a member of this exceptional team of Pokemon battle ...
Exploring Guy Beahms Dr Disrespect Persona, Wife and Why He was Banned Permanently From Twitch Guy Beahm who is popularly known by his online alias Dr DisRespect, is an award-winning Twitch.tv streamer. He has leveraged on the Twitch platform to become an internet personality that is quite widely known. His online success is just more proof that anyone who is good at what they do can attain celebrity status ...
Critical Facts About Lee Ann McAdoo The Infowars Anchor Lee Ann Mcadoo is a conservative journalist and television host whose interests in conspiracies and astrology has established her as a famous American reporter. Often referred to as Wonder Woman, McAdoo is a reporter who works for InfoWars.com, a controversial right-wing website run by radio show host, Alex Jones. Who Is Lee Ann McAdoo? Lee Ann McAdoo was born on 7 ...
Millie Weaver Age, Husband & Infowars Career Millie Weaver is an American model, journalist, political activist, and social commentator. The young and beautiful journalist rose to fame working as a reporter for a controversial right-wing website InfoWars.com. Also known as Millennial Millie, Weaver is a social media influencer with over 100,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel and over 35,000 followers on Twitter. Who Is Millie Weaver and What Is ...
Is Jessica Tarlov Married? What Are Her Height & Weight? Jessica Tarlov is an American political consultant, strategist, and analyst whose influential and regular TV presence has made a popular figure. A good example of beauty with brains, Tarlov has appeared on various TV networks, mostly the FOX News Network where she is known for her liberal views on political analysis and insights. She is also the senior director ...
Who Is Kelly Rebecca Nichols Alex Jones Ex-Wife? Kelly Rebecca Nichols is the ex-wife of controversial American radio show host, Alex Jones. She got nationwide attention following her divorce and subsequent custody battle with her estranged husband. Nichols, who worked with PETAs public relations department, was herself no stranger to controversies as she was involved in several publicity stunts of the non-profit animal rights ...
Who Is Bree Morgan Cole Sprouse Ex-Girlfriend And What Is She Up To Now? Although Bree Morgan became famous through the Instagram, she also sapped some dose of popularity from Disneys sweetheart, Cole Sprouse of the Sprouse brothers. She is not only an Instagram star but also a YouTube vlogger whose popularity has long exceeded the ordinary level. Bree is conspicuously prominent on the internet and has her digital savviness ...
Does Vanna White Have Husband or Children, What Is Her Net Worth / Salary? For over three decades, Vanna White has been a household name, famous as the co-host and letter turner of the iconic NBC game show Wheel of Fortune. The talented and beautiful television personality is also an actress with several TV series and films to her credit. Since making her Wheel of Fortune debut in 1982, she has become one ...
Liz Wheeler Biography, Husband & Net Worth Liz Wheeler is the kind of girl who sets the room on fire whenever she comes around. In this situation, however, she sets our screens on fire each time she appears as the host of One America News Tipping Point. She is, therefore, a presenter, publisher, consultant and a member of the Board of Zoning ...
Betty White Net Worth, Children & Husband The entertainment industry will remain indebted to personalities like Betty White who brought something extra to the table and kept the world entertained for donkey years. The comedienne, actress, and writer graced the big screens in the early 50s as a show host and has been a delight since then. She is the queen of ...
Is Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Dead or Alive, What Are His Net Worth & Education? Everyone will always remember Bill Nye as the Science Guy. Besides his TV show Bill Nye the Science Guy, he is well-known for his Netflix show Bill Nye Saves the World which started airing in 2017 as well as his appearances in many famous media projects as a science educator. The star studied mechanical engineering ...
Is Cesar Millan Dead, Who Is The Wife & What Is His Net Worth? Cesar Millan is the famous dog whisperer who often stirs up mixed emotions. The Mexican-American is precisely speaking, a dog behaviorist; he has been in the game for over 25 years. His Emmy-nominated television series, Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan further pushed his method and tactics into the limelight. The series was produced from 2004 ...
Is Thomas Sanders Gay and Does He Have A Boyfriend? By the time Vine was shut down in January 2017, Thomas Sanders was already popular within and beyond the internet community for his heavy involvements on the online video hosting platform. After the tragic shutdown of Vine impacted on the growing career of the multi-talented personality, he immediately switched over to YouTube where he continued to upload ...
Is Shepard Smith Gay, Who Is The Boyfriend & What Is His Net Worth? There are only a few media personalities who are as bold and confident as Shepard Smith. Apart from his impressive stint at Fox News Channel which includes but not limited to his classic news delivery, upfront stance on virtually every issue and much more; he loves his job as much as he loves his personality. Smith ...
Is Milo Yiannopoulos Gay? His Husband and Net Worth Milo Yiannopoulos is a popular writer, journalist, polemicist, public speaker, and political commentator who is also known as the founder of The Kernel, an online blog. He has been said to be among the list of 100 weird and influential people in the United Kingdom. He appeared on this list as a result of personal beliefs and ...
Does Ryan Seacrest Have A Wife Or Girlfriend, What Is His Net Worth? From radio to television, Ryan Seacrest is a household name and a force to be reckoned with in showbiz. The radio personality, television host, and producer is best recognized as the host of the popular TV talent search contest American Idol. Heres how the media personality who always knew what his lifes ambition was and diligently pursued ...
Is Anderson Cooper Gay, Who is The Boyfriend or Husband? For many, the thought of becoming a millionaire by writing and talking about other people appears unachievable but this is the reality of the prominent American journalist Anderson Cooper who gathered millions of dollars for conducting accurate political analysis and other vital reports on TV. He is the main anchor of the CNN news show Anderson ...
Is David Muir Gay or Does He Have A Wife, What Is His Salary? David Muir is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who works for the ABC broadcast-television network and anchors the ABC World News Tonight with David Muir program while also co-anchoring the magazine program 20/20. The Ithaca College graduate, whose show has become the most-watched newscast in America, has covered stories from all across America and the world; reporting ...
Joel Osteen Divorce Rumors, Net Worth & Family Members Joel Osteen is an American Televangelist, Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church based in Houston, Texas, a husband and a father of two. He is an author of many books, seven of which are New York Times Best Sellers and his televised sermons capture more than 7 million viewers per week and 20 million every month ...
Who Is Todd Chrisley? What To Know About His Children, Gay Rumors & Net Worth Premiered on the USA network in 2014, Chrisley Knows Best is one of the most watched family reality TV shows in the U.S. The series which is currently in its sixth season is centered around U.S real estate mogul Todd Chrisley and his family. The show reveals Todd the patriarch of the Chrisley family as a strict dad who rules ...
Who Is Shannon Bream Of Fox News? Her Husband, Children & Net Worth Shannon Bream who hosts the iconic primetime program started her journalism career in the late 1990s debuting as the evening and late-night news reporter for the CBS affiliate, WBTV. The beauty from America currently works for the Fox News Channel and she is best known for anchoring the primetime program. She also hosts Americas News ...
Is Troye Sivan Gay, Who Is His Boyfriend and What Is His Net Worth? Troye Sivan is an Australian singer and songwriter best known for songs like Happy Little Pill, Youth, Heaven (with Betty Who) and The Boyfriend Tag (with Tyler Oakley) which have all garnered him different awards and ranked on the Billboard Charts. Sivan, who was born in South Africa but now resides in the United States, is ...
Did iDubbbz Have Cancer, Is He Gay and Who Is His Girlfriend Now? iDubbbz is one YouTuber who has made a career out of courting controversy. Renowned for his absurdist channels and comedy video series, the Los Angeles based personality is the owner of two channels, iDubbzTV, and iDubbzTV2, as well as the brains behind comedy video series such as Content Cop, Kickstarter Crap, Gaming News Crap, and ...
Inside Greg Gutfelds Love Story With Wife Elena Moussa and Why Fans Thought He Was Gay Greg Gutfeld is a seasoned American television producer whose career in the media industry has spanned over a decade. He is a man of many talents who makes extra income through comedy, journalism, and editorial works. Gutfeld regularly appears on Fox News Channel as a panellist and co-host of the political talk show The Five ...
Works That Made Bo Burnham A Household Name and How Much He Is Worth Now One of YouTubes first viral stars and the worlds most exciting young comedian, Bo Burnham, has always amazed critics and comedy aficionados alike. Often regarded as the Justin Bieber of comedy, thanks to his fresh looks, floppy blond hair and hoodies, he has a multi-faceted career bigger than many comedians twice his age. It wouldnt ...
Is Louie Anderson Gay And What Is His Net Worth? Louie Anderson has one of the most abstract faces in the industry and equally knows how to use it to his advantage. He is not only a stand-up comedian but also an actor and television host who is known for his distinctive comic wits. Some of his notable projects include Family Feud, where he was ...
Is Don Lemon of CNN Gay, Who is His Partner and What Is His Salary? Don Lemon has risen to become one of the most recognizable faces on CNN over the past few years. The fiery journalist, who anchors CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, is liked and somewhat disliked for his strong and candid opinions on a variety of matters that do not just include politics but also race, significantly, matters that ...
Is Rachel Maddow Gay, Who is the Wife and How Much Does She Earn in Salary? Rachel Maddow is an award-winning American journalist, political commentator, and television news anchor. She is best known for hosting the popular nightly TV show The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Prior to this, she hosted a talk radio program on Air America Radio from 2005 to 2010. As of now, the TV sensation co-anchors MSNBCs ...
Demystifying Pokimane Her Real Name, Ethnicity & Boyfriend Like most social media celebrities in this digital era, Pokimane Thicc is one of those stars who took advantage of the internet to make a name for herself. Given the unlimited potentials which the social media space offers, many people have been instantly propelled to fame just by posting creative online contents. Not only has ...
A Breakdown of Kris Jenners Net Worth, Sources Of Income and Relationships Over The Years Standing outside and looking in, Kris Jenner looks like the oil that greases the wheels of the entire Kardashian/Jenner machine. She has been dubbed a momager and rightfully so because she seems to have had a part to play in the trajectory of each and every one of her daughters individually and the Kardashian brand ...
Pursuits That Brought Liza Koshys Fame To its Zenith and Her Love Life Since David Dobrik Liza Koshy is an American actress who has leveraged YouTube as a platform to promote her comedy while also serving as a television host on occasions. She is talented and funny and has gathered a lot of fans from around the world. Koshy started on Vine in high school and was able to get millions of ...
Alex Aiono Biography Inside The Life Of The American Singer Not everyone who started from the streets has attained the heights where Alex Aiono is currently. His story could be referred to as the perfect definition of rising from Grass to Grace. He came into the limelight after he started out as a YouTuber, singer, and producer. One fascinating thing about the young YouTuber is ...
Virginia Vallejo Biography And Her Love Story With Pablo Escobar Virginia Vallejo can be referred to as one of the oldest whistleblowers in history after her involvement with Pablo Escobar which made her famous. Over the years, many questions have been raised about her relationship with the drug lord and why she endangered her life to be with him despite his notorious acts. The death ...
Princess Love Bio Ethnicity, Real Name & Parents For many people, Princess Love is simply Ray Js wife but there is so much more to this feisty lady than meets the eye. She is a star in her own right and has many feathers on her cap. Princess Love is a reality TV star, a model, video vixen, and fashion designer. She and her ...
Who is Papa Franku Also Known As Filthy Frank or Joji, Where is He Now? The social media as we all know today has given people the opportunity to be creative and innovative and at the same time, make something of themselves. YouTube is one of the known social platforms we have today that makes it possible for people to express their God-given talents and post videos they created to ...
Who Is Molly Qerim, How Did She Become a Famous Sports Anchor and Who Is Her Husband? Molly Qerim is an American sports anchor popularly known for moderating First Take, a highly rated sports talk show, on ESPN. Prior to joining ESPN, Qerim hosted Fantasy Live and NFL AM on NFL Network. It is quite obvious that the widely acclaimed television personality is in a class of her own when it comes ...
Safiya Nygaard Height, Parents & Net Worth Safiya Nygaard is an American YouTuber, writer, content producer, and director who is popular for posting makeup, beauty and fashion videos on YouTube. Her videos regularly top at least one million views, thanks to her lively character as well as her willingness to experiment with outrageous outfits and different beauty products. Here are the things to ...
The Rigors of Sunlen Serfatys Career Journey Until CNN and Fun Facts About Her Personal Life CNN correspondent, Sunlen Serfaty is an Emmy Award-winning journalist known for covering a broad range of breaking news stories, national news, and Washington politics. She has been able to garner widespread recognition for herself which even goes beyond the sphere of her work. Her profile also increased with the extensive work she did in covering ...
Demystifying Jazz Jennings Real Name, Boyfriend & Family Of One The Youngest Transgenders Jazz Jennings is an unusual personality who became famous as a transgender activist and was recorded as the youngest documented public figure to be seen as transgender. She is also a YouTube personality and spokesmodel for brands, her fans, and other transgenders. She fought for acceptance in her high school with her super supportive family for over ...
Inside Fred Armisens Life Ethnicity, Romantic Relationships and Gay Rumors Fred Armisen is an award-winning American comedian, he is also a writer, an actor as well as a musician. He was a cast member of the legendary comedy show, Saturday Night Live for 13 years and also one of the brains behind the successful satirical show Portlandia. Find out more about this incredibly talented guy ...
Ed and Lorraine Warren Biography: Cases, Kids, and Family Life Have you ever woken up with fear you could not explain, or felt a strange presence that made the hair at your nape rise or even experienced strange occurrences around you? Well, these were some of the promptings that made the well-known paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren delve into trying to explain the ideas ...
Truth About Tony Romos Wife, Kids and Life Since His NFL Retirement Tony Romo grew from the field as a quarterback to the screens as an American Football Analyst. He was a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the richest football league in the world (NFL) before retiring. As a junior, he was honored as an All-Ohio Conference Member, an Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and ...
Who is Brittany Venti, The Controversial Game Streamer and YouTuber? In recent times, many people live stream themselves playing video games. This has become a popular pastime on the internet and many highly skilled gamers have become internet celebrities through this means. However, some of them rather than becoming renowned for their gaming skills and great commentary, have become controversial and infamous. A good example ...
Rob Dyrdeks Family: His Kids And Relationship With Wife Bryiana Noelle Flores A multi-talented star and an elite pro skateboarder, Rob Dyrdeks success story began at a remarkably young age. Yet another proof that schooling doesnt always correlate with success, Rob has established himself not just as a phenomenal sportsman but also as a successful entrepreneur. Besides perfecting his skill as a natural talent on the board, ...
xChocobars Biography and Everything You Should Know About Her Having distinguished herself and recorded massive successes in an industry notably dominated by men, it is very safe to say that Xchocobars deserves all the attention and cash she makes from her career. A household name on Twitch (a smart live streaming video platform), the online-gamer is popularly known for streaming classic games such as Stardew ...
Everything To Know About Mary Padian, Her Boyfriend and Net Worth Mary Padian is a famous American television reality personality best known for her involvements on the Reality show Storage Wars. She also has her own shop called Mary finds where she displays her antique collections. Since her childhood, Padian has been a creative learner. At the time, she used to create new items out of reusable ones and ...
Betsy Woodruffs Family Life: Is She Married or Related To Bob Woodruff? An old name in the world of journalism, Betsy Woodruff has warmed her way into the hearts of many with her impressive talents. Through hard work, Woodruff has carved a niche for herself in a very competitive field. Betsy has strong family and work values and is also an advocate for equal opportunities for everyone ...
Matpat (Matthew Patrick) Wife, Height & Net Worth As far as internet business is concerned, Matpat remains one of the most dynamic and seasoned figures. He boasts a wealth of experience that has helped him in growing his business from one level of greatness to another. Like most successful people, MatPat started out small but today, he makes millions of dollars from his ...
Facts About Ricegum His Girlfriend, Real Name & Net Worth Ricegum is an online gamer and YouTube sensation who ditched college; took advantage of the digital era, and made a name for himself on the internet. Though he began as a gaming YouTuber, Ricegum soon gained recognition as a controversial internet star following his many diss tracks. Here is everything you need to know about the youngster ...
Joy Taylor Once Married MLBs Richard Giannotti Inside Look At Her Love Life and Family The erosion of the sexist idea that women have no business in sports broadcasting created a host of women celebrities who attained fame outside of modeling and acting. One of them, Joy Taylor, a radio personality and TV host for Fox Sports 1, has been in the industry since 2009, becoming one of the most ...
What To Know About Conan OBriens Wife, Kids & Family Today The name Conan OBrien is one that jumps right at you almost immediately you start talking about the most popular television hosts in the USA and this is no surprise because the man behind that name has risen to become one of the most admired men in the business. Known for hosting the late-night talk ...
David Letterman Net Worth, Wife & Son In all of American, one man whose face has been seen frequently by late night TV talk show lovers is none but David Letterman. The comedian and TV show veteran has been hosting late night talk shows for more than three decades. His Late Night with David Letterman show began on February 1st, 1982 aired ...
Demystifying Sssniperwolfs Family Background And The Boyfriends Shes Had Since she launched her eponymously named channel in 2013, Sssniperwolf has been on the rise when it comes to video game influencers. She is one of the biggest names in the online gaming subgenre of YouTube videos. Real name Lia Shelesh, she started with Call of Duty: Black Ops II but has diversified with other ...
Lester Holt Wife, Family & Net Worth Lester Holt is a multiple award-winning journalist, newscaster, reporter, and actor who has worked for notable media houses like WCBS TV, CBS, MSNBC and among others. His remarkable feat in journalism has endeared him to the hearts of many and earned him some awards and recognitions. Read on to get acquainted with his biography, ethnicity, ...
What Is Louis C.K. Doing Now, Where Are His Family And How Much Is His Net Worth? It is not easy to make it in comedy. It takes more than a funny bone and the ability to elicit a few giggles from a listening audience. For all the complexities that go into making a successful career in comedy, Louis C.K, the Washington D.C-born comedian, did it. For years, he was at the ...
The Progression of Hoda Kotbs Career, Her Ancestry and Family Life Hoda Kotb gained fame as a television host and news anchor for NBC. She anchors the shows signature show Today, and it has been an excellent vehicle for her skills in front of a camera. Kotb has won several awards, including Daytime Emmys and Peabody Awards. Simply put, she is one of the most successful ...
Jerry Seinfelds Family: All About The Amazing Comedians Wife and Kids Apparently one of the highly important entertainers in America, Jerry Seinfeld is a man of many talents. A very funny man, he is considered to be one of the most successful comedians in the USA who has been in the business as a professional rib-cracker for more than 40 years. As an actor, he has ...
The Rigors Of Sarah Silvermans Rise To Prominence And Rundown Of The Men She Has Dated A comedian, writer, and actress, Sarah Silvermans art and craft is as unique as you would ever find. Her poignant use of comedy to discuss social issues such as race, sexism, politics, and religion has gained her an impressive following. As unorthodox as her style is, so is her life experiences. She previously suffered from epiglottitis ...
Who Is Hannibal Buress, Does He Have A Wife or Girlfriend & Why Was He Arrested? Making people laugh when they are tense or not in the mood is a tough order and to ply the trade, it must indeed take some guts and expertise, this is what the humor maker, Hannibal Buress has been able to achieve and sustain after his inital teething process. The African-American is a screen writer, stand-up ...
The Success of John Mulaneys Career Efforts Since His Work On Saturday Night Live and Facts About His Wife John Mulaney had been working as a professional comedian for years before Saturday Night Live changed his status for life and like many who are now his fans, you probably did not know of him then. However, that changed when he joined the sketch comedy show in 2008. Since then, he has been one of ...
Jeff Dunham Wife, Children and Net Worth Ventriloquism is a very subtle method of making an inanimate object (like a puppet, doll or dummy) appear to be saying words which are actually coming from the person (holding the inanimate object). In effect, the individual throws his/her voice to the puppet and can even appear to be having a conversation with it. Not ...
Ellen DeGeneres Net Worth, Wife Portia de Rossi & Parents Ellen DeGeneres is an American female standup comedian who has proven that whatever a man can do, a woman can also do. Since her journey as a standup comedian started in 1981, she has held swirl as one of the finest comedians America and the world at large has seen. She is often referred to ...
Revisiting Joan Rivers Death The Daughter, Husband & Net Worth She Left Behind Joan Rivers was a renowned American comedian, TV host, writer, and actress. Her brand of comedy consisted of scathing one-liners and no individual or topic is spared. She hosted her own talk shows in the 80s and 90s and was a pioneer for women in stand up comedy. She was the first woman to host a late night ...
The Struggles of Margaret Chos Childhood, How It Influenced Her Career Growth and Love Life Margaret Cho is best described as a comic star who knows how to maneuver everything related to life into a rib-cracking joke. She is also known to criticize every social and political problem, especially those involving race and sexuality. Apart from her talents as a comic actress, she does amazingly well as a singer and ...
Where Is Eric Bolling Today? Who Is His Son & What Is His Net Worth? Eric Bolling who was once a notable figure on Fox News, is an American TV personality, an author, and versatile Journalist. As a political and financial analyst/commentator, he anchored discussions bothering on finance for Fox Business Channel. Here is everything there is to know about his career, family, and allegations that led to his exit ...
Who Is Chelsea Handler and Does She Have A Husband or Boyfriend? Chelsea Handler is one of Americas top female comedians. She is also an actress, writer, television host, producer, and activist. She is known to be very outspoken even with things that are very personal. In separate interviews with The New York Times, Handler revealed that she had an abortion twice when she was 16. She has authored five books ...
How Did Laura Lee Achieve Fame, How Much is She Worth and Who is Her Husband? Laura Lee is a popular American YouTuber, make-up artist and beauty blogger. From posting videos of her makeup routines on Instagram, Lee has transformed into a beauty influencer and a YouTube sensation. Today, her YouTube Channel has over 630 million views and 4.5 million subscribers. Asides having millions of followers across all social media platforms, ...
Madison Gesiotto Bio Ethnicity, Parents & Measurements Madison Gesiotto is no ordinary woman; although she excelled in quite a number of pageants and competitions while she was in school, it is her views on politics and issues in America that has made her name known to most people. She possesses beauty and intelligence in a seemingly equal measure and has been able ...
Who Is Lil Tay? Parents, Brother, Sister, Age, Net Worth, Ethnicity Child stardom is nothing new in the entertainment world. With the advent of social media, we have seen more stars made from the internet than ever before, and Lil Tay is one of them. Her uploaded rap videos trademark is cursing, swearing, cash-throwing, and use of obscene languages. Her fame went wild after she dropped ...
What To Know About Tig Notaros Wife, Kids and Family Today Tig Notaro is an American stand-up comic star, writer, actress, and radio analyst. Since she started her career in 2001, she has become one of Americas best comedians, particularly when it comes to observational comedy. One prominent aspect of her routine involves her family, which includes a wife and two children. Interestingly, Tig Notaro is part ...
Who Is Chantel Jeffries? What To Know About Her Age, Ethnicity & Net Worth Chantel Jeffries is a lady of many talents. Beyond being celebrated as a DJ, she has fared well as a model, an actress, musician, and as an artist. She first rose to fame on Instagram where she has a large following. However, in recent times, she has hit the spotlight for her rumored relationships with some ...
Is Ellen DeGeneres Married, Who Is The Brother Vance DeGeneres and Family Members? Ellen DeGeneres is one of a kind celebrity in todays world as she has used her wealth for the greater good for many people. She has served a host of famous awards shows like the Grammy, Primetime Emmy and Academy Awards. Moreso, she is probably one of the most decorated entertainment personalities around the world and ...
Carli Bybel Bio Height, Boyfriend & Net Worth Video blogging is now on the rise and YouTube is the place where most of it happens. If you are a lady who cares about her looks or a guy who likes to help his woman out with her looks, then one person whose name rings a bell when it comes to giving beauty tips ...
Who Is Lexy Panterra? What To Know About Her Ethnicity, Boyfriend & Net Worth Lexy Panterra is one of the YouTube personalities whose breakout came through the Twerk dance videos she posted on her social media handles and YouTube which has so far generated over 13 million views for her. From there on, she created her LexTwerkOut workout program in 2014. She is sure very talented as she as moved ...
Who Is AnneMunition? What Is Her Ethnicity & Does She Have A Girlfriend or Boyfriend? AnneMunition is a professional gamer and content creator of American origin. She is one of the most sought-after streamers on Twitch a popular online platform for watching and streaming videos, especially video games. AnneMunition has almost half a million followers on Twitch and her channel has accumulated at least 13 million views. Her favorite games ...
Norm MacDonald Former Wife, Son & Net Worth Recently, 59-year-old former Saturday Night Live stand-up comic Norm MacDonald caused a not-so-funny stir when he expressed his personal opinion about the #MeToo movement speaking in defense of Louis CK and Roseanne Barr. Following the backlash of his actions, he is diligently doing damage control for his questionable opinion by posting a public apology on ...
Inside Iliza Shlesingers Life With Husband and How Much She is Worth Now Witty, spontaneous, and truly humorous, Iliza Shlesinger is an American comedian who is clearly proving that the stereotypical claim that women are not really funny is not only incredibly wrong but completely outrageous. Having been in the game for more than 10 years, Shlesinger has grown bigger with each step, stunning fans with her incredible ...
Who Is Nessa Diab? Details of her Parents, Ethnicity & Relationship With Colin Kaepernick Nessa Diab has gained more fame as the girlfriend of different footballers than in her career. She is currently with the popular National Football League (NFL) player, Colin Kaepernick, and has stood by his side during his most trying times. Also known for her mononym, Nessa, she recently engaged in a tweet battle with the ...
Samantha Bee Inside the Life of Full Frontal Comedian and Presenter We have over the decades seen various brands of humor and personalities who have walked the ropes. One of the formidable forces in the world of comedy is no other than the iconic Samantha Bee of the Daily Show who now runs her own television show on TBS channel. She is a Canadian-American political commentator, ...
What Happened To Jessica Williamss Boyfriend And Which Are Her Best Works? Jessica Williams is a woman who has a lot of feathers in her cap and keeps acquiring more. The former senior political correspondent of the comic Daily Show, who is also a comedian and actress whose recent movie appearance include starring as a playwright just recovering from a recent split with her boyfriend, Damon, and ...
Who is Nicole Byer? Here are 5 Facts You Need To Know About The Comedian Nicole Byer, an American comedian, actress, and writer, made a name for herself after she played supporting roles on MTVs prank show Ladylike and the reality show Girl Code. The latter was a series that featured comedians who analyzed in minute details, all the issues that young women deal with daily, from period to dating, to weird friendship dynamics and questions about sex. Currently, ...
A Closer Look At Bart Kwans Ethnicity, Height & Personal Life Bart Kwan is one of few Asians who is known for being successful in the comic industry at an international level. His fame broke out after the YouTube channel which he created with his close pal Joe Jo garnered up massive followings. The talented duo has been running the channel since 2007 and their success ...
Heres How VanossGaming Achieved Fame Online, His Worth and Other Facts About The Gamer For many years, the decision to drop out of college to pursue an online career was considered to be foolish and self-destructive by conventional wisdom. It was no different when Evan Fong, popularly known as VanossGaming, dropped out of college to pursue a YouTube career. However, that radical move paid off, and he stands shoulder to ...
Desi Perkins Ethnicity, Net Worth & Husband YouTube is littered with videos of makeup tutorials by different people but if you are interested in learning how to do your makeup like a pro, there is just one person on that platform who you must follow. She is none other than Desi Perkins! She is a popular make-up artist, Instagram star, and vlogger. Desi, ...
The Phases of Casey Neistats Pursuits and His Love Story With Candice Pool YouTuber, vlogger, filmmaker, and creator extraordinaire; these are just a few hats that Casey Neistat wears and the story of how he got here is incredible. A native of Connecticut, Neistat started out by making refreshingly-authentic short films and videos that featured content that was based on everyday life and called attention to serious issues. He ...
Connor Franta Inside The Life of American YouTuber YouTube has produced a lot of young celebrities in modern times and Connor Franta happens to be one of them. Apart from being a YouTuber, the young American is also an entrepreneur, entertainer, and writer. His journey to fame began almost a decade ago when he started a self-named YouTube channel where he uploads content ranging ...
Rhett and Link Bio, Who are Their Wives, Net Worth and Family Facts Rhett and Link refer to an American comedy duo who are very popular on YouTube. They are known for their comic songs, viral commercials, skits and the daily show, Good Mythical Morning. Good Mythical Morning is the most watched daily show online, averaging 100 million views in a month. The show has featured guests such ...
A Walk Through The Maze of Ryan Higas Career Pursuits And Relationship With Arden Cho Ryan Higa is not only celebrated as a YouTube star, but he is also famed for appearing on television screens as an actor and comedian. Nigahiga, his Youtube channel, has gathered over 20 million subscribers and billions of views with his different comic acts, short films, and music videos uploads. With the rise in his career, ...
What to Know About The Shows That Made Craig Ferguson a Star and His Family Ties Rising to the top of your profession can sometimes be a hard and difficult process. It requires days and nights of working consistently hard to be better than what you were yesterday. It requires not giving up when all of your experiences seem to be pushing you to quit. It is because of these challenges ...
David Dobrik Married Liza Koshy for One Month Inside His Family and Relationships David Dobrik is a YouTube sensation who has garnered fame not just for his vlogs but his love life too. Given his career as a YouTuber, his channel is one place where he shares his romantic escapades. With a cute boyish look like his, this Slovakian young man is definitely a good catch, and not ...
Merrell Twins Bio Ethnicity, Parents & Boyfriend One of the beautiful things about modern life is social media. As rudimentary as it might seem, it could turn out to be the greatest thing that would be invented in the next 50 years because of its impact on human life. Very few tools have revolutionized human behavior and culture as much as social ...
Who Is Bunny Meyer, Is She Married & What Is Her Net Worth? Bunny Meyer is a YouTube celebrity who has amassed over 8.8 million subscribers with 1.5 million viewers on her channel. She is popularly known as Grav3yardgirl and is one of the highest-paid YouTubers in the world. She initially started out as a fashion designer and later chose the path of a YouTuber. Grav3yardgirl has used her knowledge on fashion, makeup, ...
Ninja Inside The Life of The American YouTuber and Internet Personality Ninja is a talented video game player known for his mastery of Fortnite and other seemingly difficult games he plays with ease. The video gamer made a career out of what is ordinarily the hobby of many people and has since then amassed a huge online following. Find out about him here, including the controversies that ...
What Is Eva Gutowskis True Sexuality and How Did She Rise So Fast As an Influencer? Ever since Eva Gutowski joined YouTube in 2011, it has been an interesting journey for her, moving from one milestone to the other. Backed by an army of young women and teenage girl fans known as Evanators, she has risen to become one of the most-talked-about personalities in the digital stratosphere. She has also leveraged ...
Emma Chamberlain Biography Age, Height & Net Worth Before now, people in the entertainment industry could only achieve popularity after many years of dedication and hard work but since social media came into the scene, massive success and overnight popularity became possible. That is the story of Emma Chamberlain who encountered fame as a fifteen-year-old. Emma is one of the many young people who became ...
Anna Akana Ethnicity, Boyfriend & Net Worth There is a new crop of YouTubers known by their different contents with a very strong uniqueness that stands every one of them out, some upload video games, some fashion while some others have comedy video contents to showcase on their channels. Anna Akana has used her platform to showcase her comedy contents to the ...
Revealing Truths About Lilly Singhs Ethnic Background, Family and Her Relationship With Yousef Erakat Lilly Singh is an Indian-Canadian YouTube personality, actress, and comedian also known as Superwoman. She kicked off her YouTube career in 2010 with the launch of her channel IISuperwomanII and followed it up with a vlog channel in 2011. This paved the way for her fame and success which led to a world tour. The ...
Who Is Andrea Constand, Is She Married and What Is Her Connection With Bill Cosby? Many people got sexually molested but could not voice out due to the stigma victims suffer and what will become of them thereafter. Very few of the victims danm every consequence to seek justice and bring the perpetrator to the book, like Andrea Constand. She never got any media buzz, not until her friend cum molester; ...
Who Is Lazarbeam (Lannan Eacott)? Here Are Facts You Need To Know Lannan Eacott became a person of interest after his YouTube channel, LazarBeam pulled him to the limelight. Initially, he started with uploads of Madden Challenge videos before deciding to build his own channel in January 2015. Within the space of three years, his YouTube channel had gathered over 7 million loyal subscribers. Today, he has not ...
Puzzling Facts About Wengies YouTube Success and More About Her Fiance Among the many YouTubers who have succeeded in winning the hearts of millions of people is Wengie. She is a Chinese-Australian YouTube personality, vlogger, singer, and voice actress. Wengie is famous for a lot of things, from her simple life hacks, DIYs, craft ideas to fun experiments, tricks and pranks. Her content portfolio also includes hair tutorials, diet & fitness tips, lookbooks, ...
Is Jeffree Star A Billionaire and How Much Does He Make On YouTube? If looks can be deceptive then theres no other person who proves this maxim better than Jeffree Star. A quick look at Stars pictures would likely leave you wondering whether or not to tag him a male or female. But who says being controversial has to be a curse? For Star, his looks have caught ...
The Place of Rosanna Pansinos Career Hats In Her Rise To Fame and Facts About Her Personal Life There are a few phrases that could summarize Rosanna Pansinos rise to fame. None of them can do it better than the famous axiom, no knowledge is lost. Her popularity YouTube comes out of her foray into other professions, specifically acting. Although acting now occupies one of the major professional hats in Rosannas resume, it was ...
Muselk (Elliott Watkins) Biography Age, Girlfriend and Net Worth The new and best in-thing in terms of career is video gaming and we have over time seen young men and women make massive income from an activity that was purportedly designed to serve as a hobby or a relaxation activity. One of such individuals is the Australian-born YouTube Celebrity and Twitch streamer, Muselk, whose ...
PopularMMOs Biography: 5 Interesting Facts You Need To Know We have over the years seen social media millionaires, especially on the YouTube social platform. These celebrities cum millionaires have made names for themselves after carving out niches on the internet, and a typical example of one of such exciting media personality on the YouTube is American Minecraft gamer and YouTube star, PopularMMOs whose channel ...
Jason Nash Once Married Marney Hochman What To Know About His Ex-Wife and Kids The now-defunct video-sharing app Vine was the path that led Jason Nash to fame. With it, he built an audience of over two million followers, which he parlayed into a significant YouTube career. That move has seen him become one of the most popular personalities on the internet, with the cash income to go with ...
Where Does Dantdm Live? What Do We Know About His Net Worth, Wife and Brother? Most parents buy video games for their kids to occupy their time leisure, while other parents frown at their kids when they play video games. Despite the disparity, every parent would be proud of their child if he/she eventually turns a celebrity or millionaire through playing video games like Dantdm. Biography of Dantdm Dantdm was born Daniel ...
LaurDIY Biography: 5 Facts You Need To Know About The YouTuber LaurDIY is the YouTube channel of Lauren Riihimaki which she created on December 1, 2011, when she was still a college undergrad with the sole aim of giving Do It Yourself (DIY) as well as practical fashion and beauty tips to her followers. She has used the channel to establish herself as a YouTube personality ...
Lachlan Ross Power Bio And Family Life Of Australian The YouTube Star It is amazing the varied sources of income that the internet has made possible in this day and age. Internet fame can get its holder a whole lot of monetary and social benefits, but it must be noted that it does not come easy or cheap. For those who desire fame, content is the sacrifice ...
Alfie Deyes Bio and Net Worth: Everything You Need To Know Alfie Deyes is one internet personality you definitely would like to know about. He boasts of over 10 million subscribers on three of his YouTube channels and has three bestseller books to his name. He is probably the most renowned young personality on YouTube today and his vlogging empire continues to grow by the day. ...
Colleen Ballingers Love Story With Husband Erik Stocklin and How Much She Is Worth Now Colleen Ballinger is an American comedian and YouTuber who is a very funny, adventurous, and highly talented woman. She is also an actress, singer, and writer. Collen is widely known for her work on YouTube where she posts content on her channel, Miranda Sings. The comedian has gained many subscribers over the years and has ...
Who Are The Dude Perfect Members and How Much Are They Worth? Entertainment in the 21st century can be digested in many forms and with platforms like YouTube, the creators and purveyors of entertainment have been democratized. Today, one of the most popular platforms to exhibit ones creative talents is YouTube, even though there are other platforms like Twitter, Facebook, who suffer in comparison to YouTube because ...
Who Is Rudy Mancuso, What Is His Earning Power and What Do We Know About His Girlfriend? Rudy Mancuso started his internet journey on Vine. He would later transition to YouTube where he solidified his place among the internets most beloved comedic creators. He is now regarded as one of the renowned internet personalities in the world, with a presence in mainstream TV and film projects like Comedy Centrals Drunk History and ...
Vsauce (Michael Stevens) Biography and Net Worth: All You Need To Know The advent of YouTube and the internet as a whole revolutionized how human beings consume information. With each passing year, the percentage of learning that is done in a traditional classroom decrease as a seismic shift to internet-based learning happens in our education industry. From open courses online to YouTube classes and videos, there are ...
How did Jake Paul Make His YouTube Big Break and Who is His Wife? One of the most interesting Social Media personalities of the 21st century is the young and popular Jake Paul whose elder brother is the famed Vine star, Logan Paul. Jake has utilized the power of the internet to bring himself to the limelight with a channel named JakePaulProductions that has amassed up to six billion ...
5 Facts You Need To Know About Reaction Time (Tal Fishman) The American YouTuber Before 2015, the leading meaning of reaction time was the amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus, until Tal Fishman started his channel, Reaction Time on YouTube and the dominant meaning changed. Today, a google search of Reaction Time would deliver Tal Fishmans videos and YouTube channel link with a few physics ...
Grace Helbig Net Worth, Boyfriend and Family Life of The YouTuber Grace Helbig is an American internet personality, comedian, actress, and writer. She became popular due to her daily vlog series, DailyGrace, which ran on My Damn Channel from 2008 to 2013. Helbig is also popular for her own indie series on YouTube, ItsGrace, which she launched in 2014. Her vlogs which feature random stuff such as ...
Mark Wiens Bio Ethnicity, Wife and Parents Food is a great way to connect with people. We all love to eat, if not for the pleasure of food, the satisfaction of quenching hunger, and the very process of providing and sharing that food is part of the strongest bonds that bind humanity together. Maybe it is our historical connection to food, where ...
Is Filthy Frank Dead, What Happened To Him and How Much Is He Worth? As George Kusunoki Miller, he was a nobody. However, as Filthy Frank, George was one of the most famous internet personalities on the planet. The Filthy Frank Show, a sketch series on his YouTube channel, TVFilthyFrank, was one of the platforms most influential creations. He is the reason a crazy dance song, Harlem Shake, made it ...
CaptainSparklez Bio Net Worth, House and Cars of The Famous YouTuber Sometimes, what society wants from its citizens is quite different from what the citizens want for themselves. This is evident in the life and career of video blogger and American YouTube personality, Jordan Maron famous for his YouTube channel CaptainSparklez. He dropped out of school after discovering his talent in playing an online game called Minecraft. ...
Who is Simply Nailogical (Cristine Rotenberg)? Here are Facts You Must Know Canadian Youtube personality, Simply Nailogical (Cristine Rotenberg) originally started out polishing and designing nails even before it became a trendy culture in the social media. Simply Nailogica started out her showbiz career in her early days as a child actress, acting in commercials for game and toy companies. Aside from acting, she is blogger, vlogger, specializing ...
5 Interesting Facts You Need To Know About Huda Beauty In the world of entrepreneurship, it is interesting when an individual has a mentor who he/she looks up to, this yield more productivity on the part of the individual. The iconic and rich American beautician and makeup artist Huda Kattan nicknamed Heida is the founder of the Huda Beauty blog which is number one Instagram beauty blog ...
Is Dino MasterChef Gay? Details About His Ethnicity, Girlfriend, Where He Is Now Food, for the better part of the early years of human life, was nothing more than what we needed for survival. There was no artistry or curation to the method of cooking. The scarcity of food left no room for artistic expression until we figured out agriculture and we could make as much as we ...
Who Is Gabbie Hanna And How Did She Become Famous? As the world shifts to digital media and depends more and more on streaming services for its news and entertainment content, YouTubers have become one of the leading creators in the new media world. Their understanding of the online audience: how to create, maintain, and increase followers, are all handy skills that have primed them ...
Jacksepticeye Height, Girlfriend & Net Worth Jacksepticeye is a YouTuber and actor who gained popularity with a series of gaming videos he uploads on his channel to the delight of millions of his subscribers. He is Known primarily for his comic video game series titled Lets Play and his vlogs. His channel was formerly ranked 46th in the list of most subscribed ...
Chris Heria Personal Details: About His Wife, Height & Ethnicity Background In this generation, keeping fit has become one of the major criteria for being hale and hearty. In fact, most occupations these days are majorly concerned with ones body mass, weight and looks. Unlike the past where most people have to register in a gym to keep fit, social media has made it quite easy ...
Everything You Need To Know About Game Grumps Gaming is becoming incredibly popular on YouTube these days with game vloggers make millions of dollars out of them yearly. One of the most popular up-coming gaming YouTube channels is Game Grumps. The Lets Play series was created in 2012 and celebrated its fifth anniversary on July 18th, 2017. In six years of its existence, the ...
Daithi De Nogla Biography, Girlfriend and Net Worth YouTube has created an avenue for many to make wealth and become famous from the comfort of their homes while having fun. Many have built a career out of the platform, uploading numerous videos that have earned them the admiration of viewers across the globe. For Daithi De Nogla, he is loved for his humorous commentary on ...
Does Phoebe Robinson Have A Boyfriend or Husband and What Do We Know About Her Family? Phoebe Robinson is a New York-based comedian, writer, and actress. She is best known as the co-creator and co-host of the WNYC Studios podcast 2 Dope Queens. Just like some other female comedians, she never had any original plans of becoming a stand-up comedian even though, according to her, she took a class on a whim at Carolines on Broadway. After ...
Who Are Lex and Alana from Listed Sisters? What Is Their Ethnicity & Is the Show Cancelled? America is a country built on diversity. Everywhere you look all over the country, a countless number of immigrants or children of immigrants have become an integral part of the fabric of the country. From entertainment to business, immigrants are creating a niche for themselves and climbing to the summit of their respective professions. One ...
Riveting Facts About Danielle Lombard And What She Is Best Known For The American entertainment industry is one that provides many avenues for aspiring hopefuls to express their talents and become famous. From films to television shows and game shows, there is no shortage of ways for men and women who desire fame to pursue and earn it in the United States of America. Another tested medium ...
Unearthing New Details About The YouTube Success And Personal Life of Alex Burriss of Wassabi Productions Wildly hilarious and truly audacious, Alex Wassabi is an American YouTuber who has become a very popular face on the video-sharing platform after having garnered millions of subscribers over the years by keeping people glued to his channel with his witty parody video releases. If you have always loved parody videos, there is every chance ...
Everything You Need To Know About H2O Delirious H2O Delirious whose full birth name is reported to be Jonathan Gormon Dennis has successfully kept himself mystified by hiding his face behind the masks leaving his loyal fans speculating who he really is for many years. The American YouTube star is easily identified by the Jason Mask Style with make-up which he wears on his ...
Who Is HolaSoyGerman and What Happened To Him? German Garmendia has certainly seen it all when it comes to internet success. His channels, HolaSoyGerman and JuegaGerman are in the top twenty most subscribed channel on YouTube. The Chilean YouTuber found a way to tap into one of the worlds greatest inventions and make a living from it. He has been able to build ...
Who Are Glenn Becks Family, What Is His Net Worth And What Happened To Him? The American political commentary space is filled with different personalities. A few of them, through their rhetoric, charisma, and resources have been able to build a large following of men and women who listen to them for insight and direction for various political and social issues in the United States. For Conservatives, the story is ...
Following Charissa Thompsons Rise Through The Ranks Of Sports Casting and All About Her Boyfriend Superstar TV host and sportscaster, Charissa Thompson, has been hailed as one of the highest-profile women journalists in America, and the reason is there for all to see. She has worked for popular establishments such as Versus, Yahoo! Sports, ESPN, GSN, and Big Ten Network. She currently hosts the popular pre-game show, Fox NFL Kickoff, ...
Is Chris Kattan Gay or Does He Have A Wife? What Is His Net Worth? Chris Kattan is a popular American comedian and actor. He has appeared in several comic movies and TV series such as The Middle, A Night at the Roxbury and Bunnicula. Kattan is, however, most popular for his six-year stint as a cast member of Saturday Night Live. During his time on the legendary show, he ...
Everything You Should Know About the Rise of Insta Star Claire Abbott and Why She Gave It All Up A lot of young Americans have shot into the limelight for uploading different kinds of videos on YouTube. Some of these young stars include Connor Franta, Desi Perkins, Emma Chamberlain, the Dolan Twins (Ethan and Grayson), and Claire Abbott. The latter became a social media celebrity for uploading sexy bikini pictures of herself on social media. Apart from ...
5 Facts You Need To Know About The YouTube Channel h3h3Productions H3h3Productions is a YouTube channel that specializes on Comic responses or reactions of other contents or trendy stories. The celebrity couple that created the channel has over time racked up sizable views for their commentaries and contents. Even though they had their own fair share of copyright cases, thankfully they scored an unprecedented victory in all ...
Lilypichu Bio Height, Brother and Love Story With Albert SleightlyMusical Chang Like most popular internet celebrities, Lilypichu is one of those Twitch streamers who spend their lives on camera. From daydreaming about the possibility of becoming a full-time professional streamer, she grew to live out her dreams on the popular live streaming platform where people play games, make crafts, and showcase their day-to-day activities. Given the rise of ...
KSI What To Know About His Girlfriend, Brother Deji Olatunji & Net Worth Assuredly, when Internet inventors Vint Cerf and Bob Khan created the technological masterpiece, they probably did not know how massive the creation will be harnessed by many for different purposes including as a platform for earning money through content creation. One of such person who smiles to the bank regularly today for spending time creating ...
The Interesting Progression and Highlights of Carrie Keagans Career as a Host and Actress Carrie Keagan has garnered huge fame through her various stints on television. She is not just your regular TV host but one with a difference. Keagan has hosted several high profile events and TV shows, including VH1s Big Morning Buzz Live and Fox News Channels Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld. However, not many know she ...
The Gist On Elise Jordans Marriages And Her Rise To Prominence Political commentaries tend to be boring when it is handled by someone who does not have a knack for it. However, when you see the likes of Elise Jordan run the same commentary, you will have a lot of reasons to look forward to watching her again as the journalist is well-versed in the field ...
What Is Timmy Thick Best Known For and How Successful Is The Star? Thanks to the internet, many people whose talents would have ordinarily gone unnoticed have become famous. A very good example of this modern-day internet celebrity is Timmy Thick, an American social media star. He became popular on Instagram due to his penchant for posting raunchy pictures of himself. He also often posted videos of himself ...
What Does Heather Storm Do For a Living and Who Is She Dating? Reality Television is a great way to make a name for oneself as well as amass a fortune. Heather Storm can attest to this as she is one of those who have made a name and earned a lot from reality TV. She made her name appearing on shows like Car Fanatics, Awesome Autos, and, ...
Matt Carriker Biography Net Worth, Wife & Height Unlike your regular veterinary doctor next door, Matt Carriker chose to spice up his noble profession with the unusual. Though he is known to many as a medical practitioner, Carriker is better renowned as a YouTube star and an animal lover. Having recorded huge successes on his various YouTube channels, the vet doctors name and ...
Jillian Mele of Fox News Career Achievements, Husband & Measurements There are quite a good number of presenters on radio and television who listeners and viewers may never wish to miss any of their shows because of their sensational golden voice, beauty or the special way or artistry they anchor their shows. Jillian Mele is one of such. She has been at the top of ...
Who is Gillian Turner of Fox News? Her Fiance or Husband and Net Worth Gillian Turner is well-known as a news correspondent for Fox News Channel but before she became a TV personality, she built an intimidating resume working for different institutions, including the American government. She served in different capacities at the White House National Security Council during the administration of former US Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. ...
Gloria Govan Bio Age, Ethnicity & Height Even as Gloria Govan is famous as an American actress, author, a TV host, and reality television star, shes more popular as the wife of the former NBA player, Matt Barnes. She became known after appearing on the Florida version of the reality television series, Basketball Wives and later, Basketball Wives: LA after Matt was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Sadly, ...
Michael Fishmans Interesting Start as an Actor and Why He Divorced His Wife of Many Years When one door closes, another one opens. As silly as that axiom may seem, it is the story of the resurgence of Michael Fishman, who plays D.J Conner on the popular show, Roseanne. Having played the character for several years as a child actor into his teenage years; when the show originally ended, Michael did ...
Who Is October Gonzalez Tony Gonzalezs Wife? All You Need To Know October Gonzalez is a popular American TV host and media personality. Additionally, she is also a model. Gonzalez has hosted several TV shows such as Beat Shazam, Entertainment Tonight, and Rachel Ray. She has also featured in several reality TV shows. Gonzalezs fame is not just due to her profession but also because of her ...
Who Is Tony Berlin Harris Faulkners Husband: His Children and Family Facts Tony Berlin is a popular American media guru. He has variously worked as a reporter, anchor, and producer for some of the biggest TV networks in America. They include CNN, CBS, NBC, and ABC (where he hosted the popular Good Morning America). Berlin has now diversified into public relations and owns his own PR firm. ...
The Progression of Gianna Tobonis Journalism Career and Details About Her Marriage to Kyle Buckley Gianna Toboni may not be your ideal newscaster but her unusual reporting is what made her a household name. The American journalist is renowned for her hard-hitting and authentic reportage. A motivator and activist for total press freedom, Gianna loves to explore pervasive cultural issues. Not only does this unique and ambitious journalist call for all ...
Dog The Bounty Hunters Family Including Details of His Late Wife and Kids Popularly known as Dog, a name which he got from the television series, Dog The Bounty Hunter, Duane Chapman, an American bounty hunter, and one-time bail bondsman, went from being convicted for a felony to being a reality TV star. He was brought to the limelight following the capture of the convicted criminal, Andrew Luster in 2003 and this eventually made ...
Vicky Karayiannis, Chris Cornells Wifes Bio, Children and Family The world of showbiz is made up of different people who serve different roles, and function in a variety of capacities, and one of the most important people are those in the background. Publicists are undoubtedly one of these background people yet they are vital to the life and fame of most of our favorite ...
Joe Rogan Has A Step-Daughter and 2 Other Kids With Wife Jessica Ditzel Meet His Family Joe Rogan is a popular American stand-up comedian and TV host. His journey to stardom began in the late 80s and has seen him host several shows, the most popular is the game show titled Fear Factor. The exciting show dares contestants to face some of their greatest fears and embark on challenging stunts. The ...
Josh Gates and Wife Hallie Gnatovich Have 2 Kids But Who Has the Higher Net Worth? Best known for his explorations and adventures, Josh Gates, is a television presenter with a voracious appetite for seeing the world and the beauties in it. Some of that beauty, however, is in his home, in the form of two children he shares with his wife, Hallie Gnatovich. Not excluded is their marriage which has lasted ...
Holly Sonders Wiki, Plastic Surgery & Why She Divorced Her Husband Erik Kuselias After trying everything within her capacity to have a low key wedding, Holly Sonders was drawn to the public because of her husbands controversy at his workplace. Well, the two are rumored to be divorced but the article below will give more light on how true these rumors are. Meanwhile, Holly Sonders is yet to ...
Nadeska Alexis Bio Age, Boyfriend & Net Worth Journalism is one diverse profession that allows the practitioners to choose their area of specialty, build a career on it by reporting the truth and facts which in the long run will distinguish them as deserving commendation and recognition among their peers. Some choose to specialize in political journalism, while to others it is sports ...
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Is Jordan Schlansky Just A Character or a Real Life Person and What Does He Do? The world of late-night television is an interesting one. Shows during that time are geared towards giving viewers comedic relief from a long day at work through interviews and comedy sketches. The often charismatic host of this show requires the balancing talent of a producer whose primary job is to deliver great episodes. It is ...
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5 Interesting Things You Need To Know About Kelly Nash Ever heard of the lady who gained national prominence for taking a selfie with a dangerous ball just a few inches away from hitting her? Its no other person than Kelly Nash, an American sports broadcaster currently working as host of The Rundown show which airs on MLB Network every weekday at 2 pm ET. ...
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Who is Josina Anderson of ESPN? Her Husband and Family Facts There has been a gradual paradigm shift in the world of sports which has today produced the likes of Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, and other female athletes that are pulling great feats in different sporting fields. Their achievements have also been followed by the emergence of female sports journalists such as Jillian Mele, Eboni Williams, ...
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The Progression of Howard Sterns Career As A Media Personality And Why He Divorced His First Wife Howard Stern is a legendary American radio host, who has also done some notable work as an actor, producer, author, as well as photographer. The radio personality achieved worldwide fame as a result of his self-titled radio program, The Howard Stern Show. As a professional radio personality, he has worked in different radio stations. Since 2006, ...
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SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Gary Allan CONTRIBUTED
By Staff Reports of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times
Mark your calendars. The Ziegenbock Music Festival is returning to Corpus Christi.
The Oct. 29 festival, presented by Ziegenbock Beer and Concrete Street Amphitheater, will include eight bands and two stages. This year's headliners are Gary Allan and Cody Johnson. There also will be a Texas Lifestyle Vendor Village, barbecue and mechanical bull riding, among other things.
Allan, who last performed in Corpus Christi in 2010, saw his last album, "Set You Free," top the Billboard 200 (Pop Chart) and Billboard Country Album chart. His "Every Storm Runs Out of Rain" also became his fifth No. 1 country radio chart hit. His albums have sold millions of copies and he's garnered 14 Top 10 hits.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.
IF YOU GO
What: Ziegenbock Music Festival
When: Saturday, Oct. 29; (Doors Open at 5 p.m.)
Cost: Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.
Information: www.ConcreteStreet.net
Full line up:
Amphitheater Stage
Gary Allan
Cody Johnson
Jack Ingram
Bri Bagwell
Pavilion Stage
Bart Crow
Dirty River Boys
Zane Williams
Powell Brothers
Edgar De La Garza/Special to the Caller-Times Josselyn Obregon practices sign language Monday during the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center's conversational American Sign Language class.
SHARE Edgar De La Garza/Special to the Caller-Times Jorge Cruz (left), Marisela Cruz, and Beth Schlueter take part in an American Sign Language III Class. Edgar De La Garza/Special to the Caller-Times Instructor Sean Hill gives a demonstration during an American Sign Language class at the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center. Edgar De La Garza/Special to the Caller-Times Josselyn Obregon practices signs during a conversational American Sign Language class. Edgar De La Garza/Special to the Caller-Times Instructor Sean Hill begins his presentation during an American Sign Language class at the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center.
By Natalia Contreras of the Caller-Times
Rachell Ungerman's passion and excitement was obvious Monday.
But she didn't say a word. She signed it.
Ungerman was among 10 other students taking an American Sign Language class at The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center.
She got involved with the deaf community at her church. Seven weeks into the class, Ungerman said she is able to carry a conversation and helps to interpret during services.
The center, located on McArdle Road near La Palmera mall, is the only one of its kind south of San Antonio. The center opened in 1978, and serves Nueces County and about other 23 surrounding counties.
"I love American Sign Language. The emotion doubles because when I am signing I am using my personality," Ungerman said. "Our instructor here is fantastic and I just want to keep helping the deaf community."
The center's executive director, Beth Schlueter said its mission is to provide resources, advocacy and education to the deaf and hard of hearing.
"Our goal is to promote communication in a community where everyone matters," Schlueter said. "People who are deaf and hard of hearing have different needs and different preference of communication."
Aside from conversational classes for adults, children and baby sign language classes, the center also hires qualified sign language interpreters, oral interpreters, note-takers and cart transcriptionists.
Interpreters, note takers and transcriptionists help people communicate in medical, legal, economic, government or educational situations.
"If you see someone and you don't know what to say and they don't know what to say, it can be uncomfortable," Schlueter said. "Even if we teach people how to say 'hello' or 'nice to meet you' can help."
Jorge Cruz and his wife, Marisela, have both worked in customer service and have found themselves unable to help those who are deaf.
They joined the class because they'd like to be able to help more people at work and learn a different language.
"We'd definitely want to pass this on to our children," Jorge Cruz said.
Marisela Cruz said she felt it was just as important as teaching children to speak Spanish.
"In this way, they can communicate with others and help others if needed," Marisela Cruz said.
Twitter: @CallerNatalia
Birthday songs, special prayers and bottle dance summed up weekends SDF, NEC session and thanksgiving service in Bamenda and Chairman, Fru Ndis Baba II village.
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Crucial decisions were taken during a National Executive Committee (NEC) session of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) party in Bamenda on July 30, 2016 to move forward the reorganisation of SDF party structures in some regions that have so far, suffered speed brakes.
In effect, SDF Communications Secretary, Anembom Munjo told Cameroon Tribune that NEC presided at by the partys Chairman, Ni John Fru Ndi, validated a report from the party's team charged to reorganise structures in the Littoral and proceeded to apply Article18.8 on the Littoral Regional Bureau led by Hon. Jean Nintcheu to enable the reorganisation team to proceed with the exercise.
Meanwhile, North West governor, Adolphe Lele Lafrique, Senator Simon Achidi Achu, North West Fons, SDF faithfuls, friends and relatives were on July 31, 2016 part of special prayers for Gods grace and protection for the SDF National Chairman, Ni John Fru Ndi at 75.The event at Presbyterian Church, Baba II, home of the leading opposition pastry leader, inspired Fru Ndi to continue to work towards the betterment of Cameroon.
The thanksgiving event honoured and glorified God for Fru Ndi, whom speaker after speaker cheered as a rare statesman. Family Head and Son, Ni Thomas Ndi and Benjamin Fru Ndi thanked all who have supported and criticised the Chairman to be a better nation builder. Fru Ndi summed it himself when he said I will continue to be who I am when Cameroon is the subject, though I stretched my hand and the President did not take it the way I like.
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| BY Lynchy |
Wunderman UKs Aussie expat group chief creative officer Matt Batten is departing the agency soon to pursue new opportunities.
Batten took up the UK role in December 2012, transferring from the national executive creative director gig at Wunderman Australia.
Batten joined Wunderman Sydney as CD in January 2009, soon promoted to national executive creative director. Battenwas previously a member of award-winning DM teams at BMF and Saatchi& Saatchi. He was also a past chairman of the ADMA Agency Council and a keyplayer in the DM Creative School.
Batten served as a Cannes Lions Direct juror in 2011 and was named Digital Creative of the Year in 2010 by Campaign magazine Asia. He was the driving force behind impressive campaigns on behalf of Earth Hour and Microsofts Internet Explorer 8. Before joining Wunderman, Batten served as group creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi. Prior to that, he was at BMF in Sydney for five years. For eight years, he served as head lecturer at the DM Creative School in Sydney.
After relocating to London to help align the networks UK operations Wunderman (consumer engagement advertising), Blast Radius (digital), Burrows (CG production) and KBMG (data and insights) into a more holistic offering of integrated marketing, Batten sourced fresh creative talent from the UK, Sweden, Norway, France, USA, New Zealand and Australia, and led the creative team to double in size, win major new accounts, and produce internationally-awarded campaigns.
According to Battens LinkedIn profile the agency has increased revenue +95% YOY and is now beating targets for the first time in 5 years. Econsultancy now ranks Wunderman UK as 7th in the top 100 agencies in London, Campaign magazines School Report scored the agency 8 out of 9, and Wunderman UK was Runner-up for Consumer Engagement Agency of the Year 2014.
| BY Ricki Green |
303 MullenLowe continues to grow with Joe Van Trump (right) and Nick Plomp (left) joining the agencys creative department in Sydney.
Van Trump joins 303 MullenLowe from recent roles at Leo Burnett, where he was co-creative director on Woolworths, and LOUD Advertising, where he was creative director.
Says Richard Morgan, executive creative director, 303 MullenLowe: Joe is a hands-on creative who can do everything from help craft a great strategy to shape a brilliant idea. Hes collaborative and tenacious if he stumbles across a good idea, no matter where it comes from, hell do everything in his power to make it happen. Were lucky to have snared him.
Originally hailing from the United States of Texas, Van Trump was creative director and managing partner at start-up agency George, later re-joining DDB Sydney in 2004 as creative group head on McDonalds, associate director.
Plomp brings a unique perspective to 303 MullenLowe having spent six years editing online culture magazine Ajanaku.com. He joins from TBWA, Y&R and most recently MullenLowe Alfred in the Netherlands where he worked across major brands like Grolsch, LG, Unilever, Danone, Heineken, ABN Amro and many more, winning awards along the way including Gold and Silver Lions for LG.
Says Morgan: Nick has big brand experience and an eye for detail and craft no matter the media. Hes also a culture junkie and a social media native, which makes him a great fit for us.
| BY Ricki Green |
Havas Worldwide Sydney has unveiled its first dedicated brand campaign for the Navy. Part of a wide-ranging new recruitment drive, it showcases the broad career opportunities offered by the Navy.
Says Seamus Higgins and Stuart Turner, joint ECDs, Havas Worldwide Australia: For many, the Navy is the great unknown and our creative challenge was to unlock the true essence of what it is like to be in the Navy. We have created a campaign that demonstrates how peoples skills and interests can be turned into something more, with rewarding and empowering messaging to encourage people to realise their goals and discover new possibilities in the Navy.
The fully integrated campaign will roll out nationally across multiple channels including TV, cinema, out-of-home, digital, print and radio. The content focuses on demonstrating the Navy experience in order to build a deeper connection with young men and women. By showing the parallels between their lives today and what life could be like for them in the Navy, it demonstrates the Navys ability to recognise and actively develop the potential of new recruits.
Says Kaarin Kooij, director military recruitment group captain: People are at the heart of the Navy. The Service has a strong focus on progressing talent through the ranks by identifying and developing potential in them. The Navy becomes the best it can be when we attract people from diverse backgrounds, reflective of the Australian culture.
Client: Australian Defence Force
Creative Agency: Havas Worldwide Australia
Managing Director: Dan Smith
Client Business Director: Alex Ball
Senior Account Manager: Brad Luo
Planning Director: Eryl Thomas
Senior Strategic Planner: Peter Pippen
Executive Creative Directors: Stuart Turner & Seamus Higgins
Art Director: Mick Healy
Copywriter: Ray Ali
Senior Broadcast Producer: Roslyn Payne
Digital Producer: Olivier Boulbain
Head of Design: Darren Cole
Designer: Nic Adamovich, Michael Macgregor, Dylan Reid
Print Producer: Emily Fitzpatrick
TV:
Production: Goodoil
Director: Joel Kefali
Executive Producer: Julie Bishop
Producer: Andrew McLean
DOP: Ryley Brown
Post Production: Alt VFX
Editing: The Editors, Bernhard Gary
Music company: Song Zu
Composer: Ben Lam
Stills Photography:
Photographer: Chris Ireland (Pool Collective)
| BY Ricki Green |
Sydney executive director, Sasha Firth (left), has been promoted to managing director of GPY&R after almost 4 years with the business replacing Andrew Dowling (below, right), the previous Y&R group managing director of Sydney who has resigned.
Previously Firth has led the Brand Asset Valuator offering for Y&R Group with Keith Newton, consulting for clients on brand creation, identity, repositioning and corporate acquisition.
Says Phil McDonald, CEO, Y&R Group ANZ: Sasha is a highly regarded strategic business partner with a proven ability to effectively collaborate and change business outcomes for our clients. She adds great energy to our teams culture in Sydney and is a trusted partner for her clients. Ive worked with her closely for a while now and am delighted to see her step into the role, leading GPY&R Sydney.
Says Firth on her promotion: Its a privilege to lead the talented GPY&R Sydney team and work closely with VMLs Aden Hepburn and IdeaWorks Danny Lattouf to help realise our shared ambition for the businesses.
| BY Lynchy |
Aussie expat Matt Batten is set to return to Australia this month to take up the executive creative director role at Sydney content agency Edge.
Batton left Australia in December 2012 to take up the group chief creative officer role at Wunderman UK, transferring from the national executive creative director gig at Wunderman Australia. He departed the London agency in June last year and since then has been consulting creative director at Valtech, with offices in London and Manchester.
Batten joined Wunderman Sydney as CD in January 2009, soon promoted to national executive creative director. Battenwas previously a member of award-winning DM teams at BMF and Saatchi& Saatchi. He was also a past chairman of the ADMA Agency Council and a keyplayer in the DM Creative School.
| BY Ricki Green |
The AME Awards competition is now accepting entries for the 2017 competition. World-wide since 1994, the AME Awards has honored campaigns world-wide that successfully demonstrate groundbreaking solutions to challenging marketing problems.
Says Deb Ryan, newly appointed executive director, AME Awards: The 2017 AME Awards continues its 23-year tradition of showcasing brilliant creative delivering measurable results and AME diligently monitors the industry to provide relevant categories that mirror evolving creative industry trends across all platforms.
For 2017 competition, the AME Awards unveiled a new category to showcase Olympic-themed advertising and marketing created for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. This additional category compliments AMEs robust category roster that included Technology in the Product & Services category group, added last year, to showcase digital advertising and marketing applications utilized within the advertising industry to drive consumer engagement. The AME Awards rigorous monitoring of global technological advancements led the competition to previously launch categories in Augmented Reality and Social TV.
Says Ryan: AMEs global Grand Jury is comprised of five regional juries, allowing entries to be judged with cultural relevance within their own region by jurors with the most up to date knowledge of that particular market. Entrants can be sure that their creative work is given the utmost attention and that all award-winning work is worthy of being called the Worlds Best Advertising & Marketing Effectiveness.
The AME Awards Grand Jury is responsible for awarding Gold, Silver, and Bronze to the highest scoring entries through two rounds of regional judging to ensure scoring accounts for cultural and economic relevance. This round also selects the AME Green Award winnerthe highest scoring, Gold-winning entry for a company whose emphasis is on resource conservation and negative environmental impact. Gold-winning work from all regions is judged by the full international Grand Jury to determine a Platinum Award for each of the five regions (North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East & Africa and Asia Pacific) and the International Grand AME Award.
The 2017 AME Grand Jury of interactive and multidisciplinary marketers, media planners, strategy directors, social media experts, and creative directors will evaluate entries based on four specific criteria, each weighted by importance: Challenge/Strategy/Objectives 20%; Creativity 25%; Execution 25%; and Results/Effectiveness 30%.
In 2016, the AME Grand Jury presented the AME Grand Award and Regional Platinum Award/Europe to Grabarz & Partner/GGH Lowe Germany for their campaign Nazis Against Nazis Germanys Most Involuntary Charity Walk for client ZDK Zentrum Demokratische Kultur. Leo Burnett Melbourne earned 2016 AME Regional Platinum Award/Asia-Pacific for #MyFamilyCan for client SPC. BBDO New York was honored with the 2016 AME Regional Platinum Award for Vines in the Real World: Making the Digital Analog for client Lowes Companies. Impact BBDO Cairo earned the 2016 AME Regional Platinum Award for Everyday Hero for Sting, PepsiCos energy drink.
| BY Ricki Green |
Getting behind Australias most controversial film of the year, The Monkeys has released a stirring campaign to promote Australian writer-director Abe Forsythes feature-length black comedy Down Under, in cinemas this August.
Premiering globally at this years Sydney Film Festival, Down Under is inspired by the Cronulla Riots of 2005 and is set during the aftermath of the unrest. Headed up by an all-star Australian cast, the film follows the fictional story of two carloads of hotheads from both sides of the fight, destined to collide.
The Monkeys provocative poster campaign is set to run nationally across outdoor, in-cinema and on social, in the lead up to Down Unders cinematic release.
According to director Forsythe, the challenge with Down Under, from script through to the final edit, was conveying the correct tone. It was vital that the controversial subject matter was not treated lightly.
Says Forsythe: The whole team at The Monkeys embraced this challenge and came up with a brilliant execution. It walks that difficult line, but does it with a sense of provocation and humour that makes us look at the issue in a different way. Just like the movie itself. I can genuinely say that working with everyone at the agency was one of the creative highlights of the six-year process it took me to make this movie.
Says Justin Drape, chief creative officer and writer, The Monkeys: We hope the film and the campaign will highlight some serious issues we still face in Australia, and the world, today. Everybody should see this film. Abe has somehow made the futility of hatred and ignorance funny despite the long term negative effects that this behaviour is having in our country.
Down Under will release in cinemas on August 11th 2016, distributed by STUDIOCANAL Australia. A (sold-out) special preview screening of the film along with a directors Q&A was held last night at The Ritz Cinema in Randwick, Sydney.
Creative Agency: The Monkeys
Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer: Justin Drape
Campaign Creatives: Scott Dettrick, Jake Rusznyak, Dennis Koutoulogenis & Michael Hogg
Planning Director: Michael Hogg
Interactive Planning Director: Grant Flannery
Design Lead: James Halliday
Head of Print Production: Tom Harrison
Senior Art Buyer: Alison Dunlop
Content Director: Samantha Heckendorf
Senior Content Manager: Shannon Duhig
Community Manager: Alexandra Gee
Photographer: Toby Burrows
Photographic Production: The Kitchen Creative
And it's not the first time the hotel has won. Last year, Madison Groom, also from the Little National, became the first Australian winner of the National Receptionist of the Year award. She was flown to Austria to compete at the international titles. Short will head to Paris in February to represent Australia.
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A Cayuga County businessman is representing himself in a legal fight to remain on the Republican primary ballot in the 54th Senate District race.
Bobby Massarini said Tuesday he's awaiting a state Supreme Court ruling to determine whether his campaign to succeed retiring state Sen. Michael Nozzolio will continue.
Massarini submitted 1,274 signatures to secure his spot on the Sept. 13 GOP primary ballot. But two Canandaigua Republicans Adeline Rudolph and Greg Westbrook filed objections challenging Massarini's ballot status. They also filed a lawsuit in an attempt to invalidate Massarini's petitions.
At a state Board of Elections hearing Friday, Massarini said 311 of his signatures were tossed enough to put him below the minimum of 1,000 signatures he needed to be eligible for the primary ballot.
In court, Massarini served as his own attorney and argued that 209 of the 311 invalid signatures should be reinstated. The signatures were tossed due to an error the county Board of Elections had the wrong address for one of his witnesses.
(Massarini clarified that it wasn't the Board of Elections' fault, but rather the U.S. Postal Service should've sent back a mail check card to confirm that the address was non-existent.)
"Due to the Election Law Reform Act, even errors and omissions in a witness statement is not supposed to be fatal to a sheet," Massarini said in an interview. "The law is on my side. The precedent is on my side. But, you never know."
Massarini expects the court will rule on his case in the next day or so.
For the moment, he is one of six candidates in the GOP primary. There were seven, but Army veteran Joe Geiger decided to drop out of the race after he faced challenges to his petitions. He said a legal fight over his ballot status would've been too costly for his campaign.
While Massarini is optimistic about his own legal battle, he isn't pleased with those who are behind the challenge.
One of the individuals who challenged his petitions Adeline Rudolph has donated to Pam Helming, the Republican Party's endorsed candidate in the 54th Senate District race. Helming is the preferred candidate of Albany Republicans, who want to retain control of the seat.
"They wanted this to be a coronation," Massarini said. "That's basically what they were looking for. They don't want anybody running against (Helming). That's why they attacked Charlie Evangelista. That's why they knocked Kenan Baldridge off the Working Families Party. Why the Republicans would not want the Democrats to primary makes no sense other than they don't want her running against anyone at any time."
Evangelista, an Ontario County legislator, was kicked off the Democratic primary ballot in the 54th Senate District race. Baldridge, who is the Democratic Party's endorsed candidate in the contest, had his Working Families Party petitions thrown out.
While there won't be a Democratic primary, there will be at least five Republicans vying for the GOP nod. The field includes Helming, Canandaigua businessman Floyd Rayburn, Lyons Supervisor Brian Manktelow, former Assemblyman Sean Hanna and retired Greece police officer Jon Ritter.
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For nearly six years in Congress, U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna hasn't been afraid to buck his party.
When it comes to which candidate he'll support in the 2016 presidential election, he's doing it again.
Hanna, R-Barneveld, penned an op-ed for syracuse.com Tuesday and announced he will vote for Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, in this year's election.
The endorsement is less about Clinton Hanna noted that he disagrees with the Democratic nominee on many issues and more about Trump. The GOP congressman said his party's presidential nominee is "deeply flawed in endless ways."
"A self-involved man who is worth billions yet is comfortable almost gleefully using bankruptcy laws to avoid the consequences of his own choices," Hanna wrote. "A man of character would not defend his actions but rather display shame and or at least regret. He is unrepentant in all things. Think about those average people who paid for his choices."
Hanna added: "In his latest foray of insults, Mr. Trump has attacked the parents of a slain U.S. soldier. Where do we draw the line? I thought it would have been when he alleged that U.S. Sen. John McCain was not a war hero because he was caught. Or the countless other insults he's proudly lobbed from behind the Republican presidential podium. For me, it is not enough to simply denounce his comments: He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country."
Hanna's comments received plenty of attention Tuesday, especially from national media outlets covering the presidential race. Clinton's campaign wasted little time in circulating Hanna's op-ed to members of the media.
On Clinton, Hanna acknowledged the former secretary of state and ex-U.S. senator from New York has "stood for causes bigger than herself for a lifetime."
"Mrs. Clinton has promoted many of the issues I have been committed to over the years including expanding education and supporting women's health care," he wrote.
Hanna, who isn't seeking re-election this year, is the first Republican member of Congress to endorse Clinton. Some GOP members, including U.S. Rep. John Katko, who represents Cayuga County, have been reluctant to support Trump.
You won't see Katko, R-Camillus, following in Hanna's footsteps, though. He's already ruled out voting for Clinton.
While Democrats praised Hanna for his rejection of Trump and support for Clinton, some Republican leaders were quick to criticize the GOP congressman for his decision.
Onondaga County Republican Chairman Tom Dadey, who co-chairs Trump's New York campaign leadership team, called Hanna's endorse of Clinton "shameful," but not surprising.
"Despite running with the designation of the Republican Party and using its apparatus to get elected and re-elected to the U.S. Congress, (Hanna) has effectively stabbed our party and its hardworking rank-and-file members in the back," Dadey said in a statement. "It would hurt more if he had ever acted or voted like a Republican during any of his three terms in Congress."
Hanna was first elected to Congress in 2011. During his first term in office, his district included Auburn and most of Cayuga County.
Redistricting in 2012 resulted in Hanna's district being altered. It no longer includes any part of Cayuga County.
Hanna announced late last year that he wouldn't seek a fourth term in Congress.
When all else fails, lend. Thats the strategy of some of the biggest U.S. insurers as they seek higher returns in an investment universe where buying bonds sometimes means guaranteed losses.
The largest U.S. banks are constrained by post-2008 rules that make it tougher for them to extend loans. So companies such as MetLife Inc. and American International Group Inc. are grasping more market share. While many insurers have been in the commercial real-estate market for decades, the industry is branching out into home mortgages, small-business lending, car loans, renewable-energy financing and student debt.
Theres no question that insurance companies are looking to diversify into new areas and innovate as much as possible, said Adam Hamm, North Dakotas insurance commissioner who serves on the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council.
The quiet reshuffling of the lending industry is part of the transformation of American finance following the 2008 credit crisis. Together with hedge funds, private equity shops and tech startups, insurance companies have joined the ranks of shadow banks firms that act like banks without being regulated like them. Lawmakers and regulators have taken notice of the changing landscape, with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton promising to tackle financial dangers by enhancing transparency and reducing volatility in the emergent system.
Different Standards
Insurers are becoming the new financial supermarkets in part because traditional investments offer minuscule returns 10-year U.S. Treasury notes yield less than 1.6 percent while some European sovereign debt is negative, meaning investors pay to park their money there. And pushing into more aggressive investments, such as hedge funds, tied up too much capital and resulted in losses in recent quarters.
AIG Chief Investment Officer Doug Dachille said the ventures only make sense for companies with scale because it requires more staffing to originate the loans. Given the lack of liquidity in the securitized markets, which is how many insurers have previously purchased loans, insurers are now waking up to the reality that its better to own the loans directly, he said.
Insurers are now responsible for 11.6 percent of the loans in the global private debt market, which includes direct lending, according to data provider Preqin. Firms boosted mortgage funding by 50 percent to $430 billion in the last decade, according to the Federal Reserve.
Shadow Banking Is Booming Outside Regulators Grip: QuickTake
In 2015, MetLife, the largest U.S. life insurer, made more property loans than it ever has in its 148-year history. Chief Executive Officer Steve Kandarian said the company plans to keep expanding in 2016 because mortgages have predictable income streams. MetLife declined to comment. AIG has more than $20 billion allocated to commercial mortgages and is increasing its wager as it pulls out of poorly performing hedge funds.
TIAA, led by Roger Ferguson, is the worlds largest investor in private debt, Preqin said. TIAA has also hired ex-Carlyle Group LP money managers to create a venture focused on lending to middle-market companies. A TIAA representative didnt respond to requests for comment.
Babson Capital, owned by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., raised more than $2 billion for direct lending, Preqin said, among the biggest efforts this year. A spokesman for Babson and MassMutual declined to comment.
Federal Reserve
Regulators have traditionally focused on insurers securities-lending and repurchase agreements. U.S. insurance companies are regulated by the states. AIG and Prudential Financial Inc. are overseen by the Fed because theyve been designated systemically important financial institutions. MetLife won a court battle to avoid that designation, and General Electric Co. closed its finance division, in part to escape greater regulatory scrutiny. GE sold off more than $100 billion of its assets and some insurers won business in industries that GE left behind. A Prudential spokeswoman declined to comment.
Too Big to Fail, Buffers and Living Wills: QuickTake
Last month, the Fed proposed capital rules for insurers more appropriate for their longer-term liabilities. Proposals by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners will make commercial mortgage lending more attractive for insurers in the next two years relative to corporate debt, according to Mark Snyder, the head of institutional strategy and analytics at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Insurers can provide lower-cost alternatives for borrowers, said Mike Coster, chief executive officer of financial services firm Kimberlite Group. Five years ago, a traditional lender might charge 14 percent for mezzanine debt; that product today is about 9.5 percent, he said. And while the pricing is more competitive, insurers arent loosening the terms of the loans, Coster said. S&P analyst Deep Banerjee said default rates from the loans tend to be low due to strict underwriting.
Insurance companies are looking increasingly like asset managers. MetLife, MassMutual, Prudential and New York Life Insurance Co. are building units that invest client funds rather than just the cash they hold to back policyholder obligations. A New York Life spokesman declined to comment.
Joint Ventures
The data show only part of the expansion. Insurers have also formed joint ventures, invested in private equity funds that lend, or acquired lending companies, giving them stakes without carrying loans on their balance sheets.
Athene Holding Ltd. owns parts of a home-loan company, a health-care-industry lender and a commercial mortgage firm. An Athene spokeswoman declined to comment. A division of Babson agreed to buy a commercial lender this year.
While insurers are viewed as safe lenders because they can deploy funds for a long time and dont have to worry about depositors withdrawing money at a moments notice, they may not have the loan-underwriting expertise of longtime lenders, said Yariv Itah, an asset-management adviser at Deloitte Consulting.
And there are cautionary tales, such as loans tied to bankrupt retailer RadioShack Corp., which wiped out first-quarter profit last year at insurer Fidelity & Guaranty Life. An FGL spokesman declined to comment.
Theres the risk of not knowing exactly how to do this, Itah said. So whenever you have an investor wading into a new area of investing, theres some operational risk.
Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
The instructions of the teacher consist, then, merely in a hint, a touch enough to give a start to the child. The rest develops itself. Maria Montessori
Many people know about Montessori schools, or the Montessori method, but not many people know that Maria Montessori was real. Today, were going to talk about Maria Montessori the person!
Maria Montessori has been one of the most groundbreaking childhood educators of the 20th century. She gave birth to a pioneering method of childhood education that has survived virtually unchanged in its essential features for over 100 years!
In 1870, Maria Montessori was born into a well-educated middle class family in Italy. In spite of the old-school values about womens roles in society at the time, Maria enrolled in a boys technical institute when she was 14. She studied her preferred subjects, math and science, and developed an intense interest in biology. Ignoring her fathers protests, Maria started medical school when she was 18 and graduated as Italys first female doctor in 1896.
While working at the University of Romes psychiatric clinic, Dr. Montessori became fascinated with the treatment of children with special needs and worked on their behalf. She became the director of a school for children with learning disabilities in 1898, and after working with them for two years, these children, who were previously believed to be unable to learn, took and passed successfully a school examination along with normal students. Maria was regarded as a miracle worker by other educators, and her success lead her to study anthropology and psychology to unravel the potential of normal children. Maria Montessori believed that if her method would work for children with disabilities, then it could be used to benefit other children in a powerful way.
In 1907, Maria founded a school that she called Casa dei Bambini (Childrens House), in the slums of Rome. It was a great success and the children thrived. Her unparalleled success with these children was publicized around the world. Maria was invited to visit the United States by Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and others. She spoke at Carnegie Hall in New York City and then attended the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. Here, a classroom was set up and, for four months, people watched through a glass wall a group of 21 children, new to the Montessori method, thrive in her prepared environment. Montessori won both of the gold medals awarded for education. Within 10 years, there would be over a thousand Montessori schools in the United States.
Maria continued her educational research, her writings and lectures during the 1920s and early 1930s, but the political situation in Europe forced her to leave for India. Fascist governments could not resolve her emphasis on peaceful human collaboration, and consequently her schools were banned in Italy, Spain and Germany. In India, she introduced her teaching methods and trained teachers to carry on her legacy. Maria also worked on her elementary curriculum, which she called a cosmic education, and she wrote and published her "Education for Peace." Maria Montessori was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times in 1949, 1950 and 1951.
Maria spent her final years in the Netherlands. She passed away in 1952 after a lifetime devoted to the study of child development.
The Montessori method has shown an amazing degree of resiliency and most believe that it is a powerful tool for education and real learning. With it we can all learn more of ourselves and give our children, who are our greatest treasures, love and respect when it comes to learning.
The Auburn Housing Authority has plans in the works to make substantial upgrades to its oldest affordable housing complex.
AHA representatives are developing applications for funding streams to pay for renovations to Melone Village, which was first built in 1952. The facility has 188 units and currently houses 400 people.
The remodel would call for extensive infrastructure repairs, including site drainage and landscaping upgrades. The current proposal includes plans for replacement roofs, sidewalks, porches, energy efficient utilities, walls, kitchens and bathrooms.
Additionally, AHA representatives hope to implement 10 handicap-accessible units and another five for tenants with audio-visual impairments. The project further proposes small playgrounds across Melone Village and a community center with laundry facilities, internet access and programming space, said AHA Executive Director Stephanie Hutchinson.
The cost is expected to range from $20 million to $30 million, Hutchinson said. AHA hopes to acquire most of the funding from the sale of low-income housing tax credits to private investors.
The funding strategy was used for a $12-million remodel of a separate AHA complex, Brogan Manor, about three years ago. Also factored into the cost is the abatement of asbestos, which is present but not harmful beneath areas of flooring at Melone Village, according to the executive director.
"It's important to understand that we're not building luxury apartments here," Hutchinson said at an Auburn City Council meeting on July 14. "We're building safe, decent, affordable housing. This is the reality of what it costs to do so."
The project hinges on the acquisition of the tax credits from New York State Homes and Community Renewal and the New York State Housing Trust Fund. Applications are due in early October.
As AHA itself cannot apply, ownership of Melone Village would be transferred to the organization's nonprofit affiliate, AHA Development Corporation. The nonprofit would partner with the investors as owners of Melone Village with the housing authority performing property management services.
Brogan Manor has a similar ownership structure following the recent renovations. Hutchinson said Brogan Manor's private investor monitors the facility's regulatory compliance, but leaves the day-to-day operations to AHA staff.
That ownership structure, however, would negate AHA's current tax exemption, prompting housing authority representatives to recently work out a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with the city of Auburn.
The PILOT would take effect for 40 years, with annual payments at least $6,000 per year. The payments are higher than AHA's current $1,500 annual tax liability based solely on land assessments.
The Auburn City Council unanimously agreed to the terms of the PILOT two weeks ago, though the agreement is contingent on the renovations moving forward. Hutchinson said the council's commitment to the PILOT is needed for AHA to present a feasible 30-year budget plan to state agencies in its tax credit application.
Another piece of that application is site plan approval by the Auburn Planning Board. AHA representatives will brief the board on the project Tuesday, with aims to have site plan approval by October ahead of the application deadline for the tax credits.
With the project still in the early planning phases, AHA would expect actual construction to take around three years, according to the executive director. AHA also expects to receive a reply about the tax credits around three to six months after applying.
As such, Hutchinson said the housing authority plans to give tenants ample notice and temporary relocation assistance if needed.
"We're not going to be upending anybody's life," she said Monday.
Along with the work done to Brogan Manor, Hutchinson said AHA has done upgrades to other housing units at Olympia Terrace over the recent years. Meanwhile, representatives project construction completion in January on 28 housing units along Merriman Street for homeless families and single women.
This left Melone Village, which was built in two phases in 1952 and 1962, though Hutchinson said the complex has received minimal updates since its construction. And while the shells of Melone Village's housing units are in good shape, the interiors need work, according to the executive director.
"We still think they're decent, safe and affordable," Hutchinson said Monday. "At some point, they have to be renovated and we feel now is our best opportunity."
See this guy? Hell be responsible for designing everything that BMW makes. Except the cars.
His name is Oliver Heilmer, and hes just been named head of Designworks, the company founded in 1972 and acquired by BMW in 1995. The LA-based studio designs everything from electronics and running shoes to subway trains and airplane cabins.
Henrik Fisker and Adrian van Hooydonk (now head of design for the entire BMW Group) have both served as its president, but now that role is passing to Heilmer. His predecessor Laurenz Schaffer, who has headed up Designworks since 2009, is now switching to a management role at BMW Group Design.
A Munich native, Heilmer has served for the past few years as BMWs head of interior design, and we wouldnt be surprised to see him move even further up the Bavarian automakers design ranks in the future.
Check out some of Designworks recent projects in the photo gallery below, and watch and listen to Heilmer showcase the new 7-Series interior in the video at bottom.
PHOTOS
VIDEO
Exactly five months after it landed in Geneva, Lamborghinis new Centenario has been unleashed on the Nardo Ring, a high-speed test track located about 20 km (12 miles) north-west of the town of Nardo, in Italy.
Joined by other supercars made by the Raging Bull, the exclusive machine, created in honor of Ferruccio Lamborghinis birth, led the pack in a dizzy run, in its first ever media test, one that should soon see the release of exclusive reviews.
Based on Lambos current flagship, the Aventador, the Centenario uses a carbon fiber-made monocoque and body, and has tweaked aerodynamics and rear-wheel steering.
Even if one is still willing to pay the 1.75 million ($1.95 million) price tag, its in vain, since all 20 Coupe and 20 Roadster have been already spoken for. Nonetheless, even if most (if not all) of us will never get to experience the Centenario, know that the 770 HP supercar needs just 2.8 seconds to cover the 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint and it will go from naught to 300 km/h (186 mph) in 23.5 seconds, on the way to a top speed of 350 km/h (217 mph).
PHOTO GALLERY
VIDEO
One of the last true 44 offered for sale is , and the German car maker is keen on demonstrating just how competent its product is in off-road conditions.
In their latest presentation, the company took the G-Class on a challenging off-road experience in Kitzbuhel. The venue offers only six kilometers of area to mess around, but its packed with extreme off-road challenges, including trial by gravel, snow, ice, sand and crushed rock.
Its safe to say that Kitzbuhel is one of the most demanding courses in the world, and anyone who dares to tackle it must conquer steep 90% climbs and descents, and outrageous incline angles in their quest to discover the limits of a vehicle.
Mercedes says that without an experienced guide, navigating through the course is nearly impossible, thats why Christian Vis an off-road instructor for Mercedes-Benz Driving Events was put in charge of the virtual tour. The man has more than 20 years of experience in off-road driving, and has a thing for pushing himself (and the vehicle) to the limits.
So sit back, relax, and watch how the G500, along with its 422 hp bi-turbo V8, is being driven around the course in a simple warm-up exercise.
You can just do so much with it. With the G-Class, the fun starts where other vehicles reach their limits, says Christian Vis.
Again, youre watching a simple warm-up exercise. Too bad most of the G-Wagens wont be used at their full capacity.
A leaked ordering guide has revealed that the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will brutalize its rear tyres thanks to 650 hp and 650 lb-ft (881 Nm) of torque.
Uncovered by the crew at the Camaro 6 forums, the ordering guide shows that the 2017 ZL1s 6.2-liter supercharged LT4 V8 engine boasts exactly the same horsepower and torque figures as the Corvette Z06 but is 57 hp shy of the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. These numbers are 10 hp and 10 lb-ft up on what was previously reported for the ZL1.
While the Hellcat may continue to lead the muscle car horsepower game, it isnt all that usable on a race circuit. The new Camaro ZL1 by comparison has the ingredients to be more capable on a technical track thanks to higher downforce figures and a near 500 pound weight advantage.
Beyond the vehicles engine, the new Camaro ZL1 is offered as standard with a six-speed manual with active rev-matching but can also be ordered with GMs 10-speed automatic transmission. Grip comes courtesy of 285/30ZR20 Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires at the front and 305/30 section shoes at the rear.
Considering how capable the new ZL1 should be on track, we cant imagine where Chevy will go with the next Z/28.
PHOTO GALLERY
Volkswagen may have become the largest global automaker after it sold more cars than Toyota in the first half of the year, but the consequences of the cheating emissions scandal are starting to kick in.
Accused of forging documents on emissions or noise-level tests following the Groups admittance last September to using illegal software on roughly 11 million diesel vehicles sold worldwide, South Korea decided to order a stop-sale on 32 models made by Volkswagen, Audi and Bentley, out of which 27 are sold locally, Reuters reports.
The decision, made on Tuesday, comes from the local environment ministry and revokes certification for 83,000 diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles, which brings the total number of de-certified models to 209,000 in the Asian country, covering 68 percent of the cars/SUVs sold by the automaker in South Korea since 2007.
Local authorities also slapped the German carmaker with a 17.8 billion won ($15.98 million) fine, which comes after the government revoked certification of 126,000 VW vehicles last November and fined the automaker with 14.1 billion won ($12.66 million). Prosecutors also raided the German manufacturers offices in Seoul and arrested an executive in June.
Volkswagen predicted South Koreas decision and issued its own internal stop-sale in the country last week, but that doesnt mean that the automotive giant has completely lost the battle, as it could take legal action against the governments verdict.
PHOTO GALLERY
One of Britains oldest automakers, Bristol Cars Limited, recently launched and it sounds like a World War 2 fighter plane.
Unsurprisingly, since Bristol is the last remaining descendant that retains the original name of the Bristol Aeroplane Company a major aircraft manufacturer that spawned the admirable and iconic Blenheim, Beaufort, and Beaufighter warplanes.
Weighing less than 2,500 pounds (1,113 kg) thanks to its carbon-fiber elements, the Bullet speedster is powered by a BMW-sourced V8, dubbed the Hercules, which boasts 370 horsepower from 4.8-liters of displacement. The engine is refined and developed in-house, and is capable of launching the car from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.8 seconds, all the way to a top speed of 155 mph (250 km/h) making a ferocious sound in the process.
It may feature plenty of luxury amenities and high-tech gizmos (including digital radio, smartphone connectivity, Bluetooth, and WiFi), but the Bullet is, first and foremost, a pure, old-school British roadster, and it sounds like one too.
On the move, it looks retro, but pleasantly futuristic, but dont expect to see one on a street near you because only 70 will be made to mark the car makers 70th anniversary. The price? Just under 250,000 ($329,880).
VIDEO
OWASCO An Owasco man could face several more charges for his involvement in a crash that killed an Auburn teen.
According to Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann, 33-year-old Dain Schneider, of 6977 Owasco Road, has been charged with felony driving while intoxicated, first-degree unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and operating a motor vehicle without an ignition interlock device.
Judge Thomas Leone arraigned Schneider on those charges Friday at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse where he was being treated for injuries he sustained in the crash. After his release from the hospital, Schneider was then remanded to Cayuga County Jail with bail set at $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond.
Leone revoked Schneider's bail Monday afternoon pending further charges from the county, Budelmann said, as the district attorney's office awaits the results of blood tests and accident reconstruction.
The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office said Schneider was driving on East Lake Road last Wednesday night when he struck another vehicle from behind. The driver of that vehicle, 18-year-old Chloe Calhoun, died as a result of her injuries.
Schneider has two previous DWI convictions, Budelmann said one from 2011 in the town of Marcellus, the other from 2007 in the town of Delhi. The defendant was also arrested for DWI in Skaneateles in 2000, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving.
In addition, Schneider is facing multiple charges from separate cases, including second-degree burglary, first- and second-degree criminal contempt, criminal trespassing and endangering the welfare of a child. According to the district attorney, the county is currently working on the status of those cases.
Schneider was originally scheduled to appear in Owasco Town Court Wednesday night. However, the case has since been transferred to Cayuga County.
Photo: Contributed
Independent liquor store owners in Vernon are going to fight the big guys.
Fearful that grocery store chains are planning to buy local licenses to sell wine, the owners hope to convince city council not to grant them.
It could have a huge impact, said Claus Larsen, general manager of the Vernon Atrium Hotel & Conference Centre. The BX Creek liquor store resides beside the hotel building. It could affect staff as we have seen in other communities.
He said a large delegation from the independent liquor stores would attend an Aug. 15 city council meeting when a presentation would be made.
Last year, two specialty stores in Kelowna relinquished the rights to their licences, transferring them to the Overwaitea Food Group and allowing OFG's Save-on-Foods grocery store chain to sell VQA wine at Orchard Park and Mission locations. That began earlier this year.
The issue has also taxed city council in Kamloops.
Apart from the financial impact, Larsen pointed to the accessibility to alcohol for 15, 16 and 17 year olds if wine is sold in the grocery stores, where the underaged are allowed to go.
Larsen said independent owners had already been speaking with some members of council, including Mayor Akbal Mund and Coun. Catherine Lord.
The group, along with a representative of ABLE BC, an alliance of beverage licensees, met with staff from the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce last week.
The chamber remains neutral at this time, according to Larsen.
However chamber staff have offered to help steer the ship through the bureaucracy, Larsen added.
Photo: Contributed
When I committed to this months attempt to experience something new every day, my goal was to start experiencing life more.
I had no idea what I was in for, but I knew it was going to be an adventure. I didnt expect to fall in love with so many new and exciting things that were right in my own backyard.
It was such an energizing experience to try something for the first time once again and funny enough, the more I got into each activity, the more I noticed myself shaking out of my day-to-day mindset and how quickly I was able to simply relax and enjoy the experience.
There was no more stress, no more deadlines and no responsibilities; I was just present and able to enjoy the moment.
I was discovering new rewarding passions that I didnt even know existed and all I had done was get out of my own way and put myself out there.
Thats the biggest reason why we often find ourselves in these life ruts we get trapped in our own heads and we feel like theres nothing good for us to do and pretty soon days, weeks, months have gone by and we havent even noticed.
But if you can just break free from that mindset, I can tell you from experience now, that not only is there a world of adventure and life out there, theres also an amazing community of people to connect with.
Rock climbing, sailing, dragon-boat racing, and crossfit were not only all incredible experiences that I could see myself doing again, but they all had these wonderfully supportive and welcoming networks of people that made the experiences so much more meaningful.
Not only was I exploring, learning and growing through these new adventures but I was building a whole new social network of like-minded people who wanted to do the same.
As I continued on my positive journey of adventure and community I couldnt help think about the larger effect this was having on my life. After all, wasnt this what life was all about? Experiencing new things, challenging yourself, finding new passions and meeting fun and amazing new people.That was the life I wanted to lead.
Why then did I spend so much time doing nothing
Stop watching Greys Anatomy and start living your life.
When youre old and youve reached a point where you have more days behind you than in front of you, what do you think your life will have been like?
What will stick out as the best times of your life? What do you imagine will have been the most fulfilling and meaningful parts?
Do you ever wonder why you never hear an elderly person complaining about not finishing an old TV series or getting enough work done at the office?
Those werent the things that made their lives worth living.
Most seniors I know regret not having experienced life to the fullest. They wish they had gone on that trip, jumped off that cliff or kissed that girl or guy.
Its these adventures that make life worth living, but if you let these moments pass, before you know it you could wake up and realize life is over and youve missed it.
Routines are the enemy of time and once your brain figures out the patterns of life, it down shifts into autopilot. Much like driving somewhere and realizing upon arrival that you didnt recall any of the trip.
Your mind had experienced that pattern so many times that your conciseness blinked and you were there. The same principle applies with life.
You need to grow, learn and challenge yourself to experience new things otherwise, you can blink and you will have arrived at the end of life wondering why you got there so quickly.
When youre young everything is new and engaging so life moves slowly but when you become an adult its a choice you have to make. If you want to wake up your brain and be alert for lifes journey then you need to choose to make adventure a part of your life.
That doesnt mean you need to quit your job tomorrow and move to Hawaii (although that would be awesome), but it does mean that life needs to be more than the daily grind and time consuming vices we make it about now.
Stop procrastinating, say yes to life
The simple solution to an underwhelming life is to find more ways to put yourself out there. I can guarantee there are countless activities happening right now that you could be taking advantage of but you arent.
You need to say yes to life and make living a priority. When opportunities come your way make sure you seize them because so often you wont get another chance.
Life Is short, and if you dont want it to pass you by, its up to you to build a life worth living.
You only get one life, so why not make it epic?
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: Contributed
Despite annual summer warnings from the SPCA, drivers continue to leave their pets in hot cars.
A car's interior can be a death trap for a dog under the burning rays of the Okanagan sun, but it happened yet again, Monday afternoon.
Castanet reader Al Stewart says he was at Sunshine Market in Kelowna's Lower Mission district when he spotted a small lap dog on the rear parcel shelf of an Acura sedan about 4:45 p.m.
Another dog was also inside the car as temperatures reached the thirties outside.
"There was even a spot to park in the shade, but the driver had chosen not to park there. Disgusting way to treat pets!" said Stewart.
The car's windows were cracked open, but that's not good enough, according to the SPCA.
Temperatures inside vehicles can rapidly soar to 45 C or more, and it only takes about 10 minutes for a dog to succumb to the heat and get heat stroke.
The SPCA advises pet owners leave their animals at home.
Across B.C., the organization responds to more than 1,100 calls for animals left in hot vehicles each year.
Photo: Thinkstock.com
After fire wardens found 38 abandoned campfires over the weekend in the Kamloops Fire Centre, B.C. Wildfire Service asks campers to be more cautious and vigilant.
None of the campfires spread but the risk was serious, said Max Birkner, fire information officer.
Campfires pose a significant risk in the backcountry since they can easily turn into a wildfire, he said.
Firefighters had enough of those to respond to over the weekend despite a hazard rating that remains low to moderate in most areas. Only the Clearwater, Salmon Arm and Penticton fire zones are ranked as high.
Birkner said there have been no lightning strikes in the Kamloops area over the last 24 hours. Thunderstorms over the weekend ignited 14 new wildfires in the fire centre, which extends from Wells Gray in the north to the U.S. border and from Lillooet in the west to Salmon Arm in the east. Six other wildfires in the fire centre were believed to have been set by people.
All of the fires in the Kamloops zone were minor, spot fires of less than .009 hectares.
Careless campfire use can have costly repercussions. Anyone who leaves a campfire unattended for any length of time can be fined $1150. If that fire turns into a wildfire, that person may be fined up to $1 million, face three years in prison and be required to pay for all related fire suppression costs.
To date in the fire centre this season, BC Wildfire Service has responded to 130 wildfires, which have burned 252 hectares. Fifty-seven of those fires have been lightning-caused and 71 are suspected to be human-caused.
To report a wildfire or unattended campfire, call *5555 on your cellular phone or call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free.
For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, visit bcwildfire.ca
NewsKamloops.com
Master modifier Matt McEntegart spent a year carving and producing his design featured in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie. Taking a base vehicle and stripping away the bodywork, matt then covers it in his own muscular super-style design.
Photo: Twitter - careymcbeth
A BC ferry travelling between Duke Point, on Vancouver Island, and the mainland has been involved in a rescue.
BC Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall says the Coastal Inspiration was called to assist Tuesday morning when a 10-metre pleasure boat ran aground off Valdez Island, south of Gabriola Island, in Georgia Strait.
Marshall says the ferry arrived just as two people in the smaller boat had been forced into an emergency dinghy.
The two people were taken aboard the ferry and are expected to be fine.
The rescue pushed the Coastal Inspiration 45 minutes behind schedule and travellers are being advised of the delay.
Photo: Rossa Baker Whitman Glen Park on Tuesday evening.
UPDATE: 8:29 p.m.
A severe thunderstorm watch for the South Okanagan is at an end.
UPDATE: 7:36 p.m.
A thunderstorm watch for the Central and North Okanagan is at an end, however it remains in effect in the southern portion of the Valley.
Rainstorms caused slick conditions on roads in the central and southern areas of the Valley.
There was also some localized flooding in some areas.
Kelowna readers sent in some photos of flooding in Whitman Glen Park, off Glenmore Road, after Mill Creek burst its banks.
UPDATE: 4 p.m.
FortisBC says it's monitoring the weather closely in case of power outages.
"Were reminding customers how to be ready and stay safe in the event of an outage," says FortisBC spokesperson Nicole Bogdanovic.
That information is available on the FortisBC website.
"Our crews are prepared and ready to report in as needed throughout the night," she said.
UPDATE: 3:30 p.m.
A storm moving through the Okanagan Valley has started to cause a bit of havoc.
Lightning in Lake Country knocked the power out to about 1,800. It has since been restored.
Skies are darkening in other parts of the Okanagan. As of 3 p.m., Environment Canada was still warning of a severe thunderstorm, which could bring with it large hail and heavy rain.
ORIGINAL
Another severe thunderstorm watch is now effect for the entire Okanagan Valley.
Environment Canada issued the warning Tuesday morning for the Valley as well as the Okanagan Connector, Coquihalla Highway, Nicola Valley, Hope-Princeton Highway and Similkameen areas.
Meteorologists say conditions are favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms that may be capable of producing strong wind gusts, large hail and heavy rain.
Large hail can damage property and cause injury, while heavy downpours are likely to cause flash floods and water pooling on roads.
Environment Canada reminds residents that lightning kills and injures Canadians every year so when thunder roars, go indoors.
For up-to-date details on highway conditions and road closures check DriveBC.
You can also monitor Environment Canada for alerts, warnings and updated forecasts.
For your local weather forecast click here.
Photo: tobykeith.com
Merritt's Rockin' River Music Festival has only just wrapped up, but organizers are already announcing next year's headliner.
Toby Keith, one of country music's biggest stars, will perform at the August long weekend festival, which runs Aug 3-6, 2017.
Festival president Kenny Hess made the announcement on the main stage as the festival wrapped up this weekend.
"The Rockin River family is thrilled to announce that everyones favorite country star Toby Keith will be standing right here next year!" he said to cheers from the crowd. "We cant thank everyone enough for all their support and we are beyond ready to get next years party started.
Keith is Billboard Music's country artist of the decade.
His two-decade career has spawned chart-topping hits such as: Red Solo Cup, Beer For My Horses, How Do You Like Me Now? and I love this Bar.
He has charted 61 singles on the Billboard Hot Country charts, including 20 No. 1 hits and 21 additional top 10 hits. Keiths albums Pull my Chain, Unleashed, and Shockn Yall have all been certified four times platinum.
The annual festival takes place along the Coldwater River, featuring three stages and more than 20 performers.
Advance tickets are available at https://rockinriverfest.com/.
The 2016 election season has been marked by constant and repeated events that trouble the sensibility of some voters. With the news cycle in overdrive, focus has shifted away from local politics. When it comes to local elections, people we know personally are found on both sides of the ballot. The notion of what a Democrat or Republican is supposed to be becomes blurred by the relative proximity to actual people we have experience dealing with. This is the upside of local politics. One has more of an opportunity to vote for a real person instead of a branded entity. That being said, this years spectacle has brought new questions regarding party unity and the messages at play between the national and local levels.
For example, last November Republican candidate Donald Trump callously mocked New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who suffers from a congenital joint condition. Mr. Trump had been referencing a 2001 article by Kovaleski in order to support his claim that thousands of Muslim Americans were cheering in the streets after 9/11. Mr. Koveleski denied writing most of Trumps claims. Trump responded by performing a cringe-worthy impersonation of Koveleskis handicap shortly afterward, then moved on to commit his next tragedy of public discourse. Many Americans took this personally. As both the son and father of disabled Americans, so did I.
When a candidate for the highest office in the land resorts to such acts, it has an effect. It encourages the ogres in our midst, who believe that blind Americans like my father dont deserve the same level of dignity as those like myself with perfect vision. It casts doubt on the inherent potential of autistic Americans, like my 4-year-old son. Worst of all, it forgives bullies and predators who roll their eyes at the less fortunate. As many already know, this trend extends beyond the issue of Americans with disabilities.
As if a case study from political science 101, Trumps words and deeds are the symptoms of a hegemonic group that senses its power slipping away. When the writing is on the wall, these groups resort to scorched-earth politics. They prefer to burn the whole world down rather than share it with anyone else. Their claims become more desperate and incomprehensible, increasing in intensity and inhumanity. This is a simple axiom of history.
In light of all this, one must try and square all of the above against the many kind, compassionate, charitable, equality minded Republican friends and colleagues in our own community. Those I know would never stoop to the level of Donald Trump, a man who was born being served, never having served anyone. Our congressional representatives, our state assemblymen, and our other elected leaders who we know as family, and friends are faced with a choice. Do you distance yourself from Trumps rhetoric or support him with silence? Will you stand up and defend those who need it the most? Your neighbors and the voters are waiting for your decision.
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While New York is open for business has largely become a marketing slogan, Im proud that so many of the Finger Lakes regions businesses and local schools are coming together to help create jobs and bridge the skills gap. Their collaborative efforts aim to ensure the states economy and workforce, particularly the manufacturing industry, get back on the right track.
According to the Manufacturers Association of New York State (MACNY), manufacturing accounts for 462,000 jobs in New York. As more manufacturing jobs become available, the skills needed and sought after are becoming more technical, requiring a background in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Locally, businesses and schools are coming together to provide todays students - tomorrows employees - with the skills they need to become qualified candidates to fill these roles.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING CRITICAL TO UPSTATES ECONOMY
Realizing the need for and benefit of a prepared workforce in the region, manufacturing businesses and organizations are partnering with schools to educate a new generation of workers. For example, Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC) has been partnering with the Finger Lakes Advanced Manufacturers Enterprise (FAME) and local businesses to offer forward-looking curricula and certifications that are relevant to regional advanced manufacturing companies.
Workforce development and training is an essential part of rebuilding and fortifying the states manufacturing sector. My colleagues in the Assembly Minority and I have been long-time advocates of career learning and workforce preparation programs geared toward student participation in career and technical education, including:
Rebranding BOCES with a new name of Career Prep Centers (A.4080-A, Kolb);
Increasing resources for career and technical employees (A.3668-A, DiPietro);
Creating the Learning for Work Program in New York high schools designed to accelerate career readiness by offering apprenticeships and enhanced professional degrees (A.8695, Lupinacci); and
Removing the Regents requirement for certain career prep center students.
INDUSTRY NEEDS LESS RED TAPE & LOWER TAXES IN ORDER TO THRIVE
As the only legislative leader in state government who has run a successful manufacturing business, I understand the uphill battle business owners in New York are facing. In addition to advocating for career-readiness programs, I will continue to promote measures designed to ease the burdens of business owners and lower the cost of doing business in New York, including:
Replacing the new job-killing minimum wage mandate with an expansion of the value of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) from 30 to 45 percent of the federal amount (A.9102, Kolb) and a training wage for youth workers (A.4384-A, Kolb); and
The Small Business Full Employment Act (A.5898-A, Kolb) proposes tax reforms and credits, prohibits new unfunded mandates, and reduces the regulatory burden on small businesses to create an environment where small businesses can succeed in New York.
Standing firm with New Yorks workforce, businesses and educators, I will continue to lead the charge in Albany to improve the manufacturing industry and business climate in our state.
What do you think? I want to hear from you. Send me your feedback, suggestions and ideas regarding this or any other issue facing New York State. You can always contact my district office at (315) 781-2030, email me at kolbb@assembly.state.ny.us, find me by searching for Assemblyman Brian Kolb on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter.
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CDC issues travel guidance related to Miami neighborhood with active Zika spread
Press Release For Immediate Release: Monday, August 1, 2016
Contact: Media Relations
(404) 639-3286
New assessments of mosquito populations and test results this past weekend by Florida public health officials, as part of a community survey in the Miami neighborhood where several Zika infections were recently confirmed, have found persistent mosquito populations and additional Zika infections in the same area. This information suggests that there is a risk of continued active transmission of Zika virus in that area. As a result, CDC and Florida are issuing travel, testing and other recommendations for people who traveled to or lived in the Florida-designated areas on or after June 15, 2016, the earliest known date that one of the people could have been infected with Zika. At Floridas request, CDC is also sending a CDC Emergency Response Team (CERT) with experts in Zika virus, pregnancy and birth defects, vector control, laboratory science, and risk communications to assist in the response. Two CDC team members are already on the ground in Florida, three more will arrive today, and three more on Tuesday, August 2.
CDC recommends:
Pregnant women not travel to the identified area.
Pregnant women and their partners living in this area should consistently follow steps to prevent mosquito bites and sexual transmission of Zika.
Pregnant women who traveled to this area on or after June 15, 2016, should talk with their healthcare provider and should be tested for Zika.
Pregnant women without symptoms of Zika who live in or frequently travel to this area should be tested for Zika virus infection in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy.
Male and female sexual partners of pregnant women who live in or who have traveled to this area should consistently and correctly use condoms or other barriers against infection during sex or abstain from sex for the duration of the pregnancy.
All pregnant women in the United States who live in or travel to an area with active Zika virus transmission, or who have sex with a partner who lives in or traveled to an area with active Zika virus transmission without using condoms or other barrier methods to prevent infection should be assessed for possible Zika virus exposure during each prenatal care visit and tested according to CDC guidance.
Women and men who traveled to this area wait at least 8 weeks before trying for a pregnancy; men with symptoms of Zika wait at least 6 months before trying for a pregnancy.
Women and men who live in or frequently travel to this area who do not have signs or symptoms consistent with Zika virus disease and are considering pregnancy should consider the risks associated with Zika virus infection, and may wish to consult their healthcare provider to help inform their decisions about timing of pregnancy.
Anyone with possible exposure to Zika virus and symptoms of Zika should be tested for Zika.
We work closely with Florida to gather and analyze new information every day. With the new information that there are active mosquitoes still in the area and additional Zika infections, we conclude that pregnant women should avoid this area and make every effort to prevent mosquito bites if they live or work there, said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. We apply the same criteria within and outside of the United States, and are working closely with the State of Florida and Miami health departments to provide preventive services, including mosquito control.
CDC continues to encourage everyone living in areas with Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, especially pregnant women and women planning to become pregnant, to protect themselves from mosquito bites. Apply insect repellent, such as those containing DEET or other EPA-approved products, to uncovered skin, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants, use or repair screens on windows and doors, use air conditioning when available, and remove standing water where mosquitoes lay eggs.
We continue to work closely with Florida public health officials to investigate the infections identified in Miami and to intensify mosquito control efforts to reduce the risk of additional infections, said Lyle R. Petersen, M.D., M.P.H., incident manager for CDCs Zika Response and director, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases. Florida officials are experienced in this type of work, and together we are working to protect pregnant women from the potentially devastating effects of this virus.
Based on the confirmation of local Zika transmission in Florida, CDC has updated its Interim Zika Response Plan (CONUS and HI) and has released the Zika Community Action Response Toolkit (Z-CART) to help states with risk communication and community engagement when local transmission is identified.
For more information about Zika: http://www.cdc.gov/zika/.
###
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICESexternal icon
Transcript for CDC Telebriefing: Zika Virus Update August 1
Press Briefing Transcript Monday, August 1, 2016, at 1:00 P.M. EST Audio recording media icon [MP3, 6.97 MB] Please Note:This transcript is not edited and may contain errors.
OPERATOR: Welcome and thank you for standing by. At this time, all participants are in listen only mode for the question and answer session. If youd like to ask a question, please press star followed by number one. Todays conference is being recorded. Any objections, you may disconnect at this time. Id like to turn over the meeting to Tom Skinner, Senior Public Affairs Officer, CDC.
TOM SKINNER: Thank you, Angela. Thank you all for joining us for this Zika update regarding south Florida. Were joined today by the Director of The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Tom Frieden who will provide some opening remarks, and then well get to your questions. Hell be joined today in the question and answer session by Dr. Lyle Petersen, whos the Incident Manager for CDC Zika Virus Response. Dr. Denise Jamieson, Co-Lead Of The Pregnancy And Birth Defects Team on the CDC Zika Virus Response Team. And Dr. Marc Fischer, a Medical Officer from CDCs Arboviral Diseases Branch who is in Florida. so without further ado, Ill turn the call over to dr. Frieden.
TOM FRIEDEN: good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us. This past Friday, we indicated that an area north of downtown Miami had active transmission of the Zika virus. And we said then that we would monitor that situation every single day. New assessments of mosquito populations and new test results from this past weekend by Florida public health officials have found persistent mosquito populations and additional Zika infections in the same area. This suggests that theres a risk of continued active transmission of Zika in that area. As a result, CDC and Florida are issuing travel and testing recommendations for people who traveled to or live in the Florida designated areas on or after June 15th, 2016. That date is the earliest known date that one of the individuals who became infected with Zika could have become infected, as far as the information we have as of today. At the request of Governor Scott of Florida, we are sending a CDC Emergency Response Team or CERT team to Florida. we already have two staff on the ground in Florida, three more en route today and two more will be arriving in Florida three more, I should say, will be arriving in Florida tomorrow.
These experts include individuals with extensive experience in Zika, in addressing pregnancy and birth defects, in mosquito control, laboratory science and community engagement. The bottom line of this announcement is that we advise pregnant women to avoid travel to this area and pregnant women who live or work in this area and their partners to make every effort to avoid mosquito bites and prevent sexual transmission of Zika. This advice applies to anyone who lives in or has traveled to this area any time after June 15th. Again, the earliest known date that one of the cases could have been infected with Zika. Id like to step back for a moment and talk about Zika more generally. As we have said since the beginning of this unprecedented outbreak, we are learning something new about Zika every day. We make decisions to update our recommendations and guidance on a day-by-day basis. What we know about Zika is scary. Zika can cause microcephaly, and this is the first time weve seen a devastating birth defect result from a mosquito bite and it causes microcephaly even among women who dont appear to have had any symptoms of Zika infection. But in some ways what we dont know about Zika is even more unsettling. We dont know the long-term impact Zika may have on children born to infected mothers who dont have obvious signs of microcephaly, and these effects may only become apparent months or years in the future. We also dont yet have ideal ways to control the particular mosquitoes that spread Zika, and we need better methods and tools for mosquito control.
In Miami, aggressive mosquito control measures dont seem to be working as well as we would have liked. This may happen for at least one of three reasons. First, its possible that the mosquitoes there are resistant to the insecticides that have been used. Second, its possible that there are what we call cryptic breeding places or small amounts of standing water where mosquitoes continue to hatch. And third, its possible simply that this is a very difficult mosquito to control, particularly in a complex urban environment like the one north of downtown Miami. In any case, the vector control expert CDC sent will work with Florida authorities to begin resistance testing so we can determine whether mosquitoes in this area are susceptible to the insecticides being used. That testing, however, is complex and takes at least a week and sometimes three weeks or more. So the mosquito control experts in Florida who have extensive experience with mosquito control as well as our own mosquito control experts are meeting intensively to outline additional measures that may be taken to reduce mosquito populations. At CDC, more than 1,600 of our experts have been working since January to learn more about Zika and protect the health of pregnant women and others. Based on what we know now about the situation in the community north of downtown Miami, in Florida, we recommend the following. First, that pregnant women not travel to the identified area. Second, that pregnant women and their partners who live in this area make every effort to prevent mosquito bites and prevent sexual transmission of Zika. This includes applying insect repellent containing Deet to uncovered skin, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, using and repairing screens and windows and doors and using air conditioning when available and removing standing water where mosquitoes lay eggs. That pregnant women who traveled to this area on or after June 15th talk with their health care provider to be tested for Zika. That pregnant women without symptoms of Zika who live in or frequently travel to this area be tested for Zika in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. That male and female sexual partners of pregnant women who live in or have traveled to this area consistently and correctly use condoms or other barriers against infection during sex. For the duration of pregnancy. that all pregnant women throughout the U.S. be assessed for possible Zika virus exposure during each prenatal care visit and tested according to our guidance. that women and men who travelled to this area and have left the area wait at least eight weeks before trying for a pregnancy. Men with symptoms of Zika should wait at least six months before trying for a pregnancy. And that anyone with possible exposure to Zika and symptoms of Zika be tested for the infection.
We do expect that additional individual infections will be reported. There are undoubtedly more infections because most people infected with Zika dont have symptoms. People infected a week or two ago may also have their infections diagnosed. Nothing that we have seen indicates widespread transmission but its certainly possible there could be sustained transmission in small areas. This is particularly a risk for people who dont have screens or air conditioning and who live in crowded spaces. Well continue to update you with what we know when we know it. We understand that people want more information and are understandably concerned about Zika here and elsewhere. We wish we had all of the answers, but the fact is this is a new phenomenon. Zika was not known to cause microcephaly even a year ago, and we continue to learn more each day about Zika. Were doing all that science can allow to get answers and working around the clock to prevent infections. Florida is working hard to reduce the risk of Zika infection and to protect pregnant women. the bottom line here is that because mosquito-control efforts in the specific community, one-mile radius north of downtown Miami, dont appear to be working as well as we would have hoped, and because weve seen more Zika cases over a longer time frame, we advise pregnant women to avoid travel to this area and pregnant women who live and work in this area to make every effort to avoid mosquito bites. Thank you.
TOM SKINNER: Angela, I think were ready for questions, please. Well allow reporters to ask a question and a follow-up and then move to the next question.
OPERATOR: Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. If youd like to ask a question, please press star followed by number 1. Our first question comes from Richard Besser with ABC news.
RICHARD BESSER: Thanks very much. Can you hear me?
TOM SKINNER: Yes. Go ahead, Richard.
RICHARD BESSER: thanks a lot, Dr. Frieden. I have a question about limiting the travel advisory to such a small area. Has there been additional testing to show that youve been able to Florida has been able to limit the mosquito in the other parts of Miami? And have they done urine testing beyond this affected neighborhood?
TOM FRIEDEN: The Miami and Florida officials are doing additional urine testing. Our understanding is there have been several investigations over the past weeks, and in other investigations, no additional cases have been identified or infections have been identified, I should say. In this particular neighborhood, in the 150-meter area around the two workplaces where two initial cases were found, multiple additional infected individuals were identified. Those individuals were all identified within that 150-meter area. Florida is following the recommendation of going to about five times that distance to have a buffer zone in a one-mile radius around the very specific area where the virus has been spreading. We know that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are present widely, not just throughout Miami but 30 states in the U.S. and anywhere these Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are present, women should take steps to protect themselves, pregnant women in particular, to protect themselves against mosquito bites.
RICHARD BESSER: Thanks very much. Just in follow-up, England and Ireland have put out a recommendation to the entire state of Florida. Do you think thats overkill?
TOM FRIEDEN: The information i saw from public health England referred to the several block area in the north of downtown Miami. So I am not sure if the travel recommendation is broader than that. But we recommend specific to this neighborhood. We will reassess that on a daily basis. But its very important to be clear that the way Zika spreads is different from the way other mosquito-borne viruses spread. Zika is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. There isnt an animal reservoir. Unlike West Nile which persists in the bird population and can affect an entire state, with Zika it is quite focal and generally requires that mosquitoes get re-infected or infected by people who are infected. So persists where there is a crowded population without access to air conditioning or screens and the presence of large numbers of mosquitoes. So we will be looking very carefully as Florida around this area to see if there are other people who have been infected, but in the other investigations theyve done, they have not found other infected people. In this particular investigation, they did find additional individuals both at the workplace where one of the initial workers was diagnosed, was from, and in the community within this 150-meter area. Thank you.
RICHARD BESSER: thanks very much.
TOM SKINNER: Next question.
TOM FRIEDEN: Angela, we can take the next question.
OPERATOR: One moment please for the next question.
OPERATOR: Next question comes from Betsy McKay with Wall Street Journal.
BETSY MCKAY: Hi. Thanks very much. I wanted to follow up on that last comment, Dr. Frieden. You said they found was this everyone? Were all 14 people found within this 150-meter area around the workplace, either at the workplace or in the community? Was that everybody, or are there, you know, some people who may have been infected, you know, in that neighborhood but outside that 150-meter area? And then my second question was, you mentioned that the, you know, mosquito populations arent coming down because of possible resistance. Do you know what insecticide or insecticides are being used?
TOM FRIEDEN: Thank you. and Ill refer you to Florida for the details of those questions, but my understanding, which should be confirmed with Florida is that 12 of the 14 infections so far diagnosed that are referred to in Governor Scotts press release today occurred in this 150-meter area. Thats a large number, but not a surprising number. We had two symptomatic infections or three symptomatic infections and we expect four asymptomatic infections for each symptomatic infection. In addition, as I made in my opening remarks, we may well see other infections in that area because of how efficient a vector this particular mosquito is. In terms of insecticides, our understanding is theyve used at least two different products from the pyrethroid class. Next question, please.
OPERATOR: Next question comes from Nick Valencia with CNN.
NICK VALENCIA: Hello, Dr. Frieden. Thanks for taking the question. Im here in Wynnwood and have been for the last three days. About ten minutes ago, I saw a pregnant woman walking through this neighborhood who told me she plans on ignoring the CDC advisory and, unfortunately, those that Ive spoken to here echo the same sentiment. Is there anything more that can be done? Are you considering more aggressive steps for considering other action in light of this information? Because people just dont seem to be paying attention and are blaming us for perhaps even causing fear among the locals.
TOM FRIEDEN: I think what you are experiencing there is something that we have seen, surprisingly, often in the Zika response. Im sorry that people feel that way, but it is a problem. But generally, we take most seriously those threats that are about to happen. And one of the challenges with Zika is, first, people dont get sick because four out of five have no symptoms at all and the last has relatively mild symptoms usually. And second, the problem is six, seven, eight months away when a baby with microcephaly is delivered. But the tragedy of a preventable case of a severe birth defect is something I think we have to make very clear to people. If you see the pictures and the stories from Brazil and Colombia and elsewhere where women are delivering children with Microcephaly and if you think about the uncertainty that many many more babies born to women who were infected with Zika than there are babies born with microcephaly and we dont know if those babies will have neurological problems later in life. It is truly a scary situation, but its not immediately apparent to people that it is this kind of a significant risk. So we appreciate your work at making clear what this means for individuals. I think any parent wants the best for their child, and being able to do whatever we can so that were providing information to the public and, in particular, to pregnant women and their providers so that they can take steps to protect themselves and their pregnancy is really our responsibility and our commitment. Do you have a follow-up question?
NICK VALENCIA: Well, I am I have a follow-up question about the vector control team, the numbers. Is it eight total from the CDC?
TOM FRIEDEN: Its called a CERT team and includes vector control as well as a variety of other expertise, including birth defects, laboratory science, communications and the Zika virus itself. And pregnancy and birth defects. And eight is the correct number. At this time. Well have more if needed. We already, as I mentioned, have two staff on the ground. Three en route and three more coming tomorrow. Its called a CERT team, c-e-r-t. CDC emergency response team. Next question, please.
NICK VALENCIA: Thank you.
OPERATOR: Next question comes from Mike Stobbe with The Associated Press.
MIKE STOBBE: Yeah, can you hear me?
MIKE STOBBE: Thanks. First question, could you say a little more about, again, on the theme of the aggressive mosquito measures that dont seem to be working. Can you tell us how thats been measured and what the numbers are that show that it hasnt been working? and my second question was, could you say just for historical context, when is the last time that CDC or any federal public health agency has advised any members of the public not to travel to some area in the continental United States?
TOM FRIEDEN: So in answer to your first question, wed refer you to Florida. Our vector control expert is arriving today. But from the information that we heard, despite the daily use of spraying, the vector control experts there were still seeing new larval mosquitoes and moderately high Aedes aegypti counts. Which is not something that we hoped to see. As I mentioned, this could be because of insecticide resistance and cryptic breeding sites or that this is a very difficult mosquito to control. And with regard to your second question, as far as we know, we can find no similar recommendation in recent years. Of course, Puerto Rico is part of the U.S. and January 15th of this year, we issued recommendations relating to Puerto Rico. Next question, please.
OPERATOR: Okay. The next question comes from Liz Szabo with USA Today.
LIZ SZABO: Thanks. He just answered my question.
TOM FRIEDEN: Okay. Next question.
OPERATOR: Next question comes from Daniel Chang with the Miami Herald.
DANIEL CHANG: Hi, Dr. Frieden. Thank you for taking my call. I was hoping that you might be able to better identify this 150-meter area that you refer to in your opening comments. The Florida department of health is still giving us the one square mile area, and that was my first question. My follow-up question was related to the CERT team and at which point they would be dispatched. I know it requires a states request. As I saw in the plan that the CDC released earlier, there are different stages at which they could request a CERT team. What is the earliest that Florida could have asked for that assistance? Thank you.
TOM FRIEDEN: So, thank you. First, in terms of the 150-meter area, I would refer you to the Florida health department. I will say its generally in the center of that one-mile block so that its kind of theres a buffer zone all around it with natural boundaries. In terms of the CERT team, the CERT team actually members of it are already there and have been there since last week. And as I mentioned, will be there today and tomorrow, the full CERT team will have arrived. And weve had very close coordination, collaboration with Florida from the beginning of this. Ive been in essentially daily conversations with the surgeon general of Florida, Dr. Celeste Philip. Also in regular coordination between our experts and theirs. The Florida laboratories have been really at the forefront of some of the innovations and laboratory testing for Zika. So theres a close collaboration here, and this just steps it up to the next level.
DANIEL CHANG: Thank you.
TOM FRIEDEN: Next question, please.
TOM FRIEDEN: Next question comes from Jonathan Serrie with Fox News.
JONATHAN SERRIE: Hi, Dr. Frieden. You mentioned theres no animal reservoir for this particular virus with the way the mosquitos transferring it. A traveler returns from a country or territory with Zika transmission, gets bitten by local mosquitoes which then pass this on to others. What can you tell us about patient zero or how this virus moved into south Florida?
TOM FRIEDEN: Well, because four out of five infections are without symptoms, its unlikely that well ever know exactly who brought it in, where they brought it in from. Thats why its so important that anywhere in the U.S. there are Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that pregnant women take steps to protect themselves. Its possible there are occasional transmissions in local areas that may be inapparent because, again, four out of five infections are asymptomatic. I know thats unsettling and in some ways unsatisfying, but thats the way the world works. What we do is take that and then say, what can we do to be maximally protective? We know with 1600-plus infections documented in the U.S., there are many times that number of people who have actually had the disease in the U.S. because most asymptomatic people arent tested. Really the few asymptomatic diagnoses we have are pregnant women in this country. Sso with 40 million-plus travelers to and from affected areas, and intense transmission in Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the Caribbean and in the hemisphere, we know there will be a continuing stream of people coming back from business trips, from travel to visit relatives, from vacations who may feel perfectly fine but dont have any symptoms. Everyone coming back from somewhere where Zika is spreading should use mosquito repellent for three weeks to protect their family in case a mosquito bites them and then gets infected. What you say is exactly correct. The way this is generally spread is that the mosquito hitchhikes in the blood of a traveler and then is bitten by when that traveler is bitten by another mosquito, that mosquito develops the infection and then can bite others. So this is why its so important that, first off, all pregnant women in areas where Aedes aegypti is spreading protect themselves from mosquito bites and all travelers returning from infected areas use mosquito repellent for three weeks to protect their family and their community. Do you have a follow-up question?
JONATHAN SERRIE: No, I dont. That answers it. Thank you.
TOM FRIEDEN: Thank you. Next question.
OPERATOR: Next question comes from Lena Sun with The Washington Post.
LENA SUN: Hi, Dr. Frieden. Can you say anything about whether there is anything unusual that the mosquito folks are seeing about Aedes aegypti in this particular area? You mentioned they may be hiding out in these cryptic areas. I was wondering if theres anything thats come up about the way this mosquito is behaving? Thats one. And my follow-up question has to do with the workplace. The workplace where a lot of this has been occurring, have those workplaces taken extra precautions to warn their workers to get tested or spray or do additional take additional measures?
TOM FRIEDEN: Thank you. Whats, I think, challenging about this area is that its a mixed use area. And has many different types of buildings and locations present from industrial to residential. From high end to more economically stressed. From areas that weve seen on the news where theres a lot of nightlife. Areas that are more isolated. So its an unusual area in that regard or not unusual but an area thats not a wall of one type or another type. That does makes mosquito control more difficult because you need to tailor the mosquito-control activities to the specifics of the area to get rid of breeding sites as well as apply larvacide and insecticide effectively. In terms of the workplace Id have to refer you to Florida. I know theyve been quite cooperative and extensive sampling was done at the workplace as well.
LENA SUN: Thank you.
TOM FRIEDEN: Next question.
OPERATOR: Next question comes from Pam Belluck with New York Times.
PAM BELLUCK: In Governor Scotts press release, he said that CDC was advising not only pregnant women but women considering becoming pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant. Are you extending it to that population as well? And as a follow-up, he had said that six of the ten new cases were not symptomatic. I assume that four then were? And were they all identified by, you know, kind of urine testing of people in the area, or were any of them identified because they showed up with symptoms elsewhere?
TOM FRIEDEN: Ill answer the second of those questions and then ask Dr. Denise Jamieson to answer the first of them. The details of the investigation again Ill refer you to Florida. Our understanding is that they did surveys both at the workplace, as well as in the community. And for the community for the community survey, they identified six asymptomatic people with positive urine PCR, implying infection within the past two weeks. For the workplace, they identified individuals with both positive PCR and positive IGM. Some had symptoms and some did not. And so Ill refer you to the state for those details. Dr. Jamieson?
DENISE JAMIESON: so we are advising that pregnant women not travel to this area that the Florida department of health has identified. In addition, were recommending that women who are considering pregnancy not get pregnant for up to eight weeks after returning from that area.
PAM BELLUCK: Okay. If youre considering pregnancy, then you can travel there, just dont get pregnant for eight weeks.
DENISE JAMIESON: Correct.
PAM BELLUCK: Okay.
TOM FRIEDEN: Next question, please.
OPERATOR: Next question comes from Robert Lowes with MedScape Medical News.
ROBERT LOWES: Dr. Frieden, thanks for taking all our calls. In the press release from Governor Scott, he said that Florida remains safe and open for business. He said, you know, we already welcomed 30 million tourists. We look forward to welcoming more visitors to Florida this summer. Did Florida ask the CDC to limit the size of this travel advisory area? The known transmission area to that particular dimension to basically protect the tourism industry in Miami?
TOM FRIEDEN: No. In fact, this is consistent with the CDC guidance wed already published and have updated more recently. The guidance basically takes into account that the Aedes aegypti mosquito doesnt travel more than 150 meters in its lifetime and that within the U.S., transmission that weve seen of dengue and Chikungunya has been very focal so there wouldnt be a technical or scientific basis to give a broader recommendation. We dont have evidence that theres spread more broadly. We do know that all throughout parts of 30 states of the U.S., we have Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. In all of those places, pregnant women should protect themselves against mosquito bites. But here, the importance is to be specific so that people in that area can take steps to protect themselves and can avoid travel to that area if they are pregnant. We will continue to look at this data every single day, including additional testing, and if that changes in Florida, then we will adjust the area of warning.
ROBERT LOWES: Thank you.
TOM FRIEDEN: Next question.
OPERATOR: Next question comes from Helen Branswell with STAT.
HELEN BRANSWELL: Hi. Thanks very much for taking my question. Dr. Frieden, you mentioned that the vector control efforts dont seem to be working as well as they ought to be. What is showing up in their traps? Mostly aedes aegypti? Is it anything else, and I dont think theres been any positive hits yet in terms of infected mosquitoes, and I have a follow-up question.
TOM FRIEDEN: Thank you. They are using traps specific for Aedes aegypti and they are catching mostly Aedes aegypti. As far as we know theyve not had any positive mosquitoes. And we dont expect that. Its kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack to get a positive mosquito. We generally find that for determining if there is local transmission, unfortunately, finding cases in people is much more sensitive than finding infections in mosquitoes.
HELEN BRANSWELL: okay. My follow-up question, i think Dr. Petersen is on the line. You have been doing work looking at potential vectors for Zika and particularly whether some of the mosquitoes that are more prevalent in the United States could be common vectors. Are you seeing any signs that anything else is a potential problem?
DR. LYLE PETERSEN: That work is ongoing. So far to date, theyve been looking at Culex mosquitoes which are the ones that spread West Nile. Weve found no evidence to date that the virus can be propagated in those mosquitoes.
TOM FRIEDEN: Well take two more questions.
OPERATOR: Next question comes from Nancy Cook with Politico.
NANCY COOK: Hi. Thank you so much for taking my question. Hello?
TOM FRIEDEN: Yes, go ahead.
NANCY COOK: Yeah. I just was wondering, on the Friday call, the CDC, you were saying that there was no need to issue any sort of travel bans. And Im wondering what has changed. You know, its just two days later. What has changed over the weekend to make you guys alter that call? Thank you.
TOM FRIEDEN: So as we said on Friday, we literally look at this every single day. And we had basically three pieces of information come in over Saturday and Sunday. The first and most concerning was that it appeared that the mosquito-control activities hadnt had the level of success that we had hoped. They are still seeing more Aedes aegypti mosquitoes (the mosquito that spreads this) than we had hoped. Second, the additional testing that Florida did found additional cases. And those cases went back to June 30th. So there was more extensive spread in this area and more extensive mosquito populations than we had known on Friday. Because of that, today we advised pregnant women not to travel to that area. And well continue to work with Florida to look at the data every single day. Florida is releasing additional information on what they are doing in terms of the investigation of this and other potentially locally transmitted cases. This is not the first investigation theyve done. In other investigations theyve evaluated and not found any local transmission. In this case, they investigated and found further local I should say further local transmission. and for that, they basically have identified, as mentioned, ten additional cases in this area or infections, I should say, in this area, including six asymptomatic community members, as well as add to the two individuals who triggered the investigation here, so a total of 12 cases in this 150-meter radius. They the state has tested more than 2,000 people statewide. Theyve tested more than 200 people through these different investigations of local or potentially locally transmitted Zika, and theyve identified the area where active transmission is occurring. They are doing extensive outreach in that area and the CDC CERT team or the CDC Emergency Response Team is already either there or en route to work with Florida since the request of Governor Scott this morning, but weve been working closely with Florida for weeks on this and other investigations. And we recognize its a situation that changes rapidly. This is what weve seen with Zika. We literally are responding daily. We work 24/7 to protect people. As soon as we get new information that affects how we give guidance, we will provide that new guidance. We have time for one last question.
OPERATOR: Our last question comes from Tom Howell with the Washington Times.
TOM HOWELL: You mentioned you dont expect widespread transmission but you do expect possible sustained transmission in these localized areas. For people who hear that there wont be supposedly widespread infections swirling throughout the continental U.S. and those who doubt $1.9 billion number, can you explain why the $1.9 billion number is still the number that, you know, you feel is needed to combat this disease?
TOM FRIEDEN: Just to be clear, this is a really tough mosquito to control. When Key West had an outbreak of dengue a few years back, despite extensive mosquito control efforts, that outbreak continued for more than a year. And, therefore, its a demonstration of how intensive the efforts need to be to control this infection. In addition, we know that a single child born with microcephaly represents a terrible tragedy for that family. And also can cost $10 million or more in medical and other costs over the lifetime of that child. So preventing these tragic occurrences to the best of our ability requires a robust response. That means investing today, not just in the vaccine, which is very important, but in better ways to kill mosquitoes, better ways to track mosquitoes, better ways to diagnose the infection to protect pregnant women more effectively.
Before closing, I just want to reiterate the bottom line which is that what we have learned over the past 48 hours is that mosquito control efforts dont appear to have been as effective as we had hoped, and a number of new cases of Zika have been diagnosed in that specific 150-meter area. Therefore, CDC advises pregnant women to avoid travel to this one-mile radius area north of downtown Miami. And for pregnant women who live or work in the area to make every effort to avoid mosquito bites. Thank you.
TOM SKINNER: Thank you all for joining us for this call today. A transcript of this call will be posted to the CDC newsroom later this afternoon. If you have follow-up questions or need additional information, please call the CDC press office at 404-639-3286. Thank you once again for joining us. Well provide more updated information as we have it. Thank you.
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICESexternal icon
State and local strategies are needed to increase access to contraceptive methods and related services, reduce the risk for unintended pregnancy, and minimize the number of pregnancies affected by Zika infection. Potentially effective strategies include addressing policies on high device costs and provider reimbursement, comprehensive provider training on insertion and removal of LARC, provision of youth-friendly services, support to resource-challenged jurisdictions, client-centered counseling and assessment of patient satisfaction, and increased consumer awareness of the full range of contraceptive methods to delay or avoid pregnancy.
State-based estimates of contraception use are provided for nonpregnant and postpartum women at risk for unintended pregnancy and sexually active female high school students. Among these populations, use of moderate and less effective contraception was most common; use of no contraceptive method and use of LARC varied by state, age group, and race/ethnicity.
Zika virus is transmitted through the bite of an Aedes species mosquito, sex with an infected partner, or from a pregnant woman to her fetus. Zika virus infection during pregnancy is a cause of congenital microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects. It has also been associated with eye defects, hearing loss, and impaired growth. Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended. Among nonpermanent contraceptive methods, long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) is the most effective contraceptive option for preventing unintended pregnancy.
Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause congenital microcephaly and brain abnormalities (1,2). Since 2015, Zika virus has been spreading through much of the World Health Organizations Region of the Americas, including U.S. territories. Zika virus is spread through the bite of Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, by sex with an infected partner, or from a pregnant woman to her fetus during pregnancy.* CDC estimates that 41 states are in the potential range of Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquitoes (3), and on July 29, 2016, the Florida Department of Health identified an area in one neighborhood of Miami where Zika virus infections in multiple persons are being spread by bites of local mosquitoes. These are the first known cases of local mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission in the continental United States. CDC prevention efforts include mosquito surveillance and control, targeted education about Zika virus and condom use to prevent sexual transmission, and guidance for providers on contraceptive counseling to reduce unintended pregnancy. To estimate the prevalence of contraceptive use among nonpregnant and postpartum women at risk for unintended pregnancy and sexually active female high school students living in the 41 states where mosquito-borne transmission might be possible, CDC used 20112013 and 2015 survey data from four state-based surveillance systems: the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS, 20112013), which surveys adult women; the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS, 2013) and the Maternal and Infant Health Assessment (MIHA, 2013), which surveys women with a recent live birth; and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS, 2015), which surveys students in grades 912. CDC defines an unintended pregnancy as one that is either unwanted (i.e., the pregnancy occurred when no children, or no more children, were desired) or mistimed (i.e., the pregnancy occurred earlier than desired). The proportion of women at risk for unintended pregnancy who used a highly effective reversible method, known as long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), ranged from 5.5% to 18.9% for BRFSS-surveyed women and 6.9% to 30.5% for PRAMS/MIHAsurveyed women. The proportion of women not using any contraception ranged from 12.3% to 34.3% (BRFSS) and from 3.5% to 15.3% (PRAMS/MIHA). YRBS data indicated that among sexually active female high school students, use of LARC at last intercourse ranged from 1.7% to 8.4%, and use of no contraception ranged from 7.3% to 22.8%. In the context of Zika preparedness, the full range of contraceptive methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including LARC, should be readily available and accessible for women who want to avoid or delay pregnancy. Given low rates of LARC use, states can implement strategies to remove barriers to the access and availability of LARC including high device costs, limited provider reimbursement, lack of training for providers serving women and adolescents on insertion and removal of LARC, provider lack of knowledge and misperceptions about LARC, limited availability of youth-friendly services that address adolescent confidentiality concerns, inadequate client-centered counseling, and low consumer awareness of the range of contraceptive methods available.
BRFSS is a cross-sectional, random-digitdialed, state-based telephone survey that collects data on risk behaviors and preventive health practices among adult respondents living in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Data from 17 states that might be at risk for mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus (3) and had implemented questions on self-reported contraceptive use as part of the BRFSS Family Planning module in 2011 or as state-added questions in 2012 or 2013 were used to estimate use of contraception among women aged 1844 years at risk for unintended pregnancy. PRAMS is an ongoing state-based and population-based surveillance system designed to monitor selected self-reported maternal behaviors and experiences that occur before, during, and after pregnancy among women who recently delivered a live-born infant.** Data from 28 PRAMS states, reporting in 2013, were used to estimate contraceptive use at the time of the survey (46 months postpartum) among women aged 1544 years with a recent live birth who were at risk for unintended pregnancy. PRAMS sites were included if they might be at risk for mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus (3) and achieved a weighted response rate of 55%. The 2013 MIHA was used to estimate contraceptive use for postpartum women in California. Using methods comparable to PRAMS, MIHA is an annual, statewide-representative survey of women with a recent live birth. YRBSs are conducted by state health and education agencies among representative samples of students in grades 912, to monitor health-risk behaviors, including sexual behaviors related to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.*** Data from 2015 YRBSs conducted in 28 states that might be at risk for mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus (3) were used to describe contraceptive use among female high school students at last sexual intercourse.
For all data sources, contraceptive use was classified according to the estimated percentage of users who experience pregnancy during the first year of typical use as highly effective (<1%), moderately effective (6%10%), and less effective (>10%) (4). Among women reporting more than one contraceptive method, the most effective method was coded. Highly effective, permanent contraceptive methods included female sterilization, tubal ligation, or partner vasectomy. Highly effective LARC methods included intrauterine devices (IUDs) and contraceptive implants. Moderately effective contraceptive methods included hormone injections, contraceptive pills, transdermal contraceptive patches, and vaginal rings. Less effective methods included diaphragm, condoms (male or female), cervical cap, sponge, withdrawal, spermicide, fertility-based awareness methods, emergency contraception, and other. Data for the use of permanent contraceptive methods, although included in the denominator for calculating percentages, are not presented because women reporting female sterilization or partner vasectomy do not need ongoing contraceptive services.
Weighted prevalence estimates and 95% confidence intervals for contraceptive use were calculated overall and by age group, as appropriate (BRFSS: ages 1824, 2534, and 3544 years; PRAMS/MIHA: ages 1519, 2024, 2534, and 3544 years) and by race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic white [white], non-Hispanic black [black], and Hispanic). For all surveys, non-Hispanic other race was included in the denominator, but not presented because of small sample sizes. PRAMS/MIHA data were used to estimate the prevalence of contraceptive use by insurance status (private insurance, Medicaid, and none); other insurance was not presented because of small sample sizes. Estimates were excluded when they did not meet the reliability standard established for each surveillance system.****
In the 17 states for which BRFSS data were available, use of LARC at last sexual intercourse among women aged 1844 years at risk for unintended pregnancy ranged from 5.5% (Arizona) to 18.9% (Utah) (Table 1). The proportion of women at risk for unintended pregnancy who used no contraception was lowest in Vermont (12.3%) and highest in Tennessee (34.3%). For all states, moderately and less effective contraception use was lower among older women (available at https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/40511). Use of less effective contraception was more common among Hispanic women than among white women (available at https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/40511).
PRAMS and MIHA data indicated that the proportion of women aged 1544 years at risk for unintended pregnancy using LARC during the postpartum period ranged from 6.9% (New Jersey) to 30.5% (Utah) (Table 2) and was typically highest among adolescents aged 1519 years (available at https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/40512). The proportion of postpartum women at risk for unintended pregnancy who did not use contraception ranged from 3.5% (Vermont) to 15.3% (Hawaii). In general, use of LARC and moderately effective contraception was lower in older women (available at https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/40512). The proportion of women using less effective contraceptive methods tended to be higher among white and Hispanic women than black women (available at https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/40512). Among women with no insurance, use of LARC ranged from 5.3% (New Jersey) to 34.2% (Utah) (available at https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/40513).
YRBS data indicated that among currently sexually active female high school students in 28 states, LARC use ranged from <2% (North Carolina and Pennsylvania) to 8.4% (Vermont) (Table 3). Use of less effective contraceptive methods ranged from 36.3% (Vermont) to 59.9% (Florida); the proportion of sexually active female high school students not using any contraception was lowest in Vermont (7.3%) and highest in Arkansas (22.8%). Limited data were available to describe sexually active female high school students using contraception by method effectiveness and race/ethnicity (available at https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/40514).
LafargeHolcim - July 2016
LafargeHolcim has agreed to sell Lafarge India to the Indian conglomerate Nirma Ltd for around US$1400m. It will be Nirmas first investment in the cement sector and comes in spite of a marginally higher offer from a Chinese cement producer. The deal involves three cement works and two grinding centres with a combined capacity of some 11Mt and is also one of the largest ready-mixed concrete producers in India. The disposal of some cement operations were demanded by the competition authorities as a condition of approving the Holcim Lafarge merger.
LafargeHolcim has also agreed to sell Holcim Lanka in Sri Lanka to Siam City Cement for US$400m. Holcim Lanka owns one integrated cement works and one grinding centre with a combined capacity of 1.7Mta. It is anticipated that this deal will be completed during the third quarter of the current year.
ACCs first-half cement volume increased by 3.8 per cent to 12.48Mt while the ready-mixed concrete output advanced by 11.4 per cent to 1.3mm. The turnover was 0.8 per cent lower at INR57.933bn while EBITDA was 5.7 per cent lower at INR8.9115bn, but the pretax profit did advance by 30.3 per cent to INR632.44m and the net attributable profit advanced by 26 per cent to INR4.6607bn.
Ambuja Cement is increased its first-half cement volume by 3.5 per cent to11.62Mt and the turnover edged ahead by 0.7 per cent to INR50.0535bn, while the pretax profit rose by 31.5 per cent to INR9.6668bn and the net attributable profit advanced by 29.3 per cent to INR7.0327bn.
Semen Indonesia exports to East Timor
ICR Newsroom By 02 August 2016
PT Semen Indonesia has said that it exports 15,000t of cement to Dili, East Timor, every month. Through subsidiary Semen Tonasa, the company has exported to Dili every month since 2000, according to senior manager at the company, Sigit Wahano.
Mr Wahano said Semen Indonesia, with a production capacity of 31.8Mta, exports 10 per cent of its production volume every year.
Published under
Qatar Cement signs US$100m deal with Saudi investors
ICR Newsroom By 02 August 2016
The Qatar National Cement Company has agreed a US$100m financing deal with Samba Financial Group of Saudi Arabia, the Peninsula newspaper reports.
The investment deal will be used to part-fund Qatar Cements fifth integrated plant, construction of which is already underway at a total cost of QAR950m (US$260m). The new plant will have a clinker capacity of 17,000tpd and grinding capacity of 20,000tpd.
Qatar Cement also released its earnings statement for the first half of 2016. This overturned the companys disappointing first-quarter results, which showed a 1.6 per cent YoY fall in profits. In the first six months of 2016, Qatar Cement made a profit of QAR251.7m (US$69m), up 3.75 per cent YoY.
Last month, Qatar Cement announced that it would close its oldest cement plant Plant 1 which first came online in 1969 and currently has a capacity of 0.2Mt of clinker and 0.14Mt of cement.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers decision to send outfielder Yasiel Puig to the minors Monday after trying and failing to trade him wound up creating a media controversy, as Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal initially reported both on Twitter and on Foxs site that Puig showed up at Dodger Stadium and stormed off when he found the news. Puigs agent Adam Katz sent out a statement that Puig never went to the park, and Rosenthal subsequently issued corrections in both places. Heres his Twitter correction:
To those upset with first version of Puig story: Im with you. I take great pride in accuracy. It infuriates me that a key detail was wrong. Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 2, 2016
The information came from sources, but thats not an excuse. Its my job to check everything thoroughly. Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 2, 2016
The only solution in a situation like this is to apologize, correct the mistake and learn from it. And thats what Im doing. Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 2, 2016
And his online correction:
Puigs agent, Adam Katz, and Dodgers officials said that my initial report that Puig stormed off after arriving at Dodger Stadium and being given the news was inaccurate. Im told he never went to the park, Katz said. The club informed me and the player understood clearly that they were making every to trade him and that if they were unable to come to terms with another club on a trade and successful in acquiring another outfielder that he likely would be demoted. My understanding is that transaction will happen tomorrow.
Rosenthals misstep here illustrates both the problems that can arise with anonymous sources (when a source isnt named, their credibility then rests on the reporter and the outlet, and that can damage the reputation of both when the source is wrong) and how quickly an error can spread when made by someone with a large platform. Rosenthals generally very reliable, so his report was understandably passed on through a lot of channels (both on Twitter and on other sites, by both fans and media outlets).
Rosenthal deserves credit for correcting this publicly and in detail on both Twitter and Foxs site, and keeping a reference to his inaccurate initial report in the copy there. Many would have just updated the post and eliminated mention of their mistake, but in a case like this, its absolutely appropriate to mention it. This is one misstep, and everyone makes mistakes, but Rosenthal handled the correction well. However, this should serve as a further warning for readers to be leery of anonymous sources, even if the reporter presenting them is generally quite credible.
Motorcycle theft
A man reported his motorcycle stolen in east Flagstaff this past week.
According to the police report, the victim had left the vehicle in a parking lot in the 1900 block of North Fourth Street on July 18. He told officers this past Tuesday that he had located video surveillance footage from a business that showed an unidentified male wheeling the motorcycle away at approximately 6:45 p.m. July 18.
The vehicle was a black 2007 Suzuki GZ 250 with Arizona license plate number GMCF8L. It has been entered into the FBI's National Crime Information Center database as stolen.
The investigation is ongoing.
Charged with DUI
Juliet Alyce Jones, 46, who is transient, was arrested by Flagstaff Police Department on an aggravated DUI with a suspended license charge and a hit-and-run charge at 2:55 p.m. Wednesday.
City and county residents who want to report a crime but wish to remain anonymous may call Silent Witness at 774-6111 or (877) 29-CRIME, submit a tip online at www.coconinosilentwitness.org, or text the word Flagtip along with your information to 274637 (CRIMES). Rewards of up to $2,000 are given for information that leads to an arrest.
Two off-duty police officers and a civilian bystander tackled a naked man suspected of assaulting a Flagstaff police officer while high on bath salts Saturday in the Highland Mesa area.
According to Flagstaff Police Department, Officer Daniel Beckwith responded to the 2800 block of South Highland Mesa Road at about 6:16 p.m. Saturday to investigate a report of a naked Caucasian man behaving suspiciously. When the officer arrived, the reporting party directed him to a wooded area. The officer could hear the suspect yelling, so he called for more officers to assist him.
Beckwith identified himself as a police officer as he approached the suspect, who was nude and still yelling. The suspect responded by telling the officer to take his clothes off. Instead, Beckwith told the naked suspect to calm down and come talk to him. Rather than calming down, the suspect told the police officer to get on the ground.
According to FPD, the suspect took a fighting stance as Beckwith approached him. When the officer told him to turn around and put his hands up, the suspect instead started walking toward him. He ignored orders to stop even after the officer pulled out his Taser.
When the officer shot the suspect with the Taser, it had no effect.
FPD officials said the suspect then assaulted Beckwith, causing both men to fall down a rocky hill. Beckwith sustained severe lacerations and bruises and was unable to stand after the fall.
The suspect was able to get up. An off-duty Northern Arizona University Police Department officer, an off-duty Department of Public Safety officer and a civilian bystander then tackled the suspect, who continued to fight. Other FPD officers then arrived to restrain him.
The officer and suspect were both taken to Flagstaff Medical Center for treatment. Hospital staff eventually moved the suspect to the Intensive Care Unit, though it is unclear whether the move was due to injuries he sustained during the fall or another medical reason.
The suspect has been identified as a 25-year-old resident of Scottsdale. According to Flagstaff police, he may have a history of mental illness. Police are also investigating whether he was under the influence of bath salts or a similar mind-altering drug.
Beckwith's body camera recorded the encounter. The case is still under investigation.
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Luxury hotels in the historic center for a Catholic family. Only luxury hotels can provide a paradisiacal vacation for a big Catholic family. A high-level vacation for families, children and not only. The gorgeous views, divine service, and the best location are all luxury hotels. Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, and more. Everyone will find their place in this corner of paradise.
Popular destinations
Breckenridge, CO, United States
In Breckenridge, Colorado, there are plenty of places to visit, whether you're a nature lover or thrill seeker. For nature lovers, the Blue River runs right through town and there are plenty of trails to explore. If you're looking for a thrill, Breckenridge is home to some of the best skiing and snowboarding in the country. There's also plenty of shopping and dining options in town, so you'll never run out of things to do.
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Savannah, GA, United States
Savannah, Georgia is a beautiful city with lots of places to visit, including Forsyth Park, River Street, and the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace. Another place to visit is the Savannah History Museum, which is jam-packed with interesting exhibits on the history of the city.
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Naples, FL, United States
Naples is known for its stunning white sand beaches and crystal-clear waters. Its also home to a wide variety of attractions, including world-class golf courses, vibrant nightlife, and interesting cultural experiences. Here are five places to visit in Naples, Florida: Naples Pier: Stroll along the pier and enjoy panoramic views of the Gulf of Mexico. Fifth Avenue South: This popular shopping and dining district is home to eclectic boutiques, award-winning restaurants, and lively bars. The Ritz-Carlton, Naples: This luxurious resort is set on 26 acres of pristine waterfront property and offers superb amenities, including a world-class spa and championship golf course. The Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens: This zoological park is home to more than 700 animals representing 150 species, including flamingos, lemurs, and tigers. Tin City: This eclectic shopping and dining district is housed in a series of restored waterfront warehouses and features eclectic shops, galleries, and award-winning restaurants.
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Louisville, KY, United States
Louisville is in the heart of Kentucky and is known for being the home of the Kentucky Derby. There are a lot of great places to visit in Louisville, including the Louisville Zoo, the Muhammad Ali Center, and the Frazier History Museum. There are also a lot of great restaurants and bars in Louisville, and it's a great place to visit for a weekend getaway.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!.
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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.
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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!.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
Lisbon Luxury Hotels
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.
Malaga Luxury Hotels
Malaga Luxury Villas
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
Dubai Luxury Resorts
Dubai Luxury Villas
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.
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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
San Diego Luxury Resorts
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.
Cancun Luxury Hotels
Cancun Luxury Resorts
Cancun Luxury Villas
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
Honolulu Luxury Resorts
Honolulu Luxury Villas
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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".
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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!.
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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!.
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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.
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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
PAGE -- Bats -- an underappreciated denizen of the southern desert -- will be the subject of a festival at Lake Powells Glen Canyon National Recreation Area this week.
The National Park Service (NPS) and Glen Canyon Natural History Association (NHA) will host the first annual Glen Canyon Bat Festival Thursday at the Wahweap amphitheater.
This free event will include informational booths, kid-friendly crafts and activities, guest presentations, and a bat discovery walk. Festivities will begin at 6 p.m. and conclude just after 10 p.m. Arizona MST.
The bat festival will highlight how important bats are in reducing insect populations, dispersing seeds, and even pollination in more southern desert climates, Glen Canyon NRA said in a news release.
We get to live our lives relatively pest-free here because of the hard work of bats, said Amanda Boston, program coordinator for the Glen Canyon NHA. There are a lot of misconceptions about bats, and the goal of hosting this festival with the park is to celebrate these underappreciated mammals and our unique relationship with them.
Guest speaker Jason Corbett with Bat Conservation International will speak about the benefits of bats and the looming threats posed by white-nose syndrome (WNS) to bat populations nationwide. Other presentations and activities will be led by NPS and NHA staff and will even highlight the bat monitoring efforts in Glen Canyon.
The event will also showcase local research in Glen Canyon which began in 2015 and continues this year. According to Lonnie Pilkington, Natural Resources Program Manager with the NPS at Glen Canyon, recent bat monitoring projects in Glen Canyon have been able to engage citizen scientists and increase public awareness of the threats bats are facing. Those threats range from white-nose syndrome to habitat loss to impacts from wind power development.
Attendees to the Bat Festival will have a chance to participate in a bat discovery walk at 9:15 p.m. Participants will use iPads and other wildlife monitoring devices to identify bat species by sound on an easy 1-mile guided walk between the campground and swim beach.
For more information, look to the events calendar at www.nps.gov/glca.
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Senator Lamar Alexander on Monday urged the administration to reconsider a proposal to provide new incentives to wind power producers who are already benefiting from the 24-year-old wind production tax credit. Senator Alexander also pointed out that the proposal fails to provide any incentive for nuclear energy this countrys largest source of clean electricity.Wind developers have been getting rich on the backs of taxpayers and the wind production tax credit for over two decades, and there is no reason they should receive additional incentives to build unreliable and unsightly wind turbines, Senator Alexander wrote in a letter to Gina McCarthy, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, urging against the programs proposed Clean Energy Incentive Program.Already, federal incentives for wind distort some electric power markets by giving wind an unfair advantage over other, more reliable and cost-competitive forms of electricity generation.The subsidy for Big Wind is already so generous that, at times, wind producers can give away their electricity and still make a profit. Providing further incentives to wind developers will only exacerbate this problem.EPAs Clean Energy Incentive Program would give the wind industry a new benefit the EPA and States would provide Emission Rate Credits for wind power producers who could then sell these credits to other carbon-emitting power producers. Wind developers already benefit from the wind production tax credit, which Congress extended for the 10th time in December. The extension, which continued the credit through 2019, will cost taxpayers more than $20 billion over 10 years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.Senator Alexander, who opposes subsidies for wind, a mature energy source, introduced legislation in July that would cut the wind production tax credit early, ending it on Jan. 1, 2017, and then use the $8.1 billion in savings to increase the authorized funding levels for basic energy research at the Department of Energys Office of Science.The full letter Senator Alexander sent to Ms. McCarthy is below:Aug. 2, 2016The Honorable Gina McCarthyAdministratorEnvironmental Protection AgencyU.S. EPA Headquarters William J. Clinton Building1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.Washington, DC 20460Dear Administrator McCarthy,I write to express serious concerns about the proposed Clean Energy Incentive Program which will provide duplicative, unnecessary, and harmful incentives for wind energy.Wind developers have been getting rich on the backs of taxpayers and the wind production tax credit for over two decades, and there is no reason they should receive additional incentives to build unreliable and unsightly wind turbines.In December, Congress decided to extend the wasteful wind production tax credit for the tenth time through 2019. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, that extension will cost taxpayers more than $20 billion over 10 years. According to the Congressional Research Service, from 1992 to 2014, the production tax credit has already cost taxpayers $13.8 billion. From 2008 to 2014 alone, the wind production tax credit cost taxpayers $7.3 billion more than $1 billion per year.Already, federal incentives for wind distort some electric power markets by giving wind an unfair advantage over other, more reliable and cost-competitive forms of electricity generation. The subsidy for Big Wind is already so generous that, at times, wind producers can give away their electricity and still make a profit. Providing further incentives to wind developers will only exacerbate this problem.Finally, the Clean Energy Incentive Program picks winners and losers because it fails to provide any incentive for nuclear energy this countrys largest source of clean electricity. Nuclear power provides over 60% of our carbon free electricity and is available 92% of the time. Wind provides only 15% of our carbon free electricity, and thats only when the wind blows which is only about 35% of the time, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and usually occurs at night, when we dont need more electricity.If reliable, cheap, and clean electricity is the goal, then nuclear energy should be incentivized instead of giant wind turbines that produce a puny amount of electricity at a great cost to taxpayers.Sincerely,Lamar AlexanderUnited States Senator
The remarkable behaviour of platinum atoms on magnetite surfaces could lead to better catalysts. Scientists at TU Wien (Vienna) can now explain how platinum atoms can form pairs with the help of carbon monoxide.
At first glance, magnetite appears to be a rather inconspicuous grey mineral. But on an atomic scale, it has remarkable properties: on magnetite, single metal atoms are held in place, or they can be made to move across the surface. Sometimes several metal atoms on magnetite form small clusters. Such phenomena can dramatically change the chemical activity of the material. Atomic processes on the magnetite surface determine how well certain metal atoms can serve as catalysts for chemical reactions.
Scientists at TU Wien (Vienna), together with colleagues from Utrecht University, can now watch single platinum atoms form tiny clusters. Carbon monoxide plays a dual role in this process: It allows single platinum atoms to move and form pairs, and then it holds these pairs together for a long time. Only by increasing the temperature can the pair-bonds between platinum atoms can be broken.
Lonely Atoms
It sounds a bit like an unhappy love story: "Two platinum atoms would actually like to be together, but the magnetite surface keeps them apart", says Roland Bliem (TU Wien). Together with Professor Gareth Parkinson, Professor Ulrike Diebold and their colleagues, he analysed the behaviour of platinum atoms using a scanning tunnelling microscope.
"When a platinum atom hits the magnetite surface, it is kept in place by the oxygen atoms in the magnetite. The atoms always end up alone. On other surfaces, pair formation would be favoured, but magnetite does not allow that", says Roland Bliem. The platinum atoms sit on specific places on the magnetite crystal and cannot get away without outside help.
However, with the appearance of carbon monoxide, the situation changes completely: "A carbon monoxide molecule can attach to a platinum atom and lift it up", says Gareth Parkinson. "We call that the skyhook effect." The lifting process frees the atom from the tight grip of the magnetite, and together, the molecule and the platinum atom can start moving around randomly across the magnetite surface.
When one mobilized platinum atom finds another, they can form a bond as long as both of them are being lifted up by carbon monoxide, diminishing the influence of the magnetite below.
When the temperature is increased to 250C, the carbon monoxide separates from the platinum atom and the bond breaks up. The two platinum atoms must once again find separate places on the magnetite surface. This effect opens up a strategy to turn clusters into single atoms an important process in so called "single-atom catalysts". Sometimes clusters of several atoms are formed. These larger clusters, however, cannot be broken up, even at high temperatures.
Movies with Atomic Resolution
"In our scanning tunnelling microscope, we can image the same part of the surface again and again, so that we can create a movie, showing the dancing atoms", says Roland Bliem. "This is crucial for understanding what really happens on the magnetite surface. We can watch single atoms as they wander across the magnetite surface or bond with each other. If we only had a picture of the end result, we could not say with certainty, whether one specific structure consists of one, two or more atoms. Only by following the time evolution of the atomic motion, we know which interpretation is correct." Bliem did not only conduct the experiments, he also performed complex theoretical calculations to explain the peculiar behaviour of the platinum atoms on a quantum mechanical level.
For chemical catalysis, such findings play an important role. "Metals such as platinum are frequently used as catalysts, says Gareth Parkinson. But a large cluster of many metal atoms may have completely different chemical properties than single metal atoms sitting separately on a surface. When we want to optimize catalysts, so we must be able to understand and control the behaviour of the atoms. This work is one step further towards that goal."
Bad news for city tech boosters: A widely cited survey that declared Chicago No. 1 for female founders has no statistical validity.
The report by San Francisco startup Compass, which provides a data dashboard for e-commerce and tech companies, found that 30 percent of Chicago founders are women, a level of diversity that would top any other city in the world. A year later, the figure is still cropping up.
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But the survey can't support the weight of any "world's best" claim, experts say.
"We cannot use this survey to draw conclusions about all startups in Chicago for two reasons," said Ed Malthouse, who teaches research methodology at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. "The first reason is the way that they gathered respondents. The second reason is called selection bias."
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The Compass report was based on a survey sample that was not randomly chosen. Administrators contacted local and national partners to solicit responses to the survey through these groups' social media and email lists.
Malthouse said this strategy can leave out entrepreneurs not connected to the groups distributing the survey. And certain people may be more likely to respond based on availability or personal agendas.
In Chicago, Compass said it approached 18 groups on the tech and startup scene to reach out to their communities to ask them to take the survey. When contacted by Blue Sky, many said they had no memory of receiving the survey or did not participate, so it is unclear how many local partners made an effort to find respondents.
Tallying gender diversity was not the primary purpose of the survey. Compass collected dozens of data points for the 156-page report, which was based on a variety of sources including the survey of about 11,000 entrepreneurs in 40 startup ecosystems globally. It also used information from databases including CrunchBase and AngelList.
Compass CFO Jean-Francois Gauthier said the company surveyed 107 early-stage entrepreneurs in Chicago.
Gauthier declined to share further data or respondent information. He acknowledged in an email to Blue Sky that the report is based on a limited sample and is "by definition imprecise." He said most people are aware that there is a margin of error.
"It's not a perfect survey, by no means," Gauthier said in a later interview. "It's the best answer that we have, together as a community."
Compass plans to conduct another similar survey starting in September, with results released in January, Gauthier said. The company wants to work with more community partners to draw more responses. Good data that represents each community will help leaders solve issues, he said.
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Statistically speaking, Chicago ranks no better than Boston in the 2015 report. Results showed that 29 percent of that city's founder respondents were women, noted Stephen Stigler, a statistics professor at the University of Chicago. He reviewed the report and survey methodology at Blue Sky's request.
With small sample sizes such as the 107 respondents for Chicago, just a few responses can affect percentages, and statistical adjustments for error mean the report could be off by about 8 percent, he said.
That would put the ecosystems of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Montreal in range of Chicago's results.
Absent a census of the Chicago entrepreneur community, it is nearly impossible to know how many female founders there really are. Startups can come and go quickly, and typically aren't cataloged by gender of founder. A study may count different types of businesses in its scope.
Maura O'Hara , executive director of the Illinois Venture Capital Association, said that about 11 percent of founders of venture capital-backed companies in Illinois are women, citing data from PitchBook, a Seattle-based private equity and venture capital research firm.
PitchBook counts 156 female founders out of 1,319 total founders of venture-backed companies nearly 12 percent based on Illinois data since 2006. That figure excludes the many women who bootstrap their companies, so is not comparable to an overall number of female founders.
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O'Hara noted that it would be difficult to keep count of founders in the fast-changing world of startups.
People may repeat a positive-sounding figure because it's comforting to think of their ecosystem as inclusive, O'Hara said. But if data is inaccurate, it could harm those it is intended to support.
"If you're starting with a flawed figure, the intensity of your efforts may be less, if you don't think you have as big a problem as you have," she said.
aelahi@tribpub.com
Twitter @aminamania
Britney Robbins aims to help communities with the lure of enterprise teaching students to start businesses for underserved areas.
Robbins founded the Gray Matter Experience, a new entrepreneurial program for Chicago teenagers that focuses on black business development and gives them money to start enterprises in black communities.
The nonprofit organization, which started its first program in July, works with high school students and exposes them to some of Chicago's top black entrepreneurs and professionals.
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Students meet every other Saturday through November at Blue1647, where they learn about entrepreneurial concepts including idea generation, marketing, legal structures and financials. Panel discussions, speakers and workshops include Jason Johnson, founder of the Konveau app, and Thomas K.R. Stovall, creator of the BlackInTech speaker series.
"The goal is to put them in front of people they deem as cool who are already successful entrepreneurs," Robbins said.
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A field trip precedes each meeting, and art and music are incorporated throughout. Students will learn to DJ, tour a black-owned film studio, and design shoes with a local designer.
"I'm very, very focused on making this an experience that high school students want to be a part of. I'm trying to make sure that if I was a high school student, this was a program I'd want to be involved in," said Robbins, 28. "It's a way for them to see other forms of entrepreneurship and industry that exist."
She's unapologetic about the program's black emphasis. The students might be better able to relate to black mentors and presenters, she said.
"They'll take information from anywhere, but when you put someone in front of them who is telling them they could do these things, who looks like them, the engagement is totally different," she said. "Now the kids actually say, 'If they can actually do that, I can do that.'"
Students are charged with creating businesses that will positively impact their communities by addressing challenges such as food deserts, violence and crime. Each group gets a mentor and a share of $30,000 in seed money.
Robbins was previously experience designer at the Future Founders Foundation, which teaches young people about entrepreneurship. Working with high school students there, she wanted to see more participants be able to act on the ideas they developed within the program.
The Gray Matter Experience, which Robbins used her own money to start, works with 15 to 24 students at a time. The first class runs through Nov. 12, when the teens will pitch their companies.
Aaja Corinne Magee, branding strategist at Aaja Corrine The Brand, will talk personal branding with the group in October, after becoming a fast fan of the concept.
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"Entrepreneurship and education is really a ticket to the next level. We really need to learn how to serve our own," said Magee, 26. "It's a community effort to say, 'If we don't take care of ourselves, who will?' and working to empower this generation to empower the next generation."
The mentorship aspect was a draw for Michael Reed, a 17-year-old rising senior at Kenwood Academy. He was in Gray Matter's inaugural class of 20 students.
In fact, his group is working on a mentor-mentee matching business.
"It appeals to me because I can build a business that will help the larger community in the future," he said. "You can impact so many people."
Cheryl V. Jackson is a freelance writer.
Twitter @cherylvjackson
U.S. News & World Report designated Northwestern Memorial Hospital as high-performing in nine procedures, including heart bypass surgery, knee replacement and hip replacement. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital is the best in the state for the fifth year in a row and among the top 10 in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report rankings released Tuesday.
U.S. News ranked Rush University Medical Center, also in Chicago, second in the state. University of Chicago Medical Center earned third place.
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U.S. News ranks hospitals based on a variety of measures, including hospitals' reputations with specialists, patient survival, safety and other care-related issues such as nurse staffing.
"This is an achievement that further distinguishes Northwestern Medicine as Chicago's premier academic health system and reaffirms our commitment to providing world-class healthcare to our patients," Northwestern Memorial HealthCare CEO Dean Harrison said in a news release.
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U.S. News designated Northwestern as high-performing in nine procedures, including heart bypass surgery, knee replacement and hip replacement. Northwestern also ranked sixth in the country for cardiology and heart surgery, orthopedics and neonatology. It earned the eighth spot in the country on U.S. News' Honor Roll, a list of the top 20 hospitals in the nation, based on specialty rankings and ratings for procedures and conditions.
Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn was ranked fourth in the state, and Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood took fifth place.
Nationwide, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., took top honors, followed by the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
The U.S. News and World Report rankings were released less than a week after the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services unveiled its own hospitals ratings. Those ratings awarded hospitals one to five stars based on 64 quality measures. Northwestern received an overall rating of three stars, which was the most common rating across the country.
Rush received four stars, and University of Chicago Medical Center got three stars.
Critics of hospital ratings say they don't paint a full picture of a hospital's performance, and they question their usefulness to consumers.
U.S. News produced the ratings with research organization RTI International.
lschencker@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @lschencker
Tina Faltz of Faltz Family Vineyards in Sheridan, Ill. discusses her family's decision to start growing five acres of hops on their 176-acre vineyard. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)
While Chicago's craft beer scene is rich and growing, the hop farming craze has yet to fully take root in Illinois.
For context: Michigan, top hop producer in the Midwest, will have more than 800 acres of the crop, a key ingredient used to flavor popular craft beer styles such as India pale ales, planted by the end of the year. Washington, Oregon and Idaho where the vast majority of hops in the U.S. are grown collectively have more than 50,000 acres that will be harvested this year.
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Illinois has 30.
Hop farms are popping up throughout the Midwest, a trend driven by craft beer's continued growth running parallel to the increasing popularity of locally grown food. But in Illinois, unlike in neighboring Michigan, there's no state university-coordinated effort among brewers and growers to break down potential barriers to business. There's no research underway to determine the best varieties for Illinois farmers to grow that might give them a competitive edge.
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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 7 The Faltz family-owned and -operated hops farm in Sheridan, Ill., is approximately 176 acres, with 20 acres of grapes and 5 acres for hops. The hops crop can be seen in the background. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
And while hop farming yields more revenue per acre than commodities, it also requires significant investment to get started.
"There's a hesitancy to invest in the land itself when we're not in a proven market. So we're trying to prove the market and show that we're producing high-quality hops and that people want them," said Rich Hauser, president of Bier Blume Farms in Lena, a small town in northwestern Illinois.
Bier Blume Farms, in its third growing season, expects to harvest about 3,000 pounds of Cascade and Chinook hops from 3 acres of land, Hauser said, all of which will be sold to local breweries. Another 5 acres have been planted. Eventually, Hauser said, the plan is to form partnerships with Chicago brewpubs and expand the farm to more than 40 acres.
In general, it's still cheaper for a Chicago brewery to buy hops from Washington than Illinois.
"That's the big issue. The local farmers tend to grow more popular strains (of hops) that, unfortunately, we can get cheaper elsewhere," said Quintin Cole, co-founder of Vice District Brewing, a taproom in the South Loop.
A closeup view of hops. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Cole and Hauser have engaged in preliminary talks, they both said, but haven't yet reached an agreement. Like most Chicago brewers, Cole said Vice District sources most of its hops from Washington and Oregon, though it has started buying some from Hop Head Farms in Michigan.
Cole said he hopes more investment and collaboration will make it easier to buy local. If Illinois farms were to grow proprietary varieties of hops unique to the region, as some do in the Northwest, that would also present a tantalizing opportunity, Cole said, though he acknowledged developing such strains can be a lengthy process.
Hop-heavy beers, such as India pale ales, continue to lead a craft beer movement that's growing into a mature industry. As of July 10, craft IPAs had brought in $562.4 million in year-to-date sales, an increase of almost 30 percent from the same period a year ago, according to data from Chicago-based market research firm IRI that doesn't include liquor stores or Costco.
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And as of June 30, a record-high 4,656 breweries were operating in the U.S., an increase of 917 breweries from the same period a year ago, according to the Brewers Association, a trade group representing small and independent breweries.
In other words, the craft beer bubble has not burst, but breweries are facing more competition. And while hop farms in the Pacific Northwest are growing to meet demand, there are opportunities for Midwest farmers looking to capitalize on the abundant need for hops.
"For craft brewers looking for ways to differentiate, having local input is a good way to go," said Bart Watson, an economist with the Brewers Association.
But it doesn't come cheap. Starting from scratch, a single acre of hops requires an investment of at least $10,000 to $12,000, Hauser said. Growing hops involves a trellis system and other equipment for spraying the plants and picking the hops. And though some brewers use wet hops for seasonal ales, hops usually need to be dried and turned into pellets, which also requires specialized machinery. And for small farms starting out, those costs have to be passed on to the brewer until economies of scale can be realized unless partnerships can be formed with other hop farms to help share the cost.
Studying such challenges and identifying solutions have become academic pursuits. In December 2014, Michigan State University convened the Great Lakes Hop Working Group a collaborative group of various universities, including the University of Illinois, that's intended to prioritize region-specific problems and best practices.
I see a bright future. To say we're there yet we're not. But it's a very young industry. Dick Faltz, who harvests hops at Fox Valley Winery in Oswego
At Michigan State University Extension, educators Rob Sirrine and Erin Lizotte have led the way in research on what varieties grow best in Michigan and how to manage pests and soil quality issues. Sirrine has also helped connect farmers to brewers in the state.
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Michigan has some built-in advantages over Illinois when it comes to hop farming. For example, it's easier for some Michigan fruit farms on the lakeshore that had previously grown grapes to break into hop farming because they already have the trellis system and other equipment, Sirrine said.
And Michigan brewers are buying in. As one example, the New Holland Brewing Company recently opened a brewpub in Holland committed to using only Michigan-grown ingredients, including hops.
Dick Faltz has designated 4.5 acres of his 170-acre farm in Sheridan, Ill., for growing hops. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
"Overall, there's increasing demand for American hops globally," Sirrine said. "You're also helped by the farm-to-table, farm-to-glass, grow-local movement."
Grant McCarty, Sirrine's counterpart at the University of Illinois Extension in Rockford, would like to see some of that momentum in Illinois. As part of his role as local food and small farm extension educator, McCarty acts as a liaison between the few Illinois hop farmers and the broader regional resources of the Great Lakes Hop Working Group.
"Part of the challenge is figuring out who the buyer is going to be," McCarty said. "Before you start investing in the farming, you have to figure out how the hops are going to be sold."
The opposite is also true: Investment is needed to produce enough hops at a consistent quality to entice Illinois brewers.
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Dick Faltz hopes to step into that void. Faltz, 70, founded Fox Valley Winery in Oswego in 1999. Encouraged by his three sons to tap into the craft beer movement, Faltz decided to designate 4.5 acres of the 170-acre farm for hops in 2013. And so Fox Valley Hops was born.
This year, Faltz said he expects to harvest about 6,000 pounds, all of which is contracted for Tangled Roots Brewing Company in nearby Ottawa. Next year, Faltz hopes to add another 90 acres, with the eventual goal of growing hops on more than 200 acres in LaSalle County.
"I see a bright future. To say we're there yet we're not. But it's a very young industry," Faltz said.
gtrotter@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @GregTrotterTrib
Insurance premiums for Obamacare will rise an average of 11 percent, according to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Andrew Harnik / AP)
Insurers want to crank up the cost of health insurance premiums by as much as 45 percent for Illinois residents who buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act's marketplace.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, the most popular insurer on the state's Obamacare exchange, is proposing increases ranging from 23 percent to 45 percent in premiums for its individual health-care plans, according to proposed 2017 premiums that were made public Monday. The insurer blamed the sought-after hikes mainly on changes in the costs of medical services.
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois said in a statement that the proposed rates are in line with those in many markets across the country, and the proposed increases don't tell the whole story.
"No final decisions have been made regarding our 2017 offerings," according to the statement. "While some carriers have chosen to exit the market, we are working toward continuing to provide health insurance options for consumers in Illinois. However, that must be done in a sustainable way."
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Coventry Health Care of Illinois proposed rate increases as high as 21 percent.
The Illinois Department of Insurance has until Aug. 23 to review the proposed rates and potentially try to negotiate them down. Final rates can be lower than the ones first proposed by insurers, and the proposed increases don't reflect what consumers will actually pay, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was quick to caution Monday.
Last year, average monthly premiums for consumers with HealthCare.gov coverage increased by $4, to $106 a month "despite headlines suggesting double-digit increases," HHS spokesman Jonathan Gold said Monday in a statement. About 75 percent of Illinois residents who buy plans on the exchange qualify for federal tax credits that partially offset the costs of their premiums.
"Consumers in Illinois will continue to have affordable coverage options in 2017," Gold said in the statement. "Today's announcement is just the beginning of the rates process, and consumers will have the final word when they vote with their feet during Open Enrollment."
Kathy Waligora, director of EverThrive Illinois' health reform initiative, said she also expects many of the rates to be lower than the proposed ones released Monday.
"We don't put too much stock in the numbers as they stand right now because we know the [Department of Insurance] is really negotiating the rates up until the last deadline," she said.
Ultimately it will be insurers setting the rates that will take effect Jan. 1. Illinois, unlike a number of other states, doesn't have the power to reject the proposed rates outright, said Dena Mendelsohn, a staff attorney at Consumers Union, the advocacy and policy division of Consumer Reports.
Regulators in some states, such as California, have been very successful negotiating with insurers to push down proposed rates in the past, she said. That hasn't been the case everywhere.
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"It doesn't appear to me like the Illinois rate regulator is rigorously reviewing these rate proposals and advocating for consumers," Mendelsohn said.
Consumer advocates have also complained that Illinois takes too long to publicly release its rates, giving advocates less time to review plans and fight proposed increases. Insurers had to submit their rate plans for Illinois in April, though they were just released publicly Monday as required by the federal government.
Other states make the rate plan proposals public when they are filed, and before Monday, more than half of the states had disclosed just how much higher Obamacare premiums could be. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, for example, proposed an average increase of 53.7 percent.
The increases aren't a surprise as many insurers have been losing money in the marketplace, said Katherine Hempstead, a senior adviser at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Hempstead said Illinois regulators tend to be realistic about just how low proposed rates can go.
"I don't think the Insurance Department wants to push the carriers off a cliff and tell them they can't raise their rates and then they're upside down actuarially," Hempstead said. "You can't sustain a situation where most carriers lose money."
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She noted, however, that recent news of insurer Cigna's plans to start selling marketplace plans in the Chicago area is likely good news for consumers. The additional competition could help hold down prices.
It's at least one bright spot for Illinois residents on the exchange, who have been battered by other developments.
Insurer Land of Lincoln Health stunned 49,000 enrollees with its announcement this summer that it would shut down Oct. 1, after sustaining heavy financial losses. And last year, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois decided to discontinue its broadest PPO plan on the exchange after losing money.
lschencker@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @lschencker
Pete Bensen, one of the top executives at McDonald's, is retiring after nearly 20 years with the company.
Bensen was promoted to the No. 2 spot when the company ousted CEO Don Thompson and replaced him with Steve Easterbrook early last year.
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In his role over the past 18 months as chief administrative officer, he was charged with overseeing McDonald's overall strategy and directed operations across several divisions including supply chain and sustainability, restaurant development and franchising, information technology and finance. Bensen earned total compensation of nearly $4 million last year, including a base salary of $950,000.
The past 18 months have been one of the most transitory periods in the company's history, with the launch of all-day breakfast, the start of a transition to all cage-free eggs and a number of other efforts to improve the quality and health perception of McDonald's food.
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The company also has undergone a massive effort to refranchise more restaurants, a move the company hopes will lessen corporate liability but also improve the performance of those sites. And in perhaps the biggest planned change, McDonald's announced its intention to leave its decades-old, custom-built headquarters in suburban Oak Brook for a new home base on Chicago's Near West Side. That's expected to be completed in 2018.
McDonald's is expected to announce a further shuffling of its executive ranks to account for Bensen's departure "in the coming weeks," the company said.
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Southwest Airlines Co. pilots called for the replacement of Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly, saying a "misguided focus on cost control" meant the company failed to invest in critical technology that could have prevented canceled flights and stranded passengers.
"We believe that a change is needed for the best interests of Southwest Airlines and the loyal customers we serve," Jon Weaks, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association, said in a statement Monday, which also called for Chief Operating Officer Mike Van de Ven to step down. "We encourage, effective immediately, their replacement in order to secure a more stable, sustainable and profitable future."
Senior executives have used record revenue to buy back "excessive shares of stock" rather than invest in the airline and its employees, according to a resolution by the union's board. The union, which is in contract talks with the Dallas-based carrier, cited technical breakdowns during the busy summer and holiday travel seasons over the past several years, including a computer-system outage last month.
Executives also boosted maintenance costs and hurt flight reliability by operating the airline's oldest planes too long, said the union, which represents more than 8,000 pilots. Southwest in June said it would speed up the retirement of its so-called 737 Classic fleet to late next year.
Southwest last month struggled to recover after an old router and its backup system failed, crashing the carrier's computer systems. While those computers were restored about 12 hours later, flights continued to be canceled or delayed over several days as the carrier attempted to get crews and planes in the right locations.
The airline is "studying every single angle" to determine why the failure occurred, Kelly told employees in a voice message after the outage. A new domestic reservation system will be in place next year, and other aging technology will be replaced "over the next three to five years," he said on a July 21 conference call.
In October, technological problems forced Southwest to process travelers manually and delayed more than 450 flights across the U.S. The issue affected the airline's website, mobile application, reservations centers and airports.
Pilots blamed cost-control efforts for staffing problems during a Chicago winter storm in 2014 that left planes waiting for gates at Midway Airport. Southwest later agreed to pay a $1.6 million U.S. fine for leaving passengers on 16 planes for more than three hours after landing. Malfunctions of the airline's crew scheduling system, a staff shortage and severe weather contributed to the delay, federal regulators said.
With her controversial blood-testing company under intense federal scrutiny, Theranos chief executive Elizabeth Holmes took the stage before hundreds of medical laboratory experts Monday to present a new blood-testing device and bat down questions about a series of blunders that have thrust the firm into crisis.
Holmes, who spoke at a meeting of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, avoided the long list of regulatory and credibility problems that face the company she founded in 2003, when she was 19. Theranos has experienced a rapid fall from grace, with federal regulators banning Holmes from owning or operating a lab for two years. After a host of operational lapses, the company voided then corrected two years of patients' results from its proprietary Edison technology.
Holmes pitched her presentation as an "inflection point," as she works to forge relations with the scientific and medical community.
"We fully understand . . . that we have a lot of work to do to engage with this community," Holmes said. "I can tell you, I wish that I had started earlier."
Theranos promised to revolutionize the medical industry with technology that could process a panoply of tests using just a few drops of blood from a finger prick. Now the company is facing a federal criminal investigation into whether it misled investors, and its major partner, Walgreens, has ended the relationship.
The Silicon Valley start-up said Holmes's presentation would finally pull back the curtain on its science and data for scrutiny.
Stephen Master, director of the central laboratory at Weill Cornell Medicine, who sat on the panel that questioned Holmes, said the revolutionary promise of Theranos's technology was not supported by the data she showed Monday.
"The evidence you presented fell far short of that, so how should we think about it?" Master asked, to applause.
Holmes replied that the presentation focused on the architecture of the company's new technology and was an introduction to the invention.
Her talk - touted by a public relations firm as a "breakthrough presentation" and filled with videos of robots moving liquids with pipettes - focused on the technical specifications of the new device, called miniLab.
The presentation included data generated by Theranos on several blood tests but did not include any peer-reviewed data.
The company has submitted its data on a Zika diagnostic to a journal and to federal regulators. Since last fall, Holmes has promised to publish its data in peer-reviewed journals.
Scientists' reactions spanned a wide gamut and 583 questions swamped the panel tasked with a 45-minute Q&A with Holmes and three company representatives.
Some scientists expressed frustration that the presentation didn't elaborate on any of the company's lapses. Others said the data provided was a good start, but they pointed out that the technologies that are miniaturized in the new device are not unique.
Geoffrey Baird, an associate professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the University of Washington, said the presentation was an attempt to distract from the company's troubles.
"This is not the science of Theranos that they were doing any clinical testing on," Baird said. "This is theater, what we're getting right now. This is not science."
The line for the talk began to form more than an hour before Holmes was scheduled to go on stage, reflecting the considerable attention that has focused on the spectacular rise and fall of Theranos. Once valued at $9 billion, Theranos was for years a darling of investors and media. Holmes was compared to Apple legend Steve Jobs, featured on magazine covers and able to attract a slate of well-connected former government officials to her company's board - although there were noticeably few with deep expertise in laboratory testing or medicine.
Holmes's presentation was punctuated by evidence of the caution the company is now exercising. This year, it added a group of well-respected laboratory medicine experts to its medical and scientific advisory board. The presentation slides carried a footnote that the technology had not received approval by the Food and Drug Administration and was not for sale in the United States. In her introduction to Holmes, Patricia Jones, the president of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, noted that hosting the presentation was not an endorsement of the company.
K.T. Jerry Yeo, a professor of pathology at the University of Chicago, said that the technologies presented were all well-known to laboratory professionals, and the Theranos's only innovation was putting a variety of miniaturized lab equipment capable of multiple kinds of blood testsin a single box.
"This kind of a presentation, we have seen in one way or another with different companies, trying to make a smaller box," Yeo said, noting that he could see a potential use for the Theranos device, but "the jury is still out."
They only showed several "handpicked" tests, Yeo pointed out, and the data also doesn't reflect how the device works in the real world, since it was all tested by Theranos.
Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans is being challenged for only the second time since he became the county's first African-American chief judge in 2001.
Former Chicago alderman Thomas R. Allen, a chancery judge at the Daley Center, confirmed Monday that he will be a candidate when the county's judges vote for the top post in a secret ballot next month.
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But Allen picked his words carefully.
"I'm definitely in," he told Chicago Inc. "But I'm not being critical of anybody."
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In a letter to the county's 241 judges, Evans, 73, said, "I welcome the challenge."
Allen, 64, touts his experience as a defense attorney and says his platform calls for "more dialogue among the judges."
"My thought is we need better working relationships with the other partners in Cook County government, with the Cook County sheriff, with the county board and the board president," he said.
Allen said he had been speaking to his colleagues on the bench about his election bid and that he has "taken suggestions from other judges" but declined to name any that are supporting him.
Allen, who was the 38th Ward alderman for 17 years, noted that canvassing for votes among judges was "very different" from running for public office. The judges are "a small group, and it's not a public thing. It's very private," he said.
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He seemed inclined to keep it that way, declining to comment any further on his pitch to his fellow judges.
"A bunch of judges go in the room and whoever gets the most votes wins. That's it in a nutshell," he said. "Whoever wins will have my support and my respect."
It's not the first time Allen has run for higher office: He was defeated in 2008 by Anita Alvarez when he ran for Cook County state's attorney.
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Evans, who was himself an alderman and whose bid for Chicago mayor in 1989 was unsuccessful, wrote in his letter to fellow judges that "while I respect any judge's right to run, I respectfully suggest that no other judge has more passion for improving our system of justice nor fought harder or longer to produce the results I believe my leadership and experience have brought about."
In 2010, Evans easily held off a challenge for chief judge from former Judge William Maddux.
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Twitter @kimjnews
Chicago State University was sanctioned by the Higher Learning Commission, the agency responsible for accrediting the school. The university will remain accredited as it works to resolve the agency's concerns about financial strife. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Facing an unprecedented budget crisis, Chicago State University has laid off nearly 400 employees since the beginning of the year an astounding 40 percent of staff at a school that serves mostly minority and low-income students from the city.
The mass layoffs, unusual in higher education, came with a cost: $2.2 million, the bulk of it in severance pay mandated by a long-standing school policy that requires up to a year's notice of being terminated or a payout for the time. It's a policy common at Illinois public universities but generous compared with what is provided by most schools in other states.
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Chicago State spent nearly $1.6 million on severance for about 50 administrators who were provided lump-sum payments in June equal to the salaries they would have received if they had not been terminated. The university spent another $650,000 to pay out unused vacation time for about 130 administrators and civil service employees. It was a significant sum considering the university had only $7.3 million in cash at the end of April, according to records obtained by the Tribune.
The university, however, provided no severance to the 10 faculty members laid off last month, saying a provision in the faculty contract that would have required a year's notice did not apply because the school has declared financial exigency.
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While the payments are a short-term expense that will reduce payroll costs by $2 million a month, it's another sign of the South Side university's precarious financial situation. The university, which depends on state funding for about 30 percent of its operational budget, was hit hard by the budget stalemate that left higher education without a dime for most of last year and then provided only partial funding.
For the upcoming year, Chicago State has again received limited funding about $13 million that is expected to last through December. And with a projected enrollment decline of about 20 percent, tuition revenue will be down.
To make ends meet, the 150-year-old public university, which last year served about 4,500 students, has cut its budget for the coming year by about 30 percent, to $70 million, according to university President Thomas Calhoun Jr.
He said recently that the university "has done much to shore itself up financially," including through the layoffs. "We are confident that we are in good shape," he said.
In late February, as the need to trim payroll became clear, Chicago State sent notices of potential layoffs to all of its 950 employees. Two months later, hundreds of employees were either laid off with the possibility of being recalled, or terminated.
For some, that wasn't enough notice under the university policy.
Administrators are to be notified of a potential termination anywhere from three months to one year in advance, depending on how long they have worked at the university. After six years, employees are entitled to a year's notice.
The payments ranged from about $4,000 for an associate director who had worked at Chicago State for less than a year, to $94,000 for an associate vice president who had been employed for six years, according to records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Employees received anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $20,000 for accrued vacation time.
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"I was aware of the cost (of the layoffs)," said Renee Mitchell, Chicago State's associate vice president for human resources. "But I am also aware of the savings in the long run, too." The employees who received severance, for example, are not getting benefits. She said there are risks associated with allowing employees to work when they know they will be let go, she said.
State Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, said the severance pay is "probably a little rich to afford right now given the financial challenges higher education is facing in Illinois."
"Those things are nice and probably really help with recruiting ... but the question becomes, can you afford them anymore?" asked Cunningham, vice chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee.
Indeed, Western Illinois University changed its policy two years ago. Instead of a year's notice, administrators now are entitled to a maximum of six months. The change was made to be more in line with corporate practices and universities outside of Illinois, a spokeswoman said.
Western laid off about 130 employees this year, including 17 faculty members and four administrators who received a total severance of $84,582. With the additional state money approved in July, about 78 of the civil service employees who were laid off are being recalled by the start of the fall semester, a spokeswoman said.
Other public universities in Illinois have notice rights similar to those at Chicago State, including the University of Illinois, Illinois State University, Southern Illinois University and Eastern Illinois University. EIU laid off 298 employees in the past year, but all employees who had notice rights worked through the remainder of their time. The university paid out $496,627 in accrued vacation and sick time, according to the university.
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Layoffs in higher education are rare, and the employment policies were not written with that purpose in mind, experts said.
"These things were intended to provide protection against favoritism or a difference of opinion with the board or a new president," said Jill Leka, an Illinois attorney and general counsel for the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association. "The rationale (behind the policy) makes perfect sense, but maybe it doesn't work in light of the economic circumstances going on right now."
Outside of Illinois, college and university employees generally are given less notice of a layoff and less severance.
"These people got a good deal, relatively speaking, in a horrible situation," said Raymond D. Cotton, a Washington, D.C., attorney who specializes in higher education. "Universities are very humane in the way that they deal with their employees. They will try to give people a soft landing if they can afford it."
But Chicago State faculty said they are not being treated fairly.
While administrators received severance, the faculty members did not. According to their union contract, tenured faculty are allowed to work for at least one academic year after being given a layoff notice except in cases of "extreme and immediate financial exigency."
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In February, the university declared financial exigency because of the state budget stalemate.
Tenured music professor William Jason Raynovich, who taught at Chicago State for 16 years, was among those laid off.
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"Chicago State University is on the South Side of Chicago and I believe we should be much more thoughtful about social justice and about fairness across the board, about treating everyone fairly and with respect," Raynovich said. "The idea that administrators are not taking the hit equally with all of us is upsetting."
History professor Steven Rowe, who taught at Chicago State for nine years, said he never imagined he could lose his job and without time to search for a new opportunity.
"You feel like when you get tenure you are reasonably well-protected against things like layoffs," he said. Providing notice to administrators but not faculty "is this top-down way of thinking about the university that has dominated the administration for a while."
"I definitely don't think it's fair," he said.
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Chicago Tribune's Jennifer Smith Richards contributed.
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The agency responsible for reviewing all shootings by Chicago police officers has no record of having investigated six shootings in recent years, according to a critical report from the city's inspector general.
Inspector General Joseph Ferguson found that the Independent Police Review Authority had no record of looking into six shootings in which officers fired their guns but didn't hit anyone, according to the report obtained by the Tribune through a Freedom of Information Act request.
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The inspector general wrote that it was unclear if the Police Department failed to notify IPRA of the shootings or IPRA's recordkeeping was to blame.
IPRA also had no documentation of 14 times when officers used Tasers between 2007 and 2014, records show.
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In a report that castigated IPRA for deficiencies in tracking police use of force, Ferguson noted that more was at stake than a numerical discrepancy.
"During this historic moment of transformation of police oversight in Chicago, the city should recognize that use-of-force reporting is a crucial tool for meaningful transparency, accountability, and the fostering of public trust in the Police Department and the agency responsible for police oversight," he wrote.
In response, IPRA's head, Sharon Fairley, wrote that the Police Department should share blame for problems in reporting on the use of force. She held that IPRA had no records indicating that the department had notified her agency of the six shootings. The omissions took place between 2007 and 2011, years before Fairley was appointed to run IPRA.
Fairley acknowledged that IPRA previously had failed to assess whether the Police Department was providing comprehensive data on officers' use of force. She wrote that her agency was working to "ensure that we have the appropriate personnel and technological resources to address our data management and reporting needs going forward."
IPRA is now looking into the six missing shootings, agency spokeswoman Mia Sissac said. She said she could not provide details of the shootings, but IPRA's response indicated that three happened in 2007, another one in 2009 and two more in 2011.
Fairley also wrote that her agency had found several instances in which officers' reports on use of force were inaccurate, and she suggested in her response that the Police Department should be faulted for inaccurate reporting, rather than IPRA.
A Police Department spokesman declined to comment Monday, but a top aide to Mayor Rahm Emanuel wrote that the Police Department will start issuing public reports in September on use of force, a role that had previously fallen largely to IPRA.
The inspector general's report comes as Emanuel tries to deliver on reforms he promised amid the furor ignited in November by the court-ordered release of video showing a white officer shooting black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times.
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As the crisis deepened, the mayor installed Fairley, a former federal prosecutor, as IPRA's head in December. Months later, he announced plans to abolish the agency and replace it with a more effective department, though neither Emanuel nor his allies have given details on what will replace IPRA.
A recent Tribune investigation detailed IPRA's history of conducting superficial investigations, clearing police despite compelling evidence of misconduct and recommending light discipline. Fairley has acknowledged IPRA's shortcomings and although the agency faces extinction enacted reforms designed to improve investigations and stiffen recommendations for discipline. In the past two months, IPRA has ruled more police shootings unjustified than it had in the prior nine years.
The main players involved in the inspector general's report have history together. Fairley was Ferguson's top deputy before leaving for IPRA. Ferguson, meanwhile, served on the task force Emanuel appointed amid the burgeoning political crisis to examine policing and oversight. That task force in April called IPRA "badly broken" and recommended it be razed and replaced.
The IG's report criticized various aspects of IPRA's reporting on police use of force, concluding that beyond the six shootings that weren't investigated the figures IPRA provided in its regular reports on police shootings and uses of Tasers and pepper spray were generally inaccurate.
Ferguson also wrote that the city should provide greater detail on a wider range of uses of force and make sure police oversight officials have access to complete, detailed data on uses of force.
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"This sort of inaccurate and incomplete reporting may erode public trust in the ability of a civilian oversight agency to hold police accountable," he wrote.
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Fairley's response largely concurred with Ferguson's recommendations on reporting uses of force and said some reforms were already underway.
"We agree that there remains (an) opportunity for IPRA to bring increased transparency to the work of our office and the performance of CPD," she wrote.
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The teen who was shot and killed by Chicago police last week had been driving a car that had been stolen hours earlier from a Bolingbrook home, police in the southwest suburb said Tuesday.
The 2002 Jaguar XKR convertible was one of four cars that had been stolen in Bolingbrook between Wednesday and Thursday morning, Bolingbrook Public Safety Director Tom Ross said.
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A surveillance camera at a gas station in the suburb captured 18-year-old Paul O'Neal and three others suspected of participating in the thefts of older-model cars early Thursday, Ross said. Three of the four stolen cars though not the Jaguar were also caught on the camera at the station at Route 53 and Boughton Road, he said.
An unarmed O'Neal was fatally shot Thursday evening as he ran from a Chicago police officer after crashing the Jaguar into two police vehicles in the South Shore neighborhood, police said.
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The thieves were not sophisticated, targeting vehicles that had been left unlocked and with their keys in the ignition, Ross said. He called the rash of car thefts highly unusual for Bolingbrook.
"It is extremely rare to have four cars stolen in one night," he said. "They were looking for cars with keys in the ignition. They took anything they could."
Ross said the Jaguar was reported stolen from the 400 block of Delaware Circle in Bolingbrook. The owner reported last seeing it at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and discovered it missing at 5:55 a.m. Thursday.
The video camera captured O'Neal and the three other suspects at the gas station at 3:30 a.m. Thursday, Ross said. Also visible were three of the cars that had been stolen overnight: a 2009 Buick Enclave, a 2003 Honda Odyssey and a 2010 Nissan Rogue.
Ross said detectives pulled the camera video at the station because in addition to the car thefts several vehicles in the suburb were broken into that same night and a credit card stolen in those break-ins was used at the gas station.
All but the Nissan Rogue have been recovered. The Buick was located near 79th Street and Colfax Avenue, not far from O'Neal's fatal encounter with Chicago police. The Odyssey was recovered in Bolingbrook on Merrimack Court, a street close to where the Jaguar was stolen, Ross said.
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"The theory is they are all at the gas station, the van gets dumped on Merrimac and the Jaguar gets taken," Ross said.
Bolingbrook police entered a description of the four stolen vehicles into a shared law enforcement database. Any Chicago police officer who checked the plates on the Jaguar would have discovered that it was stolen.
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Bolingbrook police were notified hours after O'Neal was shot by police around 7:30 p.m. Thursday behind a residence in the 7300 block of South Merrill Avenue in Chicago.
O'Neal, driving the Jaguar, struck two Chicago police vehicles that were trying to stop him. Two officers opened fire at O'Neal while he was still in the Jaguar. As O'Neal fled on foot, a third officer chased after him, but O'Neal refused to stop, police said. He was shot once in the back by the officer, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. He was unarmed, police said.
The shooting is under investigation by the Independent Police Review Authority. Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has stripped the three officers of their police powers pending the outcome of an IPRA investigation, saying they violated unspecified department policies.
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Mario Casciaro hugs his uncle Lorenzo Vallone at his sister's home in Addison on Sept. 23, 2015, after being released from Menard Correctional Center. Casciaro's 2013 conviction in a 2002 slaying was overturned by an appeals court. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Mario Casciaro was released from prison after his conviction for the murder of his teenage co-worker was overturned, but authorities in McHenry County are balking at having him formally declared innocent.
Casciaro the only person ever convicted in the 2002 disappearance of 17-year-old Brian Carrick wants a McHenry County judge to grant him a certificate of innocence. But the prosecutors who took Casciaro to trial three times before getting a guilty verdict once for perjury and twice for murder have formally opposed the certificate.
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If granted, the court document would allow Casciaro to seek compensation from the state for the 22 months he spent in Menard Correctional Center before his conviction for murder with intimidation a rarely used charge was reversed on appeal. Innocence certificates can also help exonerated former inmates get employment and generally reintegrate into society.
"It is unfortunate that the McHenry (County) state's attorney continues to deny this grave miscarriage of justice," said Casciaro's attorney, Kathleen Zellner, who has won several high-profile murder conviction reversals and now represents Steve Avery, the Wisconsin man from the "Making a Murderer" Netflix series. "We are confident Mr. Casciaro will prevail, even if we have to take this matter all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court."
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But prosecutors argue that, although the appeals court determined they lacked sufficient evidence to convict Casciaro, that doesn't mean he is "actually innocent."
Casciaro "wishes to cast himself as the victim. He is not. The real victim is lying nameless in an unmarked, unhallowed grave," prosecutors wrote, in reference to the fact that Carrick's remains have never been recovered. "The defendant's disinterest, deceit and contempt ... during the investigation exposed his callousness and consciousness of guilt."
Prosecutors further argued in their 300-page motion that, "even conceding that the state's evidence of guilt was weak, it does not follow that (Casciaro) is innocent. Rather, (he) must still present evidence of actual innocence that overrides evidence of guilt. (Casciaro) offers no exculpatory physical or DNA evidence, no credible alibi during the time of the attack or thereafter, and no new witnesses or information."
The case has attracted national attention and has become one of the most notorious murder mysteries in McHenry County. Carrick disappeared days before Christmas 2002 after being seen at the Johnsburg grocery store where he worked with Casciaro, whose family was part owner.
William Carrick, holds a photo of his son Brian that was signed by family and friends at his home in Johnsburg on April 3, 2013. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Authorities contended at Casciaro's two murder trials that Carrick had been dealing marijuana for Casciaro and that he ordered another co-worker, Shane Lamb, to confront Carrick about a debt he owed. Lamb testified that he delivered a fatal punch to Carrick inside a grocery store cooler, but at Casciaro's second murder trial in 2013, he was convicted of first-degree murder with intimidation and sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Carrick's blood was found in and around the cooler. Lamb, who received immunity in the case but is now in prison on an unrelated weapons charge, later said he lied on the witness stand under pressure from prosecutors, a claim officials have vehemently denied.
In their objection to Casciaro's innocence certificate, prosecutors called the reversal of his conviction "problematic" and "imprudent." They cited, for example, witness testimony that supported Lamb's account, as well as a polygraph test Casciaro took that prosecutors say showed Casciaro being deceptive.
They also cited trial testimony from one witness who said he saw Casciaro and Carrick arguing that night, as well as testimony that Casciaro was selling marijuana and that Carrick worked for him. Prosecutors also pointed to testimony that Carrick owed Casciaro money at the time he disappeared and that Lamb worked as an "enforcer" in Casciaro's drug business.
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In overturning the conviction outright last year, the appellate court noted, among several factors, the lack of physical evidence to convict Casciaro. They also questioned Lamb's credibility and said his account did not prove intimidation by Casciaro. Additionally, they wrote that details of the alleged physical altercation did not match up with blood spatter found in and around the produce cooler.
"Lamb's entire testimony was so inconsistent, contradictory and incredible that it was palpably contrary to the verdict," appellate judges wrote in their ruling.
Prosecutors, however, said Lamb only recanted and claimed he was told what to testify because he was upset about the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence for the weapons charges. They also noted that he had learned he would be featured on a national TV news program about the Carrick case and wanted to "leverage the notoriety and exposure to undercut his prosecution."
In her appeal, Zellner sought to cast suspicion on another grocery store co-worker, who has since died, as the possible killer. Prosecutors called that theory "fantastical" and said it did not match the facts of the case.
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After Casciaro's release from prison in September, prosecutors attempted to have their case heard at the Illinois Supreme Court but were denied.
Carrick's disappearance and the drawn-out aftermath nearly eight years went by before Casciaro was charged with the murder have long been a source of interest and grief in the small town, where both families were well-known. Carrick was one of 14 siblings and his family lived across the street from the grocery store where he was likely killed. His mother, Terry, died months before Casciaro's arrest. His father, William, saw Casciaro convicted of murdering his son but died before the conviction was overturned.
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Prosecutors noted those turns of events in their objection to the innocence paper.
"Since Brian's disappearance ... both of his parents have gone to their grave without ever having known their son's ultimate fate," they wrote, adding his siblings remain "haunted" by his presumed death.
The filing also noted that the attention given in recent years to wrongful convictions "has aroused a healthy skepticism of convictions reached without" DNA evidence or a firsthand witness account.
"It is important not to attribute injustices elsewhere to circumstances here," prosecutors wrote. They added that, "If one accepts the criminal justice system is imperfect" and sometimes convicts the wrong person, it follows that the same system sometimes "acquits those who are guilty, in fact."
Amanda Marrazzo is a freelance reporter.
Homestead National Monument will be a pit stop for solar-powered vehicles Wednesday and Thursday.
The monument is one of nine designated stops for the American Solar Challenge, a collegiate competition in which students will travel 1,975 miles from Ohio to South Dakota in their personally designed solar-powered vehicles.
The competition is intended to promote educational excellence and engineering creativity, according to information provided by Homestead.
Each of the solar-powered vehicles passed extensive testing and qualified during a 3-day track qualifier. Teams are expected to arrive between 4 p.m. Aug. 3 and 1:30 p.m. Aug. 4 at the Heritage Center, depending on traffic, weather and energy management decisions, American Solar Challenge (ASC) organizers stated in a press release.
Twelve teams will make their way to Homestead, each with a lead car and a trailer carrying all the teams' support staff and crew.
The teams represent schools including the University of Michigan, University of California Berkeley, Iowa State University, Illinois State University, Principia College, University of Minnesota, Missouri S&T, Dunwoody, Polytechnique Montreal, University of Toronto, Ecole de Technologie Superieure, and Appalachian State University.
"We're looking forward to the American Solar Challenge 2016 providing a new, challenging route for the solar car teams, event coordinator Gail Lueck said in the press release. We invite visitors to join us in celebrating these students' engineering creativity and see their solar-powered vehicles in person while visiting national parks along this summer's route."
The route will include nine checkpoints from Brecksville, Ohio, to Hot Springs, South Dakota, all at national parks, historic sites, or partner properties throughout the Midwest, according to the ASC website.
The solar cars will stay at Homestead for 45 minutes to charge before continuing their route toward Scotts Bluff. Teams that end up staying in Beatrice the night of Aug. 3 can choose to camp at Homestead or an area campground, or stay at an area hotel, Lueck said.
Andrea Bornemeier, Homesteads chief of interpretation and resource management, said she expects 350 people to come through Homestead over Wednesday and Thursday as part of the ASC, and that she is excited to check out all the different designs.
"There is one that looks like a Mustang, and most have futuristic designs," she said.
Bornemeier added that Homestead is a perfect fit to host such an event.
"Homesteaders along the way were innovative people, whether it was prairie or desert that they dealt with," she said. "They started from scratch and these folks are in many respects the same, trying to make solar energy easier to do, so we felt it was a good fit."
A 25-year-old woman and her daughter who had been missing for more than a week have been located, police said.
Sehighya Smith had been last seen with her 1-year-old daughter Milan Gibson on July 25 in the 7100 block of South East End Avenue in the South Shore neighborhood, according to a news release from the Chicago Police Department. The two have been located safe, police said in an updated release on Satuday.
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Anyone with information about the two should contact Area Central detectives at 312-747-8380.
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
Moody's Investors Service has been far more critical of Chicago finances than its Wall Street ratings agency counterparts, and Chief Financial Officer Carole Brown fired back recently.
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Brown told the Tribune Moody's "backed itself into a corner" last year when it became the first agency and only one so far to push the city's debt rating down into junk territory. "They probably shouldn't have," Brown said last week, while citing a series of steps the city has taken under Mayor Rahm Emanuel to improve the dire financial condition he inherited from former Mayor Richard M. Daley.
She pointed to significantly stepped up contributions to the city's police and fire pension systems, a proposal to do so with the laborers' fund and a planned effort to do the same for the city municipal workers' fund, the largest of the four.
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She also noted the mayor's plans to phase out troublesome "scoop and toss" borrowing, under which debt is pushed off onto future generations at higher cost.
"So we're doing the right thing," Brown said. "We're going to continue to fix our finances. We're going to work with the ratings agencies that we ask to rate us. And we always acknowledge Moody's, but we're not going to be held hostage."
That bit about working with ratings agencies the city asks for ratings was a reference to Moody's, which the city stopped using but continues to rate city debt.
Brown's critique came after a top analyst for Moody's last week spoke at a City Club forum on city finances, saying Chicago is not on the brink of financial ruin but needs to do far more than it is to lessen overall city debt, including what it owes to the pension funds. Moody's pointed out city pension debt will continue to grow for well more than a decade before it starts to decline under Emanuel's plans.
"How many times do you see what is supposed to be an objective arbiter speaking about a client at a panel with reporters?" Brown asked. (Hal Dardick)
What's on tap
*Mayor Rahm Emanuel has no public schedule.
*Gov. Bruce Rauner has no public schedule.
What we're writing
*Here are the biggest Chicago property tax increases under Emanuel hike.
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*Emanuel says tax hike needed to maintain business confidence in city.
*Police body camera didn't record officer's fatal shooting of teen in back.
*Record tax hike, reassessment double slamming Chicago homeowners.
*City to test for lead in some 'high-risk' residences.
What we're reading
*Cubs acquire another reliever at trade deadline; Sox hang on to Sale, Quintana.
*Private equity money increasingly entwined in daily life.
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From the notebook
*Trump critique of Khans attacked by Illinois Republicans: Re-election seeking U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk has already said he's not backing his GOP presidential nominee, Donald Trump. And, Kirk isn't backing Trump's criticism of the parents of the late U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan.
Khan's parents took the stage at the Democratic National Committee to criticize Trump's call for a ban on Muslim immigration and other attacks at various groups. Trump over the weekend responded with his own criticism of the parents of a son who was awarded a Bronze Star after his death while serving in Iraq in 2004.
"I would say once you've given your life for the country, you've pretty much paid your full debt to the country. That person should have a sacred place in our hearts, when you've given up everything you have for the country," Kirk, a retired Naval Reservist, said at a news conference.
"We need to respect that family and make sure that family's honored and not criticized. I would say to Trump, lay off the Gold Star families. They have given as much as can be given," he said, adding that the military defends First Amendment rights.
Joining Kirk in criticism over Trump was Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Channahon, who served in the Air Force and is a pilot in the Air National Guard. Kinzinger has not expressed support for Trump's candidacy and issued a statement that didn't even use the presidential candidate's name.
"No one can truly understand the sacrifice a family makes when their loved one serves their country or the heartbreak of losing a loved one. There's no greater love than a man who lays down his life for his friends," Kinzinger said.
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"As a military man myself, I have deep respect for the sacrifices made by anyone who is willing to defend the Constitution. Comments disparaging our service men and women, and their families, are deeply disturbing and wholly unpatriotic," he said. (Rick Pearson)
*... And by Illinois Democrats: Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in an email to supporters, said: "Just when you think Donald Trump has sunk to an unimaginable depth with his vile words, he finds a way to dig deeper into the muck and stench of hate speech."
Durbin said the appearance of Khizr and Ghazala Khan at the Democratic Convention was "powerful beyond words" and Trump's attacks "came as no surprise."
The Khans, he said, "joined a litany of Trump targets: (Sen.) John McCain, (R-Ariz.), America's military, the disabled, women, a Hispanic judge, Mexican immigrants, Muslims and many, many more."
Durbin gave email recipients two options: They could click an "admit he's unfit" button to send a message to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. "It is more important to them to have a Republican president even if he is clearly unqualified, unstable and hateful," Durbin wrote.
The other option: Click the "contribute" button and send Durbin $3, $10, $25, $50, $100, $500 or $1,000.
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And Rep. Tammy Duckworth, who is challenging Kirk for his seat, also condemned Trump. The Hoffman Estates Democrat is a former Army helicopter pilot who lost both her legs in Iraq the same year Khan was killed there.
"We already knew that Donald Trump was intolerant and unfit to be commander in chief," she said in a statement. "With his despicable attacks on a Gold Star family, we now know he is a cruel and cowardly man, as well." (Katherine Skiba)
*Duckworth up with new ad: Duckworth is up with a TV ad featuring a retired Marine combat veteran criticizing Kirk.
The 30-second spot, airing statewide, features a short biography of Duckworth, a two-term congresswoman from Hoffman Estates. It goes on to criticize Kirk's advertising criticizing Duckworth before featuring veteran Wally Kubicki Jr. saying: "Any politician who would say that about another veteran would never get my vote. I'll stick with Tammy."
The ad, called "Uniform," can be seen here. (Rick Pearson)
*GOP lawmakers, candidates doing road show: Republican lawmakers and legislative candidates are picking up GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner's term-limit theme with their own road show.
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On Monday, suburban Republican senators, House members and candidates held a news conference in Roselle to tout their support for a constitutional amendment asking voters to limit legislative terms.
And on Tuesday, House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs hits the road with a handful of Republicans in Minooka to tout the same term-limit theme.
Rauner sought to reignite the issue last week with a speech on the subject though it's too late for the proposal to make the Nov. 8 ballot. Rauner campaigned heavily on term limits and backed a citizen petition drive for the issue, though the courts ruled it unconstitutional and have basically said it's up to lawmakers, not voters, to issue the proposal.
Such a plan, were it ever to pass the General Assembly with a supermajority vote, a highly dubious prospect, would be prospective only. But for Republicans there is a tie-in with their 2016 strategy of campaigning against Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Madigan has been in the legislature since 1971 and is the nation's longest-serving speaker of the House, holding the title since 1983 with the exception of two years when Republicans took control of the chamber. (Rick Pearson)
*What, no Granny Smiths? House Speaker Michael Madigan recently offered an insight into his longevity, citing the old proverb that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away."
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Madigan gave the advice after being asked about his lunchtime routine, which has long been rumored to consist of a single, sliced apple.
"Remember that, an apple a day keeps the doctor away," Madigan told Illinois Public Radio Statehouse Bureau Chief Amanda Vinicky and WBBM radio's Craig Dellimore during an interview last week at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, which aired on Monday.
"It worked, and it still works," said Madigan, 74, who has been speaker for all but two years since 1983.
"Generally, it's Golden Delicious, sometimes I think it's Honeycrisp," he added.
The lighter moment came as Madigan continued his comparison of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, saying both men are extreme. He noted a lack of funding for scholarships for low-income college students for the upcoming school year, saying Rauner preventing the program from being funded during recent negotiations over the stopgap budget.
"If Bruce Rauner wants to pick on some people, he ought to pick on some big people, not little people who are trying to put themselves through college," Madigan said. (Monique Garcia)
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Follow the money
*Track campaign contribution reports in real time with this Tribune Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ILCampaignCash
Beyond Chicago
*Presidential race, Republican side: Trump reports $35.8 million raised in July.
*Presidential race, Democratic side: Clinton regains lead in polls with convention bump.
North Carolina State University students wait in line to vote in the primaries in Raleigh, North Carolina, on March 15, 2016. (Sara D. Davis / Getty Images)
North Carolina Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper will no longer defend in court the state law requiring photo identification to vote and creating other voting restrictions because it was struck down by federal appeals judges.
The attorney general's office confirmed Tuesday its lawyers won't keep appealing. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last Friday determined the 2013 law was passed with "discriminatory intent" and blocked enforcement.
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Cooper's decision won't halt appeals, since Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and GOP legislative leaders have their attorneys on the case. Still, McCrory blasted Cooper for failing to do his job and keep defending the state. Cooper is challenging McCrory for governor.
Cooper has said he would have vetoed the voting changes but his office could still robustly defend laws he opposed personally.
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Associated Press
President Barack Obama says Trump's criticism of the Kahns, a fallen Muslim-American soldier's family, is the latest evidence that the Republican presidential nominee is unfit to serve in the White House. August 2, 2016 (Video provided by The White House / Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP) (YouTube)
In a searing denouncement, President Barack Obama castigated Donald Trump as "unfit" and "woefully unprepared" to serve in the White House. He challenged Republicans to withdraw their support for their party's nominee, declaring "There has to come a point at which you say 'enough.'"
While Obama has long been critical of Trump, his blistering condemnation Tuesday was a notable escalation of his involvement in the presidential race. Obama questioned whether Trump would "observe basic decency" as president, argued he lacks elementary knowledge about domestic and international affairs and condemned his disparagement of an American Muslim couple whose son was killed while serving the U.S. Army in Iraq.
A chorus of Republicans has disavowed Trump's criticism of Khizr and Ghazala Khan and the Republican nominee's calls to temporarily ban Muslims from coming to the U.S. But Obama argued that isn't enough.
"If you are repeatedly having to say, in very strong terms, that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him?" Obama asked during a White House news conference. "What does this say about your party that this is your standard-bearer?" No prominent Republican lawmaker responded to Obama's challenge.
Instead, it was Trump stunningly withholding his support from top GOP lawmakers, including House Speaker Paul Ryan. In an affront to his party's top elected official, Trump told The Washington Post he wasn't "quite there yet" on an endorsement for Ryan in his primary next week.
Trump's refusal to back Ryan exposed anew the deep divisions within the GOP and underscored that the businessman rarely plays by the traditional political playbook. Ryan has been among those urging Republicans to rally around Trump, despite concerns about his candidacy.
Ryan's campaign said, "Neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trump's endorsement. And we are confident in a victory next week regardless."
Trump also said he was not supporting Sen. John McCain in his primary in Arizona, and he dismissed Sen. Kelly Ayotte as a weak and disloyal leader in New Hampshire.
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton sees those GOP concerns about Trump as an opportunity to reach out to party moderates particularly women who may be so upset by the nominee that they're willing to look past policy differences and questions about Clinton's character.
One of those Republicans came around to Clinton's side Tuesday. Hewlett-Packard executive Meg Whitman, a prominent GOP fundraiser and donor, endorsed Clinton and said, "Donald Trump's demagoguery has undermined the fabric of our national character."
Obama who is enjoying heightened popularity in his eighth and final year in office plans to campaign robustly for Clinton through Election Day. He and first lady Michelle Obama spoke at last week's Democratic convention in Philadelphia.
The Khans also appeared at the convention, with Khizr Khan telling the story of his son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart after his death in 2004. Khan criticized Trump's position on Muslims and asked whether the real estate mogul had read the Constitution.
For most politicians, tangling with a bereaved military family would be out of bounds. But Trump dove in, questioning why Ghazala Khan did not speak, implying her religion prevented her from doing so, and saying he was "viciously attacked" by Khizr Khan.
Trump's criticism was part of a familiar pattern: He can't let go of a perceived slight, no matter the potential damage to his presidential campaign or political reputation.
Those who have worked with him say that in private meetings he can often appear amenable to putting a controversy aside. But the businessman can quickly be drawn back in by an interview, especially if he believes he's already answered a question, or if he grows irritated by commentary on cable television.
Trump's unwillingness to let the matter subside sparked outrage Monday from several Republicans.
Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, a former prisoner of war, said Trump did not have "unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us." Rep. Mike Coffman, a vulnerable Republican in a competitive Colorado district, said he was "deeply offended when Donald Trump fails to honor the sacrifices of all of our brave soldiers who were lost in that war." Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt said the Khans "deserve to be heard and respected."
Obama argued those denunciations "ring hollow" as long as Republicans continue to back Trump in the White House race.
Trump's response? On Twitter, he said, "President Obama will go down as perhaps one of the worst president in the history of the United States!"
Sen. Mark Kirk, who is facing a tough re-election fight in Illinois, rescinded his endorsement of Trump in June after the GOP nominee criticized an American-born judge's Mexican heritage. Others, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Ryan, have broken with the nominee on individual issues but continue to back his candidacy.
WASHINGTON Associated Press
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama is touting strides in reducing homelessness among military veterans as his administration reaches the halfway point in building a massive database on veterans' health.
Overall veteran homelessness has been cut nearly in half, by 47 percent, although that's still short of Obama's long-held goal of getting it to zero by 2015. Credit also goes to first lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden's wife, Jill, for using their initiative on military families to challenge mayors and county officials nationwide to end veterans' homelessness, the White House says.
A half-million veterans have voluntarily given blood samples and health data for a long-term government research program that seeks to enroll 1 million veterans as part of an Obama initiative to make "precision medicine," or tailored treatment, a reality.
Those two milestones are being announced Monday when Obama addresses the annual convention of the Disabled American Veterans in Atlanta, the White House said. The appearance before the service organization is a valedictory address by Obama, who ends his eight years in the White House in January.
In a preview of his comments, the White House says Obama will argue that getting ex-military members the health care and benefits they've earned is a national promise that "can't be broken." He also will recap how he has tried to help former military members, moving beyond headline-grabbing scandals over lengthy wait-times for veterans seeking medical care that led to the firing of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.
Care for America's veterans is a top issue in the presidential campaign, with the nearly 21 million veterans in the U.S. making up a critical voting bloc. Republican Donald Trump has repeatedly blasted the VA under Obama; Democrat Hillary Clinton has been less harsh.
Both candidates promise to overhaul the department, including its health care delivery. Trump has proposed allowing veterans eligible for VA health care to take their ID cards to any doctor or facility that accepts Medicare to get immediate care. Clinton would make changes to the existing system.
Despite the problems and bad publicity, demand for VA health care continues to grow, increasing 13 percent in the past year, said DAV Executive Director Garry Augustine.
"We know that even though the access is a problem, health care in the VA is very good," Augustine said in an interview.
The health care side "remains to be fixed," Augustine said, and noted the recent conclusion by a congressionally mandated commission that the department continues to have "profound deficiencies" in delivering health care to millions of veterans. VA already has been making changes in line with the commission's recommendations. Augustine said he'd like veterans to be allowed to seek outside care from an approved system of private doctors who know how to treat veterans.
Augustine also expressed concern, shared by the White House, over a backlog of appeals.
While a backlog of disability claims that neared 610,000 in 2013 has been whittled to below 80,000, more than 450,000 appeals are pending. Veterans wait an average of three years for a decision, which the White House called "unacceptable."
Overall, though, Augustine said veterans appreciate the support they have received from Obama. He cited increased spending on veterans, expanded and better health care for female veterans, tax credits for hiring veterans and strides toward reducing veterans' homelessness, among other issues.
Associated Press
A man tried to drown his 6-week-old son in a flushing toilet during an armed domestic dispute that led to a SWAT standoff, Pittsburgh police said Tuesday.
Dennis Gateley, 31, was in custody awaiting arraignment on charges including aggravated assault against the infant, endangering the child's welfare and illegally possessing a firearm. He was also charged with assaulting and threatening to kill others in the house.
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Gateley's brother told police that he found Gateley, the child's mother, and the child's paternal grandmother arguing in a bathroom late Monday.
The grandmother had told police she saw Gateley punching and pushing the child's mother so she grabbed the infant and ran with the child's mother into a bathroom to get away.
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Gateley forced his way into the bathroom and his brother saw the women "yelling at Dennis who was holding the infant child upside-down pushing his head into the toilet," police said in the criminal complaint.
The grandmother's boyfriend wrestled the baby from Gateley, police said.
When police responded, residents of the house said Gateley was armed and inside. A SWAT was called to the home in the city's Mt. Washington section around 12:30 a.m.
A police negotiator persuaded Gateley to surrender about two hours later.
The woman and child were taken to a hospital for evaluation. The child was not believed to be seriously injured even though, at one point, Gateley banged the child's head off a wall before pushing it into the toilet, police said.
The woman was treated for a black eye.
Gateley was bitten by the family's dog during the melee.
Online court records don't list an attorney for Gateley, who was on probation for a simple assault conviction last year.
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Gateley's not allowed to own a firearm because he was convicted of felony aggravated assault in a 2009 case in which he also pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and trying to disarm an officer, online court records show. He was sentenced to six to 12 months in jail followed by three years' probation in that incident.
Associated Press
Sirica Bolling raises her fist as she walks down Jefferson Avenue during a Black Lives Matter protest against police brutality in Newport News, Va., on July 10, 2016. (Aileen Devlin / The Daily Press)
A U.N. official just spent 17 days traveling across the United States, and what a 17 days it was.
As we're accustomed to U.N. officials doing in other countries, Maina Kiai visited the United States' most restive places, seeking insight on the conditions that prevent peace. From the grief-stricken cities of Baton Rouge and Ferguson, Mo., roiled by the killings of unarmed black men by police officers, to the contentious political battlegrounds of convention-week Cleveland and Philadelphia, Kiai witnessed a country riven by inequality and ideological polarization.
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Kiai is a widely respected Kenyan human rights lawyer and is serving his second term as the U.N. special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. His trip to the United States was spurred by growing concerns that, despite a Constitution that guarantees broad inalienable rights, the world's supposed beacon of freedom is often not living up to international standards of equality under law.
At the end of his trip, Kiai published an eloquent statement summarizing what he learned in his discussions with protesters, police officials and community leaders. Below are some of his most prescient passages, including a clear explanation of the nation's enduring structural racism toward African Americans.
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First, however, comes Kiai's introductory description of the United States. It is broad yet concise, and a much needed reminder of how the nation's present is a product of its past.
"The United States 'is an economic powerhouse, a military superpower, a global engine of technological development, and one of the oldest democracies in the world. It is also an extremely diverse nation, a nation of indigenous peoples, slaves and immigrants. ... The experiences with various forms of diversity and complexity have not always been smooth. The country was founded on land stolen from its indigenous Native Americans; its early economic strength was built on race-based slavery against people of African descent; and successive waves of immigrants have faced discrimination, harassment or worse.' "
On the basis of that history, Kiai writes that it is "impossible to discuss" the rights of freedom of assembly and of association "without issues of racism pervading these discussions." And so before getting to his observations and recommendations, he outlines a long arc of systemic oppression that African Americans have faced in the United States, from the era of slavery to the Black Lives Matter movement he witnessed in his travels.
"This issue is particularly grave in the African-American community, and understanding its context means looking back at 400 years of slavery. It also means looking at the emergence of the Jim Crow laws that destroyed the achievements of the Reconstruction Era, which emerged at the end of slavery in 1865, and enforced segregation and marginalized the African-American community to a life of misery, poverty and persecution.
"It means looking at what happened after Jim Crow laws were dismantled, when old philosophies of exclusion and discrimination were reborn, cloaked in new and euphemistic terms. These may have not been race-based on their face, but they have, intentionally or not, disproportionately targeted African-Americans and other minorities.
"The so-called 'War on Drugs' is a perfect example. From it, one out of every 15 black men is in currently jail. One out of every 13 African-Americans, meanwhile, has lost their right to vote due to a felony conviction. An aggressive emphasis on street-level 'law and order' (or 'broken windows' approach) policing combined with wide police discretion means that African-Americans are subjected to systematic police harassment - and sometimes much worse - often for doing nothing more than walking down the street or gathering in a group. Convictions and incarcerations dramatically increased once the 'War on Drugs' was set in motion, without a corresponding increase in drug use.
"Similarly the crime laws passed under the Bill Clinton administration (1993-2001), including the federal 'three strikes' law, implemented aggressively against people of color have contributed to the huge rises in incarceration and exclusion of the black community further fueling discontent and anger.
"The effects can often snowball: A minor criminal offense - or even an arrest without substantiated charges - can show up on a background check, making it difficult to find a job, secure a student loan or find a place to live. This marginalization in turn makes it more likely that a person will turn to crime, for lack of any other option, and the vicious cycle continues.
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"These discriminatory laws and practices need to be seen in the larger context. Wall Street bankers looted billions of dollars through crooked schemes, devastating the finances of millions of Americans and saddling taxpayers with a massive bailout bill. Yet during my mission I did not hear any suggestions of a 'War on Wall Street theft.' Instead, criminal justice resources go towards enforcing a different type of law and order, targeting primarily African-Americans and other minorities.
"There is justifiable and palpable anger in the black community over these injustices. It needs to be expressed. This is the context that gave birth to the non-violent Black Lives Matter protest movement and the context in which it must be understood.
"In discussions with activists, it is clear that 'Black Lives Matter' does not mean that other lives - green, purple, blue, white or other color - do not matter. The Black Lives Matter movement is simply a reaffirmation that black lives do in fact matter, in the face of a structure that systematically devalues and destroys them, stretching back hundreds of years. It is not about granting African-Americans special status or privilege. It is about a historically and continuously targeted community seeking to elevate itself to the same level that everyone else enjoys."
So, then, in the summer of 2016, what are the ways African Americans and other minorities are being denied or limited the rights he is charged with promoting - assembly and free association?
"Unfortunately almost all cities require permits for protests, contrary to international law and standards. In Philadelphia, as in some other locations, the requirement to obtain a permit is not always rigidly enforced, but this opens the process to arbitrariness and uncertainty. ...When a right is subjected to a permit or authorization requirement, it becomes a privilege rather than a right. ...
"It was disturbing to learn that assemblies organized by African-Americans are managed differently, with these protests often met with disproportionate force. Indeed, white and Muslim activists that I met acknowledged that black fellow protesters face harsher police encounters in the context of assemblies: police are more likely to be militarized and aggressive; black people are detained longer after arrests; they face more and heavier charges, more intimidation and more disrespect."
New York Rep. Richard Hanna on Tuesday became the first Republican member of Congress to back Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, citing his discomfort with GOP standard-bearer Donald Trump.
"He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country," Hanna said about Trump in an op-ed for Syracuse.com.
Hanna's move came after a day of growing tension between Trump and top House Republican Paul Ryan, who told donors that a candidate "can't just run a vague platitude election, hopefully win a personality contest, and then try to bring in transformational, once-in-a-generation reform to an unsuspecting country." Ryan refrained from saying Trump's name during his remarks.
Trump tweaked Ryan back, thanking the speaker's Aug. 9 primary opponent for his "kind words," apparently in defense of Trump's proposal to temporarily ban Muslim immigration to the U.S.
It wasn't clear whether Hanna's move was a sign of more defections to come, or an outlier. The upstate moderate is retiring at the end of his term, easing the political cost of crossing Trump.
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Hanna said Trump's attacks this week on the Muslim parents of a slain U.S. soldier, who spoke about their son and blasted Trump at last week's Democratic National Convention, was Trump's "latest foray of insults."
"While I disagree with her on many issues, I will vote for Mrs. Clinton." Hanna said. "I will be hopeful and resolute in my belief that being a good American who loves his country is far more important than parties or winning and losing."
Trump's derision of the Muslim parents-whose son he has called a hero-also drew a rebuke from Senator John McCain of Arizona, but the 2008 Republican presidential nominee stopped short of withdrawing his support for Trump.
Trump last summer said former Vietnam prisoner of war McCain wasn't a hero, before going on to win his party's nomination.
In another defection Monday, top Jeb Bush adviser Sally Bradshaw said she was leaving the GOP to become an independent. "I can't look my children in the eye and tell them I voted for Donald Trump," Bradshaw told CNN in an email.
One wonders if Republican leaders have begun to realize that they may have hitched their fate and the fate of their party to a man with a disordered personality. We can leave it to the professionals to determine exactly what to call it. Suffice to say that Donald Trump's response to the assorted speakers at the Democratic National Convention has not been rational.
Why denigrate the parents of a soldier who died serving his country in Iraq? And why keep it going for four days? Why assail the record of a decorated general who commanded U.S. forces in Afghanistan? Why make fun of the stature of a popular former mayor of New York? Surely Trump must know that at any convention, including his own, people get up and criticize the opposition party's nominee. They get their shots in, just as your party got its shots in. And then you move on to the next phase of the campaign. You don't take a crack at every single person who criticized you. And you especially don't pick fights that you can't possibly win, such as against a grieving Gold Star mother or a general. It's simply not in your interest to do so.
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If you are a Republican, the real problem, and the thing that ought to keep you up at night ... is that the man cannot control himself. Robert Kagan
The fact that Trump could not help himself, that he clearly did, as he said, want to "hit" everyone who spoke against him at the Democratic convention, suggests that there really is something wrong with the man. It is not just that he is incapable of empathy. It is not just that he feels he must respond to every criticism he receives by attacking and denigrating the critic, no matter how small or inconsequential. If you are a Republican, the real problem, and the thing that ought to keep you up at night as we head into the final 100 days of this campaign, is that the man cannot control himself. He cannot hold back even when it is manifestly in his interest to do so. What's more, his psychological pathologies are ultimately self-destructive. (Disclosure: I was a guest speaker at a fundraiser for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton last month; I have no role with her campaign.)
Trump is, in this respect, unlike a normal politician. A normal politician knows that no matter how much criticism gets under the skin, the thing to do is to smile and wave it off. You don't have to mean it. You don't even have to appear to mean it. But it is what you do, if only to avoid compounding the damage. Trump cannot make this simple self-serving calculation. He must attack everyone who opposes him, even after he has defeated them. He must continue talking about Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's father, even after Cruz has thrown in the towel. He must humiliate New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, even after Christie has lain down before him.
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Many of Trump's supporters admire him for his bold challenge to political correctness. But his political incorrectness may be only an unintended side effect of his malady. Some of the insults he fires back at his critics are politically incorrect: the racist and misogynist taunts. But others are just childish: making fun of someone's height, or suggesting that someone's father was involved in the John F. Kennedy assassination. It's not really politically incorrect to say that a prisoner of war is not a hero because he got captured. It's just a way of saying, I don't care if you're a war hero. You criticized me and now I've got to hit you. Trump's insults are scattershot only sometimes touching the raw racist and xenophobic nerves in society. The most important fact is that he is unable to control his responses to criticism. He must double down every time, even if it means digging himself deeper and deeper into the hole.
Imagine such a person as president. What we have seen in the Trump campaign is not only a clever method of stirring up the anger in people. It is also a personality defect that has had the effect of stirring up anger. And because it is a defect and not a tactic, it would continue to affect Trump's behavior in the White House. It would determine how he dealt with other nations. It would determine how he dealt with critics at home. It would determine how he governed, how he executed the laws, how he instructed the law-enforcement and intelligence agencies under his command, how he dealt with the press, how he dealt with the opposition party and how he handled dissent within his own party. His personality defect would be the dominating factor in his presidency, just as it has been the dominating factor in his campaign. His ultimately self-destructive tendencies would play out on the biggest stage in the world, with consequences at home and abroad that one can barely begin to imagine. It would make him the closest thing the United States has ever had to a dictator, but a dictator with a dangerously unstable temperament that neither he nor anyone else can control.
One can hope it does not come to that. In all likelihood, his defects will destroy him before he reaches the White House. He will bring himself down, and he will bring the Republican Party and its leaders down with him. This would be a tragedy were it not that the party and its leaders, who chose him as their nominee and who now cover and shill for this troubled man, so richly deserve their fate.
Washington Post
Robert Kagan is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a contributing columnist for The Washington Post.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum, Friday, July 29, 2016, in Denver. (Evan Vucci / AP)
Sixty-five years ago, America faced the challenge of a snarling demagogue who captured the imagination of millions by fusing legitimate fears of an external enemy with the cultural, regional and demographic resentments of people who disliked the changing nature of our postwar country. Then, as now, a demagogue could draw upon widespread weariness with imperfect and occasionally complacent liberal leaders, important or petty security scandals, the grind of military stalemate in an inconclusive long war.
Then, as now, the demagogue benefited from apologists and enablers who privately wanted him defeated but would not take risks or bear political costs to confront him openly. Then, as now, his political adversaries were divided and hesitant in their efforts to formulate an effective response. Then, as now, parts of the Republican Party gave a vicious demagogue a congenial political home.
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Of course, history doesn't repeat itself. Donald Trump is no Joe McCarthy. For one thing, President Dwight Eisenhower and other Republican gatekeepers never allowed McCarthy near their party's nomination for president. For another, America is a far more cosmopolitan and diverse nation today than it was at the close of the Korean War.
Khizr Khan, the father of a soldier killed in Iraq, speaks at the Democratic National Convention.
But history does sometimes rhyme. The Democratic National Convention brought an unexpected echo of the McCarthy era. The occasion was a speech by immigration lawyer Khizr Khan, 65, of Charlottesville, Va. Khan's son Humayun, a posthumously decorated Army captain, was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq. The elder Khan immigrated in 1980. He has spent more than half of his life in the U.S. His oldest son founded a biotech company where his youngest son now works.
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In six minutes, the grieving father delivered the blistering response Trump deserved: Khan dispatched Trump's bluster with an anger made more powerful by its lack of political artifice or the usual focus-grouped finish.
"Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery?" Khan asked. "Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one."
Khan's words call to mind another unexpected moment from more than 60 years ago, when another dignified lawyer rebuked Sen. Joe McCarthy.
Joe Welch, a lifelong Republican, was special counsel to the army and a partner at Hale and Dore. He was sitting in on a hearing about special treatment for a McCarthy aide. McCarthy was on the defensive, and he lashed out. On live TV, the senator accused Fred Fischer, Welch's young associate, of belonging to a "Communist front organization," the National Lawyers Guild.
Welch drew blood from McCarthy with his famous question: "Have you no sense of decency, sir?"
The question answered itself. It emboldened McCarthy's enemies and gave new reasons for McCarthy's prior defenders to move on. Welch cut through a national debate powered by fears of secret enemies in our midst. He called attention to McCarthy's cruelty toward a single sympathetic person. In these early days of television, millions Americans watched it live, and had never seen anything quite like it.
Khan's genuine anger "You have sacrificed nothing and no one" provided an equally unexpected, electrifying moment. In every way, the Khan family rebuts Trump's snarling rhetoric. Their life story puts the lie to the anti-immigrant demagoguery that bubbles over this election year.
Like McCarthy, Donald Trump did not seem chastened by the exchange. When New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd asked him about Khan's speech, Trump replied, "I'd like to hear his wife say something." On ABC, Trump added: "His wife, if you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say."
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The ugly intimations are plain enough. For the record, Ghazala Khan participated in a heartbreaking MSNBC interview describing her grief at the loss of her son. She also thanked America for "listening to my husband's and my heart." And on July 31, she wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post.
Like McCarthy, Trump derives political advantage from sheer shamelessness, his willingness to wildly attack others. Yet shamelessness creates vulnerabilities and blind spots, too. Trump's words betray a strange, indecency toward two Gold Star parents grieving the loss of their son.
Millions of voters are tempted to embrace sweeping rhetoric directed against Muslim Americans and other minorities. That's a reality of American life. But these attacks lose their potency when they're directed against not abstraction but particular, sympathetic human beings. Americans saw for themselves that Khizr Khan is the better man, the better American, than Donald Trump ever will be.
Washington Post
Harold Pollack is a professor at the University of Chicago.
Russia was behind the hacks into the Democratic National Committee's computer network that led to the release of thousands of internal emails just before the party's convention began, U.S. intelligence agencies have reportedly concluded.
The FBI is investigating. WikiLeaks promises there is more data to come. The political nature of this cyber attack means that Democrats and Republicans are trying to spin this situation as much as possible. Even so, we have to accept that someone is attacking our nation's computer systems in an apparent attempt to influence a presidential election. This kind of cyber attack targets the very core of our democratic process. And it points to the possibility of an even worse problem in November that our election systems and our voting machines could be vulnerable to a similar attack.
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If the intelligence community has indeed ascertained that Russia is to blame, our government needs to decide what to do in response. This is difficult because the attacks are politically partisan, but it is still essential. If foreign governments learn that they can influence our elections with impunity, it will open the door for future manipulations both document thefts and dumps like this one that we can see and more subtle manipulations that we can't.
Retaliation is a politically fraught step and could have serious consequences, but this was an attack against our democracy. The United States needs to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin in some way politically, economically or in cyberspace and make it clear that it will not tolerate this kind of interference by any government.
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Even more important, we need to secure our election systems before the fall. If Putin's government has already used a cyber attack to attempt to help Donald Trump win, there's no reason to believe it won't do it again especially now that Trump is inviting the "help," albeit "sarcastically."
Over the years, more and more states have moved to electronic voting machines and have flirted with Internet voting. These systems are insecure and vulnerable to attack.
But while computer security experts like me have sounded the alarm for many years, states have largely ignored the threat, and the machine manufacturers have thrown up enough obfuscating babble that election officials are largely mollified.
We no longer have time for that. We must ignore the machine manufacturers' spurious claims of security, create tiger teams to test the machines' and systems' resistance to attack, drastically increase their cyber defenses and take them offline if we can't guarantee their security online.
Longer term, we need to return to election systems that are secure from manipulation. This means voting machines with voter-verified paper audit trails, and no Internet voting. I know the old-fashioned way is slower and less convenient, but the security risks are simply too great.
There are other ways to attack our election system on the Internet besides hacking voting machines or changing vote tallies: deleting voter records, hijacking candidate or party websites, targeting and intimidating campaign workers or donors. There already have been multiple instances of political doxing publishing personal information and documents about a person or organization and we could easily see more in this election cycle. We need to take these risks seriously.
Hacking of voting machines isn't new. But what is new is a foreign government interfering with a U.S. national election on a large scale. Our democracy cannot tolerate it, and we as citizens cannot accept it.
In April 2015, President Barack Obama's administration issued an executive order outlining how we as a nation respond to cyber attacks against our critical infrastructure. While our election technology was not explicitly mentioned, our political process is certainly critical. And while the technology is a hodgepodge of separate state-run systems, together their security affects every one of us. After everyone has voted, it is essential that both sides believe the election was fair and the results accurate. Otherwise, it will have no legitimacy.
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Election security is now a national security issue; federal officials need to take the lead, and they need to do it quickly.
Washington Post
Bruce Schneier is a lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the author of "Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World."
At the end of his second term as our nation's first president, George Washington voluntarily stepped aside to give other individuals the opportunity to serve.
Washington probably could have held the office for life if he had wanted. But he stepped down in part because he had led the American armed forces in a war for independence from the British crown: The American Revolution rejected the monarchy in favor of a government of the people, by the people and for people. Trading one king for another kind of long-term leader would have undermined the very principles Washington fought for on the battlefield.
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Now, U.S. presidents can serve only two terms and many states across the country have their own term-limit laws.
In Illinois, the issue of term limits is gaining momentum because of growing frustration with what is happening in Springfield. With an $8 billion projected budget deficit and some politicians clamoring for a massive tax increase, voters are looking for legislators to lead by making the difficult decisions about cutting spending.
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Former U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., famously said in 2003, "I still believe that term limits is the best way to ensure that the next generation, not the next election, is the central concern in our elected bodies."
Too often elections are the central concern in Springfield. For instance, the recent passage of the unbalanced stopgap budget was more about forging a deal ahead of the election than it was about doing the right thing for future generations. Unpaid state bills are projected to grow to $10 billion by the end of the year. Adding additional billions to the state's budget deficit is hardly the way to prop up future generations.
Unless voters adopt term limits and the elimination of legislative pensions, very little will change in Springfield. Consider this: Illinois lawmakers have one of the highest salaries in the country and one of the best legislative pensions.
As long as elected leaders are focused on job security rather than on what their actions will mean to future generations, Illinois will continue to struggle financially. The state has a 6.2 percent unemployment rate compared with the 4.9 percent national rate. Our state has the worst credit rating of all 50 states, and Illinois is drowning in pension debt. To make matters even worse, Illinois still does not have an actual state budget.
Term limits are not a cure-all, but there is no question that they would change the political culture in Illinois. Term limits would empower new voices and lead to the implementation of new ideas. In short, term limits would take away power from political insiders and special-interest groups and return power to the people.
David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, represents the 52nd House District.
Ann Rondeau, the new president of College of DuPage, on May 6, 2016. (Abel Uribe, Chicago Tribune)
One of the first things Ann Rondeau did when she took over as president of College of DuPage was get rid of the president's parking spot. Instead, she rotates where she parks and makes a point of walking around campus.
That's not the only difference between Rondeau and her predecessor, Robert Breuder, whom the college board of trustees fired in October following months of controversy and investigations launched by county and federal prosecutors.
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Rondeau, who started the job July 1, also agreed to a three-year contract far less generous than Breuder's. His compensation package was worth roughly $495,000 annually and included car and housing allowances. He was set to receive a severance package worth $763,000 until a revamped board of trustees blocked it. Breuder is suing the college over his termination and the cancellation of the severance package.
Rondeau has no housing or car allowance. She will be paid a base salary of $325,000 annually with the opportunity for annual raises not to exceed 6 percent if she meets performance goals and if the board approves. No golden parachute if she ends up leaving before her contract is up. The most she would receive in severance would be 75 percent of one year of salary.
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Oh, and all of her expenses lunch or even a round of cappuccinos must be approved by the board.
After a Tribune investigation exposed Breuder's outlandish spending and prompted his firing, the board of trustees insisted on an airtight contract for the next president. Breuder and senior managers had spent more than $190,000 on nearly 500 visits to an upscale campus restaurant since it opened in 2011. COD also paid for his exclusive membership to a hunting club and other perks.
Rondeau, a retired U.S. Navy vice admiral, said she welcomes scrutiny.
"Accountability is liberating. It's an opportunity. It's not a threat," she said during a meeting with the Tribune Editorial Board.
An Illinois higher ed administrator comfortable with heavy board oversight and a contract with no bells and whistles? We nearly fell off our chairs.
Rondeau's contract even spells out that the school will give her a laptop to use at home but she must return it when she leaves. She also was required to get a minimum of three bids from moving companies before the board would pay to transport her belongings to her new residence.
In a state where public college administrators and even some high school superintendents often demand lavish employment contracts, generous severance deals and nearly every expense is reimbursable, Rondeau and the College of DuPage are taking extraordinary measures to protect taxpayers. We especially like the pay-for-performance notion and hope Rondeau excels. Now, which Illinois public university or college is next with an even more austere contract?
In light of the Breuder case, state lawmakers also swooped in with new rules for community colleges and local governments, tightening the standards for travel expenses and limiting departure deals.
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College of DuPage has a long way to go to repair its reputation and get off accreditation probation from the Higher Learning Commission, which sanctioned the school following the Breuder controversy. Regaining full accreditation is a top priority for Rondeau.
She said she also wants to rebuild relationships with faculty, who at one point took a "no confidence" vote in Breuder.
"I want to be as unselfish and college-focused as they are. Nothing I do will not be for this college," she told us.
It's unclear if trustees sought out a new leader with a skill set exactly the opposite of Breuder's.
But it sure looks like they wrote a good contract.
Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
Just when you think Cook County government is moving toward efficiency, certain elected officials reveal that their commitment to patronage and bloat outweighs their commitment to taxpayers.
The Cook County Board on Wednesday is scheduled to vote on whether to cancel a referendum on the November ballot that would combine the offices of clerk and recorder of deeds. The board approved the referendum proposal in June during a lengthy meeting that dissolved into attacks alleging racism. Combining the offices, according to Commissioner Richard Boykin, D-Oak Park, was viewed in his district as "an all-out attack on black elected officials."
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The county clerk, David Orr, is white. The recorder of deeds, Karen Yarbrough, is black. The recorder's duties would be folded into the clerk's office if the referendum passes.
Now voters might not get to vote on it at all.
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Two commissioners who opposed putting the referendum on the ballot, Deborah Sims and Stanley Moore, both Democrats from Chicago, are proposing instead that the referendum question be limited to studying the concept of combining the offices, not actually combining them.
This is called stalling. Commissioners: Don't reverse yourselves. Hold your ground.
Combining the offices of clerk and recorder has been studied for more than a decade. It has been debated regularly since 2012 when Commissioner John Fritchey, D-Chicago, introduced the resolution the first time. It has been supported by countywide elected officials and others who understand that technology largely has replaced the need for a separately elected office that, for the most part, tracks real estate transactions. Fritchey and others estimate the consolidation could save about $800,000 annually.
Yarbrough called that "pennies" while defending her office before board members last month.
We're pretty sure Illinois taxpayers, already supporting more units of government than citizens of any other state, would not agree that nearly $1 million annually amounts to "pennies."
When Yarbrough ran for recorder of deeds, she admitted, "That office pretty much records. It needs to do more than that."
No, actually it does not. While Yarbrough has done a fine job running the office since 2012, it has long been considered a patronage dumping ground and is still subject to hiring oversight under the federal Shakman decree.
Yarbrough disagrees. Fine. She has until Nov. 8 to persuade Cook County voters to save the office. She is free to make her case.
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That is, if the referendum appears on the ballot for voters to decide.
Board members who supported putting it on the ballot in June were: Luis Arroyo, Jr., D-Chicago; John Daley, D-Chicago; John Fritchey, D-Chicago; Bridget Gainer, D-Chicago; Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, D-Chicago; Gregg Goslin, R-Glenview; Sean Morrison, R-Palos Park; Tim Schneider, R-Bartlett; Peter Silvestri, R-Elmwood Park; and Larry Suffredin, D-Evanston.
Voting against were Boykin, Sims and Moore; Jerry "Iceman" Butler, D-Chicago; and Robert Steele, D-Chicago.
Commissioners Jeffrey Tobolski, D-McCook, and Joan Murphy, D-Crestwood, both of whom portray themselves as allies of taxpayers, were absent.
Do Sims and Moore have enough votes to remove Fritchey's referendum during Wednesday's meeting?
Asked another way: Which County Board members will defend patronage and inefficiency and which will defend taxpayers?
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Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
ABC News' George Stephanopoulos: "How would you answer that father? What sacrifice have you made for your country?"
Donald Trump: "I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. I've done, I've had tremendous success."
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Stephanopoulos: "Those are sacrifices?"
U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, killed in Iraq in 2004, left behind grieving parents who love America, their adopted homeland. They are Muslims from Pakistan. The father, Khizr Khan, caused a sensation in his Democratic National Convention speech, pulling out a pocket-size copy of the Constitution and challenging Donald Trump over his statements that he would stop all Muslims from entering the U.S., or suspend immigration from countries compromised by terrorism. In Khizr Khan's words:
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"Donald Trump, you are asking Americans to trust you with the future. Let me ask you: Have you even read the United States Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy. In this document, look for the words 'liberty' and 'equal protection of law.'"
Khan, his wife Ghazala by his side, continued: "Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery? Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America you will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one."
Khizr Khan, the father of a soldier killed in Iraq, speaks at the Democratic National Convention.
A savvy candidate, faced with such an emotional barrage from Gold Star parents, would recognize the appropriate response is to honor the fallen, acknowledge the family's hurt and perhaps, at a separate time, have a policy discussion about immigration and national security. Donald Trump showed no such compassion or self-control. He didn't see devastated parents on that stage in Philadelphia, he saw political adversaries who needed to be swatted away.
In unseemly, combative statements over several days, Trump went after the parents, questioning whether Hillary Clinton's campaign wrote the speech and wondering if Ghazala Khan was prevented by her religion from speaking publicly. He was insensitive, argumentative and obtuse to the suffering of others.
The exchange with Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week" was an insight into the self-centered mind of Trump. Asked to cite a sacrifice he'd made for his country, Trump replied that he was successful. Wait, what? He got a pointed question, in the context of American military heroism, about service to others, and responded as if he'd been asked to rattle off a few of his most fabulous attributes and accomplishments. "I've had tremendous success," he said. Trump made it all about himself. Rather than deflect the implicit criticism in the question, he tried to drown it with self-aggrandizement.
There's more than a personality quirk or hard-charging campaign style at play here. There's a pathology: the belittling of others through insults, making absurd promises (he'll build a wall at Mexico's expense), stating in his convention speech that he, a superhero, will save the country ("I alone can fix it"). These are the hallmarks of an impetuous person who lacks empathy the ability to walk in another's shoes and recognize, for example, that the Khans deserved respect.
Some clinicians attach a diagnosis-at-a-distance to Trump's selfie worldview: narcissistic personality disorder, a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, an unquenchable need for admiration and a lack of empathy. That's more entertaining than meaningful: Voters don't have access to psychological profiles. They'll choose a president by studying the candidates and deciding who would make the best leader.
Listening to Trump as he auditions for the job, we're alarmed. If he's elected, what will happen during a crisis when he is mocked by a foreign foe or faces criticism from political leaders at home? Words matter. Can he be diplomatic, or can he respond to a challenge only with rhetorical punches? The outlook is bleak.
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Some Republican leaders have upped their criticisms of Trump, though too few repudiate his candidacy. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan slapped down Trump over the Capt. Khan issue while neglecting to mention the candidate's name. Same from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. On Monday, Sen. John McCain went directly after Trump: "I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trump's statement. I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers or candidates."
Donald Trump vanquished 16 candidates in the race to the Republican nomination. None of his opponents could make his or her criticisms stick. It would be deserving if a Muslim couple's defense of American values caused Trump's candidacy to quiver.
Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
A woman signs up on the HealthCare.gov insurance exchange internet site in Washington, D.C., in October 2013. (Karen Bleier, AFP/Getty Images)
On Monday, Illinois citizens were jolted by a piercing pain in the wallet as federal officials unveiled proposed Obamacare insurance premium rates for 2017. Insurers plan to dial up rates as much as a heart-stopping 45 percent for those who buy plans on the Obamacare marketplace when open enrollment starts Nov. 1.
That means thousands of people will scramble for affordable insurance ... and won't find it.
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Is this rate shock unforeseen? Not really. Rocketing Obamacare rate requests have become an annual rite of summer, as welcome as sunstroke. In California, for instance, Obamacare health coverage is slated to rise by an average of 13.2 percent next year more than three times the increase in each of the past two years. In Michigan, the pass-the-smelling-salts proposal is 17.3 percent.
No wonder that even before the Illinois rates were released, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials sought to cushion the blow with a hey-it's-really-not-so-bad news release. The feds reminded Americans that proposed rates may be ratcheted back by state regulators. And that people can "shop around" for the best coverage and "vote with their feet."
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In other words: Nothing to see here, folks. Just move along.
A hefty premium increase, however, is like a shadow on an X-ray. It portends bigger Obamacare problems to come.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, the state's dominant Obamacare insurer, is proposing rate increases from 23 percent to 45 percent for its individual plans. BCBS President Maurice Smith says that rates are rising to meet costs. "In 2015, for every dollar BCBSIL collected in individual premiums, we spent $1.32 buying care for and providing services to our members," Smith writes. "This is not sustainable."
You know what else isn't sustainable? Obamacare.
(Scott Stantis)
That's not only about Americans deciding they can't afford insurance and opting to pay the tax penalty instead of buying coverage.
Industry giant UnitedHealthcare has already voted with its feet, exiting most exchanges, including Illinois, for 2017. Others may follow, fleeing the markets because the medical bills are higher than the companies or officials in Washington expected.
That's why Obamacare's prognosis is grim unless the next president and Congress wheel the patient into the operating room for extensive surgery, stat. Americans need more flexible, less costly health coverage driven not by federal decree, but by customers' desires.
As for next year's coverage, here's the lesson from 2016: Caveat emptor, Obamacare customers. Shop around, sure. But remember how tens of thousands of people voted with their feet last year for a lower-cost wider-network option offered by Land of Lincoln Health.
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These customers had quality, affordable care until they didn't. Federal officials forced state regulators to shutter Land of Lincoln midyear because of its financial problems. Thousands of policyholders now are scrambling for new policies, which likely means higher costs and even greater out-of-pocket expenses.
Those policyholders are learning the hard way that Obamacare is ailing. Customers struggle to pay premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. Many will pay more for less. Insurers struggle to eke out a profit or control losses. You don't need an X-ray machine to reveal the truth: The law is unraveling.
Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
Turkey's foreign minister, speaking to a German newspaper, recently floated the idea of a referendum that would ask voters if they wanted their government to reintroduce the death penalty. Not revelatory, given the prevalence of capital punishment around the world. What's unsettling, however, is that the idea has surfaced amid the detentions and firings of tens of thousands of Turks military officers, professors, teachers, judges following the failed coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Do these dots connect? Or is it just coincidence that a regime focusing on its alleged foes also is chatting up the death penalty?
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Since the July 15 coup attempt by a rogue element within Turkey's military, the Erdogan government's crackdown has been startling in its scope and size. The number of people suspended from their jobs is now approaching 70,000, according to The Associated Press. More than 49,000 people have had their passports revoked after being deemed possible terror suspects and thus flight risks. At least 10,000 people have been arrested since the coup. Some of those arrested have been journalists, and dozens of media outlets have been silenced.
Erdogan believes the mastermind of the coup was his primary political rival, Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric who once was a close Erdogan ally and who now lives in Pennsylvania. The crackdown is aimed at Gulenists in the military, academia, the judiciary and the media. More than 1,000 schools run by Gulen followers have been shuttered since the coup attempt.
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Erdogan has asked Washington to extradite Gulen to Turkey, but he'll first have to convince American courts that there's enough evidence against the exiled scholar to charge him with a crime.
People sit at the Kizilay Square in front of a Turkish national flag in Ankara during a protest against the failed military coup on August 2, 2016, as a picture of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pictured on a billboard in the background. (Adem Altan, AFP/Getty Images)
Turkey is an important U.S. ally straddling Europe and Asia a NATO member and a key partner in the fight against Islamic State. But that doesn't mean the U.S. should look the other way as thousands are arrested and purged from their posts. So far, the Obama administration has been measured in its reaction to the crackdown. Measured, as in milquetoast. White House spokesman Josh Earnest recently told reporters, "We certainly believe that it's important, even as the Turkish government goes to great lengths to determine what exactly happened in the context of the failed coup and to bring some accountability to those who may have been complicit in that effort that it's critically important that the Turkish government not also undermine the very democratic institutions that, ostensibly, they're trying to protect."
Germany's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, was more to the point, saying the Turkish government's actions following the coup attempt "are getting far out of proportion. ... When tens of thousands of civil servants, teachers and judges are dismissed, thousands of schools and education facilities shut and dozens of journalists arrested without any direct connection with the coup being discernible, we cannot simply stay silent."
Finding and trying the people behind the coup and others associated with it is a reasonable application of justice. Treason against a democratically elected government ought to be dealt with firmly yet fairly.
But the coup shouldn't be an excuse for indiscriminate trawling of anyone perceived to be a threat. It's unlikely that Turkey was able to make ironclad links between the coup and the thousands of people arrested. Because a journalist gets a paycheck from a Gulenist newspaper, or a teacher works at a Gulenist school, doesn't mean they're connected to the coup.
Erdogan's government has to adhere to the rule of Turkish law as it continues its post-coup investigations. The Obama administration and the West have to make that clear to Erdogan's government, and should game-plan what to do if he continues ignoring that message.
Yes, that's a delicate dance for Western governments eager to keep Turkey involved in combating Islamic State. But Washington has many ways to exert pressure none easier or more urgent than speaking often and unhappily about the crackdown, and making this point to Erdogan:
Sticking to the rule of law will serve Turkey's interests as well as the West's rounding up masses of people indiscriminately is only going to breed more discontent. And the last thing that Istanbul needs is another desperate, destabilizing night of fear and violence.
Officials at Township High School Distrct 214 said Tuesday that a federal lawsuit filed recently by a former student alleging he was racially harassed while attending Prospect High School is "unfounded." (Karen Ann Cullotta / Pioneer Press)
Officials at Township High School District 214 said Tuesday that a federal lawsuit filed recently by a former student alleging he was racially harassed while attending Prospect High School is "unfounded."
The federal lawsuit, which was filed on July 28 by a former Prospect student, identified as "John Doe," and who describes himself as African-American, alleges that he "experienced years of racially motivated abuse and bullying by his fellow students at Prospect High School," according to Doe's attorney, Bhavani Raveendran.
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"Simultaneously, the teachers and administration of Prospect High School ignored the constant bullying and disparately disciplined John Doe when incidents arose," Raveendran said in a statement Tuesday. "John Doe was subjected to racial slurs, jokes, nicknames, and harassment on the basis of his race. Even after John Doe and his family made repeated complaints, the situation was not corrected. In fact, John Doe's harm was furthered by the teachers and administration of Prospect High School, creating an unbearable atmosphere of intolerance."
But in a written statement released this week in response to the lawsuit, District 214 officials denied the allegations.
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"At Prospect High School and throughout High School District 214, we practice a culture of integrity and respect and take that very seriously. These allegations are unfounded, and we are confident our staff provided a safe and supportive learning environment for John Doe, as we do with all of our students.
"The family bringing forth this suit has a history of bringing forward lawsuits over the years and waited to file this suit until the day before John Doe's 19th birthday, the day before the statute of limitations would expire," officials added. "We have reviewed the complaint, and remain confident in the education we deliver to every student who walks through our doors. The District as a whole, and the individuals named in this suit, look forward to clearing their names in court."
kcullotta@trib.com
Twitter @kcullotta
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."
The Arlington Heights Police Department is inviting local families to gather at North School Park Tuesday night in celebration of the village's 11th annual National Night Out.
As sponsored by the police department and the Arlington Heights Park District, and held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the park at Eastman Street and Arlington Heights Road, the free event puts the spotlight on crime prevention efforts, and aims to strengthen the relationship between local law enforcement and the community, Arlington Heights Police Sgt. Rick Boyle said.
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"Over the past few months, with the recent incidents in Dallas and Baton Rouge, we've been getting a lot of cards and food items at the police station from residents, letting us know that they appreciate their local police officers," Boyle said.
"These are some difficult times for police officers across the U.S., but being in a safe community like Arlington Heights, where we get great support, makes the difficult times a little bit easier," Boyle added.
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In addition to interactive demonstrations highlighting the work of the village's police and public works departments, Boyle said the Arlington Heights Fire Department plans to host a live dive tank exhibition, explaining the basics of water rescues.
The police department will also award iPads to two local students who were named winners of the recent "Befriend a Badge" collector trading card program, Boyle said.
While residents are welcome to bring their own picnic dinner to the park, Boyle said the event will also feature four food trucks, including Toasty Cheese, Best Truckin' BBQ, Chicago Cupcakes and Riverside Chocolate Factory.
Free Popsicles, popcorn, water and soda will be available while supplies last, with the event also featuring balloon sculptors, face painting, games, bounce houses, free giveaways and a 7 p.m. band concert.
For more details on National Night Out, visit www.vah.com.
kcullotta@tribpub.com
Twitter @kcullotta
Aurora police are questioning a 49-year-old man in connection with a Monday shooting inside the Latin American Club on the city's near East Side, according to a news release.
A 30-year-old man appeared to be with a group of acquaintances drinking inside the social club, in the 1300 block of Dearborn Avenue, when an argument ensued about 6:40 p.m., according to the news release.
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A preliminary investigation indicates the other man apparently produced a handgun, shot the 30-year-old more than once and left the club.
A suspect was taken into custody without incident at his home on the West Side of Aurora, police said.
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The victim was taken to an Aurora hospital for treatment of life-threatening wounds.
No other information was available Monday evening, police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said in the news release.
Club operators could not be reached for comment.
In December, 79-year-old Felipe Garcia, of Plano, died after three men robbed and beat him and a 55-year-old male employee at the club. Garcia was a longtime member and worked at the establishment, family members said. That case remains under investigation.
Jazz group to perform in downtown Aurora
A jazz quintet from Chicago is the featured band at Wednesdays at the Plaza this Wednesday in downtown Aurora.
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The group A Light Sleeper will play experimental jazz and contemporary music at the summer concert series.
The free concert is from 6 to 8 p.m. at Millennium Plaza on Stolp Avenue.
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Local businesses host the series of free, live music concerts every Wednesday through the end of August. Groups to be performing include Small Shiny Things Aug. 10, Town Band Aug. 17, Greg Boerner Aug. 24 and Saint Astro Aug. 31.
The series is organized by Marissa Amoni and Tony Scott and sponsored by Vicki McCoy of Re/Max Town & Country, Ald. Mike Saville, City of Aurora, Konen Insurance, Karademas Management, AKA Dance, Aurora Downtown, Downtown Auroran Magazine, The Compounder, The Yetee, Aurora Fastprint, Rocktown Adventures, Culture Stock, and Reuland Food Service.
For more information, visit downtownauroran.com or Wednesdays at the Plaza on Facebook.
School supply drive in Aurora
Wesley United Methodist Church in Aurora will hold its ninth annual school supply distribution Saturday.
The event for children in need will run from 9 to 11 a.m. in the gym at Greenman Elementary School, 729 W Galena Blvd. in Aurora.
This event is open to the public. Children must be present to receive supplies.
Donation of supplies are being sought for the event. Items needed include pencils, erasers, crayons, dry erase markers, washable markers, colored pencils, glue sticks, pocket folders, spiral notebooks, loose-leaf paper, three-ring binders, highlighters, rulers, scissors, supply boxes, book bags and packs of blue and black pens.
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Supplies can be dropped off at the church office, 14 N. May St. in Aurora, through Friday. For more information, contact Caitlin in the church office at 630-896-1033.
Kane County clerk recruiting election judges
The Kane County Clerk's Office is recruiting election judges for the Nov. 8 presidential election. Judges must be registered voters, must attend a three-hour training and will receive compensation.
For information, contact Jim Morefield at 630-232-5994.
Prescribed burns focus of nature program
Trish Burns, manager of Peck Farm Park, will lead a class about prescribed burns from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 14, at Peck Farm Park, 4038 Kaneville Road, Geneva. The discussion will include the fire-adapted natural communities in the area and why fire is one of the most important natural agents of change.
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Advance registration is required. This Learn from the Experts program is for ages 18 and above. The registration fee is $10 per person. Call 630-444-3190 or e-mail programs@kaneforest.com to register.
Learn from the Experts programs are taught by experts in their respective fields and offer in-depth learning opportunities about local ecology. The programs are offered through a partnership with the Forest Preserve District of Kane County, St. Charles Park District and Geneva Park District.
For information on Forest Preserve District of Kane County nature programs, go to www.kaneforest.com.
Unwind Wednesday planned in St. Charles
On the heels of the success of St. Charles' first Unwind Wednesdays last month, a second event is planned at the First Street Plaza in downtown on Wednesday from 5 to 9 p.m.
"For six years, we envisioned having an event like this in which patrons can buy their drink of choice at separate restaurants and walk out and enjoy them on the plaza," said Shay Clarke, head organizer and general manager of McNally's Irish Pub. "We were quite pleased by the turnout and comments from attendees and everyone involved. We are greatly looking forward to the next one."
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The Downtown St. Charles Partnership hopes to create an inviting downtown that has a vibrant, urban vibe that gives the downtown a unique flavor, said Jake Anderson, DSCP events coordinator.
The Giving Moon will be performing at the First Street Plaza.
Batavia Creamery, which backs up to the Fox River, has plenty of outdoor seating. (Shonda Talerico Dudlicek / The Beacon-News)
Kirk Jansons' parents owned a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop in Naperville since he was 9. After two years at the College of DuPage, his parents asked him what he wanted to do.
His answer was easy own an ice cream shop. At 21, with financial help from his parents, Jansons began as a Baskin-Robbins franchisee and then, in 2006, he fulfilled that dream of owning his own shop.
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Today, the Montgomery resident is the owner of Batavia Creamery, celebrating its 10th year in downtown Batavia.
Batavia Creamery carries 44 flavors and rotates more than 100 others; 15 are staples. "Fifty percent of our business is ice cream scoops in a cup or cone," Jansons said. "We try to have very exotic flavors and things you can't find."
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Examples are Tennessee Toffee with whiskey caramel sauce and toffee bits, Banana Pudding with banana bread and marshmallow whipped cream, and Raspberry Rendezvous with raspberry with dark chocolate chunks sprinkled throughout.
However, life wasn't always a bowl of cherry ice cream for Batavia Creamery. During Jansons' first 18 months, the business struggled while the Wilson Bridge was under major construction.
"I would question what I was doing," Jansons said. "But ice cream is recession-proof. It's a sweet treat, a feel-good product, and sales continually went up and up and up."
Batavia Creamery also offers cake and ice cream cakes, along with Italian ices, smoothies, slushies and freezes.
"Ice cream kinda kicks in a lot of family memories for me," said Jansons, referring to his own ice-cream filled childhood. "I've seen a lot of families and kids. Seeing kids come in and having ice cream on the nose. And now everyone takes pictures on their phone."
And now with the addition of vegan ice cream, Jansons said, "I get thank-you notes from happy parents. Now they can all have memories of going to get ice cream together. They're making memories and I'm thankful to be a part of that, to make a great memory."
Pricing: Scoops from $2 to $4.99. Shave Ice from $1.99 to $3.99. Sundaes from $3.29 to $5.99 for Banana Split. Quarts $7.99. 2-quart Special $14.99. 3-gallon tub $59.99. Novelties from $2.39 for Milk Chocolate & Peanuts Frozen Banana to $3.50 for Clown Cone. Shakes and Malts from $3.99 to $6.99. Frozen Cappuccino from $3.99 to $5.99. Old-Fashioned Chocolate Ice Cream Sodas and Root Beer Floats from $2.99 to $4.99. Fruit Smoothie from $3.99 to $5.99. Brain Freeze Slushy from $2.99 to $4.99. Freezes from $3.99 to $5.99. Drinks from $1 for pop to $1.75 for Seasonal Peppermint Hot Chocolate. Iced Coffee from $2.99 to $4.99. Cake and Ice Cream Cakes from $10.99 for mini to $139.99 for full sheet. Ice Cream Pies for $17.99. All Ice Cream Cakes from $8.99 for mini to $36.99 for 10-inch round. Cakes from $6.99 for Smash Cake to $43.99 for full sheet. Creamery Mixer for $4 and $5.
Hours: Summer hours 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Winter hours noon-9 p.m. daily.
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Batavia Creamery is at 4 N. Island Ave., Batavia. Call 630-482-3729 or go to bataviacreamery.com.
Shonda Talerico Dudlicek is a freelance writer.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton waves to delegates after her speech during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 28, 2016. (Mary Altaffer / AP)
It's been a crazy couple of weeks for Hillary Colby.
That included the letter she got in the mail Monday informing the 42-year-old Aurora woman she had been charged with criminal misdemeanor trespassing for her part in a massive sit-in at the BP Oil Refinery in Whiting, Indiana, in May.
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And there were three more letters from attorneys hawking their talents to be her legal representative.
As a long-time environmental activist, this had not been Colby's first protest or her first arrest. But the other charges four of them, to be exact have always gotten reduced to fines.
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She's not sure what's going to happen in this latest skirmish. But her legal problems were not her top concern when I met up with her Monday afternoon. What had Colby really fired up were the four days she spent last week in Philadelphia as an alternate delegate for Bernie Sanders at the Democratic National Convention.
"I'm still in recovery mode," she said, "from the most intense week of my life."
Colby, a former social worker who is on disability after a stroke eight years ago, has always been interested in social injustices, according to her mother Mary, also a Bernie supporter who did not attend the convention. But like so many others across the country during this unconventional and at-times crazy campaign, the younger Colby experienced a political awakening upon hearing Sanders speak in Madison in the spring of 2015.
The long campaign season, however, did not prepare her for the rude awakening she got in Philadelphia.
"I had no idea how ugly, how corrupt, how the convention was designed to keep out the grassroots people from having a voice," said Colby when she met with me on Monday, along with a few other Sanders delegates who wanted to share their experiences.
This group of local delegates claimed signs were confiscated and destroyed on a regular basis, and lighting and sound were manipulated for television cameras so the protesters would not be seen and heard.
And according to Maggie Wunderly, who represented this district on the rules committee, there was never a chance of bringing their requests to the convention floor.
"We expected a debate," said the 39-year-old Auroran, " but there was no discussion."
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To prove their point, Luis Aguilar, a 23-year-old delegate from McHenry, showed me videos and photos taken inside the convention hall. And Colby displayed on her phone a picture of her bruised arm she said was the result of a security person who would not let her use the elevator for those with disabilities.
That confrontation, she pointed out, was on the second day of the convention which also happened to be the 26th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"I ended up climbing three flights of concrete stairs," said Colby, who uses a cane as she is legally blind and has other neurological issues, "because I did not have a wheelchair."
And come November, I asked?
Wunderly says she's likely to vote for Clinton, albeit with reluctance, while Aguilar and Colby, still smarting from their treatment and where they see the Democratic party heading, are not there yet.
"With this campaign my eyes were really opened to the rigors of the 17 months of craziness we do in our country with each presidential election," said Colby. "Before, I was never aware of the true level of orchestration to present a certain image."'
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Colby, who credits Aguilar with helping her get through a physically-taxing convention, says she's always struggled with health issues, even before a stroke, but grew up with the expectation that "you don't give in to a problem but find a way to work it out."
Aguilar, a well-spoken young man who was the most active of the three throughout the primary, insists the way they were treated has only made all of them more motivated. And, while they are disappointed in how the campaign ended, this trio insisted progress has been made.
"This is just tipping our toe in the water," said Aguilar, who promises to use most of his energy in the near future to fight the controversial Trans Pacific Partnership. "There are so many groups that have formed out of this campaign that will continue to grow stronger and affect the next election."
That being said, they also vow to take what they have learned and run for a local office. It's not just the candidate they followed to the very end, "it's the issues we are fighting for," noted Colby.
As for that trespassing charge from Indiana still hanging over her head "We have a pro bono lawyer advocating for us, with the intent to get this charge knocked down like all the others," she said. "But we will see.
"It will be interesting," Colby added. "If I have to make a trip back to Whiting, I'll do so gladly."
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But first, she'd like to rest for a bit.
Dcrosby@tronc.com
GMU's Cowen sees reduction in opportunities to advance as a growing problem
Tyler Cowen
Much political debate in recent years has focused on income inequality in the United States and what, if anything, the federal government ought to do about it. Tyler Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University and director of the Mercatus Center, has studied inequality. While in North Carolina to deliver Duke University's Hayek lecture, Cowen discussed income inequality with Mitch Kokai for Carolina Journal Radio. (Click here to find recent CJ Radio episodes.)We know that this has been a big issue, especially among Democratic politicians, in recent years - saying that that is a huge problem in the United States. When you, as an economist, look at this issue, is this as big a deal as people are making it out to be?I would reframe the problem a little. I see the issue as lower opportunity at the bottom. The problem isn't the gap between the top and the bottom. If Bill Gates or Steve Jobs earns a lot of money selling a product at a global scale, that's a good thing, not a bad thing. But opportunity in this country, in some ways, has dried up for a lot of people. The single biggest thing we could do to fix this would be to improve our systems of education, especially at the K-12 level.So the idea of focusing on income inequality - not the right way to look?I would focus on barriers to opportunity, which for many people have gone up. So we shouldn't deny the problem, but again, the gains of the well-off are not causing the lack of opportunity for the less well-off. So I think "inequality" really is the wrong word to be framing this with.When you hear the politicians, whether it's those on the Democratic side or Republican side, and talking about what we ought to do about the economy, are any of them on the right track, from your perspective? Or do they all have things that they could do to improve their programs?None of them are on the right track. That's pretty obvious at this point. There have been a lot of ideas in the debates this year, a lot of passion, but not that much careful analysis really, on any side.So if we were trying to look at the biggest economic problems that the United States faces right now, where should we be looking? What kinds of things should we be looking at doing?Well, with respect to the lack of opportunity, another big problem we have is that it's much more costly to move into a dynamic city, to try to get a better job. So in the 1950s, the 1960s, if you wanted to move to Manhattan, Los Angeles, places of that kind, as a way of getting ahead, you were able to afford cheap living quarters. But they don't build more land, and we've put a lot of regulations and restrictions on building.So this is now much harder. I think this is a major problem. It's a silent problem. On any given day, there's no crisis that you see. But it does mean that it is harder for people to find pathways to opportunity. So I think we ought to do more to deregulate building, especially in our most dynamic cities. And I would start with San Francisco.And this is certainly a situation [in which] the people who are already there see some benefits from having the tight restrictions. But as you mentioned, if you're not already there, this creates a major barrier, doesn't it?Especially if they own real estate. They don't want to deregulate the market. But we more and more have an economy where the people who got there first entrench themselves and protect their privilege by passing laws and regulations. And again, this is one of the biggest problems for the American economy today. And it does contribute to what people are describing as this inequality problem.Is anyone who has any position of power looking at this situation in the right way? Or are we just chasing things that we shouldn't be chasing when we're talking about improving our economy?The political dialogue on remedying America's opportunity problems ... people are pretty aware of education. But very often, they're not willing to do that much about it. One nice thing about North Carolina is simply what percentage of the students are, in some way, outside of the state system - be it home schooling, private schools, schools which are not certified or accredited in the typical way. So this makes the system here more competitive.But I think in at least half of America we need more school choice. We need more experiments with charter schools, more home schooling where that's appropriate or possible. And a lot of it's a question of political courage. I think at this point a lot of people know.But when you look at building restrictions, that has received a lot less attention. It's much more invisible. And we need a much more open dialogue about that. And in some ways, this is maybe more likely to come from the Democrats than the Republicans.And why would that be?The people who suffer the most from this, very often, are either Democratic voters or probably they potentially would be Democratic voters if they were to vote: people who are new to this country, people who are lower-income, possibly ethnic minorities. They're the biggest losers. But again, I don't think there's a lot of awareness of this problem compared to, say, debates over the minimum wage.So if Democrats were very interested in dealing with the issues that are the issues of their voters, we might actually see some action on these things? Some positive action on these things?There's some talk. There's not much action. If you look at the people who are on President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, a lot of them are well aware of this problem. I don't mean to speak for them, but I think they would agree with some version of what I'm saying.But these regulations are state and local. And it's quite entrenched. The role of the federal government to do something is not so great. One thing we could do is just to put more building regulation at the state level rather than the city level. And when that's the case, there's a lot of data that state regulators tend to allow more building because they're less captured by the very local landowners. So that's one thing we could start by doing. We're not close to doing it, however.You talked about regulation on building. Another thing that we've often heard is about the number of regulations, or the amount of regulations on people who want to start a business, the entrepreneurs. Is there a lot of work that needs to be done there as well?Occupational licensure is a big problem. Now, over 30 percent of the jobs in this country require some kind of legal license. And you may think this is necessary for, say, a doctor. But when you look at a barber, an interior decorator, these are just barriers to competition. They keep people out. They raise prices for consumers. There's just no good reason to have them.But again, at especially the state level, it's hard to see a lot of change has happened because of inertia, and there are entrenched interests. And the people who are most aware of this tend to be talking and operating at the national or federal level, not at the state.Now people who follow these issues very closely have probably seen some of your blogs at MarginalRevolution.com or your column in The New York Times. But if you had the ear of a politician who's about to say, "OK, we're going to come up with some new policies," what would be the first policy you'd like to see them do that's a change from the status quo? ... Let's say, generic Republican politician. ...I think the Republicans need a new language for talking about poverty and thinking about opportunity. Too much of the platform, for too long a time, has been about tax cuts for the wealthy. And right now, we've already pledged that money to the elderly. If we were to cut taxes now, we'd actually end up raising them even more five years from now.So I don't think that strategy makes much sense. I think the kinds of people who are voting Republican are narrowing in some disadvantageous ways. And the very recent Donald Trump phenomenon, I think, is a result of the fact that a lot of concerns of the Republican Party, as an institution, have become increasingly disconnected from concerns of actual voters.How about if you had a chance to speak to a dynamic Democratic politician who wants to make some positive change? What's the first thing?I would say, "Teach your party some basic economics." A $15 minimum wage is a terrible idea. That's actually more than most manufacturing workers in Mississippi earn. It would put a lot of them out of work.Think of trade and exchange in markets as a positive-sum game. Don't talk about the corporations being evil all the time. Go into a kind of panic because a majority of the young people in your party are voting for Bernie Sanders, who is a self-professed socialist, and most of his economic ideas are very badly off. So I wouldn't really know where to start.
A Mobil gas station in Barrington will have to pay a $20,000 civil penalty for a gasoline leak that contaminated soil and groundwater, and caused vapors to enter neighboring homes.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced the penalty Monday as part of a settlement with defendant Shri Balaji Inc., an Illinois corporation that owned the Mobil station at 504 E. Main St. near Route 14.
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"This order will protect the community by ensuring that the company will identify and remediate any remaining contamination," Madigan said in a statement.
The settlement also requires the owner to submit a remediation plan to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, as well as report soil and groundwater sampling and monitoring tests to the agency, Madigan's office said.
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The owner of the Mobil station declined comment Tuesday morning on the settlement.
On Feb. 11, the Illinois Attorney General's office filed a complaint against the owner, saying its underground gasoline tank had been leaking unknown amounts of gas since at least Jan. 25.
"The leak was discovered after residents complained of gasoline odors in their homes," according to a news release from Madigan's office. "The complaint alleges leaking gasoline flowed into the soil and groundwater and entered the adjacent sanitary sewer system."
The Mobil station first closed Jan. 25 after homeowners complained of a gasoline smell in their homes.
Barrington officials shut down the station again at 3 p.m. the next day, just six hours after it reopened for business that morning.
"The village went back to the gas station and determined petroleum was still found (Jan. 26) leaking into the sanitary sewer," Barrington Village Manager Jeff Lawler said in January.
According to Lawler, a pressure line leaked in a gasoline pump, causing gas to travel underground to a sanitary sewer in the station's parking lot.
He said the gas station's owner hired an environmental contractor to pump water and fuel from under the parking lot into a tanker truck for removal and testing. The station opened again Jan. 29.
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Village officials have said work crews installed plastic lining inside the entire sewer line, preventing gas from seeping into it again. The Illinois EPA also approved the plan, Lawler said.
After both incidents, village workers monitored the area with air-testing equipment and did not detect any levels of concentration, Lawler has said.
tshields@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @tshields19
The annual Burr Ridge Run for Veterans on Sunday brought out 197 people to take part in the 5K, with 175 finishing the race.
The event, organized by Pauline Ozols, raises funds for veterans health care and vets who are either homeless or at risk of being homeless. Money raised was being donated to Volunteers of America Illinois, which has two facilities in Chicago Hope Manor I in West Humboldt Park and Hope Manor II on the South Side providing furnished housing and support services to veterans struggling with or at risk of homelessness.
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Hope Manor I is home to 80 men who served in the Armed Forces. Hope Manor II is home to 73 veterans, male and female, and their dependents. A third facility, Hope Joliet, is planned for that southwest suburb.
Ozols has no veterans in her family, but worked with many veterans in her previous job. She said the five months of effort she and other volunteers put into the race and festivities is a tribute to the men and women who have served this country.
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"It is my way of giving back to our veterans who need help," Ozols said. "Anyone who has served our country deserves our sacrifice of time. If this can bring an end to veterans' homelessness, it is worth it."
The top male finisher was Craig Robbins with a time of 20:26, and the top female finisher was Than Kaewhawee with a time of 22:00, both in the age 30-39 category.
First place finishers by category were Sean Tilles, age 1-10 male; Daniel Szczepanik, age 11-14 male; Taylor Wagner, age 11-14 female; Tyler Gaytan, age 15-19 male; Rachel Wagner, age 15-19 female; Joseph Marksciello, age 20-29 male; Barbara Skiba, age 20-29 female; Robbins, age 30-39 male; Kaewhawee, age 30-39 female; Dan Tempestini, age 40-49 male; Ellen McKenna, age 40-49 female; Armando Avalos, age 50-59 male; Mary Beltran, age 50-59 female; Michael Meissner, age 60-69 male; and Haydee Muse age 60-69 female.
Among the runners completed the race were 80-year-old Joseph Kubica, the only runner in the age 80-99 male group, and 73-year-old Betty Mourning, the only runner in the age 70-79 female group.
Liliana Scales, director of external affairs and resource development for Volunteers of America Illinois, said there is no limit for how long a veteran can stay at one of the organization's facilities. She said as long as veterans provide 30 percent of their income, regardless of how little that is, they can stay. She added that the facilities are designed to help veterans stabilize their lives and move to the next phase of life.
Journey performs Aug. 13 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park. The band is comprised of bassist Ross Valory (from left), drummer Steve Smith, lead vocalist Arnel Pineda, lead guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain. (Photo courtesy of Travis Shinn) (Travis Shinn)
Although every Journey concert is special, the band's Southland show will be extra special for keyboardist Jonathan Cain, a Chicago native.
Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park hosts the Aug. 13 stop of the San Francisco Fest 2016 tour.
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"Every year it's like coming home. Back when I left Chicago for Hollywood in the 1970s, I was sure that I was going to get a chance to come back and see relatives and family but not in one of the greatest bands of all time, not in one of the classic rock bands of all the ages," Cain said during a phone interview while on tour.
"It's really an honor to represent the Midwest. I've still got a lot in my heart for Chicago. It's an honor to be the Midwest guy to go around the world and play this kind of music and actually be part of the creative process, which has really been fun."
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A Journey member since 1980, Cain is also a songwriter for the group and wrote "Don't Stop Believin'," one of the band's biggest hits, with former lead vocalist Steve Perry and founding member and lead guitarist Neal Schon.
"It took the three of us to get that one right," said Cain, who co-penned the tune when he was down on his luck, working a day job and wondering if he should return to Chicago.
"In a way this song has helped keep us relevant in different generations. It's a simple song about the permission to dream. I wrote it about looking at the music business from the outside. I wasn't in the groove yet. I wanted to be. My father was the one who inspired the title."
Journey's set actually features the 1981 release that included "Don't Stop Believin'."
"We're focusing on the 'Escape' album. It's 35 years since it's been out so we're doing that and, of course, we've got Steve Smith back. He brings an amazing energy, almost a rock orchestra kind of thing," said Cain about the drummer who last played with Journey in 1998.
"There's a whole different spin. Our production looks fantastic. We have two great opening acts: Dave Mason, legendary songwriter and guitarist from Traffic, and, of course, the Doobie Brothers just rocking hard every night. It's just a great lineup. It's a great night of music."
In addition to Cain, Schon and Smith, Journey's lineup is rounded out by co-founder and bassist Ross Valory and lead vocalist Arnel Pineda.
"It's really a great night for classic rock. It's like a jukebox," said Cain, who plans to release his Christian rock album "What God Wants to Hear" in August and is working on books about Journey and growing up in the 1950s in Chicago.
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Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Journey
When: 7 p.m. Aug. 13
Where: Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, 19100 S. Ridgeland Ave., Tinley Park
Tickets: $27 general-admission lawn or deck (standing room only, no seats); $27-$105 second-pavilion seating; $35-$147 first-pavilion seating
Information: 708-614-1616, www.livenation.com or www.journeymusic.com
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Etc.: San Francisco Fest 2016 tour with the Doobie Brothers and Dave Mason
A 22-year-old man has been charged with felony burglary after police say he broke into a gun shop and two adjoining businesses in southwest suburban Manhattan early Monday, authorities said.
Ricardo M. Barrios-Reyes, of the 200 block of Second Street in Manhattan, also faces misdemeanor charges of possession of burglary tools and resisting arrest, according to a statement from Manhattan police. He was captured after fleeing when an alarm went off, alerting police, authorities said.
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Gibbs Custom Gunsmithing is one of three businesses at 155 W. North St. The others are an antiques shop and a law office. Barrios-Reyes entered all three, according to the police statement.
Paula Downs, of Manhattan, who owns the gun shop with Jeffrey Gibbs, said the weapons were locked inside a safe, and Barrios-Reyes did not steal anything there. The shop has a "fairly sophisticated security system in place," she said.
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"From our perspective, everything that we put in place worked like it was supposed to," Downs said Monday.
Barrios-Reyes allegedly broke a window and door on the east side of the cinder-brick building, Manhattan police Sgt. Jamie Cavallero said. When Manhattan police arrived, they heard a person inside. Barrios-Reyes slipped out the back window while officers called for backup, Cavallero said.
Barrios-Reyes was apprehended "after a foot pursuit," the statement said. Cavallero said Will County sheriff's deputies caught him despite dense fog. Barrios-Reyes had been running and was taken to Silver Cross Hospital, where he was treated for breathing difficulties. He was released into police custody Monday.
"After being apprehended, Barrios lied about who he was," the statement said.
A section of U.S. Highway 52, which is also North Street, was closed for about an hour early Monday morning.
Barrios-Reyes is in Will County Jail awaiting a bond hearing.
Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter.
Friday's storms that raked the south suburbs were the biggest test yet of a massive reservoir in a portion of the Thornton Quarry, which came online late last fall, according to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.
Rainfall amounts ranging from about 1 to 2 inches or more were seen in many area suburbs, according to the National Weather Service, with Homewood getting soaked with 3 inches.
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The intensity of the storm much of the water fell in a fairly short period of time quickly overwhelmed sewers, causing street flooding. In Lansing, for instance nearly an inch of rain fell in a 30-minute span, according to a Weather Service observer.
The result is like "pouring a gallon of water in a pint cup," South Holland Mayor Don De Graff said.
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Still, his community is among more than a dozen south suburbs, along with Chicago's South Side, that have benefited by the reservoir, in what was formerly the north lobe of the quarry and can hold nearly 8 billion gallons of water.
While other "significant" storms have occurred since the reservoir first took water in late November, Friday's storms were "the biggest test to date," Allison Fore, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, which operates it, said.
Part of the district's Deep Tunnel system, the reservoir, built at a cost of $429 million, also diverts water during storms from older combined sewer systems, where storm and sanitary lines are not separated. A common occurrence was that during heavy storms, water and sewage would back up into streets or spill over into creeks and rivers.
Fore said that there hasn't been a combined sewer overflow since the Thornton Reservoir went online.
Because the water that flows into the reservoir is contaminated with sewage, the water is pumped to a district treatment plant on the city's South Side before being discharged into waterways.
De Graff said his village didn't experience any over bank flooding, a problem that had frequently occurred when heavy storms inundated Thorn Creek, which runs through the village. In 2003, a diversion tunnel rerouted much of that water to a temporary reservoir in the quarry operated by the MWRD, which eased over bank flooding issues.
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The village Friday didn't entirely escape flooding, with some storm sewer backups, although those were confined to drainage systems that don't link to the district's Deep Tunnel system, Fore said.
In Homewood, despite the heavy rain, the viaduct on 183rd Street at Park Avenue remained passable, while the viaduct on Dixie Highway, between Park and Harwood avenues was closed due to flooding, Mayor Rich Hofeld said. The Dixie Highway viaduct, maintained by the Illinois Department of Transportation, floods even if rainfall is fairly nominal, and residents know to avoid it, although "it's a heavily traveled" street, he said.
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Homewood doesn't directly benefit from the Thornton Reservoir, but relies on a large stormwater detention pond at 175th Street and Governors Highway.
Hofeld said there was "some sporadic flooding" around the community, but that overall "things went fairly well."
A temporary reservoir, with a capacity of 4.5 billion gallons, had been used by MWRD while work on the permanent reservoir was under way. Initially, the reclamation district planned to turn that section back over to the quarry's operator, Hanson Material Services, once the permanent reservoir was finished.
However, the district reached an agreement to continue using the temporary reservoir through 2020, which will allow it to gauge whether the extra capacity might be needed because of the increasing severity of storms in the region.
mnolan@tribpub.com
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton huddles with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and daughter Chelsea at her New Hampshire presidential primary campaign rally on Feb. 9, 2016. (Elise Amendola / AP)
Irene Kazwara was born 90 years ago next month in a house on 117th Place in Roseland.
That was six years after the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing women the right to vote.
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She voted for Franklin Roosevelt in her first election and his last in 1944. Irene's 93-year-old sister, Sophie Peloquin, voted for FDR, too. And neither of them have missed a presidential vote since.
Both of them watched the Republicans choose Donald Trump two weeks ago, and I spoke to each of them Thursday, when Hillary Clinton was officially handed the Democratic nomination. Both conventions were must-see TV for the sisters.
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"You really learn a lot," Sophie said.
Irene lives now in Memphis, Mo., Sophie in Indianapolis. But they talk frequently.
"I think Sophie this time is more of a Republican," Irene said. "So it's interesting when we talk."
Interesting. I might have guessed.
Aunt Irene and Aunt Sophie are my oldest living relatives, and such understatement of potentially divisive topics is typical of the Dmochowski sisters. My mom, who passed away in 2000, was the 10th of 11 children born to Frank and Anna Dmochowski, and one of eight sisters who survived into adulthood, filling my formative years with examples of strong Polish women who would much rather laugh than argue.
Aunt Sophie insisted she is neither Republican nor Democrat.
"I voted for quite a few Democrats mostly Democrats," she said. "But I didn't say I was a Democrat. I'd never say that. I've always voted for the man never for the party."
Except this time, she can vote for a woman.
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"I never thought I'd see it," Aunt Sophie said.
"It really does mean something to me," Aunt Irene said. "(Clinton) has a dream and wants to fulfill it and the fact that she's a woman made it harder for her."
Aunt Irene knows whereof she speaks. A single woman most of her life, in her mid-20s, she worked for Sears, first out of Roseland, then the State Street location in the Loop.
"I did very well there," she said. "I got a job mostly men got. I traveled for them, working in the credit department. I supervised the heads of the credit departments in the stores.
"The man who was my boss believed in what I could do, even though he had a hard time getting (male workers) to accept me. There was a man at the State Street store who gave me a hard time because I was a woman and could tell him what to do, and he didn't like that.
"But, by the time he was ready to retire, we were good friends."
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After 15 years at Sears, Aunt Irene moved to Memphis, a town of about 2,000 in Northeast Missouri. She worked at JC Penney's, as a bookkeeper for an oil company, moved to Kansas City to work for the IRS, and came back to Memphis, along the way briefly owning a diner and a Dairy Queen, and working as a saleswoman in a men's clothing store.
Meanwhile, Aunt Sophie stayed close to her roots. She married a nice guy from Blue Island, stayed married to him for 60 years, and they moved together from Roseland to South Holland, then Lansing before moving to Indianapolis to be close to their grandsons. Aunt Sophie put in nearly 40 years "39 and a half," she said at the Sherwin-Williams factory on 115th Street, at Pullman's south edge. She left as an executive secretary.
"We had women who were better than their bosses," she said, matter-of-factly, with zero bitterness. "They just didn't get the chance."
I asked what she remembered about the early days of women voting, when she was a child.
"What I can remember, the men would want to know who you were going to vote for," she said. "If they didn't like who you were for, they'd try to talk you out of it."
I suspect that's more of the Dmochowski understatement.
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This time around, Aunt Irene is clearly for Clinton.
"I don't like Trump," she said. "His thinking, I don't like that at all. I don't think he'd be good for the country.
"I don't like the idea of building a wall. I think he's conceited and he thinks he can do anything."
As for Aunt Sophie, let's just say she has trust issues with Hillary.
"I will say she's a very smart woman probably smarter than Trump," she said. "But she's been a politician all her life I'm just not too sure about her."
As for Trump, Aunt Sophie said, "Sometimes I think he's a little crazy But all he needs is a good (vice president). I think (Mike Pence) is a calm man and a very smart man he's a good complement to Trump."
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I might have tried to argue with Aunt Sophie. After all, I know Bill Clinton was one of her favorite presidents, and I'd have to imagine he'd have some input in Hillary's inner circle. But I am a dutiful nephew, and she'd told me earlier, "You never win in an argument about politics."
I guess I'm just glad the world has evolved enough to consider what I have always seen demonstrated (no offense to some pretty great uncles): Gender is not a determining factor when it comes to leadership.
I'm glad, especially, Aunt Irene has seen the evolution, too.
"I think my opportunities would be better now," she said. "I think a woman could get in easier now. I didn't have an easy time of it.
"But I just couldn't see why a woman shouldn't have a job if she was capable."
Amen.
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Phil Arvia is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.
"Do you think he knows what he's doing?" asked a top Republican last week about House Speaker Michael Madigan's high-profile role at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
Madigan heaped public praise last week on at least two potential Democratic gubernatorial candidates, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Chris Kennedy. And he mentioned U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth by name as his state's next U.S. senator during Tuesday's presidential nomination roll call, which was broadcast throughout the country.
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That may all seem like the usual national convention duties for a state Democratic Party chairman like Madigan, and it is. But Speaker Madigan's poll numbers are so darned awful that the Republicans believe anyone he publicly "touches" is hugely tainted. A recent Republican-sponsored poll found that Madigan's favorability rating was just 13 percent.
"He should keep doing what he's doing," cracked one Republican campaign type, who said he was carefully making notes of Madigan's public utterances.
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As is often the case, the two political parties exist in parallel universes. Yes, the Democrats say, Madigan polls poorly. But they don't believe that voters will make up their minds about individual races based on that one "issue" alone. And some are even saying they're pleased that the Republicans are "wasting" their money on a strategy that the Democrats believe won't work.
Indeed, the Republicans spent tons of money during several election cycles attempting to tie the fabulously unpopular and currently incarcerated Rod Blagojevich to Democrats, and it only worked once, against Rep. Jay Hoffman in a newly drawn district with lots of unfamiliar voters. And they've been blasting away at Madigan for years, without any discernible impact at the polls.
Even so, if there was another high-profile Illinois Democrat out there whose favorability rating was hovering around 13 percent, you can be certain that Madigan and his people would mandate that their candidates and incumbents stay as far away from that person as humanly possible. Heck, the person's rating wouldn't even need to be that low. How many Downstate Illinois Democrats openly campaigned with Pat Quinn two years ago when he lost every county but one to Rauner?
The simple fact is that the GOP is placing a multimillion-dollar bet this year on a single person's smashing unpopularity. Yes, the Republicans have tried and failed to do this same thing for literally decades. But never has so much money and effort been expended on the task and Madigan has never been as well-known as he is today. Local news media outlets have so far been mostly cooperative, and the Republicans essentially have their own "newspapers" that are being mailed to voters just to make sure their message gets through.
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The House Democrats are expected to counter all this with various retorts, including one that labels the Republican Bruce Rauner as a "failed governor."
The Democrats will try to tie Republicans to a governor with a dismal 33 percent job approval rating who, they'll say, wants to slash vital services and inflict harm on everyday working people.
In a preview of this, Rep. John Bradley's latest TV ad claims the Democrat "stood up to Bruce Rauner's massive cuts to our schools," and points out that Rauner is "bankrolling" his opponent's campaign and claims his GOP opponent "is worse than Rauner." Bradley, D-Marion, sits at the top of the Republicans' target list, and he has been hammered for weeks in the mail and on TV for being a Madigan "pawn."
The House Democrats have often launched their campaigns in early to mid-August, well before the Republicans could afford to fight back. This time, though, the Republicans are flush with Rauner's money and have dominated the playing field for weeks. Speaker Madigan reportedly told attendees at an Illinois Federation of Teachers political conference in early July that the governor's campaign operation had spent more than a million dollars on House races in just two weeks.
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And they're not just spending money on negative attacks. A recent mailer for Rep. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, touts her vote for the stopgap budget "without a tax increase." The mailer also claims Rep. Bryant is fighting "against the Chicago political machine." The Republicans have already sent innumerable mailers like that to voters everywhere before the Democrats have even gotten out of the gate.
Not mentioned, of course, is that the stopgap budget Bryant voted for had an $8 billion deficit and will create a $10 billion state payment backlog by December. Details, details.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.
Testing time and time for testing
Do you believe that the word "test" is figuratively a four-letter word? Politicians on the left and right surely do.Republican Governor Pat McCrory and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Roy Cooper are both opponents of excessive and duplicative standardized testing. Surveys suggest that parents, teachers, and administrators believe that "over-testing" is a problem. Even members of the NC State Board of Education, particularly Lt. Governor Dan Forest, want to hold the line on state testing requirements.In one of the many overlooked achievements of his first term, Governor McCrory led an effort to examine North Carolina's end-of-grade and end-of-course assessments. In 2013, McCrory called on the NC State Board of Education to examine state testing requirements and, months later, the board appointed members to the newly created (and unfortunately named) Task Force on Summative Assessment. As a result of the task force's work, for example, the NC Department of Public Instruction initiated an innovative pilot program for through-course/interim assessments in elementary and middle schools.While the amount of time used for standardized testing informed the work of the Task Force on Summative Assessment, there is still much we do not know. For example, how much time do North Carolina public school students spend on testing and tasks related to testing? Is it truly excessive? Who imposes testing requirements? Can policymakers find a way to balance the need for testing with the concerns of those who question its use?The Council of the Great City Schools published "Student Testing in America's Great City Schools: An Inventory and Preliminary Analysis" in October. Researchers found that federal, state, and locally mandated assessments in 66 urban school districts consumed about 25 hours or around 2.3 percent of a typical 180-day school year.But this is somewhat misleading. The Council of the Great City Schools report did not account for optional tests, diagnostic tests for students with disabilities or English learners, school-developed or required tests, or teacher designed or developed tests. In addition, it did not evaluate the time used for test preparation.On the other hand, "Testing Overload in America's Schools," a 2014 paper published by Melissa Lazarin of the Center for American Progress, concluded that schools spend only an average of 1.6 percent of total classroom time for testing. Interestingly, Lazarin observed that school districts required more testing than states. In fact, she found that students in grades K-2 were tested three times as much on district exams as state exams. High school students are tested twice as much on district exams as those mandated by the state.Finally, researchers at the The Benjamin Center for Public Policy Initiatives at SUNY New Paltz analyzed testing time used for New York State standardized English Language Arts and math exams in grades 3-8. Benjamin Center researchers Robin Jacobowitz and KT Tobin found that state testing alone required 2 percent of the total school year. Similar to the Council of the Great City Schools report, their analysis did not include field tests, practice tests, makeup tests, test preparation, and additional testing for English Language Learners or students with special needs.By spending around 2 percent of their time on administering state tests, New York public schools appeared to have broken state law. In 2014, the New York State legislature approved a 1 percent limit on testing. The authors correctly point out that time limits on testing are arbitrary and "grounded less in science and more in rhetoric." In an attempt to appease the anti-testing crowd, legislators approved a law that was politically expedient but empirically dubious.The lessons from these studies are clear. First, legislators should avoid placing arbitrary caps on testing time. There is simply no research that supports it. And schools and districts will find a way to feign their compliance anyway.Second, they should be mindful that school and school district testing mandates likely consume more time than tests required by the state or federal government. Even then, locally-administered testing often varies by school and student. It would be a mistake for state legislators or federal bureaucrats to impose one-size-fits-all rules that govern decisions made at the school and district levels. After all, we have enough of those already.
Three Shepard Middle School eighth graders acted as teachers to a group of administrators from across the country who came to Deerfield Public Schools District 109 to learn how the district incorporates technology and innovative instructional techniques into the curriculum.
The students were part of the program District 109 put on for the American Association of School Administrators' Digital Consortium July 29 at Shepard and Wilmot Elementary School to showcase the district's advances in high-tech learning.
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More than 60 administrators spent time in the schools including the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) labs where Zach Lefkovitz, James Lundquist and Nicholas Lee explained their perception of the changing role of teachers.
"The teacher does very little," Lefkovitz said. "We do most of it ourselves. The first and second day she introduces the class then it's up to us. There are a lot of things to choose from but mostly we do communications, coding and art. We work together and explore."
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Some of the guests expressed surprise at the students' description of the teachers' duties. Jeff Zoul, the district's assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, said the style of teaching is something the local schools want to achieve.
"They have gone from being the sage on the stage to meddlers in the middle," Zoul said. "I can walk in in the middle of the class and talk to the teacher. I couldn't do that in a math class. They still spend a lot of time in the front of the room."
The consortium consists of AASA members with a passion for and expertise in the use of digital media in education, according to District 109 Superintendent Michael Lubelfeld. He said bringing the group to Deerfield will benefit the local schools.
"This is a great group of superintendents from around the country who are looking at what we do," Lubelfeld said. "We can share ideas and learn from each other."
Some of the guests like Jason Eitner, the superintendent of schools for Waterford Township School District in Waterford, N.J., were eager to learn how District 109 made such a smooth transition from home economics to STEM.
After Lubelfeld's first year in the districtthe 2013-14 termhe persuaded the District 109 Board of Education to build both the STEM and CMA (creative media arts) labs as well as new science labs. Rather than hire new teachers, two home economics instructors learned how to teach STEM over the summer.
"Good for you were able to that. That's a win, win," Eitner said. "Change is hard," he added in an interview between sessions. "Finding someone to teach code is not easy. You could be looking until the cows come home."
Amy Sichel, the superintendent of schools for the Abbington School District in suburban Philadelphia, said she was impressed with what she saw at Shepard and Wilmot. She said her district is not dissimilar to Deerfield.
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Sichel said the facilities helped foster the "four C's" of 21st century educationcreativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication.
"The science labs are great," Sichel said. "The CMA lab is what we call makers space. I want to see all students have these opportunities regardless of their zip code."
Steve Sadin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Fantastic enrollment growth and where to find it
I would feel better about the future if I knew what was going to happen.The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) just published the 42nd edition of Projections of Education Statistics . This year's report includes data on public school enrollment, teachers, graduates, and expenditures since 1999 and projections to 2023.Between 2006 and 2011, North Carolina had one of the largest percentage increases in student enrollment. Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming were the only states that outpaced North Carolina's 4.4 percent growth rate. Obviously, enrollment growth in North Carolina eclipsed all states in the Southeast.The NCES projects that North Carolina will increase student enrollment by 10.9 percent between 2011 and 2023. Only 11 states had higher projected enrollment growth. In terms of a numerical change, a nearly 11 percent increase would add almost 157,000 students to our schools and give North Carolina the eighth largest public school enrollment in the nation.The NCES data only provides statewide projections, but the reality is that enrollment growth is not evenly distributed across regions. According to data for the NC Department of Public Instruction, there continues to be remarkable enrollment growth in urban and suburban districts and declining enrollment in many rural ones. For example, between 2006 and 2016, enrollment dropped in nearly half of North Carolina school districts. Districts in the rural northeast were hit particularly hard, while our urban/suburban corridors enjoyed double-digit growth. Some of these declines reflect migration to charter schools, private schools, and home schools, but others were simply the result of population loss.I believe that these enrollment trends will further the political divide between rural and urban areas. (Others are much more optimistic , and I sincerely hope they are right.) Public education funds are allocated on the basis of student enrollment, among other factors. Barring a radical change in the state education funding system, rural districts will continue to receive fewer taxpayer dollars, a worrisome prospect for communities whose primary employer is the school district.To complicate matters, the battle for scarce public resources will not be limited to the public education system. Last week, Dr. Matthew Ladner, senior advisor for policy and research at the Foundation for Excellence in Education, made a compelling case that the increase in student population, coupled with the retirement of baby boomers, will place unprecedented demands on state and federal budgets. As Ladner pointed out,The report is well worth a read, particularly for policymakers who have the foresight to begin preparing for this inevitable clash of generations.Growth is good but difficult. Lawmakers and others who will be responsible for dealing with North Carolina's expected population growth will need to begin planning for it now. Reforms to entitlement programs , the expansion of school choice and alternative delivery models addressing unfunded liabilities , and maintaining a favorable tax and regulatory climate are good places to start.
George Cruz-Peralta works at Meijer in Melrose Park. He recently won the Fred Meijer Scholarship award.
Q: Where did you grow up and go to school?
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A: I was born and raised in Ecuador. When I was 10 years old, my family decided to move to the United States. I lived in Kennesaw, Ga., a town 30 minutes away from Atlanta, for four years. Things weren't going so well there, [and] my family decided to move to Illinois. In Illinois, I attended Taft High School, which is located in the northern side of Chicago.
Q: When did you begin working at Meijer?
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A: I started working for Meijer in February of 2015.
Q: How did you hear about the Meijer Scholarship?
A: When I first started working, there was a sheet of paper hanging on the announcements board. I looked at it, and it was promoting the Meijer Scholarship. At that moment, I was a brand-new employee, and in order to apply I had to be an employee for at least a year.
Q: What was your reaction when you received the award?
A: I was very excited to know that I was one of the two people to receive the award. Seeing Doug Meijer coming down with a check was definitely one of the most exciting moments in my life.
Q: When you received the award, was there a luncheon or reception?
A: After Doug Meijer and the people that he was with interviewed me, we went upstairs to the lunchroom. There were balloons, cookies, drinks, and even a cake that had " Congratulations George" written on it.
Q: Where will you be attending school in the fall?
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A: I will be attending the University of Illinois at Chicago. This upcoming year will be my second one.
Q: What do you plan on studying?
A: I'm taking courses to become a mechanical engineer.
Q: What are your goals for the future?
A: I plan to get my bachelors as a mechanical engineer. My dream job will be working with either space or aircrafts. The year after I graduate, I plan to go to graduate school to obtain a master's degree. Finally, I want to help out my parents economically, so they don't have to work anymore.
Maryann Pisano is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Writing is a solitary endeavor, and so it was with a sense of anticipation and community that local authors of prose and poetry gathered recently on a dark and stormy night at the Glencoe Public Library to participate in its monthly Writers' Open Mic. Held on the second Wednesday, the Open Mic is an opportunity for people to share their work.
"We thought we'd give it a try three years ago and it's only getting stronger," said Grace Hayek, Programs and Outreach Librarian.
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The types of works presented are as varied as the authors "the best thing about the Open Mic," said Richard Reeder, a Chicago Literary Hall of Fame member and the evening's moderator, filling in for Bob Boone, who launched the Open Mic in 2012. "They read works in progress, poems, a stories, fiction or non-fiction. There are no strict rules."
The Open Mic was an outgrowth of a similar program Boone created for teen scribes. Young Chicago Authors, another program Boone created, turned him into an advocate for creative writing, he said in an email.
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"I was in the unique position to offer Open Mics for writers of all ages; I had lived (in Glencoe) a long time. I had taught writing in the local schools and writing classes at the library. I was familiar with many writing groups and networks. And, finally, I was a part-time writer myself."
Boone's second collection of stories, "Back to Forest High," was published last November.
The inclusive nature of the Open Mic attracts a multi-generation group, with participants ranging from millennials to retirees. In the latter group is Richard Bair, 72, who has been attending Open Mics for more than a year. He once contributed a 10-minute play, though he's "mostly an audience member."
"I come here to enjoy the interplay of ideas," Bair said.
Writing has been a release for Anne Caplin since her husband passed away a couple of years ago. She feels that writers understand each other.
Caplin's contribution for the night was "a change of pace" from her usual poems, she prologued, before challenging attendees to guess the author's identity. When she was done reading, someone guessed O. Henry, but they were wrong. She, herself, had written the story when she was 14-years-old.
Peter Nolan, an Emmy-winning broadcast journalist, read an excerpt from a memoir in progress about his experiences in the Chicago news business. His story recalled an incident in 1975 when Rosemary Kennedy, the mentally challenged sister of Sen. Edward Kennedy, went missing during a visit to Chicago.
Alex Ranieri, 21, a former neighbor of Boone in Glencoe, read three poems that she called a departure from earlier "dark material." A playwright and novelist who served a residency in the Istrian Peninsula of Croatia, Ranieri said she appreciated the opportunity to receive feedback on her work.
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"It's difficult to know whether something is good until you've shared it with other people and received some kind of reaction," she observed.
Ranieri was accompanied by Allison O'Connor, who also read a collection of poems. One, which dealt with suicide, elicited appreciative murmurs from the group. O'Connor is the daughter of poet and New Trier High School teacher John O'Connor.
"Writing is a big part of my life," she said. "It's important that people have spaces to share their work and their voices be heard."
Writers' Open Mic Night
When: 7p.m., second Wednesday of every month
Where: Glencoe Public Library, 320 Park Ave., Glencoe
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Cost: Free
Contact: www.glencoepubliclibrary.org
The license of a physician's assistant accused of fondling a sedated patient remains in good standing following a hearing and review by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Illinois Medical Disciplinary Board .
A certified registered nurse anesthetist reported that David Tan, while assisting with an arthroscopy of a patient's shoulder on July 1, 2015 at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, touched the patient's genitals several times.
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The nurse became concerned during the procedure and took video of some of Tan's movements with her cellphone.
Tan's physician's assistant license and his license to write prescription under the supervision of a physician were temporarily suspended as of July 15, 2015, pending the outcome of an investigation.
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Tan, who was working under the supervision of Dr. Giridhar Burra, an orthopedic surgeon with Hinsdale Orthopedic Associates, said under oath the actions the nurse described were for medical purposes. According to Tan's testimony, patients are held in position on the operating table with beanbags, and pillows are placed to prevent pressure on their limbs and body parts. Tan said his movements that the nurse thought were suspicious were to manipulate a valve on the beanbag to make it pliable and to reposition the pillows.
Other medical staff in the operating room, including Burra and two other nurses, testified they did not see Tan do anything inappropriate.
The only evidence against Tan was the nurse's testimony.
The video is not proof because "there are multiple plausible interpretations" of what the video shows, Administrative Law Judge Mary Catherine Marubio said in her report to the State Medical Disciplinary Board.
Tan's hands are not visible in the video and his explanation of what he was doing was plausible, the report stated.
"Creditable evidence also exists that (Tan) acted within the scope of his duties as a physician assistant," Marubio wrote in her report dated Jan. 7. "The video does not show any sexual misconduct or non-indicated contact with the patient."
Jay Stewart, director of the division of professional regulation of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, on July 5, ordered the temporary suspension end and both of Tan's licenses remain in good standing.
Tan said, obviously, he is glad with the findings of the investigation.
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"This whole thing was unfounded," Tan said. "It has done a lot of damage to me, but the truth prevailed. I'm glad these hearings took place to show there was no merit to the complaint."
Tan remains employed by Hinsdale Orthopaedics.
kfornek@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @kfdoings
Pope Francis meets with WYDs volunteers on July 31, 2016 at tauron arena in Krakow on the lasrt day of the World Youth Days (WYD). Pope Francis is in Poland for an international Catholic youth festival with a mission to encourage openness to migrants. (BARTOSZ SIEDLIK / AFP/Getty Images)
Members of a Waukegan church youth group said they agree with Pope Francis that teenagers need to get off the couch and get involved in activism and politics.
The pope, who delivered the message Saturday in Poland as part of World Youth Day, also advised that a life spent in front of a computer screen or playing video games is not the path to happiness. He challenged youth to change the world through actions.
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"Dear young people, we didn't come into this world to 'vegetate,' to take it easy, to make our lives a comfortable sofa to fall asleep on. No, we came for another reason: To leave a mark," Francis said.
Maria Teresa Mar Requena, 47, a youth minister at St. Dismas Church at 2600 Sunset Ave. in Waukegan, said some members of the congregation went to Poland to hear the pope speak.
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"We're going to squeeze every bit of information from their experience when they get back," Mar Requena said.
Youth group member Kevin Escalante, 14, of Gurnee, said he agreed with the pope's sentiments.
"It's a really good message because hanging out with your friends and doing good things is better than sitting around at home," Escalante said. "You never know when your life is going to end, so you probably shouldn't waste it."
Mar Requena said she too was inspired by Francis' promotion of activism.
"I thought the message he gave to the young people was exactly what they need to hear," Mar Requena said. "He has such charisma and uses the right words we all need to hear with directness, sincerity and kindness."
In addition to attempting to motivate the world's youth, the pope also addressed how they can confront hatred.
"Our response to a world at war has a name: fraternity," Francis said.
Escalante said the youth group has helped him communicate with a variety of people.
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"They teach us to communicate better with our peers. I used to be a shy person but now I feel like I can make friends easier," he said.
Youth group member Daisy Ramirez, 14, added that being a part of the organization has made her a happier person.
Ramirez, of Waukegan, said she believes more people her age should be involved in groups and clubs that help the community including people of different faiths. The group is planning to clean up Waukegan Municipal Beach this month.
"Young people have the energy and the time, what they need is direction," Mar Requena said.
The 25-member group meets regularly to discuss how to live a spiritual life and plan community service events, which include preparing lunches for homeless families at PADS Lake County, volunteering in a soup kitchen and visiting seniors at the Terrace Nursing Home in Waukegan. The group, mostly between the ages of 12 and 17, also helps with church fundraisers that raise money to purchase gifts for the seniors they visit on holidays, like Valentine's and Mother's Day.
"It makes you feel great to do something for other people," Ramirez said.
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The Associated Press contributed. Yadira Sanchez Olson is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
Newly hired consultant Rick Harris (right) talks to Waukegan resident Ralph Peterson, who despite being a vocal critic of Mayor Wayne Motley, praised the decision to hire Harris to oversee the adoption of a city-wide diversity and inclusion policy and implementation of diversity awareness and skill-based training. (Emily K. Coleman / Lake County News-Sun)
The city of Waukegan will hire a human resources consultant to develop a "diversity and inclusion strategy" for the city particularly the police department.
On Monday, Mayor Wayne Motley recommended Rick Harris for the 12-month position, which will focus on employee training, meetings with aldermen and residents and managing the police department's reform efforts identified during the U.S. Department of Justice mediation process. The City Council unanimously approved the hire.
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The hire comes as race relations between communities and police departments around the country have been in the national spotlight after officers fatally shot men in Minnesota and Louisiana in early July. In the days that followed, five Dallas officers were killed and nine others were wounded when a sniper opened fire during a protest. In Baton Rouge, La., three officers were shot dead during an ambush, authorities said.
"I think it's imperative that we do something of this nature. I don't want something (like) what occurred in Dallas to happen here," Motley said.
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Harris, a Waukegan native, has served as a member of the informal Citizens for Progress Committee that advised the mayor on issues within the black community and was involved in the ongoing mediation process with the Department of Justice.
Motley said he spent seven months working with Harris on the reforms and knew he was the right man for the new job.
"I couldn't think of anyone else," Motley said. "I didn't even think of anyone else than Mr. Harris because that's how much confidence I have in this man."
Motley said he did not reach out to any other human resource consultants but did compare the value of the $80,000 contract to the existing $60,000 contracts the city has with environmental consultants Deigan and Associates and had with Emerging Communities Corp., which consults on municipal efforts to redevelop former industrial properties.
Motley said he felt Harris's work, which will be focused citywide and include 25 hours per week at City Hall plus additional time around the community, warranted the higher contract. He noted he originally wanted to hire Harris full-time, but both sides decided a consultant role made more sense.
Harris, who owns his own consulting business focused on diversity issues, talent acquisition and general human resource services, has also worked with several large corporations, including Walgreen's and Kraft Foods, according to a resume Harris provided to the city. He is also an ordained pastor, now affiliated with First Baptist Church in North Chicago.
While Ald. Bill Valko, 8th, said he is "totally on board" with hiring Harris, he raised a "mild concern" about Harris' previous involvement with the city, in particular that it could appear inappropriate that the man who led the effort to bring diversity training to the city is now at the top of the list for providing that service.
Motley said he understood the concern, and Harris would no longer serve on the advisory committee.
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Harris expects he will likely start his work with the city later this month. He said his first steps will be to gather empirical data about the city's staff diversity and talk to aldermen about concerns in their individual wards.
He plans on using that information to develop a "diversity and inclusion strategy" for the city, both in the short- and long-term, and then communicating those strategies and goals to residents, he said. Those goals will include diversity awareness, skill-based training and implementing the reforms identified in the Department of Justice mediation process.
By this time next year, Harris said he will have reviewed accountability measures so the city can adjust its plans for the coming year.
Ald. Lisa May, 7th, who also said the move to hire Harris was a good one, wondered if a short-term contract was the best approach when the city is looking for long-term effects.
"I want to make sure we aren't sidestepping real reform, that we're truly committed to it as an organization," she said.
Harris said he thinks the one-year contract makes sense for now. It gives the city an opportunity to start small, assess what its needs really are and then plan for those costs in the next budget, he said.
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emcoleman@tribpub.com
Twitter @mekcoleman
Two families were displaced after a Saturday night fire in a Zion apartment building.
Zion Fire Department Lt. Rick Reich said smoke detectors went off about 9:40 p.m. at an eight-unit apartment building in the 4100 block of White Pine Lane. Responding firefighters found smoke on the second floor and had to force their way into one apartment to put out a bedroom fire, he said.
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The building was evacuated and nobody was injured, Reich added.
The fire caused smoke and heat damage to the apartment, which was uninhabitable, he said.
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Two families lived in the apartment, and members from American Red Cross were notified to help them find temporary housing, Reich said.
The other units in the building were not damaged and residents were allowed to return to their apartments, the lieutenant said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
fabderholden@tribpub.com
Twitter @abderholden
Kudos for car show
A terrific car show at Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago. There were approximately 250 cars. My favorite car was a 1939 Studebaker. The American Legion helped with the hospital patients, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars provided hot dogs and brats with all the trimmings. It's the 14th year the show been held. It gets larger every year. It was just a great car show.
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Roused about Rauner
Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed a bill that would have paid caregivers $15 per hour. That's why I am voting Democratic. Thank you, Mr. Rauner, for slamming the people who look after the elderly.
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Miffed about Melania
What a shame that a woman like Melania Trump, who has more money than 99 percent of the population, needs to pose naked in a magazine. I have lost respect for her. I have talked to many others who feel the same way.
Twitter @NewsSun
Talk of the County is a reader-generated column of opinions. If you see something you disagree with or think is incorrect, please tell us. Call us at 312-222-4554 or email talkofthecounty@tribpub.com. For a continuously updating blog of Talk of the County comments, go to newssunonline.com/talk.
Veteran actor and director Frank Farrell has been attracted to outdoor theater throughout his career, so much so that he attempted to stage outdoor productions in winter while serving as founder and artistic director of Theatre Hikes at Morton Arboretum from 1997 to 2010.
It didn't work all that well, he recalled with a laugh.
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"Summer is the time to go outdoors for theater," said Farrell, who's following his own advice by adapting and directing a 100th anniversary production of Edgar Lee Masters' classic "Spoon River Anthology" with Citadel Theatre of Lake Forest. The show will be performed in three locations on subsequent weekends beginning July 29 on the lawn outside the Brushwood Center of Ryerson Woods in Riverwoods and continuing Aug. 5-7 at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest and Aug. 12 and 14 at Elawa Farm in Lake Forest.
Farrell, whose association with Citadel Artistic Director Scott Phelps goes back to the early '80s when they were both performing free Shakespeare at Piper's Alley in Chicago, said "Spoon River" was meant to be a change of pace from the outdoor summer Shakespeare they created together the last two seasons including "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "As You Like It."
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"Scott thought it would be good to do something different to surprise our audience...something with poetry," Farrell said.
There's a great deal of poetry in "Spoon River," a collection of 209 poems in its original 1915 anthology and 244 poems in its 1916 second-edition. Envisioned as a communique by deceased former residents of the fictional town of Spoon River, the poems tell the life stories, scandalous secrets and everlasting regrets of 244 characters, many inter-connected.
Playwright Charles Aidman adapted a theatrical version of the poems in 1963 that's commonly staged today, but Farrell decided to create his own take on Masters' magnum opus, going back to the original poem and winnowing them down to roughly 40, performed by six actors and two on-stage musicians Mark Adamczyk and his daughter Rania Adamczyk of Lake Bluff. In addition to underlying music for many of the poems, the Adamczyks will perform an opening and closing song and three individual songs over the course of the roughly one-hour production, all using Masters' words as lyrics.
While the characters are dead, Farrell said he worked hard to ensure the production's mood did not turn funereal.
To enliven the proceedings, he arranged for the original live music to be part of the show's fabric and cast about for various means of presenting the material as vivaciously as he could, while remaining true to the spirit of the show.
Finally, Farrell said, he felt properly inspired by a story he heard on the radio about a modern trend in which people include personal messages in their own obituaries. The gist of the story, he recalled, was that this was considered something new that the dead might have something meaningful to say to the living. Yet Masters was onto that idea 100 years ago.
"That's what I want this show to be: a celebration of life in death," Farrell explained.
'Spoon River Anthology'
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When: 7 p.m. July 2931, Aug. 57, 12 and 14
Where: July 2931 at Brushwood Center of Ryerson Woods, 21850 N. Riverwoods Road, Riverwoods
Aug. 57 at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, 760 E. Westleigh Road, Lake Forest
A fundraising performance with a suggested donation of $15 will be held at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 12 at the Citadel Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest.
Aug. 12 and 14 at Elawa Farm, 1401 Middlefork Drive, Lake Forest
Tickets: $15
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Contact: (847) 735-8554; www.citadeltheatre.org
Ground could be broken this fall on a $2 million compressed natural gas fueling station if plans before the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission this week ultimately are approved.
"We're trying to make our large fleet as economical as possible. We believe CNG will help do that," said Dick Dublinski, public works director.
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Comments will be taken Wednesday at a public hearing on the project. The proposed fueling station is a partnership between the city of Naperville and CNG provider Trillium. Naperville would contribute $300,000 awarded as part of the Drive Clean Chicago's Drive Clean Station Grant Program, as well as city-owned land near the Naperville Test Track on Jefferson Avenue at Ogden Avenue.
The test track is a course where people looking to buy new cars can take them for a test drive.
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The proposed spot would provide easy CNG station access for cars and trucks traveling on Ogden Avenue, Route 59 and Interstate 88, according to city reports.
Trillium would design, construct, operate and maintain the station, as well as contribute the rest of the needed funding, Dublinski said. The city then could negotiate for reduced rates to power its fleet of more than 300 vehicles, with a goal of fueling 25 to 35 percent of them with CNG.
As proposed, the station would be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It would start with one, twin-hose pump with room to expand. It could accommodate everything from passenger cars to Class 8 heavy duty trucks, like 18-wheeler semis.
Along with city vehicles, the station could provide fuel to Waste Management's fleet of garbage trucks, all of which are powered by compressed natural gas, Dublinski said. Nearby CNG stations already offer the fuel in Downers Grove and in Blackwell and Churchill Woods in DuPage County Forest Preserves, where Naperville's handful of CNG vehicles now fill up.
While the fueling station would serve mainly fleet trucks to start, Dublinski predicted passenger cars could fill up there in about five years as automobiles switch from gasoline to the cleaner burning and often cheaper CNG. Market rates price CNG at less than $2 per gallon. The website GasBuddy.com on Monday placed Illinois gas prices at an average of $2.14 and Chicago at $2.30 per gallon.
The project needs a conditional use permit for CNG before moving forward, which is why it's going before the planning and zoning commission and the city council.
gbookwalter@tribpub.com
Twitter @GenevieveBook
Facebook users around Naperville and the Fox Valley use the social media site to stay on top of announcements about things like garbage pickup, road closures and other changes in services.
Sometimes, those pages also become a soapbox for advocates or a forum for discussion about hot topics around town.
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"Aurora's Facebook friends comment on all topics and we've seen everywhere from a couple of comments on a post to hundreds of comments for a single thread," said Clayton Muhammad, the city's director of communications.
But don't expect to see profanity or other unpleasant language on there, he said.
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The city's page, which has 28,000 followers, has an automatic filter that cuts out posts that have cursing or derogatory comments, such as racial epithets. The city's social media policy, which outlines what content is restricted and why, is posted on the "about" section of its Facebook page.
Like other area communities, Aurora reserves the right to remove comments and posts that are deemed to be in violation of the Social Media Policy, or violate any law. Reasons for restricting content are broad and include use of slanderous, libelous, offensive, threatening, uncivil, or insulting language. Comments not related to the article being commented upon, comments that promote discrimination, sexual content, solicitations or links to other sites or Facebook tags, political links, encouragement of illegal activity and information that may compromise the safety of the public also are banned.
"Other than that, comments stay up and can range from the throngs of the extremely positive comments that we received for the fireworks earlier this week or the throngs of the not so favorable comments that we received when we extended last year's trick-or-treating hours to the following day," Muhammad said. "It's an outlet for information and expression."
That outlet for expression became an issue in an Indiana town, which pulled its city and police Facebook pages completely in July after a lawsuit accused the city of violating residents' First Amendment rights by removing posted comments.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the lawsuit against the city of Beech Grove on behalf of two women who say the city removed their critical comments from the police department's Facebook page.
In Naperville, spokeswoman Kate Schultz said the city doesn't get many negative comments or trolls on the official Facebook page.
"We get a lot of likes, especially for awards we received," Schultz said. Those awards often reaffirm for residents that Naperville continues to be a good place to live and raise a family.
The only time Naperville staff deletes comments is if someone is promoting their own product, not commenting directly on the city.
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"We've only had to remove contractors if they've tried to promote their own business," Schultz said.
In Elgin, Multimedia Specialist Molly Center said she monitors pages.
"We have the profanity settings on pages set to 'high', so any time someone comments with profanities, their comment is automatically hidden by these rules set by Facebook. When a comment is hidden it is still viewable to the person posting and to the poster's friends," Center said.
But the social media policy, which is posted to every page in the Notes section, states, "The City of Elgin reserves the right to delete submissions" for many of the same issues Aurora outlined.
Center said she has removed comments that violate policy, mostly because they contain links to spam or other sites.
"Occasionally someone will post something, a statement or accusation, to our page that may not necessarily be true. We do not delete these, rather provide accurate information or allow others to respond with accurate information," Center said via email.
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No user has been banned for the last couple of years, Center said. But she's keeping track of people who violate the policy.
"I keep a running document with screenshots. This way, I have evidence of the same person having multiple violations if I were to ban someone. There is no 'three strikes and you're out' rule, so I am allowed more discretion based on the violations to the policy," she said. "For example, if someone posts three links to other sites on our page, I'm not going to ban them. If there were several personal attacks and insulting language, that's another story.
While East Dundee doesn't have an official Facebook page, West Dundee has one monitored by Kim Tibbetts, executive secretary.
"The page was established about two or three years ago at the direction of the Village Board as another way to communicate with residents," she said. "We post municipal service information and events, and share items of interest from other local agencies and businesses that we feel will be pertinent and useful to West Dundee residents."
As a Facebook page administrator Tibbetts can remove comments or ban users from interacting with the page. But she hasn't don't that very often.
"I think I have blocked maybe one or two comments in all of the time that the page has been active. I don't recall what the comments were or what the were in response to, but I must have felt that they were offensive or inappropriate in some way," she said.
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Tibbetts said using the social networking website serves two purposes.
"Not only is West Dundee's Facebook page a way to communicate information to the community, but also another way for folks to communicate with the village," she said. "Facebook messages received on the village's page are answered by me, same as emails that are sent to the general village email address."
In Indiana, the ACLU argues that cities should not be removing comments.
"When a government entity opens up a space for public comment, it cannot regulate those comments based upon someone's viewpoint," ACLU attorney Jan Mensz told WTHR-TV. "The City of Beech Grove has put all public speech on its social media sites at risk of further censorship."
The women are not seeking compensation, but want their comments reposted.
According to the ACLU, the two women's posts posed valid questions about crime reporting in the city, as well as police action and inaction related to the removal of political yard signs.
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The police department said it was advised by its legal counsel to remove the page, but said it's a loss of the department's most effective tool for soliciting tips on unsolved cases.
Attorney Craig Wiley said he believes Beech Grove has a "constitutional basis" to defend itself against the lawsuit, but will try to reach a settlement with the ACLU because of the cost of litigation.
"The police solved a lot of crime. They've got a lot of tips and now we've got to take it down," Wiley said. "That's the casualty in this."
Indiana University constitutional law professor David Orentlicher said a government agency is not required to create a social media page but once they open it to public comment, it cannot discriminate based on the comment posted.
According to Wiley, a settlement with the ACLU would include a new city social media policy.
Freelance reporter Erin Sauder and the Associated Press contributed. Genevieve Bookwalter is a Naperville Sun reporter. Steve Lord is a Beacon-News reporter. Mike Danahey is a Courier-News reporter.
Zero Hour is fast approaching for Zero Gravity.
Demolition of the once-popular nightclub for teenagers and the adjacent Blur club for those 21 and older was to have begun Monday, and is now tentatively set to begin early next week. An assisted living center is to be built on the 6.2-acre site, at the southwest corner of 75th Street and Route 53.
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In the meantime, Lisle-Woodridge Fire District firefighters have been using the shuttered juice bar for training purposes, including "real-life simulation" of rescues and other emergencies, Deputy Chief Keith Krestan said.
St. Louis-based Cedarhurst Assisted Living and Memory Care intends to build a three-story, 100-unit, 100,000-square-foot facility on the land. The Greene Valley Forest Preserve abuts the southern and western edges of the property, which has a Naperville address but was annexed by Woodridge.
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Krestan said Cedarhurst officials recently gave the fire district permission to use Zero Gravity's shellfor training exercises and drills. Firefighters periodically have been doing just that since the middle of last week, he said.
Cedarhurst owner Joshua Jennings on Monday confirmed company officials "delayed the demolition as a courtesy" to the fire district.
"They asked us if they could perform drills there, and it sounded like a great way to begin our relationship with the first responders with whom our staff will ultimately have a working relationship," Jennings wrote in an email.
"We expect to start demolition next week, once their drills are finished," Jennings said. He added Woodridge village officials and staff members have been "very welcoming to us and we, in turn, have sought to be great members of the community."
Krestan said fire officials were grateful for that opportunity, as there are few buildings of Zero Gravity's size, age or layout within the district's borders that might provide such hands-on training.
"We can actually cut holes in the roof to practice ventilation," and can advance water hose lines into the building just as firefighters would do during a real fire, Krestan said.
The building also has "several rooms connected maze-like, (which) provides us with the opportunity to conduct open-space searches" for "victims" of a fire or other disaster, he said.
Krestan said the building is big enough that it allows the department to "train multiple fire companies at the same time" using a fictitious emergency scenario. "A lot of our people were there (Sunday,) and now we're rotating (firefighters) through the building through this week," he said.
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He also praised Cedarhurst officials, saying the company "recognizes the advantages of using the building before they knock it down," giving firefighters invaluable training "at no cost to us."
The Woodridge center will be Cedarhurst's seventh senior residential development, and its only location in northern Illinois. The company has four facilities in southern Illinois, and is building one near Springfield and another in Missouri, a company spokeswoman said last fall.
Zero Gravity's owners in the past have talked of relocating the club. Attempts Monday to reach company officials by telephone and email were unsuccessful.
wbird@tribpub.com
Editor's note: Oil Lamp Theatre has canceled "12 Angry Jurors." The theatre will stage "Weekend Comedy" Aug. 18-Sept. 25.
The fate of a young man accused of murdering his father is in the hands of a dozen people in Reginald Rose's "12 Angry Jurors" at Oil Lamp Theater. Artistic Director Keith Gerth directs the production based on Rose's 1954 TV play, "12 Angry Men," which became a stage play and then a critically-acclaimed 1957 movie.
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"It's a really timely story in light of the dialogue that's happening at both the national and local level," Gerth said. "I think what happens in that deliberation room is the most American thing that we do as a country. I think it's a great way to look directly into what it is to be an American and what it means to talk about these issues around race and freedom."
To add to the relevance of the piece, Gerth has set it in current day Chicago. He has also assembled a diverse cast of men and women of different ethnicities. "I wanted a jury that was representative of Chicago's population today," Gerth explained. "We have Asian Americans, African Americans, we have some people from Pakistan and a lot of different religious influences around the table, too."
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Nicolette de Guia of Deerfield plays Juror No. 12. "She is an advertising exec and it's her first time serving on the jury," de Guia related. "She is one of the more lighthearted people in the show. She's always the one trying to break up the room with a joke to relieve the tension. My character is the only character that switches her vote back and forth."
Juror No. 12's goal is to get everyone to reach a consensus, de Guia indicated. "It's kind of troubling," the actor admitted, "considering someone's life is at stake in this show."
De Guia indicated that her character's desire to have everyone agree is elusive because of "extreme attitudes towards race and even gender."
The most difficult aspect of this role for de Guia, who is half Filipino, "is hearing some of the truly horrible things that are said by characters and knowing that that's still real."
Glenview resident Rob Weinstein plays Juror No. 10 who he describes as "an Archie Bunkerish, bigoted type of guy. I'm the one who upsets everyone with my very backwards thinking with regards to minorities. I'm very impatient and just want to get this whole process over with. My character wants to punish anybody who's not a good white person."
Although the race of the defendant isn't ever mentioned in the script, "everybody understands that it's a minority," Weinstein said. Juror No. 10 is a businessman who owns garages. "I just want to declare him guilty. I don't really care about the facts. I don't like his kind of people."
It's an interesting character for Weinstein to play because, "He's the polar opposite of who I am."
Director Gerth concluded, "One of the challenges of being on a jury in general is to figure out what is actually the truth how does the evidence all come together. When you have twelve people that come from such diverse backgrounds, it makes it even harder."
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De Guia added that, even though you would think a play written in the 1950s would seem dated, "It feels more relevant now than ever."
Gerth encourages people to take advantage of some immersion opportunities related to the show. That includes viewing the 1957 film, "12 Angry Men," and checking out the Radiolab Season 5/Episode 3 Podcast (Radiolab.org/story/91653-race). He also recommends the television documentary, "OJ: Made in America."
Oil Lamp Theater presents "12 Angry Jurors"
When: 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays, Aug. 11-Sept. 25
Where: 1723 Glenview Road, Glenview
Tickets: $35
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Information: (847) 834-0738; oillamptheater.org
From left: Alice Berry of River Forest, Ernest Hemingway Foundation board member, with husband, John Berry, Foundation chairman, and Virginia Cassin of Oak Park, 20-year board member, benefit committee member and former village clerk (Lee A. Litas / Pioneer Press)
The Event: "Ernest Hemingway: Alive in Oak Park," was the first annual benefit of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park. It took place July 23 at the Oak Park Public Library. Among the 200 attendees were Hemingway fans, Foundation members, caretakers of both Hemingway's first and second Oak Park homes, as well as the Foundation's first scholarship winner.
The 2015-2016 Hemingway Birthplace Home Writer-in-Residence, David W. Berner of Clarendon Hills, presented the Hemingway Foundation Scholarship scholarship to Tamsen Cronin of River Forest. Dan Stout of Worthington, Ohio, received the Hemingway Shorts Contest award in absentia.
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The EHFOP fosters understanding of the life and work of Ernest Hemingway, with emphasis on his Oak Park origins and his impact on world literature.
Cause celebre: "(Hemingway) was born here in Oak Park, lived here until he graduated from high school and the foundation does a lot to celebrate his life and legacy," said David Seleb of Chicago, EHFOP board member and OP Library executive director.
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Board member, Mary Jane Neumann of Oak Park, is the current owner of Hemingway's second home, together with her husband, Kurt. The couple has two young sons, one of whom happens to share Hemingway's birthday.
"You can't walk in without imagining (Hemingway) running through the house as a boy," said Neumann. An acupuncturist by trade, she has set up her practice in the same room in the house where Hemingway's father, an obstetrician, had his practice.
"Oak Park is where (Hemingway's) mother taught him about the arts, his father taught him about nature. So he was really shaped by this town and our organization is here to help continue that and also to reach out to new writers," said Neumann.
Bottom Line: The benefit raised approximately $28,000 for the preservation and community outreach work of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park. More at ehfop.org
A pistol shoot and dinner will be held Aug. 7 to raise money for Oak Park police officer John Patterson, who was injured in a May 2015 shooting at his Chicago home. (GoFundMe / Handout)
The Fraternal Order of Police announced it will host a "pistol shoot" fundraiser Aug. 7 in Villa Park to benefit an injured Oak Park police officer.
Officer John Patterson, who has served the Oak Park Police Department for more than 25 years, was injured in an off-duty shooting at his home in the Roseland neighborhood on Chicago's south side in May 2015.
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According to an FOP release, the pistol shoot and dinner fundraiser will take place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 7 at Villa Park VFW Post 2801, 39 E. St. Charles Road. The event is being sponsored by the Oak Park Police Department Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 8 and VFW Post 2801, which is donating its venue and the food.
Although Patterson has been cleared to return to active duty by his personal physician on May 27, the village of Oak Park is requiring him to undergo additional testing at his own expense, the release said. The fundraiser will assist Patterson in paying those costs and other uncovered medical expenses.
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"John Patterson honorably served with the Oak Park Police Department for more than 25 years before he was shot by two men who attempted to rob him as he left home for work," FOP Lodge 8 President James Hawkinson said in a statement. "John has had a long and difficult recovery. The village of Oak Park stopped paying him on May 1, 2016, because he has used up all of his sick and vacation time to recover from what is officially considered by them to be an off-duty incident. We hope the fundraiser will help John through these difficult times."
Village of Oak Park spokesman David Powers said the village would not comment on a personnel matter, but he said the collective bargaining agreement between the village and FOP governs officers' paid leave time and salary.
"Police officer benefits also are governed by state law, including pension benefits and workers' compensation when injured at work," Powers wrote in an email. "The village cannot extend workers' compensation benefits to someone injured at home, even if the worker is police officer who is the victim of a crime."
Tickets are $10 for the pistol shoot and $30 for the dinner. A Go Fund Me page has also been set up at gofundme.com/2h7hvyk to collect donations. As of Tuesday afternoon, the page had collected $2,835 of its $10,000 goal.
Those entering the competitive pistol shoot must provide their own firearm and ammunition, have a valid firearm owner's identification card and observe all laws regarding firearm transport.
According to prosecutors, Chicago teens Taiwan McNeal and David Bush approached Patterson while the officer was in his garage getting ready for his morning shift. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office alleges Bush pointed a .45-caliber handgun at the officer, while McNeal began patting down the officer. Prosecutors said Bush and Patterson exchanged gunfire, which left Patterson hit with three bullets.
Bush, who was also shot, fled with McNeal, and both were later found hiding in the 9900 block of South Princeton Avenue. According to the Cook County Sheriff's Office, both men remain in custody and are held without bond.
sschering@pioneerlocal.com
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Twitter: @steveschering
Maine Township trustees appointed one of their own to serve as the municipality's new highway commissioner.
Robert Provenzano had served as Maine Township's highway commissioner since Jan. 1, 1998. He officially resigned from the elected position on July 31. His term was to end in the spring of 2017.
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The special meeting to appoint Provenzano's replacement happened within 48 hours of his resignation going into effect. The process of selecting the new highway commissioner involved the board going into closed session for 22 minutes during the middle of the Aug. 1 meeting. When the board resumed open session, members unanimously accepted Walter Kazmierczak's resignation as a trustee from the board and then appointed him to the highway commissioner role.
"Why is there such a rush to fill this job?" asked Joan Sandrik, a Maine Township resident who attended the board's meeting. "Why wouldn't you go out and do a search and see if there is somebody with the kind of experience you need for this job?"
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Kazmierczak was first elected to the township board in 2001 and has served as the manager of community relations with the Illinois Council of Banks and Real Estate. His experience and interest in the allocation of social agency grant money is the reason board members gave for choosing him to serve as the new highway commissioner. Also, he was the only member of the board available around the clock for a role officials said requires 24/7 availability.
As Pioneer Press reported in June, Kazmierczak, a Park Ridge resident, expressed interest in submitting his name for appointment to the highway commissioner seat. During the public comment portion of the meeting before the closed session, Sandrik said the speed with which the board moved to appoint one of their own to the position reeks of "cronyism."
Township Supervisor Carol Teschky defended the board's swiftness in appointing Kazmierczak, arguing that appointing someone to the position from within their ranks ensured continuity of service and the retention of institutional knowledge.
"The feeling of this particular board is that there needs to be someone familiar with our operations," said Teschky. "Right now, we have the superintendent ... of the highway department, and he is without a boss, along with six or seven of the employees there. There is no boss there to instruct them to do anything. That's one of the reasons we needed to fill the vacancy now."
The highway commissioner's responsibilities include overseeing a department of six paid, nonelected employees who are responsible for maintaining streets, sidewalks and storm sewers within the unincorporated area of the township that shares borders with Des Plaines, Niles, Park Ridge and Glenview.
Provenzano was appointed to the highway commissioner position in 1998 after the resignation of Bill Fraser, who had just been re-elected to a four-year term. Before he was appointed highway commissioner, Provenzano had served as township collector in 1993 and as trustee from 1994 to 1998.
For most of the meeting, trustees defended the practice in Maine Township of appointing internal candidates to elected positions when whoever is in the role steps down before the term is up.
Maine Township Clerk Gary K. Warner chimed in with his take on village appointments.
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"This is the way it goes," Warner said. He gave an example of someone being first being appointed a collector, and then a trustee and then next an assessor or a township supervisor. He pointed out that this hypothetical person would be creating new vacancies that need new appointments as they fill positions made vacant by elected officials who step down before their term is up.
"In other words, [critics] don't understand what we're doing here," Warner said. "You just don't walk your way up the ladder. This is what we do; this is our life."
Also during the Aug. 1 meeting, board members expressed their frustration with newspaper coverage of Provenzano's resignation, as well as residents who took to social media and community message forums to criticize how the board was handling the appointment process.
"I am disturbed by the discourse that has been put out there over newspaper articles," Trustee Laura Morask said. "I'd like to speak for myself when I say there is no preconceived notion, there is no preconceived end result because a newspaper and a person said they were interested [in the highway commissioner position] doesn't speak for me as a trustee ... as to who or what person I'm going to appoint or vote for."
Kazmierczak also said he avoids online discussions regarding the board's actions "like the plague."
"It's just, on both sides, prejudicial commentary and biased. So why watch it, why look at it?" he said.
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As for the outgoing highway commissioner, Provenzano's annual salary was set by the board in 2012 at an amount of $89,952. According to a village spokesperson on Aug. 2, the municipality is unclear on how Provenzano's pension will be handled since he didn't serve his full term. The reason given for this uncertainty is that the pension is handled by the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, which is still processing Provenzano's resignation.
Kazmierczak said he was going to decline a pension in his new role as highway commissioner.
Alex V. Hernandez is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Police arrested 17 people at an underage drinking party over the weekend after a neighbor contacted authorities because partygoers were allegedly going through his yard and damaging it.
Deputies with the Porter County Sheriff's Department were called shortly before 12:30 a.m. Sunday to a home in the 700 West block of County Road 700 North in Portage Township.
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Police said they found a large gathering of people and cars when they arrived at the residence, and several people began to run toward the rear of the property when police arrived. Others were heard yelling, "The cops are here, run," according to a police report.
Oscar Lagunas, 18, with a listed address of the 900 block of 174th Place Hammond, told police he lived at the residence with his father, who was on his way home, and he was aware of the party being loud and people driving through his neighbor's yard, the report said. He told police he was in the process of attempting to get people to leave when they arrived, and the party was his responsibility as he was the host, the report said.
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Lagunas' father arrived and told police he was aware his son was having a party but he did not know there would be so many people. He gave police verbal permission to enter the garage, where police reportedly found a keg of beer and empty alcohol bottles.
Oscar Lagunas faces a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Erik Gavara, 20, of the 1500 block of 177th Place, Hammond, faces misdemeanor charges of underage drinking and marijuana possession. Police transported them to Porter County Jail. His father was not charged.
Another 13 young adults, mostly from north Lake County and Chicago's south suburbs, face misdemeanor charges of underage drinking and were taken to the jail.
Two juveniles, a 17-year-old boy from Hammond and a 17-year-old boy from East Chicago, also face misdemeanor charges of underage drinking and were released to relatives.
Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
The following are stories as they appeared in The Lake County Star Newspaper. It was a weekly paper started more than 150 years ago that covered all of Lake and most of Porter counties. The paper was owned and operated by the Wheeler Family, descendants of Crown Point founder Solon Robinson. Items are replicated here as they originally appeared.
August 4, 1916
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The home of Valentine Sauerman, southeast of the corporate limits of this city was entirely destroyed by fire about two o'clock Monday afternoon, when the blaze was discovered on the roof of the kitchen part. It had gotten a good start when first noticed, but by quick work of the family members and neighbors nearly all of the contents were saved. Mr. Sauerman and three sons were at work in the field, a considerable distance away, when they saw flames spreading over the roof and by the time they reach the house, nothing was left to do but to save the contents of the home and protect the other buildings which were close by. A fire alarm was turned in and the city department made the run with the chemical outfit, but on their arrival the flames had spread to such an extent that all efforts were directed to the other buildings. The old hand engine was later called out and was used to a good advantage in saving the adjoining barns and out buildings. The origin of the fire is unknown, but many are of the opinion that sparks from a passing on the Pan Handle tracks, which are but a short distance away, may have dropped on the roof, and ignited the dry shingles. That theory seems to be the only plausible one to offer, inasmuch as the family reported that no fire was used in the cook stove at the noon hour.
Crown Point is blessed with one of the finest lakes in the country for swimming and the boys certainly take advantage of it, but what about the girls? It is just as important that every girl should know how to swim as it is for the boys. It should be made part of every Grammar school course for every child to know how to swim. Why not devote part of three days a week for the girls? Why not give them the exclusive use of Fancher Lake until 4 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week? Also, why not build a substantial bath house for both the boys and girls to dress in?
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August 8, 1944
Peter F. Hein, chairman of the local selectee service board, was the after-dinner speaker at Wednesday noon's meeting of the Rotary club. He gave a comprehensive talk and explanatory review of the routine work of the board members' duties and also gave firsthand information in relation to the four classifications in which registrants are place after order number have been assigned. Mayor W. Vincent Youkey, a guest, also gave a short talk in which he asked Rotary members to co-operate with the city administration in the preparation of a parking ordinance soon to be enacted by the city council. In other cities in the state, Youkey said, business men have helped the parking situation by signing cards and posting placards in their business places pledging themselves and their employees not to park their cars in the business district.
Mary Steger, 14-year-old daughter of George Steger, residing near the Youche Country club, was stricken with infantile paralysis Saturday. Her lower limbs, according to a report, are completely paralyzed. Miss Mary is a student of the Riley school on highway 55.
The U. S. Navy's new recruiting cruiser will visit the county fair August 14-15 and will dock at the fairgrounds. The crew of the five enlisted men is skippered by Lieut. F. M. Hall.
August 5, 1966
Miss Dolores Bremer, Miss Patricia Murray, Miss Diana Stuhimacher, the Rev. H. J. Meyer and the Rev. Walter J. Wenck from Trinity Lutheran church, attended the 3rd North American Sunday School convention of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod at the Conrad Hilton hotel in Chicago over the week end. They were among more than 3500 delegates from the United States and Canada who heard Dr. William A. Buege, chaplain at Valparaiso university, keynote the convention for its task, stressing that "We are what God declares us to be and not what scientists theorize what we are!" "This is really what faith is all about," he said, " the certainty that it is as God declare3s no matter what evidence may arise to tempt us to know otherwise and judge some other way."
Michael Brown, 12, of Buck Hill road, Route 7, Crown Point, received 25 stitches to close the wound on top of his head, an injury received Monday evening when the bicycle he was riding struck an auto on North Court. After treatment at a local doctor's office, the boy was sent home. Although the cut was large, it was not deep, Hub police told . The driver, Michael Kerr, 20, of 311 Wright street, Crown Point, told Crown Point police he was driving north on North Court when the boy, on a bicycle, came from a driveway to his left and ran into his right front fender. The boy said he did not see the vehicle until it was too late, ran into the car and was thrown to the pavement.
A teen-aged Cedar Lake driver received two broken front teeth Monday evening when he struck another auto as it turned in front of him on the Lowell-Cedar Lake road. Emery L. Manley 16, of Cedar Lake, struck the auto driven by Thomas Pancini, 18, of 240 North Nichols, Lowell. Pancini was not hurt.
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kconley@post-trib.com
Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson talks to the crowd gathered at the Hillary Clinton campaign stop. (Jim Karczewski / Post-Tribune)
Fresh from attending the Democratic National Convention last week in Philadelphia, Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said she thinks traditional red state Indiana will once again go blue in November.
Despite losing to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, in the May primary, Freeman-Wilson said Secretary Hillary Clinton will win Indiana and take the state's 11 Electoral College votes based on the strength of the state's ticket.
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"I think things look good for Democrats running for many offices," the mayor said. "That could create the momentum that would allow Hillary Clinton a good chance to win the state."
She cited the presence on the ballot of Evan Bayh, the former governor and senator who is a Democrat with significant name recognition and who is attempting to return to the Senate. Freeman Wilson called Bayh a "popular, proven product" with the voters.
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Speaking Monday at the Gary Chamber of Commerce meeting, Freeman-Wilson said Democratic candidates across the state will benefit from the fact that incumbent Gov. Mike Pence gave up his gubernatorial post to be vice presidential nominee paired with Republican Donald Trump.
As Freeman Wilson sees it, that means that Democratic gubernatorial nominee and former Indiana House speaker John Gregg will not be running against a Republican with the advantages of incumbency. Republican nominee Eric Holcomb has only been lieutenant governor since the resignation in March of Sue Ellspermann who resigned that post to become president of Ivy Tech Community College.
That could be a factor in that the Trump campaign has indicated it is focusing attention on certain states, including Indiana, she said.
Freeman-Wilson was among Indiana's delegates to the Democratic National Convention held last week in Philadelphia, where she said she was pleased to be a part of a historic event that nominated a woman to be president and also to share that experience with her daughter, Jordan.
Gregory Tejeda is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Rabbi Shimon Susskind gives members of his Chabad a tour of the group's new facility in Vernon Hills. (Brian O'Mahoney / Pioneer Press)
Rabbi Shimon Susskind said Chabad-Lubavitch, a Jewish organization based in Brooklyn, N.Y., sent him to Vernon Hills to create a sense of community among Jews of all levels of faith.
Six years later, Susskind's Chabad Jewish Center of Vernon Hills has grown enough to rent its first building. Village documents show the Chabad will rent 8,000 square feet in the former J.L. Oil office buildings at 204 Route 45.
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Village trustees on July 19 reviewed notes from an earlier zoning hearing and are set to formally approved a permit during their Aug. 9 board meeting. Documents show the building is short four parking spaces, but Mayor Roger Byrne told Susskind to use the village hall parking lot if needed.
Previously, Susskind said the group met either at his house or a nearby Montessori's basement when it was available, and for larger gatherings he'd rent from the Doubletree by Hilton in Mundelein.
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"We are an outreach organization that reaches out to Jews unconditionally, which means even if they're affiliated elsewhere or not affiliated at all, our doors are still open," Susskind said. "It's not membership based, it's program based. We focus on being all inclusive and nonjudgmental. My goal is to help people with Judaism in whatever way they want."
Vernon Hills was chosen because a lot of people were already going to Chabads in Gurnee and Northbrook, Susskind said. Furthermore, he said early research showed Vernon Hills is home to a sizable Jewish population.
A handful of the Chabad's members toured the Vernon Hills building on July 26, reminiscing on their time and contributions to the organization.
Aside from having a large prayer room, Susskind said several of the building's rooms will be used for weekend Hebrew school and adult education sessions on weekday evenings.
Susskind said 68 children participated in Hebrew school last year, which involves children age five to 13. He said more than 33 teens were involved in the C-Teen club that meets once a month.
"Our adult classes involve contemporary topics in connection to Judaism," Susskind said. "My goal is to make Judaism relevant. The Torah was written over three-and-a-half thousand years ago, and we're still trying to live by it. As a rabbi I try to show how the Torah and its lessons apply in 2016."
Adults sometimes lose touch after their children complete a bar or bat mitzvah, Susskind said. The weekday classes will help some reconnect with their roots while others can explore deeper, he said.
Daniel Turney of Libertyville said those lessons have influenced him greatly.
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"All the questions that were never answered where I belonged before, for 25-plus years at a conservative synagogue, have been answered or addressed here," Turney said.
The ability to share those lessons and relate to others is a big appeal to Ross and Andrea Haim, who lived in Vernon Hills until recently moving to Kildeer.
"We have a meal together after each service," Ross Haim said. "That's where we can all chat and mingle, and build a sense of commonality and community, which you wouldn't get from just sitting next to someone at a service."
Teri Goldberg of Buffalo Grove said she likes how that sense of community extends beyond the gatherings.
"The rabbi and his wife are much more accessible than those in other temples," Goldberg said. "Maybe it's because those places are bigger or their goals are different, I don't know, but Rabbi Susskind and his wife have been to all of our houses and that's helped my family to become much closer to this group and our own faith."
Focusing on faith is sometimes difficult in today's climate, Turney said.
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"Some places say you can't go to the high holidays unless you've paid your dues," Turney said. "Here, the high holidays are what's important, not money. We give because we want to support it, not because we have to."
Susskind confirmed the lack of a fee structure, saying money can push people away. He said people pay what they can or donate certain skills, like some members who have carpentry skills and are helping to renovate the new building instead of hiring a contractor.
Ultimately, Susskind said people are what matter. Although he does a lot of networking to offer his services, Susskind said there is no pressure and no competition.
"There are plenty of Jews to go around. I am not looking to take anyone from their temple or talk negatively about a temple," Susskind said. "I even have board members from neighboring temples that comes to some of my classes. We are what people need us to be."
rkambic@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @Rick_Kambic
The Winnetka Caucus Council is looking for residents to serve on various village boards as part of its annual solicitation for candidates, according to a statement from the group.
The Winnetka-Northfield Library Board, the Winnetka Park District Board, the Winnetka Public Schools District 36 School Board and the Winnetka Village Council each need three members, and the village is looking for candidates to apply for village president, according to the statement.
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"We are looking for residents willing to volunteer their time and experience to help manage the future of our town," Caucus Council Chair Walter Greenough said in the statement.
The council is looking for residents who are familiar with the issues each board faces, and who will discuss them "openly, constructively and without an axe to grind," according to the statement.
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Those interested in serving should send their contact information through the link on the Caucus Council website, or contact the appropriate committee chair, it said. Those who contact the caucus will be sent a questionnaire concerning their backgrounds and interests, it said.
Those who fill out the questionnaire will be interviewed by the appropriate committee, which will recommend candidates to the Caucus Council, according to the statement.
All candidates approved by the Caucus Council will be presented to residents at the town meeting on November 16, and the elected candidates will be on the April 2017 ballot, according to the statement.
The Caucus Council encourages residents to nominate themselves or neighbors who they think would make good members of any of the boards, according to the statement.
Those interested in serving on one of the boards can contact the chairperson of the Caucus Council committees responsible for finding candidates: Bob Leonard, the library board; Jane Saccaro, the park district board; Erica Chesney, the school board; and Anne Wilder, the village council, according to the statement. Their contact information can be found on the Caucus Council website at www.winnetkacaucus.org.
Human Resources and Payroll in China 2016/17, the latest publication from China Briefing and Dezan Shira & Associates, is out now and available for download through the Asia Briefing Publication Store.
A firm understanding of Chinas laws and regulations related to human resources and payroll management is essential for foreign investors who want to establish or are already running foreign invested entities in China, as well as to location managers and HR professionals who may need to explain complex points of Chinas labor policies.
In China, there is a wide range of government institutions involved in HR processes, and while key laws are drafted by the central government, numerous bylaws and regulations are instituted at a local level. The topic is too complex to be covered in complete detail in one book, so the term guide is quite appropriate for the nature of this publication. However, companies should still seek professional advice to deal with any specific situation they face relating to HR.
This guide was created in mid-2016 with the latest information available at the time. It was written in consultation with Dezan Shira & Associates, a specialist foreign direct investment practice providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in emerging Asia.
Since its establishment in 1992, the firm has grown into one of Asias most versatile full-service consultancies with operational offices across China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore and Vietnam as well as liaison offices in Germany, Italy and the United States. Dezan Shira & Associates experienced business professionals are committed to improving the understanding and transparency of investing in emerging Asia.
Human Resources & Payroll in China covers the following:
Recruiting Professionals in China
Hiring Staff
Payroll and Staff Administration
Terminating Employees
Employing Foreign Workers
About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email china@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight.
How IT is Changing Payroll Processing and HR Admin in China
In this edition of China Briefing magazine, we examine how foreign multinationals can take better advantage of IT in the gathering, storing, and analyzing of HR information in China. We look at how IT can help foreign companies navigate Chinas nuanced payroll processing regulations, explain how software platforms are becoming essential for HR, and finally answer questions on the efficacy of outsourcing payroll and HR in China.
Labor Dispute Management in China
In this issue of China Briefing, we discuss how best to manage HR disputes in China. We begin by highlighting how Chinas labor arbitration process and its legal system in general widely differs from the West, and then detail the labor disputes that foreign entities are likely to encounter when restructuring their China business. We conclude with a special feature from Business Advisory Manager Allan Xu, who explains the risks and procedures for terminating senior management in China.
Employing Foreign Nationals in China
In this issue of China Briefing, we have set out to produce a guide to employing foreign nationals in China, from the initial step of applying for work visas, to more advanced subjects such as determining IIT liability and optimizing employee income packages for tax efficiency. Lastly, recognizing that few foreigners immigrate to China on a permanent basis, we provide an overview of methods for remitting RMB abroad.
A new war epic movie has started filming with more than 40 A-list stars to mark the anniversary of the Chinese army, producers announced on Monday.
The cast pose on stage for photos at the press conference to announce the new war epic movie "The Founding of An Army" in Beijing on Aug. 1. [Photo / China.org.cn]
The film, entitled and literally translated as "The Founding of An Army, will be the third installment of the "Founding of New China" trilogy.
Previously, Han Sanping, the director and former head of the China Film Group Corporation, directed "The Founding of A Republic" in 2009 and co-directed "The Founding of the Party" (also known as "Beginning of The Great Revival") in 2011 with Huang Jianxin to tell stories from the revolutionary era.
Now, Han will serve as general initiator and art director on the new installment, which tells the story of how the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) was created. Huang will serve as executive producer. The director chair was handed to Andrew Lau, who directed the groundbreaking "Infernal Affairs," which was later adapted into Martin Scorsese's Academy Award-winning "The Departed."
La Peikang, chairman of the China Film Group Corporation, said at the press conference in Beijing that they have been preparing for five years for "The Founding of An Army" and intend to reenact the historic events as accurately as possible.
The story opens with the Nanchang Uprising in 1927, which was the first major Kuomintang-Communist engagement during the Chinese Civil War. The uprising was carried out by the Communists to counter the anti-communist purges by the Kuomintang.
At the press conference, which was specially held on the 89th anniversary of the founding of the army, a part of cast was also revealed. Liu Ye, a veteran actor, will play Mao Zedong, while Zhu Yawen will play Zhou Enlai. Other actors in the all-star cast include Oho Ou, Ma Tianyu, Liu Haoran and Ma Yili. More actors will be announced soon.
"The leaders were all young men at that time, and they gave their youth and loyalty to the country to build a strong army," director Lau said.
The film, produced by China Film Co., Ltd., Bona Film Group Limited., Nanchang TV and August First Film Studio, is scheduled to be released next August 1 to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the army.
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China's tourism industry raked in 2.25 trillion yuan (US$346 billion) in revenue in H1, up 12.4 percent year on year, official statistics showed on Monday.
Domestic tourists made 2.24 billion trips in the first half, an increase of 10.5 percent. Inbound and outbound trips edged up 4.1 percent to 127 million, China National Tourism Administration (NTA) said.
Tourism has become a strong engine for economic growth. The sector contributed 10.8 percent to GDP last year and created 10.2 percent of new jobs, according to NTA data.
China's spending in the tourism sector is likely to triple by 2020, to 3 trillion yuan, said NTA head Li Jinzao, during the First World Conference on Tourism for Development in May.
China invested more than 1 trillion yuan in the sector last year, an increase of 42 percent from one year before, according to Li.
Despite declines in China's exports to Brazil, its imports from the South American country have accelerated this year, with the growth rate reaching 17.3 percent year on year during the first five months, the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday.
During the past two years, Brazil has become the largest source of China's imports of poultry and beef, Shen Danyang, spokesperson for the ministry, said at a news briefing.
Bilateral trade between the two countries witnessed steady growth over the past few years. Brazil is China's 10th largest trading partner, and is also China's biggest investment destination in Latin America, Shen said.
The number of China-invested enterprises topped 200 in Brazil, and their direct investment stock hit 3.88 billion U.S. dollars at the end of 2015.
Trade between China and Brazil fell 9.5 percent year on year to 24.1 billion U.S. dollars during the first five months of the year, due to the weak global economy and falling commodity prices, official data showed.
I Like Words but Many of Them I No Longer Understand
Are they simply trying to confuse me? I think the answer is not a simple one. It just may be that they are confused & they can't help them selves. Allow me to explain my self...
A definition of the word "Significant" is... "Having Meaning".
A definition of the word "Other" is... "Used to refer to all the members of a group except the person or thing that has already been mentioned".
Modern World has combined these two words into "Significant Other". This is where my confusion starts. "Significant Other" is defined as, "A person who is important to one's well-being".
Tell me if you think this is progress (No. Don't tell me because I am afraid of what you might tell me.)...
There was a time when the word "Spouse" was the word for referring to the one to whom we were married.
Then "Significant Other" was invented.
Then I started seeing forms I was filling out that listed the categories "Spouse" & "Significant Other".
Now I am seeing forms that only list "Significant Other" & "Spouse" has disappeared.
I don't think this is progress (Remember I told you I did not want to hear what you think.).
I like the word "Spouse". My wife has been my Spouse for a long time &, I may be old fashioned but, I think to start calling her my Significant Other would be a Significant Downgrade .
My other Significant Other Quandary started when I was reading a newspaper article the other day. The article made mention of a couple of Significant Others who had separated from each other. Does this mean that they are now Insignificant Others ?
Would I kid u?
Smartfella
Around 1,000 technical schools in China will provide free training to impoverished people from 2016 to 2020, according to a circular issued recently.
According to a document issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, anyone who is able to work from a poverty-stricken household can receive free technical training.
Local governments should implement national polices on student subsidies and free tuition, and formulate regional polices on the deduction and exemption of other fees, as well as on offering living allowances, the circular said.
Impoverished families involved in the project can receive a yearly subsidy of 3,000 yuan (450 U.S. dollars) for each student, which will be drawn from a fiscal poverty relief fund.
At present, there are over 3.2 million people studying in 2,454 technical schools nationwide, of which over 75 percent come from rural areas.
A former police officer in charge of a case where a teenager was wrongfully executed for a murder he did not commit, stood trial for taking bribes and illegal weapon possession on Monday.
According to a local procuratorate in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Feng Zhiming, former deputy director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau of Hohhot, the regional capital, was accused of taking advantage of his position and accepted bribes of over 4.5 million yuan (680,000 U.S. dollars).
Additionally, Feng could not explain the source of property worth more than 34 million yuan, which far exceeded his legal income. He also had four unauthorized firearms and 549 bullets, the procuratorate said.
Huugjilt, the wrongfully executed teenager, was found guilty of raping and killing a woman in a public toilet in Hohhot in 1996 and was executed 61 days after the murder. Feng headed a special team to investigate Huugjilt's case.
Zhao Zhihong. [Photo / The Beijing News]
A serial rapist and murderer, Zhao Zhihong confessed to the killing in 2005 and was given a death sentence in 2015.
On Dec. 15, 2014, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regional Higher People's Court exonerated Huugjilt, ruling that he was not guilty of rape and murder, as the facts of his case were unclear and evidence inadequate.
Investigations against Feng started two days after the exoneration.
Authorities must report natural disasters in a timely and exact manner, and those who conceal the truth will be punished, a ministerial official said Monday.
Authorities must be aware that any lies will be exposed on the Internet and through new media, as the public now actively participate in disaster relief and in the supervision of officials, said Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo at a meeting.
Once major natural disasters such as floods, mudslides and landslides occur, local civil affairs authorities should quickly assess the situation and release all relevant information, Li said.
They should not wait to be forced to do so under pressure from the public nor be late and inaccurate in the information released, the minister said.
Late last month, the mayor of Xingtai City in north China's Hebei Province apologized for inadequate response to and late, inaccurate reporting of floods that killed at least 25 in the city.
Over 40 percent of employees from Taiwan said they plan to leave the island to broaden their horizons and seek better opportunities, according to online survey results released by a business services company Monday.
About 10 percent of respondents said they were considering setting up businesses outside the island due to the highly competitive market and unfavorable environment for new businesses on the island. Catering services and PR firms were among the most desired businesses.
The Chinese mainland was the first choice of destination, according to the survey, followed by Japan, and the United States.
Daniel Lee, vice president of 1111 Job Bank, who carried out the survey, said the Chinese mainland was the top choice because good business relationships are already well-established, in addition to the benefits of Chinese language and culture.
More than 21 percent of respondents said they had already experienced working outside the island.
The survey polled 532 office workers between July 10 and 28.
A traditional ceremony is held to celebrate the opening of the port at Yazhou, about 50 kilometers west of Sanya in Hainan province, Aug 1, 2016. [Photo / China Daily]
China opened a large fishing port, the closest one to the Nansha Islands, on Monday to handle fishing vessels working in the South China Sea.
Local authorities and thousands of people held a traditional ceremony to celebrate the opening of the port at Yazhou, about 50 kilometers west of Sanya in Hainan province.
Monday also marked the end of the annual fishing ban in parts of the South China Sea, which started on May 16.
More than 300 fishing vessels flying red flags left the port at noon for nearby South China Sea fishing ground. Those intending to make long journeys delayed leaving because of Typhoon Nida's approach.
Gui Junjiang, a fisherman from Sanya, sailed with his colleagues from the port to the Xisha Islands, about 260 km away, where four generations of his family have fished.
"The new port will provide a more comfortable, clean environment for fishermen, as well as more convenience," he said.
Li Jin, vice-general manager of Sanya Yazhou Port Investment Co, said the port can accommodate 800 fishing boats, but in the long term it will be able to handle 2,000.
Zhang Huazhong, head of the Sanya Ocean and Fishery Bureau, said, "We have not had a large and modern public fishing port that performs various functions. We have now filled the gap."
The port will be the largest in Hainan. Apart from harboring fishing vessels, it can also shield ships from typhoons and serve as a logistics and studies center for fisheries products.
Zhang said earlier that the port has "very important significance in safeguarding China's fishing rights in the South China Sea".
It is also designed to be a support base for exploiting fishery resources and will help with supplies for Sansha, the southernmost Chinese city, which administers an area of about 2 million square kilometers in the South China Sea.
The city headquarters are located on Yongxing Island, which is the largest of the Xisha Islands.
The Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Tuesday issued a regulation on judicial interpretation to clarify China's jurisdiction over its territorial seas.
The explanation provides a clear legal basis for China to protect the maritime order, marine safety and interests, and to exercise integrated management over the country's jurisdictional seas, said an SPC statement.
The regulation, which takes effect Tuesday, states that Chinese citizens or foreigners will be pursued for criminal liability if they engage in illegal hunting or fishing, or killing endangered wildlife in China's jurisdictional seas.
An unnamed SPC official said maritime courts across China have handled many maritime cases in recent years. "People's courts' jurisdiction over the Diaoyu, Huangyan and Xisha Islands and its adjacent sea areas has never stopped," the official said.
"Judicial power is an important component of national sovereignty," said the official, adding, "People's courts will actively exercise jurisdiction over China's territorial waters, support administrative departments to legally perform maritime management duties, equally protect the legal rights of Chinese and foreign parties involved and safeguard Chinese territorial sovereignty and maritime interests."
The judicial explanation, based on Chinese law, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and judicial practices, further clarifies China's maritime jurisdiction, the statement said.
According to the regulation, jurisdictional seas not only include inland waters and territorial seas, but also cover regions including contiguous zones, exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.
The regulation also addresses Chinese citizens or organizations engaged in fishing in fishing zones or the open sea under co-management between China and other countries, according to signed agreements.
The interpretation specifies the standard of conviction and punishment for illegal marine fishing: Those who illegally enter Chinese territorial waters and refuse to leave after being driven away, or who re-enter after being driven away or being fined in the past year, will be considered to have committed "serious" criminal acts and will be fined and sentenced to less than a year of imprisonment, detention or surveillance.
This penalty also applies to those who illegally enter China's territorial seas to fish but do not engage in "illegal fishing" under the law, it said.
"The explanation offers legal guarantees for marine fishing law enforcement," defining punishments for fishing without a license in order to encourage legal fishing, said the statement, adding that it also promotes judicial assistance and international cooperation on marine affairs.
In recent years, illegal hunting, fishing and killing of endangered wildlife in China's jurisdictional seas has happened frequently, and foreign ships and foreigners have entered China's exclusive economic zones to conduct criminal activities, said the SPC official.
The official said applying the Criminal Law to crack down on crimes in China's jurisdictional seas is conducive to safeguarding territorial sovereignty and maritime integrity.
Zhai Yanmin, an unemployed resident of Beijing, was sentenced to three years in prison with a four-year reprieve after being found guilty of subverting state power Tuesday.
Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court ordered that Zhai, 55, will have to serve a minimum three-year term should he fall foul of the law within the four-year probation period. The court also deprived Zhai of his political rights for four years.
He pled guilty and declined his right to appeal.
Zhai was first exposed to concepts such as the "color revolutions" and "peaceful transition" online, the court said in a statement. He then joined an underground church led by Hu Shigen and gradually developed plans to overthrow the state socialist system.
According to testimony by Liu Yongping, another member of the underground church, the "church" was not a genuine religious organization. Over half of its membership were "professional petitioners." Hu acted as the "spiritual leader" of the "church" for subversive purposes.
Since 2012, Zhai has attempted to incite people to subvert state power by use of the online resources, the court said in a statement.
Zhai, together with underground church members and lawyers, engaged and managed illegal petitioners to organize public gatherings, hype up legal cases and incidents, attack the country's judicial system and carry out activities aimed at subverting the state power and socialist system, the statement said.
These activities endangered the state and society, it added.
"I accept all the charges," Zhai said in his final statement, "With the help and education of the government, I recognize the severity of my crimes. I plead guilty and express my sincere remorse.
"I am sorry to the country and my family... If I could go back I would never have become a member of hostile forces or associated with those individuals driven by ulterior motives," he said.
He added that he would like to be used as an example of the consequences of listening to and supporting hostile forces overseas and at home, and to inform the public of the dangers of the so-called "democracy," "human rights" and "public benefits" flaunted by them as a mask for criminal activities.
The court handed down a light sentence because he confessed, testified against others and repented, according to court statement.
Moreover, the court decided that Zhai posed no major threat to the community, it said.
The second branch of the People's Procuratorate of Tianjin Municipality filed charges against Zhai with Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court on July 15.
To safeguard the defendant's rights and interests and ensure a fair and efficient trial, a pretrial conference was held on July 22. It was attended by the prosecution team, defendant and defence counsel, presiding judge Cai Shuying said.
During Tuesday's trial, Cai informed the defence team of Zhai's rights and obligations in litigation.
The defence team had no objection with any of the evidence used in the trial.
Altogether 48 people, including 20 journalists from home and overseas observed the trial.
Prosecutors told the court that Zhai, together with three others -- Hu, Zhou Shifeng and Li Heping -- had conspired and plotted to subvert state power, and had "established a systematic ideology, method and steps to achieve it."
The defendant was accused of organizing multiple mass protests to influence public opinion and court sentences. One such case was a fatal shooting incident at a railway station in Heilongjiang Province in May 2015.
On May 2 of 2015, police officer Li Lebin shot dead Xu Chunhe at Qing'an County Railway Station. Xu had attacked Li and continued to assault the police officer despite multiple warnings. Follow-up investigations confirmed that Li had acted within the law.
After the shooting, Zhai organized protests at the railway station and in front of the county government buildings in support of Xu.
Zhai influenced online opinions and led public demonstrations that misrepresented the incident as police brutality.
Moreover, lawyers were organized to turn up at protest locations so that the issue gained more traction, Zhai said in his testimony adding that, "they all followed a fixed process."
Once an incident had become a "hot issue," lawyers, citizens and petitioners would fan the flames online and plan further protests with each individual assigned "work" for each activity, Zhai said.
"I was the 'chief commander' on site. I attacked current laws and smeared the image of the police," he said.
"We wanted every issue to gain as much exposure as possible, so we would send ordinary people out on the streets and initiate conflict between the people and officials. We wanted the international community to interfere, (with the aim of) overturning the CPC and launch our own 'color revolution,'" Zhai continued.
"None of the sensational cases I took part in have anything to do with my personal interests," Zhai said. "I did not even know the truth in those cases, but I did not care."
When asked about the motivation for his crimes, Zhai said he hated the government and the political system because of a failed business venture.
"My life went from glory to a failure, and that led to a disgruntled mind," Zhai said in his confession. "I started to impute my personal failure to the government."
In addition, he said he had been radicalized by people with ulterior motives.
According to the evidence presented in court, Zhai met with 15 people, including Hu Shigen, Zhou Shifeng and Li Heping, in a Beijing restaurant on Feb. 1, 2015. The discussion covered how they could use the workers' rights movement and other sensitive incidents to promote their own agenda.
"We had met at the restaurant to gather lawyers like Zhou and Li, 'citizen movement' leaders like Hu and 'doers' like me to discuss how to topple the current regime, we wanted to overthrow the CPC," Zhai confessed, adding that they reviewed the subversive activities of the previous year, and formulated plans for 2015.
Zhai said his confessions were made "by my own free will."
"I think today's trial is fair and my rights have been protected during the procedure. My two lawyers have communicated appropriately with me and issued very professional opinions."
"I am 55 years old. For the first 50 years of my life, I was a patriotic, law-abiding citizen. Joining this criminal ring has finally led me to the court as a criminal convict."
Zhai said he plans to restart his business.
Ms. He didn't expect to face a death threat just for not giving a Didi driver a full five-star score rating after taking a ride in his car at 4:00 am on July 31 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
He hailed a car from the Didi Zhuanche APP when she was about to go home after a shift in the private cinema where she works.
But the driver did not call her when he arrived at the designated location. Ms. He and her friend called the driver three times without receiving any answer, and they had to walk about 100 meters to find the car. The driver told them that his cell phone had crashed the moment they called him.
He gave the driver a four-star reward which is only one star less than the full mark after getting off. When He woke up the next day, she found a message from the driver who said that she was heartless as an animal and criticized her for only giving him a four-star rating.
Upset at the driver's rudeness, He told the driver she would lodge a complaint against him.
The driver then threatened he to kill her if she made a complaint.
Worried about her safety, He immediately called the company which later blocked the driver's account.
However, in an interview with Chengdu Economic Daily, the part-time driver said he sent the threatening message while he was overcome with rage.
According to Didi Zhuanche, the driver is having his account temporarily blocked and if he is shown to be at fault his account may be permanently banned from the Didi Zhuanche service.
Pedestrians brave strong wind to cross a road in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 2, 2016. Typhoon Nida landed at 3:35 a.m. Tuesday at the Dapeng Peninsula in the city of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, local weather authorities said. The strong typhoon packing winds up to 151.2 km per hour is moving northwest at 25 km per hour, and is expected to sweep across the cities of Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Foshan and Zhaoqing to Guangdong's neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)
Typhoon Nida made landfall at 3:35 a.m. Tuesday at Dapeng Peninsula in the city of Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province, the weather authority said.
The strong typhoon, packing winds of up to 151.2 km per hour, is moving northwest at 25 km per hour and is expected to sweep across the cities of Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Foshan and Zhaoqing to neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, according to Guangdong provincial meteorological station.
Nida has brought strong winds and rain to the eastern part of Guangdong Province and the Pearl River Delta region on Tuesday, the provincial meteorological station said.
This is the strongest typhoon to directly hit the Pearl River Delta since 1983, said He Guoqing, deputy director of the office of Guangdong provincial flood control headquarters.
Guangdong provincial government on Monday evening released a circular ordering the suspension of projects, businesses, markets, schools and transportation. Companies and organizations that do not provide critical services or urban operations were encouraged to close for the day.
All ships scheduled to end their fishing ban on Monday were asked to delay their departure and remain at port.
Nearly 200 trains were suspended Tuesday, including 180 bullet trains, according to a statement issued by Nanning Railway Bureau. Trains from Guangzhou to Nanning, capital of Guangxi, and Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, were among those suspended.
On Tuesday afternoon, as Nida weakened, flights at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport started to resume. However, as of 2 p.m., 31 flights which are scheduled to depart from the airport had been delayed for more than one hour.
Sources with the airport said more flights delays were expected.
Flights at Shenzhen airport resumed at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Train services in Guangzhou and Shenzhen started to recover Tuesday afternoon.
All passenger ships across Qiongzhou Strait, between Hainan and Guangdong, resumed service at 1 p.m., according to the local maritime department.
As of Tuesday noon, no casualties had been reported in Guangdong, according to the provincial flood control headquarters.
Sathyajyothi Films is currently bankrolling Thala 57 or AK 57 with Ajith and Kajal Agarwal as the lead with Siva at the helm of affairs. The unit is off to Bulgaria to can important sequences now.
Meanwhile, sources inform behindwoods that the esteemed production house may start their next venture after AK 57 with Dhanush as the lead, with bike racing as the premise. It is also said that this project will be one of its kinds. The whisper is that this venture may begin after the production company and Dhanush would get free from their respective commitments. The prospects of the film would be clear after the release of Thala 57.
It is to be noted that Prabhu Solomons Thodari is also funded by Sathyajyothi with Dhanush as the lead.
Stay tuned and we will update you!
Security police stay alert at a suicide bombing site in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, on June 20 (XINHUA)
On July 23, suicide bombers struck the Afghan capital Kabul, killing over 80 and injuring more than 230 in the blast, the most deadly terrorist attack in the country for 15 years. The Islamic State Group (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The explosion comes hot on the heels of the demise of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in southwest Pakistan's Balochistan Province near the Afghan border on May 21. Mansour had only succeeded his predecessor, Mullah Mohammad Omar, last July.
Having confirmed their leader's death, the Afghan Taliban appointed Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada to the position a few days later. Akhundzada, a religious scholar and former head of the Taliban courts, is unlikely to change the group's hardline direction.
The U.S. Government has stepped up intervention in Afghanistan, having lost patience waiting for the Taliban to participate in peace talks with the local government.
The U.S. Government and the Taliban both have key roles to play in the Afghani peace process, which is now further complicated as both have rearranged their priorities in order to gain strategic advantages during the peace talks. This serves to add more uncertainty to Afghanistan's future.
New Taliban leader
Mansour's succession of Omar as Taliban leader catalyzed a power struggle. Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob and Mullah Manan, the first-born son and younger brother of Omar respectively, both questioned Mansour's authority, while many others believed his ascension to power was in effect a "coup".
Akhundzada was named as the new Taliban head by the shura (council), located near Quetta in Pakistan. Though there have been some disagreements over the appointment, they may not cause a leadership crisis like that his predecessor faced. The shura also made Yaqoob joint deputy head of the Taliban, alongside the current deputy, Sirajuddin Haqqani, in a bid to quell disunity in the group.
Akhundzada is a senior Taliban figure, but he acquired his reputation as a religious leader rather than as a military commander. However, he comes from the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar and proved his credentials in the 1980s after joining the Islamist resistance against the Soviet military campaign in Afghanistan.
Despite Akhundzada being well placed to appease various factions inside the Taliban, a splinter group led by Muhammad Rasool has still publicly refused to pledge allegiance. Yet, Akhundzada's refusal to participate in peace talks and his demand that foreign forces retreat from the country are likely to gain more support and strengthen his leadership in the group.
U.S. shift of stance
For years, the U.S. Government and the Taliban failed to hold negotiations. In 2011, the Obama administration sought talks with the Taliban in a bid to achieve peace in Afghanistan, with both sides participating in secret talks in Qatar and Germany. In June 2013, U.S. President Barrack Obama told the press that the U.S. Government was ready to negotiate with the Taliban, citing this as a crucial step toward reconciliation.
Real progress looked like being made when the first round of peace talks was held between the Taliban and the Afghan Government in Pakistan from July 7-8, 2015, thanks to efforts from Pakistan, the United States and China. Representatives met for a second round in February of this year, but talks were cut short following Omar's death.
The Taliban withdrew from the conference table, leaving the peace process deadlocked. Obama lost patience with Mansour, and in response to the deepening crisis in Afghanistan, he adopted a number of new measures. First, he expanded the authority of U.S. troops in the nation, including loosening restrictions on the use of air strikes and providing Afghan security forces with more robust support.
Previously, U.S. combat troops were limited to supporting Afghan task forces, and airstrikes were only permitted on three conditions: if ground troops were under serious threat; to combat Al-Qaeda terrorists; and if Afghan forces were likely to suffer a military defeat by the Taliban.
Obama has now committed more troops to the war-torn state. In early July, he announced that 8,400 U.S. soldiers would remain in Afghanistan up to the end of his term in January 2017, compared to an earlier plan to reduce the figure to 5,500 in 2017.
The United States seeks to not only counter Al-Qaeda and ISIS but also the Taliban and the Haqqani network. Washington has attached importance to bolstering Afghan security forces, though they are still currently incapable of undertaking security missions independently. On June 19, The Washington Post reported the United States and its allies plan to raise $15 billion of financial aid for Afghan security forces over the next five years.
These policy adjustments underline the change in strategy undertaken by the U.S. Government toward the Taliban. The United States has also been in contact with the rebel group led by Rasool in an effort to divide the group. Yet it remains to be seen if the more hardline tactics pursued by the United States will have the desired effect.
Uncertain prospects
The future of the country is far from clear. Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan since September 2014, sought to soothe his major rival, Abdullah Abduallah, by creating a new postChief Executivefor him.
However, the post has yet to be authorized by parliament. To compound matters, the parliamentary election has been delayed multiple times. The special appointment of Abduallah and the frequent postponement of parliamentary elections have resulted in dissatisfaction from members of the upper classes, including senior officials who have openly voiced their concerns about Ghani's ability to govern. Additionally, economic deterioration fuels public discontent while making it even tougher to withstand Taliban assaults.
In the short term, Afghanistan is likely to become even more unstable. The Taliban has gained more ground in northern and southern parts of the country since last year, and the recent blast in Kabul will only increase anxiety. In the meantime, Al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban are ready to assist the Afghan Taliban in launching insurgencies and retaliatory actions. Last September, many foreign jihadists joined the Taliban's offensive in Kunduz and helped the group to temporarily occupy the city.
Furthermore, tension in U.S.-Pakistan relations will potentially upset the peace process in Afghanistan. Both nations play a leading role in the Afghan peace process. However, the drone strike that killed Mansour caused enormous protest in Pakistan, with the Pakistani Government claiming the drone strike was a violation of its sovereignty. On the other hand, Pakistan opposes the U.S. strategy to divide the Taliban, fearing it would weaken Pakistan's position in Afghan affairs. The dispute between Washington and Islamabad may lead to the collapse of the newly-established four-party meeting that was designed to advance the peace talks. Afghanistan is set to face a perilous period ahead if such talks cannot proceed.
The author is an assistant researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations
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Flash
The U.S. launched the first airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) targets in the Libyan city of Sirte, at the request of Libya's UN-brokered government, the prime minister said in a televised speech.
"The first airstrikes were carried out on precise positions of the IS in Sirte, causing heavy losses," Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj said.
He said the airstrikes would be limited to Sirte and its surroundings.
In Washington, Pentagon confirmed the operation in a statement, saying "additional U.S. strikes will continue to target IS in Sirte in order to enable the Government of National Accord (GNA) to make a decisive, strategic advance."
"The U.S. stands with the international community in supporting the GNA as it strives to restore stability and security to Libya," the statement said.
It said the strikes were authorized by U.S. President Barack Obama.
Since May, Libya's UN-backed government have been striking the IS targets in Sirte, about 450 kilometers east of the capital city Tripoli.
The IS has claimed responsibility for a series of suicide attacks in Libya.
Flash
The clashes between government and opposition forces continued in Equatorias region and other parts of South Sudan over the weekend, a UN spokesman said Monday, citing the UN mission in the country.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan, or UNMISS, is "deeply concerned" by the clashes between the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and oppositions in the Equatorias and other areas of South Sudan, including Nassir in the Upper Nile area, Farhan Haq told a regular briefing.
"The UNMISS mission calls on all parties to return to their bases and allow the movement of humanitarian aid to affected areas," said Haq, adding that tensions persist in the capital city of Juba.
The mission also said that since the flare-up in tensions over the past weeks, there have been reports of "widespread sexual violence," including rape and gang rape, of women and young girls, by soldiers in uniform and also by unidentified armed groups of men in plainclothes.
"These incidents have been reported from a number of locations, including areas in the vicinity of the Protection of Civilians sites near UN House, and also in other neighborhoods of Juba," UNMISS said in a statement.
The mission said that it is now protecting some 200,000 civilians in various locations throughout the country and has intensified patrols in and around the protection sites, as well as in the wider Juba city area since the start of the fighting which erupted in Juba early July.
South Sudan won independence on July 9, 2011 from Sudan after more than two decades of war that ended in a bitter divorce.
The country again plunged into conflict in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup, which led to a cycle of retaliatory killings.
Flash
The Cuba-U.S. talks on settling multibillion dollars of claims made against each other are one of the most "complex and difficult" negotiations in their normalization process which started last year, a senior Cuban official said Monday.
Havana and Washington last week concluded a "substantive" second round of talks in the U.S. capital after the first meeting in December outline their respective claims as part of a deepening detente.
"It is an issue of very high complexity, with difficult political, technical and legal aspects that is only in its initial stage," Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno told local press.
Washington is seeking a compensation of 10 billion U.S. dollars, mainly for properties nationalized in Cuba after its 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro.
Havana, meanwhile, is seeking at least 300 billion U.S. dollars in claims for economic costs of the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba.
"Both sides exchanged information on their respective claims, legal and technical aspects as well as basic information on each case with the goal of preparing the process of negotiation," said Moreno who also headed Cuba's delegation to the talks.
He said that both sides will continue in the coming months to hold meetings on the issue but added that Cuba will not rush the talks.
"We are talking about a process in two directions, Cuba will not accept unilateral solutions," he noted.
Cuba and the United States re-established diplomatic relations a year ago, ending decades of hostility.
The two nations have since signed agreements on the environment, mail services, security and direct flights. However, thorny issues like claims, democracy and human rights were barely touched during talks.
Flash
A Top United Nations relief official is due in South Sudan for a three-day visit this week to see first-hand the appalling humanitarian situation and call for urgent action to alleviate suffering, the UN has said.
Displaced civilians taking refuge at the Tomping base of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), in the wake of fresh clashes in Juba between soldiers of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the SPLA in Opposition (SPLA-IO). [Photo/Xinhua]
A statement from the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Stephen O'Brien, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, will visit the youngest nation from Aug. 1 to 3.
"During the three-day mission O'Brien will meet with people affected by the humanitarian crisis, senior government officials and humanitarian partners," the statement said.
Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced after recent fighting in Juba and Wau, there is escalating food insecurity and malnutrition across the country, and a cholera outbreak has erupted in Juba and Jonglei.
Prior to the eruption of fighting in Juba on July 7, the humanitarian situation in South Sudan was already dire, with unprecedented levels of food insecurity and one in five people displaced.
The 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan for South Sudan is currently just 40 percent funded as slightly over 500 million U.S. dollars have been received out of 1.3 billion dollars required and additional resources are urgently required to respond to the growing needs.
The visit comes after the UN Security Council on Friday extended for two weeks the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), allowing time for its membership to consider options on adapting the operation's mandate amid renewed violence in the world's youngest country.
With the mandate of UNMISS set to expire in 48 hours, the Council unanimously approved a short extension -through Aug. 12, by a resolution that also authorized the Mission "to use all necessary means to carry out its tasks."
The UN action comes as deadly clashes between rival factions loyal to President Salva Kiir and First Vice-President Riek Machar have, since early July, sent thousands of civilians fleeing the capital, Juba.
UNMISS compounds and civilian protection sites have been attacked. The UN refugee agency has reported that thousands of South Sudanese, mostly women and children, have crossed into Uganda since fighting erupted, including an estimated 8,337 refugees on July 21, setting a single-day record since the influx began in 2016.
Flash
A leading air crash expert has said missing Malaysia Airlines fight MH370 was likely to have been in controlled flight as it hit the water, giving life to the theory it was brought down by a rogue pilot or hijacker.
File photo taken on March 3, 2016 shows a piece of an airplane displayed during a news conference in Maputo, capital of Mozambique. [Photo/Xinhua]
Air crash expert Larry Vance told Australia's Nine Network that there was no other way to explain why the flaperon, found off the coast of Madagascar, was "extended" meaning it would have been in controlled flight as it hit the water.
Vance said the only way to extend the flaperon, something which happens when a plane is attempting a landing, was for the pilot to engage a switch, something which is unlikely to have occurred during an sudden disaster.
"You cannot get the flaperon to extend any other way than if somebody extended it," Vance told the Nine Network's 60 Minutes program overnight.
"Somebody would have to select it (in the cockpit)."
Vance said, from photos released of the flaperon, there was evidence to show the aeroplane hit the water at a controlled speed, pointing to it being a "human engineered event."
"Somebody was flying the aeroplane into the water... There is no other alternate theory that you can follow of all the potentials that might have happened. There's no other theory that fits," he said.
"The force of the water is really the only thing that could make that jagged edge that we see (on the flaperon). It wasn't broken off. If it was broken off, it would be a clean break."
Meanwhile, Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) crash investigator Peter Foley said there was a possibility that someone was in control of the plane as it went down.
"There is a possibility there was someone in control at the end and we're actively looking for evidence to support that," he said on Sunday night.
He admitted that if it was brought down by a "rogue" pilot, the wreckage could be outside the parameters of the Australian-led 120,000 square kilometer search zone. The search for the Boeing 777 is scheduled to end in coming weeks, considering less than 10,000 square kilometers is yet to be searched.
"If you guided the plane or indeed control-ditched the plane, it has an extended range, potentially," Foley said.
MH370 was a scheduled passenger flight bound for Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. There were 239 passengers and crew on board.
Flash
About 25,000 people, including more than 12,000 children, have been displaced last night from a neighbourhood in western Aleppo City by intense military attacks initiated by armed opposition groups, a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) official in Syria said Monday, calling on the warring parties to do their utmost to protect all civilians.
"Twenty-five thousand people have fled instantly last night from this area, with whatever they could leave the door with," said Kieran Dwyer, Chief of Communications for UNICEF in Syria, in an interview with the UN News Service via Skype from Damascus.
He said that armed opposition groups launched a major military offensive late yesterday afternoon and evening, attacking through the densely populated western part of Aleppo City. Intense fighting, involving airstrikes and the use of heavy weapons, artillery and mortars, has continued through the night, and throughout the day today, he added.
Mr. Dwyer said that in the affected neighbourhood, people already displaced multiple times had put up temporary shelters in uncompleted high-rise apartment buildings. UNICEF and its partners had been helping them to get water, food, health services, and education so that they could settle for the time being.
Then, the fighting erupted, forcing many of them flee to parks, mosques, and wherever "they can feel a bit safe," he said, adding that emergency kitchens have been set up, and for its part, UNICEF is running emergency water trucks.
Asked if more people would be displaced, he said that "we don't know what the dynamic in fighting is going to result in. We are watching and responding at every turn."
Meanwhile, the eastern part of Aleppo city has been completely cut off from humanitarian aid since early July, he said, noting that UNICEF and all partners are calling for immediate access to the area, where 300,000 people, including over 120,000 children, are in need of nutrition, food, clean water, and health services.
The health system in Aleppo has been devastated, with four military attacks on hospitals last week alone, noted Mr. Dwyer, warning that with only 30 doctors left to serve 300,000, the situation in eastern Aleppo is "dire."
Regarding the idea of setting up humanitarian corridors' that would allow aid to be delivered without hindrance, and civilians to flee the besieged areas safely, Mr. Dwyer said that such arrangements must be run by the UN humanitarian team and partners.
If civilians decide to leave, they must be protected at every step, and if they decided to stay, they should be protected from attacks and violence, he added.
In New York today, Farhan Haq, the Secretary-General's Deputy Spokesperson, reiterated that the UN calls on all parties to the conflict to allow safe, unimpeded and impartial humanitarian access in line with international humanitarian law.
The UN remains deeply concerned over the plight of people trapped in Aleppo, as reports indicate that intense fighting has continued in the last days, and that many stores have closed as food runs low, the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, he added, an inter-agency convoy delivered food, nutrition, health, water, sanitation, hygiene and other emergency items for 71,000 people in need to the hard-to-reach area of Al Houla, in Homs governorate yesterday. Surgical items were removed from health kits during the loading.
Mr. Haq also said that the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura visited Teheran on Sunday, and held discussions with Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari on the means of pushing forward the political settlement to the crisis in Syria.
Also, on Sunday, Deputy Special Envoy Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem and Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, the spokesperson said, explaining that the meeting was part of regular, ongoing consultations between the Special Envoy's Office and the Syrian Government.
Mr. Ramzy informed Syria's Foreign Minister of the Special Envoy's intention to reconvene the intra-Syrian talks towards the end of August, with a focus on the political transition, according to the UN spokesperson.
Due to the high fire danger, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks properties in Madison County are under Stage 1 fire restrictions effective Monday. The restrictions apply specifically to FWP fishing access sites, wildlife management areas and state parks.
In the areas mentioned, the following acts are prohibited until further notice:
Building maintaining, attending, or using a fire or campfire. (Note exemptions below.)
Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least 3 feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.
Exemptions:
Persons with a written permit that specifically authorizes the otherwise prohibited act.
Persons using a device fueled solely by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels that can be turned on and off.
Persons conducting activities in those designated areas where the activity is specifically authorized by written posted notice.
Any federal, state, or local officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of an official duty.
All land within a city boundary is exempted.
Individuals may be fined up to $5,000 or imprisoned up to 6 months for violating the noted fire restrictions.
Flash
The Japanese cabinet approved an economic stimulus package worth 28.1 trillion yen (274 billion U.S. dollars) on Tuesday to support Japan's sluggish economy in the wake of Britain's decision to leave the European Union.
The package was approved at an extraordinary cabinet meeting Tuesday after the Bank of Japan decided to take additional monetary easing at a policy meeting last week.
The package includes additional expenditure by the state and local governments totaling 7.5 trillion yen, among which 1.7 trillion yen will be allocated to building infrastructure to boost tourism and agriculture, and 2.5 trillion yen to enhancing welfare such as nursing care and childcare.
The government will also allocate 2.7 trillion yen to rebuilding areas hit by massive earthquakes in 2011 as well as in April. Another 600 billion yen will be used to help small and medium-sized companies deal with possible negative effects from Britain's decision to leave the European Union.
In an effort to boost personal consumption, the government will launch a subsidy program to provide 15,000 yen each in cash to low-income earners.
The stimulus package also includes public expenditure totaling 13.5 trillion yen, including extending to Osaka a magnetically levitated train line planned earlier from Tokyo to Nagoya.
The government estimates the stimulus would push up real gross domestic product (GDP) by around 1.3 percent in the next two years.
Flash
The joint decision of Washington and Seoul to deploy the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea damages the mutual trust and cooperation developed with China by threatening China's strategic security interests.
The move, regardless of China's repeated opposition, undermines the foundation of their strategic cooperative partnership at a time when it actually should be deepening.
The decision to deploy THAAD breaks the regional strategic balance by tying South Korea to the U.S. chariot of Asia-Pacific re-balancing.
With the system's X-band radar commanding surveillance of an area that extends over 1,200 miles (about 1,900 km) from the Korean Peninsula, the United States can spy on almost half of China's territory and the southern part of Russia's Far East, endangering the two countries' national security.
Such a system challenges Seoul's argument that it is only directed at missile and nuclear threats alleged from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). As it fits well into Washington's planned anti-missile shield against China in the Asia-Pacific, some South Korean media have commented it as a result of humiliated diplomacy and a move to serve U.S. hegemony.
Seoul has chosen to defy China's security concerns and its promises made to China on the THAAD issue, despite the criticism at home. It had tried to keep the months-long consultations with Washington on deployment details from public knowledge, and to fool its people by denying local media disclosures of agreements being reached on the schedule and site only three days before it announced the THAAD deployment.
Worse, the announcement was timed to precede, by five days, an ill-grounded ruling on the South China Sea arbitration initiated unilaterally by the Philippines. And only one day after the ruling was issued, it hastily made a statement on where THAAD would be deployed.
Seoul is expected to find the moves, in such an ill-chosen sequence, are diplomatic miscalculations by underestimating China's determination and capability to defend its national security.
Despite valuing the fruits of efforts to develop bilateral ties, China can by no means allow Seoul to harm its security interests. Seoul's decision has erected a barrier to closer relations with China, and even jeopardized them.
Seoul should tread carefully and consider whether a THAAD system would really address its security concerns and the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.
Scott Anthony Roll, a union pipe fitter and father of two charged with meth possession, says he needs the drug treatment option offered by Yellowstone County District Court.
The 44-year-old Roll was one of more than 500 people arrested in 2015 on meth charges in Yellowstone County. Felony possession charges in Yellowstone County more than tripled between 2011 and 2015.
In response, Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito has proposed a drug intervention program to help "front load" treatment resources and speed up the time it takes to get someone new to the criminal justice system back into society.
Seeing some of the same drug offenders revolving through court has been a drain on resources, Twito said.
"In the time they are waiting for trial, a large portion of drug offenders will pick up a new set of charges," the prosecutor said. This delays justice and increases the number of cases in an already overcrowded court system.
A drug intervention program will allow for relapses associated with meth addiction without resulting in more charges, Twito said. It will also speed up how long it takes to get someone sentenced and into supervision or treatment.
In a study of 17 courts using post-adjudication programs like the one Twito is proposing, 13 of the courts saw a reduction in recidivism ranging between four to 25 percent, according to a 2010 Government Accountability Office study.
Twito said he chose a post-adjudication program because there was already funding for treatment through the state. A deferred prosecution program would require the county to pay for treatment.
The program would include an evaluation for prior convictions, addiction history and general demographic information. Any felony history that involves a crime against a person will most likely disqualify someone from the program.
If a person does qualify, they will be asked to plead guilty to their crime at arraignment, Twito said. In exchange, they would have a chance for almost immediate treatment.
A typical first-time felony drug conviction in Yellowstone County leads to a three-year deferred sentence and a chance at some treatment programs. However, during their deferred sentence, even a probation violation can lead to new drug charges.
Under Twito's plan, the deferred sentence could be reduced to two years with the potential to serve only half that sentence if the person completes the intervention program early. During that time, drug relapses wouldn't always result in charges.
"From the research I've seen, methamphetamine addiction begins to change a person's lifestyle between 40 to 90 days after their first use," Twito said. "This program is meant to recognize those people before the addiction takes hold."
If the person has a previous conviction, they may still qualify for the program, but by statute they would be entitled to only a suspended sentence. They could be released from their sentence after completing the intervention program and serving two-thirds of the suspended sentence.
Treatment options would be determined through a second evaluation after sentencing.
"You want the person to be successful," Twito said.
After Roll was jailed, he began treatment through an outpatient program as part of Yellowstone County District Judge Ingrid Gustafson's drug offender treatment court.
Gustafson's court can take 20 participants and shares the goal of preventing a relapse from resulting in more charges. If a participant is terminated from drug court, he or she generally has their sentence revoked and is brought back before a judge.
The seven months Roll spent in jail made it easier to kick his addiction, he said. Once back on the job site, he would have easy access to meth.
"Guys making $1,500 to $3,000 a week, you can find any drug you want on a construction site," he said.
Clean for over a year now, Roll can't stress enough the importance of keeping people out of jail and getting them into treatment.
"When you put them in jail, you aren't helping people," Roll said. "You're just making them better criminals."
When they get released, they'll just go back to what they know, Roll said.
Roll would not have qualified for Twito's program because he committed thefts in order to cover up the gambling problem related to his meth addiction. Roll said when he was on meth he felt he was "on top of the world."
His wife, Christy Roll, 46, said it strained their marriage. Watching her husband take up the option of treatment helped her to support him through his struggle.
"You see that he wants to do better," Christy Roll said. "He doesn't want to jump back into that world."
Twito plans to reach out to the criminal defense bar, including public defenders, to hear their thoughts on the program. He still needs further approval from the Department of Corrections and the Yellowstone County judges before starting the program.
While awaiting sentencing, the drug convict will be required to be on some type of monitoring, something that will need to be funded through the county, Twito said.
He plans to start small and re-evaluate the plan in the months after it is initiated.
"We can't continue to combat this problem the way we have," Twito said. "We've got to try something."
A man charged with kidnapping and raping a 4-year-old girl on a Montana Indian Reservation stopped taking his prescribed anti-psychotic medication before the alleged attack and does not remember the events, according to his defense attorney.
Raising the possibility of an insanity defense, Assistant Federal Defender Henry "Hank" Branom asked for a mental health evaluation for 21-year-old John William Lieba II to determine if he is competent to stand trial.
U.S. District Judge Brian Morris granted the request in a Monday order, committing Lieba for up to 30 days to an unspecified mental hospital for examination by a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist.
Authorities say Lieba abducted the girl while she was playing in a park at night in the town of Wolf Point on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and held her for ransom.
A grand jury indictment filed in June said he engaged in a sex act with the girl and assaulted her.
The girl was found by a Roosevelt County sheriff's deputy on Feb. 28, two days after she disappeared and just a few miles from where she was reportedly abducted.
Lieba, of Wolf Point, was apprehended while the search for the girl was ongoing.
Authorities have released few other details in the case, including where Lieba allegedly held the girl and what sort of ransom he demanded.
Lieba has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of kidnapping someone under 18, aggravated sexual abuse and assault resulting in serious bodily injury on someone under 18. He could face life in prison and up to $750,000 in fines if convicted on all counts.
Lieba has received mental health treatment from the Indian Health Service, Branom said, but it's not clear when that treatment occurred or what it was for.
"Mr. Lieba has expressed concern about his mental faculties and his ability to assist in his defense," Branom wrote in his request for the mental exam. Staff members of the federal defenders office have voiced similar concerns, the defense attorney said.
Prosecutors did not oppose the mental exam request.
Morris' approval means Lieba's scheduled Aug. 29 jury trial will probably be delayed.
Related charges have been filed against Lieba in Fort Peck Tribal Court.
That case is on hold pending the outcome of the federal case.
The central government allocated some 5.51 trillion yuan in funding to local governments in 2015, including 501.87 billion yuan in tax rebates, according to a report by China Business News.
The central government's spending showed a trend of support for the middle and western regions. Of the 14 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions that gained more than 200 billion yuan of fiscal support, 12 were from the middle and western regions.
Southwest China's Sichuan province received 370.1 billion yuan, the largest amount among all regions. Central China's Henan province was given 340.3 billion yuan, ranking second.
Developed areas such as Beijing, Shanghai and East China's Zhejiang province obtained relatively small amounts of support, each with less than 100 million yuan allocated by the central government.
Let's take a look at the regions which received the most support from the central government in 2015.
Women make folk crafts at a Miao and Dong cultural and custom park in Kaili city, Southwest China's Guizhou province, on July 23, 2016. [Photo/VCG]
No 10 Guizhou province, Southwest China
Funds from the central government: 231.81 billion yuan
Consumers check the design and function of high-tech kitchen sinks at a consumer products expo in Shanghai.[Photo/Xinhua]
Foreign firms celebrate the changing face of the fittings and fixtures market in China as both neo-rich and upper middle class Chinese splurge
An entrepreneur hits pay dirt, or makes a small fortune, in Chinaand among his or her aspirational objects of desire are the latest premium version of iPhone (of course), a top-end BMW, designer jewellery, branded clothes and accessories, and, wait for it, luxury kitchen and bathroom fittings.
That's right.
Demand for products like intelligent toilet, good looking shower head, unusual bathtub, kitchen cabinet and oven is so high among the Chinese neo-rich that Shanghai has joined Frankfurt and Milan in hosting a world-class trade fair for the ultimate bathroom and kitchen fixtures and fittings.
Admittedly, Kitchen & Bath China, the exhibition held in June, is not yet in the league of its more renowned overseas versions, which boast a history of more than half a century. It's nevertheless making the trade fairs fiercely competitive.
And so, the world's leading makers of bathroom and kitchen products converged on Shanghai for the fair. Predictably, they were promptly courted by local distributors and dealers. Hordes of consumers were, of course, not far behind.
Manufacturers spared no effort in making their products stand out from the rest. Each high-end piece was as fascinating as the other.
In the world's second-largest economy, premium bathroom and kitchen products have seen rapid growth. In fact, China is now the world's fastest-growing market for these products. The kitchen segment alone grew 6.8 percent to 58.1 billion yuan ($8.8 billion) in 2015.
"Sales-wise, it's the third biggest worldwide after Germany and the US, and we can see China is catching up. Perhaps, China will take second place next year," said Thorsten Klapproth, global chief executive officer, Hansgrohe SE, Germany's bathroom fittings giant.
To make the most of the Big China Opportunity, Hansgrohe, which reported two-digit sales growth in China last year, put on display its top two brands, Hansgrohe and Axor, in Shanghai.
Klapproth drew an analogy to make a point: the two brands, he said, are the Porsche and the BMW of bathroom products.
The company also launched its key new annual series, called Metropol Classic, under its Hansgrohe brand. "The Shanghai exhibition is crucial for us to feel the pulse of the Chinese market. The growth rate here is outperforming that of other markets. We have high expectations from this market. That's why, our key products are making their global debuts here," said Klapproth.
A foreign model lends elegance to a high-end bathroom stall at a bath and kitchen products fair in Shanghai last year. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
Like Hansgrohe, another German bathroom supplies major, Villeroy & Boch, whose products exude European style, recorded high (22 percent year-on-year) rise in sales in China last year, much higher than the 5 percent growth globally.
Similarly, Gaggenau, a German luxury kitchen appliances brand, said its sales in China increased 15 percent last year.
It's not just the local neo-rich who are driving such high sales growth rates of foreign companies in China. Even the rapidly growing middle class is chipping in with its two cents, so to speak, persuaded by media discourse on aesthetics, modern lifestyle, style and quality.
Klapproth said high-end Chinese customers are already mature in their choices, while the middle class, especially those in their 30s who are well-educated and travel abroad often, display a different taste. The latter tend to buy products that are usually found in places like luxury ocean liners, the German Chancellery and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world's tallest tower.
"They use iPhones, drive BMW cars, and wear clothes of Western brands. This is great for us as they are used to the world's first-class quality that we can guarantee as well. We believe this will be the trend in the long run," Klapproth said.
By the end of last year, Villeroy & Boch had more than 200 retail stores covering all the provincial capitals and first- and second-tier coastal cities in China. Hansgrohe has nearly 500 stores and showrooms across China.
For its part, Gaggenau said its main investments in China will be in sales and marketing. Three showrooms are planned this year. There, visitors would be invited to immerse themselves in a world of exclusive culinary culture and elements of sophisticated lifestyle.
The company said it put great efforts to spread a unique culinary culture and high-end lifestyle among the Chinese upper class. The latter, it said, have started to pay more attention to the quality of their life.
Klapproth of Hansgrohe said he does not share some businesses' pessimism on China related to slowing economic growth. The company firmly believes China will continue to grow this year, next year and in the years to come, he said.
"A year ago, we doubled our production capacity in China, so we invested a lot of money in our factory in Songjiang district in Shanghai's western suburb. Moreover, we're pouring a lot of money into logistics in the country to get our products faster to Chinese customers. We'll continue such endeavors because we'd love to grow," Klapproth said.
Last year, a designers' club for Axor, the other brand of Hansgrohe, was founded in Shanghai.
"We've experienced a sharp increase in demand from Chinese consumers for Axor products in recent years. Our goal is to work more closely with top Chinese designers to cater to consumers," said Ren Quansheng, president of Hansgrohe China.
HOBSON A new trade agreement could be the shot in the arm Montana agriculture businesses need, but the likelihood of it passing isn't good, the U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman said Monday.
U.S. Rep. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, told ranchers gathered in Hobson that the Trans Pacific Partnership will likely have to wait until a new president takes office. Neither Republican candidate Donald Trump nor Democrat Hillary Clinton is speaking favorably of the agreement now.
"Trump wants to renegotiate it. I'm hopeful that if he's our president, he will go through it and find what's wrong with it, what needs to be renegotiated, get that done quickly and then become supportive of it," Conaway said.
Conaway is spending Monday and Tuesday with U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., meeting with Montana producers. He said he wasn't sure where Clinton would fall on the Trans Pacific Partnership. He discussed TPP and a swath of other agriculture topics during a meeting at Bos Terra feedlot in Hobson.
Years in the making, the trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations, including the United States, involves 40 percent of the world economy and a third of its trade, according to the office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
More importantly to Montana, the agreement involves Asian Pacific buyers of the state's wheat. Roughly 80 percent of Montana's wheat is exported, mostly to Asian Pacific buyers, according to the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee. A reduction in tariffs on U.S. grain by buyers like Japan, as well as normalized terms for the sale of U.S. beef, is considered by most to be beneficial to the state's $5 billion agricultural economy.
Montanans with a stake in agriculture are watching the issue closely.
"To me, for the cattle and beef industry, we're going into a period of four to five years where we need the exports," said Jim Fryer, who works in the beef industry.
For seven years, ranchers have watched cattle prices strengthen because of consumer demand, combined with the lowest U.S. cattle population since the 1950s. But cattle operations have been increasing their herd populations for several years now, which is pulling prices down.
Consumer demand for beef in the United States also is softening. Foreign sales could pick up the slack and normalized trade could help, Fryer and others hope.
During the Great Recession, export sales made up more than 10 percent of the demand for U.S. beef, which pushed up sales as restaurants suffered and cashed-strapped U.S. grocery shoppers turned to chicken and pork, which are almost always cheaper.
While still stronger than the historic average cost of production, cattle prices have softened considerably over the past year.
Zinke said the challenges facing TPP include the scale of the economies of the nations involved, some of which are quite small, while trading partners like Japan are essential to Montana business.
"I wish in a time machine we would have done a bilateral agreement between Japan and the U.S. because most of our trade is there, and then put an onramp for other members to come in based on that structure," Zinke said. "But the weakness of that was, you go out to Brunei and New Zealand and you try to go on par with multiple members that are unequal to begin with. What comes out of the sausage factory particularly on labor is a problem."
PHNOM PENH - Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen met with visiting Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng on Monday, discussing the cooperation between the two countries under the framework of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, a senior official said.
Hun Sen said that Cambodia fully supported the Belt and Road Initiative, adding that the country has been working to link its Rectangular Strategy to the initiative, according to Eang Sophalleth, a personal aide to the prime minister.
The prime minister said the initiative would importantly contribute to Cambodia's socio-economic development.
For his part, Gao said that his visit to Cambodia was to learn about Cambodia's strategy in connecting with the Belt and Road Initiative and to promote the implementation of agreements that the two countries had reached.
The minister said that he would hold talks with Cambodian Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak, Finance Minister Aun Porn Moniroth, and Transport Minister Sun Chanthol on Tuesday in order to explore ways to broaden bilateral cooperation in economy, trade, investment, and transport infrastructure development.
During the meeting, Hun Sen pinned the government's honorary medal to Gao to thank him for his contributions to the development of Cambodia.
A crystal toilet seat is seen at an exhibition in Shanghai, June 5, 2015. [Photo/VCG]
Chinese born in the 1980s and '90s are among the main consumers of high-end bathroom and kitchen products. What's more, foreign manufacturers are going out of their way to meet the demands of this group whose size is increasing by the day.
"Compared with the last generation, today's young people grew up, and were educated, in a more international environment. They pay more attention to personalized and stylized modes of life," said Wang Benming, chief economist at the China Building and Decoration Association based in Beijing.
"They want to bring their own modern ideas to their homes. They want their mixers, shower systems and kitchen cabinets not only functional but comfortable, stylish and aesthetically pleasing."
To help them realize their ideas of fancy homes, the world's top suppliers of home appliances are offering customized services.
For instance, Villeroy & Boch hired the services of a European designer who believes that colors reveal emotions. Together, they introduced a series of high-class wash-basins earlier this year.
The series offers consumers a choice of 192 colors. On top of that, they can pick matching bathtubs or color-coordinate both, according to the public relations department of the company.
Similarly, Hansgrohe Group's Axor, a brand whose slogan is "Designer visions for your bathroom", introduced an upgraded personalized service in China earlier this month.
Customers can decide the size and color of the taps, shower heads and other accessories in their bathrooms. Why, they could even choose the characters to be engraved in such accessories.
"'Tailor-made' and 'hand-made' products have become key standards by which lifestyle's quality is measured these days. In our personalized solutions, the customers will have their say in every detail. We combine that with our ingenuity, craftsmanship and sincerity, to satisfy consumers' expectations of personal taste and comfort," said Li Tao, senior product manager of Hansgrohe China.
"In 2012, Hansgrohe introduced a hand-held shower head with a print of a dragon. This was meant to be a customized product for Chinese consumers, to celebrate the Year of the Dragon, which signifies strength and good fortune in Chinese culture," he said.
Like Hansgrohe and V&B, Gaggenau introduced some customized products in recent years in China. Its Vario 400 cooktop series, which combines top-grade materials, functions and delightful looks, became so popular that it helped create personalized kitchens, according to the company.
Its products permit a flexible combination of cooktops whose widths range from 38 cm to 90 cm. Thanks to precision crafting of the 3-millimeter stainless steel, appliances can be flush-mounted or surface-mounted with a visible edge.
Construction workers walk past a building of the headquarters of Fosun International, in Shanghai, China, Dec 14, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]
Fosun Group, one of China's most acquisitive conglomerates, is preparing to sell as much as 40 billion yuan ($6 billion) in assets as it turns its focus toward raising its credit rating to above junk.
As it steps back from the more than $15 billion in overseas purchases made or announced since 2010, the group plans to disclose the disposals between now and the end of 2017, Liang Xinjun, chief executive officer of flagship unit Fosun International Ltd, said in an interview aired on Bloomberg Television on Monday.
"We will sell assets to repay debts," Liang, 47, said in Shanghai. "We have ample capability to get investment grade ratings. So either strategically, or tactically, Fosun is crystal clear that this has become our strategy."
Fosun's dwindling appetite for foreign trophies - it owns Club Med, Wall Street's 28 Liberty building and Cirque du Soleil - makes it an outlier at a time when the likes of China National Chemical Corp and Dalian Wanda Group Co are pushing Chinese companies to their biggest-ever year of overseas acquisitions. Rather than joining the fray, Fosun is focusing on getting leaner before its next phase of growth.
Liang is one of the three founders running the insurance-to-mining conglomerate - the other two being Chairman Guo Guangchang and President Wang Qunbin - who spoke on July 24 with Bloomberg in a wide-ranging interview on topics ranging from their ambitions of turning the company into a $100 billion behemoth to the impacts of a possible Donald Trump presidency and Brexit. Guo, whose brief disappearance in December triggered a rout of Fosun shares, signaled the group will move away from centralized leadership.
As to the disposals, Liang pointed to about 30 billion yuan to 40 billion yuan in assets such as properties, bonds, and stock holdings that could be sold off. Fosun could part with more than that if it chose to because the company had 118 billion yuan of assets available for sale at the end of 2015, of which 102 billion yuan were parked in listed shares and bonds.
So what will they sell? The executives declined to say but Fosun's focus is shifting toward healthcare, finance and leisure. That means businesses such as steel and mining - which accounted for 73 percent of profit when the company went public in 2007 - are ripe for consideration to be sold.
Last year, Fosun sold stakes in Nanjing Iron & Steel Co and cashed out of Shenzhen-listed Focus Media Information Technology Co. The group is also pushing for initial public offerings of its units, including the tourism business that operates Club Med, Cirque du Soleil and UK travel group Thomas Cook, according to Liang.
Behind the motivation to sell are debt ratings. Fosun International is rated three levels below investment grade at Moody's Investors Service and two notches under the threshold at S&P Global Ratings.
Emerging from the junk stigma, which would benefit its key insurance business, has become such a priority for Fosun that the group elevated it last year as one of its top five strategies, according to Liang.
Bloomberg
A bank clerk in Huai'an city, East China's Jiangsu province, shows a bank card, March 31, 2015. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
Commercial banks have said they are stepping up their risk management of the credit and debit card business, as they face new challenges from criminals amid the rapid development of internet technologies, the China Banking Association said in its latest report.
The extent of the threat was outlined by an official with the economic crime investigation department of the Ministry of Public Security.
Police investigated and prosecuted more than 50,000 credit card fraud cases in 2015, accounting for about one-fourth of their entire economic crime cases, said Che Yaohua.
They also prosecuted 178 cases involving theft, purchase and illegal provision of credit card information during the same year, Che told a news conference for the release of a so-called blue book on the development of the bank card industry by the China Banking Association last week.
One of the new features of the cases shows that a growing number of criminals are moving away from offline to online crime, adopting up-to-date technologies, Che said.
She said they planted Trojan horses into mobile phones via phishing websites and pseudo base stations, committed fraud by using caller ID spoofing to pretend to be a bank's customer service agents, and stole bank card information in bulk.
The blue book listed pseudo cards, false identities and internet scams as the top three types of credit card frauds last year.
"Commercial banks should further improve risk control capabilities, increase investments in information technologies, strengthen the construction and implementation of internal control systems, and reinforce management of bank card business during the whole process," said Huang Jinbo, deputy director of the banking innovation supervision department of the China Banking Regulatory Commission.
"The key is to strike a balance between innovation and risk control. Simply emphasizing customer experience while overlooking safety hazards will harm the financial service industry in the long run," he added.
Fan Shuangwen, deputy director of the payment and settlement department of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said commercial lenders should use new technologies to improve bank card safety, enhance business management and standardize business processes.
As concerns over card safety keep growing, the China Banking Association advised bank card issuers to apply big data technologies to realize dynamic, refined and real-time risk management.
By the end of 2015, China issued a cumulative number of 5.61 billion debit and credit cards, rising 13 percent from the beginning of the year.
Industry watchdog says that consumers' interests could not be well safeguarded
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has ceased online sales of medicines on its Tmall platform as the government tightens its control over the country's nascent e-pharmacy industry.
Tmall, the business-to-consumer site of Alibaba, told its online vendors that the site will stop the online sales of medicines as of August 1, citing changes in government regulation.
Tmall said in a statement that it will "adjust its business model based on the new regulation in order to provide better service to customers within the law".
The change of regulation put an end to China's trial of selling drugs products directly to consumers via online third-party platforms. The change of regulation does not apply only to Tmall. Other e-commerce companies involved in selling drugs on third-party platforms, such as Yhd.com have also received the same ban.
A news report posted on the official website of China Food and Drug Administration said that "it is unclear which party (the e-commerce site or the online vendors) should take responsibility when drug products are sold online via third-party platforms".
"It is difficult to monitor the quality of drug products sold this way and it is not possible to protect the interests of consumers and ensure safe usage of drugs. Therefore, we decided to end the trial operation", said the report.
Analysts said that the regulation will not significantly hurt Tmall's medicine business, as only an estimated 20 percent of its sales are drug products. The other 80 percent are health products and medical equipment.
"However, the regulation is a setback for the country's online pharmacy industry," said Lu Zhenwang, an independent internet expert and chief executive officer of the Shanghai-based Wanqing Consultancy.
"Many of China's brick-and-mortar drug chains are allowed to sell medicine to consumers directly online. But they are too small to make a big impact," he said.
British students hold UK and European Union flags in front of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, June 23, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]
Relations with China unlikely to be affected much by vote to leave EU
The United Kingdom remains an attractive destination for Chinese investors after Brexit, and investing in the healthcare sector offers potential, Matt Siddle, a portfolio manager at global asset management company Fidelity International, told China Daily.
"The UK economy will continue to be sound after Brexit and the pool of skilled and flexible workers is large in the UK. So there are many reasons for the United Kingdom to be a popular destination for Chinese investors," said Siddle.
Siddle said investing in healthcare companies in the UK offers good opportunities.
"Healthcare is a long-term structural growth story with increasing demand from an aging population, and the outlook for pharmaceutical companies is improving as their new drug pipelines are healthy, the cost of R&D has declined substantially and the first cycle review approvals of new drugs has increased," said Siddle.
"With attractive valuations, the healthcare sector is definitely one of the most attractive areas with growth opportunities," he added.
Siddle also said the UK stock market has not been impacted much by the Brexit because most of the earnings of the companies listed on the bourse are generated from outside of the country. Less than 30 percent of the revenue of firms listed on the FTSE 100 index comes from the UK.
"The vote to leave the EU had a negative impact on investor sentiment on UK equities, but it also creates opportunities for investors to buy good-quality companies with cash-generative businesses at a discounted price," added Siddle.
Fidelity said in the last 18 months European markets have been supported by macro factors such as falling oil prices and euro depreciation, as well as ample liquidity injected through the European Central Bank's expanded quantitative easing program.
"In light of the referendum result, central bank policy is likely to remain supportive and European equity market valuations will benefit from Chinese stimulus measures, and mergers and acquisitions," said Siddle.
Wu Weijun, chief partner of PwC Beijing, said the referendum result was a disappointment because economic interconnectivity is the future and Brexit is a step back.
"But I don't think China-UK relations will be impacted much by Brexit," said Wu.
According to Wu, multinational companies should continue to have strategic cooperation with the UK.
Bilateral trade between China and the EU was $564.85 billion last year, while trade between China and the UK reached $78.54 billion, according to the General Administration of Customs.
Hangzhou Party Secretary Zhao Yide meets the press in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, on Aug 1, 2016, introducing the preparation work of the upcoming G20 summit. [Photo/CRIENGLISH.com]
BEIJING - China's tourism industry raked in 2.25 trillion yuan ($346 billion) in revenue in the first half of the year, up 12.4 percent year on year, official statistics showed on Monday.
Domestic tourists made 2.24 billion trips in the first half, an increase of 10.5 percent. Inbound and outbound trips edged up 4.1 percent to 127 million, China National Tourism Administration (NTA) said.
Tourism has become a strong engine for economic growth. The sector contributed 10.8 percent to GDP last year and created 10.2 percent of new jobs, according to NTA data.
China's spending in the tourism sector is likely to triple by 2020, to 3 trillion yuan, said NTA head Li Jinzao, during the First World Conference on Tourism for Development in May.
China invested more than 1 trillion yuan in the sector last year, an increase of 42 percent from one year before, according to Li.
KAMPONG SPEU, Cambodia - Cambodia on Tuesday inaugurated the 140 km national road No 44 here, which had been built under a concessional loan from China.
The road is off the national road No 4, going through four districts in western Kampong Speu province and ending at the national road No 5.
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Bu Jianguo presided over the inauguration ceremony, which was attended by government officials, diplomatic corps and about 10,000 locals.
Hun Sen said the road was essential to facilitate travel and goods transport in the province, expressing his sincere thanks to China for her support to the project.
Ambassador Bu said she is confident that the road will contribute to improving the livelihood of residents along the road.
The road had been constructed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation in a period of 40 months.
Beijing-based Didi, the dominant ride-hailing service provider in China, said in a statement on Monday that it will buy Uber's China operation. [Photo/IC]
The Ministry of Commerce said it hasn't received business declaration from Didi Chuxing and Uber Technologies Inc though both companies announced merger Monday.
Under the deal, Didi Chuxing agreed to acquire the China business of its rival Uber Technologies Inc.
All businesses with large operation scale that may monopolize the market must submit business declaration to the Ministry of Commerce for record, as well as wait for further anti-trust investigation. Companies without such clearance will not be allowed to carry out merger and acquisition in China.
Shen Danyang, the ministry's spokesman, said as these two companies haven't submitted business declaration to the ministry, their merger will not become effective and legal.
Didi Chuxing and its previous rival Kuaidi also didn't submit business declaration to the Ministry of Commerce when they merged last year, according to the ministry.
More than 30 people from the Billings community came out Monday evening for the Back the Blue Rally organized to show support for local law enforcement in the area.
Representatives of the Yellowstone County Sheriff's office and Montana Highway Patrol were present outside the Yellowstone County Courthouse as people gathered for the event a few minutes before 5:09 p.m.
The time was selected, organizers said, based on a biblical reference found in Matthew 5:9: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Kids carrying signs with slogans supporting officers and written messages of support walked around the rally gathering more messages for officers. Faith Chapel Youth Pastor Shane O'Brien led a prayer and a moment of silence was observed for law enforcement across the nation.
Mekka Pertuit, 12, carrying a "We see you" sign, said she wanted to reassure law enforcement that their actions are noticed. Mekka's mother, Kira Pertuit, organized the event along with Echo Jamieson.
Pertuit said she and several members of a womens ministry named Beautifully Designed were in Dallas to attend the funeral of five officers killed by a sniper on July 7. Cities in all 50 states participated in the women's ministry's rally, Pertuit said.
The event was a "small gesture" of support for law enforcement, Pertuit said.
Yellowstone County Undersheriff Kevin Evans was at the event along with his wife, Michelle.
Michelle Evans said when she first met her husband, it seemed there was a little less danger to being a law enforcement officer.
"To watch him leave every day and to have our kids watch him leave," Michelle Evans said. "We pray daily he comes home safe."
She said even though she and her family worry, her husband makes her proud. She said the law enforcement family around her husband is filled with great men and women, who are knit together through tight bond of understanding.
"They have to wonder every day who hates them," Michelle Evans said. "It's good to look around and see, the majority of people support them."
Kevin Evans said the climate has made him more aware of his surroundings during daily patrol, but that he has felt the support of the local community. He said people approached him at Saturday's Fiesta Car Show and said that they support their local police.
Kevin Evans later passed out stickers to some of the kids who came to the event.
Jackson Eckley, 8, was one of the kids who came out to show his support of police. He said police protect people and are really helpful and that is why he likes them.
The event in the courthouse lasted about 10 minutes, and after, Pertuit asked everyone to follow the handprints plastered around the courthouse, police station and sheriff's office. The prints were done a few hours earlier by young volunteers.
Back the Blue bags, which include bottles of water, lip balm and messages of support, will be distributed during the rest of the week to local law officers in the area.
A model for an auto show in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, uses the Didi Chuxing car-hailing service to commute from her college to the auto show. [Photo/China Daily]
Fares likely to rise as the two operators will not need to pay out heavy subsidies
The top two ride-hailing companies in China are expected to soon end the costly fight over the largest such market in the world, with Didi Chuxing agreeing to acquire the China business of its rival Uber Technologies Inc.
Beijing-based Didi, the dominant ride-hailing service provider in China, said in a statement on Monday that it will buy Uber's China operation.
The deal will make the two former competitors a small shareholder of each other's business.
Users of the companies' ride-hailing apps will likely see fares rise, as the two operators will not need to resort to heavy subsidies to woo passengers, analysts said.
Uber will continue to operate independently in China. Uber Technologies and Uber China's other shareholders will receive a 20 percent economic stake in the combined company as part of the deal, according to Didi.
Didi founder Cheng Wei and Uber Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick will join each other's boards.
Cheng said: "Didi Chuxing and Uber have learned a great deal from each other over the past two years. The cooperation with Uber will see the entire mobile transportation industry in China enter a new phase of a healthier and more sustainable development."
The move came after the central government legalized ride-hailing services, dispelling regulatory uncertainties over the further expansion of Didi and Uber in China.
Wang Xiaofeng, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc, said the main reason behind the merger is to cut costs in the battle between the companies for leadership of China's fast-growing ride-hailing market.
"It is only natural that passengers will find decreasing subsidies when hailing rides via the apps," she said.
Uber has spent at least $1 billion a year to gain ground in China, while Didi has been offering its own subsidies to drivers and riders to build its business.
Wang Siyuan, a white-collar worker in Shanghai, said she enjoys using Uber due to the convenience and good fares brought by competition. "If the fare rise is not too much after the merger, I will certainly keep using the apps," she said.
Turning foes into families has many precedents in China's fiercely competitive internet market. Didi Chuxing emerged from a merger between the top two players Didi and Kuaidi on Valentine's Day last year.
Zhang Xu, an Analysys International analyst, said the merger will mean that smaller players in China's internet-enabled chauffeur service market will soon feel the pinch.
"The combined market share of Didi and Uber in China's chauffeur service is more than 80 percent. Their dominant position will bring more competition to smaller players and force them to improve the quality of service to gain user loyalty," he said.
Yao Weiqun, vice-president of the Shanghai WTO Affairs Consultation Center, said that as Didi and Uber China hold dominant positions in the domestic ride-hailing market, the authorities will have to determine whether the merger breaks antimonopoly regulations.
"Compared with other ride-hailing companies, the tie-up of Didi and Uber will bring even more pressure to China's traditional taxi industry," he said.
Uber, which entered China about two years ago, makes more than 150 million trips a month. Didi said that its platform handles 16 million orders a day.
Zhong Nan contributed to this story.
From left to right: Zhang Yao, Kris Wu, Lu Shan. [Photo/IC]
Sweet Sixteen, an idol drama starring Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan, is premiering on screen this Friday.
The romance movie, which mainly develops around the emotional conflicts between a girl and two boys, is more than a love triangle.
It is also a story of growing up. Xia Mu, the character played by Wu, loses his parents at a young age, which then leads to autism, until he meet Ya Wang, a simple and kind girl.
At the news conference on Monday, Kris Wu said this might be his last love drama for some time, as he would like to try different roles.
The daughter of PLA Navy pilot Zhang Chao sleeps on his uniform. Her father died after ejecting from his fighter plane when it malfunctioned during a training exercise in April. Provided to China Daily.
The widow of a PLA Navy pilot has made public letters she wrote on her WeChat account after the death of her husband, the first Chinese aircraft carrier pilot to die in the line of duty.
Zhang Ya, who married Navy pilot Zhang Chao in 2011, wrote of the happy times she spent with her husband.
She has also told of the unbearable pain caused by his death and how hard it has been for her to answer questions from their daughter.
The story of her husband, Zhang Chao, was broadcast by China Central Television in a prime time news program on Sunday and Monday, while other Chinese media also published reports about him.
Zhang Chao died on April 27, several days before he and other pilots were scheduled to conduct their first landing on the CNS Liaoning, the country's first and only aircraft carrier. According to the training plan, Zhang was to make seven takeoffs at a naval base before his first carrier landing, the Navy said.
The tragedy happened when Zhang was about to land his J-15 fighter jet on a runway at the carrier-borne aviation force's training base.
The plane went out of control due to a mechanical malfunction despite Zhang, a lieutenant commander, trying his best to save it. He was forced to eject from the aircraft at low altitude and died later from his injuries in a hospital after his parachute failed to open.
News of his death saw many Chinese internet users express their condolences,
A Sina Weibo micro-blogger using the name Shanghaichengyu wrote, "Please do not forget Zhang Chao when China has a strong carrier force."
Another user, PLAJia, wrote: "Every service member deserves to be called great. They sacrifice their youth and even their lives to safeguard us."
A tree is ripped apart as Typhoon Nida makes landfall in South China's Guangdong province on early morning of Aug 2, 2016. [Photo/IC]]
Typhoon Nida landed at 3:35 am Tuesday at the Dapeng Peninsula in the city of Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, local weather authorities said.
The strong typhoon packing winds up to 151.2 km per hour is moving northwest at 25 km per hour, and is expected to sweep across the cities of Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Foshan and Zhaoqing to Guangdong's neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, according to Guangdong provincial weather authorities.
Dozens of flights, trains and ferries scheduled for Monday and Tuesday were canceled on Monday as China issued its highest alert for Typhoon Nida, which was heading toward Guangdong province and neighboring southern areas.
Nida, the fourth typhoon to hit China this year, was moving northwest toward southern and southeastern China. It was forecast to make landfall in the central coastal part of Guangdong on Tuesday morning, said DongLin, an expert in typhoon forecasting at the National Meteorological Center.
The center issued a red alert, the highest emergency response among the four-tier national system, on Monday afternoon, warning of squalls, heavy rain and rough seas.
"The typhoon may grow stronger as it edges closer and reach its peak when landing," Dong said on Monday, adding that winds of up to 172 kilometers per hour, or force 15 on the Beaufort scale, were possible at the typhoon's peak.
Niu Ruoyun, another forecaster at the center, said the Pearl River Delta would be the region hit by the strongest downpours through Tuesday night, with the volume of rainfall possibly reaching 100 millimeters per hour in some areas.
The typhoon was expected to affect large regions of the south and southeast, including Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Niu said.
Guangdong has geared up efforts against the typhoon, which will be the first to hit the province this year, by issuing a red alert that took effect at 2 pm on Monday.
Zhou Yawei, deputy mayor of Guangzhou, the province's capital, ordered all construction sites to halt work, while schools were to suspend classes and residents were encouraged to stay indoors.
All the city's emergency shelters will be open to the public, the city government's statement said.
Ferry services connecting Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong were suspended on Monday. About 100 trains heading for and departing from cities in Guangdong province have been canceled or will change lines to avoid the typhoon until Wednesday, according to statements from provincial train stations.
For example, all trains heading for Hainan were halted, and trains linking Guangzhou and Zhuhai were to be suspended on Tuesday. Dozens of flights in three major airports in the province also were canceled or delayed due to the coming typhoon.
In other affected provinces, governments also issued high alerts on Monday, requiring full preparations for the typhoon, including that all fishing boats must remain sheltered.
Wuzhou, the city hit by an earthquake on Sunday, was warned to be prepared for landslides or other downpour-triggered geological disasters on Monday and Tuesday, said Dong, of the National Meteorological Center.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs urged the affected governments on Monday to closely monitor the typhoon's movements and update warnings and information to the public in a timely manner.
The China National Commission for Disaster Reduction recommended that residents in the affected regions stock up on enough daily necessities for one to three days.
The missile destroyer Jinan of the People's Liberation Army Navy fires an anti-ship missile during a military drill held in the East China Sea on Monday. [Photo by DAI ZONGFENG/For CHINA DAILY]
The Chinese Navy conducted a drill on Monday in the East China Sea that was intended to test "to the largest extent" its combat ability and equipment.
From the coastal city of Ningbo, in East China's Zhejiang province, Xinhua News Agency reported that the drill involved more than a hundred warships, squadrons of fighter jets, some land-based defense troops and radar, communication and electronic countermeasure forces.
The Donghai (East China Sea) Fleet, as well as some forces from the Beihai (North China Sea) and Nanhai (South China Sea) fleets, participated in the Navy's 11th annual military exercises, led by Admiral Wu Shengli, commander of the People's Liberation Army Navy.
Shen Yu, director of the Donghai Fleet training department, told Xinhua that the exercises tested various missiles and multiple-direction operations.
The warships successfully conducted several missile-interception operations, Xinhua reported.
Chen Shengqi, head of the drill's team of appraising experts, was quoted as saying that the warships had handled air, underwater and surface threats that closely resembled real combat.
The People's Liberation Army marked its 89th anniversary on Monday, which was also Army Day.
The exercises were the latest in a series of drills conducted amid rising maritime tensions. In July, the Navy held two South China Sea drills.
A number of additional exercises are planned as the country picks up the pace of its military reform, characterized by a historic shift in the PLA's organization and structure to gain a more efficient command system.
Peng Guangqian, deputy secretary-general of the China Council for National Security Policy Studies, said that in combination with the rapid development of China's military equipment and weapons, it is natural that the number of military exercises has increased.
The maritime challenges China faces are increasing, as well, making it necessary for the Navy to raise its ability to cope with the threats, Peng said.
Additionally, China's relationship with Japan remains tense over the Diaoyu Islands and that the mainland's ties with Taiwan have soured since the island's new leader took office in May, he said.
Han Chunyu
Chinese geneticist Han Chunyu defended the authenticity of his gene-editing technique after the head of a genetics lab in Australia said the lab was unable to replicate it.
Han's paper describing his research findings on a new gene-editing technology called NgAgo was published online in early May by Nature Biotechnology, a monthly scientific journal of Nature Publishing Group. It drew international attention immediately.
Just three months later, some peer scientists began to question the research's viability, largely because they have not been able to replicate the results so far.
On Friday, Gaetan Burgio, who heads the transgenesis lab of Australian National University, wrote on his Twitter account that he had found no evidence for genome editing using NgAgo after multiple attempts.
Han's paper contradicted the conditions needed for a successful replication, Burgio said. In a previous statement, Burgio said the NgAgo technique is efficient in editing gene fragments of mice.
Han, 42, an associate professor at Hebei University of Science and Technology, vowed to repeat the experimental results.
Responding to requests that he disclose the original experimental data, he said he'd like to do that upon the journal's request. Nature Biotechnology has not made such a request so far.
Han was quoted by Chinese media as saying, "It's like they ganged up against NgAgo."
The new technology had been touted as being better than the current mainstream gene-editing technique called CRISPR/Cas9 in precision, efficiency and flexibility, saying it helps solve the "off-target effect" problema major issue with CRISPR/Cas9 in which useful parts of genomes are sometimes removed while editing targeted parts. The NgAgo method is theoretically thousands of times more accurate, earlier reports said.
Also, it's about more than just the science: It comes with a potentially huge business impact, according to an opinion published by Qilu Net, a regional news portal in China, especially for companies already heavily invested in the CRISPR technology.
NgAgo is a possible replacement for CRISPR once it is widely confirmed, and that inevitably undermines colossal business interests and investments based on CRISPR, the portal said.
The primary developers of CRISPR/Cas9 have gone on to establish their own companies and commercialize the technology.
Also in May, Caribou Biosciences, which was co-founded by CRISPR/Cas9 co-developer Jennifer Doudna, announced the completion of a $30 million Series B financing round.
At the same time, Editas Medicine, co-founded by Zhang Feng of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, along with Doudna and other scientists, announced a three-year, $5 million agreement with the nonprofit Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics.
A Beijing-based researcher who didn't want to be named told China Daily on Monday that it's too early to cast doubt on Han's research findings or to jump to any conclusions.
"That Han's experimental results cannot be replicated so far doesn't mean it cannot be in the future," the researcher said. "The issue should be left to time and peer scientists. Give it at least three to five years."
In May, Han shot to fame overnight to become one of the hottest web celebrities in China, but he maintained a low profile, saying, "I didn't expect all the attention. I only want to focus on science and experiments."
Terns are adapting to their new home in Sanya, Hainan province, after a 3,300-kilometer journey from Qingdao, Shandong province. Wu Wei / For China Daily
About 44 juvenile terns, all artificially incubated, arrived recently in their new home in Sanya, the tropical resort city of Hainan province, after a four-day journey from Qingdao, Shandong province.
The move was part of a project to revive the bird species' habitat. The terns will be domesticated before being released to the sky. Artificial propagation of the birds will also be carried out.
Sanya and nearby waters were once home to a large population of gull species, including seagulls and terns.
The project was initiated by the Blue Ribbon Ocean Conservation Society in March. It's a nonprofit group, established in Sanya in 2007, that focuses on protection of the ocean environment.
"We have been to Zhejiang and Yunnan provinces, as well as other places that were known as ideal habitats for seagulls and terns in China to investigate, and we talked with local experts about the birds for several months. Finally we decided to introduce birds from Qingdao," said Bian Yuqin, a society staff worker.
"All of the juvenile terns were incubated from eggs rescued by the Qingdao Wildlife Rescue Association from abandoned nests or eggs that were on their way to dining tables," Bian said.
Zhang Shiping, the head of the association, who has been studying wild birds for more than 15 years, said the seagull is a kind of migratory bird, so it would be possible for them to live in Sanya. Terns, also a gull species, were chosen because young wild seagulls cannot be domesticated, he said.
"I was worried a lot that the birds would not survive the long journey to the new environment, but it seems that they took it very well and adapted to their new home quickly. I am relieved now: All of them are finding food in the feed trough we prepared," Bian said.
The 44 terns, with the help of bird experts, will be taught to recognize different whistles and respond to commands - for example, being told to go back to the cage.
Luo Jiuru, an 81-year-old expert on marine environments, who has called for bringing seagulls back to Sanya for decades, was excited to see terns in Sanya again. She witnessed seagulls in the skies in the 1970s.
"Sanya is now undertaking an ecology recovery project. Rivers are cleaner, more trees and grasses are being planted and the seagulls are being seen in Sanya again," Luo told Hainan Daily.
"Sanya has a better environment now, and this makes the project much easier," she said.
Many buildings were not well-planned and pose hygiene problems, fire risks
Officials called it "a sheer rumor" that buildings at a prominent Buddhist academy in Sichuan province are being permanently demolished and that monks are being driven out.
On the contrary, they said, the plan is to replace the buildings with better, safer ones.
Photos showing buildings being torn down were posted and forwarded on messaging platform WeChat recently. The sender of the photos claimed the buildings belonged to the Wuming Buddhist Academy in Sertar county, Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture, and that monks were being forced to move.
The photos caused a stir, with a few travel agencies in the province even trying to cash in by luring tourists to "visit the last Wuming Buddhist academy".
But an official of the Sertar county government, who didn't want to be named, said in a phone interview on Monday that demolition at the academy - a top destination for Tibetan Buddhism studies in China and the world's largest such institute - will be followed by reconstruction that will create more order and improve safety.
"The efforts are made to improve the institute rather than demolishing it and driving away the monks," she said.
Hua Ke, head of the United Front Work Department of the Sertar County Committee of the Communist Party of China, said the structures at the academy, which were built in 1980, were designed haphazardly, without regard to geological risks, and they have hidden dangers, as well as problems of hygiene. They also lack modern fire-suppression systems, he said.
Residential structures need to be demolished to reduce fire and landslide dangers, and to improve hygiene, he said.
One Buddhist who studied in the academy for eight years confirmed that many buildings appear to have been thrown up without careful planning and said nine fires have occurred in recent years.
A fire in January 2014 destroyed a number of buildings and brought economic losses of more than 2.3 million yuan ($346,000).
In addition, many of the buildings are situated in valleys, and these face the danger of rain-induced landslides, he said, adding that rubbish can be found everywhere because there are too many people.
The academy accommodates more than 4,000 people, including monks, nuns and believers from Tibetan and Han ethnicities, according to official records.
Hua said the governments of Sichuan province, the Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture and Sertar county have supported the academy with preferential policies and financial aid, and thanks to that support it has grown to its current size.
Liu Xiaoling, a resident of Chengdu who has visited the academy several times, either alone or with friends, said it appeals strongly to outside visitors who are curious about Tibetan Buddhism. Each year, tens of thousands of people drive to Serdar to see it.
Chris Rudd, provost of University of Nottingham Ningbo China in an interview with China Daily, July 2, 2016.[Photo by Wei Xiaohao/China Daily]
Most of the "big bosses" of universities, both in and out of China, don't teach undergraduate classes, but Chris Rudd, provost of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, is an exception.
Having taken over the management of the oldest Sino-foreign university in China in August 2015, the professor of mechanics and materials taught second and final year undergraduates every week during his first academic cycle on the dynamic campus.
Calling it "deeply satisfying" to work with students and help them overcome challenges in their studies in professional courses and English language skills, Rudd said he actually chose to deliver classes out of his own need to get to know the thinking of his students and their parents.
"In making decisions about how we are going to grow this place, it's super important that we understand where the students are coming from and what their attitudes are," he said, adding that getting along with undergraduates on a weekly basis enables him to find out more about that.
Rudd also thinks it's an opportunity for him to talk to parents explain such things as why the tuition at Nottingham Ningbo - 80,000 yuan ($12,000) - is dozens of times more than that of domestic universities in China.
Although he loves teaching, Rudd said he still finds it challenging, as 95 percent of the undergraduates in his classes are Chinese, which means he has to put all his lessons in a Chinese context while working hard to get the same kind of interactive learning style that teachers would expect to have in a Western university.
"You may be giving the same class you've given for 10 years in the UK, but to get the same or even better learning outcomes here, you've got to work hard to challenge yourself, as well as challenge your students," he said, after realizing that Chinese students are not very active participants in class.
"So you've got to use different methods to make them interact, because if you don't try to attract them, they won't be getting value from the education, which they just paid a lot of money for."
Like other professors, Rudd also has office hours for his students.
Although the times are not as fixed as those of other faculty members, students can still send e-mails to him to make a reservation and talk about their studies.
Rudd said it's really exciting to teach while running the university, especially helping students break through difficulties in studies, whether it's a difficult concept or technical terminology.
Top think tank's members emerge as PLA overhauled
A mysterious think tank behind China's substantial military reform has emerged into public view, amid President Xi Jinping's calls for stronger armed forces.
As the country began a major overhaul of the People's Liberation Army in 2013, the Central Military Commission - China's top military organ - set up a leading group for deepening national defense and military reform. Since then, massive reforms have occurred in the PLA, including the introduction of five theater commands covering five parts of the country.
Cai Hongshuo, deputy head of the expert advisory panel to the military's leading reform team, briefed leaders during a study seminar on Wednesday held by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, the Party's top organ, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The seminar focused on national defense and military reform, and Cai "delivered a lecture on the issue and offered some suggestions" before key members of the Party, including Xi, according to Xinhua.
The current rank of Cai, previously known as a researcher with the Central Military Commission's General Office, is not clear. Cai is the first member of the advisory body to appear on China Central Television's prime time news.
Another team deputy, Liu Jixian, a retired lieutenant general and former vice-president of the PLA Academy of Military Science, first made his current title public last year when he wrote a foreword for a book about military reform.
Yang Zhiqi, 70, another retired PLA lieutenant general and former assistant general chief of staff, emerged as the team's chief at a meeting in Beijing in March about defense industry integration, according to an online report by China Securities Journal.
Yin Zhuo, director of the Expert Consultation Committee of the People's Liberation Army Navy, said one of the priorities of military reform is to seek greater advantage in military technologies and to increase the contribution of technological innovation to combat capabilities.
Li Chen, an expert on strategic issue studies at Renmin University of China, said the emergence of the team's members "will help the outside world better understand the ongoing military reform".
"Their previous posts are important. Taking Liu as an example, his PLA Academy of Military Sciences is a leading think tank for the Central Military Commission. ... Their career backgrounds offer a wide range of relevant studies and practices on the front line," Li said.
Li also noted that the expert team is only one of the brain power sources supporting the military reform, and that many seminars have been held.
PLA Daily, the military's official newspaper, unveiled some details about the intended role of the advisory team in December.
The overall plan for the reform "combines both decision-making by the leaders and assistance by the experts", and ideas have been solicited from more than 900 retired officers and experts, the PLA Daily report said.
The China Food and Drug Administration has suspended online pharmacy business with immediate effect due to a lack of supervision.
"I support the suspension. Medicines are different from other products, and should be brought under the supervision of medical personnel."
Tan Jinying, English major in Wuhan, Hubei province
"Online pharmacies can only sell over-the-counter medicines anyway. Our pharmacy also runs an online store, providing delivery services, saving time and energy for our clients."
Lu Yuxin, pharmacy employee in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province
"It's an extreme measure. It's the responsibility of the authorities to supervise the online business. Rules should be set in this sector."
Qu Xueyi, physics major in Harbin, Heilongjiang province
"I prefer to buy medicines at the pharmacy, where I can consult pharmacists. For prescription drugs, seeing a doctor is necessary."
Hu Jing, civil servant in Chongqing
The government will provide training to migrant workers as part of an effort encouraging them to return to their hometowns and start their own businesses over the next five years, in hope of generating more local jobs and alleviating poverty.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said it will take five years to leverage the capabilities of more than 277 million migrant workers to start businesses through education, vocational training, consultation and financial subsidies.
"We will tailor training, establish incubators and provide follow-up support," the ministry said.
Businesses with low thresholds are considered the most suitable choices, including village-themed tourism, traditional handicrafts and farm products.
Since the adoption of reform and opening-up policy in 1978, many peasants have left their villages and farms to work at construction sites, factories and restaurants in cities. Labor-intensive industries have absorbed millions of them and contributed to China's fast development.
However, as the country seeks to transition to an economy led by consumer spending and innovation, they were also forced to reflect on their career paths.
According to a report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, more than 66 percent of polled migrant workers said they would like to return to their hometowns. The top five reasons were age, unattended parents and children, lack of skills that employers needed, unattended farms and the lack of a sense of belonging in cities.
Wang Zili, 46, from Anhui province, is a migrant worker who returned home. He had been taking temporary jobs - mostly painting - in several provinces and cities. He came up with the idea of doing business at home when he was employed by an electronics company in Taizhou, Zhejiang province.
"I thought my job was very easy and asked the boss whether I could take some materials home and return the finished products to the factory. The boss agreed," said Wang.
Wang returned to his hometown and established his own workshop in 2012.
"Most of the workers are women, seniors and the disabled left behind by men working in the cities, while more and more men are returning home," said Wang.
Cui Chuanyi, a researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council, said returning migrant workers will create millions of small and medium-sized enterprises and help farmers to find jobs near their families.
Contact the writers at suzhou@chinadaily.com.cn
Tibetan horsemen ride in traditional dress as they demonstrate their skills at the annual riding festival in Yushu, Qinghai province, last week. [Photo/Agences]
Thundering across the vast Himalayan plateau in traditional finery, Tibetan horsemen gather for an annual riding festival that is a feast for the eyes.
Multicolored prayer flags inscribed with religious texts flutter in the breeze, and tents line the green hills surrounding the racing ground in Yushu, in the northwestern Chinese province of Qinghai.
The area is home to many of China's Tibetans.
Spectators at the event - including local Tibetan women in traditional dresses known as chuba, and monks in red robes - lined up to enter a stadium where the atmosphere was relaxed and jovial.
One woman in a blue and orange dress stood in front of a pyramid of prayer flags, brandishing an umbrella to protect herself from the harsh sunlight of the high-altitude plateau.
The horses are the real draw - brown steeds bedecked in yellow and green ribbons, mounted by riders whose long hair flows in the wind beneath azure skies.
The festival, begun in the 1990s, lasts for around five days. It was suspended for several years following the 2010 earthquake in Yushu that killed 2,700 people.
The Tibetan people of the area - known as Kham - are famed for their equine skills.
Shows of horsemanship and archery are the festival's main events, drawing hundreds of spectators.
Government officials say that they hope to use the festival to showcase Tibetan culture and bring tourism to the remote region.
"You can see the Tibetan fashion show - the jewelry, the nice clothes and dancing," said one Tibetan spectator. "A lot of Chinese tourists and foreigners come to watch."
(China Daily)
Pilot Zhang Chao poses for a photo before flying a J-15 "Flying Shark" fighter jet. The 29-year-old lieutenant commander died in April during a routine training exercise. [Photo provided to China Daily]
The People's Liberation Army, which celebrated the 89th anniversary of its foundation on Monday, is building up a naval-aviation division to safeguard China's maritime interests. Zhao Lei reports.
For most Chinese people, the People's Liberation Army Navy's aircraft carrier and carrier-based aviation force are some of the most mysterious military units, and also the ones they most want to know about.
Only a very small number of people outside the PLA, which was founded on Aug 1, 1927, have been invited to visit the CNS Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier. Everyone else merely sees the colossal vessel and its planes once or twice a year on the TV news.
The only time the carrier-based aircraft have been displayed publically was during a parade on Sept 3 last year to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and China's victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).
That morning, five J-15 "Flying Shark" carrier-borne fighter jets, led by Senior Captain Dai Mingmeng, commander of the PLA Navy's carrier-based aviation force, flew over Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, exciting the crowds as an announcer introduced them as the nation's first fixed-wing carrier-based jets.
China commissioned the CNS Liaoning in September 2012. Two months later, Dai landed a J-15 on the carrier's flight deck, becoming the first Chinese pilot to do so. In May 2013, the carrier-borne aircraft unit, the first of its kind in the PLA Navy, was established.
Although it's only about three years since the unit came into being, the carrier-borne force has already trained several groups of J-15 pilots, Dai said at a media briefing at a naval-aviation base.
"It will not take long for us to attain full operational capability on the aircraft carrier," he said. "My pilots train very hard. Their biggest wish is to become good carrier-based fliers as quickly as possible and then safeguard our motherland's interests from above the oceans."
The unit has made tremendous progress and improvements in training, and is moving closer to forming a combat-ready force, the PLA Navy said.
Tragedy
The military has rarely publicized pilot's stories, so few people know the hardships and struggles they experience and the sacrifices they make. That changed when the PLA Navy decided to tell the story of Zhang Chao, a J-15 pilot who died in April during a routine training exercise.
The 29-year-old lieutenant commander was the first member of the unit to die in the line of duty.
On the afternoon of April 27, Zhang was preparing to land after a routine training session, when the computer on his J-15 suddenly reported a malfunction in the flight-control system. Within seconds, the aircraft had pitched by 80 degrees and began soaring skyward. An investigation concluded that Zhang had tried unsuccessfully to save the plane, and he had no option but to eject from the cockpit before the fighter aircraft crashed.
Because the plane was at a relatively low altitude, there wasn't time for his parachute to be fully deployed before Zhang hit the ground. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but died as a result of serious internal injuries.
Zhang was recruited by the PLA Navy in 2004 after graduating from a middle school in Yueyang, Hunan province. He trained as a fighter jet pilot for five years and in 2009 he joined a naval aviation squadron.
Inspired by the media coverage of Dai's maneuvers on the CNS Liaoning, the young pilot decided to employ every means possible to join the carrier-based unit.
"When I met Zhang during the selection procedures, I told him that being a fighter jet pilot on the carrier meant accepting all possible risks. However, he replied that his dream was to fly the best aircraft on the carrier and that someone had to do the risky job," Dai recalled.
In March last year, Zhang passed the stringent selection procedures and became a pilot in the carrier-based aviation force.
Senior Captain Zhang Ye, the unit's chief of staff, said Zhang Chao always trained hard and made rapid progress after he joined the J-15 team.
"The young man set a high goal and strict standards for himself in training because he wanted to become a good J-15 pilot as quickly as possible," he said, adding that Zhang Chao also had volunteered to help compile a guidebook on the use of airborne weapons.
Other pilots who trained with Zhang Chao at the unit have decided to perform a ceremony to remember their fallen comrade when they land on the CNS Liaoning for the first time, according to Captain Sun Baosong, deputy commander of the unit's J-15 squadron, who worked with Zhang Chao.
"Flying a J-15 above the carrier was Zhang Chao's biggest wish. We will fulfill that wish for him," Sun said.
Contact the writer at zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn
Like many aviation fans, I love Top Gun, the legendary 1986 action movie that starred Tom Cruise and the F-14 Tomcat fighter jet. The movie implanted the idea in me that being a fighter pilot on an aircraft carrier is one of the coolest and riskiest jobs in the world.
Impressed by the film, I started learning about aircraft carriers. I wished that my country could have at least one such ship and that pilots of the People's Liberation Army Navy could fly advanced planes to patrol the oceans.
However, when I first watched the movie, about 16 years ago, the PLA Navy only had a few small, antiquated destroyers and frigates and decades-old submarines. Having an aircraft carrier and a carrier strike group seemed like a pipedream.
Time flies. The passing years have witnessed my transformation from student to a military news reporter and I've written many stories about the rapid development of the Chinese military. I watched as the nation's first aircraft carrier, the CNS Liaoning, entered service in 2012, and when it conducted a strike group drill in the South China Sea a year later.
I have visited the carrier four times and spoken with many of those who serve on her, from the captain to the lowest-ranked sailors. I spent my 32nd birthday accompanying the vessel's deputy commander on his daily tour of inspection when the carrier was taking part in a multi-vessel exercise in the South China Sea.
I think it's fair to say I know the ship better than most Chinese people. However, I had never had the opportunity to interview a J-15 pilot until last month, when I was one of a small group of Chinese reporters invited to the Navy's carrier-based aviation unit to cover Zhang Chao's death.
The pilots I spoke with looked sad because their brother officer had died in the course of duty, but they did not seem depressed.
"We all know there are risks behind what we do, but we don't think about them too much," Captain Sun Baosong, deputy commander of the J-15 squadron, told me. Sun trained with Zhang at the carrier-based aviation unit.
"What we need to do now is to perform our duties well - that's what I believe Zhang would want us to do," the senior pilot said.
Lieutenant Yuan Wei, who also trained with Zhang, said senior officers including Dai Mingmeng, the unit's commander, took the lead and flew J-15s after the accident to inspire the other pilots. "We trust our leaders," he said.
The stronger you want to be, the more risks you have to handle. This has never been truer than for today's Chinese Navy. I don't think this will be the last obstacle the Navy will have to overcome before it builds a strong aircraft carrier force, but I do believe that it won't be long before China's Navy pilots are patrolling the oceans.
China's supreme court clarifies maritime jurisdiction (Xinhua) Updated: 2016-08-02 10:06
BEIJING - The Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Tuesday issued a regulation of judicial interpretation to clarify China's jurisdiction over its territorial seas.
The explanation provides clear legal basis for China to safeguard maritime order, marine safety and interests, and to exercise integrated management over the country's jurisdictional seas, said an SPC statement.
The regulation, taking effect on Tuesday, stated that Chinese citizens or foreigners would be pursued criminal liability if they were engaged in illegal hunting or fishing, or killing endangered wildlife in China's jurisdictional seas.
An activist accused of subversion, damaging national security and harming social stability pleaded guilty as a high-profile trial got under way at Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People's Court on Tuesday.
Zhai Yanmin is accused of posting statements and comments online since 2012 in a bid to subvert State power.
He allegedly joined an "underground organization", led by another man named Hu Shigen, which guided residents to instigate others and disturb public order, according to prosecutors from Tianjin's No 2 People's Procuratorate.
During the trial, Zhai admitted that he and lawyer Zhou Shifeng hired people who posed as protesters to shout slogans and hold signs in support of the latter while he was in court.
"The organization was not registered. During our discussions, it was Hu who usually came up with the ideas, and such ideas were usually harmful to the country," Zhai said in court. "At that time, I agreed with Hu."
"Zhou and I had followed hot topics online closely, aiming to take advantage of them to manipulate public opinion," he added.
Hu and Zhou are being prosecuted in separate cases.
Zhai's case is still being heard and no verdict has yet been given.
Activist Zhai Yanmin, who had posted online statements and comments that harmed national security and social stability, has been sentenced to three years in prison with a four-year reprieve for trying to subvert State power.
Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People's Court announced the verdict about three hours after it publicly heard Zhai's case on Tuesday morning.
The verdict said that Zhai began publishing statements and comments online in 2012. He also manipulated public opinion and organized several protests to disturb public order with lawyer Zhou Shifeng after joining an unregistered organization led by another man named Hu Shigen, the statement said.
Zhou and Hu are being prosecuted in separate cases.
The court ruled that Zhai committed the crime of subversion, damaging national security and social stability.
Zhai pleaded guilty and cooperated with judicial organs following his arrest, which could be regarded as the reason for the reprieve and his lighter punishment, the court said.
Zhai said he accepted the judgment and would not appeal.
A screenshot shows an artist's impression of the new vehicle integrating different kinds of engine technologies. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]
Chinese scientists are researching a new type of aerospace vehicle that will take even those who have never had training to space in about 10 years' time at a much lower cost compared to the current price.
China Central Television (CCTV) reported Monday that scientists from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation have started work on a new vehicle integrating different kinds of engine technologies.
The vehicle will integrate air-breathing engines, such as turbine and ramjet engines, and rocket engine, which would allow it to operate as a normal plane in the atmosphere and as a rocket in space.
Researchers said the new vehicle will be reusable and take off and land at normal airports, without the need for special launch pads like the current rockets require, which will reduce cost substantially.
Zhang Yong, a scientist from the corporation, said they expect to master key technologies in about three to five years, and significantly improve the vehicle's capability during the application.
The vehicle is expected to be used for suborbital flight and orbital insertion by 2030, Zhang said. The expeditions will be between dozens to hundreds of kilometers from the earth.
ASPEN, Colo. For many decades, Russian intelligence agencies have used what they call "active measures" to destabilize their rivals. Now they seem to be turning those tools on the U.S. political system, though in the process they appear to have violated Rule No. 1 of the spy business: Don't get caught.
U.S. officials say they have strong evidence that Russian intelligence agencies hacked the files of the Democratic National Committee over the last year. What's less certain is whether they deliberately leaked some of those files to WikiLeaks, with the aim of disrupting Hillary Clinton's election campaign though some experts think this "weaponization" of information was likely.
Russian President Vladimir Putin grew up in a KGB culture in which such use of active measures was a standard tool of the Cold War. He seems to have carried this tradecraft into the Kremlin employing hacking, black propaganda and other covert-action tools as part of what's politely described these days as "hybrid warfare."
U.S. officials say that Russian intelligence in recent years has secretly funded right-wing political parties in Europe, sponsored covert propaganda channels, hacked the electrical grid of Ukraine and cyber-sabotaged other neighboring states, and created networks of "trolls" to attack enemies online.
Why does Putin use these active measures to destabilize his rivals? Because they work. They're invisible, deniable and, for the most part, the targets don't fight back.
But the DNC hack may have been a bridge too far. It triggered blunt responses last week from top national security officials who were gathered here for an annual conference known as the Aspen Security Forum.
When the U.S. discovers evidence of foreign hacking, it should "be public about it," urged John Carlin, the assistant attorney general for national security. "Take it out of the intelligence channel ... that's the only way to change behavior," he argued.
James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, said he wasn't yet ready to identify the perpetrator of the DNC hack, but he said that from an intelligence standpoint, the U.S. is already "at war" with Russia.
"The Russians have for years had a doctrine of ... active measures," explained Elissa Slotkin, acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. She said the Kremlin's tactics attempt "to sow dissent generally, either on a specific issue or just to cause political chaos ... in order to create an opening for themselves."
What worries U.S. officials most is that given Russia's demonstrated willingness to use covert-action against its adversaries, the Russians might secretly intervene just before the November election. That might mean releasing embarrassing Hillary Clinton emails, as GOP nominee Donald Trump has urged Moscow to do. It might mean leaking phony news stories, or finding ways to upset financial markets. The American political system is an open and vulnerable target.
Why would Russia target the DNC, in an operation that's eerily similar to the Nixon White House's 1972 burglary at the committee's headquarters at the Watergate? Partly, it was an information-gathering operation, like the reported Chinese intelligence hacks of the campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain in 2008.
But Moscow may have had a special animus toward Hillary Clinton. When she was secretary of state, she endorsed Russian dissenters in the 2011 and 2012 elections. A furious Putin charged back then that she "gave them a signal," and that the dissidents, "with the support of the U.S. State Department, began active work." In other words, Putin thinks Clinton shot first.
The DNC noticed a problem in its computer system in April and hired a forensic firm called CrowdStrike to analyze the evidence. The firm concluded in May that two internet addresses linked to Russian intelligence had been inside the DNC systems.
How did the DNC information get to Wikileaks? A supposed Romanian hacker who calls himself Guccifer 2.0 claimed credit. But some experts believe this is what's known in intelligence parlance as a "false flag" aimed at masking the Russian hand.
And what about GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump? Some have argued that he was the intended beneficiary of Moscow's DNC hack. But it seems more likely that Trump is what Russian intelligence officers sometimes describe as a "useful idiot" a person who unintentionally fosters Moscow's campaign of instability.
Seven arrested following fatal demolition in Central China (Xinhua) Updated: 2016-08-02 16:37
CHANGSHA - Seven people have been arrested after a body was found last month in the debris of a demolished home in Central China's Hunan province, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Li Jun, former Communist Party of China (CPC) Guanshaling community head in the district of Yuelu in the provincial capital Changsha city, was among those arrested for abuse of power or dereliction of duty on July 28 and 29, according to a statement issued by Changsha People's Procuratorate.
The other suspects include four lower-level community officials or employees, the current Party chief, and the head of Chazishan village, according to the statement.
On July 7, the body of a woman was found in demolition debris in Chazishan. It is alleged that there had been a dispute between the home owners and the demolition crew.
Investigators confirmed that the woman had been crushed to death. According to Yang Quan, who claims to be the son of the deceased, his mother, Gong Xuehui, 60, had not been seen since demolition on June 16. Her body was found weeks later after her son hired an excavator to search through the debris.
Yang alleges that on June 16 hundreds of people barged into his home and tried to remove the family, including Gong, from the premises.
He told Beijing News that they were locked in a car until their home had been leveled.
The report said the family failed to reach an agreement on compensation with the authority managing the demolition.
The HOV lane in Shenzhen. [Photo/ycwb.com]
Traffic authorities in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province, said high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lane has been a success after it was introduced to help deal with traffic congestion in the city four months ago.
The HOV lane is on Binhai Road, a freeway connecting the city's Nanshan and Futian districts. Small vehicles with no more than nine seats must carry at least two occupants, including the driver, in order to drive in the lane from 7:30 am to 9:30 am, and from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm on working days.
Statistics from the traffic police show that the number of vehicles using the HOV lane without passengers has fallen by 11 percent since April 18, while the number of vehicles carrying at least two people on the HOV lane has climbed by 17 percent.
Police said the HOV lane could enable the same number of vehicles to carry an additional 870 people per hour.
Local traffic police said they would step up monitoring next week targeting violators of the rule.
Starting Aug 8, drivers who misuse the carpool lane will be fined 300 yuan (US$48). Apart from the ticket, violations will be recorded on the personal credit records of drivers, which will affect areas such as employment and obtaining a loan, according to the police officer.
Both surveillance cameras and traffic police officers on patrol will monitor vehicles using the lane.
A driver surnamed Ke told Shenzhen Daily he drove in the HOV lane because he was in a hurry. "I really support the use of HOV lanes because it is a good idea and it does not disrupt our commute," Ke said.
Since HOV lanes were first introduced in the US in the late 1960s, they have been adopted by many countries, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, but are rare in China.
Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, has more than 3 million vehicles. Vehicles have become the largest contributor of pollutants, responsible for 70 percent of the city's air pollution, according to the city government.
To tackle rising congestion and pollution, the city enacted a car purchasing restriction system in late 2014, requiring prospective buyers to acquire new car plates by lottery or auction.
TIANJIN -- Zhai Yanmin, an unemployed resident of Beijing, was sentenced to three years in prison with a four-year reprieve after being found guilty of subverting state power Tuesday.
Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court ordered that Zhai, 55, will have to serve a minimum three-year term should he fall foul of the law within the four-year probation period. The court also deprived Zhai of his political rights for four years.
He pled guilty and declined his right to appeal.
Zhai was first exposed to concepts such as the "color revolutions" and "peaceful transition" online, the court said in a statement. He then joined an underground church led by Hu Shigen and gradually developed plans to overthrow the state socialist system.
Since 2012, Zhai has attempted to incite people to subvert state power by use of the online resources, the court said in a statement.
Zhai, together with underground church members and lawyers, engaged and managed illegal petitioners to organize public gatherings, hype up legal cases and incidents, attack the country's judicial system and carry out activities aimed at subverting the state power and socialist system, the statement said.
These activities endangered the state and society, it added.
"I accept all the charges," Zhai said in his final statement, "With the help and education of the government, I recognize the severity of my crimes. I plead guilty and express my sincere remorse.
"I am sorry to the country and my family... If I could go back I would never have become a member of hostile forces or associated with those individuals driven by ulterior motives," he said.
He added that he would like to be used as an example of the consequences of listening to and supporting hostile forces overseas and at home, and to inform the public of the dangers of the so-called "democracy," "human rights" and "public benefits" flaunted by them as a mask for criminal activities.
The court handed down a light sentence because he confessed, testified against others and repented, according to court statement.
Moreover, the court decided that Zhai posed no major threat to the community, it said.
The second branch of the People's Procuratorate of Tianjin Municipality filed charges against Zhai with Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court on July 15.
To safeguard the defendant's rights and interests and ensure a fair and efficient trial, a pretrial conference was held on July 22. It was attended by the prosecution team, defendant and defence counsel, presiding judge Cai Shuying said.
During Tuesday's trial, Cai informed the defence team of Zhai's rights and obligations in litigation.
The defence team had no objection with any of the evidence used in the trial.
Altogether 48 people, including 20 journalists from home and overseas observed the trial.
Prosecutors told the court that Zhai, together with three others -- Hu Shigen, Zhou Shifeng and Li Heping -- had conspired and plotted to subvert state power, and had "established a systematic ideology, method and steps to achieve it."
The defendant was accused of organizing multiple mass protests to influence public opinion and court sentences. One such case was a fatal shooting incident at a railway station in Heilongjiang Province in May 2015.
On May 2 of 2015, police officer Li Lebin shot dead Xu Chunhe at Qing'an County Railway Station. Xu had attacked Li and continued to assault the police officer despite multiple warnings. Follow-up investigations confirmed that Li had acted within the law.
After the shooting, Zhai organized protests at the railway station and in front of the county government buildings in support of Xu.
Zhai influenced online opinions and led public demonstrations that misrepresented the incident as police brutality.
Moreover, lawyers were organized to turn up at protest locations so that the issue gained more traction, Zhai said in his testimony adding that, "they all followed a fixed process."
Once an incident had become a "hot issue," lawyers, citizens and petitioners would fan the flames online and plan further protests with each individual assigned "work" for each activity, Zhai said.
"I was the 'chief commander' on site. I attacked current laws and smeared the image of the police," he said.
"We wanted every issue to gain as much exposure as possible, so we would send ordinary people out on the streets and initiate conflict between the people and officials. We wanted the international community to interfere, (with the aim of) overturning the CPC and launch our own 'color revolution,'" Zhai continued.
When asked about the motivation behind his crimes, Zhai said he hated the government and the political system because of a failed business venture. In addition, he said he had been radicalized by people with ulterior motives.
According to the evidence presented in court, Zhai met with 15 people, including Hu Shigen, Zhou Shifeng and Li Heping, in a Beijing restaurant on Feb. 1, 2015. The discussion covered how they could use the workers' rights movement and other sensitive incidents to promote their own agenda.
"We had met at the restaurant to gather lawyers like Zhou and Li, 'citizen movement' leaders like Hu and 'doers' like me to discuss how to topple the current regime, we wanted to overthrow the CPC," Zhai confessed, adding that they reviewed the subversive activities of the previous year, and formulated plans for 2015.
Interpretation specifies sanctions for illegal fishing, entry in sovereign waters
File photo taken on April 29, 2016 shows a boat moves on the sea near Zhaoshu Island of Qilianyu Islands in Sansha City, south China's Hainan Province. [Photo/Xinhua]
Fishermen illegally operating in waters administered by China are going to face tougher sanctions than being merely driven off, as has been the common practice until now.
The Supreme People's Court issued a judicial interpretation on Monday specifying standards for convicting and punishing those engaged in illegal fishing or entry into Chinese territorial waters and refusing to obey commands to leave.
Such acts will be considered as "serious" criminal acts and those responsible will be fined and sentenced to less than one year's imprisonment, detention or surveillance. In addition, Chinese and foreign nationals will be held criminally liable for illegally killing endangered wildlife in waters under Chinese jurisdiction.
The interpretation is aimed at helping Chinese maritime authorities better deal with thorny cases of infringements on sovereignty and economic rights, and of ecological crime in the South and East China seas. It took effect on Tuesday.
The court said it is "China's first full-scale judicial interpretation on maritime crimes".
Chen Chang, head of an observation and research station of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, said that before the interpretation, Chinese law had difficulty in effectively restraining illegal fishing by neighboring countries, such as Vietnam.
Chen, who studies the deep waters off the Xisha and Nansha islands in the South China Sea, said some foreign fishermen had resorted to poison or even torpedoes to get their catch, seriously damaging the coral reefs.
Chinese authorities had few options but to drive them away, "which is not conducive to effective management or deterrence".
The new interpretation "offers viable provisions and a basis to support law enforcement", Chen said.
Under the interpretation, seas under China's jurisdiction include not only inland waters and territorial seas, but also such areas as contiguous zones, exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.
The interpretation covers Chinese citizens as well as organizations engaged in fishing in fishing zones or waters under comanagement of China and other countries.
Wang Hanling, director of the National Center for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the CASS, said it is the first time that Chinese law has covered fishery zones jointly managed by China and neighbors.
Wang pointed out that under the interpretation both Chinese and foreign citizens who engage in illegal activity in the waters will be punished "they are being treated on an equal footing" and their lawful rights and interests are also guaranteed.
"The interpretation will help the agencies concerned to better exercise jurisdiction in the sea and protect China's maritime rights and interests," Wang said.
It further clarifies China's maritime jurisdiction based on Chinese law, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the country's judicial practices, he said.
China firmly opposes and is strongly dissatisfied with a Japanese defense white paper that is "full of lies", Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said on Tuesday.
The report, approved by the Japanese Cabinet, plays up the South China Sea and East China Sea issues in a groundless manner and attempts to stir up trouble behind the scenes, from which Japan seeks to benefit, Wu said.
He accused Japan of unilaterally changing the status quo by illegitimately "purchasing" China's Diaoyu Islands in 2012, enhancing military deployment targeting China, and passing a new security bill to end constitutional constraints on collective self-defense.
Japan is attempting to make excuses for its adjustment of military and security policy, military expansion and even amending the Constitution, which should trigger great concern among the international community, he added.
The 484-page white paper allocates several more pages to each country, including China and Russia, than the previous report.
It devotes more words to China than other regional powers such as Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It also describes China's reclamation work in the South China Sea as a "provocation".
"China is carrying out reforms to the People's Liberation Army, which some see as being the largest in the country's history," the report says. "Recently, the reforms have taken place at a rapid pace."
Lyu Yaodong, director of the Foreign Policy Researcher Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Japanese Studies, said Japan has exaggerated China's maritime threat in recent years, and its real aim is to make excuses for its military expansion.
The Asahi newspaper reported on Tuesday that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will make 57-year-old Tomomi Inada, currently his ruling party's policy chief, defense minister in a Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday.
A close ally of Abe, she regularly visits Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which honors convicted war criminals.
Lyu said the reported nomination of Inada shows Abe's hard-line stance on defense.
"It is expected that Inada will play hardball in Japan's various territorial conflicts with surrounding countries including China," he said.
Wang Ping, a senior researcher of Japanese studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Abe is trying to push Japan to become a military power, and nominating a right-wing politician is part of his efforts.
Contact the writers at caihong@chinadaily.com.cn
China is considering a sweeping overhaul of its steel industry that would consolidate major steel producers into two giants, with one located in the north and the other in the south, according to people familiar with the plan.
Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp and Wuhan Iron & Steel Group Corp will be merged into Southern China Steel Group, while Shougang Group and Hebei Iron & Steel Group will combine into Northern China Steel Group, said the people, who declined to be identified because the information is confidential. The combinations will give Chinese steel mills the scale to rival global giants such as ArcelorMittal SA.
The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration didn't respond to a request for comment, while a Baosteel Group spokesman declined to comment when reached by Bloomberg.
Industry watchdog says that consumers' interests could not be well safeguarded
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has ceased online sales of medicines on its Tmall platform as the government tightens its control over the country's nascent e-pharmacy industry.
Tmall, the business-to-consumer site of Alibaba, told its online vendors that the site will stop the online sales of medicines as of August 1, citing changes in government regulation.
Beijing's recent reception of a senior Afghan military officer and the reported visit by a Taliban delegation show that China is playing an important role in maintaining stability in the region, analysts said.
While meeting in Beijing on Sunday with Qadam Shah Shahim, chief of staff of the General Staff of the Afghan National Army, Defense Minister Chang Wanquan expressed gratitude toward Afghanistan for the country's support in fighting the terrorist East Turkestan Islamic Movement, according to a statement released by the ministry on Sunday.
Shahim said Afghanistan would like to deepen cooperation with China in fighting terrorists including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, the statement said.
How far will Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen go in her endeavors to estrange the island from the mainland? No one seems to be able to tell from what she has said. But everyone can see where her government is trying to lead the island when it comes to relations across the Taiwan Straits.
What has happened since she took over the leadership of the island points to what her refusal to clarify her attitude on the 1992 Consensus portends - trying to do as much as she and her administration can toward a de facto "Taiwan independence".
When 24 tourists from the mainland were killed in a bus fire in Taiwan on July 19, Tsai as leader of the island, which has benefitted greatly from a large number of tourists from across the Straits, did not say a word about the perished tourists. Instead, she said elegiac words about the Taiwan tourist guide who was also killed in the tragedy.
The Montana Rescue Mission needs help after a broken water line flooded the basement kitchen and dining area of the mens shelter at South 28th Street and Minnesota Avenue.
As of Monday, the missions main building remained closed to the homeless it shelters nightly and the hungry it feeds daily. A disaster restoration crew was at work inside the 65-year-old building.
On Sunday night, about 50 homeless men slept on cots in the Rescue Mission administration offices in a building across the street from the flooded shelter, according to Denise Smith, mission public relations director. Mission staff distributed sandwiches and other no-cook meals to those guests, and to 37 women and children housed at the Womens Shelter on Montana Avenue. The Rescue Mission also continued to supply 18 meals in the evening to the Community Crisis Center.
How can the community help?
Help Wednesday
Volunteers are needed to move bags and boxes of clothing out of the Minnesota Avenue shelter starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Smith said. Pierce RV is supplying two large trailers to transport the stored items to the missions thrift stores on Main Street and 24th Street West. Volunteers also are needed to be at those two stores about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday to help unload the trailers.
We need as many volunteers as we can get to get shoes and clothing out before it becomes damaged, Smith said. These are items that were stored for the mission to distribute to its guests as needed.
The mission needs sandwiches and other ready-to-eat foods to serve to guests at the two shelters and to the Crisis Center clients. The mission also supplies sack lunches for its guests to take to work.
Everyone who can help with the Wednesday morning moving, at the mission locations on Minnesota, on Main or on 24th Street West, should call 259-3800 in advance so the volunteers can be coordinated. Individuals and groups who want to deliver sandwiches or other food to the mission also are asked to phone 259-3800 in advance.
Community response
Local businesses and organizations have been quick to offer help to Montana Rescue Mission, a faith-based nonprofit with a long history of serving Billings homeless people. Smith said A1 Rental donated pumping services and Total Rental provided a 50-percent discount. Food Services of America donated use of a large refrigeration trailer, which was being used to store frozen foods rescued from the flooded kitchen. Soup 'n Such and King of Glory Church brought weekend meals. Head Start and the Army National Guard offered the use of their kitchens. The Billings Food Bank, which has a large commercial kitchen, dining space and cold food storage, also offered to help the mission.
In addition to immediate clean-up, the mission building will need renovation. Donations of skilled labor and building supplies will be welcome.
What isnt donated, Montana Rescue Mission will have to buy. So for those of us who prefer to write donation checks, this is an excellent time to write them to the mission. Its worth noting that summer is typically a slow time for charitable contributions. Many nonprofit organizations count on getting the bulk of annual donations during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season.
Montana Rescue Mission certainly didnt count on having a costly flood this summer.
The mission has given much to the Billings community: Shelter for men, women and children who have no other place to go, meals for anyone who is hungry, programs to help individuals and families rebuild their lives, get jobs and permanent housing.
Now its time for Billings to step up and help Montana Rescue Mission fulfill its mission.
A lama from Jokhang Monastery checks a digitally categorized fresco on a combination screen.[Photo by Wang Kaihao/ China Daily]
Night falls. Waves of pilgrims gradually begin leaving Jokhang Monastery in the old part of Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region.
Then, Luo Wenhua leads his team to begin another night's workshooting pictures of glittering Buddha niches in this monastery, one of the holiest places for Tibetans.
Every evening, until midnight, is the only time they get to work on building one of country's most advanced 3-D high-definition image database of cultural relics.
Luo, a researcher from the Palace Museum in Beijing, moved to Lhasa in 2013 for this program to help Jokhang Monastery digitally categorize its thangkaTibetan paintings on cotton or silk appliquestatues and frescoes.
"The photographs of every statue, for example, are taken from 10 different angles," says Luo.
"If epigraphs are discovered, more pictures are taken.
"Sections of the photographed frescoes can be magnified to more than a person's height in the database."
The sacred names (in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Mandarin) of the relics and other information are recorded. About 85 percent of 5,051 statues in the monastery have been covered so far, and the oldest can be dated back to the Tubo era (7th to 9th century), the predecessor of today's Tibet, according to Luo.
In total 1,439 pieces of thangka have been found.
Jokhang Monastery was founded during the reign of Songtsen Gampo, the first ruler of Tubo, and its construction continued until the early 20th century.
Speaking of the relics, Luo says: "It's uncommon for a monastery to have a specific cultural relics warehouse like Jokhang. However, the inventory needs to be done in a better way because the details in the previous one were often vague."
"Now that we are recording details we can fill some of the voids in the records in Jokhang."
Luo says the digitization of the frescoes should be completed by 2017, and the project will then be expanded to cover the ancient architecture.
The database will be in three languagesMandarin, Tibetan and Englishto facilitate access by overseas scholars.
He hopes that the material they are collecting can be used to develop something like the Palace Museum's digital exhibitions so that full use can be made of the database, but the proposal is dependent on the monastery's administrators.
Potala Palace, another sanctuary in Lhasa built in AD 637, is also making an attempt to use digital technology to better preserve its relics.
The Jokhang Monastery and the Potala Palace were added to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list in 2000 and 1994 respectively.
Ma Li works with woodblock printing at a studio in Sibao town, Liancheng county, East China's Fujian province. Although in a remote mountainous region, Sibao was one of the country's four woodblock printing centers during the Qing Dynasty (1368-1644) and at its peak over 60 percent of local residents were engaged in printing. Classic works printed here were sold across the county as well as in Southeast Asia. Now a museum has been built to display the long history of the ancient craftwork that played an important role in the spread of human civilization. Ma Li started learning the art of carving woodcuts at the age of 16. [Photo/China News Service]
Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors on display in Sydney Harbor in 2015.[Photo/Agencies]
China's Terracotta Warrior lanterns are to be the centerpiece of Spring Festival celebrations in Manchester in January, marking their first appearance in Britain.
The lanterns will illuminate Manchester's Exchange Square as part of the city's 2017 Chinese New Year program, the biggest celebration of its kind in the country outside Chinatown in London.
The event will be organized by Heart of Manchester BID along with the Federation of Chinese Associations of Manchester, Manchester City Council and the Confucius Institute.
Commissioned for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the show has appeared in many iconic locations, including Sydney Harbor, Zagreb Central Square and Prague's Hradcany Castle.
Created by artist Xia Nan, the brightly colored lanterns are inspired by the famous Terracotta Army figures uncovered in 1974 near the tomb of China's first emperor.
Each standing more than two meters tall, the lanterns bring together two key elements of Chinese art and culture, namely the compelling story of the Terracotta Army and the 2,000-year-old tradition of lantern-making.
"The Chinese New Year celebrations in 2017 are set to be the biggest the city has ever seen," says a spokeswoman for Heart of Manchester BID.
"Manchester city center will see in the Year of the Rooster a four-day program (Jan 26-29), celebrating the very best of traditional and contemporary Chinese culture," she adds.
More than 6,000 traditional red lanterns will adorn the city's streets alongside a 15-meter tall Golden Dragon spectacle, with light shows and firework displays.
Young women enjoy Bye Joe cocktails at a bar.[Photo provided to China Daily]
World Baijiu Day, an event designed to make the rest of the world more aware of China's most popular spirit, is officially on Aug 9, but bar events in several cities are beginning early this week. This is the second year for the celebration, organized by Beijing blogger Jim Boyce, and it inspired us to look beyond the week's official events (www.worldbaijiuday.com) and see how the fabled Chinese liquor might be expanding its reach in unexpected places.
In Shanghai bars
Why is Chinese liquor a surprise in a Shanghai bar? Because in this case, we're talking about American baijiu.
The most widely distributed brand produced in the United States, Bye Joe, has made its way back to the Chinese mainland, where its base liquor is sourced.
American Matt Trusch, a self-proclaimed lover of Chinese culture, spent about 15 years in Asia before returning to his native Texas after the birth of his third child.
Calling baijiu "the juice that keeps China running," Trusch has long been convinced that the white liquor could find a place on global shelves if the alcohol level was lower than traditional mainland levels and if it was marketed as a cocktail base instead of a ganbei-style shot drink.
His Bye Joe is 35 percent alcohol, a five-year-aged light-style baijiu from China, "which we filter three or four times to give you a cleaner liquor that's a good fit for cocktail-mixing".
Targeting younger and especially female drinkers, he found that Chinese-Americans embraced Bye Joe as a song from home, especially his fruit-flavor infused brands.
"Dragon Fire, our most popular label, has notes of dragon fruit, litchi and peppercorn," he says. "Litchi has a positive olfactory sense for most Asians. It reminds them of home, of being young, and it gives a feeling of connection with something inherent to them."
That sense convinced Trusch that there was a market for his product in the Chinese mainland, where young drinkers shy away from the heavy, high-alcohol style of liquor their fathers favored.
In the past few months, several Western-style bars in Shanghai and Chengdu have featured Bye Joe cocktails, and Trusch was recently back in Shanghai to cultivate Chinese bars as well.
China's Global Newspaper
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A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test, in this undated handout photo provided by the US Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency. [Photo/Agencies]
The United States is busy preparing to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system in the Republic of Korea ignoring the strong protests by China and Russia, which justifiably say it will pose a strategic threat to their security. And the US-led NATO is consolidating its presence in Eastern Europe. What are the motives behind these chessboard moves?
At the turn of the new century, the US began its largest strategic adjustment since the end of the Cold War, shifting its strategic focus from Europe and the Atlantic to the Asia-Pacific. Right after George W. Bush took office as US president, his administration made the decision to change the oversea deployment pattern of the US military, from the previous 60 percent for Europe and 40 percent for the Asia-Pacific to 50 percent each for the two regions. It also listed China as a major competitor for the first time. The Bush administration failed to make the strategic adjustment only because of the Sept 11, 2001, attacks and the "war on terror" that followed.
Ever since President Barack Obama entered the White House he has been determined to advance the "pivot to Asia" strategy to overcome the "threat" China's rise poses to the US' hegemony in the Western Pacific. The Obama administration's strategic push has continued uninterrupted despite the political turbulence in the Middle East, the Ukraine crisis and the rise of the Islamic State. NATO's eastward expansion and "pivot to Asia" both are the result of the change in the established international order and the US' altered strategic perception, and they reflect the change in its strategic focus at different times.
Some White House officials believe US-Russia relations are not parallel to US-China ties, because they view a power game between the US and Russia as one between "a superpower and a power" but find it difficult to define any game between Beijing and Washington. Given this fact, the US-led eastward expansion of NATO is secondary in importance to the "pivot to Asia" strategy. According to some in the US, the "pivot to Asia" is a strategic design relevant to the US' overall development, while the plan for Russia's containment in Europe is a kind of tactical move.
In the context of "pivot to Asia", the US has intensified its efforts to unite its allies in Asia in order to forge an Asian version of NATO.
Compared to the impact of NATO's eastward expansion on Russia, the "pivot to Asia" strategy will create more strategic pressures on China. Though China and Russia don't want a confrontation with the US and will not forge a formal alliance, they have been forced to stand closer to cope with the strategic squeeze applied by the US and its allies.
China's top strategic priority is to ease the huge security pressures and meet the challenges created by the US' strategic shift to the Asia-Pacific. Since the Asia-Pacific is a region the US will pay special attention to, it is expected to focus its energy and resources on it to check China's rise after putting continuous pressure on Russia.
To deal with the US' strategic squeeze, China and Russia should intensify their cooperation in Northeast Asia, a region easier for them to work together compared with areas like the South China Sea. As a start, they should take necessary measures to counter the threat posed by THAAD's deployment in the ROK because the Washington-Seoul move will break the delicate strategic balance on the Korean Peninsula.
Moreover, while reiterating its strong resistance to THAAD, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea should abandon its nuclear program and stop testing missiles in order to prevent the US and the ROK from using those as an excuse to expedite the deployment of THAAD.
The author is an assistant research fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Protesters attend the rally to denounce deploying the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) near the US embassy on July 13, 2016 in Seoul, the ROK. The ROK's defense ministry announced on July 13, 2016 that it will deploy the US military's THAAD anti-missile defense unit in Seongju county. [Photo/VCG]
Despite the strong opposition of China, the United States and the Republic of Korea have agreed to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system in the ROK. Although the US claims THAAD is aimed at countering the "nuclear threat" posed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea", it is actually targeted at China.
Why is THAAD's deployment in the ROK strongly opposed by China?
THAAD will undermine the regional strategic balance in East Asia and create more obstacles to the peaceful settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. When the strategic balance of a region is broken, an arms race follows and regional disputes and conflicts intensify.
The Korean Peninsula is one of the few places in the world where the fear of war is still real. The peninsula nuclear issue has been threatening security in the region for over a decade, and negotiations, including "the Six-Party Talks", to settle the issue have been stalled. In such a sensitive region, THAAD's deployment could open the door to a military confrontation.
One way of rectifying the strategic imbalance is for the US and the ROK to rescind their agreement to deploy THAAD. The second way is for Beijing to strengthen its nuclear capability, for once THAAD is deployed in the ROK, major parts of China will be under its anti-missile system umbrella.
The deployment of THAAD in the ROK is part and parcel of the US missile defense system in East Asia, a region of strategic importance to the US where it sees China challenging its "DLP" (dominance, leadership and primacy). The US has singled out China as the target for its "rebalancing to Asia" strategy. And THAAD is an indispensable component of that "rebalance".
John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of Harvard University recently published an article in Foreign Affairs outlining "rebalancing to Asia" strategy as a superior "grand strategy" to be applied seriously by the US in East Asia and Europe. These two neoconservative theorists have identified China as "likely to seek hegemony in Asia" and call on the US to undertake major efforts "to prevent it from succeeding". "Rebalancing to Asia" first calls for the US to "rely on local powers to contain China". Should that fail, the US may "have to throw its considerable weight behind them".
THAAD is a case in point. The US' involvement in the South China Sea issuesupporting the Philippines in its political farce of seeking "international arbitration" and the exhibition of force by the US Navy and Air Forceis another example of its "rebalancing to Asia" strategy.
The US is used to thinking and acting as a hegemonic power. But we live in an era of globalization where countries are more interdependent than ever. No country can be "balanced" or "rebalanced" away as the US wishes. As such, the deployment of missile defense systems in Eastern Europe and East Asia will hurt global stability.
THAAD's deployment will worsen the divide in East Asia, where regional arrangements for economic growth are shaped with China at its core while regional security is assumed to be based on the US-centered military alliances. Should this contradictory situation develop further, neither regional economic growth nor security can be sustained.
In short, THAAD is detrimental to the regional security of East Asia. No country can expect to achieve absolute security at the expense of other countries' insecurity. East Asia should enjoy peace and stability based on common and cooperative security. Therefore, the countries involved in the power game should reconsider their ill-conceived decisions in order to restore the regional strategic balance.
The author is former vice-minister of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council and former vice-minister at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Courtesy: Chinausfocus.com
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test, in this undated handout photo provided by the US Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency. [Photo/Agencies]
While overestimating Beijing's influence on Pyongyang, Seoul has to a greater extent undervalued Beijing's commitment and endeavors to broker peace between the two Koreas.
Beijing fully endorsed the UN sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the belief that there is no better way to dissuade Pyongyang from continuing with its nuclear weapons program, and persuading it to return to the negotiating table.
And despite the continuous show of defiance by Pyongyang, there are credible signs the United Nations sanctions are beginning to bite.
While there is no guarantee a cornered Pyongyang will not make desperate moves, there is an oft-neglected fact that calls for attentionPyongyang, too, prefers negotiations. Its offers of talks have repeatedly been ignored because Seoul and Washington have considered the preconditions it has set unacceptable.
However, all this potential for reaching a negotiated solution with Pyongyang may come to naught with the Republic of Korea's decision to deploy the United State's Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system.
With Pyongyang constantly rattling its sabers, Seoul's security concerns are legitimate. Beijing understands and respects them. But Seoul does not seem to reciprocate in kind and is ignoring Beijing's own legitimate security concerns.
The strongest argument for deploying the THAAD anti-missile system is a sense of security. Yet, as many analysts have pointed out, THAAD's defensive capabilities are limited in the face of Pyongyang's threats to the ROK, which come from its artillery, short-range and lower-altitude missiles, which THAAD does not provide a defense against.
And instead of intimidating the DPRK, the decision to deploy THAAD has instead invited more angry responses from Pyongyang, significantly escalating tension and hostility. The security situation on the Peninsula will only worsen hereafter.
And that is before taking into account the THAAD's serious divisive impacts on the region.
Sizeable as they are, economic ties with China may not be as important to Seoul as its security alliance with the US. Seoul seems to believe the cost of alienating Beijing is worth it, and affordable, and there is little Beijing can do beyond voicing its own security concerns and protesting.
But the damage will not stop there.
THAAD will substantially change Northeast Asia's security landscape. Since Seoul is helping Washington consolidate its strategic deployment that can be easily targeted against both China and Russia, it is natural for them to act to counter this threat.
The ROK may find itself in the middle of a mini arms race, where it will have to follow suit if it does not want to expose itself to further, more dangerous security threats.
This will be a road of no return.
Editor's Note: A forum regular, claudeckenni, has traveled to 12 provinces and more than 20 cities in China. To help others enjoy the Middle Kingdon's most amazing places, he picked his favorite spots and shared handy travel tips for each one. Comments are welcome.
1. Dunhuang
Located at the crossroads of the ancient Silk Road, Dunhuang was one of the most important cities in ancient China. Today, it is a small beautiful town in the Gobi Desert with a population of less than 200,000 people. With its rich history dating back over a thousand years, Dunhuang is a great place to visit for those who wish to experience life in the desert.
Places to visit in Dunhuang:
Mogao Grottoes
The biggest and most important grottoes in China, filled with exquisite Buddhist artifacts and manuscripts. In order to protect the artifacts, the number of visitors is limited and advanced booking is required.
Yueyaquan National Park
A great place for those who wish to experience the desert. Go early in the morning and ride a camel to see the sunrise. Climb to the top of sand dunes and slide down using a "giant wheel". The oasis itself is not too impressive up close, but very beautiful from afar.
Yadan Landforms / Devil City
Beautiful landforms resembling an ancient city in the middle of the desert.
Note:
Do: Watch performances by local residents. Ask your hotel/guide. Some of them are good, some of them are bad. I watched one about the Goddess of Dunhuang and I liked it. Its depends on your own preference.
Eat:
Lamb meat skewers. They are delicious.
People in Dunhuang seem nicer than in other places in China. The prices for fruit etc are more expensive than any other cities though, because they need to import them from the South. Well, we're in the middle of the desert anyway.
Infant formula on display at a supermarket in Nantong, Jiangsu province. Consumer confidence in infant formula on the mainland has plummeted, leading many concerned parents to turn to imported products.[Photo/Provided to China Daily]
After an investigation into overseas brands of milk powder, about 40 percent of the 19 tested have been "disqualified" from the Chinese market because they did not meet the national standards. Beijing Youth Daily commented on Monday:
Maybe because of the safety concerns about domestic infant formula in recent years, maybe because of their blind zeal for overseas products, some Chinese customers prefer foreign brands of milk powder to domestic ones.
These customers were quite astounded at the news that some well-known foreign brands have been disqualified from the Chinese market.
As a matter of fact, it is not really about their quality, but rather the different standards for formula milk in various countries.
It is quite normal that different countries have different formula milk powder. The differences derive from catering to the bodily requirements of babies in different nations.
For instance, as women in Japan eat a lot of seafood, Japanese baby formula may not need to contain much iodine or zinc, while inland Chinese babies may need more of the two elements. As for Chinese customers, they are quite ignorant of the formula milk needed for their babies.
As China has recently increased the quality and safety of formula milk powder, domestic customers should get rid of the mindset of foreign brands only and try more formula milk that is made in China, which will be more suitable for their babies.
A Lame Deer man on Monday admitted federal charges accusing him of killing a Lame Deer woman by driving recklessly.
A jury trial had been scheduled to start Monday for Joseph Curtis Morrison Jr., 53, but instead, he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter as charged in an indictment during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Billings.
An indictment accused Morrison of driving recklessly on Aug. 27, 2015, in Lame Deer, causing the death of Daisy Ann Rowland, 49. Her brother earlier had identified Rowland as the victim.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Sullivan said in court records that Morrison drove through a stop sign at a four-way stop in downtown Lame Deer and ran over Rowland, who was walking in a crosswalk, killing her immediately.
Morrison then quickly abandoned his vehicle and fled from the scene, he said.
Morrison was driving a Chevrolet Suburban when it left the road as he approached the intersection, went up on the sidewalk around cars stopped at the stop sign and through the intersection. The vehicle struck Rowland and pulled her under, he said. Rowlands body was dislodged after the vehicle hit the curb.
Morrison then accelerated and continued westbound, Sullivan said. The vehicle was found abandoned at the next turnoff, he said.
Witnesses saw the crash and also talked to Morrison. One of the witnesses said that Morrison parked the car in a driveway and told her that he had hit somebody, Sullivan said.
Morrison also told the witness that said he had fallen asleep at the wheel and had been awake for about a week, he said.
While executing a search warrant on the Suburban on Aug. 28, investigators found a bottle of Black Velvet on the passenger-side floorboard and a wallet with identification cards for Morrison.
U.S. District Judge Susan Watters has not yet set a sentencing date. Morrison faces a maximum eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He remains in custody.
Students of Beijing International Studies University.[Photo/Agencies]
What is the role of a professor?
Of course, to teach students. Most of the world's top universities require their professors, however senior they may be, to deliver lectures and hold seminars for their students. Besides, studies show that while students learn more from professors, the professors, too, benefit from the process, because teaching helps them to deepen and improve their research.
But for long professors in Chinese universities, in general, have preferred to conduct research instead of teaching students in classrooms. In the past, some reports even said senior professors had been away from classrooms for so long that students no longer recognized them.
The cause of the problem is twofold. First, higher education authorities judge the performance of a university mainly by its academic, not teaching, achievements. For example, they tend to honor the professors who get awards for their research works and ignore those that teach well.
Second, most colleges use published academic works as a benchmark when it comes to promoting associate professors to the post of professors, or giving professors higher titles; their performance in class accounts for only a small percentage of the requirements. Published works are considered very importantas opposed to teaching performancefor evaluating a professor's performance, which further encourages university teachers to put more efforts into research.
Having realized the problem, the country's top leadership has made it clear in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) that teaching is as important as research for higher education institutions, and that a top university must pay attention to both. The Higher Education Law, revised in 2015, also says cultivating talents is the duty of higher education institutions.
Echoing the top leadership's call, the Ministry of Education has issued one document after another to implement a policy that encourages professors to go back to classrooms. That's part of the ongoing education system reform.
According to the Ministry of Education's latest data, the percentage of professors taking classes has increased from 54 percent in 2003 to more than 90 percent now because of the encouragement policy. However, as some undergraduates and professors say, there remain some problems. For example, some professors come to class without ample preparation; some simply do not care about the students' performances. As a Chinese saying goes, some professors "are physically present in the classroom but spiritually somewhere else".
To solve these problems, the ongoing education reform should include new measures. In fact, some colleges have already started trying out new measures, which include increasing the percentage of teaching in professors' performance evaluation, so that those teaching well also get the chance of being promoted, and encouraging professors to combine their teaching with research and share the results of their studies with students in class.
But it requires the joint efforts of all, not only colleges, to encourage professors to give due importance to teaching. For that, the Ministry of Education should change the funding standards of universities and list teaching performance, not only research achievements, among the indexes used to evaluate the performance of a college. Only when university funding is decided by how well colleges teach will they pay more attention to teaching.
Besides, universities should be granted more autonomy. It is better for universities to recruit their teaching staff and decide their payments, for that will allow university administrators to better implement the reform measures and realize the goal of encouraging professors to go back to classrooms.
The author is president of Beijing International Studies University.
LUO JIE/CHINA DAILY
The direction of the financial tides flowing in and out of China's shores has been changing. The perception that China is primarily attractive as an inbound investment center is now being outpaced by Chinese money heading across the world to acquire assets.
In 2015, China's non-financial outward direct investment (ODI) was $118 billion. Based on the Ministry of Commerce's 2015 data for foreign direct investment (FDI), which stood at $128.5 billion and the non-financial ODI of $118 billion, one can therefore assume China's total ODI (financial and non-financial) actually exceeded FDI for the first time in 2015. This represents a significant shift.
UBS expects China's ODI to accelerate to an 18 percent compound annual growth rate from 2015 to 2018, having recorded on average at 14 percent during 2008-14.
Globally, developed markets have attracted a far higher share of China's ODI. Nearly two-thirds of China's offshore investments are currently being routed to those markets, with North America, Europe and Asia accounting for more than 80 percent of Chinese acquisitions in 2015.
By specific industry sector, more Chinese money has been invested in tech and tourism businesses, while investment in resources, such as energy and metals, has declined. UBS projects that sectors with solid domestic fundamentals such as consumer, IT and tourism will continue to record accelerated ODI during the medium term. In sectors such as rail, ports, home appliances and telecom equipment, emerging Chinese multinationals may significantly alter the global competitive landscape in upcoming years.
State-owned enterprises were the original initiators of Chinese ODI, because they enjoyed government support and had access to low-cost funding. Today, private enterprises have access to the same kind of funding levels and there is a perception that the days of SOEs embodying the biggest momentum supplied by the Chinese economy has passed.
However, that hypothesis is not borne out by the information gleaned from Chinese investment offshore. Participation by the SOEs in ODI has actually been rising, and now represents over half of offshore mergers and acquisitions. Overseas expansion should be positive for Chinese companies, given the still relatively strong yuan and cheap domestic funding. The ability to pick up debt finance at a relatively modest cost is key to the proliferation of Chinese ODI. Eighty to 90 percent of Chinese outward investment has been financed with debt, though we have noticed that A-share companies have been more inclined to rely on equity financing.
However, growth in Chinese ODI is not a foregone conclusion. There are still challenges. The sustainability of overseas expansion depends on capital flows, foreign reserves and the yuan's value. Also a weaker global economic environment may jeopardize bullish sentiment toward investing overseas.
There is a misconception that Chinese companies are insensitive to acquisition costs and as a result are willing to pay a hefty premium. But the data suggests otherwise. Chinese companies pay on average a 27 percent acquisition premium compared with the global average of about 24 percent.
This year, the momentum has increased. Chinese companies have announced $145.4 billion of overseas M&A during the first half of 2016, although not all them may be successfully completed. That figure exceeds the all-time high of $116.2 billion during the whole of 2015.
There is still a long way to go, though. China's direct investment abroad in 2014 was about 1.2 percent of GDP, compared with the US' 1.9 percent and Japan's at 2.5 percent. In the coming years, Chinese investment will be spreading across the world.
The author is Head of China Strategy, UBS Securities.
A big fire is seen at a chemical plant in the Gulei Peninsula in Zhangzhou, Fujian province, on April 8, where an explosion on Monday evening injured six people. The fire resurfaced hours after it was extinguished late Tuesday. [Photo/Xinhua]
Lucid waters and lush mountains are the nation's goals, President Xi Jinping has said. Since he became the top leader, China has taken every possible measure to make environmental protection one of the government's principal guidelines as it deals with eco-problems and economic restructuring.
More than 20 years ago, in nearly every development program, China set the goal of transforming its development patterns, which were heavily reliant on energy, especially fossil fuel consumption. Although China's economy grew at double digits for long, the economic growth caused heavy environmental damage. Besides, China has not yet fulfilled its objectives of changing its development patterns.
But preliminary figures now indicate that Xi's team is on track to deliver on its promise. For instance, China's coal consumption decreased 2.9 percent and 3.6 percent year-on-year in 2014 and 2015. And even though the consumption figure for the first half of this year is not yet available, coal production is believed to have dropped year-on-year by 9.7 percent in the January-June period.
For decades, coal accounted for about three-fourths of China's total energy consumption but that ratio fell to a historic low of 64.4 percent in 2015. Qi Ye, director of the Brookings-Tsinghua Center for Public Policy of Tsinghua University and Nicholas Stern, president of the British Academy, have published a joint paper on the subject on Nature Geo-science website. And former energy chief Zhang Guobao has, on the basis of data, said China's coal peak year, by and large, was 2013.
Basically, these achievements have been accomplished in the macroeconomic framework of the "new normal" and supply-side reform, which are focused on reducing industrial overcapacity. But they have also improved the quality of the economy by increasing the output from almost all inputs, such as energy, capital, human and other resources.
To achieve this, China adopted what might be termed a strategy of "killing two birds with one stone".
China has not yet announced a legally-binding ceiling for coal consumption on a countrywide basis, but nearly all provincial capitals and municipalities, most of which suffer from heavy air pollution, have set their goals for coal use. For example, Beijing's coal consumption will be no more than 10 percent of its total energy mix next year. Shanghai has banned all households and small-scale boilers from using coal. And some areas of Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, have been prohibited from burning coal altogether.
Sichuan has already announced a ceiling on coal consumption. Even Shanxi, China's largest coal producing province in North China, has started building large-scale wind farms and setting up solar plants to gradually replace coal use.
The phasing out of coal consumption and the ceiling policy are similar to what happened across Europe when countries realized the importance of protecting the environment. As such, the bottom-up approach of China to curb coal use has positive implications even though the coal industry faces the pressure of low price and rising lay-offs.
The policies adopted by China will help reduce industrial overcapacity, especially in the steel industry. In some cities, blue-sky days have increased dramatically since the clean-air campaign was launched. That is the kind of environment people long for and deserve.
Such environmental welfare approach can help reduce the healthcare bill of families and the government. From a policy point of view, these practices may help the government put a ceiling on total energy consumption. And if that happens, it would be a huge step forward in fulfilling China's commitments to reducing energy consumption.
Another revolutionary step would be to revise the peak year for China's carbon emissions, which was previously set by the government around 2030.
It seems Xi's goal of developing a green and beautiful nation is on way to be achieved before schedule.
The author is deputy chief for China Daily European Bureau. fujing@chinadaily.com.cn
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test, in this undated handout photo provided by the US Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency. [Photo/Agencies]
Recently, South Korea announced that it will deploy the defensive system THAAD in the countrys south. The South Korean government justified its decision by stating that its objective is protecting its citizens from unexpected future attacks especially from North Korea.
Before venturing into the impact of deploying THAAD upon the relations between the nations in the region specifically and its consequences regarding the world peace generally, heres a brief introduction of the system.
THAAD is an acronym that stands for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. Its mechanism is based upon shooting down short and intermediate ballistic missiles before they strike their targets. Using Kinetic energy, the system will destroy the attacking missiles.
It is too obvious that South Korea is suspicious of the intentions of North Korea which possesses such weapons.
The system consists of five fundamental components. The interceptions, using the radar, will detect any incoming missile that attempts to attack the South Korean nation.
With the help of the fire control and support equipment, the launchers will fire projectiles to destroy the attacking missiles.
Due to the fact that the system has no warheads on its missiles, it is potentially safer than colliding with the incoming nuclear missiles. According to nuclear experts, destroying them with the system will not cause nuclear explosion.
The system has been used by the US for several years to protect units in Guam and Hawaii.
The South Korean officials explained the need to deploy the system emphasizing the fact that North Korea, in defiance with the international community, continues to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Consequently, it is the responsibility of the South Korean government and its alliances to maintain a viable defense system against aggressive actions from North Korea. They believe that THAAD will accomplish that objective.
Despite statement from the US that the main objective of deploying the system is protecting South Korea from future attacks from North Korea, the project is causing a great deal of controversy.
China and Russia expressed great concern about the impact of deploying the system. They believe that it will lead to militarizing of the peninsula and escalating the already existing tension in the region. They emphasized that the US has a devious motive which is intensifying its presence in South Asia.
Assuming no surprises in the second half of the year, Chinas growth in 2016 will remain near the target of 6.5 percent reflecting structural transition in the mainland, secular stagnation in the West and post-Brexit tensions globally.
In mid-July, Chinas second-quarter GDP figures beat estimates with a 6.7 percent expansion, thanks to support by a slate of stimulus measures from the government and the central bank.
In the next two quarters, Chinas growth is expected to decelerate to around 6.5 percent or less. In annualized figures, the quarterly data indicates an expansion of nearly 6.5 percent, which remains close to the ambitious target of 6.5-7 percent. At the same time, the consumer price index (CPI) is likely to increase to 2.5 percent.
Diminished global prospects
Since early spring, policymakers have opted for fiscal and monetary stimulus, particularly to support property markets which have fueled home prices, while contributing to construction, employment and stability.
However, the central government is between a rock and a hard place, thanks to diminished global prospects.
In the US, fiscal conditions have tightened and rate hikes remain on hold. In Europe, expansion relies excessively on central banks quantitative easing and ultra-low rates. In Japan, Prime Minister Abe is pushing still another huge fiscal stimulus, while central bank is relying on negative rates and aggressive monetary injections.
In this international comparison, the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) looks almost conservative as it has allowed the deflation of some asset bubbles. Nevertheless, while the PBOC may not resort to policy rate cuts, it is likely to engage in further cuts of reserve ratio requirements (RRR), which will reduce the amount cash banks need to hold.
As a result of leverage, Chinese banks non-performing loans (NPLs) have increased, while concerns have risen about asset quality, due to credit expansion.
Beware of sustained credit expansion
Between 2007 and 2014, debt-to-GDP ratios rose in major advanced economies, by more than 50 percentage points in many cases. During the same period, Chinas debt quadrupled to $28 trillion, fueled by real estate and shadow banking.
In the advanced West, accumulated debt will constrain growth for decades to come. Despite relatively faster debt accumulation, China may be better positioned to overcome credit expansion.
Unlike major advanced economies, China can still manage its debt on the back of growth. In the US, government debt exceeds 105 percent of the GDP, while below 2 percent growth is not adequate to contain the challenge. Whats worse, Washington lacks a credible, bipartisan and medium-term debt plan. In the Euro area, government debt exceeds 96 percent of the GDP, while 1 percent growth is inadequate to defuse the challenge. Whats worse, while Brussels may have political will to contain the debt burden, it lacks the institutions to do so.
Second, in advanced economies, general government debt is a result of a long-term gap between revenues and expenditures. The leverage is structural. In China, government debt is still tolerable, whereas excessive leverage evolved largely at the local level following the 2009 stimulus.
Nevertheless, Chinas credit expansion remains about 13 percent; twice as high as the countrys growth pace. Moreover, concern is increasing about shadow banking-associated indebtedness.
Flight officer Rayan Gharazeddine looks out of a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) AP-3C Orion as it flies over the southern Indian Ocean during the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 March 22, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]
CANBERRA -- A leading air crash expert has said missing Malaysia Airlines fight MH370 was likely to have been in controlled flight as it hit the water, giving life to the theory it was brought down by a rogue pilot or hijacker.
Air crash expert Larry Vance told Australia's Nine Network that there was no other way to explain why the flaperon, found off the coast of Madagascar, was "extended" meaning it would have been in controlled flight as it hit the water.
Vance said the only way to extend the flaperon, something which happens when a plane is attempting a landing, was for the pilot to engage a switch, something which is unlikely to have occurred during an sudden disaster.
"You cannot get the flaperon to extend any other way than if somebody extended it," Vance told the Nine Network's 60 Minutes program overnight.
"Somebody would have to select it (in the cockpit)."
Vance said, from photos released of the flaperon, there was evidence to show the aeroplane hit the water at a controlled speed, pointing to it being a "human engineered event."
"Somebody was flying the aeroplane into the water... There is no other alternate theory that you can follow of all the potentials that might have happened. There's no other theory that fits," he said.
Overseas Chinese students at the University of Washington in Seattle are being targeted in a tuition scam run on the Chinese social networking app WeChat, according to university police.
The number of Chinese victims is said to be about 90, and $1 million in tuition fees has been stolen from them, University of Washington Police Department investigators told Seattle Times on Monday. A suspect has not been identified, according to police.
"We received reports from multiple students, and are working hard to resolve this case," Major Craig Wilson of the university police told China Daily.
On July 19, police alerted students to the scam and urged them not to share their university information or checking account numbers with anyone. The scam began to unravel recently when a New York detective contacted the university about the use of stolen credit cards for summer tuition payments, The Seattle Times reported.
The newspaper, citing university police, said that at least 19 students have been defrauded, totaling $190,000.
A freshman male from South China's Guangdong province, who asked not to be identified, told China Daily that he was tricked into believing that he could save 5 percent of his summer quarter tuition (about $10,000) by sending money to and providing personal university account information to a female Chinese student who contacted him on WeChat, a popular messaging app for Chinese students in the US.
"I never doubted it because I received a confirmation letter from the university saying my tuition balance is changed to 0," he said. "But several days later, the balance was back to the previous number, and I realized it was a scam.
Another victim, a junior from Beijing, told China Daily he has known the female student who helped promote the scam for years. However, he also said it is too early to decide if she is part of the criminal operation.
"Some Chinese social media go too far right now. I have reported it to the police and am still waiting for the result of the investigation," he said.
"I think the scam works because the female student who originally approached these students claimed that she has been working with the Husky Help Organization," said the student, a member of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association at UW. "Some of us even have met and worked with her before."
The association is the largest non-profit organization of Chinese students at the school. "To Chinese students, 5 percent of tuition for a quarter is good enough to cover one month of meals," said the student.
Husky Help is a nonprofit, registered student organization at the university, established by several UW Chinese international students in 2013. The organization is dedicated to helping international students, especially those from China, to adjust to the new living/social/study environment at UW, and is popular with Chinese students.
On Sunday, the UW International Student Services alerted students to a scam in which telephone callers posing as police or agents of the Internal Revenue Service or US Customs and Immigration Service tell students that they owe money, and unless they pay immediately, they will be arrested or deported. The callers know students' names and other personal information.
lindadeng@chinadailyusa.com
In its 2016 defense white paper, Japan interferes in the South China Sea. [Photo by Cai Hong/chinadaily.com.cn]
On August 2, Japanese government approved this year's version of defense white paper, which described the security environment surrounding the country "increasingly severe". It highlighted "more tangible" and "acute" challenges and destabilizing factors.
The white paper went to great lengths to define China as one of the "destabilizing factors" along with Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
It made irresponsible accusations against China, claiming that China continues to act in an "assertive" manner, including attempts at changing the status quo by coercion. China's "dangerous acts" in the South China Sea and East China Sea could cause unintended consequences.
On June 8, three Russian naval ships entered the waters close to the Diaoyu Islands. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Hatakaze quickly followed them into that area. In response to the Hatakaze's entry, the Chinese Jiangkai I-class frigate rushed into the waters, according to the Japanese weekly Nikkei Asian Review.
Hiding the first part of the episode, the white paper criticized China for its frigate's entry into Japan's "contiguous" zone near the disputed islets in the East China Sea. (To overblow Chinese ship's entry, Japan's foreign ministry summoned Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua in the tee hours of that day, and lodged a protest.)
Refusing to have a territorial dispute in the East China Sea, Japan is unlikely to talk with China over its settlement, leaving the waters near the islands a minefield.
The white paper, the first after Japan's security legislation went into effect in March, played up the so-called "gray zone" situations, or neither pure peacetime nor contingencies over territory, sovereignty and economic interests.
The white paper served as an implementation scheme for the controversial security bills that enable Japan's Self-Defense Forces to play a more comprehensive global military role and allow implementation of the new US and Japan alliance guidelines.
The legislation provides greater flexibility, responsiveness, and interoperability for training, exercises, and planning on a broader spectrum of security issues by easing restrictions on Japanese Self-Defense Force operations, including the ability to exercise collective self-defense. This will empower Japan to be an active player at the region and global stages.
The defense legislation eliminates geographic constraints by substituting a situational threshold (situations that "gravely affect the peace and stability of Japan") rather than limiting support to "situations in areas surrounding Japan". It authorizes support to non-US troops.
A British consultant talks with a visitor over the weekend at the 2015 China Education Expo in Beijing. WANG ZHUANGFEI/ CHINA DAILY
There's good news for Chinese students in the UK. The British government has issued a new visa policy that allows foreign students to stay six months more after their course ends. They will not have to submit proof of funds or education background certification.
A spokesman of UK Home Office said that the new plan, which was officially launched on July 25, will attract more students and at the same time allow buffer time for them to apply for work visa (Tier 2 visa). The new rules apply only to students of some elite universities. The government will monitor the situation in real-time to assess the changes.
The new plan is aimed at overseas student visa (Tier 4 visa). According to the new policy, students will have a six-month extended visa period on the course duration basis, two months longer than earlier. However, this plan only applies to graduate students admitted to Cambridge University, Oxford University, Imperial College and University of Bath. Also the course duration shouldn't last for more than 13 months (pre-sessional language courses excluded).
Besides, no fund or education background certification will be required, although Cambridge has asked students to prepare all these necessary papers to avoid rejection.
This is the first time ever in the past four years that the UK government has eased overseas student visa policy as new PM Theresa May shifted her tightened policy on migrants as Home Secretary.
Long before May took office, immigration policy had become a nightmare for Chinese students and immigrants. May called off PSW visa in 2012, which allowed two more years for the graduates to stay in UK without any work visa. She also tried to cancel the four-month extended visa period for overseas students, claiming that the grace period was not needed. The plan was shelved after then-finance minister George Osborne intervened.
In general, visa policy of UK regulates three kinds of visa types: visitor visa, work visa and student visa. Work visas include Tier 1 visa (for entrepreneur), Tier 2 visa (for general worker) and Tier 5 visa (for temporary worker). Student visa is Tier 4 visa.
More allegations could surface in a state investigation of Stillwater County Weed Control Coordinator Will Patterson, including that pornography was present on his county computer.
The Montana Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation is conducting the probe, which started in the wake of allegations that Patterson used county resources to spray a Stillwater County commissioner's private property.
The commissioner, Dennis Shupak, owns about 425 acres of land north of Columbus, according to records from the Montana Department of Revenue.
But a July 22 letter from Stillwater County Attorney Nancy Rohde to DCI Investigation Bureau Chief John Strandell notes "numerous developments" in the case.
" ... there is substantially more to the initial allegations, including the finding of pornography on the Weed Coordinator's computer," Rohde wrote.
Rohde also indicated that Patterson may have sprayed more than one private property with county equipment.
Rohde would not comment further. Shupak has also declined to comment on the matter.
The investigation began in late June, after Patterson was put on paid leave amid the allegations. An interim coordinator has been at the helm of the weed control district.
Department of Justice spokesman John Barnes confirmed on Monday that the investigation is still ongoing.
Let me start with the following two propositions:
I have zero inside information about Uber in China. I think Uber did the absolute right thing by selling most of its China operations to Didi. I base this less on what I know about Ubers business and more on what I know about doing business in China.
The Washington Post, in its article, Why Didi Chuxing is buying Uber in China, has this to say about the deal:
Didi Chuxing, Ubers archrival in China and the largest ride-hailing service in the country, is buying Ubers China operations.
The deal has a lot of advantages for Uber, which is privately valued at $68 billion. The San Francisco company will receive a $1 billion investment from Didi, according to individuals familiar with the agreement. Uber, which will maintain its brand in China under Didis ownership, will receive a 17.7 percent stake in Didi, according to a press release sent from Didi. The terms are evidence that Uber put up a strong fight and that both sides had a lot to gain from a partnership.
It then gives us the obligatory company quotes about how the two companies working together will be able to achieve so much more than had they remained apart and how their deal will set the mobile transportation industry on a healthier, more sustainable path of growth at a higher level.
Yada, yada, yada.
Many years ago, I spoke at a high level conference in Hong Kong for a particular industry. My talk was on what these companies needed to do from a strictly legal perspective to get into China. I talked about the logistics of going into China as a joint venture, as a WFOE, and by staying outside of China and simply licensing their brand names and technology to Chinese companies. I was originally supposed to speak for around 45 minutes and I prepared my talk accordingly. But about an hour before my talk, the organizer asked me to do whatever I could to stretch it out to 75 minutes because one of the speakers scheduled for later that day had fallen ill. I had no problem agreeing as I speak without notes and strongly encourage questions and so I am used to having to adjust as I go along, usually by adding or subtracting examples or by riffing more or less on a point.
So on this day I would obviously need to riff more and I did. Oh how I did.
Whoops.
At one point, I started riffing on the differences between joint ventures that work and those that dont and on how joint ventures tend to fail as soon as the Chinese side believes it no longer needs the foreign side. Then after I said that, I decided I would use this particular industry as an example and as I started doing that I starting musing out loud on how I did not understand what it was that Western companies in this industry had to offer Chinese companies and that when I had asked Western companies what would allow them to to outcompete their Chinese competitors, their answers were vague at best.
This did not make the audience (all in this particular industry) happy and after my talk a handful of participants rushed me to give me the same weak explanations I had already heard all given with near religious zeal. As far as I know, no Western company has succeeded in this industry in China yet and it is looking like one never will.
Why do I bring up that event in this post? Because Chinese companies will almost always (though not always) be able to maintain lower cost operations in China than a Western company and so Western companies without other advantages generally dont succeed in China.
Is this what happened with Uber?
Uber founder Travis Kalanick pursued the China market fiercely, and has made dominance in China a top priority. He visits the country frequently attempting to woo everyone from local government officials to city police forces, which had cracked down on ride-hailing services (China legalized ride-hailing services in July). His first call in the morning was to his colleagues in China, the individuals said. The company entered the China market in 2014.
But the battle with Didi was costing both companies huge sums of money. Uber reportedly spent $1 billion last year. In China, they were neck-in-neck in a race to the bottom, frequently lowering their prices to lure consumers and constantly raising money to outdo the other. In the end, neither company was profitable in China.
At some point, it looks as if reality set in.
If true, Ubers sale was both brilliant and timely. Uber gets a stake in Chinas ride hailing service without taking on massive risk. Equally importantly, Uber gets to contribute and profit from its core expertise, without having to get too much into the muck:
Selling itself to Didi was a way for the company to stay competitive in China without burning through its cash. The merger will tie the fates of the two companies, both of which have global ambitions, together. As part of the deal, Baidu and other Chinese shareholders of Uber will also receive a 2.3% economic interest in Didi. Under the agreement, Didi Chuxing will also obtain a minority equity interest in Uber. Cheng Wei, founder and chairman of Didi, will join the board of Uber. Kalanick will join the board of Didi.
One big benefit Didi may get from the deal are software algorithms that Uber has developed. For far longer than the four-year-old Didi, Uber has invested in hiring data scientists and engineers who write code to match drivers with passengers, essentially triangulating peoples locations in real-time and then predicting supply and demand. Top talent in data science is still hard to come by, said Didi Vice President Stephen Zhu, in a recent interview with The Washington Post. To help identify and recruit talent, the company announced a $100,000 prize in machine learning a branch of computer science associated with artificial intelligence, prediction, and data mining in the U.S. earlier this year.
In the long term, Didis success will depend on its artificial intelligence algorithms, Zhu said. Every user and driver have their own preferences and patterns and we have to match them all in a second,he said. The core is artificial intelligence, in essence, the pattern of how people move around in big cities.
I guess all I am saying is that companies especially SMEs should not be so quick to demand full control over what they do in China and should think longer and harder about how they can stick their toes into China via licensing deals and distributorships.
Our China lawyers get calls all the time from American, Australian, and European companies seeking our help in getting them out of China by extricating them from their joint venture or by helping them close down their WFOE. But I truly cannot remember an instance where we have been called to help a company get out of a well crafted China licensing agreement or China distributor relationship.
Just something to consider.
MISSOULA The Roaring Lion fire capitalized on some exotic wind conditions during its Sunday evening takeoff, and it will have more atypical weather on Tuesday.
We expect to upgrade to red flag warnings on Tuesday afternoon, when a strong cold front moves in, National Weather Service meteorologist Genki Kino said on Monday morning. A cold front this strong for this time of year is unusual.
The front should bring winds with gusts between 25 and 35 mph through the Bitterroot and Missoula valleys on Tuesday afternoon, with speeds in the mountain ridges topping 50 mph around Tuesday evening. Thats likely to make firefighting on the 3,505-acre Roaring Lion fire 5 miles southwest of Hamilton extremely challenging.
About 150 firefighters have been deployed to the blaze, with a Type I incident command team expected to take over operations Tuesday morning. The Roaring Lion fire has triggered evacuations of at least 500 people, with another 1,000 residents on pre-evacuation notice. The fire threatens about 400 primary homes as well as about 100 secondary homes near Hamilton.
Many observers noticed the fire smoke column rotating as it rose on Sunday evening. Kino said thats because a regular down-canyon evening wind created spinning vortexes as the fires uphill heat pushed the opposite direction. The effect is similar to whirlpools that form between the main downstream current of a river and the upstream flow of a streamside eddy. In the Roaring Lion fire, the wind shear also created fire whirls that lifted tornadoes of flame hundreds of feet into the air.
Rick Potts has been spending the summer at the St. Mary Peak fire lookout, about 23 air-miles from Roaring Lion Canyon. Although he served on an initial attack team during the catastrophic Yellowstone National Park fires of 1988, he said hed never witnessed fire behavior like Sundays in the Bitterroots.
Watching that go from a thin plume of smoke to a roaring inferno within half an hour Ive never seen that, Potts said. It went from something you might handle with initial attack to something you couldnt get close to. And the Forest Service and Hamilton Fire (Department) moved on it almost instantly. They had engines and a helicopter up there but by the time they got to it, it exploded up the hill, spotted and started a second fire. It just engulfed the whole mouth of the canyon.
Tuesdays cold front should pass out of the Bitterroot Mountains area by Wednesday morning. But it will be followed by persistent hot weather leading to a weekend of potential dry thunderstorms. Those storms carry lightning that could trigger more wildfires.
Missoula County fire officials raised the local fire danger status very high on Monday.
All fuels both live and dead have dried to the point that fires will become very active quickly, said Jordan Koppen, spokesman for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. We cant afford for anyone to be careless during activities that have the potential to start a fire, so we urge the public to be extremely cautious with fire.
Koppen added that equipment operators and motorists towing trailers should be especially careful about controlling hot metal and friction sparks while outdoors. More information on fire-safe tactics is available at http://firesafemt.org/.
On Monday afternoon, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Roaring Lion firefighting efforts were eligible for federal assistance. Federal Emergency Management Agency funds can be used to cover 75 percent of state and local firefighting costs. However, the grants do not provide assistance for individual home or business owners affected by the fire, or other infrastructure damage related to the fire. FEMA spokesman Randy Welch said the money would pay for field camps, equipment use, repairs and replacement, tools materials and supplies.
The increased tempo of fire activity has forced state and federal fire crews to prioritize their resources. Lolo National Forest spokesman Boyd Hartwig said three 20-person Hotshot crews have been released from the 13-acre South Tamarack fire 6 miles north of St. Regis after reaching mop-up status on Monday. A Type-II initial attack crew remains on the scene, where the fire is 20 percent contained.
The Northern Region Geographic Area, which includes Montana, shifted to Preparedness Level 3 on Monday. That reflects the changing tempo of fire starts and need for personnel, equipment and aircraft. The Northern Region remains ranked fourth out of seven geographic areas as fires in Colorado and parts of the Southwest demand higher priority. As dry weather shifts to the Northwest, that priority will shift as well.
Statewide, Montana fire observers reported 15 new fires including two large incidents (Roaring Lion and Copper King). Those come on top of five existing large fires and dozens of smaller blazes.
The Copper King fire 8 miles east of Thompson Falls should move to a Type II incident command management on Tuesday. It has burned about 700 acres. As of Monday, it had a crew of 33 backed up by a helicopter on the line.
While no evacuations have been ordered, residents in the Copper King and Snider communities have been warned to prepare their structures for fire defense.
Several roads along the west side of the Thompson River have been closed for fire safety, as have the Copper King and Clark Memorial campgrounds.
Bartlett & West was awarded the contract to draft a master plan for the Missouri Valley Complex, also known as the fairgrounds, at Monday's Burleigh County Park Board meeting.
The firm was chosen from three applicants. Spending in the contract is capped at $50,000.
The purpose of the plan is to determine uses for the 302-acre parcel.
Deadline for its completion is Jan. 31.
County Commissioner Kathleen Jones said a series of public meetings will be scheduled in the next four months to gauge what recreational features people want there. No new features are expected at the site until 2018, as 2017 will be a planning year, said Randy Bina, executive director for the Bismarck Park District.
Jones said changes to the fairground will be phased in over a 10-year period in the plan.
The Bismarck Parks and Recreation Department, contracted by the county to manage some county parks, started the plan with county support.
Jones said the county wants family-oriented features, but its future uses will hinge on what the public and stakeholders state they want and available funding. A nature trail, dog park, horse trail, anchor building and agriculture arena are among the requests received.
Projects that would be supported by community fundraisers could help advance the fairgrounds, she said.
A committee, including Jones and Commissioner Jerry Woodcox, interviewed the firms before making a recommendation to the county park board.
Lawmakers convene this morning for the 15th special legislative session in state history with a tall task before them: fixing a more than $300 million projected budget shortfall in three days time.
Both chambers gavel in at 9 a.m. Gov. Jack Dalrymple will then go to the House and deliver a brief 9:30 a.m. budget address during a joint session. From there, work begins on a five-page bill, which was unveiled Monday.
The bill will come before the Delayed Bills Committee before being introduced in the Senate. A joint meeting of both chambers appropriations committees will meet to gather testimony on the proposed budget bill before the Senate takes it up in its appropriations committee.
Republican majority leadership says the general plan is to complete committee work on the Senate side today, vote on it Wednesday morning and kick it to House for committee work. If all goes smoothly the House would vote on the bill Thursday morning before adjourning.
On July 13, Dalrymple ordered lawmakers to return to Bismarck this week to address a projected $310 million budget shortfall for the biennium.
The Republican majoritys plan calls for a 2.5 percent budget cut to general funded agencies, draining the remaining $75 million from the Budget Stabilization Fund and authorize a contingency transfer of up to $100 million in Bank of North Dakota profits.
K-12 education would be held harmless in the proposed plan through Foundation Aid Stabilization Fund dollars, while human services would be held harmless through general fund dollars and corrections budget cuts would be kept at 1 percent.
Visit www.bismarcktribune.com for further updates during the special session.
(Photo : YouTube) Uber and Didi Chuxing have joined forces.
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Two of the biggest players in the Chinese ride-hailing industry are set to merge forces. Uber Technologies recently announced that it is selling its China business to competitor Didi Chuxing, which happens to be the biggest ride-hailing service in the country. The deal will put an end to the ongoing battle for dominance between the two giants.
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The combined value of the two companies, Uber China and Didi Chuxing, are estimated to be around $35 billion. Investors of Uber China, which includes Chinese tech giant Baidu, will receive a 20 percent stake in Didi Chuxing. Following the deal, Uber will continue to operate its app in China for now.
The deal between Didi Chuxing and Uber China is considered a complicated one by many experts. It includes a stipulation that requires Didi Chuxing to invest $1 billion into Uber.
In a statement, Uber chief executive officer Travis Kalanick said, "As an entrepreneur, I've learned that being successful is about listening to your head as well as following your heart. I have no doubt that Uber China and Didi Chuxing will be stronger together."
According to some industry experts, the merger between Didi Chuxing and Uber China may complicate some of the latter's international alliances. Didi Chuxing is working with Lyft in the United States, Ola in India, and Grab in several Southeast Asian markets. According to Tech Node, Didi Chuxing also has a $1 billion investment in U.S. tech giant Apple.
In 2015, Didi and Kuaidi merged into a single company which created China's biggest ride-hailing service. The merger put together two of China's most valuable Internet businesses, Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings.
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TagsUber, Uber China, Didi, Didi Chuxing, ride-hailing, china
Buildings under construction are reflected on glass at the People's Bank of China office building in Chongqing, China.
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The Chinese government is set to grant more banking licenses to those who want to operate banks in the country, after initially awarding five private banks with licenses last year.
Twelve private banks are reportedly processing the necessary documents to get their licenses to operate, with most of them committed to provide financial assistance to technology startups and existing companies.
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According to the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), the banks have promised that should they receive their licenses to operate in the country, they will focus on helping technology companies in China.
China has been pushing for the entry of private capital into the banking sector through various channels, like allowing private companies to start the establishment of privately-owned banks.
The CBRC has written detailed rules specifying the principles, policies, standards and procedures for the approval of the establishment of private banks.
The market niche for these private banks includes internet finance and supply chain finance, depending on the backgrounds of their major shareholders and local government support. They will mainly target micro and small companies.
The city of Shanghai has a private bank, its first, but is ready for another in the city's Zhangjiang Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone. Regulators have finished a feasibility study to set up a private bank in Fujian, a province on the southeast coast of China. Other cities are also interested in establishing private banks.
One bank, Fujian Huatong Bank, which has a registered capital of Rmb3 billion (US$450 million), was promoted by 10 Fujian-based companies in different sectors, including retail, manufacturing and real estate.
Under the mechanism, a commercial bank will forge strategic cooperation agreements with investment institutions that invest in qualified technology companies. The bank will then extend loans to such tech companies.
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TagsChina Banks, China Private Banks, China Bank Licenses, China Bank Permits
(Photo : Twitter/Lenovo_in) Lenovo is planning a major expansion in India.
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Lenovo is planning a major expansion in India.The Lenovo-Motorola partnership is looking to increase its sales in the country. The company has sought the Indian government's approval to open single brand retail outlets to increase its sales in the country.
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Lenovo's move comes a month after the Indian government relaxed local sourcing rules for foreign companies interested in opening single brand showrooms in the country. China's Le Eco and U.S.-based Apple Inc. have also applied for single brand retail license.
"Sales have been growing at a healthy pace in India and we expect to maintain a strong momentum even during the current fiscal," Lenovo India's Sudhin Mathur told Times of India newspaper.
The Chinese tech giant also named Rajesh Thadani as the head of its India consumer business. Thadani, the former Lenovo Indonesia chief, will be tasked with accelerating Lenovo's consumer and online business to the next level, the company said in a statement.
The Chinese smartphone maker on Monday launched its next-generation smartphone model - the Lenovo Vibe K5 Note - in India. The Lenovo Vibe K5 Note is now exclusively available on India's top e-commerce platform Flipkart at Rs 11,999 ($180) for the 3GB variant and Rs 13,499 ($203) for the 4GB variant.
The smartphone has already been released in China and Thailand. It is powered by a MediaTek Helio P10 processor and features 16GB internal storage, expandable up to 256GB via microSD. It has a 5.5-inch display with 1920 x 1080 HD resolution and 13MP primary camera with dual-LED flash and an 8MP selfie camera.
The Killer Experience you've been waiting for can now be yours starting Aug 3, 11:59 pm. See you there! #KillerNote5 pic.twitter.com/DxqdaftXKY
Lenovo India (@Lenovo_in) August 1, 2016
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(Photo : Getty Images) Chinese state media has criticized Britain's decision to delay the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant project.
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Chinese state media on Monday criticized the British government for delaying Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant project.
State-run Xinhua news agency, in a commentary, slammed the U.K. for its "suspicious approach" to Chinese investments in the country.
"Giving the green light to a 24-billion-U.S.-dollar project can never be an easy decision, and China fully understands and respects British government's requirement for more time to ponder," it said. "However, what China cannot understand is the "suspicious approach" that comes from nowhere to Chinese investment in making the postponement."
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The commentary warned that the postponement of construction works on the nuclear plant could risk driving away Chinese investment in U.K.
The new British cabinet, led by Prime Minister Theresa May, recently decided to delay the ongoing work at Hinkley Point C nuclear power point. Former Business Secretary Vince Cable blamed May for the delay.
"When we were in government Theresa May was quite clear she was unhappy about the rather gung-ho approach to Chinese investment that we had," Cable said last week.
China, which is funding one-third of the nuclear power plant, has urged the British government to end uncertainty over the project. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, in a press release, said: "I'd like to stress that the project was agreed on by China, Britain and France in the spirit of reciprocity and win-win cooperation."
Hua added that the project, initiated by the previous British government, has always been supported by Britain, and France. France, on the other hand, also expressed its unhappiness over Britain's shocking decision to postpone the project.
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Tagschina, UK, State Media, Hinkley Point, France
Filipino fishermen prepare and resupply their boat for another fishing trip to the Spratlys, on July 10, 2016 in Mariveles, Bataan, Philippines. Filipino fishermen are ready to set sail into the South China Sea while claiming rights to the disputed waters between China and the Philippines. (Photo by Jes Aznar/Getty Images)
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Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui claimed that the ruling made by the ad hoc arbitral tribunal in The Hague on the claim of the Philippines in the South China Sea has no legal basis.
Hui told a leading Russian media that the ruling will have, under any circumstances, no impact on China's sovereignty, maritime rights, and interests in the South China Sea.
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He insisted that the Nansha Islands on the South China Sea have been under the territory of China since the ancient times, based on historical facts.
"China defends the settlement of the South China Sea dispute through dialogue and consultation with the directly involved countries on the basis of respect for historical facts and international law, with the aim to maintain peace and stability in the region," Li was quoted by a Russian media as saying.
The ambassador also clarified that China does not encroach on the interests nor envy the development of other nations. As such, it also does not give up its own legitimate claims and interests.
Saying the tribunal's ruling has no legal basis, Li said China did not participate in the proceedings and reiterated the government's stance that it neither accepts nor recognizes the ruling.
"In this way we exercise our rights in accordance with international law, and we also protect the dignity of international law," Li said.
China denounced the emphatic July 12 ruling in favor of the Philippines as an absurdity that had no legal basis and part of an anti-China plot cooked up by the United States.
Despite what it described as a ruling with no legal basis, the Chinese government has not resorted to taking stronger action nor has it expressed any sign of taking the issue by arm. China has instead called for a peaceful resolution on the issue while committing to defend its territory.
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TagsSouth China Sea, china sea
(Photo : Getty Images) US Assistant Attorney General John Carlin. Longtime FBI employee Kun Shan Chun has confessed to spying for China.
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A former FBI employee with access to classified information in the bureau faces up to ten years in prison after pleading guilty to espionage charges, US prosecutors said on Monday.
Chinese-born Kun Shan Chun, 46, was found to have provided sensitive US government information to the Chinese government during his long stint with the FBI, the prosecutors said.
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Chun was arrested in March by US authorities and is currently detained on charges of acting as a spy for China. He reportedly passed on classified US information to Beijing officials who allegedly showered him with money, services of sex workers, and expensive hotel accommodations.
Ten years
Prosecutors said Chun, who joined the FBI in 1997, faces up to ten years imprisonment after committing grave violations, one of which was his failure to disclose that he met with a Chinese national during his trip overseas
"Kun Shan Chun violated our nation's trust by exploiting his official position to provide restricted and sensitive FBI information to the Chinese Government," Assistant Attorney General John Carlin of the US Justice Department said.
In a criminal complaint filed against Chun, prosecutors accused him of secretly entering into a joint venture with a Chinese technology company called Kolion.
Expensive perks
The complaint also charged Chun with passing on vital information to the company in exchange for rewards.
As an electronic technician at the FBI, Chun had access to sensitive and classified information which he passed on to the Chinese government, the criminal complaint said.
Chun's legal counsel, Jonathan Marvinny, said he made a deal with the prosecutors to drop the lying charges against his client if Chun would plead guilty to espionage.
The FBI has stepped up its campaign to thwart Chinese espionage including economic sabotage allegedly being perpetrated by Beijing and Russia.
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TagsFBI, espionage, Washington, Beijing, economic sabotage, china
(Photo : Getty Images) China's Navy has conducted military drills in the disputed East China Sea.
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China's Navy on Monday kicked off combat drills in the East China Sea in an attempt to flex its military muscles.
China's Defense Ministry, in a statement, said that the Navy conducted large-scale military drills in the East China Sea.
The military exercise involved firing dozens of missiles and torpedoes. A submarine, a cruiser and more than 100 vessels from all three fleets of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) participated in the drills.
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"The exercise was aimed at bolstering the assault intensity, precision, stability and speed of troops amid heavy electromagnetic influences," the statement said. "An information technology-based war at sea is sudden, cruel and short, which requires a fast transition to combat status, quick preparation, and high assault efficiency."
Chinese officials, however, downplayed the drills saying that the military exercise should not be considered as a threat or provocation. Beijing recently conducted similar combat drills in disputed the South China Sea region.
The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration, on July 12, rejected China's territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea saying that it has no legal basis.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Japan expressed 'concern' over increased Chinese activities in the East China Sea region. "Recently, China has been intensifying activities near the Senkaku Islands, such as its military aircraft flying southward closer to the islands," the Japanese government said in its annual defense assessment paper.
Check out a footage of the Chinese Navy combat drills in East Asia Sea here.
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Tagschina, military drills, East China Sea
Chinese soldiers are taken prisoner during the Sino-Vietnmese War in 1979.
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The Communist Party of China has reacted to the call of warmongers within its ranks to attack the U.S. Navy in the South China Sea by getting its rubber stamp Supreme People's Court (SPC) to reaffirm China's jurisdiction over the South China Sea.
The Chinese supreme court issued a regulation of judicial interpretation to clarify China's jurisdiction over its territorial seas, including the South China Sea, which an international tribunal said China has no legal claim to. It also warned all foreigners of criminal liability for violating China's sovereignty. The regulation took effect Aug.1.
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The SPC regulation subverts the legally binding award to the Philippines by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. It seeks to justify China's continued defiance of international law by providing an alleged legal basis for China to safeguard maritime order, marine safety and interests and to exercise integrated management over the country's jurisdictional seas.
The regulation says Chinese citizens and foreigners will be pursued with criminal liability if they engage in illegal hunting or fishing, or killing endangered wildlife in China's jurisdictional seas.
The regulation was President Xi Jinping's strongest reaction yet to China's humiliating defeat at the Permanent Court of Arbitration on July 12. It fell far short of strident demands by hardliners within the People's Liberation Army (PLA) that China "give them (the U.S.) a bloody nose like Deng Xiaoping did to Vietnam in 1979." One source said the People's Liberation Army is ready for war.
The analogy to the 1979 war was inappropriate since the Sino-Vietnamese War from February to March 1979 was a humiliating defeat for China. Relying mainly on its vastly outnumbered but battle hardened peasant militia, Vietnam inflicted 26,000 casualties (8,500 killed) on the PLA. Chinese state-run media, however, portrayed the defeat as a great victory for China.
Xi, however, has resisted mounting calls for China to attack the U.S. Navy, the Philippines and Vietnam. He has supported the call for a peaceful resolution of tension through talks while promising to defend Chinese territory.
China will host the G20 summit from Sept. 4-5 in Hangzhou, and this high-profile gathering of the world's richest economies is preventing Xi from taking military action before the summit takes place.
Some Western military analysts believe the best time for Chinese military action against the U.S. and its Asian allies would be after the summit but before the U.S. presidential elections on Nov.4.
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TagsCommunist Party of China, Supreme People's Court, Permanent Court of Arbitration, South China Sea, People's Liberation Army, Sino-Vietnamese War
Black mold and overcrowding were two issues pushed forward as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro met with tribal leaders in Bismarck Tuesday to discuss housing challenges on reservations in the state.
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., invited Castro to the Northern Plains Housing Summit at the Ramada Inn to hear from tribes about an overall lack of housing as well as a need to test home environments for amphetamines.
What I heard today is that we need to look at sometimes barriers that exist in our housing programs that make it difficult for tribes to take advantage of those programs," Castro said to reporters after meeting with tribal leaders.
This was the second time Castro visited North Dakota, first visiting Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in 2014. Heitkamp invited Castro to visit North Dakota again last October to continue the discussion.
We are in crisis in housing in Indian Country," Heitkamp said. We need to find new and better solutions.
Chairman Dave Flute, of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe, said he sees families stacked in two-bedroom, one-bathroom homes. There are 13,000 members in his tribe, and about 7,000 people living on the reservation.
"We dont have near the amount of homes we need. Its such a large problem. Its a complex problem," said Flute, who noted every tribe faces different challenges when it comes to housing.
We do share some commonality with the mold, the meth and the lack of housing," he said.
On the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, mold already has made its way into housing built about six years ago.
Why is there mold in there already? Is it because of the materials were getting to build those homes? I dont know," said Flute, suggesting education of tribal members on how to take care of their homes also would be helpful.
"We need the technical assistance to educate and to teach not just the people that are going to live in those homes or rent those homes, but I also believe and would argue that our boards need that technical assistance, too," he said.
Maintenance issues
Jody Ground, acting director of housing at Fort Berthold, said his tribe's main concern is on funding for the upkeep of more than 730 units on the reservation, as well as for methamphetamine testing.
We have no new projects for the next year because were just trying to maintain the stuff that we do have at this time," Ground said.
About two years ago, tribal members developed a methamphetamine remediation program, in which unoccupied units were tested prior to renting them to ensure there's no methamphetamine.
"If they do come back positive and there is methamphetamine in there, then we go in and remediate them to the recommended EPA standard," Ground said.
No recoup of costs
But there's no federal funding available to recoup the costs for methamphetamine testing, he said. The remediation program comes from the tribe's own budget.
Ground said he's talked with other tribes who have methamphetamine programs in effect, some for more than 10 years.
"Every time Ive spoken to any of them the same thing comes up, we have no funding to recoup our costs as part of our remediation, he said.
Methamphetamine use has become a nationwide problem, not just on reservations. Ground said he's also concerned because there aren't any long-term studies done on the effects of methamphetamine in a home.
Its such a new thing, and were having to deal with it now more reactive instead of proactive," he said.
After meeting with tribal leaders, Castro said he also heard of difficulties tribes have with matching grants from HUD or other agencies.
That matching component is difficult for a tribe to come up with," Castro said. Thats the kind of very helpful information that we can take and look at.
Other solutions include marrying job skills development in Indian Country with the need in housing, Heitkamp said.
Theres no doubt that we have a huge need for housing. Theres no doubt that we have a huge need for development of job skills, and this is just a perfect place," she said.
To do this, there needs to be funding, she said.
We need to be creative. It's not just all going to come from the federal government, weve got to look a public-private partnerships, and we know that theres been places where this has worked very well," Heitkamp said.
For example, a tribe in Omaha, Neb., started a project on a housing unit in Detroit Lakes, she said.
Theyre developing skills there and theyre using that as a tribal corporation to basically build housing," Heitkamp said.
The project is funded through repayment, including recruiting people to live and work on a reservation and pay a mortgage or rent.
Often workers who come to work at the reservation leave because they have no place to stay, she said.
Weve got to look at expanding opportunities," Heitkamp said.
(Photo : US Navy) U.S. aircraft carrier group
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A war between China and the United States will be a conventional war in which China will suffer very severely, whether the war takes place in the next few years or by 2025, said a new report by U.S. global policy think tank the Rand Corporation. There is no possibility of a Chinese victory in this war.
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The "First Sino-American War" will only be fought in the air, at sea and in cyberspace. Its likely battlefields will be the South China Sea, the East China Sea and the Chinese mainland.
It will be the first conflict involving the U.S. and China since the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 that ended in an Armistice.
The First Sino-American War will see U.S. aircraft and missiles strike the Chinese mainland while China will be unable to attack the continental United States because it lacks the long-range strategic weapons such as aircraft carriers and long-range supersonic bombers to do so. China can only use cyber warfare against the American homeland.
Rand predicts the war will end in a bloody stalemate that will have catastrophic consequences for the economies of both the U.S. and China -- and the world.
There is also the likelihood of a Second Sino-American War.
"Each side's increasingly far-flung disposition of forces and growing ability to track and attack opposing forces could turn much of the Western Pacific into a 'war zone,' with grave economic consequences," said the study.
"It is unlikely that nuclear weapons would be used: Even in an intensely violent conventional conflict, neither side would regard its losses as so serious, its prospects so dire, or the stakes so vital that it would run the risk of devastating nuclear retaliation by using nuclear weapons first."
Rand also assumes that "China would not attack the U.S. homeland, except via cyberspace, given its minimal capability to do so with conventional weapons. In contrast, U.S. nonnuclear attacks against military targets in China could be extensive."
Rand believes American losses in this war will be significant, but Chinese losses might well be catastrophic.
"If either U.S. or Chinese political leaders authorize their military commanders to carry out plans for sharp strikes on enemy forces, a severely violent war would erupt.
"As of 2015, U.S. losses of surface naval and air forces, including disabled aircraft carriers and regional air bases, could be significant, but Chinese losses, including to homeland-based A2AD systems, would be much greater. Within days, it would be apparent to both sides that the early gap in losses favoring the United States would widen if fighting continued."
The reports said that as of 2015, "the longer a severe war dragged on, the worse the results and prospects would be for China.
"By 2025, however, inconclusive results in early fighting could motivate both sides to fight on despite heavy losses incurred and still expected. Although prospects for U.S. military victory then would be worse than they are today, this would not necessarily imply Chinese victory."
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Tagschina, United States, First Sino-American War
Australian atheists want non-religious to stop listing Star Wars characters as their religion on census forms 02 August, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , |
SYDNEY (Christian Examiner) These aren't the statistics we're looking for, atheists down under are saying in an effort to curtail the number of Australians who might list "Jedi " as their religion in the nation's upcoming census.
In the last census in 2011, more than 64,000 Australians listed the "hokey" religion, as the smuggler Han Solo called it in Star Wars, as their official religion. That was 6,000 more than listed their allegiance to the Force in the previous census.
But now, atheists in Australia don't find the listing of one's religion as "Jedi" to be a comical way of expressing no religion at all. That is why the Atheist Foundation of Australia is encouraging people to simply report "no religion" on the upcoming census.
In other words, atheists want the government of Australia to be aware of just how many of them there are in the country.
"Accurate census data helps policy makers & political leaders make all sorts of planning and funding decisions. So if you're not religious anymore, mark the 'No religion' box on the 2016 Census," an information piece provided by the atheist group says.
Those who chose a term like Jedi or the equally obscure Pastafarian (a religion devoted to the so-called Flying Spaghetti Monster) are officially counted in the "not defined" category instead of the "No religion" category.
"This reduces the 'No religion' numbers and therefore advantages the religion count. While it may be funny, it is serious mistake to answer in this way," the guide claims.
Some have suggested, however, that there might be a kernel of truth in people marking themselves down as the disciples of Master Yoda and Ben Kenobi.
Dirk Libbey writes at Cinema Blend:
"While certainly many in the nation are just making a joke at the census' expenses, maybe a few of them really do try to follow in the ways of the Jedi. It wouldn't be the worst religion to follow. It's about trying to connect with other living things, holding on to peace and letting go of anger and hatred (assuming you're a practicing light side Jedi of course). Maybe even those who started to list themselves as Jedi for the joke value have gone on to embrace the idea."
The Aussie Jedi are not the first officially to list themselves as Jedi. The running gag started in the United Kingdom in 2001 when nearly 400,000 listed themselves as knights of the Star Wars realm.
By 2011, the number had fallen to only 176,000.
Missionary family of five dies in tragic car accident 02 August, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , |
OMAHA (Christian Examiner) A missionary couple and their three young children were killed in car crash on a Nebraska highway July 31, the Omaha World-Herald reports.
Jamison and Kathryne Pals and their children 3-year-old Ezra, 23-month-old Violet and 2-month-old Calvin were en route from Minnesota to the last leg of their missionary training at the Colorado headquarters of WorldVenture when the accident occurred.
The couple had one month of training left before they would have been assigned to Japan.
According to Nebraska State Patrol, the couple's van was hit by a tractor trailer and pushed into three other westbound vehicles. Police arrested the driver of the semitrailer on suspicion of five counts of felony motor vehicle homicide. He is expected to be charged formally soon.
In this age, the Church is imperfect, to say the least. We are not blind to her shortcomings. Yet, we dare not downplay her beauty either. The Church is, after all, the Bride of Christ. Wisdom would tell us to think twice before insulting a man's wife. The Lord did not consider himself above dying for the Church; he does not now count himself above dwelling in her midst and working through her. If you care about people knowing and experiencing Jesus Christ, you should care about the work of establishing churches among the nations.
Others injured in the accident were transported to area hospitals for treatment and are expected to survive.
WorldVenture released a statement saying Jamison and Kathryne Pals were "all about the people of Japan being reached for Jesus, that they might know the joy of salvation."
"Following their language acquisition training they anticipated sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and discipling new followers of Jesus. In speaking with WorldVenture President Jeff Denlinger, Jamison and Kathryne's fathers each echoed this sentiment: 'Though we are devastated, we are praying that God would bring many to Christ through their testimonies and this tragedy,'" the statement said.
The Pals were members of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minn., where they served in the church's local ministry. They also worked in the church's international missions efforts. The church is well known for its pastor, John Piper, who stepped down as pastor in 2013 after nearly 30 years of service.
The church issued a brief statement via social media. It said the couple and their children will be sorely missed.
"We weep and mourn and ache together as their church family in a very specific way. Some look at death and see a tragedy the tragic end of all their hopes and dreams. As Christians, we look death in the face and see ultimate victory, not tragedy, because Jesus defeated sin and death for all of his people. Facing death without Jesus is an eternal tragedy weeping that never ends," the statement from the church said.
But it continued:
"And so, while we grieve, we rise up with the resurrection faith as we embrace together our blessed hope the Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. And so, we celebrate the fact that the Pals family is not dead, but more alive than ever because of the grace of God that is ours in Jesus Christ."
The Pals were planning on serving the Christ Bible Institute in Nagoya, Japan.
The Pals kept a blog "For the Joy of Japan." It features articles on their children, their planned move to Japan, and a fair amount of encouragement for the church to consider missions.
"The thing that makes Christian missions unique is Jesus Christ. And, Jesus Christ manifests himself to the world through his people. Therefore, we aim to reach the unreached by establishing local, visible expressions of Jesus Christ," Jamison Pals wrote July 15.
"In this age, the Church is imperfect, to say the least. We are not blind to her shortcomings. Yet, we dare not downplay her beauty either. The Church is, after all, the Bride of Christ. Wisdom would tell us to think twice before insulting a man's wife. The Lord did not consider himself above dying for the Church; he does not now count himself above dwelling in her midst and working through her. If you care about people knowing and experiencing Jesus Christ, you should care about the work of establishing churches among the nations."
Christians in Iran continue to face persecution, and pastors in particular are targeted, according to OneNewsNow.com.
Recently, three pastors from Azerbaijan were arrested after they visited Iran. International Christian Concern (ICC) reports that the reason for their arrest is unknown.
The Iranian government seems to target Christians for no apparent reason which has caused Christian families to be fearful for their safety.
ICCs Sandra Elliot commented on the persecution Christians face in Iran:
"They never really back off, she said. It's more about when we hear it happen. I think a lot more is going on than what we hear about, honestly."
She also condemned the actions of the Iranian government:
The identity of a nation as an Islamic republic is more important [to them] than anything else, including the sovereignty of citizens from other countries. It's absolutely ridiculous. It's a whole other level of tyranny when they're arresting visitors than when they're arresting their own people - which is also obviously a tragedy."
Elliot called on the U.S. government to condemn Irans actions and to do something about the persecution Christians are facing.
Publication date: August 2, 2016
A Tennessee newspaper has caused a stir for refusing to run an advertisement placed by a Christian store.
FoxNews.com reports that Lois McGinnis and her family own Cedar Springs Christian Store in Knoxville. The McGinnis family owns two store locations, but recently decided to close the second location.
McGinnis called the local newspaper, the News Sentinel, to place a going-out-of-business ad. McGinnis wanted the ad to say: Store closing sale Cedar Springs Christian Store Clinton Highway location All merchandise, fixtures, slat walls must go. Sale through August 13, phone 865.947.XXX.
But when McGinnis opened the newspaper the day the ad was scheduled to run, it wasnt there, so she called the newspaper office.
The employee whom she spoke with explained to her why the paper hadnt run her ad:
She said our ad did not run because it contained an offensive word, McGinnis told Fox Newss Todd Starnes. I asked what that offensive word was and she said the offensive word was Christian.
McGinnis received no notification from the newspaper that the word Christian would be considered offensive. The newspaper also did not say they would refund her money for not running the ad.
Cedar Springs Christian Store decided to tell their Facebook followers about the experience with the News Sentinel.
It did not take long for residents of the Knoxville area to call out the News Sentinel for its bias.
Because of the outcry, the newspaper eventually backpedaled and stated, We had a system failure, which resulted in a classified ad for Cedar Springs getting hung up in our front end system.
The newspaper also said they would now run the ad for an extended period of time without extra charge.
Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com
Publication date: August 2, 2016
A pastor from Oregon who won an assault rifle in a raffle may face charges for unlawfully transferring the weapon to a parishioner.
ChristianToday.com reports that Pastor Jeremy Lucas of The Episcopal Churchs Christ Church parish in Lake Oswego, Oregon set out to win the AR-15 rifle so that he could melt it down and remake it into a symbol of hope.
Pastor Lucas was hoping to add his voice to the gun control discussion.
Lucas succeeded in winning the rifle, which was the raffle prize at a fundraiser hosted by a local softball team.
Lucas spent $3,000 of his personal money and bought 150 raffle tickets. His plan worked when he won the rifle. However, he is now in trouble for handing the rifle to a parishioner after he won it.
Oregon law requires anyone transferring a weapon to someone else to make sure the other person has had a background check.
If convicted of unlawfully transferring a weapon, Lucas could face a fine of up to $6,250 and up to a year in prison.
He has not allowed this possible conviction to deter him from his original purpose, however.
"Anything that furthers the conversation about our gun laws in the state of Oregon, I'm happy that that would happen," he said.
Publication date: August 2, 2016
Iranian authorities charged a well-known pastor with acts against national security and beat another as persecution of Christians continued the past month.
Youcef Nadarkhani, a pastor once charged with apostasy and then acquitted in 2012, was charged with acting against national security. Summoned to the 13th Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht on July 24, he was released but then told he had a week to raise the equivalent of US$ 33,000 in security bond, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).
It was unclear why the court would release him without bond in order to raise a bond for his release. It was also unclear how much of the bond Nadarkhani has been able to raise.
Iranian Security Service (VEVAK) officers on May 13 raided the home of Nadarkhani and his wife, Tina Nadarkhani, in Rasht along with 10 other Christian households. The Nadarkhanis were arrested and then released immediately. Three other Christian converts, Mohammadreza Omidi, Yasser Mossayebzadeh and Saheb Fadaie, were detained and then later released without charge on a bond of approximately US$33,000.
With regards to Pastor Nadarkhani, the authorities summoned him, charged him and let him go home to raise the money within seven days, at which point he will be imprisoned if he fails, said Kiri Kankhwende, senior press officer for CSW. We cannot speculate as to why his case was handled this way while the other three members of his church were detained pending bail. Conjecture may prove unhelpful, so we would rather not speculate.
In 2010, the Iranian government charged Nadarkhani with apostasy and sentenced him to death. The charges stemmed from a 2009 arrest after Nadarkhani went to his childrens school to question the Islamic-only religious education that was available. In September 2012, he was released from prison following his acquittal on apostasy charges. He was found guilty of evangelizing, however, ordered back to prison on Dec. 25, 2012 and released on Dec. 7, 2013.
Mervyn Thomas, CSWs chief executive, said in a press statement, It is deeply troubling to hear of the renewed harassment of Pastor Nadarkhani. The national security charges leveled against him are spurious and an indication that the authorities persist in criminalizing the Christian community for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief.
Hunger Strike
Christian prisoner Maryam Naghash Zargaran, 36, ended a hunger strike she had resumed on July 5 after Iranian authorities denied her demands for early release.
Because Zargaran has served a third of her sentence and has shown good behavior, she qualifies for review for early release, according to Iranian statutes. She also sought release for several medical ailments, including a serious congenital heart condition known as an atrial septal defect, commonly referred to as a hole in the heart. Zargaran also has severe headaches accompanied by ear pain, tremors, chronic joint and spine pain and numbness in her hands and legs.
According to Middle East Concern (MEC), on July 20 prison officials examined Zargaran and produced a medical report confirming that her medical condition was serious. Nevertheless, according to MEC, Maryams request was considered and denied by an Iranian court, and the reason given for rejecting her demand was that MOIS [Iranian Ministry of Intelligence] did not want her to be freed.
According to the International Campaign for Human Rights, an official from MOIS met with Zargaran last month in prison and said that officials would review her case.
It is likely family pressure had some role in Zargarans decision to end her hunger strike. Twenty days into the protest, Zargarans family and friends noted a significant deterioration in her health.
Prison medical staff say that her blood pressure is very low, she has pains and numbness in her feet possibly early signs of Multiple Sclerosis and that she is suffering psychologically as a consequence of her imprisonment, MEC said in an earlier statement about her hunger strike.
The July hunger strike was not the first time Zargaran chose to starve herself over her detention. On May 27, she began a hunger strike to protest the prosecutors repeated refusal to allow her to temporarily leave the prison and go to a hospital for treatment that the prison wouldnt or couldnt provide. On June 6, she received permission to go to a hospital and stopped her hunger strike. But on June 19 she was ordered to return to prison. She complied and returned on June 27, too soon, sources said, for proper treatment of her infirmities. She resumed her hunger strike soon after.
Iranian officials arrested Zargaran in January 2013 for her activities in the Iranian house-church movement and her association with Saeed Abedini, a U.S.-Iranian Christian pastor imprisoned on fabricated charges related to his house-church work. Zargaran was found guilty of threatening national security and sentenced to four years in prison, which she began serving on July 13, 2013. An appeal for retrial was denied.
Appeal Hearing
Ebrahim Firoozi, a Christian convert from Islam, was beaten by prison guards July 13 and forcibly taken to a court hearing.
Firoozi, a prisoner in Gohardasht Prison in Iran, was summoned to the appeal hearing but refused to go because he thought it was sufficient for his lawyer to attend in his absence. Ironically, when Firoozi was brought to court, one of the judges in the case was absent, and the appeal hearing was postponed. It is set to reconvene in November.
A welder from Robat Karim, 25 kilometers (16 miles) southwest of Tehran, Firoozi has been under the scrutiny of the Iranian security apparatus since January 2010, when he was arrested for leaving Islam and hosting religious meetings. A Revolutionary Court convicted him of creating propaganda against the state and sentenced him to 10 months in prison, of which five were suspended.
He was released on June 8, 2011 but then arrested again on March 8, 2012. Charged with creating propaganda against the state for allegedly trying to create a website about Christianity, he was sentenced to one year in prison and two years in exile.
On Sept. 16, 2013, Firoozi was arrested a third time, and on April 2015, a judge in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced him to five years in prison for creating a group with the intention of disturbing national security for his role in organizing Christian meetings and conducting evangelical work.
Firoozi appealed but had been waiting for last months hearing for a year. During that time, he has been denied access to religious books, even though the books he requested were published with the permission of the Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
The whereabouts of four Christians from Azerbaijan arrested in Iran in June remain unknown. According to MEC, Eldar Gurbanov, Yusif Farhadov and Bahram Nasibov from Word of Life Church in Baku all went missing on June 24 after security agents raided an engagement party in Tehran and arrested about 10 people. Most of those arrested were released, but the four were detained. Their location is unknown, but they were able to contact their families once or twice, despite being confined in solitary holding cells.
Through MEC, the families of the three men issued a brief statement about the arrest and detention.
On 22nd June 2016 our husbands and fathers Eldar Gurbanov, Yusif Farhadov and Bahram Nasibov travelled to Tehran in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the statement read. They were invited as guests in Iran to participate in an engagement ceremony and meet with their Iranian friends. As we discovered later, they were arrested on 24th June by security agents during an engagement ceremony and they have not been charged with any crime. Eldar, 48, Yusif, 51, and Bahram, 37, are all married and have children. Yusif has a young son with Downs syndrome under his care. They have not been charged with any crime, and their future is unknown to all of us. We ask all who are concerned to help our husbands and fathers to return safely to their homes!
According to Present Truth Ministries, Amin Khaki, an assistant pastor and convert from Islam, was released July 14 from Ahvaz Prison. Khaki was arrested March 5, 2014 along with seven other Christians at a picnic in Shoush, in Khuzestan Province.
Khaki and three other Christians were later found guilty and sentenced to one year in prison for spreading Christianity. A re-trial was held on Feb. 1, and the sentences were upheld. In June, all four Christians presented themselves to Ahvaz Prison to serve their sentences.
Present Truth Ministries was concerned that Khaki would be forced to serve a previously suspended sentence of a year, but the threat never materialized, and he was released. Hossein Barounzadeh, Mohammad Bahrami and Rahman Bahmani still have four months left of their sentences to serve.
If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit http://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.
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Courtesy: Morning Star News
Publication date: August 2, 2016
On Thursday, July 28, advocates of immigration reform and White House officials gathered to discuss the significance of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) for the Asian American Pacific Islander community and to encourage those eligible to apply for the program.
A similar program was announced by Obama via executive order in 2014 called Deferred Action for Parents of American and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA, that would have offered protection from deportation and a renewable three-year work permit to parents with children who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The program, however, was blocked by the Supreme Courts 4-4 ruling, resulting in a non-decision that affirmed the lower court decision to block the program.
The gathering was held about a month after the Supreme Courts non-decision and advocates expressed that they wanted to reassure community members that the 2012 DACA program is still in place.
According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), over 1.1 million people in the U.S. are eligible to apply for DACA. The 2012 DACA program allows eligible undocumented individuals who came to the United States as young children to receive work permits and temporary exemption from deportation.
Within the AAPI community, over 130,000 undocumented individuals are eligible to apply for the program, according to a 2014 survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. However, only 14.6 percent of those eligible have applied.
We want to know why these numbers are so low, said Reva Gupta, Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
There are approximately 138,000 undocumented AAPIs in Los Angeles County, 16,000 of whom are eligible to request DACA, according to MPI. The largest populations come from the Chinese (3,000), Indian (1,000), Filipino (3,000), and Korean (6,000) communities.
For DACA recipients, two out of three have found jobs with better pay and over half have found work that better aligns with their education and training. Wages among DACA recipients have increased by 45 percent, Gupta said, referring to a recent survey by the Center for American Progress and the National Immigration Law Center.
Martha Flores, Chief of Staff at the Los Angeles District United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) warned applicants from seeking assistance from those perpetrating immigration scam, encouraging those interested to seek legal advice from authorized personnel and to visit uscis.gov for free resources.
A new study by a Pakistan-based NGO said that textbooks in Pakistan have material that promotes hostility towards non-Muslims religions.
The 52-page report examined 78 textbooks from grades five through 10, and found about 70 new additions of bias to the previously existing misrepresentations in the texts highlighted by a previous 2011 study.
The research was conducted by an NGO Peace and Education Foundation, and was funded by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
A Punjab textbook for sixth grade Islamic studies says, "Christians learned tolerance and kind heartedness from Muslims. The fair treatment and good governance of Muslims improved the living standard of the region. They started to live prosperous and peaceful lives under the patronage of Muslims."
A history book (Page 85) used in Peshawar schools, reads: "The English took power from Muslims, so they considered Muslims as their true enemies. They closed all doors of development to Muslims. So Muslims had no choice but to fight the English . . . Christian pastors were forcefully converting locals to Christianity."
Apart from citing historical instances which are not real, the material comprises of fundamentalist teachings encouraging individual Muslims to take steps against those who are not living virtuous lives.
Asma Bukhari, a Muslim lawmaker, expressed her concern that such education is breeding hatred and lack of love for humanity.
"Beards are getting longer," said Bukhari, a Muslim lawmaker. "Humanity is disappearing. Both women and Islam are being manipulated."
"Our textbooks are full of personal opinions, which have nothing to do with Islam. It is embarrassing that extremists shout 'Allah is great' (God is greatest) when they blow themselves up."
"Pakistan's public school textbooks contain deeply troubling content that portrays non-Muslim citizens as outsiders, unpatriotic, and inferior; are filled with errors; and present widely-disputed historical 'facts' as settled history," USCIRF Chairman Robert P. George said in a statement on the report's release. "Missing from these textbooks are any references to the rights of religious minorities and their positive contributions to Pakistan's development."
"These textbooks sadly reflect the alarming state today of religious freedom in Pakistan," he said. "A country's education system, including its textbooks, should promote religious tolerance, not close the door to cooperation and coexistence."
Reverend David B. Oh, the senior pastor of Southern California Bethel Church in Buena Park, was inaugurated as this newspaper's first chairman of the board of directors.
"As I was appointed to be the first chairman of the board and prayed about whether to take on the position, I realized that there is a specific calling for my role in helping spread the gospel of Jesus, and happily accepted," said Rev. Oh during the inaugural ceremony which took place on July 31 at Southern California Bethel Church. "I will do my part in the background to help Christianity Daily to share about Jesus, to help the churches and members of the church who believe in Jesus to become one, and to rebuke but also lead the world by sharing the gospel."
Leaders of several Korean Christian organizations were gathered at the inaugural ceremony, including the president of the Southern California Korean Ministers' Association, the vice president of the Council of Korean Churches in Orange County, and the president of the Council of Korean Churches in Southern California.
Oh graduated from Sungkyul University in South Korea, and also studied theology in Presbyterian Theological Seminary in America, Azusa Pacific University, and Houston Graduate School of Theology, and has served as a pastor in the Korean immigrant church context for some 40 years.
I had the privilege or reading a pre-release version of "God Shines Forth: How the Nature of God Shapes and Drives the Mission of the Church." Here are 20 quotes from the book, which you should pick up.
Where does a true patriot turn in the 2016 presidential election? The Democratic Party's national convention is attempting to lay claim to the patriot mantle. Yet the party is not quite there. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was heckled with chants of no more war. The Code Pink wing lost the nomination this year, but it won the platform and may yet win it all in the next cycle.
President Barack Obama seeded his own speech with patriotic grace notes, and though he recoils from Donald Trump, his horror at Trump's style seemingly blinds him to their similarities. On substance, they are more alike than not. This shouldn't be shocking, considering that Trump has been a Democrat for most of his life. What is stunning is the degree to which so many patriots whose eyes water at the flag and the national anthem imagine that Trump is a patriot in the same mold.
Obama reproached the Republican nominee for wanting to turn away from the rest of the world. But that's Obama's view, too. He's happier to be a follower than a world leader, never more gratified than when the U.S. is more modest. When asked why he failed to give even rhetorical or moral support to the millions of Iranians in the streets during the abortive Green Movement, his administration explained that the U.S. was tainted by its history and that any expression from us would have backfired.
His refusal to help the suffering people of Syria failing even to provide a safe haven for refugees, which has had radiating consequences for Europe's stability and security was grounded in the same perspective, that American power is blundering when it is not downright imperialistic. When he did intervene, as in Afghanistan, it was feckless. In Libya, he played second fiddle to European powers, which seems more morally acceptable to progressives.
Trump thunders that we don't win anymore (he's referring to trade, which is completely wrong) and bristled (rightly, in this instance) at the humiliation of our sailors at the hands of the Iranians in January. But like Obama on steroids, he takes a dim view of America's moral standing.
When he was questioned about his warm endorsements of Russian President Vladimir Putin and reminded that Putin has killed quite a few critics, Trump shrugged, Our country does plenty of killing also. That's an extraordinary calumny, implying not the indisputable fact that we have too many violent deaths in America but that, like Russia, our government engages in targeted assassinations of political opponents. Here Trump leaves Obama behind altogether.
Asked about the attempted coup in Turkey, Trump's tropism toward tyrants was manifest. He praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's success in thwarting the coup, and when asked about Erdogan's crackdown on thousands of journalists, educators, judges, civil servants and others, Trump was unmoved. I think right now when it comes to civil liberties, our country has a lot of problems, he said. He mentioned Ferguson and Baltimore and police being killed, and he offered this: When the world looks at how bad the United States is and then we go and talk about civil liberties, I don't think we're a very good messenger.
Trump misses the most crucial fact about Turkey: The thwarted coup may have empowered Erdogan to take one of the world's most advanced countries with a Muslim majority, a NATO ally, down the path of Iran. But also consider his view of America. Is that how a patriot thinks? We lack the moral standing to criticize other nations on human rights?
Trump has infamously praised Saddam Hussein (He killed terrorists no, the opposite) and Kim Jong Un, about whom he said: You got to give him credit. ... He wiped out the uncle. He wiped out this one, that one. I mean, this guy doesn't play games.
But Trump has reserved his greatest affection for Putin. Yes, George W. Bush praised Putin (once), but he wised up. Yes, Obama attempted to reset relations (less explicable), but he was forced to backtrack when Putin snatched Crimea, reintroduced Russia's military directly into Syria and made proxy war on Ukraine.
Trump is on notice about all of that and much more. It is common knowledge (which is not to say Trump knows it) that Putin's opponents tend to die by poison and other methods beloved by the KGB; that state-controlled Russian media ceaselessly incite America hatred; that Russian internet trolls seek to destabilize democratic governments in Europe and quite likely here; that Putin sides with Iran, Bashar Assad (Syria's genocidal dictator) and Hezbollah; and that Putin, having strangled civil society and freedom in Russia, seeks to recapture the lost glory of the Soviet empire. Yet Trump bats his eyes at Putin like a schoolgirl with a crush.
Part of Trump's appeal is chauvinism a strutting sort of nationalist appeal (unsupported by anything approaching policy ideas). It's more than odd, then, that his followers are unshaken by his willingness to be Putin's poodle.
Is Boston Cardinal O'Malley a Democrat Hack, Asks John Snyder Contact: John Snyder, Telum Associates, LL.C, 202-239-8005,
WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2016 /
"O'Malley criticizes Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for his immigration rhetoric but ignores Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's promotion of abortion, euthanasia and same sex marriage," Snyder added.
youtu.be/gthDhbdVZRU
O'Malley told Radio Teilifis Eirearn of Ireland July 17 he is worried about Trump's rhetoric on immigration, according to the Catholic News Service. "I worry about his rhetoric," said O'Malley. "It's very easy to stir up resentment and to blame groups of people."
Snyder noted, "Immigration is a matter of opinion but abortion is a matter of Catholic doctrine.
"Catholics cannot in good conscience vote for a political candidate who promotes abortion. That means Clinton. Why doesn't O'Malley tell it like it is? Is this prince of the Church an acolyte of the left?"
"Unfortunately," Snyder continued, "O'Malley is not alone in this episcopal recalcitrance. American Catholic bishops in general are ignoring a major moral responsibility.
"The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and individual ordinaries so far have failed to indicate that Catholics in good conscience may not vote for the presidential candidacy of abortion supporter Hillary Clinton," he added.
Snyder noted, "Father Stephen F. Torraco, Ph.D., in his EWTN analysis of catechism voting requirements for Catholics, states clearly that to vote for a candidate 'with the knowledge that the candidate is pro-abortion is to become an accomplice in the moral evil of abortion. If the voter also knows this, then the voter sins mortally.'
"If Clinton became president, she surely would nominate abortion promoting justices to the United States Supreme Court at any and every opportunity. She also would nominate abortion promoters to lower federal courts. She would appoint supporters of abortion and other heinous practices to various positions throughout the federal bureaucracy."
Snyder said, "A Clinton presidency would feature legal persecution of Catholics and the Catholic Church for upholding traditional Christian morality. This probably would include criminal penalties for conviction.
"Bishops should inform Catholics they cannot in good conscience support Clinton for president. The best practical way to prevent Clinton from becoming president is to elect the Trump-Pence ticket. Catholic Church officials and others can support the Trump-Pence ticket to preserve freedom of religion."
Share Tweet Contact: John Snyder, Telum Associates, LL.C, 202-239-8005, gundean@gmail.com WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- "Is Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley a Democrat hack," John M. Snyder of Telum Associates asked here today."O'Malley criticizes Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for his immigration rhetoric but ignores Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's promotion of abortion, euthanasia and same sex marriage," Snyder added.O'Malley told Radio Teilifis Eirearn of Ireland July 17 he is worried about Trump's rhetoric on immigration, according to the Catholic News Service. "I worry about his rhetoric," said O'Malley. "It's very easy to stir up resentment and to blame groups of people."Snyder noted, "Immigration is a matter of opinion but abortion is a matter of Catholic doctrine."Catholics cannot in good conscience vote for a political candidate who promotes abortion. That means Clinton. Why doesn't O'Malley tell it like it is? Is this prince of the Church an acolyte of the left?""Unfortunately," Snyder continued, "O'Malley is not alone in this episcopal recalcitrance. American Catholic bishops in general are ignoring a major moral responsibility."The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and individual ordinaries so far have failed to indicate that Catholics in good conscience may not vote for the presidential candidacy of abortion supporter Hillary Clinton," he added.Snyder noted, "Father Stephen F. Torraco, Ph.D., in his EWTN analysis of catechism voting requirements for Catholics, states clearly that to vote for a candidate 'with the knowledge that the candidate is pro-abortion is to become an accomplice in the moral evil of abortion. If the voter also knows this, then the voter sins mortally.'"If Clinton became president, she surely would nominate abortion promoting justices to the United States Supreme Court at any and every opportunity. She also would nominate abortion promoters to lower federal courts. She would appoint supporters of abortion and other heinous practices to various positions throughout the federal bureaucracy."Snyder said, "A Clinton presidency would feature legal persecution of Catholics and the Catholic Church for upholding traditional Christian morality. This probably would include criminal penalties for conviction."Bishops should inform Catholics they cannot in good conscience support Clinton for president. The best practical way to prevent Clinton from becoming president is to elect the Trump-Pence ticket. Catholic Church officials and others can support the Trump-Pence ticket to preserve freedom of religion."
home US Tennessee newspaper lifts ban on Christian ad after initially labeling the word 'Christian' as 'offensive'
A Tennessee newspaper has performed a U-turn after initially rejecting an ad for a Christian bookstore for containing the word "Christian," which it considered "offensive."
Cedar Springs Christian Stores took to Facebook on Saturday to thank its supporters and make a public announcement that the Knoxville News Sentinel finally agreed to run its ad.
"We have enjoyed a working relationship with the Knoxville News Sentinel and appreciate the work they do in our community," read the post. "We are grateful that they are now printing our ad and hope that the awareness brought to this issue will prevent mistakes like this going forward."
The paper also gave the Christian company an extra two days to run its ad for free for the inconvenience of the initial rejection.
The incident was sparked after Cedar Springs Christian Stores decided to close one of its locations, and the owners had decided to inform their customers about the closing down sale through an ad they submitted on July 26 to be run on July 28 that read, "Store closing sale a Cedar Springs Christian Store a Clinton Highway location a All merchandise, fixtures, slat walls must go. Sale through August 13, phone 865.947.XXX."
However, co-owner Lois McGinnis did not find the ad in the newspaper when she checked the paper on the scheduled day. She called up the company to ask what had happened.
"She said our ad did not run because it contained an offensive word," McGinnis told Fox News, on what a classified ads employee for the paper had told her. "I asked what that offensive word was, and she said the offensive word was 'Christian'."
McGinnis also lamented that the newspaper did not notify her about their decision not to run their ad nor return their money. So she shared the incident on social media, which resulted in outrage among many who rebuked the decision by the newspaper.
Knoxville News Sentinel referred to what happened as a "misunderstanding" between the two companies and issued Friday an apology on Facebook. They blamed the issue on a "system failure" and "technological issue" for misclassifying the requested ad by the Christian bookstore. They also stressed their good business relationship with Cedar Springs Christian Stores, their history of working together and added that they granted them extra running time for their ad at no extra cost.
Evangelicals and top Christian leaders meet Clinton in series of 'listening sessions'
Hillary Clinton's advisors and supporters have met with top evangelical and Catholic leaders in Washington recently for "listening sessions" to discuss policies for the Democrat presidential hopeful.
The closed-door sessions, each for about a dozen religious leaders, were not aimed at gaining support but on hearing concerns and recommendations on issues such as refugees, poverty and international aid. The first was organised as early as June 23 and have continued throughout July.
"The goal of both meetings has been to a) learn about the priorities of people of faith engaged in humanitarian work b) work with supportive leaders to help get them and their communities involved in our field organizing efforts in Virginia and elsewhere," a Clinton campaign spokesperson told TIME.
A representative from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops went to one of the early forums and said "we are open to meeting with both parties around development issues". He said the discussion encouraged religious perspectives on policy ideas.
Deborah Fikes, former permanent representative to the United Nations for the World Evangelical Alliance, who has endorsed Clinton, also attended a session.
"It truly was a listening session that offered substantive discussions with our feedback from faith organizations in the Middle East, with people on the ground working in some of the most critical locations with refugees and IDPs," said Fikes.
"I was encouraged that senior advisers to Hillary Clinton really understand the importance of the world that faith groups do in all aspects of American foreign policy and value and respect our advices."
Steve Roese, co-founder of Water is Basic in South Sudan with Bishop Elias Taban, said: "It is very encouraging, as somebody who is deeply involved in helping the marginalized, that a campaign would take time to listen."
Galen Carey, vice president of government relations for the National Association of Evangelicals, said "new orthodoxies" on social issues such as gay marriage could squeeze conservative religious groups out.
"Most of the humanitarian work in Africa, like schools and hospitals, were started mostly by missionaries, including a lot of evangelicals," said Carey.
"If the government tries to impose ideological constraints on civil society groups, then we could be written out of the picture, and that would be a lose-lose, certainly for our organizations, but much more importantly for the work that needs to be done."
French mosques will be built using taxpayers' money in bid to stamp out extremism
Mosques in France will be built using government money in an attempt to stop Muslims places of worship being funded by radical overseas groups.
The French Muslim Council (CFCM) proposed a new foundation for the construction and running of mosques, paid for by fees from the halal food sector. The French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve backed the idea and said he wanted it launched in October.
France has the largest Muslim population in the European Union and currently bans the use of public money for places of worship. But the Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said he wants to stop mosques being built with overseas funds.
Cazeneuve said 20 Muslim places of worship had been shut recently due to allegations of extremism. "There's no room in France for those who call for and stir up hatred in prayer rooms or mosques, and do not respect the principles of the republic," he said. The French government wanted "total transparency" in how mosques were financed, while maintaining the state's strict secular principle, he added.
The debate over mosque funding was reignited after Catholic priest Fr Jacques Hamel had his throat slit by two men who claimed allegiance to ISIS. The terrorist group said they were responsible for the attack in which five were taken hostage during morning mass in a town near Rouen, northern France.
There is suspicion that overseas funding has encouraged the radicalisation of some Muslims and France's recent spate of Islamist-inspired attacks.
Anouar Kbibech, the head of CFCM, said on Monday: "Almost all Muslims of France are attached to a serene, open, tolerant Islam and they are fully respecting the values and laws of the republic."
'Gay subculture and Grindr' at Irish seminary: why Dublin archbishop is sending trainee priests to Rome
The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has decided to stop sending trainee priests from the diocese to the Irish national seminary because of what he calls "strange goings-on" there, amid reports of a "gay sub-culture".
Instead of sending the would-be priests to St Patrick's College in Maynooth, in north County Kildare, Archbishop Martin will dispatch them to the Irish College in Rome. This process will begin with three seminarians going to Rome next autumn.
The move comes after claims in the Irish press of rumours that some of the 60 resident seminarians at Maynooth have been using the homosexual dating app 'Grindr'.
Martin told The Irish Times: "I wasn't happy with Maynooth...There seems to be an atmosphere of strange goings-on there, it seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around. I don't think this is a good place for students". He added: "However, when I informed the president of Maynooth of my decision, I did add 'at least for the moment'."
The anonymous letters were reportedly circulated in clerical circles about the use of the dating app.
However, The Tablet reported that Martin had made the decision "some months ago" and informed the other bishops of his intention at the summer general meeting of the Irish hierarchy in June.
Martin did not comment on the rumours, merely adding that he himself had a "certain bonding" with Rome and that he felt the Irish Pontifical college there provided "a good grounding" in the Catholic faith.
Martin spent 25 years at the Holy See in Rome, mainly at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace before being appointed Archbishop of Dublin in 2004.
The rector of the Irish college, Monsignor Ciaran O'Carroll confirmed that the three Dublin seminarians would be "transferring" to Rome.
Home Office wins appeal, can block Syrian refugees coming from Calais camps
The Home Office has won an appeal against a group of Syrian refugees who had been allowed to come to the UK from Calais' Jungle camp.
A landmark ruling in January meant that three teenagers and one 26-year-old who had relatives here could move to Britain immediately. Although the Home Office's case in the Court of Appeal on Tuesday was successful, it will not mean the refugees will be deported.
But Citizens UK, who bought the initial case, said the ruling could effect future claims from refugees with relatives in the UK.
The Bishop of Barking, Peter Hill, a spokesman for the campaign group said the Home Office must develop a "functional system" for identifying child refugees with potential to be reunited with their families in the UK. Relying on charities and volunteers to process claims one by one was "inefficient, costly to the taxpayer, and hugely stressful for the children", he said.
"We know of two boys who have died in the last 12 months trying to reach their families in the UK," he added.
"The government has a legal and a moral responsibility to ensure that refugee children who have close family members in the UK are granted safe passage."
The four claimants had fled Syria and one the 26-year-old suffers from severe mental health problems.
Under EU regulations asylum seekers must claim refuge in the first country they reach. Those with a relative in another European country can claim there but only once they have been processed in their first country.
Despite none of the four having successful claims in France, lawyers persuaded judges in January they should be allowed into the UK to claim asylum. But on Tuesday three judges "allowed" the Home Office's appeal and said bypassing the EU rules, known as the Dublin III Regulation, "can only be justified in an especially compelling case".
It continued: "In the light of the psychiatric evidence before the upper tribunal about the first four respondents and the evidence of the French lawyers and NGOs adduced by the respondents suggesting that there would be a delay of just under one year in the French system and that there was no possibility of expedition, the result the tribunal reached may have been justifiable.
"I am, however, not entirely persuaded that, had the tribunal applied the correct test, it must inevitably have reached the same conclusion. In those circumstances, the appropriate course would normally have been to remit the matter to the tribunal for reconsideration.
"However ... I have concluded that it would be inappropriate to take that course. I would therefore simply allow the appeal and make no further order."
George Gabriel, a campaigner with Citizens UK, said the ruling will make reuniting refugee children with their families in Britain more difficult.
He said: "When we brought this case, it was an enormous kick up the arse for the government, and the system is now working better because 50 children have been brought to Britain since the case.
"But it means that charities like ours will have to continue identifying children one by one, taking them through a lengthy bureaucratic process as they have to wait to be reunited with their loved ones.
"Today is a great day for bureaucrats because it means that the letter of the process will have to be followed despite the clearly unacceptable wait this leaves refugee children facing. We fear this means many will take the situation into their own hands, choosing between people traffickers on the one hand and train tracks on the other."
Tim Farron, the leader of the Liberal Democrats and an evangelical Christian, branded the Home Office "inhumane" and said: "It is disgusting that the government is putting ideology above what is best for these desperate and vulnerable children." He added there was "no doubt" it was best for the children to remain in the UK.
Yvette Cooper said she was "appalled" at the new Prime Minister Theresa May after she promised to defeat modern slavery at the weekend. The chair of Labour's refugee taskforce said the appeal would put children in "even greater risk of slavery, exploitation and abuse".
Israel detains senior World Vision employee, raids Jerusalem office
Israel has detained a member of staff from World Vision for more than 40 days and raided its Jerusalem office.
World Vision is the world's largest evangelical Christian charity and has operated in Israel-Palestine for more than 40 years.
However, it confirmed to ThinkProgress that one of its employees, Mohammad El Halabi, was detained while working in Gaza.
World Vision's East Jerusalem office released a statement in June saying they were "not aware of his whereabouts and of what (if anything) [El Halabi] is being accused,".
It said he was detained on June 15 at the Erez checkpoint on his way home from routine meetings and was held without access to legal counsel or family visits.
An update on Friday said his detention had been extended until August 2.
The statement said: "We will continue to reach out to the relevant authorities including calling on Israeli authorities to release Mohammad or allow him access to legal support."
It continued: "World Vision stands by Mohammad who is a widely respected and well regarded humanitarian, field manager and trusted colleague of over a decade. He has displayed compassionate leadership on behalf of the children and communities of Gaza through difficult and challenging times, and has always worked diligently and professionally in fulfilling his duties."
Israel frequently places Palestinians in "administrative detention", a process that does not require an indictment or trial. The practice has been widely condemned by human rights organisations who say it is open to abuse.
The apparent targeting of a World Vision employee for such a long period of detention marks an unusual attack on a charity run by a wing of the church with which Israel generally enjoys good relations. However, World Vision has been critical of Israel's policy toward the Palestine issue in the past. Its vice-president Steve Haas wrote an article for the Lausanne movement questioning Christian Zionism, saying: "This theological position has backed the largest and longest occupation of another people group in modern history, an oppressive Israeli legal system which [Archbishop Desmond] Tutu and many other church leaders have called 'apartheid on steroids'."
The organisation subsequently distanced itself from Haas' comments after fierce criticism from Christian Zionists, saying "broad statements such as those in the Lausanne piece oversimplify issues at hand, limit meaningful dialogue, and harden staunch perspectives toward the conflict". The comments about Christian Zionism in the article were "unhelpfully simplified and combative" and "limit meaningful dialogue between people who care about peace in the region".
However, it reiterated its position that a two-state solution was desirable.
Israel's continuing blockade of Gaza has led to the territory facing what aid agencies are calling a humanitarian catastrophe. Clean water is in desperately short supply, there is no sewage treatment and a UN report has said by 2020 there will no drinkable water there at all.
Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter for Donald Trumps The Art of the Deal, describes Trump, as a deeply damaged human being. He grew up in a way that left him without a heart or conscience. Hes a sociopathic Black Hole sucking up everything around him; he has no close friends.
Trump, is the apocalyptic Armageddon is upon us candidate. In his narcissistic, acceptance speech; he undemocratically said, Only I alone can fix it; when speaking of our America.
His wifes speech was plagiarized. Ted Cruz said, Vote your conscience. Home state, Ohio Republican governor John Kasich, didnt attend the convention; including the two former Bush presidents.
Trump questions our membership in NATO; whose purpose is defending Europe and North America from aggressor nations like Vladimir Putins Russia.
Trump, has an admiration of Putins strongman tactics.
When Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, she had a combative relationship with Putin. She compared Russias invasion into Ukraine to Hitlers expansionistic moves in 1930s Europe.
Trumps party platform doesnt call for arming Ukraine against Russian aggression; previous Republican platforms did.
Paul Manafort, Trumps campaign manager, was a consultant for the Russian backed, now-ousted pro-communist Ukrainian government. Manafort still has relationships with Russian billionaires.
FBI-NSA evidence indicates the Kremlins cyberspecialists breached the Democratic National Committees emails. Scheming to damage Clintons campaign outcome in a way that would allow Trump to be elected and presumably allow Putin to influence Trumps dangerous strongman impulses.
Trump wants to torture terrorists; evidence shows it doesnt work. The Geneva Conventions prohibit it.
Trump proposes to slaughter families of terrorists, including innocent children.
Trump said North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, You gotta give him credit for seizing the government and murdering his uncle.
My conclusion: Trump is irrational and has a depraved dark soul.
Additional information? Google: Donald Trumps Ghostwriter Tells All.
'Jurassic World 2' news update: Production set in Hawaii in February; Producer teases story
"Jurassic World 2" is in pre-production with the actual filming set in February in Hawaii. Producer Frank Marshall has been meeting with director Juan Antonio Bayona as well to put together the premise.
"I just got back from London from meeting with Juan Antonio and the production designer. We're designing, he's doing storyboards, and we're in full pre-production to start shooting sometime early next spring," Marshall revealed to Collider.
As for the story to be told in "Jurassic World 2," Marshall said that Bayona has been collaborating with Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow, who directed the mega successful first film.
"As a director Bayona has his input but Colin and Derek are writing the script, so there have been numerous meetings and we have the template for the movie," Marshall explained.
"But of course he's putting in his own ideas and taking ownership of it, but it's pretty much the same story that they originally came up with," he went on to say. He did not offer further details on this plot though.
There's a lot of pressure on "Jurassic World 2" being as good, if not better than the first one, which went on to become one of the highest grossing films of all time.
Marshall knows very well the pressure to deliver, but it looks like he got it covered as he has in place what will make the film a big hit a great story, action sequences that help the plot progress and the effective involvement of characters in these scenes.
That being said, "Jurassic World 2" will be more than just its larger-than-life dinosaurs that make for great visuals. Marshall's team is also finding ways to incorporate these in a story that will make sense with the characters.
Chris Pratt and Bryce Howard Dallas will be back in "Jurassic World 2" with Steven Spielberg set to be executive producer. The film releases June 22, 2018.
Pastor who won assault rifle in raffle could face misdemeanor charge
A US pastor who won an assault rifle in a raffle last week with the intention of destroying it might face charges because he passed it to a parishioner for safe keeping.
Rev Jeremy Lucas of The Episcopal Church's Christ Church parish in Lake Oswego, Oregon, deliberately set out to win the AR-15 rifle.
He spent $3,000 from a personal fund and donations and bought 150 raffle tickets. He won the prize, even though 499 were tickets sold in total. The raffle was organised to raise funds for a softball team from Milwaukee High School and other nearby schools who wanted to travel to California to play in the Western Regional Tournament.
As soon as he has his licence and can take possession of the gun, he will melt it down and work with an artist to have it remodelled into a symbol of hope.
However, according to Oregon Live he is facing potential charges because the law requires anyone transferring a weapon from one person to another to perform background checks, even when no money is involved.
Captain Bill Fugate, a spokesman for the Oregon State Police, told Oregon Live that Lake Oswego police had asked them to look into the case.
If Lucas were convicted of an unlawful transfer of a weapon he could face a maximum fine of $6,250 and up to a year in jail, Fugate said.
Lucas told the Portland Tribune he would cooperate fully with any investigation and was glad his actions had prompted debate about gun control laws.
"Anything that furthers the conversation about our gun laws in the state of Oregon, I'm happy that that would happen," he said.
Pope Francis takes step towards ordination of women in the Catholic Church
The Roman Catholic Church took the first tentative steps towards women's ordination today when Pope Francis announced a new commission to look at the possibility of women deacons.
However, there are concerns among campaigners for women priests in the Catholic Church that women deacons will be ordained in an attempt to fob them off from expecting any further moves towards equality.
In an indication that the Pope is serious about moving forward on this issue, half of the commission's members are themselves women, all highly regarded as intellectuals and academics from institutions around the world.
Pope Francis indicated in May that he intended to set up an official commission to study the diaconate of women, "especially with regard to the first ages of the Church."
Today's announcement came after a period of "intense prayer and mature reflection", Vatican Radio announced.
The Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women will be headed by the Archbishop Luis Ferrer, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and, like Pope Francis, a Jesuit.
Half of 12 other members are women: Sister Nuria CalduchBenages, a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, Professor Francesca Cocchini, of La Sapienza University, Sister Mary Melone, Rector of the Pontifical University in Rome, Marianne Schlosser, professor of spiritual theology at the University of Vienana, Michelina Tenace, professor of fundamental theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and Phyllis Zagano, professor at Hofstra University, Hempstead in New York.
Deacons are the first of the three holy orders of deacon, priest and bishop. They can take weddings and funerals but may not say Mass. Male deacons can also marry, unlike most Catholic priests.
Women priests in the Catholic Church would remove one of the main barriers to Anglican and Catholic unity, but would put a serious new barrier in place to unity between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.
The Vatican did make clear today that the Pope was not currently considering the issue of women priests.
Pat Brown of Catholic Women's Ordination told Christian Today: "This is good news. We see it as a step towards the ordination of women into the priesthood. We hope the commission will consider women on an equal footing with me in the diaconate. We do not see it as something we are just going to settle for. But obviously having women at the altar is going to help us. We will pray about it and hope it will be a good thing."
Rouen Cathedral packed as thousands gather for Jacques Hamel funeral
Thousands of mourners have gathered for the funeral of Fr Jacques Hamel who was murdered last week at the altar of his church at Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in Normandy by self-proclaimed Islamist militants.
Hundreds of people were gathered inside the 13th century Gothic cathedral in Rouen for the funeral Mass for the priest, who was taken hostage along with three nuns and two other fellow worshippers.
The service this afternoon was led by the Archbishop of Rouen, Dominique Lebrun, and attended by a number of clergy and public figures including France's interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, and Mohammed Karabila, the imam of the mosque at Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.
Pallbearers carried Hamel's coffin through the Cathedral's 'Door of Mercy' - so-called to mark this Jubilee Year of Mercy - and placed it on an ornate rug before the altar.
Addressing the congregation, Hamel's sister Roselyne recounted how during his military service in Algeria he had refused an officer's grade so as not give the order to kill others, and how he once emerged the sole survivor in a desert shoot-out.
"He would often ask himself, 'why me'? Today, Jacques, our brother, your brother, you have your answer: Our God of love and misery chose you to be at the service of others," she said.
In the homily, Archbishop Lebrun said: "As brutal and unfair and horrible as Jacques' death was, we have to look deep into our hearts to find the light."
The service, which took place amid tight security, is being followed by a private burial. The funeral was also broadcast on a big screen to mourners outside the church.
Hamel was attacked by Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean, both 19, who forved the priest to his knees before cutting his throat.
Sister Danielle, one of the nuns present, managed to escape and alert the authorities, who shot the attackers dead as they left the church.
Self-styled Islamist militants have killed more than 200 people in France since January 2015. The Prime Minister, Manuel Valls has said that the State must reinvent its relationship with the "Islam of France".
France has the largest Muslim population of any country in the EU, around 8 per cent of the total.
Philippe Maheut, the vicar general of the Rouen diocese, said: "Father Hamel's stole, the sign of his life as a priest, will be put on the cross of Christ, in the choir of the cathedral as a sign that, like Jesus, he gave his life in a way that was not chosen, but was real".
Additional reporting by Reuters.
Satanic Temple wants to establish Satan clubs in U.S. public schools
After targeting invocations at city council meetings, Satanists are eyeing to establish After School Satan Clubs in public schools across the U.S., aiming to be like the Christian The Good News Clubs.
The Satanic Temple has sent letters to schools and petitioning officials to open After School Satan Clubs when the new school year starts.
Temple chapter heads from Utah, New York, Boston and Arizona were in Salem, Massachusetts last July 10 to discuss the establishment of the club along with others from Minneapolis, Detroit, San Jose, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Florida who participated online, reported The Salt Lake Tribune.
"It's critical that children understand that there are multiple perspectives on all issues, and that they have a choice in how they think," said Satanic Temple co-founder Doug Mesner.
According to the Satanic Temple, the curriculum they are proposing for the club is about development of reasoning and social skills such as snacks, literature lesson, creative learning activities, a science lesson, puzzle solving and an art project.
Each student will be given a membership card and parents should give consent before a student will be allowed to attend any meeting.
"We think it's important for kids to be able to see multiple points of view, to reason things through, to have empathy and feelings of benevolence for their fellow human beings," said the group's Utah chapter head, who uses the name Chalice Blythe.
The Satanic Temple is leveraging on the 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Good News Club v. Milfrod Central School, which said that excluding an after-school programme because of religious views of its organisers was a violation of free-speech rights.
By 2011, there were 3,560 Good News Clubs in the U.S.
"As it is illegal for the schools to discriminate against specific religions or preference others, After School Satan Clubs cannot be denied wherever Christian, or any other religious clubs, operate," according to the After School Satan Club website.
The Liberty Counsel's Mat Staver agreed that the Satanic Temple has the legal right.
"I would definitely oppose after-school Satanic clubs, but they have a First Amendment right to meet," he said. "I suspect, in this particular case, I can't imagine there's going to be a lot of students participating in this. It's probably dust they're kicking up and is likely to fade away in the near future for lack of interest."
The Satanic Temple is thanking the Liberty Counsel "for opening the doors to the After School Satan Clubs through their dedication to religious liberty," said Greaves.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson: I'm a Christian who backs gay marriage
The Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has described herself as "a practising Christian, a Protestant and a Unionist who is engaged to a Catholic Irishwoman" ahead of a speech delivering a "positive message" on gay marriage in Belfast.
Davidson, who recently became engaged to Jen Wilson, said she is "honoured" to have been invited to give the Amnesty Pride lecture in Northern Ireland, the only part of the UK where same-sex marriage is not legal.
Not for the first time, the Scottish Tory leader made clear her support for a change of law in Northern Ireland. "As a practising Christian, a Protestant and a Unionist who is engaged to a Catholic Irishwoman, for me, equal marriage isn't about one religion, country or community," she said.
"It is about people in Northern Ireland being afforded the same rights as everybody else. Scotland is a better place today because of equal marriage and I want to take that positive message from our experiences here to Belfast and beyond."
Moves to introduce same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland have been repeatedly blocked in the devolved Stormont assembly.
A fifth attempt last November collapsed after it was vetoed with a mechanism used by the Democratic Unionist Party.
Last year, Davidson was active in the successful campaign for 'equal marriage' to be introduced in the Republic of Ireland.
After the passing of the Marriage and Civil Partnerships (Scotland) Act in 2014, Davidson wrote that she wept for five minutes. "I am not ashamed to say that on returning to my parliamentary office after the vote, I cried deep sobbing tears of relief and release and joy and pain and pride and dozens of other emotions all mixed up together," she said. "In truth, I didn't really know why I was crying - I hadn't expected to - but I couldn't stop for a full five minutes."
Davidson wrote in the Herald: "As a practising Christian who is gay, the passage of the Marriage and Civil Partnerships (Scotland) Act has been an intensely personal experience, as well as one that encompassed universal themes and fundamental rights."
Shocking catalogue of child rape by Anglican clergy unfolds in Australia
A devastating story of mass child rape perpetrated by an Anglican paedophile ring is unfolding in the latest hearing of Australia's Royal Commission into child sexual abuse.
The first day of the two-week sessions heard of the crimes perpetrated by Rev Peter Rushton, an Anglican priest who was Archdeacon of Maitland and who died in 2007.
His catalogue of child rape and abuse was finally exposed by an ABC investigation. He led a paedophile ring involving other clergy and lay people from the Newcastle diocese over as many as four decades.
Rushton's godson, Paul Gray, told how he was taken to St Alban's School for Boys in Hunter Valley. This was the 1960s, and boys would be anally and orally raped by groups of men in a locked room called the "f***ing room", according to Daily Mail Australia.
Gray, who was first raped by Rushton when he was just ten years old, wept in the witness box as he testified to being abused alone and in groups of boys, in the boys' school and on church camps. Rushton would even use a knife to cut his back and then smear his body with the blood which he said was "symbolic of the blood of Christ", the Mail said.
The two week hearing at Newcastle Courthouse is looking into the experiences of survivors of child sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy and lay people involved in or associated with the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle.
The commission says allegations are being made against clergy and lay people associated with the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle. As well as Rushton they include Graeme Lawrence, Gregory Goyette, Andrew Duncan, Bruce Hoare, Graeme Sturt, Ian Barrack, Rushton's reported boyfriend James Michael Brown and another Anglican priest.
Some of these men have already been defrocked.
Brown is currently serving 20 years in prison for 103 sex offences against boys.
He was originally sentenced to ten years but when he appealed, the court doubled his sentence, Mary Ann Mueller reported for Virtue Online. The current bishop, Greg Thompson, is expected to tell the commission that he himself was molested as a boy by two Anglican clergy, including his own bishop.
He has made a formal apology to the victims of sexual abuse on behalf of the dioceses. He has also said there will be "no accommodation" to perpetrators. In a video, he admits that some people will find the evidence presented to the commission hard to believe and that it will make them very angry.
A full list of witnesses has been published by the commission and also includes other current and former senior clergy of the diocese.
Barrister Naomi Sharp, advising the commission, said the diocesan professional standards Michael Elliott, was among those who would give evidence, Guardian Australia reported. She said Elliott is expected to say he believes the diocese is harbouring a large number of active offenders with little or no accountability in place.
Lyn Wickham, a member of Cardiff parish in Newcastle and also of the diocesan council, says in a video on the diocesan website that the next two weeks will be a "challenging time" for everyone in the diocese. "Many people will be shocked by what they hear and read," she says. It is essential to work together to shape a healthy future, but also to face the past, she says.
Surge in refugees prompts spike in Church of England attendance... in Finland
The Church of England has become the fastest growing religious group in Finland thanks to a boost from large amounts of refugees arriving in the Nordic country.
Attendance in CofE parishes has shot up by 20 per cent according to Rev Tuomas Makipaa, the Church's Assistant Area Dean for Finland. With small numbers to begin with, the recent surge was prompted by arrivals from countries with dominant Anglican presences such as Sudan and South Sudan.
"Aid agencies warn that the upsurge of fighting in South Sudan will see the humanitarian crisis affecting millions of civilians worsening, wrote the Church's Suffragan Bishop in Europe, the Rt Rev David Hamid in his Eurobishop blog. "The Finnish government, working with the UN, continues to offer settlement to Sudanese [and] South Sudanese fleeing the violence and war."
Hamid cites the example of one White Nile Congregations church run by Rev Amos Manga and says: "Our church is fully engaged in many parts of this Nordic country in providing care, a spiritual home and pastoral accompaniment to the new arrivals."
On a trip last Sunday to Helsinki, Hamid said he confimed people both from the local St Nicholas church and from overseas.
"The fellowship and joy in the congregation was infectious as the young people renewed their baptismal vows, were chrismated and received the Apostolic Rite of the laying on of hands," he wrote.
"The service was in English, Arabic and Finnish. The priests assisting me were Finnish, Sudanese and Nigerian in origin. Yes, this is the Church of England!"
Theresa May and sharia law: What does the new Prime Minister mean for Islamic courts in the UK?
Theresa May's inquiry into Sharia Law is heading into freefall.
As Home Secretary she commissioned a review into the use of sharia courts in the UK. But within weeks the whole project appears to be unravelling.
More than 200 individuals and human rights groups branded the inquiry a "whitewash" in an open letter to May. The signatories said the panel was biased after an Islamic scholar was made chair and two imams were given advisory roles. They added the review had a "narrow remit" and the wrong focus after it said it would focus on "best practice" from the courts rather than questioning whether they existed.
They wrote: "It is patronising if not racist to fob off minority women with so-called religious experts who wish to legitimate sharia laws as a form of governance in family and private matters.
"By making religious appointments, the Government has lost a vital opportunity to examine the discriminatory nature of not only sharia councils but all spheres of religious arbitration including the Batei Din [Jewish court]."
The review was commissioned after Baroness Cox, a Christian peer and campaigner in the House of Lords, compiled extensive evidence of women being abused and discriminated against through sharia courts in the UK.
She said there were certain aspects of sharia law that inherently unacceptable and it was wrong to say discrimination was only the result of a "distortion" by courts.
But at the launch of the inquiry in the spring, then Home Secretary Theresa May, said many people "benefit a great deal" from practices such as sharia law. The Home Office stressed it was not "a review of the totality of Sharia law, which is a source of guidance for many Muslims in the UK." Rather it would look to take "best practices" from the sharia courts and examine whether some had operated in a "discriminatory and unacceptable" way.
It is this refusal from the outset to question the very existence of sharia courts that has attracted so much attention from women's advocacy and human rights groups. They say sharia law in its very nature is discriminatory towards women.
The criticism was brought to a head when Professor Elham Manea, an expert in Islamic law and campaigner for women's rights, announced she would not even give evidence to the review because she considers the basis so flawed.
She said Islamic scholars on the panel are "part of the system they are supposed to be investigating" and added the terms of reference meant it "would not be in a position to address the discriminatory nature of the law applied in the parallel legal system of Sharia law in the UK and the Islamist extremism that feeds it".
But since most of this resentment boiled over Theresa May has been appointed Prime Minister.
Amber Rudd, the new Home Secretary, will now oversee the independent review, chaired by Islamic professor Mona Siddiqui from Edinburgh University.
Tim Dieppe, director of Islamic Affairs at the campaign group Christian Concern, told Christian Today he hoped the change in personnel means the inquiry would be abandoned. "[There is] an opportunity for the new Home Secretary to ditch it and do something sensible," he said. "We know action needs to be taken and we know what action needs to be taken," he added. "Whatever the inquiry says it has now lost legitimacy and any credibility. It should be scrapped."
But Siddiqui told Christian Today that May's move to Downing Street would not change the terms of the inquiry. "Everything is going ahead as originally planned," she said. She added the panel was not often in touch with ministers directly but was "communicating with the secretariat and they are in place as before".
Amber Rudd has not made her thoughts known on sharia courts nor what her approach will be over the inquiry. The Home Office has been approached for comment.
Trump calls Clinton 'the devil' after row over Muslim soldier's parents
Donald Trump has directly called Hillary Clinton "the devil" as the Republican steps up his increasingly heated rhetoric against his Democrat opponent.
Speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania last night, he criticised Clinton's democratic rival for the presidential nomination Bernie Sanders, saying he "made a deal with the devil". He added of Clinton: "She's the devil".
At an earlier rally in Ohio, Trump said that he feared the election in November "is going to be rigged".
The comments come after a row over Trump's attack on the parents of US Army Captain Humayun Khan, who was killed by a car bomb in 2004 in Iraq.
Senator John McCain, a veteran of the Vietnam War and former Republican candidate for president, became the latest in a chorus of cross-party criticism of Trump, saying he does not have "unfettered licence to defame the best among us".
The dispute began last Thursday night when the late soldier's father Khizr Khan addressed the Democratic National Convention (DNC) with his wife, Ghazala, standing at his side.
Khan spoke emotionally of the sacrifice his son had made for the country as an American Muslim, specifically criticising Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country.
In response to the speech, Trump suggested that Ghazala Khan might not have been "allowed" to speak, implying her silence reflected restrictions placed on women by some conservative Muslims. "She had nothing to say, maybe she was not allowed to speak, you tell me," he added on Sunday.
Ghazala Khan wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post on Sunday saying that she had remained silent during her husband's remarks because she was worried she would be too emotional to speak.
The Khans then conducted several interviews, discussing the support they have received since Trump's attacks.
But Trump took to Twitter to say: "This story is not about Mr Khan, who is all over the place doing interviews, but rather RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM and the US. Get smart!"
Clinton has said Trump has treated the parents as scapegoats, while leading Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, issued statements in support of the family.
Last year, Trump claimed that McCain - who was taken prisoner for five years during the Vietnam War - was not a hero since he had been captured.
In a statement last night, McCain said Trump's latest views do not represent "our Republican Party."
Local and federal law enforcement convened in Mandan on Tuesday by U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., stressed the importance of prosecution and prison time not just treatment as a response to the growing opiate problem in the state.
"Treatment is very, very inefficient," said Jeffrey Stamm, director of Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a federal program that assists local law enforcement in targeting drug crime.
"Most folks enjoying their run on heroin or opiates don't want treatment," he said. "One of the best prevention programs for drugs is law enforcement."
Bismarck Police Chief Dan Donlin said people often avoid prison time here, racking up multiple offenses and probation violations before they are put behind bars.
"I think the overall feeling with law enforcement is 'build more jails,'" Donlin said, citing conflict between police and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, whose director recently advocated for sentencing reform around drug possession and mandatory minimums.
Bringing together the treatment and tough-on-crime philosophies, Burleigh County Sheriff Pat Heinert said a good solution would be to add treatment in jail by hiring at least one mid-level person to work with the inmates.
Many people get out of jail and start using drugs again right away, Heinert said. He noted that one inmate was recently released with a drug patch after 90 days in jail. He came back one day later with methamphetamine in his system.
"That's what we haven't dealt with," Heinert said.
Law enforcement agreed that cracking down on heroin and fentanyl, a synthetic opioid considerably more powerful and deadly than heroin, posed difficult, 21st century problems.
"The internet is a real struggle," Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said of fentanyl, which is frequently sold on the dark web and paid for with an anonymous electronic currency known as Bitcoin.
Alex Khu, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security investigations in St. Paul, Minn., told the panel he is educating his agents on cyber crime, because more drugs are being ordered from China and delivered directly to consumers.
"It's like Whac-a-Mole," Khu said of chasing such criminals online.
At the meeting, Hoeven presented legislation meant to help law enforcement go after fentanyl sellers by closing a loophole that allows close variants of the drug to be labeled as "not for human consumption" and sold legally.
"We've got to have laws that catch up with what's going on," Hoeven said.
Which books inspire this preacher who sees thousands come to faith each summer?
Soul Survivor, currently underway, sees 30,000 young people to descend on the small English town of Shepton Mallet each year. Andy Croft, its deputy director, has been almost a permanent presence on the Soul Survivor main stage these last few years and has had the privilege of seeing literally thousands of young people come to faith there. He made time in his intense preparation for the events to talk to me about his passion for books and about the three that changed his life. Here's what he said:
Why do you make time to read as a Christian leader?
Reading has always had a massive role in me growing as a Christian. It's one of the main ways that I learn, and one the main ways that I discover things that God has taught other people.
Which are the books that you find yourself recommending new Christians?
One of my favourite things to do is to read biographies of people who have had adventures with God. I find those incredibly inspiring and challenging. I've found that it's been one of the key ways that God actually has spoken into my life over the years.
Which is the first of the Christian books you would say changed your life?
When I was about 20 I came across a book called The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen and in reading it God really spoke to me profoundly about forgiveness. Nouwen is kind of meditating on the parable of the prodigal son and he uses a painting by Rembrandt to do that. If you're not into art don't be put off because he's really digging in to the scripture. He draws out the forgiveness of the father, what it is to receive forgiveness in the younger brother and then the story of the older brother (I always connect with the older brother). He talks about what it is to come to know joy and to be welcomed home. I found through reading that I was able to forgive other people in my life, receive God's forgiveness and receive his joy in a whole new way.
Can you think of another book that has had as deep an impact on you?
Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster is one of the best books I have ever read. You feel like every word he's written is full of wisdom, everything is there very intentionally and he manages to capture how you grow as a Christian. He emphasises both the grace of God but also the fact we have a role to play in that and then he walks you through some really simple daily practices that open us up to hearing God speak, to becoming obedient and to becoming like Christ. I've learnt how to submit a bit better. I've learnt how to study God's word better. I've learnt how to meditate and pray better. It's one of the most practical, godly books of wisdom I've ever come across.
You have said how much you like biographies, tell us about one that has particularly inspired you.
J Hudson Taylor: A man in Christ by Roger Steer is a book that I read year after year after year. I've highlighted bits all over it and I come back to them again and again and the reason is he's just a really normal guy. Hudson Taylor was around in the 1800s and went as a missionary to China. Today millions of people in China would trace their kind of knowing Christ back to the influence of the China Inland Mission that Hudson Taylor started. What I love is that I see his failures and I also see his successes. Each one of them encourages you to step out to take a risk to believe and expect God in prayer and to understand that He can use your life, your really simple life, to make a difference for Him. I think it's impossible to read it and not be inspired.
You can order Andy Croft's top three books here or pop into your nearest Christian bookshop.
Dr Krish Kandiah is a contributing editor to Christian Today, the founding director of Home for Good and the executive producer of Books for Life. You can catch up with last month's interview with Canon J. John here.
Christies Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on living in Hong Kong for two decades, why Christies specialists are romantics and her love of Portobello Road
There are two types of collector. As Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art I meet both established collectors, who know exactly what they want, and those who are buying for the first time either as an investment, or because theyve found something they love.
Its great to see a new generation of collectors even if it does make me feel very old! I now see the sons and daughters of collectors I first worked with coming through the doors of Christies Hong Kong. Theres still an intense interest in collecting, and sourcing the best pieces.
When I came to Hong Kong in 1997, I thought, What have I done? I had finished studies at SOAS [School of Oriental and African Studies] in London, and was asked to move to Christies Hong Kong. At the time, the Asian financial crisis was at its peak. People were sitting on their hands in our fall auction nobody was bidding. It was interesting to live through that time.
The art market has changed. I joined Christies as an administrator in 1993. Since then, its changed a lot the global art market has expanded, experiencing a number of rollercoaster rides along the way. Now the market moves so fast it can be difficult to keep up!
Im often asked to define a good buy. The answer really depends on what a collector likes whether that be ceramics or Buddhist works of art. Of course, the value of certain areas has grown exponentially in recent years. As specialists we work to find the best pieces at the collectors ideal price point. They can set the bar as low or as high as they want to.
There are always pieces you develop an emotional attachment to. I remember being bowled over the first time I saw the Dragon jar from our 30th Anniversary sale. It was clear that I was looking at something really important; the size and the quality of the paintings was absolutely astounding.
Our job is like detective work. Were always learning, and its humbling to realise that there are still things we dont know. We work with ancient objects, and trace their history through the centuries consulting museum archives or external experts for more complex cases. Its fascinating to find out why an object was made and for whom. Records might reveal, for example, that a vase was made for an emperor, who specified a dragon handle.
As specialists we live and breathe art. Its not just about buying and selling. I love going to the markets of Portobello Road just as much as the British Museum. Its great to look at pieces, and to handle them sometimes I have to remind myself that I cant run my fingers across the works in museums!
In my work I see the good, the bad and the ugly. But the ugly is, of course, subjective. The good is a great pleasure; the bad helps us to know what is good; and the ugly keeps us on our toes! Its important to see the unusual and the bizarre. As specialists, I think it makes us better professionals.
Christies specialists are real romantics. We live in a different world, built from the stories of the pieces we sell, and the worlds theyve come from. Were aware of the past, and how the past can affect the present. All objects can become reminders of a specific moment, or of the lovely characters weve come across in our lives. I dont have a time machine, but this is perhaps the closest Ill get.
Houston startups GroupRaise and IntuiTap Medical are among the 142 semifinalists for the 43North startup competition that will award $5 million in capital, including a $1 million grand prize. The semifinalists represent four continents and 10 countries.
GroupRaise is an online marketplace for reservations for 20 to more than 200 people at restaurants where a percentage of the sales is donated to a charitable cause. IntuiTap is a device designed for spinal punctures. It integrates imaging of the spine with needle guidance and analytics to help physicians get where they need to go on the first try.
A Houston developer is planning a new condominium project next to River Oaks that will target wealthy empty-nesters looking to downsize.
The project, to be called The Revere, is planned for 2325 Welch at Revere in Vermont Place, a changing neighborhood just south of San Felipe and east of Kirby.
A Florida man is accused of stabbing his wife after they started arguing about mango peelings left on the floor.
According to the Palm Beach Post, Uriel Bradshaw, 84, was eating mangoes in his West Palm Beach home on Saturday and his 65-year-old wife became irritated after he left parts of the mango on the floor. When she pointed out the mango peels to her husband, Bradshaw "lunged at the victim with a steak knife," the newspaper reports.
Erik Estrada is one of the last people you expect to run into at the San Antonio International Airport.
The TV star, known for his role as a motorcycle cop on the classic series "CHiPs," was spotted taking photos with fans at the airport Monday.
SAN ANTONIO - Native American ceramics from the mission era, square nails, a bone button and other historical remnants are among the more than 300 artifacts discovered after two weeks of digging in Alamo Plaza.
Nesta Anderson, lead investigator in an archaeological project in the city plaza, said her teams have found a variety of items reflective of the site's multi-layered past but that they did not yield an extraordinary centerpiece.
"This is daily life at its best. We're getting what you would probably find in many households" of the 18th and 19th centuries, Anderson said during a briefing Monday, as dozens of artifacts were shown to the media and visitors for the first time.
"We've got a few sherds of Goliad ware, which was native-made, but was made both before Europeans got here and through that period of contact," she said. "We're all 'oohing' and 'aahing' every time we get anything out. That 'wow piece' may be coming up. We just never know."
So far, unearthed items include a piece of glass stamped "San Antonio Apothecary" from the 19thcentury, bits of ceramics found in Europe and Mexico, part of a toothbrush, antique bottle glass, a corroded utility knife or scissors blade, and square nails from the 1800s.
Envisioning past and future
A week earlier, the archaeological team, comprising experts from engineering contractors and the University of Texas at San Antonio's Center for Archaeological Research, reported finding mission-era adobe bricks near the plaza's southwest corner.
The teams are nearly finished with the west wall excavation, and have three 1-by-1-meter or 1-by-2-meter units open at the likely site of the Alamo's south wall, closer to the center of the plaza. Artifacts are being cleaned and documented by the archaeological research center, which will hold them in trust.
"They are state-owned artifacts, so they belong to the people" under state law, Anderson said. "As of yet, we're not finding a lot of battle-related things."
In a statement, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush said the artifacts will "help us envision a better future for the Alamo with exciting educational exhibits and innovative ways of telling the Alamo's complete story.
"I encourage everyone to join us in this exploration of the Alamo and be a part of Texas history."
The archaeological project, set to continue for at least two more weeks, will support a long-range master plan for the Alamo area.
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GRAND FORKS -- Business and political leaders spent Monday making the case for a large defense contractor to consider expanding to Grand Forks.
Executives from Raytheon, which manufactures numerous products including sensing systems for large unmanned aircraft systems, listened to the pitch and received a tour of Grand Sky business park.
We brought officials from Raytheon to Grand Forks to highlight the kind of dynamic UAS technology and business environment we can offer them an environment they wont find anywhere elsewhere, said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.
The park, on land rented from Grand Forks Air Force Base, aims to be home to businesses involved in the unmanned aircraft industry, ranging from manufacturers to data management centers.
Representatives from the business park, the city and county of Grand Forks, the University of North Dakota, local business support organizations and others met with Raytheon representatives.
This is our first visit and were trying to get the lay of the land and the opportunities for what we do next, said Jim Hvizd, vice president of international business development for Raytheon.
Hvizd added later what he had seen so far in North Dakota was a great enterprise. He was accompanied on the trip by Kristin Spivey, senior manager of strategy and business development, and Joe Zummo, director of governmental relations.
During Mondays presentation, Grand Forks officials also highlighted UNDs UAS program and research, the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, state research grants and financial incentives should the company choose to build at Grand Sky.
Both of the business parks anchor tenants, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. and Northrop Grumman Corp., work with Raytheon in some capacity.
General Atomics and Raytheon announced last month an initiative to evaluate how to integrate unmanned aircraft flight control, sensor collection and other capabilities into an existing radar system. General Atomics Reaper aircraft would be outfitted with the system under the arrangement.
Northrop Grummans Global Hawk already include Raytheon products, namely its sensing system that allows the aircraft to produce high-resolution imagery that can penetrate clouds, among other features.
Raytheon has headquarters in Waltham, Mass., and employs about 63,000 people worldwide. The company posted $23.2 billion in revenue in 2015.
A man wearing body armor and equipped with an AK-47 at a Kentucky Walmart told police that he was buying supplies for an end-of-the-world scenario.
According to The Lexington Herald-Leader, police were called to the Kentucky Walmart on Saturday after customers saw the man, 26, in a car. A 20-year-old woman with a baby and a 20-year-old man were also in the car, the newspaper reports.
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GALVESTON James Larry Cosby shot his daughter in the head in the back of an SUV and clubbed to death her female lover before dumping their bodies near a dumpster behind a convenience store on the Bolivar Peninsula in 2014, a prosecutor told jurors on the first day of Cosby's capital murder trial.
A bloody fingerprint found on a decorative shutter from Cosby's house discovered near the bodies of Brittney Cosby and Crystal Jackson, both 24, link Cosby to the crime, Assistant Galveston County District Attorney Paul Love told jurors.
BACKGROUND: Car sought in deaths of lesbian couple found in storage lot
Also, the prosecutor said, cell phone records show that Cosby's mobile phone traveled from Houston to Port Bolivar and back to Houston on the day of the slayings.
"All the evidence leads back to one person, and that's Mr. Cosby," Love told the seven men and seven women who comprise the jury, including the two alternate jurors.
READ MORE: Victim's father held in slayings of 2 Bolivar women
In addition to the March 6, 2014, slayings, Cosby is charged with two counts of tampering with evidence related to a corpse, prosecutors said.
Before attorneys made their statements, District Judge Patricia Grady asked Cosby how he pleaded to the charges. "Not guilty, your honor," Cosby, 48, replied forcefully as he stood next to his attorneys at the witness table in a dark suit.
READ MORE: Family prays where bodies found on Bolivar
"There is no direct evidence linking Mr. Cosby to the murder of Brittany and Crystal," defense attorney Greg Russell told jurors.
Russell said that the only two witnesses who identified Cosby as being on the Galveston-Bolivar ferry on the day of the killings initially were uncertain in their identification. Before the trial, the defense unsuccessfully tried to convince the judge to disallow their testimony.
READ MORE: Bodies of 2 women found behind Bolivar store
In outlining the case against Cosby for the jury, Love said that prosecutors were unable to say why Cosby killed his daughter and her lover, but said, "What we will prove to you is that he did it."
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The director of "Klondike Kalamity," which opens Aug. 5 at Cast Theatrical Co. in downtown Rosenberg, sees many similarities between old-fashioned melodramas and the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas she cut her teeth on as an ingenue.
"I ended up doing just about all of them over the years," Sandra Barkerding of Richmond said of shows such as "H.M.S. Pinafore" and "The Pirates of Penzance," which were popularized by London librettist W.S. Gilbert and symphony composer Arthur Sullivan.
"They're both tongue-in-cheek," said Barkerding, also pointing out the populist appeal of both melodramas and Victorian-era operettas.
"Gilbert and Sullivan made fun of politicians; they used wit and irony to poke fun at the establishment," she said.
More Information Want to go? What: "Klondike Kalamity" Where: Cast Theatrical Co., 1909 Ave. G. in Rosenberg When: 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, Aug. 5 to Sept. 3, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 14 and 28 and Saturday, Aug. 20. Cost: $17 (Students and senior adults $16) Information: For reservations, visit www.casttheatrical.com or call 832-889-3808. See More Collapse
A melodrama such as Gary Peterson and David Byrne's "Klondike Kalamity" is merciless toward those "who take advantage of weak and innocent people," Barkerding said.
Among the stock characters in a melodrama, she explained, are a hero, a heroine and a villain. Audiences are encouraged to hiss and boo the bad guy.
"When you walk into the theater, everyone is handed a bag of popcorn and encouraged to throw popcorn at the villain," Barkerding said.
"It's great fun. There is a lot of interaction," she added. "The actors break the 'fourth wall' and actually talk with the audience. You prepare them for that by engaging them in improvisation during rehearsal. It's really important that actors know their lines because somebody may speak to you when you least expect it, and you have to give a response, comfortably, while staying in your role and keeping within the storyline."
In "Klondike Kalamity," 17-year-old William Pocklington portrays the hero, Canadian Mountie Roger B. Upright.
"He has been disgraced for crimes he didn't commit," said the senior at Travis High School in Richmond.
The youngest cast member is Travis High junior Kaitlyn Currier-Graves who portrays a fair and lovely maiden who hopes to escape a sawmill blade and the wrath of villainous Fangduster T. Barrelbottom, portrayed by Jayson Looney.
The senior member of the cast is Karen White Hayden, who at 67 plays Farley Goodbody.
"It's really fun," said the veteran actress, who most recently appeared as Aida in Joe DiPietro's "Over the River and Through the Woods" at Del Webb's Sweetgrass community in Richmond, where Barkerding is president of the Drama Club.
The director and her husband, Roger Barkerding, moved from West Springfield, Virginia, to Richmond in March 2013, to live closer to their daughter's family, including three grandchildren, in Meyerland.
The cast of "Klondike Kalamity," which is set during The Great Yukon Blizzard of 1888, also features Jonathan Balzer, Tim Bauer, Danielle Currier-Graves, Jeff Hochreiter, John Ramirez and James Rudel.
Mary Westbrook is the show's assistant director.
"We like to engage the audience," said Pocklington, who also starred as the hero in last summer's melodrama.
"It's possible," warned Barkerding, "if you're sitting on the front row, somebody will come sit on your knee. But the actors can usually sense from your body language whether that will be OK. "
A proposed master plan for a mixed-use development in Telfair has prompted Sugar Land's planning and zoning commission to ask the city to reconsider a decision not to allow apartments on the property except for a facility with senior adult units.
"I believe this can't be successful without multifamily," commission member Dan Simeone said during a July 28 meeting.
The commission's unanimous support of multifamily housing on the property reopens a yearlong conflict between the city, its elected officials and its residents who feared apartments would crowd schools and increase traffic.
The 87.5-acre Telfair development is at the southeast intersection of U.S. 59 and University Boulevard north of the Texas Instruments site.
The Telfair development must be successful, said Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Kathy Huebner, because it will include Sugar Land's planned Smart Financial Center, a performing arts venue scheduled to open in January.
The center, flanked by a large temporary parking area, will be on 38 acres of the development that Sugar Land owns.
But the master plan for the 49-acre portion of the property owned by developer Newland Communities was up for discussion on July 28, and the future for that land is less certain.
Newland Communities and Gensler, the architecture firm designing the master plan for the site, presented a plan last summer that would have included 900 apartments on the property, even though apartments were never part of the city's original land-use plan for that part of Telfair.
The 900 apartments sparked concern from some Sugar Land residents, causing Newland Communities and Gensler to issue a statement that they would not be including apartments on the site.
Recently elected Mayor Joe Zimmerman promised during his campaign that there would be no apartments in Telfair.
But, without people living on the property, the restaurant and retail scene wouldn't be as vibrant as originally envisioned because there won't be a core population to support it, said Hal Sharp, principal with Gensler.
In the master plan presented Thursday for feedback from the commission, Newland Communities and Gensler slated for office space some of the property that would have been multifamily housing, a total of 735,000 square feet.
Part of the site's layout - including six rectangular office buildings, flanked by parking garages - prompted concern from commission members.
"It's like a glorified office park," member Heather Davis said.
Huebner agreed.
"I really think you need to go back to the drawing board on this," she told Newland and Gensler.
In addition to office space, the proposed master plan included a central plaza, a hotel, restaurants and retail establishments along the edges of the property and at the bottom level of some of the office buildings and an age-restricted living facility with a cap of 240 units.
If Newland Communities and Gensler decide to reconsider including apartments on the site, they would likely have to request an amendment to Sugar Land's general land plan for Telfair and then present a new master plan to the Planning and Zoning Commission with the multifamily housing, said Lisa Kocich-Meyer, director of planning for Sugar Land.
To begin construction on the site, Newland Communities and Gensler have to return with a master plan that the Planning and Zoning commissioners would recommend for approval to City Council.
Both Planning and Zoning and City Council would also hold public hearings.
There is no timeline yet on when Newland Communities and Gensler will submit a new master plan.
But Huebner asked City Council to consider supporting multifamily.
"Putting in the multifamily is a very touchy issue," said Alan Bauer, senior vice president with Newland Communities in Houston. "So, we have to have full support from all levels of the city, whether it's council or Planning and Zoning or staff."
With the help of a state grant, Spring ISD is launching full-day pre-Kindergarten at five elementary campuses for the 2016-17 school year.
The school district was awarded a $1.2 million grant to be spent over two years. The grant was part of a $116 million pot that was divvied up among 578 school districts and public charter schools under state Legislature's House Bill 4.
SISD expects to spend the funds on additional personnel and resources to create a full-day pre-K at five elementary campuses - Link, Thompson, Heritage, Lewis and Clark Primary schools. About 475 four-year-olds will have access to full-day pre-K. While final enrollment numbers weren't available for the upcoming school year, the district served just below 2,000 pre-K students during the 2015-16 school year across 25 elementary campuses.
"Parents are going to see a huge difference between a half-day and full-day program I think the parents are going to see more than just, 'Does my kid know the letters of the alphabet or colors?' They'll see their child will be able to engage in different activities with their peers," said Donna Jones, principal at Link Elementary, about the increased focus on social and emotional development in pre-K education.
Prior to the grant, Spring ISD piloted a full-day pre-K program at Lewis Elementary through a partnership with Avance Houston, a nonprofit aimed at educational programming for kids and parents in low-income communities.
A half-day program meets for just 180 minutes, or three hours, a day. That doesn't leave much room to go over reading, writing, shapes, colors and numbers while still leaving room for play time and a meal.
With a full-day pre-K, which includes nap time, kids are expected to soak up even more knowledge while playing with new friends.
"A typical day in a half day, we would receive the kids, try to hit some of the high points of letter, sound recognition, math, shapes and numbers, but when you have a whole day available to you, you can expand it to science, social studies and the social developments that kids really need. Kids can work together in groups and work on cooperation and teamwork. Those are foundational things we need as human beings," Jones said.
The grant doesn't go into effect until August 2016, and most school districts are still hammering out the details of their grant expenditures.
While Spring is committed to a full-day program and the expenses that come with it, nearby Klein and Tomball ISDs are still committed to half-day pre-K.
KISD was awarded $840,000, and TISD was awarded $153,000 to spend over two years, according to the Texas Education Agency grantee list.
At KISD, 1,148 pre-K students enrolled in the 2015-16 school year across 26 campuses. To boost the quality of its educational offerings, Klein is looking at investing the funds in resources for family engagement, resources and books for teachers and out-of-town staff development opportunities so that the district can collaborate more with teachers across the state. Because the grant wasn't awarded until late June, particulars are still being hashed out.
"We at KISD do believe our program is high quality already, so what this is going to allow us to do is provide additional development opportunities for our teachers," said Carrie Farmer, instructional officer for language arts at KISD. "I don't think we can say a cookie cutter this is what's happening, but it will be tweaked at each campus."
Throughout the school year, school district recipients will be monitoring the effectiveness of the grant in improving early childhood education. If the first year translates into growth, a second year of funding would be on the table.
TISD is a comparatively smaller district with a steady annual enrollment of about 200 pre-K students. The school district plans to purchase Google Chromebooks and other instructional materials for the classroom, professional development and training for parents. The face-to-face and online training will help parents develop a support role in the development of their child and develop strategies to monitor academic growth.
"This grant is a great opportunity for us to enhance an already well-developed pre-Kindergarten program for our students and their families," said Valerie Petrzelka, executive director of elementary schools at TISD.
While the grant is a temporary cash infusion, school districts are paying close attention to the effectiveness of their plans so that even if the grant were to be cut in the next state legislative session, they could continue to build on the successes of the grant.
In Montgomery County, Conroe ISD was one of three school districts to receive a pre-Kindergarten grant, and that means more resources to teach a projected 1,300 preschoolers. Children must be 4 years old and at-risk to be enrolled in pre-K.
"That age range is the perfect time for learning to occur in students to a big degree," said Jepilyn Matthis, elementary language arts and early childhood coordinator at CISD.
A $960,000 grant was awarded to the school district in late June as part of the state's effort to bolster its program for one year. CISD typically spends around $3 million, or $2,300 per student, on its pre-K program, so the grant marks a 30 percent increase in funding for the 2016-17 school year.
The first day of pre-Kindergarten can be heart wrenching as anxious parents drop off their teary-eyed children in a classroom filled with strangers. But starting this fall, an added boost to the Conroe Independent School District's program will have more families eager to come on board.
CISD was one of three school districts in Montgomery County to receive a pre-Kindergarten grant, and that means more resources to teach a projected 1,300 preschoolers. Children must be 4 years old and at-risk to be enrolled in pre-K.
"That age range is the perfect time for learning to occur in students to a big degree," said Jepilyn Matthis, elementary language arts and early childhood coordinator at CISD.
A $960,000 grant was awarded to the school district in late June as part of the state Legislature's House Bill 4 to bolster its program for one year. CISD typically spends around $3 million, or $2,300 per student, on its pre-K program, so the grant marks a 30 percent increase in funding for the 2016-17 school year.
Students will still learn to read, write, identify shapes and colors, and all of the rudimentary academic skills that teachers shape in those formative years. The grant will trickle down in a few ways.
As a condition of the award, schools developed a family engagement plan to implement in the upcoming school year. Though CISD hopes to boost engagement among parents in traditional ways - family nights and parent mentoring - the school district is looking at a smartphone app that could further incentivize engagement. The district is in the process of vetting the app, the name of which wasn't disclosed, but has not committed to purchasing it.
The app is downloaded on the parent's phone or tablet and used to model daily, age-appropriate activities to use when interacting with their child, like sorting pots and pans in the kitchen to practice shapes.
"The teacher can customize (the app) so if the class is working on sorting, they can have activities at home modeled for them about how they can do that at home. It's not necessarily child specific, but it's something their child can watch and replicate at home," said Shellie Winkler, director of elementary education.
The grant will also be spent on more classroom resources, staff development and more paraprofessionals, also known as a teacher's aide, for pre-K classrooms to bring down the student-to-adult ratio to around 11 to one.
Other Montgomery County school districts that were awarded grants include Magnolia, Splendora and New Caney.
"I think just having more opportunity for what we already do but just at a higher level can only be more beneficial," Matthis said.
Neighboring Spring ISD in north Harris County will spend $1.2 million over two years on additional personnel and resources to create a full-day pre-K at five elementary campuses - Link, Thompson, Heritage, Lewis and Clark Primary schools. About 475 four-year-olds will have access to full-day pre-K. Final enrollment numbers weren't available for the upcoming school year, the district served just below 2,000 pre-K students during the 2015-16 school year across 25 elementary campuses.
"Parents are going to see a huge difference between a half-day and full-day program I think the parents are going to see more than just, 'Does my kid know the letters of the alphabet or colors?' They'll see their child will be able to engage in different activities with their peers," said Donna Jones, principal at Link Elementary, about the increased focus on social and emotional development in pre-K education.
Prior to the grant, Spring ISD piloted a full-day pre-K program at Lewis Elementary through a partnership with Avance Houston, a nonprofit aimed at educational programming for kids and parents in low-income communities.
A half-day program meets for just 180 minutes, or three hours, a day. That doesn't leave much room to go over reading, writing, shapes, colors and numbers while still leaving room for play time and a meal.
With a full-day pre-K, which includes naptime, kids are expected to soak up even more knowledge while playing with new friends.
"A typical day in a half day, we would receive the kids, try to hit some of the high points of letter, sound recognition, math, shapes and numbers, but when you have a whole day available to you, you can expand it to science, social studies and the social developments that kids really need. Kids can work together in groups and work on cooperation and teamwork. Those are foundational things we need as human beings," Jones said.
The grant doesn't go into effect until August 2016, and most school districts are still hammering out the details of their grant expenditures. While Spring is committed to a full-day program and the expenses that come with it, nearby Klein and Tomball ISDs are still committed to half-day pre-K.
KISD was awarded $840,000, and TISD was awarded $153,000 to spend over two years, according to the Texas Education Agency grantee list.
At KISD, 1,148 pre-K students enrolled in the 2015-16 school year across 26 campuses. To boost the quality of its educational offerings, Klein is looking at investing the funds in resources for family engagement, resources and books for teachers, and out-of-town staff development opportunities so that the district can collaborate more with teachers across the state. Because the grant wasn't awarded until late June, particulars are still being hashed out.
"We at KISD do believe our program is high quality already, so what this is going to allow us to do is provide additional development opportunities for our teachers," said Carrie Farmer, instructional officer for language arts at KISD. "I don't think we can say a cookie cutter this is what's happening, but it will be tweaked at each campus."
Throughout the school year, school district recipients will be monitoring the effectiveness of the grant in improving early childhood education. If the first year translates into growth, a second year of funding would be on the table.
TISD is a comparatively smaller district with a steady annual enrollment of about 200 pre-K students. The school district plans to purchase Google Chromebooks and other instructional materials for the classroom, professional development and training for parents. The face-to-face and online training will help parents develop a support role in the development of their child and develop strategies to monitor academic growth.
"This grant is a great opportunity for us to enhance an already well-developed pre-Kindergarten program for our students and their families," said Valerie Petrzelka, executive director of elementary schools at TISD.
While the grant is a temporary cash infusion, school districts are paying close attention to the effectiveness of their plans so that even if the grant were to be cut in the next state legislative session, they could continue to build on the successes of the grant.
"While we hope the grant gets renewed, and we're hopeful, we would never stop searching for additional sources of funding We do anticipate that this will be a great thing and that this is something we will continue to do," Winkler said.
More than 40 percent of Native Americans on North Dakota reservations live in poverty, a rate at least 9 percent higher than tribal areas nationwide, show new statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
At least 14 percent of tribal members living on North Dakota reservations live in overcrowded conditions or lack a kitchen or plumbing, according to figures compiled using American Community Survey data.
The numbers arent surprising to Turtle Mountain Tribal Chairman Richard McCloud, who spent many years delivering mail to homes on the reservation that were in poor condition. Some homes lacked running water and many housed two or more families, he said.
Ive seen as many as 20 people in one dwelling, in a two-bedroom house, McCloud said. To me, thats a crisis.
To brainstorm ways to address the severe housing needs in tribal areas, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro will be in North Dakota today to participate in the first Great Plains regional Indian housing conference.
Castro toured North Dakotas Turtle Mountain reservation and South Dakotas Pine Ridge reservation in 2014. In an interview with Forum News Service, Castro called those visits probably the most poignant visits Ive had as HUD secretary because of the severe need that exists.
During the summit, Castro said he hopes to get input from tribal leaders about how HUD can improve housing opportunities in Indian Country.
Improving the quality of life of tribal communities is a priority for President Obama, Castro said. Im looking forward to getting back to North Dakota to talk about the severe need to make investments in housing opportunities.
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., who invited Castro to North Dakota, is urging HUD to consider creative solutions such as public-private partnerships to address the housing needs.
If we simply do what weve always been doing, were going to fall further and further behind, said Heitkamp, who will be the keynote speaker during the event.
The lack of adequate housing has many impacts on the quality of life in Indian Country, including the success of children in school. McCloud said some kids have reported to teachers that theyre tired at school because they only have a blanket and pillow at home or they had to sleep in a closet or bathtub due to overcrowding.
If were serious about improving conditions for kids, if were serious about better outcomes, thats got to start at home with better housing, Heitkamp said.
At the Fort Berthold reservation, in the heart of North Dakotas Oil Patch, the housing needs are similar but the cost to maintain housing units is at a record high, said Jody Ground, acting executive director of housing at Fort Berthold.
The rates are still up there. Theyve kind of stabilized but still theyre still high, Ground said. We always say theres kind of a Bakken price and then a regular price.
HUD also is seeking input from tribal communities on a Native American housing needs study, which will is expected to be released at the end of the year, Castro said.
The event is from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the Ramada, 1400 East Interchange Ave., Bismarck.
Im convinced that in the years to come, we can be more creative in how we approach Native American housing needs, Castro said. I see this housing summit as a strong starting point for that.
A former government official of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation accused of accepting bribes and kickbacks from a construction contractor has pleaded guilty to federal charges in North Dakota. Randall Phelan was an elected representative of the governing body of the Three Affiliated Tribes from the end of 2012 to the middle of 2020. Investigators say Phelan used his official position to help the contractors business by awarding contracts, fabricating bids and managing fraudulent invoices. His trial had been scheduled to begin Tuesday. Phelan and two others were originally charged with receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from the bribery scheme on the oil-rich Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The contractor has pleaded guilty to bribery.
Los Angeles Times Whitewashes Murder of 3 Israelis | Main | Moderate Hamas Media Favorite Calls for Small Stabs to All Parts of Israel
August 02, 2016
Anti-Israel Human Rights Watch Accidentally Admits: Israel Does Not Occupy Gaza
Human Rights Watch (HRW), a self-described human rights advocacy organization, inadvertently acknowledged that Israel does not occupy the Gaza Strip in a July 31, 2016 report. CAMERA has frequently highlighted HRWs record of anti-Israel bias and distortions (see, for example Human Rights Watch Discredited Even By Its Founder,? Oct. 20, 2009).
Elder of Ziyon, an American blogger who writes about the Arab-Israeli conflict and antisemitism, highlighted HRWs admission in its recent report on Palestinian Arabs seeking to visit family members incarcerated by Israel for terror-related offenses.
Ziyon noted that one theme of HRWs report is Israel is violating international law by incarcerating Gazans in prisons within Israel rather than within the occupied territories. They get this from the Fourth Geneva Convention article 76, which states Protected persons accused of offences shall be detained in the occupied territory, and if convicted they shall serve their sentences therein.?
Yet, the HRW report proceeds toif unintentionallyacknowledge that the Geneva rules cannot apply to Gaza, because Israel ended its permanent ground troop presence in Gaza in 2005, Israel can and should transfer them [prisoners] to the West Bank, the other part of the occupied Palestinian territory [emphasis added]. The prohibition against removing prisoners from the occupied territory is designed, in part, to allow them to maintain family ties, and the Israeli government should facilitate visits for family members from Gaza to the maximum extent possible.?
However, as Elder of Ziyon pointed out, the Geneva conventions dont make a distinction between occupied territory where the occupying army has actual control? and occupied territory where the army has no possibility of maintaining the obligations of the Convention.? Although the Geneva conventions dont make such a contrast, HRW is attempting to do so.
Elder of Ziyon explained the reason for HRWs effort to make a distinction where none exists:
Because Gaza isnt occupied by any reasonable definition of international law, and HRW knows it. The state of occupation in international law is binary, either it is or it isnt, based on whether the occupying army has effective control. If the army cannot set up a prison within the territory, then by definition the territory isnt occupied.?
In an Oct. 19, 2009 New York Times Op-Ed entitled Rights Watchdog, Lost in the Mideast,? HRWs founder Robert Bernstein said his former organization had lost critical perspective? on Israel. HRWs verbal gymnasticsas displayed in its attempt to reinvent the definition of occupation?illustrate that, when it comes to a fair analysis of Israel, it remains M.I.A.
Posted by SD at August 2, 2016 09:55 AM
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About one-fourth of the world's countries and territories prescribe legal penalties for blasphemy, defined as speech or action contemptuous of religion, and more than one in 10 for apostasy, the abandonment of one's faith, Pew Research Center reports.
Drawing data from a larger 2014 study of global restrictions on religion, Pew researchers last week noted that two American states -- Massachusetts and Michigan -- currently maintain laws banning blasphemy. The nation's constitutional guarantee of religious freedom, however, essentially renders such state laws irrelevant.
A 19-year-old died Saturday afternoon in San Marcos after he hit his head while jumping into the water and did not resurface, officials said Monday.
Michael Hughes, of New Braunfels, died shortly before 5 p.m. at Stokes Park.
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ASHLAND, Ohio (AP) Hillary Clinton said Sunday that Donald Trump repaid the "ultimate sacrifice" of a U.S. Army captain killed in Iraq with insults and degrading comments about Muslims, as the soldier's bereaved father pressured Republican Party leaders to distance themselves from the GOP presidential nominee.
Clinton's comments came after Trump refused to back down from his criticism of the Gold Star parents' remarks.
"Am I not allowed to respond?" Trump had tweeted. "Hillary voted for the Iraq war, not me!"
It was the latest bitter rhetorical volley between the defiant Republican candidate, Clinton and the family of a fallen soldier since the two parties concluded their major conventions last week and the nation looked ahead to a close election this November.
Trump's stand has once again left Republican leaders facing demands to denounce their party nominee and overshadowed Clinton's campaign message with controversy.
"He is a black soul," said Khizr Khan, whose son Humayun received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart after he was killed in Iraq in 2004. "And this is totally unfit for the leadership of this beautiful country."
Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," he said, "It is majority leader's and speaker's moral, ethical obligation to not worry about the votes, but repudiate him, withdraw the support."
Likewise, Clinton told Republicans on Sunday: "This is a time to pick country over party."
In statements released Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan condemned any criticism of Muslim Americans who serve their country and rejected the idea of a Muslim travel ban an idea proposed by Trump earlier in the campaign. But neither statement mentioned Trump by name or repudiated him.
McConnell praised Capt. Khan as an "American hero," while Ryan noted that many Muslim Americans have served "valiantly" in the U.S. military.
"Captain Khan was one such brave example. His sacrifice and that of Khizr and Ghazala Khan should always be honored. Period," Ryan said.
Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic minority leader, issued a blistering statement of his own, saying anything short of revoking their endorsements of Trump was "cowardice" on the part of McConnell and Ryan.
"This shouldn't be hard," Reid said. "Donald Trump is a sexist and racist man who insults Gold Star parents, stokes fear of Muslims and sows hatred of Latinos. He should not be president and Republican leaders have a moral responsibility to say so?."
On a post-convention bus tour through Ohio and Pennsylvania, Clinton said Trump has a "total misunderstanding" of American values and has inflamed divisions in American society.
"I don't know where the boundaries are. I don't know where the bottom is," she told reporters during a campaign stop at a cheese barn in Ohio.
"I do tremble before those who would scapegoat other Americans," she told parishioners in a Cleveland church on Sunday morning. "That's just not how I was raised."
At last week's Democratic National Convention, Pakistan-born Khan told his son's story and questioned whether Trump had ever read the Constitution and said "you have sacrificed nothing."
During the speech, Khan's wife, Ghazala, stood quietly by his side.
"If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say," Trump said, in an interview with ABC's "This Week."
Ghazala Khan responded Sunday in an opinion piece published in The Washington Post, saying talking about her son's death 12 years ago is still hard for her. When her husband asked if she wanted to speak at the convention, she said she could not.
"When Donald Trump is talking about Islam, he is ignorant," she wrote.
At one point, Trump had disputed Khan's criticism that the billionaire businessman has "sacrificed nothing and no one" for his country.
"I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures," Trump said.
Trump, who had no campaign events scheduled this weekend, released a statement late Saturday night calling Humayun Khan "a hero" but disputing his father's characterization.
"While I feel deeply for the loss of his son, Mr. Khan who has never met me, has no right to stand in front of millions of people and claim I have never read the Constitution, (which is false) and say many other inaccurate things," said Trump.
Trump's rebuke was unusual in the world of politics where officials only speak well of families whose loved ones die in service to their country. When Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son in Iraq, staged prolonged protests on the war, then-President George W. Bush responded by saying that the nation grieves every death.
When asked about the mother of a State Department official killed in Benghazi, Libya, who blamed Hillary Clinton for her son's death, Clinton told "Fox News Sunday" that her "heart goes out" to the families and that she didn't "hold any ill feeling for someone" who has lost a child and recalls events differently.
Across the country, veterans and their families closely watched the political back-and-forth.
"It was inappropriate on both sides," said Mark Farner of Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, as he stood a few feet from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. "For one to use it as it as the Democrats intended it to be used, and I don't think Trump handled it the way he should have on his end."
Farner had just made a rubbing of the name of his cousin, Calvin Wilson, who was killed in action in February 1967.
Romell Short of Washington, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, said he has no problem with veterans' families being politically active and speaking about their experiences.
"America should know the suffering and the cost of war and part of that is the sacrifice of American troops and the sacrifice of American families," Short said.
But he cautioned that the views of families should be read separately from their family member who served.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday called a lawsuit by three University of Texas at Austin professors aiming to stop the state's controversial campus carry law "frivolous."
In their lawsuit, filed last month, the UT professors argue that allowing guns in classrooms "chills their First Amendment rights." They claim campus carry, a new state law allowing licensed individuals to carry handguns throughout college campuses, also violates their second and 14th Amendment rights.
Paxton, in a brief filed in U.S. district court Tuesday, says the professors are wrong on all counts.
"The claim that Plaintiffs' right to academic freedom has been violated suffers from a threshold problem: Plaintiffs have no individual right to academic freedom, because the right to academic
freedom is held by their institution," Paxton wrote in the brief. "To be sure, Plaintiffs have First Amendment rights as to their academic research, their out-of-class public statements, and a plethora of other forms of expression. But this case is not about any of that. Plaintiffs have alleged a violation of their right to academic freedom, with a focus on their classroom curriculum and instruction. On those matters, Plaintiffs do not have an individual First Amendment right to academic freedom their institution, the University of Texas, does."
The controversial law took effect Monday and despite heated rhetoric on both sides of the debate, officials really do not know what to expect from it. Guns will have to be concealed and may be carried only by people 21 and older - leaving out a large chunk of the student population. Police and other university officials cannot ask who is carrying, so they do not have estimates on how many guns will be on campuses across the state.
Still, many professors are worried about what will happen when students bring guns into classrooms. Some faculty have threatened to change their curriculums, worried that touchy subjects could set off a student with a gun. Others have left the state, citing campus carry as a reason for taking jobs elsewhere. The president of the University of Houston's faculty senate wrote Monday on Facebook that he may join them.
The Texas State Bars Professional Ethics Committee has issued Ethics Opinion #661 approving lawyers use of competitive keyword advertising. The opinion concludes:
A lawyer does not violate the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct by simply using the name of a competing lawyer or law firm as a keyword in the implementation of an advertising service offered by a major search-engine company.
This is the result that my co-author Angel Reyes and I advocated in our recent (uncited) article, Regulation of Lawyers Use of Competitive Keyword Advertising. While the conclusion may seem to non-lawyers like common-sense, this issue has bedeviled lawyers and I did not expect such a clear and decisive ruling. Going forward, I expect this ruling will influence other states evaluating their own ethics rules about competitive keyword advertising.
Background
Competitive keyword advertising occurs when a company buys its competitors trademarks to display keyword advertising. Although its not a universally lauded practice, most industries have embracedor least acquiesced toits legitimacy. In parallel, courts routinely find competitive keyword advertising permissible under IP (e.g., trademark and publicity rights) laws. Nowadays, plaintiffs rarely win lawsuits over competitive keyword advertising, even when the advertiser displays the competitors trademark in the ad copy.
Unlike most other industries, the legal industry has not yet embraced competitive keyword advertising. Thats due in part to the legal industrys traditional role as a late adopter; plus the legal industry must consider how its ethics rules overlay the IP rules. As a result, the legal industry is still working towards a catharsis over competitive keyword advertising. The three main legal precedents in the field:
* Habush v. Cannon, holding that publicity rights didnt restrict competitive keyword advertising by lawyers
* The Florida Bar initially proposed banning competitive keyword ads by lawyers. After a group of academics (including me) intervened, the bar reversed that ban into a tacit acquiescence.
* In an under-the-radar move, the North Carolina bar banned competitive keyword advertising by lawyers in 2012, and it has disciplined one lawyer pursuant to that interpretation.
The Texas Opinion
The opinion analyzes three Texas Rules of Professional Conduct. The opinion discusses Rule 7.01(d), which restricts creating a false impression that lawyers are associated, and Rule 7.02(a), which restricts material misrepresentations in lawyer advertising:
[competitive keyword advertising] would not in normal circumstances violate either Rule 7.01(d) or Rule 7.02(a). The advertisement that results from the use of Lawyer Bs name does not state that Lawyer A and Lawyer B are partners, shareholders, or associates of each other. Moreover, since a person familiar enough with the internet to use a search engine to seek a lawyer should be aware that there are advertisements presented on web pages showing search results, it appears highly unlikely that a reasonable person using an internet search engine would be misled into thinking that every search result indicates that a lawyer shown in the list of search results has some type of relationship with the lawyer whose name was used in the search.
My article with Angel Reyes gets into more detail about consumer expectations towards keyword advertising.
The opinion also discusses Rule 8.04(a)(3), which prohibits conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation:
given the general use by all sorts of businesses of names of competing businesses as keywords in search-engine advertising, such use by Texas lawyers in their advertising is neither dishonest nor fraudulent nor deceitful and does not involve misrepresentation.
The opinion then expressly rejects the North Carolina opinion:
this Committee has considered but does not concur with 2010 Formal Ethics Opinion 14 of the Ethics Committee of the North Carolina State Bar (April 27, 2012) (ruling that a lawyers use of a competitors name as a keyword in a search-engine advertising program violates the equivalent of Texas Disciplinary Rule 8.04(a)(3) because such use constitutes conduct involving dishonesty in that the conduct shows a lack of fairness or straightforwardness).
The opinion does not expressly discuss what happens if the competing lawyers name shows up in the ad copy. So long as the ad doesnt create a false or misleading impression about the relationship between the advertiser and competitor, the opinion does not seem to restrict that practice.
Implications
Texas has the third most lawyers in the country (and Florida is 4th), so this opinion should get a lot of attention from other states when they confront competitive keyword advertising. The opinion is clean, decisive and unambiguous (in contrast to Floridas marble-mouthed expression of the same conclusion), and it also has logic and common sense on its side. For these reasons, I anticipate other states will similarly reject North Carolinas outlier, anachronistic and poorly reasoned opinion. If so, the Texas opinion should accelerate the end of debates over the legitimacy of competitive keyword advertising by lawyers.
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It was the kind of response you might expect from Donald Trump, not the president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
David Cochrane of Dallas, visiting San Francisco with his wife, sent an email to Supervisor London Breed on July 25 complaining that there was way too much trash on city streets. I was embarrassed to be an American because of the way San Francisco is presented to the world, he wrote.
Four days later, Cochrane received a reply.
If you are embarrassed to be an American, then you are barking up the wrong tree here, buddy, the unsigned email from Breeds office said. Why dont you write a letter to the editor of whatever town youre from if your panties are in a bunch?
Cochrane took the advice, but instead of contacting his local news outlet, he forwarded the response to The Chronicle.
Breed said Monday that the email had been written by an intern who has since been dismissed.
The volunteer clearly showed extremely poor judgment and will not be continuing in my office, Breed said in a statement.
As with most legislative offices, we rely on volunteers. This is explicitly not how we train them to conduct themselves.
Breed added, I take full responsibility for the volunteers words and have personally apologized to Mr. Cochrane.
She said the reply should have included an apology for the trash and a promise to notify the appropriate city officials.
In his email, Cochrane singled out Fishermans Wharf as nasty and added, I will never return to your city and am telling everyone I know not to come to such a dump.
Breed said Cochrane was right, too the trash on the streets is unacceptable.
It is embarrassing, Breed said. I called 311 four times this weekend because there was trash just sitting there. All over the city.
After receiving Breeds apology, Cochrane said in an email, I am satisfied with her actions.
Emily Green
Emily Green is a San Francisco Chronicle. Email: cityinsider@sfchronicle.com, egreen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfcityinsider, @emilytgreen
GULFPORT, Miss. - As Jackson County is in the midst of seeking a new provider for its county ambulance services, Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes is ready to do the same, even if it means breaking off from the county on ambulance service.
On Monday, Hewes sent a letter to the Harrison County Board of Supervisors telling them to nullify its contract with American Medical Response (AMR) or the city will negotiate with an ambulance provider on its own terms.
Hewes letter noted, "While the City would prefer to continue as a party to the aforementioned Interlocal Cooperation Agreement, we believe it in the best interest of the City of Gulfport not to do so in light of the fact that Requests for Proposals/Qualifications have not been pursued by the County prior to the December 31, 2016 renewal date."
Harrison County Board of Supervisors President, Beverly Martin
According to Harrison County Board of Supervisors President Beverly Martin, AMR's contract with the county ends on Dec. 31, 2016. While the mayor is looking for instant gratification, Martin said it is impossible to void the contract by Hewes' desired deadline.
"We never said we would not go out for Request for Proposals (RFP)," Martin said. "We planned to review the contract during the budget review process which begins on Aug. 9. Apparently, the city has some kind of deadline in their interlocal agreement with the county that expires in sixty days, so according to the Mayor, he sent us the letter because he was following what was in their agreement. That is their deadline, it is not ours."
The previous board renewed AMR's contract with the county, according to Martin. When she and other current board members were sworn in at the beginning of the year, their plan was to review every contract the county has along with every company the county does business with, she said.
According to WLOX, a public records request showed them that no one was responsible for holding AMR to response times within their contract with the county. After these findings were presented to the previous board, a more concerted effort to hold AMR accountable would be implemented, according to the board.
Jackson County is currently seeking a new ambulance provider and AMR is listed as one of the potential suitors who picked up an RFP packet.
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.
OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- An man who set fire to his parents' Ocean Springs home and then fired a shotgun at police attempting to intervene was sentenced Monday to 30 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Timothy Beaugez, 57, of Ocean Springs was sentenced by Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Robert Krebs on two counts of aggravated assault on a peace officers and one count of first-degree arson in the October 2013 incident. Beaugez pleaded guilty to the charges on June 30.
Beaugez was sentenced to 30 years on the two counts of aggravated assault, and 20 years on the arson charge. He will serve 15 years in state prison, followed by 15 years on post-release supervision. The two sentences will run concurrent.
Beaugez was also ordered to pay a total of $3,000 in fines and $250 to the Crime Victims Compensation Fund, along with restitution still to be determined.
"I commend the thorough and professional investigation by the Ocean Springs Police Department and State Fire Marshal's Office," said District Attorney Tony Lawrence. "The officers demonstrated great restraint when responding to this volatile and dangerous scene."
Beaugez' father, Raymond "Big Boy" Beaugez told The Mississippi Press the day of the incident that Timmy Beaugez entered the elder Beaugez' home on General Pershing Avenue and made his way to the back of the home while his father sat on the front porch with a friend.
Donna Jean Beaugez was inside the home visiting with her daughter, Susan Carlat, Timmy Beaugez' sister.
"The next thing I know, the dadgum house is on fire," Raymond Beaugez said at the time. He and his wife, along with their friends, escaped the home without injury.
When police arrived on the scene, however, an officer went to the door and Timmy Beaugez shot at him with a shotgun which family members said he had brought with him to his father's house. The officer drove himself to Ocean Springs Hospital for treatment.
Family members said Timmy Beaugez had poured gasoline inside the house to start the blaze. The home was virtually gutted, but has since been rebuilt.
"We worked together with law enforcement and the victims to resolve this case in a manner that held this defendant responsible for his actions," said assistant DA Justin Lovorn.
Driven to Profitability Published: 02 August 2016 by Dr. Hayao Nakahara by Dr. Hayao Nakahara
The largest bare board fabricator isnt necessarily the one that sells the most circuit boards.
The author begins this report with the same comments every year: It is becoming more challenging to compile the NTI-100 list of the worlds largest printed circuit board fabricators. And the 2015 edition was the toughest yet, thanks to the volatile exchange rates and increasing value of the assembly portion.
Versus the US dollar, the average value of the Japanese yen fell 14.35% year-over-year, and the Euro fell 19.65%. Given the Brexit situation, the world economic outlook is uncertain, and currency values against the US dollar are rising and falling as this report is written. After hitting a low of 123 against the US dollar, the yen began to climb and was 102 yen/USD as of this writing, or a 20% appreciation in a very short time. Three years of Abenomics effort was washed away in four hours after the UKs decision to leave the EU. The fiscal years of most Japanese companies end on Mar. 31; determining which exchange rate (TABLE 1) to use for converting Japanese output in local currency to US dollars gives the author a headache.
Table 1. Average Exchange Rates
About 60% of Taiwanese fabricators output is made in China. Its value in RMB (yuan) is converted to NT dollars, and then added to their domestic (Taiwan) revenues. Because Taiwan fabricators calculate their output every month in both Taiwan and China, applying an average yearly exchange rate creates discrepancies. The author converts this total NT dollar-based revenue to US dollars. This creates a double discrepancy. The same occurs for all fabricators with production plants overseas.
Flexible printed circuit (FPC) fabricators are problematic, particularly those that cater to Apple, which requires FPCs to be delivered assembled (to its EMS providers, such as Foxconn and Pegatron). It is common knowledge that about 40% of the assembled FPC value for Apple (mainly the iPhone) consists of components; another 20% is assembly cost, and the remaining 40% is the value of the bare FPC. However, FPC fabricators do not disclose how much of their work is for Apple. A funny thing about Apple is it does not permit PCB suppliers to mention Apple. So, in Japan, Apple suppliers call it B-company or Banana Company instead. In Taiwan, it is referred to as Fruits Company. Such practice seems to be a part of Apple culture, almost as notable as its preferred black solder mask. (Sarcasm aside, the author loves Apple products.)
Roughly $6.7 billion of assembled FPC boards was estimated to have been delivered to EMS companies supporting Apple in 2015, judging from various rumors heard in Asia. If a 40:60 split is right, with 40% being bare board, the bare board portion is probably about $2.7 billion. That would mean the value of components and assembly was $4 billion for Apple products (FPC only).
Some large rigid board fabricators also engage in assembly. These include Compeq, GBM (a part of HannStar), TTM Technologies and Shennan Circuits, for example. Sanmina and Multek are subsidiaries of large EMS companies (Sanmina and Flex, respectively). Both seem to be engaged in some amount of assembly outside their parents operations. The assembly portion of rigid board fabricators is substantial, estimated at close to $1 billion. Here again, the situation is not simple. Some use internally produced PCBs for assembly, and some purchase PCBs from outside vendors. Whatever assumption is made on assembly value tends to be quite speculative.
As such, the author decided not to attempt eliminating assembly value from the output of PCB fabricators. More commentary on this subject later.
Other than that, the usual assumptions are made. All acquisitions in 2015 are treated as if made on Jan. 1, 2015. Therefore, the revenues of fabricators that acquired other fabricators are pro forma.
Some 104 PCB fabricators had revenue of $100 million or more in 2015 (TABLE 2). Viasystems, which was purchased by TTM Technologies on May 31, 2015, had 2014 revenue of $1.2 billion. TTMs sales in 2014 do not include the revenue of Viasystems. Viasystems is listed at the bottom of the table to demonstrate its year-to-year growth rate properly. Other acquisitions dont amount to much.
Table 2. Worlds Largest PCB Fabricators, 2015
Table 2. Worlds Top PCB Fabricators, 2015 (continued)
A Korean Comeback?
TABLE 3 summarizes the regional results of the NTI-100. China now has the largest number of top fabricators, one-third of the total. Even so, the author is afraid several Chinese fabricators may be missing. He has a gut feeling of their output, but guessing is dangerous. So, they were not included. Taiwan still has the largest value despite a smaller number of entries. (Note some 60% of Taiwanese companies output is now made in China.) In the case of Japan, overseas production value is now also much larger than the domestic production, also close to a 60:40 split. Nearly 100% of the growth at Japanese fabricators came from overseas production, notably from FPC business for Apple.
Table 3. NTI-100 Distribution by Region
South Korean fabricators performed poorly for the second consecutive year because of Samsungs reduced purchases of PCBs from domestic fabricators. Flexcom fell off the list because its 2015 revenue was only $65 million; it is now in bankruptcy. SI Flex went into default; although, its current status is not known to this author. As Samsung Electronics is back on the offense, Korean PCB fabricators seem to be breathing easier.
If the yens value did not fall so much, Japans production value would have been about $14 billion, much closer to that of Taiwan. If the current currency exchange rate holds, Japans share will jump notably percentage-wise in 2016.
Next year the US will lose MFlex, which is about to become a part of Chinese metal stamping company Suzhou Dongshan Precision. Since Dongshan Precision does not know much about PCB business, the author speculates it is likely to keep the current MFlex structure intact for a while. The Chinese PCB fabricator Shenzhen Fastprint Circuit purchased US probe card fabricator Harbor Electronics, as well as the UKs Exception PCB two years ago.
A substantial portion of production made by the US, Europe and Southeast Asia comes from China. For example, 10 to 15% of Wurth Elektronik and Schweizer Electronic comes from trades.
Compare the NTI-100 table with the authors assessment of the world output (TABLE 4). In 2015, Chinas output accounted for 48.5% of the world share. Chinese fabricators are probably responsible for $9 billion, or about 31%. It was 28% in 2014. More Chinese fabricators are joining the NTI-100 ranks every year, as seen from comparing the number of entries in 2014.
Table 4. World PCB Forecast, 2011-2017
If the currency exchange rates in 2015 remained at the 2014 level, the world output in US dollars would have been $61.6 billion, a small increase, rather than the decline. With the UK (probably) leaving the EU, anything could happen in 2016. The next president of the US will also influence the world economy and, hence, the PCB business as well.
What happened in 2015?
Apple suppliers were the big winners, at least in revenue. Automotive PCB fabricators also fared well. Substrate fabricators encountered hardships, as did PC motherboard fabricators. Wearable board fabricators did OK, but because of circuit size, not so much in revenue.
The author visited Asian countries several times in the past year. The most frequently asked question: Nakahara-san, what do you think of the automotive PCB market? With or without this question, many PCB fabricators are aggressively pushing into this market; this author estimates the 2015 market was about $5.2 billion and will top $7.5 billion by 2020, as the electronics content of the car continues to increase. Demand for more electric cars (PHV, EV and FCR, etc.) will require a large number of inverters and converters with heavy copper.
At this moment, Japanese and Taiwanese PCB fabricators capture more than 60% of the automotive PCB market. Both are pushing aggressively, particularly the Taiwanese, since their PC motherboard and HDI microvia board businesses are weakening, which drove up the Taiwan fabricators position.
In 2015, about 9% of the world PCB production was for automotive. By 2020, it could reach a much higher percentage, perhaps 13 to 15% (TABLE 5).
Table 5. Estimated Automobile PCB Fabricator Sales, 2015
In researching this report, the author went through many financial reports compiled by PCB fabricators. One might think lower revenue would mean red ink. Insofar as Taiwanese fabricators are concerned, that is not true.
Some Taiwanese fabricators did extremely well in revenue, and profits were up accordingly. Some lost revenue but were resilient and remained profitable. Their respective financial performances are the envy of fellow PCB fabricators around the world (TABLE 6). Nonetheless, their profits are declining every year as price competition intensifies. The global decline in production value is due mainly to currency effects, but continued price erosion also has a big impact, despite volume increases.
Table 6. Profits and Tax Rates of Select Taiwan PCB Fabricators
It does not matter if a PCB fabricator is small or big. The bottom line is, is it profitable?
In 2016, TSMCs fan out wafer-level package (FOWLP) for the A10 application IC for Apple will have some impact on flip-chip CSPs, which will make the substrate business uncertain. Poor PC sales have reduced demand for motherboards, flip-chip BGA for main CPU, and HDD (which is being replaced by SSD, or solid state device). 2016 will be a year to watch from both the technology and market viewpoints.
The Bare Board Champion?
This year, the author decided not to go into detail of individual fabricators because he tends to get carried away, and the report will get too long. Large fabricators are typically public, and most seem to know what goes on with them.
Just one comment.
Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in 2015 were Nippon Mektron ($3.41 billion), ZDT ($2.7 billion) and TTM Technologies ($2.45 billion). It is estimated TTMs bare board portion is about $2.35 billion, while that of Nippon Mektron and ZDT are $2.1 billion and $1.895 billion, respectively. These two FPC fabricators revenues include a large number of components. The accuracy of these numbers is not guaranteed, but the author believes they are roughly correct.
So, if this assumption proves correct, the number one bare board fabricator was TTM Technologies.
Dr. Hayao Nakahara is president of N.T. Information; nakanti@yahoo.com.
Register now for PCB West, the Silicon Valley's largest trade show for the printed circuit industry, taking place Sept. 13-15 in Santa Clara: PCBWEST.COM
TUPELO, Miss. -- Tupelo police officer Tyler Cook will not face any charges in the shooting death of 37-year-old, Antwun 'Ronnie' Shumpert, District Attorney John Weddle announced on Monday.
On Monday, Weddle held a press conference detailing the events of June 18 when Shumpert was involved in an altercation with Cook.
According to Moss Point native and attorney, Carlos Moore, Shumpert was pulled over while driving a car owned by his friend Charles Foster, who was a passenger in the vehicle at the time.
After being pulled over by Officer Joseph Center, Shumpert fled the scene. Weddle says Center gave Shumpert commands loudly to stop, but he did not. Shumpert managed to get far enough out of Center's reach until he could no longer see Shumpert, according to Weddle.
Center called for backup and more officers arrived to case the area. Cook was one of the responding officers, along with his K-9, Alec. Alec eventually led Cook to a house where an opening at the bottom of the house revealed a hand.
According to Weddle, Cook gave Shumpert commands to surrender and to show his hands. Cook said Shumpert refused and he then gave his K-9 unit Alec the "bite" command and he attempted to remove Shumpert from underneath the house.
Shumpert, according to Cook's account, scuffled with Alec. While Alec lost control of Shumpert, he still had Shumpert's jersey within his mouth. Shumpert slid out of the jersey and charged and tackled Cook, according to Weddle. In the ensuing scuffle, Shumpert was able to get on top of Cook and to strike him multiple times, according to Weddle. Cook, according to Weddle, said he feared for his life and was beginning to lose consciousness so he discharged his firearm four times striking Shumpert in the chest, lower chest, right arm, and pelvic area. Three of four bullets were recovered, Weddle said.
After presenting the findings of the case, Weddle delivered the news that a grand jury found that Cook acted within policy and would not be indicted.
After the news broke, Moore released a statement on behalf of the family saying, "While we are incredibly disappointed that the officer who killed Antwun 'Ronnie' Shumpert will not be charged with a crime by the state of Mississippi, we will continue to monitor the investigations currently being conducted by the FBI and Department of Justice."
"Our lawsuit against several parties is moving forward and our own investigation into exactly what occurred that night is ongoing. Today's announcement about the grand jury's decision is but one step in our lengthy quest for justice. We will not stop until we have exhausted every lawful avenue for Ronnie's family," Moore said.
For the first time in history, announced researchers this May, a majority of the worlds population is living in urban environments. Citiesefficient hubs connecting international flows of people, energy, communications, and capitalare thriving in our global economy as never before. However, the same factors that make cities hubs of globalization also make them vulnerable to small-group terror and violence.
Over the last few years, small groups ability to conduct terrorism has shown radical improvements in productivitytheir capacity to inflict economic, physical, and moral damage. These groups, motivated by everything from gang membership to religious extremism, have taken advantage of easy access to our global superinfrastructure, revenues from growing illicit commercial flows, and ubiquitously available new technologies to cross the threshold necessary to become terrible threats. September 11, 2001, marked their arrival at that threshold.
Unfortunately, the improvements in lethality that we have already seen are just the beginning. The arc of productivity growth that lets small groups terrorize at ever-higher levels of death and disruption stretches as far as the eye can see. Eventually, one man may even be able to wield the destructive power that only nation-states possess today. It is a perverse twist of history that this new threat arrives at the same moment that wars between states are receding into the past. Thanks to global interdependence, state-against-state warfare is far less likely than it used to be, and viable only against disconnected or powerless states. But the underlying processes of globalization have made us exceedingly vulnerable to nonstate enemies. The mechanisms of power and control that states once exerted will continue to weaken as global interconnectivity increases. Small groups of terrorists can already attack deep within any state, riding on the highways of interconnectivity, unconcerned about our porous borders and our nation-state militaries. These terrorists likeliest point of origin, and their likeliest destination, is the city.
Cities played a vital defensive role in the last major evolution of conventional state-versus-state warfare. Between the world wars, the refinement of technologiesparticularly the combustion engine, when combined with armormade it possible for armies to move at much higher speeds than in the past, so new methods of warfare emphasized armored motorized maneuver as a way to pierce the oppositions solid defensive lines and range deep into soft, undefended rear areas. These incursions, the armored thrusts of blitzkrieg, turned an armys size against itself: even the smallest armored vanguard could easily disrupt the supply of ammunition, fuel, and rations necessary to maintain the huge armies of the twentieth century in the field.
To defend against these thrusts, the theoretician J. F. C. Fuller wrote in the 1930s, cities could be used as anchor or pivot points to engage armored forces in attacks on static positions, bogging down the offensive. Tanks couldnt move quickly through cities, and if they bypassed them and struck too deeply into enemy territory, their supply linesin particular, of the gasoline they drank greedilywould become vulnerable. The city, Fuller anticipated, could serve as a vast fortress, requiring the fast new armor to revert to the ancient tactic of the siege. Thats exactly what happened in practice during World War II, when the defenses mounted in Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad played a major role in the Allied victory.
But in the current evolution of warfare, cities are no longer defensive anchors against armored thrusts ranging through the countryside. They have become the main targets of offensive action themselves. Just as the huge militaries of the early twentieth century were vulnerable to supply and communications disruption, cities are now so heavily dependent on a constant flow of services from various centralized systems that even the simplest attacks on those systems can cause massive disruption.
Most of the networks that we rely on for city lifecommunications, electricity, transportation, waterare overused, interdependent, and extremely complex. They developed organically as what scholars in the emerging field of network science call scale-free networks, which contain large hubs with a plethora of connections to smaller and more isolated local clusters. Such networks are economically efficient and resistant to random failurebut they are also extremely vulnerable to intentional disruptions, as Albert-Laszlo Barabasi shows in his important book Linked: The New Science of Networks. In practice, this means that a very small number of attacks on the critical hubs of a scale-free network can collapse the entire network. Such a collapse can occasionally happen by accident, when random failure hits a critical node; think of the huge Northeast blackout of 2003, which caused $6.4 billion in damage.
Further, the networks of our global superinfrastructure are tightly coupledso tightly interconnected, that is, that any change in one has a nearly instantaneous effect on the others. Attacking one network is like knocking over the first domino in a series: it leads to cascades of failure through a variety of connected networks, faster than human managers can respond.
The ongoing attacks on the systems that support Baghdads 5 million people illustrate the vulnerability of modern networks. Over the last four years, guerrilla assaults on electrical systems have reduced Baghdads power to an average of four or five hours a day. And the insurgents have been busily finding new ways to cut power: no longer do they make simple attacks on single transmission towers. Instead, they destroy multiple towers in series and remove the copper wire for resale to fund the operation; they ambush repair crews in order to slow repairs radically; they attack the natural gas and water pipelines that feed the power plants. In September 2004, one attack on an oil pipeline that fed a power plant quickly led to a cascade of power failures that blacked out electricity throughout Iraq.
Lack of adequate power is a major reason why economic recovery has been nearly impossible in Iraq. No wonder that, in account after account, nearly the first criticism that any Iraqi citizen levels against the government is its inability to keep the lights on. Deprived of services, citizens are forced to turn to local groupsmany of them at war with the governmentfor black-market alternatives. This money, in turn, fuels further violence, and the government loses legitimacy.
Insurgents have directed such disruptive attacks against nearly all the services necessary to get a city of 5 million through the day: water pipes, trucking, and distribution lines for gasoline and kerosene. And because of these networks complexity and interconnectivity, even small attacks, costing in the low thousands of dollars to carry out, can cause tens of millions and occasionally hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.
Iraq is a petri dish for modern conflict, the Spanish Civil War of our times. Its the place where small groups are learning to fight modern militaries and modern societies and win. As a result, we can expect to see systems disruption used again and again in modern conflictcertainly against megacities in the developing world, and even against those in the developed West, as we have already seen in London, Madrid, and Moscow.
Another growing threat to our cities, commonest so far in the developing world, is gangs challenging government for control. For three sultry July days in 2006, a gang called PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital, First Command of the Capital) held hostage the 20 million inhabitants of the greater Sao Paulo area through a campaign of violence. Gang members razed police stations, attacked banks, rioted in prisons, and torched dozens of buses, shutting down a transportation system serving 2.9 million people a day.
The previous May, a similar series of attacks had terrified the city. The attackers moved on foot, and by car and motorbike, wrote William Langewiesche in Vanity Fair. They were not rioters, revolutionaries, or the graduates of terrorist camps. They were anonymous young men and women, dressed in ordinary clothes, unidentifiable in advance, and indistinguishable afterward. Wielding pistols, automatic rifles, and firebombs, they emerged from within the city, struck fast, and vanished on the spot. Their acts were criminal, but the attackers did not loot, rob, or steal. They burned buses, banks, and public buildings, and went hard after the forces of ordergunning down the police in their neighborhood posts, in their homes, and on the streets.
The violence hasnt been limited to Sao Paulo. In December 2006, a copycat campaign by an urban gang called the Comando Vermelho (Red Command) shut down Rio de Janeiro, too. In both cases, the gangs fomenting the violence didnt list demands or send ultimatums to the government. Rather, they were flexing their muscles, testing their ability to challenge the government monopoly on violence.
Both gangs had steadily accumulated power for a decade, helped in part by globalization, which simplifies making connections to the multitrillion-dollar global black-market economy. With these new connections, the gangs profit horizon became limitless, fueling rapid expansion. New communications technology, particularly cell phones, played a part, too, making it possible for the gangs to thrive as loose associations, and allowing a geographical and organizational dispersion that rendered them nearly invulnerable to attack. The PCC has been particularly successful, growing from a small prison gang in the mid-nineties to a group that today controls nearly half of Sao Paulos slums and its millions of inhabitants. An escalating confrontation between these gangs and the city governments appears inevitable.
The gangs rapid rise into challengers to urban authorities is something that we will see again elsewhere. This dynamic is already at work in American cities in the rise of MS-13, a rapidly expanding transnational gang with a loose organizational structure, a propensity for violence, and access to millions in illicit gains. It already has an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 members, dispersed over 31 U.S. states and several Latin American countries, and its proliferation continues unabated, despite close attention from law enforcement. Like the PCC, MS-13 or a similar American gang may eventually find that it has sufficient power to hold a city hostage through disruption.
The final threat that small groups pose to cities is weapons of mass destruction. Though most of the worry over WMDs has focused on nuclear weapons, those arent the real long-term problem. Not only is the vast manufacturing capability of a nation-state required to produce the basic nuclear materials, but those materials are difficult to manipulate, transport, and turn into weapons. Nor is it easy to assemble a nuke from parts bought on the black market; if it were, nation-states like Iran, which have far more resources at their disposal than terrorist groups do, would be doing just that instead of resorting to internal production.
Its also unlikely that a state would give terrorists a nuclear weapon. Sovereignty and national prestige are tightly connected to the production of nukes. Sharing them with terrorists would grant immense power to a group outside the states controlthe equivalent of giving Osama bin Laden the keys to the presidential palace. If that isnt deterrent enough, the likelihood of retaliation is, since states, unlike terrorist groups, have targets that can be destroyed. The result of a nuclear explosion in Moscow or New York would very probably be the annihilation of the country that manufactured the bomb, once its identity was determinedas it surely would be, since no plot of that size can remain secret for long.
Even in the very unlikely case that a nuclear weapon did end up in terrorist hands, it would be a single horrible incident, rather than an ongoing threat. The same is true of dirty bombs, which disperse radioactive material through conventional explosives. No, the real long-term danger from small groups is the use of biotechnology to build weapons of mass destruction. In contrast with nuclear technology, biotechs knowledge and tools are already widely dispersedand their power is increasing exponentially.
The biotech field is in the middle of a massive improvement in productivity through advances in computing power. In fact, the curves of improvement that we see in biotechnology mirror the rates of improvement in computing dictated by Moores Lawthe observation, borne out by decades of experience, that the ratio of performance to price of computing power doubles every 24 months. This means that incredible power will soon be in the hands of individuals. University of Washington engineer Robert Carlson observes that if current trends in the rate of improvement in DNA sequencing continue, within a decade a single person at the lab bench could sequence or synthesize all the DNA describing all the people on the planet many times over in an eight-hour day. And with ever tinier, cheaper, and more widely available tools, a large and decentralized industrial base that is hiring lab techs at a double-digit growth rate, and the active transfer of knowledge via the Internet (the blueprints of the entire smallpox virus now circulate on the Web), biotech is too widely available for us to contain it.
In less than a decade, then, biotechnology will be ripe for the widespread development of weapons of mass destruction, and it fits the requirements of small-group warfare perfectly. It is small, inexpensive, and easy to manufacture in secret. Also, since dangerous biotechnology is based primarily on the manipulation of information, it will make rapid progress through the same kind of amateur tinkering that currently produces new computer viruses. Terrorists also have a growing advantage in delivering bioweapons. The increasing porousness of national borders, size of global megacities, and volume of air travel all mean that the delivery and percolation of bioweapons will be fast-moving and widespreadpotentially on several continents at once.
It is almost certain that we will see repeated, perhaps incessant, attempts to deploy bioweapons with new strains of viruses or bacteria. Picture a Russian biohacker who, a decade from now, designs a new, deadly form of the common flu virus and sells it on the Internet, just as computer viruses and worms get sold today. The terrorist group that buys the design sends it to a recently hired lab tech in Pakistan, who performs the required modifications with widely available tools. The product then ships by mail to London, to the awaiting suicide vectorsmen who infect themselves and then board airplanes headed to world destinations, infecting passengers on the planes and in crowded terminals. The infection spreads quickly, going global in dayslong before anyone detects it.
Its very possible that many cities will fall in the face of such deadly threats. Megacities in the developing worldwhich often, because of their rapid growth, widespread corruption, and illegitimate governance, arent able to provide security or basic services for their citizensare particularly vulnerable. However, cities in the developed world that properly appreciate the threats arrayed against them may devise startlingly innovative solutions.
In almost all cases, cities can defend themselves from their new enemies through effective decentralization. To counter systems disruption, decentralized servicesthe capability of smaller areas within cities to provide backup services, at least on a temporary basiscould radically diminish the harmful consequences of disconnection from the larger global grid. In New York, this would mean storage or limited production capability of backup electricity, water, and fuel, with easy connections to the delivery gridat the borough level or even smaller. These backups would then provide a means of restoring central services rapidly after a failure.
Similarly, cities may combat networked gangs by decentralizing their own security. Cities have long maintained centralized police forces, but gangs can often overwhelm them. Many governments are responding with militarized police: China is building a million-man paramilitary force, for example; and even in the United States, the use of SWAT teams has increased from 3,000 deployments a year in the 1980s to 50,000 a year in 2006. But militarized police may too easily become an army of occupation, and, if corrupt, as they are in Brazil, they may become enemies of the state along with the gangs.
A better solution involves local security forces, either locally recruited or bought on the marketplace (such as Blackwater), which can be powerful bulwarks against small-group terrorism. Such forces may become a vital component in our defense against bioterrorism, too, since they can enforce local containmentand since large centralized services, like the ones we have today, might actually accelerate the propagation of bioweapons. Still, if improperly established, local forces can also become rogue criminal entities, like the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia and the militias in Rio de Janeiro. Governments need to regulate them carefully.
In the future, we probably wont know exactly how we will be attacked until it happens. In highly uncertain situations like this, centralized solutions that emphasize uniform responses will often collapse. Heterogeneous systems, by contrast, are unlikely to fail catastrophically. Moreover, local innovationsupplemented by a marketplace in goods and services that improve security, detection, monitoring, and so onis likely to develop responses to threats quickly and effectively. Other localities will copy those responses that prove successful.
In June 2007, the FBI and local law enforcement halted a plot to blow up the John F. Kennedy International Airports fuel tanks and feeder pipelines. This was another great example of how police forces, if used correctly, can defuse threats before they become a menace [see On the Front Line in the War on Terrorism]. However, our current level of safety will not last. The selection of the target demonstrated clearly that future attackers will take advantage of our systems vulnerability to disruption, which will sharply increase the number of potential targets. It also showed that these threats can emerge spontaneously from small groups unconnected to al-Qaida. More and more attempts will come, with higher and higher rates of success. Our choice is simple: we can rely exclusively on our current security systems to stop the threatsand suffer the consequences when they dontor we can take measures to mitigate the impact of these threats by exerting local control over essential services.
Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images
NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton has been the tail that wags Mayor Bill de Blasios public safety dog since Day One. He is arguably the only strong leader in the entire administration, andone fearsthe only one with the vision, experience, and common sense necessary to keep New York City safe. Now hes on his way out, leaving those whove opposed his practices a clear path to impose their own stunted policy prescriptions on the city. Dont doubt for a moment that theyll try, or that theyll find the mayor receptive to their arguments. De Blasio is moving into an election year with only one solid voting bloc in his corner: African-Americans.
Sadly, the debate over urban policing in 2016 is as racialized as it has been since the 1960s. Two years after the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, and 15 months following the Freddie Gray riots in Baltimore, animosity between the citys cops and a large segment of its black community runs deep. The world may have turned its attention to Dallas and Baton Rouge, but the NYPD hasnt forgotten the 2014 murders of Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos as they sat in their patrol car on a Brooklyn street. Their killer, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, claimed he acted in retaliation for Garner and Brown.
Bratton largely has corralled the NYPDs rank-and-file resentment. He hasnt eradicated it, but hes ensured that it plays a minimal part in day-to-day policing. This may well have been his principal contribution to public safety in the city; its easily as important as the clearly defined and easily understandable philosophy of policing that he brought to One Police Plaza.
That philosophy will now come under attackindeed, it has been under attack by activists and a city council majority since the beginning. Absent Brattons reputation and the force of his personality, plus de Blasios obvious unwillingness to challenge directly a commissioner he hired as a hedge against being seen as soft on crime, the outlook is far from positive. Yes, Brattons designated successor, career-cop James ONeill, is first-rate. But hes no Bratton, a master of politics as well as tactics. Nor, for that matter, can he measure up to Ray Kelly, Brattons predecessor and another outsize personality.
Kelly and Bratton, each in his own way, understood that the key to effective policing lies in unrelenting attention to detail. When care is taken with the little things, the big things tend to take care of themselves. Thats the essence of the so-called Broken Windows approach to crime and disordera willingness to act on the fact that subway fare-beating, aggressive panhandling, and public drunkenness are gateway offenses to greater crimes. Bring them under control and felony rates will falland stay low.
Proactive policing has fallen out of favor with New Yorks political class. De Blasio campaigned hard and sincerely against it in 2013. City council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito hates it, and the council itself is trying to outlaw it. The usual assortment of community activists are vocal in their condemnation of Broken Windows policing. The arguments generally are race-based: Broken Windows enforcement disproportionally affects black New Yorkers and other minorities and therefore is illegitimate. But crime and disorderly neighborhoods also disproportionately affect minorities, who will be the principal victims of slackened enforcement.
Nevertheless, racial resentment is real, and exploiting it is a proven political tactic. Without Bratton standing in the breach, its not hard to see what the policy debate will produce. New York isnt Chicago, where violence is now endemic, but nor is it the relatively tranquil city bequeathed to de Blasio by Rudy Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg, either.
Losing Bill Bratton means more than the risk of losing proactive policing. It means losing a principled, effective leader at a time when such are in perilously short supply. Theres no reason to believe that James ONeill wont measure up on the merits, but at this point, its the politics that matter most. All New Yorkers of good will should wish him well.
Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images
Achizitie de Servicii Tehnice de creare a plantatiilor forestiere de protectie din cadrul primariei Andrusul de Jos si a primariei Vadul lui Isac, r. Cahul
Two sisters from New Jersey have received a $9.5 million jury award stemming from a 2009 boat collision that left them with serious injuries and killed one of their friends.
Jamie and Gina Franzino, of Mahwah, were aboard a 15-foot skiff that collided with a 31-foot boat in the Manasquan Inlet.
The driver of the larger boat, Ed McCarthy, of McCarthys Marine Sales, was found liable in a trial in January, The Record reported.
Last week, at the conclusion of the damages portion of the trial, a jury of five women and three men awarded $3.9 million to Jamie Franzino and $5.1 million to Gina Franzino. Gina Franzino also received $500,000 to cover an anticipated hip replacement operation.
An email message left with McCarthy wasnt returned Saturday.
While money cannot take away Jamie or Ginas physical and emotional scars, it will certainly help them carry on their lives with financial stability, Samuel L. Davis, an attorney who represented Gina Franzino, told the newspaper.
According to Coast Guard officials, at the time of the crash the skiff carrying five people and the larger Boston Whaler with two people aboard collided on the north side of the Manasquan River between Point Pleasant Beach and Brielle.
After the collision, the smaller boat came to rest in about 2 feet of water near Fishermens Cove, a conservation area also known as Dog Beach
Jamie Franzino suffered injuries including a collapsed lung, broken rib, fractured pelvis and concussion. Gina Franzino suffered a broken pelvis and had to have her spleen removed.
Another passenger on their boat, 24-year-old Kyle Tanis, of Mahwah, suffered a skull fracture and drowned.
The two men aboard the larger boat were not injured in the collision. The crash tore the tail off the skiff and left its front end heavily damaged. Its center console was ripped from the hull by the impact. The Boston Whaler also sustained extensive damage.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
GULFPORT, Mississippi -- A 46-year-old Vancleave man has admitted he stole nearly $106,000 in disability benefits from the Social Security Administration.
The Sun Herald reports Ricky Wade Perry has pleaded guilty to theft of government funds, a charge punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Chief U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. will sentence him Nov. 1.
An indictment says Perry stole about $105,793 from the Social Security Administration between July 2009 and March 2015. The money was from Social Security Disability Insurance payments.
A federal grand jury indicted Perry on March 22.
Perry has remained free on a $25,000 bond since his initial court appearance in April 6.
Lodge managers and cafe owners along Californias dramatic Big Sur coast were looking Friday at a summer of jittery guests and cancelled bookings after fire officials warned that crews will likely be battling a wildfire raging in steep, forested ridges just to the north for another month.
Big Sur establishments were already reporting as much as a 50 percent drop in business, said Stan Russell, executive director of the chamber of commerce even though the only signs of the blaze were fire trucks and an occasional whiff of smoke along the famously winding and scenic Highway 1.
Normally, this time of year is when everybody really runs at 100 percent, Russell said about tourism in the area. This is when we make our money.
The week-old blaze a few miles to the north of Big Sur had been blamed for one death a bulldozer operator working the fire line destroyed 41 homes and burned 48 square miles (124 square kilometers).
Flames were concentrated in forested ridges above the summer fog line along the coast. Many patches of fire were in areas too steep to be reached, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
More than 4,200 firefighters were battling the wildfire that fire officials expect to linger until the end of August.
Highway 1 remained open, but signs along the narrow route warned travelers that all state parks in the area were closed because of the fire.
At the luxury Post Ranch Inn, where clifftop rooms that open to sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean go for more than $2,000 a night, general manager Kevin Geanides was offering refunds to guests canceling stays because of the wildfire. Business was off about one-fourth, he estimated.
Smoke was thick along the Big Sur coast for the first days of the blaze. With a shift in the wind, the past few days, if you were standing on our ridge, you wouldnt even know there was a fire, Geanides said. Other residents and travelers agreed.
Hotel workers reviewed emergency evacuation plans as a precaution, despite the blue skies along the coast.
At the Ventana Inn & Spa, another luxury lodge on the redwood-lined coast, front-desk worker George Ochoa reckoned the fire was about five miles away.
But Ochoa knew, everything could change within the next hour or 30 minutes, he said. Were ready.
Fire officials previously ordered at least 350 residents to evacuate homes that were closer to the flames.
Tom and Donna Huntington, both 65, and three-decade residents of the hard-hit town of Palo Colorado, fled their home on the first day of the fire. They have been staying with friends and at a Red Cross shelter at a school.
Its a heartbreaker. I could cry right now, Tom Huntington said. Im so lucky I didnt lose my house. And I know some people that have.
Other evacuees included at least four people who acknowledged they had been growing marijuana in the area, Monterey County sheriffs Sgt. Kathy Palazzolo said.
Other wildfires burned elsewhere in the West.
On the outskirts of Los Angeles, crews had stopped the spread of a 61-square-mile (157-square kilometer) blaze that killed one man and destroyed 18 homes.
Fire officials said that fire was 85 percent contained eight days after it broke out in suburban Santa Clarita and spread into the mountainous Angeles National Forest.
Authorities have not determined the cause of either fire in California.
In Idaho, a wildfire crossed a state highway and threatened a backcountry yurt outpost popular among winter recreationists.
In Wyoming, favorable weather allowed firefighters to take the offensive against a wildfire threatening seasonal homes. The fire in Shoshone National Forest has burned about 19 square miles (49 sq. kilometers).
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Summit County voters will consider tax proposals in six communities Tuesday, August 2.
(John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer/file photo)
Summit County voters will head to the polls Tuesday, August 2, for a special election. Tax issues in six communities will be on ballots.
Here's what voters need to know:
Macedonia: A proposed city income tax increase from 2 percent to 2.5 percent beginning October 1 to pay for road improvements and storm water projects. The increase would cost a resident making $50,000 an additional $250 per year in income tax.
New Franklin: A proposed city income tax increase from 1 percent to 2 percent to fund police department operating expenses, general city operations and capital improvements. Residents earning $50,000 would pay an additional $500 per year in income tax. With passage of the increase, the city would eliminate the existing 2.5-mill police levy amounting to $27 a year in real estate taxes per $100,000 of home value, retroactive to Jan.1, 2016, for collection year 2017.
Northfield Center Township: An issue to replace a 2-mill tax and add 4 additional mills to fund expenses, wages, benefits, operations and facilities of the township's fire department. The proposal would increase taxes $149 a year per $100,000 of home value.
Springfield Township: A 2-mill renewal levy resulting in no tax increase, to pay for fire department equipment, buildings and firefighters, and ambulance equipment and emergency medical services operated by the Springfield Township Fire Department, for 5 years.
Manchester Local School District: A $30,586,437 bond issue and 0.5-mill tax levy to pay for improvements to school district buildings and equipment. Passage of the issue would cost residents $308 per $100,000 home value.
Springfield Local School District: A tax renewal and a new 3.68-mill levy for the school district's emergency requirements, which would cost homeowners an additional $128.80 per $100,000 home valuation for five years.
Summit County polls will be open Tuesday from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
BRUNSWICK --- The Brunswick City Schools board of education is considering a policy change that would allow graduating seniors who have met district academic standards, but have failed a portion of the Ohio Graduation Test, to participate fully in commencement ceremonies.
"Invariably there is someone who meets our (district) requirements and fails part of the Ohio test," Brunswick High School Principal, Michael Draves, said at an Aug. 1 board work session. "Board policy states that you have to meet both requirements in order to be able to walk at graduation."
Currently, district policy states that in order to receive a diploma, a student must earn 21 credits, including 14.5 in core subjects - English, Math, Science and Social Studies; 5.5 elective credits; and a half-credit each of health and physical education.
In addition, a student must pass all five OGT tests in order to graduate. Students who pass four out of five of the OGT tests can also be eligible with certain conditions related to the OGT score itself, attendance, and grade point average in the subject area of the test not yet passed.
As Draves pointed out, those who are not eligible to receive a diploma for any reason - district or state mandated - are also ineligible to walk across the stage and be recognized with their peers during commencement ceremonies.
"We're not saying anything about graduation requirements, but whether they walk at graduation if they meet our requirements," school board President, Rich Nowak, said.
Local decision
While OGT failure affects few students each year - two members of the Class of 2016 were ineligible to walk at graduation for this reason - school board and administration members at the work session were largely in agreement that parts of that policy should be changed.
Draves said that the Brunswick City Schools has one of the highest four-year graduation rates, at 96.8 percent, in the area. He added that the vast majority of students who do not graduate fail to meet the district requirements, not those set by the state.
Superintendent Michael Mayell said the decision of whether or not students can participate fully in commencement exercises should be made based upon local standards.
"Commencement is a Brunswick thing, it's not a state thing," Mayell said. "That doesn't mean (students who don't meet the district or state standards) should get a diploma, but I have always said if we make a decision, make it in favor of the child."
Draves said one of the two students prohibited from walking at graduation this past school year is a prime example of how the district policy can backfire.
The decision to prohibit the student's commencement participation was based upon information the district had from the state at graduation time. It was later discovered, when scores were provided by the state "in June or July," Draves said, that the student had actually met the state requirements.
Board member, Lisa Durichko, said the policy's language regarding state eligibility and commencement participation puts the district in the position of potentially "gypping students out" of one of the most important moments of a high school career.
Likewise, board member Tammy Schebek suggested changing the district policy regarding commencement participation for those who have not passed the state test to include considerations of attendance, discipline, and taking the test every time it is made available.
"I asked my own kids - and they aren't brilliant students but are smart - and they told me you have plenty of times to pass this," Schebek said.
Board member Grant Relic, however, cautioned that changing the policy could become a slippery slope.
"We want to make sure they are still passing all our requirements," Relic said. "There is always going to be a kid who is a half-point away and there will be the 'Johnny is not a good test taker' (excuse). I wouldn't say we are 'gypping' them out of anything; they gypped themselves out when there are 440 other who did the job (they) didn't. Maybe this goes along with the societal phenomenon of everyone-gets-a-trophy."
Placing the proper focus
Mayell replied that the board has "never wavered" on district graduation requirements and Draves insisted the administration will continue to "do our damnedest to make sure we don't have big numbers of students who don't graduate."
"I'm not in the business of lowering requirements for kids but maybe (changing the board commencement policy) is a pragmatic solution for a problem that doesn't need to exist," Draves said. "And we are going to emphasize that diploma and that we need to see these kids back in the summer."
Still, he allowed that the district is aware that walking across the stage and being handed a faux diploma could be enough for some students.
"That is the fear," Draves said. "That some kids will say 'everyone thought I graduated, so I'll just keep working here' or whatever."
Patrick Geschke, district director of educational programs and innovation, said such a reaction would be "the worst case scenario."
More state changes
Adding to the board's considerations are changes in Ohio graduation requirements beginning in the 2017-2018 school year.
Firstly, following statewide upheaval from Ohio school districts this past school year over the wildly inconsistent OGT results, the Ohio Department of Education has decided to use only one testing company beginning in 2017.
The state is also changing its method of determining graduation eligibility. In short, the OGT will be replaced by a point system of seven "end of course exams" in core subjects - including Algebra I and Geometry, or integrated Math I and II; Biology; American history and American government; and English I and II - in which students must score a cumulative 18 points.
If a student fails to meet these thresholds, the state will allow two additional paths to graduation - through state approved industry credential testing, available at schools like the Medina County Career Center; or by earning a "remediation-free" score in English and Mathematics on a nationally recognized college admission exam.
Nowak said he wonders if the district should continue to tie its graduation ceremony requirements to state graduation requirements, which can be changed fairly arbitrarily and without much input from local districts.
"The state is trying to provide more opportunity for students to graduate, but we don't know if that is going to be the case for us," he said. "If we go from a couple kids to 85 kids not meeting this assessment, it goes from a little problem to a nightmare."
New policy legislation
Board members agreed to have Mayell draw up a draft policy change regarding commencement participation eligibility for board review.
Mayell noted that the district would have until April to make changes to the policy in time for 2017 graduation activities.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The family of a Cleveland Clinic technician shot and killed on his way to the hospital in 2014 is facing a court battle after the hospital system denied his death benefit claim.
Stephen Halton Jr. was fatally shot on Jan. 11, 2014 while waiting at the 15300 Lake Shore Avenue RTA stop. It was 4:30 a.m. and the 30-year-old anesthesiology technician was on his way to the hospital where he had been called in to assist in a liver transplant.
About one year after his death, Halton's family applied for death benefit compensation that would pay about $850 per week to his widow and two daughters.
The Ohio Industrial Commission initially refused the family's claim. The hearing officer said that because Halton's job required him to be on call beginning at 6 a.m., he couldn't have been considered on call when he was shot at 4:30.
But the commission sided with the family in a subsequent appeal, citing language in Halton's contract with the hospital that said that the time spent returning to the hospital would be considered on-call paid time. The family also cited several cases in which Ohio courts had sided with employees who were killed or injured while responding to work calls.
After receiving a call at midnight, Dalton had to catch an early bus to be at the hospital in time for a 6 a.m. liver transplant, the commission found, meaning that he was in the course of his employment while he was waiting at the RTA stop.
The commission granted Halton's family death benefits, forcing Cleveland Clinic to pay retroactive benefits accrued during the appeal process. The hospital then filed an appeal June 22 in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, asking the court to overturn the ruling.
Halton's father, Stephen Halton Sr., says in a letter to media that he is dismayed by the hospital's refusal to pay his family's claim. Halton Sr. is not seeking any part of his son's death benefit.
"In the midst of our grief, we now must fight Stephen's employer in court to ensure that his wife and children receive the benefits they deserve," he wrote. "As his father, I am shocked at the Cleveland Clinic's greed and insensitivity in this matter."
Cleveland Clinic responded Wednesday with a statement that calls Halton's death a tragedy.
"The loss of Mr. Halton that occurred while commuting to work was tragic," Cleveland Clinic Communication Director Eileen Sheil writes. "Cleveland Clinic is committed to meeting its legal responsibilities to its employees. At this time, we are working through the state of Ohio's workers' compensation process."
This story has been updated to say that the Cleveland Clinic was required to pay retroactive benefits upon the most recent Ohio Industrial Commission ruling in favor of the Halton family. It has also been updated to include a comment from the hospital.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A former Linndale police officer and Rocky River resident admitted Tuesday to helping deal large amounts of club drugs in the Cleveland area.
Jonida Alicka, 29, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
She was arrested in March, along with her sister Denisa Alicka and Michigan residents Rinald Turhani and Leka Konini. The FBI has said the quartet conspired to bring MDMA and high-quality marijuana from Canada to the Cleveland area.
Under a plea agreement with prosecutors, Jonida Alicka faces a likely sentence of between 57 and 71 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Dan Polster will sentence her on Nov. 2.
Jonida Alicka has been in jail since her arrest. Wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, she quietly answered Polster's questions during the 20-minute hearing. Her father and sister watched from the viewing gallery.
Under the plea agreement, she agreed to forfeit two firearms and $2,281 in cash seized during FBI searches.
Jonida Alicka worked one day a week as a reserve officer for the Linndale Police Department. The FBI said she conducted several drug deals during her shifts while wearing her police uniform. She was fired after her arrest.
Prosecutors said some of the drugs were dealt out of the Rocky River apartment complex where Denisa Alicka lived. She and Jonida Alicka would routinely travel from New York and Michigan with drugs, according to court records.
Prosecutors have described the two as having a lavish lifestyle, complete with plastic surgery, luxury cars and trips to Miami.
If you want to comment on this story, please visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section.
Three who would be Ohio governor pressing the flesh Convention gives potential hopefuls a chance to make themselves known
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted gives his victory in Columbus, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. A decade-old lawsuit over the state's voting laws has resulted in millions in legal fees for the attorneys who filed the suit.
(Plain Dealer file photo)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The state of Ohio has racked up more than $2.7 million in legal fees it will likely have to pay to attorneys who have engaged in a decade's worth of litigation over voting laws passed by the state's legislature and enforced by the secretary of state's office.
And while a federal appeals court said part of that amount must be re-calculated, the cost is expected to increase significantly in the future, as those same lawyers still need to add in the nearly three years of legal work completed since the last time a judge ordered payment.
The legal battle at issue has raged on since 2006, though it is in line with challenges to a series of laws passed by Republican-controlled legislatures across the country in the past few years. Courts in Wisconsin, North Carolina, Texas, North Dakota and Kansas issued scathing opinions in the past week that invalidated key parts of voting legislation passed in each state, with each court stating that the laws were aimed at curbing minority participation in elections.
The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless first filed suit against the secretary of state over laws passed by the legislature that required voters to provide identification at polling places.
The case has evolved and continued after elected officials passed laws that affected provisional ballots. This resulted in a trial earlier this year, after which Columbus federal Judge Algenon Marbley issued a constitutional rebuke of the state's laws pertaining to the disqualification of absentee and provisional ballots for technical violations.
So far, Marbley has ordered the state to pay legal fees and costs to the private attorneys who brought the case, which includes Cleveland attorney Subodh Chandra and his firm, along with the San Francisco law firm Alshuler Berzon, for work done up to 2013.
The state fought these orders, claiming they were excessive, but with limited success. The last order came in 2015 when Marbley ordered the state to pay more than $2.2 million.
The case is a good example of the large bills that taxpayers have to foot when the state defends laws passed by the legislature and continuously appeals the decisions to higher courts. These bills tend to add up in cases where a judge finds that the constitutional rights of citizens were violated as a result of legislative actions.
Appeals court's ruling
The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a ruling issued Monday, largely upheld Marbley's order for legal fees.
The court wrote that the state "never (tells) us how and why the hours were excessive except to say that they are 'too high.'"
(You can read the full ruling here or at the bottom of this story.)
Its ruling came with two caveats that will require Marbley to re-calculate the legal fees order. The appeals court said:
* The hourly rate that Marbley assigned to Altshuler Berzon -- which had one attorney awarded a $750-an-hour rate -- was too high and not comparable to what other attorneys in Columbus would charge for similar work. This is expected to reduce the total amount awarded.
* The current cap on what is referred to as "fees for fees," or payment for hours worked by attorneys to calculate legal fees, should be removed. The cap was set by Coulter v. Tennessee, a 1986 U.S. Supreme Court case that only allowed for attorneys to collect "fees for fees" worth three percent of the total hours worked on the main case. This is expected to enlarge the legal fees award.
Taking both caveats into account, the award is expected to shrink, though the total for the work done up to 2013 will likely be around or just below $2.5 million, said attorney Sandhya Gupta, an attorney in Chandra's law firm.
The meter is still running
In addition to the previously-awarded $2.5 million, Chandra's firm and the other attorneys have performed three years of legal work -- including drafting court filings and participating in a trial -- for which they are expected to ask for legal fees.
The state has appealed Marbley's trial decision and the federal appeals court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Thursday. If Chandra and the other attorneys prevail, the additional fees will be "quite significant" and will likely again reach seven-figure sums, he said.
Chandra, a Democrat who ran for attorney general in 2006, described the state's tactics as "running a Ponzi scheme against yourself." He said the tactic of Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted and Attorney General Mike DeWine, both Republicans, is to "litigate these things into the ground" and constantly appeal decisions made by lower court judges.
Chandra said, "they seem to absolutely fight everything" and never take responsibility for what he says are unconstitutional laws.
"He needs to be held accountable for this by taxpayers," Chandra said of Husted.
Chandra's lawsuit is hardly the only example of voter-related lawsuits brought against the state that could prove costly.
Dan Tierney, a spokesman for DeWine, said his office has a duty to defend the state and legislators when they are sued. As to when enough is enough, though, he said that call is made on a case-by-case-basis.
If legal fees are getting high, he said, "that certainly could be a factor though it certainly is not only the only factor you look at."
Matt McClellan, a spokesman for Secretary of State Jon Husted, said the office is waiting to see what happens when the case goes back to Marbley. But he questioned the tactic taken by many groups that have sued the state over election-related issues in the past year.
"If they would work with us a little more and educate voters on how easy It is to vote, we might be farther along," McClellan said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Twilight at the Zoo
Twilight at the Zoo is an annual event which brings thousands of Clevelanders together to party on the Cleveland Metropark Zoo's grounds. (Photo courtesy Dale McDonald/Cleveland Zoological Society)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- This Friday, after the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's animals are put inside for the night, the park will be crowded with more than 8,000 guests for the annual party Twilight at the Zoo.
It's the 23rd year for the massive event, hosted by the Cleveland Zoological Society. With 19 different bands and a variety of food and beer trucks, the evening will change the zoo's typical family-friendly atmosphere into a party for those 21 and older.
"We're just trying to mix it up a little bit. Since we do concentrate on getting families out here to see the zoo every day, we thought it would be nice to get adults out here to see it in a different way," said Sarah Crupi, the manager of external relations at the Cleveland Zoological Society.
The event, which has seen big crowds in its history, sold out in record time this year, according to Crupi.
The event begins at 7 p.m. and runs until midnight. For guests who arrive when doors open, they have one hour to see their favorite animals until the creatures are brought inside at 8 p.m. Crupi said that this is to keep the animals' regular schedules intact, since they aren't normally kept in their full exhibits after hours. "We want to keep them safe from partygoers," said Crupi.
Stretching across the grounds of the zoo, the party will have bands playing near the major exhibit points, like the Elephant Crossing and the new Rosebrough Tiger Passage. Crupi encouraged visitors to wear walking shoes so that they can fully explore the zoo's grounds.
All of the performing bands are local, and they include rock cover band Almost Famous, funk and Motown cover band Funkology and Irish punk band Craic. Wrapping up the night is Disco Inferno, a band that was voted the favorite 2016 band in one of the Zoological Society's social media contests.
All performing bands are donating their performance times to help with fundraising efforts.
According to Crupi, Twilight at the Zoo is considered to be Cleveland's largest fundraiser. All the profits from the event go towards the zoo's programs and different conservation causes. She expects to raise more than $625,000 in support of both the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and the Cleveland Zoological Society.
"It's easily one of our most popular events of the year," she said.
FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio -- A 39-year-old Lakewood woman was drunk when she crashed her SUV into a Fairview Park cellphone store, police said.
Angela M. Layton, of Waterbury Road was cited with operating a vehicle under the influence and failure to control. An arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 10 in Rocky River Municipal Court.
A witness called police at 12:23 a.m. July 25 and said an SUV had just crashed into at Boost Mobile store in the 22900 block of Lorain Road.
Officers found Layton standing outside the SUV. Layton had no signs of physical injury, but she was disoriented and unsteady on her feet, Fairview Park police Chief Erich Upperman said Tuesday.
No one was inside the store at the time of the crash.
Layton refused to take a blood-alcohol test, police said.
"We feel that she was under the influence of something, but we don't know what," Upperman said.
Police took Layton to Fairview Hospital for medical treatment. An officer later caught her trying to leave the hospital.
After police left Layton at the hospital, she left against doctor's orders, Upperman said.
An officer on patrol found her at 6:30 a.m. lying under a tree in the 12600 block of Lorain Road, more than two-and-a-half miles away from the hospital in the 18100 block of Lorain Road.
The officer spoke to Layton and she seemed fine, so the officer helped her to a nearby bus stop, Upperman said.
An employee at a Giant Eagle in the 21500 block of Lorain Road called police at 10 a.m. and reported that Layton was disoriented inside the store.
Police took her back to the hospital.
Upperman said officers did not arrest Layton after the crash because she needed medical attention.
"She was taken to the hospital and they apparently didn't keep a close eye on her, even after an officer told them she tried to leave the first time," Upperman said.
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Cleveland Clinic
The Cleveland Clinic ranked No. 1 in heart care on the U.S. News and World Report Best Hospitals list again this year, it's 22nd consecutive year at the top for the specialty. The hospital also moved up to the No. 2 hospital spot overall on the "Honor Roll" rankings, second to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. (Plain Dealer file/Shooting Star Photography)
( Shooting Star Photography)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- For the 22nd year in a row, U.S. News & World Report has ranked the Cleveland Clinic's heart care program No. 1 in the nation in its annual list of best hospitals. The Clinic also ranked in the top three nationally in eight other specialties, giving the hospital system the No. 2 spot overall.
The hospital's overall ranking jumped three places from last year, ahead of No. 3 Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore at No. 4, and UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles in the fifth spot. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota was ranked first this year. The top five hospital systems this year have swapped places in U.S. News rankings a number of times in recent years.
Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove, a heart surgeon in his 11th year at the helm of the institution, said the ranking helps draw heart patients to the city from around the globe.
"It's a recognition that speaks to the experience and quality of the Cleveland Clinic's cardiac team," Cosgrove said, noting that about 20 percent of all of the hospital's patients come from outside the Northeast Ohio area.
Cosgrove said the hospital's overall No. 2 ranking will help bolster that figure, too. "I don't think that most people in Cleveland recognize the quality of the organization that is here," he said.
In Ohio, the Clinic and Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center were ranked first and second, while University Hospitals Case Medical Center took the No. 3 spot this year. The Clinic's Fairview Hospital was ranked No. 4, and Akron General Medical Center came in at No. 9 (tied with Riverside Methodist Hospital-Ohio Health). MetroHealth Medical Center ranked 11th, while Summa's Akron City and St. Thomas Hospitals ranked No. 18 in the state.
The U.S. News rankings include listings of the best hospitals in each of 16 specialty areas for patients seeking care for rare or life-threatening conditions. It also includes the best regional hospitals in areas of "common care" such as hip and knee replacement surgery, heart bypass surgery, heart failure and the chronic lung disease COPD.
But the rankings, which are determined by a formula that is more than one quarter reputation-driven, aren't very helpful to consumers, said J.B. Silvers, a professor of health care finance at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
"U.S. News is largely a popularity poll, as far as I'm concerned," Silvers said. "[The rankings] have a real bias toward well-known nationally ranked hospitals and programs. You're going to have the same usual suspects appearing in the top spots."
Among the top players, the opinions of doctors (which count for 27.5 percent of the U.S. rankings score) are helpful in distinguishing the best of the best, he said.
Among less well-known hospitals and programs, though, rankings like these don't differentiate well, he said. "As you move down the list, it's less and less helpful."
The U.S. News Rankings are just one of many different hospital rating and ranking metrics available, and one of few that uses reputation as a measure.
Among the other measures are Hospital Compare, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Service's (CMS) reports on hospital performance; the Leapfrog Group's safety scores, put together by corporations and other large buyers of health care to grade how thousands of hospitals nationally fare on safety measures compared to national benchmarks; and the quality and accountability measures gathered by The Joint Commission, a not-for-profit organization that certifies that health care facilities have met certain quality standards.
Last week, CMS's Hospital Compare provided an overall rating on a five star scale for hospitals, summarizing performance in 64 measures of how well each hospital performed, on average, compared to other hospitals in the U.S.
The rating systems often provide very different pictures of treatment quality at the same institutions, though.
For example, the Clinic receives four of five stars on Hospital Compare's new overall rating and a "B" in the Leapfrog Group's safety scores. But it scores a dismal 49 of 100 on Consumer Reports' hospital safety scores, which are based on data on infection rates, complications, the number of times people have to return to the hospital within 30 days of discharge, and other measures.
UH, on the other hand, fares better on Leapfrog ("A" grade for safety) and in the Consumer Reports ratings (53 of 100), but gets three stars on the federal Hospital Compare standards and ranks lower on the U.S. News list.
Can any one rating be reliable when each tends to paint its own picture of quality?
The problem, say both Cosgrove and Silvers, is that every rating system uses its own measures of quality, performance and safety.
"Some of them include financial success and some don't. Some include patient experience and some of them don't. Some of them include bed sores and some of them don't," said Cosgrove. "I think there's a growing frustration amongst hospitals across the country that there are so many different metrics and rating systems."
The "cacophony of information" is frustrating to patients too, said Silvers, who is also the John R. Mannix Medical Mutual of Ohio Professor of Health Care Finance and professor of banking and finance at Weatherhead School of Management. "We're in the infancy of this whole process of informing consumers. None of the ways of measuring quality are particularly good."
Cosgrove and Silvers hope that at some point, the way hospital quality is measured will be standardized so that consumers can compare care fairly. That may be a long way off though.
"I hope we'll see in the industry that we'll see a push towards that," Cosgrove said.
The experts behind the U.S. News hospital rankings say the list relies less and less on reputation (it used to be solely based on doctor opinion) and continues to incorporate more hard data measures as they become available.
For example, the heart care specialty rankings saw a reduction in the amount of emphasis placed on reputation this year by 3 percent to allow for a "transparency" measure, which gave a corresponding amount of credit to institutions that voluntarily publicly reported certain data on how their patients fared.
Ben Harder, chief of health analysis at U.S. News, said the rankings are designed for patients seeking the best possible care in highly specialized areas such as cardiology, cancer, and gynecology, among others.
When asked about the plethora of ratings and rankings tools available to consumers, Harder wrote in an email: "The more information available to consumers, the better."
Overall ratings like the federal Hospital Compare list released last week "can obscure variations in quality within a hospital - for example, its heart care may be great and its cancer care suboptimal," he said.
For the Clinic and other top finishers, the U.S. News ranking brings its own prestige, the label reinforcing the reputation.
Like their college rankings, the U.S. News label for hospitals has come to command a certain amount of respect because it's been around so long and is well respected, Cosgrove said.
"There are a lot of different ways to rank colleges too. Everyone turns to U.S. News because, over and over, it's the most established," Cosgrove said.
Here's how the Clinic and UH ranked this year:
UH ranked in the top 50 programs nationally for eight of 16 specialties, down from nine last year. The hospital's new rankings are: cancer (28); ear, nose and throat (35); gastroenterology (27); geriatrics (41); gynecology (30); neurology and neurosurgery (47); orthopedics (24); and urology (39).
UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital ranked No. 4 in the country for its neonatalogy program in the U.S. News Best Children's Hospitals rankings released in June.
Nine Cleveland Clinic programs placed in the top three nationally again this year: cardiology and heart surgery (1); diabetes and endocrinology (3); gastroenterology and GI surgery (2); gynecology (3); nephrology (2); orthopedics (3); pulmonology (3); rheumatology (3); and urology (2). Four others placed in the top 10: cancer (8); geriatrics (8); neurology and neurosurgery (6); and ophthalmology (8).
For more on the rankings, go to usnews.com/best-hospitals.
An estimated 10 to 20 million birds and other animals die after feeding off of lead-laced animal carcasses left in the field by hunters. Above, a golden eagle. Photo by Alamy
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It was just a few months ago that America watched Flint unpack boxes of bottled water in the midst of battle against lead contamination in its municipal water supply. Arrests followed, since reckless managers put lives at risk, particularly children who drank contaminated water.
Weve known for thousands of years that lead is a deadly toxin, yet its only been in recent decades that weve taken it out of gasoline, paint, and other substances. The lingering effects of lead pipes still pose hazards for communities.
And we havent even take the obvious step of removing it from ammunition, which sport hunters disperse and collectively plant in fields and forests every hunting season.
Every day, at any one of our nations hundreds of wildlife rehabilitation centers, caretakers do everything within their power to counteract the effects of lead poisoning in eagles, condors, doves, ducks, and all manner of other creatures. The victims have the classic symptoms of lead poisoning: tremors, kidney and liver failure, and extreme weakness. Blood tests typically show lead levels literally off the charts. The culprit?
Its estimated that between 10 and 20 million birds and other animalsincluding more than 130 speciesdie every year from lead poisoning. Its time for our federal government to ban the use of lead ammunition on tens of millions of federal lands managed by the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Scientists have called lead ammo the greatest, largely unregulated source of lead knowingly discharged into the environment in the United States. Since it breaks into fragments upon impact, lead inevitably makes its way into the food chain as animals feed off of carcasses left in the field by hunters. Hunting families are at risk too, since the meat from animals shot and cooked for the table can contain tiny lead shards.
In 2013, California became the first state in the nation to phase out the use of lead ammunition for the taking of all wildlife, setting a deadline of 2019. Its up to other states and the federal government to follow suit.
The HSUS, along with other wildlife conservation groups and sportsmen, has petitioned the Department of the Interior to require the use of nontoxic ammunition when a firearm is discharged on the more than 160 million acres of federal lands managed by the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Just like we saw in 1991 when the USFWS began requiring the use of non-lead shot for hunting waterfowl, this would result in millions of unintended animal victims being saved.
In the meantime, hunters can choose lead alternatives. Readily available and comparably priced copper and steal ammunition is outperforming archaic lead loads and doesnt continue to kill days, weeks, and months after leaving the gun.
Sadly, with their heels firmly planted in the ground, groups like the National Rifle Association contrive a conspiracy even when phasing out lead shot will be beneficial for hunters, wildlife, and retailers. Poke around on the websites of the biggest ammo manufacturers and youll find even the firearms industry singing the praises of lead alternatives. Looking for premium performance without the premium price? asks one brand-name maker of steel shot. Well, it will sell you a shell that delivers denser patterns for greater lethality and is zinc-plated to prevent corrosion.
Sport hunters often cite the legacy of Teddy Roosevelt in the context of their pastime. He was a conservationist and hunter through and through. But he understood that conserve is an action verb. It requires active engagement. That means phasing out the use of lead ammunition and ending its devastating effects.
If Flint taught us anything, its that we cannot wait until a public health crisis erupts to address an obvious problem. Lead is a poison. It kills people and non-human animals alike. A ban on toxic ammunition would hit the bullseye in ending decades of unnecessary and entirely avoidable poisoning and destruction of wildlife in our nation.
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The father of a 4-month-old Ohio girl found dead along a riverbank on Monday was charged in her death, authorities say.
(cleveland.com file photo)
LOVELAND, Ohio -- Authorities found a 4-month-old Ohio girl dead along a riverbank on Monday and her father, who reported her missing, was charged in her death.
The remains, believed to be those of Kaylynn Crawford, came less than 24 hours after her father told police someone snatched her from his parked car in a northern Cincinnati suburb and fled.
The girl's father, Charles Crawford, has been arrested on a charge of murder, according to the Ohio AttorneyGeneral's Office. He's being held at the Clermont County Jail.
Crawford reported Sunday night that Kaylynn was taken from his vehicle while it was parked at a dollar store in Loveland, but investigators said they believe that story was fabricated.
Authorities found the remains and the girl's car seat near the Little Miami River, a few miles from the store. An autopsy has yet to be completed.
Loveland police, the FBI and special agents with the state's Bureau of Criminal Investigation had helped in the search for the girl.
A statewide alert issued earlier for the missing girl had said she was wearing a sleeveless, white onesie decorated with a pink giraffe, with pink sandals and a gold band with a bow on her head.
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Charges were dropped Tuesday against a man previously accused of shooting a 21-year-old man in Cleveland.
(File photo)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Prosecutors on Tuesday dropped charges against a man previously accused of fatally shooting an aspiring rapper.
Roderick Cooper, 21, was freed from the city jail on Monday. He had been there since about 11 p.m. Friday. The aggravated murder charge was withdrawn Tuesday in Cleveland Municipal Court.
A defense attorney said police released Cooper pending further investigation into the July 26 fatal shooting of Jason Miranda.
The shooting happened at a home in the driveway of a home on Kirton Avenue near West 130th Street. Miranda, a father of two, was shot in front of his 1-year-old son, friend's said.
Miranda was an aspiring rapper who went by the stage name Tito.
Miranda walked outside the house to move his car, Cleveland police said. Witnesses told police a man walked up to Miranda and told him to "give it up."
The shooter fired several shots, hitting Miranda in the abdomen. The shooter ran, police said.
Police and paramedics found Miranda lying on the ground. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Family members of a 26-year-old transgender woman found dead Saturday morning in Cleveland think she was killed because of her gender identity.
Skye Mockabee's body was discovered by the owner of a granite shop the day after she went missing, according to her family and police reports.
Mockabee got into a van with a man she met online just after midnight Friday morning, texted her mother that she appreciated everything the mother had done for her and never came home, Mockabee's mother and live-in boyfriend told cleveland.com.
The owner of Ecclesiastic Granite Fab on West 130th Street found Mockabee the next morning lying face-down, bleeding from her mouth. Cleveland police said her body showed signs of head trauma. Detectives are investigating her death as a homicide but have released few other details about the investigation.
"They beat my baby to death," Mockabee's mother, Phyllis Carlock, said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Mockabee's family believes that the 2009 graduate of Lincoln-West High School was killed because of her identity as a transgender woman.
"Whoever did this was not comfortable with my baby being the way that (she) was," Carlock said. "They couldn't accept it."
Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said she could not confirm whether investigators think Mockabee's identity as a transgender woman is a motive in her death. The official cause of death is pending the results of an autopsy from the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner.
Mockabee began hormone therapy at a clinic near her apartment. She also started saving money for a sex change operation to make her outward appearance match the person she was on the inside, her live-in boyfriend William Philpott said.
Carlock said she accepted Mockabee's new identity as a woman, but couldn't stop calling her her son. She said Mockabee was OK with the arrangement.
Both said Mockabee loved to please others and had a playful sense of humor.
"(She) wouldn't hurt nobody," Philpott said.
Mockabee's easy demeanor makes her death seem all the more unbelievable to her family.
Philpott picked Mockabee up from the Greyhound Station in downtown Cleveland July 25 after she visited family out-of-town. The next morning she cooked him bacon and eggs, he said.
Mockabee had started working at a Chipotle off Broadview Road in Cleveland earlier this year. She also worked as an escort and advertised herself online, her mother said.
Mockabee told Philpott Thursday night that a man she had met online was going to come to their apartment near West 117th Street and Lorain Avenue and pick her up. She texted Philpott a picture of the man, who said he was coming from Lakewood.
The man showed up about 12:20 a.m. Friday, and Mockabee got into his silver minivan. She said she would be back in about an hour, Philpott said.
He texted her about 30 minutes later, asking if she was OK. She replied, "yes baby."
Philpott texted her about 1:30 a.m. and got no answer. He texted her a few minutes later. Still nothing. He started trying to call. After several rings, her phone went to voicemail.
Philpott kept calling and texting past 3 a.m., and never got an answer.
But her mother did. Mockabee texted Carlock about 3:45 a.m. and told her how much she loved her and appreciated her, and that the two would always be together, Carlock said.
Then, about 4 a.m., Mockabee's phone stopped ringing and went straight to voicemail, both Carlock and Philpott said.
Carlock said she thinks the person Mockabee was with let her say goodbye to her mother before they beat her and dropped her body off in the parking lot where she was found.
"Whoever did this knew the connection me and my baby had together," Carlock said. "I want to look him in his face, and ask him why. Why would you do somebody like that?
"That was my child," she said. "Whether (she) was gay or didn't fit your approval, (she) belongs to me. That was my child and you took (her) from me."
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A man charged in connection with a drive-by shooting that left a 2-year-old girl blind in one eye was arrested Monday in Canton.
JeJuan Burns, 19, is charged with felonious assault in connection with the July 15 shooting of 2-year-old Alaya Brown at her home in the 4100 block of East 146th Street.
U.S. Marshals arrested Burns about 4 p.m. Deputy marshals said they gathered information Monday that he was hiding in the Canton area and zeroed in on a home in the 900 block of Highland Road N.E.
A K-9 officer tracked Burns to the basement of a home. He will be held in the Stark County Jail until he's brought to Cleveland to face charges.
"A brave little girl who suffered a gunshot wound to the head was all the motivation the men and women of the Cleveland Police and the U.S. Marshals needed to hunt this reckless fugitive down," said Northern Ohio U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott. "We continue to join Alaya's family in prayer as she battles for recovery."
Burns is accused of being the getaway driver in the incident, according to court records. He pulled up to the home to talk to a resident, court records say.
A second car pulled up next to Burns' car. A passenger of Burns' car fired several gunshots.
Alaya was outside in her 21-year-old mother's arms when a bullet struck the toddler in the arm and head, a family member previously said.
Burns then drove off and went into hiding, according to court records and Elliott.
The bullet cracked the girl's skull. The right side of her brain is dead and she's now blind in one eye, according to the family member. She had brain surgery at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital the day of the shooting.
Alaya was born premature and has battled epilepsy and diabetes for her entire short life, family members said.
She had trouble walking and talking, and seizures before the shooting.
Alaya was one of 92 people shot in Cleveland in July. She is the youngest shooting victim that month.
Burns entered a drug treatment program that could have erased his felony conviction for stealing a car in February. Part of the program stipulates that Burns commit no more crimes or the conviction could be reinstated.
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ELYRIA, Ohio -- Groups opposed to the sale of the Confederate battle flag at the Lorain County Fair will hold rallies this month to honor what they say is the "true American flag."
The Lorain County Democratic Party and the Fair Minded Coalition are urging people to boycott the fair, which is planned for Aug. 22-28 at the Wellington Fairgrounds in southern Lorain County.
The groups say the Confederate flag is an insult to many and a painful reminder of slavery and racism and that its sale should be banned by the Lorain County Fair Board.
Here are the dates for the two American flag rallies:
--Sunday, Aug. 21: A large "Rally 'Round The Flag" event is planned for 3 to 6 p.m. at Ely Square in Elyria, the day before the opening of the county fair in Lorain.
--Sunday, Aug. 28: A second American flag rally will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Park, 1800 West Erie Ave., Lorain.
Both will feature veterans and speakers who will talk about the importance of the flag for which they fought. The speakers will talk about why the Confederate flag is an insult.
On Saturday, Aug. 8, the Fair-Minded group will have a booth at the Oberlin Family Fun Fair on Main Street where they will hand out American flag pins and pocket U.S. Constitutions. They will also ask people to sign a petition to ban the sale of Confederate flags from the county fair.
Jeanine Donaldson, head of the Fair Minded group formed to protest the sale of the Confederate flag at the fair, and others have tried since last year to convince the fair board to ban the flags. The large Confederate flags are sold by one vendor from West Virginia, though other vendors have sold the flag in the past.
"We thought we could get through to the Lorain County Fair Board," Donaldson said. "We attended their monthly meetings and made our case, but they act as if it's business as usual. They said the flags will be sold there once again."
Fair Board President Brian Twining did not return several calls by The Plain Dealer. Elyria attorney Kim Meyers, fair board member who is steadfast in his belief that the flag should be sold, also did not return calls made to his office.
Meyers has said Confederate battle flags have been sold at the fair for at least 30 years and no one has complained. He said the flags fall under the umbrella description of Civil War memorabilia, and he saw no reason to ban them. He said today that the position of the board remains unchanged.
But Donaldson said she doesn't understand how the fair board can't see that the sale of the flag make African Americans feel unwelcome.
"Black people from all over attend the fair," Donaldson said. "Seeing that flag and all it stands for has a chilling effect on us. It's also highly disrespectful to our American flag to fly a Confederate flag at a county fair."
She said area churches will include the message in their services. "I just don't understand how the fair board will allow the sale to continue, knowing how it is dividing people."
Anthony Giardini, chairman of the Lorain County Democratic party, said his group will not have a booth at the fair for the second year because of the controversy. He has asked elected Democratic officials and officeholders to do the same and said most have agreed.
"We believe that flag is not an historic artifact, but is a symbol of hate and intolerance," he said. "There is no difference in selling that flag than selling flags for ISIS, the Nazis or the Ku Klux Klan. It's all the same thing."
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East Cleveland, a city in financial distress, has appointed commissioners to explore a merger with Cleveland.
EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio -- East Cleveland completed the first step in opening annexation discussions with Cleveland by appointing three commissioners to represent the city in negotiations with Cleveland.
During a special council meeting Monday evening, a unanimous vote approved the ordinance that designated Andrew Jackson, Chris Glassburn and Sandra Morgan as commissioners and announced the city's intent to explore a merger.
The choice now goes to Cleveland City Council to enter these discussions and to appoint three commissioners of their own.
"This is huge for East Cleveland," Council President Thomas Wheeler said in an interview Tuesday.
Who are the commissioners?
Jackson owns several small businesses and is president and CEO of Elsons International, a packaging company. He was also involved in the Greater Cleveland Partnership as part of the Commission on Economic Inclusion.
Glassburn is a senior policy advisor for Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish.
Morgan, an East Cleveland resident, has a long history of civic endeavors in Cleveland and East Cleveland and is director of external affairs for Kent State University's College of Arts and Sciences.
Jackson, Glassburn and Morgan were chosen after an open application process and being interviewed by City Council.
While Cleveland City Council considers the proposal, East Cleveland will use the time to provide its commissioners with all the information that they need, Mayor Gary Norton said.
What led to this?
East Cleveland's leaders are pursuing a merger between the two cities because of East Cleveland's poor finances.
An petition effort in 2015 to prod City Council to pass this kind of ordinance failed when Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Michael J. Russo ruled that a technical error by the elections board made the petitions invalid. Petitioners started a second attempt to collect signatures in April.
Norton, on behalf of the city, also explored asking the state permission to file for bankruptcy in late April. However, the Ohio tax commissioner's office replied that only council could make the bankruptcy request, and it must undergo certain preparations to do so.
Council also approved an ordinance Monday that would ask the Cleveland Foundation for funding to support a study conducted by Conway MacKenzie.
So what's next?
Cleveland City Council could choose not to move forward on the annexation discussion, or has 30 days to appoint its own commissioners, Council President Kevin Kelley said. After that, the joint commission would have 120 days to discuss a merger and provide a report.
Then the issue would go to both the voters of both East Cleveland and Cleveland. Cleveland City Council could choose to approve the ordinance themselves. However, Kelley said people seem to prefer giving Clevelanders a vote.
Kelley said he's very interested in keeping this discussion alive, but that the priority will be to make sure Cleveland is not put in financial harm. Cleveland has its own issues to deal with right now like the consent decree and a potential income tax increase, he said.
"There are a lot of moving parts," Kelley said. "There are a lot of questions we have to answer, and we need to get started."
This story was updated to clarify the process of approving a Cleveland-East Cleveland merger.
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A judge has ordered the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) to turn over student log-in records to the state by Tuesday.
(Patrick O'Donnell/The Plain Dealer)
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A Franklin County judge ordered the ECOT online school today to give the state the log-in records of students that have been the subject of a battle between the school and the Ohio Department of Education.
The department is trying to audit the attendance records of the 15,000 student online giant to see if students participated in classes enough to merit the $108 million in state tax dollars the charter school received last year.
Lawyers for the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow lost a bid last month to block the audit, then refused to provide records anyway, saying the state would need to obtain a court order before it would comply.
Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer French issued that order today, giving the school until Tuesday to comply.
French granted the state's request to have the records provided as
that the state is measuring its attendance and eligibility for funding unfairly.
ECOT spokesman Neil Clark said the school will comply as soon as it can. Clark also lashed out at the department on several fronts, saying that the department is trying to cover for its own incompetence in not knowing how to handle the audit.
And he repeated the school's belief that a 2002 funding agreement between the school and ODE that did not require the school to produce log-in records still is in force today.
"ECOT has repeatedly stated and submitted a signed a contract with ODE," he said. "ODE knows they need to abide by the terms. So why are we in court? To protect our contract that's why."
Final Cleveland July shooting map
Cleveland police investigated 75 shootings across the city in July. See the below interactive version of the map.
(Chris Morris/The Plain Dealer)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland saw at least 92 people suffer gunshot wounds in July and 12 of those people died.
There were at least 75 shootings, including 10 with multiple victims.
Those numbers are slightly below the numbers from the same month in 2015 where there were 101 shootings and 17 deaths.
Cleveland has 60 homicides through the first seven months of this year. There were 67 at this point last year.
The July shootings ranged from a 2-year-old girl who was shot in the head and survived to a 60-year-old man shot during an argument over presidential politics at a bar on East 131st Street.
The shootings happened throughout Cleveland, but most of them occurred on the city's East Side.
Here are some takeaways from the shootings:
14 homicides total, 12 were shot
Cleveland had 14 homicides in July, including the 12 that came as a result of gun fire. A transgender woman's cause of death is pending, but police said she appeared to suffer head trauma.
A 56-year-old man named William Harrison was also stabbed to death.
The 14 homicides is the deadliest month in Cleveland since October, when there were 20 homicides. This July is the third deadliest month since 2010. There were 17 homicides in July 2015.
Seven victims were less than 18 years old
The seven children shot in Cleveland this month includes a 2-year-old girl shot in the head in the 4100 block of East 146th Street and an 11-year-old girl shot in the 3400 block of Seymour Avenue.
Someone opened fire on the 2-year-old girl's mother as she was holding her daughter.
A bullet went through 2-year-old Alaya Brown's arm and into her skull. The bullet cracked her skull. The right side of her brain is dead, and she is blind in one eye, family members said.
An 11-year-old girl was in her living room watching a movie and holding her 3-year-old sister when someone fired at least five shots into the home. A bullet hit the girl in the leg. Her family said she is expected to recover but will have to spend months in physical therapy learning how to walk again.
A 16-year-old boy was injured about 4:30 p.m. Sunday at a home in the 11300 block of Itasca Avenue after a friend accidentally shot him in the chest, according to police reports. The friend was twirling a silver handgun on his finger and pointing it at the boy. A witness told police everyone was laughing as the boy played with the gun, according to police reports.
The gun fired and blood gushed out of the boy's chest. The teen ran from the home and collapsed on East 115th Street. The boy was taken to University Hospitals, where he was listed in critical condition as of Sunday.
Most shootings in one day
Ten people were shot on July 23, including two near East 38th Street and St. Clair Avenue. The victims drove away but crashed on East 9th Street and St. Clair Avenue, police said.
The day before, thousands of police officers from around the country left Cleveland following the Republican National Convention. No one was shot during convention-related protests.
All 10 of the victims survived.
Deadliest day
Four people were killed on July 17.
The first happened about 12:15 a.m. Jonathan Peters, 19, suffered a fatal gunshot at a bus stop on Lakeview Road near Earle Avenue.
A black pickup drove by at slow speed and a man jumped out. The two got into an argument and Peters ran. The gunman initially walked in the opposite direction, then turned and and fired several gunshots at Peters, hitting him multiple times, police said.
Two women -- Tyisha J. Austin, 36, and Laquita M. Robinson, 26 -- were found dead inside a car just after 6:45 a.m. on East 101st Street near Colonial Avenue. Austin was shot several times in the chest and head. Robinson was shot once in the head, police said.
The fourth and final gunshot victim of the day was Russell Warren, 30. Warren suffered from schizophrenia and he got into an argument about 10:30 a.m. with a 28-year-old family member. The woman refused to give Warren her gun.
Warren threatened the woman's children and lunged for her gun. She picked up the gun and shot him in the chest, killing him.
The woman has not been charged in the shooting.
Most victims in one shooting
Five people were shot at the Agora Ballroom and Theater. Multiple people fired shots in the parking lot after Damn Near Naked club promotions hosted a party at Agora, according to posts on Twitter.
All of the victims survived.
The shooting was one of 10 last month that had multiple victims.
August outlook
Two people were shot less than two hours into the new month. A man was shot about 1 a.m. in the 9700 block of Elizabeth Avenue and one hour later a 20-year-old woman was shot in the thigh and buttocks during an attempted robbery at a home in the 2000 block of West 73rd Street.
A third person was shot about 8 a.m. outside the Galleria in downtown Cleveland. A Cuyahoga County Sheriff protective services officer shot a man who lunged at him with a knife or screwdriver.
The man was treated and released from the hospital and the officer was placed on paid administrative leave.
Another man was shot in the leg about 3 p.m. Monday.
Three others were shot between midnight and 3 a.m. Tuesday, bringing August's total to seven shootings in 27 hours.
If you wish to discuss or comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section.
SAN TAN VALLEY, Arizona -- An Arizona man and woman are facing charges after they reportedly left their toddler alone at home so they could play Pokemon Go.
Brent Daley, 27, and Brianne Daley, 25, are being held in the Pinal County jail on charges of child neglect and endangerment, according to a news release from the Pinal County Sheriff's Department.
Deputies were called at about 10:30 p.m. Friday after the Daleys' 2-year-old son was found wandering alone outside a neighbor's house. The neighbor went to the Daley's house but no one was home.
"The deputies found the child locked out of his home in 96-degree weather with no water while his parents were gone interacting with their Smartphone game," Sheriff Paul Babeu says in the news release.
The child, who was barefoot and wearing a diaper and T-shirt, was crying and trying to get back into the house. Deputies say he was red-faced, sweaty and dirty.
Deputies discovered a door to the home was unlocked and went inside, but no one was home. They were able to contact the boy's father on the phone, but when told his child had been found abandoned, Brent Daley replied, "Whatever," and hung up, the news release says.
The couple returned about an hour later and told deputies they had left the child sleeping inside while going out to put gas in their car. The couple was arrested, and Babeu says they later admitted to leaving the boy alone for up to 90 minutes in order to play Pokemon Go.
The child has been placed in protective custody.
"We never would have imagined that parents would abandon a child to play Pokemon Go," Babue says. "This goes beyond comprehension."
If you wish to discuss or comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section.
Tamir Rice graffiti
Jump-N-Joey's, a children's play and party center in Bloomington, Indiana, was found vandalized Tuesday with spray-paint of Tamir Rice's name across the building.
(Jump-N-Joey's Facebook page)
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - An Indiana business was vandalized Tuesday by someone who spray-painted Tamir Rice's name across the side of the building.
Chance Jeffress, the owner of Jump-N-Joey's, a children's party center, arrived Tuesday morning to find "TAMIR RICE" painted in green paint across the side of his building, WTHR reports.
He initially didn't understand what the lettering meant, but police who arrived quickly realized it was the name of a Cleveland boy shot and killed by police in 2014.
Jeffress told WTHR that he believes his business was targeted because it is hosting a free family event Tuesday for the annual Night Out Against Crime, a nationwide event that facilitates community relations with the police.
"If they want to target the police department, that's one thing, and that seems to be the translation," Jeffress said, according to the Indianapolis Star.
The event at the party center is still on, and Jeffress thinks the party will be better attended than it would have been if his business wasn't vandalized, WTHR reports.
Tamir was playing with a replica gun outside Cudell Recreation Center on Cleveland's West Side in November 2012 when two police officers responded to a call of a "man with a gun." The 12-year-old boy was shot within seconds of the officers' arrival, and he died the next day.
In December 2015, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office declined to indict the two Cleveland officers - Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback - involved in the shooting. The decision sparked days of protest in Cleveland and nationwide.
Tamir's family received a $6 million settlement from the city of Cleveland in April.
Photos of the graffiti were posted on the Jump-N-Joey's Facebook page.
If you'd like to comment on this post, please visit the cleveland.com crime and courts comments section.
Bernie Sanders
Former Democratic Presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., walks off the stage after speaking to delegates during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , Monday, July 25, 2016.
(John Locher, AP Photo)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton weeks ago.
The decision sent Sanders supporters into a spiral of emotion. Heartache. Peace. Acceptance. Determination. And it splintered his backers into different camps: those who now support Clinton, those who refuse to and those who are still on the fence.
Bernie or Bust tears flowed last week on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, as Sanders thanked the unlikely crew that made up his political revolution: a movement ignited by income inequality. He bid goodbye to the millions who donated an average of $27 to his campaign.
Cleveland.com interviewed some Northeast Ohio residents and politicians who supported Sanders. We asked these voters who they now plan to back this fall, and why.
Some Sanders supporters said they bounced back to support Clinton. They are choosing to vote for Clinton because they believe her platform closely matches that of their white-haired, Brooklynite champion.
Others plan to cast ballots for Clinton, not because they like her, but to stop controversial Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from taking office.
What's abundantly clear: As Sanders exits the presidential politics stage, supporters are sad to see the senator go.
Choosing Hillary
Bridget Finnegan, 36, said she cried when Sanders gave his support to Clinton. The Euclid Schools special educational teacher served as a delegate for Sanders. She made campaign phone calls. She cared about the movement, and the issues. She particularly wanted to get big money out of politics.
But when Sanders asked her to support Clinton, she listened. She said she believes Clinton's views on most social issues align with her own. She believes the candidate will stand up for women's issues and work to raise the minimum wage.
Bridget Finnegan
Another huge motivator to vote Clinton?
"Trump is too dangerous to vote third party," she said.
Finnegan said in an email that she's disappointed in the Bernie or Bust movement: "Too much is at stake to pout and go home because we did not get exactly what we wanted. Revolutions require pragmatism, and they are not respecting his legacy."
Finnegan said she worries that Clinton may not work to overturn Citizens United --the court case that allows businesses to contribute huge sums to campaigns -- because of her Wall Street ties.
And she believes the candidate has an authenticity problem. But she said people should not ignore Clinton's qualifications due to her email scandal.
"People can criticize Hillary, she has her faults, but ultimately, she is the most qualified person to be POTUS," she wrote in an email. "Her decades of service to the United States should not be dismissed over some emails, and that is why I am still feeling the Bern in my heart, but I'm with Her in my brain."
Bernie or Bust
Joanna Graczyk
Joanna Graczyk supported Sanders in the primaries. And she plans back the Vermont senator in the November general election, too.
The 31-year-old said she will write Sanders' name in on her ballot on election day. She knows he doesn't have a chance of winning. But she wants to send a message. She's not a Clinton fan.
"She's not a good candidate. She seems fake to me. It seems like she'll just say anything to get people's votes. Just because you like one Democrat doesn't mean you love them all," she said.
When Sanders backed Clinton, "it kind of upset me," Graczyk said.
The Avon resident thought about Trump, but didn't want to swing too far to the right.
A vote for Hillary
State Rep. Stephanie Howse, a Democratic delegate from Cleveland, voted for Sanders on the convention floor. But she'll cast her ballot for Clinton this fall.
Ohio state Rep. Stephanie Howse
She liked how Sanders brought non-traditional voters to the polls. She liked how he brought issues like income inequality to the forefront.
But it wasn't hard for her to throw her support behind Clinton, because Howse said she always planned to back the Democratic nominee. She sees many parallels between Sanders and Clinton -- the politicians agree on issues like debt-free college.
"For me it's not (like) one is drastically different than the other," Howse said. "I didn't necessarily have like two strong feelings like, 'Oh, I'm supporting this one, and I hate this person.' This is not how I saw this election at all."
Howse said she understand the sadness behind the Bernie or Bust movement. She's made it a priority to hear out those supporters' concerns.
"I have been in that place where you give everything to a campaign and you lose. Like losing sucks. There's no ''ifs, ands or buts about it. Losing sucks. And it hurts and it is painful," she said. "Time will heal that. Because like I've said, I've been there."
"She's definitely still a liberal"
Katie Schanz, 35, said she knows that Clinton will defend LGBT rights. Minority rights. The environment. That's why she decided to back the former secretary of state after Sanders conceded.
Katie Schanz
"She's still is part of the progressive platform. She's definitely still a liberal. She has her faults. Yes, there's a lot of argument to be made for her corruption in politics," Schanz said.
But at the end of the day, Clinton is "still going to stand for all the same beliefs that I have," Schanz said.
The bartender, who lives in the Edgewater neighborhood of Cleveland, said she will always back Sanders. But she understands that it's time to move on from his presidential bid.
"I don't like using it in past tense," she said. "I definitely still support him."
"We can all get very upset that our person didn't win. Certainly there are justifiable reasons to dislike Hillary Clinton, but we have to face reality for what it is. He's not an option anymore," she said.
Undecided
Daniel May, a 21-year-old John Carroll University student, said he liked that Sanders seemed to care about communities. The Vermont senator appeared to dig deep and learn about the problems that everyday Americans face.
Daniel May
But when Sanders endorsed Clinton, May started to reevaluate. May said Clinton could win his vote if he saw her out in communities more, listening to residents' struggles. That's why he picked Sanders in the first place.
The Pittsburgh native remains undecided. He's thinking about Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. But he said that he's leaning toward voting for Clinton.
Why?
"My biggest decision with whoever it is that I vote for -- it's not going to be Donald Trump," May said. "My specific goal is just to make sure my vote goes completely against him."
He's worried that a third party candidate could serve as a spoiler vote in this election.
Never Hillary
Jennifer Snitzer, a 36-year-old from the East Side of Cleveland, still supports Sanders. And she won't be voting for Clinton this November. Instead, the stay-at-home mom said she plans to cast her ballot for Johnson, the Libertarian. Her views don't align with any specific political party.
Jennifer Snitzer
"I'm sort of in the middle," Snitzer said. "I don't pick my candidates based off of their party affiliation -- but which candidate who's more in line with my personal views."
She looks for the candidate who best matches her beliefs. Sanders fit. But when Sanders endorsed Clinton, she reconsidered the field of candidates, and decided Johnson fit best. Snitzer said that she loved former President Bill Clinton. But she just can't trust his wife.
"She's in bed with Wall Street, but yet she claims that she's against big banks and big businesses," Snitzer said.
Snitzer said there's nothing the former secretary of state can do to win her vote.
"I feel like this country is ready for a woman, just not her. I have a very strong dislike of her," Snitzer said. "She has dug her hole deep enough that, in my opinion, she can't get out of it."
Snitzer said she believed Sanders endorsed Clinton to play nice with the Democrats. And she's not worried about Trump winning the presidency because she's betting Democrats will regain control of Congress, prompting a political stalemate.
She said Trump is "not going to accomplish or destroy a single thing, because they're going to be going back and forth the whole time."
Stop Trump
When Sanders left the race, Joy Adamson, 32, felt hopeless. She never thought Clinton would beat the Vermont senator in the primaries.
Joy Adamson
But the Lakewood resident said she chose to back Clinton when she saw Trump's momentum during the Republican National Convention. She determined then that the Republican candidate seemed like a real threat. And she decided she needed to support anyone but Trump.
"I don't know if I'm voting so much for Hillary as I'm voting against Trump," Adamson said. "If we elect a president like Trump, then we're basically showing the rest of the world that we support ideas of hatred and bigotry and intolerance -- against the rest of the world. I see that as really hurting our country globally."
Rob Portman
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican, was endorsed by Black Lives Matter in Cuyahoga County, a group identified with Jeff Mixon, a local Democrat. The county Democratic party wants Mixon to resign from its executive committee.
(John Minchillo, Associated Press)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cuyahoga County Democratic Party Monday asked Jeff Mixon, who has a group called Black Lives Matter in Cuyahoga County, to resign from the party's executive committee in light of an endorsement by Mixon's group of a Republican U.S. senator's reelection.
By endorsing Sen. Rob Portman when the party has endorsed Portman's Democratic challenger, former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, Mixon violated the local party's unity rule, said party chairman Stuart Garson. The rule says no party officer or executive committee member "may oppose any endorsed Democratic candidate" in a partisan race.
Mixon, however, appeared in a mood to challenge the county party, saying Garson has now "ignited a war that will not end well" for Cuyahoga County Democrats.
"Stu Garson, the face of STRUCTURAL RACISM in Cuyahoga County, failed to utter a single word during the judicial and prosecutorial debacles that essentially gave racist police officers the green light to murder innocent, unarmed African-Americans," Mixon said in an email to the media.
"Instead of seeking justice, he surrendered what was left of his moral conscience to the political power of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association," Mixon's email said. "Now, he is seeking my resignation for yielding to my own moral conscience."
If Mixon doesn't resign from the executive committee, a 600-member group that exists to vote on local party endorsements, county Democrats will have to use internal proceedings to try to oust him.
"I'm not here to challenge the right to endorse," Garson said in a telephone interview. But if a Democrat on the executive committee endorses a Republican in a partisan race, it is a violation of the party's rules, he said.
Mixon's reaction provides the latest episode in which he has thrust himself, or been thrust, into the limelight. His group has a name that led many to believe he is part of the Black Lives Matter national movement, protesting police violence against black men and women and fighting inequality.
When Mixon announced that Black Lives Matter in Cuyahoga County endorsed Portman, the immediate public and press reaction was as if the Pope had changed his religion.
It quickly became clear, as Cleveland Scene reported two weeks earlier, that Mixon's group had no affiliation with the national Black Lives Matter organization. The local group affiliated with the national movement is called Black Lives Matter in Cleveland, and it further affirmed that difference Friday.
It added in an email, "Black Lives Matter Cleveland is not in the business of endorsing candidates, but rather holding them accountable to the people that they serve."
Mixon himself acknowledged the difference in a phone call with cleveland.com Friday, and said his group is using political tactics rather than protests to fight racial inequality.
Those tactics, he said, extended to criticizing Strickland, whose record of helping the disenfranchised, he said, paled compared with Portman's.
Mixon has now added the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party to his list of those harming minority interests. The charge could draw public interest. But it also overlooks the county Democrats' long connection with Cleveland-area African-American officeholders and voters. In Cuyahoga County, they are intertwined, as last evidenced by the overwhelming support for President Barack Obama's elections.
"Because of a deep disdain for the Republican Party, the African-American vote has long been taken for granted by the corrupt Cuyahoga County Democratic Party -- a party whose legislation forms the foundation of STRUCTURAL RACISM in Cuyahoga County," Mixon said in his email.
Mixon also contended in this and a separate email Monday that Garson's attempt to oust him is hypocritical because, he said, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge violated the same rule with impunity in 2013.
Mixon has not returned a request made by email and phone message to discuss this further. His charge appeared to be in reference to a Cleveland City Council election in 2013. Fudge, a former mayor of neighboring Warrensville Heights, backed a challenger rather than the incumbent Cleveland councilman, who had establishment Democratic support.
Both candidates in that race, however, were Democrats, and the race was nonpartisan.
Garson said the 2013 situation not only differed from Mixon's endorsement of a Republican, but that the party bylaws were updated in 2014 after a three-plus-year, section-by-section review to make sure the rules were clear.
Mixon made one more point in his defense: By stating that Black Lives Matter in Cuyahoga County endorsed Portman, and by criticizing Strickland, he was merely stating what the executive board of Black Lives Matter in Cuyahoga County had decided -- but putting it "in my unique style of prose."
Mixon lists himself as president of Black Lives Matter of Cuyahoga County, but it is unclear how that group is structured or whom the other officers might be.
Mixon suggested Friday that his group's organizational structure allows it to take political action, unlike most other nonprofits. An online search of IRS and Federal Election Commission records, which list similarly structured organizations, showed no listings for Black Lives Matter in Cuyahoga County.
Donald Trump
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a town hall campaign event, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, in Columbus.
(Evan Vucci, The Associated Press)
Donald Trump slings some Rust Belt wisdom while dumping on fire marshals in Columbus. Nina Turner passes on her Green card. Read more in Ohio Politics Roundup.
Donald Trump returns to Ohio with some rusty rhetoric: The Republican presidential candidate returned Monday to Columbus with some thoughts on why Ohio - a must-win battleground state - deserves its "Rust Belt" label, which Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and others find pejorative. "Because everything is rusting and rotting," Trump explained.
Marshal matters: The wealthy New York businessman, unhappy that capacity at his town hall-style forum was limited to 1,000, also blasted the local fire marshal for turning away supporters. He wondered if political motivations - the Columbus mayor is a Democrat - were afoot.
Political motivations? More like Trump being Trump. Convention center construction was among the reasons for the strict attendance cap, the Columbus Dispatch reports. And city safety officials said Trump's team knew ahead of time about the venue's 1,000-person capacity.
As Politico's Nick Gass notes, the Columbus fire marshal is not the first to incur Trump's wrath in recent days. This has become a pattern and very much part of Trump's new message. He is painting the picture of a system rigged against him, cleveland.com's Jeremy Pelzer writes.
Why paint that picture now? The first CNN/ORC poll since the Democratic National Convention shows a 7-point bounce for Democrat Hillary Clinton. She leads Trump 52 percent to 43 percent, head to head. When Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party hopeful Jill Stein are included, Clinton's lead over Trump shrinks slightly - to 45 percent to 37 percent.
Countdown clock: The general election is 97 days away.
It's not easy being Green: Nina Turner has turned down an overture to join the Green Party as its vice presidential candidate. The former state senator from Cleveland informed presumptive presidential nominee Jill Stein of her decision Monday. Turner, a big Bernie Sanders backer, tells me she will remain a Democrat - but she's not yet ready to endorse Clinton.
Ohio Right to Life endorses Trump: There was no chance the anti-abortion group would endorse Clinton. But Trump has been all over the place when it comes to abortion.
The inconsistencies don't bother Mike Gonidakis, the group's president. He tells the Cincinnati Enquirer's Jessie Balmert that he celebrates "any conversion to our movement, and Mr. Trump has done just that."
A news release from Gonidakis indicates Trump's selection of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate also impressed Right to Life members. "Governor Pence," Gonidakis writes, "is a proven pro-life leader in our neighboring state of Indiana, an outstanding governor whose pro-life record contrasts sharply with the pro-abortion record of [Clinton VP pick] Tim Kaine."
Speaking of Trump endorsements ... there must be days Rob Portman wishes he never offered his. Once again the Ohio senator, who has a tough re-election fight this fall with former Gov. Ted Strickland, finds himself distancing himself from Trump without withdrawing his support. This time, as the Dispatch's Randy Ludlow writes, the friction is over Trump's public feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the Muslim-American parents of a fallen soldier.
Speaking of Portman endorsements ... The Cuyahoga County Democratic Party has asked Jeff Mixon, "who has a group called Black Lives Matter in Cuyahoga County, to resign from the party's executive committee in light of" the group's decision to back Portman, cleveland.com's Stephen Koff reports. And Mixon is swinging back at Chairman Stuart Garson.
"Mixon's reaction provides the latest episode in which he has thrust himself, or been thrust, into the limelight. His group has a name that led many to believe he is part of the Black Lives Matter national movement, protesting police violence against black men and women and fighting inequality." As Koff notes, the group is not affiliated with the movement's Cleveland chapter.
Marcia Fudge recaps a sweet week: "I do know it's made me a lot more popular than I ever intended to be," the Cleveland-area congresswoman says of her turn last week as permanent chair of the Democratic National Convention. "I'm walking through the airport in Philadelphia leaving and people are like, 'Oh we saw you, you were great.'" My full Q&A with Fudge.
End of (another) era in Akron: Northeast Ohio pols are mourning the loss of Summit County Executive Russ Pry, who died over the weekend after a battle with colon cancer. The Democrat's "sudden death is the second major leadership shakeup in Summit County in the past 15 months," the Akron Beacon Journal's Amanda Garrett writes. "In May 2015, Don Plusquellic - a friend of Pry's - abruptly walked away from being Akron mayor after holding the office 27 years."
Ilene Shapiro, the Summit County Council president, was sworn in Monday as interim county executive, cleveland.com's Jennifer Conn reports. "Shapiro will hold the executive's position until the Summit County Democratic Party nominates a candidate to run in Pry's place at a central committee meeting at 7 p.m. Aug. 11 in the North High School auditorium."
Nice work if you can get it: An ad posted Friday by a mystery Craigslist user in the Columbus area "offers actors $50 each ($75 for racial minorities) 'to fill seats at various GOP events throughout the fall campaign season,'" cleveland.com's Pelzer reports.
"Last week, after many Bernie Sanders delegates walked out of the Democratic National Convention, an advertisement was posted to Philadelphia's Craigslist also offering $50 each to 700 paid actors to fill 'empty' convention seats. ... The idea of placing a fake Craigslist ad came up in Democratic National Committee emails that were recently made public by WikiLeaks."
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John Hinckley
In this March 30, 1981, file photo, a U.S. secret service agent with an automatic weapon watches over James Brady, the president's press secretary, after Brady was wounded in an attempt on the life of President Ronald Reagan outside a Washington, D.C., hotel. Reagan was seriously wounded but recovered. Brady died in 2014 as a result of his wounds. A D.C. policeman, Thomas Delahanty, lies to the left of Brady after also being shot. Delahanty survived with permanent nerve damage to his left arm. The fourth person shot by John Hinckley Jr., Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy, who, like Delahanty, took a bullet to protect the president, also recovered. Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and is due to be released from a mental hospital this Friday per a federal judge's finding that he's no longer a danger to himself and others.
(Ron Edmonds, Associated Press, File, 1981)
CLEVELAND -- John Hinckley, the deluded young man in 1981 who shot President Ronald Reagan and three others in a bizarre attempt to get actress Jodie Foster to notice him, is 61 now.
As early as this Friday, Hinckley will walk away from St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., a free man.
He has been tethered to the psychiatric hospital since his trial in 1982, when he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. But over the last 10 years, he has been granted furloughs of increasing length and frequency to stay with his mother, and even allowed a driver's license. The tether was stretched past the breaking point last Wednesday when U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman ruled that Hinckley is no longer a threat to himself or others, and allowed him to go live with his 90-year-old mother in Williamsburg, Virginia. He must live under certain restrictions, but he is essentially free to come and go as he pleases.
Patti Davis, President Reagan's daughter, objected in a strongly worded piece written for The Washington Post (reprinted in last Sunday's Plain Dealer), saying she was sickened but not surprised by the judge's decision.
Those of us who are confounded by the urge of so many in our judicial system to "understand" the motivations of murderers and other violent criminals, and put them back out among us, can easily share both of Davis' reactions.
Davis wrote that her father believed forgiveness is crucial to healing, and thus had forgiven Hinckley.
I believe in forgiveness, too. If you lose your temper with me or spill red wine on my carpet or forget my birthday and tell me you're sorry - you are off the hook, no questions asked.
But if you take a gun and shoot my president, his press secretary and two men tasked with protecting him, there is no coming back from that. You are not forgiven, no matter how many years pass or how sick psychologists say you were.
Reagan almost died from Hinckley's gunshot. Press Secretary James Brady spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair, partially paralyzed, and his death in 2014 was ruled a homicide. Police Officer Thomas Delahanty suffered nerve damage in his arm and was forced into early retirement. Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy recovered after heroically stepping in front of Reagan and taking a bullet that had been intended for the president.
If I had my way, Hinckley would not have spent the last 34 years being coddled in a psychiatric hospital at taxpayer expense. He would have been sent to whatever final reward awaits him by the same instrument of death he tried to mete out to Reagan.
But we lack the national will to treat our violent criminals in kind, or at least lock them away forever, to make certain they never again are able to prey on their more peaceful brethren. So instead, we read too often about paroled murderers and attempted murderers who are set free to spread their particular form of misery.
The poster child for that, of course, became famous five years after Hinckley got Jodie Foster to notice him.
The William Horton story is now popularly used by liberals as an example of politicians playing on racial fears, but we should never forget what he did to earn his notoriety.
In 1974, Horton and two accomplices robbed a gas station in Lawrence, Massachusetts, then stabbed the 17-year-old attendant 19 times and left him to die in a trash can.
Horton was sentenced to life in prison without parole, but 13 years later was released as part of a weekend furlough program enabled by then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis. Horton traveled to Maryland, where he broke into an apartment, pistol-whipped and stabbed the male occupant, then tied him to a chair so he could watch while Horton raped his fiance.
The Horton incident was used in a political ad to show Dukakis' attitude toward crime and punishment when he ran for president in 1988, and rightfully so.
But we don't have to go back to 1987, or all the way to Maryland, to find instances of murderers set free to commit crimes again. Examples are everywhere. A quick scan of news archives just over the last couple of months shows two men, one in Findlay and one in Canton, who had been paroled after serving time for a killing and now stand accused of murdering again.
The blood of the subsequent victims is not on the hands of these two Ohioans, nor on Horton's. It is on the people who don't believe in capital punishment, who keep killers clothed and fed and warm in prison, and then let them go ... betting the lives of everyone who comes into contact with them.
Perhaps we will get lucky with the ticking time bomb that is Hinckley, and his new-found freedom. If not, putting him under the control of his 90-year-old mother seems hardly sufficient.
I've got a better idea: If Judge Friedman is so confident in his ruling that Hinckley is no threat, then maybe he should allow Hinckley to come live with him and his family.
Ted Diadiun is a member of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.
Strongsville John Bedford.JPG
John Bedford attended his last meeting as Strongsville's communication and technology director in July. He retired Aug. 1.
(Bob Sandrick, special to cleveland.com)
STRONGSVILLE, Ohio - The city has hired a new communication and technology director to replace John Bedford, a double-dipper who retired from municipal service Monday - this time for real.
David E. Sems, CEO and owner of Sems & Associates Ltd., a Middleburg Heights technology consulting firm, will earn $139,145 a year. Bedford's annual salary was $129,854, although in 2016 he earned $66,647, since he worked only half the year, said Steve Kilo, Strongsville's human resources director.
At a City Council meeting last month, Mayor Thomas Perciak thanked Bedford, who joined the city full-time in 2005. During his tenure, Bedford established the city's website and TV station, and helped lead the effort to get Southwest Emergency Dispatch Center - which serves Berea, North Royalton, Olmsted Falls and Strongsville - off the ground.
"For all that you have given up and the hours you have spent developing, implementing, the many, many years of service to the city of Strongsville, John, we thank you for everything you do," Perciak said.
At the meeting, council terminated a contract with Sems & Associates - which the city has used as a technology consultant since 2005, the same year Bedford started - due to David Sems' hiring.
Under the contract, the city would have paid Sems & Associates $175,000 this year to help with "video processing and surveillance, forensic and fraud prevention, data network engineering and computer hardware and software maintenance." In 2015, the city paid Sems & Associates $150,768 for similar services, according to Kilo.
Here is a little about Bedford and David Sems:
John Bedford: In December 2013, council voted to rehire Bedford, one month after he retired. It meant that Bedford joined the ranks of "double-dippers" who collect both a taxpayer-funded pension and government salary.
At the time, Bedford said his salary was $118,000. Since then, his pay has risen by about 10 percent.
In 2013, city officials praised Bedford. Perciak said his work record was "enviable," and noted that Bedford spent his entire career working in Strongsville, first for the Strongsville City Schools. Perciak said he plucked Bedford from the schools when he was first elected mayor, although initially Bedford worked part-time for the city.
It was Bedford's idea to install fiber-optic cables in all of the city's buildings, Perciak said. He said city office doors lock automatically at 5 p.m., thanks to Bedford's contributions. Also, more advanced technology that Bedford introduced has led to fewer city workers.
Charles Goss, Strongsville's director of public safety, said that before Bedford arrived, each city department had its own communications and data systems. He said Bedford channeled all city communications into a central network.
Police Chief James Kobak said that before the city hired Bedford, two or three police officers were taken off the street to handle computer duties. He said those officers are back on patrol thanks to Bedford.
Council voted 5-2 to rehire Bedford in 2013. Councilmen Matt Schonhut and Jim Carbone voted no. Schonhut was so torn by the vote that he broke down and cried during the meeting.
"I was elected to represent the people and I talked to a lot of people about this," Schonhut said at the time. "None of them had anything bad to say about John, but the retire-rehire process is looked down upon."
David Sems: A Strongsville resident, Sems is a certified public accountant. According to his resume, he started his career at Ernst & Young, an international audit firm, where he worked in the fraud investigation and dispute services department. Then he became the firm's American leader of forensic data analytics services, which involves examining computer data to identify fraudulent activities.
Sems started Sems & Associates in 2009, after he left Earnst & Young. His work in forensic technology spans several types of industries - including law enforcement - and has led him to 13 countries in Europe and Africa.
Also, Sems has spoken to several groups, including the FBI, the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the New York Computer Forensic Shows.
Cedar Point is trying to ease your ride back home
Cedar Point, one of the state's top tourist draws, has had to close twice in the past three years because of water-main problems. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)
(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)
SANDUSKY, Ohio - A member of Sandusky's City Commission is promising that the city will fix the infrastructure problems that forced Cedar Point, one of the state's top tourist destinations, to close for a second time in just over two years.
City Commissioner Dick Brady said the water-main break that occurred this past weekend - which closed Cedar Point early on Saturday and shuttered two resort hotels and Soak City waterpark on Sunday - was on the causeway, which connects the amusement park to mainland Sandusky.
Two years earlier, in June 2014, a water main broke under the park's main parking lot, which forced the closure of Cedar Point, Soak City and two hotels for two days.
"With a couple of breaks in a couple of years, it's time for us to look at a long-range plan," said Brady. "Reliability is so important to Cedar Point. They have an obligation to their customers and their stockholders and we understand that."
The water lines to the park are old, installed in 1959, and under a lot of stress in the summer, when more than 3 million visitors travel over them to reach Cedar Point. After the water main break in 2014, the city replaced 1,700 feet of water line that travels under the parking lot, according to Brady.
But more needs to be done, he said. Commissioners will likely meet in the next few weeks to develop a plan for what Brady called "a truly redundant system" on the Cedar Point peninsula.
It's unclear how much any new repairs would cost; repairs earlier this year cost the city $315,000.
Currently, the city water system does have a secondary line to carry water to the park, which is how Cedar Point was able to open Sunday. But it doesn't provide the same volume of water that the primary system does, which is why Soak City and the hotels remained closed.
Cedar Point, too, is developing its own back-up system - a 1-million gallon water tower under construction at the park, which will be finished this fall, according to Brady.
"But I don't think that is a solution," said Brady. "We still have an obligation to fill that water tower."
In response to this year's break, Brady said the city would consider installing a full-volume back-up line, either across the causeway or along Cedar Point Road (also known as the Chaussee).
Last weekend's break occurred at about 7 p.m. Saturday. Shortly after, Cedar Point officials made the decision to close the park, which was scheduled to close at midnight, as well as the two hotels on the peninsula, Hotel Breakers and Sandcastle Suites.
Guests had the option of receiving a refund or moving to other, nearby hotels.
Said Cedar Point spokesman Tony Clark, "We fully understand that the timing of the hotel closures was not convenient for guests or our own staff. However, based on the information we received from the city, the timing in which we received it, and in the interest of guest safety, the closures were executed in the best manner possible."
Later that evening, park officials announced that Cedar Point would open on Sunday, but Soak City, Hotel Breakers and Sandcastle Suites would not. By Monday, all hotels and parks were operating normally.
Brady said crews worked overnight, from 7:20 p.m. Saturday until 4:05 p.m. Sunday, to fix the break.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Staten Island Council on Jewish Organizations (COJO) honored 37 city police officers from the 120 Police Precinct during a Medal Day Ceremony at the Joan and Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center, Sea View July 26.
"We want to make a public declaration at this Medal Day Ceremony to stand with the NYPD, New York's Finest, said Mendy Mirocznik, president of COJO.
He adds: "We understand the frustrations you're facing and the reality in which you serve. An awards ceremony is important to say thank you to the hard working men and women of the NYPD who keep us safe 24/7 around the clock. Tonight it is important that we as an appreciative community say thank you to the officers and remind you that your hard work does not go unnoticed. It is thanks to your blood, sweat, tears and efforts that crime in the 120 is down the lowest in the last 20 years," said he.
Mirocznik stressed the reality that "Crime takes no vacation. It knows of no holiday break or summer reprieve. Crime is a sad reality monitored every live long moment by the hardworking devoted and caring officers of the NYPD, our heroes. We salute the NYPD who protect us."
In addressing the crowd Mirocznik thanked Chief Edward DeLatorre and Inspector Robert Bocchino for their leadership and hard work and the officers honored for a job well done.
COJO officials and many Staten Island's highest ranking officers were present: Assistant Chief Edward DeLatorre, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Staten Island, Inspector Thomas Delahanty, operations commander of Patrol Borough Staten Island, Deputy Inspector Robert Bocchino, commanding officer of Precinct 120, Cpt. Thomas Kempner executive officer of the 120 Precinct, NYPD Chaplain Victor Brown, Josephine Marino, president of the Precinct 120 Community Council and elected officials such as Assemblyman Michael Cusick and Assemblyman Ron Castorina, Jr.
Also in attendance was Jeffrey Ward of the Detective Endowments Association and Allen George of the Patrolman's Benevolent Association.
"As the Commanding Officer of Patrol Borough Staten Island, I have first-hand knowledge how diligent and responsible the NYPD is in policing Staten Island," said Assistant Chief DeLatorre. "I commend COJO, a great community partner, its President Mendy Mirocznik, and its CEO Scott Maurer for organizing, sponsoring and hosting this Medal Day Ceremony for the 120 Precinct."
DeLatorre further stated, "In regards to what is going on in New York and the country right now, some people are misguided and are painting us with an ugly brush. We must let them know, that whoever wears a uniform has a heart of gold. I thank you for your excellent job and please keep up the good work and please keep making us proud."
"New York City is fortunately facing a record low in crime. In 2015 in the 120 we saw crime in the lowest it has been in the last 20 years. In 2016 we saw an additional 6 percent decrease in crime compared to 2015," said Deputy Inspector Bocchino, commanding officer of the 120. A congratulations again and keep up the good work. I thank Mendy and COJO for sponsoring this event."
"Today we celebrate your valor, heroism and all the great things you do for Staten Island. It is not an easy time to put on the uniform and to be a police officer" said Assemblyman Castorina. "We watch people who have placed a target on the police and I want you to know that blue lives matter and they matter to me. You work hard for us and we respect you and appreciate you."
"I want to thank our men and women in blue for all you do for our community said Assemblyman Cusick. "I am lucky enough to represent the people and community I love. I was born and raised on Staten Island and Staten Island is in my blood and is important to me. As an elected official it is part of my job to do what we can to make sure that the quality of life of our community should be the best it can be. It is important that we work together with the NYPD to keep this the safest borough in New York City."
The officers, all from the NYPD's 120 Precinct in St. George, were recognized for a number of services and achievements from their time spent at the precinct during 2015, with many officers bringing home more than one award.
Along with the honoring of officers, the precinct itself and Commanding Officer Bocchino was presented with a Proclamation Award from COJO.
"I look forward to working every single day with you," said Josephine Marino, president of the Precinct 120 Community Council. "To these officers the women and men in blue, I want to say thank you. It is a pleasure to serve for the last 20 years as the Community Council President. God Bless you all."
The following NYPD personnel were honored at the ceremony:
Lieutenant of the Year, Lt.
Justin Farren,
Patrol Sergeant of the Year, Sgt.
Steven
Last,
Sergeant of the Year, Sgt.
John Borruso,
Special Operations Sergeant of the Year, Sgt.
Joseph Pollari,
Anti-Crime Cop of the Year, PO
Rudy
Anzalone,
Detective of the Year, Det.
Steven Lopez,
Staff Cop of the Year, PO
Nicholas Regina,
Domestic Violence Cop of the Year, PO
Timothy Harasek,
1st Platoon Cop of the Year, PO
Sean Pallone,
2nd Platoon Cop of the Year, PO
Michael Otterbeck,
3rd Platoon Cop of the Year, PO
Michael Liconti,
Civilian of the Year, SPAA
Diana Diaz,
Auxiliary Cop of the Year, Auxiliary
Fashil Masoud,
Commanding Officers Award, Sgt.
Katarzyna Ganley,
Community Award, PO
Duane Conner,
Civilian Appreciation Award, CCA
Jonathan Trimarche.
CELEBRATIONS: AUG. 3
Happy birthday Wednesday to Danny Gavrity, Rosemary Buono Sciascia who turns 49, Victoria Nasta, George Balletto and Gabby Nasta.
Stick to principle - your bone, your spine - that's how you stand up. You're as good as your word. The opposite, you're as bad as your word.
Sloganeering, pointing-figure: "devil" "prisoner" "criminal" - throw out those shits, only bouncing back to you (What's goes around, comes around). Slogan works for a moment, but not competent to stand trial of a long time, especially when you make unpopular choices - Paul Ryan came to picture this morning, below.
~~
i toggle caption J. Scott Applewhite/AP J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Rep. Paul Ryan is a powerful member of Congress he's House speaker serving his ninth term, and up for re-election. But some persuasive forces including GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and conservative pundit Ann Coulter are expressing support for his Wisconsin primary opponent Paul Nehlen.
The state holds its Republican primary next Tuesday, Aug. 9.
Ryan has endorsed Trump, though it's hardly a cozy relationship Ryan took a while to endorse, and during his Republican convention speech he barely mentioned the candidate.
And he hasn't been shy about criticizing Trump. Over the weekend, Ryan defended Khizr Khan, a Muslim father who spoke at the Democratic convention about his soldier son who was killed in Iraq in 2004. Ryan said he "rejects" any religious test for entering the country a clear jab at one of Trump's evolving immigration proposals and that "Captain Khan was one such brave example" of Muslim-Americans who have "served valiantly in our military and made the ultimate sacrifice."
Members of Congress were mostly silent or critical of Trump's response to Khan. Sen. John McCain said, "I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers, or candidates."
But Nehlen, who has referred to Ryan as "Lyin' Ryan" (reminiscent of Trump's own attacks of his presidential primary opponents), defended Trump's response to Khan, saying it was Khan who had "attacked, ridiculed and attempted to humiliate Mr. Trump and his positions on critical national security issues." In a statement , Nehlen wrote a point-by-point defense of Trump's response to the Khans and stance on terrorism.
"Just because Capt. Khan was a patriotic Muslim-American who loved and fought for his adopted country, that doesn't mean other Muslim-Americans don't hate the United States and wish our people deadly harm," Nehlen wrote.
In a tweet, Trump thanked Nehlen for his post:
Nehlen has also attracted national attention beyond Trump. Conservative pundit Ann Coulter will join Nehlen at two rallies this Saturday in Janesville and Kenosha. And former vice presidential nominee and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has endorsed Nehlen, saying Ryan's "political career is over but for a miracle because he has so disrespected the will of the people."
Nehlen is tapping into that populist sentiment with his #DumpRyan campaign hitting Ryan over immigration and for not proposing to build a border wall like Trump has. One TV ad features parents whose children were apparently killed by undocumented immigrants:
YouTube
"Don't let one more American child die because Paul Ryan won't secure the border. Your vote on August 9th can save a life," Nehlen said at a recent campaign rally.
Former Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has also waded into a House race by supporting Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz's primary opponent Tim Canova. Sanders had repeatedly called for Wasserman Schultz to resign as chair over her handling of the election. She did so after the convention, and after an email leak showed DNC staffers trying to undercut the Sanders campaign.
"The political revolution is not just about electing a president, sisters and brothers. We need a Congress with members who believe, like Bernie, that we cannot change a corrupt system by taking its money," an email from the Sanders campaign in support of Canova read.
Carousell founders Quek Siu Rui, Lucas Ngoo and Marcus Tan. The Singapore-based startup raised $35 million in Series B funding and plans to use the funds to expand into other markets.
Singapore-based startup, Carousell, has raised $35 million in a funding round led by Rakuten Ventures, underscoring growing appeal for peer-to-peer marketplaces in Asia.
Other investors in the Series B funding round included Sequoia India, Golden Gate Ventures and 500 Startups, according to a statement.
The company, which was founded in 2012, allows users to buy and sell a broad variety of items on an online marketplace, ranging from beauty products, fashion, lifestyle gadgets to furniture and home appliances. Sellers upload photos of the items they'd like to sell while buyers use the chat function to buy.
The new funds raised will be used to speed up Carousell's growth into new markets, strengthen its product and engineering capabilities and build a world-class team, Quek Siu Rui, co-founder and CEO at Carousell told CNBC by email.
Recently, the Singaporean company hired the former managing director for Southeast Asia at Airbnb, Chai Jia Jih, to oversee the company's international expansion.
To date, Carousell has raised approximately $41.8 million, and is available in 13 major cities around Asia, including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Taipei and most recently in Hong Kong. Quek did not disclose which markets are next on Carousell's radar.
Carousell's marketplace had over 35 million listings globally as of the second quarter of 2016, with more than 70 listings made per minute, according to Quek. "On average, a Carousell user spends about 17 minutes a day on the app," he said.
Peer-to-peer marketplaces have seen growing popularity in Asia, with competitors such as Indonesian marketplace, Tokopedia, also snagging funding in recent months. Tokopedia has raised $247.7 million in total equity funding to date, according to CrunchBase data.
Other competitors also include many unofficial user-created Facebook groups that offer a similar peer-to-peer selling platform.
The competition, Quek said, was "further validation that the problem we are solving is a massive one, and [it] shows a real need for innovation in marketplace that have traditionally only served the desktop internet users community."
Asia currently boasts two of the world's largest smartphone markets - China and India.
To stand out from the competition, Carousell puts emphasis on speed. Quek said it took as little as 30 seconds to post a listing on the marketplace; and users can communicate within the app, eliminating the need for messaging apps or emails.
Rakuten Ventures' managing partner, Saemin Ahn, said in a statement, "When Rakuten Ventures first invested in Carousell, it was a scrappy and hungry group of founders determined to change the way people transact with one another in the 21st century ... we now see their vision and this want for interacted shared by vast groups of people not only in Singapore, but also in countries like Indonesia, Taiwan and Hong Kong."
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An F-35A conducts testing with a short-range air-to-missle flying over the skies of California.
After years of testing and development delays, the U.S. Air Force said Tuesday that Lockheed Martin's F-35A stealth fighter jet is "combat-ready."
"I am proud to announce this powerful new weapons system has achieved initial combat capability," General Hawk Carlisle, the commander of Air Combat Command, said in a release. "The F-35A will be the most dominant aircraft in our inventory, because it can go where our legacy aircraft cannot and provide the capabilities our commanders need on the modern battlefield."
The announcement is a major boost for Lockheed, which has pinned its hopes on the fighter aircraft and largely self-financed the program since winning the deal in 2001. Lockheed stock was up marginally in above average trading on Tuesday.
A Lockheed spokesman termed the news "a historic and monumental day for the program."
According the Air Force, the F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation fighter had met all key criteria for reaching initial operational capability, including "limited suppression/destruction of enemy air defenses in a contested environment with an operational squadron of 12-24 aircraft."
The U.S. military said Monday that the F-35A completed its first live air-to-air "kill" test by launching an air-to-air missile and directly hitting a drone over a military test range off the California coast on July 28.
"The U.S. Air Force decision to make the 15 F-35As at Hill Air Force Base combat ready sends a simple and powerful message to America's friends and foes alike the F-35 can do its mission," said Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, the F-35 Program Executive Officer.
"This successful test demonstrates the combat capability the F-35 will bring to the U.S. military and our allies," U.S. Air Force Maj. Raven LeClair, the test pilot, said in a release.
The Air Force will operate the largest F-35 fleet in the world with more than 1,700 aircraft.
In June, the F-35 was deployed at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho where it cleared 88 of 88 sorties and "performed exceptionally well in mock combat engagements," Lockheed Chairman and CEO Marillyn Hewson disclosed during the company's recent earnings conference call. She also said the aircraft is "achieving increased stability in the software on the aircraft and in the ground support equipment."
Lockheed has self-funded around $1 billion for production of the aircraft under two initial contracts and in July told analysts that amount might grow to levels of as much as $500 million per month.
On the production side, Lockheed said it expects to increase deliveries to 53 F-35 aircraft this year. Through July 19, the company has delivered about 180 aircraft since the program's inception.
The fighter program was originally expected to cost about $1.5 trillion by the end of the aircraft's 55-year life cycle, although the cost per jet is down nearly 60 percent since the first plane was delivered.
There are three variants of the F-35 aircraft the Air Force's F-35A (conventional takeoff and landing version), the F-35B (a U.S. Marine Corps version capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings) and the F-35C (the Navy version with larger wings, special landing gear for aircraft carriers, and greater fuel capacity).
The F-35B variant was declared operational last July by the U.S. Marine Corps, meaning it is ready to be deployed. The F-35C is still undergoing testing and the Pentagon is estimating it will be operational in 2019.
At age 17, Chantel Waterbury got her first real taste of the power that comes from being your own boss, selling Cutco knives door-to-door. "I was looking through a newspaper and saw this ad," Waterbury says. "It made me think there was potential to make a tremendous amount of money." But this wasn't your average summer job to earn enough to go shopping or fill up her gas tank. Waterbury was hustling to pay for her first year of college at Santa Clara University in California. She raked in a whopping $30,000 in one summer, enough to fund her first year of school. "I was driving to people's homes, doing five to seven demos a day, seven days a week," she remembers. "It gave me tremendous confidence, running a business at a young age."
It's amazing to me how fearless I was at the time. It was this or nothing. Chantel Waterbury founder of Chloe + Isabel
Chantel Waterbury selling Cutco knives as a teenager to pay for college. Source: Chantel Waterbury
So it only seems fitting that Waterbury, now 40, is at the helm of a direct-selling empire of her own, New York Citybased Chloe + Isabel. The social-commerce company allows merchandisers to set up curated online jewelry boutiques to sell to customers on the web and in person. What's more, she is employing over 10,000 saleswomen across the country, 70 percent under age 34. Products retail for under $200, and merchandisers keep between 25 and 40 percent of sales the more they sell, the more they keep. Chloe + Isabel keeps the rest, generating revenue off its merchandisers' sales online and in pop-up shops.
The retail veteran walked away from a 15-year corporate career to launch Chloe + Isabel in 2011. She was a vice president of merchandise and design at Haskell Jewels in New York City, developing jewelry for big brands like Kenneth Cole. Then a conversation with her mother, who was losing her battle to breast cancer, gave her the push she needed to launch her business. "I always knew I wanted my own company, but you get to a point in your life where you become comfortable," Waterbury says. In "the last conversation I had with my mom, she said, 'This isn't the daughter that I know. The daughter that I know was fearless she wouldn't have been afraid to take that plunge.'" Waterbury, then a new mom to a baby boy, gave herself six months to get off the ground. She did just that, raising $3.5 million before launching. Five years later, the company has raised over $37 million from investors, including SoftBank Capital and General Catalyst Partners, and is reportedly valued at more than $100 million, a number the company declines to confirm. "It's amazing to me how fearless I was at the time," she says. "It was this or nothing."
Chloe + Isabels jewelry ranges from $18 to $200. Source: Chloe + Isabel
Following are excerpts from a CNBC interview on Squawk Box Europe, with Julia Chatterley and Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi.
JC: Prime Minister, thank you for speaking to us. Let's start with the banks. You've said the stress tests are a big success for Italy. Why?
MR: I think the stress test show Italian banks as not the problem of European system. This is the real new. If you think about the last 12 months, every day we received a lot of news, the problem of our European system are Italian banks and our position was no, it's not true. Finally the results of stress tests show the reality we have the best bank around Europe as Intesa Sanpaolo and we have four of five banks in a good situation. We have all the problem - This problem is Monte dei Paschi di Siena ... and everyone know, they knew that, situation. We worked very strongly with the private solution, with the market solution, to give a perspective and an opportunity in the next months to these very great banks without the problem of NPL non-performing loans. So I'm satisfied for the result. I think we need a different strategy for the future as European institution because it's clear the message now it's time to create a new direction in the economy in Europe. This is my view.
JC: Monte dei Paschi as you mentioned, Monte dei Paschi has got its private solution but we've had recapitalizations in the past. Why should investors believe that this is the final time?
MR: Because for the first time we cut off the problem of non-performing loans. Let me be very clear Julia, we know Italian economy suffered a lot from the problem in the last five years, maybe 10 years. In the first 50 years after World War 2, Italy was the biggest economy in the growth in Europe but after the Maastricht parameters and the European Union, Italy became the problem of the European institution, particularly in the last period for responsibility of Italian politicians who didn't achieve the goal of reforms, Italy became the worst place in terms of growth and unemployment. So in the last period, Italian banks without public support for a decision, for me a mistake, but for the decision of my predecessor, without public support Italian banks, so grew up obviously [inaudible] the level of non-performing loans. It's normal if you have 10 years of crisis, three years of recession, it's normal for the European, for the Italian banks have a lot of NPLs. Now for the first time,Monte dei Paschi is without NPL because the operation called Atlante claim every NPL in the bank. So this is the final
JC: But they are just a fraction of the non-performing loans that you have more broadly in the banking sector. So are you saying that this could be a model for the rest of the banking sector because these aren't the only non-performing loans, they are just a fraction of them?
MR: I think there is the best way to solve the problem of NPL is the growth. And this is my priority, my dream and my nightmare, every day I think about it. Growth, growth, growth. I became Prime Minister after two years of recession and the first result is not jobs at co-operative banks, constitutional reform, electoral law the first priority and the first result for me is to see Italy come back to growth. But with this model of Atlante we can show clearly to international investors, to the markets, the situation of NPLs is not the situation - is not focused on the narrative the last month. In other words.
JC: It's not big enough - The concern is that it's not big enough for the problem.
MR: Personally I (am) really concerned for the future of European institution, but not for Italian NPL but for the situation of other banks in all countries, for the financial instruments of other banks. So I am not
JC: You're looking towards Germany there?
MR: Also, also Germany banks we Our economy is very, very close friend of the German economy, particularly in the northeast. Unfortunately, we have two Italy, not one Italy. There is the Italy of North is absolutely near to the German economy and with performance badder [inaudible] than Germany in lots of issues. And we have a problem in the south. This is our priority to give legality to give transparency, to give a very correct process against corruption and against the problems and inefficiency of public administration. So yes I worried for the other banks, but Italian NPL are more or less in this moment 80 billion in GDP which is 20 times more. So OK. We have a problem we must reduce, we have to reduce the time line of justice. This is the priority for Italian government and we achieved the result for the future. We must work also for the present for the backlog but this is not a terrible problem. Private savings in Italy, I agree with the consideration of Carlo Messina the CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, I think the public savings and the private, the private savings, I'm sorry - the private savings in Italy are really a private savings of Triple A - high quality, incredible performance, because Italian savings are good.
JC: Do you guarantee that no retail investor no Italian investor in bank bonds will ever be bailed-in? Because that's your fight with Brussels now.
MR: I fought for these and also for..avoid the risk of institutional investors because I think it's time to open the doors of Italy to market and give the guarantee for the retail people but also for the international investors.
JC: So no bail in? There will be no bail in?
MR: Personally I don't, I don't agree with the new legislation in Europe but obviously I respect that. I don't agree because I believe that the priority in this moment is give confidence to the citizens and if we continue with the [inaudible] of bail in, this is a problem for the sentiment of confidence of European citizens. So for me, this is a mistake, but I respect the law. I don't agree with the law of austerity in Europe but I am the president of council of minister and prime minister will reduce the level of deficit in an incredible way, in respect to my predecessors so I respect the law. I'm not agreeing but I respect it. My view is if we really, if we want to be present in international markets as our competitors in America and in Asia we need a new sentiment of confidence by European citizens. So. I don't know what happened but I know for me Italy is totally fighting for avoid bail in because also soft bail in could be a disaster for the credibility and for the confidence. This is the reason for which I fought for a market solution and there is also one, one thing more and this is my priority, is cancel the power of politician in the banks. Let me be very clear.
In Italy for a lot of period, for a lot of times for a lot of years politicians arrive everywhere. Politicians decide a career in the universities, decide the roll of banks, decide everything. Personally, I believe in a different model of democracy. Very similar to the Anglo-Saxon model in which we are the government. We attend to the law too to respect the procedure of democracy, but banks are in the hands of markets not in the hands of politicians, particularly the local politicians and this is the reason for which I changed, that we changed the legislation about co-operative banks.
JC: So bearing in mind what you have said, that you are fighting against the European regulations now on bailing, do you think investors need to have more confidence in Italian banks and that Italian banks are undervalued?
MR: My view is that Italian banks are good. There are some problems, yes, the first is Monte de Paschi, we know but Monte de Paschi is also a great brand, the most ancient bank around Europe, 1472 I think I don't remember. It is from Sienna, I am from Florence we have a little rivalry [inaudible] but also myself as Florentine...
JC: You just said that shouldn't be happening...
MR: Yes but if you think about Tuscany also in the time of globalisation, the relations between the little city near the neighbour city [inaudible] are terrible. Jokes apart, I must recognize Monte de Paschi di Sienna is a great brand and if now without NPL , with a clear strategy, I think these banks could be a very good bank for the future. Obviously, I think all the banks, particularly one very important bank, need a recapitalisation for the future but this is the market, we will decide in the next weeks and the next months. I think Italy is a very great place for the international investors because we changed job markets and legislation about the jobs after 40 years of polemics. I know the problem because I had for one year, 1 million of people in the streets against me, unions against me but I think this is a good thing for the people. I called jobs act copying from Obama administration, and now I am really happy because after the day one of my government here in Palazzo Chigi to today, we have 600 000 new jobs, it is an incredible evolution, 75 percent new jobs, stable new jobs, this is very very important. So new legislation in the jobs. Very important for me institutional reform reduce the level of simplification, the level of institution. So simplification, more efficiency just to make you an example, Italy was the place with the most, a high number of police institutions not policemen, police institutions, 5. We reduced, we arrived to 4. We reduced the number of politicians, we fight for to reduce the red tape of bureaucracy so Italy today is ready to welcome international investors, and I think Italian banks could play a role in the new strategy of Europe. It is important bring back the role of politicians and give the message very clear: this is market time, not politicians time.
JC: Let's talk then about constitutional reform and your referendum later on this year. Can you win?
MR: I'm sure we win but not because this is my victory, because if this referendum becomes a referendum about my future.
JC: You have made it a referendum about your future though
MR: I use expression very strong about my future after the referendum. Because you know we have also recent experience in the UK. It's not easy. Lose the referendum and come back the day after as nothing happened it's not correct. But at the same time. The priority in this moment is discover what is this referendum. This referendum is about two different model. One is the mode model of today. Italy is the place with the high number of senators and member of parliament, 945 members of parliament. In United States are the half. I understand the very importance of Italy. But the double of member member of parliament than the United States I think is too much. It's about the power of regions. It's about the vote of confidence. Italy is only one country. Between the Western countries with the double vote of confidence and these means a lot of things just to make one example, my government is the government number 63 in 70 years, 63 because with this model with double vote of confidence it's too easy to change a majority to give instability so this referendum is about the future of country and I'm sure Italian people, if the people read the question in the, in the ballot in the electoral place will vote for change.
JC: Why are they so undecided. You've got 40 percent of people undecided and equally split at the moment. People saying yes and people saying no. How do you turn that around. How do you convince people?
MR: Our asset will be reality. The most important thing for us will be simply show the question, because if today the people also the polls is about what do you think about Renzi's referendum. Our strategy in the next weeks will be this is not Renzi's referendum. This is a referendum. Do you want a 1,000 member of parliament, 1,000 politicians or we want to reduce the level of politicians in Italy. I'm supportive for the politics but not for too much politicians. The second point - do you want stability. Exactly as all the countries around the world. Or you continue with the change focus simply on the ideas of politicians in Rome. So If you think banks, public administration, jobs act, constitutional reforms are different types of different pictures of a framework, the same framework is give simplicity to Italy, reduce the level of politicians in this country, give more efficiency to this country and this is important not for me not, for myself. It's important for the future because my view is that Italy is the most important country in Europe in terms of genius creativity, quality of life relation between culture tourism and education. So Italy could play a role in the next 10 years, 20 years if finally reduce the level of difficulties of politicians.
JC: Will you still resign if you lose?
MR: I will win.
JC: But if you lose?
MR: I will win. But I think people need to understand what instability will follow. Not just the fact that you're still going to have this quick turnover of governments if you don't manage this reform. But also, there's a risk if you look at the polls, that we're in a situation where perhaps the Five Star Movement are allowed to lead this country. The people need to understand what voting no here means we learnt that in the UK.
I think the priority is invest in this campaign electoral campaign not in the fear of possible victory of other but invest in the narrative of what happen if finally Italy chooses simplicity. So if we start with the electorate campaign focused on the OK, there is the risk of populists, there is the risk of a Five Star Movement or [inaudible], I think we made a mistake. Don't think to elephant gives us as message [inaudible] the American leaders of electoral campaign. I believe in very clear message. I think Italian people are very serious and I believe in my country, I believe in my citizen. I know what does deserve for because these reform came from lots of years of discussions. What is the difference? The difference of 43 years, my predecessors speaking, spoke, about this reform and nobody achieved the results. Now we achieved this result and now we will go to electoral people and we give the message. Do you want change and finally choose the future, or do you want to continue with this model or destroy the perspective of growth of the last years in Italy. This is the discussion. This is the Derby. This is the corner and I am really confident because I believe in Italy and obviously, I will respect every decision of my people but maybe when the polls will discuss about - will show the result of the real question of the referendum. I think the result will be very clear for us.
JC: Why do you think you and your party have lost support and the Five Star Movement in particular has gained. What's going on in Italy? Because as you said you have tried to tackle reform. Do you think people expect too much of you?
MC: My view is that this after the last electoral local elections a lot of politicians, journalists, people said OK, this is the victory of Five Star Movement. Why. Because Five Star Movement won two very important cities, Rome and Turin, and obviously, let me be very clear about it. I'm totally ready to support her at the institutional level every effort of the new mayors Mayor ??, Mayor ?? in Turin because I think there is the priorities of very good cooperation at lower institutional level but at the same time let me be frank with you. I don't think this local election could become a survey for the national politics because if you look at the results, we won in the more or less 60-65 percent of cities. We won in the majority in terms of a number of institution in the last two years. But there are there are differences between the local cities. Also if you look in the same place in Italy, the same region, very very neighbouring city you can see a very different result in a city a great victory of my party the Democratic Party (Democratic in Italian) in other a victory of Five Star Movement in other the victory of rights. Because the Berlusconi's party won lots of cities. NotThis is in the north, in the south, in the center. So my opinion is that local elections are local elections. Italian people now is in front of a new thing for the politics. For the first time, a government achieved in two years lots of reforms. I don't discuss if this reform is good. I think so or not good. But it's a new thing for Italian politics because usually if you think about the elections around in this country, every election, every party repeat the same thing. We will change electoral law, we will change constitution, we will change jobs market, we will change public administration. Now there is a government really change that. I think in the good and the current direction my opposition think the opposite. But there is a great change. Finally politicians show to Italian people we have, we are in a different world. This very important in my opinion, we will see the next election will happen but
JC: The argument Five Star Movement make in particular though is that is one area where you don't differ from your predecessors. In fact, they make a comparison between you and Berlusconi and I know you've had plenty of those for different reasons. But on corruption, because they say you're no different. And that kind of filters down to the Italian people. Why aren't you different?
MR: But the difference is obvious. This is in the in the reality every day. If you think about the new laws against corruption, we increase the sanctions against corruption. We created an authority called anti-corruption authority and I called a former judge against the Mafia and [inaudible] to give the leadership in this project in this authority. Thanks to the efforts of our [inaudible] and the authority against the corruption we achieved results as (like) Expo. When I arrived here in this room the first message of my friends "Please dont touch organization of Expo. It's full of corruption." My reaction was I called Cantone. We work very strongly we fought. We will fight against the corruption and we will organize a great Expo. Five Star Movement's politics was "no no no it's impossible to organize Expo". We won this battle. The reality is it's very easy when you stay in the opposition to say "ah there is the same thing there is the same thing but a reality show in the past, Italy lost the opportunity to fight really against corruption. Now, our decision is incredible, strongly determined against corruption. Personally, I believe will be very interesting to see the results of Five Star Movement in the city administration, because also if I'm not happy because my party loses the election in Rome, there is now is a great opportunity to see what really Five Star Movement could do just to make one example. I think if you stay only in the Parliament to say "no no no no", you can arrive to bring a vote of protest. But then when you are responsible for government I think this is the real challenge. And personally, I am totally supportive to the mayors of every color, every political party, because I think there are a lot of divisions between we and all the parties. But there is this sentiment of belong to Italian country with the priority. So I'm really confident for the future of my country. And let me be very clear also on my party, because the Democrat Party in this moment in Europe is the only party in the socialist field that really gave a very strong message of radical change.
JC: You've thrown the gauntlet down to the Five Star Movement here in Rome as well. Let's move on, because I want to talk about the Brexit vote to some degree. And this also had an impact on the banks, because people were looking at Italy then as potentially the next domino to fall in Europe. Do you feel like there's been a change among EU leaders, whether it's Angela Merkel, whether it's Francois Hollande, to try and help you specifically to tackle the Euro skepticism in Italy. Do you feel like they're going to be more amenable to reform?
MR: I think this is not correct. I think together, Angela, Francois and myself, we will work together to reduce the skepticism in Europe. Let me be very clear. I think there is not a problem in Italy. There is a problem in Italy, as in France, as in Germany, as in Netherlands- the next election will be March 2017 in Netherland. There are a lot of problems around Europe, if Europe don't consider Brexit an incredible wake up. Brexit is bad news but is also at the same time a good opportunity. Your question is how; I think with a Europe able to discuss not only about finance but about human values, about the future of students, about the future of manufacturing 4.0, about a very incredible presence of fight against digital divide and a program for broadband because the world is in a different age around the world.
The world today is not the world of ten years ago. And if Europe continues to discuss only about technocrats, rules, technicians rules, Europe is finished. So the question is not about how Angela and Francois could help me, but how everyone could help their respective countries to consider Europe as a great place for the future of democracy ideals. Exactly here in Rome, 59 years ago, the founding fathers signed an agreement to give birth to European institutions. March 25 1957. So, our priority is that, arrive to the new appointment in March 2017, sixty years after, with a process and a project, with concrete ideas in which there is a social Europe, not only a banking union, in which there is a student place for European citizens and not only a place for technocrats, in which finally Europe come back to be a dream because Europe was a miracle. After five centuries, the first period of peace for 70 years. But this miracle could happen again.
In August 22nd I will host Angela and Francois in a very specific island, in a very particular place, gorgeous place - Ventotene island. The place in which Altiero Spinelli wrote the document about a United States for Europe and we will discuss preparing Bratislava Summit, preparing the Council of October and preparing the very important meeting in Rome in 2017. I'm totally sure if we choose a different Europe in which there is not only austerity but investment. If you think about the result of Barack Obama's government from 2008 to 2016 and European government 2008 to 2016 you can see with the public investment and with the private support, really United States of America reduce the level of unemployment to the half of the first month of 2008. Why in Europe not? Because the religion of austerity was the religion of a lot of European leaders. I think with every effort we can change this direction. We have in a lot of things, differences between Merkel, Hollande and other leaders. But I think the priority is really: change the relation between Europe and the citizens. If we don't change, Europe will be always the responsible in eyes of citizens. Also if this is not true, if there is a Europe, a social Europe, Europe will be the parachute for the people. If we continue only with the financial Europe, the risk will be Europe become the responsible for every problem in this continent.
JC: You mentioned the U.S, I want to move on. What do you make of Donald Trump?
MR: I don't know who is the Republican man in the United States who said that 'I'm ready to work with the next president, whoever she will be'. Jokes apart, as Italian Prime Minister, I will work with every president of the United States. I will host him, or rather her, in Taormina for G7 in May 2017 for a very important event. I am ready to discuss with the new president and I hope we can have the same level of confidence, friendship and great cooperation we had with President Barack Obama, who really changed deeply the history and also the future of the United States of America, because Obama changed history, but in my view change also the future of United States. Honestly, I prefer the victory as Democrat. I hope Hillary Clinton could become the first woman and if you think about the last eight years ago, everyone knew there is not black man and woman president of United States. In 2008 they elected a black man, if this time elect a woman, we solved the problem and we are really, really, really happy. Jokes apart, I respect the great democracy of the United States of America.
JC: I just want to ask quickly about his comments regarding Russia he said that he'd potentially allow Russia to claim Crimea as theirs and he would accept that. How does that make you feel?
MR: I, I, I think that personally I'm, I'm working very strongly in my parliament to give a message, because my parliament is in the majority very friend of traditional relation between Russia and Italy, to explain the importance, to respect international coalition and also to respect by Russia, the sovereignty and the borders in Ukraine. And at the same time, I work very strongly in the international consensus, international meeting, to explain the importance of don't close the door to Putin. During G7, during the European Council, I'm maybe the most strong to explain the necessity to maintain a climate of dialogue. This is the traditional role of Italy; give a message to build a bridge, not a wall. This is the very important position of Italy: We stay with the international coalition. We stay with United States of America and we ask to Russian authorities to implement the Minsk protocol for Ukraine. And we ask also to President Poroshenko to continue in the direction of implementing reforms, very important. We offer also a model, a south euro model, to give a correct mix between independence and integration in a part of east Ukraine. At the same time, I think we need involve Russia in the fight against terrorism, against Daesh, in every, every theater of war in Syria. Obviously, I know the importance of Russian authorities to give freedom to Palmyra, and Palmyra is also a symbol, not only a city, but also in the other international theatres. Now I know there were, I think we will discuss in the European Council of October about the necessity to have a good relation between Europe and the most important neighbor of Europe. And at the same time, I think will be very clear the message: Russia have to respect the protocol of Minsk. Minsk protocol have to be implemented. And as Italians, we work in this direction. For myself, when I spoke in my parliament, the people think I too much friend of enemy of Russia, when I spoke in the European Council, I considered the opposite. I think it's important to have a good position respecting the relation with the international coalition because this is our family and we stay with our family, and at the same time don't close the door to dialogue with Russia because it will be very stupid thing, close the possibility to cooperate, particularly in the fight against terrorism and Daesh.
JC: And do you think Donald Trump perhaps has a few things to learn on the foreign policy front?
MR: My view is that we cannot enter into a political discussion in the United States of America. But If you think about the situation and the role, the leadership,and the position of the United States, I think it's obviously for me and for a lot of us to prefer Hillary Clinton as commander in chief, because with her there is a woman able to know every dossier, able to have an history and a future with other partners and for this reason I'm not able to vote in United States of America, but I think it's clear in this case, what could be my vote. Now it's time to respect the great democracy of the United States. I follow a great speech of President Obama in Philadelphia, incredible words. I very appreciated also the speech of Michelle Obama. But this is America, a place in which Obama's family wake up in a house built by slaves. This was the statement of Michelle Obama and now great democracy of the United States showed President Obama in the White House. Obama explained very clearly his position about the future of America, the great dream of America and I believe this is the America in which we believe, the America who is the leader of the free world. So I very appreciated the consideration of the President of the United States of America.
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The market turned ugly this week, as Jim Cramer saw the same elements that wreaked havoc in the past return. Once again, the strong dollar and lower oil have managed to sink stocks.
"Perception always trumps reality, at least initially. Sooner or later, though, we will settle into a fact-based situation where we can try to make money off of what is actually happening, not the bogus nightmare scenarios that are so easily traced out," the "Mad Money" host said.
Crude has now declined more than 20 percent from its recent highs. Cramer found it remarkable how much investors didn't care when oil plunged to $40 a barrel from $50. The entire market still moved higher as it happened.
However, when oil dipped below $40 a barrel last Friday, black gold once again coupled with the averages and took stocks down. This is because of a growing belief that auto companies, which reported weak sales on Tuesday, are signaling a slowdown and the weak oil market signals the same thing, Cramer said.
"This is the demand story I keep talking about, that there just isn't enough demand out there or oil would be going up, not down," Cramer said.
First, Garner said investors should brace themselves for more damage.
"Once the smart money gets wiped out ... Garner thinks oil can start rallying again, which would be a welcome sign for this market," the " Mad Money " host said.
Garner found that the sell-off in oil has occurred in an orderly fashion so far, which is why the stock market ignored it and didn't fall along with it at first. However, as crude heads lower, she expects the weak-handed bulls to get washed out, crush oil and send the stock market even lower.
He spoke with Carley Garner, a technician and commodities expert who is the co-founder of DeCarley Trading , author of "Higher Probability Commodity Trading" and Cramer's colleague at RealMoney.com .
With the price of oil falling once again, Jim Cramer turned to the charts to determine when it could rally.
From a seasonal perspective, oil tends to trade downward through early August. However, Garner took a look at who owns oil futures right now by comparing the weekly chart of West Texas Intermediate crude to the results of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's commitments of traders report.
Every week, the CFTC measures the net long or net short positions of large speculators, small speculators and companies buying and selling oil futures. Garner reviewed the large speculators, because it indicates what big institutional money managers are doing.
Garner found that when oil peaked in June, large speculators accumulated a position of 370,000 futures contracts. This was the biggest bullish bet by big money since before the oil collapse in mid-2014.
Such a large accumulation of futures contracts worried Garner, as it means it is only a matter of time until money managers are forced to liquidate and cause the price of oil to fall. Since that high in June, the price of crude has declined by approximately 20 percent, and Garner says this is a result of liquidation.
Garner thinks there could be plenty of more pain to come, as crude tends to bottom near 200,000 futures contracts.
"If that is where we are headed, and Garner believes it is, then she would expect oil prices to fall to the mid-$30s," Cramer said.
In her experience, bottoms in oil tend to be very dramatic and painful as weak-handed bulls are flushed out. Unfortunately, she said the market hasn't seen a real washout yet. She expects oil to fall to $38.50 or even $32.50 a barrel if things get worse. She thinks it is more likely that oil will push its floor of support at $34.50 a barrel, and if it holds, then crude will rebound.
However, if oil breaks down below $35, Garner anticipated that things will get really ugly. In fact, there would not be much of a floor for support until the mid-$20s. And if oil doesn't hold above $25, traders will likely eye $15 as the next floor of support.
Garner does not expect things to get that brutal, though. She thinks oil will more likely turn around at about $35 a barrel.
Ultimately, Garner wouldn't be surprised if oil rebounded to $48 or even $68 per barrel if the strong dollar decides to weaken again.
"While Garner thinks oil is headed lower from these levels, she is not exactly bearish. In truth, she thinks you should prepare for what could be a terrific buying opportunity in the mid-$30s before we bounce back," Cramer said.
While he won't get a chance to vote for the next U.S. president, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was clear that he's not rooting for Republican candidate Donald Trump.
"I think it is obvious for me and for a lot of us to prefer Hillary Clinton as commander-in-chief, because with her, there is a woman able to know every dossier, able to have a history and a future with all the partners," Renzi told CNBC on Monday.
Clinton's four-year stint as U.S. Secretary of State may raise her appeal with the world's leaders, all of whom are eager for no geopolitical shocks post-election.
Plus, as a Democrat, Clinton is much closer on the political spectrum to Renzi, who leads Italy's center-left Democratic Party. Renzi added that he liked the idea of the first black president of the U.S. being succeeded by its first woman.
Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is not ready to support Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, despite Ryan's endorsing him months ago.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, told The Washington Post that the congressman from Wisconsin sought his endorsement, but as of now he is still considering it.
"I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country," Trump told the newspaper. "We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And I'm just not quite there yet."
Later in the day, a spokesman for Ryan responded in a statement that "neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trump's endorsement. And we are confident in a victory next week, regardless."
Earlier Tuesday, Trump raised eyebrows when he tweeted out thanks to Ryan's primary challenger, Paul Nehlen. Nehlen released a statement defending Trump amid criticism over his remarks about Muslim parents of a slain U.S. solider. They criticized Trump at the Democratic National Convention and in media appearances after the event.
Tweet 1
Trump also told The Washington Post he was not supporting Sen. John McCain in his Arizona primary.
Read the full Washington Post story here.
The Rio Olympics 2016 are now just days away, so the eyes of the world will soon be firmly fixed on Brazil. So what better excuse to shine a spotlight on the gold medal-worthy fashion to hail from the South American nation? Here some of the country's most stylish editors and street style stars reveal how women approach style in a place where the average temperature is 27C and all-black outfits are an alien concept...
Marina Larroude, Fashion Director at TeenVogue
Marina Larroude started her fashion career at Vogue Brasil, and then went on to be Style Director at Style.com and Fashion Director at TeenVogue.com. While she now lives in New York, a world away from her home town Aracatuba, her Brazilian upbringing still has a huge influence on how she dresses every single day.
Why she will never wear black
"I lived in the countryside where it's summer all year around - about 80/90 degrees throughout the year," Larroude says. "You can barely wear jeans, so I love dresses. If it's 60 degrees in New York, I'll wear skirts and dresses and I just can't wear pants. I didn't own any clothes that were black growing up, so still wear lots and lots of colour, and lean towards cotton and dresses. I don't own a lot of black and will very rarely wear a black outfit - maybe once a year. I'm not afraid of wearing colour and gravitate towards pieces that have that Brazilian aesthetic, so always buy more resort and summer pieces."
image: blue bridesmaid dresses
Why Brazilian women don't wear cut-off shorts and t-shirts- and they focus on grooming
"Brazilian women dress quite glamorously, with off-the-shoulder tops, and sexy looks which are about the body," Larroude adds. "They don't dress down in cut-offs and t-shirts, so in the heat they'll wear a beautiful, vibrant cotton dress and never look too casual. Women really embrace how feminine they are and that's a beautiful thing - they don't want to be cool, but want to look pretty all of the time."
"The thing about Brazilian women is you can't put on a lot of clothes, so they dress up with their beauty, body and hair - they go to the hair salon all the time and have perfect skin. That's the only way can look dressed up. If you go to Rio or Sao Paolo, women are always very, very polished," Larroude explains.
Marina Larroude's Brazilian labels to invest in:
"My favourite label for swimwear is Jo de Mer, it's fashionable and cool and not just a basic bikini set. Martha Medeiros does very unique lace dresses, which take over 300 hours to make each piece and are created in a community where women hand make the lace. Lane Marinho also create made to order shoes which are very special." While in Rio, Larroude advises visiting Via Flores which stocks a number of Brazilian designers and NK Store for stylish buys.
Helena Bordon, Fashion blogger and street style star
In Sao Paulo, it's all about being practical but stylish
"I'm a proper Paulista - this is what they call people who are from Sao Paulo. I am always going around from one meeting or shoot to another so I always try to keep my style casual but with a twist," Bordon says. "Brazil is a tropical country so we tend to wear lighter things, but I love a good pair of jeans, a white t-shirt and amazing shoes - for the day I am obsessed with cool flats and sneakers. Living in Sao Paulo, I have learned to be practical but always make sure accessories are on point."
Brazilian women have fun with fashion
"Brazilians love prints, flowy dresses and fabrics and a cool pair of sunglasses and flats. It is super hot here all year round so we want to keep it fresh but always with a fun twist. I think we like to have fun with fashion," Bordon explains. "Brazil is all about colours and cool prints, and a 'sexy' effortless style and the bodies are also on point!"
ALso Read: girls bridesmaid dresses
Dutch supplements maker DSM on Tuesday raised its outlook for 2016 as it reported an 18 percent rise in core earnings, helped by low material costs and tight cost controls, beating market forecasts.
The company, which reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of 328 million euros ($366.5 million) on sales of 1.9 billion euros, said it now expected EBITDA growth for the year "moving from high-single digit into the low to mid teens."
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Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS) may have a strong future, Italy's prime minister told CNBC on Monday, in spite of the stricken lender receiving the bottom score in a Europe-wide stress test.
"My view is that Italian banks are good," Renzi told CNBC in Rome. "There are some problems, yes. The first is Monte dei Paschi, we know. But Monte dei Paschi is also a great brand, the most ancient bank around Europe If now, without NPLs (non-performing loans), with a clear strategy, I think this bank could be a very good bank for the future." BMPS is the world's oldest bank and currently the third largest in Italy. It is struggling under a massive pile of bad debts. As expected, it fared poorly in the latest round of the European Banking Authority's (EBA) stress tests, the results of which were revealed on Friday. The sector was once again front and center for investors on Tuesday morning. Shares of BMPS were down 7 percent and Unicredit tanked and was briefly suspended from trade over concerns about its bad loan portfolio.
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Fabrizio Viola, chief executive of BMPS, told CNBC Monday that he believes the bank will have a "positive" future after a last-ditch recapitalization plan announced on Friday. Moody's, the ratings agency, said in a statement that the "rescue plan would benefit all creditors if completed" but still had a "number of material risks".
The EBA's regular tests are designed to judge how Europe's "systemically important" banks would fare following a big economic shock like the global financial crisis of 2007-08 or the subsequent euro zone debt crisis.
The EBA found that out of 51 top European banks, BMPS would have the greatest difficulty covering its toxic loans between now and 2018 in an adverse economic situation. BMPS's fully-loaded common equity tier 1 capital (CET1) ratio a key measure of a bank's ability to withstand shocks would fall into negative territory at -2.2 percent in such a scenario effectively running out of money. Concerns were also raised about Italy's Unicredit , whose CET1 ratio would hit 7.1 percent in a situation of severe economy stress. BMPS's new plan would see global investment banks underwrite its rights issue. This could stave off the need to pump Italian taxpayers' money into the bank or bail-in junior bondholders which could prove highly unpopular for Renzi. However, it hinges on BMPS raising a hefty 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) by the end of the year.
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Despite facing what is effectively a vote of confidence in his leadership come October when a referendum on constitutional reform is due to take place, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told CNBC that he was sure of a win.
"I am sure we (will) win," Renzi told CNBC in an exclusive interview in Rome on Monday.
"This referendum is about the future of the country and I am sure the Italian people, if (they) read the question in the ballot in the electoral place, will vote for change," he said.
Voters will go to the polls in October to make the final decision on whether they approve constitutional reforms long championed by Renzi, including a plan to strip the upper chamber of parliament, the Senate, of most of its power and radically cuts its numbers.
The vote is potentially very destabilizing as Renzi has pledged to resign if the public votes "no." The prime minister was keen to distance the vote from being about his leadership, however.
"Our strategy in the next weeks will be (to promote the fact that) this is not Renzi's referendum. This is a referendum," he said.
Asked if he would resign if he lost the vote, Renzi would not answer the question directly and was adamant of victory, repeating "I will win."
Renzi might appear confident but as recent history has proved in the U.K., public opinion and referendum results can be hard to predict. As with the U.K.'s referendum on membership of the European Union (EU) that was held in June, Italy's referendum is also seen as close run with many voters undecided.
Political risk consultancy Eurasia Group puts a 60 percent probability on the Italian referendum passing. However, it says polls have narrowed sharply since April, making a no vote more likely as the government's popularity wanes.
A no vote would likely cause the Renzi government to collapse, according to Eurasia.
"A debilitated Renzi would come under intense pressure to resign; he may himself not wish to cling on to power," analysts Federico Santi and Mujtaba Rahman said on Friday in a report.
Uber's sale of its China business to ride-hailing rival Didi Chuxing should be a major concern for Lyft, according to Tusk Ventures CEO and Uber adviser Bradley Tusk.
That's because Didi will make a $1 billion investment in Uber Global as part of the deal announced Monday, raising questions about the $100 million Didi invested in Lyft eight months ago, he said.
In Tusk's view, Didi is now more likely to put its chips behind Uber, which controls a larger share of the ride-hailing market and has a higher valuation.
"I just think that if you're Didi, and now you've got a stake in Lyft and a stake in Uber, and you're saying which bet do I really want to double down on, you're going to double down on Uber. There's no real comparison to Uber and Lyft," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box."
Tusk Ventures helps tech start-ups navigate politics and regulations. The firm assisted Uber in its dispute with New York City over a proposed cap on its drivers.
President Barack Obama on Tuesday called out prominent Republicans for continuing to endorse Donald Trump in his bid for the White House.
"I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president. I said so last week and he keeps on proving it," Obama said on Tuesday during a joint press conference with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the White House.
Obama said Trump is "woefully underprepared" to be president. "He doesn't appear to have basic knowledge on critical issues in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia," Obama said.
Obama said this opinion of Trump is shared by prominent Republicans.
"I think what's been interesting is the repeated denunciations of his statements by leading Republicans including the speaker of the House, the Senate majority leader and prominent Republicans like John McCain," he said. "The question I think that they have to ask themselves is, if you are repeatedly having to say, in very strong terms, that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him?"
Jim Cramer said Tuesday that Pfizer is setting itself up to split with the creation of its Pfizer Innovative Health and Pfizer Essential Health.
The biopharmaceuticals company released its second-quarter earnings Tuesday at 64 cents per share, beating analysts estimates of 62 cents per share. Its revenue came in at $13.1 billion, edging past expectations for $13 billion.
Cramer told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" that splits in the industry have typically been very good, particularly looking at the biotech business Baxter , which split last year.
"I think this is a nice prep," he said.
The drugmaker did not offer hints on whether it will split in its earnings report, but after Pfizer ended its acquisition of Botox-maker Allergan in April, the company put the idea back on the table.
CEO Ian Read said in April he would reach a decision by the end of 2016 on whether to break up the company.
Following the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union in June, the economy is seen falling by 0.2 percent in the third quarter, with the risk of further decline into recession, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said on Wednesday.
The U.K. economy is likely to shrink in the three months following the Brexit vote, marking the first quarterly contraction in almost four years, according to Britain's oldest independent think-tank.
Pedestrians walk in the rain at the Canary Wharf business district in London.
"We are expecting a marked slowdown in the U.K. economy," Simon Kirby, head of macroeconomic modelling and forecasting at NIESR, told journalists at a media briefing on Tuesday.
He put a 50 percent probability on a technical recession when the economy shrinks by two or more consecutive quarters in the next 18 months.
This NIESR prediction follows on from Goldman Sachs, whose economists forecast a "mild" recession in the U.K. by early 2017. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also warned of a possible recession, although that is not the global body's base-case scenario.
"I don't think any of us are talking about a recession on the scale of that (U.K. downturn in 2008-09 after the global financial crisis)," Kirby said.
The downbeat forecast may put further pressure on the Bank of England to act after its two-day policy meeting that starts on Wednesday.
NIESR sees the bank cutting its base rate by 25 basis points after this meeting and making a further 15 basis point-cut in November. This would take the Bank of England rate from its current all-time low of 0.5 percent to 0.1 percent.
It added that the bank might also reintroduce quantitative easing.
Philadelphia
On a sweltering, 100-degree afternoon, several miles north of the Democratic National Convention here, Nassem Hudson asks a reading mentor if he can read Grace for President aloud to other kids.
The book is about a little girl who hears theres never been a woman as U.S. president and decides that needs to change. Naseems peers are seated on the floor of Tree House Books, a North Philadelphia organization that began as a neighborhood book store and now uses reading, books, and literacy to improve the lives of children, adults, and the surrounding community.
The Monday afternoon reading session, which links younger children with high school and college students who help them with their literacy skills, is part of a summer Life with Books program run by Tree House Books.
The themes of the Life with Books program, which operates with cohorts of children in five-week cycles, focuses the childrens reading and activities on entrepreneurship, social justice, environmentalism, and other themes. For example, the children recently wrote a letter to the police captain of the 22nd Precinct here about law enforcement.
The goal is to create a reading continuum from young age into adulthood, said Charlyn Griffith, Tree House Books director of community engagement for Tree House Books.
The idea is that teenagers at Tree House, who work there through the Philadelphia Youth Network , experience an improvement in own academic work as they help younger children with their reading. And many of the adults the organization serves are underemployed or unemployed, underscoring their needs and the goals of its programs.
The adult that isnt taught to read as a child is the adult who doesnt read to his or her child, Griffith said.
The Ecosystem
And while Tree House Books serves a variety of roles in its North Philadelphia neighborhood, it is also one of several groups playing a part in a larger, nonprofit Philadelphia campaign called Read by 4th, which involves partners from the public and private sectors and is managed by the Free Library of Philadelphia.
The goal of the Read by 4th campaign is simple, or at least its simple to articulate: By 2020, the campaign wants to double the number of incoming 4th graders who read on grade level in the City of Brotherly Love.
But the problem Read by 4th campaign faces is a daunting one: Right now, fewer than 4 in 10 public school students in Philadelphia are proficient in reading when they enter the 4th gradeand thats a predictor of getting way off-track, said Jenny Bogoni, the executive director of Read by 4th in Philadelphia.
The campaign wants to push hard on improving school readiness, regular school attendance, the quality of education in schools, and out-of-school and summer learning opportunities. That last factor is where Tree House Books, in addition to staying true to its own mission in the city, can play an important part.
I think of it as an ecosystem, Bogoni said, describing the campaigns diverse approach. It really means that when youre trying to address a social issue thats been intractable for decades, you need a cross-sectorial approach. Because it isnt dependent on any one sector or any one activity to change the tide.
The smallest, youngest, but most important part of that ecosystem, Nassem, age 9, considers himself a good reader. But Tree House provides him with more than help with literacy. On Monday, it gave him a chance to get a snack, express himself, share his favorite cartoon movie with his peers, and connect with young people who can help him and understand his background.
I like coming here and knowing that I have people who care about me, said Naseem, whos heading into the 4th grade next year. This is a safe place.
The Pledge
In the Philadelphia neighborhood that Tree House Books calls home, the reading skills of young people desperately need improvementright next door, just 12 percent of students scored proficient on the state English/language arts exam in 2014-15 at the Tanner G. Duckrey K-8 school.
Over 93 percent of the students there were black, and every single one was considered economically disadvantaged, as of the 2015-16 school year, according to district statistics.
The reading levels will make you sad. The math levels will break your heart, said Eli Goldblatt, a board member of Tree House Books and Temple University English pofessor. (Just 5 percent of Duckrey students scored proficient in math in 2015-16.)
After an economic analysis of the struggling neighborhood many years ago said a bookstore could be a worthwhile endeavor, and after the store opened its doors on the site where a tree used to stand, children were the first to come through its doors, Goldblatt said.
A Temple graduate student started volunteering to help those children with literacy skills, and Tree House Books offering and programs for children have expanded and evolved ever since.
Each day of the week through the five-week reading program, the children read the same book with their teenage and young adult mentors. One day might feature If I Were President, in keeping with Tree House Books current legacy and leadership theme to match the 2016 election. But at the end of that day, the kids wont encounter that book for another week. They might even have to stop at a particularly dramatic moment, to build the drama for the next week.
Our kids are going to expect more of their teachers because of the time theyre spending here, Griffith said.
But before any reading, the children have to go through several steps:
They have to sign in, grab a notebook with their names on them, and wash their hands.
Then they sit at a table with markers and crayons on top of paper. We want them to be able to write all over the place, Griffith said.
Every camper, along with the teenagers and college students, have to check in. That means have to take time to share something about how they feel, and share a personal preference or insight, such as their favorite superhero. On Monday, for example, they were asked to share their favorite animated show or movie"Frozen gets several nods.
Then theres the Tree House Pledge, in which the children say they must behave honestly and nonviolently, and remember personal responsbility, among other things. (View the slideshow at the beginning of this post to hear Ayah Free, Griffiths 5-year-old daughter, recite the pledge.)
Snack is servedon Wednesday its onion-flavored chips and blueberries.
Then its storytime. In addition to focusing on reading that helps the younger children as well as themselves, the teenage mentors learn not saying Whats wrong with you? and saying What happened? to their younger mentees who are having rough days, said Naeemah Gadson, 17, and a rising senior at the Academy at Palumbo in Philadelphia.
And the program has also helped the teenagers think long-term. Keaira Jones, 18, a Tree House program assistant and rising freshman at Mansfield University in nearby Mansfield, Pa., said that the Tree House programs create a special environment. And its helping her think about a future in the field.
I want to be an entrepreneur. But Im thinking about a day care. So this is ... helping me learn how to deal with children. Working with my peers is wonderful. We get to feed off each other, Jones said.
The Summer
Read by 4th itself is, in turn, part of the nationwide Campaign for Grade-Level reading initiative around the country, which focuses on improving reading skills overall and for low-income students in particular. About 240 communities around the country have some sort of similar campaign, Bogoni said.
In Philadelphia, Read by 4th is also focusing on areas of child development that dont directly deal with reading, but which together campaign leaders say greatly influences a childs ability to stay on track with reading skills in their elementary school careers.
They want to reduce chronic absenteeism, track students health and nutrition, and develop kindergarten entry assessments, among other goals. And while state funding streams, the Every Student Succeeds Act (the federal K-12 law), and a push for evidence-based literacy instruction in classrooms play into the groups strategy, the campaign wants to focus on activities beyond school walls.
Over the summer, the campaign is helping to create new (and to help pre-existing) read-aloud sessions and other literacy efforts at over 140 summer camps in the citythats probably been the campaigns biggest success so far, said Abby Thaker, the director of strategic partnerships for Read by 4th. Each of those camps hosts roughly 30 kids.
Places that arent already thinking about summer reading are getting on board and infusing summer reading into their habits, Thaker said.
There are also book distributions at several sites; drop-in reading programs at over 50 libraries, and awareness efforts that include Mayor Jim Kenney and local radio personality Cheryl Hayden, whos known as Cappuchino. Bogoni said they want to make literacy part of breathing and for kids to cross paths with reading in multiple ways.
The Obstacles
During his check-in Monday, Benjamin Butler, 16, a rising junior at Eastern University Academy Charter School, discusses the reality show he wants to be on, America Ninja Warrior.
You have to have strategy. You have to be smart with your movements, cause any second you could mess up. Theres a bunch of obstacles you have to make it through, Benjamin said.
There are obstacles for everyone involved in the literacy efforts, too, for Tree House and Read by 4th.
Bogoni says that, simply put, schools are underfunded, an issue with a rocky and recent history in the city and in Pennsylviania. And she notes that, for all the groups focus on the ecosystem and its multifaceted approach, theres a large amount of pressure to show clear improvement on academic metrics.
And those involved with Tree House Books say that although the group has worked with Tanner Duckrey K-8 school closely in the past, the strength of its partnership with the neighborhood school fluctuates.
But Bogoni said the campaigns goals are not unrealistic.
Theres a role for everyone in this, she said. I personally believe that grade-level reading is not something we cant get to. The fact that it hasnt moved in decades doesnt mean it cant be done.
On Monday, one thing that never faltered was the heat. After spending much of the mid-day reading and sharing their thoughts with each other, the children at Tree House Books are ready for a change of pace. They get their swimsuits on and head out to go to a neighborhood pool. It is the summer vacation, after all, and it is 100 degrees in Philadelphia.
Photo slide show and photos of Tree House Books by Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week: Children at Tree House Books eye their snacks before beginning their reading sessions; Keaira Jones, 18, a Tree House program assistant, reads to children; in keeping with the 2016 presidential election, the children are reading Grace for President and are involved in other activities touching on democracy and civics.
Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
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Samsung unveiled the large-screen Galaxy Note 7 "phablet" with a stylus pen on Tuesday, in an attempt to capture the premium end of a slowing smartphone market, boost profits and poach customers from rival Apple . Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 has a number of key features taken from the S7 and S7 Edge its flagship smartphones. The key features include: A slightly curved 5.7-inch display
S Pen stylus
Retina scanner to unlock the phone with your eyes as well as fingerprint scanner
Water resistant display and S Pen
Support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) video streaming. Images shot in HDR essentially make the contrast between light and dark colors even more prominent so the white highlights are even brighter. The purpose is to make the image on screen look more realistic. It's one of the first phones to support this.
12 megapixel rear camera and 5 megapixel selfie camera
A 17 percent increase in battery capacity versus the Note 5
Expandable storage up to 256 gigabytes
Edge display the same as the Galaxy S7 Edge The last Note device, the Note 5, came out in 2015. Samsung skipped the Note 6 in order to bring the handset in line with its flagship S7 models. The Note '"phablet" was a category Samsung has been credited with creating when it launched the first version in 2011. It accounts for around 6 percent of the company's total smartphone shipments, but analysts said it is an important device because it's one Samsung can make a larger margin on. Margins have come under pressure in the low-to-mid-end of the smartphone market where Chinese players have been able to bring high-spec but low-priced devices to market. At the same time, the overall smartphone market has been slowing. Samsung has been focusing on winning in the premium smartphone space where it competes again the likes of Apple and Huawei. "What we're findingis the premium end of the smartphone market is the part that's growing. So we took a strategic decision to focus on the premium segment with theS6 and S7 seriesand they have done incredibly well for us and put real momentum into our smartphone business again," David Lowes, chief marketing officer for Europe, told CNBC in an interview ahead of the launch.
The Galaxy Note 7 can scan a person's eyes to unlock the phone. Samsung
Following this shift in focus, operating profit in its IT and mobile communications division of which smartphone sales are a large chunk were up 56 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2016, helped by raising the sales proportion of the Galaxy S7 Edge to over 50 percent of shipments.
Can Samsung steal Apple's following?
Analysts said the release of S6 and S6 Edge in February 2015 marked a turnaround in Samsung's smartphone business, which had struggled after the S5 was met with lukewarm reception. The S7, S7 Edge and Note 7 have continued that process and the company considers it is now in a position to challenge Apple, something that it has struggled with previously. "Users recognize that they now have a premium device that can stand up against the iPhone and that's what Samsung needs to do, they need to keep their customers loyal," Francisco Jeronimo, research director for mobile devices in Europe at IDC, told CNBC by phone. "Before the S6, people who moved from Apple to Samsung, went back to the iPhone because they were not happy with the experience and value they were getting for the price they were paying. That changed with the S6 and S7 and now with the Note 7 and that will bring a good result for Samsung in the long term because they need to be a premium brand." Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 launch comes as Apple is slated to release the iPhone 7 next month. Apple has itself been struggling with declining iPhone sales which fell in its latest quarter and some investors have expressed concern that its next flagship smartphone will be underwhelming. Analysts said this could be a chance for Samsung to capture those users currently on an iPhone 6 or lower and looking to upgrade.
Samsung's S Pen stylus comes with the Note 7 and can be used to carry out a range of functions from writing to translating text. Samsung
"It does seem like if Samsung gets it right, it has a chance to really make a dent into that high end segment which it has really been struggling to do against Apple for several years," Daniel Gleeson, senior consumer technology analyst at Ovum, told CNBC by phone.
New Gear VR headset
Samsung also took the wraps of an upgraded GearVR headset its virtual reality headset which is compatible with its latest device. It's not much different from the current product except that it has a slightly wider field of view and the color has been changed to a shade of blue-black so it doesn't reflect light, which could interfere with the experience.
The new Samsung GearVR Samsung
An index of small business employment growth eased last month after hitting its highest level of the year in June.
The Paychex IHS Small Business Jobs Index pulled back 0.12 percent to a reading of 100.68 in July from the previous month, in line with the year-to-date average for 2016. A measurement above 100 indicates job growth.
The index eked out a gain of 0.04 percent from the year-ago period.
Martin Mucci, Paychex president and CEO, said the drop in July is not large enough to indicate any broader slowdown in the U.S. economy. He noted the job-growth rate in small businesses is up 0.3 percent year to date.
"It's cautious, but it's still positive," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday. "We saw a nice pop up in June, and year to date we're still up."
The South Atlantic region, which stretches from Delaware to Florida, led all other U.S. Census Bureau divisions. The area has seen small business employment increase 0.8 percent over the last year.
Washington state's reading slipped 0.83 percent to 103.63, but it remained the top-ranked state. Seattle also continued to lead other metro areas in the index, despite its reading declining from June.
Small business jobs growth eased in eight of the nine industries the index tracks. Only the trade, transportation and utilities sector saw its reading advance.
The Paychex IHS index measures same-store, year-over-year changes in worker count to determine trends in employment. Paychex is an outsourcing solutions firm, and IHS provides information and analysis.
The report comes three days before the Labor Department releases its closely watched monthly U.S. jobs data on Friday.
Three key skillsacademic language, perspective taking, and complex reasoningcan predict how well a student does with the kind of deep reading comprehension required in secondary school and beyond, according to a recent study.
Typically, reading comprehension has been viewed simply as the product of decoding and oral language comprehension, according to the report, which was produced as part of the federally funded Reading for Understanding initiative and published in a recent special issue of the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness . That is, it is widely thought that if students can understand a text thats read aloud to them, they can also understand it by reading it, as long as their decoding skills arent getting in the way.
For this study, the researchers focused on three factors, which they chose by analyzing deep reading tasks and looking at what historians, scientists, and literary analysts do as readers. The factors are:
Academic language , defined as formal written language with features that make it harder to process text. Those include reduction in use of subject pronouns and action verbs; increase in nominalizations, passives, and embedded relative clauses; and lexicalized discourse, stance, and epistemic markers.
, defined as formal written language with features that make it harder to process text. Those include reduction in use of subject pronouns and action verbs; increase in nominalizations, passives, and embedded relative clauses; and lexicalized discourse, stance, and epistemic markers. Perspective-taking , or the ability to recognize that different actors have different experiences of the same events, and
, or the ability to recognize that different actors have different experiences of the same events, and Complex reasoning, or the ability to think effectively about complex issues that have no single correct answer. This includes students ability to reason about concepts such as evidence, truth, knowledge, and conflict.
These three predictive factors have not previously been systematically attended to in curricular design or instruction, the report states.
The study looked at results for nearly 3,000 students in grades 4 through 7 on the Global Integrated Scenario-Based Assessment, a computer-based test of deep reading skills created by the Educational Testing Service.
The researchers found that all three factors were statistically significant predictors of deep reading comprehension. Academic language was the strongest predictor, suggesting that this is an important area of focus to prepare students for secondary school texts with their increasingly unfamiliar and challenging language, the study says.
Taken together, these findings on the roles of academic language, perspective taking, and complex reasoning in deep comprehension suggest that, for students in grades 4 through 7, we need to consider other models of reading comprehension beyond the SVR [i.e., simple view of reading as decoding and oral language comprehension].
Common-Core Changes
The study notes that the default in comprehension instruction in the United States is teaching comprehension strategies, the approach endorsed by the National Reading Panel 16 years ago. But curricula and professional development aligned with the Common Core State Standards have put more emphasis on close reading and assigning complex texts, which aim to develop deep reading comprehension.
However, simply having students engage in close reading and use harder texts isnt enough, the researchers write. Our findings suggest that these practices are unlikely by themselves to be helpful to students struggling with academic language, perspective taking, and complex reasoning, and might in fact lead to frustration and reduced motivation, the report states.
A better understanding of the processes underlying deep reading comprehension will, we hope, generate approaches to instruction that directly address the linguistic and cognitive challenges students face.
The rest of the recent issue of JREE, published by the Society of Research on Educational Effectiveness, is devoted to reading comprehension as well. You can find three other studies here , too.
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After six straight years of rising sales, there is a new reality settling in at dealerships around the country: Sales may have finally peaked.
"I think we're going to settle into a period with a more relaxed buyer attitude," said Karl Brauer, senior director of automotive industry insights at Kelley Blue Book. "It's going to be harder for the auto companies to pull buyers in without using more creative incentives."
Indeed, July's auto sales figures show automakers did spend more to win over buyers. The amount of money spent on incentives as a percentage the average price paid for a new vehicle hit 9.9 percent last month, according to RBC Capital Markets. That's the highest level since November 2010, the firm said.
And TrueCar said the average industry incentive in July was $3,225 a year-over-year increase of $159 per vehicle sold. These deals helped the auto sales pace come in at 17.88 million in July, according to Autodata, within the range of analysts' forecasts.
Rising incentives have long been a concern for investors, who are worried automakers will return to the days of massive discounting. That was one reason why these firms struggled to consistently post profits in the late '90s and early 2000s.
However, since the industry bottomed out during the latest recession with annual sales dropping to 10.4 million vehicles in 2009 automakers have been able to keep incentives in check. That has been due, in part, to pent-up demand and an improving economy, which convinced many Americans they should buy a new car, truck or SUV.
In 2011, when Rachel Bowman saw an abundance of large, pretty reddish fish while riding in a boat across the Florida coast, she didn't think much of it. But a year later, once she got certified to dive, she speared the exotic fish and recognized an opportunity.
Three years later, the fisherwoman, who was born in North Carolina and whose father was a shrimper, is selling this creature, called lionfish, to restaurants, local markets and 26 Whole Foods Markets across Florida.
"I'm the first person to sell [lionfish] to Whole Foods and to set up that deal," Bowman told CNBC.
And in the Sunshine State, many other commercial fishing operations have begun to sell lionfish as well.
Lionfish, native to the Indo-Pacific region, arrived in Florida sometime before 2011. Many scientists speculate the creature was introduced, probably more than once by accident or intentionally. Now the red, brown and white fish is invading parts of the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea at an alarming rate. Similar invasions have been underway, including by the zebra mussel, which moved into the Great Lakes and has spread into the Mississippi River.
The U.S. Geological Survey recently released data to better understand the biology and ecology of the nonnative invasive lionfish. They used genetics and tracking data with the help of reported sightings from trained citizen scientists. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Reef Environmental Education Foundation, an organization committed to ocean conservation, did a lot of the data collecting early on.
Now scientists must find ways to control the growing population before it continues to have an impact on habitat and wildlife. The fishing industry is doing its part. Hunting the fish might help with reducing its numbers.
he first recorded lionfish sighting in United States waters dates to 1985.
The distribution of lionfish in 1995 (on left) and 2015 (on right).TSource: nas.er.usgs.gov
Pam Schofield, a fish biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, told CNBC, lionfish have a voracious appetite, eating almost everything in their path from economically important fish such as juvenile grouper and snapper to crabs, shrimps and algae-eating creatures. The fish are also armed with venomous spines, which keep their predators at bay, and they can survive in diverse aquatic environments.
"It seems lionfish had persisted for years at very low densities," Schofield said in a statement, "and then finally built up enough of a population to become invasive and spread onto other areas."
Researchers want to figure out where the fish are now and where they might go next. And potentially, what harmful affects the unprecedented species could have on the habitat and wildlife.
Schofield said scientists have found a wide variety of native species in the stomachs of lionfish. The fish in the region are already under pressure to survive due to water pollution, climate change and fishing.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks on the last day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio.
If given the keys to the White House, Donald Trump's policy on trade deals and global relationships could turn the tide of globalization, according to one investment strategist.
When accepting his official nomination as the Republican candidate to be the next U.S. president, the billionaire businessman said "Americanism not globalization will be our credo" adding "We (the U.S.) will never-ever sign bad trade deals."
This followed earlier statements in which Trump took aim at globalization blaming it for "wiping out the U.S. middle class".
Speaking to CNBC Tuesday, David Roche, president and global strategist at Independent Strategy said a Trump presidency holds real risk for markets.
"He could reverse globalization which is part of the bedrock of financial market returns because it speaks directly to how equities will operate," he said.
"You go for instance from buying global brands to local subsidized players."
Roche said political events are becoming more of a risk factor on the upside and the downside for equities.
In terms of supporting equity markets, Peter Oppenheimer, chief global equities strategist at Goldman Sachs, told CNBC Tuesday that both Trump and Clinton could provide some benefit.
"As you move toward the U.S. election you are going to see more uncertainty again. The one potential for support is that both are more likely to increase fiscal spending," he said.
A day after the CDC warned pregnant women against traveling to one neighborhood in Miami after learning the Zika virus is spreading there via mosquitoes, consumers looking to cancel their flights into the city may encounter difficulty.
To date, travel-associated cases make up the vast majority of Zika infections in U.S. In these instances, patients have brought the virus back to the U.S. after visiting Zika-prone regions. But officials are now dealing with a fresh problem: evidence of active transmission by mosquitoes in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami. The evidence prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue travel guidance on Monday, urging pregnant women to avoid the area.
Zika is transmitted primarily through mosquito bites and has been linked to congenital microcephaly and other serious brain defects among babies born to mothers who had the virus. There is also evidence that the virus can be spread through sexual contact with an infected person.
But those wishing to alter their travel plans may find hurdles ahead.
At American Airlines , which has the most flights into Miami International Airport, there has been no change to its cancellation policy in light of the latest Zika developments.
"We don't have any plans to make changes to our policy," said Ross Feinstein, spokesman for the airline.
American Airlines charges customers flying domestic at least $200 to change their ticket before the scheduled day of travel. Its website notes the charge can vary depending on the type of ticket booked and the fare of the replacement ticket.
Meanwhile, Delta is directing customers to contact it if they have concerns about traveling to Miami and want to change their plans.
"We've had flexible reacommodation available for anyone concerned about traveling to an area with Zika present since late February," said Morgan Durrant, a spokesman for the airline.
"This way we can work with them on a case-by-case basis, as situations vary," Durrant said.
United said it's "monitoring" the situation, but is following the CDC guidelines, which to date only say pregnant women should avoid one particular section of Miami.
"Right now, we don't have a specific waiver in place for Miami," said Charlie Hobart, a United spokesperson.
But if customers have questions, Hobart urged them to call the airline, which will deal with the situation on a case-by-case basis.
Whether it's for celebrity investors or small businesses on Main Streets across America, Deluxe is the expert to turn to when it comes to small business marketing.
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We believe that small businesses are the future of the American economy. Deluxe is shining a spotlight on the stories of these heroes the small business owners themselves through the film and photo essays of the Small Business Revolution project.
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We've become the go-to resource to solve small business marketing challenges even for high-profile investors first for "Shark Tank" star Robert Herjavec's investments, and now for businesses featured on "Cleveland Hustles." And coming soon, we're doing it for the businesses on Main Street in Wabash, Indiana. For the winners of the Small Business Revolution on Main Street contest, we're not just transforming small businesses, we're revitalizing a town.
ONEONTA, N.Y. The Hartwick College Center for Craft Food & Beverage is pursuing funding to purchase additional analytical equipment for grain testing, research, and processing.
The equipment will help farmers to cultivate value-added crops, including malting barley and other practices important to the craft food and beverage industry.
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (DN.Y.) has written to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) urging them to fund the equipment purchase, Gillibrands office said in a news release issued Monday.
Hartwick opened its Center for Craft Food and Beverage in January, according to the schools website.
It aims to become a quality testing site and technical-assistance center for craft food and beverage producers, focusing on locally-grown and locally-sourced material.
Once approved, the center will use the federal funds to purchase a laboratory scale micro-malting system, Gillibrands office said.
The demand for New York barley and other small grains from craft brewers continues to increase and testing labs like the Center at Hartwick College will be vital to help farmers get their products to beverage producers, Gillibrand said in the release. Once the Center for Craft Food and Beverage is expanded, growers and small businesses will have the additional support they need to compete in the farm brewery and craft food and beverage industry. The Center will help lower the cost of production, ensure the consistent, high quality of New York grains, and help our producers build their brands and compete in New York and beyond.
Gillibrand on July 22 announced that the USDA will be expanding conventional barley-crop insurance to 13 new counties this year and an additional 16 counties for crop year 2017.
Additionally, the USDAs risk-management agency (RMA) will begin offering coverage for malting barley in four counties beginning in 2017.
Surrounding counties added to the conventional barley-crop insurance expansion include Oneida in 2016 and Chenango and Broome in 2017.
RMA will add Otsego County to the malting-barley expansion list in 2017, the Democrats office said.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
ITHACA Tompkins Financial Corp. (NYSE: TMP) announced it has named Brian A. Howard president of Tompkins Financial Advisors, its wealth-management division.
Howard will also serve as a member of the leadership team of Tompkins Financial. He joined the financial company on July 25, it said in a news release.
Howard brings more than 30 years of leadership experience with nationally recognized financial-services firms to his position at Tompkins Financial Advisors. Most recently, he served as a senior VP, market manager for KeyBank covering the Central New York region, where he oversaw the banks full-service, wealth-management division for high-net-worth clients. At US Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, Howard held leadership positions including managing director; market executive for the Boston market; and senior VP, market leader for the Central New York market, the release stated.
A Syracuse resident, Howard will be based at Tompkins Financial Advisors Ithaca office. The firm also has offices in Pittsford and White Plains, New York, and Wyomissing and Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.
Contact The Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com
The government has won the 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle case and the Langbord family has lost in their efforts to take back the 10 coins they once held.
Original images by Tom Mulvaney, courtesy of the United States Mint.
Shown is one of 10 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagles found by the Langbord family that have been in dispute since their discovery in 2002.
A decade-long legal battle over the ownership of 10 double eagles was decided in favor of the government and against the Langbord family. Only one example, supposedly once owned by Egypt's King Farouk (pictured), remains legal for private ownership.
It looks like the government will get the keep the Langbord familys 10 1933 Saint-Gaudens gold double eagles that were allegedly discovered in a familys safe deposit box shortly after the sole 1933 double eagle that can be privately owned was sold for $7.6 million in 2002. A decade-long legal battle between the family and the government followed to decide ownership of the valuable coins.
In an Aug. 1 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, nine judges joined a 60-page decision finding that while there were errors at the trial level, these mistakes did not affect the outcome. In doing this, the majority sided with a jurys 2011 decision awarding the coins to the government.
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The majority concluded its case by stating: This case is unique for many reasons. It involves iconic American gold pieces that apparently had lain dormant in a safe-deposit box for decades. Almost immediately after the 1933 Double Eagles surfaced in 2002, the right to possess and own them was vigorously disputed. The resolution of that dispute required the District Court to consider novel questions of constitutional, statutory, and common law. The able trial judge worked diligently through all of the issues and gave both sides a fair trial. Once the jury had spoken, the District Court declared that the 1933 Double Eagles had always been property of the United States. Although the benefit of hindsight has convinced us that certain errors were committed in the conduct of the trial, they did not affect the outcome. We will affirm the judgment of the District Court.
Voluntarily surrendered
The government has long argued, All 1933 Double Eagles are, and always have been, property belonging to the United States and that the Langbord family had voluntarily surrendered the coins to the Mint. Joan Langbord said she found the coins in the back of a safe deposit box alongside property that had belonged to her father, Philadelphia jeweler and occasional coin dealer Israel Switt. Her two sons, David and Roy, joined her in the lawsuit.
Shortly after discovering the coins, the Langbord family through their attorney, Barry Berke, presented the 10 coins to the government for authentication. The Mint did not return the coins, claiming them as stolen property. In December 2006 the family brought suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against the Mint, the Department of the Treasury, and various federal officials, requesting that the government either initiate a forfeiture proceeding or return the coins.
That district court ruled in favor of the Langbords, finding that the Mint seized the coins unlawfully and that the familys constitutional due process rights were violated.
The case went to trial in July 2011 in which a jury ruled in favor of the government. On Aug. 29, 2012, the district court confirmed that the coins were not lawfully removed from the Mint and remained property of the government, regardless of how the coins came into the familys possession or applicable forfeiture statutes.
A contested point was if the government had appropriately filed its forfeiture complaint back in 2009 within a 90-day statutory deadline. In April 2015, two judges in a three-judge panel within the Third Circuit Court of Appeals overturned much of the district courts rulings, finding that the government missed a crucial deadline under Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act. The panels majority effectively overturned the 2011 jury decision and ordered that the coins be returned to the family. While agreeing that the government did not meet the deadline, one judge in the three-judge panel differed and was of the opinion that this should not result in the return of the coins.
The split decision likely emboldened the government, and it filed a petition for rehearing en banc on July 28, 2015. With this, all 12 judges in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals would hear the case and decide. Oral arguments followed on Oct. 15, 2015.
At the hearing, the Langbord family contended that the government filed its forfeiture action too late and the district court erred at trial with respect to evidence and its jury instructions. The government reiterated that it did not have to initiate forfeiture proceedings against the coins because it was not obligated to repossess its own property.
The most recent decision held that the coins were properly treated as seized government property and that seizure alone does not initiate a forfeiture proceeding because it does not implicate a transfer of legal title. In comparing the Langbord situation with another case involving drug money, the court wrote, A seizure is neither the same as a forfeiture nor does it automatically trigger forfeiture proceedings.
No window of opportunity
Despite the Langbord family claiming that there was a window of opportunity in which someone could have exchanged gold for coins including 1933 double eagles the most recent ruling concluded that the governments experts established at the 2011 trial that no 1933 double eagles ever left the Mint through authorized channels.
The majority opinion sided with the governments numismatic expert David Tripp, summarizing his argument as follows: The Mints records track the movement of each 1933 Double Eagle. These records were remarkably detailed, going so far as to show the payment of three pennies and their year of minting in one transaction. The records indicate that 445,500 Double Eagles were struck. Five hundred of those were sent to the Cashier, while the remaining 445,000 were sealed in a basement vault. Of the 500 held in the Cashiers office, 29 were destroyed in tests to determine the coins purity and weight, 2 were sent to the Smithsonian, and the remaining 469 were placed in the basement vault. Then, in accordance with the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, the 445,469 coins left in the vault were ordered melted into gold bars. By this accounting, it is clear that not a single 1933 Double Eagle was ever authorized to be issued to the public a fact to which both a 1933 Double Eagle historian and a forensic accountant testified.
A dissent penned by Judge Marjorie Rendell and joined by two other judges challenged the appeals court majoritys distinction between seizure and forfeiture, noting that seizure often includes forfeiture. The dissent concluded that the Mint would have been better off complying with the relevant forfeiture proceedings. Judge Rendell who penned the 2015 decision overturning the District Court and finding that the government should return the coins wrote, This case involves precisely the type of situation that CAFRA was enacted to prevent: the Governments seizing and taking ownership of property in derogation of the rights of ordinary citizens.
After the Aug. 1 decision, Berke told Reuters, The Langbord family fully intends to seek review by the Supreme Court of the important issue of the unbridled power of the government to take and keep a citizens property. With this, the final chapter may yet remain to be written.
The London 2012 gold medal is suspended from its original purple ribbon that is detached at the seam.
The sport for which the gold medal was awarded was being disclosed only to the high bidder, a collector from the United Kingdom who wishes to remain anonymous.
One of the first winning gold medals to appear at public auction from the 2012 London Summer Olympics realized $55,831 in a July 21 sale by RR Auction.
An anonymous collector from the United Kingdom paid $55,831 to acquire a winning gold medal from the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games that was offered by RR Auction.
The gold medal was among 296 lots of Olympic memorabilia, including 44 participation medals, 19 winners medals and 31 torches offered in the online sale, which opened July 14 and closed July 21.
The sale brought total prices realized of $302,250, which includes the 22.5 percent buyers fee added to the final closing hammer price of each lot won.
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The auction company did not disclose the incuse edge inscription identifying the sport for which the gold medal was presented, as doing so would also help identify the recipient of the medal. The auction company said the edge inscription would be disclosed only to the winning bidder.
The medal is gilt silver, 85 millimeters in diameter, and was designed by British artist David Watkins. The obverse of the medal features XXX OLYMPIAD LONDON 2012 inscribed along the top border, above the winged Nike over Panathinaikon Stadium with the Acropolis in the background.
The reverse features the emblem of the London Games against an abstract linear background.
Other auction results include:
??Innsbruck 1976 Winter Olympics torch, $22,826.
??London 1908 Summer Olympics gold winners medal, $19,232.
??Tokyo 1964 Summer Olympics torch and original box holder, $15,784.
??London 1908 Summer Olympics gilt silver participation medal, $12,426.
??Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics set of gold, silver, and bronze winners medals, $11,026.
??Cortina 1956 Winter Olympics silver winners medal, $9,432
The Olympic Memorabilia auction from RR Auction began on July 14 and concluded on July 21. More details, including results can be found online at www.rrauction.com.
Snow Leopard cubs gaze at the viewer on the Perth Mints latest Proof silver 50-cent coin from Tuvalu, the third in a series featuring cubs of big cats.
The third release in the Perth Mints series celebrating cubs depicts the snow leopard.
These rare and beautiful leopards live in the steep and rocky alpine regions of Central Asia. They are insulated by thick hair, and their wide fur-covered feet act as natural snowshoes. Snow leopards have powerful legs and they are able to jump as far as 15 meters. They use their long tails for balance and as blankets to cover sensitive body parts against severe mountain chill.
The Proof Snow Leopard Cubs .999 fine silver 50-cent coin from Tuvalu was released July 5.
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The coins reverse features two colorized snow leopard cubs in the mountains in Central Asia. The inscription CUBS and the Perth Mints P Mint mark also appear in the design, which was created by Tom Vaughan.
The Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II appears on the obverse of the coin, along with the year date and the denomination.
This coin is housed in a classic Perth Mint presentation case within a themed shipper and is accompanied by a numbered certificate of authenticity.
The Snow Leopard Cubs coin follows the release of coins for tiger and jaguar cubs. The final two releases in the five-coin series will depict white lion and lynx cubs.
All of the coins in the series, no matter the design, each weigh 15.591 grams, measure 32.6 millimeters in diameter and have a maximum mintage of 5,000 pieces.
Distributor Talisman Coins offers the Snow Leopard Cubs coin for $42.95. Quantity discounts are available, with purchases of three to five coins at $41.95 each, six to nine coins at $40.95 each, and 10 or more coins at $39.95 each.
Earlier releases are also available at varying prices.
To order any of the Cubs coins, visit the distributor website.
The organization based in Special Region-4 in Shan State held talks with the Union Peace Commission yesterday in Yangon over the upcoming Union Peace Conference21st Century Panglong.
The two sides also discussed land issues, environmental conservation, human rights and freedom of belief, the report said.
MU swine center to double its space for modified pigs
An $8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will allow the swine center to double its space for animals.
Participants at the July 30 summit agreed to hold tripartite political talks with the presence of the government, ethnic armed groups and political parties. Also discussed was an eight-point structure for the federal union formation, as well as bringing the Union Tatmadaw under civilian control.
The eight-principles for the establishment of federal union included equal autonomy, self-determination, true federal union, safeguards for the rights of minor ethnic groups, democratic rights, gender equality and multiple-party democracy.
However, at the summit, the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), a major ethnic armed group alliance, stated again that it would not sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) with the government if some ethnic armed groups were not permitted to join.
Tatmadaw have officially stated that unless the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Arakan Army (AA) decide to disarm, they will all be excluded from signing a ceasefire agreement.
The UNFC view is that only when all ethnic armed groups are allowed to sign it [NCA], we [UNFC members] will then sign it, said Nai Hongsar, Vice-chair of UNFC.
An all-inclusive 21st Century Panglong Conference all depends on the results from on-going discussions between the respective groups and government.
The spokesperson stated at the Mai Ja Yang press conference that the participants gathered common ground to take with them to their meetings with the government but were advised to not solely use this collective stance when making decisions.
The five-day summit took place in Mai Ja Yang, the controlled-area of the Kachin Independent Organization, between July 26 to 30. It was held with the two main objectives of negotiating the various viewpoints on the upcoming 21st Century Panglong Conference and to find common ground for the establishment of a federal, democratic union.
In October, 2015, eight ethnic armed groups signed the NCA with the Thein Sein Government. However, various groups, including UNFC members, opted out of signing the agreement because it was not all-inclusive.
Out of all the 21 non-state armed groups, four groups, including the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), did not attend the summit.
Over 200 representatives were present at the Mai Ja Yang summit, including representatives from 17 ethnic armed groups of both current NCA-signatories and non-signatories, the Womens League for Burma (WLB), political party alliances and the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA) and Nationalities Brotherhood Federation (NBF).
Explore Six Vintage Buildings That Have Found New Life as Hotels
SHARE The towering building at at 100 North Main in downtown Memphis is one of the prominent features of the city's skyline and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal)
By Wayne Risher of The Commercial Appeal
Environmental Court granted another delay Monday for owners of Memphis' tallest building to fix code violations and remove potential hazards for firefighters.
Shelby County Environmental Court Referee John Cameron ordered owners of 100 North Main to submit written plans to remedy fire and building code issues including non-working elevators, storage of materials that could burn and blocked sidewalks.
Cameron continued the case until Aug. 15.
Cameron's order came after Larry Weissman, attorney for IMH Memphis LLC, said the ownership group is still working to secure $60 million to $70 million in financing for a planned renovation. Weissman said the work being sought by the court would cost an estimated $1.6 million.
Assistant City Prosecutor Kenya Hooks said the city didn't object to another delay, provided owners are responsive to previous court directions to submit plans for doing the work.
The case has been grinding along since last fall, when the Memphis Fire Department anti-neglect team cited the building at Main and Adams for dangerous conditions.
In court Monday, the Fire Marshal's office presented a slide show of the building's interior. It showed jury-rigged electrical connections, debris blocking hallways, drums of unidentified substances and problems such as a computer room where floor panels had been removed, creating an obstacle course.
Inspector J.T. Hopkins of the Fire Marshal's office, referring to the electrical connections, said, "Your honor, if 100 North Main burns, this is where the fire is going to start."
Hopkins testified the stairwells had been mostly cleared of debris, but he estimated about half the emergency exit hallways were obstructed.
Weissman conceded little progress had been made this summer, but he said that was because funding hadn't been obtained. "I can only report to you today they are close to that (financing)," Weissman said.
Cameron said if maximum fines of $50 a day a violation were imposed, the tab would come to more than $100,000. He said authorities would rather see that money go into rehabilitating the 38-story building.
Cameron reiterated a threat made in June, that the court could be forced to get the city to fix the violations and assess the costs as a lien on the property.
An ownership group led by Memphis-born businessman Isaac Thomas bought the building from a longtime owner in 2013 and emptied it of office tenants a year later. Thomas' proposal to convert it into apartments and a hotel never got off the ground, and it sold again last August to IMH Memphis LLC.
IMH Memphis's principal contact, Eli Freiden, another Memphis-born businessman, has been involved in ownership of a Tampa retirement community that's being sued by Florida insurance regulators because of financial problems.
John W. Bartle, an Indianapolis area businessman who has described himself as a developers' representative on 100 North Main, also has been involved in the Florida case.
August 1, 2016 New Olivet Baptist Pastor Kenneth T. Whalum Jr. poses with kids from the neighborhood around the former Vance Middle School where Whalum is trying to generate support for a full-service community center. (Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal)
David Waters Columnist SHARE August 1, 2016 New Olivet Baptist Pastor Kenneth T. Whalum Jr. is trying to generate support for a full-service community center at the former Vance Middle School. (Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal)
Vance didn't have a chance.
The middle school near Downtown was doomed to close as soon as it opened on the old Owen College campus in 1971.
That was when we started desegregating schools and neighborhoods by race and resegregating them by class.
Memphis was denser then with about the same number of residents as today living on half the land area.
The city kept expanding its territory but not growing, stretching the school system's resources. The suburbs kept growing and expanding, siphoning more students from the city.
As we've tried to undo the damages, we further undermined schools like Vance and neighborhoods like Vance Avenue.
Revitalizing impoverished edges of Downtown by removing housing projects that fed Vance.
Reinforcing underresourced schools like Vance by reconfiguring city and county school districts.
Rescuing so-called "failing schools" like Vance by removing obstacles to charters and other alternative schools.
Eventually, the inner-city school, designed to serve hundreds of 7th-9th graders from Interstate 240 west to the river, from Beale Street south to McLemore, was "underperforming" and overwhelmed.
By the time it was closed in 2014, about 170 students were sitting in half-empty classrooms in an "underutilized facility" in an ever shrinking school system.
The school with a 900-seat auditorium now sits boarded-up behind a chain-link fence, deserted in the city's poorest and most blighted ZIP code.
What a waste of space, potential and hope.
What an opportunity to turn blight into light.
"It is my position that this kind of blight that is sponsored by the school system is causing damage to the whole city," said Dr. Kenneth Whalum Jr., a former city school board member and senior pastor of New Olivet Baptist Church.
"But the reality is, the people who were left behind in neighborhoods where schools have been closed still have hope. They just need someone to reach out."
Whalum is reaching out. He has asked Shelby County Schools for permission to lease the old Vance Middle School campus for $1 a year.
In exchange, he would establish "Urban Oasis," a neighborhood center offering a variety of educational, economic and social programs for children and adults.
Whalum visited old Vance again Monday. He carried with him a copy of the definition of oasis: "A fertile spot in a desert where nourishment is found. A pleasant or peaceful area in the midst of a difficult, troubled, or hectic place or situation."
Commercial entrepreneurs are finding creative, innovative ways to create urban oasis spots for millennials in Memphis by repurposing old, deserted department stores, hotels, warehouses and breweries.
We should be encouraging social entrepreneurs like Whalum to find creative, innovative ways to create "pleasant or peaceful areas" in places where commercial interests fear to tread. The growing number of closed schools are a good place to start.
Mayor Jim Strickland, Juvenile Court Judge Dan Michael and Congressman Steve Cohen co-signed Whalum's request. The Memphis City Council endorsed Whalum's idea in a resolution approved unanimously last month.
It's a good time for the school board to consider the request. Later this month, the board is expected to review the school district's new comprehensive facilities plan.
It's part of an effort, encouraged by the county commission, to "right-size" a district with 180 schools, about 100,000 students, and about 30,000 empty seats.
The district has closed 24 former city schools in the past five years. Supt. Dorsey Hopson has said the district might have to close as many as 24 more.
Half of the closed schools are still in use eight by charter schools and four by the district. Two were demolished and another is scheduled to be.
Vance and seven others are empty. More will be closed in the coming years all of them in neighborhoods struggling to overcome massive public and private disinvestment.
Instead of leaving them empty or tearing them down, let's encourage social entrepreneurs like Whalum to reinvest in them.
We can start by giving Vance a chance.
Contact columnist David Waters at waters@commercialappeal.com.
Former Syrian National Council vice-president Nour Al-Ameer fled to Turkey after being arrested and tortured by the Assad regime that's when someone attempted to phish her and steal her identity with a fake Powerpoint attachment purporting to be about the crimes of the Assad regime.
Al-Ameer smelled a phish and sent the email to the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab (previously), who traced the attack and found a seemingly accidentally exposed logfile on the phishing site that points to the attack having an Iranian connection; "possibly a privateer and likely working for either the Syrian or Iranian governments (or both)."
Group5 stands out from the operations that have already been reported on: some of the tactics and tools used have not been observed in this conflict; the operators seem comfortable with Iranian Persian dialect tools and Iranian hosting companies; and they appear to have run elements of the operation from Iranian IP space. Like a chameleon, Group5 borrows opposition text and slogans for e-mail messages and watering holes, showing evidence of good social engineering and targeting. However, Group5's technical quality is low, and their operational security uneven. This is a common feature of many operations in the Syrian context: since the baseline security of many of the targets is very low, many successful threat actors seem to conserve (and in some cases not possess) more sophisticated techniques. We believe we identified Group5 early in its lifecycle, before all of the malware that had been staged and prepared could be deployed in a full campaign. Our analysis indicates that Group5 is likely a new entrant in Syria, and we outline the circumstantial evidence pointing to an Iranian nexus. We do not conclusively attribute Group5 to a sponsor, although we suspect the interests of a state are present, in some form. Group5 is just the latest addition to an expanding cast of actors targeting Syrian opposition groups, and its entry into the conflict shows the continuing information security risks that they face.
Group5: Syria and the Iranian Connection
[John Scott-Railton, Bahr Abdulrazzak, Adam Hulcoop, Matt Brooks, & Katie Kleemola/Citizen Lab]
How foreign governments spy using PowerPoint and Twitter
[Ron Deibert/Washington Post]
Experts see Iranian link in attempt to hack Syrian dissident
[Raphael Satter/AP]
SHARE Body cameras will be used by Memphis police officers beginning in October, according to MPD Director Toney Armstrong.
By Yolanda Jones of The Commercial Appeal
After several high-profile, fatal, officer-involved shootings from Ferguson to North Charleston, a national civil rights coalition has graded police departments on their body camera policies, and Memphis received low scores.
The Washington, D.C.-based Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, with the help of technology consulting firm Upturn, reviewed 50 law enforcement agencies' body-worn police camera policies.
The eight criteria examine whether a department: makes the department policy publicly and readily available; limits officer discretion on when to record; addresses personal privacy concerns; prohibits officer pre-report viewing; limits retention of footage; protects footage against tampering and misuse; makes footage available to individuals filing complaints and limits the use of biometric technologies.
Memphis received low scores in all but one area: for limiting officer discretion when using the cameras and requiring them to record a wide range of on-duty activities.
The officers must activate their cameras when responding to all calls. The department requires officers who fail to record a required activity to document their reason in writing in multiple reports and systems, the report noted.
Last year, the group evaluated 25 police agencies and this year doubled its evaluation appraisal of the policies.
Our principles emphasize that without carefully crafted policy safeguards in place, there is a real risk that these new devices could become instruments of injustice, rather than tools of accountability, Wade Henderson cq, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Leadership Conference, told reporters on a conference call Tuesday.
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In its evaluation of Memphis body camera policy, the department was given a low score for not having its body camera policy available online publicly and readily available, in contrast to other departments including San Francisco, which has a Web page dedicated to the development of its body camera policy, and provides biweekly updates of the group working on the policy.
Memphis, like several other departments, including Chicago, Baltimore and St. Louis, was also given low scores for allowing officers to review the recordings when completing their written reports in an effort to be accurate.
No department received a green light on this criteria, said Harlan Yu, a principal at Upturn, who worked on the score card with the Leadership Conference. However, six department policies have partial prohibitions in place, for certain critical incidents like officer shootings.
Memphis adopted its police body camera policy last September even though the rollout of the devices has been slowed because of problems with the technology and officer inexperience.
To date, 28 officers have been equipped with the body-worn cameras at the Crump Station while 400 police cars have in-car cameras.
Even if it is not a full implementation and all officers dont have them, I think it is important that these policies be available, even during the pilot stage, to ensure when there is a full implementation that the policies are appropriate, Yu said about Memphis.
The department was also given a low score for not making footage available to individuals filing police misconduct complaints and for not placing any limits on the use of biometric technologies, such as facial and voice recognition, to search footage.
The score card report notes which agencies were awarded more than $500,000 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice to support their body camera programs.
Memphis was not one of the agencies to receive DOJ funding. The city has committed to spend as much as $15 million on the body-worn cameras and the in-car cameras.
The report states that as of August, of the 68 major city police departments, 42 now have body worn camera programs with policies in place.
No department has a perfect policy, Yu said during a conference call with reporters. Departments are updating their policies all the time, and that is a good thing because the purpose of this all is to ensure that there is accountability and transparence.
In the document, "Police Body Worn Cameras: A Policy Scorecard" released Tuesday, the police departments were scored on eight criteria outlined by a coalition made up of civil rights, privacy and media rights groups.
The eight criteria examine whether a department: makes the department policy publicly and readily available; limits officer discretion on when to record; addresses personal privacy concerns; prohibits officer pre-report viewing; limits retention of footage; protects footage against tampering and misuse; makes footage available to individuals filing complaints and limits the use of biometric technologies.
Memphis received low scores in all but one area: for limiting officer discretion when using the cameras and requiring them to record a wide range of on-duty activities."
The officers must activate their cameras when responding to all calls. The department requires officers who fail to record a required activity to document their reason in writing in multiple reports and systems, the report noted.
Last year, the group evaluated 25 police agencies and this year doubled its evaluation appraisal of the policies.
Our principles emphasize that without carefully crafted policy safeguards in place, there is a real risk that these new devices could become instruments of injustice, rather than tools of accountability, Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Leadership Conference, told reporters on a conference call Tuesday.
In its evaluation of Memphis body camera policy, the department was given a low score for not having its body camera policy available online publicly and readily available, in contrast to other departments including San Francisco, which has a Web page dedicated to the development of its body camera policy, and provides biweekly updates of the group working on the policy.
Memphis, like several other departments, including Chicago, Baltimore and St. Louis, was also given low scores for allowing officers to review the recordings when completing their written reports in an effort to be accurate.
No department received a green light on this criteria, said Harlan Yu, a principal at Upturn, who worked on the score card with the Leadership Conference. However, six department policies have partial prohibitions in place, for certain critical incidents like officer shootings.
Memphis adopted its police body camera policy last September even though the rollout of the devices has been slowed because of problems with the technology and officer inexperience.
To date, 28 officers have been equipped with the body-worn cameras at the Crump Station while 400 police cars have in-car cameras.
Even if it is not a full implementation and all officers dont have them, I think it is important that these policies be available, even during the pilot stage, to ensure when there is a full implementation that the policies are appropriate, Yu said about Memphis.
The department was also given a low score for not making footage available to individuals filing police misconduct complaints and for not placing any limits on the use of biometric technologies, such as facial and voice recognition, to search footage.
The score card report notes which agencies were awarded more than $500,000 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice to support their body camera programs.
Memphis was not one of the agencies to receive DOJ funding. The city has committed to spend as much as $15 million on the body-worn cameras and the in-car cameras.
The report states that as of August, of the 68 major city police departments, 42 now have body worn camera programs with policies in place.
No department has a perfect policy, Yu said during a conference call with reporters. Departments are updating their policies all the time, and that is a good thing because the purpose of this all is to ensure that there is accountability and transparence.
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By Kayleigh Skinner of The Commercial Appeal
The Memphis Police Department is investigating a variety of crimes that took place overnight, leaving one man struck by a car and another critically injured by gunfire.
MPD spokesman Louis Brownlee said officers were called to the Extended Stay Hotel near Wolfchase Galleria Mall at 10:09 p.m. and found 18 cars in the hotel parking lot were broken into. At 1:26 a.m. Tuesday, officers found another 15 cars were broken into at the Holiday Inn Hotel nearby on New Brunswick Road. There was no suspect information when the calls came in, Brownlee said.
At 12:52 a.m., a man came to the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center at 201 Poplar and told authorities he was run over at the intersection of Lamar Avenue and American Way, Brownlee said. The man's condition was not available and MPD is continuing to investigate, Brownlee said.
In a separate incident, officers responded to a home in the 600 block of Brister Street at 10:35 p.m. Monday where a man was shot. The victim told police he was standing outside the home by the garbage talking with people when a white Ford "hastily" pulled out of the driveway, Brownlee said. The victim was taken to Regional Medical Center in critical condition.
FILE - In this Thursday, July 28, 2016 file photo, Khizr Khan, father of fallen U.S. Army Capt. Humayun S. M. Khan, and his wife Ghazala speak during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has engaged in an emotionally charged feud with the Khans after Khizr Khan criticized Trump's call for a ban on Muslims entering the country and asked where the GOP nominee had read the Constitution. Trump fired back, suggesting Khan had "viciously" attacked him and that Khan's wife had not been "allowed" to speak because she is Muslim. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
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By Michael Collins of The Commercial Appeal
WASHINGTON Tennessee Republicans backing Donald Trump for president opted on Monday not to criticize the GOP presidential nominee for his comments about the Muslim-American parents of an Army captain who was killed in Iraq.
The GOP lawmakers called Capt. Humayun Khan, killed by a suicide bomber in 2004 as he tried to save other troops, "an American hero" but were careful not to condemn Trump for ramping up his feud with the slain soldier's parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan.
"The issue here is not one of the Khan family's patriotism or sacrifice that is indisputable it is about stopping the encroachment of radical Islam," Rep. Diane Black of Gallatin said. "Donald Trump remains the only candidate in this race with the strength to combat this threat and to keep Americans safe, which is why my support for him will not waver."
Black said Trump and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, have clarified via social media that Khan "is an American hero and that his family, like every Gold Star family, is deserving of our respect."
The Trump-Khan feud began after Khizr Khan, with his wife at his side at the Democratic National Convention, criticized Trump's call for a ban on Muslims entering the country.
Responding to that aspect of the feud, Rep. Phil Roe of Johnson City said, "I have repeatedly said that anyone entering this country should pass a security test, not a religious test, because I believe that discriminating against anyone because of their religion is against everything we stand for."
Humayun Khan "made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our nation," said Roe, an Army veteran himself. He said Khan's parents "deserve the respect of every American who values liberty."
In speaking at the Democratic convention, Khizr Khan denounced Trump from the convention stage for smearing Muslims and wondered if the GOP presidential nominee has even read the Constitution. Trump fired back, suggesting Khan had "viciously" attacked him and that Khan's wife had not been "allowed" to speak because she is Muslim.
His comments drew wide condemnation from fellow Republicans, including Arizona Sen. John McCain, who said that while Trump may be the GOP party's nominee, he does not have "unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us."
Tennessee Republicans, however, offered praise for the fallen soldier without directly criticizing Trump.
"Captain Humayun Khan is an American hero who served his country honorably," said Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood. "He and his family deserve the utmost respect, and it is appropriate that the Trump campaign has clarified its belief that Kahn was a brave warrior who saved lives and protected American values."
Sen. Bob Corker's office said he "is proud of our men and women in uniform, including Captain Khan, who courageously gave his life in defense of our country. He believes Captain Khan's service to our nation should be celebrated."
Sen. Lamar Alexander "is grateful for the service of Captain Khan and the sacrifices he and his family have made for this country," his spokesman said.
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By Jody Callahan of The Commercial Appeal
Former Lakeland mayor Gene Fletcher died Monday night, several suburban officials confirmed to The Commercial Appeal.
"The passing of Gene Fletcher marks the end of an era in public service and the loss of a good friend in suburban Shelby County," state Sen. Mark Norris said. "I first worked with Gene when he was Mayor of Lakeland and I was a County Commissioner. He was the first mayor to invite me to judge Lakeland's Christmas decorations in what became a holiday tradition.
"He leaves a legacy of accomplishment, unselfish service and quiet dignity for which we are grateful and of which his family can rightfully be proud. Chris and I extend condolences to his wife, (Arlington Community Schools Commissioner) Barbara, and the entire Fletcher family. We share their sorrow and send our prayers that the peace which passes all understanding will be theirs as we give thanks for all that Gene did for us and for our community."
Mike Wissman, Arlington mayor, said Mr. Fletcher also served as an alderman in Arlington.
Several hundred protesters make their way down North Green Street in Tupelo, Mississippi, chanting and singing during a march on Saturday. The event was in response to the June 18 fatal shooting of Antwun Shumpert by Tupelo Police officer Tyler Cook. Lee County grand jurors on Monday cleared Cook in the shooting. (Thomas Wells/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, via AP)
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By Jeff Amy, Associated Press
Grand jurors on Monday cleared a northeast Mississippi police officer of wrongdoing in a June 18 shooting that left a man dead.
District Attorney John Weddle told reporters that a Lee County grand jury declined to indict Tupelo Officer Tyler Cook in the shooting of Antwun "Ronnie" Shumpert. An autopsy found Shumpert, who died at a hospital, was shot four times.
"The grand jury found Officer Tyler Cook acted lawfully and has cleared Officer Cook of any wrongdoing," Weddle said.
Cook is white. Shumpert was black.
Shumpert's family members have said the shooting was unjustified, and filed a federal lawsuit against the city seeking $35 million in damages. They've also called for a federal civil rights investigation into Shumpert's death and the broader practices of the Tupelo Police Department.
"While we are incredibly disappointed that the officer who killed Antwun 'Ronnie' Shumpert will not be charged with a crime by the state of Mississippi, we will continue to monitor the investigations currently being conducted by the FBI and Department of Justice," said Carlos Moore, a lawyer for Shumpert's family.
Hundreds of people seeking changes in the city's police department protested Saturday in Tupelo.
Weddle refuted claims by Shumpert's family and their attorney that Shumpert had suffered improper violence at the hands of Cook and a police dog.
"There are no wounds described in the autopsy that are consistent with a dog bite," Weddle said in a news conference at the Lee County Justice Center.
Weddle said physical evidence showed Shumpert was shot four times at close range, consistent with Cook's version of events that Shumpert had emerged from under a house and attacked the officer, leading Cook to shoot Shumpert when the officer feared for his life.
Weddle also refuted claims that Shumpert had been bitten in the groin by Cook's police dog, saying that was a gunshot wound. He also said cuts on Shumpert's back came from efforts to remove bullets.
Finally, he refuted Moore's claims that he had found an eyewitness who had recorded video, saying the woman in question was held by a police officer near the scene of the original traffic stop and could not have seen the altercation in the backyard of a house.
Education Commissioner Candice McQueen (right). (Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal)
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By Grace Tatter, Chalkbeat Tennessee
Up to 20,000 Tennessee families can now request funds from the state's first education voucher program, which opened applications Monday.
The program will allow parents of students with disabilities to receive public money for private services such as home schooling, private school tuition and tutoring. And while less controversial than the more sweeping voucher proposals debated in recent years, the program is set to provide an unprecedented amount of public money to individual households.
"It is important that we ensure our most vulnerable children have access to a quality education that meets their unique needs," state Sen. Delores Gresham, the Republican from Somerville who sponsored the 2014 bill authorizing the program, said in a press release.
Under the law, families with a child with eligible disabilities will receive an average of $6,000 annually in a special savings account. Parents can apply online, and those who qualify will receive the money in January 2017.
The Department of Education has estimated that approximately 20,000 students statewide have eligible disabilities, which include autism, deaf-blindness, hearing impairments, and intellectual and physical disabilities. There is no cap on the number of students who can participate.
That money comes with a trade-off, though. Families who opt for the funding must waive their rights granted by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which mandates that all students receive a "free and appropriate" public education.
The program is based on similar programs in Florida and Arizona. Upon its passage, the Tennessee bill was lauded by education advocacy organizations like Tennessee Federation for Children and the Florida-based Foundations for Educational Excellence as giving Tennessee parents unprecedented control over their students' educations.
"The Tennessee Department of Education strives to ensure that every Tennessee student has access to the tools they need to maximize learning," Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said in a press release. "We believe this program is a unique opportunity to empower families to make decisions for their individual children as we continue our commitment to supporting all students."
The program is in some ways similar to a proposed voucher program for low-income students that has stalled in the House of Representatives for several years. That program would allow low-income Tennessee students to apply for approximately $6,000 toward private school expenses.
More information about the Individualized Education Accounts for students with disabilities, including resources for parents, can be found on the Department of Education's website.
Chalkbeat Tennessee is a nonprofit news organization covering educational change in public schools. Read more about Tennessee education news at tn.chalkbeat.org.
A small Human Rights Campaign equality banner flies on the grounds of the Governor's Mansion in Jackson, Miss., as several hundred people rally outside the building and called on Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant to veto House Bill 1523, which many believe will allow discrimination against LGBT people, Monday, April 4, 2016. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
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By Ron Maxey of The Commercial Appeal
U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves responded forcefully in his decision denying Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant's request to lift a stay on the state's "Religious Freedom" law, saying the public interest is better served by maintaining the status quo until an appeals court decides the issue.
Bryant's office has yet to respond to Reeves' Monday ruling. The governor's office had not issued a statement as of midday Tuesday, and there was no mention of the decision on the official social media accounts of the governor's office.
Bryant went alone in challenging Reeves' June 30 decision striking down the law after Atty. Gen. Jim Hood declined to join him. the governor argued Reeves should allow the law to go into effect pending the appeals court decision. In addition to asking Reeves to lift his stay, Bryant's attorneys also asked the appeals court to lift it until it decides on the constitutionality of the law.
Reeves said he wasn't sure it was proper to ask the appeals court to lift the stay before Reeves had ruled himself on whether to lift it. Either way, Reeves said he believes it makes no sense to allow the law to go into effect until its constitutionality is resolved.
"Although (Bryant and his attorneys) contend that they are being irreparably injured because Mississippi cannot enforce HB 1523, enjoining this particular piece of legislation results in no injury to the State or its citizens," Reeves wrote. "A Mississippian or a religious entity for that matter holding any of the beliefs set out for special protection ... may invoke existing protections for religious liberty, including Mississippi's Constitution, Mississippi's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the First Amendment to the United State Constitution. HB 1523's absence does not impair the free exercise of religion."
HB 1523, or the "Religious Freedom" law as it is often called, allows private businesses and certain public officials to decline services if they feel providing them conflicts with their personal views. Legislators earlier this year passed the law, signed by Bryant, as a way to protect religious views in the wake of last summer's U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. Opponents say it unconstitutionally denies basic rights.
Reeves' Monday decision disputes Bryant's assertion that freedom of religious conscience is violated every day the law is in effect.
"HB 1523 is not like federal laws which permit persons to opt-out of going to war or performing abortions," Reeves said. "In this case the public interest is better served by maintaining the status quo a Mississippi without HB 1523."
Reeves also questioned the attitudes of backers of the law toward gay people.
"If (those filing the motion) truly believe that providing services to LGBT citizens forces them to 'tinker with the machinery of death,' their animus exceeds anything seen" in other cases cited, Reeves wrote.
He also addressed the negative impact spurred against the state.
"To the extent the preliminary injunction will help alleviate the damage wrought on this State by an HB 1523-caused economic boycott, moreover, that too supports denying a stay of the injunction."
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The three senior bankers who were sentenced on Friday are among the first to go to jail for illegal actions that contributed to the global economic crisis of 2008, which triggered waves of global instability, which contributed to the ongoing refugee crises and wars, mass unemployment, crippling austerity, the near-collapse of the Eurozone, Brexit, and soaring inequality.
Five years ago, the Irish government bailed out its banks though it had not guaranteed their deposits, putting the Irish taxpayers on the hook for 40 times annual GDP. Government economists estimate that it could take another 15 years to recover the cash-infusion.
Irish Life and Permanent Chief Executive Denis Casey was sentenced to two years and nine months; Anglo Irish Bank finance director Willie McAteer will serve 42 months; Ango Irish's head of capital markets, John Bowe, will serve 24 months.
In the USA and the UK ground zero for financial fraud in the runup to the crisis bankers have been spared any criminal sanctions, thanks to official policies of levying fines rather than risking the stability of the banks and the people who depend on them. As Matt Taibbi explained in his must-read 2014 book The Divide, the affected banks still paid their senior staff titanic bonuses and salaries, and there were few dismissals after the crash.
All three were convicted of conspiring together and with others to mislead investors, depositors and lenders by setting up a 7.2-billion-euro circular transaction scheme between March and September 2008 to bolster Anglo's balance sheet. Irish Life placed the deposits via a non-banking subsidiary in the run-up to Anglo's financial year-end, to allow its rival to categorize them as customer deposits, which are viewed as more secure, rather than a deposit from another bank. "By means that could be termed dishonest, deceitful and corrupt they manufactured 7.2 billion euros in deposits by obvious sham transactions," Judge Martin Nolan told the court, describing the conspiracy as a "very serious crime". "The public is entitled to rely on the probity of blue chip firms. If we can't rely on the probity of these banks we lose all hope or trust in institutions," said Nolan.
Ireland jails three top bankers over 2008 banking meltdown
[Conor Humphries/Reuters]
(Image: Anglo Irish Bank, Belfast, Ardfern, CC-BY-SA)
(via Reddit)
Interpol has arrested a top Nigerian email scammer who stole more than $60 million by tricking businesses into handing over funds by posing as trusted suppliers.
The 40-year-old Nigerian, known as Mike, is allegedly the leader of a criminal ring that targeted hundreds of victims across the world, Interpol said on Monday.
He and at least 40 other individuals pulled off their scheme by allegedly pretending to be CEOs or suppliers using hacked email accounts of legitimate companies.
The criminals then sent fake emails, asking the victims to wire funds or send payment to bank accounts under the scammers control.
The Nigerian at one point conned a victim into paying $15.4 million, Interpol said. To hack the email accounts, the scammers targeted small and medium businesses in the U.S., India and Romania, among other countries.
Authorities first became aware of Mike when, in late 2014, security firm Trend Micro began investigating the malware used in his scams. The malware was designed to steal email and web logins.
By analyzing the malwares command-and-control infrastructure, Trend Micro managed to track the Nigerians location. Mike was then arrested in southern Nigeria in June and he faces charges for hacking, conspiracy, and obtaining money under false pretences.
However, Interpol made no mention of the rest of his criminal ring. Its members also come from Nigeria, along with Malaysia and South Africa, Interpol said.
These kinds of email scams, also known as CEO fraud or the supplier swindle, have become a growing problem. Businesses across the world have been duped into giving away at least $3.1 billion, according to the FBI.
Interpol is advising businesses tp verify an email senders identity before wiring off any funds. To avoid hacking, emails accounts can also be better protected when using two-factor authentication.
Google parent company Alphabet will begin testing a drone delivery service in the U.S. in a bid to overcome any hurdles to rolling out the technology, the White House said Tuesday.
Alphabet will kick off a research study for Project Wing at a Federal Aviation Administration test site "to help regulators answer critical safety and human factors questions" for drone deliveries, the White House said in a statement.
Alphabet first tested its delivery drones in Queensland, Australia, in 2014, where the company delivered a first aid kit, candy bars, dog treats, and water to farmers.
Google and Amazon are both developing drone delivery systems, but lots of questions remain about how the services will actually work, including how and where packages will be dropped off.
The tests at the FAA site could help assuage the U.S. government's concerns about the safety of such systems and how they will operate.
The Project Wing announcement was one of several made during a White House workshop on drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs.
The National Science Foundation said it would invest US$35 million in drone research over the next five years. The research is aimed at designing and controlling drones to be used for infrastructure inspection, disaster response, agricultural monitoring, and studying severe storms.
The U.S. must avoid crippling the drone industry through slow-moving regulatory processes, FAA administrator Michael Huerta said during the White House workshop.
"This is an industry that's moving at the speed of Silicon Valley," he said. "We at the FAA know that we can't respond at the speed of government."
The U.S. Department of the Interior said it will use drones to support search and rescue operations, augmenting its manned aircraft operations.
In addition, the Future of Privacy Forum, Intel, and PrecisionHawk released a report calling on drone makers to embrace privacy early in the design process, in response to concerns among consumers.
"The Privacy-by-Design framework states that developers should embed privacy into
the design and architecture of devices, systems and business practices," the report says. "In doing so, privacy is enabled by default, not 'bolted on as an add-on, after the fact.'"
There's a lot to like in Samsung's new Galaxy Note7, which will ship on Aug. 19.
The sharp screen is accentuated by a slight curve on the edges that makes the device easy to handle. It has a snappy, 64-bit processor, and it can rock games and virtual reality with the companion Gear VR headset. Samsung's attention to smaller details makes it a fine device. Here are seven things you need to know about Note7:
Many similarities with Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge
The Galaxy Note7 is a large-screen version of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, with a 5.7-inch 2560 x 1440-pixel display. The USB-C port is an improvement over S7's micro-USB 2.0 ports. Common features include a 12-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth and wireless charging. The Note7 is pre-loaded with Android 6.0.1, weighs 169 grams and is 7.9 millimeters thick. It has 64GB of internal storage and an SD card slot.
The iris scanner has its own camera
A unique Note7 security feature is the ability to scan the iris as a way to log users into the device. Here's how it works: Place your eyes in front of the iris scanner -- which is an IR camera -- located on top of the screen, which will scan your eyes. It will match up the scan against encrypted iris information stored in a secure hardware layer on the phone. Iris scanner works in multiple light settings, but it won't work with sunglasses, Samsung said.
What chip does your Note 7 have?
In U.S., China, and Japan, the Galaxy Note7 will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset; in other places, it'll be Samsung's Exynos 8 Octa 8890 chip. The Snapdragon 820 has been modulated for cellular networks and spectrum bands in those countries, and U.S. carriers like Verizon prefer Qualcomm's chips for backward compatibility of CDMA networks. The Samsung Exynos chip works on cellular networks in Asia and Europe.
What chip is better?
Qualcomm's Snapdragon has a better modem and a slight edge in graphics over Samsung's Exynos. Regardless, the Note7 delivers booming graphics and runs applications much faster than its predecessors. The LTE data download speeds could reach up to 600Mbps (bits per second) and upload speeds up to 150Mbps. Snapdragon is more versatile with support for LTE-U, which allows for faster data transfers over licensed and unlicensed spectrum.
Old peripherals will work with the USB-C port in Note7
The Note7 has a USB-C port, a first in Samsung smartphones. The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge have micro-USB 2.0 ports, and many peripherals -- like portable mobile phone chargers and storage devices -- are designed to plug into that port. Those peripherals can be used with Note7 with a micro-USB 2.0 to USB-C connector that Samsung is providing with the new handset.
Note7 will log you into your Samsung-based Windows PC
Like Apple, Samsung wants its hardware devices to work seamlessly. That's been difficult because Samsung's devices run on three OSes: Windows in most PCs, Android in mobile devices, and Tizen in wearables. The Note7 shows some results of Samsung's effort to bridge that gap between devices. Users can swipe a finger on the Note7 fingerprint reader to log into a Windows-based Galaxy TabPro S 2-in-1 tablet/laptop hybrid. Users can also login into a TabPro S by pattern authentication -- by drawing specific shapes -- on a Note7.
Samsung Flow is different from Windows Hello, a Microsoft feature for biometric authentication to log into laptops, but a Samsung spokesman said the companies are working together to see how the features could be used together.
No clarity if Note7 will support Google's DayDream
A great add-on to the Note7 is the new Gear VR headset, in which the phablet can be fitted to virtually roam cities, play games, or ski down a mountain slope. Samsung declined to comment if Note7 would work with Google's emerging DayDream VR platform, which will be available in specific handsets by the end of the year. The Gear VR headset and Note7 could be combined for DayDream, which has minimum hardware requirements of a high-resolution screen, specific sensors, and strong graphics capabilities. Samsung said announcements on DayDream-compatible devices will come at a later date.
Microsoft has opened up sales of the HoloLens development kit to anyone with $3,000 to spare, a move that could significantly expand the community of developers building apps for the augmented reality headset.
Until now, HoloLens was available only to developers and companies through Microsoft sales reps, but from Tuesday, anyone in the U.S. or Canada can buy up to five headsets online through the Microsoft Store. There was no word about availability in other countries.
HoloLens can overlay three-dimensional images onto the real world. By tracking the user's movements, the 3D images can be continually redrawn to match the user's perspective, making them appear like objects in real space.
One such application was demonstrated at last month's Worldwide Developer Conference in Toronto. Japan Airlines showed a HoloLens app that lets engineers get up close with a full scale, computerized model of a jet engine. The app can highlight engine parts and show how different components work together in a way not possible with a real engine.
The HoloLens now on sale is the same developer edition that has been offered to Microsoft partners, and buyers are asked to acknowledge before completing purchase that they understand it's not a finished product intended for consumers.
Microsoft also asks buyers to agree not to resell the product and acknowledge that no refunds are available.
Difficulty in obtaining the HoloLens has led to a healthy mark-up on the device on Ebay. On Tuesday afternoon, units were selling for up to $5,000.
In June, Microsoft said it was opening up the HoloLens platform, allowing other device makers to build their own versions of the product.
As virtual reality and augmented reality gain popularity with consumers, attention is turning to ways these immersive technologies can be used in U.S. schools and in the work force.
Panelists at an event on Tuesday called Virtual Reality Meets Capitol Hill discussed the emerging role that federal, state and local governments will face to keep the U.S. competitive with China and other countries in fostering VR growth. The event was held at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.
Speakers called for greater investments by the federal government in wired broadband, but they also backed attempts by private wireless carriers to expand 5G wireless networks. Both network improvements will be needed to reduce latency between role players inside VR worlds, some of whom will be physically thousands of miles apart.
"We have to build a bridge between [VR and AR] technology and the government world," said Chelsea Collier, founder of Digi.City, a group that focuses on technology innovation and public policy. "A government fix is not the answer, but we have to move in the same direction."
Panelists estimated there are already about 1,200 VR companies and more than 900 AR companies globally with a market potential of $150 billion in 2020. Meanwhile, government policies need to catch up, said moderator Adam Zuckerman, director of innovation at Discovery Communications.
One suggestion was to urge Congress to update the 1934 Telecommunications Act to embrace the potential for VR in job settings and schools.
"VR has the potential for revolutionizing education and learning and to really get down to the issue of the inequalities in high quality learning for way too many people in our country," said panelist Johan Uvin, assistant secretary for career, technical and adult education at the U.S. Department of Education.
"Think of the young person in Appalachia, with no access to an employer to help get ahead in a career," Uvin said. "There are good early examples of work-based VR. VR and emerging technologies could be the solution."
Monifa Vaughn-Cooke, director of the VR Lab at the University of Maryland, College Park, said VR offers the potential for training workers to handle emergencies in critical jobs, such as running a control room for a nuclear reactor facility.
With nuclear power production, the federal government has a role in providing consistent training procedures for jobs across the different federal agencies that oversee nuclear plants, Vaughn-Cooke said.
Doug Brake, telecommunications policy analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said that VR and AR will "push the boundaries of what's possible with broadband today." Noting that there is "already a real constraint for VR" with latency, he said federal policies are needed to "push investments in broadband to allow VR to grow."
Will Mason, founder of UploadVR, an organization fostering VR developers, said U.S. policymakers need to recognize the "incredible amounts" of funding that the Chinese government is providing for VR development.
"I'm not seeing so much of that [investment] here in the U.S., especially on the government side, in immersive technology space and that could end up being a problem," he said. "Right now, VR in the U.S. is ahead on the tech side, but with billion of dollars on [China's] side, it will only grow and accelerate."
While Mason said there should be a role for the federal government in VR, other panelists said VR adoption in workplaces and schools will have to start in a more gradual, grassroots manner.
"We are talking with New York City public schools about getting VR into schools, but it has to be a bottom-up demand," said Elizabeth Reede, CEO of WoofbertVR. Her company provides VR curriculum to teachers to help students explore concepts and ideas, primarily through the arts. "Teachers are asking for it. City governments understand it slightly."
But Brake argued that it might not make sense for schools to jump early on the VR bandwagon, at least until it becomes more affordable. "We are early on the cusp on VR in education, so I'm not sure it makes sense for schools to be early adopters," he said. "We should let costs come down."
MIT has a complicated relationship with disobedience. On the one hand, the university has spent more than a century cultivating and celebrating a "hacker culture" that involves huge, ambitious, thoughtful and delightful pranks undertaken with the tacit approval of the university. On the other hand -- well, on the other hand: Star Simpson , Bunnie Huang , and Aaron Swartz . In Nightwork , first published in 2003 and updated in 2011, MIT Historian T. F. Peterson explores this contradictory relationship and celebrates the very best, while suggesting a path for getting rid of the very worst.
MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito gave me my copy of Nightwork when he appointed me Activist-in-Residence to the Media Lab, taking it from a huge stack. He hands it around to a lot of people. Ito is a big fan of disobedience: he was Timothy Leary's godson, helped finance Mondo 2000, and started the ISP business in Japan by building out a PSI network operations center in his apartment's bathroom.
More recently, he got Linkedin founder Reid Hoffman to put up a $250,000 prize for "disobedient research," announcing the prize onstage at the Forbidden Research summit, where EFF announced its lawsuit against the federal government to legalize hacking DRM and Edward Snowden and Bunnie Huang announced their project to build a spyware-detecting phone case to defend journalists and activists from governments.
Nightwork is, first and foremost, a celebration of the hacks themselves: putting a fire-engine on the dome, turning the dome into a giant R2D2, installing an upside-down dorm-room on the ceiling of a high outdoor archway, perfectly camouflaging the door to the office of the new university president on his first day, and so on. These reports, delightful as they are, focus (of course) on the engineering ethic, the sweetness of the hack, the elegance of the solution to problems constrained by complexity, finances, time, and skills.
Then there's the pedagogical value of the hack. Hacks are like class projects, but bigger, longer, more involved, self-directed, and played for high stakes (fame and approbation, or arrest and tragedy), and key to the engineering ethic. This, too, was covered in depth at the Forbidden Research conference, in Liz George's outstanding account of the creation of one of the most daring hacks in MIT history.
Most significant, perhaps, is the material on the relationship of the administration to its hackers. For more than a century, the university and its security and facilities staff have cultivated a relationship of mutual respect, trust and admiration with hacking students. This cordial relationship fosters a culture of safety and skill among hackers, who make sure their hacks conform to building and safety codes, come with disassembly instructions, and include gifts and snacks for the crews who have to take them down.
It's this last section that's the most remarkable: America says it celebrates "rule breakers," but that is posed against a zero-tolerance, three-strikes, minimum-sentencing culture that has jailed millions of Americans (mostly racialized people of color) for minor drug infractions, turned children into lifelong sex offenders for taking pictures of their own bodies, and has turned schools into places that cultivate fear and compliance, not risk-taking and rule-breaking. It's bad, and it's getting worse and worse (and it can't get better unless we try something different).
That's the amazing thing about Nightwork, the thing that makes it feel like it comes from a parallel universe: it describes a big, powerful institution that (some of the time) treats rule-breaking as the natural outflow of the intellectual curiosity it was constituted to promote, and channels that rule-breaking into safe, effective, and delightful expressions.
Nightwork [T. F. Peterson/MIT Press]
The widespread and rapid decline of local papers is a great source of sadness. Those of us who have worked on the editorial floor of a newspaper can scarcely help feeling sentimental about the experience no matter how rough and rowdy it felt at the time.
Gareth Davies, a reporter who has resigned from the Croydon Advertiser, has taken to Twitter, to express his dismay. He says the paper consists entirely of stories scraped from website by subs and put in paper and adds:
Reporters no longer have any input or involvement in the paper product, including no chance at proofreading it..A paper with a proud 147-year history reduced to being a thrown together collection of clickbait written for the web.
Under the ownership of Trinity Mirror the paper now has no photographers and two reporters, who cover the rest of Surrey and Sussex as well as Croydon (which has a population on its own of 380,000):
Without any prior warning they were put on shifts, including working on Sundays. Every six weeks reporters have to work 12 consecutive days. The few reporters who are left are not allowed to meet contacts unless there is a guarantee of a story. They have to get permission from a non-editorial manager to claim travel expenses. They already work at least 30 mins away from patch, in poorly paid jobs.
What do readers get in return? A website focused on live blogging everything, with reporters told to write like they speak down the pub.Well, it breaks my heart. I couldnt stick around to watch the paper be destroyed & I would not help them do it. Local press should be a vital part of democratic accountability and a force for change, not an exercise in generating clicks by any means.
Reporters at the Croydon Advertiser must seek permission to write any stories that would be expected to generate fewer than a thousand hits on the website.
David Higgerson, of Trinity Mirror, has hit back:
Has Trinity Mirror banned stories which will generate fewer than 1,000 page views? No (and in fairness Gareth doesnt say that, although thats the interpretation many have given). Has Trinity Mirror instructed reporters to get permission to write stories which generate fewer than 1,000 page views? No. Do we think its a good idea for the people who know a story and an area best (the journalists in the newsroom) to discuss how to ensure a story generates more than 1,000 page views? Yes.
Why?
There are two reasons for this. The first is cold economics. Much of the revenue which funds our journalism comes from advertising which is dependent on page views. Another rump of it comes from local advertisers who need convincing that our brands have an impact online locally. Therefore, the more people who see a story locally, the greater chance we have of convincing local advertisers to jump on board.
The second reason is about readers. A story which generates fewer than 1k page views will have been read by fewer than 1k people. According to ONS data, Croydon Council covers a population of 264k. So a story generating fewer than 1k page views will reach 0.4% of the local population at most. Thats not a strong place for a news publisher to be when it seeks to hold authorities to account.
So our content approach is to determine that if a story is worth doing, for readers, we need to make sure that readers want to read it. Gareth claims many council and health stories fall beneath the 1,000 page views mark. Lets ask why, and do something about it, as people should care about the council schools, bins, roads and health boards GPs, hospitals, accident departments
It is possible both to sympathise with Davies and accept that Higgerson is merely facing up to the economic realities if local papers are to survive at all. In one regard conditions are likely to get tougher. The statutory advertising that councils must place in local papers for planning and licensing applications is pretty outdated. It amounts to a hefty council subsidy and I doubt it will last forever.
On the other hand if the economy generally grows then so will the amounts spent on advertising including local spending. Human nature has not changed and that means a thirst for local news remains. Indeed the problem for the traditional printed weekly paper is partly our impatience. We dont want to wait that long to find out what is happening.
Local papers adapt by putting greater emphasis on their websites. But providing local news and comment via social media is a game where we can all join in. The number of professionals may have fallen but there has been a welcome flood of amateurs.
For local councillors all this represents not only an opportunity but a duty. In terms of campaigning, councillors and council candidates should be set wider expectations by the political parties they represent. Tweeting should be regarded as a basic requirement. So should emailing news bulletins to all local residents who wish to receive such missives (which is actually most of those given the opportunity). I run a local blog the Hammersmith and Fulham Forum which offers an alternative perspective to the official propaganda on my Councils website. Usually councillors are expected to canvass and leaflet quite right. But these days campaigning involves more than that.
This is not just about winning votes. If, as Davies fears, local papers are becoming constrained from being a vital part of democratic accountability then councillors especially opposition councillors need to fill the gap. There is more to scrutiny then sitting in committee meetings. Councillors and residents must communciate with each other to keep track on what is happening.
Verizon Communications agreed to acquire Fleetmatics Group PLC (NYSE: FLTX)for $60.00 per share in cash representing a value of approximately $2.4 billion.
Fleetmatics offers software-as-a-service (SaaS) fleet management solution that provides operators with visibility into vehicle location, fuel usage, speed and mileage, and other insights into their mobile workforce.
As of March 31, 2016, Fleetmatics served approximately 37,000 customers and approximately 737,000 subscribed vehicles throughout Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and Italy. The company has approximately 1,200 employees and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with North American headquarters in Waltham, Mass.
"Fleetmatics is a market leader in North America -- and increasingly internationally -- and they've developed a wide-range of compelling SaaS-based products and solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses," said Andres Irlando, CEO of Verizon Telematics. "The powerful combination of products and services, software platforms, robust customer bases, domain expertise and experience, and talented and passionate teams among Fleetmatics, the recently-acquired Telogis, and Verizon Telematics will position the combined companies to become a leading provider of fleet and mobile workforce management solutions globally," Irlando added.
In June, Verizon Telematics also announced the acquisition of Telogis, Inc., a global, cloud-based mobile enterprise management software company based in Aliso Viejo, Calif. That transaction closed on July 29.
Verizon Telematics, a subsidiary of Verizon Communications, operates in more than 40 markets worldwide and offers comprehensive wireless, software and hardware solutions to consumers, enterprises, automakers and dealers to power connected-vehicle products around the world.
http://www.verizon.com
https://www.fleetmatics.com/
Verizon Confirms $4.8 Billion Acquisition of Yahoo Mergers And Acquisitions, Verizon, Yahoo
Verizon confirmed a deal to acquire Yahoo for $4.8 billion in cash. The deal does not include Yahoos cash, its shares in Alibaba Group Holdings, its shares in Yahoo Japan, Yahoos convertible notes, certain minority investments, and Yahoos non-core patents (called the Excalibur portfolio). Yahoo will remain a registered, publicly traded investment company holding these assets, and will change its name once the deal closes. Yahoo, which was founded...
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The New York Times' tumblr of photos from its voluminous archive is full of impactful and gorgeous moments.
May 23, 1974: A kiss outside City Hall, where gay rights activists had gathered to show support for a gay rights bill up for a vote at the City Council. The anti-discrimination measure was defeated, 22 to 19, but the bill's backers vowed to resubmit the following week, although they would "not press for action until after the November election." It didn't pass until 1986.
Photos include "back stories", literally notes on the back of a photo to add context including how the photo was used, how much the photographer was paid, and the published caption, if applicable.
via The Lively Morgue.
See sample pages from this book at Wink.
The White Donkey: Terminal Lance
by Maximlian Uriarte
Little, Brown and Company
2016, 288 pages, 7 x 10.5 x 1 inches
$15 Buy a copy on Amazon
Maximillian Uriarte served four years in the Marine Corps infantry and went on two combat deployments to Iraq. While on active duty, he created an online comic strip, Terminal Lance, which grew from a small following to being published in official armed forces publications. In The White Donkey, which he calls his "thesis project," he tells a story about the existential crisis of the military experience and what it means to enlist during a time of war. Subjects like hazing and PTSD are covered in the course of the story as he explores what might drive a Marine to suicide.
We follow Abe, a young, white middle-class kid who enlists after high school for want of a direction, trying to find something better to do with his life. He makes a friend in another "grunt," Garcia, who's there because there are no better paths for him. The contrast is stark. Garcia: "I didn't have shit else going for me, you know? I was with the wrong crowd a lot, I'd probably be in prison by now if not here."
Abe's privilege is shown by his encounter with an Iraqi policeman who tells him: "I have met many of your type over the last few years, coming here to fulfill some personal conquest, but you never stop to think about how arrogant you are. You seek some enlightenment at the expense of my people." The story follows Abe through training, his experience of the tedium of war, his need for validation and legitimacy in the eyes of fellow Marines, and finally, the horror of combat and the alienation of the returning veteran into his previous society. There are encounters with the locals, mistakes made, and the surreal encounter with the White Donkey, which holds up an entire column of armored vehicles as it plods slowly along in the middle of the road.
The art employed in The White Donkey is minimalist, stylized and realistic. Uriarte makes excellent use of color and story-board style to convey dramatic scenes. He makes use of color washes to separate different episodes of the stories. The pages of boot camp and training in Hawaii is a verdant green, Abe's trips back to the civilian life is rendered in shades of blue-gray and the scenes in Iraq are in shades of brown and olive. White space is deliberate and used to great effect.
The language is punctuated with frequent profanity and the story is spiked with humor that is at times bitter and obscene. In other words, situation normal for a story set in today's armed forces. This book hits you right in the gut. If you've ever wondered what it's like to serve in the Marine Corps and the experience of deployment in a war-torn country like Iraq, this book will help you understand.
Carolyn Koh
What costs are the people of the world obsessed by? Cubans seem preoccupied with the prices of cigars, for example, and Venezuelans with gasoline. Koreans are fixated on rhinoplasty's damage to their plastic, while Russians just want to fly a MiG jet.
The cost of living trumps all in England, but the Irish are more concerned with the cost of death: funeral expenses are their national nightmare. The most WTF results: the cost of slaves in Mauritania, and land in Antarctica.
The map was created on the basis of Google autocompletion defaults, so factor in things like medical tourism and real estate speculation by the world-hopping elite, etc.
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By Mark Wilson of the Courier and Press
Caleb Loving sat quietly at McDonald's, a bag of what looked like homemade explosives open on the seat next to him when he was arrested, police officers testified at his trial Tuesday.
Loving was already suspected of starting a fire at an apartment where he resided in supervised living under nearly around-the-clock care.
Before any of that happened, however, there were warning signs, according to testimony: Items a caretaker found in his possession, things he said, unexplained chemical odors.
"This person is not the Caleb I knew," said Chameka Coit, one of those caretakers.
"Who was the Caleb you knew?" Deputy Prosecutor Javier Lugo said.
"He was a sweet person, gentle. He will do anything for you," Coit said.
Hesitating, she added, "I know there is an underlying illness."
Loving, 26, is charged with possession of a destructive device or explosive, a level 2 felony; arson, a level 4 felony; criminal recklessness, a level 6 felony; and false informing, a class B misdemeanor.
The charges stem from two incidents on July 23, 2015, including an early-morning fire at Sugar Mill Creek Townhomes on North Green River Road and Loving's arrest at a nearby McDonald's several hours later.
On Monday, defense attorney Stephen Owens told the jury in Vanderburgh Circuit Court he would argue Loving was not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
Jurors spent most of Monday afternoon listening to attorneys question clinical psychologist David Cerling, who had been appointed by the court to determine if Loving was competent to stand trial.
Cerling testified that Loving had been removed from an abusive family at an early age and lived in supervised care most of his life. He said Loving had been diagnosed with a number of psychological conditions, including: Depression, oppositional defiant disorder and reactive detachment disorder inability to connect with people. Based on his own testing, Cerling said he believed Loving was mildly intellectually impaired.
But crucially, for both sides in the trial, Cerling said he believed that Loving could appreciate what he was accused of doing was wrong at the time.
"He was never violent or verbally abusive. He could say negative things but never that he wanted to harm anyone," Coit said.
Coit said she had been Loving's daytime caretaker for Compass Residential Health. For two years she drove him to job sites, took him shopping, oversaw his spending, and generally cared for him.
Loving was prone to short answers when questioned, she said, but that he would have conversations with her.
"He liked survival gear-type stuff so he talked about it a lot," she said. "I never imagined that this is what it would be used for."
She said Loving had a computer, video games and television in his bedroom and would sometimes order survival food, water packets and equipment or buy it on shopping trips. Coit said he talked about leaving supervised care and returning to Hawaii, where he was born.
She recalled a conversation in which Loving told her about "pressure bombs" he made when he had lived in a group home operated by a different company.
"Did he tell you why he did that?" Lugo said.
"He said he wanted to see if he could do it," Coit said. "We talked about if those feelings ever came back to tell me so he could get help."
On the day before the fire, July 22, Coit said she arrived at noon and immediately smelled an odd chemical odor in the apartment.
When she questioned Loving about it, he told her it was air freshener, Coit said. After she was unable to pinpoint the odor's source she decided to leave with Loving for awhile.
When they returned two hours later the odor was still there. Coit said she called her supervisor, who told her to search his room.
The search turned up a can of gasoline, matches and an empty metal container of what appeared to be camping fuel, Coit said, all of which she confiscated. She did not find any of the knives or the hatchet Loving was arrested with later. She had already confiscated a blow torch Loving had bought at Menard's, a nearby store.
Coit left the house at 11 p.m., when caretaker Heather Norman arrived. An hour and a half later a fire was discovered in Loving's locked bedroom. He was gone.
Loving would not be reported seen again until a man waiting at McDonald's drive-through saw him walking across a field toward the restaurant, bag in hand.
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By Richard Gootee of the Courier and Press
A Northern Vanderburgh County RV dealer announced twin contributions to 911 Gives Hope and ECHO Housing Corp Tuesday morning.
The company's president said the employees of Basden's American RV wanted to help both veterans and first responders.
"They said, 'let's donate to a good local cause,' " said president J.B. Strassweg. "We wanted to do something ... for the people who protect us and need our help."
Strassweg said the business has been a longtime supporter of 911 Gives Hope, but this is the first time that American RV took proceeds from its Memorial Day sales and contributed to local nonprofits. He called it an honor to contribute to both causes. Both organizations received a $2,500 check on Tuesday.
Stephanie TenBarge, executive director of ECHO, said the donation will go to the organization's Lucas Place II project, which is focused on assisting homeless disabled veterans, and other veteran programs. There are 27 veterans living in Lucas Place II, TenBarge said.
"We are honored to be the recipient of this amount of money," she said.
Evansville Police Chief Billy Bolin accepted the check on behalf of 911 Gives Hope, a charity supported and run by local first responders that is dedicated to helping area children. Bolin said American RV's donation will specifically go to a smaller fund maintained by the organization to help first responders and their families during times of need. That direction was stipulated by American RV, Bolin said.
"We couldn't do any of the things we do without the support of local businesses. One of the things that (American RV) has done for us for several years is that during our 911 Gives Hope toy drive, we'll use one of their RVs just to keep our volunteers warm or to just go and sit down to take a break because we're out throughout the night," he said. "Not only are they giving money (to us today), but they have supported us for quite a while."
Mike Pence speaks Monday in Carson City. (Photo: Andy Barron/RGJ)
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By Seth A. Richardson, Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal / USA TODAY Network
The controversy surrounding Republican presidential candidate Donald Trumps comments about fallen Army Capt. Humayun Khan and his family, who appeared at the Democratic National Convention, followed vice presidential candidate and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to Carson City and Reno on Monday.
Trump has questioned if Khans father, Khizr, actually wrote his speech and questioned whether his mother, Ghazala, was allowed to speak. Trump also said he made sacrifices similar to Khan.
During the town hall segment at the Carson Nugget on Monday, Catherine Byrne, who said her son serves in the Air Force, asked Pence about what he thought of the comments and why he supported a candidate who often disparaged the armed forces.
The crowd quickly turned on Byrne. They booed her with one man yelling, Why are you here?
Capt. Khan is an American hero, Pence said. We honor him and his family. We cherish his family.
Byrne appeared on MSNBC, where she said she was thankful Pence was respectful to her and that most people were supportive of her question after she sat down.
"Once I sat down, nobody really came up to me and said anything hateful or hurtful to me," she said. "I got more people coming up to me saying thank you for my courage."
The controversy could prove problematic if the issue sticks in a state where nearly 10 percent of the populace are veterans. Pence, whose son is a Marine, was careful to mention Khan both in Carson City and Reno calling him a hero both times but also pushed back against the media, saying they were treating Trump unfairly compared to Democrats criticism of Benghazi victim Sean Smiths mother at the Republican National Convention. Trump also backed off some of his statements Monday.
Democrats pounced on Trump and Pence on the issue before both appearances. Hank Alderson, an 89-year-old Vietnam War veteran from Reno, said the Khan attack was the latest in a long list of reasons why Trump shouldnt be elected.
He has neither the education nor temperament, said Alderson, a registered Democrat. He is too quick to fly off the handle. He is emotionally unstable and has exhibited it his entire life.
Here are three other takeaways from Pences visit:
Pence isnt the same draw as Trump
Pences town hall in Carson City attracted about 400 people. His rally in Reno at the Grand Sierra Resort attracted less than that.
Thats minuscule compared to Trumps rallies during the caucuses, when he drew thousands of supporters. Adding to that is Pence's relatively unknown status in Northern Nevada.
What I know about Mike Pence is basically whats been broadcast since his VP pick, said Gordon Stafford, 65, of Reno. Id heard the name but I didnt really know anything about him.
Pence didnt have much profile before he came into the state in the form of connections or donations. Still, people were supportive of the candidate, in part because they placed full faith in Trump.
I just know that he seems to be an honorable man, said Janet Kupfer, 61, of Reno. Very trustworthy, and he seems to support Trump 100 percent in his policies and Im all for it.
This is a law-and-order election
Mass shootings, terrorist attacks, cop killings and just about every other security issue came up in Pences speech.
Pence praised Trump and said the Republican candidate would ensure safety for Americans, provide law enforcement officers with resources and combat enemies abroad head-on.
People at the Carson City event even chanted law and order at one point. Pence asserted that Trump was the only candidate who could actually get fundamental change done because he doesnt concern himself with political games.
We dont need more of what Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are offering the people of the United States of America.
Besides the law-and-order agenda Pence was promoting, the other key factor in his speeches was rallying people against Clinton, who was the butt of several jokes and jeers.
Attorney Joey Gilbert, a Trump supporter, spoke before the Reno event and called Clinton a rat. Pence mentioned her several times, saying she was corrupt, ineffective or inadequately equipped to be president.
Clinton and other Democrats have been pushing back on Trump as well. At its news conference Monday, the party called Trump incompetent and dangerous for America. This trend has continued for several months and doesnt appear to be letting up any time soon.
The North matters
Possibly the biggest takeaway is that not only is Nevada a player in the presidential election, but the North matters very much. Pence made the trip to the Silver State less than two weeks after the end of the Republican National Convention, hitting both the more rural area of Carson City and the largest metro center in Reno.
U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., introduced Pence at both stops and said the reason the Indiana governor came to the area was clear: the North can sway an election.
Amodei referred to the 2012 election when U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., eked out a narrow victory against Shelley Berkeley to describe the importance of the Northern vote. Berkeley bested Heller in Clark County by more than 61,000 votes. However, Heller took every other county, including Washoe County, which he won by more than 20,000 votes.
The latest polls show the race is very close between Clinton and Trump. Which way the state goes could come down to Washoe County.
Jim Merritt Majority Caucus Chair State Senator District 31 (Photo: provided)
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By Jill Disis, IndyStar / USA TODAY Network
Those who threaten or attack police officers and their families could face additional jail time under two new proposals from Indiana lawmakers.
Both plans were announced after a particularly tense month for law enforcement in Indiana and around the nation. Eight police officers were killed during ambush attacks in Baton Rouge and Dallas in July; in Indianapolis, two officers have been shotand injured in recent weeks, while another cop's east-side home and parked police cruiser were fired upon more than a dozen times.
"We have to instill in everybody that our public safety officers are our heroes," said Sen. Jim Merritt, an Indianapolis Republican. "It now seems as though, around our country, they are under attack."
Merritt was joined Tuesday by more than half-a-dozen current and former police officers, lawmakers and other public safety officials at the Indiana Statehouse to announce his legislative proposal aimed at protecting police and their families.
Some officials, like Sen. Michael Crider, a Greenfield Republican, said they've heard from law enforcement officers who don't park their marked cars in their driveways for fear of being targeted. Crider, a retired Department of Natural Resources officer, said he recently heard from a young trooper who parks his police car in a relative's garage because he does not have a garage of his own.
"Folks, that's just absolutely unacceptable," Crider said. "We cannot have officers in that situation."
Merritt's bill has not been written, but he said his plan would likely change the state's criminal code to enhance certain penalties when an officer is the target of violence, even if that officer is not on the clock.
While some criminal charges, such as battery, allow the state to upgrade the charge to a more serious one if an on-duty officer is attacked, those charges don't include enhancements when an off-duty officer is targeted.
Other charges, meanwhile, don't contain enhancements when an officer is attacked in any circumstance. Merritt cited the recent shooting of an off-duty IMPD officer's home and car. Marion County prosecutors charged the suspect in that case with criminal recklessness, a low-level felony punishable by up to six years in prison.
While that man could face additional time behind bars for unlawful possession of a firearm, Merritt said his proposal would send a broader message about valuing police and making them unafraid to park their cars at home.
"When you're going through a neighborhood and you see a police officer's car in the driveway, I think it really offers a security a culture of safety for that neighborhood," Merritt said. "And it's something that we need to get back to."
The proposal's specifics still need to be worked out. Merritt said if the law is to be applied in particular cases, attackers also should have knowledge that their targets work in public safety. Asked if the enhancement would also require intent to harm, Merritt said lawmakers will have to iron out the language.
The announcement came days after another lawmaker announced her own police protection proposal.
State Rep. Wendy McNamara, a Mount Vernon Republican, told the Courier & Press on Friday that she plans to introduce legislation next year that would make it a felony to threaten a specific law enforcement agency or other emergency personnel.
McNamara told IndyStar on Tuesday that her plan could make such comments punishable by prison time. She cited a recent threat made on social media against the Evansville Police Department by someone believed to be affiliated with a local gang. Right now, no law would apply in that case.
"Each day, our law enforcement officers and even our first responders receive credible threats," McNamara said. "Our laws haven't necessarily kept up with the times. The instant threats on social media you can't find those anywhere in statutes."
Indiana would not be the first state in recent months to consider stiffer penalties against those who target public safety officials because of their profession. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards in May signed into law a "Blue Lives Matter" bill that made the state the first in the country to make violence against public safety officials a hate crime.
The approaches taken by Merritt and McNamara appear to be different than what Louisiana considered. Both Indiana lawmakers announced proposals aimed at either enhancing existing criminal offenses or creating new ones, but neither distinguished such offenses as "hate crimes." Indiana is one of five states that does not have a hate crime law.
"Right now, we're just focusing on police officers," Merritt said. "That's my goal today, is to close the gaps and make sure our... public safety officers are protected on a 24/7 basis."
Keith Cooper was sentenced to 40 years in prison and served 9 1/2 before being released in 2006, after evidence of his innocence surfaced. (Photo: Robert Scheer/IndyStar 2015 file photo)
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By Madeline Buckley, IndyStar / USA TODAY Network
Keith Cooper learned that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tapped Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate while he was watching the news on television last month. And Cooper was angry.
More than 200 days have passed since a former deputy prosecutor wrote to Pence asking that he pardon Cooper, an innocent man who sat in prison for nine years. More than two years have passed since the Indiana Parole Board heard Cooper's petition for pardon. Pence has yet to formally exonerate Cooper.
"He can't even do right by me," Cooper told IndyStar on Monday. "What is he going to do for all U.S. citizens?"
The 49-year-old Chicago-area man was released from prison in 2006, shaving decades off his sentence after he agreed to a deal offered by prosecutors as the tide turned against his conviction. He was allowed to go free and reunite with his family. Yet his conviction for armed robbery still stood, despite mounting evidence that he was innocent.
In the years since he agreed to the deal, evidence of his innocence continued to grow. IndyStar extensively detailed the discrediting of the case against Cooper in a December 2015 story.
Cooper in 2014 asked the Indiana Parole Board for a pardon. The agency recommended that Pence grant it, which would dissolve the conviction on his record and affirm his innocence. The attorney who helped prosecute Cooper, former Elkhart County Deputy Prosecutor Michael A. Christofeno, in January wrote a letter to Pence urging that he pardon Cooper as he said newly uncovered evidence exonerated Cooper.
But still, the conviction hangs around Cooper's neck, weighing him down. He hasn't been able to secure a promotion at work. The conviction is on his record, there to raise eyebrows each time he is pulled over for a minor traffic violation.
Cooper thought the recommendations of the parole board and the former prosecutor meant that a pardon from Pence was a no-brainer and would come soon.
Pence has pardoned only three people since he took office in 2013. None of the pardons was granted on the basis of innocence. A spokeswoman in the governor's office said the pardon for Cooper remains under consideration.
"Literally, with a stroke of a pen, Governor Pence could make a real change in someone's life," said Elliot Slosar, Cooper's attorney. "Without a pardon being granted, (the conviction) prevents him from using his educational abilities to create a better life for his family."
Cooper has worked the same forklift job since he was released from prison. Just recently, Cooper said, he was passed over for a promotion. He once was made to stand in a lineup at a Chicago police station after an officer pulled him over, saw his conviction and suspected him of a local crime, Slosar said.
Now, Pence's time in office is ticking away. He dropped his re-election bid in favor of a chance at vice president. Democratic candidate John Gregg will now face Eric Holcomb, the candidate Republicans picked to replace Pence on the November ballot.
Cooper is left to wonder: Must he wait for a new governor to secure his exoneration?
Pence is in the national spotlight now, facing the intense scrutiny that comes with a presidential election. It's unclear how, or whether, that might affect Cooper's quest for justice.
"Obviously, Governor Pence is in the middle of a national election," Slosar said. "Our hope is that he will be able to find a moment to grant Keith the justice he has been waiting for."
Former IndyStar reporter Kristine Guerra contributed to this story.
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Jacqueline Jordan
Evansville
Khizr Khan, an American Muslim, was asked to be a Guest Speaker at the Democrat National Convention in July. He was obviously a "plant," vetted by the Democrat planners of the convention program, who were undoubtedly pleased by his performance. In fact, Khan probably exceeded their expectations by performing a surprise stunt, producing a copy of the United States Constitution from his pocket and waving it around while questioning Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, as to whether he had even read it. He embellished his criticism of Trump in the days following the DNC Convention, hurling personal insults at him.
Khan's issue with Trump seemed to stem from Trump calling for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration. Trump's plan is essential to our national security, suspending immigration from areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism and threats against the United States. Trump has recommended that the ban could be lifted when our nation is able to properly screen/vet people entering our country. I would think that Mr. Kahn, having lost a son in battle, in Iraq, would be in favor of protecting our country from possible radical Islamic terrorists/Jihadists who might try to enter the U.S. under pretense, and cause heartfelt grief to many other innocent families, like yours.
News / Regional
by Staff reporter
MTHWAKAZI Liberation Front (MLF) on Friday wrote to South African Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini, seeking protection of thousands of people from Matabeleland, who fled Zanu PF brutality and sought refuge in the neighbouring country since the Gukurahundi era to the recent wave of political disturbances.MLF acting president, Mpiyezwe Churchill Guduza, secretary-general, Andrea Sibanda and international relations secretary, Chrispen Nyoni asked for formal protection from King Zwelithini for the Mthwakazi citizens." . . . the brief protection of the people of Mthwakazi, which we obediently seek from our great king, is subsequently addressed within the context of the following treatise and submission," the letter reads."The scope of it being, that within the borders of present day Zimbabwe, we have two States, which were forcibly incorporated by the former colonial power, Britain in 1923, without the consent of the people of Mthwakazi. We request for an official appointment with Your Majesty at your convenience."The leaders said they wanted to tell King Zwelithini of the chaotic developments in Zimbabwe and brief him on their reasons for pushing for a separate State in Zimbabwe.MLF leaders said the Mthwakazi people were originally from Zululand, hence, their decision to engage the Zulu King."Mthwakazians were in the current geographical location, as a result of the leadership and direction of the Zulu King Shaka KaSenzangakhona and the Zulu general, Mzilikazi kaMatshobane, who singularly built the nation of Mthwakazi."Conscious of the fact that as the Ndebele/Zulu people that are only separated by mere geographical location, we still regard ourselves as the subjects of the mighty Zulu kingdom. It is in this brief that, as Mthwakazi peoples, we highlight that we have endured so much suffering that a failure to meet His Majesty, the King, may mean meeting him after the Mthwakazi people would have involved themselves in the chaotic situation that is ensuing and developing in present day Zimbabwe."This maybe be done in self-defence and or parrying a repeat of what happened in the past, where a crack battalion was unleashed on the innocent people, who were butchered in what is known as the Gukurahundi genocide."
Children tortured in detention
Brutal system exposed
The image is now seared into the public consciousness. A boy in detention in the Northern Territory strapped into a chair, his head covered by a hood also tethered to the grim, purpose-built device. The distressing scene was one of many shown on the ABC TVs Four Corners program, Australias Shame, (25-07-2016) which dealt with the issue of the brutalisation of Aboriginal children in NT prisons, the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in this instance.
Part of the rally held at Town Hall Sydney on Saturday. (Photo: Tom Pearson)
The revelations have left the future of NT Chief Minister Adam Giles and his whole government hanging by a thread as calls go out for their immediate sacking. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull quickly assessed the level of public outrage and responded with the announcement of a Royal Commission, presumably to get to the bottom of the scandal and punish those responsible.
The quickly formulated move has not stemmed public anger. Over the weekend, large protests took place around the country at the shameful situation in the NT and the attempt to contain the fallout.
An open secret
Theres little doubt the terrifying regime in place at Don Dale would have continued unchanged if not for the Four Corners program. It is a troubling thought that it is left to the national broadcaster to lift the lid on this type of scandal and that, over the years, it has suffered swingeing cuts, harmful political board appointments and constant attack from government heavyweights in return.
It transpires that a government agency referred practices at the Don Dale centre to the NT Police in 2015. The claim that boys were encouraged to fight one another in return for a can of coke and a chocolate per week and to eat bird faeces are still under investigation.
Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister, NT Senator Nigel Scullion, said he could recall vaguely some media reporting about abuse in October last year but that it hadnt, as he put it, piqued my interest sufficiently.
The NT government is defending itself hard against the boys depicted in the scenes in which they were gassed, stripped naked, struck, sworn at, and held in prolonged solitary confinement.
It dismisses claims that the treatment violates United Nations Conventions against Torture and insists all the methods used, including the restraining chair and hood, were legal.
Its initial response to the lawsuits brought by six detainees was to lodge counter-claims. These have been withdrawn, also a result of the massive public outrage, but Adam Giles, now acting in the Corrections portfolio, insists the government will defend itself in court and resist any financial settlement.
Past failures
The PM and sections of the media have feigned shock at what goes on behind closed doors in prisons and police watch houses across the country. Australian authorities have an attitude problem, a privileged class and race bias when it comes to questions of crime and punishment.
Many still hold the medieval point of view that prisoners are detained not as punishment but for punishment. If a prisoners human rights are violated, and even outrageously violated, the response is well, they shouldnt have broken the law and got themselves into that situation.
The attitude is many times worse when it comes to Aboriginal prisoners. Institutional racism against the first Australians has led to dispossession, marginalisation and impoverishment. The young victims end up in the hands of the justice system.
The failure of this system has been a national embarrassment for a very long time. It has been examined in Royal Commissions including the one into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, which reported in 1991. Twenty-five years later, incarceration rates for Indigenous Australians are higher than at the time of the report. Australia-wide the rate is 15 times higher than for non-Indigenous people. In WA, the rate is closer to 20 times. There have been over 340 Aboriginal deaths in custody since the Royal Commission.
Only a small proportion of the Royal Commissions 339 recommendations were implemented. Among those that were endorsed by every state and territory was number 161 that said that police and prison officials should seek medical attention immediately if doubt arises as to a detainees condition. This recommendation became law but it has been ignored on many occasions with deadly consequences.
The publics scepticism about the proposed Royal Commission is perfectly understandable. The insistence that it be limited to conditions in the Northern Territory flies in the face of the universally acknowledged, nation-wide crisis surrounding Aboriginal men and women in detention.
The terms of reference are too restricted. The choice of former NT Chief Justice Brian Ross Martin to preside over the commission soon came home to roost. It left many Aboriginal leaders incensed. Justice Martin has now resigned stating, Notwithstanding the nature of the commentary, it has become apparent that, rightly or wrongly, in this role I would not have the full confidence of sections of the Indigenous community which has a vital interest in this inquiry, he told media in Canberra.
As the Guardian went to press Aboriginal Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda and former Queensland Supreme Court justice Margaret White were appointed to replace Martin.
Needed: more than a Royal Commission
There must be a thorough investigation into the incidents and the administrative culture at the Don Dale centre and into the whole juvenile justice and child protection system in the Northern Territory. But even if the Royal Commission were to have two additional, Aboriginal co-commissioners, as called for by newly-elected ALP Senator Pat Dodson, and even if its scope were extended to the whole of Australia, deep and lasting change would not be likely outcomes.
Recommendation 339 from the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody was to initiate a formal process of reconciliation between Aboriginal people and the wider community. That led to the establishment of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and a number of official and community-driven initiatives. In spite of this, as indicated above, the figures on incarceration and detention are worsening.
The 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody called on governments to legislate for the utilisation of imprisonment as a last resort. In line with this, it recommended community orders, personal development courses which might provide the offender with skills, knowledge, interests, treatment or counselling likely to reduce the risk of re-offending. (Recs 92, 94)
In the case of discrete or remote communities, sentencing authorities consult with Aboriginal communities and organisations as to the general range of sentences which the community considers appropriate for offences committed within the communities by members of those communities (Rec 124)
Importantly, it called on governments to ensure that:
a. Police Services, Corrective Services, and authorities in charge of juvenile centres recognise that they owe a legal duty of care to persons in their custody;
b. That the standing instructions to the officers of these authorities specify that each officer involved in the arrest, incarceration or supervision of a person in custody has a legal duty of care to that person, and may be held legally responsible for the death or injury of the person caused or contributed to by a breach of that duty; and
c. That these authorities ensure that such officers are aware of their responsibilities and trained appropriately to meet them, both on recruitment and during their service. (Rec 122)
These and many other critical recommendations have not been implemented.
The political climate has deteriorated with the economic conditions, and social problems have been met with solutions such as mandatory detention and three strikes and youre in.
Aboriginal communities have been closed or threatened with closure. Aboriginal services have been de-funded and mainstreamed. The Intervention in the NT has done untold damage to communities.
Despite the current, momentary hand-wringing, intolerance of all sorts is being fuelled in the corridors of power. Even the proposed referendum on the recognition of the prior occupation of Australia carries with it the danger of a blow to any hope of genuine land rights.
Abuse is not the inevitable policy of our justice system, it is an indictment on our nation. It is a shameful indictment on our nation as a whole, opposition leader Bill Shorten told the media while attending the Garma festival in north-east Arnhem Land over the weekend. Unfortunately, abuse is the inevitable result of the social and economic system derived from colonialism the capitalist system of exploitation and all its attendant ills of division, subjugation and violence.
The implementation of limited changes flowing from a thorough-going investigation into the questions raised during the Four Corners program will have to be fought for and watched over by progressive Australians.
Lasting change around the just demands of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is bound up with the struggle for a government of a new and radically different type in Australia.
Opinion / Columnist
Sometimes it is difficult to understand whether Zanu-PF leaders live here on earth or they choose to ignore everything and just make sure that their body guards protect them while they send armed ones to arrest, kidnap, torture, threaten and intimidate the rest of the population. This is atrocious and indeed provocative to all Zimbabweans. The Zanu-PF deputy leader and Vice President Mphoko insults the democracy loving people of Bulawayo because they are probably refusing to be excited by his partisan distribution of chicks that he is getting from Peter Cunningham a farmer reportedly tormented and psychologically maimed by Zanu-PF.There are some questions to ask. Is Peter Cunningham very happy that he is giving those chicks to Zanu-PF supporters only as the situation is in Bulawayo? On his farm he had people from the community and not political activists. In Bulawayo recipients of the chicks are mobilized on a Zanu-PF ticket. This is one of the many bribes that are taking place. Zanu-PF is not doing this vote buying from Cunningham's chicks only. They are giving urban residential stands to their supporters country wide. They are distributing maize meal to their supporters only in the Western suburbs of Bulawayo.While Zapu cannot talk a lot on behalf of Peter Cunningham it is known that the man is just a community loving farmer who has been trying to live with the people. The people who have benefited from the projects are the ones who have judged him so, hence, Zapu joined other parties and organisations to protest against the unjustifiable and all logic defeating seizure of his farm. When Mr. Mphoko intervened little did the people know that he wanted to use the project for his own party. Ironically it is the other faction of his party that was calling for the seizure. Don't the people of Matopo feel hoodwinked by this false gesture of good intervention by Mr. Mphoko?It is now clear that Mr Peter Cunningham's spirit of sharing what one has with his fellow citizens has earned the people of Matopo and Bulawayo endless insults. A senior Zanu-PF leader who is the Provincial Governor insulted the people saying that they are rendering themselves slaves to Cunningham by opposing that the farm be given to one individual. Now distributing what he has acquired from the same farmer Mr. Mphoko insults the people of Bulawayo. Other press reports say he called us "political prostitutes". The struggling masses of the high density suburbs are humiliated every day by Zanu-PF supporters who move from door to door mobilising themselves to receive the chicks excluding those who are not members of the party.Now that Mr. Peter Cunningham's chicks must be distributed everywhere in the whole country is he going to produce enough and still go on with his initial projects? This is not different from what Mr. A Ncube the Provincial Governor wants which is: the destruction of the whole project.Where on earth has one ever seen development that is based on loyalty to party politics, worse still to factional party politics? The majority of Zimbabweans reject these political bribes. There will never be enough chicks for everyone, there can never be enough stands to give to everyone, there isn't just enough maize to feed the nation and people will find other means of survival without the maize meal handouts received after being politically purchased. The majority will not benefit and they will not simply vote for Zanu-PF.----------------Mkhululi Zulu
Editorial
The struggle against racism and oppression
The Royal Commission into the Northern Territory Juvenile Detention System announced by Malcolm Turnbull last Thursday was condemned as a sham. Since the details of the Royal Commission were released there has been widespread community condemnation of the lack of involvement of Indigenous organisations in the process and its narrow parameters.
The federal government and the NT government are being driven by the fear of political fallout internationally and nationally and by their total commitment to maintaining the system which has bred and fed the racist and abhorrent conditions shown on the ABCs Four Corners program.
The federal government is clearly hoping it can cut off growing community outrage without addressing the long- term systemic abuse of Aboriginal youth. Damage control is the agenda and not justice and real change for Indigenous youth.
The situation of Indigenous people in Australia today is reflected in increasingly horrific statistics and data on incarceration rates, spiralling youth suicide rates, educational and health gaps, the ongoing removal of Aboriginal kids from their families and communities in epidemic numbers, the attacks on land rights and closure of remote communities. Aboriginal people make up just 3 percent of the Australian population yet make up 28 percent of total prison inmates.
Previous Reports and Royal Commissions, including the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the Little Children Are Sacred Report, have recommended that any change must have at its centre the full involvement of Aboriginal people, communities and organisations. Successive governments, both liberal coalitions and labour, have ignored and actively opposed this involvement. The Northern Territory Intervention is only one shameful example, but one which has wrought devastating outcomes for Indigenous people and communities in the Territory.
The NT intervention was introduced by PM Howard in 2007 and based on lies about the prevalence of child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities. It demonised Aboriginal men in order to justify another land grab. Communities desperate for decent housing were forced to sign long term leases of their land to government in exchange for housing. The housing has failed to eventuate.
The Intervention was renamed and continued by the Rudd-Gillard Labor governments despite overwhelming evidence it undermined communities and worsened outcomes across every domain for Aboriginal children and communities. The only beneficiaries have been large mining companies who have increased access to the rich mineral resources of the NT.
Since the invasion and colonisation of Australia by the British monarchy and ruling class and the imposition of capitalism on the Indigenous population, Aboriginal people and their culture have been under relentless attack. Generations of Aboriginal people have been subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment of genocidal proportions.
Driven by the ceaseless drive for more profits the capitalist system has nothing to offer Indigenous Australia except as we are seeing with the recently announced Royal Commission: more of the same. The active struggle of Indigenous people against racism and oppression, against paternalism and the denial of their historic rights is a powerful push against capitalist ideology and sets an example for others to stand up and challenge the class system.
Steps towards socialism will be made as the Indigenous struggles are linked up with other socialist minded sections of the non-indigenous population, particularly within the working class and other sections of society exploited and disadvantaged by capitalism.
Proposed nuclear waste dump
On July 29, members of the CPA protested outside of the South Australian governments first information session regarding the nuclear waste dump proposed for the state.
Protestors wore shirts that read NO DUMP and were joined by other anti-nuclear activists.
The SA government invited the public to talk nuclear over coffee and get the facts. It contends that issues regarding radiation, transportation of nuclear waste, and the environment are of little or no concern. It argues that there will even been significant financial benefits for South Australia.
Premier Jay Weatherill also ruled out the possibility of a referendum as was suggested by Senator Nick Xenophon.
CPA General-Secretary Bob Briton spoke to media outlets, explaining that he was not convinced about the safety of the dump nor the financial viability. He suggests that investments in renewable energy infrastructure and green jobs would be more beneficial to the state.
Open letter re youth detention
Dear Prime Minister,
The Australian union movement welcomes todays announcement of a Royal Commission into juvenile detention in the Northern Territory. However, having considered the proposed terms of reference, it is clear that more must be done in order to ensure that this is not another redundant report that fails to bring about lasting change.
The confinement of the proposed Royal Commission to only the Northern Territory, the involvement of the Territory government and the development of the Terms of Reference within Cabinet with the exclusion of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and its leaders is unacceptable.
The Royal Commission must be guided by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community with a national remit.
A Commission should also consider the recommendations from a number of existing reports on this issue which have been ignored by Territory and federal governments.
On these points, the union movement is proud to echo the demands of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda and Shane Duffy, the chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and co-chair of Change the Record.
We have seen Royal Commissions including the Aboriginal Deaths In Custody (1991) Commission, and reports such as Little Children are Sacred (2007), fail to change the way the white Australian justice deals with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Previous reports have served to paper over what has now been revealed to the world as a national disgrace. This Royal Commission must do more to end, and not simply conceal, the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in detention.
The proposed Royal Commission must be different from what has come before, and cannot be the only action taken to address the systemic issue of mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and children in custody.
In relation to the magnitude and appalling nature of the incident at Don Dale, it is also right for the federal government to consider the position of the federal Indigenous Affairs Minister and the entire Northern Territory government.
These elected officials have failed in their duty of care to their constituents. It is right to say that the country has completely lost its trust in these representatives.
In scoping a Royal Commission, there must also be structural change to ensure greater levels of consultation are prioritised with the Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander community.
This should include the government keeping its election commitment to establish an Independent Custodial Inspector, a measure that has been called for by the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services repeatedly, to no avail.
Finally, this Royal Commission must lead to decisive action to address the myriad of other crises in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
Youth suicide is at crisis levels, imprisonment rates continue to climb and community services have been systematically defunded.
Policies such as the Community Development Program, whose discriminatory nature harks back to even darker periods of race relations in this country, must be addressed.
I call on you to demonstrate the intention to govern for all Australians by taking the radical but necessary steps to address the issues exposed this week, and the myriad of other crises that remain hidden.
Yours sincerely,
Dave Oliver
Secretary, Australian Council of Trade Unions
Rush to whitewash
It is an indication of the cruel dysfunction and collusion at state and federal level of government that the perpetrators of the NT child abuse and torture of juveniles, the NT government, will be involved in the design and administration of the royal commission to investigate it. Perhaps the churches should have designed and administrated the royal commission into their institutions sexual abuse of children in their care?
CPA members attending the rally in Sydney on Saturday. (Photo: Tom Pearson)
The abuse and torture of juvenile inmates at Darwins Don Dale detention centre has rightly outraged many people and exposed Australia to the world as a violator of human rights. The 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody emphasised that prison should be a measure of last resort if the vicious cycle of criminalisation and imprisonment is to be addressed.
More than 28 percent of total prison inmates in Australia are Aboriginal even though they represent only three percent of the population. One in three women prisoners and more than 50 percent of juveniles in detention are Aboriginal. In the Northern Territory 96 percent of juveniles in detention are Aboriginal.
According to Ruth Barson, the director of legal advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, the NT is without a doubt in breach of its human rights obligations under the Convention against Torture and Mistreatment and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ms Barson says the NT youth justice system is substandard, the main youth detention facility being a decommissioned adult prison.
The NT system does not meet basic, minimum international standards and nationally, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young peoples over-imprisonment is at crisis point. Critically, says Ms Barson, the NT government cannot be immune from the commissions investigation. It has known about this treatment for years.
The Turnbull governments swift call for a royal commission, with narrow terms of reference and restricted to the NT, smacks of what it is, an attempt at a whitewash, made all the more evident by the appointment of former NT chief justice Ross Martin as the royal commissioner.
This is a reflection of both the federal and territory government in damage control to minimise the political fallout.
This is a national issue that requires a national approach.
Indigenous organisations, including the Northern and Central Land Councils, the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT and legal groups, have rejected Martins appointment. Medical Services Alliance chief executive John Paterson stated that the Prime Minister had let Territorians down and undermined the royal commission.
The current criminal justice system sucks Indigenous people up and deposits them like waste in custodial institutions. The incarceration rates allow the abuse and deaths in detention to happen and continue.
Clearly the NT government, from Chief Minister Adam Giles down, are lying about their knowledge and complicity in the abuse. As a first measure they should be made to resign.
Tom Pearson
Esteban Gutierrez says he has resolved his dispute with Lewis Hamilton from the Hungarian Grand Prix after the pair clashed when Hamilton blasted the Mexican for not obeying blue flag sufficiently.
At the Hungaroring Hamilton gesticulated at Gutierrez when he attempted to lap the Haas driver while leading the race, with the Mexican retorting post-race by calling the world champion 'disrespectful'.
Gutierrez says the pair spoke about the incident in Germany and agreed a resolution with each apologising for their initial reaction.
"We resolved that, definitely, and he was happy with my explanation," Gutierrez said. "He also offered an apology, and I explained as well in that case.
"I have never been penalised for that [blue flags]. In fact, very often I've been told by the team I'm too easy, so I said okay, that I would try to do my best. Obviously you want to lose the least amount of time possible, it's part of the race. You are fighting and doing your best.
"I was on super-soft tyres at that moment, he was catching me very slowly, and when I saw he was one second behind, or something like that, I really backed off and let him by in Turn 2."
Despite resolving one conflict, Gutierrez has found himself in a similar situation with Daniel Ricciardo at Hockenheim after the Australian sarcastically commented on the team radio during the race that the Mexican was 'one of his favourites' as he attempted to pass.
After the race Gutierrez, who was surprised by the criticism says he will aim to 'make things better'.
"I did my best. It was not my intention to block or anything," he said. "If he is not comfortable with it, I will try to speak to him and make things better. It's not my intention to do anything bad to anyone. I will speak to him."
PLAY: Which F1 driver are you?
Gutierrez is currently in action as part of the first Pirelli 2017 tyre test with Ferrari at Fiorano, after taking over from Sebastian Vettel on Tuesday.
Sussex News
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Opinion / Columnist
When Charles Robert Darwin, an English naturalist and geologist, published his book On the Origin of Species in 1859 - a little over 150 years ago - proposing his theory of evolution with compelling evidence, he could not have insult more of his generation even if he had spit in their mouth! The most offending notion in his whole book was than mankind evolved from an ape like creature and that the champ is our cousin! This flew right in the face of all accepted school of thought of the God, world and mankind's place in it."Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Genesis 1: 26.This Charles Darwin fellow was discounting the mankind's position as the one creature made in God's own image and given dominion over everything else. Worst of all, the fellow was discounting the very existence of God Himself as all living things, according to his theory, evolved from simple, single celled organism over billions of years; making a complete mockery of all the "Let there be light, and there was light!" bull.It was painful enough to be dethroned as one made in God's own image but to be given a champ as a long lost cousin was an insult many could simple not endure; their egos would simple not allow that! Damn the "compelling evidence"!Thank God (many who believe in evolution still find room for God and religion - Genesis' account of creation is a religious synopsis pregnant with symbolism and not a scientific theory backed by hard evidence) reason prevail, compelling evidence cannot be discounted on the basis of perceived egos but only by the production of compelling evidence to the contrary.Further research has shown that the human genome, the DNA, the coded genetic recipe defining each and everything alive or has ever lived, is 99% identical to the genome of the chimpanzees and bonobos making them mankind's closest relative in the tree of life. The gorilla's DNA is 98% identical to our own.Have a chimp for a close cousin has not stop us excelling in every sphere of intellectual endeavor. We are light years ahead of the chimp if chimp is a day ahead of the gorilla and confirming Genesis' assertion of man having dominion over all living things.Whilst there is nothing in the human genome to differentiate the intellectual ability of one human from another or the basis of race, gender, religion, etc. Still some nations or tribe within a nation have certainly performed better than others so within nations and tribes some have assumed dominion over others. The dominance of one nation or tribe over the other has not been a permanent fixture like that on mankind over other living things but has it peaks and troughs with the passage of time just as there are hills and valleys with the passage of distance.When Zimbabwe attained her independence in 1980, after nearly a hundred years of white colonial exploitation and oppression many thought the country was set for great things; freedom, justice, peace and economic prosperity. 36 years later, only Mugabe, his cronies and his apologist and their families would deny the economic reality that the country is in a real mess. There is compelling evidence that the root cause of the economic mess is the decades of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption which has result in the criminal waste of the country's human and material resources.Mugabe and his cronies are like hyenas that grow fat on carrion of the drought victims, except that they are the ones who have drought on this economic ruin on the nation and they have grown filthy rich from the mismanagement and wholesale looting. But with unemployment a nauseating 90% plus, with the country's health and education services all but collapsed, chronic power and water shortages, 76% of the population now living in abject poverty, etc. even Mugabe and his cronies cannot deny the country is in a mess. This is not where the people expected to be back in 1980!Sadly Zimbabwe has become the basket case of the white supremacists who resisted the ending of white colonial rule in Africa on the grounds that "blacks were inherently incapable of selfgovernment!"There is compelling evidence to prove that Zimbabwe has suffered from the ill effects of corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical regimes. Yes the misrule has been a complete disaster for the nation. How we react to this grim reality of 36 years of failed governance will decide whether we continue to sink or come up for air.We can bury our heads in the sand, which is what Mugabe and his cronies are forcing us to do, and continue we have not put one foot wrong these last 36 years and all our economic problems are because of the sanctions imposed by the West, drought, etc. We will continue to sink into the abyss!Or we can admit we have let ourselves down as a nation; we should have never allowed Mugabe and his cronies 36 long years to drag the nation this deep into the abyss. Whatever else they may claim to be, the bottom line is that they are mere mortals and it is in the power of another mortal to refuse to be led by the nose like a bull.Throughout the 36 years, we have had many opportunities to end Mugabe's corrupt and tyrannical rule with the best opportunity being during the GNU when all we had to do is insist on the implementation of the democratic reforms agree in the 2008 GPA. Not even one reform was implemented and we lost that chance.The country's worsening economic crisis is forcing Mugabe and his cronies to acknowledge the reality of the economic meltdown, Mugabe and his cronies are engaged in a dogeatdog fight over the fast dwindling wealth. Like it or not they know the present system is unsustainable although they a loathed to accept the change must include far reaching political reform. It is for us to make sure there are far reaching political reforms; we implement all the 2008 democratic reforms.As a black person accepting that our leaders, Mugabe and his cronies, are corrupt and incompetent has been comparable to mankind at Charles Darwin's time accepting mankind is not special, he not made by God in His own image. There is compelling evidence that Mugabe and his cronies are corrupt and incompetent, we need to accept this reality, implement the democratic reforms design to end Mugabe's noregimechange mantra and set the nation free of his corrupt and tyrannical rule that has brought nothing but misery and ruin!Mankind's genius over our nearest cousin the chimp was in accepting Charles Darwin's compelling evidence that we evolved from a simple single celled organism just like every other living organism and move on and be the ape that has reached for the stars and beyond. Similarly Zimbabweans' genius would be to accept black leaders can be corrupt and incompetent, learn from Mugabe's corrupt and tyrannical misrule, and build a healthy and functional democracy and put the nation on the map as a free and prosperous nation.
Cloud News
HPE: Cloud And Storage Chiefs Leave, America's Sales Chief On The Way Out, Cloud Business Reorganized
Joseph F. Kovar
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HPE's Antonio Neri
Hewlett Packard Enterprise is replacing several key product and sales executives and reorganizing its cloud business in the wake of the decision to spin off its Enterprise Services business and merge it with CSC.
The changes also come after HPE's June restructuring of its sales and marketing operations.
Antonio Neri, executive vice president and general manager of the HPE Enterprise Group, wrote in a Tuesday blog post that his group is making a number of promised changes to help it strengthen its organization and be better prepared to win in markets where it competes.
[Related: Partners Cheer HPE Sales And Marketing Restructuring; Two Top Execs To Step Aside]
Neri wrote that several HPE executives have left or will be leaving the company. This follows the June news that CTO Martin Fink and Chief Customer Officer John Hinshaw plan to leave HPE by year-end.
Manish Goel, senior vice president and general manager of HP storage, has decided to leave HPE to "pursue other opportunities," Neri wrote. Goel will be replaced by Bill Philbin, a six-year Hewlett-Packard veteran who until this month served as HPE's vice president of data protection, data retention, and software-defined storage.
Goel had been a long-term storage exec at NetApp before leaving that company in late 2013 to join big data analytics company Guavus. Goel joined Hewlett-Packard, which split into today's HPE and HP Inc., in March of 2015. Philbin spent nearly three years in software development at IBM before moving to NetApp in late 2006, where he spent four years managing that company's core storage systems. He left NetApp to join HP in 2010.
Neri also wrote that HPE, which he said is seeing strong momentum across its Helion Cloud service portfolio, is reorganizing that business to move its Helion OpenStack and Helion CloudSystem teams to HPE's Enterprise Group to be part of the newly-created Software-Defined and Cloud Group.
"By bringing these assets together, we create a single organization tasked with a common mission to provide best-in-class solutions that enable developers and operators to deploy their applications across traditional and cloud infrastructures, simply and effortlessly," Neri wrote.
The reorganization will result in Bill Hilf, senior vice president and general manager for the HPE cloud business, leaving the company. Hilf left Microsoft, where he was general manager for Windows Azure product management, in mid-2013 to join Hewlett-Packard where he has served as a top cloud business executive.
HPE has called on Mark Interrante to head the Software-Defined and Cloud Group, Neri wrote. Interrante, currently a senior vice president of engineering at HPE, joined the company two years ago after several years at Rackspace and Yahoo Media.
HPE is also making a major executive change in its sales team in the wake of the June Enterprise Group reorganization. Robert Vrij, managing director of Americas sales, will leave the company by year-end, at which point Jim Merritt, who currently leads HPE's Asia-Pacific and Japan sales, will take over, Neri wrote.
An HPE spokesperson told CRN via email that the company would not provide additional information about the changes beyond Neri's blog post.
Chris Case, president of Sequel Data Systems, an Austin, Tex.-based solution provider and HPE channel partner, told CRN that he does not expect any immediate impacts to his company's business from the changes Neri outlined.
"Our HPE business has been growing like crazy," Case said. "HPE had a number of layoffs recently, but we really didn't notice it. From the partner standpoint, everything seems fine with HPE."
Case would like to see HPE use the change in storage leadership to develop new NAS solutions as a way to better compete with HPE rival NetApp.
"NAS is the biggest weakness at HPE," he said. "HPE can front a 3PAR solution with a Windows Storage Server for NAS. But there's no true native NAS solution from the company. HP had its Ibrix line, but it didn't sell. And HPE has a solution based on Scality, but that's more focused on object storage."
Networking News
VMware CTO Wolf: Get Ready For New VMware NSX-Cisco Integration
Steven Burke
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VMware Vice President and CTO Chris Wolf Tuesday told about 150 IT leaders to expect more integration between VMware's NSX platform and Cisco in the future.
"We have had very good talks with Cisco, I do expect that we'll be able to share some things publically in the not too distant future regarding those conversations," said Wolf when asked what IT executives can expect with regard to VMware NSX -Cisco integration in the future. "Cisco is an awesome hardware vendor. They have been a great partner of VMware for a very long time We are going to be able to do some very good integration with Cisco, as we have done with many of our other partners."
Wolf's comments came at a keynote address at cloud computing solution provider superstar GreenPages' 2016 Cloudscape Summit conference at the Sheraton Harborside Hotel in Portsmouth, N.H.
[Cisco Live 2016: The 10 Most Impactful Announcements You Need To Know]
GreenPages CTO Chris Ward, for his part, said he expects the VMware-Cisco integration efforts to show up first in Cisco's FirePower next-generation security appliances.
"What I think you are going to see is Cisco FirePower being integrated similar to how Palo Alto Networks has their stack integrated," said Ward. "You may see other integrations on the Cisco front as well maybe even controller integration with NSX. But the first thing I think you will see will be on the security side." The Cisco FirePower integration would provide Cisco with muscle to compete more aggressively with Palo Alto Networks which has had NSX integrated with its platform for the last several years, providing customers with the ability to implement automated security policies.
Wolf's comments on the thawing in the software-defined networking (SDN) battle between VMware and Cisco come just two weeks after the CTO of Cisco's cloud services and platform unit, Zorawar Biri Singh, told Cisco Live attendees that customers want tighter integration between Cisco's Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) and VMwares NSX technologies. He also hinted at an official SDN collaboration between the vendors.
"There's a set of feature requests that our customers are asking for and the common theme has been, 'We want to see VMware and Cisco work together closely,'" Singh said in a Q&A session at the Cisco Live Conference in Las Vegas. "I think we've been doing that and customers have actually been recognizing that piece. So the work continues I feel very optimistic that we have a pretty good roadmap with our friends at VMware."
The stronger ties between VMware and Cisco come as NSX is gaining momentum. VMware now has 1,700 customers that have deployed NSX and recently announced new pricing and packaging that provides "very low cost entry points," said Wolf.
Wolf conceded that there was "friction at the beginning" of the VMware NSX SDN offensive several years ago, but stressed that the conversation should never be an "us or them" paradigm. "I think you'll continue to see good momentum there with Cisco and others. Hopefully you are even seeing that in the field there is not that adversarial tone with the vendors," Wolf said. "We have customers today that are using [Cisco] ACI for Cisco Fabric management and then they are laying NSX on top of it. So it doesnt have to be one or the other."
VMware is mounting an all-out charge to provide a software-defined control plane for a multi-cloud world with a software-defined management platform that secures devices, apps and infrastructure across on-premise data centers, public clouds, managed clouds and next-generation platforms like Docker and Cloud Foundry.
VMware has even worked with hypervisor rival Microsoft around the Azure public cloud to drive forward with the open virtual networking standard to make sure "the SDN investments" that customers make are "portable," said Wolf.
Furthermore, VMware is investing in Open vSwitch, a network automation platform, which is supported by Microsoft. "That is allowing us to expand NSX capabilities into [Microsoft] HyperV, Docker and lots of other technologies," said Wolf.
"We are doing the same level of network virtualization that Google would do, but the difference in our approach is that we are multi-cloud and we are multi-data center," said Wolf.
Ultimately, Wolf believes NSX will drive more network consumption for Cisco and other network hardware vendors. "When you make it easier to consume the network and easier to move resources around the network, all of a sudden you need more network capacity. That benefits the hardware vendors, and Cisco makes great network hardware," he said.
GreenPages CEO Ron Dupler said GreenPages is seeing double-digit sales growth with VMware overall and growing interest and momentum around NSX.
"We are having a huge year with VMware," he said. "We have a number of customers using VMware as the underlying basis for their transformation -- enabling digital transformation by creating automation for their internal IT service platform and then implementing a control plane for multi-cloud."
Dupler said VMware is the leader in enabling legacy IT to transform in a multi-cloud world. "They are taking legacy infrastructure and turning it on its head by creating a new software-defined platform and control plane that the new application and container technologies can plug into through open APIs," he said.
Dupler said the VMware NSX-Cisco collaboration has been driven by customer demand along with the leadership of new Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. "The leadership change at Cisco and the cultural change has been really helpful in having these two companies have a much more sane approach in terms of working together," he said. "VMware and Cisco are both really important strategic partners for the channel. The fact that they were at war was bad. The two of them coming together is good news for all of us. Ultimately at the end of the day it is not about GreenPages, Cisco or VMware. It is about the customer and delivering value."
Security Solution Overload
The security industry turned out in force to Las Vegas this week to attend the annual Black Hat Conference. Vendors used the opportunity to showcase their latest and greatest technology releases. Those releases included new updates for threat detection, product integrations, security services, threat intelligence and much more. Vendors said the new solutions will help customers step up their game against attackers and cope with new threat vectors, many of which were presented by hackers at the show. Take a look at 16 solutions that were launched at the show this week.
San Giorgio del Porto and Costa Crociere have signed an agreement for the "development of a world-class center for ship repair and conversion," according to a statement.
Costa has thus taken a 33.3 percent share in the Chantier Naval de Marseille company based in Marseille and controlled by the Genoese San Giorgio del Porto.
"The agreement between San Giorgio del Porto and Costa Crociere for the strengthening of Chantier Naval de Marseille calls for an initial investment of 10 million Euros aimed at increasing the efficiency of the shipyard with the best available technologies," said Costa. "The investment will generate volumes and a scale that will allow the entire shipping industry to take advantage of the facilities for any type of vessel and maximize the potential of the basin n.10 able to accommodate big ships. The investment will also create a positive impact in terms of direct and indirect employment."
"The Italian ship repair industry is an excellence that San Giorgio del Porto has also exported to Marseilles, where the infrastructural features of the port allow for a business expansion to new market segments. With the establishment of Chantier Naval de Marseille in recent years, we have laid the foundation to create a center that specializes in ship transformation and repair. The new partnership with a major player such as Costa Crociere strengthens this project and enablesthe creation of a truly world-class ship repair and conversion pole, aglobal point of reference open to all ship-owners and all market segments," said Ferdinando Garre, San Giorgio del Porto CEO.
Costa Group is the leader in the European market and is pursuing a strategy based on innovation to be the forward-thinking company of the industry. This strategic partnership, the very first of this kind for the Costa Group, represents a milestone for our future operations and will ensure best in classmanagement of all the necessary maintenance activities on our ships, including the next generation ships that we will receive in the next few years.I am sure that this partnership will bring a great added-value to both Companies and new opportunities to build an innovative and efficient shipyard," stated Michael Thamm, Costa Crociere CEO.
Chantier Naval de Marseille operates three dry docks, including dockn.10, the biggest graving dock in the Mediterranean seawith dimensions of 465 by 85 meters.
Royal Caribbean Cruises reported net income of $229.9 million, or $1.06 per share, on revenues of $2.1 billion for the second quarter of 2016, compared to net income of $184.9 million, or $0.84 per share, on revenues of $2.0 billion last year.
The increase in net income was driven largely by reduced fuel costs and so-called other income. Royal also reduced its full-year guidance to a midpoint of $6.05, a $0.20 decrease from its previous guidance. The company cited the negative impact of rising fuel prices and the weakness of the British pound.
The gross revenue per passenger day for Q2 was $210.94 compared to $217.46 last year. Gross ticket revenue per day was $151.95, compared to $159.26 last year, while onboard revenue was $58.99, compared to $58.20. The increase in onboard revenue was said to be driven by beverage and internet packages.
Net revenue per passenger day was $163.77 in Q2 this year, compared to $175.37 last year. The net ticket revenue per passenger day this year was $118,43, compared to $127.29 last year, and the net onboard revenue was $45.34 this year, compared to $48.08 last year.
Richard Fain, CEO and chairman, said that the companys brands were doing well in North America, Northern Europe and the Western Mediterranean, with 60 percent of its capacity, but experiencing softness in the Eastern Mediterranean and China.
Softness in China is being driven by huge capacity growth rather than faltering demand, said Fain.
Fain compared the Chinese market to the evolution of the North American market. He said that absorbing a doubling of capacity in one year with only modest price softening was a sign of market strength.
He added that China, with 9 percent of the companys passenger capacity, continues to generate yields that are above average. The company also noted softness in the close-in booking market for Shanghai-based sailings, not mentioning the chartering sales model.
Furthermore, he said the companys strongest markets -- the Caribbean, Alaska, Bermuda, Northern Europe the Western Mediterranean will only see a modest capacity increase in 2017.
Analysts asking questions on the call also seemed distracted by balance sheet items regarding the sale of Pullmantur, which has had a constantly-changing business strategy in recent years.
In addition, Cuba was not mentioned whatsoever.
Royal Caribbeans adjusted net income earnings forecast for Q3 was for $3.10 per share, compared to $2.84 last year. The improvement is expected to be primarily driven by the deconsolidation of the Pullmantur Group.
As Royal Caribbean made its announcement, its shares dropped more than 6 percent in early morning trading.
Yahoo users might want to reset their passwords. A hacker claims to have stolen the login information for 200 million Yahoo accounts and is selling them on the black market.
The stolen records are up for sale on TheRealDeal, a darknet marketplace that offers illegal goods. For 3 bitcoins, or US$1,824, anyone can buy them.
The hacker, known as peace_of_mind, has claimed to have previously sold login credentials for LinkedIn and Tumblr users.
In a brief message, peace_of_mind said the Yahoo database came from a Russian group that breached LinkedIn and Tumblr, in addition to MySpace.
In the case of the Yahoo accounts, the database most likely comes from 2012, the hacker said. Copies of the stolen Yahoo database have already been bought, peace_of_mind added.
On Monday, Yahoo said it was aware that the stolen database was on sale, but it neither confirmed nor denied that the records were real.
Our security team is working to determine the facts, the company said in an email.
Back in 2012, Yahoo reported a breach, but of only 450,000 accounts. A hacking group called D33ds Company had claimed responsibility, but Yahoo said that most of the stolen passwords were invalid.
Its unclear if that hack is connected with this sale of 200 million accounts. Other security researchers have also noticed a Russian hacker known as "the Collector" selling tens of millions of email logins from Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail.
Peace_of_mind has posted a sample of the stolen Yahoo database, which includes user email addresses, along with passwords that have been hashed using the MD5 algorithm.
Those passwords could easily be cracked using a MD5 decrypter available online. The database also contains backup email addresses, as well as the users' birth dates.
IDG News Service tried several email addresses from the stolen records and noticed that Yahoos login page recognized them and then asked for a password. However, other emails addresses were no longer valid.
Although Yahoo hasnt confirmed the breach, users should still change their passwords, said Adam Levin, chairman of security firm IDT911, in an email.
In addition, users should make sure they arent using the same passwords across Internet accounts, he added.
Fernando Becerra-Cruz
Camarillo, Calif., Aug. 3, 2016 As a 20-year-old computer programmer, Fernando Becerra-Cruz knew he was not cut out to work in a factory, washing and stacking heavy plastic strawberry jam barrels at the rate of about 100 an hour.
This was hard, physical labor I couldnt keep up, Becerra-Cruz said. But the recent immigrant from Mexico spoke no English and had no college degree, so he had no choice.
Then one day, the topmost barrel on a stack fell and smacked him in the head, throwing him to the ground.
Years later, Becerra-Cruz, now 27, looks toward graduation as one of CSU Channel Islands (CI)s successful transfer students. As a student, he is already employed as a student assistant graphic designer in the Admissions office at CI, and hopes to continue to pursue his love of graphic art after graduating.
In the past, CI has enrolled more than 900 students with more than half of those students coming from Ventura County's community colleges. This fall, CI plans to enroll a record number of 1,100 new transfer students.
Students seeking to attend CI as a transfer student beginning in spring of 2017, can apply from Aug. 1-31.
Many transfer students, like Becerra-Cruz, are non-traditional students with family obligations who are seeking a more fulfilling, higher-paying career.
Becerra-Cruz grew up in Mexico City with his mother and three brothers. His father was a factory worker in Oxnard who visited Mexico City regularly.
Becerra-Cruzs youngest brother had special needs so his parents decided it would be best to immigrate to Oxnard to be with his father. The decision was cemented when Becerra-Cruzs aunt was kidnapped and killed during a carjacking near their Mexico City home.
The family earned legal residency in 2004, but Becerra-Cruz stayed in Mexico City to finish high school, worked as a computer programmer for a while, and then joined his family in 2009.
After the factory accident, Becerra-Cruz decided to change his life. Always shy, the soft-spoken Becerra-Cruz vowed to do whatever it took to get an education here in the U.S.
I went to Oxnard College with my broken English and they started to speak to me in Spanish, he said. They told me all the help that they can give me with financial aid. It gave me hope.
Becerra-Cruz spent two years just studying English. He became an honors student, then took another two years at Oxnard College and earned his associate degree in Arts & Humanities, then transferred to CI.
Now in the last semester of his senior year, Becerra-Cruz will complete his degree at the end of the fall semester with a bachelors degree in Art and will participate in Commencement in spring of 2017. He specializes in graphic design and social media.
As the eldest brother, Becerra-Cruz has worked to be a good example to his younger brothers. One brother is attending Ventura College with plans to transfer to the University of California, Santa Barbara to study engineering and another is attending Oxnard College, also with plans to become a transfer student.
Im the one who pushed them to go to college. I sent my mom to college as well, he said, adding that she studied child development.
In order to apply as a transfer student, you must have completed enough community college credits to attend CI as a junior. For more information regarding admissions and to apply, visit http://www.csuci.edu/admissions/transfer/.
In addition, CI will be offering Transfer Student Information Sessions on select Fridays this fall. For more information visit: http://www.csuci.edu/visit-campus/tours/prospective-student-events.htm
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About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands (CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CIs strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative masters degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more by visiting CI's Social Media.
STRATFORD Five local men are accusing All My Sons Moving and Storage of refusing to pay overtime and forcing its employees to work numerous hours each week without pay.
In a class action lawsuit seeking $2 million in damages, four former employees and a current worker claim All My Sons, which has local offices in Stratford, refuses to pay workers for the time it takes to set up for the day, wash and fuel the vehicles, and drive to a destination. The lawsuit states that the company has a policy for not paying for the transport of empty trucks.
Even with these off-the-clock hours, the lawsuit states employees often work more than 40 hours in their regular six-day workweek but are paid straight time, not overtime pay, for those additional hours.
We think this is a very strong case of wage theft, said Gary Phelan, the attorney representing plaintiffs Terrance Durant, Dwight Rich, Joshua Smith and Jason Hunt, all of Bridgeport, and Keith Matyasovsky, of Stratford. No employee should be treated this way just to get a paycheck.
The men all began working for the company in 2013, but only one is still employed there.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court, claims the company violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act along with Connecticut labor laws. Although All My Sons is based in Texas and has offices throughout the country, the lawsuit is focused on the Connecticut location.
A representative at All My Sons declined to comment.
Phelan said he estimates there could be as many as 100 former and present employees who could form part of the class action.
Certainly around the country theres been an escalation in these kinds of wage theft cases usually not as extreme as in this case, Phelan said.
Michael Devlin, of law firm Berchem, Moses & Devlin, who is not involved in the case, agreed that these types of cases have become increasingly common in Connecticut.
There has been greater regulatory emphasis and oversight, which has heightened employee awareness, Devlin said in an email.
Devlin said the remedies of these types of cases can extend beyond the wages lost, and can include attorney fees. The lawsuit against All My Sons seeks attorneys fees, as well as unpaid and incorrectly paid wages, unpaid overtime hours and liquidated damages.
Increasing employee knowledge about their rights has led to the rise in complaints over the years, said Thomas Bucci, an attorney with Willinger, Willinger & Bucci. In the past, employees were happy to work and allowed the employers to take advantage of them, but with more awareness of employee rights there are significantly more complaints of this type, he said.
Hopefully this sends a message to other employers that you cant treat your employees this way, Phelan said. Its unfortunate these kind of practices continue until somebody has the courage to file a lawsuit.
ktorres@hearstmediact.com; 203-330-6227
BRIDGEPORT More than 100 residents, facing in some cases double-digit-percentage property tax increases, filled the City Council chambers Monday night, demanding that an outside financial review board take over the citys fiances.
Mayor Joseph Ganims response: Been there, done that.
The citys spending is out of control, proclaimed David Walker, to a standing ovation from the crowd, many who held placards protesting the tax increases.
Its time to get real, continued Walker, who was U.S. comptroller general in the early 2000s. Creating an oversight board is essential if the city hopes to avoid bankruptcy.
He said it is unlikely with the higher tax rates that companies would agree to move to Bridgeport, especially when surrounding towns have lower rates.
Pete Spain, one of the leaders of the tax protest, complained that many more taxpayers than the mayor contended are facing higher tax bills, and that an independent financial review board is the only hope to get the city out of its financial morass.
The nice people who we elected are over their heads, Spain said, motioning to the seats of the council members, many which were empty.
When Ganim was first elected mayor in 1991, he took over after a financial review board had been in charge of Bridgeports finances as a result of an aborted attempt by his predecessor, Mary Moran, to declare bankruptcy.
Bridgeport had been there and done that, and it wasnt pretty, the mayors spokesman Av Harris, said Monday in response to the calls for a review board. The answer is not to give control of Bridgeports finances over to an outside group which doesnt understand the city and its people.
Harris said Ganim inherited a fiscal mess, when he took office in January, but is making significant progress cleaning it up.
We are doing the difficult but necessary things to put us on a firm financial footing, Harris said.
A growing number of adults about 52 million suffer from arthritis, and data show women are more likely than men to develop it.
In 2014, 26.5 percent of women reported having doctor-diagnosed arthritis, compared with 20.5 percent of men, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention behavioral risk survey.
Many women dont realize they are at a higher risk than their male peers, said Dr. Abhijeet Danve, a rheumatologist and faculty member in Yale School of Medicines rheumatology division.
Of all the patients with arthritis, almost 60 percent of them are women, he said. Several factors likely make women more susceptible than men: biological traits, genetics and hormones, Danve said.
There are more than 100 types of arthritis, which commonly is defined as inflammation of one or more joints that affects surrounding tissue. The two most common types are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and both disproportionately affect women, according to the Atlanta-based advocacy group the Arthritis Foundation.
Osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease, affects 27 million adults nationwide while rheumatoid arthritis impacts more than 1.5 million, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
An increasing diagnosis
In all, one in five adults nationwide has some type of arthritis, the group reports, and it is the leading cause of disability in the United States. The number of people with doctor-diagnosed arthritis is expected to swell to 67 million by 2030, according to the organization. The CDC estimates that 78 million will be diagnosed with arthritis by 2040.
Arthritis tends to be more common in older adults. According to the CDC, 53 percent of those with arthritis in 2014 were age 65 or older.
Dr. Germano Guadagnoli, chief of rheumatology at Bridgeport Hospital, said womens longevity also makes them more susceptible to osteoarthritis, which has a greater chance of developing the older a person is.
Women are living longer, so were seeing more with osteoarthritis, he said.
Biologically, womens ligaments are more lax than mens, Danve said. Intended to help women accommodate a baby and give birth, this trait tends to make their joints move more than mens, increasing the risk for osteoarthritis, he said.
Women also have wider pelvises than men, also to aid in the birthing process, which puts more stress on their knees and makes knee arthritis more common in women, Danve said. Some women experience this especially after pregnancy, which stretches ligaments near the pelvis and puts added pressure on knees, he said.
Hormones play a role as well. There is evidence that estrogen helps protect against arthritis by preventing inflammation from progressing, Danve said. When (women) enter menopause, they lose their estrogen and arthritis can develop, he said.
Also, more women than men tend to be obese, another risk factor, he said. Every pound of weight gained puts three additional pounds of stress on knees and six pounds on hips, he said.
But while hormones and genetics likely play a role, Guadagnoli said, there are no definitive reasons why women get arthritis more often than men.
Nobodys really pinned it down, he said. We just see it as a pretty well-established demographic.
Predispositions
When it comes to inflammatory types, like rheumatoid arthritis and Lupus, Guadagnoli said, genetics are the main factor in women being affected.
Rheumatoid arthritis and Lupus have underlying autoimmune disorders, which tend to impact more women than men, he said.
Those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis typically are genetically predisposed to it and come into contact with a trigger that develops the arthritis, he said. Its not yet known what the trigger is, he said, but it could be a virus or bacteria. People genetically predisposed to rheumatoid arthritis who do not experience the trigger dont end up developing arthritis, he added.
Gout is the only type of arthritis that affects men more than women, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
Symptoms of arthritis vary depending on the type of arthritis, but they all have some common ones, such as pain and tenderness in the joints, swelling in one or more joints, warmth and redness in a joint, and stiffness or difficulty using or moving a joint, according to the foundation.
Rheumatoid arthritis typically affects smaller joints, like those in the hands and feet, early on before progressing to knees, ankles, elbow, hips and shoulders, according to the foundation. With osteoarthritis, symptoms usually come on slowly and worsen over time. While men tend to get osteoarthritis in their hips, women typically get it is in their hands or knees, according to the group.
Women also are two to five times more likely to have anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries than men, which makes them more likely to develop knee arthritis, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
Overall, CDC data show that Connecticut has a relatively low prevalence of residents suffering from arthritis. Twenty-one percent of Connecticut residents age 18 and older had doctor-diagnosed arthritis, compared with a national median prevalence of 24 percent.
In other New England states the prevalence of doctor-diagnosed arthritis was reported as: Vermont and New Hampshire, 24 percent; Massachusetts and Rhode Island, 25 percent and Maine, 27 percent. The figures are age-standardized percentages; the CDC weighted the data in order to allow people within states populations to be compared accurately even though age groups within the data vary widely.
To ward off arthritisespecially osteoarthritiswomen should to lose weight if necessary and alleviate stress on their joints, either through non-weight-bearing exercise or with an occupational therapist, Danve said.
A lot of the population of women are not aware that they should be doing this to prevent osteoarthritis, he said.
This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team (www.c-hit.org).
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SHELTON One is a four-and-a-half-term incumbent who says the tax-and-spend plans of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy need to be reined in.
Opposing him is a businesswoman and the chairwoman of the citys Planning and Zoning Commission, who says with companies struggling and even leaving Connecticut, now is the time to add more business-experienced legislators to the mix of career politicians and attorneys.
On Aug. 9, 3,300 Shelton Republicans in the 113th District will chose between state Rep. Jason Perillo, a deputy minority leader in the state House, and Ruth Parkins, who has the support of Mayor Mark Lauretti and several members of his family.
But the five campaign donations totalling $170 that Parkins received from employees of the R.D. Scinto Inc. are what have Perillos supporters talking.
Questions of propriety
Its not something I would do, said Perillo, who is the grandson of former Shelton Mayor Vincent Tisi. But I guess everybody has a different bar.
Oh my goodness, Parkins said of the controversy.
Her position with the Iroquois Pipeline Operating Co. is based in one of Scintos Shelton Towers.
More Information Jason Perillo Age: 38 Resides: Coram Avenue Family: wife, Becky, daughter, Lydia, 2 Employment: State representative and Valley Emergency Medical Services Education: Bachelor's degree in accounting from Georgetown; master's degrees in public policy from Harvard and business from Boston College Ruth Parkins Age: 59 Address: Meadow Lake Drive Family: Single mother of college-educated daughters, Jessica and Sara Employment: Public affairs manager at Iroquois Pipeline Education: Bachelor's degree in business administration from Sacred Heart University with master's degrees in business administration and public administration from the University of New Haven See More Collapse
I have worked in the Scinto Towers for 20 years, and as an employee of Iroquois, I have a working relationship with these employees from R.D. Scinto, she said. They are the people I contact when I am planning events within the Scinto complex.
Parkins itemized campaign financial disclosure statement, filed with the State Election Enforcement Commission, discloses the July 13 contributions of R.D. Scinto employees.
They contributors are: Bruce Bernhard, a concierge; David Thomas, Scintos director of securities and risk management; and Jeannine DiSario, an executive assistant, who each gave $50 personal checks. Kayleigh Apicerno, who works in marketing, and Tammie Anastasia, an architectural designer each gave $10 personal checks.
So what? said Lauretti. Shes got a good sense of her community and what Shelton needs.
He called her a consensus builder who works well with people ... Thats important when youre in my position.
The mayor noted that on some months the Planning and Zoning Commission meets three times.
Their work is very important, he said. All this development generates tax dollars.
But others question the contributions.
Is it ethical? Thats the question, said Greg Tetro, a local resident and vocal critic of the Town Center at Shelter Ridge project pending before Parkins Commission.
If I was running against Jason Perillo I wouldnt have done it, added Jimmy Capra, a freshman alderman and Perillo backer. If you accept donations from a developer or their employees, you shouldnt be voting on their projects.
Recently, the Planning and Zoning Commission reached a unanimous consensus to direct its staff to prepare a favorable resolution for vote at the panels Aug. 9 meeting involving a R.D. Scinto project.
Scinto is seeking a Planned Development District zone change for 100 Commerce Drive. There the company intends to demolish the former Tetley Tea headquarters and construct three buildingsa two-story retail building, a one-story building with a drive-through and a coffee shop with a drive-through.
It has not yet been voted on or approved, Parkins said.
A matter of timing
Parkins, a single mother of two college-graduate daughters, said she has long considered running for state office.
Its all about timing, and now is a good time, she said. She claims Perillo is not a team player.
Still, she said, Any time you take on an incumbent its an uphill battle.
But Parkins has been buoyed by meeting two thresholdsobtaining the required signatures to force a primary and receiving $5,000 in contributions from 150 local residents to qualify for $11,140 in public financing.
As a result, shes stepping up her campaign with phone calls and mailers.
She also is a businesswoman whose commission has been responsible for monitoring and overseeing the citys growth.
Meanwhile, Perillo, married with a toddler, said hes meeting with residents, telling them hes the candidate to take the fight to Dannel Malloy and the Democratic leadership.
Ive been very aggressive in doing that over the years, he said.
Perillo said Malloys plan to tax mileage is just another money grab. Itll discourage people from driving to work and supporting their families. We shouldnt be making it hard for people to work or make their medical appointments.
And Perillo questions whether that money would go to bridges and road repairs as claimed, or end up in the general fund.
I dont believe any commitment they make except, to spend money, he said.
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MSPs that want to be successful in the long run must look at cybersecurity as a foundational service, one they must excel at
Section of GAP closed during bridge work
"The last time the bridges were re-decked was in 1995. They have become almost unsafe to be used," said Lindsay Baer.
Boo! What are the scariest spots in Lake County?
The old courthouse. A tea room in Mount Dora. Lake County has several places that are thought to be haunted.
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.
Baroness Wheatcroft, pictured, has come under fire for 'trying to block Britain's exit from the EU'
It is hard to imagine a worse example of arrogant and brazen contempt for democracy.
From their lofty perches in the unelected House of Lords, a group of peers, led by Tory ex-financial journalist Baroness Wheatcroft, are plotting ways to block Britains exit from the EU.
With a casual disregard for the referendum outcome, they plan to vote down Brexit laws, extract some token concessions from Brussels, force a second vote and, hey presto! secure a result more to their liking.
Astonishingly, Baroness Wheatcroft argues all it would take is some minor adjustments to freedom of movement rules and the public millions of whom voted Leave explicitly to restore proper controls over immigration would happily back staying in.
As for her ludicrous idea that a committee should trawl through the arguments of the campaign to prove the public were misled into voting for Brexit, what would it make of Remains apocalyptic and we now know, hollow predictions of economic disaster?
For elected MPs to attempt to derail Brexit and defy the clearly expressed will of 17.4million Leave voters would be outrageous enough.
But coming from the ermine-clad, appointed denizens of the upper chamber, it reeks of total disdain for voters.
In the coming months and years, Theresa May will have a lot on her plate, but reform of the bloated House of Lords, long a national embarrassment, cannot come soon enough.
More grubby gongs
As with the House of Lords, so too this countrys tainted honours system is in desperate need of reform.
In theory, it rewards genuine and faithful public service, but with Sundays leak of David Camerons Chumocracy Honours, its reputation hit a depressing new low.
Mr Cameron has not deigned to explain his decision to reward a staggering 48 allies, aides and donors, nearly all of whom backed the Remain campaign.
But yesterday, in attempting to defend the list, his close ally, Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne, inadvertently revealed the black motives behind it.
Sir Desmond, who was himself surprise surprise! knighted at Mr Camerons behest only weeks ago, said the gongs were a repayment for a debt of honour owed for political favours and a relatively light way of paying it off.
His disgraceful implication is that honours are payback for grubby political deals, and that the recipients might have cause to expect much more.
Meanwhile, we learn Mr Cameron is to further tarnish his post-Downing Street reputation by sending another raft of aides to the Lords. Is it any wonder the public are cynical about the political system?
Press ahead, Mrs May
Last week, Theresa May took the difficult, but eminently sensible, decision to re-examine the multi-billion pound Hinkley Point nuclear power station deal.
Yesterday, China responded with what amounted to a veiled threat. Its official news agency a mouthpiece for the State warned the decision would stain Britains credibility as an open economy and could deter future investment.
Prime Minister Theresa May has made a 'sensible decision' to re-examine the Hinkley Point nuclear power station deal
Mrs May also had to endure a hissy fit from a junior Treasury minister, former Goldman Sachs banker Lord ONeill brought in by George Osborne who was quite unreasonably upset that he hadnt been consulted about the delay.
A mother-of-four has spoken of the emotional distress she suffered when breastfeeding that made her want to rip her baby off her chest.
Lacey Barratt had breastfeeding aversion, a condition she believes is not spoken about enough.
The photographer and doula told Daily Mail Australia it is a misconception that breastfeeding comes naturally to mothers, and hopes to open the channels for discussion by sharing her story.
Sharing her story: Melbourne photographer, doula and mother-of-four Lacey Barratt (pictured) has spoken out about breastfeeding aversion
In a candid blog post, the 29-year-old from Melbourne spoke about how it felt when she experienced breastfeeding aversion with her babies.
It is the feeling of heebeejeebees when feeding your babe, she wrote.
It is intense irritability. Intense frustration and intense emotional distress.
As soon as baby latches, you want to rip them off. Or at least, that is what it is like for me.
Distressing: She described aversion as feelings of 'heebeejeebees when feeding your babe'
She went on to write about one experience that saw her leave her one-year-old son screaming in bed because she could not face breastfeeding him.
The more he screamed, the more I refused to offer him boob. So much so that I became so annoyed, I got in the car and left. It was around 3am, she said.
It is the feeling of heebeejeebees when feeding your babe. Lacey Barratt, mother
Upon arriving home Ms Barratt said she had a glass of water and mentally prepared herself before going back to feed.
He wasn't hungry. He didn't even eat. He just wanted my comfort, she said.
She said by sharing her story it lets her followers know she is human and other women experiencing breastfeeding issues that they are not alone.
Ms Barratt had experienced breastfeeding aversion with all three of her babies, but only realised what it was after speaking with a friend.
When she described how she felt her friend said she had an aversion, told her to drink plenty of water and pump if need be.
Knowing she was not alone made a huge difference for the Melbourne mother.
Finding support: She spoke about her feelings of aversion to her friend, and said by sharing her story she hopes other mothers will know they are not alone
I think by speaking out about the negatives of breastfeeding, as well as the positives, its a good way to let women know youre not broken or dysfunctional, she said.
I breastfed all three of my children and every single one was a new experience.
She encouraged mothers who had difficulties breastfeeding to not be discouraged and said having the proper support could make all the difference.
Aversions don't last forever. They are generally short lived and able to be worked through, she wrote.
You are not a bad mum if you feel these feelings. You are actually a very normal mum.
Education: You are not a bad mum if you feel these feelings. You are actually a very normal mum,' she said
The problem is, you just don't know it, because no one talks about it.
She said women who experienced problems breastfeeding could phone the Australian Breastfeeding Associations helpline.
Alternatively, there are Breastfeeding Aversion Facebook groups.
It's well and truly winter now, and as the temperatures drop so many of us are stocking up on cold weather woollies.
But what if you want to be warm and ethical? Blogger and vegan Anna Weatherlake gave FEMAIL her top winter pieces that are also guaranteed to be cruelty.
From boots and bags to jumpers and jackets, we've got you covered.
Scroll down for video
Ethical: Blogger and vegan Anna Weatherlake (above) has given FEMAIL a list of her top cruelty-free fashion picks for winter
UNREAL DREAM JACKET
You can have the fur look without any real fur, as proven by Unreal Fur's jacket ranges which are stocked at The Iconic.
The brand's forest green jacket is on trend and perfect to pair with some black skinny jeans and heels for a night out.
The jacket comes in a range of other colours as well, like midnight blue and black, and sells for AUD$289.
Fake forever: Unreal's fake fur jacket in forrest green will keep you warm and looking great
LEATHER LOOK SKINNY JEANS
Want the rocker-chic look of leather pants without having to wear actual leather? Blank NYC has you covered.
Their 5 Pocket Out Vegan Skinny jeans are mid-rise and very slick, looking just like the real thing.
Sold by Myer, you can pick up a pair for AUD$160.
Rocker chic: For the rock-n-roll look of leather pants without the leather, Black NYC has you covered
WELLINGTON BOOTS
For a slick, upmarket version of the traditional farmer's boot, Givenchy delivers. Their Eva Chain Wellington boots would be just at home at a festival as a lunch in the city.
The brand says the chain strap gives the shoes an 'unconventional twist' and suggests wearing them over leggings with a chic rain coat.
They will set you back AUD$675, which may be a little above most people's budget for wellies.
Fancy: For upmarket wellies, Givenchy delivers with their Eva Chain boots
BOMBER JACKET
Bomber jackets are back in, with Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid both sporting them recently.
Alpha Industries have a cruelty-free one that will help you emulate the it girls' style and is available in either khaki or black.
The MA-1 Flight Jacket is available at Style Runner for $225 if you want to rock the look.
Like Kendall: A bomber jacket has been seen on all the it girls, so get yourself one in khaki
OVERSIZED SCARF
The 70s are back, with the cuts and colours from the decade all through stores this season.
Get in on the trend with an oversized scarf from ASOS that will keep you warm and fashionable.
The store's Oversized Square Scarf In 70s Check is only $39 and can be styled traditionally around your neck or even as a shawl.
70s are back baby: For a retro scarf, ASOS has giant square ones for all occasions
CROSS BODY BAG
For a classic cross-body bag, it can be hard to find something well made that is completely free of animal products.
Evontte's Terry bag is a natural leather look satchel is small enough to not feel like a burden, but big enough to take around day-to-day.
It's AUD$98.55 and even has two separate phone pockets for all your tech.
Classic and cute: A cross body bag that looks like leather but is completely vegan is the way to go
PEEP TOE HEELS
For the last few years, cage-style heels have had a huge resurgence and this year they're still going strong.
ASOS' Glamorous Black Suede Peep Toe Shoe Boots keep on trend whilst keeping your feet warmer than traditional heels might.
They're only AUD$61 and pair well with either dresses or jeans for a day at the office or a dinner date.
Caged: Cut-out boots and heels are still in, and for only $61 these can be yours
CLASSIC COAT
Every woman needs a classic coat in her life that goes with everything and makes an outfit look more sophisticated.
Staple's New Day coat in beige is classic enough to keep for years, with a slight 70s vibe to keep you in fashion.
It's $179 from The Iconic, and a great staple investment.
Classic coat: For a touch of sophistication, a simple beige coat does the trick every time
EVERYDAY COUTURE BAG
Whilst many couture bags are made with animal products, if you want a designer handbag that's also vegan Stella McCartney is the place to go.
The designer's Black Beck Shoulder Bag is big enough to tote your things to the office each day and beautiful enough to take out to dinner.
At AUD$1,425 it's a splurge, but will last for years.
Couture cool: To spoil yourself, a Stella McCartney Beck Shoulder Bag is big enough for everyday at the office
CLASSIC JUMPER
In winter, a well made and classic jumper is a must have.
Seed's Curve Hem Zip Sweater is perfect with a roll neck and exposed zippers. Worn best with a pair of jeans and trainers to weekend brunch, it looks casual but classy.
It's 100 per cent cotton and will set you back $129.95.
Warm and woolly: A jumper is key for the colder months, and Seed's classic cuts and colours are perfect
WINTER HAT
Beanies are out, winter hats are in.
Boohoo's Lola Band Black Fedora is perfect to dress up and outfit and add instant cool, best paired with a chunky scarf and matching coat.
At AUD$20 it's a bargain too, so grab it whilst you still can.
Hat's off to you: Beanies are out, fedoras are in, so get yourself a classic felt one from Boohoo
OVER THE KNEE BOOTS
Something else that's very on-trend this season is very high over-the-knee boots.
With a chunky heel and faux-suede fabric, the Public Desire Natalia Grey Over The Knee Boot from ASOS will be your new winter favourites.
They're AUD$87 and pair best either with mini skirts or tucked-in leggings.
Lovely: Grey over the knee boots will keep you on trend but the colour will set you apart
LEATHER JACKET
For a leather jacket that's not leather but gives the same look, Nasty Girl has you sorted.
Their Atomic Vegan Leather Jacket is textured with beautiful silver details, and designed to keep you warm even when there's 'serious wind chill'.
It's AUD$155 and will make you feel like Sandy from Grease in a second.
Rock-n-roll: For biker chic, Nasty Gal has a faux-leather jacket that is designed to keep you warm too
SLOGAN PIN
The final style tip Ms Weatherlake has is to wear your politics on your sleeve with a Peta pin.
The Faux Not Fur pin is $9.99 and stylishly designed, in black and gold.
'It's cool to be kind, and fashion should never come at the expense of our furry, fluffy or feathered friends,' she told FEMAIL.
A doting daughter travelled 5,000 miles to give her mum the ultimate birthday surprise after two years apart.
Kate Visser, 23, who lives in Canterbury, Kent, started planning her surprise visit to Oregon to shock her mum, Wendy Rice, 51, after telling her she couldn't afford to travel to see her on her birthday.
She hadn't seen her mum in two years after moving to the UK with husband, Peter, but spoke to her every day on the phone.
Surprise! Wendy Rice was overcome when her daughter Kate shocked her on her birthday
Overcome: Wendy, 51, screamed and whooped as she opened the door to reveal her daughter
Shock: She couldn't contain her surprise that Kate had flown 5,000 miles to Oregon
After booking the trip she started building a cover story so the surprise wouldn't be ruined.
While travelling the 5,000 miles to Oregon, Kate sent pictures and video of herself in the UK to make sure her mum never suspected a thing.
She looked up where her mum was staying on Google Maps and found her way across to their house before filming the ultimate reaction video.
Before the door fully opened, mum Wendy can be heard screaming hysterically before shouting: 'Oh my god, Katelyn!'
Tearful: Wendy broke down as the pair enjoyed their happy reunion
Together again: The pair couldn't contain their joy as they embraced after two years apart
Close: Even thought Wendy and Kate hadn't seen each other for two years, they chatted every day on the phone
The video has drawn a lot of positive responses on Facebook with people feeling touched by the mother and daughter's close connection.
Kate, who runs a marketing firm, said: 'Before doing it I thought she was going to freak out and kept looking up if someone can die from a positive emotional shock.
'I was so scared she was going to have a heart attack or heart problems because of the shock from seeing me but really wanted to make her day.
Daughter: Kate, 23, moved to the UK two years ago along with her husband Peter
Planning: The 23-year-old spent weeks preparing the secret trip back to the States
'We are so close, we're best friends and speak every day on the phone so it took a lot of planning and sneaking around to give her this surprise.
'I hadn't seen her in a long time and it was her birthday coming up so I thought it was time.
'Before flying over I took a lot of photos and videos of myself in the UK to send to her so that she wouldn't suspect anything.
'I started filming when I was a block away, I was so nervous and shaky.
'After knocking the door my heart was beating out of my chest.
'I later found out my mum genuinely didn't believe it was me on the doorstep, she thought someone was pretending to be me - she really couldn't believe I was there.
Journey: Kate took this picture as she flew across the world to see her mother
Disguise: In the past few weeks Kate has sent her mother plenty of pictures of Canterbury to put her off the scent
'I watch it over and over again now, I'm still shocked by her reaction but end up beaming every time I hear her say "Katelyn, Katelyn".
'She only ever calls me Katelyn when she's really happy or upset, so I knew I'd given her a shock.
'I can't watch it with a straight face, it makes my heart feel all warm and I was so glad she loved my little surprise.'
Her mum Wendy, was thrilled by the surprise and after getting over the initial shock loved watching the video back too.
Wendy said: 'I was in absolute disbelief.
'It scared me, because how could that be possible? She was just in England a few hours ago.
'After the shock wore off, it was all hugs and giggles for the rest of the night.
A seemingly innocent photograph of a buff-boded man working out is driving the internet wild.
The image, which was shared on Imgur, shows a muscular bodybuilder caught mid-conversation while lying on the floor surrounded by weights.
However, the combination of his unfortunate pose and tensed physique have made his torso resemble something rather cheeky.
An image of a muscular man taking a breather from his workout has gone viral for a rude reason and has people commenting: ''What has been seen cannot be unseen'
The image was uploaded to the photo sharing site with the caption: 'This guys chest looks like a girls a**.'
One second glance at the naughty shot and you'll never be able to unsee the resemblance.
Since being posted, the picture has gone viral, being viewed more than 270,000 times and received countless (mostly lewd) comments.
One user writing under the pseudonym GozerTheGonzerian poster: 'What has been seen cannot be unseen.'
While another wrote, 'can he twerk with his chest?'
Scroll down for the reveal!
The original picture was posted with the lewd comment: 'his guys chest looks like a girls a**'
It's the latest in a long line of teasing images doing the rounds on the internet.
Last month, a photograph that shows a little girl camouflaged against a rocky landscape is driving people to distraction on social media site Imgur.
The image shows a dramatic boulder-strewn landscape and asks readers to find a young tourist wearing a purple hoodie and waving at the camera.
However, such are the cracks and crevices on the honey-coloured stones, it's very tricky to spot her without a helping hand.
Desperately seeking: This image, posted on social media site Imgur, has foxed internet users with its challenge to find a little girl hiding amidst the rocky landscape - so, can you see her?
The shot was posted with the teasing caption: 'Can you find her? Look closely', which only served to infuriate those who couldn't see anything but a weather-sculpted collection of rocks.
Some begged for the poster to 'red circle' so they could see the whereabouts of the girl, while another called the teaser 'brutal'.
If you haven't yet spotted her in the image above - here are a few clues as to her whereabouts. She's in the first half of the image, perched just above one long, jutting stone. She's also waving like mad at the camera.
Between a rock and a hard place: the chameleon-like girl blends in perfectly with her surroundings despite waving and wearing a purple hoodie
I'm here! Zoom in on the youngster and you can clearly see her purple jumper and blonde hair against the sand-coloured rocks of the unknown tourist destination
If you do spot the chameleon-like tourist without any help, congratulate yourself; it's almost impossible without a guiding hand.
Previously this mind-boggling map, which tested geographical knowledge by switiching countries around, was circulated on the internet.
The quiz from Playbuzz saw six countries swapped on a map of the world - shown below - but can you spot them all?
Do you know your USA from your Canada, your Latvia from your Lithuania and your Cambodia from your Vietnam?
In this reordered map, countries that you're used to seeing in their set places on the world map appear to have shifted.
The giant land mass stretching from Europe to Asia is now labelled Canada, while the large island continent in the southern hemisphere is called Brazil.
So how quickly did you spot the remarkable changes across the globe?
How quickly were you able to spot that Canada became Greenland, Russia became Canada and Greenland became Russia?
The map test is the latest teaser from the site, that recently challenged the web to spot Disney princesses in a huge crowd scene.
Among the faces, including the Seven Dwarfs, the Genie, Winnie the Pooh and the Cheshire cat, are the iconic cartoon heroines.
But how quickly can you spot Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Ariel?
In this crowded scene, princesses Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas,and Ariel are all hidden. But how quickly can you spot them?
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
Another puzzle recently put film buffs to the ultimate test with a dense crowd 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.
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 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.
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)
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.
Seven 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.
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.
Whilst we know that overuse of phones can damage our vision and health, have you ever stopped to consider that your daily session on Snapchat could be making you look older and uglier?
According to skincare experts, using mobile phones is wreaking havoc with our faces, causing all sorts of ailments from sagging jaws and forehead creases to tired eyes and tech neck.
Whether scrolling through Instagram or texting friends, the average user checks their phone 85 times a day, spending a total of five hours looking at their device; that's around a third of the time that the person is awake. So is your face a victim of your phone addiction?
We've called on the best dermatologists to share the tell-tale signs that you're overusing your phone and the clever ways you can fix it.
From squinty lines to dark spots, there's plenty of weird ways your mobile phone is rapidly ageing your face. We've called on a host of experts to explain how and reveal the ways you can prevent it
Tired eyes and squint lines
Whether its glare from the screen, reading font that is too small or straining to read a phone in bright sunlight, repetitive squinting can cause pronounced lines and wrinkles around the eyes, as well as frown lines between eyes.
As Glenn Carp, Ophthalmic Surgeon at the London Vision Clinic explains, spending long bouts of time staring at your phone can wreak havoc with your eyesight.
He explains: 'Most of us are already aware that sitting at your computer screen all day can be detrimental to your vision. You are encouraged to take regular breaks from working at your desk.
'However, with the prevalence of smart phones having saturated the mobile industry, most of these breaks tend to be concentrated on our phone- checking personal emails or the latest tweet and not allowing us to truly break the cycle.
'When we use our near vision in this way for long periods of time, we only blink for around four to seven times per minute. Our usual rate of blinking is more like 18 to 20 times per minute, so this is a significant reduction- it can cause symptoms such as dry eyes and blurred vision.'
'Taking regular breaks away from any screen, drinking plenty of water and making sure you blink regularly should help to avoid these symptoms.'
As Glenn Carp, Ophthalmic Surgeon at the London Vision Clinic explains, spending long bouts of time staring at your phone can wreak havoc with your eyesight
Acne
Speaking on your phone for long periods of time can lead to bad acne, warns dermatologist Dr. Justine Hextall of The Harley Medical Group.
She said: 'Your phone can accumulate a lot of bacteria. When you place the phone on your skin to make a call, your skin is not only in direct contact with the bacteria, but it also starts to perspire and even trap oil in the pores.
'Worse yet, the pressure of the phone on your skin creates blemishes so wipe your phone daily with antibacterial wipes to remove the majority of the bacteria that is building up.
'Also ensure that you're using acne-fighting products if this is a condition youre prone to. The Avene Cleanance Expert regulates the production of sebum (oil) to mattify the skin, limits the spread of acne causing bacteria and reduces redness and inflammation.'
Sarah Chapman, a top London facialist, suggests thoroughly wiping down your mobile device with alcohol wipes on a daily basis.
Emma, who works at the Dr Frances Prenna Jones clinic in Mayfair, has shared her foolproof guide to clearing your skin for good - and it's a lot more straightforward than you think.
Your phone can accumulate a lot of bacteria. When you place the phone on your skin to make a call, your skin is not only in direct contact with the bacteria, but it also starts to perspire and even trap oil in the pores
When people try new skincare routines, few would consider acid as an addition to their everyday regime.
But Emma maintains that you shouldn't be intimidated by acids because they're one of the most popular and effective treatments for the skin. She favours salicylic, which she advises washing your skin with twice a week.
'Use Dr Frances Prenna Jones Super Clean daily; it is packed with super-effective antibacterial salicylic acid and enzymes which boost cell turnover for brighter, younger looking skin.
'Then use an Agera salicylic wash about twice a week,' she advises. 'It's 20 per cent salicylic, which is the only acid that penetrates at a pore depth so will dissolve what's in the pores and is anti-inflammatory.
'Acne is not just one thing - it's dehydration, it's excessive oiliness, inflammation, swelling and bacteria. Salicylic wash targets lots of those things; it's fantastic for taking down inflammation and clearing out the bacteria and congestion.'
Tech neck and tense jaw
Tech Neck is another common concern for those who overuse their phone.
When youre constantly looking down at your phone or tablet, youre causing horizontal wrinkles on your neck and decolletage. The neck and decolletage are highly visible parts of our body, and one of the most biggest indicators of aging skin.
Most of us take special care of the skin on the face but often forget the neck and below. The skin structure of the neck and decolletage is much thinner and more fragile than the face.
Considering that this skin is more delicate and vulnerable, its important to apply a product that is specially formulated with tightening and smoothing benefits, in addition to the richer hydration that a traditional moisturiser doesnt provide.
Inge Theron, founder of FaceGym and FT Spa Junkie, says it's important to start at the root cause of the problem so try and implement a 'digital downtime' for a few hours every day. Dinner is a great place to start; turn your phone off so you are not tempted by the blings and spend time doing what you love - read a book, take a walk, prepare dinner or meditate and get back into yourself.
Eat plenty of vitamin C, found in leafy greens and berries, which is crucial for building collagen - the most important thing for keeping your skin looking firmer and younger when phone face strikes
If you are suffering from 'tech neck', very simple head stretches can work wonders. Place your right hand on your left side of the head and left hand on the base of the neck and shoulder and gentle pull the head to the right - you should feel a lovely and tender neck stretch. Repeat on the other side and do five of these a day, in the morning and evening.
Working the platysma (the big muscle that runs from your jawline to your shoulder) is also very useful. Sit with an erect spine, pull your lips back against your teeth, and turn the corners of your mouth downward, open your mouth slightly, and activate the muscles of your jaw. Keep your lips pressed firmly against your teeth and the corners of your mouth turned down. The tendons on your neck should stand out. Wiggle your lower jaw up and down start with just five and work up to ten exercises.
For those who are already experiencing the saggy jowls from smart phone face, it's important you use targeted products for lifting and shaping and not just moisturising. Apply along the jowls rubbing in the direction towards the heart and not the other way around. 'I'd also invest in the new FaceGym Face Ball; it works wonders to release tension between the eyes, the jaw and can be used to lift saggy skin,' she said.
Vitamin C, found in leafy greens and berries, is crucial for building collagen - the most important thing for keeping your skin looking firmer and younger.
Dark spots
Our tablets emit blue light, which travel on a wavelength similar to that of UV rays.
Because of this, many experts have raised concern that blue light can have similar effects as UV rays on the skin, including dark spots.
A British man was in for a surprise when he ordered a plate of 'cheesy onion rings' while abroad.
Sam Ferguson, 28, from Worcester, ordered the dish from the menu at Hotel Boulevard in Nairobi, Kenya, where he has recently moved for work.
However instead of battered onions covered in melted cheese, the waiter served up a plate of chunks of cheese with finely-sliced red onion - topped off with what appears to be a green chilli garnish on the side.
This is what Sam Ferguson received after he asked for a plate of 'cheesy onion rings'
Sam's brother Mike explained how he had recently moved to Nairobi to start his own company
He snapped a picture of the bizarre meal and his brother Mike shared it onReddit, where it has since gone viral and been viewed more than 500,000 times.
Commenting below the photograph, one Redditor joked, 'deconstructed cheesy onion rings,' while Hellman109 mused: 'Actually those onions "rings" are more cut up then standard ones.'
One wrote: 'I find the fact that someone is using red onions for onion rings far more appalling. What kind of savage uses anything but yellow/sweet?'
He had hoped for a plate of onion rings (pictured) but said what he got instead was 'awful'
Mike explained: 'My brother's in Nairobi, went out for a meal and ordered cheesy onion rings,' adding that the dish was in fact listed on the menu.
He also joked that his brother was 'a bit of a b******' and that he had moved out to Nairobi to start a bird watching tour company.
Sam told Mirror Online: 'We had a couple of cheese cubes. It was awful.
She found herself thrust into the spotlight four years ago thanks to her high-profile relationship with Prince Harry.
But two years on from their split, and thanks to a budding acting career and an appearance in Mulberry's spring summer 2015 campaign, interest in Cressida Bonas shows no sign of waning.
The 27-year-old actress recently spent three months working in America and Cressida has revealed that she prefers working Stateside to Britain, because she gets less attention there.
Out of the spotlight: Cressida Bonas has revealed she prefers working in America to the UK because she's not known there
Speaking to Harper's Bazaar she said: 'I liked working in America because I have a sort of freedom there. I'm not known in America in the same way as I'm known here.
'It means I feel free to walk into a meeting and be a blank canvas. That's what you want as an actor.'
Cressida has just finished filming Bye Bye Man and although she's used to rubbing shoulders with the Royals she found herself star stuck when one of her idols Faye Dunaway appeared on set.
Royal life: Cressida found herself in the limelight thanks to her relationship with Prince Harry which lasted from 2012 - 2014. Pictured at Twickenham in March 2014
From fashion to film: The 27-year-old is often seen at London Fashion week - pictured with Sir Phillip Green in 2015 but has spent the past three months shooting a film in America
She explained: 'It was surreal, because at university I did a module on post-modernism in film and we studied Bonnie And Clyde thoroughly.
'I watched the film a million times and I'd done all this work and watched all her films when she was young. When she came on set I was star struck, because she is such an incredible figure.'
Cressida is building up plenty of experience working with established actors and her most recent project saw her work alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy and Nicole Kidman on stage as part of Danny Boyle's The Children's Monologues.
Big career move: Last year Cressida performed one-woman play An Evening with Lucian Freud which she has described as the biggest challenge of her life
The project, which saw the actors reading children's letters from warn-torn countries, proved so successful that Cressida helped Boyle to raise enough money for his charity Dramatic Need to build two community centres in South Africa.
Working alongside such calibre of stars is a stark contrast to "the biggest challenge of her life" performing on stage for an hour in An Evening with Lucian Freud last year.
With school out for summer, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have reportedly jetted off on a five-star French holiday with their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
According to French newspaper Sud Ouest, the royal family of four, who are apparently holidaying in south west France, spent a night at the Hotel du Palais in Biarritz - where a basic room costs 422 a night.
The hotel, which 19th century Emperor Napoleon III and his wife Eugenie de Montijo used as their summer palace, is described as 'a hotel rich in memories, style and history' on its website.
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According to The Mirror, Kate and William, both 34, along with George, three, and Charlotte, one, flew into Pau-Pyrenees airport last Tuesday
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reportedly stayed at five star seafront hotel Hotel du Palais in Biarritz - where a basic room costs 422 a night
According to the website, it is the hotel's style, which is 'neither passe or pompous but profoundly elegant, that makes the hotel such a jewel in a seaside resort smiled upon by fortune and fashion'.
The hotel has two restaurants and the resident chef is Jean-Marie Gautier, who has a Michelin star. His menu features contemporary, classic cuisine favouring seasonal ingredients and regional products, with touches of inspiration from the rest of the world.
The spa houses a 15-metre outdoor swimming pool, a sauna, Turkish bath and solarium with breathtaking ocean views.
Whilst a standard room costs just over 400 per night, staying in an Imperial Suite at the hotel in August will set you back up to 3,910 per night (3,304) for bed and breakfast, according to the website.
Rather fittingly, 19th century Emperor Napoleon III and his wife Eugenie de Montijo used the hotel as their summer palace
The spa houses a 15-metre outdoor swimming pool, a sauna, Turkish bath and solarium with breathtaking ocean views
Basic rooms cost over 400 a night, whilst an Imperial Suite at the hotel in August costs up to 3,910 per night (3,304)
According to The Mirror, Kate and William, both 34, along with George, three, and Charlotte, one, flew into Pau-Pyrenees airport last week in the Duke of Westminsters 8m private jet .
They are thought to have landed last Tuesday and be spending the majority of their stay with friends.
A spokesperson for the hotel refused to comment when contacted by MailOnline, saying the matter was 'private'. A spokesperson for Kensington Palace also refused to comment when contacted by MailOnline.
According to the website, it is the hotel's style, which is 'neither passe or pompous but profoundly elegant, that makes the hotel such a jewel in a seaside resort
The seaside resort is described as being 'smiled upon by fortune and fashion'
The hotel is positioned right on the sea front with sweeping views of the ocean
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge recently announced that they plan to visit Canada this autumn.
It's five years since the royal couple last touched down together on Canadian soil - in July 2011 - on what was their first tour as a married couple having wed just two months prior.
It's unclear as to whether Kate, 34, and William, 34, will be joined on the trip by Prince George, three, and Princess Charlotte, one.
Kensington Palace recently announced that Kate and William, both 34, will travel back to Canada again this autumn - five years after their first visit together
A statement released by Kensington Palace said: 'Their Royal Highnesses have been invited to visit by the Government of Canada. They will visit British Columbia and the territory of Yukon as part of their tour.'
The note added that the couple were 'delighted' to be returning to Canada.
It read: 'They hold very happy memories from their visit in 2011 - their first overseas tour as a married couple. They are really looking forward to seeing other parts of this beautiful country and having the opportunity to meet many more Canadians along the way.'
The couple will be the guests of His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arriving at Calgary Airport in Yellowknife, Canada back in 2011, shortly after they were wed
William and Kate got into the swing of West Coast life back in 2011
Prince William throws a barrel into the back of a chuckwagon during his visit to Calgary, Alberta in 2011
Kate will be the guests of David Johnston, the country's Governor
Of his guests, Johnston said: 'Sharon and I will be delighted to welcome Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Canada. Their Royal Tour will take them to the beautiful province of British Columbia and the scenic territory of Yukon.
'Once again, our true Canadian pride and spirit will shine and be at the very heart of this visit so they can feel at home.'
Last time the couple visited the country, they had just wed and prompted the kind of reaction that might ordinarily be reserved for pop stars.
The couple famously canoed across Blatchford Lake in the Northwest Territories and even spent a night in a hidden forest retreat
The Toronto star reported on how the Duchess was clearly a natural at royal life, reporting: 'In a matter of hours, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge signalled to the world that she has the makings of an international fashion icon'
Their 11-day tour in early July 2011 saw them visit Canadas Capital Region, Montreal, Quebec City, Charlottetown, Summerside, Yellowknife, Slave Lake and Calgary.
The royal family continues to hold Canada dear, with the Queen reigning as the country's sovereign since 1952.
A new study has revealed that more than a quarter of women feel so embarrassed by their naked body that they have sex with the lights off or avoid it entirely.
According to a new survey of more than 2,000 British men and women more than 75 per cent of women claimed they disliked their body with 66 per cent saying they are 'ashamed' of their appearance.
In the study, conducted by Weight Watchers, 27 per cent of women admitted they have sex with the lights off or not at all due to a lack of body confidence.
Lights out: One in four women have revealed they are so embarrassed about their bodies they refuse to have sex with the lights on
And it seems that the participants hate looking at themselves naked - with 60 per cent of women avoiding looking at themselves in the mirror when getting undressed.
And the survey also revealed that 38 per cent of those surveyed - both men and women - admitted they thought there partner would not find them as attractive if they saw them naked.
The survey was conducted by the weight management company to mark the launch of the first naked issue of the Weight Watchers magazine.
Low self esteem: In the study, conducted by Weight Watchers 66 per cent of women said they felt 'ashamed' of their shape
But despite the results from the survey six brave women and three courageous men are bucking the trend and have stripped off for a naked shoot after losing a total of 22st 3lbs and 29st 13lbs respectively.
Speaking about the findings and the idea behind the new issue of the magazine Editor Helen Renshaw said: 'It is worrying that so many people feel unhappy or ashamed of their bodies.
'We hope that showing and celebrating healthy, strong, real bodies will inspire people to feel more confident about their own body shape.'
Body confident: Six brave women have stripped off naked to show off their weightloss in the September issue of Weight Watchers magazine
'The idea of the Naked Issue was developed because in the world of womens consumer magazines, the September edition is traditionally all about the new fashion season and is the most influential issue of the year.
'We love fashion as much as the next person, but what is more interesting than clothes is what is going on in our heads and how we feel about our bodies.'
The women will appear in the September issue while the three men will star in the October magazine.
Her bridesmaids wore slip dresses and no bras, while the officiant
When models get married, their nuptials can be quite a bit different from 'normal' occasions. And when runway regular Hanne Gaby Odiele tied the knot this weekend, the walk down the aisle seemed to have more in common with a jaunt down the catwalk.
The 27-year-old said 'I do' to DJ and fellow model John Swiatek in upstate New York, and both the ceremony and reception bared the unmistakable signs of Pinterest lurking and a desire to shun all things traditional.
But it was the bride's wedding gown if it can even be called that which stood out most. Hanne walked down the aisle in a hooded cape, a la Little Red Riding Hood, draped over white pants and a skimpy bralette.
Model Hanne Gaby Odiele got married in upstate New York this weekend and walked down the aisle in a hoodedcape
Designer darling: Underneath, she was wearing pants and a bralette by Balenciaga
Romantic: She and DJ and fellow model John Swiatek said 'I do' under a structure that looked like a cross between a tee-pee and a chuppah
We did it! After saying their vows, the couple kissed and high-fived
Casual: The model's bridesmaids went braless in lilac slip dresses while the groomsmen wore sneakers
In love: The 27-year-old model called the occasion the 'best weekend of our lives'
The Balenciaga look was designed by Alexander Wang, one of several recognizable guest at the wedding.
Hanne has modeled for Wang several times in the past, as has her now-husband; the pair actually appeared in the Spring/Summer 2016 campaign for Alexander's eponymous label, although Hanne's wedding ensemble was Balenciaga.
'Big shout out to @alexanderwangny for making the wedding ensemble of my dreams!' Hanne wrote on Instagram on Monday.
Other big-name guests to attend included Victoria's Secret Angel Martha Hunt, Mica Arganaraz, Jacquelyn Jablonski, Lexi Boling, and Britt Maren.
Models Kasia Struss, Anna Ewers, Sheila Marquez, and Alanna Zimmer served as her bridesmaids, each wearing a silk lilac slip dress and apparently all falling in line with a strict 'no bra' policy. They also went barefoot.
Star-studded: Models in her bridal party included Kasia Struss, Anna Ewers, Sheila Marquez, and Alanna Zimmer
Flats: Her groom wore a white suit and the duo each donned matching white shoes
Comfy: Known for wearing whatever designers put her in on the runway, Hanne didn't seem bugged to be wearing a bra in front of her father (pictured), who walked her down the aisle
Standing out: Hanne said the outfit, made for her by Alexander Wang, was 'the wedding ensemble of my dreams'
A-list: Alexander Wang (center) attended the wedding as a guest, as did several other fashion industry names
Catwalk: Hanne is a runway regular who seems to have picked up many model friends
The bridesmaids didn't hold traditional bouquets, either, but rather carried different-sized baskets of flowers in yet another deliberately unique touch.
When the ceremony began at Stone Tavern Farm in Roxbury which is about three hours north of Manhattan Hanne was walked down the aisle by her father, who wore a classic black suit.
Her groom was waiting in a white suit with white loafers, which matched the bride's own chunky white flats.
The ceremony was officiated by fashion executive Louise du Toit, whose cheeky Instagram handle is @louisusthechrist. Louise also picked an eye-catching ensemble, dressed in a dramatic pink robe over a white mini-dress.
Officiant: They were wed by fashion executive Louise du Toit, whose Instagram handle is @louisusthechrist
Country kids: After saying 'I do', they frolicked together in a nearby field
Fashionable crowd: Model guests included Lexi Boling (left), Victoria's Secret Angel Martha Hunt, Mica Arganaraz, Jacquelyn Jablonski, and Britt Maren
Always posing: Some of the models, like bridesmaid Anna Ewers, used the pretty backdrop for some fashion-forward photos
Under the stars: The reception was held in a decorated barn, and guests held up sparklers during the first dance
So much fun! Afterward, the after party included a bounce house and fireworks
So on point: The bride and her bridesmaids wore customized Juicy Couture tracksuits while traveling to the ceremony
Fashion-forward guests sat in rows that had been decorated with mason jars full of flowers, and watched as the couple recited their vows under a pyramid structure that appeared to be a cross between a tee-pee and a chuppuh.
Hanne and John kissed as man and wife, high-fived, and walked out to applause before running out in a nearby field to frolic in the grass.
The party was then held in a barn on the premises, where the couple sat at their own table to enjoy the festivities. They enjoyed their first dance inside the all-wood structure while guests held sparklers in the air.
Pictures of the mother-daughter duo have gone viral
Her mom, 30-year-old Jamie Dawn Beckstead, went home and buzzed the same line across her own head
The five-year-old went under the knife on July 22 but was sad to have a line shaved through her hair
Faith May Beckstead needed surgery to remove a brain tumor that was pushing on her optic nerve and destroying her
A Utah mom facing the unimaginable reality of her daughter having brain surgery did what little she could to make the little girl feel better and in the process, managed to touch the hearts of men and women across the internet.
Jamie Dawn Beckstead, 30, was naturally heartbroken when her five-year-old daughter Faith May had to go under the knife to remove a brain tumor on July 22.
But while she couldn't cure her or stop the surgery, she could cheer her up about having her head shaved.
Like mother, like daughter! Faith May Beckstead, five, had to have some of her hair shaved for surgery so her mom Jamie Dawn, 30, copied her
Tough cookie: The little girl needed to have a brain tumor removed in July
The tumor was pushing on her optic nerve and destroying her pituitary gland, the 'master gland' that controls growth and development.
To operate, the hospital had to shave a line in Faith May's pretty brown hair, starting at the front of her scalp and reaching back behind her right ear.
She'll also have a scar along that area of her head for the rest of her life, though she'll likely be able to grow most of the hair back and style it accordingly.
For now, though, she was a 'a little down' when she noticed the hair missing on her head, and her mom did what she could to cheer her up.
Sweet: The story was shared on the Love What Matters Facebook page, where it went viral
Loving family: Jamie and her husband have two other children and live in Utah
Jamie shaved a similar line across her head, also ending behind her ear so the two would match.
For a set of pictures taken at the hospital, the two have identical hairstyles, down to their ponytails. Jamie nestles her little girl, and the two both smile for the camera.
The pictures were later shared on the Facebook page Love What Matters, where they've been liked 18,000 times.
'This is Faith May, my superhero!!!' the poster wrote. 'Every superhero has a sidekick who picks them up, dusts them off, and makes them feel stronger then ever.'
On the mend Faith May (left) is recovering from issues with her optic nerve and pituitary gland
Nice: Jamie said she is 'humbled and grateful' for words of support she's gotten online
'In true sidekick fashion Faith's mom, Jamie Dawn Beckstead, went home during a shift swap and came back looking just like Faith! Judging by her smile she loves it!'
After the post went viral and racked up supportive comments for the family, Jamie expressed words of gratitude.
'I am beyond humbled and grateful to every single person here praying and sending well wishes. May God bless each one of you for your kindness,' she wrote.
In these straitened times, budget supermarkets are having no problems persuading shoppers to head for their most cost effective products.
However, just because you have a 25p aubergine in your basket doesn't mean you know how to cook up a storm with it.
Step forward 35-year-old Instagram chef Miguel Barclay, from London, who has amassed more than 60,000 followers on his @onepoundmeals account thanks to his incredibly cheap - but delicious-looking - meal ideas.
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The man behind the one pound meals: chef Miguel Barclay has won a legion of followers on social media thanks to his cost-effective - and delicious-looking - meals
Looking good: A fancy ballotine of chicken and cheesy leeks costs just 99 per person
Dishes including this cheese, tomato and mushroom pizza have proved a hit thanks to the wallet-friendly costs involved - just 54p in this case
The cost-conscious can't get enough of dishes including stuffed chicken and cous cous for 99p, a similarly priced ballotine of chicken and cheesy leeks and an aubergine stack that will set you back 86p.
Photos of the dishes are all shot with a level of professionalism that might be reserved for a glossy cook book, which is clearly winning over would-be chefs shopping on a shoe-string.
The majority of the posts created by Barclay are videos, offering step by step instructions on how to create meals in your own kitchen.
Miguel, who works in e-commerce, told FEMAIL that all the food he creates comes in at less than 1 per portion.
He said: 'I have always had a passion for food and like to over-experiment with my dishes.
MIGUEL BARCLAY'S AUBERGINE STACK (86p per portion) A taste of Italy! This aubergine stack will set home cooks back just 86p Slice and griddle an entire aubergine. Keep 3 slices aside and finely chop the rest. Fry chopped garlic in a pan and add half a can of chopped tomatoes. Simmer for 5 mins, then add chopped aubergine and cubed feta. Layer ingredients to create an aubergine stack. Video coming soon. Ingredients aubergine: 45p (Lidl) garlic clove: 3p (1 bulb/30p Tesco) 1/2 tin tomatoes 16p (1kg/31p Lidl) 50g feta: 22p (200g/89p Lidl) Advertisement
'My mind is always searching for the core flavours that create a particular dish, and when I started to strip away the layers, slowly my dishes were getting simpler and as a by-product, much cheaper.'
He said that he set himself a challenge initially - creating well known dishes for less than 1.
'I posted them on Instagram and quickly they started to become popular. After only a few months I had tens of thousands of followers and was having fun experimenting with my own dishes too.'
He says keeping under 1 is 'difficult': 'I have had to sacrifice garnishes like a wedge of lemon with my paella, but on the whole my dishes do not suffer too much with the price constraints.'
A chicken and leek pie with puff pastry costs 92p
Wallet-friendly: This chicken biryani costs just 89p per portion, says Miguel
A very fancy version of mushrooms, bacon and egg on toast will set you back just 48p
Finger lickin' good: This chicken dish comes in at 99p per person, while a Spanish omelette, right, costs just 68p per person
Mamma mia! Italian staple gnocchi comes in at 38p per person
Forget the garnish and shop at Lidl, says Miguel as he explains ways to trim prices right down (Pictured: a garnish-free paella for under 1)
He says his number one tip when trying to create a dish for under 1 is to shop at Lidl. 'They cannot be beaten on most prices and the quality is actually comparable with the bigger supermarkets.'
Other winners include mushrooms, bacon and egg on toast, elegantly presented, for 48p using bread 10p (Waitrose), egg 6p (Lidl), mushrooms 10p (Lidl) and bacon 22p (Lidl).
Elsewhere there's a Spanish omelette that comes in at 68p a portion and is made from potato, 20p (1kg/80p Sainsbury's), onion, 8p (1kg/59p Tesco) and six eggs, 15 eggs/1 Lidl.
University of York lecturer says regulation would make cannabis safer
But mental health expert Ian Hamilton said potency is more complicated
Study found joints contain 0.3g - lower than the 1g we once believed
Data suggests joints are not as strong as governments are warning
Cannabis continues to be the world's favourite illicit drug with around 147 million people using it annually.
However, there are fears the drug is becoming increasingly potent and it could pose a public health risk.
But how reliable is the evidence? And is it really getting stronger?
Critics have accused the UK government of ignoring emerging evidence cannabis was becoming more potent and it represented a serious public health problem
HOT TOPIC FOR DEBATE
The debate about cannabis potency and harm is long running.
In the UK, where there are 2 million annual users, it pre-dates the 2004 downgrading of cannabis classification from class B to class C.
But this episode demonstrated some of the issues with estimating the harms of the drug.
Research conducted at the time highlighted how the relative harms of cannabis compared with other class B substances was one of the factors behind the decision to reclassify.
However, critics accused the government of ignoring emerging evidence cannabis was becoming more potent and it represented a serious public health problem.
Those more sympathetic to the change in classification questioned whether this interpretation of cannabis potency was accurate.
They highlighted how an alternative conclusion had been drawn from published research which suggested only modest changes in cannabis potency over the 20 to 30 years prior to 2004.
Others, meanwhile, questioned the relevance of potency evidence, pointing to a shortage of studies looking at the consumption of cannabis in a natural setting.
They also said users may well be smoking higher strength strains, but they could be 'titrating' their doses as a consequence, for example, by taking smaller puffs.
The debate over potency is not helped by politicians referring to the 'lethal quality' of today's cannabis.
Most assessments of cannabis potency have focused on increasing levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
ARE THERE DIFFERING LEVELS OF POTENCY?
Although the evidence is inconclusive, there is widespread acceptance strains of cannabis are stronger than in previous decades.
To date, most assessments of cannabis potency have focused on increasing levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
But this doesn't provide the full story. Cannabis contains hundreds of compounds, some of which interact with each other.
For example, THC helps the user get high, but another compound, cannabidiol (CBD), can counter this by reducing unpleasant feelings such as anxiety.
So it is the balance between THC and CBD over time that is important.
A recent analysis of over 10,000 cannabis transactions carried out in the US between 2000 and 2010, estimated the average joint contains 0.3g
It would seem many cannabis producers have competed to incrementally increase THC levels while selectively breeding out the more protective cannabinoids.
Seizures from the US Drug Enforcement Administration show how this ratio has changed in America over the last 20 years.
This changing ratio was helped in the UK by the introduction of hydroponic techniques in the 1980s for cultivating cannabis.
IS THE RESEARCH OUTDATED?
Proxy measures of cannabis potency such as those based on home seizures of cannabis are widely used and quoted.
But we don't know if the cannabis seized is a representative sample of the cannabis in circulation.
Steve Rolles, senior policy analyst for Transform Drug Policy Foundation, describes it as 'a massive data hole'.
Also, the quality and sophistication of the cannabis testing procedures, such as chromatography, used to analyse seizures has improved over recent decades.
But this means seminal and widely quoted research is outdated and less relevant.
Another factor to consider is how much cannabis is consumed in the average joint.
A recent analysis of over 10,000 cannabis transactions carried out in the US between 2000 and 2010, estimated the average joint contains 0.3g.
This is significantly lower than the previous estimates of 0.75 to 1g.
How deeply a user inhales and how long the smoke is held in the lungs can also influence the strength of the hit from a joint
Other factors that influence the strength of the hit are how deeply you inhale and how long you hold the smoke in your lungs.
The method used to ingest the drug also influences a user's experience, such as eating, vaping or smoking.
Dose can be increased by using a bong whereby a greater quantity of the drug is inhaled in one go compared to a single hit on a joint.
Higher potency concentrates known as 'dabs' have the potential to alter the level of intoxication.
Research gathered from a subset of cannabis users creates ill informed policy, threatening the credibility of public health messages.
WHY CANNABIS SHOULD BE REGULATED
Without any quality assurance system such as the one recently introduced at a festival, it is likely younger users who haven't been using cannabis for long are the most vulnerable to variations in cannabis potency.
There are also public health implications.
Cannabis users have to rely on their own knowledge when deciding on the dosage to achieve the desired high.
A regulated market such as the one in Colorado could mean users are able to make better decisions and, in turn, reduce the rate of people needing treatment services where cannabis is the primary problem.
It is time for a national survey of cannabis which not only provides information about the strength of cannabis but how exactly it is consumed too, mental health experts warn
The government should regulate cannabis products to make them safer, enabling consumers to make more informed choices.
It should create opportunities for targeted education and harm reduction, and employ other evidence-based health interventions.
The science underpinning the cannabis potency story is problematic.
With so many people using cannabis, it can't be acceptable to continue with a system where basic information about this product's strength and purity are obscure.
After being told she had bone cancer, Florencia Pistrittos mind was focused on one thing: survival.
I just couldnt stop crying, recalls Florencia, 31, a former waitress from Edinburgh. All I could think about was my two-year-old son Marco.
So when it was explained that the chemotherapy she needed might leave her with long term side-effects, this barely registered.
Florencia had a 10cm tumour in her thigh. My doctors told me it was touch and go whether they could save my leg, but said it was possible to cure me with chemotherapy and surgery, she says.
Two years later, Argentinian-born Florencia Pistritto, Edinburgh, is in remission from cancer
Over the next ten months Florencia was given 17 cycles of cisplatin, a widely used form of chemotherapy.
I cant say the risks werent explained to me because they were, she says now, two years later. Before I started on cisplatin I was warned it might cause hearing loss and was given a hearing test.
But when you have a two-year-old and are trying to stay alive you tend not to worry so much about your hearing.
However, after her first session, in July 2014, she noticed what she calls a ringing noise in her ears. And when Marco was shouting his voice sounded muffled, she adds.
I didnt want to lose my hearing at 29 on top of everything else, but I had little choice as the doctors said cisplatin was the most effective drug for my cancer.
Each new session of chemotherapy marked a further deterioration in her hearing, and after five cycles she needed hearing aids in both ears.
For Florencia, who speaks fluent Italian and who hoped to start a new career as a translator once her treatment was completed, it was a worrying development.
Cisplatin is given to 25 per cent of cancer patients, and while it is effective at destroying cancer cells, it may also damage the tiny hairs inside the ear that are crucial for hearing.
Florencia, who speaks fluent Italian and who hoped to start a new career as a translator once her treatment was completed, was worried about her gradual loss of hearing
Around 60 per cent of patients who receive the drug will develop hearing loss. The higher the dose and more courses of chemotherapy the worse the damage.
Cisplastin contains platinum, a heavy metal thats very effective against cancer.
But its not just hearing loss. Florencia, like many who have cisplastin and other forms of chemotherapy, suffers from so-called chemo brain, characterised by problems concentrating and fatigue.
These side-effects have a big impact on my quality of life, she says.
Striking a balance between the need to eradicate cancer cells with the need to maintain quality of life after the treatment is difficult.
It is a growing challenge: advances in cancer treatment mean more people than ever are surviving cancer, according to a report published yesterday by the charity Macmillan Cancer Support, but around a quarter are left facing some kind of poor health or disability.
Many have been affected by the side-effects of their cancer treatment.
A study just published in the journal Cancer found that one in five women over 65 with newly diagnosed breast cancer had lost the ability to complete some of the basic tasks necessary for independent living within one year of starting treatment as a result of the treatment itself.
Im grateful of course to have had such effective treatment,' Florencia says. 'But with two million survivors in the UK there has to be more emphasis on our quality of life after treatment
Its not just chemotherapy that can cause long-term issues.
For example, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine showed that women whove had radiotherapy for breast cancer had up to a 4 per cent greater risk of heart attack radiation is linked to coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle) and heart valve disease.
At least 500,000 people in the UK are now living with ill health or disability due to their cancer treatment according to Macmillan Cancer Support.
Problems include chronic fatigue, sexual difficulties, mental health problems, urinary problems such as incontinence and gastrointestinal problems.
Professor Jane Maher, a consultant oncologist at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, Hillingdon, West London, explains that some problems may only emerge months after treatment, and can persist for ten years or more.
Its fair to say that health problems related to cancer treatment often go under recognised and under treated, she says.
Patients often dont connect their symptoms to their cancer treatment especially if they start after treatment has ended.
'They may develop poor bowel control more than a year after pelvic radiotherapy, for example, while those treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy as children may develop heart failure during labour due to damage to the heart.
Around 60 per cent of patients who receive the drug will develop hearing loss. The higher the dose and more courses of chemotherapy the worse the damage
Others suffer from chemo-brain a recognised form of cognitive impairment related to chemotherapy.
Fatigue is very common in the first year after treatment which can make returning to work hard.
However, as more people now live many years after undergoing cancer treatment, attention is turning to try to ensure that those years are not mired by the effects of that treatment.
The charity Action On Hearing Loss has just announced a research grant to investigate exactly how chemotherapy drugs enter the hair cells in the ear and cause the irreparable damage.
Cisplatin is a gold standard treatment for solid tumours and is incredibly effective but it can cause profound hearing loss, says Dr Ralph Holme, the charitys director of biomedical research.
Its a significant health problem.
Our research is going to focus on understanding how cisplatin gets into the hair cells and then well be screening a number of existing compounds to see if they can protect against this.
Florencia gradually lost her hearing during the cancer treatment, and now completely relies on hearing aids
Switching treatments may help prevent some long-term effects, suggests Dr Timothy Yap, a clinician scientist at The Institute Of Cancer Research, London, and consultant medical oncologist at The Royal Marsden Hospital, London.
For example, we make sure patients are aware that hearing loss is a possible long-term side-effect of cisplatin and tell them that they should inform their oncologist if they notice any changes in their hearing, he says.
Even before tinnitus is obvious they may notice a buzzing sound or whooshing noise, so they can be switched to another type of chemotherapy such as carboplatin which has a much lower risk of hearing problems, before the damage becomes too widespread.
Carboplatin also contains platinum, though is not as effective as cisplastin. Doses or scheduling may also be altered.
Another option is trying to personalise the treatment using drugs targeted at the patients specific cancer. Dr Yap treats selected lung cancer patients with targeted drugs called epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors, such as Tarceva, Iressa and Afatinib.
These targeted drugs act like homing missiles against specific cancer targets, in this case EGFR, rather than proving toxic against all cells.
They work by blocking signals that tell cancer cells to grow. Patients are now screened first to detect if they have an EGFR mutation in their cancer, so oncologists can predict whether these targeted drugs will work for them.
Dr Yap says that in certain groups of patients these targeted treatments not only have fewer toxic side-effects than chemotherapy, they can in some cases be more effective.
As more people now live many years after undergoing cancer treatment, attention is turning to try to ensure that those years are not mired by the effects of that treatment
Also being introduced are genetic tests that can identify patients who wont respond to breast cancer chemotherapy, for example, so they can avoid side-effects from treatments that would never have helped them.
The National Institute of Healthcare and Excellence (NICE) updated guidance this month to recommend patients are given a new genetic test called Oncotype DX which can predict which women with certain types of early stage breast cancer will respond to chemotherapy.
This test helps clinicians make more informed decisions about who will benefit most from treatment with chemotherapy, explains Dr Jeremy Braybrooke, a consultant medical oncologist at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust.
COMMON SIDE EFFECTS TO CANCER TREATMENTS Breathlessness Tiredness (fatigue) Infertility Hair loss Mouth ulcers Eating problems Pain Lymphoedema Weakened heart and bones Menopausal symptoms Source: Macmillan Advertisement
If chemotherapy is unsuitable after surgery, radiotherapy or hormone treatments may be used instead.
Strategies are now being introduced to minimise some of the debilitating side-effects of radiotherapy, too.
There are also simple breath-holding exercises which we can teach people to do while having radiotherapy so their heart is kept away from the chest wall and less likely to be damaged by the treatment, says Professor Maher.
Breath-holding protects by pushing the heart away from the radiation beams. A study at Harvard University found for women having radiotherapy for breast cancer it cut exposure to the heart by up to 96 per cent.
Its hoped that in the future cancer patients may avoid the long-term effects that Florencia has been left with.
She knows shes incredibly lucky to be still here but her hearing is now so limited even with hearing aids that she has to wear constantly, that she will not be able to work as a translator.
Im grateful of course to have had such effective treatment, but now there are two million cancer survivors in the UK there has to be more emphasis on what our quality of life will be like after treatment.
A leading Aids charity has won a High Court battle over whether a preventative treatment for HIV should be funded by the NHS.
The decision has sparked a row among campaigners who believe it might lead to irresponsible sexual behaviour and will use up vital funds at a time when life-prolonging cancer drugs are being rationed.
The debate relates to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a 'highly effective' anti-retroviral drug which stops the virus being transmitted between partners where one is HIV-positive.
It has been called a 'game-changer' by Aids charities as when taken consistently, PrEP has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection in people who are at high risk by more than 90 per cent.
However, studies show condom use falls among men taking the drugs - and critics suggest it will encourage promiscuity and 'risky lifestyles'.
The once-a-day pill costs around 100 a week per patient, and works by stopping the virus multiplying - so it can't be transmitted.
It is aimed at uninfected men who are having unprotected sex with other men - and therefore considered 'at risk'.
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A High Court judge is to rule on whether a preventative treatment for HIV should be funded by the NHS (file photo)
Today, Mr Justice Green, sitting in London, ruled in favour of the National Aids Trust (NAT) who brought a challenge against NHS England.
NHS England has long argued it did not have the power to fund the treatment because it was a preventative drug - and the responsibility to provide it should fall to local authorities.
However, the drug is currently used in America, Canada, Australia and France, protecting the most at-risk gay men.
The ruling was broadly welcomed by leading medical organisations and MPs, who said it was 'ethical' and would save many lives.
But critics today voiced outrage given the drugs would cost the NHS 20 million a year if introduced.
Philip Davies, the Tory MP for Shipley, said it was wrong the taxpayer was funding HIV drugs when thousands of cancer patients were deprived access to crucial medicine themselves.
There isnt a bottomless pit to spend on the NHS. Weve got to prioritise and decide where we should rank this in the list of NHS spending priorities, he told MailOnline.
The fact that were depriving cancer patients crucial drugs at the expense of other treatments is something weve got to look at. You cant fund everything on the NHS.
Youve got to wander what reaction youd get if you looked a cancer patient in the eye to explain you havent been able to fund their treatment because youve prioritised other treatments.
WHAT IS PRE-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS? Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is a way for people who do not have HIV but who are at substantial risk of getting it to prevent HIV infection by taking a pill every day. The pill (brand name Truvada) contains two medicines (tenofovir and emtricitabine) that are used in combination with other medicines to treat HIV. When someone is exposed to HIV through sex or injection drug use, these medicines can work to keep the virus from establishing a permanent infection. When taken consistently, PrEP has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection in people who are at high risk by up to 92per cent. PrEP is much less effective if it is not taken consistently. PrEP is a powerful HIV prevention tool and can be combined with condoms and other prevention methods to provide even greater protection than when used alone. But people who use PrEP must commit to taking the drug every day and seeing their health care provider for follow-up every three months. Source: Centres for Disease and Control Preventions Advertisement
Others were concerned giving couples pills to prevent HIV infection would lead to reckless sexual behaviour.
James Mildred, a spokeman from Christian organisation CARE today told MailOnline funding PrEP would encourage promiscuity.
He said: 'If this drug is ultimately made available on the NHS we think there is a danger it will end up promoting promiscuity and more hedonistic, but risky lifestyles.
'We would have very real concerns therefore that making PrEP more available will have unintended consequences.
He continued: 'It would be tragically naive to assume PrEP will reduce the risk of other sexually transmitted diseases when that will not necessarily be the case.
'At the very least we would urge a healthy degree of scepticism about whether or not the drug really will prove a game changer as some are claiming.'
Andrea Minichiello Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern added prescribing the treatment to gay men would not encourage responsible sexual health.
She said: 'Of course, it is important that we protect people and seek cures from disease.
'However the real challenge here is the underlying behaviour and lifestyle which is risky and damaging to good health and proper relationships.'
But other HIV charities said while the majority of gay men use condoms to prevent being infected with HIV, there is also an 'ethical duty' to provide PrEP to those who do not.
Prep can be paid for privately with a doctor's prescription but is not yet available through the NHS.
It costs around 400 per patient a month although the NHS would agree a far lower price, possibly half this amount. This is considerably cheaper than the 15,000 a year it costs to treat a patient with HIV.
The once-a-day pill costs around 400 a month per person, and works by stopping the virus multiplying - so it can't be transmitted between partners. Pictured, an artwork of the virus
The NHS in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have not made a decision on whether to fund PrEP yet.
Mr Justice Green ruled NHS England is legally able to fund the drug - and had 'erred' in deciding it had 'no power or duty' to do so.
The health body said PrEP will now go through a process to decide whether it will be routinely prescribed.
A row erupted earlier this year after NHS England said it would not fund PrEP.
In March, the body decided the treatment was a preventative service and was therefore not its responsibility.
It has said local councils are in charge of funding preventative health services.
'CONDOM USE FELL AMONG COUPLES TAKING HIV-PREVENTION DRUGS' Condom use fell among men taking PRrEP drugs, a study found. The French IPERGAY study revealed the drugs were effective in preventing HIV even when used intermittently. However, condom use declined among those taking the treatment. The study looked at 332 people split into four groups. The majority 54 per cent took their PrEP medication regularly but used condom infrequently. The second group 23.5 per cent) took their drugs and used condoms regularly. Around 16 per cent did not adhere to their PrEP course and did nto use condoms frequently. And 6.5 per cent did not take their drugs regularly but did use condoms. This suggests only a small subset of the group use a combination of PrEP and condoms to prevent infection. Another study by Kaiser Permanente found condom use fell in 41 per cent of men taking PrEP. Advertisement
However, NHS England agreed to a re-evaluation after the NAT launched a legal challenge.
Then in May it said it had 'considered and accepted NHS England's external legal advice that it does not have the legal power to commission PrEP', and that under 2013 regulations 'local authorities are the responsible commissioner for HIV prevention services'.
It said if it prioritised PrEP there was the risk of a legal challenge from proponents of other 'treatments and interventions that could be displaced by PrEP'.
The NAT, an independent charity, challenged the May 31 decision to 'exclude' PrEP from consideration by NHS England's Clinical Priorities Advisory Group 'as part of its annual commissioning process'.
It argued the body does have the legal power to commission the drug.
Speaking today, Mr Justice Green said: 'No one doubts that preventative medicine makes powerful sense.
'But one governmental body says it has no power to provide the service and local authorities say they have no money.
'The claimant is caught between the two and the potential victims of this disagreement are those who will contract HIV/Aids but who would not were the preventative policy to be fully implemented.
'In my judgment the answer to this conundrum is that NHS England has erred in deciding that it has no power to commission the preventative drugs in issue.'
He added NHS England has 'mischaracterised the PrEP treatment as preventative when in law it is capable of amounting to treatment for a person with infection'.
In any event, NHS England had the power to commission preventative treatments because that facilitated, or was incidental to, 'the discharge of its broader statutory functions'.
The judge gave NHS England permission to appeal against his ruling to the Court of Appeal.
Dr Jonathan Fielden, NHS England's director of specialised commissioning and Deputy National Medical Director, said there would be an appeal against the conclusions reached by the judge as to the scope of NHS England's legal powers under the National Health Service Act 2006.
Dr Fielden added: 'In parallel with that we will set the ball rolling on consulting on PrEP so as to enable it to be assessed as part of the prioritisation round.
'Of course, this does not imply that PrEP - at what could be a cost of 10-20 million a year - would actually succeed as a candidate for funding when ranked against other interventions.
'But in those circumstances, Gilead - the pharmaceutical company marketing the PrEP drug Truvada - will be asked to submit better prices, which would clearly affect the likelihood that their drug could be commissioned.'
Studies show condom use does fall in men taking PrEP.
PrEP has been called a 'game-changer' by campaigners as when taken consistently, it has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection by more than 90 per cent
Matthew Terrell, writer and gay activist told Huffington Post he talks with men on gay dating apps Grindr and Scruff who say they no longer use condoms because they are taking the drugs.
He said: Please stop using this pill as a license to engage in unprotected sex.
You are going to wreak havoc on the sexual health of our community, and you are turning one of the greatest medical advances of our times into an expensive sex toy.
Charities said would provide an additional defence against HIV - and would not be used simply as an alternative to safe sex.
It comes after the results of a trial, published in February 2015, suggested that rates of HIV infection could be slashed by treating actively gay men with the anti-viral drug when they are healthy.
Dr Michael Brady, medical director at the HIV/Aids charity Terrence Higgins Trust, welcomed the findings and described the drug as 'a game-changer'.
He said PrEP offered 'another line of defence' against HIV, alongside condoms and regular testing.
Studies show condom use falls among men taking the drugs - and critics suggest it may encourage promiscuity
Dr Brady said: 'It is not a vaccine and it won't be for everyone, but, once approved, we expect it to significantly increase the momentum in our fight against the virus.
'We urge the Government, NHS England and local authorities to make PrEP a key priority in the fight against HIV.'
The LGA's community well-being portfolio holder, Izzi Seccombe, welcomed the High Court's decision, saying: 'We are pleased that today's ruling confirms our position that NHS England has the power to commission the HIV treatment PrEP.
'During the transition period to the implementation of the NHS and Care Act 2010, NHS England sought to retain commissioning of HIV therapeutics, which the PrEP treatment clearly falls into.
'We therefore believe that it is, and should remain, an NHS responsibility.
'Councils have invested millions in providing sexual health services since taking over responsibility for public health three years ago, and we look forward to continuing to work with NHS England to determine how PrEP could be introduced across the country, and reduce the risk of HIV infection.
Women who have their appendix or tonsils out are more fertile, a study has found
Women who have their appendix or tonsils out when they are young are more likely to get pregnant, a study has found.
They become pregnant more quickly than the rest of the population, it showed.
Having such an operation will not boost a woman's fertility - but the finding will reassure women having such procedures that it won't harm their chances of motherhood, researchers said.
They do not know why the link exists, but suspect it might be down to the behaviour of women who have these operations.
They added the findings might lead to new treatments - but advised women not to have their tonsils and appendix taken out unnecessarily.
For years, doctors have been taught having an appendix out cut a woman's chances of conceiving.
But the new study, by scientists from the University of Dundee's medical school, debunks this as a myth.
It examined the anonymised medical records of hundreds of thousands of women across Britain.
The results revealed women who had both tonsils and appendixes out were the most fertile.
Pregnancy rates were significantly higher among those who had an operation to remove their appendix (54.4 per cent) or one to take out their tonsils out (53.4 per cent).
WOMEN ARE BEING PUSHED INTO IVF CLINICS DESPITE REMAINING FERTILE UNTIL THEY ARE 45, SAYS FERTILITY EXPERT Women remain fertile until they are 45 and are wrongly being pushed into early IVF by private clinics, Robert Winston, Britain's leading fertility expert, has said. The NHS advises that women's fertility starts to decline sharply from 35 and those planning to have a family should take this into account. But Lord Winston, who heads the Genesis Research Trust in London, dismissed this. He said women are able to conceive until their mid-40s and suggested fertility clinics that say otherwise are doing so for financial gain. Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday he said: 'Actually even at the age of 40 your chances of getting pregnant spontaneously are pretty good if you keep trying, and it's really not until you're 45 there is a really sharp turn off. Advertisement
They were highest among women who had both out (59.7 per cent), compared with those in the rest of the population (43.7 per cent).
And the time it took to get pregnant was also shortest among those who had both an appendectomy and tonsillectomy.
The study followed a 2012 report from the same research team which initially revealed the surprising statistics around appendectomies and pregnancy.
Mr Sami Shimi, of the University of Dundee medical school said: 'For many years medical students were taught that appendectomy had a negative effect on fertility and young women often feared that having their appendix removed threatened their chances of later becoming pregnant.
'Our first study produced such a surprising result - that women who had had their appendix removed actually appeared more likely to become pregnant - that we wanted to look at a wider group to establish whether this was really related to the removal of the appendix, which if left can be a cause of inflammation.
'However, once again the results have been surprising. We have found that women who have had an appendectomy or tonsillectomy, or even more particularly both, are more likely to become pregnant, and sooner than the rest of the general population.
'This scientifically challenges the myth of the effect of appendectomy on fertility. What we have to establish now is exactly why that is the case.'
Mr Shimi said that the findings should not be taken as a sign that women should go under the knife for an appendectomy or tonsillectomy thinking it would increase their chances of becoming pregnant.
Researchers do not know why the link between having tonsils or appendix out and fertility exists - but suspect it might be down to the behaviour of women who have these operations
He said: 'This research does not mean that removing a normal appendix directly increases fertility.
'It does however mean that young women who need to have their appendix removed can do so without fear of the risk on future fertility.'
Dr Li Wei, of the School of Pharmacy at University College London, added: 'This research is of paramount interest because appendectomy and tonsillectomy are very common surgical operations, experienced by tens of thousands of people in the UK alone.
'Although a biological cause is possible, we believe that the cause is more likely to be behavioural. We are pursuing both hypotheses with further research.'
The study was published in the Journal of Fertility and Sterility.
A two-year-old girl could develop a life-threatening blood clot at any time because she has twice as many veins as most adults.
Cambree Hensley's life is plagued by Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS), which affects just one in 100,000 people worldwide.
The condition impacts the development of blood vessels, soft tissues, and bones and means the toddler from Oklahoma City veins are much larger than usual.
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Cambree Hensley's life is plagued by Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS), which affects just one in 100,000 people worldwide
Her increased blood flow causes swelling putting her at high risk of developing a fatal blood clot. As a result, her left leg is two-and-a-half inches wider and an inch longer than her right
She experiences pain every day, and her increased blood flow causes swelling putting her at high risk of developing a fatal blood clot.
But doctors can not tell her parents if or when this will happen, as every case of KTS is unique.
As a result of the condition, her left leg is two-and-a-half inches wider and an inch longer than her right.
And it often leads to her losing balance and falling over because the increased blood flow makes her leg heavier.
She wears specially designed shoes with a one inch orthopedic lift to help her walk.
Cambree's mother Ashley, 32, said: 'I feel scared out of my mind, but it's my job to be a strong mum for Cambree.
'Every day I get people saying, "What's wrong with her leg?"
'It hurts a little bit, but I've taught her to say, "It's my pretty birthmark".
'She is still our strong angel though and loves dancing around.'
It often leads to Cambree losing her balance and falling over because the increased blood flow makes her leg heavier. She wears specially designed shoes with a one inch orthopedic lift to help her walk, pictured
She had a special glue inserted into the major veins to minimise the condition, laser treatment to toughen the skin on her leg to make bleeding easier, and sclerotherapy to shut off some of her smaller veins. Every day her mother Ashley, 32, has people ask what's wrong with Cambree's leg, but she has taught to say it's her 'pretty birthmark' (left with father Matt, 32)
Within seconds of Cambree's birth at Oklahoma's Norman Regional HealthPlex in August 2013, doctors noticed a port wine stain covering most of her left leg
Doctors told her the mark could signify more serious underlying problems, and they would need to monitor it. The next morning, Cambree was examined by paediatricians and a dermatologist, who could not agree on a diagnosis, because KTS is so rare, pictured with mother Ashley and father Matt
Within seconds of Cambree's birth at Oklahoma's Norman Regional HealthPlex in August 2013, doctors noticed a port wine stain covering most of her left leg.
Not realising its implications, Mrs Hensley didn't care about the birthmark. All she wanted was to hold her baby.
Then doctors told her the mark could signify more serious underlying problems, and they would need to monitor it.
She broke down in tears and said the 'wonderful moment had been ripped away' from her.
The next morning, Cambree was examined by paediatricians and a dermatologist, who could not agree on a diagnosis, because KTS is so rare.
Six days later, Cambree's parents took their daughter to Cook Children's Hospital in Texas, three hours away.
Her parents were on tenterhooks as she was seen by a neurosurgeon, a genetics doctor and a haematologist.
They examined her birthmark, her vascular malformation and noted her left leg was two-and-a-half inches wider and an inch longer than the right.
Officially diagnosed with KTS at eight days old, doctors explained Cambree's condition was potentially life-threatening, because of the frequency of blood clotting.
Cambree was officially diagnosed with KTS at eight days old, they explained her condition was potentially life-threatening, because of the frequency of blood clotting
Her parents are fundraising for annual check ups in Boston and further surgery, in a bid to close the main extra vein down and lower her chances of developing a debilitating blood clot
Mrs Hensley said: 'We were happy to get a diagnosis, but nervous as we were told the condition gets worse with time.'
For the first eight months of Cambree's life, the family felt very isolated.
WHAT IS KLIPPEL-TRENAUNAY SYNDROME? Klippel Trenaunay syndrome (KTS) is a rare genetic condition which affects the development of blood vessels, soft tissues and bones. It has three main side effects: a 'port wine stain' (Marley's big 'bruise'), the overgrowth of bones - particularly limbs - and varicose veins. The disorder is estimated to affect around one in 100,000 people. It can occur in people who have no history of the disorder. There is no cure and treatment is symptomatic. KTS is often a progressive disorder, and complications may be life-threatening. Source: US Library of Medicine Advertisement
Then they found support through a Facebook group for KTS sufferers and their families.
Through the network, they discovered Boston's Children's Hospital in Massachusetts, had an excellent reputation for treating the condition.
Within two months of contacting them, surgeons there recommended closing off Cambree's extra vein, to slow down the blood flow.
And in April 2015, Cambree was admitted to the Boston facility for 'vein mapping' a type of ultrasound used to monitor flow.
She also had a special glue inserted into the major veins to minimise it, laser treatment to toughen the skin on her leg to make bleeding easier, and sclerotherapy to shut off some of her smaller veins.
In September 2015, she returned for further laser therapy, surgery to remove three extra veins and a couple of non-life threatening blood clots in her leg.
Her parents are fundraising for annual check ups in Boston and further surgery, in a bid to close the main extra vein down and lower her chances of developing a debilitating blood clot.
Flu jabs may not protect fat people from infection, a new study suggests (file photo)
Flu jabs may not protect fat people from infection, a new study suggests.
Experiments found the vaccines protected lean mice against viruses - but did not work as well on obese rodents.
Overweight animals were more susceptible to the virus, which penetrated more deeply into their lungs, making it harder to repair the damage caused.
The findings raise concerns about the effectiveness of vaccines in obese humans who are known to be at a raised risk of suffering severe flu.
Obese people are more likely to be hospitalised or die of a flu infection - and vaccines are the front line defence in combating epidemics of the virus.
The World Health Organization estimates that globally, 10 per cent of adults worldwide and 42 million children under the age of 5 now qualify as obese.
And these numbers expected to grow, while scientists also fears a future pandemic caused by bird flu or other strains that jump species.
The lead author Dr Stacey Schultz-Cherry, of St Jude Children's Research Hospital, said: 'This is the first study to show that current strategies to bolster the effectiveness of flu vaccines protected lean mice from serious illness but fell short of protecting obese mice from infections.
'There is a critical public health need to translate these findings to humans and understand vaccine response in this growing segment of the population.'
The strategies include increasing the vaccine dose and adding substances called adjuvants to them, which enhance the body's immune response.
Obese people are also more likely to suffer flu complications - including hospitalisation and death - and vaccines are the front line defence in combating epidemics (file photo)
In the study, researchers used vaccines prepared from killed viruses that are the basis of flu shots.
The vaccines targeted A H1N1 seasonal flu strain, which was the most common cause of flu in 2009.
It was also associated with the 1918 outbreak known as the Spanish Flu, and bird flu strain A(H7N9).
ZIKA IS IN THE UK: MORE THAN FIFTY CASES DIAGNOSED IN BRITISH HOSPITALS THIS YEAR INVOLVING PATIENTS WHO TRAVELLED OVERSEAS More than 50 people in the UK have been diagnosed with Zika virus this year, health officials confirmed. Public Health England released a statement following reports of three people in West Yorkshire being treated for the virus after returning from overseas. Professor Paul Cosford, Medical Director at Public Health England, said: 'As of 27 July 2016, over 50 cases have been diagnosed in UK travellers since January 2016. The risk to the general public is low - and all the patients had caught the virus abroad, he said. He said: 'We expect to see small numbers of Zika virus infections in travellers returning to the UK, but the risk to the wider population is very low as the mosquito that spreads the Zika virus is not found in the UK. Advertisement
Scientists looked at the immune response of both lean and obese mice after they received a vaccine.
This included looking at how different doses and different adjuvants changed that response.
These methods are used to improve the effectiveness of vaccines in adults and high risk groups.
While adjuvants improved the immune response to vaccinations in both lean and obese mice, the overall immune response was reduced in the obese animals.
Following vaccination, the obese mice had lower levels of antibodies - immune cells that fight off infections - and higher levels of the virus.
And lean mice who received vaccines with adjuvants were protected from severe flu infections while obese mice were not.
Dr Schultz-Cherry said: 'The addition of adjuvants to the vaccines led to levels of neutralising antibodies in both the lean and obese mice that have been considered to be protective.
'Surprisingly that did not translate into protection from flu infection or fatal disease in the obese animals.'
She a suggested obese individuals may be at risk of flu infections even if there are levels of antibodies in their blood that reach what have previously been considered protective levels.
A four-fold increase in the dose of A(H7N9) vaccine bolstered the immune response in both lean and obese mice, but failed to protect the heavier animals from flu-related deaths.
Obese people may be at risk of infections even if there are levels of antibodies in their blood that reach what have previously been considered protective levels, experts said (file photo)
Protective antibodies from lean mice also failed to protect obese mice from flu infections.
Dr Erik Karlsson, a staff scientist in the Schultz-Cherry laboratory, said: 'That suggests the problem lies with the immune response of the obese animals rather than the antibodies themselves.'
The obese mice seemed more susceptible to the virus; levels of it remained elevated after vaccination, when compared to levels of the virus in the blood of lean animals.
Dr Schultz-Cherry said: 'The virus penetrates more deeply into the lungs of obese mice, and the animals seem to have a more difficult time repairing the damage.'
Unions have called for an end of 'blink and you'll miss them' Health Secretaries as the Sunak shuffle gives England its fifth Health Secretary since 2021 and the NHS faces multiple crises. Record waiting lists, a broken emergency service system, looming staff strikes and the prospect of the worst winter facing the NHS in living memory are just a selection of the issues No10 must get a grip on. To handle the numerous problems newly anointed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed Steve Barclay (bottom left and right) as his Health Secretary yesterday, the fourth MP to hold the position in 12 months. It's Mr Barclay's second go at the job, having briefly filled the post between July and September after Sajid Javid (top right) quit the position in a wave of resignations to hit then PM, Boris Johnson. His most memorable event in the role was being accosted by a member of the public outside a hospital who accused him of doing 'bugger all' about the NHS crisis. Mr Barclay replaces Therese Coffey (bottom centre), who kept the seat warm for a grand total of 49 days as part of the ill-fated Liz Truss Government. Ms Coffey last night thanked her ministerial team on Twitter, saying 'we achieved a lot together in seven weeks'. Some of her most memorable achievements include implying NHS nurses unhappy with their pay can leave the UK, telling her staff to stop using the Oxford comma, and admitting to illegally supplying antibiotics to her friends. Today unions called for an end to chaos in Westminster and for Mr Barclay to get a grip on the staffing crisis they claim is fuelling the issues facing the health service. The revolving door of ministers has left Matt Hancock (top left) the longest serving Health Secretary in recent times, having an almost three year stint before resigning after footage of him emerged breaching social distancing guidelines by kissing a colleague.
A petition calling for all children to be vaccinated against chickenpox has attracted nearly 3,000 signatures.
It was created by a mother who was told her son had the 'worst case of chickenpox ever seen'.
A vaccine, called Varilrix, has been available for use in Britain since 2013 - but is currently only offered to those likely to come into contact with the illness.
Sarah Allen, 36, appeared on ITV's This Morning show with her son, Jasper, two, who spent five days in hospital with his entire body covered in red, raw, itching sores.
But the nursery manager from St Neots, Cambridegshire, wants the vaccine to become part of NHS's routine childhood immunisation schedule.
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Jasper Allen, two, (pictured healthy, left) was hospitalised for five days with 'the worst case of chickenpox doctors had ever seen' (right)
Nearly 3,000 people have signed Sarah Allen's petition so far, after her son spent five days in hospital with his entire body covered in red, raw, itching sores
Chickenpox infects about 65 per cent of children in Britain before their fifth birthday.
She said: 'We are one of the only countries who do not routinely vaccinate against chickenpox - Europe, the US and Australia all now do.
'My kids have had all their immunisations but this was not something that ever crossed my mind to vaccinate them against privately.
'I don't want this to be a debate about vaccination - I don't care if you do not want to vaccinate your child, but sign the petition so everyone else has the choice.'
If the petition reaches 10,000 signatures, the Government will respond to her request, while 100,000 will force the topic to be considered for debate in Parliament.
However, it is thought if a childhood vaccination programme was introduced, it would leave those without more likely to contract the illness as an adult.
And if adults contract the infection, they are more likely to develop a severe infection or a complication in pregnancy, when there is a risk of harming the baby.
Although children are routinely vaccinated in the US, Australia and Germany, the UKs Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in 2010 decided the vaccine should not be rolled out to all children.
Red, itchy sores erupted all over his body and became infected, causing the toddler's temperature to soar
A vaccine, called Varilrix, has been available for medical use in the country since 2013, but Sarah Allen wants it to become available to all. She was told her son, Jasper, two, had the 'worst case of chickenpox ever seen', pictured on This Morning
In response to the petition, a Department of Health spokesperson said: 'Chickenpox is usually a mild illness in children with most recovering quickly.
'We look very carefully at all the evidence for all vaccines, and we have to be guided by expert advice.
VACCINE THAT COULD SAVE TEN LIVES A YEAR Chickenpox infects about 65 per cent of children in Britain before their fifth birthday. It is caused by a virus known as varicella-zoster, which causes a rash of red, itchy spots that turn into blisters. For the majority of children it is mild but it can sometimes cause serious problems such as pneumonia or swelling of the brain. It claims the lives of about ten children every year. A vaccine, called Varilrix, has been available in Britain since 2013, but is only usually given to children and adults who are particularly vulnerable to complications. Although children are routinely vaccinated in the US, Australia and Germany, the UKs Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in 2010 decided the vaccine should not be rolled out to all children. However, a trial on expanding it to more youngsters is currently being conducted at Southampton. Advertisement
'Our vaccination experts currently only recommend the chicken pox vaccine for people who are most at risk of serious illness or in close contact with those at risk, although they are reviewing this.
'Those at risk can include some health workers or children with family members who are undergoing medical treatments such as chemotherapy which can affect their immunity.'
Jasper Allen's case was so bad doctors considered contacting medical journals as they had never seen such an extreme case.
He was put on an IV drip and given antiviral medication, antibiotics and morphine to help his ravaged body fight the virus.
Mrs Allen claims two days before he required emergency treatment, she was refused an appointment at her local GP surgery because a receptionist did not think the condition was severe enough to warrant a visit.
She said: 'Everyone's reactions in the hospital were just complete shock over how severe it was - the doctors all wanted to come and see this worst ever case of chickenpox.
'There was even talk about using the pictures for a medical journal.
'One of the paediatric nurses with 40 years' experience said she had never seen anything like it.
'It shouldn't have affected a healthy two-year-old as badly as it did - imagine how it could have affected a child with a compromised immune system.'
Jasper's mother Sarah, 36, said she phoned for a GP appointment after noticing spots on her son. She claims the receptionist told her seeing a doctor wouldn't be necessary
She continued: 'I was one of those parents who couldn't wait for my two-year-old to get chickenpox so then it was out of the way - I didn't think there was any harm in letting him get it.
'But to see him get it like that and see how it took over his body was just heart-breaking.
'Nearly every child I've ever had in my care has had chickenpox at some point, but never like this.
'It was definitely not "just chickenpox" and I want people to realise this.'
She said every parent says their child's chickenpox was bad, but when she shows people pictures of Jasper, none of them can believe just how bad it was.
Mrs Allen also has a five-year-old daughter Poppy with her postman husband Keith, 36.
The couple first noticed a few spots on Jasper in July after he had battled scarlet fever the week before.
Days later, when Jasper's temperature soared, she went to A&E where he was immediately admitted to the children's ward and put on an IV drip and antiviral medication, antibiotics and morphine
The following morning he erupted in hundreds of spots and Mrs Allen called her local GP surgery to book an appointment.
But she claims the receptionist told her 'every mother thinks their child has bad chickenpox' and that seeing a doctor wouldn't be necessary.
When Jasper's temperature continued to rise, she took him to the same GP surgery and he was prescribed antibiotics and oral medication for an infection.
Several hours later his condition hadn't improved so Mrs Allen took him to A&E at Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon.
There, he was quickly admitted onto the children's ward and spent five days in hospital on an IV drip and antiviral medication, antibiotics and morphine.
Mrs Allen said: 'When I first called our local GP's surgery I spoke to the receptionist to make an appointment for Jasper but when I told her it was chickenpox she said to me "every mother thinks their child has bad chickenpox".
'I knew I wasn't being a neurotic mother - I have two children and have run a nursery and seen hundreds of kids with chickenpox before so I knew this wasn't normal.
'They should listen to parents more - we know our babies better than anybody in the world.
Jasper lives with his mother, Sarah, postman father Keith, 36 and his five-year-old sister Poppy (pictured)
Mrs Allen said: 'Everyone's reactions in the hospital were just complete shock over how severe it was - the doctors all wanted to come and see this worst ever case of chickenpox. There was even talk about using the pictures for a medical journal'
She continued: 'When Jasper was admitted to hospital, it was scary but I was also relieved I was actually being taken seriously and they were doing something about it.
'As we were sat in the waiting room waiting for a bed I could see this redness in his chest spreading all over him before my eyes.
'We couldn't hold him for three days because he screamed every time we touched him.
'It is worse when it's your own child because all you want is to take the pain away for them, it broke my heart.'
Doctors still do not know why the chickenpox Jasper contracted was so severe and he is undergoing heart scans to make sure there are no lasting effects.
Doctors still do not know why the chickenpox Jasper contracted was so severe and he is undergoing heart scans to make sure there are no lasting effects
Mrs Allen wants parents to trust their instincts when it comes to their children's health. She said: 'It was definitely not "just chickenpox" and I want people to realise this'
Now Mrs Allen is calling on the Government to make a vaccination against the disease - currently only available to certain children on medical grounds - free for all children on the NHS
A spokesman for Cambridge and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said they were unable to comment upon individual patient cases.
CHICKENPOX: WHAT THE NHS ADVISES There is no cure for chickenpox, and the virus usually clears up by itself without any treatment. If a child is in pain or has a high temperature (fever), a mild painkiller, such as paracetamol, can be given. Never give a child aspirin if it is suspected or know they have chickenpox. Children with chickenpox who take aspirin can develop a potentially fatal condition called Reye's syndrome, which causes severe brain and liver damage. Speak to the GP or pharmacist if you are not sure which medicines to give your child. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement
They said: 'However in the event that a child contracts chickenpox, the NHS offers the following advice and information: Chickenpox is usually a mild illness from which most children recover on their own.
'Symptoms include a high temperature, aches and pains, and a rash of blisters. These usually pass within a week or two, and the blisters dry up and fade.
'The best treatment is to use soothing creams and/or appropriate doses of paracetamol to ease any discomfort, while keeping your child hydrated by giving them lots to drink.
'It is highly advisable that parents and carers keep a watchful eye on children who have chickenpox, as complications, although rare, can develop - especially in children who are very young, are on other medications or who may have a weakened immune system.
'If you are ever concerned about your child's health then call NHS 111 who can give advice or refer to an appropriate NHS service, including A&E if necessary.
U ndergoing transition earlier in life is behind longer term symptoms
1 in 5 who had hysterectomies were afflicted by 'constant night sweats'
Common symptoms of menopause can last for more than a decade
Having a hysterectomy doubles the odds of a woman enduring persistent hot flushes and night sweats, scientists have found.
Researchers found many symptoms of the menopause can last for more than a decade after surgery, seriously affecting a woman's life - even when the ovaries have been retained.
Women who have gone under the knife to have their womb removed were twice as likely to have vasomotor symptoms - such as flushes or sweats, the experts claim.
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Having a hysterectomy doubles the odds of a woman having hot flushes and night sweats that last for more than a decade, new research has found
Researchers from the University of Queensland examined 17 years of data from more than 6,000 women from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH).
They found approximately 20 per cent of the women had a hysterectomy with ovary conservation before turning 50.
And almost a third of these women experienced hot flushes that persisted long term, and around one in five were afflicted by constant night sweats.
Louise Wilson, lead researcher, said: 'These rates were double those of women who did not have a hysterectomy during the study period.'
But she added their findings could not be explained by any differences in lifestyle or income.
Hysterectomy remains one of the most common gynaecological procedures performed worldwide.
In economically developed countries, rates are highest among women aged between 40 and 50.
Women who had the procedure with both ovaries removed were consistently reported to have more frequent or severe hot flushes and night sweats.
Hysterectomy remains one of the most common female procedures performed worldwide. The surgical procedure removes all or part of the womb from women
Professor Gita Mishra, from the ALSWH, said: 'That is thought to be related to the abrupt decline in oestrogen levels post-surgery.
'However, the effect of a hysterectomy when ovaries are retained has been less clear.
'This study shows that for many women hot flushes and night sweats can have a major impact on their quality of life, productivity and social life for well over a decade.'
But he said further research was needed to determine the reasons for this higher risk.
He added: 'It is likely that the biological mechanism is extremely complex, but transition to menopause earlier in life is likely to be a factor for these women who all underwent the procedure before the age of 50.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ZIKA
WHAT IS ZIKA?
The Zika (ZEE'-ka) virus was first discovered in monkey in Uganda in 1947 - its name comes from the Zika forest where it was first discovered.
It is native mainly to tropical Africa, with outbreaks in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
It appeared in Brazil in 2014 and has since been reported in many Latin American countries and Caribbean islands.
HOW IS IT SPREAD?
The World Health Organization says Zika is rapidly spreading in the Americas because it is new to the region.
People aren't immune to it, and the Aedes mosquito that carries it is just about everywhere - including along the southern United States.
Canada and Chile are the only places without this mosquito.
MOSQUITOES
It is typically transmitted through bites from the Aedes species of mosquitoes.
They are aggressive feeders, commonly biting multiple people in quick succession, fueling the spread of the virus.
The Aedes aegypti - which spreads other tropical diseases like dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever - is most commonly associated with Zika. It thrives in warm climates.
Its cousin, the Aedes albopictus has also been linked to Zika. Worryingly for Americans in northern states, this species can survive in cooler temperatures.
Unlike some other types of mosquitos, Aedes mosquitos are active during the daytime.
They are most active during mid-morning and then again between late afternoon and nightfall.
SEX
Scientists have found Zika can be transmitted sexually - from both men and women.
Couples should abstain or wear condoms for eight weeks if either partner has traveled to a country with a Zika outbreak, regardless of whether they have symptoms.
The first case of sexually-transmitted Zika during the current outbreak was reported in Texas at the beginning of February.
Pregnancy: The infection can take two routes - through the placenta and through the amniotic sac
The woman became infected after sexual contact with a man who had caught the virus in another country.
On July 15, it was confirmed that women can pass the virus to men after such a case was seen in New York City.
There are also reported cases of sexual transmission in France and Canada.
Prior to this outbreak, there was a case of sexual transmission of Zika in 2008 when researcher from Colorado, who caught the virus overseas, infected his wife on returning home.
MOTHER TO BABY
A mother can pass the virus to her unborn baby during pregnancy.
There are two ways this can happen, according to a recent study.
Through the placenta: During the first trimester, it can travel through the placenta by infecting numerous placental cells - something very few viruses can do.
This route is the most damaging to the fetus, and is most likely to leave the child with birth defects, including microcephaly.
Through the amniotic sac: In the second and third trimester, the virus can make its way through the amniotic sac.
This route is less likely. The baby would have a much smaller risk of birth defects at this stage than if it were infected in the first trimester.
During childbirth: Since the virus can live in the woman's womb lining, there is a chance the baby can become infected when it is born.
ARE THERE SYMPTOMS?
The majority of people infected with Zika virus will not experience symptoms.
Those that do, usually develop mild symptoms - fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes - which usually last no more than a week.
There is no specific treatment for the virus and there is currently no vaccine to protect against infection, though several are in the developmental stages.
CAN THE SPREAD BE STOPPED?
Individuals can protect themselves from mosquito bites by using insect repellents, and wearing long sleeves and long pants - especially during daylight, when the mosquitoes tend to be most active, health officials say.
Women who douche are twice as likely to develop ovarian cancer, a national U.S. study shows.
Prior studies have linked douching, or vaginal washing with a device, to yeast infections, pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancies.
Researchers have also found associations between douching and cervical cancer, reduced fertility, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
But the new National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences study is the first to tie cancer of the ovaries to the procedure routinely practiced by millions of American women.
Vaginas clean themselves yet 25% of women use cleaning devices - but there is a danger
WHAT IS DOUCHING? Vaginas naturally clean themselves. But some women use scented sticks, sprays and other materials to perfume their crotch. Squirting cleansers or other mixtures inside the canal only interferes with nature's balance. Douching can cause an overgrowth of harmful bacteria. This can lead to yeast infections, and push bacteria up into the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries. The Office on Women's Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) warns against it. Nevertheless, one quarter of women between the ages of 15 and 44 douche, HHS says. Advertisement
Joelle Brown, an epidemiology professor at the University of California, San Francisco said that although she knew about other health problems associated with douching, the link between douching and ovarian cancer took her by surprise.
'While most doctors and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists strongly recommend that women do not douche, many women continue to douche because they falsely perceive douching to have positive health benefits, such as increased cleanliness,' she said.
Brown was not involved in the current study.
Interventions to encourage women not to douche are needed, she said.
Ovarian cancer is known as 'the silent killer' because women often experience no symptoms until the disease has progressed to an advanced stage.
An estimated 20,000 American women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and about 14,500 die from it annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The new analysis in the journal Epidemiology followed more than 41,000 women throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico since 2003 as part of the Sister Study.
Participants were 35 to 74 years old, and each had a sister who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The subjects were free of breast and ovarian cancer when they enrolled in the study.
By July 2014, researchers counted 154 cases of ovarian cancer among participants.
Women who reported douching during the year before entering the study nearly doubled their risk of ovarian cancer, the study found.
The link between douching and ovarian cancer was even stronger when the authors looked only at women who didn't have breast-cancer genes in their family.
No study had ever before examined a possible relationship between douching and ovarian cancer, senior author Clarice Weinberg said.
She is deputy chief of the biostatistics and computational biology branch at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
'There are a number of health reasons not to douche, and I can't think of any reason to do it,' she said.
Some women use scented sticks, sprays and other materials to perfume their crotch
Vaginas naturally clean themselves, and squirting cleansers or other mixtures inside the canal only interferes with nature's balance.
Douching can cause an overgrowth of harmful bacteria, lead to yeast infections, and push bacteria up into the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries, according to the Office on Women's Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Nevertheless, one quarter of women between the ages of 15 and 44 douche, HHS says.
Brown, who led a 2016 study published in PLoS One that examined women's motivations for douching, said she has long been fascinated by the display of so-called feminine hygiene products lining drugstore shelves.
There are a number of health reasons not to douche, and I can't think of any reason to do it Senior author Clarice Weinberg
'In most pharmacies you can find entire aisles dedicated to vaginal douches, suppositories and gels that are meant to make your vagina smell like a tropical splash or a cookie,' she said.
Women douched as far back as 1500 B.C., when an Egyptian papyrus recommended intravaginal washing with garlic and wine to treat menstrual disorders.
American women once douched with Lysol, and some mistook the toilet bowl disinfectant for birth control.
Women often learn to douche from their mothers, Brown's study found.
They do so because they see douching as a necessary part of good hygiene, to prepare for sex, to clean up after sex and at the urging of their male partners.
Despite medical recommendations, douching remains a common practice because women 'believe that the products they are using would not be for sale or recommended by their mothers if they were not safe,' Brown said.
'In general, I think women do not realize that douching products do not fall under the same kind of safety regulation as drugs,' she said.
'Instead, douching products are considered cosmetics, which means that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not require that douche manufacturers test their products for safety.'
Pakistan is desperate, and it is starting to show.
With the world seemingly not interested in listening to Pakistani rhetoric on Kashmir, the Federal government declared July 19 a black day in memory of the slain Hizbul militant Burhan Wani.
Pakistans Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif enjoyed some grandstanding by declaring at a rally: We are waiting for the day (when) Kashmir becomes (a part of) Pakistan.
Pakistan's provocations over J&K could deal a body-blow to Indias democracy and secularism if it accepts the idea that because Muslims are the majority in a state, they should be able to secede. (Pictured: Recently deceased Hizbul militant Burhan Wani)
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj promptly hit back, accusing Nawaz Sharif of advancing the despicable design of destabilising South Asia by exporting dirty money and dangerous terrorists.
New Delhi made it amply clear that sections of the Pakistani establishment could continue to dream, but it had no legal rights on the issue.
Knockout
India had already delivered a knockout punch to Pakistan at the United Nations on the issue of Kashmir.
Pakistans Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif enjoyed some grandstanding by declaring at a rally: We are waiting for the day (when) Kashmir becomes (a part of) Pakistan.
Strongly hitting back at Islamabad for raising the killing of Burhan Wani in the UN, Delhi had said Pakistan extols the virtues of terrorists, thus using terrorism as a state policy towards the misguided end of coveting the territory of others.
Indias Ambassador to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin, was responding to the remarks made by Pakistani envoy Maleeha Lodhi about Wanis killing during a debate on human rights in the 193-member UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
In her statement, Lodhi not only raised the Kashmir issue but also mentioned the extra-judicial killing of Wani, whom she described as a Kashmiri leader, by Indian forces.
Other senior Pakistani officials had also been using the turmoil to further their agenda to take advantage of the tension in the Valley.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj promptly hit back, accusing Nawaz Sharif of advancing the despicable design of destabilising South Asia by exporting dirty money and dangerous terrorists
The Pakistani PMs adviser on foreign affairs, Sartaj Aziz, suggested that India cannot suppress the voice of Kashmiris - who are struggling for their just right of self-determination - by using brutal force and committing human rights violations in the Occupied Kashmir.
Since its independence, Pakistan has believed that because of Kashmirs Muslim majority status, it has a right to seize it from India by fair means or foul.
In the absence of this external dimension, the problem was much more manageable.
After all, Indias democratic institutions have been successful in addressing the grievances of several other groups that have felt alienated from the mainstream.
But the Kashmir issue has become entangled in an India-Pakistan structural conundrum, where a revisionist Islamabad has tried to change the status-quo in its favour by using Kashmir as leverage.
Since its independence Pakistan has believed that because of Kashmirs Muslim majority status, it has a right to seize it from India by fair means or foul
Both the conservatives and the liberals in India fail to see the complexities inherent in the tangled web that India and Pakistan have woven in Kashmir, and refuse to reckon with the long-term consequences of their supposed solutions.
It is clear that no Indian government is in a position to allow Kashmirs secession from India for fear of encouraging separatist movements elsewhere in the country.
Indias democracy and secularism would receive a body-blow if India accepted the idea that because Muslims are the majority in a state, they should secede.
In this light, if there has been a success in the India-Pakistan peace process in the last few years, it has been a recognition on both sides that territorial changes are strictly out of bounds.
Kashmiri women shout anti-Indian slogans during a pro Kashmir freedom protest in Srinagar
Moreover, there will be broader geopolitical ramifications of an independent Kashmir which will remain dependent on the kindness of its neighbours.
India, Pakistan, and China will try to enhance their strategic interests and compete for the loyalty of Kashmir.
Contention
It is not readily evident if an independent Kashmir would not be as much of a bone of contention between India and Pakistan as the present state of affairs.
Islamist extremism would get a boost worldwide even as India, already under assault from rising Islamist fundamentalism, would find it difficult to manage growing tensions between Hindu extremists and Islamist radicals.
It would be no exaggeration to suggest that it would be the end of India as the world has come to know it.
Indias democracy and secularism would receive a body-blow if it accepted the idea that because Muslims are the majority in a state, they should secede
It is also important to recognise that the Indian state, for all its faults, is not the only guilty party in this context.
The saga of Kashmir is one of competing nationalisms and all versions are equally self-serving.
On one hand, the Indian government continues to champion Kashmir as a symbol of Indias secular democratic ethos - and fails to acknowledge that a majority of Kashmiris have ceased to view themselves as Indians long ago.
On the other, the separatists who want independence from India will continue to refuse to account for the aspirations of the Hindus and Ladakhis as if they are not a part of this dispute at all.
If in the Indian states narrative there is no place for those who dont want to be Indians, the narrative of the so-called freedom fighters says there is no place for those who do want to be a part of India.
Negotiation
Pakistan has a revisionist agenda and would like to change the status quo in Kashmir, while India would like the opposite.
India hopes that the negotiations with Pakistan would ratify the existing territorial status quo in Kashmir.
Successive Indian governments have worked on negotiations on this premise. But at its foundation, there are irreconcilable differences.
No confidence-building measure is likely to alter this situation.
An Indian paramilitary trooper stands guard alongside graffiti bearing the name of popular rebel commander Burhan Wani
Indias belief has always been that the peace process will persuade Pakistan to cease supporting and sending extremists into India and start building good neighbourly ties.
Pakistan, by contrast, has viewed the process as a means to nudge India to make progress on Kashmir, which is a euphemism for Indian concessions.
The Indian government has responded well to Pakistani provocations.
There is no need to be diffident about Indias role even as Indian polity tries to find a way out of continuing violence in Kashmir.
Pakistan should be told to focus on its own problems and let Indian democracy work out a solution to Kashmir.
Abhishek Damani, a first-year student at Kirori Mal College (KMC), is still waiting to decide what subjects he will choose to study in his second year.
Like hundreds of students, he has been desperately waiting for his semester results which have been delayed by over a month.
Damani told Mail Today: There is no information about the semester results. Though the classes for the new semester have begun, the teachers are equally clueless about the results. Everything is on hold as of now.
Delhi University students are still waiting for the striking teachers to mark their papers and give them their grades for the year
Results delayed
In a mark of protest against a notification by the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Delhi University teachers had boycotted the evaluation process, which has delayed the results of undergraduate courses.
The examinations for various UG courses ended in May, and the centralised evaluation process was scheduled to start at 13 centres from May 24.
But in line with the boycott call by the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA), none of the 3,000 teachers on evaluation duty turned up.
Sushmita Verma, a second-year student of Hindu College, said: It has been two months since we appeared for the examination. But the results have still not been declared. Teachers are still saying that the evaluation is on and it will take another two-three weeks".
Students worried
The delay has not only affected the first and second-year students but also worried final-year students who are applying for higher studies.
The teachers lifted the boycott of evaluation for the final-year students on June 16 and decided to rejoin the admission process on July 5.
The results have been declared a week behind schedule, and the students have been able to apply for various universities.
We are glad that the teachers decided to evaluate our papers, but even after that the results have come out quite late. The teachers might be having their own issues but they should not have played with any students future, said Krishi Arora, a final-year student of Hansraj College who finished this year.
Hundreds of students have been waiting for semester results which have been delayed by more than a month (file pic)
The delay in evaluation of the answer sheets has led to a delay in the declaration of the results, and it's the students who are facing the consequences.
Its over a month and our results have not been declared even after the new session has started. We are still waiting for our results to get declared. Why do we have to suffer because of whatever happened in the past or [is] still happening?
"I understand even teachers want their demands to be heard, but the administration should think about the students too, said Anoop Singh, a second-year student.
Results expected
Sources in the administration said that the results are expected to come in the next few weeks.
There's more trouble in store for Lalit Modi after Interpol began reconsidering its move to issue a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against him.
The relief he initially received from Interpol is likely to end, as it has written a fresh letter to the CBI (the nodal agency for Interpol in India) seeking clarification on the cases pending against him.
This is the second time Interpol has considered issuing an RCN against the former Chairman and Commissioner of the IPL.
Former IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi finds himself in hot water again, with Interpol writing to the CBI to seek clarification on cases pending against him
In the first instance, when the Indian agencies had pressed for an RCN against him, the move was stalled as he had given a representation to Interpol through his UK-based lawyer.
Lalit Modi claimed that Indian agencies were targeting him due to political rivalry in which he had become a victim.
As per Interpol rules, a person is given relief in such matters if he or she gives a representation that they have become a victim of political conspiracy.
Now, there is fresh trouble for him as Interpol has started the process afresh and has sought details relating to criminal cases pending against him in India.
It has asked whether Chennai Police have registered a case against him, and if a charge-sheet has been filed in the case.
Details have also been sought regarding a money laundering investigation against him being carried out by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Interpol also wants to know whether Indian agencies have declared him an absconder.
It is pertinent that a Mumbai court has issued a non-bailable warrant against Modi on the charges pressed by the ED.
Interestingly, no agency has been able to file a charge-sheet against him.
But if Interpol is convinced by information given by the agencies then there is also a possibility that an RCN may be issued against him.
In that situation, Modi will be left with little choice but to join in investigations in India.
Presently he is living in the UK, but after Brexit Lalit Modi applied for citizenship in Saint Lucia for himself and his family members.
St. Lucia, as per its due diligence norms, sent correspondence to India to find out whether there were any criminal cases pending against him.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi had to cut short her roadshow in Varanasi after falling ill towards the end of the eight-km march on Tuesday, causing much anxiety in political circles.
Congress sources said that the 69-year-old leader was suffering from viral fever and was advised not to pursue her programme.
Sonia Gandhi fell ill after kicking off the Congress UP campaign with a Varanasi roadshow
However, she decided to go ahead with it as she was not inclined to cancel at the last minute.
The roadshow came to an abrupt end at the Lahurabeer Crossing of Varanasi, and Mrs Gandhi was taken to a nearby hotel where she was attended by doctors.
At around 7pm she was taken to the Babatpur airport in an ambulance and after a wait of over three hours, she was finally airlifted to Delhi.
She arrived at the airport at round 7.30pm, and because of bad weather she could not be moved to the chartered plane, a local journalist told Mail Today.
The roadshow came to an abrupt end and Gandhi was taken to a nearby hotel where she was attended by doctors
Chief medical officer of Varanasi, Dr V B Singh, told Mail Today over the phone that Dr O P Tiwari, a cardiologist, examined Mrs Gandhi along with a team of doctors.
Mrs Gandhi is fine and there is nothing to worry about, Singh said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to wish the Congress matriarch well, saying he was praying for her recovery and good health.
In a corner of a dusty village near Ahmedabad, a temple stands out as an unusual project. Its being built by a low-caste woman, Pintooben.
She is the sarpanch of Rahemalpur village, and is using her personal savings for the construction of the new shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva.
As she walks through the winding lanes of Rahemalpur to show the temple to India Today TV's special investigation team, the middle-aged woman stops short of climbing its unpainted steps.
Pintooben is spending her own money to build her village a temple, but says people would object if she set foot in it because of her caste
Like numerous other fellow Dalits excluded from religion in Gujarat, Pintooben is not allowed to enter the sanctum of any Hindu house of worship.
Custodians of the mainstream religion have drawn the boundaries for her and other low-caste worshippers.
After villagers demanded a new temple at Rahemalpur, the Dalit sarpanch generously sponsored its construction. She says she has so far spent Rs 10 lakh to build the holy place.
Its my own money, not the panchayats, she says.
The sarpanch earns her living from selling the produce from her 35-bhiga land.
I was asked (by the people) to build it, so I gave the money for its construction, adds Pintooben.
She speaks of "internal divinity" in her conversation with undercover reporters, because shes aware that religion bars her from physically showing up at sacred sites.
When asked, You are spending so much, wouldnt you like to step into the temple?, she says, Id like to, but theres opposition. There can be a ruckus. One among 100 may be there to object and say the temple has been defiled, the god has been defiled.
Pintooben summed up the fears of Gujarats Dalit community, who are socially banned from regular religious practices.
Last month, four low-caste men were stripped, humiliated, and beaten with belts and rods for skinning a dead cow.
India Today TVs investigative crew found that the anti-Dalit discrimination ran much deeper in the land of the father of the nation. The team observed that untouchability, outlawed after independence, remains sanctified by religion. Almost all temples there nurse the ancient notions of purity and pollution, the bedrock of untouchability.
Hindu temples were found to be shunning Dalits brazenly to preserve the so-called piety of the faiths upper-caste elders.
You are welcome if you want to come in, but these men cant go inside, warns the priest of a Kali temple at Kota village in Gandhinagar, as he segregates upper-caste worshippers from the low caste.
Even at big, touristy shrines like the Swami Narayan Nutan Mandir at Kotha in Gandhinagar, Dalits are treated as outcasts
The priests refuse to touch them. Will you not even give them the tilaks? asks an undercover India Today reporter. Theyll do it with their own hands. None of us does that, replies the priest.
Between the doorway and the gods stands a firewall that Dalits cant cross. They cant even partake of prasad with others.
This ostracism is drawn from a wretched, antiquated belief that stigmatises Dalits as a burdensome contamination, and exalts their isolation as purification.
If they sit where they are sitting now (which is outside of the sanctum), we do nothing. But if they come inside, well purify it with the holy water from the Ganga, explains a temple caretaker, outlining age-old prejudices that label these people as contagiously toxic.
Even at big, touristy shrines like the Swami Narayan Nutan Mandir at Kotha in Gandhinagar, they are outcasts. At the famous Nag temple at Unava in Gandhinagar, Dalit devotees recoil inside their designated borderlines.
Temple seniors here justify the Dalit prohibition, citing their own convoluted theories on karma.
They are prohibited. ... Its their karma, argues a Nag temple caretaker. God has prohibited them (from entering), not us. ...This is his (gods) ban, he insists.
At another temple dedicated to Lord Ram, at Sadra in Mehsana, the priest blatantly displays upper-caste supremacy over faith, saying hes well within his rights to deny entry to Dalits.
If a classic car fan dreamt up their perfect place to work it would probably look a lot like Bicester Heritage.
Everywhere you turn, classics ranging from pre-war racers to 1960s sportscars greet you: an E-Type parked by the side of the tree-lined road, a Lotus Europa in race livery sat outside a workshop, and a 1920s Bentley peering through the sliding door of the Power House of the same vintage.
And theres a good reason why this former 1920s RAF base fits right into a historic motoring fans ideal spot, its a classic car business centre dreamt up by one.
Bicester Heritage has transformed a disused RAF base dating back to the 1920s into a home for classic car businesses, such as Kingsbury Racing
Bicester Heritage, with its 30 businesses on one elegant site, is the brainchild of businessman Dan Geoghegan, who believed that the fragmented but highly-valuable British classic car industry needed a new way of working.
It came from bitter experience, explains the car-mad businessman and property developer. I spent thousands of miles fulfilling my hobby, trying to get cars restored and all of the specialists were scattered around the country and not very good at communication.
We had to find these people, get cars to them, get them restored and then try to enjoy them.
And so Dan had the idea of creating a hub, where classic car businesses could cluster helping customers who wanted to use their services and delivering the firms themselves more business.
Its such a simple idea that its a surprise no-one had done it in Britain already.
As anyone who owns a car - let alone a treasured old one knows, finding good trusted people to work on it can be extremely tough.
With classic cars getting to these specialists can be time-consuming and frustrating. There may be only a handful who deal with your specific car and in this fragmented industry they are often on out-of-the-way industrial areas, or even down farm tracks.
Taking your classic to a garage that knows what its doing for its annual service could mean a journey across the country, while a restoration could involve a mechanic in one area, a parts supplier in another and an interiors specialist in another.
The classic car industry is a sizeable one for the UK, estimated at 4billion, and Dans experience from a life around old cars was that customers and businesses had plenty to gain from pulling firms together.
The idea of a hub may not be new, but it certainly was for historic cars, he says.
But while he was sure the concept would work, there was a problem Dan faced where to do it.
His property background has specialised in taking landmark sites that need a new direction and giving them a fresh lease of life. But he explains that typically he arrives from the opposite direction when working on developments - he already has the building as a starting point.
This time round he had the idea but needed the right site.
Fortunately, a contact tipped him off that RAF Bicester was up for sale and the perfect spot was found.
The historic 1920s RAF bomber station is moments from the M40 and just outside the Oxfordshire town of Bicester. Dan describes the 348 acre site as home to 50 beautiful buildings and 500 trees in a parkland setting.
The tree-lined avenues and open doors of the buildings at Bicester Heritage provide regular glimpses of historic cars
The redbrick buildings and hangars are situated on tree-lined avenues, in the classic RAF base trident formation, which was devised to get ground crew quickly up the centre road to the airfield and air crew up the outer roads.
The airfield was first occupied in 1916 by the Royal Flying Corps, which then became part of the newly-formed Royal Air Force, in 1918, and RAF Bicester became a training depot. In the mid-1920s the airfield was transformed into a state-of-the-art Bomber Station and then expanded in 1936, later becoming home to famous Second World War planes.
RAF Bicester was at the forefront of aviation excellence, explains Dan, but in the decades after the war its use declined and it was mothballed in 1976.
English Heritage described it as the best-preserved bomber airfield from the period up to 1945 and local residents resisted a plan to put housing on it in the 1990s, but by the time the Bicester Heritage team took over it was semi-derelict.
Despite falling into disrepair the site remained special. It had been made a conservation area, some areas were declared scheduled ancient monuments and there were 19 Grade II listed buildings. In 2008, it was described as most at risk of all defence estates in Britain.
The Ministry of Defence wanted to sell but was keen to preserve the base and so the Bicester Heritage team spent a huge amount of time putting their proposal together. It proved a winning one and backed by private investors, Dan bought the site for 3.4million and began work in 2013.
Classic Performance Engineering prepares cars for historic racing fans to compete in events
The mechanics at Classic Performance Engineering also work on servicing, maintaining and restoring cars like this Jaguar E-Type
Bicester Heritage opened for business a year later and now has more than 30 businesses on the site, with plans to add more and potentially even a hotel and conference centre.
The businesses it is now home to range from historic car dealers, to workshops and motorsport specialists.
On a trip round Bicester Heritage, on foot and as passengers in his 1935 Alvis Speed 20, Dan proudly shows us some of those who have joined his centre of excellence.
We visit Classic Performance Engineering, which does maintenance, servicing and restoration work on classic cars, but also prepares historic grand prix, race and rally cars for owners who compete in them.
All of Bicester Heritage's buildings are known by their old RAF names, Kingsbury Racing is based in the old Engine Fitting Shop
Kingsbury Racing specialises in 4-cylinder Bentleys that are both restored and raced
At Kingsbury Racing Shop, a 4-cylinder Bentley restoration specialist, cars and engines are being worked on in various states and we meet a young apprentice training to work on historic cars here and at college.
Car dealer Robert Glover shows us round his selection of mainly pre-war cars, housed in the old Power House, which was used as a set in the film the Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
His showroom houses vintage Bentleys - including a car with a one-off body - and a polished aluminium-bodied Vauxhall from the 1920s, when he says the carmaker was at the cutting edge and considered the equivalent of McLaren today.
Among the cars Pendine has on offer is a Corvette Stingray in NASA regalia (left) - painted in hommage to cars that were given to astronauts when they returned from missions. Meanwhile, Robert Glover is selling a polished aluminium-bodied Vauxhall (right) from the 1920s when the carmaker was considered cutting edge and the equivalent of McLaren today.
His fellow classic car dealer, James Mitchell, of Pendine Historic Cars, spent 11 years working in the trade and then brought his start-up here. He believes that his business has benefitted hugely from those who have visited the site and gone on to buy cars.
James showroom is in the Blast House, designed to withstand the most powerful of enemy bombs. It has a huge outer wall surrounding it, which is juxtaposed with the inside walls covered with thousands of decorative green tiles.
It makes an evocative backdrop for the cars on display, which range from a 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray painted in NASA-style - in hommage to cars given to astronauts when they returned to Earth - to a stunning classic red 1964 Alfa Romeo Giulia SS.
People are drawn to this site for a reason, he says of Bicester Heritage. Ive got something I never had in London, Im selling cars from footfall.
Pendine's showroom is the Blast House with its thick outer wall designed to withstand bombs
The hefty exterior wall of the Blast House is in contrast with the ornate green-tiled interior that plays host to the cars being sold by Pendine's James Mitchell
Elsewhere, among the business on the site are vehicle detailing specialist Auto Wax Works, where a stunning blue Porsche 911 is being worked on, Vintage Magnetos, which works on these ignition systems for historic cars, BMP Blasters, which does sand blasting and preparation of car bodies, Classic Oils, fittingly housed in the old Lubricant Store, and the Vintage Car Radiator Company.
Bicester Heritage is also home to Historit, which provides secure car storage facilities with expertise in classic and vintage vehicles.
Dan describes this as ideal for those who own a classic and would rather store it somewhere away from home the advantage being that Bicester is on the doorstep of some of Englands best driving roads in the Cotswolds.
One of the things Dan seems proudest about at Bicester Heritage is those owners who have taken advantage of all thats on offer, with some cars bought from one of the dealers, moving across to the mechanics for work, upholsters for retrimming, detailers for a final flourish and then being enjoyed in freshly-restored condition by owners.
The Power House is home to Robert Glover's showroom and was in the Imitation Game film
Bicester Heritage founder Dan Geoghegan is a historic car fan who believes in driving his vehicles, such as this 1935 Alvis Speed 20
As someone who races historic vehicles and even offers me the chance to drive the 1936 Riley Sprite that he took me round the airfields small track in, Dan clearly believes classic cars are there to be driven.
And while Bicester Heritage may be home to cars worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, Dan is keen to welcome more modest and modern classics too. Whether its worth 100,000 or 1,000, if the owner loves it, then so do we, he says.
As part of that welcome Bicester Heritage hosts its Sunday Scramble four times a year, where visitors can explore the site, its buildings and the cars put on show by attending classic car owners.
The last event attracted 5,000 people and the next one takes place from 9am to 2pm on Sunday 7 August.
Bicester Heritage also launched the Flywheel Festival at the start of July, with a display of historic motoring and aviation, live music, a fair, vintage trade stalls and racing legend Sir Stirling Moss in attendance.
Perhaps most importantly though, the site is now home to the UKs first historic vehicle restoration apprenticeship course, run in conjunction with the local Banbury and Bicester College. This will play a key part in training young entrants to the classic car industry and help pass skills down through the generations.
This is a commitment to the future of those young people and the industry, reflecting that which owners put into their classics.
A glamorous hotel worker is accused of leading a secret double life and being a key player in a 21.5million cyber scam to defraud US and British bank customers.
Olga Komova used her job in a sumptuous four-star Thailand holiday spa resort as cover for her sinister role in an international money laundering ring, it is alleged.
Known as a 'charming' guest relations manager with a love of frolicking on Koh Chang island's tropical beaches, Komova, 25, stole huge sums from innocent westerners in a Russian-run criminal scheme, say the US authorities.
Thai police arrested the multilingual Komova and a Russian associate Dmitry Ukrainsky, 44, last month on an FBI demand for the pair's extradition to face justice in the United States.
Glamour: Olga Komova is accused by the FBI of being a key player in a 21.5million mega-cyber crime scam defrauding US and British bank customers
Cover-up: Komova allegedly used her hotel management job in sumptuous four-star Thailand holiday spa resort as cover for her sinister role in an international money laundering ring
Double life: Known as a 'charming' guest relations manager with a love of frolicking on Koh Chang, US authorities say Komova stole huge sums from westerners in criminal scheme
Both have been indicted in the US and face money laundering charges.
They were accused of using multiple credit and debit cards, and deploying dozens of bank accounts in their names to receive and launder funds stolen by Russia-based hackers.
It is claimed that two were involved in sending 'malware' to the email addresses of their victims in the US and Britain, along with other countries.
This let them obtain the usernames and passwords of online bank account customers in the US, UK, Australia, Japan, Italy and Germany, who were defrauded.
It is not clear which Western banks were compromised.
But illegal withdrawals were made and the money was wired to Thailand, say reports in Bangkok.
Pictures show Komova, from Uzbekistan, posing in her black swimsuit on a Thai beach and she also enjoyed trips to France and Italy with her boyfriend - but her friends say she was 'modest' and 'certainly did not live a millionaire's lifestyle'.
Despite the seriousness of the accusations, the US move has sparked fury in Moscow which has unleashed a diplomatic tirade accusing Washington of the latest in a series of politically-motivated 'judicial kidnappings' of its citizens abroad, coupled with a warning to Bangkok not to bow to the FBI's demands.
Scam: Komova and her alleged accomplice Dmitry Ukrainsky, 44, are accused of deploying dozens of bank accounts in their names to receive and launder stolen funds
Extradition: Thai police arrested the multilingual Komova and a Russian associate Ukrainsky last month on an FBI demand for the pair's extradition to face justice in the United States
Charges: Komova and Ukrainsky are accused of using multiple credit and debit cards in their names to receive and launder funds stolen by Russia-based hackers
'Ringleader': But a MailOnline investigation has revealed that Komova's father Mikhail Komov (pictured), living in Russia, is also seen by US investigators as a ringleader in the 'scam'
Even Vladimir Putin's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has become personally involved in unusual case, demanding Thailand blocks US extradition demands.
But a MailOnline investigation has revealed that Komova's father Mikhail Georgevich Komov, 47, a trained pilot now out of FBI reach in Russia, is also seen by US investigators as a ringleader in the 'scam'.
Separately, we have established that eight years ago he was detained in Thailand for alleged money laundering and child pornography offences in the United States.
Even more seriously, he was accused by the FBI of acting as a 'broker' for adults seeking child sex liaisons.
It is believed he slipped the FBI net after Bangkok released him from detention without extraditing him.
A close friend of Komova's, with knowledge of her arrest, said today: 'Actually, the FBI want her father. Like her, he had an Uzbekistan passport, but he's in Russia. And he's now got a Russian passport too, so he's safe.'
Tashkent-born Komova speaks four languages and is said to have an 'impressive background' in hotel management.
She even claims to have assisted Koh Chang Tourist Police as an interpreter at the same time the FBI believe she was siphoning cash as a vital link in a money-guzzling gang.
Her friends in Thailand contacted in recent days by MailOnline openly blamed her father for getting her into trouble and 'ruining her life' in the tropical paradise where she has a French boyfriend, and worked at the Emerald Cove Koh Chang Hotel.
One said: 'He asked her to do something and she did not realise what she was getting into. Now she could face a long sentence in the US.'
Another said: 'This could ruin her life. It's so unfair for such a charming, outgoing, but hard working girl. She is modest, not some secret tycoon.'
However, it is clear that that the FBI take the case so seriously that its own agents were on the ground in Thailand when the pair's arrests were made by the Thai authorities.
Puppet: Komova's father was arrested in Thailand eight years ago for alleged money laundering and child pornography offences in the US
Claims: It is believed Komova's father slipped the FBI net after Bangkok released him from detention without extraditing him. He is now living in Russia out of the clutches of the FBI
Talented: Tashkent-born Komova speaks four languages and is said to have an 'impressive background' in hotel management. She has lived in Thailand for eight years
Shock: Komova has earned the respect of locals living in Koh Chang as she has mastered the Thai language. She has resigned from her job a customer relations manager
And Bangkok sources say the Americans are convinced she is 'an integral part of a major crime', although it will be for a Thai court to decide if the evidence stacks up to extradite her and her alleged accomplice.
With Ukrainsky - her father's friend who runs a yacht rental business in the major resort of Pattaya - she controlled at least 40 dodgy bank accounts, all now frozen.
The FBI suspect there were more, as yet not located, it is reported.
She owned the cards and the accounts that were in her name, say the US authorities.
Another friend insisted: 'She's a really good, honest girl. Of course, this is down to her father.
'She is an Uzbek citizen but she has been living and working in Thailand legally, and never, ever broke any law.
'I've known Olga for six years, and she's been living here for eight years. The Thais respect her because she has learned their language on her own.
'Apart from her father, she has no-one in else left in her family, but now he lives in Russia. I've heard he asked her to help him with something.
Massive fraud: Bangkok sources say the Americans are convinced she is 'an integral part of a major crime', although a Thai court will decide if enough evidence exists to extradite her
Surprise: Those who know Komova in Thailand say that her father is a ringleader behind the scam and that she live in Koh Chang 'modestly' with her boyfriend, who is from Nice in France
Disbelief: A friend insisted: 'She's a really good, honest girl. Of course, this is down to her father. She is living and working in Thailand legally, and never broke any law.'
'Then it turned out that Olga was being used - and she was arrested. He is allegedly not a very transparent man and now he's hiding somewhere in Russia.'
She added: 'It's terrible and I'm so sorry for Olga.'
She strongly denied that her friend led a secret millionaire's existence.
'I can tell you she has never had a fancy lifestyle,' she said. 'She has always earned her living herself.'
She did not live at the hotel where she worked and staff we spoke to at the weekend said they did not know much about her private life.
'She did not live at the hotel, she had a place outside,' said one.
Another friend in Thailand said: 'I can't believe it. It's awful that such things can happen to such good people.
'Olga is a very kind and good-hearted person, and she supported me in hard times. We met on the island three years ago, but there's no way you can be jealous of what's she's been through in her life.
'Her mother died when she was a teenager. Her dad did time in a jail in Thailand, I believe. A year ago her grandma died.
'She has been legally employed at a good hotel, the Emerald Cove. Her boyfriend is a great guy.
'He's the only one who's been sincerely worried about her. I hope everything works out for the best.'
Her boyfriend, who is from Nice, in France, is liaising with a lawyer who will represent Komova in the extradition hearing expected next month.
He declined to comment before he is allowed to see her in detention.
A source close to her called it a 'very sensitive case'.
When MailOnline tracked down her father in Stavropol, southern Russia, he denied any involvement and claimed his daughter had been framed by the US secret services, and was now suffering appalling conditions in a Bangkok prison.
'She still doesn't understand what's happening - and no one understands,' he said.
'It's clearly a game of the American secret services, catching people for totally made up stories. Or a special frame-up.
'Most likely, someone either used Olga's bank account or card. Simply stole it. That's the whole truth.'
Mr Komov said that in her cell his daughter and Ukrainsky are not allowed to use a phone - adding: 'It's a nightmare'.
Manager: Komova has been working as customer relations manager at the four-star Emerald Cove Koh Chang Hotel along with her French boyfriend
Fight: Her boyfriend, who is from Nice, in France, is liaising with a lawyer. He declined to comment before he is allowed to see her in detention
Support: A friend said: 'Olga is a very kind and good-hearted person. We met on the island three years ago, but there's no way you can be jealous of what's she's been through in her life.'
Double life: The friend went on: 'Her mother died when she was a teenager. Her dad did time in a jail in Thailand, I believe. A year ago her grandma died. Her boyfriend is a great guy.'
'Conditions there are just like in the movie Bangkok Hilton with Nicole Kidman. '
He admitted to knowing Ukrainsky for a number of years, and said they were former business partners in Thailand.
Komova and her widower father - who is now remarried to Natalia - are in touch on social media, their accounts show.
A colleague at her hotel on Koh Chang said: 'She resigned some days ago. We are not allowed to say anything about it.'
Unlike Komova, her co-accused Ukrainsky has spoken from his prison cell to deny he was involved in the scam.
'The Thai authorities have not accused me of anything,' he said. 'During my arrest, they immediately told me that I was being detained on the request of the USA.
'There were two Americans present when I was detained. They introduced themselves as employees of the FBI and immediately offered me to voluntarily leave for the USA, and to face the court there.'
But he insisted he would 'fight' the extradition demand in the Thai courts.
'I do not consider myself guilty of the crimes the Americans accuse me of,' he said.
'I am accused, allegedly, of being a member if not a leader of an international criminal group with Russian roots and connections that is launching malware on the computers of its victims.
'They also are accusing me of laundering money for this organisation. I'm not a hacker, I hardly know how to operate a PC. Everyone who knows me is aware of that.'
Moscow has launched a formal diplomatic protest to the Thais over the US demand to extradite its citizen following the pair's arrest on 15 July, six days before it was first announced.
While Russia is kicking up a storm over Ukrainsky, the Uzbekistan authorities have not gone public on how they are handling Komova's case.
Moscow foreign minister Lavrov said he had raised the matter with the Thai authorities and his ministry said: 'The American authorities continue the unacceptable practice of 'hunting' for Russians all over the world, ignoring the norms of international laws and twisting other states' arms.'
Russia deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov accused the US of 'extrajudicial and illegal abductions of other countries' nationals'.
In one earlier case which infuriates Moscow, Thailand extradited Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout to the US where he was subsequently sentenced to a 25-year jail sentence for conspiracy to kill US citizens and officials, delivery of anti-aircraft missiles, and providing aid to a terrorist organisation.
The Russian embassy in Bangkok said of Ukrainsky: 'We have visited him at the detention facility. He flatly denies his guilt.'
Held: Komova and her alleged accomplice Dmitry Ukrainsky have appeared in court in Bangkok where they remain in jail as the US fights for their extradition
Diplomatic row: Komova and Ukrainsky's detention has sparked a Russian row with US. The Russian embassy said: 'We have visited him at the detention facility. He flatly denies his guilt.'
'We are doing the utmost to prevent his extradition to the United States and are providing him with consular support,' said the Russian Foreign Ministry's ombudsman for Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law, Konstantin Dolgov.
He accused the US of the 'vicious practice of detaining our citizens in third countries in violation of international and bilateral obligations, including the 1999 treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal affairs'.
The FBI told Russian news agency Sputnik: 'Unfortunately, we have no comment for you.'
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Discarded gas canisters are strewn across the floor while metal bolts that were once due to be used in suicide vests - this is the deserted power station allegedly used as an ISIS bomb making factory in Libya.
Troops battling jihadis in the north African country raided the Al-Khaleej power plant near Sirte during a furious anti-ISIS offensive in June - and discovered it was home to a makeshift explosives factory for extremists.
Inside the vast hangar on the edge on the Libyan desert, government forces found the components of suicide vests - similar to the one used to injure 12 people in the ISIS attack on the German town of Ansbach nine days ago.
Following fierce clashes near the disused power station, Libyan forces found the corpses of 25 jihadis inside - but said at least 160 had been living there.
Danger: ISIS transformed the abandoned industrial hangar into a workshop for fashioning lethal explosive-filled car-bombs
Terror: The facility walls are daubed with sinister graffiti, including the flag of the terror group
Daily life: Heaps of nuts, bolts and other small metal components were surrounded by seven-litre bottles of water
Escape: Commander Negro revealed that it is thought many of the fighters in the facility are posing as members of the public, after shaving off their beards and long hair (pictured)
Trapped: Chief engineer of the Al-Khaleej power station Hassan Forjani said electricity supplies had not been restored to central Sirte where ISIS are penned in
On the floor of one room, piles of thick hair and tufts of beard trimmings lay strewn among discarded ammunitions boxes and seven litre bottles of water.
Libyan commander Ahmed Negro told MailOnline: 'There were big numbers of Daesh here - at least 160.
'We think most of them went to Sirte, but some of them may be posing as ordinary citizens, because they shaved off their beards and cut their long hair before they ran away.'
We think most of them went to Sirte, but some of them may be posing as ordinary citizens, because they shaved off their beards and cut their long hair before they ran away. Commander Negro
'We think the water was blessed by having the Holy Koran recited over it, and then used in making IEDs,' explained a solider named Hamed.
MailOnline gained exclusive access to the power station on Libya's central Mediterranean coast after it was freed by Libyan forces battling against ISIS in June.
Retreating militants left the grounds laced with mines and IED booby-traps, meaning access was restricted for two months until the area had been made safe.
Unearthed: Libyan fighters have been able to learn a lot about the fighters and their weapons, after discovering clues inside the abandoned facility
Security: Retreating militants left the grounds laced with mines and IED booby-traps, meaning access was restricted until the area had been made safe
Wartime: Roughly-cut sheets of the bullet-proof metal lay abandoned amongst oxyacetylene gas canisters, used for cutting through thick metal. Pictured, a flag left behind
Graffiti: MailOnline gained exclusive access to the power station on Libya's central Mediterranean coast, which was left behind after the ISIS fighters inside fled
One of the perimeter walls was still stained with blood, where the commander of a bomb disposal unit had been killed.
'He successfully dismantled one mine but he didn't realise it was attached to another, directly underneath, which exploded when he tried to move the first, deactivated mine,' explained Commander Negro.
In the living quarters, prayer times were scrawled on walls and a kitchen cleaning rota instructed ISIS adherents to keep the kitchen clean, reminding them that Allah sees everything.
Some text from the Hadith - an important Islamic text recording the sayings of the Prophet Mohamed - listing seven ways to reach paradise was taped to a door.
When they were not preparing explosives, ISIS members appear to have spent their time covering walls and doors with graffiti glorifying ISIS ideologies.
'ISIS follows the path of the Prophet,' read one, while another said: 'We will never give up. We will apply Sharia Law.'
'ISIS forever,' was spray-painted on the exterior of one building. Beside a smashed window was written 'Sirte: the mother of all battles,' indicating that the terror group had long been preparing to defend Muammar Qaddafi's former hometown, which they made their North African stronghold for more than a year.
ISIS follows the path of the Prophet. We will never give up. We will apply Sharia Law.' Graffiti left behind on the bomb-making factory walls
A crude illustration of a suicide bomb car was labelled 'Dogma' - the name Libya's branch of ISIS gives to these terrifying weapons, many of which were prepared in the very grounds of the power station.
ISIS had transformed an industrial hangar into a workshop for fashioning lethal explosive-filled car-bombs to be used by their many adherents willing to undertake suicide missions.
Outside the hangar stood an abandoned water-tanker lorry, which militants were customising into a lethal suicide vehicle before they were forced to flee from the power station by advancing Libyan forces.
Libyan soldiers inspecting the vehicle said the truck would have been packed with explosives via a large hatch, set into its roof. The finished bomb - innocently appearing to be an ordinary water tanker - would have probably targeted a military checkpoint with a huge blast.
A similar truck was detonated at a police academy in January this year, killing 60 police and wounding several hundred.
Jumble: Debris lies scattered around the facility, including the remnants of the ISIS fighters daily lives as well as their sinister weapons making
Remains: A great deal of bomb making equipment was left scattered around the factory when it was raided by Libyan troops after ISIS fighters fled
Debris: Scattered on the ground around the hangar were bumpers ripped from ordinary cars, which were replaced with sheets of thick metal, used as bullet-proofing
Force: Many ISIS members in Sirte are foreign fighters, including some from English-speaking sub-Saharan African countries
Life: In the living quarters, prayer times were scrawled on walls and a kitchen cleaning rota instructed ISIS adherents to keep the kitchen clean, reminding them Allah sees everything
Raid: Libyan troops were able to reclaim the factory, as they make important advances against ISIS in the African country
In the last three months, ISIS has carried out over 40 car bomb attacks on Libyan military positions and field hospitals, in an attempt to stop advancing government forces.
At the beginning of Libya's three-month battle to eliminate ISIS from the region, militants drove bullet-proofed vehicles and lorries at speed towards targets.
But recently the terror group has changed tactics, employing white Toyota land cruisers, popular in Libya, or ordinary civilian cars with explosives hidden beneath bedding and mattresses, to avoid detection.
Roughly-cut sheets of the bullet-proof metal lay abandoned amongst oxyacetylene gas canisters, used for cutting through thick metal, and assorted scrap offcuts and empty gas bottles which soldiers said were packed into vehicles with explosives to create lethal blasts that would send shrapnel flying.
Ground: Losing the Libyan city of Sirte, flagged as ISIS' most important base outside of Syria or Iraq, represents a major set-back for the terror group
Littered: Now the premises has been made safe, the power plant has restarted, providing electricity to residential areas that had been without power for months
Remnants: There are still used coffee cups and discarded food cans lying around in the car-bomb manufacturing warehouse
Life: In the living quarters, some text from the Hadith - an important Islamic text recording the sayings of the Prophet Mohamed - listing seven ways to reach paradise was taped to a door
Clues: Messages scrawled on the walls of the factory give a glimpse into the minds of the fighters who lived there, with messages of support for the terror group's objectives
Scattered on the ground around the hangar were bumpers ripped from ordinary cars, which were replaced with sheets of thick metal, used as bullet-proofing to prevent troops blowing them up before reaching their targets.
'Daesh needed these industrial metal sheets at any cost and one local engineer was reportedly paid 30,000 cash to supply these and provide fabrication and welding services,' said a man named Mohamed, who lives nearby.
'Some people who didn't flee had no choice but to work for Daesh but others did so because they were offered a lot of money,' he added.
On the walls of the hangar a pledge of allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was written in English. Many ISIS members in Sirte are foreign fighters, including some from English-speaking sub-Saharan African countries, according to a man named Mehdi, who lived under their reign of terror in Sirte for a year.
Discovery: Libyan troops unearthed a power station that had been transformed into an ISIS bomb making factory
Allah sees all: A cleaning rota taped to one of the walls of the facility detailed the times that fighters had to clean the kitchen, offering an extraordinary insight into their day-to-day lives
Drawing: An illustration drawn by one of the ISIS fighters who called the facility home shows a disembodied hand waving a flag of the terror group
Example: A crude drawing shows how the terror group planned attacks and made the weapons to carry them out at the base
Gruesome: One of the perimeter walls is scarred with blood where the commander of a bomb disposal unit had been killed
Now the premises - where 14 Libyan were shot dead on Christmas Day 2014, has been made safe, the power plant has restarted, providing electricity to residential areas that had been without power for months.
Europe will not be blackmailed by Turkey in talks for visa-free travel for Turkish citizens in the EU, German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said on Monday as relations with Ankara are strained in the aftermath of a failed coup.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said over the weekend that Ankara would back out of its agreement with the EU to stem the flow of migrants if the bloc does not deliver the promised visa-free travel for Turks in return.
German politician Sigmar Gabriel said Europe will not be blackmailed by Turkey in talks for visa-free travel for Turkish citizens in the EU
Gabriel applauded a decision to prevent Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan from addressing a Turkish rally in Cologne via video-link on Sunday in the wake of a failed coup
Visa-free access has been subject to delays due to a dispute over Turkish anti-terrorism legislation and the post-coup crackdown. Berlin urged Turkey to show proportionality in its pursuit of those behind the coup, comments that angered Ankara.
'It is up to Turkey if there is or there isn't visa liberalisation,' Gabriel said. 'Germany and Europe should under no circumstances be blackmailed.'
A Turkish woman holding a Turkish and a German flag waits for the start of a demonstration in Cologne, Germany, on Sunday
Syrian refugees arrive on the beach, crossing the sea from Turkey to Lesbos, in Greece
Gabriel applauded a decision to prevent Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan from addressing via video-link a rally in Cologne on Sunday. The ban prompted the Turkish Foreign Ministry to summon the German charges d'affaires.
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it remained up to Turkey to fulfil the conditions required for visa liberalisation.
One is named after vice-president John C Calhoun, a 1804 Yale graduate
Has appointed a committee to rename historical buildings around campus
But he said Monday he had changed his mind after hearing concerns
Yale University has taken a step to rename buildings with names deemed offensive and racist on its campus.
One of them, Calhoun College, bears the name of John C Calhoun, a 19th-century vice-president, South Carolina senator and Yale alumnus who established himself as a vocal advocate for slavery.
Yale President Peter Salovey announced in April that the university was preserving the name of Calhoun College, defying those who railed against it.
But Salovey changed his mind after many raised their voices in protest.
Yale President Peter Salovey announced Monday that the university had formed a committee to work on renaming some buildings on campus, including Calhoon College (pictured)
'Many faculty, students, alumni, and staff have raised significant and moving concerns about that decision,' Salovey said in a message Monday.
'And it is now clear to me that the community-wide conversation about these issues could have drawn more effectively on campus expertise.'
Controversy has surrounded the name of Calhoun College for decades. But it received new attention last year as protesters on campuses around the country called for universities to address the legacies of historical figures.
Salovey said in April that keeping Calhoun's name would help Yale confront the history of slavery in the United States.
John C Calhoun (pictured), a 19th-century vice-president, South Carolina senator and Yale alumnus, established himself as a vocal advocate for slavery
A black dining services worker, Corey Menafee, used a broomstick to smash a stained-glass window depicting slaves inside Calhoun College back in June.
Menafee was arrested but criminal charges have since been dropped. Yale has re-hired Menafee, who had described the images as offensive.
Salovey has now appointed a new committee to develop guidelines for proposals to remove historical names from university buildings, including Calhoun's.
He said requests to remove the name will be reconsidered after the committee's work is completed.
Yale will also relocate and remove some of the windows in its residential colleges and replace them temporarily with tinted glass, Salovey announced Monday.
He didn't specify whether the specific window that Menafee broke was included in the group.
Trump also claimed Clinton was 'evil' and said Sanders 'made a deal with the devil' by endorsing her at the DNC
He also suggested that the Democrats rigged their primary
Donald Trump said Monday night that he's afraid November's general election will be 'rigged' against him, laying the groundwork for an excuse if he were to lose to Hillary Clinton.
The Republican presidential nominee claimed during a campaign rally in Columbus, Ohio that the Democratic primary was 'rigged' in favor of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party could repeat the achievement.
Trump doubled down in an interview with Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity, taped before a second rally in Pennsylvania.
'November 8th, we'd better be careful, because that election is going to be rigged,' he said.
'And I hope the Republicans are watching closely or it's going to be taken away from us.'
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed at an Ohio rally on Monday (pictured) that he 'fears' the general election will be rigged in November
Trump made the allegation after first suggesting the Democrats had fixed their primary system so Clinton (pictured with Warren Buffet on Monday) could defeat Bernie Sander
Trump also renewed his complaint that his own Republican primary was stacked against him, and large margins of victory in key states were his only salvation.
'I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, to be honest. I have to be honest. I have to be honest because I think my side was rigged,' he said.
Hillary Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon rushed to criticize the real estate tycoon on Twitter.
'Even for a reflexive conspiracy theorist like Trump, this is pathetic,' Fallon tweeted. 'It's dangerous, too.'
In addition to preemptively delegitimizing a potential loss to Clinton in November, Trump was sending a signal to his loyal supporters that they have to vote in order to help him avoid a 'rigged' defeat.
'We have to motivate our base,' a Trump aide said Tuesday morning. 'If the people who come to our rallies don't turn out in November, we're pretty much sunk.'
Trump doubled down on his claim in a taped interview with Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity
Trump added that he has been hearing 'more and more' that the election may not be contested fairly, though he did not elaborate further.
Hillary Clinton's national spokesman lashed out at Trump on Monday night
Trump's claim joins a long list of conspiracy theories he has been happy to publicize, including the allegation that President Obama was not born in the United States and that Sen Ted Cruz's father was associated with JFK's assassin.
He has not been shy about asserting that the electoral process has been 'rigged' in the past.
It became a frequent catchphrase of his during a low-water mark of his primary campaign this spring, when forces allied with Cruz managed to pack state delegations with supporters of the Texas senator.
Trump also asserted that the Republican Party had changed the delegate allocation in the Florida primary to favor a native candidate, like Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio, at Trump's expense.
In recent weeks, in an effort to woo angry Sanders supporters to his campaign, Trump has claimed that the Democrats' process was also rigged.
On Monday night Trump said Sanders 'made a deal with the devil' by endorsing Clinton, who he called the 'devil'.
The extraordinary claim comes fresh off a nearly week-long scandal after Trump insulted Khizr and Ghazala Khan, who gave a powerful speech to the DNC about their Army veteran son
Army Capt Humayun Khan was just 27 when he was killed while running towards a suicide bomber who'd burst into his base in a taxi - probably saving hundreds of lives
The Clinton campaign declined to comment about Trump's remarks.
The event in Ohio was Trump's first campaign appearance since the onset of his tussle with the parents of Khizr and Ghazala Khan, Muslims whose Army veteran son was killed in Iraq in 2004.
The Khans spoke out against Trump and questioned his familiarity with the Constitution last week at the Democratic National Convention.
Trump struck back by questioning whether Ghazala Khan had been allowed to speak. She said she is still too grief-stricken by her son's death.
He later criticized the family in an interview Sunday and again in a pair of tweets Monday morning, but did not mention them once during his Ohio rally.
Asked on MSNBC Monday whether Trump should apologize, Ghazala Khan said: 'I don't want to hear anything from him and I don't want to say anything to him.'
But Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, called the couple's son an 'American hero' during a campaign rally on Monday.
Pence quieted the audience after they booed the mother of a US Air Force pilot, who asked the Indiana governor how he can can tolerate what she called Trump's disrespect of American servicemen.
Pence asked the Nevada crowd to quiet down, telling them 'That's what freedom looks like. That's what freedom sounds like.'
The body camera of an officer involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager in the back was not recording at the time, Chicago Police have said.
Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said an investigation is underway to determine why the equipment did not capture the killing of Paul O'Neal.
The 18-year-old, from Chicago, was shot on Thursday night during a stolen vehicle investigation in the city's South Shore neighborhood.
The body camera of an officer involved in the fatal shooting of Paul O'Neal (pictured) was not working at the time, Chicago Police have said
Authorities have said officers stopped a Jaguar convertible that had been reported stolen at the corner of 73rd Street and South Merrill Avenue.
Police said officers opened fire after the driver, identified as O'Neal, put the car in drive and sideswiped a squad car and a parked vehicle.
He was later pronounced dead at a hospital, and autopsy results showed he died of a gunshot wound to the back.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Paul O'Neal's death a homicide.
Three officers involved in the shooting were relieved of their police powers after officials concluded they violated policy.
Relieving officers of their police powers is considered a more serious step than putting officers on desk duty, which is routinely done after a police shooting.
The 18-year-old, from Chicago, was shot on Thursday night during a stolen vehicle investigation in the city's South Shore neighborhood
Chicago police investigate the fatal shooting in the 7300 block of South Merrill Avenue in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood on Friday
Officers relieved of police powers must turn in their badges and cannot make arrests.
Chicago's use of body and dashboard cameras increased significantly after the release of a video last fall of a white officer shooting black teen Laquan McDonald 16 times in 2014.
That shooting, and the initial statements by a union spokesman about McDonald lunging at police that turned out to contradict what was on the video, raised serious questions about what the public was being told about police shootings.
Boy vanished while walking to get the bus to school in Soho, Manhattan
And Ramos has been cleared by a judge at the request of Patz's parents
But Pedro Hernandez has now been criminally charged with killing child
Was found responsible for killing Patz after a case brought by his parents
Jose Ramos was a longtime suspect in the
A Manhattan court has thrown out a wrongful death judgement against a convicted pedophile accused of killing 6-year-old Etan Patz.
Jose Ramos had been a longtime suspect since the boy went missing in 1979, and was found responsible for his death after a case brought by his parents.
But after another man was criminally charged with killing Patz, his parents asked to have the judgement against Ramos overturned, because letting it stand would be an 'injustice'.
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A Manhattan court has thrown out a wrongful death judgement against a convicted pedophile accused of killing a 6-year-old boy more than forty years ago
Patz vanished from a street in Soho on May 25 while walking to catch the bus to school.
His body was never found and the case became one of America's most high-profile missing child investigations.
Ramos was never criminally charged but had been held civilly liable for Etan's death since 2004, when he stopped cooperating with questioning.
But, according to judge John Kennedy, the criminal case against the new suspect: 'Casts doubt on the validity of the judgment taken against Ramos.'
Both Ramos and, through his lawyers, Hernandez deny killing Etan, who vanished while walking to his school bus stop.
Hernandez faces retrial this fall after a jury deadlocked last year.
Jurors were not told about the wrongful-death judgment against Ramos but did hear defense testimony casting suspicion on him.
Ramos' lawyer, Frank Rothman, said on Monday: 'It's about time his judgment was vacated.'
Pedro Hernandez was arrested in 2012 on a tip that he had confessed to a church prayer group
Jose Ramos (pictured) had been a longtime suspect in the case of Etan Patz, who went missing in 1979, but was cleared after another man was criminally charged
Hernandez' lead lawyer, Harvey Fishbein, declined to comment, as did prosecutors.
Ramos, 73, told federal authorities about interacting with a child he was all but sure was Etan on the day he vanished, although Ramos later denied it.
Meanwhile, he was convicted of sexually assaulting boys in Pennsylvania and remains in prison on a conviction of violating sex offender registration rules.
'What did you do to my little boy?' Etan's father, Stanley Patz, asked in letters he wrote Ramos for years.
Then Hernandez, 55, of Maple Shade, New Jersey, was charged in 2012 after giving a confession his lawyers later said was false.
Saying Hernandez' trial had persuaded them of his guilt, Etan's parents asked a court this winter to throw out the $2.7 million judgment against Ramos.
'It would have been an injustice' to let the judgment stand, their lawyer, Brian O'Dwyer, said Monday.
Forget the Bible verse that says: 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord'. The devout-Christian co-host of The View Paula Faris is seeing red and vowing to get revenge on the show's moderator Whoopi Goldberg.
Faris, who also anchors the weekend edition of Good Morning America, is often quoting scripture behind the scenes and is known for singing worship tunes.
Now, the 40-year-old journalist is singing a different tune -one made famous by Jennifer Holliday in Dreamgirls: 'And I Am Telling You, I'm Not Going!'
ABC News cut Paula Faris' days on The View down from five to one. The decision was made two weeks ago and since then, Faris has only appeared on the Friday episodes
Following the demotion, Faris, a 40-year-old journalist, yelled at executives and claimed it was 'Whoop Goldberg's doing', a source close to the show said. Pictured above is Goldberg with Kelly Osbourne
Executives at ABC News have cut Faris' days on The View down from five to one.
The cut comes after focus group feedback research on the co-host was 'some of the lowest the network has seen since Elisabeth Hasselbeck,' a source at the network told Daily Mail Online.
The decision was made two weeks ago and since then, Faris has only appeared on the Friday episodes moderated by original View co-host, Joy Behar.
A source told Daily Mail Online: 'The day they told Paula she was livid. It was the first time anyone behind the scenes had ever seen her lose her cool.
'She yelled at the executives when they presented the information and said: "This is a bunch of bull!" She was outraged.
Despite the meeting taking place behind closed doors in Faris' dressing room, those passing by could hear her gripe about how 'I know this is Whoopi's doing' and accused the Oscar winner of sabotaging her.
'She is adamant that the network bowed to pressure from Whoopi to get rid of Paula as part of her negotiations to return for Season 20,' the insider claims.
The source added: 'Despite the fact that there was clear research showing her that the talk show's audience could not relate to her, she couldn't comprehend how the viewers did not like her.
'She kept saying: "She'll regret what she did to me, I promise you that."'
Despite not being involved in Faris' demotion, Goldberg has made no secrets about not liking Faris, a source said. Together they are pictured above with Behar (left) and singer Martina McBride (second left)
Daily Mail Online broke the news in May that Goldberg has signed on to return to The View for Season 20 despite rumors that she was leaving the show.
After being told about her demotion, Faris went into the makeup room to get groomed for the show and openly declared: 'I'm not going anywhere, I'm here to stay.'
Guest hosts Jedediah Bila and Sara Haines - both of whom will be named as permanent co-hosts alongside Sunny Hostin for Season 20 - just looked uncomfortable, unaware of how to respond to Faris' unsolicited outburst.
'ABC News really wanted to fire Paula from the show altogether, but The View has terrible image problems with all the recent firings over the last few years,' according to the show source.
'They also thought just ditching her could affect the ratings of the weekend edition of Good Morning America.
'And let's not forget that they're just getting past the disaster they faced with hiring Michael Strahan full time from Live with Kelly and Michael and the fallout with Kelly Ripa.
'So Paula's demotion was the network trying to save face with the audience for very self-serving reasons.'
Despite not being involved in Faris' demotion, Goldberg has made no secrets about not liking Faris.
Daily Mail Online previously reported that the show's moderator once told ABC executives about GMA contributor Sara Haines: 'That's the one you should have hired, instead of the other one.'
Goldberg regularly has had on-air spats with Faris, making disgusted faces and even covering her face with her dreadlocks when Faris says things she doesn't like.
Guest hosts Sara Haines and Jedediah Bila will be named as permanent co-hosts alongside Sunny Hostin for season 20, a source told Daily Mail Online
According to the show source, Goldberg believes that Faris' friendship with ABC executive Barbara Fedida is the only reason that she wasn't terminated after the research came back.
'Everyone jokes about how Barbara Fedida thought Paula would be her new Barbara Walters on this show. But Ms. Walters was beloved to by the audience, Paula isn't.
'At some point, ABC has to realize that The View has suffered since Barbara Fedida took over. She doesn't know the first thing about casting a talk show.'
Faris is not the only co-host that has been reduced to a one day work week now. ABC News has also cut Raven Symone's schedule from three days to one.
The controversial former 'The Cosby Show' and Disney's 'That So Raven' star has been plagued with backlash from African-American viewers since joining the show for not being very educated on history and social issues.
With the show making politics the lead hot topic of the show, they realized they needed someone more well-read to handle those discussions, which is why they brought ABC's Senior Legal Analyst Hostin on.
'Again, the only reason Raven was fired altogether is because the network has horrible image issues as a whole with their turnover rate. No network wants to get the backlash NBC got for Ann Curry ever again,' the source said.
Ng Lap Seng is waiting trial on bribery charges but also faces being
This is Hillary and Bill Clinton - pictured with a Chinese billionaire accused of being the front for his country's attempt to manipulate an American election.
The couple were pictured with Ng Lap Seng at a Democratic function before he became embroiled in an investigation into illegal campaign donations to the 1996 election.
Now the scandal is threatening to return to haunt the Clinton - as Ng faces being questioned in font of Congress, something he managed to evade by fleeing the country in the late 1990s.
Communist frontman? Ng Lap Seng was seen shaking hands with Bill Clinton in a picture taken before the revelation of illegal money being donated to the 1996 Clinton campaign
Finally facing questions: Billionaire Ng Lap Seng, who was in Federal Court in Manhattan in June, fled the country to avoid giving Congressional testimony but is now facing demands to give evidence
While the illegal donation scheme led to the prosecution of a long-time friend of Bill Clinton, investigators were never able to conclusively establish whether the operation was part of a Chinese government effort to buy influence and access in the Clinton White House.
The 1996 foreign donor scandal led to investigations in both the House and Senate, which uncovered evidence that Democratic fundraisers ignored red flags about the sources of the illegal donations.
It also found indications that the Clinton administration and the Democratic National Committee traded access and favors in exchange for the money.
The case led to the indictment of long-time Clinton friend Charlie Trie, an Arkansas restaurant owner.
Trie pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and said he used straw donors to make illegal contributions with money supplied by Ng.
At the time, Trie also denied that the money had any direct connection to the Chinese government, and claimed the DNC and the Clinton White House were unaware the donations were coming from foreign sources.
Ng's background and how he ended up as a major funder of Clinton's reelection bid is still largely a mystery.
But the recent bribery charges against him in New York provide additional indications that he is closely involved with the Chinese government.
Testimony: In an investigation led by then Senator Fred Thompson, the Chinese government was accused of trying to affect the 1996 election outcome. Charlie Trie, who was jailed, later gave evidence.
Ng was arrested in New York last year for allegedly offering bribes to the former president of the United Nations general assembly, John Ashe, who died suddenly last month in a barbell weight accident.
Ng reportedly made a number of trips to the U.S. carrying suitcases full of money, and prosecutors said Chinese officials were also involved in the bribery scheme.
Ng's trial is scheduled to begin in January and he remains under house detention in New York.
According to a 1998 House Oversight Committee report, Ng was 'flat broke' in 1979 when he moved to Macau from Guangzhou.
But by the 1990s, he had become a 'wealthy landowner' who ran a major casino and hotel frequented by Macau gangsters.
Ng was also a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Congress, 'a communist organization in the People's Republic of China,' according to the report.
One unnamed business associate told investigators that Ng was 'a peasant farmer before coming to Macau, but somehow had been selected to act as a front for the People's Republic of China'.
The chief investigator on the Congressional committee at the time told Daily Mail Online Ng was a key missing link in the inquiry.
'Ng Lap Seng was the source of huge amounts of illegal foreign funds that ended up in the Democratic National Committee through straw donors,' said David Bossie, who is now president of the Citizens United watchdog group.
He's with her: Hillary Clinton, who campaigned with billionaire Warren Buffett in Ohio on Monday, met the Chinese billionaire accused of being a front for his country's government
'We never got to find out if he was acting as an agent of the Chinese government or his true motivation,' Bossie added.
Ng's attorney said on Thursday that he would not make his client available for an interview with congress.
However, the House Oversight Committee could override this by issuing a subpoena to Ng.
20 MONTHS FOR PAYING OUT BILLIONAIRE'S CASH A tearful U.S. citizen who bribed a top United Nations official to get support for business ventures was sentenced to 20 months in prison last Friday by a judge who said bribery schemes do 'substantial damage' to the U.N.'s image. Sheri Yan, 60, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick in Manhattan after pleading guilty to a bribery charge in January. Yan admitted paying more than $800,000 in bribes to former U.N. General Assembly President John Ashe, who died several weeks ago in an accident at home. He was awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to a tax charge in the case. Jailed: Sheri Yan leaving an earlier hearing Broderick rejected a request to keep Yan out of prison by defense attorney Christine Chung. Prosecutors sought a nearly six-year prison term. Chung said she was working as a consultant when she met Ashe in early 2012 in Hong Kong, where Ashe offered to make her an adviser when he became president of the General Assembly. By spring 2012, Yan was passing along bribes to Ashe. Prosecutors say funds for the bribes came largely from Ng Lap Seng. Yan's plea agreement said she gave bribes to Ashe to persuade officials in Antigua to enter into business contracts with foreign companies. At the time, Ashe was an ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda. Advertisement
In 1994, Ng struck up a business relationship with Charlie Trie, a friend of Bill Clinton's who had run a Chinese restaurant in Arkansas that Clinton frequented while he was governor.
That same year, Trie made a $100,000 donation to the DNC, even though he had never made any comparable political contribution before and had no apparent wealth.
He began to get invitations to high level DNC events and continued to make large contributions, many of them through proxy donors and using money from Ng.
In total, Ng reportedly channelled over $1 million into the DNC and Clinton's legal aid fund during the reelection campaign.
As the donations poured in, Ng and Trie were granted numerous private meetings with top Clinton administration officials and meetings with Bill Clinton himself - including the handshake caught on camera.
Currency transaction reports reviewed by congress showed that Ng carried 'large amounts of cash into the United States before each of his meetings,' according to the report.
Trie was also appointed to Clinton's Commission on United States-Pacific Trade and Investment Policy in 1996 'despite the fact that he lacked any qualifications to serve,' the report stated.
When a Senate aide involved with the trade commission questioned Trie's appointment, 'these objections were met with the response that Trie was a 'must appointment' from 'the highest levels of the White House',' said the report.
Although DNC officials later claimed they did not realize the money was coming from Ng, the Chinese billionaire was listed as a donor on one of its event programs and his signature was on another $15,000 donation check, according to the report.
Trie, who first became friendly with Clinton in 1982, told congress that he was able to arrange coffee meetings with Bill Clinton for these donors in exchange for $50,000 donations to the DNC.
Bossie said that the question of foreign influence in an election has been revived in recent weeks, amid suspicions that the Russian government was behind an email hack at the DNC earlier this month.
'The question of whether a foreign government tried to influence a presidential election is important as we see by the alleged Russian hacking,' said Bossie.
Introducing Hillary Clinton today in Omaha, Nebraska, billionaire investor Warren Buffett became the latest American to challenge Donald Trump to release his taxes.
Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, noted how Trump had used being under an audit as an excuse to keep his returns from the public, which is generally unheard of when it comes to presidential candidates.
'Now, I've got news for him I'm under audit too!' Buffett told the crowd. 'And I would be delighted to meet him anyplace, anytime between now and the election. I will bring my tax return. He can bring my tax return. Nobody's going to arrest us.'
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Billionaire investor Warren Buffett introduced Hillary Clinton in Omaha, Nebraska today and challenged Donald Trump to release his tax returns
'There are no rules against showing your tax returns,' Buffett continued.
Trump had hinted that it would be inappropriate to release his returns, in which several years are under an audit, while the process was ongoing.
'And just let people ask us questions about the items that are on there,' Buffett said.
Buffett is the third big-name businessman to get behind Clinton's bid for the White House in the past week.
Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on Thursday night, calling out Trump as a 'con.'
Then, Hillary Clinton headed across the state of Pennsylvania by bus and stopped in Pittsburgh where Mark Cuban of 'Shark Tank' fame told his hometown crowd that Trump is a 'jagoff,' a derogatory term in what locals call 'Pittsburghese.'
Splitting off from her running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, Clinton headed to Nebraska today for her rally with Buffett while the veep wannabe headed back to his home of Richmond to surprise campaign workers.
In Omaha, Buffett making his first campaign appearance alongside Clinton surveyed the crowd.
'How many of you would be afraid to have your tax return be made public?' he asked.
'You're only afraid if you have something to be afraid about.'
Hillary Clinton headed to Omaha, Nebraska today to get a campaign boost from billionaire Warren Buffett (seated left)
Hillary Clinton is vying for just one electoral vote in Nebraska, as the rest of the state votes solidly Republican
'And he's not afraid because of what? The IRS?' Buffett continued. 'He's afraid because of you.'
The billionaire told the other billionaire he would meet him in Omaha 'or Mar-a-Lago' he said, referencing Trump's Florida estate.
'We're both under audit and, believe me, nobody's going to stop us from talking about what's on those returns,' Buffett offered again.
'And send the word to him if you will,' the polite businessman added.
Moving on from the offer of a tax return show-and-tell, Buffett said that he disagreed 'violently' with Trump's dire assessment of the country.
He also criticized the real estate investor for suggesting he could fix the country's problems alone, a familiar sentiment that Clinton shares in her stump speech.
'It takes some kind of nerve or something else to really have the notion that you're the only one out of 325 million people who can fix it,' Buffett said.
Speaking on the news of the day, the ongoing feud between Trump and Muslim-American Gold Star family Khizr and Ghazala Khan, who lost their Army captain son in 2004 while he was on tour in Iraq.
Buffett said watching Trump say that he had sacrificed too, during an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, was the 'final straw.'
'No member of the Buffett family has gone to Iraq or Afghanistan,' Buffett said. 'No member of the Trump family has gone to Iraq or Afghanistan.'
'We've both done extremely well during this period and our families haven't sacrificed anything,' Buffett pointed out.
Buffett also shed some light on why Clinton might make a visit to bright red Nebraska that hasn't voted for a Democrat since President Lyndon B. Johnson's election in 1964. Before that, it went for Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1936.
However, as Buffett pointed out, saying he wanted to 'make a little news' that would be a 'surprise even to Hillary,' Nebraska's electoral votes are cast by congressional district, instead of the winner of the state getting them all.
In 2012, President Barack Obama won Nebraska's one blue-ish electoral vote.
And thus, Omaha's congressional district could help break a national tie.
'We're going to help that process along this time,' Buffett said. 'I have pledged today that on Election Day ... I will take at least ten people to the polls who would otherwise have difficulty getting there.'
Therefore, Buffett revealed, he had reserved a trolley that seats 32 people for Eection Day.
'I'm going to be on it all day, I'm going to do selfies, whatever it takes,' the billionaire said, urging residents to 'shame' their politically unaware neighbors into voting this time.
He ended his spiel by reminding the audience that the Constitution's Article Two had used male pronouns 20 times.
Was denied bail in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday
Said to have a $3000 per day drug habit, including cocaine, heroin and ice
Alleged to have led police on a dangerous car chase through Melbourne
An addict who is said to have consumed $3000 of drugs per day, including ice, heroin and cocaine, allegedly led police on a wild chase through busy city streets.
During the dangerous pursuit in Melbourne took place in late March, he rammed two police cars and allegedly threw cash from the window of the luxury BMW he was driving.
He evaded officers, driving on the wrong side of the road and eventually abandoning the damaged vehicle.
Witnesses at the the time said they saw bullet holes in the car, but police said no gunshots had been fired during the incident.
Sean Murphy, 26, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday and was refused bail because he posed a threat to the community
Police investigators dust a black BMW for fingerprints in Downie Street in Melbourne's CBD after a high speed pursuit in March
A police officer inspects a black BMW with a smashed windscreen
Police said when he was eventually arrested two weeks later it took six officers to restrain him, the Herald Sun reported.
His arrest came on April 15, according to The Age.
Sean Murphy, 26, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday and was refused bail because he couldn't control his drug use.
He faced 48 charges including drug trafficking, car theft and ramming police cars.
A CCTV image of Mr Murphy after exiting a taxi in east Melbourne in March
Cash, scissors and what appears to be a cell phone are taken from a vehicle abandoned after the pursuit in late March
Police learned of his expensive drug habit from his crime associates, it was reported.
Drug and alcohol counsellor Craig McDonald recommended Mr Murphy's release for a two-month rehabilitation, but Magistrate Michael King said he posed an 'unacceptable risk' to the community.
Police captured Mr Murphy in April while responding to reports of a man selling drugs from his car.
Inside the car, police were reported to have found a handgun, drugs and cash.
Images of the vehicle he is believed to have abandoned in March after the pursuit show a black BMW with a smashed windscreen and police officers took items like cash from the car.
An image of a man believed to be Sean Murphy after exiting a taxi in east Melbourne
Cash is seen in an evidence bag as police investigators inspect a black BMW in Downie Street in Melbourne's CBD in late March
Pauline Hanson released a book under her name and copyright in 1997 claiming that by 2050 Australia would be ruled by an Asian lesbian cyborg named Poona Li Hung.
It was just one of many bold statements in the 234-page essay-style novel, which also suggested Aboriginals were savage 'cannibals' who ate their babies, and gun control-advocates had 'retarded sexual and emotional maturity.'
The controversial politician, who has been re-elected to Federal parliament with her One Nation Party after a two-decade absence, admits now that she had no idea what was in the book and only saw it after it had been edited and published.
However, footage uncovered in an SBS documentary on her life shows Ms Hanson proudly boasting about her 'very informative' book, riding a wave of popularity after her 1996 maiden speech warning Australia was 'in danger of being swamped by Asians'.
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Pauline Hanson recommending crowds to buy her book 'The Truth' in 1997, which suggested that Aboriginals were cannibals and claimed Australia would soon be ruled by a lesbian cyborg
One Nation Party co-founder David Oldfield (pictured with Ms Hanson) said the book was 'the stuff of science fiction' and Ms Hanson was 'foolish' to not have read the book
The book, titled 'Pauline Hanson: the Truth', is compiled in two separate sections; a collection of Ms Hanson's speeches and an analysis of Asian immigration, Aboriginals, the gun debate and the future of Australia.
In its section on what it calls 'the Aboriginal Question,' the book cites academics from the early 1930s who wrote that indigenous Australians were 'cannibals.'
Pauline Hanson: The Truth, was launched by the politician and had her copyright on it. She later distanced herself from it and said she had not seen it until it was published
'They killed and ate their own women and children, and occasionally their men. The older women were often killed for eating purposes like livestock,' the book reads.
'We took this land by appropriation, we took it because ... the Aboriginals could not defend it.'
Another part of the book claims Aboriginals 'striped with white and yellow warpaint' would attack Chinese immigrants while 'screeching like demons from the deepest hell.'
'To the cannibal blacks the new chum Chinese were manna from heaven. Hundreds of them were ambushed, captured, and eaten at leisure.'
One of the book's more peculiar claims was that Australia would soon be overrun by Asians if it did not cease all immigration.
The book continued on to suggest that by the year 2050, Australia would be ruled by President Poona Li Hung, a part-cyborg lesbian of Chinese and Indian descent.
Pauline Hanson's 'The Truth' argued that Aboriginals were cannibals who 'killed and ate their own women and children ... for eating purposes like livestock'
The book also touched on reverse-racism and offered research into 'comparative Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Benefits.'
The most downtrodden person in this country is the white Anglo-Saxon male
It concluded that: 'The most downtrodden person in this country is the white Anglo-Saxon male.'
'It's got to the stage where the balance has swung too far and men don't know what to do.'
Pauline Hanson's 'The Truth' also firmly opposed the National Firearms Agreement, which was passed in government in 1996 following the Port Arthur massacre.
The book quoted Sigmund Freud in saying that gun-control advocates were 'retarded sexually', before arguing that by the same logic of banning guns the nation should 'ban doctors' - because people die in Australian hospitals from infections.
It was the stuff of science fiction - it may as well have been Planet of the Apes
After a significant backlash following the release of the book, Ms Hanson clarified that the book had been compiled by four anonymous authors and not herself.
In an interview in 2004, she conceded that the book's release and ambiguous authorship was a result of poor 'delegation.'
'Like I said at the time, there was so much happening with the media and you just cannot do everything yourself. You just cannot sit down and read every book or every article or know every candidate that stood,' she told ABC's Andrew Denton.
In a recent SBS documentary on her life, Ms Hanson admitted that she had no idea what was in the book and only saw it after it had been edited and published
WHO IS PAULINE HANSON? Born on 27 May, 1954 in Brisbane Left school aged 15 and fell pregnant with Polish refugee at the age of 16 Married and then divorced after sharing two children Re-married in 1980 and had two more children. Divorced and then opened a fish and chip shop in Ipswich Entered politics in 1994 as member of Ipswich City Council Joined Liberal Party in 1996 and was endorsed as candidate for Oxley Won the seat, which was the safest Labor seat in Queensland, despite being disendorsed by Liberal party Entered Federal parliament as an independent in 1996 Founded her One Nation Party in February, 1997 After being re-elected in 1998, experienced slow demise in popularity Resigned from One Nation Party in 2002 Spent 11 weeks in jail in 2003 after being found guilty of electoral fraud. Was released upon appeal Returned to One Nation in 2014, contesting and winning a seat in the Queensland Senate in 2016 Advertisement
David Oldfield, co-founder of the One Nation Party, distanced himself from the book and said it was released prior to his involvement with the party.
'I never had anything to do with it,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'She (Ms Hanson) was foolish not to have read it before she gave them permission to use her image and her name on it.'
'Theres some weirdo stuff in there, theres stuff in there thats completely away from what One Nation ever thought. '
'It was the stuff of science fiction - it may as well have been Planet of the Apes.'
Mr Oldfield said the book was a 'mistake' that he ignored, choosing to get on with 'what the party needed to do rather than the ravings of a lunatic.'
Linda Burney, the first Aboriginal woman to have been elected to the Australian House of Representatives, told SBS the book was 'just wrong and kind of crazy.'
'It is just wrong and kind of crazy,' said Linda Burney.
'I went to school at a time when we were taught that Aboriginal people were the closest example to stone age man, but that was back in the late 60s it wasnt in the late 90s,' she said.
'Seriously who on earth put this together and who read it? Did Pauline Hanson read it?'
But David Ettridge, who co-founded the One Nation Party, defended the book.
'That becomes a matter of opinion, at the time we thought well heres something that tells a story. We think its relevant, it's an example of how history is being distorted,' he told SBS.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Pauline Hanson for comment.
Labourer then got out of his 4x4 and began pushing and shoving motorist
Footage shows him pulling up to biker and shouting 'you're a f****** b******'
Last week he launched foul-mouthed rant at motorcyclist in Falkirk
The 4x4 driver who tried to fight a fellow motorist at a busy junction once 'nearly died' when he was the victim of a terrifying road rage incident, MailOnline can reveal today.
Labourer Stuart Morris, 27, appeared to call a motorcyclist a 'f****** b******' before shoving him during a bust-up at a roundabout in Falkirk, Stirlingshire last Friday.
Today it emerged that in 2012 he was knocked down while shopping in Falkirk when 'hormonal' mother-of-one Suzanne Gilchrist rammed into him and wove through crowded streets as he desperately clung to the bonnet of her car.
Yet three years on Mr Morris, who works at ABC Events, was himself filmed swearing at a biker and yelling 'You're a f****** b******,' before getting out of his green 4x4 to confront him.
Dramatic footage of the incident, caught on the biker's head camera, shows the pair exchanging cross words before coming to blows as other motorists look on.
Past: Labourer Stuart Morris, 27, who appeared to call a motorcyclist a 'f****** b******' before shoving him during a bust-up at a roundabout in Falkirk, Stirlingshire last Friday, has been revealed as a road rage victim himself who was once dragged along a road on a car bonnet
In 2012, Mr Morris (above) was shopping when 'hormonal' mother-of-one Suzanne Gilchrist rammed into him and wove through crowded streets as he clung to the bonnet of her car
'Hormonal' mother-of-one Suzanne Gilchrist drove towards Mr Morris, described as an 'unconnected passerby' and struck him, causing him jump onto the bonnet in June 2012
MailOnline has made a number of attempts to contact him at his workplace and at home.
The biker is heard swearing back as Mr Morris says 'come on then' and the pair begin to shove each other. Mr Morris then continues to push the motorcyclist until he falls to the ground with his bike.
Other motorists can be heard beeping their horns before trying to break up the pair. As Mr Morris heads back to his car, he is confronted by the biker again who he brands a 'psychopath'.
Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident, but it has now emerged that Mr Morris was once the victim of a dangerous road rage incident himself in which he was dragged along a busy street on a car bonnet.
In 2012, he was shopping in Falkirk when 'hormonal' mother-of-one Suzanne Gilchrist rammed into him and wove through crowded streets as he desperately clung to the bonnet of her car.
Shocking footage shows him stepping out into the high street where he is struck by Gilchrist's Ford Focus. He can then be seen sprawled out on the bonnet of the car as she drives erratically through the town centre.
He was later taken to hospital on a spinal board, telling police he 'thought he was a goner', but was dispatched with only minor injuries.
Speaking at the time, Mr Morris, from Camelon, Falkirk, described it as 'like something out of a Hollywood action film.'
In the latest road rage video, Mr Morris can be seen approaching the motorcyclist victim and calling him a 'f****** b******' before shoving him in the middle of the road at a busy junction
Stuart Morris was the victim of his own road rage incident in Falkirk in 2012. He is seen holding onto the bonnet of a silver Ford Focus after being struck by 'hormonal' Suzanne Gilchrist
He said: 'I had been out doing some shopping when suddenly this woman drove straight into me.
'I sort of jumped and fell across the bonnet of the car and expected her to stop but she raced off at high speed.
'I can remember clinging on for my life because I thought that if I was thrown off I'd be seriously injured or worse.
'It was absolutely terrifying. It's not the sort of thing you expect to happen when you are out for a quiet afternoon in Falkirk.'
Gilchrist, who was aged 37 at the time, blamed her terrifying outburst on a 'hormonal imbalance'.
Her defence lawyer told a court: 'She had thought that she was pregnant and was obviously suffering from some sort of hormonal imbalance, and was on such a knife-edge that she panicked. She was hysterical.'
A court heard she was trying to get away from a security officer from a Boots store at the Howgate Shopping Centre, who was trying to speak to her about an alleged theft.
Motorists can be heard blowing their horns to break the pair up as they continue to fight. Pictured: Mr Morris challenges the motorcyclist after climbing out of his green 4x4 (right)
The pair are heard swearing at each other throughout the video captured on a helmet-camera
Mr Morris is pictured left appearing to hold a gun, and right following his earlier road rage incident in 2012
Stirling Sheriff Court heard that as Gilchrist sped off, Mr Morris - an 'unconnected' passer-by - happened to be crossing the road and was in her way. She drove towards him and struck him, causing him to jump onto the bonnet to avoid being hurt.
She then drove off 'at speed' through the town, weaving from side to side.
Gilchrist, from Edinburgh, pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Morris, failing to give way at junctions, and trying to throw him from her car to the danger of his life on June 12 2012 and was jailed her four years and three months.
Speaking after the sentencing, Mr Morris said; 'If it'd been a child she hit, the child would have been killed, as they wouldn't have been able to hang on.
'She was crazy. When my girlfriend gets hormonal, she just shouts a bit, she doesn't try to kill anyone.
'Gilchrist only stopped in the end because I smashed her windscreen. She deserves the jail - no-one like that should be free.'
However, his brush with death didn't stop him launching the sickening road rage attack on a fellow motorist last week.
It is not clear what caused the ruckus as the two vehicles approached the Westfield roundabout in Falkirk but head-cam footage clearly shows Mr Morris grappling with the motorcyclist.
After the biker is pushed to the ground the pair continue to fight on the grass next to the road
Mr Morris goes to head back to his vehicle after pushing the man and his bike to the ground
After exchanging a foul-mouthed rant at one another, they appear to tussle in the middle of the road - attacking each other both verbally and physically.
Eventually the scuffle is broken up when other motorists leave their vehicles and run over to stop the men fighting. One man advises the biker to 'calm down and wait until he goes away.'
He responds by saying: 'He's trying to punch somebody with a helmet on.'
Another motorist then hands the biker his helmet visor, which appears to have come off in the fight.
The video concludes with a woman stating that the incident had been reported to the police as the biker walks around on the spot in apparent shock.
It is not clear what caused the ruckus as Mr Morris abandons his vehicle to confront the biker
The helmet-cam captures the moment the man is pushed to the ground along with his bike
Prior to the ruckus, Mr Morris could be heard shouting 'you're a f****** b******' at the biker
A police Scotland spokesman said: 'We received a report of a road rage incident that happened on Friday 29 July on Stadium Way, Falkirk.'
'Officers are following a positive line of enquiry.'
MailOnline has contacted Mr Morris for comment.
The shocking incident was reported to the police who are following a 'positive line of enquiry'
Stuart Kelly took his own life after relentless bullying over lock-out laws
He is in jail for the one-punch attack that killed Thomas Kelly in 2012
The cousin of Thomas Kelly's killer has blamed the Kelly family for the bullying their son Stuart received before he took his own life.
Karissa-Leigh Loveridge took to Facebook this week to defend her cousin, Kieran Loveridge, who is serving ten years for manslaughter over the one-punch attack on Thomas Kelly - saying he is not to blame for Stuart's tragic suicide.
Instead, Ms Loveridge said his parents should not have 'put a 16-year-old in front of the media' and 'have continued to do so as the years went on'.
Stuart, 18, took his own life on July 25 after relentless bullying from trolls over his family's campaign against alcohol-fuelled violence and NSW's controversial lock-out laws.
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Karissa-Leigh Loveridge has defended her cousin Kieran after the death of Stuart Kelly
Loveridge (left) is in jail for the manslaughter of Stuart's (right) brother Thomas Kelly following a one-punch attack in 2012
Ms Loveridge wrote on social media this week that her cousin is not to blame for Stuart's death. The post has since been deleted
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Karissa-Leigh Loveridge for further comment, however she wrote on social media there is 'no way in the world my cousin Kieran can take blame for Stuart's death', Yahoo7 reported.
'I just want to set a few things straight Yes Kieran is doing his time for his actions. But to all you people who are judging and blaming Kieran I suggest you know the facts before listening to the media,' she wrote in a post that has since been deleted.
'Myself and my family are sorry for the loss of Stuart Kelly and completely understand the pain the family is going through.
Ms Loveridge then went on to say that while Stuart had been bullied over the lock-out laws this was 'not an excuse' for his death and 'no one deserves to die'.
'But the public need to understand the Kelly parents did put this 16-year-old in front of the media and continued to do so as the years have gone on.
Ms Loveridge wrote about Stuart being bullied over the lockout laws and said 'no one deserves to die'
Thomas Kelly (left and right) died after a random attack by Loveridge in Sydney's Kings Cross
Pictured is Thomas Kelly's funeral at Kings College Chapel in 2012
'I am not justifying my cousins' actions but don't just assume this is my cousin's fault,' her post finished.
Stuart's death came four years after his older brother and 'best friend' died following a one-punch attack at the hands of Loveridge.
The 18-year-old had been relentlessly bullied online by trolls opposed to the NSW lock-out laws his family were strong supporters of.
Last week their father Ralph Kelly posted a tribute to his youngest son writing: 'The most painful goodbyes are the ones that are never said and never explained'.
In a death notice for Stuart his parents wrote: 'You lived a very special life and brought us all so much joy and happiness.
'You showed extraordinary strength, courage and hope.
'We will miss you forever our darling Stuart, together in peace with your beautiful brother Thomas.
'Take Kare. We love you so very much. Mum, Dad and Madeleine.'
Stuart is pictured here age 14 embracing a family member at his brother Thomas' funeral
Pictured here are Ralph (left), Kathy (centre) and Madeleine Kelly (right)
After Thomas, 18, was killed by a single punch in Sydney's Kings Cross in 2012, Stuart and his family launched a foundation to campaign for tougher rules on alcohol-fuelled violence.
He enrolled at St Paul's College at the University of Sydney to study marine biology but left in February after just one night because he was unable to adjust.
A funeral for Stuart will be held this Thursday at the Kings College - the same place his brother was farewelled four years ago.
Loveridge is currently serving a 13-year jail term after a public campaign for tougher rules on alcohol-fuelled violence.
Qatari investors now own a fifth of British Airways after increasing their stake in the UKs flag carrier following a share price slump.
Qatar Airways is thought to have spotted an attractive opportunity to snap up more shares in British Airways owner, International Airlines Group (IAG), after the value of Sterling fell following the EU referendum.
While the Pound dropped, IAG, which also owns Spains Iberia, budget airline Vueling and Irelands Aer Lingus, has seen its shares plunge by a quarter after Britain decided to leave the EU.
Qatari investors now own a fifth of British Airways after increasing their stake in the UKs flag carrier
This prompted Qatar Airways to lift its stake from 15.67per cent to 20.01per cent.
The move will prove controversial because new Prime Minister Theresa May said foreign takeover bids for British firms must be assessed to determine whether they are in the national interest.
Qatar Airways is owned by the state of Qatar.
Under current rules, foreign investors cannot own more than 49per cent of a European airline, but building a massive stake in the firm would give it influence over decisions which it makes.
Prime Minister Theresa May said foreign takeover bids for British firms must be assessed to determine whether they are in the national interest
Qatar Airways is thought to have spotted an attractive opportunity to snap up more shares in British Airways owner, International Airlines Group
In 2006 when Dubai Ports World bought P&Os ports business, which included six gateways in America, for 3.9billion the US objected on security grounds.
The Ports were hived off into a separate company.
The two airlines already have a partnership for maintenance, cargo, purchasing of equipment and some route sharing.
Qatar Airways said its interest in IAG is purely financial: The recent market valuation of one of the worlds leading airline groups has provided what we believe is an attractive opportunity to increase our shareholding in IAG.
We continue to be highly supportive of IAGs strategy and management team and we do not intend to increase our percentage shareholding further unless there are material changes to the current situation.
Isabel Spearman, pictured, was a problem solver for Samantha Cameron
When David and Samantha Cameron said their farewells in Downing Street, a small group of aides looked on.
One was wearing a flowing flowery dress, which guaranteed she stood out from the crowd.
This was Isabel Spearman, who had spent most of the previous five years in charge of Mrs Camerons daily routine.
There was no job too big or small from arranging the minutiae of her diary, to suitcase-packing, selecting the right outfit for a particular event and advising on her hair. There were also baby-sitting duties.
However, she was said to be imperious and high-handed with officials and even MPs who she suspected of trying to get too close to either the Prime Minister or his wife.
This made Spearman deeply unpopular outside the Camerons close-knit inner circle.
Spearman actually left her job in No10 last year, but stayed friends with the Camerons and volunteered to help organise their tearful post-Brexit departure from Downing Street.
She was living up to her own self-styled motto: I will fix it.
In return, Cameron has now tried to fix it for Spearman, 37, by recommending her for an OBE in his resignation honours list. Not surprisingly, this has caused widespread disdain.
An OBE for SamCams bag carrier, hairdresser and stylist?
She was a glorified message-taker and make-up artist. Why on earth does that warrant her being given such a senior honour? said one senior Tory last night.
One cynical theory is that the initiative came from Mrs Cameron who, having left No10, is keen to launch her own fashion label, possibly with Spearman.
The title OBE would look good on the companys headed paper, it has been suggested by a disaffected Tory.
For her part, since she left Downing Street, Spearman has worked as a brand and image consultant.
How ironic, therefore, that her own image has suffered as a result of these accusations of cronyism.
In addition, matters have not been helped by a disastrous business venture involving her husband Mark Crocker, the stepson of the late Lord Oaksey, doyen of the horse racing world.
Mrs Cameron, centre, is said to have completely relied on her 'stylist', right, for her day-to-day organisation
He was a director of a beauty products firm launched by the socialite Jemma Kidd, which collapsed in 2012 with debts of 2million and was wound up.
One of the other five directors was Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of the corrupt newspaper publisher Robert Maxwell who drowned after falling from his yacht (named The Lady Ghislaine) amid allegations that he had stolen hundreds of millions of pounds from the pension fund of the Daily Mirror, which he owned.
Last year, Ghislaine Maxwell was forced to deny lurid claims that she had recruited young girls as sex slaves for her one-time lover, the billionaire financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who was a friend of Prince Andrew.
Like so many of the Camerons friends, Spearman had a privileged background.
She was born in 1979, the year Margaret Thatcher came to power, to strong Tory stock and was brought up in Perthshire.
Her father, Lochain, is a farmer and company director.
Her Spanish mother, Pilin, is the sister-in-law of Lord Garel Jones, the former Conservative minister who was seen as a key plotter in the political assassination of Mrs Thatcher.
Her grandfather, Sir Alexander Cadwallader Spearman, was a Conservative MP and her Eton-educated younger brother is married to a member of the now defunct Brazilian royal family.
Ms Spearman's bonds with the Cameron's blossomed after she got a job with Samantha's mother Lady Astor at her furniture company Oka
With such a pedigree, it is not surprising that Tatler magazine once put her top of its Little Black Book of the countrys most eligible singletons.
Spearman became a leading member of the so-called Notting Hill set of Tories, the clique of public school-educated friends united by a conviction that they were born to rule.
She was introduced to them after working for the luxury handbag designer Anya Hindmarch, who is one of Samantha Camerons closest friends.
She was also close to Flora and William Astor, Mrs Camerons step-brother and sister.
Her bonds with the Camerons strengthened when Spearman got a job with Mrs Camerons mother, Lady Astor, at her upmarket furniture company Oka.
Lady Astor then began lending her to her daughter as a wardrobe assistant for two days a week when the Tories were in Opposition.
In 2010, when the Camerons moved into Downing Street, she was taken on as a special adviser, with her 60,000 salary paid for by the taxpayer with one day a week funded by the Conservative Party.
In charge of Mrs Camerons diary, she helped put together her outfits and organise charity events.
She had a desk in No12 Downing Street but operated mostly from the neighbouring flat, which was the Camerons home and where she helped to baby-sit the couples young children.
Often attending meetings with the Prime Ministers team to ensure that the couples diaries never clashed, Spearman (known as Bells, a diminutive of her first name) was said to know more about the PMs life than any of his political confidantes and was as determined as a lioness to keep it that way.
A senior Tory who dealt with Camerons office regularly said: Isabel had a great knack of making sure that other people never got too close. She could be ice-cold.
Spearman acted as a buffer between Mrs Cameron and Andy Coulson, the no-nonsense No10 communications director who quit and was jailed for his role in the phone-hacking scandal when he was in his previous job as editor of the News of the World.
Ms Spearman also acted as a buffer between Mrs Cameron and the since-disgraced former No.10 spin doctor Andy Coulson (pictured)
Before Spearman arrived, Coulson occasionally clashed with Mrs Cameron because he wanted her to do more high profile appearances.
In 2013, he wrote in GQ magazine: The time has now come for Sam to play a more public role and take some risks ... She should now be persuaded that the 2015 campaign is already under way and shes badly needed in the trenches.
Such was the power of the woman whose tasks included ensuring that Sam Camerons belt matched her shoes and that her hair flicked in the right direction.
Last night, as the chumocracy row raged over David Camerons honours list, one grumpy Tory grandee compared the nomination for an OBE for the stylist behind his clothes horse wife with the famous story about the mad Roman emperor Caligula, who was said to have been so enamoured with horse, that he intended to appoint him a consul.
Beer lovers from all over the world have taken part in a new drinking race - that sees competitors down a bottle of beer before each lap.
Dozens of runners took part in the Beer Mile World Classic in north London on Sunday, which was the first ever intercontinental drinking race of its kind.
The rules state that each competitor has to run four laps of the track, covering a one-mile distance, and drink one beer measuring 355 ml before each lap.
Dozens of runners took part in the Beer Mile World Classic in north London on Sunday, which was the first ever intercontinental drinking race of its kind
Competitors have to run four laps of the track, drinking a 355ml beer before each lap
Corey Bellemore, from Canada, won the men's elite race with a new Beer Mile world record time of 4:34:35.
He drank his beer in just 8 seconds on some laps, while managing to keep up his running pace on the track.
Speaking after the race, Bellemore said: 'Just tried to chug the beers as quick as I could, hold them down.'
In the women's elite race, Erin O'Mara, from the US, took the top prize, after finishing the race in 6:43:35.
Female competitors are pictured downing their bottles of beer before the first lap
The winner of the Women's Elite Race, Erin O'Mara, was seen throwing up after the race
However, the Beer Mile did appear to take a toll on O'Mara, who was seen throwing up shortly after the race.
Meanwhile, Chris Hepworth, who won the non-elite race, said: 'The first like 50 metres after you down the drink are just awful, trying to stop yourself from being sick and burp it up, and then after that it actually feels alright.
'It's just the drink and the 50 metres after it.'
O'Mara, from the US, took the top prize after completing the beer mile in 6:43:35
Chris Hepworth, who won the non-elite race, said the first 50 metres after downing the beer were the worst
Race organiser Corey Gallagher said: 'At the start of every lap, you start with chugging a beer.
'When you're finished, you throw it to the side or pour it over your head to show that it's done and continue on.
A woman has been charged with drink driving after her car crashed into the back of a police vehicle which was stopped at a red light in the south-west of Sydney on Monday night.
The marked police car was sitting at traffic lights at the intersection of Alfords Point Road and Clancy Street in Padstow Heights when a woman driving a Toyota Corolla crashed into them, 9 News reports.
Police said the 40-year-old woman later allegedly provided a breath analysis reading of 0.152 - more than three times the legal limit.
A drunk woman crashed her car into the back of a police vehicle which was stopped at a red light in the south-west of Sydney on Monday night
The female driver's licence has now been suspended.
Police said she has been charged with drink driving and has been ordered to appear in Sutherland Local Court on September 8.
Mass murderer Julian Knight is preparing a High Court challenge to overturn the law that will keep him in jail until he's on his death-bed or too frail to harm others.
It's two years since the vexatious litigant - who killed seven people in the 1987 massacre - became eligible for parole.
Mass murderer Julian Knight has engaged to lawyers to try and get him released from prison
The Hoddle Street killer has engaged top lawyers to fight the legislation introduced by the previous state government to keep him behind bars, according to a report in the Herald Sun.
Two years have past since Knight technically was eligible for parole but for the legislation brought in by the Victorian Government which was designed specifically to keep him locked up.
The publication states that documents show that Knight claims his continued imprisonment 'interferes with or substantially eliminates' the role of the parole board.
Knight is serving seven consecutive life sentences with a non-parole period of 27 years following the Hoddle Street massacre on August 9, 1987.
The now 48-year-old shot and killed seven people, and injured a further 19.
He is serving his sentence at Port Phillip Prison in Truganina, near Melbourne.
Julian Knight was convicted of the murder of seven people in the 1987 massacre, where another 19 people were injured
Knight (pictured left in 1997 and right in 2012) claimed he needed to access the computers for research
Mass murderer Julian Knight (pictured) is reportedly launching a high court bid to overturn legislation that will keep him in jail despite being eligible for parole
Although he was eligible for parole in 2014, in 2012 the Victorian Parole Board refused to set a tentative date for Knight's release, despite this previously being practice three years out from a minimum sentence finishing.
'The board, in exercise of its role, saw you as a risk to the community,' the Commonwealth's lawyer Robert Crowe said at the time.
The in February, 2014, laws enacted by the Victorian Parliament prevented his release.
Then premier Denis Napthine said that it was 'a special situation for Julian Knight'.
'Julian Knight is our worst mass murderer,' Mr Napthine said.
He claimed that Knight had a history of 'further inappropriate behaviour and disrespect for our fellow man whilst in jail'.
'He deserves to rot in jail,' he added.
It's two years since Knight - who killed seven people in the 1987 massacre - became eligible for parole
A seven-year-old has made her mark as a graffiti artist in New York City.
Lola Glass is a Brooklyn-based graffiti artist who has painted colorful murals on walls throughout Bushwick, according to the New York Post.
The creative kiddo has also tagged walls in Miami, Florida.
Seven-year-old Lola Glass (pictured) has made her mark as a graffiti artist in New York City. The Brooklyn-based graffiti artist has painted colorful murals on walls throughout Bushwick such as the one pictured
The creative kiddo has also tagged walls (pictured) in Miami, Florida
Her work even caught the attention of a group of professional artists known as the Bushwick Collective. Pictured is a mural she painted in Brooklyn
Her work even caught the attention of a group of professional artists known as the Bushwick Collective.
The expert artists invited the youngster to become the first second grader to paint at the Art Basel in Miami.
Joe Ficalora, the founder of the Bushwick Collective, gave Lola her own wall to paint, her mother told the Post.
'The next thing we knew, he gave Lola her own wall, shook her hand and said, 'Welcome to the Bushwick Collective,' Lola's mother Cecile Depraetere said.
And with the help of her mother, she is mentored by some of the most respected graffiti artists in the world.
Lola started drawing when she was three years old.
Last spring, she discovered her passion for graffiti art and has been painting murals ever since.
'I thought it would be cooler than just drawing on paper. Spray-paint fills up more space than colored pencils,' she told the Post.
The expert artists invited the youngster to become the first second grader to paint at the Art Basel in Miami
Lola started drawing when she was three years old. Last spring, she discovered her passion for graffiti art and has been painting murals ever since
Lola was even given her own wall to paint in Miami. She's pictured with artist, Chor Boogie, in front of her art work at the Art Basel in Miami
Controversial plans by Amazon to deliver parcels using drones have already sparked protest before the online shopping giant has even got the idea off the ground.
The retailer is believed to have won permission to test the drones - some of which can be the size of a kitchen table - over picturesque farmland on the outskirts of Cambridge.
But the site is next to an historic Roman road, whose ten miles of hedges are home to some of the rarest birds in the country.
Buzzards, hawks and red kites will all fly in the same skies that will be used by Amazons drones and their potentially deadly propellors.
Online shopping giant Amazon has sparked fury with controversial planes to use drones to deliver parcels. Pictured, an Amazon PrimeAir drone
The retailer is believed to have won permission to test the drones - some of which can be the size of a kitchen table - over picturesque farmland on the outskirts of Cambridge
Long-eared owls and turtle doves - now threatened with extinction - also nest in the countryside near Balsham.
The Friends of the Roman Road and Fleam Dyke say it is an important archaeological site with protected wildlife which would be severely impacted by the noisy low-flying machines.
Julia Napier, the groups secretary, said yesterday: We are absolutely horrified at the idea.
There are dozens of protected species of flora and fauna and birds that will be severely affected by the noise and disturbance of drones.
She compared the sound of a drone to that of a high-powered drill and worried that the irritating whine will ruin the tranquility of the entire area.
Besides the array of wildlife that could be affected, locals also fear a collision between the drones and the numerous power lines in the area - and even the turbines of a nearby wind farm.
There are dozens of protected species of flora and fauna and birds that will be severely affected by the noise and disturbance of drones. Julia Napier, secretary of Friends of the Roman Road and Fleam Dyke
Some analysts have also suggested that drones could be hijacked and transformed into flying weapons of terror.
Colin Bull, of software firm SQS, said that drones could be stacked with bombs or grenades and must be embraced and feared in equal measure
Putting it bluntly, these devices are in fact a flying payload system with the ability to deliver anything, including incendiary devices or grenadesWe have to take care.
Falling in to the wrong hands, theres currently nothing to stop someone flying a payload-laden drone into a busy city or even airspace, he told InfoSecurity, an online magazine.
Last night, further concerns about the Amazon drone program emerged.
Terry Holloway, managing director of Cambridge Aero Club, which is based at the nearby airport, said: The scheme poses several dangers not least the sheer size of the Amazon machines.
Buzzards (pictured), hawks and red kites will all fly in the same skies that will be used by Amazons drones and their potentially deadly propellors
The Friends of the Roman Road and Fleam Dyke say it is an important archaeological site with protected wildlife which would be severely impacted by the noisy low-flying machines. Pictured, a red kite
There are already regular reports of drones coming too close to aircraft taking off and landing - pilots from here have reported them flying at altitudes of up to 3,000 feet.
Fortunately the drones currently available are quite small and light and although they could wreck a jet engine, they are unlikely to cause any immediate danger or risk.
But the new delivery drones are six-foot across and carry a payload - if one of those were to hit a commercial airliner it could cause catastrophic damage and possibly lead to loss of life.
Drones are also noisy - they make a high-pitched sound and using them in built-up areas is bound to provoke complaints about noise.
Drones are also noisy - they make a high-pitched sound and using them in built-up areas is bound to provoke complaints about noise. Terry Holloway, managing director of Cambridge Aero Club
The test zone is in the middle of prime farming land and the National Farmers Union said yesterday that it was already looking at the effect of drones in the countryside.
East Anglian spokesman Brian Finnerty said: There are concerns over the effect the noise of low-flying drones could have on livestock.
It would appear that livestock are not currently protected by the CAA regulations concerning drones but we will be watching the situation closely as it develops.
Amazon have refused to confirm or deny whether the land bordering the Roman road, south east of Cambridge, between the A11 and Balsham, is being used to test drones.
But the necessary permission has already been granted by the Civil Aviation Authority.
The CAA will allow Amazon to test beyond line of sight operations in rural and suburban areas, testing sensor performance to make sure the drones can identify and avoid obstacles, and flights where one person operates multiple highly-automated drones.
Long-eared owls and turtle doves (pictured) - now threatened with extinction - also nest in the countryside near Balsham
Amazon, which is currently recruiting staff for its drone project, announced two years ago that it would begin testing drones, and ihas chosen the name Prime Air for its programme. Pictured, a long-eared owl
A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), which is published to all pilots, informs them drones will be tested at up to 750ft from dawn to dusk until the beginning of October.
Amazons delivery drones which weight 55lbs and will carry loads of up to 5lbs, can reach speeds of more than 50mph, and have a range of 15 miles. The companys boast is that it will be able to make drone deliveries in less than 30 minutes.
Tim Johnson, CAA Policy Director, said: We want to enable the innovation that arises from the development of drone technology by safely integrating drones into the overall aviation system.
These tests by Amazon will help inform our policy and future approach.
Amazon, which is currently recruiting staff for its drone project, announced two years ago that it would begin testing drones, and ihas chosen the name 'Prime Air' for its programme.
Listed on its website are jobs in Cambridge for roles including flight operations engineer the job spec reads: You can expect to collaborate on test plans, plan the test evolution, and execute the flights while working closely with our flight engineering and flight test teams in Seattle.
An Australian family facing imminent deportation from Britain say they will be left homeless, jobless and significantly in debt if forced to leave.
Kathryn and Gregg Brain, who moved here with their son Lachlan in 2011, had until midnight last night to secure a job that met Home Office visa requirements.
The family had moved to Dingwall in the Scottish Highlands on Mrs Brains student visa but the terms of their stay were later changed by the Government.
Mr Brain says the family has racked up a five-figure debt in their fight with the Home Office to remain in the UK, saying that Scotland was the place that we felt like we really belonged.
Kathryn and Gregg Brain, who moved to Dingwall in the Scottish Highlands with their son Lachlan in 2011, had until midnight last night to secure a job that met visa requirements
We came over here on the promise that once Kathryn had finished her studies wed be able to stay on for two years on a very straightforward ticket post-study work visa which was subsequently, retroactively cancelled, he told the BBC.
What we want is for the UK Government to honour the promise it made to us six years ago when we committed to coming over here, selling our house [in Australia], selling up just about everything that we owned and investing hundreds of thousands of pounds in the local economy.
Speaking as the deadline loomed, Mr Brain said he had been throwing up since the morning at the prospect of deportation. There is only so much adrenalin your body can dump into your system at one time, he said.
But this isnt any different from another day we have been running on three or four hours sleep a night, doing 15- to 20-hour days trying to get something put together.
Scottish MEP David Coburn, leader of Ukip in Scotland, said the case exposed the folly of the current, heartless immigration system.
This family, who have a great deal to offer Scotland and their local community, are being thrown out, while we are keeping many immigrants convicted of heinous offences, he said.
The sooner we end freedom of movement for EU citizens, the sooner we can have the fair and compassionate immigration system that would keep this family in Scotland and protect our country from foreign criminals.
Mrs Brain had taken a place at the University of the Highlands and Islands studying Scottish history and archaeology, with her family listed as dependants on her student visa.
Mr Brain had been working full-time as a receptionist in a legal office, while their seven-year-old son was schooled entirely in Gaelic.
But only ten months after they moved to Scotland, the post-study work visa with which the family had planned to stay in the country was scrapped. Mrs Brains student visa expired in December, and since then they have been fighting to stay.
The family had moved to Dingwall in the Scottish Highlands on Mrs Brains student visa but the terms of their stay were later changed by the Government. They say they will be left homeless, jobless and significantly in debt if forced to leave the country by the Home Office
She has been trying to secure work which meets the requirements for a tier two visa, including a minimum salary threshold of 20,800.
Mr Brain said the family have received around a dozen job offers which he described as wonderful and humbling but none that would meet the specifications.
Its got to be earning at least 20,800, which is not just a graduate position but a graduate with some years of experience in the field, so its very difficult to get to that level, he said.
But he said they are hopeful that a 28-day extension can now be secured.
The family have won support from actor Tom Conti, who accused the Government of moving the goalposts by scrapping the post-study work visa and said it was something wed expect of the Soviet Union or Iran. He said he would be prepared to provide money to the family to ensure they maintain a minimum balance in their bank account in order to meet visa requirements, telling Radio 4s World At One programme: If youre not allowed to work, how do you maintain a minimum balance?
A spokesman for the Home Office said he could not comment on the familys case, or what might happen if they refused to leave.
He added: All visa applications are considered on their individual merits, and applicants must provide evidence to show they meet the requirements of the immigration rules.
Illegal migrant we DID let stay went on to carry out violent rape
Ethiopian-born refugee Elias Hussain Mahmud, who illegally entered Britain, raped a young woman on her way to work months after being granted the right to stay here
A migrant who illegally entered Britain raped a young woman on her way to work months after being granted the right to stay here.
Elias Hussain Mahmud, 22, knocked his victim to the ground from behind and threatened to kill her before raping her twice.
The Ethiopian-born refugee who has been jailed for 12 years for the horrifying attack entered Britain illegally last year but was later granted leave to remain in the UK until 2020.
Yet less than nine months after he was granted political asylum, he attacked the lone woman at 5.40am as she made her morning walk to her office in Swansea, South Wales.
The victim, who cannot be named, is said to be too scared to leave her own home since the attack in April, Swansea Crown Court heard.
The refugee knocked her over from behind before the pair struggled on the ground.
But Mahmud overpowered her and raped her twice as lay pinned down to the pavement in the city centre.
He then ran off, but was arrested just 45 minutes later after police received calls about a man acting suspiciously in a nearby residential area.
At an earlier hearing at Swansea Magistrates Court, Mahmuds solicitor Paul Jackson said his client had been granted political asylum.
Mr Jackson said: He has come to this country from a war-torn area of Ethiopia. He has been granted political asylum and works full time.
Mahmud, of Mount Pleasant, Swansea, last week pleaded guilty to two counts of assault by penetration, two counts of rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and making a threat to kill when he appeared in court.
MIGRANTS DOUBLE AFTER TURKEY COUP The number of migrants arriving on the Greek islands has doubled since the failed military coup in Turkey. More than 1,170 have crossed the Aegean in the fortnight after the attempted putsch, up from 560 in the two weeks before. The surge came as Turkey threatened to aggravate the migrant crisis by pulling out of its 5billion deal with the EU to help tackle it. In March, Brussels agreed to hand over the cash and ease visa restrictions on travellers from Turkey if it took back all those arriving on the Greek islands. But Turkey yesterday vowed to rip up the deal unless its 80million citizens get fully visa-free travel to the EU. At least 290 people died in the coup attempt and the Turkish president has threatened to bring back capital punishment in the aftermath. It is not known if the rise in migrants crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands has been prompted by the violence itself or because they know it will be more difficult for the EU to return them there now. Meanwhile, thousands continue to cross daily from North Africa to Italy. The Italian coastguard said 6,500 were rescued from Thursday to Sunday with five bodies found. Advertisement
After the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Esyr Jones said: This was a very serious incident which understandably caused a lot of public concern.
A lone female was walking to work when she was assaulted and raped in terrifying circumstances.
This incident has had a life-changing impact on the victim and our thoughts first and foremost are with her.
Responding to the Mahmud case, a Home Office spokesman said: This Government puts the rights of the British public before those of criminals. Foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality and the refuge we provide by committing crimes in the UK should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them.
The shocking case comes after it was revealed last month that an illegal immigrant from Somalia should have been deported before he tried to kidnap and molest four schoolchildren.
Adbi Waise, 28, was served a deportation order in 2013 after being sentenced to eight years for the violent rape of a 21-year-old woman he dragged off the street in 2008.
He was released from his sentence early in 2014 and taken to an immigration removal centre. But he was freed following a Government moratorium on deportations to Somalia. Officials ruled that the war-torn country was too dangerous to send foreign criminals back there.
And three weeks later, the drug dealer pretended to be a policeman to kidnap the school girl and attempt to snatch four more in a space of around two and a half hours.
A court heard how he stalked his victim as they walked to school and offered drugs to children as young as ten.
When he was finally jailed for 12 years last month, the judge described him as every parents worst nightmare and recommended he be deported.
Somalia is ranked the worlds most corrupt country by Transparency International, yet it has received 583million in aid from Britain.
Britain is engulfed in a national housing crisis as those living in the North and Midlands are hit as hard as Londoners, a report revealed last night.
Home ownership in England is at its lowest level in 30 years as runaway house prices and slow wage growth have left millions unable to fund a deposit, the study said.
The research by think-tank The Resolution Foundation found the most dramatic drop in Greater Manchester and other northern cities such as Leeds and Sheffield.
MPs said the housing crisis is becoming a national emergency following the release of the study, which found only 63.8 per cent of people in England own a property.
Variations: The percentage of homeowners in UK regions, along with the peak ownership (next to the green image), the month in which this was set (in white) and the fall since then (in red)
Home ownership levels in the UK at their lowest in 30 years, according to think-tank The Resolution Foundation
Average rent and house prices have soared over the past 30 years compare to wage increases
The figure was 70.8 per cent in April 2003, when home ownership peaked, and is the lowest since 1986, when the rate was 63.5 per cent and Margaret Thatcher began allowing council tenants to buy their homes.
Of Manchester residents, 57.9 per cent are home owners, compared with 72.4 per cent in April 2003.
This is despite the average home in the Manchester area costing 146,381, less than a third of a typical home in London, according to the Office for National Statistics.
In Yorkshire and Humberside, which includes Leeds and Sheffield, just 68.7 per cent own a home, down from 78.1 per cent in October 2005.
In the West Midlands, including Birmingham, the rate has fallen from 70.5 per cent in April 2005 to 59.3 per cent.
The Resolution Foundation said Londons crisis could spread unless the Government builds more affordable homes.
Falling levels: Home ownership has dropped to its lowest level since 1986, as this graph shows
Down: Greater Manchester has seen the sharpest drop in ownership by 14 percentage points since the early 2000s. Double digit falls in home ownership have also been seen in South and West Yorkshire, driven by the cities of Sheffield and Leeds, and the West Midlands area
On the other hand: With the fall in home ownership, there has been a growth in private renting, with the proportion of private renters across England nearly doubling between 2003 and 2015
Stephen Clarke, policy analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said: London has a well-known and fully blown housing crisis, but the struggle to buy a home is just as big a problem in the cities across the North of England.
The shift to renting privately can reduce current living standards and future wealth, with implications for individuals and the State.
The housing crisis is turning into a national emergency Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat leader
MPs and The Resolution Foundation suggested the big drop in home ownership outside London reflects a shift towards part-time work, including zero-hour contracts which make it harder for people to secure a mortgage.
Last night Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: The housing crisis is turning into a national emergency.
Wages are being squeezed and with the rise of zero hour contracts the bank of Mum of Dad is being stretched to breaking point.
Chris Leslie, Labours former shadow chancellor, said support for housebuilding was inadequate.
Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron described the housing crisis as a 'national emergency'
He added: Its also getting more difficult to get a mortgage because the UK is moving towards a gig economy where more people are offered short term contracts.
'This makes it harder for people to persuade banks that they are in long-term stable employment.
The UK is moving towards a 'gig economy' where more people are offered short term contracts Chris Leslie, ex-shadow chancellor
Despite Government initiatives such as Help to Buy, the number of first-time buyers relying on money from parents and relatives has risen sharply as property prices soar.
A Government report published last month showed 27 per cent of those who bought their first home last year funded a deposit by relying on the bank of Mum and Dad, compared with 21 per cent 20 years ago.
Across the UK, the home ownership rate has fallen from 70.9 per cent in October 2004 to 64.1 per cent, according to the Resolution Foundation.
In the London suburbs, 57.8 per cent of people own their homes, down from a peak of 71.4 per cent in October 2000.
The attention spans of modern day university graduates has become so short that one leading finance giant has been forced to revamp its interview process to find the best recruits.
Jobseekers applying for a role at KPMG previously sat through three assessments over several weeks - in a process that is typical of many blue chip firms.
But the accountancy firm has now squashed the whole process into a single day.
And it is also promising to let applicants know if they've got a job within two working days.
The attention spans of modern day university graduates (stock photo) has become so short that a finance giant has been forced to revamp its interview process to find the best recruits
The change follows a survey of so-called millennials the generation reaching adulthood after the year 2000 which found they were annoyed at having to wait for results.
Experts said it showed new employees were more impatient than ever before.
Lee Biggins, managing director of job website CV-Library, said: 'Millennials have been born and bred in a digital world and therefore expect to see results quickly.
'Having a lengthy recruitment process is becoming less and less acceptable and often means brands miss out on the best talent because they have already been snapped up their savvier competitors.'
KPMG surveyed 400 young people applying for its graduate scheme.
It found more than a third were annoyed at how long the recruitment process took, and at the long wait to find out if they had a job.
The biggest complaint, though, was a lack of feedback for unsuccessful candidates.
Chairman Simon Collins said the changes were a bid to keep up with smaller and more nimble start-ups.
'We are competing with the full gamut for the best brains and talent leaving university,' he said.
'Getting our graduate recruitment right is crucial to the long-term success of our business.'
It follows a similar change at investment bank Goldman Sachs, which has scrapped face-to-face interviews at universities in favour of a conversation via internet video link.
And services firm Deloitte has changed its selection process so recruiters do not know where candidates went to university.
The aim is to prevent bias and increase diversity in the workforce.
Surveys have found that millennials see career progression as a top priority, even more than high pay.
They are also much less loyal to employers than previous generations and are quick to switch jobs if a better offer is available.
Research shows 27.5 per cent of candidates expect to hear back from a recruiter within two days of an interview
CV Library's own research shows 27.5 per cent of candidates expect to hear back from a recruiter within two days of an interview.
And another 47 are only willing to wait between three and five days.
Mr Biggins said: 'This demonstrates the 'on demand' world that we live in and indicates that recruiters waiting beyond a week to decide on their next employee are missing out almost three-quarters of the UK's job hunters.'
The world of finance is notoriously competitive and some top employers are also seeking to calm down their eager young workforces.
Investment bank Credit Suisse has launched a campaign called Protecting Friday Night, demanding its highly-paid employees leave their desks by 7pm.
They have been sternly ordered not to come back before lunchtime on Saturday at the earliest.
UBS is giving its staff at least two hours of 'personal time' a week when they can have a rest from work.
The Take Two scheme was masterminded by investment bank president Andrea Orcel.
'In an ideal world we wouldn't need this initiative, it would happen anyway,' she told Fortune.
'But for now having a branded initiative takes away the concern of finishing early or starting late.'
JP Morgan has also told employees to take weekends off, and Goldman Sachs is looking to promote junior bankers more quickly so they don't quit.
Dane Swan has appeared in a social media picture with a bare-breasted women, just months after he sent out a nude selfie.
The photo of the Magpies midfielder surfaced on Snapchat, Herald Sun reported, but it is unclear when it was taken.
Swan, 32 and a Brownlow Medallist, is shown making the devil's horns sign with his hands alongside a woman who exposed her breasts for the camera.
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A photo of Magpies' Dane Swan (second from right) with a bare-breasted woman has surfaced on Snapchat
Swan's social media landed him in hot water in January when a nude selfie he'd reportedly sent to female fans was leaked (pictured)
Two other men are also pictured.
A Collingwood spokesperson declined to comment when approached by Daily Mail Australia.
The club told Herald Sun what players do with their own time is their business.
Swan's social media landed him in hot water in January when a nude selfie he'd reportedly sent to female fans was leaked to Woman's Day.
It is unclear whether Swan and his girlfriend of eight years Taylor Wilson remain together, however they have appeared in social media images as recently as June.
The AFL's social media policy bans players from 'accessing, downloading or transmitting any sexually explicit material, violent or graphic images'.
Swan is pictured on his 32nd birthday this year with Richmond's Dustin Martin
Swan is pictured on a night out in Adelaide with friends last year
32-year-old Swan, a Brownlow Medallist, is pictured with two Emirates flight attendants last year
Swan took to social media last week to say he was sick
It is unclear whether Swan and his girlfriend of eight years Taylor Wilson remain together, however they have appeared in social media images as recently as June (pictured together at the 2015 Brownlow Medal awards)
Every BBC star who earns more than the Prime Minister should have their pay made public, MPs are demanding.
A damning report by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee found no good reason for details of presenters and executives who receive more than 143,000 a year to be hidden.
Publishing names and salaries would reduce suspicion the Corporation overpays staff, it said.
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Strictly Come Dancing presenters Claudia Winkleman, left, and Tess Daley, right, are among the BBC's highest earning presenters
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker, left, is thought to earn more than 450,000 alongside Radio 2 DJ and former Top Gear presenter Chris Evans, right
The BBC argues that disclosure could lead to a poachers charter that would help its commercial rivals lure talent away.
But the MPs said this was disingenuous, adding that the salary levels are common knowledge in the industry.
At present, the BBC must reveal the salaries of its top executives but only releases what it pays its top talent in pay brackets with no names.
Earlier this year the Government White Paper on the future of the BBC proposed that the broadcaster should identify which stars earn more than the director-generals salary of 450,000.
That would mean some nine stars including Eurovision host Graham Norton, Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker and Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans would have had their pay revealed.
However, the committee has gone further by recommending that the threshold be brought down to the same salary as the Prime Minister.
Fiona Bruce, pictured, the newsreader and presenter of Antiques Roadshow and Fake Or Fortune, is thought to earn 500,000
A list of 43 BBC celebrities reportedly being paid more than 143,000 was heavily denied by the BBC after it was published by a news website in May.
Lineker is said to earn 1.8million, while Evans is reportedly on 600,000 and was getting an extra 125,000 an episode for Top Gear.
Jeremy Vine, the Radio 2 DJ and Eggheads host, is understood to be on 800,000 and Strictly Come Dancing hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman on over 500,000.
Fiona Bruce, the newsreader and presenter of Antiques Roadshow and Fake Or Fortune, is thought to earn 500,000.
MP Damian Collins, acting chairman of the committee, said: All these salaries are paid by the licence fee-payer, whether they are for broadcasters or BBC executives.
'Why should there be different rules for each? Its disingenuous to say confidentiality is needed to prevent poaching when in general everyone in the industry knows what everyone else is getting paid.
Committee member Nigel Huddleston, Tory MP for Mid Worcestershire, said: The fact that it has been difficult to find out what talent is paid raises suspicion.
'This would reduce that, and the chance of there being unfair or inappropriate compensation to BBC talent.
Fellow Tory MP Andrew Bridgen added: The BBC wants every advantage of being funded by the taxpayer but all the confidentiality of a private company.
The committee also raised serious concerns about the appointment of Rona Fairhead as chairman of the BBCs new Unitary Board, which will replace the BBC Trust.
Eggheads host Jeremy Vine is understood to earn 800,000 per year
Miss Fairhead, who has chaired the Trust since August 2014, was asked by Downing Street to stay on and run the new board until 2018.
The lack of recruitment process was criticised by SNP MP John Nicholson, who said last month the appointment had broken rules.
The committee highlighted the very different responsibilities of being head of the BBC Trust and what Miss Fairhead will now be expected to do.
A BBC Trust spokesman said: The Trust has always accepted that the appointment of the BBC Board Chairman, and the process by which this is done, is a matter for the Government.
'The chairman underwent a rigorous and open appointment process.
A spokesman for the BBC said: The BBC already publishes more information about talent pay than other broadcasters.
'We cut our bill for talent pay by 8million last year, but creating a poachers charter by publishing the salaries of individual presenters and actors wouldnt be in the interests of licence fee-payers who say they want the best talent on the BBC.
The UBS trader, aged 36, now faces being deported to his native Ghana
Kweku Adoboli was sentenced to seven years after making unauthorised trades at UBS
A convicted fraudster who lost Swiss bank UBS 1.4billion has said other rogue traders could still follow in his footsteps due to massive pressure to make a profit.
Kweku Adoboli was sentenced to seven years behind bars after making unauthorised trades at the bank.
He was described by prosecutors as a sophisticated liar and master fraudster and now faces being deported to his native Ghana.
The 36-year-old claimed that colleagues knew about his actions and he was under major pressure to make a profit.
UBS has always denied anyone else was involved and he was the only one charged.
Several other employees testified that Adoboli acted alone.
But speaking to the BBC, he said: The young people Ive spoken to, former colleagues I have spoken to, are still struggling with the same issues, the same conflicts, the same pressures to achieve no matter what.
And this goes back to the structure of the industry. People are required to take risk to generate profit, because yields in the industry are consistently compressed.
And if investment banks continue to chase the same level of profitability as they have in the past, the only way to generate those profits is to take more risk.
Adoboli is living with friends in Edinburgh and speaks for free at banking conferences.
The son of a senior United Nations official, he moved to Britain when he was 12 and is fighting extradition because he feels British in culture and claims he could help reform finance.
He claimed to have been unable to get a job since coming out of prison a year ago.
Adobolio said he didnt think of himself as a criminal, adding that although he made terrible choices his intentions were in the right place.
Adoboli claimed that colleagues knew about his actions and he was under major pressure to make a profit
However, he said: The very first thing I did when I was arrested was say Im sorry beyond words and I said it through my lawyers, but that is what I said. During my trial I said it repeatedly.
And these are not just devices. Its how I feel, I failed. I made mistakes. People around me made mistakes too, but thats not the point.
I unreservedly apologise for what happened - it was a huge failure and part of the redemption is about that.
The only way to move forward is to face it with full honesty. I went to prison for it. I was asked to pay a price, to accept my dishonesty.
The traders actions only came to light when he wrote an email to his manager confessing his misdeeds.
Adoboli had spent three years using the banks money for unauthorised trades.
He put false information into the banks computers to hide the risky trades he was making and exceeded the banks per-employee daily trading limit of 76m.
The trades cost the bank 1.4bn, and wiped off 3.4bn from its share price.
Schoolchildren have been left traumatised after becoming violently ill from eating chemicals that looked like popping candy given to them by an older student.
Twenty-five pupils at Deception Bay North State School, north of Brisbane, ingested a product called Mystical Fire in the school yard on Monday after they were given it by a nine-year-old girl, who told them it was popping candy.
Four students were hospitalised and one girl who ingested the substance told her friend that she didn't want to go back to school as she was fearful that it would happen again.
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Ella (pictured) said her friend Leilani who was tricked into ingesting the substance Mystical Fire feared returning to school
Mystical fire was given to students at Deception Bay North State School by an older student who told them the substance was popping candy
'One of my friends in grade four, her name is Leilani and she got a bit sick, she said that she doesn't really want to go back to school because she doesn't want it to happen again,' Leilani's friend Ella told the Today show.
Mystical Fire is substance that can be purchased from camping stores and is thrown on fire to make multi-coloured flames.
Deception Bay principal Pamela O'Loughlin says a full investigation will determine who brought the product to school amid reports it was a nine-year-old girl.
But she says it's important to remember the incident involved young, Grade 4 students, and said they must be treated gently.
Mystical Fire is a substance that can be purchased from camping stores and is thrown on fire to make multi-coloured flames
Up to 25 primary school students have been treated for nausea and throat burning after they ingested an unknown chemical hidden in lollies and 'fell down shaking'
Queensland Ambulance Service have confirmed that the Year 4 students ingested Mystical Fire, a substance that can be purchased from camping stores and is thrown on fire to make multi-coloured flames
'These are little children. They were Grade 4-aged children so we need to show a little bit of care for their feelings,' she told ABC radio on Tuesday.
'When we do get to the people or person who brought it along (to school), did they really understand what it was? Do we really know that?'
Ms O'Loughlin said staff at the school handled the emergency very well, and provided preliminary first aid when the children began complaining of sore throats and mouths and nausea.
Paramedics were quickly called in and she said the four children who were taken to hospital were doing fine, and were all released by Monday evening.
A spokeswoman for Queensland Ambulance Service said 25 students were 'experiencing nausea and upset tummies from the ingested substance'
One young student said she did not consume the 'lollies' as other children told her they felt sick after eating them
Ms O'Loughlin will speak with pupils on Tuesday to warn them to take extreme care with what they put in their mouths and what they bring to school.
A spokeswoman for Queensland Ambulance Service said 25 students were 'experiencing nausea and upset tummies from the ingested substance'.
A parent of a ten-year-old child said the Mystical Fire looked like like 'white popping candy,' according to the Courier Mail.
The child was reportedly offered the substance from an older student wearing a black hoodie and 'fell down shaking' after taking it.
The school was reportedly locked down while paramedics attended to the sick children.
Students who were not taken to hospital were sent home with their parents.
Paramedics were called to Deception Bay State School, north of Brisbane, about 2.20pm on Monday after students, aged 9 to 10, began vomiting and complaining of a sore stomach
A spokeswoman for Queensland Ambulance Service said 25 students at Deception Bay State School, were 'experiencing nausea from an ingested substance'
The mailman hugs and pats the dog before continuing to work
The dog's owner recorded the friendly greeting between the pair
The owner of a fearsome looking German Shepherd has secretly recorded the postman cuddling the dog as part of his daily routine.
The friendly German Shepherd who is misunderstood by the public as an aggressive dog due to his large size lives with his owner, Michael Collins in Tarungain in New Zealands North Island.
According to Mr Collins, the unidentified mailman makes sure to stop by his property every day to spend some time with the dog even if he has no letters or packages to drop off.
Mailman hugs and pats a big German Shepherd at the Tarungain property even if he doesn't have any mail to deliver
As the mailman approaches the front gate the German Shepherd is seen leaping from its spot to greet the mailman.
Everyday whether or not we have mail this mail man always stops to see my dog who is only nine-months-old, said Mr Collins.
He always gets over looked as a dangerous or unapproachable dog, maybe because he's big I am not sure. He doesn't bark at them or growl.
But this guy here always makes an effort to get off his bike to give him a hug and a pat!
The nine-month-old German Shepherd waits for the mailman at the front gate before rushing to him as he hears him arrive
Users on social media applauded the mailman for showing affection to the animal and the gentle nature of the puppy.
What a gorgeous Shepherd! Such a beautiful nature - and hats off to the nice Postie who spends the time with him, said Toni.
Thats awesome. I know for me I am very standoffish of bigger dogs but to see his tail wag as soon as he saw the postman was very cool. Awesome to see this, Michelle said.
The diary belongs to Heinrich Himmler, who can be regarded as one of the most notorious mass murderers in history
At first glance, the entries read like those of any other desk diary belonging to a senior politician or military figure. Most are matter-of-fact, even banal.
1315 hrs: Discussions with colonel; 1600 hrs: Tea with Governor and agree to be godfather to his son; 2200 hrs: Military briefing; 0030 hrs: Played card games.
But then, as you read more closely, you realise that this diary belonged to no ordinary statesman or soldier.
Take, for example, the entry dated March 21, 1943: 12 oclock. Land in Weimar and drive to Buchenwald camp. Lunch at Buchenwald camp. Afterwards continue the visit and return to Weimar.
Or consider this, from January 9, 1943: 1315 hrs: Land in Warsaw. Received by SS-Senior Colonel von Sammern-Frankenegg and SS-Lieutenant Colonel Hahn. Lunch in the mess of the Security Police. Drive through the Ghetto. Inspection of stockpiles.
From reading these two small entries alone, it is obvious that the owner of this diary was a man deeply complicit in the atrocious crimes of the Third Reich.
This was a man who not only inspected concentration camps such as Buchenwald, but also dined in them.
Furthermore, this was a man who would fly across occupied Europe in order to decide the fates of tens of thousands of Jews whom he had personally ordered to be cruelly crammed into the infamous Warsaw Ghetto.
The diary belonged to none other than Heinrich Himmler, who can be regarded as one of the most notorious mass murderers in history.
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Hitler stands beside Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Gestapo, to observe a parade of Nazi Stormtroopers in 1940
As head of the dreaded SS, it was Himmlers role to oversee the Holocaust and, in doing so, he sent millions to their deaths.
But as well as being a perpetrator of genocide, there was a mundane aspect to Himmler, and it is this chilling combination that emerged yesterday when the German newspaper Bild started publishing extracts from the senior Nazis hitherto unseen desk diaries. They were discovered recently in the Russian Military Archive in Podolsk, 30 miles south of Moscow.
The diaries have lain in the archive for 71 years, after they were seized by the Red Army at the end of the war, and shipped back to the Soviet Union where their historical importance was, for years, unappreciated.
Covering the years 1938, 1943 and 1944, they run to around 1,000 pages and, in the words of Professor Nikolaus Katzer of the German Historical Institute (DHI) in Moscow, they constitute a document of shudderingly outstanding historical significance. It should be stressed that academic historians do not usually make such hyperbolic claims.
As head of the dreaded SS, it was Himmlers role to oversee the Holocaust and, in doing so, he sent millions to their deaths
Ever since the farrago in 1983 of the Hitler Diaries, in which the leading historian Lord Dacre formerly Hugh Trevor-Roper was to authenticate what soon emerged to be crude forgeries, experts on the Third Reich are very cautious when a diary supposedly belonging to a high-ranking Nazi lands on their desks.
However, in this instance, we can be almost sure the diaries are not fakes. Professor Katzer and his team have undoubtedly put the volumes through more validation than Lord Dacre was able to do so by himself in a bank vault in just a few hours, such was the secrecy around the apparent discovery at the time.
And we already have other confirmed volumes of Himmlers desk diary from the years 1941, 1942 and 1945 with which the latest finds compare favourably.
So if the diaries are indeed the real thing, what do they tell us about this most evil of men?
These diaries were not written by Himmler himself. As such, they are not as personal a record as the letters that were published two years ago, in which Himmler could be seen writing fondly to his wife after touring horrific places such as Auschwitz.
These diaries were instead written by a series of adjutants, who would record with utmost meticulousness nearly every hour of Himmlers long days. But the devil is well and truly present in these pages and pages of details.
On one day in 1944, the diary records how Himmler receives a massage from his private physician. Then the banality slides into brutality.
A little later, the diary records with utter cold-heartedness, how Himmler presumably sufficiently relaxed after his treatment orders the execution of ten Poles. Not long after that, the diary notes how the head of the SS demands the provision of new guard dogs at Auschwitz, which are capable of ripping apart everyone but their handlers.
Adolf Hitler, accompanied by other Nazi party officials, walks down a staircase at the 1938 Annual Reichs Party Congress in Nuremburg
This constant contrast between Himmlers two sides man and monster is present throughout the diaries.
Heinrich Himmler is a beast full of contradictions, says Dr Matthias Uhl of the German Historical Institute. On one hand, he was the ruthless issuer of death sentences made in passing and the planner of the Holocaust.
On the other hand, he was a hypocritical carer for his SS elite, his family, friends and acquaintances.
No entry captures this contradiction more powerfully than that of March 21, 1943, the day when Himmler visited and had lunch in Buchenwald. That morning, he had helped Hitler celebrate the Day of Commemoration of Heroes in Berlin, during which, unbeknown to the Nazi leadership, Hitler had narrowly missed being assassinated in a failed suicide bombing by a German army officer.
Himmler would have been greeted almost as an old friend at Buchenwald, as the camp commandant, SS-Senior Colonel Hermann Pister, had worked in Himmlers private motor pool from 1937 to 1939. Over lunch, the two men would have chatted about old times, as well as discussing the exigencies of running a camp in which some 56,000 people would eventually be killed.
Himmler regarded the concentration camp system as very dear to what passed for his heart, and he had even personally selected the site of Buchenwald.
Judging by his diary, Himmler would have spent some three-and-a-half hours at the camp, during which time he would have seen the suffering of so many emaciated prisoners under his care.
Heinrich Himmler, SS Reichsfuehrer-SS, head of the Gestapo and the Waffen-SS, and Minister of the Interior of Nazi Germany from 1943 to 1945, reviews infantry troops
But, then, like the supposedly civilised figure he purported to be, we next see Himmler taking tea with Governor Sauckel at four oclock, during which this most evil of men agrees to take on the morally wholesome role of godfather to Sauckels son. Sauckel was hanged at Nuremberg for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The diaries also contain a reference to a horrific episode in which Himmlers twisted dual nature is laid bare.
On February 12, 1943, the diaries show that Himmler arrived in Lublin in occupied Poland at midday, after which he had lunch at the airport hotel. He then boarded a train and the diary blandly notes that, between 3pm and 4pm, he toured the SS-Sonderkommando.
This refers to Himmlers visit to Sobibor extermination camp that day, during which the head of the SS personally witnessed the gassing of some 400 Jewish girls and young women, before attending an SS celebratory banquet that evening. The atrocity was witnessed by a survivor called Meier Ziss.
It was cold already when Himmler and a lot of SS arrived by armoured train, recalled Ziss. Girls had been brought in, I dont know exactly how many, and they had to wait two or three nights before they were gassed.
ziss recounted that, during Himmlers visit, the SS were ordered not to use their sticks or whips in order to make a good impression.
After seeing the gassing, Himmler was said to have declared he was satisfied with the arrangements at Sobibor, that it was a well-run camp, and he promoted its commandant, Franz Reichleitner, to SS-Captain.
What shocks most about the new diaries is the utter blandness in which visits and events such as this are recorded, and are juxtaposed with the routine chores of officialdom such as lunches and meetings endured by any bureaucrat or politician. To appreciate that is to start to understand the unique evil of Nazism.
Adolf Hitler in discussion with Heinrich Himmler at the Fuhrer's mountain retreat of Berchtesgaden
For men like Himmler thought of themselves as legitimate leaders, and affected the trappings of any modern politician.
What these diaries show is that Himmler desperately wanted to be seen as the embodiment of the effective organiser and networker the truth, of course, was that his mission was murder.
As Himmler was to say in a speech to a Nazi gathering in October 1943: Most of you here know what it means when 100 corpses lie next to each other, when there are 500 or when there are 1,000.
To have endured this and, at the same time, to have remained a decent person with exceptions due to human weaknesses has made us tough, and is a glorious chapter that has not and will not be spoken of.
Himmler was never to receive the justice that he was due. He cheated the noose he would have undoubtedly faced at Nuremberg by biting into a cyanide capsule shortly after he was captured by the British.
Sydney PR executive Roxy Jacenko has been shooting a 60 Minutes special for several weeks
Celebrity public relations executive Roxy Jacenko has been filming a 60 Minutes special with Channel Nine following a trying year in the spotlight.
The mother-of-two was diagnosed with breast cancer just weeks after husband Oliver Curtis was jailed for insider trading.
Daily Mail Australia can confirm the news magazine program has been shooting the forthcoming feature about her life for weeks. She will sit down with reporter Allison Langdon.
Ms Jacenko - who will go under the knife for surgery this week - was accompanied by a TV crew during a recent family visit to a Sydney zoo.
Two cameraman could be seen in the background of a social media picture of her children Pixie, four, and Hunter, two, at Taronga Zoo at the weekend.
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Camera crew: Ms Jacenko was trailled by a Nine crew at Taronga Zoo at the weekend
The Channel Nine program is thought to have been wooing the Sweaty Betty executive for some time.
In June, executive producer Kirsty Thomson was seen at the executive's annual ticketed talk, 'In Conversation with Roxy Jacenko'.
The Daily Telegraph reported the Bentley-driving Bondi executive is not thought to have been paid for the story.
Roxy Jacenko (pictured arriving at court with husband Oliver) claimed the 'stress' of his trial could have played a role in her breast cancer forming
A Nine Network spokesman said: 'We can confirm 60 Minutes are in production for an interview with Roxy Jacenko.
'There is no confirmed date for story to air.'
The Sweaty Betty executive told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday she's glad to finally undergo surgery.
'After an extremely challenging past 3 weeks of tests and consults with various surgeons and oncologists I am relieved to get things underway with my surgery,' Ms Jacenko said.
She said doctors will determine her prognosis and then commence treatment 'to hopefully get on top of my cancer diagnosis'.
It is unclear whether the camera crew will be following her into the hospital.
She discovered the lump just weeks after husband Oliver was jailed, suggesting to reporters that the 'stress' of her husband's trial could have played a role in the lump's formation.
Curtis, 31, is serving a two year sentence in Parklea Prison alongside the likes of Brothers 4 Life gang members.
In a sentencing submission to the NSW Supreme Court, Ms Jacenko said her husband was the 'primary carer' of their children.
'He is generally the one who is home to ensure they have dinner, are bathed and put to bed,' she wrote.
'I am often unable to be relied upon to be at home at a regular time to do these things due to the nature of my work'.
Since he was taken away, she has regularly posted videos of her children struggling to go to sleep at night.
This week, she filmed the pair wishing their father a happy birthday.
The Nine Network program is not the only account of Ms Jacenko's life in the works.
A former Miss Florida winner is suing the pageant after organizers took her crown and accused her of cheating.
Last month, Genesis Davila, 24, was accused of breaking pageant rules by getting her hair and make-up professionally done.
But her attorneys filed the suit Monday, asking a Miami-Dade circuit judge to issue an emergency injunction restoring her title, according to the Miami Herald.
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Miss Florida winner, Genesis Davila, 24, is suing the pageant after organizers took her crown and accused her of cheating
Last month, Davila (left) was accused of breaking pageant rules by getting her hair and make-up professionally done by stylists. This Instagram photo was cited by the executive producer of the pageant Grant Gravitt who said she violated the rules
Grant Gravitt (pictured) said that the Puerto Rican model 'sought an unfair competitive advantage, and that's just not acceptable in our system'
Davila's lawyer, Richard Wolfe, presented an enlarged photo of the Instagram post that pageant director Grant Gravitt cited as a violation of pageant rules.
The photo Wolfe showed in a Monday press conference was dated for July 9, 2016, eight days before the contest, according to the lawsuit.
Davila was crowned Miss Florida on July 16 after competing against 64 other women but she was dethroned six days later.
'I am innocent. All these false allegations have taken me completely by surprise,' Davila said during the press conference.
'I am honest and hard-working.'
Wolfe said that Gravitt had cropped out the date on the Instagram post to falsely smear Davila's name, as he presented the case for a defamation lawsuit seeking $15 million, along with the return of her crown, according to the Herald.
'She didn't have a professional hair and makeup person. She did it herself,' Wolfe said at the press conference.
'No one is going to have their hair and makeup done nine days in advance of a pageant.'
Miss Florida USA released a statement saying they couldn't comment on pending litigation.
After Davila was stripped of her crown, the title went to Linette de los Santos.
The photo Wolfe showed in a Monday press conference was dated for July 9, 2016, eight days before the contest, according to the lawsuit. Davila is pictured receiving the crown
Davila was crowned Miss Florida on July 16 after competing against 64 other women but she was dethroned six days later. Miss Florida USA released a statement saying they couldn't comment on pending litigation
De Los Santos was born in the Dominican Republic and she's also a student at Nova Southeastern University law school.
The person wearing the crown will represent Florida at the Miss USA pageant.
According to the lawsuit, Gravitt also accused Davila of lying about her US citizenship forcing her to hire a lawyer to prove that she was indeed a citizen of the US.
Davila was born in Puerto Rico. 'Let me remind you, Puerto Rico is part of this country,' Wolfe said.
Gravitt initially said that the Puerto Rican model 'sought an unfair competitive advantage, and that's just not acceptable in our system'.
'We have a zero-tolerance policy on rules. Whether it's something major or minor, it's all about keeping an equal and level playing field.'
According to the lawsuit, Gravitt also accused Davila of lying about her US citizenship forcing her to hire a lawyer to prove that she was indeed a citizen of the US
Initially Gravitt said they were able to obtain 'substantial proof' that she violated the rules after pageant organizers received complaints from contestants
When Davila was stripped of her title Gravitt said she had made a 'poor life choice' when she decided to use professional stylists to help her with hair and makeup in her private room.
The Miss Miami Beach USA model posted on Instagram: 'DREAMING on a cloud,' shortly after she won the crown.
Pageant organizers received complaints from contestants and there were also eyewitnesses, Gravitt told 10 News.
Gravitt said they were able to obtain 'substantial proof to link her and her vendors to her room on an evening which they were not allowed'.
Her lawyers said that Gravitt had cropped out the date on the Instagram post to falsely smear Davila's name
The lawsuit is seeking $15 million in defamation and for the return of her crown
Hill: Trusted aide to Mrs May
Dozens of special advisers to the countrys top politicians have been allowed to waltz into lucrative jobs after the Government exempted them from independent checks.
Officials quietly watered down the rules before the last General Election, paving the way for aides to take their experience and contacts into the private sector.
The ease with which the special advisers, or Spads, move from Whitehall to business has been labelled a revolving door.
They were previously required to apply to the appointments watchdog Acoba, which examines cases for conflicts of interest and can impose restrictions.
As confidantes to the countrys top politicians, the Spads are often privy to an array of top secret information and possess contact books that are hugely attractive to private companies.
The loophole in the screening process was exposed as it emerged that Theresa Mays new chief of staff broke rules by failing to declare a job with an influential lobbying firm.
Fiona Hill should have informed Whitehall officials when she took up a role with Lexington Communications after losing her job advising Mrs May in 2014.
But the trusted PR, who was recently re-hired by the new Prime Minister, failed to comply with the already lax regime that is designed to stop officials trading on insider information.
Experts described the decision to exclude Whitehalls legions of special advisers from the screening process imposed on other senior civil servants and ministers as worrying.
It also follows intense criticism of David Cameron, who promised to put an end to cronyism and lobbying in 2010, after his plans to lavish gongs on political allies were revealed this week.
A change in rules introduced in July 2014 exempted all but the highest-paid aides on more than around 95,000 a year from being scrutinised by Acobas panel.
The rules are not contained in law and are only advisory.
They require Spads simply to apply to the permanent secretary of the department they have just left, informing them of any job they take within two years of leaving.
The results are tucked away on departmental websites rather than appearing in Acobas log.
Official documents show that scores of influential aides have taken advantage of the procedure to join the private sector.
Tamasin Cave, of SpinWatch, which campaigns against lobbying by former ministers, said: These arent insignificant figures. They are valuable commodities and to exempt them seems to go against what David Cameron said in terms of clamping down on lobbying.
'It sounds like a lot of hot air. The contempt she [Hill] has shown for the rules is supportive of a culture in Westminster and Whitehall that sees trading insider knowledge as routine.
Theresa Mays new chief of staff broke rules by failing to declare a job with a lobbying firm. It also follows criticism of David Cameron, who promised to put an end to cronyism and lobbying
Miss Hill, the Prime Ministers campaign director during her Tory leadership bid, failed to comply with even the less stringent conflict checks.
She lost her 74,000-a-year job as special adviser during Mrs Mays first four years in the Home Office in June 2014.
She then worked for the Centre for Social Justice think tank, where she wrote a report on modern slavery.
She only started work at Lexington after the election and was registered as a lobbyist.
A Whitehall source told The Times Mrs Hill did not deliberately evade the rules and blamed the passage of time since leaving the Home Office.
A Mail investigation earlier this year revealed that two-thirds of ministers and officials had taken a private job in the same sector after leaving office.
This led to accusations that Acoba the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments is toothless.
There is no suggestion rules were broken.
It seems like centuries ago that I wanted to be a mural painter. Murals were rare at that time - at least here in the southeastern U.S. I admired all the ones I could find in books, and liked the work of Thomas Hart Benton especially. He had done one for the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri, which I admired, and was working on one for the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville which he barely finished before he died. Maxfield Parrish, the Philadelphia artist and illustrator, had also done one in Tiffany glass which I admired, and finally got to see at the old Curtis Publications building (Saturday Evening Post), in Philly.
But back in the 1970's I was looking for new ways to interest people in my artwork. I started working for architects of the city, doing color renderings of their proposed new buildings which they could show to prospective clients and hopefully get new work for themselves. A local building contractor, Wynston Bland, "discovered" me through my renderings , and we shared a lot of the same artistic interests. He put me to work on a very long, narrow mural for his American National Bank and Trust Company (now SunTrust), which was/is located on Lee Highway at Shallowford Road. We agreed that the theme of it should relate to Chattanooga - and I made it into a kind of pictorial history of our city from early times until the Victorian era - with just a hint of the modern age by inclusion of the bank's emblem or logo at the right side. I painted it "in place" on canvas that Mr. Bland installed for me above what would be the tellers cages. I did my painting after the building workmen left at 4:30, and had access to the building all weekends. This mural was Mr. Bland's own idea...a gift of appreciation to the bank, paying me for it out of his own pocket. It was his idea, but I was given total artistic freedom to interpret Chattanooga history in my own way. He also hired a local ceramicist to develop some really beautiful tile with which he decorated the facade of the building. Both the ceramics lady and I were left alone to create our own designs independently. She set up a trailer with studio and kiln at Blands office and I worked from both my home studio and on-site.. He followed the ladys work and mine very closely,as if he were trying to learn something from us.
This new branch opened without fanfare, and there was no effort either to focus attention on the ceramicist's work, or on mine. Both were for decoration only. I cannot say that I ever got a single phone-call or inquiry about the work, but I do know that people looked at it and commented on it, because Jed Mescon once did a short feature about it on Channel 3. Seems that people were noticing the central figure's eyes which followed them as they walked past. THAT is a very common phenomenon that people have noted regarding murals for centuries, but I was flattered that people were at least noticing my work - and that Mescon had done the story about it.
The interesting ceramic work was first to go when the building was enlarged years later, and my mural survived until within the last 10 years. I have no idea whether it was preserved in some way or went to the scrap-heap of history!
Another project of the 1970's was in the form of a small competition. Five local artists were asked by Fowler Brothers (the leading furniture and Interior Design business in town) to submit designs for a mural for the Mountain City Club of Chattanooga. That club had been housed in a very old and shabby-appearing downtown building for many years and was due for a brand new and more elegant space. A major local architect designed the building and Fowlers was chosen to do all the decorating. Fowlers had worked everything out except the large space - 8 feet tall, and 30 feet long - which was left open for the mural. All five of the selected artist-candidates were called in individually to see what Fowlers had decided on for the color scheme. The mural had to blend with that pre-determined scheme, but the pictorial content was left entirely up to each artist. Again, I chose an interpretation of the history of Chattanooga, as the Club members were all local businessmen and industrialists. In my design I did about the same thing as in the bank mural, (above), using some of the same elements although treated in a very different way. One stipulation by Fowlers for the new mural was that it was "not to be accented" (i.e., with special lighting), and was to remain just a long, but decorated, expanse of wall. Fact is that it could not help but dominate, as it was the central feature of the main "living room" area where the men sat and gossiped while puffing their Dutch Masters cigars and reading their Wall Street Journals.
I matched all the colors that Fowlers gave me and was able to use them all successfully in the painting. I also needed models for the few figures that were shown. The two Victorian ladies on the right side were purely original and imaginary creations, as was the coonskin cap backwoodsman on the left. The central figure, however the Cannoneer was based on a real person. He was a young art student from several doors away from me one Mike Connally. Mike and his brother, Krich, loved to do short skits based on comic characters from the early black and white movies (Laurel and Hardy, to be sure!) and Mike could create authentic looking costumes out of thin air. Mike therefore became the cannoneer for my mural by posing while I took a few Polaroid shots of him. Mike was gifted in many art and theater-related matters, and did such beautiful pastel portrait sketches that he was hired by Channel 3 to do all their courtroom drawings. Mike, however, tragically drowned in the Tennessee River near his Bluff View apartment, still only in his early twenties. Channel 3 and the entire city lamented his passing, and UTC granted him a posthumous showing of his work in their new art gallery.
The Mountain City Club mural was painted on several 8 x 4 sheets of Masonite, IN MY LIVING ROOM! My ceilings were barely 8 tall, and the Masonite was just floppy enough that I had to devise an easel so that three panels could be secured together in perfect alignment for painting at the same time. When all the panels were finished, the work had to be approved, of course, and I could not display it in its entirety from inside the house, so I therefore had to set it up outside against the west wall. The neighbors must have been startled to see a parade of black Cadillacs come down the hill and park in front of my house and with such personages as Tommy Lupton getting out to do the inspecting! The entire committee all from Lookout Mountain gave me high praise and approved the work! *Sigh* Oh what a relief it was when they went away happy! Fortunately, I did not have to transport it to its new home, as it was graciously picked up and installed in the new building by a crew that was furnished by the architect a crew who were highly skilled in fitting panels together. It was amazing the fine trimming they had to do to obtain such a perfect fit of one sheet to the next. I was very relieved and very pleased to see it finally hanging in place.
But, alas! Just as the older architects of every city have seen their first building demolished years later, so the muralist sees his earlier work bite the dust! Twenty-odd years later the Mountain City Club needed a total re-decoration, and my mural was taken down. No one thought of calling the artist (me) to tell him about it, they simply took it down and were about to scrap it. I am eternally grateful to Mr. Glenn Showalter of Blue Cross/Blue Shield (AND the Signal Mountain Playhouse) for saving it (without my knowledge), and storing it for years in the Blue Cross (old Miller Brothers) building downtown. In the late 1990s it was re-discovered and publicized on Channel 9, offering it to anyone who would be able to display it. As a result, the Chattanooga airport got it and installed it in a new and special room which was supposed to impress visitors with samplings of Chattanoogas goods and services. It fit perfectly onto a diagonal wall, and I was very happy about its new venue. It hung there only a short period of time until the dreaded 9-11 event occurred in NYC, and the new room was needed for Airport Security. I believe Security created a new wall to cover it up, but I also believe it is still there. Dont know, and may never know, as I can no longer walk to snoop around! It has possibly had some additions or modifications done to it by someone other than me
Mural Number Three was for Chattem, Inc. It was the brain-child of a Chattem Director from Texas who had seen some large, colorful murals and thought that Chattems new office building hidden away on the side of Lookout Mountain could benefit from such a work in their lobby. (He was right, of course!) And so I was selected to do it as a direct commission, without competing. I was most flattered. But when the design work got underway, CEO Alex Guerry had a few restrictions: I was not to show any people not even the founders of the company. No one. I felt that at least one or two chemists should be shown at work in their lab, but I proceeded. Without some people to humanize it, I thought, it would have an empty, vapid look and it did! It took many conferences with Mr. Guerry to work out all the details and what should or should not be shown as they seemingly had hundreds of products. Especially troublesome were those long strings of formulae which were to be included, and which denoted the very life-blood of the company: those for Rolaids and Bufferin, which Dr. Irvine Grote had so meticulously worked out years before. THIS painting was even taller than the last. TEN feet, and I had no idea how I could do it at home. It was Mr. GEORGE LITTLE of the Little Art Shop who rescued me from that dilemma, as he had some upstairs space with 10 foot ceilings where I would be welcome to work. He had sold me the canvas and we had discussed my new project, so was very helpful, and I will always be grateful to George for helping a fellow artist in need!
Mural Four was originally done for the brand new and very cool Cosmopolitan Health Spa on Brainerd Road; their interior decoration was all to be Greco-Roman. There were countless very expensive details that Nashville owner, Seth Smith, was incorporating into the building such as an oblong dome above the large indoor pool. In a corner beside the pool there was to be a whirlpool bath located beneath a curving wall which needed to be decorated! A friend, Paul Shelton, tipped me off to this fact, and I was soon linked up with Mr. Smith. I created the new mural to fit a definite space and submitted it to Smith. He heartily approved, and was one of the easiest clients to work with that I ever knew. My design included either Greek or Roman soldiers one on horseback throwing spears, etc. Smith loved it, so I painted it in Chattanooga, and, as his empire grew, I was sent to paint the same exact mural in every new location throughout the south! Fortunately, I had made a pounce pattern of the original Brainerd Road design a minor art I had learned while at Kirkman Vocational HS many years before and while working summers at Charles Regans sign shop. All I had to do in the distant locations was to unroll my pattern, tape it to the wall, dust a mixture of charcoal and talcum powder through the perforations and *poof* I had my drawing exactly positioned transferred to the wall, ready for paint.
Mural Number Five was a total failure. I was to compete with another local artist to do a mural for a northern Georgia bank. Only thing they specified was that all the Board of Directors should be depicted a sizable crowd the idea of which did not appeal to me at all. But the fact that it would provide an excuse to show the John Ross house and Lookout Mountain together in the background was sufficient to inspire me. I worked on the design for DAYS, trying to fit all the people into the layout, and made a full-color rendering at the scale of one inch to the foot. I even made an accurate cardboard model of the John Ross house to help me get the desired perspective. D-Day arrived when we were supposed to -present our designs and I was called into the conference room first. Ten minutes later I was done and the other competitor went in. I just went home and waited for an hour or more, expecting the possible phone-call. It didnt come. Then I decided to call the bank and ask for the man behind the competition and he was still in conference with the other artist. The other artist did indeed get the job and I heard no more from the bank. About a year later I wondered how the new mural was coming along and went in to see what might have been done. Nothing! Someone told me that the other artist had not been able to do the job and there was no mural. I always felt that that competition was rigged from the start. I do not mind losing when the competitions are honest, but it can be hurtful when you realize you were just a pawn in the rigging, All those events are over 30 years old, so, except for this writing, I do not even think about it anymore. Architects and building contractors get their proposals rejected all the time, so it should be no different for artists!
For all the effort I put into my mural work, I can honestly say that I never received ONE phone-call or inquiry about a single one of them. I get far more attention, and have as much fun, from doing these articles for John Wilsons chattanoogan dot com, so think I will just keep on writing! Maybe Ive finally found my true calling!
I DO want to thank GEORGE LITTLE and PAUL SHELTON for helping me along the mural route! GLENN SHOWALTER was also an angel for just thinking about Preservation! And the CHATTANOOGA LIBRARY was second to NO other library!
Now, kindly forgive me for the really poor-quality picture posted at the top. The dud mural is at right center, and I think you can figure out which is which if so interested. And please note that my sequence of numbering in the article does not match the position of the artwork in the picture.
The introduction of sea marshals on French cross-Channel vessels has come a step closer as armed personnel took part in an on-board security exercise.
Brittany Ferries carried out the exercise on the Mont St Michel ferry, travelling from Portsmouth to Caen, as part of moves to make the highly trained military personnel part of the security network.
Announcements in English and French alerted up to 800 passengers that they were in the middle of a security exercise.
Half-way through the crossing, at about 5.30pm, around three hours before the ship's scheduled arrival in France, three armed French sea marshals wearing full military kit landed on the ship by helicopter.
Brittany Ferries carried out the exercise on the Mont St Michel ferry (stock photo) as it travelled from Portsmouth to Caen
The marshals, who are effectively part of the French military, patrolled the ship and carried out other security measures.
The exercise was part of a potential ramping up of security in light of recent terror attacks in France and elsewhere in Europe, amid fears there may be more to come.
With the nation on its highest level of security alert, French authorities are keen to be seen to be doing something positive, particularly on French-flagged vessels, to tackle potential security threats.
Public demands in France for increased security have accelerated rapidly in the last few weeks.
A Brittany Ferries spokesman said: 'Access to outside decks was not allowed at the time of the helicopter's arrival. The security crew travelled with passengers to France, where they left the ship on foot.
'Security exercises like today's on board Mont St Michel give Brittany Ferries an opportunity to practise its incident response in partnership with other agencies.
'Safety and security are our highest priority and we operate according to robust procedures set out in the ISPS (International Shipping and Port Security) Code, an international framework endorsed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
'We very much appreciate passengers' support during this exercise and thank them for travelling with Brittany Ferries.'
Two leaders of the Fundamentalist LDS Church have been arrested, accused of violating their supervised release.
FLDS bishops Seth Jeffs and John Wayman were arrested for violating the terms of their supervised release.
Jeffs and Wayman are scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate judge in St. George on Tuesday.
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Seth Jeffs, left, brother of imprisoned polygamous leader Warren Jeffs, and John Wayman, right, have been arrested after allegedly violating the terms of their release from jail
It's not clear what violation they may have committed and there are no further details about their arrest.
Both men faced a list of conditions for being released from jail after their February arrest including the wearing of GPS monitoring devices, and having no contact with witnesses or victims.
Jeffs, the brother of FLDS leaders Warren Jeffs and Lyle Jeffs, has been in South Dakota, where the polygamous church maintains a compound.
Seth Jeffs, will appear in court on Tuesday. He is the brother of imprisoned sect leader Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
He and Wayman are among 11 people facing food stamp fraud and money laundering charges, accused of ordering members of the FLDS Church to hand over Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits to leaders.
Jeffs' religious freedom rights allow him and others in the sect to share food stamp benefits as part of their communal living, his attorneys contend in a new court filing Tuesday.
Like Amish who don't send their children to public high school, members of the polygamous group on the Utah-Arizona border believe not donating their food stamp benefits would go against their religious beliefs and "endanger their own salvation," attorneys wrote.
On the run: Lyle Jeffs, acting president of The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) fled home confinement on June 19 rather than face a multi-million-dollar food stamp fraud trial
FLDS leader Lyle Jeffs recently disappeared from home confinement.
The polygamist church leader likely used olive oil to slip off his ankle bracelet and flee from his trial in a multi-million-dollar fraud case, the FBI revealed.
Jeffs fled from a home in northwest Salt Lake City, Utah, after removing his GPS tracker on June 18, investigators believe. He had been released from jail for less than two weeks
Leaders at the FLDS Church took food stamp benefits from members and used them as they wished, diverting at least $12 million, prosecutors say.
Prosecutors say sect leaders instructed followers to buy items with their food-stamp cards and give them to a church warehouse, where leaders decided how to distribute products to followers.
They say food stamps were also cashed at sect-owned stores without the users getting anything in return. The money was then diverted to front companies and used to pay thousands for a tractor, truck and other items, prosecutors say.
Jeffs is one of 11 people who have been charged in the case.
Donald Trump called his Democratic rival 'the devil' on Monday in a high-profile escalation of his campaign rhetoric at precisely the moment he needed to change the subject.
Facing a four-day-long scandal over his criticism of the father of a Muslim soldier who died in combat, the Republican presidential nominee shifted gears.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, Trump told an overflow crowd at a high school in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, 'made a deal with the devil' when he endorsed Clinton at last week's Democratic National Convention.
'She's the devil!' he added.
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'SHE'S THE DEVIL!': Donald Trump went all-in on Monday night as he said that when Bernie Sanders made an endorsement 'deal with the devil,' Hillary Clinton was the Satan figure
DEAL WITH HER: Trump said Bernie Sanders made a 'deal with the devil' when he agreed to endorse Hillary Clinton during last week's Democratic National Convention
Trump has hinted at the insult before, saying Friday in Colorado that 'Bernie blew it. He sold his soul to the devil. He did.'
But Trump had previously stopped short of declaring that Hillary Clinton is, in fact, the Prince or Princess of Darkness.
By rallying around Clinton instead of standing on principle, the billionaire said, Sanders 'made a bad deal. He should have not made a deal. He would have gone down as [having] done something really important.'
'Once he made that deal, and believe me, he has buyer's remorse.'
'If he would have just not done anything just go home, go to sleep, relax he would have been a hero,' he said. 'But he made a deal with the devil. She's the devil! He made a deal with the devil. It's true.'
It's not the first time Satan has figured in this year's presidential election.
NO FINGERS? Trump celebrated his day in Ohio and Pennsylvania with KFC chicken and a knife and fork
CAPACITY CROWD: Thousands packed a high school gymnasium to hear their plainspoken political hero speak on Monday night
NOT THE FIRST: Ben Carson connected Clinton to Beelzebub last month, saying at the Republican National Convention that her mentor Saul Alinsky had dedicated his book 'Rules for Radicals' to Lucifer
Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver told CNN in April that it was Clinton who 'made a deal with the devil' by accepting millions in campaign cash from Wall Street banks.
'LUCIFER IN THE FLESH': John Boehner (pictured) used that epithet to roast Sen. Ted Cruz in April
'And we know the devil wants his money in the end,' Weaver said.
Weeks later, former House Speaker John Boehner told an audience at Stanford University that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who was then giving Trump a strong primary fight, was 'Lucifer in the flesh' and 'a miserable son of a b**ch.'
And Dr. Ben Carson, who may run the Department of Health and Human Services in a Trump administration, tried to tie Clinton to the devil two weeks ago during his Republican National Convention speech.
The former secretary of state, Carson said, was a disciple of far-left activist Saul Alinsky who dedicated his book 'Rules for Radicals' to 'Lucifer, the original radical who gained his own kingdom.'
Trump's Pennsylvania speech was heavy on talk of manufacturing jobs and trade, clobbering the Clintons for their 1990s era support for the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The Republican nominee has called NAFTA the 'biggest job-killer' in recent history. It's a theme he's hit on often in rust-belt states including Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.
Trump also predicted that despite her recent flip on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Clinton will back the multi-nation trade pact if she becomes president.
An overwhelming 85 per cent of LGBTIQ Australians remain opposed to a plebiscite on same-sex marriage.
The biggest survey ever conducted among the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and questioning community found that men and women of all age groups and in every state and territory were against the plebiscite, Pink News reports.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has pledged to bring a public plebiscite as soon as possible. In the survey participants, were asked if they supported or opposed a plebiscite on marriage equality in late 2016 or early 2017.
A new study of 5500 LGBTIQ people has found that almost 85 per cent surveyed are against the government's plebiscite
Final results showed that 84.7 per cent of participants said they were opposed, with 71.5 per cent strongly opposed.
A meagre 9.9 per cent of participants supported a plebiscite, with 6.5 per cent strongly supporting it, and 5.4 per cent undecided.
If the Coalition refused politicians a vote in Parliament until after a plebiscite is held, 57.8 per cent of those questioned in the study said that reform should come only after there is a vote in Parliament without a plebiscite.
The study also asked the question if people would support a plebiscite if it was 'fairly framed' and 'had a good chance of success', but opposition to it still remained.
The survey found that LGBTIQ men and women of all age groups and in every state and territory were against the plebiscite
Just 9.9 per cent of participants surveyed supported the government plebiscite
LGBT rights activist and academic Rodney Croome said the results proved the plebiscite was not supported
The survey was designed by social scientist Sharon Dane and supported by Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays and campaigner Rodney Croome .
Mr Croome said the results show that the LGBT community do not believe in the plebiscite and it would only delay changes to the marriage laws.
'There are clear concerns about the indignity of our rights being subject to a show of hands and the negative impact of hate speech on the mental health of LGBTIQ people,' Mr Croome said.
A man who allegedly threatened to blow up a train after claiming he was carrying a bomb in his suitcase has been charged following a terrifying peak-hour ordeal.
Queensland commuters were forced to evacuate Helensvale train station on the Gold Coast on Tuesday morning following reports of a bomb threat.
The 41-year-old man allegedly told passengers on board he had a bomb in his silver suitcase with a switch that allowed him to set it off, 9News reported.
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Queensland commuters were forced to evacuate Helensvale train station on the Gold Coast on Tuesday morning after reports of a Clayfield man threatening to blow up a train
The Clayfield man has been charged with one count of bomb hoax - falsely state/inform bomb present.
He is due to appear in the Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Earlier on Tuesday, the man had boarded a light rail tram at Surfers Paradise with the same suitcase where he also threatened commuters.
Police tracked the man down via CCTV footage before he boarded a train. He was arrested at Helensvale station.
Bomb squad officers were called in to x-ray the man's suitcase while a police sniffer dog scoured the train but no suspicious items were located.
Other passengers on board trains were advised to get off the carriages as the hold-up caused delays from Varsity to Beenleigh.
'He made threats in relation to blowing up a train,' Queensland Police spokeswoman Karen Shaw told 9News.
'He was in possession of a silver suitcase and alerted to the fact that he had a switch and he was going to blow up patrons on that train.
Bomb squad officers were called in to x-ray the suitcase after the man claimed he had a bomb
A bomb dog (pictured) was also called in to scour the train for any devices on Tuesday
Trains were suspended in both directions and the railway station was blocked off for almost an hour, with police urging people to avoid the area.
However, services have since resumed in both directions after the area was deemed safe, but commuters can expect delays of up to 15 minutes.
The Public Safety Preservation Act was enforced within the Town Centre Drive, North to the entrance of the Helensvale Train Station and south of the entrance to the Railway Station, Town Centre Drive.
Police revoked the PSPA around 8.15am after the man was arrested and taken into custody.
Queensland Police officer Karen Shaw said the man had made threats against the public
Trains were suspended in both directions and the station was blocked off, causing delays
Services have resumed in both directions after Helensvale train station was deemed safe
A Queensland police spokesman told Daily Mail Australia the threat resulted in the evacuation but the area has been cleared and trains are running again.
Investigations into the incident are continuing as charges are yet to be laid.
Gave a blow by account of the process on his
Once dubbed 'Sexiest Man Alive', Olympian Ryan Lochte has surprised fans with a new hairdo that is proving as divisive as that blue and gold dress.
The 11-time Olympic medalist had a weekend makeover, dying his brown locks a pale silver-blue.
He gave his Instagram followers a blow by blow account of the dying process straight from the salon and the results are causing quite a stir.
Once dubbed 'Sexiest Man Alive', Olympian Ryan Lochte has surprised fans with a new hairdo that is proving as divisive as that blue and gold dress.
He gave his Instagram followers a blow by blow account of the dying process straight from the salon and the results are causing quite a stir
His Atlanta-based hair stylist Jenn Jones was responsible for the new look but Lochte remained silent about who - or what - his inspiration was
Lochte says it's blue, but the Internet says it's grey.
His Atlanta-based hair stylist Jenn Jones was responsible for the new look but Lochte remained silent about who - or what - his inspiration was.
Speculative suggestions include a Pokemon trainer, Kyle Jenner and a blue haired Troll Doll.
Maybe he thinks the new look brings out the color of his ocean-blue eyes. Or perhaps he hopes to blend into his natural habitat as he embarks on his Free Relay odyssey later this month.
Inspiration? Speculative suggestions include a Kyle Jenner, Pokemon trainer, and a blue haired Troll Doll.
Lochte has been named both American and World Swimmer of the Year twice in his career
He has a total of 70 medals in major international competition including 45 first place finishes
Either way, Lochte claims to be 'Rio Ready'.
And if his hair hasn't made the splash he was intending, hopefully his sparkling success rate in the pool will give him a different kind of glory.
According to his website, Lochte has been named both American and World Swimmer of the Year twice in his career (2010 & 2011) and has a total of 70 medals in major international competition including 45 first place finishes.
A prominent member of Sydney's anti-lockout campaign launched a shocking attack on the Kelly family, accusing them of 'revelling' in the spotlight after their eldest son Thomas was killed as the result of alcohol-fuelled violence in Kings Cross in 2012.
Chris Sinclair, who ran events at John Ibrahim-linked Crane Bar in Kings Cross, wrote a mocking blog post in February about Stuart and his family, claiming in his vile rant the family had become 'Australia's very own version of the Kardashians'.
Stuart Kelly, 18, killed himself last Monday, and is believed to have struggled with abuse he received from people against Sydney's lockout laws, which were introduced in part following the death of his brother.
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Chris Sinclair, who formerly ran events at Crane Bar, in February wrote a blog post mocking the Kelly family
In his vile blog post, Sinclair called the Kellys 'Australia's very own version of the Kardashians' and said Stuart had 'no understanding' of the issues (Stuart pictured centre with father Ralph and mother Kathy at the teen's graduation last October)
Stuart Kelly, 18, took his own life last Monday - four years after his elder brother was killed in a random one-punch attack in Kings Cross
There is no suggestion Sinclair's former employer holds the same views.
In his post called Keeping Up with the Kellys, at Surely Not blog, Sinclair even called father, Ralph, a 'media wh***'.
'His youngest son [Stuart] was continuously wheeled out in to the spotlight, delivering scathing statements about the debauchery and danger of Kings Cross and the so-called booze culture, declaring 'Australia was an alcoholic'.
'Fairly impressive for a teenage private school boy from Bowral.'
Sinclair continued his shocking rant, writing the Kelly children were 'revelling in the spotlight, preaching to all about things they would have on understanding of.
'What was once considered a loving family were now more or less Australia's very own version of the Kardashians.'
Chris Sinclair published the post, called Keeping Up with the Kellys, in February this year at his blog called Surely Not
Stuart Kelly, 18, committed suicide last Monday after he was 'bullied' for campaigning for the lockout laws
He also claimed Thomas and Stuart's mother, Kathy Kelly, had 'carved a potentially lucrative career on the speaking circuit'.
Sinclair also wrote an anti-lockout post on his blog the day Stuart was found dead.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Sinclair at the Surely Not blog, Crane Bar, and the Thomas Kelly Youth Foundation for comment.
In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, Keep Sydney Open campaign manager Tyson Koh said Sinclair was not involved in the campaign.
He said he was aware of the post but decided not to republish it.
'I believe the Kellys should never have been made the focus of the lockouts debate, and that goes for both sides of the argument,' Mr Koh said.
'Anyone who follows us knows that we have run a respectful campaign that focuses on the bigger issues concerning Sydney's nighttime economy and the solutions needed to make it as safe and vibrant as possible.
Stuart's older brother Thomas (pictured together as children) was killed in 2012 by an unprovoked punch
'It's also important to note the difference between Keep Sydney Open and other "anti-lockout activists", and other people in the greater community who simply dislike how lockouts have affected our city.'
Mr Koh added he hoped no one would 'take advantage of this tragedy for their own gain'.
'Because that's what this is, a tragedy. Stuart Kelly was an inspirational young man and his death is a loss to us all. He was under a great deal of pressure, coping with the loss of his brother on top of campaigning against violence, a goal I share. I wish the Kellys all the strength they need during this unimaginably tough time.'
Stuart was an ambassador for the Thomas Kelly Youth Foundation, which the family set up after his brother's death to campaign against alcohol-fuelled violence.
His death comes four years after Thomas was killed in 2012, igniting the debate on Sydney's controversial lockout laws.
Sinclair called Thomas and Stuart's father a 'media wh***' for campaigning against alcohol-fuelled violence
Sinclair's shocking blog post accused father, Ralph Kelly (left), of being a 'media wh***' and said the mother, Kathy (right) 'carved a potentially lucrative career on the speaking circuit'
Two of the three Kelly children are now dead, leaving only Madeleine (pictured left as a child) after Stuart (centre as a child) committed suicide last week following the death of Thomas (right) in 2012
Thomas was enjoying his first night out in the city's infamous Kings Cross with his girlfriend when, at around 10pm, he was attacked randomly by Kieran Loveridge.
Within 24 hours the 18-year-old had died after his life support was switched off in hospital.
Loveridge was initially given a five-year jail sentence which caused public outcry and and prompted an appeal spearheaded by the Kelly family for a harsher punishment.
In 2014 he had his sentence increased to a minimum of 10 years. He was moved to a maximum security facility after conducting an affair with a prison guard last year.
Stuart, who was 14 at the time Thomas died, took his own life late last month. The 18-year-old was found dead in a car park in Mona Vale on Sydney's northern beaches last Monday.
Friends claim he was the victim of unrelenting abuse from bullies who blamed the family for Sydney's controversial lockout laws.
Readers who are struggling should call Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14.
Thomas (pictured) was enjoying his first night out in the city's infamous Kings Cross with his girlfriend when, at around 10pm, he was attacked randomly by Kieran Loveridge
A man accused of killing mother-of-seven Lynette Daley has been physically attacked outside a NSW court after members of her family came face to face with him.
Adrian Attwater and Paul Maris faced Grafton Local Court on Tuesday after they were charged when Ms Daley's bloodied body was found on a remote beach in northern NSW in 2011.
Attwater was forced to shield his face as he left the court as dozens of Ms Daley's relatives and friends surrounded him as he walked to a car, screaming 'hang, you dog'.
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Adrian Attwater, who is accused of killing mother-of-seven Lynette Daley, was physically attacked outside a NSW court after members of her family came face to face with him
One woman chased him out onto the roadway before she fell to the ground.
Maris was chased into a nearby police station and had to be given an escort away from the courthouse.
Ms Daley, 33, was found naked, bloodied and bruised on Ten Mile Beach on the NSW north coast in January 2011 with a blood alcohol level seven times the legal limit.
The mother-of-seven was allegedly on a camping and fishing trip with the two men when she suffered serious injuries from violent sex.
The two men, who were known to police at the time, allegedly forced Ms Daley to perform a series of sex acts in the back of Mr Maris' four-wheel-drive while she was heavily inebriated.
An autopsy found Ms Daley's had died from blunt force genital tract trauma after allegedly being subject to a violent sex act while she was heavily drunk.
The men allegedly burned a blood-stained mattress and some of Ms Daley's clothes before calling for help.
Paramedic Adam Jarrett was one of the first emergency responders on the scene and said Ms Daley was dead before they arrived.
Lynette Daley, 33, was found naked, bloodied and bruised on Ten Mile Beach on the NSW north coast in January 2011 with a blood alcohol level seven times the legal limit
Attwater was forced to shield his face as he was attacked outside the court
Attwater was forced to shield his face as he left the court as dozens of Ms Daley's relatives and friends surrounded him as he walked to his car, screaming 'hang, you dog'
One woman chased Attwater out onto the roadway before she fell to the ground
Attwater and Harris were both charged over her death but the charges were dropped in 2012 when prosecutors decided not to take it to trial.
They found themselves at the centre of an inquest into her death and the Director of Public Prosecutions announced this year the case would be reviewed.
Attwater has since been charged with manslaughter and aggravated sexual intercourse without consent.
Maris faces charges of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent and accessory after the fact to manslaughter.
Adrian Attwater (left) and Paul Maris (right) were charged over Ms Daley's death after her body was found on Ten Mile Beach in NSW back in January 2011
The two men, who were known to police at the time, allegedly forced Ms Daley to perform a series of sex acts in the back of Mr Maris' four-wheel-drive while she was heavily inebriated
A two week hearing is being conducted by the Royal
An Anglican home for boys in the Hunter region of NSW was used by a paedophile ring headed by a senior clergyman to access and sexually abuse children.
On Tuesday the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse opened a two-week hearing into what the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle did to stop priest Peter Rushton and a pedophile network of clergy and laypeople who preyed on children for decades.
Victim Paul Gray gave evidence and said he was taken to St Albans School for Boys in the Hunter Valley in the 1960s, where there was a locked room called the 'f***ing room' where boys would be forced to have group oral and anal sex with adult men.
Priest Peter Rushton is the alleged head of a paedophile ring that an anglican boys home in Newcastle to access and abuse boys
Mr Gray broke down in the witness stand when he told how he was repeatedly raped by a gang of men at the boys home.
Mr Gray wept as he recalled how his godfather Father Peter Rushton, who was a priest at Cessnock, had anally raped him when he was just 10.
In the mid-1960s Rushton began taking Mr Gray to St Alban's Boys Home where he was locked in a room and a number of men would rape or have oral sex with him, the commission was told.
Mr Gray told how Rushton, who died in 2007 without being convicted, would cut his back with a knife and smear the blood on his body - 'it was symbolic of the blood of Christ'.
He was taken to St Alban's regularly by Rushton over an 18-month period. He recalled how on one occasion a number of boys were made to lie down on beds and six or eight men would choose a boy and take him to a separate room.
Once 'Father Peter' took him to a church camp at Yondaio where there were about five men and one other boy.
House of horrors: St Alban's Home for Boys was where Rushton and others allegedly sexually assaulted children
Mr Gray said he knew what was going to happen so he ran.
Two men chased him. He hid in the bushes near a cliff edge. The men caught him and raped him, and he heard the other boy screaming so he too was being assaulted.
He told the commission he totally blocked out the abuse but had recurring memories of a green room - it was a bedroom in Rushton's house.
It was not until 2010 when it became public that Rushton had been abusing boys that memories came flooding back to him. Mr Gray had a major breakdown.
Commissioners Robert Fitzgerald, Justice Peter McClellan and Bob Atkinson (left to right) arrive at the opening day of the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse
He asked the commission to allow a minute's silence for all the victims who could no longer face the struggle of carrying the scars of their childhood abuse and took their own lives.
'I would like them to be able to testify before the royal commission through our silence for one minute.'
Chief Commissioner Peter McClellan said after three and a half years of investigation into child abuse in institutions it had emerged that for some the impacts were so overwhelming 'they do take their own lives'.
Chief Commissioner Peter McClellan said for some victims the impacts of abuse were so overwhelming it led to people 'taking their own lives'
The hearing which runs for two weeks will hear from a number of bishops who were based at Newcastle.
Naomi Sharp, counsel advising the commission, said Michael Elliott the current professional standards director in the Diocese of Newcastle would give evidence.
He is expected to say he believes the diocese is harbouring a large number of active offenders 'with little or no accountability in place', Ms Sharp said.
# For support and information about suicide prevention, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78.
Naomi Sharp, counsel assisting the Royal Commission, gives the opening address
A doctor who was accused of asking a 19-year-old man with Tourette Syndrome to take off his clothes before groping him was allowed to continue seeing patients for more than seven months after allegations arose.
Dr Andrew Churchyard, a senior neurologist for Cabrini Health and Monash Health in Melbourne, was accused of sexually assaulting university student Tom Monagle during two medical consultations in May 2015 and appeared to ejaculate during the latter appointment, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Mr Monagle filed a complaint with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and the police but the Medical Board of Australia ruled that Dr Churchyard could continue practicing if he was accompanied by a chaperone as the police investigation continued.
Dr Andrew Churchyard (pictured), a Melbourne neurologist, was allowed to continue seeing patients for seven months after he was accused of sexually assaulting a man, 19
Dr Churhyard allegedly sexually assaulting university student Tom Monagle (pictured) during two medical consultations in 2015 and appeared to ejaculate during the latter appointment
Mr Churchyard was charged with two counts of indecent assault in July 2015.
Cabrini Health allowed Mr Churchyard to continue to consult patients with a chaperone after the charges had been laid.
Monash Health immediately suspended Mr Churchyard.
'We are brought up to trust our doctors 100 per cent, from the moment we see one, and that is why people get away with it,' Mr Monagle told the Sydney Morning Herald.
'Because the patients may be vulnerable, there is a massive amount of trust and a huge imbalance of power.'
Despite the physician being charged with two counts of indecent assault, he was allowed to continue working for Cabrini Health (pictured) as long as he was accompanied by a chaperone
Monash Health (pictured) immediately suspended Mr Churchyard
After Mr Monagle's complaint, more men came forward claiming Mr Churchyard had also sexually assaulted them, dating back to 2010.
It wasn't until one of the victims accused of Mr Churchyard of touching him during a consultation with a chaperone in February 2016 that the Medical Board of Australia suspended his registration.
Mr Churchyard's trial was set for February next year but committed suicide two weeks ago on July 18.
Former Victoria Health Commissioner Beth Wilson told the Sydney Morning Herald she had been concerned about Mr Churchyard's behaviour.
Mr Churchyard's (pictured) trial was set for February next year but committed suicide two weeks ago on July 18
Ms Wilson, who is also a member of the Cabrini Health patient care committee, said when she mentioned her concerns to a Cabrini clinician last year, she received 'an icy silence.'
'He then told me that the doctor was a good bloke and that his colleagues were rallying around him. He blamed the victim and then attacked the victim's mother,' Ms Wilson said.
The Junior Achievement 2016 Superhero Bowl event kicks off Tuesday with the start of the online auction.
Bids help bowlers raise money for JAs programs which are delivered to local students free of charge.
Junior Achievement gives young people knowledge and skills to own their economic success, plan for the future and make smart academic choices, said officials. The support of this event will help empower the dreams of more than 13,000 students in Hamilton, Catoosa, Walker, Marion and Sequatchie Counties. Junior Achievement of Chattanooga is not a United Way Agency.
Visit the online auction at https://www.biddingforgood.com/JASUPERHEROBOWL
The bodies of three missing teenagers were found in a truck that plunged off the side of a cliff in Los Angeles County on Monday evening.
Daniel Gamboa, 19, Kasey Vance, 18, and Samantha Ornelas, 17, all from Fontana, were discovered in the wreckage of a white Toyota Tundra 900 feet below the Angeles Crest Highway above Altadena, California Highway Patrol officials confirmed.
The group was last seen on Saturday, when they told family members they were going on a hike near Mount Wilson but had not been heard from or seen since.
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Daniel Gamboa, 19, (left), Samantha Ornelas, 17, and Kasey Vance, 18, (right) were killed when Daniel's pickup truck lost control and plunged off the side of a hilltop highway near the Angeles National Forest
The Los Angeles County Fire Department confirmed that three bodies were found in the wreckage, located close to mile marker 40 on the highway.
Fontana police personnel, along with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and L.A. County Fire Department search and rescue crews, had been combing the Angeles National Forest for the missing teens.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's air rescue crew officials told KTLA crews had been searching the highway between Lytle Creek and La Canada all day.
It was close to 5 p.m. when the 2008 Toyota truck was finally located.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's air rescue crews had been searching the highway between Lytle Creek and La Canada all day, when around 5 p.m. they found the tailgate and eventually located the truck (pictured)
Authorities had been looking for clues to try and determine where the teens might have been.
Gamboa's credit card was used in Rancho Cucamonga after midnight on Sunday, according to detectives.
Ornelas' cellphone also pinged a cellphone tower near Mt. Wilson early on Sunday.
Before the wreckage was found, Isabel Ornelas, Samantha's sister, spoke how it was unsettling to not know where her sister might be.
The pickup truck was found almost 1,000 feet below the road and buried in the ravine among dense vegetation making it exceptionally difficult for rescue crews to spot
She said the outing with her friends was 'spontaneous' because she was not dressed for a hike.
'I'm thinking spontaneous turned into a disaster,' Ornelas said.
'She's a good kid. This isn't the type of kid who goes out partying or drinking,' she said during the news conference.
A California man has filed a lawsuit against California sheriff's officials after surveillance video circulated widely online showed deputies beating him with batons as he lay on the ground crying out in pain.
Stanislav Petrov says in the lawsuit filed Monday in federal court that he had his hands out ready to be handcuffed when Alameda County sheriff's deputies tackled him and began hitting him with steel batons in November 2015.
The lawsuit says deputies took photos of a bleeding Petrov as a 'trophy' and stole his gold chain, which was never booked into evidence, and money and gave them to witnesses to buy their silence.
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California man Stanislav Petrov (pictured) has filed a lawsuit against California sheriff's officials after surveillance video circulated widely online showed two deputies beating him with batons as he lay on the ground crying out in pain
Petrov says in the lawsuit filed Monday in federal court that he had his hands out ready to be handcuffed when the two sheriff's deputies tackled him (pictured) and began hitting him with steel batons in November 2015
The lawsuit says deputies took photos of a bleeding Petrov as a 'trophy' and stole his gold chain, which was never booked into evidence, and money and gave them to witnesses to buy their silence
The attorneys claim their client was hospitalized for 12 days, suffered a concussion, broken hands and facial fractures from his violent arrest, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The incident began November 12 in the parking lot of a San Leandro motel on the east side of San Francisco Bay, which is where deputies, Luis R Santamaria and Paul D Wieber, started chasing Petrov after spotting him in a stolen Mercedes Benz.
Deputies attempted to block Petrov's exit from the parking lot with their patrol cars, but the suspect rammed the vehicles and sped away.
The Mercedes allegedly grazed a deputy standing next to his patrol car as it sped out of the parking lot.
Deputies chased the Mercedes across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, reaching speeds of 100mph, before Petrov allegedly abandoned the vehicle in the city's Mission District and tried to flee on foot.
The deputies can be seen in two surveillance videos running down Petrov in a desolate alley and beating him for about 40 seconds.
Deputies, Luis R Santamaria (right) and Paul D Wieber (left) were each charged with assault with a deadly weapon, assault under color of authority and battery in May. Both deputies pleaded not guilty and are free on $140,000 bail but they're due back in court this month
Two residents' surveillance cameras captured the deputies (pictured) continuing to beat the suspect with steel batons as he lay on the ground, crying out in pain. The two stopped beating Petrov after other officers arrived
Petrov was never charged with a crime in connection with the case and his suit seeks unspecified damages. He's pictured after the incident in the hospital
Two residents' surveillance cameras captured the deputies continuing to beat the suspect with steel batons as he lay on the ground, crying out in pain.
The two stopped beating Petrov after other officers arrived.
Santamaria and Wieber were each charged with assault with a deadly weapon, assault under color of authority and battery in May.
Both deputies pleaded not guilty and are free on $140,000 bail but they're due back in court this month.
Vice President Joe Biden officiated his first ever wedding Monday, for two longtime White House staffers.
Brian Mosteller director of Oval Office operations for President Barack Obama and Joe Mahshie, a trip coordinator for first lady Michelle Obama, tied the knot during an intimate affair.
The ceremony took place in Vice President's living room at his home in the US Naval Observatory in Washington.
Vice President Joe Biden officiated his first ever wedding Monday, for two longtime White House staffers
Brian Mosteller (left) director of Oval Office operations for President Barack Obama and Joe Mahshie, (right) a trip coordinator for first lady Michelle Obama tied the knot during an intimate affair
The ceremony took place in Vice President's living room at his home in the US Naval Observatory in Washington
He obtained a temporary certification from the District of Columbia for the ceremony, his office told BuzzFeed.
Biden posted a photo of the ceremony on his Twitter account, with the words: 'Proud to marry Brian and Joe at my house. Couldn't be happier, two longtime White House staffers, two great guys.'
His wife Dr Jill Biden, the Second First Lady and an American educator, later posted a tweet saying: 'Love is love!'
According to a Washington Post profile, Mostelle is described by admiring colleagues as an 'unsung hero of the administration...without whom Obama arguably would not have such a universal reputation for cool.'
His wife Dr Jill Biden, the Second First Lady and an American educator, later posted a tweet saying: 'Love is love!'
Mostelle is described by admiring colleagues as an 'unsung hero of the administration...without whom Obama arguably would not have such a universal reputation for cool.'
The article even touted his ability to 'basically read President Obama's mind' and when the President is in Washington, 'every move the president makes, every person he meets and every meeting he attends has been carefully orchestrated by him'.
Mahshie, meanwhile, has been a trip coordinator for the First Lady for nearly a year, according to his Linked In page, before which he was a staff assistant at the visitor's office of the White House.
The daughter of former Vice President Al Gore celebrated her marriage in 1997 at her father's official residence (pictured)
This is not the first time the Naval Observatory has hosted wedding receptions.
The daughter of former Vice President Al Gore celebrated her marriage in 1997 at her father's official residence. The lavish affair boasted an conditioned tent erected on the lawn and a performance by Aretha Franklin.
The ceremony itself took place at the National Cathedral nearby.
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What was supposed to be a girl's night out turned into tragedy for one tight-knit extended family when they suddenly became swept up in the Maryland floodwaters while leaving a restaurant on Saturday night.
Jessica Watsula, 35, was one of two who were killed in the devastating flood that hit Ellicot City in Maryland this weekend. Father-of-three Joseph Blevins, 38, has been confirmed as the second victim.
Watsula was on a girl's night out that had been organized by her sister-in-law on the night of her death, her brother Curtis Brubaker told Daily Mail Online.
Jessica Watsula, 35, (pictured with her 10-year-old daughter Sarah) and Joseph Blevins, a 38-year-old father-of-three, have been identified as the two people killed in the devastating flood that hit Ellicot City, Maryland on Saturday
Watsula's brother Curtis Brubaker (pictured together with his son) told Daily Mail Online that he searched for his sister for four hours in the mud before he found out she had died
She had dropped off her 10-year-old daughter at Brubaker's home in Pennsylvania before heading to Maryland for dinner and painting with his wife Christina, who brought along her mother Grace and sister Jacqueline.
When the foursome came out of the restaurant that night, there were only two inches of water on the ground, Brubaker said.
Watsula's car was just across the street, so she offered to drive the group to their parking spot.
She started the car and turned the lights on and within 30 seconds a wave 'came out of nowhere', Brubaker said.
'Next thing they know the car is drifting.'
Brubaker, whose wife would tell him everything the next morning, said his sister shouted at the group to get out of the car. The water was already up to their waist.
All four of the women held on tight to a telephone pole and 'within seconds the water is up to their chest', he said.
'One minute there's no water, next it's like a tsunami wave.'
Brubaker said Watsula's daughter (pictured with his younger daughter) was her 'shadow' and that the two of them were 'inseparable'. 'I cannot believe my niece won't have her,' he said
Brubaker (pictured with Watsula and his two older sisters) said he couldn't leave the tragic scene until he knew exactly what happened to his little sister
'The last thing my sister said was "God help us, God help us.'''
Brubaker said his wife was washed down the street and separated from the group after something hit her foot.
Christina was able to grab onto a side of a building that had busted out from the damage and pulled herself inside.
'She thought then she'd never see her mother again,' Brubaker said. 'But she thought out of the whole group my sister would be the one to survive.'
Brubaker said Watsula had loved 'anything to do with working out' and 'was a little powerhouse' who lifted daily.
Christina managed to find someone with a phone and left Brubaker a message that was almost indiscernible because the connection was so bad.
He saw a Los Angeles area code and could only make out that his wife had been separated from everyone and was banged up.
'I thought for a second they got robbed, or that she was kidnapped,' he said.
His wife finally managed to reunite with her mother and sister, but Christina immediately realized that Watsula wasn't with them.
'My wife started going to every rescue person, she kept refusing to get medical help because she was preoccupied with finding my sister,' he said.
She then found a chaplain at the scene who gave her his phone, and she told Brubaker that there was a massive flood. He thought that she had said everyone was there - but it was a miscommunication.
Christina and her mother-in-law, who suffered a mild heart attack, finally went to the hospital. That's when Brubaker found out his sister was missing.
A submerged car is pictured in the Patapsco River, seen from the Howard County side of Patapsco Valley State Park after the sidewalk caved in from the flood
Workers gather by street damage following the flooding in the town. The historic, low-lying town was ravaged by floodwaters
Vehicles are piled on top of each other on Main Street. Ellicott City, about 14 miles west of Baltimore, received 6.5 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service, and most of it fell on Saturday evening between 7pm and 9 pm.
After finding someone to watch the three children, he jumped into his car and sped toward Maryland. The roads were covered in mud, strewn with the clothes of people who had gotten caught in the flood.
Brubaker didn't hesitate. He grabbed his flashlight and headlamp, threw on a safety vest he kept in his car, and spent the next four hours searching for his little sister.
He said rescue crews didn't try to stop him when they found out who he was looking for. Every few miles he would have to take off his Keen sandals to clean the layer of mud that had formed between his feet and shoes.
It was around 3am that Brubaker was finally directed to a crew that had answers. He showed them a picture of his sister and Brubaker asked if he could see her.
At 6am, after the medical examiner had arrived and the ambulance shut its doors, Brubaker returned to his Jeep, a small brown bag of his sister's belongings in his hands, as the sun came up seven hours after his search began.
'I just, I wasn't going to stop,' he told Daily Mail Online. 'I wanted closure. There's no way I could have my little sister gone and nobody find her.'
The extent of the damage was apparent on Monday morning, as a number of business owners were permitted to walk through the town and survey the damage to their property
County officials said at a news conference that up to five buildings had been completely destroyed and up to 30 more had significant damage
Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman said the devastation was the worst he had seen in 50 years
'I wanted to find her, but at the same time I didn't want to find her,' he said, hoping she was at another hospital, or clinging to a tree.
Brubaker said rescue workers told him that night that his sister was lucky to have him. But it is he who feels lucky to have known her.
'I'm extremely heartbroken,' he said. 'I never though this would've happened in my life.'
'Words cannot describe the sadness I feel.'
Brubaker said the loss has been even more devastating for his sister's daughter Sarah, who was like her 'shadow'.
'I don't know if I've ever seen a mother-daughter bond that strong before,' he said. 'Those two were inseparable. I cannot believe my niece won't have her.'
A GoFundMe has since been set up for Sarah, who will live with her father.
Brubaker said the couple amicably divorced a long time ago and that Sarah's father is a 'great guy' who he knows will 'keep her active in our whole family'.
Watsula was the first victim of the flood to be found early on Sunday morning, authorities revealed.
Her body was recovered in the Patapsco River at 2.20am. Joseph Blevins' body was recovered later that morning at 8.30am.
Blevins, whose family could not be reached for comment, was with his girlfriend when their vehicle was caught in the floodwaters, according to The Baltimore Sun.
A group of rescuers formed a human chain in Maryland to help a woman trapped in her car escape the flood
The woman thought she wouldn't make it, but she managed to jump out of her car window and was picked up by a rescuer
Brubaker's wife later realized she had ridden in the same ambulance as his girlfriend.
Blevins was the director of financial aid at the University of Baltimore.
University of Baltimore President Kurt Schmoke and Provost Darlene Brannigan Smith said the father-of-three was 'widely' known for his 'calm demeanor, good sense of humor and helpful attitude'.
'Joe strongly believed in the role of financial assistance in transforming students' lives,' they said. 'He had an important job, and he did it amazingly well.'
Blevins had a catchphrase: 'What can I do for you? How can I help you?' and he was known for making every student and parent who walked through his door feel cared for.
He was an office prankster who loved his co-workers, often leaving them secret selfies on their cell phones.
One of them once told Blevins her five-year-old son had become obsessed with Star Wars. He showed up at her house a few days later with his own five-year-old son in tow, and their entire Star Wars movie collection to lend.
'I felt like it was the most thoughtful and genuine thing anyone could do,' Laura Jordan said.
As family and friends of Watsula and Blevins only begin to come to terms with their heartbreak, Ellicot City is beginning the clean-up.
Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman said the devastation was the worst he had seen in 50 years.
Most homes and businesses along Main Street were affected by the extreme weather and it could cost hundreds of millions of dollars to repair the damage and take months to clean up, he added.
'It looks like the set of a disaster movie,' said Kittleman. 'Cars everywhere, cars on top of cars, parts of the road are gone, many parts of the sidewalk are gone, storefronts are completely gone.'
The town, about 14 miles west of Baltimore, received 6.5 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service, and most of it fell on Saturday evening between 7pm and 9pm.
Entire sidewalks were wiped away after six inches of rain fell in just three hours in low-lying Ellicott City, Maryland
Workers gather by the sidewalk of Main Street that caved in after Saturday night's flooding in Ellicott City
A statement from the office of Gov. Larry Hogan said the storms caused extensive damage to property and infrastructure in central Maryland
The hill in front of the A.M.E. Baptist Church is seen washed away in the overnight flash flood
Workers stabilize a building on Main Street after the sidewalk caved in due to the overnight flooding
County officials said at a news conference that up to five buildings had been completely destroyed and up to 30 more had significant damage.
Fire and rescue crews rescued 120 people during the flooding and more than 170 inoperable vehicles were stranded in the Main Street area and along the river.
Gov Larry Hogan toured the damaged area on Sunday along with Kittleman and Rep Elijah Cummings, who has an office in the town.
Hogan declared a state of emergency, which will allow greater aid coordination and assistance.
'No one has ever seen devastation like this in Ellicott City or anywhere in Howard County,' Kittleman said.
'There are a lot of businesses that are going to be hurting for a long time. There are a lot of people that lost their apartments and their homes.'
A state of emergency was declared in Ellicott City to allow for greater aid coordination and assistance
Main Street slopes dramatically toward the river and has long been susceptible to flooding
Fire and rescue crews rescued 120 people during the flooding and more than 170 inoperable vehicles were stranded in the Main Street area and along the river
With so much rainfall, there was nowhere for it to go other than the street.
'Everything funneled toward that Main Street area. There's hills on both sides, the river's on the third side,' Elliott said.
'In this case the Patapsco River was coming up, too. We believe there's some contributions to the flood from both directions.'
Ellicott City was established in 1772 as a mill town along the Patapsco, and many 18th and 19th century buildings were still intact before Saturday's floods.
Once a home to mill workers, in recent decades it has become known for restaurants, art galleries, antique shops and nightlife.
Main Street slopes dramatically toward the river and has long been susceptible to flooding.
The county courthouse and government headquarters are located in Ellicott City but are on higher ground.
With so much rainfall, there was nowhere for it to go other than the Main Street, which is surrounded by hills on both sides
The heavy rain was part of a system of thunderstorms that moved through the region
Zakaria called him off for trying to explain away his errors with tweets
Trump said on Twitter he meant Putin wouldn't go if Trump were president
But Putin has already annexed Crimea and intervened in eastern Ukraine
GOP nominee said in Sunday interview Putin is 'not gonna go into Ukraine'
CNN host Fareed Zakaria called Donald Trump a 'bulls**t artist' on live television Monday, before comparing the GOP nominee to Adolf Hitler.
Zakaria blasted Trump for remarks he made on Sunday in an ABC interview, in which he said Vladimir Putin was 'not going to go into Ukraine'.
The Russian President annexed Crimea in 2014 and prompted a military intervention in eastern Ukraine that same year.
'It's look, you know, I have my own ideas. He's not going into Ukraine, OK, just so you understand. He's not gonna go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down. You can put it down,' Trump said on ABC's This Week Sunday.
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CNN host Fareed Zakaria called Donald Trump a 'bulls**t artist' on live television Monday (pictured), before comparing the GOP nominee to Adolf Hitler
Trump tried to explain away his statement in a tweet later on - a technique that Zakaria denounced as characteristic of the Republican nominee on Monday.
'When I said in an interview that Putin is "not going into Ukraine, you can mark it down," I am saying if I am President. Already in Crimea!' Trump tweeted.
But Zakaria blasted Trump's attempt to clarify his statement, saying Trump has employed the same tactic before.
'Every time it is demonstrated that Donald Trump is plainly ignorant about some basic public policy issue, some well-known fact, he comes back with a certain bravado and tries to explain it away with a tweet or a statement,' Zakaria said.
He works as the host of the Fareed Zakaria GPS on Sundays and appeared on air Monday to discuss Trump's claims regarding Putin.
'There's a term for this kind of thing: this is the mode of a bullshit artist,' Zakaria added.
'It's entertaining if the guy is trying to sell you a condo or a car. But for the president of the United States, it's deeply worrying.'
Trump (pictured at a campaign rally in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania on Monday) said on Sunday that Vladimir Putin was 'not going to go into Ukraine'
The Republican nominee then tried to explain his statement in a tweet (pictured), a technique that has become customary of Trump according to Zakaria
Zakaria then criticized some of the arguments used by Trump to rationalize Putin's annexation of Crimea.
Trump told Stephanopoulos: 'But you know, the people of Crimea, from what I've heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were.'
Zakaria compared this to the rhetoric used by Hitler when he annexed parts of Czechoslovakia in 1938, according to a transcript by the Huffington Post.
'It is important to understand that the argument that Donald Trump is putting forward about Crimea is the same argument that Adolf Hitler made about the Sudeten Czechoslovaks,' Zakaria said Monday.
A Good Samaritan left a heart-warming message on an envelope 'to make the world a happier place' with $10 in it to pay for parking at a hospital car park in Adelaide.
Social media consultant Kristy Schirmer was visiting Adelaide's Women's and Children's Hospital with her two-year-old son Parker on Monday afternoon when she spotted an envelope attached to a parking meter.
On the envelope was written: 'THIS IS FOR YOU to pay for your parking. I hope your hospital visit today was for a happy reason but if not, I send you love and light (heart). Just trying to make the world a happier place, one Random Act of Kindness at a time (smiley face) Pay it forward! x.'
A Good Samaritan stuck this envelope with $10 on it on a parking meter at Adelaide's Women's and Children's Hospital
Schirmer posted a pic of the note on Twitter but did not take the money herself.
'I left the money there as I didn't think it was meant for me. Everybody had done the same thing as me - looked at it, noticed there was money inside but left it there for someone who was a little more deserving,' she told Daily Mail Australia.
'I'm sure someone has been a recipient of this random act of kindness. It's a lovely hospital and there's a lot of positivity.
'Even though there can be lots of sadness and stress as well there was obviously people who wanted to make it a bit more positive for those going there.'
Kristy Schirmer (pictured with her sons Campbell, 5, and Parker, 2), posted a photograph of the note on Twitter
Schirmer was at the hospital with her two-year-old son Parker who had a follow up appointment for a small health concern.
'It wasn't a huge concern. It was just to rule out any further procedures and we weren't too stressed about it. It was two good things that happened on the day and the envelope obviously struck a chord with people,' she said.
However it may have been also a way of showing anger at having to pay for hospital parking as much an act of kindness.
Parking at Adelaide's Women's and Children's Hospital has been a contentious issue
'Paying for car parking at the children's hospital has been a contentious issue at the best of times, and it has been quite contentious here in Adelaide,' Schirmer told Daily Mail Australia.
An engineer at a Sydney hospital where a newborn was fatally given 'happy gas' instead of oxygen has been stood down.
Last month two newborn babies at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital were given nitrous oxide - or 'happy gas' - instead of oxygen at birth, killing one and leaving the other with brain damage.
An oxygen outlet in one of the hospital's theatres was incorrectly installed and certified by BOC Limited in July 2015.
The hospital engineer involved in commissioning the gas outlets has been stood down.
Two newborn babies were given nitrous oxide instead of oxygen at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital in June and July
The state government handed down the interim report into the fatal mix-up on Tuesday.
NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner said she deeply regretted the 'profound suffering' caused to the two families.
'It is my strong belief that BOC Limited, which installed and certified the medical gas outlet, and Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital, which was required under Australian standards to check it, will share responsibility for this tragedy,' she said.
'To date, a hospital engineer involved in the commissioning of the gas outlets in the Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital operating theatres has been stood down.'
NSW Health has stopped using BOC for installation, commissioning and testing. All current work by the company has been cancelled.
Sonya (right) and Youssef Ghanem (left), from Bankstown in Sydney's west, lost their baby boy John after he was administered nitrous oxide instead of oxygen
Dr Kerry Chant, NSW Chief Health Officer, said documents showed the gas line was tested on installation.
'Clearly who[ever] undertook that testing ... is the matter for the investigation,' Dr Chant was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.
A number of investigations into the error are underway, including a coronial investigation and a review of staff protocols to see if the incidents were preventable.
All medical gas outlets installed in New South Wales over the past five years are also being checked.
Drug trafficking suspects have been pictured helping Jakarta police officers destroy a haul of methamphetamine while wearing orange prison shirts and black masks.
The suspected drug traffickers, both locals and foreigners, were all recently arrested for their role in distributing the illegal drugs through Indonesia.
Photographs show the accused traffickers pouring the shards of meth into a burning metal container as part of an ongoing national anti-drug campaign in the country.
Authorities at police headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, force recently arrested drug traffickers to help them destroy a huge haul of methamphetamine
The suspected drug traffickers, both locals and foreigners, were all recently arrested for their role in distributing illegal drugs
President Joko Widodo says drugs pose a bigger danger than Islamist militancy and he has ordered an intensification of a drugs war that has included the execution of drug traffickers, the latest last week when three Nigerians and an Indonesian faced a firing squad.
But while raids, arrests and punishments pick up, state funding for rehabilitation, that weans people off drugs and cuts demand, is dwindling.
That leaves thousands of people with few affordable options, in a country that within years has gone from being a drug transit point to one of Southeast Asia's biggest markets for narcotics.
'We need support in terms of budget to be able to rehabilitate all drug users in need,' Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indra Parawansa told Reuters.
'Our budget alone is not enough for that, it is experiencing a decline.'
The government estimates there are six million drug users in the country of 250 million people. Of those, more than 1 million are addicted to meth, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said in a 2013 report.
But less that one percent of dependent users got treatment in 2014 compared with a global average of 16 percent, it said.
Raids, arrests and punishments are up as the country intensifies its war on drugs - but funding for rehabilitation (pictured) have been slashed
Recovering drug addict Rizki Mulyadi, 26, cools off after a herbal bath at a traditional rehabilitation centre in Purbalingga, Central Java
Indonesian law mandates rehabilitation for people caught with small quantities of drugs. But many end up in crowded jails.
'Many of those who are in prison should not be sentenced to prison at all, they should be sent to rehab,' Parawansa said.
Parawansa's ministry aims to rehabilitate 15,000 drug users this year on a budget of 87 billion rupiah ($6.6 million). Next year, it will only get funds to help 9,000, she said.
'Many of those who are in prison should not be sentenced to prison at all, they should be sent to rehab
While rehabilitation funding has been cut, the president has tripled the budget of the national counter-narcotics agency, known as the BNN, to 2.1 billion rupiah ($160,000). It also draws on the police budget.
A spokesman for Widodo, asked about the cut to rehabilitation spending, said many areas were seeing tighter budgets, and it did not mean the president did not value rehabilitation.
'The president is concerned about how to prevent the spread in drug use and rehab programmes are part of that,' said the spokesman, Johan Budi.
'We need to be hard on smugglers and traffickers, and that explains why the president is taking a hard approach, but that doesn't mean the war on drugs is at the expense of rehabilitation. Both law enforcement and rehabilitation are happening at the same time.'
Recovering drug addicts and staff at a traditional rehabilitation centre participate in physical activity during a prayer session l
Indonesia is not the only country to take a hard line.
President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has also declared a drug war and about 300 suspected dealers were shot dead in July, most in vigilante killings, police say.
Thailand has also for years been tough on drugs but its soaring prison population has recently prompted a re-think and the downgrading of meth from a Category 1 drug to reduce numbers in jail.
Critics say Widodo's stand on drugs criminalizes victims and makes the path to recovery that much harder.
'They want to build more prisons but they should be building more rehab centres and making more treatment options available,' said Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch in Jakarta.
A traditional rehabilitation centre in Purbalingga village on Java island says it has treated hundreds of addicts with herbal teas and baths, prayer and counselling.
Rizki Mulyadi, 26, is one of those such addicts, hoping to overcome a six-year addiction to the drug of choice for many in Indonesia: crystal methamphetamine, or 'meth'.
The centre in Purbalingga is one of 160 such facilities across Indonesia that use traditional methods. There are 18 government rehab centres and almost 400 private ones and public clinics using more conventional means.
Staff at the rehabilitation centre prepare a herbal bath for recovering addicts
Ahmad Ischsan Maulana, head of the Purbalingga centre, said his clients must stop all drugs when they arrive.
'I get them to quit immediately and replace their intake with herbs,' he said.
'That relieves withdrawal symptoms without side effects,' said Maulana, known as 'the boiling teacher' because of the hot baths.
His small complex of dormitories houses about 30 people.
'What's important is our faith in Allah who is the only one that can heal us. No doctor can heal us of drug addiction.'
He says none of this clients has come back but he does not monitor people after they leave.
Mulyadi said he was determined to stop drugs.
'I've come here to rebuild my relationship with my family,' he said, showing off a tattoo on his chest of his five-year old son.
The drug of choice for many addicts in Indonesia is crystal methamphetamine, or 'meth'
A lonely war veteran has become an online sensation after his local pub landlord wrote a Facebook post about his exploits during the Second World War.
Ted Fullerton, 96, from Cottingham in East Yorkshire, served with the RAF in Burma during the war and regularly wears his medals when out and about in town.
Last week, when he visited his local, pub manager Ben Lopez, 28, brought the brave veteran to tears after thanking him for his service to the country and asking about his life.
Second World War veteran Ted Fullerton, 96, from Cottingham in East Yorkshire, served with the RAF in Burma during the war and regularly wears his medals when out and about in town (Pictured: The photo of Mr Fullerton which was posted on Facebook and quickly went viral)
Mr Fullerton (pictured) served as an engineer with the RAF during the Second World War
Mr Fullerton, a widower whose wife Irene died in 2004, confessed that he did not think anyone was interested in him or his life any more.
Following their emotional conversation Mr Lopez posted a picture of Mr Fullerton on Facebook and said: 'He came into my pub today for dinner.
'I couldn't help notice the medals on his chest and ask him about his life and say thank you for serving our country.
'He became really overwhelmed and cried. He said 'thank you young man no one cares about what I have to say any more.''
Last week, when he visited his local, pub manager Ben Lopez, 28, (pictured) brought the brave veteran to tears after thanking for his service to the country and asking about his life
Ted Fullerton is pictured with his wife Irene in a limousine in Sarasota in this undated picture
Since writing about Mr Fullerton on Facebook the post has been shared more than 100,000 times, liked more than 250,000 times and has 66,000 comments on it from people expressing their thanks to the veteran.
Chris Ball wrote: 'Much respect and thanks Sir for your service.'
Shaun O'Brien said: 'Thanks Ted, big respect to you. True hero.'
Dionne-Louise Lavender-Davies added: 'Thank you Ted, without your bravery we would not be who we are today, bless you sir x'
Mr Fullerton spent most of the war in India as an aircraft engineer before returning to the UK
Mr Fullerton aged 18 with his older sister Mary at 22, sat astride his motorcycle (left) and right
Speaking to MailOnline this afternoon, Mr Fullerton revealed he wrote a letter to his beloved wife back home every day for six years during the war
Mr Fullerton, who is blind in one eye and joined the RAF aged 18, had never heard of Facebook before he was told he had become a viral sensation.
He said: 'I wasn't expecting any of this. I didn't know this lovely young man was going to get me involved. I'm very much obliged to everyone.
'I'm shocked, but absolutely delighted. I couldn't be anything else really could I?'
When asked how he met his wife, Irene, (both pictured on a cruise in 1981) he said: 'I can't remember how I met her, but I am pleased I did. We did very well as I progressed. We travelled the world'
Mr Fullerton, who is blind in one eye and joined the RAF aged 18, is seen at his drawing board
Speaking to MailOnline this afternoon, Mr Fullerton revealed he wrote a letter to his beloved wife back home every day for six years during the war.
The retired businessman spent six years at war as a mechanical engineer.
He wrote letters to his wife Irene, who he married before joining the RAF, every day for the six years they were apart.
Mr Fullerton admits his memory has started getting 'worse and worse' in the last two years
He returned to his wife in 1947 and the couple later went on to have one child, Margaret Mcacky, together.
Today he said during the war he was run over and badly broke his back.
Speaking about the incident, he said: 'I broke my back during the war. When I came out of the Air Force, I could not do any heavy lifting.
'So later in life when my wife had a stroke, she had to go into a home.'
After Mrs Fullerton's stroke he moved to Cottingham from Kirkella, East Yorks., and he said it was 'the best decision I've ever made'.
He said: 'I could visit my wife every day without exception and I had dinner with her every day. I never missed a day.'
Mr Fullerton was born in Hull before he left school at 14 after a poverty-stricken childhood.
His father died when he was just three-years-old - leaving his mother to bring him up, along with his brother and sister, on her own.
After initially working as a page boy at the Regal cinema he was given a job at Kingston Engineering on the recommendation of a local priest.
He went on to become a multi-millionaire after developing a career in engineering that saw him secure patents for 26 different inventions.
After Mrs Fullerton's stroke he moved to Cottingham and said it was 'the best decision I've ever made'. He said: 'I could visit my wife [at the nursing home] every day without exception and I had dinner with her every day. I never missed a day'
Mr Fullerton lived in this semi-detached property in Grimbsy until he was 11 years old
His inventions included precision machinery to disposable plastic gloves and false fingernails.
And his own engineering company in Hull ended up exporting some of his designs to more than 20 countries, as well as supplying big names such as British Aerospace, Reckitt and Colman, Priestmans and Rolls-Royce before he lost his fortune.
Mr Fullerton admits his memory has started getting 'worse and worse' in the last two years.
When asked how he met his wife, he said: 'I can't remember how I met her, but I am pleased I did. We did very well as I progressed. We travelled the world.'
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More than 150 people have been killed and more than a million have been displaced due to flooding in India, officials have confirmed.
Near constant torrential downpours during the monsoon in the states of Bihar in the east, Assam in the remote northeast and Himachal Pradesh in the north have damaged roads, telephone cables and uprooted trees.
At least 152 have been killed in three states over the past week, state authorities said on Tuesday, with 34 dead in Assam alone; while more than a million have fled their homes and are sheltering in government-run camps.
More than 150 people have been killed and more than a million have been displaced due to flooding in India, officials have confirmed
At least 21 rare one-horned rhinos have been killed due to the flooding of vast tracts of Assam's famous Kaziranga National Park and 80 per cent of the 166-square-mile reserve is underwater.
Pramilla Rani Brahma, the state's forest and environment minister, said: 'Most of the rhinos killed are calves, separated from their mothers during the massive flooding.'
'It is sad that we lost about 17 rhinos in the floods this time, which is something unprecedented,' the minister added.
The park, home to about 2,500 rhinos, draws scores of tourists and was visited by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their official tour of India earlier this year.
Near constant torrential downpours during the monsoon in the states of Bihar in the east, Assam in the remote northeast and Himachal Pradesh in the north have damaged roads, telephone cables and uprooted trees
Eight rare baby orphans have been orphaned by the floods and wildlife groups are calling for donations.
Rathin Barman, deputy director of the Wildlife Trust of India, said they were now struggling to feed and care for the rhinos, aged from one to eight months.
'Some of them are injured and are being treated by our staff in the rescue centre,' he said.
'We are right now hand-raising them, providing them formula milk and essential vitamins. We will release them only after two years,' he added.
There are fears more rhinos would need assistance once waters receded in the park, which has been stripped of vegetation by the floods.
At least 152 have been killed in three states over the past week, state officials said on Tuesday, with 34 dead in Assam alone; while more than a million have fled their homes and are sheltering in government-run camps
The park had five foot-high floodwaters in some places, forcing many of the park's animals, including wild elephants, wild buffaloes and boars, to cross a highway to move to higher ground.
The heavy monsoon rains have come after two straight years of drought in India.
On Monday, landslides and heavy rains blocked highways leading to Tibet and Manali, a tourist resort in Himachal Pradesh state, with hundreds of people stranded for several hours before rescuers cleared the way, the Press Trust of India news agency said.
In Bihar state, around 260,000 flood victims were taking shelter in more than 400 relief camps set up by the state government. At least 400 medical camps have been set up as well to aid people who have spent several nights outdoors after their homes were submerged by rainwaters.
In Assam, where floodwaters started receding on Tuesday, some 3.8 million people have been affected by the floods, according to state authorities. More than 700,000 have taken shelter in 770 relief camps.
At least 21 rare one-horned rhinos have been killed due to the flooding of vast tracts of Assam's famous Kaziranga National Park, which the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited earlier this year
The Valspar Corporation, a coatings manufacturer, selected Kenco Logistics to provide warehouse, production and IT services at two key U.S. locationsa 400,000-square-foot coatings facility in Romeoville, Ill. and a 72,000-square-foot furniture-care facility in Grand Rapids, Mi.
In addition to its distribution capabilities, Kenco was selected because of its supply chain intelligence system, UNIFY, which delivers critical shipment visibility in the form of reports, analysis views and dashboards.
We are excited to have Kenco as a partner that is dedicated to bringing our customers the latest innovations, the finest quality, and the best customer service, said Patrick Young, senior logistics manager at Valspar.
At the Valspar Romeoville facility, Kenco is providing warehouse management and labor for the distribution of latex and oil-based consumer paints. At the Grand Rapids location, Kenco is handling furniture care and mattress-protection productionincluding filling, packaging, and kitting product for retail saleas well as distribution services.
With our solid onsite management team, supported by our deep corporate resources, we are dedicated to making these showplace facilities for Valspar, said David Caines, chief operating officer at Kenco. Moreover, UNIFY will provide Valspar a new level of visibility with just a few keystrokes.
A man has been gored to death by a bull after it charged at him in front of spectators during a summer festival in Spain.
Juan Manuel Calle Sanchez, 59, was rushed to hospital after being attacked as he fell to the ground while trying to outrun the animal in a fenced-off area.
He reportedly tried to climb out of the enclosure to escape but fell back in and was attacked by the bull.
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Raging: Pictured is the black bull that gored a man to death at a festival in Spain on Sunday
Mr Sanchez suffered a collapsed lung after being gored in the chest and later died on the operating table.
A video posted on YouTube by spectator Anibal Clemente shows the black bull running at people inside the enclosure, with people sat on fences watching. Suddenly the animal charged after a man in a fluorescent t-shirt.
The incident happened on Sunday night during an annual celebration in the village of Valrio near Caceres in south west Spain.
No escape: The victim (not pictured) was Juan Manuel Calle Sanchez, 59, who fell back into the enclosure while trying to escape
Angry: In a video posted online the bull is seen running towards men who were standing in the enclosure
Local mayor Juan Carlos Blazquez confirmed the death of the bachelor, who lived alone in the area, on Monday.
The Mayor declared three days of mourning and said: 'From the municipality of Guijo de Galisteo, we offer condolences to the family and friends of M.C.S. who died during the celebration of the last bullfighting festival of the town'.
The man's funeral was due to take place on Tuesday.
Last month two men died on the same day after being gored in Spanish festivals.
Deadly: The man was rushed to hospital after suffering wounds to his chest but died on the operating table
Spectators: The video shows crowds of people watching on as the bull charged around the enclosure
A 29-year-old died after attacked by a heifer during an annual festival in Pedreguer near Valencia on Spain's east coast.
He was named as Ruben Frasquet Morant.
A 65-year-old man died during a bull run in Fuentesauco in the province of Salamanca.
Around the same time bullfighter Victor Barrio, 29, was killed in front of hundreds of spectators including his wife Raquel in a bull ring in Teruel east of Madrid.
Last year 12 people died at bull festivals across Spain.
The most-famous festival involving bulls is the San Fermin festival in Pamplona which takes place every July.
Parents must be on high alert after a man tried to drag a six-year-old boy into his van in the latest in a series of child abduction attempts to be reported.
Three young children were approached by the van in Stockport and the man then grabbed one by the arm and tried to drag him inside, telling him he was to 'help with his deliveries'.
But the boy managed to free himself from the man, who police said was black or Asian and wearing a high-vis vest when he tried to take the boy on Saturday.
A woman attempted to drag an eight-year-old boy into a car at a water park (pictured) after luring him towards her by asking if he wanted to see some puppies, police said
Just days later, a woman wearing a bobble-hat and sunglasses tried to lure a young boy into her Toyota 4x4 by asking if he wanted to see some puppies at Chorlton Water Park in Manchester.
The eight-year-old, who was playing hide and seek at the time, managed to fight her off with the help of his friends and run away on Monday at around 5.45pm.
Police advised parents and children to be on high alert during the summer holidays after two attempted child abductions in tourist hotspot beaches in Cornwall over the last few days.
Yesterday, a man wearing black combat gear tried to snatch a three-year-old girl in Perranporth, by attempting to 'lead her off' before a woman intervened and he fled.
The same man was reportedly spotted lurking in the same gear at nearby Trevellas beach in St Agnes two days before.
A spokesman from Truro Police said: 'We would like to remind parents to remain alert but not alarmed, and to call us should they feel anyone is acting suspiciously.'
The youngster, who had been playing hide and seek at the Chorlton Water Park (pictured) in Chorlton, Manchester, fought off the woman with the help of his friends and ran off
Manchester Police revealed how the woman shouted to the boy and mentioned the puppies as he went over, then grabbed his top and tried to drag him into the back at Chorlton Water Park on Monday.
They said the woman had been sitting in the back of the grey Toyota 4x4 with tinted windows, which was parked near where the boys were playing.
She was wearing a bobble-hat and sunglasses and there were two men in the front of the car, one of whom was on the phone when the attempted abduction took place at around 5.45pm on Monday.
The Toyota had side steps and a spare wheel on the rear, which was parked near where the children had been playing.
Greater Manchester Police said the woman had been sitting in the back of a grey Toyota 4x4 with tinted windows, which was parked near where the boys were playing
Detective Inspector Paul Walker, from Greater Manchester Police, said: 'Clearly this is a worrying set of circumstances and I understand people will be alarmed when they hear news of this incident, but we have a number of officers currently investigating what has taken place here and we are making numerous inquiries to trace the people involved.
'If anyone was in the area of the Chorlton Water Park early on Monday evening, and you remember seeing this grey Toyota 4x4-type vehicle, then please get in touch and tell us what you saw. Your information may seem trivial to you, but it could be important to this investigation.'
Anyone with information on either of the attempted child abductions is asked to call Greater Manchester Police on 101.
Horrifying new details have emerged from extracts of mass murderer Heinrich Himmler's diary detailing his sinister speech justifying the Holocaust to underlings, his bloodthirsty call to 'defend the Fatherland with streams of blood' - and even his affair with his secretary.
Noted meticulously on October 4 1943 in the diary of the 'Reichsfuhrer-SS' as a 'Group Leader meeting', hides the true horror of what Himmler would say in his speech is masked at 5.30pm in Poznan, occupied Poland.
It was the secret key speech of the entire extermination programme in which, among other things, Himmler told his executioners: 'I am talking about the evacuation of the Jews, the extermination of the Jewish people.
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The diary belongs to Heinrich Himmler, who can be regarded as one of the most notorious mass murderers in history
'It is one of those things that is easily said. 'The Jewish people is being exterminated,' every Party member will tell you, 'perfectly clear, it's part of our plans, we're eliminating the Jews, exterminating them, a small matter.'
'And then along they all come, all the 80 million upright Germans, and each one has his decent Jew. They say: all the others are swine, but here is a first-class Jew. And none of them has seen it, has endured it. Most of you will know what it means when 100 bodies lie together, when 500 are there or when there are 1000.
'And... to have seen this through and -- with the exception of human weakness -- to have remained decent, has made us hard and is a page of glory never mentioned and never to be mentioned. Because we know how difficult things would be, if today in every city during the bomb attacks, the burdens of war and the privations, we still had Jews as secret saboteurs, agitators and instigators.
Himmler was in charge of the entire terror apparatus of the Nazi state from the policeman on the beat and the Gestapo to the concentration camps and the extermination plants like Auschwitz and Treblinka
'Altogether we can say: We have carried out this most difficult task for the love of our people. And we have suffered no defect within us, in our soul, or in our character.'
At 9.30pm that evening he dined with the SS killers and two hours later boarded his private train Steiermark for the journey back to Berlin.
He played cards, curling and went stargazing. In the diaries which have surfaced in Russia he recorded every nocturnal walk he made. And they also betray his infidelities.
'Very often inspection of the diaries when he writes that he is on the road, there is the suspicion that he was in fact spending the time with Hedwig Pottgast, his mistress,' said Dr. Matthias Uhl of the German Historical Institute which is examining the 1,600 pages of the diaries covering 1938, 1943 and 1944.
Cologne born Hedwig was his private secretary to morphed into his lover. He called her 'Bunny' and she bore him two illegitimate children - Helge and Nanette-Dorothea in 1942 and 1944.
Cologne born Hedwig Pottgast was Himmler's private secretary who morphed into his lover and bore him two illegitimate children. He refers to time with her in his diary as 'on the road'
Himmler's wife Margarete (centre) knew of his mistress and tolerated the arrangement - pictured above with her daughter Gudron waiting to testify against Nazi war criminals
Himmler's wife Margarete knew of his mistress and seemingly tolerated the arrangement.
The record shows that he often escaped to his country house at Tegernsee near Munich with his family.
One of the other women with access to him was Hitler's favourite female pilot, Hannah Reitsch.
Other entries from the diaries, discovered in a Russian military archive after vanishing in the chaos of the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 and being serialised by the bestselling BILD newspaper in Germany, include two from 1938.
The private life of Heinrich Himmler also surfaces in the diaries of the monster - truly illustrating the banality of evil.
On March 9 that year he records a 'comradely' lunch at the Dachau concentration camp outside Munich: the first such camp set up by the regime which would go on to kill 36,000 people by the time the war ended.
The next day he chronicles a visit to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp outside of Berlin with propaganda maestro Joseph Goebbels. And four days after that he was in the east of the country visiting the Buchenwald concentration camp where he also lunched.
The mass murderer records his hobbies next to entries inspecting the 'effectiveness' of diesel engines used to gas 400 in front of him so he could see how it worked. Above, entrance to Auschwitz Birkenau Concentration Camp
Later that night he travelled to Weimar where he dined with the Nazi party Gauleiter - local leader - Fritz Sauckel, a man who would later hang for war crimes at Nuremberg for organising slave labour in wartime.
Himmler noted in his diary: 'Tea and agreement to become godfather to his son.' Himmler was the godfather to dozens of children of high ranking Nazis during his career.
On February 10 1944, as the Allied stranglehold on the Reich begins to tighten and the Red Army moves ever closer to Berlin, Himmler retired that night to watch the German film 'Titanic' about the sinking of the luxury liner.
The night before he had spent with Hitler at his Wolf's Lair in Rastenburg, East Prussia, where the news was all bad on all fronts.
But between mass murder, collapsing fronts and saturation bombing of the homeland, Himmler found time to pursue his hobbies.
On January 15 1943, as the German 6th Army was freezing to death at Stalingrad, Himmler wrote that he enoyed a curling session before adding that he was going for a sauna at 6.00pm.
On July 20 1944 came the attempt on Hitler's life in the Wolf's Lair when army officer Count Claus von Schenk Stauffenberg detonated a bomb designed to destroy him and Nazism.
Hitler survived, and the terror unleashed by Himmler on the conspirators was terrible.
He was in a routine meeting with Karl Wolff, Hitler's adjutant, at the time and was awaiting the arrival of Italian despot Mussolini.
Everything changed after the attempt on Hitler's life. '13.45: Wolf's Lair - talk with the Fuhrer (because of the assassination attempt),' records the diary.
Then: '15.00 - lunch with General Field Marshall Keitel and a visit of the scene of the bombing.' Himmler had to speak louder than usual because army commander Keitel's hearing was impaired by the bomb blast.
At 7.30pm Himmler flew to Berlin with one order; to 'clean up' the forces of Stauffenberg who was intent on seizing all levers of power.
At 9.30pm, back in Berlin, Himmler was chauffered to his HQ to hear of the arrest of Stauffenberg. After he was shot on his orders the diary records that Himmler went for a late 'snack.'
After midnight he was into a long day of 17 appointments. In the diary he recorded: 'Quelling of the revolt by Stauffenberg, etc.'
At 4.08 am the next day he forbade the word Valkyrie to be used in Germany. Valkyrie was the codeword for the Stauffenberg revolt which he termed in the diary a 'rebellion of conscience.'
At 5.00am he was at Gestapo HQ in Berlin. At 9.00am he breakfasted with General Wolff and talked about filming the strangulation of the plotters at the Ploetzensee Prison in the city.
Later on the morning of 21 July Himmler ordered the exhumation of stauffenberg and others shot the night before at the Bendlerblock, the army HQ in Berlin they had taken over.
On his orders the uniforms on the bodies were stripped of rank badges and medals, burned and the ashes strewn over city sewage works.
The diary shows that Himmler flew later that day back to Hitler in the Wolf's Lair to report on retribution measures against the 'traitors.'
Hitler stands beside Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Gestapo, to observe a parade of Nazi Stormtroopers in 1940
In the end 7,000 people were murdered on Himmler's orders for their involvement in the conspiracy to kill the Fuhrer, many thousands more sent off to concentration camps.
By then the Third Reich had less than a year of life left. On October 18 1944 the Red Army was at the gates of East Prussia - Germany proper - with Berlin in its sights.
Himmler, though, carried on as if in a dream. That day he had lunch 'with SS-Group Leaders' where he issued the order for the formation of the German Volkssturms - the home guard of old men and boys designed to stop a mechanised army of five million Russians.
'All men aged between 16 and 60 shall defend the home soil of the Fatherland,' he ordered. It was a death sentence for tens of thousands more people.
Himmler ended with; 'Our opponents have to learn to understand that every kilometre of our country, will cost streams of blood. Each city block, each village, each farmstead, every ditch, every bush, every forest will be defended by men, boys, old men and, if need be, by women and girls.'
The routine for Himmler, the diary makes clear, did not alter in these momentous days. Dinners, meetings, talks with Hitler and other Nazi leaders - until on 28 February 1945 the paperwork reads; 'Reichsfuhrer SS in bed with a cold.'
The 1945 diary, which rests in the Federal Archive in Berlin, ends in March that year.
Known to Hitler as 'The faithful Heinrich,' Himmler betrayed him at the end by engaging in secret peace talks with the Allies brokered by Count Folke Bernadotte of sweden.
On April 28 Hitler learned of his double dealing and stripped him of all offices and booted him out of the Nazi party.
He shaved off his moustache and wandered Germany with a group of other fugitives in civilian clothes until he was stopped by a British patrol on May 21 1945 near Luneburg in the north.
Two days later, when he was recognised, he bit on a cyanide capsule and was dead in seconds. His body was buried in an unmarked grave on Luneburg Heath, never to be found.
The diary is dotted with references to Puppi - his nickname for his daughter Gudrun, pictured, a diehard Nazi who is still alive, living in a suburb of Munich
On December 18 1941, in another diary that was discovered in Russia 25 years ago, Himmler wrote that Jews in Russia were to be 'exterminated as partisans.' Both that diary and the ones covering the years 1938, 1943 and 1944 - found earlier this year in a Russian military archive at Podolsk - detail several trips he made to the most notorious Nazi deth factory: Auschwitz in occupied Poland.
On January 9 1943, his diary states that he was also in Warsaw, home to the biggest Jewish ghetto in Europe where Jews had been crammed in appalling conditions into a few city blocks before being transported for extermination.
The diary records how he was collected from the airport by an SS officer before being transported to the casino of the security police for lunch.
Then; 'A talk, a drive through the ghetto, a visit to the holding area and then at 18.00 hour, departure from Warsaw.' There was not a word about the suffering of the people in the ghetto.
The detail about where he was and what he was doing fills in an enormous gap for Third Reich scholars and illustrates how much time and energy he and his SS were expending murdering defenceless people at a time when the regime was fighting hard to survive the war.
On February 12 1943 he flew to Lublin in the far east of Poland to lunch with senior SS officers including Odilo Globocnik, one of the greatest criminals of all time.
Globocnik - called lovingly 'Globus' by Himmler - set up the four 'pure' extermination camps of the Holocaust in 1942; Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka and Chelmno.
Unlike other killing centres like Auschwitz and Majdanek, which also operated as huge labour camps, these four death factories existed only for murder. And in them Globocnik oversaw the murders of an estimated two million people.
As head of the dreaded SS, it was Himmler's role to oversee the Holocaust and, in doing so, he sent millions to their deaths
On that visit Himmler, after dining at the Airport Hotel in Lublin, travelled to Sobibor where 250,000 people were murdered.
The diary records that on this day he visited the SS-Sonderkommando in the camp: the name given to work prisoners ordered to dispose of the dead before they too were executed and burned.
The purpose of the visit: to gauge the 'efficiency' of the diesel engine gas chambers at the site.
Because no transport was due on this day the diary mentions that several hundred young women and men were brought from Lublin to be exterminated for Himmler's observation.
Ada Lichtman, a rare survivor of the camp, rememberd Himmler being driven away. 'There was a huge banquet given in his honour,' she recalled. 'I had to decorate the tables.
'Himmler was so enthusiastic about this visit. When he drove away our murderers were wearing new decorations he had presented to them.'
Speaking to The Mirror, Auschwitz survivor Leslie Kleiman, 86, whose whole family was killed in the Holocaust said: 'I am not surprised Himmler was able to write about his life and then at the same time be responsible for Auschwitz and the other concentration camps.'
'I remember how the guards enjoyed what they were doing as we heard the screams and wails of those about to die.
'They were quite happy to do it, and that must have come from Himmler,' she said.
This was a man who not only inspected concentration camps such as Buchenwald, but also dined in them.
Furthermore, this was a man who would fly across occupied Europe in order to decide the fates of tens of thousands of Jews whom he had personally ordered to be cruelly crammed into the infamous Warsaw Ghetto.
As head of the dreaded SS, it was Himmler's role to oversee the Holocaust and, in doing so, he sent millions to their deaths.
The diaries have lain in the archive for 71 years, after they were seized by the Red Army at the end of the war, and shipped back to the Soviet Union where their historical importance was, for years, unappreciated.
Covering the years 1938, 1943 and 1944, they run to around 1,000 pages and, in the words of Professor Nikolaus Katzer of the German Historical Institute (DHI) in Moscow, they constitute 'a document of shudderingly outstanding historical significance'. It should be stressed that academic historians do not usually make such hyperbolic claims.
Adolf Hitler, accompanied by other Nazi party officials, walks down a staircase at the 1938 Annual Reichs Party Congress in Nuremburg
Ever since the farrago in 1983 of the Hitler Diaries, in which the leading historian Lord Dacre formerly Hugh Trevor-Roper was to authenticate what soon emerged to be crude forgeries, experts on the Third Reich are very cautious when a diary supposedly belonging to a high-ranking Nazi lands on their desks.
However, in this instance, we can be almost sure the diaries are not fakes. Professor Katzer and his team have undoubtedly put the volumes through more validation than Lord Dacre was able to do so by himself in a bank vault in just a few hours, such was the secrecy around the apparent discovery at the time.
And we already have other confirmed volumes of Himmler's desk diary from the years 1941, 1942 and 1945 with which the latest finds compare favourably.
Thousands of Americans who flocked to buy a pocket version of the US Constitution after Muslim-American lawyer Khizr Khan held it up during his fiery speech have unwittingly bought a version annotated by a Mormon extremist.
The Pocket Constitution has become a best-seller on Amazon.com - probably because it was the cheapest edition, at $1, compared to $4.64 for a version containing only the original text.
But many may not have realised the 52-page pamphlet was printed by the National Center for Constitutional Studies, a fringe Mormon group founded by the late W. Cleon Skousen.
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Khizr Khan, father of fallen US Army Capt. Humayun S. M. Khan holds up a copy of the Constitution of the United States - but it is not the version now top of Amazon's best-seller list
Skousen, whose most famous book was The Five Thousand Year Leap, was a Right-wing ideologue whose beliefs and conspiracy theories heavily influenced Glenn Beck.
The Intercept says the version of the Constitution which has become a best-seller claims the US is subject to a Christian Gods ruling and the federal government should not interfere in people's lives in any way.
The NCC version was widely praised by armed anti-government militiamen who took over the Malheur wildlife refuge building in Oregon in January.
Ammon Bundy, who led the occupation, praised the NCCS version of the Constitution and told the Los Angeles Times: 'That's where I get most of my information from. What were trying to do is teach the true principles of the proper form of government.'
Best-seller: The NCCS version, with annotations by W Cleon Skousen, is the cheapest version of the U.S. Constitution on Amazon, retailing at $1 (free on Kindle)
The Constitution emerged as a best-seller days after Muslim-American lawyer Khizr Khan, whose son Captain Humayun Khan was killed while serving in Iraq, flashed a pocket Constitution and offered to lend it to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a speech at the Democratic National Convention.
But the version held up by Mr Khan was not the NCCS version.
WHO WAS W. CLEON SKOUSEN? Willard Cleon Skousen was a Canadian-born ultra-conservative author who died in 2006. He worked as an FBI Special Agent in the 1940s but left in 1951. Later the Feds had a 2,000-page file on him. He worked as a law professor at Brigham Young University in Utah and was Salt Lake City's police chief in late 1950s. He argued for the elimination of all trade unions, income tax, the minimum wage and the Federal Reserve system. His book, The Five Thousand Year Leap, has been cited by TV host Glenn Beck as being hugely influential on his own views. Advertisement
The reviews on Amazon under the NCCS version make for interesting reading.
Matt Rygler wrote: 'Thank you, Mr Khan, for reminding me I should carry this with me everywhere I go. The greatest document in the history of man.'
But another reviewer, Bill, writes: 'This is not merely a pocket Constitution. It includes the insane ramblings of W. Cleon Skousen. He is in no way an expert in Constitutional law or American history.
'He was an end times Mormon conspiracy crank who merely inserts his personal delusions alongside. This has led to many people who are too lazy to read the Constitution themselves and learn the history, to take his personal beliefs as fact. It has led to a great many people thinking they can take over government property, and even more stupid people supporting them.'
The American Civil Liberties Union is now offering copies of the Constitution, without any annotation, for free.
W. Cleon Skousen (left) was an influential Right-wing ideologue. His book The Five Thousand Year Leap was said to have influenced talk show host Glenn Beck (right)
Several people had posted reviews, warning of the annotations, but it appeared most people bought it without realizing who was the group behind it
Trump sparked a huge political row when he lashed out at Mr Khan's wife, Ghazala, claiming she had stood silently next to her husband during his speech because she was 'probably not allowed to speak'.
Mrs Khan later said she had not spoken because she was simply too distressed.
Trump defended himself, claiming Mr Khan viciously attacked him during his emotional DNC speech.
But Mr Khan said the GOP nominee has no empathy and should not be president.
The businessman condemned Khizr and Ghazala Khan for not giving him a right to respond.
He then turned his comments into an attack on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
Trump has claimed Mr Khan viciously attacked him during his emotional DNC speech
On Twitter, he wrote: 'I was viciously attacked by Mr Khan at the Democratic Convention. Am I not allowed to respond? Hillary voted for the Iraq war, not me!'
In another post he said: 'Captain Khan, killed 12 years ago, was a hero, but this is about RADICAL ISLAMIC TERROR and the weakness of our "leaders" to eradicate it!'
On CNN's State of the Union, Mr Khan denied claims his speech was written by the Clinton campaign.
He also added that his address was shortened because of time constraints.
'His [Trump's] policies, his practices do not reflect that he has any understanding of the basic fundamental constitutional principles of this country, what makes this country exceptional, what makes this country exceptional in the history of the mankind.
'There are principles of equal dignity, principle of liberty. He talks about excluding people, disrespecting judges, the entire judicial system, immigrants, Muslim immigrants. These are - divisive rhetoric that is totally against the basic constitutional principle.
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The elderly French priest murdered by two ISIS fanatics during morning mass tried to fight back against his killers while screaming 'Go away, Satan', it emerged at his funeral today.
Leading a moving service to 85-year-old Father Jacques Hamel, the archbishop of Rouen revealed that the parish priest used his feet to kick out at the extremists during the attack at a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.
Hundreds of priests and bishops filled Rouen cathedral this afternoon, along with hundreds more mourners, to pay tribute to the priest who was slaughtered by two jihadis who stormed the quiet mass ceremony a week ago.
Addressing the solemn mourners during the two-hour Mass ceremony today, Archbishop Dominique Lebrun said: 'Evil is a mystery. It reaches heights of horror that take us out of the human.
'Isn't that what you wanted to say, Jacques, with your last words, when you fell to the ground? After you were struck by the knife, you tried to push away your assailants with your feet and said, 'Go away, Satan.' You repeated it, 'Go away, Satan.''
With those words, Archbishop Lebrun said, 'You expressed ... your faith in the goodness of humans and that the devil put his claws in.'
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Pallbearers carry the coffin of Father Jacques Hamel into Rouen Cathedral which was followed by fellow priests and bishops
Members of the clergy carried the cross into Rouen Cathedral ahead of the coffin of Father Jacques before the service
One member of the clergy solemnly walks in the procession up to Rouen Cathedral behind the coffin of Father Jacques
Archbishop of Rouen and Primate of Normandy Mgr Dominique Lebrun walks near French police who provide security outside the Cathedral in Rouen
The service is being held today for 85-year-old Father Jacques Hamel in the 11th Century Gothic cathedral in the city of Rouen, which is being patrolled by police commados
Four pallbearers carried Father Jacques coffin into the church where 2,000 mourners had gathered inside for the service
Earlier, Father Jacques's sister revealed how he was a former soldier who fought against Muslims in Algeria but refused a promotion as he did not want to order others to kill.
Roselyne Hamel gave a heart-rending tribute to her brother at his funeral in the 11th Century Gothic cathedral in the city of Rouen, which was patrolled by police commandos.
The priest was later buried at a private location in a ceremony, which was only attended by members of his close family.
In her heart-rendering eulogy, his sister described Father Jacques as 'my brother, everyone's brother.'
Addressing the congregation, Ms Hamel recounted how during his military service in Algeria her brother had refused an officer's grade so as not give the order to kill others, and how he once emerged the sole survivor in a desert shootout.
'He would often ask himself why me? Today, Jacques, our brother, your brother, you have your answer: Our God of love and misery chose you to be at the service of others,' she said.
She also made a plea for peace during her eulogy saying: 'Let's learn to live together, let's be workers for peace.'
Archbishop of Rouen Dominique Lebrun addressed the congregation in Rouen Cathedral, where the funeral was being held
Father Jacques coffin was laid on an ornate rug on the floor in front of the clergy at the altar of the Gothic Cathedral
The gathered clergy bow their heads and pray as they file past the coffin of Father Jacques at his funeral today
Also paying tribute was Father Jacques' niece Jessica Deleporte who also told the congregation of her memories of growing up with her uncle.
She said in her address: 'Like you, I choose respect, like you, I choose love, like you, I choose to fight.'
Father Jacques became the latest victim of terror in France when two 19-year-old jihadists stormed his church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray last Tuesday and slit his throat at the altar.
Later in the service, a a red stole, symbolising Christ's martyrdom, was draped over a giant cross beside the altar
Another red stole was also place over Father Jacques coffin as well as his white priest's vestment robes, as is tradition when a priest dies
Abdel Malik Petitjean and Adel Kermiche had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and both were shot dead by police after a tense hostage drama in which a worshipper was left seriously wounded.
More than 2,000 mourners gathered at Rouen Cathedral today, to pay their respects to the murdered priest.
A section of pews was also set aside for residents of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, where Father Jacques was killed in the church there.
More than 2,000 people were inside the cathedral with a pew specially set aside of residents of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, where Father Jacques was murdered
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, right, attended the funeral alongside local politicians from Normandy
A long procession of clergy, bishops and archbishops followed four pallbearers, who carried Hamel's simple coffin into the Cathedral through the 'Door of Mercy' and placed it on an ornate rug before the altar.
Archbishop Dominique Lebrun, celebrating the Mass, extended thanks to Catholics attending the service but also to 'believers of other religious faiths, in particular the Jewish community and the Muslim community, very affected and already decided to unite for: `Never again.'
He added: 'As brutal and unfair and horrible as Jacques' death was, we have to look deep into our hearts to find the light.'
Hundreds of people also gathered outside the cathedral as they paid tribute to the murdered priest whose funeral was today
A big screen was also set up outside so those unable to get inside the cathedral could watch the service outside
A woman wipes a tear from her eye while watching the funeral service for Father Jacques outside Rouen Cathedral today
A mourner clutches a small picture of the slaughtered priest as he pays his respects outside Rouen Cathedral today
Outside the church, mourners took communion as a member of the clergy handed out communion wafers during the funeral service
A mourner holds the order of service for Father Jacques funeral beside a large floral tribute places outside Rouen Cathedral
Among those gathered outside the cathedral in Rouen were members of the Muslim community who attended in solidarity
Later, a red stole, symbolising Christ's martyrdom, was draped over a giant cross beside the altar, with the Rouen diocese explaining that 'Father Hamel's death was similar to that of Christ, unjustly convicted and put to death.'
Another red stole was set atop a white priest's vestment lying over Hamel's coffin.
A giant screen had also been set up outside Rouen Cathedral to broadcast the service, which was not attended by French president Francois Hollande, despite it taking place in his hometown.
It comes as France's head of state and his senior ministers have been roundly booed and barracked because of the appalling security failures that have allowed such barbarous attacks to happen.
People gathered outside the cathedral in the havy rain ahead of the funeral of Father Jacques Hamel at Rouen Cathedral
Mourners begin to gather outside Rouen Cathedral as armed police look on ahead of the funeral of Father Jacques Hamel
However, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve attended the funeral mass along with local Muslims.
Meanwhile, police commandos and undercover officers were milling the crowds around Rouen Cathedral nearby.
The funeral of 85-year-old Father Jacques Hamel will be held at the 11th Century Gothic cathedral in the city of Rouen today
Police sources confirmed that security would be 'at the highest possible of level, because of the ongoing fear of attack.'
Crowds gathering for public events are considered particularly vulnerable as ISIS continues its barbarous campaign.
The attack stunned France's religious communities, sparking fears of tensions in a country with a population of some five million Muslims.
However, the two communities have largely rallied together, with churches opening their doors to Muslims on Sunday for a moving tribute to Hamel, and against radical Islam.
The two teenagers who cut Father Hamel's throat at Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, a suburb of Rouen, last Tuesday morning were both from Algerian backgrounds.
This raises the possibility that Adel Kermiche, one of the killers who lived close to the church, may have known about the priest's military service record.
The bitter legacy of the Algerian War, which ended in 1962 after the deaths of hundreds of thousands over eight years, remains strong in France.
French forces were accused of war crimes, including torturing and shooting civilians, and their opponents, the FLN National Liberation Front, often responded in kind.
Outrages spilled over into France itself, where Algerians were murdered by police in cities such as Paris.
Since the war, France's vast Algerian community has frequently accused the French establishment of discriminating against them, and perpetuating the war against their culture and Muslim religion.
Meanwhile earlier Pope Francis said Islam could not be equated with terrorism.
'It's not true and it's not correct (to say) Islam is terrorism,' he said, defending his decision not to name Islam when condemning the brutal murder.
Abdel Malik Petitjean, right, and Adel Kermiche, left, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and both were shot dead by police after a tense hostage drama in which a worshipper was left seriously wounded
'If I have to talk about Islamic violence I have to talk about Christian violence. Every day in the newspapers I see violence in Italy, someone kills his girlfriend, another kills his mother-in-law, and these are baptised Catholics.'
The church attack came just two weeks after Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel ploughed a 19-tonne truck into a massive crowd celebrating Bastille Day in the Riviera city of Nice, leaving 84 dead and injuring more than 300 people.
The repeat attacks in France have raised tough questions about security failures, but also about the foreign funding of many mosques.
Interior Minister Mr Cazeneuve said Monday that authorities have shut down around 20 mosques and prayer halls considered to be preaching radical Islam since December.
He has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on August 5
An impotent man found guilty of bludgeoning a sex worker with stiletto then slashing her throat is keeping his lips sealed on his motivation for the heinous killing.
Chungaung Piao, 28, was convicted in June of murdering Sydney prostitute Ting Fang while she was working in a hotel in Adelaide's CBD, on New Year's Day 2015.
The married father has this week lodged an appeal against his conviction and told his lawyer not to reveal his personal circumstances, reports Adelaide Now.
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Ting Fang's lifeless body was found in a room of the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Adelaide
Chungaung Piao, a 28-year-old married father from Adelaide, told his lawyer not to reveal his personal circumstances
This stiletto is allegedly one of the weapons used to murder the 25-year-old, Sydney based sex worker
Prosecution allege Piao struck Ms Fang over the head with her own stiletto (pictured) in her hotel room
Mr Piao's lawyer, Defence lawyer Greg Mead, told Adelaide Supreme Court he was specifically instructed not to make any sentencing submissions.
'I'm in a position where I'm not able to say anything to Your Honour other than what came out at trial about my client.'
Prosecutor Tim Preston said only basis the court's had in sentencing was his strong intention to kill and the victim was in a vulnerable position.
'We cannot say what that should be ... his motivation might have been something to do with money or something to do with sexual humiliation,' he said.
The jury in South Australia's Supreme Court took five hours to unanimously decide Mr Piao had used Ms Fang's stiletto and a cleaning razor to murder her.
Throughout the case, the jury heard evidence that the married father's thumb print was found on the bottom of the shoe used to hit the woman in the head, and the razor used to slice the sex-worker's throat matched a packet Piao had purchased for his cleaning business.
Ms Fang was working out of a hotel room (pictured) when she was brutally murdered
Piao has denied the charges put against him since his arrest and his counsel say someone else is responsible
Jurors also heard that Ms Fang happily agreed to an extended overnight booking with Piao and texted her minder to say she was tired and would be able to earn a night's wages without having sex, as the 28-year-old man was impotent.
Jurors were also told that Piao was being threatened over a $3000 debt when he booked an appointment with Ms Fang at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Adelaide.
His bank accounts were also allegedly empty or overdrawn at the time, meaning he would not have been able to pay for the booking.
Ms Fang's lifeless body was found with two V-shaped lacerations on her scalp and a 13cm, deep wound on her throat caused by two separate slashing motions.
Piao has denied the charges since his arrest, and his counsel argued someone else was responsible for the young woman's death.
State law suggests he will face a mandatory life sentence and a non-parole term of at least 20 years.
The alarm was raised after the bath in her room began to flood on New Years Day 2015
An exclusive Cotswolds hotel has been accused of sexism after advertising for a porter, but said the job was 'not a role for ladies'.
Whatley Manor, a five-star retreat near Malmesbury, Wiltshire, put up the controversial advert in the window of a nearby Post Office.
It read: 'We are seeking people with driving licenses to join the team of Front of House Porters.
Exclusive Cotswolds hotel Whatley Manor has been accused of sexism after advertising for a porter, but said in the advert (pictured) the job was 'not a role for ladies'
'The work involves moving luggage, moving cars, tending fires, generally taking deliveries, keeping the reception area tidy.'
In brackets, it then adds: 'Sorry, it's just not a role for ladies.'
Bosses at the award-winning hotel, where rooms cost up to 1,500 a night, said the advert was not supposed to offend.
The five-star retreat (pictured) near Malmesbury, Wiltshire, put up the controversial advert in the window of a nearby Post Office
But it was been met with anger from people living around Malmesbury, including world champion bodybuilder, Charlene Harvey, 36, who slammed the hotel for assuming every woman is 'weak'.
'There are physiological differences between a man and a woman, but a woman can train and be just as strong as a man,' she said.
World champion bodybuilder, Charlene Harvey, 36, (pictured) who lives in Malmesbury slammed the hotel for assuming every woman is 'weak'
'You can't assume every woman is going to weak.'
She added: 'I didn't think they were allowed to do things like this anymore. In today's industry it's a bit out of place.'
And Twitter user Sarah Hirons described the author of the ad, which was put up in May and has recently been posted online, as 'medieval'.
Gill Salter, HR boss at Whatley Manor, said the advert was not supposed to be placed in the Post Office but in a local school.
The HR boss said: 'We didn't intend to discriminate or upset anybody and it is certainly not the normal advert we use.
'We were trying to make them understand that the role includes heavy lifting.'
She added: 'We just had someone struggling in with big boxes so strength was one of the issues.
'Water delivery is really heavy so this was a practicality issue.'
An official statement released by Whatley Manor added: 'We are very sorry for any offence caused by this particular advert.'
out of the 146,000 in attendance
Three music fans died after attending a weekend rave in California headlined by Ice Cube and Major Lazer.
Alyssa Dominguez, 21, of San Diego; Roxanne Ngo, 22, of Chino Hills, Los Angeles; and Derek Lee, 22, of San Francisco died after attending last weekend's Hard Summer Music Festival in Fontana.
They were among nine hospitalized following the outdoor event at Fontana's Auto Club Speedway attended by 146,000, according to organizers.
Alyssa Dominguez, 21, of San Diego, (left) died after attending the Hard Hard Summer Music Festival in Fontana, California, over the weekend. Police have also identified Roxanne Ngo, 22 of Chino Hills, (right) as among the deceased
People attend the HARD Summer Music Festival at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, on Sunday. Authorities say multiple people died after attending the weekend rave
Mr Lee and Ms Dominguez died early on Sunday while Ms Ngo died early yesterday, the coroner said.
The causes of death were under investigation but the deaths were all considered separate cases.
'We were deeply saddened to learn about the deaths of three people who attended the festival this weekend,' Hard Summer spokesman Alexandra Greenberg said in a statement.
'While the causes of the deaths have not yet been determined, we ask everyone to keep them in their prayers.
'Our sincerest thoughts and condolences are with their family and friends.
Angel Ghaemi, 22, of Palos Verdes Estates, told the Los Angeles Times she had been waiting to leave the event when she encountered a woman who she later learned was Ms Dominguez dying.
Alyssa Dominguez, as she appears on her Facebook page, died after attending the festival
Ms Dominguez posted on Twitter about the extreme heat before the event at the weekend
Ghaemi told the newspaper the woman's pupils were completely dilated and she had no pulse while her friends were sobbing and in shock.
'I tried to do CPR and nothing was working,' she said. 'We really needed a defibrillator and an ambulance.
'I can never forget. She looked beautiful, that's all I could think. It was the most surreal, life-changing moment of my life.'
Friend Paolo Cruz posted pictures of himself and Ms Dominguez on Twitter.
'Still can't believe it's true... rest easy,' he said.
Friend Paolo Cruz posted multiple tweets on social media remembering his friend
Ms Ngo was a University of California Riverside student whose online blog detailed her background as the daughter of Vietnamese parents and how she was studying public policy so she could help people in the healthcare sector.
'Once I do graduate, I have big plans for my future,' she wrote.
The Health Sciences Academy from her high school posted on Facebook today about her death, saying 'Goodbye Roxy'.
'It's with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to one of our own, Roxanne Ngo, who was in our very first HSA class,' the HSA wrote.
'She passed away this morning at 3AM. For those of us that knew her, she lit up a room when she entered it, with a sweet smile, a generous and loyal heart, kindness, and a genuine, sweet spirit.
'We won't say anymore here, out of respect for her family, but please keep her family in your prayers and thoughts.'
Hard Summer was moved to Fontana this year after two young women died of drug overdoses at last year's event at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona.
Roxanne Ngo as she appears on her Facebook page
'While the causes of the deaths have not yet been determined, we ask everyone to keep them in their prayers,' organizers said of the deaths in a statement.
The parents of 19-year-old college student Katie Dix recently sued event promoter Live Nation, Los Angeles County and others over Dix's death, which authorities blamed on multiple-drug intoxication.
The death of 18-year-old UCLA student Tracy Nguyen at the event was from an Ecstasy overdose, authorities said.
The defendants have declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Ecstasy is a popular drug at raves, where it's used to enhance the musical experience. It can lead to dehydration, however, causing concern among medical officials that its use in hot, crowded quarters where people sometimes dance for hours can lead to collapse and sometimes death.
Temperatures in the Fontana area, 50 miles east of Los Angeles, have been in the 90s and one concertgoer said increased security at this year's event caused people to wait in line for up to two hours in the sun each day just to get in.
In this photo from Saturday, rescue personnel carry a man off the concert grounds on a stretcher, for an unspecified reasons
'I think the venue they had it at this year wasn't that great,' said 20-year-old college student Annabelle Muljana who has attended the last three Hard Summers.
'All the different stages were really far apart so every time you wanted to check out a different artist you had to walk a long way in the heat. Also, the venue didn't have much shade. Everything was out in the open.'
Muljana said she didn't see any obvious signs of drug use but did see medical personnel treating one young woman who had collapsed in the heat on Sunday. She believed the woman was later taken away in an ambulance.
Some venues have banned raves in recent years amid mounting concern about overdoses.
The popular Electric Daisy Carnival was moved to Las Vegas after the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum stopped holding raves following numerous drug overdoses and other problems. The Cow Palace in San Francisco banned them in 2010.
Hard Events, founded in 2007 by music executive Gary Richards, who also performs as DJ Destructo, has grown dramatically in recent years and branched out to include hip hop as well as electronic dance music, or EDM.
Ahead of last weekend's rave, Hard Summer officials posted a lengthy list of safety warnings on its website for people attending this year's event. They urged people to stay hydrated, take regular breaks from dancing and monitor themselves for any signs of heat exhaustion.
The warnings also said illegal drugs would not be tolerated and that people bringing prescription drugs would have to check them with medical authorities.
China has suggested it could pull its 100billion investment in the UK if Theresa May decides to cancel the Hinkley Point nuclear project.
As the fall-out continues from Downing Street's surprise decision last week to put plans for the 18bn deal under review until the autumn, the Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua wrote a strongly-worded article yesterday setting out its threats to the British economy.
It said the 'new British Government' is jeopardising the 'hard-won mutual trust with China' and said the 'golden era' of co-operation with Britain could be over.
The deal to build Britain's first nuclear plant for decades would be a third owned by the state-backed China General Nuclear Power Corp - the main obstacle as Downing Street is concerned about heavy Chinese involvement in the UK's national infrastructure.
It added that China 'cannot tolerate any unwanted accusation against its sincere and benign willingness for win-win co-operation'.
In further revelations over the troubled deal for Hinkley Point C, it emerged this morning that the head of the French energy giant EDF gave his fellow board members just two days to read 2,500 pages of contracts before they were asked to vote on whether to give the project the green light.
A strongly-worded article by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua warned Theresa May (pictured right during a visit to Poland last week) not to jeopordise the 'hard-won mutual trust with China' that peaked last year when Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) made a famous state visit to the UK
China suggested it could pull its 100billion investment in the UK if Theresa May decides to cancel the Hinkley Point nuclear project
Chancellor Philip Hammond (left) and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary Greg Clarke (right) arrive for the first meeting of Theresa May's new Industrial Strategy Cabinet committee today, which could prove crucial for the Hinkley Point nuclear project
The 17 board members of EDF, which is 85 per cent owned by the French government and has been contracted to build the expensive nuclear reactor, voted 10-7 in favour of going ahead with the project last week.
Beijing's thinly-veiled attack on Mrs May's new administration also warned that in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, 'openness is the key way out'.
The words from the agency - which reflects official views in Beijing - piles pressure on the new UK Prime Minister, who is chairing the first meeting of her new cabinet committee on industrial strategy today.
She will attempt to distance herself from George Osborne's economic legacy by pledging to pursue a 'proper industrial strategy'.
Culture Secretary Karen Buck (left) and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox (right) also attended the Industrial Strategy Cabinet committee today
Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green (left) and Education Secretary Justine Greening (right) were present at the first meeting of the Industrial Strategy Cabinet committee today, which Theresa May wants to use to reboot the British economy following the Brexit vote
But it could be undermined by the resignation of Lord O'Neill, the Treasury minister who has reportedly threatened to quit over Mrs May's anti-China stance.
The alarming commentary from the state-run news agency was further proof of China's frustration at Downing Street's unwillingness to press ahead with the Hinkley Point C project on the north Somerset coast following the EDF board's long-awaited decision last week to approve the deal.
Last night China's foreign ministry urged Britain to press ahead with the deal, with the ministry's spokeswoman Hua Chunying said they had 'noted' the decision of Mrs May to review the project.
She said: 'I would like to stress that this project was agreed upon by China, Britain and France in the spirit of mutual benefit and cooperation, and win-win cooperation, and has always had the strong support of Britain and France.'
China 'hopes that Britain can reach a decision as soon as possible, to ensure the project's smooth implementation', she added, without elaborating.
Co-operation: David Cameron with President Xi Jinping at a pub near Chequers last year
It marked a dramatic shift in tone from the UK government after David Cameron and George Osborne spent years fostering closer relations with Beijing.
Officially the Chinese government said it hoped for a speedy resolution to the Hinkley situation.
But Xinhua reacted more strongly in a commentary that said China would not tolerate 'unwanted accusations' about its investments in the UK.
It said the delay 'not only draws queries from the international community about its openness towards foreign investment, but also adds uncertainties to the 'golden era' of China-UK ties'.
Xinhua went on: 'Giving the green light to a $24billion project can never be an easy decision, and China fully understands and respects the British government's requirement for more time to ponder.
However, what China cannot understand is the 'suspicious approach' that comes from nowhere to Chinese investment in making the postponement.'
Controversial: A computer-generated image of the HInkley Point reactor
The news agency said China could 'wait for a rational British government to make responsible decisions, but cannot tolerate any unwanted accusation against its sincere and benign willingness for win-win co-operation'.
Pressure is mounting on the Prime Minister to approve the Hinkley plans.
As well as anger from China there are fears the French could claim 2.5billion compensation if the project is scrapped.
French energy firm EDF has been contracted to build the plant in a joint venture with China General Nuclear.
Last week EDF approved funding only to be told the Government would need until September to review the plans further.
But officials at the energy giant told the Financial Times that chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy gave board members just 48 hours to review contracts - all written in English - on the Hinkley Point nuclear project before last week's crucial vote.
Officials close to the board members opposed to the deal said many were pressured into supporting the deal.
One board member - Gerard Magnin - quit just hours before the vote last Thursday in protest at the expense and viability of the project.
President Xi Jinping: In a rare statement Chinese officials yesterday called for the Government to give Hinkley the go-ahead as soon as possible
The 18bn project: A CGI image of Hinkley Point. Pressure is mounting on the Prime Minister to approve the Hinkley plans
The Hinkley project has been mired in controversy. Originally slated to cost 10billion, the Government claims it will now cost 18billion.
But critics say the final bill for building the power station could reach 29billion.
And while it is now planned to be up and running in 2025, this is several years later than originally promised.
There are further worries about the type of reactor because similar ones being built in Finland and France are years overdue and well over budget.
The project is also controversial because it is, in effect, being built by foreign governments. EDF is 85 per cent owned by the French state, while one-third of the cost is being provided by Chinese investors.
Meanwhile it has emerged that the French are expected to demand compensation for the 2.5billion they have already spent on Hinkley if the plans are scrapped.
A source told French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche: 'They would have to support the extra costs in case the negotiations are prolonged and the funds committed by EDF to prepare the site.'
A former Central Investigation Bureau officer in Poland, Jacek Wrona, slammed the German government's response to terror attacks
A former Central Investigation Bureau officer in Poland has claimed 'Western Europe is practically dead' and blamed Angela Merkel's migration policy for its demise.
Jacek Wrona slammed the German government's response to terror attacks while appearing on a Polish chat show alongside military historian Dr Rafal Brzeski,wPolityce reports.
Wrona compared the situation to the fall of the Roman Empire, saying: 'Europe is at the end of its existence. Western Europe is practically dead.
'These people live in a void, without ideas. And they come the young, who want to acquire wealth, as once did the barbarians. And they have the power.'
He said the EU is suffering because of political correctness.
'The worst problem for services is political correctness. We need a sober judgment,' Wrona claimed.
Dr Brzeski also criticised the German government's response to recent terror attacks. 'The Germans have had enough of this, which does not mean that the government has had enough. These are two different approaches,' he said.
Their comments come after five separate incidents in Germany between July 18 and July 26.
Angela Merkel set out a nine-point plan on Thursday to respond to the attacks, including an early warning system for the radicalisation of refugees
The attacks, two of them claimed by Islamic State, also left dozens wounded and have burst any illusions that the country is immune to atrocities like those also claimed by Islamic State in neighbouring France.
Dr Brzeski accused Germany of 'self-censorship' when it reports on terror attacks and said 'there is nothing worse than self-censorship in journalism'.
Munich was the scene of the bloodiest of the German attacks, on July 22, in which an 18-year-old German-Iranian gunman killed nine people.
Wrona said it would have been easy for the Munich shooter to get a gun because of free movement in the EU and 'the whole Balkans are flooded with weapons'.
Right-wing activists marched in Berlin in May under the motto 'Merkel must go' to protest against German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her liberal asylum policy
Two of the assailants in the other attacks, a Syrian asylum seeker who blew himself up in Ansbach and a refugee from either Pakistan or Afghanistan who attacked people on a train in Bavaria, had links to Islamist militancy, officials say. The Munich gunman did not.
Critics of Chancellor Angela Merkel have blamed the attacks on her open-door refugee policy, under which over a million migrants, many fleeing war in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, entered Germany in the past year.
Merkel set out a nine-point plan on Thursday to respond to the attacks, including an early warning system for the radicalisation of refugees.
But she refused to reverse her welcoming stance toward refugees.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband Joachim Sauer arrive for Wagner's opera 'Tristan and Isolde' at the Bayreuth Festival, in Bayreuth, Germany, on Monday
The German leader said the assailants 'wanted to undermine our sense of community, our openness and our willingness to help people in need'.
'We firmly reject this,' she said.
Merkel repeated her rallying cry from last year when she opened the borders to people fleeing war and persecution, many from Syria, which brought nearly 1.1 million migrants and refugees to Germany in 2015.
'I am still convinced today that 'we can do it' - it is our historic duty and this is a historic challenge in times of globalisation,' she said.
'We have already achieved very, very much in the last 11 months.'
President Joachim Gauck said he understood why many Germans were shaken after the attacks, but Germany would not submit to the assailants.
Dennis Clark, candidate for Tennessee State Representative for the 28th Legislative District will host a community meeting addressing gun violence on Wednesday, at the Archway Building at 2523 Glass Street, starting at 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Clark will meet with community members and leaders to address and discuss ways on how to coordinate community based grass roots efforts to combat the citys escalating issues involving gun violence and youth delinquency. During this time, he will also give a brief statement regarding his brothers tragic death and will unveil a collaborative initiative designed to address economic and social inequities plaguing the urban community.
Mr. Clark said, I have spent my career and this campaign advocating for safer streets and stronger communities. Although my heart is heavy and there is nothing I can do now to bring my brother back, I will dry my tears and continue this campaign, this fight against gun violence, so that no more mothers or fathers will have to bury their child to another senseless act of violence in Chattanooga.
Whale encounters do not get much closer than this!
A French tourist captured an enormous 18 meter long fin whale rising to feast just inches from a boat full of people. The captain had never seen anything like it.
Eric Mouellic was on his first trip to Canada and decided to go whale watching by Tadoussac in Quebec.
Open wide: The moment a 50 tonne fin whale breaches by a boat of tourists in Quebec
He could not have hoped to have had a better view of the world's second biggest mammal.
The huge 50 tonne fin whale broke the surface to swallow krill just inches away from the boat with a crowd of tourists on board.
It then plunged down underneath the vessel heading back to the deep.
Mr Mouellic's footage of the rare-encounter has now gone viral after he uploaded it on YouTube last weekend.
The best recorded angle of the breach currently has over 300,000 views.
Mr Mouellic told CBC News: 'We were really lucky. Within 15 minutes of our departure, we saw porpoises, seals, belugas and several finback whales.
Out of my whale! The 18m long mammal almost crashes into the vessel after rising to feast
Close encounter: The whale then plunges down underneath the boat returning to the deep
'It was already marvelous. Then there were these two finbacks, one of which passed under the Zodiac without touching the boat. It was, in fact, magic.'
He added the boat operator said he had never seen anything like it in 15 years.
Whales try to avoid hitting boats, which is why in the video the mammal turns on its side to escape a collision.
Britain's new representative in Brussels will be put in charge of tackling terrorism across the European Union.
Sir Julian King is being made Commissioner for the Security Union in a surprise move by the executive's president, Jean-Claude Juncker.
The outgoing UK ambassador to France was not expected to be handed a high profile portfolio given Britain's vote to quit the bloc.
The announcement comes soon after a spate of so-called 'lone wolf' attacks in France and Germany, including the Bastille Day massacre in Nice and the murder of a Catholic priest in Normandy.
Sir Julian King, a career diplomat, will be responsible for leading on counter terrorism after being appointed as Britain's new EU commissioner
Security is a 'pressing challenge' and the wave of terror attacks in France, Germany and Brussels underline the need for 'swift progress', Mr Juncker said.
Sir Julian will be expected to come up with 'concrete' action to tackle terrorism, prevent radicalisation, disrupt organised crime and fight cybercrime, he added.
The new commissioner has been tasked with drawing up measures to deal with returning foreign terrorist fighters, improving information and intelligence sharing and boosting protection for critical infrastructure and soft targets.
Sir Julian, whose appointment on the commission must be approved by MEPs, will report to a series of vice-presidents who form Mr Juncker's top team.
Despite the Brexit vote, the UK remains a full member with the right to one of the 28 seats on the powerful Commission until it has formally left the EU.
Mr Juncker said all commissioners must be 'very determined and very responsible' in their work and must only have the 'promotion of the general interest of the Union in mind'.
A Number 10 spokesman said: 'We welcome this decision by the President of the European Commission.
'The UK will continue to fulfil our rights and obligations as a member state until we leave the EU and the Prime Minister has been clear that we will be an active player so it is right that we should continue to have a Commissioner role.
'Security is a vital issue for all member states and co-operation across the EU can help to better protect us all from the range of threats we face.
'The President called the Prime Minister yesterday evening to inform her of his decision. We now look forward to Sir Julian being confirmed in the role.'
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker today handed Britain the crucial counter terrorism and security brief despite the Brexit vote
Sir Julian was sent to Brussels to fill the vacancy left when former commissioner Lord Hill of Oareford resigned in the wake of the referendum.
A career diplomat, he took up an ambassadorial posting in Paris in February this year, having previously served as ambassador to Ireland from 2009 to 2011.
He spent five years in Brussels from 2004-09, first as part of the UK representation to the EU and then as chief of staff in the office of the British Commissioner, serving under Lord Mandelson and Lady Ashton.
Is Nigel Farage top of the list? Juncker says he keeps a black book of all the political foes who have betrayed him
EU boss Jean-Claude Juncker has admitted he keeps a 'little black book' with the names of people who have betrayed him.
The European Commission president said he calls the book, 'Little Maurice'.
'It's where for 30 years I've made a note when someone betrays me,' he said.
The former prime minister of Luxembourg would not reveal who was named in it, but said it 'doesn't have many entries, because people rarely betray me'.
Rivals: Jean-Claude Juncker and former Ukip leader Nigel Farage are famous for their clashes during European Parliament sessions
He told Belgian newspaper Le Soir: 'I've never taken revenge, [but] I take my precautions. The book's name comes from a common German expression: The bitterness of little Maurice.
'In Luxembourg, when someone was irritating me, I would say, "Careful, Little Maurice is waiting for you".' Mr Juncker is expected to take a hardline against Britain over Brexit negotiations.
He last week appointed Frenchman Michel Barnier as the Commission's lead negotiator.
Yesterday he defended the choice, saying: 'Michel Barnier is a good guy. The British don't like him but that doesn't mean that he doesn't like the British.' Meanwhile, it emerged last night that Britain could face a demand from Brussels for billions of pounds towards pensions for Eurocrats when it leaves the European Union.
Spat: The European Commission president revealed he keeps a little black book with the names of his political rivals
The country could be asked to contribute towards the 50billion total pension liability for all current and retired EU officials, the Financial Times reported.
EU pensions are covered on a 'pay-asyou-go' basis from the EU budget rather than through employee contributions invested into a fund. Around 1,730 Britons make up the 22,000 retired EU officials drawing pensions at present.
An investigation into the life of a 76-year-old man who faces trial next week for murdering his first wife 54 years ago has unearthed a staggering trail of mysteries.
Felix Vail is suspected of murdering Mary Horton Vail, whose body was pulled from the Calcasieu River in Louisiana in 1962.
He claimed she drowned while they were out fishing but he had taken out life insurance on his wife two months earlier and an autopsy later revealed she had a large bruise to the back of the neck and a scarf pushed in her mouth.
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Felix Vail (left) is now an old man but one ex-girlfriend said that as a younger man he was handsome and 'sexy' and he himself has admitted having slept with hundreds of women. He is accused of murdering his first wife Mary Horton Vail (right)
Vail, who was once a blond-haired, blue-eyed Adonis who claimed to have bedded hundreds of women, was indicted in June 2013 for second degree murder but is also suspected of killing two other ladies.
It has now emerged that three months before he was charged a brassy private investigator nicknamed 'Batgirl' had covertly recorded hours of conversation with the unsuspecting Vail at his home in Canyon Lake, Texas.
Gina Frenzel, a redhead who is a ringer for Hollywood star Melissa McCarthy, had read Gone, a short book on Kindle about Vail by veteran Mississippi investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell.
She emailed Mitchell in March 2013 and offered to go and talk to Vail.
Mitchell, who had been unable to get Vail to talk, told her: 'He won't talk to you' but Frenzel was undeterred and went to see him posing as an insurance investigator looking into a neighbor's house fire.
She wore a low-cut top but hid a recording device in her bra.
Vail was tricked into talking to her and ended up telling her how he had drunk animal blood and also said he knew a lot about killing.
Astonishingly at one point Frenzel even managed to snoop around in his belongings and took photographs of 13 pairs of women's earrings which Vail appeared to have kept as souvenirs.
Vail is still being investigated in connection with the mysterious disappearance of a girlfriend, Sharon Hensley, who went missing in 1973, and also his second wife, Annette Craver Vail, who disappeared in 1984.
If found guilty he will automatically receive a life sentence without parole.
Felix Vail is known to have lived in various places across the southern U.S. in the last 50 years and was known to have dated hundreds of women during that time. So far he is only charged with one murder, in Lake Charles, in 1962
Jerry Mitchell (left), a veteran investigative reporter with the Clarion-Ledger newspaper in Mississippi, tracked down Felix Vail (right) but was unable to persuade him to talk
Vail is known to have lived all over the southern United States but he grew up in Montpelier, Mississippi and lived there between 1989 and 2012.
But in May 2012 Mitchell tracked him down to a trailer there and began asking him awkward questions about the missing and dead women in his life.
Vail skipped town shortly after and rocked up in Texas and it was there that Frenzel befriended him and gained his confidence.
She recorded him talking about 'killing people, murdering, pain, incapacitating people.'
Gina Frenzel, a sassy private investigator and is nicknamed Batgirl, managed to get Vail to talk for hours and recorded it covertly
He also said he and another man had 'enough autonomy that we are held in suspicion by all of our family and friends for being able to think of something and do it without looking at whether it's legal or not, or permissible by society or not.'
Vail told her he liked to eat 'live raw meat' and said: 'If you were going to eat animals, you would have to kill them and drink the blood. Suck it out of the body and drink it right then. That would be live meat.'
At one point point he talked about his missing wife, Annette, and Frenzel said: 'His eyes got huge. It was the most evil look I've ever seen.'
Annette Craver Vail's mother, Mary Rose, had spent years investigating Vail, convinced he killed and disposed of her daughter.
But she was a lone voice in the wind until she heard Mitchell on the radio talking about the 'Mississippi Burning' case - which he had exposed.
Mitchell, who works for the Clarion-Ledger newspaper, told Mail Online: 'She contacted me in 2010 and said "Would you be interested in a serial killer who lives in Mississippi?".'
Two years later she visited Mississippi and showed Mitchell masses of documents she had found about Vail.
She showed him almost identical letters he wrote to the families of both Annette and Sharon Hensley saying they had gone away with an Australian couple because they wanted to start over and travel the world.
Mitchell said he showed a copy of the post mortem on Mary Horton Vail to pathologist and world-renowned expert, Dr Michael Baden, who said he was confident it was a homicide.
A husband in Kenya hacked his wife's hands off with a machete for failing to conceive after seven years of marriage - even though he was impotent.
Jackline Mwende was brutally slashed by Stephen Ngila at her home in Masii, Machakos County after he told her 'Today is your last day'.
The 34-year-old is said to have flown into a rage because she had failed to conceive during their marriage - despite doctors saying he was the reason their inability to have children.
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Jackline Mwende (pictured) was brutally slashed by Stephen Ngila at her home in Masii, Machakos County after he told her 'Today is your last day'
Medics told him last year that his fertility problem could be rectified with treatment - but he failed to show up for appointments, Kenyans reports.
After splitting for three months, he returned to their home and attacked her with a large machete - chopping off both of his wife's hands.
Mwende, 27, was also left with horrific injuries to her head. The case has sparked outrage in Kenya.
Revealing her ordeal, Mwende told The Nation: 'He moved out of our house three months ago and came back on Sunday (July 24) at around 8.30pm. When I opened the door, he said "today is your last day" and started slashing me with the panga.'
She later called for Ngila to he jailed for life 'for being heartless and wanting to kill me despite my love for him.'
Mwende, 27, was also left with horrific injuries to her head. The case has sparked outrage in Kenya
Ngila was arrested a day after the incident and remains in police custody.
Naitore Nyamu, from the African office of Equality Now, which promotes women's rights, told MailOnline: 'This is a particularly shocking case for Kenya, where we have been working for many years to end all forms of violence against women.
'We are glad that the police have made an arrest so quickly and hope that the law is now fully enforced. We can't afford to let perpetrators act with impunity, which has sometimes been the case here in years gone by.
'The government needs to take a zero tolerance stance on protecting the rights of women and girls.
'It needs to ensure that Kenyan police are properly trained to deal with cases like this sensitively and effectively.
The majority of Americans learn from an early age that their presidents are constitutionally limited to serve two terms.
But the news came as a shock to one four-year-old girl who burst into tears when she discovered President Obama would soon be leaving office.
Abella Tomlin, from Beaverton, Oregon, was told the news by her mother, who had been listening to speeches at the Democratic National Convention in the car.
A four-year-old girl from Beaverton, Oregon, burst into tears when she discovered President Obama would soon be leaving office
With the waterworks well and truly open, Abella Tomlin asked her mom Andrea if she could watch a movie as it 'would make me feel better'.
The little girl wailed 'I miss Obama,' when her mother asked her why she was so sad.
Andrea explained: 'Abella has been an Obama fan since day one. She has grown up with him as a hero in our household, and as such has always talked about how much she loves him.
'I was just listening to the DNC speeches, and she asked me what they were talking about.
Abella Tomlin, from Beaverton, Oregon, was told the news by her mother, who was listening to speeches at the Democratic National Convention in the car
With the waterworks well and truly open, Abella asked her mum Andrea if she could watch a movie as it 'would make me feel better'
'So I explained to her that the country is getting ready to elect a new president.
'She immediately had tears running down her face and explained to me that Barack Obama was our president and how could we get a new one when we already had one.'
In a bid to console her devastated daughter, Andrea asked Abella whether she thought Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton would make a good President.
After replying she thought so, she doubled down and admitted she would still miss President Obama.
The little girl wailed 'I miss Obama,' when her mother asked her why she was so sad
Andrea explained: 'Abella has been an Obama fan since day one. She has grown up with him as a hero in our household.'
Andrea added: 'After the video ended, Abella asked if we could 'just pretend that Obama would still be the president' and could he please have dinner with us.
'I don't allow her to see anything about Trump.
'If we can't have Obama, then Hillary is the one for us.'
President Obama will leave office on January 20 next year, when the 45th president is inaugurated.
He will be replaced by either the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton or the Republican pick Donald Trump, who are battling it out to be elected on November 8.
Sydney woman said they were 'celebrating' snowfall until they were stuck
No one was injured and crews manage to clear the roads by 10.30pm
Drivers were 'caught by surprise' by heavy snow and some slid into a ditch
More than 80 people have been rescued by emergency services after their cars became trapped in heavy snowfall for over five hours.
Police and State Emergency Services volunteers travelled to Jenolan Caves, west of the Blue Mountains in NSW on Tuesday evening after 80 people in 14 vehicles including seven buses, became bogged.
A number of the drivers were 'caught by surprise' by the snow and some of the vehicles slid into a ditch.
Police and State Emergency Services volunteers travelled to Jenolan Caves, west of the Blue Mountains in NSW on Tuesday
Dozens of sightseers are stranded in freezing conditions after their vehicles became bogged in snow at Jenolan Caves
Snow fell in and around Oberon and Jenolan Caves on Tuesday, leaving a number of vehicles trapped
No one was injured.
By 10.30pm, three SES crews had managed to pull the vehicles out of the ditch while the passengers 'remained warm' on board.
As the snow continued to blanket the roads, rescue trucks dragged the tourist buses back to safer ground.
A Sydney woman said the sightseers initially 'celebrated' the snow on their drive home after exploring the caves.
'We saw the snow falling and we were celebrating, but as we got further up the road it started to get heavier and we just got stuck,' Rebecca said.
Rebecca (pictured), from Sydney, said the sightseers initially 'celebrated' the snow on their drive home after exploring the caves
By 10.30pm, three SES crews had managed to pull the vehicles out of the ditch while the passengers 'remained warm' on board
As the snow continued to blanket the roads, rescue trucks dragged the tourist buses back to safer ground
SES Assistant Commissioner Greg Newton praised the work of the volunteers
About 80 people, and 14 vehicles including seven buses, were stuck in the heavy snow
'If it's not possible to get those vehicles on their way we'll look at what else we need to do to be able to look after those people' an SES spokesperson said
A number of roads were closed in and around Jenolan Caves due to the heavy snow fall
'We had one car that went up ahead of us and we hope he got through okay, but we can't go any further.
Rebecca said the unfortunate weather comes just a day after her wedding.
SES Assistant Commissioner Greg Newton praised the work of the volunteers, as locals now prepare for an east coast low to further affect the mid north coast overnight.
SES will monitor the situation into the night and decide whether to move the stranded people to a safer location
'We saw the snow falling and we were celebrating, but as we got further up the road it started to get heavier and we just got stuck,' Rebecca said
Vehicles were trapped in the thick snow until about 10.30pm
The tourist buses were back on course after about five hours of being trapped in a ditch
Mr Newton praised the work of the volunteers, as the SES prepare for an east coast low expected to further affect the mid north coast on Wednesday
Four relatives will stay in UK - but their case will no longer set precedent
The Home Office today won an appeal against a landmark ruling allowing four Syrian refugees from the Calais 'Jungle' camp in Calais to come to Britain - but they can still stay in the UK.
The case could have set a legal precedent that allows many other refugees wanting to cross the Channel from France to come to Britain.
The young men - three teenagers and a mentally-ill 26-year-old - wanted to be reunited with their siblings in the UK.
The group will not be deported from Britain, but today's ruling means that others in Calais must apply for asylum in France first before trying to get to the UK.
It also means child refugees in migrant camps do not have an automatic right to join relatives in the UK.
Battle: Four Syrian refugees who won a landmark legal case to come to Britain after living in France have lost their case at the Court of Appeal - but they will stay in the UK
The four have a legal entitlement to come to the UK to seek asylum because their relatives are already legally living here.
Under EU law known as the Dublin regulation they would only be allowed to join their relatives in Britain if they had already applied for asylum in France.
Their legal team refugees had argued that the boys faced 'intolerable' conditions in the camp in breach of their human rights.
The court heard that all the men have been traumatised, that several of them suffer from post traumatic stress disorder and that squalid conditions at the camp aggravated these health problems.
Their lawyers in Britain successfully argued that because of bureaucratic failings in France and the refugees' entitlement to a family life under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights, they should immediately be brought to Britain and their asylum applications processed here.
But today three Court of Appeal judges ruled in favour of the Home Office appeal against the ruling.
The judges said they 'allowed' the Home Office's appeal in the case. The ruling stated that bypassing the Dublin III Regulation 'can only be justified in an especially compelling case'.
At an earlier hearing, James Eadie QC, acting for the Home Office, said: The appeal was necessary because the approach of the tribunal has potentially far-reaching and serious consequences for the ability of the United Kingdom to control its borders and for the integrity of the Dublin III system.
Upset: Their legal team refugees had argued that the boys faced 'intolerable' conditions in the Calais camp (pictured) in breach of their human rights
It went on: 'In the light of the psychiatric evidence before the Upper Tribunal about the first four respondents and the evidence of the French lawyers and NGOs adduced by the respondents suggesting that there would be a delay of just under one year in the French system and that there was no possibility of expedition, the result the tribunal reached may have been justifiable.
'I am, however, not entirely persuaded that, had the tribunal applied the correct test, it must inevitably have reached the same conclusion.
'In those circumstances, the appropriate course would normally have been to remit the matter to the tribunal for reconsideration.
'However...I have concluded that it would be inappropriate to take that course. I would therefore simply allow the appeal and make no further order.'
YOUNG AFGHAN RECALLS HIS TIME IN CALAIS 'JUNGLE' Afghan refugee Ali spent seven months in the 'Jungle' camp in Calais before he finally met a British volunteer worker who helped bring him legally to Britain. Now settled and living with his sister in England, he remembers those long months in the sprawling camp as dark days when he nearly gave up hope. Ali, 16 - whose name the Press Association has changed because he is a child, said every night he would join the desperate crowds who would try to stow themselves into lorries making their way to Britain. Speaking in English, he told the Press Association: 'It was very hard in Calais, it was very cold and sometimes you would have no food. 'Four or five times a week I would try to get onto a lorry, but the French police or the terror guards would check them and force us out. Once, the terror police hurt my leg and arm by hitting me with their baton. 'I knew people who died in Calais - people would hide themselves in refrigerated lorries full of vegetables. 'I just wanted to finish my life. I was tired of this life - tired of constantly trying to get to the UK. I had so many problems'. Asked how his life in Britain compares to his time in Calais, Ali laughed. 'You cannot compare my life here in Britain with Calais - it is so much better now', he said. Getting help and legal advice through Citizens UK, he applied to come to Britain under the Dublin III regulation and is now enrolled in college and hopes to one day become a politician. The charity is calling on the Home Office to do more to find other boys and girls like Ali and reunite them with their families already living in Britain. Advertisement
Campaigners are angry about the decision.
George Gabriel, a campaigner with Citizens UK which helped to bring the the case on behalf of the Syrians, warned that the ruling will make reuniting refugee children with their families in Britain harder.
He said: 'When we brought this case, it was an enormous kick up the a*** for the Government, and the system is now working better because 50 children have been brought to Britain since the case.
'But it means that charities like ours will have to continue identifying children one by one, taking them through a lengthy bureaucratic process as they have to wait to be reunited with their loved ones.
'Today is a great day for bureaucrats because it means that the letter of the process will have to be followed despite the clearly unacceptable wait this leaves refugee children facing.
'We fear this means many will take the situation into their own hands, choosing between people traffickers on the one hand and train tracks on the other.'
The Bishop of Barking, Peter Hill, a spokesman for Citizens UK, said: 'We are disappointed that the Home Office's appeal has been upheld. Relying on volunteers and lawyers to identify refugee children who may be eligible for family reunification, and then relying on those lawyers to process the claims child by child and case by case is inefficient, costly to the taxpayer, and hugely stressful for the children.
'Citizens UK is calling on the Home Office to establish a functional system for identifying refugee children with potential claims to family reunification in the UK. At the current rate of reunification it will take a year before all the children in Calais are reunited with their families. This is forcing children to take matters into their own hands, stowing away in lorries or vans.
'We know of two boys who have died in the last 12 months trying to reach their families in the UK.
'The Government has a legal and a moral responsibility to ensure that refugee children who have close family members in the UK are granted safe passage.'
The Home Office has said more than 30 children have been accepted for transfer to the UK under the new Immigration Act and that over 100 children have been accepted under the Dublin regulations since the start of the year.
A spokesman said: 'We welcome the decision of the Court of Appeal to recognise the principle that those seeking protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach.
'Any request to unite family members under the Dublin Regulation is carefully considered. Where someone seeking asylum elsewhere in the EU can demonstrate they have close family members legally in the UK, we will take responsibility for that claim.'
And Los Angeles Ethics Commission is now demanding he pay fine for leak
A police officer accused of racism after he arrested Django Unchained actress Daniele Watts is being told to pay a $10,000 fine for leaking audio of the incident.
Sergeant James Parker released a recording of his encounter with Watts after she was found having sex in a parked car in an attempt to show the arrest was not racially motivated.
But now the Los Angeles Ethics Commission is demanding recently retired Parker admits he was wrong to release the tape - or else hand over the money.
Sergeant James Parker (left) released a recording of his encounter with Daniele Watts (right) after she was found having sex in a parked car in an attempt to show the arrest was not racially motivated
If the officer admits his guilt, the Ethics Commission would reduce the fine to $2,500, reports TMZ.
In September 2014, Parker approached Watts after onlookers complained she was having sex with her boyfriend in a car with the door open outside the CBS studios in Los Angeles.
Parker, who was with two other officers, told Watts she would just be detained but then arrested her when she refused to hand over her ID.
She claimed the police were heavy-handed and left her 'wrist bleeding in pain' and said the whole affair left her humiliated.
Her boyfriend, Brian James Lucas, specifically said on Facebook the LAPD arrested them after they assumed his girlfriend was a prostitute because they saw an interracial couple.
But now the Los Angeles Ethics Commission is demanding recently retired Parker (pictured) admits he was wrong to release the tape - or else hand over the money
In the immediate aftermath, prominent civil rights leaders took up Watts' cause.
But they then asked her to apologize when the audio - leaked to TMZ - was made public.
Parker said the recordings showed he was simply responding to 911 calls and behaved reasonably during their encounter.
He added that it was Watts' attitude and uncooperative nature that led to her arrest.
Pictures obtained by TMZ showed Daniele Watts straddling her boyfriend Brian James Lucas in his car while the couple steady themselves with their hands on the car sunroof
In the recording, Watts told Parker: 'Do you know how many times the cops have been called just for being black?
'Just because I am black and he's white? I'm just being really honest.'
In May last year, Watts pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace with loudness.
She was ordered to write an apology to three police officers and the occupants of a building near where she was briefly detained.
The skateboarder smashed the car then tried to lure the driver outside
Driver beeped him then clipped into the board while passing by
Police are hunting for a skateboarder who
An infuriated skateboarder severely dented a car after smashing it with his board in a shocking road rage attack.
The driver of the 2005 red Mazda 3 beeped their horn at the skateboarder in Queenslands Brisbane on Sunday afternoon about 3pm.
The driver accidentally clipped the skateboard, prompting the skater to punch the car window and swing his board into the car, reports the Courier Mail
An infuriated skateboarder left a car severely dented after smashing it with his skateboard (pictured)
After damaging the car the skater then tried to lure the driver outside for a brawl.
The driver went to a nearby police station to report the incident.
Police are now hunting for the skateboarder, who took off in an unknown direction.
The incident took place at South Pine and Pullen Road at Brisbane's Everton Park.
Teen slain: Two 12-year-old boys have been charged in the shooting death of 15-year-old Jose Angel Mendoza in North Carolina
Two 12-year-old boys from North Carolina have been charged in the killing of a teenager who was found fatally shot behind a church in Winston-Salem.
The two underage suspects were arrested Monday and each charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the death of 15-year-old Jose Angel Chegue Mendoza.
Police say Mendoza was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds at around 8.45pm on Friday in an open area behind the Progressive Apostolic Church on Crews Street in Winston-Salem.
He was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, where he died.
Police Lt. Eric Montgomery says investigators are not releasing any further information about the boys charged because they are juveniles.
Hallowed ground: Mendoza was found shot multiple times behind the Progressive Apostolic Church in Winston-Salem (pictured) on July 29
Investigators had previously said that the shooting was not random, and they believed that the victim and shooters knew each other.
Lt Montgomery said it will be up to the Forsyth County District Attorneys Office to decide whether to ask a judge if prosecutors can try the boys as adults.
Jose Mendoza is survived by his parents, two brothers and sister Yazlin.
The boy's older brother said Jose loved skateboarding, boxing and cars.
He was the type of kid if he saw you struggling, and he had one loaf of bread left, he would give you it, Chino Mendoza told the station WNCN.
On his Facebook page, Chino wrote of his slain brother: 'I had so much hope for you, I was so proud of you.'
Family in mourning: Jose is survived by two brothers (pictured) and sister Yazlin (center)
The rising freshman was remembered by those who knew him as a nice boy who was excited to start high school this fall
Danyelle Parker, Jose Mendoza's former principal at Mineral Springs Middle School, remembered the rising freshman as quiet and respectful.
Deena DeShazor, Jose's seventh-grade language teacher, told The Winston-Salem Journal that even though he was an average student and was not always quick to raise his hand in class, he was smart and knew the answer when she called on him.
Jose, whose nickname was 'Rico Suave' because of his relaxed demeanor and good looks, was one of the students DeShazor kept tabs on after graduation.
You couldnt help but fall in love with him, she said. Jose was a special boy and I just hate that his life ended so soon because I know he was going to be phenomenal.
Yazlin Mendoza has launched a GoFundMe page to help raise $2,000 to cover her brother's funeral expenses.
Ms Mendoza wrote online that her younger brother 'wasn't a bad child,' but rather ended up 'in the wrong place at the wrong time.'
ISIS has urged its supporters to 'break the cross' and called Jesus a 'slave to Allah' in the latest issue of its propaganda magazine, Dabiq.
The 15th issue of the twisted multi-lingual publication appears to try and convert Christians and attempts to claim that ISIS is in fact Islamic.
'In essence, we explain why they must abandon their infidelity and accept Islam, the religion of sincerity and submission to the Lord of the heavens and the earth,' the magazine says.
The editorial claims Jesus himself is a 'slave of Allah' and that 'the true religion of Jesus Christ is a pure monotheistic submission'. It adds that when Jesus returns in the final days he will 'wage jihad for the cause of Allah'.
Propaganda: ISIS have released the latest issue of their Dabiq magazine
The jihadi author goes on to reason that the masses are too scared to call the group Islamic because its 'politically incorrect'. He notes there are 'exceptions among the disbelievers... who will unabashedly declare that jihad and the laws of the Shariah as well as everything else deemed taboo by the Islam-is-a-peaceful-religion crowd are in fact completely Islamic'.
The article says these people tend to have far less credibility and 'are painted as a social fringe, so their voices are dismissed and a large segment of the ignorant masses continues believing the false narrative'.
'As such, it becomes important for us to clarify to the West in unequivocal terms yet again why we hate you and why we fight you.'
The comment comes after Pope Francis said the world is at war in the wake of an ISIS supporter murdering a priest in France - but insisted it is not a 'war of religions'.
The magazine features a whole editorial titled Why We Hate You and Why We Fight You. The list-style article explains 'we hate you, first and foremost, because you are disbelievers; you reject the oneness of Allah whether you realize it or not'.
The other six reasons ISIS hates everyone who isn't a member of its terror group is because they are reportedly 'liberal', 'atheist', commit 'crimes against Islam' and 'crimes against the Muslims' and invade 'our lands'.
'As long as there is an inch of territory left for us to reclaim, jihad will continue to be a personal obligation on every single Muslim,' the propaganda piece states.
The magazine begins by taking responsibility for all the recent terror attacks carried out by followers of its message, including those in Wurzburg (where an Afghan teenager carried out an axe attack on a train) the massacres in Nice and Orlando and the attack of the French priest.
The operations, according to Dabiq, were carried out 'the hidden soldiers of the Caliphate', 'led to the martyrdom of twelve soldiers of the Caliphate and the deaths and injuries of more than six hundred Crusaders', and were aimed at the 'cross-worshippers and democratic pagans of the West.'
Ideology: The magazine attempts to explain why ISIS hates everyone who isn't a follower of its twisted ideology
It includes an apparent admission that the French and German attacks were by 'our brothers' and 'soldiers of the caliphate' individuals acting largely independently of the Islamic State's central organisation.
In his attack on the Orlando nightclub, the magazine brags, Omar Mateen 'succeeded in massacring the filthy Crusaders, killing and injuring more than 100 of them before he was killed.
The operation was reported as being the most deadly attack in America since the Manhattan raid 15 years ago.' In the attack on the French church in Normandy, two 'soldiers of the caliphate' killed 'a priest and wounded a number of others before being killed.'
The issue, full of impenetrable jargon, arcane footnotes and obscure religious references, takes aim at 'sodomites', secularists, smokers of marijuana and feminism.
Supporters: Islamic State fighters wave flags along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa after the group seized the city in 2014
'The Western woman', says one of its writers, 'is encouraged to compete with men in the workplace, to display of her body what no man ever displays, and to be more promiscuous than any prostitute has ever been.
Another article about the 'near-extinction of the Western woman' advises women not to 'imitate man' and to cleave to motherhood, 'while his father works as the breadwinner and she obeys her husband as his wife.' The article bemoans that 'more and more women abandon motherhood, wifehood, chastity, femininity, and heterosexuality, the true woman in the West has become an endangered creature.'
Brutality: A recent ISIS video shows Islamic State religious police reportedly chopping off the hand of an alleged thief in Raqqa, Syria
Boasting: The foreword of the magazine references the recent attacks claimed by ISIS
Dabiq's leading story, titled Break the Cross, criticises Christian and Jewish theology and a short essay called 'By the Sword' looks at the cross over between violence and religion.
'The clear difference between Muslims and the corrupt and deviant Jews and Christians is that Muslims are not ashamed of abiding by the rules sent down from their Lord regarding war and enforcement of divine law,' the article says.
The propaganda rag also references the controversy surrounding Donald Trump and the parents of a dead Muslim U.S. soldier Capt. Humayun Khan.
Ghazala Khan and her husband, Khizr Khan, first made headlines last week when they spoke at the Democratic National Convention, critiquing Trump's divisive rhetoric against Muslims and their son, who died fighting for the U.S. in Iraq in 2004.
In response, Trump claimed he was 'viciously attacked' by the couple and denied the opportunity to respond to their claims.
The magazine features a picture of Khan's grave with the caption: 'Beware of dying as an apostate'.
Controversy: The magazine referenced the fallout between Donald Trump and the parents of Muslim U.S. soldier Capt. Humayun Khan who was killed in Iraq in 2004
Previous issues of the publication have targeted Shi'ite Muslims, journalists, even the Muslim Brotherhood.
Recent issues of Dabiq have ventured into territory both obscure and surreal, provoking ridicule on social media and allegations among analysts that ISIS is 'jumping the shark' in its efforts to reach out to a new audience.
In this issue an article called 'Contemplate the Creation' features a picture a picture of a young jihadi holding a kitten, a common trope in ISIS propaganda, and a bizarre aside on the proper relationships between men and women which draws on the secret life of bees.
'The different members of the colony all know their responsibilities and are able to communicate with each other in a language unknown to other creatures', says its writer sagely.
Jason Barnes to thank him
She was reunited with human chain
The woman rescued from her stranded car by a human chain in severe flooding in Maryland at the weekend has reportedly met and thanked the man who organised the rescue effort and carried her to safety.
Jamie Knight, 29, has been revealed as the person in the car in the dramatic cellphone footage shot of the flooding in Ellicott City on Saturday.
And Jason Barnes, who owns nearby story All Time Toys, was named as the man who risked his life, fell into the rushing waters before regaining his footing and carrying Ms Knight to safety.
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Jamie Knight was reunited with rescuer James Barnes after his human chain effort saved her
Jamie Knight thought she wouldn't make it, but she managed to jump out of her car window and was picked up by one of the rescuers, Jason Barnes
During a reunion filmed by local television station WUSA9, Ms Knight and Ms Barnes met for the first time after she had previously expressed a desire to meet her then anonymous rescuer and tell him 'I really owe you'.
Ms Knight told him: 'Thank you so much.'
Mr Barnes responded: 'Not a problem. It was the decent thing to do.'
But Mr Barnes has jokingly revealed the welcome was not as warm when he returned home to his wife.
Ms Knight and Mr Barnes meet, with the woman thanking him for saving her life
'She yelled at me first, in tears (and) told me never to do it again,' he told WUSA9.
He said everyone in the chain was a hero and typical of the town which had been through natural disasters before.
'We didnt expect anyone to survive.' he said.
'It's just the neighborly love that is always there. There was me and three other people who helped get her out.
'I was the last link in a very strong chain.'
Ms Knight at first tried to steer her car into safety but was pulled by the rushing waters
Mr Barnes formed a human chain to help Ms Knight, trapped in her car, escape the flood
In a video posted by another local business owner, Ms Knight was almost swept away by the fast flowing water as she tried to drive through the deluge.
'Get out, get out,' one person screamed to her off-camera.
At least four people are then seen linking hands as they desperately edge closer to the stranded driver.
'You're not going to make it!' one of the rescuers tells her.
'I can't get out,' she replies, trying to climb out of her car's window.
'You have to,' another rescuer responds.
Mr Barnes fell while trying to reach the car and was pulled by the flood. He managed to stay up and reached the car
Several people joined hands to get closer to Ms Knight as her car was pulled by violent flooding that destroyed Ellicott City
The man at the end closest to the car, Mr Barnes, was briefly pulled by the water, but managed to hang on to the car.
He helped the woman out of the car and carried her in his arms, before they were both pulled back to safety.
Ms Knight told WUSA9 she was not a strong swimmer.
The actor has also praised Bernie Sanders for his remarks on climate change, calling the Vermont
Hillary Clinton is heading to Hollywood yet again later this month for another big ticket fundraiser.
The presidential hopeful will be making her first trip to California since officially becoming the Democratic nominee for some fundraising events, including one that will be hosted by one of Tinseltown's biggest stars - Leonardo DiCaprio.
DiCaprio will host Conversations with Hillary on August 23, a $33,400-a-plate luncheon which will be held at the Oscar-winning actor's home, according to Deadline.
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Here's to the ladies who lunch: Leonardo DiCaprio will host a fundraising lunch for Hillary Clinton later this month in Los Angeles (DiCaprio and Clinton above in 2003)
Steep price: The $33,400-a-plate event will be held at the home of the Oscar-winning actor (Clinton left and DiCaprio right leaving a June fundraiser at the home of Harvey Weinstein)
Only $2,700 of the ticket price will go to Clinton, with the Democratic National Committee getting the rest of the money from each ticket.
The guest list for the event is still being finalized, but will likely include many of DiCaprio's A-list pals who are also Clinton supporters, such as Tobey Maguire and his wife Jennifer, Jennifer Lopez and producer Harvey Weinstein.
DiCaprio was a guest at a Clinton event Weinstein and his British-born wife Georgina Chapman hosted at their Manhattan townhouse in June, which also brought out Sarah Jessica Parker ad her husband Matthew Broderick, Martha Stewart and reality star Bethenny Frankel, among others.
He also donated $2,700 to the Clinton campaign during the primary, the most that is allowed from an individual donor.
And while DiCaprio is now supporting Clinton, he had some very positive things to say about her opponent Bernie Sanders last December in response to remarks he made about climate change.
'Look, not to get political, but listening to Bernie Sanders at that first presidential debate was pretty inspiring - to hear what he said about the environment,'DiCaprio said in an interview with Wired.
'Who knows which candidate is going to become our next president, but we need to create a dialogue about it. I mean, when they asked each of the candidates what the most important issue facing our planet is, Bernie Sanders simply said climate change. To me thats inspiring.'
DiCaprio is a noted environmentalist who was honored for his work in 2014 at the 8th Annual Clinton Global Citizen Awards.
Making a difference: DiCaprio is a noted environmentalist who was honored for his work in 2014 at the 8th Annual Clinton Global Citizen Awards (above)
Clinton will also attend a fundraiser the evening before DiCaprio's luncheon at the home of billionaire producer Haim Saban.
That event will be co-hosted by Saban and his wife Cheryl, Disney CEO Bob Iger, DreamWorks head Jeffrey Katzenberg and Casey Wasserman.
The Democratic nominee made numerous trips to Los Angeles during the primary, attending fundraisers at the homes of Napster founder and former Facebook president Sean Parker, CAA chief Bryan Lourd and George Clooney, to name just a few.
After naming five generals who were allegedly protectors of dealers, Duterte will now target narco-politicians
Office Secretary Martin Andanar said 60,000 drug dependents have surrendered to authorities
Image shows a dead man next to a sign that says: 'Do not follow me, I am a drug pusher and my house is a drug den'
Over 500 people have been killed since the start of July and the death toll is set to rise even further
fter winning elections in May this year
Ordered drug pushers to be 'put behind bars ... or below ground if you wish' a
He ordered police to carry out summary executions and also urged citizens to kill drug users and dealers
Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has been dubbed 'The Punisher' because of his brutal war on drugs
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A man gunned down in the street lying next to a sign that reads: 'Do not follow me, I am a drug pusher and my house is a drug den.'
These are the images of President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte's war on illegal drugs.
Some men are seen stripped to their underwear, with their hands and feet tied. Others have their faces covered in tape or their clothes soaked with blood.
Homeless children are pictured huddling together lying on a cardboard sheet in the middle of the street as the chaos goes on around them.
Wives and family members are pictured clutching the lifeless bodies of their loved ones who were killed in the summary executions carried out by police officers, without the benefit of a full and fair trial.
Officers have killed over 500 suspected drug traders and users and more than 100,000 people have surrendered to police in the first month of the campaign.
A man lay dead next to a placard reading 'Do not follow me, I am a drug pusher and my house is a drug den,' after being shot by an unidentified gunmen in Manila, Philippines on July 28
Filipino police crime investigators gathering evidence next to victims killed by unidentified gunmen
Homeless children are pictured huddling together lying on a cardboard sheet in the middle of the street as the chaos goes on around them
A Filipino woman grieving the loss of her relative who was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Manila on July 28
After naming five generals who were allegedly protectors of drug dealers, President Duterte said his next targets are narco-politicians.
President Duterte on Tuesday demanded the surrender of Albuera town Mayor Ronaldo Espinosa Senior, and his son, Kerwin Espinosa, on the grounds of drug-trafficking and the coddling of drug dealers within 24 hours.
An order of shoot on sight will be given if they resist.
In his first state of the nation address to parliament Mr Duterte, dubbed 'The Punisher', ignored the outrage over the continuing death count, declaring that drugs were 'drowning his country' and had to be stopped at all costs.
'Double your efforts. Triple them if need be,' Mr Duterte told police
'We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier and the last pusher have surrendered or been put behind bars ... or below ground if you wish,' he said.
After naming five generals who were allegedly protectors of drug dealers, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said his next targets are narco-politicians
A victim shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Manila on July 28 is carried away in a body bag
Two men lay dead in the street as Filipino crime investigators gather evidence
Filipino funeral parlor workers carrying a victim who was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Manila
Two women cry in grief after armed assailants in a motorcycle shot their loved one in a main thoroughfare on July 23, in Manila
A young alleged drug dealer pictured with his hands and feet bound and his head wrapped in tape besides a road
Police examine the body of an alleged drug dealer in Manila, as shocked locals look on
The body of three alleged drug suspects lie inside a room littered with pink toys and a Hello Kitty cushion. A gun can be seen by one of the men's feet
A crime scene shows where an alleged drug dealer was killed. There has been at least 300 drug related deaths since the start of July
An alleged drug dealer and victim is found with his head wrapped in tape
A man is seen shot dead outside of a local shop in Manila and was another alleged drug dealer
A man in a blood soaked white t-shirt lays curled up on the ground next to a handgun
Another two bodies are seen in alleyways after being shot dead in Manila, The Philippines
An alleged drug dealer and victim is seen here with his hands bound and his head wrapped in tape
A woman clutches her dead husband in grief after armed assailants on a motorcycle shot him in a main thoroughfare on July 23
Human rights groups obtained police figures that showed Mr Duterte's violent crackdown has claimed the lives of 293 suspected users and pushers in police operations between July 1 and July 24.
This figure does not include drug dealers killed by vigilante groups and those working outside the law.
Mr Duterte made it clear he would pardon police if they were charged with human rights violations for carrying out his merciless orders.
Nearly 60,000 Filipino drug addicts surrendered themselves earlier this month to the government after President Duterte urged citizens to 'go ahead and kill' drug dealers and users.
Mr Duterte won elections in May and immediately promised a law-and-order crackdown on drugs.
The wife of the victim said he was not a drug peddler and that he was nothing more than a pedicab driver plying his trade when he was shot in front of her
A funeral services worker in a yellow t-shirt is seen alongside police as another body of an alleged drug dealer is recovered in Manila
Local people line up behind a yellow police crime scene tape as police carry out an investigation in Manila
Funeral workers transport bodies of alleged drug dealers and victims of summary executions inside a funeral parlor on July 27
The body of an alleged drug dealer waits to be transported to a funeral home in Manila
This picture was taken at midnight after a drug raid in a large shanty community of the port area district on July 21, 2016 in Manila
A Filipino woman grieves the loss of her husband, next to a placard which reads 'I'm a pusher'. The man was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Pasay City, south of Manila, Philippines
A Filipino funeral parlor worker wraps a body in in Pasay City, south of Manila
While women grieve the death of an alleged drug pusher in Pasay city, south of Manila (left), Filipinos carrying a wounded villager in Malabon City, east of Manila (right)
The body of a drug user is carried away in the town of Kawit, Cavite province, Philippines
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's war on illegal drugs has already killed almost 300 people since the start of July
Filipino villagers grieve the loss of their relative, who was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Pasay City, south of Manila
Nearly 60,000 drug addicts across the Philippines have handed themselves in to authorities after president Duterte promised a law-and-order crackdown on drugs
Filipinos allegedly involved in illegal drugs handcuffed together inside a police headquarters in Manila. Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar said close to 60,000 drug dependents have surrendered to authorities
Filipino inmates are seen inside a jail in Manila. President Rodrigo Duterte has urged citizens to 'go ahead and kill' drug dealers and users
Police officers remove packing tape wrapped over the lifeless head of an alleged drug dealer on a street in Manila
'These sons of w****s are destroying our children. I warn you, don't go into that, even if you're a policeman, because I will really kill you,' the president told an audience during a speech in the country's capital, Manila.
Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar said close to 60,000 drug dependents have surrendered to authorities since the administration began its intensified campaign against drugs.
Police have confirmed killing more than 110 drug suspects since the president came to power, while local news reports suggest that figure is around 200.
At least 43,000 alleged drug traffickers have been 'neutralised' and 300kg of shabu, a highly addictive methamphetamine, has been confiscated, according to local reports.
President Duterte has warned of widespread bloodshed as part of the government's war on drugs.
He vowed on one occasion during the election campaign that 100,000 people would die, and so many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish there would grow fat from feeding on them, according to the South China Morning Post.
Duterte has also told police he would protect them from legal consequences if they killed drug dealers, the Post reported.
Picture shows the body of a killed Filipino allegedly involved in illegal drugs. Police have confirmed killing more than 110 drug suspects since president Duterte came to power
Police officers investigate the body of an alleged drug dealer, his face covered with packing tape and a placard reading 'I'm a pusher', on a street in Manila
At least 43,000 alleged drug traffickers have been 'neutralised' and 300kg of shabua, a highly addictive methamphetamine, has been confiscated
Pictured, arrested Filipinos allegedly involved in illegal drugs resting inside a shanty in Manila. President Duterte has warned of widespread bloodshed as part of the government's war on drugs
President Duterte vowed on one occasion during the election campaign that 100,000 people would die, and so many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish there would grow fat from feeding on them, according to the South China Morning Post
Last week, gruesome images showing slain drug dealers with 'I'm a pusher' signs covering their chests emerged.
The grim scenes of alleged drug dealers found shot dead in Manila last week are growing increasingly common as police wage a bloody war on narcotics.
The government's top lawyer called for police to kill more suspected drug criminals, as he defended president Duterte's brutal war on crime against mounting criticism.
As the official death toll has mounted, and other bodies not confirmed killed by police have been found with placards declaring them drug traffickers, human rights lawyers have expressed deep concerns about the war on crime spiralling out of control.
Filipino suspected drug users and pushers participate in exercises after voluntarily surrendering in Manila
Grim scenes of alleged drug dealers found shot dead in Manila last week are growing increasingly common as police wage a bloody war on narcotics.
A Filipino allegedly involved with illegal drugs standing on top of an electric post as rescuers try to convince him to get down
The Filipino man allegedly involved with drugs is arrested by policemen after clinging on top of an electric post for hours
In response to the criticism, Solicitor General Jose Calida held a press conference on Monday at national police headquarters to insist on the legality of the police killings and to encourage more deaths of people suspected of being involved in the drug trade.
'To me, that is not enough,' Calida said of the killings so far.
'How many drug addicts or pushers are there in the Philippines? Our villages are almost saturated (with drugs).'
A lawyer and a former prosecutor, Duterte has urged law enforcers to kill those they believe are involved in the drug trade, as well as other criminals.
Members of the Philippine National Police Scene of the Crime Operatives conducting investigation following a police operation against illegal drugs
Pictured, the body of a killed Filipino allegedly involved in illegal drugs lying in a pool of blood in Manila
A member of the Philippine National Police Scene of the Crime Operatives examining recovered evidence in Manila.
The government's top lawyer called for police to kill more suspected drug criminals, as he defended president Duterte's brutal war on crime against mounting criticism
In one of the deadliest single incidents, police reported killing eight 'drug personalities' during a pre-dawn raid on Saturday in a small southern town.
One of the nation's top human rights lawyers, Jose Manuel Diokno, warned last week that Duterte had 'spawned a nuclear explosion of violence that is spiralling out of control and creating a nation without judges'.
Former senator Rene Saguisag, a prominent human rights lawyer during the regime of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, also criticised Duterte's statements naming and shaming alleged drug lords and police officers ahead of a formal investigation.
As the official death toll has mounted, and other bodies not confirmed killed by police have been found with placards declaring them drug traffickers, human rights lawyers have expressed deep concerns about the war on crime spiralling out of control
Solicitor General Jose Calida held a press conference on Monday at national police headquarters to insist on the legality of the police killings and to encourage more deaths of people suspected of being involved in the drug trade
Pictured, a Filipino suspected drug user takes his oath taking after voluntarily surrendering
'Do we still probe and have a trial as part of due process? Useless, it seems to me,' Saguisag wrote in an online column last week.
Some opposition lawmakers have also called for a congressional investigation into the spate of killings.
Calida, a Duterte appointee, said he would protect police from or during congressional probes, while emphasising it was up to critics to prove allegations of abuse rather than base inquiries on speculation.
'I am here to encourage the (police) not to be afraid of any congressional or senate investigations. We will defend them ... I am the defender of the (police),' he said.
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A Syrian town was attacked by a helicopter dropping toxic gas just hours after a Russian chopper was shot down nearby killing all five on board, local rescuers have claimed.
Graphic pictures yesterday showed the burning remains of a Russian helicopter which crashed down in Idlib province before a crew member's body was dragged through the dirt.
The Kremlin claimed the aircraft had been returning from war-torn Aleppo after delivering humanitarian aid.
Hours later another chopper was seen dropping containers of toxic gas on the nearby town of Saraqeb affecting 33 people - mostly women and children. Syria Civil Defence workers, who went to the scene of the attack, said they suspected it was chlorine but could not verify that.
A man receives treatment at the Sahra hospital after suspected chlorine gas was dropped on the town of Saraqeb
A helicopter was seen dropping containers of toxic gas on the town of Saraqeb affecting 33 people - mostly women and children. A baby is treated
Rescue workers giving treatment to a baby who was allegedly affected by a chlorine gas canister attack dropped by an unidentified military helicopter in Saraqeb
An object claimed to be a chlorine gas canister dropped by an unidentified military helicopter
Crash site: The aircraft, carrying three crew and two officers, was shot down down in the Idlib province in north western Syria today
Gruesome pictures show what is believed to be the body of a Russian pilot being dragged through the dirt after the aircraft was gunned down
A spokesman for the group, which describes itself as a neutral band of search and rescue volunteers, posted a video on YouTube purportedly showing a number of men struggling to breathe and being given oxygen masks by people in civil defence uniforms.
'Medium-sized barrels fell containing toxic gasses. The Syrian Civil Defence was not able to determine the type of the gas,' said the spokesman.
The Syrian government and its Russian allies were not immediately available for comment.
Both government and opposition forces have denied using chemical weapons during the five-year-old civil war.
Syria Civil Defence workers, who went to the scene of the attack, said they suspected it was chlorine but could not verify that
Videos have been posted online purportedly showing a number of men struggling to breathe and being given oxygen masks by people in civil defence uniforms
Both government and opposition forces have denied using chemical weapons during the five-year-old civil war
A rescue worker giving treatment to a baby who was allegedly affected by the chlorine gas canister attack
Western powers say the government has been responsible for chlorine and other chemical attacks. The Syrian government and Russia have accused rebel forces of using poison gas.
Monitors at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said barrel bombs fell on Saraqeb late on Monday, injuring a large number of citizens.
Yesterday, Russia's defence ministry said a Russian helicopter was shot down near Saraqeb on Monday, killing all five people on board, in the biggest officially acknowledged loss of life for Russian forces since they started operations in Syria.
The helicopter came down in Idlib province, roughly mid-way between Aleppo and the Russian air force base at Khmeimim, near the Mediterranean coast.
Mystery surrounded the discovery in the wreckage of an ID card showing a picture of a blonde woman
Russia's Ministry of Defence said the helicopter was returning to the its main air base in the western province of Latakia following a delivery of humanitarian aid in war-torn Aleppo
The Russian defence ministry said the Mi-8 military transport helicopter had been shot down after delivering humanitarian aid to the city of Aleppo as it made its way back to Russia's main air base in the western province of Latakia.
Gruesome pictures emerged showing what was believed to be the body of a Russian pilot being dragged through the dirt and loaded on to a truck.
It came as mystery surrounded the discovery in the wreckage of an identification card showing a picture of a blonde woman.
The image was found along with a haul of personal belongings of those inside, including Russian drivers' licences, passports and insurance cards, as well as Orthodox Christian icons.
Two activist groups - the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees - say rebels shot down the Mi-8.
'A Russian Mi-8 military transport helicopter was shot down from the ground after delivering humanitarian aid to Aleppo,' the defence ministry said in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies.
'Three crew members and two officers... were on board.'
In a later statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added: 'As far as we know from the information we've had from the defence ministry, those in the helicopter died, they died heroically, because they were trying to move the aircraft away to minimise victims on the ground.'
Videos uploaded online by Syrian opposition activists show the burning wreckage the helicopter seemingly taken in the first few moments after it crashed.
In one film, a rocket pod can be seen next to the wreckage. People standing nearby are seen taking cellphone photos and shouting 'Allahu Akbar,' or God is great in Arabic.
A Russian helicopter has been shot down by rebels in Syria, it has been revealed. Pictures show what is believed to be the wreckage
The body was piled on to the back of a truck after being dragged through the dirt in Syria
Two activist groups - the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees - say rebels shot down the Mi-8
The helicopter appears to have broken up as it crashed. In another video, its tail can be seen lying separately from the aircraft's body in flames
The helicopter that crashed near Aleppo was a Russian Mi-8 (file picture) which had reportedly been on an aid mission to the city
The helicopter appears to have broken up as it crashed. In another video, its tail can be seen lying separately from the aircraft's body in flames.
Russian air forces are supporting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's five-year-old civil war.
Around 25 miles north-east of the crash site, rebel groups are staging an offensive to break a government siege on rebel-held parts of eastern Aleppo city.
Pro-government forces on the ground are being supported by heavy air strikes in the area.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the helicopter incident. Idlib province has a strong presence of both fighters for the al-Qaeda branch in Syria known as the Nusra Front and rebels.
Around 25 miles north-east of the crash site, rebel groups are staging an offensive to break a government siege on rebel-held parts of eastern Aleppo city
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the helicopter incident. Idlib province has a strong presence of both fighters for the al-Qaeda branch in Syria known as the Nusra Front and rebels
Syrians gather around the burning wreckage of a helicopter, belonging to Russian military, after it was shot down by anti-regimist opposition forces in Tell Sultan town
In one film, a rocket pod can be seen next to the wreckage. People standing nearby are seen taking cellphone photos and shouting 'Allahu Akbar,' or God is great in Arabic
Pictures taken in the aftermath of the crash show how the helicopter burst into flames in the crash
The group announced last week that it was changing its name and relinquishing ties with al-Qaeda in an attempt to undermine a potential US and Russian air campaign against its fighters.
The group is part of a coalition of insurgent groups called Jaish al-Fateh, or Army of Conquest, which has captured most of Idlib.
In July, two Russian airmen were killed in the central Homs province when their Mi-25 helicopter was shot down by what the Defense Ministry said were ISIS fighters.
An Mi-28N helicopter gunship crashed near Homs in April, killing both crew members, but the Russian military said there was no evidence it came under fire.
Syrians living nearby flocked to the scene of the crash with pictures showing the burning wreckage of the helicopter
Inspection: A group of men examine part of the Russian helicopter while one man takes pictures on his mobile telephone
Rebels posted pictures online showing documents and identification photos found in the wreckage
Russian air forces are supporting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's five-year-old civil war and have been providing aerial support
Images shared on social media purportedly showed a dead body stripped of his clothes and Russian identity documents taken from the crashed helicopter.
Grim pictures have emerged online showing men trampling on dead crew members near the crash site
A Russian warplane was shot down by a Turkey along the Syrian border in November, and one of the two pilots was shot and killed from the ground after ejecting.
Earlier on Monday, a Syrian military official said that government forces repelled an attack by insurgents that was an attempt to break the siege imposed on rebel-held parts of the northern city of Aleppo.
The development came a day after Syrian rebels launched the offensive to break up the government's siege of eastern, rebel-held part of the city.
The U.N. estimates some 300,000 people are still trapped in the rebel section of Aleppo, with dwindling food and medical supplies.
The U.N.'s special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura warned on Friday that basic supplies in eastern Aleppo could run out in three weeks.
Opposition activists said intense fighting was still ongoing in Aleppo on Monday. The Syrian military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, did not elaborate.
The U.N. estimates some 300,000 people are still trapped in the rebel section of Aleppo, with dwindling food and medical supplies. Pictures show a building hit by Assad's regime in Aleppo on Sunday
Meet the UK's oldest fitness instructor who is still teaching two classes a week thanks to her daily brandy at the age of 99.
Minnie Solomons has been teaching keep fit classes for 50 years and shows no sign of slowing down even after having a hip operation.
The great-grandmother of four teaches her exercise classes every Monday and Tuesday and only gave up her Wednesday class 18 months ago.
Minnie Solomons has been teaching keep fit classes for 50 years and shows no sign of slowing down even after having a hip operation
The great-grandmother of four teaches her exercise classes every Monday and Tuesday and only gave up her Wednesday class 18 months ago
Widow Minnie, from London, said she started keeping fit about 50 years ago
The retired shop assistant has ditched the leotards and dance routines of her earlier years in favour of seated aerobics for the over 70s.
But she still easily remembers the 45-minute routines and adds new moves to keep her students - most who are two decades her junior - on the ball.
Widow Minnie, from London, said: 'I started 50 years ago when it was all standing up and on the floor and the rest of it, but now it is just chair exercises.
'I get great satisfaction from doing it and I thank God every day that I am able to do it.
'I do a Monday and a Tuesday and I used to do a Wednesday too, until I had the hop operation.
'Unfortunately I still have an ache, so something had to go.'
Minnie, who lived through both world wars, was born in 1915 and was evacuated during the Blitz.
She married Jacob Solomon in 1939, a boxer in the RAF, and they had one daughter together. They worked alongside each other in his electrician's shop.
The retired shop assistant has ditched the leotards and dance routines of her earlier years in favour of seated aerobics for the over 70s
Despite having a hip operation 18 months ago and suffering from arthritis, Minnie is still in good health
When Jacob, or Tonney as he was affectionately know, passed away 20 years ago, Minnie never remarried.
She now leads fitness classes in South Woodford in north-east London for a group over-70s, as well as another class nearby.
Granddaughter Naomi Lyons, 57, said: 'She doesn't realise how unique she is. She can't quite do what she used to do but she has this incredible way of thinking.
'Sometimes I think she's barking mad, but most of the time I think fair play. She's been doing keep fit since I was a teenager.
'I remember her always writing down exercises and different movements in a book.
'It's mainly chair exercises. She showed me some of their little movements - some of them can hardly move. She sees the funny side.'
The fitness fanatic lives a thrifty lifestyle and only treats herself to a glass of brandy every night and just a weekly shower to save water.
She refuses to let her hair go grey and the only beauty treatment she uses is Oil of Olay - which she has been applying for around 50 years (Minnie at her sister's wedding)
Minnie's wartime habits die hard as she has a stand-up wash in her kitchen everyday and still only uses powdered milk (circled at a family event decades ago)
Naomi, who is also her full-time carer, said that people are stunned when they find out the secret to Minnie's success.
'They ask her what she eats to stay looking that young and she tells them 'lettuce!' she said.
'They can't believe it. She has a child's portion really of salad and a couple of pieces of fruit. She has family meals with us too.'
Minnie, who is 100 next June, added: 'It is luck of the draw, and I try to eat me five a day.'
Despite having a hip operation 18 months ago and suffering from arthritis, Minnie is still in good health and her doctor said she has the body of a much younger woman.
She refuses to let her hair go grey and the only beauty treatment she uses is Oil of Olay - which she has been applying for around 50 years.
Minnie's wartime habits die hard, as she has a stand-up wash in the kitchen everyday and still only uses powdered milk.
Naomi said: 'I've tried to tell her that normal milk won't go off, but she insists.'
A man suspected of murdering a six-year-old schoolboy more than 20 years ago who then fled the UK in the back of a campervan has been arrested in Portugal.
Convicted arsonist James Watson, 35, was arrested in April over the unsolved murder of schoolboy Rikki Neave, who was found strangled to death in 1994.
The six-year-old was found dead on the same estate in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, where Watson grew up.
Convicted arsonist James Watson, 35, was arrested in April over the notorious and unsolved murder of schoolboy Rikki Neave, who was found strangled to death in Peterborough in 1994
The convicted arsonist was arrested in April over the notorious and unsolved murder of schoolboy Rikki Neave in 1994. He was released on police bail but then absconded
Father-of-one Watson was first arrested over the unsolved murder in April this year.
He was released on police bail but then absconded from a hostel in Northampton in June and then used a motorhome to smuggle himself out of the UK from Dover, Kent.
It is understood he and a friend decided to hide out in Portugal but the pair have now fallen out, prompting Watson to decide to return home.
But this afternoon, before he could return to the UK he was arrested by local officers in Lisbon.
The arrest follows ongoing work by officers from the Major Crime Unit, national authorities and authorities in Portugal.
He will remain in custody in Portugal while extradition proceedings begin. It is believed he was arrested under a European Arrest Warrant on suspicion of breaching his licence.
Officers from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit are expected to travel out to Portugal in the coming days.
Cambridgeshire Police confirmed that Watson was arrested by Portuguese police in Lisbon.
James Watson, 35, (left and right) who is suspected of killing a six-year-old child, fled the UK
Previously, speaking from his hideout, Watson said: 'I am NOT on THE RUN and I AM coming back. I didn't run. Let's make that clear.
'It just so happens that at the same time that I am doing this (travelling around Europe) happens to be while I am on bail. I always intended to come back for bail.
'The police, probation and MAPPA (Multi-agency public protection arrangements) know this.'
Watson, of Peterborough, is due to answer police bail on September 20.
He added: 'It's f****** mad. I have so much going on (with) travel plans. I am having to rearrange all my travel plans back to the UK.
'It's a f***** nightmare. I've never been on a commercial flight. It's first time madness.'
Watson added: 'My family are fine. They would naturally worry about me, I would worry if they didn't.
'Those people close to me, the ones I can about and want in my life know all the need to know, they are all my family.'
He has now sent a string of photos to friends and family showing him drinking beer, sun-bathing and even posing nude. He is pictured right in the motorhome in which he travelled
The self-confessed police hater - who served six years for fire-bombing a police station - revealed last month that he just 'walked out the country' without a passport or any checks.
He sent a string of holiday photos to friends and family showing him drinking beer, sun-bathing and even posing nude as he lapped up the rays on the Continent.
After his first arrest Watson was taken away for days of 'intensive' questioning before being released on bail until June 15.
Police were made aware on July 15 that the suspect had breached his police bail by travelling overseas and UK police began liaison with European forces to locate him and ensure his return to this country.
The self-confessed police hater - who served six years for fire-bombing a police station - revealed last month that he just 'walked out the country' without a passport or any checks
A police spokesman said: 'We have reason to believe that the 35-year-old man from Peterborough who was arrested in connection with the historic murder of six-year-old Rikki Neave left the country while on police bail.
'We have been in communication with him and are working with him and partner agencies in order for him to return to the UK promptly.'
Police have told the schoolboy's mother Ruth - who stood trial for the murder but was acquitted- that they are aware of her frustration around the current situation.
However she has been told by a senior officer that 'every effort is being made to secure the suspect's return to the UK'.
Mrs Neave said: 'I am very anxious about all of this, I am under a lot of pressure and I have had to get some sedation to calm my nerves because they have been shot to pieces.'
Watson was given a indefinite sentence in January 2009 for causing 800,000 of damage by setting fire to the British Transport Police's headquarters in Peterborough city centre.
He was given a five year minimum tariff and released at the end of July 2015, after serving six years.
At the court hearing into his sentencing Peterborough crown court heard that Watson had a hatred of authority since feeling let down by those in charge of his care as a child.
Denied sexual assault: Alex Di Francesco, 36, who is pictured leaving Highbury Corner Magistrates Court today, was said to have forced himself on the 24-year-old woman
A barrister who allowed a young woman he chatted up in a wine bar to don his wig and gown at his chambers was today cleared of sexually assaulting her.
Alex Di Francesco, 36, of Flamstead, Hertfordshire, was said to have forced himself on the 24-year-old woman after meeting her in Dalys Wine Bar on The Strand in Central London.
Di Francesco, who was once voted 13th sexiest barrister in London by law blog LegalCheek, allegedly told her to grow up and demanded to know why she wouldnt have a one-night stand with him when she tried to push him off her.
But he was left in tears this afternoon after being found not guilty of one count of sexual assault at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court in North London.
Deputy District Judge Mr Nicholas Wattan said: I'm concerned her recall of what happened is impaired by the amount of alcohol she had that evening.'
I can't be sure the events unfolded in the way she described, added the judge, saying Di Francesco's 'credible' account 'stood up well to cross examination'.
Earlier, the court was told how the pair had flirted at the wine bar on January 30 this year when the woman refused to believe he was a barrister until he went online to show her his profile at 25 Bedford Row Chambers in Holborn.
Di Francesco allegedly met the woman in Dalys Wine Bar on The Strand in Central London
When the bar shut, he took the young woman, who worked in management at a law firm and also had a law degree, to his chambers to prove he was who he said he was.
Defence barrister Di Francesco, who has represented defendants against sexual assault charges, then tried to force the woman to have sex with him, it was claimed.
Dilichi Onuzo, prosecuting, said: They chatted for an hour until closing time. He told her he was a barrister, she did not believe him so went on Google to check. They had a conversation about whether he had a wig and gown.
The woman said it was the third bar she and a female friend had been to that night and she had shared champagne and wine and consumed up to three double vodkas.
Di Francesco was once voted 13th sexiest barrister in London by law blog LegalCheek
She was reassured by Di Francescos profession, adding: There was then a level of trust. I work at a law firm and theres an interest, something in common.
The complainant showed him a picture of her in a bikini on her phone, saying: Thats when he said I had a really nice bum. It was a flirty comment.
'His whole demeanour was quite arrogant, he knew we were taken aback by what he did for a living and played on that.
Di Francesco allegedly told the women he lived with his father.
Miss Onuzo added: She went to his chambers at 25 Bedford Row and he took her to his office to show her his wig and gown. She tried on the wig and gown and he took her upstairs to an office, where there was a large conference table.
'He tried to kiss her, she moved away. She felt sleepy and lay down on the floor. He laid down and pulled down her tights and panties and reached for her.
'She pushed him away, pulled up her tights and pants and he then grabbed her bum really, really hard.
The court heard how the pair had flirted when the woman refused to believe he was a barrister until he went online to show her his profile at 25 Bedford Row Chambers (pictured) in Holborn
Mr Di Francesco asked her Arent we going to have sex? and she found him aggressive and confrontational.
She started crying and said she was having an anxiety attack, which he seemed to find funny and started laughing. She threw up and he was standing behind her.
Di Francesco denied sexual assault, insisting that all the touching was consensual and that the complainant had kissed him back
During the alleged assault the complainant said the barrister told her to grow up and questioned why she wouldnt want a one-night stand.
The woman eventually left by calling an Uber taxi and reported the incident to her friend. She told the court: Because of his profession and the level of trust I did not see any danger signs.
But in the chambers building things changed, the court heard. The woman said: I was starting to feel more on edge. It was just two of us in a locked building. Hes significantly bigger than me. Im very petite and I was drunk.
Di Francesco went in for a kiss, she said, adding: I pulled away because I was feeling more and more uncomfortable. I could feel the room spinning, I felt I couldnt stand for any longer. He lay down, there was a brief exchange.
'He pulled down my tights and put his hand towards (me). It happened in seconds and thats when I pushed his hand away.
'He followed up with: Arent we going to have sex? The situation had completely turned from what I thought it was and I said: No. We arent going to have sex.
He was starting to get more aggressive in his tone of voice. I was alarmed and felt at my most vulnerable. I did not know it was not going to escalate, we were in a locked building and I didnt know how I could get away.
He reached around and grabbed my bum and repeated the earlier comment and said: Youve got a really nice bum and squeezed it hard. He said I was pathetic for being a 24-year-old girl and not having a one-night stand.
The woman did not tell police about the alleged assault until the next Monday. She said: 'I blamed myself for the fact I hadn't looked after myself and I had got drunk.
'It wasn't until I got more comfortable and I told my mum and my housemates and they said "no, what he did is wrong and alcohol didn't have anything to do with it". It's taken a very long time to even consider being close to someone again.'
Arent we going to have sex? What Alex Di Francesco allegedly asked the 24-year-old woman
Di Francesco was arrested and questioned by police. He said she was lying about pulling away from kissing and she had kissed him back, explained the prosecutor.
Jennie Dempster, defending, asked why she had chosen to go back to his chambers in the middle of the night.
She said: 'Have you ever been back to someone's offices in the early hours of the morning previously?
'If you were interested in his job did you not think "that's a plan for next week? We can do it one evening?". If you were tired and a bit drunk, why didn't you say "we can do it find other night"?'
Giving evidence, Di Francesco said the woman teased him, saying he couldn't be a lawyer because he had gone to Birmingham University. He said she also showed him pictures of her wearing a bikini.
The barrister said the woman refused to have sex but invited him back to her home in south London at least five times so they could 'spoon'.
He said she became angry when he refused to go with her, adding: 'I said I can't, I live in Harpenden. She said "you won't go home because I won't have sex with you" - she said it in a way that got under my skin.
'I said "that's not true, but to be perfectly frank, if that's not what we're going to do what's the point?" It might not have been the most sensitive thing to say.
'I'm in chambers lying on the floor, she wasn't aggressive - she was just accusatory, and it wasn't nice anymore and I thought "I've got to leave".'
He said I was pathetic for being a 24-year-old girl and not having a one-night stand Alleged sexual assault victim
He admitted sliding his hand from her tights to her bottom, but said he pulled away as soon as she told him no.
Di Francesco said he initially thought she was claiming she felt nauseous as a ploy to keep him lying on the floor with her.
Asked what his intentions with the woman were, the barrister replied: 'My intentions were to spend more time with her, to see chambers, to talk and to do the things we ultimately did do.
'It was not my intention to have sex with her, I didn't know whether we would have sex, I didn't know how the night would develop but we didn't go to chambers to have sex.'
He insisted she did not pull away from his kisses, saying: 'There was no sharp end to the kiss, there was nothing that had made me think that I had overstepped the mark or I had done something that I shouldn't have.'
Di Francesco denied sexual assault, insisting all the touching was consensual and that the woman had kissed him back. He claimed the woman had asked her to lie on the floor with him and 'be the big spoon'.
Di Francesco was called to the bar in 2008 and was a Lamb Building Chambers tenant until May 2015. He has been a Middle Temple Hall Inn member since 2006.
Deputies in Florida have released photos of a newborn baby boy who was found abandoned outside an apartment complex, in hopes of finding the child's mother.
The infant, a Hispanic male, was discovered Friday morning lying on a wicker loveseat on the back porch at Buena Vista Point Apartments near Orlando.
Doctors who examined the child estimated he had been born just hours before.
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Foundling: This hours-old baby boy was found abandoned near Orlando, Florida, Friday morning. He had the umbilical cord still attached
The newborn was left lying in this wicker loveseat on the back porch at Buena Vista Point Apartments
Orange County Sheriff's Office deputies released photos of the infant Monday. Spokeswoman Jane Watrel says investigators hope pictures of the baby will help them track down the infant's mother.
According to a press release from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a call about an abandoned baby at 8.40am on Friday.
A 35-year-old resident at the apartment complex on Apopka-Vineland Road had just returned home from a night shift at a hotel and was walking by his porch when he heard what sounded like a whimper or crying, reported the station WFLA.
Moments later, the man discovered the infant lying in a wicker seat and brought him indoors. The man's roommate then called 911.
The boy had his umbilical cord still attached and was wearing a diaper and a child-size small black T-shirt with a red Nike logo on the front. He was wrapped in a brown fitted sheet.
The child was taken to Winnie Palmer Hospital in stable condition and was later released into the care of a foster family.
Video courtesy of WESH2
Good Samaritan: The man who discovered the infant on his porch at the apartment complex near Orlando (pictured) took him inside to await the arrival of police
Clues: The infant was dressed in a size small black T-shirt with a red Nike logo on the front (left). He was wrapped in a brown fitted sheet (right)
According to the sheriff's news release, there is a concern for the well-being of the boy's mother, since it is believed that she has not received medical treatment and may suffer from complications related to childbirth.
Jane Watrel, of the Orange County Sheriffs Office, says criminal charges 'are not even part of the conversation,' and that they simply want to talk to the boy's parents to find out what happened and obtain his medical history.
Florida has a Safe Haven law where a child can be left at a fire station or a hospital, no questions asked.
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In a time before the internet, when Page Three was an instant ticket to stardom, glamour models such as Samantha Fox, Heather Mills and Kathy Lloyd were household names.
Adorning the iconic newspaper page during its 1980s heyday helped launched their careers and saw them rub shoulders with the rich and famous.
Now, rare pictures of Britain's most famous models from the time - which range from sexy semi-nude and lingerie shots to playful portraits - are going under the hammer.
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Photographs of famous Page Three girls, including Samantha Fox (pictured) are going under the hammer at auction
Fox shot to fame in 1983 at age 16 and went on to have a successful modelling and music career
The collection includes raunchy pictures of Heather Mills, before she had her leg amputated when she was just 25
Mills said: 'They were making records, and doing TV shows. Being a glamour model [in the 80s] wasn't regarded as sleazy'
The Welsh model Kathy Lloyd, who was discovered at 16 when she left school to work in retail, was first persuaded to go public with her pictures in 1986
Lloyd was one of Britain's most famous Page 3 girls, starting her career at 18 on the pages of newspapers and lads' magazines
Lloyd left school at 16 and became a Page Three favourite - she went on to host her own chat show
The raunchy pictures were taken by photographer Philip Raymond-Barker and his steamy collection includes snaps of the most recognisable models of the day.
Mills - who was awarded 24.3m in her divorce settlement with Sir Paul McCartney in 2008 - was pictured in a series of seductive poses early in her career before she lost her leg in a motorcycle accident in 1993.
Mr Raymond-Barker's collection includes a topless picture of Fox, who shot to fame in 1983 aged 16 when her mother sent pictures of her in lingerie to the Sunday People's 'Face and Shape' competition.
She came second out of 20,000 girls and was invited to test shoot for The Sun's Page Three feature.
Her parents gave consent for her to pose topless and she became the youngest Page 3 Girl and the only one given a four-year contract.
Her photo was published under the headline 'Sam, 16, Quits A-Levels for Ooh-Levels'.
She won The Sun's Page Three Girl of the Year award for three consecutive years between 1984 and 1986 and went on to pose nude for men's magazines.
She retired from Page Three modelling at age 20 and launched a music career, releasing her hit song Touch Me (I Want Your Body), which went to number one in 17 countries.
She is currently a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother.
Kirsten Imrie started appearing as a Page 3 girl in The Sun in November 1988, shortly after her 21st birthday, and continued to appear regularly on Page Three until August 1993. She also posed nude for a wide range of men's magazines
Former Page Three model Jackie St Clair dated the X Factor supremo Simon Cowell back in the Seventies
HISTORY OF PAGE THREE The Page 3 pin-ups were introduced by the Sun in 1970, less than a year after Rupert Murdoch bought the title. But the News Corp boss signalled in 2014 that he was considering dropping the feature. Last year it had been widely thought the controversial segment had been dropped after 44 years - only for it to be reintroduced a week later under the headline 'clarifications and corrections'. However that turned out to be a one-off and it now includes pictures of scantily-clad women instead. The Sun continues to run the Page 3 website which features multiple topless shots of a different model on a daily basis. Advertisement
Elsewhere, the Cotswolds-based photographer is selling off nude pictures of famed Welsh model Kathy Lloyd.
Like Fox, she left school at 16 and worked at Topshop before appearing in The Sun aged 18 in 1986.
She became a regular on Page 3 and appeared in lads' mags such as FHM and Loaded before hosting TV programmes, Talking Dirty and Kathy Lloyd's Naughty Business on a Granada satellite station in 2002.
The photos are being auctioned on August 12 at Moore Allen & Innocent Auctioneers, in Cirencester, Gloucestershire.
Valuers estimate the pictures could be sold for as much as 500.
Auctioneer Philip Allwood said: 'These photographs are more than 30 years old, but the models still attract a fervent following, and we're expecting a lot of interest from their fans.
'Interest in Samantha Fox, particularly, will be greater now that she has entered the Big Brother House.
'Raymond-Barker shot the models for glossy European publications.
'Many of these images will never have been published in the UK - and some may never have been published at all.'
Former Page Three model Samantha Fox was the final contestant to enter the CBB house last Thursday night
An Alan Partridge cameraman was branded 'vindictive and unpleasant' by a judge after he lost a court battle against his ex-girlfriend over their 1.1million former home.
Gary Sterne, 47, lived with Amanda Miller, 41, for almost a decade, but their home in Kensal Rise, north London, was in his name alone.
When the couple separated in 2011, Mr Sterne, who worked on the I'm Alan Partridge series, said Miss Miller was not entitled to a penny.
Cameraman Gary Sterne, 47, (left) was branded 'vindictive and unpleasant' by a judge after he lost a court battle against his ex-girlfriend, Amanda Miller, 41, (right) over their 1.1million former home
Miss Miller sued him for a share, but he argued that should have nothing, calling her 'mentally unstable' in a bitter court case.
Now, after a five-year court fight, a judge has awarded Miss Miller a 48,675 share of the house and landed Mr Sterne with a 230,000 court bill.
Describing him as 'vindictive and unpleasant' in his behaviour, Judge Nigel Gerald said Mr Sterne should hand over the money, or lose his house.
'If this money is not paid within six months, then the property will be sold,' he told the TV cameraman at Central London County Court.
Although it was his on paper and despite his claims otherwise, the couple had always intended that Miss Miller should have an interest in it, the judge said.
And because Mr Sterne had brought much of the court costs on himself, he would also have to foot that bill, estimated at a combined 180,000, he said.
'A line can be drawn under this unfortunate piece of litigation and both parties can move on with their lives,' he added.
During a hearing earlier this year, the judge was told Miss Miller, who is originally from the US, had come to the UK to be with the 'person she loved' and had moved in with Mr Sterne in 2002.
While she didn't have enough money to contribute to the cost of buying Kensal Rise, their conversations made it clear it was their home, she argued.
Mr Sterne, lived with Amanda Miller, 41, for almost a decade, but their home in Kensal Rise, north London, (pictured) was in his name alone
'The intention at the time was that we were partners for life and we were going into this together,' she said.
'I trusted the fact that, when we made this agreement, my name would eventually be on the title.
'I never ever was made to feel that it was entirely his property, that never ever was an issue on my mind whatsoever.
'I had given up everything for him and our lives together, and this was our property together.
'We intended to make this our family home, have children.
'I was completely convinced in my head that this home was mine as well as his - it was ours.'
But the relationship faltered and Mr Sterne moved out in the spring of 2011, leaving Miss Miller living alone in the property.
Mr Sterne was adamant that he had wanted her out and only allowed her to stay a few months while she saved up for another home.
She had initially paid 500-a-month towards the house and outgoings, but he stopped asking for it in a bid to get her to move more quickly.
'I didn't allow her to stay, I had no choice,' he told the judge.
'She was showing no signs of moving on. Other than forcibly moving her, I had no other choice.'
Miss Miller eventually left a year after the breakup and Mr Sterne now lives in the house with his new partner and their children, the court heard.
Ruling on the case, Judge Gerald said Miss Miller was entitled to 5.5 per cent of the value of the property, a total of 48,675.
But despite that defeat, Mr Sterne had fought on in an 'unreasonable' manner, asking for another hearing to try to cut his bill, said the judge.
'It's clear he was going to use this as an opportunity to try to reduce the amount owed to Miss Miller to nothing,' he added.
'It served to continue the vindictive and unpleasant approach to Miss Miller adopted throughout the course of the trial.'
Emma Read, representing Mr Sterne, who also worked behind the scenes on EastEnders Live, insisted he had not behaved badly at all.
There was nothing very unusual about a dispute over a property after a breakup, she told the judge.
But Benjamin Fowler, for Miss Miller, said Mr Sterne had taken an 'aggressive' stance towards her and brought up 'hurtful' matters in the case.
He had tried to make the case all about mental health, claiming her depression made her mentally unbalanced, he said.
'He did this to deliberately undermine her case,' Mr Fowler told the judge.
Mr Pals helped fight child hunger before dedicating himself to the mission
Family were travelling to Colorado for last session before going to Japan
Died alongside their three children, Ezra, 3, Violet, 1, and Calvin, 2 months
A family of five who were planning to move to Japan to become missionaries have been killed in a car crash on the way to a training session.
Jamison and Kathryne Pals, both 29, died on the Interstate 80 in western Nebraska alongside their three children, Ezra, 3, Violet, 1, and 2-month-old Calvin.
They were travelling from their home in Saint Paul to Colorado for their final instruction session before leaving for the Christ Bible Institute in Nagoya, Japan.
A family of five who were planning to move to Japan to become missionaries have been killed in a car crash on the way to a training session
Jamison and Kathryne Pals, (pictured) both 29, died on the Interstate 80 in western Nebraska
The couple died alongside their three children (from left) Violet, 1, Calvin, 2 months and Ezra, 3
The family were four miles from Brule when they were struck by a semi-trailer into the path of three passing vehicles.
The driver, Tony A. Weekly, from Florida, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide.
Dennis Vogan, from WorldVenture, the charity organizing the mission to Japan, called the news 'devastating'.
'We talked to both of their families and they are just crushed,' he told The Denver Post.
'They had done short-term work in college. They also did work with their church locally (in Minneapolis).'
Karen Pals, a sister-in-law from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, said the family had planned to move to Japan in the fall.
'This was going to be a permanent thing,' she said. 'They were very committed to their work.'
Jamison Pal's father, Rick, from Hugo, Minnesota, paid tribute to the couple's compassion.
Jamison Pal's father, Rick, said: 'Jamison and Kathryne ... they had a heart for people,' he said. 'They loved what they were doing'
A spokesman for Feed My Starving Children said: ' We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of the Pals family
He said: 'Jamison and Kathryne ... they had a heart for people,' he said. 'They loved what they were doing.'
Mr Pals worked as a grant writer for Feed My Starving Children for three years before dedicating himself to preparing for the mission.
A spokesman for the charity said: ' We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of the Pals family.
'We are in shock but comforted to know this amazing family is now with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whom our hope is found.'
The Pals wrote about their missionary work on a blog, For the Joy of Japan.
In the final post, they said they would focus writing about their family, in particular the progress of their youngest child, Calvin.
a legal grenade launcher and made his own explosives
An alleged ISIS sympathizer has been arrested after buying explosives from an undercover FBI.
Muslim convert Sebastian Gregerson, aka Abdurrahman Bin Mikaayl, from Dearborn, Michigan, has been accused of stockpiling weapons to carry out an attack.
The 29-year-old, who has worked at Target and Wal-Mart, has been charged with unregistered possession of a destructive device and unlicensed receipt of explosive materials.
The complaint reveals a counterterrorism investigation that began in April 2015 following a tip that Gregerson had an arsenal of weapons - including a bazooka, a legally-owned grenade launcher.
He is also said to have had rounds of AK-47 ammunition, tactical gear, ski masks and a training video for using a Russian assault rifle
Alleged ISIS sympathizer Sebastian Gregerson, 29, from Dearborn, Michigan, has been arrested after buying explosives from an undercover FBI. An image on his Facebook (above) shows a man riding a horse and carrying the Islamic State flag
The FBI said he bought grenades on Sunday from the undercover agent in Monroe.
He was then taken into custody.
Documents said he purchased 'an arsenal of weapons, ammunition, tactical gear and tactical training materials.'
Court papers say Gregerson has had several recorded conversations with an undercover agent during which he allegedly talked about grenades and grenade launchers
He said he possessed a legal grenade launcher and described tactics he would use to commit an attack on a building with the grenades, according to the FBI.
Gregerson also talked about how he could make homegrown high-explosive grenades, which are illegal, using hollow shells.
It doesn't say whether Gregerson was planning an attack or why he was purchasing explosives. The U.S. attorney's office in Detroit hasn't elaborated.
GREGERSON'S 'ARSENAL' Bazooka Grenade Launcher Grenades Road Spikes Handguns AK-47 ammunition Tactical gear Ski masks Training video for a Russian assault rifle WHAT HE WANTED TO BUY Smoke grenades Fragmentation grenades Ati-personnel mine - that contains C4 explosive and hundreds of steel balls that rapidly shoot outwards upon detonation Advertisement
In June, the FBI said Gregerson bought road spikes online that can be used to slow or disable vehicles.
Other purchases included tactical training items, including handguns and dummy rounds.
'The purchase of training versions of these weapons makes it unlikely that the weapons were purchased for recreational use, such as hunting,' the complaint states.
Gregerson made an initial appearance Monday in U.S. District Court and is being held pending a Thursday detention hearing.
He appeared in ankle chains and handcuffs with his long brown beard and nearly waist-length hair.
Gregerson is facing up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
A Facebook account belonging to a user with the same name includes an image of a man riding a horse and carrying an Islamic State flag.
Seamus Hughes, deputy director of George Washington University's Program on Extremism, told the Detroit News Islamic State supporters have used the same photo in the past.
'That suggests to me that he is a supporter (of the Islamic State),' Hughes said.
The Detroit News, which first reported the allegations, said two of Gregerson's supporters declined to comment outside of court.
Billed as a work of 'raw, unflinching honesty', the controversial book will be eye-catchingly called Spare (left and inset top) - a 'loaded' reference to his position as the younger brother of the heir to the throne. The Spanish language version is even more pointed, having been given the subtitle En La Sombra, or 'in the shadow'. Publishers of the delayed memoir, set for release on January 10, have made it clear that Harry (with Meghan, right) will not shy away from sensitive subjects, such as the family's decision to encourage him and his elder brother Prince William to walk behind their mother Diana's coffin. The claims surrounding such a 'candid' and 'personal' first-hand account of his life will do little to allay fears at Buckingham Palace that the estranged prince is out - once again - to try to settle perceived scores. A spokesman for the King declined to comment last night. But it is understood that the Royal Household has already been warned that the 416-page, 28 book is 'critical of everyone and everything' and they are 'dreading' it. Harry was reportedly paid a $20million (18.4million) advance for the book as part of a three-title deal worth 36.8million.
His defence said he renounced his support for the Islamic State
He has since drawn ISIS flags and kept newspaper
Been in prison since he pleaded guilty in June to terror-related charge
Radicalised teen also allegedly planned to strap a bomb to a kangaroo
Sevdet Besim planned to run over and behead a police officer last year
A man who pleaded guilty to planning a foiled terror plot - which included strapping a bomb to a kangaroo - has since drawn Islamic State flags in his prison cell, a court has heard.
Sevdet Ramadan Besim, 19, has been in prison since he pleaded guilty in June to single terror-related charge, over a plot to behead a police officer on Anzac Day.
The court heard months after his April arrest the radicalised teenager decorated his cell with hand drawings of Islamic State flags and newspaper articles on the terror group, reports ABC.
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Sevdet Besim (pictured), 19, admitted to plotting to run down and behead a police officer in a terror attack on Anzac Day last year
Besim's defence said he renounced his support for the Islamic State and said the plot was an 'immature response' to the death of his friend, Numan Haider, shot dead by police in 2014.
But Commonwealth Director of Prosecutions Jeremy Rapke said his cell was adorned with pro-ISIS messages and his interview with police showed he was not in fact 'immature.'
'He knew precisely what questions to answer, he knew precisely what questions not to answer,' Mr Rapke said.
'He knew when to lie, when it would advantage him and he demonstrated a degree of understanding and knowledge of historical matters beyond his years in relation to the significance of Anzac Day and so on.'
The court heard he had revealed his excitement over the impending attack in messages to a teenage boy in the UK.
'I feel like a young kid with a ticket to Disney world cant wait ahahah. Yeh I wanna make sure I get shot too. Not b4 I take out at least 1,' the Victorian Supreme court heard according to a report in the Herald-Sun.
The court heard months after his April arrest the radicalised teenager decorated his cell with hand drawings of Islamic State flags and newspaper articles on the terror group
Besim was arrested in counter-terrorism raids in April last year (pictured)
In online communication with a UK teenager, he said he chose Anzac Day to 'make sure the dogs remember this as well as there fallen heros (sic)'.
Besim said he was 'ready to fight these dogs on there (sic) doorstep'.
'I'd love to take out some cops.
'I was gonna meet with them then take some heads ahaha.'
Besim had a pledge to the leader of Islamic State on his phone and had created a 'martyrdom' note discussing his burial wishes, the court heard.
Besim's defence said he renounced his support for the Islamic State
The note revealed Besim was motivated by Haider's death, who was shot dead when he slashed two counter-terrorism officers in Melbourne in 2014.
The note also showed he believed there was a war between Islam and the West.
He has told a psychologist he remains dedicated to Islam but now rejects violent extremism.
He has been in custody since April 18 last year when 200 heavily armed officers swooped on the city's southeast.
The teenager admits planning his attack from mid-March to mid-April, including researching Anzac Day services in Melbourne and Dandenong.
Sean Flowers Jr (pictured) intentionally drowned his son, police said
A man was arrested after witnesses say he waded into a pond with his three-month-old baby, who drowned as horrified onlookers desperately tried to intervene.
Sean Flowers Jr. is in custody pending a homicide charge, with Milwaukee police saying he intentionally drowned his son near the Glenbrook Apartments in Wisconsin, FOX reported.
Witness Robert Amstadt told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel it was 'the most evil thing Ive ever seen' before adding, 'That baby cried all the way out into the water. Then the crying stopped.'
Flowers, 25, was with several family members on Saturday when he got into an argument with his son's mom and waded into a pond behind the apartment complex (pictured)
Witness Joey Griffin jumped in after him and yelled: 'Where's the baby? Where's the baby?' (pictured, police at the scene after another witness called 911 at 8.45pm)
Flowers, 25, was with several family members in the 9200 block of North 75th Street on Saturday to commemorate the anniversary of his grandmother's death.
He got into an argument with the mother of the child, before wading into a pond behind the apartments with his son until the water reached his chest, police said.
Witness Joey Griffin told FOX: 'Without thinking, I just ran into the water. I yelled at him "Where's the baby? Where's the baby?"
'And then I saw a baby floating in the water. I grabbed it. I tried to swim away with it. He lunged at me and took the baby again and swam further, deeper.
Griffin, (pictured), said Flowers Jr grabbed the baby from him and swam further. He added: 'No matter how hard you try, sometimes you just lose...You just wish you could've did more'
Amstadt, who lives in the apartment complex, called 911 around 8.45pm after he heard an argument break out with a woman's voice yelling: 'Give me back my baby', he told the Journal Sentinel.
The witness told the Journal Sentinel a crowd was 'crying and screaming' as they followed Flowers, frantically pleading with him and yelling: 'He's drowning the baby!'
Flowers was still in the pond when authorities arrived on the scene, although he was no longer holding his son.
He was tased and taken into custody on $150,000 bail, according to the Milwaukee County Jail website.
The unconscious infant was found 'within minutes' but efforts to resuscitate him failed and he was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
'We all lost. We all lost this one. No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, sometimes you just lose...You just wish you could've did more,' Griffin said.
Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn told CBS: 'I think that the situation that led up to that man drowning his child is just about one of the most horrific things I've certainly encountered in my police career...'
Robert Amstadt (pictured), a witness who lives in a nearby apartment, called it 'the most evil thing Ive ever seen' before adding, 'That baby cried all the way out into the water. Then the crying stopped'
Police arrived and found the unconscious infant but he was pronounced dead at the scene
'I just can't imagine what was in that man's head. I just can't imagine. I'll never be able to figure that out. It's just wretched,'
The baby, born on April 18, 2016, was named Sean A. Flowers III after his father.
The child's mother also had a daughter with Flowers Jr, who had disputed he was the biological father until a DNA test proved he was wrong, the Washington Post reported.
He was granted joint custody with the mother, who later filed a restraining order against him with allegations of domestic abuse.
A judge denied his request to clear his criminal record after he said he had difficulty providing for his family.
An elderly driver who crashed his car into a Michigan lake was pulled out of the vehicle by a group of Good Samaritans just seconds before it sank to the bottom.
The 65-year-old was rescued after losing control of his car due to a 'medical condition' and crashing into Lake St. Clair in Grosse Pointe Farms, a town bordering Detroit.
Two men who witnessed what happened took it upon themselves to jump into the water and attempt to free the driver from the sinking car, before three police officers arrived at the scene and also jumped in, cops said.
Close call: The 65-year-old driver lost control and crashed into Lake St. Clair on Monday
Video taken from the scene shows the group of men smashing a back window (right) to open the front door and pull the unresponsive driver out (left)
Scary moment: The video shows the man being dragged to shore just as the car submerges
The two Good Samaritans were doing some landscaping work in the nearby park.
They tried to use a rock to smash the window of the car to get the driver out.
'The landscapers were using a rock and weren't really getting any good hits on it, so I retrieved an ax from my vehicle, and Keith Colombo got his baton, and that's how were were able to get access the window and get through,' Grosse Pointe Farms Public Safety Officer Michael Scott told CBS News.
Lt. Andrew Rodgers said the group was able to pull the man out before the car sank underwater.
Video taken by a witness onshore shows the car almost completely under as the driver was pulled out.
The driver experienced some type of medical condition when he lost control of his silver Cadillac ATS sedan
The car was towed out of the water later in the day. The man was transported to hospital
'I'd say we were in the water five, seven minutes,' Rodgers told CBS.
'So it was five, seven minutes that seemed like an hour... and it's like...how much time do we have left?'
The driver, whose name was not released, was transported to a local hospital for observation. He was unresponsive as he was pulled from the car.
No other cars were hit, though Lake Shore Drive was closed while police cleared the scene.
The incident happened around 10:30 am.
Police said about 20 to 30 people were standing around, some of them shooting video on their phones.
A dispute over the $184,000 raised in donations for a homeless student has been resolved after the woman who started the campaign questioned the 19-year-old's integrity and had GoFundMe review the fundraiser.
The outpouring of donations came after reports that Fred Barley had biked six hours to get to Gordon State College in Georgia and was sleeping there in a tent until the start of the semester.
Casey Blaney started a GoFundMe campaign last month to help pay for the young man's education - but then posted an update that she had asked for the campaign to be reviewed after having doubts about Barley's story.
The pair had issues over how the funds should be handled and Barley posted an update on Facebook on Monday saying the dispute had been resolved and that Blaney was no longer involved in the matter.
Debbie Adamson, the owner of DB's Pizzeria who gave Barley a job, revealed to Daily Mail Online that the dispute was sparked after Blaney questioned Barley's integrity because 'he said and did things that any 19-year-old kid would do.'
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A dispute over the $184,000 raised in donations for Fred Barley (center, with his girlfriend, left), a homeless student, has been resolved after Casey Blaney (right), the woman who started the campaign revealed her doubts about the teenager's story
She also revealed that Barley had left his job at her establishment and 'gone into hiding' because of the attention he has received.
'It wasn't an issue with his story, it was his integrity after the fact,' Adamson told Daily Mail Online.
She explained Blaney questioned his integrity because of immature remarks he had made.
'It wasn't that he wasn't homeless, she believed that. But he was a 19-year-old kid that said and did things that 19-year-olds do.
'She held him at fault instead of understanding that he was 19.'
Adamson cited an incident, in which Barley had been offered five cars from companies who had heard his story.
She said that he had remarked he would keep one, give one to his girlfriend and sell the others - but Blaney felt he should not accept so many gifts.
Adamson added: 'Her opinion of his integrity was because he was a 19-year-old kids who did 19-year-old things. She felt like he should have been more grown up.'
In another instance, Barley had left work one night to join his girlfriend at a hotel room and walked there.
'She felt like he should have had more respect. It was really trivial and small things like that,' Adamson added. 'She wants nothing more to do with it.'
The GoFundMe page (above) says the campaign organizer has stopped accepting donations
On Monday, Barley posted on Facebook that the dispute over how to handle the funds have been resolved
She added that Blaney has since left Georgia and has traveled to Hawaii, where her husband is stationed in the military, leaving matters to be handled by her attorney.
Meanwhile, Barley has moved into his dorm room and is laying low until classes start next week.
'He went into hiding because the media would not leave him alone,' Adamson said.
She said that Barley had an opportunity to go to a school out-of-state but it had not panned out, so he would attend Gordon.
'His job is here and available if he wants it.'
Blaney did not return Daily Mail Online's calls for comment.
In a post on the GoFundMe campaign page, she wrote: 'Unfortunately, multiple questions have been raised about Fred's story.
'We've received conflicting information about his initial story, and we just want to make sure the donors and the public have all of the information available to them before the funds are transferred to a trust to pay for his education.
'We just want to do the right thing, and we've asked for the campaign to be reviewed.'
Barley got a job as a dishwasher at DBs Pizzeria in Barnesville, after owner Debbie Adamson (right) heard his story. She says he has left his job and 'gone into hiding'
The pair had clashed over how best to manage the money.
Blaney wanted to set up a trust overseen by a professional, which Barley was happy with, but he wanted more say over who managed it, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
On Monday, Barley posted on Facebook that Blaney did not want to be involved with the educational trust but their lawyers have come to terms that both parties agree on.
'So I have some great news for everyone that has been following the story,' he wrote.
'I will be allowed to put [the funds] into a trust that covers both living expenses and help with my tuition.
'Mrs. Blaney would like to turn over everything to her lawyer, and does not want anything to do with the trust account any longer.
'Together , my attorney and her attorney are working cooperatively to ensure that all assets donated go strictly to me and in a trust that I agree with.'
GoFundMe spokesperson Bobby Whithorne told Daily Mail Online: 'We're pleased everyone agreed to set up an Educational Trust for Fred.
'As soon as the trust is fully established, the funds will be directly transferred to the trust.'
Last Thursday, GoFundMe.com said it has frozen the account of the campaign until it resolves questions about the young man's story.
Wright Gammon, a lawyer for Blaney, says the fund-raiser was shut down earlier because of the overwhelming amount of giving.
Whithorne said the funds would remain on hold 'until all the questions have been answered.'
Barley's uncle Jimmy Tolbert told the AJC that Barley was not living with his family.
His biological parents did not stay together, Tolbert said, and the teenager had moved in with his mother years ago.
Fred Barley was sleeping homeless in a tent but was determined to register for his college classes
But Tolbert said his nephew had called him a few weeks ago to say he was homeless and needed a place to stay.
They discussed Barley going to live in South Carolina with Tolbert, but the plans fell through, he added to the AJC.
Barley said he then decided to bike to the college and hoped to get there and find a job before other students arrived in the fall.
Officials at Gordon College confirmed that Barley has now enrolled for his second semester. He is a biology major and hopes to go to medical school after college.
The community in Barnesville had rallied around him, but became disheartened after Adamson, who gave him a job at her pizzeria on Main Street, said he was leaving the town to go to another college.
People started getting angry, she said, acting like 'he was just somebody who conned everybody and ran,' AJC reported.
And in another post last week, Barley defended himself over the attacks on his character and insisted he had not lied about his story.
'I've had so many people attack my intelligence, my life, my character , and even more important, my integrity. I have not lied to any of you, nor will I.
Barley shared pictures of his new dorm room (above), where he has pinned letters and cards of support to his wall
'I just want to say thank you guys for the love and support,' Barley wrote alongside this picture of letters and cards he has received
'I never told you guys I was a perfect student nor tried to portray it because I'm not.'
He added: 'I never intended on being a role model for younger kids, or the nation's feel good story, but I'm glad God put the responsibility on me because it gives me a chance to say God is real to a much wider group of people.
'And I know it seems like everything good in the world , always aborts to bad, but with God by my side I haven't been stricken by all the turmoil , it actually encourages me.
'A lot of people have been trying to tell me that my name is being slandered in multiple ways, it's okay. I accept it with the most genuine love.
'Whatever transpires between Casey and I, I want her to still know that I love her and forgive her.'
Blaney also addressed allegations in the community from people who claimed she would control the funds raised.
In a post on the 'Success for Fred' Facebook page on Saturday, she said: 'I have never, and have no intentions of ever being listed on, or in control of the educational trust.
Blaney said she has been overwhelmed by the amount of publicity the story has received
CASEY BLANEY'S FACEBOOK POST ON THE DISPUTE I would like to address one important fact about the current narrative being pushed - that I will not turn over the GoFundMe donations so they can be set up in a trust by Mr. Fred Barleys trust attorney and/or personal attorney. This past Thursday was the first time that our attorney has spoken to a formally retained attorney, representing Mr. Fred Barley. It is virtually impossible to turn funds over to trust personnel and/or attorneys that, to the best of our knowledge, have never existed until day before yesterday. Repeated attempts were made to Mr. Barley to have his trust team and attorney contact us, if in fact, they existed. We received contact from a personal attorney for the first time, day before yesterday (Thursday), that works in a firm with trust attorneys. During the course of the GoFundMe campaign, a neutral third-party, unknown to both Fred and I, reached out to Fred in order to connect him with former professional athletes, in an effort to help him navigate his new-found notoriety. After speaking with this third-party, Fred and I both agreed that it would be in his best interest to allow one of these individuals to guide him and help him assist him with the donations from the GoFundMe campaign. As the days went on, this third party began to question Mr. Fred Barleys actions and behaviors. Subsequently, this third-party decided to suggest to the former athletes that they step away from the situation. Thus, this has fallen back in my lap, as I am the organizer of the GoFundMe campaign. With integrity and transparency of the campaign in mind, I then proceeded with the plan that all parties had agreed upon from the start of the campaign to continue with setting up an educational trust. Mr. Fred Barley posted publically that he would not sign off on any trust that is set up outside of using his own trust officials and lawyers; this obviously tied my hands and the hands of any willing trust attorney. Since the professional athletes that previously agreed to assist in this, were no longer involved and no trust attorney representing Mr. Fred Barley had yet contacted us, on behalf of Fred, these events had placed me, as the GoFundMe campaign organizer with this responsibility. The GoFundMe that I selected on the GoFundMe campaign site, when setting up the campaign, was the option of education/educational purposes. There are legal parameters inherent to that and I am required to follow those; they are a shaping force that dictates how we are to proceed. I have never, and have no intentions of ever being listed on, or in control of the educational trust. Hopefully, within the next few days, we will receive an initial proposal from Mr. Fred Barleys attorney, to create a trust. That is our understanding of the next step. Once a trust has been created, GoFundMe will have the final decision as to whether to release those funds to the trust. No funds will ever be released to me. Advertisement
'Hopefully, within the next few days, we will receive an initial proposal from Mr. Fred Barleys attorney, to create a trust. That is our understanding of the next step.
'Once a trust has been created, GoFundMe will have the final decision as to whether to release those funds to the trust. No funds will ever be released to me.'
She earlier said that she is overwhelmed by the amount of publicity the story has received.
'All of the funds are going into an educational trust. I am a wife and a mother and cannot continue to handle the multitude of calls, texts, social media requests and comments,' she wrote on Facebook.
She had set up the campaign for Barley on July 12 after police found him sleeping in a tent outside the college in Barnesville ahead of his second semester.
Police first told the teenager to come out with his hands up.
But instead of removing him from the grounds, the officers sat down and listened to his story.
Barley told them he was homeless and had ridden his little brother's bicycle more than 50 miles in the blistering heat from Conyers to the campus to register for classes.
He had planned to stay in the tent until dorms opened on July 18 with just a bowl of cereal and some water to last him until he could get a job.
Touched, the two officers put him up in a motel room for two nights.
One of the officer's wives posted Barley's story on a community Facebook page - that's how Blaney first heard about the teenager and couldn't get him out of her mind.
She and her son Cole went to go find the teenager at the motel when she knew his two days were up.
Asking what she could do for him, he replied that the only thing he wanted was a job.
Barley (pictured) had ridden his little brother's bicycle more than 50 miles from Conyers to the campus to register for classes. Left, he is pictured with gifts from well-wishers
Someone touched by Barley's story of determination to succeed sent him a new mountain bike and running shoes which he is pictured with in front of his motel room
So Blaney and her son hit the streets, and found a job for him as a dishwasher at DBs Pizzeria.
'I created a position for him before he walked in the door,' Adamson told WSB-TV at the time.
'I didn't know his name. I didn't know the color of his skin. I didn't care. I've been there so I guess I have a soft spot for anyone that is that determined to succeed in life.'
Blaney said she had 'cried and cried' when Barley asked if he could spend more time with her and her family as he felt a connection with them.
'How could this happen to this kid?!' she asked.
Blaney then set up the GoFundMe page for him, which led to donations of clothes, shoes, furnishings, and even a new mountain bike - and raised more than $184,000 in 20 days before the account was frozen.
She then posted a video on the 'Success for Fred' Facebook page in which she said she would be taking Barley to a bank to talk about opening a trust for him.
'Some of the gifts aren't as important as the friends I've made,' the teenager told WSB recently.
Donald Trump already has apologized to the family of slain U.S. Army Capt. Humayan Khan by calling him a 'hero,' Trump's son Eric said Tuesday, in the latest twist in the running dispute with the family.
Eric Trump was asked on 'CBS This Morning' about the demand by gold star families that the Republican presidential candidate apologize after tangling with Khan's parents, who appeared at the Democratic National Convention.
'Would your father be willing to apologize and move on?' asked co-host Norah O'Donnell.
'You know, that's a great question for him,' Eric Trump responded. 'And I think he has by calling him a hero,' he said.
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Eric Trump told CBS This Morning he believes his dad already has apologized by calling slain Army Captain Humayun Khan's family by calling him a hero
Embattled: Donald Trump, who campaigned in Pennsylvania on Monday, was hit by blowback from his response to the Khan family as the controversy entered a fourth day
He then tried to clean up his dad's statement on Sunday that he had sacrificed by building structures and employing thousands of people.
'You know, and in terms of the one question, whether you've made a sacrifice, I'm sure my father has. Now whether that's not the ultimate sacrifice the ultimate sacrifice is a soldier dying for this nation, dying to protect the three of us, there's no question about it,' he told his interviewers.
There was blowback from the controversy throughout the day Monday, as Arizona Senator John McCain blasted Trump for his remarks, the gold star families demanded an apology, and Khan's mother, Ghazala, gave a tearful interview on MSNBC.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan both distanced themselves from Trump's comments, while President Obama defended gold star families as 'the very best in our country.'
Khizr Kahn brandished a pocket copy of the constitution during his speech at the Democratic National Convention
Cohost Charlie Rose asked Eric Trump who tells his father when he's wrong implying that someone needs to have a talk with him now
'I think that this was something that was honestly blown in, hugely, out of proportion,' because, first of all, he said that the Khan family looked like amazing people ... which for whatever reason never wants to get reported,' Eric Trump said.
'He called him a hero so many, so many different times ... this isn't a Muslim thing, this is an ISIS thing and also an anti-Syrian, anti-refugee thing coming into the country because he doesn't want to see more Americans dead. My father is a great patriot, he doesn't want to see more Americans dead, and he sees what's happening around the country, and quite frankly, he's shaking his head.'
Father Khizr Khan blasted Trump at the convention when he said Trump 'smears the character of Muslims' and brandished a pocket copy of the Constitution and said: 'Let me ask you: Have you even read the U.S. Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy.'
Eric Trump said Tuesday that, 'Everybody told us that the toughest three months of our lives are going to be the months after the convention. They say, in Presidential politics, and you guys aren't politicians, but it is just absolutely ruthless.'
'You see anybody who dies, who dies for the nation, for the three of us at this table, made the ultimate sacrifice. But, you know, for my father about the Kahn family, it's not about a soldier who is an amazing guy, my father even said that during the interview, it sounds like he's a really amazing guy, you know this is about a big problem that we have around the world and that's radical terror,' he continued.
He went on to mention killings in San Bernardino and the recent beheading of a French priest.
'My father's simple message it's not an anti-Muslim message it's an anti-terror message,' he said.
' You know, we have ISIS and they're running rampant around the world and we have to do something about it,' he said.
Co-host Charlie Rose asked Eric Trump who tells his father when he's wrong.
'We can tell him he's wrong. I mean' Trump responded.
Asked when was the last time he told his dad he was wrong, Trump responded: 'Well, listen, we do it respectfully, and we go back and forth as a family, and I think that's actually the benefit of having kind of children be part of this process.'
Trump was also asked about his dad's comment to USA Today how Ivanka would have responded if she were harassed as women at Fox News are alleged to have been by ex-boss Roger Ailes.
'I would like to think she would find another career or find another company if that was the case,' Trump snr said.
Eric Trump told CBS that what his dad meant is that his sister wouldn't 'allow herself to be subjected' to such treatment.
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Half a month's worth of rain fell on Britain last night as the summer dry spell came to an abrupt end.
And there is more to come with further downpours forecast this week as low pressure moves across the country.
Due to a weather system bringing warm, moist air from the Atlantic, South Wales saw 1.5 inches of rain in 12 hours.
The rainfall at the start of August was significant with national rainfall averages for the month coming in at 3.5in.
Met Office meteorologist Mark Wilson said it was quite a lot of rain for the country, especially after a dry July.
Misery on the beach: Holidaymakers are battling the weather at West Looe in Cornwall today after heavy rain in the area
The McMullan family try to stay warm as they eat ice creams (left) while Owen Buchanan plays (right) in South Queensferry
Poor weather: A couple and their dog brave the wet and windy conditions on the seafront in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset
Dangerous conditions: Spray is seen on the M4 motorway near Bridgend, South Wales, today after heavy rainfall over Britain
Beside the seaside: People enjoy the beach at Bournemouth in Dorset despite the rain bringing misery for holidaymakers
Unplesant: People shelter from the rain as they walk along the seafront at Southwold in Suffolk this afternoon
Moving around: A horse grazes on higher ground as the River Ogmore swells into the fields near the coast in South Wales
He added: Quite a few places in the south of the UK - the West Country in particular - saw about an inch of rain.
Interestingly, last month, the Isle of Wight saw barely any rain at all.
'Yet through the course of that 12-hour period on Monday they saw 23mm (0.9in) of rain at St Catherine's Point.
Swanage in Dorset recorded 1.3in (34mm) and Wych Cross in East Sussex saw just over 1in (26mm) in 12 hours.
Meanwhile Alice Holt Lodge in Hampshire clocked up nearly 1in (25mm) and Larkhill in Wiltshire saw 0.9in (23mm).
Mr Wilson said: The rain is gradually easing off, but it is still hanging around across some southern counties.
Today's forecast: Rain is spreading into parts of Scotland this afternoon, but it is drier elsewhere and warm in the South
Nice weather for ducks: Sailing boats take to the water on Wimbledon Park Lake in South West London on a wet day today
Sailing in Wimbledon today: A Met Office meteorologist said Britain had had quite a lot of rain last night for the time of year
A Scottish Terrier looks out from a beach hut in Southwold, Suffolk (left), while horses shelter in Ogmore, South Wales (right)
Call this summer? Two people shelter under an umbrella at West Looe in Cornwall as the month begins with bad conditions
Poor ice cream trade today: People shelter from the wet and windy weather on the seafront in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset
'So it will bring some further rain over the course of today.
He said temperatures are around average for the time of the year and highs of around 24C were expected today.
By the end of the day Mr Wilson said it will turn dry across England and Wales.
However the rain will push across Northern Ireland then gradually into Scotland and northern parts of England.
Tomorrow there will be another area of low pressure pushing in from the Atlantic.
No cricket today: Spectators take shelter under umbrellas as rain delays the start of Gloucestershire v Essex Eagles in Bristol
Sparsely populated: There were few people making the most of the summer holidays on Ayr Beach in South Ayrshire today
There's no-one there: West Looe beach in Cornwall, which is usually packed with visitors during August, is deserted today
Going for a stroll; A woman shelters from the rain under an umbrella as she walks along the seafront at Southwold in Suffolk
Colourful umbrella: A man holds the hand of a young girl as they walk along the seafront at Southwold in Suffolk today
Having fun: Reece Swift, ten, plays with a kite during wet and windy weather on the seafront in Weston-super-Mare today
Trying to enjoy themselves: One man takes a photo on his mobile phone of another next to Bournemouth Pier in Dorset today
Blocked: A road near Bridgend, South Wales, is closed to traffic today after half a month's worth of rain fell in parts of the UK
Mr Wilson said this will bring quite heavy and frequent showers especially in north western parts of the UK.
Right across the UK it will be an unseasonably windy day tomorrow,' he added.
'We could see gusts of up to 35 to 40mph across western exposures,
The Environment Agency had a single flood alert in place this afternoon, for the River Tamar in north Cornwall.
This followed the rainfall, but a spokesman said there had been no reports of flooding in the last 24 hours.
Temperatures hit 33.5C in Oxfordshire a fortnight ago on July 19, which was Britain's hottest day of the year so far.
Travel chaos for commuters after historic bridge collapses onto a railway line
Thousands of commuters faced travel chaos today after part of an historic bridge collapsed onto a railway line .
Services between London and the East Midlands were cancelled or delayed after tonnes of rubble tumbled onto the tracks overnight in Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire.
Passengers faced rush hour disruption and services between Derby, Nottingham, Leicester and Sheffield were badly affected. A huge pile of debris collapsed onto the railway tracks, blocking off the route through.
Dramatic: The sudden collapse of a bridge has caused major disruption to trains between the East Midlands and London
Inspections: Network Rail said teams had been working through the night to remove the debris from the railway
Network Rail said teams had been working through the night to remove the debris from the railway but did not expect the line to reopen today.
A spokesman said: Owing to a bridge collapse at Barrow upon Soar, train services between Leicester and Loughborough will be disrupted today.
This will affect journeys on the London St Pancras/Nottingham/Leicester and the Leicester/Lincoln/Grimsby routes.
Residents described hearing a bang like a bomb going off as the bridge tumbled 12ft (3.6m) to the tracks below.
They also said one side of the bridge had been sinking for several years and the crossing was due to be shut this week for repairs.
James Laverie said: I heard a bang. It was like a bomb had gone off. There was absolute chaos: two fire engines, police cars. A water main was taken out.
Surveying the scene: The collapse, at Barrow upon Soar, near Loughborough, happened in the early hours of the morning
Trains between London and Nottingham, Derby and Leicester have been disrupted and replacement buses put in place
Jess Haynes said he first realised something had happened at about 11pm, adding: I heard a lot of cursing. Two rows of bricks from the arch are in danger of collapse.
Resident Daniel Howe added: We live right across the road from the bridge but slept through it all. It was only when I got up and looked at Facebook at 6.30am that I realised the bridge had collapsed.
I usually use the train to get into work in Leicester so I will have to drive in today.
Another local said: The path on the left hand side has decided to sink gradually over time. They scheduled for the road to be closed for the next three nights and then this.
It was subsiding on one side and the wall was cracking and we assumed that's why they were having the repairs done.
While many people were late for work others had their holidays delayed as a result of the bridge collapse.
Pat Macreadie, of Great Oakley, Northamptonshire, who was trying to get to Thirsk in North Yorkshire, said: We're having to change trains quite a lot anyway to get to Thirsk.
Residents said one side of the bridge had been sinking for several years and was due to close this week for repairs
Leicestershire Fire Service said a crew from Loughborough and a technical rescue unit attended the scene in the early hours
It's not the best start to a three-day break but I suppose it can't be helped. I'm just glad nobody was hurt in the accident.
Commuter Melissa Parkes, 27, who was trying to get from Birmingham to Loughborough, said: I usually get a train from Leicester to Loughborough but now I'm having to stand in the rain waiting for a bus instead.
This has delayed me and it's not ideal.
One commuter, who travels regularly from Leicester to Nottingham, said: Normally, it takes me about 25 minutes to get to work and it has taken me two hours so far, it is a tad frustrating."
Leicestershire Fire Service said a crew from Loughborough and a technical rescue unit from Southern station attended the scene at around 12.20am.
A spokesman said: All railway traffic had been stopped and the road had been closed.
Residents described hearing a loud bang like a bomb going off as the bridge tumbled 12ft (3.6m) to the tracks below
Shocking photographs show the huge pile of debris, which collapsed onto the railway tracks blocking off the route through
A bridge inspector from Network Rail decided that there was no need to evacuate nearby homes. We left the incident in the hands of the railway authorities.
East Midlands Trains has advised rail passengers travelling northbound from Leicester that a replacement bus service is in operation.
A company spokesman said: A replacement bus service is running in both directions between Leicester and East Midlands Parkway.
This is only for customers travelling to/from Leicester, Syston, Sileby, Barrow upon Soar and Loughborough.
If you are travelling from any other station you must use alternative routes."
Severn Trent Water said a burst water main caused by the collapse has been repaired and the water supply to homes in the area had been restored.
Eight people are injured after a minibus crashes into a ditch in the countryside
A man suffered life-threatening injuries when a minibus carrying eight people crashed into a ditch this morning.
There were seven passengers and the driver in the vehicle when it left the A1101 Sutton Road in Leverington.
Four ambulance crews, police and firefighters attended the scene near Wisbech in Cambridgeshire at about 6am.
Serious crash: Eight people have been taken to hospital today after a van crashed into a ditch in Leverington, near Wisbech
Emergency response: Four ambulance crews, police and firefighters attended the scene in Cambridgeshire at about 6am
The man was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge by land ambulance to be treated for chest injuries.
Two people were taken to the King's Lynn Queen Elizabeth Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Black Eats Chicago Week Spotlights City's Best Black-Owned Restaurants
By Stephen Gossett in Food on Aug 2, 2016 7:19PM
Hidden Manna Cafe / Facebook
When I answer a phone call from Toure Muhammadfounder of Black Chicago Eats, a new website that spotlights black-owned restaurants, and the driving force behind the happening-now Black Chicago Eats WeekI have to quickly finish a mouthful of food so we can chat. I hope that was from a black-owned restaurant! he says, right on cue. (Alas, it was a Kind bar.)
But thanks to Muhammads efforts more people will likely be sharing his passion, especially this and next week, when he encourages diners to use his websiteand their own experience and knowledgeto support black-owned restaurants.
Black Chicago Eats Week runs from now through Aug. 12. In that time, Muhammad encourages not just visits to applicable restaurants, but interactivity. His website is a starting point, he says, but hes asking that participants use the hashtag #blackchicagoeats when they dine, discuss their experiences and find new spots, not yet on the site. (Blackchicagoeats.com launches from Beta on Aug. 12.)
I want them to chime in about the best vegetarian, the best sandwich spots, everything, Muhammad told Chicagoist. Im very excited about the concept.
(The Tribune, DNAinfo and Eater all published stories about Black Chicago Eats earlier today. Hat tip!)
On the site, Muahmmad lists guides like "12 Classic Black-Owned Restaurants Every True Black Chicagoan Knows," which features definitive spots like Harolds Chicken Shack, Uncle Remus, Original Soul Vegetarian and Lems Bar-B-Cue. But he wants to illustrate a deeper breadth, beyond the most prominent. He tells me takeout-only Popup Dropoff in Avalon Park (home of Spaghedough, a kind of turkey spaghetti) and Hidden Manna CafA in Matteson (great Southern, Louisiana-influenced creole) are two such lesser-known gems.
Muhammad says under-exposed black-owned restaurants could strongly benefit from such efforts. If I want Italian, I know where to go. If I want Chinese, I know where to go. Were aware of how to get many of those authentic ethnic flavors. But thats not necessarily the case with the places featured on Black Chicago Eats."
So put down the breakfast bar and take heed.
She then colours each photo by hand with Photoshop - and the process can take days to get perfect
Ms Amaral researches the story behind every photo that she wants to colour before beginning
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An incredible artist has taken some of the defining historical moments of the past 150 years years and brought them to life in 'colourised' photos.
From a portrait of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria before he was assassinated in 1914, to a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk burning himself to death at a busy intersection in Saigon in June 1963, Brazilian artist Marina Amaral has transformed photos from around the world.
The stunning collection of images capture emotive moments from both World Wars, painting a grim picture of what life was like on the front line.
Ms Amaral has also breathed new life into celebrity photos, such as those of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, and royal portraits. In one beautiful photo, a 14-year-old Queen Elizabeth II is pictured sitting by a window reading a book in a colourful pink, blue and white striped dress.
Taking shelter: Soldiers from the 36th Armoured Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division at Geich, in Germany, on 11 December 1944, sit beside a tank. The 9th Infantry Division was among the first U.S. combat units to engage in offensive ground operations during World War II
Fighting back: This photo was taken during the Warsaw Uprising - a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army to liberate Warsaw from Nazi in 1944. August 1 marked the 72th anniversary of the battle
No Man's Land: This retouched picture - originally from a 1928 film - shows a French soldier falling after being shot one hundred years ago, on February 21, 1916, after the first shots were fired in the battle for the French fortress town of Verdun
Hands up: A German soldier is pictured being captured by a Soviet soldier during the Battle of Moscow, on December 1, 1941
Many of the photos that Ms Amaral has colourised were originally taken in the First and Second World Wars.
A heartbreaking pictures shows German members of the Polish 150 huddling in blankets on a freezing cold railway track after walking from Lodz, Poland, to Berlin on December 14, 1945. Another pictures a French soldier falling in No Mans Land after being shot one hundred years ago, on February 21, 1916, in the battle for the French fortress town of Verdun.
The 21-year-old artist believes she is creating a second perspective with the photos.
I started colourising photos a year ago, when I found a few colourisations on the internet by accident, Ms Amaral told MailOnline.
As I've always been very passionate about history and Photoshop, I started practicing and trying to develop my techniques on that very same day.
Refugees: This pictures shows Germans who were expelled from Poland and walked from Lodz, Poland, to Berlin on December 14, 1945. Huddling in blankets, they are waiting by a railway track hoping to be picked up by a British army train
Historic day: The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II as monarch of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon took place on 2 June 1953. The vibrant red and gold hues of the ceremony are brought to life in this photo
Self-immolation: In June of 1963, Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc burned himself to death at a busy intersection in Saigon. He was attempting to show that to fight all forms of oppression on equal terms, Buddhism too, needed to have its martyrs
Scrubbing up: New Zealand Soldiers are pictured washing their socks in wooden tubs during World War I. Rows of laundered socks hang on lines in the background. The photograph was taken in Bus-les-artois, 7 May 1918, by Henry Armytage Sanders
She explained the process involves a lot of research and reading - and every inch is coloured by hand at her computer.
I never start to work with a photo without first researching the story behind it. Then, I collect the greatest amount of information that can help me with the colours.
I like to say that the process of the colourisation itself is like a traditional painting: many hours of work are required, as well as a lot of study, a lot of patience, and many layers of different colours. Every inch is coloured by hand. There's nothing automatic in the process, Ms Amaral said.
Depending on the photo that shes working with, the process can take a few hours or even a few days.
'I Have a Dream': Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and activist Mathew Ahmann are pictured in a crowd during the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. in August 1963
The eyes of the army: The Sopwith Snipe was a British single-seat biplane fighter in the Royal Air Force (RAF). This photo shows the No. 43 Squadron ready for a patrol over the German lines in October 1918
Regal: A fourteen-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, when she was a mere princess, is pictured here sat by the window with her nose in a book
Appeasement: British Premier Sir Neville Chamberlain is pictured here on his return from talks with Hitler in Germany, at Heston airfield, London, on September 24, 1938. Chamberlain brought with him a terms of the plan later to be called the Munich Agreement, which allowed Germany to annex Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland
Equality: Lyndon Johnson is pictured here meeting with civil rights leaders at the White House. In 1964, U.S. President Lyndon signed into law the historic Civil Rights Act in a nationally televised ceremony
Shot and killed: Lee Harvey Oswald was an American sniper who assassinated President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. In this photo, nightclub owner Jack Ruby (in the hat at right) shot and killed Oswald when he was being transferred from the Dallas police station to a nearby jail two days after killing the president
She said colourising allows a deep connection to be immediately established between the viewer and the photo, as soon as the colours are in the right places. It's almost like magic, she said.
Ms Amarals photos are now being used by history teachers to show students what historic moments may have looked like.
They send me emails saying that their students immediately began to attend classes with higher interest after seeing the images in colour. I truly believe that this is very important educational work, and I feel very happy to be able to contribute in some way, she said.
Ms Amaral explained her favourite transformation so far is her colourisation of Queen Elizabeth IIs coronation, which brings the vibrant red and gold hues from the ceremony to life and really gives a sense of the grand nature of the occasion.
Nazi fuhrer: Adolf Hitler's blue eyes are shown in this colourised version of one of his many portrait photos
Literary hero: Jack Kerouac, an American novelist and poet, is pictured here in his naval reserve mugshot. In the summer of 1942, Kerouac - after dropping out of Columbia University - signed up for the merchant marine and shipped out aboard the U.S. Army Transport ship Dorchester
Elegant: Jacqueline Lee 'Jackie' Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963
Assassinated: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was born on December 18, 1863, in Graz, Austria. In 1900, Ferdinand gave up his children's rights to the throne in order to marry a lady-in-waiting. In 1914, a Serb nationalist assassinated him. One month later, Austria declared war on Serbia and World War I began
Family photo: Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley are pictured here with their daughter Lisa Marie. Priscilla and Elvis met in November 1959 when Priscilla was just 14 1/2 years old. Elvis formally proposed to Priscilla in December 1966
The Red Baron: Manfred von Richthofen (1892-1918) earned widespread fame as a World War I ace fighter pilot. He was credited with 80 kills before being shot down, his legend as the fearsome Red Baron enduring well after his death
Murdered: Nicholas II of Russia was the last Emperor of Russia, ruling from 1 November 1894 until his forced abdication on 15 March 1917. In the spring of 1918, Nicholas and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks
Moderniser: The 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, served from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln is pictured here in 1863 at the age of 54
Mountaineering: President Theodore Roosevelt and naturalist John Muir are pictured on Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park 1906
In office: The 33rd U.S. president, Harry Truman, assumed office following the death of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1945. Truman made the decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan, helped rebuild postwar Europe, worked to contain communism and led the United States into the Korean War
The Desert Fox: Erwin Rommel was a senior German Army officer during World War II. He was implicated in a plot to overthrow Hitler and in 1944 he took his own life by biting into a cyanide capsule
Portraits: A young John Fitzgerald 'Jack' Kennedy, commonly referred to by his initials JFK, is pictured left. He served as the 35th President of the United States. Joseph Goebbels (right) was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945
Gangster: Alphonse Gabriel 'Al' Capone was an American gangster who attained fame during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the Chicago Outfit. His seven-year reign as crime boss ended when he was 33 years old
The Department for International Development, run by Priti Patel, has said it will look into any claims of wrongdoing
A development charity that works in Malawi using millions of pounds of British aid cash has been linked with a 'cult-like' group whose founders are on the run from Interpol in Mexico.
The revelations about the Malawian branch of Development Aid from People to People (DAPP) and its links to the mysterious Teachers Group prompted the Department for International Development (DFID) to promise an investigation.
A BBC investigation has revealed DAPP is allegedly controlled by the Teachers Group and that many of its staff are effectively obliged to send an average of 25 per cent of their earnings to the organisation.
A college allegedly used by the Teachers Group to recruit members was built by DAPP using 2million of British aid, part of total payments worth 5.6million since 2012.
Britain has spent no money with DAPP since May this year when payments were stopped at the claims have been referred to the counter fraud and whistleblowing department.
DAPP also takes funding from Unicef, the UN's children's charity, for projects such as sanitation and new schools.
The Teachers Group was founded in Denmark in the 1960s to run a Government-funded alternative schools system until its creator Mogens Amdi Petersen was charged with fraud in 2001.
Peterson was found not guilty in 2006 but immediately left the country. The broadcaster said he was now sought by Interpol and was thought to be at a luxury compound in Mexico.
The links between DAPP and the Teachers Group were exposed by Patrick Goteka, a charity worker who was given the opportunity to move to the US - but on arrival was forced to make a monthly contribution and follow rules.
BRITAIN'S CONTROVERSIAL AID BUDGET PROTESTED BY MORE THAN 230,000 PEOPLE Britain's foreign aid budget was pushed strongly by David Cameron as Prime Minister but it has proved deeply controversial. More than 230,000 people signed a Mail on Sunday petition demanding the programme be reined in amid concern over wasted spending. MPs were accused of 'patronising' taxpayers who raised concerns that money from Britain's enormous overseas aid budget was being wasted. They were slammed by fellow MP Andrew Percy - who is now a Government minister under Theresa May - for rudely dismissing the protest at a Commons debate. The End The 12bn Foreign Aid Madness petition called on the Government to review its commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on overseas aid each year. The petition argued that having a fixed target, which is set to rise to 16 billion by 2020, leads to waste and corruption, and that UK aid should instead be spent as and when required. But the appeal fell on deaf ears for most MPs present. Labour MP Stephen Doughty, a former adviser at the Department for International Development, said it was 'lazy and wrong' to claim much of the foreign aid budget was being wasted. Advertisement
He told the BBC: 'They said, ''We cannot send someone who is not in the Teachers Group.'' So they said: ''You should join.'''
Mr Goteka said there was no 'initiation ceremony' or documentation to join the group but found himself pressured to make 'voluntary' payments to the Teachers Group's 'common economy'.
He said: 'If you write more money to your wife they will say, ''Cancel this and start again.''
'People were crying when they were making those budgets. It was just a shame.'
Mr Goteka said he had been taken to the resort in Mexico and said the Teachers Group philosophy was 'Forget about your family - think about Teachers Group'.
He added: 'It's like you have sacrificed the whole of your life, 100 per cent in Teachers Group.'
Explaining the 'cult-like' nature of the group, Mr Goteka said agreement became 'automatic' and said: 'Those people are intelligent.
'They try to explain to you... so you agree to say, ''Ah, thank you very much. Now I'm agreeing. I didn't understand it.'''
Another DAPP worker Christopher Banda told the BBC he joined Teachers Group in 2009 because it was his 'job security'.
He said: 'We call ourselves comrades... and we share the private life together.
'We only get a chance one weekend a month to visit our family.'
Harrison Longwe, who was a DAPP accountant in 2014 and 2015, told the BBC a quarter of the charity's more than 700 strong Malawian staff paid contributions to the Teachers Group.
The direct payments amounted to as much as 30 per cent of earnings, he said, and averaged 25 per cent.
Millions of pounds in UK aid is spent with DAPP each year on projects such as schools and sanitation. The Department for International Development has promised to investigate the 'serious allegations' about the Teachers Group
In a statement to the broadcaster, DAPP denied 'it demands contributions from staff for membership of TG, that it pressurises employees to contribute to TG' or that it makes any deductions that are not 'per instruction by the individual employee'.
DFID HAS SPENT 5.6M WITH DAPP MALAWI SINCE 2012 DAPP's annual reports reveal years of support from DFID on a variety of projects. In 2015, the UK helped fund a TB programme and in 2014 Britain backed a women farmer's club. In 2013, British cash part funded a new teacher training college that had been due to open last year - with the money from the UK amounting to 25 per cent of the charity's funding that year. The total funding spent since 2012 amounts to 5.6million and projects have included providing emergency nutrition supplements to 330,000 children in urgent need since 2015, as well as building 65,000 handwashing facilities and 60,000 latrines since 2013 improving sanitation and tackling the risk of disease. Advertisement
A spokesman from DAPP Malawi told MailOnline: 'Over the past 21 years, DAPP Malawi's work has reached nearly 3 million people in Malawi, and at no time has donor funding ever been used for purposes other than those intended and agreed with donors.'
The Department for International Development told the BBC: 'We will not hesitate to act in any situation if wrongdoing is proven.
'DFID welcomes any evidence and documentation that the BBC can send us in order to investigate these serious allegations.'
A spokeswoman added to MailOnline: 'DFID has a zero tolerance approach to fraud and corruption full stop.
'Payments to DAPP have been suspended and we encourage the BBC to share their evidence in full.'
Megyn Kelly is voicing her frustration with a comment made by Eric Trump in regards to sexual harassment in the workplace.
When asked to clarify a statement made by his father Donald in which he said that daughter Ivanka would leave her career or company if she were harassed, Eric said his father stood by his words.
'I think what hes saying is, Ivanka is a strong, powerful woman, she wouldnt allow herself to be objected to it,' said Eric on CBS This Morning.
Shortly after, Kelly retweeted CNBC correspondent John Harwood when he shared Eric response, writing: 'Sigh.'
Later in the day, Eric responded to criticism his comment had received by writing on Twitter: 'I said sexual harassment is a "no go" and should be addressed by Human Resources. It's totally unacceptable behavior.'
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Response: Eric Trump (above) was asked to clarify his father's statement that Ivanka would 'find another career or find another company' if sexually harassed at work
Not having it: Megyn Kelly (above) retweeted CNBC correspondent John Harwood after he shared Eric's response on Twitter, writing: 'Sigh'
The Fox News host's comment comes two weeks after it was reported that she told a team of internal investigators she had been sexually harassed by her former boss Roger Ailes.
That investigation was launched in the wake of a lawsuit filed against Ailes by former Fox News Host Gretchen Carlson, who claimed she lost her job when she refused to have a sexual relationship with the disgraced CEO.
Carlson also commented on Eric's statement, writing on Twitter: 'Sad in 2016 we're still victim blaming women.'
A majority of Fox News' on-air talent rushed to defend Ailes in interviews after Carlson filed her suit early last month, but the network's biggest star, Kelly, remained silent and refused to give any public comment.
Two weeks later, it was reported that Kelly did offer up some private comments about Ailes in her interview with the individuals conducting the investigation.
Kelly allegedly told them that she had heard and seen the type of harassment that Carlson detailed in her lawsuit because it happened to her when she was starting off at the network.
Days after details of Kelly's interview were reported in the press, Ailes resigned as CEO of Fox News, walking away with a $40million severance package.
Reason: Eric's comments come one week after Donald spoke about how he would respond if his Ivanka (above on July 27 heading to wotrk) was harassed at work
Allegations: Kelly reportedly told internal investigators at Fox News that she had been sexually harassed by her former boss Roger Ailes (above on July 19)
Eric's comments come one week after Donald spoke about how he would respond if his daughter was harassed at work.
'I would like to think she would find another career or find another company if that was the case,' said Donald in an interview with USA Today.
Donald also used that interview as a chance to discredit Carlson.
'There was quite a bit of fabulous things said [about Ailes by Gretchen Carlson],' said Donald.
'It would be easier for me and more politically correct for me to say you are right. But you would think she wouldnt say those things.'
Just days prior to that, Donald said of Ailes while appearing on Meet the Press: 'He's been a friend of mine for a long time and I can tell you that some of the women that are complaining, I know how much he's helped them.'
He then added: 'And even recently and when they write books that are fairly recently released, and they say wonderful things about him.'
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More than 8,000 refugees have been rescued from the Mediterranean in just five days, it has emerged.
Italian rescuers lifted 1,800 migrants from 14 packed inflatable dinghies and two small wooden fishing boats off waters off Libya on Monday alone.
Last night, hundreds of refugees from Somalia, Libya, Bangladesh, Egypt, Congo and West Africa arrived at the southern Italian port of Salerno on board a rescue ship.
More than 800 refugees of sub-Saharan origin have arrived in Salerno from the Channel of Sicily carried by the Siem Pilot ship
More than 8,000 refugees have been rescued from the Mediterranean in just five days, it has emerged. Pictures show the Italian Navy approaching a wooden migrant boat today
Hundreds of refugees from Somalia, Libya, Bangladesh, Egypt, Congo and West Africa arrived at the southern Italian port of Salerno on board a rescue ship
Meanwhile the bodies of 120 migrants have washed up on the shores of Libya in the past 10 days, not from previously known shipwrecks.
The latest rescues will lift to over 94,000 the number of migrants brought to Italian ports this year, roughly in line with 2015, according to Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
The number of migrants trying to reach Europe via the Greek islands has dropped sharply since an EU-Turkey deal designed to stem the flow was agreed in March.
According to the Italian Navy, three Italian ships rescued over 560 people in the southern Mediterranean Sea on Monday alone
The Italian Navy made several rescues of boats off the country's coast this week. Medics wheel one casualty away for treatment
The latest rescues will lift to over 94,000 the number of migrants brought to Italian ports this year, roughly in line with 2015
Numbers on that route are running at dozens per day rather than the thousands per day seen this time last year.
It comes as it emerged that the death toll of refugees trying to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean has topped 3,000 in just seven months.
Meanwhile, Germany revealed 42,300 minors had reached the country unaccompanied in 2015.
Germany's Federal Office for Statistics said About 91 per cent, or some 38,700, of these children and teenagers were male, while only about 3,600 girls entered Germany without their parents.
A woman lifts up her shirt as a doctor examines her for injuries after she was rescued in the Mediterranean this week
Hundreds of refugees could be seen sitting on the Siem Pilot ship as they were being transported to shore in Italy
The death toll of refugees trying to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean has topped 3,000 in just seven months
Germany saw an unprecedented influx of migrants in 2015. More than a million people registered for asylum, the majority of them from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Unaccompanied refugee children are normally taken into care by the country's youth welfare offices.
According to the IOM, global migrant deaths topped 4,000 in the first seven months of this year, a 26 per cent increase in the fatality rate compared with the same period of 2015.
The total of 4,027 migrant deaths this year includes those who perished crossing the Mediterranean as well as others who died on the North African route and at the Turkey-Syria border, according to the Geneva-based IOM.
Some 3,120 people have died since January 1 while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. The most deadly route has been the crossing towards Italy, which has cost 2,692 lives, followed by the routes to Greece (383) and Spain (45).
More than 8,000 refugees, many from sub-Saharan Africa have been rescued in the last five days, it has emerged
Hundreds of migrants arrived in Italy after a series of rescue operations carried out by the country's Navy yesterday
Two migrants wrap themselves in blankets as rescue workers help them ashore in the port of Salerno last night
IOM raised its Mediterranean death toll on Tuesday after 33 more bodies were discovered in recent days off the Libyan coastal town of Sabratha.
The new IOM figures brought the number of bodies that have washed up in Sabratha to 120 over the last 10 days.
Neither IOM nor Libya's coastguard - which first reported the Sabratha deaths - had details on whether the fatalities were caused by a single shipwreck or several accidents.
IOM spokesman Joel Millman said those who perished were likely trying to make the treacherous journey to Italy.
Aside from the Mediterranean, North Africa has proven the deadliest place for migrants this year, with 342 fatalities.
Aside from the Mediterranean, North Africa has proven the deadliest place for migrants this year, with 342 fatalities
Migrants sit on the port at Salerno in Italy with a soldier watching on as they wait to be moved in to temporary accommodation
A man carries a young baby ashore after reaching the port of Salerno in western Italy last night
Some migrants passing through the region have been killed by people smugglers or 'national authorities', IOM said, warning over the rise in violent deaths of migrants on the North African route.
The number of deadly attacks on migrants and refugees among Syrians seeking transit through Turkey has also spiked.
French police are racking up traffic violations in a BMW vehicle confiscated from a jailed arms dealer who is reportedly receiving the infringement notices behind bars in his prison mail.
The problem had become so bad his lawyer claimed the prisoner was even served licence suspension notices when he ran out of demerit points - while sitting behind bars.
The bizarre case was reportedly made possible after French police were allowed in 2011 to use cars seized from suspects.
A BMW 118D similar to the model used by French police after confiscating from an arms dealer
The Daily Telegraph reports that the man, from Lupel in France's southwest, was arrested in 2013 with two Kalashnikov assault rifles and two pistols in a BMW 118D vehicle.
Police later requisitioned the car under the new law, it was reported.
But lawyer Cyril Malgras reportedly told French media outlet Midi Libre the dealer has received regular letters in his jail at Villeneuve-les-Maguelone, near Montpelier.
Prison de Villeneuve-les-Maguelone, near Montpelier, where the dealer is imprisoned
For example, the dealer had received a fine for driving 12 km/hr over the limit on the A9 motorway between Beziers and Nimes on November 28 last year.
However, he had actually been sitting in his prison cell.
According to Midi Libre, Mr Malgras said he had written to authorities several times to get the licence returned after it was suspended because of so many fines.'That was the cherry on the cake!' he reportedly said.
Retiring New York Republican representative Richard Hanna has become the first sitting lawmaker to say publicly that he'll vote for Hillary Clinton.
'I do not expect perfection, but I do require more than the embodiment of at least a short list of the seven deadly sins,' the upstate lawmaker writes in an unrestrained op-ed in Syracuse.com.
'He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country,' Hanna wrote.
Hanna, a three-term lawmaker whose term is up in December, cited as the last straw Trump's latest foray into insults' his clash with the family of slain U.S. Army captain Humayan Khan.
Representative Richard Hanna blasted Donald Trump in an op-ed, calling him 'unfit to serve,' and said he is voting for Hillary Clinton
'Where do we draw the line? I thought it would have been when he alleged that U.S. Sen. John McCain was not a war hero because he was caught. Or the countless other insults he's proudly lobbed from behind the Republican presidential podium. For me, it is not enough to simply denounce his comments: He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country,' he said.
He told Syracuse.com in a separate interview: 'I saw that and felt incensed. I was stunned by the callousness of his comments."
Hanna's announcement comes as Trump has repeatedly been at loggerheads with House Speaker Paul Ryan, who held off but ultimately endorsed Trump. A frustrated Ryan told donors Monday the party 'cant just run a vague platitude election, hopefully win a personality contest, and then try to bring in transformational, once-in-a-generation reform to an unsuspecting country.'
Ryan's office declined to comment on whether the speaker had a head's up about the op-ed or weighed in on the bold statement by a member of his caucus.
Hanna has previously split broken with his party on abortion and gay marriage, and in 2015 he worked for the election of former Speaker John Boehner, who fended off a conservative Tea Party challenge and was succeeded by Ryan.
Hanna cited Trump's bankruptcies and questioned his character, and would make government 'much, much worse'
Hanna, pictured here with Democratic representative Carolyn Maloney, announced he is voting for Hillary Clinton
DON'T LOCK HER UP: Hanna writes that Clinton 'has issues,' but at least 'she stands and has stood for causes bigger than herself'
Hanna said a deciding issue for him was Trump's treatment of the parents of fallen Army captain Humayan Khan. Khizr Khan spoke at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia
Hanna, who has previously said he would never support Trump, went after the GOP nominee's character as well as his policy proposals.
'A self-involved man who is worth billions yet is comfortable almost gleefully using bankruptcy laws to avoid the consequences of his own choices, Hanna wrote.
'A man of character would not defend his actions but rather display shame and or at least regret. He is unrepentant in all things. Think about those average people who paid for his choices.'
Clinton, who represented New York in the Senate, he writes, at least 'stands and has stood for causes bigger than herself.'
He writes that Republicans can 'live to win or lose another day,' and shares fears that it is becoming harder for the GOP to nominate an 'electable' candidate.
'While I disagree with her on many issues, I will vote for Mrs. Clinton. I will be hopeful and resolute in my belief that being a good American who loves his country is far more important than parties or winning and losing,' he writes.
'I trust she can lead. All Republicans may not like the direction, but they can live to win or lose another day with a real candidate. Our response to the public's anger and the need to rebuild requires complex solutions, experience, knowledge and balance. Not bumper sticker slogans that pander to our disappointment, fear and hate.'
Hanna frets that the party is becoming unelectable, and writes that the party has catered to its political base, and has 'largely alienated women, Hispanics, the LGBT community, young voters and many others in general'
Other Republicans, including Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, have refused to endorse Trump, but none have said they'll vote for Hillary. Other New York lawmakers expressed misgivings about Trump during the primaries. But prominent New York representative Peter King, for example, has thrown his support to Trump.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
A dog is recovering since his rescue by firefighters after being impaled while trying to jump a fence.
Wilbur the yellow Labrador was impaled on one of the pointed spikes of an iron fence as he tried to jump to catch vultures in Gaston County, North Carolina, on Saturday, WBTV reports.
When his owner Mary Anne Dixon Hubbard came home, she saw what had happened and called 911 while her son helped secure their pet while they waited for emergency crews.
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A dog is recovering since his rescue by firefighters after being impaled on an iron fence
Vets say Wilbur (above, after his ordeal) is lucky to be alive as none of his vital organs were hit
Hes never tried to jump this big of a fence or even attempted it, she told the local station.
We think there was a bench too close that he might have jumped on but then he didnt make it and was impaled the fence post went all the way through.
But remarkably, Wilbur remained calm throughout his ordeal even as firefighters used a tool to cut parts of the fence away to rescue him.
David Brumbaugh, the assistant chief of New Hope Fire Department, said he was impressed by Wilburs calm demeanor as the rescue progressed.
He said crews were careful to cut around the piece of the fence that had gone through the dogs hind quarters.
Wilbur remained calm throughout his ordeal even as firefighters used a tool to cut parts of the fence away to rescue him
The yellow Labrador (before the incident) was impaled as he tried to catch vultures
With the training we have, if youre impaled by something, we dont remove it we package you and send you to the hospital, he told WBTV.
The fence post fell out on the way to the hospital, where vets said Wilbur was lucky to be alive because it had missed the dogs vital organs.
He needed to buy Saturday nights lottery ticket, Dr Laura Dvorak said.
Wilbur is at Charlotte Animal Referral and Emergency Hospital and is likely to be there for a few more days until his injuries heal, the Charlotte Observer reports.
In the meantime, his owners have bought and installed a rubber strip to place along the pointed posts of the fence to ensure another accident doesnt happen.
Wilbur's owner Mary Anne Dixon Hubbard (pictured) said he had never tried to jump a fence that high before
A western Tennessee man has been accused of killing his girlfriend's 5-month-old baby boy.
Braxton Edwards, 20, was arrested and charged Monday with first-degree murder in the death of Maxyn Killingsworth, Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas said in a news release.
The infant died Saturday from injuries he suffered Wednesday at a home in Kenton, according to authorities.
Braxton Edwards, 20, was arrested and charged Monday with first-degree murder in the death of Maxyn Killingsworth, Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas said
Thomas says Edwards had been left to care for the baby while the mother, Destiny McCurdy, was at work.
Edwards told investigators he had tripped while walking with the child.
Edwards was initially charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect prior to the boy's death.
Thomas, according to the Jackson Sun, said: 'Edwards told investigators with the Gibson County Sheriff's Office that he tripped while walking with the child and the child began to seize.
Edwards was initially charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect prior to the boy's death
'Edwards later called 911, and the child was initially transported to the emergency room in Union City, Tennessee, and later transferred to LeBonheur Childrens Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
'Once at LeBonheur Children's Hospital it was determined that the child had a subdural hemorrhage with compression fractures of the T11 and T12 vertebra.'
Citing court documents, the newspaper reported that Edwards claimed he tripped over a dog and landed on the infant.
Court documents also reportedly described Edwards as saying that he placed Maxyn on a couch for a diaper change and the five-month-old began seizing.
Via the Jackson Sun, they documents said that according to Edwards, the seizure ended and he shook the unresponsive infant several times.
Thomas says Edwards had been left to care for the baby while the mother, Destiny McCurdy, was at work. McCurdy is seen with her son Maxyn in this Facebook image
Edwards' arraignment took place Tuesday, and he is held on $100,000 bond, the Jackson Sun reported.
His mother Staci Brewer wrote on Facebook Sunday: 'Braxton did not harm this child with intent, with malice, with anger, nor did he purposefully try to kill him.
'He Did Not BEAT this child as people are implying!!'
Dexter Killingsworth is the baby's father and told the Jackson Sun: 'Knowing that he's in a better place and he doesnt have anything else to worry about.
'Even if he didn't learn to walk here, he can learn how to walk up there on the golden streets.'
A GoFundMe page for Maxyn's parents has raised more than $1,300.
Christians working in a Greek island detention center for asylum seekers have reportedly offended Muslim detainees after trying to convert them to their religion and repent their sins.
People held at the Moria detention camp on the island of Lesbos are said to have been given conversion forms inside copies of Arabic translations of the St John's gospel - including during the sacred month of Ramadan.
The Muslim detainees are being held under the terms of the EU-Turkey migration deal.
Detainees have alleged the forms were distributed by Greek charity Euro Relief, which is helping managing the site.
Tents surround the Moria refugee camp where asylum-seekers wander the complex
They are among a few thousand asylum seekers detained in camps on Greek Islands after the new deal was reached in March.
The Guardian reports that it has seen the form which invites asylum seekers to sign a statement declaring: 'I know I'm a sinner ... I ask Jesus to forgive my sins and grant me eternal life. My desire is to love and obey his word.'
The newspaper reported that asylum seekers felt the religious intervention was insensitive.
The Moria migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos
Mohamed, a detainee from Damascus, told the Guardian : 'It's a big problem because a lot of the people are Muslim and they have a problem with changing their religion. They were trying this during Ramadan, the holiest Muslim month.'
According to the report, a second Syrian, Ahmed, said: 'We like all religions, but if you are a Christian, and I give you a Qur'an, how would you feel?'
Euro Relief director Stefanos Samiotakis, told the Guardian he had already taken action after being told of the developments.
It is the world's deepest lake, covers an area greater than the size of Belgium and is renowned for its rich biodiversity.
But the flora and fauna of Lake Baikhal in Russia is at risk after a mysterious bad-smelling patch of green sludge was discovered floating on the surface.
Much of the water in the lake, which holds 20 per cent of the planet's freshwater and is more than a mile deep, is now feared unsafe for animals to drink.
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The flora and fauna of Lake Baikhal in Russia is at risk after mysterious bad-smelling patch of green sludge was discovered floating on the surface
A dead mink, with what appeared to be chemical burns, was found washed up on the lake's shore
The pollution was spotted on the water surface close to the village of Maksimikha in south-eastern Russia's Republic of Buryatia where locals complained that it smelt foul.
It was estimated in local reports that the size of the strange spot was around 50 to 70 metres (164 to 229 feet) in diameter.
A dead mink, with what appeared to be chemical burns, was found washed up on the lake's shore.
A Russian social media user, by the name of Anonim 03, posted footage of the spot of the green sludge to local website VKontakte.
Much of the water in the lake, which holds 20 per cent of the planet's freshwater and is more than a mile deep, is now feared unsafe for animals to drink
The pollution was spotted on the water surface close to the village of Maksimikha in south-eastern Russia's Republic of Buryatia where locals complained that it smelt foul
It was estimated in local reports that the size of the strange spot was around 50 to 70 metres (164 to 229 feet) in diameter
He wrote: 'Does anybody have an idea what is going on with Lake Baikal?!'
Local residents also said that the water around the patch had turned green, and there is a disgusting smell of chemicals.
Biologist Mikhail Ovdin who said: 'To be honest I haven't seen anything like that in the 33 years of my life by Lake Baikal.'
Mr Ovdin believes that the reason for the spot might be connected with microorganisms like algae including spirogyra (also known as water silk or blanket weed) which in itself is an indicator of faecal contamination.
Biologist Mikhail Ovdin who said: 'To be honest I haven't seen anything like that in the 33 years of my life by Lake Baikal.'
The biologist thought the spot could be an indicator of faecal contamination
Scientist Oleg Timoshkin agreed and said: 'The lake is covered with algae. Spirogyra is an indicator of faecal contamination. On top of that, all the sanitary and epidemiological indicators are far below standards.'
But Russian health watchdogs have said it is nothing worse than seaweed and have urged people not to worry.
Konstantin Radnaev, an official from a local healthcare watchdog, said: 'There is nothing serious about it.
'Based on preliminary information there is no indication of human involvement in the incident.'
Mr Radnaev also stressed that there was no sign of chemical contamination in the water around the spot.
Scientist Oleg Timoshkin agreed and said: 'The lake is covered with algae. Spirogyra is an indicator of faecal contamination.'
But Russian health watchdogs have said it is nothing worse than seaweed and have urged people not to worry
Four Chicago Spots Make Bon Appetit's List Of 50 Best New Restaurants
By Stephen Gossett in Food on Aug 2, 2016 5:28PM
Pub Royale (Photo credit: Martha Williams)
Bon Appetit Magazine on Tuesday released its annual, taste-making list of Americas 50 best new restaurants; and local diners should be happy (if not surprised) to see that four Chicago spots made the cut. (Only New York City has more selections, with five. But thats not matterits not like theres some kind of perceived rivalry between the cities.)
Chicagos best debuts, according to the list, are Ukrainian Village new-school brasserie Boeufhaus, West Loop pasta standout Monteverde, West Town casual Indian spot Pub Royale and Grant Achatz and companys Roister, in Fulton Market. Ten restaurants will then be chosen from the list and ranked as the magazines Hot 10 in mid-August.
In April, Chicagoist wrote, Boeufhaus is a surprisingly ambitious restaurant and certainly more than just a steakhouse. Right now it's not too crowded, but it won't be that way for long. That probably goes doubly now.
On Monteverede, Chicagoist spoke with chef Sarah Gruenberg and published a photo gallery of some of those made-before-your-eyes plates last November. Former Chicagoist food editor Melissa McEwen called the food at Pub Royale "brash" and the flavors "intense" in a positive appraisal in May, 2015. And we took a quick peek at Roisters casual but not simple(indeed) restaurant back in March.
A Connecticut judge on Tuesday denied a request by a former attorney for President George W Bush in prison for the attempted murder of his ex-wife to stop her from collecting a nearly $29million verdict.
A lawyer representing John Michael Farren, 63, had made the request to a state judge in Stamford on Monday.
A civil trial jury found Farren liable for beating his wife, Mary Margaret Farren, and awarded her $28.6million. Farren is appealing the settlement to the US Supreme Court.
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Legal fail: John Michael Farren (pictured left in court in 2010), in prison for the attempted murder of his ex-wife Mary Margaret Farren (pictured right), has tried and failed to stop her from collecting a $29million civil settlement
Brutalized: Mary Margaret Farren suffered broken bones in her jaw and cheek and other injuries after her husband attacked her with a metal flashlight
High-powered client: Farren was deputy White House counsel for President George W Bush
Superior Court Judge Robert Genuario said in his ruling on Tuesday that only the state Appellate Court could provide a 'stay of execution' pending the outcome of Farren's US Supreme Court appeal, reported The Stamford Advocate.
But the Appellate Court had already denied Farren's request to delay the collection of the civil settlement.
Farren was deputy White House counsel for George W. Bush and undersecretary for international trade under Bush's father, President George H.W. Bush.
He's currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for attempted murder in the January 6, 2010, attack on his then-wife at their New Canaan mansion, where Farren bludgeoned the woman with a flashlight and choked her.
Idyllic setting: The January 2010 attack took place inside the Farrens' mansion in New Canaan, Connecticut (pictured)
Mary Margaret Farren (L) and daughter Abigail attend the opening of the Dior boutique at CityCenterDC on January 14, 2016 in Washington DC
The couple's two daughters, a baby and a 7-year-old, slept just down the hall during the violent confrontation, which took place two days after Mrs Farren had served her husband with divorce papers.
Farren choked his wife and bludgeoned her with a metal flashlight until she lost consciousness. She ultimately managed to flee the house with her children.
Farren later disputed the seriousness of the charges and also tried to use a mental health defense, but a judge didn't allow it.
During her husbands trial, Mary Margaret Farren took the witness stand and described in graphic detail the vicious beating she had endured.
'He was on top of me and he was squeezing my neck, strangling me, and slamming my head... into the floor,' testified Mrs Farren, who suffered broken bones in her jaw and cheek and other injuries from the attack.
'He said, ''I'm killing you''.'
Farren (pictured left) was sentenced to 15 years in prison in July 2014 after a jury found him guilty of attempted murder, first degree assault and risk of injury to a child
Speaking to ABCs 20/20 last July, Mary Margaret recalled thinking she was dying during the attack. During the trial, she told the court how her husband was trying to strangle her
Speaking to ABCs 20/20 last July, Mary Margaret, a one-time high-powered attorney earning a $500,000-a-year salary from the Manhattan-based law firm Skadden Arp, according to Above The Law, recalled thinking she was dying during the attack and said that it took a long time for her wounds to heal.
The impact was so severe that I completely lost my sense of smell, she said.
John Michael Farren was sentenced to 15 years in prison in July 2014 after a jury found him guilty of attempted murder, first degree assault and risk of injury to a child.
The judge also ordered that he never again have contact with his two daughters.
Farren was general counsel at Xerox in 2007 when he was named deputy White House counsel during George W. Bush's second term.
He served as undersecretary for international trade in the Commerce Department under Bush's father, President George H.W. Bush.
A young British man who traveled to Syria to fight against ISIS terrorists with a Kurd militia has been killed during a firefight.
Dean Carl Evans, 22, of Reading, died fighting with Kurdish forces in Manbij in the Aleppo district of Manbij.
His father John Evans told his friends on Facebook his son had died on July 21.
'To all my friends and family for those who knew my son Dean Carl Evans the young age of 22 sadly lost his life in Sierra (sic) fighting for our country,' John said in the July 23 post.
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Dean Carl Evans, the British man reportedly killed 'fighting ISIS' in Syria, pictured in uniform in a video posted on YouTube by Kurd supporters
Mr Evans in the YouTube clip posted by Kurd supporters. His death was reported on his father's Facebook account
Mr Evans firing a gun in a video from YouTube posted by Kurd supporters after his death
On July 24, John Evans posted a picture of Dean in his youth in a military-style uniform.
'My son Dean Carl Evans born on 7/10/93 sadly was killed in Syria on Friday. He was loved and will be missed by all his family and friends rip son xx xx,' he said in the post.
It was believed that Dean was a member of International Brigades of Rojava, an international volunteer group fighting against the so-called Islamic State.
On July 27, Mr Evans posted again about the wishes he had received from family and friends since his original post reporting of the death.
'I would like to say a massive big thank you to all my freinds (sic) and family who sent there condolence for the loss of my son he would have been very proud and would have regarded you all as his brothers and sisters, thank you again,' he said.
Mr Evans in military-style uniform in a photo from his youth. The photo was posted by his father John Evans to Facebook last month
His father pays heartbreaking tribute to his son on Facebook
John Evans listed his work background on Facebook as having worked in the British Army - (Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment).
His post was shared by a Sarah Greenfield, of the US state of Washington, who said she was Dean's second cousin.
'This is my second cousin who I never got the pleasure of meeting....' Ms Greenfield wrote.
'But I can for sure say right now I am very proud to have been related to this handsome young man R.I.P MY HERO!
'I love u so much and am sending my love and prays to you.'
Mr Evans pictured in uniform in a video from YouTube posted by Kurd supporters
Several Kurd-linked Twitter accounts are also said to have reported that a man from Reading had been killed during fighting in Manbij, in the Aleppo Governorate of Syria.
'British YPG (A Kurdish militia that opposes ISIS) fighter Dean Carl Evans (Givara Rojava) martyred in Manbij clashes against ISIS on 21st July 2016,' one Twitter account reportedly wrote.
In a tribute video posted by Kurd supporters on YouTube, Evans is apparently shown in Syria firing weapons and in military uniform.
In it he says: 'My family, my family, my mother passed away four years ago,' he says in the clip.
Donald Trump may have driven an even larger wedge between military veterans and his presidential campaign on Tuesday with an offhand comment in the midst of an otherwise touching moment with a military veteran.
While telling the story of a lieutenant colonel who presented him with his Purple Heart medal as a vote of confidence, Trump quipped: 'I always wanted to get the purple heart. This was much easier.'
The Purple Heart is awarded to servicemen and women who are wounded in combat, and to surviving family members of those who are killed in action. Wanting one is akin to a death wish or close to it.
Lt. Col. Louis Dorfman came on stage and posed with Trump for photos before telling him that he didn't want to speak to the crowd.
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Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for president, posed on stage with a Purple Heart medal given to him by Lieutenant Colonel Louis Dorfman, right, during a campaign appearance in Ashburn, Virginia on Tuesday
The Purple Heart is given to U.S. servicemen and women who are wounded in battle, and awarded posthumously to those killed in action
So I said, "Lieutenant colonel, would you like to say something?"' Trump told his audience in an Ashburn, Virginia high school auditorium.
'He goes, "No sir. I'd like you to just keep saying what you're saying." Amazing. it's amazing. what an honor.'
The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment. Dorfman laughed at Trump's joke.
But Trump has been bickering with the father of a Muslim man who was killed in combat in 2004, and Tuesday's unforced error will add fuel to that fire.
Khizr Khan, a Pakistani immigrant, blasted Trump at the Democratic National Convention and then in a series of TV interviews drawing return fire from the real estate tycoon.
An NBC reporter tweeted that she spoke to Dorfman before Tuesday's rally and he said at the time that he was giving Trump a replica medal, not the real thing
Trump has made improving veterans affairs a major plank in his campaign platform, but Tuesday's gaffe could drive a new wedge between him and former military members
Trump said Tuesday that Dorfman told him he was handing over his real Purple Heart medal, but an NBC reporter tweeted that the veteran had said before the rally that it was a copy.
The Republican presidential nominee reiterated later in his speech that he would reform the Department of Veterans Affairs if he wins the White House.
'I talk about our veterans, because our veterans are being treated horribly,' he said. 'When you hear "22 suicides a day," that's inconceivable. Twenty-two suicides a day!'
' Our veterans are being treated horribly. We're going to turn that around so fast your head is going to spin.'
Thousands of wildebeest sprint across a fast-flowing river as part of a perilous migration a third of the herd will not survive.
The brave animals - some of which weigh up to 43 stone - must cross the Mara River, which is plagued by crocodiles up to 16-feet-long.
Every year, from July to September, around one million zebra and wildebeest migrate from Masai Mara in Kenya to Serengeti in Tanzania.
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Thousands of wildebeest sprint across a fast-flowing river as part of a perilous migration a third of the herd will not survive
The brave animals - some of which weigh up to 43 stone - have to cross the Mara River, which is plagued with crocodiles up to 16-feet-long
Every year, from July to September, around one million zebra and wildebeest migrate from Masai Mara in Kenya to Serengeti in Tanzania
The 5,000 wildebeest made a huge noise as they ran through the river before walking up the hill on the other side.
Photographer Paolo Maffioletti, 59, travelled to that part of Africa to capture the wildebeest's migration.
Dr Maffioletti, from Bergamo, Italy, said: 'This is the great migration from Masai Mara in Kenya to Serengeti in Tanzania.
'Every year about 1 million zebra and wildebeest migrate to look for fresh grass and to find more rainfall.
'Around 5,000 wildebeest were crossing the river Talek that day - which is a small tributary of the Mara River.'
The 5,000 wildebeest made a huge noise as they ran through the river before walking up the hill on the other side
A wildebeest plunges into the river, desperately trying to avoid the crocodiles waiting below
He said: 'Around 5,000 wildebeest were crossing the river Talek that day - which is a small tributary of the Mara River'
According to Dr Maffioletti, the Mara River is a formidable barrier in the annual migration.
'Crocodiles in the Mara River are much larger and it is difficult to cross, often many wildebeest drown after being attacked by them.
'They must reach the bank of the river as soon as possible because they are so vulnerable.
'The wildebeests have to stay together to protect themselves from predators including lions, hyenas and crocodiles.'
Dr Maffioletti added: 'They made such a loud noise which was really impressive.
'The crossing of the river is one of the best moments of wildlife.'
According to Dr Maffioletti, the Mara River is a formidable barrier in the annual migration
He said: 'Crocodiles in the Mara River are much larger and it is difficult to cross, often many wildebeest drown after being attacked by them'
A Palestinian asylum seeker accused of operating a 7million people trafficking ring from a UK hostel faces 20 years in a Greek prison if he is extradited, a court heard.
Jamal Owda faces being sent to Greece over claims he helped smuggle hundreds of people from the Mediterranean country to Macedonia.
But doctors have argued his deportation would breach his human rights due to prison overcrowding and as he is suffering from post traumatic stress from growing up in war-torn Gaza.
Jamal Owda is facing extradition to Greece over claims he is part of a people trafficking ring
The 27-year-old, who is alleged to have snuck into Britain in the back of a lorry in 2014, was arrested in an asylum hostel in Sefton Park, Liverpool, where he had been staying for several months.
When he was arrested in a dawn raid in December, polices found had 17,500 in cash hidden in a speaker in his room.
Westminster Magistrates heard today that Owda was part of a lucrative smuggling operation between 2014 and 2015.
James Stansfeld representing the Greek authorities said: 'The allegations include payment of 1,500 Euros per case so we are saying hundreds of thousands of Euros were made from the conspiracy.
'The maximum sentence for this is also 20 years, this is a substantial extradition offence.'
District Judge John Zani confirmed that Owda came to the UK in May 2014 and was refused asylum. He claimed he has another application from June 2015 'still pending'.
Greek authorities claim his gang charged around 1,500 euros to get people into Europe
Speaking through an Arabic interpreter, Owda said: 'I challenge anyone on the face of the earth to come forward and prove these allegations. In Greece I've never done any wrongdoing.
'I lost my student visa and my residency for what, I don't know. My visa was still valid but I have lost my residency.'
Owda had psychiatric treatment in his native Gaza, Palestine, between 2006 and 2008 where he was diagnosed with paranoia and hallucinations, the court heard.
Dr Pamela Walters, a consultant in forensic and addiction psychiatry at HMP Wandsworth, told the court Owda is at risk of suicide and suffered post traumatic stress disorder from living in Palestine.
She said: 'Historically he had reported hearing voices and has symptoms of dissociative disorders along with serious personality problems, probably brought on by the PTSD from what he saw in Gaza as a child.
'He has tried a wide range of self harm methods such as bleaching, razor blades, jumping down stairs and hanging. The fact they are so varied is a concern that there is real intention behind his actions to harm himself.'
Owda was arrested at this asylum centre in south Liverpool and had 17,500 in his room
Dr Walters added: 'He was also very anxious about a BBC documentary filmed at the prison in which he was interviewed due to his extradition case for people smuggling.
'He felt it was a little against his wishes and felt pressured into doing it. He felt particularly distressed about that and helpless as it was now out there on the Internet for his family to see.'
The trafficking ring reportedly took asylum seekers from the Balkans before smuggling them into EU states, including Britain, Germany and France.
Holidays-makers at Australia's airports could be looking at huge delays from next week as thousands of Department of Immigration and Boarder Protection workers strike.
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has told the department its members will walk off the job for 24 hours starting at midnight on August 12.
CPSU members in other departments will hold an hour-long stop work meeting on the same day.
Holidays-makers at Australia's airports could be looking at huge delays from next week as thousands of Department of Immigration and Boarder Protection workers strike (stock image)
The strikes are in protest over an enterprise bargaining deadlock, which has continued for over three years, The Canberra Times reported.
Three-quarters of the Commonwealth's 150,000 public servants don't have an enterprise and bargaining agreement.
Some of the largest departments have not yet reached an agreement with staff regarding workplace rights.
The CPSU said 60-70 percent of front line airport staff are union members and the impact could be significant.
CPSU national secretary Nadine Flood told the publication: 'As with past strikes the impact of this action is likely to vary from place to place, but may cause delays for international air passengers.'
A spokeswoman for the Department of Immigration and Boarder protection told the Canberra Times action by CPSU members could affect international airports, container examination facilities, client services, sea ports, international mail facilities and visa processing sections.
CPSU national secretary Nadine Flood at Sydney Airport in November 2015
The union has asked Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull for a meeting to sort out the issue and hinted at further strikes if an agreement is not reached.
Ms Flood said the workers wanted to keep their existing workplace rights, particularly the family friendly conditions and a fair wage outcome.
When Karl and Elizabeth Gfatter eloped in 1941, it was against the wishes of their parents, who said the couple were two young to be married.
Karl's father even made him a bet - if the marriage lasted more than a year, he would pay $100.
But when it comes to long-lasting love, the Gfatter's - Karl is 94, Elizabeth, 91 - from Poughkeepsie, New York, sure know what they are doing, and at the weekend renewed their vows, 75 years after their wedding.
Here come the bride and groom ... again: Karl and Elizabeth Gfatter were first married in 1941. At the weekend, 75 years later, they were married again at River Valley Care Center
Big day: Elizabeth Gfatter were all white for the occasion and even had flowers in her hair
River Valley Care Center staff spent weeks preparing for the couple's second big day
The couple's wedding outfits were accented in pink - Elizabeth's favorite color
The couple said it was true love and honesty that had kept them together for so long
The couple had just moved into the River Valley Care Center in Poughkeepsie, following the death of their adult daughter last year.
When staff heard their 75th anniversary was approaching, they decided to plan something special for the two.
At the celebration, Elizabeth was asked the secret to such an enduring marriage.
'Love and honesty...and be good to each other,' she told ABC 7 News.
Karl and Elizabeth met as children, later dated in high school, and after that, Karl proposed.
'We eloped because they didn't want us to get married yet - they said we were too young,' Elizabeth added.
When they eloped 75 years ago, Karl and Elizabeth Gfatter were told they'd never make it
The pair celebrated their wedding anniversary Monday by renewing the vows
Staff at the nursing went to a lot of effort to throw the couple a special second wedding
Karl left for two years after their wedding to serve for the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II.
He recalled the bet his father made with him, and was forced to pay up.
'He said, ''I'll tell you what, if it lasts more than a year I'll give you 100 bucks'',' Karl said.
Elizabeth said she never questioned whether Karl would be a good husband, even if they were just high school sweethearts.
'He just said he loved me, and that's all that mattered,' she said.
The couple had just moved into the River Valley Care Center in Poughkeepsie, following the death of their daughter last year. She was 68
The two had just one child, who died in January 2015. She was 68.
'There were complications with me and we couldn't have any more children,' Elizabeth told The Poughkeepsie Journal.
Michelle Obama was on hand to clean up the president's appearance as he greeted the Prime Minister of Singapore.
The first lady wiped her husband's nose in front of the crowds in Washington D.C. as Lee Hsien Loong and his wife arrived.
President Obama squinted slightly as his wife reached out and touched his face.
But it appeared to save the Commander-in-chief from any embarrassment.
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Michelle Obama wipes something off the president's nose as they prepare to welcome the Prime Minister of Singapore to the White House
The pair looked like any normal couple as they walked onto the red carpet holding hands as Loong kicked off his state visit.
Michelle wore a custom-designed yellow dress while her husband donned his usual attire - a suit.
They are celebrating the 50th anniversary of U.S. diplomatic relations with the Southeast Asian city state.
The Singaporian prime minister has urged the United States to maintain their 'indispensable role' in the Asia-Pacific and ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal.
President Obama squinted slightly as his wife touched his wife in front of the crowds
She then touched his cheek as they stood in front of the White House
Michelle was seen looking around at his face before reaching out to clean up his appearance
Calling Singapore a 'rock solid' partner, Obama welcomed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after an elaborate ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, where hundreds of U.S. military members in blue and white uniforms formed an honor guard.
The two leaders were then meeting in the Oval Office, and Lee will also be honored with a state dinner on Tuesday evening.
The U.S. president said they shared a 'common vision of a peaceful and prosperous Asia-Pacific and a more secure world.'
He paid tribute to the tiny nation's transformation from third world country to a first world country in the past five decades, describing it as a 'red dot on many maps, but with a very big impact on the world.'
It's not known whether she was taking something off his face or was just trying to be playful
She is seen grabbing at his face behind the presidential lectern
The pair looked like any normal couple as they walked onto the red carpet holding hands as Loong kicked off his state visit
President Obama shares a joke with the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong at the start of his state visit
Obama (right), First lady Michelle (second left)), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Mrs. Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore wave from the balcony during their arrival ceremony
Michelle later appeared with members of band after a performance for her and Ho Ching, wife of Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, at the National Gallery of Art
She shared a joke with Carol Fisher (right), chief creative officer of Savoy Elementary School
Ashraf Amrani, 30, went on to kill his parents Hassan, 72, and 59-year-old Zohra (pictured) before committing suicide
A police sergeant who decided to leave a convicted rapist on the streets just days before he killed his parents said he got it 'very wrong', an inquest heard today.
Ashraf Amrani, 30, was on bail when his body was discovered on a first-floor roof in Westbourne Park Road, west London, on February 13 2015.
When police went to inform his parents the following day, Hassan, 72, and Zohra, 59, were found dead at their flat, which was on the same street.
Just three days before he murdered his parents, Amrani was arrested on suspicion of affray after he reportedly pursued a stranger with a large knife.
He was released on street bail - which is when a suspect is bailed without being taken to a police station - and is usually used for offences such as shoplifting.
Officers took him to St Mary's Hospital in London after he became unwell and he was treated for taking nine ecstasy tablets. He went on to discharge himself at 3am the following day.
Sergeant Sandy Gordon, who made the bail decision, gave evidence at the second day of the inquest into the three deaths being held at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Tuesday.
When asked by coroner Bernard Richmond QC if, looking back, he got the decision right or wrong, Sgt Gordon said: 'Very wrong.'
The court heard how the sergeant had conducted a police national computer search of Amrani who gave an alias name to officers, and discovered there were five names he had been known by before.
The parents were found at their home in west London (pictured) in February when police went to inform them of their son's death, who was found on a roof nearby
He also found Amrani had a rape conviction - for which he had been handed a seven year prison sentence, with two and a half years left to run on his licence.
Mr Richmond asked: 'Weren't there alarm bells ringing in that you had a convicted rapist potentially changing his name?'
Sgt Gordon said: 'It wasn't that he was using that name for the first time. It was always on his record. I did not really consider that.'
He added that at about 1am, PC Alexander Gill had informed him that Amrani, who had previously been restrained with handcuffs and leg straps, was 'quite calm' and 'seemed to accept' he needed to stay at the hospital for 48 hours.
Sgt Gordon admitted that making this a bail condition 'would have helped', saying he drew on his experiences and went off what he had been told about the situation at the hospital.
He added: 'He had taken a lot of drugs, I just thought now he was more reasonable, was coming down off the drugs - the danger has passed.'
The court heard how Amrani also had a conviction for the possession of an offensive weapon - which Sgt Gordon said he was aware of after checking his records.
Nick Yeo, his barrister, asked Sgt Gordon if Amrani's rape conviction and possession of cannabis were an 'important consideration or not when making his bail decision'.
He replied that 'it was an important decision' - and after spending time in prison, he thought 'he had learnt his lessons and was a grown up'.
Amrani had a history of drug abuse and traces of cannabis and MDMA were discovered in his system after he died.
Sergeant Sandy Gordon, who made the bail decision, gave evidence at the second day of the inquest into the three deaths being held at the Royal Courts of Justice in London (pictured)
His family had sought to get him psychiatric care in the past and his GP said he had reported suicide attempts.
Mr Richmond asked: 'We have heard from the family drug use was much more problematic - had you been aware he had an ongoing drug problem what effect would that have had on your decision (to bail)?'
Sgt Gordon said: 'I genuinely thought this was a one off. Someone who is a substantial user generally does not overdose on drugs'.
In his evidence PC Gill said he was told by Sgt Gordon to relay to medics at the hospital that if Amrani tried to leave they should call 999.
Mr Richmond described this instruction as 'pretty useless' because 'in the absence of an offence there is nothing they can do' - saying it had 'zero effect whatsoever'.
Two Turkish gangsters who executed an associate before burying him in a forest were caught after CCTV captured one of the killers in a DIY shop as he practiced digging the shallow grave.
Yilmaz Coskun, 36, and Remzi Akguc, 41, were today found guilty of murdering Hidir Aksakal, 47, who was shot four times following a row over one of the killers' girlfriends at a fish restaurant.
The final bullet - fired from a gun believed to have been held inside his mouth - 'literally blew a hole in the top of his skull,' a court heard.
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Yilmaz Coskun, 36, and Remzi Akguc, 41, have been found guilty of murdering Hidir Aksakal and burying him in a shallow grave. Chilling CCTV footage showed Akguc practicing digging as he bought a shovel before burying his victim
Killers: Coskun (left) and Akguc (right) were both found guilty of murder and unlawful burial
Aksakal's corpse remained undisturbed for three weeks until a lone walker strayed from the path to look at cobwebs in a dark area of Epping Forest in north east London.
Asad Mukhter made the gruesome discovery of a 'foul smelling sack' near the banks of an area known as Hollow Pond on September 8 last year.
Mr Aksakal's dead body had been tied up with rope, wrapped in a tarpaulin and buried in a shallow grave.
The victim, who was known as Boxer Cetin, was himself cleared of murder at the Old Bailey in 2002.
Investigations led police to Coskun's Tottenham home, where Mr Aksakal met his demise in the early hours of August 17 last year.
The gun used to kill him was found in a hedge behind the house, while it was later discovered that Akguc had been to a builders' merchants on the day of the murder.
Mr Aksakal, 47, was shot four times following a row over one of the killers' girlfriends at a fish restaurant
CCTV from a North London branch of Travis Perkins caught Akguc buying a shovel, tarpaulin, rope, trolley and gloves which in total cost more than 230.
The chilling footage even showed him trying out the shovel for size as he performed a practice digging action in the shop.
Both Coskun and Akguc admitted they were involved in disposing of the victim's body but each blamed the other for the killing.
Both men gave evidence against each other during the trial at the Old Bailey and unusually they were not allowed in the dock together as the verdicts were returned.
They could both be sentenced to life in jail tomorrow after a jury found them guilty of murder and unlawful burial.
As he was led to the cells, Coskun told jurors who convicted him on a majority of ten to two: 'Wrong decision, wrong decision. I never done nothing wrong. You're going to live with this.'
A third suspect, Metin Cuce, is still being hunted by police and he is believed to be in Turkey.
CCTV footage shows the men get out of a car before burying Mr Aksakal, whose body was lying in the boot of the vehicle
The court heard that Mr Aksakal - described as 'not a small man' - went to meet his two killers on August 16 last year.
They were seen arriving together at a fish restaurant in Green Lanes, north London, at around 12.30am.
The owner of the Sariyer Balik restaurant said they appeared drunk and that he saw an argument between Coskun and Mr Aksakal, during which the victim denied having said something to Coskun's girlfriend.
The argument died down and the group left with Cuce in the early hours after Coskun was heard to tell Mr Aksakal: 'If we leave we leave together.'
Mr Aksakal was last seen alive in a minicab speaking Turkish with two other noisy passengers who seemed drunk.
'It is the prosecution case that the two men travelling in the back of the taxi to Templeton Road were these two defendants,' prosecutor Ed Brown QC said.
It was not until September 8 that Asad Mukhter, who was out walking alone, came across Mr Aksakal's shallow grave.
'He was some way off the beaten track when he made the gruesome discovery of a foul smelling sack in a water logged area,' Mr Brown said.
'Once he got a little closer he was able to see that whatever it was, was protruding from what appeared still to be freshly dug earth.'
A handgun believed to have been used to shoot Mr Aksakal was found in a hedge behind Coskun's home, along with two socks
The frightened walker did not raise the alarm until the following day, when police arrived to find Mr Aksakal's body.
Still clothed, he had been wrapped in tarpaulin and buried in that shallow grave.
His hands and legs had been tightly bound with pieces of blue rope while a new-looking shovel was found dumped in water nearby.
Mr Aksakal, from Margate, Kent, was identified by his fingerprints and a post-mortem examination revealed four gunshot injuries.
There were two bullet wounds to the chest, one to the left arm and one to the head.
'This appeared to have been caused by a gun being discharged whist the muzzle of the weapon was inside the deceased's mouth,' Mr Brown said.
'The round had travelled upwards and backwards, exiting through the top of the head. This wound would have been instantly fatal, obviously.'
He told jurors the disposal of the body was 'no quick and easy task' and said: 'This was plainly not the work of one man and not the work of anyone acting out of duress or fear you may easily conclude.
'It was a joint effort and joint, voluntary and determined effort to avoid the consequences of murder.
Rising Rents Prompt Wrigleyville's Decades-Old Bookworks To Close This Fall
By Stephen Gossett in News on Aug 2, 2016 4:41PM
Bookworks / Facebook
Chicago is about to lose one of its longest-running independent bookstores; and Wrigleyville will lose one of its last links to the old neighborhood in the process. Bookworks, a specialty retailer of used books and a Clark Street staple since 1984, will close the doors on its brick-and-mortar shop this fall, according to a report by Crains.
Co-owner Ronda Pilon confirmed the closure, telling Chicagoist that increased rents and frequent construction in the area drove the decision. Pilon said that Bookworks landlord raised rents this past January after feeling pressured to keep rates at market level. Also, construction projects on W. Newport Ave. have interfered with parking; and lane closures along Clark Street have caused decreased visibility, Pilon said. A lot of our exposure has been cut offincluding to tourists, she told Chicagoist. Thats a big factor.
Another familiar culprit has negatively impacted revenue: online pricing. Before online, if a book was scarce, one had to call or walk to used bookstores. As supply jumped, competitive pricing went down, she said. But Bookworks model relied less on squeezing profit margins. Our goal was always to turn books over and not wait for that one extra dollar. We emphasized quick stock turnover,
Pilon said the neighborhood itself has changed right along with the book-retailing industry. Its hard to imagine Wrigleyville 32 year ago. There was no glitz and no flair. It was a really different place. We arrived with only 4000 books and built the shelves ourselves. I dont know if we could do that today.
Bookworks plans to close on Oct. 15. The shop is running a staggered sale in the meantime. Books are 25 percent off the used price through Aug. 15, then 50 percent off the used price until at least September.
Pilon and co-owner Bob Roschke will continue to offer used books through their online shop after the closure.
[H/T Crain's]
A man, 58, has been charged with abusive sexual conduct after he touched a female passenger who was asleep on an overnight Virgin America flight, prosecutors said.
Veerabhadrarao Kunam, 58, of Visakhapatnam, India, is accused of massaging the vagina and buttocks of a woman next to him on Flight 170 from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey on July 29.
Attorney Paul Fishman said Kunam was arrested on July 30 when his flight arrived, and was released on $50,000 bond following a Monday court appearance in Newark federal court.
Veerabhadrarao Kunam, 58, of Visakhapatnam, India, is accused of massaging the vagina and buttocks of a woman next to him (pictured, file photo of Virgin America plane)
Kunam was seated in an aisle seat next to the woman, who was sleeping in a middle seat.
According to the complaint, she awoke to find his hands massaging her vagina and buttocks areas. He was also rubbing his bare feet against hers.
The woman then traded seats with her male travel companion, and Kunam offered to buy him a drink and told him he wanted everyone to forget about the incident, prosecutors said.
A member of the flight crew then moved Kunam to another seat, and the defendant said he would not touch the victim again, the complaint said.
Virgin America spokesman Dave Arnold said in a statement that the crew had been alerted to 'reports of a disruptive individual' accused of inappropriate touching.
He added flight crew moved the person and notified law enforcement who were waiting when the plane landed.
The charge against Kunam carries a maximum two-year prison term and $250,000 fine.
Detectives investigating a water fight in Londons Hyde Park that spiralled out of control and led to three people being stabbed have released 12 new pictures of people they would like to speak to.
A police officer was one of those stabbed when crowds at an event in the park became aggressive on July 19.
A second police officer was injured when they were hit by a flying bottle.
Detectives investigating a water fight in Londons Hyde Park that spiralled out of control and led to three people being stabbed have released 12 new pictures of people they would like to speak to
In a statement a Met police spokesman said: 'Police are looking to identify these persons in relation to the disorder in and around Hyde Park and Marble Arch on the evening of Tuesday, 19 July.
'The 24 images previously released - in relation to disorder at Hyde Park, Westminster; McDonalds, 2-4 Marble Arch, Westminster; Burgess Park, Southwark and Malvern House, Stamford Hill Estate, Hackney - are also being re-released as part of an ongoing appeal to trace those involved.'
It has not been suggested that the people pictured were involved in the stabbings.
A branch of McDonalds in Marble Arch was also ransacked, with a group jumping over the counter and grabbing food.
Three people, including a police officer, were stabbed when crowds at an event in the park became aggressive on July 19. It has not been suggested that the people pictured were involved in the stabbings
A second police officer was injured when they were hit by a flying bottle
As well as releasing the new pictures, Scotland Yard appealed for any witnesses who have video footage of what happened to send it to police.
Thousands more officers were sent out on the beat after the incident as the Met sought to avoid repeats of the chaos.
Two 16-year-old boys were stabbed at a separate water fight in Burgess Park, Southwark, while police attempting to shut down an illegal block party in Stamford Hill, Hackney, had bottles thrown at them.
Tempers flared as police tried to disperse a 4,000-strong crowd and began seizing sound equipment as some chanted 'Black Lives Matter'.
In a statement a Met police spokesman said: 'Police are looking to identify these persons in relation to the disorder in and around Hyde Park and Marble Arch on the evening of Tuesday, 19 July'
A branch of McDonalds in Marble Arch was also ransacked, with a group jumping over the counter and grabbing food
One terrified onlooker wrote on Facebook at the time: 'I can't believe what I witnessed in Marble Arch whilst passing by on the bus.
'Young boys running around with large machete looking knifes, a whole leap of 16, 17, 18 year old girls & boys literally scattered everywhere, I was scared for all their lives.
'And what really shook me up was seeing the young black boy looked about 17 outside Hyde park with a stab wound to his chest.
'It was so heartbreaking, I called the ambulance from the bus as it literally just happened & just to make sure but no way was I getting off that bus it was so erratic buses had to stop, I saw police & no ambulance.'
Unconfirmed reports on social media indicated all of the events were pre-arranged but poorly organised.
The event in Hyde Park had been called 'Bashment in the Park' and a flyer had been circulating on Twitter and Facebook.
As well as releasing the new pictures, Scotland Yard appealed for any witnesses who have video footage of what happened to send it to police
David Buchanan used computer scripts he had created during a moment of 'boredom' in the school holidays to access account details of Mumsnet members, leaking 2,000 details
A bored schoolboy with Aspergers syndrome who hacked into popular parenting website Mumsnet which led to vicious hoax bomb threats and fabricated claims of kidnappings has avoided jail.
David Buchanan used computer scripts he had created during a moment of 'boredom' in the school holidays to access account details of Mumsnet members, leaking the details of around 2,000 individuals including the CEO.
The 18-year-old also used his computer skills to hack into Guildford Royal Grammar School's intranet and gather passwords belonging to his rugby teacher and 37 other pupils.
False claims of kidnappings were made in the wake of Buchanan's hacking spree which also lured Mumsnet users to a replica malicious website.
Buchanan, who was aged 17 when he uploaded a malicious computer code onto the social networking site, told police about hacking into his school's internet database when quizzed over the attack on Mumsnet.
The teenager was caught out when a BT IP address registered to his home was picked up for just four seconds when he forget to protect his online identity.
Prosecuting the teenager at Guildford Magistrates' Court today, Rebekah Hummerstone made it clear the bomb hoax and shooting claims were not made by Buchanan but revealed the hack cost the site 82,000.
She said: 'Between July 14 and August 22, 2015, the Mumsnet website was hacked into.
'The hack was achieved by the creation of false Mumsnet profiles and the creation of malicious computer scripts and was embedded into Mumsnet profiles.
'Genuine users were then enticed to view the malicious false profiles which took them to a website which was a phishing page to obtain account details.
'After access was gained, as a direct consequence, 2,100 members' registration details were published on the Internet.'
Offensive material was published on profiles and accounts were then defaced.
Buchanan (pictured centre outside Guildford Magistrates' Court today) was spared jail but sentenced to a 12-month community order and must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work
Some victims' registration details, including the CEO's, were leaked and were the subject of hoax calls with allegations of shootings and kidnappings.
Miss Hummerstone said: 'An alleged bomb hoax was made at the headquarters of Mumsnet in London.
'The Mumsnet website also suffered denial of service and would often go offline for some periods of time.
'David Buchanan was responsible for creating the computer code that enabled the compromise of Mumsnet accounts and the website.'
Mumsnet, a site for parents to share tips and advice, was set up in March 2000 and now has 8,000,000 members worldwide.
Miss Hummerstone said: 'Before the attack on Mumsnet on website 8chan the vulnerability of the parenting site was discussed.
'If genuine members used their own profiles they would automatically be redirected to phishing sit Mumnet.zerofees.us
'They would be required to enter their username and password before they were automatically redirected to the genuine Mumsnet site homepage.
There is no evidence to show that you do not know the difference between right and wrong Chairman of the Bench, Michael Morritt
A Lenovo laptop was seized at Buchanan's home in Surrey when he was arrested at 8am last October.
Buchanan, of Fernhurst, Surrey, admitted two counts of causing a computer to perform a function to secure or enable unauthorised access to a programme or data.
He also admitted one count of carrying out unauthorised acts with intent to impair operation of or prevent or hinder access to a computer.
Miss Hummerstone said: 'Mr Buchanan had significantly contributed to the development of the malicious script uploaded onto profiles.
'As a result of the incident Mumsnet invested in security measures.
'The CEO indicated that, apart from the anxiety and stress, the detail of financial loss caused by the attacks was 82,000.'
Buchanan was described by teachers as a 'dedicated student' with a 'bright future' when quizzed over his hacking of the school site in 2014 and Mumsnet site in 2015.
Defending Buchanan Chirstoper Convey said: 'What is quite obvious is David Buchanan was assisting in the harvesting of usernames and passwords.
'He wrote the script that redirected Mumsnet users.
'He checked to see if it would work then handed it over to hackers.
'Mr Buchanan didn't instigate the hack on Mumsnet.
'He didn't create the phishing website and he didn't create the fake user profiles.'
Prosecutors made it clear to the court today that the bomb hoax and shooting claims were not made by Buchanan but revealed the hack cost parenting website Mumsnet about 82,000
The Chairman of the Bench, Michael Morritt, said while Buchanan's Aspergers did not give him an excuse for his actions, it gave a small explanation as to what he did.
He said: 'These are offences that are very serious especially when heard within the adult court.
'At the time of these offences you were actually a youth and we have taken this into account.
'The offences in question were not planned directly by yourself but it was, for your part, sophisticated as confirmed by police cyber crime unit officers.
'The phishing site fix, along with the VPN, using a Tor browser to conceal identification shows a level of knowledge and sophistication.
'There is no evidence to show that you do not know the difference between right and wrong.
'Upon realisation of what was happening on the Mumsnet site you disabled the script and removed the VPN from your laptop.'
Buchanan was sentenced to a 12-month community order and must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
A boy has died in Russia after contracting anthrax from a thawed reindeer carcass thought to have died 75 tears ago.
Ninety people are having checks in hospital and eight people have been confirmed to have contracted the disease.
The Yamalo-Nenets region in Northern Russia is still on a quarantine lockdown after a heatwave fueled the spreading of the disease.
The outbreak of anthrax in western Siberia is believed to be linked to the thawing of a frozen reindeer carcass (stock image)
The bizarre sequence of events in the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region has a chilling echoes of the recent TV drama Fortitude - starring Michael Gambon and Stanley Tucci - in which the defrosting of a woolly mammoth triggered an ancient illness which makes people kill each other.
Russian Ministry of Agriculture officials believe the anthrax emanates from the thawing out of the carcass of a frozen reindeer which died 75 years ago.
More than 2,300 reindeer have died in the heatwave, which sent the temperature soaring to 35C.
Anthrax is a deadly bacterial disease which has largely died out in Europe since a vaccine was invented in 1954.
But it has been used in biological warfare, including in 1916 when the Russian Army was targeted with it by rebels in Finland.
Around 1,200 reindeer have died in western Siberia in the last month, which officials blamed on freakishly hot weather - temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius (95F).
But laboratory tests have confirmed they were killed not by a heatwave but by anthrax.
The Governor of the region, Dmitry Kobylkin, ordered a mass evacuation of reindeer herders and their families in the Yamalsky district in the Ural Mountains.
Michael Gambon, who plays alcoholic wildlife photographer Henry Tyson, is pictured in a scene from Fortitude
Tests in a Moscow lab have not yet confirmed the 13 patients' illnesses were caused by anthrax.
But they are being treated with antibiotics, as if they were suffering from it.
If confirmed it would be first anthrax outbreak in Russia since 1941.
Dr Peter Eichacker, a senior investigator at the US National Institutes of Health, told CNN: 'It's unclear (what form of anthrax it is), but it's most likely the gastrointestinal tract form.'
He said the most likely cause was eating infected meat and added that symptoms included nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.
There are echoes of the plot of Fortitude (starring left to right, Sofia Grabl, Christopher Eccleston, Michael Gambon and Stanley Tucci) in this week's events in Siberia
Officials have been giving the anthrax vaccine to all reindeer in the region and infected carcasses will be burned, similar to the way animals were disposed of in Britain after the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak.
Fortitude was a 'Nordic noir' TV thriller series which aired on Sky Atlantic and starred Christopher Eccleston and Danish actress Sofie Grabl.
Donald Trump isn't withholding his endorsement from House Speaker Paul Ryan as a form of 'payback,' the real estate mogul's campaign insisted Wednesday.
'He did a clever play on words with what Speaker Ryan has said to your own Jake Tapper back in May "Im not quite there yet,"' Trump spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway told CNN Wednesday.
Ryan famously said he was 'not ready' to endorse Trump this summer before he finally came around, in language Trump echoed in a Tuesday interview with the Washington Post.
But it was all in good fun, Conway insisted.
'Thats classic Donald Trump,' she said.
'He didnt endorse his opponent. These reports are like hes fundraising for the opponent. Hes going to write in an absentee ballot for speaker Ryans opponent. No such thing,' Conway said.
COY: Donald Trump said Tuesday that he's not ready to back House Speaker Paul Ryan or Arizona Sen. John McCain in their contentious primary election battles
Campaign spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway said the mogul's comments about Ryan were 'classic Trump'
'If Paul Ryan objected to Donald Trumps candidacy, I assume he would have not had the gavel at the convention,' she said, referencing how Ryan kept his ceremonial role gaveling in the convention that nominated Trump in Cleveland.
Whatever his intentions, Trump's refusal to endorse Ryan who faces a stiff challenge from businessman Paul Nehlen and his ongoing spat with the gold star Khan family has infuriated Republican National Committee chairman Reince Preibus, who called Trump Tuesday to discuss the candidate's recent actions.
Disputing the characterization of the withheld endorsement as payback, Conway said, 'No, Payback would be endorsing the opponent, actively campaigning for him the way a lot of folks have urged him to, and he has not frankly.
Trump on Tuesday told The Washington Post that he isn't ready to support Ryan or Arizona Senator John McCain as they fight contentious primary battles to keep their seats in Congress.
In withholding his endorsement from Ryan, who faces a primary election next Tuesday in Wisconsin, Trump said he's 'not quite there yet.'
Trump praised challenger Paul Nehlen, saying he's running 'a very good campaign.' He remains on the fence despite 'giving it very serious consideration.' Ryan's primary is Tuesday.
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CHOPPING BLOCK: Ryan (left) and McCain (right) have been critical of Trump during his five-day feud with the Muslim parents of a military veteran who was killing in action in 2004
On Monday night Trump tipped his hand with a tweet.
'Thanks to @pnehlen for your kind words, very much appreciated,' he wrote.
THE OTHER MAN: Paul Ryan's challenger is Wisconsin businessman Paul Nehlen
'@realDonaldTrump my pleasure, Sir,' Nehlen responded.
'Just want to Make America Great Again.'
Trump has had a strained relationship with Ryan, stemming from a series of controversial statements that the speaker refused to support including one that he labeled as 'the textbook definition of racism.'
'I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country,' Trump told the Post on Tuesday. 'We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And Im just not quite there yet. Im not quite there yet.'
Ryan seemed to have settled into supporting the GOP nominee at the party's nominating convention in Cleveland last month, however, making more recent news cycles all the more curious.
Nehlen on Wednesday that he hasn't been in contact with Trump outside of the Twitter exchange, although if he got Trump's endorsement he would be 'humbled' and 'flattered' by it.
He bashed Ryan as a 'career politician' who is for 'open borders.'
'He has said that hes not for the wall. He has said that hes going to sue Mr. Trump' over the proposed Muslim ban, Nehlen told CNN.
TIPPING HIS HAND: Trump tweeted back and forth Monday with Paul Nehlen, the Wisconsin businessman who is trying to unseat Ryan, the GOP's highest ranking elected official
'Many Muslim Americans have served valiantly in our military, and made the ultimate sacrifice,' Ryan said in response to the public tiff between Trump and the parents of a Muslim serviceman killed in action 12 years ago.
'Captain Khan was one such brave example. His sacrifice and that of Khizr and Ghazala Khan should always be honored. Period.'
The Washington Post interview raised eyebrows on the campaign trail: Trump has castigated the newspaper at every turn as a biased rag and banned its reporters from covering his events in person.
He also beat up on McCain Tuesday, saying: 'I've never been there with John McCain because I've always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets.'
'He has not done a good job for the vets and I've always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets. So I've always had a difficult time with John for that reason, because our vets are not being treated properly. They're not being treated fairly.'
McCain has for many years had primary jurisdiction over the Senate committee that oversees the Department of veterans Affairs, an agency that Trump has criticized as corrupt and negligent.
But McCain has his own path into the Trump campaign, through Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, the billionaire's running mate.
About two dozen students engaged in a silent protest at Donald Trump's rally today in Ashburn, Virginia were tossed out after having turned their backs on the GOP nominee.
The young demonstrators sporting shirts that said 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Islam Peace' took up the last several rows of seats at the rally and were escorted about by a combination of Trump's security, local police and Secret Service.
As they were pulled out, they threw up peace signs and then gathered outside the Briar Woods High School doing the same.
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Students stood and turned their backs on Donald Trump while he spoke today at a high school in Ashburn, Virginia
Silent protesters held up peace signs as they were pulled out of the venue by a mix of Trump's security, local police and Secret Service
About two dozen students were ushered out of a packed auditorium as Donald Trump spoke in the swing state of Virginia
Donald Trump encountered a smattering of protests today when appearing at the Briar Woods High School
Trump, who's come under heavy criticism in recent days for comments he's made about a Muslim-American Gold Star family, was greeted with others shouting him down early on in today's speech.
'Their 15 seconds of fame,' he chuckled, as his own supporters drowned out protesters with shouts of U-S-A. 'Now that Bernie's out, that doesn't happen anymore,' he seemingly said of protesting. 'It's like, amazing.'
'You know, the safest place to be, anywhere is at a Trump rally,' the candidate boasted. 'It's true, it's true.'
Then the students had their turn protesting backs to Trump and stayed completely quiet.
Security wasn't having that either as each young person was pulled out and taken outside the venue.
ONLY JOKING: Donald Trump told the mother of a crying baby that she could stay at his Virginia rally on Monday, but minutes later had them both escorted out
'See ya,' one Trump supporter was heard telling the group, according to an account from USA Today.
Besides protesters getting kicked out at today's Virginia rally, The Donald also bounced a mother and her crying baby.
'Don't worry about that baby,' Trump said from the podium as the child wailed. 'I love babies! I love babies. I hear that baby crying I like it! What a baby, what a beautiful baby.'
'It's young and beautiful and healthy, and that's what we want,' he said.
In time, however, Trump had enough of the screaming tot and backtracked.
'Actually I was only kidding,' he said, turning his back to the woman. 'You can get the baby out of here.'
An Oklahoma dentist made his first court appearance Monday on charges of first-degree murder, after allegedly beating to death his lover's young son.
Bert Franklin, 35, was arrested on July 20 in connection to the death of 19-month-old Lincoln Van Henry Lewis.
Prosecutors allege that the dentist, who is married and has four children of his own, killed the little boy with a blow to the head.
The victim was so badly injured he was hemorrhaging from both eyes, police say.
Arraigned: Bert Franklin, 35, appeared in court for the first time Monday via video link (pictured) after being charged with first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty
Double life: Roxanne Lewis-Randall, pictured with her son Lincoln, said she had been in a relationship with Franklin for a year and did not know he was married
Franklin was charged with first-degree murder on Thursday and was arraigned on Monday.
Dressed in a black and white jail uniform, he remained silent during Monday's video arraignment except when he said, 'Yes, sir,' to the judge, The Oklahoman reported.
Franklin has pleaded not guilty. His bond was denied.
Authorities say that, on July 17, the victim's mother found him unresponsive at home and took him to Mercy Hospital, where he was diagnosed with skull fractures.
Due to the severity of his injuries, the child was later flown to a Tulsa hospital where he passed away the following day, according to police.
A doctor who initially treated Lincoln in Oklahoma City called police because the toddler's injuries were consistent with abuse, according to a press release cited by Tulsa World.
Monstrous crime: Oklahoma dentist Bert Franklin, 35 (left), has been charged with killing his lover's 19-month-old son, Lincoln Van Henry Lewis (right), with a blow to the head
Web of lies: Detectives said neither Roxanne Lewis-Randall nor Franklin's wife (pictured right) knew of one another's existence
Franklin surrendered to police on July 20 and was taken to Tulsa County Jail. He was then transferred to Oklahoma City Jail.
According to Franklin's arrest affidavit obtained by NewsOK, the 35-year-old dentist from Tulsa, who is married with four young children, had been carrying on a year-long affair with Lincoln's mother, Roxanne Lewis-Randall.
Ms Lewis-Randall told police that on July 17, she was downstairs in her home in the 14800 block of Gravity Falls when she heard a loud 'thud' from an upstairs bedroom, where Franklin and Lincoln were alone at the time.
Franklin later told his girlfriend that the noise she heard was a small ball he was throwing to a puppy.
When Ms Lewis-Randall went to check on her son in the morning, his body was limp and he would not wake up, she said.
Chilling threats: Ms Lewis-Randall (left) claimed that Franklin hated Lincoln's biological father (pictured right) and threatened to kill him, 'skin him in Bricktown' and cut off his penis
An autopsy that was performed in the wake of the child's death found that Lincoln had severe swelling and trauma to his brain, as well as hemorrhaging in both eyes caused by a pair of skull fractures.
Detectives said when they interviewed Bert Franklin, they found his story to be inconsistent with the evidence in the case.
According to Ms Lewis-Randall, her boyfriend hated Lincoln's biological father and had threatened to kill him, 'skin him in Bricktown' and cut off his penis, reported Fox 25.
She also claimed that Franklin recently had begun to exhibit 'controlling behavior.' investigators stated in Franklin's arrest warrant that his wife and his mistress were not aware of one another's existence.
His Facebook page states that Franklin works at Signature Smiles Dental Spa in Tulsa. He reportedly has been with the practice for eight years.
Family man: Franklin is married and has four children, he is pictured with one of them above
A bio on the dental practice's website states that Franklin graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry, where he received the Dental Wellness Partner Scholarship.
He also holds an undergraduate degree in biomedical chemistry from Oral Roberts University.
Posts and photos shared on Ms Lewis-Randall's Facebook account reveal that her son Lincoln was born prematurely in late December 2014 and spent nearly two months in NICU.
She was finally able to take him home in February of last year, calling him in one status update her 'miracle babe.' The woman also has two older children, a son and daughter.
Trainee Catholic priests have been meeting up using the gay dating app Grindr at Ireland's top seminary, it has been claimed.
Dublin's archbishop Dr Diarmuid Martin said he was 'somewhat unhappy' about rumours that students at St Patrick's College in Maynooth were using the app, which he claimed 'fostered promiscuous sexuality'.
The church leader will boycott the centuries-old college - which is just 16 miles from the Irish capital - and send students to a school in Rome instead.
Dublin's archbishop Dr Diarmuid Martin (pictured) has confirmed he will stop sending trainee priests to Ireland's main Catholic college amid claims of a gay dating culture there
The most senior Catholic in the Irish Republic said he made the decision some months ago because of an 'atmosphere that was growing in Maynooth' exposed through anonymous accusations in letters and online blogs.
He said: 'There are allegations on different sides.
'One is that there is a homosexual, a gay culture, that students have been using an app called Grindr, which is a gay dating app, which would be inappropriate for seminarians, not just because they are trained to be celibate priests but because an app like that is something which would be fostering promiscuous sexuality, which is certainly not in any way the mature vision of sexuality one would expect a priest to understand.'
Claims were made that the seminary were dismissing anyone who tried to make an allegation about a gay culture there.
Dr Diarmuid Martin said he was 'somewhat unhappy' about rumours that students at St Patrick's College in Maynooth (pictured) have been using gay dating app Grindr, which he believed 'fostered promiscuous sexuality'
Dr Martin told RTE: 'I thought a quarrelsome attitude of that kind was not the healthiest place for my students to be and I decided to send them to the Irish Pontifical College (in Rome).'
Founded in 1795, Maynooth College was once the largest seminary in the world.
It was built to train 500 trainee Catholic priests every year but numbers have nosedived to about 60 in recent years with a fall-off in vocations.
While Dr Martin has decided to send student priests from the Dublin Archdiocese overseas instead, he insisted he was not ordering other Bishops to do likewise.
However, the Archbishop said a 'whole series of anonymous allegations' were being circulated about goings-on at the Maynooth seminary.
While 'some material has resulted to be true', he added that it was impossible to fairly investigate and carry out due process while those making claims remained anonymous.
The most senior Catholic in the Irish Republic will boycott the centuries old college - just 16 miles from the Irish capital - in favour of the Irish Pontifical College in Rome (pictured)
Efforts by him to recruit an independent person who could deal with whistleblower complaints were met with 'simply more anonymous letters' he said.
'A culture of anonymous letters is poisonous and until that is cleared up I would be happier sending my students elsewhere,' he added.
Dr Martin said authorities at Maynooth needed to find a way people could come forward with 'solid, hard evidence'.
The senior catholic leader also criticised the 'comfortable' regime at the seminary.
A man named locally as cafe owner Huseyin Gulbudak was stabbed to death yesterday by a member of his own family, witnesses have claimed
A cafe owner stabbed to death yesterday was murdered by a member of his own family, witnesses have claimed.
The owner, named locally as Huseyin Gulbudak, was hacked to death with a machete-like weapon at his cafe in Kilburn, north London, according to horrified onlookers.
A fellow cafe owner said Mr Gulbudak, 48, was killed by a relative.
Barangu Gulbudak, 21, was arrested and has been charged with murder. His relationship to Mr Gulbudak is not clear, but police said they were known to each other.
Local residents heard a sudden commotion at Efes Cafe, on Kilburn High Road, at around 7pm last night before Mr Gulbudak was seen 'covered in blood'.
Witnesses also said they saw two brave pensioners fighting with the knifeman as they desperately tried to save the cafe owner.
Mr Gulbudak was taken to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Another cafe owner, who gave his name as Mehmet, said father-of-three Mr Gulbudak was killed by a member of his own family.
'I am very upset and still shocked. I am sort of heartbroken,' Mehmet said.
'It is horrible to think such a good man would die in such a way.'
Huseyin Gulbudak, 48, was hacked to death with a machete-like weapon at his cafe (pictured) in Kilburn, north London, according to horrified onlookers
Local residents heard a sudden commotion at Efes Cafe (pictured), on Kilburn High Road, at around 7pm last night before Mr Gulbudak was seen 'covered in blood'
Brian Mannion, 50, owner of The Black Lion pub, described how he saw the cafe owner covered in blood with a man in his 20s in the kitchen.
'I knew [Mr Gulbudak] as Ali and I had been buying tea from him since 1993, he must have been there for over 20 years,' Mr Mannion said.
'At around 7pm, I heard shouting coming from what sounded like the kitchen of the cafe. There had been an altercation in the kitchen.
'When I went outside after hearing the commotion, I saw Ali covered in blood along with a guy in his 20s, who also had blood on his shirt.
'I saw him bleeding, He was slouched on a chair. I saw the other guy get arrested myself.
'After about ten minutes around 10-12 police officers came and there were two ambulances. There were four customers in there as well, they were helping him. I didn't go in and help.
'The guy was arrested. I recognise him because he works there sometimes.
'I don't know how long they were trying to resuscitate him, but it felt like a long time.'
A forensic officer is seen removing evidence from Efes Cafe after a man was stabbed to death
Mr Mannion added that 'the guy who killed him' worked at the cafe on Fridays and often covered shifts for a waitress.
'He seemed like a nice, quiet character, he was never inhospitable,' the landlord said.
'They were a Turkish family. I think they lived in north London. I can't think why this would happen.
'Ali was a nice and hard working guy, I never spoke to him in detail about his family. He worked really hard I used to ask him how long he was going to keep working so hard.
'He would be in that cafe from 8am to 8pm. He said until his children were educated. I think he had three kids and a wife.'
John McCooke, the owner of the Good Ship bar on the same road as the murder, said one of his staff saw 'a commotion' across the road.
'The manager went out to have a look and saw there were tables and chairs flying around. He said he also saw a man with a knife in his hand,' Mr McCooke said.
'Two male pensioners apparently tried to fight him off with no joy.
'Apparently the attacker closed the shutters after the attack and made no attempt to escape.'
Local estate agent Dara Djarian, 25, said: 'We weren't open, but customers are saying a machete was used.'
New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who has become a close advisor to Donald Trump, came to the defense of 'gold star' families as Trump struggled to put an end to an imbroglio involving the parents of slain army captain Humayun Khan.
'You're not going to find me being critical of Mr. or Mrs. Kahn' Christie told reporters at the New Jersey state house in Trenton.
Christie called the loss of a child 'unfathomable' and said it gave the couple, who spoke at the Democratic convention in support of Hillary Clinton last week, license to say what they want.
'I think it gives them the right to say whatever they want, whether they're right or wrong,' Christie told reporters. 'We need to honor their son's sacrifice.'
New Jersey governor Chris Christie defended the parents of slain Army Captain Humayun Khan at a press conference in Trenton Tuesday. He said their status as gold star parents gives them the 'right to say whatever they want'
Father Khizr Khan blasted Trump at the convention when he said Trump 'smears the character of Muslims' and brandished a pocket copy of the Constitution and said: 'Let me ask you: Have you even read the U.S. Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy.'
His wife, Ghazala, stood stoically at his side. Trump afterward questioned her silence and asked whether it had to do with her Muslim faith and asked why she had 'nothing to say,' something Ghazala Khan disputed in a tearful interview on MSNBC.
Trump continued to speak out against the Khans via his Twitter account Monday morning, as they were giving an interview on the Today show
Ghazala Khan (left) broke down in tears Monday morning as she remembered her son, who died fighting for the U.S. during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004
Trump appeared with Christie in Lawrenceville, NJ in May, then helped Christie retire his debt from his failed presidential campaign
The distancing from the Republican presidential nominee who had Christie on a short list of potential vice presidential running mates comes as longtime Christie aide Maria Comella told CNN she is voting for Clinton, calling this a moment where 'silence isn't an option.'
'Donald Trump has been a demagogue this whole time, preying on people's anxieties with loose information and salacious rhetoric, drumming up fear and hatred of the 'other,'' Comella said.
'Instead of trying anything remotely like unifying the country, we have a nominee who would rather pick fights because he views it as positive news coverage,' she said. 'It may make him media savvy, but it doesn't make him qualified or ready to be president,' NJ.com reported.
Comella, 35, previously advised New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. On Monday, longtime inner circle Jeb Bush advisor Sally Bradshaw announced that she was leaving the Republican party. Trump mocked her boss mercilessly as 'low energy' and beat him in the primaries.
Longtime Christie advisor Maria Comella called Trump a 'demagogue' who is 'preying on people's anxieties,' and said she'll back Democrat Hillary Clinton
Earlier in the campaign, when Trump was under fire for his comments about 'Mexican' judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is overseeing a case involving Trump University, Christie defended him.
As for what advice he may have given Trump, Christie said: '
Ill give my advice to him as I always to, personally and privately, he said.
Eric Trump defended his father in an appearance on CBS This Morning Tuesday, indicating his dad had effectively apologized by calling Khan a 'hero,' although no formal apology has been offered.
'He called him a hero so many, so many different times ... this isn't a Muslim thing, this is an ISIS thing and also an anti-Syrian, anti-refugee thing coming into the country because he doesn't want to see more Americans dead,' Eric Trump said.
'My father is a great patriot, he doesn't want to see more Americans dead, and he sees what's happening around the country, and quite frankly, he's shaking his head.'
Republican leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, have stated their support for gold star families without defending Trump's comments.
Man, 27, Shot In The Neck In Lakeview Monday Night
By Stephen Gossett in News on Aug 2, 2016 2:25PM
Crime scene tape (Photo by LukaTDB via Shutterstock)
A man was shot in the neck on Monday night in the heart of Lakeview, according to police.
The shooting happened around 8:30 p.m. in the 3200 block of N. Racine Ave. The victim, a 27-year-old male, suffered a gunshot wound to the neck, police told Chicagoist. Witnesses heard the sound of gunfire and discovered the man lying on the ground. He was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center and listed in critical condition, according to police.
The attack occurred in the alley near the BP gas station at West Belmont Avenue and North Racine Avenue, according to NBC 5 reports.
Police did not disclose a motive for the shooting. No one was in custody as of early Monday morning.
The rape suspect was arrested in October 2015 and fired from his job a month later
Ingram is married to state Senator Erica Smith-Ingram, a Democrat, and the two have four children
A former North Carolina probation officer married to a state senator has been indicted on multiple counts of rape and extortion.
The State Bureau of Investigation says 50-year-old Maud Ingram, of Henrico, was indicted on seven counts of first-degree rape and seven counts of extortion.
Ingram, who is the husband of state Senator Erica Smith-Ingram, was arrested on September 18, 2015, on charges including attempted second-degree rape and felony obstruction of justice.
Husband in trouble: Maud Ingram (left), 50, who is married to North Carolina state Senator Erica Smith-Ingram (right), has been indicted on counts of rape and extortion
Ingram, who had worked as a probation officer, was arrested on September 18, 2015
Authorities say the victims in those charges were probationers, reported the station WITN. The state Department of Public Safety says Ingram was fired from his job last November after five years.
Following his September arrest, the SBI set up a hotline to see if additional victims would come forward.
Around the time of her husband's arrest, Smith-Ingram released a statement saying she had no knowledge of the basis for the charges against him.
Authorities say the victims in the rape and extortion charges against Ingram (right) were his probationers
Ingram and his wife have four children, the youngest of whom, 5-year-old Rhema Elias (pictured on Ingram's T-shirt), passed away in 2013
Smith-Ingram, a Democrat and former science teacher, was elected in 2014 to represent State Senate District 3, which includes Bertie, Chowan, Edgecombe, Hertford, Martin, Northampton, Tyrrell, and Washington counties.
out Trump's attack on the family of Captain Humayun Khan, who was killed in action in Iraq
French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday a victory by U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump could make politics more conservative around the world and said the real estate magnate made people 'feel nauseous'.
A Trump victory in November could also affect France's presidential election in the spring of 2017, said Hollande, who has not yet announced if he will seek re-election.
'If the Americans choose Trump, that will have consequences, because an American election is a world election,' the Socialist leader told journalists.
The intervention by a world leader over the Capt Khan row came as President Barack Obama on Tuesday called Trump 'unfit' to become president.
'Yes. I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president,' Obama said at a news conference, 'I said so last week and he keeps on proving it.'
Trump hit back claiming Obama, supported by Hillary Clinton in her time as Secretary of State, had 'destabilized the Middle East, handed Iraq, Libya and Syria to ISIS, and allowed our personnel to be slaughtered at Benghazi.'
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Speaking out: French president Francoise Hollande said of Trump: 'A certain number of excesses have ended up making people feel nauseous - even in the United States.'
Caught in a storm: Trump has become engulfed in days of difficulty over Captain Khan, whose father accused the Republican candidate of having a 'dark heart'
'It could lead to a very strong turn to the right in the world, or to a correction ... the American campaign shows issues that will be reflected in the French campaign,' said Hollande.
The Socialist will face strong competition from far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen if he chooses to run again for the French presidency.
'A certain number of excesses have ended up making people feel nauseous - even in the United States - especially, as Donald Trump did, when criticizes the memory of a soldier,' he said.
Trump has been caught up in a row after the family of Captain Humayun Khan, killed in action in Iraq, spoke against him, with the officer's father, Khizr, speaking at the Democratic National Convention and accusing Trump of ignoring the constitution.
Trump questioned the silence at the event of the dead man's mother, Ghazala, prompting her to cry in a television interview and her husband to accuse Trump having a 'dark soul'.
Hollande said he was hearing 'hurtful, humiliating comments' during the election campaign. Speaking about politicians in general, he said 'they should be respected when they are respectable'.
Gold star family: Khizr Khan addressed the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last week flanked by his wife and accused Donald Trump of ignoring the constitution
Fallen: Captain Humayun Khan died in 2004 in a suicide attack on his base in Baqubah, telling his men to fall back as he ran towards a taxi which crashed through the gates. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery
Obama said he was shocked by Trump's attack on the Khan family: 'The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family that had made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country. The fact that he doesn't appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues, in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia means that he's woefully unprepared to do this job. '
Trump hit back with a statement in response to what he characterized as Obama's 'failed leadership.'
'Obama-Clinton have single-handedly destabilized the Middle East, handed Iraq, Libya and Syria to ISIS, and allowed our personnel to be slaughtered at Benghazi,' he said.
Jotting down all the areas of disagreement he shares with the president and Democrats' White House candidate, Trump said, 'Hillary Clinton has proven herself unfit to serve in any government office.'
The sitting president was afforded the opportunity to tear into Trump Tuesday afternoon at a joint press conference with the prime minister of Singapore when a reporter asked for his opinion on Trump's 'fitness' to succeed him.
Obama called on Republican leaders to disavow their party's nominee over his dispute with Khizr and Ghazala Khan.
He said doesn't doubt that Republicans are sincerely 'outraged' by Trump's comments, adding: 'But there has to come a point in which you say, somebody who makes those kinds of statements doesn't have the judgement, the temperament, the understanding to occupy the most powerful position in the world because a lot of people depend on the White House getting stuff right.'
President Barack Obama says he has serious doubts about Donald Trump's ability to serve as commander in chief
After his rally on Tuesday Trump responded to Obama with this scathing statement, seen above on his Facebook
The two-term president said his opposition to Trump replacing him at this point goes beyond policy differences, and he did not have these concerns about his 2008 and 2012 Republican opponents, John McCain and Mitt Romney.
'I didn't have a doubt that they could function as president,' he said. 'I think I was right and Mitt Romney and John McCain were wrong on certain policy issues, but I never thought that they couldn't do the job.'
If either of them had won, 'I would have been disappointed, but I would have said...to all Americans this is our president,' the Democrat stated.
Obama said he does not have the same confidence that Trump will 'abide by certain norms and rules and common sense' that go along with being president or that he would 'observe basic decency.'
'Thats not the situation here,' he professed. 'And this is not just my opinion, I think what's been interesting is the repeated denunciations of his statements by leading Republicans,' he said, that include Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader and other prominent Republicans such as Senator McCain.
Eric Trump told CBS This Morning he believes his dad already has apologized by calling slain Army Captain Humayun Khan's family by calling him a hero
The president said 'the question that I think they have to ask themselves is, if you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him? What does this say about your party that this is your standard bearer?'
Meanwhile Trump's son Eric tried to pour water on the blazing row.
His father already has apologized to the family of slain U.S. Army Capt. Humayan Khan by calling him a 'hero,' Eric on 'CBS This Morning'.
He was asked about the demand by gold star families that the Republican presidential candidate apologize after tangling with Khan's parents, who appeared at the Democratic National Convention.
'Would your father be willing to apologize and move on?' asked co-host Norah O'Donnell.
'You know, that's a great question for him,' Eric Trump responded. 'And I think he has by calling him a hero,' he said.
He then tried to clean up his dad's statement on Sunday that he had sacrificed by building structures and employing thousands of people.
'You know, and in terms of the one question, whether you've made a sacrifice, I'm sure my father has. Now whether that's not the ultimate sacrifice the ultimate sacrifice is a soldier dying for this nation, dying to protect the three of us, there's no question about it,' he told his interviewers.
'This was something that was honestly blown in, hugely, out of proportion,' because, first of all, he said that the Khan family looked like amazing people ... which for whatever reason never wants to get reported,' Eric Trump said.
'He called him a hero so many, so many different times ... this isn't a Muslim thing, this is an ISIS thing and also an anti-Syrian, anti-refugee thing coming into the country because he doesn't want to see more Americans dead. My father is a great patriot, he doesn't want to see more Americans dead, and he sees what's happening around the country, and quite frankly, he's shaking his head.'
There had been blowback from the controversy throughout Monday, as Arizona Senator John McCain blasted Trump for his remarks, the gold star families demanded an apology, and Khan's mother, Ghazala, gave a tearful interview on MSNBC.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan both distanced themselves from Trump's comments.
A Texas man decided to surprise his friend with the news he was a match as a kidney donor - but neither were prepared for how emotional the moment would turn out to be.
Graham McMillan found out last month that he was viable to donate a kidney to his college buddy, nurse Danny Kolzow, and turned up at the Fort Worth hospital where he works with the sign: 'Heard urine need of a kidney, want mine?'
While the sign was clearly a joke, it went straight over Kolzow's head, and video of the special surprise shows him crying with happiness over the news.
Big announcement: Graham McMillan showed up to his friend's work with a sign that read: 'Heard urine need of a kidney. Want mine?'
McMillan has learned he could be a kidney for his friend, nurse Danny Kolzow, and went to the hospital where he worked to tell him
Surprise!: This is the moment Kolzow (center) discovers his friend is donating a kidney to him
McMillan, a youth pastor, agreed to get tested to see if one of his kidneys would be compatible and was a match. Here he embraces his friend with the good news
'My kidney's going inside that body right there,' McMillan can be heard saying
Kolzow had asked his friend to text him if he learned his organ was a match, but McMillan decided against that approach.
'There's no way I'm just going to text you,' McMillan told The Dallas Morning News.
'I just wanted to film his reaction for his parents.'
Kolzow, a nurse at Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth, was diagnosed at age 16 with Alport syndrome, a genetic condition that causes kidney disease.
His kidney was only at 7 per cent functionality and he needed a donor quickly.
However, on July 27, McMillan and Kolzow were admitted to Baylor to undergo five-hour surgery to transplant the former's kidney into the latter.
Goodluck: On July 27, the two underwent a five-hour kidney transplant surgery
Success: Doctors say they are happy with the surgery has gone
'I got to see my current hero, laying down part of his life for me,' Kolzow told WFAA.
Doctors have told Kolzow that, so far, they are happy with the success of the transplant.
'The nurses are just blown away by how well the kidney is working,' Kolzow said.
'I'm putting out more than a liter of urine an hour, which is incredible.'
Both men will need two-to-three weeks of serious rest to recover from the surgery.
A Conservative Party donor who was reportedly recommended for a knighthood in David Cameron's resignation honours list has said he will refuse it.
Ian Taylor, who gave an estimated 300,000 to the Remain campaign in the lead up to the EU referendum, said he would write to Cameron and Theresa May requesting that his name is not put forward.
The proposed knighthood for Taylor - who is one of the most powerful figures in the oil industry - had infuriated Eurosceptic MPs.
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Gong gone: Ian Taylor (left), who was reportedly recommended for a knighthood in David Cameron's (right), resignation honours list, has said he will refuse the honour.
'In recent days, speculation in the media has suggested that I may be recognised in the forthcoming resignation honours list,' Taylor said in a statement tonight.
'This has been accompanied by seriously inaccurate comments about the company I lead.
'In these circumstances, I think it is right that I request that my name does not go forward, if indeed I was being considered for an honour.'
'Tonight, I am writing both to the outgoing and the current Prime Minister requesting that I would not wish to be considered for an honour at this time.
'I will, of course, be continuing to participate actively in all the causes that I and my family passionately believe in, notably broadening access to the arts for everyone.'
A list of potential recipients of honours was leaked to the Sunday Times and appeared to show Cameron rewarding key members of his failed campaign for the UK to remain part of the EU.
Among them was Taylor, the 60-year-old chief executive and president of Vitol Oil, whose head office is in Switzerland.
Taylor gave an estimated 300,000 to the Remain campaign in the lead up to the EU referendum
Vitol, which he joined from Shell in 1985, has been plagued by controversies including over its operations in Iraq, Libya, and Serbia, and over its own tax affairs.
Taylor, who has an estimated 175million fortune, also gave 500,000 to the No campaign in the referendum on Scottish independence.
At the time, the campaign faced calls to return the money, with then-Scottish first minister Alex Salmond raising concerns about Vitol.
Taylor first gave money to the Tories after Cameron became leader in 2005.
Vitol Oil has an annual turnover of almost 300billion and made a profit of 1billion in 2014.
In 2007, Vitol pleaded guilty to grand larceny in a New York court for giving kickbacks extra payments to Iraqs national oil company during Saddam Husseins regime to win favour.
The company paid $17.5million in restitution. In 2011, Vitol was named as a key backer of the Libyan revolution after it sent tankers loaded with diesel to rebel-held ports.
Cameron was urged in the House of Commons to hand back Taylor's donations in 2014 after it emerged that Vitol paid $1million (750,000) to Arkan, the Serbian war criminal, in the 1990s.
Samantha Cameron's aide and fashion confidant Isabel Spearman, left, is reportedly set to be appointed an OBE while George Osborne's aide Thea Rogers, right, is set for the same honour
Cameron, who stood down as prime minister last month, was accused of 'sticking up two fingers' after an honours list was leaked.
Opposition MPs demanded a complete overhaul of the system after it was claimed that Cameron is pushing to reward personal aides, political donors and senior figures on the losing Remain campaign.
Prime Minister Theresa May said she would not interfere in the honours process because it would set a bad precedent.
Senior Government figures said they were stunned by the scale of his cronyism which apparently also includes nominations for his wifes personal stylist Isabel Spearman, and ex-Chancellor George Osbornes close aide Thea Rogers, who is said to have encouraged him to lose weight.
Others said to be in line knighthoods are cabinet members and Remain supporters Philip Hammond, Michael Fallon, David Lidington and Patrick McLoughlin, as well as donor Andrew Cook.
Tory sources said ex-party chairman Lord Feldman, Mr Camerons old university friend, had played a key role in compiling the resignation honours list despite being entirely unelected himself.
One ex-Cabinet minister said: This is just appalling. He is brazenly rewarding people who were totally loyal to him personally and ignoring all those ministers who worked hard and loyally served the party and the country.
Secondly, he is brazenly rewarding those who were with him in his failed project to keep Britain inside the EU.
General John Allen, who stepped out of his usual role to deliver a blistering attack against Donald Trump at the Democratic convention, defended his decision Tuesday and said he would disobey orders to torture prisoners or take out terrorists' families.
Allen's decision to jump into the public arena with his views caused controversy in the military. Gen. Martin Dempsey, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote in DefenseOne Monday that ' generals and admirals are generals and admirals for life,' and that it was ''near impossible' for them to speak only for themselves.
Allen, who used to head forces in Afghanistan, said he felt 'compelled' to speak out by Trump's statements. At the GOP convention, Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn spoke on Trump's behalf.
Retired Gen. John Allen, former commander of the International Security Assistance Forces and Commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, says he 'agonized' over his decision to address the Democratic convention
'I agonized over this. It was not a decision that I took lightly,' Allen told CNN.
'And with the comments about the potential for our involvement in torture or carpet bombing or the potential that he knows more than all the generals knows about ISIL, those comments ultimately required me to come forward and make these remarks and offer my support to secretary Clinton to be the president of the United States and the commander in chief.'
Sen. Ted Cruz made a remark during the campaign about carpet bomging ISIS. It is a tactic used during World War Two and the Vietnam War. The U.S. military now tries to rely more on precision munitions and drone strikes.
Trump said late last year during the primaries, '"I know more about ISIS than the generals do. Believe me.'
Allen said it was the 'inherent responsibility' of commanders to disobey orders they consider immoral.
He then referenced: 'Public statements about the potential we could find ourselves in torture or the murder of the families of alleged terrorists, or be engaged in indiscriminate carpet bombing.'
'I would hope that we would never find ourselves in the position where the Commander in Chief would give that order. But were we to receive that order, wed be obliged first to advise that that order is illegal and then were it to be reinforced wed have to disobey it,' he said.
Trump in the GOP debate in New Hampshire said, 'I'd Bring Back a Hell of a Lot Worse Than Waterboarding.' He said of terrorists last December, 'you have to take out their families.'
Allen said he would 'absolutely' refuse such an order.
Some senior military leaders have challenged Allen's decision to jump into the political arena
The convention crowd responded with chants of 'USA!'
'I couldnt believe how enthusiastic that crowd was that day to the many messages that they were receiving'
'Theres be no question in my mind. An illegal order like that Id have an obligation to the Constitution of the United States which I swore to defend with my very life. Thats about the rule of law.'
He continued: 'Its about who we are as an American people and I would disobey that order if I were given the order to abjectly torture detainees in my possession, or to attack the families of alleged terrorists and murder them as well. Id be forced to. I would have no choice.'
Allen lit up the Democratic convention hall in Philadelphia last week when he said, 'The free people of the world look to America as the last best hope for peace and liberty for all human kind.'
The crowd erupted into chants of 'USA! USA!' as Allen stood with veterans from a variety of ethnicities. 'We stand before you tonight to endorse Hillary Clinton for the president of the United States of America,' he said.
Allen said he was invited to address the convention, but didn't say who with the Clinton campaign contacted him.
He said he spoke so enthusiastically because of his loyalty to the American people and 'also to be heard over the crowd.'
'I couldnt believe how enthusiastic that crowd was that day to the many messages that they were receiving,' he said.
Jeremy Hunt has ordered NHS trusts to provide life-changing cataract surgery to elderly patients 'without delay'.
The Health Secretary said it was down to doctors or eye specialists to decide when patients needed the operations, not cost-cutting managers.
A Daily Mail investigation last week revealed how three quarters of hospitals deny surgery unless patients' vision is extremely poor.
We then exposed how NHS hospitals are charging the elderly four times the standard price and encouraging them to pay privately to jump the queue.
Jeremy Hunt (pictured) said it was down to doctors or eye specialists to decide when patients needed the operations, not cost-cutting managers
NHS hospitals are charging the elderly four times the standard price and encouraging them to pay privately to jump the queue (stock photo)
Charities say thousands of patients are losing their sight needlessly and becoming housebound, dependent and isolated.
Currently there are no national guidelines setting out which patients are allowed the operation, which costs just 800 an eye.
This means local NHS trusts are left to draw up their own strict rules and some demand patients prove they have suffered repeated falls or have hearing loss.
Growing numbers of MPs and charities are urging the NHS to introduce a national set of guidelines to end the arbitrary rationing.
Mr Hunt said: 'Any patient who needs cataract treatment should get it without delay. Decisions about who gets cataract treatment should always be clinically-led and in the best interest of patients, and patients can pursue their right to ask for an alternative provider if they haven't started treatment within 18 weeks of referral.'
Labour health spokesman Diane Abbott said patients were being asked 'grossly inappropriate' questions to prove they were worthy of surgery.
'Ordinary people will be horrified to learn hospitals are being forced to ration such crucial surgery and the Government must answer for this failing,' she added. 'Imagine being asked whether you've 'fallen over' to see if you need an eye operation.
'Cataract sufferers shouldn't have fork out hundreds of pounds for surgery that could prevent them from going blind.'
Around half of over-65s suffer cataracts to some degree an estimated 4.5million Britons. The condition occurs when the lens in front of the eye becomes cloudy with age, and this usually worsens with time.
But it can be easily treated by a 30-minute operation to replace the affected lens with a plastic implant, which patients describe as 'life transforming'.
Many NHS trusts will offer patients treatment only if they fail sight tests even when wearing glasses.
They must get a score of 6 out of 12 or less, meaning that even with glasses their vision is still half as good as a normal person. Some trusts go further by asking 'grossly inappropriate' questions to prove their quality of life is severely affected.
These include whether they have fallen over twice in the last year, struggle to recognise faces or also suffer from hearing problems. Holly Heath, of the Royal National Institute for the Blind charity, said: 'Any findings which indicate that patients are being unfairly denied cataract operations must be taken seriously.
Labour health spokesman Diane Abbott (pictured) said patients were being asked 'grossly inappropriate' questions to prove they were worthy of surgery
Around half of over-65s suffer cataracts to some degree an estimated 4.5million Britons (stock photograph)
'It costs health and social care budgets far more to treat someone who has lost their vision than to prevent their sight deteriorating in the first place. The decision should be based on clinical need and the impact on a person's quality of life must also be taken into account.'
Dr Dolores Conroy, of eye research charity Fight for Sight, said: 'A person whose sight is restricted by a cataract will, at some stage, absolutely need surgery and it is well known that delaying surgery can lead to older people having other accidents. This has the potential to significantly increase NHS costs in the longer term.'
NICE, the NHS watchdog, is due to publish the first cataract surgery guidelines in 2018. But campaigners are worried they will be simply ignored by health trusts as they won't be legally binding. Growing numbers of hospitals are allowing patients to 'queue jump' by paying for surgery from their own pockets.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals charges 3,450 an eye and the Royal Free in North London charges 2,750.
Yeovil Hospital in Somerset tells patients that if they self-fund they 'can receive treatment almost immediately and on a date to suit you'. Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, who sits on the Commons health committee, said: 'It is completely unacceptable that people are being denied this life-changing operation, but this is an all-too-common experience due to this Government's mismanagement of the NHS.
'It's time the Government kept its promise to increase NHS funding.'
Four patients reveal how the life-changing operation changed their lives
Stan Clark, 76, was made to wait more than a year for treatment
Stan Clark, 76, was made to wait more than a year for treatment and then the NHS would only do one eye.
His wife, Karen, 65, was refused treatment completely because her sight was not deemed poor enough, even though she struggled to drive.
The couple were so worried she would be involved in a serious accident that they ended up using their savings to pay for her to have surgery privately.
Mr Clark, a retired oil company worker, from Pembroke, West Wales, said: 'I was blind in one eye. That cataract was that bad. It was generally miserable.
'And the other eye was being used so much I was straining and squinting with it ... You are always just worrying about whether your eye is going to shut down.
Describing his wife's situation, he said: 'Karen found it very difficult. We couldn't risk waiting for her to get treatment on the NHS as she was driving a lot every day.
'She could have had an accident as the headlights can dazzle you when you are only using one eye. I was on tenterhooks waiting for her to come back every night ...In the end we thought it was only a few grand so she went private.
'If I was still working I would have been forced to go private as I used to drive a lot.'
Meanwhile, Helen Heraty was told that the NHS would only treat one eye even though she was virtually blind.
The 56-year-old, who runs a boutique hotel in York, ended up borrowing money from her son to pay for the treatment privately after she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cataract.
She said she was told by NHS doctors in York that they would only do her right eye but would wait until her left had got sufficiently bad before treating it.
Mrs Heraty, who has seven children aged 11 to 27, said: 'I became increasingly reliant on my children to help me out with everyday tasks. I couldn't function it was a very difficult time.
'It was like looking through a Vaseline-coated lens. One eye was completely gone and the left eye I was down to 50 per cent vision. I couldn't drive at night, I could barely drive during the day and I couldn't see colour.
Helen Heraty was told that the NHS would only treat one eye even though she was virtually blind
'Had I been 70 or 80, I wouldn't have been so fussed about it.
'But I was 55, I knew I was going to be working for a lot of years I need to be able to see.' Mrs Heraty had her cataracts treatment privately at the London Eye Hospital. She ended up opting for a far more hi-tech lens than those offered by the NHS, which cost 8,000 an eye.
These have corrected her vision so well she no longer needs to wear glasses to read or see long distances.
Speaking about the operation, she said: 'I was nervous, but it didn't hurt. When the bandages came off the next day it was incredible. Not only did I have focus but I hadn't realised I couldn't see colour any more the sky was blue again!
'I'm very, very happy with the results. I'm sat here looking at the distance and I'm able to read a book. That's all I wanted.'
Paul Marchant, 66, spent around 9,000 on two cataracts procedures after deciding to have his treatment done privately.
The grandfather-of-two was struggling to drive for long periods and could not clearly make out people's faces as he passed.
Having worn glasses since the age of 11, he was told by his optician that she was unable to do anything more to help.
After noticing a swift decline in his eyesight in just three years, Mr Marchant, from Chesham, Buckinghamshire, was determined to fix the problem as quickly as possible. He decided to bypass the NHS and have two operations done privately because he believed his case would not be considered 'serious enough' to be done by the health service, adding: 'The perception is that you need to be virtually blind.'
Paul Marchant, 66, spent around 9,000 on two cataracts procedures after deciding to have his treatment done privately
Earlier this year he had a corneal graft and cataract surgery at the Wellington Hospital in north London.
Mr Marchant said: 'My quality of life is hugely different ...Everything is clearer.'
And Bernice Cowles waited two years for cataract treatment on the NHS and was initially told her sight was too good.
The 83-year-old was caring full-time for her late husband William and struggled to read the writing on his prescriptions without a magnifying glass. She worried she would misread a number and put his life at risk by giving him too much medication.
The grandmother, from West Horndon, Essex, was referred for an operation to repair her worse, left eye in April 2015. But this was only following a routine sight test which revealed her vision was now so poor it met the NHS's strict 'eligibility criteria.'
Bernice Cowles waited two years for cataract treatment on the NHS and was initially told her sight was too good
In 2013 she said: 'I'd like them to assess me not just on what I can see but what I have to do. It should be taken into consideration ... I need to have it done. I don't want to jump queues, I just want to get on the waiting list.
'It would give me peace of mind and mean that I won't have to worry so much about the future.'
The move comes at a cost to taxpayers of up to 20million a year
There are also worries the new pills could encourage 'sexual risk taking'
The NHS will appeal against a High Court ruling forcing it to prescribe a drug to prevent HIV because children with cystic fibrosis, amputees and blood cancer sufferers could be refused treatment.
A High Court judge yesterday ordered health officials to provide the daily Prep tablets - branded a 'promiscuity pill' by critics - costing taxpayers up to 20million a year.
NHS England will appeal because providing the 5,000 annual patient cost will hit funding for 13 other treatments.
This includes a drug to help children with cystic fibrosis breathe, prosthetic limbs for amputees, hearing implants for the deaf and stem cell treatment for adults with lymphoma.
The HIV drug the NHS must offer would be given to up to 10,000 gay men who don't have HIV but are at high risk of being infected through unprotected sex. But critics, including one Aids charity, warn it is a strategy 'fraught with dangers'.
They say it could encourage men to have sex with multiple partners without condoms and may even lead to higher HIV rates as it is not 100 per cent effective.
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This is a conceptual view of HIV within the bloodstream. The NHS has been told to prescribe a drug to prevent HIV
There is also concern that scarce NHS funds are being spent on a preventative medicine at a time when vital cataract surgery and cancer drugs are being rationed. Cataract surgery costs just 800 an eye and enables patients to leave their homes unaided and recognise loved ones' faces.
One MP yesterday suggested it would be difficult to justify the cash spent on the HIV drug to a cancer patient who had been denied a life-saving treatment.
And last night NHS England said the ruling would delay a decision on whether it could fund 13 other treatments including for children with cystic fibrosis.
Trials have shown that Prep, also known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, is 92 per cent effective at preventing HIV as long as the pills are taken every day. Tradenamed Truvada, they work by blocking an enzyme that would otherwise allow HIV to make copies of itself, and take over the body.
NHS England which funds drugs had initially refused to prescribe Prep. It argued that because it is a preventative medicine, it should be funded by local councils. But this stance was challenged by the National Aids Trust charity and a judge in the High Court yesterday ruled there was nothing to stop the NHS from paying.
The ruling was broadly welcomed by leading medical organisations and MPs, who said it was 'ethical' and would save many lives.
But other campaigners are worried the drug will fuel a rise in sexually transmitted infections and may even lead to increased rates of HIV as it is not 100 per cent effective.
There is evidence of a dramatic fall in condom use among men taking the drug, leaving them exposed to other infections.
Experts are also worried that the HIV virus may evolve to become resistant to the Prep drug resulting in a much stronger, deadlier strain.
There is also concern that scarce NHS funds are being spent on a preventative medicine at a time when vital cataract surgery and cancer drugs are being rationed
Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in the US, voiced concern 'about the potential for overall spread of the virus as well as other sexually transmitted diseases for which Prep offers no protection'.
Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley, said: 'There isn't a bottomless pit to spend on the NHS. We've got to prioritise and decide where we should rank this in the list of NHS spending priorities.
'The fact that we're depriving cancer patients of crucial drugs at the expense of other treatments is something we've got to look at. You can't fund everything on the NHS.
'You've got to wonder what reaction you'd get if you looked a cancer patient in the eye to explain you haven't been able to fund their treatment because you've prioritised other treatments.'
Dr Peter Saunders, chief executive of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said: 'This is a strategy fraught with dangers. Making Prep freely available to already promiscuous homosexuals could well encourage more sexual risk taking and more sexually transmitted disease as a result.
'Prep works. It saves money and it will make an enormous difference to the lives of men and women across the country' Deborah Gold, the National Aids Trust
'The best way of preventing HIV infections is by avoiding the high-risk sexual behaviours that lead to it. Those who rely on it for protection against HIV are effectively playing Russian roulette.'
James Mildred, of the Christian Action Research and Education charity, said: 'We have really serious concerns about the NHS spending tens of millions on a drug that we believe could facilitate more risky sexual lifestyles. Given the risks of increased promiscuity associated with Prep, this would be an expensive and potentially irresponsible action.'
The drug is being offered at a time when cataract surgery is being restricted, with the Daily Mail highlighting cases of health tourists being allowed to jump the queue. It can be used by women but has so far been targeted at those at high risk of HIV, predominantly gay men.
Prep can be paid for privately with a doctor's prescription but is not yet available through the NHS. It costs around 400 per patient a month although the NHS would agree a far lower price, possibly half this amount. This is considerably cheaper than the 15,000 a year it costs to treat a patient with HIV.
Last night, NHS England said it would appeal the ruling and insisted that it could still refuse to fund the drug regardless of the outcome. It said it would measure it for cost-effectiveness alongside several other treatments currently under assessment. A spokesman said decisions over funding on 13 other treatments would be delayed because of yesterday's decision, as the NHS needs to know how much money it has in the budget before it can decide. They include treatments for children with cystic fibrosis, prosthetic limbs and certain types of implants for deafness.
The NHS has been told to prescribe a drug to prevent HIV despite concerns it is expensive and could encourage 'sexual risk taking'
But Deborah Gold, of the National Aids Trust, welcomed the ruling. She said: 'Prep works. It saves money and it will make an enormous difference to the lives of men and women across the country who are at risk of acquiring HIV.' Dr Iain Kennedy, of the British Medical Association's public health medicine committee, said it 'will help save many lives and reduce the risk of HIV'.
However, some medical experts are worried that HIV could evolve to become resistant to the drug. In February, doctors reported the case of a 43-year-old gay Canadian man who tested positive despite taking Prep for two years.
Meanwhile, a recent French study found that condom use declined to just 24 per cent among men taking Prep.
A legal firm that has spent years hounding traumatised British troops was humiliated yesterday when its access to public money was axed.
The decision to strip Public Interest Lawyers of its ability to claim legal aid is a victory for the soldiers it tormented.
The ambulance-chasing firm led by controversial human-rights lawyer Phil Shiner has dragged veterans through the courts for years, often with false claims that they tortured and murdered Iraqis.
But the announcement means it will no longer be able to use taxpayers money to sue the Government or British servicemen.
The decision to strip Public Interest Lawyers of its ability to claim legal aid is a victory for the soldiers it tormented
The ambulance-chasing firm led by controversial human-rights lawyer Phil Shiner (pictured) has dragged veterans through the courts for years, often with false claims that they tortured and murdered Iraqis
The Legal Aid Agency said it was terminating the contract because Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) had breached its rules.
The news vindicates the Daily Mail, which has fought to expose PIL tactics such as using touts to drum up business in Iraq in contravention of Legal Aid Agency rules.
Mr Shiner has made his name suing the Armed Forces, and he and his firm have pocketed 3.9million in legal aid since the beginning of the Iraq War pursuing spurious claims against British troops.
PILs past cases will now come under scrutiny, and it could be forced to hand back millions from dubious claims made against blameless soldiers.
The Legal Aid Agency acted following a review of PILs practices and an investigation by the solicitors watchdog that could result in the closure of the firm.
Mr Shiners troubles do not end there the allegations against his firm are understood to be so serious the Government is referring them to the National Crime Agency.
The Legal Aid Agency said: We have terminated our contract with Public Interest Lawyers as we consider the firm has breached its contractual requirements.
We have taken this action after a thorough review of information provided by PIL, following the investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority into the firm.
We are clear that contractual breaches with LAAs contract are proven and warrant investigation by the relevant authorities.
The news vindicates the Daily Mail, which has fought to expose PIL tactics such as using touts to drum up business in Iraq in contravention of Legal Aid Agency rules
Mr Shiner (pictured) has made his name suing the Armed Forces, and he and his firm have pocketed 3.9million in legal aid since the beginning of the Iraq War pursuing spurious claims against British troops
Last night, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: We have seen our legal system abused to falsely impugn our Armed Forces. Now we are seeing justice done.
Every day, our servicemen and women show bravery and dedication in difficult circumstances. They should not be subject to unfounded legal claims.
We are working on a package of measures that, alongside this ruling, will ensure they arent.
The allegations against PIL centre around two main issues, the first being PILs role in the 31million Al-Sweady war crimes inquiry into allegations of murder and torture by British forces.
In December 2014, the five-year public inquiry exonerated British troops and said claims made by PILs clients were deliberate and calculated lies.
Since the revelations came to light, Mr Shiner has been charged by his professional body, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which referred him to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
Although he could be struck off, the public is not allowed to know the charges against him, and he has won the right to have his disciplinary case heard behind closed doors a move being challenged by the Mail.
The accusations against Mr Shiner are understood to centre on his role in the Al-Sweady inquiry.
Justice Secretary Elizabeth Truss said: Legal aid is designed to support some of the most vulnerable members of society not to pursue spurious cases against our brave Armed Forces overseas.
The investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority has unearthed some very serious allegations.
'I am determined that public money should not be misused or wasted and I will not tolerate any abuse of the legal aid rules that are so vital to the proper functioning of our justice system.
The Mail has campaigned to halt witch-hunts against soldiers facing multiple probes into incidents from more than a decade ago
The Mail has campaigned to halt witch-hunts against soldiers facing multiple probes into incidents from more than a decade ago.
PIL has lodged more than 1,000 claims of criminality by British soldiers, along with civil claims using legal aid to extract vast amounts of compensation from taxpayers.
In January, former prime minister David Cameron declared war on ambulance-chasing lawyers and ordered changes to legal aid to stop the persecution of troops.
But it has intensified, with recent figures showing that PIL and fellow legal firm Leigh Day have passed 3,281 allegations of criminal activity by soldiers to the Iraq Historic Allegations Team, which investigates such cases.
So far, 900 of these have been thrown out.
The firms are also pursuing soldiers at The Hague a court that normally tries war criminals.
Soldiers many suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder have faced as many as five probes each in relation to a single incident as a result of the soaring claims.
Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said of PIL: People will have serious questions about how this contract was awarded in the first place.
Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured) plans to shake up the way Downing Street hands out honours following the controversy over David Cameron's resignation list
Theresa May plans to shake up the way Downing Street hands out honours following the controversy over David Cameron's resignation list.
Colleagues said she was keen to avoid the mistakes of her predecessor, who had allowed the impression to be given that awards were being given to cronies.
One MP close to the Prime Minister criticised the way her predecessor had drawn up his resignation list, and pledged that Mrs May would do things differently, adding: 'You certainly won't see Theresa doing something like this.
'She certainly wouldn't be abusing the honours system in this way.'
Mrs May is expected to use her first honours list, likely to be in the New Year, to make it clear they will be introduced in a more open and transparent way. Mr Cameron has faced stinging criticism this week after he pushed through a list of 48 gongs for former aides, Conservative donors and Remain supporters. A Government source said of Mrs May: 'Anyone who knows her attitude to these things would know this would be something she would want to look at. She is a woman who does things properly.'
Last night, the chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life called for a cross-party review of party funding to ensure such scandals did not happen again.
It became clear this week that a separate list of peerages which Mr Cameron submitted has been blocked after a Whitehall probity committee raised concerns about Michael Spencer.
The former Tory treasurer, who has given millions to the party, was turned down because he is chief executive of the spread-betting firm Icap, which was fined 55million for its role in the Libor scandal.
Yesterday it emerged that the Lords Appointments Commission had blocked the proposed peerage for Mr Spencer. Aides to Mrs May said she would not overturn the committee's objections and it was reported last night that Mr Cameron had decided not to continue the fight for Mr Spencer to be on the list.
David Cameron (right) planned to nominate former Tory Treasurer and City boss Michael Spencer (left) for a peerage, but sources said he had failed the 'sniff test' over his links to a firm involved in the Libor fixing scandal
Yesterday, friends of the Icap boss told the Mail he was upset at the snub saying he had done nothing wrong over the Libor fraud, in which inter-bank lending rates were rigged. One said Mr Spencer felt the gongs had been given to PR men and that he has been singled out even though he behaved properly during the Libor scandal.
The Lords Appointments Commission has seven members three political, four independent who check all nominees. They cannot veto names, and they look only at the 'propriety' of candidates rather than 'suitability'. But no prime minister has ever rejected their advice.
Mr Cameron's former tennis partner Lord Feldman (pictured) helped him draw up his controversial resignation honours list
David Cameron's list of peerages may be much longer than thought and possibly the largest in living memory. It had been thought there were about 15 names, including party donors and former aides. But he may have put forward 40 or more 'Westminster sources' told the Daily Telegraph last night.
Lord Bew, chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said: 'The big question that links it all up is this one on party funding.
'The British people themselves think you would only give money to a party unless you expect a peerage or some such goody but they also believe they should not have to contribute a penny towards funding political parties which would solve the problem.'
Alistair Graham, Lord Bew's predecessor as chairman, added: 'The Prime Minister should announce she's not going to have a resignation honours list I think she should convene a cross-party group to look at possible reform The latest episode has underlined how important it is to have a look at the honours system to see more transparency and attract wider public support.'
Last night Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said: 'With a new leader and a new Tory Party chairman, I challenge them to join me to restart cross-party talks on funding for political parties. Big money from union barons from rich donors must not continue to warp our politics. The whole sorry saga of Cameron's cronies shows how we must kick big money out of politics.'
Yesterday, former Downing Street adviser Rohan Silva, who refused an honour, said too many awards go to diplomats, civil servants or chairmen of publicly-listed companies.
'I think the real scandal over the honours system over the past years, decades, is the fact so few entrepreneurs, so few people who take real risks and build companies get honours,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today.
He said less than 1 per cent of honours go to people who have started businesses.
Britain's border security is clearly under-resourced and warships should be drafted in to guard small harbours against people-smugglers, MPs said Tuesday.
A worryingly low total of just three Border Force patrol boats are available to protect more than 7,000 miles of UK coastline, they warned.
Their report called for Royal Navy ships to help Border Force protect our lightly-guarded small ports and beaches, which are increasingly seen as soft targets by smugglers and migrants travelling in small boats who try to avoid heavy security at ferry ports and Eurotunnel trains.
As the report was released today, Dorset police and crime commissioner Martyn Underhill warned of a 'perfect storm' as Border Force weaknesses were magnified by the withdrawal of special branch officers from ports.
Britain's border security is clearly under-resourced and warships should be drafted in to guard small harbours against people-smugglers, MPs said Tuesday
MPs said the four Border Force cutters, including HMC Vigilant, pictured, were not enough to keep 7,000 miles of coastline secure
Incidents so far this summer include 18 Albanian migrants who had to be rescued from a sinking dinghy off the coast of Dymchurch in Kent, 17 Albanians found on a catamaran in Chichester harbour, West Sussex, and the discovery of three Iranians drifting in an inflatable boat off Dover.
MPs on the Commons Home Affairs Committee said Border Force was clearly under-resourced.
The report adds to growing pressure for naval assistance to be given to Border Force, which has just four patrol boats, one of which is currently in the Mediterranean.
Four more that are promised will be unavailable for at least another year.
In comparison, Italy has 600 vessels to guard a coastline that is 3,000 miles shorter, the report said.
Committee chairman Keith Vaz said: Criminal gangs continue to exploit weaknesses in security at small ports in Britain to illegally transport migrants from the continent.
THEIR SWEEPING REPORT ALSO: Accused former foreign secretary, now Chancellor, Philip Hammond of complacency over reports that half a million people have gathered in Libya hoping to cross the Mediterranean to Europe Blamed the EU for failing to foresee or prepare for a colossal migrant crisis and doing too little too late to deal with it Criticised the EUs Schengen open borders system for allowing terrorists who slip in free passage across the continent Called for 157 unaccompanied children living in camps in Calais who have family in Britain to be allowed to cross the Channel Advertisement
'Despite maritime security being critical to an island nation, Border Force is operating worryingly low numbers of vessels to protect our borders.
Royal Navy chiefs are understood to be prepared to devote one or more River-class patrol boats to assist Border Force if Home Secretary Amber Rudd requests them.
Two of the 260ft vessels, which have a crew of 45, are working on fishery protection but could be released if Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom gives permission.
The MPs report, Migration Crisis, said: Border Force needs to be given all the necessary equipment, including vessels, to enable it to carry out its responsibilities effectively.
'The number of Border Force vessels in operation appears to be worryingly low.
'Royal Navy vessels should be made available to Border Force to make up for shortfalls, where necessary.
Mr Underhill told BBC Today port security was in a 'lot of trouble' and added: 'The special branch have been taken away and they used to monitor the small ports.
'They are being taken away under a three year programme... in Dorset we are starting to lose officers now.
'They are not (being replaced). They are centrally funded by Government and they are being moved into the inner cities. That's why this is a perfect storm - Border Force is just one part of this.'
The report called for Royal Navy ships to help Border Force protect our lightly-guarded small ports and beaches, which are increasingly seen as soft targets by smugglers and migrants travelling in small boats who try to avoid heavy security at ferry ports and Eurotunnel trains
The MPs' report added that tightened security at major ports and airports had led to a displacement of illegal migration, with small ports now targeted, and said security must be strengthened at these points too as a matter of urgency.
The Home Office said there were additional military and law enforcement vessels available, but the Ministry of Defence said Border Force has not yet requested naval assistance.
The Home Office added: We continue to work tirelessly to maintain the security of our border.
'We will respond to the committees recommendations in due course.
Alp Mehmet, of the Migration Watch UK think tank, said: Clearly the challenges facing the UK Border Force remain significant and are growing.
'It is imperative that more money is devoted to address the issue of illegal immigration.
More than 150 children living without parents in migrant camps in Calais should be brought to Britain, the MPs report said
The recommendation came three months after former prime minister David Cameron responded to the Daily Mails call for compassion by inviting 3,000 children stuck in squalid refugee camps in France, Germany and Italy to come to this country
More than 150 children living without parents in migrant camps in Calais should be brought to Britain, the MPs report said.
The 157 children who are known to be unaccompanied should already have arrived here, it added.
The recommendation came three months after former prime minister David Cameron responded to the Daily Mails call for compassion by inviting 3,000 children stuck in squalid refugee camps in France, Germany and Italy to come to this country.
As the report on the Border Force was issued today, there were warnings from a police and crime commissioner of a 'perfect storm' facing port security
But there were concerns that doing so might encourage more migrants to attempt risky journeys to reach Britain.
The Home Affairs Committee report said: We accept the Governments concern that allowing unaccompanied children to join family members already in the UK might create a pull factor, resulting in more vulnerable young people making dangerous journeys to try to reach the UK.
We appreciate that these are sensitive and complex matters and that proper account needs to be taken of the legal and safeguarding requirements in the countries where unaccompanied children are currently located.
But the MPs said that ministers should as a one-off action accept all of these children into the UK now.
The report added that some refugees in camps in Calais had family members in Britain and should be entitled to enter the country.
The MPs also said: We are yet to see any evidence of a strategy designed to deliver a long-term solution to the presence of these camps.
In March the Mail reported on hundreds of lost boys who were living in squalid conditions in Calais.
The European Union was criticised by MPs for not foreseeing the scale of the migrant flow and then failing to handle the crisis. Some 4,027 migrants have died so far this year, a 26 per cent increase from the same period in 2015, according to the International Organization for Migration
The European Union was criticised by MPs for not foreseeing the scale of the migrant flow and then failing to handle the crisis.
The report also said the EUs efforts to stop people-smugglers have been poor.
Some 1.25million asylum-seekers came to Europe last year and more than a quarter of a million migrants arrived in the first six months of this year.
The report from the Commons Home Affairs Committee said the union was too slow to respond, adding: The EU failed to anticipate the scale of migrant flows, and did not have the structures in place to cope.
The MPs said the EUs 5billion deal with Turkey in March, under which new arrivals can be sent back to Turkey, came far too late.
They added that further action is urgently required to ensure vulnerable people do not suffer further exploitation by criminals and face the current high risk of death.
FEARS OVER PORT SECURITY RAISED AGAIN A WEEK AFTER TWO COURT CASES ON MIGRANT SMUGGLING ENDED Stephen Jackson was jailed last week for smuggling a separate group of migrants in Chichester marina Today's report comes less than a week after two separate court cases on smuggling migrants into Britain came to a conclusion with sentencing. Last Friday Robert Stilwell and Mark Stribling pleaded guilty to conspiring to assist unlawful immigration following their bungled smuggling operation in which they had to be rescued by lifeboat crews. The pair were arrested after they were caught attempting to smuggle 18 Albanians - including one woman and two children - into the country near the small Kent town of Dymchurch in May. The bid ended in a dramatic rescue operation when their rigid inflatable boat started taking on water in the early hours of the morning in the English Channel - forcing the migrants to make panicked phone calls to families in Calais. Stribling, 35, was jailed for four years, eight months and former judo champion Stilwell, 33, for four years, four months. The sentencing came on the same day that a British sailor was jailed for four years and nine months for smuggling 17 immigrants into a south coast marina. Stephen Jackson, 51, was sentenced today after pleading guilty to assisting unlawful immigration by sailing a boat-load of Albanian men aged 20 to 44 into Chichester Marina in West Sussex on May 23. At Lewes Crown Court, it was revealed that a European Arrest Warrant has been issued for Jackson for allegedly perverting the course of justice in connection with a murder in Spain. Advertisement
Some 4,027 migrants have died so far this year, a 26 per cent increase from the same period in 2015, according to the International Organization for Migration.
The committees report also accused former foreign secretary Philip Hammond of being complacent in respect of Libya, where a reported 500,000 people are waiting to cross the Mediterranean illegally.
The report said a promised Royal Navy ship has not been sent to the North African country.
It also said that the EU should offer Libya a deal like Turkey.
Committee chairman Keith Vaz said ships in the Mediterranean saved lives but failed to deter migrants or stop criminal smuggling networks, adding: The EUs response in combating people traffickers who are exploiting, exacerbating and profiting from this crisis has been poor.
Terrorists have taken advantage of the EUs Shengen free-movement system, leading to a raised security threat, the MPs also warned.
Uber Driver Carjacked And Passengers Robbed Early Tuesday
By Stephen Gossett in News on Aug 2, 2016 3:13PM
An Uber driver was carjacked and his passengers were robbed early on Tuesday in Douglas, according to police.
Two suspects, driving a white, four-door sedan, pulled in front of the Uber drivers car as he picked up a pair of passengers at about 2:10 a.m. in the 3100 block of S. Lake Shore Dr., near East 31st Street, police told Chicagoist. The two armed offenders then approached the vehicle: one forced the driver, a 63-year-old man, from the car; the other robbed the two passengers and told them to get out of the vehicle. The offenders then fled, leaving with both vehicles, police said.
The driver, identified by the Tribune as Roy E. Smith, told the paper he has been a driver for Uber since October.
One of the passengers, a 30-year-old male, suffered a slight laceration to his head, according to police. He was taken to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center where he was treated and released.
Chicagoist has reached out to Uber for comment and will update this post accordingly.
Update, 3:00 p.m.:
We have been in contact with the driver. Hes doing ok, and were still gathering information, Uber spokeswoman Kayla Whaling told Chicagoist. The incident occurred while on trip, Whaling confirmed, which would make the drivers vehicle eligible for Ubers coverage if he has collision insurance. Its my understanding that damage to your vehicle would include theft.
Isabel Spearman, who used to work for Sam Cameron in Number 10, was on the former Prime Minister's resignation honours list
A former aide of David Cameron has launched an astonishing defence of the OBE granted to the ex-PM's wife's 'special advisor', saying she is no mere stylist.
Isabel Spearman, who used to work for Samantha Cameron in Number 10, was on the former Prime Minister's resignation honours list leaked on Sunday.
Her name drew particular criticism on the list of 48 because she was described as a 'stylist'.
One of Mrs Spearman's former colleagues in Downing Street, who asked not to be named, said it was 'just not true' to give her such a title and claimed the way she had been singled out for criticism was 'sexist'.
The former aide insisted there was 'nothing improper' about Mr Cameron's honours list.
'There is no one on the list who should not be on the list,' the aide said. 'There is nothing improper that has gone on.
'Everyone on the list has worked very hard in the service of their country. All this has gone through the proper process. It is no different to other resignation lists.'
The aide said that Mrs Spearman was a hard-working and popular member of Mr Cameron's staff.
'Isabel worked incredibly hard and the idea that she was not popular is just untrue, she was a fantastic team player. The way she has been singled out in this way is sexist.
'She was nothing to do with Samantha Cameron's hair, she did a lot of work behind the scenes, and she is a true professional who had a heavy workload.'
The former aide said Mrs Spearman was Samantha's only member of staff, adding: 'There was a lot of work no one knows about, a large amount of Press coverage, a lot to manage. She was an incredibly popular member of the team.'
Mrs Cameron is said to have relied on her 'stylist' (right) for her day-to-day organisation
Isabel Spearman (pictured right and left with SamCam) was a problem solver for Mrs Cameron
On Monday, Labour deputy leader Tom Watson described Mrs Spearman as a stylist.
'I've never met Samantha Cameron's stylist but I don't think she deserves an OBE,' he said. 'David Cameron chose to give her an OBE because he knows her. He shouldn't just give honours to friends.'
The Prime Minister will condone cronyism if she allows Ed Llewellyn, David Cameron's former chief of staff to become Britain's ambassador to France, Mr Tom Watson has said.
Mr Watson told the London Evening Standard: 'If it's true that Ed Llewellyn is being lined up as ambassador to France, Theresa May must block his appointment. She can't walk away from this cronyism row.'
Shocking footage has emerged of a tiger pulling off the bumper of a car at the same Beijing wildlife park that a woman was killed a week ago.
In the video, the animal can be seen approaching the vehicle and quickly pulling off the vehicle's bumper, according to a video posted by the People's Daily Online.
Last week, a woman was eaten alive by a tiger while another was seriously injured after they got out of their vehicle which was passing through the enclosure.
Hello! The car was driving through the Siberian tiger enclosure when the incident occurred
Thanks for that! It pulled off the bumper and was seen dragging it into a nearby bush
Close encounter: The tiger carefully pulls at the bumper before tearing it off
The footage is filmed from inside the car which is driving through the tiger enclosure at the Badaling Wildlife Park around an hour outside of Beijing.
Another car can be seen ahead as the tiger sidles up to the vehicle.
The tiger looks at the car and its surroundings before wandering over to the left hand side of the car.
Suddenly, the animal rips off the bumper from the car and drags it into a nearby bush.
The video claims that the driver is the founder of an online marketing company in China. The claim has not been confirmed.
It's mine now! It then continues to drag it away before disappearing into the bushes
Need a new one! The bumper was completely ripped off in the incident at the safari park
Observing the area: The tiger looks at the car and its surroundings before wandering over
A woman was eaten alive by a tiger while another woman from the same party was seriously injured in the same safari park on July 23.
The younger woman and the man are understood to have had an argument at which point she stormed out of the car.
The older woman then followed her out and was instantly attacked by the Siberian tiger.
The 6,000-acre park which allows people to either drive themselves or join a tour, tells people not to leave their vehicles at any point.
The family were eventually rescued by Badaling's staff, but there was nothing that could be done for the older woman.
The younger woman was seriously injured, an official confirmed.
Entrance to the park costs 5, and visitors can feed the animals - although they aren't allowed to get close to the attraction's larger residents.
The woman gets out of the car and walks around to the other side after having a fight with a man inside the vehicle
As she remonstrates further, a huge tiger is ready to pounce behind her at the Badaling Wildlife World
The woman is dragged tot he floor where she is mauled by the big cat, sustaining serious injuries
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A 6,400-square-foot sinkhole has opened up suddenly on a busy city road in China, and two people remain missing after being dragged into the pit.
Heavy rains on Monday night caused tarmac to collapse into a muddy hole on Zhongyuan Road in the western area of the city of Zhengzhou, Henan province, east China, according to People's Daily Online.
The 16ft-deep hole opened within minutes at 7.30pm on Monday night, causing pedestrians to be dragged into it.
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Scary: Two people remain missing after the sinkhole appeared on the busy road in Zhengzhou, Henan province, east China
Dangerous: The 16ft-deep hole opened within minutes at 7.30pm on Monday night, causing pedestrians to be dragged into it
Big job: Excavation and repair vehicles spend the best part of Tuesday trying to rectify the disaster, but with little success
Bad experiences: Song Qingbin, 36, was walking along with a female colleague when they were pulled into the muddy pit
A further two local people were successfully rescued by emergency services later in the evening after they rushed to the scene, as the gaping hole grew to 100ft wide and 65ft long.
Song Qingbin, 36, a teacher at a local school, was walking along with a female colleague when they were pulled into the muddy pit without warning.
Police were able to pull Song out of the hole, alongside 21-year-old Song Yamin, but it caused the road to collapse further and more people fell into it.
Meanwhile Song's co-worker Zhang Fan remains missing, along with one other pedestrian from the local area.
Song Yamin said he was returning from a company meeting when the incident occurred. He added: 'I saw people were gathering to see something.
Praying for them: Song's co-worker Zhang Fan remains missing, along with one other pedestrian from the local area
Destructive: City officials confirmed a large underground water pipe had burst after being flooded during the heavy rains
Terrible scenes: A local school was evacuated by police amid fears over broken electricity wires and sewage pipes
'I hadn't had a chance to join the crowd before falling into the sinkhole myself. Thankfully, passersby and the police pulled me out using a rope.'
Large construction repair vehicles were summoned to the scene around 11pm to begin the gradual road repair process, while a local school was evacuated by police amid fears over broken electricity wires and sewage pipes.
City officials confirmed a large underground water pipe had burst after being flooded during the heavy rains.
A lovesick Dutch man waited for ten days in a Chinese airport for a date to arrive, a luckless ordeal which left him requiring hospital treatment after developing severe health problems.
Alexander Pieter Cirk, 41, flew from Holland to Huanghua International Airport in Changsha, Hunan province, south China on July 22 in the hope of meeting a 26-year-old woman he met online two months ago, known only by the surname Zhang.
When he found no one waiting for him at the airport, Mr Cirk refused to leave the building and ended up sleeping there for ten nights, according to People's Daily Online.
Pity: Alexander Pieter Cirk, 41, flew from Holland to Huanghua Airport in Changsha, Hunan
Sorry: He waited for ten days for the woman he had met online, Zhang, to arrive and meet him
True love? Mr Cirk was found with glamorous pictures of Ms Zhang on his mobile phone
The prolonged wait - coupled with lack of sleep and adequate nutrition - had a bad effect on the Dutchman, causing him to pass out as an effect of his severe diabetes.
With his condition worsening, emergency services were summoned to airport, where they quickly took Mr Cirk away for treatment.
He was later pictured with a drip attached, being pushed around in a wheelchair.
Ms Zhang told news reporters she had been having plastic surgery treatment in Zhengzhou while Mr Cirk waited, and had turned her phone off while her face was wrapped in gauze.
The 26-year-old confirmed she did not expect Mr Cirk to make the 5,400 mile one-way trip from his home city Amsterdam to Changsha.
She told a local news channel: 'We had advanced our romantic relationship but later he seemed a little callous towards me.
'One day he sent me a photo of air tickets abruptly and I thought it was a joke. He didn't contact me later.'
Ms Zhang says she called Mr Cirk in hospital, after which they had a two hour conversation and discussed the Dutch man's ordeal.
Dangerous: The wait left the diabetes-sufferer with health issues and he had to be hospitalised
Tragic tale: The Chinese woman said it was 'inconvenient' for her to return to see Mr Cirk
The Chinese woman said it was 'inconvenient' for her to return to Changsha to see Mr Cirk, but asked that medical staff look after him well.
Commenters on the social media platform Weibo were unimpressed by Mr Cirk's antics and few of them had sympathy for his plight.
Referring to the stylized photos Mr Cirk were showing off on his phone of Ms Zhang , one user said: 'Doesn't he know that everything in China is fake?'
In a cruel twist on events, another user added: 'Perhaps she did go to the airport, saw what he looked like, and promptly turned back around.'
This is the sickening moment animal lovers found around 400 dogs crammed into trucks destined for dinner plates in China.
An animal protection group rescued the truck in China's Hebei province on August 1, reports Huanqiu, an affiliation with the People's Daily Online.
Police confirmed that the driver did not have the necessary certification to carry the animals, a spokesman from the protection group told MailOnline.
Tragic: Many of the animals were found in a bad condition and needed attention
Shocking: Truck was carrying around 400 dogs when it was stopped by volunteers and police
Sickening: The dogs were crammed into small cages inside the truck bound for restaurants
According to Mr Yu, head of the Handan Small Animal Protection Group, a volunteer from the group saw the truck at around 4pm on July 31.
The volunteer saw that the truck was not full and had a feeling that it would be heading to Shizhuang village which is well known for its dog-trading business.
More volunteers were called in to wait several intersections near the village for the truck to leave, said Mr Yu.
At around 2am the next morning, the truck left the village and local traffic police were able to stop the vehicle.
According to Mr Yu, more police arrived and detained the driver, a worker and the trader who had given them more dogs in the village of Shizhuang.
Tragic photos show the state the animals were in when they were rescued from the truck
Tragic: A volunteer saw the truck and alerted the animal protection charity to the case
The dogs were a range of breeds including achshunds, Golden Retrievers and Border Collies
He says: 'There were 366 dogs on the truck but some had escaped so I estimated the total number to be around 400.'
The suspects had confirmed to the police that the dogs would be sent to a slaughterhouse and killed for their meat, said Mr Yu.
The local livestock sanitation department were also called in as it was thought that the animals were probably in need of vaccinations.
The dogs were mainly in a bad condition.
According to witnesses, most of the breeds were Dachshunds, Golden Retrievers and Border Collies.
Mr Yu said illegal dog trading is a common occurrence in China: 'Incidents as such take place in China every day. It shows that an underground industry chain has developed, from dog purchasing to dog transporting.
'All of the actions have avoided the inspection of legal departments. Many of the dogs are stolen, others are sold by owners at very low prices to dog meat traders.'
Handan Small Animal Protection Group is currently looking after the dogs that have been saved.
Mr Yu said they're waiting to hear from local authorities to see what to do with the animals next.
Handan Small Animal Protection Group is currently looking after the dogs following the rescue
Mr Yu, head of the Handan Small Animal Protection group, said volunteers worked together
The centre of our galaxy may be more of a stellar retirement home than a nursery.
Astronomers peering into the heart of the Milky Way have found a huge region lacking young stars.
While researchers have previously found youthful stellar bodies in the innermost regions of the galaxy, new research has uncovered a sprawling region at its heart from which they are missing.
According to the team of astronomers, the findings contradict previous indications of a stellar nursery nestled deep within the galaxy's core and could change our understanding of the Milky Way.
Despite a small clump in the centre, astronomers found the heart of the Milky Way was lacking in youthful stars. Pictured is an artists impression of the implied distribution of young Cepheid stars (shown as blue stars) plotted on the background of a drawing of the Milky Way
A STELLAR NURSERY OR A STELLAR DESERT? Previous studies had suggested that a stellar nursery may be tucked away in the central Milky Way, behind the veil of gas and starlight, with a scattering of young stars dotted across the central galactic bulge. But the latest findings suggest that within the most central region of the galaxy, called the extreme inner disk, there has been no new star formation in for hundreds of millions of years. An international team of astronomers mapping young Cepheid stars found that apart from a small cluster at the heart of the galaxy, the central region was devoid of youthful stars. Advertisement
While there are a great number of stars at the galactic centre, clouds of stellar gas can obscure their light, masking what lies behind the veil when seen from Earth.
The sun is an outlier in the Milky Way, sitting out on one of its spiral arms, but astronomers can use young stars called Cepheids as markers to measure vast distances across the galaxy.
These stars, typically less than 300 million years old are known as standard candles, as they pulsate in a regular way which can be used to measure relative distance.
But scientists have also used them to reveal the structure of our immediate stellar surroundings.
An international team of astronomers from Japan, South Africa and Italy searching for Cepheids which are far younger than our 4.5 billion-year-old sun found that when they scanned the heart of the Milky Way, there was something of a stellar 'desert' where the stars should be.
While there are a great number of stars at the galactic centre, clouds of stellar gas can obscure their light, masking what lies behind the veil when seen from Earth (stock image). But astronomers can use young stars called Cepheids as markers to measure vast distances across the galaxy
Other than a small clump of Cepheids in the centre of the Milky Way, the surrounding central region was devoid of the young stars.
We already found some time ago that there are Cepheids in the central heart of our Milky Way in a region about 150 light-years in radius, said Professor Noriyuki Matsunaga, an astronomer at the University of Tokyo, who lead the research.
Now we find that outside this there is a huge Cepheid desert extending out to 8,000 light-years from the centre.
An artists illustration of the Milky Way shows newly discovered Cepheid stars marked by yellow points. The previously known objects, located around the Sun (marked by a red cross), are indicated by small white dots. The central green circle around the core of the galaxy marks the location of the Cepheid desert
Previous studies had suggested that a stellar nursery may be tucked away in the central Milky Way, behind the veil of gas and starlight, with a scattering of young stars including Cepheids dotted across the central galactic bulge.
But the latest findings suggest that within the most central region of the galaxy, called the extreme inner disk, there has been no new star formation in for hundreds of millions of years.
Our conclusions are contrary to other recent work, but in line with the work of radio astronomers who see no new stars being born in this desert, explained Professor Michael Feast, co-author and astronomer at the University of Cape Town.
The latest findings suggest that within the most central region of the Milky Way (illustrated), called the extreme inner disk, there has been no significant star formation for hundreds of millions of years
Professor Giuseppe Bono, from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, added: The current results indicate that there has been no significant star formation in this large region over hundreds of millions years.
The movement and the chemical composition of the new Cepheids are helping us to better understand the formation and evolution of the Milky Way.
The Windows 10 Anniversary Update, the largest update to the PC software since it launched last year, has become available to consumers today.
The global update sees Microsoft's virtual assistant Cortana become more central, being used as part of any search, while a new feature called Windows Ink enables users to annotate on their screens more freely, and across different apps, with a stylus.
The Anniversary Update comes just days after Microsoft ended a free upgrade program for users eligible to update to Windows 10, which was released in July last year.
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More than 350 million devices have been upgraded to Windows 10 since the software was released last year. Now the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, the largest update to the PC software since it launched last year, will start to become available to consumers today
WHAT DOES THE UPDATE INCLUDE? The new update sees Microsoft's virtual assistant Cortana become more central, being used as part of any search. A new feature called Windows Ink enables users to annotate on their screens more freely, and across different apps, with a stylus. The Microsoft Edge web browser, introduced in Windows 10 to replace Internet Explorer, is also being tweaked so it becomes more power efficient. Advanced security features include facial recognition technology, Windows Hello, being made available to log in to websites and apps. New gaming experiences including features for Xbox One and the Xbox app. New tools for the classroom. For schools with dedicated IT support, the updated Windows Imaging and Configuration Designer tool enables them to set up shared devices, in bulk, in a matter of minutes. Advertisement
Anyone who has already upgraded to Windows 10 using the free upgrade will get the new features free.
More than 350 million devices upgraded for free to Windows 10 since the software was released last year.
But users wanting to move to the software from either Windows 7 or 8 must pay for Windows 10, with prices starting at 99.99 ($132.11) in the UK.
The update sees Microsoft's virtual assistant Cortana become more central, being used as part of any search, the company explained in a blog post.
A new feature called Windows Ink enables users to annotate on their screens more freely, and across different apps, with a stylus.
The Microsoft Edge web browser, introduced in Windows 10 to replace Internet Explorer, is also being tweaked so it becomes more power efficient.
New gaming experiences were also introduced, including features for Xbox One and the Xbox app.
For schools with dedicated IT support, the updated Windows Imaging and Configuration Designer tool enables them to set up shared devices, in bulk, in a matter of minutes.
Cortana is now available above your lock screen so you can do things like ask questions, play music from your PC or set a reminder without unlocking your device
To help protect businesses from accidental data leaks the biggest source of lost data the Anniversary Update delivers Windows Information Protection, formerly referred to as enterprise data protection
WHAT CORTANA DOES NOW Cortana is now available above your lock screen so you can do things like ask questions, play music from your PC or set a reminder without unlocking your device. Cortana can save and recall key information, like your frequent flier number or where you parked at the airport. You can also add photos to make your reminders visual, like a photo of a bottle of wine you enjoyed at a restaurant. Cortana can give you notifications across all the devices you have with Cortana like sharing directions across devices or from text or messaging services on your phone. Advertisement
'We are committed to delivering continuous innovation to you: including features that bring Windows Ink and Cortana to the mainstream; a faster, more accessible and more power-efficient Microsoft Edge browser; advanced security features for consumers and enterprises; new gaming experiences and new tools for the modern classroom,' the technology firm said.
'Everyone running Windows 10 will get these new features for free.'
The advanced security features include facial recognition technology, Windows Hello, being made available to log in to websites and apps.
To help protect businesses from accidental data leaks, the biggest source of lost data, the update delivers Windows Information Protection, formerly referred to as enterprise data protection.
The company has been pushing hard to encourage users to upgrade to the new operating system.
New tools for the classroom. For schools with dedicated IT support, the updated Windows Imaging and Configuration Designer tool enables them to set up shared devices, in bulk, in a matter of minutes
Microsoft has also introduced a smart assistant, similar to Siri, called Cortana. To use Cortana, users simply type a question into a search box on the taskbar, or can even verbally ask a question into the computer's microphone
BATTERY LIFE OF BROWSERS Recent tests performed by Microsoft streamed the same video on four unplugged, identical laptops, each on a different browser. Google Chrome: Four hours and 19 minutes Mozilla Firefox: Five hours and nine minutes Opera: Six hours and 18 minutes Microsoft Edge: Seven hours and 22 minutes Advertisement
But Microsoft has found itself embroiled in controversy over the upgrade.
Some users reported the new operating system which comes in at around 6GB downloading automatically in the background without their permission.
It has also faced criticism after it emerged Windows 10 contained a keylogger that tracked what users type.
It also tracks their activity online and collects data about their computing habits.
Despite including a series of controls to disable some of the tracking elements, many of the core data collection features cannot be turned off.
This, together with the threat of progammmes that worked on earlier versions of Windows not working with the new software, has left many unwilling to upgrade until the operating system was updated.
But Microsoft's free download period for Windows 10 ended on July 29.
The free upgrade was available to people whose tablets and PCs are running on Windows 7 or newer.
It now costs 99.99, or $119, for the Home version and 189.99, or $200, for the Pro version.
Windows 10 has a range of new features, designed to be as user-friendly as possible.
Suggests Joan of Arc may have heard holy voices because of her condition
Joan of Arc claimed to have a hotline to heaven and described the holy voices she heard and visions she saw when put on trial for heresy in 1431.
But after making her a famous figure in French society, it was this testimony of her incredible abilities that led to the peasant girl-turned-warriors grisly execution at the tender age of 19.
Now, neurologists have claimed the much-loved saint may have heard voices because she suffered from a form of epilepsy.
Joan of Arc (statue pictured) claimed to have a hotline to heaven and described the holy voices she heard and visions she saw when put on trial for heresy in 1431. Now, neurologists has claimed Joan of Arc may have heard voices because she suffered with a form of epilepsy
THE LIFE OF JOAN OF ARC Joan of Arc was born in 1412 into a pious Catholic family of peasants. She began to hear voices at the age of 13 and believed God had chosen her to lead France to Victory against England in the 100 Years War. She convinced Charles of Valois to let her lead the army to the besieged city of Orleans, where it was victorious. But after the prince became King Charles VII, Joan was captured by English allies, the Burgundians. She was tried for witchcraft, heresy and dressing as a man, among 70 charges, History.com reported. Keen to distance himself from the accused witch, Charles VII didn't come to her aid. Joan initially said she had heard voices and saw visions of saints, but under duress, she relented on her claims she had ever received divine guidance in her mission to put Charles on the throne. The story goes that she went against orders by wearing men's clothes days after doing this and was sentenced to death as a result. She was burned at the stake in the market place of Rouen at just 19 years old, in 1431. Some 20 years later, however, a new trial ordered by Charles VII cleared her name Joan of Arc was canonized in 1920 and is one of historys most famous saints. Advertisement
Neurologists from the universities of Foggia and Bologna in Italy explained the medieval heroine - who led France to victory in its long-running war with England and its French allies, the Burgundians - may have had a type of epilepsy.
This is not the first time it's been suggested, with a previous study in 1991 claiming the 'voices', visions, and convictions maybe down to 'ecstatic epileptic auras', which famous author Dostoevsky is also said to have suffered from.
But after a study focusing on the symptoms and possible trigger factors obtained from records of the Trial of Condemnation - when Joan was on trial - the Italian neurologists, hypothesised the 'voices' Joan heard were 'probably auditory epileptic hallucinations'.
Doctors Guiseppe d'Orsi and Paola Tinuper think they are a symptom of a type of epilepsy that affects the part of the brain that handles what we hear, or as the they put it, 'an expression of an epileptic syndrome named idiopathic partial epilepsy with auditory features, (IPEAF).'
For example, one of the documents states Joan of Arc said she heard voices and saw saints such as St Catherine and St Margaret - and visual hallucinations are a symptom of IPEAF.
Other historical reports said she also heard the sound of bells, which sometimes triggered voices form religious figures.
Drs d'Orsi and Tinuper explained in a letter published in the journal of Epilepsy and Behaviour that hearing specific sounds can trigger seizures, perhaps explaining Joan of Arcs messages from the saints.
During her interrogation, Joan of Arc said she heard voices two to three times a week and then later, declared: There is never a day that I do not hear them [the voices].
However, this frequency does not match the experts diagnosis as people with IPEAF, whom, they wrote 'usually show low seizure frequency'.
Neurologists from the universities of Foggia and Bologna in Italy explained the medieval heroine may have had a type of epilepsy that affects the part of the brain responsible for hearing. A stock image of a scan of an epilepsy-affected brain is shown
'Nevertheless, in IPEAF, seizures are infrequent at onset and often tend to recur after drug withdrawal, while substances with antiepileptic features taken from Joan did not clearly emerge from the documentation of her Trial of Condemnation,' they said.
But their case is strengthened by documents that state Joan of Arc also sometimes heard voices while she slept.
The scientists quoted from the 'third private examination', written on 12 March 1431, which states Joan of Arc said: '...I was asleep: the Voice awoke me It awoke me without touching me...'
While this may seem unbelievable, its thought around 40 per cent of people with the form of epilepsy have seizures while they sleep and some can hear 'voices'.
The researchers write in their letter to the editor that after six hundred years from Joan's death, we reaffirm the impossibility to arrive at a final conclusion.'
This leaves the door open for devout fans of the saint to believe Joan of Arc was a messenger from God and may have received divine messages.
Writing in the journal Epilepsy and Behavior, Drs Guiseppe d'Orsi and Paola Tinuper said they noticed a number of symptoms described in documents of Joan during her Trial of Condemnation in 1431. A ring believed to have belonged to the martyr is shown above
However, the scientists added: 'From a strictly semiologic point of view, we confirm that the features of Joan's spells have many similarities to IPEAF rather than ecstatic epilepsy.'
There's a change DNA could one day solve the mystery of Joan of Arc once and for all.
Its believed a strand of her hair exists with a bundle of letters sealed with wax.
The DNA in the hair could in theory be analysed to discover whether genes linked to the form of epilepsy are present.
The researchers wrote: 'The discovery of these letters and especially the hair could be important not only from a historical point of view but also from a scientific perspective to characterize Joan's genetic code.'
The device could one day be used by police to catch drunk drivers
Alcohol content of the sweat is sent to a phone using Bluetooth
This causes the wearer to perspire so their sweat can be
A new kind of 'temporary tattoo' could help prevent drunk driving incidents, researchers claim.
Scientists have created a disposable sticky circuit board, which can be applied to the skin, to measure a wearer's alcohol levels.
These results are then sent to wearer's smartphone to tell them if they have had one too many drinks.
The disposable sticky circuit board (pictured), which can be applied to the skin, is able to measure a wearer's alcohol levels, before sending a result to their phone to tell them if they are intoxicated
HOW DOES IT WORK? The device comprises a tattoo that sticks to the skin and a magnetic circuit board that attaches to it. Silver and silver chloride electrodes are printed onto commercial tattoo paper, which generate a small amount of current for five minutes. The current causes a thin layer of gel on the tattoo to release a drug that causes the wearer to sweat. When the tattoo becomes moist with sweat, an electrochemical sensor made of an alcohol-sensitive enzyme can measure alcohol concentration in the perspiration. The results are transferred to a phone via Bluetooth. Advertisement
The new method would be an accurate and simpler alternative to testing alcohol levels by measuring a person's blood alcohol concentration by pricking their finger, or relying on a breathalysers, which are simple to tamper with, IEEE Spectrum reported.
The device is the brainchild of engineers at the University of California, San Diego and has two parts.
The first is a temporary tattoo that sticks to the skin, while the second is a small, flexible circuit board that attaches magnetically to the tattoo.
The team of engineers screen printed silver and silver chloride electrodes onto commercial tattoo paper.
These electrodes can generate a small current for five minutes.
The current causes a thin layer of gel on the tattoo to release a drug that causes the wearer to sweat.
The device comprises a tattoo that sticks to the skin and a magnetic circuit board that attaches to it. This graphic shows how it might work
When the tattoo becomes moist with sweat, an electrochemical sensor made of an alcohol-sensitive enzyme can measure alcohol concentration in the perspiration.
The results are then transferred to a phone via Bluetooth.
The device was tested by nine healthy volunteers who wore on the 'tattoos' on their arms before and after drinking alcohol.
The new method would be an accurate and simpler alternative to testing alcohol levels by measuring a person's blood alcohol concentration by pricking their finger, or relying on a breathalysers, which are simple to tamper with. A stock image of a drinker is shown
It was able to accurately measure the alcohol concentration in their blood, according to the study published in the journal ACS Sensors.
Patrick Mercier, an electrical and computer engineering professor at the university told IEE Spectrum the tattoo only costs a few cents to make so it's disposable.
This means it could be used by the police to test for drunk driving, bartenders and students who want to self-test, for example.
The team is now working on a version of the device that could track alcohol levels over 24 hours, which could be useful for doctors wanting to monitor a patient's alcohol intake, in the future.
Martyn Thomas, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, told MailOnline: 'I would be concerned though if people used it to decide when to stop drinking, or whether it was safe and legal to drive, because alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream at different rates, depending on the individual and what they have recently eaten for example.'
The device could one day be used by the police to test for drunk driving (a breathalyser is pictured), bartenders and students who want to self-test, for example
He also said a sample of nine volunteers is far too few to provide statistical evidence of accuracy and further testing is needed.
Will Stewart, another Fellow of the Academy added: 'Blood alcohol varies over time after a drink and depends on other things such as food intake.
'So you could look fine shortly after a drink but be dangerous later. If you want to be safe to drive just not drinking looks a lot simpler!'
Sahar Danesh from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), told MailOnline: 'We are now starting to see research and development around devices that can monitor our health and wellbeing and inform us of any change in our condition.
'As smart technology develops we will see innovations like electronic-skin, that can tell you about your health in real time and give you information on things like, how much alcohol is in your system.
'There is the potential for these innovations to play a useful role in continuing efforts to keep our roads and drivers safe.'
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These fascinating photos capture a centuries-old Taiwanese fishing practice which has all but died out, though not quite.
Lighting a bamboo stick with flammable sulfurous soil to attract a frenzy of jumping sardines, a group of 30 fisherman off the northeast coast is struggling to keep the tradition alive.
There used to be 300 boats using this method each night but now there are only three, according to the local fishermen's association in Jinshan District, north of Taipei.
Scroll down for video
These fascinating photos capture a centuries-old Taiwanese practice known as sulphuric fire fishing which has all but died out, though not quite
There used to be 300 boats using this method each night but now there are only three, according to the local fishermen's association in Jinshan District, north of Taipei
The remaining fishermen have a three-month seasonal window from May to July; during which they spend up to six hours a night at sea to catch between three and four tons of sardines.
This can earn them, on a really good night, over $4,500. Only bad weather forces them to shore early.
'My daily earnings are unstable, but for a living I need to sail,' said Jian Kun, a 60-year-old boat owner of the fire fishermen's plight.
The government provides a subsidy to the fishermen to encourage them to continue fire fishing and also filed the technique to the Department of Cultural Affairs for registration as a cultural asset in 2014.
Lighting a bamboo stick with flammable sulphurous soil to attract a frenzy of jumping sardines, a group of 30 fisherman off the northeast coast is struggling to keep the tradition alive
The remaining fishermen have a three-month seasonal window from May to July; during which they spend up to six hours a night at sea to catch between three and four tons of sardines
And the annual Jinshan Sulphuric Fire Fishing festival was started in 2013 to help promote the practice, while photography tours have been set up to generate interest and boost finances.
The method of lighting the fire has been updated to include the use of calcium carbide, but the boats are old, with little to ease the physical toll on the fishermen who average around 60 years old.
Sulphuric fire fishing was first practised during the period of Taiwan's Japanese Rule, between 1895 and 1945, but now Jinshan is the only place it exists.
And with modern day fishing operations as advanced as they are, it seems likely that Jinshan's tradition will die out with its last fisherman.
During this fishing season, on a really good night, they can over $4,500 - and only bad weather forces them to shore early
The government provides a subsidy to the fishermen to encourage them to continue fire fishing - pictured, a fisherman prepares ice for transporting sardines
The boats are old, with little to ease the physical toll on the fishermen who average around 60 years old - pictured, workers load sardines onto a lorry
Sulphuric fire fishing was first practiced during the period of Taiwan's Japanese Rule, between 1895 and 1945, but now Jinshan is the only place it exists - pictured, fishermen unload the fish
Fans of the hit HBO series "Game of Thrones" are still trying to digest the news that Season 8 of the series will be its last.
HBO announcing this past weekend that "Game of Thrones" will be done in 2018.
Veteran actor Jonathan Pryce, who plays 'High Sparrow' on the series, admits the show has certianly increased his brand.
A file photo of Jonathan Pryce. [Photo: mtime.com]
"The recognition factor has risen considerably. Some good, some bad in that everyone wants to have their photograph taken with you and you have to make sure that when you leave home, you're dressed respectably and you're sober and you're not looking like some I do look like an old tramp. I'm growing my beard now because we're remounting 'The Merchant of Venice,' which we take to America in a few weeks' time, so I do look like an old tramp, there you go. Take my photograph, I don't care."
The 7th season of "Game of Thrones," which will be made up of seven episodes instead of the usual 10, is due out next summer.
The 8th and final season will air in 2018.
Though "Game of Thrones" will come to an end, the producers have not ruled out the possibility of a spin-off.
A hard-partying British tourist who passed out on a lifeguard tower after a boozy night out in Magaluf had to be rescued by firefighters after he refused to wake up.
A security guard found the holidaymaker as he slept off his hangover on the roof of the tower on Magaluf Beach.
His friend also went to sleep where he fell after getting his fill of booze on the Punta Ballena party strip - finding a spot on the hard concrete floor of the promenade along the beach.
Firefighters had to rescue the boozy British tourist who fell asleep on top of the tower
The beach security guard alerted firefighters after he failed to wake the man on top of the lifeguard tower.
With the sun rising and the beach beginning to fill up with early-morning visitors, firefighters decided to remove the man.
They had to run a ladder up the tower and wake the man as he was still worse for wear before helping him to his feet.
The man was unable to tell firefighters why or how he scaled the tower, said a local official.
The men passed out after a night on the notorious Punta Ballena party strip (file photo)
The island across the water from his vantage point is Sa Porrassa - known to British tourists as Black Lizard Island - where two British tourists accidentally started a fire last June after reaching it on a rented pedalo.
One of the pair, identified as 17-year-old Scot Robbie Nimmo, later claimed the fire was inadvertently started by a discarded cigarette butt and said they attempted to put it out with a sandal which melted with the heat.
Two helicopters carrying water were called in to help battle the fire which burnt about five acres of the island.
A local politician later branded the youngsters as 'reckless' although Robbie and his friend, known only as Calum, said they had been 'clumsy'.
It is not known if anyone went to the rescue of the second drunk Brit sprawled out on the pavement in Magaluf whose sleep was unperturbed by morning walkers and joggers getting some early exercise in.
Magaluf is currently on a drive to rid itself of its downmarket image after it made headlines round the world two summers ago when a bar sex video involving a British teenager went viral.
New bylaws aimed at cleaning up Magaluf's battered image were passed by the local council in May last year with all-party support when the right-wing Partido Popular was still in charge of the town hall.
They included a ban on night-time street drinking and changes to the controversial pub crawls which have afflicted the party resort.
Thousands of British tourists visit Magaluf every year for its beaches and night life
Under the modified by-laws, police were given powers to fine people consuming alcohol in groups who were making noise and being a nuisance, especially between the peak drinking hours of 10pm and 8am.
The night-time sale of take-away alcohol was also banned - and bars ordered to stop customers from taking drinks with them as they moved between pubs on the brash Punta Ballena strip where 95 per cent of revellers are British or Irish.
Councillors also announced cash penalties for people caught jumping from hotel balconies into swimming pools - a craze known in Spain as balconing - and men who take their shirts off away from the beach.
Last week it emerged supermarkets and mini-markets in Magaluf are set to be banned from filling their shop fronts with alcohol.
A proposal to stop the practice was approved at a full meeting of Calvia Council which has control over the party resort.
Last August a British holidaymaker was woken up by police after falling asleep on top of a bridge following a boozy night out on the Costa del Sol.
The tourist picked the most uncomfortable bed in Malaga after a few too many drinks at the city's annual summer festival.
Police were sent to the city centre bridge - known as the Bridge of the Germans because it was gifted to the city by Germany - after calls from worried passers-by.
The fire crew brought him down in a cherry picker after finally managing to wake him.
The unnamed 40-year-old's details were recorded and he was formally reported for disorderly conduct as well as a drugs offence.
It also emerged officers who found the holidaymaker discovered a vaporiser with a small amount of marijuana and hashish inside.
A spokesman for Malaga's local police force said afterwards: 'The arch where he was sleeping was only about a foot wide and officers who attended closed off the bridge to pedestrians at one point because they were worried he might fall on someone.
'The firefighters were called so they could bring him down safely.
Many empires have come and gone over the centuries but do you know which countries and territories were once governed by another?
A new infographic has mapped out some of the most famous empires through history, including the British, Roman and Ottoman empires.
You may be surprised to learn that the British empire was bigger than the Mongolian empire and that the empire that lasted the longest was the Egyptian one.
The British empire, which spanned across the globe from 1583 to 1997, was the biggest empire in history in terms of both population size and area
The Mongolian empire, most famously established by Genghis Khan, is only 670,000sqkm smaller but had a population size of just one fifth of that of the British empire at its peak
The Tsarist Russian empire, which existed between 1721 and 1917, encompasses many of the territories that later formed the USSR
According to the infographic compiled by justtheflight.co.uk, the British empire, which spanned across the globe from 1583 to 1997, was the biggest empire in history in terms of both population size and area.
At its peak, it was known as 'the empire on which the sun never sets' as it spanned across so many different time zones.
In comparison, the Mongolian empire, most famously established by Genghis Khan, is only 670,000sqkm smaller but had a population size of just one fifth of that of the British empire at its peak.
The Spaniards conquered much of central America in part thanks to the famous explorer Christopher Columbus
Through their presence in the Americas, the Spaniards brought smallpox, which is believed to have contributed to the end of the Aztec empire
The Portuguese empire was spread across South America, parts of Africa and regions in Asia in search of trade routes and spices
However, through his conquest, Genghis Khan's soldiers are said to have killed as many as 40million people.
The Tsarist Russian empire, which existed between 1721 and 1917, encompasses many of the territories that later formed the USSR.
For almost 200 years, the capital of the empire was in Saint Petersburg before it was moved back to Moscow.
The Spaniards conquered much of central America in part thanks to the explorer Christopher Columbus.
Through their presence in the Americas, the Spaniards brought smallpox, which is believed to have contributed to the end of the Aztec empire.
The Roman empire was primarily based around the Mediterranean sea but also spanned across southern Europe and northern Africa
More than a thousand years after the Roman empire ended, the bigger Ottoman empire took over many of the same regions
Through their empire, the Spanish brought many new ingredients back to Europe.
For example, it was the Spanish Conquistador Don Hernan Cortes who first introduced the continent to chocolate.
Similarly, the Portuguese empire spread across South America, parts of Africa and regions in Asia in search of trade routes and spices.
Its last colony, Macau, was only returned to China in 1999.
Through history, many territories have been conquered again and again.
For example, the Roman empire was primarily based around the Mediterranean sea but spanned across southern Europe and northern Africa.
The Achaemenid empire, also known as the first Persian empire, covered much of the Levant and parts of central Asia
Several hundred years later, many of the territories in the Achaemenid empire were absorbed into the Umayyad Caliphate
But more than a thousand years later, the bigger Ottoman empire took over much of the same regions.
Similarly, the Achaemenid empire, also known as the first Persian empire, covered much of the Levant and parts of central Asia.
Several hundred years later, many of the territories were absorbed into the Umayyad Caliphate.
The oldest and perhaps most enduring empire was Ancient Egypt, which existed between 3,100BC and 30BC.
While its empire has long fallen, and the country has since been conquered by several other nations, many of the monuments from Ancient Egypt still exists today.
A flight attendant was left with red marks on the side of her face and her neck after she was allegedly slapped by an angry passenger in a row over hand luggage.
Philippines-based airline Cebu Pacific said the female employee was assaulted at the end of a flight from Manila to Davao.
The female passenger could now face charges for assault and a lifetime ban from the low-cost airline.
The Cebu Pacific flight attendant was left with marks on the side of her face and on her neck
Photos posted online show the flight attendant with red marks or bruising on her jawline and on her neck below her left ear.
Cebu Pacific said in a statement the passenger became upset before Saturday's flight departed because she had to stow her luggage in the overhead bin.
The airline said the flight attendant helped the woman with her luggage and there were no problems until the plane landed around 90 minutes later in Davao.
Spokesman JR Mantaring told CNN the passenger stayed behind as other travellers disembarked and called cabin crew over.
That's when she slapped the flight attendant, he added.
The assault occurred after a flight from Manila to Davao City in the Philippines (file photo)
In a Facebook post that was later deleted, the flight attendant claimed the able-bodied woman was angry with cabin crew because they refused to carry her bags, and compared them to bus drivers.
She said she would pursue a case against the woman, who is reportedly a doctor.
Cebu Pacific said it is providing 'full support' to the crew member who was assaulted.
It said the employee is now considering filing charges against the passenger.
The airline said: 'CEB will always fully support its staff when they have been subject to abuse, physical or verbal, from disruptive passengers.
'Actions that CEB will consider will be to refuse carriage of the passenger on any future CEB flight, along with legal support to its staff member if charges are deemed appropriate.'
Two daredevils have exposed security flaws at Rome's Colosseum after they scaled the ancient building in a daring and illegal stunt under the cover of darkness.
Footage posted online shows the German tourists going over security fences and walking through the Flavian Amphitheatre - built between 70-80 AD - before climbing to the top of its 157ft outer wall via scaffolding.
Flavius Vesely said he and a friend did not encounter any security when they sneaked into the historic site in the heart of ancient Rome.
Flavius Vesely said he and a friend did not encounter any security at Rome's Colosseum
Vesely, 23, said he and his friend, whom he did not identify, did not cause any damage
The pair enjoyed spectacular views over the Colosseum from atop its 157ft outer wall
The pair risked arrest and, following terror attacks in Europe, could have sparked a significant security alert in the centre of Rome had it been spotted by authorities.
Vesely, from Kassel, Germany, told MailOnline Travel: 'The military was standing around the Arch of Constantine, but they didn't suspect what we do.'
The 23-year-old is part of a group of urban explorers called Visual Enemies.
He previously scaled Cologne's Gothic cathedral, a Unesco World Heritage Site, and the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai.
Vesely and his friend are part of a group of urban explorers called Visual Enemies
After reaching the top of the outer wall they abseiled and managed to evade authorities
The pair risked arrest and could have sparked a significant security alert in central Rome
Vesely said they chose the Colosseum for 'its long-standing history and iconic architecture'
The urban explorers climbed over fences and scaled scaffolding to reach the top
In Shanghai, he was caught by the police and released after spending seven hours at a police station.
Vesely said: 'I just climb on buildings for the footage and fun. Those stunning photos and videos I can get from there show the city from a different angle.
'The Colosseum got our attention because of its long-standing history and iconic architecture.
'I just want to add that we didn't destroy anything and have great respect for those buildings we climb on.'
In the past, Rome's courts have come down hard on tourists who have defaced the Colosseum.
In 2014, a Russian tourist was fined nearly 16,000 and given a four-month suspended sentence for engraving a big letter 'K' on a wall.
It was one of several incidents where people carved letters or names into stone walls or columns, or tried to steal bricks.
Ryanair passengers were forced to deplane an aircraft before take-off after fuel began to leak out of the engine.
The Boeing 737 was due to leave Cork Airport in Ireland at 1pm yesterday (Monday), bound for Tenerife.
But crew noticed the fuel spill and fire engines were quickly deployed to the tarmac.
This photo shows the area of tarmac where the fuel leak took place by the plane's left engine
Emergency services were called to the aircraft, and the passengers were escorted back to the terminal at Cork
The incident occurred as the plane was being refuelled, and a large amount of the liquid spilled to the ground underneath the left wing.
Speaking to the Irish Mirror, one passenger described how they could 'smell kerosene,' but at first 'thought nothing of it'.
'One of my kids then said she was getting an awful smell,' said the passenger.
'I moved over to the other side of the plane and saw fire crews under the left wing. There was a big fuel leak on the ground.
'Someone said it might have been a faulty valve or something but we weren't told anything officially but probably better safe than sorry to take us off again.'
Passengers were flown out to Tenerife almost four hours later on a replacement aircraft (file image)
Those on board Flight FR-1402 were then escorted back to the terminal at the Irish airport, where they were given vouchers for refreshments.
Passengers later boarded a replacement aircraft with the flight taking off at 4.40pm, over three hours and 40 minutes later than scheduled.
A Ryanair spokesperson told MailOnline Travel: 'This flight from Cork to Tenerife was delayed ahead of take-off due to a minor technical issue.
'Customers disembarked and were provided with refreshment vouchers, and to minimise delay, boarded a replacement aircraft, which departed to Tenerife.
'Ryanair sincerely apologised to all customers affected by this delay.
One hundred British Airways passengers were forced to endure a 36-hour delay to their flight back to the UK from Cyprus.
The Boeing 767 from Larnaca to London Heathrow was scheduled to fly out on Sunday evening at 7.30pm.
But a 'technical fault' with the plane meant the aircraft didn't fly back to the UK until this morning (Tuesday).
100 passengers were stranded in Cyprus after a technical fault was discovered on their British Airways Boeing 767 flight home to Heathrow (file image)
Passengers took to social media to hit out at BA's seemingly inadequate communication
And passengers spoke of their frustration at the delay, during which they claim they were left in the dark at the time about when they would return.
One traveller, who was flying back on flight BA663 with her fiance, tweeted her frustration with the airline to MailOnline, saying that she felt 'stranded'.
'Never flying British Airways again! Stranded for 24 hours, no sign of when we can leave,' she wrote on the social media site, before hash-tagging 'worst airline', 'no communication', and 'stranded'.
Another passenger tweeted his disappointment that 'no-one seems to know' what was going on during the flight delay
When contacted by MailOnline Travel, she said: 'The communication from the beginning has been shocking. No one was told at the airport where they needed to go or what to do.
'Any information we were given by BA staff was brief. We only found out where we had to go or what was going on was by asking each other and spreading the word among all the passengers.
'We were constantly given new times for flying out and then it would change again and the only way we found anything out was through asking each other.
'They should have called out a new plane from London as soon as the fault on the plane was found not 24 hours later.'
The passengers eventually departed Larnaca Airport this morning on a flight at 8am local time, arriving back in London at 10.10am
Another passenger, Buster Parry, asked the airline 'what is actually happening with BA0663 tonight?', and added that 'no-one seems to know', on Twitter, before adding that he had a 'tired and hungry daughter'.
Those stranded in Cyprus were given hotel accommodation for the two nights by BA.
The flight eventually landed back at Heathrow at 10.10 am this morning (Tuesday).
A spokesperson for British Airways told MailOnline Travel: 'The flight landed back in the UK this morning (Tuesday). We did everything we could to minimise the delay following a technical fault with the aircraft.
'The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority, and cannot be compromised.
Cynics thought their Big Brother romance would be short and sweet but lovebirds Jackson Blyton and Georgina Leigh Cantwell are still going strong.
So strong, in fact, they are already discussing marriage plans after only a few dates on the outside.
In an interview with OK! magazine, Jackson, 24, revealed he has the long term in mind. We want to get married on the beach in Barbados, he sensationally declared.
Lovebirds: Jackson - pictured with Georgina for OK! magazine this month - has revealed he has the long term in mind for his Big Brother partner
It wasn't all charm from the model, who began by saying of 26-year-old Georgina: At first I didnt like her.'
But he quickly redeemed himself: 'On the first night I started to think theres more to this girl and I knew I had to peel away the layers.
Im the happiest man alive right now. This is what I wanted for so long,' he triumphantly proclaimed.
He went on to say that he's never liked anyone more than reality star Georgina: Ive never wanted someone so much and been in awe of them. I just know I can be with Georgina.
Pucker up! Clearly having missed her tremendously during his time in the house, Jackson enjoyed a steamy kiss with his girlfriend, who looked equally delighted to see her beau
Officially together: Georgina Leigh Cantwell and Jackson Blyton on their first official date since leaving the Big Brother house last week
A man of his word: 'I made a lot of promises in that house to her and I want to fulfill all of those promises,'said Jackson when leaving the show
Smitten: The couple revealed their plans for marriage in an interview with OK! magazine
'Ive never looked at someone and got into an emotional state like I have with Georgina. If she wanted the moon I would try my hardest to get her it.
The couple dubbed the lady and the tramp enjoyed a rapid romance before Georgina was evicted from the house three weeks into the shows run.
But that short time was enough to get to know each other inside out.
Georgina said: In the house you get to see everything about somebody. Jackson has seen the worst and the best of me. Sometimes I was really horrible and he still wants to be with me.
Jackson added: I said if we are still together at the end of Big Brother we will go to Disneyland Paris. In a year, if we are still together, well get engaged and I will give her the proposal she wants.
The model, who has worked for ASOS and Calvin Klein, also talked about his two-year-old son, Kash, whose mother is model Maille Doyle.
He was the subject of some tense conversation in the house when Georgina told Jackson she would't have got involved if she knew he had a boy.
Jackson said: Him being born was a massive slap of reality. When he was about four months old I focussed on being a dad. I gave up modelling and looked after Kash.
My dad left me when I was born so not being around for my son was the last thing I was going to do. Even as a boy, I dreamed about being a father. I dont regret it as I have the greatest son in the world.
One happy lady: Watching on from a gallery overlooking the main arena, Georgina - flanked by her fellow evictees - looked close to tears of joy as Jackson poured his heart out live on TV
Georgina defended her comments on the show about Jackson's son by saying she only meant that it alters, not destroys, their relationship.
They broadcast me saying if Id known Jackson had a son I wouldnt have got involved.
'But then they cut the part when I said because that means theres a third person involved and it alters the dynamic of the relationship.'
In love: 'I literally saw the best and worst of Georgina, and the best far outweighed the worst,' said Jackson
During Tuesday night's Big Brother live final Jackson declared his love for his fellow housemate Georgina in front of the nation.
Leaving the house in third place, the model was asked what his true feelings for the reality star were, to which he replied: 'I love her.'
Asked what he really thought of Georgina after spending just three weeks in the house with her, Jackson said: 'She's so beautiful, and I love her.'
Watching on from a gallery overlooking the main arena, Georgina - flanked by her fellow evictees - looked close to tears of joy as Jackson poured his heart out live on TV.
Going onto label his tempestuous lady love 'incredible', he revealed he plans on keeping the promises he made to her in the house.
Read the full interview wiht Jackson and Georgina in the new issue of OK! magazine
No will: Star Trek's Anton Yelchin did not leave instructions on how to distribute his near $1.4 million estate in case of his death
He only had a short spell as a big name in showbusiness before his sad death.
But court documents have revealed Star Trek's Anton Yelchin left behind a nearly $1.4 million estate, though he failed to make a will.
His parents Victor and Irina Yelchin filed to become administrators of the actor's estate on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The 27-year-old actor was crushed to death by his Jeep Grand Cherokee in the driveway of his Studio City home in June.
According to the filing he left behind at least $641,000 in personal property and had $731,000 in equity in his home.
An attorney representing Yelchin's parents announced on Monday they are planning to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler, which made the Jeep that killed their son.
The company has extended sympathies to Yelchin's family in a statement, but said it could not comment on their plans for a lawsuit.
The actor's vehicle was subject to a recall because the gear shifters have confused drivers, causing the vehicles to roll away unexpectedly. The SUV was part of a global recall of 1.1 million vehicles by automaker Fiat Chrysler in April.
Taking action: His parents Victor and Irina Yelchin filed to become administrators of the estate
Lawsuit: His parents are also suing Fiat Chrysler after it emerged the Jeep that killed their son was subject to a recall
A government investigation into the gear shifters found 266 crashes that had injured 68 people as of late June.
Fiat Chrysler has said it is speeding up its recall of the vehicle.
The actor shot to fame as the young Pavel Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek film series, and makers have confirmed his part will not be recast.
Crushed: He died after being pinned between his SUV and this security fence at his LA home
Big break: He became a star after being cast as Pavel Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek films
Yelchin was found pinned against the gate of his home in Studio City, California, by his Jeep Grand Cherokee at around 1am on June 19.
The Jeep crushed his lungs and investigators believe he died within 60 seconds of the impact, sources told TMZ.
Yelchin's death was ruled an accident by the Los Angeles medical examiner after an autopsy was performed.
He has become an icon for teenage fans struggling with their own sexuality.
And YouTube star-turned musician Troye Sivan, 21, came face-to-face with one such fan during his first ever performance on Australian television on Tuesday's edition of the Today show.
Clearly overcome with emotion, a crying audience member named Cody spoke to Troye from the audience through a microphone, gushing: ' In 2014 I came out and I was 14 years old and I didn't get much acceptance.'
Emotions running high: Troye Sivan, 21, came face-to-face with a crying fan during his first ever performance on Australian television on Tuesday's edition of the Today show
'And I got like bullied really badly and then I moved to Sydney where I finally accepted myself,'
'And if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be alive today,' the fan revealed through streaming tears.
Troye was bullied out of a Perth private school at age 12 and was subsequently home schooled.
'In 2014 I came out and I was 14 years old and I didn't get much acceptance': Clearly overcome with emotion, a crying audience member named Cody spoke to Troye from the audience through a microphone
In 2014, he came out as gay in a YouTube video that took the world by storm.
Speaking to Out Magazine in March, Troye described being gay as 'fun', saying: 'Fun is how I feel.'
'Fun is kissing boys and kissing girls sometimes. I can do whatever I want, and no one will bat an eyelid,' he said.
'If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be alive today': The weeping fan made a heartfelt admission after describing his own struggles with coming out as gay
He also graced the cover of Rolling Stone last year, telling the magazine that many of the people who made his adolescence difficult had 'come out of the woodwork' to congratulate him on his success.
'Definitely people have come out of the woodwork a little bit, but I've only really had about four friends that I am really, really close with,' he said.
'In Perth I feel like I get a little bit of social anxiety. I probably do better with adults than I do with people my age.'
Coming out: In 2014, he came out as gay in a YouTube video that took the world by storm
She's never been one to sky away from flaunting her enviable figure.
And now, Pascal Craymer, 29, has gone step further by stripping completely naked for a calendar shoot in Spain earlier this week.
The ex TOWIE star - who is best known for her brief and ill-fated romance with Mario Falcone - sizzled as she posed on the soft sand as she became one with nature.
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Sizzling! Pascal Craymer, 29, posed completely naked for a calendar shoot in Spain earlier this recently, showing that she's full of body confidence
Flaunting her gorgeous figure, the chestnut haired beauty displayed her beautifully bronzed skin as she posed for the camera.
Later, clad in a white swimsuit, Pascal struck a number of sultry as she seductively unfastened the skimpy one-piece's gold chain around her neck to reveal her buxom bust.
Carefully protecting her modesty, the former reality star held a number of risque poses that exhibited her tiny waist and taut stomach as she slowly stripped down to nothing.
Fun in the sun! The ex TOWIE star - who is best known for her brief and ill-fated romance with Mario Falcone - sizzled as she posed on the soft sand as she became one with nature
Spreading out: Flaunting her undeniable svelte figure, the chestnut haired beauty displayed her beautifully bronzed subtle skin as she posed for the camera
Perky: Clad in nothing at all, Pascal struck a number of sultry looks to the camera as she seductively poses on her knees
The stunning star opted for minimal make-up that let her bronzed complexion shine through as her brunette locks were teased to loose as they soaked up the surf.
In one shot, Pascal arches her back as she lies on the soft sand as she peels her swimsuit to her waist, draping her breasts with her arm - flaunting some sexy sideboob.
In another sultry pose, the model bares her toned bare back to the camera she kneels on the beach-front completely naked as she coyly she looks over her shoulder - letting her long locks fall loosely on her shoulders.
Seductive: Carefully protecting her modesty, the former reality star held a number of risque poses that exhibited her tiny waist and taut stomach as she slowly stripped down to nothing
Sunkissed: The stunning star opted for minimal make-up that let her bronzed complexion shine through as her brunette locks were teased to loose as they soaked up the surf
In one shot, Pascal arches her back as she lies on the soft sand as she peels her swimsuit to her waist, draping her breasts with her arm - flaunting some sexy side boob
The rather saucy snaps of the ITVBe star come after she revealed her ex Ashley Cole remained on good terms with his former wife Cheryl.
They were always speaking when I was with Ashley, she said.
Theyre good friends. I dont believe the fallout was real.
Daring: In another sultry pose, the model bares her toned bare back to the camera she kneels on the beach-front completely naked as she coyly she looks over her shoulder - letting her long locks fall loosely on her shoulders
Tell all: The rather saucy snaps of the ITVBe star come after she revealed her ex Ashley Cole remained on good terms with his former wife Cheryl
File photo shows the site of an ongoing construction project in an oil and gas treatment plant in Kazakhstan. [Photo: cnpc.com.cn]
The first train carrying liquefied natural gas from Kazakhstan to China has arrived at the border crossing at Xinjiang.
It's arrival is being hailed as the next step in greater energy transport connections between China and central Asian countries.
The new rail link for Liquified Natural Gas is expected to help shore-up LNG resources, which have been coming up short in China due to growing demand and the limited capasity at the sea ports to transfer LNG onshore.
Wang Xinchun, director of the Alashankou Free Trade Zone's economic development bureau in Xinjiang, says their port of entry is going to significantly increase energy transport options for China.
"There will be one train each week, which will transport 300-thousand tons year. In the future, we expect to be able to increase the annual LNG imports to 800-thouisand tons or more according to market demand and the needs of domestic companies."
The border crossing at Alashankou in Xinjiang has seen over 8.7 million tons of goods worth over 3.5-billion US dollars pass through so far this year.
She's set to star in and produce her passion project, The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks.
And on Monday, Oprah Winfrey took to Instagram to introduce Kee Simone, the young actress who will play her character as a child in HBO biopic The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks, based on Rebecca Skloot's bestseller.
'Just finished 1st table read with my younger self! @keesimone #HenriettaLacksmovie,' the 62-year-old wrote with a picture of herself with her arm around Kee's shoulders.
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Back to the future: Oprah Winfrey posted this Instagram on Monday, saying, 'Just finished 1st table read with my younger self! @keesimone #HenriettaLacksmovie'
In a story ripped from true life, an African-American woman, Henrietta Lacks, became an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cervical cancer cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line, known as HeLa, in the early 1950s.
Renee Elise Goldsberry plays Henrietta while Oprah plays her daughter Deborah as a grown woman with Kee as her younger self.
Passion project: The 62-year-old, pictured at the an event in Hollywood in June, is prepping biopic The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks for HBO
Joining Oprah as executive producers are Alan Ball, Peter Macdissi, Carla Gardini and Lydia Dean Pilcher.
The project has been in the works for years, according to Variety.
It was first announced in 2010 when Oprah's Harpo Films acquired the book rights. At that time the media mogul was attached to produce, alongside Alan for HBO Films.
Ripped from real life: The movie follows Henrietta Lacks, the unwitting pioneer for medical research when her cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line in the 1950s
But it sat in development and it wasn't until Oprah agreed to star in the biopic that it was put on a fast-track with filming due to begin this summer.
Meanwhile, the media mogul, actress and TV host is also in final negotiations to play Mrs. Which in Disney's adaptation of A Wrinkle In Time, to be directed by Ava DuVernay, according to Deadline.
The pair previously collaborated on Selma, about Martin Luther King Jr's historic march, which Oprah starred in and produced.
Margot Robbie showed off her fantastical style as she attended the world premiere of Suicide Squad on Monday.
The actress wore a shimmering gold-and-black gown with a unique unicorn design as she joined costars Will Smith, Cara Delevingne, Jared Leto, Jai Courtney, Viola Davis, Scott Eastwood and Joel Kinnaman at The Beacon Theater in New York City.
The 26-year-old's striking gown featured a large, sequined unicorn rearing up over a black background.
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All that glitters: Margot Robbie stood out in a sequined, unicorn-patterned dress at the premiere of Suicide Squad at The Beacon Theater in New York City on Monday
The dress also featured sheer black sleeves and a high collar, with the unicorn design's shimmering mane flowing over her left sleeve and large wings across the back.
The Aussie star added a slim black and gold clutch and black heels.
She pulled her blonde hair back in a chic, messy bun, and left some wisps free to frame her face.
Fashion risk: The 26-year-old stunned in the unique look, which featured a shimmery unicorn design over the front and sleeves
All smiles: Margot's floor-length gown had sheer sleeves and a high neckline
She's got wings: The back of her unique dress revealed the unicorn's wings and tail
Golden touch: The striking gown also featured structural shoulders and sheer sleeves
Great cast: Margot was joined by Suicide Squad costars Viola Davis, Will Smith, Jared Leto and Joel Kinnaman at the New York premiere
Stylish stars: Margot posed with Will and Jared as they arrived at the premiere of their high-anticipated DC Comics adaptation
Margot- who plays the Joker's devoted follower Harley Quinn in the highly-anticipated film - added light blush and a dramatic, dark red lip.
The cast have been busy hitting the promotional trail for Suicide Squad ahead of its premiere. The film comes out on August 5 in the US and UK and on August 4 in Australia.
British model-turned-actress Cara also opted for an eye-catching look at the premiere, choosing an edgy mini dress.
Glam look: Margot wore her blonde hair back in a low bun, and played up her lips with dramatic dark lipstick
All smiles: The Australian actress beamed as she showed off her glittering gown
Big night: The Aussie star plays Harley Quinn in the highly-anticipated Suicide Squad film
The 23-year-old wore a plunging, sheer mini-dress with a see-through design and cut-outs with a large, ruffled tie on the side.
Cara, who plays Enchantress in the film, added thigh-high black suede Christian Louboutin boots and drop earrings.
The Paper Towns star wore her blonde hair in glamorous waves, and added dramatic shimmering eye shadow and a classic red lip.
Supermodel style: Cara Delevingne wore a see-through, plunging mini dress with cut-outs and ruffles to the Suicide Squad premiere
Glam look: The model-turned-actress added a shimmery smokey eye and red lipstick
Edgy style: Cara wore a studded mesh dress with a low-cut neckline, paired with thigh-high Christian Louboutin boots
Looking good: Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman looked handsome in a blue suit and tie as he joined Cara at the premire
Fashion icon: The British beauty looked stylish in the deconstructed mini with side ruffles
Star of the show: Cara set off her look with plenty of silver, star-shaped bling
Movie star Will looked sharp in a dark suit as he arrived at the premiere with son Jaden Smith, 18.
The 47-year-old, who is starring in his first comic book movie adaptation in Suicide Squad, added a light grey shirt and checked tie.
He added a pocket square and brown oxfords.
Family affair: Suicide Squad star Will brought along his son, actor Jaden Smith
Father-son duo: Will wore a sharp suit with light grey shirt and matching tie for the premiere
Will appeared to be in a great mood, flashing a smile and taking time to greet and sign autographs for fans waiting outside the theater.
The actor, who plays Deadshot in the film, was joined by his actor-fashion model son Jaden, who wore his dreads piled high on his head.
The teenager showed off his usual eclectic style in a large black-and-white coat and pink socks.
World premiere: Actress Viola looked chic in a shimmery grey gown as she joined Will, Margot and Jared at the screening on Monday
Stylish: The 47-year-old star wore a dark suit with sharp pocket square
Comedy favourite: Will was his usual animated and upbeat self on the red carpet
Fan favorite: Will flashed a grin as he stopped to greet fans outside The Beacon Theater
Eclectic style: Model Jaden wore a black and white coat and flashed his pink socks
Suicide Squad star Viola Davis, 50, looked chic in a shimmery grey gown as she attended the screening.
The How To Get Away With Murder star, who plays the baddies' boss Amanda Waller in the DC Comics adaptation, added a white clutch and blue velvet heels.
She accessorized with large gold earrings and a bold bracelet, and added coral lipstick.
Actress Karen Fukuhara, 24, also looked lovely in a light blue, floor-length dress with delicate silver details on a sheer overlay.
By her side: Viola Davis was joined by actor-producer husband Julius Tennon at the screening
Stylish: The 50-year-old Emmy winner paired a grey shimmery dress with blue heels and a bold bracelet
A vision: Suicide Squad actress Karen Fukuhara wore a pretty, floor-length gown with a delicate silver details
All smiles: The 24-year-old wore her ombre hair in soft waves
Also at the premier was Oscar-winner Jared, who plays The Joker in Suicide Squad.
The 44-year-old wore a long blue coat with pink floral embroidery on the sleeves and lapel, with a fish and Donald Duck design on the front and a colorful lion on the back.
Jared added loafers and long necklaces, and sported a scruffy beard as he stopped to pose for selfies with excited fans.
Bold look: Suicide Squad star Jared Leto wore a long blue coat with pink floral embroidery
Check it out: The Oscar-winner showed off a colorful lion design on the back of his coat
Joking around: Jared flashed two thumbs up as he greeted excited fans outside the theater
Say cheese: Jared and Joel snapped selfies with fans as they arrived at the premiere
Date night: Joel was joined by his tattoo artist wife Cleo Wattenstrom, who wore a black gown with gold choker neckline
Dapper dude: Scott Eastwood was on fine form as he joked around
Terrific trio: Elon Musk, Jared and Cara struck a pose together
Australian actor Jai Courtney also looked sharp as he arrived at The Beacon Theater for the premiere.
The 30-year-old Terminator star, who plays Boomerang in Suicide Squad, wore a light blue suit and crisp white shirt.
He was accompanied by Mecki Dent, who wore a long, plunging black stress with slim straps.
Suicide squad star: Actor Jai Courtney was joined by Mecki Dent, who wore a low cut black dress
Premiere: The Australian star wore a blue suit and black pocket square
DC role: Jai plays Boomerang in the film, which hits theaters August 5
Rock on! Jai goofed off with, from left, Scott Eastwood, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Suicide Squad director David Ayer, Will and Adam Beach
Big smiles: Will caught up with British actor Adewale, who looked handsome in a blue suit
Scott Eastwood, 30, also looked stylish as he arrived at the premiere, wearing a pinstriped navy suit and tie.
Actress Leven Rambin also attended, wearing a blue, halter-neck dress with a cut-out waist and mesh hemline.
The 26-year-old was joined by her husband, former True Blood actor Jim Parrack, who plays one of The Joker's henchmen in the film.
Sharp: Actor Scott Eastwood looked dapper in a navy pinstripe suit
Sleek look: Actress Leven Rambin wore a navy dress with cut out waist and mesh hemline
Date night: The Grey's Anatomy actress was accompanied by her husband, actor Jim Parrack
Big fans: Director Kevin Smith showed off his Joker hockey jersey as he arrived with his daughter, actress Harley Quinn Smith
Taking the plunge: Actress Yolonda Ross showed off some cleavage in her navy and pink gown
Also attending the premiere was director Kevin Smith and his actress daughter Harley Quinn Smith, who is named after Margot's character.
The Clerks director, 45. was dressed for the occasion in a hockey jersey with The Joker's image.
Harley Quinn, 17, wore a cute cropped, halter-neck top and matching A-line skirt.
Quirky style: Actor Adam Beach, who plays Slipknot in Suicide Squad, was joined by Summer Tiger, who wore a skintight pink dress and day-glo heels
Leather look: Singer Kehlani flashed her midriff in a black bra top and McQ Alexander McQueen Pre SS17 Leather Flares
Cameo? Comic book writer Frank Miller, who wrote Batman, 300 and Sin City, also attended the Suicide Squad premiere
Sharp: Adewale wore a smart blue suit and red tie, while comedian and Mindy Project star Ike Barinholtz opted for a black jacket
Group shot! The guys let loose on the red carpet, posing for a funny selfie
Centre of attention: Margot looked incredible with her vampish lipstick
Selfie time: Will ensured the moment was captured on camera
Bunch of jokers: The smartly clad leading men couldn't resist putting on an animated display
Taking to the stage: The gang all got up on stage to present the film
She wowed fans with an energetic comeback performance in Chicago on Sunday, after being signed off work for exhaustion.
And Ellie Goulding looked refreshed- and very pouty, as she arrived at LAX airport on Monday.
Sporting full lips and an all-black ensemble, the 29-year-old British songstress appeared in good spirits having spent last week recuperating in St Tropez.
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Back with a bang: Ellie Goulding looked refreshed- and very pouty, as she arrived at LAX airport on Monday
Covering her face with dark sunglasses, the Love Me Like You Do star wore her blonde tresses loose around her face.
And going for casual airport attire, she wore a black semi-sheer top, showing just a hint of her bra underneath.
Dressing the outfit down with fitted sweatpants and trainers, Ellie cut a stylish figure as she ambled through the airport.
Art if make-up: The blonde beauty opted for a hint of pink lipgloss, drawing attention to her full pout and perhaps hiding the dark marks that had seemingly appeared on her lips
Casual chic: Sporting full lips and an all-black ensemble, the 29-year-old British songstress appeared in good spirits having spent last week recuperating in St Tropez
And despite going for minimal make-up, the blonde beauty opted for a hint of pink lipgloss, drawing attention to her full pout and perhaps hiding the dark marks that had seemingly appeared on her lips.
Carrying an army-print bag, Ellie headed for the exit with her pals.
On Sunday the hitmaker returned to the stage for day four of Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago's Grant Park for the first time since her hiatus.
On the go: Carrying an army-print bag, Ellie headed for the exit with her pals
Having being signed off from performing due to exhaustion in July, it was clear from the show that Ellie had regained her energy after jetting off on the relaxing French break, to catch up on sleep and aid her recovery.
And it recently came to light that it was lack of sleep which caused the fitness fanatic to be sapped of all her energy.
According to The Sun, Ellie had been suffering with sleep condition insomnia, which is what caused her to abandon her recent stage performances.
However the songstress appeared delighted with her comeback show, tweeting afterwards: 'I know people use this world for so many differed reasons... But I am BLESS-ED. What a night @lolapalooza'.
It was the baby bombshell that sent shockwaves though the loyal legions of Bachelor fans.
But Bachelor producers have dismissed claims one of the hopefuls is expecting a child following reports that a positive pregnancy test was found the the mansion.
Warner Brothers denied a test was found at the luxury house by one of the crew members and insisted there was no truth to the NW Magazine story.
Bizarre: A picture emerged of Richie posing with a fake baby after Bachelor producers denied claims that one of the contestants is pregnant
The revelation came as a bizarre picture emerged of Richie Strahan cradling a fake baby.
Richie has previously claimed he does not have sex with any of the contestants on the reality TV series, insisting he 'doesn't take off his pants' during the show.
The strawberry blonde heartthrob made the revelation on the Kyle and Jackie O Show after being quizzed about whether his 'carpet matches the drapes'.
Denial: Bachelor producers have dismissed claims one of the hopefuls is expecting a child following reports that a positive pregnancy test was found the the mansion
Hunk: Richie has previously claimed he does not have sex with any of the contestants on the reality TV series
He was played an audio clip where Bachelor hopeful Laura Williams was heard saying: 'Does the carpet match the drapes. I can tell you that it's a yes. And it's probably a yes from a few reports.'
Fighting back laughter, Richie then said: 'That's the best spoiler. I don't take off my pants.'
When Kyle Sandilands asked whether he has sex with any of the 22 girls on the show, he said: 'No of course not mate, you've got to respect all the women.'
False claims: Warner Brothers denied that a test was found at the luxury house by one of the crew members
Shock! Bachelor Richie Strahan was said to have been the most shocked by the news after denying suggestions he did not have sex with any of the contestants on the upcoming series
He said it was difficult squeezing in time alone with any of the women under the scrutiny of the cameras.
'I'm filming 20 hours a day, I'm under the pump. It's like a pash and dash at three and four in the morning.'
It came after Richie said he would be open to having sex on the first date if the spark was there.
Spoiler: He was played an audio clip where Bachelor hopeful Laura Williams (right) was heard saying: 'Does the carpet match the drapes. I can tell you that it's a yes'
'If you are feeling it, go for it,' he told OK! magazine.
Alex Nation is the only contestant in the show so far who has openly admitted to having a child.
During the first episode, she told Richie about her five-year-old son Elijah.
A spokesman for Warner Bros told the Sydney Morning Herald there was 'no truth' to the most recent pregnancy claims.
'Warner Bros. can confirm that there is no truth to this story. There was no positive pregnancy test found at the mansion,' the company said in a statement.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the company for comment.
First kiss: On his first solo date, which was with Nikki Gogan, Richie enjoyed the first kiss of the series
Cara Delevingne flashed a lot of flesh at the world premiere of Suicide Squad in New York City.
The 23-year-old fashion model turned actress hit the black carpet in a plunging metallic studded mini-dress on Monday night.
The blonde beauty turned every head as she confidently put her lithe figure on display in the tiny semi-sheer Anthony Vacarello frock.
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Sexy night: Cara Delevingne flashed a lot of flesh at the world premiere of Suicide Squad in New York City on Monday
The front of Cara's sexy asymmetrical design featured a deep V nearly grazing her navel.
The sleeveless dress was mostly covered in silver embellishments including multiple safety pins which held together the silk fabric.
The actress showed off some more skin as a diagonal cut-out ran the length of her trim tummy to below her side boob revealing her tattooed rib cage.
Sultry creation: The 23-year-old fashion model turned actress hit the black carpet in a plunging metallic studded mini-dress
Daring look: The blonde beauty surely turned a lot of heads as she confidently put her lithe figure on display in the tiny semi-sheer cut-out frock
Cara teamed the shortened hemline with a pair of suede thigh-high Christian Louboutin stiletto boots.
The fashionable star accessorized with silver rings on her grey manicured hands and multiple earrings on her lobes.
Her short blonde tresses channeled old Hollywood glamour with smooth waves and a deep side part which was held back with two silver barrettes.
Old Hollywood Glamour: Her short blonde tresses were styled in smooth waves with a deep side part held back with two silver barrettes showing off her decked out ear lobes
Perfect pairing: Cara topped off the retro look with a red lip and a bold shimmery smoky-eye. And she teamed the shortened hemline with suede thigh-high Louboutin stiletto boots
Check out the back view! Cara flashed a lot of flesh with the open back design
Standing out: The fashionable star accessorized with silver rings on her grey manicured hands and multiple earrings on her lobes
The model topped off the retro look with a red lip and a bold shimmery smoky-eye.
Cara's girlfriend, St. Vincent, was spotted with the actress as they left the Greenwich Hotel ahead of the premiere.
The 33-year-old musician, who didn't appear to pose on the black carpet, wore a white blouse with a black bow collar.
Fierce! Cara looked super hot in the skimpy metallic number on the black carpet
Suicide Squad sees Cara plays a villainness called the Enchantress in the film inspired by the DC Comics
With the gang: Cara joined her co-stars Karen Fukuhara, Margot Robbie, Ike Barinholtz and John Kinnaman on stage
Strike a pose: Will Smith gets the cast together for a group selfie on the red carpet
Let's go! Cara's girlfriend, St. Vincent, was spotted with the actress as they left the Greenwich Hotel ahead of the premiere
Camera shy? The 33-year-old musician, who didn't appear to pose on the black carpet, wore a white blouse with a black bow collar, and wide-legged trousers
Keeping things in check: The 23-year-old looked a bit concerned she may expose her chest on the red carpet
She tucked the stylish top into a pair of black wide-legged trousers and donned a coordinating pair of mules.
The raven-haired beauty added a pop of color with a bold red lip to match her girlfriend along with her leather purse which dangled by her side.
Suicide Squad sees Cara plays a villainess called the Enchantress in the film inspired by the DC Comics.
Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 5.
All star cast: Cara joined her large group of co-stars on stage as they introduced the film
Mingling: Cara joined co-star Jared Leto - who plays The Joker - and South African entrepreneur Elon Musk at the after-party
Silver details: The front of Cara's sexy asymmetrical design featured a deep V and diagonal cut out held together by metallic pins
She did everything in her power to land a cameo role in the Absolutely Fabulous movie.
And stars of the show, Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley, have revealed that despite Rebel Wilson's efforts to land a role, she was only available for one day of filming.
During an interview with Australian radio hosts Kyle and Jackie O on Tuesday, Joanna said: 'By the time we actually got around to asking her she was so famous and so brilliant that she had literally a day she could give us, I think it was our last filming day.'
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Star power: Absolutely Fabulous stars Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley have revealed that Rebel Wilson was only available for one day of filming after the Australian comedian begged them for a cameo role
Joanna said they first heard about Rebel when she lived with Little Britain star, Matt Lucas.
'Years ago she was sharing an apartment in LA with Matt Lucas and he said to me "Oh my flatmate Rebel, she's called Rebel Wilson" because no one knew who she was those days.
'"She's a big fan and if you ever do anything can she be in it?" and I said "of course, of course!"' the funnywoman explained.
Gushing about Rebel to the KIIS FM hosts she described the Australian actress as: 'So brilliant and just an amazing person.'
Love her: Gushing about Rebel to the KIIS FM hosts Joanna described the Australian actress as: 'So brilliant and just an amazing person'
Determined: Rebel has previously admitted that she begged the British comedy duo for her a cameo role in the Absolutely Fabulous film
Bubbly blonde co-host Jackie then said: 'I did hear that she sort of threw out the script and did her own thing, does that get, do you mind?'
Kyle quickly butted in with: 'Oh what a pain in the a**, when someone comes along and you've been spending your entire life...'
Piping up on the phone, Jennifer said: 'I don't care as long as it's funny!'
Jennifer and Joanna are currently in Australia doing the media rounds for their new movie and recently attended the premiere of the hit film in Sydney.
Pop the bolly: Jennifer and Joanna are currently in Australia to promote their new film
Rebel previously admitted that she begged the British comedy duo for her cameo role in the Absolutely Fabulous film.
'I emailed her and said, 'If you need me for anything I'll be there.' I full out got down on my knees and begged. There's no level to which I wouldn't have gone to!' she told the Daily Mirror.
Her approach paid off - and Rebel eventually shot a day's worth of 'funny' cameo material for the film back in November.
Rebel joins an exhaustive list of stars who have cameo appearances in the film including Joan Collins, Jon Hamm, Dame Edna Everage, Lulu, Jerry Hall, Stella McCartney and Alesha Dixon.
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie will be released in Australian cinemas August 4.
She's been enjoying a relaxing trip through Europe while taking time off from hosting the Today show.
And Lisa Wilkinson posted one last envy-inducing snap on Monday as she enjoyed a swim overlooking the Greek Islands, before heading back to reality.
Looking chic in a black one-piece while over looking the ocean from a pool, the 56-year-old captioned the snap: 'One last swim & one last look at that incredible view before heading home...'
Back to reality: Lisa Wilkinson posted one last envy-inducing snap on Monday as she enjoyed a swim overlooking the Greek Islands, before heading back home to Sydney
Outstretching her arms and holding on to the edge of the pool she was seen taking in the stunning view.
Her brunette locks were swept up and tucked into a white fedora hat, which she purchased earlier in the trip as her and her husband Peter FitzSimons travelled through Paris.
The picture appears to be taken by her hubby and she looked perfectly content soaking up the sunshine.
Workout: The Today show personality captioned another snap: 'Jeez I have climbed some stairs on this trip. And loved every second of it... Everywhere you look, a view to die for!'
Endless summer: Lisa has been sharing plenty of envy-inducing snaps with her fans and appears to be getting good use out of the fedora she purchased earlier in the trip
Lisa and Peter have been exploring the Greek Islands and documenting their travels on social media.
The Today show personality captioned one snap: 'Jeez I have climbed some stairs on this trip. And loved every second of it... Everywhere you look, a view to die for!'
The couple cosied up together for a sweet selfie as they waited for a stunning Santorini sunset while 'nabbing the last table' at a packed clifftop restaurant.
Living the life: Lisa and her husband Peter FitzSimons have been exploring the Greek Islands and documenting their travels on social media
What a view: The couple cosied up together for a sweet selfie as they waited for a stunning Santorini sunset while 'nabbing the last table' at a packed clifftop restaurant
Earlier on during their lavish travels through Europe, they met up with their youngest child, daughter Billi in Paris, while she enjoyed her university holidays abroad.
During a day out together, Lisa and Billi explored the city and snapped a selfie as they strolled past the hotel Sarah Jessica Parker stays at during Sex And The City.
Lisa and her partner of 23 years appeared to be relishing their time together in the 'City Of Love'.
Along with their daughter, the couple also have two sons, Jake, 22, and Louis, 20.
She is no doubt excited about the arrival of her first child later this year.
But it seems former Miss Universe Australia Laura Csortan is eager for her pregnancy to end for more than one reason.
The beauty took to social media on Tuesday to reminisce over summers spent sipping beer in the sunshine, posting a throwback snap of herself doing just that on Instagram.
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'Miss you!' Pregnant former Miss Universe Australia Laura Csortan reminisced over cold beers and sunshine in a throwback snap on Thursday
The 39-year-old held the brown bottle with blue labelling aloft as she smiled from behind her flowing blonde locks that cascaded over one side of her face.
Cali sunshine and cold beer... #missyou, she wrote next to the photo shared with her 22,000 Instagram followers.
Laura posted another snap of the same occasion in Santa Cruz soon after returning from her month-long trip across the western U.S. state last year.
'Comfort food': Laura posted another snap of the same occasion in Santa Cruz last year, revealing she used the beer to wash down a hearty meal of a burger and fries
In it she posed with a beer in hand and in front of a hearty burger and fries.
The model is preparing for life as a single mother having discovered she was pregnant after splitting from the baby's father.
On Tuesday she shared a sweet snap of herself cuddling with her baby nephew Bastien.
Preparation: The model is preparing for life as a single mother, she sharing a sweet snap of herself cuddling with her baby nephew Bastien on Tuesday
'Love my visits with my fave little family. @libertyambertol #bubbabastien #miguelthegalah Bonus is, I can shop and cuddle at the same time!' she wrote on Instagram.
A week ago she shared another photo with another adorable nephew Tex, who was playing with her sunglasses in a Sydney cafe.
Laura wrote that she was practising but drew the line at pooy nappy change.
Practice: A week ago she shared a sweet snap of herself cuddling with her baby nephew Tex, who was playing with her sunglasses in a Sydney cafe
Keeping mum: After Laura revealed on social media that she is half way through her pregnancy, speculation has gone into overdrive on who the father is
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia about being a single mother soon after the announcement, Laura said: 'You don't know what to expect.
'My theory on it is I'll just take each day as it comes. So long as it's loved beyond anything else'.
'I'm prepared for the sleepless nights and all that. I'm not kidding myself that it's going to be easy. I'm just ready for it.
'I didn't know how [the pregnancy announcement] would be received but really wonderful and support from single mothers and women who have wanted to be single mothers and didn't know how to go about it'.
Who's the daddy? The 39-year-old has kept quiet on the mystery man's identity and in the past has been romantically linked to former AFL player Chad Cornes (L) and model Joshua Slack (R)
She told Woman's Day in June that while she still speaks to her ex, he will not be involved in their child's life.
'He respects my decision (to have the baby), and when the baby's older I'm happy with her finding out who her father is. I'm going into this with an open mind,' she said.
The beauty has been romantically linked to former AFL player Chad Cornes and model Joshua Slack in the past.
She was at the premiere of a movie about a human being turned into a cat.
And Jennifer Garner was looking purr-fect in red at the screening of Nine Lives in Los Angeles on Monday.
The estranged wife of Ben Affleck showed what her husband was missing by flaunting her feminine figure at the exciting event.
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Scarlet fever: Jennifer Garner looked red hot at the premiere of Nine Lives in Hollywood on Monday
The curvy cutie displayed her knockout body to the full in a scarlet number that hugged her figure in all the right places, and which boasted a flattering pleated skirt.
Jennifer, 44, completed her look with a pair of towering black stilettos.
In the film she plays Lara Brand, the wife of a business tycoon played by Kevin Spacey who has distanced himself from his family.
But in a last minute birthday gift dash for their 11-year-old daughter he buys a magical cat, and after an accident finds himself living inside its body.
Red hot: The busty beauty showcased her ample assets as she posed for photographers
Angle proof: The 44-year-old was looking great for her age from all vantage points
What pregnancy rumours? Jennifer showcased her slender physique to the maximum
But there's more, for he is told by the mysterious pet shop owner from whom he purchased the pussy, who is played by Christopher Walken, that he must reconcile with his family within a week or he will be stuck as a cat forever.
The movie also stars Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines, and the 50-year-old looked thrilled to be at the event with her daughter, cuddling up to her girl on the red carpet.
Jennifer's on-screen daughter Malina Weissman, 13, was also there, while, most excitingly of all, celebrity cat Pudge also turned up to see the film.
She cannot curb her enthusiasm: Cheryl Hines looked excited to be starring at the event
Hines' tomato catch-up: She looked delighted to cuddle up to her red-dress wearing friend
Oh mother: The actress then grabbed her daughter for a red carpet kiss
Fun-sized star: Malina Weissman plays Jennifer's daughter in the picture
A four-star experience: Cheryl, Malina and Jennifer posed up with co-star Talitha Bateman
Jennifer's appearance in the form-fitting number will surely put paid to rumours she may be expecting.
The mother of three, whose children are all fathered by ex Ben Affleck, fueled speculation last week by wearing a loose fitting dress.
The former lovebirds married in June 2005 after dating for a year.
Mini-me you complete me: Jennifer and Malina looked perfectly cast
Feline fine: Internet celebrity cat Pudge was among the dignitaries at the star-studded event
Pretty in pink: Lilimar Hernandez took the carpet in a cute dress
Fine fillies: Melora Hardin and beauty queen Greer Grammer also trotted down the red carpet
Making up the numbers: Mr Kelly Ripa Mark Consuelos was there with daughter Lola
Ben and Jennifer announced their separation last summer, one day after their 10-year wedding anniversary.
Although there have been rumors the couple have reconciled, it appears this is not the case.
Nine Lives, which was originally set to be released in April, is coming out on Friday.
Must Dash: Damon's ex Rachel Roy was there with her daughters
Party on: Jennifer looked thrilled to be attending the post-screening bash at Craig's
Bachelorette bad boy Chad Johnson interrupted a live TV special to make a pitch to be the next Bachelor.
The 28-year-old, whose alpha male personality soon made him the villain of the latest season of The Bachelorette, was in the audience at the After The Final Rose special when JoJo Foster was asked who she thinks should be the next Bachelor.
As she started talking about Luke Pell or Chase McNary, Chad quickly got to his feet and started speaking, leaving JoJo, 25, sighing: 'Not Chad!'
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He's back! Bachelorette baddie Chad Johnson interrupted the live After The Rose special to make his pitch to be the next Bachelor
Chad - who stars in Bachelor In Paradise, starting this Tuesday - soon made a pitch to be the new Bachelor himself.
'Obviously, there's a lot of people out there that probably think I'm a bad guy, just 'cos, y'know, the way I was on the show,' he said, wearing a gray suit and black shirt.
'When you watch Bachelor in Paradise obviously you're probably going to even amplify think the same thing or even worse - I made some mistakes,' he admitted.
Making his case: Chad admitted making mistakes on Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, but said everyone deserves love - even him
Make it stop: 'Not Chad!' JoJo exclaimed when the real estate agent interrupted the show
Tough year: Chad said he'd been through a lot with the recent death of his mother and pointed out he was also a Marine as he made his case
'But I've been through a lot this last year - I lost my mom and one of the thing that they didn't show on the show is I'm also a Marine - and so I've had a long life.
'I think a lot of people - they deserve love.
'I think I, as well as other people, deserve love, and so I think maybe I deserve to be the next Bachelor!'
Not shy: 'I deserve to be the next bachelor,' Chad told host Chris Harrison
Happily ever after? Bachelorette host Chris Harrison chatted with Jojo Fletcher, who got engaged to Jordan Rodgers on Monday night's finale
Loved up: JoJo suggested either Luke Pell or Chase McNary be the next Bachelor
As the audience mostly booed - with a few cheers - JoJ asked sarcastically: 'Who is cheering?
'I feel it's mixed emotions at best,' host Chris Harrison quipped, telling Chad: 'Let's see how Paradise goes. What could possibly go wrong?'
He then stressed: 'Watch tomorrow night - it is truly a train wreck.
'I mean, epic proportions.'
The Chad Bear: Chad admitted his time on Bachelor in Paradise - which begins next week - would make people think he was 'even worse'
Hot temper: Host Chris Harrison said Chad's time on Bachelor in Paradise was a train wreck of 'epic proportions'
A worker welds steel reinforcement during construction of the Lhasa-Nyingchi segment of Sichuan-Tibet Railway in Nyingchi, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 19, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]
China is considering a sweeping overhaul of its steel industry that would consolidate major steel producers into two giants, with one located in the north and the other in the south, according to people familiar with the plan.
Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp and Wuhan Iron & Steel Group Corp will be merged into Southern China Steel Group, while Shougang Group and Hebei Iron & Steel Group will combine into Northern China Steel Group, said the people, who declined to be identified because the information is confidential. The combinations will give Chinese steel mills the scale to rival global giants such as ArcelorMittal SA.
The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration didn't respond to a request for comment, while a Baosteel Group spokesman declined to comment when reached by Bloomberg.
The mergers would enhance government efforts to reduce capacity in the world's biggest producer as part of its drive to overhaul an inefficient sector and bolster an economy growing at its slowest in decades. China's crude steel-producing capacity reached a record of 1.2 billion tons at the end of 2015, according to the China Iron & Steel Association.
The plan "will help accelerate eliminating excess steel capacities as the companies will remove duplicated products," Helen Lau, an analyst at Argonaut Securities Asia Ltd, said from Hong Kong.
They both enjoyed Geordie Shore relationships with bitter ends.
So Stephen Bear and his new girlfriend Lillie Lexie Gregg have plenty to say about their romances with Vicky Pattison and Gary Beadle respectively.
The Celebrity Big Brother hunk lashed out at his former love as he posed for a stunning photoshoot with his girlfriend for OK! magazine.
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Loved up: Stephen Bear and his new girlfriend Lillie Lexie Gregg have plenty to say about their romances with Vicky Pattison and Gary Beadle respectively
Stephen, who goes by his surname Bear, met Lillie during their stint on the forthcoming fifth season of Ex On The Beach - which also starred Gary.
Since then he has entered the CBB house where he vowed to stay faithful to his fashion designer girlfriend - yet also lashed out at his previous relationship.
Seemingly a creature of habit, Bear met Vicky during his initial stint on the third series of Ex On The Beach, yet their relationship ended acrimoniously with the I'm A Celebrity winner calling him a 'f*****g sly c**t.'
In his sweet couple shoot with Lillie, Bear said: 'When we broke up she blocked me on social media and said some really nasty things.
Then and now... Seemingly a creature of habit, Bear also met Vicky during his initial stint on the third series of Ex On The Beach, yet their relationship ended acrimoniously with the I'm A Celebrity winner calling him a 'f***ing sly c***'
Cute: Stephen, who goes by his surname Bear, met Lillie during their stint on the forthcoming fifth season of Ex On The Beach - which also starred Gary
I think she finds it hard to trust people so Im not surprised shes single. Im the best boyfriend and I introduced her to my family, so for her to call me vile was a joke.
Bear's words come after Vicky blasted him for talking about her upon his entrance to the CBB house, after which she said: ' Wow.... Just stop talking about me man... Allow it... Pathetic. Want to be on a reality to show these days?! Just drop my name #shoein.'
Lillie meanwhile was quick to hit out at her former love as she reacted to claims from Gary's ex-girlfriend Charlotte Crosby that he was worse than a 'murderer'.
Happy times: Their romance has dated back to May with Lillie littering her social media feeds with snaps of the pair together, especially with her beloved family
Former love: Bear's words come after Vicky blasted him for talking about his upon his entrance to the CBB house, when she said: ' Wow.... Just stop talking about me man... Allow it...'
Charlotte suffered a ectopic pregnancy with Gary while he was filming Ex On The Beach alongside Bear and Lillie, where he is said to have enjoyed a threesome with Charlotte Dawson and Jemma Lucy.
She said: Its absolutely disgusting. There are so many horrendous things going on in the world. I dont really care whats shes been through with him.
Bear entered the Celebrity Big Brother house on Thursday yet remained relatively quiet about his relationship with Lillie.
Sweet: She said: Its absolutely disgusting. There are so many horrendous things going on in the world. I dont really care whats shes been through with him
Happiness: The pair revealed to OK! that after departing Thailand, where Ex On The Beach was filmed, they immediately began spending time together
The latest issue of OK! magazine is on newstands
Their romance has dated back to May with Lillie littering her social media feeds with snaps of the pair together, especially with her beloved family.
The pair revealed to OK! that after departing Thailand, where Ex On The Beach 5 was filmed, they immediately began spending time together.
To further confuse their convoluted love stories, Vicky and Gary previously shared a steamy kiss in the Geordie Shore house - making for a wholly confusing romantic web.
While Bear lights up TV screens in CBB, Lillie has been blazing the promotional trail for Ex On The Beach with the rest of the cast including Gary, yet it is unsure what the status of their friendship is.
The latest issue of OK! magazine is on newstands
He plays supervillain The Joker in the upcoming Suicide Squad flick.
And Jared Leto is showed he is the polar opposite from his demented clown character.
The 44-year-old actor cuddled up with some adorable puppies during his appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon on Monday night.
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Adorable: Jared Leto gave a puppy a kiss during an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon on Monday night
Jared joined in on a game of 'Pup Quiz' where every correct answer in animal trivia brought him a new dog to cuddle up with.
The Oscar-winner was off to a hot start as he answered the first question seamlessly and the 41-year-old chat show host got his first question wrong so Jared cosied up with two precious pooches.
The tide turned as Jared missed a question about zebras worth two puppies. Jimmy got his 'Double Puppardy' question right and was up by a score of 4-2.
Cute: The 44-year-old actor participated in a game of 'Pup Quiz' where every correct answer in animal trivia brought him a new dog to cuddle up with
Having fun: The Oscar-winner was off to a hot start as he answered the first question seamlessly
Jared reigned victorious, however, as his 'Final Puppardy' guess was closer for the win.
Later on in the episode, Jared was the first guest interviewed for the show as he brought out a small box as a present for Jimmy.
Perhaps the funnyman shouldn't have been too excited as Jared opened up the gift to reveal a small snake as the actor chased the scared host around the set with it.
Aww factor: He looked happy as he snuggled and baby talked an adorable pooch
Puppy party: Jimmy got his second question wrong so Jared got another puppy
Furry friends: He petted the adorable white dogs
Jared showcased his wacky side on the programme as he sported a light blue and white knit sweater with a tiger embroidered on it along with burgundy trousers with a white stripe down the side.
He finished it off with a pair of black leather Gucci loafers and had his dark locks combed back and had a considerable amount of scruff on his face.
No doubt it was a busy night for the star as he also attended the New York City premiere at the Beacon Theater of Suicide Squad.
He once again showed off his fashion-forward style in a long blue suede coat with pink floral embroidery on the sleeves and lapel with a fish and Donald Duck design on the front and a colourful lion on the back.
Having fun: Jared was later set to be interviewed as he brought along a small wrapped gift
Squeamish? Jared revealed a small snake in the box and chased around Jimmy with it
Keeping it cool: Jared showcased his wacky side on the programme as he sported a light blue and white knit sweater with a tiger embroidered on it
Good spirits: He shared a few laughs with the host
Petrified: Jimmy was scared by the creature even while in the box
Jared also sported a white top tucked into black trousers and the same designer shoes while accessorising with long necklaces.
The film is centered around a gang of DC Comics characters and also stars Margot Robbie, Cara Delevigne, Will Smith, Jai Courtney, Viola Davis, Scott Eastwood and Joel Kinnaman.
Suicide Squad is set for limited release in the US this Thursday with the UK release following on Friday.
Bold look: It was a busy day for Jared as he attended the Suicide Squad premiere in New York CIty while wearing a long blue coat with pink floral embroidery
Check it out: The Oscar-winner showed off a colorful lion design on the back of his coat
Joking around: Jared flashed two thumbs up as he greeted excited fans outside the theater
Russell Crowe's estranged wife Danielle put on an amorous display with her new boyfriend Adam Long as they held hands during a stroll in the park last month.
The 47-year-old and her beau were joined by one of her children, 10-year-old son Tennyson, who appeared in happy spirits.
Danielle cut a relaxed figure clad in gym clothes while cuddling up close to Adam as they walked side-by-side.
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Smitten: Russell Crowe's estranged wife Danielle Spencer put on an amorous display with her new boyfriend Adam Long as they held hands during a stroll through a park last month
Danielle showcased her remarkably slim figure in a pair of flared black trousers and a a shiny black coat.
She wrapped a black jumper around her waist and appeared to wear minimal make-up for the trip.
Meanwhile, she bundled her blonde locks into a messy ponytail wore a black cap paired with dark shades.
Getting to know each other: The 47-year-old and her beau were joined by one of her children, 10-year-old son Tennyson who appeared in high spirits
Chic: Danielle showcased her remarkably slim figure in a pair of flared black trousers and a a shiny black coat
Adam showed off his casual style wearing a pair of cargo trousers paired with a grey and blue sweater.
He appeared content as he held on tight to Danielle's hand as they strolled along, looking very comfortable together.
Meanwhile, Tennyson wrapped a scarf around his shoulders and wore a white printed T-shirt.
Looking relaxed: Adam showed off his casual style wearing a pair of pale cargo trousers paired with a two tone grey and blue sweater
Loved-up: He appeared content as he held on tight to Danielle's hand as they strolled along
Little man: Tennyson wrapped a scarf around his shoulders and wore a white printed T-shirt
Danielle appeared to be quite happy as she enjoyed the low-key outing.
She and Russell split in 2012 - but the Gladiator star is reportedly still coming to terms with her boyfriend spending time with his sons, Charles, 12, and Tennyson.
The thought that someone else is spending more time with them than he is and is slotting into life with his entire family anyone would feel jealous, a source allegedly told Womans Day.
Her boys: Danielle appeared to be quite happy as she enjoyed the low-key outing
Its never easy to watch someone move on and be happy with someone else, but everyone knows Russell has and will always love Danielle.
The 52-year-old is regularly seen with his pride and joy kids, this weekend taking the youngest to a South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL match.
The Hollywood actor even took most of the past year off to spend more time with his kids in Australia, after only seeing them for about 30 days in 2012.
Team effort! Danielle and Tennyson were also spotted sharing the same blue scarf
Wintery weather: The trio appeared to be deep in conversation as they walked through a park
But now, according to the magazine, he is worried that the growing attention on his estranged wife's new relationship will affect the boys, whom he has always tried to shield from the public eye.
Meanwhile, Adam has started to spend more time at Russells $10 million house in Rose Bay, Sydney, where Danielle lives with the children.
Russell has never wanted them to be brought up in the public domain. He really wants them to have a normal upbringing, a friend told the gossip magazine.
She's now a successful designer of her own clothing brand Draper James.
And Reese Witherspoon displayed why her style is worthy of a collection as she headed out on a shopping trip in Los Angeles on Monday.
Looking incredibly chic, the 40-year-old actress radiated effortless glamour in her elegant ensemble as she headed to the shops and later stopped by her office.
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Pretty as a petal: Reese Witherspoon displayed why her style is worthy of a collection as she headed out on a shopping trip in Los Angeles on Monday
Teaming a pretty lilac floral blouse with a flirty white mini-skirt, the Oscar-winning star looked every inch the summer belle for her day of running errands.
The mother-of-three looked more than ready to embrace the summer weather, as she showcased her toned and tanned pins in her pretty outfit.
Reese completed the ensemble with delicate printed heeled sandals and a white laser cut tote bag.
The actress added a trendy woven white fedora with a co-ordinating black bow, and covered her face with some rounded shades as she enjoyed her stroll in the Californian sunshine.
Natural style: Looking incredibly chic, the 40-year-old actress radiated effortless glamour in her elegant ensemble as she headed to the shops and later stopped by her office
Flower power: Teaming a pretty lilac floral blouse with a flirty white mini-skirt, the Oscar-winning star looked every inch the summer belle for her day of running errands
The Legally Blonde star added some serious bling to her outfit, jazzing the shirt up with a chunky gold chain, gold hoops and a matching watch, bracelets and rings.
Reese laughed as she spoke on the phone during her trip, as she stocked up on essentials.
The screen star appears to be enjoying some down time this week, embracing a break in her busy schedule.
She was spotted heading to a yoga class near her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, earlier on Monday.
Leggy lady: The mother-of-three looked more than ready to embrace the summer weather, as she showcased her toned and tanned pins in her pretty outfit
The actress looked toned and tanned in a grey vest and skin-tight black cropped leggings, that she paired with colourful trainers.
The blonde styled her hair in a messy updo with strands framing her face as she covered her eyes with white-rimmed shades.
Reese looked in high spirits as she left the gym which might have been due to the feel-good endorphins flooding her blood stream after her session.
But the Walk The Line Oscar winner's good mood was more likely due to her naturally sunny disposition.
Starting the week right: Reese was spotted heading to a yoga class near her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, earlier on Monday
Work it: The actress looked toned and tanned in a grey vest and skin-tight black cropped leggings, that she paired with colourful trainers
It's amazing Reese finds time to exercise as regularly as she does.
She's a mother to her children Ava, 16, and Deacon, 12, with her ex Ryan Phillippe, and Tennesse, three, with her agent husband Jim Toth.
The Legally Blonde star is getting ready to debut the autumn collection of her Draper James brand of clothing and accessories after opening a store in Nashville, Tennessee, in October.
Yoga bunny: The blonde styled her hair in a messy updo with strands framing her face as she covered her eyes with white-rimmed shades
She revealed on Instagram on Monday that it will be 'inspired by influential and iconic Southern muses' starting with 'the beautiful @dollyparton!'
Reese is presently filming HBO's dramedy series, Big Little Lies, with Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgard. She and Nicole are also co-executive producers.
She is in talks to host her own TV chat show to be produced by Ellen DeGeneres' production company.
Reese also has three films in the works. First up will be Universal Pictures' animated movie Sing, which opens on December 21 and will also feature the voices of Scarlett Johansson and Matthew McConaughey.
She will produce and star in Tinker Bell and is also in pre-production on director Paul Feig's Wish List, both due out next year.
Family worship: Reese pictured in November with Tennessee, her three-year-old son with husband Jim Toth and Deacon, 13 and Ava, 16, her kids with her first husband Ryan Phillippe
They are often showcasing their love for each other through various snaps posted on social media.
And Paris Jackson gave her followers another look into her love life on Monday, courtesy of a photo she shared with boyfriend Michael Snoddy, 26.
The duo reportedly began dating in March, around two weeks before the star turned 18.
Head-over-heels: Paris Jackson, 18, gave her followers another look into her love life on Monday, courtesy of a photo she shared with boyfriend Michael Snoddy, 26
In the snap, the couple of nearly five months are seen cuddling in a pool at night.
Paris, clad in a black T-shirt, hugs her beau close as she plants a kiss on his cheek.
The teen did not write a caption for the photo, appearing to let her action speak for itself.
'Fam photo': Earlier on Tuesday, the daughter of Michael Jackson also shared a photo of her boyfriend and their two dogs
Earlier on Tuesday, the daughter of Michael Jackson also shared a photo of her boyfriend and their two dogs.
'Fam photo,' wrote the star.
In the snap, Paris, who is clearly head-over-heels for her boyfriend, shares a smile as she leans into her beau while holding a pup in her hand.
Their thing: The short-haired blonde also appears to have a love for tattoos like her man
Online, Paris is often seen support her musician beau by snapping videos and posing for pics while at his gigs.
The short-haired blonde also appears to have a love for tattoos like her man.
Prior to her loved-up relationship with Michael, Paris dated Chester Castellaw for almost one year.
James Corden has often joked on The Late Late Show about looking identical to handsome actor Matt Damon.
Calling him his 'brother from another mother,' Corden got together with the Jason Bourne star in a pre-recorded segment as he pretended to be his stunt double in unseen scenes from the hit flick.
Dressed up identically to Matt in a brown leather jacket, James at first pretended to be excitedly awaiting a key role, predicting he would play the action hero's 'younger, sexier brother' in the skit.
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Hijinks! James Corden has often joked on The Late Late Show about looking identical to handsome actor Matt Damon
Instead Matt got him to do his dangerous stunts - starting with him getting punched in the face, leaving him with a black eye.
'This can't be the first time he's been punched in the face . he's got an extremely punchable face,' Matt said afterward.
Next, he got the Brit to jump off a tall building - with no protection to save him from the landing.
Calling him his 'brother from another mother,' Corden got together with the Jason Bourne star in a pre-recorded segment as he pretended to be his stunt double in unseen scenes from the hit flick
Dressed up identically to Matt in a brown leather jacket, James at first pretended to be excitedly awaiting a key role, predicting he would play the action hero's 'younger, sexier brother' in the skit
'The whole point is the action is gritty and real - we don't use crash pads,' he told him, advising him: 'Aim for the dumpster.'
After James missed the dumpster and landed flat on the floor, Matt said: 'I don't think we're going to use that shot.'
The host was then seen with his neck in a brace, complaining about how he 'shattered my elbow, strained my neck, and dislocated my penis - which I didn't even know was possible.'
After James missed the dumpster and landed flat on the floor during a stunt, Matt said: 'I don't think we're going to use that shot.'
For the final stunt, he was told he just had to walk - with the crew calling out that the scene was 'stunt man gets hit by train' just milliseconds before James was flattened.
For the final stunt, he was told he just had to walk - with the crew calling out that the scene was 'stunt man gets hit by train' just milliseconds before James was flattened.
'He died doing what he loved to do,' Matt said with mock concern, looking more horrified when told he was still alive.
'That means I still have to do his show? Damn it,' he said ending the skit.
'He died doing what he loved to do,' Matt said with mock concern, looking more horrified when told he was still alive.
Fight time! The star went through some choreography
During their interview, Matt admitted that he so often hits stunt doubles for real during their fight scenes that he offers to buy them a bottle of champagne for each blow.
He said at the end of his first fight scene in the first Bourne movie he 'owed a case of champagne,' adding: 'And that's my average on the four movies - roughly four bottles of champagne.'
But French co-star Vincent Cassel was not interested in the deal, with Matt recalling: 'He had no interest in my champagne. He was just like, ''Matt, don't hit me in the face. I will buy my own champagne.''
During their interview, Matt admitted that he so often hits stunt doubles for real during their fight scenes that he offers to buy them a bottle of champagne for each blow.
He said at the end of his first fight scene in the first Bourne movie he 'owed a case of champagne,' adding: 'And that's my average on the four movies - roughly four bottles of champagne.'
He had the opposite problem in an action scene when his 'dear friend' Julia Stiles was riding on the back of a bike with him, and he was afraid of going too fast and leaving her 'on her ass.'
'The whole build up happens, the cars come screeching around the corner, everything's exploding - and I stalled the bike,' he recalled.
He said '600 people' there all looked down in embarrassment for him - except 'one guy who's training me to box who laughs kinda like the Penguin' which is all he heard.
Meanwhile, his fellow guest on the show, Key & Peele star Keegan-Michael Key, offered to play Bond in the next 007 movie - to ease the way for Idris Elba to get it.
'And I know he's Snapchatting the whole thing,' he added with an embarrassed smile.
Matt bravely suggested that his famous character would defeat British spy James Bond in a fight, saying: 'Bond relies on those gadgets, Bourne, he just picks up stuff and turns into a weapon.'
'No offense to the Brits, but American ingenuity,' he smiled.
Meanwhile, his fellow guest on the show, Key & Peele star Keegan-Michael Key, offered to play Bond in the next 007 movie - to ease the way for Idris Elba to get it.
'If you let me play James Bond then we could just move up the ladder gradually to Idris,' he joked. 'I'm caramel, and then we move into the chocolate.'
'If you let me play James Bond then we could just move up the ladder gradually to Idris,' he joked. 'I'm caramel, and then we move into the chocolate.'
'We got a little cream in our coffee.' Matt joked.
While he was happy teasing his host, Matt also admitted getting 'teared up' when he watched his Carpool Karaoke episode with Stevie Wonder.
Touching moment: While he was happy teasing his host, Matt also admitted getting 'teared up' when he watched his Carpool Karaoke episode with Stevie Wonder.
'This is true. When he called your wife,' he said, clearly being genuine.
'I saw Chris Martin a few months ago in London and he said the same thing. It was just so beautiful,' he insisted, calling Stevie a 'national treasure.'
'It really choked me up, it was so beautiful,' Matt said.
She's been escaping from her worries on a Barbados break with her family following the Love Island drama.
And Zara Holland looked every inch the beach babe as she hit the sandy shores of the island on Monday, sporting a brightly coloured bikini.
The 20-year-old former beauty queen - who was stripped of her Miss Great Britain title after having sex on-screen on the ITV2 reality show - displayed her hourglass curves in her two-toned swimwear as she splashed around in the sea.
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Life's a beach: Zara Holland looked every inch the beach babe as she hit the sandy shores of Barbados on Monday, sporting a brightly coloured bikini
Zara highlighted her ample chest in her tiny triangle bikini top in a vibrant shade of electric blue with a neon green lace trim.
The bold swimwear flattered her toned physique and served to complement her deep tan after days of bronzing on the beaches.
The blonde bombshell's matching briefs drew attention to her long legs and shapely derriere as she sunned herself in the shallows.
Cheeky: The blonde bombshell's matching briefs drew attention to her long legs and shapely derriere as she sunned herself in the shallows
Cooling down: Zara was enjoying an ice cold drink as she topped up her tan on the beach
Bold swimwear: Zara highlighted her ample chest in her tiny triangle bikini top in a vibrant shade of electric blue with a neon green lace trim
Bronzed beauty: The bold swimwear flattered her toned physique and served to complement her deep tan after days of bronzing on the beaches
Zara accessorised her beach attire with a simple gold pendant and hid behind a pair of Aviator shades.
She wore her straight locks down loose and highlighted her features with barely-there make-up.
Zara has also been joined by her mum Cheryl, 51, on her holiday, and the pair are enjoying spending quality time together.
Bling: Zara accessorised her beach attire with a simple gold pendant and hid behind a pair of Aviator shades
Family getaway: Zara has also been joined by her mum Cheryl, 51, on her holiday, and the pair are enjoying spending quality time together
Natural beauty: She wore her straight locks down loose and highlighted her features with barely-there make-up
Checking in: The disgraced beauty queen - who was stripped of her Miss Great Britain title after having sex on-screen on the ITV2 reality show - was playing on her phone
Reality TV mishap: Speaking to MailOnline, Zara revealed that sleeping with Alex Bowen on Love Island was 'the biggest mistake of her life', but she did not regret the action
Moving on: The pageant girl is trying to put her steamy on-screen romp behind her
The disgraced pageant girl quit Love Island, flying home to England to look after her mother upon hearing she had fallen ill.
Zara also confessed that Cheryl wasn't impressed with her for having a steamy romp on national television, but was supportive of her no matter what.
Speaking to MailOnline, Zara revealed that sleeping with Alex was 'the biggest mistake of her life', but she did not regret the action.
Speaking out: She said, 'Sex is nothing to be ashamed of. We're all women but I just don't regret my actions, I just regret doing it on TV'
Disappointed: She added that life had been 'very hectic' since leaving Love Island but admitted she was still disappointed about losing her title
Unfortunate: Zara revealed, 'I'm still very sad to have lost my crown - and the way I was treated by the Miss Great Britain Organisation'
'Women like to have sex,' she stated. 'I just personally have never had a one night stand before and a lot of women have one night stands and there's nothing wrong with sex and if you wake up in the morning and it makes you feel good.
'Sex is nothing to be ashamed of. We're all women but I just don't regret my actions, I just regret doing it on TV.'
She added that life had been 'very hectic' since leaving Love Island but admitted she was still disappointed about losing her title.
'I'm still very sad to have lost my crown - and the way I was treated by the Miss Great Britain Organisation - but the support I've had from the public has been overwhelming,' she said.
Keeping protected: Zara was seen slathering a tanning oil over her body
Simple touches: Zara accessorised with a few choice bangles and stud earrings
Keeping covered: Zara took shelter in a patch of shade to ensure she wasn't burning
The strapping physique that helped win him legions of fans was back on display as Jason Momoa ushered in his birthday with Hollywood star Michael Fassbender on Sunday evening.
Hawaiian born Jason - best known for playing doomed Dothraki leader Khal Drogo in Game Of Thrones - went shirtless as he partied with the Prometheus star at trendy London nightspot Bull in a China Shop.
Adding a series of snaps across social media, the bearded actor reveals his broad chest while posing alongside a comparatively diminutive and significantly shorter Fassbender.
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Birthday boy: The strapping physique that helped win him legions of fans was back on display as Jason Momoa ushered in his 37th birthday with Hollywood star Michael Fassbender on Sunday evening
Captioning the shot, in which he offers the camera a cheerful thumbs up gesture, he wrote: '@bullchinashope1 might need to rename the bull to. MOMOA in a chinashop Whisky starts flowing. The Clothes come off ALOHA kanaka.'
The actor was enjoying a late night drink at the Shoreditch bar as he prepared for his 37th birthday on August 1st, and he documented the celebration with numerous images - including one of himself and wife Lisa Bonet.
Lisa - the ex-wife of rocker Lenny Kravitz - is pictured sitting on her husband's lap while the couple enjoy a pint of Guinness.
Cheers: Jason also shared a snap of himself and wife Lisa Bonet enjoying a pint of Guinness
Drink up: Separate images find the hunk posing with pals while enjoying a range of alcoholic beverages
Captioning the shot, he wrote: 'Life goals. Find a goddess who drinks Guinness Make babies Live ALOHA.'
Separate images find the hunk posing with pals while enjoying a range of alcoholic beverages.
Jason has often taken to Instagram to share sweet snaps with his children.
Down the hatch: The Hawaiian born actor partied with pals as he prepared top celebrate his birthday on August 1
The Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice actor recently posted a photo with his son, Nakoa-Wolf, seven, his daughter, Lola, nine, and 27-year old step-daughter Zoe Kravitz.
'Proud papa. @zozobear121 missing mama bear. But finally with my babies Summer is going to be epic PapaSauvage and da rascals,'he wrote alongside the image.
Jason plays superhero Aquaman in the forthcoming DC film Justice League, which hits theaters in 2017.
Later this year, he'll appear in Going Under, The Bad Batch, and the TV series Frontier.
She confirmed she was expecting her second child via a surrogate last week.
And Sally Obermeder couldn't wipe the smile off her face as enjoyed a take-away coffee in Sydney's Double Bay on Monday.
The 40-year-old Daily Edition co-host beamed with happiness as she stepped out in a simple, yet classy, black and white outfit.
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Happy: Sally Obermeder beamed with joy on Monday as she stepped in Sydney's Double Bay after announcing she was expecting her second child via a surrogate
The mother-of-one slipped into a white V-neck blouse which she tucked tightly into a pair of high-waisted trousers.
The black straight-legged pants featured a horizontal 3D effect and finished tightly around the ankles.
Sally added some height to her office attire with a pair of matching black closed-in heels.
Out and about: The 40-year-old stunned in a chic black and white ensemble
Growing family: The Daily Edition host revealed last week she and husband Marcus are expecting another baby via a surrogate. Pictured with daughter Annabelle
As she carried a hot drink in one hand, her dark brown locks fell loosely over her shoulders in a natural wave.
The TV personality showed off her flawless complexion as she opted for a nude-base makeup that included a brush of black mascara and eyeliner.
Sally revealed last week she and her husband Marcus are expecting another baby in the upcoming months via a surrogate.
Big news! Sally claimed she was thrilled to be welcoming her second child after revealing in her struggle to conceive naturally
Breakthrough: Sallys first child, Annabelle, was conceived with the help of IVF
Sally, who was cleared of breast cancer in 2012, took to Instagram to announce the happy news.
In the photo, Sallys four-year-old daughter Annabelle could be seen holding up a sign, confirming the new addition to the family.
Im going to be a big sister, it read.
Meanwhile, Sally said she was thrilled to be welcoming her second child after previously speaking about her struggles to conceive again.
Opening up: Sally told New Idea she could only have another child through surrogacy
Yes, it's true. Thrilled to bits to share that @marcusobermeder and I are adding to our family thanks to the most incredible surrogate, she captioned the post.
In an interview with New Idea magazine earlier this year, the brunette revealed she could only have another child through surrogacy.
She claimed doctors had warned her that another pregnancy could risk her life.
Ive been told in no uncertain terms that its far too dangerous for me to be pregnant again, in terms of the cancer returning, she said.
Her cool bohemian style has become something of a trademark.
And Vanessa Hudgens ticked all the style boxes once again as she headed out in another chic ensemble with her boyfriend Austin Butler in Venice Beach, California, on Monday.
The the former High School Musical star, 27, wore a dainty white crop top and long skirt, after telling People Style magazine that her stomach is her biggest body insecurity.
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Boho babe: Vanessa Hudgens ticked all the style boxes once again as she headed out in another chic ensemble with boyfriend Austin Butler in Venice Beach, California, on Monday
The Grease Live! star said she'd worked hard to be body confident about her tummy.
'I think the stomach region for all girls is something we all struggle with,' she said. 'The pooch! I think we all know what that pooch is.'
But Vanessa said being grateful for her health had helped her overcome any nagging insecurities.
'I dont think we give our bodies enough gratitude for simply just doing what it does, without us telling it to do it,' she shared.
On Tuesday, the actress' white crop cut across her toned stomach to give a flash of the gym bunny's tanned tum.
Abs-olutely fabulous: The former High School Musical star, 27, looked a summer vision in a dainty white crop top and crochet midi skirt
Vanessa matched the garment with a white high-waisted midi skirt, which tied at the waist and buttoned all the way to its hem.
The A-line number was patterned with dainty crocheted flowers from top to bottom, and featured two slits at the front, to reveal her leggy frame.
In keeping with her quirky style, the actress paired the look with some funky caged sandals in nude and pale pink, which laced at the top.
Vanessa completed the outfit with a tan and black leather Danielle Nicole tote bag.
The Grease Live! star was accompanied by her actor boyfriend of five years Austin Butler, 24, who mirrored her casual but cool look in skinny jeans and a navy t-shirt, paired with tan lace-up brown boots and a cap.
The brunette actress sipped on a cool iced drink in the warm weather as she ventured out with her beau, who took a quick phone call as they strolled.
Hard work pays off: The white crop, featuring a square neck and thick straps, cut across her stomach to give a flash of the gym bunny's toned and tanned tum
The Spring Breakers starlet sported a golden tan on the outing, likely to have been picked up from the couple's luxurious break to Italy last month.
Vanessa appeared to get nostalgic about their two-week romantic getaway on the day of their outing, taking to her Instagram on Monday to post a candid snap from the Italian break.
Posting a shot of her sat on a balcony, overlooking the idyllic coastal setting in a blue maxi dress, the star wistfully captioned it: 'memory monday...#VsVivaItaly'.
'Memory Monday': After venturing out with her boyfriend the star got nostalgic on Instagram, posting a throwback snap of their recent idyllic getaway to Italy
Vanessa, who formerly dated High School Musical co-star Zac Efron, has been in a relationship with Austin since 2011.
The actress is set to get back to work after some time off over the next few weeks, being scheduled to play Emily Locke in NBC's upcoming comedy, Powerless.
The television series, following a failing insurance company, is due to show on NBC in 2017.
GlaxoSmithKline and Google parent Alphabet's life sciences unit are creating a new company focused on fighting diseases by targeting electrical signals in the body, jump-starting a novel field of medicine called bioelectronics.
Verily Life Sciences known as Google's life sciences unit until last year and Britain's biggest drugmaker will together contribute 540 million pounds (US$715 million) over seven years to Galvani Bioelectronics, they said yesterday.
The new company, owned 55 percent by GSK and 45 percent by Verily, will be based at GSK's Stevenage research center north of London, with a second research hub in South San Francisco.
It is GSK's second notable investment in Britain since the country voted to leave the European Union in June. Last week it unveiled plans to spend 275 million pounds on drug manufacturing.
Galvani will develop miniaturized, implantable devices that can modify electrical nerve signals. The aim is to modulate irregular or altered impulses that occur in many illnesses.
GSK believes chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and asthma could be treated using these tiny devices, which consist of a electronic collar that wraps around nerves.
Kris Famm, GSK's head of bioelectronics research and president of Galvani, said the first bioelectronic medicines using these implants to stimulate nerves could be submitted for regulatory approval by around 2023.
"We have had really promising results in animal tests, where we've shown we can address some chronic diseases with this mechanism, and now we are bringing that work into the clinic," he said.
"Our goal is to have our first medicines ready for regulatory approval in seven years."
GSK first unveiled its aims in bioelectronics in a paper in the journal Nature three years ago and believes it is ahead of Big Pharma rivals in developing medicines that use electrical impulses rather than traditional chemicals or proteins.
The tie-up shows the growing convergence of healthcare and technology. Verily already has several other medical projects in the works.
They're best known for playing the outrageous Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous.
So it was no surprise to see Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley channelling their iconic characters at the Melbourne premiere of Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie on Tuesday.
Jennifer, 58, carried a plush toy dog on the gold carpet, while Joanna, 70, was dripping with jewellery in a sparkly sheer top.
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Flamboyant: Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley appeared to dress in character as they attended the Melbourne premiere of Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie on Tuesday
Joanna was the gaudier of the two, pairing her top with some sequinned animal print trousers and glitzy gold stilettos.
She accessorised with several items of statement jewellery, and even wore eye-catching lavender nail polish.
Joanna did not go light with her makeup either, opting for a slick of deep red lipstick and a sultry smokey eye.
Sheer delight! Joanna (R) turned heads with a see-through black top and gaudy jewellery
Making a statement: She accessorised with several items of jewellery and lavender nail polish
Her partner-in-crime, Jennifer, was no shrinking violet either.
The comedian kept wrapped up against Melbourne's cold winter in an oversized pink and peach jacket.
She clutched a brown toy dog in one hand and wore a large, dramatic necklace.
All smiles: Jennifer and Joanna happily posed for photographs on the gold carpet
Woof woof! Jennifer, 58, carried a plush toy dog on the red carpet
Fitting right in at the premiere was the cast of The Real Housewives of Melbourne.
Pettifleur Berenger looked festive in a pair of red, three-quarter length pants and a white faux-fur jacket.
The 51-year-old rocked some pointed gold stilettos on her feet, which she matched with a gold handbag.
What a drag! The English comedian posed with two sensational drag queens
Hey there: Blonde beauty Joanna adjusted her hair as she greeted fans
A royal greeting! The British actress greeted her Australian fans in a rather regal manner
Gamble Breaux, who recently returned from Bali, displayed her surgically-enhanced assets in a plunging cocktail dress.
The 45-year-old reality TV star accessorised with a thick choker and also wore thigh-high leather boots.
The blonde bombshell completed the glamourous look with a tasseled black clutch.
Is it Christmas? Pettifleur Berenger looked festive in red pants and a white faux fur jacket
What an eyeful! Gamble Breaux wore a glitzy cocktail dress with a plunging neckline
Pretty in pink: Susie McLean also sparkled in a cute pink dress and matching earrings
The last member of the cast to show up was Janet Roach, who stunned onlookers in a skintight, sheer black cocktail dress.
Janet's racy garment showed off the 57-year-old's underwear, which consisted of what appeared to be a G-string and a lacy bra.
She isn't shy! Janet Roach, 57, dared to bare in a sheer dress
Hot stuff! The Real Housewives of Melbourne star gave fans a glimpse of her racy underwear
Also in attendance were TV stars Rebecca Maddern and Lauren Phillips, actress Sigrid Thornton, and fashion designer Alannah Hill.
Natalie Bassingthwaighte also made an appearance in a pair of velvet trousers.
The pop star was also seen mingling with some drag queens on the gold carpet.
Red velvet: Natalie Bassingthwaighte sported red velvet pants and a white top
Scared? The former pop diva looked surprised as a drag queen towered over her
Kiss kiss: She blew as kiss for the photographs with her fans
Demure: Rebecca Maddern (left) and Lauren Phillips (right) rocked conservative attire
One of a kind! Fashion designer Alannah Hill sported a unique ensemble
Her fashion statements have arguably commanded more attention than her various public appearances as she continues to promote new film Pete's Dragon.
And Tuesday morning proved to be no exception as Bryce Dallas Howard arrived at ITV studios for a chat with Fiona Phillips on breakfast TV staple Lorraine.
The 35-year old actress caught the eye in a demure fitted dress that accentuated her voluptuous frame as she chatted to the Scottish host about her latest film project.
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Looking good: Bryce Dallas Howard caught the eye in a demure fitted dress that accentuated her voluptuous frame during an appearance at ITV Studios on Tuesday morning
A delicate floral print and semi-sheer detail gave the outfit a sophisticated flourish, while a scalloped below-the-knee cut rounded it off.
The actress daughter of Hollywood veteran Ron Howard offset her ethereal white dress with a pair of nude heels, while her liberal use of bold red lipstick gave the overall look a splash of vibrancy.
In keeping with the elegant nature of her look Bryce opted to maintain her lightly tousled ginger locks with a simple side parting.
Busy girl: The actress was on hand to talk about new film Pete's Dragon - a remake of the 1977 Walt Disney classic
Striking: A liberal use of bold red lipstick gave the overall look a splash of vibrancy, while lightly tousled ginger locks with a simple side parting
Plenty to talk about: Bryce chatted to stand-in host Fiona Phillips about her latest role
The actress was on hand to talk about new film Pete's Dragon - a remake of the 1977 Walt Disney classic - and she admitted legendary father Ron was delighted about her casting in the fantasy adventure.
'He was really excited. This was one of a few movies that I watched again and again as a kid,' she said.
'What was interesting about the original film, it had an animated character, but it was a real boy. 'It feels so real, even though there's this dragon.'
Opening up: The actress admitted legendary father Ron was delighted about her casting in Pete's Dragon
Stylish: A delicate floral print and semi-sheer detail gave her outfit a sophisticated flourish, while a scalloped below-the-knee cut rounded it off
Promotional trail: The actress has been promoting her new film ahead of its release on August 12 across the United Kingdom and United States
Bryce features alongside Robert Redford in the new film, and she revealed their initial meeting was a memorable one.
'Our first scene we were running together from a great distance. I started that run and thinking, "I'm running towards Robert Redford." And I barrelled into him.
'He said, "You came at me like a cannonball!" I'm like, "Nice to meet you." That's how I would meet somebody! '
Pete's Dragon is released in the United Kingdom and United States on August 12.
She is known for never putting a foot wrong when it comes to fashion.
And on Tuesday, Erin Holland turned heads on the red carpet at the Versace fragrance for men launch in Sydney.
The 27-year-old model stunned as she posed for photographs in an orange off-the-shoulder dress.
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Putting her best foot forward: Erin Holland turned heads on the red carpet at the Versace fragrance for men launch in Sydney on Tuesday
The loose-fitting garment fell freely over her slender figure and featured over-sized bell-styled sleeves.
Erin accessorised her attire with beige peep-toe high heels and a pair of large gold hoop earrings.
She wore her blonde shoulder-length hair in a side sweep and styled with a flick at the ends.
Flawless: The 27-year-old model dressed to impress in an orange off-the-shoulder dress
Cold shoulder: The loose-fitting garment featured over-sized bell-styled sleeves
She's a true beauty: While opting for a nude-base makeup, she wore her blonde locks out and styled them with a flick at the ends
The 2013 Miss World Australia winner opted for a nude-based makeup look which included a shimmer bronzer, deep pink lipstick and a brush of black mascara.
Also at the exclusive event was Australia's first-ever Bachelor, Tim Robards.
The reality TV star turned personal trainer opted for a grey suit which he paired with a light purple button-up shirt.
While posing for photos, Tim showcased his unshaven look and let his two-toned fringe flop across his forehead.
Fur-tastic! Makeup artist Rachel Brook also attended the event wearing a stylish pink coat and sheer blouse which revealed her black bra
Dapper display: Tim Robards opted for a grey suit and a light purple button-up shirt
Rugged: The 2013 Bachelor showcased his unshaven look while allowing his two-toned fringe to flop across his forehead
Despite displaying a large smile for the camera, the 33-year-old seemed to be flying solo at the event with his girlfriend Anna Heinrich no-where to be seen.
Fashion stylist Donny Galella also made an appearance, dressing in a stylish mustard-coloured suit jacket and a black turtleneck.
He rounded off his look with black jeans which he buckled up with a matching leather belt.
Colonel Mustard? Fashion stylist Donny Galella also made an appearance, dressing in a stylish yellow suit jacket and a black turtleneck
On the ball! Sydney Swans player Tom Derickx opted for a pair of white jeans and a black T-shirt which he covered with a matching leather jacket
Stylish: While styling his hair to the right and rocking an unshaven look, the 28-year-old accessorised with a silver chain necklace and a pair of brown dress shoes
The celebrity stylist accessorised his look with a pair of two-toned framed glasses.
Sydney Swans player Tom Derickx was also in attendance on the night.
The AFL player cut a laid-back look as he opted for a pair of white skinny jeans and a plain black T-shirt which he covered with a matching leather jacket.
While gelling his hair to the right and rocking an unshaven face, the 28-year-old accessorised with a silver chained necklace and a pair of brown dress shoes.
Hugh Sheridan was treated to an up close and personal experience at the Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie premiere on Tuesday.
While attending the event in Melbourne, the 31-year-old cosied up to the film's leading lady Joanna Lumley after greeting her on her arrival.
Within moments of laying eyes on one another, the pair embraced in a tight hug while displaying big smiles for onlookers.
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A class treatment: Actress Joanna Lumley (L) cosied up to Hugh Sheridan (R) on the red carpet at the Melbourne premiere of Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie on Tuesday
After rubbing shoulders with the 70-year-old British star, Hugh took to social media to share a picture from the memorable moment.
He captioned the post: 'Whaaaaaat?'
Later he uploaded another photo of himself at the A-list event, but this time alongside writer and actress Jennifer Saunders.
Up close and personal: Upon laying eyes on one another, the pair embraced a tight hug while displaying big smiles for onlookers
Star-struck: Hugh took to social media to share a picture from the memorable moment
The pair looked to be in deep conversation in the image, as Hugh gave a shout out to his friend Rebel Wilson who has a cameo in the film.
The Australian actor wrote: '@Rebelwilson you should be here'.
Earlier this week, Jennifer revealed Rebel improvised a number of lines for her brief role - some of which had to be cut because they went too far.
Ladies' man: Moments later, Hugh uploaded another photo of himself, this time alongside writer and actress Jennifer Saunders
Reaching out: The Aussie actor gave a shout out to best friend Rebel Wilson, saying 'you should be here'
'She was so filthy, absolutely terrible,' Jennifer told Nine's 60 Minutes on Sunday.
'You'd write lines and then you'd realise she'd mentally discarded those lines and come up with something much funnier. But filthy.'
Jennifer added: 'There were times when we had to say 'not pos' stop now. But that's what I love, I love her.'
Rebel has previously admitted that she begged Jennifer to be considered for a role in the film.
Shes dusted herself off and moved on following the controversy that surrounded another alleged sexting scandal with married TV presenter Vernon Kay.
And Rhian Sugden certainly looked untroubled by the recent furore as she snapped into holiday mode and showed off her assets for a series of busty Instagram snaps.
The 29-year old glamour model took advantage of soaring temperatures on the Mediterranean coast by stripping down to a backless pastel pink swimsuit.
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Hard to miss: Rhian Sugden took advantage of soaring temperatures on the Mediterranean coast by stripping down to a backless pastel pink swimsuit fora series of snaps
Taking to social media, Rhian treated followers to a full length shot in which she strikes a pose on the aft of a yacht as it cruises through waters off the coast of Turkish resort town Kalkan, where she is currently enjoying a summer break.
A second, self-taken shot finds the blonde who is engaged to former Coronation Street star Oliver Mellor offering the camera a trademark pout while showing off her ample cleavage in a pink bikini top.
Rhian has bounced back in the months following a second reported sexting scandal with Kay, who is married to fellow presenter Tess Daly, after they first exchanged flirty messages in 2010.
Busty: A second, self-taken shot finds the blonde offering the camera a trademark pout while showing off her ample cleavage
Speaking about their relationship, Rhian claimed the pair had got back in touch in December, after a break of six years, which felt like an 'old friendship coming back'.
She said the messages were not like the explicit texts they had exchanged in 2010, until it emerged that Vernon had 'stalked' her Instagram and labelled one of her photographs a '10/10'.
However the saga surrounding the sexting scandal continued in June when Rhian was allegedly taken to Manchester's A&E department after telling the doctor she was suffering from chest pains, on Friday.
At the time a source told The Daily Star: 'With all the stress from the death threats and people threatening to harm her family, Rhian has been finding it difficult to cope and it's taking its toll on her.'
The insider added: 'She hasn't been eating properly and is struggling to power on through all the abuse.'
Erin Holland has defended Sonia Kruger after she received a backlash for proposing a ban on Muslim immigration to Australia on the Today show last month.
The 27-year-old told Daily Mail Australia that while she 'doesn't necessarily agree' with the statement, she does not condone how Sonia was treated online.
'She got so much hate online which is really sad because it is probably where a lot of these problems are coming from in the first place,' the model said on Tuesday.
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Standing by her: Erin Holland (L) has defended Sonia Kruger (R) after she received backlash for proposing banning Muslim immigration to Australia on the Today show last month
'Its unfortunate and I wouldnt wish it upon anyone. There is no place for that kind of hatred online.'
Erin defended Sonia, saying the 50-year-old was just 'doing her job' at the time of making the claims.
'I think she was put in a really difficult situation and they did ask her for her opinion, whether or not I agree with (her comments).
'Your opinion is important. Youre on a panel and you are there to give your opinion with facts.
Nasty behaviour: The 27-year-old told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday that while she 'doesn't necessary agree' with the statement, she does not condone how Sonia was treated online
Speaking out: Erin defended Sonia, saying the 50-year-old was 'doing her job' at the time of making the controversial claims
'She did what was asked of her and it didnt end too well unfortunately.'
Erin later addressed the issue of immigration, calling it 'a really, really sensitive topic.'
She added: 'But at least it has brought up conversation in Australia because it is a conversation we need to have'.
Last month, Sonia set off a social media firestorm when she argued there is a correlation between the number of Muslims in a country and the number of terrorist attacks.
Starting the talk: Erin addressed the issue of immigration, saying '(It's) a really, really sensitive topic but...it is a conversation we need to have'
Headline news: Last month, Sonia set off a Twitter storm over her remarks on Muslim migration
The Voice Australia host said she had 'a lot of very good friends' who were Muslims and peace-loving, beautiful people.
'But there are fanatics,' she added. 'Personally, I would like to see it stop now for Australia because I want to feel safe, as all of our citizens do, when we go out to celebrate Australia Day'.
When host Lisa Wilkinson asked her directly whether she wanted the borders totally closed to Muslim migrants, Kruger replied: 'Yes, yes I would'.
They have both returned to the single life in recent weeks, splitting from their respective long-term lovers Lydia Bright and Kate Wright.
But James 'Arg' Argent, 28, and Dan Edgar, 25, seemed to be taking their break-ups in their stride as they moved into their very own Essex bachelor pad on Monday.
The TOWIE hunks beamed down from the balcony of their new home as they sported matching Mr & Mr white towelling robes.
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Lads pad: TOWIE stars James 'Arg' Argent, 28, and Dan Edgar, 25, moved into their very own bachelor pad in Essex on Tuesday, in light of their recent break-ups
Mr & Mr: Sporting matching white robes printed with 'Mr' on the front, the cheeky chappies looked excited at the prospect of their new home
The Essex lads jokingly portrayed the image of a newly wedded couple in their usual cheeky style as they cosied up on the balcony.
Showing off deep golden tans from recent trip to Palma to film The Only Way Is Majorca, Arg and Dan looked completely co-ordinated for the move.
Keeping comfy in the matching gowns, the stars laughed and looked in high spirits as they transferred their belongings into their new domain.
The pair didn't take long to express their excitement openly to their social media followers, too.
Couples who dress together...: Both showing off tans from recent trip to Palma for The Only Way Is Majorca, Arg and Dan co-ordinated completely for the move
The only way is up: The move marks a new chapter in their relationship histories, having decided to live together after breaking up with their respective TOWIE ladies Lydia and Kate
Taking to Instagram, Dan posted a smiley selfie of the two friends, announcing the news simply with the caption: 'We're in!' followed by a house emoji.
Arg was quick to respond in his usual witty style, re-posting the snap on his page and writing of his new housemate: 'CONGRATULATIONS @danedgar You've made the right decision...I hope haha! Do you think it's a good idea guys!? Lol #TOWIE'
The move marks a new chapter in both Arg and Dan's relationship histories, having decided to live together after breaking up with their respective TOWIE girlfriends Lydia Bright and Kate Wright.
Arg split from on/off beau Lydia back in May, when she discovered her man - who has previously battled issues with alcohol and drugs - had allegedly suffered a relapse after checking into rehab.
Single and ready to mingle: Arg split from on/off girlfriend Lydia back in May, when she discovered her man had allegedly suffered a relapse
'We're in': Taking to Instagram, Dan posted a smiley selfie of the two friends, announcing the news simply with the caption 'We're in!' followed by a house emoji
Lydia and Arg dated on and off for years until 2012, before they decided to give things another try in April 2015.
The couple's recent split has been far from amicable however, with the 26-year-old blonde telling Arg that she 'despised' him during a heated row on a beach in Majorca for last month's special episode The Only Way is Majorca.
She said of the break-up: 'For me there is no going back, we have been through a lot over the years. but I reached my limit the evening we broke up.'
Meanwhile Dan and Kate, 24, went their separate ways a few weeks ago, revealing they had split on the inaugural TOWIE episode The Only Way is Majorca.
Trouble in paradise: The couple's recent split has been far from amicable, with 26-year-old Lydia telling Arg that she 'despised' him during a heated row on a beach in Majorca
Speaking to newly-single Lydia Bright, Kate revealed in the opening scenes: 'We went to Mexico and we had the most amazing holiday but... you know, it just felt like we were friends.'
However, the pair then controversially spent the night together later in the episode, making for a confusing twist for both the show and the couple's relationship.
Speaking to friends in Palma, Dan admitted: 'I stayed at Kate's - it's just confused things now. We split up because the spark was gone, then last night the chemistry was there again. When there's feelings involved its different.'
Kate added on the situation: 'I felt like I lost my best friend. I've been thinking about him all day but when I'm not around him it's easy but it's so hard when were all around each other all the time.'
Its complicated: Dan and Kate, 24, broke up just a few weeks ago but re-ignited their flame by spending the night together in Majorca, confusing their feelings towards each other
The birth of a new baby is a time for celebration.
But Eva Mendes has revealed that the same week she welcomed daughter Amada Lee, she also buried her brother.
Talking to Latina magazine, on whose September cover she stars, she explained that the death of Carlo Mendes in April was 'heartbreaking'.
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'It was beyond heartbreaking': Eva Mendes tells Latina magazine that she buried her brother the same week she gave birth to baby Amada
'Losing my brother brought our family closer, and we were already close to begin with,' she explained.
'So to just see everybody be there for one another and show up, I feel so lucky to have them. And then they were there for me when Amada was born.
'We had a funeral service for him and that same week I had the baby. So it was really, really intense and obviously beyond heartbreaking, but also kind of beautiful.
Actor Carlo died from cancer at the age of 53 on April 17, with Eva and her movie star husband Ryan Gosling welcoming Amada just 12 days later.
Cover girl: Eva opened up to the magazine for it's September issue, which she covers
Along with their baby daughter, Eva and Ryan also have a one-year-old, Esmerelda.
And for now, at least, the 42-year-old actress is focusing on parenthood ahead of her career.
The Hitch star tells Latina that it would take something 'really special' to end her hiatus.
'Im not sure, but it would definitely take something really special.
Proud parents: Eva with Ryan Gosling, the father of her two children
'I dont like saying, "take me away," but essentially thats what work does. I think it can be very, very healthy if its something that feels worthwhile.
'Right now I feel very fortunate to be home with my kids. I feel so lucky, and Im just taking advantage of that.'
With her work on hold, Eva's focus is very much on her home life.
Close: Eva posted this picture of her brother, following his death earlier this year
She says her own mother is her inspiration as a parent.
'Everything shes been through, the challenges in her life, she handles everything with such grace and elegance and has a great sense of humor,' she said.
'I have a really strong support system within my family and outside, with other amazing women. We love each other and support each other, and I try to do that as much as possible out in the world.'
Daddy's girl: Ryan with daughter Esmerelda last month
She and Ryan plan to raise their daughters to be bilingual, she tells the magazine.
'We're constantly playing Cuban music. I speak to them in Spanish, and my mom speaks to Esmeralda in Spanish,' she said.
'Well, now she speaks to both of them in Spanish. Any time I have an opportunity to introduce her or themI have to say "them" now, though my newborn just sleeps all the timeto my culture, whether it's through music, or through food, I do. That is a main priority, for sure.'
He has debuted a more rugged appearance in recent weeks, swapping his clean shaven look for a bushy beard.
And it appears MasterChef Australia judge Matt Prestons impressive facial hair is here to stay.
The English food critic showed off his dramatic new look at the Melbourne premiere of Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie on Tuesday.
New look? MasterChef's Matt Preston showed off his bushy beard on the red carpet as he arrived at the Melbourne premiere of Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie on Tuesday
But it wasn't just his striking beard that made the 52-year-old TV personality stand out from the crowd.
Matt also sported one of his signature brightly coloured cravats, which he tucked neatly into his dapper suit.
Matt also opted for a crisp black blazer which he teamed with a matching button-up shirt.
Stepping it up: Matt is known for his unique style and brightly coloured cravats
But the father-of-three's appearance comes as no to surprise to his legion of fans.
He continually pushed the boundaries of fashion in the recent series of MasterChef with his eclectic taste in suits, from lime green to dusty pink.
The journalist admits his savvy sense of style is based on choosing outfits that allow him to stand out.
Leading the way: Matt's impeccable style includes a number of well-cut colourful suits and fancy cravats, many of them handmade by his friend and designer Leona Edmiston
So many to choose from! Matt's eclectic taste in suits ranges from lime green to lilac and everything in-between
I think, for me, its the whole difference between style and fashion; style should be what you want to wear, he told The Daily Telegraph in June.
Matt's impeccable style includes a number of well-cut colourful suits and fancy cravats, many of them handmade by his friend and designer Leona Edmiston.
He also likes to switch up his eye-catching ensembles with mixed and paisley prints, including tartan and pinstripes.
Breaking the internet! On a recent episode, the judge was mocked on social media after he turned up to the MasterChef kitchen wearing a bright pink three-piece suit
Comparisons: One viewer said Matt looked like Grimace of McDonald's fame in a purple suit
Memes: Matt's choice in stylish ensembles has prompted plenty of discussion on Twitter
On a recent episode, the judge was mocked on social media after he turned up to the MasterChef kitchen wearing a bright pink three-piece suit.
Matt even poked fun his own outfit - which featured a natty pocket square, a gold chain and Akubra hat on his Instagram account.
He posted a selfie with the caption: 'I channel how Barney the dinosaur would dress if he ran a Colombian drug cartel.'
They live on opposite sides of the world.
But despite the distance between them, Justine Schofield insists that her romance with US-based TV presenter Matt Doran is just fine.
'It works for us,' the Australian culinary queen told the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.
'It works for us:' Ex-MasterChef contestant Justine Schofield told the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday her long-distance relationship with US-based TV host Matt Doran is going well
The former MasterChef contestant is based in Sydney, where she films her popular cooking show, Everyday Gourmet.
Meanwhile, Matt is over in America, where he hosts the TV series Crime Watch Daily.
The pair reportedly catch up every couple of months, and so far are managing their long-distance relationship well.
But in January, Justine told Adelaide Now about the 'exhausting' travel schedule due to their transcontinental romance.
'I'm exhausted, it's taking a toll:' In January, the culinary queen was singing a different tune when she spoke about her transcontinental romance
Sweet: Justine is based in Sydney where she films her cooking show, while Matt is in Los Angeles where he hosts Crime Watch Daily
'I'm exhausted, it's taking a toll,' she confessed, but said the constant travelling has provided some unexpected benefits.
'I've been back and forth a few times but you know what, it's great to get inspiration from all these places I've been travelling to. The food scene in the US is pretty cool,' the Everyday Gourmet host revealed.
Justine, who rose to fame on MasterChef Australia's debut season in 2009, first traveled to the States to visit her partner last year.
Zhang Li has spent more than 30 years working as a postman in the countryside at the western mountainous area in Henan Province. During the past three decades, the number of handwritten letters packed in his bag has plummeted from 70-80 to two to three pieces, and those letters are usually messed up with the advertising papers inside the mailboxes.
In the past century, most of the handwritten letters were sent between the elderly and the men enrolled in the army, said Zhang, who was in charge of the mail service covering 22 villages. During those years, Zhang would also spend his time reading letters to illiterate seniors.
The decline of the handwritten letter isn't exclusive to rural China.
In a post office in Beijing, the handwritten letters and postcards delivered from mailboxes are no more than 200 much less than the bills and advertisements posted at more than 5,000 in total each day.
Chen Liangjun, an official from the post office administration in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, said that about half of the 2,000 mailboxes in Ningbo are vacant and the rest usually had only two or three letters.
In the end of the 1980s when the cell phones were not so popular, the mailboxes in Ningbo were often crammed with letters and post cards during festive occasions, Chen recalled.
Although the fashion of handwritten letters is losing its charm, the post officers in Ningbo are still required to check each mailbox every day and their routes are overseen by an app installed.
According to the State Post Bureau, the number of mailboxes nationwide has been reduced for three straight years from 2013. There had been a total of 130,000 mailboxes by the end of 2015, 13,000 less than that of a year earlier.
Additionally, the price of mail deliveries, which was 0.8 yuan for a letter weighed within 100 grams inside the city or town and 1.2 yuan out of town have little changed since the price adjustments implemented in 2006.
At the same time, the letter volume from 2013 to 2015 had dropped respectively by 10.4, 11.5 and 18.3 percent.
"The diminishing size of the postal items is exacerbated by unchanged mail prices, the shrinking businesses and the increasing costs of labor, vehicles and management," Chen said.
According to Postal Law, the country should reimburse the post offices for both their ordinary and special services.
Chen said, however, that the funds are far from sufficient. Therefore, the post offices have to launch banking and other spinoff businesses under the preferential policies of the country.
While the decline of the post office services are looming large, business of express deliveries are enjoying a sharp rise.
According to the State Post Bureau, business transactions of the express deliveries has grown by 61.6, 51.9 and 48 percent year on year from 2013 to 2015, and the revenue of the business had increased by 36.6, 41.9 and 35.4 percent at the same time. The revenue of the express delivery last year in total constituted 68.6 percent of the entire post service industry.
Businesses of the privately-owned express deliveries companies like S.F. Express, ZTO and YTO Express are expanding fast as the aggregate revenue last year in the private sector hit 224.6 billion yuan (US$33.86 billion), seven times the size of the total income of the state-owned post offices.
According to the Several Opinions on Promoting the Development of Express Delivery Business issued by the State Council last year, the businesses in the sector are expected to cover each spot of the countryside and create a business size of 50 billion packages in a year with the revenue totaling 800 billion yuan by 2020.
Despite the prevalent express delivery services which may cause the ordinary mail service to die a natural death, people working in the post offices are struggling to maintain the traditional ways of communication.
"Handwritten letters, as a way of traditional communication, will continue to live on," said Chen.
Postmen like Zhang agree that in at least 30 years the traditional letters will still be welcomed and are not supposed to follow in the footsteps of telegrams that have been completely abandoned since 2000 in the country.
He's been trotting around the globe for nearly two months with girlfriend Taylor Swift.
But it looks like Hiddleswift's lovefest is on pause for now as Tom Hiddleston departed Los Angeles where he's recently been staying with the pop princess.
The 35-year-old star was pictured at LAX on Tuesday with two large suitcases after leaving Taylor's home in Beverly Hills.
Going to be gone for long? Tom Hiddleston was spotted at LAX on Tuesday jetting out of town with two big suitcases
Looking casual in a navy sweater and jeans The Night Manager star was stony-faced as he rolled his luggage outside the terminal that houses British Airways.
It certainly appears that the Brit-born actor is jetting off for a long trip but could perhaps just be heading home to the UK for a fresh wardrobe selection.
There was speculation recently that Tom and Taylor were on the rocks due to their sudden lack of public appearances together in recent weeks.
Lovefest on pause: The 35-year-old actor reportedly came from girlfriend Taylor Swift's home where he has recently been staying in recent weeks
When their romance first emerged in June they were photographed numerous times in LA, New York, Nashville, Rhode Island, the UK, Australia, and Italy.
However the duo were pictured holding hands last week during a romantic dinner date in Santa Monica and eyewitnesses also spotted them at The Church Key restaurant in West Hollywood on Saturday.
Last week it emerged that Armani are reportedly no long considering Tom as a contender to succeed Taylor's ex Calvin Harris as their next underwear model.
Working up a sweat: The Night Manager star was spotted leaving a gym in Los Angeles on Monday
Apparently bosses changed their minds because of the actor's 'embarrassing' romance with the Bad Blood star.
A US fashion source is quoted in the Mirror as saying: 'Tom was on the shortlist as they examined who could take over from Calvin.
'Obviously with Tom now being Taylors other half and the Calvin past deal, it would generate huge media coverage and headlines.
Whirlwind romance: The couple were last pictured together in Santa Monica last week during a dinner date
'Armani would hate to be seen as getting PR for their brand by riding on Taylor Swifts coat tails, so Tom will not get the job.'
The source continued: 'While Tom is without doubt one of the sexiest actors of his generation, he may not be the right fit this time.'
A spokesperson for the actor declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Hiddleston's six-part TV series The Night Manager has earned 12 Emmy award nominations, which he is 'thrilled' about.
She had spelled words many of us have never even heard of and rivalled top academics with her knowledge of Florence Nightingale.
All of which was easy-peasy for ten-year-old Rhea, who was last night crowned the brainiest child in Britain.
The real challenge came when she was handed her trophy which seemed to be almost as big as her.
The private schoolgirl from London, whose surname has not been revealed, triumphed in a tense final of Child Genius on Channel 4, which saw her competitive mother intervene to help her win a point over a rival.
Rhea's mother Sonal, whose pushy attitude shocked viewers, successfully claimed a question on Florence Nightingale was too general.
The extra point meant that fellow finalist Stephen, 12, who had been on the same total, was kicked off Rhea to the final head-to-head with nine-year-old Saffy.
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Winner: Rhea grabs her Child Genius trophy as she was crowned the brainiest child in Britain
Controversial: The win was partially overshadowed when Rhea's mother, Sonal (pictured), shocked viewers as she intervened when her daughter missed a point
Appeal: Sonal, pictured talking to an adjudicator, who has put her career on hold as an obstetrician to focus on her daughter's education, successfully objected to a question, securing an extra point and getting a rival kicked off
Anger: Many viewers took to Twitter to condemn the 'pushy' approach Rhea's mother Sonal took
Quizmaster Richard Osman, who adjudicates on the BBC's Pointless game show, said the audience were left gasping as the finalists calculated sums including '14 times 3, minus 16, times 3, divided by 2, plus 44', and answered questions such as which nationality was composer Gustav Holst (English).
Rhea, who wants to go to Oxford or Cambridge to train to be a doctor, clinched the coveted trophy after spelling polydactylous (meaning having many digits) and thelytokous (which means producing only females).
En route to the final round she had to answer a series of fiendish questions on her specialist subject the influence of Miss Nightingale on military and domestic healthcare reform from 1853 to 1914.
But controversy overshadowed events when Rhea's mother, who has shocked viewers of the series with her pushy attitude, intervened when her daughter missed a point.
Following the specialist subject round, Sonal, who has put her career on hold as an obstetrician to focus on her daughter's education, successfully objected to a question.
Appeal: Independent adjudicator Olivia van der Werff was asked to intervene by the mother and Rhea's answer on a Florence Nightingale question was eventually accepted
Discussions: The decision to award Rhea an extra point meant she avoided a tie-break with fellow finalist Stephen, 12, and progressed to the head-to-head with nine-year-old Saffy
Sonal, who has put her career on hold as an obstetrician to focus on her daughter's education, had already astonished viewers during the series with her pushy attitude and extreme competitiveness
Independent adjudicator Olivia van der Werff agreed it had been too general and accepted Rhea's answer of Dr Duncan Menzies to the question, 'To which medical officer did Florence Nightingale report to in the Crimea?'
The decision to award Rhea an extra point meant she avoided a tie-break with fellow finalist Stephen, 12, and progressed to the head-to-head with nine-year-old Saffy.
The state school pupil from Surrey, who reads 40 books a month, had topped the leader board with her specialism on the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, monetary policy and tax reform, 1979-1990. In the final showdown, the two girls consistently matched one another's answers, and the camera frequently showed their steely glances across to each other between questions.
Yet Rhea emerged victorious when, at nine points apiece, she correctly spelled eleemosynary, another word for charitable.
Twitter was inundated with comments about the way Rhea's mother handled the situation
THE QUESTIONS RHEA MASTERED What was the name of the artist who painted Harmony in Red? (Answer: Henri Matisse) In the navigational term GPS, what does the letter P stand for? (Answer: Positioning) In which year of the 18th century was America's Declaration of Independence? (Answer: 1776) The conflict between Britain and Spain which began in October 1739 was the so-called War of Jenkin's ___? (Answer: Ear) Three hydrogen atoms and one nitrogen atom make up one molecule of what? (Answer: Ammonia) Which British Prime Minister was a neighbour of the Nightingale family? (Answer: Lord Palmerston) Who, in a letter to the Duke of Cambridge, famously said of Nightingale 'I wish we had her in the war office'? (Answer: Queen Victoria) Advertisement
Rivals: Rhea got her hands on the coveted trophy having spelt the words eleemosynary, polydactylous, anachronism and thelytokous to beat contenders Stephen and Georgia (pictured)
Victory: En route to the final having beaten Jonathan (pictured) along the way, she had to answer a series of fiendish questions on her specialist subject, which covered the influence of Miss Nightingale on military and domestic healthcare reform from 1853 to 1914
Rhea even beat state school pupil Serafina (pictured) from Surrey, who reads 40 books a month, had topped the leader board with her specialism on 'the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, monetary policy and tax reform, 1979-1990'
Following her victory, Rhea, who moved with her family from the US six years ago, revealed the intense preparation she and her parents put into the competition when saying: 'It has really been worth getting up early, going to sleep late, studying. It just feels really, really great.'
Her parents were filmed telling her that winning is paramount and that she can only go to Oxford or Cambridge and the talented youngster seems to share their ambitions.
In a previous episode, she said: 'I do think I could be the next Albert Einstein.' Last night she said: 'I don't want to be an ordinary kid. I think it is really cool to be a gifted child.'
Ten-year-old Rhea (pictured) has been officially crowned the brightest child in Britain, after triumphing in a tense final of Child Genius
The climax to the Channel 4 series was not without controversy as the competition adjudicators had to get involved when Rhea's mother intervened
He's been enjoying a luxurious holiday in New Zealand with his girlfriend Anna Heinrich this week.
But Tim Robards was flying solo when he attended the launch of Versace's new men's fragrance in Sydney on Tuesday night.
The outing comes just hours after the 33-year-old was seen enjoying a private helicopter ride over the snowy mountains of Queenstown.
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Flying solo: Tim Robards stepped out at a Versace fragrance launch in Sydney on Tuesday night, just hours after returning home from his New Zealand holiday
The former Bachelor star swapped his ski boots for a dapper grey suit, which he teamed with a pastel lilac shirt.
His red carpet get-up was completed with a silk pocket square and a pair of cognac dress shoes.
Meanwhile, his salt-and-pepper locks were slicked back and styled with a side part.
Dapper: The 33-year-old looked suave in a grey suit, paired with cognac dress shoes and a pastel shirt
The buff star appeared right at home as he smiled and posed for the cameras, although he was unaware of visible stains on his suit jacket.
Earlier in the day, the fitness enthusiast shared a glimpse of his adventure-filled getaway with Anna as the couple took a horse-back ride.
'Had a great conversation today about agro-diversity and local viticulture with my riding buddy...' Tim wrote alongside the postcard-worthy snap.
Hours earlier: Before dressing up for the red carpet event, Tim was enjoying the last hours of his luxury holiday with a private helicopter ride over Queenstown
Two days earlier, Tim appeared on Anna's social media in a photo of the enamoured duo enjoying a glass of wine at their hotel's bar.
While the location appeared to be ripe for an impending engagement between the couple, who have been dating for more than three years since meeting on The Bachelor, a ring doesn't seem to be on the cards any time soon.
Anna, 29, recently confirmed that the pair are in no rush to tie the knot, telling Be: 'Every relationship is different and for us we have just been getting to know each other every day'.
Adventurous couple: Tim and his girlfriend Anna Heinrich were seen enjoying a ride on horse backs earlier in the day
Last October, Tim revealed he did not want to propose on holiday when it's most expected and explained he hoped to be able to surprise his girlfriend.
Chatting on The Daily Edition, the reality TV star appeared nervous as he told Sally Obermeder and Tom Williams on the topic of marriage: 'we're definitely getting closer'.
'I've gotta make something that's very left of centre, where she's not expecting it,' he said.
Javi Marroquin is happy to be home after serving six months in the United States Air Force in Qatar.
The Teen Mom 2 star, 23, shared his heartwarming return to his son Lincoln, two, and stepson Isaac, six, via Instagram on Monday.
And his estranged wife Kailyn Lowry, 24, didn't hold back either when she posted the same photo with a sweet 'Welcome back!' message.
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A soldier's homecoming: Teen Mom 2's Javi Marroquin got a warm welcome from son Lincoln, two, and stepson Isaac, six, after deployment from the U.S. Air Force in Qatar
Javi was understandably emotional in the picture that showed him hugging Isaac with one arm and reaching out to his younger boy with the other.
Even the family dog got involved in the homecoming, strolling over to Javi for a loving headlock as an MTV camera man captured the moment for, one would presume, a future episode.
'My world in one picture,' Javi wrote in the caption.
Friendly exes: Kailyn Lowry, pictured with Javi and Isaac in 2015, posted a sweet 'Welcome home' message on Tuesday even though the couple split earlier this year
Daddy's boys: Javi clearly adores Lincoln and Isaac, who is Kailyn's son with her ex and fellow Teen Mom 2 cast mate Jo Rivera
Isaac brandished a 'Welcome Home' sign that he'd crafted with an assortment of crayons while Lincoln just smiled and reached out to his dad with both arms outstretched.
Kailyn revealed in March that she was divorcing Javi, who was stationed overseas in the Arab country at the time.
The couple share one son, Lincoln, and Isaac is Kailyn's son with her ex and fellow Teen Mom 2 cast mate Jo Rivera.
Unconventional family: Kailyn (pictured with Javi and sons in 2015) said in a recent Teen Mom 2 reunion show that Isaac calls Javi 'Dad'
They may not be blood-related, but Javi clearly adores Isaac.
'Thats a huge reason why I think were still together,' Kailyn said in the Teen Mom 2 reunion show - which aired in June three months after the split.
'Because Isaac, I mean, he calls Javi "dad." So yeah, that plays a big factor. I think about my mom... I probably had about eight stepdads as a kid.'
Kailyn appeared to be just as relieved as her boys that Javi was home safely.
She posted Javi's photo on Instagram with the caption: 'Welcome back! @javim9.'
The couple wed in 2012.
Massive fires rage in California
Thousands of firefighters continued to battle huge wildfires in California on Monday, where a prolonged drought has left vegetation tinder-dry.
At least one person has died in the blazes that have forced thousands of people to flee their homes.
Since July 22, California has been threatened by blazes like the massive Soberanes fire which has charred 40,618 acres (16,437 hectares) north of Big Sur, one of the region's most popular tourist draws with its sharp cliffs rising above the Pacific Ocean.
Flames blown by strong winds close in on homes at the Sand Fire on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California David McNew (AFP/File)
Authorities have sent almost 5,300 people to fight the wildfire, which so far has been just 18 percent contained, according to data from the state CalFire agency.
The fire has destroyed 57 homes, and is threatening another 2,000 structures which has prompted authorities to evacuate thousands of residents.
The driver of a bulldozer died last week while taking part in the fire battle.
Another wildfire, the Goose fire, has been burning since Saturday in Fresno county. It now has blackened 1,798 acres and is just five percent contained.
CalFire said high temperatures were making it rough going for the some 1,300 firefighters battling that blaze.
But it's been good news for the Sand fire, in Santa Clarita just north of Los Angeles.
It scorched more than 41,000 acres square miles and forced more than 20,000 residents to flee before being brought under control.
The outlook for fires in the most populous US state is not promising for now.
The National Interagency Fire Center said Monday that "California will continue to see elevated potential due to long-term dryness. This will occasionally be amplified through the fall and early winter as offshore flow events become more common."
Dry conditions have killed 65 million trees which increases the fire risk significantly, it added.
US billionaire Buffett challenges Trump to reveal tax returns
US billionaire Warren Buffett challenged Donald Trump Monday to release his tax returns, a feat which the Republican presidential candidate has so far resisted.
Trump has said he won't release the documents because he is under audit, which Buffett -- one of the world's richest men -- suggested is a weak excuse.
"Now I've got news for him, I'm under audit too," Buffett said, speaking at a Hillary Clinton rally in Nebraska. "You're only afraid if you got something to be afraid about."
Renowned investor Warren Buffett has called on US presidental candidate Donald Trump to come clean and release his tax returns Yuri Gripas (AFP/File)
"He's afraid because of you," Buffett told the attendees.
Buffett suggested he and Trump meet "any place, any time" before election day to publicly go over their tax records together.
The business magnate also sharply criticized Trump for a recent dispute with the parents of a slain Muslim American soldier.
Pakistani immigrant Khizr Khan galvanized the Democratic National Convention with a tribute to his dead son in which he rebuked the Republican nominee for having "sacrificed nothing" for the country.
In an interview aired on ABC Sunday, Trump insisted he had, in fact, made "a lot of sacrifices" for the United States.
Buffett declared otherwise: "Donald Trump and I haven't sacrificed anything," he said, referencing Trump's remark.
"How in the world can you stand up to a couple of parents who have lost a son and talk about sacrificing because you were building a bunch of buildings?"
Airport chaos after typhoon Nida hits Hong Kong
Hordes of angry passengers stranded after Typhoon Nida pummelled Hong Kong crowded the airport on Tuesday, desperately seeking flights as the city emerges from lockdown while the storm swept across southern China.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled, schools and shops shut and the stock market closed for the day as the storm brought violent winds and torrential showers.
Gusts of 151 kilometres (93 miles) per hour whipped the city and rain lashed down during the night, leaving three people injured and a trail of fallen trees and torn-down scaffolding.
Workers attempt to secure bamboo scaffolding that was blown over in Hong Kong during a "T8" storm signal raised for Typhoon Nida Anthony Wallace (AFP)
The storm triggered a Typhoon 8 signal -- the third-strongest category -- which was downgraded Tuesday as winds eased and the typhoon passed onto mainland China.
But as the city's deserted streets began to come to life as buses and train services resumed, Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok airport was inundated with stranded passengers.
An airport authority spokesman told AFP only 500 flights would run between 6:00 am and midnight local time on Tuesday (2200 GMT on Monday to 1600 GMT). On a normal day, the airport would handle 1,100 flights.
More than 150 flights were cancelled Monday as Nida approached, leaving stranded passengers to sleep on the floor in the departure hall.
Hong Kong's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific and its subsidiary Dragonair cancelled all of their flights in and out of Hong Kong for 16 hours, from 10:00 pm Monday until 2:00 pm Tuesday.
But the backlog due to the peak summer period is such that Cathay has urged passengers booked on flights between Tuesday night and Wednesday to postpone or cancel "non-essential travel".
- 'Don't go out to play!' -
"Services remain strained...it has been a significant challenge as many flights are already operating at capacity," the airline said in a statement, apologising to its customers.
Security guards prevented passengers without flights from reaching check-in desks Tuesday, redirecting them to another part of the airport to seek help from staff.
Some complained that airline staff had not given them food vouchers or emergency accommodation despite lengthy waits.
"The airline was giving inconsistent information. There was no announcement whatsoever about accommodation, food or the weather situation. It's chaotic," one passenger told local channel TVB.
Another passenger from the Philippines told AFP he had not been provided with food or accommodation, despite being at the airport since 7:00 pm Monday. His flight has been rescheduled for 10:00 pm Tuesday.
After sweeping past Hong Kong, Nida made landfall early Tuesday in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, with winds still blowing at up to 151 kilometres per hour.
It was the strongest typhoon to hit the Pearl River delta in 30 years, the China News Service cited experts as saying.
Shenzhen issued a red alert over rain -- the highest in a four-tiered warning system - after the downpours totalled more than 80 millimetres, China's meteorological bureau said.
The city's port and the Shenzhen Bay Bridge connecting the mainland to Hong Kong were temporarily closed, CCTV said, with around 140 flights cancelled at its airport.
In neighbouring Zhuhai, rainstorm warnings were upgraded to orange, the second-highest alert level, on Tuesday. Work was cancelled, scenic spots closed and city bus services stopped, the Guangzhou Daily said.
A few people were still taking selfies on the oceanside boardwalk, prompting the provincial meteorological bureau to post on social media: "Warning once again that the wind is strong and the waves high by the seaside -- don't go out to the beach to play!"
Nida brought strong winds and torrential rains to the northern Philippines over the weekend, while southern China has already been hard-hit by storms this summer.
Super Typhoon Nepartak left at least 69 dead in July in the mainland's eastern province of Fujian -- despite being downgraded to a tropical storm.
Typhoon Nida
Fallen trees pictured in the aftermath of Typhoon Nida in Shenzhen, China's Guangdong province
Hundreds of flights were axed after Typhoon Nida swept past Hong Kong late Monday evening Anthony Wallace (AFP)
Kerry calls on Russia, Assad to "restrain" from offensive strikes
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday urged Russia to "restrain" itself and the government in Syria as fierce fighting there continues on the day he had hoped political transition could start.
"It is critical, obviously, that Russia restrain both itself and the Assad regime from conducting offensive operations, just as it is our responsibility to get the opposition to refrain from engaging in those operations," he told journalists.
Kerry said the government's attacks had prevented the warring parties from meeting for negotiations on Monday, the target date set for the regime and opposition forces to agree on the framework of a political transition.
US Secretary of State John Kerry called on Russia and the Syrian government to practice restraint and refrain from launching offensive operations Saul Loeb (AFP)
"The target date was set with the agreement that the parties were going to be able to go to the talks and begin immediately to negotiate," he said.
"But because of the continued offensive operations of the Assad regime, the opposition found it impossible to sit in Geneva and actually negotiate without the cessation of hostilities."
President Bashar al-Assad's forces have surrounded rebel-held districts in the city of Aleppo, one of the main front lines in the conflict ravaging the country since 2011.
Aleppo's southern edges have been ravaged by intense fighting in recent days as rebels seek to ease the government siege and cut off the regime's own access route into the rest of the northern province.
Russia and the United States are nominally co-chairs of an international effort to bring Assad's regime to the negotiating table with armed opposition groups.
Hopes for the existing peace process rest on a UN-backed blueprint sketched out by the 22-country International Syria Support Group.
Under the roadmap, signed by both Syria's ally Iran and Assad's pro-rebel foe Saudi Arabia, a nationwide ceasefire would precede Geneva-based talks on "political transition."
The plan, endorsed by the UN in December, calls for the creation of a transitional body that should have taken place on August 1, followed by a new constitution and elections by mid-2017.
"Almost all of the time, from the moment of the announcement of the target date until today, has been consumed by trying to get a cessation of hostilities in place that is meaningful," Kerry said, implicitly acknowledging the failure to meet the roadmap so far.
"These are important days to determine whether or not Russia and the Assad regime are going to live up to the UN, live up to the cycle, or not," Kerry said. "And the evidence thus far is very, very troubling to everybody."
Restoring medieval Tibetan shrines in Nepal's Himalayas
Deep in the heart of a medieval monastery in Nepal's remote Upper Mustang region, the battle to restore sacred murals and preserve traditional Tibetan Buddhist culture is in full swing.
Tsewang Jigme is among the artists toiling to safeguard the unique cultural heritage of this former Buddhist kingdom high on the Tibetan plateau, which escaped the ravages of the Cultural Revolution in neighbouring China.
"These murals are irreplaceable... I feel nervous every time I touch them, I know I need to work very carefully so as not to do any harm to them," the 32-year-old painter told AFP.
Artist Tsewang Jigme is battling to restore sacred murals and preserve traditional Tibetan Buddhist culture in Nepal's remote Upper Mustang region Prakash Mathema (AFP)
Upper Mustang only opened to outsiders in 1992 and its murals, scriptures and cave paintings provide a rare window into early Buddhism.
The region's Lo Gekar monastery was established by the founder of Tibetan Buddhism and predates the oldest temple complex built in Tibet, which was severely damaged in the 1960s during the Cultural Revolution.
But wind and rain eroded the mud walls of monuments and rotted wooden ceiling beams, while smoke from ceremonial butter lamps turned luminous frescos black.
- 'Irreplaceable' -
A decade ago, two chortens -- Buddhist shrines believed to protect communities from misfortune -- in the village of Ghemi were close to collapse.
One was in such a poor state that children were using it as a playground and had broken interior painted slate panels.
"The shrine was already in such bad shape, the children had no idea that it was special and deserved respect," said Raju Bista, treasurer of the local non-profit Lo Gyalpo Jigme Foundation.
In 2008, the foundation, which is headed by the former king of Upper Mustang, received nearly $23,000 in US government funding to restore monuments, including Ghemi's chortens.
"The rich cultural heritage here is irreplaceable and the monuments are made of mud, of paint, of wood and can easily fade away and frankly be gone forever," said US ambassador to Nepal, Alaina B. Teplitz.
"I think that would be a loss for the people of Nepal but (also) for the world at large," she told AFP.
The two-year-long restoration involved more than 100 workers and craftsmen, who cleaned the monuments, rebuilt the walls, replaced rotting timber beams and repaired the carvings.
When a massive earthquake struck Nepal in April 2015, killing nearly 9,000 nationwide and destroying around half a million homes, Ghemi was unscathed, prompting devout villagers to say that the restored shrines had protected them.
Other monuments fared less well. Jampa Lhakhang, a 15th-century monastery famous for having the world's largest collection of mandalas (Buddhist cosmic designs) painted on its walls, was severely damaged.
The earthquake weakened many medieval structures in Upper Mustang's walled capital of Lo Manthang, including the monastery and the former king's five-storey palace.
It also ruptured the main drainage system, allowing water to penetrate monastery walls and raising the risk of mould.
- Damaged by quake -
The quake caused layers of plaster to separate and crack into pieces at the Jampa Lhakhang, where shards of 500-year-old frescos still litter the floors.
The proposed restoration work will shore up the structure by injecting plaster and glue into the walls and will be overseen by the American Himalayan Foundation, which has worked in the region since 1998.
The murals will then be cleaned and retouched, a practice frowned on by some western conservationists.
The local Loba community, however, believe it is better to pray to undamaged images of the Buddha, and see it as their duty to keep them in good repair.
That means artists like Jigme, who has spent years working to preserve Upper Mustang's murals, play a critical role.
It is a painstaking process that involves grinding gemstones like lapis lazuli and malachite into a fine powder that is mixed with water and animal glue to create pigments.
"Compared to Tibet, where so much was destroyed, we have been very lucky," Jigme said, recalling his visits to a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in China's Sichuan province a decade ago.
Jigme was part of a team working to restore murals covered by thick layers of mud, put there by villagers to keep the paintings safe during a failed 1959 uprising in the Tibetan capital Lhasa.
"It took a long time to remove the mud but slowly the face of god revealed itself... and all the old villagers watching us began to cry," he said.
"They did whatever they could to save those paintings... now we have to do whatever we can to protect our heritage."
Upper Mustang only opened to outsiders in 1992 and its murals, scriptures and cave paintings provide a rare window into early Buddhism Prakash Mathema (AFP)
Nepalese artists restore sacred murals in a monastry in Lo Manthang in Upper Mustang Prakash Mathema (AFP)
Gyalpo Jigme Foundation treasurer Raju Bista poses in Lo Manthang in Upper Mustang Prakash Mathema (AFP)
Suspended jail sentence for China protester
A Chinese court on Tuesday handed a rights activist a three year suspended jail sentence for organising street demonstrations, state media said, the latest conviction in a sweeping crackdown on dissent.
Zhai Yanmin was convicted of "subverting state power" for acts including waving banners and shouting slogans in four protests since 2014, the official Xinhua news agency cited a court in the northern city of Tianjin as saying.
Zhai was held more than a year ago in a sweeping crackdown which saw more than 200 lawyers who had taken on civil rights cases considered sensitive by China's ruling Communist Party and activists held for questioning.
China's President Xi Jinping has overseen a tightening of controls on civil society since assuming power in 2012, closing avenues for legal activism Greg Baker (AFP/File)
About a dozen remain under arrest on "state subversion" charges. Zhai, who was unemployed, was the first of the group to be convicted, with further trials expected this week.
China's President Xi Jinping has overseen a tightening of controls on civil society since assuming power in 2012, closing avenues for legal activism which emerged in recent years.
The court ruled that "though illegal and provocative assemblies in public places" Zhai had "attacked the national legal system", Xinhua said.
Together with several human rights lawyers he had "plotted to overthrow state power, adopting a systematic style of government-overthrowing thought", it added.
Evidence presented at the trial, which apparently lasted only a few hours, included banners, books and "audio and video recordings", Xinhua said, without giving their provenance.
Zhai's wife Li Ermin was put under house arrest early Tuesday and could not attend the trial, a close friend told AFP.
Police surrounded the courthouse in Tianjin for the verdict, turning away foreign media hoping to report on the case.
In an unusual move, four Hong Kong media outlets were permitted inside, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper said.
The sentence, relatively lenient by the standards of Chinese dissident prosecutions, came after Zhai "admitted" to prosecutors' accusations in court, Xinhua said.
He also provided testimony implicating prominent human rights lawyers including Zhou Shifeng and Li Heping in state subversion, Xinhua said.
Zhou -- the director of the Fengrui law firm at the centre of the crackdown last July -- will also go on trial on subversion charges this week, the SCMP said.
Another prominent Fengrui attorney, Wang Yu, who was detained over a year ago, has been released on bail, a Hong Kong TV channel said Monday, as it showed her praising her jailers.
It was not clear whether Zhai had been released following the verdict. Authorities in Tianjin could not be reached for comment.
Flash
Government of Malaysia, Australia and China announced on Friday that search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 would be suspended upon completion of the current search area, but promised to resume search should new evidence emerge.
The announcement was made following a tripartite meeting attended by transport ministers of the three countries in Malaysia. Despite the discovery to some debris, a joint search effort has not yet found the main body of the aircraft in the south Indian Ocean, where it has presumably ended its journey.
In a joint communique, the three ministers said none of the debris had provided information that positively identified the precise location of the aircraft.
With less than 10,000 square kilometers out of the 120,000 square kilometer high priority search area remaining to be searched, the ministers acknowledged that "the likelihood of finding the aircraft is fading."
"Ministers agreed that should the aircraft not be located in the current search area, and in the absence of credible new evidence leading to the identification of a specific location of the aircraft, the search would not end, but be suspended upon completion of the 120,000 square kilometer search area, " according to the joint communique.
But officials said the three governments committed to find the aircraft, stressing that "suspension does not mean the termination of the search."
"Should credible new information emerge which can be used to identify the specific location of the aircraft, consideration will be given in determining next step."
Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, most of them being Chinese nationals.
Japan warns China over territorial aggression
Beijing risks triggering unintended conflict with Asian rivals through its aggressive stance in maritime disputes, Japan warned Tuesday in an annual security assessment.
China's sweeping claims over the strategic South China Sea, where it has built a series of artificial islands capable of supporting military operations despite overlapping claims from other nations, have stoked international alarm.
The region's superpower "continues to act in an assertive manner" and its actions "include dangerous acts that could cause unintended consequences," Tokyo said in a defence white paper.
Chinese fighter jets flew across the Miyako Strait yesterday in what was perceived by the Japanese as a show of aggressive intent FILE PHOTO
Beijing is under pressure to respect a UN-backed tribunal's finding last month that there is no legal basis for its ambitions over the resource-rich South China Sea where the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and others also lay claims.
The white paper said China was "poised to fulfill its unilateral demands without compromise" including efforts "to turn these coercive changes to the status quo into a fait accompli".
And it again called on Beijing to abide by the ruling of the tribunal, which China has denounced as a fraud.
Japan also expressed concern over increased activity in the East China Sea, where the two countries have competing claims over a group of small uninhabited islets called the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.
"Recently, China has been intensifying activities near the Senkaku Islands, such as its military aircraft flying southward closer to the islands," it said.
In the year to March 2016, Japan's air force scrambled jets 571 times against Chinese planes flying near Japanese air space, an increase of 107 from the previous year, it added.
In June Japan accused China of sending a spy ship into its territorial waters as Tokyo conducted a joint exercise with the United States and India.
And last month the two countries were at loggerheads over accusations Japanese warplanes locked their fire control radar onto Chinese aircraft.
Beijing sparked alarm after it unilaterally established an air defence identification zone in the East China Sea in 2013, demanding all aircraft submit flight plans when traversing the zone which covers islands disputed with Tokyo and also claimed by Taipei.
US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said in February that China's military presence in the South China Sea was increasing the risk of "miscalculation or conflict" between regional countries.
A US warship in May sailed close to a disputed reef Beijing has built up into an artificial island, prompting China to express "dissatisfaction and opposition".
Japan's white paper also highlighted concerns over North Koreas nuclear programme, saying it was possible it has "achieved the miniaturisation of nuclear weapons and has developed nuclear warheads".
Since carrying out a fourth nuclear test in January, North Korea has claimed it miniaturised a nuclear warhead to fit on a missile and successfully tested an engine designed for an inter-continental ballistic missile that could reach the US mainland.
South Korea's Park gets personal in US missile system row
President Park Geun-Hye on Tuesday evoked memories of her parents' assassination as she hit back at opposition to the planned deployment of an advanced US anti-missile system in South Korea.
The defence ministry announced last month that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system, or THAAD, will be installed in Seongju -- a rural county about 200 kilometres (135 miles) southeast of Seoul -- by the end of next year.
The decision was predicated on the growing threat posed by North Korea's advancing nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programme.
Thousands of South Korean residents hold up banners reading "We absolutely oppose THAAD deployment" during a July rally YONHAP (YONHAP/AFP/File)
Protesting Seongju residents have alleged that the system's powerful radar poses health and environmental hazards, while opposition lawmakers have been less than supportive of the move.
At a cabinet meeting Park voiced frustration at the objections to what she insisted was an "unchangeable" decision to deploy the system.
"If we cannot take basic defensive steps like deploying THAAD, how can we protect the country and the people?" she said in remarks posted on her official website.
"I have lost my parents in the most excruciatingly painful way. My only remaining calling is to safeguard the country and people from various threats," she added.
Park's father, the former president and military strongman Park Chung-Hee, was shot dead by his own intelligence chief in 1979.
Her mother was killed in 1974 during an earlier assassination attempt on her father by a North Korean sympathiser.
Park Geun-Hye never married or had children and once proclaimed herself wedded to the nation and its welfare.
While promising to listen to the complaints of the Seongju residents, the president warned against listening to "strange and groundless rumours rather than scientific evidence" about the THAAD deployment.
"I ask the political circle to gather their wisdom and efforts to prevent internal division and conflict," she added.
Tensions on the divided Korean peninsula have been running high since Pyongyang carried out its fourth nuclear test in January, followed by a series of ballistic missile tests.
North Korea has threatened to take "physical action" against the THAAD deployment, saying any South Korean ports and airfields hosting US military "hardware" would become a target.
Atheists urge Australians 'don't be Jedi' for census
Atheists are urging Australians not to describe themselves as "Jedi" in the upcoming census, warning that doing so in homage to "Star Wars" makes the country appear more religious than it really is.
Ahead of the August 9 five-year census, the Atheist Foundation of Australia has requested citizens mark themselves down as having "no religion" if they do not consider themselves tied to a faith.
"If old religious men in robes do not represent you... don't mark yourself as 'Jedi'," says a campaign poster featuring Yoda and two other Jedi masters.
Jedi numbers dropped in the 2006 Australian census to 58,053 but bounced back five years later to 64,390 Bill Wechter (AFP/File)
"'Jedi' and other joke religions are not placed in the 'No Religion' category but in 'Not Defined'. This makes Australia seem more religious than it really is."
Foundation president Kylie Sturgess said she was encouraging people "to be counted as what they are".
"Our attitude is, well here's an opportunity to have a say on the census; pop down what you are," she told AFP.
"Maybe 'no religion' suits you, maybe you are someone who has drifted away from the church.
"But unfortunately 'Jedi' is just not an option on the census."
The joke arose years ago when an email campaign wrongly claimed that if 8,000 people put themselves down as Jedi it would have to be officially recognised as a religion.
At the 2001 Australian census, more than 70,500 people listed their faith as "Jedi knight" or something similar, which would indicate the country had nearly as many believers in the "Force" as it had members of the Salvation Army.
"Whether or not people took the claim seriously, it was the start of a reporting phenomenon that gained speed internationally," the Australian Bureau of Statistics said in 2013, adding that New Zealand, Canada, England and Wales subsequently reported large Jedi contingents.
Jedi numbers dropped in the 2006 Australian census to 58,053 but bounced back five years later to 64,390.
Sturgess admits that she has put down Jedi as a "bit of a laugh" in the past.
"But the fact is that the ABS just doesn't count it, they consider it 'not defined'," she said, adding "the joke is kinda getting a bit old".
Australian statisticians could instead follow Britain's example.
In the 2001 England and Wales census, 390,000 people, or 0.7 percent of the population, entered their religion as "Jedi" but they were included among the atheists.
Michael Douglas's son leaves prison after 7 years: media
The eldest son of actor Michael Douglas has been released from prison after serving seven years for drug trafficking, and is now in a halfway house in New York, US media reported on Monday.
Cameron Douglas, 37, was sentenced in 2010 to five years in prison for possession and sale of methamphetamine. His sentence was extended by two years in solitary confinement after he admitted smuggling drugs into the prison.
Cameron, Michael Douglas's son with his first wife Diandra Luker, was originally set to be released in 2018 but is currently living at a rehabilitation center in New York, EOnline and ABC News reported.
The Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas visited his son in prison regularly, who was released after serving seven years for drug trafficking Fabrice Coffrini (AFP/File)
Cameron Douglas now plans to write a tell-all book describing his life as heir to one of the most respected Hollywood dynasties and how drugs led him to prison, according to the New York Post's gossip section "Page Six."
The Oscar-winning actor visited his son in prison regularly. He criticized the US penal system when accepting an Emmy Award for playing the role of the pianist Liberace in the TV movie "Behind the Candelabra" in 2013.
"At first I was certainly disappointed with my son, but Ive reached a point now where Im disappointed with the system," he said. "If you happen to have a slip, they punish you. In my sons case, he has spent almost two years in solitary confinement."
Libyan unity forces fight IS in Sirte
Libyan pro-government forces battled to retake territory in the Islamic State group stronghold Sirte on Wednesday, but faced fierce resistance from jihadist snipers and mines.
Fighters allied to Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), supported by US air strikes, are trying to retake the coastal city -- hometown of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi -- from IS which has controlled it since June 2015.
The loss of Sirte would be a major blow to the jihadist group, which has faced a series of setbacks in Syria and Iraq.
Smoke billows from buildings after the air force from the pro-government forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Unity (GNA) fired rockets targeting Islamic State group positions in Sirte, in July 2016 Mahmud Turkia (AFP/File)
"Our forces... are trying to strengthen their advance with the support of ongoing American air strikes that have given momentum to the military operation," said Reda Issa, a spokesman for forces loyal to Libya's unity government.
American warplanes carried out seven strikes against IS positions in Sirte on Monday and Tuesday at the GNA's request, but Issa did not say whether further strikes took place on Wednesday.
GNA forces have been battling to oust jihadists -- who seized control of the town in the chaos following the fall of Kadhafi -- since May 12. They entered the city on June 9 and have so far retaken the city's port, international airport, an air base and a hospital.
But their advance slowed as IS hit back with sniper fire, car bombs and suicide attacks.
"There are targets that are hard to hit because they are among the houses," said Issa.
"American air strikes, which are very accurate, will help to destroy those targets," he added.
- US strikes show 'contempt' -
The country's rival government based in the east condemned the US air strikes, slamming them as a political move by the GNA to sure up their hold on power.
A spokesman for forced linked to the Tobruk parliament Ahmed al-Mesmari slammed the US support as "political attempt by (GNA head Fayez) Serraj to achieve political gains".
Two rival governments are competing for authority in Libya -- the GNA, based in Tripoli, recognised by the international community, and the elected House of Representatives in the eastern city of Tobruk, which has refused to endorse the unity government.
On Tuesday the Tobruk parliament summoned the Tunis-based US ambassador to protest, saying it expected a written or verbal response if he could not attend in person.
Dar al-Ifta, the highest religious authority in the country, which does not recognise the GNA, also condemned the US air strikes against IS.
It said the raids showed "contempt for the many sacrifices of the martyrs" and were a violation of Libya's sovereignty.
The Tobruk administration faces its own fight with jihadists.
For two years, Libya's second city Benghazi has been the scene of daily clashes between the forces of General Khalifa Haftar, who is aligned with the Tobruk-based authorities, and a militia alliance known as the Revolutionary Shura Council.
On Tuesday evening, 23 fighters allied with the House of Representatives were killed in a suicide attack in Benghazi, a medical source in the eastern city told AFP.
- 'Support to limit losses' -
US President Barack Obama defended the air campaign on Tuesday, saying defeating the jihadists there was in America's national interest.
Obama has said that American air strikes serve the national security interests of the US and its European allies.
Washington has been carrying out air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq since 2014, with the aim of "destroying" the group, which has carried out atrocities throughout the areas it controls.
Washington has launched several strikes against IS in Libya in recent months. In November US bombing in the eastern city of Derna killed a jihadist who Washington said was the most senior IS commander in Libya.
The fight for Sirte has taken its toll on GNA forces. More than 300 have been killed and 1,500 wounded, according to medical sources in Misrata, 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of Tripoli, where the GNA's command centre is located.
A spokesman for the GNA forces told AFP: "We asked for (US) support to limit our losses".
"We have had more than 100 amputations, numerous clinical deaths and gravely wounded," Mohamad Ghassri said.
The GNA decided to seek help from the US air force instead of buying intelligent weapons for its own warplanes because of the UN arms embargo on Libya since 2011, Ghassri said.
Italy's defence minister Roberta Pinotti said Wednesday that Rome was "positively" considering a request from the US to use its airbases and airspace for strikes in Libya to boost the fight against IS.
US launches air raids against Islamic State group in Libya
Fighters from the Libyan unity government entered the coastal city of Sirte on June 9 Mahmud Turkia (AFP/File)
A Libyan pro-regime fighter prays next to an armed vehicle on the outskirts of Sirte, on July 18, 2016 Mahmud Turkia (AFP/File)
Russian strikes slow rebel assault in Syria's Aleppo
The Syrian regime's key ally Russia launched heavy air strikes overnight on the outskirts of divided Aleppo city, slowing a "last-chance" assault by rebels seeking to break a government siege.
The assault began on Sunday and is intended to ease the encirclement of the opposition-held east of Aleppo city, where an estimated 250,000 residents have been under regime siege since July 17.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described it as the largest rebel attack in Aleppo since 2012, when fighting left the city roughly divided between opposition control in the east and regime forces in the west.
Opposition fighters fire shells from their position in Aleppo's southern countryside, towards regime positions on July 31, 2016 Omar Haj Kadour (AFP/File)
But government troops backed by Russian warplanes have put up a fierce defence, the monitor said.
"The Russian raids didn't stop all night on the front lines" there, said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
"This has slowed the offensive and allowed regime troops to retake five of the eight positions that rebels had taken since Sunday," he added.
The strikes came despite an appeal by US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday for Russia to "restrain" itself and its ally in Damascus from "offensive operations".
Kerry said regime attacks had prevented the warring parties from meeting for negotiations on Monday, the target date set for the regime and opposition forces to agree on the framework of a political transition.
Moscow blasted criticism by Washington over its actions.
- New route -
"As soon as there is real headway in fighting terrorists, made by the Syrian government and army with our support, the Americans started... demanding that we stop fighting terrorists," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told RIA-Novosti agency.
The Aleppo offensive groups fighters from Fateh al-Sham Front, formerly Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, the powerful Islamist Ahrar al-Sham and other factions.
The Observatory said 50 rebels and allied jihadists had been killed since it began, as well as dozens of regime troops.
Six people also died and 10 were wounded by mortar fire on regime-controlled districts of southwest Aleppo, it said. The official SANA agency said five people died.
The route used by regime forces and civilians living in government-controlled parts of Aleppo runs through Ramussa, on its southwest outskirts, the main target of the rebel assault.
Its capture would both cut off government forces and open a new route into the city for rebels.
The Observatory said at least 30 civilians had also been killed since Sunday in opposition bombardment of government-held southwestern districts of Aleppo.
"This battle is the last chance for rebels. If they lose, it will be difficult for them to launch a new assault to break the siege," Abdel Rahman said.
"For the regime also, it's a question of life or death. They've been preparing for this battle for months and it'll be a tough blow for its troops if they lose."
Residents in east Aleppo have reported food shortages and rising prices since government troops seized the last remaining road into opposition-held districts of the city on July 17.
- 'Chlorine attack' -
Elsewhere in Aleppo province, the Observatory said at least 11 people were killed in air strikes believed to have been carried out by Russian warplanes on the rebel-held town of Atareb.
In the town of Saraqeb, 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Aleppo, 24 people suffered breathing difficulties after a barrel bomb attack, the Observatory said.
Residents said the attack had used chlorine gas, but the monitor could not confirm this.
The incident took place close to where Russia said on Monday one of its military helicopters was shot down over Idlib province, killing the five people on board.
Last week Russia announced the opening of "humanitarian corridors" to allow residents and surrendering fighters to flee eastern Aleppo for government-held territory.
This was met with scepticism by both residents and some internationally, and 35 NGOs in a statement on Tuesday called the initiative "deeply flawed".
The groups, including Save the Children and Oxfam, urged implementation of a UN call for a weekly 48-hour humanitarian pause in Aleppo.
But Damascus and Moscow say some residents and fighters have begun using the passages and Syrian state media reported Tuesday that "dozens of families" had crossed from the east.
In the north, meanwhile, the Arab-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces alliance backed by US-led coalition air strikes advanced Tuesday in the jihadist stronghold of Manbij, where it now controls 60 percent of the town, the Observatory said.
Syria's conflict has killed more than 280,000 people and drawn in world powers on both sides since it erupted in March 2011.
Jihadists and rebel groups have launched a major assault on the southern edges of Aleppo
Syrian civil defence workers look for survivors under the rubble of a collapsed building following reported air strikes in a rebel-controlled neighbourhood of Aleppo Thaer Mohammed (AFP/File)
Aleppo's escape corridors
Bangladesh offers reward for top missing Islamists
Bangladesh police offered a reward on Tuesday for two top Islamists accused of spearheading the rise of extremism in the country, which is reeling from a mass killing at a Dhaka cafe.
Police announced a two million taka ($25,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of Canadian citizen Tamim Chowdhury, who disappeared after allegedly masterminding the cafe attack.
Chowdhury is accused of heading a faction of the Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) homegrown militant group, blamed for scores of murders of members of religious minorities.
A sign of solidarity is placed near the restaurant where a bloody siege ended in the death of seventeen foreigners and five Bangladeshis, in Dhaka on July 5, 2016 Roberto Schmidt (AFP)
Police are also searching for sacked army major Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haq and offering a similar reward. He is accused of heading a second Islamist group, Ansar al Islam, suspected of killing a series of secular bloggers and activists.
"We are trying to arrest them. We believe if they are brought to justice.... we can eliminate extremism from the country," national police chief A.K.M. Shahidul Hoque told reporters.
Authorities are under great pressure to crack down on extremism in Muslim-majority Bangladesh after a recent increase in gruesome attacks.
Five gunmen stormed an upscale cafe in the capital on July 1. They killed 20 mainly foreign hostages and two police officers in Bangladesh's deadliest single militant attack of recent years.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the cafe siege, releasing images of the carnage and a photo of the attackers posing with its black flag.
Hoque reiterated that police have no evidence of IS involvement, saying "these are homegrown extremists. They are mainly JMB members" who sympathised with the IS jihadist group.
Hoque said 30-year-old Tamim planned the attack on the cafe after returning from living in Canada in 2013.
Releasing details of the second wanted Islamist, a senior police officer told AFP that Haq was sacked from the army in 2011 for his role in a failed military coup.
Authorities say the two homegrown extremist groups have been responsible for killing at least 80 people over the last three years, including foreigners.
Hoque defended police progress in tracking down those behind the mayhem, saying officers "have arrested 172 people for their involvement in the incidents".
The rewards were posted as the education ministry ordered the closure of several schools reportedly linked to radical Indian preacher Zakir Naik as well as members of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami.
The schools were operating "without any permission" from authorities, ministry spokesman Mohammad Saifullah said in a statement, as the government tries to halt suspected radicalisation of students.
Anger as Hong Kong pro-independence leader barred from polls
A high-profile Hong Kong pro-independence leader said Tuesday he had been barred from standing in upcoming parliamentary elections -- the latest candidate backing separation from mainland China to be disqualified.
The apparent ban for Edward Leung, of the Hong Kong Indigenous party, from the September vote came despite him signing a controversial new form declaring Hong Kong is an "inalienable" part of China.
Critics have slammed the new stipulation by electoral authorities as political censorship and an attempt to deter prospective candidates from advocating self-determination or independence from Beijing.
Edward Leung of the Hong Kong Indigenous party, speaks to reporters outside the High Court on July 27, 2016 Anthony Wallace (AFP)
Some activists are calling for more distance or even a complete breakaway from the mainland as fears grow that freedoms in the semi-autonomous city are disappearing due to Beijing interference.
Campaigners, including Leung, have challenged the declaration form in court and at least 13 prospective candidates have refused to sign it.
Leung, 25, eventually signed last week, despite his open advocacy for an independent Hong Kong, in the hope the authorities would validate his candidacy.
But he said he had been barred from standing.
"This election is a dark election, an election that is being controlled," Leung told reporters late Tuesday.
"Every day Communist China rules (Hong Kong)... I won't be able to enter the Legislative Council. So what else can I do? Revolution!"
His party accused the electoral commission of "trampling the will of the people, abusing administrative power and giving up political neutrality".
"There is no way the crime of selecting candidates according to political goals can be easily forgiven," it said in a statement.
The statement added a government officer handling Leung's case had explained she did not believe he had changed his pro-independence stance when notifying him by email that his application had been unsuccessful.
Leung later walked into a government briefing for election candidates and raised his middle finger at the speakers before departing to cheers and chanting from hundreds of supporters outside, some of whom wore balaclavas.
Other pro-democracy politicians also walked out of the meeting carrying banners saying "Defend fair elections".
The founder of the pro-independence Hong Kong National Party, Andy Chan, was one of three other hopefuls barred in recent days from standing in the September vote.
Chan had refused to sign the declaration form.
The other two prospective candidates disqualified were also part of the "localist" movement, which is pushing for more autonomy for Hong Kong after mass pro-democracy rallies in 2014 failed to win political reform.
Beijing and Hong Kong officials have repeatedly said advocating independence goes against the city's mini constitution, known as the Basic Law, and that independence activists could face legal consequences.
Various government departments including the electoral office made no comment Tuesday.
Hong Kong was returned from Britain to China in 1997 under an arrangement that guarantees civil liberties unseen on the mainland.
Taiwan's ex-leader Ma in court over libel case
Taiwan's former president Ma Ying-jeou made his first appearance in court Tuesday in a long-running libel case against a commentator who claimed he had taken illicit political donations.
It comes as Ma himself faces a series of cases brought by political rivals now that his presidential immunity has ended.
Those cases make a range of allegations, including accusing Ma of leaking political secrets, failing to declare assets and benefiting a company in a controversial stadium construction project.
Taiwan's former president, Ma Ying-jeou, denies that he accepted $6.25 million in political donations from a company seeking favours Sam Yeh (AFP/File)
Ma served as president for two terms, from 2008 to May this year when he handed the reins to rival Tsai Ing-wen.
He made no statements during Tuesday's hearing at the High Court, which has been reviewing his appeal after a district court cleared commentator and radio show host Clara Chou.
Outside court he denied that he had accepted Tw$200 million ($6.25 million) in political donations from a company seeking favours.
Ma filed defamation lawsuits in 2014 against Chou for alleging that he accepted illicit political donations from food giant Ting Hsin International Group, which has been hit by a string of safety scandals.
"I did not accept Tw$200 million in political donations from Ting Hsin or benefit (the company). This is very clear," Ma told reporters.
Chou accused him of accepting under-the-table funds to act as the firm's "guardian", an allegation which sparked public anger following the scandals.
Ma firmly rejected the allegation, saying his government fully investigated the company's alleged involvement and indicted dozens of people.
Chou was cleared by Taipei district court last December on the ground of freedom of expression.
Ma won the leadership in 2008 with the biggest landslide in Taiwan's democratic history, favoured by a public fed up with the scandals of his predecessor Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who was jailed for corruption.
Iraq PM bans travel by officials accused of corruption
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has imposed a travel ban on several parliamentary officials accused of corruption, his office said Tuesday, but the parliament speaker rejected the order.
Defence Minister Khalid al-Obeidi on Monday told parliament that speaker Salim al-Juburi and several lawmakers were corrupt and had sought to blackmail him.
Abadi ordered a "temporary travel ban" against those accused, in order "to investigate the validity of the allegations", a statement from his office said.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered Iraq's anti-corruption commission to investigate allegations against several lawmakers Adam Berry (AFP/File)
But Juburi rejected the travel ban, saying this could only be ordered by the judiciary and calling for everyone to respect both it and the constitution.
"The decision to prohibit the travel of any citizen who carries an Iraqi passport is one of the exclusive prerogatives of the Iraqi judiciary," his office said in a statement.
The members of parliament accused by Obeidi included Alia Nasayif, who has herself brought corruption allegations against the minister. The other two are Mohammed al-Karbouli and Hanan al-Fatlawi.
It was unclear if the travel prohibition applied to Obeidi.
Abadi's spokesman Saad al-Hadithi declined to give the names of the officials affected by the ban or to clarify whether or not it applied to Obeidi.
Obeidi's official Facebook page outlined his allegations, including that Juburi was involved in attempting to pass corrupt arms contracts.
Another post charged that Juburi and three lawmakers, including Nasayif, had blackmailed Obeidi "for the purpose of passing corrupt deals and contracts at the expense of Iraqi blood".
Obeidi's official Twitter account also said he had revealed the "names of MPs and politicians who practise acts of blackmail against him to pass corrupt contracts, among them the (speaker) of parliament".
Monday's session broke down after Obeidi's accusations, which Juburi then denied at a press conference.
Abadi on Monday ordered Iraq's anti-corruption commission to investigate the allegations and to work on the issue with a parliamentary committee.
The row surrounding the defence minister comes as Iraq prepares for a drive to retake second city Mosul, the biggest operation yet in the country's war against the Islamic State group.
The acrimony follows weeks of deadlock over Abadi's efforts to replace the cabinet earlier this year.
Flash
A spokeswoman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday that Britain will continue to seek a stronger relationship with China, Reuters reported.
The statement came following British new cabinet's decision last week to delay the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant program, which has raised concerns about its openness towards foreign investment.
May's spokeswoman said it was natural for the incoming government to want to look at the plans in detail, adding that Britain still valued its ties with China.
"With the role that China has to play on world affairs, on the global economy, on a whole range of international issues, we are going to continue to seek a strong relationship with China," the spokeswoman said, as quoted by Reuters.
Asked whether national security would play a part in the review of the Hinkley Point nuclear project, the spokeswoman declined to comment on the review process.
Britain has cast doubt on the 24-billion-U.S.-dollar project with French utility EDF to build Britain's first new nuclear plant in decades, delaying a final decision on the plan just weeks after May took office as prime minister.
"The UK needs a reliable and secure energy supply and the government believes that nuclear energy is an important part of the mix," Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said in a statement Friday, adding that the government will consider carefully all the component parts of this project and make its decision in the early autumn.
The new nuclear power station would be Britain's first since Sizewell B opened in 1995 and is considered vital in helping the country meet its energy requirements.
The project is expected to offer thousands of jobs for local people while bridging the electricity gap left by the closure of all coal-fired plants in Britain as of 2025, with 7 percent of electricity supply guaranteed nationwide.
Myanmar tourism boom set to bring 7.5m visitors a year
Myanmar is hoping to lure 7.5 million tourists a year by 2019, an official said Tuesday, as the impoverished former junta-ruled nation emerges as one of Southeast Asia's hot destinations.
Travel to the once-cloistered country used to be reserved for the well-heeled and intrepid, prepared to endure the travails of a country under military rule with patchy electricity and limited communications.
But foreign tourists have flocked in since the country began opening up in 2011, with a celebrities such as pop stars Beyonce and Jay Z helping to popularise the message that the country is open for visitors.
Myanmar is on track to welcome 5.5 million tourists this year, when it only welcomed a little of 2 million in 2013 Soe Than Win (AFP/File)
This year Myanmar is on track to welcome 5.5 million tourists, nearly a million more than 2015, Tint Thwin, director-general of Ministry of Hotels and Tourism told AFP.
"We hope the number will grow to 7.5 million tourists per year within three years," he said on the sidelines of a major tourism conference in Yangon.
"We will try to find new destinations for tourists to visit and we will also support community-based tourism," he said in an effort to raise incomes in one of Asia's poorest countries.
In comparison, neighbouring Thailand -- a regional tourism behemoth -- received 30 million visitors last year, offering a tantalising glimpse of the riches to be made.
Curiosity in Myanmar's culture and natural beauty has surged in recent years in lockstep with the rollback of most international sanctions and the ascension of Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party to power.
But challenges remain.
Hotels are expensive and often do not meet the standards of more traveller-friendly countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.
There have also been a number of incidents where tourist behaviour has clashed with Myanmar's conservative culture.
A Spanish tourist was deported last month for sporting a tattoo of the Buddha on his leg in the Buddhist-majority country, while authorities are struggling to prevent the surging visitor numbers from damaging the vast Bagan temple site.
Myanmar travel groups are also hoping to attract wealthier package tours to provide year-round jobs.
India appeals for help for baby rhinos rescued in floods
Indian wildlife officers appealed on Tuesday for help in caring for eight rare baby rhinos feared orphaned by recent deadly floods in the remote northeast.
Rescue teams in boats have pulled the stranded rhinos from floodwaters which have hit India's famed Kaziranga National Park, home to the world's largest population of the one-horned animals.
Rathin Barman, deputy director of the Wildlife Trust of India, said they were now struggling to feed and care for the rhinos, aged from one to eight months.
Rescue teams in boats have pulled the stranded rhinos from floodwaters which have hit India's famed Kaziranga National Park, home to the world's largest population of the one-horned animals Subhamoy Bhattacharjee, Subhamoy Bhattacharjee (IFAW-WTI/AFP)
"Some of them are injured and are being treated by our staff in the rescue centre. We are right now hand-raising them, providing them formula milk and essential vitamins," Barman told AFP.
"We will release them only after two years," he added of the eight.
"We appeal to the public to donate money for the upkeep of the rescued babies. They drink six packs of milk a day which costs 1,500 rupees ($23) and this will continue for a minimum of one year," he said.
It was unclear whether the calves were left orphaned by the floods or were separated from their mothers as the beasts tried to flee to higher ground.
Seventeen adult rhinos along with deer and other animals have been found drowned in Kaziranga, a 430-square-kilometre (166-square-mile) protected area of forest in the state of Assam.
"It is sad that we lost about 17 rhinos in the floods this time, which is something unprecedented," Assam forest minister Pramilla Rani Brahma told AFP on Tuesday.
The park, home to about 2,500 rhinos, draws scores of tourists and was visited by Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate during their official tour of India earlier this year.
Barman said he feared more rhinos would need assistance once waters receded in the park, which has been stripped of vegetation by the floods.
The floods that hit the region every year have killed at least 24 people in Assam and left another 2.3 million homeless in recent days, said state flood control minister Keshab Mahanta.
Rights groups call on UN to condemn Philippine drug killings
Over 300 anti-narcotics and human rights groups from around the world Tuesday called for the United Nations to condemn Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs that has already killed hundreds of people.
The appeal, directed to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), came as an influential Philippine senator called for an investigation into the killings of suspected drug pushers that Duterte has endorsed.
Senator Leila de Lima and the foreign organisations cited reports of police killing hundreds of people since Duterte won May elections largely on a platform to wage a bloody war on drugs.
Police figures show that over 400 drug suspects have been killed a month into Rodrigo Duterte's presidency Ted Aljibe (AFP/File)
"Instead of ensuring the protection and rights of people who use drugs... President Duterte has called for them to be killed," said the statement from groups such as the Australian Drug Foundation and Canadian Drug Policy Coalition.
"Instead of ensuring the rights of people suspected of committing drug-related crimes... the President has called for them to be executed on the spot."
The statement called on the INCB and the UNODC to condemn the killings and "demand an end to the atrocities."
De Lima, in a speech before Senate, also lashed out at the killings.
"We cannot wage the war against drugs with blood. We will only be trading drug addiction with another more malevolent kind of addiction. This is the compulsion for more killing," said the senator, a former justice minister who also headed the nation's human rights body.
De Lima said police were summarily killing even innocent people, using the anti-drug campaign as an excuse.
Since assuming the presidency on June 30, Duterte has promised to protect police and soldiers from sanctions for killing criminals and even urged ordinary citizens and communist rebels to join in the bloodshed.
While his campaign has been widely popular in the impoverished Philippines, more groups have begun criticising Duterte, with De Lima calling for a congressional probe into the killings.
But the president has dismissed human rights concerns while police have insisted that they only acted in self-defence.
In June, even UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned Duterte's apparent support of extra-judicial killings.
Police figures showed that as of Tuesday, 402 drug suspects had been killed a month into Duterte's presidency.
The figure does not include those slain by suspected vigilantes.
The country's top broadcaster, ABS-CBN, reported that 603 people had been killed since Duterte was elected, with 211 murdered by unidentified gunmen.
Duterte's campaign has been widely popular in the impoverished country
Sri Lanka withdraws freehold land offer to China
Sri Lanka said Tuesday it was withdrawing permission for a Chinese company to buy the freehold to 20 hectares of land being reclaimed under a $1.4 billion port project after India objected.
Instead it will grant the state-owned construction company a 99-year lease on the land next to the port in Colombo, under a new agreement.
"India had a big concern about giving freehold land to China near the Colombo harbour," government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne told reporters.
The government has put the $1.4 billion port project on hold pending a review of all the big-ticket agreements signed under the previous administration Ishara S.Kodikara (AFP/File)
"We have amended the agreement. There will be no freehold land but it will be on a 99-year lease."
The government had put the project on hold pending a review of all the big-ticket agreements signed under the previous administration of Mahinda Rajapakse.
The former president relied heavily on Chinese investment to rebuild the country's infrastructure after the end of the island's decades-long ethnic war in May 2009, a move which some say alienated India.
The Chinese-funded port was also controversial among environmentalists.
Senaratne said the developers had agreed to drop a proposed Formula One track and increase public park space, and environmental safeguards would be put in place.
The project is being funded by China Communications Construction Company and was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2014 during a visit to Colombo.
Beijing has been accused of seeking to develop facilities around the Indian Ocean in a "string of pearls" strategy to counter the rise of rival India and secure its own economic interests.
But Senaratne said the government had decided to go ahead with the project under new terms.
Colombo would set up an offshore banking centre to compete with Dubai and Singapore, he said.
The reclamation represents the biggest-ever single foreign investment in Sri Lanka. It will add 269 hectares (672 acres) of real estate in the congested capital, which has a population of over 650,000.
Once completed, the Chinese will have 108 hectares (266 acres) on a 99-year lease for commercial development. Earlier, 20 hectares of that was to be on a freehold basis.
Under the agreement, the Sri Lankan government will get 62 hectares (153 acres) and the rest will be public parks and access roads.
China, the largest single lender to Sri Lanka, secured contracts to build roads, railways and ports under Rajapakse, who is under investigation over allegations of corruption during his decade in power.
The administration of President Maithripala Sirisena says the terms negotiated by the previous government were unfavourable. But it has still decided to go ahead with many of the Chinese-funded projects.
Nepal's Maoist leader to be next prime minister
The leader of Nepal's Maoist party appeared certain to be the next prime minister after the deadline for nominations expired on Tuesday with only his name on the ballot.
Lawmakers in the Himalayan nation are due to elect a new prime minister on Wednesday after K.P. Sharma Oli resigned last week, minutes before facing a no-confidence motion in parliament.
"We have only received the nomination of Pushpa Kamal Dahal for the prime minister's post," deputy parliament spokesman Sudarshan Kuinkel told AFP, referring to the Maoist party leader.
Former Nepalese Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal led a decade-long insurgency before transforming the rebel movement into a political party after a 2006 peace deal Bikash Karki (AFP/File)
Dahal, better known by his nom de guerre Prachanda or "the fierce one", led a decade-long Maoist insurgency before transforming the rebel movement into a political party after a 2006 peace deal.
He has served as prime minister once before, after the Maoists won elections in 2008, but only lasted nine months in office before resigning.
The party lost ground in the last elections in 2013 and is now only the third-biggest force in parliament.
But neither of the two larger parties have enough seats to govern alone. Dahal secured the backing of the largest party, the Nepali Congress, after pulling out of Oli's coalition three weeks ago.
If elected, Dahal faces the twin challenges of rebuilding the country after a devastating earthquake and resolving simmering unrest over a divisive new constitution adopted last September.
Oli faced fierce criticism over his handling of protests against the charter, which triggered a months-long border blockade by demonstrators from the Madhesi ethnic minority.
The Maoists and Nepali Congress are in talks with United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) -- an alliance of protesting parties -- in an attempt to secure their votes.
"The talks so far have been positive and we are inclined to support him in the election tomorrow," said Lal Babu Raut, vice-chairperson of the Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal, one of the member parties of UDMF.
"We are hopeful that our grievances against the constitution will be addressed by the new government."
More than 50 people died in clashes between police and protesters, who say the constitution has left them marginalised.
The new charter, the first drawn up by elected representatives, was meant to bolster Nepal's transformation to a democratic republic after decades of political instability.
But continuing discussions between the government and protesters over the constitution -- particularly over the rights of marginalised communities -- have failed to yield agreement.
Thousands of jobless Asians stranded in Saudi
Thousands of jobless Indians, Filipinos and Pakistanis are stranded and destitute in Saudi Arabia after the plunge in oil prices sparked construction layoffs, activists and officials said Tuesday.
Some Filipinos are forced to beg or sift through garbage to survive after going unpaid for months, said Garry Martinez, chairman of the Migrante group which works for the millions of Filipino overseas workers worldwide.
"Some of them have nothing to eat and have to go through the garbage for food," said Martinez.
India said it was negotiating with Saudi authorities to repatriate thousands of its own nationals after they lost their jobs, leaving them with no money to return home Fayez Nureldine (AFP/File)
India said Monday it was negotiating with Saudi authorities to repatriate thousands of its own nationals after they lost their jobs, leaving them with no money to return home.
Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told parliament in New Delhi she was sending a junior minister to Riyadh after reports that around 10,000 Indian workers had been left to starve.
Indians are among millions of poor Asians working in the Gulf states, where human rights groups say many suffer exploitation and abuses including non-payment of wages.
In Manila, Migrante coordinator Gilbert Saludo -- who returned from Saudi Arabia last month after two years working there -- said as many as 20,000 Filipinos could be affected.
Saludo said that while Manila had extended financial aid to them so far, it was not clear how long this could last.
The labour problem appeared likely to worsen, he added.
"It will get much worse because so much of the income of Saudi Arabia comes from oil... so their budget for infrastructure and other projects will not be met and more people will be affected," Saludo told AFP.
The Philippine Labour Department said Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello had visited Saudi Arabia last month to address the problem but would not elaborate.
Pakistan said 8,520 of its nationals in Saudi Arabia had not been receiving their salaries for several months.
A foreign ministry statement said that "most of the workers want to leave these companies but only after settling their dues".
The Pakistan embassy had set up special centres and a fund to provide aid, food, medicine and shelter.
"The (Pakistani) embassy has further informed that Saudi King has issued a decree for urgent payment of dues to workers by the concerned," the office of the prime minister said.
"We stand by our hardworking workers who are away from their homeland to earn a living for their families. They are our strength and pride. We will help them out in all possible ways," Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a statement.
The Indian consulate in Jeddah has been providing free food for its nationals since their plight came to light last week but repatriation has been complicated by restrictive labour regulations.
Swaraj cited a Saudi requirement that workers provide a no-objection certificate from their employers before they can leave the country.
Bahrain denies rights activist bail despite health concern
A Bahraini court on Tuesday denied bail for prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab despite a new request to free him on health grounds, a judicial source said.
The 51-year-old activist, who had been pardoned for health reasons last year, was rearrested in June and is on trial on charges of insulting a state institution and neighbouring Saudi Arabia online.
He attended Tuesday's hearing during which the judge rejected his defence team's request to free Rajab because of his "health situation," the source said.
Nabeel Rajab is on trial on charges of insulting a state institution and neighbouring Saudi Arabia online Mohammed alL-Shaikh (AFP/File)
However, a doctor will check up on the activist in prison, the source added.
Rajab has had recurring health problems and was briefly hospitalised late in June.
But the court ordered that he remain in custody throughout the trial and set the next hearing for September 5.
The criminal court had also denied bail for Rajab during the first court hearing on July 12.
Amnesty International has said Rajab could face up to 13 years if convicted and has denounced what it described as a "farcical trial".
The Shiite activist has been repeatedly detained for organising protests and publishing tweets deemed insulting to Bahrain's Sunni authorities.
He previously served two years in jail on charges of taking part in unauthorised protests in the Shiite-majority kingdom.
Obama makes last push for Asia-Pacific trade deal
Facing fierce opposition to a landmark Asia-Pacific trade deal, US President Barack Obama on Tuesday made a last-ditch economic and strategic case for Washington setting the terms of global trade.
Painting the 12-country pact -- which does not include China -- as part of a battle with Beijing for regional influence, Obama also warned strengthening anti-trade forces that they could not roll back the tide.
The pact is strongly backed by the White House -- where it is seen as a key part of Obama's "pivot to Asia" -- but is opposed by both presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
US President Barack Obama hosts Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (right) for a State Arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, August 2, 2016 Saul Loeb (AFP/File)
It has yet to be ratified by Congress, where legislators have one eye on the November elections.
"Right now I'm president, and I'm for it," Obama said tersely, indicating a fresh push to get it passed before he leaves office in January.
"If we don't establish strong rules, norms for how trade and commerce are conducted in the Asia-Pacific region, then China will," Obama said as he hosted Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the White House.
"We are part of a global economy. We're not reversing that. It can't be reversed."
Instead, Obama said the vexed Trans-Pacific Partnership was part of the answer to questions like "how do we make sure that globalization, technology, automation, those things work for us, not against us?"
In a pitch to the political left, he also said that because of TPP, labor standards in Vietnam were improving and Malaysia was more seriously tackling human trafficking.
Lee gave Obama some political support, calling for the deal to be passed and warning America's reputation in the world was "on the line."
"Your friends who have come to the table who have negotiated, each one of them has overcome some domestic political objection, some sensitivity, some political cost to come to the table and make this deal," he said.
"If at the end waiting at the altar the bride doesn't arrive, I think there are people who are going to be very hurt -- not just emotionally but really damaged. For a long time to come."
With remarkable candor, Lee said rejecting the TPP would hurt not just Japanese leader Shinzo Abe but security relations with Japan, one of a number of countries in Asia that the United States is treaty-bound to protect.
Lee said that countries like Japan would rethink whether America's military support could be guaranteed.
Israel reverses funding curbs on Jewish schools not teaching maths
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools in Israel will have access to state funds without having to teach core subjects such as maths, as parliament on Tuesday reversed proposed reforms.
The move was part of an agreement bringing ultra-Orthodox political parties into a coalition which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed in 2015.
The law passed on Tuesday reverses reforms led by liberal Yesh Atid party -- now part of the opposition -- two years earlier.
Around 40,000 pupils are registered with ultra-orthodox schools in Israel Menahem Kahana (AFP/File)
According to a statement issued by the Knesset, or parliament, the education minister -- currently Naftali Bennett of the national-religious Jewish Home -- will now be able to decide how much secular studies the institutions will be obliged to teach.
Under the Yesh Atid reform, which had been set to be implemented in 2018, funds would be withheld from schools that received partial state support if they did not teach at least 55 percent of the required core curriculum subjects such as maths, English and science, seen as crucial for eventually joining the work force.
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, who was finance minister when the reforms were passed, said ahead of the vote that the new law "would damage an entire generation of young people and rob them of their right to make a living".
Zehava Galon of the left-wing Meretz party said: "When a group funded by the state rejects its fundamental values -- it shouldn't be funded by the state."
Around 40,000 pupils are registered with ultra-Orthodox schools in Israel.
The scrapped legislation created unnecessary tensions and would have made it difficult for the state to supervise ultra-Orthodox schools, an education ministry official told AFP.
"The (Yesh Atid) law created a conflict with the ultra-Orthodox sector," he said. "Education should be through dialogue, not coercion."
Meir Porush of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, who is also deputy education minister, said the claim his sector did not learn mathematics and other core curriculum subjects was "a lie and incitement".
Ultra-Orthodox Jews make up about 10 percent of Israel's Jewish population, and enjoy political influence beyond their numbers with influential factions in parliament that work to secure a wide range of benefits for their community.
Netanyahu's previous coalition in 2013-2015 did not include the ultra-Orthodox parties.
It passed legislation on sensitive issues such as the exception of the ultra-Orthodox from military service and the funding of schools, with the current government now having reversed many of the planned changes.
Twin suicide bombings kill 6 Yemeni soldiers
Two suicide car bombings struck an army base in southern Yemen on Tuesday killing at least six soldiers and wounding 12 others, a military official said.
One bomber detonated his explosives-laden car at the gate of the base in the city of Habilayn, in Lahj province, while the second car bomb went off only 50 metres (yards) away, the official said.
The number of fatalities is likely to rise, the official added.
Yemen has been gripped by a devastating conflict that escalated in March 2015 when Saudi-led air strikes began against Shiite Huthi rebels Saleh Al-Obeidi (AFP/File)
The base belongs to troops loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi who earlier this year launched an offensive against Al-Qaeda militants.
The offensive, backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition, pushed the militants out of several cities, including Mukalla, the provincial capital of Hadramawt, but Al-Qaeda fighters have since regained some ground.
Yemen has been gripped by a devastating conflict that escalated in March 2015 when Saudi-led air strikes began against Shiite Huthi rebels after the insurgents seized northern and central parts of the country including the capital, Sanaa.
Flash
A Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down by gunfire in Syrian territory controlled by terrorists previously known as al-Nusra Front, Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.
A Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down by gunfire in Syrian territory controlled by terrorists previously known as al-Nusra Front. [Photo/Xinhua]
"According to our information, the helicopter was shot down from the ground over the area under the control of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terrorist group and associated so-called moderate opposition units," said Sergei Rudskoi, head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Main Operational Directorate.
Jabhat Fateh al-Sham was previously known as the al-Nusra Front before breaking ties with al-Qaida and changing its name.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said the helicopter was shot down in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib by gunfire from the ground while returning to the Hmeimim Air Base after delivering humanitarian aid to the Syrian city of Aleppo.
Rudskoi called the downing a terrorist act against Russian forces, which were deployed in Syria with the aim to help Syrian government fight terrorists.
Kremlin confirmed earlier in the day that all five people on board the downed Mi-8 were killed.
According to Rudskoi, Russian air forces actively supported government troops to repel enemy attacks and carried out selective strikes on militant positions.
"The Syrian army troops and the national militia, with the support of Russian aviation, repelled a militant attack at 4 a.m. today. More than 800 militants were killed, and 14 tanks, 10 infantry fighting vehicles, and more than 60 vehicles with mounted weapons destroyed," Rudskoi was quoted in an official statement.
The spokesman criticized the terrorist groups Islamic State and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham for conducting over 100 attacks in Syria's northern province of Aleppo in the last two months, with constant shellings of residential areas.
Rudskoi also said Russia fully supports the UN initiative on "improving the modalities of the Russia-Syrian humanitarian operation in Aleppo."
As Moscow and Damascus on Thursday launched a large-scale humanitarian operation in Aleppo, Rudskoi confirmed seven corridors were opened for rescue and aid delivery, as well as a separate one for militants to surrender.
In a bid to quell the prolonged crisis, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a decree on Thursday, offering amnesty to rebels who lay down their arms and surrender to authorities within a three-month deadline starting July 28.
Meanwhile, the Syrian army engaged in intense battles on Monday, as rebels unleashed a wide-scale offensive in Aleppo to break a siege imposed recently by the Syrian army.
Alaskan woolly mammoths died of thirst: study
One of the world's last surviving groups of woolly mammoths likely died of thirst as the salty seas rose around these iconic Ice Age creatures 5,600 years ago, researchers say.
The study also warns that a similar scenario could imperil island people and animals in the coming years as the climate warms and sea level rises, making fresh water harder to access.
The research took place on St. Paul Island, a remote area of Alaska that was once part of the Bering Land Bridge that joined the Americas to Asia.
One of the world's last surviving groups of woolly mammoths likely died of thirst 5,600 years ago, a study said Pedro Pardo (AFP/File)
The island became isolated between 14,700 and 13,500 years ago due to sea level rise during the last deglaciation, and the land area shrank significantly. Its current size is 42 square miles (110 square kilometers).
No humans were known to live in the area at the time, said the report in the August 1 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US journal.
To find out what happened to the woolly mammoths, researchers collected a sediment core from one of the few freshwater lake beds on St. Paul Island.
By analyzing the core for signs of fungi that grow on animal dung and using radiocarbon dating, they were able to tell when mammoths disappeared.
The sediment DNA "showed the presence of mammoth DNA until 5,650 years ago, plus or minus 80 years," said the study, which described the finding as the most precise dating yet of a major extinction event.
"After that time, there is no mammoth DNA and so no mammoths on the island."
So what happened?
Researchers think that these large beasts, similar to modern day elephants, somehow persisted for some 5,000 years after mainland populations disappeared -- likely from a combination of hunting and climate change -- but were done in by the continual shortage of fresh water.
Much like elephants, which drink some 50 gallons (200 liters) per day, woolly mammoths would have struggled during what researchers found to be an extended period of dry conditions and declining water quality.
Over the course of 2,000 years, the area grew progressively smaller and drier.
Lakes became shallower, and water holes more crowded.
When scientists analyzed mammoth bones and teeth as well as the remains of other aquatic creatures, they found signs of progressively drier conditions leading up to the extinction event.
"It paints a dire picture of the situation for these mammoths," said Matthew Wooller, director of the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a co-author of the study.
"Freshwater resources look like the smoking gun for what pushed them into this untenable situation."
The Alaskan mammoths were outlived only by a population of mammoths on Wrangel Island, off the coast of Siberia, which survived until about 4,700 years ago.
"Freshwater availability may be an underappreciated driver of island extinction," said the report in PNAS.
"This study reinforces 21st-century concerns about the vulnerability of island populations, including humans, to future warming, freshwater availability, and sea level rise."
Obama says Trump 'unfit' to be president
In a searing and virtually unprecedented presidential rebuke, Barack Obama declared embattled Republican White House nominee Donald Trump "unfit" to be president and called on party leaders to disown him.
Obama piled on as Trump's campaign reeled from multiple self-inflicted scandals, calling the 70-year-old mogul "woefully unprepared" and "unfit to serve as president."
"He keeps proving it," said Obama, standing alongside the prime minister of Singapore and casting aside any pretense of domestic unity.
US President Barack Obama speaks about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump during a press conference in Washington, DC on August 2, 2016 Saul Loeb (AFP)
In recent days, Trump has criticized Muslims, babies, firefighters and the military, prompting his wincing Republican backers to issue awkward denunciations.
Congressman Richard Hanna went one step further, becoming the first Republican lawmaker to say he will vote for Trump's opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, in November.
"I find Trump deeply flawed in endless ways," Hanna wrote in a newspaper editorial announcing his decision.
Obama turned up the heat on Republicans who appear increasingly ill at ease with Trump but have not withdrawn their endorsement.
"This isn't a situation where you have an episodic gaffe," Obama said. "This is daily and weekly where they are distancing themselves from statements he's making."
"There has to be a point in which you say: 'This is not somebody I can support for president of the United States, even if he purports to be a member of my party.'"
"There has to come a point at which you say 'enough,'" he said.
"The alternative is that the entire party, the Republican Party, effectively endorses and validates the positions that are being articulated by Mr Trump."
- Trump hits back -
Leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator John McCain may have been given further pause by Trump's refusal to reciprocate their endorsements.
Trump won the Republican primary handily, but is trailing Clinton in general election polls by around four percentage points.
Obama has already endorsed his fellow Democrat and has repeatedly pilloried Trump's populism.
But his comments in the East Room of the White House -- where Abraham Lincoln lay in state and Theodore Roosevelt today casts a painted gaze -- are a significant and highly personal escalation of presidential rhetoric.
Last week, Obama addressed the Democratic convention in Philadelphia and painted this election as a choice not between a Democrat and Republican, but a Democrat and a demagogue who threatens democracy.
"There have been Republican presidents with whom I've disagreed with, but I didn't have a doubt that they could function as president," Obama said Tuesday.
Turning to his 2012 and 2008 election opponents, Obama said "Mitt Romney and John McCain were wrong on certain policy issues, but I never thought that they couldn't do the job."
Trump hit back at Obama in a written statement, describing his two terms in office as an example of "failed leadership."
- Gold star fight -
Obama's comments came amid a roiling war of words between Trump and the father of a slain US soldier who rebuked the Republican nominee as having "sacrificed nothing."
"The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family that made extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he doesn't appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia means that he's woefully unprepared to do this job," said Obama.
Later in the day, Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson blamed both Obama and Clinton for the death of the soldier, Army captain Humayun Khan.
"Donald Trump never voted for the Iraq War. Hillary Clinton did," she told CNN.
"It was under Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton that changed the rules of engagement that probably cost his life," she said.
Khan was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq in 2004, when Clinton was serving in the US Senate but Obama had yet to be elected to national office.
On the campaign trail on Tuesday, Trump further dropped jaws by telling a mother and her crying baby to leave a rally and saying he "always wanted to get a Purple Heart," after being given one by a military veteran who supports him.
The military honor is given by a sitting president to a member of the armed forces who is killed or wounded in combat.
"This was much easier," Trump remarked.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump holds a Purple Heart medal given to him by lieutenant colonel Louis Dorfman, on August 2, 2016, in Ashburn, Virginia Molly Riley (AFP)
Graphic comparing Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Adrian Leung (AFP)
UN asks Saudi coalition to do more to prevent Yemen child deaths
The Saudi-led coalition must address "very serious concerns" about the killing of children in Yemen, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday, but the alliance remained off a blacklist of child rights violators.
Ban reported to the Security Council on his controversial decision to temporarily remove the coalition from the UN list of shame, a move that sparked an outcry from human rights groups.
Saudi Arabia reacted angrily to the decision in June to blacklist the coalition after a UN report found the military alliance was responsible for 60 percent of the 785 children's deaths in Yemen last year.
Yemeni children walk on stones in front of buildings that were damaged by air strikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition over the past year in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on March 23, 2016 Mohammed Huwais (AFP/File)
"I still have very strong concerns about the protection of Yemeni children," Ban said, adding that the United Nations is continuing its review with the Saudi-led coalition.
Last week, Saudi Arabia outlined in a 13-page confidential letter to the UN secretary-general the measures that the coalition is taking to prevent civilian deaths.
In the letter obtained by AFP, Saudi Ambassador Abdallah al-Mouallimi offered to share with the United Nations the results of 10 investigations of air strikes on hospitals, homes, a wedding party and markets.
Ban said he had received information on the steps taken by the coalition, but that these fell short and that "the content of the report stands."
"We will continue our engagement to ensure that concrete measures to protect children are implemented," he told a council debate on children and armed conflicts.
Leila Zerrougui, the UN envoy for children in conflict, told reporters that the review was focused on future steps to protect children, suggesting that the coalition would not be put back on the list.
"What happened in the past, for me, is behind," said Zerrougui.
- Off the list -
Speaking to reporters outside the council chamber, Mouallimi repeated that the de-listing of the coalition was "irreversible, final and unconditional."
"I said that then and it is even more true today."
The coalition has invited UN officials to come to Riyadh to discuss their concerns and to obtain information on the investigations, he added.
In his letter, the Saudi ambassador said the coalition had set up a committee to compensate victims and opened a direct dialogue with aid organizations to guarantee the protection of hospitals.
Mouallimi also provided details of steps taken to designate targets and ensure they have "identifiable military purposes."
They include drawing up a list of prohibited targets such as schools and diplomatic missions and working with "local forces to identify and vet targets for airstrikes."
Ban in June said he was forced to remove the coalition from the list after Saudi Arabia threatened to cut off funding of UN aid programs. Riyadh denies the accusations.
Human Rights Watch said the coalition had "strong-armed the secretary-general in an attempt to escape scrutiny."
"The coalition should be returned to the secretary-general's list of shame until it stops its indiscriminate bombardment of Yemen's civilians," said HRW's director for child rights advocacy Jo Becker.
The coalition launched an air campaign in support of Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in March 2015 to push back Huthi rebels after they seized the capital Sanaa and many other parts of the country.
The war has killed some 6,400 people and left the impoverished country on its knees, with 80 percent of the population in dire need of food aid, according to the United Nations.
Arab-Kurd forces push into IS stronghold in Syria
An Arab-Kurdish alliance backed by US-led coalition air strikes advanced Tuesday in the jihadist stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria, where it now controls 60 percent of the town, a monitor said.
Syrian Democratic Forces have been fighting to seize the key town near the border with Turkey from the Islamic State group since late May.
With the support of coalition air raids, SDF forces advanced Tuesday into the east and west of the town, while IS forces retreated to the north and centre of Manjib, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters advance into the Islamic State (IS) jihadist's group bastion of Manbij, in northern Syria, on June 23, 2016 Delil Souleiman (AFP/File)
That allowed the SDF to open a route between Manjib and Hassaka, a Kurdish stronghold around 150 kilometres (90 miles) to the east, said the Britain-based monitoring group.
Manbij sits on the route between the Turkish border and the eastern city of Raqa, the jihadists' de facto capital in Syria.
The fate of thousands of civilians inside Manbij has raised fears among humanitarian agencies.
US woman accidentally shoots self while Snapchatting
A woman in the US state of Florida tried to Snapchat a video of herself holding a gun but instead accidentally shot her cellphone, injuring her right hand, authorities said.
Regina Powell, 22, said she was "foolishly playing" with the .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun, trying to make a Snapchat video, when it went off, the Volusia county sheriff's office said.
The bullet destroyed her cellphone and injured her thumb and index finger.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 586 people were killed last year in accidents involving firearms Karen Bleier (AFP/File)
The incident occurred Sunday in Deltona, Florida.
Police were still looking for the gun, which the woman's aunt tossed out of her car window as she drove Powell to the hospital.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 586 people were killed last year in accidents involving firearms.
Russia rejects US criticism of Aleppo strikes
Moscow on Tuesday blasted criticism by Washington over its actions in Syria, saying it was "unacceptable" to demand restraint around Aleppo, the city divided between Syrian government troops and rebels.
"As soon as there is real headway in fighting terrorists, made by the Syrian government and army with our support, the Americans started... demanding that we stop fighting terrorists," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told RIA-Novosti agency.
Britain-based monitors reported that Russia launched heavy air strikes in the Aleppo outskirts, slowing a last-ditch effort by rebels to break the siege.
Moscow had announced the launch of humanitarian corridors out of Aleppo for civilians and surrendering rebels, a scheme that some NGOs said was "deeply flawed," calling instead for a UN-mandated plan of escape routes George Ourfalian (AFP/File)
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday called on Russia and its Damascus ally to restrain "from conducting offensive operations" in Aleppo, where regime forces surrounded rebel-held districts.
Kerry said the attacks prevented the warring parties from meeting Monday, the target date set for the regime and opposition to agree on the framework for political transition.
"We will see in the course of the next hours, few days, whether or not that dynamic can be changed," Kerry said.
Ryabkov however rejected such talk as an ultimatum.
"To hear from Washington that... the next hours and days will be decisive, that is an ultimatum-like, unacceptable tone. I think this is regular blackmail that is common to the Americans," said Ryabkov.
Moscow had announced the launch of humanitarian corridors out of Aleppo for civilians and surrendering rebels, a scheme that some NGOs said was "deeply flawed," calling instead for a UN-mandated plan of escape routes.
Ryabkov countered that the US itself uses the corridor scheme and is only against it because Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces are crushing opponents who have not joined the ceasefire or surrendered.
India's Sonia Gandhi falls ill
Sonia Gandhi, the head of India's opposition Congress party, fell ill at an election campaign event Tuesday.
Gandhi was in Varanasi, the constituency of rival politician and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Uttar Pradesh state, when she suddenly pulled out to fly back New Delhi.
"I regret that I couldn't complete my trip because of illness," Gandhi said in a statement tweeted by her party.
Indian Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi receives floral tributes during a roadshow in Varanasi on August 2, 2016, ahead of 2017 Uttar Pradesh State Assembly elections Sanjay Kanojia (AFP)
"On advice of doctors she had to cut short..but she'll be back," said another Congress tweet.
The party made no official comment about Gandhi's medical condition but local news channels said she was suffering from a high viral fever and dehydration.
Reports added that she would be taken from the airport directly to a hospital in the capital for treatment and recovery.
Italian-born Gandhi, 69, is the widow of assassinated former premier Rajiv Gandhi. She leads a party that lost the 2014 elections to the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party after consecutive wins in 2004 and 2009.
"Heard about Sonia jis ill health during her Varanasi visit today. I pray for her quick recovery and good health," Modi said on Twitter.
Poll rival says Gabon's Bongo should take DNA test
President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon should take a DNA test to prove his parentage and eligibility to run for reelection later this month, a rival candidate said on Tuesday.
Bongo has faced allegations that he is not Gabonese, but Nigerian, and that he was adopted by his father Omar, who was president from 1967 until his death in 2009.
"We are faced with a candidate who has no right to be a candidate. We are witnessing a forced transition and a violation of our constitution," said Leon Paul Ngoulakia, one of 14 people challenging Bongo in the August 27 election.
Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba looks on during the regional security summit on the threat by Boko Haram to African security in Abuja, on May 14, 2016 Pius Utomi Ekpei (AFP/File)
Ngoulakia is a cousin of Bongo's and until recently was one of his closest aides.
"Ali Bongo has produced at least four birth certificates, all seemingly fake. How come none of our institutions is able to prove his nationality and parentage," Ngoulakia told AFP during a visit to Paris.
"Why doesn't he simply submit to a DNA test to end all this debate? The people of Gabon are tired of this affair and want to hear other debates that are more important to our country's future," he said.
On July 25, the constitutional court rejected an appeal against the eligibility of Bongo, who came to power in a disputed election following his father's death.
"The legal battle is not over. Procedures are continuing, the law must be followed all the way," insisted Ngoulakia.
He said that Gabonese authorities had prevented opposition candidates holding public meetings and used tear gas in demonstrations.
"Conditions for a peaceful and transparent election are not in place," he said.
Two more arrested in Zimbabwe war veteran crackdown
Zimbabwean police on Tuesday arrested two more senior members of the country's war veterans' association in a growing crackdown on critics of President Robert Mugabe, lawyers said.
Headman Moyo, the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) vice chairperson and his Harare provincial counterpart Hoyini Samel Bhila were arrested on charges of undermining Mugabe's authority, bringing to five the number of former liberation war fighters arrested under the same law.
"Police charged Headman Moyo and Hoyini Samuel Bhila after the two handed themselves to detectives at Harare central police station," Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said in a statement.
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, 92, who has ruled since 1980, has faced a groundswell of opposition in recent months Jekesai Njikizana (AFP/File)
Mugabe, 92, in power since 1980, has faced a groundswell of opposition in recent months as the country's moribund economy collapses and the government struggles to pay its workforce.
Previously loyal supporters of the president, the war veterans released a highly critical statement two weeks ago attacking Mugabe as "dictatorial" and accusing him of being unable to address Zimbabwe's problems.
Mugabe has promised "severe" treatment of the statement's authors.
On Monday, ZNLWA secretary general Victor Matemadanda was seized by police at a court hearing of a colleague, association spokesman Douglas Mahiya who also faces charges of insulting the head of state.
The war veterans' political commissar Francis Nhando was also arrested outside the court.
A new non-partisan opposition movement known as #ThisFlag has also galvanised anti-government sentiment in Zimbabwe, where security forces have crushed signs of dissent for decades.
Last month, a one-day strike shut down offices, shops, schools and some government departments as people protested over an economic crisis that has delayed salaries for civil servants and the military.
$89,000 ice cream truck joins Boston police force
It's the ice cream truck that police hope can defrost any lingering iciness from ordinary Americans on particularly hot days: meet the latest $89,000 addition to the Boston police fleet.
Festooned in balloons and unveiled to the public on Monday, the blue-and-white van is marked with police insignia and has "Free Ice Cream" written in large blue letters underneath a serving hatch.
"If you had told me 30 years ago that the Boston Police Department would have an ice cream truck as part of its patrol force... I would've said you were crazy," said city police commissioner William Evans.
The Boston police force's new ice cream truck is part of a city community policing effort set up in 2010 to reach out to children Rob Carr (Getty/AFP/File)
The truck is part of a city community policing effort set up in 2010 to reach out to children. The initiative has already handed out more than 120,000 free pots of chocolate and vanilla ice cream.
A police spokeswoman told AFP that the truck had been donated by the Boston Police Foundation and was valued at $89,000.
Although it will not make daily patrols it will be out in force at community events or on particularly hot days in the city, she said.
"I absolutely love the new truck," Evans said. "The goodwill it generates between my officers and our city's young people is undeniable and nothing short of remarkable."
Alphabet joins drone tests as US considers new rules
Google parent Alphabet is joining tests for drone deliveries, US officials announced Tuesday, as the White House unveiled accelerated rulemaking for commercial unmanned aircraft operations.
The announcement at a White House event said the US tech giant would participate in safety research through Project Wing, which is part of the "moonshot" unit called X created last year when Google was reorganized under Alphabet.
Project Wing will work at one of the six research centers set up by the Federal Aviation Administration for drone tests and its data "will be shared with government partners to help regulators answer critical safety and human factor questions for (drone) cargo delivery operations," a White House statement said.
The EHang commercial drones Series V.1 and Series V.2 (top C) are displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada in January 2016 David McNew (AFP/File)
At the "White House Drone Day" event, officials announced steps toward expanding rules for drone operations, including for newsgathering and commercial flights over populated areas, after a first set of regulations unveiled in June.
"We hope to propose a rule on unmanned aircraft operations over people by the end of this year," FAA administrator Michael Huerta said.
A White House statement said the FAA "is working on the next regulatory steps for safely integrating (drones) in the airspace" for "beneficial uses of drones near crowds, such as aerial photography or videography for newsgathering; for certain types of infrastructure inspection; and other applications."
The FAA said it was launching an Unmanned Aircraft Safety Team "that will include a wide variety of stakeholders from the drone and aviation industries" to study the proposals and was establishing a Drone Advisory Committee that will be chaired by Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich.
"We need to incorporate unmanned aircraft and their users into our culture of safety and responsibility. But we need to do it in a way that doesn't stifle the enthusiasm for this growing industry," Huerta said.
"We've found that the best way to accomplish this is to partner with a wide range of government, aviation and technology stakeholders."
- Onward, upward -
Huerta said the government has registered more than 500,000 hobby drones in eight months, but sees a need for more rules for commercial operators.
A first set of rules unveiled in June, and taking effect August 29, allows unmanned aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds (25 kilograms) to fly in sparsely occupied areas, up to 400 feet (120 meters) high during the day.
Officials say drones offer the potential for vast economic benefits -- estimated by the industry to generate more than $82 billion for the US economy and support some 100,000 new jobs by 2025.
"Unmanned aircraft are transforming industries -- providing filmmakers with a fresh angle on the world, and giving first responders a new tool for search-and-rescue operations," Huerta said.
"They're improving the safety of our transportation infrastructure -- inspecting miles of rail tracks and pipelines that crisscross our country. And they're tackling jobs that can be dangerous for people or other aircraft to do."
Announced at the event was the allocation of $35 million in research funding by the National Science Foundation over the next five years to study the beneficial applications of drones for disaster response, agricultural monitoring, the study of severe storms and other uses.
The first set of rules stop short of allowing some long-sought applications, including delivery of goods by retailers like Amazon in populated areas.
The Obama administration had been criticized for its perceived slowness in establishing drone regulations, while the technology evolved at a rapid clip.
As the world's largest online retailer, Amazon raised eyebrows in late 2013 with its plan to airlift small parcels to customers by drone in select markets, less than 30 minutes after an order is received.
Trump says not ready to back House Speaker Ryan, McCain
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Tuesday he was "not quite" ready to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan in his upcoming primary, a stunning rebuke to the party's top elected official.
With little more than three months before the White House election Trump, in an interview with The Washington Post, also said he was not prepared to endorse Republican Senator John McCain in his re-election bid in Arizona.
The real-estate tycoon also lashed out at another Republican US senator, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, as weak and disloyal.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at Briar Woods High School August 2, 2016, in Ashburn, Virginia Molly Riley (AFP)
"I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country," Trump said of Ryan, who faces a challenge by a conservative insurgent in the August 9 Wisconsin primary.
"We need very, very strong leadership. And I'm just not quite there yet," Trump said. "I'm not quite there yet."
Trump's refusal appears to amount to blunt political retribution three months after Ryan used very similar language to say "I'm just not ready" to back Trump. That controversial declaration set off weeks of debate among conservatives over whether to rally behind the presidential hopeful.
Ryan eventually endorsed Trump despite his misgivings.
Now only two weeks after its national convention in Cleveland aimed at showcasing Republican unity, the party faces further divisions, which come amid heated debate over Trump's comments about the Muslim American parents of a US Army captain killed in combat in 2004.
Ryan's challenger for his House of Representatives seat, Paul Nehlen, defended Trump's comments, earning praise from Trump, who on Monday night tweeted he "very much appreciated" Nehlen's "kind words."
Trump in the Post interview did not say whether he would endorse either candidate but said "I'm giving very serious consideration to that whole situation, to Ryan, to Paul."
Trump also said Ryan had sought his endorsement, a claim disputed by the speaker's campaign.
"Neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trump's endorsement," Ryan campaign spokesman Zack Roday said in a statement, adding the campaign was "confident" Ryan would win his primary.
Trump was adamant about not having endorsed McCain, a former prisoner of war who issued a scathing anti-Trump statement about his handling of the Khan family controversy.
"I've never been there with John McCain because I've always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets," Trump said.
"He has not done a good job for the vets," he added. "Our vets are not being treated properly. They're not being treated fairly."
McCain, seeking a sixth Senate term, faces a three-way battle in his August 30 primary.
Ayotte, facing a tough re-election battle in New Hampshire, also has spoken out harshly against Trump, saying she was "appalled" by his attacks on the Khans whose son was killed in Iraq.
Trump's criticism of her was severe.
"Kelly Ayotte has given me zero support, and I'm doing great in New Hampshire," he said.
Billionaire Warren Buffett ready to take on Donald Trump
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says he'll do whatever it takes to defeat Donald Trump including escorting people to the polls himself.
Campaigning with Hillary Clinton in Nebraska Monday, Buffett savaged Trump's business record, questioning his bankruptcies and asking why the Republican presidential candidate won't release his tax returns. The so-called "Omaha Oracle" then announced a new campaign called "Drive 2 Vote," designed to bring out voters in Nebraska's second congressional district, which offers a single Electoral College vote to the district winner.
"I will take at least 10 people to the polls who would otherwise have difficulty getting there," said Buffett, adding that he had reserved a 32-seat trolley for the day with a goal of getting the highest-percentage turnout of any congressional district in the country. "Let's give America a civics lesson."
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, left, waves to members of the audience as she and Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, right, arrive at a rally at Omaha North High Magnet School in Omaha, Neb., Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Nebraska is one of two states that assign some electoral votes based on the results within congressional districts. While the state is Republican overall, President Barack Obama won a vote here in 2008 in the more liberal district where Clinton appeared Monday, which includes Omaha and the suburbs. The boundaries have since been redrawn to make the district less blue.
The Midwestern stop came amid a clash between Trump and a Muslim-American family who spoke against him at the Democratic National Convention. Trump responded by attacking Khizr and Ghazela Kahn, whose son served in the U.S. Army and was killed in Iraq in 2004.
Buffett called Trump's comments "the final straw," arguing that his family had not sacrificed like military families.
Buffett, who endorsed Clinton last year, was the latest in a series of business leaders attacking Trump as Clinton seeks to woo moderate and independent voters. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban campaigned with Clinton over the weekend, and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered a searing indictment of Trump's economic proposals during the Democratic National Convention.
Before several thousand people gathered at an Omaha high school, Buffett challenged Trump to agree to a meeting where they would both release their tax returns. He also said that after Trump listed his casino and hotel company on the New York Stock Exchange in 1995, investors lost money, even though "in 1995 when he offered this company, if a monkey had thrown a dart at the stock page, the monkey on average would have made 150 percent."
Buffett repeated long-held assertions that the tax code favors the wealthy, which Clinton echoed, pledging to pay for new programs through more taxes on the rich. Clinton also continued the assaults on Trump, criticizing him for making products overseas. She promised to "support the kind of small businesses that Donald Trump has consistently stiffed."
Clinton enthusiastically received Buffett's plan to get out voters and upped the ante. She said that if the district has the highest percentage of voters and if she wins, then she'll come back soon "and Warren and I will dance in the streets of Omaha together."
Amid cheers Clinton added, "Maybe if we're really lucky he'll wear his Elvis costume again."
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett shakes hands with members of the audience after speaking at a rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at Omaha North High Magnet School in Omaha, Neb., Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
10 Things to Know for Tuesday - 2 August 2016
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Monday:
1. TRUMP SAYS ELECTION COULD BE RIGGED
The Republican presidential nominee makes an unprecedented assertion by a modern presidential candidate, one he did not back up with any immediate evidence.
A Miami-Dade County mosquito control worker sprays around a school in the Wynwood area of Miami on Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. The CDC has issued a new advisory that says pregnant women should not travel a Zika-stricken part of Miami, and pregnant women who live there should take steps to prevent mosquito bites and sexual spread of the virus. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
2. WHO IS DEMANDING TRUMP APOLOGIZE
Families of American service members killed in combat, as Trump feuds with the grieving parents of a fallen, decorated Muslim Army captain.
3. TRUMP IS BUFFETTED
Billionaire investor Warren Buffet savages Trump's business record, questioning his bankruptcies and asking why the Republican won't release his tax returns.
4. DAILY INTELLIGENCE BRIEFINGS TO BEGIN FOR CANDIDATES
Trump and Hillary Clinton will soon start getting top-secret intelligence briefings, as Democrats and Republicans bicker over whether the candidates can keep a secret.
5. WHERE HEALTH OFFICICIALS ARE WARNING PREGNANT WOMEN TO STAY AWAY
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells couples who have been to a Zika-stricken part of Miami to put off having children.
6. RIO'S WATERWAYS REMAIN AS FILTHY AS EVER
Just days ahead of the Olympic Games, an AP-commissioned study finds the city's water contaminated with raw human sewage and teeming with dangerous viruses and bacteria.
7. COURT RECORDS SHOW HOT AIR BALLOON PILOT SPENT TIME IN PRISON
The Texas businessman kept flying despite at least four convictions for drunken driving. Whether drinking habits had anything to do with the crash that killed 16 people on Saturday is unclear.
8. WHERE ANOTHER VOTER ID LAW WAS BLOCKED
A federal judge has blocked North Dakota's voter identification law after a Native American group said it unfairly burdens them, the latest court ruling against voting laws that critics say harm minorities.
9. HOW A SHOOTING SUSPECT ALLEGEDLY PREPARED
Police say a 19-year-old man who shot and killed three people at a party in suburban Seattle was so unfamiliar with his new semi-automatic rifle that he parked his car across the street and read the AR-15's instruction manual just before the attack.
10. WHO THE YANKEES HAVE TRADED AWAY
Star outfielder Carlos Beltran is out of the Bronx, along with pitchers Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Ivan Nova. The rebuilding Yankees will fight to avoid their first losing season since 1992.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Cumberland Valley High School, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, in Mechanicsburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Japan defense papers raises concerns about China, NKorea
TOKYO (AP) Japan called North Korea's nuclear and missile development a "grave and imminent threat" to the region and international security, and criticized China's increasingly assertive military action as "dangerous" in its annual defense report.
The report, approved Tuesday by the Cabinet, comes as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government pushes for Japan to take on greater military roles abroad. This year's 484-page report allocated several more pages to each country than the previous one.
It cited North Korea's technological advances in recent nuclear tests and says Pyongyang might have achieved the capability to miniaturize atomic weapons and develop warheads.
FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2015 file photo, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) escort ship "Kurama" leads other vessels during a fleet review in the water off Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo. Japan has called North Korea's nuclear and missile development a "grave and imminent threat" to the region and international security, and criticized China's increasingly assertive military action in its annual defense report. The report, approved Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, by the Cabinet, comes as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government pushes for Japan to take on greater military roles abroad. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)
"North Korea's military activity has increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and become a grave and imminent threat not only to Japan but also to the security in the region and the international society," the report said. It reiterated concerns that North Korean may have acquired a missile capable of launching as far as 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles).
The report called China's reclamation moves in the South China Sea a provocation, and urged Beijing to accept a recent international arbitration ruling.
It said China's escalating activity in the East China Sea caused Japan to scramble against Chinese warplanes more than 570 times last year. The report said China has stepped up activity around Japan-controlled islands that Beijing also claims, adding that a Chinese warship entered a strip of water just outside Japanese claimed waters in the area.
China's actions over conflicting maritime claims are unilateral and high-handed, and some of them are "dangerous actions that could trigger unanticipated situations," the report said. "They raise strong concern about what may happen in the future."
FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2015 file photo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center, stands with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, second left, and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, left, during the official triennial Maritime Self-Defense Force fleet review aboard the JMSDF escort ship Kurama in the waters off Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo. Japan has called North Korea's nuclear and missile development a "grave and imminent threat" to the region and international security, and criticized China's increasingly assertive military action in its annual defense report. The report, approved Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, by the Cabinet, comes as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government pushes for Japan to take on greater military roles abroad. (Kazuhiko Yamashita/Kyodo News via AP, File)
FILE - In this June 21, 2016 file photo, Japan Self-Defense Force members set up a PAC-3 Patriot missile unit deployed in case of a North Korean rocket launch at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo. Japan has called North Korea's nuclear and missile development a "grave and imminent threat" to the region and international security, and criticized China's increasingly assertive military action in its annual defense report. The report, approved Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, by the Cabinet, comes as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government pushes for Japan to take on greater military roles abroad. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)
China holds live-fire navy drills in East China Sea
BEIJING (AP) China's navy has fired dozens of missiles and torpedoes during exercises in the East China Sea that come amid heightened maritime tensions in the region, underscoring Beijing's determination to back up its sovereignty claims with force if needed.
The live-fire drills that began Monday follow China's strident rejection of an international arbitration panel's ruling last month that invalidated Beijing's claims to a vast swath of the South China Sea.
That led to days of angry statements from Beijing, followed by live-firing naval exercises in the South China Sea and the launch of regular aerial patrols in the area.
In this Monday, Aug. 1, 2016 photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a missile is launched from a navy ship during a live ammunition drill in the East China Sea. China's navy has fired dozens of missiles and torpedoes during exercises in the East China Sea that come amid heightened maritime tensions in the region, underscoring Beijing's determination to back up its sovereignty claims with force if needed. The live-fire drills that began Monday follow China's strident rejection of an international arbitration panel's ruling last month that invalidated Beijing's claims to a vast swath of the South China Sea. (Wu Dengfeng/Xinhua via AP)
On Tuesday, the Defense Ministry said the East China Sea exercises were aimed at improving the "intensity, precision, stability and speed" of its military.
"An information technology-based war at sea is sudden, cruel and short, which requires fast transition to combat status, quick preparation and high assault efficiency," the ministry said.
The drills include ships, submarines, aircraft and coast guard forces, illustrating China's growing emphasis on integrated training under realistic conditions.
China's navy has been closing the gap with its U.S. rival in both ship numbers and technology, including the deployment of advanced anti-ship missiles, nuclear submarines and the country's first aircraft carrier.
While global attention has been drawn to the South China Sea, where five governments exercise territorial claims overlapping with China's, Beijing also operates extensively in the East China Sea, where it claims a string of uninhabited islands controlled by Japan.
In this Monday, Aug. 1, 2016 photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a missile is launched from a guided-missile destroyer during a live ammunition drill in the East China Sea. China's navy has fired dozens of missiles and torpedoes during exercises in the East China Sea that come amid heightened maritime tensions in the region, underscoring Beijing's determination to back up its sovereignty claims with force if needed. The live-fire drills that began Monday follow China's strident rejection of an international arbitration panel's ruling last month that invalidated Beijing's claims to a vast swath of the South China Sea. (Wu Dengfeng/Xinhua via AP)
Snapping up cheap spy tools, nations 'monitoring everyone'
LIMA, Peru (AP) It was a national scandal. Peru's then-vice president accused two domestic intelligence agents of staking her out. Then, a top congressman blamed the spy agency for a break-in at his office. News stories showed the agency had collected data on hundreds of influential Peruvians.
Yet after last year's outrage, which forced out the prime minister and froze its intelligence-gathering, the spy service went ahead with a $22 million program capable of snooping on thousands of Peruvians at a time. Peru a top cocaine-producing nation joined the ranks of world governments that have added commercial spyware to their arsenals.
The purchase from Israeli-American company Verint Systems, chronicled in documents obtained by The Associated Press, offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look into how easy it is for a country to purchase and install off-the-shelf surveillance equipment. The software allows governments to intercept voice calls, text messages and emails.
Pedestrians talk on their cellphones in Lima, Peru, on Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. Under a July 2015 decree, police now track cellphone locations without a court order but would need one to listen in. All four Peruvian phone companies are cooperating. They signed a pact with the government in Octoboer the details of which were not disclosed. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Except for blacklisted nations like Syria and North Korea, there is little to stop governments that routinely violate basic rights from obtaining the same so-called "lawful intercept" tools that have been sold to Western police and spy agencies. People tracked by the technology have been beaten, jailed and tortured, according to human rights groups.
Targets identified by the AP include a blogger in the repressive Central Asian republic of Uzbekistan, opposition activists in the war-ravaged African nation of South Sudan, and politicians and reporters in oil-rich Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean.
"The status quo is completely unacceptable," said Marietje Schaake, a European Union lawmaker pushing for greater oversight. "The fact that this market is almost completely unregulated is very disturbing."
The Verint documents that AP obtained in Peru, including training manuals, contracts, invoices and emails, offer more detail than previously available on the inner workings of a highly secretive industry.
"There is just so little reliable data on this," said Edin Omanovic, a researcher at Privacy International, a London-based advocacy group. "These commercial tools are being used in a strategic and offensive way in much the same way that military tools are used."
The scope and sophistication revealed in the Peru documents approximates, on a small scale, U.S. and British surveillance programs catalogued in 2013 by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. That trove showed how the U.S. government collected the phone records of millions of Americans, few suspected of crimes. Even after some reforms, there is still much to be done in the U.S. and abroad to rein in Big Brother, privacy advocates say.
Reached at Verint's corporate headquarters in Melville, New York, an assistant to CEO Dan Bodner said the company would have no comment. "We typically don't comment to reporters," said Barbara Costa.
Verint and its main competitors hail from nations with well-funded spy agencies, including the United States, Israel, Britain and Germany, and have operated with limited oversight.
With more than $1 billion in yearly sales, Verint is a major, longtime player in an industry whose secrecy makes its size difficult to quantify. Verint Systems Ltd., the subsidiary that sold the surveillance package to Peru, is based in Herzliya, Israel, outside Tel Aviv.
In regulatory filings, the parent corporation boasts upward of 10,000 customers in more than 180 countries, including most of the world's largest companies and U.S. law-enforcement agencies. The company says its products help businesses run better and "make the world a safer place." In 2007, Verint provided Mexico with a U.S.-funded, $3 million surveillance platform aimed at fighting drug cartels.
Surveillance sales account for about a third of its business. However, the company discloses little about those products, which it says collect and parse massive data sets to "detect, investigate and neutralize threats."
It also does not identify its law enforcement and intelligence agency clients, but the AP independently confirmed through interviews and documents that it has sales in countries including Australia, Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Colombia and Switzerland.
About half of Verint's surveillance dealings are in the developing world, said analyst Jeff Kessler of Imperial Capital in New York.
The Peru installation known as Pisco, a nod to the local brandy illustrates how the private surveillance industry has piggybacked on multibillion-dollar government research in the West. Many security experts who honed their skills in Israel's military have gone to work in the private sector, effectively putting their tech chops at the service of less sophisticated nations for a fraction of the cost.
Like spy tools wielded by larger nations, Pisco lets officials "intercept and monitor" satellite networks that carry voice and data traffic, potentially putting private communications of millions of Peruvians at risk.
A software manual offers step-by-step instructions on how to intercept those communications with Verint equipment: Connect to a satellite, identify the callers, then "open a voice product" their jargon for a phone call.
Next on the flow chart:
"Voice is heard."
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'PINPOINT NEW TARGETS OF INTEREST'
Since the early 2000s, Verint and top competitor Nice Systems have sold mass surveillance products to the secret police in Uzbekistan, according to extensive research by Mari Bastashevski for Privacy International. She found the companies also sold such systems to neighboring Kazakhstan, also a tightly governed nation.
Israeli technicians from both companies have rotated in and out of Tashkent, the Uzbek capital, for tech support and maintenance, Bastashevski found. Nice Systems sold its surveillance business to Israeli defense heavyweight Elbit Systems last year.
That equipment has let Uzbek secret police quickly locate and arrest people who discuss sensitive information on the phone or via email, dissidents say.
"The authorities' main weapon is people's fear," said Tulkin Karayev, a Sweden-based exile. "Freedom of speech, freedom of expression all this is banned."
Asked by the AP whether Nice Systems' sales had enabled political repression, Elbit spokeswoman Dalia Rosen would not comment. "We follow the leading standards of corporate governance and focus on ethical behavior in our business dealings," she said.
Over the past two decades, Uzbekistan has "imprisoned thousands to enforce repressive rule," Human Rights Watch reported last year. The price of dissent is arbitrary detention, forced labor and torture, the group said. A report submitted to the U.N. by three rights groups deemed torture by the secret police systematic, unpunished and encouraged.
Three years ago, metal worker Kudrat Rasulov reached out to Karayev from Uzbekistan via Facebook seeking advice on how he could help promote free expression in his country. The exile said he suggested that Rasulov, now 46, write critical commentary on local media reports. Rasulov's weekly reports were then published online under a pseudonym. Rasulov thought he was being careful. He created a new email account for every article he sent, and the two men discussed the articles over Skype. But after six months, Rasulov was arrested. He is serving an 8-year-prison sentence for subversion.
Karayev believes Rasulov was undone by surveillance, and Human Rights Watch agreed. The court's sentence found he was convicted based in part on his Skype communications and contact with Karayev, the group said in a report.
"They were reading Skype. They were listening to his phone calls. That's the way they build their cases," said Steve Swerdlow, the report's author.
In Colombia, Verint has racked up millions in sales. As recently as 2015, U.S. customs officials funded maintenance for a wiretapping system, according to government contracts. Nearly a decade ago, its products were abused by officials who were later sacked for illegal eavesdropping, senior police and prosecutors told the AP at the time, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Like the United States, most countries require court orders to use the technology. But where rule of law is weak, abuse is not uncommon.
The Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago saw a government fall after a wiretapping scandal involving Verint-supplied equipment. In 2009, a total of 53 people, including politicians and journalists, were illegally monitored, according to a former senior security official who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal. The Verint equipment remains operative, though now a court order is needed to use it.
One piece of the Verint product mix that Trinidad and Tobago bought is Vantage Broadway. A promotional brochure published by Israel's defense ministry for a 2014 trade show in India describes it as data-analysis and pattern-seeking software. It pairs with a product called Reliant to "intercept, filter and analyze huge volumes of Internet, voice and satellite communication." The package Peru bought includes both Reliant and Vantage, documents show.
The little regulation that exists in the commercial mass-surveillance trade falls under a non-binding international arms export-control regime called the Wassenaar Arrangement. In December 2013, it was amended to add monitoring products like Reliant and Vantage and "attack-ware" that breaks into smartphones and computers and turns them into listening posts.
The United States has not ratified the amendment; the federal Commerce Department proposed rules that raised objections in Silicon Valley. Israel says it is complying, and the European Union ratified the update. But Schaake, the EU lawmaker, said its 28 member states act independently and "technologies continue to be exported to countries that are known human rights violators."
Surveillance technology from Israel, meanwhile, is being used in South Sudan, where a 2 -year-old civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives, a panel of U.N. experts reported in January. U.N. and human rights groups say the government deploys it to track down, jail and torture dissidents and journalists.
The ability of South Sudan's intelligence agency "to identify and illegally apprehend individuals has been significantly enhanced" through the acquisition of "additional communications interception equipment from Israel," the U.N. experts wrote.
They did not name the suppliers, and a government spokesman declined to discuss the issue. While there is no direct evidence that Verint is a supplier, an AP reporter confirmed the names of two company employees on a flight in May from Ethiopia to the South Sudanese capital of Juba. Typing on a laptop, one was working on a presentation that named the three telecoms that operate in the country.
Verint did not respond to questions about whether it supplied surveillance technology to South Sudan.
An activist jailed for four months in Juba said his interrogators spoke openly about tapping his phone, played recordings of him in intercepted phone conversations and showed him emails he had sent. He spoke to the AP on condition he not be identified, saying he fears for his life.
Joseph Bakosoro, a former South Sudanese state governor who was also held without charge for four months, said his interrogators played for him a voicemail that had been left on his cellphone. They claimed it was evidence he backed rebels.
Bakosoro said the voicemail proved only that he was being bugged.
His interrogators didn't hide that.
"They told me they are monitoring me," he said. "They are monitoring my phone, and they are monitoring everyone, so whatever we say on the telephone, they are monitoring."
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'WHO WILL GUARD THE GUARDS?'
Three years after Peru acquired the Verint package, it's not yet up and running, Carlos Basombrio, the incoming interior minister said just before taking office last week. "When it becomes operative, it will be used against organized crime (in coordination) with judges and prosecutors."
Located in a three-story building next to the country's DINI spy agency, Pisco sits on a Lima military base off-limits to the public. It can track 5,000 individual targets and simultaneously record the communications of 300 people, according to agency documents, with eight listening rooms and parabolic antennae affixed outside to capture satellite downlinks.
Control of Pisco was shifted to the national police after the spying scandal that crippled the intelligence agency. Verint sent Israeli personnel to train Peruvian operators, adding eight months of instruction at the host government's request, records show.
One major eavesdropping tool has, however, been active in Peru since October. It can physically track any phone in real time using geolocation. Under a July 2015 decree, police can locate phones without a court order, but would need one to listen in.
Government officials wouldn't offer details on what software was being used to track cellphones. But two months before the decree, DINI officials said payment had been authorized for a Verint geolocation product called SkyLock. That software enables phone-tracking within the country, and a premium version can pinpoint any mobile phone in most countries.
All four Peruvian phone companies agreed to cooperate on geolocation, signing a pact with the government the details of which were not disclosed.
Civil libertarians consider warrantless geolocation a dangerous invasion of privacy, especially in a nation with pervasive public corruption. Peru's incoming congress is dominated by Fuerza Popular, a party associated with imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori. He ran one of the most corrupt Latin American regimes in recent history.
In July 2015, the Verint surveillance platform got caught in the chaos of Peruvian politics.
Word of the purchase was leaked, triggering a government audit. The Miami-based Verint vice president who made the sale, Shefi Paz, complained about the phone companies' apparent foot-dragging in emails and letters to DINI officials. They weren't making themselves available for meetings.
"Verint should not have to suffer from political delays," Paz wrote . Reached by phone, Paz declined to comment.
The eavesdropping products Verint and its peers sell play an important role in fighting terrorism, said Ika Balzam, a former employee of both Verint and Nice. That is a common industry claim, echoed by politicians.
And yet, Balzam acknowledged, there are no guarantees that nation-states won't abuse surveillance tools.
"There is a saying," Balzam said: "'Who will guard the guards?'"
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Associated Press writer Frank Bajak reported this story in Lima and AP writer Jack Gillum reported from Washington. AP writers Maria Danilova in Washington; Josef Federman in Jerusalem; Jason Patinkin in Juba, South Sudan; Tony Fraser in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Kristen Gelineau in Sydney contributed to this report.
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Documents about the Peru program: http://bit.ly/2awHVE0
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Frank Bajak on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fbajak
Jack Gillum on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackgillum
This Thursday, July 28, 2016 photo shows the Verint offices in Herzliya, Israel. The Mellville, N.Y.-based company discloses little about its surveillance products, which it says collect and parse massive data sets to "detect, investigate and neutralize threats." Such so-called "lawful intercept" software available for years to Western police and spy agencies is now easily obtained by governments that routinely violate basic rights. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)
This Thursday, July 28, 2016 photo shows the Verint offices in Herzliya, Israel. The Mellville, N.Y.-based company discloses little about its surveillance products, which it says collect and parse massive data sets to "detect, investigate and neutralize threats." Such so-called "lawful intercept" software available for years to Western police and spy agencies is now easily obtained by governments that routinely violate basic rights. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)
This image shows a page from a Peruvian government document dated August 2015, obtained by The Associated Press. It outlines a domestic electronic surveillance platform from the American-Israeli firm Verint Systems. This page shows a photo of buildings in Peru's capital, Lima, where it was being installed; labels indicate offices for prosecutors, meeting rooms and "listening rooms." Originally acquired by Peru's intelligence agency, the platform is now to be staffed by police. (AP Photo)
Former Vice President Marisol Espinoza attends the inauguration ceremony for President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski at Congress in Lima, Peru, on Thursday, July 28, 2016. In 2015, after the country's intelligence agency purchased a secret surveillance system from the American-Israeli security firm Verint Systems, Espinoza said she caught two intelligence agents staking her out. The uproar over Perus rogue agency forced out the prime minister, but the government did not halt installation of the system. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
New Interior Minister Carlos Basombrio, foreground, and Finance Minister Alfredo Thorne attend the inauguration ceremony for President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski at Congress in Lima, Peru, on Thursday, July 28, 2016. Three years after its acquisition, the Verint surveillance system purchased by Peru has been installed but is not up and running, says Basombrio. "When it becomes operative, it will be used against organized crime, with judicial oversight." (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
This undated photo provided by exiled Uzbek activist Tulkin Karayev shows dissident Kudrat Rasulov, a blogger who published commentary critical of the government under a pseudonym. To protect his identity, he created a new email account for every article he sent, discussing them with with Karayev over Skype. Rasulov was arrested in 2013 and is now serving an 8-year-prison sentence for subversion. Karayev believes Rasulov was undone by surveillance. (Tulkin Karayev via AP)
This undated photo provided by exiled Uzbek activist Tulkin Karayev shows dissident Kudrat Rasulov, a blogger who published commentary critical of the government under a pseudonym. To protect his identity, he created a new email account for every article he sent, discussing them with with Karayev over Skype. Rasulov was arrested in 2013 and is now serving an 8-year-prison sentence for subversion. Karayev believes Rasulov was undone by surveillance. (Tulkin Karayev via AP)
Edin Omanovic, a research officer at Privacy International, poses for a photo at the company's offices in London on Wednesday, July 27, 2016. The advocacy group works to expose companies that enable surveillance that it says erodes people's privacy. There is just so little reliable data on this, Omanovic said of the prevalence of off-the-shelf state surveillance tools. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Edin Omanovic, a research officer at Privacy International, poses for a photo at the company's offices in London on Wednesday, July 27, 2016. The advocacy group works to expose companies that enable surveillance that it says erodes people's privacy. There is just so little reliable data on this, Omanovic said of the prevalence of off-the-shelf state surveillance tools. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
PICTURED: Cuban cattle country keeps up rodeo traditions
SANCTI SPIRITUS, Cuba (AP) In the Cuban countryside, many children learn to ride a horse before they tackle a bicycle.
At the tender age of 6, Dariadna Corujo is already an expert barrel racer and calf roper, wearing pink boots as she competes in rodeos on the hot, flat grasslands of central Sancti Spiritus province.
A group of neighboring cattle ranchers founded a non-governmental group called Future Ranchers more than a decade ago to revive Cuba's rodeo culture, which dates back centuries to Spanish colonial times. The group teaches rodeo skills like roping and riding along with more practical education in ranching, veterinary medicine and farming.
In this July 29, 2016 photo, cowgirl Dariadna Corujo winds up to lasso a calf during an improvised rodeo event at a farm in Sancti Spiritus, central Cuba. At the tender age of 6, Dariadna is already an expert barrel racer and calf roper. In the flat grasslands of Sancti Spiritus, a group of neighboring cattle ranchers founded a non-governmental organization called Future Ranchers more than a decade ago to revive Cubas rodeo culture, which dates back centuries to Spanish colonial times. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
The best students can start farm- and ranch-related studies at local universities without passing the difficult national entrance exam. A founder of the group proudly notes the students often know so much that they give informal classes to other students.
In Sancti Spiritus' cattle country, 80 children are enrolled in the association, which struggles to find the funds for basic needs like gasoline for the vehicles taking the students to competitions. Many families save for years in order to buy their children saddles, boots and lassos.
"At $12 a lasso, do you know how many liters of milk I have to sell?" said Dariadna's father, Donato Corujo.
The children of Future Ranchers have become the main attraction at many Sancti Spiritus rodeos, and a standard at religious processions and Cuba's May Day parades.
In this July 29, 2016 photo, a young cowboy looks out from a bus window as he waits to be transported via bus to an improvised rodeo event at a farm in Sancti Spiritus, central Cuba. In Sancti Spiritus cattle country, 80 children are enrolled in the non-governmental organization called Future Ranchers association, which struggles to find the funds for basic needs like gasoline for the vehicles taking the students to competitions. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this July 29, 2016 photo, cowgirl Dariadna Corujo sits on her horse while herding cattle near a farm in Sancti Spiritus, central Cuba. At the tender age of 6, Dariadna is already an expert barrel racer and calf roper, wearing pink boots as she competes in rodeos on the flat grasslands of central Sancti Spiritus province. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this July 29, 2016 photo, 2-year-old cowboy Wrangler Ponce pulls two horses at his parents farm in Sancti Spiritus, central Cuba. In the Cuban countryside, many children learn to ride a horse before they learn to ride a bicycle. In Sancti Spiritus cattle country, 80 children are enrolled in a non-governmental organization called Future Ranchers, founded by a group of neighboring cattle ranchers more than a decade ago to revive Cubas rodeo culture. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this July 29, 2016 photo, cowgirl Dariadna Corujo rides her horse near a farm in Sancti Spiritus, central Cuba. At the tender age of 6, Dariadna is already an expert barrel racer and calf roper, wearing pink boots as she competes in rodeos on the flat grasslands of central Sancti Spiritus province. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this July 29, 2016 photo, 2-year-old cowboy Wrangler Ponce pours water into a wheelbarrow serving as a water troff for the horses at his parents farm in Sancti Spiritus, central Cuba. In the Cuban countryside, many children learn to ride a horse before they learn to ride a bicycle as well as skills like roping and riding along with more practical education. Those who grow up to be the best start farm- and ranch-related studies at local universities without passing the difficult national entrance exam. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this July 29, 2016 photo, 5-year-old cowboy David Obregon works to lasso a goat for milking at his parents farm in Sancti Spiritus, central Cuba. A group of neighboring cattle ranchers founded a non-governmental organization called Future Ranchers more than a decade ago to revive Cubas rodeo culture, which dates back centuries to Spanish colonial times. The group teaches rodeo skills like roping and riding along with more practical education in ranching, veterinary medicine and farming. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this July 29, 2016 photo, 5-year-old cowboy David Obregon runs across the yard of his parents farm in Sancti Spiritus, central Cuba. In the Cuban countryside, many children learn to ride a horse before they learn to ride a bicycle. Those who grow up to be the best start farm- and ranch-related studies at local universities without passing the difficult national entrance exam. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this July 29, 2016 photo, young cowboys milk a goat at a farm in Sancti Spiritus, central Cuba. A group of neighboring cattle ranchers founded a non-governmental organization called Future Ranchers more than a decade ago to revive Cubas rodeo culture, which dates back centuries to Spanish colonial times. The group teaches rodeo skills like roping and riding along with more practical education in ranching, veterinary medicine and farming. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this July 29, 2016 photo, cowboys watch an improvised rodeo event at a farm in Sancti Spiritus, central Cuba. In the Cuban countryside, many children learn to ride a horse before they learn to ride a bicycle. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this July 29, 2016 photo, a cowboy throws a calf to the ground to wrap its legs, during an improvised rodeo game at a farm in Sancti Spiritus, central Cuba. In the Cuban countryside, many children learn to ride a horse before they learn to ride a bicycle as well as skills like roping and riding along with more practical education. Those who grow up to be the best start farm- and ranch-related studies at local universities without passing the difficult national entrance exam. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this July 29, 2016 photo, children of the Future Ranchers organization sit on horses as they wait for the release of a calf during an improvised rodeo event at a farm in Sancti Spiritus, central Cuba. The children enrolled in the non-governmental organization have become the main attraction at many Sancti Spiritus rodeos, and a standard at religious processions and Cubas May Day parades. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this July 29, 2016 photo, 5-year-old cowboy David Obregon holds down a calf during an improvised rodeo event at a farm in Sancti Spiritus, central Cuba. In the Cuban countryside, many children learn to ride a horse before they learn to ride a bicycle as well as skills like roping and riding along with more practical education. Those who grow up to be the best start farm- and ranch-related studies at local universities without passing the difficult national entrance exam. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this July 29, 2016 photo, cowboys team up to help 5-year-old cowboy David Obregon learn to ride a calf during an improvised rodeo game at a farm in Sancti Spiritus, central Cuba. In the Cuban countryside, many children learn to ride a horse before they learn to ride a bicycle. In Sancti Spiritus cattle country, 80 children are enrolled in a non-governmental organization called Future Ranchers, founded by a group of neighboring cattle ranchers more than a decade ago to revive Cubas rodeo culture. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Suspect in Ohio officer's fatal shooting wants trial moved
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (AP) The attorney for a man accused of fatally shooting an Ohio policeman is seeking to move the trial, citing "extensive" publicity in the potential death penalty case.
Herschel Jones III pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and other charges in the January slaying of Danville Officer Thomas Cottrell. The 34-year-old Cottrell was found behind the village's municipal building, after Jones' ex-girlfriend warned police that he was "looking to kill a cop."
Jones' attorney argues it would be impossible to get an impartial jury from Knox County because its residents have been exposed to extensive coverage about Jones, who has a lengthy criminal history.
Ex-church official gets bail, prosecutor vows to retry him
PHILADELPHIA (AP) The city's top prosecutor vowed on Tuesday to retry a former church official imprisoned for nearly three years over his handling of abuse complaints, even though the monsignor's conviction has twice been overturned.
Monsignor William Lynn was the first U.S. Roman Catholic Church official ever charged or convicted of helping to shield child molesters within its ranks.
A judge on Tuesday agreed to release Lynn from prison days after the state Supreme Court threw out the conviction, concluding the 2012 trial judge allowed too many priest-abuse victims not directly tied to the case to testify. Prosecutors had called the witnesses to show a pattern of behavior at the Philadelphia Archdiocese.
FILE In this Jan. 6, 2014, file photo, Monsignor William Lynn leaves a bail hearing at the Center for Criminal Justice in Philadelphia. Lynn, a former Philadelphia church official imprisoned over his handling of abuse complaints is seeking bail after Pennsylvania's highest court granted him a new trial. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Lynn was charged with endangering a boy by transferring a suspected predator-priest to his parish in the late 1990s.
His lawyer questioned District Attorney Seth Williams' intent to retry the case. Lynn, now 65, has served all but three months of his three-year sentence.
"I think we all know where Lynn stood in this (church) hierarchy. We all know that Lynn never touched a kid," lawyer Thomas Bergstrom said after a hearing Tuesday in which Lynn was ordered released on his original $250,000 bond. "Whether he's a scapegoat or not ... we're prepared to try a fair trial any day."
Williams said there is "substantial evidence" against Lynn.
"My office takes the charges of institutional sexual abuse extremely seriously," Williams said in a statement. "I will continue to use every available legal option at my disposal to prosecute pedophile priests and those who shield them."
Lynn has been in and out of prison during his appeals. He was due to be paroled in October, but relatives instead picked him up Tuesday from a state prison in northeastern Pennsylvania. Lynn, who will live with them in the Reading area, is due back in court Thursday to get a trial date. Despite two recent bouts with pneumonia, his spirits remain strong, Bergstrom said.
The accuser in Lynn's case, a former altar boy who said he was raped by two priests and his fifth-grade teacher, has since settled a civil lawsuit against the archdiocese.
At Lynn's initial trial, 21 other priest-abuse victims testified over several weeks, describing horrific sexual abuse by Philadelphia priests that stretched back for decades, long before Lynn's tenure as secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004. Lynn knew about those cases because he read through their complaints, which were kept in a locked, secret file room. He also made a list of 35 priests accused of sex abuse.
The late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua had the list destroyed, according to a memo introduced at trial. A copy nonetheless survived.
The trial judge called Lynn "a monster in clerical garb who destroyed the souls of children." But defense lawyers and other critics questioned why prosecutors charged a middle man in the church bureaucracy and failed to arrest the cardinals for whom he worked.
An advocacy group for clergy-abuse victims said Tuesday that his case put employers on notice that they must report child sexual-abuse complaints.
"Finally, a Catholic enabler a church official who put kids in harms' way has been punished. And he may be punished further," said Karen Polesir, Philadelphia-area director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "That should make many employers think again when they're tempted to hide known or suspected child sex crimes."
Hillary Clinton took a break from the presidential campaign on Tuesday to attend the funeral in Rhode Island of her longtime friend, Mark Weiner, a major Democratic donor and fundraiser.
Former President Bill Clinton delivered the eulogy, saying he was there to represent the 'much despised and maligned political class, those of us who wouldn't have gotten as far in life and certainly wouldn't have had half as much fun if it hadn't been for Mark Weiner.'
Hillary Clinton didn't speak at the funeral, but her husband remembered Weiner as 'forever young, forever exuberant, always just a little too much'.
The Clintons were just some on a long list notable people who attended the funeral service of Mark Weiner, center, an entrepreneur and die-hard democrat who died (pictured in 2004)
Former President Bill Clinton rides in the back seat as a car pulls out from Temple Beth-El after the funeral of Mark Weiner
Weiner has been friends with the Clintons since 1976, when he worked with Hillary Clinton on Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign. Here he is pictured in Connecticut in 2002
He recalled Hillary Clinton had hired Weiner to oversee an Indiana congressional district during Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential campaign in that state.
He noted Weiner died preparing to go to the Democratic convention. 'He was always on the job, always trying to advance what he believed in.'
Clinton joked that he thinks he added 6 months to Mark Weiner's life by introducing him to Sophia Loren at a Swiss restaurant.
'No one will ever think of him for more than 30 seconds without breaking into a smile,' he said.
After Clinton spoke, Hillary Clinton, looking distraught, followed the casket down the center aisle.
Weiner provided campaign buttons and other merchandise to Democratic presidential campaigns since 1980 and held leadership positions throughout the party.
He died last week at 62 after a year's long battle with cancer. He was preparing to travel to the Democratic National Convention to hear Bill Clinton speak when he died.
Hillary Clinton seen chatting with Susan and Mark Weiner, longtime Clinton friends, at a fundraiser
Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo is greeted as she arrives at Temple Beth-El for the funeral of Mark Weiner
U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., third from left, is greeted outside the funeral service
The crowd at his funeral was filled with Democratic players that also included the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, former national security adviser Tom Donilon and veteran political consultants James Carville, Paul Begala and Tad Devine.
Other attendees included Hollywood producer Steve Bing, the former president of baseball's National League, Leonard Coleman Jr., and drummer Max Weinberg.
Weiner became close friends with the Clintons in 1976, when he worked with Hillary Clinton on Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign. He worked on every presidential campaign since that year.
Bill Clinton told mourners that Weiner was a fierce competitor in business and politics. He said Weiner would do anything for his friends, but also performed kindnesses for strangers.
Weiner would give someone a tip for seating him in an empty restaurant, he said. Clinton remembered the fun of playing endless rounds of the card game Oh Hell! with Weiner during trips together all over the world.
A Providence police officer with a police canine checks the area outside Temple Beth-El in Providence, Rhode Island
Jesse Jackson is pictured arriving at the service in Providence
Joseph Paolino, the former ambassador to Malta, said during his remarks that Weiner could not wait to see Hillary Clinton become the first woman nominated as a major party's presidential candidate.
Addressing Hillary Clinton, who sat in the front row, he said that Weiner had recently been fitted for a tuxedo 'because he wanted to dance with you at the inaugural ball.'
The Clintons departed with the family. Hillary Clinton appeared upset and nodded to people as she left, out of the view of cameras.
Devine, a senior adviser to the Bernie Sanders' campaign, went to high school with Weiner and Donilon. Weiner was manager of the basketball team.
'He was a unique, one-of-a-kind guy,' Devine said before the service.
Jackson first met Weiner during his 1984 run for president. Later, Weiner became a founding board member of Jackson's Rainbow PUSH coalition.
Trump moves from 'Crooked Hillary' to 'the devil' on stump
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (AP) On the campaign stump, Donald Trump has opened August by moving from "Crooked Hillary" to "the devil."
Speaking in Pennsylvania on Monday, the billionaire real estate mogul derided Bernie Sanders' capitulation in the Democratic primary race and Sanders' decision to support Clinton.
Trump said of Sanders: "He made a deal with the devil. She's the devil."
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump applauds as he leaves a campaign rally at Cumberland Valley High School, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, in Mechanicsburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump in recent days has taken to categorizing the Clinton-Sanders understanding as a "deal with the devil" but this was the first time that he went so far as to specifically equate Clinton with Lucifer.
Trump's supporters packed a Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, high school gymnasium and thousands more were left outside or forced to watch in a spillover room.
Japan defense report raises China, North Korea concerns
TOKYO (AP) Japan called North Korea's nuclear and missile development a "grave and imminent threat" to the region and international security, and criticized China's increasingly assertive military action as dangerous in an annual defense report approved Tuesday by the Cabinet.
Key points in this year's 484-page report:
NORTH KOREA: The report notes that Pyongyang may have achieved the capability to miniaturize atomic weapons for warheads, as well as acquired a missile capable of reaching as far as 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles). "North Korea's military activity has increased tensions on the Korean peninsula, and become a grave and imminent threat not only to Japan but also to the security in the region and the international society."
FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2015 file photo, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) escort ship "Kurama" leads other vessels during a fleet review in the water off Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo. Japan has called North Korea's nuclear and missile development a "grave and imminent threat" to the region and international security, and criticized China's increasingly assertive military action in its annual defense report. The report, approved Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, by the Cabinet, comes as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government pushes for Japan to take on greater military roles abroad. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)
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CHINA: Rapidly expanding and assertive maritime and air activity and a lack of transparency in China's military buildup have destabilized the military balance in the region. Some of China's moves over conflicting maritime claims are "dangerous actions that could trigger unanticipated situations. ... They raise strong concern about what may happen in the future."
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SOUTH CHINA SEA: China's land reclamation and construction in the South China Sea are a provocation. China has been pushing to use the reclaimed islands for military purposes, while continuing to expand toward the Indian Ocean. Beijing should accept a recent international arbitration ruling aimed at settling its maritime disputes with the Philippines.
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EAST CHINA SEA: China has stepped up activity around Japanese-controlled islands that both claim, the report says, noting that a Chinese warship entered water just outside Japanese-claimed waters in the area. Increasing activity in the East China Sea also prompted Japan to scramble against Chinese warplanes more than 570 times last year. Japan calls the disputed islands the Senkaku, while China calls them the Diaoyu.
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Follow Mari Yamaguchi at https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi
Find her work at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/mari-yamaguchi
FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2015 file photo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center, stands with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, second left, and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, left, during the official triennial Maritime Self-Defense Force fleet review aboard the JMSDF escort ship Kurama in the waters off Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo. Japan has called North Korea's nuclear and missile development a "grave and imminent threat" to the region and international security, and criticized China's increasingly assertive military action in its annual defense report. The report, approved Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, by the Cabinet, comes as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government pushes for Japan to take on greater military roles abroad. (Kazuhiko Yamashita/Kyodo News via AP, File)
FILE - In this June 21, 2016 file photo, Japan Self-Defense Force members set up a PAC-3 Patriot missile unit deployed in case of a North Korean rocket launch at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo. Japan has called North Korea's nuclear and missile development a "grave and imminent threat" to the region and international security, and criticized China's increasingly assertive military action in its annual defense report. The report, approved Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, by the Cabinet, comes as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government pushes for Japan to take on greater military roles abroad. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)
Balloon pilot was never grounded due to gap in oversight
LOCKHART, Texas (AP) If Alfred "Skip" Nichols had been a commercial airplane pilot, he probably would have been grounded long ago.
Nichols, the pilot of a hot air balloon that crashed over the weekend in Texas, killing 16, was able to keep flying despite having at least four convictions for drunken driving and twice spending time in prison pointing to gaps in oversight of hot air balloon pilots.
Whether the pilot's drinking habits had anything to do with the crash was unclear. A former girlfriend described Nichols as a recovering alcoholic. She said he had been sober for at least four years and never piloted a balloon after drinking.
This undated photo provided by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides shows Alfred "Skip" Nichols. Nichols was identified by friends and colleagues as the pilot of the downed hot air balloon, operated by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides. Investigators said the balloon hit high-tension power lines before crashing Saturday, July 30, 2016, into a pasture near the Central Texas town of Lockhart. (Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides via AP)
The Federal Aviation Administration might allow a recovering alcoholic to fly commercial jets if the pilot could show that he or she was being successfully treated, said John Gadzinski, an airline captain and aviation safety consultant. But the agency is unlikely to accept an airline pilot with convictions for driving under the influence, he said.
The 49-year-old Nichols also had a long history of customer complaints against his balloon-ride companies in Missouri and Illinois dating back to 1997. Customers reported to the Better Business Bureau that their rides would get canceled at the last minute and their fees never refunded.
When pilots apply for a ballooning certificate with the FAA, they are not required to disclose any prior drunken driving convictions, only drug convictions, said Patrick Cannon, a spokesman for the Balloon Federation of America trade group, who called that a loophole in the law. He noted that the ballooning certificate specifically says not to include alcohol offenses involving a motor vehicle, as those are covered on the FAA's medical application.
But balloon pilots do not have to get regular medical exams from FAA-certified examiners. They are only required to write a statement certifying that they have "no medical defect" that would limit their ability to pilot a balloon.
Commercial plane pilots are required to fill out a form that includes questions on alcohol dependence or abuse and convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol.
A member of the National Transportation Safety Board, Robert Sumwalt, criticized what he called a "disparity" in the FAA requirements for balloon operators compared to plane or helicopter pilots.
"I was an airline pilot for 24 years, flew airplanes for 32 years, and I had to have a medical, an FAA medical every six months," he said.
Nichols got his commercial license to pilot hot air balloons in Missouri in July 1996. His first drunken driving conviction came in St. Louis County in 1990, followed by two more convictions in 2002 and a fourth in 2010, according to online court records.
He was also convicted of a drug crime in 2000 and spent about a year and a half in prison before being paroled. He was returned to prison in April 2010 after his parole was revoked because of his drunken driving conviction that year. He was paroled again in January 2012.
After they receive a license, all pilots are supposed to notify the FAA within 60 days of a drug or alcohol conviction. However, Cannon said, there is no oversight of that reporting requirement for balloon pilots.
Investigators said they do not yet know why the balloon operated by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, hit high-tension power lines before crashing into a pasture Saturday near Lockhart, about 60 miles northeast of San Antonio.
While there were patches of fog on the day of the flight, the ground crew said it was clear when the balloon took off, and there was no sign of any maintenance trouble with the balloon, Sumwalt said. An examination of the balloon after the crash found "no evidence of preexisting failures, malfunctions or problems," he said.
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Schmall reported from Fort Worth. Associated Press writers Reese Dunklin and Jamie Stengle in Dallas, Jim Salter in St. Louis and Joan Lowy in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
Flowers and a New Testament lay near crime scene tape at the scene of Saturday's hot air balloon crash near Lockhart, Texas, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. Sixteen people were killed in the crash. (Deborah Cannon/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Robert Sumwalt speaks during a news conference at the scene of Saturday's hot air balloon crash near Lockhart. Texas, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. Sixteen people died in the crash. (Deborah Cannon/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A DPS trooper talks with men at a checkpoint near the scene of Saturday's hot air balloon crash near Lockhart, Texas, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. Sixteen people were killed in the crash. (Deborah Cannon/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
An impromptu memorial stands outside the home of Tresa and Joe Owens in Brookshire, Texas, on Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. Family members told the Associated Press the couple died in the hot air balloon crash that killed 16 people on Saturday near Lockhart, Texas, about 60 miles northeast of San Antonio. (AP Photo/John Mone)
Health officials advised pregnant women to avoid a part of Miami where mosquitoes are transmitting Zika directly to humans.
Mosquitoes have apparently started spreading Zika on the U.S. mainland, citing four cases they strongly believe were caused by bites.
Ten more cases were announced Monday, even though Florida authorities have yet to find any mosquitoes actually carrying the virus.
And another was announced on Tuesday.
Of the 15 people infected, two are women and 12 are men, and one has not been identified.
Eight patients showed symptoms of Zika, which can include fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. The others had no symptoms. The disease is often so mild that most people don't know they are infected.
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Warning: Pregnant women have been told to avoid this Zika-stricken area in Miami
Zika fears: A Miami-Dade County mosquito control worker sprays around a home on Monday. The CDC has told pregnant women to stay away from the Zika-stricken neighborhood
ARE MIAMI MOSQUITOES IMMUNE TO BUG SPRAY? CDC officials fear mosquitoes in the Wynwood area of Miami are immune to the bug spray that is being used since weeks of spraying has done nothing to diminish the population. 'It's possible that the mosquitoes there are resistant to the insecticide that's been used,' the center's chief Tom Frieden warned on Monday. 'It's possible that there may be what we call cryptic breeding places. 'This is a very difficult mosquito to control, particularly in a complex urban environment.' His words came as Florida health officials finally requested an emergency response team from the CDC. The state resisted seeking such dramatic measures for weeks - and did not even tell the CDC about the first potential Zika infection until a day before it reached the public after a week of investigations. Advertisement
All 15 cases are thought to have occurred in Miami's Wynwood arts district, a trendy, fast-gentrifying neighborhood of warehouses, art galleries, restaurants and boutiques.
Officials have now started patrolling the streets of the neighborhood handing out insect repellent to homeless people.
Rosemary LeBranch was doing laundry in Wynwood when health officials came to her house a few days ago and took urine samples from her, her daughter and her father. Her father, Gabriel Jean, tested positive for Zika, she said Monday.
He had already spoken with a doctor and was advised to wear long shirts and pants outdoors.
'He said nothing hurts; he doesn't have any pain. He doesn't feel anything,' she said.
More than 1,650 cases of Zika have been reported in U.S. states.
Nearly all have been the result of travel to a Zika-stricken country or sex with someone who was infected abroad, but now more than a dozen people have been infected in the U.S.
Florida health officials said they have tested more than 200 people in Miami-Dade and Broward counties since early July.
An emergency response team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will help Florida authorities investigate the outbreak, collect samples and control mosquitoes.
Scott asked for a CDC emergency team to help Florida combat Zika, which has been sweeping Latin America and the Caribbean in recent months and now may be gaining a long-dreaded foothold in the U.S. The White House said a team will be sent quickly.
'We will continue to keep our residents and visitors safe utilizing constant surveillance and aggressive strategies, such as increased mosquito spraying, that have allowed our state to fight similar viruses,' Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement Monday.
Government health officials warned pregnant women Monday to avoid the Zika-stricken part of Miami and told couples who have been there recently to put off having children for at least two months, after the number of people feared infected through mosquito bites in the U.S. climbed to 14.
The CDC also said expectant mothers should get tested for the virus if they have visited the neighborhood since mid-June.
Jordan Davison and Melissa Felix work for a cruise line and were enjoying their day off Monday looking at Wynwood's spray-painted murals.
'It's not like a big thing, right?' the 25-year-old Davidson said. 'It's kind of freaky. There's so much going on we didn't know, didn't really think about it. ... I might wear bug spray going forward.'
The CDC fears mosquitoes may be immune to the spray they're using as it's having no effect
NEW TRAVEL ADVICE The CDC and the state of Florida issued new guidelines for tourists on Monday. Anyone, who has traveled to or lived in the area affected by Zika since June 15 should consider getting tested. That is the earliest known date that one of the people could have been infected with Zika. Men and women who have recently been in the affected area should wait at least eight weeks before trying to conceive a child. Pregnant women have also been told to stay away from the infected area. Advertisement
CDC officials said they could not remember another time in the 70-year history of the disease-fighting agency when it told members of the public not to travel someplace in the U.S.
Zika infections in pregnant women can cause severe brain-related birth defects, including extremely small skulls. The global outbreak has led to more than 1,800 serious defects.
The virus can linger in the blood and urine for weeks and has been found in sperm for months.
As a result, the CDC said men and women who have recently been in the affected area should wait at least eight weeks before trying to conceive a child. And men who have had symptoms of Zika should wait at least six months, the CDC said.
The travel warning covers an area of about one square mile in Wynwood to the east of Interstate 95 and south of I-195. It's large enough, health officials said, to provide a buffer around the suspected hot zone. The tropical mosquito that spreads Zika travels less than 200 yards in its lifetime.
Dr. Peter Hotez, a tropical medicine expert at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, said the CDC should be more cautious and expand the travel advisory to all of Miami-Dade County.
'If you're pregnant or think you might be pregnant, avoid travel to Miami, and possibly elsewhere in South Florida,' he said. 'I'm guessing most women who are pregnant are doing that. I don't think they're sitting around waiting for the CDC to split hairs and fine-tune it to a specific area.'
CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said the narrowly drawn warning was dictated by science and not by any concern for Florida's crucial tourism industry. He said it was based on the nation's ability to contain previous outbreaks of other diseases carried by the same mosquito.
'There wouldn't be a technical or scientific basis to give a broader recommendation,' Frieden said.
Obama: Pulling up drawbridge on trade would hurt US workers
WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama found common cause with the leader of Singapore in the face of growing political headwinds against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, warning that to "pull up a drawbridge" on trade would only hurt the United States and its workers.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged the United States to maintain its "indispensable role" in the Asia-Pacific and ratify the TPP as he joined Obama at the White House to celebrate the 50th anniversary of U.S. diplomatic relations with the Southeast Asian city state.
Obama said that people have legitimate fears about the impact of globalization and being "left behind" but the answer cannot be to back away from trade and the global economy.
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks during a joint news conference with President Barack Obama in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
"To try to pull-up a drawbridge on trade would only hurt us and hurt our workers. The answer is to make sure that globalization and trade is working for us and not against us," Obama told joint news conference after talks with Lee in the Oval Office.
"TPP is designed to do precisely that," Obama added.
Singapore, a close U.S. partner, is one of the 12 nations in the TPP, an agreement key to Obama's effort to boost U.S. exports and build strategic ties in Asia. But Lee's Washington visit comes as opposition to the TPP intensifies in the United States. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton are both against it.
Asked about that opposition, Obama responded: "Right now I'm president and I'm for it, and I think I have the better argument."
Calling Singapore a "rock solid" partner, Obama welcomed Lee after an elaborate ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, where hundreds of U.S. military members in blue and white uniforms formed an honor guard. Lee will also be honored with a state dinner on Tuesday evening.
Lee described America as a longtime stabilizing influence in the Asia-Pacific, and said it has put its reputation on the line over TPP. He said other nations such as close U.S. ally Japan have faced political costs at home to make the deal.
"If at the end, waiting at the altar the bride doesn't arrive, I think there are people who are going to feel really hurt, not just emotionally, but really damaged for a long time to come," Lee said, adding that it could undermine confidence in the U.S. as a security partner.
The Obama administration says it remains determined to try and win congressional approval for TPP, but the chances of achieving that in the "lame duck" session after the Nov. 8 election and before the new president takes office Jan. 20 appear slim because of the depth of political opposition, not least from Obama's fellow Democrats.
Obama, however, expressed confidence his administration could get it done. He said he was ready to sit down publicly with people on both the right and left of the political spectrum to go through provisions of TPP to address "misinformation" about the agreement. He said the alternative was to allow China to set trade rules that would ignore labor, environmental and other standards.
The deal would eliminate trade barriers and tariffs, streamline standards and encourage investment between the 12 countries that include Mexico, Japan, Vietnam and Australia that account for about 40 percent of global economic output. But critics say the pact undercuts American workers by introducing lower-wage competition and gives huge corporations too much leeway.
Singapore, a city state of 5.7 million people, is heavily dependent on international trade for its prosperity. In 2004, it became the first Asian nation to strike a bilateral free trade agreement with the U.S. Last year, the bilateral trade in goods totaled $47 billion, with the U.S. enjoying a $10 billion surplus.
Singapore is also a strong advocate of the U.S. security role in Asia although it retains cordial ties with China too. Under Obama, the U.S. has deployed littoral combat ships in Singapore, and last December, deployed a P-8 Poseidon spy plane there for the first time, amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea.
Obama said the U.S. and Singapore shared a "common vision of a peaceful and prosperous Asia-Pacific and a more secure world." He paid tribute to the tiny nation's transformation from third world country to a first world country, saying it "punches above its weight."
The state dinner for Lee will be the first held for a Singaporean leader since October 1985, when Ronald Reagan hosted Lee's father, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
The U.S. and Singapore opened diplomatic relations in 1966, a year after the U.S. recognized Singapore's independence from Malaysia.
President Barack Obama answers questions during a joint news conference with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Barack Obama hosts a state visit ceremony for Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife Ho Ching, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug, 2, 20216. The prime minister of the Southeast Asian city state joins Obama in Washington to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the contentious Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal will be high on the agenda. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama host a state visit ceremony for Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife Ho Ching, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, August 2, 2016. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill are at right. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Trump suggests general election could be 'rigged'
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has suggested that he fears the general election "is going to be rigged" an unprecedented assertion by a modern presidential candidate.
Trump's extraordinary claim one he did not back up with any immediate evidence would, if it became more than just an offhand comment, seem to threaten the tradition of peacefully contested elections and challenge the very essence of a fair democratic process.
"I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," the Republican nominee told a town hall crowd in Columbus, Ohio on Monday. He added that he has been hearing "more and more" that the election may not be contested fairly, though he did not elaborate further.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walks away after speaking to reporters before a town hall event, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, in Columbus, Ohio . (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump made the claim after first suggesting that the Democrats had fixed their primary system so Hillary Clinton could defeat Bernie Sanders. Trump has previously backed up that thought by pointing to hacked emails from the national party that appeared to indicate a preference for Clinton. Still, the former secretary of state received 3.7 million more votes than Sanders nationwide and had established a clear lead in delegates by March 1.
The celebrity businessman who has been known to dabble in conspiracy theories, including claims that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States and, more recently, that Sen. Ted Cruz's father was an associate of President John F. Kennedy's assassin also claimed that the Republican nomination would have been stolen from him had he not won by significant margins.
He then asserted that November's general election may not be on the up-and-up.
He repeated the charge Monday night on Fox News Channel's "Hannity," saying: "November 8th, we'd better be careful, because that election is going to be rigged. And I hope the Republicans are watching closely or it's going to be taken away from us."
Requests to Trump's campaign for additional explanation were not returned.
The statement could be an effort by Trump to lay the groundwork of an excuse if he goes on to lose the general election. But if he were to be defeated in November and then publicly declare that the election results were bogus, his claim could yield unpredictable reactions from his supporters and fellow Republicans.
Trump has not been shy about asserting that the electoral process has been "rigged."
It became a frequent catchphrase of his during a low-water mark of his primary campaign this spring, when forces allied with Cruz managed to pack state delegations with supporters of the Texas senator. Trump also asserted that the Republican Party had changed the delegate allocation in the Florida primary to favor a native candidate, like Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio, at Trump's expense.
In recent weeks, in an effort to woo angry Sanders supporters to his campaign, Trump has made the claim that the Democrats' process was also rigged. Monday night, Trump said Sanders "made a deal with the devil," and said of Clinton, "She's the devil."
The Clinton campaign declined to comment about Trump's remarks.
The event in Ohio was Trump's first campaign appearance since the onset of his tussle with the parents of a slain Army veteran, but he did not address the flap. He spoke for nearly an hour Monday in Columbus, but did not mention his criticism of Khizr and Ghazala Khan, Muslims whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004.
The Khans spoke out against Trump and questioned his familiarity with the Constitution last week at the Democratic National Convention. Trump struck back by questioning whether Ghazala Khan had been allowed to speak. She said she is still too grief-stricken by her son's death.
Trump criticized the family in an interview Sunday and again in a pair of tweets Monday morning. Asked on MSNBC Monday whether Trump should apologize, Ghazala Khan said, "I don't want to hear anything from him and I don't want to say anything to him."
But his running mate, Mike Pence, quieted a campaign rally crowd Monday that booed a woman who said she had a son who serves in the U.S. Air Force and asked how he can tolerate what she called Trump's disrespect of American servicemen.
Pence asked the Nevada crowd to quiet down, then said about the questioner: "That's what freedom looks like. That's what freedom sounds like."
He continued: "Capt. Khan is an American hero. We honor him and his family ... we cherish his family." He added that Trump had great respect for veterans.
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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
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Associated Press writer Scott Sonner contributed reporting in Carson City, Nevada.
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Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire
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This story has been corrected to fix spelling of Khan in last paragraph.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shakes hands during a campaign rally at Cumberland Valley High School, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, in Mechanicsburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Cumberland Valley High School, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, in Mechanicsburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump is 'unfit,' Obama says, challenging GOP to end support
WASHINGTON (AP) In a searing denouncement, President Barack Obama castigated Donald Trump as "unfit" and "woefully unprepared" to serve in the White House. He challenged Republicans to withdraw their support for their party's nominee, declaring "There has to come a point at which you say 'enough.'"
While Obama has long been critical of Trump, his blistering condemnation Tuesday was a notable escalation of his involvement in the presidential race. Obama questioned whether Trump would "observe basic decency" as president, argued he lacks elementary knowledge about domestic and international affairs and condemned his disparagement of an American Muslim couple whose son was killed while serving the U.S. Army in Iraq.
A chorus of Republicans has disavowed Trump's criticism of Khizr and Ghazala Khan and the Republican nominee's calls to temporarily ban Muslims from coming to the U.S. But Obama argued that isn't enough.
President Barack Obama speak to reporters during a joint news conference with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
"If you are repeatedly having to say, in very strong terms, that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him?" Obama asked during a White House news conference. "What does this say about your party that this is your standard-bearer?" No prominent Republican lawmaker responded to Obama's challenge.
Instead, it was Trump stunningly withholding his support from top GOP lawmakers, including House Speaker Paul Ryan. In an affront to his party's top elected official, Trump told The Washington Post he wasn't "quite there yet" on an endorsement for Ryan in his primary next week.
Trump's refusal to back Ryan exposed anew the deep divisions within the GOP and underscored that the businessman rarely plays by the traditional political playbook. Ryan has been among those urging Republicans to rally around Trump, despite concerns about his candidacy.
Ryan's campaign said, "Neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trump's endorsement. And we are confident in a victory next week regardless."
Trump also said he was not supporting Sen. John McCain in his primary in Arizona, and he dismissed Sen. Kelly Ayotte as a weak and disloyal leader in New Hampshire.
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton sees those GOP concerns about Trump as an opportunity to reach out to party moderates particularly women who may be so upset by the nominee that they're willing to look past policy differences and questions about Clinton's character.
One of those Republicans came around to Clinton's side Tuesday. Hewlett-Packard executive Meg Whitman, a prominent GOP fundraiser and donor, endorsed Clinton and said, "Donald Trump's demagoguery has undermined the fabric of our national character."
Obama who is enjoying heightened popularity in his eighth and final year in office plans to campaign robustly for Clinton through Election Day. He and first lady Michelle Obama spoke at last week's Democratic convention in Philadelphia.
The Khans also appeared at the convention, with Khizr Khan telling the story of his son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart after his death in 2004. Khan criticized Trump's position on Muslims and asked whether the real estate mogul had read the Constitution.
For most politicians, tangling with a bereaved military family would be out of bounds. But Trump dove in, questioning why Ghazala Khan did not speak, implying her religion prevented her from doing so, and saying he was "viciously attacked" by Khizr Khan.
Trump's criticism was part of a familiar pattern: He can't let go of a perceived slight, no matter the potential damage to his presidential campaign or political reputation.
Those who have worked with him say that in private meetings he can often appear amenable to putting a controversy aside. But the businessman can quickly be drawn back in by an interview, especially if he believes he's already answered a question, or if he grows irritated by commentary on cable television.
Trump's unwillingness to let the matter subside sparked outrage Monday from several Republicans.
Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, a former prisoner of war, said Trump did not have "unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us." Rep. Mike Coffman, a vulnerable Republican in a competitive Colorado district, said he was "deeply offended when Donald Trump fails to honor the sacrifices of all of our brave soldiers who were lost in that war." Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt said the Khans "deserve to be heard and respected."
Obama argued those denunciations "ring hollow" as long as Republicans continue to back Trump in the White House race.
Trump's response? On Twitter, he said, "President Obama will go down as perhaps one of the worst president in the history of the United States!"
Sen. Mark Kirk, who is facing a tough re-election fight in Illinois, rescinded his endorsement of Trump in June after the GOP nominee criticized an American-born judge's Mexican heritage. Others, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Ryan, have broken with the nominee on individual issues but continue to back his candidacy.
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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
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Associated Press writers Erica Werner in Washington and Jonathan Lemire in Ashburn, Virginia contributed to this report.
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Follow Julie Pace on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jpaceDC
President Barack Obama answers questions during a joint news conference with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a Purple Heart medal given to him by a supporter during a campaign rally at Briar Woods High School, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
AP FACT CHECK: Trump gets much wrong on Ukraine
WASHINGTON (AP) Donald Trump is trying to claw back a string of inaccurate comments about Ukraine, but he's yet to get it right.
On the weekend, Trump asserted in an ABC interview that Russia would not enter Ukraine, not seeming to know Russian troops were already there. He suggested the 2014 annexation of Crimea didn't count because the peninsula's people preferred being part of Russia, which was Russian President Vladimir Putin's stated reason for taking it.
Prodded by his interviewer, the Republican presidential candidate modified his statement afterward.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump applauds after speaking during a town hall event, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, in Columbus, Ohio . (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
"Already in Crimea!" Trump tweeted Monday, referring to Russian forces. "That's what I said!"
The attempted clarifications left much unclarified.
Here's how Trump's comments comport with the facts:
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TRUMP on Putin: "He's not going into Ukraine, OK. Just so you understand: He's not going to go into Ukraine, all right?"
THE FACTS: Putin did go into Ukraine. After Ukrainian protesters chased Viktor Yanukovych, their Russian-backed leader, from power in February 2014, Russian troops stationed at a base in Crimea seized strategic locations on the peninsula and replaced the local government with pro-Kremlin politicians. Russia annexed the territory after a widely discredited referendum a month later.
Moscow didn't stop there, according to the central government in Kiev and its Western backers, sending troops and military equipment to help separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. They say Russia continues to train rebels and direct low-level attacks against Ukrainian forces on the front line.
Russia acknowledges it has some military officials in Ukraine, but says no regular troops are there.
In his tweets Monday, Trump sought to explain himself: "When I said in an interview that Putin is 'not going into Ukraine, you can mark it down,' I am saying if I am President."
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TRUMP: "You know, the people of Crimea, from what I've heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were. And you have to look at that, also."
THE FACTS: Trump is right that many Crimeans, being ethnically Russian, felt close to Moscow. But that is only part of the story.
The March 2014 referendum that officially showed 95 percent of Crimeans wanting to join Russia faced an avalanche of criticism.
It occurred as thousands of Russian troops were controlling Crimea. There were charges that people voted at gunpoint. No respected international election monitors supervised the balloting. Crimea's large Muslim Tatar minority, whose families were forcibly relocated to Central Asia during Soviet times, defiantly opposed joining Russia. Many ethnic Ukrainians stayed at home. And the world community almost universally panned the annexation.
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TRUMP: "As far as the Ukraine is concerned, it's a mess. And that's under the Obama's administration, with his strong ties to NATO. So with all of these strong ties to NATO, Ukraine is a mess."
THE FACTS: Ukraine is not a NATO country and is not covered under the alliance's basic premise that "an attack against one ally is considered as an attack against all allies," so Trump's implication that NATO somehow failed Ukraine is incorrect.
Ukraine has never been part of the 28-member organization.
And although NATO has mobilized for campaigns in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Libya, the self-described defensive alliance has never engaged in military action against Russia.
It probably would never do so unless a NATO member such as Poland or one of the Baltic states were faced with Russian aggression.
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TRUMP: "If we can have a good relationship with Russia and if Russia would help us get rid of ISIS ... that would be a positive thing, not a negative thing."
THE FACTS: Hawks in both parties have attacked Trump for suggesting closer U.S.-Russian coordination against the Islamic State. Much of the criticism has been unfair.
Trump's suggested approach is in line with the current strategy of the Obama administration. And Republican and Democratic administrations have a long history of counterterrorism cooperation with Russia, even during times of strained relations.
Former President George W. Bush worked with Putin to fight al-Qaida and other extremist groups after 9/11. As secretary of state, Clinton took partial credit for Russia opening up a northern corridor for U.S. troops and materiel to reach Afghanistan.
Trump also has been accused of having a hand in the Republican Party platform's omission of pushing for lethal aid to Ukraine, a long held GOP position. The current platform calls for "appropriate assistance" to Ukraine.
Senate Republicans on the spot over Trump comments on Khan
WASHINGTON (AP) The uproar over Donald Trump's criticism of a bereaved Army family put vulnerable Republican senators in a tight spot, underscoring anew the political challenges created for the GOP by its newly minted presidential nominee. And with the general election campaign now squarely underway, the firestorm over Trump's attacks on the Khan family is likely just a taste of trials to come as Republicans negotiate how closely to align with their volatile nominee.
Senate Republicans running for re-election weighed in one after another Monday to condemn Trump's repeated attacks on the parents of slain U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, with former prisoner of war Sen. John McCain of Arizona leading the charge. And in an op-ed Tuesday, a New York congressman became the first House Republican to announce that he would vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton.
McCain issued a lengthy statement insisting that Trump has no right "to defame those who are the best among us" and pleading: "I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers or candidates."
FILE - In this May 9, 2016, file photo, Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., speaks during a news conference in Philadelphia. Republicans aren't just distancing themselves from Donald Trump, they're making a point of not campaigning with him. When Trump was in Pennsylvania last week, Toomey was nowhere to be found. Same with Chuck Grassley in Iowa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa said Trump's comments "are not in line with my own beliefs about how the members of the military and their families should be treated."
Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina said that "Capt. Khan is an American hero in every sense of the term, and the Khans deserve our sincerest gratitude."
Yet as Democrats were quick to point out, most of the Republicans criticizing Trump had already declared their plans to vote for him for president, and despite their collective outrage, none of them withdrew their support. Several, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, avoided mentioning the billionaire by name.
President Barack Obama weighed in on Tuesday, declaring that Trump is unfit to be president and questioning why GOP leaders including Ryan, McConnell and McCain continue to support him.
"The question I think that they have to ask themselves is, if you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him?" Obama said at a White House news conference.
"There has to be a point in which you say this is not somebody I can support for president of the United States, even if he purports to be a member of my party," the president added. "And you know, the fact that that has not yet happened makes some of these denunciations ring hollow."
The furor surrounds Trump's accusations against Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004. Trump complained that Khizr Khan was "viciously attacking" him by appearing on stage at last week's Democratic National Convention holding up a copy of the Constitution, questioning whether Trump had even read it and asserting the billionaire had sacrificed nothing. Trump has responded by insisting he had made sacrifices and questioning why Ghazala Khan did not speak on stage, which she later said was because she was too bereaved.
It's just the latest Trump-created conundrum for Republican senators who need support from Trump's enthusiastic backers to win re-election, but risk alienating moderate Republicans, independents, minorities and women if they embrace the GOP nominee too closely.
"There's no question that Donald Trump is making it very difficult for House and Senate candidates who are running on the ballot in November," said Brian Walsh, a GOP strategist and former spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Writing in the Syracuse Post-Standard, GOP Rep. Richard Hanna said it's not enough to denounce Trump's comments. "He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country." The lawmaker, who has announced his retirement, said that while he disagrees with Clinton on many issues, "I trust she can lead."
Candidates have also wrestled with whether to appear alongside Trump when he campaigns in their states. When Trump appeared Monday in Columbus, Ohio, vulnerable GOP Sen. Rob Portman was not on-hand; aides said he was doing previously scheduled events related to opioid legislation he has sponsored. Grassley's aides also cited scheduling conflicts as the reason Grassley did not attend Trump events in Iowa last week.
Burr, on the other hand, joined Trump on the campaign trail in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, last week, and other campaigns, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's, have said they're open to joint appearances with Trump. Trump is backed by all but two vulnerable GOP senators Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, who is still in a "wait-and-see" mode, and Mark Kirk of Illinois, who withdrew his endorsement after Trump's attacks on a U.S. judge of Mexican heritage.
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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
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Follow Erica Werner on Twitter @ericawerner
Godzilla comes back to Japan, in ways fresh and familiar
TOKYO (AP) Godzilla is back in its homeland of Japan after a 12-year absence, still breathing fire and mercilessly stomping everything in its way. The Associated Press noted four ways the new film "Shin Godzilla," or "New Godzilla," breaks from its past, and other ways it is reassuringly familiar. It's now showing in theaters in Japan and is promised for the U.S. and other countries later this year.
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WHAT'S DIFFERENT:
In this July 30, 2016 photo, the poster of "Shin Godzilla", or "New Godzilla", is displayed under the monster's head at a movie theater in Tokyo. Godzilla is back in its homeland of Japan after a 12-year absence, still breathing fire and mercilessly stomping everything in its way. The latest in the giant reptile Godzilla movies Shin Godzilla, or New Godzilla, opened in Japan on July 29 and is promised for the U.S. and other countries later this year.(AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
The Americans: Japan's most important ally sends scientists and other advisers, their participation depicted at times as a nuisance. A Japanese-American special envoy, played impudently by Satomi Ishihara, asks where the nearest Zara store is, but mainly mediates between Japan and the U.S., which is worried Godzilla might reach its shores. She resists a U.S. proposal to nuke Godzilla. "Is Japan going to have the atomic bomb dropped for the third time?" she asks mournfully. Given that the 2014 Hollywood Godzilla helped Toho film studio decide to revive the series it originated, the U.S. has proved a true ally for Godzilla's silver screen survival.
The man behind the monster: Godzilla is not a man wearing a rubber suit, like in the 1954 original. Toho used motion-capture technology based on the movements of Mansai Nomura, an actor in traditional Kyogen theater whose casting was a secret until opening day. The center of gravity is kept low during Kyogen moves, similar to Noh dance, except that Kyogen specializes in comedy. Nomura said he was honored to be chosen for the role, stressing that he hoped to communicate the spiritual and the ghostly in Godzilla. "I am thrilled that the DNA of Kyogen, which has more than 650 years of history, will now be part of the DNA of the pride of Japanese cinema that life called Godzilla," he said in a statement.
The 2011 Fukushima disaster: Godzilla is no longer a result of nuclear testing. Instead, the monster recalls the March 2011 quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that devastated northeastern Japan. In the film, people measure the radiation around them and share information on social media, as they did five years ago. News conferences and meetings are filled with confusion and jargon, and government officials on screen even use the same word that was used to describe how unprepared Japan had been for the tsunami, "soteigai," or "beyond expectations." Scenes of people fleeing from torrents of water, and later huddled in gymnasiums, bring back heartbreaking memories of the 2011 disaster.
Defending itself: Post-World War II Japan has repeatedly stressed it will abide by pacifism. When Godzilla crashes onto its shores, Japan debates how far it can go in defending itself. That reflects a modern debate over using Japan's military beyond its self-defense role. Bureaucrats try their best to find Japanese-based solutions, treating Godzilla as a crisis requiring military might and vowing the nation can be rebuilt from scratch as it was after World War II. The original monster symbolized the tragedy of nuclear power and, through it, the ability of humankind to destroy itself. Now the threat we perceive could be anything, but is almost certainly a horror we brought on ourselves.
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WHAT'S FAMILIAR:
The monster: Godzilla at first looks like a snake or an eel slithering through the cityscape. Nearly an hour into the movie, it stands upright like the Godzilla we know, with protruding scales lining its back and a giant tail lashing uncontrollably. As it was, with the way the 1954 original was scripted, Godzilla is more about our anticipation, the nightmare that reflects our deepest fears. The new Godzilla glows red as though embers electrified by atomic power flicker beneath its jagged skin.
The destruction: The new film is inspired by the storyline of the 1954 original, more than the rest of Toho's 28-film series that had Godzilla battling oversized moths, evil robots and other fantastic creatures. It smashes the same landmarks as all the other Godzillas, such as Tokyo Station, the Parliament building and the Wako department store with the clock tower. And all that the masses of people can do is run from it in sheer terror.
The sounds: That same eerie screech, created by scratching contrabass strings, is heard. And this film pays homage to the original music. When the credits roll, with Nomura's name closing the 329-strong actors' lineup, it's the same composition by Akira Ifukube that plays, a fitting ending for the Japanese comeback Godzilla.
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"Shin Godzilla" trailers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysRIwlEBjuw&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M89VLZgo1Vg
Japanese site for the "Shin Godzilla" movie: http://shin-godzilla.jp/
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Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/yuri-kageyama
In this July 30, 2016 photo, children pose with a scaled down model of Godzilla displayed at a movie theater in Tokyo. Godzilla is back in its homeland of Japan after a 12-year absence, still breathing fire and mercilessly stomping everything in its way. The latest in the giant reptile Godzilla movies, Shin Godzilla, or New Godzilla, opened in Japan on July 29 and is promised for the U.S. and other countries later this year. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
In this July 30, 2016 photo, the poster of "Shin Godzilla", or "New Godzilla", is displayed under the monster's head at a movie theater in Tokyo. Godzilla is back in its homeland of Japan after a 12-year absence, still breathing fire and mercilessly stomping everything in its way. The latest in the giant reptile Godzilla movies opened in Japan on July 29 and is promised for the U.S. and other countries later this year. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
In this July 30, 2016 photo, a scaled down model of Godzilla is displayed at a movie theater in Tokyo. Godzilla is back in its homeland of Japan after a 12-year absence, still breathing fire and mercilessly stomping everything in its way. The latest in the giant reptile Godzilla movies Shin Godzilla, or New Godzilla, opened in Japan on July 29 and is promised for the U.S. and other countries later this year. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
Bulgarian terrorism trial of 3 Syrians adjourned
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) The trial of three Syrian nationals charged with terrorism offenses in Bulgaria was adjourned on Tuesday after their defense lawyers complained that the translation of the indictment into Arabic has been received only a day ago.
The lawyers said that the required time for the defendants to study the papers was at least seven days.
The specialized court, which handles cases of terrorism and organized crime, accepted the request and adjourned the trial for September without fixing an exact date.
The court turned down another request by the defense to return the case to the prosecution because of alleged contradictions in the filed indictment.
The men, aged 20, 22 and 25, who had obtained refugee status in Germany, are accused of trying to go to Syria to join jihadi groups.
In February, the three had arrived in Greece from Germany and tried to cross into Turkey but were not allowed in. Eventually, they had decided to pass through Bulgarian territory on their way to Turkey.
They were caught by Bulgarian border police in the town of Svilengrad on Feb. 8 and eventually sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for three years, for attempting the illegal border crossing.
The prosecution said it had found photos of members of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic State group saved in the mobile phones of the accused, and messages to such people in their communications records.
The three were charged with terrorism and taken into custody, on the basis of evidence collected from the questioning of eight witnesses, including some whose identities were being kept secret, as well as on the basis of forensic examination of their mobile phones.
German-Jewish writer Angelika Schrobsdorff dies at age 88
BERLIN (AP) The German-Jewish writer Angelika Schrobsdorff, whose bestselling works included a book about her mother growing up in Germany and then having to flee when the Nazis came to power, has died. She was 88.
German news agency dpa reports Schrobsdorff died in Berlin last weekend, but didn't have any further details.
Pakistani militant group sending aid to Indian-held Kashmir
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) A Pakistani official says a charity belonging to a banned terror group has dispatched an aid convoy for Muslims in Indian-held Kashmir.
Deputy Commissioner Masood-ur-Rehman says the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation plans a sit-in at the cease-fire line dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan if its convoy carrying ambulances, doctors, medicines and activists isn't allowed to cross the boundary on Tuesday.
The foundation is a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India alleges was responsible for the killing of over 160 people in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack.
Washington has designated Lashkar-e-Taiba's founder, Hafiz Saeed, a terrorist and has a $10 million bounty on him. He lives in Pakistan.
US man cleared of rape after 5 years in Philippine jail
MANILA, Philippines (AP) An American man jailed in the Philippines for more than five years was freed Tuesday after being acquitted of rape.
A court in metropolitan Manila cleared Scott McMahon, of Seattle, after finding no clear evidence that he committed rape, as a Filipino woman alleged, a court official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.
A jail officer, Omar Surigao, said that after the acquittal, McMahon was released from the Muntinlupa City jail in metropolitan Manila. He said McMahon's mother, Shelley Campanella, was among those present when McMahon was released.
McMahon, who has two children with his Filipino fiancee, had been detained since April 7, 2011.
Campanella has said that her son was wrongly accused of rape by the woman after he filed a case against her for allegedly traumatizing his young son.
The woman, the wife of McMahon's friend, had allegedly burst into McMahon's home with police, shouting as she looked for her estranged husband. The incident allegedly traumatized the son.
Syrian government and rebels trade gas attack accusations
BEIRUT (AP) Syrian rebels accused government forces of launching toxic gas attacks on civilians in a town southwest of Aleppo on Tuesday. The government rejected the claim and accused the rebels of using chemical weapons themselves.
Rebel sources provided video of people receiving treatment who they say were among the victims of a gas attack, but the images were not conclusive and neither of the gas attack claims by the rebels or the government could be independently verified.
The accusations on both sides came amid heightened fighting around the contested northern city that killed at least 20 people, activists and government media reported.
This Sunday, July. 31, 2016 photo, provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), shows a Syrian young man burns tyres in an attempt to prevent airstrikes above Aleppo, Syria. Residents trapped in rebel-controlled Aleppo are struggling to survive the crippling encirclement of their once thriving city. Bread, medication and fuel are running short. For the tens of thousands who chose to remain, the battle for Aleppo is a pivot point in the Syrian war. (Aleppo Media Center via AP)
Rescuers and doctors in rebel-held Saraqib, a town in the northwestern Idlib province, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Aleppo, reported dozens of cases of severe breathing difficulties, saying the symptoms pointed to a chlorine gas attack.
A neurologist, Dr. Ibrahim al-Assad, said he treated 16 of the 29 cases brought to his hospital on Monday night, most of whom were women and children. One elderly man needed critical care but most of the casualties were suffering from breathing difficulties, red eyes and wheezing, al-Assad said.
He said first responders smelled the gas at the site of the bomb attack, which he described as a busy shopping area near an ice cream shop. Rebels and activists have reported chlorine gas attacks in the town before, but the lack of chemical labs or independent testers makes it difficult to verify these claims. The government denies that is has launched chlorine gas attacks.
Syrian state media later reported that five people had died and eight others had experienced breathing difficulties after artillery shells laced with toxic gases landed on the old city of Aleppo. It said the shells were launched by rebels.
Fighting has intensified around Aleppo and its neighboring provinces since the government sealed off the final route into rebel-controlled neighborhoods of the city. The United Nations said the encirclement of rebel-held areas of deeply divided Aleppo traps nearly 300,000 residents, making it the largest besieged area in war-torn Syria.
Rebel fire killed at least nine civilians, including three children, in the government-held portion of Aleppo, while presumed Russian or Syrian government airstrikes killed at least 11 in Atareb, a town to Aleppo's west, activists and government media reported.
The rebels have launched a counteroffensive, clashing with government forces on a number of fronts. They detonated at least one large tunnel bomb underneath a government position on the southern outskirts of Aleppo on Tuesday evening, in a renewed attempt to break the government's siege on the city's east.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said fighters were killed on both sides in battles around the southern al-Ramouseh and al-Amerieh neighborhoods of the city, but did not have exact figures. Several rebel factions, including the Levant Conquest Front formerly known as the Nusra Front and linked to al-Qaida announced they had taken government positions there and killed soldiers.
The Observatory said at least 11 people, including five children, were killed when bombs were dropped in a market in the rebel-held town of Atareb. The activist-run Aleppo Media Center said the death toll was 20, posting pictures of destroyed buildings and civilians searching for survivors.
On Tuesday, residents of the rebel-held parts of Aleppo returned to burning tires, sending up big plumes of black smoke in the hope of preventing airstrikes.
But anti-government activists and residents reported that airstrikes and unguided barrel bombs hit various parts of the city. At least one person was killed in al-Sukkari neighborhood, according to the activist-operated Local Coordination Committees. On social media, rebel fighters asked residents to stay indoors and away from front lines.
Syria's state news agency reported that four women and three children were among the nine killed when rebels shelled and fired at three front-line neighborhoods on Monday night.
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Associated Press Writer Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria contributed to this report.
This photo provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), shows Syrian citizens inspecting damaged shops after airstrikes hit a market in Atareb, west of the divided city of Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Aug 2, 2016. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory said at least 11 people, including five children were killed when bombs were dropped in a market in Atareb. (Aleppo Media Center via AP)
This photo provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), shows Syrian citizens inspecting damaged shops after airstrikes hit a market in Atareb, west of the divided city of Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Aug 2, 2016. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory said at least 11 people, including five children were killed when bombs were dropped in a market in Atareb. (Aleppo Media Center via AP)
This Tuesday, July. 26, 2016 photo, provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), shows Syrian stand as they watch a bulldozer removes rubble from damaged buildings after airstrikes hit Aleppo, Syria. Residents trapped in rebel-controlled Aleppo are struggling to survive the crippling encirclement of their once thriving city. Bread, medication and fuel are running short. For the tens of thousands who chose to remain, the battle for Aleppo is a pivot point in the Syrian war. (Aleppo Media Center via AP)
In this Sunday, July. 31, 2016 photo, provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), shows Syrians help an injured man, center, after airstrikes hit Aleppo, Syria. Residents trapped in rebel-controlled Aleppo are struggling to survive the crippling encirclement of their once thriving city. Bread, medication and fuel are running short. For the tens of thousands who chose to remain, the battle for Aleppo is a pivot point in the Syrian war. (Aleppo Media Center via AP)
In this Friday, July. 29, 2016 photo, provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), shows Syrian citizens inspect damaged buildings after airstrikes hit Aleppo, Syria. Residents trapped in rebel-controlled Aleppo are struggling to survive the crippling encirclement of their once thriving city. Bread, medication and fuel are running short. For the tens of thousands who chose to remain, the battle for Aleppo is a pivot point in the Syrian war. (Aleppo Media Center via AP)
In this Wednesday, July. 27, 2016 photo, provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), shows Syrian citizens inspect damaged buildings after airstrikes hit Aleppo, Syria. Residents trapped in rebel-controlled Aleppo are struggling to survive the crippling encirclement of their once thriving city. Bread, medication and fuel are running short. For the tens of thousands who chose to remain, the battle for Aleppo is a pivot point in the Syrian war. (Aleppo Media Center via AP)
FILE - In this Saturday, July 30, 2016 file still image from Syrian state TV video, shows young men with their faces covered surrendering to government forces, in Aleppo, Syria. Residents trapped in rebel-controlled Aleppo are struggling to survive the crippling encirclement of their once thriving city. Bread, medication and fuel are running short. For the tens of thousands who chose to remain, the battle for Aleppo is a pivot point in the Syrian war. (Syrian State TV, via AP, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, July 30, 2016 file still image from Syrian state TV video, shows women and children arriving in a street lined with heavily damaged buildings in the government-held part of the Salaheddine neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. Residents trapped in rebel-controlled Aleppo are struggling to survive the crippling encirclement of their once thriving city. Bread, medication and fuel are running short. For the tens of thousands who chose to remain, the battle for Aleppo is a pivot point in the Syrian war. (Syrian State TV, via AP, File)
In this Friday, July. 29, 2016 photo, provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), shows a Syrian boy passes by by a market where gasoline stored in barrels is sold, in Aleppo, Syria. Residents trapped in rebel-controlled Aleppo are struggling to survive the crippling encirclement of their once thriving city. Bread, medication and fuel are running short. For the tens of thousands who chose to remain, the battle for Aleppo is a pivot point in the Syrian war. (Aleppo Media Center via AP)
Jurors in police shooting case to be extensively questioned
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) Potential jurors in the murder trial of a white former police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of a black motorist will be extensively questioned on their views about race and police conduct before being seated in the case.
Circuit Judge Clifton Newman said Tuesday the jury pool will be sent a general questionnaire about race relations and police conduct with a jury summons. They will then fill out a more specific questionnaire asking what they know about the Walter Scott case when they get to the courthouse.
Defense attorney Andy Savage had made a motion asking that jurors be sent the questionnaires to express thoughts on race and police conduct without fear of public embarrassment or reprisal.
FILE - In this June 19, 2015 file photo, police tape surrounds the parking lot behind the AME Emanuel Church as FBI forensic experts work the crime scene, in Charleston, S.C. Attorneys for the man charged with killing nine people at a Charleston church are challenging federal prosecutors intention to seek the death penalty against him. Lawyers for Dylann Roof argue in a motion filed Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, that the death penalty and federal death penalty law are unconstitutional. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, File)
The judge asked the prosecutor and defense attorneys to develop the questionnaires and submit them to the court.
Former North Charleston officer Michael Slager, 33, stands trial in October for murder and faces 30 years to life if convicted in the shooting death of 50-year-old Walter Scott.
Scott was shot running from a traffic stop in April, 2015 in a shooting captured on cellphone video. The incident reignited the national debate over the treatment of blacks by white officers.
Newman said court officials will be able to adequately handle security for the high-profile trial.
"Our concern would be the atmosphere in which Mr. Slager would be tried," Savage told the judge in asking if he had any concerns.
Newman also ordered that the state provide the defense with contact and other personal information from four witnesses who have given statements.
Prosecutor Scarlett Wilson said that there was no reason social security, immigration numbers and birthdates be provided. Newman ordered the defense not to reveal such information to anyone else.
He also ordered that pictures from a small camera found in Scott's car be provided to the defense. Wilson said the shooting occurred some distance from the vehicle and there was a question whether the camera was camera scene evidence to which the defense was entitled.
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Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com
Authorities: Deputy kills man who hit him with vehicle
LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) Authorities say a South Carolina sheriff's deputy shot and killed a man who hit him with a vehicle.
The Lexington County Sheriff's Department tells local news outlets deputies were called to a home at 7 a.m. Monday for reports of a suspicious person in a vehicle. Authorities say the man drove toward and struck a deputy, who then shot the driver.
Coroner Margaret Fisher has identified the motorist as a 43-year-old white man who died at the scene. Sheriff Jay Koon says the deputy involved was also white and is a 6-year department veteran.
The deputy was treated and released for non-life threatening injuries.
Experts see Iranian link in attempt to hack Syrian dissident
PARIS (AP) Syrian opposition activist Noura Al-Ameer was combing through her emails late one night when a message caught her eye. The sender was "Assadcrimes" and he promised information about Iranian meddling in the Middle East. But the email seemed odd.
Al-Ameer turned to her husband, cybersecurity trainer Bahr Abdul Razzak, in their small, book-cluttered home in the Turkish city of Gaziantep.
"Have you heard of this group before?" Al-Ameer asked.
Bahr Abdul Razzak, 29, left, and his wife Noura Al-Ameer, 29, use their phones in Istanbul, on Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. Syrian opposition activist Noura Al-Ameer was combing through her emails late one night when one caught her eye. The sender was "Assadcrimes" and he promised information about Iranian meddling in the Middle East. But the message seemed odd somehow. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
"No," he said. "But let me check the email."
Abdul Razzak, a fellow at internet watchdog group Citizen Lab, quickly determined that the group was bogus. The email, sent on Oct. 3 last year, was an electronic trap one of hundreds of malicious messages that have flown back and forth as rebels grapple with the government of Bashar Assad in Syria. This one had been aimed at snaring Al-Ameer in particular; the website registered by the hacker was in her name, suggesting an attempt to steal her identity.
Al-Ameer is a well-known opposition figure, and stealing her data or her identity could have been the jumping off point to attack other Syrians in and out of the country.
As Abdul Razzak and his colleagues tried to trace the hackers, they found a trail of digital clues leading to Iran. Their story detailed in a report issued Tuesday by Citizen Lab, an interview with the couple and conversations with outside experts raise the possibility that Iran has gone beyond sending men and materiel to tip the scale in Assad's favor.
The country's hackers may have joined the fray as well.
"It's not a shock," said Al-Ameer, a 29-year-old who spent six months in Syrian government detention before moving to Turkey in 2013. "They're fighting our people on the ground. I think it's normal for any side that fights you on the ground to fight you on the internet."
Evidence of an Iranian link is outlined in a 56-page report by Citizen Lab, based at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. The group has made a specialty of tracking the hackers who've dogged Syria's opposition, which lead author John Scott-Railton said had turned into "something of a petri dish for threat actors in the Middle East."
The report says those behind the "Assadcrimes" website appear to have inadvertently exposed their site's logs, showing evidence that its creators accessed it in part from the Iranian internet space. The site itself briefly hosted a Farsi-language email service, and a string of data recovered from the malicious code used to target Al-Ameer appeared to refer to a developer who runs a malicious software site registered in the Iranian city of Shiraz.
The evidence isn't conclusive but it "lets us think that we're perhaps looking at a group that's operating from Iran," Scott-Railton said. He cautioned that it wasn't possible to say much about the group's potential sponsorship government or otherwise.
An outside expert who evaluated Citizen Lab's report endorsed its work.
The botched cyberespionage attempt "is consistent with Iranian activity we've previous observed, in terms of operational security, social engineering, and technical sophistication," said John Hultquist, a threat intelligence manager at network security company FireEye Inc., based in Milpitas, California.
Calls to Iran's Embassy in Paris were not answered Tuesday.
The hackers in Al-Ameer's case appear to have made some mistakes. But Scott-Railton said those who target Syria's scattered opposition activists are only as sophisticated as they need to be. Many groups operating in the area, including the pro-Assad Syrian Electronic Army, have used very simple tools and persistent trickery to repeatedly compromise savvier targets.
"Not all hacking in a conflict looks like Stuxnet," said Scott-Railton, referring to the complex computer bug widely suspected of being unleashed by the United States to sabotage Iran's nuclear program. "What this shows is how powerful social engineering is."
Al-Ameer said that, in a way, the hacking was scarier than when she says she was arrested and tortured at the hands of Assad's security forces.
"When they arrested me, I was careful just to tell them what I wanted," she said. "When they hack you, they will know everything without harming you physically. For our case, it's more dangerous than arresting.
"Inside Syria or outside Syria, we're not safe."
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This story has been corrected to show the accurate spelling of the FireEye intelligence manager's last name is Hultquist, not Hulquist.
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Online:
Citizen Lab's report: https://citizenlab.org/2016/08/group5-syria/
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Raphael Satter can be reached at: http://raphaelsatter.com
Bahr Abdul Razzak, 29, left, and his wife Noura Al-Ameer, 29, use their phones in Istanbul, on Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. Syrian opposition activist Noura Al-Ameer was combing through her emails late one night when one caught her eye. The sender was "Assadcrimes" and he promised information about Iranian meddling in the Middle East. But the message seemed odd somehow. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Stressed times for Europe's banks despite rosy assessment
LONDON (AP) The results of recent stress tests of Europe's biggest banks should have reassured investors that the sector can withstand another crisis. A slump in share prices across the industry since the findings' publication on Friday suggests many have yet to be convinced.
On Tuesday, bank stocks across Europe even those that were effectively given a clean bill of health by the European Banking Authority's tests fell sharply for the second day and weighed heavily on the wider market indexes.
The falls aren't just confined to Italy, where concerns over the health of the banking sector have been the most acute. Britain's Barclays fell 3.6 percent while Germany's Commerzbank slid 9.2 percent and Italy's UniCredit dropped another 7.2 percent.
A pigeon flies away from a bridge in front of the towers of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
As a result, the main indexes in Europe fell sharply both Germany's DAX and France's CAC-40 closed down 1.8 percent.
It's difficult to pin down a single reason why European banking stocks have taken such a battering this week. After all, Friday's stress tests into Europe's 51 biggest banks showed that only Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena, or MPS, was severely underfunded.
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in London, says the tests' findings failed to address many of the concerns investors have about the state of Europe's banks, including the rising costs they face for parking their cash at the European Central Bank.
The ECB has in recent months been reducing its so-called deposit rate further below zero in the hope that banks opt to lend money rather than place it at the ECB. That rate is now minus 0.4 percent and many economists think it could be cut further in coming months as the ECB tries to encourage lending.
"Skepticism that the EBA bank stress tests painted a far too rosy picture of the health of Europe's banks while paying no account of the current negative rate environment nor for that matter the fiscal health of Portuguese and Greek banks," Hewson said.
No banks from Portugal or Greece were assessed in the stress tests. And they are two countries still struggling with high debts and low growth, a backdrop that makes their banks susceptible to a new financial or economic crisis. Throughout Europe's debt crisis, it was clear that problems in one country can easily spill over to another.
One country that saw a number of its banks assessed Friday was Italy.
Italian banks have been worn down by some 360 billion euros ($400 billion) in loans that won't be paid back in full as a result of years of crisis and subdued growth that's made it difficult for firms and households to service their debts. The scale of the non-performing loans stands a little below 20 percent of the banks' total loan stock, a level that weighs on their propensity and ability to lend.
Given Italy's position as the eurozone's third-largest economy, any major financial problems that put in doubt the state's own finances would create a new crisis for the currency bloc that could outweigh those of the past few years, notably in Greece.
MPS, Italy's third-biggest lender, sought to get ahead of its poor result in the stress tests with a plan to offload a large chunk of its soured loans at a certain discount and a 5 billion euro ($5.6 billion) capital increase. The money injection from private sources avoids a potentially painful bailout for the Italian bank that under new EU rules would have imposed losses on creditors like bondholders, many of which are small savers in Italy.
Though welcome, MPS' cash call has stoked expectations that other banks may have to do something similar and that has contributed to the wave of selling in stock markets this year, notably of Italian banks.
"It's likely that the weakness in Italian banks in particular may be down to renewed fears that more recaps are needed in the sector," said Jim Reid a senior analyst at Deutsche Bank.
A related concern is that Italy's banks won't address their problems, partly because of the country's legal system, which makes foreclosure agreements far lengthier than elsewhere in Europe.
And though the Italian government has acknowledged the fragility of the banking system and introduced some modest reforms and legal changes, it may find it difficult to push the banks to shore up their finances given the new EU rules and the potential impact on savers. That's even more unappetizing for the government as it prepares for a referendum on political reforms and a possible election soon after.
As a result, the banks could just continue to stumble on, further hobbling an economy that's barely grown in years.
"The real turning point for Italian banks will be when markets acknowledge that the stock of bad debts, also helped by the recent government initiatives, is on a downward trend and the banking system back in supporting the real economy," said Nicola Nobile, senior eurozone economist at Oxford Economics.
Bank stocks have been under pressure for months, some more so than others. That was evident in the news that Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse have been dropped from the Stoxx 50 index of leading European shares in the wake of their sharp share price falls over the past year. Both have seen their market values slump by around two-thirds over that time.
The two stocks fell further Tuesday as their departure from the index means that funds that track top indexes readjust their investments. Deutsche Bank fell a further 4.8 percent, while Credit Suisse slumped 5.9 percent.
Parts of illegally slaughtered horse found in Florida
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) Authorities in Florida are investigating an apparent slaughter of a horse after pieces of its body were found.
Investigator Richard Couto of the Animal Recovery Mission tells local news outlets that investigators from the group found the horse's body early Sunday off a dirt road in Homestead. Couto estimates that about 90 percent of the horse had been removed. Parts of the horse were found scattered in the grass.
Miami-Dade police's agricultural unit will investigate the incident, although it's a difficult crime to prosecute.
The Latest: Turkey's Erdogan blasts EU over migrant deal
BERLIN (AP) The Latest on migration to Europe from Middle East and Africa (all times local):
3:05 p.m.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is accusing the European Union of not upholding its side of an EU-Turkey agreement on migration, saying that promised funds and visa-free travel for Turks to the EU haven't been delivered.
The agreement earlier this year was instrumental in stemming the flow of people heading from Turkey to nearby Greece, from where they hope to head northward into the European heartland.
Erdogan said Turkey was sheltering 3 million Syrians and Iraqis, yet 3 billion euros ($3.35 billion) promised by the EU had not arrived, and the visa issue had not been settled.
Erdogan said the steps on both sides must be "taken simultaneously." He said: "You cannot demand the refugee return agreement without fulfilling your obligations. Sorry but we are not a country that you can boss about."
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1:45 p.m.
The British government has won a legal appeal against a ruling allowing four Syrians living in a refugee camp in France to join family members in Britain.
In January a U.K. court ruled that three teenagers and a disabled adult should be able to apply for asylum in Britain, despite a law that says refugees must apply in the first safe country they come to. It said the four should be reunited with relatives in Britain on human rights grounds.
On Tuesday three appeals court judges ruled the lower court had not "applied the correct test."
The four Syrians are already in Britain and the government is not seeking to deport them. But refugee campaigners say the judgment will make it harder for child migrants to be reunited with their families.
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1:40 p.m.
The International Organization for Migration says the bodies of about 120 migrants have washed up on the Libyan shore in recent days.
A spokesman for the Geneva-based aid agency says the information came from Libyan authorities and the deaths "are not from previously reported shipwrecks in the Mediterranean."
Joel Millman said Tuesday that 4,027 migrants died worldwide between Jan. 1 and July 31, about three-quarters of them in the Mediterranean.
He says the figure represents a 35 percent increase compared with the same period last year.
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11:45 a.m.
Germany's Federal Office for Statistics says some 42,300 unaccompanied minors entered the country from abroad last year.
The office said in a statement Tuesday that this was an increase of 30,700, or 263 percent, compared with the previous year.
About 91 percent, or some 38,700, of these children and teenagers were male, while only about 3,600 girls entered Germany without their parents.
Germany saw an unprecedented influx of migrants in 2015. More than 1 million people registered for asylum, the majority of them from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Nearly 100 ducks illegally released up for adoption soon
SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) Nearly 100 domesticated ducks that officials say were illegally released in New Jersey are expected to be available for adoption early next week.
Barnyard Sanctuary founder Tamala Lester tells The Record newspaper (http://bit.ly/2aJA9do ) that she's received more than 100 offers to adopt the 92 Khaki Campbell ducks. They'll be available on Aug. 8 after they have been in quarantine for three weeks.
Authorities say they don't have new information into the investigation, which started last month, after a report of ducks being released into the Hackensack River. Many were found in the grass outside of a Secaucus mall.
Lester says each duck will be available for a $20 adoption fee.
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Funeral Mass for slain French priest: Attackers were 'Satan'
ROUEN, France (AP) The archbishop of Rouen, leading Tuesday's solemn funeral Mass for an elderly priest slain a week ago by two extremists, said the Rev. Jacques Hamel tried to push away his attackers with his feet, saying "go away, Satan," remarks that underscored the horror of the murder at the altar that touched a chord throughout France.
Hundreds of priests and bishops filled the sumptuous Rouen cathedral along with many hundreds more people, including Muslims who have joined in the grieving since the murder of the 85-year-old priest, slashed by his attackers while celebrating morning Mass.
Hamel's grisly murder sent shockwaves that went beyond his humble work as a small-town parish priest, touching other faiths and all of France. It came less than two weeks after 84 people were killed in an attack by a hurtling truck in Nice on a crowd of Bastille Day revelers.
The coffin of Father Hamel is carried outside the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, before his funeral mass, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
"Evil is a mystery. It reaches heights of horror that take us out of the human," Archbishop Dominique Lebrun said during the two-hour Mass.
"Isn't that what you wanted to say, Jacques, with your last words, when you fell to the ground? After you were struck by the knife, you tried to push away your assailants with your feet and said, 'Go away, Satan.' You repeated it, 'Go away, Satan.'"
With those words, Lebrun said, "You expressed ... your faith in the goodness of humans and that the devil put his claws in."
Roselyne Hamel, the priest's sister, told the crowd: "Let's learn to live together, let's be workers for peace."
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, also in charge of faiths, was among those attending the Mass in the cathedral, which dates from the 12th century. Hundreds of people watched the ceremony on a big screen outside, under constant rain.
Lebrun, celebrating the Mass, extended thanks to Catholics attending the service but also to "believers of other religious faiths, in particular the Jewish community and the Muslim community, very affected and already decided to unite for: 'Never again.'"
Lebrun invited people to return to churches on Aug. 15, the day celebrating the Assumption of Mary, to express that "violence will not take over in their hearts."
On Sunday, dozens of Muslims in France and Italy attended Catholic Masses as a gesture of interfaith solidarity following the attack on the priest.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, in which the priest, two nuns and an elderly couple were held hostage before the assailants slashed the priest's throat and seriously wounded the other man. Another nun at the Mass slipped away and raised the alarm, and police shot to death both attackers as they left the church.
Tuesday's ceremony was organized under tight security, and the burial was private.
Meanwhile, several cities and towns across the country have decided to cancel traditional August fireworks shows and other outdoor summer events, citing security reasons. After Nice, Avignon and smaller French towns cancelled their fireworks displays and authorities in Marseilles called off an air show by the renowned Patrouille de France scheduled for next week, an event that draws crowds of more than 100,000 people every year.
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Corbet and Masha Macpherson contributed from Paris.
Religious officials sit during the funeral mass for Father Jacques Hamel at the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in the nearby town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (Charly Triballeau, Pool via AP)
The coffin of Father Hamel is carried outside the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, before his funeral mass, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
A police officer watches people waiting outside the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, before the funeral mass for the priest that has been killed by two Islamic extremists last week in the nearby town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Police officers watch a man leaving the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, before the funeral mass for the priest that has been killed by two Islamic extremists last week in the nearby town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
People watch on giant screens the funeral mass for Father Hamel, outside the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Pallbearers carry the coffin of Father Jacques Hamel at the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in the nearby town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (Charly Triballeau, Pool via AP)
The crowd gather outside the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, during the funeral mass for Father Hamel, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
A man holds a religious leaflet showing the priest Jacques Hamel during his funeral mass, outside the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
From the left, French Junior minister for Local Authorities Estelle Grelier, French President of the Constitutional Council Laurent Fabius and French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve stand during the funeral mass for Father Jacques Hamel at the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in the nearby town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (Charly Triballeau, Pool via AP)
People attend the funeral mass for Father Jacques Hamel at the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in the nearby town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (Charly Triballeau, Pool via AP)
A photo of Father Jacques Hamel is on display during his funeral mass at the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in the nearby town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (Charly Triballeau, Pool via AP)
The Latest: Pence avoids discussion of GOP tensions
WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on the U.S. presidential campaign. (all times EDT):
12:20 a.m.
Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence isn't addressing GOP tensions after running mate Donald Trump refused to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan or Arizona Sen. John McCain.
With the Arizona state flag in the background, Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence answers a question at a campaign rally Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Pence spoke at a town hall event Tuesday night in Phoenix then took some questions from the few hundred people in attendance but didn't mention the endorsement snub.
An Associated Press reporter later asked Pence if he would endorse McCain or Ryan while the candidate was signing autographs and posing for selfies with supporters. The Indiana governor appeared to ignore the question and kept on moving down the line.
Trump told The Washington Post earlier Tuesday that he's "just not quite there yet" when asked about an endorsement of Ryan, who faces a primary election next week. In that interview, Trump also declined to support McCain's re-election.
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11:15 p.m.
Top Republican donor and fundraiser Meg Whitman is endorsing Democrat Hillary Clinton for president, saying she cannot support a candidate who has "exploited anger, grievance, xenophobia and racial division."
The Hewlett-Packard executive says in a statement Tuesday night that Republican nominee Donald Trump's "demagoguery has undermined the fabric of our national character."
Whitman says Trump's "reckless and uninformed" positions on critical issues from immigration to the economy and foreign policy show he lacks the policy depth and judgment a president needs.
She says national security would be in danger under a Trump presidency and she encourages all Republicans to support Clinton in November.
The former eBay chief executive ran unsuccessfully for California governor in 2010, spending $144 million of her own money in a $178 million losing battle against Democrat Jerry Brown.
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9 p.m.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine made a quick dinner stop Tuesday night in a key Florida county, where local party leaders promised him a wide victory margin in November.
The Virginia senator stopped at Betty's Soul Food Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, where state Sen. Chris Smith and other party leaders promised that Hillary Clinton will carry Broward County by 250,000 votes.
Broward is Florida's most Democratic county, and Clinton needs a large margin there to counteract Donald Trump's likely advantage in rural and northern parts of the state that are heavily Republican.
Kaine ordered Buffalo wings, fried shrimp and lemonade.
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8 p.m.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence criticized comments President Barack Obama made Tuesday about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's lack of judgment, saying Obama himself knows a lot about being "woefully unprepared."
Pence spoke before several hundred people at a town hall in Tucson, Arizona, and was scheduled to appear in Phoenix later Tuesday.
Trump's running mate spent much of his speech railing against Obama policies.
Obama said Tuesday that Trump was unfit to be president and challenged Republicans to disavow their support for him.
Pence criticized Obama's policies in Iraq, saying they led to the growth of the Islamic State group.
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7:45 p.m.
Donald Trump is reiterating his concerns that the November election will be "rigged" against him, speculating that people without proper identification "are going to vote 10 times."
Trump is discussing voter ID during an interview Tuesday on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor."
The Republican presidential nominee says, "You don't have to have voter ID to now go in and vote and it's a little bit scary."
Over the last two weeks, courts have dealt setbacks to voter ID laws in several states. Critics of photo ID requirements say they fall disproportionately on minority voters and the poor.
Trump says without voter ID, "people are going to walk in, they are going to vote 10 times maybe. Who knows?"
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6:10 p.m.
Donald Trump may be withholding his endorsement from House Speaker Paul Ryan, but Ryan says he never sought it in the first place.
The Wisconsin Republican's spokesman, Zack Roday said neither Ryan nor anyone associated with his re-election ever asked for Trump's backing.
Roday added that the Ryan team was "confident in a victory next week regardless."
Ryan faces a challenge from longshot candidate Paul Nehlen (KNEE-lin) in the Aug. 9 primary.
Trump, in an interview with The Washington Post, refused to support Ryan and longtime Sen. John McCain in their upcoming Republican primaries.
Trump said he is "not quite there yet" in backing Ryan, echoing the words the Wisconsin Republican used several months ago in withholding his endorsement of Trump before relenting weeks later with tepid support.
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4:54 p.m.
Donald Trump is refusing to support House Speaker Paul Ryan and longtime Sen. John McCain in their upcoming Republican primaries.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Trump said he is "not quite there yet" in backing Ryan, echoing the words the Wisconsin Republican used several months ago in withholding his endorsement of Trump before relenting weeks later with tepid support.
Ryan's primary is Aug. 9.
Trump also declined to back McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam who was critical of Trump's criticism of a Muslim American parents whose son was killed in Iraq. Trump criticized New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who also admonished Trump for his comments.
Trump's refusal to back the incumbents is a breach of political decorum that comes just two weeks after a convention designed to showcase party unity.
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4:47 p.m.
Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton says Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump should apologize for criticizing the parents of an American soldier killed in Iraq.
In a tribute to his son at the Democratic National Convention last week, Khizr Khan said Trump had sacrificed nothing. Trump said he was "viciously attacked" and questioned why Khan's wife stood silently during her husband's speech.
After speaking to the Political Animals group in Little Rock, Cotton said Tuesday that Trump should "express his regret and apologize," then build his campaign around making Americans safer and more prosperous.
The Republican freshman senator is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He told the group that failures in the intelligence community become well-known, but that its successes must remain a national secret.
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4:35 p.m.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine is back in Florida, taking the Clinton campaign's job-creation promises to the important battleground state.
Kaine was speaking Tuesday in Dayton Beach, his second appearance in central Florida in 10 days. The campaigns of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have been targeting Florida, which Barack Obama won in 2008 and 2012.
Kaine talked about shared prosperity between business owners and workers.
"As businesses succeed, it's not just the CEO taking it all himself. It sharing," Kaine said.
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3:05 p.m.
Two more Democratic Party officials have resigned in the wake of an embarrassing email hack.
Chief finance officer Brad Marshall and communications director Luis Miranda left their jobs on Tuesday, the Democratic National Committee says.
Earlier Tuesday, The Associated Press reported that DNC chief executive Amy Dacey had resigned. Dacey has been hired to work for a Democratic communications firm, AP reported.
It's the latest fallout from the hacked emails, which exposed an apparent lack of neutrality in the primary race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, with some party officials disparaging Sanders.
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2:45 p.m.
One of Donald Trump's top allies New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says that it's inappropriate to criticize the parents of an American soldier killed in Iraq.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has been engaged in an emotionally charged feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son, Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq.
Khizr Khan, who is Muslim, gave a tribute to his son last week at the Democratic National Convention that was heavily critical of Trump.
Christie said Tuesday that the pain of losing their son gives the Khans the right to say whatever they want.
Responding to comments from President Barack Obama that Trump isn't qualified to be president, Christie says Obama has disqualified himself from giving comments like that because he says Hillary Clinton is the most qualified person in American history to be president.
Christie is the head of Trump's transition team.
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2:30 p.m.
Former President Bill Clinton is paying tribute to a longtime friend who died last week.
Bill and Hillary Clinton attended the service for Mark Weiner (WEY'-ner) Tuesday at the Temple Beth-El synagogue in Providence, Rhode Island. Weiner was a major Democratic donor and fundraiser.
In the eulogy, Bill Clinton said Weiner was fiercely competitive in business and politics and would do anything for his friends, as well as for complete strangers. Clinton remembered Weiner as "forever young."
Weiner died in Newport after a long battle with cancer. He was 62.
The Clintons departed with the family. Hillary Clinton appeared upset and nodded to people as she left.
Weiner has been friends with the Clintons since 1976, when he worked with Hillary Clinton on Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign.
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1:35 p.m.
Donald Trump is reacting to comments by Barack Obama that he is unfit to lead the country, accusing the president of "failed leadership."
Trump issued a statement Tuesday with a barrage of attacks against Obama and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, saying they have "single-handedly "destabilized the Middle East, handed Iraq, Libya and Syria to ISIS."
He accused the pair of putting Iran "on the path to nuclear weapons" and said they have allowed "dozens of veterans to die" and "repeatedly admitted migrants later implicated in terrorism."
Trump also accused Obama and Clinton of sending America's "best jobs overseas to appease their global interests."
The Republican nominee concluded his statement saying: "we need change now."
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1:05 p.m.
Donald Trump says the Arab Gulf states wouldn't exist without U.S. help. But the U.S. relies on Gulf states too.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, all Arab Gulf nations, are part of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group in Syria, conducting airstrikes and providing other support.
Trump told supporters in Ashburn, Virginia Tuesday that if he is elected president, he would require the Arab Gulf states to finance a safe zone in Syria. "They are going to pay," Trump told the crowd.
The Arab gulf states, which make up a cooperative body called the Gulf Cooperation Council, are home to 20 percent of the world's oil supply.
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12:55 p.m.
The chief executive of the Democratic National Committee has resigned in the wake of an email hack that embarrassed the party on the eve of its convention.
That's according to three Democratic strategists familiar with Amy Dacey's decision to leave her job. The people spoke on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
The Democrats say other personnel moves at the party are also expected Tuesday.
The content of the hacked emails exposed an apparent lack of neutrality in the primary race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, with party officials disparaging Sanders.
Party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned her position before the convention began. After being booed at a later appearance in Philadelphia, she chose not to speak from the convention stage.
By Julie Pace and Julie Bykowicz
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12:50 p.m.
Hillary Clinton has arrived with her husband in Rhode Island to attend the funeral of a longtime friend.
Former President Bill Clinton will give the eulogy on Tuesday for Mark Weiner, a major Democratic donor and fundraiser.
The service for Weiner (WEY'-ner) is being held at the Temple Beth-El synagogue in Providence.
Weiner died last week in Newport after a long battle with cancer. He was 62.
The Democratic presidential nominee walked to the front of the synagogue shortly after noon, holding her husband's arm.
Attendees also include the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and veteran political consultants James Carville, Paul Begala and Tad Devine.
Weiner has been friends with the Clintons since 1976, when he worked with Hillary Clinton on Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign.
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12:20 p.m.
Donald Trump is joking that he wants a crying baby ejected from his rally in northern Virginia.
Trump, the Republican nominee, was interrupted Tuesday by the wails of a child.
"Don't worry about that baby, I love babies," Trump said. "I hear that baby crying, I like it. What a beautiful baby."
But when the baby continued to cry, Trump followed up by saying "Actually, I was just get kidding you can get that baby out of here!"
Trump then seemed to suggest that he was joking and that the baby could stay. The child soon stopped crying.
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12:15 p.m.
About a dozen protesters have been escorted out of Donald Trump's rally in northern Virginia.
The group started chanting "Hillary" in support of Trump's general election opponent Hillary Clinton during the Republican nominee's rally in Ashburn.
One protester was wearing a shirt reading "Islam means peace." Many of them raised fists when they were escorted out.
Trump did not acknowledge them as they were removed. Several other attendees were escorted out before the event started.
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12:10 p.m.
Donald Trump says that without the U.S., "the Gulf states won't exist."
Speaking to supporters in Ashburn, Virginia, Tuesday, Trump said that if he is elected president, he would require the Arab Gulf states to finance a safe zone in Syria. "They are going to pay," Trump told the crowd.
The Arab gulf states, which make up a cooperative body called the Gulf Cooperation Council, are home to 20 percent of the world's oil supply.
Trump also reiterated his stance that the U.S. "can't have people coming in from Syria who have bad intentions."
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12:05 p.m.
Donald Trump claims that 20 people have given Hillary Clinton a total of $60 million and he would like to know who those people are.
Speaking at a rally in Ashburn, Virginia., Tuesday, Trump said he wants to "find out how many of them I know," referring to Clinton's top donors. Trump did not specify a time frame in which Clinton allegedly raised that money.
Clinton's campaign said the Democratic nominee raised $63 million in July for her campaign.
Trump continued his attack on the Democratic nominee, calling her "Crooked Hillary," which prompted chants of "lock her up" from the crowd.
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11:55 a.m.
Donald Trump is saluting a veteran who presented the Republican presidential nominee with his Purple Heart.
Trump said the man approached him before a Tuesday rally in Ashburn, Virginia, and presented him the medal he received for being wounded in combat.
Trump said he was "honored" to receive it. He then joked that "I always wanted to get a Purple Heart. This was much easier"
His comments came amid his ongoing flap with the parents of a Muslim-American soldier who was killed in Iraq. Trump never served in the military, receiving medical and education deferments during the Vietnam War era.
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11:45 a.m.
President Barack Obama says that Donald Trump is unfit to be president and "he keeps proving it."
Obama was speaking during a news conference with the prime minister of Singapore, who is visiting the White House.
The president is challenging Republican leaders to withdraw their endorsements of Trump.
Obama says Trump's criticism of a fallen Muslim-American soldier's family is the latest evidence that the GOP presidential nominee is unfit to lead America.
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11:40 a.m.
President Barack Obama is challenging leading Republicans to repudiate Donald Trump.
Obama says Trump's criticism of a fallen Muslim-American soldier's family is the latest evidence that the GOP presidential nominee is unfit to lead America.
Obama is also citing Trump's misstatements on global crises.
At a news conference Tuesday, Obama noted that many leading Republicans in Congress have denounced various Trump statements.
But he asked why they are still endorsing him. Obama said there has to be a point when people break with the party's standard-bearer. Otherwise, he said, the denunciations are hollow.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Briar Woods High School, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine speaks at the Mori Hosseini College of Hospitality Management at Daytona State College Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Fla. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
FILE- This June 3, 2016, file photo shows Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., delivering his speech titled "America's Enduring Commitment to Security and Prosperity in Asia" at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Distinguished Public Lecture in Singapore. Senate Republicans running for re-election weighed in one after another Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, to condemn Republican presidential candidate Donald Trumps repeated attacks on the parents of slain U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, with former prisoner of war Sen. John McCain of Arizona leading the charge. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Briar Woods High School, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
German heavy metal festival bans bags amid security fears
BERLIN (AP) Heavy metal fans planning to attend this year's Wacken Open Air festival in Germany might want to travel light.
Organizers say rucksacks and bags are banned from the main festival grounds this year for security reasons.
Safety concerns have increased at public events across Germany since a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a music festival in Ansbach last month, injuring 15 people.
FILE - In this July 29, 2015 file photo festival attendees of the Wacken Open Air wait at the train station with their luggage to be transported to the festival grounds in Itzehoe, northern Germany. Heavy metal fans planning to attend this year's festival had best travel light. Organizers say rucksacks and heavy bags are banned from the main festival grounds due to security. (Axel Heimken/dpa via AP, file)
Wacken spokeswoman Anna Lorenz said Tuesday that checking rucksacks would slow security checks too much.
But festival-goers will be able to take in waist packs, and larger bags are still allowed at camping sites nearby.
The Aug. 4-6 festival , held in a small village northwest of Hamburg, is expected to draw 75,000 people this year. The over 120 acts include Iron Maiden, Saxon and Blind Guardian.
'Little ninja': Zika-spreading mosquito puts up tough fight
MIAMI (AP) The mosquitoes spreading Zika in Miami are proving harder to eradicate than expected, the nation's top disease-fighter said Tuesday as authorities sprayed clouds of insecticide in the ground-zero neighborhood, emptied kiddie pools and handed out cans of insect repellent to the homeless.
Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the mosquito-control efforts in the bustling urban neighborhood aren't achieving the hoped-for results, suggesting the pests are resistant to the insecticides or are still finding standing water in which to breed.
"We're not seeing the number of mosquitoes come down as rapidly as we would have liked," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Jade Brown, 7, right, touches the stomach of his mother Gabriella Acevedo, who is eight months pregnant, as they leave the Borinquen Medical Center, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016 in Miami. The CDC has advised pregnant women to avoid travel to the nearby neighborhood of Wynwood where mosquitoes are apparently transmitting Zika directly to humans. Acevedo has not been tested for the Zika virus and is concerned for the health of her unborn child. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Mosquito control experts said that's no surprise to them, describing the Aedes aegypti mosquito as a "little ninja" capable of hiding in tiny crevices, sneaking up on people's ankles, and breeding in just a bottle cap of standing water.
Fifteen people have become infected with Zika in Miami's Wynwood arts district, officials said Tuesday. These are believed to be the first mosquito-transmitted cases in the mainland U.S., which has been girding for months against the epidemic coursing through Latin America and the Caribbean.
On Monday, the CDC instructed pregnant women to avoid the neighborhood, marking what is believed to be the first time in the agency's 70-year history that it warned people not to travel somewhere in the U.S. The Zika virus can cause severe brain-related defects, including disastrously small heads.
At the same time, U.S. health authorities have said they don't expect major outbreaks in this country, in part because of better sanitation and the use of air conditioners and window screens.
On Tuesday, Miami-Dade County mosquito control inspectors toting backpack blowers released white clouds of bug spray in Wynwood.
They also went door to door, handing out information, checking tires and other objects for standing water, and dipping cups to take water samples from vacant lots, building sites and backyards.
In one lush yard, an inspector tipped over a kiddie pool and a cooler full of water.
Daily aerial spraying for adult mosquitoes and larvae has been approved for the next four weeks over a 10-square-mile area around Wynwood, county officials said.
The city of Miami said it is running more street sweepers in Wynwood to remove the litter and stagnant water that can serve as breeding grounds, and police officers handed out 50 cans of bug spray to homeless people in the neighborhood.
"Be sure that you use it," Officer James Bernat said as he gave repellent to several people who had been sleeping on the street.
Dozens of pregnant women streamed into Borinquen Medical Center, a clinic just outside Wynwood where doctors said they were getting more and more nervous requests for Zika testing.
On the sidewalk outside, eight-months-pregnant Gabriella Acevedo said she would rush back to her Wynwood home.
"I'm going to put the AC on blast and try not to go outside. I've been bitten by mosquitoes probably two weeks ago, but I don't feel sick," she said. "It's just really stressful to me."
Because of environmental regulations governing which chemicals can be used as insecticides, mosquito control authorities cannot easily switch to another compound if bugs prove resistant to it.
Nothing has worked to stop this mosquito elsewhere in the world except for the introduction of mosquitoes modified to pass on genes that kill their offspring, said Michael Doyle, executive director of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. And the Food and Drug Administration has not given approval to that approach in the U.S.
"We have to totally rethink mosquito control for Aedes aegypti," Doyle said. "It's like a little ninja. It's always hiding."
Frieden complained that in the U.S., "we really dismantled the mosquito monitoring and control infrastructure over the past few decades."
The result: "We have blind spots where we don't know where the mosquito populations are and what the susceptibility is to different insecticides," the CDC director said.
The U.S. government might have underestimated how difficult it would be to control Zika's spread, said University of Florida public health researcher Ira Longini.
But he also said there aren't enough of the disease-transmitting mosquitoes living in and around houses to cause long-term or widespread outbreaks in this country.
"In defense of the CDC and the government, it's a difficult problem to solve," he said.
An inspector with the Miami-Dade County mosquito control department looks for standing water as he inspects an empty lot, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016 in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami. The CDC has advised pregnant women to avoid travel to this neighborhood where mosquitoes are apparently transmitting Zika directly to humans. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Joe Blackman, an inspector with the Miami-Dade County mosquito control department, picks up his clipboard with leaflets informing residents about how to prevent breeding grounds for mosquitoes, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016 in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami. The CDC has advised pregnant women to avoid travel to this neighborhood where mosquitoes are apparently transmitting Zika directly to humans. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
An inspector with the Miami-Dade County mosquito control department, looks for standing water as he inspects an empty lot, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016 in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami. The CDC has advised pregnant women to avoid travel to this neighborhood where mosquitoes are apparently transmitting Zika directly to humans. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Olympic and anti-doping leaders clash over Russian scandal
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Declaring that the global drug-testing system is damaged, Olympic leaders and anti-doping officials vowed Tuesday to fix the problems and prevent the type of scandal that has embroiled Russian athletes in the lead-up to the games in Rio de Janeiro.
The IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency clashed again Tuesday over the allegations of state-sponsored doping in Russia that have rattled the Olympic movement and created chaos ahead of Friday's opening ceremony in Rio.
But both sides agreed on one thing the need to repair the international anti-doping system and restore trust and credibility in the fight against drugs.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach speaks during the opening ceremony of the 129th International Olympic Committee session, in Rio de Janeiro on August 1, 2016, ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. (Fabrice Coffrini/Pool Photo via AP)
"This is not about destroying structures," IOC President Thomas Bach said, referring to WADA. "This is about improving significantly a system in order to have a robust and efficient anti-doping system so that such a situation that we face now cannot happen again."
Bach spoke after a debate in which International Olympic Committee members overwhelmingly backed the executive board's decision not to take the "nuclear option" of banning Russia's entire Olympic team. Bach and many members pointed fingers at WADA for failing to act sooner on evidence of state-run doping in Russia and for releasing its findings so close to the start of the games.
"I don't feel as if I've been run under a bus," WADA chief Craig Reedie told reporters, insisting that both sides were in general accord on the need to find solutions for the future.
"Somebody said this system is broken," he said. "I don't think all the system is broken. i think quite a lot of the system still works, but that certain parts of the system need revision."
Reedie said he had received assurances from officials at high levels of the Russia government that they accept they have a problem and need to fix it.
"It is absolutely essential that we cannot have the biggest country in the world non-compliant on a permanent basis," he said.
Bach opened the IOC's three-day general assembly by seeking formal backing for the board's decisions on the Russian crisis. After a debate lasting more than two hours, Bach asked for a show of hands, and only one of the 85 members Britain's Adam Pengilly voted against his position.
Despite evidence of a vast state-organized program involving Olympic sports in Russia, the IOC board rejected calls for a total ban and left it to international sports federations to decide on the entry of individual Russian athletes for the games.
Bach said it would be wrong to make individual Russian athletes "collateral damage" for the wrongdoing of their government.
"Leaving aside that such a comparison is completely out of any proportion when it comes to the rules of sport, let us just for a moment consider the consequences of a 'nuclear option,'" Bach said. "The result is death and devastation. This is not what the Olympic Movement stands for. The cynical 'collateral damage' approach is not what the Olympic movement stands for."
The IOC has been roundly criticized by many anti-doping bodies, athletes' groups and Western media for not applying a complete ban on the Russian team. Pressure for a full ban grew after WADA investigator Richard McLaren issued a report accusing Russia's sports ministry of orchestrating doping program and cover-ups involving athletes across more than two dozen summer and winter Olympic sports.
"Natural justice does not allow us to deprive a human being of the right to prove their innocence," Bach said.
Underlying the deep split between Olympic leaders and anti-doping officials, Bach and others put the responsibility on WADA.
"I think it's not the reputation of the IOC that has to be restored, it's the reputation of WADA," Israeli member Alex Gilady said.
Argentine member Gerardo Werthein added: "At times WADA has seemed to be more interested in publicity and self-promotion rather than doing its job as a regulator."
Reedie said he spoke later with both men and addressed their concerns.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said Reedie's positon was not compromised by the debate.
"We don't always agree on everything," he said. "It wasn't a totally one-sided debate. We aired a lot of issues."
Russian Olympic Committee President Alexander Zhukov claimed there was a political campaign against Russia and cited "discrimination" against clean athletes not connected to doping.
"I urge you to resist this unprecedented pressure that is now on the entire Olympic movement and not to let this pressure to split the entire Olympic family," he said.
U.S. member Larry Probst said it was wrong to attribute the problem to "international politics."
"We have a doping problem," the U.S. Olympic Committee chairman said. "And it's not just Russia, it's global. The current system is broken and we need to fix the problem."
A few members did question the IOC decision to keep Russian whistleblower Yulia Stepanova an 800-meter runner who helped expose systematic doping in her homeland out of the games.
"If there was to be one exception, it should have been her," Richard Peterkin of St. Lucia said.
The strongest criticism came from Canadian member Dick Pound, a former president of WADA who has been outspoken in calling for a complete ban on Russia something he had previously called "the nuclear option." He said the reputation of the IOC was on the line.
"We need to do a lot more to show that we really do care about fair play, honest competition and clean athletes," he said.
By the end, however, Pound was among the 84 members who voted in favor.
"The arrow's left the bow," he said. The decision has been made, it's not going to be changed between now and the start of the games."
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AP Sports Writer Stephen Wade contributed to this report.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach speaks during the Opening Ceremony of the IOC Session at the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Cidade das Artes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach speaks during the Opening Ceremony of the IOC Session at the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Cidade das Artes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The Latest: Obama says Libya bombing to restore stability
WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on the visit of the prime minister of Singapore to the White House (all times local):
11:50 a.m.
President Barack Obama says the new U.S. bombing operation in Libya is needed to drive out Islamic State group militants and restore stability to the troubled North African country.
President Barack Obama and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the National Anthem during a state arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Obama told reporters Tuesday at a White House news conference that the campaign had been requested by internationally-backed authorities in Libya and would continue for as long as necessary. He said it is in the vital national security interest of the United States.
The president reiterated his regret that conditions in Libya have deteriorated in recent years. But he also repeated his belief that the NATO-led bombing that drove dictator Moammar Gadhafi from power was necessary to prevent massacres.
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11:40 a.m.
President Barack Obama is challenging leading Republicans to repudiate Donald Trump.
Obama says Trump's criticism of a fallen Muslim-American soldier's family is the latest evidence that the GOP presidential nominee isn't ready to lead the country.
The president said Trump is unfit to be president and 'he keeps on proving it'
Obama is also citing Trump's misstatements on global crises.
At a news conference Tuesday, Obama noted that many leading Republicans in Congress have denounced various Trump statements.
But he asked why they are still endorsing him.
Obama said there has to be a point when people break with the party's standard-bearer.
Otherwise, he said the denunciations are hollow.
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11:30 a.m.
President Barack Obama is reaffirming his commitment to the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal.
Obama says people have legitimate fears about the impact of globalization and being "left behind" but the answer cannot be to back away from trade and the global economy.
He says to "pull up the drawbridge" would hurt American workers.
Obama was addressing a news conference after meeting Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the White House Tuesday. The U.S. and Singapore are among the 12 nations in the TPP that would cut trade barriers and tariffs.
Opposition to the TPP is intensifying in the United States, with both major presidential contenders campaigning against it.
Lee is urging Congress to ratify the deal as soon as possible.
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9:55 a.m.
President Barack Obama and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong are sitting down for a formal meeting in the Oval Office.
The two leaders walked side by side together along the West Wing colonnade from the South Lawn after the arrival ceremony for Lee. In the Oval Office, they exchanged pleasantries and joked with each other but made no comments to reporters who were briefly allowed in for the start of their meeting.
U.S.-Asia relations and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal involving both Singapore and the United States are on the agenda.
Obama and Lee plan to hold a joint news conference at the White House following their meeting.
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9:40 a.m.
President Barack Obama says Singapore is an anchor for U.S. efforts to boost ties to Asia and has been a "rock-solid" partner.
Obama is welcoming Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the White House for a state visit. He says the U.S. and Singapore share a common vision for a peaceful and prosperous Asia.
Lee says the world has changed dramatically since the U.S. and Singapore opened diplomatic relations 50 years ago. He says American policies and actions have contributed to peace and prosperity in Asia, though he says the region isn't without challenges.
Lee is also urging the U.S. Congress to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal.
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9:15 a.m.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are welcoming the leader of Singapore to the White House for a state visit marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between their countries.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was greeted by an elaborate welcome ceremony as his limousine pulled in to the South Lawn of the White House. Hundreds of U.S. military members in blue and white uniforms formed an honor guard, some carrying bayoneted rifles. A canon fired repeatedly as a military band played the two countries' national anthems.
Obama and the prime minister plan to meet in the Oval Office before taking questions from reporters. Lee will also be honored with a state dinner on Tuesday evening.
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9 a.m.
The prime minister of Singapore is joining President Barack Obama at the White House to celebrate the 50th anniversary of U.S. diplomatic relations with the Southeast Asian city state. But the two leaders will also discuss a shared cause with less rosy prospects the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal.
Singapore, a close U.S. partner, is one of the 12 nations in the TPP, an agreement key to Obama's effort to boost U.S. exports and build strategic ties in Asia. But Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Washington visit starting Tuesday comes as opposition to the TPP intensifies in the United States. Both Republican contender Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, who are competing to succeed Obama as president, are against it.
Speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce late Monday, Lee urged its ratification, saying the pact would give the U.S. better access to the markets that account for 40 percent of global economic output. He said it would also add heft add heft to Washington's so-called "rebalance" to the Asia-Pacific.
President Barack Obama speak during a joint news conference with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Barack Obama walks with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during a state arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce during a reception and discussion, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016 in Washington. Prime Minister Lee discussed the Trans Pacific Partnership, TPP, and other topics. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Deadly election season for South Africa's candidates
JOHANNESBURG (AP) South Africa's municipal election season has been deadly for candidates and party activists, with more than 12 killed ahead of Wednesday's vote.
National police have determined it a serious enough problem to create a task force to investigate the deaths, most of them occurring in eastern KwaZulu-Natal province.
One motivation behind the killings is the chance of a steady job as a councillor in a country where more than 25 percent of people are unemployed, said Gareth Newham, head of the governance, crime and justice division of the local Institute for Security Studies.
An elderly voter arrives at a polling station to cast an early vote on the eve of the country's municipal elections in Johannesburg, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. This election season has been deadly for candidates and party activists in South Africa, with more than 12 killed ahead of Wednesday's vote. National police have determined it a serious enough problem to create a task force to investigate the deaths, most occurring in KwaZulu-Natal province. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)
"These are people who go from literally being unemployed to suddenly being able to afford a much better lifestyle. So there is intense competition for those positions," Newham said. Even the lowest-grade part-time councillor was making up to 16,300 rand ($1,110) a month last year . The posts also come with the chance to control local resources and patronage.
Newham said another factor in the recent killings is the relative impunity of such attacks in the past. "Ninety percent of the time, people are getting away with it. It's low-risk," he said.
President Jacob Zuma's office has urged that the municipal elections remain peaceful, and campaigning in many parts of the country has been calm.
The African National Congress party, which has ruled South Africa since the first all-race elections 22 years ago, faces a serious challenge in some of the country's most important cities. Those include the largest city, Johannesburg; the Tshwane metro area around the capital, Pretoria; and even the eastern coastal municipality named after the ANC's star, Nelson Mandela Bay.
Many of the political killings this year have not been in such contested areas, instead occurring in the traditional ANC stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal, which has a history of political violence.
The killings have forced some candidates into hiding, said Nkosikhulule Nyembezi, co-chair of the National Coordinating Forum of community groups that partner with the Electoral Commission on observing and other activities.
One candidate from KwaZulu-Natal told South African media he was shot in the chest last month outside his home and said he had taken refuge about 350 kilometers (217 miles) away in Johannesburg, where he planned to remain until the elections.
David Mazibuko has said he remains a candidate, even in hiding. He told The Associated Press late last week that he "didn't get anything from detectives" yet on resolving his case.
Children leave their school which is being used as polling station, on the eve of the country's municipal elections in Johannesburg, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. This election season has been deadly for candidates and party activists in South Africa, with more than 12 killed ahead of Wednesday's vote. National police have determined it a serious enough problem to create a task force to investigate the deaths, most occurring in KwaZulu-Natal province. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)
Children leave their school which is being used as polling station, on the eve of the country's municipal elections in Johannesburg, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. This election season has been deadly for candidates and party activists in South Africa, with more than 12 killed ahead of Wednesday's vote. National police have determined it a serious enough problem to create a task force to investigate the deaths, most occurring in KwaZulu-Natal province. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)
Police say passengers were thrown from the bus into a ditch while others screamed from the inside
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Five people have been killed and at least 16 more have been injured after a tour bus ripped in half after crashing in central California.
Thirty people were on board when the bus veered off the road and slammed into an exit sign pole - causing the vehicle to split - on Tuesday morning.
Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said rescuers brought out 'bags of body parts' that belonged to the victims and survivors.
They also heard screaming from inside the bus while other victims were thrown onto the side of the road.
The driver has been identified as Mario David Vasquez, 57, from Los Angeles, who suffered 'major injuries'.
Five people have been killed and at least 16 more have been injured after a tour bus crash between the cities of Atwater and Livingston in central California
Thirty people were on board when the bus slammed into an exit sign on Tuesday morning
Onsurez didn't have details about additional injuries or the cause of the crash that happened early Tuesday on State Route 99 between the cities of Atwater and Livingston.
Sheriff Warnke told the Merced Sun Star: 'Theres a tremendous amount of carnage here - a very, very nasty accident.
'When I first got there, I could hear people screaming from inside of the bus.
'Several people had been ejected and were lying in the ditch. It was harder to get to them immediately because of the amount of diesel fuel that had spilled.'
Jennifer Rivera, 12, who survived the crash, told the Sun Star she was sleeping when the bus crashed.
'It was just me and my uncles.I dont know what happened to them. They were hurt and battered.'
Photos and video show the unmarked white bus crashed into the pole of a highway exit sign.
Emergency workers were also seen climbing in through the windows
Onsurez says the bus was heading from the Mexican state of Nayarit to Pasco, Washington.
The cause of the crash is being investigated. None of the victims have been identified.
Reports suggest the bus had three safety violations in April 2016.
There was either no, or a defective brake warning device; the bus was equipped with prohibited, non-automatically folding seats in the aisle, and the FMCSA found the company needed to inspect/repair parts and accessories, KMPH reported.
Emergency workers were also seen climbing in through the windows at the crash site
California Highway Patrol officers investigate the scene of a charter bus crash
Debris is seen strewn all over the road in the area surrounding the crash site
Rescue crews respond to the scene of the charter bus crash on northbound Highway 99
Horrific images show the damage caused by the exit sign as it tore through the bus
Police said they could hear screaming from inside the bus when they arrived. Passengers were also thrown into a ditch on the side of the road
The bus was on its way from somewhere in Mexico to Pasco, Washington, via Los Angeles and Sacramento
Mexican mayor, police arrested in deaths of 10
MEXICO CITY (AP) A mayor and four local police officers have been arrested in a western Mexican state in connection with the murder of 10 people who were killed and burned over the weekend, the state's governor said Tuesday.
Michoacan Gov. Silvano Aureoles said in an interview with Imagen Radio Tuesday that authorities initially thought the bodies found in a pickup near a gas pipeline in Cuitzeo had been somehow related to illegal pipeline taps.
However, Aureoles said that the investigation eventually revealed that police from the town of Alvaro Obregon had detained the victims.
Speaking with Milenio television, Aureoles said that interviews "point directly to the mayor who gave the order." Without naming the mayor, he said he and four police officers had been transported to prison.
State prosecutor Jose Martin Godoy also said in a news conference Monday night that the mayor gave the order. "After they were detained, on instructions from the mayor, the civilians were transported to a place in Alvaro Obregon where they were killed and then they took the bodies to a property in Cuitzeo where they set them on fire," he said.
The motive appeared to be related to a rivalry over street-level drug sales, Aureoles said.
The state of Michoacan has been convulsed for years by drug violence.
Also, early Tuesday morning, unidentified gunmen killed the mayor of a town in the central Mexican state of Puebla.
The Puebla state Attorney General's Office said Tuesday in a statement that Huehuetlan Mayor Jose Santamaria Zavala was found dead beside his SUV on the side of a rural highway. He appeared to have been shot with a 9mm pistol.
A witness who was travelling in the vehicle with the mayor, but who was unharmed, told investigators that rocks had been placed blocking the highway. Armed men then demanded money from the payroll, but those in the car were not carrying money, the statement said.
Turkey's Erdogan blasts EU for not adhering to migrant deal
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the European Union Tuesday of not upholding its side of an EU-Turkey agreement on migration, saying that promised funds and visa-free travel for Turks in the EU had not been delivered.
The agreement was instrumental in stemming the flow of people heading from Turkey to the nearby Greek islands. Under the deal, migrants and refugees arriving on Greek islands from March 20 on faced deportation back to Turkey. Among incentives offered in return, Turkey would receive funding to help it care for refugees it is hosting, while its citizens would also be granted visa-free travel in the EU.
But plans to loosen visa rules in particular have run into trouble. The EU demands that Turkey fulfill a list of criteria first notably, amending its anti-terrorism laws. EU countries want to ensure Turkey cannot use those laws to target academics and journalists.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during an event for foreign investors, in Ankara, Turkey, on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. Erdogan said, once more blasted unnamed Western countries which he says supported an attempted coup on July 15 which left more than 270 people dead. "The West is supporting terrorism and taking sides with coups." (Kayhan Ozer/Presidential Press Service, Pool Photo via AP)
"We are the ones who are protecting the European Union by sheltering 3 million Syrians and Iraqis," Erdogan said during a speech in Ankara at an event for foreign investors.
"They still haven't brought about their promises. They promised 3 billion euros ($3.35 billion), this money still hasn't arrived. The visa issue still hasn't been brought about. But they expect us to meet (our) obligations. I am sorry but these steps will be taken simultaneously," he said. "You cannot demand the refugee return agreement without fulfilling your obligations. Sorry, but we are not a country that you can boss about."
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier stressed in an interview with the daily Rheinische Post that Turkey must fulfill the EU's conditions before the bloc will lift visa requirements for Turkish citizens.
The conditions, he said, "are known to all sides involved."
The man who led what's known as Shays' Rebellion is getting a new gravestone to correct an old typo.
Massachusetts native Daniel Shays was a Revolutionary War veteran who led a protest against the state's harsh economic policies.
His six-month armed rebellion was put down in 1787, but it exposed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and figured prominently in the drafting of the Constitution.
Daniel Shays was a Revolutionary War veteran who led a protest against the state's harsh economic policies. His gravestone is missing the 's' at the end of his surname
Pictured is a monument for the last battle of Shays' Rebellion
Rebels had attempted to keep land belonging to farmers unable to pay taxes from being taken by the government, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported.
Shays fled to southern Vermont, and he was pardoned a year later.
He later moved to western New York, where he died in 1825.
He's buried in a cemetery in Conesus, 30 miles south of Rochester.
His gravestone is missing the 's' at the end of his surname.
The six-month armed rebellion was put down in 1787, but it exposed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and figured prominently in the drafting of the Constitution
Daniel Shays is buried in Union Cemetery, pictured
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports that a descendant, Phil Shays of Clarence, is dedicating a new stone on August 12.
Phil Shays told the outlet in an interview: 'I felt it was kind of an injustice.'
His ancestor is buried in a private graveyard, with a new stone costing $6,000, according to the newspaper.
Phil Shays recalled: 'I even gave thought to exhuming the body and taking him [to Arlington].
UK official lauds Cyprus' help in anti-ISIS air campaign
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) Cyprus' support for Britain's air campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq has been essential in sustaining almost 3,000 combat missions so far this year, Britain's defense secretary said Tuesday.
Michael Fallon said the Royal Air Force hasn't kept such an operational tempo in a single theater of conflict in more than 25 years.
Britain maintains two military bases on Cyprus including Akrotiri, from where anti-IS missions are being flown.
Fallon said it would be "much harder to sustain" so many missions, which included 948 air strikes in Syria and Iraq, without the help of Cyprus. The country's eastern shores are 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the Syrian coastline.
"Only the U.S. is doing more," Fallon said after talks with Cypriot counterpart Christoforos Fokaides, adding that IS "is losing land, losing money, losing the fight."
Fallon said the air campaign has helped push the Islamic State group out of 40 percent of the territory it had taken since 2014.
"Britain is determined to keep pulling out all the stops in this fight against evil," he said.
Fallon also offered assurances that British voters' decision to leave the European Union in a June referendum doesn't mean that the country will "abandon European security."
Kosovo man charged over attempt to join IS group in Syria
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) Kosovo prosecutors have filed charges against a man who allegedly wanted to join the Islamic State group in Syria but was caught and sent back by Turkish authorities.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that the ethnic Albanian, identified only as V.C. in line with privacy laws, was charged under legislation that prohibits joining a foreign paramilitary force or participating in a conflict abroad.
They say the suspect hoped to reach Syria via Turkey last December, but was denied entrance to Turkey at Istanbul airport. The following day, he was sent back to Pristina, where he was arrested.
If convicted, the man could face up to 15 years in prison.
Roof attorneys want death penalty ruled unconstitutional
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) Attorneys for Dylann Roof, the white man charged with killing nine black parishioners at a South Carolina church, want a federal judge to rule the death penalty unconstitutional and allow their client to plead guilty and serve life in prison.
Lawyers for 22-year-old Dylan Roof filed the motion on Monday saying a flawed process of sitting juries willing to recommend the death penalty violates the rights of both potential jurors and defendants.
The government is seeking the death penalty against Roof who is charged with hate crimes and other counts in the June 2015 shootings at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. Prosecutors allege Roof posed with the Confederate battle flag before the killings and talked of starting a race war.
FILE - This June 18, 2015, file photo, provided by the Charleston County Sheriff's Office shows Dylann Roof. Attorneys for the man charged with killing nine people at a Charleston church are challenging federal prosecutors intention to seek the death penalty against him. Lawyers for Roof argue in a motion filed Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, that the death penalty and federal death penalty law are unconstitutional. (Charleston County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)
His federal trial is set for November. He also faces the death penalty in state court where he is charged with murder in a trial set to begin early next year.
In the filing, Assistant Federal Public Defender Sarah Gannett said while some aspects of jury selection in death penalty cases have been considered by the courts, other issues she puts forward are being raised for the first time.
While the law provides that all citizens have an opportunity to sit on juries, juries willing to impose a death penalty don't represent a cross-section of the community, the filing said.
Gannett said such juries are more likely to be white, older, predominantly Protestant and less educated than the rest of society while women and minorities tend to be excluded.
She also noted that excluding jurors who oppose the death penalty for religious reasons violates constitutional protections against requiring religious tests for holding office or having positions of public trust.
"If a proposed juror is Catholic, Quaker or any sect of any other religion and adamantly opposed to the death penalty, death qualification discriminates against that juror's religion," she said.
Both Roof's state and federal attorneys have said he is willing to plead guilty in return for a life sentence.
Gannett said U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel should allow the federal case to proceed as a non-capital case.
Then Roof could plead guilty and "would be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release and this prosecution would conclude," she wrote.
FILE - In this Thursday, June 18, 2015 file photo, Charleston, S.C., shooting suspect Dylann Storm Roof is escorted from the Shelby Police Department in Shelby, N.C. Attorneys for the man charged with killing nine people at a Charleston church are challenging federal prosecutors intention to seek the death penalty against him. Lawyers for Roof argue in a motion filed Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, that the death penalty and federal death penalty law are unconstitutional. (AP Photo/Ben Earp, File)
Kenya man accused of chopping off wife's hands with machete
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) A Kenyan woman said Tuesday she wants her husband jailed for life for chopping off her hands with a machete because she allegedly could not bear him children.
Stephen Ngila has been charged with attempted murder after the July 25 attack in Machakos town southeast of the capital, Nairobi.
His wife, Jackline Mwende Ngila, told The Associated Press that tests done four years into their marriage showed that her husband is the one with reproductive issues.
She said their relationship deteriorated after the tests, which were done three years ago, and that her husband did not show up for treatment as doctors prescribed.
"We bought a plot and built a house which all along . we wanted to see our children play in the compound," she said.
Her father, Samuel Munyoki, asked, "If Ngila never wanted my daughter, why did he not return her?"
Human rights groups have condemned the attack. The government needs to take a zero-tolerance stance on protecting the rights of women and girls, said Naitore Nyamu of the organization Equality Now.
"This is a particularly shocking case for Kenya," she said. "We can't afford to let perpetrators act with impunity, which has sometimes been the case here in years gone by."
The Latest: Washington fire under control, structures lost
BIG SUR, Calif. (AP) The Latest on wildfires burning in the Western U.S. (all times local):
8 p.m.
A fast-moving fire in central Washington that started Tuesday afternoon has been brought under control with some homes and outbuildings lost.
A work crew from the California Conservation Corps Butte County Fire Center cuts a line on Black Mountain near the town of Tollhouse, Calif., while fighting a blaze Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. (Craig Kohlruss/The Fresno Bee via AP)
The Grant County Sheriff's Office says the fire is still burning but not making a run as it did earlier in the day with high winds just north of Moses Lake. Officials say they don't yet know how many structures have burned or the amount of land.
Shelters have been set up for people as well as livestock from about two dozen evacuated residences.
Also on Tuesday, fire crews were making headway on a blaze that started Saturday night in south-central Washington on the U.S. Army's Yakima Training Center.
The fire that has scorched about 276 square miles was up to 20 percent contained, from 10 percent Tuesday morning.
It's the largest of several wildfires burning in Washington state.
6:40 p.m.
Firefighters continue to make progress on a half-dozen wildfires in northern Nevada. But crews fear gusty winds blowing off the Pacific Ocean could fan flames that forced evacuations earlier on tribal lands near Pyramid Lake north of Reno.
A firefighter was treated for cuts at a Reno hospital Tuesday, but no other injuries were reported.
No structures were immediately threatened by the biggest complex of fires that has burned about 75 miles of rangeland but is now estimated to be 40 percent contained about 40 miles north of Reno.
About 800 firefighters remained on the lines Tuesday evening as winds picked up to 15 mph. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning through 10 p.m. for hot, dry conditions, with winds forecast to gust up to 35 mph Tuesday night north of U.S. Interstate 80.
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5:16 p.m.
A fire official says a deadly wildfire that continues to spread near California's scenic Big Sur was started by an illegal campfire.
Fire information officer Deborah McClain said Tuesday that investigators determined the blaze started July 22 in an area of Garapata State Park where campfires are prohibited.
McClain says officials are still trying to determine who started the campfire and are asking for information from campers who were in the area before the massive blaze charred 67 square miles and destroyed 57 homes.
A bulldozer operator working the fire lines was killed last week in a rollover accident in steep, forested ridges.
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4:40 p.m.
A new wildfire in central Washington state has prompted the immediate evacuation of about two dozen homes.
Grant County Sheriff's Office spokesman Kyle Foreman says the wind-driven fire started Tuesday afternoon about seven miles north of Moses Lake, closing a portion of State Route 17 in the area.
Authorities said the fire had moved more than two miles in heavy sage and grass, but there was no estimate yet on how much land had burned.
Fire crews were monitoring high winds and making headway Tuesday afternoon on a large blaze that started Saturday night in south-central Washington on the U.S. Army's Yakima Training Center.
The Yakima-Herald reported (http://goo.gl/yxcqaB ) the fire that has scorched about 273 square miles was up to 20 percent contained, from 10 percent Tuesday morning.
It's the largest of several wildfires burning in Washington state.
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4:55 p.m.
Hundreds of additional homes are being evacuated or placed under alert as strong winds threaten to spread a Montana wildfire that's already destroyed at least 14 homes.
Fire information officer Mike Cole said the blaze in the Bitterroot National Forest had burned nearly 7 square miles by early Tuesday.
Residents of about 630 homes southwest of Hamilton were under evacuation orders Tuesday. Another 215 homes were placed on alert due to concerns the fire could blow up Tuesday evening.
Also in Montana, a new fire started Tuesday afternoon about 16 miles northwest of Wolf Creek.
The fire grew from 5 acres to an estimated 500 acres in a little over two hours.
Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton says no evacuations have been ordered and no structures were immediately threatened.
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1:15 p.m.
Forecasters say the threat of significant wildfires will expand into parts of Oregon, Montana and Wyoming this month, while a broad swath of the South and the East Coast will see increased danger later in the year.
The National Interagency Fire Center's monthly outlook , released Monday, says the potential for big fires will remain above normal during August in parts of California, Idaho, Nevada and Utah because of dry grass and bushes.
By September, the fire threat is expected to swing back toward normal over much of the West but increase in the South.
By October and November, the potential for significant wildfires is expected to be above normal in an arc of states from Texas to New Jersey.
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12:05 p.m.
Officials say two specially equipped military cargo planes have been made available to drop fire retardant on blazes burning across the West.
The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, said Tuesday that the C-130s are expected to be ready for firefighting missions on Wednesday.
Each can drop 3,000 gallons of fire retardant in as little as five seconds.
The C-130s can be mobilized when the civilian tanker fleet is stretched thin.
Initially, they'll be based in Boise, home of the center that coordinates wildfire-fighting efforts nationwide.
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11:55 a.m.
Officials are reporting 60 percent containment of an 8-square-mile wildfire sparked by lightning on a mountain in northwest Nevada.
There have been no injuries and no structures are immediately threatened by the fire in the Poodle Mountain area, about 100 miles north of Reno.
Winds are forecast later in the day.
Fire commander Glen Uhlig says about 415 firefighters are working in hot, dry conditions to prevent the fire from crossing State Route 447, near Squaw Creek Reservoir.
They were aided by air tankers and helicopters.
In eastern Nevada, officials are reporting 80 percent containment of a 1.3-square-mile wildfire on public rangeland about 95 miles northeast of Las Vegas.
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11:45 a.m.
Firefighters were bracing for strong winds and authorities have ordered more evacuations during a fire in western Montana that destroyed 14 homes and may have contributed to a death.
The fire started Sunday and has burned 5.7 square miles in Bitterroot National Forest.
Residents were allowed back into the burned area Monday evening, but the area was closed again Tuesday and the evacuation zone expanded because high winds and low humidity were forecast.
Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman says his undersheriff toured the burned area and said it looked like a moonscape.
Fire information officer Mike Cook says the 200 firefighters working the blaze were trying to hold onto gains made Monday and protect homes.
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10:35 a.m.
A wildfire north of scenic Big Sur near California's Central Coast spread again overnight and has now charred more than 67 square miles.
The blaze that broke out July 22 has destroyed 57 homes and is threatening 2,000 additional structures. It was less than 18 percent contained Tuesday.
Firefighters on Monday got help from a spike in humidity and lower temperatures, and they are hopeful for more of the same Tuesday.
Officials say more than 5,400 firefighters from across California are fighting the fire in steep terrain that is considered some of the most extreme in the United States.
All California State Parks from Point Lobos State Natural Reserve through Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park are closed until further notice. Full containment is not expected until Aug. 31.
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9:40 a.m.
More than 1,400 firefighters are battling a blaze in southwest Idaho that has grown to 66 square miles and destroyed a state-operated backcountry structure.
Officials say the fire expanded by about 5 square miles Tuesday in rugged terrain and was nearly 30 percent contained. It's not expected to be fully contained until mid-September.
Crews plan to build fire lines and use previous wildfire burn scars to try to prevent the fire from moving farther north.
The $60,000 yurt that burned is a round, tent-like structure with a dome roof and plastic skin.
The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation has five other yurts it manages as part of an agreement with the Boise National Forest, and several remain threatened.
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8:50 a.m.
Firefighters in northwest Nevada are bracing for dry, hot winds and the possibility of erratic flames as they battle a series of wildfires that have charred almost 75 square miles of rangeland.
Incident commanders predict humidity in the single-digits Tuesday in the Virginia Mountains, with wind gusts up to 45 miles an hour.
The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe town of Sutcliffe is no longer threatened, but residents in some rural areas have been told to prepare to evacuate quickly if necessary. The lake is closed.
About 800 firefighters are battling the fires, which are roughly 40 percent contained.
About 50 miles north, a wildfire in the scenic Poodle Mountain Wilderness Study Area has burned nearly 8 square miles.
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8:25 a.m.
Crews overnight got a bit more control over a stubborn wildfire in California's Central Valley.
The blaze has destroyed three homes and is threatening another 400 northeast of Fresno as it heads into its second week. It also has burned two other buildings.
Authorities said Tuesday that firefighters increased containment to 30 percent.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says about 300 people were under evacuation orders from homes just outside the Sierra National Forest.
The 4.5-square-mile blaze started Saturday afternoon in steep, rugged terrain.
A work crew from the California Conservation Corps Butte County Fire Center cuts a line on Black Mountain near the town of Tollhouse, Calif., while fighting a blaze Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. (Craig Kohlruss/The Fresno Bee via AP)
Firefighters keep a lookout from Sky Ranch off Cachagua Grade as smoke and flames from a back burn light up a ridge to the south in east Carmel Valley, Calif., Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. Higher humidity and lower temperatures on Monday helped firefighters battle the destructive wildfire near the scenic Big Sur coast. (David Royal/The Monterey County Herald via AP)
Obama's library a tough choice between 2 historic parks
CHICAGO (AP) The two parks that Barack Obama considered for his presidential library are only a mile apart in Chicago's South Side. But the decision to build the museum in the lakefront park rather than in a nearby impoverished neighborhood has left some residents worried it was a missed opportunity.
The Obama Foundation will hold a ceremony Wednesday to unveil details of the president's choice of Jackson Park instead of Washington Park. For the city's residents, there are key differences between the two historic parks, which are both near the University of Chicago.
Here is a look at each site, and the pros and cons involved in the decision:
FILE - This May 12, 2015 file photo shows Jackson Park in Chicago. The decision to build Barack Obama's presidential library at the lakefront park rather than a nearby impoverished neighborhood has left some residents worried the museum will deliver less of a boost to the South Side. Some say Washington Park, a mile to the west, has greater needs because of poverty and population decline, and the location decision is a missed opportunity to spur development there. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty, File)
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PARK WITH A VIEW
Jackson Park is along Chicago's picturesque Lake Michigan shoreline and is rich in history. It was home to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and the tranquil lagoons and other features designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted for the event remain. The park also is home to the fair's former Palace of Fine Arts Building, which now houses the Museum of Science and Industry.
The Obama Foundation seemed to conclude that more visitors would be drawn to Jackson Park. The organization said building the library there would have "the greatest long-term impact on the combined communities."
"With its aesthetics, iconic location, historical relevance from the World's Fair, we believe Jackson Park will attract visitors on a national and global level that will bring significant long-term benefits to the South Side," foundation Chairman Marty Nesbitt said in announcing the choice Friday.
The park abuts the Woodlawn neighborhood, an area of need but one where decades of revitalization efforts have already left a mark.
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NO OLYMPICS, NO LIBRARY
A mile to the west is Washington Park, also designed by Olmsted, who originally conceived of the two expanses as one park. They are connected by a strip of green known as the Midway Plaisance.
Washington Park would have been at the center of the world this week if Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics had succeeded. The loss of the presidential center and library is another blow to the neighborhood's quest for a revival.
Now, the only major development prospects seem to come from the nearby University of Chicago, where Obama once taught constitutional law. The university has bought up land and opened an arts incubator, restaurant and bookstore with artist Theaster Gates. But a lot of ground remains vacant and there are few jobs, grocery stores, shops and quality housing.
The surrounding neighborhood is associated with poverty, population decline and empty lots. It's also closer to the belt of neighborhoods that are home to most of Chicago's gang violence.
But Washington Park, too, is steeped in historical significance. It hosts the DuSable Museum of African American History. The surrounding community became home to many blacks who moved to Chicago during the Great Migration, when waves of black Southerners moved north in the early and mid-20th century to escape from segregation and racism.
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ROOM TO GROW
Obama, who started out as a community organizer on Chicago's far South Side, said in a written statement Friday that the library will spur development. Obama said he and first lady Michelle Obama "can't wait to forge new ways to give back to the people of Chicago who have given us so much."
But some urban policy planners feel those ambitions would have had more room to grow in Washington Park, where the prevalence of vacant lots offer ready-made space for spinoff development ranging from souvenir stands to restaurants to hotels.
"I'm just so unhappy," said Jacky Grimshaw, vice president for policy at the Center for Neighborhood Technology, an urban development and economic advocacy organization.
Grimshaw, a longtime resident of the area who grew up playing in Washington Park, said building the library there could have reversed population decline and created more economic opportunity.
"Here is a grand opportunity that is being missed," she said.
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THE GENTRIFICATION EFFECT
But some Washington Park community leaders are quietly pleased the library will be close but not too close.
The area was once home to one of the highest concentrations of public housing in the country before those high-rise projects were torn down about a decade ago. Their residents were able to remain in the neighborhood thanks to federal housing benefits for low-income people.
Activists were concerned the library might have driven a rapid gentrification that would have raised housing costs and forced longtime residents out.
The Latest: Conditions upgraded for injured in bus crash
ATWATER, Calif. (AP) The Latest on a deadly California bus crash (all times local):
6 p.m.
The six most seriously injured people in a deadly California bus crash are out of critical condition.
Dr. Kathleen Eve, trauma surgeon at Doctors Medical Center of Modesto, said Tuesday that three patients are now in serious condition and three are in fair condition.
Eve says some had head and neck injuries along with broken bones, and some amputations had to be performed but she did not elaborate. Some remain on ventilators and are unconscious, but their vital signs are stable.
She said the patients she treated, whose ages range from 30s to 50s, will need to be in the hospital between two days and a week.
Twelve other patients with less serious injuries were treated at other hospitals.
Five people were killed in the charter bus crash on a highway in the state's agricultural Central Valley.
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5:25 p.m.
One of the survivors of Tuesday's deadly central California bus crash says the bus appeared to be trying to pass another vehicle that wouldn't let it in just before it veered off the highway and slammed into a pole, killing five people.
"That vehicle wasn't allowing him to pass and it kind of ran him off the road," Nakia Coleman of Pasco, Washington, told Washington's Tri-City Herald newspaper.
California Highway Patrol Officer Moises Onsurez says the bus suddenly turned sharply off the highway before the crash. He says investigators are still trying to determine why.
Onsurez added that investigators haven't been able to interview the driver yet because of his injuries.
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2:30 p.m.
At least 18 survivors of a deadly bus crash on a central California highway have been treated at hospitals.
Spokeswoman Carin Sarkis says Doctors Medical Center of Modesto received two men and a woman who were all in critical condition and two women in serious condition.
Spokeswoman Pennie Rorex says Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock received four patients, including a man in serious condition who was being transferred to Modesto. Emanuel treated and released the other three.
Memorial Medical Center in Modesto received four patients. Spokesman Craig Baize says all were admitted in fair condition.
Mercy Medical Center in Merced received five patients. Spokeswoman Lindsey Wine says four were discharged and one was transferred elsewhere in stable condition.
Authorities say five people were killed when the bus struck a signpost in the San Joaquin Valley. About 30 were aboard.
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12:20 p.m.
A man who survived a pre-dawn bus wreck on a California highway says he was awakened from his sleep when he was thrown into the seat in front of him and then to the floor.
Leonardo Sanchez spoke to The Associated Press in Spanish outside a hospital near where the bus hit a sign post on State Route 99 in the San Joaquin Valley early Tuesday.
Authorities say five people were killed and at least five others were flown to hospitals in unknown condition.
Sanchez says he found himself in a chaotic scene: passengers were screaming and crying, some called for help and some were unable to move.
The 55-year-old says the impact left him with pain in his stomach and a bruised jaw and mouth.
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9:30 a.m.
A California sheriff says several injured passengers lost limbs when a speeding bus veered off a highway and struck a pole, killing five people.
Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke tells The Associated Press that the bus hit the pole of a highway sign head-on early Tuesday, and it sheared through the vehicle before stopping at the first axle "with a great impact."
Warnke says rescuers brought out "bags of body parts" from the survivors following the crash on State Route 99 just south of Livingston.
The sheriff says the bus operated by Autobuses Coordinados USA was heading to Washington state and was due in Livingston at 1:30 a.m. to change drivers.
The California Highway Patrol says five people died and at least five people were airlifted to hospitals in unknown condition.
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7:15 a.m.
Authorities say a bus crash on a central California freeway has killed five people and sent at least five others to hospitals.
California Highway Patrol Officer Moises Onsurez says the five injured were airlifted to hospitals. He didn't have details about additional injuries or the cause of the crash that happened early Tuesday on State Route 99 between the cities of Atwater and Livingston.
Photos and video show the unmarked white bus crashed into the pole of a highway exit sign that appears to have torn through the middle of the vehicle. Emergency workers climbed in through the windows.
Onsurez says the bus with about 30 people aboard was heading from Southern California to Sacramento.
The northbound lanes of the freeway are closed during the investigation.
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5:55 a.m.
Authorities have responded to a bus crash on a central California freeway.
California Highway Patrol Officer Moises Onsurez says the crash happened shortly before 3:30 a.m. Tuesday on State Route 99 between the cities of Atwater and Livingston.
Photos and video show the unmarked white bus crashed into the pole of a highway exit sign that appears to have torn through the middle of the vehicle. Emergency workers climbed in through the windows.
Onsurez says the bus with about 30 people aboard was heading from Southern California to Sacramento.
Additional details were not immediately available.
The northbound lanes of the freeway are closed during the investigation.
Turkish, Italian leaders spar over probe into Erdogan's son
MILAN (AP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says an Italian criminal investigation involving his son could complicate relations with Rome. Italy's premier dismissed the comments, saying that Italian judges don't respond to the Turkish leader.
Erdogan's son Bilal is under investigation for alleged money-laundering in Bologna, where he moved last year with his family. Erdogan told RAI News 24 Tuesday that the probe "could put our relations with Italy in difficulty" and added that Italy should instead concentrate on the Mafia.
Italian Premier Matteo Renzi responded with a message on Twitter, saying: "In this country, judges respond to the law and the Italian constitution, not to the Turkish president."
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during an event for foreign investors, in Ankara, Turkey, on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. Erdogan said, once more blasted unnamed Western countries which he says supported an attempted coup on July 15 which left more than 270 people dead. "The West is supporting terrorism and taking sides with coups." (Kayhan Ozer/Presidential Press Service, Pool Photo via AP)
Italian dies of meningitis after Poland pilgrimage
ROME (AP) The Italian bishops' conference says a young Italian pilgrim died of meningitis after attending the World Youth Day event in Poland, and is urging anyone who used the same hospitality facilities to get vaccinated.
The conference said the girl, who came from Rome, died at a Vienna hospital as she traveled home from Poland. Pope Francis led several events at the Catholic youth jamboree in Krakow, which ended on Sunday.
Pilgrims who were traveling with the girl already received the vaccine. The bishops' conference said others who used the same facilities in Krakow for Italian pilgrims should do the same.
Jury deliberating murder case of officer who shot black teen
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) A white former police officer on trial for first-degree murder in Virginia testified Tuesday that he shot and killed an unarmed black teen after the 18-year-old knocked away his stun gun and charged toward him.
The former Portsmouth officer, Stephen Rankin, was responding to a shoplifting call outside a Wal-Mart in April 2015. Rankin said he calmly approached suspect William Chapman II before they struggled.
After losing his stun gun, Rankin said, he drew his pistol and repeatedly commanded Chapman to "get on the ground." He said the teen screamed "shoot me" several times before running toward him from 6 feet away.
Stephen Rankin stands between two Portsmouth Sheriff's Deputies Friday, July 29, 2016 as they wait for members of the jury to look over the scene in the corner of a Walmart parking lot in Portsmouth, Va., where William Chapman II was shot and killed by then Portsmouth police officer Rankin last year. Rankin is now on trial for murder. (Bill Tiernan/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
A jury started deliberating Rankin's fate late Tuesday afternoon. Although police seldom face criminal charges after shootings, the officer's trial comes amid increasing nationwide scrutiny of police tactics and race.
On-duty officers kill suspects about 1,000 times a year, according to Philip Stinson, a criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. But only 74 have been charged since 2005.
For local black leaders, the trial is a reckoning over police-involved shootings and officers who aren't held accountable. But Rankin's lawyers say the shooting should be judged on its own set of facts and has nothing to do with the deaths of other black men at the hands of police.
Rankin was fired after last year's indictment. During his testimony, he said he did not radio for backup or press an emergency officer-assist button on his radio after losing his stun gun. But he said didn't have time.
"I had no reason to think he was going to stop attacking me," said Rankin, 36. "I was scared."
In closing arguments, a prosecutor and defense attorney offered conflicting views over whether Rankin had other options.
Prosecutors Stephanie Morales said Rankin chose to shoot Chapman when he could have used pepper spray.
"He brought a gun into what is at worst a fist fight," she said.
Defense attorney James Broccoletti said Rankin's only choice was to shoot Chapman because "everything he tried to do didn't work."
Unlike other recent police-involved shootings, this one was not recorded on witnesses' cellphones or on security cameras. Witness testimony was contradictory.
Paul Akey, a construction worker who was nearby, said Chapman "went after the officer with throwing fists, and it looked like he knocked a Taser out of the officer's hands."
But Gregory Provo, a Wal-Mart security guard, said Chapman never charged at Rankin. He said the teen ignored the officer's commands and "made a quick gesture to fight" before being shot.
Prosecutors had failed to convince the judge to allow Rankin's ex-wife to testify. They said she would have told the jury that Rankin fantasized about shooting people on the job.
Chapman's death marked the second time Rankin killed someone while on duty. He was cleared of wrongdoing from the first shooting in 2011. In that case, he fired 11 times at a white burglary suspect he said charged at him with his hands reaching into his waistband.
French Muslims step out of invisibility after attacks
PARIS (AP) French Muslims have been officially invisible, expected to blend in with the rest of the citizenry in secular France. But now they are speaking out and being called on to take a larger role in combatting the threat from Islamist extremists.
The killing of a priest last week at the altar of his Normandy church by two 19-year-old extremists has become a lightning rod for change.
In an unusual joint statement published Sunday, a group of more than 40 Muslim lawyers, doctors and other professionals said that French Muslims must move from the shadows to front and center, and take action because those representing Islam have lost touch with the young.
The coffin of Father Hamel is carried outside the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, before his funeral mass, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
"We were silent because we learned that in France religion is a private affair," the signers wrote, referring to the secular values France prizes and the French model of integration by which citizens forego their cultures of origin for Frenchness. "Now we must speak because Islam has become a public affair and the current situation is intolerable."
The signers said Muslim leaders are unable to reach out, let alone represent, a younger generation of Muslims some of them "the prey of jihadi Islam ideologues."
France's strict brand of secularism was behind two laws to ban Muslim apparel headscarves in classrooms in 2004 and face-covering veils in streets, in 2010. It has also meant French authorities normally communicate only with Muslim leaders through the French Council for the Muslim Faith, or CFCM an umbrella group the government helped set up in 2003 as conduit for dialogue with a religion that, unlike Catholicism, has no hierarchy.
But now, even the government is reaching beyond Muslim officialdom to implore citizens of the Islamic faith to join in the battle for hearts and minds against extremists.
"The most important challenge is not that of institutions. It is that of our citizens of the Muslim faith who in their families, their neighborhoods, must feel concerned and take their responsibility in hand," Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in an interview Tuesday with the daily Liberation.
In an exceptional reach-out, he said that "Islam of France" must be rebuilt, expanding training for imams and reducing foreign financing of mosques.
"Muslims have an immense responsibility" helping the state "combat those who put into question our public freedoms," he said.
With an estimated 5 million Muslims in France the largest Muslim population in western Europe Islam is the country's second religion after Roman Catholicism. But previous attacks elicited little more than communiques from the main Muslim organizations deploring the horrors and recrimination from some quarters because Muslims weren't strongly denouncing the acts of the terrorists.
Raphael Liogier, an expert on Islam at the prestigious Science Po university in Aix-en-Provence, says signs that Muslims are stepping into the fray may be the start of real change.
"They are under two injunctions: be quiet and at the same time take a position," Liogier said. "If they say nothing, one thinks they have accepted the attacks ... Today, they consider that this double injunction is no longer manageable."
The turning point appears to have come with the slaying of Rev. Jacques Hamel and the attack in the Riviera city of Nice, less than two weeks earlier, where 84 revelers were killed by a huge truck that mowed down crowds on Bastille Day on a famed beachside avenue closed for a fireworks display.
Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic State group like the killing of a police couple in their home in June and two waves of attacks in Paris last year that killed 147. Yet, like in some other cases, the Tunisian attacker in Nice had not shown signs of being a practicing Muslim.
Mohammed Karabila, president of the Muslim cultural center in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, where the priest was killed, said the two attacks "made us understand."
A symbol of the state and a symbol of religion were hit, he said by telephone. "The message is clear. They (IS) want to fracture us, fracture French society."
Since its creation in 2003, the CFCM has been the main Muslim voice for the public, as well as the government, but it is an often fractious group of various Muslim currents in France that are influenced, and partly financed, by countries where each group has its roots.
Valls and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve are making plans to revamp what authorities have tried for decades to build: an "Islam of France" specific to French Muslims. As part of the initiative, they want to revive a foundation that could provide private funds for mosques and make foreign funding visible. They also want a single cursus for the training of imams.
"Our country must show the entire world that Islam ... is compatible with democracy," Valls said in his Sunday commentary.
Liogier, meanwhile, predicts Muslims will increasingly speak out but with potential risk to themselves since "they are the target par excellence" of the Islamic State group, which views Muslims integrated in the West as infidels.
After the attacks, the CFCM stepped forward to call on Muslim faithful to visit churches in a sign of solidarity with Christians. Many did and Catholics also joined Muslims at Friday prayer in a local mosque.
One Muslim leader, Abdelatif Hmitou, castigated the slain attackers during the Friday prayer.
"You are not a part of civilization," he said bold words given the omnipresent worry among Muslims that Islam is being tainted by the actions of extremists.
Celebrating the funeral Mass on Tuesday for the slain priest, the Archbishop of Rouen, Dominique Lebrun, said that it had been "an error" to keep religion private. During the ceremony, he invited Muslims to return to churches on Aug. 15, the Catholic feast of the Assumption.
Police officers watch people leaving the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, before the funeral mass for the priest that has been killed by two Islamic extremists last week in the nearby town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray's Priest Auguste Moanda, second left, delivers his speech , flancked by Mohammed Karabila, President of the Muslim Regional Council of Normandy, left, Priest Pierre, center and Anouar Kbibech, President of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, right, as muslim worshippers attend the friday prayer at the Yahya Mosque, in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy, France, Friday, July 29, 2016. Four days after the hostage taking in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, officials and worshippers of the muslim community paid tribute to Priest Jacques Hamel and Christian community. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Trump accepts a Purple Heart amid veteran controversy
ASHBURN, Virginia (AP) A military veteran gave his Purple Heart to Republican nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday, prompting the Republican nominee to declare that this was "much easier" than serving in combat.
Trump, who is embroiled in a row over his criticism of the family of a slain soldier, said that a man approached him before his event in Ashburn, Virginia, and handed him his medal, which is awarded to soldiers wounded in combat. He told the crowd at his rally that he has "always wanted to get the Purple Heart."
"I said to him, 'Is that, like, the real one or is that a copy?'" Trump recounted. "And he said, 'That's my real Purple Heart. I have such confidence in you.' And I said, 'Man! That's like, that's like big stuff.'"
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a Purple Heart medal given to him by a supporter during a campaign rally at Briar Woods High School, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
"I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier," continued the celebrity businessman, who has never served in the armed forces. "But I tell you, it was such an honor."
The veteran, Lt. Col. Louis Dorfman, declined Trump's invitation to speak at Tuesday's town hall.
On Monday, The Veterans of Foreign Wars, a nonprofit service organization with 1.7 million members, released a statement calling Trump out of bounds for tangling with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, a Muslim family whose son, Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in Iraq in 2004. The fallen soldier was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.
At last week's Democratic National Convention, Khizr Khan criticized Trump's call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States and accused Trump of sacrificing "nothing and no one." In response, Trump said he was "viciously attacked" by Khizr Khan and implied that Ghazala Khan, the soldier's mother, stood silently alongside her husband during the speech because, as a Muslim, she was restricted her from speaking.
John Bircher, the national spokesman for the Military Order of the Purple Hearts, told The Associated Press that anyone who receives the Purple Heart, a medal that honors servicemen and women injured or killed in battle, is technically entitled to give it away should they choose. However, he added, "for someone to have a Purple Heart, it's an act of stolen valor. No one who isn't entitled to the Purple Heart valor should have one," he said.
Trump, who has made helping veterans a centerpiece of his campaign, drew criticism for holding a fundraiser for veterans organizations but not distributing the money until news organizations asked questions. He's also made conflicting statements about why he was never called up for service himself during the Vietnam War. A talented athlete during his high school years in a military academy, he received five draft deferments, one of which came as a result of a physician's letter stating he suffered from bone spurs in his feet. Asked about the deferment at a rally last July, Trump told reporters he could not recall which of his feet was affected. His campaign later said he suffered from the temporary malady in both.
Another of Trump's light-hearted remarks at the Virginia event also produced double-takes.
He was interrupted Tuesday by the wails of a child and Trump joked that he wanted the crying baby ejected from his rally.
"Don't worry about that baby, I love babies," Trump said. "I hear that baby crying, I like it. What a beautiful baby."
But when the baby continued to cry, Trump followed up by saying he was "Actually, I was just kidding. You can get that baby out of here," he said.
Trump still appeared to be joking. It was unclear if the child's mother left the room or if the child just fell silent.
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Associated Press writers Vivian Salama and Jeff Horwitz in Washington contributed to this report. Follow Jonathan Lemire on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/@JonLemire
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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
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Briar Woods High School, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Briar Woods High School, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Briar Woods High School, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Starbucks recalls stainless-steel straws on reports of cuts
SEATTLE (AP) Starbucks is recalling stainless-steel straws it sold in its stores and online after three reports of children suffering "mouth lacerations" while using them.
The Seattle-based company says about 2.5 million of the straw sets were sold in the U.S., and 301,000 were sold in Canada. The straws have a ridge at the bottom that keeps them attached to beverage lids.
Starbucks says people should not let children use the straws, which are rigid and can pose an injury risk.
PICTURED: In Brazil's Amazon, worship with psychedelic tea
CEU DO MAPIA, Brazil (AP) Canoes slide through a narrow river, dodging branches and trees for more than four hours to reach a tiny village deep in the Amazon jungle of western Brazil.
The community's culture revolves around an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime. The Ayahuasca brew is sacred to Ceu do Mapia villagers, who use it in rituals that blend Indian beliefs with Roman Catholicism.
The Cult of the Holy Daime was started in 1930 by a descendant of slaves. It wasn't until the early 1980s that rubber tapper Sebastiao Mota de Melo, nicknamed Godfather Sebastiao, took hundreds of followers deeper into the forest to create a new village that would live by the doctrine of the Ayahuasca tea. People here believe the drink heals the body and expands the mind.
In this June 22, 2016 photo, a boatman gets ready to cross the Purus river near the city of Boca do Acre, Amazonas state, Brazil. The Purus river provides the main access to the community of Ceu do Mapia in a trip of more than four hours deep in the Amazon jungle of western Brazil. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
"There was nothing here. We had this cleansing ceremony with a candle and we built a house for everyone, for all the people who arrived first. We were all family," said Rita Gregorio de Melo, wife of Sebastiao and the village's matriarch.
Melo died in 1990, but his wife, who is now 91, still heads the sect with her two sons.
Brewing the sacramental tea is a ritual in itself. Men chant to a steady rhythm, banging mallets on jungle vines called Jagube. In a giant pot, a man cooks the juice that comes out of the hammered vines and mixes it with a plant with hallucinogenic properties named Psychotria viridis.
The tea is used several times during religious ceremonies, but otherwise not usually more than weekly. While the hallucinogenic effects are usually moderate, drinkers say it helps facilitate spiritual connections.
On a recent evening, villagers gathered for a celebration. Women wore shiny white crowns on their heads, green sashes over their shoulders and green belts around their waists.
At the church, Alfredo Gregorio de Melo, son of the village founder and spiritual leader of Holy Daime, lit candles on a table shaped like the Star of David. Men and women lined up in two separate rows to drink the tea after making the sign of the cross. They then sang together prayers and psalms in a large circle.
"The Daime is everything to me. It saved me from death," said Luiz Lopes de Freitas, a village man. "I found a world that heals and teaches faith."
In this June 22, 2016 photo, boatman Sebastiao Melo pilots his boat through the Igarape Mapia river towards the Ceu do Mapia community in Amazonas state, Brazil. This community revolves around an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime. The Ayahuasca brew is sacred to Ceu do Mapia villagers, who use it in rituals that blend together Indian beliefs with Roman Catholicism. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 photo, butterflies congregate on the shore of the Igarape Mapi river near the community of Ceu do Mapia, in Amazonas state, Brazil. The butterflies gather attracted by the minerals that accumulate on the sandy shore. Ceu do Mapia revolves around an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime. The Ayahuasca brew is sacred to Ceu do Mapia villagers, who use it in rituals that blend together Indian beliefs with Roman Catholicism. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 23, 2016 photo, girls walk in front of a mural with images of the founder of the Ceu do Mapia community, Godfather Sebastiao, and his wife Godmother Rita, at Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. In the early 1980s rubber tapper Sebastiao Mota de Melo, nicknamed Godfather Sebastiao, took hundreds of followers deep into the forest to create a new village that would live by the Ayahuasca tea doctrine. Melo passed away in 1990, but his wife, who is now 91, still heads the sect with her two sons. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 photo, Godmother Alda Figueira stands in a plantation of Chacrona (Psychotria viridis) used to make an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. The Cult of the Holy Daime was started in 1930 by a descendant of slaves. People here believe the drink heals the body and expands the mind. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 photo, girls run amidst a plantation of Chacrona (Psychotria viridis) one of the components of an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. In the early 1980s a rubber tapper named Sebastiao Mota de Melo, nicknamed Godfather Sebastiao, took hundreds of followers deep into the forest to create Ceu do Mapia, a new village that would live by the Ayahuasca tea doctrine. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 photo, a man crushes vines to make an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime, in front of a cross and a book of hymns of the doctrine of Santo Daime, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. Brewing the sacramental tea is a ritual in itself. Men chant as they follow a steady rhythm to bang wooden pestles on jungle vines (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 photo pieces of Jagube (Banisteriopsis caapi), one of components of the psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime sit after being pounded to extract its juices at the tea house in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. People here believe the psychedelic drink heals the body and expands the mind. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 poto, a man moves a cauldron used for brewing a psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. Ayahuasca brew is sacred to Ceu do Mapia villagers, who use it in rituals that blend together Indian beliefs with Roman Catholicism. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 photo, Raimundo Sidnei throws Chacrona leaves (Psychotria viridis ) into tea brewing cauldrons, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. Chacrona is one of the ingredients for making an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 photo, a cauldron with the mixture of Jagube (Banisteriopsis caapi) and Chacrona leaves (Psychotria viridis) is brought to a boil during the preparation process of a psychedelic tea, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. The Cult of the Holy Daime was started in 1930 by a descendant of slaves. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 photo, a man dressed in white walks on the community's main bridge to participate in the Holy Daime ritual in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. Men and women gather in the local church to celebrate the Brazilian harvest and the feast of Saint John. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 photo, 83-year-old Godmother Julia Chagas, left, walks supported by her granddaughter to attend the ritual of the Holy Daime in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. Chagas is the widow of rubber tapper Sebastiao Mota de Melo, nicknamed Godfather Sebastiao, the founder of the community. She still heads the sect with her two sons. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016. photo, 12-year-old Maria Clara, preens in front of her house before going to the religious service of Holy Daime in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. The whole village gathers to celebrate the Brazilian harvest and the feast of Saint John. Women wear shiny white crowns on their heads, green sashes over their shoulders and green belts around their waist. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In tis June 22, 2016 photo, members of the community mill around the local temple before partaking in the ritual Holy Daime in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. During the service men and women lined up in two separate rows to drink the psychedelic tea after making the sign of the cross. They then sing together prayers and psalms in a large circle. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 photo members of the church of the Holy Daime attend a service in honor of Saint John, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. A photo of the founder of Santo Daime, Raimundo Irineu Serra, known as Mestre Irineu is displayed prominently in the background.(AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 photo, 9-year-old Natalia Catarina takes part in the consecration of the Holy Daime during a religious service at the church of Ceu do Mapia, in Amazonas state, Brazil. All members of the community, including children, consume the psychedelic tea during the service. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 photo, women hold candles during a religious service in the church of the doctrine of Holy Daime, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. At the church men and women line up in two separate rows to drink the tea after making the sign of the cross. They then sing together prayers and psalms in a large circle. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 photo, Godfather Alfredo Gregorio, center, leads a religious service in the church of doctrine of the Holy Daime, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. Alfredo Gregorio de Melo is son of the village founder, rubber tapper Sebastiao Mota de Melo, nicknamed Godfather Sebastiao. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 photo, church members of the doctrine of the Holy Daime warm themselves next to a bonfire during a break in the service in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. The community revolves around an ancient psychedelic tea locals know as the Holy Daime. The Ayahuasca brew is sacred to the villagers, who use it in rituals that blend together Indian beliefs with Roman Catholicism. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 22, 2016 photo, a woman wearing a white crown warms up next to a bonfire during a break in the service of the church of the doctrine of the Holy Daime, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. During the all night service men and women line up in two separate rows to drink the psychedelic tea after making the sign of the cross. They then sing together prayers and psalms in a large circle. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
In this June 23, 2016 photo, members of church of the doctrine of Holy Daime stand during a religious service, at dawn, in Ceu do Mapia, Amazonas state, Brazil. Most services last all night and into the morning. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Indiana officer accused of shooting another agrees to return
CINCINNATI (AP) An Indianapolis police officer arrested in Ohio after he allegedly shot a fellow officer will be returned to Indiana to face an attempted murder charge.
Officer Adrian Aurs agreed Tuesday to waive extradition during a brief court hearing in Cincinnati.
Indianapolis police spokesman Sgt. Kendale Adams says the Marion County Sheriff's Department would return the 42-year-old officer to Indianapolis. He says information about the timing of the transfer won't be disclosed due to security concerns.
This photo provided by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office in Cincinnati, Ohio on Monday, Aug. 1, 2016 shows Indianapolis police officer Adrian Aurs. Accused of shooting a fellow officer, Aurs allegedly forced his way into his estranged wifes apartment and fired at least three rounds as she was being interviewed about a domestic violence incident, according to court documents released Monday. (Hamilton County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Authorities say Aurs shot an Indianapolis police detective late Friday as that officer was interviewing Aurs' estranged wife about a domestic violence incident.
The detective suffered non-life-threatening injuries to his right side and arm.
Trump talk of cutting US forces in Korea has rocky precedent
WASHINGTON (AP) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has alarmed U.S. allies in Asia and elsewhere by suggesting that American military support should depend on their willingness to pay. But he would not be the first U.S. president to consider shaking up time-honored military deployments.
Four decades ago, President Jimmy Carter tried to withdraw troops in South Korea, and failed. He wanted to trim the defense budget and pressure South Korea over human rights abuses, but hit a wall of opposition.
If history shows that some of Trump's proposals aren't unprecedented, it also demonstrates the political perils of tinkering with alliance commitments. Those commitments may be more urgent today than in Carter's time, given North Korea's growing nuclear arsenal and its progress toward having missiles that could strike the United States.
FILE - In this Jan. 24, 1977 file photo, President Jimmy Carter is interviewed in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has alarmed U.S. allies in Asia and elsewhere by suggesting that American military support should depend on their willingness to pay. But he would not be the first U.S. president to consider shaking up time-honored military deployments. Four decades ago, then-President Carter tried to withdraw American troops in South Korea, and failed. He wanted to trim fat from the U.S. defense budget and put pressure on South Korea over human rights abuses, but hit a wall of opposition in his own administration and in Seoul. (AP Photo, File)
A senior North Korean diplomat warned in an Associated Press interview last week of a vicious showdown if the U.S. and South Korea hold annual war games as planned this month. Pyongyang is seething after Washington slapped sanctions on its leader, Kim Jong Un, over human rights abuses.
The U.S. retains about 50,000 troops in Japan and 28,500 in South Korea. Advocates say that has fostered peace and prosperity in a region of intense rivalries and means the U.S. is better-placed to deal with North Korea's nuclear threat.
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state, sees it that way. Trump does not.
Although Asian allies pay about half the cost of stationing U.S. forces on their soil, Trump has said Japan and South Korea should pay more or he might withdraw U.S. troops. He's also open to Japan and South Korea acquiring nuclear weapons rather than relying on American deterrence. That could spark a regional atomic arms race.
The U.S. forces in South Korea are a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended without a formal peace treaty. Troop numbers have fallen over the years. In 1971, President Richard Nixon withdrew about one third of the 60,000 U.S. troops there, despite stiff opposition from Seoul.
Carter who had been a submarine officer in the Pacific during the Korean War, was determined to go further when he took office in 1977.
American public opposition to military involvements abroad was running high after the Vietnam War. Also, Carter was no fan of South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee, who imprisoned political opponents.
In 1977, Carter signed a top-secret order to remove 15,000 troops by mid-1980 out of a total of about 40,000 and eventually remove nuclear weapons from South Korea, while keeping the Air Force in place.
Many of Carter's top advisers opposed the drawdown. Maj. Gen. John Singlaub, the chief of staff of the U.S. Command in Korea, went public with his objections. He warned in a newspaper interview that it could lead to war. Carter reassigned him.
South Korea was worried about Carter's drawdown proposal from the time he was advocating it as a candidate.
North Korea expert Bob Carlin, who was CIA analyst at the time, recalled a South Korean army colonel taking him in November 1976 to a tunnel that had been dug by North Korea under the demilitarized zone, or DMZ, between the two Koreas. He said the colonel launched into a long complaint about the dangers from the North and the gullibility of Americans in wanting to withdraw troops.
The killer blow to Carter's plan was a U.S. intelligence report in 1978 that North Korea had 40 percent more ground forces than earlier thought, and a two-to-one advantage over South Korea in tanks and artillery.
At a tense June 1979 summit, South Korean President Park lectured Carter on why withdrawing forces would be a mistake. Carter then had a heated discussion with his top advisers in the presidential limousine as they returned to the Seoul residence of then-U.S. ambassador William Gleysteen.
In his memoir, Gleysteen recounted an angry debate with Carter, as South Korea's prime minister looked on. Ultimately, Carter backed down on troop withdrawals after Park committed to increase South Korean defense spending and release 180 political prisoners.
After four years in office, Carter had reduced U.S. troop numbers in Korea by less than 3,000. He blamed pressure from the Pentagon and the CIA.
"I was somewhat skeptical of intelligence reports that North Korea had doubled the size of its military within a few years, but had no way to disprove them," Carter wrote in his 2010 memoir, "White House Diary."
He made a bigger impact after his presidency. In 1994, Carter paved the way for a now-defunct aid-for-disarmament deal.
Bigger U.S. troop reductions occurred in the mid-2000s, when President George W. Bush shifted forces from South Korea to meet military demands in Iraq. That coincided with a thaw in inter-Korean relations. But even during periods of reduced tension, the standoff at the DMZ has continued.
USVI steps up fight against mosquitoes amid Zika outbreak
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) The U.S. Virgin Islands announced Tuesday it is stepping up its fight against mosquitoes amid what officials in the U.S. territory say is a significant Zika outbreak.
Health officials said a company hired by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will use an organic larvicide and eliminate any potential breeding areas as part of a one-year contract. Crews will inspect and treat hospitals, schools, churches and daycare centers that request service on all three islands, as well as any public areas where mosquito-borne diseases have thrived.
"The Virgin Islands is in the midst of a significant outbreak, and we are doing everything possible to get to the root of the issue," said Health Commissioner Dr. Michelle Davis.
FILE - This 2006 file photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a female Aedes aegypti mosquito in the process of acquiring a blood meal from a human host. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is behind the large outbreaks of Zika virus in Latin America and the Caribbean. On Friday, July 29, 2016, Florida said four Zika infections in the Miami area are likely the first caused by mosquito bites in the continental U.S. All previous U.S. cases have been linked to outbreak countries. (James Gathany/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via AP, File)
The U.S. territory of more than 100,000 people is reporting nearly 80 Zika cases, 58 of them on St. Thomas, 20 on St. Croix and one on St. John. Officials are concerned that the actual number of people with Zika is much higher because eight of 10 people who get it have no symptoms.
Ten pregnant women have tested positive, a concern for authorities because Zika has been linked to severe birth defects. No cases of a temporary paralysis condition known as Guillain-Barre linked to Zika have been reported, health department spokeswoman Nykole Tyson said in a phone interview.
She said the Virgin Islands is using the larvicide Vectobac WDG to fight the spread of the mosquito-borne virus.
Other nearby islands including Puerto Rico are facing a Zika epidemic. Puerto Rico recently announced it would use the larvicide Bti to fight Zika, with nearly 6,000 cases reported in that U.S. territory.
Man convicted of Briton's murder in Italy seeks new trial
ROME (AP) Lawyers for a man from the Ivory Coast who is serving 16 years in an Italian prison for the 2007 murder of a British student are seeking a new trial.
Rudy Hermann Guede was convicted of the slaying of Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy, where she was sharing an apartment with U.S. student Amanda Knox. Guede has denied killing Kercher.
Italian media said the lawyers filed the request Tuesday, contending their client is innocent. They also noted Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, who steadfastly proclaimed innocence, were definitely acquitted last year by Italy's highest criminal court.
Guede's conviction ruled he committed homicide "acting with others," but he's the only one to be definitively convicted of the slaying.
Iran says world powers must fulfil nuclear deal commitments
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that world powers have not fulfilled their commitments under the landmark nuclear deal, harming Iranian economic growth.
Speaking on state TV, Rouhani said that "if the other party had acted properly, we would be in a better situation today." He said Iran still cannot access its foreign assets, although it is able to export more oil and to access the international banking system.
He said U.S. congress, Israel and other regional countries are thwarting the implementation of the deal.
Spokesman John Kirby said that the U.S. State Department has assessed that Iran is meeting its obligations under the deal and "we're meeting ours." Kirby said the U.S. would continue to abide by its commitments under the agreement, which he described as having a "stabilizing effect on the world."
The deal, which went into effect in January, limited Iran's nuclear program in return for lifting some sanctions.
Iran has repeatedly complained that it has fulfilled its end of the deal while all the agreed-upon sanctions have not yet been lifted. Tehran is still struggling to attract large-scale foreign investment and many multinational companies remain fearful of U.S. prosecution or fines for doing business with Iran. The U.S. government still maintains some of its own sanctions against doing business with Iran that are outside the scope of last year's deal.
Scientists' annual physical of planet: 'Earth's fever rises'
WASHINGTON (AP) Earth's fever got worse last year, breaking dozens of climate records, scientists said in a massive report nicknamed the annual physical for the planet.
Soon after 2015 ended, it was proclaimed the hottest on record . The new report shows the broad extent of other records and near-records on the planet's climatic health. Those include record heat energy absorbed by the oceans and lowest groundwater storage levels globally, according to Tuesday's report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"I think the time to call the doctor was years ago," NOAA climate monitoring chief Deke Arndt, co-editor of the report, said in an email. "We are awash in multiple symptoms."
FILE - In this June 29, 2015, file photo, children play as they cool down in a fountain beside the Manzanares river in Madrid, Spain. Earths fever got worse last year, breaking dozens of climate records, 450 international scientists diagnosed in a massive report nicknamed the annual physical for the planet. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)
The 2015 State of the Climate report examined 50 different aspects of climate , including dramatic melting of Arctic sea ice and glaciers worldwide. A dozen different nations set hottest year records, including Russia and China. South Africa had the hottest temperature ever recorded in the month of October: 119.1 degrees Fahrenheit (48.4 degrees Celsius).
Even though it was a relatively quiet hurricane year in the Atlantic, there were 36 major tropical cyclones worldwide 15 more than average, said NOAA climate scientist Jessica Blunden, co-editor of the report published Tuesday in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
And at the heart of the records is that all three major heat-trapping greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide hit record highs in 2015, Blunden said.
"There is really only one word for this parade of shattered climate records: grim," said Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb, who wasn't part of the report, but called it "exhaustive and thorough."
But it's more than just numbers on a graph. Scientists said the turbo-charged climate affected walrus and penguin populations and played a role in dangerous algae blooms, such as one off the Pacific Northwest coast. And there were brutal heat waves all over the world, with ones in Indian and Pakistan killing thousands of people. One-third of Earth's land mass had some kind of drought last year.
Much of the intense record-breaking and record-flirting weather was because of a combination of a natural El Nino the periodic warming of parts of the Pacific that changes weather globally and ever increasing man-made global warming.
"This impacts people. This is real life," Blunden said.
Oklahoma University meteorology professor Jason Furtado said in an email that the report, which he wasn't part of, illustrates the combined power of nature and humans on Earth's climate: "It was like injecting an already amped-up climate system with a dose of (natural) steroids."
About 450 scientists from around the world helped write the report and in it NOAA highlighted one of the lesser-known measurements, ocean heat content. About 93 percent of the heat energy trapped by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide from the burning of coal, oil and gas goes directly into the ocean, the report said. And ocean heat content hit record levels both near the surface and deep.
NOAA oceanographer Gregory C. Johnson, a study co-author, said the oceans are storing more heat energy because of man-made climate change with an extra El Nino spike.
Johnson summed up Earth's climate in a haiku, published deep inside the report:
"El Nino waxes,
warm waters shoal, flow eastward,
Earth's fever rises."
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Online:
Report: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams/2015
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Follow Seth Borenstein at http://twitter.com/borenbears and his work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/seth-borenstein
Canadians urged precautions after Zika found in Florida
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) Canada's Public Health Agency is telling pregnant Canadian women who visited Miami-Dade and Broward counties in Florida on or after June 15 to take precautions against the Zika virus.
The warning comes after U.S. health officials said mosquitoes have apparently started spreading Zika on the U.S. mainland.
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Gregory Taylor said Tuesday because four million Canadians visit Florida annually, an unknown number could be affected by the latest U.S. discovery.
Taylor says any pregnant women who visited the area on or after June 15 should see their health care providers for testing.
Michigan ex-prosecutor pleads guilty in prostitution probe
LANSING, Mich. (AP) A man who served as prosecutor in Michigan's capital for nearly 20 years pleaded guilty Tuesday to misconduct in office in a prostitution investigation that grew out of a human-trafficking probe and forced him to quit.
Stuart Dunnings III pleaded guilty to a felony as well as a misdemeanor, soliciting a prostitute, in a deal that dismisses 14 other charges in three counties.
"We are one step closer to accountability for (Dunnings), justice for victims, and a chance to restore the public trust tarnished by a public servant who only served himself," said Attorney General Bill Schuette, who will seek a prison sentence.
Former Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III waits for his preliminary hearing Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Judge Michael Klaeren's courtroom at the Jackson County Courthouse in Jackson, Mich. Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in the Jackson County Courthouse in Jackson, Mich. Stuart Dunnings III who served as prosecutor in Michigan's capital for nearly 20 years pleaded guilty Tuesday to misconduct in office in a prostitution investigation that grew out of a human-trafficking probe and forced him to quit. (Dave Wasinger/Lansing State Journal via AP)
Dunnings, who was Ingham County's prosecutor, declined to comment after the court hearing in Jackson.
Authorities pursued Dunnings based on information first gathered during a human-trafficking investigation by the FBI. He was accused of hiring prostitutes in three counties and inducing a woman to become a prostitute.
Dunnings, 63, was arrested at a coffee shop in March. He subsequently took a paid medical leave, sought unspecified treatment in Tennessee and officially resigned in July.
Coincidentally, he pleaded guilty on the day of Michigan's primary election in which four Democrats and two Republicans are trying to advance to the fall election in the county prosecutor's race.
Clinton sees best-yet fundraising numbers as general begins
WASHINGTON (AP) Hillary Clinton raised $63 million in July for her presidential campaign, her best month yet and a summertime haul that puts her ahead of President Barack Obama's fundraising at the same point in his re-election race.
The Democratic nominee also may have outraised her Republican opponent once again. In addition to her campaign money, she brought in another $26 million last month for the Democratic National Committee and state parties, bringing her total monthly fundraising to about $90 million.
Donald Trump said Monday that he'd raised $35.8 million for his campaign in small donations, but he has not disclosed his full July total. Like Clinton, Trump has a fundraising partnership with party allies through which he can collect checks of hundreds of thousands of dollars from individual donors.
FILE - In this July 30, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, accompanied by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, speaks in Pittsburgh. Hillary Clinton raised $63 million in July for her presidential campaign, her best month yet and a summertime haul that puts her ahead of President Barack Obamas fundraising at the same point in his re-election race. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
At a campaign event Tuesday in Virginia, Trump promised to continue writing checks to his own campaign. "I'll be in for over $100 million when it's all finished," he said. "That's a lot of money." A billionaire businessman, Trump already has contributed about $50 million to his effort.
Both campaigns must provide their latest fundraising details to federal regulators by August 20.
The Clinton campaign said it began August with $58 million in the bank. And that's not because she is penny-pinching. Clinton has maintained a 700-plus-person campaign payroll and spent $35 million on television commercials between the last week of June and last week, according to Kantar Media's campaign advertising tracker.
Clinton notched a number of fundraising "bests" last month.
July was her first full month as the party's clear nominee, and that showed in her finances. She saw a 75 percent increase over her previous best fundraising month, which was June, when her campaign collected $36 million. Looking back at the previous presidential race, Obama's campaign took in about $49 million in July 2012, finance records show.
Clinton has worked to build out her online fundraising operation and saw her top total in that area just last week as she officially accepted her party's presidential nomination at its convention in Philadelphia. The campaign said she raised more than $8.7 million in the 24 hours around her speech.
Her onetime Democratic opponent, Bernie Sanders, raised more than $6 million in the 24 hours after winning the New Hampshire primary, after declaring in a nationally televised victory speech that he was "going to hold a fundraiser right here, right now, across America."
Trump also has trained his attention on online fundraising, netting more than $3 million in the 24-hours after making his first email solicitation for campaign cash in June.
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Associated Press writer Lisa Lerer contributed to this report from Ashburn, Virginia.
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Keep track on how much Clinton and Trump are spending on television advertising, and where they're spending it, via AP's interactive ad tracker. http://elections.ap.org/content/ad-spending
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Follow Julie Bykowicz on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/bykowicz
Turkey's premier withdraws about 1,500 insult lawsuits
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says he has withdrawn lawsuits against about 1,500 people, including opposition politicians, journalists and writers, for insulting him or his office.
Speaking Tuesday night in a live interview with CNN Turk, Yildirim said he withdrew the lawsuits Monday. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also said he will drop insult lawsuits against him, as a gesture toward the opposition as they seek to forge better relations in the wake of a failed July 15 coup.
Yildirim announced the withdrawal of the lawsuits after saying he was determined to continue working more closely with the opposition. The ruling party's policies have often been seen as polarizing.
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Ex-Navy SEAL Eric Greitens wins Missouri governor primary
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Former Navy SEAL officer Eric Greitens won the Republican primary for Missouri governor Tuesday after a hard-fought race in which he cast himself as a conservative outsider willing to use his military bravado to blow up perceived corruption in government.
Greitens prevailed over another self-described outsider, businessman John Brunner, and a pair of more experienced Republican leaders longtime Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and former Missouri House Speaker and U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway.
He declared to cheering supporters at his victory party: "Together, we are leading a conservative revolution to take our state back."
Missouri Republican gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens speaks to a crowd of supporters at the DoubleTree Hotel Chesterfield, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Chesterfield, Mo. Former Navy SEAL officer Greitens won the Republican primary for Missouri governor Tuesday after a hard-fought race in which he cast himself as a conservative outsider willing to use his military bravado to blow up perceived corruption in government. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)
Greitens will face Attorney General Chris Koster, who easily won the Democratic gubernatorial primary, in the Nov. 8 general election. Koster, a former Republican state senator and prosecuting attorney, touted himself as a "conservative Democrat" in his victory speech and pledged a campaign showing that "fiscal conservativism and social tolerance can live together in our state."
The Missouri governor's office will be open because two-term incumbent Jay Nixon, a Democrat, has served the maximum amount allowed under state law and cannot seek re-election.
Greitens, 42, of St. Louis, already has a resume that few could match. He's been a Rhodes scholar, a boxer and black belt in taekwondo, and traveled on humanitarian missions around the world documenting the lives of street children in Bolivia and refugees from genocidal wars in Bosnia, Rwanda and Zaire.
He joined the Navy in 2001, just months before the Sept. 11 attacks, and trained to be a SEAL officer. While deployed in Iraq, he was chlorine-gassed in a suicide bomb attack but returned to duty within days. He later served as a White House fellow under President George W. Bush in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. And Greitens founded the nonprofit group The Mission Continues, which connects veterans with volunteer work to ease the post-military transition.
He's also written three books, including the bestselling memoir "The Heart and the Fist," and published a collection of documentary photography.
He introduced himself to Missouri voters with an attention-grabbing TV ad in which he fires a military-style assault rifle into a seemingly empty field, causing a fiery explosion of a gasoline bomb. He pledged to "take aim at politics as usual" and clean up a state Capitol he claimed is run by "career politicians owned by corrupt consultants, high-paid lobbyists and special interests."
The message appeared to resonate with many voters in a year that also saw the rise of outsider presidential candidates, including Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic runner-up Bernie Sanders.
"The fact that he's not a career politician speaks to a lot of people right now," said Debbie Raines, of Liberty, a part-time camp worker who voted for Greitens.
Koster took a subtle jab at Greitens on Tuesday night, denouncing a "disturbing political campaign" season that has featured "candidates shooting machine guns and doing sit-ups for the cameras." Koster pledged "careful, thoughtful leadership" that includes more funding for public schools, roads and health care.
Greitens countered by calling Koster "the poster child for career politicians," asserting to his applauding crowd: "We are coming to put an end to his political career."
As a fundraising gimmick, Greitens' campaign has sold stickers described as "ISIS hunting permits," including ones signed by the former Navy SEAL who claims he killed Osama bin Laden. But he also raked in high-dollar donations from around the country, including $1 million from Michael Goguen, a California venture capitalist accused of sexual abuse in a pending civil lawsuit. Goguen has denied the allegations.
Greitens' Republican rivals called on him to return the money, but Greitens said he won't rush to judgment as the case is pending. In the final days before the election, a Democratic affiliated political group also launched an ad attacking Greitens for keeping the money.
His Republican opponents also questioned whether Greitens truly is conservative. He attended the Democratic National Convention in Denver in 2008 for then presidential-nominee Barack Obama's speech. And Greitens once was courted by Democrats as a potential candidate.
The backgrounds of the four Republicans were one of the few ways they could distinguish themselves in the primary. All four candidates supported expanded gun rights and tax cuts. They also sharply criticized the way Nixon responded to protests at the University of Missouri in Columbia last year over racial concerns and to riots following the 2014 fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson.
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Associated Press writer Margaret Stafford and Bill Draper contributed to this report from Kansas City. Ballentine reported from Chesterfield. Follow David A. Lieb at: http://twitter.com/DavidALieb
Missouri Republican gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens, holds his son, Joshua, as he speaks to a crowd of supporters at the DoubleTree Hotel Chesterfield, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Chesterfield, Mo. Former Navy SEAL officer Greitens won the Republican primary for Missouri governor Tuesday after a hard-fought race in which he cast himself as a conservative outsider willing to use his military bravado to blow up perceived corruption in government. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)
Missouri Republican gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens speaks to a crowd of supporters at the DoubleTree Hotel Chesterfield, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Chesterfield, Mo. Former Navy SEAL officer Greitens won the Republican primary for Missouri governor Tuesday after a hard-fought race in which he cast himself as a conservative outsider willing to use his military bravado to blow up perceived corruption in government. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)
Missouri Republican gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens speaks to a crowd of supporters at the DoubleTree Hotel Chesterfield, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Chesterfield, Mo. Former Navy SEAL officer Greitens won the Republican primary for Missouri governor Tuesday after a hard-fought race in which he cast himself as a conservative outsider willing to use his military bravado to blow up perceived corruption in government. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)
Missouri Republican gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens speaks to a crowd of supporters at the DoubleTree Hotel Chesterfield, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Chesterfield, Mo. Former Navy SEAL officer Greitens won the Republican primary for Missouri governor Tuesday after a hard-fought race in which he cast himself as a conservative outsider willing to use his military bravado to blow up perceived corruption in government. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)
Missouri Republican gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens speaks to a crowd of supporters at the DoubleTree Hotel Chesterfield, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Chesterfield, Mo. Former Navy SEAL officer Greitens won the Republican primary for Missouri governor Tuesday after a hard-fought race in which he cast himself as a conservative outsider willing to use his military bravado to blow up perceived corruption in government. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)
Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder speaks to supporters Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Cape Girardeau, Mo., as he concedes to Eric Greitens. Former Navy SEAL officer Eric Greitens won the Republican primary for Missouri governor Tuesday. Greitens prevailed over another self-described outsider, businessman John Brunner, and a pair of more experienced Republican leaders longtime Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and former Missouri House Speaker and U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway. (Fred Lynch/The Southeast Missourian via AP)
Republican gubernatorial candidate John Brunner leaves the stage after conceding the election at his watch party Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Frontenac, Mo. Former Navy SEAL officer Eric Greitens won the Republican primary for Missouri governor Tuesday. Greitens prevailed over another self-described outsider, businessman John Brunner, and a pair of more experienced Republican leaders longtime Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and former Missouri House Speaker and U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway. (Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
University of Idaho eyes partnering with Peru potato center
MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) University of Idaho officials are negotiating a deal with the International Potato Center in Peru, in hopes of getting access to the center's vast potato gene bank.
More than 4,000 potato varieties that include potatoes cultivated in the Andes thousands of years ago could help solve modern day problems facing potato growers, school officials said.
"If you're looking for new sources of genes to solve potato problems like late blight, or potato cyst nematode, you name it that is the most likely place you're going to find those resources," plant science professor Mike Thornton told the Capital Press (http://bit.ly/2aZHQtf ).
Late blight caused the Irish potato famine, and remains the No. 1 pathogen for potatoes around the world. In Idaho, the discovery of the pale cyst nematode in 2006 was the first detection in the United States of the microscopic pest that can reduce crop production by 80 percent.
Getting access to the potato gene bank at the center in Lima would also boost the school's potato-breeding efforts, Thornton said.
As part of the deal with the center in Lima, school officials would share scientific expertise.
"I think we've got as good of a scientific group as anywhere in the world, so I think we can help them," he said.
Discussions started last year after two school officials visited the center on a trade mission facilitated by Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter. It's not clear when an agreement might be signed.
Joe Kuhl, an associate professor specializing in biotechnology, said he hopes to get a special permit to bring Peruvian potatoes to Idaho to isolate a genetic marker for resistance to pale cyst nematode.
That could help future breeding efforts at the school and offer insights the center isn't equipped to handle, he said.
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Court won't rehear Ventura case against Chris Kyle's estate
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) An appeals court has denied former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura's request for a rehearing of his defamation case against the estate of slain Navy SEAL and "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle.
In June, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out a $1.8 million verdict awarded to Ventura. On Tuesday, the court denied a request for a rehearing without giving a reason.
Ventura's attorney, David Olsen, had argued that the court's ruling placed too much emphasis on comments Olsen made at trial that suggested insurance would cover a defamation award.
Man charged with murdering 3 at suburban Seattle party
EVERETT, Wash. (AP) Prosecutors have filed three charges of aggravated first-degree murder against a 19-year-old accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend and two young men to death at a party in suburban Seattle over the weekend.
Allen C. Ivanov also faces one charge of attempted murder, accusing him of shooting and seriously wounding an 18-year-old man, and one count of first-degree assault.
Police say Ivanov admitted during interviews after his arrest that he committed the shootings at a home in Mukilteo early Saturday. They say he was upset that his ex-girlfriend, Anna Bui, appeared to be moving on with her life after their recent breakup.
Allen Ivanov appears at Snohomish District Court in Everett, Wash., via video link from the Snohomish County Jail, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. A lawyer representing the 19-year-old accused of fatally shooting three other teens at a party in Washington state over the weekend says the case raises troubling questions about the availability of guns. (Mike Siegel/The Seattle Times via AP)
The charges were filed Tuesday in Snohomish County District Court. Aggravated murder can bring the death penalty in Washington, but Gov. Jay Inslee has declared a moratorium on capital punishment.
Ivanov's lawyer did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Paul Kramer, the father of the surviving victim, Will Kramer, told a news conference at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle that he feels fortunate his son is still alive, The Seattle Times reported (http://goo.gl/QGPKSN ). His son still has a tube in his chest to drain bleeding after being shot in the back. A bullet shattered his left shoulder blade.
"Life is so precious," he said. "I pray that we collectively find ways to live in peace, in harmony and in love."
Kramer said his son was sitting with three friends when the shooting broke out. Two are now dead.
"He lost some dear friends, and that has scarred him," Paul Kramer said.
After Will was wounded, he hid between a barbecue and a fireplace. He then ran out into the yard and hid in some bushes, his father said.
Anna Bui, Jake Long and Jordan Ebner were killed. All were 19 and 2015 graduates of Kamiak High School, where Ivanov also attended. Ivanov and Bui were both students at the University of Washington's Bothell campus.
A friend of the Mukilteo shooting victims reacts as Allen Ivanov appears at Snohomish District Court in Everett, Wash., via video link from the Snohomish County Jail, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, in Everett, Wash. A lawyer representing the 19-year-old accused of fatally shooting three other teens at a party in Washington state over the weekend says the case raises troubling questions about the availability of guns. (Mike Siegel/The Seattle Times via AP)
Sultan Akbar, friend of Mukilteo shooting suspect Allen Ivanov, is interviewed by the media about Ivanov following a bail hearing at Snohomish District Court in Everett, Wash., Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. A lawyer representing Ivanov, the 19-year-old accused of fatally shooting three other teens at a party in Washington state over the weekend, says the case raises troubling questions about the availability of guns. (Genna Martin/seattlepi.com via AP)
Court victims advocate Christina Harkness speaks with Mukilteo resident Terry Thomas, left, and friends of both the victims and suspect Sultan Akbar, second from right, and Andre Nguyen, right, after hearing for Allen Ivanov at Snohomish District Court in Everett, Wash., Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. A lawyer representing the 19-year-old accused of fatally shooting three other teens at a party in Washington state over the weekend says the case raises troubling questions about the availability of guns. (Genna Martin/seattlepi.com via AP)
People mourn at a memorial in the parking lot of Kamiak High School Sunday, July 31, 2016, after a community vigil for the victims of a shooting that occurred early Saturday morning at a house in Mukilteo, Wash.,killing three teenagers and wounding one. (Genna Martin/seattlepi.com via AP)
Hundreds gathered for a community vigil Sunday, July 31, 2016, for the victims of a shooting that occurred early Saturday morning at a house in Mukilteo, Wash.,killing three teenagers and wounding one, at the Mukilteo Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. (Genna Martin/seattlepi.com via AP)
Joseph Song, long-time friend of victim Anna Bui, mourns Sunday, July 31, 2016, at a memorial in the parking lot of Kamiak High School after a community vigil honoring the victims of a shooting that occurred early Saturday morning at a house in Mukilteo, killing three teenagers and wounding one. Song and Bui recently reconnected at UW Bothell where they were both students. (Genna Martin/seattlepi.com via AP)
Niger president says Boko Haram will be defeated
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) Niger's president has reassured residents in the southeast Diffa region that Islamic extremists Boko Haram, who stage attacks there, will be defeated, and called on all citizens to rally behind government development plans.
President Issoufou Mahamadou addressed the nation late Tuesday, before Wednesday's celebration of 56 years of independence from former colonial France.
Mahamadou, who won a second five-year term in March elections, said the multinational force with neighboring countries will defeat the Nigeria-based militants.
He also said despite security and climate challenges Niger has in the past five years reduced its poverty rate, and has had an average economic growth rate of 6 percent. He said it has also improved ranking with Transparency International moving from 134 to 99.
Officials report 'legal death' of driver in I-80 crash
OGALLALA, Neb. (AP) Officials say a sixth victim from a fiery crash in western Nebraska that killed a Minnesota family is on life support for donation of his organs.
The Nebraska State Patrol said Tuesday it was notified of the "legal death" of 56-year-old Terry Sullivan of Denver. The patrol says Sullivan is on life support in a Colorado hospital for organ donation. No details were released.
The driver facing charges in the accident is 53-year-old Tony Weekly. The Florida man remained jailed Tuesday on $100,000 bond.
The patrol says Weekly was inattentive and speeding through a construction zone Sunday when his truck hit several vehicles on Interstate 80. The crash killed a Minnesota couple and their three children.
British Columbia slaps real estate tax on foreign buyers
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Foreign nationals buying Vancouver real estate will pay an additional property transfer tax of 15 percent as part of an effort to address high real estate prices and low vacancy rates.
The tax which took effect Tuesday will apply to foreign buyers registering the purchase of residential homes in Metro Vancouver.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said last week he's been calling on the province for over a year to take action.
Vancouver's housing market has been the hottest in the country for the past few years.
Mexican actress who met with drug lord asks case be dropped
MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexican actress Kate Del Castillo wants Mexico's government to drop accusations of obstruction of justice and money laundering related to her meeting last year with drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
Del Castillo's representatives said in a statement Tuesday that the actress has filed papers seeking a court injunction demanding prosecutors "either charge her with a crime or close the criminal investigation."
"The Mexican Attorney General's office has constantly violated her rights to due process by leaking information of the investigation to the media, and violating her presumption of innocence," the statement said.
FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2014 file photo, actress Kate Del Castillo speaks during a news conference in City Council chambers in Los Angeles. Del Castillo asked on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, that the Mexican government to drop accusations of obstruction of justice and money laundering related to her meeting last year with drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman (AP Photo/ Nick Ut, File)
Mexican media published a series of seemingly flirtatious text messages between her and Guzman that were leaked earlier this year.
Mexican authorities have said they are investigating possible money-laundering involving Guzman and del Castillo's tequila business and have sought to question the actress. They have said she is considered a witness, and she has not been charged with any crime.
A kind of summons for del Castillo to be questioned has been issued, but the naturalized U.S. citizen has remained in Los Angeles, where she lives. Her lawyer in the United States says she has nothing to hide and is willing to talk to Mexican authorities.
Del Castillo arranged actor Sean Penn's interview with Guzman in October while the Sinaloa cartel leader was on the lam after his second prison escape. Guzman was recaptured in January.
The actress' representatives said she will continue with plans to make a movie about him.
"Kate has consistently made clear that her only goal was to produce an artistic and journalistic project of Guzman's life story and turn it into a compelling and informative film project that would help Mexicans and Americans understand the deadly business of the drug cartels," said the statement from Capitol Media Partners, a Los Angeles-based communications and public affairs firm.
Bernie Ecclestone praises police operation to free kidnapped mother-in-law
Bernie Ecclestone has praised police after his mother-in-law was released unharmed from kidnappers who reportedly demanded a 40 million ransom.
Mr Ecclestone, 85, is understood to have offered to pay for a private security firm to track down Aparecida Schunck, the mother of the mogul's wife, Fabiana Flosi, who was abducted from her home in Sao Paulo more than a week ago.
According to reports the Formula One boss also wanted to fly to Brazil to assist police, but was told doing so may have harmed their efforts.
Bernie Ecclestone and his wife Fabiana Flosi, whose mother Aparecida Schunck was freed by police after she was kidnapped in Brazil
The 67-year-old was rescued from a flat on the outskirts of the city on Monday without any money being paid to her kidnappers.
Shortly after Ms Schunck was reunited with her relatives Mr Ecclestone said he was "very happy" with the police operation that he described as "unbelievable".
"The last few days haven't been very good. This isn't a good thing to happen to you and your family," he told the Mail Online.
"The police officers we dealt with were fantastic, they did an unbelievable job, it was absolutely first class. We are very, very, very happy with them."
Investigators from Brazil's elite anti-kidnapping unit are probing allegations that a helicopter pilot who had worked for the Formula One boss was linked to the plot.
Jorge Eurico da Silva Faria, who works for Ecclestone in Brazil, was one of three men arrested in connection with the kidnapping, said police.
A spokesman for Sao Paulo police said da Silva Faria was arrested "red-handed" with two other men, Vitor Oliveira Amorim and David Vicente Azevedo.
"The investigation continues and the police did not rule out the involvement of other suspects," he added.
It is believed investigators monitored phone calls between the family of Ms Schunck and the captors, tracing them to the location where she was being held.
She was not harmed in the operation conducted by Sao Paulo's anti-kidnapping division. Speaking after she was freed Ms Schunk said: "I just ask that the crooks do not kidnap anyone else in Sao Paulo because they will be arrested."
According to reports her abductors had demanded 28 million for her release, later increasing it to 40 million.
Brazilian magazine Veja had reported that the ransom for Ms Flosi's mother had been demanded in pounds sterling and divided into four bags of cash.
Elisabete Sato of Sao Paulo police told the BBC that the ransom, thought to have been the largest in Brazilian history, had not been paid.
Mr Ecclestone married Ms Flosi, 38, in 2012, three years after meeting her at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Brazil is hosting this year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, which starts this week.
Security has emerged as the top concern, including violence possibly spilling over from Rio's hundreds of slums.
August downpours bring an end to summer dry spell
Half a month's worth of rain fell in parts of the UK on Monday night as the summer dry spell came to an abrupt end.
And forecasters have predicted further downpours will follow this week, with low pressure moving across the country.
Due to a weather system bringing warm, moist air from the Atlantic, West Glamorgan in Wales saw about 1.5in (39.2mm) of rain in just 12 hours.
Heavy rain brought an abrupt end to the summer dry spell
With national rainfall averages for the month of August coming in at 3.5in (89.5mm), Met Office meteorologist Mark Wilson said it was "quite a lot", especially after a dry July.
He added: "Quite a few places in the south of the UK - the West Country in particular - saw about an inch of rain or 25mm-30mm.
"Interestingly, last month, the Isle of Wight saw barely any rain at all - yet through the course of that 12-hour period on Monday they saw 23mm (0.9in) of rain at St Catherine's Point."
Swanage in Dorset recorded 1.3in (33.6mm) in 12 hours, Wych Cross in East Sussex saw just over 1in (26.4mm) in that same period and Alice Holt Lodge in Hampshire clocked up almost 1in (25.2mm), w hile Larkhill in Wiltshire saw 0.9in (23.2mm).
Mr Wilson said: "The rain is gradually easing off, but it is still hanging around across some southern counties, so it will bring some further rain over the course of today."
He said temperatures are around average for the time of the year and on Tuesday highs of around 24C (75.2F) were expected.
By the end of the day Mr Wilson said it will "turn dry across England and Wales, but we will see the rain across Northern Ireland pushing its way gradually into Scotland and northern parts".
On Wednesday there will be another area of low pressure pushing in from the Atlantic, which Mr Wilson said will bring quite heavy and frequent showers especially in north-western parts of the UK.
"Right across the UK it will be an unseasonably windy day tomorrow and we could see gusts of up to 35-40mph across western exposures," he added.
The latest update from the Environment Agency (EA) at 2pm showed a single flood alert in place, for the River Tamar in north Cornwall, after widespread rainfall over night.
Slaughter in Aleppo 'will forever be a symbol of international shame'
Aleppo in Syria is the "new Srebrenica" and will "forever be a symbol of international shame", a former international development secretary has said.
Tory MP Andrew Mitchell also accused the international community of having stood by while "appalling slaughter" takes place in the country's second largest city.
The United Nations believes between 250,000 and 275,000 people are trapped in besieged areas of Aleppo as it attempts to ensure aid reaches those in need.
Smoke rises over Aleppo, Syria (AP)
Syrian government forces have tightened their siege of rebel-held sections in recent weeks, prompting a rebel attack aimed at breaking it.
Mr Mitchell, a supporter of creating humanitarian protection zones in Syria, said ground troops should be thought about but "probably not ours and probably not Western troops".
He suggested troops within the region could provide protection to civilians.
Speaking to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Mr Mitchell said : "What has to happen is there has to be safe corridors out of Aleppo.
"They must be run by the United Nations... and we must have an end to the bombing."
He went on: "Only the United Nations can symbolise the authority of the international community in this position. Some progress has been made, Britain has shown tremendous leadership on the United Nations and also in the international Syria support group.
"But p rogress is terribly slow and in the face of all this Aleppo is now the new Srebrenica. That is what the UN is saying.
"One of the great world cities of a population of 2.3 million, 2 million people have now fled and the 300,000 people left in Aleppo are in quite appalling danger."
The Srebrenica massacre in 1995 resulted in Bosnian Serb forces killing some 8,000 Muslim men in a designated United Nations safe area.
Asked if the comparison with Srebrenica is what he believes is happening in Aleppo, Mr Mitchell replied: "Yes I do.
"I think that we are seeing there a slaughter that will forever be a symbol of international shame.
Aleppo will join the list of Srebrenica, what happened in Rwanda only 20 years ago - a ll of that will stand in the history of international shame and Aleppo joins that list.
"The international community has been completely paralysed in trying to do something about it.
Home Office wins appeal against ruling allowing Calais 'Jungle' refugees into UK
The Home Office has won its appeal against a landmark ruling allowing four Syrian refugees living in the "Jungle" camp in Calais to come to Britain.
An immigration judge ruled in January that the three teenagers and 26-year-old man with mental health problems should be brought immediately to the UK and reunited with their families.
But while the Home Office is not seeking to deport the four Syrians, it appealed against the ruling because it feared it could set a legal precedent and undermine Britain's control over its borders.
The refugees had been living in the Calais migrant camp known as the Jungle
All four have been reunited with their families in various parts of the UK, two of them have been granted refugee status in Britain while the other two are still waiting for a decision to be made.
George Gabriel from Citizens UK, the charity that has represented the children, warned the ruling will lead to further delays and refugee children will be driven into the hands of people smugglers.
Under a law called Dublin III, asylum claims must be made in the first country the person reaches, but a child refugee can have their claim transferred to another country if they have relatives lawfully living there.
But lawyers for the Syrians argued the regulation was not working as not a single child had been brought to the UK from the Calais camp under the rule because of bureaucratic failings in France.
They demanded the British courts intervene to bring the four to Britain immediately, arguing that they faced "intolerable" conditions in the camp and they had an entitlement under the Article 8 right to a family life to be reunited with family in the UK.
The four Syrians were immediately brought to Britain and the decision was hailed by campaigners as a landmark ruling that could pave the way for many other unaccompanied minors to come to the UK from refugee camps in Europe.
But three Court of Appeal judges on Tuesday ruled in favour of the Home Office appeal against the ruling.
Criticising the decision, Mr Gabriel said: "When we brought this case, it was an enormous kick up the arse for the Government, and the system is now working better because 50 children have been brought to Britain since the case.
"But it means that charities like ours will have to continue identifying children one by one, taking them through a lengthy bureaucratic process as they have to wait to be reunited with their loved ones.
"Today is a great day for bureaucrats because it means that the letter of the process will have to be followed despite the clearly unacceptable wait this leaves refugee children facing.
"We fear this means many will take the situation into their own hands, choosing between people traffickers on the one hand and train tracks on the other."
Handing down their judgment, Court of Appeal judges Lord Justice Moore-Bick, Lord Justice Longmore and Lord Justice Beatson stated that bypassing the Dublin III Regulation "can only be justified in an especially compelling case".
It stated that given the evidence of the psychological trauma the four had experienced and testimony warning that their claims could take just under a year to process "the result the tribunal reached may have been justifiable".
But it added: "I am, however, not entirely persuaded that, had the tribunal applied the correct test, it must inevitably have reached the same conclusion.
"In those circumstances, the appropriate course would normally have been to remit the matter to the tribunal for reconsideration.
"However...I have concluded that it would be inappropriate to take that course. I would therefore simply allow the appeal and make no further order."
The ruling said the Home Office had sought the appeal not in order to deport the four Syrians, but to overturn it because of the legal repercussions it could usher in.
It stated that a barrister acting for the Home Office explained that "the appeal was necessary because the approach of the Upper Tribunal has potentially far-reaching and serious consequences for the ability of the United Kingdom to control its borders and for the integrity of the Dublin III system".
The Home Office argued that the asylum claims should have been made in France and that, under Dublin III, they could then have been handed over to Britain.
The Bishop of Barking, Peter Hill, a spokesman for Citizens UK, said they are "disappointed" with the result which will leave refugee children relying on volunteers to help them come to Britain.
He said: "Citizens UK is calling on the Home Office to establish a functional system for identifying refugee children with potential claims to family reunification in the UK. At the current rate of reunification it will take a year before all the children in Calais are reunited with their families. This is forcing children to take matters into their own hands, stowing away in lorries or vans.
"We know of two boys who have died in the last 12 months trying to reach their families in the UK.
"The Government has a legal and a moral responsibility to ensure that refugee children who have close family members in the UK are granted safe passage."
Bella Sankey, policy director for rights organisation Liberty, said: "Government may have won in court today but what an empty and Pyrrhic victory. Home Office intransigence on reuniting vulnerable refugee children with family members already in our country forces them into the hands of traffickers and ruins lives.
"We have the capacity to provide them with safety and a childhood with their own families. It is deeply un-British to use public funds to instead shut the door on them and leave them languishing in 'a living hell' on our doorstep."
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: "It is disgusting that the Government is putting ideology above what is best for desperate and vulnerable children.
"These kids have already been through what no child should have to, and there is absolutely no doubt that what is best for them is to be with their family, here in the UK. Not only that, but we were given a pledge to take more refugee children which the Government has broken."
A Home Office spokesman said: "We welcome the decision of the Court of Appeal to recognise the principle that those seeking protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach.
"Any request to unite family members under the Dublin Regulation is carefully considered. Where someone seeking asylum elsewhere in the EU can demonstrate they have close family members legally in the UK, we will take responsibility for that claim."
He said more than 30 children have been accepted for transfer to the UK under the new Immigration Act and that over 100 children have been accepted under the Dublin regulations since the start of the year.
Labour MP Yvette Cooper, chairwoman of the Refugee Taskforce, said: "I am appalled that Theresa May has pursued this appeal to make it harder for vulnerable child refugees who are alone in Europe to join family in Britain.
"These children's lives and safety are at risk as they have no one to look after them. The result of this appeal is to put extra bureaucratic obstacles in the way of lone child refugees who are desperately vulnerable to trafficking, slavery and abuse - even though they have relatives who could care for them here.
"After the Dubs amendment the Government should be making it easier for Britain to do its bit to take lone child refugees. Instead they are doing the opposite and forcing children to wait longer in danger when they could be safe.
"By pursuing this appeal the Government is turning its back on the small number of vulnerable child refugees who could have been offered safe haven quickly with relatives in Britain.
"Theresa May personally made the decision to pursue this appeal - and it is a complete disgrace that a British prime minister should behave in this way.
Samsung's latest Galaxy phablet offers iris scanner technology
Samsung has revealed that its latest smartphone will come with an iris scanner, for improved security, for the first time.
The Galaxy Note 7 is Samsung's so-called "phablet" smartphone and comes with a stylus - called the S Pen - to use on the phone's 5.7-inch screen.
The S Pen has also been given a range of new features compared to previous generations of the Note, including the ability to translate words on-screen from and into a series of languages when hovered over text. It has also been made fully waterproof for the first time, as is the Note 7 itself.
Samsung's latest offering has iris scanner technology
The iris scanner can be programmed to unlock the device using just your eyes thanks to a small infra-red sensor built into the front of the phone.
Samsung's previous generation Note 5 was not released in the UK, however the Korean technology giant will bring its newest phablet to Britain due to customer demand - naming it the 7 to bring it in line with their flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge that were released earlier this year.
The new device is also set to be the first major smartphone to support High Dynamic Range (HDR) video streaming - a higher quality image that increases the contrast between light and dark to offer more detailed images on-screen.
The device will also come with a dual edge display and be available in three colours - black, silver and blue - when it goes on-sale in the coming weeks.
Samsung also revealed a new version of its Gear VR virtual reality headset to go with the Note 7, which has been given a streamlined design as well as an increased viewing range.
EuroMillions jackpot-winning syndicate to be revealed
A family who scooped the 61.1 million EuroMillions jackpot are to reveal how they will spend their fortunes on Wednesday morning at a press conference in Newport, south-east Wales.
The syndicate, from nearby Monmouthshire county, will talk about the life-changing win at the Celtic Manor Resort in the Usk Valley at 10.30am.
The relatives jointly claimed Friday's winning jackpot, which is the largest of the four to be won by UK ticket-holders this year.
The 61,102,442.90 EuroMillions prize could be paid out when banks open on Monday
Subject to validation, the 61,102,442.90 prize could be paid out when banks open on Monday, lottery operator Camelot said.
A National Lottery spokesman said: "What an amazing win for the UK - the fourth EuroMillions jackpot to be won here this year.
"We're delighted the ticket-holder has come forward to claim their prize and their ranking of 10th place in the National Lottery rich list."
Friday's winner matched five main numbers and two lucky stars. The winning numbers were 01, 21, 26, 40 and 50, while the lucky star numbers were 02 and 04.
As well as the jackpot prize, five players won a guaranteed 1 million and a luxury trip to Australia's Gold Coast in the UK Millionaire Maker, a National Lottery spokesman said.
The latest win comes after an unnamed UK ticket-holder claimed 51.8 million on EuroMillions in April, which followed jackpots worth 24.7 million and 24.6 million won by UK ticket-holders in February.
All three ticket-holders remained anonymous.
Rhea, ten, wins Child Genius 2016 title in 'greatest final'
Ten-year-old Rhea has been named Child Genius 2016 in a nail-biting final that host Richard Osman hailed the "greatest in the history of the show".
The west London schoolgirl, whose surname has not been revealed, shot ahead at the beginning of the round with six correct answers to her opponent Saffy's two, but the girls drew equal on nine points as they entered the final head-to-head question.
Rhea, who moved with her family from the US six years ago, correctly spelled the word "eleemosynary", meaning relating to charity, to claim the Child Genius title at the end of four weeks of competition on the Channel 4 show.
Richard Osman said the final of Child Genius 2016 was the 'greatest ever'
Osman told her the audience were "gasping" as the pair quickly calculated sums including "14 times 3, minus 16, times 3, divided by 2, plus 44", and answered questions on everything from the nationality of composer Gustav Holst to the year the American Constitution was approved by Congress.
He said: "I'm going to go on record and say that was the greatest final in the history of Child Genius."
Speaking of her win, Rhea said: "It's meant getting up early, going to sleep late, studying. It just feels really, really great."
Her place in the final was secured by her mother Sonal - who gave up her job as an obstetrician to train Rhea - who queried an incorrect answer that she had given during her specialist subject round on Florence Nightingale's influence on military and healthcare reform.
Independent adjudicator Olivia van der Werff agreed the question had been too general and accepted Rhea's answer of Dr Duncan Menzies to the question, "To which medical officer did Florence Nightingale report to in the Crimea?" which brought her equal to Saffy on 16 points, whose specialist subject was Margaret Thatcher's premiership and tax policy.
It meant Birmingham-born Stephen came third with 15 points on degree-level questions on spiders that mimic insects while his sister Georgia, 10, came fifth in the competition after answering 11 correct questions on Russian ballet and the career of Rudolf Nureyev.
UK seas 'worryingly low' in patrol boats to secure borders
Britain's Border Force has a "worryingly low" number of boats for patrolling the coast - despite being given a key role in heightened security arrangements, a Commons committee has warned.
MPs highlighted differences between the UK's fleet and the capacity other European nations can call on - and said Royal Navy vessels should be made available to plug any gaps.
They also called for security to be stepped up at smaller ports amid fears they are being targeted by criminal gangs.
Border Force cutters are in short supply, it has been warned
Controversy erupted earlier this year when it emerged that just three Border Force cutter vessels were being used to patrol the UK's 7,000 miles of coastal borders.
The issue fell under the spotlight after 18 Albanians were rescued from a sinking inflatable boat off the Kent coast.
In May ministers announced measures to bolster maritime security, including new patrol boats for Border Force to supplement the existing five-vessel fleet. While the first batch were to be in place within months, full deployment is not expected until the end of next year.
By contrast, reports suggest Italy has as many as 600 boats for 4,700 miles of coast.
Border Force has been given a "k ey role in implementing strengthened coastal security measures" - but it is " experiencing problems in gaining access to a sufficient number of patrol boats", the Commons Home Affairs committee said.
Its report added: " Only four of the new vessels are currently deployed and the remaining four will not be available for more than a year."
Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the committee, said: "Despite maritime security being critical to an island nation, Border Force is operating worryingly low numbers of vessels to protect our borders."
In addition security "must be tightened" at small ports which are now being used by gangs to move people between the continent and the UK, the committee said.
The Home Office said the comparison in the report between the UK and other European maritime countries only includes the number of cutters currently deployed in UK territorial waters and takes no account of the additional military and law enforcement vessels available.
The wide-ranging report also:
:: Described conditions in Calais migrant camps as "absolutely atrocious";
:: Accused the EU and its member states of failing to anticipate the scale of migrant flows;
:: Warned of a "two tier system" among local authorities in relation to the Syrian refugee resettlement programme, with figures showing some areas received scores of people under the expanded scheme between October and March - while others took in none;
:: Urged ministers to encourage their own councils to take their "fair share" of refugees;
:: Called on the Government to, "as a one off", accept 157 unaccompanied children in Calais who have family members in the UK;
:: Said maintaining the Le Touquet agreement, which allows British border checks to take place on French soil, should be a "priority".
Mr Vaz described Europe's efforts to address the "colossal" refugee crisis as "lamentable".
He also warned that the Paris attacks "demonstrated that terrorists are exploiting this crisis" and said the EU external border must improve security - including deploying equipment to fingerprint and check everyone against security databases.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: "Our priority is to offer humanitarian support to those most in need while maintaining the security of our borders."
She said refuge has already been provided for more than 1,800 Syrians under the scheme, while the Government is "on track" to deliver on its pledge to resettle 20,000 by the end of the parliament.
The spokeswoman added: "We have also made clear our commitment to bringing very vulnerable children from Europe.
"At the same time we continue to work tirelessly to maintain the security of our border, intercepting attempts to enter the UK illegally and targeting the callous gangs that profit from people smuggling."
David Simmonds, of the Local Government Association, described the report as "out of date", adding: "We are confident that there will be sufficient places that will support the Government's pledge to resettle 20,000 people by 2020."
Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union, said: "We have said for years that the Border Force doesn't have enough resources, but successive governments have continued to cut budgets and staff.
"Instead of planning humanitarian solutions, the Tories' response to the refugee crisis has been appalling.
"If people fleeing war and desperate circumstances are seen as a problem to be tackled, rather than human beings to be helped, this risks fuelling the kind of anti-migrant and racist sentiment that was stirred up during the EU referendum campaign."
Steven McIntosh, of Save the Children, said: "Making sure our borders are secure is important, but the lives and safety of children must be our top priority.
"The UK Government's offer of a home for lone refugees was a humane and life-saving promise which must be delivered, by ensuring local councils have the resources to support vulnerable children as soon as possible."
He added: "Heads of state have an opportunity to rectify this at President Obama's displacement summit next month."
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) backed the report's call to protect the Le Touquet agreement as a priority, warning that border infrastructure in Dover could not cope with the required checks if they crossed the Channel.
Chris Yarsley, FTA's EU affairs manager, said: "FTA recognises the pressures on governments on both sides of the channel in terms of domestic security. However, the juxtaposed border controls and security investments must continue to help guarantee the security of UK-bound drivers and vehicles who simply wish to perform their job and continue to deliver the UK economy.
Bank of England stress tests 'like ship radar unable to detect an iceberg'
The Bank of England's stress tests are "worse than useless", according to a report claiming British banks would buckle under the strain of a major economic shock.
A study by the Adam Smith Institute said the Bank's stress tests are like a "ridiculously easy exam with a ludicrously low pass rate", which disguises the ability of UK banks to cope with an economic blow on the scale of the 2008 financial crisis.
The report, which pinpoints 13 flaws in the stress test, said every single UK lender would currently fail "more rigorous" stress tests by the US Federal Reserve.
The Bank of England's own stress tests come under fire in new report.
It fears that the UK is "sailing blindly into a second global financial crisis" and has called on the stress tests to be scrapped in favour of forcing decision-makers to be personally liable for risks.
Kevin Dowd, professor of finance and economics at Durham University, who wrote the report, said: "The purpose of the stress-testing programme should be to highlight the vulnerability of our banking system and the need to rebuild it.
"Instead, it has achieved the exact opposite, portraying a weak banking system as strong. This is like having a ship radar system that cannot detect an iceberg in plain view.
"As the EU banking system goes into a renewed crisis, the UK banking system is in no fit state to withstand the storm.
"Once contagion spreads from Italy to Germany and then to the UK, we will have a new banking crisis but on a much grander scale than '07-'08.
"The Bank of England is asleep at the wheel again, and we will be back to beleaguered banksters begging for bailouts - and the taxpayer will be ripped off yet again, but bigger this time."
The research comes as the Royal Bank Scotland performed poorly compared to other British banking giants when the results of the European stress tests were announced on Friday.
Under serious pressure, RBS's capital levels fell by 7.5 percentage points - the third biggest fall of the 51 banks tested.
Deutsche Bank's share price took a hit at the end of June when it was branded one of the globe's riskiest banks by the International Monetary Fund.
There is also mounting concern over the state of the Italian banking sector.
Russian helicopter shot down in rebel-held Syria
By Lisa Barrington and Dmitry Solovyov
BEIRUT/MOSCOW, Aug 1 (Reuters) - A Russian military helicopter was shot down in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province on Monday killing all five people on board, in the biggest officially acknowledged loss of life for Russian forces since they started operations in Syria.
Images on social media purportedly taken at the scene of the crash showed a dead body stripped of clothing being dragged through the dirt near the wreckage. Russian identity documents purportedly taken from the helicopter could also be seen.
Russia's defence ministry said the Mi-8 military transport helicopter had been shot down after delivering humanitarian aid to the city of Aleppo as it made its way back to Russia's main air base in the western province of Latakia.
"As far as we know from the information that has reached the defence ministry, those on board died, they died heroically," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
The helicopter came down near the town of Saraqeb, in Idlib province, roughly mid-way between Aleppo and the Russian air force base at Khmeimim, near the Mediterranean coast.
U.S.-BACKED REBELS
No group has claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter. Islamic State fighters are not active in the area, but there are other Islamist rebel groups there, as well as moderates backed by the United States and its allies.
That raises the prospect -- which could cause a major diplomatic incident -- of the helicopter having been brought down by a U.S.-supplied weapon. The United States has equipped some rebel groups with TOW anti-tank missiles, which can also be used against helicopters.
Russia's military has since September last year been supporting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's five-year-old civil war.
In Aleppo, around 40 km (25 miles) north-east of the crash site, rebel groups are under siege from government forces backed by Russian air support. Rebel groups are staging an offensive to try to break the siege.
Moscow said last week it was opening humanitarian corridors for civilans to leave the rebel-held areas, and for fighters to give up their arms.
However, rebel activists and aid groups have expressed scepticism, saying Russian aircraft are bombing the city and causing civilian casualties. U.S. officials have suggested the plan may be an attempt to depopulate the city so that the Syrian army can seize it.
Russian denies targeting civilians.
Thailand's king treated for low fever, 'possible infection' - palace
BANGKOK, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Thailand's 88-year-old king, the world's longest reigning monarch, has been treated for a low fever and a "possible infection" in his blood, the palace said in a statement on Monday.
The palace, in what it said was a monthly update on King Bhumibol Adulyadej's health, said a team of physicians also monitored the monarch last month for a build up of cerebrospinal fluid.
News about the king's health is closely monitored in Thailand, where King Bhumibol is deeply revered.
The king has been treated for various ailments over the past year at Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital and was last seen in public on Jan. 11, when he spent several hours visiting his palace in the Thai capital.
Anxiety over the king's health and an eventual succession has formed the backdrop to more than a decade of bitter political divide in Thailand that has included military takeovers and sometimes violent street demonstrations.
"In the month of July 2016 a low fever was present," said the palace statement. "Blood tests showed a possible infection and physicians therefore had to administer antibiotics. After the treatment His Majesty's condition showed some improvement."
In a June statement the palace said the monarch was being treated for "water on the brain", or hydrocephalus, a build-up of the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain.
"The medical team has continuously monitored the condition of the cerebrospinal fluid and found drainage of cerebrospinal fluid throughout the month of July to be satisfactory."
If he defeats Sean Duffy in the Aug. 9 Republican primary and wins election as 7th District U.S. representative on Nov. 8, Don Raihala wants voters to decide a referendum with several questions.
One would ask if U.S. Supreme Court members should serve 10-year terms instead of having lifetime appointments. Another would ask if congressional term limits should be set. And a third would ask if a balanced federal budget should be required.
People arent satisfied with the kind of representation they are getting, said Raihala, a Superior man who is running for a third time for the 7th District Congressional seat.
That representation since first taking office in 2011 has been provided by U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, who lives in Wausau. Attempts to interview Duffy for this story were unsuccessful.
Duffy has campaigned on reducing the national debt, which is $19 trillion. On his website, he says the nation borrows nearly a $1 trillion a year.
The borrow-and-spend mentality is impractical, unacceptable, and without leadership to change course, a sure recipe to end up in the same financial dire straits as Greece and Spain, he said.
Duffy blames the Obama Administration for not acting on measures to lower the nations debt.
We need to decrease the size of government and cut spending across the board, he said.
Boehner ally
By having a balanced budget, I hope (Congress) becomes more responsible, Raihala said.
He says Duffy continues to follow the legacy of former House Speaker John Boehner, who retired from Congress last year.
For the majority of Seans record it reflected John Boehners record, said Raihala, who is a licensed real estate broker.
He said he attended a town hall held by Duffy in Superior and asked the 40 people there if they thought Boehner was a great guy, and two people raised their hands.
On another issue, Raihala said the nations southern borders must be secured. He said potential immigrants from war-torn Syria must be properly vetted before being allowed in the United States. The same holds true from people from any areas with a high terrorism risk, he said.
Energy position
Duffy said the nation should take an all-of-the-above stance to energy policies. He said the country should develop alternative energy technologies and also expand the countrys production of oil and natural gas.
Duffy also favors completing the Keystone Pipeline, which would transport oil from Canada to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico.
Many wounded in car bombing of Turkish police vehicle in southeast -sources
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Aug 1 (Reuters) - A car laden with explosives slammed into a vehicle carrying police in southeastern Turkey on Monday, wounding many officers, in an attack that appeared to have been carried out by Kurdish militants, security sources said.
Members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) carried out the attack, which struck at 5:45 p.m. (1445 GMT) in Bingol province, the sources said.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and European Union, has waged an armed campaign against security forces in the mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984, pushing for Kurdish autonomy. More than 40,000 people, mostly Kurds, have died in the violence.
Unrest has flared anew since a ceasefire collapsed in July 2015, and thousands of militants and hundreds of soldiers and police have since died. Rights groups have said about 400 civilians have also perished.
Russia must restrain itself, Assad from offensive Syria strikes -Kerry
WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The United States called on Russia and the Syrian government on Monday to refrain from offensive operations in Syria, as fighting continued on the day U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hoped a political transition could begin.
Asked if he was dismayed Aug. 1 had come without a political transition to help end Syria's five-year civil war, Kerry said the target date was set earlier this year when there were hopes political talks could take hold amid a reduction in violence.
However, a "cessation of hostilities" that began in February has now all but unraveled. In the latest incident, a Russian military helicopter was shot down in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province, killing all five people on board.
"It is critical, obviously, that Russia restrain both itself and the Assad regime from conducting offensive operations, just as it is our responsibility to get the opposition to refrain from engaging in those operations," Kerry told reporters.
"These are important days to determine whether or not Russia and the Assad regime are going to live up to" the effort to end the violence and to resume peace talks, Kerry said. "The evidence thus far is very, very troubling to everybody."
In-flight beer a rare treat for Nepali migrant workers leaving vulnerable families behind
By Rina Chandran
KATHMANDU, Aug 2 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - For Nabin Lama, leaving Nepal after his annual home leave to return to his construction job in Saudi Arabia is not easy. What makes the journey bearable - even enjoyable - is the can of beer he can drink on the flight from Kathmandu.
As soon as the seatbelt sign dinged off on a flight to Mumbai - from where he and a couple of hundred other Nepalis would take a connecting flight to Jeddah - Lama rose to look for the stewardess.
"Beer," he bellowed, waving to her as she made her way down the aisle with a tray of fruit juice and water.
"It's a tough life there. But at least we can earn something and help our family," said Lama, 24, one hand on his passport, a white sticker across its green cover identifying a Nepali recruitment agency and his job.
"But we can't drink there. So we have a beer on the flight. It feels good," he said with a grin.
Lama comes from one of the world's poorest countries. On-going political instability since a decade-long civil conflict ended in 2006 has discouraged investment, hampered growth and curbed job creation in Nepal, forcing hundreds of thousands to migrate overseas for work.
Most go to the Middle East, Malaysia and India, from where they send remittances which make up almost 30 percent of Nepal's annual gross domestic product, according to the labour ministry.
Most migrants are in low-paid, unskilled jobs in construction, or work as security guards and domestic helpers.
Many face labour abuses including long hours, unsafe conditions and withholding of their wages and passports, say activists. Many are trafficked, tricked into doing jobs that they did not sign up for, or under conditions and wages far worse than they were promised.
Their families are not that much better off. Elderly parents, as well as young women and children left behind in remote villages are themselves vulnerable to traffickers and racketeers, and struggle with everyday hardship.
"There are hardly any young men left behind in some districts," said Nandita Baruah, deputy country representative at Asia Foundation, an international development organisation, in Kathmandu.
Families left behind may be duped into sending their children with traffickers posing as aid workers, or even selling their kidneys in India for money, she said.
"Migration is increasing the economic and social vulnerability of the country: people left behind are exposed to the harsh economic realities, and it makes them take greater risks, like trusting a trafficker or a kidney tout," she said.
ZERO COST
More than 3.8 million permits to work abroad were issued in the decade to 2015, representing about 14 percent of the current population, according to Nepal's labour ministry.
This does not include the hundreds of thousands crossing the border into India, where they do not require a permit.
Nepal is forecast by the World Bank to have received about $6.6 billion in remittances in 2015. But the journey to an overseas job is fraught with challenges and usually leaves workers deep in debt.
Recruitment agencies that facilitate procuring a job and a work permit often charge 200,000 to 500,000 rupees ($1,860 to$4,660) per worker. That is several times the average income of about $730.
Fear of losing their job and not being able to pay back the money - usually borrowed from moneylenders, often underwritten by the family home, or from selling land - forces workers to tolerate harsh working conditions and low wages.
"Migration is important - most workers do well, earn a living, support their families," Baruah told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"But the very first journey of migration leads to indebtedness. And they are bonded to their employers because of the huge burden of debt," she said.
The Nepali government introduced a "zero-cost" migration policy last year, which makes the employer and recruiter responsible for costs. But the law is applied unevenly.
After female domestic workers in the Gulf countries complained of abuse, Nepal in 2012 banned women below the age of 30 from going there as domestic helps.
But many women produced fake papers to say they were older than 30, or were hired for other jobs.
Nepal has since lowered the age limit to 26 years.
In June Nepal banned its nationals from working in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria after 13 Nepali security guards were killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul.
These measures to protect workers have had limited success.
"We know that when labour-sending countries try to protect their citizens through such bans, unscrupulous recruiters just use unregulated channels," said Meenakshi Ganguly, head of Human Rights Watch for South Asia.
Instead, Nepal should monitor recruitment agencies, engage with host countries to enforce worker rights and ensure embassies provide emergency shelters and assistance, she said.
A spokesman for the labour ministry said Nepal aims to sign labour agreements with Saudi Arabia and Malaysia to improve workers' rights, similar to those already agreed with the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and South Korea.
"These agreements ensure the rights of our workers, minimum pay and other benefits and are effective to protect their interests," Shiva Raj Sedai said.
QUAKE EFFECT
The absence of working-age men was felt deeply in the days and weeks following twin earthquakes in Nepal last year which killed about 9,000 people, and damaged or destroyed more than 900,000 houses.
Women tending to children and elderly relatives were often not in a position to go to relief camps, claim compensation, or rebuild their homes quickly, said Lily Thapa, founder of Women for Human Rights in Kathmandu.
"Women whose husbands are working overseas are vulnerable and helpless, particularly during disasters," Thapa said.
"There were many instances of sexual violence after the quakes directed at such women," she said.
Teaching skills and creating jobs at home will be key to keeping emigration in check, Baruah said. The government also needs to prepare for the return of these workers in the event of an economic downturn or anti-migrant laws in the host countries.
There is already a slow trickle from the Middle East and Malaysia as jobs dry up because of lower oil prices. More than 10,000 Indians in Saudi Arabia who have been laid off are facing a "food crisis", Indian officials have said.
"Imagine if the 1,500-1,700 men who leave each day from the Kathmandu airport start coming back," Baruah said.
"Imagine what will happen when they come back to a country where there are no jobs."
For Lama and his friends drinking beer on the flight, that is a distant prospect for now.
"I have a contract for one year," he said. "After that, I will have to find another job somewhere."
Local Mexico mayor, policeman arrested over alleged murder of 10
MEXICO CITY, Aug 1 (Reuters) - A local mayor and a police officer were among those arrested on Monday for their alleged involvement in the murder of 10 people in western Mexico, state prosecutors said.
Early investigations show police picked up a group of people at a store in the state of Michoacan and forced them to get into a red truck on the orders of local mayor Juan Carlos Arreygue, state prosecutor Jose Martin Godoy told a news conference.
The next day their bodies were found dead and burned. The death toll rose to 10, from nine on Saturday.
The policeman and Arreygue, who is mayor of Michoacan's Alvaro Obregon municipality, were arrested along with three others, Godoy said.
Taiwan stocks fall in line with other regional bourses; Taiwan dollar eyed
TAIPEI, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks fell on Tuesday in line with some other Asian markets, paced by declines in banks and technology shares.
The main TAIEX index was down 0.2 percent at 9,066.25 as of 0341 GMT, after closing 1.07 percent higher at 9,080.71 in the previous session.
The electronics subindex sank 0.2 percent, while the financials subindex lost 0.3 percent.
Cathay Financial Holding Co Ltd, parent of Taiwan's biggest life insurer, shed 0.6 percent. Smaller rival Fubon Financial Holding Co Ltd was off 0.4 percent.
Bangladesh officials visit Manila to seek recovery of bank heist money
By Krishna N. Das, Serajul Quadir and Karen Lema
DHAKA/MANILA, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Officials from the Bangladesh central bank are visiting Manila this week to pressure the authorities in the Philippines to find ways to return the $63 million that is still missing out of the funds stolen from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York earlier this year, two people close to Bangladesh Bank said.
Unknown cyber criminals tried to steal nearly $1 billion from the Bangladesh Bank account between Feb. 4 and Feb. 5, and succeeded in transferring $81 million to four accounts at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) in Manila. Only about $18 million has been recovered.
The Bangladeshi officials are alleging that the money was allowed to disappear into the casino industry in the Philippines, where investigators say it was laundered, because of systemic failures at RCBC, the two sources said.
Bangladesh Bank is relying on internal RCBC documents to buttress its assertion that the Filipino bank's Jupiter Street branch in Manila ignored suspicions raised by some RCBC officials when the money was first remitted to the accounts on Feb. 5, and then delayed acting on requests from RCBC's head office to freeze the funds on Feb. 9, said one of the sources in Dhaka.
RCBC did not respond to requests for comment, but its then president Lorenzo Tan told a Senate hearing in March that the incident was "some judgment error from the people on the ground".
"I think what happened here is we had the IT controls, the human controls. But unfortunately, it failed in the end, in the execution," said Tan, who subsequently resigned. "Yes, we are sorry this happened, but you know, it is human error, human judgment or intentional."
The Bangladeshi delegation consists of Debaprosad Debnath and Abdul Rab from Bangladesh Bank's financial intelligence unit, Bangladesh Bank lawyer Ajmalul Hossain, and Bangladesh's ambassador to the Philippines, John Gomes. They plan to meet with officials from the anti-money-laundering council in Manila, the Philippines' department of justice, the central bank of the Philippines and from RCBC over the next four days, said the sources.
Bangladesh Bank spokesman Subhankar Saha declined to say if the bank had plans to sue RCBC, but added it was trying to recover the money with the help of the Philippines' central bank.
BLAMED EMPLOYEES
RCBC has previously blamed its own employees for the ease with which the money left the bank, including the manager of the branch in question. But the Dhaka source said the Bangladesh Bank believes the failures extend beyond individual officers and that RCBC allowed itself to be used as a conduit for the illegal transfer of stolen money.
Bangladesh Bank claims the documents show that RCBC should be accountable for the losses. The documents, which have been reviewed by Reuters, include emails between RCBC managers at the time of the heist in February as well as memos and emails to various RCBC officials during a subsequent internal investigation.
They show that RCBC had frozen the accounts concerned at its Jupiter Street branch in Manila for about an hour on Friday Feb. 5 because of questions from some bank officials about where the money had come from, where it was going, and whether the transfers were legitimate.
At 6.27 pm on that day, a temporary hold was placed on the accounts at the branch, pending further investigation into the "validity of the remittances and nature of the funds", according to one memo that was sent on March 21 by the head of RCBC's human resources group, Rowena F. Subido, to Ismael S. Reyes, its national sales director for retail banking.
Some officials at RCBC's headquarters, also in Manila, had questioned the transfers after about $22.7 million of the money was withdrawn from one of the accounts in cash at 3.16 pm that day only to be then deposited to another account that was opened at around 3 pm that day at the same branch, according to the notice sent to Reyes.
However, the hold on the accounts was shortlived. By around 7.30 pm it was lifted after then Jupiter Branch Business Manager Maia Deguito's "representation to her superiors" that the transactions were legitimate, according to another memo sent to Reyes. Deguito was fired by the bank earlier this year and is under investigation by the Philippines' anti-money laundering council.
Ferdinand Topacio, lawyer for Deguito, said that RCBC could not escape blame by singling out employees for mistakes.
"If she had any fault, she was negligent and she was naive," Topacio said. He said RCBC did not act urgently on the stop payment requests from the Bangladesh central bank.
The documents show that when the bank reopened on Tuesday, Feb. 9 after the Chinese New Year holiday, RCBC's settlements department received messages as early as 9.15 am from Bangladesh Bank, alerting it about the fraud. It sent four emails, between 10.59 am and 11.30 am, to its Jupiter Street branch, asking it to recall or freeze the remaining funds, the documents show. The reasons for the delay in sending those emails could not be ascertained.
The branch processed withdrawals, totalling $58.15 million, between 10.24 am and 11.35 am, the documents show. According to former Senator Sergio Osmena, who led a Philippines' Senate probe into the events, only $15.2 million of this was withdrawn before 11.19 a.m.
Federal judge blocks North Dakota voter identification law
Aug 1 (Reuters) - North Dakota on Monday became the latest state to have its voter identification law blocked by a federal court, adding to a string of recent rulings across the United States on the grounds that such measures disenfranchise poor and minority voters.
North Dakota joined North Carolina and Wisconsin, where voter-ID restrictions were struck down by federal courts on Friday, victories for advocates who claim the measures are an attempt to suppress voters who tend to cast ballots for Democrats.
Seven Native American voters filed a federal law suit against North Dakota claiming measures passed by the Republican-led legislature in 2013 and 2015 are unconstitutional and violate the U.S. Voting Rights Act.
The laws added restrictions to the types of identification voters can use at polling places and banned "fail-safe" provisions allowing them to vote without the required identification in certain circumstances.
United States District Judge Daniel Hovland issued a preliminary injunction on Monday against North Dakota's law, writing in his ruling that the law adds "substantial and disproportionate burdens" for Native American voters compared to other voters in the state.
"No eligible voter, regardless of their station in life, should be denied the opportunity to vote," he wrote.
Hovland pointed to several statistics in his ruling that showed Native Americans, especially those who live without a car or far from driver's license site, would be more effected by the laws than non-Native Americans.
North Dakota Secretary of State Alvin Jaeger told the New York Times that he would not appeal the decision and that November's election "would revert to using less restrictive identification rules."
Critics argue that such provisions are designed to drive down turnout by minorities and poor people who rely more on flexible voting methods and are less likely to possess state-issued photo IDs. Proponents of such laws say they aim to eliminate voter fraud.
"We want everyone to vote," The plaintiffs' lawyer Thomas A. Dickson told the New York Times, "and whoever has the most votes, they win. That's the American way. Somehow, we've gotten away from that."
Romania - Factors to watch on August 2
Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Romanian financial markets on Tuesday.
PPI DATA
Romania's National Statistics Board to release industrial producer prices data for June at 0600 GMT.
FX RESERVES
The Romanian central bank's foreign exchange reserves, excluding 103.7 tonnes of gold, rose by 930 million euros on the month to 32.66 billion euros ($36.46 billion) at the end of July, it said on Monday.
DEBT TENDER
Romania sold a more than planned 721.2 million lei ($180.84 million) worth of July 2027 treasury bonds on Monday, with the average accepted yield at 3.42 percent, central bank data showed.
CENTRAL BANK
Romanian deputy central bank governor Bogdan Olteanu resigned on Monday after anti-corruption prosecutors opened an investigation into his time as speaker of parliament's lower house, his lawyer was quoted as saying.
CEE MARKETS
Hungary's forint eased in a slow market on Monday, while the Polish zloty and the Czech crown shrugged off July manufacturing data that came in below market expectations.
WHEAT
Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) set a tender on Monday to buy an unspecified amount of wheat from global suppliers for shipment from Sept. 11-20. GASC is seeking to buy cargoes of soft and/or milling wheat from the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Poland, Argentina, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria.
ANTIBIOTICE IASI
Romanian state-owned drugmaker Antibiotice Iasi reported a net profit of 16.4 million lei ($4.12 million) in the first half, 7.8 percent higher on the year. Ziarul Financiar
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Metro hit by restructuring costs, weak rouble and attacks
By Emma Thomasson
BERLIN, Aug 2 (Reuters) - German retailer Metro reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter results on Tuesday as the fall in the rouble and Islamist attacks hurt sales, while restructuring costs and investment in a new loyalty programme squeezed profits.
Quarterly earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), before special items, fell to 154 million euros ($172 million) on sales down 2.7 percent to 13.6 billion, missing analysts' average forecasts for EBIT of 182 million on sales of 13.8 billion.
"We expect the EBIT miss and weak operational trends to weigh on the shares," said Citi analyst Nick Coulter, who pointed to falling like-for-like sales at the cash-and-carry unit in Germany and France and at the Real hypermarket chain.
Metro shares were down 7.3 percent by 0837 GMT, making them the top faller on Europe's Stoxx 600 index.
The company said its business supplying hotels and restaurants suffered in France and Belgium from fears of more Islamist attacks, although like-for-like sales rose in Turkey and Spain.
"Terror has had an impact on the way people dine out," Chief Executive Olaf Koch told a call for analysts, adding the Euro 2016 soccer championships in France had also put a temporary dampener on the restaurant sector across the continent.
Metro reported one-off costs of 190 million euros, mainly relating to restructuring measures at its cash and carry business in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy.
Chief Executive Olaf Koch said the costs were due to a decision to speed up steps to decentralise management of the business and overhaul stores, which he said had dampened sales in the short term but should bear fruit within three years.
While the weaker rouble dented sales, Koch told a conference call for journalists that Metro's Russian business had seen its first period of positive like-for-like sales in June after a long decline, making him confident for full-year margins.
As third-quarter EBIT only accounts for just over a tenth of the expected annual total, Metro reiterated its forecast for slight rises in overall sales and EBIT in fiscal 2015/16, excluding special items, predicting a better fourth quarter.
Consumer electronics unit Media-Saturn reported a bigger loss than most analysts expected as it sold more televisions due to Euro 2016, but at low margins, and spent more on investment in ecommerce and marketing to launch a loyalty programme.
Koch said Metro's plans to separate its wholesale and food business from Media-Saturn by mid-2017 were on track and that the company would give further details on the transaction, capital structure and strategy on Sept. 8 and 9.
MADISON With an already wild and unpredictable 2016 presidential election now in its final 100 days, the role Wisconsin will play in the campaigns of two unpopular nominees is starting to take shape though the political landscape remains volatile.
There are some signs both campaigns are looking to make a play for Wisconsins 10 electoral votes, which Democrats have won by varying margins for the past seven presidential cycles since 1984. A candidate must secure 270 electoral votes to win the election.
Republican nominee Donald Trump announced Saturday he would hold a rally in Green Bay on Friday. He sent his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, to Waukesha last week for his first post-nomination speech. The quickly organized event drew 400 attendees in the states GOP stronghold, a figure that conservatives opposing Trump highlighted as a possible sign that enthusiasm for Trumps candidacy among Wisconsin Republicans remains mild.
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in her nomination speech Thursday mentioned Wisconsin among states where Trump should be manufacturing his line of products, instead of overseas. Clinton, who lost primary campaigns in Wisconsin in 2008 and this year, previously scheduled her first rally with President Barack Obama in Green Bay, but it was canceled in the wake of the Orlando nightclub massacre and has yet to be rescheduled.
Several state and national political observers say they dont expect Wisconsin to factor into the campaigns as prominently as in years past or as much as some of the other traditional battleground states such as Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Still, they say the Badger State will likely continue to draw heavy advertising and several candidate visits as what one expert called a skirmish state.
I would think that if Trump (were to win) Wisconsin he would be well on his way to winning a national victory, but it would seem like other states are more in the firing line this year, said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabatos Crystal Ball at the University of Virginias Center for Politics.
Kondik said he expects Trump to focus primarily on expanding on the electoral map 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney won by turning out white middle class voters in rust belt states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania. If that strategy catches fire, he might be able to expand to even whiter states such as Wisconsin.
If Wisconsin becomes a two- to three-point race or a tie, that might indicate that Trump is really moving the white votes and doing better among that group than Romney did, Kondik said.
Madison-based Democratic strategist Paul Maslin noted that while Clinton has a campaign team in place in Wisconsin, the state was not one of the eight where she began advertising in June. Her state spokeswoman said the campaign has been organizing for months in Wisconsin.
Trump, meanwhile, has hired even fewer staff here and hasnt begun advertising anywhere, so it remains to be seen how Wisconsin will play into his broader strategy. His state campaign director Pete Meachum, former U.S. Rep. Sean Duffys chief of staff, did not respond to a request for comment.
Voting Democratic in presidential elections
Republicans have taken over all branches of state government since 2010, though even in 2012 when Gov. Scott Walker won a historic recall election and Janesville native Paul Ryan was the GOP vice presidential nominee, Obama easily won the state and liberal Democrat Tammy Baldwin was elected to the U.S. Senate.
In the past four presidential elections, Wisconsins role as a battleground state has gradually diminished, Maslin said. Democrats won the state by very narrow margins less than half a percentage point in 2000 and 2004, and in 2008 the state initially drew a lot of attention that tapered off toward the end. Obama won that year by almost 14 points and in 2012 by almost seven points.
Clintons lead over Trump in the state diminished from double-digits a year ago, when Trump was leading in national polls but still considered a long-shot for the nomination, to as close as four points in the latest Marquette Law School Poll in mid-July before the conventions.
Its not a safe state. Nobody views it that way, Maslin said. But its clearly not right in the crosshairs either.
Trump came away from the Republican National Convention in Cleveland with a bump in the national polls that some poll watchers said drew the race into a dead heat. Clinton was also widely expected to receive a bump in the polls after accepting her partys nomination in Philadelphia last week.
What effect the conventions had in Wisconsin will become more clear as the Marquette poll releases its next round of results in a week-and-a-half.
Poll director Charles Franklin said in a typical election cycle the post-convention polls would show partisan voters closing ranks behind their respective candidates. As of the last Marquette poll, 95 percent of Wisconsin Democrats were already supporting Clinton while only 80 percent of Republicans were supporting Trump.
Both candidates also have had historically high unfavorable ratings compared with other presidential nominees. The last Marquette poll before the conventions found 63 percent of registered voters held an unfavorable view of Trump and 58 percent held an unfavorable view of Clinton.
Franklin said whether those numbers drop in the post-convention polls comes down to the dissidents on both sides the supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders among Democrats and the conservatives who have refused to back Trump.
Franklin said the Democrats may have been more effective in courting skeptical voters to their side with a steady stream of big name, highly respected, highly visible speakers, including Sanders himself calling for party unity.
The Republicans, meanwhile, had less star power and observed Trumps archrival Texas Sen. Ted Cruz withhold his endorsement in a speech that received boos.
If the poll finds the race continuing to tighten, that could draw more resources to Wisconsin from the Trump campaign.
If it tightened to 2-3 points, well be more of a battleground, Franklin said. If it widens, then Trump has a wide variety of problems.
Voters paying attention
In traveling around the state this election cycle, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said he has noticed people paying closer attention to the presidential election than in past years, but also expressing dissatisfaction with both candidates.
Vos said Clinton is struggling to win support because theres a level of economic anxiety out there with folks who just feel things arent working for them. But he acknowledged Trump has some of his own issues and in order to win will have to present himself as more diplomatic and presidential.
Thats why I think the race is tied in most places around the country, Vos said. I assume once we get to the debates, that will push the final people who are a little more undecided.
UW-La Crosse political science professor Joe Heim disagreed with other political observers, predicting Wisconsin will be a hard-fought state, especially because there is also a competitive U.S. Senate race rematch between incumbent GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Oshkosh and former Sen Russ Feingold of Middleton.
The combination of (the Clinton-Trump) race being relatively close and the Feingold-Johnson race being close, youre going to see a lot of campaigning in the state, Heim said. Even if Trump were behind four or five points, given the demographics he appeals to, Wisconsin should be in the crosshairs.
Ken Mayer, a UW-Madison political science professor who studies presidential politics, said this election had defied all expectations so its difficult to make predictions. Typically polls after the second convention set the tone of the race, and the numbers remain stable. However, he noted, a year ago nobody predicted Trump would be the Republican nominee.
By the end of next week there will be enough polling data to give a sense of what the race looks like, Mayer said, referring to national polls. We can forecast this according to the traditional rules, but those traditional rules seem a little bit unstable right now.
Its not a safe state. Nobody views it that way. Paul Maslin, Democratic strategist
Carlyle could make a brace of $2 bln acquisitions in Japan - exec
By Junko Fujita
TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Carlyle Group said it could make a pair of acquisitions in Japan worth $2 billion apiece, a strategic departure from a previous focus on smaller deals as big Japanese firms are gearing up for spinoffs of larger assets.
"There could be about two large deals in Japan from our current fund focusing on Japan," Takaomi Tomioka, a Carlyle managing director said on Tuesday.
"With equity and debt combined, we could invest as much as 200 billion yen in each deal," he said, speaking at a media briefing. Tomioka didn't name any acquisition targets, nor indicate any preferred sectors for investment.
The Washington D.C.-based private equity house has previously concentrated on investments in smaller firms in Japan, where larger corporations traditionally staved off drastic restructuring measures, instead seeking support from their lenders when businesses ran into trouble.
But management at larger Japanese large firms are facing growing pressure from investors - as well as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government - to boost returns on equity. That has led to an acceleration of corporate spinoff moves this year.
Last week, people familiar with the matter told Reuters that Takeda Pharmaceutical Co, Japan's biggest drugmaker, will accept bids for its 70 percent stake in a chemicals business, Wako Pure Chemicals Industries Ltd, in a move to streamline Takeda's operations. Sale of the whole business could fetch more than $1 billion, they said.
Named by the people as a potential suitor, Carlyle declined to comment on the deal, as did Takeda.
Carlyle raised 120 billion yen in a new fund in August last year focusing on investments in medium-sized Japanese companies. Its investment period ends in 2020.
If more resources were needed for a potential deal, Carlyle could use money from other funds focused on investments in the U.S. and Asia, Tomioka said.
Carlyle could also seek money from financial investors to invest in a deal, or it could team up with a corporate investor, he added.
UK watchdog pushes back insurance claims deadline to June 2019
By Huw Jones
LONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Consumers who believe they have been mis-sold loan insurance have until the end of June 2019 to make a claim, Britain's markets watchdog proposed on Tuesday, a year later than expected and potentially adding to the cost for banks.
Banks have paid 24 billion pounds ($32 billion) in compensation to customers over the past five years for mis-selling payment protection insurance (PPI), making it Britain's costliest scandal in financial services.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the rule for setting a deadline for all PPI claims would come into force by the end of 2017, and would be accompanied by a 42 million pound consumer campaign to raise awareness of the cut-off date paid for by a levy on banks based on number of complaints.
The actual deadline would come into force two years later, by the end of June 2019, the FCA said in a statement.
The FCA had indicated in November the deadline would be sometime in 2018 and analysts said the longer period may mean more payouts for banks.
"For example, in its 2015 full year results, Lloyds set aside additional provisions to cover claims until mid-2018, so it is possible that an extra year's worth of provisioning may now be required," said Shore Capital analyst Gary Greenwood.
"We would not be surprised to see top-ups of a few hundred million pounds, and perhaps as high as one billion pounds, for each of the large UK banks, with Lloyds being the worst affected."
Shares in Lloyds, RBS and Barclays were down two percent or more by 1000 GMT.
Lloyds, which has 2 billion pounds of unused provisions, said it was disappointed the deadline had been pushed back.
"At this stage our guidance on our provisioning remains," it said in a statement.
The PPI policies, designed to protect borrowers in the event of sickness or unemployment, were found to have often been sold to people who would have been ineligible to claim.
Regulators have had rules for PPI claims in place since 2010 and normally a deadline of three years is set, but surveys showed many people unaware they had bought the product.
"Putting a deadline on PPI complaints will bring the issue to an orderly conclusion in a way that protects both consumers and market integrity," FCA Chief Executive Andrew Bailey said.
"We will ensure that our communications campaign will engage with all those who could be affected, particularly vulnerable consumers."
The watchdog also set out the timetable for claims following the so-called Plevin ruling by Britain's Supreme Court, which suggested there might be additional cause for complaint concerning commissions paid on PPI sales.
The FCA said on Tuesday rules for Plevin type claims would come into force by the end of March 2017, with the cut-off date set for June 2019.
Consumer watchdog Which? said the redress scheme for PPI claims was wholly inadequate and must be made more straightforward.
PNG court orders Australia to present an asylum seeker resettlement plan
By Colin Packham
SYDNEY, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Australia to present a resettlement plan for nearly 900 asylum seekers held in what it says is an illegal detention centre on Manus island -- a move detainees fear will further delay their release.
The Supreme Court ruled more than three months ago that the detention centre, used to house asylum seekers trying to reach Australia, was illegal. The centre was approved by the Papua New Guinea government and is funded by Australia.
The court order is the latest delay in determining the future of the detainees and human rights groups say tensions are rising in the detention centre, which has a history of violent protests and self harm by detainees.
"The level of frustration on Manus Island is as high as it has ever been," said Ian Rintoul, an Australian refugee advocate who was on Manus Island last week.
"The court action, while a glimmer of hope, is frustrating them as there has been no action despite detention being found to be unlawful."
Under Australia's hardline immigration policy, anyone intercepted trying to reach the country by boat is sent for processing to camps on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea or on Nauru in the South Pacific. They are never eligible to be resettled in Australia.
The Papua New Guinea government has said it plans to close the Manus centre after the Supreme Court ruling, raising the question where will the detainees be resettled. Many in Papua New Guinea do not want the asylum seekers in their community.
The asylum seekers come from across the Middle East and Asia predominately, with Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan accounting for the bulk. Some have been held in detention for several years.
Lawyers for the 898 Manus island detainees have asked the Supreme Court for compensation of 1,500 kina ($462.75) for every day they were held illegally.
The Supreme Court said it would call on Australia to provide a representative on Thursday to provide details on a resettlement plan.
"The court has embarked on this process on issue of resettlement. That is a matter for the two governments, what we want is for them to be released," said Ben Lomai, a lawyer for some of the detainees, told Reuters on Tuesday.
Greece gets one bid for rail freight hub
ATHENS, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Greece has received one bid to build and run a rail freight hub it has been trying to set up since 2008, an official close to the process said on Tuesday.
The bid is from ETBA, a unit of Greece's Piraeus Bank which manages and develops industrial parks, in collaboration with Goldair, a domestic firm offering cargo and logistics services, the official said.
The selected investor will have to build a terminal with access to the national railway network and Greece's largest port in Piraeus and operate it for 60 years.
The deadline for binding bids for the Thriasio terminal - which was pushed back twice this year to give investors more time to prepare - expired on Monday.
The process is being managed by state-owned company GAIAOSE, which manages the real estate of Greek railways OSE.
"There has been one bid by ETBA and Goldair and GAIAOSE's task now is to evaluate the bid," said the official at GAIAOSE who declined to be named.
Greece, which had to turn to its euro zone partners and the International Monetary Fund in 2010 for financing to overcome a debt crisis, is still struggling to kickstart its economy after seven years of recession.
Once the investor has qualified, GAIAOSE will unseal technical and financial details of the proposal. The official said it would aim to have the details of the financial offer by the end of the month.
PRESS DIGEST - RUSSIA - AUG 2
MOSCOW, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The following are some stories in Russia's newspapers on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
VEDOMOSTI
www.vedomosti.ru
- Fifty-seven percent of voters are sett to support the United Russia party in the parliamentary election on Sept. 18 despite a widespread feeling that it expresses the interests of oligarchs, state bureaucracy and security officials, the daily writes, citing a survey by Levada pollsters.
- Russia's Communists and Liberal Democrats, known for their support of "common people", will themselves enjoy support from just 10 percent of the Russians, the daily adds.
- An agribusiness firm controlled by the family of Russian Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev has bought two grain elevators, expecting growth in grain output this year. The company could produce up to 2 million tonnes of grain, analysts say.
KOMMERSANT
www.kommersant.ru
- On Monday, Russia suffered the most serious losses after the start of its military campaign in Syria when five officers died aboard a helicopter shot down over Idlib Province.
- Russia's state controlled nuclear power company Rosatom is ready to replace a nuclear reactor at Belarus's first nuclear plant it is building after a construction accident. The reactor slipped off during its installation and hit the ground. Officials say it was not damaged, however, the daily reports.
ROSSIISKAYA GAZETA
www.rg.ru
- Global stability can be achieved on the basis of improved relations between the United States and Russia, with their mutual interests taken into account, the daily writes, citing U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
- Moscow authorities have no intention whatsoever to privatise the city's vital assets by selling off stakes in the underground metro lines or water supply company Mosvodokanal, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has said.
RBC
www.rbc.ru
- Former RusHydro CEO Yevgeny Dod, accused of a large-scale fraud with 2013 bonus payments, is reported to have paid off 73 million roubles ($1.09 million) to the company which the court had accused him of miappropriating.
IZVESTIA
www.izvestia.ru
- Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said Russia and Iran will expand their military cooperation, which could mean conduction of joint military operations in Syria and Middle Asia, the daily writes.
Hungarian foreign minister says Russia poses no threat to NATO members
BUDAPEST, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Hungary's foreign minister said on Tuesday he thought it "unrealistic" that Russia would attack any NATO member, a view that contrasts with some other NATO member countries in the region who see Moscow as a real threat.
Relations between Russia and the West soured after Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 and backed pro-Russian separatists in the east.
NATO members including Poland and the Baltic states have voiced concern that they could be targets of hostile acts from Russia, and last month NATO leaders agreed to deploy military forces and to increase air and sea patrols there.
"I don't think it is a realistic assumption today that Russia would attack any NATO member state," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in an interview with news portal Index.hu.
Szijjarto said each NATO member state had feelings of "different intensity" about a perceived threat from Russia, and that he respected other views.
"This is not how we feel about Russia. I don't think Russia would pose an existential threat to us," he said.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban's conservative government has granted a deal to Russia's Rosatom to build new reactors at Hungary's nuclear power plant, and has promoted what it calls a "pragmatic" relationship with Russia.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia also have less fraught relations with Russia. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has called for a removal of the sanctions imposed by the West over Russia's role in Ukraine.
But tensions flare up intermittently. Bulgaria's defence minister last month accused Russia of growing airspace violations, describing them as "provocations toward Bulgaria and its air forces".
When asked about Turkey, Szijjarto -- who had earlier described the failed coup in Turkey as a "terrorist act" -- said he did not see any anti-democratic developments in Turkey.
South Sudanese refugees flee violence, report looting, killing
GENEVA, Aug 2 (Reuters) - About 60,000 people have fled South Sudan since violence escalated over the past three weeks, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday.
"They brought to us very disturbing reports, armed groups operating on roads to Uganda are preventing people from fleeing," UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a briefing. "Armed groups are looting villages, murdering civilians and forcibly recruiting young men and boys into their ranks."
Key issues in South Africa's local government election
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 2 (Reuters) - South Africa holds local government elections on Wednesday and opinion polls suggest the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party could lose major cities it has held since the end of apartheid rule 22 years ago.
Below are some of the key issues at the elections.
KEY CITIES
* The ruling party risks losing the economic hub of Johannesburg, the capital Pretoria and Nelson Mandela Bay on the east coast, according to opinion polls.
* The ANC has said its own surveys show that it will win the key contested municipalities.
* The party's main threat is the official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), and the ultra-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
* Some 26.3 million voters are registered to vote in the local elections where 204 parties will field candidates.
THE ECONOMY
* The central bank says the economy of Africa's most industrialised country will grow by zero percent this year. The opposition has criticised the ANC for the stagnation.
* The unemployment rate stands at about 27 percent.
* All parties have promised to improve social services if elected. Several anti-government protests have erupted across the country with demands for better housing, water and electricity supply.
MANDELA
* Millions still feel a strong loyalty to the ANC, the party of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela nearly three years after his death.
* The opposition has also tried to cash in on the Mandela name, saying the ANC has betrayed most of the values he stood for. President Jacob Zuma has criticised the DA for invoking Mandela's name in their campaigns.
* Zuma has himself come under fire from the opposition over several scandals that have plagued his tenure. The president has said he is fit to rule.
RACE
* South Africa has come a long way from its racially divided past, seeking to reflect the "rainbow nation" espoused by anti-apartheid campaigner and veteran cleric Desmond Tutu.
* But racial tensions still simmer. The DA party expelled a white member after she referred to blacks as monkeys earlier this year, one of several racists statements that have triggered a social media storm.
RURAL STRONGHOLD
* The ANC draws its support from the majority black population in the rural areas comprising mainly older citizens.
* The ANC is however facing a stiff challenge in some rural areas such as Marikana, a hardscrabble mining community northwest of Johannesburg, that was once its stronghold.
Turkish FM presses Pakistan on schools said linked to coup suspect
By Asad Hashim
ISLAMABAD, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Pakistan promised Turkey's visiting foreign minister on Tuesday it would investigate a network of schools Ankara wants shut for alleged links to the U.S.-based Muslim cleric it blames for last month's coup attempt.
However, foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz stopped short of agreeing to close PakTurk International Schools and Colleges, which educates 10,000 students and denies any affiliation with the cleric.
The request by Turkey is part of an international campaign by President Tayyip Erdogan against the interests of Fethullah Gulen and his religious movement.
Erdogan and the Turkish authorities blame the cleric and his followers for orchestrating last month's failed military coup, in which more than 230 people were killed.
Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, preaches Sunni Islam together with a message of interfaith dialogue.
He denies any involvement in the failed coup.
Since then, thousands of people have been detained, suspended from work or placed under investigation, with the government vowing to purge the army, police and judiciary of elements it says support Gulen.
In Islamabad, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Gulen's "terrorist group" should be stamped out.
"It is not secret that this organisation has institutions or their presence in Pakistan and in many other countries," he said.
"I am sure the necessary measures will be taken. We have to be very careful with such organisations and their causing risk and threat for the security and stability of every country that they have presence."
Aziz congratulated Turkey for its "victory for democracy and liberty" and said Pakistan would look into the schools but hoped to keep them open as they were well managed and provided good education.
"We will try to find an alternative arrangement for the schools to continue whereas their other activities have to be managed or curbed," he said.
Turkey and Pakistan have traditionally had close ties, which have warmed further under the leadership of Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Turkey has applied pressure to other countries that are home to Gulen-backed institutions.
Gulen's Islamist "Hizmet" movement runs some 2,000 educational establishments in about 160 countries.
The PakTurk organisation, which has been operating in Pakistan for 21 years and has more than two dozen campuses, denied being part of Gulen's network.
"We are deeply concerned by allegations ... trying to connect the PakTurk International Schools and Colleges in Pakistan with Mr Fethullah Gulen," it said in a statement.
China regulator says Didi, Uber deal will need Mofcom approval
BEIJING, Aug 2 (Reuters) - A merger between Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing and the China unit of U.S. rival Uber could face its first hiccup after China's commerce ministry (Mofcom) said on Tuesday it had not received a necessary application to allow the deal to go ahead.
However, Didi said there was no need to seek regulatory approval, saying the two ride-hailing companies' lack of profits meant they weren't required to file with the ministry.
Didi's acquisition of Uber's China operations, announced on Monday, will create a roughly $35 billion ride-hailing giant and could raise monopoly concerns as Didi claims an 87 percent market share in China. Uber China is the second largest player.
Mofcom, one of China's anti-trust regulators, said at a news briefing that the two firms need to seek approval for the deal to go ahead. It had been unclear previously whether such a filing would be required as both firms are loss-making in China.
"Mofcom has not currently received a merger filing related to the deal between Didi and Uber," ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said. "All transactors must apply to the ministry in advance. Those that haven't applied won't be able to carry out a merger" if they fall under applicable anti-trust and merger rules, he said.
In an emailed statement to Reuters on Tuesday, Didi contested Shen's assertion that the firm is required to apply for approval.
"We are in close communication with authorities," said Didi.
"Some of the financial metrics of the transaction did not meet the filing requirements. UberChina and Didi are not profitable yet, and UberChina's turnover in 2015 didn't meet the 400 million yuan ($60.30 million) trigger requirement for the anti-trust process."
Didi and Uber have been in a fierce battle in China, spending billions of dollars to subsidise rides and win users.
Other players, however, could step up competition.
Jia Yueting, head of LeEco, the parent of smaller ride-hailing rival Yidao, said in a social media post the firm would offer steep rebates to attract passengers to help avoid a monopoly in the market.
"Yidao will soon kick off an even more aggressive cashback campaign," according to a translation of Jia's posting provided by a LeEco spokeswoman.
Poland's proposed solution to Swiss franc mortgage problem
WARSAW, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The Polish president's office and central bank governor Adam Glapinski presented on Tuesday a plan to address the country's problem with costly Swiss franc denominated mortgages.
Please find below key points of the proposed solution:
VOLUNTARY CONVERSION MECHANISM
* Poland's financial regulator is to issue recommendations for banks with portfolios of loans denominated in foreign currencies, which mainly consist of Swiss franc-denominated mortgages.
* The regulator is to significantly increase capital requirements for those portfolios, so that banks will find it unprofitable to keep holding these loans on their books and will thus be induced to offer voluntary conversion for borrowers.
* According to the proposal, the best way to increase capital requirements would be to increase risks weights for the portfolios, so that banks nevertheless willing to hold these portfolios would have to put aside more capital.
* According to the proposal, it is not possible to introduce a universal increase in capital requirements due to EU regulation related to the CRR/CRD4 EU Capital Requirements Regulation and Directive.
So, the increase in capital requirements is to be implemented on a case-by-case basis, in the so-called Supervisory Review and Evaluation (SREP).
* The increase in risk weights is to be spread out over time, but the scale of the increase is to be clearly visible and decisive. Banks will be given time to conduct a gradual restructuring of the loans.
* The risk weights are to be chosen so that the effect on capital would be larger than the cost of conversion.
* The increase in the risk weights requires action and decisions from the financial regulator KNF, but does not require any changes in the law. According to the proposal, KNF is to take action as soon as possible.
* According to the proposals, a recommendation from the European Systemic Risk Board on foreign currency loans (ERRS/2011/1) should discourage sales of foreign-currency loans portfolios from Polish banks to entities abroad.
RETURN OF EXCESSIVE FX CONVERSION FEES
* The president's office also presented on Tuesday the main points of a bill that will force banks to refund to foreign-currency borrowers excessively high costs of currency conversion fees charged by banks, the so-called FX spreads.
* The bill will concern loan agreements signed from Jul. 1, 2000 to Aug. 26, 2011.
* The bill states that an FX spread higher than 0.5 percent is excessive.
* The president's office said the total cost for banks of returning the FX spreads to borrowers would be from 3.6 billion zlotys ($932 million) to 4 billion zlotys ($1.04 billion), if all eligible borrowers apply to participate.
Australians in Scottish Highlands in limbo as visa deadline passes
By Elisabeth O'Leary
EDINBURGH, Aug 2 (Reuters) - An Australian family facing deportation from the Scottish Highlands after a change in visa rules is now in limbo, waiting to hear from the British government whether they will be given more time to meet visa requirements.
Gregg and Kathryn Brain, who moved to Scotland in 2011 with their son Lachlan, are hoping for a job offer or a new extension to their visa after the last one expired at midnight on Monday.
Their case has attracted much sympathy in Scotland, where Kathryn Brain was previously given permission to study and then work as part of a now defunct British government-backed scheme to shore up the Highlands' ageing and shrinking population.
"This is simply about honouring the deal signed up to," Gregg Brain, a health and safety expert, told Reuters. "We signed up for a deal and built a life here, only to have the ground pulled out from under our feet."
Visa rules were changed in 2012 with an eye to addressing voter concerns on immigration in the United Kingdom as a whole. Immigration was at the centre of Britain's June vote to leave the European Union.
"(The Brains) simply don't know if there will be a knock on the door at some point and they will be removed," Ian Blackford, the lawmaker for Dingwall where the Brains live, told Reuters.
"If that is the route they (Britain's interior ministry) want to go down, well, we just don't know, we're in their hands," he said, adding that he had yet to receive a reply to two letters sent to British Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill's office in the last 24 hours.
A spokesman for the interior ministry said that any family that failed to comply with the regulations was expected to leave the country voluntarily.
"We have given (the Brains) three extensions on an exceptional basis over a number of months to allow them to try to secure a job that would allow them to meet the immigration rules, but this cannot be open-ended," the spokesman said.
"OVERWHELMING RESPONSE"
The Brains have settled in Dingwall, where Lachlan, 7, has learnt the ancient Scottish language Gaelic. The case attracted the attention of Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, whose devolved government has no say on immigration but who made a personal appeal on the family's behalf in May.
Kathryn Brain, who studied Scottish history and has been seeking work as a curator, was offered what appeared to be visa-compliant work at a Highlands distillery earlier this year. But the offer was withdrawn in late July, giving the family little time to search for an alternative before the Aug. 1 deadline.
The Brains have moved house four times in as many months and have been supported by the generosity of mostly local benefactors because their latest visa extension did not include permission to work.
"The response has been overwhelming," said Gregg Brain. "One day Lachlan came home from school and in his bag was a blank envelope with 10 pounds ($13) in it. It makes me cry just thinking about it."
He describes his family as an example of successful immigration, qualified and integrated in a community where young families are needed to bolster the economy.
He joked that the intense interest in the case might serve as experience for a future in public relations in the legal sector.
Spain faces spectre of third election as parties lock horns
By Sarah White and Blanca Rodriguez
MADRID, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Spain's two main political parties held fruitless talks to form a new government on Tuesday and acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said a new election - the third in less than a year - may be necessary.
Seven months of negotiations to form a new government have so far come to a dead-end, following national elections in December and June that left Spain with a hung parliament.
A meeting on Tuesday between the only two parties which together command enough seats in parliament to form a majority, the second-placed Socialists and Rajoy's People's Party (PP), yielded little.
Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez, after only his fourth head-to-head with Rajoy since December, reiterated his party would vote against a PP-led administration in an eventual parliamentary confidence vote.
Without at least an abstention by the Socialists - arch-rivals of the PP and its previous incarnations over the past four decades of democracy in Spain - the conservatives will struggle to get the majority they needs to allow Rajoy to govern.
"With this Socialist 'no', the situation remains blocked and this takes us to a third election," Rajoy told a news conference.
The stand-off between the two parties is so acute Rajoy and Sanchez did not even detail when they might meet again, and they have yet to outline what broad reforms could provide the basis for an understanding, even with the Socialists in opposition.
Rajoy's PP was stripped of its absolute majority in the December and June elections, after the rise of newer parties during an uneven recovery from recession splintered the political landscape.
A rapidly-approaching deadline to present 2017's budget to Brussels by mid-October has added urgency to parties' talks, as missing it would likely cause concern at a time when Spain faces a major effort next year to trim its public deficit.
DOING WELL
Spain's economic recovery has largely weathered the uncertainty, with a thriving tourism sector fuelling a jobs spurt that has in turn kept consumer spending on track.
The acting government last week raised growth prospects for 2016, though it also trimmed its outlook for 2017 as worries mount over the fallout from Britain's vote to leave the European Union.
Economists also believe fading tailwinds including low oil prices currently favouring energy importers like Spain will make for a more challenging 2017.
Some Socialist insiders believe the party could eventually abstain in a parliamentary investiture vote, allowing the PP to form a minority government. But Rajoy has refused to face such a vote unless he has the Socialists' support ahead of time, perpetuating a game of chicken between the two sides.
"The right-wing parties are the ones that have to reach an agreement, the left is not going to support the right," Sanchez said.
Canada to let potential Supreme Court justices nominate themselves
TORONTO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Canada will change the way it fills vacancies on its top court, letting qualified lawyers and judges nominate themselves for Supreme Court openings and using a nonpartisan advisory board to recommend candidates, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.
There is a looming vacancy on the nine-member Supreme Court, with Justice Thomas Cromwell announcing he will retire in September, giving Trudeau his first chance to appoint a member of the court since becoming prime minister last November.
Supreme Court justices in Canada are picked by the prime minister. The prime minister's appointments do not require parliamentary approval, in contrast to the required Senate confirmation for appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The change, announced in a government press release, creates a new system for determining candidates for the court. Justices can serve until the court's mandatory retirement age of 75.
The move by Canada's Liberal government, elected last year, is aimed at making the selection process more transparent, Trudeau wrote in a column in the Globe and Mail newspaper on Tuesday.
"The process used to appoint Supreme Court justices is opaque, outdated, and in need of an overhaul," Trudeau wrote.
"Gone are the days of governments - Liberal and Conservative alike - nominating Supreme Court justices through a secretive backroom process."
While the selection of Supreme Court judges in Canada has traditionally been less political than in the United States, there have been controversies. In 2014, the Supreme Court rejected then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper's pick of Marc Nadon in a high-profile clash, saying Nadon was not qualified.
Trudeau said the independent and nonpartisan advisory board will be chaired by former Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Kim Campbell.
Once potential justices have applied for consideration and a shortlist of candidates has been compiled, the justice minister will consult with other levels of government, various parliamentary committees and opposition politicians, Trudeau wrote. The eventual nominee will appear in a question-and-answer session moderated by a law professor before legislators from all parties.
Supreme Court appointments have become highly politicized in the United States. The nine-member U.S. high court has had a vacancy since the death of a justice in February because the Republican-led Senate has refused to take any action on Democratic President Barack Obama's nominee to the position.
Italy would consider any U.S. request to use Sicily air base for Libya strikes
ROME, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Italy would consider allowing the United States to use the Sigonella air base in Sicily for strikes against Islamic State militants in Libya if asked, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Tuesday.
The two NATO allies had agreed in February that Italy would only allow the U.S. to conduct "defensive" strikes from there.
U.S. planes bombed Islamic State targets in Libya on Monday, at the request of the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, to help push militants from their former stronghold of Sirte. U.S. officials said this was the start of a sustained campaign.
When asked on RAI state television whether the U.S. would be allowed to use the air base during the air campaign, Gentiloni said: "Should there be requests, we will consider them."
So far Italy has not been asked, an Italian government source said. The government can approve use of the base in eastern Sicily without a parliamentary vote, the source said.
On Tuesday, Robin Mack, a spokeswoman for U.S. Africa Command, declined to give any details about the U.S. strikes or where they originated.
Sigonella is home to a U.S. Naval Air Station as well as a base for the Italian Air Force. It is sometimes used for logistical support for U.S. and other NATO forces.
"It's a very positive fact that the Americans decided to intervene in Libya," Gentiloni said on RAI TV. "Ninety percent of the migrants that arrive in Italy come from Libya and that is why we are so interested in the stabilisation of the country, beyond the terrorist threat."
FTSE hits two-week low as stress tests keep pressure on bank stocks
By Kit Rees
LONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Britain's benchmark share index fell to a two-week low on Tuesday as the heavily weighted banking and energy sectors dropped, although motor insurer Direct Line jumped after results.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended down 0.7 percent at 6,645.4 points, its lowest level since mid-July, as the bank sector extended losses after the results of Europe-wide stress tests. Britain's banking index fell 1.5 percent.
Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland, which were among the worst-performing banks in the stress test, ended down 3.6 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.
"The recent stress tests have sent bank shares plummeting for a second day," CMC Markets analyst Jasper Lawler said.
Analysts said UK banks were also being affected by drops in Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, which were relegated from the blue chip STOXX Europe 50 index, and by Commerzbank falling after a profit warning.
Shares in oil major Royal Dutch Shell also dropped after HSBC cut its price target on the stock while Liberum analysts downgraded Shell to "hold" from "buy".
However, Direct Line surged 12.6 percent - its strongest one-day performance on record - after its half-yearly profits beat expectations.
Zambian president to take strong measures to protect peace - spokesman
LUSAKA, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Zambian President Edgar Lungu will resort to "draconian measures" if the opposition tries to disrupt the peace before, during or after the country's elections next week, his spokesman said on Tuesday.
Zambia will hold presidential, parliamentary and local government elections on Aug. 11. There will also be a referendum about proposed amendments on environmental, socio-economic and media rights not currently guaranteed in the constitution.
Presidential spokesman Amos Chanda told Reuters the president had information that the opposition planned to disrupt law and order as the country heads to the elections, an accusation the main opposition party has denied.
"The president told traditional leaders ... on Monday that, should the opposition try to implement the plan, then he will invoke draconian measures," he said without giving details.
The secretary general of the main opposition United Party for National Development (UPND), Steven Katuka, said that was absurd. "(The) UPND completely rejects these accusations," he said in a statement.
Zambian police arrested 28 opposition supporters on July 20 on suspicion of rioting and making petrol bombs, the latest sign of political tensions ahead of elections, a senior officer said.
The arrests came shortly after the election commission lifted a 10-day ban on campaigning imposed on some parts of the southern African country to prevent violence.
TransCanada plans to develop $800 mln project in Mexico
Aug 2 (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp said it plans to build an $800 million marine terminal and oil pipeline project along with Sierra Oil & Gas and Grupo TMM SAB in Mexico.
The project, which comes at a time when TransCanada's key projects closer to home are facing delays, includes a marine terminal, a 265 km (165 mile) refined products pipeline and an inland storage and distribution hub in central Mexico.
TransCanada, which has been ramping up its spending in the Latin American country, said it will hold a 50 percent interest in the project, with Sierra Oil & Gas holding 40 percent and Grupo TMM holding 10 percent.
TransCanada said in June it would build and operate a $2.1 billion natural gas pipeline in Mexico through a joint venture with a unit of Sempra Energy.
Somalia urged to pass law banning "horrendous" FGM
By Emma Batha
LONDON, Aug 2 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Somalia's next government should ensure a law is passed banning all forms of female genital mutilation (FGM), a U.N. official said on Tuesday, describing the deeply entrenched practice as a "horrendous rights violation".
Somalia has the world's highest rate of FGM with 98 percent of women between 15 and 49 having been subjected to the potentially deadly ritual.
A bill on FGM is sitting in parliament but is unlikely to be debated until next year because of elections expected this month in the Horn of Africa country.
Jeremy Hopkins, deputy representative for UNICEF in Somalia, said the U.N. children's agency was optimistic a law would eventually go through, but the details in it would be crucial.
"Our approach for the legislation is to go slow. We don't want to risk this being politicised," he said in an interview in London.
"We promote total abandonment of FGM, whereas there is a large part of public opinion in Somalia which will promote a milder form of FGM," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Most women in Somalia have undergone the severest form of FGM, known as infibulation, in which the external genitalia are sliced off and the vaginal opening sewn up.
The cutting is usually done by traditional circumcisers, sometimes using rusty and unsterilised instruments.
Hopkins said there was evidence that families were moving towards "a milder form of FGM", but that this was not something UNICEF condoned.
"I would say there has been quite a big shift in recent years away from infibulation to this lesser form," he added.
It is not clear whether the alternative form involves a small nick or the partial removal of the clitoris.
Hopkins said UNICEF was concerned that parents appeared to be increasingly taking their daughters to clinics to undergo FGM.
Campaigners say the "medicalisation of FGM" serves to legitimise the practice.
"It's still a horrendous rights violation and I would question the integrity of any health staff who undertake such (a procedure)," Hopkins said.
FATWAS
FGM often causes a host of health problems. In some cases girls may bleed to death or die from infections. Others may suffer fatal childbirth complications later in life.
However, the ancient ritual is widely considered a prerequisite for marriage in Somalia where uncut girls risk ostracisation.
Many also believe FGM is a religious obligation even though it is not mentioned in the Koran.
The northern semi-autonomous region of Puntland has led the way in tackling FGM with religious leaders issuing a fatwa against the practice at the end of 2013.
Hopkins said this was a significant step and would have been inconceivable a decade ago.
He hoped discussions on a fatwa could be restarted with religious leaders in the neighbouring semi-autonomous region of Somaliland who have previously opposed issuing a decree.
Hopkins said he had met families in Somalia whose daughters had died from FGM and women whose lives had been destroyed by debilitating childbirth injuries related to FGM.
But he said even if parents understood the risks they often felt compelled to have their daughters cut.
"I remember 12 years ago a father saying, 'We get that it's bad for our daughters, but I want my daughter to have a husband. What are you going to do about that?'," Hopkins said.
UNICEF has therefore adopted an approach to encourage communities to give up FGM collectively through public declarations.
Syrian army, allies counter-attack to regain lost ground in Aleppo
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi
BEIRUT, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The Syrian army backed by Russian fighter jets pounded rebel positions in the city of Aleppo on Tuesday in a bid to crush a major insurgent campaign to break the siege of opposition-held parts the city, rebels said.
Rebel groups launched the wide-scale assault on Sunday to break through a strip of government-controlled territory and reconnect their encircled sector of eastern Aleppo with a swathe of insurgent territory in the west of Syria.
This would open a new route south of the city for a quarter of a million civilians in eastern Aleppo who are under siege by the army and its Iranian-backed allies, who tightened their grip last week on a road on the northern edge of the city that was the only route into rebel districts.
Rebels mainly from Jaish al Fatah alliance of Islamist groups pushed from the south of the city while fighters from Free Syrian Army (FSA) brigades pounded government-held areas of Syria's most populous city and commercial hub before the war broke out in 2011.
The heaviest fighting on Tuesday centered around the strategic Ramousah area southwest of Aleppo. Video released by the Mujahideen Army brigade showed fires raging at a military academy near the country's largest artillery base.
"We are now overlooking the Ramousah area but Russian jets are intensifying their bombing, which is holding us back from moving quickly," said Abu Rakan, military commander from Failaq al Sham brigade.
Rebels said jets believed to be Syrian and Russian bombed their areas southwest of Aleppo.
A rebel source in Jaish al Fatah said they had deployed around 10,000 troops, at least 95 tanks and several hundred rocket launcher vehicles in a three-stage battle they gave the name of the "great epic battle of Aleppo".
They had also prepared scores of suicide bombers to drive explosive-laden military vehicles into army posts.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in Britain, which described the rebel offensive as the largest so far, said fighting also broke out across the divided city's main fronts.
The Syrian army said insurgent rockets killed at least nine people, mainly women and children, in Hamadaniyah and Ramousah districts in the last day. At least five civilians were killed when rebels fired toxic gas on the old quarter, it added.
Best Christian Workplaces Institute Announces 2016 Honorees
Contact: Kathy Lopus, Best Christian Workplaces Institute, 206-230-8111
MERCER ISLAND, Wash., Aug. 2, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- 128 faith-based organizations and churches across the United States and around the globe have been named 2016 Certified Best Christian Workplaces by the Best Christian Workplaces Institute (BCWI). The honor offers convincing, continued evidence that a healthy, flourishing workplace culture makes for effective organizations.
"Certified" status represents the top 51 percent of 252 organizations whose employees completed the BCWI Employee Engagement Survey from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016.
The anonymous, online, 58-question survey provides an objective, quantifiable measure of workplace culture based on eight essential factors of health: fantastic teams, life-giving work, outstanding talent, uplifting growth, rewarding compensation, inspirational leadership, sustainable strategy and healthy communication.
"The excellence displayed in each of these 128 Certified honorees confirms that a thriving workplace culture does in fact drive the efficiency and productivity essential to organizational effectiveness," said BCWI President Al Lopus.
Since 2003, BCWI has served more than 800 faith-based organizations, involving more than 300,000 total employees from executives and senior leaders, to managers and staff.
The Best Christian Workplaces Institute is an international non-profit, research-based, organizational development and human resources consulting firm, headquartered in Mercer Island, Washington. Their vision is that Christian workplaces would continue to set the standard as the best, most effective places to work in the world.
The organizations honored as 2016 Certified Best Christian Workplaces are:
CAMPS & CONFERENCE CENTERS
CRISTA Camps - Shoreline (Seattle), WA Eagle Lake - Colorado Springs, CO
Glen Eyrie - Colorado Springs, CO
Lake Ann Camp - Lake Ann, MI WinShape Retreat - Mount Berry, GA
CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Briarcrest Christian School - Memphis, TN
Central Christian Academy - Wichita, KS
Cherry Hills Christian School - Highlands Ranch, CO College Heights Christian School - Joplin, MO Heritage Christian Academy - Overland Park, KS Kings Schools - Shoreline (Seattle), WA
Legacy Christian Academy - Valencia, CA
Lionheart Children's Academy - Euless, TX Northwest Christian Schools - Colbert, WA
Santa Fe Christian Schools - Solana Beach, CA Seattle Urban Academy - Seattle, WA
Southside Christian School - Simpsonville, SC Toledo Christian Schools - Toledo, OH
Valley Christian Schools - Cerritos, CA
Valor Christian High School - Highlands Ranch, CO Wheaton Academy - West Chicago, IL
CHURCHES
Bethlehem Baptist Church - Minneapolis, MN BMA America - Conway, AR
Bridgeway Community Church - Columbia, MD Central Christian Church - Mesa, AZ
Cherry Hills Community Church - Highlands Ranch, CO Christ Community Church - Elgin, IL
Christ the King - Bellingham, WA
Church of the King - Mandeville, LA
Church of the Shepherd - St. Charles, MO Community Christian Church - Naperville, IL Compass Point Bible Church - Burlington, Ontario Coquitlam Alliance Church - Coquitlam, BC, Canada Cornwall Church - Bellingham, WA
Cross Point Church - Nashville, TN
Crossroads Christian Church - Evansville, IN
Eastminster Presbyterian Church - Wichita, KS
Eastview Christian Church - Normal, IL
Experience Life Church - Lubbock, TX
Fairhaven Church - Dayton, OH
First Christian Church of Johnson City - Johnson City, TN First Free Church - Onalaska, WI
Floris United Methodist Church - Herndon, VA
Fountain Springs Church - Rapid City, SD
Gateway Church - Southlake, TX
Glen Ellyn Bible Church - Glen Ellyn, IL
Grace Bible Church - Virginia Beach, VA
Harvest Church - Billings, MT
Irving Bible Church - Irving, TX
Kentwood Community Church - Kentwood, MI
Lake Pointe Church - Rockwall, TX
Legacy Christian Church - Overland Park, KS
Mountain Christian Church - Joppa, MD
Pantano Christian Church - Tucson, AZ
Park Community Church - Chicago, IL
Pinelake Church - Brandon, MS
Pleasant Valley Baptist Church - Liberty, MO
Redeemer Lutheran Church - Fort Collins, CO
River Pointe Church - Richmond, TX
Rocky Mountain Christian Church - Niwot, CO
Rolling Hills Christian Church - El Dorado Hills, CA South Bay Church - San Jose, CA
Southeast Christian Church - Louisville, KY
Southridge Community Church - St. Catharines, ON Canada
Sparks Christian Fellowship - Sparks, NV
Syndal Baptist Church - Glen Waverley, VIC Australia The Wesleyan Church - Fishers, IN
Valley Ranch Baptist Church - Coppell, TX
Vineyard Cincinnati - Cincinnati, OH
Vineyard Columbus - Westerville, OH
Wayside Chapel - San Antonio, TX
Willow Creek Community Church - South Barrington, IL
HIGHER EDUCATION
Bethlehem College & Seminary - Minneapolis, MN College of Biblical Studies - Houston - Houston, TX Crossroads Bible College - Indianapolis, IN
Grace School of Theology - The Woodlands, TX Olivet Nazarene University - Bourbonnais, IL
MEDIA
CRISTA Media - Seattle, WA
KSBJ - Humble, TX
LightMelbourne - Vic, Australia
Precept Ministries International - Chattanooga, TN
PARACHURCH & MISSIONS
Apartment Life - Euless, TX
Care Net - Lansdowne, VA
Children's HopeChest - Colorado Springs, CO Christian Veterinary Mission - Seattle, WA
CDF Capital - Irvine, CA
Coalition for Christian Outreach - Pittsburgh, PA Compassion Australia - Warabrook, NSW, Australia Compassion Canada - London, Ontario, Canada Corporate Chaplains of America - Wake Forest, NC CRISTA Ministries - Seattle, WA
DiscipleMakers - State College, PA
East-West Ministries - Plano, TX
English Language Institute/China - Fort Collins, CO HOPE International - Lancaster, PA
Jewish Voice Ministries International - Phoenix, AZ Jill's House - Vienna, VA
Joni and Friends - Agoura Hills, CA
Kids Around the World - Rockford, IL
Light of Life Ministries, Inc. - Pittsburgh, PA
Miracle Hill Ministries - Greenville, SC
Novo Ministries - Oklahoma City, OK
Portland Rescue Mission - Portland, OR
Reasons to Believe - Covina, CA
Scripture Union Scotland - Glasgow, Scotland UK Seed Company - Arlington, TX
The Gideons International - Nashville, TN
The Navigators - Colorado Springs, CO
Union Gospel Mission Association of Spokane, Inc. - Spokane, WA
Upward Sports - Spartanburg, SC
Vision House - Renton, WA
Water Mission - Charleston, SC
Willow Creek Association - Barrington, IL
Willow Creek Canada - Ottawa, Ontario Canada World Concern - Seattle, WA
WorldServe Ministries (Canada) - Surrey, BC WorldVenture - Littleton, CO
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
ABHE (The Assoc. for Biblical Higher Education) - Orlando, FL
C12 Group - Greensboro, NC / Franklin, TN CapinCrouse LLP - Greenwood, IN
Christian Family Care - Phoenix, AZ
Classical Conversations - West End, NC
Dow Smith Contracting Company, Inc - Smyrna, TN Garland Heart - Plano, TX
Lead Like Jesus Spartanburg, SC
Outreach Colorado Springs, CO
Samaritan Ministries International - Peoria, IL
The Parable Group - San Luis Obispo, CA
For more information, visit Best Christian Workplaces Institute online: www.bcwinstitute.org. Each week, find proven insights from top Christian leaders on the BCWI Blog (blog.bcwinstitute.org) and Flourishing Culture Podcast (blog.bcwinstitute.org/podcast).
White House directs federal agencies to consider climate change
By Valerie Volcovici
WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - U.S. federal agencies should disclose whether their actions and decisions will have an impact on climate change, the White House announced on Tuesday.
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) finalized an update after nearly six years of consultations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a Nixon-era statute that called on officials to weigh the environmental effects of projects such as highways, dams or oil drilling.
The update takes NEPA a step further by requiring agencies such as the Interior Department to the Army Corps of Engineers to quantify greenhouse gas emissions in NEPA project reviews and to describe the potential climate change impacts.
"This increased predictability and certainty will allow decision makers and the public to more fully understand the potential climate impacts of all proposed federal actions," the CEQ said in a statement.
This would prompt agencies to consider alternatives or propose measures to mitigate the climate impacts of a project, it said.
Since the CEQ first proposed to modify NEPA in 2010 to include weighing climate change impacts, Republican lawmakers have discouraged the move saying it would be a way for the Obama administration to regulate carbon emissions without congressional approval.
President Barack Obama has used executive authority to use the federal Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, oil and gas infrastructure and energy development on public lands.
Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the CEQ's announcement is "a game-changer" that would ensure that federal agencies do not "approve mines that will destroy the climate, or bridges that will get washed away."
Conservation group The Wilderness Society said the CEQ guidance will ensure that decisions about whether to allow energy exploration or development on federal land do not contribute to climate change.
"Federal land management agencies should implement this guidance without delay, and use cutting-edge science to make climate-smart decisions," the group said.
The Republican chair of the House committee on natural resources, which deals with federal land policies, said the new CEQ guidance would trigger lawsuits and effectively block every major energy or infrastructure project.
It was in the summer of 2009, sometime in July, that the idea of Mountain Echoes was born.
Her Majesty the Royal Queen Mother Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck had hosted a dinner where the guests included the Indian ambassador Pavan K Varma, Ravi Singh, publisher at Penguin books, and myself.
Her Majesty is an accomplished writer, and her masterfully evocative book Treasures of the Dragon Kingdom had been published only recently.
In the course of a splendid meal and animated conversation, not just about books, Varma suggested the idea of a literature festival in Bhutan.
Her Majesty responded with enthusiasm, as did I.
"Yes, and we will call it Mountain Echoes," I declared, with note of prophecy in my voice, "and it will be the most beautiful mountain festival in the world."
The Jaipur Literature Festival, of which I am a co-director, had already begun to make waves.
"Mountain Echoes" was the title of a book of oral biographies of Pahari women that I had edited, and a festival we at Yatra books had recently hosted in Dehradun with the Himalayan Library.
Kalki Koechlin performing her monologue at Mountain Echoes 2015. (Courtesy: Mountain Echoes Facebook page)
When things take off and are meant to happen, they gather a mysterious momentum and synchronicity.
Here we are, with season seven of Mountain Echoes set to take off in Thimphu from August 26-28.
And it is, in my biased view, the most heartachingly beautiful and evocative mountain festival in the world. Ambassador Pavan Varma and the India Bhutan Foundation brought the dream alive.
With the formidable Mita Kapur of Siyahi as the producer, and me, Siok Sian Dorji, Pramod Kumar KG and Tshering Tashi as co-directors, the Bhutan Literature Festival has established a distinct and unique identity.
Over the last six years we have hosted speakers like Ali Sethi, Alka Pande, Anuja Chauhan, Ashok Ferrey, Ashwin Sanghi, Barkha Dutt, Chetan Bhagat, Dasho Karma Ura, Dayanita Singh, Lopen Karma Phuntsho, Florence Noiville, Gavin Francis, Gulzar Sahib, Imtiaz Ali, Jerry Pinto, Kalki Koechlin, Kishwar Desai, Kunzang Choden, Laila Tyabji, Lily Wangchuk, Lucy Hawking, Marcus du Sautoy, Navtej Sarna, Paro Anand, Patrick French, Pawo Choyning Dorji, Sonam Kinga, Urvashi Butalia, Valmik Thapar, Vikram Seth, Wendell Rodricks and William Dalrymple. And the list goes on.
The prime minister of Bhutan, His Excellency Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay, has also participated as a speaker.
Her Majesty The Royal Queen Mother Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, the chief royal patron of Mountain Echoes, enthusiastically participates in the festival every year.
The clock tower in Thimphu has echoed and resonated with music from The Raghu Dixit Project, Soulmate, Vivek Rajagopalan Quartet and Eka; and Bhutanese bands like Baby Boomers, Daydream Farmers, and Zhaw and the Ngorigaps.
We have had bright-eyed youths and venerable monks, pop icons and cerebral thinkers, future prime ministers, film directors, Bollywood stars, and all manner of storytellers and thinking people in a passionate exchange of ideas and narratives.
And this, our seventh year, when we welcome, among others, Amitav Ghosh and Pico Iyer, is going to be our best ever.
A few flashbacks and cameos to bring these memories to life
Retired police officer and Bhutanese crime writer "Yongba" Karma Tenzin asks a radiant Waheeda Rehman to sing a song for the audience, and she does!
Waheeda Rehman with Her Majesty the Royal Queen Mother Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck. (Courtesy: Shrirang Swarge)
Arshia Sattar and Dasho Karma Ura trace the history of Hanuman in Indian mythology and religion, and discuss parallels with the "compassionate monkey" of the Jataka tales.
Kalki Koechlin holds the audience spellbound with a stark dramatic monologue.
Mahesh Dattani talks of theatre and things theatrical.
Wendell Rodricks on style, fashion and aesthetics. Tshering Tashi on unclimbed mountains. You had to be there.
I first visited Bhutan in 1999, and have been there perhaps 22 times now. I am a "Pahari" by birth and instinct, from Kumaon in the central Himalayas.
Mountain people, in my understanding, are different, they have special qualities of grit and stubborn strength, wherever in the world their elevated homelands might be.
I believe that the Himalayas have a continuity of culture which is not just geographical and latitudinal but goes deeper.
Mountain Echoes has tried to reach out and connect on issues of environment ecology and biodiversity, and what better place on our planet than carbon-negative Bhutan?
Music, oral traditions, folklore, food, and textiles connect the sweep of the Himalayan regions, and our festival is a platform for sharing these "Mountain Echoes".
The ancient kingdom of Bhutan is also the youngest democracy in the world.
It is an honour to have been associated with those first early years, and all of us high altitude junkies have learnt and grown and been blessed in the process.
Check these links for our programme for 2016. See you at "Mountain Echoes".
Dalit issues ranging from atrocities to representation to empowerment have predominantly influenced the contemporary political narrative.
It is often observed that social issues are turned into misguided missiles under the influence of passionate rhetoric and emotional platitudes. Let us try to understand the Dalit problem from a dispassionate perspective. It is a perspective beyond vilification and vindication, and the purest way to decode that would be analysis on the basis of sound data and logic.
As we know, the attack on Dalits by cow protection groups at Una (in Gujarat) has embarrassed India.
It is an incident that has put a question mark on the progressive and forward-looking character of our nation.
Incidents like these make it difficult to believe we are the same nation that sent a satellite to Mars or became part of the elite group of nations to possess Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs).
It is beyond doubt that the culprits in the Una incident need to be punished. We are a constitutional democracy and no one has the right to take the law into his or her own hands.
The problem occurs when we are plagued with motivated perspectives while examining socially sensitive issues like the present one.
The attack on Dalits by cow protection groups has, without a doubt, embarrassd the nation.
In the name of social justice or for that matter standing up for the cause of the subaltern, one-sided reportage and columns are being used against the government in power at the Centre.
It is not a herculean task to see that the problem of caste is more social than political in nature. Needless to say, politics does have a role in the long-term to deal with this problem because to effect any change you need resolute political will.
But depoliticising the Dalit issue will be more pragmatic as National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data clearly indicate that the number of registered cases of atrocities against Dalits has been embarrassingly higher under the Congress dispensation.
This is expected because the Congress has been in power at the Centre more than any other political party in the entire political history of independent India.
The data for the number of registered crimes against Dalits show Uttar Pradesh topping the list with 8,075 cases in 2014, followed by Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka with 7,893, 4,114, 2,266 and 2,138 cases respectively.
The BJP is not in power in any of these states.
The decadal data is also important to be noted here. The number of crimes recorded in this category during 1991-2001 was 17,731, with an average of 1,612 atrocities per year.
Growing assertion of Dalits through affirmative action and opening up of markets resulted in a drastic reduction of cases of atrocities in the following decade.
In the period of 2002-2015, 14,634 cases of atrocities were registered with an average of 1,045 offences every year.
If we dig deep into specific data like the number of rapes, murders, and other offences against the scheduled castes, one can infer that politics or the party in power has got little to do with cases of caste-related atrocities.
As a case in Tamil Nadu in March 2016 highlighted, there have increasingly been assaults on Dalits by OBCs in the state. Bihar is another example where intermediate caste groups like Yadavs and Kurmis have been violently taking on the growing assertion of Dalits.
Politics is a dirty game of construction and manipulation of identities. Especially social identities. Manipulating social identities is electorally advantageous and beneficial for political parties.
As members of the civil society, the least we could do is to avoid cases like Una to be looked at with prejudicial and ideological lenses.
The Central government, which is just about two-and-a-half-years old, has taken steps to integrate the subaltern social groups into the mainstream.
On September 8, 2014, the government paid tributes to one of Kerala's visionary Dalit leaders, Mahatma Ayyanakali.
On the economic front, the government is working closely with the Dalit Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DICCI), in order to promote entrepreneurship as a tool of emancipation.
For this purpose Stand Up India was launched on the birth anniversary of Babu Jagjivan Ram, late deputy prime minister and a great Dalit leader.
In the days to come, we are likely to witness more positive stories of Dalit empowerment.
A case in point is the spirit in which Milind Kamble is steering the DICCI. Last year, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the DICCI, more than 1,000 Dalit entrepreneurs assembled in New Delhi to declare that they were equal and relevant stakeholders in the growth story of India.
In this meeting Kamble said: "We don't want to be jobseekers but job-givers." This one line would serve as a definite tool of emancipation for those who have been marginalised for decades.
However, the situation demands that more needs to be done. A prime minister, chief minister, MLA or MP cannot do this; it needs the intervention of several key stakeholders like the media, civil society, judiciary, spiritual organisations and especially the youth of India.
The author is not arguing that the Dalit scenario is good; it is still far from good. But there is hope.
The Dalit narrative is replete with stories of agony, victimhood and protest. Ignoring the positive side of the story with many Dalits rising to the top echelons purely by dint of their efforts and merit would be a great disservice to the Dalit cause.
What we forgot in the case of Una is that the enlightened citizenry of Una decried such attempts of the cow vigilantes and initiated a social boycott in clear terms that no social interaction (marriage, for instance) would be done with the families of the accused.
home World ISIS crucifies man for apostasy in Syria
The Islamic State militants executed and crucified a civilian man in Aleppo on Thursday after accusing him of apostasy, according to activists and eyewitnesses.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) terrorist group accused 28-year-old Hussein Muhammad of being an apostate after he refused to join the Islamic prayers at the mosque. They arrested Muhammad, executed him by gunfire and then crucified his dead body on an electric pole in central al-Bab for everyone to see.
"The Sharia Court accused Muhammad of apostasy for refusing to join prayers at the mosque," an activist, who spoke anonymously, told ARA News.
"A Sharia judge decided to execute and crucify the man in public, claiming he was an apostate who refused to perform Sharia duties and violated the basic laws of the Caliphate," the activist added.
Thousands of residents in al-Bab gathered to witness the public execution Thursday afternoon, reported Ahmed al-Beik, a rights activist.
"The victims' body will remain crucified for three days, and ISIS threatened people that anyone who would try to remove him will be mercilessly punished," al-Beik said.
According to Jihad Watch, an organization that exposes jihad theology and ideology to apprise the world of the real situation, the Islamic law includes the capital punishment for those charged with apostasy.
Bukhari 9.84.57, a hadith, quotes Prophet Muhammad as saying, "Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him."
Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the most respected Muslim cleric in the world, said that Islamic judges for both Sunni and Shi'ite Islam agree that apostates must be punished. He added that the four main schools of jurisprudence, namely Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali and the other four (the four Shiite schools of Az-Zaidiyyah, Al-Ithna-'ashriyyah, Al-Ja'fariyyah, and Az-Zaheriyyah) all agree that capital punishment must be handed on apostates.
"If they had gotten rid of the apostasy punishment, Islam wouldn't exist today," Jihad Watch quoted the Muslim cleric as saying.
home US South Carolina church shooter's lawyers argue that federal death penalty is unconstitutional
Attorneys for a white man accused of killing nine black parishioners in a racially motivated attack at a South Carolina church a year ago argued that their client should not face the death penalty, asserting the punishment is unconstitutional.
Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Dylann Roof, 22, who is accused of opening fire on a Bible study session at Charleston's historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015.
The shooting shook the country and intensified debate over U.S. race relations, which were already roiled by numerous high-profile police killings of unarmed black people.
Attorneys for Roof argued in a document filed in a U.S. District Court in South Carolina on Monday that the federal death penalty is "cruel and unusual punishment" and, as a result, violates the U.S. Constitution.
"No one can be lawfully sentenced to death or executed under it, no matter what his crimes," the attorneys wrote in the motion.
A court ruling that the Federal Death Penalty Act is unconstitutional would allow Roof to plead guilty and proceed to the sentencing phase of his case in which he could be to life in prison without parole, his attorneys said.
In an earlier court filing, federal prosecutors cited a number of factors for seeking the death penalty, saying Roof singled out victims who were black and elderly, and showed no remorse. They also cited "substantial planning and premeditation."
The argument that the death penalty is unconstitutional is a typical line of defense. The federal trial against Roof is set to begin on Nov. 7.
Federal death sentences are rarely carried out in the United States. Roof also faces a state capital punishment trial, which is scheduled to begin in January.
Roof faces different charges in each case. State prosecutors in South Carolina charged him with murder and attempted murder, while federal prosecutors charged him with 33 counts including hate crimes, obstruction of religion and firearms offenses.
One phrase from Michelle Obamas speech at last weeks Democratic National Convention has echoed around television, radio and social media. It has historic connections to our region.
I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves, Mrs. Obama said in her keynote.
The first ladys remark about the White House needs to be taken in context to be properly understood. The three paragraphs of which it is part won enthusiastic applause from the party delegates in Philadelphia. The comment received instant attention online and on air, perhaps most notably from commentator Bill OReilly on his Fox News program. He deemed her assertion as essentially correct, then added: Slaves that worked there were well-fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government ...
These laborers were, however, held in bondagewithout any say about their food, lodgings or working conditions, we would note. What sprang to our minds, though, was that the Mrs. Obama opened the door for a closer look at the history of the nations capital and where the people and materials to build it came from.
Enslaved people actually built many of the early public buildings in Washington, D.C. Did slaves do it alone? No, of course not. They worked with a mix of free Americans and newly arrived immigrants on these monumental, years-long projects. Their handiwork includes the White House, Capitol, the Treasury Department and the U.S. Patent Office (now the National Portrait Gallery). Washingtons French-born architect, Pierre LEnfant, designed the federal city with those major landmarks in mind, giving them prominent sites in the capitals unique streetscape.
The stone for these important structures (and others), each designed to impress onlookers and testify to Americans ambitious hopes for the young republic, came from Stafford County. Quarries near the Potomac River offered one of the mid-Atlantics only known sources for such building blocks. One still sees this Aquia freestone, so named for the ease with which it could be split and carved, in many of the regions most significant historic buildingsincluding the lovely Aquia Church in North Stafford, Fredericksburgs Old Town Hall and the U.S. Capitols Crypt and Statuary Hall.
Best of all, you also can see one of the places where men wrested the sandstone from the earth, their chisel marks still obvious. Stafford Countys Government Island park, on Aquia Creek, is both a nature preserve and a historic site of national importance. Just ask White House historians or the architect of the Capitol, who have trekked to Stafford to visit what author and historian Jane Hollenbeck Conner, who saved Government Island from modern development, calls the birthstone of their buildings.
In 1790, George Washington signed a congressional measure designating a site where the Anacostia River flows into the Potomac as the spot for what became Washington City. A year later, LEnfantthe first presidents chosen planner for the capitalbought the island about 40 miles down river for $3,192 for the governments use.
There, stonemason Collen Williamson trained enslaved people whojoining European immigrants and white laborers from Virginia and Marylandquarried and cut the rough stone that was shipped to Washington, then dressed and laid by Scottish masons to erect the presidents House.
Jesse Holland, author of Black Men Built the Capitol: Discovering AfricanAmerican History In and Around Washington, D.C., puts it thus: African American slaves [dug] the foundation that the White House sits on today. African American slaves sawed the lumber. They baked the bricks. They quarried the marble.
The D.C. commissioners, tasked by Congress with building the city, wanted to import laborers from Europe to do the job, according to the White House Historical Society. But not enough workers could be recruited, so they relied on African Americansthe majority enslavedto provide most of the labor that built the White House, the Capitol and other early government buildings. Slave owners in Maryland and Virginia, including White House architect James Hoban, rented their human property to contractors.
The HBO miniseries John Adams depicted the general scene when John and Abigail Adams became the first first couple to occupy the Executive Mansion. The African Americans did unimaginable back-breaking work, says Clarence Lusane, author of The Black History of the White House. ... nobody was really willing ... to do it. So slave labor played a massive role in getting this city built.
Those facts are uncomfortable. And Mrs. Obamas remark was met with defensiveness by some. But surely, this is a history lesson the world should know.
It illustrates how far America has come, and has yet to go. It is proof of the American dream, which we must build anew every day.
A high-voltage electrical fire Friday severely damaged the interior of the Rappahannock-Rapidan Community Services Behavioral Health Clinic in the town of Culpeper, shuttering a site that provides crucial mental health services.
No one was injured in the blaze that began in the basement at 650 Laurel Street, next to the Culpeper Health Department and hospital. The fire was not related to ongoing renovations to the building built by the agency in the 1970s, according to Rapahannock-Rapidan Community Services Director Brian Duncan.
The fire rendered the building unusable, he told the board of supervisors Tuesday morning, and it wont be fixed and reopened for up to eight months. In the meantime, clients are being referred to the agencys Bradford Road site for services or out-of-county.
Duncan said he hoped to have a temporary rental office operational within the next few weeks. However, the fire is curtailing the new, anticipated rapid response counseling services the agency launched just four weeks ago, addressing long wait times in non-emergency situations.
Once the behavioral health clinic is temporarily re-established in Culpeper, the public can walk in from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and talk to a counselor about mental health or substance abuse issues. Whereas it used to take months to get an appointment in a non-emergency, now it will be available same day.
You can come in and you will be seen, Duncan said.
He said his agency provides the safety net for people without insurance or who are under-insured.
In addition to the rapid response model recently implemented, community services is preparing to open a crisis intervention drop-off site at the local hospital where law enforcement can drop off individuals experiencing a mental health crisis for evaluation versus law enforcement having to remain with the individuals while they are evaluated.
Duncan said they hope to activate the drop-off center in October, and that it would be open about 100 hours per week.
Its an exciting development for our region, he said.
In other news, Rappahannock-Rapidan Community Services recently broke ground in Elkwood on a new rehab center for adults with intellectual disabilities with an estimated completion date by next spring. The Culpeper Senior Nutrition Site on U.S. Avenue, meanwhile, is nearing the end of its extensive rehabilitation slated for completion in October, Duncan told the board Tuesday.
Considering what we had to work with, it really is going to be nice, he said.
Culpeper County Supervisor Jack Frazier referred to the agencys Fiscal Year 2017 program plan in commenting on the more than 13,000 people in the five-county region struggling with drug or alcohol abuse, including the heroin and opiate epidemic sweeping the nation.
That number there is pretty high, Frazier said.
He questioned if medication-assisted treatment was available in Culpeper, providing, for example, daily doses of methadone for those seeking to get off of heroin.
So people can still stay productive by taking these step-down drugs, Frazier said.
Duncan said he supports the option, but that there is no funding to start that service at this time.
In addition, he said, there is a lack of local doctors interested in or willing to provide medication-assisted treatment for drug addiction. Duncan added, however, that he anticipated such services would soon be available since the heroin epidemic is getting so much attention.
I wish we had the money to hire a medical practitioner to provide the service hopefully soon, he said.
Seventy-five years ago, the world blew up in just six months.
World War II ostensibly started two years earlier, when Germany invaded Poland. In truth, after the rapid German defeat of Poland in September 1939, the conflict was mostly confined to Western Europe for nearly the next two years. By summer of 1940, only Britain had survived Hitlers European victories.
The dormant European war only went global on June 22, 1941, when Germany suddenly surprise-attacked the Soviet Union, its former partner.
America and Asia were still not directly involved in the 1941 expansion of the war until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and British Malaya on December 7-8.
Yet the war was even then not truly global until Germany and Italy inexplicably declared war on the United States on December 11.
America was suddenly mired in a two-front war on land, sea and in the air against the Axis powers from the Arctic Circle to the Sahara Desert, and from the coast of Florida to China.
These three calamitous events of 1941 marked the real beginning of World War II, in which some 65 million perished, more than 60 percent of them civilians.
Hitler had no need to attack the Soviet Union, a vast country that even Napoleon could not successfully invade and one that was supplying vast amounts of natural resources to his German war machine.
Japan likewise had no reason to bomb the British and Americans in the Pacific. Neither democracy was planning to start a war with the Japanese.
Industrial Japan could have gotten most of its oil from the Dutch East Indies, modern Indonesia. Its colonial master, the Netherlands, had been conquered by Germany and was no longer a colonial power.
An aggressive Japan likewise could easily have had all of Indochina and other orphaned European colonies without triggering a war against the worlds two largest navies.
Had Germany not declared war on the United States after Pearl Harbor, it is likely that America would have focused on Japan and left Britain alone to fight Germany just as it had done since 1939.
So why did the three Axis powers commit such blunders that would lose them the new global war in less than four years?
Nations, like people, are irrational.
After conquering all of Western Europe, Hitlers Germany felt itself invincible. It saw the Soviet Union as weak and ripe for a double-cross.
Japan had carved out large swaths of China and likewise felt all-powerful. It had little respect for an isolationist America, in the same manner that Hitler had discounted Russia.
Italy and Germany ignored the obvious industrial might of the United States. They declared war without calculating that they could not even make an aircraft carrier or four-engine bomber, while America could produce them in huge numbers.
Hitler and Mussolini also never stopped to think that neither power could reach America, while the United States had the potential to bomb Europe and make a military landing there.
All three Axis powers boasted of the superiority of their fascist militaries. But the Germans, Japanese and Italians never paused to add up the populations, resources and economies not to mention the morale and determination of their new global enemies: Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States. Collectively, the Allies enjoyed vastly greater assets than the Axis powers.
What can we learn about the Axis powers disastrous choices of that fateful year, 75 years ago?
Weaker nations often stupidly start wars against stronger ones, especially if they think national strength is judged only by willpower and not by factories, oil, resources, arms and men.
Wars also take on a strange logic of their own. Once the shooting starts, leaders whip up public opinion, seek out new enemies and allies, and delude themselves that their conflict will be neither long nor costly.
Today, terrorist groups such as ISIS and nations such as Russia, China, North Korea and Iran all wrongly believe that much stronger but sometimes directionless Europe and the United States are weakening and have lost deterrence.
In a sane world, it would be utter folly for ISIS to try to repeat a 9/11-like terrorist attack. It makes little sense for Russia to annex the Baltic states in the manner of the Crimea. It would be stupid for China to prompt a sea or air fight with Japan or Taiwan. Nonetheless, all these powers may convince themselves the perceived benefits outweigh the costs.
Iran has concluded that rogue countries that acquired a bomb (North Korea and Pakistan) became more powerful and respected by the West, but nations that gave up their nuclear programs (Libya) or had them dismantled (Syria and Iraq) either were conquered or torn apart.
We should be careful this anniversary year. War starts when weak but aggressive nations are deluded into believing that they are powerful and wrongly conclude that the truly strong and rational are somehow weak.
Contact Victor Davis Hanson author, most recently, of The Father of Us All: War and History, Ancient and Modern by emailing author@victorhanson.com.
2016, Tribune Content Agency, LLC
Columnists get complaints. After my last column (which argued that maybe the economy is better than we say), I got one from Alice Lang of Spartanburg, South Carolina. She accused me (politely) of ignoring the long-term unemployed, of which she is one. After our conversation, I asked her to put her thoughts in an email. Heres what she wrote, slightly edited. Its a powerful counterpoint for me and, I think, for readers. (Note: Lang, an advocate for the long-term unemployed, made similar complaints to a Forbes columnist in 2015.)
Dear Mr. Samuelson,
I dont think you fully understand what it is like to be a well-educated American who has been shut out of the economy. Unfortunately, there are thousands like me who have been unable to restart careers after the Great Recession and are facing frustration and despair as long-term unemployment drags on and on.
I am 54. My background includes a Masters degree in history and a Certificate in Teaching English as a second language (ESL). I have worked as a journalist and was an ESL instructor for five years at a local college before my job was downsized in 2014 due to budget cuts. Since then, I have been unable to find full-time work, even though I have been diligently networking and applying for jobs. I currently write a monthly business column for The Spartanburg Herald-Journal (for free) about employment issues and also write contracts to try to stay solvent.
Although I agree that our economic expectations were raised during the 1990s boom, I dont think it is a false expectation for Americans to want good paying, full-time jobs. Unfortunately, many of the 14 million jobs created (since the employment low-point), which you mention in your column, are low-wage, part-time service jobs which are not what people need in order to support themselves and their families. In Spartanburg, very few white-collar jobs have been created. Instead, the new jobs are in fast-food restaurants and distribution centers, which are popping up everywhere due to our low cost of land.
Every day, I read articles from national newspapers, and I am continually dismayed and angered by journalists that accept without question the government statistics of glowing successes in job creation. Whatever happened to investigative journalism? Why arent reporters looking beyond the statistics to the thousands of real people still suffering from long-term unemployment?
The anger driving this election cycle comes from voters in financial distress. The media is misinformed when they state that only blue-collar workers and uneducated people supported the anti-establishment candidates Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. People in the middle class, who are being pushed into poverty, also supported them.
I care deeply about long-term unemployment because I know first-hand the damage it inflicts on a persons health and well-being. I am very concerned that none of our leaders will admit to the severity of the issue. In past recessions, having a college degree gave one an edge to get back to work. This time, members of the well-educated middle class have been left on the sidelines. As one of the long-term unemployed, I can tell you that we feel voiceless and invisible.
***
Its hard not to be moved. But its also worth remembering that the employment situation has improved. The basic statistics are these: In June, there were nearly 2 million workers who had been unemployed for more than 27 weeks the usual definition of long-term joblessness, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was about a quarter of the 7.8 million unemployed. Both figures were down from their peaks. In April 2010, the long-term unemployed totaled 6.8 million, about 44 percent of the 15.3 million then unemployed. Still, the numbers are meaningless if you cant find a job.
2016, Washington Post Writers Group
If youve recently taken a trip to the Acadian town of Cheticamp, on the west coast of Cape Breton, you may have noticed a modernistic new addition.
In the summer of 2014, Dalhousie Architecture students created an innovative, wooden banana-shaped structure to house the weekly farmers market. This design, known as a gridshell, not only protects vendors and market-goers from the strong southeasterly winds, it also draws in local tourists with its fresh, contemporary look.
The gridshell was created by Dal Architecture students part of a unique design-build course called Coastal Studio. Created by Architecture Professor Ted Cavanagh, its open to students like Sarah Dede and Josh Nieves taking their Master of Architecture (MArch) degrees. The program allows them to work with their hands and see the fine lines of drawings come to life.
A unique learning environment
We had been working in the field for a few years but what we really wanted to do was work with our hands, explains Josh. In offices, you dont quite get it. You can understand how things go together but its completely different when you assemble something yourself.
Architects are always concerned with the final product, but this is teaching us a little bit more about the process to achieving that final product.
Dalhousie has such a long history of amazing design build programs, explains Sarah, who, like Josh, came to Dalhousie from San Antonio, Texas. This program is what sparked our interest in Dalhousie. It sounded really neat and like something we would definitely be interested in. Once we found out we were accepted we were so excited to make the move to Canada.
Currently, Sarah, Josh and other Dalhousie students are working on a gridshell design for the Cape Breton Highlands National Park (below). This will be the fifth and final gridshell from the collaborative series between Dalhousie, the University of Arizona, University of North Carolina Charlotte, and the University of Louisiana Lafayette.
This is a multi-purpose pavilion that will hopefully be used for concerts, weddings, and anything the community wants, says Sarah. We are working really hard to use local materials, too. For instance, the wood we are using for the roof is locally sourced, as is the stone and slate for the flooring.
Theyre trying to pull a younger crowd and audience to the park, adds Josh. Theyre trying to ramp up the infrastructure of the park so more people will want to come check it out.
Bridging the gap
Design-build courses like Costal Studio help set Dals Architecture program apart, and giving students the opportunity to work with their hands while using concepts they have previously learned in class is an incredibly valuable opportunity.
I think Costal Studio really allows students to bridge that gap between class or office work and real life experience in the field, states Sarah. The ideas we learn in class become an Aha! moment when youre out in the field with your tools. Its cool to think to yourself, I remember learning this in class, and then using that knowledge in a real life situation.
Learn more about Coastal Studio and its work at its website.
Hyundai is marking the success of its most famous SUV in the Indian market, the Creta, by bringing out a special Anniversary Edition. We got a glimpse of this car when Hyundai gifted the first SUV of the lot to badminton player Saina Nehwal in July this year during it's unveiling in Banglore. We figured out the changes made on the special Creta and also spoke with Hyundai Dealerships in Delhi which are expecting its arrival soon. So if you are interested in this special Creta, do have a look at the expected changes it will come with.
1. Colour Scheme: Just one! This edition will only be available in white colour. Its a safe choice and we must say, white with all the rest of the bodywork does make this special edition standout
2. Trim: Again, just one! It will be available only on the SX+ trim
3. Engine: Both petrol and diesel engines will be available in this edition
4. Blackened Top: The roof along with pillars will get a glossy black paint. Its a nice contrast overall w.r.t the white colour scheme on offer
5. Body decals: It will endorse the 1 Anniversary Edition decal on the C-pillars while dual colour decal strips in matte grey and red are also a part of the package
6. No chrome bar at the back: Yes, for many who felt that the use of chrome is a bit too loud, Hyundai has made a change at the back. This edition will sport a body-coloured bar at the top of the number plate on the tailgate instead of a chrome set-up.
7. Interiors: On the inside, Hyundai has used a red and black theme to jazz up the interiors. The seats adorn a red layout along with red stitching on the sides. The dashboard also gets the red flavour on the vertically-stacked AC vents while the rest of the cabin gets a black treatment. The steering wheel will be draped in leather. On the whole, the cabin does appear sporty.
8. Only in Manual, No Automatic: From what we could gather, this edition will only be available with manual transmission
On the mechanical front, the engines will remain unaltered. Bookings have started for this edition, Hyundai is expecting deliveries to commence sometime soon. Although, we could not close in on the exact premium that Hyundai will ask for this edition, but one can expect an increase of Rs 35,000-40,000 for the Anniversary Edition Creta.
Source: CarDekho.com
Hyundai India recently marked the completion of a decade-long partnership with the Chennai Port Trust. On this occasion, Hyundai India has received a cheque of Rs 19.69 crore from Cyril C George, the chairman of Chennai Port Trust. The payment comes as a refund of wharfage charges for the 2015-16 fiscal year. Hyundai has exported more than 2 million cars from India since 2006 and has received a total wharfage refund of Rs 165 crore.
After the companys inception in 1996, HMIL started exporting via the Chennai Port from the year 2000. This was followed by a treaty that was signed between Hyundai India and Chennai Port in 2006. Hyundai Motor Company had assigned HMIL as a small car export hub. Prior to the treaty, HMIL exported three lakh cars through the Chennai Port.
Commenting on the occasion, managing director, HMIL, YK Koo said, Exports have been integral to HMIL and we are happy to have had a great partnership with the Chennai Port which has only grown and strengthened over the years. This association has not only helped catapult Hyundai as the No.1 exporter for over a decade, but also helped HMIL play a critical role in Hyundais global operations.
The partnership has been further strengthened as HMIL shipped no less than 800 cars from the Chennai Port to Pipavav in order to realise the latters goal of making coastal RoRo voyages. The maiden Coastal RoRo voyage set sail from the East to the West coast of India.
For Hyundai Motor Company, HMIL plays a critical role in the global export department. HMIL currently exports passenger cars to around 92 countries across Africa, Middle East, Latin America, Australia and the Asia Pacific.
Source: Zigwheels.com
InterGlobe President Aditya Ghosh said IndiGo still expects to have a total of 24 A320neo planes in its fleet by the end of this fiscal year ending March 31, 2017.
New Delhi: Indian budget airline IndiGo might have to delay taking delivery of more Airbus A320neo planes to allow Pratt & Whitney time to sort out engine problems, the carrier's owner said on Monday.
IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Aviation, has ordered 430 A320neo narrow-body aircraft in total, making it one of Airbus's largest customers.
InterGlobe President Aditya Ghosh said IndiGo still expects to have a total of 24 A320neo planes in its fleet by the end of this fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, if there are no delays in taking delivery due to engine problems.
"Pratt & Whitney and Airbus both are trying very hard to fix the issues. Right now we just want them to focus on that and meet those timelines they have given us," Ghosh told a call with analysts.
Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp, has encountered problems with slow engine startup times and erroneous engine software messages in the new engine, already causing a delay in the delivery of planes to customers.
IndiGo, India's largest airline, received its first A320neo in March after a three-month delay and has taken delivery of another four since then.
"Operationally the A320neo continues to be a challenge," Ghosh said, adding that problems with the engines on its existing A320neo planes were making it difficult for IndiGo to maintain flight schedules.
InterGlobe reported a 7 per cent fall in net profit for the fiscal first quarter on Monday, blaming competitive air fares in India's booming aviation market that is clocking up 20 percent annual growth in passenger numbers.
Net profit for the April-June quarter fell to 5.92 billion rupees ($89 million), from 6.39 billion rupees a year ago. Total income from operations at the budget carrier rose 8.7 per cent to 45.79 billion rupees.
IndiGo said it increased its fleet size to 109 during the quarter. The company also reduced its debt by 4.59 billion rupees to 27.86 billion rupees by retiring debt related to three aircraft taken on a finance lease.
Telecom minister Manoj Sinha on Tuesday launched Twitter sewa for redressal of grievances of the citizens in the telecom and postal sectors.
New Delhi: Consumers can now complain about their telecom issues like call drop and over-charging through Twitter to the telecom department.
Telecom minister Manoj Sinha on Tuesday launched Twitter sewa for redressal of grievances of the citizens in the telecom and postal sectors. People having any complaints can tweet to twitter handle of the minister @manojsinhabjp.
The telecom ministry and department of post will henceforth compile a list of complaints from this Twitter Sewa and categorise them into immediate, mid-term and long-term complaints.
Complaints received against any telecom operator and Department of Post (DOP) on my Twitter handle will be communicated to the concerned telecom operator and DOP immediately for quick resolution and better service, Mr Sinha said.
He said that telecom service providers are expected to resolve the complaints forwarded to them under this arrangement. The challenge is gigantic as India has the biggest postal network in the world and the number of mobile-phone subscribers had already crossed 1 billion in January this year.
Therefore, we are aware that complaints are going to pour in from across the country and in great numbers. But I would like to assure you that ministry will rise up to this challenge, he said.
Twitter India Head for news, politics, government Raheel Khursheed said Twitter Sewa platform is free for government departments and the company expects to gain subscribers in the country from this.
Telecom minister also underlined that there are chances that this twitter Sewa may be misused by some rogue elements but he expressed the hope that Twitter authorities will take care of the same. Mr Sinha expressed hope that all parties involved in the scheme shall use the utility of Twitter sewa to the fullest to address the grievances of the public.
The ruling BJP has issued a whip to all its Rajya Sabha MPs to be present in the House, where it is in minority.
New Delhi: Indias biggest tax reform is finally set to become a reality with the main opposition Congress indicating its support for the long-pending constitution amendment bill for GST in the Rajya Sabha, following months of backroom bargaining.
Racing against time to roll out a national goods and services tax (GST) from April next year, the government has listed the Constitution (122nd Amendment) bill, 2014, for discussion and approval in the Upper House on Wednesday.
The ruling BJP has issued a whip to all its Rajya Sabha MPs to be present in the House, where it is in minority.
The government has been working overtime to pass the crucial legislation in the ongoing monsoon session of parliament and has been holding intense consultations with the Congress and other regional political parties to reach a consensus.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley met senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma once more on Monday, besides other leaders to bring about a consensus on the bill.
Following the meeting, Anand Sharma said that his party had reached broad understanding with the government over key provisions of the GST bill.
GST being a constitution amendment bill needs the nod of two-third members. In the 245-member Upper House it needs approval of 163 lawmakers.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has 72 MPs in Rajya Sabha, and hence, the support of other political parties is crucial for the passage of GST.
Lok Sabha had already passed the bill in May last year, but once Rajya Sabha passes the amended bill, it will need to be ratified by the Lower House.
The bill will then need to be ratified by at least 15 states in their respective assemblies before the President gives his assent for its enactment.
First proposed by the Congress in 2006, the GST regime seeks to subsume all indirect taxes levied by the Centre and states and create a common market across the country by removing all fiscal barriers. Policy makers and industry analysts expect GST to boost Indias economic growth by up to 2 per cent.
The GST bill is listed for consideration and passage on Wednesday in Rajya Sabha and we seek support of all political parties. The mood is in favour of its passage, parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar said.
In a meeting of empowered committee of state finance ministers on July 26 almost all the states had come on board on the key provisions of the constitution amendment bill, signalling its passage in the current session of parliament.
It was agreed at that meeting that the 1 per cent additional levy over and above the central and the state GST would be dropped. Subsequently, the next day, the Union cabinet approved the proposal to do away with the levy and also gave its nod for wordings in the bill for full compensation to states in the event of revenue loss from the new tax regime.
With this one, of the key demands put forward by the Congress was met, raising hope for the bills imminent passage.
The other two demands of the Congress were capping the GST rate at 18 per cent in the constitution itself and more say for states in the proposed GST council. As the states in the empowered committee meeting rejected the idea of fixing the threshold for the GST and putting it in the constitution, the Congress was cornered on its demand.
(This story originally appeared on Financial Chronicle)
The complaints lodged through Twitter Sewa will be available to the ministry officials and can be categorised immediate, mid-term and long-term complaints.
New Delhi: Telecom and postal service users can now file complaints with the government directly on social media platform Twitter.
Communications Minister Manoj Sinha launched Twitter Sewa for registration and resolution of complaints.
The complaints lodged through Twitter Sewa will be available to the ministry officials and can be categorised immediate, mid-term and long-term complaints.
With this the department will be able to respond in real-time to complaints, assign it to relevant officers, assign criticality and track the complaints.
"Complaints received against any telecom operator and Department of Post (DOP) on my Twitter handle will be communicated to the concerned telecom operator and DOP immediately for quick resolution and better service," Sinha said.
The platform will also address grievances raised against private players. "I hope both government, Private Telecom service provider make use of this tool fullest to its potential to serve the customer," Sinha said.
Twitter India Head for News, Politics, Government Raheel Khursheed said to register complaints a customer will only need to tweet and the platform will pick key words used in the complaint to forward it to concerned authorities.
"People can use four commands to escalate their complaints. These are #DoTSewa, #BSNLSewa, #MTNLSewa, #PostalSewa," Khursheed said. He said the Twitter Sewa platform is free for government departments and the company expects to gain subscribers in the country from this.
Twitter Sewa platform is being used by Railway, External Affairs and Commerce Ministry. The social media giant is in discussion with the Home Ministry, Health Ministry, MyGov etc for bringing them on to this platform.
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Rabia is demanding a probe by Special Investigation Team (SIT) alleging that CBI, currently investigating the case, had concurred with the finding of the Mumbai police.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday asked Rabia Khan, mother of late actress Jiah Khan whose body was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her house in 2013, to draw a list pointing out anomalies, if any, in the probe made by police and CBI into the death of her daughter.
While Mumbai police and CBI have concluded that it was a case of suicide, Rabia claimed her daughter was murdered and demanded that Jiah's actor boyfriend Sooraj Pancholi should be tried for murder and not for abetment of suicide. Rabia is demanding a probe by Special Investigation Team (SIT) alleging that CBI, currently investigating the case, had concurred with the finding of the Mumbai police, that Jiah's death was a case of suicide and not homicide.
A division bench headed by Justice Naresh Patil asked Rabia to prepare the list of anomalies and submit it on August 23. The bench said the list should have three columns -- one listing anomalies in police probe, the second enumerating anomalies in CBI investigation and the third mentioning Rabia's views on the points left out in the probe.
Rabia's lawyer Dhairyasheel Patil pointed out anomalies saying the probe had not taken into account the BBM (mobile) messages exchanged between Jiah and Sooraj. He claimed Sooraj had deleted these messages but this aspect was not considered in the probe.
Patil also pointed out that the post mortem report had mentioned that Jiah's neck bore an injury mark which indicated she might have been strangulated or assaulted but this too had not been considered by the investigating authorities.
Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, however, said that CBI had consulted on the injury mark an expert from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) who had ruled out murder while asserting that it was a case of suicide. Singh also said that the probe done by CBI was in the right direction and the allegations levelled by Rabia were baseless.
Sooraj was arrested on charge of abetting her suicide on June 10, 2013, a week after the body of the actress was found hanging at her residence here. He was released on July 2, 2013, after the high court granted him bail.
The year 2014 saw Salman Khan make a very interesting debut. He launched his production house SKF (Salman Khan Films) and even released his first film, Dr Cabbie. The production house followed it up with films such as Hero and even the big budget Salman starrer, Bajrangi Bhaijaan. However, all these films so far have had support from another studio, which has a big clout in distribution, not only in India, but worldwide as well. However, in a major development, the actor plans to go completely solo soon, with his next release with Kabir Khan, Tubelight.
A source reveals, Salman has a team at his production house to plan things in advance. He wanted to set up a production house that will be independent with time and will make and release films on its own. Since its inception, they have done a lot of homework and made a strong long-term plan. As for the actor, his stardom is only getting bigger with each release. So the team now feels that the production house can finally handle everything on its own.
Salman is currently in Mumbai and will leave for Ladakh in soon to start shooting for Tubelight. Amar Butala, CEO of Salman Khan Films is overlooking the entire process to ensure nothing goes wrong.
A source adds, Apart from production, SK Films will also market and release the film on its own. Instead of selling their film to a studio, they will be taking on the risk of doing it themselves. Meanwhile, his last release, Sultan, continues its march towards Rs 300 crore.
Leonardo Di-Caprio was recently spotted in Ibiza, Spain, lounging on a private yacht with girlfriend Nina Agdal and his good friend Tobey Maguire.
A few days ago, the Oscar-winning actor took to Twitter to remind fans how important it is to vote for leaders who take climate change seriously. I believe in science. I believe that climate change is real @HillaryClinton. The time is now. Vote, he tweeted, showing his support of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Leo will also host Hillary for a fundraiser later this month, reports Variety.com.
The event on 23 August is priced at $33,400-per-person and is billed as a Conversation with Hillary.
They say the apple doesnt fall too far from the tree and it is true as far as Aparna Shibu is concerned. The daughter of Malayalam director Shibu Balan, Aparna grew up watching her father assisting Sathyan Anthikad in various films before he turned independent through the Sreenivasan-Sangeetha-starrer Nagaravaridhi Naduvil Njaan. In fact, she said that it was to Sathyan Anthikad she first revealed her acting dreams. The ace director encouraged Aparna to follow her dreams and that gave her the confidence to forge ahead. Aparna says, My father is a director and I have hence grown up seeing him work behind the camera.
Though everything looks very easy on screen, there is a lot of hard work involved behind the scenes and I was privy to that. I wanted to know more about the art of film- making but my father wanted me to concentrate on my studies and get a professional degree. Thrissur based Aparna went on to do her B Tech in computer Engineering and later decided to do a course in airport management and find work in Kolkata but she had a small break in between. A happy chain of events was set in motion during the break, about which she explains, My father was doing his film and was looking for assistant directors so he enquired if I would be able to assist? I did not have anything to do at that moment and so ended up assisting him. I was in charge of costume continuity and though it is only a small part of a huge canvas, I understood how important and integral each phase is to the overall perfection of a film! I also knew that I had to assist in a lot more films to glean experience about film making. Meanwhile she worked in a bank but found the work pace too hectic so she decided to quit her job. Though Aparna has done various jobs, she emphasizes, I like doing a lot of things but my ultimate aim is films."
Currently the pretty girl is donning the avatar of a VJ for a leading channel about which she says, I got a call from the channel and did an audition after which I was selected. It was out of curiosity that I started VJing but I have come to love my job now. Meanwhile her film dreams are in place and she adds, I want to act and I received an offer but the project did not take off. I want to start my innings through a good banner. My father prefers not to launch me and he too advised me to start off with a good banner. So the wait is on.
The fight between junior artistes association and the rest of Tollywood took an ugly turn as each party unleashed charges against each other after the attack on producer Achchi Babu.
According to sources, the agents of some junior artistes allegedly barged into the producers guest house with goons on July 26, physically assaulted him and forced him to sign blank cheques and promissory notes seeking immediate payment of their dues. The total remuneration for the junior artists was totalled to the tune of Rs 15.5 lakh.
Condemning the attack on Achchi Babu, actor Manchu Manoj alleged, The junior artistes associations of Vizag have no affiliation to the Film Federation of Hyderabad. These associations are mostly hiring non-card holders as junior artists for peanuts. They have formed into a syndicate and turn into dictators for producers and artistes.
Achchi Babu is the producer of Manojs upcoming film, the shooting of which has been going on at a set erected near Muthyalamma Palem near Parawada in Vizag for the past 15 days.
By bringing non-card holders, who have no experience with shooting, at least two hours of our time are wasted each day to train them. I had already paid `10 lakh and we were in talks with them over their pay, but they made threatening calls and attacked me. After making us pay Rs 850 for each artistes a day, they pay them just Rs 250 to Rs 350, Achchi Babu said.
Director Ajay Andrews alleged that the agents, who were acting as leaders of junior artistes associations, were also part of other unions, including drivers unions. According to Parawada CI B.Ch. Swami Naidu, both parties, including the producer and junior artistes agents, lodged complaints against each other on Monday night.
Manchu Manoj turns Tiger
Manchu Manoj is all set to don the role of an LTTE commander in his upcoming film, tentatively titled as Okkadu Migiladu under the banner of SNR Films. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Manoj said that he would play two roles in two different time periods 1990 and 2016.
We felt that Vizag was the apt location for this periodic drama set in the 90s and our producer erected a `75-lakh set. Major sequences of the film were already shot with military helicopters, artillery guns and 600 fighters in 15 days. The film has historic significance and takes a peek into LTTE operations, reveals Manoj.
The changes come as McDonald's competes with other restaurant chains that are overhauling their menus to make them more appealing to health-conscious consumers. (Photo: Pixabay)
Oak Brook, Illinois: McDonald's Corp has removed chickens raised with antibiotics that are important to human medicine from its U.S. supply chain months ahead of schedule, part of its drive to target increasingly health-conscious consumers.
The fast food company also said it is removing artificial preservatives from Chicken McNuggets and several breakfast items and rolling out new hamburger buns that do not contain high fructose corn syrup.
The changes come as McDonald's competes with other restaurant chains that are overhauling their menus to make them more appealing to consumers seeking healthier options.
McDonald's is "more customer-obsessed than ever before," McDonald's USA President Mike Andres told reporters. Some health experts have raised concerns that the overuse of antibiotics for poultry may diminish their effectiveness in fighting disease in humans.
The company had previously planned to phase out chickens raised with antibiotics important to human medicine by March 2017. It completed the move earlier due to quicker than expected work by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which helped to verify that the birds were not given the drugs, said Marion Gross, senior vice president of McDonald's North American supply chain.
Artificial preservatives will be removed from McDonald's pork sausage patties, eggs served on McGriddles sandwiches and scrambled eggs served on breakfast platters, according to the company.
The American Heart Association recommends two servings of fatty fish like salmon or albacore tuna per week.
Omega-3 fatty acid supplements may help the heart heal itself after a heart attack, according to a new study
High doses, derived from fish oil and taken daily for six months after a heart attack, helped reduce scarring in the heart muscle and increase its ability to pump blood, researchers found.
"Omega-3 fatty acids have been studied for decades and have a direct beneficial effect on the heart," said senior author Dr. Raymond Y. Kwong, director of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
But in two trials of fish oil for heart attack survivors, the results had been conflicting, he said.
One trial found that the supplements did reduce the risk of death shortly after heart attack, while another found no benefit. Those trials administered one gram of the supplement per day.
For the new study, 360 heart attack survivors were randomly assigned to take either omega-3 supplements or a placebo, starting within a month of hospitalization and continued for six months.
Patients in the omega-3 group took four times the dose as those in the previous two trials: four one-gram capsules of Lovaza, a prescription fish oil, every day. The placebo group took corn oil capsules.
All patients received lifestyle counseling and were monitored by doctors to make sure their drug regimens did not interact adversely with additional fish oil or placebo pills. They had cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before starting the capsules and after therapy six months later, according to a report released by the journal Circulation.
After six months, compared to the placebo group, those in the fish oil group had less fibrosis, or thickening and scarring, of the heart muscle in the region of the heart attack. The also had less blood left in the left ventricle of the heart after the heart muscle fully contracted, which means the heart was pumping more effectively.
Some people are better able to absorb and utilize fish oil, and those with the biggest increase in red blood cell levels of omega-3 levels had a 13 per cent reduction in leftover blood in the left ventricle, compared to a 6 per cent reduction for the fish oil group overall.
There was some concern that very high doses of fish oil would increase the risk of bleeding for patients who are already taking blood thinners and other medications after heart attack, but there were no adverse effects in the study, Kwong said.
"The initial insult of a heart attack will damage a part of the heart muscle, which dies, so the rest of the heart muscle has to work extra hard," Kwong said. The heart pump function is weaker and scar tissue develops, and over time these two processes can lead to heart failure, he said.
Though heart attack survival has greatly increased with improved treatments, heart failure later is still common, he said.
Past research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids help reduce inflammation.
"We know that things like the degree of cardiac damage and cardiac dysfunction are important factors, however the data from the current paper suggest that other factors, such as inflammation, may also play a role," said Andrew J. Taylor of the department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, who was not part of the study.
"This is an important observation as it suggests another avenue for intervention to improve patients' outcomes" after a heart attack, Taylor told Reuters Health by email.
But there needs to be more data on how to translate these findings to improved patient outcomes, he said.
Based on these results, it seems logical that patients who take omega-e supplements will have a lower risk of heart failure later than those in the placebo group, although this study didn't look at that, Kwong said.
Insurance does not currently cover high-dose fish oil prescriptions for heart attack patients, and commercially available non-prescription fish oil supplements are not regulated for safety or consistent dose in the same way, he said.
"There's no way" that eating fish will provide the same amount of omega-3 that patients got in this trial, although in general it's not a bad idea to try to eat more fatty fish, Kwong said. The American Heart Association recommends two servings of fatty fish like salmon or albacore tuna per week.
Chennai: Though there are many who love to sleep, and can do so at any hour, there are some others who sleep for barely three to four hours a day. Doctors say both excessive sleep and lack of it can result in individuals developing diseases like diabetes and hypertension.
Sleep is one of the most essential requirements of the body that needs to be fulfilled in order to keep the body healthy. It has been found that over the years, the average number of sleep hours has been reducing among the public, said diabetologist Maduhmati. R. Reducing the number of hours of sleep even for only a week can result in the development of early diabetes, she added.
A majority of todays population are workaholics and sleep is secondary for many of them. There is only a limit of stress that the body can handle, said counsellor Nilam. P.
Too little rest disrupts your bodys circadian rhythm, which if disturbed, results in the body becoming less responsive to insulin, a hormone the helps cells turn sugar into energy. It is then that the body develops diabetes, said diabetologist K.Thomas.
Another factor for the lack of sleep is light. Many tend to forget the importance of sleeping in darkness. Being exposed to regular patterns of light and dark regulates our circadian rhythm, added Thomas.
Doctors say it is not only lack of sleep that can affect the body, but too much sleep can put a person at a great risk for type 2 diabetes. Many do not know when is the right time to sleep. People tend to stay up all night and sleep in the mornings. There are some others who sleep right after stuffing themselves with food. Such factors can also increase the risk for diabetes, added Madhumati.
Though my days are usually hectic, I make it a point to take my afternoon nap. Doctors had told me that it helps serve as a stress buster. However, it was only after my health started getting affected, did I become aware of the fact that sleeping on a full stomach is not advisable, said Pushpalatha (43), a Mylapore resident.
London: If you want to keep the sexual attraction alive in long-term relationships, then be responsive to each others needs outside the bedroom.
A new study, by American and Israeli scientists suggests, women reacted more strongly to responsiveness than men, but males also felt the benefits, reports the Independent.
A hundred couples kept a diary for three weeks for the study and reported on the sexual desire they felt for their partner, in addition to their perceptions of how responsive their partner was.
The results, which found sexual desire increased along with responsiveness, were reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
According to Gurit Birnbaum, a psychology professor at the Interdisciplinary Centre in Herzliya, Israel, who co-authored the paper, Our research shows that partners who are responsive to each other outside the bedroom are able to maintain their sexual desire.
Responsive partners, who are aware of their companions emotional needs, demonstrate a high level of understanding of their spouse and are thought to have deeply invested in a relationship.
Responsiveness, which is a type of intimacy. is so important in a relationship because it signals that one is really concerned with the welfare of the other, but in a way that is truly open and informed about what the other cares about and wants, Birnbaum said.
Sexual desire thrives on increasing intimacy and being responsive is one of the best ways to instil this elusive sensation over time; better than any pyrotechnic sex, he added.
Bulandshahr: Days after a teenage girl and her mother were dragged out of their car and gangraped in UP's Bulandshahr, it has emerged that the doctors at a hospital where they were taken for treatment had refused to believe the victims.
Recalling the nightmare, the victim's mother said that her daughter was profusely bleeding when they were taken to a nearby government hospital.
"I had bruises all over...my daughter was bleeding...but the doctor didn't believe us. She said we were lying about her condition," the victims mother was quoted in an NDTV report.
The victim's mother said that the female doctor refused to believe that they were raped. She added that her daughter was shaking and desperate when the doctor told her to sit quietly in a corner.
In the aftermath of the incident, the family of the 13-year-old girl and her mother has threatened to commit suicide if the accused were not punished within three months.
"We were looted, beaten up and we all know what they did to my daughter...I want my wife and daughter to punish them. If they are not punished within three months, then all three of us will commit suicide," said the minor victim's father, a cab driver whose family was attacked by a group of bandits on Friday night.
The dacoits had brutally raped the woman and her daughter at gunpoint after dragging them out of a car in Bulandshahr on NH-91 when they were travelling with their family from Noida to Shahjahanpur.
"There were seven-eight men. They tied our hands and feet and beat us. They kept beating us even when we begged for water or we made any movement," the 39-year-old man said, alleging that they did not get any help on dialing police control room number 100.
Uttar Pradesh Police had on Sunday arrested Naresh (25), Bablu (22) and Rais (28) -- and detained a dozen others after launching a massive hunt for the dacoits suspected to be behind the crime.
The DGP, who had visited the spot of crime, said the Special Task Force of UP Police was on the job.
Shahjahanpur district administration has extended security to the family members of Bulandshahr gangrape victims as demanded by them.
District magistrate Pushpa Singh, who met the family members of the victims on Tuesday in Kalan area, said directives have been issued to the police to provide security to the family.
"As demanded by the family, they have been assured of arms licence at the earliest," she said.
Besides Lohiya Awas and old-age pension, the grandfather of the victim will also get monetary help through the Rani Laxmibai Samman, Singh said, adding the locality of their native house will also be electrified.
She said all necessary help will be provided to the family by the administration.
No one has been arrested so far, and the district child welfare committee has directed a team to probe the incident. (Representational photo: Videograb)
New Delhi: Taking corporal punishment to a whole new level, a class four student of Nushrat Ali Islamic Madrasa in Haryana was chained by the authorities in a bid to prevent him for bunking classes.
According to reports, the matter came to light when the father of the student lodged a police complaint demanding stern action against the school authorities, claiming that his son was chained for completing his homework. On investigation, it was revealed that the teachers in the madrasa took this uncommon step to prevent him from fleeing home to the madrasa without completing his course work.
"We did it to stop him from fleeing home during school hours," teachers reportedly told the police.
No one has been arrested so far, and the district child welfare committee has directed a team to probe the incident.
Two teachers have been charged with various Sections of the IPC, including 506 (threatening to life) and the Juvenile Justice Act.
A loud explosion was heard on the premises of the Mysuru District Court in Mysuru on Monday. A bomb squad was dispatched and two suspicious bags were found (Photo: KPN)
BENGALURU: Forensic experts, who examined the spot at Principal District Judge Court Complex in Mysuru where a low-intensity bomb exploded on Monday evening, said that the blast was similar to the simultaneous minor blasts that had taken place at the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) party offices in Bengaluru about eleven years ago in August 2005.
An official in the Forensic Sciences Laboratory (FSL) told Deccan Chronicle that in Mysuru, the miscreants had kept the explosive inside a pressure cooker. He termed the act a mischief and an attempt to create a scare.
Further, FSL experts who visited the spot, opined that the incident was similar to the blasts that occurred at the party offices of Congress and JD(S) on August 26, 2005. After the inspection, the team has found some similarities between the Mysuru court incident and the blast at the offices of political parties, he said.
Incidentally, the blasts at both the offices also took place in August. Explosions had taken place at both offices almost at the same time on a Friday evening. No casualties were reported in both incidents. In the JD(S) office blast, a windowpane in the toilet was damaged, while no much damage was reported at the Congress office, where the explosion took place in the cellar.
The girls family had repeatedly filed complaints against Senthil, but the police allegedly took no action. (Photo: Representational Image)
Chennai: A 32-year-old man broke into a house in Puducherry, poured kerosene and set himself on fire. He died the same evening.
According to a report in NDTV, Senthil, a driver, had been stalking a 17-year-old girl for over a year, but she had rebuffed his advances repeatedly, which angered him. One afternoon, when the girls parents were not home, Senthil barged into the house, set himself on fire and then hugged the girl so she would also burn alive.
While Senthil is now dead, the girl has been hospitalised with 75% burn injuries.
A year ago, Senthil had accused the girl's family of chopping off his right leg and arm.
A police investigation revealed, however, that he lost the limbs because he was sprawled on a train track in a drunken state.
The girls family had repeatedly filed complaints against Senthil, but the police allegedly took no action.
The report comes months after Infosys techie Swathi S was hacked to death at a train station in Chennai. Like the girls parents, Swathi had also complained to the police about her stalker, to no avail.
Madhavan on Sunday went to his wifes parents house had a quarrel with her and forcibly took the child and smashed it on the wall in anger, police said.
TIRUVARUR: In a bizarre case of infanticide, the Tiruvarur district Police arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly murdering his four-month-old male baby by thrashing him against a wall at Annukudi village near here on Monday.
The accused Madhavan, married Vaishanavi of Maruthapatnam couple of years ago, after a love affair and the couple recently had a baby. However, his wife, resenting her husbands torture demanding more dowry, had gone back to her parents home.
Madhavan on Sunday went to his wifes parents house had a quarrel with her and forcibly took the child and smashed it on the wall in anger, police said.
The infant was rushed to the Government medical college hospital Tiruvarur, where he succumbed to his injuries on Monday. Police arrested Madhavan and are investigating.
Mumbai: Abu Jundal, the key plotter of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, was handed life term along with six others in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case on Tuesday by a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court.
The case is related to seizure of huge amount of arms, ammunition and explosives by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in 2006.
Besides Jundal, six other convicts--Mohammed Aamir Sheikh, Billal Ahmed, Sayed Akif, Afroz Khan, Mohammed Aslam Kashmiri and Faizal Ataur Rehman (who is on death row in the July 11, 2006 Mumbai train bombings case)-- were handed out life by designated Judge Shrikant Anekar.
Prounoucing the sentence, the court said that all the seven convicts will serve imprisonment till their (natural) life.
Also, two other convicts--Mohammed Mujaffar Tanvir and Dr Mohammed Sharif-- were handed out 14 years of imprisonment while three others--Mushtaq Ahmed, Javed Ahmed and Afzal Khan were awarded eight years imprisonment.
The court while sentencing all the 12 convicted, on Tuesday observed that it has taken into consideration the gravity of offence, lack of remorse (of the accused) and potential effect on common man in the case.
On July 28, ten years after ATS recovered a huge haul of arms near Aurangabad, the special court had convicted 12 persons and acquitted eight others in the case but had dropped the stringent MCOCA charge against them.
Read: MCOCA court convicts Abu Jundal, 12 others in arms haul case
Out of total 22 accused in the case, the court last week acquitted eight others while trial of two accused was separated as one of them was declared hostile after he turned approver, while another accused is absconding.
On May 8, 2006, a Maharashtra ATS team chased a Tata Sumo and an Indica car on Chandwad-Manmad Highway near Aurangabad and arrested three terror suspects and seized 30kg of RDX, 10 AK-47 assault rifles and 3,200 bullets.
Jundal, allegedly driving the Indica, managed to give police the slip.
The court had observed that the accused had a common thought process and wanted to wage "jihad". The judge had also accepted prosecution's case that the accused wanted to strike terror in the minds of the people and wanted to eliminate public figures like (the then) Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi and Hindu leader Praveen Togadia (of VHP).
The judge had also said that the accused wanted to avenge developments that unfolded after the 2002 Godhra riots. According to police, after the ATS intercepted the vehicles, Jundal, who hails from Beed district, drove to Malegaon and a few days later he escaped to Bangladesh from where he fled to Pakistan.
Jundal was deported to India from Saudi Arabia in 2012. Later, charges were framed against the arrested accused in August 2013.
The MCOCA court had last week convicted Jundal under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Explosives Act, Explosive Substance Act and Indian Penal Code, while others under varying charges. Charges against them under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) were, however, dropped.
The court had accepted the prosecution's contention that the cache of arms and ammunitions that the ATS had intercepted from two cars had originally been procured from Pakistan. While convicting Jundal, and 11 others, the court had observed that ATS could not substantiate the charges of MCOCA against them, even as it accepted direct and substantial evidence presented by the agency in the case.
The special court had framed charges against the 22 accused in August 2013.
During the trial, the prosecution examined 100 witnesses while defence lawyers examined 16.
The court had granted bail to ten accused during the trial. The trial was stayed by the Supreme Court for a while after one of the accused challenged constitutional validity of certain provisions of MCOCA. The stay was eventually vacated in 2009.
The Bombay High Court had also earlier directed the lower court to expedite the trial.
The state police was using all its resources to nab the other accused said Director General of UP Police.
Lucknow: The three men arrested in the Bulandshahr gangrape case were identified by the victims, police said on Tuesday even as opposition parties accused ruling SP of "protecting" criminals ahead of Assembly polls and a senior minister suggesting that it could be an outcome of a political conspiracy against the UP government.
Director General of UP Police Javed Ahmed said, "The names of other accused are almost clear and efforts are on to arrest them."
The three men who have been arrested, were identified by the victims, he said, adding that the state police was using all its resources to nab the other accused.
Uttar Pradesh Police had on Sunday arrested Naresh (25), Bablu (22) and Rais (28) -- and detained a dozen others after launching a massive hunt for the dacoits suspected to be behind the crime.
The DGP, who had visited the spot of crime, said the Special Task Force of UP Police was on the job. Meanwhile, the family of the 13-year-old girl and her mother, who were gangraped at gunpoint, has threatened to commit suicide if the accused were not punished within three months.
"We were looted, beaten up and we all know what they did to my daughter...I want my wife and daughter to punish them. If they are not punished within three months, then all three of us will commit suicide," said the minor victim's father, a cab driver whose family was attacked by a group of bandits on Friday night.
The dacoits had brutally raped the woman and her daughter at gunpoint after dragging them out of a car in Bulandshahr on NH-91 when they were travelling with their family from Noida to Shahjahanpur.
"There were seven-eight men. They tied our hands and feet and beat us. They kept beating us even when we begged for water or we made any movement," the 39-year-old man said, alleging that they did not get any help on dialing police control room number 100.
Accusing the Samajwadi Party government of "protecting and appeasing" criminals ahead of the Assembly polls scheduled next year, BJP asked Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to seek a CBI probe in the gangrape case if he has any "shame" left.
Meanwhile, senior SP leader and UP minister Azam Khan has kicked up a controversy by suggesting that the Bulandshahr case could be an outcome of a political conspiracy against the ruling party, drawing condemnation from rival parties.
Khan, who was in Rampur yesterday, termed the gangrape of the 13-year-old girl and her mother as an attempt to "malign" the SP government by those who want to "come to power" in poll-bound UP.
Una incident resulted in widespread agitation by Dalits following which several political leaders had met the victims at their village and Rajkot hospital. (Photo: PTI)
Lucknow: After Gujarat, Dalits in Lucknow shudder to touch a dead cow to skin it for a living after "gau rakshaks" (vigilantes) thrashed two of their community members on suspicion of cow slaughter here last week.
Scared of being beaten up, some members of the community approached their contractors to take up their case with the Lucknow Municipal Corporation or other authorities after some of them were assaulted in Takrohi area in Indira Nagar here on July 28.
"We are aware of the matter and have lodged a complaint with the police against unidentified persons," Additional Municipal Commissioner Avaneesh Saxena told PTI.
He said the Lucknow Municipal Corporation has also requested police and the district administration to provide security to them so that they can lift carcasses and skin them.
He said as an immediate precautionary measure, photo identity cards would be issued to contractual workers engaged in such task.
The community members have decided not to lift carcasses till they were issued such identity cards to ensure their security. There have been complaints of increased attacks on the Dalit community members in the city in the past six months.
They have been attacked while transporting a dead cow on the civic body's call to lift dead animals so that these do not rot in front of people's houses.
They have often complained that when they go to dispose of the carcasses after skinning them, they are attacked by cow vigilantes who charge them with slaughtering the animal.
Dejected over the non-implementation of their rights issued by the state government, as many as 5,000 people from the Christian community will come together on August 25 for a Maha sammelan to register their protest at Bheemili. (Representational image)
Visakhapatnam: Dejected over the non-implementation of their rights issued by the state government, as many as 5,000 people from the Christian community will come together on August 25 for a Maha sammelan to register their protest at Bheemili. Christians in Andhra Pradesh are a dejected lot as they are unable to enjoy the facilities extended by the government towards them. The RTI replies received from Mandal revenue officers (MRO), district collectors and minority welfare officers from the state, reflect the apathy shown by the various offices towards the GOs issued by the government to safeguard the interest of the minorities, claimed Oliver Rayi, founder president Christian Welfare Association (Bheemili).
The state government had issued various GOs for the welfare and protection of the Christian community, but implementation of those are at stake due to callousness of the ground-level officials, he alleged. For instance, there was a GO in 2009 directing all MROs to constitute a Burial Ground Advisory Board and through that take necessary steps for setting up and running a Christian burial ground, but till date the majority of the MROs have failed to do the same, he said.
The 10-year action plan for the development of minorities is yet to be framed. Christians could avail the fund to build churches under government schemes, but to no avail. Similarly, there is apathy being shown in issuing various certificates, he alleged. We will take our woes to the political leaders urging them to direct the concerned officials to take necessary action towards the problems of the Christians. We will also sensitise our community people about their rights they are privileged for, said Rayi. This maha sammelan will later be taken to all district headquarters in a phased manner. Even so, if the woes of the Christians were not addressed, the community has threatened to launch a statewide movement.
Jammu and Kashmir's Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh said that the state and central governments were mulling special drives to recruit youths in police, army and other forces. (Photo: Representational Image/PTI)
Jammu: Army would soon hold a special drive to recruit youths in Paddar belt of Kishtwar. Stressing the need to create employment in the state, especially in the far-flung areas, Jammu and Kashmir's Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh said that the state and central governments were mulling special drives to recruit youths in police, army and other forces.
"The youth of Paddar belt will soon get an opportunity to join the Indian Army as the Defence Ministry has agreed to hold a special drive in the area," he said at a public meeting after laying the foundation stone of a Rs 2.24 crore power project in Kishtwar on Monday.
He called on the youth to find self-employment. There are schemes under which the government provides financial aid and expertise to set up income-generating units, Singh said.
The deputy chief minister said a special thrust is being laid on extending road connectivity to all parts of the state.
"Under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Jammu and Kashmir has received funding of Rs 2,800 crore to provide road link to all areas," he said, adding that soon road projects would also be taken up in Paddar area to connect the villages.
Singh said land for 'Model College' proposed for the area has been identified and campus building would soon begin.
Listing other projects proposed for Kishtwar, he said the construction of an airstrip in Kishtwar town would add a new dimension to the development of the hill-district.
"The pilgrim and leisure tourism would get a fresh lease of life with the start of air service to the district," he said.
The arrested woman is suspected to be the wife of Rashid who is the prime suspect behind the 21 missing youths from the state. (Representational Image)
Kasaragod: A 29-year-old woman from Bihar, suspected to have links with the alleged recruitment of youths from Kerala to Islamic State (IS), is being questioned here by the state police after being taken into custody from New Delhi.
The woman, identified as Yasmin Ahmed, was arrested by a special team of Kerala police from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi when she was about to leave the country for Kabul on Sunday, police said.
She allegedly had close connections with Abdul Rashid, a native of Kasaragod, who is the prime suspect behind the 21 missing youths from the state.
She was brought here last evening and produced before a local court after detailed interrogation, a senior police official said.
"We took her into custody from New Delhi and brought her here yesterday. She was charged under various sessions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). A court here later remanded her to judicial custody," Kanhangad Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunil Babu told PTI.
The woman is suspected to be the second wife of Rashid and is believed to have played a key role in the alleged recruitment of state youths to IS, the official added.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, referring to reports that some Keralites had joined IS, had informed the Assembly on July 11 that 21 persons were missing from the state.
Among them, 17 were from Kasaragod and four from Palakkad as per preliminary information available, he had said.
As per media reports, these people had gone to Syria and Afghanistan and were in IS camps, he said.
The BSF patrol party had been sent to apprehend the smugglers who were trying to smuggle cattle from Leusipakuri border outpost and had seized 34 cows though they could not apprehend anyone. (Photo: Representational Image)
Kolkata: Six BSF personnel were seriously injured when a patrol team of the force was attacked by about 100 cattle smugglers with sticks and sharp weapons near a border outpost in Siliguri on Tuesday.
The BSF patrol party had been sent to apprehend the smugglers who were trying to smuggle cattle from Leusipakuri border outpost and had seized 34 cows though they could not apprehend anyone.
"But when we were returning with the cattle to hand them over to police, around 100 cattle smugglers attacked us with sticks and sharp weapons. They also tried to seize the cattle.
Around six to seven of our jawans were seriously injured," a senior official of BSF's North Bengal Frontier said.
"In order to stop them we had to fire around six rounds in the air to disperse the smugglers," he said.
West Bengal is a hub for cattle smuggling because of the high demand for beef in neighbouring Bangladesh. Cattle from almost all over the country are sent to the state to be smuggled to Bangladesh.
However, cattle smugglers are finding it difficult to carry on in recent months after the vigil on the border has been enhanced to stop their activity.
Lucknow: With the Akhilesh-led government facing Opposition ire over the Bulandshahr gangrape case, UP minister Azam Khan on Tuesday alleged that the incident could be a political conspiracy to defame his government ahead of the Uttar Pradesh polls.
Hinting that the Congress could be behind the alleged gangrape of the 34-year-old woman and her minor daughter, who were robbed and raped at gunpoint in Bulandshahr, Azam said that a probe must be launched to investigate the truth.
We must also probe whether this entire controversy is a move by some Opposition elements to defame the government. People who want to come to power may be stooping this low for political interests, Azam told the media on Monday evening.
The victim's family sharply reacted to his claims, and a relative said that Azam Khan 'has gone mad'.
"Azam Khan pagalpan ka shikaar ho gaye hain (Azam Khan is suffering from madness)," said the victim's uncle to the media.
Khan had claimed that the Opposition would not shy from stooping to desperate levels to sling mud at the ruling government in the state.
If the Congress can instigate 1000 riots in the country for votes, if for votes Gujarat can happen, if Muzzaffarnagar, Shamli and Kairana can happen, then why not this. Had Gandhi been alive, all this might have not happened, but they even got him killed, Khan added.
Read: Deliver justice or will commit suicide, threaten UP gangrape survivors' kin
A gang of dacoits had brutally raped a woman and her 13-year-old daughter at gunpoint after dragging them out of a car in Bulandshahr on NH-91 when they were travelling with their family from Noida to Shahjahanpur on Friday night.
Uttar Pradesh Police had on Sunday arrested the three accused -- Naresh (25), Bablu (22) and Rais (28) and detained a dozen others after launching a massive hunt for the dacoits suspected to be behind the highway crime.
Facing flak from opposition, the state government had suspended five officers, including district SSP Vaibhav Krishna.
New Delhi: A defiant AAP MP Bhagwant Mann on Monday told a committee set up to probe his Parliament House videography issue that he has not breached the security, which members said was a contradiction as he has already tendered an unconditional apology for his act to the Speaker.
Mann was grilled by the committee for nearly one-and-a- half hours during which he maintained that he has not breached security of the high security complex. He is learnt to have reiterated his demand that the ambit of the panel be extended to summon the Prime Minister for "inviting" ISI personnel to the Pathankot airbase in the aftermath of a terror strike there in January. "In a way he was not repenting. He asked for more time and said he cannot appear tomorrow. We have asked him on August 3 now," said a panel member.
Last week, in a five-page letter, Mann had refused to tender an unqualified apology and had demanded that the prime minister too be summoned before the committee. Since the committee has to submit its report on August 3 to the Lok Sabha Speaker, it may seek an extension. "We were mandated to find out whether Mann has breached security and if he has, the action which needed to be taken.
The other task is to recommend how such breaches can be prevented in the future. But so far we have not touched upon this aspect as we have concentrated on Mann. We may need more time now," said another member.
At the meeting today, several members were "cut up" as Mann's response was considered as "contradictory and confusing". Members pointed out to him that while he wants the panel to be wound up as he has not committed a breach, on the other hand he wants its ambit to include the Prime Minister.
While most members want the panel to recommend "stringent action", others want him to have his final say on Wednesday before taking a final call. In the nearly 12-minute video, apparently shot on July 21, Mann gives a running commentary as his vehicle crosses security barricades and enters Parliament. "I'll today show you something you would not have seen earlier," he says. Mann then enters a room where questions to be taken up inside Parliament are being sorted and describes the process.
According to WHOs status of vaccine development: The first dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia (CYD-TDV) by Sanofi Pasteur, was first registered in Mexico in December, 2015.
Bengaluru: French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur told Deccan Chronicle how the vaccine, Dengvaxia, would be of great help considering the whopping number of dengue cases across the country and city.
Sanofis dengue vaccine is the first such vaccine approved. It has been proved effective against all four serotypes of the disease, said Jean-Pierre Baylet, Country Head, Sanofi Pasteur India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. He said the vaccine "can prevent more than 80% of hospitalisations and up to 93% of severe dengue cases in the targeted 9-year and older, at-risk population."
It has been eight months since the worlds first dengue vaccine was introduced. Since December 2015, when Sanofis dengue vaccine was first approved in Mexico, it was given the nod in Brazil, the Philippines, El Salvador, and Costa Rica. Sadly, the vaccine couldn't see the light of the day in India because there is a three-level approval process for new drugs and vaccines, with applications scrutinised by an expert committee (SEC), a technical committee and an apex committee.
In India, Sanofi Pasteur is cooperating fully with the Indian regulatory authorities to find the best solution," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said that a clinical development programme (Phase I, Phase II and Phase III) involving over 40,000 people of different ages, geographies and epidemiological settings, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds from 15 countries around the world has been conducted. Our vaccine was the first to successfully complete phase III clinical efficacy and safety studies in dengue-endemic countries," he added.
In 2015, a pooled efficacy analysis of the two Phase III study results, including 25 months of follow-up, reported that the vaccine is 65.6% effective in preventing dengue irrespective of the serotype and severity. WHO recommends that countries should consider introduction of the dengue vaccine CYD-TDV only in geographic settings where epidemiological data indicate a high burden of disease.
On pricing, he said, Based on our program-based pricing policy, the public price can differ between countries; i.e, it will decrease with increasing number of age cohorts to encourage large immunisation programmes. Furthermore, in all the countries where we have conducted cost-effectiveness analysis studies to date, Sanofi Pasteurs dengue vaccine has been shown to be at least cost-effective.
Saeed, who is carrying a USD 10 million US bounty on his head, warned the government that Singh's presence in Islamabad may create unrest among Kashmiris. (Photo: AFP/PTI)
New Delhi: A day before Home Minister Rajnath Singh visits to Pakistan amidst threats of protest by LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, the BSF on Tuesday said it was sure the Pak Rangers and other authorities there will take adequate measures to foil the plans of the terror mastermind.
Calling Saeed's plans of undertaking massive protests and march towards the Attari-Wagah border when Singh steps on Pakistani soil a "political" move, Border Security Force chief K K Sharma said the border guarding forces on both sides have been "sensitised" and they will ensure that the SAARC Home Ministers meeting to be held tomorrow in Islamabad is not disrupted.
Read: Hafiz Saeed warns of nationwide protests if Rajnath Singh visits Pakistan
"This (Saeed's protest call) is the internal matter of Pakistan and I am very sure that my counterparts Pak Rangers are more than competent to handle this issue. I am sure this (Saeed's threat) is not going to disrupt the SAARC meeting. Hafiz Saeed will not be successful," he said.
Sharma, who only last week returned from Pakistan after holding the annual bilateral Director General-level talks with the Rangers, said both the forces have also discussed measures to mount effective vigil at the Attari-Wagah border which is thronged by large crowds that witness the daily retreat ceremony in the evening.
Read: Rajnath Singh to attend SAARC meet in Islamabad as scheduled
A blast in 2014 at Wagah on the Pakistan side had killed over 50 people after the retreat ceremony got over.
"Yes, this was one issue that was taken up with Pak Rangers, both of us are conscious of the fact that the threat is there and consequently we both have strengthened our security measures. We have done it on our side (of the border) and they have done it on their side. I am sure they (Rangers) will handle it (Saeed's threat to march towards Wagah) well," he said on the sidelines of an event here.
Read: SAARC summit: Rajnath may submit proof against Pak for sponsoring terror
The BSF DG added at least four battalions of the force (about 4,000 personnel) have been recently deployed on the Punjab frontier and two in Jammu to further fortify security measures and the counter-infiltration grid along the Indo-Pak International Border (IB) running along the two states.
"The LoC in Kashmir is under army and I would not like to comment on that," he said when asked about similar measures in this area.
Sharma said new equipment have been provided to the BSF troops guarding the border even as the intelligence gathering mechanism has been strengthened.
"I am happy to say that there has been no infiltration in the IB areas guarded by us in Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat in the last 8-10 months.
"The BSF in its area of responsibility is fully prepared against infiltration bids. We cannot stop them from occurring but can thwart them. We will not allow them (infiltrators) to succeed," Sharma said.
The DG added it was important for them and the Rangers to keep talking. "I feel it is always better to keep open the channels of communication because it is through talks only that we can sort out things," he added.
About a proposal to install a high-mast Indian tricolour along the Attari-Wagah border front, the DG said the BSF was "for it" and developments are taking place on this front.
"Officially we have not taken it up with Pakistan. As per norms nothing can be created about 150 metres from the zero line at the border and this flag that will be installed is proposed to be further behind this. We support it fully and we welcome it," he said
The DG added a land in possession of Punjab tourism board has been identified for the proposal.
DG Sharma said, BSF will observe the remaining part of 2016 as the year of 'Divyaang Yodha' (specially-abled fighter) as he flagged off a para-cycling team that will paddle from Manali in Himachal Pradesh to Khardungla in Jammu and Kashmir between August 5 and 15.
"The aim of the event is to have psychological empowerment of the disabled persons to make them able to overcome their mental inhibitions and to start leading a normal life. A 'Divyaang Yodha' skill mission has been planned with a series of activities," the force said in a statement. The paramilitary has tied up with an NGO to build training expertise in this regard.
The Twitter handle of the Consulate General of India, Jeddah (@CGIJeddah), posted photographs of food being distributed to the stranded Indian workers in Saudi Arabia. (Photo: Twitter)
New Delhi: The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia is collecting details of thousands of workers from the country laid off by their employers there, ahead of MoS External Affairs V K Singh's visit there to asses the situation and finalise modalities to bring back those wanting to return home.
Currently a total of 7,700 affected Indian workers are living in 20 camps and the embassy is in the process of collecting information about others residing in different parts of Saudi Arabia.
Singh is leaving for Jeddah tonight via Dubai and MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said his on-ground assessment will determine future course of action. Earlier on Tuesday, Singh's ministerial colleague in the MEA M J Akbar, who looks after issues relating to the Gulf region, met Saudi Ambassador Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati and discussed the difficulties being faced by Indians who have lost their jobs.
Read: VK Singh leaves for Saudi today, to assess problems of jobless Indians
"Had fruitful discussions with Saudi Ambassador to India Dr. Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati on all bilateral issues.
"Glad to receive support and assurances from Saudi government to resolve all outstanding issues, including that of our Indian labourers," MoS in the MEA Akbar said in a series of tweets.
Thousands of Indian workers have lost their jobs due to slowdown in Saudi economy, triggered by low oil prices and cut in spending by government of that country. The Indian mission has provided food to the Indians who cannot buy it.
Read: No Indian worker will go hungry in Saudi Arabia, says Sushma Swaraj
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said on Monday that all affected Indians will be brought back.
A team from the Indian embassy had on Monday met Saudi labour officials to complete procedures relating to the protection of legal dues of the workers once they have departed from the country.
Swarup said the Indian embassy in Riyadh convened a meeting of community social workers and volunteers yesterday, where the Ambassador sought their help in collecting information about the affected workers. They were provided a proforma on which the requisiteinformation is to be submitted to the embassy.
The government has requested the Saudi authorities to give the unemployed Indian workers exit visas without NoC from employers and also urged it to clear the dues of workers who have not been paid for months, whenever they settle the accounts with the companies concerned.
MEA officials said Singh will reach Jeddah early next morning and is scheduled to return on the evening of Friday.
Swarup said 4,072 Indian workers belonging to M/s Saudi Oger are living in nine camps in Riyadh and one in Dammam, while 1,457 workers belonging to M/s SAAD Group are putting up in two camps in Dammam.
Five workers from M/s Shifa Sanaya are in a camp in Riyadh and 13 workers who were employed with M/s Taiya Contracting Company are staying in one camp.
"A total of 5547 Indian workers belonging to fourteen camps are being provided assistance by Indian Embassy in Riyadh. Of these, food was required by Indian workers in one camp each in Riyadh and Dammam.
"In addition, there are 2,153 Indian workers belonging to M/s Saudi Oger in six camps in Jeddah all of whom have been provided food by the Indian Consulate. Hence, there are atotal of 7700 affected Indians workers in twenty camps," said Swarup. The Embassy teams visited six camps yesterday in Riyadh.
"The information about each worker, about his total service, pending salary, desire to exit / continue / transfer is being collected separately," said the MEA Spokesperson.
Making a statement in Parliament on Monday, Swaraj had said the workers will be brought back home, asserting that not one of them will go hungry.
"Not one worker of ours will go hungry. This is my assurance to the country through Parliament. We will bring all of them back to India," Swaraj said.
Issues like logistics and modalities of a possible repatriation of the workers who want to return to India will be worked out during Singh's visit.
The government, Swaraj said, was in touch with the foreign and labour offices in Saudi Arabia to ensure early evacuation of affected Indians.
National Investigation Agency and Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu Police have registered cases to probe the alleged links of Indian youth with ISIS and have arrested 54 persons so far. (Photo: Representational Image/AFP)
New Delhi: Terrorist organisation ISIS has attracted "very few youth" from India and both the central and state governments have launched various programmes for their de-radicalisation, the government told Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
"The international terrorist outfit, viz., Islamic State (IS), Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)/Daesh, uses both positive and negative imagery to attract recruits from across the world.
"However, they have influenced or attracted very few youth from India," Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.
The Islamic State (IS) is known by different names and has set up a caliphate under Abu Bakr-al Baghdadi.
The existing legal provisions are effective instrumentalities to combat offences relating to terrorist financing and money laundering, he said.
"Various programmes are being undertaken by the central and state governments to deal with the issues of counter-radicalisation and de-radicalisation," Ahir said.
The Minister said incidents of protests or demonstrations against award of capital punishment to terrorists and killing of terrorists in encounters with security forces have been reported from some states.
"Police and public order being state subjects, the state governments concerned are required to take appropriate action against such elements as per relevant provisions of law," Ahir said.
In reply to another question, he said the National Investigation Agency and Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu Police have registered cases to probe the alleged links of Indian youth with ISIS and have arrested 54 persons so far.
"Some persons have been reported missing from some parts of Kerala, who are suspected to have joined terrorist outfits like ISIS, but their links have not yet been established. Kerala Police has registered nine cases in this connection," the Minister said.
The terrorist outfit, ISIS, is using various platforms to propagate its ideology and to attract recruits from across the world, Ahir said.
"The intelligence and security agencies maintain a close watch to identify potential recruits. Various programmes are being undertaken by the central and state governments to deal with the issue of counter radicalisation and de-radicalisation," he said.
New Delhi: Members of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the opposition YSR Congress on Tuesday forced brief adjournments of Lok Sabha proceedings creating noisy scenes demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh.
This was the second consecutive day of their vociferous protests which drew the ire of the Speaker who said sloganeering will not help meet their demand.
As soon as the House met for the day, members from YSR Congress trooped into the Well holding placards demanding special category for Andhra Pradesh following the creation of Telangana.
Read: Centre non-committal on special status for AP despite TDPs demand
Led by an MP wearing traditional attire including a yellow headgear, TDP members entered the House holding banners. Standing at the aisles, they refrained from entering the Well.
However, the member wearing the headgear was seen moving around the Well, wishing leaders of various parties sitting on front benches with folded hands.
An anguished Speaker Sumitra Mahajan reminded the members against displaying placards. "Raise your issue during Zero Hour. Doing like this will not solve your problem...I am sorry for your behaviour," she said.
Read: Bandh in Andhra Pradesh over special status demand disrupts bus services
YSR Congress leaders had earlier staged a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue in the Parliament premises on Tuesday demanding special category status for the state.
TDP workers were also seen joining the protest with placards and banners in their hands.
In protest against the Centre's refusal to grant special status to Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress along with other parties has called for a shutdown in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday.
YSR Congress president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had said the NDA's alliance partner TDP also failed to impress upon the Centre in achieving special status for Andhra Pradesh.
The Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party (TDPP) held its emergency meeting on Sunday and demanded implementation of the Act, which led to the creation of Telangana state in 2014, "in letter and spirit".
TDP President and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had targeted Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and also lashed out at the Centre for trying to "shirk" its responsibility over issues concerning Andhra Pradesh.
Arun Jaitley had last week told the Rajya Sabha that the Central Government is committed to keep all its promises and will fulfill all responsibilities.
BJP said party leaders and union ministers will visit places associated with the freedom movement and pay tribute to leaders while recalling their contributions. (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kick off a mega BJP campaign '70 saal azadi-yaad karo kurbani' on August 9, the 75th year of Quit India movement, and virtually the entire Council of Ministers will travel across the country to "rekindle the spirit of patriotism".
Senior party leader M Venkaiah Naidu announced the details of '70 saal azadi-yaad karo kurbani' (70 years of Independence-recall the sacrifices) programme firmed up in the Parliamentary Party meeting.
"The idea is to rekindle the spirit of patriotism among the people to convey to the new generation the sacrifices made by our leaders who fought for the freedom movement and recall the great valour shown by them," he told reporters.
Referring to incidents like Kakori case, Jalianwala Bagh massacre, Dandi March and Quit India movement, he said party leaders and union ministers will visit places associated with the freedom movement and pay tribute to leaders while recalling their contributions.
"Incidents like Kakori, Quit India movement, Dandi March will be recalled so that younger generation can take inspiration from the same. The Prime Minister will launch the campaign on August 9," he said. The party will also observe Tiranga Yatra from August 15-22.
The Delhi High Court had on March 27 last year granted seven-day custody parole to Vikas to visit his 93-year-old grandfather, who underwent an angioplasty. (Photo: PTI)
Lucknow: Expressing grave concern over the repeated parole granted to Vikas Yadav and two other convicts in the Nitish Katara murder case, the victim's mother Neelam Katara on Monday urged the Tihar Jail authorities to revive its working system and asked the Delhi Government to look into the matter.
"I expect the Delhi Government will go to the bottom of this. Also another criminal who is with Vikas and also convicted in my son's murder, Sukhdev Pehelwan, he has also been going to his home town every month twice,"Neelam told ANI here. "I would like the Delhi Government to get into the details of both these people as to how they are allowed to go. Why they are allowed to go? I think the Tihar Jail should revive its working system? she added.
Neelam further said this shows that criminals like him have no repentance and they are continuing to just subvert the system. "And of course, the Tihar Jail is helping them in doing it," she added.
Neelam's reaction comes in wake of reports that Vikas was granted parole twice last year on the pretext of attending a court proceeding in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh.
Neelam had told the Delhi High Court earlier in March that if Vikas, convicted of murdering her son Nitish, is released on parole, he may kill someone else and 10 years later the victim's mother could be standing before the court seeking justice.
The submission was made before Justice Siddharth Mridul while opposing Vikas' plea for four weeks' parole to sell his ancestral property in Uttar Pradesh.
The Delhi High Court had on March 27 last year granted seven-day custody parole to Vikas to visit his 93-year-old grandfather, who underwent an angioplasty. The High Court had on February 6, 2015, enhanced the sentence of Vikas and his cousin Vishal from life imprisonment to 25 years without remission for murdering Nitish and five more years for destruction of evidence in the case.
Yadavs' acquaintance Sukhdev Yadav alias Pehelwan was also awarded an enhanced life sentence of 20 years without remission by the High Court. The three were awarded life term by a trial court for abducting and killing Nitish, a business executive and son of an IAS officer, on the intervening night of February 16-17, 2002. They did not approve of the victim's affair with Bharti, the daughter of DP Yadav.
Bengaluru: On Monday, a student of a leading university in the city sent shock waves on the campus by posting an article on a website under the title A Plea For Respect: Christ University Student Complains Of Sexual Harassment On Campus.
This article has been published on youthkiawaaz.com, a popular website among college students.
The girl student, who has remained anonymous, highlights issues ranging from infrastructure problems to sexual harassment. Yes, we feel increasingly vulnerable and its about time this issue was addressed," she writes.
It was in my first semester that a particular issue with regard to my assignment brought me to the office of a member of the management, a powerful figure in the Christ administration and a professor. Pleasantries aside, he sent jitters down my spine. He proceeded to peer at my rather fitting suit and commented that I looked smart. But, he wouldnt stop at that. He said he wished girls dressed as smart as I did in a tone that reeked of conceit, knowing fully that I wouldnt bring it up ever because he was an influential man. He was the very man who has allegedly been accused of sexual harassment previously as well. Initially, I refused to subscribe to such claims. But, the menacing glance and smirk on his face was enough to prove otherwise. His notoriety preceded himself. The smugness with which he goes about his daily activities without a care for repercussions of his deplorable behaviour is rather frightening. All I could do was to make a mental note never to visit him alone.
In another instance, a professor in the English Department flirted with me and wondered if I might be lured into watching a movie with him. A normal conversation within the confines of a classroom in the presence of other students didnt deter him from asking me something as absurd. This is a man who has posed similar questions to other female students on several occasions. Despite a negative faculty evaluation on the part of the students, he continues to teach in Christ. The same professor asked a male friend about the maal hes managed to score among his female classmates. Yes, girls are goods and we definitely fancy being scored. I met him a few days into the new academic year and a mere handshake lingered a minute too long before I pulled it back in disgust. My counsellor suggested that my teacher was being friendly and I should adopt a less guarded demeanour. She is one among the many who help legitimise inappropriate advances under the pretext of cordial behaviours. This is done strictly under the instruction of the administration that has, time and again, stifled and threatened students who spoke up against such harassment.
A friend was pulled up by the counsellor for her appearance. Apparently, her made up face and excessivelipstick is the reason why she had low attendance and also happens to distract boys in class. The very claim is outrageous, reeking of a superior attitude. Moreover, the absurdity of the non-existent correlation is amusing. Similarly, another girl was subjected to some harsh character assassination when the Dean accused her of being unmoralistic for carrying lipstick and wearing leggings. I understand that the latter is against college rules, but that definitely doesnt warrant such comments marring ones personal reputation. There is nothing to suggest that carrying a lipstick is against college rules. This girl was left in tears, with nowhere to go.
"All these instances have left me quite agitated. One might say that there are several avenues within the university where such issues might be taken up, but I beg you to reconsider. The Student Council is a farce, filled with sycophants who merely serve the imperial edicts of the administration. The Open Forum wherein students are allowed to discuss issues ailing them has no powers, recommendatory or otherwise. Moreover, the faculty in Christ turn students against each other, crushing any expressions of solidarity. We sit in classes infested with snitches waiting for an opportunity to witness the legendary fall of the brave and outspoken. I was advised against reporting this matter to the NAAC members who visited our campus a year earlier simply because it would most certainly lead to my expulsion. Fear and insecurities rule the lives of students within the campus for one simply cannot risk an issue with the almighty management.
Srinagar: A petrol bomb was hurled at the house of Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Naeem Akhtar in Parraypora area of the city last night, police said on Tuesday.
No one was hurt in the attack that was carried out by unidentified persons.
J&K Education Minister Naeem Akhtar's house was attacked by unidentified miscreants on Tuesday. (Photo: ANI Twitter)
"A petrol bomb was hurled at the residence of the Education Minister at Parraypora late last night, causing damage to the main gate of the house," a police official said.
Akhtar and his wife were not present in the premises as they have shifted to high security Gupkar Road after the PDP-BJP government was sworn in March last year.
A petrol bomb was also hurled at the office of Road and Buildings department at SDA colony in Bemina area of the city last night, the official said.
He said no one was hurt in the incident.
31 children have now been put under observation after around seven of them also showed symptoms of food poisoning. (Photo: File/ Representational Image)
Kapurthala (Punjab): Two children died of suspected food poisoning at an 'ashram' for mentally challenged children in Kapurthala in Punjab while 31 others were taken to hospital after they were taken ill.
The deceased children were aged between 10 and 12. Deputy Commissioner Jaskiran Singh said 33 children were residing at Sukhjit Ashram near the railway station in Kapurthala. Last night, two children showed symptoms of food poisoning and started vomiting.
Within an hour, one of them died at the ashram, while the other child died at the hospital this morning.
As a precautionary measure, all 31 children have been put under observation after around seven of them showed symptoms of food poisoning and were rushed to the civil hospital, he said.
The cause of deaths is not yet clear but an inquiry has been ordered, he said, adding the food samples have also been taken by the health teams that are camping in the ashram.
New Delhi: As the government circulated copies of the draft Constitution Amendment Bill to bring Goods and Services Tax (GST) among MPs, top Congress leaders got into a huddle to chalk out the party's strategy on Tuesday ahead of its consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi met Leader of the party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Deputy Leader of the party in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma, among others, in Parliament House and discussed various points regarding the key tax reform legislation.
Congress sources said Gandhi will hold another round of discussion on the issue after which Sharma will meet Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to put across the party's point of view.
"Rahulji held discussions with top party leaders on the GST Bill and discussed the party's strategy," Kharge told PTI after the meeting.
Another top Congress leader said the draft bill has just been circulated and the party leaders will react only after studying it in detail. "The draft of the bill has just come and let us study it first," the Congress leader said.
There were strong indications that the most far-reaching taxation reform in independent India would be supported by Congress and all other major political parties.
The government has said talks are on with major political parties to build a consensus on the measure before it is taken up for consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow.
"We would list the bill for consideration tomorrow in Rajya Sabha. We have talked to all parties and the Prime Minister had said at the beginning of this session that GST is in the interest of all. We hope the GST Bill will be passed with consensus," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters after BJP Parliamentary Party meeting. At the BJP meet, Jaitley also briefed the MPs about the bill.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, which has been in the making for over a decade, entails introduction of a singleindirect tax regime across the country.
According to top government sources, a fresh round oftalks will be held today with the main opposition Congress.
Jaitley had on Monday held consultations with Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma. He had also met CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, besides some other leaders. Later, along with Anant Kumar, he met Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
The government, the sources say, is keen to bring about four key amendments in the Constitution Amendment Bill which will include the scrapping of 1 per cent additional tax provision and grant of more powers to states for providing them full compensation for a period of five years.
The key Congress demand for rephrasing of the language for setting up of dispute resolution mechanism in the GST Council has also been agreed to by the government.
Chennai: The State Assembly on Monday adopted a unanimous resolution moved by chief minister Jayalalithaa asking the Centre to rename Madras High Court as Tamil Nadu High Court and not Chennai HC as proposed in a Bill introduced in Parliament last month.
Later, Jayalalithaa wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring in a necessary amendment in the Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha to rename High Court of Madras as the High Court of Tamil Nadu .
It would not be appropriate to name the high court which has jurisdiction over the whole of Tamil Nadu as the high court of Chennai; hence it is befitting that the high court which is presently called the HC of Madras be renamed as the HC of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa said moving the resolution which was supported by all the parties including DMK and Congress.
The Centre introduced the The High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016 in the Lok Sabha on July 19 in order to rename the high courts of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. As per this Bill, from the appointed day, the HC of Madras will be known as the high court of Chennai. This House urges the Union government to alter the name from Chennai HC, proposed in the Bill introduced in Parliament to Tamil Nadu HC, the resolution said.
Pointing out that the high courts situated in other states take the respective names of such states, which were formed on linguistic basis in 1956, the resolution said that since the HC, which is situated in the Chennai city, has jurisdiction over the whole of Tamil Nadu and it has an HC bench in Madurai, it would be appropriate to rename the HC of Madras as the HC of Tamil Nadu. Deputy Opposition leader Duraimurugan welcomed the resolution. I welcome the resolution moved by the chief minister on behalf of my party. It will be appropriate to name HC of Madras as HC of TN instead of HC of Chennai, he said.
In a letter to Mr Modi, she said that based on overwhelming public opinion in Tamil Nadu, the proposed change of name was debated in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. After a detailed discussion, the Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on August 1, 2016, to call upon the government of India to move necessary amendments to the bill introduced in the LS so as to rename the HC of Madras as the HC of TN for the reasons outlined in the resolution, she said.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine whether mere membership of a banned organisation will make a person a terrorist, if he does not resort to violence or incites people to violence or creates public disorder by violence.
A three-judge bench of Justices J.S. Khehar, V. Gopala Gowda and Arun Mishra, decided to have a relook at the definition of a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and anti-terror laws, after Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar informed that the 2011 judgment had wide ramifications and all the High Courts are following the same.
In 2011, the apex court had held that mere membership of a banned organisation will not make a person a terrorist unless he resorts to violence or incites people to violence or creates public disorder by violence or incitement to violence.
The Supreme Court had set aside a judgement of the Designated Court, Assam at Guwahati convicting Arup Bhuyan under Section 3 (5) of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) for being a Member of Ulfa.
Centre objects to terror verdict
The court held mere advocacy or teaching the duty, necessity, or propriety of violence as a means of accomplishing political or industrial reform is not per se illegal. It will become illegal only if it incites to imminent lawless action.
The Centre filed a petition seeking to recall this judgement saying police could not wait for banned outfit members to carry out acts of terror. It said such a judgement defies logic as any member of a terrorist organisation could open an office anywhere and start recruiting people and police would not be able to do anything.
The government said authorities could not wait for each individual member to commit any criminal act and it was liable to take action against him since being a member of a banned organisation, he/she subscribed to the ideology of that group which believed in violence.
The Solicitor General told the court that the judgement is detrimental to the interests of the government and no action can be taken against a member of terrorist organisation.
If this judgement is allowed to remain, there is possibility of terrorism being spread. The bench posted the matter for hearing on days other than Mondays and Fridays.
New Delhi/Varanasi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi launched her party's campaign for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election with a massive roadshow in Prime Minister Narendra Modis constituency Varanasi on Tuesday, but soon had to halt the event due to health concerns.
According to Congress sources, Gandhi was suffering from viral fever but had decided to go ahead with the roadshow as she was not inclined to cancel it at the last minute.
The roadshow, which continued for about three hours, was halted for sometime at the Lohurabir roundabout near the fag end of the eight-km march route from the Circuit House to Englishiya Line. The roadshow later proceeded without Gandhi.
Sources said Gandhi complained of uneasiness and after taking rest for sometime, she left the area. She had to cancel her planned visit to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in the evening to offer prayers.
"Saddened that due to my ill health, I had to cut my visit to Varanasi short. Couldn't visit Kashi Vishwanath Temple either. I will come back very soon, and then visit the Kashi Vishwanath Temple," Sonia told the media.
Modi reacted to the news of Sonia's ill health and prayed for her quick recovery.
"Heard about Sonia jis ill health during her Varanasi visit today. I pray for her quick recovery and good health," Modi tweeted.
Thousands of Congress supporters and workers had taken part in the roadshow from the Circuit House to Englishiya Line, a distance of about eight kilometres earlier on Tuesday.
The march began with Gandhi garlanding the statue of B R Ambedkar at the Circuit House and the marchers criss-crossed lanes and bylanes of the temple town.
Gandhi, who was initially travelling in a car and later moved to a vehicle with open sunroof, waved at the crowd which cheered and raised slogans against the Modi government.
She came out of her vehicle several times to accept the greetings of the cheering supporters, including groups of Muslim women. As the road show passed through several localities, rose petals were showered on Gandhi and her cavalcade from adjoining buildings.
Dozens of mini trucks prominently displayed posters with '27 Saal, UP Behaal' (27 years of UP's distress) written on them. Placards carried by hundreds of workers also had the same slogan written on them.
Besides the party's chief ministerial candidate Sheila Dikshit, AICC General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad, state party chief Raj Babbar and senior leaders Pramod Tiwari and Sanjay Singh accompanied Gandhi.
Congress has launched a campaign "dard-e-Banaras" to highlight lack of development in Varanasi, which Modi is representing for over two years in the Lok Sabha.
Congress has been out of power for 27 years in Uttar Pradesh and is projecting that the state has gone from bad to worse in these years through a campaign, called '27 Saal, UP Behaal'.
Varanasi is a key place in eastern Uttar Pradesh having some 160 of the 403 Assembly constituencies in the state.
Congress had only won two seats -- Amethi and Rae Bareli -- in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, while BJP and its ally Apna Dal secured 73 seats out of total 80.
The UP Assembly elections outcome will also have ramifications for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor has been roped in by Congress to assist the UPCC in the Assembly polls. Kishor had planned the campaign strategy of Modi in Lok Sabha polls and Nitish Kumar in the Bihar Assembly polls.
Indian government has requested the Saudi authorities to give the unemployed Indian workers exit visas without NoC from employers. (Photo: Twitter)
New Delhi: Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh will leave for Saudi Arabia tonight to asses difficulties of thousands of Indians, who have lost their jobs, and finalise modalities of bringing back those wanting to return to India.
Ahead of Singh's visit, his ministerial colleague MJ Akbar, who looks after issues relating to Gulf region, met Saudi Ambassador Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati and discussed the issue of the jobless Indians.
"Had fruitful discussions with Saudi Ambassador to India Dr Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati on all bilateral issues.
Read: 10,000 stranded Indians to be evacuated from Saudi, says Centre
"Glad to receive support and assurances from Saudi government to resolve all outstanding issues, including that of our Indian labourers," Mos in the MEA Akbar said in a series of tweets.
MEA officials said Singh will arrive in Jeddah early morning on Wednesday and is scheduled to return on the evening of Friday.
Thousands of Indians in Saudi Arabia were facing severe food crisis due to financial hardships after they lost their jobs due to slowdown of the economy in the Gulf.
The Indian Mission has provided food to the Indians who cannot even buy food.
Making a statement in Parliament on Monday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the workers will be brought back home, asserting that not one of them will go hungry.
Read: No Indian worker will go hungry in Saudi Arabia, says Sushma Swaraj
"Not one worker of ours will go hungry. This is my assurance to the country through Parliament... We will bring all of them back to India," Swaraj said.
Issues like logistics and modalities of a possible repatriation of the workers who want to return to India will be worked out during Singh's visit.
Official sources said approximately 10,000 Indian workers have been affected by the economic slowdown in the Gulf and the situation was "fluid and dynamic". They said the situationvaried from company to company.
Sources said 3,172 Indian workers in Riyadh have not been paid their salary dues for several months but are getting regular rations.
Separately, 2,450 Indian workers belonging to the Saudi Oger Company are housed in five camps in Jeddah, Mecca and Taif. Since July 25, the company had stopped providing meals to the workers besides defaulting on their salaries, the sources said.
The Indian Consulate in Jeddah, with the assistance of the diaspora, has provided rations to the workers which should be sufficient for the next 8-10 days, they said.
The government, Swaraj said, was in touch with the foreign and labour offices in Saudi Arabia to ensure early evacuation of affected Indians.
The government has requested the Saudi authorities to give the unemployed Indian workers exit visas without NoC from employers and also urged it to clear the dues of workers who have not been paid for months, whenever they settle the accounts with the companies concerned.
Lucknow: UP minister Mohd Azam Khan, on Tuesday, stirred yet another controversy when he said that the Bulandshahar highway rape case could be a political conspiracy to malign the image of the Akhilesh government.
The BJP reacted sharply to the ministers statement and state BJP president Keshav Maurya said, The statement shows the utter lack of sensitivity on the part of the government. We demand a CBI inquiry into the incident.
Mr Khan told reporters in Rampur, We need to investigate whether this is a conspiracy by opponents who want to defame the government. He further said, For votes, some people can stoop to any level. There can be a Muzaffarnagar, a Shamli and Kairana...why not this? For power, politicians can murder people, trigger riots, kill innocent people, so the truth has to be found out. It could be the handiwork of those who want to gain power by tarnishing the image of this government.
Mr Khans statement comes ahead of chief minister Akhilesh Yadavs plan to meet the victims on Thursday. The state government has been facing flak over the incident with the BSP, Congress and BJP demanding the CMs resignation.
Meanwhile, the victims family have said they dont want politicians visiting them. They only want justice.
Bengaluru: A day after Deccan Chronicle published the diary of a sexually harassed college student of a prominent private university in the city, government agencies have swung into action. The State Womens Commission (SWC) has decided to take suo motu action against the university. I am in Navalgund. Once I return to Bengaluru, I will initiate action, said Ms Manjula Manasa, Chairperson SWC.
Read | He peered at my suit and said I looked smart: student cries for justice
The state higher education department too is expected to launch an inquiry. An officer said that besides this allegation, they have also received several other complaints from students and parents. We will initiate action, he said.
Many students have forwarded the Deccan Chronicle report to the MHRD and National Commission for Women (NCW). On Monday a girl student had written about sexual harassment she faced in the university. University authorities did not reply to mutliple emails sent by Deccan Chronicle.
BENGALURU: A part of Kempegowda Road over the Metro tunnel caved in, creating a 2 ft wide and 10 ft deep hole, scaring the commuters on a busy Tuesday morning and exposing the shoddy work done by the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) and other civic agencies.
Though the BMRCL claimed that it had taken all precautions while digging the tunnel, and that the exact reason behind the collapse was not known, experts said it was because of the vibrations caused by the tunnel boring machines and commercial operations of Metro trains. The recent heavy rains may have also contributed to the collapse, they said.
Mr Sreehari, traffic adviser to the government, warned that roads could cave in similarly all over the city, where the Metro underground network is passing through, if no proper care is taken.
The BMRCL should strengthen the soil all along the tunnels and underground corridors, he advised. The BMRCL should make pits at one metre intervals and fill them with cement and concrete which will help strengthen the soil and prevent further caving in, he said.
In the last few months, it is the second time that the road above the tunnel has caved in, causing inconvenience to the public. Many commuters on KG Road said that they were scared to go through roads where Metro tunnels have been built as such incidents can cost lives.
Ashok Kumar, an autorickshaw driver, said that the road collapsed when a garbage truck passed over it around 9.45 am. The rear wheel of the truck got struck and 30 of us struggled hard to push the lorry out of the hole. We called up Upparpet police and BMRCL. The police came to the spot within 30 minutes, while BMRCL officials took over an hour. They immediately took precautionary measures, he said.
The road over a Metro underground line caved in near Bhumika Theatre on Kempegowda Road, in Bengaluru on Tuesday (Photo: SHASHIDHAR B.)
A BWSSB engineer, who inspected the spot along with BMRCL officials, said that no sanitary or water pipeline was leaking under the road. The caving in could be for a different reason, he said.
BMRCL spokesman U.A. Vasanth Rao said that there could be many reasons for the collapse and that it was still a mystery. A cavity could have been created when different civic agencies laid utilities under the road and that would have led to sinking of the earth, he said.
The Metro tunnel runs 45 feet below the surface. We have taken all precautionary measures to ensure the safety of Metro and road commuters. Instead of passing the buck, the BMRCL took the responsibility and filled the cavity. The caving in may occur elsewhere for various reason, but we cannot predict, he said.
May happen again: Traffic expert
Traffic expert M.N. Sreehari warned that Tuesdays caving in over the Metro underground tunnel is not a one-off case, and may happen again at different places if proper precautionary measures are not taken.
He told Deccan Chronicle that Metro tunnels may have weakened buildings and other structures above the ground because of vibrations. If proper care is not taken to strengthen the soil around the tunnel, it may lead to disasters, he said. In some stations, Metro roof is leaking. This is an indication that no proper water proofing has been done, he said.
All precautions taken: BMRCL
BMRCL spokesman U.A. Vasanth Rao said that adequate care has been taken while BMRCL dug the tunnels. Sensors were placed to check the vulnerability and to check the quantum of vibrations. Wherever sensors showed deflections, we have either strengthened the structures or brought down weaker ones. The BMRCL issued notices wherever the structures are weak. But some have not allowed the BMRCL to demolish them at Chickpet and surrounding areas, he said.
Major structures over Metro tunnels
Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha, Sir M. Visvesvaraya Building, Majestic (interchange station) and City Railway Stations are underground stations. Some of the major structures over the the tunnels are Bengaluru University, Cauvery Bhavan, Mysore Bank, Shikshakara bhavan, Alankar Plaza, Janata Bazar and others.
New Delhi: With alarm bells ringing in Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modis home state-Gujarat, the BJP could possibly take time to name a successor to the state chief minister, Ms Anandiben Patel, who resigned on Monday. She had also announced her decision on the Facebook. The exercise to name her successor could be finalised after Independence Day.
The BJP's Parliamentary Board, which was expected to meet on Tuesday evening to take a final call on the issue has been delayed as the prime minister was preoccupied. The Parliamentary Board could possibly meet on Wednesday.
Besides other names, speculations are rife that the BJP chief, Mr Amit Shah could possibly be rushed to Gujarat to replace Ms Patel following the volatile situation in the state.
Other top leaders and strategists were of the opinion that if Mr Shah was sent to Gujarat at this juncture, BJPs electoral game plan in Uttar Pradesh could take a major hit and the party, which has lost Delhi and Bihar cannot afford to lose the high-stake UP Assembly polls. Also being closest to the Prime Minister, Mr Shah moving out of Delhi could lead to major organisational problems.
What was also worrying for the party was BSP chief, Ms Mayawatis proposed visit to Una on Thursday to meet the Dalit family members, who were assaulted after they were found allegedly skinning a dead cow. The cow was reportedly killed by a lion.
Ms Mayawatis visit in Una has become a major cause of concern for the BJP not merely in the state but also for the forthcoming UP assembly polls. Earlier, comprising only 7.1 per cent of the total population in Gujarat, the ruling BJP had never been worried about the dalit vote bank.
However, with UP elections approaching and the Patidar community, comprising 20 per cent of the total population up in arms against the state government, BJP leaders are a worried lot.
The BBMP's budget for fogging is Rs 8 crore! Yet, come the monsoons and even when hospitals and clinics are inundated with dengue victims, no fogging is done. The excuse - WHO guidelines that apparently ban fogging! Let us let you into a little secret, BBMP. Virtually all restaurants that are open to air, most five star hotels and now even neighbourhood committees are hiring private foggers to fumigate their homes and places of business every day. DC has learnt that city hospitals are treating an average of 20 dengue cases per day. Yet, the city's health authorities refuse to acknowledge that dengue is a killer, saying people are dying of multiple organ failure, not dengue. Err...dengue, causes multiple organ failure! Once again, with the BBMP unable or unwilling to help manage the crisis, it is the citizenry that steps in to curb the disease at the grass-root level.
The citys dengue story is getting complicated. Only two days ago a 31- year- old woman died at a city hospital of dengue going by her family and friends, but neither her doctors nor the BBMP health officers are willing to confirm it.
Whether or not the authorities are willing to accept the gravity of the situation, hospitals are still seeing a large number of dengue patients every day.
We are treating some 20 dengue cases and on an average do two or three blood transfusions every day. Any patient with a platelet count of 20,000 or less and who is bleeding, is admitted for transfusion, said Dr Shankar Prasad, Medical Director, St. Philomena's Hospital.
Manipal Hospital too is treating five to 10 cases every day going by its head of the Department of Internal Medicine, Dr Pankaj Singhai. And the vector-borne disease continues to causes many families grief. Twenty-seven-year-old Ganesh's family was expectedly worried as he walked in to meet the doctor at CMH hospital in Indiranagar with a platelet count of 26000 recently. He has fever and only yesterday his platelet count dropped from 29,000 to 26,000. Just two days ago he had a count of 45,000, added his father.
Whether the BBMP will classify him as a dengue patient is, however, unclear as despite private hospitals claiming to be deluged by patients suffering from the disease, it is willing to acknowledge only 861 cases in 361 private health facilities since January in the city. We add up cases that have been confirmed by NIV, Mac Elisa and NS1 Antigen tests from across hospitals in all the eight zones, explained an epidemiologist with the civic agencys Public Health Information and Epidemiological Cell.
Read | Q&A with Padma Shri Dr K K Aggarwal, Honorary Secretary, General IMA and President Heart Care Foundation of India
Ask Dr M Udaya Kumar Maiya, Medical Director of Portea Medical and he says the test and symptoms are both important for diagnosis of dengue. If the Igm Mac Elisa test is strongly positive and a patient, who has bleeding, is in a state of shock, is lethargic and has a very low platelet count , dies after admission, it would be safe to say that he or she has died of dengue complications. Otherwise it can be attributed to non-specific viral infection, he explained.
While advising Bengalureans not to hit the panic button, Dr Pavan Mangalore, consultant, emergency medicine, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital, Yeshwanthpur, however, says they do need to be alert. The period between the third and sixth day of the fever is the most critical when patients could suffer from abdominal pain, giddiness, extreme lethargy and tiredness. You need to be aware of these symptoms and keep the patient properly hydrated, he said.
Although some patients do walk in with gums bleeding as a result of low platelet count, Dr Murali of CMH Hospital says there could be internal bleeding as well, which is more worrying. The same bleeding can occur in the brain or kidney. If they are bleeding on the inside, patients will have complications involving many organs, which could lead to multiple organ failure and death, he added.
Dr K K Aggarwal, president of the Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI), believes community participation is vital to preventing and controlling the spread of diseases transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which include zika, chikungunya and yellow fever besides dengue. In community participation, individuals, families and communities are involved in the planning and conduct of local vector control activities. The government does not have enough staff to search every backyard to identify and destroy all mosquito breeding sites," he pointed out.
Doctors also continue to stress that the most effective way to prevent dengue is to control mosquito populations, which means getting rid of standing water in containers, pet dishes, flower pots, vases, buckets, tyres and cans in and around the house. Or at the very least these should be covered so mosquitoes dont get an opportunity to lay eggs, they emphasise.
Fogging, spraying only in some pockets
Hardly any fogging or spraying happens across Bengaluru, except in few pockets and this has contributed in the alarming rise in dengue and other vector borne diseases. The residents have been blaming BBMP authorities for their laid back attitude and the civic agency continues to be in a denial mode and downplay the problem. BBMP officials claim that a larvae study is going on, wherein they have identified water collection points and are looking at areas of water stagnation, where both fogging and spraying is going on.
Eastern Bangalore is where we are conducting fogging as number of cases in that area is very high, said a BBMP official. As for disease control measures, another health official said, Anti larval operation, anti fogging operation are being carried out, especially in eastern Bengaluru. BBMP alone cannot do much regarding this and people should also take initiatives to ensure that water does not accumulate in empty tanks or vessels. We can only mitigate and educate people, he added.
Teams have been formed across all 198 wards to conduct larvae survey and spray chemicals. Since the larvae has a seven-day life cycle, our workers are visiting open places like bus stops, vacant plots and other places, identifying breeding zones at constituency level. The survey is an ongoing process and will continue till September, he said.
Ways to protect yourself from the bite of the Aedes Aegypti
Use Environmental Protection Agency registered insect repellents that contain DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR3535.
Use insect repellent with 20% to 35% of DEET as more than this can irritate the skin.
Make sure you apply it to all exposed skin
Apply and let sunscreen dry before using insect repellent. You want the mosquito to land on the repellent, not your sunscreen.
Minimise exposed skin Wear light coloured and long sleeved attire and keep legs covered too as the mosquitoes are drawn to dark colours, floral patterns and sweet perfumes.
Wear clothing treated with permethrin, a chemical used as an insecticide.
Treat your own clothes, shoes with a permethrin spray.
Sleep under mosquito nets with windows and doors closed or securely screened if there is no air conditioning.
Symptoms
Dengue warning signs include severe abdominal pain or persistent vomiting, red spots or patches on the skin, bleeding from the nose or gums, vomiting of blood or blood in stools, drowsiness or irritability, pale, cold or clammy skin or difficulty breathing.
Diagnosis
Clinical diagnosis is made by the health care professionals based on a constellation of symptoms and clinical laboratory findings (e.g., CBC, platelet count).
Laboratory diagnosis is specific for dengue is made through testing of a blood sample.
CDC Guidelines for Prevention
The most effective way to prevent dengue is to prevent mosquito bites and control mosquito populations.
As only a few infected mosquitoes can cause large outbreaks of the disease, effective mosquito control requires community support
Mosquito- proof your home, in and out, install or fix screens on windows and doors. Do not prop open doors, allowing mosquitoes to fly in. If you have air-conditioning, use it.
Drain and dump standing water found in containers and other things in and around the house. Or at least cover them so mosquitoes dont have an opportunity to lay eggs.
Weekly wash out containers with a brush or sponge to remove mosquito eggs.
What to do when one has high fever
The monsoon season brings with it several kinds of viral infections and fevers. Most of them are largely harmless and abate after a week or so. But if the fever continues for more than three days and is accompanied by rashes on the body and intense headache, make sure to consult a doctor.
Prevention of dengue
At the Personal level: Do not wear half sleeves and shorts during the monsoon and use mosquito repellent creams or nets at home. Ensure there is no source of mosquito breeding in and around your home or workplace.
At the Community level: Don't let water stagnate in containers, coolers, tyres and broken pots or even half broken tender coconuts.
Hyderabad: GHMC town planning officers will be held responsible for old buildings collapsing in Greater Hyderabad, minister K.T. Rama Rao said after the collapse of a 75-year-old building at Chilkalguda late on Monday. GHMC commissioner Dr B. Janardhan Reddy directed GHMC staff to carry out an emergency drive to find out dilapidated buildings, "Loss of life must be prevented. The negligence of the staff will be viewed seriously. GHMC will identify worn out buildings with the help of corporators, the public and its staffers. GHMC officers have been directed to demolish identified buildings. If the properties are involved in cases ban orders will be issued and boards will be put up."
The minister has ordered to hold town planning officers responsible if any old building collapses and people die in their jurisdiction areas. The commissioner said the town planning wing of Chilkalguda had issued notices to the owners of the collapsed 75-year-old ground plus one building in 2015 and 2016, and except for the meat shop owner all others had vacated the building. Later, the GHMC demolished the entire building.
In the last two weeks four buildings collapsed in Greater Hyderabad. The first was the under construction portico of Film Nagar Culture Club on July 26 which killed two labourers and injured many. It was followed by an old commercial electronic store in Secunderabad which buried alive the store owner. The fourth incident was on Tuesday when an illegal arch of a gated community crashed in Kukatpally.
Following the alarming number of building crashes GHMC commissioner Dr B. Janardhan Reddy has ordered a training session next week for all engineers and supervisors of GHMC by JNTU experts.
Collapsed arch was illegal:
The collapsed arch of Vasant Colony in Kukatpally was illegal. The GHMC had not granted permission to the builders to construct the arch and it was not part of the building plan. The report of the GHMC Circle 14 authorities on the incident said, The construction of an arch by the builder of the apartment project in survey number 145/2, in Kukatpally is illegal. Permission was issued for the construction of residential apartment blocks A B C D & E consisting of a cellar, and stilt plus five floors containing 540 flats. The file mentioned Ms B. Lakshmi Narasamma and five others and the development agreement was made by GPA holder Teja Homes Pvt Ltd and eight others.
The entrance arch was being built adjacent to E Block. The applicant has not obtained occupancy certificate from the GHMC as the apartments are under construction. At the final stage of the verification of the sanctioned plan it was noticed that no permission was accorded for the entry arch which collapsed, the report said .
The crashed illegal arch is an example on how gated communities, and colonies build arches without GHMC permission. It is mandatory for the applicant to mention about any additional construction in the building application. If that is not done the GHMC will have the right to demolish it.
On the Kukatpally arch collapse, GHMC circle 14A deputy commissioner N. Narender said the GHMC has asked the police to register a criminal case against the builder Shiva Prasad Reddy and eight others including Tejas Construction which took up the construction. The GHMC has also issued notices to the architect and structural engineer of the building. Action will also be taken against the town planning officer who failed to conduct inspections.
Lawyers of J&K High Court hold placards during a protest rally against the killing of 50 civilians and use of Pellet guns by forces, in Srinagar on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)
SRINAGAR: Unidentified assailants threw Molotov cocktails at the private residence of Jammu and Kashmirs education minister and spokesman of the State government, Syed Naeem Akhter Andrabi, at Parray Pora along the Srinagar airport road on late Monday night.
Police said that no one was hurt as one of the petrol bombs fell in the house compound and the other outside the premises. In fact, no one lives in the house as Mr. Akhter shifted to an official bungalow in the high security Gupkar Road here after becoming a minister in the PDP-BJP government in March 2015.
Mr. Akhter was not available for comment but police officials said that it was a serious incident as it took place in an area which has remained comparatively peaceful during the past over three weeks when the Kashmir Valley witnessed the worst spell of turbulence following the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahedin commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani.
Protests and clashes between irate crowds of youth and stone-pelting mobs and the security forces continued for the 25th consecutive day but these were restricted to fewer areas. Nine persons were injured in clashes at Imam Sahib in southern Shopian district.
Meanwhile, separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has asked Pakistan to provide medical assistance to over 200 Kashmiri youth who have suffered eye injuries and scores others faced with risk of limb loss after being hit in pellet and rifle firings during the ongoing unrest in the Valley.
According to University Foreign Relations Office director Prof. C. Venugopal Rao, students from about 80 countries have either been alumni or are students of the university.
Hyderabad: Almost 2,500 foreign students, mostly from the African countries, have been given provisional admissions in Osmania University. Officials expect about 1,900 of them to enroll for the 2016-17 academic year. The university attracted 1,246 foreign nationals last year.
About 70 per cent of the admissions are for undergraduate programmes, while most of the rest join post-graduate courses and less than five per cent for Ph.D programmes
According to University Foreign Relations Office director Prof. C. Venugopal Rao, students from about 80 countries have either been alumni or are students of the university.
OU has been one of the most sought-after destinations for higher education along with Pune and Mysore universities as far as foreign nationals are concerned. Besides its University for Potential Excellence status, what sets apart Osmania University is its academic connection with Asian and West Asian countries right from Nizams period, he said,
Of the nearly 2,500 provisional admissions given this year, 1,900 are self-financed and another 550 are under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations scholarship. While a student getting an ICCR scholarship gets full tuition fee and monthly stipend for the duration of course, self-financing students pay from their own pocket.
This year students from China, South Africa, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, the Maldives, Nepal, Malawi, Djibouti are joining OU. For the first time, students from the Comoros archipelago off the Africa coast have sought admission.
While 85 per cent of PG students will be accommodated on the campus, UG students will be allotted to noted institutions like Nizam College, PG College at Saifabad, Bhavans Vivekananda College, Sainikpuri, AV College, Anwar-ul-loom College, St.Marys Yousufguda, St. Francis, Villa Marie and Koti Womens College.
Prof. Venugopal Rao said nearly 1,100 students are attending under-graduate classes that began on July 4. About 25 per cent of the students were accommodated in Nizam College.
BCA a hot favourite among Foreign students at Osmania University
The Bachelor of Computer Applications, which has fewer takers here, is a hot favourite among foreign students.
University Foreign Relations Office director Prof. C. Venugopal Rao said nearly 640 provisional admission letters had been issued for foreign students who sought admission in BCA. Of them, 300 have already joined the university, he said.
Students hailing from West Asia and even African countries get good placement opportunities in their countries after completing the BCA.
Hence the heavy rush. Keeping foreign students in mind we have even revived the course in some colleges, he said.
Prof. C. Venugopal Rao said the BCA had lost significance after the huge increase in the number of engineering seats. Earlier, the BCA and the MCA opened doors for an IT career.
Local students and their parents now prefer the B.Tech or BE degree.
New Delhi: Ahead of Home Minister Rajnath Singhs visit to Islamabad for a meeting of Saarc home and interior Ministers, India has conveyed to Pakistani security agencies that he faces threat from four major terror outfits : Islamic State, Taliban, Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Lashkar-e-Tayeeba.
Sources said Indian security agencies who are in touch with their Pakistani counterparts have been assured that an elaborate security cover has been planned for the Indian Home Minister which will almost be at par with that of a head of state.
Indian security agencies have been closely monitoring security arrangements for Rajnath Singh particularly in wake of threat issued by Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed. Even Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin has said that Pakistani Government should not have invited Mr Singh for the Saarch conference.
The home minister has a very high threat perception during his visit Islamabad for the Saarc summit starting Wednesday. We are in regular touch with Pakistani agencies as providing security is the responsibility of the host nation and have conveyed our concerns to them particularly about the threat from terror groups. They are making stringent arrangements and we are hopeful that the visit will go on smoothly, a senior Home Ministry official said.
Meanwhile, BSF chief K.K. Sharma said Hafiz Saeeds plans of undertaking massive protests against Indian Home Ministers visit was a political move and border guarding forces on both sides have been sensitised and they will ensure that the Saarc home ministers meeting to be held on Wednesday in Islamabad is not disrupted.
This protest call by Hafiz Saeed is the internal matter of Pakistan and I am very sure that my counterparts Pak Rangers are more than competent to handle this issue. I am sure it is not going to disrupt the SAARC meeting. Hafiz Saeed will not be successful, the DG said.
In the last few days, the BSF has deployed about 4,000 personnel on the Punjab frontier and 2,000 on the Jammu side to further intensify border patrolling and strengthen the counter infiltration grid.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi waves to crowds during a massive road show in the run-up to the UP Assembly elections, in Varanasi on Tuesday (Photo: PTI)
Lucknow: Congress president Sonia Gandhi held a massive road show in Varanasi on Tuesday to launch the partys campaign for the 2017 assembly elections.
Mrs Gandhi choosing Varanasi, which is Prime Minister Narendra Modis constituency, adds significance to the event. She had last visited the city in 2004. Varanasi is also considered to be the political hub of eastern UP.
In another politically significant move, Mrs Gandhi began her Varanasi visit by paying floral tributes to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in a city that is revered by all Hindus, particularly upper castes. She removed her footwear before she went up to offer floral tributes at the Ambedkar statue an act reserved usually for deities.
Congress hopes to regain the Dalit and upper caste vote banks for a comeback in the 2017 assembly elections and her tributes to Ambedkar are a part of the Congress strategy.
Mrs Gandhi, however, was forced to cut short her visit to the holy city by about two hours due to ill health. She is said to be suffering from dehydration and high fever. Mrs Gandhi returned to Delhi without offering prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple and her address to the media was also cancelled.
Mrs Gandhi took a 55 minute break during the road show at Maldahiya and was given medical attention. Later, she moved to a vehicle with an open sunroof.
Earlier, the 8-km long road show from the Circuit House to the Englishiya Lane had thousands of supporters waving enthusiastically to the Congress president and chanting Har Har Mahadev.
The Congress president was showered with rose petals all through the route.
She came out of her vehicle several times to accept the greetings of the cheering supporters, including groups of Muslim women that came in large numbers.
Hyderabad: Two people were killed when an old building collapsed at Padmarao Nagar in Chilkalguda during Monday midnight's rain. The victims are Md. Akbar Ghori, 38, and Md. Wajeed Pasha, 29, who were working in their chicken shop in the building when the mishap occurred. The building was several decades old and was worn out. All shops except the chicken centre were closed by 10 pm. Otherwise the casualties would have been more, officials said.
The police found that the GHMC had issued a notice asking to demolish the building. However, the owners, Basith and Aziz, ignored it. Chilkalguda police has booked a case against the owner under Section 304 A (causing death through negligence). The incident occurred at around 11 pm on Monday night. The building is situated near the post office galli opposite Deccan Medical Hall.
As it was Bonalu the owner had kept the shop open late. The incident occurred due to the heavy rains in the last four days, said deputy mayor Mohammed Baba Fasiuddin, who visited the spot. The friends of Muhammed, 50, who happened to be in the shop, said that seconds before it collapsed he saw part of the building caving in. I ran out of the building hearing the sound. But the two of them could not make it, he said.
Both victims died on the spot trapped under the mud and debris. Later, a rescue mission was carried out by the police and firemen who pulled out the bodies. Police said the victims were about to close the shop as they had finished work. They were cleaning the shop when the building caved in, said Chilkalguda inspector K. Srinivasalu. Relatives of victim Akbar Ghori, a resident of Kindi Basthi in Chilkalguda, said that he had been running the chicken shop since 15 years.
He has two children, a 10-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl. He was the sole breadwinner of his family, said one of his relatives. Wajeed Pasha, an assistant of Akbar, had been working in the chicken shop since eight years.
The car was being driven by Ravi Kiran, also from the same nieghbourhood.
Chennai: A 28-year-old-man and his 41-year-old-maternal uncle were killed when the car they were travelling in rolled over into a pit by the roadside pit in North Malayambakkam near Poonamallee on Sunday evening. Seven others, including the driver, had a narrow escape despite the car being considerably damaged.
Sources said the group of friends and relatives from Vaithi Nagar in Poonamallee had gone to a childrens home near an amusement park near Tambaram for lunch on Sunday. The group left the home at around 5 pm after they disbursed educational assistance to the needy children.
When the car was passing by North Malayambakkam, the car driver applied sudden brakes to avoid running over a stray dog that came in the car's path. In the process, the car rolled over thrice plunging into the roadside pit.
P. Ravi (41), resident of Vaithi Nagar, Poonamallee sustained grievous injuries and died on the spot. His nephew, M. Mohan Kumar (28), also from Vaithi Nagar, was declared dead on arrival by doctors at the government hospital.
The car was being driven by Ravi Kiran, also from the same nieghbourhood. Six others - B. Prabhu (25), M. Saravanan (21), K. Baskar (22), R. Jyanesh (21), M. Tharun Kumar (11) and Santhosh (5) - who were in the car and suffered injuries are being treated at GH. The Poonamallee Traffic Investigation Wing had registered a case.
Court will conduct hearing on Wednesday in connection with a petition filed by police seeking the court's permission to collect signature specimen from Ramkumar.
Chennai: The metropolitan magistrate court on Monday has extended the judicial custody of P. Ramkumar, accused in Swathi murder case, until August 12.
Magistrate S. Gopinathan extended Ramkumar's remand through videoconference facility. When the matter came up for hearing, the prison officials produced Ramkumar before the videoconference facility from Puzhal prison.
Last week, the court granted permission to the Nungambakkam police to videograph Ramkumar on August 8 enabling the police to match it with the CCTV footages of Ramkumar collected near Nungambakkam railway station before and after the murder. The police will send videographs and the CCTV footage for forensic analysis.
Meanwhile, the court will conduct hearing on Wednesday in connection with a petition filed by police seeking the court's permission to collect signature specimen from Ramkumar. After collecting all the evidences and documents, the Nungambakkam police will file charge sheet before the court shortly.
Hyderabad: Ten professors from Osmania General Hospital and three from Gandhi Hospital have opted for Andhra Pradesh leading to non-functioning of the units and causing delay in planning elective surgeries.
In OGH the effect is felt more as the professors are from dermatology, gynaecology, anaesthesia, dental, neurosurgery, ENT, cardio-thoriacic, general medicine, pulmonology and microbiology units.
In Gandhi Hospital of the seven units of general medicine, three professors are gone and one has retired due to which only three units are functioning. The professors opted for Andhra Pradesh to the Kamalnathan committee in the bifurcation process as they were native of that region.
Their nativity certificate submitted to the committee alloted to them to that region. They have got posting orders on July 20th. The doctors have shifted and started work in their postings since August 1st.
A senior health official explained, The moving out of a professor in a unit leads to delay in patient care as the elective surgeries and teaching in the colleges both are affected. The burden of this dysfunctional unit falls on other units as patients, teaching and also post-graduate students require to be divided under the existing professors.
The worst is the effect on elective surgeries as they are not able to give immediate dates to patients. Dr K Narismulu, professor of general medicine earlier in Gandhi Hospital and now transferred to Kurnool Medical College explained, In Gandhi Hospital, we have only three units functioning while the remaining four are not functioning as there are no professors as they have moved out. One professor has retired in March but there is no one promoted for that position. There is definitely a dent felt. If the promotions or the new appointments are not made on time, the teaching and patient care both will suffer.
In Gandhi Hospital and OGH the planning time for elective surgeries presently ranges from 15 days to 20 days. Another health official explained, With the units not functioning properly the backlog is going to advance to 30 to 45 days and that will show poorly on the patient front.
Hyderabad: T. Venkaiah never thought that sweeping the roads of Hyderabad and disposing garbage, which he did for 16 years, would fetch him national recognition.
The Rajendranagar GHMC sanitation worker has been named the Best worker in India by the ministry of urban development, and is among the top three in the country to be honoured with an award.
The 49-year-old contract worker of the GHMC is the only one selected from the state. Mr Venkaiah will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 6 at the launch of the Swachh Survekshan 2017 in New Delhi.
GHMCs South Zone commissioner Srinivas Reddy said, Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, the GHMC was invited to nominate the best sanitary workers based on their performance. Ten from the GHMC were identified and nominated. Among them was T. Venkaiah. His attendance always remains 100 per cent, and he does not even take weekly offs. He has a good rapport with locals and residents. He is known for the accuracy of his work, especially good segregation of waste; he is very active in sanitation works. There have been no complaints about him so far. Earlier, too, he has been awarded cash prizes by the GHMC commissioner for his good work.
Venkaiah educates on waste
Mr T. Venkaiah, an outsourced contract worker of the GHMC has been named the Best worker in India by the ministry of urban development. The GHMC Circle 24 worker had earlier worked for the gram panchayat department when Rajendranagar was not merged with Greater Hyderabad.
I started work with a salary of Rs 1,200; after 16 year of service now I draw Rs 10,475. My daily job is to collect and segregate wet and dry waste. I ensure that the colonies allocated to me, like Babul Reddy Nagar, Saibaba Nagar and Mohan Reddy Nagar under Rajendranagar Circle remain clean and green without any sanitation problem, said Mr Venkaiah, who lives in Ganganpahad village. His elder son is also a contract employee with the GHMC, while his younger son is studying Class X.
One does not have to tell Venkaiah to clear the waste. Rain or thunder, he is always punctual. He in fact educates the residents about solid waste management, said Ms Savitha Reddy of Mohan Reddy Nagar.
On August 6, the ministry of urban development will conduct a ranking of 500 cities across the country to know their sanitation status. On the same day the top three best workers will be facilitated.
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan on Tuesday claimed that he never called the Bulandshahr gangrape a political conspiracy, asserting that he was a very sensitive person.
Never said it was Oppositions conspiracy, I only said that UP polls are close & so many such incidents are happening and they need to be investigated, Azam Khan told the media when he was asked if his comments were misconstrued.
Read: 'He's gone mad,' says victim's uncle after Azam calls UP rape 'political conspiracy'
A gang of dacoits had brutally raped a woman and her 13-year-old daughter at gunpoint after dragging them out of a car in Bulandshahr on NH-91 when they were travelling with their family from Noida to Shahjahanpur on Friday night.
Earlier on Monday, Khan had hinted that the rape could have been a political conspiracy and claimed that the opposition could stoop to any level to defame the Akhilesh government.
We must also probe whether this entire controversy is a move by some Opposition elements to defame the government. People who want to come to power may be stooping this low for political interests, Azam had said.
If the Congress can instigate 1000 riots in the country for votes, if for votes Gujarat can happen, if Muzzaffarnagar, Shamli and Kairana can happen, then why not this. Had Gandhi been alive, all this might have not happened, but they even got him killed, Khan added.
Read: Deliver justice or will commit suicide, threaten UP gangrape survivors' kin
Uttar Pradesh Police had on Sunday arrested the three accused -- Naresh (25), Bablu (22) and Rais (28) and detained a dozen others after launching a massive hunt for the dacoits suspected to be behind the highway crime.
Facing flak from opposition, the state government had suspended five officers, including district SSP Vaibhav Krishna.
Mumbai: Under attack from Shiv Sena over a separate statehood for Vidarbha region, Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday told BJP's bickering ally that he was the Chief Minister of "Akhand (entire) Maharashtra".
Fadnavis was speaking in the State Assembly as the contentious issue of separate Vidarbha dominated proceedings for the third day.
Sena MLA and former Mumbai Mayor Sunil Prabhu asked Fadnavis to clarify his stand on the issue.
Prabhu also demanded that cases of treason be filed against those who gave slogans for a separate Vidarbha state in the House.
"There is no proposal as of this moment for a separate Vidarbha before the State Government," Fadnavis said. It is not right to discuss an issue which is not pending before this House, he added.
"I am the CM of an Akhand Maharashtra," Fadnavis said. "While BJP has been in favour of (creation of) smaller states, Sena has opposed it," the CM said. "Both the parties are in the government. This is not the government's stand," he added.
Fadnavis appealed to the House members to put a stop to the discussion on separate Vidarbha issue.
"NCP doesn't have any right to seek my resignation. People have that right," he said.
"Ask NCP's Praful Patel who has backed separate Vidarbha. Should we discuss in the House what he has said," the CM said.
"We have taken an oath to be true to the Constitution. The Constitution provides for a House member to put forth his views on formation of a separate state. A criminal offence cannot be registered against him for this," Fadnavis said.
Prabhu said there's no commitment for an Akhand Maharashtra in the statement by Fadnavis on the Vidarbh a issue.
Opposition Congress-NCP legislators shouted slogans in support of a united Maharashtra. Shiv Sena legislators also joined in.
Opposition legislators staged a protest on the stairs at the entrance of Vidhan Bhawan, against division of the western state.
After the statement by Fadnavis in the Assembly, Sena ministers left for 'Matoshree', party chief Uddhav Thackeray's residence in suburban Bandra.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi during the launch of poll campaign in Uttar Pradesh, in party headquarters in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)
Varanasi: Taking the battle to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's turf, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday launched her party's campaign for the 2017 UP Assembly elections in the constituency.
Gandhi flew in here for a day-long programme in the constituency and was led by hundreds of bikers, waving party flags from the airport to the heart of the city.
The Congress President is also set to participate in a road show which would take her to various parts of the city.
Her choice of starting the campaign from Varanasi for the Assembly elections scheduled next year is significant given the fact that it sends a signal that Congress is daring Modi on his home turf.
This is Gandhi's first visit to Varanasi after Modi became Prime Minister. Gandhi is scheduled to visit the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in the evening to offer prayers.
She is accompanied by Sheila Dikshit, who is the party's Chief Ministerial candidate in the state, AICC General Secretary Gulam Nabi Azad, UPCC Chief Raj Babbar, senior party leaders Pramod Tiwari and Sanjay Singh.
Congress has launched a campaign "dard-e-banaras" to highlight lack of development in Varanasi, which Modi is representing for over two years in the Lok Sabha.
Congress is out of power for 27 years in Uttar Pradesh and is projecting that the state has gone from bad to worse in last 27 years through a campaign called "27 saal UP behal".
Varanasi is a key place in eastern Uttar Pradesh having some 160 of the 403 constituencies in the state. Congress had only won two seats-Amethi and Rae Bareli in 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
The UP Assembly elections outcome will also set the stage for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor has been roped in by Congress to help and assist the UPCC in the Assembly polls. Kishore was earlier strategist of Modi in Lok Sabha polls and Nitish Kumar in Bihar Assembly polls.
New Delhi: A day after Anandiben Patel decided to step down as Chief Minister, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said making her a "scapegoat" would not save the BJP in Gujarat as the 13-year Narendra Modi rule in the state was responsible for its "burning".
"13 years of Modi rule, not 2 years of Anandiben are responsible for Gujarat burning. Sacrificing the scapegoat won't save the BJP," Gandhi said on his official Twitter handle.
13 years of Modi rule, not 2 years of Anandiben are responsible for Gujarat burning. Sacrificing the scapegoat won't save the BJP Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) August 2, 2016
The Gujarat Chief Minister yesterday decided to step down, saying it was time for the new leadership to take over as she is soon going to turn 75.
Assembly elections in Gujarat are scheduled by the end of next year and Congress is upbeat as it had put up a good showing in the rural areas in the western state's panchayat elections.
Congress has been out of power in the Gujarat for over two decades.
The state has been witnessing an agitation by the Patidar community to fulfil their quota demand while Dalits are up in arms after seven people from their community were flogged by a group at Una for skinning a dead cow.
Terming Patel's resignation as "overdue", Congress had on Monday accused the BJP leadership of trying to protect her in spite of "growing unrest" among Dalits and the Patidar community over her handling of issues related to them.
All India Congress Committee General Secretary, in-charge of Gujarat, Gurudas Kamat also said if she is made a Governor of any state or accommodated into the Union cabinet, then it will amount to rubbing salt on the wounds of Dalits and the Patidar community.
Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modis maiden visit to Telangana on August 7 is likely to end without any big announcements such as the release of additional funds to the youngest state by the Central government. Generally states expect some kind of support from the Central government during such high profile visits.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who met Mr Modi in July, had also submitted a long wish list, which includes seeking Central help for various projects such as Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya.
The Telangana State government, however, it appears, does not expect too much from the Prime Ministers first visit to the state in terms of monetary support to the state.
According to sources in the TRS, the Chief Minister will not seek any assurance from the Prime Minister on fund allocation to state at a public meeting to be attended by both the leaders at Gajwel.
Karimnagar TRS MP B. Vinod Kumar said the Chief Minister will not seek any help from the Centre at the public meeting. On the invitation of the Chief Minister, the Prime Minister is coming to the state as a guest. We had already sought whatever support we want from the Centre. And now the guest should not be troubled by making more demands.
On his part, the Chief Minister is pulling out all stops to impress Mr Modi. Sources claim that the TRS had told its cadre to make the Gajwel meeting a grand success by mobilising five lakh people.
Speaking to this newspaper, Telangana BJP Legislature Party leader G. Kishen Reddy said, The Prime Minister normally avoids making any promises and announcements of funds during State tours.
He added Mr Modi likes to sanction projects to various states without much fanfare. The revival of Ramagundam fertilisers factory is one such example. So I dont think he will promise anything new to Telangana.
However senior Congress leader and MLC Ponguleti Sudhakara Reddy appealed to the Prime Minister to treat Telangana on par with Andhra Pradesh in granting funds and projects during his maiden visit to state.
At a crucial time in the Arun Shourie/Pradip Baijal journey in the disinvestment ministry, confabulations between Osamu Suzukis Suzuki Motor Corporation and the Government of India came to an abrupt standstill. The standoff was over control premium for Maruti Suzukis Golden Share, which would hand over control of Indias homegrown Maruti to the Japanese auto major as it would become the majority shareholder. It was tense and gruelling, and no headway was made as the government was clear it would not relinquish control over Indias premier passenger carmaker for less than Rs 1,000 crores. But the Japanese would have none of it, they were hard-boiled negotiators too. So Mr Baijal and Co in the disinvestment ministry realised it was best to back off for the time being. To cool things off, it was decided that the Japanese delegation should be sent to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, and the thread could be picked up later. It worked like clockwork. The Japanese returned from Agra refreshed. The government came back to the table and cracked it wide open. A control premium of Rs 1,000 crores changed hands, and this became an iconic moment in the disinvestment battle.
That was the fierce doggedness that was shown in Atal Behari Vajpayees tenure on reforms. Between the strategic sale of sick PSUs, road-building programmes under the Golden Quadrilateral and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and capital account convertibility reforms, Mr Vajpayee left a lasting legacy.
This is something the present government could learn from. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to mirror standout reforms, but India has wasted two years and a bit to wait for something transformational. Plodding ahead, pursuing incrementalism and gradualism, an irate Mr Modi is obviously concerned with this intellectual bankruptcy. At a Niti Aayog meeting on July 28, a worried PM spoke of how India needed transformational change. The slow pace of reforms and the complete paucity of structural changes in the past two years has hurt the PM and the BJP governments image.
Mr Modi was propelled to power on a platform of growth and development. Logic says that the right wing is good for reform. Of course, there were many other tall promises the government has failed to deliver on. But what hurts India optically is that nothing is really moving except successful administrative reforms. Deeper reforms, unfortunately, remain unpalatable. The Luddites are deeply embedded across Indias political spectrum. Once UPA-2 got 206 Lok Sabha seats in 2009, it decided to rewind to practising welfare economics and veering back to an age of socialist dogmas, by going back to its default settings. The BJP, under Mr Modi, sadly cannot reshape the narrative either. Spitballing wont help.
The Niti Aayog has finally unveiled this governments 15-year Vision Document, a planning paper that is set to be the bedrock for the future. At the same event, the PM said he had the courage to experiment and wanted the Niti Aayog to think big and pioneer innovative, out-of-the-box ideas. Emphasising the bulwark of cooperative federalism, he was obviously unhappy with the way things are going, as he sought drastic policy overhaul and reform. It is unacceptable that the BJPs cerebral inputs have fallen way short of expectations. The PMs running theme has been transformation over incrementalism. Yet the corresponding ideas have failed to emerge. Which makes one wonder at the width and depth of the BJPs think tanks and allied policy mavens. At a media giants economic summit in January, the PM spoke about Reform to Transform. In November 2015.
Mr Modi told 80 top secretaries he wanted, transformational ideas for next years Budget and shift the focus from output to outcome. Now the question is: if the all-powerful PM has a bee in his bonnet about transformative ideas, and rightly so, why is this not forthcoming? Cant the government and the party come up with killer applications that provide breakthrough benefits? I cant believe for a moment that the BJP doesnt have thinking horsepower. Or is someone trying to impede the PM? Niti Aayog vice-chief Arvind Panagariya wants more experts in the government, but that is not the answer to Indias woes. The Niti Aayog itself must be transformative and communicative, as I dont think it has so far delivered on anything significant.
Time, it is said, stops for no one. In early July, Mr Panagariya said: On strategic divestment, you will see action in the next six months I would say, meaning that the process is on, but you will see some action happening in the next six months or less. One sincerely hopes so, for this sounds like typical bureaucratese, the bane of Indian governance. With reformers like Amitabh Kant and Ratan Watal in Niti Aayog, one expects some serious ideation. What about the rest of the government? Are there no ideas of substance which will materially change and transform? Is the well so shallow, the gene pool so restricted?
What is perhaps most galling is the singular lack of big-ticket ideas. The ecosystem is working sub-optimally, private investment lies crippled. While politicians fight for financial and economic inclusion of Indias vast swathes of poor, boosting the capacity of the state and finding new avenues to bridge the infrastructure, energy and capital deficit remains distant. Balancing finances to pump prime social welfare programmes and Indias poor infrastructure is another challenge. Revenue mobilisation remains the primary task to fund all this. Take the Rs 40,000-crore National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, that was conceived in Budget 2015 (February), but got its CEO, Sujay Bose, only on June 27 this year.
Look at the time lag for just about everything from announcements to outcomes how will one ever get a swift response? The journey becomes an expedition, that assumes the avatar of a voyage with no closure in sight. This is the real scourge of the Indian economy. Mr Modi was likened to Deng Xiaoping when he came to power in 2014. India awaits transformation as it has had enough of rhetoric.
The writer is a former editor, author and visiting fellow at Observer Research Foundation. He loves the space where politics and economics converge.
Gujarat CM Anandiben Patels surprise announcement on Monday that she wanted to resign reveals open infighting within the state BJP, with the saffron partys all-India chief Amit Shah playing a lead part in the denouement, as Anandiben supporters have hinted. This lends the matter a dimension that goes beyond Gujarat. Ms Patel, Gujarats first woman chief minister, had been loyal to Narendra Modi throughout his career as CM of Gujarat, and she was politically rewarded for sticking close. This went to the extent that a Cabinet meeting in 2010, when Mr Modi was CM, cleared a proposal for a suspicious land grant at ridiculous rates for a company with which Ms Patels daughter Anar was linked, and this has become a scandal.
When Mr Modi shifted to New Delhi, he handpicked Ms Patel as his successor to lead the Gujarat government although he was aware there was considerable opposition to her elevation within the BJP. When Ms Patel called on the PM in New Delhi in May, she was apparently assured she wont be replaced although the rumblings against her were rising. But political circumstances have forced her out. Her benefactor could no longer save her. In that sense, this is the first tower in the BJP citadel to fall after Mr Modi became PM. Corruption charges against the BJP-run state governments of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and insinuations made against external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in the Lalit Modi affair, were brazenly stonewalled by the Modi government.
The Gujarat CMs removal became unavoidable as Mr Modis favourite ran a corrupt show (many instances of which are now being cited), she projected an anti-dalit face, specially after the disgraceful July 11 episode at Una in Gujarat when harijan families were flogged by gau rakshaks, who seem to have got a free run and fear nobody, for doing their traditional work of skinning dead cows.
After this, in protest, many Gujarat dalits consumed pesticides and took their own life. This is real bad news for the BJP, which has been trying hard since last year to cultivate dalits, especially in the coming UP Assembly elections. Thousands of dalits rallied in Ahmedabad on Sunday and pledged not to do their traditional cleaning work. The BJP is once again being seen as an anti-dalit party. It is a bad advertisement for the so-called Gujarat model of development.
Last year the Anandiben government lathicharged the patidar (Patel) community, the BJPs main vote bank in Gujarat, when they held a protest for their quota demand. Anandibens rule has damaged the BJPs electoral prospects. A rescue act cant be easy.
Border defence and border policing are important aspects of national security. They require different approaches, and different organisations. Border defence is primarily the responsibility of the Army, requiring concentration of force at tactical locations not only for defence but for counter-offensives into enemy territory. Border policing is required to prevent infiltration and smuggling and also maintain law and order in the border areas. Primarily the responsibility of the paramilitary, it requires dispersal of force with platoon/company posts covering the border. There should be close cooperation between the Army and the paramilitary. In war, there should be unity on the border with paramilitary units working under the Armys command.
During British rule our land borders were very tranquil. However, the tribes in the Northwest were turbulent, often carrying out raids into settled areas. The Army had to frequently carry out operations against tribesmen. This was considered good live training for war. The northern borders in the Himalayas had been peaceful from the dawn of history. The land borders in the east have dense jungles which were considered impenetrable. No military threat was visualised from that direction. However, during the Second World War, for the first time we faced an invasion from the east. The Japanese invasion was decisively defeated at Kohima and Imphal. However, the vulnerability of our eastern border was underscored again by the Chinese aggression in 1962.
During British rule, the jungle region beyond the Inner Line had no settled administration. Primitive tribes were allowed to live their secluded lives. They had not been exposed to civilisation and their way of life was no different from the way their ancestors lived several centuries ago. Head-hunting would take place among the tribes. Often punitive expeditions had to be undertaken against the tribes, specially when they descended from the mountains and raided the plains of Assam.
There were a few Scouts Battalions in the northwest for border policing commanded by majors from the Army, like the Gilgit Scouts, Tochi Scouts and Khurram Scouts, all working under Army formations in the region. In the East, the British started with the Cachar Levy in 1935 which was redesignated Assam Rifles in 1917. Army officers served on deputation with Assam Rifles battalions and Assam Rifles units took part in the First and Second World Wars. Exercising overall command of the Assam Rifles in Assam used to be a brigadier designated IG Assam Rifles working under Assams governor.
After Partition, our land borders with Pakistan both in the west and east became very live borders. Later, so did our borders in the north with China. Initially, we had no border police force on our borders with West and East Pakistan. Ad hoc arrangements were made for policing on the Indo-Pakistan border with State Armed Police units and militia/scouts. In 1965 the Border Security Force was raised to police the India-Pakistan border. Border policing normally requires platoon or company-level engagement. Anything on a larger scale should entail the regular Army taking over operations. The organisation, equipment and functioning of the border police should be tailored to this requirement and not to that of a parallel Army. The BSF, with 200 battalions, artillery and an air wing, is the worlds largest border guarding force.
Beyond border policing, it is tasked to be Indias first line of defence, have the capability for limited aggressive action and also defend an assigned sector. The BSF performed creditably in the east during the 1971 war. The other three border police organisations are the Indo-Tibetan Border Police of 50 battalions deployed on our northern border with China, 46 battalions of Assam Rifles in the Northeast, and now 70 battalions of the Sashastra Seema Bal for the India-Nepal border to prevent cross-border crime and smuggling. Thus, we have a total of 352 battalions for border policing working under the home ministry.
The 13-lakh-strong Indian Army is the third-largest Army in the world. Along with the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force, it is required to defend the country. In view of the grave external and internal threats we face, we have to maintain large military and paramilitary forces. At the same time we must ensure we get rid of flab and improve the teeth-to-tail ratio so that our forces carry out their tasks effectively and economically. This will also release funds for acquiring modern weapons. The UK has cut its Army by 20 per cent, reducing its manpower by 82,000. The US Army is being reduced by 80,000 and Chinas 2.3-million-strong Peoples Liberation Army is being reduced by 3,00,000. The defence ministry has set up a committee to reduce the flab in our Army and to improve the teeth-to-tail ratio. A similar committee is required for the paramilitary forces, keeping in view the requirements of border policing. Economy can be effected by making them less top-heavy and possibly having some common training institutions.
All institutions of governance in India civil, military and paramilitary have become very top-heavy. This not only adds flab but also delays and clogs decision-making. It increases the proverbial red tape. Till the 1970s, a ministry in the Government of India had a secretary, some joint secretaries, deputy secretaries and undersecretaries. An additional secretary would sometimes be there, but that was not very common. Today we have a principal secretary, secretary, special secretary, additional secretary, director, deputy secretary, undersecretary, and now assistant secretary in ministries, increasing the levels of functioning in the Central Secretariat. Similarly in the states, where we had about half a dozen joint secretary-level officers, including the chief secretary, there are now dozens of secretary-level officers.
The police has also followed suit in a big way. New senior ranks above IG Principal DG, DG, Special DG and Additional DG have been introduced. Till the 1970s, the UP police had one officer in IG rank looking after the state police. Today UP has 131 officers of IG rank and above. Starting with a cadre review, the Army has also gone for large-scale rank upgradations. There are top-heavy and bloated headquarters at different levels. However, compared to the bureaucracy and the police, the Army has less flab on this account.
The committee set up by the defence ministry must reduce flab in the military and increase the teeth-to-tail ratio (teeth being the fighting element and supporting elements the tail). The teeth are considered more important in a fighting Army but cannot function without the tail. The correct balance must be achieved. Due to cross-border terrorism and insurgency, we have to keep a manpower-intensive Army. Reduction in combat units may be difficult and can only be marginal. The flab can be found more in our logistics set-up and in our top rank structure, particularly on staff at all headquarter levels. The Indian military must have adequate manpower and the most modern military hardware to enable India to be a leading world power.
The writer, a retired lieutenant-general, was Vice-Chief of Army Staff and has served as governor of Assam and Jammu and Kashmir
Opening official Stores allows the company to effectively cut out the middlemen.
China-based consumer goods manufacturer Lenovo has applied for single-brand retail licence in India, which will allow the company to own and run showrooms in the country.
The announcement was made on the sidelines of Lenovos recent smartphone launch event. Lenovo India declared that the total earnings from mobile sales for the year ended March 31, 2016 stood at $1.3 billion; almost twice the sales achieved in the previous fiscal.
In a statement to the media, Sudhir Mathur, director for the mobile business group at Lenovos Indian operation said that sales have been growing at a healthy pace in India and the company expects to maintain the flow during the current fiscal.
At present, Lenovos smartphones and laptops can only be bought through online and regular outlets; however, opening official Stores will allow the company to effectively cut out middlemen.
According to the media reports, besides applying for the single-brand retail license, the company has applied for e-commerce business in the country. This, however, makes it a necessity for the company to sell 30 per cent locally sourced goods in the country under foreign investment norms.
To fulfil this requisite, the company is planning to introduce eight-nine smartphones in India over the coming months. Thus, expects to grow 30 per cent this year.
Other companies, including Apple and LeEco have also applied for the single-brand retail license in India.
Mumbai: Samsung finally unveiled its much awaited Galaxy Note 7 at an event on Tuesday held in New York. The event was also streamed live on YouTube for the global audience.
Some of the highlighting facets of the device include a significantly improved design, better user experience, iris scanner and enhanced performance. While the device still retains its large 5.7-inch QHD bezel-less screen, the main attraction of the whole unit is the advanced S Pen.
Moreover, both the handset and the S Pen are IP68 certified, which prevents it under five feet water and free from dust-related issues.
The handset features a praiseworthy symmetrical design along with dual curved architecture, rounded back and is protected by Gorilla Glass 5. A complex 3D thrermoforming process is the reason behind the smartphones impeccable design.
As Justin Denison, Samsungs Senior Vice President of Product Strategy, said, "It is designed for pioneerspeople who need a canvas for their boldest ideas, and a pen that can bring them to life."
If thats not enough to excite fans, for the first time ever, the company has decided to put the devices large screen to use by offering high-quality HDR content.
According to the company, this will drastically improve the detailing in video quality. It has partnered with Amazon to bring exclusive HDR content to the Galaxy Note 7.
Moving on to the performance, the Galaxy Note 7 is powered by a Snapdragon 820 Chipset in the US and its native Exynos chipset in other parts. The chipset is further enhanced by the presence of 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage, which can be extended to 256GB via external MicroSD card.
To be clearer, the company claimed that the CPU on the Note 7 is 31 per cent more efficient; a GPU that is 58 per cent better along with an enhanced RAM.
All this is supported by a 3,500mAh battery which is further empowered by wireless fast charging technology. It also comes along with USB Type-C connector for fast data transfers.
In terms of camera, the handset gets the same 12MP rear camera featured on the S7 and S7 Edge. The front 5MP camera is also the same the Flagship S series.
However, the major change with this device is the biometric iris scanner, which matches the pattern of your eyes to unlock the device; the 4-digit pass code can also be used though.
With the Iris scanner, comes a lot of integrated services such as banking, secure folder storage, and Samsung Pay. While none of the payment services are available in India, the software integration is admirable.
The smartphone is available in four colours Black Onyx, Gold Platinum, Silver Titanium and all-new Blue Coral. However, the company decided to stay silent regarding the pricing for now.
The #GalaxyNote7 comes in four stunning colors: Black Onyx, Gold Platinum, Silver Titanium and all-new Blue Coral. pic.twitter.com/VNLsjDpkkq Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) August 2, 2016
Most advanced S Pen
Though the device is laudable on its own, the super-efficient S Pen that comes along with the handset is a major trait making it even better. With the S Pen, users will now be able to attain much more.
We haven't just changed the way the S Pen looks and feels. We've changed the way it thinks. #GalaxyNote7 pic.twitter.com/MIBN6o7ylI Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) August 2, 2016
Using the nifty pen, artists will be able to use newer techniques including new oil sketching and blending tricks. The diameter of S Pens tip has now been reduced 50 per centfrom 1.6mm to 0.7mmfor a realistic feel.
Keeping in mind the numerous activities user indulge in with the S Pen, the company has also decided to allot a new appSamsung Notesdedicated only to activities using the S Pen.
Apart from that, the S Pen is now a capable translator helping you quickly decode unknown languages. It also keeps you on track; users can quickly note down something on the phone which will be flashed later on the always-on display. Smart select is another facet that allows users to create GIF animations from video clips.
With so much to offer, the smartphone along with the S Pen seem to be a step forward for the company. The company said that the device arrives on August 19 and it is speculated to be unveiled in India on August 11.
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The statement could be an effort by Trump to lay the groundwork of an excuse if he goes on to lose the general election. (Photo: AP)
Columbus: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump suggested Monday that he fears the general election "is going to be rigged" - an unprecedented assertion by a modern presidential candidate.
Trump's extraordinary claim - one he did not back up with any immediate evidence - would, if it became more than just an offhand comment, seem to threaten the tradition of peacefully contested elections and challenge the very essence of a fair democratic process.
"I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," the Republican nominee told a town hall crowd in Columbus, Ohio. He added that he has been hearing "more and more" that the election may not be contested fairly, though he did not elaborate further.
Trump made the claim after first suggesting that the Democrats had fixed their primary system so Hillary Clinton could defeat Bernie Sanders. Trump has previously backed up that thought by pointing to hacked emails from the national party that appeared to indicate a preference for Clinton. Still, the former Secretary of State received 3.7 million more votes than Sanders nationwide and had established a clear lead in delegates by March 1.
The celebrity businessman - who has been known to dabble in conspiracy theories, including claims that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States and, more recently, that Sen. Ted Cruz's father was an associate of President John F. Kennedy's assassin - also claimed that the Republican nomination would have been stolen from him had he not won by significant margins.
He then asserted that November's general election may not be on the up-and-up.
Requests to Trump's campaign for additional explanation were not returned.
The statement could be an effort by Trump to lay the groundwork of an excuse if he goes on to lose the general election. But if he were to be defeated in November and then publicly declare that the election results were bogus, his claim could yield unpredictable reactions from his supporters and fellow Republicans.
Trump did not repeat his claim at an evening rally in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. But he has not been shy of asserting that the electoral process has been "rigged."
It became a frequent catchphrase of his during a low-water mark of his primary campaign this spring, when forces allied with Republican rival Ted Cruz managed to pack state delegations with supporters of the Texas senator. Trump also asserted that the Republican Party had changed the delegate allocation in the Florida primary to favor a native candidate, like Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio, at Trump's expense.
In recent weeks, in an effort to woo angry Sanders supporters to his campaign, Trump has made the claim that the Democrats' process was also rigged. Monday night, Trump said Sanders "made a deal with the devil," and said of Clinton, "She's the devil."
The Clinton campaign declined to comment about Trump's remarks.
The event in Ohio was Trump's first campaign appearance since the onset of his tussle with the parents of a slain Army veteran, but he did not address the flap. He spoke for nearly an hour Monday in Columbus, but did not mention his criticism of Khizr and Ghazala Khan, Muslims whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004.
The Khans spoke out against Trump and questioned his familiarity with the Constitution last week at the Democratic National Convention. Trump struck back by questioning whether Ghazala Khan had been allowed to speak. She said she is still too grief-stricken by her son's death.
Trump criticized the family in an interview Sunday and again in a pair of tweets Monday morning. Asked on MSNBC Monday whether Trump should apologize, Ghazala Khan said, "I don't want to hear anything from him and I don't want to say anything to him."
But his running mate, Mike Pence, quieted a campaign rally crowd Monday that booed a woman who said she had a son who serves in the U.S. Air Force and asked how he can tolerate what she called Trump's disrespect of American servicemen.
Pence asked the Nevada crowd to quiet down, then said about the questioner: "That's what freedom looks like. That's what freedom sounds like."
He continued: "Capt. Kahn is an American hero. We honor him and his family ... we cherish his family." He added that Trump had great respect for veterans.
Because he was an FBI employee, the threat "was all the more serious and the betrayal all the more duplicitous," the prosecutor added. (Representational Image/ YouTube Screengrab)
New York: An FBI electronics technician with a top security clearance pleaded guilty on Monday to funneling photographs of FBI documents and other sensitive information to China.
Prosecutors in federal court in Manhattan charged Kun Shan Chun - a naturalised US citizen who goes by "Joey Chun" - with making false statements in connection with his security clearance to cover up his connections to Chinese associates that included at least one unnamed government official.
Chun, 46, threatened American security by acting as an unauthorized foreign agent, US Attorney Preet Bharara said in statement. Because he was an FBI employee, the threat "was all the more serious and the betrayal all the more duplicitous," the prosecutor added.
Chun, who was released after the plea, declined to speak to reporters as he left the courthouse. Defense attorney Jonathan Marvinny said in a statement that his client "deeply regrets" what he did.
"The truth is that Mr. Chun loves the United States and never intended to cause it any harm," the lawyer said.
Court papers allege that after beginning work for the FBI's Computerized Central Monitoring Facility, Chun cultivated a relationship with Chinese associates seeking technological data and other information.
In 2013, Chun downloaded an FBI organisational chart from his FBI computer in Manhattan and later turned it over to an unnamed Chinese official, the papers say.
About two years later, he "took photographs of documents displayed in a restricted area of the FBI's New York Field Office, which summarized sensitive details regarding multiple surveillance technologies used by the FBI," the papers say. He later used his personal cellphone to send the photos to China, they add.
Authorities say Chun was rewarded with cash, free travel and other favors for himself and his family.
The court papers cite one email exchange in which a Chinese associate wrote about treating Chun and his future wife to a trip to France and Italy with "five-star hotels the entire way." During a conversation with an undercover investigator, he claimed his associates also sometimes paid for prostitutes for him, the papers say.
There was no immediate response from the Chinese Embassy in Washington to a request for comment on the case.
Ottawa: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday sweeping changes to the way Supreme Court justices are chosen, vowing diversity while scrapping a tradition of regional representation on Canada's top bench.
Also for the first time ever, interested lawyers and judges can apply on their own behalf to be justices.
An independent panel led by former prime minister Kim Campbell will sort through applications and provide a shortlist of three to five candidates to the prime minister.
The changes aim to end what critics decried as a partisan and unaccountable selection system described by Trudeau himself as "a secretive backroom process."
"The nine men and women who sit on the Supreme Court bench must be jurists of the highest caliber, they must be functionally bilingual and they must also represent the diversity of our great country," Trudeau said in a Globe and Mail op-ed.
Citing Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, he added: "If we are to fully meet the challenges of judging in a diverse society, we must work toward a bench that better mirrors the people it judges."
"A diverse bench brings different and valuable perspectives to the decision-making process, whether informed by gender, ethnicity, personal history or the myriad other things that make us who we are," he said.
Under the previous Tory administration, the selection of top judges became mired in controversy after the government's pick was rejected in 2013.
In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court ruled that the appointee lacked the legal qualifications.
After leaks revealed similar shortcomings of other candidates put forward by Stephen Harper's government, the Tories ended parliament's involvement in the selection process.
Under the new regime, the nominee will be vetted by a parliamentary committee.
Trudeau's advisory panel, meanwhile, includes an aboriginal leader, and lawyers with expertise in gay and other minority rights. Campbell, the panel's chair, was Canada's first female prime minister in 1993.
The nominee will replace retiring Justice Thomas Cromwell, who hails from Nova Scotia province, in September.
Under the old system, the new justice would be picked from the same area, but that won't necessarily be the case now, according to the prime minister's office.
Cornell had amassed two semi-automatic rifles, approximately 600 rounds of ammunition, and had researched how to make bombs. (Photo: AP)
Chicago: A man in the US state of Ohio has pleaded guilty to charges that he planned to attack the US Capitol during a speech by President Barack Obama last year. Christopher Lee Cornell, a 22-year-old from the Cincinnati area, pleaded guilty to "terrorism charges" on Monday, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Cornell admitted to attempting to kill government employees, possession of a firearm to commit violent crime and attempting to "provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation," it said.
According to the plea agreement, he said that from about August 2014 through January 2015 he had schemed to travel to Washington in order to attack the US Capitol during Obama's State of the Union Address on January 20, 2015.
Cornell had amassed two semi-automatic rifles, approximately 600 rounds of ammunition, and had researched how to make bombs. He was arrested on January 14, 2015.
"The defendant admitted that his planned attack on the US Capitol was an attempt to provide material support and resources -- both personnel and services -- to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)," the department said, using another name of the Islamic State group.
"After his arrest, he posted statements online that included a call for others to join him in violent jihad against the United States and its citizens," according to his admissions in the plea agreement.
Cornell faces as much as 40 years in prison on the charges.
3 UT Austin professors who have sued, claiming their free speech rights would be violated, because students with guns would create a fearful atmosphere. (Photo: Representational Image)
Chicago: Texas became the eighth US state to allow guns on campuses Monday -- a controversial decision that comes on the 50th anniversary of a deadly sniper rampage at a university.
The law, which was passed last year, requires public universities in Texas to permit concealed weapons in campus buildings, although schools can impose limits on where guns are allowed.
At the University of Texas at Austin, where a mass shooting in 1966 claimed 14 lives, the institution's president Gregory Fenves said the emotionally charged issue would likely be little noticed on campus.
"We have a very safe campus," Fenves said, "And I think that will continue."
Texas joins seven other states which also allow concealed guns on university campuses, including Oregon, Colorado, and Wisconsin. Eighteen states specifically ban the practice.
Critics of the law include three UT Austin professors who have sued, claiming their free speech rights would be violated, because students with guns would create a fearful atmosphere and stifle the open expression of ideas.
In an opinion piece published last week in The Dallas Morning News, Seema Yasmin, who teaches at a public university in Dallas, echoed that theme.
"I'm not scared of guns. I'm scared of this combination: term exam stress, undiagnosed mental illness and the ability to carry guns in university buildings," Yasmin wrote.
Proponents argue that allowing concealed weapons on campuses makes students and teachers safer, because any potential shooting attacks can be halted more quickly by armed citizens.
As the new law went into effect, UT Austin dedicated a new sculpture on its campus grounds for the victims of the 1966 massacre.
The stone block sculpture is etched with the names of all 17 people killed by gunman Charles Whitman: the 14 killed on campus, his mother and wife whom he killed earlier in the day, and one more campus victim who would die of his wounds years later.
Whitman, a former military sharpshooter, climbed the university's clock tower building and shot for more than 90 minutes before being killed.
"This massacre... occurred before terms like mass shooting," said Lloyd Doggett, a Texas congressman who 50 years ago was a student at UT Austin. "Now, such gun violence has become all too commonplace."
Some of the shooting's survivors attended the ceremony, including Claire Wilson James, who lost her unborn child when she was wounded.
"Let this memorial remain here on campus and in our minds, as a reminder of the power we have each moment to become a community of love and reverence for life," James said during the ceremony.
It is unclear what the impact of the Texas law will be.
For one, concealed guns have been allowed on Texas university campuses since 1995. The new law now allows them inside buildings as well.
A person has to be 21 or older to be licensed to carry a gun in the state. That limits the number of college students who would qualify.
And despite fears, university officials say there is little evidence of increased violence.
After the law was passed a year ago, the University of Texas examined 17 other universities where students are allowed to carry guns.
"Most respondents reported that campus carry had not had much direct impact on student life or academic affairs," said UT's subsequent report. "We have found little evidence of campus violence that can be directly linked to campus carry, and none that involves an intentional shooting."
Still, the law could have damaging public relations effects.
Already, two UT Austin professors have parted from the school. A candidate to lead the university's communications school reportedly withdrew citing the concealed carry law.
Asked whether the school was concerned that students might stay away, Fenves said the institution is monitoring any potential impact.
"At this point, I can't say it's had an undue effect on our ability to recruit," he said.
Ban reported to the Security Council on his controversial decision to temporarily remove the coalition from the UN list of shame pending a review, triggering an outcry from rights groups. (Photo: AP)
United Nations, United States: The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen must do more to address "very serious concerns" about the killing of children, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday, as he weighs whether to return the alliance to a blacklist of child rights violators.
Ban reported to the Security Council on his controversial decision to temporarily remove the coalition from the UN list of shame pending a review, triggering an outcry from rights groups.
"I still have very strong concerns about the protection of Yemeni children. They must always come first," Ban said, adding that the United Nations was continuing its review with the Saudi-led coalition.
Saudi Arabia reacted angrily to the decision in June to blacklist the coalition after a UN report found the military alliance was responsible for 60 percent of the 785 children's deaths in Yemen last year.
Last week, Saudi Arabia outlined in a 13-page confidential letter to Ban the measures that the coalition is taking to prevent civilian deaths.
In the letter obtained by AFP, Saudi Ambassador Abdallah al-Mouallimi offered to share with the United Nations the results of 10 investigations of air strikes on hospitals, homes, a wedding party and markets.
The coalition will share the results of the investigations with the United Nations during a meeting they have proposed be held in Riyadh, he said.
Ban told the council he had received information on the measures taken by the coalition, but that these fell short.
"We will continue our engagement to ensure that concrete measures to protect children are implemented," he told the council.
Ban emphasized that "the content of the report stands."
In his letter, the Saudi ambassador said the coalition had set up a reparations committee to consider compensation for the victims and opened a direct dialogue with aid organizations to guarantee the protection of hospitals.
Mouallimi provided details of steps taken to designate targets and ensure they have "identifiable military purposes."
They include drawing up a list of prohibited targets such as schools and diplomatic missions and working with "local forces to identify and vet targets for airstrikes."
Ban in June said he was forced to remove the coalition from the list after Saudi Arabia threatened to cut off funding of UN aid programs. Riyadh denies the accusations.
The coalition launched an air campaign in support of Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in March 2015 to push back Huthi rebels after they seized the capital Sanaa and many other parts of the country.
The war has killed some 6,400 people and exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in the impoverished country, the United Nations says.
Laura Hansen, 20, was detained at Schiphol airport as she arrived back in the country almost a year after leaving with her husband. (Photo: AFP)
The Hague: A young woman who returned home to The Netherlands with her two children after fleeing Syria has been arrested on suspicion of links to the jihadist Islamic State group, officials said on Tuesday.
Identified in Dutch media reports as 20-year-old Laura Hansen, the woman was detained late Monday at Schiphol airport as she arrived back in the country almost a year after leaving with her husband.
She had allegedly fled the conflict zone in Syria and arrived back in Schiphol airport, where she was arrested immediately on arrival, the Dutch prosecution service said.
She is suspected of participating in a terrorist organisation in Syria and/or Iraq between September 1, 2015 and July 12, 2016, it added in a statement.
Her two children were taken into care, and prosecutors are now investigating whether to bring any formal charges.
A woman identified by the same name appeared on Kurdish television early last month saying she had fled from the grips of the jihadist group.
She said her 27-year-old husband had told her they were going on holiday in September, and instead had taken her against her will to the IS stronghold in Raqqa, northern Syria.
After several months, she was transferred to Mosul, in northern Iraq.
Hansen told Kurdistan24 television she had escaped IS with the help of her father, and surrendered to the Kurdish peshmerga after her two young children were injured in a bombing in Mosul.
I didnt want to come to Syria... He pushed me, she said of her husband, speaking in halting English to the Arbil-based TV channel.
They put me in a house. It was all (guarded by) men. Men with beards and guns, she said.
I was trying all the time to flee from the hell in which I was living.
The Dutch foreign ministry told AFP that diplomats had been in touch with Hansen and her family when she was in Iraq.
Our consulate-general in Arbil was in touch with the local authorities all the time and assisted with Lauras return to The Netherlands, a foreign ministry spokesman said.
At least 250 Dutch people have left the Netherlands for Syria and Iraq to join fighters there, according to the Dutch National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV).
About 40 have since come home, while another 42 are believed to have died in the fighting.
London: A British man detained in the United States for allegedly trying to wrestle a gun from a police officer at a Donald Trump rally is suffering from severe mental illness and risks dying in prison, his mother said on Tuesday.
Michael Sandford, 20, is due to face trial in Nevada on August 22. He has pleaded not guilty to 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.
His mother, Lynne Sandford, told a news conference in London that her son, who has been diagnosed in the past with autism, depression and other mental health conditions, had been on suicide watch in a Nevada prison for the past three weeks.
She portrayed her son as a compassionate, child-like man who enjoyed watching "Peppa Pig", a British children's television programme, and who was bewildered and frightened by his incarceration. She said her son had attempted to take his own life when he was 14 years old and was suffering from anorexia.
Michael Sandford was arrested after an incident at a Trump rally at the Treasure Island hotel in Las Vegas on June 18, and later told an investigator he wanted to kill the Republican presidential candidate, according to US court papers.
He has not been charged with attempted murder. "I accept that Michael has tried to do a bad thing but he is mentally ill and is not a bad or dangerous person," said his mother, adding that she had last spoken to him on the phone on Sunday.
"He kept breaking down and sobbing on the phone, saying 'please, please, I just want to come home'. He's very remorseful ... He's just in a really bad way," she said. Sandford has launched a campaign to have her son repatriated to Britain so he could be treated in a secure medical facility. She has raised 19,600 pounds ($25,950) through the crowd-funding website Crowd Justice to pay for legal and other expenses.
She said a British consular official who had visited her son in prison had reported that he was shackled and handcuffed. "It's not clear that Michael actually understands what he has done," said Saimo Chahal, the family's British lawyer, speaking alongside Lynne Sandford.
"Because of his Asperger's, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and other psychological conditions there is a question mark over whether he's fit to plead and to undergo the trial process in the States," she said.
Chahal said she was working to provide the public defenders' office in Nevada with independent evidence of Michael Sandford's mental illness. She expected the trial to be postponed by at least 56 days initially to allow time for that. She hoped a trial would not happen and that Sandford would be repatriated to Britain as part of a plea bargain agreement.
Lepard has been registered on sex offenders list for life while Comway has been registered on the list for 10 years. (Representational Image)
London: A teenager who was filmed sexually assaulting an unconscious woman has been jailed for eight years after he was heard saying 'it's technically rape'.
According to a report in The Sun, the attacker, identified as Leppard, made the statement only after one of his friends, Tommy Conway, slapped the unconscious woman's naked bottoms and said that it was his turn to rape the girl.
While the case was undergoing a trial in the Maidstone Crown Court, prosecutors said that the victim was high on alcohol when she was sexually assaulted by the teens. She came to know about the rape only after she was shown the video clip by her friend.
During one of trials, the court was told that the attackers did not use a condom and the girl too did not consume any contraceptive pill since she wasn't aware of the assault.
Prosecutor Nina Ellin said that the victim's friend was the one who recorded the act on camera.
"While she was filming it, Conway came in and jumped on top of Leppard as he was having sex. While on top, Conway was making groaning noises and imitating motions of having sex and making sexual comments," Ellin was quoted as saying.
At one point, Conway grabbed her leg and lifted it up while she was engaged in sex with Jamie Leppard," Ellin added.
Leppard has been charged with one count of rape and faces eight years in prison. His friend and partner in crime denied any involvement but was convicted and locked up by the court for a period of two years and three months.
Lepard has been registered on sex offenders list for life while Comway has been registered on the list for 10 years. Moreover, both have been barred from working with children and vulnerable adults for life.
Pakistan said 8,520 of its nationals in Saudi Arabia had not been receiving their salaries for several months. (Representational Image)
Manila: Thousands of jobless Indians, Filipinos and Pakistanis are stranded and destitute in Saudi Arabia after the plunge in oil prices sparked construction layoffs, activists and officials said Tuesday.
Some Filipinos are forced to beg or sift through garbage to survive after going unpaid for months, said Garry Martinez, chairman of the Migrante group which works for the millions of Filipino overseas workers worldwide.
"Some of them have nothing to eat and have to go through the garbage for food," said Martinez.
India said Monday it was negotiating with Saudi authorities to repatriate thousands of its own nationals after they lost their jobs, leaving them with no money to return home.
Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told parliament in New Delhi she was sending a junior minister to Riyadh after reports that around 10,000 Indian workers had been left to starve.
Indians are among millions of poor Asians working in the Gulf states, where human rights groups say many suffer exploitation and abuses including non-payment of wages.
In Manila, Migrante coordinator Gilbert Saludo -- who returned from Saudi Arabia last month after two years working there -- said as many as 20,000 Filipinos could be affected.
Saludo said that while Manila had extended financial aid to them so far, it was not clear how long this could last.
The labour problem appeared likely to worsen, he added.
"It will get much worse because so much of the income of Saudi Arabia comes from oil... so their budget for infrastructure and other projects will not be met and more people will be affected," Saludo said.
The Philippine Labour Department said Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello had visited Saudi Arabia last month to address the problem but would not elaborate.
Pakistan said 8,520 of its nationals in Saudi Arabia had not been receiving their salaries for several months.
A foreign ministry statement said that "most of the workers want to leave these companies but only after settling their dues".
The Pakistan embassy had set up special centres and a fund to provide aid, food, medicine and shelter.
"The (Pakistani) embassy has further informed that Saudi King has issued a decree for urgent payment of dues to workers by the concerned," the office of the prime minister said.
"We stand by our hardworking workers who are away from their homeland to earn a living for their families. They are our strength and pride. We will help them out in all possible ways," Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a statement.
The Indian consulate in Jeddah has been providing free food for its nationals since their plight came to light last week but repatriation has been complicated by restrictive labour regulations.
Swaraj cited a Saudi requirement that workers provide a no-objection certificate from their employers before they can leave the country.
In Manila the Migrante officials also said Filipinos could not leave because they lacked proper permits or were still awaiting months of back pay.
A childs stuffed bear lies abandoned at the Jungle in Calais as French authorities move to clear the camp. (Photo: AP)
London: The British government on Tuesday won its legal appeal against a decision to let four Syrian refugees living in France's "Jungle" camp come to Britain, but they will not be deported.
A British immigration tribunal in January ordered the interior ministry to allow the four to enter Britain while their asylum claims were considered.
However, three Court of Appeal judges on Tuesday upheld a challenge by the interior ministry, saying they were "not entirely persuaded" by the justifications used by the tribunal.
The three teenagers and a 26-year old with mental health problems had been living in the sprawling Calais camp for over two months.
Under European Union rules, refugees should apply for asylum in the first country they reach, but children and vulnerable adults can transfer their claims to another country if they have relatives legally living there.
Lawyers argued conditions in the camp were "intolerable" and that bureaucratic delays in France meant that the Syrians' applications to live with relatives in Britain were not being processed.
The tribunal agreed that the application should be processed in Britain, and that the four should be allowed to live in the country in the meantime.
In January, the four arrived in Britain to a welcome from about 100 pro-refugee demonstrators holding yellow balloons and banners reading "refugees welcome".
They were reunited with their families and two have since been granted refugee status, with the other two cases pending.
The government is not seeking to deport the four but is concerned that the tribunal's decision set a legal precedent.
Campaigners had hoped that the ruling would jolt the government into action, opening the way to relocate more unaccompanied minors from the "Jungle" camp in Calais to Britain.
"It (Tuesday's ruling) means that charities like ours will have to continue identifying children one by one, taking them through a lengthy bureaucratic process as they have to wait to be reunited with their loved ones," George Gabriel, a campaigner with charity Citizens UK, told the Press Association.
"We fear this means many will take the situation into their own hands, choosing between people traffickers on the one hand and train tracks on the other."
Confessing to her crime, the accused told the court that she filmed the sex act with her son to please her cousin in Pakistan. (Photo: Instagram)
St Mellons, Cardiff: A woman who filmed herself having sex with her 14-year-old son at her home in UK has been jailed for a term of five years.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, the accused, made a pornographic film with her minor son and sent the video clips to her cousin residing in Pakistan.
The woman is also accused of storing indecent images of her three-year-old daughter.
While the case was undergoing trial in court, prosecutor Ian Kovin said that the accused, a mother of four, was told by her relative in Pakistan to create the indecent material.
The prosecutor told the court that the sex racket came to light when one of her daughters came across the video clip on her brother's mobile phone.
Kovin told the court that the indecent material included oral sex clips along with other sex acts.
"She was telling him to take the video. It showed full intercourse. It showed the son with his naked mother, rubbing her breasts and vaginal area," Kovin was quoted as saying.
Confessing to her crime, the accused told the court that she filmed the sex act with her son to please her cousin in Pakistan.
The woman admitted to six counts of incestuous sexual act, storing child pornography images as well as circulating them. She has been jailed for five years and has been registered on the sex offenders list for life.
LINCOLN Students of Southeast Community College photography instructor Bradley Peters probably dont even know theyre learning from a Yale-educated photographer.
He doesnt care if they know about his college pedigree, but he does care about students finding their passion.
My favorite thing is when students start to believe in themselves, Peters said. I am always trying to find those things in students and making it nurture and grow.
He said it took him some time before he found his passion in photography. Many of his teachers would tell him he wasnt good at art, and he should try something else.
They were wrong, he said. I had a lot of teachers who pointed out my flaws. I was lucky by the time I got to college.
Originally from Columbus, Peters attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and studied psychology. He had some elective classes to fill and took an introductory photography course and fell in love with it. He took every photography class offered at UNL.
I decided I would have a much more fulfilling, enriched life in photography than getting my doctorate in psychology, Peters said.
He decided to apply to Yale for his masters degree in photography, knowing only nine students a year are accepted. He was the fourth and last student from UNL to get into the program. It was the only school he applied to. His classmates were students from the East and West coasts, as well as an international student.
Theres nothing special about me to get into a school like that, I just made it my goal, he said.
Peters graduated in 2008 and learned more than he ever imagined.
I went to school with my heroes, Peters said. I learned from the best and will pass that on to my students. Its never too late in your life to do something. You should never feel obligated.
He and his wife, Dara, decided to stay on the East Coast for another year before coming to Nebraska to settle down. The couple has three children under the age of 6. They love the state of Nebraska and plan to stay here because of the affordable cost of living, and they still find it in the budget to travel.
People are wonderful here, he said. On the East Coast, if youre nice to people, they wonder what youre up to.
In addition to instructing at SCC, Peters also teaches at Peru State College and Midland University. He still finds time to pursue his passion of photography, especially in the summer when he has more time.
A lot of people think of photography as a hobby, Peters said. For me its something I have to do. If I dont do it, I go crazy. If youre an addict of anything, you find a way to make it happen.
Peters says people dont always like his work, and he takes pride in that.
I like images that are metaphorical, he said. Where you can pull out your own personal narrative. I take a lot of pride that people get mad at my work for different reasons.
Peters recently released a book featuring black-and-white photos he used to get into graduate school. His goal for the future is to work as a full-time photography teacher. He turned down a full-time job in Brooklyn because he wants to raise his family in Nebraska.
Artistically, I can do whatever I want here, and I dont have to worry about my safety, he said. Lincoln has really upped its game in the last decade, and I think its only going to get better.
Police are also searching for sacked army major Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haq and offering a similar reward. He is accused of heading a second Islamist group, Ansar al Islam, suspected of killing a series of secular bloggers and activists. (Photo: Representational Image/AFP)
Dhaka: Bangladesh police offered a reward on Tuesday for two top Islamists accused of spearheading the rise of extremism in the country, which is reeling from a mass killing at a Dhaka cafe.
Police announced a two million taka ($25,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of Canadian citizen Tamim Chowdhury, who disappeared after allegedly masterminding the cafe attack.
Chowdhury is accused of heading a faction of the Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) homegroup militant group, blamed for scores of murders of members of religious minorities.
Police are also searching for sacked army major Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haq and offering a similar reward. He is accused of heading a second Islamist group, Ansar al Islam, suspected of killing a series of secular bloggers and activists.
"We are trying to arrest them. We believe if they are brought to justice.... we can eliminate extremism from the country," national police chief A.K.M. Shahidul Hoque told reporters.
Authorities are under great pressure to crack down on extremism in Muslim-majority Bangladesh after a recent increase in gruesome attacks.
Five gunmen stormed an upscale cafe in the capital on July 1. They killed 20 mainly foreign hostages and two police officers in Bangladesh's deadliest single militant attack of recent years.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the cafe siege, releasing images of the carnage and a photo of the attackers posing with its black flag.
Hoque reiterated that police have no evidence of IS involvement, saying "these are homegrown extremists. They are mainly JMB members" although they sympathised with the jihadist group.
Hoque said 30-year-old Tamim, who was born in Bangladesh, planned the attack on the cafe after returning from living in Canada in 2013.
Releasing details of the second wanted Islamist, Hoque said Haq was sacked from the army in 2011 for his role in a failed military coup.
Authorities say the two homegrown extremist groups have been responsible for killing at least 80 people over the last three years, including foreigners.
Hoque defended police progress in tracking down those behind the mayhem, saying officers "have arrested 172 people for their involvement in the incidents".
Six of the young men were from well-off Dhaka families, among them 18-year-old Rohan Imtiaz. (Photo: AP)
Dhaka: The bodies of five Islamists behind a deadly attack on a Bangladesh cafe have still not been claimed a month later, police said on Monday, as tens of thousands took to the streets to protest against extremism.
Relatives of the men have spoken of their shock and horror at learning of their involvement in the siege in Dhakas Gulshan neighbourhood, in which 20 hostages were killed -- many of them hacked to death.
On Monday tens of thousands of university and college students across the country stood in silence and formed human chains in front of their schools.
No terrorism, we want peace. We want life without fear, read one banner at a womens college in Dhaka.
Authorities have launched a nationwide campaign to shame those behind the attacks.
Clerics at the mainly Muslim countrys more than 300,000 mosques have been asked to give sermons on why Islam forbids killing.
Police said the bodies of nine other men allegedly from the same group who were shot when police launched a raid on a militant hideout on July 26 are also still being stored at a state hospital.
No relatives came to us or officially applied for the bodies of the 14 extremists, Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesperson Masudur Rahman told AFP.
Sohel Mahmud, a forensic doctor at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said several families had come to identify the bodies. But no one wanted to take them home for burial, he said.
Police gave no official reason, but officers speaking on condition of anonymity said the parents of the extremists were overwhelmed with guilt.
Six of the young men were from well-off Dhaka families, among them 18-year-old Rohan Imtiaz.
His father Imtiaz Khan Babul told AFP he was stunned and speechless to hear of his only sons involvement in the carnage and apologised to the nation.
Abdus Salam said his brother Mohammad Abdullah, one of the nine killed in the shootout with police, had betrayed the family and his country.
Thats why we dont want to take his body, he told reporters last week.
Chang Wanquan's comments came several weeks after an international tribunal dismissed the country's claim to most of the South China Sea, a judgement it angrily rejected. (Photo: AFP/Representational Image)
Beijing: China's Defence Minister has urged preparations for a "people's war at sea" to counter offshore security threats and safeguard sovereignty, state media reported on Tuesday.
Chang Wanquan's comments came several weeks after an international tribunal dismissed the country's claim to most of the South China Sea, a judgement it angrily rejected.
Chang "called for recognition of the seriousness of the national security situation, especially the threat from the sea", Xinhua news agency said.
The military, police and people should prepare to mobilise to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, he was quoted as saying during a tour of the coastal province of Zhejiang.
The agency did not say what day he was speaking or elaborate further.
Several Asian states have counter-claims in the South China Sea, where China has reclaimed reefs and islets to build airstrips and other major facilities.
The United States says it will continue naval patrols close to the reefs and outcrops to assert the principle of freedom of navigation, a move which has angered Beijing.
Ealier Tuesday China announced penalties for "illegal" fishing in its waters, including disputed areas.
The Supreme Court defined penalties for boats operating in "sovereign" areas including the South China Sea, in what appears to be an attempt to strengthen Chinese governance of the waters.
The question of who has the rights to fish in the disputed Sea has been a major bone of contention between Beijing and Manila, which brought the case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
Beijing and Jakarta have also clashed over maritime rights, with Beijing claiming "historic" fishing grounds close to Indonesia's Natuna Islands.
The new regulations outline penalties for both Chinese and "foreign" fishermen operating "illegally" in Chinese waters, including its "exclusive economic zone" (EEZ), a 200-nautical mile region surrounding a country's territory.
The UN-backed tribunal denied China's claims to an EEZ in the Spratly Islands, where the Chinese coastguard regularly expels fishing vessels from the Philippines.
Beijing refused to accept the ruling, saying the court had no jurisdiction.
Those boats that "illegally enter" Chinese waters more than once in a year or refuse to leave the waters will be subject to fines and up to a year in jail, a posting on the court's website said.
It also established penalties for harvesting coral and giant clams, as well as other endangered species.
Any foreigners who believe that Beijing has violated their rights are welcome to take their claims to Chinese courts, the ruling said.
China also has maritime disputes with a number of other countries, including Japan and Vietnam.
Beijing risks triggering unintended conflict with Asian rivals through its aggressive stance in maritime disputes, Japan warned Tuesday in an annual security assessment.
Zhang contacted the channel a day after the report was aired to give her side, saying that she had thought it had all been a joke. (Photo: Facebook)
Beijing: A lovesick Dutch, who spent 10 days in a Chinese airport in the hope of meeting his online girlfriend, has been hospitalised for exhaustion.
Alexander Pieter Cirk, 41, recently flew from Holland to Hunan province in central China in the hope of meeting his online girlfriend, a Chinese woman known only as Zhang. But he ended up spending 10 days waiting at Changsha airport, after she failed to show up.
Cirk told Chinese media that he met Zhang, 26, in an app two months ago and romance blossomed. He decided to fly to visit her, but when he got to Hunan found no-one had come to meet him at the airport.
He refused to leave the airport for the next 10 days, and was eventually taken to hospital suffering physical exhaustion, the BBC quoted reports by Hunan TV.
Zhang contacted the channel a day after the report was aired to give her side, saying that she had thought it had all been a joke.
"We had advanced our romantic relationship but later he seemed a little callous towards me," Zhang said. "One day he sent me a photo of air tickets abruptly and I thought it was a joke. He didn't contact me later."
Zhang also added that by the time Cirk arrived at the airport, she was away having plastic surgery in another province and had turned off her phone.
On Chinese social media, the majority of users were keen to point out the apparent absurdity of the Dutch man's actions.
The hashtag "Foreign man went to Changsha to meet his online girlfriend" has been trending on Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo.
"He must be stupid, why would anyone do this?" asked one user. "Doesn't he know that everything in China is fake?" commented another. Others, however, had some sympathy.
"Here's a guy taking a relationship seriously, don't play around with his feelings," the netizen said. "If you don't want him anymore, tell him so he can go home."
"What does this say about Chinese integrity?", asked another.
Cirk was scheduled to fly home earlier this week. Zhang reportedly said she was still keen to meet Cirk after her recovery, indicating that she was still interested in maintaining their online relationship.
Lahore: A Jamaat-ud-Dawah caravan led by Talha Saeed, the son of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, on Tuesday staged a sit-in at the Line of Control at Chakothi, saying they will not leave unless India receives relief materials brought by them for Kashmiris.
"We will not leave from the LoC till India agrees to receive the relief goods and medicines we have brought for Kashmiris of Srinagar," said Hafiz Abdur Rauf, chairman of the Falayh-i-Insaniat Foundation, a sister organisation of JuD.
Read: Pak provokes India, passes resolution for UN probe into Kashmir unrest
Talking to PTI over phone from Chakothi, Rauf said the Pakistani army and police had stopped them near the LoC at Chakothi.
"We have requested the Pakistani authorities to speak to the Indian army to receive the relief goods, dry food and medicines we have brought here in more than 10 trucks for our injured Kashmiri brethren who are in dire need of it," he said.
The JuD caravan left from Muzaffarabad for Chakothi on Tuesday afternoon and reached its destination after getting a welcome at Ghari Habibullah, Natian Wala.
Read: Hafiz Saeed's plans against Rajnath's Pakistan visit will not succeed: BSF
According to Ahmad Nadeem, a JuD member who is also part of the caravan, all business activities remained closed in Chakothi and the people gave a warm welcome to them.
He said it has been decided in principle that not a single participant will leave till "our just demand is met". "Tomorrow more people will join this sit-in to put pressure on the authorities concerned to persuade India to accept the relief goods," he said, adding that the FIF and JuD just want handing over the relief goods to the Kashmiris as 'no politics' was involved in it.
Talha read out the message of his father Hafiz Saeed to the participants of the rally expressing the resolve that "Kashmir will become (part of) Pakistan".
China commissioned its first aircraft carrier Liaoning in September 2012 and launched a specially designed J-15 fighter jets to operate from its deck. (Photo: AFP/Representational Image)
Beijing: China, which is developing two more aircraft carriers, is building up a naval-aviation division to safeguard the country's maritime interests amid escalating tensions over the disputed South China Sea.
China commissioned its first aircraft carrier Liaoning in September 2012 and launched a specially designed J-15 fighter jets to operate from its deck.
Although it's only about three years since the unit came into being, the carrier-borne force has already trained several groups of J-15 pilots, Senior Captain Dai Mingmeng, commander of the 2.3-million strong People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's carrier-based aviation force was quoted as saying by state-run 'China Daily'.
"It will not take long for us to attain full operational capability on the aircraft carrier," he said.
China is developing two more aircraft carriers. Chinese media reported for the first time the crash of one of J-15 jets during the landing exercises on the ground in April this year in which its pilot was killed. One of the J-15s crashed after its computers reported a malfunction in the flight-control system.
An investigation concluded that the pilot had tried unsuccessfully to save the plane and he had no option but to eject from the cockpit before the fighter aircraft crashed, the report said.
Because the plane was at a relatively low altitude, there wasn't time for the pilot's parachute to be fully deployed before Zhang hit the ground. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but died as a result of serious internal injuries, it said.
The Chinese military suspended carrier-based jet fighter pilot training for nearly two months after a fatal crash, the Hong Kong-based 'South China Morning Post' reported.
J-15s are the core jets for China's aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, and other more advanced domestic carriers which are reportedly under construction.
The development of navy's aviation division came as Beijing strongly defended its claims over the disputed South China Sea (SCS) in the aftermath of international tribunal's verdict striking down China's claims over the area.
Last month, a UN-backed international tribunal struck down China's claims over the South China Sea, saying Beijing has no "historic rights" in the disputed area.
The tribunal struck a blow to China's claims over almost all of the SCS, saying that Beijing's much touted nine-dash line had no legal basis.
China has rejected as "null and void" the verdict and said it "neither accepts nor recognises" the ruling of the tribunal.
China claims sovereignty over almost all of SCS based on historic rights, including reefs and rocks in the sea as well as hundreds of miles from Chinese shores.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal has served as Prime Minister once before, after the Maoists won elections in 2009, but only lasted nine months in office before resigning. (Photo: AFP)
Kathmandu: The leader of Nepal's Maoist party appeared certain to be the next prime minister after the deadline for nominations expired on Tuesday with only his name on the ballot.
Lawmakers in the Himalayan nation are due to elect a new prime minister on Wednesday after K.P. Sharma Oli resigned last week, minutes before facing a no-confidence motion in parliament.
"We have only received the nomination of Pushpa Kamal Dahal for the prime minister's post," deputy parliament spokesman Sudarshan Kuinkel told AFP, referring to the Maoist party leader.
Dahal, better known by his nom de guerre Prachanda or "the fierce one", led a decade-long Maoist insurgency before transforming the rebel movement into a political party after a 2006 peace deal.
He has served as prime minister once before, after the Maoists won elections in 2009, but only lasted nine months in office before resigning.
The party lost ground in the last elections in 2013 and is now only the third-biggest force in parliament.
But neither of the two larger parties have enough seats to govern alone. Dahal secured the backing of the largest party, the Nepali Congress, after pulling out of Oli's coalition three weeks ago.
If elected, Dahal faces the twin challenges of rebuilding the country after a devastating earthquake and resolving simmering unrest over a divisive new constitution adopted last September.
Oli faced fierce criticism over his handling of protests against the charter, which triggered a months-long border blockade by demonstrators from the Madhesi ethnic minority.
More than 50 people died in clashes between police and protesters, who say the constitution has left them marginalised.
The new charter, the first drawn up by elected representatives, was meant to bolster Nepal's transformation to a democratic republic after decades of political instability.
But continuing discussions between the government and protesters over the constitution particularly over the rights of marginalised communities have failed to yield agreement.
A petrol bomb was hurled at the house of Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Naeem Akhtar in Parraypora area of the city last night, police said today.
No one was hurt in the attack that was carried out by unidentified persons.
"A petrol bomb was hurled at the residence of the Education Minister at Parraypora late last night, causing damage to the main gate of the house," a police official said.
Akhtar and his wife were not present in the premises as they have shifted to high security Gupkar Road after the PDP-BJP government was sworn in March last year.
A petrol bomb was also hurled at the office of Road and Buildings department at SDA colony in Bemina area of the city last night, the official said.
He said no one was hurt in the incident.
COLUMBUS A 35-year-old man who broke a glass across the face of a 65-year-old Columbus woman and later bit a corrections officer during booking has been sentenced to prison.
Platte County District Judge Robert Steinke sentenced Ramon Caballero Jr. to two to three years in prison for second-degree assault in connection with the March 28 incident that began at an apartment complex in the 2100 block of 44th Avenue.
Steinke gave Caballero, who was living in Lincoln at the time of the incident, credit for 123 days served in the county jail while the case was pending.
In exchange for Caballeros no contest plea, the prosecution dismissed a second similar assault charge.
Court documents describe an incident that began with Columbus Police arriving at the scene to find the victim sitting in a back bedroom of the apartment holding a blood-soaked towel over her right eye.
Witnesses reported an intoxicated Caballero hit the city woman across the face with a drinking glass, then ran out the back door of the apartment, according to Officer Bradley Wanglers probable cause arrest statement.
The suspect, Wangler wrote in his statement, was apprehended outside on the back side of the apartment complex. Pieces of a broken glass were found inside the apartment.
As the victim was getting medical attention from rescue personnel, Wangler said: I observed that her right eye was turning black and she had several minor cuts around her left eye. There were also minor cuts around her right eye.
After Caballeros arrest for the initial incident, the sheriffs office was dispatched to the county jail to investigate an assault report involving a corrections officer.
Caballero was accused of attempting to flee the jails booking area and, after being caught and wrestled to the floor, biting and breaking the skin of a corrections officer, according to a statement written by sheriffs Deputy Troy Higgins.
During the investigation of the attempted escape, Higgins said the suspect claimed the officer bit himself and was attempting to shift blame for his injury.
The bite, which drew blood, was captured on video.
The recording confirmed the officers version of the events, the deputy said in his statement.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is leading her Republican rival Donald Trump by seven points following last week's Democratic convention, according to a latest national poll today.
Clinton, who last week scripted history by becoming first woman presidential nominee of a major political party, has 46 per cent support among voters. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee has the support of 39 per cent of voters, CBC News said in its latest poll.
Clinton's popularity increased by four points after Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last week. The race was tied last week after the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. With this Clinton returned to her June lead margin.
CBS News said while Clinton received a four-point bump after Democratic Convention, Trump received a two point increase in his popularity rating after his convention.
However, CBS News pointed that Clinton's increase in popularity rating is far less than 13 point bump of her husband's Bill Clinton in 1992.
In 2008 and 2012, the outgoing President Barack Obama received a similar bump, while Al Gore in 2000 received a popularity increase of 10 percentage points, but he eventually went to lose the election.
According to CBS News polls, positive views of Clinton increased by five points among registered voters, from 31 per cent a week ago to 36 per cent. Her unfavourable views dropped six points: from 56 per cent to 50 per cent.
On the other hand, over half of voters continue to hold an unfavourable opinion of Trump. Only 31 per cent view him favourably.
As per RealClearPolitics.Comm which keeps track of all major nation al polls, Clinton has an average 2.2 percentage points lead over Trump.
Kashmir, which came to life last evening following relaxation in strike by separatists, today again witnessed as shutdown as curfew remained in force in some parts and restrictions were in effect in rest of the Valley to maintain law and order.
y as the separatists had announced a relaxation in the agitation programme to allow people to buy essentials in view of the prolonged shut down since July 9 in the Valley.
However, all markets remained closed today and public transport was off the roads in view of the strike call given by the separatists.
Curfew remained in force in six police station areas of the city, Anantnag town, Kokernag and Khanpora in Baramulla district as restrictions on assembly of four or more people continued in entire Kashmir, a police official said.
"Curfew is in place only in six police station areas of Srinagar city -- Nowhatta, Khanyar, Rainawari, Safakadal, Batamaloo and Maharajgunj," he said.
The separatist groups have been spearheading the agitation to protest the civilian killings during the protests following killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8.
Protests broke out across Kashmir Valley on July 9, leading to clashes with security forces in which 49 persons have been killed and over 5600 persons injured.
Mobile Internet services continued to remain snapped in the entire Valley where the postpaid mobile telephony services have been restored across all networks.
The incoming facility on prepaid connections has also been restored, but the outgoing calls are barred on such numbers.
The separatist camp has extended the shutdown call in Kashmir till August 5, calling for a march to Hazratbal shrine on Friday.
26/11 Mumbai attacks key plotter and Lashkar-e-Toiba operative Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal was among seven persons sentenced to life imprisonment today by a special MCOCA court in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case.
Besides Jundal, six other convicts--Mohammed Aamir Sheikh, Billal Ahmed, Sayed Akif, Afroz Khan, Mohammed Aslam Kashmiri and Faizal Ataur Rehman (who is on death row in the July 11, 2006 Mumbai train bombings case)-- were handed out life by designated Judge Shrikant Anekar.
Prounoucing the sentence, the court said that all the seven convicts will serve imprisonment till their (natural) life.
Also, two other convicts--Mohammed Mujaffar Tanvir and Dr Mohammed Sharif-- were handed out 14 years of imprisonment while three others--Mushtaq Ahmed, Javed Ahmed and Afzal Khan were awarded eight years imprisonment.
The court while sentencing all the 12 convicted, today observed that it has taken into consideration the gravity of offence, lack of remorse (of the accused) and potential effect on common man in the case.
On July 28, ten years after ATS recovered a huge haul of arms near Aurangabad, the special court had convicted 12 persons and acquitted eight others in the case but had dropped the stringent MCOCA charge against them.
Out of total 22 accused in the case, the court last week acquitted eight others while trial of two accused was separated as one of them was declared hostile after he turned approver, while another accused is absconding.
On May 8, 2006, a Maharashtra ATS team chased a Tata Sumo and an Indica car on Chandwad-Manmad Highway near Aurangabad and arrested three terror suspects and seized 30kg of RDX, 10 AK-47 assault rifles and 3,200 bullets.
Jundal, allegedly driving the Indica, managed to give police the slip.
The court had observed that the accused had a common thought process and wanted to wage "jihad".
The judge had also accepted prosecution's case that the accused wanted to strike terror in the minds of the people and wanted to eliminate public figures like (the then) Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi and Hindu leader Praveen Togadia (of VHP).
The judge had also said that the accused wanted to avenge developments that unfolded after the 2002 Godhra riots.
According to police, after the ATS intercepted the vehicles, Jundal, who hails from Beed district, drove to Malegaon and a few days later he escaped to Bangladesh from where he fled to Pakistan.
Jundal was deported to India from Saudi Arabia in 2012. Later, charges were framed against the arrested accused in August 2013.
The MCOCA court had last week convicted Jundal under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Explosives Act, Explosive Substance Act and Indian Penal Code, while others under varying charges. Charges against them under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) were, however, dropped.
The court had accepted the prosecution's contention that the cache of arms and ammunitions that the ATS had intercepted from two cars had originally been procured from Pakistan.
While convicting Jundal, and 11 others, the court had observed that ATS could not substantiate the charges of MCOCA against them, even as it accepted direct and substantial evidence presented by the agency in the case.
The special court had framed charges against the 22 accused in August 2013.
During the trial, the prosecution examined 100 witnesses while defence lawyers examined 16.
The court had granted bail to ten accused during the trial. The trial was stayed by the Supreme Court for a while after one of the accused challenged constitutional validity of certain provisions of MCOCA. The stay was eventually vacated in 2009.
The Bombay High Court had also earlier directed the lower court to expedite the trial.
The three municipal corporations in the city have been slack in conducting surveys to identity dangerous buildings under their respective areas. They carry out the survey once a year, before the monsoon season.
While the survey conducted by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation this year has found only 35 dangerous buildings so far in all the six zones, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation has surveyed 3,75,255 buildings this year and found two dangerous buildings and marked three complexes as repairable.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation has identified 17 dangerous buildings falling under its jurisdiction so far this year.
Officials with the north and east civic agencies said that some wards have not been covered under the survey.
The survey conducted this year has not covered all the wards under the North and East Corporations. So the number of dangerous buildings will go up once the remaining wards are surveyed, said a senior official with the North Delhi Municipal Corporation.
The north civic agency has fully demolished only one dangerous building so far this year.
Last year, the north civic agency had found about 411 dangerous building in the survey.
In all, 3,36,170 buildings were surveyed by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation in 2015.
Officials said that apart from the annual survey, corporations do not have any monitoring mechanism to check dangerous buildings under their limits.
The incidents of building collapse have been on the rise as illegal construction especially in the unauthorised colonies has increased many folds in the past couple of years, said an official.
Last week, two persons were injured when a portion of a double-storey building had collapsed in Central Delhis Karol Bagh area.
A portion of the double-storey building called Pili Kothi, built in 150 square yard on Arya Samaj Road, had collapsed injuring two bystanders on Thursday last.
Beijing risks triggering unintended conflict with Asian rivals through its aggressive stance in maritime disputes, Japan warned today in an annual security assessment.
China's sweeping claims over the strategic South China Sea, where it has built a series of artificial islands capable of supporting military operations despite overlapping claims from other nations, have stoked international alarm.
The region's superpower "continues to act in an assertive manner" and its actions "include dangerous acts that could cause unintended consequences," Tokyo said in a defence white paper.
Beijing is under pressure to respect a UN-backed tribunal's finding last month that there is no legal basis for its ambitions over the resource-rich South China Sea where the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and others also lay claims.
The white paper said China was "poised to fulfill its unilateral demands without compromise" including efforts "to turn these coercive changes to the status quo into a fait accompli".
And it again called on Beijing to abide by the ruling of the tribunal, which China has denounced as a fraud.
Japan also expressed concern over increased activity in the East China Sea, where the two countries have competing claims over a group of small uninhabited islets called the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.
"Recently, China has been intensifying activities near the Senkaku Islands, such as its military aircraft flying southward closer to the islands," it said.
In the year to March 2016, Japan's air force scrambled jets 571 times against Chinese planes flying near Japanese air space, an increase of 107 from the previous year, it added.
In June Japan accused China of sending a spy ship into its territorial waters as Tokyo conducted a joint exercise with the US and India.
And last month the two countries were at loggerheads over accusations Japanese warplanes locked their fire control radar onto Chinese aircraft.
Beijing sparked alarm after it unilaterally established an air defence identification zone in the East China Sea in 2013, demanding all aircraft submit flight plans when traversing the zone which covers islands disputed with Tokyo and also claimed by Taipei.
US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said in February that China's military presence in the South China Sea was increasing the risk of "miscalculation or conflict" between regional countries.
A US warship in May sailed close to a disputed reef Beijing has built up into an artificial island, prompting China to express "dissatisfaction and opposition".
Japan's white paper also highlighted concerns over North Korea's nuclear programme, saying it was possible it has "achieved the miniaturisation of nuclear weapons and has developed nuclear warheads".
Since carrying out a fourth nuclear test in January, North Korea has claimed it miniaturised a nuclear warhead to fit on a missile and successfully tested an engine designed for an inter-continental ballistic missile that could reach the US mainland.
Four key members of interstate narcotic drug cartel, including two foreigners, were nabbed and 4 kg heroin worth Rs 16 crore was recovered by a special cell on Monday
.
The arrested are Michael Chinedu Chukwudi (36), the kingpin, a Nigerian and his wife Catherine Leonard Mrope (26), a Tanzanian, Balwinder Singh (53) and Surender Singh (36).
It was revealed that the heroin recovered from the African nationals was being supplied to Punjab and Delhi-NCR.
The special cell had kept a close watch on the activities of the syndicate since four months.
Balwinder and Surender were arrested on Saturday when they had arrived to Delhi as they had procured a consignment of heroin from the African couple, who resided in Pochanpur, Dwarka.
Balwinder and Surender revealed that they were a part of a narcotics syndicate active across India.
They had received a consignment of 3 kg heroin from Chukwudi and Mrope, who were arrested later.
Chukwudi told the police that he had been providing drugs to many suppliers in Punjab, Balwinder and Surender for the past six months.
He also told that his African friends had contacts in Pakistan and Afghanistan, who used to supply him heroin through couriers and by human carriers.
Both Chukwudi and Mrope possessed fake passports of South Africa. The couple was also having stickers of fake Indian visa and immigration stamps.
He also told that secret cavities, carved inside suitcases, bags, household items and items of regular use were being used to safely smuggle narcotics to India, which was being collected and distributed in smaller quantities.
Both Balwinder and Surender earlier worked as cooks in Germany. About 15 years ago, the former came in contact with a drug peddler. After his death, Balwinder took over and continued the racket. Surender later joined Balwinder.
Chukwudi and Mrope came to India 2 years ago.
Patients suffered as OPD services were hit at the Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital as over 300 students from Vardhman Mahavir Medical College, Bara Hindu Rao and Army College of Medical Sciences agitated outside the OPD block.
The students blocked the department from 8 am to 12 noon paralysing OPD services at the hospital.
The emergency department was running.
The OPD started functioning only after 12 noon. The medical students ended the agitation after the Directorate General of Health Services assured them to take care of the issue, said a senior administrative official at Safdarjung Hospital.
The students demanded that the Delhi University should not take over the seats affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU).
There were proposals put forward for Delhi University to take over the seats. Students claimed that the seats should remain with the GGSIPU.
The students were given in writing that the affiliation of the colleges to GGSIPU would not be changed to DU.
Earlier, on Friday, the students had agitated at Safdarjung Hospital over the same issue.
According to students, students on the MBBS curriculum and those in the PG programme want the seats to remain with the Indraprastha University. Delhi University may introduce a state quota in which students of Indraprastha University in the MBBS programme may lose out while opting for higher studies, said students.
Nurses threaten strike
Medical services are likely to be hit across the national capital from Tuesday onwards with nurses at government hospitals launching an indefinite strike.
The nurses across Centre-run, Delhi government-run, MCD-run and NDMC-run hospitals will be on strike.
The nurses have been betrayed as several of our demands have not been looked into despite our repeated requests. If the government does not meet our demands, we will be forced to carry on with the strike, said a representative of All India Government Nurses Federation.
The nurses have demanded better pay conditions, risk allowances and work conditions.
The association has demanded that contractual nurses get special area allowance, higher education allowance and non-practising allowance. Railway nurses should be granted eight days off every month.
We area ware that patients suffer if nurses go on strike but we are left with no option, said the representative.
Nepal Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" is all set to become the Prime Minister for the second time as he filed his nomination today after receiving crucial backing from the agitating Madhesis by signing a three-point pact.
The 61-year-old CPN-Maoist Centre president's candidacy was proposed by Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba, which was seconded by senior Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara, ahead of tomorrow's election that could bring political stability to the country.
Nepali Congress and CPN Maoist Centre signed a three- point agreement with the Madhesi Front to secure support from the Madhesi parties for their bid to form a new government led by Prachanda, the only official candidate for the race.
Madhesi parties, which have the combined strength of 42 in the 595-member Parliament, have also hinted that they would join the government led by Prachanda.
Before filing his nomination paper for the Prime Minister's election, Maoist chief Prachanda and NC chief Deuba signed the agreement with the Madhesis, mostly of Indian- origin, which assured the Madhesi communities of addressing their demands through political understanding and amendment to the Constitution.
Although the former premier with anti-India stance is only one candidate, there will be voting for and against Prachanda and it is likely that CPN-UML and its alliance will vote against him.
The Prime Minister's post has remained vacant since last week after CPN-UML chairman K P Sharma Oli tendered his resignation following the Maoist's withdrawal of support to the coalition government.
Despite media reports that a senior leader of CPN-UML, probably, former Deputy Prime Minister Bamdev Gautam, would contest against Prachanda, the party took a last-minute decision not to contest the election, clearing a way for the Maoist chief to become the 39th Prime Minister of Nepal.
He has earlier served as Nepal's Prime Minister from 2008 to 2009.
As the agitating United Madhesi Front has decided to vote in favour of Prachanda, he is expected to get at least 360 votes, though only 298 votes are required for winning the election.
Three Madhesi leaders - Upendra Yadav of Social Forum- Nepal, Sarvendra Nath Shukla of Tarai Madhesh Democratic Party and Laxman Lal Karna of Sadbhawana Party - have supported Prachanda's candidacy.
As per the agreement, the government-in-waiting would implement the Madhesi Front's demands that include acknowledging those killed during the Madhes agitation as martyrs and providing free treatment to the injured besides amending the Constitution to redraw provincial boundary, while the Madhesi parties would support the new government.
The crucial development comes a day after Nepal's President Bidya Devi Bhandari gave a fresh call to all political parties to form a majority government when the deadline given to them for forging consensus expired without yielding any results.
It is learnt that the Parliament has started preparation for beginning the procedure of electing the premier tomorrow. Speaker Onsari Gharti has called a meeting of the Parliament for 11 am to elect the new Prime Minister after embattled premier Oli resigned on July 24, triggering a fresh political turmoil in Nepal.
Prachanda is likely to announce a small cabinet comprising members from Maoist party, Nepali Congress, CPN-United and Rastriya Prajatantra Party on Thursday after being declared as the Prime Minister.
Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi's takeover of country operations of its US rival Uber has triggered worries of potential monopoly and fare hikes among the public who are used to highly subsidised fares offered by both the firms due to cut-throat competition.
The on-demand mobility (ODM) firm Didi yesterday announced it was taking over Uber China, in a deal that could see the combined Chinese firm valued at USD 35 billion. The US-based firm will take a 5.9 per cent stake in Didi, which in turn did not disclose the stake it will take in Uber.
Under the deal, that follows China's recent legalisation of ODM services, Uber China will continue to operate independently, and though some experts have called the end to the fierce competition as "reasonable", many have warned of a monopoly that could result in higher prices.
The deal is not subject to anti-monopoly review by China's cabinet as both have not made profits and Uber China's revenue did not reach the review threshold, Didi said.
However, the takeover would in fact create a monopoly as the two might have more than 90 per cent of the market share in China, said Wu Weiqiang, vice president of the Hangzhou Institute for Reform and Development.
Monopoly could reduce competition and result in higher prices for more profits, said Zhou Hanhua, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Passengers and drivers are also worried that they will lose benefits following the deal.
"I am worried about fewer discounts and higher fees," said Wang Rong, a 27-year-old resident of Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province.
"I hope my salary will not decrease in the future," said Shen Yangfei, a Hangzhou driver.
Ye Yun, a public relations representative for Didi, told state-run Xinhua news agency that discounts for passengers and drivers will continue "for a long time".
"On-demand taxi-hailing services have just started in China," said Yang Jianhua, head of the Public Policy Research Institute of the Zhejiang Academy of Social Sciences. "There is very high potential in many aspects of this business."
The two companies have been locked in a bitter battle for customers in China marked by huge discounts since last year. Didi has strong capital support, while Uber has unique data processing technology and capital operations, and is one of a few foreign tech firms that has been able to compete with domestic rivals head-on in China.
While Didi has the majority of China's ODM services, Uber has managed to establish a foothold and made inroads in lower-tier cities this year.
In June, Didi announced it had secured USD 7.3 billion in equity and debt financing, including USD one billion from Apple, which valued the company at around 28 billion dollars. Uber secured over USD six billion in its latest funding round.
Liu Zhen, Uber's China head of strategy, said in June that most of the money would fund operations in China.
A day before Home Minister Rajnath Singh visits to Pakistan amidst threats of protest by LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, the BSF today said it was sure the Pak Rangers and other authorities there will take adequate measures to foil the plans of the terror mastermind.
Calling Saeed's plans of undertaking massive protests and march towards the Attari-Wagah border when Singh steps on Pakistani soil a "political" move, Border Security Force chief K K Sharma said the border guarding forces on both sides have been "sensitised" and they will ensure that the SAARC Home Ministers meeting to be held tomorrow in Islamabad is not disrupted.
"This (Saeed's protest call) is the internal matter of Pakistan and I am very sure that my counterparts Pak Rangers are more than competent to handle this issue. I am sure this (Saeed's threat) is not going to disrupt the SAARC meeting. Hafiz Saeed will not be successful," he said.
Sharma, who only last week returned from Pakistan after holding the annual bilateral Director General-level talks with the Rangers, said both the forces have also discussed measures to mount effective vigil at the Attari-Wagah border which is thronged by large crowds that witness the daily retreat ceremony in the evening.
A blast in 2014 at Wagah on the Pakistan side had killed over 50 people after the retreat ceremony got over.
"Yes, this was one issue that was taken up with Pak Rangers...both of us are conscious of the fact that the threat is there and consequently we both have strengthened our security measures. We have done it on our side (of the border) and they have done it on their side. I am sure they (Rangers) will handle it (Saeed's threat to march towards Wagah) well," he said on the sidelines of an event here.
The BSF DG added at least four battalions of the force (about 4,000 personnel) have been recently deployed on the Punjab frontier and two in Jammu to further fortify security measures and the counter-infiltration grid along the Indo-Pak International Border (IB) running along the two states.
"The LoC in Kashmir is under army and I would not like to comment on that," he said when asked about similar measures in this area.
Sharma said new equipment have been provided to the BSF troops guarding the border even as the intelligence gathering mechanism has been strengthened.
"I am happy to say that there has been no infiltration in the IB areas guarded by us in Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat in the last 8-10 months.
"The BSF in its area of responsibility is fully prepared against infiltration bids. We cannot stop them from occurring but can thwart them. We will not allow them (infiltrators) to succeed," Sharma said.
The DG added it was important for them and the Rangers to keep talking.
"I feel it is always better to keep open the channels of communication because it is through talks only that we can sort out things," he added.
About a proposal to install a high-mast Indian tricolour along the Attari-Wagah border front, the DG said the BSF was "for it" and developments are taking place on this front.
"Officially we have not taken it up with Pakistan. As per norms nothing can be created about 150 metres from the zero line at the border and this flag that will be installed is proposed to be further behind this. We support it fully and we welcome it," he said
The DG added a land in possession of Punjab tourism board has been identified for the proposal.
DG Sharma said BSF will observe the remaining part of 2016 as the year of 'Divyaang Yodha' (specially-abled fighter) as he flagged off a para-cycling team that will paddle from Manali in Himachal Pradesh to Khardungla in Jammu and Kashmir between August 5 and 15.
"The aim of the event is to have psychological empowerment of the disabled persons to make them able to overcome their mental inhibitions and to start leading a normal life.
"A 'Divyaang Yodha' skill mission has been planned with a series of activities," the force said in a statement.
The paramilitary has tied up with an NGO to build training expertise in this regard.
A 29-year-old woman from Bihar, suspected to have links with the alleged recruitment of youths from Kerala to Islamic State (IS), is being questioned here by the state police after being taken into custody from New Delhi.
The woman, identified as Yasmin Ahmed, was arrested by a special team of Kerala police from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi when she was about to leave the country for Kabul on Sunday, police said.
She allegedly had close connections with Abdul Rashid, a native of Kasaragod, who is the prime suspect behind the 21 missing youths from the state.
She was brought here last evening and produced before a local court after detailed interrogation, a senior police official said.
"We took her into custody from New Delhi and brought her here yesterday. She was charged under various sessions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). A court here later remanded her to judicial custody," Kanhangad Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunil Babu told PTI.
The woman is suspected to be the second wife of Rashid and is believed to have played a key role in the alleged recruitment of state youths to IS, the official added.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, referring to reports that some Keralites had joined IS, had informed the Assembly on July 11 that 21 persons were missing from the state.
Among them, 17 were from Kasaragod and four from Palakkad as per preliminary information available, he had said.
As per media reports, these people had gone to Syria and Afghanistan and were in IS camps, he said.
Malaysia today made public its reluctance to handover two of its businessmen to India in connection with Aircel-Maxis probe being carried out by the CBI, saying the two countries did not have "any such (legal) agreement" for execution of an arrest warrant.
"No, we do not have any agreement with India that we can execute their warrant of arrest. No, we cannot do that," Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters when asked if Malaysian police would act on the arrest warrants.
The comments of Abu Bakar came a day after the CBI moved a court in New Delhi for issuance of warrants of arrest against Malaysian telecommunications tycoon T Ananda Krishnan and his corporate captain Ralph Marshall.
Krishnan, promoter of Maxis based in Malaysia, and Marshall, who headed Maxis' UK-based subsidiary Astro All Asia Network, are sought by Indian authorities to testify in a money-laundering case against former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother Kalanithi Maran in connection with the a 2006 Aircel-Maxis deal.
The central probe agency had moved the designated court for issuing arrest warrants against Krishnan and Marshall as the duo had failed to appear before the agency despite being summoned four times by the court.
The summonses to the duo, who had been charge-sheeted by the CBI in August 2014, were sent to the Malaysian Attorney General through diplomatic channel. However, there was no word from the Malaysian authorities on the summons.
The court has fixed August 27 as the next date of hearing on whether to accept the CBI request for issuance of arrest warrants.
Senior SP leader and Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan has kicked up a controversy by suggesting that the Bulandshahr highway gangrape could be an outcome of a political conspiracy against the ruling party, drawing condemnation from rival parties.
Khan termed the gangrape of a 13-year-old girl and her mother by a group of bandits near Bulandshahr last week as an attempt to "malign" the Samajwadi Party(SP) government by those who want to "come to power" in poll-bound UP. Assembly elections in UP are due next year.
"It must be investigated whether people, with the opposite ideology or those who want to come to power, are behind this incident in order to malign the government," he said in Rampur yesterday.
"When innocent people can be murdered for political gains, for votes Gujarat and Muzaffarnagar can happen, when Shamli and Kairana can happen...It is not just a matter of two rapes. It is important to know the truth behind it," Khan was heard as saying in a video that has gone viral on social media.
He was referring to incidents of communal violence in the past.
Reacting sharply to Khan's statement, BJP today said Azam Khan has crossed all the limits.
"He is doing politics on gangrape now. It's a matter of shame," UP's BJP chief K P Maurya said, and demanded a CBI probe into the incident.
BJP general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said it was shameful that a senior minister could make such outrageous statements.
At a press conference in Delhi, BJP's national secretary Shrikant Sharma said the comments by Khan showed how low the ruling party can stoop for votes.
In an apparent damage control, Khan today said his remarks were misconstrued since UP was headed for elections.
He said punishment is very important in heinous crimes like the gangrape incident. "They(the perpetrators) should be punished every second."
"If the government is not sensitive enough to these matters then it does not have any right to speak about people. This is a very painful incident, it's even worse than death.
"We understand their pain. We cannot change the truth. If we get into more details more number of people may be involved. This is an insult to the government. Which government will want such an incident?"
SP MP Ram Gopal Yadav denied any laxity on part of the state government over the gangrape incident, asking what does suspension of police officials mean?
"You cannot accept that all the persons have been suspended. What does it mean? Do you expect them to be suspended before the crime (happens)? No one was sleeping," he told reporters.
He also accused the media of being prejudiced towards the UP government, saying "why don't you talk about the girl that was raped and burnt in Delhi? You are never talking about it. You are prejudiced against the Uttar Pradesh government.
"We have been living here for the past 25 years, are we not concerned?" he added.
The workers' money in EPFO has not been diverted to stock markets but it is invested in funds which are safe and profitable, the government said in the Rajya Sabha.
Replying to a Calling Attention Motion of Ahmed Patel (Congress), Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya asserted that his "paramount interest will be safeguarding of the workers' interest."
Patel's motion was on the alleged diversion of money from Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to stock market.
Describing the allegation as "totally incorrect", Dattatreya said, "There is no question of diverting funds. This government is pro-poor, pro-worker and pro-progressive... We have made (investments) in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and not in share markets."
ETF is a fund which holds several assets such as stocks, commodities or bonds and most ETFs track an index like a stock index or a bond index.
With regard to the pattern of such investment (pension funds in ETFs) and in long term investments with equity participation, he said the interests are "positive and encouraging".
"This worldover pattern is giving positive returns. These funds (equity funds) are generally for 10 years or more period, so that's why this will give encouragement in a positive direction and in a profitable manner," he said.
He assured the House that the government is maintaining a "cautious approach" and is "more concerned" about the workers' money in the EPFO.
"The indications are positive and we are in the right direction," Dattatreya said.
On the quantum of investments in ETFs, he said a March 2, 2015 notification by the Finance Ministry had prescribed minimum 5 per cent of the investible deposits and maximum 15 per cent in ETFs.
Besides, the Para 52 of the EPF Scheme, 1952, mandates that the investment will be made in accordance with the notification of the central government.
Of the total amount, 75 per cent is being investment in Nifty and the remaining 25 per cent in BSE, he said.
"In Nifty there are 50 baskets and in the BSE, 30 baskets. The funds are not invested in individual shares," he added.
The total amount invested, so far, is Rs 7,468 crore and its current market value is Rs 8,024 crore, which is an interest of 7.45 per cent, the Minister said.
"Earlier only SBI was investing it, but now to increase competition, we have also allowed UTI," he added.
The Minister said EPFO's total corpus is Rs 7.5 lakh crore and of this Rs 6 lakh crore was invested in equity, government and corporate bodies till August 2015. After August 2015, only Rs 1.25 lakh crore has been invested.
Assuring about the safety of the funds, Dattatreya said: "These are social security amounts and that too workers amount. I, as head of the apex decision making body of the EPFO, Central Board of Trustees (CBT), my paramount interest will be safeguard of the workers interest."
Patel said the minister's reply was "not satisfactory" as he had not clarified on his question of "minimum guarantee".
"The minister has also not replied on T K Rangarajan's (CPI-M) question on how can they invest a worker's contribution without taking his or her consent," he added.
Patel told Deputy Chairman P J Kurien that he wants to move a resolution against the government under Rule 167 stating that the House "Strongly disapproves of" the government's move to invest EPFO money in ETFs.
To this, Kurien said: "If you want to move a resolution, you have to give a notice. Please give the notice under the concerned rule. At this point, I am not allowing you to move the resolution."
Naresh Agrawal (SP) asked whether a notice can be served orally, to which Kurien replied that a notice has to be given in writing.
After Dattatreya's reply, Tapan Kumar Sen (CPI-M) wanted the minister to clarify on whether the government has followed the recommendations of the statutory tripartite body on the investment by the EPFO in ETFs.
"You are talking about global practices, but in many countries there is an ensured guaranteed return. What about this here," he questioned.
A lovesick Dutch, who spent 10 days in a Chinese airport in the hope of meeting his online girlfriend, has been hospitalised for exhaustion.
Alexander Pieter Cirk, 41, recently flew from Holland to Hunan province in central China in the hope of meeting his online girlfriend, a Chinese woman known only as Zhang.
But he ended up spending 10 days waiting at Changsha airport, after she failed to show up.
Cirk told Chinese media that he met Zhang, 26, in an app two months ago and romance blossomed.
He decided to fly to visit her, but when he got to Hunan found no-one had come to meet him at the airport.
He refused to leave the airport for the next 10 days, and was eventually taken to hospital suffering physical exhaustion, the BBC quoted reports by Hunan TV.
Zhang contacted the channel a day after the report was aired to give her side, saying that she had thought it had all been a joke.
"We had advanced our romantic relationship but later he seemed a little callous towards me," Zhang said.
"One day he sent me a photo of air tickets abruptly and I thought it was a joke. He didn't contact me later."
Zhang also added that by the time Cirk arrived at the airport, she was away having plastic surgery in another province and had turned off her phone.
On Chinese social media, the majority of users were keen to point out the apparent absurdity of the Dutch man's actions.
The hashtag "Foreign man went to Changsha to meet his online girlfriend" has been trending on Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo.
"He must be stupid, why would anyone do this?" asked one user.
"Doesn't he know that everything in China is fake?" commented another.
Others, however, had some sympathy.
"Here's a guy taking a relationship seriously, don't play around with his feelings," the netizen said. "If you don't want him anymore, tell him so he can go home."
"What does this say about Chinese integrity?", asked another.Cirk was scheduled to fly home earlier this week.
Zhang reportedly said she was still keen to meet Cirk after her recovery, indicating that she was still interested in maintaining their online relationship.
Raising its pitch over tensions on the disputed South China Sea, China today called for preparations for a "people's war at sea" to counter offshore security threats while its top court warned foreigners of criminal liability for violations of its maritime rights.
Chinese Defence Minister General Chang Wanquan has warned of offshore security threats and called for substantial preparation for a "people's war at sea" to safeguard sovereignty.
Speaking during an inspection of national defence work in coastal regions of east China's Zhejiang Province, Chang called for recognition of the seriousness of the national security situation, especially the threat from the sea, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Chang said the military, police and people should prepare for mobilisation to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
His comments followed verdict of international tribunal on July 12 that struck down China's claims over the South China Sea and raised tensions between China and Japan over the disputed islands in the East China Sea.
Two days ago while addressing a reception to celebrate 89th founding anniversary of the 2.3 million-strong People's Liberation Army (PLA), China said it will "staunchly" protect the country's maritime rights and interests and is "fully confident and capable of addressing various security threats and provocations".
The PLA will "unswervingly safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests including territorial integrity and maritime rights and interests," Chang had said.
"It will always stand ready to be called upon and be able to fight and win," he said.
Meanwhile, China's Supreme Court today issued a regulation to reaffirm its jurisdiction over the country's territorial seas and warned Chinese and foreigners of criminal liability for violations like illegal fishing, Xinhua reported.
The explanation provides clear legal basis for China to safeguard maritime order, marine safety and interests, and to exercise integrated management over the country's jurisdictional seas, it quoted a statement by Supreme People's Court (SPC) as saying.
The regulation, taking effect on Tuesday, stated that Chinese citizens or foreigners would be pursued criminal liability if they were engaged in illegal hunting or fishing, or killing endangered wildlife in China's jurisdictional seas.
"People's courts will actively exercise jurisdiction over China's territorial waters, support administrative departments to legally perform maritime management duties, equally protect the legal rights of Chinese and foreign parties involved and safeguard Chinese territorial sovereignty and maritime interests," it said.
The judicial explanation, based on Chinese law, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and judicial practices, further clarifies China's maritime jurisdiction, the statement said.
According to the regulation by the SPC, jurisdictional seas not only include inland waters and territorial seas, but also cover regions including contiguous zones, exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.
The regulation also addresses Chinese citizens or organisations engaged in fishing in fishing zones or the open sea under co-management between China and other countries, according to signed agreements.
The interpretation specifies the standard of conviction and punishment for illegal marine fishing - those who illegally enter Chinese territorial waters and refuse to leave after being driven away, or who re-enter after being driven away or being fined in the past year, will be considered to have committed "serious" criminal acts and will be fined and sentenced to less than a year of imprisonment, detention or surveillance, it said.
The penalty also applies to those who illegally enter China's territorial seas to fish but do not engage in "illegal fishing" under the law, it said.
"The explanation offers legal guarantees for marine fishing law enforcement," defining punishments for fishing without a license in order to encourage legal fishing, the statement said, adding that it also promotes judicial assistance and international cooperation on marine affairs.
The SPC move is seen as an attempt to provide legal cover to China's maritime claims over all most all of the South China Sea (SCS) in the backdrop of the judgement of the tribunal appointed by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, (PCA) quashing China's nine-dash line claim over the SCS.
It also upheld the Philippines rights over the area claimed by Manila.
China has rejected the tribunal verdict delivered in response to the Philippines' petition, which the PCA said is binding.
While Beijing said the tribunal's verdict was null and void as it is illegally constituted, today's regulation by the top Court was expected to provide a legal cover for Chinese military and coast guard to effectively implement China's claims over nearly 90 per cent of the SCS and back the rights of its fishermen to continue fishing in the areas.
Besides the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan contests China's claims over the area with counter claims.
The Court regulation followed assertions by the Chinese military to protect the country's maritime rights and interests in the backdrop of increasing tensions over the SCS after an international tribunal struck down Beijing's claims.
With thousands of Indians reeling under severe financial crisis in Saudi Arabia after losing their jobs, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh tonight left for the Gulf nation to assess the situation and finalise modalities to bring back those who want to return to India.
Ahead of Singh's visit, the Indian embassy there has launched an initiative to collect details of the Indians laid off by their employers.
Currently, a total of 7,700 affected Indian workers are living in 20 camps and the embassy is in the process of collecting information about others residing in different parts of Saudi Arabia.
Singh left for Jeddah tonight and MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said his on-the-ground assessment will determine future course of action.
Thousands of Indian workers have lost their jobs due to slowdown in Saudi economy, triggered by low oil prices and cut in spending by government of that country. The Indian mission has provided food to the Indians who cannot buy it.
Earlier today, Singh's ministerial colleague in the MEA M J Akbar, who looks after issues relating to the Gulf region, met Saudi Ambassador Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati and discussed the difficulties being faced by Indians who have lost their jobs.
"Had fruitful discussions with Saudi Ambassador to India Dr. Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati on all bilateral issues.
"Glad to receive support and assurances from Saudi government to resolve all outstanding issues, including that of our Indian labourers," Akbar said in a series of tweets.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had yesterday said that all affected Indians will be brought back.
A team from the Indian embassy had yesterday met Saudi labour officials to complete procedures relating to the protection of legal dues of the workers once they have departed from the country.
Swarup said the Indian embassy in Riyadh convened a meeting of community social workers and volunteers yesterday, where the Ambassador sought their help in collecting information about the affected workers.
They were provided a proforma on which the requisite information is to be submitted to the embassy.
The government has requested the Saudi authorities to give the unemployed Indian workers exit visas without NoC from employers and also urged it to clear the dues of workers who have not been paid for months, whenever they settle the accounts with the companies concerned.
MEA officials said Singh will reach Jeddah early tomorrow morning and is scheduled to return on the evening of Friday. He is traveling to the Saudi city via Dubai.
Swarup said 4,072 Indian workers belonging to M/s Saudi Oger are living in nine camps in Riyadh and one in Dammam, while 1,457 workers belonging to M/s SAAD Group are putting up in two camps in Dammam.
Five workers from M/s Shifa Sanaya are in a camp in Riyadh and 13 workers who were employed with M/s Taiya Contracting Company are staying in one camp.
"A total of 5547 Indian workers belonging to 14 camps are being provided assistance by Indian Embassy in Riyadh. Of these, food was required by Indian workers in one camp each in Riyadh and Dammam.
"In addition, there are 2,153 Indian workers belonging to M/s Saudi Oger in six camps in Jeddah all of whom have been provided food by the Indian Consulate. Hence, there are a total of 7700 affected Indians workers in 20 camps," said Swarup.
The Embassy teams visited six camps yesterday in Riyadh."The information about each worker, about his total service, pending salary, desire to exit / continue / transfer is being collected separately," said the MEA Spokesperson.
Making a statement in Parliament yesterday, Swaraj had said the workers will be brought back home, asserting that not one of them will go hungry.
"Not one worker of ours will go hungry. This is my assurance to the country through Parliament... We will bring all of them back to India," she said.
Issues like logistics and modalities of a possible repatriation of the workers who want to return to India will be worked out during Singh's visit.
The government, Swaraj said, was in touch with the foreign and labour offices in Saudi Arabia to ensure early evacuation of affected Indians.
There are many people who like to transform every opportunity that comes their way into something fun and adventurous worth remembering for a long time to come. Similarly, Amod Mathew and Rashmi Ashok from Christ University made use of an opportunity to fulfill their dream of travelling while helping kids learn. The 18-year-old students did an internship in Sri Lanka where they taught government school kids and also captured and wrote about the native beauty of the country. The two spoke to Sirisha Venkatesh about their exciting experience and the challenges they faced.
How did it all start?
Amod: Growing up, Ive always wanted to capture moments and show others the beauty I see in them. Im not a good artist, so for me, photography was a way to express what I saw.
Rashmi: My passion is to travel the entire world, capture its beauty and keep it with me. I also enjoy writing. When I heard that Ive got an internship, I decided to do something to fulfill my dream.
Tell us about the opportunity in Sri Lanka.
Amod: As a student of media studies, I had to intern in this semester holidays. I heard about this internship from a friend and it sounded very exciting. Teaching little kids English while also travelling seemed like a dream.
Rashmi: I found out about this internship from a senior. Though not related to my coursework, it allowed me to travel the beautiful country. It also put me in contact with people of various nationalities and living with them, I have learnt so much more about diverse cultures.
Did you face any problems?
Rashmi: The initial challenge was convincing my parents to let me go, but eventually they saw what this meant to me and agreed. They were very supportive and happy about this.
Amod: The local language posed a bit of a problem. Communicating was difficult, but if you see, language is only a barrier if we allow it to be. I picked up enough of the local language to get by so things were easier.
What was your experience like?
Rashmi: Sri Lanka is absolutely beautiful. Supposedly a developing country, it is amazing how clean and well-organised it is! The locals were friendly and always helped us out with directions to places. During this internship, we taught English to children in a government school. The effort has been extremely rewarding as the children were loving and eager to learn. The memory of 12 year olds dancing to Roop Tera Mastana is something I cant forget. I am grateful for it all.
Amod: We had a really funny experience. On our first trip to the town, Rashmi and I were searching for a SIM card shop, and as Indians, we ran across the road when the traffic thinned out. Two traffic cops stopped us promptly and berated us in the local language. We shook our heads, and said Indian, Indian. It was only then that they stopped, laughed, and said, No wonder you ran across the road!
It wasnt hard to teach the children; they were quick learners and they like Sachin Tendulkar and new Hindi songs.They were always happy to be around us, talking about different things, about India and asking how it is different from Sri Lanka. I feel the population and pollution are much lesser in Sri Lanka.
On the weekends, we would catch a train and travel to different tourist destinations, making sure to explore every bit that place had to offer and take pictures.
We had planned to visit the Yala National Park in the last week of our stay but had to cancel our plans due to the floods.
Tell us about your blog.
Amod: We wanted to do something different with the internship, and after visiting so many beautiful places, we decided that we would like to share our experience with other people through a blog!
Rashmi: We realised that unless we promote the offbeat places we visited, we arent really giving back anything to the wonderful place. So we decided to create a personalised blog, where we could provide inspiration as well as information on our travel. Its called bohemiansblog.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is unhappy over Azam Khans comments on the Bulandshahar rape that it was a conspiracy hatched by the Opposition parties.
The comments have drawn flack from the victims family and other political parties. Assembly polls are near...it should be probed if the gang-rape is a political conspiracy hatched by the Opposition to malign the Uttar Pradesh government, Khan said in his hometown of Rampur on Monday.
Khan said the Opposition could stoop to any level to oust the Samajwadi Party (SP) regime in the state. It (opposition) can do anything to grab power, the minister added.
Slamming the minister for the comments, the father of the minor victim said he lacked sensitivity. I want to know if the minister would have made such comments if this had been his daughter, he said.
Sources in the Samajwadi Party (SP) here said Akhilesh is very upset over Azams remarks. He should have refrained from making such comments at a time when there is massive outrage over the incident, a senior SP leader told DH.
Akhileshs plans
Khans comments came amid reports that Akhilesh was preparing to meet the victims family. The comments are a huge embarrassment to the party and the government, the leader said.
BJP leader Vijay Bahadur Pathak said the chief minister should sack Azam from the state Cabinet. Such comments would embolden criminals and demoralise the police force, he said.
Armed bandits waylaid the Noida family on a busy highway connecting Delhi with Kanpur in Bulandshahar district, about 500 km from here, on Friday and gang-raped a 14-year old girl and her mother while holding other members of the family at gun point.
DH News Service
A total of 16 countries in the Asia Pacific are negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). This is a mega regional free trade agreement (FTA) between the 10 Asean countries and six others (Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea). The RCEP trade ministers will meet in Laos on August 5 to try and resolve some of the issues that are stuck in the negotiations.
One such controversial issue in RCEP is the investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS). Provisions on this are being pushed by Japan and South Korea. It is important to recall here that both these countries are also members of another mega regional Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which too has provisions on ISDS.
Thus, TPP wording is being mirrored in RCEP. This is significant if one believes in the narrative that for Asia, RCEP is merely a stepping-stone to TPP. While the fate of TPP hangs on the outcome of the US elections, with both the US political parties questioning it, there is enough evidence to show that RCEP is beginning to look like a TPP.
The ISDS manner of settling disputes gives a foreign investor the right to raise a legal challenge against a host government. This is done before a panel of handpicked arbitrators. This is unprecedented in public international law. Even the World Trade Organisations dispute settlement mechanism (DSM) only allows a state to fight a state, not a corporation to challenge a state! Threats of such an arbitration proceeding have a chilling effect on the ability of governments to regulate different social and economic sectors, in the fear of possible claims being filed by multinational companies for millions of dollars.
A leaked copy of the RCEPs investment chapter includes proposals to allow foreign investors to sue governments at an international tribunal. These investor suits can be for unlimited cash damages and compound interest. If the proposals are accepted, this ISDS would allow foreign investors to sue RCEP governments if they regulate in ways that disadvantages the foreign investor, for example, by reducing investor profits, including either by introducing new laws/policies or changing legal/policy regimes, even if it is for public interest reasons.
Past ISDS cases have successfully challenged health, environmental, tax, financial regulation and many other laws and a losing government in one case had to pay an investor as much as $40 billion. This is difficult enough for any government to afford, but RCEP includes three least developed countries: Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar who would find it particularly burdensome to pay foreign investors this much.
There are 696 known ISDS cases against 107 countries and the number filed each year has been rapidly increasing (the most ever were filed in 2015). India has been at the receiving end of several such cases. Curiously, Indian investors themselves are using ISDS against the Government of India, as in the Antrix-Devas deal annulled just last month. Investors based their claims on the bilateral investment treaties (BITs) between Mauritius and India.
These cases which broadly interpret investors rights and restrict governments ability to regulate have caused many developed and developing country governments to rethink their support for investment protection provisions (including ISDS) in BITs and FTA investment chapters. Indias model bilateral investment promotion agreement (BIPA) allows for ISDS only on a condition: it requires the investor to first take recourse to national judicial fora. Only when those domestic options are exhausted is an ISDS-like proceeding permitted.
In other RCEP countries: a) The Government of Indonesia is withdrawing from its BITs; b) Singapores Attorney General and the Chief Justice of Australias highest court have expressed concerns about ISDS; and c) The New Zealand Chief Justice noted that human rights based determinations of domestic courts may give rise to ISDS claims.
Opposition to ISDS
In countries outside RCEP, there is also opposition to ISDS including countries such as South Africa and Ecuador are withdrawing from their BITs. Germany opposes ISDS in Europes FTA negotiations with the USA. The Dutch, French and Austrian Parliaments oppose ISDS in their FTA negotiations with Canada and the USA. All US state-level legislatures oppose ISDS in any treaty.
Various United Nations (UN) human rights bodies have also stated their serious concerns about ISDS including 10 UN Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts on human rights who said that the ISDS cases demonstrate that the regulatory function of many States and their ability to legislate in the public interest have been put at risk and governments have been chilled from regulating.
They recommended that in negotiations of FTAs like RCEP, the negotiating texts are published and the negotiations are conducted transparently with the participation of stakeholders including civil society. While so-me provisions on ISDS in RCEP talk of transparency obligations, there is enough said about maintaining secrecy. For example, any protected information that is submitted to the tribunal shall be protected from disclosure in accordance with the procedures laid down in RCEP.
Given this, RCEP civil society organisations across the region are strongly urging RCEP countries to reject ISDS in the trade agreement. Trade ministers from RCEP countries meeting this week need to heed that call.
Travis Kalanick, the co-founder and chief executive of the ride-hailing giant Uber, often defended his eagerness to risk billions on winning the Chinese market with a simple question: If you have a chance to become Amazon and Alibaba at the same time, why not try?
The implication was simple. Over the last couple of decades, Amazon, Facebook, Google and other US technology giants have each followed a similar script for world domination. Like an imperial armada rolling out from North Americas West Coast, these companies would try to establish beachheads on every other continent.
But when US giants tried to enter the waters of China, the worlds largest internet market, the armada invariably ran aground. Plagued by opaque and ever-shifting regulations and a culturally abstruse way of doing business, US companies fell to a series of local giants.
Instead of Google, Baidu. Instead of Facebook, WeChat, owned by the giant Tencent. And instead of Amazon, Alibaba. That has left us with a divide: today, there is the Chinese internet, and there is the internet of the rest of the world. A network seen in its early days as a tool to foster financial and political unity across a fragmented planet has irrevocably cleaved into two separate spheres.
Kalanick, a famously competitive and aggressive entrepreneur, had apparently studied these risks and seemed determined to bridge that gulf. He would try to take on China not as an afterthought, but as a central mission of his fledgling company. He would risk billions and spend a great deal of time in China to figure out the secrets of winning there.
The goal seemed lofty, but the opportunity, after all, was eye-popping: Amazon has a market value of $365 billion, and Alibaba is worth about $200 billion. The ride-hailing business might one day grow to be as valuable as e-commerce, if not larger and wouldnt it be fantastic if you could own it all, everywhere?
Well, you cant. The announcement on Monday that Uber will sell its Chinese operations to its rival Didi Chuxing, effectively ceding China to the homegrown favourite, cements an emerging global state of play: a kind of Chinese-American Cold War over the internet.
Entrepreneurs across the globe can choose to win in China or the rest of the world. You can be Alibaba or you can be Amazon. You can be Uber or you can be Didi. But you cant be both. Given the rising Chinese market and increasing tension over the role of US tech firms in the rest of the globe, the gulf between the two sides promises to become one of the most important factors in determining the shape of global tech innovation.
How exactly might the war play out? In some ways, being at the mercy of two poles of internet leadership could be good for citizens of planet earth. In emerging markets like India, West Asia and parts of Africa and South America, the giants of China and the US are increasingly investing billions to compete for local customers in e-commerce, social networking, ride sharing and other markets.
For instance, Duncan Clark, an investment adviser in China who wrote Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built, pointed to the way Amazon and Alibaba act as foils for one another. Amazon is increasingly making its own branded products, taking on Procter & Gamble and others, and also getting into the logistics business, and shipping, and everything else, Clark said. But Alibaba is a marketplace that doesnt hold inventory and describes themselves as helping local merchants so maybe theres some argument that Alibaba could serve as a counter globally to Amazon.
But Ubers deal with Didi in which Uber will take an 18% stake in the combined company, which is certain to become the monopolistic player in the Chinese ride-hailing market points to another potential outcome: a series of accommodationist deals in which giants cede large parts of the world to one another, pragmatically carving out their spheres of influence like players in The Great Game.
In that way it could be like the Yalta Conference, said Clark, referring to the 1945 meeting in which the victors of World War II determined the postwar geopolitical order.
However the global order shakes out, each sides home territory seems safe from invasion by the other. Ubers retreat in China was preceded by a parade of failures by earlier US tech firms. Some fell short for obvious political reasons companies that traffic in information, like Google, Facebook and Twitter, were essentially stymied from the start by the Chinese censorship regime. Others, like Amazon and eBay, failed to appreciate some of the differences in how business got done in China, especially the importance of personal connections.
Of all US tech firms, Apple has achieved the biggest success in China about 25% of its sales occurred in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan in 2015. But in recent months, it, too, has been running into political hurdles in the region.
The barrels that will be thrown at you when youre trying to do business in China will just never stop, said Mark Natkin, the managing director of Marbridge Consulting, an advisory firm based in Beijing. Youll constantly be above one barrel or recovering from jumping one, and as youre dusting yourself off you look down the road and here comes the next one.
Previous failures
Compared with previous failures, Uber seemed to do everything right in China. It set up a separate company, Uber China, which had a buy-in from local investors, including from a local giant, Baidu. It hired many local experts, and worked closely with the national government to foster friendly relations. Insiders say Kalanick was also personally invested in the deal. He visited China eight times in the last year and a half, and became something of a tech star in the Chinese media.
Publicly, Kalanick had insisted he was fighting for total victory in China. But he must have known that Uber would always struggle to achieve dominance, given the emerging centrality of ride-sharing to the future of infrastructure in China. Still, even if he failed to win everything in China, investing early in the country seemed too big to skip.
The ride-sharing opportunity in China is basically as big as the rest of the world combined, if not bigger, said Ben Thompson, an analyst based in Taiwan who writes the tech newsletter Stratechery. For Uber, China was basically frosting on the cake.
For now, its especially delicious frosting. The $2 billion Uber spent tackling China is now worth about $7 billion in the new merged entity; if Didi does become one of Chinas largest tech companies, the value of Ubers stake in China could rise geometrically, making the firm much more attractive in a potential initial public offering. Pulling out of China also frees up Uber to invest more in other markets India and Indonesia are big targets as well as expand its expertise in core technological initiatives like mapping data and self-driving cars.
But if spending big to tackle China ultimately works out for Uber, it will be an anomaly, and certainly not a model for other US tech giants. The ride-sharing market is one the few markets where the upside is big enough to justify going in, Thompson said. For most other companies, going into China is still going to be nothing but pain.
Shedding the states geographical identity, the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal has decided to drop the word West and keep just Bengal as the name of the state.
The Cabinet has ratified the change on Tuesday and is calling a special session to discuss the matter.
The state government passed the proposal to change the name of West Bengal to just Bengal, a move that was approved in a Cabinet meeting held at the state secretariat in Kolkata. Coming out of the meeting, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee told reporters, Weve proposed that in Bengali the name of the state be Bangla or Banga. In English, the name will be just Bengal. The administration took the decision for the sake of the people of the state, its heritage and culture, as well as to promote and protect its interests at the national level, he added.
Chatterjee further said that the government will convene a special session of the Assembly on August 26 to discuss only this issue. The session will be followed by an all-party meeting over August 29 and 30, where the issue will be discussed and the ruling party will urge all to accept the new name. During the last days of the Left rule in 2011, erstwhile chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjees government had cleared a similar proposal. The proposal was to rename the state as Paschim Banga, the Bengali word for West Bengal, but the idea was shelved.
While, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been toying with the idea ever since coming to power in 2011, the issue could not be taken up earlier due to other pressing matters, Chatterjee said. He pointed out that going by the protocol, the proposal has to be passed by the state Assembly and then forwarded to the Parliament, where it has to be ratified by both the Houses. While, the outlook of the Opposition parties in the state, namely Congress and the Left, has remained yet unknown, going by Union Minister of State Babul Supriyos enthusiastic acceptance of the proposal, it is likely that BJP would support the process.
Its a great idea, Supriyo said. The BJP MP from the state, however, raised some practical issues related to the re-christening and pointed out that choosing the Bengali name would be difficult. Banga, which in Bengali is pronounced as bongo, is an instrument people play. We shouldnt have this name, he said.
The YSR Congress bandh demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh was total on Tuesday with educational institutions and businesses shutting down and buses staying off the roads.
Addressing the media at his party headquarters here, YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy called the bandh a great success, as he vowed to continue the fight for the Special Category Status (SCS).
We had to fight with the government machinery, Jagan said. Police unleashed terror and agitators cane charged in several places.
Jagan accused Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu of holding back his party workers from participating in the day-long bandh. Police detained several YSR Congress workers in many areas as they tried blockading bus depots. Security was provided for inter-state buses plying from Vijayawada Central bus station, where several YSRC, Congress and left party workers were arrested Tuesday morning for stopping buses.
The bandh was partial in Tirupati, where former TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy and YSR Congress Chandragiri MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy were arrested for holding a rally.
MPs disrupt Lok Sabha for 2nd day
Noisy sloganeering from Andhra Pradesh MPs in Lok Sabha on Tuesday prompted the government to assure them it would consider granting special category status to the state, DHNS reports from New Delhi.
Some members have concerns over particular issues. The government stands by its commitment. We are trying to find a solution to these issues, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in an attempt to pacify the MPs.
MPs from TDP, a constituent of the ruling NDA, and opposition YSR Congress screamed slogans and held placards demanding special status. The protests prompted Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the House twice, but the MPs resumed the commotion when it reconvened.
MPs are protesting for the second day in Lok Sabha over the governments delay in giving special status and additional financial compensation to AP following its bifurcation to create Telangana. When the Lok Sabha convened for the days business, YSRC MPs, led by Y S Avinash, trooped into the well of the House raising slogans. TDP MPs followed suit, but held their protests from the aisle.
Further needling India, Pakistans parliament has unanimously passed a resolution, condemning human rights violations in Kashmir and demanding the UN Human Rights Commission to send a fact-finding mission to the Valley to investigate it.
The 34th session of the National Assembly (the parliament), which began last evening with Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in the chair, extended its support to the Kashmiris.
The National Assembly of Pakistan strongly condemns the recent atrocities perpetrated on innocent Kashmiris by Indian security forces, said the resolution passed on Monday night.
It said the use of pellet guns was deplorable and is against the canons of international humanitarian laws.
This House denounces these reprehensible acts...It is confident that these blatant violations of international law cannot deter the valiant, oppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir from continuing to press their demand for realisation of their right to self-determination, which is enshrined in numerous UN Security Council Resolutions, it added.
It reiterated Pakistans continuing political, moral and diplomatic support for the struggle in Kashmir.
The resolution pressed the government to urge the international community, inter-governmental and inter- parliamentary organisations, NGOs, civil society and the media to ask India to immediately stop violations of the human rights.
One more dies
Meanwhile in Kashmir, one person was killed and another injured in fresh violence, even as normal life remained disrupted for the 25th consecutive day on Tuesday due to strike called by separatists and curfew imposed by the authorities in some parts of the Valley.
With this the death toll has gone up to 50. A police officer said the government official, identified as Baburam, was stopped by a mob when he was on his way to Ramban in Jammu division and asked to alight from the vehicle. As soon as the official and his personal security guard got off the vehicle, the mob tried to set it ablaze.
Barely days after armed bandits waylaid a Noida family on a highway in Bulandshahar district and gang-raped a minor and her mother, yet another gang-rape shook Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday.
A Dalit teacher was gang-raped by three people in the states Bareilly district, about 250 km from here, on National Highway 24 that connects Lucknow to Delhi in the early hours of Tuesday.
According to sources in the police, the culprits dragged the victim, who was on her way to school where she taught, into their car and took her to a secluded place and gang-raped her.
The culprits dumped the victim in a sugar cane field a few kilometres away from the spot and fled.
The victim, who managed to inform her family, later lodged an FIR with the police. She said that the culprits had also shot a video of the incident and threatened to make it public if she approached the police to file a complaint.
DH News Service
A huge sinkhole opened up on the busy Kempegowda Road, taking motorists by surprise. The incident took place around 10 am. There were no casualties.
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) officials rushed to the spot as the land caved in right above the underground Metro line between Central College and Majestic Metro station. The sinkhole was around 15 feet deep, an eyewitness said.
BMRCL chief public relations officer (CPRO) U A Vasanth Rao said the hole was filled after following certain procedures.
We filled the hole with sand and then a concrete mixture. It has nothing to do with our underground work, which is far below the surface, he said.
DH News Service
Manjula Manasa, the chairperson of Karnataka State Women Commission, visited Yamanur and Alagwadi villages of Navalgund taluk in Dharwad district on Tuesday, and heard the grievances of the people. Both these villages bore the brunt of the police excesses on July 29.
She said that it was an unfortunate incident and that the visuals of police caning the villagers, women and senior citizens were heart-wrenching.
The villagers are in deep shock over the severe police action and have asked the Commission to deliver justice to the victims. The commission would be submitting a comprehensive report to the government in the next three days based on the information given by the villagers, said Manjula.
If the commission needs additional information pertaining to the incident, it will direct the Superintendent of Police to appear before the commission and his statement will be recorded, she said.
Register murder cases
N H Konaraddi, the Navalgund MLA, has demanded that the policemen involved in the assault on farmers should be arrested and murder cases registered against them. He said that the government should release innocent farmers who have been arrested by the police.
The State Human Rights Commission has sought a report within two days over the caning of protestors by the police at Yamanur in Navalgund taluk, Dharwad district, on Saturday. Commission chairperson Meera Saxena told reporters in Bengaluru on Tuesday that she would get video footage of the incident to examine them.
JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday wrote to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asking him to abide by his duties as head of the state, and protect the people of the state.
Stating that he was well aware of the grief Siddaramaiah was enduring following the loss of his son Rakesh, Kumaraswamy has appealed to the former to immediately address the police atrocity in Naragund and Navalgund taluks. When you were in Belgium, there were police excesses where hundreds of women and children were brutally beaten up by the police. Just because some anti-social elements damaged police vehicles and public property, hundreds of farmers were taken to task. They have been arrested and booked for non-bailable offences, he said.
Addressing Siddaramaiah endearingly, Kumaraswamy asked him to immediately convene a Cabinet meeting to withdraw cases against the 180 farmers who have been put behind bars in Ballari and Chitradurga. He also wanted Siddaramaiah to visit Yamanur and meet the victims of lathi charge. If you do this, my love for you will only grow Siddaramanna, he has stated.
Deve Gowda called Siddaramaiah over the phone and consoled the chief minister. Gowda said that he was unable to attend the funeral of Rakesh owing to his ill health.
For Hungund farmer Fakirappa (42), arranging Rs 400 every week for dialysis at Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Hubballi is a herculean task. Though his wife is willing to donate her kidney to the sole bread winner of the family, Fakirappa is still not able to go in for the surgery.
For, the only government hospital in the state which performs kidney transplantation is in Bengaluru, a city which is not just far away from his village but also a place where he cant afford post-operation expenses. While the surgery would cost less than Rs 1 lakh, he will have to bear post-operation cost of over Rs 1 lakh.
I could have gone for the operation if there was a government hospital with this facility in North Karnataka, Fakirappa says.
According to Health and Family Welfare department, there are 36 institutes in the state that have permission to transplant kidney, liver and heart. But most of them are in either southern or coastal Karnataka. The KLES Hospital in Belagavi has such a facility in North Karnataka. Apart from the Prime Minister Super Speciality Yojana Hospital on Victoria Hospital campus in Bengaluru, all the other hospitals are private ones.
According to Zonal Coordination Committee of Karnataka as on July 29, as many as 2,533 patients are waiting for organ transplantation in the state, including 1,880 for kidney and 582 for liver transplantation. A good chunk of these patients are from North Karnataka. KIMS Nephrology Department Head Venkatesh Moger said travelling to hospitals in other regions is financially and physically unaffordable for both patients and their relatives.
This is one of the reasons why more people are not going in for organ transplantation, which is a better solution than regular dialysis. On a average, two to three patients are referred to Bengaluru for transplantation every month. However, most of them do not undergo kidney transplantation.
KIMS is among many hospitals that have sought permission to conduct live organ transplantation. But getting permission from the Authorising Committee is difficult, say heads of over 10 hospitals and medical colleges to whom Deccan Herald spoke to.
We are already performing more complex surgeries than kidney transplantation. However still the Committee, citing requirement of two organ transplantation specialists in hospital is denying the permission," said SDM Hospital, Dharwad, Medical Superintendent Sathya Shankar.
The hospital has one organ transplantation specialist and there are several Bengaluru-based specialists who are willing to visit the hospital on demand. Even the Human Organ Transplant Act doesnt specify the requirement of a second specialist to accord permission. The hospital had applied for organ transplantation centre in 2014. There are other hospitals too, which have not received any response from the Committee. It has been one year since we applied for the facility, by paying a fee of Rs 10,000. But so far, there has been no response from the Committee. Authorities have not even come for inspection, said Hubballis Tathwadarsha Hospital Managing Director Bharat Kshatri.
The Forest department has sent a proposal to the state government to declare Southern Bird Wing butterfly as the state butterfly. If all goes well, Karnataka will be the second state in the country after Maharashtra to have a state butterfly.
Karnataka already has Indian Roller as the state bird and elephant as state animal. The forest department sent the proposal to Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (wildlife) and state government in the last week of June. The proposal was to be tabled at the State Wildlife Board meeting that was scheduled to be held on August 1, 2016, for its approval. However, the meeting has been postponed indefinitely as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who heads the Board, is mourning the death of his son Rakesh.
Sanjay Mohan, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Research and Utilisation) told Deccan Herald that the decision to have a state butterfly is to attract people to nature, educate them, create awareness about the species and increase conservation for this flagship species, as in the case of tigers. This particular butterfly was chosen because of its colour- red and yellow, which is same as the colours of the state flag. It is also easy to sight this butterfly which is found in abundance in the state. It is not endemic and is also the largest butterfly found in India.
The idea to have a state butterfly cropped up at the previous With Nature (OWN) workshops. The workshops are held in the forest department head office to explain fundamentals to nature lovers. The workshops comprise various elements such as awareness about antlers, beehives, tiger scats and flora and faunaMohan said.
Conservationists and entomologists are of the view that this will be just a mere publicity stunt. Environmentalist M B Krishna said Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh both have Indian Roller as their state bird. So, this time while choosing the butterfly, they should be cautious and ensure that no other state has the same one. The butterfly should be unique to the state.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be back to work on Wednesday, two days after his elder son Rakesh was laid to rest. He will chair a meeting of BBMP officials to assess the damage caused by heavy rains in Bengaluru last week. The meeting will be held at his home office Krishna.
In a media statement, the chief minister said he was finding it difficult to cope with the loss of his son and added that no parent should ever face the tragedy of losing a child. He also stated it would take a long time for him and his family to overcome the grief.
The chief minister said that he would never forget the love and concern showed by the people of the state, irrespective of caste, religion or social status, to Rakesh when he was undergoing treatment at Antwerp University Hospital in Brussels, Belgium. Rakesh succumbed to multi-organ failure on Saturday.
Siddaramaiah recalled that when Rakesh was being treated at the hospital, a Kannadiga family living in Brussels had volunteered help, including providing home-cooked food. He said he would be grateful to Vijendra, a Bengalurean working in Brussels, and his wife.
Siddaramaiah also stated that he would forever remain indebted to the thousands who had gathered at the Exhibition Grounds in Mysuru to pay homage to Rakesh. Rakeshs body was kept at the grounds for public viewing. He also thanked a range of politicians who, cutting across party lines, shared his grief.
BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad recalled that when he laid the wreath on the body and stood at a corner on Monday, Siddaramaiah called him and enquired about the flood situation. Just 15 minutes before Rakesh was laid to rest, Siddaramaiah asked me about the steps taken to deal with the flood. I told him about the need for long-term measures.
Vinayak Bhaurao Raut (Shiv Sena) MP from Maharashtra told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that Marathi-speaking people in Karnataka were being oppressed, amidst protests from Karnataka MPs.
Raising the issue during zero hour, Raut (MP from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurga) said, Marathi-speaking people of Karwar, Belagavi, Nippani are fighting for natural justice. States were reorganised in 1956 on the basis of languages spoken in that particular area. But, unfortunately the Marathi speaking people could not get their own state at that time. This was strongly contested by BJP MPs, including Pralhad Joshi and Shivakumar Udasi. They said Marathi-speaking people in Karnataka were the most safe.
With a majority of the tendered solar power projects stalled due to procedural delays, Energy Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday instructed district administrations to clear them at the earliest.
Shivakumar, who held a video conference with deputy commissioners in Bengaluru, gave strict instructions to officers not to harass companies that have come forward to set up solar plants.
Stressing on the fact that these projects have to take off within a years time, the minister reiterated that only three documents were sufficient for clearances for these projects, which were coming up on deemed lands. He said he had received complaints that the district administration was insisting on submission of 18 documents for getting clearances.
The projects undertaken under both the Central and state governments would add around 6,500 MW to the grid by 2020. By end of next year, the department hopes to generate at least 2,000 MW.
A majority of the DCs said that they were granting clearances as and when they receive applications. When Belagavi deputy commissioner said that two of the projects were held up as the district-in charge minister wanted to hold discussions about the same, Shivakumar said, No one should interfere - you have to take up the project. You cant sit and wait for some politician to give you permission for the projects, including the district in-charge minister.
He was also irked when the Koppal deputy commissioner told him that land conversion of deemed land had taken over eight months. It should not have taken more than 15 days, he shot back at the officer.
When officials from Tumakuru said that villagers were refusing to part with their lands in Pavagad for installation of four transmission poles, Shivakumar said that a major international project (90 MW) was being stalled because of this. Taking officials to task, he said the department was losing Rs 30 lakh a day because of this delay. He said the farmers were creating problems as they were demanding more compensation.
The minister said that the department had returned 1,500 MW of power to the Central grid as the demand had reduced with the onset of monsoon. He said that currently, the demand stood at 7,000 MW.
According to officials, the department had earlier placed an order for 1,000 MW at Rs 4.36 per unit. However, as the demand had reduced, the department would take a final call on whether to purchase the power shortly.
OMAHA Hillary Clinton brought her presidential campaign to red state Nebraska on Monday, focusing like a laser on metropolitan Omaha's 2nd Congressional District presidential electoral vote.
Clinton targeted economic growth that will create new jobs and increase income for middle-class Americans, pointing especially to the need for infrastructure construction and repair.
Nebraska, she said, would benefit from investment in clean energy and expansion of broadband into unserved rural areas.
"The economy is not working the way it should for everyone," Clinton said, recreating some of the message she delivered to the Democratic National Convention last week when she formally accepted her party's presidential nomination.
Clinton's appearance attracted several thousand supporters to a raucous rally in the gym at Omaha North High School, which was decked out in red, white and blue.
Joining her at the podium was iconic Omaha investor Warren Buffett, who took on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, billionaire to billionaire.
Challenging Trump to release his income tax documents, Buffett said: "You're only afraid if you have something to be afraid of."
Staring at the audience, Buffett said, "he's afraid because of you."
Referring to Trump's recent criticism of the Muslim parents of a U.S. soldier who was killed in Iraq after the father chastised Trump for his anti-Muslim rhetoric, Buffett invoked the rebuke aimed at the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy by Boston attorney Joseph Welch in 1954.
"I ask Donald Trump: Have you no sense of decency, sir?"
Buffett scoffed at Trump's suggestion that he too has made sacrifices in accumulating his wealth.
"I have made money," Buffett said. "I have made no sacrifices."
Nebraska's distinctive system of awarding three of its five electoral votes to the presidential winner in each of the state's congressional districts was the lure that attracted Clinton to Omaha on a day when she also would campaign in Virginia and Colorado, both of them battleground states.
President Barack Obama won the Omaha district electoral vote in 2008.
If she wins the congressional district this time and is elected president in November, Clinton said, she'll return to celebrate with Buffett on the streets of Omaha.
During an interview inside the gym prior to Clinton's arrival, the campaign's national political director, Amanda Renteria, said the campaign is targeting the diversity of the 2nd District, which contains large Latino and African-American populations.
Labor, youth and women also are important components of Clinton's support, she said.
"All groups are important, but there are key demographics," Renteria said.
"Our strategy leaves no one off the table."
Trump, she said, "has energized the Latino community for generations" with his sharp words about immigration and immigrants.
The campaign is focusing on "the job message" with proposals for the largest job creation program since World War II, Renteria said, including an early emphasis on infrastructure construction and repair.
In Nebraska, Renteria said, 2,700 bridges need repair and 25 percent of the population does not have access to broadband service.
Former Sen. Ben Nelson praised Clinton in brief remarks prior to her appearance.
"I know she has the skills, the experience, the empathy and the decency to be the next president," Nelson said.
Colfax County commissioners cautioned Treasurer Janis Kasik last week to follow all state and county regulations on the hiring of an immediate family member as a temporary worker in her office to help sort new license plates and complete other errands.
The longtime treasurer raised the issue of hiring her daughter for a temporary job to ease a staff crunch created recently when another employee departed for a different position with the county.
Were a very busy place, Kasik told the board while noting that she advertised the open office job in two of the four newspapers in the county during the past couple of weeks and received no applicants.
The treasurer said she met the ad deadlines for the Leigh and Clarkson newspapers, but missed them for the Schuyler and Howells papers. The deadline for accepting applications was July 29.
Earlier this month, Kasik requested an opinion from County Attorney Denise Kracls office on the disclosure rules that an officeholder must follow in order to hire a family member.
When hiring a family member, state rules require Kasik to file a disclosure notice, either on the record at a county board meeting or in writing to the county clerk, and advertise for applications for the job. The board must approve the hiring.
An officeholder is not required to wait for county board approval in the hiring of an employee who is not a family member.
In 2015, Kracl wrote in her opinion, Merrick County Sheriff Kevin Campbell was fined $3,000 by the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission for failing to file proper paperwork and advertise a position he eventually filled by hiring his wife.
Be advised, Kracl wrote, the sheriff was personally liable for that fine imposed by the state disclosure commission.
County personnel policies also state an officeholder must advertise the job, not hire someone who is not qualified and not terminate another employee to make funds available for a family member.
Board members were cautious and suggested Kasik consider delegating some of the offices work to other employees.
The hiring of a family member would be under the scrutiny of the public, Commissioner Mike Dvorak told the treasurer.
Weve got to follow the rules, Commissioner Gil Wigington said. Im not taking the liability if there is a problem."
Commissioner Jerry Heard advised the treasurer to assign more tasks to other employees.
Delegate some work to people down below to take some of the burden off of you," he said.
If you cant delegate to other workers, what are they there for? Wigington said.
Dales of Prevnar vaccine, the drug maker's star product, fell short of estimates
Pfizer topped analyst estimates when it released its second quarter earnings on Tuesday on the back of strong performances from new drugs Ibrance and Xeljanz.
The positive results for the pharmaceutical company come despite its biggest product Prevnar disappointing in the quarter.
The shots sold $1.26bn, compared with estimates of $1.58bn, after sales in the US leveled-off following what Pfizer said was pent-up demand.
Profit came in at 64 cents a share, according to a statement from the New York-based drugmaker.
Analysts had predicted 62 cents on average. Revenue rose 11% to $13.15bn, the company said, beating projections for $13.01bn.
Ibrance, its new breast cancer treatment drug tripled from the year previous to $514m, and sales could reach $4.81bn by 2018, according to Bloomberg data.
Rheumatoid arthritis pill Xeljanz beat expectations of $199m to bring in $217 for Pfizer.
Unlike various other large drugmakers that painted a more prospective picture for the full-year alongside their second quarter results, Pfizer left its annual guidance unchanged.
Ian Read, chief executive, said: "Our continued sharp focus on executing against the distinct strategies for both our Innovative Health and Essential Health businesses has delivered a strong financial performance during the second quarter as well as for the first half of 2016."
Despite the strong performance, shares were down by a little over 3% shortly after the open in New York. Pfizer shares have recovered much of their lost ground over the last six months and are trading at a similar level to 12 months ago.
Producer prices in the eurozone rose more than expected in June, according to the latest data from Eurostat.
Prices were up 0.7% on the month versus economists expectations for a 0.4% increase and a 0.6% rise in May.
Eurostat said the 0.7% increase was driven by rises of 2.4% in the energy sector, 0.3% for intermediate goods and 0.1% for both capital goods and non-durable consumer goods.
Prices for durable consumer goods remained stabled, while prices in total industry excluding energy were up 0.2%.
On a year-on-year basis, prices were down 3.1%, which was less than the 3.5% drop economists had expected and the previous months 3.8% decline.
Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com, said:After last months disappointing numbers, ECB president Mario Draghi will be pleased with the respite provided by todays producer price index results.
It still remains to be seen how Europe will react to the UKs decision to leave, but todays boost shows some promising robustness at least.
Home ownership in England has fallen to the lowest level since 1986, particularly in Manchester and the Midlands, as it becomes increasingly unaffordable, according to a think-tank.
Resolution Foundation said English home ownership fell by 14.5% to 58% this year from its peak in 2003. In the West Midlands it fell 11.2% to 60% this year from its peak in 2003.
London, also recorded double digit falls as it decreased by 13.5% in outer London to 58% this year from its peak in 2000.
The foundation said that London was not the only city experiencing a housing crisis.
Resolution Foundation policy analyst Stephen Clarke, said: London has a well-known and fully-blown housing crisis, but the struggle to buy a home is just as big a problem in cities across the North of England.
The chances of owning a home have fallen fastest in Greater Manchester over the last decade, though the Leeds and Sheffield city areas have also experienced sharp drops.
In the UK, home ownership fell 6.8% to 64% home ownership, in England it decreased 7% to 64%, Scotland dropped 6% to 64%, Wales declined 5% to 70% and Northern Ireland slid 10.5% to 63%.
The foundation, which used data from the Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey, found that in the 1980s the average first-time buyer paid under 30,000 for a house, in comparison to the average 150,000 today.
As home ownership fell, renting from private landlords increased to 19% in 2015 from 11% in 2003. In Greater Manchester it rose sharply to over 20% from 6%.
Renters spend most of their income (30%) on housing than people who own (23%). The foundation also highlighted the insecurities of renting short-term and the struggle to accumulate wealth that they may need later in life while paying rent.
Clarke said: These drops are more than a simple source of frustration for the millions of people who aspire to own their home. The shift to renting privately can reduce current living standards and future wealth, with implications for individuals and the state.
We cannot allow other cities to edge towards the kind of housing crisis that London has been saddled with.
Clarke said he was encouraged by the Prime Ministers intentions when Theresa May said she would tackle the housing deficit.
Its encouraging that the new prime minister has talked about tackling the housing deficit. She may find that making good on this promise could secure as important a legacy as negotiating a successful exit from the European Union.
In her maiden speech as Prime Minister, May said it was an injustice that if youre young, youll find it harder than ever before to own your own home.
Former BHS owner Philip Green should write a cheque to compensate the collapsed company's pensioners and say sorry, said the former head of the Pension Protection Fund.
Lady Barbara Judge told the BBC the Pensions Regulator needed more powers to prevent a recurrance of what happened at the High Street chain, which collapsed in April with a 571m pension fund deficit.
Green sold the store chain for 1 last year but it failed under the ownership of Retail Acquisitions Ltd, controlled by Dominic Chappell, and is now being wound up with the loss of 11,000 jobs.
"He should be writing a cheque and saying 'I'm sorry'," Judge said.
"My proposal is that the Pensions Regulator or some other agency be set up, like the Competition and Markets Authority, [so] that every time a corporate transaction of a certain size takes place with a pension fund of a certain size... a filing would be made by the parties it interested."
"They would say this is the deal... and this is what we are going to do for our pensioners.
"Under my scenario we would have a pensions regulator that looked at every pension fund in the country and then had an obligation to talk to those pension funds about what they were doing."
Her comments on Green echo those of Frank Field MP, who co-chaired the parliamentary inquiry into BHS.
Under-fire Green was slammed in the inquiry's report that criticised him and others involved in the collapse as being the unacceptable face of capitalism.
Retired race driver Chappell was also panned in the report from the Work and Pensions and Business select committees.
Inquiry co-chair MP Frank Field said Green should make out a cheque for at least 571m, after the report cited Greens failure to sort out a 571m pensions deficit as a primary catalyst for the chains collapse.
Criticism was also directed at the handling of the businesss sale to Chappell, who is a former bankrupt and had no experience in retail prior to BHS.
[He] hurriedly sold to a manifestly unsuitable buyer, the report said of Greens conduct when flogging BHS off to Chappell for a nominal 1 last year.
Around 20,000 people are said to be eligible for a BHS pension, with the Pension Protection Fund set to take a 271m loss as a result.
Reportedly, Green has privately spoken of his willingness to make a contribution to the pension deficit, but he has remained staunchly quiet over the collapse of BHS with the exception of his appearance before MPs.
Several firms were also named as playing roles leading to the collapse of BHS and its pension fund, including Goldman Sachs, law firm Olswang and accountants Grant Thornton.
Employees have been working their last days at BHS stores across Britain in recent weeks, with stores closing as stock is exhausted.
Field has repeatedly asked Green to "write a cheque" to sort out the pension fund in an increasingly bitter war of words with the tycoon. He has accused the businessman of "displacement therapy" and said he had to "face up to the evil he has done in destroying BHS".
Green hit back by saying Field had tried to create a "false narrative" and that progress was being made in addressing the pension deficit.
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Pennsylvania Libraries Expand Accessible Reading Opportunities
Published: 2016-08-02
Author: Benetech | Contact: benetech.org
Peer-Reviewed Publication: N/A
Jump to: Main Digest | Publications
Synopsis: Pennsylvania Libraries partner with Benetech/Bookshare to expand accessible reading opportunities for patrons with print disabilities. In a mission to expand more meaningful and accessible reading experiences for Pennsylvania residents who cannot read standard print, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the Free Library of Philadelphia have entered into a partnership agreement with Benetech, a Silicon Valley nonprofit that manages Bookshare, the world's largest online accessible library for individuals with qualifying print disabilities.
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Main Digest
In a mission to expand more meaningful and accessible reading experiences for Pennsylvania residents who cannot read standard print, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the Free Library of Philadelphia have entered into a partnership agreement with Benetech, a Silicon Valley nonprofit that manages Bookshare, the world's largest online accessible library for individuals with qualifying print disabilities.
Today, Bookshare serves more than 425,000 members who are blind, have low vision, a physical disability, or a learning disability, like dyslexia. The new partnership will enable qualified Pennsylvania residents who are print disabled to enjoy unlimited and 24/7 access to over 446,000 available electronic books at no cost in digital audio, text, and braille formats. Patrons can read Bookshare's accessible ebooks on tablets, smart phones, computers, assistive technology devices, and MP3 players using free and paid apps and some free reading tools.
Mark Lee, Library Services Manager at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped said, "This partnership greatly expands the number of accessible titles available to Pennsylvania residents who are print disabled. Now they will have the opportunity to access those titles instantly and through a device of their choosing."
Bookshare collections include a broad range of topics for all age groups and reading interests such as New York Times bestsellers, children's literature, picture books, fiction and nonfiction, scientific and technical journals, periodicals, professional publications, career guides, and much more. In addition to English titles, ebooks are offered in other languages, including Spanish.
Currently, through awards from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), all students in the United States with qualifying disabilities can access Bookshare for free. Through the new Pennsylvania state library partnership, all eligible Pennsylvania patrons, of all ages, will have access to Bookshare.
Keri Wilkins, Administrator, Philadelphia Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped said, "I agree with Mark about the benefits of this partnership. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Libraries for the Blind and Physically Handicapped have been long-time partners in serving our residents with print impairments. Working with Benetech is another great step in expanding accessible titles using Bookshare now and well into the future."
In 2016, Benetech announced similar partnerships with libraries in New York City and with the state of Georgia. Brad Turner, Vice President of Global Literacy at Benetech said, "We're excited about this new partnership with Pennsylvania state libraries to change how people with disabilities read today. We extend an invitation to other library systems with a similar mission to follow their footsteps and consider Bookshare to be the online accessible library that can open the world of meaningful reading experiences for their patrons with print disabilities."
For information about the Pennsylvania library partnership, contact Mark Lee at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh or Keri Wilkins at the Free Library of Philadelphia.
For information about Benetech, Bookshare, and partnerships, contact Lisa Wadors Verne, Program Manager, Education Research and Partnerships.
Benetech is a different kind of tech company. We're a nonprofit whose mission is to empower communities in need by creating scalable technology solutions. Our work has transformed how over 425,000 people with disabilities read; made it safer for human rights defenders in over fifty countries to document human rights violations; and equipped environmental conservationists to protect ecosystems and species all over the world. Our Benetech Labs is working on the next big impact. Visit www.benetech.org
Bookshare is the world's largest online library of accessible ebooks for people with print disabilities. Through its extensive collection of educational and popular titles, specialized book formats, and reading tools, Bookshare offers individuals who cannot read standard print materials the same ease of access that people without disabilities enjoy. In 2007 and 2012, Bookshare received two five-year awards from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), to provide free access for all U.S. students with a qualifying print disability. Bookshare is an initiative of Benetech, a Palo Alto, CA-based nonprofit that develops and uses technology to create positive social change. www.bookshare.org
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is supporting individual achievement and strengthening the power of community. Through the community's investment, the Library is enhancing the lives of people in the greater Pittsburgh region with dynamic and diverse resources such as creative learning programs for children and teens, job and career assistance for our community's workforce, and free computer and Internet access for all. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh builds community, enables learning, provides access and values people. www.CarnegieLibrary.org
The Free Library of Philadelphia system, with 54 locations and the Rosenbach, advances literacy, guides learning, and inspires curiosity with millions of digital and physical materials; 25,000 yearly programs and workshops; free public computers and extensive Wi-Fi, including neighborhood Hotspots; and rich special collections, including those at Parkway Central Library and at the Rosenbach. With more than six million in-person visits and millions more online annually, the Free Library and the Rosenbach are among the most widely-used educational and cultural institutions in Philadelphia and boast a worldwide impact. www.freelibrary.org
Disabled World is an independent disability community established in 2004 to provide disability news and information to people with disabilities, seniors, their family and/or carers. See our homepage for informative news, reviews, sports, stories and how-tos. You can also connect with us on Twitter and Facebook or learn more about Disabled World on our about us page.
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Cite This Page (APA): Benetech. (2016, August 2). Pennsylvania Libraries Expand Accessible Reading Opportunities. Disabled World. Retrieved October 28, 2022 from www.disabled-world.com/assistivedevices/visual/pa-reading.php
Permalink: Pennsylvania Libraries Expand Accessible Reading Opportunities
Jobs or no jobs, developers kept city property-tax abatements
Columbus routinely offers tax abatements to businesses pledging to create jobs, but when those promises aren't kept there are usually no consequences.
As many area communities will be observing Trick-or-Treating this weekend and Monday, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections advises you and your family to keep your children safer this Halloween by discussing ahead of time what to do if you are ever separated. A list of safety tips from state agencies is below to help ensure a safer Halloween weekend for everyone. You can also find the hours for trick-or-treating in Door and Kewaunee counties by clicking here.
-A parent or trusted adult should always accompany children
-Stay on well-lit streets and stick to neighborhoods you know
-Only stop at homes where the porch light is on
-Never enter a home or car for a treat
-Trick-or-treaters should carry a cell phone to allow for quick communication
-If the child carries a cell phone, activate location services prior to trick-or-treating
-Call 911 if you see any suspicious or illegal activity
Children should yell No! and run from any stranger who tries to take them somewhere
-Have a responsible adult check treats at the end of the night
Similarly, the Wisconsin Department of Health also suggests some tips for families with trick-or-treaters and families who are giving out candy.
Costume Tips
-Choose costumes that are light-colored and more visible to motorists.
-Use reflective tape to decorate costumes and candy bags to increase the visibility of children to drivers. Reflective tape may be purchased at hardware, bicycle, or sporting goods stores.
-Use make-up rather than a mask; if your childs costume does include a mask, make sure it fits snugly and that the eyeholes are large enough to allow full vision.
-Children should wear well-fitting, sturdy shoes.
-Costumes should be short enough that a child will not trip and fall.
-Choose costume accessories such as swords or knives that are made of soft and flexible material.
-Do not use novelty contacts such as cat eyes or snake eyes.
Pedestrian Safety
-Engage in Halloween activities during the daylight hours, if possible.
-Do not enter homes or apartments without adult supervision.
-Remind children to walk, not run, and to only cross streets at crosswalks.
-Be sure your children are accompanied by a responsible adult who has a flashlight. -----
-Flashlights or chemical light sticks should be used so that children can see and be seen by motorists.
Halloween Home Safety
-Remove obstacles from your lawn, porch, or steps if you are expecting trick-or-treaters.
-Make sure your front porch is well-lit.
-Avoid using candle-lit jack-o-lanterns if possible. If you do use candles, dont place them near curtains, furnishings, or decorations. Move them off porches where childrens costumes may ignite.
-Keep your pets in another room when you are expecting trick-or-treaters.
-Small children should not carve pumpkins; instead, allow them to draw the designs on the pumpkin and adults may carve.
-Turn on an outside light if welcoming trick-or-treaters.
Honda looks set to enter a convertible or roadster version of the NSX supercar into production.
Hot on the heels of the regular coupe version that will enter the Australian market from early 2017, the NSX's lead program engineer Jason Bilotta told Drive that a drop-top follow-up was under consideration.
"We've incorporated many items in the package to prepare for a convertible and we are studying whether that would make sense within our life cycle," he said.
"We'd like to [spin out a few derivatives]."
Given the timeline of the current NSX, it is possible that a convertible model could be shown off before year's end. Bilotta wouldn't be drawn to speculation.
Honda offer a limited production targa top version of the original NSX in 1995 and it is understood the Japanese manufacturer is particularly intent on value-adding with its latest supercar. There is also strong prospects for a Type R version, stripped-back GT3 style road car and even an electric version.
Tesla has offered insight into a fatal crash that claimed the life of a US customer.
Joshua Brosn, 40, was at the wheel of a Tesla Model S in self-driving "autopilot" mode when the sedan slammed into the side of a truck earlier this year.
Representatives from the innovative car maker reportedly told a US Senate Committee that the car's autonomous emergency braking (self-braking) system failed to prevent the crash. The New York Times attributed the revelation to anonymous US senate staff who said Tesla considers its self-braking and self-driving features to be separate systems.
Tesla has not publicly said exactly what caused the crash, only that it is investigating the matter.
But the brand has said the car's camera may have struggled to differentiate the side of a white truck with a brightly lit sky. Tesla chief executive Elon Musk also tweeted that the car's "radar tunes out what looks like an overhead road sign to avoid false braking events".
The company has faced criticism for pursuing self-driving features too quickly, with influential magazine Consumer Report calling on Tesla to deactivate autopilot features in customer vehicles. One of Tesla's key technology suppliers, Mobileye, has also parted ways with the brand.
Potential customers could be affected by the crash.
A survey of 1500 people by AlixPartners found Tesla's fatal incident had driven up awareness surrounding self-driving technology, but reduced the proportion of people willing to ride in a self-driving car. Another study by the Boston Consulting Group found American and European drivers were taking an increasingly conservative approach toward self-driving cars, while potential customers in China were more open to autonomous motoring.
The results come as Mercedes withdrew television advertisements for the semi-autonomous new E-Class range in the US. The ads featured a self-driving autonomous concept car effectively a lounge room on wheels - which is not available to the public.
- with Wire Services
Small businesses must ensure behaviours that fuel domestic violence are not tolerated at work, and that affected staff have access to appropriate support. Doing so will help facilitate a better outcome for individuals, while minimising the financial risks associated with productivity loss and low morale, according to domestic violence strategist and solutions consultant, Lisa McAdams.
McAdams spoke to Dynamic Business ahead of a gala dinner in Sydney on Wednesday, 10 August to raise funds for The Dangerous Dance, a new documentary feature film which seeks to engage women and men in a difficult conversation about the causes of domestic violence.
The film is being produced by FilmStretch, whose managing director, Claire Stretch, provided insight into the films core themes.
For most women their wedding dance is a very public and symbolic culmination of a long held desire the desire for love, family and fulfilment in a committed relationship, Stretch said.
But love can be blind. Particularly in the early, romance stage when human brains are flooded with a cocktail of dopamine, adrenaline and serotonin. When the honeymoon is over, however, the stark reality is that 1 in 4 Australian womens dreams will crumble in the face of the harsh actuality of domestic abuse and family violence. And this not only affects their home life, but also their working life.
Everyone is affected
McAdams, who will speak at the gala dinner as part of an expert panel, told Dynamic Business that it can be difficult for people experiencing domestic abuse to remain in the workplace when their employer fails to provide sufficient support. She explained that employers who fail to ensure a supportive and safe environment face increased absenteeism, lower morale and productivity loss amongst co-workers, and loss of key personnel, which gives rise to costs associated with and time lost to recruiting and training new staff.
Small businesses can have a policy and procedure in place, McAdams said. Where this isnt practical, businesses at least need something in their handbook or information pack saying they are supportive of employees dealing with domestic on a case by case basis. They can also make sure supervisory staff are aware of the helplines available to people.
Ensuring people feel safe to disclose at work will help ensure a safe workplace for all and the continued employment of affected individuals, minimising the financial impact of domestic abuse. By talking openly about domestic violence and doing everything to eradicate workplace bullying and harassment, employers will create an environment where the behaviours are called out and not tolerated.
McAdams identified steps small businesses can take to support employees affected by domestic violence, including those who are leaving the perpetrator:
Allowing time off for court dates and appointments with doctors, therapists and lawyers.
Accommodating a change of working hours, so they are not on a predictable routine.
Making sure there is an up-to-date emergency contact.
If they are customer focused, allowing them to take a back office role for a while.
Whilst it is important to support someone going through or leaving a domestic violence relationship, it is also important to be aware of the individuals boundaries and your boundaries as a business, as over-involvement could stand in the way of someone reaching out for the professional help they need, McAdams explained.
Further information
The gala dinner is being held on Wednesday, 10 August at Doltone House, Jones Bay Wharf from 7pm. Australian of the Year, David Morrison, will deliver a keynote speech. Following this, there will be an an expert panel on behaviour and culture change. Donations to the production budget of The Dangerous Dance are fully tax deductible
A group of Carlisle area churches are working together to organize a prayer event for late October in an effort to unify local Christians behind a message of renewal.
Renew Carlisle: Prayer for a Fresh Encounter with Jesus Christ is scheduled for Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. at the Carlisle Expo Center, 100 K St. The public is invited to attend.
Its open to anybody, said Shad Baker, senior pastor at the Carlisle Evangelical Free Church. We will encourage people to break into small groups for prayer.
Clergy and lay people of different denominations will lead a time of prayer on various subjects of spiritual renewal, Baker said. There will be time set aside for singing.
Planning for the event began several weeks ago after 20 leaders of different churches and faith organizations met to talk about the need for prayer and unity.
We were discussing how we would like to see people in the Church be transformed and to commit themselves to being disciples of Jesus, said Josh Crain, senior pastor of the Meeting House Church.
It was prompted by a desire to see Christians follow Christ more closely, Baker added. The result was a show of support across denominational lines which led to the decision to host the event at a neutral location instead of a local church.
In developing the event, organizers identified five key prayer concerns they would like to touch on in October, Crain said. The first is that more people will come to know Jesus and how He can change lives.
The second is for Christians to follow Jesus to the point of transformation, according to Crain. He added the third is to call upon a spirit of unity among churches under the person of Jesus while the fourth is to pray for healing to reconcile broken relationships, restore marriages and to make well the suffering.
The fifth thing we want to pray for is to be a people who have generous assumptions of others, Crain said. By that, he means to look beyond those differences in opinion that tend to divide rather than unify a people especially in an election year.
Both men said they had a calling to bring local Christians together. I felt God working in my heart for a few months, Crain said. The Church really needed a fresh experience with Jesus.
Crain was particularly inspired by a friend of his in California who wrote an article for a Christian network pressing the need for a revival. The main thrust of his article is he would like to see the Church be transformed from the inside out and be able to heal some of the division in our culture, Crain said.
Crain reached out to his friend Baker who was experiencing a similar call to action in his own faith walk. They in turn reached out to other faith leaders and found there was a common ground among a range of Christian denominations in the Carlisle area.
Though their approach to faith may differ, the leaders agreed they had in common a belief in Jesus and that was enough for them to work together, Crain said. We feel we have to get our own house in order before we can be a force in the community.
There is a lot of anger that is being expressed, Crain added. We have become a fearful culture. It turns out that Jesus has a lot to say about not fearing but loving one another and showing kindness to those we do not agree with. We can help build bridges between opposing factions.
Both men agree the purpose of the October prayer event is to begin to unify the faith community in Carlisle. They see the event as a catalyst with more change to come.
We do not have a particular plan that we are advocating, Baker said. Yet we expect after a period of prayer to meet again to discuss what the follow-up steps would be.
We dont know what will come out of it, Crain added. Good things have to happen when followers of Jesus get together.
Car premiums start rising again
Car insurance premiums have started to rise again with a small increase in the average quoted premium for an annual comprehensive car insurance policy over the second quarter, according to the AAs latest benchmark British Insurance Premium Index.
This follows a first-quarter slump after a sharp year-end spike, for the three months ending 30 July 2016.
The typical quote to someone shopping around for their cover rose by 12.56, or 2.3%, to 568.48. That compares with a 0.4% fall over the previous quarter and a rise of 10.1% over the last three months of 2015.
Over the 12 months ending 30 June, the typical Shoparound* quote has risen by nearly 84 from 484.86. This is an increase of 17.2%, compared with the 20.7% rise over the 12 months ending March 2016.
The Shoparound quoted premium is an average of the five cheapest premiums for each customer in a nationwide basket. The prices are derived from both the direct and price comparison site markets.
Michael Lloyd, director of insurance at the AA comments: Premiums have not risen by as much over the second quarter as some commentators predicted although its still an upward trend that I expect to continue over the rest of the year.
But it appears that the steam has gone out of the sharp rises we saw last year and competitive pressure is, once again., beginning to keep prices in check.
Nevertheless, the insurance industry continues to face many challenges.
For example, increasing numbers of car owners shop around for their cover every year, especially at a time when premiums are going up.
As more people look for introductory offers there is less incentive for companies to offer loss-making prices to attract new business that will, a year later, go elsewhere. So I believe this is one driver of recent premium increases while insurers are looking for ways to better reward customer loyalty.
Nevertheless, false or exaggerated claims for whiplash injury remain unacceptably high, thanks to the persistence of cold-calling claims management firms; rising costs of crash repairs as vehicles become more complex and a rise in uninsured driving all keep premiums higher than they should be.
Regional winners and losers
Northern Ireland has seen the biggest increase in car insurance premiums over the quarter at 7.8%, taking the average quoted Shoparound premium to just over 800, making it the once again the most expensive UK region to insure a car. The cheapest remains Scotland with an average Shoparound premium of 404, an increase of 2.5% over the quarter. The smallest quarterly increase is Border/Tyne Tees where a 1.4% rise has taken the average quoted premium to 565.
Winners and losers by age
Young drivers (aged 17-22) who already pay the highest premiums for their car insurance, have seen the biggest jump this quarter 3.5%, or over 42 added to the typical 1,240.50 of a policy. The smallest increase was at the opposite end of the age scale, those over 70 seeing a rise of 1.2% to 452. The age band attracting the lowest premium is 60-69 with an average Shoparound quote of 349 a rise of 3.2%.
Comments Lloyd: Young drivers account for the largest number of crashes involving death and serious injury and their premiums recognise that. Premiums for drivers aged over 70 begin to rise and increase sharply as drivers reach their 80s and 90s yet the number of claims for this age group remains significantly lower than for drivers in their teens and 20s..
By now youve likely at least heard about if not actually heard Khizr Khans powerful speech at the Democratic National Convention last week. Mr. Khan and his wife Ghazala lost their son Captain Humayan Khan when he was killed by a car bomb in Iraq in 2004. This Gold Star family had some very pointed words for Donald Trump:
Donald Trump responded pretty much how you would expect him to: He attacked the Khan family. The man who got five deferments to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War denigrated the parents of this war hero, even suggesting that Ms. Khan was silent on stage because she is a Muslim woman who was not allowed to speak. Never mind that Trumps own wife often stands silently beside him when he bloviates in front of a microphone. Ms. Khan later explained that she is still too emotionally despondent over the loss of her son 12 years ago to be able to speak about it in public.
In his speech, Mr. Khan pulled out a pocket U.S. Constitution and asked the man he accurately describes as having a black soul if hes ever actually read it. Donald Trump, youre asking Americans to trust you with their future. Let me ask you, have you even read the United States Constitution? he said. I will gladly lend you my copy. In this document, look for the words, look for the words, liberty and equal protection law.
If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America. Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims, he continued. He disrespects other minorities, women, judges, even his own party leadership. He vows to build walls and ban us from this country Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery? Go look at the graves of the brave patriots who died defending America you will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one.
Trump went on nonsensically to say he has sacrificed by creating tens of thousands of jobs, equating job creation to the violent loss of a loved one, and to attack the family further on Twitter. He absurdly pivoted to saying this isnt about the Khans but about RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM! His ongoing obsession with attacking anyone who criticizes him has turned what might otherwise have been a one-day news event into a multi-day PR fiasco that has Republicans and other conservatives around the country including veterans groups like VoteVets.org and the VFW excoriating Trump in press releases and statements.
The Michigan Democratic Party wants to be sure the Republican nominee has actually read the U.S. Constitution and is now planning to send copies to him. And thats where you come in.
In honor of the 27 Amendments to the Constitution, for a contribution of $27 or more, well send Donald Trump a copy of our founding document, in your name, so that next time he talks about stripping rights away from U.S. citizens, hell have one handy to remind him of what it means to be an American. Click here to make your contribution today and teach Trump a lesson he should never forget that our Constitution guarantees liberty and equal protection to all Americans, not just people like him. Thank you for all that you do to keep our country great.
Its time to let Donald Trump know that our country will not stand idly by while he disparages our war heroes and their families.
[Image courtesy of the Michigan Democratic Party]
The Rotary Club of Carlisle recently held its 11th annual Christmas in July event at One West Penn and Two West Penn apartments in Carlisle.
Residents were treated to cookies and drinks, games, prizes, Christmas songs and a visit from the Jolly Old Elf, himself. Each resident was also given a goodie bag filled with personal care items and everyday necessities.
The Carlisle High School cheerleaders performed cheers for the residents, passed out gifts and helped serve.
One resident, Evelyn Adams, was treated to a special celebration of her 100th birthday, and was given flowers, a card and a surprise visit from some of her children.
She readily sat on Santas (aka Dan Monken) lap for pictures and later posed for pictures with Rotary District Governor Kevin Cogan and the Cheerleaders.
Human memories are fickle and fade, but the Internet never forgets.
And that may cause deep regrets someday for politicians in Michigan who have hitched their wagons to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Its been true for many months that every week Trump somehow finds a way to stoop to a new low.
Since the start of the Democratic National Convention, however, Trump has ratcheted up his offensiveness to a near-daily occurrence. His recent attacks on the family of Capt. Humayun Khan who was killed in Iraq and indeed, his campaign surrogates attempts to smear the heroic soldier himself would in any other year be the end of a presidential candidates campaign.
Of course, in any normal year, such a candidate wouldnt have even made it this far. Not after attacking Mexican immigrants as rapists, attacking a female journalist for having blood coming out of her wherever, and attacking Sen. John McCains military record while having been a draft dodger himself. Not after making fun of a female opponents physical appearance and mocking a reporters physical handicap.
And certainly not after encouraging Russia to spy on his political opponent.
UPDATE 8/10: And most certainly not after suggesting violence against Clinton and liberal jurists.
Its important to recap these moments because they are a reflection of Trumps vile character that must not be forgotten. And this post will serve as a Googleable reminder of all the Michigan politicians who said Trump is their guy. These politicians endorsed him some more heartily than others despite his obvious mental and emotional unfitness for office.
As Trumps rhetoric grew ever more offensive over the course of the campaign, showing himself lacking even in basic human decency, many have remained silent and looked the other way, while a few have denounced his offensive statements even while continuing to endorse him.
Case in point: Attorney General Bill Schuette, who is trying to have it both ways. Schuette says some of Trumps statements are deplorable. Its not how I act, feel, behave. Its not how I was raised.
But support a presidential candidate who acts, feels, behaves that way? No problem!
Im not going to turn the keys to America over to Hillary Clinton, Im going to support the Republican Nominee and thats going to be Donald Trump, Schuette said to Fox UP. Because the stakes are so high, Supreme Court Justices, we cant have a Europeanization of the American economy, which is the Obama-Clinton approach of more taxes, more rules, more regulations.
Its the height of hypocrisy. Its also cynical, business-as-usual politics from Schuette. Look, Schuette can denounce Trumps rhetoric until the cows come home, but as long as hes still endorsing him, hes covered in #TrumpStink.
So without further ado, here are the rest of the elected officials who support Trump in Michigan. If you have one to add, either leave a comment below or email me.
U.S. Rep. Candice Miller takes the cake with the most enthusiastic endorsement, quoted in Politico:
I am totally and completely looking forward to President Trump hes our nominee, Miller said. I believe in the good sense of the American people, the voters, and clearly the voters in our party in enormous numbers have chosen Trump as the nominee. Its over. Listen, I think weve all become politically correct run amok, and the American people are fed up with it.
U.S. Rep. Dave Trott said he appreciates how Trump is giving a voice to millions of Americans who have been ignored by Washington and are disgusted with the failures of the career politicians running this country.
U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop endorsed Trump, saying he has raised concerns that all Americans have. Like Schuette, he said Trumps rhetoric makes him uncomfortable, but then he quickly brushed off the concern: But this is the kind of personality that he has. Interestingly enough, its the exact kind of personality that a lot of people like because theyre sick of the political correctness in this country, and they want to see something different.
Uh, OK.
Michigan Republican Party Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel, in a statement quoted by MLive, said: I support our presumptive nominee, Donald Trump. Republicans across the country spoke, and they chose him to be our Partys nominee. Her spokesperson added that Trump is articulating what many Americans are feeling.
Asked by MLive about Trump, state Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof said: Hes not my favorite candidate but again, ABC. Anybody But Clinton. House Speaker Kevin Cotter gushed: Absolutely. Absolutely. Im prepared to vote for whomever our nominee is. What I feel passionate about is we have to make sure a Republican takes back the White House, so Ill be voting for whomever that nominee is.
U.S. Rep. Dan Benishek told WLUC Trump is the best guy to change the way Washington works.
At the national level of course, Im endorsing Mr. Trump, Benishek said. I think hes the best guy to change whats happening in Washington, and we certainly need that. Hes going to shake things up, hes not politically correct, hes out there, he says what it is and Im looking forward to the election.
7th District Congressman Tim Walberg says has endorsed Trump and last year said all Republicans should learn from him.
U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar told the Detroit News: We need Republican leadership to move our country in a better direction, and I believe its important that we dont allow Hillary Clinton to become our next president.
State Sen. Jack Brandenburg, in his endorsement statement, stressed Trumps honesty and candor. [Editors note: Trump has been found by non-partisan fact checkers to be the least honest presidential candidate of 2016.]
We need people at this time to be very very honest with the American people, Brandenburg told WDET. I think people collectively realize that Sanders and Trump really are conveying a heartfelt message that they want to help Americans.
According to the Livingston Daily, State Sen. Joe Hune wrote on Facebook: I appreciate his war with political correctness and the issues that he has brought forward. Donald Trump has forced the Republican Party to talk about illegal immigration and trade deficits, which absolutely must be addressed. Hune also praised Trumps business experience and candor.
Lt. Gov. Brian Calley endorsed Trump on the first night of the Republican National Convention, tweeting: It is time for republicans to unify behind @realDonaldTrump.
Former House Speaker Rick Johnson told MLive: Thats whats nice about Donald Trump. He does speak his mind. He says what he thinks, and thats what we need, he argues.
State Sen. Patrick Colbeck put his Trump support this way to the Detroit Free Press: I think everyone is unified by the idea that we dont want Hillary Clinton in the White House.
Also according to the Detroit Free Press, former state Sen. Jason Allen, who is running in the 1st Congressional District, said he was prepared to support Donald Trump as the nominee that Republican voters chose over Hillary Clinton.
And in Michigans 10th Congressional District, former state Sen. Alan Sanborn, state Rep. Tony Forlini and businessman Paul Mitchell all said they will back Trump. Mitchell said: Our policy positions do not have to align on every issue to recognize we are being poorly served by having the Democrats in the Oval Office next January.
State Sen. Tom Casperson, running against Allen in the 1st Congressional District, called for unity in his endorsement of Trump, because we cannot handle this country cannot handle four more years of President Obamas policies. And, thats what were gonna get if the other side gets in.
Jack Bergman, Republican candidate for the 1st Congressional district and retired Marine lieutenant general, has refused to denounce Trump. Bergman was recently asked by a reporter whether he still supported Trump even after Trump insulted the Khan family. Bergman responded, Well, hes the Republican nominee the last time I checked. So you have a choice. You have a choice. As a pilot, I choose not to make my choices too early because the winds may change. They may change the runway on me. Or something might happen. So Im going to watch whats happening here over the next few weeks.
State Rep. Brandt Iden was quoted by WWMT during the convention, before Trumps speech: I think they are going to come out more unified tonight, and I think we are going to see that its going to be a unified party. I think it is going to be a great speech, and we are going to move forward and win in November.
And finally, perhaps the strangest endorsement so far has come from former state Rep. Chuck Moss, who is currently running for Oakland County Commission. In Dome Magazine, Moss argued that Trump is restoring Americas tradition of free expression.
Donald Trump was the little boy who yelled that the Emperors immigration policy was B.S. And everyone who felt silenced, suddenly looked around. Donald Trump went on to say more things that everybody was thinking, but which had been silenced by the Administration and enforced by a complicit P.C. media. And one by one, the villagers in the town square are saying hell, yeah! Thats what we thought all along. Harry Potter is right, the Ministry is lying and the Emperor is naked.
Donald Trump stood up and said it, which is why he may well be our next President. If you dont like that, dont blame Trump. Blame the folks who for their own reasons silenced Americas once robust tradition of free expression. And blame those who should have had the courage to speak up, but didnt.
For the record, U.S. reps. Fred Upton, Bill Huizenga and Justin Amash are the only ones thus far to have the courage to speak up and refuse to support Trump.
From our fine friends at the Michigan Education Association (MEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT):
MEA and AFT Michigan members will gather together at 10 sites across the state tomorrow (Wednesday, August 3rd) to protest Gov. Rick Snyders frivolous appeal of a court ruling that school employees are owed 3% of their salary that the state illegally stole from their paychecks.
Snyders decision to appeal is just another example of the wrong priorities that Snyder and his allies have about public education. School employees are fed up with Snyders constant disrespect and attacks on educators and public education. Its time to gather together and make our voices heard and to advocate for the public schools that Michigan students deserve.
Sign up to attend a protest near you see the list of locations and times below.
Whether or not youll be able to attend a protest on Wednesday, you can help raise our collective voice using social media. Through a tool called Twibbon, weve created graphics that you can share on social media to raise awareness you can:
Post or tweet a pre-written message about the protests on Facebook and Twitter
Put a filter/frame over your profile picture
Set a graphic as your cover photo
Share on social media now!
Here are the up-to-date locations and times for Wednesdays protests:
Detroit Cadillac Place (outside Snyders Detroit office 3044 W Grand Blvd) Noon 2 p.m.
Southfield Southfield High School (24675 Lahser Rd) 10:30 a.m.-Noon.
Lansing Adado Riverfront Park/Lansing Community College (300 N Grand Ave) 2-5 p.m.
Grand Rapids Corner of 28th Street and the East Beltline 4-6 p.m.
Kalamazoo MEA Kalamazoo Office (4341 South Westnedge, Ste 1210) 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Flint Genesee Valley Mall (Linden Rd entrance, 3341 Linden Rd) 11:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m.
Mt. Pleasant Central Michigan University campus (corner of Mission and Bellows) 2-5 p.m.
Traverse City MEA Traverse City Office (1745 Barlow) Noon 1:00 p.m.
Marquette Marquette Post Office (corner of Washington and 3rd) 10:00 a.m. Noon
Escanaba Delta County Court House (310 Ludington St) Noon-1 p.m. (Eastern time).
Microsoft on Tuesday announced a slew of cloud-powered intelligent services in Office 365 apps that aim to assist research and writing efforts.
Researcher lets users access the Bing Knowledge Graph to find and incorporate sources and content for research papers without leaving Word.
Editor uses machine learning and national language processing, combined with input from Microsofts linguists, to make proofing and editing suggestions designed to help users improve their writing.
These updates will be rolling out to Office 365 within the coming months, a Microsoft spokesperson said in comments provided to TechNewsWorld by company rep Lenette Larson.
Researcher will be available this month for Word 2016 users. Editor will arrive in August, with expanded capabilities scheduled to roll out this fall.
Microsofts plans include expanding Researcher to mobile platforms.
Going to the Source
Researcher lets users pull in relevant material from the Web through Bing Knowledge Graph and add it in properly formatted citations.
Microsoft plans to expand Researchers body of reference materials to include sources like national science and health centers, encyclopedias, history databases and more.
Researcher Mobile will let users create quick outlines for papers on any device.
My first thought was, Damn! Why didnt they have this when I was in school?' said Laura DiDio, a research director at Strategy Analytics.
Researcher is a double-edged sword, she told TechNewsWorld. On the one hand, its a useful tool; on the other hand, who vets the sources?
The feature isnt a silver bullet, but its better than nothing, DiDio said, and will have an immediate, tangible and ostensibly, positive impact on researchers.
The question of which sources will be included in Knowledge Graph searches is a big issue, observed Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.
Microsoft says that it will continue expanding Researchers body of reference materials, he told TechNewsWorld. Thats great, but itd be nice to know which specific sources are currently and will eventually be included.
Smart Enough?
Editors capabilities may raise concerns with people who have struggled with autocorrect and autofill capabilities.
Theres nothing worse than doing a spell and grammar check and finding out your checker is schizophrenic when it comes to words like its and its, for example. Or it keeps changing IoT to iota,' DiDio remarked. Will Editor be helpful, or will it be an annoyance?
The technology behind Editor is a new Office-created intelligence engine that uses the best of local and online machine learning and linguistic technologies with deep partnerships with Bing and Microsoft research, the Microsoft spokesperson noted. Editor uses online services when appropriate.
Editor supports more than 90 languages, including various flavors of English, and is smart enough to understand the market differences in languages, the spokesperson pointed out, and the help it provides is tailored to the market the user is in.
Security Misgivings
The specter of Researcher pulling in tainted websites automatically is a real concern, especially in the wake of the Cerber zero-day ransomware attack on Office 365 users last month.
Microsoft detected the attack and began blocking the Cerber ransomware attachment the next day, but roughly 57 percent of organizations using Office 360 received at least one copy of the malware during the attack, according to Avanan.
There is currently no known way to decrypt a Cerber-encrypted file, said Gil Friedrich, CEO of Avanan. The only solution is to recover from backup or pay the ransom.
The growth of Office 365 within more companies makes it a more desirable delivery vector, Friedrich told TechNewsWorld. Bing Knowledge Graph is a new vector, and the victim will trust every file because it has been filtered but not necessarily for malware.
Protecting against infection requires using multiple types of detection mechanisms, Friedrich said.
The Internet of Medical Things, Part 1: A New Concept in Healthcare
Concerns have been multiplying in the United States over the creaks of a medical infrastructure thats bearing the weight of an aging population. Current and upcoming members of the over-65 club are helping to drive a new age in healthcare, in which devices connect patients with caregivers, things get even smarter, and machines get even better at learning what sensors are saying.
The swelling over-65 segment of the population, which accounts for about 63 percent of the U.S. long-term healthcare services, is expected to drive the demand for new healthcare technologies, according to a recent report from Grand View Research.
The high, unmet medical needs of seniors is one factor that has pushed healthcare organizations to adopt and expand on remote patient monitoring and telemedicine.
Efforts to meet those needs will sustain the market for the Internet of Medical Things until at least 2022 at which point the sector is expected to near $410 billion, according to the research firm.
Leading the sectors growth are its medical devices, which are projected to drive a compound annual growth rate of 28.3 percent between now and then.
All Shapes and Sizes
Theyve been popping up on wrists in the form of smartwatches like the Apple Watch and connected fitness bands like Fitbit.
Google plans to put them in peoples eyes, employing a contact-lens form factor to read glucose levels.
mc10 has developed a biometric stamp, about the size of a medium band-aid, that reports a users vitals to connected devices and doctors.
Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Buffalo are working on a pendant, worn on a choker-type necklace, that can analyze chewing and swallowing sounds to determine what wearers are eating and alert them when theyve consumed too many carbs.
This is the face of a smarter, more connected manifestation of modern medicine. Still, the devices patients and consumers use are only one side of the coin, noted Ian Shakil, CEO of Augmedix.
The Internet of Medical Things will continue to evolve and deliver value by getting the complexities of technology out of the way and connecting or better yet, reconnecting doctors with patients, he told TechNewsWorld.
One of the original partners for Googles Glass at Work enterprise initiative, Augmedix has focused on the right side of the coin. Google shuttered the consumer side of its Glass program, focusing instead on the enterprise and on companies that develop augmented reality experiences for other organizations.
Augmedixs Glass-based service frees the hands of doctors to spend more of their time working with patients and less of it looking at documents.
Augmedixs service is optimally designed to deliver the highest quality patient notes resulting in improved patient care and pay or reimbursement, said Shakil.
The Eyes Have It
Before using the service, physicians would spend 70 percent on their time on documentation, the company estimated.
This newly reclaimed time can be repurposed in-clinic for other administrative tasks or even to see more patients, Shakil said.
While Augmedix has been working to free doctors from the bog of documentation, care facilities long since have adopted technologies such as real-time location systems.
RTLS is one of the original use cases for the IoMT and predates the term, according to Joel Cook, senior healthcare solutions manager at Stanley Healthcare.
Such systems traditionally have been leveraged for asset management, such as locating equipment and monitoring for temperature-sensitive substances, he told TechNewsWorld. Pulling from the opposite direction, hospitals now are focusing on improving the patient experience, along with tuning the efficiency of staff operations.
Using wireless RTLS devices, staff and family members can trace a patients entire journey through the hospital from the waiting room to surgery to post-op, and how long they spent in each area, Cook said.
Data, Big and Small
Along with mobility, which is afforded by wearables and IoMT devices, data and analytics are key factors in modernizing medicine to meet demand, according to Keith Cooper, CEO of Constant Therapy.
At Constant Therapy, developers and researchers have been building out and maintaining a platform that evaluates patients with the goal of improving brain function. Patients input data by performing tasks on smart devices, and the software makes individual assessments and recommendations.
By collecting anonymized data from every persons interaction with our therapy programs, we can analyze what works and what doesnt work for each type of individual, Cooper told TechNewsWorld.
Constant Therapy uses more than 200 million data points to deliver precise and personalized therapy with science as its basis, he said, noting that this is exactly what is envisioned by personalized medicine.
Meanwhile, Glooko software engineers have built a platform that connects users and their diabetes devices to caregivers and the companys analytics platform.
The service supports more than 50 cloud-connected medical devices, from continuous glucose monitors to insulin pumps, along with a host of mobile phones and tablets to help people better understand the impact their behavior has on their diabetes, explained Michelle de Haaff, vice president of marketing and customer success.
By connecting these devices to mobile apps that can provide on-demand insights, reminders and notifications, de Haaff said, the IoMT can increase adherence rates to taking medications, improve nutrition and exercise commitments, and deliver the data needed for remote patient monitoring.
The Internet of Medical Things, Part 3: Safety First
Consumer Reports on Thursday urged Tesla to disable the automatic steering function and change the name of its Autopilot driving assist feature.
Questions recently have arisen over whether Teslas Model S vehicles can operate safely without regular human intervention.
Consumer Reports change request sprang from concerns over a number of recent test crashes, including a fatal accident involving a tractor-trailer in Florida, which is the subject of a federal investigation.
The organization questioned whether the Autopilot feature lulls drivers into a false sense of security, and whether Autopilot-equipped cars can function safely without drivers paying close and consistent attention to potential safety hazards and road conditions.
In the long run, advanced active safety technologies in vehicles could make our roads safer, said Laura MacCleery, vice president of consumer policy and mobilization for Consumer Reports. But today, were deeply concerned that consumers are being sold a pile of promises about unproven technology.
Hands on the Wheel
The Autopilot feature cannot drive the car, but it allows drivers to have their hands off the steering wheel for minutes at a time, said MacCleery.
Until the company updates the program to verify that hands should be on the wheel, Consumer Reports recommendation is that the feature should be disabled.
Consumer Reports tested semi-autonomous features from Audi, BMW and Mercedes, and those systems require the driver to keep their hands on the steering wheel, noted Jake Fisher, CRs director of auto testing.
Statistically Safer
Tesla is constantly introducing enhancements proven over millions of miles of internal testing to ensure that drivers supported by Autopilot remain safer than those operating without assistance, a Tesla spokesperson said in a statement provided to the E-Commerce Times by company rep Keely Sulprizio.
We will continue to develop, validate, and release those enhancements as the technology grows. While we appreciate well-meaning advice from any individual or group, we make our decisions on the basis of real-world data, not speculation by media, the spokesperson added.
Model S vehicles have driven 130 million miles on Autopilot with one confirmed fatality. That compares to one fatality per 94 million miles for all vehicles in the U.S. and one fatality for every 60 million miles driven worldwide, Tesla pointed out.
Federal Probe
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last week sent a letter to Tesla seeking documents regarding the May 7 crash of the 2015 Model S vehicle. Questions have arisen about whether the forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking systems worked properly.
NHTSA called the request a standard step in its preliminary investigation of the design and performance of Teslas automated driving systems that were in use at the time of the crash, administration spokesperson Rebecca Grapsy told the E-Commerce Times.
The investigation may raise questions about potentially wider safety concerns surrounding the entire autonomous vehicle industry, and autonomous vehicle advocates may have to scramble to counteract growing worries.
Our coalition was founded with the express purpose of increasing road safety and dramatically reducing the over 35,000 road fatalities that occur in the U.S. each year, said David Strickland, counsel for the Self Driving Coalition for Safer Streets.
We remain dedicated to developing and testing fully autonomous vehicles in order to bring the promise of self-driving vehicles to roads and highways, he told the E-Commerce Times.
Accident Reports
The company may have a growing problem on its hands due to the rolling nature of the disclosures about its safety record, suggested Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book.
I think even more telling than the fatality that weve now learned about, or Consumer Reports or the NHTSA stance, is that were starting to hear about more accidents, he told the E-Commerce Times.
The level of driver error in those incidents indeed may be quite high, Brauer acknowledged, but he questioned whether drivers actually were given clear and honest disclosure about the Autopilot features capabilities.
Having technological limitations is OK as long as consumers know about the technological limitations, he said.
Entry Price
The Consumer Reports request comes at a critical time for Tesla. The company on Wednesday introduced the Model X 60D SUV, for US$74,000 a more consumer-friendly price than its other models.
The announcement of the lower-priced model follows news that Teslas recent sales failed to meet expectations.
It also follows a public spat with Fortune over Teslas handling of information concerning the fatal crash.
Tesla took vehement exception to a critical report Fortune published, saying it was fundamentally incorrect.
The Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly is investigating whether Tesla disclosed the crash to investors with a proper filing in a timely manner. An SEC spokesperson declined to comment.
Amazon, which has appealed to U.S. regulators for years for permission to test package delivery with aerial drones, last week announced a new partnership with the UK government to launch a pilot program there.
A cross-government team, supported by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, has granted Amazon permission to begin testing beyond-line-of-sight operations in suburban and rural communities; performance of sensors designed to make sure drones can identify and avoid obstacles; and the feasibility of allowing a single person to operate multiple highly automated drone vehicles.
Amazon has been investing in Prime Air research for quite some time, said Paul Misener, vice president of global innovation policy and communications at Amazon.
The deal moves the company closer to its goal of delivering packages in 30 minutes or less to customers in the UK and other parts of the world, he noted.
Using small drones for delivery of parcels will improve customer experience, create new jobs in a rapidly growing industry, and pioneer new sustainable delivery methods to meet future demand, Misener added.
Long Slog
Amazon has struggled for years to maintain logistics support and keep costs down during peak shopping periods, such as the Christmas holiday season, through traditional delivery channels like UPS, the U.S. Postal Service, and other major delivery operations.
It launched Prime Air in 2013 in preparation for its plans to begin making deliveries in multiple markets across the globe using drones that weigh less than 55 pounds and fly at altitudes of under 400 feet. Amazon has Prime Air development centers in the U.S., Israel, Austria and the UK.
Delivery services are struggling to differentiate in a competitive market, Paul Teich, principal analyst at Tirias Research, told the E-Commerce Times. How can packages be delivered faster and more efficiently than the current two days from anywhere, or one day from a local warehouse benchmarks?
The reason for delay in the U.S. is largely due to the lack of an adequate safety regime, said Michael Blades, senior industry analyst for aerospace and defense at Frost & Sullivan.
The biggest issue is not the technology its the unmanned traffic management construct and collision-avoidance standards, he told the E-Commerce Times.
There are dozens of companies working on collision-avoidance systems using LIDAR, RADAR or cameras in various combinations that have to be tested before a delivery system can be approved for beyond-line-of-sight operations, Blades noted.
Drop the Slurpee!
Amazons UK announcement came just days after 7-Eleven teamed up with startup company Flirtey and the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems to complete a historic drone delivery test in Reno, Nevada, the first ever FAA approved drone delivery to a customers home. The deliveries included Slurpee drinks, a chicken sandwich, donuts, hot coffee and candy.
Amazons UK tests will help put pressure on regulators in the U.S. to speed the process for a more innovative drone delivery regime in the U.S., said Michael Drobac, executive director of the Small UAV Coalition.
The problem in the U.S. was a lot of people didnt think this was real, he told the E-Commerce Times. I think we were narrow-minded in how we approached this.
The Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation recently finalized rules for small UAVs to fly with a certified remote pilot, as long as the vehicle remains within the line of sight of the operator.
Amazons drone delivery ambitions have drawn criticism from skeptics.
There are still way too many risks and potential liabilities involved, particularly drones making improper delivery drops, collisions, or even the risk of terrorism by a remotely operated vehicle, warned Paula Rosenblum, analyst at RSR Research.
Maybe Im missing something, but I think all of the above make it way, way too risky, she told the E-Commerce Times. Id probably take delivery as long as Amazon made it completely clear Id be held harmless in the event of any of the above.
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If Monday nights rally was any indication, Donald Trumps yet-to-be-built border wall is holding its own in Central Pennsylvania.
Out of dozens of attendees interviewed in the line outside Cumberland Valley High School admittedly a small sample for an auditorium with a capacity of 5,000 the most common and most prominently cited issue that drew them to Trump was immigration.
Im less concerned about keeping people out, but you should know whos coming in, said Ron Doyle of Chambersburg. I see it all the time. Youve got Mexicans taking jobs away from my boys.
Like many, Doyle hearkened back to a time when things were easier in Central Pennsylvania.
I wish [young people] could have been here in the early 1980s, Doyle said. You could quit a job in Harrisburg one day and get hired in Carlisle the next morning.
Concerns about immigration outside Trumps campaign event Monday night could be roughly divided in two, those who blamed immigration for the loss of jobs, and those who were more concerned about security.
Many attendees seemed to identify the threat of terrorism by organizations in the Middle East, and illegal immigration from Latin America, as one in the same issue.
Im glad he wants to build a wall to keep the ISIS people out, said Ashley Sanderson of Dover.
Keeping out illegal citizens in the U.S. and cleaning up our streets, were the primary concerns of Bryce Shields of York.
Shields also echoed a conviction held by many other attendees that the Democratic Party desired to forcibly remove firearms from conservatives. Although the Democratic platform includes tighter background checks and limits on new gun sales, no confiscation has been proposed.
Im against anyone who wants to take my guns away, Doyle said.
Matt Fagerstrom of Hershey was one a few attendees who also touched on Trumps proposed tax reductions. Fagerstrom pointed to the often-cited figure that $1 in tax revenue can cost up to $3 in private-sector revenue.
Fagerstrom said he also appreciated Trumps reluctance to get involved in overseas conflicts, although was supportive of the candidates recent suggestion to bolster U.S. military presence in the South China Sea in order to pressure China into more favorable trade agreements.
[China] is starting to do their own empire building ... its reminiscent of what Japan did before WWII, Fagerstrom said. Trump has to be tough on China. Negotiations have to happen.
Pretty soon, all the corporations are going to be gone, said John Arnold of Dillsburg, in reference to offshoring of manufacturing jobs and the relocations of some companies to overseas tax havens.
But Arnold, like many people, was unsure how specifically Trump would decouple American industry from foreign partners, which U.S. manufacturers rely upon for raw materials and sub-assemblies or how Trump would force those nations to adopt more competitive labor and royalties standards.
My philosophy is just to rely on Trump. You have to have a businessman to get business back, Arnold said.
We need a level playing field with other nations, said Annette Gearhart of Palmyra, who asserted that only three NATO countries are paying their fair share of what it costs to defend everyone.
Gearhart said she did not identify as Republican or Democrat.
I just like someone who can get the job done, she said.
Roughly half of the attendees said they identified as Republicans. The other half said they had no party affiliation, or said they had voted predominantly Democrat in the past, but now supported Trump.
Many were not readily able to identify specific policies that drew them to Trump. Rather, the other recurring theme, other than immigration issues, was Trumps outsider status.
Hes not a politician, hes an outsider, said Dave Isgriggs of Annville.
Isgriggs wife, Pamela, said she liked that Trump had pushed himself as the law and order candidate, citing what she believed was widespread welfare fraud amongst minorities, a belief echoed by several other attendees.
For many, these stakes were extremely dire. Many believed that minority populations were unable to assimilate, and would always identify by their racial background rather than by their place of birth.
I dont want to be wearing a burka, but our children, the way things are going, they will, said Stephanie Tate of Grantville. In 20 years, there will be more Muslims in Europe than actual Europeans.
While also touching on his impression that illegal immigrants are able to misuse food stamps although legally not able to, as such benefits are only available to citizens or permanent residents Justin Shelly of Etters said he believes that Trump is the last chance to prove a rigged system wrong.
Honestly, I think its rigged, Shelly said. If we dont win this, its over. Its going to be rigged for the rest of our lives.
An historic agreement has been reached between Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), Friends of the Earth and other environmental and labor organizations to replace the Diablo Canyon nuclear reactors with greenhouse-gas-free renewable energy, efficiency and energy storage resources. Friends of the Earth says the agreement provides a clear blueprint for fighting climate change by replacing nuclear and fossil fuel energy with safe, clean, cost-competitive renewable energy.
BREAKING: Californias Diablo Canyon nuclear plant to be replaced with 100% clean energy!https://t.co/3VQuCIReKJ NRDC (@NRDC) June 21, 2016
The agreement, announced today in California, says that PG&E will renounce plans to seek renewed operating licenses for Diablo Canyons two reactorsthe operating licenses for which expire in 2024 and 2025 respectively. In the intervening years, the parties will seek Public Utility Commission approval of the plan which will replace power from the plant with renewable energy, efficiency and energy storage resources. Base load power resources like Diablo Canyon are becoming increasingly burdensome as renewable energy resources ramp up. Flexible generation options and demand-response are the energy systems of the future.
By setting a certain end date for the reactors, the nuclear phase out plan provides for an orderly transition. In the agreement, PG&E commits to renewable energy providing 55 percent of its total retail power sales by 2031, voluntarily exceeding the California standard of 50 percent renewables by 2030.
This is an historic agreement, Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth, said.
It sets a date for the certain end of nuclear power in California and assures replacement with clean, safe, cost-competitive, renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy storage. It lays out an effective roadmap for a nuclear phase-out in the worlds sixth largest economy, while assuring a green energy replacement plan to make California a global leader in fighting climate change.
A robust technical and economic report commissioned by Friends of the Earth served as a critical underpinning for the negotiations. The report, known as Plan B, provided a detailed analysis of how power from the Diablo Canyon reactors could be replaced with renewable, efficiency and energy storage resources which would be both less expensive and greenhouse gas free.
With the report in hand, Friends of the Earths Damon Moglen and Dave Freeman engaged in discussions with the utility about the phase-out plan for Diablo Canyon. The Natural Resources Defense Council was quickly invited to join. Subsequently, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, Coalition of California Utility Employees, Environment California and Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility partnered in reaching the final agreement. The detailed phase out proposal will now go to the California Public Utility Commission for consideration. Friends of the Earth (and other NGO parties to the agreement) reserve the right to continue to monitor Diablo Canyon and, should there be safety concerns, challenge continued operation.
The agreement also contains provisions for the Diablo Canyon workforce and the community of San Luis Obispo.
We are pleased that the parties considered the impact of this agreement on the plant employees and the nearby community, Pica said. The agreement provides funding necessary to ease the transition to a clean energy economy.
Diablo Canyon is the nuclear plant that catalyzed the formation of Friends of the Earth in 1969. David Brower left the Sierra Club and founded Friends of the Earth over a disagreement about nuclear power and the Diablo Canyon plant specifically. The plant was the first issue on the organizations agenda and it has been fighting the plant ever since. This agreement is not only a milestone for renewable energy, but for Friends of the Earth as an organization.
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A team of bird-watchers stumbled upon a bird that hasnt been seen in eastern Nepal for almost 200 years.
The red-faced liocichla (Liocichla phoenicea) hasnt been spotted for 178 years and was thought to be locally extinct, according to Australian Geographic. A group of ornithologists spotted the bird on a 10-day bird watching tour.
Photo credit: Paulo Coteriano, Flickr
We were excited when we first spotted a pair of red-faced liocichla in the forest, Hem Sagar Baral, of the Zoological Society London and leader of the tour, told the Kathmandu Post. The sighting of the bird after more than a century and a half has raised hopes of finding more such species that have not been sighted for a very long time.
The bird-watching group originally saw just two red-faced liocichlas, but when they returned to the spot the next day, they saw eight birds, including a male-female pair, Australian Geographic reported.
When we confirmed it was the red-faced liocichla we all felt so happywe were so excited, Tikaram Giri, a senior field ornithologist, said. We never thought and never expected to see it so easily.
Photo credit: Jason Thompson, Flickr
The red-faced liocichla is widely distributed throughout Vietnam, Bhutan, Laos, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Discoveries of species previously thought to be extinct are not uncommon, Australian Geographic said. Several species of birds, mammals, insects, reptiles and plants have been rediscovered after years of no sightings.
Diana Fisher, University of Queensland fellow, said about a third of all mammals ever feared to be extinct have been rediscovered.
There are large numbers of poorly known species around the world only known from a single museum specimen as well, Fisher told Australia Geographic. So it is hard to know anything much about them or where they exist.
Photo credit: Bob Du, Flickr
But there is still reason for the bird-watching group in Nepal to celebrate.
Nepal is home to 878 species of birds, 8 percent of the worlds known birds. Even with the abundance, a lot of the species are close to being labeled as threatened.
Nearly 20 percent of Nepals birds (167 species) are threatened with extinction in the country including 37 species which are threatened on a global scale, the Zoological Society London wrote.
Another 62 species are closing in on having a threatened status, the Weather Channel reported. Nine species are believed to be extinct in Nepal because they have not been spotted since the 19th century.
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump suggested Monday that he fears the general election "is going to be rigged" an unprecedented assertion by a modern presidential candidate.
Trump's extraordinary claim one he did not back up with any immediate evidence would, if it became more than just an offhand comment, seem to threaten the tradition of peacefully contested elections and challenge the very essence of a fair democratic process.
"I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," the Republican nominee told a town hall crowd in Columbus, Ohio. He added that he has been hearing "more and more" that the election may not be contested fairly, though he did not elaborate further.
Those remarks took center stage as Trump headed to the rally at Cumberland Valley High School later in the day to speak to a crowd of around 3,500 supporters. Trump estimated an additional 5,000 people were turned away at the doors for the rally, which began just over an hour past the scheduled 7 p.m. start time as Trump's caravan faced delays due to weather. More than 1,500 people watched in an overflow area in support of their candidate.
The raucous crowd chanted "U.S.A., U.S.A." as people waited inside for Trump's arrival in Mechanicsburg, with protesters and supporters trading barbs outside the gymnasium.
Some police have donned riot gear as protesters and @realDonaldTrump supporters have begun some verbal sparring. pic.twitter.com/hAiMXHtd06 Tyler T. Miles (@TylerTMiles) August 2, 2016
Once on stage inside the CV gymnasium, Trump centered his speech on his campaign slogan of making America great again, drawing rousing cheers from the crowd. That included a focus on more jobs, building the "wall," defeating "Crooked Hillary," repealing Obamacare, halting illegal immigration, and keeping America safe.
"We're going to make America great again. We're going to make America safe again," he said later.
The billionaire real estate mogul derided Bernie Sanders' capitulation in the Democratic primary race and Sanders' decision to support Clinton.
Trump said of Sanders: "He made a deal with the devil. She's the devil."
Trump in recent days has taken to categorizing the Clinton-Sanders understanding as a "deal with the devil" but this was the first time that he went so far as to specifically equate Clinton with Lucifer.
Trump bounced around on various campaign topics on a night that featured attendance and support from Cumberland County Republicans like Rep. Stephen Bloom, who opened the rally with a prayer; State Rep. Mike Regan; U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta; and U.S. Rep. Scott Perry.
When discussing jobs: "What do you like better, Harrisburg or Mechanicsburg? It doesn't matter if you get your jobs back."
When discussing Pennsylvania: "Republicans haven't won in Pennsylvania in 28 years. This year will be different."
When discussing the Supreme Court: Even if they dont like me which you do even if they dont like me, they have to vote for me because I am going to pick great Supreme Court justices."
When discussing terrorism: "They can chop off people's heads, bury them in sand, and we can't water board them? It's unfair playing field."
When discussing the campaign: "If we don't win on Nov. 8, I will consider this a tremendous waste of time, energy and money."
.@realDonaldTrump says people who don't like him will vote for him because he will appt conservative SC justices. pic.twitter.com/Rg28o71H1G Dennis Owens (@Owens_abc27) August 2, 2016
Ohio
Trump made the claim of a rigged election during a campaign stop in Ohio earlier in the day, after first suggesting that the Democrats had fixed their primary system so Hillary Clinton could defeat Bernie Sanders. Trump has previously backed up that thought by pointing to hacked emails from the national party that appeared to indicate a preference for Clinton. Still, the former secretary of state received 3.7 million more votes than Sanders nationwide and had established a clear lead in delegates by March 1.
The celebrity businessman who has been known to dabble in conspiracy theories, including claims that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States and, more recently, that Sen. Ted Cruz's father was an associate of President John F. Kennedy's assassin also claimed that the Republican nomination would have been stolen from him had he not won by significant margins.
He then asserted that November's general election may not be on the up-and-up.
He repeated the charge Monday night on Fox News Channel's "Hannity," saying: "November 8th, we'd better be careful, because that election is going to be rigged. And I hope the Republicans are watching closely or it's going to be taken away from us."
Requests to Trump's campaign for additional explanation were not returned.
The statement could be an effort by Trump to lay the groundwork of an excuse if he goes on to lose the general election. But if he were to be defeated in November and then publicly declare that the election results were bogus, his claim could yield unpredictable reactions from his supporters and fellow Republicans.
Trump has not been shy about asserting that the electoral process has been "rigged."
It became a frequent catchphrase of his during a low-water mark of his primary campaign this spring, when forces allied with Republican rival Ted Cruz managed to pack state delegations with supporters of the Texas senator. Trump also asserted that the Republican Party had changed the delegate allocation in the Florida primary to favor a native candidate, like Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio, at Trump's expense.
In recent weeks, in an effort to woo angry Sanders supporters to his campaign, Trump has made the claim that the Democrats' process was also rigged. Monday night, Trump said Sanders "made a deal with the devil," and said of Clinton, "She's the devil."
The Clinton campaign declined to comment about Trump's remarks.
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, California The 2017 Genesis G80 sedan will begin arriving at Hyundai Genesis dealerships next month, priced from $42,350, including a $950 destination charge.
That represents an increase of $2,650 over the starting price of the 2016 Hyundai Genesis that the new model replaces as Hyundai rebrands its luxury models under the Genesis nameplate.
Competitors to the G80 in the large luxury-sedan market segment include the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, Buick LaCrosse, Chrysler 300, Lexus GS and Volkswagen Passat.
The base 2017 Genesis G80 is powered by a standard 3.8-liter V6 engine that produces 311 horsepower and 293 pound-feet of torque. The optional 5.0-liter V8 puts out 420 hp and 383 lb-ft of torque.
Both engines come mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and feature selectable modes that include Eco, Normal, Sport and Snow in both standard rear-wheel-drive and optional all-wheel-drive configurations.
The new G80 comes standard with a host of advanced safety features, including automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot detection, lane keeping assist, high-beam assist and a rearview camera.
The appropriately upscale interior, with available premium materials such as genuine aluminum and matte wood finishes, boasts standard 12-way power front seats with heat and available ventilation, as well as available heated rear seats.
Standard infotainment features include a high-end audio system, a 9.2-inch high-definition display, 64-gigabyte solid-state drive, and smartphone integration with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability. Options include a head-up display and a 14-speaker Lexicon audio system.
And, as previously reported by Edmunds, all Genesis buyers will be treated to the Genesis Experience, a suite of services that include complimentary maintenance, free valet service for maintenance appointments and a complimentary loaner car for the first three years or 36,000 miles.
Edmunds says: Consumers in the market for a luxury sedan might want to get in touch with a Hyundai Genesis dealer and add the 2017 G80 to their shopping lists.
This year, Marcie Lipsitt, a special education advocate from Michigan, has been responsible for about 500 of those complaintsand counting.
Lipsitts focus is on the websites of school districts and other educational institutions, which she says widely disregard the needs of users who are blind or visually impaired, or who cannot use a mouse to navigate a page. Other website problems she has spotted include videos with no captions, or text and background color combinations that are a strain for people with low vision.
Her letters have gotten results. In June, the Education Departments office for civil rights announced that it had entered into settlement agreements over website accessibility with schools, districts, and departments of education in seven states and in Guam.
All of those complaints originated with Lipsitt, who fires off at least a couple of letters a day from her home in Franklin, 20 miles outside Detroit.
I have nothing to lose but time and sleep, said Lipsitt, who squeezes in the letters in addition to her work as a lay advocate, helping families with special education disputes.
But Lipsitt, who is not visually impaired, said this is about more than being a prolific gadfly.
The proposed regulations for the Every Student Succeeds Act say that, in many cases, placing information on a website is sufficient for states and districts to meet public reporting requirements. But what use is it to the public if that essential information cant be read by everyone? Lipsitt and other advocates want the regulations to state that if states and districts are allowed to use their websites as the equivalent of a town crier, then those sites should be usable for everyone.
If those final regulations dont include web accessibility, then shame on everyone, Lipsitt said.
Crucial Elements
Some of the elements behind accessible web design are clear to any user, such as well-organized sites that feature obvious navigational pathways and multiple ways to access information.
There are also some technological requirements that might be invisible to users of standard web browsers, but are essential to those who use screen readerssoftware that converts text into synthesized speech.
For example, imagine using a word-processing program to type a block of text with a title. To distinguish the title from the text, a user might enlarge the font and make it bold. Those changes are visual clues that those words should be considered separately from the text that follows.
But those visual changes on a website mean nothing to screen-reader programs without embedded codes that tell software that certain words are meant to be a header. Without such coding, screen readers only see an undifferentiated block of text.
Images present a similar problem. An accessible website would include a specially coded image description. Without that coding, a screen reader will only spit out a file name, such as school_123.jpg.
School districts and educational institutions are hardly alone in having poorly designed websites, said Marla Runyan, the lead accessibility consultant with Perkins Solutions, which advises government agencies, retail outlets, and educational institutions on website usability. Perkins Solutions is under the umbrella of the Perkins School for the Blind, the oldest school for the blind in the United States.
The intent of your website is that you have something you want to share or sell, Runyan said. Why would you shut out that many people?
No one would think of physically slamming the door in the face of a blind person, but impossible-to-navigate websites are the computer equivalent of the same action, she said.
Theres nothing more frustrating than being a fully capable individual, but yet I have this barrier in front of me to keep me from doing what Im able to do, she said.
Slow to Change
But entities have been slow to change unless theyve been hit by legal action, Runyan said. Both Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the 26-year-old Americans with Disabilities Act set guidelines for technology accessibility, but those rules have stagnated while internet use has grown in leaps and bounds.
Experts in the field are waiting for the government to release refreshed guidelines. But in the meantime, the Education Department and the Justice Department have said that websites should follow the accessibility guidelines published by the World Wide Web Consortium, an international standards organization.
Lipsitts letter-writing campaign started back in February 2014, when Michigan proposed some changes to its special education regulations that she protested. She was also angry that the monthlong comment period required people to either mail a letter to a post office box, or to navigate a complicated web portal. Without knowing anything about website accessibility at the time, she filed a complaint. Michigan ended up in an agreement in June 2015 to revamp its website.
After filing a few more complaints against other entities, in 2016 Lipsitt started her campaign in earnest, using computer software that evaluates websites for their usability. At the request of another advocate, she checked the site of the New Mexico Department of Education. Then she checked the New York City district, because she was unhappy with an article she had read about the citys mayor, Bill de Blasio.
At that point, Lipsitt decided to check the website of every states department of education. Then she moved on to the education websites of the territories, such as Puerto Rico and Guam. Next came the countrys 100 largest school districts. She has filed complaints against charter schools, virtual schools, and schools for the deaf and blind. She has also turned her attention to other entities, such as the New York Public Library and PBS, the public broadcasting network.
Lipsitt said the Education Department told her that the office for civil rights has assigned a disability expert to oversee all of her complaints.
Officials at the department would not confirm this, saying that privacy rules prevent it from revealing information about complainants. But a department spokesman said that anyone can file a complaint, that all complaints are evaluated to see if they warrant further investigation, and that its not unusual for several complaints to come from one person.
The Juneau, Alaska, district is one of the school systems that entered into a settlement agreement with the Education Department in June. (Lipsitts complaints have also included school districts that serve state capitals.) Kristin Bartlett, the districts chief of staff, said that the complaint came at the same time the school system was looking for a new website vendor.
In better financial times, the district had a dedicated web manager. In recent years, it had outsourced that work to companies that it thought were providing accessible pages, Bartlett said.
The new web vendor is providing services at a lower cost than the previous web vendor, Bartlett said, and the district is in the process of training employees in accessibility guidelines. Employees in the district who use screen readers and other assistive technology will also serve as monitors, Bartlett said.
The complaint and investigation has created a lot of awareness about something that we want to be doing anyway, and that we thought we were doing, she said. But now were doing it better. Its a benefit for us to be looking at this more closely.
A year after state lawmakers gave the green light to break up the nations fifth largest school district Nevadas Clark County schoolsa new plan has emerged that would keep the sprawling system intact.
Rather than split the approximately 320,400-student district into a number of smaller entities, the committee charged with reorganizing Clark County schools is now proposing to give much broader authority over how the schools are managed to principals .
In a way, the district will be resurrecting and expanding a successful, but short-lived, program it ran starting in the 2006-07 school year, when a select number of school principals were given expanded autonomy as part of an empowerment schools model. Empowerment schools students scored higher in state English/Language Arts and math tests than before the schools adopted the model, according to the state legislature.
Breaking Up the Bureaucracy
Site-based school management that combines expanded principal autonomy with additional parent and community involvement is not exactly new. Districts such as Chicago and Denver use governance models that allow principals to control significant portions of their schools budgets.
Clark County schools has been one of the fastest-growing large school systems for years. The effort to possibly break up the district was a response to years of pent-up frustration from parents and Clark County residents, particularly those who live in suburban and rural municipalities. They argued that the district, which encompasses 15 municipalities, including Las Vegas, had become a mammoth bureaucracy that was not responding to the needs of students and parents.
Though the plan to put principals in charge of key decisions is a departure from the original idea of a district break-up, its been well-received. But it has also opened up a new round of questions, including whether the districts school leaders will have the skills needed to succeed.
Principals in Charge Under a proposal to reorganize Nevadas Clark County school district, the systems more than 300 principals would be responsible for hiring and firing teachers and other staff members, budgeting, and selecting services their schools need from the central office. The districts central office, meanwhile, would shrink, but remain in charge of payroll, labor negotiations, and accounting. Source: Advisory Committee to Develop a Plan to Reorganize the Clark County School District
The union that represents Clark County principals and administrators for example, wants assurances that principals will be able to hire and fire staff members without interference from their bosses. Some parents expressed concerns that nothing in the plan speaks directly to the needs of students with disabilities or English-language learners, who make up a significant part of the districts enrollment. The principals union also told the committee it wanted safeguards that would prevent the district from returning to a system that allows central office employees to place teachers and other staff in schools against principals wishes.
Lisa Mayo-DeRiso, a member of Break Free CCSD, a grassroots organization that initially wanted the district to be broken up, is excited about the proposal, which she thinks could transform education in Clark County.
At the end of the day, if we can graduate more kids, send those that want to go to college to college, those that want a vocation to a vocational school and make the educational experience better for those kids, then we have done our job, she said.
The proposal was crafted by Michael Strembitsky, a former superintendent of the Edmonton school system in Canadas Alberta province, who popularized site-based school management in the 1970s.
Strembitskys proposal calls for a smaller central office in Clark County that would retain control over things like payroll, labor negotiations, and accounting.
Principals, however, would be responsible for the entire school operation, including hiring and firing teachers and staff members. Importantly, they would control 85 percent of their schools budgets and would be able to purchase services, such as equipment and supplies, as needed, from the central office.
Funding for schools would also be allocated on a per-pupil basis, with a weighted-student formula applied for those with special needs, including low-income students, English-language learners, and students with disabilities.
Additionally, a school organization team, comprised of the principal, parents, and teachers, would help set goals and objectives. The superintendent would still hire and fire them.
Shift Away From Break-Up Plan
The evolution from possible breakup to decentralization occurred over the course of the year, during which a legislative committee embarked on a series of meetings and hearings with experts, parents, teachers, students, and Clark County residents and elected officials.
John Vellardita, the executive director of the Clark County Education Association, which represents the districts teachers, said the breakup push was fueled by the assumption that a large bureaucracy like Clark County was failing at its core mission: educating students.
We said, rather than talk about what the organizational form should be in the school district ... lets talk about whats the optimal education delivery system that we can create that will be conducive to greater student outcomes, he said.
The Strembitsky plan would not address some of the districts highly segregated demographics, but the weighted-student formula would funnel more money to schools that enroll large numbers of students with greater needs, such as English-learners and low-income students, said Nancy E. Brune, the executive director of the bipartisan Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities, a Nevada think tank. One potential challenge of the new proposal, Brune points out, is whether the district has a large enough supply of principals capable of taking on the greater responsibilities.
We have a lot of work to do in making sure we have the right people leading those schools, she said. I feel like we need to have a parallel conversation [about] the system of developing principals as we roll out this plan.
And Antonio Rael, a principal who runs a turnaround school, and Katie Decker, the principal of three schools, testified to the advisory committee that while the plan was predicated on the leadership at the school level, principals had not been formally included in the process that led up to the drafting of the proposal.
Michael Roberson, a state senator who is the chairman of the reorganization committee, said the panel will continue to refine its proposal based on the feedback and that he hopes to have a final plan ready for consideration by the end of the month. The proposal must be subjected to at least six public hearings before the advisory committee approves it.
Ohio officials want the states largest online school forced to turn over attendance data used in determining school funding.
The state education department has asked a Franklin County judge to force the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow to turn over records showing when students logged on to do schoolwork last year and for how long. Students work on computers instead of in actual classrooms at the school that could lose millions of dollars in state funding if students are falling short of the minimum attendance required by the state.
The school has refused to provide login and logout records despite losing an attempt in court last month to block a state audit. School officials argue that login durations dont provide a full accounting of the time students spend doing school-related work.
Legislatures in 21 states sought this year to expand topics in sex education classes, in many cases to address teen dating violence or child sexual abuse, according to a new legislative analysis.
Lawmakers have debated 90 bills on sexuality education since January, but only five pieces of legislation actually became lawin Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Virginiaaccording to a report by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, a nonprofit advocacy group.
A new Virginia law requires high school instruction on healthy relationships and avoiding dating and sexual violence. Maryland integrated online and social harassment prevention into its anti-bullying law and required sexual abuse prevention to be covered in elementary-grade health courses.
By contrast, the report found more than 1 in 4 of the bills studied would have moved away from science-based curricula or restricted students access to comprehensive sex education classes. Two of those became law: Mississippi extended its abstinence-only sex education requirement, which was set to expire this year, and Oklahoma passed a law requiring the states health agency and districts to provide educational materials that clearly and consistently teach that abortion kills a living human being.
The report found fewer than half of high schools and 1 in 5 middle schools nationwide provide sex education that cover 16 critical topics identified by the Centers for Disease Control, including how HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is transmitted, and explanations of preventative care needed for reproductive health.
Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine
Supporters of career and technical education have reason to be pleased with the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine.
Kaine, who served as Virginias governor from 2006 to 2010, gave CTE new prominence in the Every Student Succeeds Act. He introduced an amendment to a Senate version of the bill that eventually became ESSA that would have designated CTE as a core subject.
ESSA does away with the term core subject, but the list of disciplines that now make up a well rounded education under the law includes CTE, along with 16 other subjects. In his first official appearance as Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintons running mate on July 23, Kaine, the son of a welder, talked about his own experience as a career-tech educator. While serving as a Catholic missionary in Honduras, Kaine taught carpentry skills to children there. (They, in turn, taught him to speak Spanish, he said.) Introducing himself with Clinton, Kaine gave many shoutouts to education. He talked about how his father-in-law, former Virginia Gov. Abner Lindwood Holton, a Republican, integrated schools in the Commonwealth, and how his wife was among the first to attend them. He spoke about how he and his wife sent their own children to those same, integrated public schools.
Policy Experience
As a U.S. senator, Kaine, along with Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, introduced the Teach Safe Relationships Act of 2015. The bill would require secondary schools to teach students about safe relationship behavior and preventing sexual assault, among other issues. And after ESSA passed, he praised a provision that allowed states to use Title IV money to teach students about safe relationships. Not too long before stepping aside as Virginias governor in 2010governors in Virginia are term-limitedKaine ordered a review of minority students participation in gifted and talented programs. He responded to the economic downturn of eight years ago by proposing $340 million in education cuts in the state back in 2009, his last full year in office, for fiscal 2010.
His wife is Anne Holton, who stepped down last week as the secretary of education for Virginia. Thats a cabinet-level position, but different than the state superintendent, Steven Staples, who oversees the state department of education. When Kaine ran for Virginia governor in 2005, the centerpiece of his education platform was for the state to offer universal prekindergarten to all 4-year-olds, however, that hasnt come to pass.
Indiana Governor Mike Pence
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, has quite a bit in common with the man at the top of the ticket, at least when it comes to school choice and academic standards.
For instance, presidential nominee Donald Trump campaigned vehemently against the Common Core State Standards. Indiana, under Pence, was the first state to ditch them. And before that, the state backed out of federally-funded PARCC tests aligned to the standards.
Trump has also voiced support for school choice, without getting into specifics about exactly how hed expand it.
But Pence has a robust record on the issue, according to a detailed look at the subject by Chalkbeat Indiana. As governor, he worked with the legislature to create a $10 million grant fund that would offer an extra $500 per student to charters that post better outcomes than traditional public schools. And, if Pence had his way, the funding would have been even more robusthe initially pitched a $1,500-per charter-school student increase.
Pence also gave charter schools access to a $50 million fund to help cover the cost of loans for school construction or the purchase of educational technology. And he successfully called for lawmakers to raise the $4,800 cap on vouchers for elementary school students. (Now the cap will be dependent on family income and local school spending, as high school vouchers already were.) Pence also persuaded lawmakers to approve bonus pay for highly effective teachers.
Policy Clashes
As a member of Congress from 2001 to 2013, Pence was decidedly against a strong federal role in K-12 policy. Back in 2001, Pence was one of just a handful of lawmakers to vote against the No Child Left Behind Act. The law, which was overwhelmingly popular at the time, represented a serious expansion of the federal footprint on K-12.
Later, as a leader of the Republican Study Committee, Pence continued to criticize the law, telling the National Journal back in 2006 that it seemed like something former President Bill Clinton would have pushed through.
As Indiana governor, Pence in 2014 helped start a $10 million preschool program in the state, but demand has far outstripped the programs capacity. Pence initially refused to apply for up to $80 million in federal funds, through the Preschool Development Grant program, to help the Hoosier State create more slots. But heavy criticism of that refusal led him to reverse course earlier this year and he wrote to federal Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell to ask for details on how to apply for the funds.
Also as governor, Pence also has clashed repeatedly with Indianas elected superintendent, Democrat Glenda Ritz. For instance, Ritz wasnt happy when he created a new Center for Innovation and Career Education, aimed at strengthening ties between Indianas schools and the private sector. Ritz saw the new agency as stepping on her turf.
The agency creation led to tension between Ritz, Pence, and the state board of education, especially over Indianas A through F grading system. Pence ultimately dissolved the center, in part to smooth things over.
HARRISBURG Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed Republican Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey for a second term on Monday, less than a week after speaking in support of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention.
Bloombergs political action committee, Independence USA, called Toomey a pragmatic leader and credited him for working to address gun violence.
I look at the candidate, not the party label, because we can only solve our biggest problems if we come together across party lines, Bloomberg said. Chances are that no candidate is ever going to be perfect for you on every issue, but when brave people buck party orthodoxy and demonstrate bold, pragmatic leadership, they deserve support from all of us.
Toomey faces former state Environmental Protection Secretary Katie McGinty, a Democrat, in November.
McGinty communications director Sean Coit said Toomey is not a moderate on gun issues and has taken positions on Social Security privatization and health care that do not show pragmatic leadership.
No endorsement is going to change the fact that Pat Toomey is in lock step with the gun lobby in Congress, Coit said.
Bloomberg, who was elected mayor as a Republican, is also supporting two Democrats in statewide races this fall Josh Shapiro for attorney general and Joe Torsella for state treasurer.
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. In May of 2010, Airmen of all ranks were sitting on a plane, some anticipating what life would be like during their deployment to Afghanistan. Others, like then-Airman 1st Class Anthony Anderson, were thinking about how their job would affect the mission and those around them.
I started thinking, Okay, now [bomb building] really countsand on top of building Im going to have people shooting at me, Anderson said, recalling the list of obstacles that piled up in his mind as he became more anxious.
Now a staff sergeant assigned to the 28th Munitions Squadron, Anderson works as a conventional maintenance crew chief and munitions inspector for Ellsworth AFB.
Anderson is definitely a go-to guy, said Staff Sgt. Tim Weaver, the noncommissioned officer in charge of conventional maintenance production assigned to the 28th MUNS. Whenever anyone has a question on munitions, he knows the answer and is really knowledgeable on things.
Anderson, who was born and raised in Howard Air Force Base, Panama, was inspired by his father who served for 12 years and grandfather who served during the Korean War, both in the Air Force. He decided to follow suit and join the Air Force in September 2008.
Even when my dad got out he continued to work for the Air Force, Anderson said. So it never left our family.
Anderson said when he joined in as open mechanic, he wasnt sure what to expect upon receiving his munitions technician job now he knows.
There is no doubt that I love the job, Anderson said. I definitely say its one of the top most important jobs in the Air Force. What [munitions technician crewmembers] do for air power, it comes out of the teams at every base that has fighters and bombers, because whats an aircraft without its bombs?
The career of this conventional maintenance Airman was just starting during that plane ride, and soon Anderson realized the changes it would bring to his life.
When we first started building, we began to physically hear our bombs going off in the city near us, Anderson said about his deployment in Afghanistan. During the night, you could see the flashes over the hill from our bombs going off. It was to the point we would see a flash and load up another bomb, because we knew [the MQ-9 Reapers, MQ-1 Predators and A-10 Warthogs] just expended one. It was constant go, go, go.
Anderson described his first deployment as an adrenaline rush because Taliban rockets were aiming at their munition building shop. It is also where he learned his first dud had resulted in three fellow Airmen killed in action, a failed explosive that changed his outlook on his job.
I started thinking about the big picture when informed of our dud, Anderson said. I thought about if those [military members] were married or did they have kids, and if that bomb had gone off correctly, they could have gone home to go see their kids. Thats three families that dont get their father back.
Although he felt he was responsible, Anderson said he could not let that get in his way.
I had to get over it to continue the mission, Anderson said. You cant let those situations continue to be a gray cloud over you because you wont be able to get your job done.
Not everything is doom and gloom to the conventional maintenance crew chief.
Always know theres light at the end of the tunnel, Anderson said. If things seem bleak at the moment, no matter how much stress youre under you can keep pushing through. You would be amazed at how much you can do yourself as long as you believe in yourself.
There are many reasons Airmen serve, and for Anderson, the love of his country is one of them.
I serve because I love the freedom this country gives me and the rest of the U.S. citizens and it is definitely something worth fighting for, Anderson said. Ill gladly be that one percent that gets to serve and prove that this is worth fighting for, every day and every hour.
Kelly, Pastore debate inflation, energy policy in congressional race
Kelly and Pastore went head-to-head in a debate Tuesday that was organized by WQLN and Erie News Now, which first aired the taped debate Thursday.
Area police departments will take part in various National Night Out events Tuesday in Cumberland County.
National Night Out is a community event designed to raise awareness of crime prevention and encourage citizens to engage in crime prevention activities in their own neighborhoods. Crime prevention activities can be as basic as locking doors and on turning lights.
The Carlisle Police Department will sponsor a free National Night Out event Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Carlisle Borough Swimming Pool at 1236 Franklin Street.
Multiple public safety agencies will participate in the event, as well as a police K-9 demonstration and other law enforcement presentations. Additionally there will be food and refreshments available on site.
Corporate sponsors for this event are Walmart and Giant Food Stores. Associates from Walmart will be on hand with child ID cards. The ID cards provide parents with personal documentation of their children, which include vital information, fingerprints, and a photograph. The Walmart associates will be assisting with youth fingerprinting and providing vouchers for the photographs, that can be taken at the local Walmart.
Silver Spring
Township
Silver Spring Township will host an event from 6-9 p.m. at Stony Ridge Park that will include K-9 demonstrations, a bike giveaway, bike rodeo and other events. Representatives from fire, EMS and police will be involved. Children age 12 and younger are invited to bring their bicycles and helmets for a safety course that teaches the rules of the road, balance, starting and stopping.
Upper Allen
Township
Upper Allen Township Police are encouraging residents to turn on their porch lights, say hello to their neighbors and meet their local officers as they patrol the area Tuesday night.
National Night out is a time to strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships, Upper Allen Township Police officials said in a news release. National Night Out is a way to let criminals know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back. So please come out and help your community.
East Pennsboro Township
East Pennsboro Township Police will host an event from 6-8 p.m. at Adams Ricci Park, which will include the Pennsylvania State Police mounted unit, a K-9 demonstration, displays, free gifts, food and prizes.
Lower Allen
Township
Lower Allen Township will host an event from 6-9 p.m. at the Municipal Services Center, 2233 Gettysburg Road. The event will include discussions with police officers about Internet and home safety, Rocco the township K-9 officer, music, free child identification kits, McGruff the Crime Dog, emergency vehicles and information on health and safety issues.
West Shore
Regional Police
West Shore Regional Police Department will hold an event from 6-8 p.m. in the Wormleysburg Borough Hall parking lot, 20 Market St. The local band Not Quite Rite will perform. Those attending can dunk a police officer in the dunk tank. Proceeds from the dunk tank go to the departments K-9 program.
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
Hillary Clinton strode on stage in Philadelphia Thursday night and showed herself ready to win the presidency.
In her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, she presented herself less in her historic role as the first woman presidential candidate of a major party and more on her merits as the best candidate for the job. She was positive, extolling the greatest ideals of the nation and making a persuasive case that all Americans will benefit from bolstering our democratic principles.
Yet she also drew judicious attention to the evident flaws of her opponent, Donald Trump. In doing so, her message was clear: Game on!
It was exactly the message she needed to deliver to a skeptical electorate.
Indeed, speakers throughout the Democratic convention made a point of contrasting Clintons experience and gravitas to Trumps lack of character, seriousness and scruple. These critiques were all the more effective because they avoided the vituperation and bombast that Trump prefers in his attacks.
By the conventions last day, Trump had become so miffed by the criticism directed his way that he let his violent, menacing character show through. In a press conference he said he wanted hit some of the speakers so hard that their heads would spin and they would never recover.
Thanks, Donald, for reminding us who the adult is in this race.
What will stick with many voters is the candidate Clinton showed herself to be steeled and calm the attributes that will make our country prevail against its many challenges.
Indeed, Trumps antics make the reasons to shun Clinton appear petty.
It may be true that voters want new blood, not another family returning to the White House as if a dynasty. And, yes, Clintons judgment was terrible in creating a separate email server at the State Department. Yes, she has not held regular press conferences as she should. She is not smooth before the cameras. Her past pecuniary relationships with Wall Street raise questions about her political affinities. Her vote for the Iraq invasion was simply wrong.
But all these objections recede in the face of Trump. He is a candidate so unworthy of the powers of the presidency it is stunning. A candidate for president simply cant shoot off his mouth about foreign policy, as Trump has done. He has threatened to extort our NATO allies. He has invited the Russian government to commit cybercrimes against the United States government. He has alienated Mexico, a neighbor and major trading partner. His rhetoric about Muslims is a gift to terrorists.
Contrast that to Clintons tenure as secretary of state. She was integral to the decision to kill Osama bin Laden and the negotiation of the treaty that got Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program, among other achievements.
America has a simple choice. It is between one who is reliable and intelligent and experienced enough for the responsibilities of the presidency and one who is not.
It also happens to be a historic moment for women. For too long in politics, female candidates have been subject to unfair standards of scrutiny, including the superficial sorts of judgment we associate with middle school.
Clintons certainly seen her fair share. Why are her pantsuits even a topic of commentary? How many times do we have to hear male pundits complain about her lecturing tone? Her voice is like that of many women. It can take on a different range, a higher one, when she changes her tone either for emphasis or when riled. Thats mechanics, people. Its about her vocal cords, and its not a reason to determine a person unfit for political office.
Hillary Clinton was always enough. She didnt need an association by marriage to Bill to rise to professional heights. Born as she was nearly 70 years ago, not to wealth or privilege, maybe she didnt even realize this early on. But history will probably judge that it was Bill who got to the White House with the help of his wife, not the other way around.
Clintons been on a path to the White House her whole life, and not just to be a first lady. Shes been gaining the types of experiences that would ready any person male or female to fulfill the job of president. Its just taken the nation until 2016 for other factors to align in a womans favor. Now its time to elect her.
In a rather ironic twist, accused mass murderer Dylann Roof, who was arrested after allegedly shooting nine Bible study participants in a church last year, has challenged the court's decision to punish him with the death penalty. According to Roof's lawyers, they are asking the judge to declare the death penalty to be unconstitutional for violating human rights.
"The facts of this case are indisputably grave. But if, as we contend here, the FDPA (Federal Death Penalty Act) is unconstitutional, no one can be lawfully sentenced to death or executed under it, no matter what his crimes," the shooter's defense team stated in their request.
Roof's lawyers further stated that the Charleston shooter would be willing to withdraw his challenge if federal prosecutors, who have been pushing for the gunman to be given a death sentence for his crimes, would withdraw their initiative to grant the death penalty to the case.
"Mr. Roof will withdraw this motion and plead guilty as charged to all counts in the indictment," Roof's lawyers added.
The 22-year-old Roof is accused of shooting nine churchgoers at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015. Roof entered the church, attended an hour of Bible study with the churchgoers, then proceeded to shoot them. Among his victims were Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the church's pastor and a state senator.
Roof was later arrested a day after the incident in North Carolina, where he told investigators that he was attempting to start a race war with his actions.
Upon his arrest, Roof incited controversy after it was revealed that the officers who arrested him treated him to a free meal in Burger King en route to the police station. According to Shelby Police Chief Jeff Ledford, Roof complained that he was hungry after his arrest. Thus, the officers who apprehended him opted to give him a free meal.
During his trial, Roof once again caused outrage after the judge who arraigned his case, Charleston County Magistrate James Gosnell Jr. told the court that Roof's family are also victims of the incident. Due to his remarks, grieving families of Roof's victims called the judge insensitive and racist.
Over the course of his case, Roof has not shown much remorse for his actions -- something that federal prosecutors used as a means to pursue the death penalty for the mass shooter.
Kun Shan "Joey" Chun, a naturalized U.S. citizen and an employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has pleaded guilty to leaking top secret information to the Chinese government on Monday. Chun admitted having acted as a double agent for China between 2011 and 2016, during a time in which he had top secret security clearance and access to classified government information.
The 46-year-old Chun was born in China, but he eventually became a naturalized American citizen. When he was 27 years old, he began to work for the FBI as a technician at the Bureau's Computerized Central Monitoring Facility in New York. He was granted his top secret security clearance a year after his employment, in 1998.
According to prosecutors of the case, Chun had started his espionage against the United States as early as 2006, when he established connections with at least one "Chinese Official." By 2011, Chun had allegedly been in constant contact with his connection to the mainland, sharing U.S. secrets with the official.
"On multiple occasions prior to his arrest in March 2016, Chun collected sensitive FBI information and caused it to be transmitted to Chinese Official-1 and others, while at the same time engaging in a prolonged and concerted effort to conceal from the FBI his illicit relationships with these individuals," the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement.
Over the course of his espionage activities, prosecutors believe that Chun had taken pictures of a sensitive area and transmitted details about surveillance technologies used by the Bureau. He had also allegedly leaked the FBI's organizational chart, though personnel names had been removed.
New York Southern District U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has expressed his views about Chun's offenses to the United States.
"Americans who act as unauthorized foreign agents commit a federal offense that betrays our nation and threatens our security. And when the perpetrator is an FBI employee, like Kun Shan Chun, the threat is all the more serious and the betrayal all the more duplicitous," he said.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin summed up the rationale behind the charges against the double agent.
"Kun Shan Chun violated our nation's trust by exploiting his official U.S. Government position to provide restricted and sensitive FBI information to the Chinese government," he stated.
However, Chun's defense attorney Jonathan Marvinny stated that his client is gravely sorry and that he is regretting his actions.
"The truth is that Mr. Chun loves the United States and never intended to cause it any harm," he said.
The sentencing of Joey Chun is scheduled for Dec. 2.
A mother of a deployed U.S. Air Force officer has experienced how it is to be ganged up on in a public town hall event in Carson City, Nev. on Monday. In a Republican rally, Catherine Byrne, the mother of Staff Sgt. Raymond T. Harmon of the U.S. Air Force, was booed and jeered at after she asked Donald Trump's running mate, aspiring Vice President Mike Pence, about his views on the GOP nominee's treatment of veterans.
Byrne started her question by stating that her son currently serves in the U.S. Air Force, much to the crowd's delight. However, once the Air Force mom started her question about how Donald Trump is disrespecting America's armed forces and veterans, the crowd's change of heart was immediate.
Throughout her question, the angry crowd booed and jeered at her, drowning out her words. Despite this, however, the mother continued on.
"You've got a son in the military, how do you tolerate this disrespect?" she asked.
What was quite surprising was that Pence, who was supposed to be answering Byrne's questions, allowed the brutal booing and jeering to continue for about 10 seconds before asking the crowd to settle down.
"That's OK. That's what freedom looks like, and that's what freedom sounds like," Pence said, addressing the crowd.
The aspiring Vice President proceeded to praise the late Capt. Khan, who was killed in the Middle East and whose parents recently emerged as one of the staunchest critics of Donald Trump.
Over the course of the weekend, the spat between the GOP nominee and the fallen Capt. Khan's parents have reached new heights, with the Khans criticizing Trump for being unconstitutional and the GOP nominee alleging that the fallen Capt.'s mother was not allowed to speak due to her Muslim faith.
"Capt. Khan is an American hero and we honor him and honor his family," Pence said. "The story of Capt. Khan is an incredibly inspiring story."
The potential Vice President, however, also defended his running mate, stating that among the candidates for the 2016 presidential election, there is no one more dedicated to the armed forces than Donald Trump.
"I have never been around someone more devoted to the armed forces of this country. There is no one more devoted to the veterans in this country," Pence added.
Denise Martinez, who was among those who booed Byrne, stated that she believed Pence handled the situation masterfully.
"I thought he handled it really, really well," she said. "Looking back, I think I would've taken the high road. He handled it the right way, the way I wish Trump would have," she said.
Jack Christenson, a veteran and supporter of the GOP candidate, was less forgiving of the Air Force mother, stating that while Byrne might have had the right to ask her question, she "violated everyone else's rights" by speaking out at the event.
As for the mother who was booed and jeered at for asking a question, she simply stated that her expectations of the events did not align with what ultimately happened.
"It was supposed to be a town-hall-style event," she said.
The recently concluded California textbooks process has brought out a slew of dishonest, poorly informed, and ideologically predetermined articles pretending to lend expertise on the situation, which is first of all a debate on the history curriculum in American schools, rather than Indian history alone. Although Chinnaiah Jangams piece in this journal (2016) initially attempts to provide a historic overview of Indian immigration to the US and situate the present controversy in that context, it inevitably trickles down into a narrow course that wilfully ignores several facts in order to sustain a baseless attack on Scholars for People, with some personal presumptions thrown in as well. The mandate of Scholars for People, which began with a community petition in March, protesting the denial of India and Hinduism in the frameworks, was the issue of denying India's existence, and not caste or even Hinduism, a crucial fact Jangam omits to mention.
An honest analysis of this issue would have at the very least laid out the positions of various parties accurately, as well as the flow of events that took place, instead of resorting to a sophomoric guessing game based on names and identities (would Jangam censure Irfan Habib, say, for writing about Hindu history the way he takes umbrage at some of us in Scholars for People?). It should be noted at the outset that Jangam does not offer a single link to the letters submitted to the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) by the South Asia Faculty Group (SAFG) in 2015 and 2016 (South Asia Studies Faculty Review of Proposed California Curriculum Framework, Nov 2015; South Asia Faculty Cover Letter 2, Feb 2016). These are the documents in which the SAFG attempted to make a case for their recommendations, namely that several references to India be replaced with South Asia, and for the word Hinduism to be replaced with religion of ancient India". It was the acceptance of several of these changes in March 2016 by the California History Social Science Project (CHSSP) that led to the formation of Scholars for People, and it was this issue that dominated the petition, letters, and articles initiated by Scholars for People since March.
India Erasure and "Caste Erasure"
The mandate of Scholars for People from the beginning was neither Hinduism nor caste, but fundamentally to debate the fashionable academic notion that India did not exist before 1947, and to challenge the belief that the late cold war concoction South Asia was somehow more accurate and inclusive instead. The SAFG edits led to the complete erasure of India in several key places in the curriculum, subsuming its people into a terra nullius fantasy devoid of existence and accomplishment; for example, changing a line about Central Asian Turks conquering Northern Indian states into expanding into Northern Indian plains (qtd in Edits Proposed by South Asia Faculty Group, no date). A public petition initiated one week after the CHSSP accepted the SAFG edits, gained the support of 25,000 people including several non-Hindus, and even non-Indian persons (Scholars for People, Don't Replace "India" with "South Asia" in California History Social Science Frameworks, online petition).
Several academics and secular public intellectuals joined the Scholars for People forum, and some academics also wrote independently to the IQC to express their opposition to the SAFG position, including the Social Science and Religion Faculty Group (SSRFG) with over 40 American scholars including Diana Eck and Barbara McGraw.
Unfortunately, beginning in early April, a concerted media and social media smear campaign began with the sole aim of misrepresenting the issues at stake in California (Juluri 2016). These reports began to marginalise a real event, the acceptance of over 30 SAFG edits denying the existence of India and/or Hinduism, in favour of an allegation that various Hindu lobbying groups were trying to erase the mention of caste in the textbooks, which was merely a hypothesis, at least to the extent that virtually none of the dozens of edits requested by these groups were even accepted, nor were all of them about "erasing caste." In any case, the IQC review process concluded in May with a discussion of 30 edits over which much discussion had taken place. 20 edits had to do with the India/South Asia issue, and 18 of these were broadly settled in favour of what Scholars for People had requested. The remaining edits remained as the SAFG had recommended, and the language linking caste to Hinduism remained as strong as it was at first. This version was accepted by the State Board of Education in July (although a last minute representation alleging Islamophobia by a group of Islamic scholars led to a deletion of language referring to forced conversions and Islam).
Aryans and Hitler in Hinduism Chapters
While I cannot comment on the hundreds of suggestions submitted by dozens of parents and Hindu advocacy groups over the last two years, I can speak clearly for myself, and for Scholars for People which came together later, on the issues. I submitted my first set of suggestions to the IQC in October 2015 in which I had added several points that would enrich students appreciation of Hindu philosophy and culture to make the Hinduism content on par with that of other religions, without asking for any deletions of caste (none of my suggestions were acted upon, or even acknowledged in the December draft). My main concern then was with the lingering colonisation narrative about Hinduism left over from the Aryan invasion theory-language in the books (which existed so widely in the United States that textbooks in one state even had photos of Hitler in the ancient India chapter), and also about expanding positive content on Hinduism, on a par with other religions (Juluri, Letter To IQC May 18th 2016).
I did believe then, and still believe now, that there is an issue of inequity in the depiction of Hinduism when compared to Islam, Christianity, and Judaism in the curriculum. There is clear evidence of this, not only in terms of the content of the textbooks, but also in terms of the testimonies presented by dozens of school children who spoke in Sacramento over the past few years (see Arumuganathaswami and Bajpai 2016); Voice of California Hindus). Their point was simple: there is virtually no critical discussion of any other faith (such as their role in global imperialism, conquest, genocide and slavery), but Hinduism alone is studied entirely by its inequities.
Although our main focus was on the India/South Asia question, Scholars for People did offer, towards the end of the process, an attempt to evaluate the multiple claims made by different Hindu advocacy groups and parents on some of these issues (the May letter cited by Jangam), an act which somehow seems to have lent itself to unsubstantiated taints of "guilt by association" by Jangam and other activists who find it convenient to lump our position into the same category as those of certain religious advocacy groups like Hindu American Foundation, whose mandate and history has been very different from that of Scholars for People. He accuses us of replicating the "Hindu right-wing government's ... historical narrative" without any specific evidence of either this "government narrative" or ours. He cites our criticism of Pollock and Doniger without revealing where he himself stands on the issue of Hindus being depicted as "fascist conquerors of their own land. Does he agree with them? Or with the Aryan invasion theory, and the sly attempts by these scholars to somehow blame Hinduism for the horrors of the Nazi holocaust?
Outright Lies Against Scholars for People and My Book
In conclusion, I should place on record that in addition to ignoring or suppressing the whole range of issues that Scholars for People has been engaged with, Jangam also attempts to misrepresent our credentials. His claim that no historians supported our position is totally false and suppresses the fact that Ravi Korisettar, one of Indias most respected archaeologists, supported our May letter in which we questioned the SAFGs claims on archaeology and Indus Valley among other issues (other historians like Michel Danino and Saradindu Mukherjee support our letter too, but Jangam would perhaps prefer to duck out of engaging their work by dismissing them as not credentialed enough as the SAFG did).
As for caste privilege, I can only try to be accountable to mine, but would ask him to introspect whether "beneficiaries ofcolonialism", as he calls us, would really be struggling so hard to contest ignorant and racist textbook content from the colonial era in 21st century America. One of the ironies of the caste debate in California is that the SAFG position on Dalits has often been supported by self-identified Brahmin activists whereas the much vilified Hindu groups, like the Hindu Education Foundation, actually consist of members of underprivileged caste groups who wish to see a better depiction of subaltern contributions to Indian history, than merely as victims and "palace sweepers."[i]
I also urge Jangam to take a look at the other important scholarly interventions he skipped mentioningthe Social Science Faculty Research Group, consisting of over 40 US scholars including Diana Eck, Francis X. Clooney and Barbara McGraw, who have also called for a change in how caste and Hinduism are depicted in the textbooks. I wonder if he skipped mentioning them because their "castes" don't quite lend themselves to his sort of analysis, or simply because their intervention affirms that the textbooks issue is an American minority issue rather than some Indian right-wing project.
And as for his allegation about my having sworn allegiance to the Brahminical ideology of sanatana dharma at my book talk in Hyderabad, it is indeed a very colourful way of characterising someone who was simply born a Hindu (as for what this "ideology" means to me, he can also look up my writings on Sri Sathya Sai Baba, a poor peasant caste child of Rayalaseema, whom my family accepted as guru, daivam, and sarvam).
Finally, I strongly disagree with Jangams presumptuous declaration that my book Rearming Hinduism is somehow a scholarly justification for Hindu militancy. It is a very hurtful charge to make so lightly, and since he has not offered any evidence from my book to back up his frivolous allegation, it is clear that not only has he failed to read my book before commenting, he has studiously avoided reading the numerous readers comments on my book on websites like Amazon, and elsewhere which explicitly point out that my book has nothing to do with arms, armaments, or militaristic predilections of any kind. While I do talk about the need for righteous anger against todays violently anthropocentric global modernity, I have been anti-militant and unapologetically sentimental in my book to the extent of stating clearly that the right way to rearm Hinduism is through kindness and love.
I am also not sure what ferocious Hindu gods and their actions Jangam thinks I propitiate in my book. But if it is a reference to the broken Hampi Lakshmi-Narasimhaswami on the cover, it is telling that he sees its broken state not as a reminder of misogyny, violence and imperialism against an ancient and indigenous nature-worshipping culture that ought to be preserved and cherished, but sees it only through the prejudiced lens of a colonial-protestant mythology about Hinduisms dark and dangerous gods. Surely, the task of decolonising Indian history demands at the very least an accurate understanding, and then an appropriate critique, before we decide that only a normative and pure conception of anti-Hindu ideology will suffice as acceptable in academia? When a subaltern position makes that claim, accountability, and decency demand that one listens. But when the very existence of global anti-Hindu ideologies, institutions, and forces is denied blissfully, how credible can academia remain?
What Jangam and other impulsive commentators have missed out is the fact that questioning the present form in which Hinduism and caste are taught in California (ScholarsforPeopleJuly16, July 2016) does not mean we oppose a factual, precise, and age-appropriate discussion of caste in California. Scholars for People has never supported the view that caste and Dalit issues should not be taught for fear of bullying, and I request Jangam to show any evidence that we have said this. Our position very simply is that there needs to be honesty and fairness in the textbooks, and one cannot simultaneously whitewash imperialism and violence associated with global monotheisms while continuing to demonise Hinduism, and even its liberal interpreters so viciously. It is remarkable that so many observers who cannot identify and eliminate colonial-era missionary propaganda from their critiques believe that they have a monopoly of knowledge on the "real roots of Hinduism."
The final outcome of the 2016 review process is this; the slightest mentions of the spread of Islam through force have been erased; Hinduism alone continues to be criticised among all religions (though a few positive points have been added compared to the 2005 version), and the words "India" and "Hinduism" have been reinstated after being initially denied altogether. What has changed though, is the fact that ten years ago there were perhaps no more than two or three scholars willing to speak up against the academic dogma on Hinduism and Indian history, and now there are at least fifty. And no matter how many devious attempts are made to misrepresent scholars who question the current dogma of normative anti-Hindu fanaticism in academia, the truth cannot be suppressed forever.
Notes
Vamsee Juluris response (EPW, 2 August 2016) to my article (EPW, 16 July 2016) starts with an interesting statement: "California textbooks process has brought out a slew of dishonest, poorly informed, and ideologically predetermined articles pretending to lend expertise on the situation, which is first of all a debate on the history curriculum in American schools, rather than Indian history alone. Not only does this first sentence points to the authors regrettably intolerant opinion towards ideas that differ from his own, it also contains the puerile argument that the debate on the history curriculum in American schools can somehow preclude discussions on Indian history, even when the representation of the latter is the moot point in this debate.
Identity and History
Juluri accuses me of indulging in sophomoric guessing game based on names and identities. I was born and educated in India and like any other Indian I do not have to guess anyones caste. I am aware of how names and surnames are proudly flaunted by upper caste-Hindus to legitimise intellectual authority, among other things. In fact, caste-identity is central in this context because perspectives are rooted in cultural and social experience. Caste Hindus have a nostalgic perception of Hinduism because for centuries their inherited privileges have been sanctioned by Hinduism; but a Dalit, with his/her everyday experiences of humiliations and violence will not talk about Hinduism in the same way.
Thus my ideas do not stem from personal presumptions; rather I read the social and historical implications of Hinduism critically not just as a historian but also as a Dalit. For English educated caste Hindus, it is easy and convenient to pretend that they do not believe in or have a caste, while continuing to reap the benefits, material and intellectual, overtly and covertly, through the power of their given names and caste networks.
Identities of individuals and communities are important because they reflect historical and social experiences, and political and ideological agendas also emanate from them. Very rarely do we come across people who step outside their inherited privileges to stand with the oppressed and the deprived. Since I point out the privileged caste roots of the advocates of Scholars for People, Juluri asks would Jangam censure Irfan Habib, say, for writing about Hindu history the way he takes umbrage at some of us in Scholars for People? Perceptive readers would no doubt see the covert communal orientation of the Scholars for People behind Juluris picking of Irfan Habib and not another Indian historian.
To answer his rhetorical question, however, I would contend that no, I do not subscribe to the dogmatic idea that only a Hindu should write Hindu history. In fact, I believe anyone with professional expertise and empathy for the communities they engage with, are eligible to write their history.
India and Hinduism
Juluri says the mandate of Scholars for People from the beginning was neither Hinduism nor caste, but fundamentally to debate the fashionable academic notion that India did not exist before 1947, and to challenge the belief that the late cold war concoction South Asia was somehow more accurate and inclusive instead. Historically, India as a territorial nation, for that matter, the idea of nation itself is a product of capitalism and its avatar, modernity. It is ahistorical and dogmatic to argue that in the pre-modern world there were nations, and India existed as a nation among others. Benedict Anderson, Partha Chatterjee and others have provided fascinating theoretical and historical analyses of this basic historical process.
To further understand how the territorial imagination of Bharat/Hindu nation matured during colonial times, one may refer to Manu Goswamis Producing India: From Colonial Economy to National Space (2004). The idea of imagining ancient India as Hindu is the product of Orientalism as Brahmin leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak inspired by Max Muller, who traced the roots of the Vedas to the Arctic. This idea in the course of time became a potent political weapon in the hands of Hindu fundamentalists who now claim a natural right over the nation and its imagination. This imaginary concept delivered political dividends and continues to do so. In addition, they have also attempted to co-opt Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives as part of this imagined, Hindu India and have quibble with the entity of South Asia.
Juluri claims that the petition campaign by the Scholars for People had the support of more than 25,000 people, including several non-Hindu, and even non-Indian persons, and also that several academics and secular public intellectuals joined the Scholars for People forum, and several academics also wrote independently to the Instructional Quality Commission to express their opposition to the SAFG position. Yes, numbers do speak well, but one needs to ask who are these people signing and endorsing the project? The majority of them are caste Hindus of privileged backgrounds who have never borne the burden of caste stigma and never experienced violence and humiliations imposed by Brahmanical Hinduism. Can Juluri get even a hundred Dalits to sign his petition? This reflects the problem in the politics of the majority.
Juluri questions my position on Sheldon Pollock and Wendy Doniger who were viciously targeted by the Hindu right in India and outside. I may disagree with some of their views but I stand with them as a South Asian historian, in defending their freedom to write and critically engage with the production of knowledge. About Hinduism, Juluri says I had added several points that would enrich students appreciation of Hindu philosophy and culture to make the Hinduism content on par with that of other religions, without asking for any deletions of caste, as he states that there is an issue of inequity in the depiction of Hinduism. Let me address the issue of Hinduism and its inequity in depiction of their historical context. Firstly, the consolidation of Hinduism as a religion was a result of the 19th century project of colonialism. The problem with Hinduism is that it doesnt have one authoritative text or one god as its focal representation, unlike other religions. In fact, if there is one thing, which binds all Hindus together like a spinal cord, it is caste.
Historically, Hinduism as a religion is a newer development, but influenced by orientalism and Brahmanical imaginations, caste Hindus assume the notion to have come from antiquity. So inequity of representation is part of the legacy of Hinduism itself, not an imposition from outside, as it lacks clarity in terms of origins, beliefs and ideas. The second aspect of Juluris edits is about the appreciation of Hindu philosophy and culture. It is again a problematic assertion because foundational ethics of Brahmanical Hinduism rely on hierarchy of castes and the principle of discrimination. If one has to teach Hindu culture and philosophy it should start with its ethical fault lines rather than a distorted version of glory of Hindu philosophy and culture.
Perpetrator-Victim Doublespeak of Diasporic Identity
Juluris chooses to gloss over the cultural and social (capital) advantages needed to gain privileged access to education and resources to migrate to privileged first world countries like the United States of America, and land in privileged positions. Juluri asks me as to introspect whether "beneficiaries of colonialism" as he calls us would really be struggling so hard to contest ignorant and racist textbook content from the colonial era in 21st century America. This position of victimhood with respect to racism and minority status is simultaneously ironical and surreal.
Finally I urge Juluri to relook at the video of his book launch and talk in Hyderabad about where he begins his talk thanking people and says our cause is our home, our Sanatan Dharma is always home.[1] These words express his world view of Sanatan Dharma, which aims to restore the caste system in the form of Chaturvarna. Even the god man he claims to believe and worshipSri Sathya Sai Baba also had to bear the caste as a poor peasant caste child of Rayalaseema in his mention.
I write this rejoinder in the backdrop of a painful reality of unfolding violence against Dalits by caste Hindus across India. Finally let me end this rejoinder by invoking a famous debate on justice in Platos Republic which says The only way really to injure a man is to make him a worse man. (qtd in The Republic of Plato 1941, 12). It cannot and should not be overlooked that Hinduism, as practised as a religion and philosophy, through its often violent and violating ideas and practices, has perpetuated injustice and inequality and denied basic human existence to millions. Moreover it lacks a moral imagination to recognise the humanity of fellow humans like Dalits and Muslims.
References
Goswami, Manu (2004): Producing India: From Colonial Economy to National Space, Chicago : Chicago University Press.
Rearming Hinduism - Introduction & talk by Prof. Vamsee Juluri, Youtube video, posted on 14 April 2015, viewed on 1 August 2016, https://youtu.be/8gam7dtmztY.
Parliament passes Indian Medical Council (Amendment Bill), 2016
Published: August 2, 2016
The Parliament has passed Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to conduct of uniform entrance examination for admission to all medical educational institutions.
The bill seeks to replace the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016 and its provisions will come in to force retrospectively from May 24, 2016.
Key Features of Bill
Introduction of a uniform entrance examination for all medical educational institutions. It will be applicable for admission at the undergraduate and the post-graduate level.
If states have not opted for the uniform entrance examination, then the examination will not be applicable at the undergraduate level for the academic year 2016-17.
This provision will be applicable to state government seats in government and private medical institutions.
The uniform entrance examinations will be conducted in Hindi, English and other languages.
Empowers to MCI to frame regulations for (i) the manner of conducting the exams, (i) the authority designated to conduct exams and (iii) Specify languages other than English and Hindi in which the entrance examinations will be conducted.
Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016
Besides, Parliament also passed the Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to conduct of uniform entrance examination for admission to all dental medical educational institutions.
The bills seek to amend the Dentists Act, 1948 to replace the ordinance that was promulgated in May 2016.
It seeks to keep state boards out of the ambit of National Eligibility Entrance Examination (NEET) for admission BDS courses for academic year 2016-17.
Comment
With passage of the bills, admission to medical and dental courses across the country will be done through a single common entrance test i.e. NEET from academic year 2017-18.
The NEET has been designed to curb corruption by bringing in transparency, checking multiplicity of exams and to stop exploitation of students in counselling.
However it said that this new system will affect rural students as there is no uniform educational syllabus across the country.
Month: Current Affairs - August, 2016
Topics: Bills and Acts medical education National Parliament
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They are British, Finnish, French, Chinese and Italian. They are young and talented and have overcome fears and apprehensions to give their education an unforgettable boost. They have chosen the ESRF as a springboard to the future. They are just a few of the hundreds of students from the world over for whom the ESRF plays a significant role. Meet some of the young talents we welcomed this year.
'I didnt know anything about the ESRF before last year. I was amazed by the Experimental Hall. Its huge and so full of high-tech instrumentation and equipment. How on earth did they build it? Im amazed by how much people know and by all this technology. Its an accumulation of the work of hundreds and hundreds of scientists, each contributing their part', says Pierre-Olivier Autran, student in materials engineering at the French engineering school Polytech Montpellier and currently on placement at the ESRF.
Awesome? Indeed! Very often, a traineeship at the ESRF is the first experience of working abroad, and the decision to leave home, family and comfort zone doesnt come without some initial anxiety.
The idea of integrating the ESRF can be dompting, as Yi Yao, a Chinese student on the Erasmus programme and affiliated to the University of Rennes, France, reveals: 'I never thought Id be able to work here, because I believed that everyone was young, successful, knew all about physics and was obviously a genius. Now, Ive seen that everyone is a genius, yes! But that if you have the right attitude and you really want to, theres a place for you here.'
Marco Moretti and Yi Yao in front of the RIXS spectrometer on ESRF's ID20 beamline. ESRF/C. Argoud.
Aim high and let fly!
Yi has felt her confidence boosted by her placement at the ESRF. 'Before I thought all of this was out of reach for me. The notoriety and success of the ESRF made me feel it may be too big for me to fit in.' Now she feels more at home here, mainly due to the culture of openness and trust at the ESRF. 'Compared to China, here I have been given more trust over the equipment and participation in the experiment.'
Serena Pantalone, from the University di Parma in northern Italy, admits to having felt intimidated about joining a team where people 'knew a lot'. 'I felt like a small student at the beginning, but now I feel like a member of the team. My supervisor is fantastic and has been really helpful, everyone has.'
Student Serena Pantalone (left) with supervisors Gabriele Giachin and Montserrat Soler-Lopez inside one of the biology laboratories at the ESRF. ESRF/C. Argoud.
Serena says her English was scholastic before the start of the assignment. She had no school basics of French and remembers that, at first, it was very difficult to communicate outside the campus. 'I found that people didnt want to speak English, but if I tried to speak French first then most people turned out to speak good English and were really helpful!'
Miika Rasola, a Finnish student in theoretical physics at the University of Helsinki, admits shyly that he was worried he wouldnt be up to standard for the work given him. His fears turned out to be unfounded and now he feels more confident about his skills. 'My tutors knew exactly what to expect from me and didnt put me in any difficulty. The people are very nice here, its not difficult to fit in.'
'I was quite scared at the idea of finding myself without anywhere to stay', says Pierre-Olivier, who studies in southern city of Montpellier. 'I got a lot of refusals by phone but, once I came to Grenoble, it was really very easy to find lodgings.'
A rich diversity of cultures and professions
Mirroring the image of the ESRFs population and spectre of professions, trainees also originate from many different horizons and their topics of study are just as diverse.
Serena is in the last year of a Masters course in molecular biology. She is studying three proteins that are possibly implicated in Alzheimers disease. Her mission is to make crystals of these proteins, then study them using the ESRFs X-rays. In this way she aims to gain a better understanding of their structure and behaviour.
For Serena, the six month placement in the macromolecular biology laboratory at the ESRF has given her a practical experience to complement a mainly theoretical approach at the University. 'Before, I was mainly studying with books as company. Now Im interacting with a large group of biologists and have gained enough experience in the lab to be autonomous.' She feels more open-minded than before and more confident in collaborating with non-biologists. 'I have worked with mathematicians and physicists here, something I would never have imagined doing before.'
Pierre-Olivier has the mission to upgrade the reconstruction process for tomographic applications in collaboration with a PhD student and researcher at neighbouring institute CEA (French Atomic Agency). 'This placement has given me the chance to acquire a solid base in computing. For me, the computing experience is an absolute necessity to complement the materials engineering.' Using iterative algorithms, Pierre-Olivier is developing a software program which would allow to reduce by 75% the number of projections, or photos, needed to reconstruct, with very high resolution, 3D tomographic images of samples under study. If feasible, the program would cut the data-taking time by 75%, enabling a current 5-hour manoeuvre to be completed in a little over 1 hour. 'Curiosity took over and it motivated me to go even further into the programming. I surprised myself by taking problem-solving to a much deeper level that I thought I could!'
Ennio Capria (right) with student, Pierre-Olivier Autran from Polytech Montpellier. ESRF/C. Argoud.
The multi-cultural environment can also be surprising as Pierre-Olivier found out: 'I imagined it would be very French here, but thats not at all the case. Its amazing how people just switch from one language to another without batting an eyelid. Its great to hear English, then Spanish then Italian spoken almost all within the same phrase!'
Collaboration is also key in the world of research, whether among individuals of different nationalities and professions or between different research institutes. As Ennio Capria, engineer in charge of the Nanoelec Platform for Advanced Characterisation in the ESRFs Business Development Office, and Pierre-Oliviers supervisor at the ESRF, explains: 'The work carried out by Pierre-Olivier will support the research programme established for an Innovation Lead Long Term Proposal (iLTP) resulting from a collaboration between the ESRF, STMicroelectronics and the CEA-LETI. The iLTP is focused on advanced characterisation of nanoelectronics devices, including statistical analyses, and involves several of the ESRFs nanocharacterisation beamlines, in particular nanotomography operated on ID16A.'
Miika Rasola, one of the rare Finnish students, has designed electrochemical cells to investigate the chemical reactions on the interface between liquid and solid states on the high-energy beamline, ID31. The first cell has been designed and the parts ordered. Miika hopes they will arrive for him to assemble them before the summer shutdown in August.
Jakob Drnec, scientist on ESRF's ID31 beamline, with Miika Rasola, Finnish student from the University of Helsinki, look at an unusual set-up inside the beamline experimental hutch. ESRF/C. Argoud.
Every day is a good day
The ESRF is also host to technical apprentices. Ryan Evans and Ashley Churchman are just winding up a three-week placement as part of their apprenticeship at the UKs Science and Technology Facilities Council.
Ive not had a bad day here yet, says Ryan in a cheery accent from northern England. My supervisor, John, is the first person to make me smile in the morning and hes been really helpful.
Ryan was given two main projects during the placement. First he had to manufacture a circuit to monitor the robot sample placer, then he built a test station for beam shutters to control their position and check the functioning of the electronics and pneumatics. The projects involved working directly on the beamlines and experimental set-ups, a novelty for Ryan. Everything is very well organised and projects seem to go to plan. The hardest thing was understanding the French names of the components!
Its Ryans first experience of working and living abroad. With a rudimentary grasp of the language, he has particularly appreciated the very practical approach of the French lessons. We had to buy a bus pass, order a meal in a restaurant or go shopping, he explains. It was good to get some guidance on the cultural differences too, to be sure not to offend anyone.
Ive really enjoyed it. Engineers and technicians work well together and theres a lot of respect between colleagues for each others skills, says Ashley.
A taste of France and Europe for these UK apprentices. From left to right: supervisor Keith Baldock, apprentices Ashley Churchman and Ryan Evans, supervisor John Surr. ESRF/C. Argoud.
Its Ashleys third placement abroad through the STFC apprenticeship and he has already worked at CERN and ILL. His mission here is to design and assemble a security circuit (emergency stop framework) to house an X-ray camera on ESRFs ID06 beamline. My supervisor and colleagues here have put a lot of trust in me. They appreciate that Ive done an apprenticeship and have not made me start from the basics for this placement.
For Keith Baldock, ESRF senior technician and Ashleys tutor, the benefits are not all one-sided and the ESRF reaps the rewards of its investment in training these young talents. He says, 'I found Ashley was of great benefit to the group during his short stay here. He was always polite and showed a lot of motivation and enthusiasm for the projects we worked on. He learns very quickly, and had some passion for learning the French language.'
Do you want a springboard to the future? Find out more about training opportunities at the ESRF.
Text by Kirstin Colvin
Tell Joko Widodo: Fire Wiranto. He is not fit to be Indonesia coordinating minister. Sign ETAN's petition here.
A-N-T-I
ALIANSI NASION A L TIMOR LESTE BA TRIBUN A L INTERNASION A L
(Timor-Leste National Alliance for an International Tribunal)
Tel: +670 7266564 / 7289241/77402231
We Stand Against Impunity, Deny Formerly Accused General Wiranto Frodm Holding a Position of Power!
For more than a decade victims and the families of victims in Timor-Leste have consistently insisted on truth and justice for Timor-Leste from Indonesia and the international community.
Human Rights & Justice
ETAN,Tapol, Watch Indonesia: Appointment of General Wiranto as Minister confirms the deep-rooted impunity in Indonesia
page
IntroductionWe have been monitoring a real life political phenomenon happening in Indonesia, namely the decision of President Jokowi to include former General Wiranto as the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs in his new cabinet. This decision has unsettled us a great deal. We recall what happened in 1999, before, during, and after the referendum in Timor-Leste which resulted in more than two hundred thousand (200,000) civilians suffering torture, rape, forceful removal, enforced disappearance and murder.These acts violate the fundamental human rights principles and values set out in international humanitarian law. For this reason, these acts are deemed crimes against humanity.For more than a decade victims and the families of victims in Timor-Leste have consistently insisted on truth and justice for Timor-Leste from Indonesia and the international community, especially from the members of the UN Security Council.In 1999 Wiranto was the Supreme Commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces who had the competence and power to ensure security and stability for the process during and after the Referendum as set out on May 5, 1999 in agreement from the Minister for Foreign Affairs from Indonesia, the Minister for Foreign Affairs from Portugal, and the United Nations Secretary General.Former General Wiranto was the Supreme Commander of the Indonesian military and is a responsible member for the large scale and systematic violence, removal and persecution that resulted in 280 deaths and forced 200,000 people to flee to Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) in Indonesia, as well as the mass destruction inflicted on the personal possessions and assets of the Timorese people.In March 2003 the Serious Crimes Unit (SCU) issued an indictment against Former General Wiranto and others.The aforementioned unit also requested for the Dili District Court to issue a warrant of his arrest. on March 19, 2004. The Deputy Prosecutor General for Serious Crimes issued a letter to support the issuance of a warrant of arrest against General Wiranto, with irrefutable evidence against him proving that General Wiranto committed human rights violations and crimes against humanity in Timor- Leste.Despite these gross charges, former general Wiranto lives as a free man holding positions of influence and power in Indonesia today. He has never gone under any formal justice procedures where he could be prosecuted for his crimes and rather lives with an ambiguous status of 'accused,' and trusted within the Widodo administration.1. For the international community to influence the Jokowi Government to take seriously the prevention of nominating criminals within the government structure in order to further strengthen the process of democracy and to uphold human rights in Indonesia and elsewhere around the world;2. For the UN Security Council to consistently uphold its decision to combat impunity, based on the indictment issued by the Special Panel for Serious Crimes in 2003. We ask that an effective mechanism be sought to ensure that criminals are held accountable in a credible fashion, in particular the former General Wiranto;3. Indonesia and Timor-Leste need to strengthen and foster democracy to brake the chain of impunity and establish societies that respect human rights values and strengthen the democratic rule of law. Therefore, we urge and standby Indonesia to immediately remove Wiranto from the Joko Widodo Government structure.4. We Call on the international community members state has a moral responsibility to arrested the accuses former General WIRANTO.Try criminals to support permanent reconciliation.Remove the Accused Wiranto.Hooray for Truth and Justice.The struggle continues!Dili, 29 July 2016Members:LBH Jakarta: Pers Rilis: 1454/SK-Rilis-MKR/2016 -5 Alasan Menolak Wiranto menjadi Menko Polhukam
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New York, NY (August 1, 2016) - The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting innovative early career researchers, named 17 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its spring Fellowship Award Committee review. The recipients of this prestigious, four-year award are outstanding postdoctoral scientists conducting basic and translational cancer research in the laboratories of leading senior investigators across the country. The Fellowship encourages the nation's most promising young scientists to pursue careers in cancer research by providing them with independent funding ($231,000 for basic scientists; $248,000 for physician-scientists) to work on innovative projects that have the potential to impact cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
May 2016 Damon Runyon Fellows:
Sudeep Banjade, PhD [HHMI Fellow], with his sponsor Scott Emr, PhD, at Cornell University, Ithaca, studies how cellular membranes are remodeled. The ESCRT family of proteins (endosomal sorting complexes required for transport) regulate this remodeling process; misregulation has been found to be involved in many cancers. He aims to understand the specific roles of the ESCRT-III proteins for polymer remodeling and membrane deformation, using biochemical, biophysical and genetic approaches.
Kyle G. Daniels, PhD, with his sponsor Wendell Lim, PhD, at the University of California, San Francisco, aims to improve the ability of engineered T cells to kill cancer. Specifically, his goal is to understand how signaling events during T cell activation determine the therapeutic properties of activated T cells. He uses synthetic immunology techniques and computational methods to search for synthetic receptors that confer desired functions upon T cells. Ultimately, he hopes to design and create receptors that improve the ability of T cells to proliferate, persist, recruit other immune cells, and kill cancer cells.
Ivana Gasic, Dr.Sc, with her sponsor Timothy Mitchison, PhD, at Harvard Medical School, Boston, aims to elucidate the "microtubule integrity response," mechanisms that monitor the health of microtubules in cell division under normal physiological conditions and in cancer. Microtubules are frequent chemotherapy targets in treatment of various cancers, such as leukemia, lymphomas, melanoma, lung, ovarian, and breast cancer. Microtubule-targeting chemotherapeutics are believed to kill cancer cells through mitotic arrest. There is, however, growing evidence that they impact non-dividing "interphase" cells as well; this mechanism remains largely unexplored. She seeks to explore the microtubule integrity response, which may reveal how microtubule poisons kill non-dividing cancer cells, and help design better anti-cancer therapies.
Daniel H. Goldman, PhD, with his sponsor Rachel Green, PhD, at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, studies the process of protein synthesis, which is often misregulated in cancer, causing uncontrolled cell growth and proliferation. The balance of protein production in healthy cells is maintained in part by RNA-binding proteins, which modulate the efficiency of mRNA translation by the ribosome. However, the mechanisms underlying such regulation are not well understood. He is combining high-throughput sequencing technologies with single-molecule imaging in living cells to elucidate the mechanisms by which RNA-binding proteins regulate protein synthesis.
Jeffrey A. Hussmann, PhD [Rebecca Ridley Kry Fellow], with his sponsor Carol Gross, PhD, at the University of California, San Francisco, is studying how translation is regulated in healthy cells and how this regulation goes awry in disease. Cells control protein abundance by modulating how frequently messenger RNAs are translated by ribosomes, but the mechanisms that determine how densely ribosomes are packed onto each individual transcript are poorly understood. He is developing experimental approaches to produce transcriptome?wide single?molecule measurements of ribosome density in order to advance this understanding. These approaches will provide insights into the the key role that this process plays in the development and progression of many cancers.
Megan Insco, MD, PhD, with her sponsor Len Zon, MD, at Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, studies advanced melanoma. Melanoma initiation and drug resistance rely heavily on factors that control gene expression. Proteins called Cyclin Dependent Kinases (CDKs) show promise as drug targets in multiple difficult-to-treat cancers and are enabling a method to "drug" the previously "undruggable" process of gene expression. She aims to determine whether any of the transcriptional CDKs could be an effective drug target in advanced melanoma.
Alexander Jaeger, PhD [HHMI Fellow], with his sponsor Susan Lindquist, PhD, at the Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, is investigating how a protein called the Heat Shock Transcription Factor 1 (HSF1), a potent pro-survival transcription factor, orchestrates changes in the three-dimensional architecture of chromosomes to activate tumor supportive gene expression programs in diverse cancer types. Increasing evidence suggests that the three dimensional architecture of chromosomes can influence the unique gene expression programs that support tumor growth. He aims to determine how gene expression is significantly altered in cancer cells when compared to normal cells.
Elise C. Jeffery, PhD, with her sponsor Sean Morrison, PhD, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, studies "stromal cells" that support the function of blood stem cells in the bone marrow. Cancer treatments such as irradiation and chemotherapy damage the bone marrow, and the repair of this tissue is crucial for the recovery of the blood system. She is characterizing the role of a newly identified factor produced by stromal cells in this rebuilding process. These studies have the potential to enhance our understanding of bone marrow repair, and to identify new methods for improving the recovery of the blood system in cancer patients following irradiation or chemotherapy.
Brian J. Laidlaw, PhD, with his sponsor Jason Cyster, PhD, at the University of California, San Francisco, is investigating the mechanisms underlying immune cell positioning following viral infection and tumor challenge. Localization of immune cells to particular sites within the tissue is critical for their maintenance and protective capacity upon reencountering an antigen. How immune cell migration within the tissue is regulated remains poorly understood. His studies should significantly enhance our understanding of immune cell trafficking and inform the development of new immunotherapies against cancer that modulate these pathways to promote tumor regression.
Natasha M. O'Brown, PhD, with her sponsor Chenghua Gu, PhD, at Harvard Medical School, Boston, is investigating the molecular mechanisms that govern the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which acts as the gatekeeper for the brain. While the BBB protects the brain from pathogens and provides the necessary environment for normal brain function, the BBB also acts as an obstacle to drug delivery for the treatment of neurological diseases, including brain tumors. A key regulator of BBB integrity, Mfsd2a, limits transcellular movement across the barrier and therefore prevents leakage into the brain. Using a combination of zebrafish genetics, small molecule screens, and live imaging, she aims to understand how this protein regulates these BBB processes. By investigating the cellular signals that induce or remove barrier properties, she hopes to identify ways by which she can selectively manipulate the barrier to allow for drug delivery to the brain.
Jose M. Ordovas-Montanes, PhD [HHMI Fellow], with his sponsor Alex Shalek, PhD, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, studies how inflammation in the gut influences individual epithelial and immune cells. Inflammation is one of the largest risk factors for developing colon cancer. A better understanding of the cellular factors involved in precipitating malignancy may lead to novel approaches for blocking the initiation of cancer and restoring the gut to a healthy balanced state.
Ying Qi Shirleen Soh, PhD, with her sponsor Jesse Bloom, PhD, at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, focuses on how viruses such as influenza evolve to infect diverse host species. Zoonotic transmissions of influenza from avian and swine hosts to humans have the potential to result in pandemics with severe public health consequences. Cancer patients, in particular, are disproportionately susceptible to complications arising from infection. Dissecting the pathways and mechanisms by which influenza can adapt to the human host will aid in the ability to predict and prevent pandemics resulting from zoonotic infection.
Sarah Z. Tasker, PhD [HHMI Fellow], with her sponsor Paul Hergenrother, PhD, at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, is synthesizing a new set of small molecules based on natural products, designed to have structural features to allow them to cross the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier protects the brain, but it also prevents most chemotherapeutic agents from reaching tumor cells in brain cancers, meaning prognoses for cancers such as glioblastoma multiforme and brain metastases are often poor. She will test these new compounds for anticancer activity, and will study whether active compounds cross the blood-brain barrier. The goal of these studies is to discover new anticancer small molecules and to better understand how these molecules penetrate the blood-brain barrier.
Iva Tchasovnikarova, PhD, with her sponsor Robert Kingston, PhD, at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, is investigating the role of chromatin remodeling in epigenetic gene silencing by the recently discovered HUSH complex. Her research aims to delineate how heterochromatin formation is achieved through the concerted action of heterochromatin-associated proteins, heterochromatic histone modifications, and ATP-driven chromatin remodeling. As heterochromatin formation has been shown to be associated with oncogenic events, her future work will define general principles that could be exploited to design cancer therapies aimed at heterochromatin dysregulation.
Eric Wang, PhD, with his sponsor Nathanael Gray, PhD, at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, is applying a chemical biology approach to identify kinases and small molecule inhibitors that enhance the immune system's tumor surveillance capabilities. Therapies that enhance the anti-tumor activity of the immune system have shown tremendous promise in patients; however, only a subset of patients and tumors respond well to such treatments, so identifying complementary strategies to increase the effectiveness of existing immunotherapies is increasingly important. His goal is to obtain mechanistic insight into the anti-tumor immune response and to identify small molecule drugs that may improve the efficacy of immunotherapies in patients.
Emma Watson, PhD [Suzanne and Bob Wright Fellow], with her sponsor Stephen Elledge, PhD, at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, is taking advantage of high-throughput genetic screens to map gene networks involved in the response to metabolic stress. Cancer cells tap into growth-promoting metabolic programs, enabling them to robustly proliferate using limited resources from the tissue microenvironment and bloodstream. The metabolic plasticity observed in cancer cells can be at least partly attributed to metabolic stress response pathways that enable the cancer to mobilize resources for growth. Identifying the genes involved in sensing and enacting responses to metabolic stress will provide potentially novel therapeutic targets in the treatment of cancer.
Linghe Xi, PhD [Dale F. and Betty Ann Frey Fellow], with her sponsor Elaine Fuchs, PhD, at The Rockefeller University, New York, is studying signaling events that drive squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), a common form of skin cancer. She focuses on WNT signaling, which is an important player in cell fate determination. It appears that WNT signaling is essential for SCC tumor formation, but exactly where and how it is required remains unknown. She is dissecting the activity of WNT signaling during the progression from normal epithelial cells to benign papillomas, and then to malignant SCC tumors. She is also investigating the critical downstream effectors of WNT signaling in this process, in order to identify improved targets for cancer therapeutics.
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About the Foundation
To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today's best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research. The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists. Twelve scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs. Each of its award programs is extremely competitive, with less than 10% of applications funded. Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has invested over $300 million and funded over 3,500 young scientists. This year it will commit over $17 million in new awards to brilliant young investigators.
100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research. Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and endowment.
CONTACT
Yung S. Lie, PhD
Deputy Director and Chief Scientific Officer
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
yung.lie@damonrunyon.org
212.455.0521
Young American adults aren't doing it as often as you'd think. Although Americans are now strikingly more accepting of premarital sex, a new study reveals that more Millennials, born in the 1990s in particular, are nevertheless forgoing sex during young adulthood. The new sexual revolution has apparently left behind a larger segment of this generation than first thought.
"This study really contradicts the widespread notion that Millennials are the 'hookup' generation, which is popularized by dating apps like 'Tinder' and others, suggesting that they are just looking for quick relationships and frequent casual sex," said Ryne Sherman, Ph.D., co-author of the study and associate professor of psychology in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science at Florida Atlantic University. "Our data show that this doesn't seem to be the case at all and that Millennials are not more promiscuous than their predecessors."
A key finding from the study conducted by Sherman and co-authors Jean Twenge, Ph.D., San Diego State University, and Brooke E. Wells, Ph.D., Widener University, is that the changes in sexual inactivity in Millennials was not related to the time period or decade, but rather to the generation.
"This is really about this generation of young American adults and not the time period in which they are living," said Sherman. "This has very little to do with changing norms about sexual behavior; the generations are just different and it has everything to do with them."
To determine if this shift was due to differences in age or generation, the researchers used a two-pronged approach to compare sexual inactivity rates by birth decade among 20 to 24 year olds. They conducted a unique age-period-cohort analysis using the entire sample of adults ages 18 to 96 in the General Social Survey (GSS), a nationally representative sample of American adults since 1989.
They also examined gender, race, education, region, and religiosity as moderators to determine whether any changes in sexual inactivity differed from one group to another.
Among Americans aged 20 to 24, Millennials born in the early 1990s were significantly more likely to report no sexual partners after age 18 than GenX'ers born in the late 1960s. Fifteen percent of the 20- to 24-year-old Americans born in the 1990s had no sexual partners since turning 18, compared to 6 percent of those born in the 1960s. The only other generation that showed a higher rate of sexual inactivity were those born in the 1920s.
The increase in adult sexual inactivity between the 1960s and the 1990s generations was larger and significant among women (from 2.3 percent to 5.4 percent), but not among men (from 1.7 percent to 1.9 percent). It was non-existent among Black Americans (2.6 percent to 2.6 percent, compared to a significant jump from 1.6 percent to 3.9 percent among Whites).
"Many of the differences between the groups in the recent generations were also significant," said Sherman. "For example, women were more likely to be sexually inactive compared to men, Whites more than Blacks, those who did not attend college more than those who did, and in the East more than the West."
Americans born in the 1990s were the most likely to be sexually inactive in their early 20s, and showed a definite break with those born in the 1980s. Other findings from the study indicate that those born in the 1990s are growing up more slowly than those born in the 1980s. For example, fewer get a driver's license or work for pay, also showing a generational break at some point in the 1990s.
The researchers speculate that there may be a number of reasons for this major shift between Millennials and other generations including more sex education and awareness of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV, easy access to pornography because of technology, or perhaps even differences in defining what sexual activity is and is not (e.g. oral sex vs. intercourse) since generations define sex differently.
"While attitudes about premarital sex have become more permissive over time, rise in individualism allows young American adults to have permissive attitudes without feeling the pressure to conform in their own behavior," said Sherman.
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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.
WASHINGTON -- The first known household survey examining the collateral harm to pregnancy services in areas affected by the West African Ebola epidemic suggests a significant slide backwards in child and maternal health. The study, conducted in Liberia, points to the deep disruptions caused by the Ebola epidemic -- even in parts of the country with relatively limited transmission.
The 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic killed approximately 11,300 people, but its long term effects on the region's health is expected to be compounded by many factors including the deaths of at least 500 health care workers. In addition, many facilities closed while other preventive and therapeutic services were interrupted.
"We also know that the stigma associated with Ebola interfered with people seeking healthcare services, in addition to the perception that people can contract Ebola if they go to health facilities," explains the study's senior author John Kraemer, JD, MPH, assistant professor of health systems administration at Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies. "It appears these perceptions are a major factor in the decrease of the number of people utilizing health facilities."
Kraemer and his colleagues, including those from Last Mile Health, an organization focused on health in rural Liberia, set out to measure the indirect health consequences of Ebola so that a fuller understanding could inform efforts to restore health care in Ebola-impacted areas. They focused specifically on maternal health services, which are dependent on functioning health systems. Their findings are published in PLOS Medicine.
The researchers compared the odds of facility-based delivery among 686 births in the period before the Ebola epidemic with the 212 births during the epidemic in a specific rural area. They found a 30 percent reduction in the odds of facility-based delivery during the Ebola outbreak.
"The district we surveyed had one Ebola cluster and its health facilities remained open, unlike in other parts of the country where the epidemic was more intense," Kraemer explains. "Given that, our results most likely underestimate the impact on facility births in high-burden areas where there were closures."
The drop appears to be correlated with fear, Kraemer says. The odds of facility-based delivery were 41 percent lower among women who reported a belief that Ebola was or may be transmitted in health facilities, but not significantly lower among women who reported believing that Ebola was not transmitted in health facilities.
"Prior to the Ebola epidemic, Liberia made big gains in the rate of babies being delivered at health facilities, which translates into healthier moms and babies." Kraemer says. "Maternal health, like almost all other health services in Liberia, was badly damaged by the epidemic. It is critical that we stay focused on rebuilding Liberia's health care system, which will require long-term investment."
"Building and maintaining stronger health systems will be critical to preventing future global public health emergencies," says John Ly, MD, co-lead author of the study and medical director at Last Mile Health. "Last Mile Health is supporting the Government of Liberia and the Ministry of Health to build a more robust health system, one that will ensure a well-trained and equipped health worker in even the most remote communities."
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About Georgetown University Medical Center
Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC's mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization, which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health. Connect with GUMC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say they have developed a system that uses transformed human stem cells to speed up screening of existing drugs that might work against rare brain and other cancers.
A report on their proof-of-concept work, published in the Aug. 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, describes experiments that transform human stem cells into an aggressive and rare form of pediatric brain cancer called medulloblastoma. Those cancer cells' genetic profiles can then be rapidly compared with hundreds of common, lab-grown human cancer cells already tested against existing drugs.
By creating a cell model of medulloblastoma from human cells rather than working with mouse cells, the researchers say they can be more confident that patients' response to the drugs identified in the screenings may be more comparable to humans, according to Eric Raabe, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a member of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.
Standard treatment for pediatric medulloblastoma, which strikes 500 children per year in the United States, combines radiation and chemotherapy, but a subtype known as Group 3 -- which makes up 28 percent of the cases -- tends to cause the most relapses in patients, and the survival rate is only 30 to 40 percent, says Raabe. "Overall, 70 to 80 percent of medulloblastoma patients treated with conventional radiation and drug therapy survive and are considered cured," he adds, "but many patients with the Group 3 subtype don't fare as well."
In recent years, one strategy scientists use to find new or better treatments is to look to databases of existing drugs that have been matched to the genetic profiles of lab-grown cells for common cancers. However, Raabe says, rare cancers and their subtypes are not well-represented in such databases, and creating such lab-grown cell lines directly from patients' tumors is difficult. Moreover, he adds, such tumor-derived cells sometimes acquire genetic changes that can vary from the original tumor.
For the study, the scientists used lentiviruses as a transport system to insert cancer-related genes common to Group 3 medulloblastomas in human neural stem cells. As the stem cells replicate, the cancer-linked genes transform the stem cells into cancer cells. The tumors then grown from these transformed cell lines "compare very well biologically to actual human medulloblastoma, and their gene expression profile fits with that of human tumor cells," Raabe notes.
Raabe and his colleagues then used RNA sampled from the new tumors to create a "signature" of gene expression that they could compare to similar signatures in three large databases of cell lines that have been screened and matched with existing drugs. "We wanted to find whether the cells we created matched any of these existing signatures," Raabe explains, "because if they did, then we would have some idea of what kinds of drugs are more or most likely to kill these cells. We didn't have to do the laborious screening to test 100,000 compounds against our own cells."
Using this method, the scientists zeroed in on a group of compounds called CDK inhibitors that may be promising treatments for Group3 medulloblastoma, Raabe says.
One of those drugs, palbociclib, is already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating a type of advanced breast cancer, Raabe says. When he and his colleagues added palbociclib to their transformed cell lines, they found that the drug decreased cell line growth by more than 50 percent and more than tripled cell death compared to untreated cells. The drug also extended the survival of mice implanted with tumors grown from established Group 3 human medulloblastoma cell lines by nearly 50 percent, from 25 to 37 days.
Raabe says that palbociclib and other such drugs, called cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, are being tested in phase I clinical trials in children with various brain tumors. "There is interest in testing these agents in more advanced studies specifically for recurrent medulloblastoma, potentially in combination with other new agents," he says.
Although it took several years to develop this model of Group 3 medulloblastoma and show its similarity to primary tumors, Raabe says, "This system may be one way to find drugs for rare cancers for which there are only a few human cell lines or to model very rare subtypes of adult and pediatric cancers."
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Other scientists who contributed to the research include Allison Hanaford, Antoinette Price and Charles Eberhart at Johns Hopkins; Tenley C Archer, Jong Wook Kim, Tobias Ehrenberger, Paul A. Clemons, Vlado Dancik, Brinton Seashore-Ludlow, Vasanthi Viswanathan, Michelle L Stewart, Matthew G. Rees, Alykhan Shamji, Stuart Schreiber, Ernest Fraenkel, Scott L. Pomeroy, Jill P. Mesirov, and Pablo Tamayo of the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard; Ulf D. Kahlert and Jarek Maciaczyk of Heinrich-Heine University Hospital Duesseldorf, Germany; and Guido Nikkhah of University Hospital Stuttgart, Germany.
Funding for the study was provided by the St. Baldrick's Foundation, Hyundai Hope on Wheels, Giant Food's Pediatric Cancer Research Fund, the Spencer Grace Foundation, the Deming Family, the Children's Brain Tumor Foundation, the National Cancer Institute (P30 CA006973, R01NS055089, U01CA176152), the National Institutes of Health (R01 CA154480, R01 109467, R01GM074024) and the Comprehensive Cancer Center Freiburg.
In Canada and the U.S., doctors are increasingly being encouraged to try to identify depression in children and adolescents - even if they do not have obvious indications of the disease. In order to do so, the physicians often use short questionnaires that ask about symptoms of depression. But, according to new research, there is insufficient evidence to show that any of these questionnaires accurately screen 6- to 18-year-olds for the disease. The researchers believe that this calls into question the use of these assessment tools for this group and raises worries about possible misdiagnosis of the disease in this age range.
"Our study shows that if depression screening were carried out using existing screening tools, many non-depressed children and adolescents would be mistakenly identified as depressed," says Brett Thombs, who is affiliated with the Jewish General Hospital's Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research and McGill University's Faculty of Medicine. He is the senior author on a study that was recently published on the subject in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.
Inadequate testing of screening tools
In order to assess the quality of the screening tools that are currently being used to identify depression in children or adolescents, the researchers carried out an exhaustive search of the medical evidence looking for studies that put the screening tools to the test. In the end, they were able to identify just 17 studies where the test results from the screening tools were compared with results from a diagnostic interview to determine if the children or adolescents in the study actually had depression.
Thombs and colleagues, including lead author Dr. Michelle Roseman, then assessed the methodology and results of these 17 studies. They found that most of the studies were too small to make a valid determination about the accuracy of the screening tools and that the methods of most studies fell short of expected standards. They also found that there was inadequate evidence to recommend any single cut-off score for any of the questionnaires. (Patients scoring above a pre-defined cut-off score are considered likely to be depressed, whereas patients below the cutoff are not.)
Roseman says, "There was not a single tool with even moderate evidence of sufficient accuracy to effectively identify depressed children and adolescents without also incorrectly picking up many non-depressed children and adolescents."
Depression screening for children and adolescents is controversial
Depression in children is a disabling condition associated with behavioral problems and poor school performance. But routine screening for the disease in this age group is controversial. In the United Kingdom and Canada it is not recommended. On the other hand, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recently recommended routine screening of adolescents between 13-18, but not of younger children, as part of regular medical care.
Thombs believes that given the inaccuracy of the tools currently being used, some children could end up mislabeled as depressed. "This could lead to the unnecessary prescription of potentially harmful psychiatric medications and negative messages about the mental health of some children who do not have mental health disorders." Moreover, a potentially massive amount of resources would be needed to sort out which children may really be depressed. Research suggests relatively few would meet the criteria. "These resources would then not be available to provide treatment to large numbers of children and adolescents who are known to have severe mental health problems, but who do not receive adequate care."
The researchers say that to properly assess the accuracy of depression screening tools in children, large, well-designed studies that present results across a range of cut-off scores are needed.
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This research was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Arthritis Society, the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada, and a Murray R. Stalker Primary Care Research Bursary.
"Accuracy of Depression Screening Tools to Detect Major Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review," M. Roseman, L. Kloda, N. Saadat, K. Riehm, A. Ickowicz, F. Baltzer, L. Katz, S. Patten, C. Rousseau, B. Thombs, Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, May, 2016, DOI: 10.1177/0706743716651833
Contact: Prof. Brett Thombs, Jewish General Hospital and McGill Faculty of Medicine, brett.thombs@mcgill.ca
Katherine Gombay, McGill Media Relations Office/ Relations avec les medias
katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 514-398-2189
http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/
http://twitter.com/McGilluMedia
Haptics researchers have long known that applying ultrasonic vibrations to a flat, featureless glass plate makes it feel slippery. But they have also long debated why this occurs.
Northwestern University's J. Edward Colgate and his team have finally put the debate -- and mystery -- to rest. They discovered that the vibrations reduce friction by causing the fingertip to bounce on pockets of trapped air.
"Understanding this underlying reason is extremely useful," said Colgate, professor of mechanical engineering and Allen K. and Johnnie Cordell Breed Senior Professor in Design at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering. "This information will help us engineer more sophisticated devices that not only vary friction but do other things, such as exert forces on the finger."
Supported by the National Science Foundation, the research was published on August 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Michael Wiertlewski, a former postdoctoral fellow in Colgate's laboratory and research scientist at Aix-Marseille Universite in France, was first author of the paper. Rebecca Fenton Friesen, a PhD student in Colgate's laboratory, also contributed to the work.
A haptics technology pioneer, Colgate aims to redefine the way users interact with their touchscreens. With long-time collaborator Michael Peshkin, professor of mechanical engineering at Northwestern, Colgate and his team created the TPad phone, a standard smartphone nestled in a case that enables physical textures to be communicated through the screen. Ultrasonic vibrations in the glass modulate the friction between it and the finger, causing the screen to feel sticky, slippery, bumpy, or wavy.
The lack of understanding of the underlying mechanism that makes the screen feel slippery posed a barrier to furthering the research. Earlier studies showed that when objects, such as metal discs, were placed on a vibrating screen, they floated above it. But haptics researchers were hesitant to apply these findings to a finger.
"Fingers are different than what has been used in other studies," Colgate said. "They're not hard or rigid, and they're rough because of the fingerprint and build up of dead skin cells. We've been trying to understand this phenomenon for a number of years, but the kind of instruments we needed weren't available."
Wiertlewski overcame this hurdle by building an apparatus to image the finger as it experiences the ultrasonic vibrations. He built a novel fingerprint imager -- a high-tech cousin of the kinds used in security -- and connected it to a TPad. This allowed the research team to see through the transparent screen of the TPad to watch the finger fast enough to make measurements of the distance between the screen and finger at the time scale of the ultrasonic vibration.
"We saw the skin moving -- a lot," Colgate said. "It's vibrating with almost as much amplitude as the TPad itself, but it's happening too fast to feel it."
The finger bounces so quickly, in fact, that the air trapped between it and the screen has no time to escape. Instead, the air compresses and acts like a spring. The vibrations push the finger up into the air, and as the finger comes back down, it falls onto a cushion of air instead of the screen. The process reduces friction and emulates the feeling of slipperiness.
"We saw other types of objects floating," Colgate said. "By no means is the finger floating. It's bouncing."
Colgate believes that having this information will help his team pursue one of haptics' biggest challenges: using vibrations to push a bare finger. This effect could be used, for example, to push the fingers to align them over a keyboard, which could be useful for people who are blind, have low vision, or are in situations where they cannot use their eyes, such as when driving or in the dark. While Colgate's team has achieved this effect in the laboratory, the force has not been as strong as they would like. They know why -- the screen cannot effectively grab the fingers when the vibrations have reduced friction.
"Almost anything you do on a touchscreen could be influenced by this finding," Colgate said. "We can do more interesting things with the TPad and develop future technologies."
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Men diagnosed with prostate cancer can be provided with a more accurate estimate of their risk of death from the disease, and treatment planned accordingly, according to a Research Article published by Vincent J. Gnanapragasam, of the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK and colleagues in PLOS Medicine.
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting men, and the risk of disease progression and death is very variable when the disease is diagnosed while it is localized to the prostate gland. Providing as accurate an estimate as possible of the individual risk is important in planning appropriate treatment, which could range from surgery to management by regular observation, as well as in providing advice and support to patients.
Based on data from more than 10,000 UK men with prostate cancer, Gnanapragasam and colleagues developed a scheme in which men were grouped into 5 strata with different levels of risk of prostate cancer death, based on straightforward, routinely available, clinical measurements such as prostate specific antigen (PSA) level, disease stage, and tumor grade as judged by biopsy. In two large groups of men with prostate cancer analyzed separately, this scheme performed better in predicting the risk of cancer death compared to the current 3 risk strata system endorsed by most national and international guidelines.
The authors noted that, because their study was limited by reliance on cancer registry records and by relatively short duration of follow-up (median 6.9 years), further validation in independent additional cohorts is needed.
In an accompanying Perspective article, Sigrid V. Carlsson and Michael W. Kattan, respectively of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA and Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA, discuss the importance of accurate risk estimation in prostate cancer to guide decision making by doctors and their patients.
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Research Article
Funding:
There was no specific funding for this project. The Northern Ireland Cancer Registry is funded by the Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland.
Competing Interests:
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation:
Gnanapragasam VJ, Lophatananon A, Wright KA, Muir KR, Gavin A, Greenberg DC (2016) Improving Clinical Risk Stratification at Diagnosis in Primary Prostate Cancer: A Prognostic Modelling Study. PLoS Med 13(8): e1002063. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002063
Author Affiliations:
Academic Urology Group, Department of Surgery, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Institute of Population Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
Division of Health Sciences, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
National Cancer Registration Service Eastern Office, Public Health England, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER: http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002063
Contact:
Vincent J. Gnanapragasam
University Lecturer
University of Cambridge
Academic Urology Group
Cambridge Biomedical Research Campus
Hills Road
Cambridge, CB2 0QQ
UNITED KINGDOM
01223274316
vjg29@cam.ac.uk
Perspective Article
Funding:
SVC's work on this paper was supported in part by a Cancer Center Support Grant from the National Cancer Institute made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (P30-CA008748). SVC is also supported by a post-doctoral grant from AFA Insurance.
Competing Interests:
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation:
Carlsson SV, Kattan MW (2016) On Risk Estimation versus Risk Stratification in Early Prostate Cancer. PLoS Med 13(8): e1002100. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002100
Author Affiliations:
Department of Surgery and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, United States of America
Department of Urology, Sahlgrenska Academy at Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden
Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1002100
A major revision is required in our understanding of our Milky Way Galaxy according to an international team led by Prof Noriyuki Matsunaga of the University of Tokyo. The Japanese, South African and Italian astronomers find that there is a huge region around the centre of our own Galaxy, which is devoid of young stars. The team publish their work in a paper in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy containing many billions of stars with our Sun about 26,000 light years from its centre. Measuring the distribution of these stars is crucial to our understanding of how our Galaxy formed and evolved. Pulsating stars called Cepheids are ideal for this. They are much younger (between 10 and 300 million years old) than our Sun (4.6 billion years old) and they pulsate in brightness in a regular cycle. The length of this cycle is related to the luminosity of the Cepheid, so if astronomers monitor them they can establish how bright the star really is, compare it with what we see from Earth, and work out its distance.
Despite this, finding Cepheids in the inner Milky Way is difficult, as the Galaxy is full of interstellar dust which blocks out light and hides many stars from view. Matsunaga's team compensated for this, with an analysis of near-infrared observations made with a Japanese-South African telescope located at Sutherland, South Africa. To their surprise they found hardly any Cepheids in a huge region stretching for thousands of light years from the core of the Galaxy.
Noriyuki Matsunaga explains: "We already found some while ago that there are Cepheids in the central heart of our Milky Way (in a region about 150 light years in radius). Now we find that outside this there is a huge Cepheid desert extending out to 8000 light years from the centre."
This suggests that a large part of our Galaxy, called the Extreme Inner Disk, has no young stars. Co-author Michael Feast notes: "Our conclusions are contrary to other recent work, but in line with the work of radio astronomers who see no new stars being born in this desert."
Another author, Giuseppe Bono, points out: "The current results indicate that there has been no significant star formation in this large region over hundreds of millions years. The movement and the chemical composition of the new Cepheids are helping us to better understand the formation and evolution of the Milky Way."
Cepheids have more typically been used to measure the distances of objects in the distant Universe, and the new work is an example instead of the same technique revealing the structure of our own Milky Way.
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Media contacts
Ms Kanako Takeda
The University of Tokyo
Japan
kouhou.s@gs.mail.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Thami Nkwanyane
University of Cape Town
Tel: +27 21 650 5672
thami.nkwanyane@uct.ac.za
Thembela Mantungwa
South African Astronomical Observatory
Tel: +27 21 460 9319
tm@saao.ac.za
Science contacts
Prof Noriyuki Matsunaga
The University of Tokyo
Japan
matsunaga@astron.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Prof Michael Feast
University of Cape Town and
South African Astronomical Observatory
Tel: +27 21 650 2396
mwf@ast.uct.ac.za
Prof Giuseppe Bono
University of Rome Tor Vergata
Italy
bono@roma2.infn.it
Prof Marco Galliani
INAF
Italy
marco.galliani@inaf.it
Prof Marco Malaspina
INAF
Italy
marco.malaspina@inaf.it
Images and captions
https://www.ras.org.uk/images/stories/press/MilkyWay/fig11.jpg
An artist's illustration of the Milky Way, the Galaxy we live in, with the locations of the newly discovered Cepheid stars marked by the yellow points. The previously known objects, located around the Sun (marked by a red cross), are indicated by small white dots. The central green circle around the core of the galaxy marks the location of the 'Cepheid desert'. Credit: The University of Tokyo
https://www.ras.org.uk/images/stories/press/MilkyWay/fig3b.jpg
An artist's impression of the implied distribution of young stars, represented here by Cepheids shown as red or blue points plotted on the background of a drawing of the Milky Way. With the exception of a small clump in the Galactic centre, the central 8000 light years appear to have very few Cepheids, and hence very few young stars. Credit: The University of Tokyo
Further information
The new work appears in A lack of classical Cepheids in the inner part of the Galactic disc, N. Matsunaga, M. Feast, G. Bono, N. Kobayashi, L. Inno, T. Nagayama, S. Nishiyama, Y. Matsuoka and T. Nagata, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Oxford University Press, in press.
After the embargo expires, a copy of the paper will be available for free download from http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/doi/10.1093/mnras/stw1548
A preprint of the paper is available from http://arxiv.org/abs/1606.07943
Notes for editors
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS, http://www.ras.org.uk), founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. The RAS organizes scientific meetings, publishes international research and review journals, recognizes outstanding achievements by the award of medals and prizes, maintains an extensive library, supports education through grants and outreach activities and represents UK astronomy nationally and internationally. Its more than 4000 members (Fellows), a third based overseas, include scientific researchers in universities, observatories and laboratories as well as historians of astronomy and others.
The RAS accepts papers for its journals based on the principle of peer review, in which fellow experts on the editorial boards accept the paper as worth considering. The Society issues press releases based on a similar principle, but the organisations and scientists concerned have overall responsibility for their content.
Follow the RAS on Twitter via @royalastrosoc
Among patients recently hospitalized with heart failure and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF; a measure of heart function), the use of the drug liraglutide did not lead to greater post-hospitalization clinical stability, according to a study appearing in the August 2 issue of JAMA.
Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization in the United States with more than 4 million admissions per year from 2003-2009. Abnormal cardiac metabolism contributes to the pathophysiology of advanced heart failure with reduced LVEF. A class of drugs, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonists have shown cardioprotective effects in early clinical studies of patients with advanced heart failure.
Kenneth B. Margulies, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and colleagues randomly assigned patients with established heart failure and reduced LVEF who were recently hospitalized to the GLP-1 agonist liraglutide (n = 154) or placebo (n = 146) via a daily subcutaneous injection; study drug was advanced to a dosage of 1.8 mg/d during the first 30 days as tolerated and continued for 180 days. The primary outcome for the study was a score in which all patients, regardless of treatment assignment, were ranked across 3 hierarchical tiers: time to death, time to rehospitalization for heart failure, and time-averaged proportional change in N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide level from study entry to 180 days. Higher values indicate better health (stability).
Among the 300 patients who were randomized, 271 completed the study. Compared with placebo, liraglutide had no significant effect on the primary end point. There were no significant between-group differences in the number of deaths (12 percent in the liraglutide group vs 11 percent in the placebo group) or rehospitalizations for heart failure (41 percent vs 34 percent) or for the exploratory secondary end points (primary end point components, cardiac structure and function, 6-minute walk distance, quality of life, and combined events). Prespecified subgroup analyses in patients with diabetes did not reveal any significant between-group differences.
"The GLP-1 agonist liraglutide did not improve posthospitalization clinical stability in patients with advanced heart failure and reduced LVEF despite prior studies indicating that GLP-1 therapy might ameliorate mechanisms of myocardial insulin resistance reported in patients with severe cardiomyopathies," the authors write.
"These findings do not support the use of liraglutide in this clinical situation."
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(doi:10.1001/jama.2016.10260; the study is available pre-embargo at the For the Media website)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Media Advisory: To contact Kenneth B. Margulies, M.D., call Abbey Anderson at 215-349-8369 or email abbey.anderson@uphs.upenn.edu.
To place an electronic embedded link to this study in your story This link will be live at the embargo time: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jama.2016.10260
In a study appearing in the August 2 issue of JAMA, David M. Levine, M.D., M.A., of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, and colleagues examined trends in seniors' use of digital health technology in the U.S. from 2011-2014.
The sickest, most expensive, and fastest growing segment of the U.S. population are seniors 65 years and older. Digital health technology has been advocated as a solution to improve health care quality, cost, and safety. However, little is known about digital health use among seniors. For this study, the researchers analyzed results from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), a nationally representative survey of community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries 65 years and older. Each year, NHATS asks the same respondents about every day (nonhealth) technology use and 4 digital health modalities: use of the internet to fill prescriptions, contact a clinician, address insurance matters, and research health conditions. This study included participants in 2011 who were followed yearly until 2014.
In 2011, the average age of the 7,609 participants was 75 years; 57 percent were women. Although 76 percent of seniors used cell phones and 64 percent computers, fewer used internet (43 percent) and email and texting (40 percent). Less than 20 percent used internet banking, internet shopping, social network sites (2013 data), and tablets (2013 data). Fewer seniors used digital health technology: 16 percent obtained health information, 8 percent filled prescriptions, 7 percent contacted clinicians, and 5 percent handled insurance online. In 2011, variables associated with less use of any digital health were older age; black, Latino, and other race/ethnicity; divorce; and poor health. By 2014, although cell phone and computer use were stable, small statistically significant increases were noted in other every day technologies. Use of 3 of 4 digital health technologies increased. The proportion of seniors who used any digital health increased from 21 percent in 2011 to 25 percent in 2014.
"Digital health is not reaching most seniors and is associated with socioeconomic disparities, raising concern about its ability to improve quality, cost, and safety of their health care. Future innovations should focus on usability, adherence, and scalability to improve the reach and effectiveness of digital health for seniors," the authors write.
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(doi:10.1001/jama.2016.9124; the study is available pre-embargo at the For the Media website)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Media Advisory: To contact David M. Levine, M.D., M.A., call Lori Schroth at 617-525-6374 or email Ljschroth@partners.org.
To place an electronic embedded link to this study in your story This link for the study will be live at the embargo time: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jama.2016.9124
Early use of vasopressin to treat septic shock did not improve the number of kidney failure-free days compared with norepinephrine, according to a study appearing in the August 2 issue of JAMA.
In 2015, it was estimated that there were more than 230,000 cases of septic shock, with more than 40,000 deaths in the United States each year. Norepinephrine is currently recommended as the first-line vasopressor (an agent that produces vasoconstriction and a rise in blood pressure) in septic shock; however, early vasopressin use has been proposed as an alternative.
Anthony C. Gordon, M.D., of Imperial College London, and colleagues randomly assigned patients who had septic shock requiring vasopressors despite fluid resuscitation within a maximum of 6 hours after the onset of shock to vasopressin and hydrocortisone (n = 101), vasopressin and placebo (n = 104), norepinephrine and hydrocortisone (n = 101), or norepinephrine and placebo (n = 103). The primary outcome was kidney failure-free days during the 28-day period after randomization, measured as (1) the proportion of patients who never developed kidney failure and (2) median number of days alive and free of kidney failure for patients who did not survive, who experienced kidney failure, or both. The trial was conducted at 18 intensive care units in the U.K.
A total of 409 patients (median age, 66 years) were included in the study, with a median time to study drug administration of 3.5 hours after diagnosis of shock. The number of survivors who never developed kidney failure was 94 of 165 patients (57 percent) in the vasopressin group and 93 of 157 patients (59 percent) in the norepinephrine group. The median number of kidney failure-free days for patients who did not survive, who experienced kidney failure, or both was 9 days in the vasopressin group and 13 days in the norepinephrine group.
There was less use of renal replacement therapy in the vasopressin group than in the norepinephrine group. There was no significant difference in mortality rates between groups. In total, 11 percent of patients had a serious adverse event in the vasopressin group vs 8 percent in the norepinephrine group.
"Among adults with septic shock, the early use of vasopressin compared with norepinephrine did not improve the number of kidney failure-free days. Although these findings do not support the use of vasopressin to replace norepinephrine as initial treatment in this situation, the confidence interval included a potential clinically important benefit for vasopressin, and larger trials may be warranted to assess this further," the authors write.
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(doi:10.1001/jama.2016.10485; the study is available pre-embargo at the For the Media website)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Media Advisory: To contact co-author Stephen J. Brett, M.D., email stephen.brett@imperial.ac.uk.
To place an electronic embedded link to this study in your story This link for the study will be live at the embargo time: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jama.2016.10485
PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Aug. 2, 2016 -- Valley Fever, a potentially deadly dust-borne fungal disease, should be easier to diagnose and treat thanks to a testing technology developed by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Northern Arizona University (NAU), and now protected by a patent issued today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
TGen and NAU have exclusively licensed this technology to DxNA LLC, a company based in St. George, Utah, which plans to make this Valley Fever Test commercially available to hospitals and clinics upon completion of FDA clinical trials and a subsequent FDA 510(k) submission for review and clearance later this year.
Valley Fever is endemic to Phoenix and Tucson, but also is spreading throughout the arid regions of North and South America. It is an infection caused by the microscopic fungus Coccidioides, a pathogen that lives in desert soils and typically enters the body through the lungs. An estimated 150,000 Americans are infected annually by Valley Fever, and as many as 500 die each year.
"Currently, there is no definitive test for Valley Fever. Our new rapid, 1-hour, genetic-based test will provide physicians and patients with a precise diagnosis, enabling prompt treatment and preventing this disease from becoming more serious," said Dr. Paul Keim, Director of TGen's Pathogen Genomics Division, or TGen North, based in Flagstaff.
"For the past decade, TGen has worked to develop better tools and technology to address Valley Fever, and we think it is critical to be able to apply our cutting-edge science to problems in our own backyard," said Dr. Keim, who also is the Cowden Endowed Chair of Microbiology at NAU, and Director of NAU's Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics (MGGen).
Valley Fever most commonly causes a progressive lung infection, but can also spread to other parts of the body, including the skin, bone, brain and the rest of the nervous system.
Nearly 60 percent of those infected by Valley Fever -- including other vertebrates, and especially dogs -- develop no significant symptoms. However, some patients develop highly debilitating symptoms, such as cough, fever and fatigue. These symptoms are similar to other respiratory diseases caused by bacteria or virus, and often lead to delayed diagnoses and inappropriate treatment. Very severe Valley Fever can require lifelong treatment with antifungal drugs, and even result in death.
This new genetic-based test can precisely identify both strains of Valley Fever: Coccidioides posadasii, found in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and much of Latin America, and Coccidioides immitus, which is found in California, Washington and Baja Mexico.
Most infections occur in central and southern Arizona. Each year on average, there are an estimated 150,000 cases in Arizona, resulting in more than 1,700 hospitalizations at a cost of more than $86 million.
"These high costs are driven to a significant degree by the high level of misdiagnosis, resulting in an average time to diagnosis of 5 months from when a patient first seeks care," said David Taus, CEO of DxNA LLC. "Our test provides definitive results in 60 minutes, dramatically improving the diagnosis of the disease over current methodologies, both in terms of time and accuracy."
The intellectual property used in DxNA's Valley Fever Test is exclusive to DxNA LLC, and covers both human and veterinary applications, Taus said.
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About TGen
Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life changing results. TGen is focused on helping patients with neurological disorders, cancer, and diabetes, through cutting edge translational research (the process of rapidly moving research towards patient benefit). TGen physicians and scientists work to unravel the genetic components of both common and rare complex diseases in adults and children. Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical communities literally worldwide, TGen makes a substantial contribution to help our patients through efficiency and effectiveness of the translational process. For more information, visit: http://www.tgen.org. Follow TGen on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @TGen.
Media Contact:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
syozwiak@tgen.org
About DxNA LLC?
DxNA is a privately held company located in St. George Utah. It is a molecular diagnostics company that develops and distributes portable, fully-integrated systems and tests for infectious disease in the medical, agricultural, food safety, and biosecurity markets. The Company's systems and technologies enable rapid and precise molecular testing to take place on-site by allowing for otherwise complex laboratory procedures to be performed almost anywhere. DxNA's patented GeneSTAT portable Real Time PCR molecular diagnostic testing system will allow individuals with minimal training to conduct accurate real-time diagnostic testing in virtually any location including laboratories, clinics, physician offices, emergency rooms or field settings. Designed with economy in mind, GeneSTAT is inherently less costly than the real time PCR systems typical of clinical laboratories.
About Northern Arizona University
Northern Arizona University is a high-research university with a statewide enrollment of 28,000 students. More than 20,000 students attend the Flagstaff campus, with 8,000 students enrolled online and at Extended Campus sites statewide. Research in genetics, forestry and ecology has drawn international recognition to the university, which also is highly regarded for its education, business and engineering programs. NAU launched competency-based Personalized Learning in 2013, the first self-paced, online education program that cuts the cost and time to an undergraduate degree.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- In early 2014, months before the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and shortly after the Black Lives Matter movement got its start, Michael Schlosser, the director of the Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois, began offering police recruits classes that challenged their views about race and racism, introduced them to critical race theory and instructed them in methods to de-escalate potentially volatile encounters with members of minority groups.
The Police Training Institute trains police recruits from about 500 police departments in the state of Illinois. Rather than adopting a military approach to training, PTI uses an adult-learning model, encouraging interactive learning and integrating scenario-based role playing into every aspect of training.
The Policing in a Multiracial Society Project, an optional 10-hour class to which many Illinois police chiefs elect to send their recruits, exposes new officers to ideas they may never have encountered before. It asks them to ponder, for example, their own and others' innate racial biases, and offers evidence of the harm that can accrue from the notion that someone can be blind to another person's race, or that racism is no longer a meaningful factor in many people's lives.
Schlosser and his colleagues describe the course in a paper in the International Journal of Criminal Justice. (Watch a video about the training.)
Schlosser designed the course Sundiata Cha-Jua, a U. of I. professor of African American studies and of history; Helen Neville, a professor of African American studies and of educational psychology; community member Imani Bazzell; and student Maria Valgoi. He and his colleagues are studying whether the training meaningfully alters racial awareness in a mostly white, mostly male police force.
That evaluation involves questions from the Colorblind Racial Attitudes Scale, a tool developed by Neville. The CoBRAS questionnaire assesses a respondent's tendency to acknowledge - or dismiss - racial bias in their own lives and in society in general, Neville said.
Another study co-authored by Schlosser and published in the journal Race and Social Problems, found that police recruits are more likely than others to subscribe to colorblind racial beliefs - the notion that they, and people in general, see no differences among people from different racial groups and treat everyone the same.
"Although some people think it's good not to 'see race,' findings using the CoBRAS and similar scales suggest that to deny, distort or minimize the existence of racism is related to greater racial intolerance and old-fashioned racist beliefs," Neville said.
Other research has demonstrated that police racial attitudes are pliable. Perhaps the most compelling example is a 2012 study of New York City police officers who took a semester-long ethnic studies course. The researchers found that, on average, white police officers' colorblind racial attitudes had shifted meaningfully by the end of the class. Their CoBRAS scores moved closer to those of minority officers, who, not surprisingly, were less likely to subscribe to colorblind racial beliefs in the first place.
Schlosser is trying to improve upon that outcome. The free, optional training available at the PTI adds 10 hours to the police recruits' 12-week training.
"A typical police recruit is between 22 and 26 years old. And even though that's young, that's a lot of life experiences which have created your thought process, your social identity and what you think of life in general," Schlosser said. "And to say that we can change that in 12 weeks, it's tough."
As a white, retired police officer who spent 20 years on the force of a small, but diverse, Illinois town, Schlosser is an outlier in the police-training world. For reasons he can't entirely explain, he has an abiding interest in police relations with minority communities. While pursuing a Ph.D. in education at Illinois, for example, he chose courses that fell outside the norm for a white police administrator.
"I took classes in critical race theory, the sociology of racism - any class having to do with understanding critical issues involving race in our country," he said.
Schlosser's dissertation involved testing whether colorblind racial attitudes in police recruits could be altered through targeted training. That initial effort failed to make an immediate difference in their attitudes, as measured by the CoBRAS test before and after the training.
Since then, Schlosser and his colleagues have adjusted the training program, giving recruits more time to share their ideas and attitudes about race and policing; bringing in African-American and other speakers who were arrested, convicted and jailed for crimes they didn't commit; and role-playing with an experienced team of trainers (many of them African-American) who walk young recruits through a variety of potentially volatile scenarios, many of which include a racial component.
Roughly 75 percent of the more than 500 police chiefs who send their recruits to the PTI now elect to include the new training.
The team is gathering data on the new training regimen, evaluating recruits before and afterward to see if this approach has more success.
Brown's death, followed by numerous tragic deaths of unarmed black men, women and children in interactions with police, alerted much of the nation to a problem that minority communities have complained about for generations, Schlosser said.
"Some police officers - and, as found in the investigation that led to the Ferguson report, whole departments - are unfairly targeting people in minority communities and using disproportionate force against them," he said.
"The fallout from Ferguson and the incidents that followed was when everything started, with the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing," he said. "And as bad as that was, the first thing that came to my mind was, I bet some people will be listening to me now."
Schlosser said most police officers never fire their guns or harm anyone in the course of performing their duties.
"The Department of Justice Bureau of Statistics determined that in 98 percent of police interactions, there's no force used. And the odds of you shooting somebody as a police officer is 0.03 percent," he said.
"Unfortunately, there are situations where police officers must use force - at times deadly force - against a resisting subject when they themselves or others are in imminent jeopardy of death or great bodily harm. But I wonder how much race comes into play - not only in these situations, but also in everyday interactions with racial minorities. We hope to minimize - through training - the influence of racial bias in police decision-making."
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Editor's notes:
To reach Michael Schlosser, call 217-333-2337; email schlossr@illinois.edu.
To reach Helen Neville, call 217-244-6291; email hneville@illinois.edu.
The paper "Improving Policing in a Multiracial Society in the United States: A New Approach" is available online and from the U. of I. News Bureau. [LINK to email: diya@illinois.edu]
The paper "Police Endorse Colorblind Racial Beliefs More Than Laypersons" is available online or from the U. of I. News Bureau.
COLUMBIA, Mo. -Experts are concerned that college students are making ill-informed student loan decisions with potentially negative consequences to themselves and the economy. As a result, universities are trying to 'think outside the box' to find ways to reduce undergraduate borrowing and help assist students in making better financial choices. At the University of Missouri, initiatives within the financial aid office, backed by new research from the Truman School of Public Affairs, are showing that establishing relationships, more than merely providing information, is important when helping students make better financial decisions.
"Financial aid experts have long been trying to determine the best interventions to help students better understand their debt and change borrowing behaviors," said Nick Prewett, director of MU's Financial Aid office. "Research from the Truman School of Public Affairs shows information alone is not sufficient to change borrowing behaviors. To be successful, our office focuses on building personal relationships with students through one-on-one counseling and outreach."
Prewett points to the "proactive" philosophy of the MU Financial Aid office as an explanation of why MU's average debt load of $21,000 is less than the national average debt of $30,000. One intervention being used is the practice of sending debt letters to all student borrowers; these letters include information about debt accrued, estimated monthly payment and remaining borrowing eligibility.
Rajeev Darolia, assistant professor of public affairs, partnered with the MU Financial Aid office to test the role information from a debt letter plays in borrowing decisions. Using financial aid records, the experiment identified non-graduating undergraduate students who had obtained student loans during their time at MU. Half of the group were randomly assigned to receive the official letter, while the other half did not.
Darolia found that the letter, in isolation, did not have an overall effect on borrowing. While there was no difference in borrowing, one important outcome was noted--students who received the letter came to the financial aid office at a much higher rate than those who did not.
"Results from the study indicate that information alone, without other supports, is likely not enough to systematically change financial aid decisions," Darolia said. "What is also needed is the ability to sit down with somebody and really go into detail about the implications of student loans and have that information available in many different ways."
In addition to sending debt letters, which are now distributed to all MU students with student loans, MU's Financial Aid office also:
Calls students who are at risk of borrowing an excessive amount;
Assigns a specific counselor for every MU student;
Communicates with students and parents via social media about student loans, work study opportunities and scholarships; Connects students with one-on-one exit counseling provided by the Mizzou Office for Financial Success
Darolia's paper "An Experiment on Information Use in College Student Loan Decisions," recently was published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Research Department. Darolia is a visiting scholar for the payment cards center at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
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Editor's note: A step-by-step checklist is one example of how the MU Financial aid office works with students to help them understand their student loans.
It's assumed that family and friends will help out in the event of a medical crisis, but that's not always feasible. And when stroke survivors need more than 20 hours of care per week, as a study in the August edition of Stroke shows, it's a large burden for their loved ones.
More than half of elderly stroke survivors receive help from a caregiver, requiring 22.3 hours of assistance per week on average. That's nearly double what elderly patients who have not had a stroke require, at an average of 11.8 hours of help.
A group of University of Michigan researchers found the need for care translates to about $11,000 per stroke survivor per week, for an annual estimate of around $40 billion in costs to care for elderly stroke survivors.
"Previous studies underestimated the caregiving resources that are used, and we expect the cost of caregiving will only increase as baby boomers age," said first author Lesli Skolarus, M.D., M.S., a neurologist with the U-M Comprehensive Stroke Center.
Caregivers could include unpaid, like family and friends, along with paid caregivers, as about one-third of stroke survivors with informal care also receive paid care. Activities included in the estimate are accompanying the patient to physician appointments, cooking, cleaning, helping the patient eat, bathe and dress and helping with money matters and insurance decisions.
Using data from a national survey of Medicare beneficiaries, the team compared 892 elderly self-reported stroke survivors to 892 non-stroke controls, accounting for demographics and other health conditions, like hypertension, coronary heart disease or dementia.
The researchers determined more than half of elderly stroke survivors receive help from a caregiver, requiring 22.3 hours of assistance per week on average. That's nearly double what elderly patients who have not had a stroke require, at an average of 11.8 hours of help.
"Stroke survivors need a caregiver to spend the equivalent of half of a full-time job each week to help them," said senior author James Burke, M.D., M.S., a neurologist with U-M's Comprehensive Stroke Center and the Ann Arbor Department of Veterans Affairs. "Caregiving is an especially big burden in patients with neurological conditions."
Skolarus added, "We need to plan for other mechanisms to support caregivers and survivors. Hopefully planning now will reduce the future burden."
The team first presented the research at the International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles.
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Additional authors: Vicki Freedman, Ph.D., U-M Institute for Social Research; Chunyung Feng, Ph.D., of the U-M's Comprehensive Stroke Center and Jeffrey Wing, Ph.D., MPH, of Public Health at Grand Valley State University.
Funding: National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (R01 MD008879), National Institute of Health's National Institute of Aging (U01AG032947), NIH/NINDS K23 NS073685 (Skolarus), NIH/NINDS K08NS082597 (Burke)
Disclosure: Bracket Global (Skolarus, consultant)
Reference: "Care Received by Elderly US Stroke Survivors May Be Underestimated," Stroke, August 2016.
doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.012704
A pilot study opens a window on a biological mechanism for health benefits of urban greenery and on the methodology to expand research efforts
EUGENE, Ore. -- Aug. 2, 2016 -- New research finds that airborne bacterial communities differ from one urban park to the next but those of parking lots are alike -- and differ from those of parks in subtle but potentially important ways.
At a glance, such findings seem intuitive. Parks often have different vegetation in them, and asphalt-covered parking lots are much the same -- barren asphalt bombarded by solar radiation as well as heavy metals and fuel from motor vehicles.
The importance, according to University of Oregon researchers, is that this pilot study describes not only the differences in microbial communities but also how far from a park the influence may extend.
Recent studies suggest that the composition of the bacterial communities may be important to human health -- and not in the ways you think, says Gwynne Mhuireach, a doctoral student in landscape architecture who led the new study that is online ahead of print in the journal Science of the Total Environment. There is a reason, she says, to believe that healthy air depends not just on the absence of bad things like pollutants, but the presence of good things such as bacteria with which humans have co-evolved.
"We're starting to build larger and more complex cities," Mhuireach said. "I am interested in ways to help maintain people's health and happiness as we do so. Some studies say that as we are building these denser cities we are losing green space. I am looking for mechanisms that explain why vegetation helps people and how we can design for it."
In the study, the researchers simultaneously collected six air samples over an eight-hour period at five parks and five parking lots in Eugene. The locations were free of tall trees that block air movement to constrain microbial differences due to air circulation -- another role vegetation may play. The idea, Mhuireach said, was to first discover whether vegetation was a significant source of microbes for nearby areas.
Microbial samples were gathered using three petri dishes and three vacuum-pump-driven units -- all placed 2 meters (6 feet) above the ground at each site. Researchers collected 5.8 million DNA sequences representing 16,633 operational taxonomic units from 40 unique bacterial phyla.
Subsequent DNA analyses found that Sphingomonas, commonly found in soil and on plant surfaces, accounted for one fourth of bacteria collected. Also abundant were Hymenobacter, Pedobacter, Agrobacterium and Rhodococcus, all soil-associated species. The samples were collected during the harvesting season of the grass-seed industry north of Eugene, when prevailing winds likely blew associated microbes into the sites, researchers noted.
Parking lots tended to be more similar to each other, with a prevalence of Acetobacteraceae, while parks had unique bacterial fingerprints likely reflecting vegetation types in and near each park.
The findings provide evidence of how differences in vegetation in an urban area influence airborne microbial communities at fine spatial scales, said co-author Bart Johnson, a professor of landscape architecture. The study, he said, provides a path to future studies that should help guide landscape design in cities where growing populations are driving denser living spaces.
While the specifics of how plant-associated microbes affect human health, and whether microbes contribute to the well-documented benefits of urban parks for people are unknown, the researchers suggest that "provisioning urban residents with green space within 400 meters (about 1,300 feet) of their homes" would make it more likely that they are exposed to the "park-like microbiome."
"There have been studies that compared the health of children who grow up on farms versus cities," Johnson said. "They've concluded that the lower incidence of allergies in children from farms was related to different microbial exposures, but there has been little work to examine whether there is enough microbial variation at the fine spatial scales of a park, a street or a block to potentially influence the health of children in cities.
"Do children and adults with greater exposure to vegetation receive increased health benefits because of the associated microbes? We don't know, but this study points to some promising new directions of inquiry," he said.
Equally important, the researchers documented that the simple use of petri dishes, a passive data-collection approach, successfully captured airborne microbial samples comparable to the more-expensive use of vacuum-powered equipment at the study sites.
"We just let air out of the sky settle into petri dishes and found that we can use this method in future projects because we found similar composition and diversity of microbes using both methods," Mhuireach said.
Mhuireach's research, Johnson said, creatively combines methodologies from biology, architecture and landscape architecture. It is reminiscent, he said, of Dr. John Snow's mapping of cholera outbreaks in the 1850s. Snow's work provided a scientific understanding of how the disease was spread by waterborne bacteria rather than by "bad vapors," and it coincided with the efforts of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to incorporate nature into urban park designs to improve human well-being.
"Olmtead was dealing with invisible things -- then unknown -- that influenced people's health," Johnson said. "This new research is pointing to a biological mechanism behind Olmstead's ideas."
Mhuireach, who grew up on a farm, said she has been curious about health differences between people who grew up in rural and urban areas. She and her co-authors noted that while overall health has improved with technological progress and lifestyle changes, researchers have found that the shift away from childhood exposures to natural environments is associated with later-life inflammatory response problems such as allergies and asthma.
"As the research advances," she said, "we will be looking at vegetation around homes and neighborhoods where people live to start answering the big questions: Why does green space improve people's well-being? Are there physiological as well as psychological mechanisms? Are there beneficial microbes that we should be exposed to on a daily basis?"
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Co-authors were Adam E. Altrichter, Joshua Ladau, James F. Meadow, and Jessica L. Green, all of the UO when the project began, and Katherine S. Pollard, an expert in bioinformatics and computational biology at the University of California, San Francisco.
The research was supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grants through the UO Biology and Built Environment Center, UO Department of Landscape Architecture, National Science Foundation and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Mhuireach also was supported by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency STAR (Science to Achieve Results) Fellowship.
Sources: Bart Johnson, professor of landscape architecture, 541-346-2235, bartj@uoregon.edu; and Gwynne Mhuireach, gwynhwyf@uoregon.edu
Note: The UO is equipped with an on-campus television studio with a point-of-origin Vyvx connection, which provides broadcast-quality video to networks worldwide via fiber optic network. There also is video access to satellite uplink and audio access to an ISDN codec for broadcast-quality radio interviews.
Links:
Johnson faculty page: http://landarch.uoregon.edu/bart-johnson
Department of Landscape Architecture: http://landarch.uoregon.edu
Teledentistry can bring dental care to people who lack it, University of the Pacific finds
Bringing "virtual dental homes" to schools, nursing homes and long-term care facilities can keep people healthy - reducing school absenteeism, lessening the need for parents to leave work to care for an ailing child, and helping to prevent suffering for millions of people who have no access to a dentist, a six-year study by University of the Pacific demonstrates.
The findings were reported today by the Pacific Center for Special Care, a program of the university's Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. Pacific developed the teledentistry system and has evaluated it in more than 3,000 patients across California since 2010. More than $5.5 million in federal, state and other grants supported the demonstration project.
The virtual dental home is a community-based oral health care delivery system that uses telehealth technology to link specially trained dental hygienists in the community with dentists in dental offices and clinics. The approach was developed by Pacific Center Director Paul Glassman, a professor of dentistry at University of the Pacific, who collaborated with a broad range of stakeholders to leverage advances in dentistry and telehealth, create training programs for dentists and hygienists, and win policy and other changes needed to pilot and evaluate the system.
"Our six-year demonstration project confirms that this is a safe, effective way to bring care to people who need it," Glassman said. "Basing a virtual dental home in a school, a nursing home or other community setting allows dental hygienists to prevent or treat the majority of oral health problems on site, and also brings prevention information to patients, families and caregivers. Finally, it connects on-site care in the community to dentists in dental offices."
Since the demonstration project began, Glassman and his team have implemented the system in 50 California Head Start preschools, elementary schools, community centers, residential care facilities for people with disabilities, senior centers and nursing homes. Preliminary findings persuaded Oregon, Hawaii and Colorado to also pilot the system.
One of the first virtual dental homes opened its doors at Harmon Johnson Elementary School in North Sacramento, where almost 100 percent of students are eligible for Medi-Cal.
The school's dental "home" is a cheery room, just off the cafeteria, where kids can have their teeth checked by a dentist via telehealth. The school's part-time, grant-funded dental hygienist cleans teeth, treats some small cavities, and teaches tooth brushing, flossing and tooth-friendly nutrition. She gives away free toothbrushes to children and their family members, with as many free replacements as needed.
"Our students and families are excited because the preventive dental care takes place at school, a safe and caring learning environment that's a second home to them. There are smiles all around, even among staff," said Michelle Rivas, president of the Twin Rivers Unified School District Board of Trustees. "When children have less need to travel to a dental office, they are less likely to miss hours of critical instructional time in the classroom. Being able to receive preventive care will also help keep them healthy and better able to learn."
Other children's advocates also endorse the approach.
"California's children are facing an oral health care crisis," said Mayra Alvarez, president of The Children's Partnership, a California-based national children's advocacy organization. "The virtual dental home helps bring critical, comprehensive care to children where they are. With care in the community by oral health providers working at the top of their expertise, we are helping to better meet the diverse needs of California's children and families."
California Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Silicon Valley) also argues that more schools and other community settings should have on-site teledentistry care.
"Results from the research further demonstrate the benefits of this oral health care delivery system and how this program can reach children and communities that would otherwise likely go without," Low said.
He is author of a bill now before the Legislature, which would provide $4 million in funding to expand virtual dental homes statewide. The measure is cosponsored by The Children's Partnership and California Dental Association.
"AB 648 will supply more community-based sites across the state with access to preventive and basic dental care through the virtual dental home model," Low said.
The California State Auditor underscored the need in a 2014 report. It found that in 32 of California's 58 counties there were too few dentists to serve children enrolled in Medi-Cal. Five counties had no active Medi-Cal dentists. In 11 counties, not a single dentist accepted new Denti-Cal patients.
In California, 24 percent of all children complete elementary school without ever having seen a dentist. The situation is even worse for low-income children. In 2013, only 41 percent of children eligible for Medi-Cal received any dental services.
Findings of the six-year report include:
Examining dentists using the telehealth system determined that approximately two-thirds of children and about half of seniors and people with disabilities in long-term care facilities can have their oral health needs met by dental hygienists in the community, without the need to see a dentist in person.
No adverse outcomes were reported for any of the procedures performed by hygienists.
The virtual dental home system delivers significantly more prevention and early intervention at less cost per patient than the current Denti-Cal system.
Financial projections based on the demonstration project experience indicate the system could be financially viable in the Denti-Cal system.
The Pacific Center for Special Care is committed to improving the oral health of underserved people throughout California and nationally. In addition to creating best-practice models, it advocates for improved access to dental care for anyone who faces challenges to receiving oral health services through the traditional oral health care system. These include people who have difficulty maintaining good oral health or accessing oral health services because of medical, physical, social, economic or geographic conditions.
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The center is part of the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, based at University of the Pacific's San Francisco campus. The school has been serving the community and educating oral health care providers since its founding in 1896. For more information, visit PacificSpecialCare.org.
About University of the Pacific
Established in 1851 as the first chartered institution of higher education in California, University of the Pacific prepares students for professional and personal success through rigorous academics, small classes, and a supportive and engaging culture. The university's distinctive Northern California footprint includes campuses in Sacramento, San Francisco and Stockton. For more information, visit http://www.pacific.edu.
Imagine a nurse who gets the flu while working at a hospital. He goes home to recover -- and an uninfected replacement nurse comes in. This kind of substitution happens all the time in the real world -- teachers, doctors, firefighters and others with essential societal roles get sick and a substitute comes in to fill their role.
A new study shows that this kind of health-protecting behavior -- a "relational exchange" -- can explosively accelerate the spread of some epidemics. This finding is in striking contrast to the standard "mass-action" disease models -- like many used by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and other health organizations--that don't account for this reality.
The study was published August 1 in the journal Nature Physics.
"One take-home of our study is that it may be very difficult to predict the size of a disease outbreak," says Sam Scarpino, a scientist at the University of Vermont who led the new research with two colleagues, "and that mass-action models can't really account for the kind of sudden speed up and slow down" in transmission that many real-world epidemics show--and that the scientists' new model produces.
EPIDEMIC PLANNING
"This doesn't mean nurses and doctors shouldn't go home when they're sick, " says Scarpino. Almost the opposite. Instead, the new findings suggest that as epidemics approach their peak, replacement workers are in a more dangerous situation than conventional disease models would suggest.
"If you're making strategic decisions about how many healthcare workers you need, how many people you might expect to show up in the hospital, or how many courses of antivirals or antibiotics you might need, then the pace and tempo of cases matters deeply," Scarpino says. Being able to quickly replace sick workers not just at the beginning of an epidemic but at its peak is one key to limiting its spread. But if you can't predict that it's about to exponentially speed up "with a huge number of new cases coming in," Scarpino says, "that could easily overwhelm the health care system and hospitals."
INFECTED NODES
Disease modeling is becoming an increasingly important part of health-care and epidemic planning. The now-standard mass-action models assume that infected people interact with other people at random, like so many molecules bouncing in the air. This approach has been defended on these grounds: if it's not a perfect reflection of the real world then at least these models give forecasters a sense of the worst-case scenarios. But Scarpino and his colleagues disagree. Their approach represents this essential worker behavior in a dynamic network, where "infected nodes" get rewired when a replacement worker comes in. An emergent property of their model shows that there can be critical transitions where the epidemic accelerates faster than the supposed worst-case scenario of a mass-action model -- and just as suddenly burns out.
And their model points to another worrisome dynamic. Imagine during a disease epidemic that the worker replacement rate is "high enough to keep an outbreak under control, but that after some time the rate is slightly reduced. This might occur, for example, after the initial fear wears off," the scientists write. Their model indicates that a slight reduction in the rate at which, say, sick teachers or doctors are replaced "can push the system over a discontinuous transition," such that a "microscopic change" in the rate of replacement can lead to a very large change in disease prevalence. Suddenly, the epidemic is now in a higher gear, and if public health officials then wish to "bring the system back to its previous state," they write, "the replacement rate must be increased well beyond its previous value for the system to return to the initial state."
FLU VS. DENGUE
The scientists were able to back-up their modeling results with data from actual epidemics. Scarpino and his two co-authors, Laurent Hebert-Dufrene at the Santa Fe Institute, and Antoine Allard at University of Barcelona in Spain, analyzed existing national data from seventeen flu outbreaks in the US, twenty-five years of state-level flu data, and nineteen years of dengue fever data from Puerto Rico. They found the predicted pattern -- "accelerating exponential transmission near the outbreak peak" -- in most of the outbreaks of influenza, but almost not at all in dengue.
"In this paper we use dengue fever as a kind of null model," explains Hebert-Dufrene. The scientist didn't expect to see the same accelerations in dengue from replacement behavior, "because in dengue, behavior is not as important," he says. "You can stay home, but the mosquitoes will find you."
The new study had its beginning during the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa. During that time, Scarpino, a mathemetical biologist and expert on epidemiology who leads UVM's Emergent Epidemics Lab, observed how many health care and funeral workers would get sick and a healthy person would replace them--only to get sick themselves. He wondered how this kind of substitution affects the spread and speed of the virus and various other kinds of epidemics.
"Our study suggests that replacing sick workers quickly throughout an epidemic is important," Scarpino say, "and vaccines, if they're available, should be provided to substitute teachers and nurses and other critical replacement workers as far in advance as possible."
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There is new evidence that the "mother's curse" - the possibility that moms may transmit genes to their children that harm their sons but not their daughters - holds true in animals.
Such a possibility arises because there are two independent parts of the genome in the eukaryote cells, which are found in plants and animals, and the two are locked in a "conflict-driven molecular arms race" that impacts human health and wellness. The lion's share of the genome is located in the cell nucleus. But there is also a much smaller secondary portion located in the mitochondria.
According to the generally accepted theory, mitochondria were originally independent bacteria that developed an ability to tap highly toxic oxygen molecules as a powerful energy source. Eukaryotes lacked this capability, so some of them found a way to swallow the mitochondria's ancestor without digesting it - converting it into an "endosymbiont," an organism that lives within the body of another organism. Unlike the nuclear genome, which is built from a combination of father's and mother's genetic material, the mitochondrial genome is passed down exclusively from the mother. As a result, male offspring are an evolutionary dead end. While natural selection actively suppresses mutations in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) that weaken females, there is no direct mechanism for weeding out those that weaken males: a situation that leads to the mother's curse.
While natural selection actively suppresses mutations in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) that weaken females, there is no direct mechanism for weeding out those that weaken males: the situation that makes the mother's curse possible.
Now, a team of biologists from Vanderbilt University and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle have discovered a mtDNA mutant in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster that substantiates the mother's curse hypothesis in animals: It reduces male offspring's fertility as they age but does not have any observable effect on female siblings.
"In the 20 years since this possibility was recognized, a few mitochondrial mutants have been reported that have deleterious effects on male offspring," said Maulik Patel, assistant professor of biological sciences at Vanderbilt who headed the study, "but none of them convincingly showed that the mutants did not have any negative effects on the females. Our study is the first to look comprehensively for possible effects of male-harming mtDNA mutants on females and we were fortunate to find one such mutant that has a negative impact on male offspring without having, as far as we can assess, any adverse effects on the female siblings."
The discovery is described in an article published online Aug. 2 in the journal eLife.
The "mothers curse" is one of the more bizarre consequences of natural selection. According to evolutionary theory, the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA are locked in an unending competition. As one accumulates beneficial mutations, then the other is forced to adapt. This is known as the "Red Queen hypothesis." The name is derived from a statement made by the Red Queen in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass: "...it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place."
In plants, which have much larger mitochondrial genomes that contain a larger number of genes, striking instances of male-harming mitochondria have already been discovered. The mitochondrial genome in animals is much smaller, however, making it much harder to detect similar male-harming mutations.
The experiment that ultimately discovered the male-harming mtDNA mutant was something of a tour-de-force that took more than four years to complete. The scientists set up 18 independent lines of fruit flies, each consisting of 300 females and 100 males. In 12 of these lines virgin females were collected every generation and mated with males from the original stock. The researchers did this for 35 generations (about 70 weeks). In the remaining six lines the females were allowed to mate with the sibling males of their choice. Throughout this period the researchers were monitoring fitness of flies to determine whether males were getting harmed.
"Ganesh Miriyala, Aimee Littleton and I spent a year and a half 'flipping flies' with no idea of whether we would end up with anything meaningful," said Patel. Miriyala and Littleton were research technicians at the Hutchinson Center.
Fortunately, when they were done, the researchers found that a single-point mtDNA mutant had taken over one of the lines. This produced a single amino-acid change in the chemical structure of a subunit of an enzyme called cytochrome C oxidase. The researchers determined that the mutation causes the sperm production and sperm motility of the males to drop prematurely as they age, but it does not appear to have any other effects on males or females.
"We weren't looking specifically for mutants that affect fertility," said Patel, "but, in retrospect, it makes sense. Mutants that affect males but not females must be affecting tissues that are different in males and females."
Their findings are consistent with a hypothesis that has been advanced to explain an association between a human mtDNA mutant and reduced sperm motility: That mtDNA mutations may be a significant contributor to untreatable male subfertility, known to affect 7-10 percent of men.
The researchers also discovered that the mutant enzyme was temperature sensitive. Turning up the temperature in their cages by four degrees Celsius caused the male carriers to become almost completely sterile. This allowed the scientists to perform an additional experiment to test a second prediction of the mother's curse hypothesis: that the nuclear genome should evolve mechanisms for restoring male fitness by suppressing the activity of male-harming mtDNA mutants.
They mated females with the mutant mtDNA with males from a number of different fruit fly strains collected from a number of different locations around the world. Then they assayed the male offspring's fertility and were surprised to discover that the nuclear genomes from many of the strains were capable of completely restoring the males' fertility.
"The strategy that we used in this study, combined with advances in methods for manipulating mitochondrial genomes, provides us with exciting new opportunities to explore the 'dark side' of one of the oldest and most important symbioses on the planet. We hope this will lead to ways to treat mitochondrial diseases, only a few which currently can be treated, and which are inherited by one newborn in every 200 and become manifest in about one adult out of 5,000," said Patel.
###
In addition to Patel, Miriyala and Littleton, co-authors of paper include Janet Young from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Hieko Yang andYukiko Yamashita from the University of Michigan, Kien Trinh, Scott Kennedyand Leo Pallanck from the University of Washington. The research was conducted in the laboratory of evolutionary biologist Harmit Singh Malik at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
The research was supported by grants from the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation, the Mathers Foundation and National Institute of Health grants F30 AG045021, GM104990 and GM074108.
While tropical forests continued to decline, a remarkable change is happening: tree cover on agricultural land has increased across the globe, capturing nearly 0.75 Gigatonnes carbon dioxide every year. A new study titled "Global Tree Cover and Biomass Carbon on Agricultural Land: The contribution of agroforestry to global and national carbon budgets" provides insights into the patterns of this tremendous change at global, regional and national scales.
According to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), agriculture and land-use change account for about 24% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change will also have strong impacts on food security in the long-term. Therefore agriculture needs to reduce its climate footprint. But a recent study has shown that the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from crop and livestock production is limited. At the same time, large forest areas, primarily in the tropics, are still being converted into agricultural land to feed the world's growing population.
For these reasons, agricultural practices that can significantly reduce carbon emissions are in high demand.
Trees on agricultural lands - also known as agroforestry systems - have the potential to contribute to climate change mitigation while improving livelihoods and incomes and providing invaluable ecosystem services at the same time. The World Bank estimates that globally 1.2 billion people depend on agroforestry farming systems, especially in developing countries. However, trees on agricultural lands are not considered in the greenhouse gas accounting framework of the IPCC.
A team of researchers from various institutions in Africa, Asia and Europe carried out a study to assess the role of trees on agricultural land and the amount of carbon they have sequestered from the atmosphere over the past decade. The study, entitled "Global Tree Cover and Biomass Carbon on Agricultural Land: The contribution of agroforestry to global and national carbon budgets", looks at biomass carbon on agricultural land both globally and by country, and what determines its distribution across different climate zones.
Biomass on agricultural land globally
"Remote sensing data show that in 2010, 43% of all agricultural land globally had at least 10% tree cover, up from eight percent in the preceding decade," said Robert Zomer of the World Agroforestry Centre, lead author of the study. "Given the vast amount of land under agriculture, agroforestry may already significantly contribute to global carbon budgets."
However, regional differences in the trend are significant. The distribution of tree cover on agricultural land depends on climatic conditions in different parts of the world. High tree cover is found in humid areas such as South East Asia, Central America, eastern South America, as well as central and coastal West Africa. Tree cover on agricultural land was moderate in south Asia, sub-humid Africa, central and western Europe, the Amazonia and mid-west North America. On the other hand, low tree cover was found in east China, northwest India, west Asia, the southern border of the Sahara Desert, the prairies of North America and southwest Australia.
Biomass on agricultural land by country
Remarkable differences are noted in changing biomass carbon stocks over time among countries. Brazil, Indonesia, China and India had the largest increases, while Argentina, Myanmar, and Sierra Leone had the largest decreases in biomass carbon stored on agricultural land.
High average carbon mass levels were to be found in 26 countries in the humid tropics, with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Indonesia in the lead. On the other hand, 60 countries found in arid and desert parts of the world around the Sahara Desert in North Africa, the Kalahari in southern Africa, Middle East, as well as central and southern Asia recorded low carbon levels over the ten-year period.
"Study results show that existing tree cover makes a major contribution to carbon pools on agricultural land, demonstrating the potential to add to climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts," said Jianchu Xu of the World Agroforestry Centre. "If tree cover is accounted for, the total carbon stock is over four times higher than when estimated using IPCC tier 1 estimates alone."
Given the large amount of agricultural land where tree cover is below its potential, the study suggests that a huge mitigation potential exists and should be explored more systematically.
"The results of our spatial analysis show that trees on agricultural land sequestered close to 0.75 Gigatonnes of carbon dioxide globally per year over the past decade," said Henry Neufeldt, Head of Climate Change research at the World Agroforestry Centre. "If we can harness good policies to enhance positive examples and stop negative trends, trees in agricultural landscapes can play a major role in greenhouse gas mitigation. But no one should say that this is already solving the problem for agricultural emissions as long as we do not know what is actually happening on the ground."
###
Correct citation:
Zomer R J, Neufeldt H, Xu J, Ahrends A, Bossio D, Trabucco A, van Noordwijk M and Wang M. "Global Tree Cover and Biomass Carbon on Agricultural Land: The contribution of agroforestry to global and national carbon budgets". Scientific Reports 6, Article number: 29987 (2016). doi:10.1038/srep29987
Participating institutions
Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming, China
Centre for Mountain Ecosystem Studies, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), East and Central Asia Region, Kunming, China
World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Kenya and Indonesia
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, United Kingdom
International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Soils Division, Nairobi, Kenya
Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, IAFES Division, Sassari, Italy
Department of Science for Nature and Environmental Resources (DIPNET), University of Sassari, Italy
Wageningen University and Research, Plant Production Systems, Wageningen, the Netherlands
Written by ACM
*Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/(UpDated)/- Contrary to claims of being a "New" Modus Operanti for Killing People, in fact, the Cowardish Truck Massacre of 84 Civilians (Women+Children included) at Nice, had Precedents, as f.ex. a MEP revealed in EU Parliament's Plenary in Strasbourg, pointing at a strikingly Similar Deadly Terrorist Attack at Graz, in Austria, etc., while France anounced an "Intensification" of AirStrikes against ISIL Terrorists, atrocious BeHeaders even of Innocent Civilian People, and Russian President Vladimir Putin called Paris for Joined Actions (See Infra).
So that French President Hollande's Denonciation, (speaking Shortly after the Massacre at Nice, Overnight), of the Fact that "All of France is Threatened by Islamic Terrorism !", appears fully Justified by Facts, (See Infra), but also Long Overdue ..., (while various strange, but officialy unrelated Fires also hit Nice'e Neighbouring City Marseille and even Paris' Eiffel Tower's area, almost at the Same Time, at the aftermath of the National Day of July 14 : See PHOTO above).
---
Indeed, a Similar Method to Kill People, as that used by that Mass Murderer at Nice, i.e. to Hit one or more Persons with a Car used as Weapon, was already Threatened, by ISIS' Islamic Terrorists, to be also abused even against the Now Incoming New British Prime Minister, Theresa May, who was Officialy Anounced as such, just at the Eve of that Terrorist Attack at Nice (See Infra) !...
A Stern Warning, about Nice's "modus operanti", had already been made as Early as since July 2015, (See "Eurofora"s NewsReport at : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/euparliamentonisildeadlyterror.html ), by Austrian Georg Mayer (from the Frontrunner FPO Party), who Denounced also the Fact that, curiously, despite its Brutal Mass Murder aspects of a Big Car Attack against Defenseless Civilian People at the Pedestrian area in this landmark European City of Historic Culture, by a recently Radicalized Muslim Bosnian Immigrant that the Country had accepted to Host, provide with a Job, and even give him Full Citizenship, had been rather Covered-up by Establishment's Media.
-"I'm from the Austrian City of Graz, where a Massacre took place making 3 Dead and 40 Wounded People, without having yet been Officialy Clarified whether, even this, had been Motivated by Radical Islam", Mayer Criticized. He was speaking of a June 20, 2015 Mass Killing in the Central Square of that Big City at Europe's Heart, where a Bosnian-origin Muslim aged 26, (granted Austrian Citizenship, Hired at a Driver's job, and Married, with 2 Children), suddenly, after a Quarrel with his Wife reportedly because he wanted to Oblige her to put an Islamic Scurf over her Head, to the point that Austrian Authorities had to Protect her, at her demand), he rushed with an Expensive, Big Car, normaly used for Sports, against various Innocent Civilian People at the Pedestrian Zone, Killing a Cyclist, Stumbing with a Knife behind their back a Couple of Elders, Crashing with his Car (at around 100km p/h. !) 2 other Walkers, (including a Child aged only 4 Years, who Died), and making about 36 Wounded, (a Dozen of them in a Serious situation, and one in Critical, Life-Threatening), before letting the Police quietly arrest him, as if it was a matter of routine...
- "When these interlinked Murders approach so Close to us, we are particularly Shocked, because we ... perceive Profound Changes :" - Even if, Establishment's "Media and Politicians tell us, most of the times, that they (Extremist Islamic Terrorists) would be All ...Individual Perpetrators ("Lone Wolfs"), nevertheless, in fact, "we (EU) have to do with ....an Army of Individual Perpetrators !", Mayer Criticized. - "For Years we .... Warned ..that Radical Islam was Already at the Center of our (EU) Society", he pointed out. => So that, "the Next Battleground is Europe !", as (mainstream German Newspaper) <> already titled on its Frontpage Article Headlines. - In consequence, "this (recent) Problem of Terrorism, that was Imported (inside the EU) due to the Failures of EU Governments, is one of the Largest that we ...will have to Face during the Coming Years", he had Warned.
It cannot be excluded a priori, that this Graz Precedent might have, eventualy, "Inspired" the Mass Murderer of Nice, particularly since he head, reportedly, being Preparing such a move, already since Many Months, and possibly since 2015, (See Facts Infra).
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+ This had been Preceded also by anOther Similar Deadly Incident at Dijon (France), back on December 2014, when another such man Attacked with his Car and Threw Down 13 People, rolling against bystanders on the pavement for more than 30 Minutes before he was apprehended, while Crying "Allah Akbar !" and "for Paklestine Cildren !", only to find, afterwards, that the Prosecutor, who had initialy opened an Enquiry for Terrorism, finaly Skiped that, because the Aggressor reportedly had some ...Psychological Problems !
++ And the Next Day, also in France, in the City of Nantes, another Driver reportedly Therw his Van against a Christmas Market's Crowds up to a Wine Stand, where he Killed a Civilian and Wounded Many, also Shouting : - "Allahu Akbar !", attempting to Stab to Death, etc., but the Police, once again, claimed that it would have been an "Isolated" case of just a mentaly "unstable" individual, witthout an obvious relation to Islamic Terrorism...
*** But already Previously, 2 Similar, Deadly Terror Attacks by Cars, on October and December 2014, stroke in Jerusalem, at Israel, where Media denounced "Changing Tactics" of Islamic Terrorism : At First, a Driver reportedly ploughed his Car into commuters, Killing a Woman and a Baby. This was Followed, Next Month, by another Driver who Threw his Big Van against a Tram and Bus Stations full of People, before Hitting also Other Cars on the Road, and finaly getting out to Hit Bystanders with a Metal Bar, Killing a Druze Minority Policeman and Wounding 14 Civilian People, (reportedly Revendicated by Hamas), until he was Shot.
("Eurofora" Screenshot from Video at "Telepgraph.co.uk" on Van Attack Killing/Wounding People at Tram/Bus Stations+ after ISIS 9/2014 Call, in Israel, Jerusalem, 11/2014)
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++++ Indeed, it's as Early as since September 2014 that a Spokesman of ISIL's Deadly Extreme Islamic Terrorists and atrocious BeHeaders even of Innocent, Defenseless civilian People, had notoriously Launched an Appeal to "Kill .. DisBelieving American(s) or European(s) - especially ... French - ... including Citizens of Countries ...into Coalition against Islamic State, ... in Any Manner or Way", f.e. by "Run(ning) him over with your Car", (etc).
Nicknamed "Sheikh" Abu Mohammed Al-Adnani, (originaly Taha Falaha), he Moreover, added : "DoN't Ask anyone for advice (or) judgment"; Just "Kill the Infidels", not only "the Military", but also "Civilians", (i.e. without making any distinction between Armed Soldiers and Unarmed, Peaceful Civilian People, even Elders, Women, Children).
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(New UK PM Theresa May, walking to the Church on Sunday, with her Husband)
+++++ Moreover, by an Astonishing Coincidence, it's also the Now Incoming New British Prime Minister, just anounced earlier This Same Week, Theresa May, an Experienced former Minister, recently of JHA, who has reportedly been Threatened, as Early as, already since March 2015, (i.e. Close to the above-mentioned Deadly Big Car Attack at Graz in Austria : Comp. Supra), to be"an Evil Witch", that "should be Hunted down and Run Over with a Car (sic !), to Shut her up from Speaking words Against Islam, as ISIS reportedly Called to do !
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But, as usual, even Now, enstranged Family Members, (in this case, even permanently living in Africa !), as well as some Imams imported and established in France, repeated the ersatz Claim that the Murderer would be more or less "Crazy", and have No Relation at all to the Islamic Religion. However, this last, obviously Crucial point, was reportedly Found to be False, according to several Other Witnesses, who knew personaly the Truck Mass Killer, and attested of his Islamic interests.
Moreover, other Witnesses revealed that, already among his own Family and/or Other Personal contacts, several were Islamic Extremists or Linked to them, (See Infra). And his own Father is actively involved with an Islamic Party in Tunisia, according to rumours circulating at the Web.
In Wider terms, recently, an Investigative French Journalist, making Enquiries among Extremist Islamists, (including a Local Chieftain from Turkey, who stressed his Wish for "much More Blood" to be shed in France), expressed his Astonishment for the reportedly "too Easy" way for Jihadists to Escape from Police. Even that ISIL-related Turkish Jihadist Recruiter had Boasted for his Success to get out of Prison in only a Few Months, after giving the Impresssion to have a "Good Behaviour" (sic !), as mainstream Australian Media ABC revealed...
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Nevertheless, the Tunisian immigrant's Islamic Radicalisation, as well as a more "classical" profile of Ordinary Petty Thug, would have reportedly been developed only during Recent Years, (i.e. Long After he had obtained a 10 Years permit to stay and work in France, between 2009 and 2019), i.e. perhaps after he Separated from his Wife and Children, (between 2014 - 2016), according also to French JHA Minister Cazeneuve.
"Recently", he had Started to Send Money, even 300 or 400 each time, to his Family at Tunisia, one of his Brothers reportedly said. This corroborates also anOther Source in France, a Woman Neighbour at Nice, who reported that he used to "Lend" her Money, "without asking to be reimbursed". Moreover, at least one mainstream Media (RTL.be) reports that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel's Brother would have Revealed that, suddenly, he send them, Secretely, by Recent Special Means, a much Bigger Amount of Money : about "100.000 ", (even if this Last Point has Not yet been Confirmed).
But, already, "3 Relatives" of the Killer have been "Islamic Extremists, who were Jailed in Tunisia", according to British Media "Daily Mail", whose Journalist, reporting from the spot, cites "Police Sources".
"2 of them" were "Training with Weapons in the Mountains", as Early as since "2008", reveals the UK Newspaper, which also Publishes a Photo of Nice's Mass Murderer's Brother holding a long Rifle, with his Kid, (as ISIS has already done in its Horrible Propaganda, f.ex. by showing Kids Killing with a Knife a Defenseless Prisoner, etc).
(UK Newspaper "Daily Mail")
Afterwards, "One ... definitively Flew to Europe", and "we are Checking if he was at Nice", while anOther "went to Syria", (i.e. at ISIL's main areas), and only a "Third", "usualy lives Here" (in Tunisia), even if he was "Not Traced".
They are "Brothers and Cousins of Bouhlel's Wife", according to Tunisian Sources, (i.e. of that Woman that, Curiously, was the Only Initialy Arrested Suspect, who was, Shortly Afterwards, ...Released by the French Police)...
+ Even more important : A local Lawyer at Nice, who had initially Claimed that he Knew Well the Murderer, having served as His Defense Lawer when he had been Condemned for some comparatively Petty Crimes in the Recent Past (1 - 3/2016), in order to Boast, in several INTWs to Radio-TV Big Media, (immediately Retransmitted also by a lot of various Other Media almost Everywhere), that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel would "Not Look at all as an Islamic Extremist", but "just like an ordinary petty thug", (i.e. Denying the ISIL's link), has just been found to be a Gross Liar :
- in fact, he had NEVER been the Killer's Lawyer in the Past (in fact, he had been served by anOther, absolutely Differend Lawyer) ! This Failed Attempt to Hide the Mass Murderer's links to Islamic Terrorism, even by such Gross Lies, provoked a Scandal.
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(ISIS Islamic Terrorists Revendicated that Mass Deadly Attack against Innocent Civilian People at Nice)
---
+ Far from being merely a Mentaly Unstable, "Lone Wolf", reacting Emotionaly, as some had initialy claimed, on the Contrary, the Murderer had carefully Plotted and Prepared his Move, in Cold Blood, Many "Months" Before (may be even a Year), and had relevant Contacts and various Accomplices, as an on-going Investigation found (Partly UpDated) :
I.e. at least from the Beginning of the Month, since on 4rth July he had already Chosen and Reserved "the Biggest" Lorry offered by a Nearby Business, for Mid-July. Afterwards, investigators (mainly with CCTV Cameras, Eyewitnesses, etc) found that he had also Tested the Road ("Promenade des Anglais") of the Future Massacre, with that Same Truck, during the 2 Previous Days, coming and going all along that, without any problem, neither arising any suspicion, (despite a general Prohibition of Big Lorries DownTown, and the Proximity of the Mass Event of the 14th July National French Day). Even at this latest, Fatal Date, he had arrived Hours before that Road was Blocked, with that easily spotted Huge White Lorry, reportedly Claiming to the Police that he would be "Selling Ice-Creams" !
But Policemen, curiously, did Not check at all that Huge Truck and its Contents, despite an "Emergency" Anti-Terror status in France, and even recent years' revelations about various illegal Traffick and Smuggling taking place via such Lorries, (including of Drugs, Arms, irregular Migrants, etc).
In addition, Bouhlal had also taken a "Shelfie" Photo of Himself, Smiling among the Peacefuly strolling French People, his Future Victims, and Send it to a Brother in Tunisia, (who Refused to let it be seen by the Press), just a few Hours before the Massacre Starts. Most Important, he had even send 2 Messages to certain probable Accomplices (at least one of them reportedly arrested and detained later-on), saying (by a Code) that he had foound and brought in "the Equipment", at "5 before C" (a Mysterious yet reference, possibly to an Event or Location), as well as Asking for Fire-Arms.
>>> As the Investigation advances further, a Paris' Prosecutor reportedly revealed that the Murderer had severeal "Accomplices", had been "Radicalized" as an Islamic Extremist, and was PreMedittating and Preparing the Mass Killing probably as Early as "since 2015", (i.e. a Year Before !)..
Inter alia, he had seeked a Drug used by "Kamikaze" Suicide Terrorists on 2015, and had Discussed with Accomplices that precise Mass Killing by a Heavy Truck modus operandi elready maney Months Earlier, had been provide with a Gun by Muslim Albanians, Photographed Together with some Pals and the Fatal Truck several Days before the Massacre, (etc).
Last, but not least, National and Local Policemen, Soldiers, etc., reportedly present on the spot, did Not manage to Stop a ...2 Km Long Deadly Attack by that Heavy Truck against Defenseless Civilian People all along an overcrowded Main Road, specialy reserved for the French National Day Event, but Only After a Simple, Unarmed and Anonymous Citizen took the Initiative to Jump onto Bouhlal's Car and Open its Door, obliging the Murdered to Stop, in order to Seize his FireArm, Point it at him and Shoot, pushing him Outwards, so that a Policeman found the Time to Shoot Back and Neutralize the Murderer, (Long After it Crushed at least 84 Innocent Civilian People Killed meanwhile)...
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"FIGARO" : - "Win the War !"
V. PUTIN : Join Russian + French forces against Islamic Terrorism
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(The Day After:"Figaro'"s FrontPage = "WIN THE WAR !" + "Strike Back mercilessly !")
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=> However, mainstream, Center-Right French Newspaper "FIGARO" published overnight a Front-Page Headline Calling to "Win the War !".
It was followed by an "Editorial" Article, written by the Editor in Chief himself, Titled - "A Merciless Riposte (Counter-Attack)", or "Strike Back WithOut Mercy", a Sub-Heading pointing to the Fact that Islamic "Caliphat's Soldiers do Not make War with Half-Measures", and Concluding that "it's Now that Action Must be Taken, in order to Stop that Awful Series" of Deadly Terrorist Attacks against Civilian People.
Almost All Political Leaders of the Biggest Opposition Parties, both Marine Le Pen's "FN" Rightists, and Nicolas Sarkozy's Center-Right "Republicans", (including Former Prime Ministers Alain Juppe and Francois Fillon, etc), converged in Criticizeing the Fact that the current Government (still led by the "Socialists") had Not Yet Taken all the Necessary and Possible Measures during the Latest 18 Months of Unprecedented Mass Terrorist Attacks in France, (Jan. 2015 - July 2016). MLP even went as far as to also Ask from several Members of the PSoc. Government to "Resign".
As for the Experienced, former President of France, and current Leader of the Main Opposition Party, Sarkozy himself, he was First to Visit Nice just after that Bloodbath, Stressing, particularly, that the Horrible Spectacle of Killed People's Cadavers at the Streets "Must Stop". Later-on Sarkozy also found that, Today, we are Facing "a Total War" by ISIS' Terrorists, Warning that, in fact, -"It will be Them, or Us !", as he characteristicaly said, while also reiterating an Extended List of concrete Measures, which should be taken asap.
(Sarkozy : It's "a Total War" => "It will be Them, or Us !")
Indeed, things look Serious, as the Latest Mass Killing of Innocent Civilians at Nice was later Followed also by an ISIS' Propaganda Video where 2 Islamic Terrorist BeHead defenseless Prisoners while Insulting all the French as "Criminal People" (sic !) and Threatening to bring such Cowardish Atrocious BeHeadings even of Civillian People throughout all France...
------------------------------------------------
+ Meanwhile, among a Long List of European and International Leaders' various Statements, shortly After the Massacre, Russian President Vladimir Putin took the Exceptional Initiative to Publish 2 successive Anouncements in a few Hours Time, (the 2nd even Directly Transmitted in Full by Publishing a Video), on the Massacre of Nice, addressing himself Both to French President Hollande and, even more solemnly, "to the French Nation" :
- Condemning that "Outrageous Terrorist Attack in France", "the Criminal Act in Nice", which "was Committed with extreme Atrocity and Cynicism", as he said,
President Putin reminded the Fact that also "Russia knows Terrorism and the Threat it creates for Us All", since "Our People have had to deal with Similar Tragedies Many Times", (f.ex., after the notorious Chechnya War, also at Dagestan's "Beslan SchoolChildren" Mass Hostage-Taking, Back on 2004, as well as in Moscow's Opera, etc), while even Nice's "Deaths and Injuries", "Included" also "Russian Citizens", he observed.
=> In Addition, what is most Important Today, is that, in Fact, "We Can Defeat Terrorism", "Only through a United Effort", the Russian President (who has notoriously a lot of Armed Forces already Engaged in a Serious Fight against Islamic Terrorism, including ISIL, at Syria and elsewhere, and has Recently Liberated from ISIS' Deadly and Destructive Terrorists, f.ex. also the Historic, UNESCO World Heritage Site of Palmyra) Concluded in this Exceptional Address for France, Confirming Russia's Interest in the Closest possible Cooperation with France and its Other International Partners in all Counter-Terrorist Efforts, as his Spokesman, Pescov, underlined.
Since Russia's active involvement in Syria, more and more Territories, Earlier Invaded and Occupied by ISIL's Terrorists, have Recently Started to be Liberated, and this has Positively influenced even some parts of Land at Iraq, revealing an Historic U-Turn towards the Decline of those Extremist Islamists, atrocious BeHeaders even of Civilian People, who are Now Losing Ground in several Areas, as the Latest Maps clearly indicate, (See relevant MAP, herewith).
But, until now, Outgoing US President Barack Hussein Obama has resisted Moscow's Offers to Act Jointly in order to Liberate Raqqa, ISIL's alleged "Capital", and that Lack of real Unity and Decisiviness in the Anti-ISIL Terror side, has obviously Hamperered an Otherwise obviously Existing Potential for a much Greater Efficiency on the spot. Something which Might, naturaly, Change with the Forthcoming US Presidential Elections, but also if the European, and particularly French, as well as British, Italian, but mainly Franco-German, and, above all, Collective EU Factor, could Begin to Really Move, in a Well Coordinated and Decisive way, with a Full Political Will to Finaly Settle this Problem, Protect all Europeans and Eradicate for ever such Atrocious InHuman Monstruosities puttin an End to ISIL's Mass Killings even of Innocent Civilian People, (against whom they seem to have desperately augmented their attempts to do Harm, particularly since they have Started to prove Unable to Stand a Real, Face to Face, Military Confrontation on the Battlefield, between Warriors, - and Not just Massacrating, as Coward Thugs, some Defenseless Civilian People, even Elders, Women and Children...
Could Nice's latest, and particularly Horrible, such Cowardish ISIL Terror, become, from now-on, the Beginning of a Real Game-Changer, inciting to Open a New Horizon for putting, at last, an End to such Monstruously InHuman Atrocities for ever ?
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Let's Hope. However, in the meantime, it's what could be named as "the Internal Front", which looks to be at the Forefront : Many initial Reactions and Calls to Act obviously Focus, more than ever, mainly on the Measures that Need to be taken in order to Prevent and/or Fight Radicalisation, Avoid that Terrorists Slip among Police's Fingers, before - if not after- a Crime is committed, etc.
In this regard, to put it in a nutshell, at least one thing is Cryctal-clear : Strong and Efficient Measures to Prevent and/or Fight Extreme Islamist Radicalisation's ideology from Poisoning even more the Society, is, Naturally, now a Must. But, on the Contrary, Other Measures, eventually Restructive of the Human Rights and Democratic Freedoms of All EU Citizens, even when there isn't any relation to the "Threat of Islamic Terrorism" denounced by French President Hollande, (Comp. Supra), can be very Dangerous. Both for European a.o. Democracy per se, and for People's Trust.
At the Same Time, in parallel, various converging Recent Facts point also towards a Growing Popular Feeling (Now repercuted further even by Top mainstream Politicians) that EU Citizens have Not been sufficiently Protected vis a vis Islamic Terrorism's Threat, that probably some Blunders and/or a MisPlaced "Tolerance" or an Excessive "Politicaly Correct" stance, ("Plot Theorists" even evoke some eventual "Complicities", at least Partly, etc), MisCalculations, etc., May have Hindered to Prevent such Horible Massacres.
(Angry Popular Reactions during PM visit at Nice after the Mass Killing of Defenseless Civilians by Islamic Terrorism)
http://www.ultimedia.com/deliver/generic/iframe/mdtk/01321922/src/u5qsmq/zone/6/showtitle/1/
Initialy Marginal at the "Charlie Hebdo" Killings, back on January 2015, (even is Wolinski Wife's critical stance, etc., should be taken into account, among others), this Appeared Stronger around the "Bataclan" etc. Mass Killings of November 13, 2015, also in Paris, (where some Victims' Families started to React quite Strongly), and seems to Emerge even More Widely, now, at the aftermath of Nice's Tragic Events, concerning Both Victims' Families and the People at large, (as even an Unprecedented double "Boo" and "Resign !" Calls v. Prime Minister Valls during a Ceremony at Nice, already showed).
(Killer Truck rolled a Long Way accross Nice's Avenues, including the "Blocked" "Englishmen Walkway", practicaly UnHindered ! )
Among others, some still Pending Questions obviously Need some Good and Solid Answers, concerning f.ex. the Mystery of How it was possible for so Heavy and Huge Truck, not to be Remarked, Stoped and Examined by the Police, while the Killer was coming and going during 3 Crucial Days through Nice's Centre and even at its Most Important Avenue at the Seaside, (Both, in principle, Prohibited for so Big Trucks), up to the "Secure" Area notoriously Reserved for the 14th July Fireworks ; why an Initial, June 2016 Plan to Surround the Events' Area and Check Every Person entering inside (as it was done f.ex. aso at Strasbourg's Christmas Market, back on 12/2015), was Later-on Abandoned, on July 2016, for a Simple Police "Blockade" at Only 2 Points, which was too Easily Bypassed by the Killer's Truck ; and how such already Ideologicaly Radicalized, former Petty Thugs, can Stroll around, almost Everywhere, (even with such Heavy Instruments, a Loaded Arm and 5 other reproductions of Kalasnikov Rifles, etc) Totaly UnHindered (even inside "Security" Areas) ; as well as, Why, Contrary to 2 Simple, Unarmed Citizens, who Heroically Attempted to Stop the Mass Murderer by their Bare Hands, just by Jumping and Grasping that Killer Truck's Door, while Risking their own Lives, (a Motorcyclist, who was Tragically Crashed by the Terrorists's Truck, and a Simple Walker, who was Shot by the Killer's Arm, but managed to Escape, Helping, however, the Police to Target, Shot and Stop the Mass Killing at that Crucial Moment), while, on the Contrary, all those Numerous National and Local Policemen, Soldiers, Secret Services, etc., hadN't yet Managed to Take Any Such Decisive Action, before 84 Civilian People were Atrociously Killed, during a 2 Km.-Long, Direct Trajectory accross that mainstream "English Walkway" ; Is it true, as a Nice PoliceWoman denounced, or Not, that National Police wasn't even visible in CCTV at the Entry of the "Blocked" Avenue ? How come that a Big Vehicle Attack on such a Large Avenue, exceptionaly reserved for Pedestrians that Day during the July 14 Event, had not been Foreseen and Prevented, despite a Long Series of Recent Car Attacks by ISIS' Terrorists, as "Eurofora" proved above ? (Etc).
This List could also Include Many Popular Reactions against some Controversial semi-Official Statements reportedly Claiming that, even in the foreseable Future, Nothing could Prevent such Odious Mass Killings of Civilian People, that several commentators found at least Exagerated, if not Scandalous.
In Nice's concrete case, the Mere Fact that the Truck Killer had reportedly claimed to the Police "he was ..."Selling Ice-Creams" (sic !), is Simply Not Enough !
---
An Original Testimony, in this regard : Just One (1) Hour Before Nice's Events, "Eurofora"s co-Founder was Crossing, Together with others, a Strasbourg City's main Avenue, when, Suddenly, we were Obliged to Stop, get Out of any Public Transport Means, Private Cars, Motorcycles, running Bicycles, etc, being Blocked and Stuck by a Big Over-Concentration of a Huge Mass of People, Gathered around the City Hall's Tower, and Waiting for the Same "14th July" Fireworks, as in Nice. It was incrfedibly Difficult, if not quite Impossible, to Find a Way and to Pass Through all that Never-Ending Mass of People (Youngsters, Elders, Couples, Families, Women, Children, etc), which was Becoming more and more Dense, as More People were Arriving Each Minute, (and the Organizers' scarce Indications on How to Get Out, were Grossly Insufficient, if not InCompetent, or even MisLeading). We had to Walk Slowly, making Long, Time and Energy Consuming Zig-Zag Manoevers, Pushing and/or Imploring People who were Sitting on the Floor to let as Go Away, accross Squares, Streets, Bridges, Peninsulas, Construction Sites, UnExpected immovable Barriers, etc., in order to Manage, much Later on, to Reach, Exhausted, at last, a Free to Move area.
But, in the MeanTime, we were absolutely Aware of the obvious Danger (that we've had clearly Felt, then) for All those UnProtected and Blocked People (irresponsibly Massed like Sheep in a Groundfloor Area, too Easily Attacked from almost Any Side) to Fall Victims of an eventual Terrorist Attack, at any moment... Once Out, we Run to get Away from that Risky, OverLoaded, "Stucked" and UnProtected Area.
However, even Before Arriving Home, that Horrible Massive Massacre of Innocent and Defenseless Civilian People, at an apparently Similar Situation in Nice, had Just Started !
=> Judging from what we had just Experienced, sincerely Astonished, in Strasbourg, (HQ of EU Parliament's Full Plenaries, PanEuropean CoE, ECHR, etc), it's Highly Possible that, indeed, (as Many have already Said), it Could and Should have been Prevented, and Innocent Victims' Human Lives Saved...
(../..)
(NDLR : Partly UpDated)
***
("DraftNews", as already send to "Eurofora" Subscrivers/Donors, earlier. A more accurate, full Final Version, might be published asap).
***
Written by ACM
*Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/- One among the most Important, mainstream German Medias, "Die Welt" ("The World"), a Leading Member of the EU Media Alliance "ALENA", has apparently just adopted, in substance, a main Analysis initialy made by "Eurofora" on a notoriously Controversial and UnPopular EU - Turkey Deal about the recent Mass "Tsunami" of Massive Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants influx through Turkey into EU (+Shengen) Member Greece, heading towards Berlin and other core EU Countries from the Last Sommer of 2015 until about Spring 2016 :
- I.e., particularly the Fact that this Deal, (notoriously obtained under "Blackmail" Pressure brokered Deal, a shady Sunday at a Brussels under an Urgent total Transport "Black Out", imposed then by Islamic Extremist Terrorist Attacks), had proven to be, in real Practice, also, almost entirely "Useless", in fact, given mainly the Borders' Checks seriously Protecting the so-called "Western Balkans' Route" to more Mass Irregular Migration, which had already been established by 5 or 6 European (EU and Non-EU) Countries BEFORE that Controversial EU Turkey Deal had eben Started to progressively enter into force, (until now rather partialy, and not yet in full).
"Eurofora"s initial Findings were based mainly on a Pioneer then , and Contrary to the Previously Established Dominant Views, quite "Dissident" Factual Analysis, using particular Official Data provided by UNHCR, the IMO, National Athorities, Government Officials' public Statements, verified Press Reports, etc., and was Published as Early as, already since 4 Months Before this August 2016, i.e. at the Beginning of May. See : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/unpopulareuvisafreefor80millionsturksuseless.html .
After a Lot of Time had Passed since then, at First, some Short Mentions to our views had Started to Emerge, quite Hesitating and in an Unclear mannzer, in the Middle of a few Other Press Articles published much Later-on by certain Collegues in a Few Media at Various EU Countries, until, suddenly, at the Latest EU Summit of Heads of State/Government in Brussels, at the End of June 2016, appeared a Short but Interesting Mention, at EU Council's Website, governed by EU President Donald Tusk's (former Polish Prime Minister) team, at least of the Fact that the Recently Witnessed Sharp Fall of that "Tsunami" (Comp. Supra) had, at least, Already Started Before this EU - Turkey shaky Deal, and was Due also to Other, Previous and Parallel Factors, depending on European Countries' Decisions and Acts, and Not on Turkey, (such as, f.ex., a Decision to "Fully" apply certain "Shengen" Area Rules, etc, as that Short Text simply argued, including, however, also the closing of Borders, subsequently).
But, Unfortunately, (due also to "BREXIT" and a usual "Terrorist Attack" in Turkey almost often at the eve of an Important relevant EU Decision-Making Event), such Interesting Starting Points were Not Discussed among EU Leaders, (as even EU Commission's President, Jean-Claude Juncker, briefly Confirmed to "Eurofora", while saluting us at he End of his Press Conference, the Next Day in the "Justus Lipsius" Building's main Press Working Area), Contrary to their Initial Schedule, because they had been practicaly Obliged to Alter, at the Last Minute, that Summit's Draft Agenda, in a way which hadn't left, in fact, any other choice, than to Simply Endorse, Exceptionaly withOut any Debate, the Draft Conclusions already Prepared by Technocrats Specialists beforehand, which, inevitably, gave an Impression of "Business as Usual" on this, in fact, very "Hot" Issue...
But, Today, "Eurofora"s above mentioned, Pioneer Factual Analysis, pertinent Data Gathering, overall Graphics, and main Conclusions, naturally can Help Support, even Further, at least the Main Points Now made by mainstream German Media "Die Welt", in Response to the Latest Turkish Threat that Ankara would entirely Stop that Controversial EU-Turkey Deal, if Europe didn't Yield to an Ultimatum to Give an UnPopular (both among EU Citizens and EU Parliament's MEPs, as several Polls and Debates have clearly revealed) "Visa-Free" status to 80 Millions of Turks, that would Allow them to Enter and Stay Into the EU, whenever they like and without previous Controls, during about 6 Months Each Year, Starting some Day from the Beginning of October 2016, according to a Demand initialy made "mezzo voce" by Turkish President Erdogan, and now Stressed by Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglou, reportedly at an INTW at the Austrian Newpaper "Kurrier", etc.
Indeed, what "Die Welt'"s main, Front-Page Top Article, Replies, Today, to that "New Provocation" from Ankara, as it calls it, (Participating to the quasi-General Reaction adopted also by several Other mainstream EU Media, meanwhile), under the explicit Heading : - "Turkey has to Loose More than the EU" (in case of Clash), is the Following, (according to a Fast Translation from the Original Text in German, over to English) :
- EU had adopted that Controversial (and Costly : some 8 Billions in Full Grants to Turkey, during 2016-2018) Deal, mainly "Because it had Internal Problems whith that Refugee Crisis, and was (then) Unable to Effectively Protect its (EU) External Borders", so that this "Blackmail" - as a Top Polish Newspaper had immediately Called it, and EPP ChristianDemocrat Party President, former Longt-Time Strasbourg Top MEP, Joseph Daul had Acknowledged, in a March 2016 Meeting in Strasbourg : See also relevant, then, Daul's Statements to "Eurofora", at: http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/eppheaddauloneuexternalborders.html - "Agreement with Ankara, Seemed to be a Pragmatic Way out".
- But, "Meanwhile, the Europeans had to Learn that the Deal itself is a Problem with "Explosive" Force. Because Ankara is using the Instrument to Threaten and Blackmail". That's Why "the Climate between Turkey and the EU is Poisoned for a Long Time" nowadays, "Die Welt" resumes.
+ "The Threat of Turkish foreign Minister Cavusoglu to terminate the agreements, If the required Visa-Free status for Turks is not introduced until October, represents a New Provocation", the Top German Media points out in Reply.
- "Because, according to the agreed terms and conditions that apply for such liberalisation, it depends upon Ankara", (i.e. if Turkey Fils the Gap of certein Human Rights/Democratic Reforms). But, "in view of the steady Dismantling of fundamental Democratic rights in the Last few Weeks, Visa facilitation has become Distant", "Welt" inevitably observes.
- Already, "Erdogan, even before the failed coup attempt two weeks ago, was Not willing to loosen the Anti-Terror Laws in his country, as demanded by the EU", (NDLR : in order to Protect Freedom of Expression, and mainly, Press Freedom), "so the Chances that he might do that Now, are at Zero". However, "Brussels canNot give in at this point", the mainstream German Media stresses. Therefore, "that Ultimatum makes it once more clear that, at present, in Turkey, Other values are considered, than those which are applied in Europe".
=> Under the Heading : "The Closure of the Balkan Route is Crucial", (as "Eurofora had already Warned and Proved, already 4 Months Earlier : Comp. Supra), "Die Welt" goes on to attest, Today, that :
- "However, Brussels (EU) and Berlin can (now) Respond .. to the New Threats". Because "the Flow of Refugees is, Today, much Smaller, than it was even a few Months Ago". "But, this Development, is Not Due to the Turkey Deal", "Welt" agrees, at last, with "Eurofora".
- Simply Because, in Fact, it's "rather the Closing of the Balkan Routes, through Countries such as FYROMacedonia, Hungary, and Austria, (as well as Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, etc), which Keeps Refugees from entering into the EU through Turkey. Since it is No Longer Possible (for most of them) to Travel to Germany, and other Sought-after (EU) Targets", it Explains.
- So that, in addition, it's also "Greece" which, normaly, should "have much Less Refugees" still coming irregularly from Turkey", as, indeed, it's until recently tthe case, "Because, in that (Financial) Crisis-stricken (EU + urozone Member) Country, Asylum Seekers might Not be Better than in Turkey", from the current Economic point of view, "Welt", perhaps a bit exagerating, argues in substance.
+ Also Because, Meanwhile, "EU Pays, as Agreed, a Lot of Money, in order to Support Turkey in the Care-taking of Refugees", (about 8 Billions earmarked for that purpose, in Full Grants, between 2016-2018).
=> Therefore, "Ankara has, thus, Much to Loose", in case of an EU - Turkey clash. So that, "Despite all those Threats" by Turkish Officials, in Fact, Turkish President "Erdogan will Not Risk a Clash with Europe, "if that (Controversial and UnPopular) Visa-Free" status for 80 Millions of Turks, "Never happens", the mainstream German Top Media logically concludes.
(../..)
***
("DraftNews", as already send to "Eurofora"s Subscribers/Donors, earlier. A more accurate, full Final Version, might be published asap).
***
Illustration: Kevin February
Euromoney meets China Construction Bank chairman Wang Hongzhang in a Beijing boardroom dominated by a vast tapestry of the Great Wall of China. It is a symbol of longevity and permanence in a place that has seen enormous change, with much more to come.
Wang understands more than most just how dramatically the sands can shift in his country. Born in July 1954, five years after Mao announced the formation of the Peoples Republic of China, at 17 he became a sent-down youth, the euphemistic term for young people during the Cultural Revolution who were sent, willingly or otherwise, to work in rural areas.
His time in the Communist Party he joined in 1974 and became an alternate member of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 2012 has seen the leaderships of Mao, Hua Guofeng, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and now Xi Jinping. He knows all about change.
That sort of long-term view is useful for the head of a big-four Chinese bank a group, which though it appears impregnable, has many challenges ahead.
1. Get Your Fill of Water and Water-Based Foods
One of the first things to do when you have a urinary tract infection is drink plenty of water. Thats because drinking water can help flush away the bacteria that's causing your infection, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). (3) It puts you on the right track for recovery.
Most people can be assured theyre getting the water they need by simply drinking water when thirsty, according to the health and medicine division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (4) But to be safe, you may want to make sure youre drinking at least six to eight 8-ounce (oz) glasses of water each day. (3) General recommendations have suggested that women get about 91 oz of water daily and men get about 125 oz each day, including water from food, as also noted in that group's report. (4)
2. Load Up on Vitamin C for a Healthy Urinary Tract
Getting plenty of foods high in vitamin C is important because large amounts of vitamin C make urine more acidic. This inhibits the growth of bacteria in your urinary tract, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine's health library. (5) However, if you have an active UTI, you may want to avoid citrus or other acidic foods. These foods are known to irritate the bladder, which is the last thing you need when youre having pain urinating.
3. Soothe UTI Pain With Heat
Inflammation and irritation from UTIs cause burning, pressure, and pain around your pubic area, says Kandis Rivers, MD, a urologist in the Henry Ford Health System in Wast Bloomfield, Michigan. Applying a heating pad can help soothe the area. (3) Keep the heat setting low, dont apply it directly to the skin, and limit your use to 15 minutes at a time to avoid burns.
4. Cut Bladder Irritants From Your Diet
When you have a UTI, caffeine, alcohol, spicy food, nicotine, carbonated drinks, and artificial sweeteners can irritate your bladder further, making it harder for your body to heal, according to the Cleveland Clinic. (6) Focus on healthy foods, such as high-fiber carbohydrates (including oatmeal or lentil soup), that are good for your digestive health, says Holly Lucille, ND, RN, a naturopathic doctor in private practice in West Hollywood, California, and the author of Creating and Maintaining Balance: A Womans Guide to Safe, Natural Hormone Health.
5. Go Ahead, Empty Your Bladder Again
Every time you empty your bladder even if its just a small amount you rid it of some of the bacteria causing the infection. (3) Keep making those bathroom runs, advises Dr. Rivers.
6. Consider Herbal Remedies
You may find some relief from taking the herb uva ursi (bearberry leaf), which is sometimes used as an herbal remedy for lower urinary tract infections. (7) But Rivers cautions that it should be taken only for short periods of time five days or less as it could cause liver damage.
Its important to note that even though bearberry leaf may help some, there have been no large randomized controlled trials (the gold standard when it comes to proving the effectiveness of a drug or treatment in medicine) testing it as a remedy for UTIs. (7)
Some preliminary research, including as a study published in 2016 in the European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences, also suggests that D-mannose supplements may help to prevent and treat UTIs. (8,9) Researchers think it might keep bacteria from attaching to the walls of the urinary tract. D-mannose is a simple sugar found naturally in fruits, including oranges, apples, and cranberries.
Always be sure to check with your doctor before an herbal supplement. Supplements, herbs, and other medication you might be taking can cause side effects or may interact with one another. The effects can sometimes be serious.
7. Change to Healthier Daily Habits
Lifestyle changes matter because they can help you recover from a UTI and might prevent another infection, according to the NIDDK. (3)
Quit smoking.
Wear loose cotton clothing and underwear.
Wipe yourself clean from front to back.
Choose only fragrance-free personal hygiene products.
8. Cut Back on Meat and Poultry
Some studies, such as one published in August 2018 in the journal mBio, have linked contaminated poultry and meat to E.coli bacteria strains that can cause UTIs. (10) These studies havent proven that eating meat or poultry causes UTIs. In fact, some E.coli can live in the intestines without causing any problems. However, bacteria from the gut can enter the urinary tract and cause infection. This risk is greater in women than men, because women have shorter urethras than men, meaning the bacteria has less distance to travel to reach the bladder.
Cutting back on meat and focusing on fruits and veggies may slightly cut your risk of UTIs. According to a study of Buddhists in Taiwan, published in January 2020 in Scientific Reports, compared with nonvegetarians, vegetarians had a 16 percent lower risk of UTI. (11)
Related: Vegetarian Diet Linked to Lowered Risk Of Urinary Tract Infection
A Note About Cranberry Juice and UTIs
Cranberry juice or cranberry extract in supplemental form has long been used as a home remedy for UTIs.
The thought is that the proanthocyanidins in cranberries may help prevent bladder infections by keeping the bacteria from clinging to the bladder wall, says Sonya Angelone, MS, RDN, a nutrition consultant based in San Francisco, and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Yet theres scientific controversy over how effective cranberry juice is at preventing UTIs due to conflicting conclusions in studies on the topic, according to an article published in May 2016 in Advances in Nutrition. (12) Some studies have found it might work, while others have found no effect.
Bottom line, there is some evidence it may help, and it doesnt hurt to try it, says Angelone. Just be sure to chose unsweetened cranberry juice (the sugar in sweetened cranberry juices can actually feed a bacterial infection). Mix this with sparkling water or plain yogurt, she recommends.
Another low-calorie option choose a cranberry pill that contains d-mannose, she says.
Are Bananas Good for UTIs?
The American Urological Association calls bananas a bladder-friendly food. (13) Thats because bananas arent likely to irritate the bladder in most people. Other bladder-friendly fruits and veggies include: pears, green beans, winter squash, and potatoes. While eating bananas may help to lessen bladder irritation, eating bananas alone wont make a UTI go away.
Can Onions Help UTIs?
Onions, especially raw ones, may cause bladder irritation in some people. (6) If you have an active UTI, eating foods that further irritate the already inflamed tissues of the urinary tract could make UTI symptoms worse.
Can Drinking Apple Cider Vinegar Treat UTIs?
Studies, such as one published in January 2018 in Scientific Reports, have shown that apple cider vinegar has some antibacterial and antifungal properties, but theres no scientific or medical evidence that drinking apple cider vinegar cures UTIs. (14) Drinking large amounts of apple cider vinegar could lead to throat irritation and tooth decay.
Is Coconut Oil Effective at Alleviating UTI Symptoms?
Some studies have suggested that coconut oil may have antimicrobial properties. (15) However, theres no research looking specifically at the effect of coconut oil on UTIs.
Additional reporting by Marie Suszynski.
At The Stream, Douglas Axe issues a challenge to Science Guy Bill Nye. Axe invites Nye to visit his team of scientists in Seattle and confront the genuine science that is rocking orthodox evolutionary theory, while also considering the evidence for intelligent design.
Mischievously, Dr. Axe gave the same title Undeniable to his new book as Nye gave to his own recent work. So in that respect, the two are well matched as conversation partners. Beyond that, I think Nye would be at a disadvantage, which may be why he has up till now seemed to prefer hanging around with creationists.
Axe begins:
Bill Nye, host of the popular 1990s kids program Bill Nye the Science Guy, has become a celebrity spokesman for science. Nyes hero status got a major boost in 2014 when he debated young earth creationist Ken Ham. I couldnt bear to watch, knowing their shared tendency to replace scientific argument with appeals to authority (a form of Biblical authority for Ham and the authority of scientific consensus for Nye). Several million people did watch, though, and millions more have since then. Nye has been back in the headlines recently after paying a visit to Hams new Ark Encounter theme park, promoted as a full-size replica of Noahs ark. Reporters ate it up. Im sure that kind of publicity is hard for either man to resist, but shouldnt Nye at least try to resist it? If hes really a science guy, shouldnt he pay less attention to jousting with Ham and more attention to the weighty scientific case against Darwins account of life? After all, how serious can he really be about Darwinian evolution if he ignores all the research that shows it doesnt do nearly what is advertised?
True. And isnt it curious how creationists and evolutionists enjoy this symbiotic relationship? Ken Ham, no doubt with the single pure intention of defending his way of reading the Bible, effectively acts as Nyes enabler. He provides Mr. Nye with a convenient way of evading hard questions about the adequacy of Darwinian mechanisms in explaining lifes history.
Their debate at the Creation Museum was a big hit, with five and a half million viewers on YouTube so far. (See Casey Luskins comments here.)
But there can be no meaningful debate or conversation between parties that, instead of arguing about science, prefer to appeal to their favorite authorities. And that situation seems to suit Bill Nye just fine.
The nub of Doug Axes challenge? Its a matter of eningeering:
As a former Boeing engineer, [Nye] describes in his book the considerable effort that went into developing those turned-up tips on the ends of aircraft wings, called winglets. In the testing stages, winglets did more harm than good until the concept went through many rounds of revision. But after countless hours of research and development a beneficial winglet design finally emerged, after which these perfected winglets quickly became a standard feature of commercial jets. Barn owls have winglets too, but in this case Nye assures us there is no evidence that they were deliberately designed. Natural selection caused owl winglets to be invented by accident, Nye assures us. Humans design in a top-down way, where the low-level details are worked out in order to meet the top-level objective, but according to Nye, nature works the other way around. Hmmm. Why would an engineer be so quick to dismiss the lessons learned from engineering? If engineered aircraft winglets were at first worse than useless a waste of time and energy why be so quick to assume that a mindless and ruthlessly cost-cutting process like natural selection would be able to get over that hump? Engineers benefit from clear goals, dedicated research budgets, and the patience and foresight to stick with something that isnt working at all, sensing that it will work. Those key ingredients of invention are completely absent from Darwins recipe for innovation.
Nye hides behind Hams Ark, as if the only alternatives were design-denying materialism or Scriptural literalism. The binary choice is simply false, but it evidently serves Nyes purposes. Dr. Axe invites him to come out from there and have a meaningful discussion:
As I explain in my book, theres plenty of counter-evidence evidence that the clumsy cost-cutting effects of natural selection prevent even very modest acts of invention. As passionate as Nye is about science, then, why would he choose to ignore all this evidence? In the time he took to visit Ken Hams ark, he could have visited a team of scientists here in Seattle who have spent decades testing the ideas he takes for granted, showing them to be woefully inadequate. When two scientists disagree about evolution, Nye writes, they confer with colleagues, develop theories, collect evidence, and arrive at a more complete understanding. Exactly. So why not do that, Bill? By dropping your authoritarian approach and engaging some of these scientists who disagree with you on scientific grounds you might find something more rewarding than publicity. The team I work with here in Seattle would welcome you for that kind of in-depth conversation.
Now how much would you pay to be a fly on the wall if that meeting ever comes to pass?
Photo: Bill Nye, by Bill Hrybyk, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.
Im on Twitter. Follow me @d_klinghoffer.
From: Chuck Gallagher -- The Business Ethics Expert - Keynote Speaker For Immediate Release: Dateline: Greenville , SC Tuesday, August 2, 2016
While my primary focus is ethics, the reality of the lack of ethical behavior often leads to illegal behavior and that is fraud pure and simple. So lets look at 4 keys to responding to internal fraud:
Whats Your Fraud Policy?
I asked this question not long ago to a board member for a local Credit Union and his response was priceless: We fire them!
Now while he said that with pride, the reality was when pressed further he honestly had no clue what the formal anti-fraud policy was. Side note, thats a real problem for a board member.
A written policy might be seen by some as insignificant but from a legal perspective might be one of the most important documents you can have. In internal policy offers a layer of protection that most lawyers defending claims wants to see. It demonstrates that you have taken the time to document your culture, your intent and (hopefully) communicate your policy to all employees.
An attorney friend who was defending a wrongful termination lawsuit said that when it became clear that the terminated employee was terminated for a clear violation of the written policy that they agreed to, the attorneys on the other side knew that their suit was quickly a losing proposition. When the board member above said, we fire them in todays environment that is not enough. Specifics and clear violations are what make actions for fraud stick. The policy is one clear way that Credit Unions should be responding to fraud.
The content of the policy is crucial. What is fraud at least what is it according to your policy? Anyone would think that theft is fraud, but is taking a ten out of the drawer and making change with cash in your possession (your personal) funds to make change fraud? What amount constitutes fraud? What if the action doesnt involved cash. Can taking office supplies or equipment constitute fraud?
I have a fortune 50 client that has a policy that says, De minimis use of office supplies is within the acceptable bounds of behavior and not considered unethical. What is your threshold?
Lastly, what do you want an employee to do if they suspects fraud? While the idea of a whistleblower is displeasing to some, the reality is according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (
What Happens When Fraud is Reported?
You hear from your whistleblower hotline about a suspected fraud. What do you do?
The problem is our first action may be a reaction fraught with emotion and that might just be wrong. Now while Im not proud of my past (over 25 years ago) behavior, I committed fraud and know from the perpetrator end what the collapse of an illegal action feels like. The best action is a measured action that allows the Credit Union to meet with the suspected wrongdoer. What would appear to be obvious Ill state here: (1) make sure the meeting includes more than just the interviewer and the perpetrator (or suspected perpetrator). A witness is critical; (2) Likewise, expect the interview to be recorded (by the perpetrator) using his/her cell phone. Take nothing for granted and make sure the rules of the interview are clear. Do not let the perpetrator have time to craft a story. People, by nature, will tell you the truth when they are faced with specific questions that they dont have time to craft a lie to cover.
Of course all are innocent till proven guilty so make sure that you have consulted with appropriate counsel before making any potentially false accusations. Open ended questions that allow someone to come clean makes for a far better outcome. If you have specific proof of the allegation provide what is needed as it is needed in order to make clear to the perpetrator that there is no option other that clear and truthful transparency.
From personal experience, I know that my fraud was collapsing and there was no option other than to tell the truth. That was difficult, but once out, the process of dealing with the consequences and making a different set of choices began. While the perpetrator will, most likely, resist the collapse of the fraud responding to internal fraud through direct confrontation is most effective when done well.
Youre Right its Fraud What Now?
Responding to internal fraud requires you to report and do so quickly. If there is suspicious activity FinCEN requires a Suspicious Activity Report within 30 days. Likewise, there is a strong likelihood that law enforcement and NCUA will become involved. For goodness sake, dont fail to report what might be a problem just because you want to avoid publicity or protect a valued employee that might have gone rogue.
Equally important is report the suspicious activity to your bond carrier. Many bonding policies have certain procedures that must be followed and benefit of immediate notification cannot be overstated.
A credit union client (for ethics training) reported to me after the fact, that their delay in reporting unethical/illegal activity created substantial problems in receiving coverage for their claims.
Likewise, prosecute! If you have a culture of strict ethics and compliance action, then responding to internal fraud requires that you prosecute anyone involved in an illegal action or report a suspect of illegal action to law enforcement. If you want your policy to have teeth, then you have to be willing to let those teeth bite. It is said that employees respect what management inspects. In this case, when responding to internal fraud, by being willing to prosecute every time, there is a clear message sent that the consequence will be swift and painful.
Make Sure Your Ethics Training is Effective!
As an ethics trainer, its clear to me that most ethics training is highly ineffective. The focus seems to be on what the rules are and gaining agreement on making sure that they are followed vs. on the motivation behind what causes good smart people to make dumb stupid choices. Human behavior follows a pattern. By establishing ethics training that focuses on the pattern of behavior it is possible to bring subconscious behavior possibilities to the light and by doing so reduce the likelihood that an employee will respond to internal fraud temptations. An effective ethics training program is a fundamental key to accomplishing legal protection and behavior change.
YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!
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Most financial institutions are diligent about preventing internal fraud, but according to data from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network , in 2016 there were over 119,000 forms of reported fraud in the US thru June 2016. While most of them are not internally generated, according to the NCUA ( National Credit Union Association ) reports, the number of suspicious incidents involving employees is on the rise. A critical issue for Credit Unions and (for that matter) any financial institution is the importance of responding to internal fraud.While my primary focus is ethics, the reality of the lack of ethical behavior often leads to illegal behavior and that is fraud pure and simple. So lets look at 4 keys to responding to internal fraud:I asked this question not long ago to a board member for a local Credit Union and his response was priceless: We fire them!Now while he said that with pride, the reality was when pressed further he honestly had no clue what the formal anti-fraud policy was. Side note, thats a real problem for a board member.A written policy might be seen by some as insignificant but from a legal perspective might be one of the most important documents you can have. In internal policy offers a layer of protection that most lawyers defending claims wants to see. It demonstrates that you have taken the time to document your culture, your intent and (hopefully) communicate your policy to all employees.An attorney friend who was defending a wrongful termination lawsuit said that when it became clear that the terminated employee was terminated for a clear violation of the written policy that they agreed to, the attorneys on the other side knew that their suit was quickly a losing proposition. When the board member above said, we fire them in todays environment that is not enough. Specifics and clear violations are what make actions for fraud stick. The policy is one clear way that Credit Unions should be responding to fraud.The content of the policy is crucial. What is fraud at least what is it according to your policy? Anyone would think that theft is fraud, but is taking a ten out of the drawer and making change with cash in your possession (your personal) funds to make change fraud? What amount constitutes fraud? What if the action doesnt involved cash. Can taking office supplies or equipment constitute fraud?I have a fortune 50 client that has a policy that says, De minimis use of office supplies is within the acceptable bounds of behavior and not considered unethical. What is your threshold?Lastly, what do you want an employee to do if they suspects fraud? While the idea of a whistleblower is displeasing to some, the reality is according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners ( ACFE ) the #1 way fraud is discovered (or uncovered) is from whistleblowers. And as we consider your fraud policy an effective way of responding to internal fraud is making sure that there is an anti-retaliation clause present to protect the brave whistleblower who might be the most effective deterrent to internal fraud.You hear from your whistleblower hotline about a suspected fraud. What do you do?The problem is our first action may be a reaction fraught with emotion and that might just be wrong. Now while Im not proud of my past (over 25 years ago) behavior, I committed fraud and know from the perpetrator end what the collapse of an illegal action feels like. The best action is a measured action that allows the Credit Union to meet with the suspected wrongdoer. What would appear to be obvious Ill state here: (1) make sure the meeting includes more than just the interviewer and the perpetrator (or suspected perpetrator). A witness is critical; (2) Likewise, expect the interview to be recorded (by the perpetrator) using his/her cell phone. Take nothing for granted and make sure the rules of the interview are clear. Do not let the perpetrator have time to craft a story. People, by nature, will tell you the truth when they are faced with specific questions that they dont have time to craft a lie to cover.Of course all are innocent till proven guilty so make sure that you have consulted with appropriate counsel before making any potentially false accusations. Open ended questions that allow someone to come clean makes for a far better outcome. If you have specific proof of the allegation provide what is needed as it is needed in order to make clear to the perpetrator that there is no option other that clear and truthful transparency.From personal experience, I know that my fraud was collapsing and there was no option other than to tell the truth. That was difficult, but once out, the process of dealing with the consequences and making a different set of choices began. While the perpetrator will, most likely, resist the collapse of the fraud responding to internal fraud through direct confrontation is most effective when done well.Responding to internal fraud requires you to report and do so quickly. If there is suspicious activity FinCEN requires a Suspicious Activity Report within 30 days. Likewise, there is a strong likelihood that law enforcement and NCUA will become involved. For goodness sake, dont fail to report what might be a problem just because you want to avoid publicity or protect a valued employee that might have gone rogue.Equally important is report the suspicious activity to your bond carrier. Many bonding policies have certain procedures that must be followed and benefit of immediate notification cannot be overstated.A credit union client (for ethics training) reported to me after the fact, that their delay in reporting unethical/illegal activity created substantial problems in receiving coverage for their claims.Likewise, prosecute! If you have a culture of strict ethics and compliance action, then responding to internal fraud requires that you prosecute anyone involved in an illegal action or report a suspect of illegal action to law enforcement. If you want your policy to have teeth, then you have to be willing to let those teeth bite. It is said that employees respect what management inspects. In this case, when responding to internal fraud, by being willing to prosecute every time, there is a clear message sent that the consequence will be swift and painful.As an ethics trainer, its clear to me that most ethics training is highly ineffective. The focus seems to be on what the rules are and gaining agreement on making sure that they are followed vs. on the motivation behind what causes good smart people to make dumb stupid choices. Human behavior follows a pattern. By establishing ethics training that focuses on the pattern of behavior it is possible to bring subconscious behavior possibilities to the light and by doing so reduce the likelihood that an employee will respond to internal fraud temptations. An effective ethics training program is a fundamental key to accomplishing legal protection and behavior change.YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!The post Credit Unions 4 Keys to Responding to Internal Fraud appeared first on Chuck Gallagher
From: Jack Marshall -- ProEthics, Ltd. For Immediate Release: Dateline: Alexandria , VA Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Director Comey said my answers were truthful, and what Ive said is consistent with what I have told the American people, that there were decisions discussed and made to classify retroactively certain of the emails. -Hillary Clinton to Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, asserting that what was demonstrably false was true, regarding a public statement by Comey that can be Googled and watched on YouTube instantly. My reaction when I saw that: KABOOM! The top of my head blew right off, bounced off the ceiling and knocked over the lamp. Wallace asked Clinton directly about what she had been saying to the public about her e-mails since May of 2015: that she did nothing wrong, that her private, secret e-mail server was approved by the State Department, that she never received or sent a classified e-mailokay, that didnt work, that she never knowingly sent a classified e-mailwait, wait, that she never sent or received an e-mail that was marked classified. Comey, in his televised, live statement announcing his decision not to recommend prosecution for Clinton, directly contradicted her. In his careful statement Comey said, 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.,,,seven e-mail 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 e-mails about those matters and receiving e-mails from others about the same matters. There is evidence to support a conclusion 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 conversationeven if information is not marked classified in an e-mail, participants who know or should know that the subject matter is classified are still obligated to protect it. There is no way that an individual of normal facility with the English language can listen to or read that statement and conclude that Comey was saying that Hillarys answers to questions about the e-mails to the American public and the news mediafor over a year!were truthful, as in full of truth. A technical argument can be made, if one wishes, that Comey didnt say that Clinton lied, because maybe she is an idiot and incompetent, and didnt know or understand what any reasonable person in Secretary Clintons position should have known and understood, leading to her factually false (and constantly evolving as more facts where uncovered) explanations over months and months. What should we make of this? The less left-biased of the Washington Posts factcheckers, Glenn Kessler, slammed Clintons statement to Wallace with his worst lie rating, Four Pinocchios. He also seemed disgusted, writing, Clinton is cherry-picking statements by Comey to preserve her narrative about the unusual setup of a private email server. This allows her to skate past the more disturbing findings of the FBI investigationFor instance, when Clinton asserts my answers were truthful, a campaign aide said she is referring to this statement by Comey to Congress: We have no basis to conclude she lied to the FBI. In her response to Wallace, Clinton at one point appeared to deflect responsibility to her aides: I relied on and had every reason to rely on the judgments of the professionals with whom I worked. And so, in retrospect, maybe some people are saying, well, among those 300 people, they made the wrong call. As we have seen repeatedly in Clintons explanations of the email controversy, she relies on excessively technical and legalistic answers to explain her actions. While Comey did say there was no evidence she lied to the FBI, that is not the same as saying she told the truth to the American public which was the point of Wallaces question. And although Comey did say many emails were retroactively classified, he also said that there were some emails that were already classified that should not have been sent on an unclassified, private server. Thensigh! Kesslers bias sneaked through, as he wrote, Thats the uncomfortable truth that Clinton has trouble admitting. This is blatant equivocation. She refuses to admit it, and more than that, claims the opposite. That isnt having trouble, thats refusal to tell the truth, even to the extent of lying about what is right in front of everyones eyes. Hence the Jumbo designation. Indeed, Hillarys lie on Fox is worse than Elephant? What elephant? Hillary is saying, Elephant? Thats no elephant! Its a puppy! The reaction of Atlantics Ron Fournier, a liberal journalist who nonetheless is capable of honesty and integrity, to Clintons answer to Wallace was anger and dismay: This is a note to Clinton Democratsa desperate plea, actually. Your candidate staged a winning convention in Philadelphia: big stars, tight messaging, and a compelling case against her rival, Donald Trump.Hillary Clinton may be rising in the polls as a result, which is good news for people like me across the political spectrum who find Trump to be vacuous, soulless, and temperamentally unfit for the presidency. Yet Im not angry at Trump; I expect him to be repugnant. I am angry at Clinton, because she followed up her convention with another unnecessary lie; another excuse for people to distrust her; another thin reed upon which undecided voters could justify a belated allegiance to a man who former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called a dangerous demagogue. And again, the bias slips out. Slim reed? Really, Ron? A political leaders habitual and shameless lying to the American public to cover-up wrongdoing is a slim reed to justify rejecting a Presidential candidate as unfit and untrustworthy. Did I DREAM Watergate? Then there is Mother Jones, a pretty typical progressive commentary site, which is to say, typically unable to be objective and debasing itself at every opportunity to deny that a Democrat/progressive/woman/black/ gay/ Hispanic is capable of wrongdoing or even mistakes. Mother JonesIm not kidding, nowused Hillarys Unethical Quote Of the Month and Jumbo that made my head explode as a catalyst to publish an essay by its primary propagandist, Keven Drum, titled Hillary Clinton Is One of Americas Most Honest Politicians. It really did! Not only that, but the article, though obviously a Clinton defense tactic compelled by Clintons lie, didnt mention the Fox interview while insisting that poor Hillary gets bad rap. Drums proof that shes so honest? A chart showing how PolitiFact, the most biased and untrustworthy (but, like Drum, also the most ideologically biased) rates other politicians honesty compared to Hillary. Heres the funny part: Drums article was posted in the afternoon. the day after Clintons Jumbo. PolitiFact registered its assessment of Clintons answer to Wallace at around 6 pm. The assessment, according to its Truth-O-Meter, was Wrote PolitiFact in part: When Comey announced the FBIs findings July 5, it was clear that there are obvious inconsistencies between what Clinton said publicly about classified information on her private email server before her FBI interview and what the FBI found. Pointedly, Clinton said there wasnt any classified information in her email, and he said there was. Well also note a couple other major inconsistencies between Clintons remarks and the FBIs findings: Clinton repeatedly said she turned over all work-related emails to the State Department in 2014, about 30,000 emails. However, Comey said FBI investigators uncovered several thousand work-related emails that she had not handed over to the State Department. And, Clinton has said her email servers had numerous safeguards. It was on property guarded by the Secret Service. And there were no security breaches. Comey said that while theres no evidence anyone successfully hacked Clintons email servers, they certainly were susceptible to attack. There was no full-time security staff, which are found at government agencies and commercial email providers like Google. Further, he noted that Clinton used her personal email abroad, which could have allowed hostile actors to access her account. Our ruling:A reasonable person would interpret Clintons statement to mean that Comey has endorsed her public remarks about her email. This is not the case.Further, while not explicitly rebuking Clintons public comments, Comey highlighted a major problem with them. Clinton repeatedly said she did not have any classified information whatsoever in her email, marked or unmarked. After the FBI investigation, including the interview with Clinton, Comey said she unequivocally did. We rate her claim Pants on Fire. Fortunately for Hillary, that rating didnt make it into Drums chart. Whew! Ethics Alarms take on the latest Clinton deceitfest is this. Commenting upon James Comeys statement, I wrote, as my final observation, 8. If Clinton has sufficient integrity and common sense, she will quickly accept the verdict and conclusions described by Comey, admit carelessness and poor decisions, promise that she has learned important lessons that will make her a better leader, and vow to do better. Well, she flunked that test, didnt she? She flunked it because she treats the American public like serfs and fools, is incapable of being transparent or admitting wrongdoing, and deserves every bit of the distrust, dislike and suspicion most American have for her. Hillarys corrupted supporters like DrumI may have to vote for this awful women, but I am not a supporterneed to dig deep and find some kind of integrity and ethical courage, so they can confront their heroI know, I know, she has a vaginaand not allow her to enter the White House assuming that the nation doesnt care if its leaders lie, and that just because they may elect a habitual liar when the alternative is an orangutan, a block of Limburger or Donald Trump doesnt mean lying as a primary tool of governance is just fine with us. Share this:
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
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Fox News' prides itself on being "fair and balanced," as reflected in its adoption of this phrase as its motto. When tested against its coverage of the last night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), the use of the slogan strains credulity. The network's coverage was so biased it could be considered an in-kind contribution to the Trump campaign.
Three of the night's most memorable speeches, which aired live on both CNN and MSNBC, were preempted on Fox News either by commercials or interviews with Trump supporters. In doing this, Fox News did an incredible disservice to its viewers.
They included the speech of Medal of Honor recipient Florent Groberg, a retired Army captain who tackled a suicide bomber, which was preempted on Fox by an interview with a woman featured in a new NRA commercial. A powerful speech by U.S. Marine Corps General George Allen, in which he condemned Trump's calls to torture suspected terrorists, was interrupted by Fox for an interview with General Michael Flynn, who has backed Trump on torture. Flynn criticized Allen, whose still-unfinished speech was broadcast silently in the background.
But the most memorable speech ignored by Fox News was the moving testimony of Khizr M. Khan, whose Muslim son was killed while serving as a U.S. soldier in Iraq. Capt. Humayun Khan was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star for saving the lives of his men when he advanced forward toward an explosives-laden vehicle driven by a suicide bomber.
Mr. Khan, who immigrated to America with his family from the United Arab Emirates, boldly challenged Donald Trump's repeated attacks on Muslims with his hijab-wearing wife standing by his side.
Over the past year, Trump has called for mass surveillance of Muslims in America. In November, Trump said he would "seriously consider" closing mosques in response to the terrorist attacks in Paris last year. The next day he said the United States would have "absolutely no choice" but to close down mosques where "some bad things are happening." Trump has also proposed a complete ban on Muslims entering the U.S.
On June 28, Time magazine reported that Trump had refused to clarify recent statements that appeared inconsistent with his earlier positions. When asked last month if the Trump campaign would soften his stance on the Muslim ban, "Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks told Time, 'This is not accurate.'" When the Associated Press asked Trump to clarify how he would identify Muslims, Trump told the AP reporter via email: "You figure it out!"
"Hillary Clinton was right when she called my son 'the best of America,'" Mr. Khan said at the DNC. "If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America.
"Donald Trump, you are asking Americans to trust you with our future," Khan continued, addressing Trump directly. "Let me ask you: Have you even read the United States Constitution?"
Khan looked straight into the camera as he reached into his breast pocket and produced a small copy of the Constitution, holding it high.
"I will gladly lend you my copy. In this document, look for the words 'liberty' and 'equal protection of law.'
"Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery?" Khan asked Trump. "Go look at the graves of the brave patriots who died defending America -- you will see all faiths, genders, and ethnicities.
"You have sacrificed nothing, and no one," he added.
Instead of broadcasting Mr. Khan's speech live, Fox News aired a commercial attacking Hillary Clinton on Benghazi.
Mr. Khan's speech is particularly powerful when contrasted with Trump's 1997 appearance on the Howard Stern Show, where he compared his sexual promiscuity during the 1970s with others' service in the Vietnam War. Trump avoided serving in Vietnam with repeated student deferments from the draft.
"It is a dangerous world out there," Trump told Stern, after being congratulated for having avoided contracting a sexually transmitted disease. "It's scary, like Vietnam ... It is my personal Vietnam. I feel like a great and very brave soldier."
Someone needs to ask Trump Mr. Khan's question directly: Has he even read the Constitution? So far, he has given no indication that he has.
Earlier this month, when asked during a meeting with House Republicans whether he supports the powers of Congress enumerated in Article I of the Constitution, Trump responded that he supports the entire Constitution, including Article XII. The Constitution only has seven articles. Trump has an obligation to prove to voters that he not only has read the Constitution, but that he understands and is willing to follow the Constitution as the supreme law of the U.S.
Presidential debates are routinely devoted to single subjects, such as national defense or the economy. Yet presidential candidates are rarely forced to answer questions about their understanding of the Constitution.
Which is why we call on the Commission on Presidential Debates to devote one of its debates this fall solely to questions that challenge the candidates' constitutional literacy. The future of our freedoms may very well depend on their answers.
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
One-Time-Use Tamper-Proof Transparent Wine Bags
A restaurant licensee may permit a patron, following the consumption of a full course meal, to remove from the licensed restaurant establishment one partially consumed bottle of wine purchased in connection with the meal, a portion of which bottle of wine was actually consumed during the meal.
One of the conditions which must be met by the restaurant licensee involves the use of a one-time-use tamper-proof transparent bag. Before a restaurant licensee may permit a partially consumed bottle of wine to leave the restaurant, the restaurant licensee or an agent of the restaurant licensee must:
securely reseal the bottle of wine,
place the resealed bottle in a one-time-use tamper-proof transparent bag, and
securely seal the bag.
The one-time-use tamper-proof transparent bag must insure that the patron cannot gain access to the bottle while in transit after the bag is sealed.
Restaurant licensees have asked what types of bags may be used, and the procedures for the use of such bags.
Any clear plastic bag may be used, so long as the manner in which the bag is sealed prevents the bag from being opened and then resealed.
For example, the resealed partially consumed bottle of wine may be placed in a large clear plastic food storage bag. The opening of the bag may then be securely sealed across the entire length of the bags opening with a series of staples placed immediately next to each other. Clear tape may then be placed over the staples in order to prevent injury to the patrons hands, or damage to the patrons clothes or car. This procedure makes the bag tamper-proof because the bag cannot be opened without tearing the bag.
Alternatively, the resealed partially consumed bottle of wine may be placed in a large clear plastic food storage bag, the opening of which is sealed along its entire length with a special tape which immediately forms a chemical bond to the plastic of the bag. Such tape cannot be removed without tearing the bag, which makes the bag tamper-proof.
Restaurant licensees may also elect to purchase specialty bags having a flap with a pre-glued area which can be exposed by the removal of a protective strip when the bag is ready for sealing. The glue must be of a kind which immediately forms a chemical bond to the plastic of the bag, so that the bag cannot be opened without tearing it. As a general rule, evidence bags used by law enforcement agencies are tamper proof.
The restaurant licensee should personally evaluate a sample of any specialty bag whose use is contemplated as a wine bag to make sure that the bag meets the statutory requirements.
Sample bags from the following persons have been informally reviewed by the Office of Counsel and have been found to be in conformity with the statutory requirements. This finding of acceptability does not constitute a formal determination by the Members of the State Liquor Authority, and is not to be construed as an endorsement.
Daniel Mullock
Bago Vino LLC
416 West 49th Street Suite 5A
New York, NY 10019 Tel: (917) 318-5968
E. Charles Hunt
Greater NYC Chapters
New York State Restaurant Association
1001 Avenue of the Americas, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10018
Tel: (212) 398-9160 Extension 14
Fax: (212) 398-9650
About Tracy Jong
Tracy Jong has been an attorney for more than 20 years, representing restaurants, bars, and craft beverage manufacturers in a wide array of legal matters. She is also a licensed patent attorney.
Her book Everything You Need To Know About Obtaining and Maintaining a New York Retail Liquor License: The Definitive Guide to Navigating the State Liquor Authority will be available next month on Amazon.com as a softcover and Kindle e-book.
Her legal column is available in The Equipped Brewer, a publication giving business advice, trends, and vendor reviews to help craft breweries, cideries, distilleries and wineries build brands and succeed financially.
She also maintains a website and blog with practical information on legal and business issues affecting the industry. Follow her, sign up for her free firm app or monthly newsletter.
www.TracyJongLawFirm.com
TJong@TracyJongLawFirm.com
Facebook: Tracy Jong Law Firm
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LinkedIn: Tracy Jong
Tracy Jong Law Firm
Monday, August 1, 2016
I must confess, I didnt see this variation of the Naked Teacher Principle coming.
That long-running topic on Ethics Alarms involves teachers who allow naked or sexually provocative photographs of themselves to become available to their pre-college age students. The verdict here is that such teachers have no basis for complaint if their employers subsequently judge them to be fatally diminished as role models and authority figures, having traversed into the category of sex objects, at least for some students. There are many variations of the principle that have been explored here, some requiring substantive exceptions, like The Provocatively-Clad Bodybuilding Teacher Principle. Some are slam-dunks, like the Online-Porn Star Teacher Principle.
Today the question raised is how we should feel about potential First Ladies who have left naked photo-shoots in their wake. Melania Trump, now the speech-writer trophy wife of GOP Presidential nominee Donald Trump, was previously not a role model, but just a model, and occasionally a naked model. The tabloid New York Post somehow got a hold of some of her more stimulating photos and published them, the first batch with the typical Post headline, The Ogle Office, and the second, showing Mrs, Trump in some girl-on-girl action
headlined, Menage a Trump.
Is this unfair of the Post? Is this below-the-belt, attacking Melania to get at her husband?
The Trump-hating Huffington Post, which puts the following questionable description of Trump under every article including his name
Editors note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims 1.6 billion members of an entire religion from entering the U.S.
(someday remind me to unpack this, which is substantially unfair and misleading) has rushed to Melanias rescue in an article by Zeba Blay, a typical HuffPo social justice warrior of impaired analytical skills, arguing that You Can Be Anti-Trump Without Slut-Shaming Melania.
Boy, is it terriblehypocritical, inconsistent, illogical, silly.
1. Central to Hillary Clintons argument that she is qualified to be President is that she spent 8 years as First Lady. This means that the Democrats, whose number includes just about everyone connected with the Huffington Post, believe that First Lady is a substantive position. I dont think it is, or should be, but thats what Trumps opponents are arguing, because if they dont believe that, there goes about half of Hillarys claim to have relevant experience. Melanias past, her judgment, her values and past conduct are, therefore, according to Trumps opponents, completely relevant to the election.
2. Blay writes, Ultimately, the nude photos are irrelevant. They tell nothing about Melania Trumps character or her ethics, and they certainly tell us nothing of Donald Trumps. That, ultimately, is the call of every voter to make, not Bays. I can see where the choice to be photographed nude for compensation is relevant to assessing someones judgment and values. I can certainly see where a rational voter, who knows that the First Lady, along with the President, is a symbolic presence representing our nation to the rest of the world, feels that Melanias image as nude model will not be helpful, especially to Muslims.
The photos are relevant.
3. Writes Blay,
Defending Melania Trump from being slut-shamed and reduced to a thing rather than a person, doesnt mean having to defend Donald Trump if you disagree deeply with his message. He himself, after all, seems to be pushing her body and her beauty as a selling-point.
If Melania didnt see those modelling jobs as slutty, then there is no reason to argue that she is shamed by publicizing them. She is an adult, and was when they were taken. She made the choice, and she is accountable.
She didnt know she would be married to someone running for President, you say? I dont blame her: she shouldnt be. Still, there is nothing unethical about revealing the product of a potential First Ladys choices. Nobody made her pose nude. She made the decision to accept money to be objectified, and she is estopped from complaining that those photos objectify her. She consented. Why should the Post, or Blay, hesitate to publicize photos made with Melanias full cooperation? Blays argument would apply to naked photos taken without Mrs. Trumps knowledge or consent, but not these.
4. This is news. Of course its news. Its news like Bill Clintons cigar tricks were news. What if there were photos of Eleanor Roosevelt performing a lap dance for a sailor? Irrelevant? If nude photos of the elegant Jackie Kennedy surfaced, taken when she was a moonlighting debutante, is Blay seriously arguing that those should have been censored by the press, because the public couldnt handle the truth?
5. More Bland
Of course, the sexist scrutiny that Mrs. Trump is getting should come as no surprise. Michelle Obama has undergone similar attacks over the last eight years. Shes been called, numerous times, an ape and a monkey.
Huh? So showing actual photographs of Mrs. Trump that show her in all her anatomical glory is the equivalent of racist insults to Mrs. Obama? Run that by me again, would you?
6. Again, Bland making no sense:
What this speaks to is how the First Lady (or potential First Lady) is still viewed as an extension of her husband, rather than as an individual in her own right.
Did an editor even read this junk? The photos are of Melania, who is running for First Lady in her own right. How is revealing something about her past not focusing on her as an individual?
7. Most bizarrely of all, the author, who doubles down on HuffPos official position that Trump is a misogynist, ends by saying that the photos certainly tell us nothing of Donald Trumps character or ethics.
Well, speak for yourself, Zeba. While Barack Obama married a lawyer and intellectual equal, and George Bush married a dedicated teacher, and Bill Clinton married a political ally, lawyer and activist, Donald Trump chose for his life partner (actually the role is partner until he finds a woman who is younger after the previous partners looks begin to fade) a woman almost thirty years younger whose primary appeal to him is her appearance (we also know this from his own statements), who had to lie about her credentials and who couldnt write her own speech without stealing part of it.
This tells me a lot about Trump. I knew all of it before, but maybe a lot of people dont. Hes misogynist. Melania has the only qualities he cares about in women.
8. There is nothing unethical about the Post publishing the photos. The way the paper framed them was unfair and slimy, but the Post is unfair and slimy, pretty much every day.
9. Thus, the Naked Presidential Candidates Wife Principle:
Neither a potential First Lady nor her husband have any basis for complaint if naked photos of the candidates wife that she allowed to be taken become public, and the source publishing them has violated no ethical principles by doing so.
AUSTIN Lawyers challenging Texas redistricting maps are asking a federal court in San Antonio to lay out a schedule for the rest of the case, cautioning that the lawsuit needs to proceed to avoid potential disruptions to the next round of state elections in 2018.
Lawsuits brought by civil rights groups alleging the states political boundaries for Congress and the Texas House discriminate against minorities have largely stalled with no progress in the last two years.
Now several of the groups, including the NAACP and the League of United Latin American Citizens, have asked the court in San Antonio to set a hearing to hammer out a schedule for remaining action, a move that could be seen as asking the judges to get moving on a case that has languished.
The minority groups argue theres roughly a little more than a year left to finish up all pending redistricting litigation before Texas starts getting ready for the 2018 elections, a cycle that will include races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.
We dont have much time to get things ready for the 2018 election, said Renea Hicks, a lawyer in the case representing Travis County. All were asking for is someday after Labor Day, please call us all to San Antonio for a hearing to set a schedule for the rest of the case.
The last time the San Antonio court weighed in on the case was in November, when it made clear there would be no changes to political boundaries for the presidential election to avoid a repeat of 2012 when redistricting map litigation threw the election cycle into disarray.
Thats when the San Antonio court redrew redistricting maps originally passed by the Legislature in 2011 because a federal court in Washington ruled they discriminate against minorities. Intended to serve as a temporary fix, the Legislature adopted the court-drawn maps with only slight changes as permanent during a special session in 2013.
Lawyers in the case have been waiting anxiously for a ruling from the San Antonio court on a portion of the redistricting lawsuit since August 2014 when a trial concluded on the maps passed by the Legislature in 2011. A connected lawsuit challenging the election boundaries passed by the Legislature in 2013 has yet to go trial in that time.
Luis Vera, the lead lawyer representing LULAC in the case, said the three judges overseeing the case in San Antonio have had more than enough time to act.
Its time that whatever the court is going to do, we want them to do it now, Vera said. Weve argued this thing. Weve briefed everything. Weve given the court every map possible. Theyve got to do something.
High tunnel crops to be featured during educational short course
Growers, educators and industry personnel can learn more about the aspects of high tunnel crop production during a short course Nov. 9 offered by ISU.
Every major UK supermarket has now made a commitment to end the sale of eggs produced by caged hens by 2025.
Asda, Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, Morrisons and Iceland have set a 2025 deadline to allow a transition to cage-free production.
The look for alternative production systems will force the egg industry into its biggest change since the introduction of the enriched cage system in 2012; a move which then cost farmers in excess of 400m.
NFU poultry board chairman Duncan Priestner
Barn production where birds are kept indoors but have freedom to roam a shed is widely considered to be the replacing system.
NFU poultry board chairman Duncan Priestner warned that the decision to end caged-eggs would not just impact those using enriched cages but would have a knock-on effect on the entire egg sector.
He warned against snap decisions that could leave poultry farmers out of pocket.
The NFU says producers need more details to be able to effectively plan
'Minimal disruption' to businesses
"This change will impact greatly across all egg production systems so it is absolutely imperative that we and our members have clarity over retailers future plans and have our concerns addressed as soon as possible," said Mr Priestner.
"Although 2025 is nine years away, time is of the essence to allow our producers to make the necessary changes, with minimal disruption to their businesses and to our customers the British public - a market worth an estimated 895m.
"We have built good relations with the retailers UK agricultures biggest customer - and will be looking to those relationships to secure much needed clarification and certainty for our members.
"UK retailers have a very good track record on sourcing UK egg and we look to that commitment continuing."
The NFU says producers need more details to be able to effectively plan and make the necessary changes to their businesses in the remaining nine-year timeframe up until 2025.
Stimulating environments
Compassion in World Farming and the RSPCA have both applauded the decisions by retailers.
Dr Tracey Jones, Director of Food Business at Compassion in World Farming, says: "Of course, whilst the timelines are longer than we would like we at Compassion very much welcome these pledges.
"We have worked to influence and educate food companies on animal welfare for decades, and we will continue to work with these retailers to ensure the production system changes required to go cage-free will offer the hens a good quality of life in rich and stimulating environments."
Mia Fernyhough, a hen welfare specialist for the RSPCA, said: "It is fantastic news that Tesco, Iceland and now Morrisons are all committed to going cage-free.
"We hope they will not only stop selling packs of eggs from caged hens but they will also stop using them as ingredients in own-brand products like cakes, quiches and fresh pasta.
"Sadly around half of the eggs laid in the UK are still from birds kept in cages, provided with little more usable space than an A4 sheet of paper per hen.
"Its time cages were consigned to the history books and we hope that the last few supermarkets still selling eggs from caged hens follow suit."
The Landworkers Alliance has announced eight recommendations for a post-Brexit agricultural sector.
The organisation, which represents small-scale farmers producing food using only sustainable methods, asks for policies that "support producers, protects the environment and prioritizes access to healthy, nutritious food for all".
The organisation admit it is a "complex and essential" issue, but nethertheless say it is a "great opportunity" for the government to "listen to the needs and desires of all stakeholders".
Landworkers Alliance policy recommendations
Focus on National Food Security
Direct public money to high quality food and good farming
The LWA want a more 'just' food system
End the discrimination against small farms
Create and maintain agricultural employment
Improve environmental and welfare standards
Invest in farmer-led research for resilient solutions.
Build markets that work for farmers.
Democratize agricultural policy making.
'More resilient and just food system'
Over the next 6 months the the Landworkers Alliance will carry out an a consultation among its members to draw up policy proposals that aims to address the needs of food producers in the UK.
The alliance says it will also work with other organizations to draw up a framework for a "Peoples Food Policy", with the goal to end "systemic inequalities and misguided policies" affecting the food and farming sectors.
Adam Payne, a spokesperson for the LWA said the UK's small-scale, ecological farms are an "amazing resource" that "nourish a huge amount" of our rural culture.
Mr Payne said: "They offer us a pathway towards a more resilient and just food system.
"However, in the past, the UKs farming strategies have undermined domestic production of healthy, affordable food and left many small farms unfairly disadvantaged in the market place.
"We are looking forward to dialogue with the government to ensure that post-brexit agricultural policy is more equitable, more resilient and more just."
Trystan and Katie-Rose Davies from Breconshire have said I do to supporting NFU Cymrus Back Welsh Farming big bale campaign.
The newlyweds tied the knot at St Cynogs Church in Merthyr Cynog, on Saturday, 30 July and decided to have a NFU Cymru branded bale in the photographs of their special day.
The big bale campaign, launched by NFU Cymru at this years Royal Welsh Show, aims to highlight the importance of consumers and retailers supporting Welsh agriculture during a challenging time for the industry.
The newly-wed couple decided to show their support for Welsh agriculture (Photo: Riley Photography)
The campaign has seen huge support from farmers all across Wales and it is hoped that the message will be heard loud and clear down at the National Assembly in Cardiff Bay.
Katie-Rose Davies (nee Pugh) who initially approached NFU Cymru for a bale sticker said: "Trystan and I decided to use the Its Time to Back Welsh Farming bale sticker at our wedding because we love promoting Welsh farming.
"We are both very passionate about the industry and as the next generation of farmers we want to make sure that the industry is sustainable long into the future.
"We used the sticker on pink bale wrap to help fund research into Breast Cancer.
"A number of my family members have been affected by cancer so we thought it would be a good way of raising awareness of the cause."
Three rural companies have been awarded a 180,000 grant from Northern Ireland's Rural Affairs Minister Michelle McIlveen.
The three businesses, from the Causeway Coast and Glens area, were awarded the money to help develop.
The grants are the first to be handed out under the Rural Business Investment Scheme.
The scheme provides investment support for the creation and development of micro and small enterprises (including farm diversification and private tourism businesses) in rural areas.
Garvagh company A Farlow (Engineering) Ltd has been offered 90,000 towards construction of a new workshop.
An offer of 90,000 has been made to Currie Engineering Ltd, also of Garvagh, to help purchase specialist equipment.
And Ballymoney-based Agquip Ltd is to receive up to 6,005 to help take forward a digital marketing project.
'Wealth of entrepreneurial talent'
Highlighting the benefits the funding will bring, the Minister said: "There is a wealth of entrepreneurial talent and potential in this area, and indeed across all of our rural communities.
"These three companies typify these qualities, and I wish them every success as they take their projects forward.
"Around 24 million of support will be made available under the Rural Business Investment Scheme to help local businesses in rural areas grow and develop."
All businesses applying for investment require a business plan to support their application at time of applying.
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The farming unions from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have committed to work together on a new shared ambition for a progressive future for farming in the UK post-Brexit.
Representing 76,000 farm businesses across the UK, the presidents and directors from NFU, NFU Cymru, NFUS and UFU met at Agriculture House, Stoneleigh yesterday (1 August).
During the meeting each agreed their organisations must be the focal point for cross-border cooperation in the wake of the UKs decision to leave the European Union.
The farming leaders identified the trade and investment climate as a critical focus for the unions to collaborate on, as well as ensuring simple access to labour, domestic farm policies that work for farmers across the UK and, clarity over the UKs exit from the EU.
UK farming is a 'strong and dynamic sector'
"The industry has huge potential", the union Presidents said
NFU President Meurig Raymond, on behalf of the Presidents, said: "UK farming is a strong, dynamic sector that already contributes so much to society and the economy.
"But the industry has huge potential. That is why the coming months and years are vitally important to develop the right policies that enable our great industry to prosper.
"We have committed to providing a united front for the 76,000 farm businesses we represent and the 460,000 people who work on farms across the UK.
"We believe this will provide us with the best chances of working with Government departments on the policies that will impact UK agriculture.
"The working areas weve just identified are the building blocks to the strong, collective and influential voice that we want to achieve for the industry.
"In the unchartered waters that our government finds itself, we want to be the consistent, reliable and representative body to look to for expertise in these working areas.
"Agriculture is the bedrock of the UKs largest manufacturing industry, food and drink, worth 108 billion.
"The presidents of the farming unions have made it our mission to ensure that this value is matched with an ambition to shape a profitable, productive and progressive future for food production."
The UK government has welcomed a move by the USA to publish consultation proposals on the lifting of import restrictions on lamb from Britain.
The ban on British lamb to the USA has been in place since 1996 following an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
The ban was extended in some countries to sheepmeat on the basis that a related sheep disease belongs to the same family of TSE (Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathys) diseases.
The current consultation aims to bring USA legislation in line with the world animal health organisations position that TSEs do not pose any risk to human health.
Environment and Rural Affairs Secretary, Lesley Griffiths
The consultation paves the way for the potential lifting of the ban on the export of British lamb to the USA.
It follows prolonged negotiations between UK and Welsh Government ministers and officials with the US Department for Agriculture (USDA).
Last week the Welsh Rural Cabinet Secretary, Lesley Griffiths, hosted the USDAs agricultural counsellor, Stan Phillips at the Royal Welsh Show.
The Cabinet Secretary said she "wholeheartedly welcomes" the development, saying it clears the way for lifting of the ban on the export of Welsh lamb to the USA.
'Extremely high quality' lamb
"We have worked tirelessly in recent years to press home the point to the US Government that our lamb is of an extremely high quality," the Cabinet Secretary said.
"More importantly, it is safe for peole to eat, a point I reiterated to Stan Phillips just last week at the Royal Welsh Show.
"We will maintain dialogue on this issue in the weeks and months ahead to ensure a successful outcome to our discussions.
"Following the UKs decision to leave the European Union we must look to negotiate new deals with markets around the world.
"The USA represents a huge market for us with 300 million potential consumers.
"This development could lead to a golden opportunity for us to showcase our world class Welsh lamb to a new audience and at the same time provide a major, lucrative boost to the Welsh red meat industry."
Third series of Clarkson's Farm in production, Amazon confirms
Spring Lake moves forward with town manager contract
State Local Government Commission to review Spring Lakes contract to hire a former Kenly town manager, but the state treasurer remains opposed.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is expanding required reporting of beneficial owners for cash real estate purchases beyond Manhattan and Miami to six new areas in California and Texas.
The Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) require title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind domestic and foreign companies used to pay all cash for luxury residential real estate in six major metropolitan areas.
Beneficial owners need to be identified if they own 25 percent or more of the purchaser of the real estate.
Title insurers have to obtain and record a copy of the beneficial owners drivers license, passport, or other similar identifying documentation, FinCEN said.
The GTOs released Wednesday cover:
All boroughs of New York City
Miami-Dade County and the two counties immediately north (Broward and Palm Beach)
Los Angeles County, California
Three counties comprising part of the San Francisco area (San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties)
San Diego County, California, and
The county that includes San Antonio, Texas (Bexar County).
The GTOs become effective for 180 days beginning August 28.
GTO reporting price thresholds are:
New York
The Borough of Manhattan $3,000,000
The Borough of Brooklyn $1,500,000
The Borough of Queens $1,500,000
The Borough of Bronx $1,500,000
The Borough of Staten Island $1,500,000
Florida
Miami-Dade County $1,000,000
Broward County $1,000,000
Palm Beach County $1,000,000
California
San Diego County $2,000,000
Los Angeles County $2,000,000
San Francisco County $2,000,000
San Mateo County $2,000,000
Santa Clara County $2,000,000
Texas
Bexar County $500,000
FinCEN said it remains concerned that all-cash purchases (i.e., those without bank financing) may be conducted by individuals attempting to hide their assets and identity by purchasing residential properties through limited liability companies or other opaque structures.
In particular, a significant portion of covered transactions have indicated possible criminal activity associated with the individuals reported to be the beneficial owners behind shell company purchasers, FinCEN said.
The agency is using the GTOs to gather information that can be used for possible future regulatory approaches.
Earlier this month, the DOJ filed civil forfeiture actions against about $1 billion in real estate and other assets allegedly bought with money allegedly misappropriated from the Malaysia sovereign wealth fund 1MBD.
The assets included high-end real estate and hotels in New York and Los Angeles.
The DOJ alleged that 1MDB officials and others used shell companies with bank accounts in Singapore, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and the United States to launder about $3.5 billion from 1MDB.
FinCEN Acting Director Jamal El-Hindi said Wednesday, The information we have obtained from our initial GTOs suggests that we are on the right track.
By expanding the GTOs to other major cities, we will learn even more about the money laundering risks in the national real estate markets, helping us determine our future regulatory course, El-Hind said.
Three weeks ago, the DOJ said it is returning about $1.5 million to Taiwan that came from the sale of a forfeited New York condo and a Virginia home bought with bribe money paid to the family of Taiwans former president, Chen Shui-Bian.
In 2014, the DOJ settled civil forfeiture actions against Teodoro (Teddy) Obiang, the son of the president of Equatorial Guinea.
Among the assets he allegedly bought with money looted from his home country was a $30 million mansion in Malibu, California. The settlement required him to sell the mansion.
FinCEN said Wednesday it is targeting title insurance companies because title insurance is a common feature in the vast majority of real estate transactions.
A sample GTO FinCEN is sending to the title insurance companies in the targeted geographic areas is here (pdf).
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Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. Hell be the keynote speaker at the FCPA Blog NYC Conference 2016.
Margot Robbie donned a stunning unicorn dress for the 'Suicide Squad' world premiere.
Margot Robbie
The 26-year-old actress - who portrays Harley Quinn in the highly-anticipated Warner Bros. and DC Comics anti-hero movie about a mercenary team of super villains - walked the black carpet at the Beacons Theatre in New York on Monday (01.08.16) in a sparkling Alexander McQueen gown emblazoned with the mythical creature, which she teamed with a dark lipstick and messy updo.
Meanwhile, her co-star Cara Delevingne looked equally glamorous in an Anthony Vaccarello studded mini dress and thigh-length Christian Louboutin boots, while Jared Leto stood out from the male stars of the film thanks to an intricately embellished blue Gucci coat.
Margot recently revealed she fell out of a helicopter while shooting the movie, leaving her bruised - but she had been most nervous about wearing towering shoes.
She said: "I'm not good in heels in the first place so I was a little nervous but we got through it. I didn't fall over, but I fell out of the helicopter, everyone remembers that one!"
The Australian beauty had to hold her breath under water for a fight scene in the film, and though she only had to master it for 60 seconds, her competitive nature pushed her to aim for five minutes.
She said: "I worked with this amazing free-diver, and he came in and I did four sessions with him. His name's Kirk.
"It's all about lowering your metabolic rate. You kinda, like, meditate underwater. It's what free-divers do, but it's amazing."
Margot explained that she was driven to hold her breath for longer in competition with her stunt double, but she was satisfied with making it as far as she did.
She said: "I got to five minutes and I was like, 'You know what? This is above and beyond what I thought I'd get to. I'm good, I'm good with five.'"
Margot is also joined in the film by Will Smith as expert marksman Deadshot and it is the second time they have acted together after appearing in comedy crime drama 'Focus' opposite one another.
The Australian blonde beauty revealed she was responsible for convincing Will, 47, to learn to swim after discovering he couldn't on the set of the 2015 film.
Margot was asked to reveal a secret about her co-star and she said: "When we first met Will didn't know how to swim. I was insistent that he get in a pool. He did lessons."
Will, who joined her for the interview, defended himself by explaining there was much call for swimming in Philadelphia where he grew up.
Will said: "Up in the city of Philly there wasn't a lot of swimming pools."
The film is based on DC Comic's anti-hero team who are recruited by a secret government agency led by Amanda Waller to execute dangerous black ops missions in exchange for clemency and saving the world from a powerful threat.
'Suicide Squad' is released on 4 August.
Free Fire is the movie that is set to close the BFI London Film Festival 2016.
Free Fire
The London Film festival is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year and it will be director Ben Wheatley who will have the honour of bringing the festival to a close.
Wheatley is one of the most exciting British directors and Free Fire come swiftly after the success of High-Rise earlier this year.
The movie sees Wheatley back in the director's chair and he has teamed up with Amy Jump to pen the film's screenplay.
Speaking after the announcement was made, the filmmaker said: "I'm very proud to be showing FREE FIRE at the BFI London Film Festival. To be the closing film is a great honour.
LFF have been fantastic in supporting the films I've made (me and an army of 100s) and I can't wait to show Free Fire to the Festival audience!"
Free Fire is Wheatley's third film to be presented at the Festival, following High-Rise (2015) which screened as Festival Gala and Sightseers (2012) which screened as Laugh Gala.
The film brings together a fantastic cast list as Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer, Sharlto Copley, Jack Reynor, Michael Smiley, and Sam Riley are all on board.
Massachusetts late '70s. Justine (Larson) has brokered a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two Irishmen (Murphy & Smiley) and a gang led by Vernon (Copley) and Ord (Hammer) who are selling them a stash of guns. But when shots are fired in the handover, a heart-stopping game of survival ensues.
It has already been announced that A United Kingdom, which is directed by Amma Asante and stars Rosamund Pike and David Oyelowo, will open the festival. The rest of the programme will be announced on Thursday 1st September.
The 60th BFI London Film Festival begins on Wednesday 5th October and runs until Sunday 16th October.
by Helen Earnshaw for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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David Prowse is disappointed he wasn't asked to reprise his role as Darth Vader in the spin-off 'Star Wars: Rogue One'.
David Prowse
Prowse has said that it would have been "nice" to be asked to play the sci-fi villain again after he spoke the dialogue of the Sith lord during the filming of the original trilogy of 'Star Wars' films.
He said: "It'd be nice to be offered the job again, because I'm still fit and healthy, and I'm still Darth Vader in and around the country.
"I get loads and loads of requests, you know, to do loads of personal appearances, both as myself and him. People are still very interested in Darth Vader."
Prowse seems to have changed his tune as just before the release of the last film 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens', in 2015, he moaned of having not been considered only to insist he didn't care anyway.
In an interview with Radio Times, he said: "No one bothered to contact me about the new movie and to be honest, I don't care. I don't even own Darth Vader's mask anymore."
However, Prowse - who was replaced by James Earl Jones after voicing Darth Vader's lines for three of the films -
praised the return of the Dark Lord.
He said: "When you think back to Star Wars in the 70s, like 76 I think it was, or around that period, now we're talking about sort of 40-odd years further on, and Star Wars is as big as ever."
Meanwhile, the lack of contact the actor has had from Lucasfilm is likely related to the reported falling out he had with George Lucas - who sold the production company to Disney - after the director accused him of leaking the major plot line that revealed Luke was in fact, Vader's son.
And in later years he excluded himself from official 'Star Wars' events.
'Rogue One' is a stand-alone 'Star Wars' film and will be released on December 16.
2016 has already been a hugely successful year for Disney and Pete's Dragon is another film that is on the horizon.
Pete's Dragon
Yes, there's not long to wait now until the remake of Pete's Dragon hits the big screen... and it really is promising to be a wonderful family film this summer.
Pete's Dragon is a remake of the 1977 film of the same name and will be a mix of live performances and wonderful special effects. David Lowery is in the director's chair and he has teamed up with Toby Halbrooks to pen the film's screenplay.
The brand new trailer for the film has arrived and we have it for you to take a look at:
Pete's Dragon is only the fourth feature film of Lowery's career and his first since Ain't Them Bodies Saints back in 2013. Needless to say, this is the biggest film of his directing career to date.
The director has brought together a fantastic cast as Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Oona Laurence, Wes Bentley, and Karl Urban are all on board. Oakes Fegley will also take on the title role of Pete, in what is the biggest role of his young career.
For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham (Redford) has delighted local children with his tales of the fierce dragon that resides deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. To his daughter, Grace (Howard), who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales... until she meets Pete (Fegley).
Pete is a mysterious 10-year-old with no family and no home who claims to live in the woods with a giant, green dragon named Elliott. And from Pete's descriptions, Elliott seems remarkably similar to the dragon from Mr. Meacham's stories.
With the help of Natalie (Laurence), an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack (Bentley) owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon.
Captain America: Civil War, Zootropolis, The Jungle Book, and Finding Dory have been huge hits for Disney in 2016 and Pete's Dragon looks on course to be another enormous success.
Pete's Dragon is released 12th August.
by Helen Earnshaw for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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Pippa Middleton scaled the Matterhorn in Switzerland to raise money for the Michael Matthews Foundation.
Pippa Middleton
The foundation was established in memory of her fiance James Matthews' late brother Michael, who died in 1999 at the age of 22 while climbing Mount Everest.
Pippa, 32, who got engaged to James in July, was accompanied by her brother James Middleton and told the Mail on Sunday: "It was humbling to have been able to climb one of the world's most beautiful mountains and raise money for a charity created in memory of an extraordinary young man who lost his life on another peak. Although I have raised money in the past for the Michael Matthews Foundation, it has now become even more important to me and my family.
"It would have been good if James had been here to share the experience, something I know he would have loved to have done. Mountain climbing, though, has disturbing memories and understandably James kept his feet firmly on the ground, whilst giving us his complete support."
Pippa revealed she and her 29-year-old brother were "honoured" to be able to pay tribute to Michael and raise money for his foundation, which builds schools in remote areas around the world.
She said: "Although neither I nor my brother ever met Michael, we both share his spirit and passion for the mountains. We made this climb knowing he would have been there nudging us on, and we are honoured to be supporting his memory."
Pippa and James previously scaled Mont Blanc together in 2008.
Prince Charles helped pick seaweed in the Scottish Highlands.
Prince Charles
The 67-year-old royal toured New Wave Foods factory, which handpicks seaweed in the local area, as well as helping the employees pick some of the natural product from Mey beach.
Peter Elbourne, operations director of New Wave Foods, said: "The far north of Scotland is blessed with cool, clean water that is ideal for high quality seaweed. Sustainability is central to what we do; stocks are carefully managed and our harvesters are trained to cut seaweed to allow regrowth. Getting to where we are today has required a lot of hard work and we're delighted to be able to show HRH The Prince of Wales our operations."
Whilst operations manager Thomas McGee added: "There is limited access for jobs in this area and this is an avenue that may create more opportunities for local people, especially as we are now very close to producing our own products."
During his visit to the Highlands, the Prince of Wales - who is first in line to the British throne - also visited Wick Sheriff Court, which was celebrating its 150th anniversary.
Sheriff Berry, who presides at the court, shared: "It's an opportunity for anyone here today to see the input from the sheriff clerks, the procurator fiscal, police, social workers and honorary sheriffs - people in the community who can deal with certain matters.
"This is a big geographical area and it's very important we have access to justice for anyone in the community, so that people who have a civil claim of a fairly straightforward nature can come along and deal with it easily. On the other end of the scale we deal with serious criminal charges sitting with a jury of 15 people."
The unstoppable Priyanka Chopra covers London, New York and Mumbai all in the span of a week and she knows how to tweak her style to fit the sensibility of each city. We help breakdown the globetrotters city specific wardrobe.
Los Angeles
Priyanka took to the streets of glamorous LA in a lace-up mini dress by Barbara Bui cinched at the waist with a broad leather belt. Heres how you can get her look:
Polyester swing dress, Rs 791, Asos.com
Leather obi belt, Rs 1,760 , Asos.com
Synthetic pointy-toe heels, 20 pounds, New Look @ Asos.com
Sports goods and sportswear retailer Adidas India has received an approval to bring in FDI in retail through its existing wholesale entity to open company owned stores and now plans to open 30-50 outlets by 2020.This means the company will not have to set up a separate retail company, the Economic Times reported.
Sports goods and sportswear retailer Adidas India has received an approval to bring in FDI in retail through its existing wholesale entity to open company owned stores and now plans to open 30-50 outlets by 2020. This means the company will not have to set up a separate retail company, the Economic Times reported. It may be recalled that Adidas first...#
It may be recalled that Adidas first received the FDI approval for company owned stores in October 2015, but under which it was required to set up a separate entity under government norms existing at that time.However, in November, the government subsequently eased the rules permitting companies to market their goods through wholesale, retail and ecommerce channels for the first time.In addition to opening company owned stores, Adidas India will also start its ecommerce website, Adidas Group's managing director for India, Dave Thomas said while revealing the details.These stores will come up from the middle of next year, with the first few in Delhi where it will have 3-4 outlets across various formats which also includes one factory outlet.Thomas further added that it will now apply for approval to set up company owned stores and an ecommerce website for its Reebok brand. (AR)
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
In order to hike sales and also follow an omnichannel strategy, online fashion retailer Yep-Me is planning to open 400 brick and mortar stores by this fiscal end.Quoting Yep-Me's CEO Vivek Gaur, the Economic Times said the retailer has identified cities like Noida, Meerut, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ludhiana and Latur for expansion through franchise route.
In order to hike sales and also follow an omnichannel strategy, online fashion retailer Yep-Me is planning to open 400 brick and mortar stores by this fiscal end. Quoting Yep-Me's CEO Vivek Gaur, the Economic Times said the retailer has identified cities like Noida, Meerut, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ludhiana and Latur for expansion through franchise route.#
According to Gaur, a majority of the stores in metros will be company owned, while those in tier II towns will be franchisee owned.The company currently manages four stores in Gurgaon and is doing five times more sales than what it does from online sales from the same city.We figured out that we can sell profitably and get a multiplier on online sales by having an offline presence, putting us in a different orbit altogether," Gaur said.Orders received on its website from smaller towns, will be shipped directly from these stores rather than its warehouse, provided the outlet has the product in stock.In addition, the retailer will offer a seamless shopping experience across multiple towns by allowing anywhere returns of products bought by customers across stores in different cities. (AR)
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
Temasek has picked a stake in Moncler, an Italian- French retailer of high end apparel, through acquiring an equity stake in a newly incorporated investment company from Ruffini Partecipazioni.The Singapore based investment company said this investment represents Temasek's first significant investment in an Italian company.
Temasek has picked a stake in Moncler, an Italian- French retailer of high end apparel, through acquiring an equity stake in a newly incorporated investment company from Ruffini Partecipazioni. The Singapore based investment company said this investment represents Temasek's first significant investment in an Italian company. According to Temasek, Moncler...#
According to Temasek, Moncler operates in over 70 countries through a network of mono-brand stores and major exclusive luxury department and multi-brand stores.We see opportunities in leading European companies that are looking to expand and diversify their export markets to growth economies in Asia, Africa and Latin America, Temasek added.Temasek's head of Europe, Tan Chong Lee said, This investment represents Temasek's largest commitment to an Italian company to date.Incorporated in 1974, Temasek is an investment company based in Singapore, with a $180 billion or 158 billion portfolio as at 31 March 2016. (AR)
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
Producer of wide format inkjet printers Mimaki USA has launched RasterLink6 version 5.0 RIP software, whose features include Pantone colour libraries and colour replacement via spectrophotometer measurements.According to the Japan headquartered company, the RasterLink6 RIP software offers ease-of-use combined with powerful tools delivering enhanced image quality, colour and optimised output.
Producer of wide format inkjet printers Mimaki USA has launched RasterLink6 version 5.0 RIP software, whose features include Pantone colour libraries and colour replacement via spectrophotometer measurements. According to the Japan headquartered company, the RasterLink6 RIP software offers ease-of-use combined with powerful tools delivering enhanced image...#
It drives the entire range of Mimaki inkjet printers including roll-based and flatbed; eco-solvent, latex, UV-LED, solvent UV and dedicated textile solutions, it said.This version includes the Pantone + Solid Coated as well as Solid Uncoated colour libraries under which spot colours in design files are automatically detected and converted to the most accurate CMYK build.The Adobe Illustrator compatible DIC colour collection and Mimaki original colour collections, including metallics, have been added to the preset library as well, Mimaki USA added.RasterLink6 version 5.0 also eliminates the requirement for special colour software by enabling the use of a spectrophotometer to directly measure colour patches, or samples to be used as replacement colours.In addition, frequently used colours can be stored in the colour collection, enabling more accurate colour reproduction while reducing the time and cost incurred in colour matching.Also included is the ability to create FOTOBA cut marks directly within the Rasterlink6 operation window.This new functionality streamlines production by allowing operators to create cropmarks while in the RIP without the need for additional design software, the company explained.These marks can be used with FOTOBA cutters for post print finishing and also support copying, layout arrangement and tiling, it observed. (AR)
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan have flown out of the country for a mini vacation, and people are guessing that the couple might have gone to their favourite holiday destinaton, Switzerland.
Check out Kareena Kapoor & Saif Ali Khan's airport pictures here!
Kareena Kapoor, tried her best to hide her pregnancy news but later gave in and confirmed that she's pregnant. Bebo, is expecting a baby and is due in December, 2016.
Hilariously Funny Tweets! 25 Times Fans Ended Up Trolling Bollywood's Logic
However, admist all the pregnancy hullabaloo, news started doing the rounds that Kareena will take a maternity break from acting amd this has disappointed the actress immsensly.
"I'm just fed-up of people making it (her pregnancy) to be a death of some sort. In fact, it should be a message to a lot of people that marriage or having a family has absolutely nothing to do with my career."
The Bachchan Household Angry With Aishwarya Rai's Intimate Scene In ADHM?
Not just stopping there, Kareena Kapoor vented out her frustration about the topic and further commented,
"I'm pregnant, not a corpse. And what maternity break? It's the most normal thing on earth to produce a child. It is high time the media back off, and stop treating me any different than I ever was. Anybody who is bothered shouldn't work with me... but my work goes on as is, like always. Stop making it a national casualty. We are in 2016, not in the 1800s. Probably, even at that time, people were way more civilised and normal than the way the media is behaving and speculating now."
Katrina Kaif Sizzles In A Bikini In A New Picture From Baar Baar Dekho!
Among the emerging star kids, Amitabh Bachchan's granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda is taking internet by storm with her pictures. The girl remains in news because of her hot pictures.
Navya Naveli Nanda posted some droolworthy pictures with her friends on Instagram recently. You can see Navya's latest picture by clicking on the slider below.
The very beautiful, Navya Naveli Nanda graduated from the Sevenoaks school in London a few months ago. Post her graduation, she headed to the serene island of Phuket in Thailand for a holiday with her close friends, which also included Shahrukh Khan's dashing son Aryan Khan. The duo then took off for a yacht trip with their pals.
Also Read: CAUGHT KISSING! Sridevi's Daughter Jhanvi Kapoor Spotted With Boyfriend Shikhar Pahariya At A Party
Navya Naveli Nanda is a rage amongst youngsters thanks to her evershining presence on the social media. She is very popular because of her stylish pictures and her charm.
Among many star kids in Bollywood, Navya Naveli Nanda's big debut is perhaps the most awaited. There were reports that Navya keeps posting her hot pictures to be in the limelight as she has plans to join Bollywood.
But grandfather Amitabh Bachchan denied the rumours and said that at present Navya Naveli Nanda only wants to focus on her studies.
The superstar told a leading daily, "I have no idea, I am hearing this from you."Adding further, "I don't think she will work in Bollywood anytime soon. She is still studying."
Well, we love Navya's instagram pictures and cant wait to see her on the big screen!
Nivin Pauly, the crowd-puller of M'town has succeeded in impressing not only the audiences but also the eminent personalities of the Indian film industry. And the list also includes the Bollywood hitmaker, Anurag Kashyap.
The actor recently met Anurag Kashyap when the director paid a visit to Kochi recently. According to the rumour mills, Anurag is planning to produce a Malayalam film, with Nivin in the lead role.
Interestingly, the young actor also shared a click with the director on his Facebook page. Nivin has also stated that he is waiting for Anurag to join their team soon, hinting their plan to associate for a movie.
However, the reports are yet to be officially confirmed. Along with Nivin Pauly, actor Farhaan Faasil and a group of young film-makers also visited Anurag, in the informal meet hosted by actress-director Geetu Mohandas.
Anurag Kashyap is a very close friend of Geetu Mohandas and her husband, the cinematographer-director Rajeev Ravi. It was Rajeev who cranked the camera for most of the popular works of Anurag.
The director, who is a follower of Malayalam cinema, and has showered praises on Rajeev Ravi's Kammatipaadam through his Twitter page. Well, we are waiting for him to venture into Mollywood with a Nivin Pauly project.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- (Marketwired) -- 11/01/16 -- Gold Resource Corporation (NYSE MKT: GORO) (the "Company") today announced the timing of its third quarter earnings conference call scheduled for November 3, 2016. Gold Resource Corporation is a gold and silver producer, developer and explorer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and Nevada, USA. The Company has returned $108 million to shareholders in monthly dividends since commercial production commenced July 1, 2010, and offers shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery.
Conference Call
Gold Resource Corporation's CEO Mr. Jason Reid will host the conference call Thursday, November 3, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Topics of discussion will include third quarter results and an update on current operations. The conference call will be recorded and posted to the Company's website in three to five business days from recording.
Q&A
Following Mr. Reid's opening remarks, the Company will answer questions during a live Q&A period.
Date: Thursday, November 3, 2016
Time: 11:00 AM Eastern (9:00 AM Mountain)
Attendee Access Information:
Title: Gold Resource Corporation Third Quarter Conference Call
Host Name: Jason Reid
Company Name: Gold Resource Corporation
US/CAN Toll Free: 800-967-7154
International Toll: 719-386-0002
Passcode: 876090
Please dial-in to the meeting at least 5 minutes prior to the start time using the attendee phone number and passcode.
About GRC:
Gold Resource Corporation is a mining company focused on production and pursuing development of gold and silver projects that feature low operating costs and produce high returns on capital. Gold Resource Corporation is a gold and silver producer, developer and explorer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and Nevada, USA. The Company has 56,556,874 shares outstanding, zero warrants, zero debt and has returned $108 million back to shareholders since commercial production commenced July 1, 2010. Gold Resource Corporation offers shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery. For more information, please visit GRC's website, located at www.Goldresourcecorp.com and read the Company's 10-K for an understanding of the risk factors involved.
Cautionary Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. When used in this press release, the words "plan," "target," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the statements regarding Gold Resource Corporation's strategy, future plans for production, future expenses and costs, future liquidity and capital resources, and estimates of mineralized material. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to Gold Resource Corporation on the date of this press release, and the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this press release. In particular, there can be no assurance that production will continue at any specific rate. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the Company's 10-K filed with the SEC.
Contacts:
Corporate Development
Greg Patterson
303-320-7708
HONG KONG, CHINA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/01/16 -- Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704), a global leader in security software and solutions, today announced its collaboration in the arrest of the head of an international criminal network suspected of stealing more than $60 million through business email compromise (BEC) scams and CEO fraud. The arrest is the result of a joint operation by INTERPOL and the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime Commission utilizing Trend Micro research to identify and arrest the culprit.
"Trend Micro is a strong proponent of public-private partnerships in the constant battle against cybercriminals," said Raimund Genes, chief technology officer for Trend Micro. "We have a collective adversary in those who mean to do harm via technology, and we at Trend Micro do all we can to support law enforcement in apprehending and prosecuting these attackers. This is another a milestone for the cybersecurity community working together."
The Nigerian national is believed to be the leader of a 40-person network across Nigeria, Malaysia and South Africa that provides malware and carries out attacks. He is also suspected of colluding with money launderers in China, Europe and the U.S. who provided illicit bank account details in which stolen money was housed.
"Arrests like this are made possible by partnerships between members of the security community which come together with the common goal of making the internet a safer place," said Noboru Nakatani, Executive Director of the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation. "BEC scams are particularly difficult to combat due to their complexity, which is why public-private sector cooperation is essential."
Trend Micro is a strategic partner supporting INTERPOL and its member countries with knowledge, resources and strategies to fight global cybercrime through its Global Complex for Innovation in Singapore.
Company Logo
http://release.media-outreach.com/i/Download/3868
About Trend Micro
Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cyber security solutions, helps to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Our innovative solutions for consumers, businesses, and governments provide layered security for data centers, cloud environments, networks, and endpoints. All our products work together to seamlessly share threat intelligence and provide a connected threat defense with centralized visibility and control, enabling better, faster protection. With more than 5,000 employees in over 50 countries and the world's most advanced global threat intelligence, Trend Micro enables users to enjoy their digital lives safely. For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com.hk.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Claudius Lam
Trend Micro
+ 852 2866 4362 (Office)
+ 852 9022 0876 (Mobile)
Email Contact
Transaction expected to close in September 2016
WISeKey International Holding Ltd (WIHN.SW) a leading Swiss cybersecurity company, announced today that it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the semiconductor technology and business of INSIDE Secure (Euronext: INSD.FR), a leader in embedded security solutions for mobile and connected devices.
The acquisition and technology integration will create the first ever comprehensive trusted end-to-end cybersecurity platform for people and objects (IoT). Following this acquisition, WISeKey's cybersecurity offerings will include certified hardware software, system certification, provisioning and up to management of cybersecurity services. This transaction represents the final stage in the process of repositioning INSIDE Secure's software security and technology licensing to be able to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding mobile payment and mobile banking markets and to also provide embedded security technology licenses for Internet of Things (IoT) markets.
The scope of the transaction would include the transfer of products, technology, customer agreements, and certain patents. More specifically, it would include the transfer of assets related to the development and sale of secure integrated circuits for the strongly growing IoT market as well as a complete team in R&D, sales, marketing and support. The activities of INSIDE Secure to be acquired for IoT, anti-counterfeiting, brand protection, EMV payment card and secure access generated pro forma revenue (unaudited) of US$33.6 million in 2015. Ongoing support and solutions would be provided to existing INSIDE Secure customers for current products and development projects to ensure a smooth customer transition.
The terms and conditions of the transaction are in line with those announced on May 19, 2016. Upon completion of the transaction, WISeKey will pay INSIDE Secure CHF2 million in cash (net of transferred cash) plus bonds convertible into listed shares of WISeKey International Holding Ltd worth CHF11 million.
The transaction is due to close in September 2016 and is subject to customary closing conditions, and to the French finance ministry's approval since it involves the acquisition of control by a foreign company of a business operating in a strategically important area (provision of cryptology capabilities and services).
Creating the first comprehensive trusted end-to-end cybersecurity platform for people and objects (IoT)
Thanks to WISeKey solutions, IoT devices would be able to organize themselves into trusted networks based on mutual authentication, identity and integrity. This trusted cybersecurity platform will only enable IoT devices which can provide a recognized identity and a valid integrity report to communicate with peer devices that are part of the trusted community.
INSIDE Secure's integrated circuits will allow WISeKey's cryptographic Root of Trust ("RoT") and digital certificates to be hosted on a hardware vault that has received the highest level of certification to encrypt the communication and authenticate the devices. Furthermore, it leverages the massive deployment of WISeKey's RoT now embedded in more than 2.5 billion devices worldwide benefitting from the strong cryptographic capabilities to operate on induced power, allowing to be deployed in all sorts of IoT products.
Addressing fast growing IoT market
The ability to authenticate and remotely manage millions of networked, automated devices and equipment is becoming pervasive from the factory floor, to the hospital operating room, to the residential home everything, from refrigerators, watches, wearables to wine bottles, is connecting and communicating via the Internet.
The Internet of Things security market is expected to grow from $6.89 billion in 2015 to nearly $29 billion by 2020 according to a report published by Markets and Markets, thus growing at an annual rate of 35% over the next five years. These massively deployed connected objects are facing regular attacks hence generating a large need for trusted end-to-end cybersecurity solutions.
Chairman and CEO of WISeKey, Carlos Moreira commented on the envisaged acquisition: "With this acquisition, customers can directly purchase trusted end-to-end cybersecurity solutions from WISeKey, embedding personalization within Integrated Circuits and having the highest level of security certification. As an example, WISeKey's cryptographic RoT combined with the acquired INSIDE Secure's technology will enable wearable devices to connect safely and make secure transactions including payments. WISeKey technology will empowers IoT devices to be authenticated with digital identities via a trusted platform and/or blockchains before agreeing to communicate. I believe such a comprehensive trusted end-to-end cybersecurity platform will enable the optimum level of security to safely develop interactions in a world of connected people and objects."
Mr. Moreira added, "The acquisition of INSIDE Secure will significantly drive both short- and long-term revenue growth for WISeKey and also accelerate our strategy for global expansion. We are very excited about the opportunities ahead, and what we will be able to accomplish by working together with INSIDE Secure team."
About WISeKey
WISeKey is a leading cybersecurity company and selected as a World Economic Forum Global Growth Company. WISeKey is currently deploying large scale Internet of Things ("IoT") digital identity ecosystems and has become a pioneer of the 4th Industrial Revolution movement launched this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos. WISeKey's Swiss based Cryptographic Root of Trust (RoT) integrates wearable technology with secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, and empowers IoT and wearable devices to become secure transactional devices. WISeKey has patented this process in the USA as it is currently used by many IoT providers.
For more information, visit www.wisekey.com
About INSIDE Secure
INSIDE Secure (Euronext Paris FR0010291245 INSD) provides comprehensive embedded security solutions. World-leading companies rely on INSIDE Secure's mobile security and secure transaction offerings to protect critical assets including connected devices, content, services, identity and transactions. Unmatched security expertise combined with a comprehensive range of IP, semiconductors, software and associated services gives INSIDE Secure customers a single source for advanced solutions and superior investment protection.
For more information, visit www.insidesecure.com
Disclaimer:
This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160801006378/en/
Contacts:
Press and Investors:
WISeKey
Carlos Moreira, +41 22 594 3000
Founder CEO
cmoreira@wisekey.com
or
WISeKey Investor Relations (US)
The Equity Group, Inc.
Lena Cati, +1 212-836-9611
lcati@equityny.com
or
INSIDE Secure
Richard Vacher Detourniere
Group General Manager CFO
rvacherdetourniere@insidefr.com
Transaction expected to close in September 2016
Regulatory News:
INSIDE Secure (Paris:INSD) (Euronext: INSD), a leader in embedded security solutions for mobile and connected devices, announced today that it has executed a binding agreement to sell its semiconductor business to WISeKey International Holding Ltd, a Swiss cybersecurity company listed in Zurich (SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN).
This follows on from the May 19, 2016 announcement and represents the final stage in the process of repositioning INSIDE Secure around software security and technology licensing, to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding mobile payment and mobile banking markets and also provide embedded security technology licenses for Internet of Things (IoT) markets.
The terms and conditions of the transaction are in line with those announced on May 19, 2016. Upon completion of the transaction, INSIDE Secure will receive CHF2 million in cash (net of transferred cash) plus bonds convertible into listed shares of WISeKey International Holding Ltd worth CHF11 million.
The transaction is expected to close in September 2016 and is subject to customary closing conditions, and to the French finance ministry's approval since it involves the acquisition of control by a foreign company of a business operating in a strategically important area (provision of cryptology capabilities and services).
About INSIDE Secure
INSIDE Secure (Euronext Paris FR0010291245 INSD) provides comprehensive embedded security solutions. World-leading companies rely on INSIDE Secure's mobile security and secure transaction offerings to protect critical assets including connected devices, content, services, identity and transactions. Unmatched security expertise combined with a comprehensive range of IP, semiconductors, software and associated services gives INSIDE Secure customers a single source for advanced solutions and superior investment protection.
For more information, visit www.insidesecure.com.
About WISeKey
WISeKey is a leading cybersecurity company and selected as a World Economic Forum Global Growth Company. WISeKey is currently deploying large scale Internet of Things ("IoT") digital identity ecosystems and has become a pioneer of the 4th Industrial Revolution movement launched this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos. WISeKey's Swiss based Cryptographic Root of Trust (RoT) integrates wearable technology with secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, and empowers IoT and wearable devices to become secure transactional devices. WISeKey has patented this process in the USA as it is currently used by many IoT providers.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the business of INSIDE Secure, which shall not be considered per se as historical facts, including the ability to manufacture, market, commercialize and achieve market acceptance for specific projects developed by INSIDE Secure, estimates for future performance and estimates regarding anticipated operating losses, future revenues, capital requirements, needs for additional financing. In addition, even if the actual results or development of INSIDE Secure are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, those results or developments of INSIDE Secure 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. Although the management of INSIDE Secure believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonably made, they are based largely on the current expectations of INSIDE Secure 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 INSIDE Secure could be affected by, among other things, uncertainties involved in unexpected regulatory actions or delays related notably to building and operating permits and renewable support policies, competition in general or any other risk and uncertainties developed or identified in any public documents filed by INSIDE Secure with the AMF, included those listed in chapter 4 "Risk factors" of the 2015 "document de reference" approved by the French financial market authority (the Autorite des marches financiers the "AMF") on March 30, 2016 under number R. 16-014. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements made in this press release will in fact be realized. Notwithstanding the compliance with article 223-1 of the General Regulation of the AMF (the information disclosed must be "accurate, precise and fairly presented"), INSIDE Secure is providing the information in these materials as of this press release, and disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160801006254/en/
Contacts:
INSIDE Secure
Communication corporate
Geraldine Sauniere, +33 (0) 4 42 905 905
Marcom Director
gsauniere@insidefr.com
or
INSIDE Secure
Investor Relations
Richard Vacher Detourniere, +33 (0) 4 42 905 905
Group General Manager CFO
rvacherdetourniere@insidefr.com
or
WISeKey
Company contact:
Carlos Moreira, +41 22 594 3000
Founder CEO
cmoreira@wisekey.com
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Cabinet office is slated to release the Japan consumer confidence index for July at 1:00 am ET Tuesday. The index is seen at 42.00, compared to 41.8 in June. Ahead of the data, the yen held steady against its major rivals. As of 12:55 am ET, the yen was trading at 114.58 against the euro, 135.25 against the pound, 105.98 against the Swiss franc and 102.51 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.
OSAKA, Japan and LEUVEN, Belgium, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE: 4502) ("Takeda") and TiGenix NV (Euronext Brussels: TIG) ("TiGenix") today announced that the 24-week results of the Phase 3 ADMIRE-CD trial investigating Cx601 have been published in The Lancet. Cx601 is a suspension of allogeneic adipose-derived stem cells (eASC) injected intra-lesionally for the treatment of complex perianal fistulas in patients with Crohn's disease with an inadequate response to at least one conventional or biologic therapy.
The ADMIRE-CD trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 3 study, designed to investigate the efficacy and safety of a single treatment of Cx601 for the treatment of complex perianal fistulas in Crohn's disease patients. A significantly greater proportion of patients in the Cx601 group versus the placebo group achieved the primary endpoint of combined remission (defined as clinical assessment of closure of all treated external openings draining at baseline, despite gentle finger compression, and absence of collections >2cm confirmed by MRI) at week 24 in the ITT population 53 (50%) of 107 vs 36 of 105 (34%), respectively (97.5% CI 0.2-30.3; p=0.024) and the mITT population 53 (51%) of 103 vs 36 (36%) of 101 (0.5-31.2; p=0.021). These results were confirmed in the per-protocol population and in additional supportive and sensitivity analyses. This definition of remission is more stringent than those commonly used in clinical trials on perianal fistulizing disease, as it includes both clinical and radiological assessment by MRI. Treatment-emergent adverse (non-serious and serious) and discontinuations due to adverse events were comparable between Cx601 and placebo arms.
In addition, severity of perianal Crohn's disease was assessed at baseline and all study visits with the Perianal Disease Activity Index (PDAI). In the mITT population, the PDAI score was similar in the Cx601 and the placebo groups at baseline. The improvement in PDAI with Cx601 was significantly greater than placebo at week 6, 12 and 18. In addition, the mean total PDAI score at week 24 with Cx601 (4.4) was close to the threshold for inactive perianal disease (PDAI<4) at which patients do not need medical or surgical treatment.
Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract that affects approximately five million patients worldwide. People living with Crohn's disease often experience complex perianal fistulas for which there are limited treatment options. Recognizing the debilitating nature of the disorder and the lack of treatment options, in 2009 the European Commission granted Cx601 orphan designation for the treatment of complex perianal fistulas in Crohn's disease. In March 2016, TiGenix announced that it submitted the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for Cx601. TiGenix also recently announced 52-week data indicating the potential for efficacy and safety of a single treatment of Cx601 are maintained during a year of follow up.
"We are very proud of the results of this study," said Prof. Dr. Julian Panes, ADMIRE-CD Global Study Coordinator and Head of the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Unit at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona. "The Lancet is one of the most highly regarded and well known medical journals in the world; we are very delighted to have the Cx601 data selected by this prestigious publication," he continued.
Dr. Marie Paule Richard, Chief Medical Officer at TiGenix stated that, "Our study is, to our knowledge, the first large-scale, randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial to use clinical assessmentof fistula closure and MRI assessment of absence of abscesses as recommended in the European Crohn's and Colitis Organization guidelines."
Last month, TiGenix entered into a licensing agreement with Takeda, a global leader in gastroenterology, under which Takeda acquired the exclusive right to develop and commercialize Cx601 for complex perianal fistulas in Crohn's disease outside the United States (U.S.). Based on the data from this pivotal Phase 3 trial in Europe, TiGenix submitted aMAA to the EMA in the first quarter of 2016, and a decision by the EMA could be expected in 2017. If granted, following Marketing Authorization in the European Economic Area Takeda will become the Marketing Authorization holder and will be responsible for all commercialization and regulatory activities.
A pivotal Phase 3 trial for Cx601 for the treatment of complex perianal fistulas is expected to start in theU.S. in 2017. In the U.S., TiGenix intends to apply for fast track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which would facilitate and expedite the development and review process in the U.S.
About Takeda
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE: 4502) is a global, R&D-driven pharmaceutical company committed to bringing better health and a brighter future to patients by translating science into life-changing medicines. Takeda focuses its research efforts on oncology, gastroenterology and central nervous system therapeutic areas. It also has specific development programs in specialty cardiovascular diseases as well as late-stage candidates for vaccines. Takeda conducts R&D both internally and with partners to stay at the leading edge of innovation. New innovative products, especially in oncology, central nervous system and gastroenterology, as well as its presence in emerging markets, fuel the growth of Takeda. More than 30,000 Takeda employees are committed to improving quality of life for patients, working with our partners in health care in more than 70 countries. For more information, visithttp://www.takeda.com/news.
Takeda's Commitment to Gastroenterology
Takeda is a global leader in gastroenterology. With expertise spanning more than 25 years, the company's dedication to innovation continues to evolve and have a lasting impact. ENTYVIO (vedolizumab) demonstrates Takeda's global capabilities and expansion into the specialty care market in gastroenterology and biologics. Designed and developed specifically to target the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, ENTYVIO was launched in 2014 for the treatment of adults with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. TAKECAB (vonoprazan fumarate) is Takeda's potassium-competitive acid blocker and was launched in Japan in 2015.Takeda also markets motility agent AMITIZA (lubiprostone), which originally launched in 2006 for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation, and received subsequent approval to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and opioid-induced constipation. Preceding these notable launches, Takeda pioneered gastroenterological breakthroughs in proton pump inhibitors beginning in the 1990's with lansoprazole. Through specialized and strategic in-house development, external partnerships, in-licensing and acquisitions, Takeda currently has a number of promising early stage GI assets in development, and remains committed to delivering innovative, therapeutic options for patients with gastrointestinal and liver diseases.
About TiGenix
TiGenix NV (Euronext Brussels: TIG) is an advanced biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercialising novel therapeutics from its proprietary platforms of allogeneic, or donor-derived, expanded stem cells. Two products from the adipose-derived stem cell technology platform are currently in clinical development. Cx601 is in Phase III for the treatment of complex perianal fistulas in Crohn's disease patients. Cx611 has completed a Phase I sepsis challenge trial and a Phase I/II trial in rheumatoid arthritis. Effective July 31, 2015, TiGenix acquired Coretherapix, whose lead cellular product, AlloCSC-01, is currently in a Phase II clinical trial in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In addition, the second product candidate from the cardiac stem cell-based platform acquired from Coretherapix, AlloCSC-02, is being developed in a chronic indication. On July 4, 2016, we entered into a licensing agreement with Takeda, a large pharmaceutical company active in gastroenterology, under which Takeda acquired the exclusive right to commercialize Cx601 for complex perianal fistulas outside the United States. TiGenix is headquartered in Leuven (Belgium) and has operations in Madrid (Spain). For more information, please visit http://www.tigenix.com/.
About Cx601
Cx601 is a suspension of allogeneic expanded adipose-derived stem cells (eASC) locally injected. Cx601 is an investigational agent being developed for the treatment of complex perianal fistulas in Crohn's disease patients that failed conventional therapy including antibiotics, immunosuppressant, or anti-TNF therapy. Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestine and patients can suffer from complex perianal fistulas for which there is currently no effective treatment. In 2009, the European Commission granted Cx601 orphan designation for the treatment of anal fistulas, recognizing the debilitating nature of the disease and the lack of treatment options. Based on positive Phase 2 results, TiGenix sought scientific advice from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on the future development path of Cx601. TiGenix then initiated a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 trial in Europe and Israel designed to comply with the requirements laid down by the EMA. 'Madrid Network,' an organization within the Autonomous Region of Madrid which helps companies to grow through high-technology innovation, issued a soft loan to help finance this Phase 3 study. The program is funded by The Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation (Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness) within the framework of the INNTEGRA plan. The study's primary endpoint was combined remission, defined as clinical assessment at week 24 of closure of all treated external openings draining at baseline despite gentle finger compression, and absence of collections >2cm confirmed by MRI. In the 24 weeks results of the Phase 3 study reported in August 2015, Cx601 achieved statistically significant superiority (p<0.025) on the primary endpoint with 49.5% combined remission at week 24 compared to 34.3% in the placebo arm in the ITT population. These results translate into a relative risk of 1.44, meaning that patients receiving Cx601 had a 44% greater probability of achieving combined remission than placebo patients. Efficacy results were robust and consistent across all statistical populations. Treatment emergent adverse events (non-serious and serious) and discontinuations due to adverse events were comparable between Cx601 and placebo arms. The Phase 3 study trial has completed a follow-up analysis at 52 weeks post-treatment. Based on the positive 24 weeks Phase 3 study results, TiGenix has submitted a Marketing Authorization Application to the EMA in early 2016. TiGenix is preparing to develop Cx601 in the U.S. after having reached an agreement with the FDA through a special protocol assessment procedure (SPA) in 2015. On July 4, 2016 TiGenix entered into a licensing agreement with Takeda, a pharmaceutical company leader in gastroenterology, whereby Takeda acquired an exclusive right to commercialize Cx601 for complex perianal fistulas in Crohn's patients outside of the U.S.
CONTACTS:
For TiGenix:
Claudia D'Augusta
Chief Financial Officer
claudia.daugusta@tigenix.com
+34 91 804 92 64
For Takeda :
Tsuyoshi Tada
Media in Japan
tsuyoshi.tada@takeda.com
+81 33 278 2417
Elissa Johnsen
Media outside of Japan
elissa.johnsen@takeda.com
+1 224 554 3185
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 3:15 am ET Tuesday, Switzerland's retail sales data for June is due to be released. Sales are forecast to drop 2 percent annually in June following a 1.6 percent drop in May. Ahead of the data, the Swiss franc showed mixed trading against its major rivals. While the Swiss franc fell against the euro and the pound, it rose against the yen. Against the U.S. dollar, the Swiss franc held steady. As of 3:10 am ET, the Swiss franc was trading at 1.0826 against the euro, 1.2793 against the pound, 0.9668 against the U.S. dollar and 105.82 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.
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Swiss retail sales continued to decline in June, data published by the Federal Statistical Office showed Tuesday. Retail sales declined by real 3.9 percent year-on-year in June, faster than the 1.7 percent decrease seen in May. It was also bigger than the expected fall of 2 percent. Sales have been falling since August 2015. On a monthly basis, retail trade turnover registered a 0.5 percent decline in June. Excluding service stations, retail sales decreased 0.5 percent from May. Sales of food, drinks and tobacco slid 0.7 percent and non-food sales decreased 0.6 percent. In nominal terms, overall retail turnover dropped 4.6 percent in June from previous year. The decline has been ongoing since January 2015 and this was the largest decline since January 2003, the statistical office said. Month-on-month, retail turnover fell 3.9 percent in June. 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.
Deal combines the UK's largest beacon network with an exclusive private marketplace
PubMatic, the marketing automation software company for publishers, is pleased to announce its partnership with Proxama PLC (AIM:PROX), the leading mobile proximity commerce company, to exclusively power the automation of ad buying for media buyers and sellers across its portfolio of apps.
PubMatic will provide Proxama with a leading private marketplace (PMP), enabling brands and agencies working with Proxama to see the premium ad space available before deciding which placements to invest in. This will ensure the right advertisers are connected to Proxama's publisher partners and their audiences. This trend is reflected in PubMatic's Q4 2015 QMI report, which detailed how high calibre brands are increasingly using mobile private marketplaces to target mobile consumers with timely, relevant advertising messages.
Proxama will work with PubMatic to drive its programmatic strategy across its app inventory. Proxama's apps on Android and iOS devices trigger contextually relevant notifications when in proximity to a Bluetooth beacon which awakens the app, where a relevant and timely ad is served. Brands can capitalise on the consumer's exact physical context and dwell time to deliver ads to an audience with a higher tendency to engage. Proxama's network of beacons are deployed in conjunction with the UK's leading Out of Home media owners, as well as in high consumer dwell-time locations such as on buses, taxis and in airports across London and the UK.
"Proxama has the biggest network of Bluetooth beacons in the UK; however, if the ads being served aren't relevant to consumers, the value we offer to brands and publishers is reduced considerably," said John Kennedy, CEO at Proxama. "Therefore, we need a programmatic strategy to help us realise the value of advertising through PMPs. PubMatic was the obvious partner."
Paul Gubbins, Country Manager, UK at PubMatic added: "With location targeting at the heart of mobile buy-side conversations, access to the inventory that Proxama has and that can provide the exact physical state of the audience is valuable to agencies and the advertisers they represent. We're delighted that Proxama has chosen us as their exclusive revenue automation partner and we look forward to supporting them as they build out their automated media buying and selling solutions."
About PubMatic
PubMatic is the leading marketing automation software company for publishers. Through real-time analytics, yield management, and workflow automation, PubMatic enables publishers to make smarter inventory decisions and improve revenue performance. Focused on serving the needs of premium publishers, PubMatic inspires buyer confidence by providing flexibility in audience discovery and planning media campaigns through its Media Buyer Console and APIs. The company's marketing automation software platform provides a global roster of comScore publishers with a single view into their advertiser relationships across every screen, every channel and every format. PubMatic was ranked by Deloitte as one of the fastest growing companies in the US for the fourth consecutive year in 2015. The company has offices worldwide, and is headquartered in Redwood City, California.
About Proxama PLC
Proxama PLC (AIM: PROX) is the leading mobile proximity commerce company.
Proxama specialise in transport based mobile proximity services, using Bluetooth beacon-led technology, to deliver the most accurate and reliable mobile location and behavioural data for digital advertisers and agencies.
Proxama's award-winning mobile technology platform, TapPoint, enables brands to connect physical and digital assets via mobile to increase consumer engagement, retail sales and loyalty, across transport networks and high footfall destinations.
PubMatic is a registered trademark of PubMatic, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160802005011/en/
Contacts:
PubMatic
Emma Newman, 07903 317414
VP, Marketing, International
Emma.Newman@pubmatic.com
or
Proxama PLC
CCGroup
Jo Ashford, +44 (0) 203 824 9218
proxama@ccgrouppr.com
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - The U.K. construction sector shrank less than expected in July, survey results published by Markit showed Tuesday. The Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 45.9 in July from 46.0 in June. It was forecast to fall to 44.0. The reading was below the 50.0 no-change threshold for the second straight month, reflecting contraction in the sector. The reading signaled the fastest overall decline in construction output since June 2009. Companies said weaker order books continued to act as a brake on business activity in July. The uncertainty after the EU referendum was the main factor that weighed on business activity in July, especially in the commercial building sector, Markit said. Survey respondents noted heightened risk aversion and lower investment spending among clients,notwithstanding a greater number of speculative enquiries in anticipation of lower charges, Tim Moore, a senior economist at Markit, said. 'While there is little to suggest an imminent turnaround in business conditions, a relief factor appears to have softened the fall in business optimism among UK construction companies.' 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.
Pan African Resources PLC
("Pan African" or "the Company" or "the Group")
(Incorporated and registered in England and Wales under Companies Act 1985 with registered number 3937466 on 25 February 2000)
Share code on AIM: PAF
Share code on JSE: PAN
ISIN: GB0004300496
TRADING STATEMENT AND PRODUCTION UPDATE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR ENDED
30 JUNE 2016
TRADING STATEMENT
In terms of paragraph 3.4(b) of the Listings Requirements of the JSE Limited, a listed company is required to publish a trading statement as soon as it is satisfied that a reasonable degree of certainty exists that the financial results for the period to be reported upon next, will differ by at least 20 percent from those of the previous corresponding period.
Pan African is incorporated in England and Wales under the Companies Act 1985 and accordingly, its presentation currency is Pounds Sterling ("GBP").
The average ZAR:GBP exchange rate affect the reporting of results in GBP. For the reporting period ended 30 June 2016 ("current reporting period"), the average prevailing ZAR:GBP exchange rate will be used to translate earnings per share ("EPS") and headline earnings per share ("HEPS") from ZAR to GBP.
For the reporting period ended 30 June 2015 ("prior reporting period"), the average ZAR:GBP exchange rate was ZAR18.00:1. For the current reporting period, the ZAR depreciated against the GBP, with an average exchange rate of ZAR21.45:1. This 19.2 percent year-on-year depreciation in the average exchange rate should be taken into account for the purposes of a comparison with the prior reporting period.
1. EPS and HEPS
Pan African advises shareholders that its EPS and HEPS for the current reporting period are expected to be between:
1. EPS: 157 percent to 177 percent higher than the 11.48 cents EPS for the prior reporting period (being EPS of 29.47 cents to 31.77 cents).
2. HEPS: 152 percent to 172 percent higher than the 11.67 cents HEPS for the prior reporting period (being HEPS of 29.45 cents to 31.79 cents).
Using the average ZAR:GBP 21.45:1 exchange rate that prevailed during the current reporting period, the Group's EPS and HEPS in GBP terms for the current reporting period are expected to be between:
1. EPS: 114 percent to 134 percent higher than the 0.64 pence EPS for the prior reporting period (being EPS of 1.37 pence to 1.50 pence).
2. HEPS: 111 percent to 131 percent higher than the 0.65 pence HEPS for the prior reporting period (being HEPS of 1.37 pence to 1.50 pence).
2) Normalised illustrative EPS and HEPS
EPS and HEPS include certain non-operational gains and losses on financial instruments, referred to hereunder. When the Group's earnings are adjusted for these gains and losses (the "normalised illustrative EPS and HEPS") are expected to be between:
1. EPS: 275 percent to 295 percent higher than the 11.48 cents EPS for the prior reporting period (being EPS of 43.10 cents to 45.40 cents).
2. HEPS: 269 percent to 289 percent higher than the 11.67 cents HEPS for the prior reporting period (being HEPS of 43.08 cents to 45.42 cents).
The normalised illustrative EPS and HEPS in GBP terms for the current reporting period would have been between:
1. EPS: 213 percent to 233 percent higher than the 0.64 pence EPS for the prior reporting period (being EPS of 2 pence to 2.13 pence).
2. HEPS: 208 percent to 228 percent higher than the 0.65 pence HEPS for the prior reporting period (being HEPS of 2 pence and 2.13 pence).
The following adjustments were made to EPS and HEPS to derive this normalised illustrative EPS and HEPS:
2.1) Financial instruments
Cost Collar
Barberton Mines entered into a short term strategic hedge ("the Cost Collar") in July 2015, when the prevailing spot gold price was ZAR440,000/kg, to protect its cash flows and the Group's annual dividend against severe adverse movements in the ZAR gold price. During the current reporting period, the Group recorded a post-tax unrealised mark-to-market fair value loss of ZAR82 million on the Cost Collar (2015: post-tax realised Cost Collar derivative income of ZAR32.3 million). The economic consequence of the mark-to-market fair value adjustment is to lock in revenue on 25,000oz of gold production from Barberton Mines at ZAR625,000/kg (the closing ZAR gold price at 30 June 2016) for the twelve month period commencing 1 October 2016.
Share options
The share price increased significantly from ZAR1.80 to ZAR3.75 during the current reporting period (an increase of 108 percent), which resulted in an increase in the Group's cash settled share option costs. The post-tax effect of cash settled share option costs for the current reporting period amounted to ZAR65.2 million (2015: post-tax ZAR4.4 million gain).
The fair value adjustment of the Group's rehabilitation liability and associated investment resulted in the rehabilitation liability reducing by ZAR38.2 million (2015: increased by ZAR19.7 million) and the rehabilitation investment increased by ZAR9.4 million (2015: ZAR33.9 million).
2.2) Shanduka Gold Proprietary Limited ("Shanduka Gold") transaction
Shareholders were advised on 26 May 2016 and 1 June 2016 that the Company had entered into agreements to acquire Standard Bank of South Africa Limited's ("SBSA") 16.9 percent and Jadeite Limited's ("Jadeite") 33.6 percent interest in Shanduka Gold ("the Transaction"). The Transaction was concluded on 7 June 2016 for a total consideration of ZAR547 million, which equates to a Pan African share price of ZAR1.25 per share.
Shanduka Gold is, from an accounting perspective, deemed to be controlled by Pan African and Shanduka Gold's full shareholding of 436,358,059 shares in Pan African will eliminate upon consolidation for accounting purposes. As the Transaction only became effective on 7 June 2016, the issued shares are weighted in the current reporting period resulting in 1,811,427,377 shares being taken into account for purposes of calculating EPS and HEPS for the 2016 financial year.
Had the Transaction been effective on 1 July 2015, the number of shares taken into account for calculating EPS and HEPS would have been reduced as follows:
Pan African Shares Shares % Change Opening balance shares - 1 July 2015 1,831,494,763 - Issue of shares - vendor placement 111,711,791 6.1% Elimination of shares held by Shanduka Gold (436,358,059) (23.8%) Closing balance 1,506,848,495 - Reduction in number of shares 324,646,268 17.7%
This reduction in the number of shares was incorporated into the normalised illustrative EPS and HEPS reported above.
PRODUCTION UPDATE
Earnings for the current reporting period improved relative to the prior reporting period due to the robust operating performances from Barberton Mines and Evander Mines. The improved operational performance was supported by an increase in the realised ZAR gold price of 21.6 percent to ZAR542,850/kg (2015: ZAR446,274/kg) during the current reporting period. The Group's earnings were further enhanced by consolidating the Uitkomst Colliery's results for the three months effective from 1 April 2016. Phoenix Platinum production was however adversely impacted by the curtailment of current arisings following International Ferro Metals (SA) Proprietary Limited being placed into business rescue.
Year ended 30 June 2016 Mining operations production summary Barberton Mines Evander Mines Phoenix Platinum Uitkomst Colliery (Gold oz) (Gold oz) (PGE oz) (Coal tonnes) 2016 113,281 91,647 8,339 136,102 2015 105,776 70,081 10,245 - % movement 7% 31% (19%) -
The Uitkomst Colliery coal sales relates directly to underground coal production sales and excludes coal bought in from third parties for blending and further processing. The Uitkomst Colliery production is consolidated from 1 April 2016.
GROUP NET DEBT
The Group's operations are robust in their cash generation and its net debt position at 30 June 2016 was ZAR347 million (2015: ZAR321 million), after the cash share buy-back of ZAR182 million for SBSA's interest in Shanduka Gold, the acquisition of the Uitkomst Colliery for ZAR148 million in cash and the ZAR210 million dividend payment in December 2015.
At the date of this trading statement, the Group's net debt had reduced to ZAR255 million, which included an amortising ZAR82 million gold loan entered into in 2014 to finance the Evander tailings retreatment plant.
ELIKHULU PROJECT UPDATE
Following receipt of a positive high-level assessment of the Elikhulu tailings retreatment project, the Company has mandated DRA Projects (Pty) Limited to conduct a definitive feasibility study on the project. The results of the study will be available in November 2016, where after shareholders will be appraised.
The financial information contained in this trading statement has neither been reviewed nor audited by the Company's auditors. Pan African anticipates that it will release its provisional audited results for the period ended
30 June 2016 on or about 21 September 2016.
For further information on Pan African, please visit the Company's website at www.panafricanresources.com
2 August 2016
Contact Details
Corporate Office
The Firs Office Building
1st Floor, Office 101
Cnr. Cradock and Biermann Avenues
Rosebank, Johannesburg
South Africa
Office: + 27 (0) 11 243 2900
Facsimile: + 27 (0) 11 880 1240
Registered Office
Suite 31
Second Floor
107 Cheapside
London
EC2V 6DN
United Kingdom
Office: + 44 (0) 207 796 8644
Facsimile: + 44 (0) 207 796 8645
Cobus Loots Deon Louw Pan African Resources PLC Pan African Resources PLC Chief Executive Officer Financial Director Office: + 27 (0) 11 243 2900 Office: + 27 (0) 11 243 2900 Phil Dexter John Prior / Paul Gillam St James's Corporate Services Limited Numis Securities Limited Company Secretary Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker Office: + 44 (0) 207 796 8644 Office: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000 Sholto Simpson Matthew Armitt / Ross Allister One Capital Peel Hunt LLP JSE Sponsor Joint Broker Office: + 27 (0) 11 550 5009 Office: +44 (0) 207 418 8900 Julian Gwillim Daniel Thole Aprio Strategic Communications Bell Pottinger PR Public & Investor Relations SA Public & Investor Relations UK Office: +27 (0)11880 0037 Office: + 44 (0) 203 772 2500
Jeffrey Couch/Neil Haycock/Thomas Rider
BMO Capital Markets Limited
Joint Broker
Office: +44 (0) 207 236 1010
www.panafricanresources.com
Acacia Mining plc
Registration number 7123187
("the Company")
TOTAL VOTING RIGHTS
In accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules, the Company advises that its issued share capital comprises 410,085,499 ordinary shares of 10 pence each. The voting rights of all these shares are identical with each share carrying the right to one vote. The Company holds no ordinary shares in Treasury.
The above figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interests in, or a change to their interest in Acacia Mining plc under the Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
2 August 2016
LONDON, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
BAE tours of River Class Patrol Vessel and Shipyard: 14th September, 2016 | Glasgow, UK
Main Conference: 15th - 16th September, 2016
www.offshorepatrolvessels.com
To celebrate the conference's 11th anniversary year we're going to Glasgow - the home of some of the Royal Navy's most illustrious vessels, including their new Queen Elizabeth-Class Aircraft Carriers and, of course, the River Class OPV. We are delighted to announce that our lead sponsor, BAE, will be conducting exclusive tours of their world-class shipyards for our guests, along with a visit to HMS Forth, the Royal Navy's latest River-Class OPV.
This proven annual event attracts senior navy and coast guard chiefs from around the world to discuss with each other and industry leaders the challenges of maritime policing: countering illicit flows including migration, piracy, SAR, pollution monitoring, fishery protection and EEZ patrol. Through assessing platforms and auxiliary technologies, delegates benefit from a clear understanding of the technologies on offer and the best path to balancing capability and affordability to help deliver optimum mission effectiveness tailored to unique national requirements.
The forum benefits from our international experience and series of regional-specific satellite events to bring together the most relevant and thought-provoking conference agenda to date - with OPV operators and industry stakeholders taking part from the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.
"Offshore Patrol Vessels 2016, now in its 11th year heads to Glasgow where our lead sponsor BAE and the Royal Navy are conducting pre-conference exclusive tour of their world class shipyards and the latest River-class OPV - HMS Forth. Following this, the event heads back into Glasgow for 2 days of case-study based conference and exclusive networking -, this year the event looks set to be bigger than ever"- Alexander Hackett, Conference Director
Speakers at this industry forum will include:
Vice Admiral Gonzalo Cabrera Castillo , Deputy General Director of Naval Construction, Mexican Secretariat of the Navy, Mexican Navy
, Deputy General Director of Naval Construction, Mexican Secretariat of the Navy, Rear Admiral John Nadeau , Assistant Commandant for Capabilities, United States Coast Guard
, Assistant Commandant for Capabilities, Rear Admiral Wei-Yang Shao , Director of Shipbuilding Development, Republic of China ( Taiwan ) Navy
, Director of Shipbuilding Development, Rear Admiral Wittaya La-Orchan , General Director of Mahidol Aldulyadej Naval Dockyard, Royal Thai Navy
, General Director of Mahidol Aldulyadej Naval Dockyard, First-Degree Captain Hijran Rustamzade, Commander, Azerbaijani Navy
Download the full programme here: http://www.offshorepatrolvessels.com/agenda-mc?utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=ad&utm_campaign=11313.010-external-pressrelease&utm_term=agenda&utm_content=text&mac=11313.010_prnewsevent&disc=11313.010_prnewsevent
Media contact: Richard Jones, +44 (0)20-7036-1300, Richard.Jones@iqpc.co.uk or visit: www.offshorepatrolvessels.com
Press are invited to attend please email Richard Jones at Richard.Jones@iqpc.co.uk .
VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - French shares tumbled on Tuesday, with investor sentiment hit by slumping oil prices and concerns over the health of lenders across Europe. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's comments in an interview to CNBC on Monday also contributed to a deepening pessimism about the European financial industry. 'Personally I (am) not concerned for Italian non-performing loans but for the future of other European banks,' he said. The benchmark CAC 40 was down 72 points or 1.65 percent at 4,336 in late opening deals after declining 0.7 percent in the previous session. Financials led declines, with AXA, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale Group losing more than 3 percent each. On a relatively light day on the economic front, Eurostat figures showed that industrial producer prices in the euro zone rose 0.7 percent from the previous month in June, slightly faster than the 0.6 percent climb in May. 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.
Frankfurt am Main (ots) -- Moderate improvement in business climate among SMEs - Business assessments at their highest level since April 2014, expectations virtually stable - Sales price expectations returning to normal - Solid growth in Germany thanks to construction and consumptionThe Brexit vote and the developments in Turkey have failed to upset German SMEs. The SME business climate, the central indicator of the KfW-ifo SME Barometer, rose instead by 0.3 points in July to 16.7 balance points, having already been on a consistent upwards trajectory in the first half of 2016.This is mainly due to SMEs' assessments of their current business situation. At 27.6 balance points - 0.6 points more than in June - the companies' evaluation of their current operations reached their highest level since April 2014; the economy thus succeeded in getting off to a good start in the third quarter. At the same time, the business expectations of SMEs remain almost stable (-0.1 points to 5.7 balance points). Bearing in mind that uncertainty has heightened considerably since the Brexit vote, this sends out a reassuring signal that indicates sober-mindedness.Nonetheless, the Brexit vote does not leave the SMEs entirely unscathed. The first signs of a slowdown have been detected, particularly in the export-sensitive economic sectors: sentiment is stagnating among industrial SMEs, while weakening somewhat at a high level in the wholesale sector.The current leader in terms of "sentiment" is the SME construction sector, whose climate indicator climbed 1.3 points in July to reach a new all-time high of 27.9 balance points. Given the forecasted strong demand for new dwellings, residential construction, which is essential for the small and medium-sized construction companies, will likely remain a reliable driver of the German economy for some time to come.On the other hand, corporate investment has become an economic uncertainty among the GDP components following the Brexit decision. A deterioration of the economic outlook in Europe and uncertainty about the future relationship with the UK, which is Germany's third most important export market, could lower the propensity to invest. It is therefore very opportune that the sales prospects, which are an important determinant of investment decisions, are at least supported again on the price side. For the first time since the beginning of 2014, the sales price expectations of small and medium-sized companies at least reached the long-term average again in July.Overall, the July results of the KfW-ifo SME Barometer are consistent with KfW's updated economic forecast for 2016 and 2017. Dr Jorg Zeuner, Chief Economist at KfW Group, stated in this respect, "We predict solid growth in employment, consumption and residential construction, which is however likely to be offset by less dynamic exports and corporate investment under the new Brexit conditions compared with the previous forecast." All in all, he expects the German economy to grow by 1.5% in 2016 and by 1.2% in 2017, and points out that the slowdown is attributable solely to the fewer number of working days next year. "Although the economic outlook is not particularly spectacular, it is nonetheless still quite solid under the present general conditions - thanks to domestic demand", Zeuner said.The current KfW-ifo SME Barometer can be found at: www.kfw.de/mittelstandsbarometer.KfW Business Cycle Compass Germany and Europe - Brexit update: www.kfw.de/Konjunkturkompass.Originaltext: KfW digital press kits: http://www.presseportal.de/nr/41193 press kits via RSS: http://www.presseportal.de/rss/pm_41193.rss2Contact: KfW, Palmengartenstr. 5 - 9, 60325 Frankfurt Kommunikation (KOM), Nathalie Cahn, Tel. +49 (0)69 7431 4400, Fax: +49 (0)69 7431 3266, E-Mail: presse@kfw.de, Internet: www.kfw.de
SEATTLE, WA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Baristas Coffee Company, Inc. (OTC PINK: BCCI) "Seattle's World Famous Costume Coffee" announced today that it has become the sole supplier of White Coffee single serve cups compatible with the Keurig K-Cup Brewing System. 2.0 for Overstock.com. Overstock joined Amazon by making Baristas White Coffee the only supplier of White Coffee single serve cups available on either site. Overstock is one of the nation's top ten retailers and ranks in the top three among online retailers. Amazon is the largest retailer in the country and Baristas White Coffee single serve cups are the top selling product of its type nationwide and have been since being introduced early this year.
White Coffee is a rarity and is developed using a slow and low heat roast that preserves a much higher caffeine level than a traditional roast. Because the beans have been under-roasted, white coffee has a lighter taste than traditional coffee and is described as both neutral and nutty. Baristas White Coffee is now available on Overstock.com and utilizes Baristas award winning five bean variety of pure Arabica beans that have been hand selected and individually roasted to touch all seven parts of the taste experience in the perfect combination.
Barry Henthorn - CEO commented; "Becoming the sole supplier of White Coffee single serve cups compatible with the Keurig 2.0 K-Cup Brewing System on Overstock.com after the success we have experienced partnering with Amazon solidifies that there is a strong demand for our truly unique Baristas White Coffee cups. Baristas will continue to focus on expanding our distribution network for this and other great Baristas retail products."
The Baristas White Coffee single serve cups are available via www.overstock.com at http://www.overstock.com/Food-Gifts/Baristas-White-Coffee-Single-serve-K-Cups-Pack-of-12/11895330/product.html?refccid=WIPFPPEQVQHJRMKA6IYNGBCIBU&searchidx=0 as well as on www.amazon.com at https://www.amazon.com/s?marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&me=A1KJQ056WTND0E&merchant=A1KJQ056WTND0E&redirect=true.
About Overstock.com
Overstock.com is a discount online shopping retailer based in Salt Lake City, Utah that sells a broad range of products including furniture, rugs, bedding, electronics, clothing, jewelry and cars.
About Amazon.com: Amazon.com, Inc. is an American international electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon.com started out as an online bookstore, but it soon diversified, selling DVDs, VHSs, CDs, video and MP3 downloads/streaming, software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewelry. The company also produces consumer electronics -- notably the Amazon Kindle e-book reader and the Kindle Fire tablet computer -- and is a major provider of cloud computing services.
About Baristas Coffee Company (BCCI): Headquartered in the Seattle, Washington area, Baristas Coffee Company, Inc. was formed to create a national brand of drive-thru espresso stands. BCCI is accomplishing this by acquiring established businesses that fit its model, opening new locations, and by franchising. Baristas has separated itself from the competition with its "theme" of joining attractive female baristas in entertaining costumes preparing the finest beverages available on the market. Baristas can currently be found in five greater Seattle area locations as well as in Florida, and Montana.
For more information on this fascinating concept please visit us at www.baristas.tv.
For Investor Relations Contact:
Barry Henthorn
barry@baristas.tv
(206)579-0222
NANJING, China, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ET Solar announces it has signed a cooperation contract to enter into a joint venture (JV) with Xi'an LONGi Silicon Materials Corp., the world's largest high-efficiency mono-crystalline products manufacturer.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160802/394860
Under the JV, ET Solar and LONGi will complement and expand their respective expertise and advantages in technology, development, products, branding and sales channels. Together they will be dedicated to promoting high-efficiency mono-crystalline solar modules around the world.
Both parties consider efficiency pivotal for future solar technology development and cost breakthroughs. Cost-effective mono-crystalline technologies will be the most important engine for increasing solar power efficiency. Both companies look forward to making ET Solar a world-leading, high-efficiency mono brand, and to reaching parity with high-efficiency PV products and significant cost reductions on downstream power generation.
Both ET Solar and LONGi have great confidence in the future of the collaboration. "This strategic contract signifies an enhancement of mutual cooperation on technology, products and global marketing," said Xinghua WANG, Chairman of ET Solar. " Through this cooperation, ET Solar and LONGi will complement each another, forming a compatible and efficient alliance that combines the upstream and downstream sectors of the solar industry."
"ET Solar and LONGi have their respective specialities in the PV industry," said Baoshen ZHONG, Chairman of LONGi, "but we share similar views and ideas about how to develop a global market, contribute to the environment and establish a subsidy-free PV market with net metering. Our strategic cooperation will open new doors for both parties."
As an advanced solar module manufacturer, ET Solar has long been dedicated to providing cutting-edge PV products and services to satisfy customers' diversified demands for solar energy. ET Solar has provided a cumulative 5 GW of modules for customers around the globe.
As the world's largest mono-crystalline product manufacturer, LONGi has always focused on R&D for mono products, leading to continuously decreasing costs and increasing Chinese market share of mono modules -- from 20% to 25%.
About ET Solar
ET Solar is an advanced solar module manufacturer. With local sales & marketing subsidiaries and offices in Asia, Europe, Oceania and North & South America, ET Solar has provided solar modules and turnkey solution services to customers in over 90 countries. To learn more about the ET Solar, please visit http://www.etsolar.com.
About LONGi
Founded in 2000, Xi'an LONGi Silicon Materials Corp. is the largest high-efficiency mono-crystalline products manufacturer in the world. LONGi provides high-quality products and services for photovoltaic and semiconductor products. To learn more about LONGi, please visit http://www.longi-silicon.com.
For more details, please contact:
Eric Zhang
Tel: +86-25-8689 8098 ext.9011/+86-136-4518-8386
Fax: +86-25-8689-8097
E-mail: eric.zhang@etsolar.com / pr@etsolar.com
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/et-solar-longi-co-found-jv-to-create-global-leading-mono-brand-300307561.html
BROOKFIELD, NEWS -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE: BBU)(TSX: BBU.UN) announced today financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2016.
Three months ended Six months ended June June 30 30 -------------------- --------------------- US$ millions, unaudited 2016 2015 2016 2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net (loss) income attributable to unitholders(1) $ (33) $ 8 $ (38) $ 186 Company FFO(1,2) $ 58 $ 41 $ 95 $ 83
Brookfield Business Partners (or "BBU") generated Company Funds From Operations ("Company FFO") totaling $58 million for the quarter compared with $41 million in 2015. Results benefitted from the increased contribution from our construction services segment, contribution from the acquisition of our Western Australia energy operations at the end of the second quarter in 2015 and realized gains from dispositions of a portion of our investment securities.
We reported a net loss attributable to unitholders for the quarter ending June 30, 2016 of $33 million compared to net income of $8 million for the quarter ending June 30, 2015, primarily due to an impairment taken at our graphite electrode manufacturing business related to a repositioning of the business that we had planned at the time we acquired it.
"We made significant progress on a number of operating initiatives during the quarter and generated strong Company FFO of $58 million," said Cyrus Madon, CEO of BBU. "We have a strong balance sheet with substantial liquidity and are well positioned to capitalize on a number of investment opportunities."
Operational Update
The following table presents Company FFO by segment:
Three months ended Six months ended June June 30 30 -------------------- --------------------- US$ millions, unaudited 2016 2015 2016 2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Company FFO by segment Construction Services $ 25 $ 17 $ 47 $ 44 Other Business Services 15 14 17 16 Energy 17 2 35 12 Other Industrial Operations 2 8 (3) 11 Corporate and Other (1) - (1) - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Company FFO(1,2) $ 58 $ 41 $ 95 $ 83 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our construction services segment continued to perform strongly and generated Company FFO of $25 million during the quarter, compared to $17 million in the second quarter of 2015. We continue to expand our operations globally with 13 additional projects compared to the same period in 2015. During the second quarter of 2016, we signed over $1 billion of construction projects in Australia and the United Kingdom, including six residential and commercial developments, and one mixed-used project.
Our other business services segment generated Company FFO of $15 million during the quarter, compared to $14 million in the second quarter of 2015. The increase was primarily attributable to our facilities management operations where we benefitted from new contract wins from earlier in the year. Consistent with our growth strategy for the facilities management business, we signed agreements to acquire two businesses, one in Canada and the other in the U.S. While these acquisitions are relatively modest in size, they will assist to increase the scale, reach and efficiency of our operations and increase the value of our business.
Our energy segment generated Company FFO of $17 million for the quarter, compared to $2 million in the second quarter of 2015. The increase in our results was due to the contribution from our acquisition of our equity accounted oil and gas operations in Western Australia in June 2015. We substantially contracted our Australian oil and gas production at the time of the transaction and therefore were not significantly impacted by underlying oil and gas price weakness. In addition, we realized gains on the disposition of investments in energy related securities which we acquired earlier this year when capital markets experienced significant volatility. These increases were partially offset by lower performance from our Canadian energy operations due to a weak pricing environment.
Our other industrial segment delivered Company FFO for the quarter of $2 million, compared to $8 million in the second quarter of 2015. The decrease in Company FFO is due to a negative contribution from our graphite electrode manufacturing business and lower results from our metals and mining operations. Comparative results for 2015 do not include our graphite electrode operations as the acquisition was completed in August 2015. Results from this operation are currently below historical average as we made the acquisition at a low point in the business and industry cycle. The decrease in Company FFO was offset by gains realized on the sale of equity securities and an increase in the contribution from our bath and shower manufacturing operations as a result of new product sales and cost reductions.
Distributions
The Board of Directors has declared a quarterly distribution in the amount of $0.07 per unit, payable on September 30, 2016 to unitholders of record as at the close of business on August 31, 2016. This distribution will cover the period from June 20, 2016, the spin-off date of BBU, to September 30, 2016.
Additional Information
Brookfield Business Partners' Letter to Unitholders and the Supplemental Information are available at www.brookfieldbusinesspartners.com.
Brookfield Business Partners is a business services and industrial company focused on owning and operating high-quality businesses that benefit from barriers to entry and/or low production costs. Brookfield Business Partners is listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges. Further information is available at www.brookfieldbusinesspartners.com. Important information may be disseminated exclusively via the website; investors should consult the site to access this information.
Brookfield Business Partners is the flagship listed business services and industrials company of Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset manager with $240 billion of assets under management. For more information, go to www.brookfield.com.
For more information, please visit our website at www.brookfieldbusinesspartners.com.
Conference Call and Quarterly Earnings Details
Investors, analysts and other interested parties can access Brookfield Business Partners' second quarter 2016 results as well as the Letter to Unitholders and Supplemental Information on Brookfield Business Partners' website under the Investors section at www.brookfieldbusinesspartners.com.
The conference call can be accessed via webcast on August 2, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time at www.brookfieldbusinesspartners.com or via teleconference at 1-800-319-4610 toll free in North America. For overseas calls please dial +1-604-638-5340, at approximately 10:50 a.m. Eastern Time. A recording of the teleconference can be accessed at 1-855-669-9658 or +1-604-674-8052 (Password 0592#).
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND INFORMATION
Note: This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian provincial securities laws and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and in any applicable Canadian securities regulations. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, include statements regarding the operations, business, financial condition, expected financial results, performance, prospects, opportunities, priorities, targets, goals, ongoing objectives, strategies and outlook of Brookfield Business Partners, as well as the outlook for North American and international economies for the current fiscal year and subsequent periods, and include words such as "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "seeks," "intends," "targets," "projects," "forecasts" or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may," "will," "should," "would" and "could."
Although we believe that our anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, the reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Brookfield Business Partners to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and information.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the impact or unanticipated impact of general economic, political and market factors in the countries in which we do business; the behavior of financial markets, including fluctuations in interest and foreign exchange rates; global equity and capital markets and the availability of equity and debt financing and refinancing within these markets; strategic actions including dispositions; the ability to complete and effectively integrate acquisitions into existing operations and the ability to attain expected benefits; changes in accounting policies and methods used to report financial condition (including uncertainties associated with critical accounting assumptions and estimates); the ability to appropriately manage human capital; the effect of applying future accounting changes; business competition; operational and reputational risks; technological change; changes in government regulation and legislation within the countries in which we operate; governmental investigations; litigation; changes in tax laws; ability to collect amounts owed; catastrophic events, such as earthquakes and hurricanes; the possible impact of international conflicts and other developments including terrorist acts and cyber terrorism; and other risks and factors detailed from time to time in our documents filed with the securities regulators in Canada and the United States.
We caution that the foregoing list of important factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on our forward-looking statements, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Except as required by law, Brookfield Business Partners undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether written or oral, that may be as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING USE OF NON-IFRS MEASURES
This press release contains references to Company FFO. When determining Company FFO, we include our unitholders' proportionate share of Company FFO for equity accounted investments. Company FFO is not a generally accepted accounting measure under IFRS and therefore may differ from definitions of Company FFO or Funds from Operations used by other entities. We believe that this is a useful supplemental measure that may assist investors in assessing the financial performance of Brookfield Business Partners and its subsidiaries. Company FFO should not be considered as the sole measure of our performance and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, analysis of our financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS.
References to Brookfield Business Partners are to Brookfield Business Partners L.P. together with its subsidiaries, controlled affiliates and operating entities. Brookfield Business Partners' results include limited partnership units held by public unitholders, redeemable partnership units and general partnership units.
Notes: 1. Attributable to parent company prior to the Spin-off on June 20, 2016 and to limited partnership unitholders, general partnership unitholders, and redemption-exchange unitholders post Spin-off. 2. Company FFO is presented as a net amount attributable to unitholders and is a non-IFRS measure and is calculated as net income excluding the impact of depreciation and amortization, deferred income taxes, breakage and transaction costs, non-cash gains or losses and other items. When determining Company FFO, we include our proportionate share of Company FFO of equity accounted investment. A reconciliation of net income to Company FFO is available on pages 6 and 7 of this release. Brookfield Business Partners L.P. Consolidated Statements of Financial Position As of June 30, December 31, US$ millions, unaudited 2016 2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 709 $ 354 Financial assets 606 409 Accounts receivable, net 1,799 1,635 Inventory and other assets 716 748 Property, plant and equipment 2,287 2,364 Deferred income tax assets 92 64 Intangible assets 426 445 Equity accounted investments 370 492 Goodwill 1,142 1,124 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total assets $ 8,147 $ 7,635 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Liabilities and equity in net assets Liabilities Accounts payable and other $ 2,466 $ 2,375 Borrowings 2,058 2,074 Deferred income tax liabilities 90 102 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total liabilities 4,614 4,551 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equity in net assets Equity attributable to unitholders(1) 2,119 1,787 Non-controlling interests 1,414 1,297 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total equity in net assets 3,533 3,084 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total liabilities and equity in net assets $ 8,147 $ 7,635 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: 1. Attributable to parent company prior to the Spin-off on June 20, 2016 and to limited partnership unitholders, general partnership unitholders, and redemption-exchange unitholders post Spin-off. Post Spin-off, equity is also attributable to preferred shareholders and Special LP unitholders. Brookfield Business Partners L.P. Consolidated Statements of Operating Results Three months ended Six months ended June June 30 30 -------------------------------------------- US$ millions, unaudited 2016 2015 2016 2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenues $ 2,008 $ 1,630 $ 3,685 $ 2,776 Direct operating costs (1,865) (1,484) (3,434) (2,507) General and administrative expenses (64) (48) (126) (89) Depreciation and amortization expense (76) (61) (148) (114) Interest expense (23) (10) (47) (20) Equity accounted income, net 20 6 47 9 Impairment expense (106) - (106) - Gain on acquisitions/dispositions 28 7 28 269 Other expenses, net (21) (14) (31) (18) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Income before income tax (99) 26 (132) 306 Current income tax (expense) recovery Current (7) (10) (10) (21) Deferred 15 3 22 10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net (loss)income $ (91) $ 19 $ (120) $ 295 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Attributable to: Unitholders(1) $ (33) $ 8 $ (38) $ 186 Non-controlling interests $ (58) $ 11 $ (82) $ 109 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: 1. Attributable to parent company prior to the Spin-off on June 20, 2016 and to limited partnership unitholders, general partnership unitholders, and redemption-exchange unitholders post Spin-off. Brookfield Business Partners L.P. Statements of Company Funds from Operations For the 3 months ended Other June 30, 2016 Construction Business US$ million, unaudited Services Services Energy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenues $ 1,119 $ 482 $ 63 Direct operating costs (1,082) (429) (44) General and administrative expenses (10) (26) (4) Equity accounted income - 7 34 Realized disposition gain, net - - 19 Interest expense (1) (3) (7) Current income taxes (1) (4) - Company FFO attributable to non- controlling interest - (12) (44) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Company FFO(1,2) 25 15 17 Depreciation and amortization Impairment expense, net Deferred income taxes Other expense, net Non-cash items attributable to equity accounted investments Non-cash items attributable to non-controlling interest ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net loss attributable to unitholders(2) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the 3 months ended Other As per June 30, 2016 Industrial Corporate IFRS US$ million, unaudited Operations and Other Financials ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenues $ 344 $ - $ 2,008 Direct operating costs (309) (1) (1,865) General and administrative expenses (24) - (64) Equity accounted income - - 41 Realized disposition gain, net 9 - 28 Interest expense (12) - (23) Current income taxes (2) - (7) Company FFO attributable to non- controlling interest (4) - (60) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Company FFO(1,2) 2 (1) 58 Depreciation and amortization (76) Impairment expense, net (106) Deferred income taxes 15 Other expense, net (21) Non-cash items attributable to equity accounted investments (21) Non-cash items attributable to non-controlling interest 118 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net loss attributable to unitholders(2) $ (33) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes: 1. The Statements of Company Funds from Operations above are prepared on a basis that is consistent with BBU's Supplemental Information and differs from net income as presented in Brookfield Business Partners' Consolidated Statements of Operating Results on page 5 of this release, which is prepared in accordance with IFRS. Management uses company funds from operations (Company FFO) as a key measure to evaluate operating performance. Readers are encouraged to consider both measures in assessing Brookfield Business Partners' results. Company FFO is presented as a net amount attributable to unitholders and is a non-IFRS measure and is calculated as net income excluding the impact of depreciation and amortization, deferred income taxes, breakage and transaction costs, non-cash gains or losses and other items. When determining Company FFO, we include our proportionate share of Company FFO for equity accounted investments. 2. Attributable to parent company prior to the Spin-off on June 20, 2016 and to limited partnership unitholders, general partnership unitholders, and redemption-exchange unitholders post Spin-off. Brookfield Business Partners L.P. Statements of Company Funds from Operations For the 6 months ended Other June 30, 2016 Construction Business US$ million, unaudited Services Services Energy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenues $ 2,007 $ 933 $ 129 Direct operating costs (1,938) (847) (87) General and administrative expenses (20) (50) (8) Equity accounted income - 10 87 Realized disposition gain, net - - 19 Interest expense (1) (7) (15) Current income taxes (1) (6) (1) Company FFO attributable to non- controlling interest - (16) (89) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Company FFO(1,2) 47 17 35 Depreciation and amortization Impairment expense, net Deferred income taxes Other expense, net Non-cash items attributable to equity accounted investments Non-cash items attributable to non-controlling interest ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net loss attributable to unitholders(2) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the 6 months ended Other As per June 30, 2016 Industrial Corporate IFRS US$ million, unaudited Operations and Other Financials ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenues $ 616 $ - $ 3,685 Direct operating costs (561) (1) (3,434) General and administrative expenses (48) - (126) Equity accounted income - - 97 Realized disposition gain, net 9 - 28 Interest expense (24) - (47) Current income taxes (2) - (10) Company FFO attributable to non- controlling interest 7 - (98) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Company FFO(1,2) (3) (1) 95 Depreciation and amortization (148) Impairment expense, net (106) Deferred income taxes 22 Other expense, net (31) Non-cash items attributable to equity accounted investments (50) Non-cash items attributable to non-controlling interest 180 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net loss attributable to unitholders(2) $ (38) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes: 1. The Statements of Company Funds from Operations above are prepared on a basis that is consistent with BBU's Supplemental Information and differs from net income as presented in Brookfield Business Partners' Consolidated Statements of Operating Results on page 5 of this release, which is prepared in accordance with IFRS. Management uses company funds from operations (Company FFO) as a key measure to evaluate operating performance. Readers are encouraged to consider both measures in assessing Brookfield Business Partners' results. Company FFO is presented as a net amount attributable to unitholders and is a non-IFRS measure and is calculated as net income excluding the impact of depreciation and amortization, deferred income taxes, breakage and transaction costs, non-cash gains or losses and other items. When determining Company FFO, we include our proportionate share of Company FFO for equity accounted investments. 2. Attributable to parent company prior to the Spin-off on June 20, 2016 and to limited partnership unitholders, general partnership unitholders, and redemption-exchange unitholders post Spin-off.
Contacts:
Brookfield Business Partners - Media:
Suzanne Fleming
(212) 417-2421
suzanne.fleming@brookfield.com
Brookfield Business Partners - Investors:
Jennifer Ritchie
(416) 956-5230
jennifer.ritchie@brookfield.com
www.brookfieldbusinesspartners.com
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (NYSE: FSM) (TSX: FVI) announces that it will release its financial statements and MD&A for the second quarter after the market closes on Monday, August 8, 2016.
A conference call to discuss the financial and operational results will be held on Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific / 12:00 p.m. Eastern. Hosting the call will be Jorge A. Ganoza, President and CEO, and Luis D. Ganoza, Chief Financial Officer.
Shareholders, analysts, media and interested investors are invited to listen to the live conference call by logging onto the webcast at:
http://www.investorcalendar.com/IC/CEPage.asp?ID=175208 or over the phone by dialing just prior to the starting time.
Conference call details: Date: Tuesday, August 9, 2016 Time: 9:00 a.m. Pacific / 12:00 p.m. Eastern Dial in number (Toll Free): +1.877.407.8035 Dial in number (International): +1.201.689.8035 Replay number (Toll Free): +1.877.660.6853 Replay number (International): +1.201.612.7415 Replay Passcode: 13642320
Playback of the conference call will be available until August 23, 2016 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Playback of the webcast will be available until November 9, 2016. In addition, a transcript of the call will be archived in the company's website:
http://www.fortunasilver.com/s/financial_reports.asp.
Fortuna Silver Mines Inc.
Fortuna is a growth oriented, silver and base metal producer focused on mining opportunities in Latin America. Our primary assets are the Caylloma silver mine in southern Peru and the San Jose silver-gold mine in Mexico. The company is selectively pursuing acquisition opportunities throughout the Americas and in select other areas. For more information, please visit our website at www.fortunasilver.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE COMPANY
Carlos Baca, Investor Relations Manager
Trading symbols: NYSE: FSM / TSX: FVI
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains forward looking statements which constitute "forward looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, "Forward looking Statements"). All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, are Forward looking Statements and are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the Forward looking Statements. The Forward looking Statements in this news release may include, without limitation, statements about the Company's plans for its mines and mineral properties; the Company's business strategy, plans and outlook; the merit of the Company's mines and mineral properties; mineral resource and reserve estimates; timelines; the future financial or operating performance of the Company; expenditures; approvals and other matters. Often, but not always, these Forward looking Statements can be identified by the use of words such as "will", "will be" or statements that events, "could" or "should" occur or be achieved and similar expressions, including negative variations.
Forward looking Statements 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 results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward looking Statements. Such uncertainties and factors include, among others, changes in general economic conditions and financial markets; changes in prices for silver and other metals; technological and operational hazards in Fortuna's mining and mine development activities; risks inherent in mineral exploration; uncertainties inherent in the estimation of mineral reserves, mineral resources, and metal recoveries; governmental and other approvals; political unrest or instability in countries where Fortuna is active; labor relations issues; as well as those factors discussed under "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 based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management, including but not limited to expectations regarding mine production costs; expected trends in mineral prices and currency exchange rates; the accuracy of the Company's current mineral resource and reserve estimates; that the Company's activities will be in accordance with the Company's public statements and stated goals; that there will be no material adverse change affecting the Company or its properties; that all required approvals will be obtained; that there will be no significant disruptions affecting operations and such other assumptions as set out herein. Forward looking Statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any Forward looking Statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by law. 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, investors should not place undue reliance on Forward looking Statements.
Contacts:
Fortuna Silver Mines Inc.
Investor Relations:
Carlos Baca
T (Peru): +51.1.616.6060, ext. 0
www.fortunasilver.com
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Creditors now have a new advantage when managing debt recovery with the release of Equifax Debt Services, a set of interconnected tools and services designed to make recovering money owed easier and more profitable. With this new solution, the debt recovery process from pre-collection through recoveries is fully managed by Equifax, and clients have a clear view of their customers at every step using the intuitive software dashboard.
"Our clients in every industry face many challenges when recovering debt, often stemming from having incomplete or insufficient data on a customer, and from navigating through a disjointed process," explains Rob Durham, Vice President of Sales & Business Development at Equifax Canada. "Our new solution is streamlined with Equifax managing the process end-to-end; customer data is enriched throughout the process, and recovery activities are continuously assessed. Our clients can view and monitor their collections activities and outcomes in a simple dashboard every step of the way."
In other geographies, debt services solutions from Equifax have delivered an uplift of over 30 per cent in the predictive power of whether an account will pay, according to analysis conducted by Equifax in 2014. This can enable greater accuracy and lead to significant cost and time savings. Now Equifax Canada clients can get deeper insight into their customers' ability to pay and use these insights to inform decisions and reduce money and time spent on collecting money owed.
Built with trusted data and insights, practitioner expertise in debt recovery and market leading technology, Equifax Debt Services can help inform the decisions and advance the performance of creditors in Canada.
For more information visit the Equifax Canada website.
About Equifax
Equifax powers the financial future of individuals and organizations around the world. Using the combined strength of unique trusted data, technology and innovative analytics, Equifax has grown from a consumer credit company into a leading provider of insights and knowledge that helps its customers make informed decisions. The company organizes, assimilates and analyzes data on more than 820 million consumers and more than 91 million businesses worldwide, and its databases include employee data contributed from more than 5,000 employers.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 9,200 employees worldwide.
Some noteworthy achievements for the company include: Ranked 13 on the American Banker FinTech Forward list (2015); named a Top Technology Provider on the FinTech 100 list (2004-2015); named an InformationWeek Elite 100 Winner (2014-2015); named a Top Workplace by Atlanta Journal Constitution (2013-2015); named one of Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies (2011-2015); named one of Forbes' World's 100 Most Innovative Companies (2015). For more information, visit www.equifax.com
Contacts:
Media Contacts:
Andrew Findlater
SELECT Public Relations
afindlater@selectpr.ca
(416) 659-1197
Tom Carroll
Equifax Canada
MediaRelationsCanada@equifax.com
(416) 227-5290
BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Factors beyond the U.S. pose risks to the domestic economy and these must be watched closely, so that policy can be tightened in a gradually and patiently, Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan said Tuesday.
The central banker also said that there was need for economic policy action beyond monetary policy, such as structural reforms and fiscal policy, on a global level to address several key challenges.
'I am closely monitoring how slowing growth, high levels of overcapacity and high levels of debt to GDP in major economies outside the U.S. might be impacting economic conditions in the U.S.,' Kaplan said in a speech in Beijing.
'I am also closely tracking how these issues might be affecting the slope of the U.S. Treasury yield curve as well as measures of tightness in financial conditions.'
Kaplan said China's transition from an export-and-manufacturing-driven economy to a consumer and services-based one, and hence lower growth rates, should be monitored carefully for spillover effects on currencies and global financial conditions.
Regarding 'Brexit', Kaplan said it will take time for events to unfold before one can assess the ultimate impact on the economies of the U.K., Europe and the rest of the world.
'In light of these challenges, I have been suggesting that removal of accommodation should be done in a gradual and patient manner, based on a realistic assessment of progress toward achieving the Federal Reserve's dual-mandate objectives regarding full employment and price stability,' Kaplan said.
'I am also very cognizant that, from a risk-management point of view, our monetary policies have an asymmetrical impact at or near the zero lower bound.'
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA and TORONTO, ON -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Achievers, an industry leader in employee recognition and rewards solutions, today revealed key details of its annual Achievers Customer Experience (ACE) conference, which will be held in Toronto from September 13-14, 2016. Now in its seventh year, the event has been hailed as an informative, innovative and influential forum on employee engagement and recognition in North America.
"Many businesses today are looking for new ways to drive employee engagement in the pursuit of greater business success. At ACE, we bring together top industry experts and leading luminaries to share best practices that can be used to change the way the world works," said David Brennan, Achievers general manager. "We are thrilled with the caliber of thought leadership, real-world insights, and hands-on training opportunities that will be made available to our attendees. With its networking opportunities, insights into Achievers' latest product enhancements, and educational case studies, there is something for everyone at ACE 2016."
Designed to deepen attendees' understanding of employee engagement and what program success looks like, ACE features three session tracks led by established thought leaders, HR industry strategists, and Achievers experts. Customizable for attendees' unique interests and needs, the three tracks are:
Aspire: Showcasing expert advice from forward-thinking minds in HR and business, this thought leadership track challenges attendees to shift their everyday mindsets and aspire to greatness.
Achieve: Attendees will hear real-world examples from companies and practitioners like them who are using the Achievers platform to elevate engagement and recognition programs to accomplish brilliant business outcomes.
Accelerate: Learn from power users and product experts how technology is accelerating recognition and engagement program success. Get an inside look at the latest enhancements, integrations and features that are driving adoption, usage and insights.
The program is also designed to inspire with three exceptional keynote speakers: award-winning journalist, Joan Lunden; on-air personality, Mel Robbins and best-selling author, Spencer West. In her keynote, "Fostering Leadership & Achieving Dreams," Lunden will draw on more than 30 years of journalistic excellence -- including nearly two decades on Good Morning America -- to highlight ways that attendees can achieve success and balance in life. Currently one of CNN's most popular on-air commentators and opinion writers, Robbins will present the interactive and motivational session, "The Five Second Rule: Achieve Breakthrough Performance in your Career & Life." Spencer West, whose book, Standing Tall: My Journey chronicles his life after losing both legs from the pelvis down at the age of five, will share his mesmerizing story of overcoming obstacles to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, using his personal experiences to motivate attendees to find opportunity in their own challenges.
In addition to the keynote speakers, ACE also features provocative and stimulating breakout sessions with HR thought leaders, including:
Andrew Sykes, Founder and President, Habits at Work: Sykes, president of Habits at Work, will discuss the role of pivotal habits in creating thriving (healthy, happy and secure) employees and the "dose value" of these pivotal habits on performance at work.
Aimee Lucas, Customer Experience Transformist & Vice President, Temkin Group: Lucas will explore the connection between customer experience (CX) and employee engagement (EE) and share proven EE tactics that have yielded positive CX results at other organizations -- including how employees are incented, recognized, and celebrated.
Bobi Seredich, Co-Founder of The Southwest Institute for Emotional Intelligence: Seredich's highly interactive workshop, based on research around Emotional Intelligence and Stephen Covey's Speed of Trust, is designed to engage HR leaders at all levels and help them to strategically identify and close trust gaps in their organizations.
Taking place the evening before the official start of the conference -- but also not to be missed -- is the Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces Awards Gala on Monday, Sept. 12, at the Steam Whistle Brewery in downtown Toronto. Honoring this year's winners, the gala will celebrate our list of the top 50 employers in North America for their leadership in finding innovative ways to make engagement, alignment and recognition a foundational piece of their workforce enablement strategy.
For more information on how to register, or on ACE in general, visit: http://bit.ly/ACE2016PR. Follow the conversation on Twitter at @Achievers or AACE16.
About Achievers
Achievers' Employee Recognition and Rewards solution provides companies with a robust foundation for their employee engagement initiatives that enables both social and rewards-based recognition. Designed for today's workplace, Achievers' innovative SaaS platform can increase employee engagement and drive business success. It empowers employees to recognize and reward each other in real time and aligns employees with company values and goals. Delivering millions of recognitions annually, the Achievers platform inspires employee loyalty, engagement and performance in 150 countries. Visit us at www.achievers.com. Achievers is a Blackhawk Network company and is headquartered in Toronto and San Francisco.
CINCINNATI (dpa-AFX) - Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) reported a profit for the fourth-quarter that surged from the prior year, which included a Venezuelan deconsolidation charge of $0.71 per share. Quarterly net sales were down three percent versus the prior year period hurt by a negative three percentage point impact from foreign exchange and a negative two percent combined impact from Venezuela deconsolidation and minor brand divestitures. Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter beats analysts' expectations.
'Looking forward, we're committed to continued productivity improvement and cost savings that provide the fuel for innovation and investments needed to accelerate and sustain faster top-line growth. We expect fiscal 2017 to mark another significant step toward our goal of balanced growth and value creation and total shareholder return in the top third of our competitive peer group,' said Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer David Taylor.
P&G projects organic sales growth of about 2% for fiscal 2017. The Company expects the combined headwinds of foreign exchange and minor brand divestitures to reduce sales growth by about one percentage point. As a result, P&G estimates all-in sales growth of about 1% for fiscal 2017.
The company said it expects core earnings per share growth of mid-single digits versus fiscal 2016 core EPS of $3.67. P&G noted that core EPS growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 will be disproportionately affected by foreign exchange headwinds, which do not fully annualize until later in the year, and the impact of lost finished product sales to its Venezuelan subsidiaries.
All-in GAAP earnings per share are expected to increase 45% to 55% versus fiscal year 2016 GAAP earnings per share of $3.69. The fiscal 2017 GAAP EPS estimate includes approximately $0.10 per share of non-core restructuring costs and a substantial gain from the divestiture of 41 beauty brands to Coty Inc. The exact earnings gain from the transaction with Coty will not be known until the completion of the deal, which is targeted for October 2016.
Net earnings attributable to the company for the fourth-quarter surged to $1.951 billion from the prior year's $521 million. Net earnings per share were $0.69, an increase of 283% versus the prior year period that included a Venezuelan deconsolidation charge of $0.71 per share.
Core earnings per share were $0.79, a decrease of 15% from the prior year. Core earnings per share results declined due to increased marketing investments, lower gains from minor brand divestitures, and a higher core effective tax rate versus the comparison period. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, currency-neutral core earnings per share decreased eight percent. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.74 per share for the fourth-quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Quarterly net sales were $16.1 billion, a decrease of three percent versus the prior year period hurt by a negative three percentage point impact from foreign exchange and a negative two percent combined impact from Venezuela deconsolidation and minor brand divestitures. Organic sales increased two percent for the quarter driven by a two percent increase in organic shipment volume. Wall Street expected revenues of $15.83 billion for the quarter.
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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Mundoro Capital Inc. (TSX VENTURE: MUN) (www.mundoro.com) ("Mundoro" or the "Company") is pleased to report that it has entered into an amendment agreement ("Amendment") to option a fourth property, the Company's 100% owned Borsko Jezero exploration license, to its partner Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation ("JOGMEC") with whom Mundoro has an earn-in agreement ("Agreement"). On March 7, 2016 Mundoro announced it had granted to JOGMEC an earn-in option on three of Mundoro's exploration licenses: Dubrava, Padina and Zeleznik (the "Timok North Projects") located within the Timok Magmatic Complex in northeastern Serbia (Figure 1: Timok North Projects). This Amendment will now add a fourth property to the earn-in Agreement with revised terms as described below.
Teo Dechev, CEO and President of Mundoro commented, "Mundoro and JOGMEC have been building a strategic partnership and bringing the Borsko Jezero exploration license into the partnership is a natural progression of the relationship given that Borsko Jezero is an extension of the Dubrava license already under option directly to the east. The Mundoro-JOGMEC land package, as amended, establishes a continuous exploration area in the Timok district which has proven mineral endowment with operations such as the Bor and Veliki Krevali mines as well as the Cukaru Peki deposit. JOGMEC has proven to be a good partner with the 2016 exploration program well under way on the Timok North Projects. We look forward to announcing steady news flow as results come in from the various fields programs underway."
Summary of Revised Earn-In Terms
Pursuant to the Agreement and Amendment, Mundoro has granted to JOGMEC the following earn-in and option rights to the now four Timok North Projects: Borsko Jezero, Dubrava, Padina and Zeleznik. Stage One Earn-in: JOGMEC may earn a 51% interest in the Timok North Projects by making US$4 million (previously US$3 million) in expenditures by March 2019. JOGMEC is under a firm commitment to spend US$1 million of this amount by March 2017. Stage Two Earn-in: Following the Stage One Earn-in, JOGMEC has a right to acquire an additional 24% interest in the Timok North Projects, for a total of 75% interest, by funding the completion of a Feasibility Study by the eighth anniversary of the Agreement (March 2024).
Additional Terms: On completing the Stage Two Earn-In, JOGMEC will have a right, exercisable for a period of 60 days, to purchase an additional 5% interest in the Timok North Projects from Mundoro, for a total of 80% interest. The purchase price for the 5% interest will be determined by an independent appraisal of fair market value. JOGMEC will be responsible for future expenditures on the project through to production if it completes Stage Two, including Mundoro's share of capital expenditures. Mundoro's portion of capital expenditures shall be repaid from 50% of the cash flow that Mundoro would otherwise be entitled to receive on a pro rata basis from the joint venture. If either party dilutes below 10%, their interest will convert into a 2% NSR of which up to 1% NSR will be re-purchasable for a total of US$4 million.
Mundoro will be the initial operator of the Timok North Projects. A management committee has been formed and is comprised of two representatives from each of Mundoro and JOGMEC.
Mundoro-JOGMEC Timok North Projects
Borsko Jezero License
Borsko Jezero is a 34.50 sq.km area located near the central portion of the Timok Magmatic Complex. The Borsko Jezero exploration license is directly adjacent to the west of the producing Bor copper porphyry mine which is directly west of the Veliki Krivelj copper-gold porphyry mine.
During the 2013 exploration program of the Borsko Jezero license, Mundoro completed AMT and Induced Polarization ("IP") geophysical surveys over re-interpreted regional magnetic geophysical data which generated several promising anomalies.
A scout drill program totaling 3,226 m drilled in five holes was completed in 2013. All holes intersected hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks of various types suggesting proximal or distal location of mineralised sources. Two holes were drilled in the Borsko Jezero and Dubrava corridor BJ-04 (728.3m depth) and BJ-05 (495.3m depth) in order to explore favorable geology and structure along the corridor between the Bor mine to the north and the Cukaru Peki deposit to the south.
Drillholes BJ-04 and BJ-05 intersected copper and gold mineralization and copper-gold anomalous intervals related to hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks:
-- Drillhole BJ-04 intersected two styles of Cu-Au mineralization of covellite veinlets and chalcopyrite-pyrite with minor bornite ore clasts. This style of ore clasts is similar to one of the neighboring Bor deposits called "Novo Okno" located approximately 2 km to northwest of BJ-04. Drillhole BJ-04, starting from 22 m, intersected Cu-Au mineralization of: -- 28 m @ 0.2% Cu, 0.25 g/t Au (0.36% CuEq.) -- including 7m @ 0.5% Cu, 0.69 g/t Au (0.94% CuEq.) -- Drillhole BJ-05 intersected mineralized and anomalous gold intervals starting from 377 meters, related to argillic altered andesite containing disseminated pyrite and quartz-carbonate veins and veinlets. Drillhole BJ-05, starting from 377 m, intersected Au mineralization: -- 1 m @ 1.69 g/t Au; and -- 11 m @ 0.53 g/t Au
Recent follow-up work includes soil sampling at 400m x 200m grid over an area of approx. 20 sqkm located in the central part of the license. This area was previously highlighted with significant Cu-Au stream sediment geochemistry results. Results from 248 collected samples are expected in early August 2016.
Zeleznik License
Zeleznik is a 60 sq.km area located at the northern end of the Timok Magmatic Complex. The Zeleznik exploration area falls within the recently discovered sediment-hosted gold belt and is in the immediate vicinity of the producing Majdanpek copper porphyry deposit. First stage drilling on the southern Zeleznik targets, the West Zone and the East Zone, has demonstrated that previously defined surface mineralization, identified through soil sampling and trenching, remains open at depth and along strike at both the target areas.
At the West Zone drilling intersected several hornblende-biotite porphyry dikes cutting basement gneiss. The porphyries are potassic altered and the host gneiss is cut by A-type quartz veins and veinlets containing pyrite-chalcopyrite mineralisation. The veins appear to be dipping east, parallel to and presumably controlled by the gneissic foliation. A 25m intercept centered on the early porphyry dyke averages 0.47% CuEq (see press release from January 12, 2015).
At the East Zone, drilling and surface sampling has identified significant intersections as:
-- Channel 21: 46m @ 0.36% Cu, 0.56 g/t Au -- Channel 19: 32m @ 0.34% Cu, 0.42 g/t Au -- Channel 23: 13m @ 2.60% Cu, 0.13 g/t Au -- ZELDD_04: 6m @ 0.48% Cu, 0.46 g/t Au -- ZELDD_05: 81.2m @ 0.22% Cu, 0.23 g/t Au, including 2.8m @ 2.1% Cu, 1.5 g/t Au. -- ZELDD_06: 4.9m @ 0.82% Cu, 1.00 g/t Au (see press release from January 12, 2015).
Mundoro believes there is good potential for discovery of bulk porphyry mineralization containing high grade sulphide blocks which should improve the overall grade.
Current Field Program
Mundoro completed an in-fill soil sampling program in Q2/16 which has identified new targets at the Northern portion of the Zeleznik license. The results are follow up to a Cu-Au-Mo anomalous area approximately 800m x 600m in size. The infill soil geochemistry results are expected to be released in August 2016. The Company completed IP and CSAMT-AMT surveys in H1/16 to further define the drill targets along the East and West Zones. The Company expects to commence drilling in the Zeleznik license in August 2016 with drill results to be released in H2/16.
Dubrava-Ostrelj License
Dubrava-Ostrelj ("Dubrava") is a 51 sq.km area which wraps around the Bor Mine Complex and is 3.5km from the Freeport-McMoran and Nevsun Cukaru Peki deposit. The license area geology is made up of Upper Cretaceous subduction-related magmatic rocks which are the host rocks of the producing Bor and Majdanpek deposits. The license was screened using stream sediment sampling, reconnaissance mapping and an AMT geophysical survey. One drill hole, BJ-04, tested a target that was interpreted as a structural trend related to the Bor deposits. BJ-04 demonstrated positive results with a Cu-Au mineralized intersection of 28 m @ 0.2% Cu, 0.25 g/t Au (0.36% CuEq.) including 7m @ 0.5% Cu, 0.69 g/t Au (0.94% CuEq.) Subsequent soil sampling, detailed mapping and rock sampling around the BJ-04 collar location highlighted a NW trending geochemical anomaly possibly related to the intersected mineralization at depth. Subsequent exploration work continued with a regional CSAMT geophysical survey on the southern part of the license which highlighted NE structures cross-cutting the main NW trend and which may have played a role in localizing the mineralization.
Current Field Program
Mundoro conducted further geophysical surveys and detailed mapping in Q2/16 in order to better define follow-up drill targets. The Company commenced drilling in the Dubrava license in July 2016 with drill results to be released in H2/16.
Padina License
Padina is a 12 sq.km area that is located east of the Bor Mine Complex and contiguous (to the south) to the Dubrava license. The Company completed a CSAMT geophysical survey over the license in order to assess the area and generate drill targets related to the regional Krivelj fault, which is known to control the Veliki Krivelj Cu-Au porphyry orebody. The Krivelj fault has been interpreted to continue along strike through both the Padina and Dubrava licenses. Results highlighted a resistivity low anomaly 300m to 400m wide which was followed for approximately 3.5km along the Jurassic Limestone basement.
Sampling, Analysis and Qualified Person
Drillhole orientations were surveyed at approximately 50 meters intervals. Drill core was collected from drill sites by the Company's geologists and processed and sampled at the Company's core shed according to industry best practice standard procedures. Samples were collected as half PQ or HQ core at two meters length intervals. Where necessary the sampling lengths were adjusted to reflect the geological boundaries.
All samples are assayed using 50 gram fire assay with atomic absorption finish and ME-ICP61 by ALS Romania. The entire sample was crushed to 2mm, then split off a 1 kg sample and pulverized the split to better than 85% passing 75 microns. Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures include the systematic insertion of standards and duplicates into the sample streams. Duplicate core samples are taken every 25 samples and standards and blanks are inserted after every 20th sample. All data collected from detailed logging and assay results from the laboratories are routinely verified and entered in an Access data base.
Technical information contained in this Press Release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. G. Magaranov, P. Geo., Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
About JOGMEC
JOGMEC was established in February, 2004, following the integration of the former Japan National Oil Corporation (JNOC) and Metal Mining Agency of Japan (MMAJ). It is a corporation under the Japanese Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry (METI), with a mandate of investing in developing minerals projects worldwide to help secure a stable supply of natural resources for Japanese industry.
About Mundoro
Mundoro is a Canadian mineral exploration and development public company focused on building value for its shareholders through directly investing in mineral projects that have the ability to generate future returns for shareholders. The Company currently holds a diverse portfolio of projects in two European countries as well as an investment in a producing gold mine in Bulgaria and a feasibility stage gold project in China. The Company holds eight 100% owned projects in Serbia, the four Timok North Projects are in option to JOGMEC, and the four Timok South Projects are being advanced by Mundoro. Mundoro's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "MUN".
On behalf of the Company,
Teo Dechev, Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This News Release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "will", "expect", "intend", "plan", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe" or "continue" or similar words or the negative thereof, and include the following: completion of the earn-in expenditures and options by JOGMEC; and completion of a definitive joint venture agreement by the parties. The material assumptions that were applied in making the forward looking statements in this News Release include expectations as to the mineral potential of the Timok North Properties, the Company's future strategy and business plan and execution of the Company's existing plans. We caution readers of this News Release not to place undue reliance on forward looking statements contained in this News Release, as there can be no assurance that they will occur and they are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include general economic and market conditions, exploration results, commodity prices, changes in law, regulatory processes, the status of Mundoro's assets and financial condition, actions of competitors and the ability to implement business strategies and pursue business opportunities. The forward-looking statements contained in this News Release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this News Release are made as of the date of this News Release and the Board undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Shareholders are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and for a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators available on www.sedar.com.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Mundoro Capital Inc.
Teo Dechev
CEO, President and Director
+1-604-669-8055
www.mundoro.com
MCLEAN, VA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today reported its second quarter 2016 financial results and filed its quarterly Form 10-Q with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company's Form 10-Q and press release are available now on the company's website, www.freddiemac.com/investors, along with the second quarter 2016 financial results supplement.
The company will hold a conference call at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time (ET) on Tuesday, August 2, 2016, to discuss the company's results with the media. The conference call will be concurrently webcast. To access the live audio webcast, use the following link
http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/bwmyws9z. The replay will be available on the company's website at www.FreddieMac.com/investors for approximately 30 days.
Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation's residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Today Freddie Mac is making home possible for approximately one in four home borrowers and is the largest source of financing for multifamily housing. Additional information is available at FreddieMac.com, Twitter @FreddieMac and Freddie Mac's blog FreddieMac.com/blog.
LAS VEGAS, NV -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 --Black Hat USA 2016 Booth No. IC-16 - Demisto, Inc., an innovator in Security Operations technology, today announced an open industry standard (COPS, Collaborative Open Playbook Standard) to build and share cyber threat incident response playbooks, facilitated with the introduction of Demisto Free Edition, the free version of Demisto's Bot-powered security ChatOps platform. The platform helps automate and streamline security operations and incident management processes.
The playbooks developed in Demisto Enterprise and Free Edition can be shared with other organizations to facilitate development and sharing of standard playbooks and incident response procedures. The open standard uses YAML as the exchange format and has a schema specifically designed for security operations, and is not proprietary. Hence the playbooks developed in Demisto Free Edition can be exported and converted to other product formats. The new solution will be unveiled and demonstrated this week at Black Hat USA 2016 in Las Vegas, in Demisto's booth number IC-16 in the Innovation City on the expo floor.
As attackers collaborate to create more sophisticated attacks, the security industry has lacked an open incident response standard to create response procedures that use collective knowledge. While security intelligence solutions which share just threat information exist, today's announcement is a step forward to building response standards for the industry. Now, organizations can collaborate and build response procedures together or contribute back to the community for use by other organizations. With the Demisto Free Edition and open standard for playbook exchange, organizations can begin collaborating on incident responses to address today's complex cyber threats.
"Incident Response procedures have always been ad-hoc and unstructured with varying degrees of effectiveness," said Stuart McClure, Author "Hacking Exposed," former Global CTO McAfee and Founder & CEO, Cylance. "There is a real need for us to coordinate across companies and vendors to build standard, well thought out, response procedures. Demisto's creation of a standard, non-proprietary, exchange format is a big step in the right direction. All organizations will be able to build and adopt playbooks, share them and improve them continuously using the standard. This will definitely result in organizations being better prepared for the future attacks."
The new open standard also facilitates automation and coding into playbooks of internal procedures on security operations and incident response which previously remained in dusty folders, static documents, wiki docs and presentations. Now these documents and procedures can be shared across organizations by creating playbooks using the standard format. These tasks and procedures can also be automated via Demisto Free Edition and the library of open source automation scripts from Demisto. Demisto's open source library of automation scripts contains hundreds of scripts which can be used to automate actions across more than 40 already integrated security solutions.
"While cyber criminals collaborate to attack and steal from organizations, our industry until now has lacked a means for sharing best practices around incident response and community development of playbooks," said Dan Sarel, Demisto co-founder and VP of Product. "Organizations can now automate and track their processes for incident response using playbooks developed in Demisto Free Edition, which are easy to create and do not lock the organization into a single platform. At Demisto we believe that the only way to combat cybercrime is through collaboration and we are proud to offer today a major step in this direction."
With a focus on collaboration, Demisto has built the industry's largest incident response community using Slack. The community of more than 500 security analysts from all over the world shares best practices in incident response, tools and training courses. In addition to the community, open playbook standard and hundreds of automation scripts, Demisto has created numerous open sources projects, including a very popular Slack bot which has nearly 1000 teams using it for protecting Slack and for security analysts to aggregate threat reputation using ChatOps. These open source projects include open source SDKs in Go programming language for VirusTotal, IBM X-Force Exchange, Crowdstrike, Cylance and Slack.
Availability and Pricing
The Demisto Free Edition and open playbook standard are available today directly from www.demisto.com/community.
About Demisto
Demisto helps Security Operations Centers scale their human resources, improve incident response times, and capture evidence while working to solve problems collaboratively. Demisto Enterprise is the first comprehensive, Bot-powered Security ChatOps Platform to combine intelligent automation with collaboration. Demisto's intelligent automation is powered by DBot which works with teams to automate playbooks, correlate artifacts, enable information sharing and auto document the entire incident lifecycle. Demisto is backed by Accel and has offices in Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv. For more information, visit www.demisto.com or email info@demisto.com.
Demisto is a registered trademark of Demisto in the United States and other countries. All other company and product names are either trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Contact:
Dan Spalding
Email Contact
(408) 960-9297
TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - August 02, 2016) - ioFABRIC announced today that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named ioFABRIC to its 2016 list of Emerging Vendors. This annual list recognizes recently founded, up-and-coming technology suppliers who are shaping the future of the IT channel through unique technological innovations. In addition to celebrating these standout companies, the Emerging Vendors list also serves as a valuable resource for solution providers looking to expand their portfolios with cutting-edge technology.
ioFABRIC -- which just won Startup of the Year and Most Innovative CEO in its category at the annual CEO World Awards -- was selected on the strength of its Vicinity software, a software-defined storage platform that extends the life of existing storage, increases performance, reduces capital expenses, and enables organizations to add storage as needed for performance and capacity. Vicinity profiles all storage and provides the intelligence to manage it quickly and effectively, whether it be on-premises or in the cloud. Vicinity supports VMware, Hyper-V, and Openstack as well as Docker, and delivers traditional features, such as alerting, logging, monitoring and metrics. Installation comes as a simple turnkey virtual appliance for Hyper-V, VMware, or in the host for Linux, KVM and Openstack.
"The select group of companies on our Emerging Vendors list have already made a name for themselves in their short time in the IT community, introducing leading-edge technologies with the potential to transform their segments of the IT market," said Robert Faletra, CEO of The Channel Company. "These tech suppliers are quickly making their mark on the industry and are the ones solution providers should watch in 2016."
"We are beyond humbled by this and other recent recognition for ioFABRIC and Vicinity," said ioFABRIC co-founder and CEO Steven Lamb. "Early in 2013, I had a notion that we could fundamentally change the way companies were storing and managing data, and I'm proud to see our dedication to solving complex data storage problems being embraced by the industry and the media that covers it."
The Emerging Vendors list will be featured in the August 2016 issue of CRN and online at www.crn.com/emergingvendors.
About ioFABRIC
ioFABRIC Inc. is a software-defined storage company that increases business agility while reducing storage costs. Its vision is to transform storage into something a business can simply depend on, eliminating admin demands, and freeing IT time to focus on true business innovation. Its flagship product, ioFABRIC Vicinity, drastically reduces storage OPEX and CAPEX with intelligent automation and growth through commodity hardware and the cloud. Vicinity Solutions are available to extend existing storage systems, solve migration problems, and deploy as distributed storage, hyperconverged, or Docker. Vicinity is sold through ioFABRIC's reseller and distribution channel, supported by its industry leading LEaD program. Partners sell Vicinity as licensed software with support or by white-labeling it with additional hardware and/or software. Founded in 2013 by an executive team that has worked together for more than 20 years, the company is funded by private investors and Real Ventures. ioFABRIC is an industry leader in customer service and product development: agile and responsive. For more information visit www.ioFABRIC.com/Learn.
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About the Channel Company
The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com
CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. The Channel Company logo is a trademark of The Channel Company, LLC (registration pending). All rights reserved.
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CONTACT AGENCY:
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JPR Communications
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judys@jprcom.com
CONTACT CLIENT:
Deborah Lamb
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CONTACT CHANNEL COMPANY
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The Channel Company
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PUNE, India, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
The in vitro fertilization (IVF) market is expected to reach $756.7 million by 2021 growing at a CAGR of 10.1% fueled by intra-cyto plasmic sperm injection segment and driven by growing incidence of male infertility with Asia-Pacific expected to hold largest share of regional in vitro fertilization market.
Complete report on global in vitro fertilization market spread across 159 pages, profiling 10 companies and supported with 100 tables and 41 figures is now available http://www.marketreportshub.com/in-vitro-fertilization-industry-research-marketsandmarkets.html
Factors such as declining fertility rates, growth in the media age of first-time motherhood, growing cases of male infertility, growth in healthcare expenditure, rise in consumption of alcohol and cigarettes, implementation of government initiatives and introduction of new and advanced products are driving the in vitro fertilization market. However, high cost coupled with low success rate, and restrictive regulation and ethical concerns are expected to restrain the growth of this market to a certain extent.
The intra-cyto plasmic sperm injection segment accounted for the largest share of the global in vitro fertilization market, by technology, in 2016. Growing incidence of male infertility is contributing to the large share of this segment. The embryo culture media accounted for the largest share of the global in vitro fertilization market, by reagents, in 2016 and is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Imaging systems segment accounted for the largest share of the global in vitro fertilization market, by equipment, in 2016. However, sperm separation systems are expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The fertility and surgical centers segment accounted for the largest share of the global in vitro fertilization market, by end user, in 2016.
Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest share of the in vitro fertilization market in 2016, followed by Europe and North America. The large share of the Asia-Pacific in vitro fertilization market can primarily be attributed to the high maternal age in Japan, abolishment of China's one child policy, rising fertility tourism in India and Thailand, growing surrogacy and high prevalence of PCOS in India and growing number of ART procedures in Australia and New Zealand. In addition, the Asia-Pacific region is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.
Cooper Surgical, Inc. (U.S.), Vitrolife AB (Sweden), Cook Medical, Inc. (U.S.), Irvine Scientific (U.S.), Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (U.S.), ESCO Micro Pte. Limited (Singapore), Genea Limited (Australia), The Baker Company (U.S.), IVFtech ApS (Denmark) and EMD Serono, Inc. (U.S.)are some of the key players in the global in vitro fertilization market. Order a copy In Vitro Fertilization Market by Product (Incubators, Cryosystem, Sperm Seperation System, Cryopreservation Media, Embryo Culture Media), Technology (Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis, Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection) & End Users - Forecast to 2021 research report at http://www.marketreportshub.com/purchase?rpid=4129 .
Major players in the market are focusing on various strategies such as agreements, alliances, collaborations, and partnerships; new product launches; acquisitions; product approvals; expansions; and other strategies (product enhancement and spin-off), to establish a strong foothold in the global in vitro fertilization market.
On a related note, another research on Infertility Treatment Devices Market Global Forecast to 2020 says, the global market is expected to reach USD 3,698.92 million by 2020 from USD 1,822.32 million in 2015, at a CAGR of 15.21% between 2015 and 2020. North America is expected to account for the largest share of the global infertility treatment devices market in 2015. Market growth is majorly driven by the rising infertility rate among couples and single women. Companies like The Cooper Companies Inc., Cook Group Incorporated, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Vitrolife AB, Research Instruments Limited, Esco Micro Pte. Ltd., Genea Limited, IVFtech ApS, Irvine Scientific and The Baker Company, Inc. have been profiled in this 140 pages research report available at http://www.marketreportshub.com/infertility-treatment-devices-marketsandmarkets.html .
Explore more reports on Life Sciences market at http://www.marketreportshub.com/categories/life-sciences .
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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- NV Gold Corporation (TSX VENTURE: NVX) ("the Company") is pleased to announce it has entered into a Letter of Intent (the "LOI") with Redstar Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE: RGC) ("Redstar") setting forth the terms under which NVX intends to acquire 100% of Redstar's exploration assets in Nevada, subject to completion of due diligence, the finalization of a definitive agreement governing the acquisition and receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"). These assets consist of a 100% interest (less existing NSRs) in 11 exploration projects (the "Projects") in Nevada, as well as the AngloGold-Ashanti database (the "Database") purchased by Redstar in 2008.
Under the terms of the LOI, NVX and Redstar propose to enter into a definitive acquisition agreement under which NVX will acquire the Database and the Projects in consideration of NVX issuing to Redstar 6,000,000 common shares of NVX and Redstar having the right to name two of a proposed 6 member board of NVX. Under the definitive agreement, NVX will also be required to raise CDN$350,000 within 90 days of the completion of the definitive agreement or else NVX must return the Projects and the Database to Redstar in exchange for Redstar returning 95% of the shares of NVX it receives under the acquisition. If, after NVX raises the CDN$350,000, Redstar owns less than 29.9% of the outstanding shares of NVX, NVX would be required to issue Redstar additional shares of NVX to increase Redstar's share ownership of NVX shares to 29.9%. John Watson, CEO of NVX has confirmed he will subscribe to a lead order of the placement for up to CDN$100,000 after signing of the definitive agreement.
The LOI is not binding on the parties, except that Redstar has agreed to a 30-day exclusive right for NV Gold to complete its due diligence and negotiate a definitive agreement and NV Gold has agreed to fund the annual claims maintenance costs due in August, 2016 for the 11 Nevada properties it proposes to acquire.
John E. Watson, President of NVX, states: "The proposed acquisition of this exceptional exploration property package consisting of 11 projects in the main mineralized trends of Nevada, and the geological Database, would mark a significant milestone for NVX and its return to an exploration focus in Nevada and the Great Basin. The Database is extensive and represents the results of decades of reconnaissance and exploration by a respected major company, estimated at a historical cost close to US$20 million. NVX looks forward to welcoming Redstar as a significant shareholder, and working closely with its new director appointees, with a focus of creating value, the development of key partnerships and exploration to make the next Nevada discovery."
"Redstar's goal is create near term value for our shareholders, while ensuring that in the long term additional upside is realized for assets we control. To ensure our Nevada portfolio receives the attention and focus it requires for a potential discovery and/or joint venture partnership, we searched for a group with a solid management team that brings the technical and district expertise to unlock the value in our assets where the market currently gives no credit to Redstar and its shareholders," commented Peter A. Ball, CEO of Redstar, "NVX's highly regarded technical team, with their extensive knowledge of Nevada, now will control a solid portfolio of projects and an extensive database that will create the opportunity of exploration success for NVX, and subsequently Redstar's shareholders. Redstar looks forward to working closely with Mr. Watson and the NVX team and being a significant shareholder to participate in the upside."
Review of Nevada Assets to be Acquired by NVX
The Database
The Database, which covers Nevada, portions of Utah, Idaho and California, includes extensive proprietary exploration files created by AngloGold-Ashanti and its predecessors, as well as significant regional geological, geochemical and geophysical data, much of it also proprietary, as well as significant amounts of exploration information performed by Redstar from 2005 to 2014. The exploration programs which generated this data encompassed nearly 30 years of effort at a cost of an estimated US$20 million.
The Projects
The eleven (11) Nevada projects NVX proposes to acquire include both sediment-hosted and volcanic-hosted gold systems on important mineralized trends, including the Carlin Trend, the Cortez Trend and the Walker Lane. Each of projects have significant results to date:
- Cooks Creek is a sediment-hosted gold system located eight miles west of the world-class Pipeline deposits being mined by Barrick Gold. Historic drilling intersected 21.3m (70 feet) grading 2.3 gpt gold (0.068 opt). The undrilled "Dinner" Zone has yielded surface rock-chip values to 2.45 gpt Au. A drill permit is currently in place, providing the opportunity for immediate advancement of this promising project. - Seven Devils is a volcanic-hosted epithermal gold prospect located along the "Western Nevada Rift" trend that includes Kinross' Goldbanks, Newmont's Sandman and Paramount's Sleeper deposits. The identified gold system at Seven Devils is in excess of 6,000 feet long and contains surface rock-chip gold values up to 3.47 gpt. Targets include both high-grade epithermal veins and disseminated gold. - Oasis is near the Goldfield district in western Nevada and contains a porphyry-style copper-gold system with extensive low-grade gold mineralization (2010-11 drilling yielded 96.1m grading 0.26 gpt Au, 30.5m grading 0.4 gpt Au and 196m of 0.22 gpt Au). Drilling results also suggested increasing copper at depth with the gold. The gold mineralization is currently exposed over an area of approximately 1,000m X 1,250m and is potentially open at depth and to the south. - Gold Cloud is along the southeastern portion of the Cortez Trend and contains a 2-km-long zone of carbonate veins and silicification (jasperoid) with gold values at surface up to 2.8 gpt. The mineralization occurs along a range-front structure and could represent the upper-most or lateral edges of a larger gold system yet to be explored at depth or under shallow pediment alluvial cover in the adjacent valley. - Painted Hills is a low-sulfidation, mid-Miocene bonanza-style vein target located 50 miles NW of the Sleeper deposit, which is geologically similar. An initial program, conducted in 2007 yielded extensive low-grade gold mineralization beneath a barren opalite cap. Previous drilling results point to a high-grade "boiling-zone" target below the levels tested in the drilling, and potential also exists under the adjacent alluvial cover outboard of a range-front fault. - Richmond Summit is approximately 7 miles NNW of Newmont's Gold Quarry mine. This Carlin-style, sediment-hosted target has yielded surface samples as high as 7.75 gpt, with lower plate rocks exposed within 300 m of the property and intersected in drilling. - Baker is approximately 12 miles north of Newmont's new Long Canyon mine. The project is focused on anomalous mercury and arsenic, along with local hydrothermal barite within fault-controlled jasperoids at a range front. Peripheral stratiform jasperoid is widespread. - Larus is a Carlin-style gold system along the Cortez Trend, 2 miles NW of the Mt. Hope Molybdenum project. Rock-chip samples have yielded up to 3.2 gpt of gold. Carbonates occur as a block above a low-angle detachment fault, with upper-plate siliciclastic rocks and volcanics lying below the fault. Gold locally occurs in the underlying siliciclastic rocks (to 2 gpt), and N-NW trending faults with gold cut (post-date) the detachment, suggesting a rooted gold system. Mineralization is known over a strike length of at least 1,200 m and a vertical range of at least 160 m. - Root Spring is an epithermal gold-silver vein system in northwestern Nevada that is geologically similar to the world-class Rochester silver-gold mine operated by Coeur Mining 26 km to the NW. The gently- dipping vein system within Triassic Koipato Group volcanic rocks lies along a range front and can be traced for 1.2 km with a width of 150 m, although alluvial cover obscures extensions. Rock-chip values in veins reach 9.36 gpt gold (0.273 opt) and 1500 gpt silver (44 opt). First-phase drilling in 2012 intersected vein and disseminated Ag-Au mineralization down-dip of exposed veins (e.g., 12.1 m grading 14 gpt Ag and 0.16 gpt Au), but drilling was very shallow (68 m average length) and the system remains poorly explored. - Queens and Long Island are 5-7 miles SE of Kinross's Round Mountain Mine and are volcanic-hosted epithermal systems similar in age to Round Mountain. Historic shallow (less than 150m) drilling at Queens in the early 1990's yielded 0.70 gpt over 23 m, 0.46 gpt over 17 m and 0.53 gpt over 14 m. Rock chip sampling has been encouraging.
If it completes the acquisition and raises the required funds, NVX intends to advance certain of the existing targets through surface geologic work, geophysical surveys and possible drilling at some or all of the 11 Nevada projects and NVX will immediately begin analysis of the Database to select priority target areas for acquisition of new projects. NVX plans to become a project generator, with the goal of providing high-quality mineral exploration projects for lease or joint venture in the Great Basin region. The immediate goal is to prepare these projects for lease or joint venture.
Dr. Jake Margolis, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific or technical information in this news release. It is intended that Dr. Margolis, formerly Redstar's U.S. Exploration Manager, will be a consultant to NVX on the existing projects and the generation of new projects. Dr. Margolis previously worked for AngloGold-Ashanti and was instrumental in developing and advancing these Nevada projects and assisting in building the extensive Database.
About NV Gold Corporation
NV Gold is junior exploration company based in Vancouver, British Columbia that is planning to focus on delivering value through mineral discoveries utilizing the prospector generator model. Leveraging its highly experienced in-house technical knowledge, NV Gold's geological team intends to use the Database, which contains a vast treasury of field knowledge spanning decades of research and exploration, combined with the eleven (11) gold projects, to uncover opportunities for lease or joint venture in the Great Basin region that have been overlooked.
NVX also continues to advance its Surselva property, in Graubunden, Switzerland.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
John E. Watson, President and CEO
For further information, visit the Company's website at www.nvgoldcorp.com.
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.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements or information. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the proposed acquisition of the Properties and the Database and the terms of such acquisition, the proposed raising of CDN$350,000, the geological potential of or the potential to lease or joint venture any of the Properties, the generative value of the Database, the expectation of creating shareholder value from NVX's efforts as owner of the Properties and the Database and other future plans and objectives of the Company, including exploration plans, 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. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's plans or expectations include regulatory issues, market prices, availability of capital and financing, general economic, market or business conditions, timeliness of government or regulatory approvals and other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. 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 otherwise required by applicable securities legislation.
Contacts:
NV Gold Corporation
John E. Watson
President and CEO
303.674.9400
john@watson-assoc.com
www.nvgoldcorp.com
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Commerce Department is scheduled to release its personal income and spending report for June at 8:30 am ET Tuesday. Economists expect 0.3 percent increases each in personal income and spending. Ahead of the data, the greenback showed mixed trading against its major rivals. While the greenback held steady against the yen and the euro, it declined against the franc and the pound. The greenback was worth 1.1194 against the euro, 101.56 against the yen, 0.9662 against the franc and 1.3284 against the pound as of 8:25 am ET. 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) -- 08/02/16 -- Revelo Resources Corp. ("Revelo" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: RVL) is pleased to announce that it has completed surface geological mapping and received results from surface geochemical surveys at its Morros Blancos project that, combined with historic information including limited historical geophysical and peripheral drilling data, delineate and refine two potential porphyry copper targets. The principal conclusions from recent work include:
-- Morros Blancos Norte (MBN) represents a porphyry copper-moly (+/- gold) target related to a zone of quartz-alunite alteration over about 2 km x 2 km, within a larger zone of advanced argillic alteration including the presence of pyrophyllite, over about 4 km x 3 km. Hydrothermal alteration mineralogy and zonation patterns, combined with multi-element geochemical anomalies including Mo from 2.5 ppm up to 8 ppm in sieved surface samples, define a central target area some 2 km x 1 km in size. -- Morros Blancos Sur (MBS), centred 8 km southwest of MBN, also corresponds to a porphyry copper-moly (+/- gold) target, with similar characteristics to MBN, but with the addition of a quartz-veinlet stockwork partially exposed at surface, including "A"-type veinlets, which suggests somewhat deeper erosion and probable telescoping of the porphyry copper system. Mo anomalies above 2.5 ppm in sieved surface samples range up to 32 ppm, and the target area is at least 1.5 km x 1 km in size, and possibly larger, within an overall hydrothermally altered area some 5 km x 4 km in size. -- Altamira represents a third area of interest within the overall Morros Blancos property, and is located approximately 17 km south of MBS, but is poorly explored to date. It does however represent another potential porphyry copper target with extensive hydrothermal alteration related to a feldspar porphyry intrusion, but will not be further discussed here.
Tim Beale, President and CEO of Revelo, commented: "Morros Blancos represents an exciting new discovery for Revelo in an area with very easy access close to the Pan-American Highway, and located within the Paleocene mineral belt of northern Chile that hosts giant porphyry copper deposits such as Spence and Sierra Gorda. Morros Blancos Sur is particularly interesting with exposed quartz-veinlet stockworks at surface, within an otherwise heavily leached desert environment. The presence of important molybdenum geochemical anomalies at surface could be significant, as they are sometimes related to porphyry copper centres in the sub-surface in these leached environments. Other general similarities and compelling exploration data also suggest that Morros Blancos Norte could be an important and likely geologically related, target. We will look for a partner to drill test these targets, which are located along a segment of one of the world's most prospective belts for major porphyry copper deposits."
Please visit the Morros Blancos page on Revelo's website (http://www.reveloresources.com/projects/morros-blancos) for further information.
WORK AND RESULTS - MORROS BLANCOS
Detailed geological and hydrothermal alteration mapping has been completed on key portions of the Morros Blancos porphyry copper project, focused on the MBN and MBS targets, with preliminary work carried out to date at Altamira. Visual interpretations of hydrothermal alteration characteristics in the field have been supported by in-house mineral analyses carried out by Revelo's technical team using a "Terraspec" near-infrared mineral analyser.
Additionally, geochemical results from more than 1,500 sieved surface fines (desert soils and colluvium) samples collected by a previous owner, together with limited rock-chip sampling, have been re-plotted and re-interpreted, and supplemented by more than 800 sieved surface samples collected by Revelo over MBN and MBS. Three reverse circulation historic drill holes on the northern periphery of the MBN target, and three historic diamond drill holes on the western periphery of the MBS target, have also been reviewed, re-logged and analysed with "Terraspec" near-infrared mineral analyser. Two, short IP geophysical lines at each of the MBN and MBS targets, together with partial magnetics coverage of the targets, have also been re-processed and re-interpreted.
Although there is no QA/QC information available for the historic geochemical data, and consequently those data must be treated with caution, results are consistent with those obtained more recently by Revelo.
Both MBN and MBS represent zones of extensive advanced argillic alteration or "lithocaps", dominated by intense quartz-alunite alteration within larger areas of quartz-alunite-dickite-pyrophyllite and kaolinite alteration. High-temperature alunite (K-alunite) and high-temperature kaolinite (WX-kaolinite) tend to be focused, and are generally coincident with the best geochemical anomalies at surface. Additionally, a peripheral drill hole to the west of the main target at MBS includes sericitic alteration at depth.
Bismuth anomalies are coincident with molybdenum at MBN, whereas selenium is more anomalous at MBS, suggesting a deeper level of erosion. Zinc geochemical anomalies are peripheral at both MBN and MBS, suggesting a typical geochemical zonation pattern for porphyry copper systems.
Both target areas at MBN and MBS are coincident with magnetite-destructive anomalies on a combination of heli-borne and ground magnetic surveys, and the limited IP information available also shows chargeability anomalies associated with both target areas.
The quartz-veinlet stockwork at MBS is poorly exposed, but is visible in one old trench, and in several areas with colluvial cover and minor outcrops, extending over approximately 1.5 km x 1 km. The stockwork is coincident with the best geochemical and geophysical anomalies. Veinlets, including centre-line "B"-veinlets with molybdenum have been observed in historic diamond drill holes drilled outside the main target area to the west and northwest.
Morros Blancos Sur represents an un-drilled porphyry copper target in a highly prospective belt with very easy project access. Target depth is unknown at this time, but the presence of a quartz-veinlet stockwork, including "A"-type veinlets and Mo in surface fines samples, suggests a reasonable level of erosion and likely telescoping of the system. Morros Blancos Norte has similar characteristics, but without a quartz-veinlet stockwork being recognised at surface, suggesting a slightly lesser amount of erosion and/or the absence of telescoping. However, in the context of porphyry copper clustering, and other similarities between the targets, both represent valid targets for drill testing. MBN and MBS appear to be related to a common fault zone - the Morros Blancos Fault - that trends north-northeast - south-southwest through the centre of the MBN target area, and along the eastern margins of the MBS target area.
ABOUT MORROS BLANCOS
Morros Blancos is located in northern Chile and centred around 75 km east-southeast of the coastal port town of Taltal, in a similar geological setting to, and approximately 55 km southwest of, the Guanaco Mine gold mine owned by Austral Gold. The property also lies along trend and some 300 km south of the Spence (BHP Billiton) and Sierra Gorda (KGHM) porphyry copper deposits, and some 135 km south of the El Penon (Yamana Gold) gold-silver mine and immediately east of the Amancaya gold-silver project (Austral Gold). The project area is easily accessed via the Pan-American Highway between Taltal and Antofagasta, and a good quality dirt road heading off from the Agua Verde station. Total travel time from Taltal is approximately 1 hour.
The project area comprises a total of approximately 13,500 hectares of wholly-owned tenement, split into two blocks with the northern block containing the Morros Blancos Norte and Morros Blancos Sur targets, and the southern block containing the Altamira target. Of the total Project area, around 9,500 hectares were acquired in a stock transaction, and are subject to an underlying royalty (see Morros Blancos Project fact sheet on Revelo's website for more details http://www.reveloresources.com/content/468/MorrosBlancos_2016-07_Final.pdf).
Morros Blancos lies within the heart of the highly productive Paleocene volcanic belt of northern Chile that hosts some of the most important precious metals and copper deposits in the country. District geology comprises principally andesitic ignimbrites, tuffs and lavas cut by dacitic domes of lower Paleocene age, related to the Paleocene-aged magmatic arc that developed to the east of the Coastal Belt Jurassic magmatic arc.
ABOUT REVELO
Revelo is a Prospect Generator that has consolidated an outstanding portfolio of 22 projects prospective for copper, gold and silver located along proven mineral belts in one of the world's top mining jurisdictions - Chile. Several targets are ready for drill testing within the portfolio, and two projects are subject to option and joint venture agreements with subsidiaries of Newmont Mining (Montezuma Project) and Austral Gold (San Guillermo Project). As part of its portfolio, Revelo retains a 2% royalty interest (currently non-producing) in the Victoria Project, an important copper-gold-silver exploration project, and it is developing a nascent royalty portfolio. Revelo's total exposure to mineral tenements in northern Chile is around 300,000 hectares, of which about 100,000 hectares (3 projects) are subject to 3rd party exploration expenditures.
Revelo has a goal of building a sustainable exploration business focused on securing prospective land along the prolific mineral belts of northern Chile, and by implementing effective exploration and capital management strategies to grow, advance and de-risk its portfolio to provide shareholders with multiple opportunities for exploration success. Revelo is actively looking for partners to advance the projects within its portfolio.
Revelo is a Canadian company and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX VENTURE: RVL). For more information please visit Revelo's website at www.reveloresources.com.
Revelo has contracted Ian Gendall, CEO and President of Genco Management Inc., to carry out some of the detailed geological, structural, and hydrothermal alteration mapping at Morros Blancos, in conjunction with Revelo technical staff, and also to integrate historic information in order to define new targets for further work. Mr. Gendall has abundant experience in the exploration and evaluation of porphyry copper systems in South America and elsewhere. Mr. Gendall is a Qualified Person as set out In National Instrument 43-101, and he is independent of Revelo in accordance with the application of section 1.5 of National Instrument 43-101.
Dr. Demetrius Pohl, PhD., Certified Professional Geoscientist (CPG), an independent consultant, is the Company's Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosures for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators, and has approved the written disclosure of the technical information contained in this news release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Timothy J. Beale, President & CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT
This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that Revelo expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "indicate" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although Revelo 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 may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.
To view the Regional Location Map of Morros Blancos, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/rev_morblanc.jpg
To view the Geological Map - Morros Blancos, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/rev_morblanc_geo.jpg
To view the Key Exploration Features - Morros Blancos, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/rev_morblanc_exp.jpg
Contacts:
INVESTOR CONTACT
Chiara Orrigoni
Investor Relations Manager
+1 604 687-5544
info@reveloresources.com
www.reveloresources.com
OAKLAND, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 --
Expertise addresses fast-changing energy patterns in United States and Canada and adds building engineering expertise for planning and evaluation of energy efficiency programs
New experts strengthen DNV GL's advanced data analytics and strategic consulting capabilities to support customers in energy efficiency planning and evaluation
DNV GL, the world's largest resource of independent energy experts and certification body, has made three key additions to its Sustainable Use business: Craig Williamson, Bob Ramirez, and Marc Collins. Energy use patterns in North America are rapidly changing in response to customer-sited automation technologies, distributed energy resources, and evolving regulatory climates. DNV GL has taken a major step in expanding its longstanding industry leadership in managing these changes by adding expertise in energy efficiency program evaluation, energy data analytics, and energy efficiency planning.
DNV GL helps utility customers harvest value from interval metering data via a range of predictive analytics tools, end-use load decomposition and demand response program support. Craig Williamson strengthens the company's data analytics capabilities with decades of hands-on work within utilities and as an advisor and instructor, with particular expertise in statistical methods. As energy efficiency programs look for new ways to meet challenging goals with custom, behavioral, and systems approaches, Bob Ramirez brings deep and diverse expertise in building science to the company's energy efficiency evaluation staff. With the expansion of energy efficiency programs in Canada, Marc Collins provides a broad range of high-level expertise in efficiency program policy, strategic planning, and evaluation in that country.
"With these three established energy experts joining our team, we are able to continue to improve the depth of services we offer our clients," said Miriam Goldberg, DNV GL's director and country manager for the Policy Advisory and Research group. "Each of them brings an element of expertise that complements and expands our capabilities in areas that are becoming more and more important to the energy industry."
Marc Collins, CEM, CMVP is a senior principal consultant and is located in Toronto, Canada. While involved with projects across North America, Mr. Collins will have particular focus on Canadian organizations. For the past ten years, Mr. Collins has held senior positions in energy efficiency program evaluation from both the consulting and program administrator perspectives.
Bob Ramirez, P.E. is a principal engineer with more than thirty years of energy consulting experience. His key areas of expertise include commercial and residential impact evaluations, support for and creation of TRMs and other deemed savings methods, large-scale on-site verification and baseline studies, energy efficiency potential studies, measure cost and cost-effectiveness analysis, as well as broad and extensive experience with energy efficiency technologies and end-use load shapes and large-scale building simulation/modeling.
Craig Williamson, senior principal consultant, has thirty years' experience with electric and natural gas utilities. He is recognized as an industry expert in load research, statistical analysis, and sample design. He also brings in-depth knowledge on utility load research data analytics, forecasting, rate design, cost allocation, demand response, and program impact evaluation.
DNV GL
Driven by its purpose of safeguarding life, property and the environment, DNV GL enables organisations to advance the safety and sustainability of their business. DNV GL provides classification and technical assurance along with software and independent expert advisory services to the maritime, oil & gas and energy industries. It also provides certification services to customers across a wide range of industries. DNV GL, whose origins go back to 1864, operates globally in more than 100 countries with its 16,000 professionals dedicated to helping their customers make the world safer, smarter and greener.
In the Energy Industry
In DNV GL we unite the strengths of DNV, KEMA, Garrad Hassan, and GL Renewables Certification. DNV GL's 2,500 energy experts support customers around the globe in delivering a safe, reliable, efficient, and sustainable energy supply. We deliver world-renowned testing, certification and advisory services to the energy value chain including renewables and energy efficiency. Our expertise spans onshore and offshore wind power, solar, conventional generation, transmission and distribution, smart grids, and sustainable energy use, as well as energy markets and regulations. Our testing, certification and advisory services are delivered independent from each other.
Learn more at www.dnvgl.com/energy.
Contacts:
Bethany Genier
Marketing Communications Advisor, Americas
DNV GL - Energy
E-mail bethany.genier@dnvgl.com
Direct +1 781 418 5734
Nancy Broe
Public Relations Director
McDonnell Group, Inc.
Direct: +1-404-583-0003, Extension 105
nancy@themcdonnellgroup.com
www.themcdonnellgroup.com
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Certive Solutions Inc. (OTCQB: CTVEF)(CSE: CBP) - ("Certive" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce that effective July 26, 2016, the Company's Omega division executed an agreement with a major U.S. hospital to review outpatient pharmacy accounts for undercharges related to waste and inaccurate allocation of pharmacy units to patient accounts. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, the Company will identify accounts to be reviewed, bill the denied claims with appropriate documentation and perform appropriate follow-up for payment.
The agreement is an expansion of a current customer relationship and a new segment of charge accuracy and chart review for the Omega division, representing opportunities across multiple Certive customers in all divisions.
Van Potter, CEO commented that "the opportunities for recovery of lost charges on pharmacy accounts is not only a new segment of business for Omega but one that leverages over 20 years of identifying missing charges in outpatient surgeries nationwide. Certive will deploy its resources to expand the scope of this "blue ocean" opportunity." Brian Cameron, CFO noted that "the technology developed by Omega and used internally to conduct these reviews will continue to significantly enhance the scale and accretive nature of the cash flow generated by the Omega division."
For more information, please visit our website at www.certive.com, or contact Certive directly at 480-922-5327.
About Certive Solutions Inc.
Certive Solutions Inc. (Scottsdale, Arizona) provides revenue cycle management solutions to the U.S. healthcare market. Certive's claim audit and recovery services, billing services, and software solutions help providers work with payers to efficiently manage the reimbursement process and improve financial performance. Certive's highly skilled and experienced management team, combined with proprietary workflow and analytics, audit and identify, and bill and collect, underpayments in accordance with contractual obligations between the public or commercial insurance carrier and the designated provider. The healthcare market is changing. Certive works with clients to provide efficient and effective solutions aligned with reform initiatives to improve healthcare and reduce costs.
FORWARD-LOOKING AND OTHER STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect our expectations and assumptions regarding our growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. Such forward-looking statements reflect our current beliefs and are based on information currently available to us. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts.
A number of factors could cause actual events, performance or results, including those in respect of the foregoing items, to differ materially from the events, performance and results discussed in the forward looking statements.
Factors that could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
- the effect of continuing operating losses on our ability to obtain, on satisfactory terms, or at all, the capital required to remain a going concern;
- the ability to obtain sufficient and suitable financing to support operations, development and commercialization of our services;
- the risks associated with the development of our technology;
- the risks associated with the increase in operating costs from additional development costs and increased staff;
- the timing and nature of feedback from customers; and
- our ability to successfully compete in our targeted markets.
Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on what we consider to be reasonable assumptions based on information currently available to us, there can be no assurance that actual events, performance or results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and our assumptions may prove to be incorrect. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements made in this press release are made as of the date of the original document and have not been updated by us except as expressly provided for in this press release. As required by securities legislation applicable to reporting issuers, it is our policy to update, from time to time, forward-looking information in our periodic management discussions and analyses and provide updates on our activities to the public through the filing and dissemination of news releases and material change reports.
Contacts:
Certive
Brian Cameron
Chief Financial Officer
bcameron@certive.com
480-922-5327
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Fairmont Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: FMR) ("Fairmont") announces that it has consolidated a historic resource of 12.3 million short tons (11.2 million tonnes) of 99.20% SiO2, 0.41% Al2O3, and 0.36% Fe2O3 (from GM Report 39387, 1982, page 6) by staking. The two additional claims staked which contain the historic resource and are contiguous to the original Baie-Comeau Quartzite claims that Fairmont Resources announced in a press release on January 23, 2015 (http://goo.gl/y1eR9z)
Map 1 Location of Baie-Comeau Quartzite Property
http://fairmontresources.ca/pdf/20160802%20Map%201.pdf
Table 1 - Historic Resource of Baie-Comeau Quartzite Property
Reserves Content % --------------------------------------------- Millions of short tons SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 Pit 1 (level 810) 3.5 99.3 0.39 0.036 Pit 2 (level 840) 3.3 99.3 0.40 0.034 Pit 2 (level 810) 6.1 99.3 0.40 0.034 Geological Reserve 12.3 99.2 0.41 0.036 Conversion to metric tonnes 11.2 99.2 0.41 0.036
The Historic Resource was completed by Amtec Inc., of Ste-Foy, P.Q. on July 15, 1982 for their client Steep Rock Iron Mines Ltd.
The historical "estimated or drilled indicated tonnage" cited above is mentioned for historical purposes only and uses terminology not compliant with current NI 43-101 reporting standards. The reliability of these historical estimates is unknown but considered relevant by Fairmont as it represents significant targets for future exploration. The qualified person has done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource but Fairmont is not treating this historical estimate as a current mineral resource. Historical "estimated or drill indicated" is not equivalent to mineral reserves or resources as it is not supported by at least a preliminary feasibility study. In order to verify this as a current estimate, Fairmont will need to conduct additional exploration work in the form of diamond drilling to verify the historic data.
Map 2 Location of Historic Resource on Baie-Comeau Quartzite Property
http://fairmontresources.ca/pdf/20160802%20Map%202.pdf
Test work by Union Carbide Canada demonstrated that the quartzite from Baie-Comeau was acceptable for ferro-silicon production. In report GM 31179, a letter and results from Union Carbide Canada Limited are reported. Quoting from the letter "although the Al2O3 values tend to be on the high side, the quartz is of acceptable quality for ferro-silicon production"
In the recently filed Silicon Ridge Mineral Resource Estimate NI 43-101 Technical Report, dated July 20, 2016 by Rogue Resources, the optimized pit economic parameters included Ferro Silicon Grade quartz sales pricing at CDN$100 per tonne.
Table 2 Test Results from Union Carbide on Baie-Comeau Quartzite Property
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Content % % ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hole and Intersection Loss on SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 Cao Ignition ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- H1 75-80 99.05 0.12 0.25 0.01 0.3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- H2 47-53.5 98.67 0.55 0.2 0.01 0.32 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- H2 94-100 98.8 0.55 0.16 0.01 0.23 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- H2 134-187 98.88 0.47 0.16 0.01 0.23 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- H2 189-190 98.87 0.56 0.14 0.01 0.17 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- H2 419-420 99.1 0.4 0.11 0.04 0.1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- H2 947.5-950 99.07 0.37 0.13 0.06 0.12 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- H2 965-970 98.76 0.6 0.19 0.07 0.13 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- H4 125-150 99.05 0.4 0.12 0.06 0.12 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- H4 355-360 98.84 0.59 0.14 0.03 0.15 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
In GM30063, Watts, Griffis and McOuat Limited ('WGM') issued a report to Universal Minerals Corporation on the Baie-Comeau Silica Deposit, dated June 3, 1970. This is an earlier report based on less drilling and testing than the Amtec report of 1982. This earlier report calculated an ore reserved based upon a theoretical open pit with reserves of 3,500,000 tons grading approximately 98.5% Sio2, with waste rock of 100,000 tons and an estimated average overburden thickness of 1.5 feet. This report also stated that "Potential reserves on the property are many times this figure and could amount into the hundreds of millions of tons" and that "it is recommended that a decision be made to bring the property into production, providing other factors beyond the scope of this report are favourable".
The Company advises a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves as such the Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The resource calculation was part of a Feasibility Report on the Baie-Comeau Silica Deposit of Universal Minerals Corporation, by Surveyer, Nenniger and Chenevery Inc., within the section Report To Universal Minerals Corporation on The Baie-Comeau Silica Deposit, Completed by Watt, Griffis and McOuat Limited date June 3rd, 1970. The historic estimate was based on five diamond drill holes total 3,309 feet and two trenches. The resource was not prepared under current CIM definitions of mineral resources.
Within GM30063 results and conclusions of test work using a 3 stage magnetic separator to increase the SiO2 purity. In the first stage of magnetic separation - free iron and iron bearing particles were liberated. In the second stage biotite and muscovite were separated. And in the third stage muscovite and stained silica particle with inclusions were separated. There was nearly a 7% loss of ore through this process, but the iron within the silica was reduced to 0.02% Fe2O3 with the recommended feed rate.
In GM30063 crushing and grinding testing was completed with Nordberg Manufacturing. Positive crushing and results at a rate of 50 tons per hour were achieved.
Testing by Lakefield Laboratories, also in GM30063, being able to increase silica grade to 99.16% SiO2 from 98.36% SiO2 head grade in test one, and 99.20% SiO2 from a head grade of 98.78% SiO2.
The work completed by Surveyer, Nenniger & Chenevert Consulting Engineers of Montreal, Quebec in GM 30063 added that "One of the prime advantages of the deposit is its nearby location to the Baie-Comeau all year round deep sea harbor, giving easy access to the Canadian and United States East Coast markets. The central portion of the deposit is located only 10 miles from the harbor."
In GM20143 titled Baie-Comeau Quartzite Deposits Geological Report, received by Natural Resources Quebec on June 20, 1967, the author Laurier Juteau, Eng, states that "the quartzite is too massive and homogenous to reflect structure. Some irregular jointing is present, but no pattern was determined." Juteau also states in the report "it is impractical to calculate the available tonnage which could exceed any anticipated requirements of local markets which may develop. The exposures are extensive and have heights ranging to 500 feet, which would assist any quarrying operations."
In GM10368, in the Geological Report of Quartzite Deposit Baie-Comeau PQ by C.P. Robertson dated August 31, 1960 early test work demonstrated high grade SiO2 results. In an one set of results, a total of 112 surface samples of approximately 50 lbs each were blasted at five-foot intervals and the average assay of these was 99.0% SiO2, 0.77% Al2O3 and 0.22% Fe2O3. An additional 21 samples of approximately 10 lbs each were collected and analyzed as two composite samples which returned an average grade of 99.0% SiO2, and 0.58% Al2O3. From diamond drill holes, eleven 10-foot samples were selected of typical quartzite with an average grade of 98.64% SiO2, 0.58% Al2O3 and 0.16% Fe2O3. From this work it was concluded that the average grade of quartzite that could be produced was in above 98.5% SiO2.
Table 3 General Specifications for Different Uses Of Silica
(Source - Sidex (www.sidex.ca) Exploring for silica in Quebec)
http://fairmontresources.ca/pdf/20160802%20Table%203.pdf
The historical "estimated or drilled indicated tonnage" and metallurgical, market studies, and other test work cited above is mentioned for historical purposes only and uses terminology not compliant with current NI 43-101 reporting standards. The reliability of these historical estimates is unknown but considered relevant by Fairmont as it represents significant targets for future exploration. The qualified person has done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource but Fairmont is not treating this historical estimate as a current mineral resource. Historical "estimated or drill indicated" is not equivalent to mineral reserves or resources as it is not supported by at least a preliminary feasibility study. In order to verify this as a current estimate, Fairmont will need to conduct additional exploration work in the form of diamond drilling to verify the historic data.
All of the GM reports referenced to in this release are available: http://sigeom.mines.gouv.qc.ca/
Granitos de Badajoz (GRABASA)
Fairmont Resources is still in discussions with funding groups in the UK, Canada and USA with respect to the acquisition of Grabasa. Fairmont will provide an update on funding when agreements are in place.
Roger Ouellet, P. Geo, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release.
About Ferrosilicon
Ferrosilicon (FeSi) is used to remove oxygen from the steel and as alloying element to improve the final quality of the steel. Silicon increases namely strength and wear resistance, elasticity (spring steels), scale resistance (heat resistant steels), and lowers electrical conductivity and magnetostriction (electrical steels). Special FeSi like low Al, High Purity and low C ferrosilicon are used in the production of special steel qualities for transformers/motors, ball bearings and shock absorbers, tire cord steel and in stainless steel.
About Fairmont
Fairmont Resources Inc. is a rapidly growing industrial mineral and dimensional stone company trading on the Toronto Venture Exchange symbol FMR.
Fairmont's Quebec properties cover numerous occurrences of high-grade titaniferous magnetite with vanadium, with the Buttercup property having a permit to quarry dense aggregate. Where these occurrences have been tested they have displayed exceptional uniformity with respect to grade. Fairmont also controls three quartz/quartzite properties, with the Forestville property having independent end user testing confirming the suitability of quartzite from Forestville for Ferro Silicon production. Fairmont is also in the process of acquiring the assets of Granitos de Badajoz (GRABASA) in Spain which includes 23 quarries and a 40,000 square metre granite finishing facility that has produced finished granite installed across Europe.
Forward-Looking Statements
Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Fairmont 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 Fairmont's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Fairmont's exploration program of its mineral properties and Fairmont's limited operating history. 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, Fairmont undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Fairmont undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.
NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
Contacts:
Fairmont Resources Inc.
Michael A. Dehn
President and CEO
647-477-2382
michael@fairmontresources.ca
www.fairmontresources.ca
QIS Capital
Doren Quinton
President
250-377-1182
info@smallcaps.ca
www.smallcaps.ca
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Advantage Lithium Corp. (the "Company" or "Advantage Lithium") (TSX VENTURE: AAL), is pleased to announce it has received conditional approval, from the TSX.V Venture Exchange ("TSX.V"), to close the financing announced June 20th. The Company has received subscription agreements for 16 million shares to raise $4.0 million. Final approval is expected in conjunction with TSX approval of the farm-in agreement with Nevada Sunrise.
The working capital from this financing will allow the Company to fund anticipated corporate overheads, initial acquisition costs, tenure payments and all initial work programs for the lithium brine projects in Nevada, including:
-- Clayton NE, adjacent to Albemarle's Silver Peak mine in the Clayton Valley Basin - N. America's only brine-hosted lithium production. -- Jackson Wash, located in the Lida Valley of Nevada - potential to host reservoir of continental brine-based lithium -- Gemini, located in the Lida Valley Basin - a flat, desert basin with a similar geological setting to the lithium-rich Clayton Valley basin.
David Sidoo, Proposed President and Director, of Advantage Lithium, commented, "We are pleased to have attracted the investors to close out the full financing and raise $ 4 million, this confirms the investors' confidence in our team and strategy. The funds will finance exploration programs on our highly-prospective lithium brine projects in Nevada and we will continue to review additional opportunities. With Tesla's $5 billion Gigafactory now open for business, the timing for Advantage Lithium, and the sector in general, couldn't be better".
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 and reviewed on behalf of the company by Ross McElroy, P.Geol., Technical Advisor to Advantage Lithium Corp., and the Designated Qualified person for the company.
About Advantage Lithium Corp.
Advantage Lithium Corp. is a resource company specializing in the strategic acquisition, exploration and development of lithium properties and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Common Shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "AAL.H".
ADVANTAGE LITHIUM CORP.
Nick DeMare, Corporate Secretary
Cautionary Statement:
Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, Exchange acceptance and if applicable pursuant to Exchange Requirements, majority of the minority shareholder approval. Where applicable, the transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.
Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the transaction, any information released or received with respect to the transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative.
The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.
Certain information contained in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information", within the meaning of Canadian legislation. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur", "be achieved" or "has the potential to". Forward looking statements contained in this press release may include statements regarding the future operating or financial performance of Advantage Lithium which involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may not prove to be accurate. Actual results and outcomes may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in these forward-looking statements. Such statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations. Among those factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: market conditions and other risk factors listed from time to time in our reports filed with Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made as of the date of this press release and the Company and Advantage Lithium disclaim 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 expressly required by applicable securities legislation.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Advantage Lithium Corp.
Nick DeMare
Corporate Secretary
604.685.9316
604.683.1585 (FAX)
ndemare@chasemgt.com
www.AdvantageLithium.com
Orlando, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - August 2, 2016) - Currency Exchange International, Corp. (TSX: CXI) (OTCBB: CURN), is pleased to announce it has signed a Master Services Agreement and a corresponding Statement of Work with a national financial institution in North America. The foreign currency services are expected to commence at select locations in August 2016 and are expected to be in place at all transacting locations by the end of 2016.
The financial institution will utilize CXI's inventory on consignment model at select locations and a decentralized foreign banknote model across its customer network. All branches will directly interact with CXI through the company's proprietary software - CEIFX. The select locations holding foreign currency inventory generally have Euros, U.K. Pounds, Japanese Yen, Mexican Pesos and some Caribbean currencies in stock daily. Holding the foreign currency at the branch makes it available for immediate purchase by account holders and non-account holders, affording customers the convenience of same-day currency exchange at the location. All other foreign currencies sold to customers, of the more than 80 offered, can be exchanged at these locations with a one to two business day turnaround time.
The first set of locations serviced by CXI in August 2016 will be through the consignment model, immediately expanding the currency service offering. The entire branch network, using the decentralized model, is expected to begin transacting with CXI in October 2016. Randolph Pinna, President and CEO of CXI said, "The entire CXI team is very proud to have CXI's services and reputation recognized by the institution as it was determined our software, service and level of dedicated customer care will expand the value of their foreign banknote service down to their clients. We look forward to working with this excellent financial institution."
About Currency Exchange International, Corp.
The Company is in the business of providing a range of foreign currency exchange and related products and services in North America, including the Hawaiian Islands. Primary products and services include the exchange of foreign currencies, wire transfer payments, purchase and sale of foreign bank drafts and international travelers' cheques, and foreign cheque clearing. Related services include the licensing of proprietary FX software applications delivered on its web-based interface, www.ceifx.com ("CEIFX"), and licensing retail foreign currency operations to select companies in agreed locations.
The Company's services are provided in Canada by its wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary, Currency Exchange International of Canada Corp., based in Toronto, Canada through the use of its proprietary software www.ceifx.ca.
Contact Information
For further information please contact:
Bill Mitoulas
Investor Relations
(416) 479-9547
Email: bill.mitoulas@ceifx.com
Website: www.ceifx.com
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This press release includes forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. This forward-looking information includes, or may be based upon, estimates, forecasts and statements as to management's expectations with respect to, among other things, demand and market outlook for wholesale and retail foreign currency exchange products and services, future growth, the timing and scale of future business plans, results of operations, performance, and business prospects and opportunities. Forward-looking statements are identified by the use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", "preliminary", "project", "will", "would", and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions.
Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date such information is provided, and on information available to management at such time. Forward-looking information involves significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in such forward-looking information. Actual results may differ materially from results indicated in forward-looking information due to a number of factors including, without limitation, the competitive nature of the foreign exchange industry, currency exchange risks, the need for the Company to manage its planned growth, the effects of product development and the need for continued technological change, protection of the Company's proprietary rights, the effect of government regulation and compliance on the Company and the industry in which it operates, network security risks, the ability of the Company to maintain properly working systems, theft and risk of physical harm to personnel, reliance on key management personnel, global economic deterioration negatively impacting tourism, and volatile securities markets impacting security pricing in a manner unrelated to operating performance and impeding access to capital or increasing the cost of capital, as well as the factors identified throughout this press release and in the section entitled "Risks Factors" of the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for Year Ended October 31, 2015. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents management's expectations as of the date hereof (or as of the date such information is otherwise stated to be presented), and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities laws.
The Toronto Stock Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained in this press release.
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TORONTO, ON and TAMPA, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Cott Corporation (NYSE: COT) (TSX: BCB) announced today that it has closed its previously announced acquisition of Eden Springs ("Eden"), a leading European direct-to-consumer services provider specializing in home and office delivery ("HOD") water, office coffee services ("OCS") and filtration. Eden was held by investment funds affiliated with Rhone Capital and was purchased for EUR 470 million, on a debt and cash free basis.
The Eden acquisition is consistent with Cott's stated diversification strategy to expand in HOD water, coffee and tea services as well as filtration services where its platform, operating strength and potential synergies can be leveraged. Eden is a scale business that generated over EUR 360 million in pro forma revenues during 2015. The acquisition broadens the distribution platform of Cott's existing UK/European business by providing access to a direct-to-consumer route distribution platform in Europe serving over 800,000 homes and offices. In line with Cott's strategy, the acquisition is expected to be accretive to adjusted free cash flows in its first full year and provide a cash on cash IRR above its cost of equity.
"The Eden acquisition further accelerates Cott's diversification and is another great step in our stated strategy to pursue opportunities in the higher margin home and office water delivery, coffee, tea and filtration categories where we believe we can leverage our platform and operating strength to drive synergies and build shareholder value," commented Jerry Fowden, Cott's Chief Executive Officer.
Tom Harrington, DS Services CEO, will continue in that capacity at DS Services, and will also oversee Eden Springs, which will assist in fully leveraging best practices, procurement scale, back office processes and synergies across Cott's HOD businesses.
Tom Harrington commented, "We are very excited about expanding our platform into the European market. We firmly believe that our combined businesses will create an even stronger, cash generating, growth and service oriented platform across North America and Europe. In addition, these platforms not only provide opportunity for organic growth but we also expect to capitalize on Eden's and DS Services' combined scale in procurement and expertise in follow on tuck-in acquisitions."
Raanan Zilberman, Eden's CEO, commented, "We are excited to join the Cott family. The transaction is an important step as we strengthen our international capacity and enhance our market-leading position. Furthermore, we believe that the transaction will enable the expansion of our portfolio and services, and will provide increased opportunities for our employees and customers alike."
The purchase price is approximately EUR 470 million, on a debt and cash free basis, representing a mid 7x Eden's estimated adjusted 2016 run rate EBITDA of over EUR 60 million (mid 6x multiple including estimated run-rate synergies of approximately EUR 10 million). Cott financed the transaction through a combination of cash on hand and the private placement of EUR 450 million in aggregate principal amount of 5.50% senior notes due January 1, 2024. As a part of Cott's second quarter 2016 earnings release, Cott will announce a date for a separate modeling call which will include additional financial information.
ABOUT COTT CORPORATION
With the acquisitions of DS Services of America, Inc. and Eden Springs, Cott has combined leading providers in the direct-to-consumer beverage services industry with its traditional business, one of the world's largest producers of beverages on behalf of retailers, brand owners and distributors. Cott now has the largest volume-based national presence in the North American and European home and office delivery industry for bottled water and one of the five largest national market share positions in the U.S. and Europe office coffee services and filtration services industries. Cott reaches over 2.3 million customers through routes located across North America, Europe, Israel and Russia supported by national sales and distribution facilities, and fleet. Cott's broad portfolio allows it to offer, on a direct-to-consumer basis, a variety of bottled water, coffee, brewed tea, water dispensers, coffee and tea brewers and filtration equipment. Cott believes it has the broadest distribution network in the direct-to-consumer beverage services industry in North America and Europe, which enables it to efficiently service residences and small and medium size businesses, as well as national corporations, universities and government agencies.
Non-GAAP Measures
To supplement its reporting of financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP, Cott utilizes certain non-GAAP financial measures, including 2016 estimated Eden Springs adjusted EBITDA, to separate the impact of certain items from the underlying Eden Springs business. Management believes this supplemental information is useful to investors for their independent evaluation and understanding of the transaction with Eden Springs.
Additionally, Cott supplements its reporting of net cash provided by (used in) operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP by excluding capital expenditures and acquisition, integration and transaction costs to present adjusted free cash flow (on a stand-alone and pro forma basis), which management believes provides useful information to investors about the amount of cash generated by the business that, after the acquisition of property and equipment, can be used for strategic opportunities, including investing in our business, making strategic acquisitions, paying dividends, and strengthening the balance sheet. With respect to our expectations of performance of Eden as it is being integrated, reconciliations of adjusted free cash flow accretion are not available, as we are unable to quantify certain amounts that would be required to be included in the relevant GAAP measures without unreasonable effort. We expect that the unavailable reconciling items, which primarily include foreign exchange impact and phasing of capex, could significantly affect our financial results. These items depend on highly variable factors and any such reconciliations would imply a degree of precision that would be confusing or misleading to investors. We expect the variability of these factors to have a significant, and potentially unpredictable, impact on our future GAAP financial results.
The non-GAAP financial measures described above are in addition to, and not meant to be considered superior to, or a substitute for, Cott's financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, the non-GAAP financial measures included in this earnings announcement reflect management's judgment of particular items, and may be different from, and therefore may not be comparable to, similarly titled measures reported by other companies.
Safe Harbor Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 conveying management's expectations as to the future based on plans, estimates and projections at the time Cott makes the statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and Cott cautions you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any such forward-looking statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements related to expected synergies and contribution to Cott's performance, and the potential impact the acquisition will have on Cott and related matters. The forward-looking statements are based on assumptions regarding the time necessary to satisfy the conditions to the closing of the transaction and management's current plans and estimates. Management believes these assumptions to be reasonable but there is no assurance that they will prove to be accurate.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in this press release include, among others: changes in estimates of future earnings and cash flows; expected synergies and cost savings are not achieved or achieved at a slower pace than expected; integration problems, delays or other related costs; retention of customers and suppliers; and unanticipated changes in laws, regulations, or other industry standards affecting the companies.
The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures, including but not limited to risk factors contained in Cott's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as well as other filings with the securities commissions. Cott does not undertake to update or revise any of these statements in light of new information or future events, except as expressly required by applicable law.
Website: www.cott.com
CONTACT:
Jarrod Langhans
Investor Relations
Tel: (813) 313-1732
Email Contact
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 2, 2016) - Opawica Explorations Inc. (TSXV: OPW) (the "Company" / "Opawica") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an option agreement with Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. (TSX: GMX) ("Globex" ) to earn a 100% interest in 24 mineral claims located in Beauchastel Township, Quebec, collectively known as the Bazooka West Property ("BWP"). The initial consideration payable to Globex is $30,000 and the issuance of 500,000 common shares of the Company upon TSX Venture Exchange acceptance of the transaction, and an additional $30,000 and 500,000 common shares of the Company by January 31, 2017 or upon the issuance of a permit to drill, whichever occurs first. In addition, Globex shall retain a three percent (3%) Gross Metal Royalty upon all mineral production from the property, of which one percent (1%) may be purchased for one million dollars within the first five years of the option. The transaction is subject to regulatory acceptance.
The acquisition extends Opawica's strike length to the west adjacent to the Company's 100% owned Bazooka Property ("BP Property") for a total of approximately seven kilometres on the prolific Cadillac Larder Lake Break ("CLLB"). The Company's BP Property is contiguous to the western boundary of Yorbeau Resources Inc.'s ("Yorbeau") Rouyn property situated nine kilometres southwest of Rouyn Noranda, Quebec. The gold mineralization on the Company's BP Property, where past drilling has intersected world class gold intercepts, appears to be the extension of the mineralized zones and gold resources known to exist on the western end on the Yorbeau Rouyn property.
The Company is now preparing a prospective drill program that is designed to test the fold nose feature, or cross fault, of the CLLB situated on the eastern portion of the Company's BP Property. Some of the drilling is planned to be conducted perpendicular to the apparent north-south orientation of much of the quartz veining within this part of the CLLB that strikes east-west through the entire approximate seven kilometre width of Opawica's BWP and BP Property holdings. The initial Phase I program will be announced at a later date following the securement of a drill permit.
Significant gold mineralization has been established on the Bazooka property from near surface to approximately 250 metres vertical depth from past drilling by previous owners such as Siscoe (1944) interval of 5.79 metres of 77.18 g/t Au (true width unknown), with more recent drill intercepts ranging from narrow and intermittent anomalous gold values up to Soquem (1981) interval of 7.50 metres of 25.77 g/t Au; Lake Shore Gold Corp. (2003) intercept of 1.25 metres of 94.11 g/t Au; and RT Minerals Corp. values of up to 17 metres of core length at 7.86 g/t Au, including 7.20 metres interval of 16.77 g/t Au (RT Minerals Corp. June 21, 2011 press release). These recent intervals are estimated at approximately 85 to 93% true widths. This gold mineralization is known to exist within 50 metres on strike to the gold mineralization on the Yorbeau property and for a current strike length on Opawica's BP property for approximately one kilometre. The remaining six kilometres of the total CLLB on Opawica's BWP and BP Properties has had little to no drilling completed. Opawica's BP Property hosts gold mineralization from past drilling which is approximately 500 metres west of the Yorbeau shaft and 250 metres west of the Yorbeau ramp. In addition, gold mineralization is immediately adjacent to an existing capped and accessible shaft on Opawica's Bazooka property. The Opawica and Yorbeau properties have a common north-south boundary extending for about two kilometres.
The Company also announces that it has initiated the preparation of a ground reconnaissance program on its 100% owned McWatters property. The McWatters property is a 404 hectare property that is contiguous to the eastern boundary of the above noted Yorbeau property. As part of this work, the Company will locate the drill collar of a historic drill hole that reportedly returned a near surface intercept of 7.0 g/t Au over an interval of 3.7 metres (Lake Shore Gold Corp. 2003 - Sludge sample Imperial to Metric drilled 1979 - MNR Quebec Govt files) and review trenches in the vicinity where grab samples returned up to 1.6 g/t Au (RT Minerals Corp. 2011). The purpose of this work is to outline a drill program in this area.
On June 22, 2016, Yorbeau announced that it had signed a non-binding letter of intent ("LOI") with Kinross Gold Corporation ("Kinross"), whereby Kinross has the option to acquire a 100% interest in Yorbeau's Rouyn property in Quebec, Canada, for consideration that includes exploration expenditures of C$12 million; cash payments of USD $25,000,000 plus 2% of the prevailing gold price multiplied by the number of ounces of gold in measured, indicated and inferred resources identified in a resource estimate, to be completed; as well as an equity participation in Yorbeau upon signing a definitive option agreement (see Yorbeau press release dated June 22, 2016).
QUALITY CONTROL
Mr. Yvan Bussieres, P.Eng., is the Independent Qualified Person who has prepared or supervised the preparation of the information that forms the basis for the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Fred Kiernicki
President and Chief Executive Officer
Opawica Explorations Inc.
Telephone: 604-681-3170
Fax: 604-681-3552
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release relating to the Company's exploration activities, project expenditures and business plans are approximate and are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of securities legislation. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements. These forward looking statements represent management's best judgment based on current facts and assumptions that management considers reasonable, including that operating and capital plans will not be disrupted by issues such as adverse market conditions, mechanical failure, unavailability of parts, labor disturbances, interruption in transportation or utilities, or adverse weather conditions, that there are no material unanticipated variations in budgeted costs, that contractors will complete projects according to schedule, and that actual mineralization on properties may not achieve any category of resource(s). The Company makes no representation that reasonable business people in possession of the same information would reach the same conclusions. Forward looking statements 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 future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In particular, fluctuations in the price of gold, equity markets or in currency markets could prevent the Company from achieving its targets. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. There is no guarantee that drill results reported in this news release or future releases will lead to the identification of a deposit that can be mined economically, and further work is required to identify resources and reserves. We seek safe harbour.
Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - August 2, 2016) - Sunset Cove Mining (TSXV: SSM) (the Company) has filed its financials for the year ending March 31, 2016 today. This is another positive step in the Company's efforts to meet the requirement of the regulatory bodies to have the shares return to being traded on the TSX Venture Exchange. The company would also like to thank the Board of Directors for their work on this matter.
Also the Company would like to thank the audit team at Wasserman Ramsay for their diligent work on the file under a tight time line.
The Company will also take the opportunity to announce that the board of directors has accepted to focus its work on the recently acquired Manganese Property and adopted a resolution to authorize a name change to Manganese X Energy Corp. so as to better reflect the new exploration focus it will be undertaking in 2016. This proposed change has been submitted to the TSX Venture Exchange for approval.
On another note, Mr. Jason Mychasiw, a long-time director tendered his resignation from the Board of Directors effective at the end of the meeting. With new professional responsibilities and this inflection point in the Company's life, the Board thanked Jason for his contribution and wishes him well in his future endeavours.
With the closing of the recent financing under certain escrow conditions required by the TSX Venture Exchange and the filing of its current year-end financial statements the company has also made an application for reinstatement to trading.
Sunset Cove's mission is to acquire and advance high potential mining prospects located in North America with the intent of supplying value added materials to the lithium ion battery and other alternative energy industries. For more information visit the website at www.sunsetcovemining.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Lorne Woods, President; 1-877-234-0692
Martin Kepman, Director - martin@kepman.com 1-514-802-1814
Forward-Looking Statement: Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information that involves inherent risk and uncertainty affecting the business of Sunset Cove Mining. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. 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.
SAN MATEO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Sunstone Partners, a $300 million growth equity firm investing in technology-enabled services companies, today announced significant expansion of its investment team, hiring two new Vice Presidents, promoting a third Vice President, and hiring three new Associates.
Andy Cao, Vice President. Andy Cao was promoted from a Senior Associate on the investment team to Vice President in recognition of his contributions to the Sunstone Partners team in sourcing and leading transactions and managing investments. Andy has been working with the Sunstone Partners team since 2012. Previously, Andy worked as a Global Banking Analyst at Citigroup. Andy is a graduate of the Wharton School and the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering.
Ankur Rathi, Vice President. Ankur Rathi joins Sunstone Partners as an investment team Vice President after earning his MBA from the Wharton School. Previously, Ankur was an Associate at Riverside Partners, a technology and healthcare focused private equity firm in Boston. Before Riverside, Ankur was an Associate at Allstate Investments, focused on global investing as a limited partner in private equity firms. Ankur began his career as an analyst at BMO Capital Markets in the Mergers & Acquisitions group. He also holds a B.S. in Accountancy and a B.S. in Finance with High Honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Gabriel Shaukat, Vice President. Gabe Shaukat joins Sunstone Partners as an investment team Vice President after earning his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Previously, Gabe was an Associate at Primus Capital, a healthcare and technology focused private equity firm in Cleveland. Before Primus, Gabe worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey in the Consumer and Retail group. Raised in Columbus, Georgia, Gabe earned a BBA in Finance from the University of Georgia, graduating summa cum laude with honors.
Emanuel Pleitez, Associate. Emanuel Pleitez joins Sunstone Partners as an investment team Associate after serving as a consultant to the Sunstone team during the raising of Sunstone Partners' first fund. Prior to joining Sunstone Partners, Emanuel served as a Commissioner for the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions and Head of Strategy and Business Development for Qlovi, an education technology startup. Before Qlovi, Emanuel was Chief Strategy Officer for Spokeo. Previously, Emanuel was a Business Analyst at McKinsey & Company. Prior to McKinsey & Company, he served as Special Assistant to Chairman Paul Volcker in the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Designated Federal Officer of President Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB). Emanuel began his career as a Financial Analyst at Goldman Sachs in the Equities Product Group of the Securities Division. Emanuel is currently a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve and the chairman of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. Raised in Los Angeles, Emanuel holds a B.A. from Stanford University.
YueFeng (Mike) Du, Associate. Mike Du joins Sunstone Partners as an investment team Associate after working as an Investment Banking Analyst at Deutsche Bank in the Technology, Media, Telecom Group. During his time at Deutsche Bank, Mike focused on mergers and acquisitions and capital raising for companies across the TMT sector. Mike graduated from Duke University with degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Finance. Mike was originally born in Dalian, China and was raised in Vancouver, Canada.
Sidhant Misra, Associate. Sid Misra joins Sunstone Partners as an investment team Associate after working as an Analyst in The Walt Disney Company's Corporate Strategy and Business Development group. He also completed a summer internship program with the U.S. Treasury Department. Sid graduated with an AB in economics from Harvard College, cum laude.
The Sunstone Partners leadership team includes Co-Founder / Managing Directors Gustavo Alberelli, Michael Biggee, John Moragne and Arneek Multani, and Managing Director-Operations, John Reardon.
About Sunstone Partners
Sunstone Partners is a new growth equity firm focused on technology-enabled services companies. The firm is a spin-out of the growth equity team of Trident Capital, a multi-stage investment firm with seven funds and $1.9 billion of capital under management since 1993. Sunstone Partners makes growth equity and growth buyout investments in companies that have annual revenue of at least $10 million, are growing at greater than 20% per year and are profitable. We invest in both sizable minority positions and control transactions. www.sunstonepartners.com
For further information, please contact:
Howard S. Zeprun
Chief Operating Officer
Sunstone Partners
400 S. El Camino Real, Suite 300
San Mateo, CA 94402
Email Contact
LOS ANGELES, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- The growing prevalence of negligently performed, low-cost plastic surgery procedures and cosmetic treatments is cause for concern, according to Los Angeles plastic surgeon Christine Petti, MD. In her almost 30 years of private practice, she has seen first-hand the devastating effects botched cosmetic enhancements can have on the health and appearance of patients. Often, she is sought to correct deformities and disappointing results created by other practitioners, many of which could have potentially been avoided.
Too frequently, Dr. Petti says she sees dissatisfied patients who have taken advantage of an economically priced procedure that jeopardized the quality of their care. "Patients may go to unqualified physicians, nurses, or non-licensed individuals, and even out of the country where medical care is not as expensive, but also may not be of high quality," she explains. Dr. Petti has seen all kinds of surgical disasters result from low-cost cosmetic procedures performed in the United States and medical tourism destinations, such as Mexico, Hong Kong, Dominican Republic, South America, and the Middle East, to name a few. She finds that many of these cases involved "an unqualified provider in a compromised, non-medical situation that is unsterile and violates the quality standards of surgical care." In some of the cases Dr. Petti has witnessed, practitioners have even utilized black market implants and non-medical-grade injectables, which can cause severe complications and disfigurement.
Though the prices may be low, the risks to the patients are high, warns Dr. Petti. She lists infection, poor circulation (which can lead to skin death), unnatural results, scarring, negligent surgical errors, and even death as the potential results from choosing a surgeon who lacks the proper skill, qualifications, and ethics to perform cosmetic surgery.
At her practice, Dr. Petti performs a significant number of corrective surgeries to repair the disappointing results of botched facelifts, neck lifts, breast augmentations, liposuction and other procedures. In some cases, complex reconstructive techniques and multiple surgeries are required to rehabilitate the form, function, and/or feel of the affected areas. For those who have been the victim of botched plastic surgery, Dr. Petti suggests scheduling a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon who has extensive experience in corrective and revision surgeries to fully evaluate any physical and aesthetic concerns. A skilled surgeon may have the ability to develop an effective treatment plan to repair damage and restore a more natural appearance.
About Christine Petti, MD, FACS
Dr. Christine Petti is a plastic surgeon, certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and an active member of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) and the American Society for Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). A graduate of Saint Mary's College of Notre Dame and Georgetown University, Dr. Petti earned her medical degree from The Medical College of Pennsylvania. Dr. Petti completed her plastic surgery residency at The University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine. She is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a medical expert for The Medical Board of California. She has published numerous scientific manuscripts on laser body contouring, laser liposuction and laser cellulite treatment. Dr. Petti is the Medical Director of Palos Verdes Plastic Surgery Medical Center and Spa Bella, Medical Day Spa, located in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, California. She has been featured as an expert on the Discovery Health Channel and a variety of popular television programs, including "The Doctors," "20/20," and "Inside Edition."Dr. Petti is available for interview upon request.
For more information about Dr. Petti and her practice, please visit dr-petti.com and facebook.com/drpetti.
To view the original source of this press release, click here:
https://www.dr-petti.com/news-room/los-angeles-plastic-surgeon-discusses-causes-and-results-of-botched-cosmetic-procedures
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Christine Petti, MD, FACS
Cosmetic and Laser Surgery
3400 W. Lomita Blvd., Ste. 305
Torrance, CA 90505
(310) 539-5888
Rosemont Media
(858) 200-0044
www.rosemontmedia.com
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Donald Trump Campaign has accused that Hillary Clinton accepted money from a company linked to ISIS. A statement issued Monday by Stephen Miller, Senior Policy Advisor to Trump, said the Clinton Foundation listed Lafarge on its Contributor and Grantor Information, which shows the Foundation received between $50,001 and $100,000 from the French cement maker. He cited a report by French daily Le Monde, that says Lafarge entered into deals with armed groups in Syria, including the Islamic State Group, in order to protect its business interests in the country. At the heart of the 'murky deals' as alleged by Le Monde, is a cement company northeast of Aleppo that Lafarge bought in 2007. The Jalabiya cement works went into operation in 2010, a year before the start of Syria's ongoing civil war. A pass stamped with an IS group seal and endorsed by the group's finance chief in the Aleppo region proves the company had struck a deal with IS group to allow for free circulation of its goods, the newspaper reported. In order to keep making cement Lafarge bought licenses from and paid taxes to IS group middle-men and oil traders, the newspaper alleged. The Trump Campaign alleged: 'More than any major presidential nominee in modern history, Hillary Clinton is tied to brutal theocratic and Islamist regimes.' 'All the while, she refuses to tell the truth about radical Islam's war against people of different beliefs, lifestyles and values.' 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.
DUBLIN, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Cambodia Garment Manufacturing Industry Overview, 2011-2020" report to their offering.
Cambodia, situated in the core area of south-east Asia, is one of the least developing countries in the world. It is experiencing a relatively rapid growth in recent years. From 2010, the economy remained an annual growth rate of over 6% in Cambodia. From 2013, the economic annual growth rate remained above 7%. The Cambodian government claimed to maintain an annual growth rate of above 7% by 2018 in the newly developed 2015-2025 Industry Development Plan.
Under the context of free economic system, Cambodia is one of the most open economies in Asia. Products manufactured by Cambodia can be exported with generalized system of preference (GSP) and most favored nations (MFN) treatment in many countries such as the U.S.A., Europe and Japan. Particularly, with regards to textile and garment products imported by Cambodia, the U.S.A. gives looser quotas and cuts raised import tariffs, the European Nations have no barriers and Canada provides preferential measures such as granting the exemption of import duties.
Garment manufacturing industry is one of the mainstay industries in Cambodia. By the end of 2015, garment manufacturing enterprises registered in Cambodia reached over 1,400. According to the report, about 1,100 enterprises among them are in normal operation. Garment manufacturing enterprises in Cambodia mainly operate with foreign capital from areas such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. They mainly concentrate in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville with convenient traffic. Most raw materials of garments and foot-wears in Cambodia are mainly imported from Asian countries, especially from China, Japan and South Korea. At present, Cambodia garment factories can manufacture garments with technics of washing, tie-dyeing and embroidering, but still lack dyeing and finishing skills.
In 2015, the minimum wage of garment manufacturing industry is USD 140 per month, increased by USD 12 per month, but is still at a relatively low level in the world. Garment manufacturing industry provides over 700 thousand jobs for Cambodia, and creates plentiful indirect job offers as the primary pillar industry of Cambodia. In Cambodia, there are many newly established garment manufacturing enterprises as well as dozens of bankrupting ones each year mainly for weak competitiveness, strike issues and rising costs.
In 2015, the product export value of garments in Cambodia reaches USD 6 billion, accounting for approximately 70% in the total export value. The major export markets of Cambodia textile garments and foot-wears include Europe, the U.S.A. and Canada. Cambodia is ready to join TPP in the future. It is estimated that the Cambodia garment manufacturing industry will be confronted with more development plans in the next few years.
Key Topics Covered:
1 Relevant Concepts of Garment Manufacturing Industry
2 Analysis on Garment Manufacturing Industry in Cambodia, 2011-2015
3 Competition Status of Garment Manufacturing Industry in Cambodia, 2013-2015
4 Analysis on Top 5 Garment Manufacturers in Cambodia, 2013-2015
5 Analysis on the Cost and Garment Price in Garment Manufacturing Industry in Cambodia, 2013-2015
6 Prediction on the Development of Garment Industry in Cambodia, 2016-2020
Companies Mentioned
- Grand Twin International (Cambodia) Plc.
- M & V International Manufacturing Ltd.
- Shen Zhou (Cambodia) Co., Ltd.
- T Y Fashion (Cambodia) Plc.
- Tak Fook (Cambodia) Garment Ltd.
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/bdgzfw/cambodia_garment
Media Contact:
Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
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WESTON, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Combining exceptional surgical skills with a natural and sophisticated touch is the hallmark of the Weston Center for Plastic Surgery's approach to cosmetic plastic surgery as an art form. The practice serves patients not only in Weston but in the Ft. Lauderdale and Miami metropolitan areas as well as the communities in and around Boca Raton and Parkland. The addition of Nathan Eberle, M.D., D.D.S., to the practice has further enhanced its ability to pay particular attention to each patient as an individual, devoting the time and care necessary to fully understand each patient's needs.
Dr. Eberle is a Maxillofacial, General and Plastic Surgery credentialed surgeon who brings 10 years of intensive training and experience with a specific focus on Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and Surgery of the Head and Neck. Weston Center for Plastic Surgery is known for its unique level of excellence, and Nathan Eberle, M.D., D.D.S., only enhances its reputation as he is one of only 75 surgeons in the entire United States with these credentials of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and Surgery of the Head and Neck. Dr. Eberle's specialties in plastic surgery include facial surgery, such as facelift, neck lift, endoscopic brow lift, blepharoplasty, otoplasty, rhinoplasty, facial implants, genioplasty, fat transfer/fat grafting; body contouring, including Brazilian butt lift, abdominoplasty, mommy makeover, arm lift, body contouring after weight loss; and breast enhancement, including breast augmentation and breast lift and reduction.
Dr. Eberle received his B.A. from the University of Iowa, in Iowa City and his D.D.S. from the University of the Pacific, San Francisco, before going on to earn his M.D. from the University of Florida, Gainesville. Dr. Eberle underwent intensive residencies in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Florida, Jacksonville, then a General Surgery residency at the University of Florida, Jacksonville, followed by his Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery residency at the Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL. The results of Dr. Eberle's extraordinarily broad and deep educational background are multiplied by his hands-on experience and his flawless eye for aesthetics.
Dr. Eberle is a staunch believer in the ethos that, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Dr. Eberle's background is perfectly suited to analyzing each patient's unique anatomical structure and designing a customized treatment program that achieves optimal results and delivers the ultimate in patient satisfaction.
To learn more about Dr. Eberle and the Weston Center for Plastic Surgery, or to schedule a consultation with Dr. Eberle, please visit plasticsurgeryweston.com.
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Contact:
Weston Center for Plastic Surgery
2300 N. Commerce Parkway
Suite 308
Weston, FL 33326
954-228-6052
SARNIA, ON -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Lamperd Less Lethal, Inc. (OTC PINK: LLLI) would like to provide an overall update on the company's significant sales activity at this time. Due to heightened political, civil and international tensions at all levels of law enforcement and security today, Lamperd is experiencing strongly increased interest in the company's product line as well as our advisory and training services. Because of these rising tensions and also a rising demand safer alternatives in modern police work, Lamperd's management and sales teams have been conducting more demonstrations and negotiations with potential new customers and distributors of our products in 2016 than ever before in our history. The large order of our flash grenades announced in June from one of our Canadian distributors represents the first completed sale of many we are currently processing. These new orders in development originate from both government agencies and private users. Specific announcements with more details will be made as new orders are signed. Currently, Lamperd has been requested to provide sales quotations on more than 20 million dollars in tenders.
Additionally, Lamperd is pleased to announce that our company has been invited to attend the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD) Access Controlled Symposium in April 2017 at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. This is a major security industry event highlighting the most important new products and developments for the benefit of high level military and civilian users. The JNLWD Symposium includes international participation from all parts of the world. Lamperd management is honored and proud to have had our company selected to present at this very important security industry event.
About the Company
Lamperd Less Lethal, Inc. is a manufacturer of less lethal weapons and ammunition for defensive purposes only. Lamperd has a range of products to fit all defensive purposes. We also offer our Model X100 streaming video and audio wifi body camera, worn by police and military personnel.
This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to Lamperd Less Lethal, Inc. Lamperd Less Lethal, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes in future operating results.
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements:
This news release includes forward-looking statements. While these statements are made to convey to the public the company's progress, business opportunities and growth prospects, readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements represent management's opinion. Whereas management believes such representations to be true and accurate based on information and data available to the company at this time, actual results may differ materially from those described. The company's operations and business prospects are always subject to risk and uncertainties. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ are and will be set forth in the company's periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Lamperd Less Lethal, Inc.
Barry Lamperd
519-344-4445
President
www.lllico.com
HOUSTON, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- For the second year in a row, Houston Police Federal Credit Union has earned a place among the healthiest credit unions in America. The financial institution research website, DepositAccounts.com, ranked Houston Police Federal Credit Union 90th out of more than 6,000 federally insured credit unions in the United States. Houston Police Federal Credit Union was one of only 64 credit unions to make the list two years running.
DepositAccounts.com awarded Houston Police Federal Credit Union an A+ rating for each of the following criteria:
Texas Ratio - How much capital a bank has available compared to the total value of loans considered at risk. As of March 31, 2016, Houston Police Federal Credit Union had a Texas Ratio of 2.25% which is excellent.
Deposit Growth - As of March 31, 2016, Houston Police Federal Credit Union had increased its total deposits by more than $41 million, resulting in 8.27 percent growth for the year, which is considered excellent.
Capitalization - Both FDIC and NCUA consider capitalization levels of banks and credit unions to be of high importance. As of March 31, 2016, Houston Police Federal Credit Union had $631.5 million in assets with more than $86 million in equity, resulting in a capitalization level of 13.66%, which is excellent.
"The entire Houston Police Federal Credit Union team takes its fiduciary responsibility very seriously, and we are proud that DepositAccounts.com has once again recognized us with an A+ rating," said Ayn Talley, President with Houston Police Federal Credit Union. "We very much appreciate each and every one of our 25,000 members and we know they have many choices when it comes to their financial services."
The full list may be found at: https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/health.aspxhealthiest.
Houston Police Federal Credit Union's one-time membership fee is $0.25 and a minimum deposit can be as little as $5. To learn about membership eligibility, visit https://www.hpfcu.org/join.html.
Like HPFCU: https://www.facebook.com/HoustonPoliceFCU
Connect with HPFCU: https://www.linkedin.com/company/houston-police-federal-credit-union
Review HPFCU: http://www.yelp.com/biz/houston-police-federal-credit-union-houston
About DepositAccounts.com
DepositAccounts.com is the largest and most comprehensive online publication in the U.S. dedicated to banking/savings (deposits) information for consumers. It covers all 12,200 federally insured banks and credit unions and utilizes its patented technology to track more than 225,000 consumer deposit rates, each updated nightly. The site features more than 11,000 editorial articles detailing depository strategies and highlighting current bank rates and offers. It is also home to one of the largest communities of depositors on the Web, hosting more than 100,000 comments, customer reviews, and forum threads.
About Houston Police Federal Credit Union
Houston Police Federal Credit Union was established in 1937 as a non-profit organization to serve Houston's Finest - the men and women in the City of Houston law enforcement profession, and their families - with a commitment to the needs of members and prudent management of their financial resources. Today, Houston Police Federal Credit Union is a major financial institution with over $642 million in assets and over 25,000 members. We have 3 convenient office locations along with over 110 free ATMs in Houston and the surrounding areas. Learn more at www.hpfcu.org.
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Contact:
Mitzy Plumb
713.986.0200 x 211
Email Contact
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The head of an international criminal network behind thousands of online frauds has been arrested in a joint operation by INTERPOL and the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC). The 40-year-old Nigerian national was identified only as 'Mike'. He is believed to be behind scams totaling more than $60 million involving hundreds of victims worldwide. In one case a target was conned into paying out USD 15.4 million, an Interpol statement said. The network compromised email accounts of small to medium businesses around the world including in Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, Romania, South Africa, Thailand and the US, with the financial victims mainly other companies dealing with these compromised accounts. Heading a network of at least 40 individuals across Nigeria, Malaysia and South Africa which both provided malware and carried out the frauds, the alleged mastermind also had money laundering contacts in China, Europe and the US who provided bank account details for the illicit cash flow. Following his arrest in Port Harcourt in southern Nigeria, a forensic examination of devices seized by the EFCC showed he had been involved in a range of criminal activities including business e-mail compromise (BEC) and romance scams. 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.
LONDON, Aug. 2,2016 /PRNewswire/ --Gathering from all corners of the world with their families and friends, the newest graduates from the University of Roehampton, London Online programmes celebrated their graduation during ceremonies and events held at the Royal Festival Hall in London on 27 July 2016.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130822/CL67658LOGO
The graduates have earned degrees from the MBA and MSc in Project Management programmes, and there were also several who were the first to earn the University's online MSc in Information Systems Management. Together with the first online graduates who participated in the February 2016 ceremony, they comprise the inaugural 2016 graduating cohort.
"The University of Roehampton, through our colleges, has a long tradition of providing higher education, lasting 175 years. We are committed to expanding access to education, ensuring that all of our students become the kind of graduate employers value. We introduced online masters programmes in 2012, in order to provide the opportunity to gain a Roehampton degree to a wider range of students from across the world. We are delighted to see so many of our online students graduate this year," said Professor Paul O'Prey, Vice-Chancellor of the University.
Online graduates had the option to attend the graduation ceremony in person and graduate with the University's campus-based students at the Royal Festival Hall, in the heart of London's South Bank arts and cultural quarter.
"Having worked in the financial sector for nine years, I consider the Nigerian banking industry to be one of the most technologically driven sectors in the country. I chose Roehampton's online programme because I wanted to develop my managerial competencies and be able to make strategic decisions that would support my organisation through using innovative technology," said Oluchi Anih, an MSc in Information Systems Management graduate from Abuja, Nigeria, who attended the ceremony and events with her family. "Since beginning my degree I have been promoted, and recently I received a commendation from management, so my efforts have paid off more than I could have imagined."
Currently, students from more than 150 countries study online with the University. Designed for adult learners, the fully online learning model delivers contemporary online programmes reflecting the world in which its students live and work. Through these programmes, students gain the critical thinking skills and practical knowledge they need to expand their expertise and advance their careers.
Roehampton Online offers a portfolio of online masters degrees in areas of study including business and management, psychology, public administration, public health, education and theology. For more information about the University of Roehampton's online programmes, please visit https://online.roehampton.ac.uk.
About the University of Roehampton, London Online
Located in London, the University of Roehampton has a proud history that dates back 175 years. Today, working professionals from more than 150 countries study online and earn a quality education assured by the UK government's Quality Assurance Agency.
Roehampton Online believes that learning is a life-changing and lifelong journey that provides access to a brighter future, and offers a range of online masters programmes that have been designed to enrich students' knowledge and help them develop practical skills that can be applied immediately and promote career advancement. For information about Roehampton's online programmes, visit https://online.roehampton.ac.uk. These programmes are provided in partnership with online learning expert, Laureate Online Education. For more information about Laureate, visit www.laureate.net.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Appearing alongside Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Monday, Billionaire investor Warren Buffett challenged her general election opponent Donald Trump to release his tax returns. Buffett spoke at a Clinton campaign rally in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, and offered to meet Trump 'any time, any place' to compare their returns. 'You're only afraid if you got something to be afraid about,' Buffett said. 'He's not afraid of the IRS. He's afraid because of you. I will meet him in Omaha or Mar-a-Lago or he can pick the place.' 'We're both under audit,' he added. 'And believe me, nobody will stop us from talking about what's on those returns. Send the word to him, if you will.' Trump has steadfastly refused to release his tax returns, repeatedly citing an ongoing audit by the Internal Revenue Service. The Trump campaign noted that the real estate tycoon has filed financial disclosure forms with the Federal Election Commission, but Buffett argued that is not enough. 'As someone who's filled out financial statements and someone who has filled out an income tax return, I call tell you, they are two very different animals,' Buffett said. 'You will learn a whole lot more about Donald Trump if he produces his income tax return.' The Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO also attacked Trump for his comments about the parents of Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed in Iraq in 2004. 'How in the world can you stand up to a couple of parents who have lost a son and talk about sacrificing because you were building a bunch of buildings?' Buffett said. 'I ask Donald Trump: have you no sense of decency, sir?' Buffett invoked the controversial McCarthy hearings of the 1950s in his criticism of Trump's attacks on Khizr and Ghazala Khan. 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.
Technavio has announced the top five leading vendors in their recentgasoline market in the USreport until 2020. Vendors are identified based on their revenue and market dominance in terms of experience, geographical presence, product portfolio, financials, and R&D.
Competitive vendor landscape
In the US, gasoline is not sold directly by the refiners but through resellers. Around 80% of the fuel sold in the US is through convenience stores. As the convenience stores range from standalone stores to multi-store chain, we have not considered them in our vendor landscape. We have considered only the refiners who have presence in the US gasoline market.
The gasoline market in the US is highly fragmented, with the presence of many large global vendors. The market is highly competitive with players competing to gain more market share. Intense competition and the rapidly changing market dynamics are the key factors for the competition among vendors. With rising competition, the market is witnessing consolidation.
According to Sayani Roy, a lead analyst at Technavio for research on oil and gas, "The competitive environment in this market is expected to intensify during the forecast period with steady demand and lack of innovation in gasoline production technology. It could also result in mergers and acquisitions. International players are expected to grow inorganically during the forecast period by acquiring regional or local players."
Request for sample report: http://goo.gl/3jmOEq
Top five gasoline market vendors in the US
BP
BP is a major player in the gasoline market in the US. The company offers gasoline through the following sectors such as:
Retail
The company supplies fuel and related services to American customers through independent jobbers and dealer wholesalers. As of FY2014, the company had 7,100 BP and ARCO-branded retail sites across the US.
Refining
BP's downstream operations are involved in the refining, transportation, selling and trading of crude oil and petroleum products. It currently operates refineries in Cherry Point, Wash; Toledo, Ohio; and Whiting, Ind. The installations have a total capacity of processing over 725,000 barrels of crude oil. It also produces a broad range of fuels, petrochemical, and lubricants to cater to the highway, rail transportation, residential, commercial, and institutional heating, and power generation.
Chevron
Founded in 1879, Chevron stands headquartered in San Ramon, California. The company is involved in the exploration, production, refining, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas. It markets and sells transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells petrochemical products, generates power and produces geothermal energy; and develops energy resources such as biofuels for the future.
Chevron offers three premium brands such as Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex, which hold the top positions in their markets. The three brands Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex fuels contain the Techron additive that cleans the engine, delivers lower emissions, and offers better performance. Chevron offers Techron Concentrate Plus, which provides high-performance gasoline fuel system. The fuel formulated with advanced polyether amine (PEA) technology offers complete fuel system treatment in gasoline passenger cars, light trucks, and vans.
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Texas, US. The company is involved in the exploration, production, and distribution of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. It explores, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas, LNG, natural gas liquids, and bitumen.
The company is one of the major players in the refinery and gasoline market in the US. It owns and licenses various gasoline brands that are sold in approximately 11,700 stations in the US. It also owns 1,700 outlets in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern areas of the US. The rest of the gas outlet of the company are owned and operated by independent dealers and marketers.
Exxon Mobil
Exxon Mobil was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Texas, US. The company is involved in the operation of petroleum and petrochemical business that includes exploration, refining, and production of oil and gas, coal and minerals, and electric power generation as well.
The downstream portfolio of the company comprises of refining facilities in 17 countries. This segment is one of the largest manufacturers of lube base stocks and petroleum products and finished lubricants. It has a strong global refining and distribution network worldwide.
Shell
Shell was incorporated in 1922 and is headquartered in Texas, US. The company produces, refines petroleum, chemicals, fuels, and lubricants. The company's business segment is divided into three categories such as Upstream; Downstream; and Corporate.
Shell offers commercial fuel that is one the leading marketer of unbranded gasoline, diesel, and heating oil. Shell provides Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Premium Gasoline, which offers protection against gunk and corrosion and enhanced protection against wear.
Browse Related Reports:
Global Jet Fuel Additives Market 2015-2019
Global Fuel Additives Market 2015-2019
Global Bunker Oil Market 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/20160802005136/en/
Contacts:
Technavio Research
Jesse Maida
Media Marketing Executive
US: +1 630 333 9501
UK: +44 208 123 1770
www.technavio.com
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- WCB Resources Ltd. ("WCB" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: WCB) announces the resignation of Mr Jim Simpson as a Director. The Board thanks Mr Simpson for his contribution and support and wishes him well in his future corporate endeavours.
About WCB Resources
WCB is an exploration and development company that is focussed on the Misima Island Project in Papua New Guinea where a significant gold resource was outlined in May 2015. Misima Island was a previous major gold producer between 1988 and 2004 with past and historic production estimated at 4.0M ounces of gold.
WCB's strategy is to build shareholder value focussing on the Misima asset whilst also continually evaluating projects that may compliment the Misima project. This strategy is being developed by a synthesis of WCB's core skills in project evaluation, structured acquisition, exploration and project development and operations, areas where WCB directors and executives have significant experience.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Cameron Switzer, President and Chief Executive Officer
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
WCB Resources Ltd.
Cameron Switzer
President and Chief Executive Officer
+61 7 3212 6242
+61 4 2777 2111 (cell)
cswitzer@wcbresources.com
Sixth consecutive year Teleperformance operations in Latin America are recognized, and seventh consecutive year Teleperformance ranks as a best workplace
Regulatory News:
Teleperformance (Paris:RCF), the worldwide leader in outsourced omnichannel customer experience management, announced today that it has been recognized as one of the 25 Best Multinational Workplaces in Latin America by the prestigious Great Place to Work Institute. Teleperformance's operations in Brazil, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic were included in the rankings with proven exceptional leadership and employee management, while also cultivating a trusted workplace culture.
Companies nominated for Great Place to Work list go through a rigorous application process and are selected and ranked predominantly on the basis of employees' response to the Great Place to Work Trust Index Survey. The results found employees in Latin America believe in Teleperformance's values of creating a positive work environment and culture, and where opportunities for career growth are prevalent.
"It is a special honor to be named among the top 25 Best Multinational Workplaces in Latin America," said Juan Sada, Chief Executive Officer, Teleperformance Nearshore Region. "This recognition reflects our commitment to people, which is fundamental to our business model. I would like to thank our employees in the Latin America region for their devotion in pursing the company's commitment to offer great customer experiences."
"Our Teleperformance team in Latin America is committed to exceptional customer service, which can only be accomplished through a positive culture so our people look forward to making a real difference on each interaction," said Paulo Cesar Salles Vasques, Worldwide Chief Executive Officer, Teleperformance Group. "We are all proud to see our outstanding teams in Brazil, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic recognized for their hard work, dedication and passion by the distinguished Great Place to Work Institute."
Executives representing Teleperformance Brazil, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic accepted the award at a ceremony at the Fairmont Mayakoba Resort in the Riviera Maya, Mexico on May 19.
"Congratulations to Teleperformance for being part of the list of Best Companies to Work in Latin America," said Lesslie Perez de Davidovich, Regional General Manager, Great Place to Work Institute, Central America. "This is due to the company's efforts to ensure trust, belief in the company employees work for, pride in achievement, and a culture of positivity. The degree of pride in the organization, and the levels of authentic connection and camaraderie employees feel, are also essential components. We appreciate Teleperformance's commitment to helping build a better society in Brazil, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic, each a Great Place to Work."
In addition to being acknowledged as a Best Multinational Workplace in Latin America, Teleperformance was recognized as Best Workplaces in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Central America the Caribbean: Caribbean origin (Dominican Republic), Central America the Caribbean: Multinationals (El Salvador Dominican Republic) and Central America the Caribbean: over 1,000 employees (El Salvador).
ABOUT GREAT PLACE TO WORK
Great Place to Work Institute began the search of the Best Companies to Work for in 1981 and sees its mission in supporting companies to build Great Workplaces characterized by trust, pride and camaraderie. Great Place to Work is in 45 countries with more than 5,500 organizations, representing over 10 million employees all over the world.
ABOUT TELEPERFORMANCE GROUP
Teleperformance (RCF ISIN: FR0000051807 Reuters: ROCH.PA Bloomberg: RCF FP), the worldwide leader in outsourced omnichannel customer experience management, serves companies around the world with customer care, technical support, customer acquisition and debt collection programs. In 2015, it reported consolidated revenue of 3.4 billion ($3.7 billion, based on 1 $1.11).
The Group operates 147,000 computerized workstations, with close to 190,000 employees across 311 contact centers in 65 countries and serving more than 160 markets. It manages programs in 75 languages and dialects on behalf of major international companies operating in a wide variety of industries.
Teleperformance shares are traded on the Euronext Paris market, Compartment A, and are eligible for the deferred settlement service. They are included in the following indices: STOXX 600, SBF 120, Next 150, CAC Mid 60 and CAC Support Services. They also have been included in the Euronext Vigeo Eurozone 120 index since December 2015, with regard of the Group's performance in corporate social responsibility.
For more information: www.teleperformance.com
Follow us: Twitter @teleperformance
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160802006339/en/
Contacts:
Teleperformance
PRESS RELATIONS
MARK PFEIFFER, Tel: 1 801 257 5811
mark.pfeiffer@teleperformance.com
or
INVESTOR RELATIONS
QUY NGUYEN-NGOC, Tel: 33 1 53 83 59 87
quy.nguyen@teleperformance.com
DALLAS, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Cherubim Interests, Inc. (OTC PINK: CHIT) ("the Company"), an expansion-stage alternative construction and real estate development company, is pleased to announce that it has executed a distribution agreement with XWALLS.
XWALLS provides liberating spaces that foster connections through the evolutionary hybridization of walls and windows. By rescuing workers from ineffectual drywall offices and partitioned cubicles, XWALLS is a transformative way to bring people, places and ideas together. The result is environments and spaces that spur creativity, invite collaboration, and foster innovation in an ever more technologically interconnected world.
"We are excited about this revolutionary technology and believe that XWALLS is another building block in advancing our revenues and expansion," states Patrick J. Johnson, CEO of CHIT. "It allows companies to grow without being strained by methodologies or infrastructure. Technologies change, and XWALLS allows companies to change and grow with them. We believe that this technology complements what we offer in many instances. It is a perfect fit for us."
XWALLS engages and enhances inter-connectivity among its users within and beyond XWALLS spaces, creating an ever-expansive space for everyone to engage with.
Clean integration of your technology within XWALLS opens up more space
Less clutter and more light to boost productivity and enlighten your vision
XWALLS technology can be embedded and integrated between the glass panels themselves, seamlessly allowing for audio-visual presentation and collaboration via XWALLS such as:
Videoconferencing
Remote access control to smart TV screens
Screen-to-screen mirroring
Projections with matted panel technology and much more
More than just ordinary walls, XWALLS turns walls into connection and interaction hubs with its ability to integrate collaborative technology right into the wall.
XWALLS seamlessly integrates with existing building technologies, construction methods, and architectural features such as bulkheads, windowsills, baseboards and drapery pockets, while incorporating emerging trends such as Smart Locks.
About XWALLS
XWALLS provides liberating spaces that foster connections through the evolutionary hybridization of walls and windows. By rescuing you from ineffectual drywall offices and partitioned cubicles, XWALLS is a transformative way to bring people, places and ideas together. XWALLS prides itself in creating environments and spaces that spur creativity, invite collaboration, and foster innovation in an ever more technologically interconnected world.
For more information, visit www.xwalls.ca
About Cherubim Interests Inc.
Cherubim Interests specializes in alternative construction projects, as well as covering the entire spectrum of real estate development: due diligence, acquisition, planning, construction, renovation, and management; providing complete beginning-to-end development programs for mixed use, single, and multifamily projects and properties.
For more information, visit www.cherubiminterests.com
Safe Harbor Statement
This release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E and/or 27E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are based upon assumptions that in the future may prove not to have been accurate and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including statements as to the future performance of the company and the risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations or any of its forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are not limited to, the company's ability to raise necessary financing, retention of key personnel, timely delivery of inventory from the company's suppliers, timely product development, product acceptance, and the impact of competitive services and products, in addition to general economic risks and uncertainties.
Cherubim Interests, Inc.
Patrick J. Johnson
Chief Executive Officer
(844) 842-8872
pjohnson@cherubiminterests.com
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market got off to a weak start for the week Tuesday, after the long holiday weekend. The market barely remained above the 8,000 point level following today's loss. Weakness in global markets weighed on the Swiss market at the start of the week. European markets ended the session solidly in negative territory, primarily due to weakness in bank stocks. The results of the EU bank stress tests and disappointing results from German bank Commerzbank weighed on the sector. Continued weakness in crude oil prices also had a negative impact on sentiment. The Swiss Market Index decreased 1.43 percent Tuesday and finished at 8,011.24. The Swiss Leader Index fell 1.87 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 1.29 percent. Credit Suisse dropped 6.2 percent on the news that it will be removed from the STOXX Europe 50 index next Monday. UBS sank 6.0 percent and Julius Baer slipped 1.1 percent. Dufry declined 5.0 percent after two banks lowered their price targets for travel retailers. LafargeHolcim weakened by 4.4 percent. Swatch fell 2.4 percent and Richemont dropped 4.3 percent. The index heavyweights all finished in negative territory. Novartis finished with a loss of 0.8 percent. The company's Alcon subsidiary received U.S. approval for its Micro-Stent CyPass. Roche declined 0.9 percent and Nestle surrendered 0.8 percent. Galenica was one of the few gainers of the session, with an increase of 0.6 percent. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Technavio analysts forecast the global location-based services (LBS) market in the healthcare industryto grow at a CAGR of more than 32% during the forecast period, according to their latest report.
The research study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global LBS market in the healthcare industry for 2016-2020. Based on application platform, the market is segmented into the following: asset management, staff management, patient management, and others.
Technavio ICT analysts highlight the following four factors that are contributing to the growth of the global LBS market in the healthcare industry:
Wide deployment of RTLS tags in hospitals
Rapid adoption of Wi-Fi and WLAN in hospitals
Growing use of healthcare wearables
Fall in price of RFID tags
Wide deployment of RTLS tags in hospitals
In the healthcare sector, a large number of hospitals are deploying real time location systems (RTLS) tags to enhance operations, efficiency, and profitability. RFID tags are used in a wide variety of applications such as asset management, indoor navigation, location analytics, and quick location of equipment such as hospital beds, wheelchairs, ventilators, oxygen cylinders, and infusion pumps. Apart from these applications, RTLS tags are used to monitor equipment and patients as well as to locate hospital staff. In addition, tracking surgical instruments and other reusable medical equipment through RTLS solutions help automate sterile processing workflow of cleaning, sterilizing, and distributing medical equipment, surgical and dental instruments, and critical supplies.
HF tags and UHF RFID tags are widely used in healthcare applications. HF tags are used for short-read range up to three inches. They are used to tag blood samples, tissue samples, and other critical fluids. UHF RFID tags are used for long-range purposes such as tracking and locating critical medical devices, managing inventory, and tracking and identifying patients.
Rapid adoption of Wi-Fi and WLAN in hospitals
RFID bands and tags are being increasingly used in hospitals. Consequently, the deployment of LANs, WLANs, and Wi-Fi has increased in the past few years. The availability of high-speed mobile broadband network and the decrease in the deployment cost of such networks are the major reasons for the growing acceptance of LANs, WLANs, and Wi-Fi, particularly in the healthcare industry.
According to Rakesh Kumar Panda, a lead analyst at Technavio for research on M2M and connected devices, "Wi-Fi enabled RTLS are used to track the location of various assets inside the hospital campus. Infusion pumps, when connected to Wi-Fi, are easier to locate. Many hospitals and healthcare institutions are adopting virtual private networks for data security and for providing seamless connectivity to their staff and patients."
Growing use of healthcare wearables
With the increase in the number of people with chronic conditions worldwide and the rise in healthcare costs, it is very difficult for the hospital staff to manage all the patients simultaneously. Additionally, patients have to wait in long queues for long hours. To resolve this problem, vendors have introduced remote patient monitoring (RPM). This application allows physicians to monitor the patient from a remote location or home with the help of wearable healthcare devices. RPM helps both patients and doctors and increases the efficiency of hospital management. It also helps in reducing healthcare cost, travel time, and hospital visits for both patients and staff. Healthcare wearables such as activity trackers, smartwatches, health monitors, and pedometers are used to track the activities of doctors, staff, and patients.
"Eight out of 10 older consumers in the US suffer from one or more chronic diseases, increasing their dependency on families or caregivers. So, RPM is a practical solution for this issue and is expected to propel the growth of the market during the forecast period," says Rakesh.
Fall in price of RFID tags
Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are widely used in the healthcare industry for asset tracking and workforce management helping the industry to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of various operations. With the growing adoption rate of RFID tags and competition among players, the price of RFID tags is falling rapidly. In 2014, for instance, the price of RFID tags dropped by 30%-40% compared with 2012. Currently, the price of a single active RFID tag is USD 15 to USD 20, and this rate is reduced further for bulk demands. The rapid fall in RFID tags is also attracting small- and medium-sized hospitals to implement RTLS solutions.
Browse Related Reports:
Indoor LBS Market in Western Europe 2015-2019
Global Indoor LBS Market 2015-2019
LBS Market in India 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
Technaviois a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.
Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.
If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160802005154/en/
Contacts:
Technavio Research
Jesse Maida
Media Marketing Executive
US: +1 630 333 9501
UK: +44 208 123 1770
www.technavio.com
Teneo to launch new operating division advising major global companies and organizations on key risk identification, prevention and response
Commissioner Bratton to join firm in September 2016
NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Teneo Holdings, the global CEO advisory firm, today announced that New York City Police Commissioner, Bill Bratton, will join the firm as Senior Managing Director and Executive Chairman of Teneo Risk. Teneo Risk is a new division of the firm focused on advising clients on key risk identification, prevention and response. Commissioner Bratton will join Teneo in September, following his retirement from the New York City Police Department.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150708/234271LOGO
Teneo Risk is a natural extension of Teneo's business model, which now includes over 550 employees, across 12 different operating divisions, providing services that integrate the disciplines of strategic communications, investment banking, management consulting, geopolitical intelligence, talent development, digital analytics, corporate governance, government affairs and corporate restructuring.
Teneo Risk will advise clients across several key areas including: Cyber Risk & Security and Data Protection; Smart City Planning and Infrastructure Development Advisory; Crisis Response and Preparedness; Infrastructure Protection and Anti-Terrorism Preparedness; Corporate Security Strategy; High-Profile Event/Venue Security Advisory and Security Due Diligence.
"I am very pleased to welcome Commissioner Bratton to Teneo," said Declan Kelly, Chairman and CEO of Teneo. "In a world of increasing uncertainty and instability, CEOs and business leaders are now, more than ever, looking for advice on critical risk and security issues from trusted, proven experts. Commissioner Bratton brings unparalleled expertise that will benefit our clients around the globe."
Commissioner Bratton is one of the world's most respected and trusted experts on risk and security issues. He was appointed Commissioner of the New York City Police Department for the second time in his career by Mayor Bill de Blasio in January 2014. Over the course of his decades-long career in law enforcement, Commissioner Bratton has established an international reputation for re-engineering police departments and fighting crime.
"I am extremely impressed with the global business Teneo has built over the last five-years and I believe in the firm's focus on working with the CEOs of the world's largest companies," said Commissioner Bratton. "I look forward to bringing my experience to bear as I develop Teneo Risk and help the firm's clients address a range of important issues."
In addition to his work in law enforcement, Commissioner Bratton is also a noted commentator, and consultant. He has also authored two books, The Turnaround: How America's Top Cop Reversed the Crime Epidemic and Collaborate or Perish!: Reaching Across Boundaries in a Networked World. He holds a bachelor's degree from Boston State College and is a graduate of the FBI National Executive Institute. At Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, he was a Senior Executive Fellow in Criminal Justice and a member of the school's National Executive Session on Policing. For his collaborative efforts in working with U.S. and British police forces, he was recognized by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with the honorary title, Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE).
ABOUT TENEO:
Teneo is a global advisory firm that works exclusively with the CEO's and leaders of the world's largest and most complex companies providing strategic counsel across their full panoply of key objectives and issues. Comprised of the most senior talent, we work collaboratively to solve the most complex issues. Working across the three core areas of financial, reputational and transformational, we integrate the disciplines of strategic communications, investment banking, management consulting, business intelligence, talent development, digital analytics, corporate governance, government affairs and corporate restructuring to fully answer and deliver any strategic objective. The firm was founded in June 2011 by Declan Kelly, Doug Band and Paul Keary and now has more than 550 employees located in 14 offices around the world. For more information on Teneo, please see www.teneoholdings.com.
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- STORAGEVAULT CANADA INC. ("StorageVault") (TSX VENTURE: SVI) has entered into an asset purchase agreement dated August 2, 2016 with a vendor ("Vendor") to purchase for an aggregate purchase price of $14,950,000, subject to customary adjustments, all of the self storage assets, property and business used in the operation of the Calgary store owned by the Vendor (the "Acquisition"). The Acquisition is an arm's length transaction. It is anticipated that the closing of the Acquisition will occur on or before October 31, 2016. With this transaction, StorageVault has closed, waived conditions for or announced approximately $50 million in arm's length transactions so far in fiscal 2016.
Purchase Price and Payment
The purchase price for the Acquisition is $14,950,000, subject to adjustments, and is payable by certified cheque or wire and will be financed with funds on hand, first mortgage financing and the assumption of certain debt in relation to the Acquisition (the "Debt").
Material Conditions Precedent to the Proposed Acquisition
The obligations of StorageVault to complete the Acquisition are subject to initial conditions including, but not limited to: satisfactory due diligence; satisfactory Environmental Site Assessment Reports; satisfactory financing; current creditor consent for StorageVault to assume the Debt; and StorageVault board of director approval of the Acquisition. The obligations of the Vendor to complete the Acquisition are subject to the initial condition that the sale of the assets is approved by the security holders of the Vendor. The initial conditions for the Acquisition must be satisfied on or before 30 days after the execution of the agreement (unless extended in certain circumstances). The obligations of both StorageVault and the Vendor to complete the closing of the Acquisition are subject to the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions of the Acquisition.
Negotiations to Purchase Approximately $45 Million of Storage Assets from Access Self Storage Inc.
In addition, StorageVault is in negotiations with Access Self Storage Inc. ("Access"), a major shareholder of StorageVault, to purchase approximately $45 million of Access assets in Southern Ontario and Montreal, Quebec (the "Access Negotiations"). It is anticipated that up to approximately 20% of the purchase price will be satisfied by the issuance of common shares of StorageVault. Currently, there are no agreements, letters of intent or term sheets in respect of the Access Negotiations. If the Corporation enters into an agreement in relation to the Access Negotiations, StorageVault will issue a further news release disclosing the particulars of the transaction. Any transaction resulting from the Access Negotiations would be a related party transaction and would be subject to applicable TSXV rules and Multilateral Instrument 61-101. There can be no assurance that any of these negotiations will result in definitive agreements. There can be no assurance that a transaction will result from the Access Negotiations.
Other Information
The TSXV has in no way passed upon the merits of the Acquisition or the Access Negotiations and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. There can be no assurance that the Acquisition will be completed as proposed or at all.
About StorageVault Canada Inc.
StorageVault owns and operates storage locations in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia.
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.
Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking information. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information in relation to: the proposed Acquisition and any transaction that results from the Access Negotiations, including the potential aggregate size of any transaction that results from the Access Negotiations; the potential issuance of common shares of the Corporation as consideration for any transaction that results from the Access Negotiations; the business, assets and property of the Vendor in the proposed Acquisition; and the timing for completion of the proposed Acquisition. This forward-looking information reflects StorageVault's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to StorageVault and on assumptions StorageVault believes are reasonable. These assumptions include, but are not limited to: the completion of satisfactory due diligence by StorageVault in relation to the proposed Acquisition; the satisfactory fulfilment of all of the conditions precedent to the proposed Acquisition; the receipt of all required approvals for the Acquisition, including current creditor consent for the assumption of the Debt and Vendor securityholder and StorageVault board of directors approvals; the availability of satisfactory financing for the proposed Acquisition; market acceptance of the proposed Acquisition; the satisfactory negotiation and execution of formal purchase agreements in relation to the Access Negotiations; TSXV acceptance of any transaction that results from the Access Negotiations including acceptance of the issuance of any common shares as consideration in relation to such transaction; and the ability of StorageVault to rely on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions and TSXV Policy 5.9 in respect of any transaction that results from the Access Negotiations.
Forward looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of StorageVault to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; general capital market conditions and market prices for securities; delay or failure to receive board or regulatory approvals; the actual results of future operations; competition; changes in legislation, including environmental legislation, affecting StorageVault; the timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; conclusions of economic evaluations and appraisals; and lack of qualified, skilled labour or loss of key individuals. A description of additional assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information and a description of additional risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in StorageVault's disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Although StorageVault has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of StorageVault as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. However, StorageVault expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities law.
Contacts:
StorageVault Canada Inc.
Mr. Steven Scott
Tel: 1-877-622-0205
ir@storagevaultcanada.com
StorageVault Canada Inc.
Mr. Iqbal Khan
Tel: 1-877-622-0205
ir@storagevaultcanada.com
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Lara Exploration Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: LRA) ("Lara" or the "Company") is pleased to report that its partner Kiwanda Copper LLC ("Kiwanda") and the Carajas Copper Company Limited ("CJC"), have agreed to acquire the Company's Picha Copper Project in southern Peru. Under terms of an existing agreement between Lara and Kiwanda (see Company news release of June 2, 2015 for details), Lara will receive forty million shares of CJC and will remain entitled to a net smelter returns royalty on any future production of 2% for precious metals and 1% for base metals.
The Picha Project is located in the Moquegua Department of southern Peru. To date Lara has completed geological and alteration mapping, surface sampling and ground geophysics (158 line km of Magnetic and 65 line km of Induced Polarization surveys). The positive copper results from sampling, along with the widespread alteration, brecciation, vein stockworking and geophysical anomalies, are indicative of potential to discover a porphyry system at depth. The Picha property lies approximately 17 kilometres ENE of Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.'s San Gabriel gold deposit, for which indicated and inferred resources of 12.3 million tons at average grades of 6.5 grams per ton gold (2.5 million ounces) are reported.
Qualified Person
Michael Bennell, Lara's Vice President Exploration and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and has approved the technical disclosure and verified the technical information in this news release.
About Lara
Lara is an exploration company following the Prospect Generator business model, which aims to minimize shareholder dilution and financial risk by generating prospects and then exploring them in joint ventures funded by partners. The Company currently holds a diverse portfolio of prospects and deposits in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Chile. Lara's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "LRA".
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Lara Exploration Ltd.
Chris MacIntyre
VP Corporate Development
+1 416 703 0010
www.laraexploration.com
HOUSTON, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Nobilis Health Corp. (NYSE MKT: HLTH) (TSX: NHC) ("Nobilis" or the "Company") today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016. All financial results are expressed in U.S. dollars.
"Our second quarter results reflect a continuation of our growth and operating strategy, including strong growth in case flow and higher average revenue per case, driven primarily by acquisitions made in 2015," said Harry Fleming, chief executive officer of Nobilis. "As we announced Monday, we have entered into an agreement to acquire Arizona Vein and Vascular and its affiliated clinics and Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs), adding five locations in the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas and a new vascular brand. Looking ahead, we continue to seek potential acquisition opportunities in which we can leverage our marketing capabilities."
Second Quarter 2016 Financial Results
Total revenue for the second quarter of 2016 increased to $61.9 million, a 26.6% increase over the same period the prior year. Total case volume increased by 248 cases, or 5.4%, to 4,863 in the second quarter of 2016, as compared to the same period the prior year. Revenue per case increased to $11,524 in the second quarter of 2016, as compared to $10,136 in the same period the prior year, reflecting the impact of a higher acuity case mix from the purchase of three new hospitals in 2015. The increase in total revenue and total case volume in the second quarter compared to the same quarter the prior year was due primarily to the acquisitions of three hospitals in 2015.
Net income attributable to Nobilis for the second quarter of 2016 was $4.8 million, or $0.06 per basic and fully diluted share, as compared to a net loss attributable to Nobilis of $0.4 million, or $0.01 per share, in the same period the prior year.
Adjusted EBITDA(1) for the second quarter of 2016, which adds back certain non-cash and non-recurring expenses, was $8.5 million, an increase of 22.7% over Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $6.9 million for the same period the prior year.
Total cash was $18.8 million, accounts receivable was $77.6 million and total debt was $22.1 million as of June 30, 2016, compared to $15.7 million, $92.6 million and $22.7 million, respectively, at December 31, 2015.
As of August 2, 2016, Nobilis has collected approximately 91% of its December 31, 2015, receivables and is on track to collect the remaining balance.
As of June 30, 2016, the Company owned and/or managed four acute care surgical hospitals and five ambulatory surgical centers, and had affiliations with an additional 36 facilities.
First Half 2016 Financial Results
Total revenue for the first six months of 2016 increased to $113.1 million, a 30.5% increase over the same period the prior year. Total case volume for the first six months of 2016 increased by 706 cases, or 8.7%, to 8,837 cases from 8,131 cases for the same period the prior year. Revenue per case increased to $11,754 for the first six months of 2016, as compared to $10,282 for the same period the prior year, reflecting the impact of a higher acuity case mix from the purchase of three new hospitals in 2015. The increase in total revenue and total case volume for the first six months of 2016 compared to the same period the prior year was due primarily to the acquisitions of three hospitals in 2015.
Net loss attributable to Nobilis for the first six months of 2016 was $0.2 million, or $0.00 per share, as compared to net loss attributable to Nobilis of $4.8 million, or $0.08 per basic and fully diluted share, in the same period the prior year.
Adjusted EBITDA(1) for the first six months of 2016, which adds back certain non-cash and non-recurring expenses, was $8.9 million, compared to Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $11.4 million for the same period the prior year.
Full Year 2016 Guidance
For full year 2016, Nobilis is reiterating its original organic growth guidance of 20% for total revenues, or $275 million, and 21% for Adjusted EBITDA(1), or $51 million. While our pipeline remains strong, as evidenced by the recently announced agreement to acquire Arizona Vein and Vascular, the timing of acquisitions is always uncertain. Therefore, from this point forward, Nobilis will no longer provide guidance that includes acquisitions. As we close future acquisitions, including Arizona Vein and Vascular, we will provide additional guidance.
Conference Call Information
Nobilis will host a conference call on August 3rd, 2016 at 8:00 a.m. CDT (9:00 a.m. EDT) to discuss its financial results for the second quarter of 2016. To participate in the conference call, please dial (877) 201-0168 in the US and Canada, and +1 (647) 788-4901 internationally. Please enter conference ID 58489839. There will be a livestream of the conference call available at: http://investors.nobilishealth.com/investors/events-and-presentations/.
About Nobilis Health Corp.
Nobilis (www.NobilisHealth.com) is a full-service healthcare development and management company which currently owns or manages four surgical hospitals and five ASCs, partners with thirty-six additional facilities throughout the country, and markets seven independent brands. Deploying a unique patient acquisition strategy driven by direct-to-consumer marketing, Nobilis is focused on a specified set of procedures that are performed at our centers by local physicians.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian and United States securities laws, including the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts and may be identified by the use of words such as "may," "believe," "will," "expect," "project," "estimate," "anticipate," "plan" or "continue." These forward-looking statements are based on current plans and expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors which could significantly affect current plans and expectations and our future financial condition and results. These factors, which could cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from those anticipated, include, but are not limited to our ability to successfully maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting; our ability to implement our business strategy, manage the growth in our business, and integrate acquired businesses; the risk of litigation and investigations, and liability claims for damages and other expenses not covered by insurance; the risk that payments from third-party payers, including government healthcare programs, may decrease or not increase as costs increase; adverse developments affecting the medical practices of our physician limited partners; our ability to maintain favorable relations with our physician limited partners; our ability to grow revenues by increasing case and procedure volume while maintaining profitability at the Nobilis Facilities; failure to timely or accurately bill for services; our ability to compete for physician partners, patients and strategic relationships; the risk of changes in patient volume and patient mix; the risk that laws and regulations that regulate payments for medical services made by government healthcare programs could cause our revenues to decrease; the risk that contracts are cancelled or not renewed or that we are not able to enter into additional contracts under terms that are acceptable to us; and the risk of potential decreases in our reimbursement rates. The foregoing are significant factors we think could cause our actual results to differ materially from expected results. However, there could be additional factors besides those listed herein that also could affect us in an adverse manner.
We have not undertaken any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All of our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are made or, if a date is specified, as of such date. Subject to an mandatory requirements of applicable law, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to provide any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in our expectations or any changes in events, conditions, circumstances or information on which the forward-looking statement is based. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing factors and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, filed on March 15, 2016, as updated by other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
NOBILIS HEALTH CORP. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS. MARCH 31, 2016 AND DECEMBER 31, 2015 (In thousands) (Unaudited) June 30, December 31, 2016 2015 ------------ ------------ (unaudited) Assets Current Assets: Cash $ 18,823 $ 15,666 Trade accounts receivable, net of allowance of $2,494 at June 30, 2016 and $5,165 at December 31, 2015 77,608 92,569 Medical supplies 4,724 4,493 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 3,573 2,789 ------------ ------------ Total current assets 104,728 115,517 Property and equipment, net 34,976 35,303 Intangible assets, net 18,601 19,619 Goodwill 44,833 44,833 Deferred tax asset 27,805 25,035 Other long-term assets 1,997 1,720 ------------ ------------ Total Assets $ 232,940 $ 242,027 ============ ============ Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity Current Liabilities: Trade accounts payable $ 20,588 $ 23,381 Accrued expenses 13,640 16,648 Lines of credit 3,000 - Current portion of capital leases 3,793 5,193 Current portion of long-term debt 1,693 1,243 Current portion of warrant and stock option derivative liabilities 801 332 Other current liabilities 5,377 5,025 ------------ ------------ Total current liabilities 48,892 51,822 Lines of credit 3,500 3,000 Long-term capital leases, net of current portion 13,603 13,654 Long-term debt, net of current portion 20,397 21,469 Warrant and stock option derivative liabilities, net of current portion 983 2,619 Other long-term liabilities 3,663 3,386 ------------ ------------ Total liabilities 91,038 95,950 ------------ ------------ Commitments and Contingencies Contingently redeemable noncontrolling interest 9,393 12,225 Shareholders' Equity: Common shares, no par value, unlimited shares authorized, 76,757,229 and 73,675,979 shares issued and outstanding, respectively - - Additional paid in capital 216,865 211,827 Accumulated deficit (85,650) (85,491) ------------ ------------ Total shareholders' equity attributable to Nobilis Health Corp. 131,215 126,336 Noncontrolling interests 1,294 7,516 ------------ ------------ Total shareholders' equity 132,509 133,852 ------------ ------------ Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity $ 232,940 $ 242,027 ============ ============ NOBILIS HEALTH CORP. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (In thousands, except earnings per share) (Unaudited) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30, June 30, ------------------------ ------------------------ 2016 2015 2016 2015 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Revenues: Patient and net professional fees $ 55,176 $ 45,366 $ 101,533 $ 80,424 Contracted marketing revenues 4,668 2,839 8,150 3,649 Factoring revenues 2,027 662 3,461 2,645 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Gross Profit 61,871 48,867 113,144 86,718 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Operating expenses: Salaries and benefits 12,591 9,028 25,168 16,672 Drugs and supplies 12,177 8,850 24,197 13,860 General and administrative 27,474 20,402 52,483 33,600 Bad debt expense - 200 - 200 Depreciation and amortization 1,981 955 4,510 1,592 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Facility operating expenses 54,223 39,435 106,358 65,924 Corporate expenses: Salaries and benefits 2,030 1,001 3,312 1,992 General and administrative 4,497 6,524 10,408 12,515 Legal expenses 990 741 2,575 1,212 Depreciation 76 30 130 56 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Total corporate costs 7,593 8,296 16,425 15,775 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Income (loss) from operations 55 1,136 (9,639) 5,019 Other (income) expense: Change in fair value of warrant and stock option derivative liabilities (1,657) (1,670) (1,699) 1,704 Interest expense 687 294 1,371 784 Other income, net (1,159) (1,321) (2,813) (1,469) ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Total other (income) expense (2,129) (2,697) (3,141) 1,019 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Income (loss) before income taxes and noncontrolling interests 2,184 3,833 (6,498) 4,000 Income tax (benefit) expense (331) 454 (2,249) 606 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Net income (loss) 2,515 3,379 (4,249) 3,394 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Net (loss) income attributable to noncontrolling interests (2,291) 3,745 (4,090) 8,242 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Net income (loss) attributable to Nobilis Health Corp. $ 4,806 $ (366) $ (159) $ (4,848) =========== =========== =========== =========== Net income (loss) per basic common share $ 0.06 $ (0.01) $ (0.00) $ (0.08) =========== =========== =========== =========== Net income (loss) per fully diluted common share $ 0.06 $ (0.01) $ (0.00) $ (0.08) =========== =========== =========== =========== Weighted average shares outstanding (basic) 76,754,950 63,531,390 75,780,695 61,872,658 =========== =========== =========== =========== Weighted average shares outstanding (fully diluted) 77,616,886 63,531,390 75,780,695 61,872,658 =========== =========== =========== =========== NOBILIS HEALTH CORP. RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (In thousands) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30, June 30, ------------------ ------------------ 2016 2015 2016 2015 -------- -------- -------- -------- Net income (loss) attributable to Nobilis Health Corp. $ 4,806 $ (366) $ (159) $ (4,848) Interest 687 294 1,371 784 Income taxes (331) 454 (2,249) 606 Depreciation and amortization 2,057 985 4,640 1,648 -------- -------- -------- -------- EBITDA $ 7,219 $ 1,367 $ 3,603 $ (1,810) Non-cash compensation expenses $ 1,668 $ 6,717 $ 3,504 $ 10,126 Change in fair value of warrant and stock option derivative liabilities (1,657) (1,670) (1,699) 1,704 Acquisition expenses 818 519 1,183 1,338 Non-recurring expenses 462 - 2,271 - -------- -------- -------- -------- Adjusted EBITDA(1) $ 8,510 $ 6,933 $ 8,862 $ 11,358 ======== ======== ======== ========
(1)Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash compensation expenses, change in fair value of warrant and stock option derivative liabilities, acquisition expenses and non-recurring expenses. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered a measure of financial performance required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP"). Items excluded from Adjusted EBITDA are significant components in understanding and assessing financial performance. Adjusted EBITDA is an analytical indicator used by management and the health care industry to evaluate company performance, allocate resources and measure leverage and debt service capacity. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net income, cash flows generated by operations, investing or financing activities, or other financial statement data presented in the consolidated financial statements as indicators of financial performance or liquidity. Because Adjusted EBITDA is not a measurement determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP and is thus susceptible to varying calculations, Adjusted EBITDA as presented may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. Net income attributable to Nobilis Health Corp. common shareholders is the financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP that is most comparable to Adjusted EBITDA as defined.
Contact Information:
Kolin Ozonian
Vice President, Corporate Development
kozonian@nobilishealth.com
713-355-8614
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - August 02, 2016) - Samsung debuted the latest iteration of its Galaxy-brand smartphone today, the Galaxy Note7. The reveal confirms significant upgrades to the camera setup, S Pen, processing chipset, storage features, and overall design.
As with this year's Galaxy S7 edge, the Note 7 will feature a dual-curved QHD Super AMOLED display, though with the series signature screen size: 5.7". The phablet will also utilize Samsung's new Always-On Display, which continuously displays time, date, and notification data even when the device is asleep. In addition to these features, the Note 7 will support HDR video playback, making it one of the first smartphones ever to do so.
Samsung Galaxy Note7 64GB Smartphone
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1269582-REG/samsung_n930_blue_galaxy_note_7_64gb.html
Samsung has enhanced the Note 7's camera array, as well. It now features a 12MP rear shooter, with dual-pixel technology that Samsung promises will allow you to shoot more detailed photos, even in low-light conditions. A 5MP selfie camera is also on board.
Two features that were brought back in this year's Galaxy S variants also make their triumphant return in the Note 7: IP68-rated waterproof and dustproof protection, and a microSD card slot that allows users to add up to 256GB of memory to their base storage of 64GB. Battery life has also been greatly improved for the Note 7. Now sporting a muscular 3500mAh battery, the Note 7 should have enough power to sustain its impressive performance for countless hours.
In addition to this impressive list of features, Samsung also announced that the Note 7 would incorporate its new iris scanning technology. The built-in iris scanner promises to add an extra layer of security to the Note 7 by converting users' iris scan into a digital signal only they can use.
Samsung also overhauled the Note 7's S Pen. The tip thickness was cut in half -- down to 0.7mm -- and like the Galaxy Note 7 itself, the S Pen is now both water- and dust-resistant. Responsiveness has been refined, and a new suite of functionality was created specifically for the S Pen, including text translation and GIF creation.
All these features -- combined with a new chipset, the latest version of Android OS, and a suite of compatible accessories -- mean that the new Note 7 could very well be Samsung's strongest phablet showing yet.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Smartphone
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1269582-REG/samsung_n930_blue_galaxy_note_7_64gb.html
GSM / 4G LTE Capable
International Variant/US Compatible LTE
f/1.7 12MP Rear + 5MP Front Cameras
Exynos 8893 Octa-Core Chipset
64GB Storage Capacity and 4GB of RAM
microSDXC Expansion up to 256GB
5.7" Super AMOLED Display
Quad HD 2560 x 1440 Native Resolution
IP68 Water-Resistant Construction
Android Marshmallow 6.0
B&H Photo is an authorized Samsung dealer, with the most up-to-date Samsung product information, product pricing and promotional offers.
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About B&H Photo Video
As the world's largest source of photography, video, audio, and the latest trending technologies, including drones, virtual reality, and 3D Printers, B&H Photo Video is known worldwide for its attentive, knowledgeable sales force, excellent customer service, and fast, reliable shipping. Visitors to the website can access a variety of enlightening articles and educational videos. B&H has been satisfying customers worldwide for over 40 years.
Latest Trending Technologies
Virtual Reality: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/browse/360-spherical-virtual-reality-production/ci/29185/N/3705627361
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Gaming Gear: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/xbox-360/ci/26268/N/3838122491
Customers making purchases on the B&H website can now make a split payment with multiple credit cards, a useful feature for those with limited credit on their individual cards. Previously, this method of payment was only available to customers when purchasing by phone or in store.
Many items can now be ordered online and picked up at our NYC Superstore. Add any qualifying items to your shopping cart and select STORE PICKUP. You will then have an opportunity to indicate who will be making the pickup, if it is someone other than yourself. You'll receive an email (up to 45 minutes) after completing your order, indicating that your order is ready for pickup at the B&H SuperStore.
The B&H YouTube Channel has an unmatched wealth of educational photographic content. Our entertaining and informative videos feature product overviews from our in-house specialists, as well as photography industry experts. You can even view the B&H Event Space presentations from many of the world's foremost photographers and interviews with some of photography's most dynamic characters. Tap into this exciting resource by subscribing to the B&H YouTube Channel here. In addition to these videos, the B&H Explora blog presents new product announcements, gear reviews, helpful guides, and tech news written by product experts and industry professionals.
When you're in Manhattan, take a tour of the B&H Photo SuperStore, located at 420 Ninth Avenue. The expo continues all year round in the camera kiosks at B&H. Featuring the newest cameras, the kiosks are manned by manufacturer representatives, who are there to guide you and demonstrate the latest photographic technology. With hundreds of products on display, the B&H Photo electronics store is the place to test-drive and compare all the latest technology gear.
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Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/8/2/11G109063/Images/Samsung_Galaxy_Note_7_IRIS-c9df38d1ba44933e8ac916abd1eebaf7.jpg
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Michael Smith
B&H Photo Video
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PHOENIX, AZ -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Crexendo, Inc. (OTCQX: CXDO), a hosted services company that provides hosted telecommunications services, broadband internet services and website hosting services for businesses, today reported financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2016.
Financial highlights for the 2016 second quarter
Consolidated revenue for the second quarter of 2016 increased 20% to $2.3 million compared to $1.9 million for the second quarter of 2015.
Hosted Telecommunications Services Segment revenue for the second quarter of 2016 increased 35% to $1.9 million compared to $1.4 million for the second quarter of 2015.
Web Services Segment revenue for the second quarter of 2016 decreased 26% to $347,000, compared to $469,000 for the second quarter of 2015.
Consolidated operating expenses for the second quarter of 2016 increased 2% to $3.0 million compared to $3.0 million for the second quarter of 2015.
On a GAAP basis, the Company reported a $(778,000) net loss for the second quarter of 2016, or $(0.06) loss per diluted common share, compared to net loss of $(1.1) million or $(0.08) loss per diluted common share for the second quarter of 2015.
Non-GAAP net loss was $(507,000) for the second quarter of 2016, or $(0.04) loss per diluted common share, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $(734,000) or $(0.06) loss per diluted common share for the second quarter of 2015.
EBITDA for the second quarter of 2016 was $(740,000) compared to $(1.0) million for the second quarter of 2015. Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2016 was $(525,000) compared to $(744,000) for the second quarter of 2015.
Financial highlights for the six months ended June 30, 2016
Consolidated revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2016 increased 19% to $4.4 million compared to $3.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015.
Hosted Telecommunications Services Segment revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2016 increased 35% to $3.7 million compared to $2.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015.
Web Services Segment revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2016 decreased 25% to $743,000, compared to $997,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2015.
Consolidated operating expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2016 decreased 2% to $6.1 million compared to $6.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015.
On a GAAP basis, the Company reported a $(1.6) million net loss for the six months ended June 30, 2016, or $(0.12) loss per diluted common share, compared to net loss of $(2.2) million or $(0.18) loss per diluted common share for the six months ended June 30, 2015.
Non-GAAP net loss was $(1.1) million for the six months ended June 30, 2016, or $(0.08) loss per diluted common share, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $(1.4) million or $(0.11) loss per diluted common share for the six months ended June 30, 2015.
EBITDA for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $(1.6) million compared to $(2.3) million for the six months ended June 30, 2015. Adjusted EBITDA for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $(1.1) million compared to $(1.6) million for the six months ended June 30, 2015.
Total cash and cash equivalents, excluding restricted cash, at June 30, 2016 was $923,000 compared to $1.9 million at June 30, 2015.
Cash used for operating activities for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $(710,000) compared to $(1.7) million for the six months ended June 30, 2015. Cash provided by investing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $11,000 compared to cash used for investing activities of $(20,000) for the six months ended June 30, 2015. Cash provided by financing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $125,000 compared to $629,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2015.
Steven G. Mihaylo, Chief Executive Officer commented, "I am pleased with our ongoing progress. We increased our revenue Q2 2016 over Q2 2015 and our backlog continues to grow. We have kept a lid on expenses, even with the substantial year over year increase in revenue, and we have not increased our costs year over year. Our ability to control our costs, while increasing our backlog is a strong indication of our ability to grow this business. We will continue to work to increase our Dealer Partner Channel and our Direct Sales Channel. We continue to provide service, technology and phones that provide exceptional value. We are the right solution to support customers who are moving their expensive legacy phone services to the cloud."
Mihaylo added, "We continue to excel at providing solutions for enterprise customers. As I have discussed before our integrated sales process with engineering is particularly suited to providing enterprise solutions. Enterprise customers with multi-location instillations however do have a longer lag time from sale to recognizing revenue. We continue to work on improving and growing the business."
Conference Call
The Company is hosting a conference call today, August 2, 2016 at 5:30 PM EST. The telephone dial-in number is 888-430-8709 for domestic participants and 719-325-2393 for international participants. The conference ID to join the call is 2637145. Please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the beginning of the call at 5:30 PM EST.
About Crexendo
Crexendo, Inc. (OTCQX: CXDO) is a hosted services company that provides hosted telecommunications services, broadband internet services and website hosting services for businesses. Our services are designed to make enterprise-class hosting services available to any size businesses at affordable monthly rates.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for such forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "will" and other similar statements of expectation identify forward-looking statements. Specific forward-looking statements in this press release include information about Crexendo (i) being pleased with ongoing progress; (ii) keeping a lid on expenses even with the substantial year over year increase in revenue; (iii) ability to control costs and increasing backlog is a strong indication of the ability to grow business; (iv) continue working to increase Dealer Partner Channel and Direct Sales Channel; (v) providing service, technology and phones that provide exceptional value; (vi) being the right solution to support customers who are moving their expensive legacy phone services to the cloud; (vii) excelling at providing solutions for enterprise customers; (viii) integrated sales process with engineering being particularly suited to providing enterprise solutions; (ix) enterprise customers with multi-location instillations having a longer lag time from sale to recognizing revenue and (x) continuing to work on improving and growing the business.
For a more detailed discussion of risk factors that may affect Crexendo's operations and results, please refer to the company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 as well as Forms 10Q for 2016. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which such statements are made and the company undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
CREXENDO, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Consolidated Balance Sheets (In thousands, except par value and share data) June 30, 2016 December 31, 2015 ------------- --------------------- Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 923 $ 1,497 Restricted cash 100 112 Trade receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $13 as of June 30, 2016 and $35 as of December 31, 2015 422 364 Inventories 129 134 Equipment financing receivables 131 131 Prepaid expenses 1,065 1,046 Other current assets 8 15 ------------- --------------------- Total current assets 2,778 3,299 Certificate of deposit 252 251 Long-term trade receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $22 as of June 30, 2016 and $24 as of December 31, 2015 53 81 Long-term equipment financing receivables 242 319 Property and equipment, net 24 33 Deferred income tax assets, net 482 482 Intangible assets, net 401 466 Goodwill 272 272 Long-term prepaids 238 288 Other long-term assets 142 169 ------------- --------------------- Total Assets $ 4,884 $ 5,660 ============= ===================== Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 263 $ 76 Accrued expenses 948 812 Notes payable, current portion 136 57 Contingent consideration - 99 Deferred income tax liability 482 482 Deferred revenue, current portion 819 775 ------------- --------------------- Total current liabilities 2,648 2,301 Deferred revenue, net of current portion 53 81 Notes payable, net of current portion 980 965 Other long-term liabilities 62 109 ------------- --------------------- Total liabilities 3,743 3,456 ------------- --------------------- Stockholders' equity: Preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share - authorized 5,000,000 shares; none issued - - Common stock, par value $0.001 per share - authorized 25,000,000 shares, 13,405,246 shares issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2016 and 13,227,489 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2015 13 13 Additional paid-in capital 58,197 57,614 Accumulated deficit (57,069) (55,423) ------------- --------------------- Total stockholders' equity 1,141 2,204 ------------- --------------------- Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity $ 4,884 $ 5,660 ------------- --------------------- CREXENDO, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Consolidated Statements of Operations (In thousands, except per share and share data) Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, --------------------------- -------------------------- 2016 2015 2016 2015 ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------ Revenue $ 2,267 $ 1,890 $ 4,441 $ 3,742 Operating expenses: Cost of revenue 917 855 1,830 1,716 Selling and marketing 636 580 1,246 1,183 General and administrative 1,274 1,375 2,565 2,935 Research and development 216 165 445 368 ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------ Total operating expenses 3,043 2,975 6,086 6,202 ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------ Loss from operations (776) (1,085) (1,645) (2,460) ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------ Other income (expense): Interest income 4 7 8 13 Interest expense (31) (3) (66) (13) Other income, net 29 29 64 248 ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------ Total other income, net 2 33 6 248 ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------ Loss before income tax (774) (1,052) (1,639) (2,212) Income tax provision (4) (8) (7) (18) ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------ Net loss $ (778) $ (1,060) $ (1,646) $ (2,230) ============ ============= ============ ============ Net loss per common share: Basic $ (0.06) $ (0.08) $ (0.12) $ (0.18) Diluted $ (0.06) $ (0.08) $ (0.12) $ (0.18) Weighted-average common shares outstanding: Basic 13,292,334 12,700,624 13,268,107 12,699,784 Diluted 13,292,334 12,700,624 13,268,107 12,699,784 CREXENDO, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (In thousands)
Six Months Ended June 30, ---------------------------- 2016 2015 ------------- ------------- CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES Net loss $ (1,646) $ (2,230) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used for operating activities: Amortization of prepaid rent 161 161 Depreciation and amortization 74 160 Amortization of prepaid interest expense 12 - Expense for stock options issued to employees 351 582 Amortization of deferred gain (47) (47) Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions: Trade receivables (30) 167 Equipment financing receivables 77 76 Inventories 5 (7) Prepaid expenses (40) (162) Other assets 34 (114) Accounts payable and accrued expenses 323 (258) Deferred revenue 16 (61) ------------- ------------- Net cash used for operating activities (710) (1,733) ------------- ------------- CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES Purchase of property and equipment - (24) Release of restricted cash 12 4 Purchase of long-term investment (1) - ------------- ------------- Net cash provided by/(used for) investing activities 11 (20) ------------- ------------- CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES Proceeds from notes payable 150 - Repayments made on notes payable (68) - Proceeds from exercise of warrants 102 690 Payment of contingent consideration (59) (61) ------------- ------------- Net cash provided by financing activities 125 629 ------------- ------------- NET DECREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS (574) (1,124) CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PERIOD 1,497 2,906 ------------- ------------- CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT THE END OF THE PERIOD $ 923 $ 1,782 ============= ============= Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: Cash used during the period for: Income taxes, net $ (2) $ (1) Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing information: Prepaid assets financed through notes payable $ 116 $ - Issuance of common stock for prepayment of interest on related-party note payable $ 90 $ - Issuance of common stock for contingent consideration related to business acquisition $ 40 $ 40 CREXENDO, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Supplemental Segment Financial Data (In thousands) Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2016 2015 2016 2015 ----------- ------------ ------------ ------------ Revenue: Hosted telecommunications services $ 1,920 $ 1,421 $ 3,698 $ 2,745 Web services 347 469 743 997 ----------- ------------ ------------ ------------ Consolidated revenue 2,267 1,890 4,441 3,742 ----------- ------------ ------------ ------------ Income/(loss) from operations: Hosted telecommunications services (872) (1,091) (1,835) (2,441) Web services 96 6 190 (19) ----------- ------------ ------------ ------------ Total operating loss (776) (1,085) (1,645) (2,460) ----------- ------------ ------------ ------------ Other income/(loss), net: Hosted telecommunications services (3) 18 (10) 39 Web services 5 15 16 209 ----------- ------------ ------------ ------------ Total other income, net 2 33 6 248 ----------- ------------ ------------ ------------ Income/(loss) before income tax provision Hosted telecommunications services (875) (1,073) (1,845) (2,402) Web services 101 21 206 190 ----------- ------------ ------------ ------------ Loss before income tax provision $ (774) $ (1,052) $ (1,639) $ (2,212) =========== ============ ============ ============
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To evaluate our business, we consider and use non-generally accepted accounting principles (Non-GAAP) net income (loss) and Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure of operating performance. These measures include the same adjustments that management takes into account when it reviews and assesses operating performance on a period-to-period basis. We consider Non-GAAP net income (loss) to be an important indicator of overall business performance because it allows us to evaluate results without the effects of share-based compensation, rent expense paid with common stock, interest expense paid with common stock, and amortization of intangibles. We define EBITDA as U.S. GAAP net income (loss) before interest income, interest expense, other income and expense, provision for income taxes, and depreciation and amortization. We believe EBITDA provides a useful metric to investors to compare us with other companies within our industry and across industries. We define Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA adjusted for share-based compensation, and rent expense paid with stock. We use Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure to review and assess operating performance. We also believe use of Adjusted EBITDA facilitates investors' use of operating performance comparisons from period to period, as well as across companies.
In our August 2, 2016 earnings press release, as furnished on Form 8-K, we included Non-GAAP net loss, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. The terms Non-GAAP net loss, EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA are not defined under U.S. GAAP, and are not measures of operating income, operating performance or liquidity presented in analytical tools, and when assessing our operating performance, Non-GAAP net loss, EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for net loss or other consolidated income statement data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Some of these limitations include, but are not limited to:
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect our cash expenditures or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments;
they do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;
they do not reflect the interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on our debt that we may incur;
they do not reflect income taxes or the cash requirements for any tax payments;
although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will be replaced sometime in the future, and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements;
while share-based compensation is a component of operating expense, the impact on our financial statements compared to other companies can vary significantly due to such factors as the assumed life of the options and the assumed volatility of our common stock; and
other companies may calculate EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA differently than we do, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.
We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our U.S. GAAP results and using Non-GAAP net income (loss), EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA only as supplemental support for management's analysis of business performance. Non-GAAP net income (loss), EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are calculated as follows for the periods presented.
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In accordance with the requirements of Regulation G issued by the SEC, we are presenting the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures and reconciling the unaudited Non-GAAP financial metrics to the comparable U.S. GAAP measures.
Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP Net Loss to Non-GAAP Net Loss (Unaudited) Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2016 2015 2016 2015 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ (In thousands) (In thousands) U.S. GAAP net loss $ (778) $ (1,060) $ (1,646) $ (2,230) Share-based compensation 158 211 351 582 Amortization of rent expense paid in stock, net of deferred gain 57 57 114 114 Amortization of intangible assets 33 58 66 123 Amortization of interest expense paid in stock 23 - 46 - ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Non-GAAP net loss $ (507) $ (734) $ (1,069) $ (1,411) ============ ============ ============ ============ Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP Net Loss to EBITDA to Adjusted EBITDA (Unaudited) Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2016 2015 2016 2015 ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------ (In thousands) (In thousands) U.S. GAAP net loss $ (778) $ (1,060) $ (1,646) $ (2,230) Depreciation and amortization 36 73 75 160 Interest expense 31 3 66 13 Interest and other income (33) (36) (72) (261) Income tax provision 4 8 7 18 ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------ EBITDA (740) (1,012) (1,570) (2,300) Share-based compensation 158 211 351 582 Amortization of rent expense paid in stock, net of deferred gain 57 57 114 114 ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------ Adjusted EBITDA $ (525) $ (744) $ (1,105) $ (1,604) ============ ============= ============ ============
Crexendo, Inc.
Steven G. Mihaylo
CEO
602-345-7777
Smihaylo@crexendo.com
TORONTO, ON -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Brookfield Office Properties Inc. (the "Company"), a subsidiary of Brookfield Property Partners L.P. ("BPY") (NYSE: BPY) (TSX: BPY.UN), announced today that BPY and other related entities of BPY have provided full and unconditional guarantees (the "Guarantees") for all of the Company's Class AAA Preference Shares (the "Preference Shares") and all of the debt securities of the Company issued pursuant to its indenture dated December 8, 2009 (the "Debt Securities").
At the time of entering into the Guarantees, the Company had C$2,363 million of Preference Shares outstanding and C$350 million principal amount of Debt Securities outstanding. As a result of the Guarantees, the Company has received an exemption from the requirements to file certain continuous disclosure documents with Canadian securities regulators, including financial statements, on the basis that holders of the Preference Shares and the Debt Securities will have access to certain continuous disclosure filings on BPY as the guarantor. Certain financial information of the Company will be included in the consolidated summary financial information in BPY's consolidated annual financial statements and interim reports going forward. This will simplify the Company's reporting requirements and reduce costs.
Each of the Guarantees will terminate (subject to any existing rights or claims at the time of such termination) upon, among other things, the date that no Preference Shares or Debt Securities, respectively, are outstanding. A copy of the Guarantees have been filed on SEDAR under the profile of the Company. Investors should refer to that filing for the complete terms of the Guarantees.
About Brookfield Office Properties Inc.
Brookfield Office Properties Inc. is a subsidiary of Brookfield Property Partners (NYSE: BPY) (TSX: BPY.UN), a global commercial property company that owns, operates and invests in best-in-class office, retail, multifamily, industrial, hotel and triple net lease assets. Brookfield Office Properties owns, develops and manages premier office properties in the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe. Its portfolio is comprised of interests in 121 properties totaling 88 million square feet in the downtown cores of New York, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, London, Berlin, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, making Brookfield the global leader in the ownership and management of office assets. Landmark properties include Brookfield Places in New York City, Toronto and Perth, Bank of America Plaza in Los Angeles, Bankers Hall in Calgary and Darling Park in Sydney.
About Brookfield Property Partners L.P.
Brookfield Property Partners L.P. is one of the world's largest commercial real estate companies, with over $65 billion in total assets. Brookfield Property Partners is a leading owner, operator and investor in commercial property assets, with a diversified portfolio that includes 148 premier office properties and 128 best-in-class retail malls around the world. Brookfield Property Partners also holds interests in multifamily, triple net lease, industrial, hospitality and self-storage assets. Brookfield Property Partners is listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges. Further information is available at www.brookfieldpropertypartners.com. Important information may be disseminated exclusively via the website; investors should consult the site to access this information.
Brookfield Property Partners is the flagship listed real estate company of Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $240 billion in assets under management.
Certain of Brookfield Property Partners' investor relations content is also available on its investor relations app. To download Brookfield Property Partners' investor relations app, which offers access to SEC filings, press releases, presentations and more, please visit https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/brookfield-property-partners/id1052584266?ls=1&mt=8 to download on your iPhone or iPad or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theirapp.brookfield for your Android mobile device.
Brookfield Contact:
Matt Cherry
Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications
(212) 417-7488
Email Contact
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Further to its news release of July 5, 2016, Parlane Resource Corp. (TSX VENTURE: PPP) ("Parlane" or the "Company") announced today that it has closed Tranche 1 of its non-brokered private placement with the issuance of 1,407,780 Units (the "Units") priced at $0.15 per Unit, for gross proceeds of $211,167.00.
Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company and one-half of one share purchase warrant with each whole Warrant (a "Warrant") entitling the holder thereof to acquire an additional common share of the Company for a period of two years at a price of $0.20 per share.
A cash payment of $900.00 was paid as a finder's fee for a portion of the financing attributable to such finder's efforts.
All securities issued are subject to a hold period of four months in accordance with the rules and policies of the Exchange and applicable Canadian securities laws.
Parlane also announces that it has entered into an agreement with Deveron UAS Corp. to acquire an undivided interest in 28 contiguous claims covering approximately 12,968.43 hectares located in the prolific Omineca Mining Division in British Columbia, more commonly known as the Nechako Property. The Nechako gold property is situated on the Nechako Plateau, approximately 110 kilometres southwest of Vanderhoof and 160 kilometres west of Quesnel, adjacent to New Gold Inc.'s Blackwater and Capoose properties.
The acquisition calls for an immediate cash payment of $50,000 and additional cash payments of $50,000 in the first and second anniversaries of the agreement.
The acquisition is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approvals.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Robert Eadie, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
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.
Contacts:
Parlane Resource Corp.
Robert Eadie
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
1-604-602-4935
1-604-602-4936 (FAX)
MONTREAL, CANADA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- S.I.F.I- Societa Industria Farmaceutica Italiana S.p.A. ("SIFI"), a prominent Italian Eye Care company, and Knight Therapeutics Inc. (TSX: GUD) ("Knight"), a leading Canadian specialty pharmaceutical company, announced today that they have entered into an agreement whereby Knight received the exclusive rights to commercialize NETILDEX in Canada. NETILDEX is a fixed combination of netilmicin and dexamethasone for the treatment of ocular inflammation of the anterior segment of the eye, in presence or at risk of bacterial infection. Under the terms of this agreement, Knight will also handle all ongoing regulatory and commercial activities for NETILDEX in Canada. Destum Partners acted as the advisor for SIFI on this agreement.
"We are pleased to partner with SIFI and add a unique product to our growing ophthalmology portfolio," said Jonathan Ross Goodman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Knight. "NETILDEX will offer patients and physicians a new antibiotic with a well-established corticosteroid in an innovative product line."
"We are pleased to be working with Knight, whom we believe is well positioned to help us bring NETILDEX to Canadian patients and physicians," said Mr. Fabrizio Chines, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SIFI. "The Knight team has a proven expertise in commercializing innovative pharmaceuticals in Canada and is assembling a nice portfolio of meaningful pharmaceuticals in ophthalmology."
About NETILDEX
NETILDEX is a fixed combination of netilmicin and dexamethasone indicated for the treatment of ocular inflammation of the anterior segment of the eye, in presence or at risk of bacterial infection. NETILDEX has been successfully launched in Italy, Romania, Turkey, Mexico and Lebanon. Filing for regulatory approval in additional countries is ongoing.
NETILDEX is the first fixed combination product line available in single and multi-dose solution or single-dose hydrogel formulation. NETILDEX has been tested in over 600 patients in multiple Phase III studies and has been shown to be safe and effective in each clinical study.
About SIFI S.p.A.
SIFI is the leading Italian ophthalmic company, focused on eye care since 1935. SIFI designs, manufactures and markets innovative pharmaceutical specialty products, surgical and medical devices. Headquartered in Catania, Sicily, SIFI operates directly in Italy, Romania and Mexico with a staff of more than 350 people worldwide. Since June 2015, SIFI is backed by 21 Investimenti, a private equity firm founded by Alessandro Benetton, which supports the company's international expansion and portfolio development strategy.
About Knight Therapeutics Inc.
Knight Therapeutics Inc., headquartered in Montreal, Canada, is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring or in-licensing innovative pharmaceutical products for the Canadian and select international markets. Knight Therapeutics Inc.'s shares trade on TSX under the symbol GUD. For more information about Knight Therapeutics Inc., please visit the company's web site at www.gud-knight.com or www.sedar.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
This document contains forward-looking statements for Knight Therapeutics Inc. and its subsidiaries. These forward looking statements, by their nature, necessarily involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Knight Therapeutics Inc. considers the assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based to be reasonable at the time they were prepared, but cautions the reader that these assumptions regarding future events, many of which are beyond the control of Knight Therapeutics Inc. and its subsidiaries, may ultimately prove to be incorrect. Factors and risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations are discussed in Knight Therapeutics Inc.'s Annual Report and in Knight Therapeutics Inc.'s Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2015. Knight Therapeutics Inc. disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information or future events, except as required by law.
Contacts:
Knight Therapeutics Inc.
Jeffrey Kadanoff, P.Eng., MBA
Chief Financial Officer
514-484-GUD1 (4831)
514-481-4116 (FAX)
info@gud-knight.com
www.gud-knight.com
SIFI S.p.A Press & Communication Office
CITYnet - Rome
press@sifigroup.com
+39 3336999669
+39 0696708632 (FAX)
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Smart Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: SRU.UN) and Mitchell Goldhar today announced plans for a new Class-A office tower in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre ("VMC") with professional services firm PwC Canada as the lead tenant. VMC is the new downtown of Vaughan at Highway 400 and Highway 7, a planning area envisioning 40 million square feet of density around new mass transit, including a subway station connected directly to downtown Toronto. The PwC tower will be adjacent to the 360,000 square foot KPMG office tower opening this October. The 220,000 square foot mixed use office tower will be located in the heart of the VMC with access to the new VMC subway station. A new VIVA rapidway and York Regional Transit main bus station will also be located next to the new subway station as critical pieces of transportation infrastructure in this budding downtown. The building will also be home to a new 100,000 square foot flagship YMCA with child care, fitness and aquatic facilities plus a 20,000 square foot City of Vaughan library and studio space, to complement the growing workforce and residents.
"We are honoured to welcome PwC Canada to the largest urban mixed-use development in Canada," said Huw Thomas, CEO of SmartREIT. "Having office locations that are downtown, easily accessible and contribute to an overall better quality of life are very important to both employers and employees."
SmartREIT owns 53 acres of developable land around the new subway station in a 50/50 joint venture with Mr. Goldhar, and together plan to develop approximately 8.0 million to 10.0 million square feet of commercial, residential and retail space. The joint venture is developing its lands as part of a 100-acre master planned development, with the remainder of the land owned by Mr. Goldhar in partnership with others. This 100-acre master plan around the new subway station is expected to comprise approximately 17 million square feet of mixed use space and a 9 acre park. The VMC subway stop, the most northerly in the GTA, is expected to open in late 2017. It is anticipated that the subway will be the transportation mode of choice by the significant population in the north, north-east and west end of the GTA including those currently commuting to downtown Toronto by car.
"We are building a city downtown from scratch and are determined to do an exceptional job. PwC, YMCA and the City's library and community space will certainly contribute to this. The elements of a great city are all here - high speed modern transit with a large surrounding population base, easy access to highways, meticulous urban design and disproportionately large, beautiful open spaces connecting everything together," said Mitchell Goldhar, Chairman of SmartREIT. "There is a lot more in the works. This is our largest and most dynamic single project with many years of growth to come."
"The City of Vaughan is pleased to work with the SmartCentres group to ensure a strong social fabric with the amenities to support the families who will live here," said Maurizio Bevilacqua, Mayor, City of Vaughan. "I am extremely proud to welcome PwC to Vaughan's new downtown, VMC. As a growing city we have a healthy job market, strong population growth and low tax rates which allow us to attract investment and companies like PwC."
About SmartREIT
SmartREIT is one of Canada's largest real estate investment trusts with total assets of approximately $8.6 billion. It owns and manages in excess of 31 million square feet in value-oriented, principally Walmart-anchored retail centres, having the strongest national and regional retailers as well as strong neighbourhood merchants. In addition, SmartREIT is a joint-venture partner in the Toronto and Montreal Premium Outlets with Simon Property Group. SmartREIT's core vision is to provide a value-oriented shopping experience in all forms to Canadian consumers and to create high quality mixed use developments in urban settings.
With SmartREIT's 2015 acquisition of SmartCentres, SmartREIT has transformed into a fully integrated real estate provider. SmartREIT and SmartCentres have had a long and successful alliance, helping to provide Canadians with value-focused retail shopping centres across the country. The result is a fully integrated real estate provider with expertise in planning, development, leasing, operations, and construction - all under one roof. Our name is a reflection of our combined capabilities: SmartREIT. For more information on SmartREIT, visit www.smartreit.com.
About Mitchell Goldhar
Mitchell Goldhar is Chairman of the Board of SmartREIT and its largest unitholder. Mr. Goldhar, founder of SmartCentres has developed 56 million square feet in 265 shopping centres in all provinces across Canada, many anchored by a Walmart store. In 2015, Mr. Goldhar vended SmartCentres into SmartREIT, including 200 employees that formed the development platform, enabling the REIT to become fully integrated from site identification through development, construction, project management, site intensification, leasing and operations.
In addition, PII, Mr. Goldhar's private company is at various stages of development of 78 properties across Canada, including his interest in the VMC 100-acre master planned development and as a partner with Walmart in 14 properties.
Contacts:
Huw Thomas
Chief Executive Officer
Smart Real Estate Investment Trust
(905) 326-6400 ext. 7649
hthomas@smartreit.com
Peter Sweeney
Chief Financial Officer
Smart Real Estate Investment Trust
(905) 326-6400 ext. 7865
psweeney@smartreit.com
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Aqua America Inc. (WTR) reported a profit for its second quarter that rose from last year. The company said its bottom line climbed to $59.63 million, or $0.33 per share. This was up from $57.38 million, or $0.32 per share, in last year's second quarter. Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.33 per share, according figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. The company said revenue for the quarter fell 0.9% to $203.88 million. This was down from $205.76 million last year. Aqua America Inc. earnings at a glance: -Earnings (Q2): $59.63 Mln. vs. $57.38 Mln. last year. -Earnings Growth (Y-o-Y): 3.9% -EPS (Q2): $0.33 vs. $0.32 last year. -EPS Growth (Y-o-Y): 3.1% -Analysts Estimate: $0.33 -Revenue (Q2): $203.88 Mln vs. $205.76 Mln last year. -Revenue Change (Y-o-Y): -0.9% -Guidance : Full year EPS guidance: $1.30 - $1.35 Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
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CALGARY, AB--(Marketwired - August 02, 2016) - Husky Energy's (TSX: HSE) China subsidiary has signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with CNOOC Limited and relevant companies for the price adjustment of natural gas from the Liwan 3-1 and Liuhua 34-2 fields that would see the price set at $12.50-15.00 Cdn per thousand cubic feet (mcf) at current exchange rates.
"Long term fundamentals remain strong for natural gas demand in China. The price adjustment will allow Husky and CNOOC to maintain their market share in a competitive gas market," said CEO Asim Ghosh. "We reached this agreement in the spirit of the longstanding relationship between Husky and CNOOC that brought to life the first deepwater development offshore China."
Gross take-or-pay volumes from the fields remain unchanged in the range of 300-330 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/day). Liquids production, net to Husky, is also expected to remain in the range of 5,000-6,000 barrels per day. The price adjustment under the HOA is effective as of November 20, 2015 and the settlement of outstanding payments is calculated from that date.
"Husky and CNOOC plan to further deepen their cooperation and have undertaken to jointly create more value with the advancement of the Liuhua 29-1 gas field," said Ghosh.
Plans will get underway to finalize the commercial and development approach to tie the Liuhua 29-1 field into the Liwan infrastructure. Liuhua 29-1 gross gas sales volumes are expected to add approximately 80 mmcf/day.
Husky holds a 49 percent interest in the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for the Liwan Gas Project and operates the deepwater infrastructure. CNOOC Limited holds a 51 percent interest in the PSC and operates the shallow water facilities and the onshore gas terminal.
Husky and CNOOC continue to advance a rich portfolio of opportunities in the Asia Pacific Region, including several shallow water natural gas and liquids developments offshore Indonesia.
Husky Energy is one of Canada's largest integrated energy companies. It is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and its common shares are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol HSE. More information is available at www.huskyenergy.com
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements and information (collectively "forward-looking statements"), within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation, Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are forward-looking and not historical facts.
Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result", "are expected to", "will continue", "is anticipated", "is targeting", "estimated", "intend", "plan", "projection", "remain", "could", "aim", "vision", "goals", "objective", "target", "schedules" and "outlook"). In particular, forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, references to: long term fundamentals remaining strong for natural gas demand in China; take-or-pay volumes and liquids production from the Liwan fields; and anticipated gross gas sales volumes for Liuhua 29-1.
There are numerous uncertainties inherent in projecting future sales volumes. The total amount of actual sales volumes may vary from initial estimates.
Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected by the forward-looking statements presented in this news release are reasonable, the Company's forward-looking statements have been based on assumptions and factors concerning future events that may prove to be inaccurate. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Company about itself and the businesses in which it operates. Information used in developing forward-looking statements has been acquired from various sources including third-party consultants, suppliers, regulators and other sources.
Because actual results or outcomes could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements, investors should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, which contribute to the possibility that the predicted outcomes will not occur. Some of these risks, uncertainties and other factors are similar to those faced by other oil and gas companies and some are unique to Husky.
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 and the EDGAR website www.sec.gov) describe risks, material assumptions and other factors that could influence actual results and are incorporated herein by reference.
Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and, except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all of such factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on the Company's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. The impact of any one factor on a particular forward-looking statement is not determinable with certainty as such factors are dependent upon other factors, and the Company's course of action would depend upon its assessment of the future considering all information then available.
For further information, please contact:
Investor Inquiries:
Rob Knowles
Manager, Investor Relations
Husky Energy Inc.
587-747-2116
Media Inquiries:
Mel Duvall
Manager, Media & Issues
Husky Energy Inc.
403-513-7602
HOUSTON, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- Era Group Inc. (NYSE: ERA) (the "Company") today reported net income attributable to the Company of $1.9 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, for its second quarter ended June 30, 2016 ("current quarter") on operating revenues of $63.4 million compared to net income attributable to the Company of $11.3 million, or $0.55 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 ("prior year quarter") on operating revenues of $70.7 million. During the current quarter, the Company and its partner in its Brazilian joint venture, Aeroleo Taxi Aero S/A ("Aeroleo"), each contributed notes payable to them by Aeroleo as a contribution of additional capital into Aeroleo. As a result of this transaction, the Company reduced total debt by the $6.3 million of notes that were contributed by its partner in Aeroleo and recorded a $6.3 million loss attributable to noncontrolling interest in a subsidiary, which increased net income attributable to the Company by the same amount. Excluding the impact of this transaction, net loss attributable to the Company would have been $4.4 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, in the current quarter.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") was $10.7 million in the current quarter compared to $33.2 million in the prior year quarter. EBITDA adjusted to exclude gains on asset dispositions and special items was $8.8 million in the current quarter compared to $20.5 million in the prior year quarter. Gains on asset dispositions were $1.4 million in the current quarter compared to a loss of $0.2 million in the prior year quarter. Special items consisted of a pre-tax gain on debt extinguishment of $0.5 million in the current quarter and a pre-tax gain of $12.9 million on the sale of the Company's fixed base operations ("FBO") business in Alaska in the prior year quarter.
"Industry conditions remain very challenging, and the second quarter represented our lowest level of Adjusted EBITDA in the last several years," said Chris Bradshaw, President and Chief Executive Officer of Era Group Inc. "Despite the difficult market environment, Era generated $14 million of cash flow from operating activities in the quarter, and with our strong balance sheet and ample liquidity position, we remain well positioned to withstand the pressures of a prolonged industry downturn."
Second Quarter Results
Operating revenues in the current quarter were $7.4 million lower than the prior year quarter primarily due to lower utilization and lower average rates in our U.S. oil and gas operations, the end of certain dry-leasing contracts and the sale of our FBO in Alaska in May 2015. These decreases were partially offset by the consolidation of Aeroleo and the start of a new contract in Suriname.
Operating expenses were $7.6 million higher in the current quarter primarily due to the consolidation of Aeroleo and increased repairs and maintenance expenses, partially offset by decreased personnel expenses and non-income taxes in the U.S.
Administrative and general expenses were $2.6 million lower in the current quarter primarily due to reduced headcount and compensation expense in the U.S., the collection of a previously reserved receivable and reduced professional services expenses, partially offset by the consolidation of Aeroleo.
Depreciation and amortization expense was $1.3 million higher in the current quarter due to the addition of new helicopters, a base expansion project and investments in additional information technology infrastructure.
Gains on asset dispositions were $1.6 million higher in the current quarter. We sold or otherwise disposed of two helicopters and related equipment in the current quarter for proceeds of $1.9 million resulting in gains of $1.4 million. In the prior year quarter, we sold five helicopters and related equipment for proceeds of $3.0 million resulting in book losses of $0.2 million.
Interest expense was $1.2 million higher in the current quarter primarily due to the cessation of capitalized interest on helicopter deposits, partially offset by savings resulting from the cumulative repurchases of a portion of our 7.750% senior unsecured notes (the "7.750% Senior Notes").
Gain on debt extinguishment was $0.5 million in the current quarter due to the repurchase of a portion of our 7.750% Senior Notes.
Equity earnings were $0.6 million in the current quarter compared to a loss of $0.2 million in the prior year quarter primarily due to improved earnings from our Dart Holding Company Ltd. ("Dart") joint venture.
Sequential Quarter Results
Operating revenues in the current quarter were $0.8 million higher compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2016 ("preceding quarter") primarily due to the start of seasonal activities in Alaska, a new contract in Suriname and increased revenues in Brazil and Colombia, partially offset by decreased revenues in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and the bankruptcy of a dry-leasing customer.
Operating expenses were $3.1 million higher in the current quarter primarily due to the start of seasonal activities in Alaska, increased fuel expenses in Brazil and reduced vendor credits. In addition, nonrecurring expenses in the current quarter included $0.4 million of severance costs related to headcount reductions in Brazil and the U.S. and $0.5 million of workers' compensation expense related to an accident in Alaska.
Administrative and general expenses were $1.1 million lower in the current quarter primarily due to the collection of a previously reserved receivable and lower personnel costs.
EBITDA was $1.6 million lower compared to the preceding quarter. EBITDA adjusted to exclude gains on asset dispositions and special items was $0.5 million lower. Gains on asset dispositions were $1.5 million lower compared to the preceding quarter. Special items in the current quarter consisted of the gain on debt extinguishment noted above, and there were no special items in the preceding quarter.
Equity earnings were $0.6 million higher in the current quarter primarily due to improved earnings at our Dart joint venture.
Six Months Results
The Company reported a net loss of $1.9 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2016 ("current six months") on operating revenues of $125.9 million compared to net income of $11.3 million, or $0.55 per diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2015 ("prior year period") on operating revenues of $138.2 million.
EBITDA was $22.9 million in the current six months compared to $47.8 million in the prior year period. EBITDA adjusted to exclude gains on asset dispositions and special items was $18.1 million in the current six months compared to $31.5 million in the prior year period. Gains on asset dispositions were $4.3 million in the current six months compared to $3.1 million in the prior year period. Special items in the current six months consisted of a gain on debt extinguishment of $0.5 million. Special items in the prior year period consisted of a gain on the sale of the FBO of $12.9 million and gains on debt extinguishment of $0.3 million.
Operating revenues in the current six months were $12.2 million lower than the prior year period primarily due to lower utilization and lower average rates in our U.S. oil and gas operations, the end of certain dry-leasing contracts and the sale of the FBO, partially offset by the consolidation of Aeroleo and the start of a new contract in Suriname.
Operating expenses were $8.3 million higher in the current six months primarily due to the consolidation of Aeroleo and increased repairs and maintenance expenses, partially offset by reductions in operating expenses in the U.S. due to reduced activity, lower headcount and other cost control measures.
Administrative and general expenses were $3.2 million lower in the current six months primarily due to reduced headcount and compensation expenses in the U.S., the collection of a previously reserved receivable and the end of the Amended and Restated Transition Services Agreement with SEACOR Holdings Inc., partially offset by the consolidation of Aeroleo.
Depreciation and amortization expense was $2.5 million higher in the current six months due to the addition of new helicopters, a base expansion project and investments in additional information technology infrastructure.
Interest expense was $2.5 million higher in the current six months due to the cessation of capitalized interest on helicopter deposits, partially offset by savings resulting from the cumulative repurchases of a portion of our 7.750% Senior Notes.
Foreign exchange gains were $0.6 million in the current six months primarily due to the strengthening of the Brazilian real resulting in gains on our real-denominated balances. Foreign exchange losses were $2.4 million in the prior year period primarily due to the settlement of forward currency contracts and the weakening of the euro resulting in losses on our euro-denominated balances.
Equity earnings were $0.6 million in the current six months compared to a loss of $0.3 million in the prior year period primarily due to improved earnings from our Dart joint venture.
Fleet Update
We continue to experience excess capacity in our medium and heavy helicopters. Excess helicopters include our helicopters other than those under customer contracts, undergoing maintenance, dedicated for charter activity or models subject to operational suspension. We are focused on maximizing the utilization of our fleet and reducing the excess capacity in our medium and heavy helicopters through fleet management initiatives, participation in competitive bids and the pursuit of other opportunities. In addition, we may sell certain helicopters on an opportunistic basis consistent with our long-standing strategy.
Due to an accident in April 2016 involving an Airbus Helicopters EC225LP (also known as a H225) model helicopter operated by another helicopter company, the civilian fleet of H225 and AS332 L2 model helicopters remains on operational suspension. We own nine H225 helicopters, including five that are currently located in the U.S., three that are currently located in Brazil and one that is currently located in Norway. As of June 30, 2016, the net book value of our H225 helicopters and related inventory of parts and equipment was $164.5 million. During this suspension of H225 operations, we expect to utilize other heavy and medium helicopters to service our operations. Although we do not expect the near-term impact of the suspension to be material to our financial condition or results of operations, it is too early to estimate the full extent or duration of the H225 suspension, the market receptivity of the H225 helicopter for future oil and gas operations and the potential impact on residual values of these helicopters.
Capital Commitments
We had unfunded capital commitments of $152.7 million as of June 30, 2016, of which $39.4 million is payable during the remainder of 2016 with the balance payable through 2018. We may terminate $125.8 million of our total commitments (inclusive of deposits paid on options not yet exercised) without further liability other than aggregate liquidated damages of $3.0 million. The noncancellable portion of our commitments payable during the remainder of 2016 is $13.4 million.
Included in these capital commitments are agreements to purchase seven AW189 heavy helicopters, two S92 heavy helicopters and five AW169 light twin helicopters. The AW189 and S92 helicopters are scheduled to be delivered beginning in 2016 through 2018. Delivery dates for the AW169 helicopters have yet to be determined. In addition, we had outstanding options to purchase up to an additional ten AW189 helicopters and one S92 helicopter. If these options are exercised, the helicopters would be scheduled for delivery beginning in 2017 through 2018.
Capital Allocation and Liquidity
As of June 30, 2016, we had $39.2 million of cash and, based on operating results through June 30, 2016, $170.4 million of remaining availability under our senior secured revolving credit facility (the "Facility") for total liquidity of $209.6 million. As of June 30, 2016, our funded debt-to-EBITDA and interest coverage ratios, as defined in the Facility, were 3.0x and 5.7x, respectively. A description of these metrics is included in the financial tables in this release.
Conference Call
Management will conduct a conference call starting at 10:00 a.m. ET (9:00 a.m. CT) on Wednesday, August 3, 2016, to review the results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016. The conference call can be accessed as follows:
All callers will need to reference the access code 5689452.
Within the U.S.: Operator Assisted Toll-Free Dial-In Number: (888) 397-5355
Outside the U.S.: Operator Assisted International Dial-In Number: (719) 325-2436
Replay
A telephone replay will be available through August 17, 2016 and may be accessed by calling (888) 203-1112 for domestic callers or (719) 457-0820 for international callers. An audio replay will also be available on the Company's website at www.eragroupinc.com shortly after the call and will be accessible through August 17, 2016.
For additional information concerning Era Group, contact Andrew Puhala at (713) 369-4646 or visit Era Group's website at www.eragroupinc.com.
About Era Group
Era Group is one of the largest helicopter operators in the world and the longest serving helicopter transport operator in the U.S. In addition to servicing its U.S. customers, Era Group provides helicopters and related services to customers and third-party helicopter operators in other countries, including Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, India, Spain, Suriname and the United Kingdom. Era Group's helicopters are primarily used to transport personnel to, from and between offshore oil and gas production platforms, drilling rigs and other installations.
Forward-Looking Statements Disclosure
Certain statements discussed in this release as well as in other reports, materials and oral statements that the Company releases from time to time to the public include "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 concerning management's expectations, strategic objectives, business prospects, anticipated performance and financial condition and other similar matters involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements discussed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other important factors include, among others, the Company's dependence on, and the cyclical and volatile nature of, offshore oil and gas exploration, development and production activity, and the impact of general economic conditions and fluctuations in worldwide prices of and demand for oil and natural gas on such activity levels; the Company's reliance on a small number of customers and the reduction of its customer base resulting from consolidation; cost-saving initiatives implemented by the Company's customers; risks inherent in operating helicopters; the Company's ability to maintain an acceptable safety record; the Company's ability to successfully expand into other geographic and helicopter service markets; the impact of increased U.S. and foreign government regulation and legislation, including potential government implemented moratoriums on drilling activities; risks of engaging in competitive processes or expending significant resources with no guaranty of recoupment; risks of a grounding of all or a portion of the Company's fleet for extended periods of time or indefinitely; risks that the Company's customers reduce or cancel contracted services or tender processes; the Company's reliance on a small number of helicopter manufacturers and suppliers; risks associated with political instability, governmental action, war, acts of terrorism and changes in the economic condition in any foreign country where the Company does business, which may result in expropriation, nationalization, confiscation or deprivation of the Company's assets or result in claims of a force majeure situation; the impact of declines in the global economy and financial markets; the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates on the Company's cost to purchase helicopters, spare parts and related services and on asset values; the Company's credit risk exposure; the Company's ongoing need to replace aging helicopters; the Company's reliance on the secondary helicopter market to dispose of older helicopters and related equipment; the Company's reliance on information technology; the impact of allocation of risk between the Company and its customers; the liability, legal fees and costs in connection with providing emergency response services; risks associated with the Company's debt structure; the impact of operational and financial difficulties of the Company's joint ventures and partners; conflict with the other owners of the Company's non-wholly owned subsidiaries and other equity investees; adverse results of legal proceedings; adverse weather conditions and seasonality; the Company's ability to obtain insurance coverage and the adequacy and availability of such coverage; the possibility of labor problems; the attraction and retention of qualified personnel; restrictions on the amount of foreign ownership of the Company's common stock; and various other matters and factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. In addition, these statements constitute Era Group's cautionary statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. It is not possible to predict or identify all such factors. Consequently, the foregoing should not be considered a complete discussion of all potential risks or uncertainties. The words "estimate," "project," "intend," "believe," "plan" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are made. Era Group disclaims any obligation or undertaking to provide any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in Era Group's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which the forward-looking statement is based. The forward-looking statements in this release should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the Company's businesses, particularly those mentioned under "Risk Factors" in Era Group's Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2015, in Era Group's subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in Era Group's current reporting on Form 8-K (if any), which are incorporated by reference.
ERA GROUP INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited, in thousands, except share and per share amounts) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30, June 30, ------------------------ ------------------------ 2016 2015 2016 2015 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Operating revenues $ 63,351 $ 70,738 $ 125,933 $ 138,153 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Costs and expenses: Operating 47,396 39,784 91,703 83,389 Administrative and general 8,140 10,779 17,367 20,522 Depreciation and amortization 12,691 11,398 25,457 23,000 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Total costs and expenses 68,227 61,961 134,527 126,911 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Gains (losses) on asset dispositions, net 1,367 (242) 4,280 3,146 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Operating income (loss) (3,509) 8,535 (4,314) 14,388 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Other income (expense): Interest income 403 317 704 568 Interest expense (4,130) (2,881) (8,878) (6,426) Derivative losses, net -- (10) -- (22) Foreign currency gains (losses), net 329 543 610 (2,417) Gain on debt extinguishment 518 -- 518 264 Gain on sale of FBO -- 12,946 -- 12,946 Other, net 46 (9) 29 (9) ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Total other income (expense) (2,834) 10,906 (7,017) 4,904 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Income (loss) before income taxes and equity earnings (6,343) 19,441 (11,331) 19,292 Income tax expense (benefit) (1,232) 8,138 (2,246) 8,083 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Income (loss) before equity earnings (5,111) 11,303 (9,085) 11,209 Equity earnings (losses), net of tax 601 (198) 625 (343) ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Net income (loss) (4,510) 11,105 (8,460) 10,866 Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest in subsidiary 6,448 228 6,580 425 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Net income (loss) attributable to Era Group Inc. $ 1,938 $ 11,333 $ (1,880) $ 11,291 =========== =========== =========== =========== Income (loss) per common share, basic $ 0.09 $ 0.55 $ (0.09) $ 0.55 Income (loss) per common share, diluted $ 0.09 $ 0.55 $ (0.09) $ 0.55 Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic 20,361,533 20,273,780 20,290,735 20,235,082 Weighted average common shares outstanding, diluted 20,364,382 20,332,657 20,290,735 20,295,498 EBITDA $ 10,676 $ 33,205 $ 22,925 $ 47,807 Adjusted EBITDA $ 10,158 $ 20,259 $ 22,407 $ 34,597 Adjusted EBITDA excluding gains $ 8,791 $ 20,501 $ 18,127 $ 31,451 ERA GROUP INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited, in thousands, except share and per share amounts) Three Months Ended ----------------------------------------------------------- Jun 30, Mar 31, Dec 31, Sep 30, Jun 30, 2016 2016 2015 2015 2015 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Operating revenues $ 63,351 $ 62,582 $ 73,943 $ 69,741 $ 70,738 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Costs and expenses: Operating 47,396 44,307 45,085 43,007 39,784 Administrative and general 8,140 9,227 11,052 11,238 10,779 Depreciation and amortization 12,691 12,766 12,151 12,186 11,398 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Total costs and expenses 68,227 66,300 68,288 66,431 61,961 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Gains (losses) on asset dispositions, net 1,367 2,913 994 1,813 (242) Goodwill impairment -- -- (1,866) -- -- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Operating income (loss) (3,509) (805) 4,783 5,123 8,535 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Other income (expense): Interest income 403 301 391 232 317 Interest expense (4,130) (4,748) (3,979) (3,121) (2,881) Derivative gains (losses), net -- -- (4) 8 (10) Foreign currency gains (losses), net 329 281 (319) 146 543 Gain (loss) on debt extinguishment 518 -- 1,369 (16) -- Gain on sale of FBO -- -- -- -- 12,946 Other, net 46 (17) 54 -- (9) ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Total other income (expense) (2,834) (4,183) (2,488) (2,751) 10,906 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Income (loss) before income taxes and equity earnings (6,343) (4,988) 2,295 2,372 19,441 Income tax expense (benefit) (1,232) (1,014) 4,691 1,343 8,138 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Income (loss) before equity earnings (5,111) (3,974) (2,396) 1,029 11,303 Equity earnings (losses), net of tax 601 24 (1,224) (376) (198) ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Net income (loss) (4,510) (3,950) (3,620) 653 11,105 Net loss attributable to non- controlling interest in subsidiary 6,448 132 173 208 228 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Net income (loss) attributable to Era Group Inc. $ 1,938 $ (3,818)$ (3,447)$ 861 $ 11,333 =========== =========== =========== =========== =========== Earnings (loss) per common share, basic $ 0.09 $ (0.19)$ (0.17)$ 0.04 $ 0.55 Earnings (loss) per common share, diluted $ 0.09 $ (0.19)$ (0.17)$ 0.04 $ 0.55 Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic 20,361,533 20,219,937 20,183,027 20,260,514 20,273,780 Weighted average common shares outstanding, diluted 20,364,382 20,219,937 20,183,027 20,287,069 20,332,657 EBITDA $ 10,676 $ 12,249 $ 16,810 $ 17,071 $ 33,205 Adjusted EBITDA $ 10,158 $ 12,249 $ 17,307 $ 17,087 $ 20,259 Adjusted EBITDA excluding gains $ 8,791 $ 9,336 $ 16,313 $ 15,274 $ 20,501 ERA GROUP INC. OPERATING REVENUES BY LINE OF SERVICE (unaudited, in thousands) Three Months Ended ------------------------------------------- Jun 30, Mar 31, Dec 31, Sep 30, Jun 30, 2016 2016 2015 2015 2015 -------- -------- -------- -------- ------- Oil and gas:(1) U.S. Gulf of Mexico $ 33,312 $ 36,812 $ 40,368 $ 42,132 $41,821 Alaska 1,273 932 3,309 5,429 6,009 International 16,848 14,054 18,865 60 47 -------- -------- -------- -------- ------- Total oil and gas 51,433 51,798 62,542 47,621 47,877 Dry-leasing 2,827 3,995 4,643 11,925 12,233 Search and rescue 4,590 4,891 4,955 4,418 4,989 Air medical services 2,007 1,898 1,803 1,854 1,914 Flightseeing 2,494 -- -- 3,923 3,118 Fixed base operations -- -- -- -- 614 Eliminations -- -- -- -- (7) -------- -------- -------- -------- ------- $ 63,351 $ 62,582 $ 73,943 $ 69,741 $70,738 ======== ======== ======== ======== ======= FLIGHT HOURS BY LINE OF SERVICE(2) (unaudited) Three Months Ended -------------------------------------------- Jun 30, Mar 31, Dec 31, Sep 30, Jun 30, 2016 2016 2015 2015 2015 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Oil and gas:(1) U.S. Gulf of Mexico 7,153 7,290 8,255 9,435 8,717 Alaska 78 77 380 797 732 International 2,535 2,332 3,055 22 14 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Total oil and gas 9,766 9,699 11,690 10,254 9,463 Search and rescue 199 201 275 265 260 Air medical services 832 618 748 949 826 Flightseeing 679 -- -- 1,502 1,118 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- 11,476 10,518 12,713 12,970 11,667 ======== ======== ======== ======== ======== (1) Primarily oil and gas services, but also includes revenues from activities such as firefighting and utility support. (2) Does not include hours flown by helicopters in our dry-leasing line of service. ERA GROUP INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited, in thousands) Jun 30, Mar 31, Dec 31, Sep 30, Jun 30, 2016 2016 2015 2015 2015 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 39,160 $ 30,803 $ 14,370 $ 13,808 $ 17,002 Receivables: Trade, net of allowance for doubtful accounts 36,830 36,980 48,639 39,498 39,866 Tax receivables 6,011 6,068 6,085 114 105 Other 3,641 3,707 3,305 2,399 2,005 Inventories, net 27,764 27,744 27,994 24,932 25,808 Prepaid expenses 2,563 3,274 1,963 3,055 3,847 Deferred income taxes -- -- -- 2,276 2,507 Other current assets 191 191 191 2,297 6,762 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total current assets 116,160 108,767 102,547 88,379 97,902 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Property and equipment 1,172,242 1,171,271 1,175,909 1,175,693 1,192,445 Accumulated depreciation (336,722) (325,363) (316,693) (311,070) (314,484) ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Net property and equipment 835,520 845,908 859,216 864,623 877,961 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Equity investments and advances 29,299 28,795 28,898 30,256 30,945 Goodwill -- -- -- 1,589 1,823 Intangible assets 1,148 1,153 1,158 1,411 1,410 Other assets 12,719 12,850 12,532 9,164 10,890 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total assets $ 994,846 $ 997,473 $1,004,351 $ 995,422 $1,020,931 ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== LIABILITIES, REDEEMABLE NONCONTROLLING INTEREST AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY Current liabilities: Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 15,473 $ 10,119 $ 12,000 $ 12,037 $ 12,026 Accrued wages and benefits 9,565 6,244 9,012 7,861 7,293 Accrued interest 612 3,491 562 3,992 813 Accrued income taxes -- -- -- 7,415 7,613 Derivative instruments -- -- -- 71 192 Accrued other taxes 2,515 1,905 2,520 1,259 968 Accrued contingencies 1,280 2,851 2,410 -- -- Current portion of long-term debt 1,569 2,291 3,278 25,335 26,130 Other current liabilities 2,184 1,775 2,300 3,476 2,588 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total current liabilities 33,198 28,676 32,082 61,446 57,623 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Long-term debt 252,940 263,590 263,698 239,515 264,014 Deferred income taxes 227,933 229,083 229,848 213,998 218,802 Deferred gains and other liabilities 4,418 2,855 2,616 1,956 1,994 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total liabilities 518,489 524,204 528,244 516,915 542,433 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Redeemable noncontrolling interest 4,573 4,672 4,804 4,783 5,195 Equity: Era Group Inc. stockholders' equity: Common stock 211 211 207 207 206 Additional paid-in capital 435,714 434,460 433,175 432,774 431,233 Retained earnings 38,622 36,684 40,502 43,949 43,088 Treasury shares, at cost (2,855) (2,850) (2,673) (2,632) (563) Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax 92 92 92 92 (44) ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total Era Group Inc. stockholders' equity 471,784 468,597 471,303 474,390 473,920 Non-controlling interest -- -- -- (666) (617) ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total equity 471,784 468,597 471,303 473,724 473,303 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total liabilities, redeemable noncontrolling interest and stockholders' equity $ 994,846 $ 997,473 $1,004,351 $ 995,422 $1,020,931 ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
Our management uses EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to assess the performance and operating results of our business. EBITDA is defined as Earnings before Interest (includes interest income and interest expense), Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA further adjusted for certain items noted in the reconciliation below that occur during the reported period. We include EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to provide investors with a supplemental measure of our operating performance. Neither EBITDA nor Adjusted EBITDA is a recognized term under generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. ("GAAP"). Accordingly, they should not be used as an indicator of, or an alternative to, net income as a measure of operating performance. In addition, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not intended to be measures of free cash flow available for management's discretionary use, as they do not consider certain cash requirements, such as debt service requirements. Because the definitions of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (or similar measures) may vary among companies and industries, they may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies.
The following table provides a reconciliation of Net Income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands).
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended -------------------------------------------- ----------------- Jun 30, Mar 31, Dec 31, Sep 30, Jun 30, Jun 30, Jun 30, 2016 2016 2015 2015 2015 2016 2015 ------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ------- -------- Net Income (loss) $(4,510) $(3,950) $(3,620) $ 653 $ 11,105 $(8,460) $ 10,866 Depreciat- ion and amortiza- tion 12,691 12,766 12,151 12,186 11,398 25,457 23,000 Interest income (403) (301) (391) (232) (317) (704) (568) Interest expense 4,130 4,748 3,979 3,121 2,881 8,878 6,426 Income tax expense (benefit) (1,232) (1,014) 4,691 1,343 8,138 (2,246) 8,083 ------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ------- -------- EBITDA $10,676 $12,249 $16,810 $17,071 $ 33,205 $22,925 $ 47,807 Special items (1) (518) -- 497 16 (12,946) (518) (13,210) ------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ------- -------- Adjusted EBITDA $10,158 $12,249 $17,307 $17,087 $ 20,259 $22,407 $ 34,597 Losses (gains) on asset dispositions, net (1,367) (2,913) (994) (1,813) 242 (4,280) (3,146) ------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ------- -------- Adjusted EBITDA excluding gains $ 8,791 $ 9,336 $16,313 $15,274 $ 20,501 $18,127 $ 31,451 ======= ======= ======= ======= ======== ======= ======== (1) Special items include the following: -- In the three months ended June 30, 2016, a gain of $0.5 million on the extinguishment of debt related to the repurchase of a portion of our 7.750% Senior Notes; -- In the three months ended December 31, 2015, a pre-tax gain of $1.4 million on the extinguishment of debt related to the repurchase of a portion of our 7.750% Senior Notes and a pre-tax charge of $1.9 million on the impairment of our goodwill; -- In the three months ended September 30, 2015, a pre-tax loss of less than $0.1 million on the extinguishment of debt related to the repurchase of a portion of our 7.750% Senior Notes; -- In the three months ended June 30, 2015, a pre-tax gain of $12.9 million on the sale of our FBO in Alaska; and -- In the six months ended June 30, 2015, a pre-tax gain of $12.9 million on the sale of the FBO and a gain of $0.3 million on the extinguishment of debt related to the repurchase of a portion of our 7.750% Senior Notes.
The Facility requires that the Company maintain certain financial ratios on a rolling 12-month basis. The interest coverage ratio is a trailing 12-month quotient of (i) EBITDA (as defined in the Facility) less dividends and distributions divided by (ii) interest expense. The interest coverage ratio is not a measure of operating performance or liquidity defined by GAAP and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. The funded debt to EBITDA ratio is calculated by dividing (i) the sum of total debt for borrowed money, capital lease obligations and guaranties of obligations of non-consolidated entities by (ii) EBITDA (as defined in the Facility). The funded debt to EBITDA ratio is not a measure of operating performance or liquidity defined by GAAP and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. EBITDA is calculated under the Facility differently than as presented elsewhere in this release.
ERA GROUP INC. FLEET COUNTS(1) (unaudited) Jun 30, Mar 31, Dec 31, Sep 30, Jun 30, 2016 2016 2015 2015 2015 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Heavy: H225 9 9 9 9 9 S92 2 2 2 -- -- AW189 2 2 2 -- -- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- 13 13 13 9 9 ======== ======== ======== ======== ======== Medium: AW139 38 38 38 39 39 S76 C+/C++ 6 6 6 6 6 S76 A++ -- -- 2 2 2 B212 7 8 8 8 8 B412 1 1 1 2 3 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- 52 53 55 57 58 ======== ======== ======== ======== ======== Light--twin engine: A109 7 7 7 7 7 EC135 17 17 17 17 19 EC145 5 5 5 5 5 BK117 3 3 3 3 3 BO105 3 3 3 3 3 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- 35 35 35 35 37 ======== ======== ======== ======== ======== Light--single engine: A119 14 14 14 16 17 AS350 28 29 29 31 31 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- 42 43 43 47 48 ======== ======== ======== ======== ======== Total Helicopters 142 144 146 148 152 ======== ======== ======== ======== ======== (1) Includes all owned, joint ventured, leased-in and managed helicopters and excludes helicopters fully paid for and delivered but not yet placed in service as of the applicable dates.
For additional information concerning Era Group, contact
Andrew Puhala
(713) 369-4646
or visit Era Group's website at www.eragroupinc.com
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/02/16 -- FP Newspapers Inc. (TSX: FP) invites members of the investment community and media to participate in the second quarter results conference call. Ron Stern, Chairman, Bob Cox, Publisher of the Winnipeg Free Press and Dan Koshowski, Chief Financial Officer will discuss the second quarter results. The review will be followed by a question and answer session. Please plan to connect five minutes prior to the scheduled start time.
FP Newspapers Inc. Second Quarter Call, Friday, August 12, 2016 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern (11:00 a.m. Central).
Conference call
Participants may join the call by dialing 416-340-8530 or dial toll free at 800-766-6630 five minutes prior to 12:00 p.m. ET. The call will be available at any time for replay until September 12, 2016. To hear the replay dial 905-694-9451 or dial toll free at 800-408-3053. The replay code is 1890293.
About FPI
FPI owns securities entitling it to 49% of the distributable cash of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership ("FPLP"). FPLP owns the Winnipeg Free Press, the Brandon Sun, and their related businesses, as well as the Canstar Community News division, the publisher of six community newspapers in the Winnipeg region, The Carillon in Steinbach with its related commercial printing operations and the Carberry News Express weekly publication. The Winnipeg Free Press publishes six days a week for delivery to subscribers and single copy sales, and publishes a single copy edition on Sundays. Vividata, a third party research firm, which measures newspaper readership across Canadian markets, estimates that weekly 75% of all Winnipeg adults read the print or digital edition of the Winnipeg Free Press. The Brandon Sun publishes six days a week, serving the region with an average circulation of approximately 11,050 copies. Canstar Community News publishes weekly with an average circulation of approximately 200,000 copies. The businesses employ approximately 510 full-time equivalent people in Winnipeg, Brandon, Steinbach and Carberry, Manitoba. Further information can be found at www.fpnewspapers.com and in disclosure documents filed by FP Newspapers Inc. with the securities regulatory authorities, available at www.sedar.com.
Contacts:
Daniel Koshowski
CFO
FP Newspapers Inc.
(204) 771-1897
RYE BROOK, New York, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- NYPPEX, a technology-driven financial services company that provides secondary private equity market liquidity, just released its revised 2016 Midyear Secondary Private Equity Market Trends and Valuation Report that discusses secondary direct investments in venture-backed private companies.
Its findings included the following:
1. Secondary transaction volume increased 12% for secondary direct investments in venture backed private companies in the 1H2016, driven by shareholders' concerns about declining valuations and fewer exits. We believe there was significant secondary direct supply offered in the 1H2016 that did not get executed.
2. Secondary bid prices were often significantly lower than offer prices for secondary shares in venture-backed Unicorn companies (i.e. valuations in excess of $1 billion) despite offer prices that reflected 20-40% write downs since December 31, 2015.
3. For the 2H2016, NYPPEX estimates that secondary bid prices will decline 4-6% in general and 10-18% for Common shares (which are widely held by employees) in many Unicorns compared to June 30, 2016, driven by investors' concerns about current valuations (vs. public stocks), exits and geopolitical risk. Mutual funds, hedge funds and family offices that aggressively invested in Unicorns may report large losses from secondary sales in 2017.
To request a copy of the NYPPEX 2016 midyear report, please email data@nyppex.com with your name, title and organization. Note: All information as estimated by NYPPEX.
About NYPPEX Holdings
NYPPEX Holdings is a technology-driven financial services holding company that provides secondary private equity market transfer administration, trading, advisory and portfolio valuation services for alternative assets worldwide. NYPPEX has provided over $8 billion in secondary private equity liquidity to investors in 26 countries for (a) interests in private funds (e.g. buyout, venture, natural resources, real estate, hedge funds etc.), (b) unregistered securities in private (and listed) companies and (c) their respective derivative instruments.
Its services are provided to alternative investment firms, private companies, governments, financial institutions, custodians, corporations, private wealth management groups and their advisors worldwide. www.nyppex.com
For more information, please contact inquiries@nyppex.com or:
Robin Starr Bond, SVP, NYPPEX
+1.914.305.2808
rbond@nyppex.com
This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com
Glowforge, a Seattle, WA-based 3D laser printer company, raised $22m in Series B funding.
The round was led by Foundry Group and True Ventures.
Led by CEO Dan Shapiro, Glowforge is a desktop laser that uses subtractive technology to allow designers, artists, and makers to print such products as leather wallets, hardwood jewelry boxes, etc, from dozens of materials including leather, hardwoods, fabric, plastic, paper, and chocolate. Designs can come from any software that can produce a PDF or a picture, such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Onboard cameras can scan drawings and convert them directly to designs as well.
The company also provides an app that runs on cloud software to enable users to print from any web browser, including a desktop, tablet, or phone.
This round follows a large 30-day crowdfunding campaign last fall, during which Glowforge received $27.9m in pre-orders. In the nine months since the campaign, the company has grown the team from 14 to 33 full-time employees and currently lists more than 20 open positions at Glowforge.com/jobs.
FinSMEs
02/08/2016
CS Disco Inc., a Houston, TX-based legal technology company, raised $18.575m in Series C funding.
The round was led by The Stephens Group, a private equity firm, with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and LiveOak Venture Partners. In conjunction with the funding, Aaron Clark, managing director at The Stephens Group LLC, will join Discos board of directors.
The company, which has raised more than $35m in total funding, will use the funds to accelerate the release of new features, including the machine learning platform, grow its sales presence in major U.S. cities, including its new sales team focused on corporate legal departments, and expand its complementary professional services offerings.
Led by CEO Kiwi Camara, Disco provides an ediscovery platform to automate and simplify complex and error-prone tasks that distract from practicing law.
The company serves more than 400 litigation boutiques and the AmLaw 200.
FinSMEs
02/08/2016
Pulsate, a Dublin, Ireland, and San Francisco, CA-based mobile marketing software provider, raised $1.5m in funding.
Backers included PayPal, duhnhumby Ventures, Delta Partners Bank of Ireland Seed Fund, Enterprise Ireland and other private investors.
The company intends to use the funds to further its US growth and expansion.
Led by CEO Patrick Leddy and CMO John Walker, Pulsate provides a platform that understands customer behavior across location, app usage and CRM to allow mobile marketers to send personalized campaigns, increase user engagement and deliver experiences to build brand loyalty.
FinSMEs
02/08/2016
After the stupendous success of Rajinikanths Kabali, all eyes in the Tamil film industry are now on Vikrams new action adventure thriller Iru Mugan (Two Faced). The bilingual in Tamil and Telugu directed by young Anand Shankar is produced by Shibu Thameens, and is slated for worldwide release on 2 September.
Iru Mugan has Vikram, Nayanthara, Nithya Menen and Nassar in key roles with music by Harris Jayaraj and camera by RD Rajasekhar. The audio and trailer launch of the film took place today (Aug 2) morning at the prestigious Sathyam Cinemas.
It was truly a grand affair, where the cast and crew of the film sans the female leads (Nayanthara and Nitya Menen) were present. Nayanthara, who is one of the top most female actors in south India, has not attended any of her own promotional functions in the last couple of years. Nitya Menen was busy shooting with Telugu actor NTR for his film Janata Garage. But Riythvika, who played an important role in Kabali and is doing a crucial role in Iru Mugan, stole the show as fans gave her a standing ovation.
However the star attraction at the event was the two special guests, the fastest rising star in Tamil Sivakarthikeyan and Malayalam star Nivin Pauly. They came to the function as they grew up on Vikram films and were crazy fans of the actor. Another special invitee was the veteran writer Vijeyandra Prasad, the writer who gave two mega hits, Baahubali and Bajrangi Bhaijan.
In this action packed sci-fi entertainer Vikram plays a bearded, violent RAW agent who is pitted against a transgender called Love (played by Vikram himself), who is out to destroy the villain. The racy and stunning trailer clearly indicates Vikram is playing a super hero and a Joker-like villain. The music of the film by Harris Jayaraj is peppy and is sure to be a chartbuster.
Speaking at the event Vikram said, Doing a dual role has been my dream. We need new crop of directors like Anand Shankar, who has a fresh approach to commercial cinema. I enjoyed working with a youngster like him. Nayanthara has got an aura about her. When she's in the frame, it's sheer magic. I dont want to create unnecessary hype about the film which Im sure will do the talking.
Anand Shankar, the director of this action extravaganza said: Iru Mugan is a sci-fi based action thriller on international espionage. Vikram sir has done an awesome dual role. The trailer is exciting without giving much away. Please watch the movie, it will be a complete entertainer.
Iru Mugan has become the hottest film in the southern circuit. All areas have been sold out, and the film is expected to generate a huge opening. Vikram badly needs a super hit, as his last film 10 Endrathukulla, was a failure at the box-office.
At the function, in a sudden surprise move, director Hari along with Vikram and producer Shibu Thameens announced that they will start the shoot of Saamy 2 by the end of the year. Saamy is a 2003 Vikram action cop drama in which he plays Aarusaamy, the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Tirunelveli, and the film was a blockbuster.
The ambitious Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill has been listed for discussion in Rajya Sabha (RS) for Wednesday, finally.
It was crucial for the critical amendment to come in as early as possible with only ten days left for this session to end. Not just the big political parties, but also the smaller ones would want time to debate the crucial Bill that will bring about the biggest change in the countrys tax structure since independence from British colonial rule.
Since there are key amendments in the original draft of the Bill that was passed in Lok Sabha last year, the GST Bill has to, once again, go back to Lok Sabha once the Upper House clears it, though it is largely a technicality. In the RS, two third of the members (163) will have to support the Bill. Last week, the Cabinet had cleared the major changes.
The GST rollout will be a time-consuming, complex process. There are a few key amendments that are likely to come up for discussion on the GST Bill on Wednesday. These include changing the wording on the matter of five-year compensation to the states (the government has now promised full compensation to the states not partial as offered earlier, inclusion of a clause that serves as the "guiding principle" determining how the rate would be calculated, doing away with the one percent additional tax [which was a bad idea from day one and would have killed the whole purpose of a single tax regime], and work out a model to strengthen the built of the state dispute resolution mechanism, and, probably, working out a definition for the concept of revenue neutral rate (no loss, no profit tax rate for states).
The good news is on almost all these issues -- the BJP now has an understanding with Congress and other regional parties, except, AIADMK, whose dissent doesnt really matter now since the Congress is on board.
Once these amendments are passed in the RS and the revised Bill is sent back and cleared in the Lower House, then the long process to implement the final version will begin. The biggest exercise is that state governments, at least half of them, will have to ratify the GST Bill in their assemblies. At this stage, there is likely that several points of contentions and clarifications will be sought by the states as they look at the change in the transactional tax regime at the implementation level.
Once implemented, the GST will replace all versions of indirect tax levies including VAT, octroi, excise duty, service tax and any other state-level taxes. This is a big exercise and putting in place the systems to implement this will take months. Though bigger states are on board, the GST Bill will have to go through several other smaller states where practical implementation issues will play a bigger role than politics.
Till this time, there is no clarity on what will be the final rate structure will be. With the Congresss demand of inclusion of GST rate in the Constitution, outright rejected by BJP and bigger regional parties like RJD and TMC, the rate might find place in the supporting legislation that will come up after the constitutional amendment.
The right to decide the GST rate, based on the larger guiding principles outlined in the constitution, is likely to be with the joint GST council that will have participation from both the Centre and states. This is a saner way than making the rate part of the Constitution, in which case making changes is difficult in the event of any exigency. But what will be the final rate is still a guess work at this stage.
As Firstpost has highlighted earlier, too high a rate will hurt the service industries and consumer and the opposite will kill the revenues of producing, manufacturing states. All this while, there has been huge lobbying by manufacturing states to keep the rate at the higher end.
What about the common man? He will see pain on the household kitty in the short term if the rate is kept too high, one reason why a section of experts have been cautioning on the over-hype attached to GST. But, the idea is to bring down the overall cost of goods and services since manufacturers will be freed from the burden of multi-level taxes and the tax will be levied only at the destination.
The larger consensus on the standard GST rate is 18-19 per cent. A panel headed by chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian had recommended a revenue neutral rate of 15-15.5 percent and a standard-rate of 18 percent. It has also recommended a three-tier rate structure for GST under which essential goods (those impacts the common man most) can be taxed at a lower rate of 12 percent, demerit goods like luxury cars, aerated beverages, pan masala and tobacco products at a higher rate of 40 percent and the rest at a standard rate of 17-18 percent.
The standard rate is the rate which majority of the goods and services will be taxed. As against this, the NIPFP had proposed a standard rate of 23-25 per cent. Once the key amendments, which will lay out the larger contours of the Bill is done, the next important question will be the final rate being arrived at.
The point here is passage of GST Constitutional Amendment is only the beginning of a long journey to meet the implementation date of April, 2017. There is a long, complex process that will follow.
Next year is crucial with a few states including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab going for polls. One needs to wait and watch whether the NDA-government indeed manages to kick start the GST regime within the stipulated deadline (already delayed by a year). Chances are that the roll out will overshoot the April deadline. But, the good thing is that both the Congress and BJP have set aside political bargaining and have joined hands at the moment to create a history by ushering in a unified tax regime. This will bring in much needed transparency, trust in the economy and higher investments in the approaching years, hopefully adding a few percentage points to Indias GDP through higher tax revenue and investments.
The next big challenge for the Narendra Modi-government is to get the states on board and get rest of the process going as quickly as possible. Passage of GST amendment is an important landmark but only the beginning of a long journey.
New Delhi: Family of the 13-year-old girl and her mother, who were gang raped at gunpoint in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr area, has threatened to commit suicide if the accused were not punished within three months.
"We were looted, beaten up and we all know what they did to my daughter...I want my wife and daughter to punish them. If they are not punished within three months, then all three of us will commit suicide," said the minor's father, a cab driver whose family was attacked by a group of bandits.
A gang of dacoits had brutally raped the woman and her 13-year-old daughter at gunpoint after dragging them out of a car in Bulandshahr on NH-91 when they were travelling with their family from Noida to Shahjahanpur on Friday night.
"There were seven-eight men. They tied our hands and feet and beat us. They kept beating us even when we begged for water or we made any movement," the 39-year-old man said alleging that they did not get any help on dialing police control room number 100.
Uttar Pradesh Police had on Monday arrested three accused Naresh (25), Bablu (22) and Rais (28) and detained a dozen
others after launching a massive hunt for the dacoits suspected to be behind the crime.
Facing flak from the Opposition, the state government had suspended five police officers, including district SSP Vaibhav Krishna. The matter had an echo in Lok Sabha yesterday when BJP members hit out at the UP government over the law and order situation and demanded resignation of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has summoned a doctor who conducted medical examination of the minor victim, for allegedly ill-treating her and asking "awkward" questions and also slammed the police for not including sections of POCSO Act in the FIR.
After the brutal gang rape of a 35-year-old woman and her 14-year-old daughter by dacoits, last Saturday near Dostpur in Bulandshahr, the residents have claimed that this was not a lone incident to have occurred in the area.
According to the villagers, just 12 days ago, a few men had brought a woman in a tempo and gang raped her late in the night, reported The Times Of India.
The report further says that according to the locals, cases of theft have become commonplace in this deserted area. A village elder alleged that reports in the area happen so often, but most of the cases go unreported. He also blamed the police's lackadaisical approach in handling crime, which has lead to an increase in these incidents of criminals targeting travellers.
Police sources told TOI that "two similar incidents" had occurred in the district on 7 May and 12 May this year. Travellers were robbed and assaulted at gunpoint. However, the police had registered these as cases of normal theft and no arrests had been made.
Meanwhile, the BJP on Tuesday demanded a CBI probe into the gang-rape in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh.
"The (Uttar Pradesh) government has failed to take action in the shameful and painful incident. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav should resign as he has failed to govern the state. Such incidents have also happened in the past," Keshav Maurya, BJP's Uttar Pradesh chief, told reporters.
"The party and the central government stand by the family. We will meet Union Home Minister (Rajnath Singh) and demand a CBI probe into the incident," he added.
Following the outrage that the incident generated, the India Today said that the UP government has also decided to raise a special police force, which will patrol the highways to ensure safety of travellers. The DGP of UP Javeed Ahmed has said that instructions have already been given and the process to identify highways that are prone to crime and where gangs are known to operate is already underway.
Five people have been arrested in the case and four top cops have been suspended so far.
As per the report, while special teams have been tasked to probe the incident on a fast-track mode, Javed Ahmed had told reporters on Sunday, at a press conference in Bulandshahr, that any other officers found guilty of inaction will face similar charges.
BJP has also panned the UP government over the incident. Union Minister Mahesh Sharma demanded that Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav should step down after such a "shameful incident".
"When will this end? It shows that the state government has collapsed on every front. They cannot save the honour of a daughter. It is shameful and they should step down," Sharma said.
Meanwhile, the UP police have recovered a gold chain, an anklet and Rs 5,000 from the arrested culprits of the Bulandshahr rape case, all of which reportedly belonged to the rape survivors, as reported by IG (Law and Order) HR Sharma to The Daily Tribune.
Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Mohammad Azam Khan on Tuesday worsened the matters further by alleging that a "political conspiracy" might be involved in the gang rape.
Reacting sharply to the statement, state BJP General Secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said it was shameful that a senior minister could make such outrageous statements.
As per the Firstpost report, the gangrape occurred on Saturday night, when a 35-year-old woman and her 14-year-old daughter were allegedly waylaid by a group of dacoits. According to the police, the family's car was stopped on NH 91, the women dragged out of the vehicle, and the family robbed at gun point. The entire incident lasted over three hours.
New Delhi: A special court on Tuesday granted bail to former deputy secretary in Delhi Chief Minister's Office, Tarun Sharma, in a graft case involving CM Arvind Kejriwal's former principal secretary Rajendra Kumar.
Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar granted the relief to Sharma on a personal bond of Rs one lakh and one surety of like amount, saying no purpose would be served by keeping him in custody.
The court also put several conditions on the accused and asking him not to influence any witness or tamper with evidence and not to leave the country without the court's prior permission.
The accused had sought bail on the ground of parity with Kumar who was granted the relief by the court on July 26. CBI, however, had opposed his bail plea.
The agency had earlier claimed that Endeavour Systems Pvt Ltd (ESPL) was floated by Kumar for the award of government contracts worth over Rs 50 crore.
CBI had registered a case against Kumar and others in December last year alleging that the officials had abused their official position by "favouring a particular firm in the last few years in getting tenders of Delhi government departments".
It had arrested seven people in this case in which three are already out on bail.
The accused have been charged under section 120-B of IPC (criminal conspiracy) and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act relating to criminal misconduct for allegedly favouring ESPL in bagging of five contracts.
CBI has alleged that the accused persons had entered into a criminal conspiracy and caused a loss of Rs 12 crore to the Delhi government in award of contracts between 2007 and 2015, and claimed that the officials had taken "undue benefit" of over Rs three crore while awarding the contracts.
This is the same case in which the agency had come under scathing criticism from the court which had directed it to return documents sought by the Delhi government seized during 15 December, 2015 search of Kejriwal's office.
Arrest of the top state government official had triggered a political storm with the Delhi government accusing the Centre of indulging in "political vendetta" and "paralysing" governance.
Mumbai: Under attack from Shiv Sena over the separate Vidarbha issue, Devendra Fadnavis on Monday told BJP's bickering ally that he was the Chief Minister of "Akhand (entire) Maharashtra".
Fadnavis was speaking in the State Assembly as the contentious issue of separate Vidarbha dominated proceedings for the third day.
Sena MLA and former Mumbai Mayor Sunil Prabhu asked Fadnavis to clarify his stand on the issue.
Prabhu also demanded that cases of treason be filed against those who gave slogans for a separate Vidarbha state in the House.
"There is no proposal as of this moment for a separate Vidarbha before the State Government," Fadnavis said. It is not right to discuss an issue which is not pending before this House, he added.
"I am the CM of an Akhand Maharashtra," Fadnavis said.
"While BJP has been in favour of (creation of) smaller states, Sena has opposed it," the CM said. "Both the parties are in the government. This is not the government's stand,"
"Both the parties are in the government. This is not the government's stand," he added.
Fadnavis appealed to the House members to put a stop to the discussion on separate Vidarbha issue.
"NCP doesn't have any right to seek my resignation. People have that right," he said.
"Ask NCP's Praful Patel who has backed separate Vidarbha. Should we discuss in the House what he has said," the CM said.
"We have taken an oath to be true to the Constitution. The Constitution provides for a House member to put forth his views on the formation of a separate state. A criminal offence cannot be registered against him for this," Fadnavis said.
Prabhu said there's no commitment for an Akhand Maharashtra in the statement by Fadnavis on the Vidarbha issue.
Opposition Congress-NCP legislators shouted slogans in support of a united Maharashtra. Shiv Sena legislators also joined in.
Opposition legislators staged a protest on the stairs at the entrance of Vidhan Bhawan, against the division of the western state.
After the statement by Fadnavis in the Assembly, Sena ministers left for 'Matoshree', party chief Uddhav Thackeray's residence in suburban Bandra.
New Delhi: A day before Home Minister Rajnath Singh visits to Pakistan amidst threats of protest by LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, the BSF on Tuesday said it was sure the Pakistan Rangers and other authorities there will take adequate measures to foil the plans of the terror mastermind.
Calling Saeed's plans of undertaking massive protests and march towards the Attari-Wagah border when Singh steps on Pakistani soil a "political" move, Border Security Force chief K K Sharma said the border guarding forces on both sides have been "sensitised" and they will ensure that the SAARC Home Ministers meeting to be held on Wednesday in Islamabad is not disrupted.
"This (Saeed's protest call) is the internal matter of Pakistan and I am very sure that my counterparts Pak Rangers are more than competent to handle this issue. I am sure this (Saeed's threat) is not going to disrupt the SAARC meeting. Hafiz Saeed will not be successful," he said.
Sharma, who only last week returned from Pakistan after holding the annual bilateral Director General-level talks with the Rangers, said both the forces have also discussed measures to mount effective vigil at the Attari-Wagah border which is thronged by large crowds that witness the daily retreat ceremony in the evening.
A blast in 2014 at Wagah on the Pakistan side had killed over 50 people after the retreat ceremony got over.
"Yes, this was one issue that was taken up with Pak Rangers...both of us are conscious of the fact that the threat is there and consequently we both have strengthened our security measures. We have done it on our side (of the border) and they have done it on their side. I am sure they (Rangers) will handle it (Saeed's threat to march towards Wagah) well," he said on the sidelines of an event.
The BSF DG added at least four battalions of the force (about 4,000 personnel) have been recently deployed on the Punjab frontier and two in Jammu to further fortify security measures and the counter-infiltration grid along the Indo-Pak International Border (IB) running along the two states.
"The LoC in Kashmir is under army and I would not like to comment on that," he said when asked about similar measures in this area.
Normal life came to a standstill in Karnataka last week as farmers and pro-Kannada groups protested Wednesdays interim order of the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal.
The tribunal rejected Karnatakas plea for 7.56 tmc-ft of water under the Kalasa Banduri drinking water project for the drought-hit Hubballi-Dharwad, Belagavi and Gadagdistricts in the state.
The Mahadayi water-sharing dispute has the states of Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka vying for water from the Mahadayi or Mandovi river, which flows through the three states. The tribunal rejected Karnatakas plea as Goa objected to the ecological damage the project would cause to the Western Ghats and affect its own drinking water and irrigation needs.
For Karnataka, coming immediately after a three-day bus strike, these protests only made living intolerable for ordinary people last week. A statewide bandh on Saturday, also saw buses, autos, taxis off the roads. Even Bengalurus Metro service was off the rails. Protesters pelted stones, burnt tyres, buses, and effigies of politicians and vandalized government property. Some people were also injured in parts of the state and police had to resort to lathi charge.
With Kannada pride in the forefront, the Mahadayi water dispute got the support of the Kannada film industry and all pro- Kannada groups, with many leaders demanding the Prime Minister's intervention in the dispute.
According to The Times of India report, the Mahadayi flows 35 km in Karnataka and 52 km in Goa before flowing into the Arabian Sea. A few parts of Maharashtra also come under the Mahadayi catchment area. Of around 220 tmc-ft water available in the Mahadayi basin, some 200 tmc-ft goes into the Arabian Sea unutilized. Karnataka got an in-principle clearance for the project from the Water Resources Ministry as early as 2002, but Goa moved the Supreme Court in 2006 with a request to set up the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal.
This is not the first time there have been violent protests in Karnataka over the sharing of river water with its neighbours. Karnataka has a decades old dispute going on with Tamil Nadu over the sharing of Cauvery river water.
Now, a new battle seems to be brewing over the building of a dam on the Mekadatu reservoir. India Today reported of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, asking the Prime Minister to intervene in Karnatakas plan as it would affect the flow of water into the Cauvery and the livelihood of its farmers. Karnataka proposed the dam to handle the severe drinking water shortage in Bengaluru. This project which started around 2003, along with the Shivanasamudram hydro power project was meant to utilize some 250 tmc-ft of water flowing into the sea. Tamil Nadu has been pressing for the formation of a Cauvery Management Board, which Karnataka is opposing.
So emotive has the Cauvery dispute been for both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, that both states witnessed violence, rioting and loss of lives in 1991-1992. Regional jingoism in Karnataka degenerated into attacks on Tamil families and premier schools run by Tamil managements in Bengaluru. The violence was most severe around the Tamil populated parts of Bengaluru, but many schools and educational institutions remained closed in the city for nearly a month.
Once again in 2002, the water dispute spilled into the streets, and film stars and a cross section of society from both states supported their own states. Karnataka even saw the blocking of all Tamil TV channels and the barring of all buses and vehicles from Tamil Nadu. The then Karnataka Chief Minister, SM Krishna took up a padayatra from Bengaluru to Mandya to soothe rising tempers. Well-known writer U R Ananthamurthy also joined him in the yatra.
With the monsoon taking turns to fail in both states, the Cauvery water dispute is a perennial tinder box waiting to be lit by activists and political parties looking to appease their vote banks.
So much so, that in the run-up to the recent Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, both the leading political parties, the DMK and the AIADMK, even added it in their election manifestos. Both parties stated that they would resolve both the Mullaperiyar dam issue with Kerala and the Cauvery river water dispute with Karnataka if their party was voted to power, according to The Hindu.
Given the decades old Cauvery dispute, or the nearly decade old Mahadayi dispute, no regional party can really hope to resolve them, as in any inter-state water issue, there are courts and the Centre also trying to find a solution. But what better emotive issue to fuel regional jingoism and pander to the vote bank than water being denied to farmers? As there is no hope of either the Cauvery water dispute or the Mahadayi water dispute dying by 2018, both these will probably also figure in the Karnataka political parties manifestos in the 2018 Assembly elections.
What we must understand is that India has 14 major rivers, all of which are inter-state rivers, and 44 medium rivers, nine of which are inter-state rivers.
So, what would help the states concerned Karnataka and Goa here in the Mahadayi dispute to reach an amicable compromise is for political parties and activists to refrain from turning the dispute into a battle for state pride. For, these often turn into violent protests leading to precious loss of life and destruction of government property.
Given that drinking water is an essential right that cannot be denied to people living in drought hit regions, inter-state river water disputes perforce cannot be resolved easily and have to be handled sensitively by all the parties involved.
Srinagar: A petrol bomb was hurled at the house of Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Naeem Akhtar in Parraypora area of the city on Monday night, police said on Tuesday.
No one was hurt in the attack that was carried out by unidentified persons.
"A petrol bomb was hurled at the residence of the Education Minister at Parraypora late last night, causing damage to the main gate of the house," a police official said.
Akhtar and his wife were not present in the premises as they have shifted to high security Gupkar Road after the PDP-BJP government was sworn in March last year.
A petrol bomb was also hurled at the office of Road and Buildings department at SDA colony in Bemina area of the city last night, the official said.
He said no one was hurt in the incident.
There is a type of tourist who comes to India to steal our treasures. Not the same one who takes away old statues from temples, coins and antiques. This one takes our insects. We have not bothered to acknowledge this theft or plug it. Twenty five seizures have been made since 1995. This is probably less than 1 percent of the insects going out every day. Insect species are of great ecological value in the Indian ecosystem. Unfortunately, no one in the government or academia is studying the population trends of insects.
Everyone is concentrating on pests and pest management.
Insect stealing is not done by a few people. Large gangs from a few countries descend on us, go into the mountains or tribal areas and pay local people a pittance to collect live insects. These insects are then skewered or drugged and taken out in suitcases, checked into the airlines as private luggage or sent to themselves through parcels and international couriers.
One insect in severe danger is the Stag beetle. India is home to the Giraffe Stag-Beetle (Prosopocoilus giraffa) the world's largest saw-tooth stag beetle with long and sharp jaws.
Stag beetles are good for the environment. They eat rotting wood, returning important minerals to the soil, but don't eat living plants. Male Stag beetles have large jaws that look like the antlers of a deer, hence the name. These are used in courtship displays and to wrestle other male beetles. They spend most of their lives underground as larvae, only emerging for a few weeks to find a mate and reproduce. Stag beetles and their larvae are quite harmless. They are among the rarer beetles and now even rarer because of the Japanese.
Till now, the Japanese have been known for their single-minded destruction of whales. Now they have emerged as the single source for the worlds destruction of beetles, especially Stag beetles.
The beetle mania in Japan has led to a multi-million dollar industry that revolves around the import of exotic beetle species. This mania originated with a hit arcade game by Sega called Mushi (insect) King, in which players collect cards of virtual Stag beetles as ghters in tournaments. From card and virtual beetles, the passion led to collecting real insects as pets or for staging fights for gamblers or dead ones as collections. The Japanese started interbreeding their own beetles and producing different shapes. However, it didnt take long for the Japanese public to be bored with their own native species and by the 1990s, people were illegally importing over 700 species. Trade in Stag beetles has reached $100 million annually. And an entirely new mafia of insect traders was born that reached its hands all over Australasia to bring in millions of insects. Japan has 1200 species of beetles in its shops only 35 are Japanese.
Japan has made beetle smuggling easy. Pandering to the craze for these insects, the Japanese government revised the law in 1999 and legalised the import of foreign beetle species. Thirty-four foreign species were legalised in 1999 and 505 species in 2003. Today, buying foreign Stag and Rhinoceros beetles is as easy as buying groceries, because beetle shops are common even being sold through vending machines. Stag beetles can be purchased at pet stores, department stores and shops that specialise in beetles. Credit card holders can order them through the Internet. Most pet shop beetles sell for five dollars. High-priced ones go of as much as $2,500. The bigger, the more valuable.
The countries that are losing their beetles to Japan are Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, China, South America, France, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Australia. There are group tours organised to the Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia whose sole purpose is to collect Stag beetles. The Japanese tourists that we make fun of because of their obsession with photography, may not be as harmless as we think. This could be simply a cover for picking up creatures that we are not selling.
Big beetles cost more, with the most attractive being the larger Lucanidae species. The prices of these dead insects rival those of major artwork or antiques, so strenuous efforts are made to collect them, regardless of the ecological cost. In 2001, Japan imported 680,000 Stag and Rhinoceros beetles. This has now gone to over a million annually and the market sells more than $100 million worth. Export of beetles is formally banned in most countries. Dorcas antaeus beetles are absolutely prohibited in Bhutan, India and Nepal, but since Japan allows their import, smuggled specimens from these countries command much higher prices.
In 2001, two Japanese were arrested at Nepals Tribhuvan International Airport for attempting to smuggle 542 Stag beetles out of the country. In 2000, forest rangers in southern Nepal caught a Japanese web designer and his two Nepalese guides bagging Stag beetles. This did not deter another set of 'wildlife entrepreneurs' from collecting over 200 specimens of six species in 2002, which were also confiscated. Violations involving stag beetles have also been reported in Taiwan. Bhutan has also apprehended Japanese tourists who had collected a large number of Stag beetles from Mongar dzongkhag. The insects were later released back in the forest. In September 2000 a complaint was filed, against a local tourism company who brought in insect collecting tourists, by the Ministry of Agriculture. Australian customs arrested two Japanese trying to smuggle 1,300 native beetles out of Australias Lord Howe Island.
More and more large beetles from the jungles of Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Nepal and India are being taken. More than 500 different species of Stag beetles, a third of the world's known species, have been imported to Japan from Sabah and Sarawak in Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia. A group trying to leave Turkey by car was apprehended with thousands of bugs hidden in boxes and tubes. Biology professors who examined the cache identified 6,014 bugs from 48 different species, including ladybugs, cockroaches, and various types of Stag beetles, grasshoppers, flies, and bees from the Black Sea region and the northern part of Central Anatolia. The haul was worth $300,000.
The Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats of India are prime hunting grounds for smugglers of rare Rhinoceros, Longhorned and Jewel beetles. The trade has increased in recent years and Japanese have been caught in West Bengal with beetles. Hundreds more have escaped the lax and inefficient and illiterate- net of the wildlife department. Thanks to inadequate law enforcement, our insects, particularly beetles and butterflies, are being sold all over the internet. Two Czechs were caught recently bringing out rare beetles and butterflies from Singalila National Park. These were to go to Japanese collectors through their website. Many foreigners pose as scientists to get admission into the parks.
According to ecologists, lack of awareness is at the heart of the problem why insect smuggling is allowed to continue unchecked. Insects are crucial to forests' survival: The population of frugivorous and insect-eating birds and bats dwindle when large insects begin to disappear, as do those of forest creatures like small carnivores and rodents, who depend on insect larvae for food. Beetle collectors do a great deal of damage to the environment tree barks are stripped, old logs are rolled over, moss is uprooted many other insects and birds lose their lives. Forests dwindle. Local populations of insects disappear as do all the life dependent on them.
India is seen as an easy target. While rangers are ignorant and easily bribed, police do not see insect smuggling as an important crime. Smugglers know that customs and airline authorities, who scan baggage at ports of exit, ignore bags stuffed with insects and butterflies.
Japanese beetles face extinction as they have been hunted down all over the islands and are cross bred with non-native Stag beetle species from Southeast Asia. So the craze for non-native species will only increase.
Is it not time for India to start training its enforcement authorities on insect smuggling?
BJP parliamentary board will meet at 9 am on Wednesday to deliberate upon who would be successor to Anandiben Patel as the Gujarat chief minister. Despite Gujarat being their home state, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah took their own sweet time to convene the meeting of the highest policy making body of the party.
Too preoccupied with the landmark Goods and Service Taxes (GST) Bill that will be moved in Rajya Sabha for passage on Wednesday, the duo ensured that the an atmosphere of bonhomie is built among all parties first before they decided to shift their focus on Gujarat. Both are also aware that keeping the state in a state of limbo for long won't be wise politically.
Following Anandiben's dramatic announcement on Facebook to quit as the Gujarat Chief Minister on Monday, the BJP parliamentary board was to meet on Tuesday but was postponed as clearing the bottlenecks to the GST Bill was far greater priority for the Centre.
Modi has kept a packed schedule for himself on Wednesday as the parliamentary board meeting on Gujarat will be soon followed by one on GST Bill at 10 am before Parliament starts for the day. More so, four of 12 parliamentary board membersArun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu, Thavar Chand Gehlot and JP Naddaare Rajya Sabha MPs while Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar is also a member of the board. Finance Minister and Leader of the House Jaitley, who represents Gujarat in Parliament, is the prime mover of the bill. He and all other members would have to be present in the House throughout the proceedings.
The passage of the GST, a Constitutional Amendment Bill, is critical to establish Modi government's resolve on reforms on the ground. The bill has evoked great deal of curiosity world over and domestically it has too many implications both politically and economically.
Anandiben did touch a raw chord when she opted for social media to announce her resignation at a time when the entire party top leadership was busy building consensus for the GST bill. There is no doubt that the party top brass was unhappy with the outgoing Chief Minister for her failure to contain the Patel agitation as the Patels are a key vote bank for the party in the poll-bound state. To make matter worse, her relationship with Shah is far from being amiable.
A Union minister told Firstpost that Modi is particularly keen to see that GST Bill gets passed in the ongoing Monsoon session. On several occasions, during cabinet meetings, informal meetings of senior ministers, executive committee and general body of parliamentary party, the Prime Minister has reportedly cautioned leaders not to shoot their mouths off even when provoked. The Prime Minister wanted the leaders to be particularly careful while uttering something against the Congress so as to deny any opportunity to the Grand Old Party to toughen their stand even more.
His message was clear that the BJP could take tough positions on the streets and in elections, as was done in the last biennial polls of Rajya Sabha. But inside the House, the prescribed decorum must be maintained. On critical issues, the ministers concerned were expected to reach out to the opposition leaders and seek to build a consensus, something on the pattern of what Modi had said on his first landing in Parliament in May 2014.
The strategy seems to be working in the ongoing Monsoon session, at least for now.
Take for instance, the measured response of the BJP leaders to Rahul Gandhi's recent jibe on the Prime MinisterArhar Modiduring a Lok Sabha debate on price rise. Though Jaitley responded to Rahul's barbs, his response was matured, restricted to facts, statistics and some smart one liners but sans any rhetoric. In the past, ministers and other party leaders have gone at length to retaliate against Rahul albeit politically. This time around nothing of that sort happened. A senior leader said that this was as per the party strategy. Another leader wondered why each time there should be a retort every time Rahul says something.
Jaitley has been continuously engaging with senior Congress leadersMallikarjun Khadge, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Ananth Kumar and P Chidambaramas also with CPM chief Sitaram Yechuri and other key opposition leaders. He held meetings with state finance ministers twice, once in Kolkata and then in Delhi to get feedback on the proposed law and move towards a consensus accordingly.
Another Union minister said the Congress actually had no reasons to oppose the bill. It was piloted by them and now the BJP is pushing for its passage. The minister made it clear that the issue is not the numbers but the lack of right atmosphere to get the Bill passed. He said that this time around the party has built the right mood and it is hopeful that the GST will be smoothly passed in the Upper House.
That the Prime Minister is focusing on a creating a friendly environment to overcome political hurdles was evident in the cabinet reshuffle undertaken last month. An impulsive HRD Minister Smriti Irani was shifted to the relatively quiet textile ministry while an aggressive Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu had to give way to Anant Kumar with SS Ahluwalia as his deputy.
Standing on the threshold of a watershed moment that the Indian economy might witness in the coming years if the GST Bill gets the Rajya Sabha nod on Wednesday, it comes as no surprise that Modi and Shah chose to pick GST ahead of resolving the political turmoils in their home state Gujarat.
Anandiben Patel was everything her mentor Narendra Modi wasn't.
It isn't a big surprise she wasn't able to hold on to the state and Modi's legacy. When Modi left Gujarat in 2014, it was an impregnable fortress of Hindutva, a model of development in popular perception and the pocketborough of the BJP. In just two years, rifts within the Hindutva Parivar turned into open rebellion. The mesmerising sheen disappeared from the famed development model because of social unrest. And the Congress made deep inroads into areas where it had not dared to venture in the past 15 years.
Much of it transpired because Anandiben lacked the qualities her predecessor had. She lacked the charisma to impress the Gujaratis, administrative skills to manage a crisis and the stature to inspire fear, respect and admiration within the cadres, bureaucracy, voters and her own party.
Before Modi's advent, Gujarat had always been a tricky state for the BJP. Such was the level of infighting, bickering and factionalism that no chief minister before Modi was able to complete his term. The Hajuria versus Khajuria farce of the late 1990s highlighted the mess and indiscipline in the party. But, with the force of his personality, Modi quelled all dissent, demolished factions and emerged as the party's face and leader.
Anandiben's ascension marked the return of factionalism in Gujarat. Tales abound of how her rival Amit Shah interfered in the government's functioning, took key decisions, propped up his loyalists and marginalised the chief minister.
That the chief minister was just a witness to many key decisions was apparent when the Gujarat government announced a 10 percent quota for economically backward sections earlier last year. Significantly, the decisions was announced by the state unit president Vijay Rupani. Anandiben sat by her junior colleague's side, making a sorry spectacle of the loss of her stature.
When the Patidar movement for reservation broke out in Gujarat, many in cities in the state were put under curfew first time since the 2002 riots. Ten people died in violence and arson, according to the Times of India. Though much of the blame for inaction (or excessive force) was laid at the chief minister's doorstep, there were hushed rumours that the administrative response was remote-controlled from Delhi and discrediting Anandiben was part of the plan.
As Shyam Parekh writes in Ahmedabad DNA, "One would not be wrong to consider that her departure phenomenon started from the day the Patidars held their first rally in Ahmedabad, last year. Patidars BJPs most loyal votebank was upset with Ben, who happened to be a Patidar herself. The image of corruption-free governance in Gujarat was brutally ripped apart in the last two years. On top of that, accusations against her daughter and son for corruption and undue benefits of power had reached Delhi."
The script of Anandiben's failure was in a way foretold. When she was picked by Modi as his predecessor, it was pointed out by her critics that she got the job for just one quality: Loyalty. Her administrative acumen was always suspect and her lack of popular appeal was a known handicap.
Anandiben contributed to the image.
Gujarat watchers point out that Modi would always look for opportunities to mobilise party cadres and state machinery by organising public events, fairs and gatherings. This served two purposes. One, it helped him stay in touch with workers, voters and officers. And, two, it created the impression of a government perpetually in motion. Anandiben, to her misfortune, remained rooted to her Gandhinagar office, becoming an absentee leader, especially when revolts and agitations surfaced in the state.
Her lack of clout and connect ultimately led to her resignation on Monday. To the BJP it became apparent after last year's Patidar stir and the ongoing Dalit unrest that Anandiben did not have the capability to reach out to the masses and quell their rebellion. With the Dalit agitation causing a lot of damage to the BJP's efforts to unite the Hindutva Parivar in Uttar Pradesh, it was time to go.
"... lack of strategy in handling the fallout of the Dalit atrocity incident in Una might have been the last nail. Ben announced and reached Una much after Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi announced their visit. This was seen as a major political failure for the BJP. Even now, the party and the government have no strategy to re-connect with the Dalits," continues the DNA piece.
Interestingly, Anandiben went out in a blaze of glory. Before her exit she showed signs of a classic dead-cat bounce with her firm and quick decision making, traits she was accused of lacking. Before reigning on Facebook, she abolished highway toll for small and private vehicles, withdrew nearly 90 percent of the cases filed against Patidar leaders, made higher education free for girls from lower-middle class families and appointed the next chief secretary of the state.
Just when her critics were arguing how she had shut up those talking about her age with such frenzied activity, she went ahead and quit, citing, ironically, her age.
The BJP now has exactly 18 months to reverse the damage that accrued during Anandiben's tenure. The challenge for the party will now be find someone who is her exact opposite in temperament, style and efficiency.
To win back Gujarat, the BJP has no option but to find Modi 2.0.
Its a pattern we are all familiar with by now. First, the political and administrative callousness that makes possible the execution of violence against women, and then, the clumsy manoeuvres on the part of the same lackadaisical authorities, at containing the political damage.
The scenario is unravelling once again on the heels of the gangrape of a mother and daughter on the Delhi-Kanpur national highway last week. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav under concerted media pressure suddenly appears to have gone onto damage control overdrive, hurriedly putting together special teams to track down the rapists. But such knee-jerk actions fool no one. Election fever is already in the air. The Samajwadi Party leaders urgency appears to be nothing but a cynical electoral calculation at a time when his party is bracing for next years difficult assembly elections. Even if the Chief Minister is trying to put on a mask, his colleagues are being true to their misogynist selves.
In a stock-in-trade comment, Azam Khan, Samajwadi party leader and cabinet minister in the UP government, has suggested that the Bulandshahr rape could be a political conspiracy to defame the Akhilesh Yadav government. Khans remark is symptomatic of his partys attitude to gender-based violence, and its depressing inability to think beyond shady conspiratorial plots. But such a shortcoming is not unique to the Samajwadi Party. Its a trait shared by the entire political fraternity. For instance, Mamata Banerjee too, invoked conspiracy theories after the Park Street rape case in Kolkata a few years ago.
No amount of criticism has moved our political class. The same bitter truth resurfaces and renews itself after every incident of sexual violence one that is once again staring at us in the face in the aftermath of the Bulandshahr gangrape. It is impossible to ignore a general pattern in how politicians respond each time. Every incident especially of gender violence is invariably followed with politicians throwing mud at each other, raking up old histories of similar violence that in history of its political opponent.
In this rising din of you did it too, the real concern for women is effectively drowned out. Given the ubiquity of this pattern across India, it is plainly clear that politicians just do not care about putting checks on violence against women. They do not, for instance, deal with gender violence the way they would an economic or electoral challenge. Gender-based violence is invariably pushed to the domain of activists and feminists, left to them to keep the focus on, and mount pressure on governments and police systems across board.
The callousness of the police is of apiece with the attitude of political parties. Consider, for instance, the glaring omission made by the UP police in the latest case under scrutiny. One of the victims in the Bulandshahr rape was a minor. Yet, the police did not incorporate the crucial Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, in the FIR. Were the UP police not aware of the law? Or were they just not bothered enough to include the Act in the FIR? Either way, crucial omissions like these are the ones which water down such cases and eventually allow criminals to escape the legal dragnet. The National Commission for Women chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam has rightly observed that the polices attitude towards the incident reveals its apathy to the case. The whole case depends on the FIR. When a minor girl has been gangraped, there should have been POCSO. From NCW, we are clear that this is police apathy and callousness.
One wonders whether the UP government and police would have made the effort they are now making in pursuing the case, had there not been an important election in the offing. Even the ultimatum issued by the victims father that they will take their own lives unless the criminals are tracked down may not have yielded any significant result without the prospect of electoral victory hanging in the balance.
Now that my old buddy and Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union President Kanhaiya Kumar has popped his head up again and given this stirring speech in Kozikhode, he comes across as the perfect example of what is happening in our country.
We are all dedicated to living in the past instead of moving on.
Every one of his accusations against the Narendra Modi government is old hat, just remixed without even changing the tune. I was going through his quotes and it's the same old caterwauling, a monotonous droning. It's like the way little kids do tu main, tu main after school. Till when is he going to keep lifting the scab off wounds that time has healed and parade them as fresh indictments?
Can you believe that he even brought up that skewered comment about comparing Somalia and Kerala as if it was a criminal offence now? It is over and done with and Modi had his wrist slapped. How empty the bucket must be if Donald Trump has to be made the mental doppelganger for Modi? And this is supposed to be heavy duty saviour stuff!
Writer Parinda Gandevekar, who styles herself as a pseudo intellectual, puts it succintly: Even (Arvind) Kejriwal got off to a rocky start. (Anna blamed him for misusing the Jan Lokpal Bill funds and derailed his anti-corruption movement.) Kejriwal blamed Congress for the corruption. Congress blamed BJP for the Godhra riots. BJP blamed SP for Muzzaffarnagar riots, and SP blamed BSP for the killing of two advocates. BSP blamed Congress for the poor (only a state of mind) turning into Naxalites.
Now, Kejriwal blames Modi for everything and when he takes a break he goes for Lt Gov Nawab Jung. It never ends.
On a good day we can go back to Bofors and the eighties.
If the BJP does something wrong today, the defence is that the Congress under Sonia Gandhi did it in 2012. The Congress then takes it even further back in time with another slur from the old BJP tenure.
Every politician and party is engaging in this absurd ping pong game. Even at the state level. If a flyover falls in Kolkata, the Trinamool Congress blames the CPM because construction had begun during the Left party's tenure. The BJP now wants Akhilesh Yadav to resign because of the Bulandshahr rape. Why not just take the culprits and make them culpable? Tomorrow the BJP will be in the same dock over their MLA Harat Singh Rawat being accused of the same deed in Uttarakhand.
If someone is murdered or raped, the defence is rooted in past rapes and murders. A young woman is murdered in Ernakulam in Kerala; no one says 'lets find the killer', instead political parties get into a blame game with gusto.
If Dalits are beaten in Gujarat for skinning a dead cow, it is balanced out because remember in 1994, when the Congress was in command, the number of cases against Dalits stood at 1,916. Much higher than it is now. That is an answer.
Agusta Westland choppers: Congress vs BJP. We returned the fleet, cancelled the deal, move on. Especially if you cannot take the investigation beyond the blame level.
Corruption and the two main parties have made Parliament come to a halt more often than they have let it function. All we hear are slogans against each other. Every state has the same situation...pass the hot little potato to the other lot. When will it ever end?
Ask yourselves what else do we hear. Does anyone talk of tomorrow and the goals set in every discipline? We are never told what the grand plan is or where we are going with this country. It does not matter what the issue is...from ill treatment of Dalits to alienation of Muslims, to scams, corruption, cops with indigestion and tired feet, the reaction is the same.
Mommy, they did it first. Finger pointing ad nauseum.
Who can we pass the buck to is all that matters. There is no call for political co-operation or adherence to developmental deadlines, just throwbacks predicated to one simple fact. If we erred today, you erred yesterday or even way back last week...or 30 years ago so now, by some current logic, we are quits.
Will this stop or simply take us backwards forever and a day?
New Delhi: The government has circulated official amendments to the GST bill to drop 1 percent additional tax and include a definite provision in the statute for compensating states for revenue loss for 5 years as it gears up to discuss the long-pending bill in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Under the modified provisions of GST Constitutional Amendment Bill circulated among the members on Tuesday, GST Council will be required to establish a mechanism for adjudication of disputes, which could arise between the Centre and states or among states themselves.
The 2014 bill authorised GST Council to decide upon the modalities for resolution of disputes.
With these official amendments, the government has partially met the demands of the Congress party which has been blocking the bill in the Rajya Sabha. One of the three demands of the Congress was to do away with the 1 percent additional manufacturing tax.
On the demand for a Supreme Court judge-headed panel for resolving GST disputes, the official amendments say that the GST Council will establish a mechanism for solving disputes.
With regard to the demand for putting a GST rate cap in the Constitution, the government has not mentioned anything in the official amendments.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, at a meeting with his state counterparts last week, promised to keep the incidence of tax low while safeguarding the revenue of the states.
Jaitley has been meeting leaders of Congress and other parties, including SP, BJD, TMC and RJD, to build a consensus on the passage of the long-pending indirect tax reform bill in the Rajya Sabha. It was approved by the Lok Sabha in May 2015.
The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014, which lays the ground for roll out of Goods and Services Tax regime that will subsume all indirect taxes including central excise duty and state VAT/sales tax, is listed for consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow.
The government today proposed six official amendments to the 2014 bill.
The amendments also seek to clarify that state's share of Integrated GST (iGST) will not form part of the Consolidated Fund of India and the term iGST itself would be replaced by 'goods and services tax levied on supplies in the course of inter-state trade or commerce' in Clause 12 dealing with apportionment of the proceeds.
It was also clarified that Central GST (CGST) and the centre's share of iGST will be distributed between the Centre and the states.
Earlier, some members, including Naresh Agarwal of SP, raised concerns in the Rajya Sabha that they had not received copies of the GST Bill or the amendment.
Jaitley told Rajya Sabha the amendments to the Bill, pending in the Upper House for last one year, were given to the Secretariat of the House two days ago and have been circulated to the members.
The Bill, which was approved by the Lok Sabha in May, provided for 1 per cent additional tax on inter-state trade and commerce for two years or more as may be decided by the GST Council.
Even the Rajya Sabha Select Committee had suggested removal of this provision as it would lead to cascading of taxes.
A constitution amendment requires support of two-third members present and voting. The amendment will then have to be approved by 50 percent of all the state assemblies.
Congress originally mooted GST in 2006 and a constitution amendment bill was introduced in Lok Sabha in March 2011 but it lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.
First they said, Behind every successful man is a woman. Then they said, Behind every successful woman is a man. But now AIADMK MLA A Ramu has changed the quotation completely. According to the Coonoor MLA, it was his party leader Jayalalithaa who inspired Hillary Clinton to make history by becoming the first female presidential nominee from any major political party in the US.
The Indian Express reports that Ramu told the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday that when Clinton met Jayalalithaa, the AIADMK leader impressed the former First Lady with her command over the English language. Clinton then returned to the US and became the Democratic Partys presidential candidate. I would like to record that the reason for this is Respected Amma, The Indian Express quoted Ramu as saying.
How ludicrous is Ramus statement? Lets explain.
First off, the meeting between Hillary Clinton and Jayalalithaa took place in July 2011, when Clinton was Secretary of State. That was five years ago! The way Ramu narrates it, its as if Clinton met Jayalalithaa one day and got so impressed that the next day, she turned around and became the Democratic Party nominee. Cmon!
Secondly, Clinton met the Tamil Nadu chief minister three years after contesting and losing the 2008 Democratic Primaries. Which clearly shows that her interest in being the president of the United States predated her meeting with Jayalalithaa.
Thirdly, when Clinton and Jayalalithaa met in Chennai, the two discussed the issue of displaced Sri Lankan Tamils and how many of them have taken refuge in Tamil Nadu. They also talked about bilateral trade, the number of H-1B visas issued being reduced and the automobile sector in the state, according to an NDTV report from 2011. Nothing about womens rights or gender equality.
Ramu may or may not succeed in currying favour with his boss by making this statement. But what he has succeeded in is in pushing the recent ruling by the TN Assembly Speaker that no MLA can refer to Jayalalithaa by her name in the House to second place on the list of ludicrous statements made in Tamil Nadu Assembly. With the session yet to come to an end, we wonder which MLA will beat Ramu to make it to the top of the list.
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"I will not accept that this problem is just one created by Pakistan or separatists," he said.
"You cannot escape the issue by just blaming Pakistan for the problems in Kashmir," he said. "Just because of good tourism in one season in Kashmir, you cannot think you solved the problem. If you do not pay attention to this problem, it will turn into a law and order problem."
"There must be a conspiracy being hatched by Pakistan. But you have to look at the measures you are taking to counter it," Yechury told the government in Rajya Sabha.
In response, a beleaguered Arun Jaitley said that BJP will take strict action against Dayashankar Singh. "I should tell Mayawati ji that the party shares her grief over this issue, I will look into this matter, we stand with her...I am personally hurt that a BJP party person used such derogatory words against Mayawati," he said.
"This is not only a woman's issue. This is a man's issue," said TMC MP Derek O'Brien.
Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury stressed on the fact that the man making such remarks was none other than the vice president of the UP unit of BJP and demanded that he be arrested. "A man speaks with such language on the day both houses are discussing issues on violence on Dalits?" she said.
"The nation will not forgive BJP for this, especially with what is going in Gujarat," ANI quoted Mayawati as saying. "There are wars of thoughts and ideas in the House, but never have I used derogatory words against anyone ever," she said.
"The insulting words used against me are against all of womankind," said Mayawati. "Dayashankar Singh should be arrested. Otherwise, if in response to this people get violent, it will not be on my conscience," she added.
UP BJP vice president Dayashankar Singh's cheap remark against BSP chief Mayawati created uproar in the Parliament as Opposition leaders attacked the Modi government over the issue.
In response, a beleaguered Arun Jaitley said that BJP will take strict action against Dayashankar Singh. "I should tell Mayawati ji that the party shares her grief over this issue, I will look into this matter, we stand with her...I am personally hurt that a BJP party person used such derogatory words against Mayawati," he said.
"This is not only a woman's issue. This is a man's issue," said TMC MP Derek O'Brien.
Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury stressed on the fact that the man making such remarks was none other than the vice president of the UP unit of BJP and demanded that he be arrested. "A man speaks with such language on the day both houses are discussing issues on violence on Dalits?" she said.
"The nation will not forgive BJP for this, especially with what is going in Gujarat," ANI quoted Mayawati as saying. "There are wars of thoughts and ideas in the House, but never have I used derogatory words against anyone ever," she said.
"The insulting words used against me are against all of womankind," said Mayawati. "Dayashankar Singh should be arrested. Otherwise, if in response to this people get violent, it will not be on my conscience," she added.
UP BJP vice president Dayashankar Singh's cheap remark against BSP chief Mayawati created uproar in the Parliament as Opposition leaders attacked the Modi government over the issue.
"On one hand, BJP did a lot of things to celebrate Ambedkar Jayanti and assured Dalits that they will do a lot to celebrate it. On the other hand, Dalits still do not have reservation rights in the private sector," she added.
"The legal rights which Ambedkar created for the backward sections of the society will only reach the society when honest work is done for providing those rights to them," she said.
"Even after the country got independence, whether it is Congress rule or BJP rule, the sad truth is that the Dalits are still suffering," Mayawati said in the Rajya Sabha.
"There is an urgent need to change the mindset of the major political parties of the country towards Dalits," she said. "I have to tell the Union government that this is a serious matter. I ask the government to give justice to the Dalit victims in Gujarat. It is not enough to just send the Gujarat CM to meet them. Action needs to be taken against authorities which were negligent. They should be arrested," she said.
"In the name of protection of cows, a lot of unfair things are being done. Injustice against Dalits is being done in the name of protection of cows," said Mayawati in the Rajya Sabha.
Crimes against Dalits being done in the name of cow protection, says Mayawati
"Instead of making Dalits a political weapon, Congress, BJP and other parties should be reminded that they should rise above petty politics and work for the development of backward sections," she said.
"The victims often do not get justice in case of a CID probe," said Mayawati in the Rajya Sabha. "Gujarat government did not act quickly enough. It was only when the media picked up this issue that some action was taken."
"This Una incident case should run in a fast track court. We also demand that one of the judges should be a Dalit," Mayawati said. "Forget about Dalits getting justice, even their FIR is not filed many times and the latest example is the Una (Gujrat) incident," she also said.
Deputy Chariman PJ Kurien denies that the House is taking the subject lightly. Rajya Sabha is currently debating Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker Bhagwant Mann's video of him entering Parliament by crossing several security layers. Mann then posted it on social media, inviting attack from MPs across party line, who termed his act as a security breach.
In the video, which went viral, Mann was seen showing entry gate through which MPs enter Parliament House and saying how strong is the security. "The car is registered with the Lok Sabha. It has a censor, which has the vehicle details. As soon as so you come near the gate, the censor identifies the car and announces the name and number of the car," Mann says in the video with him crossing several layers of the security.
On the fifth day of the Monsoon Session (Friday), Aam Aadmi Party MLA Bhagwant Mann's filmed a video entering Parliament by crossing several security layers, which eventually caused uproar in both the Houses. Mann, who posted it on social media, invited attack from MPs across party line, who termed his act as a security breach.
As soon as the House assembled, she informed it about the action being taken on the issue which had led to the adjournment of Lok Sabha proceedings on July 22. "The inquiry committee shall inquire into the serious security implications and related aspects.... (and) suggest suitable remedial measures to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future and recommend appropriate action in the matter," the Speaker said.
The member is "advised not to attend the sittings of the House" until a decision is taken in the matter, Mahajan said. Mann was not present in the House.
The panel has also been asked to "suggest remedial measures" so that such episodes are not repeated.
Mahajan has formed the nine member panel headed by BJP MP Kirit Somaiya which includes Anandrao Adsul (Shiv Sena), Meenakshi Lekhi, Satya Pal Singh (both BJP), B Mahtab (Biju Janata Dal), Ratna De Nag (Trinamool) and K. C. Venugopal (Congress) and other members.
Therefore, the "act of the member" has put the security of the Parliament in peril, she said. Mahajan said she had consulted leaders of all political parties and everyone supported her actions on this issue.
Describing Parliament as "sanctum sanctorum" of democracy, Mahajan recalled that on 13 December, 2001, security personnel had sacrificed their lives protecting the parliament and after that entire security system was reviewed and overhauled.
It put "security of the parliament in peril", Mahajan added. Mann has been asked to appear before the panel by 10.30 am tomorrow and make his submission.
Addressing the Lok Sabha as soon as it reassembled after the weekend break, Mahajan said taking audio video footage of security zones in the parliament by Punjab's Sangrur MP Mann on July 21 and putting them on social networking site was improper.
"The act of the member of audio-visual recording of the Parliament and posting it on the social media puts the security of Parliament in peril," the Speaker said, adding that several members had expressed concern over the issue on Friday last.
The panel, chaired by BJP member Kirit Somaiya, has been asked to submit its report by August 3, while Mann has time till tomorrow morning to submit his explanation to the committee.
Acting tough, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan today said AAP MP Bhagwant Mann's videography of the Parliament House complex had put its security "in peril" and asked him not to attend the House till a decision is taken on the matter while setting up a nine-member panel to probe the issue.
The Lok Sabha is likely to discuss The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill today. Apart from this, the Lower House is also slated to discuss The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill.
Sasikala Pushpa began crying in the House over the issue of attacks on women in the country. She has alleged that she was harassed and was being forced to quit her post.
"So what if we disagreed with you? This is not the country we are used to living in," O'Brien said. "The Prime Minister needs to come in the House and say that we can live in the India we know, the India of unity and diversity."
"For Rs 15, they (Dalits) are being killed because they are Dalits. I am a gau sevak. But in the name of gau sevaks, don't cross the line. This is a sitaution which has gone beyond the border of this country. Since they are taking these decisions, they must listen to what the UN had to say about this country," he said.
"The curb on religious fundamentalism, this is a dangerous situation. If it happens and happens and happens, it is a decision. This is a decision of this government. Otherwise, the Defence Minister would not have said what he said yesterday," TMC MP Derek O'Brien said, referring to Parrikar's remarks that Aamir Khan needs to be taught a "lesson" because of his remarks on intolerance.
An angry Parrikar responded by saying that he did not take the name of any person in the video.
"Since the BJP government came to power, they targeted Muslims first. Now, they are committing atrocities against the Dalits. The Prime Minister should come to the Parliament and clarify on what is happening," Mayawati said.
CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury responded to Parrikar and said, "What he said is objectionable. That cannot be acceptable. Tomorrow, are you going to threaten me? If he is raksha mantri, kiska raksha ho raha hai?"
Defence Minister Parrikar responded to the uproar in the Rajya Sabha over his remarks against Aamir Khan and said, "Let them see the video themselves and make up their minds."
"We should think about the respect for women. In Bareilly, a teacher was abducted during daytime. This is not right. The government should speak. Why is the government silent?" she said.
"There are rapes taking place against Dalit women everywhere in the country. The government should take this matter seriously," Mayawati said.
Naqvi agreed with her and said the government was ready for a discussion.
"I am really embarrassed for standing here and talking about the same issue once again, even after the Nirbhaya gangrape...I want a discussion on women's protection. I do not care which place. I do not want politicising of this issue," Jaya Bachchan said in the Rajya Sabha.
An emotional Jaya Bachchan got up in the Rajya Sabha and demanded a discussion on the issue of safety of women.
"In view of seriousness of matter, Bhagwant Mann is further advised not to attend the sessions of Parliament for further two weeks," she said.
"The chairperson (of the committee) has sought extension of time for further two weeks. I have accepted the request for extension," Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said.
On the issue of AAP MP Bhagwant Mann being barred from the Parliament for making a video of the Parliament House complex, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that the committee probing this issue had asked for more time.
"This legislation will only be passed after a serious discussion. I hope the Finance Minister passes the Bill not on the strength of his numbers, but on the basis of logic," Chidambaram said.
"Government tried to pass the GST Bill without the support of the principal Opposition and I am happy they failed," he said.
"Many issues are still outstanding issues and still need to be resolved. We had earlier tried to pass the GST Bill with the support of the Opposition and we failed," he said.
"I welcome the friendly tone of the Finance Minister's speech. I think the tone and approach has changed over the last few weeks," Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said.
"People of India expect low indirect taxes. There are many voices in the government which speak for the corporate, but someone must speak for the people. I am doing that," Chidambaram said in the Rajya Sabha.
"When this Bill is passed today, we will prepare for the next stage of the debate, which is the Central GST Bill. I want an assurance from the Finance Minister....This is a very important legislation. I want an assurance that when that Bill is brought, that will be brought as a Financial Bill and not as a Money Bill," Chidambaram said.
"Persuade all parties and sections of the people that a standard of 18 percent is the most appropriate," he added.
"The worry that we have is creeping taxation. But that is what Parliament is for. Taxation is the exclusive power of the Parliament. It is ultimately Parliament which calls the shots in taxes," he said.
"I, on behalf of my party, loudly and clearly demand that the GST rate should not exceed 18 percent," Chidambaram said in the Rajya Sabha.
Bill in next stage of GST debate should be brought as a Financial Bill: Chidambaram
Chidambaram warns that a rate too high, something like 23 percent, will be inflationary. He insists that the Bill needs to be passed as a finance Bill. The critical point we shouldnt be miss here is that the Congress is pitching for 18 percent standard GST rate and isnt ready to give up on this point in any case.
This comment is crucial since the NDA government has not yet arrived on a single rate. Chidambaram attacks the Narendra Modi government, saying it does not care about the problems of the common people. Chidambaram stresses on the point that the rate should be changed only with the permission of Parliament, and thus makes Congress compromise formula that the GST rate should be included in the GST Bill, though his party is willing to compromise on the earlier demand that the rate should be included in the constitution.
According to Firstpost Financial Editor Dinesh Unnikrishnan, P Chidambaram has hit the core point in his speech the final GST rate. Chidambaram positions Congress as the voice of poor and emphasises on the fact that standard GST rate should not exceed 18 percent on the lines of what governments chief economic advisor, Arvind Subrmanian, suggested.
"It (GST) violates states' autonomy. It results in permanent revenue loss to the state of Tamil Nadu. We strongly oppose this Bill," AIADMK MP A Navaneethakrishnan said in the Rajya Sabha.
"We have moved an amendment that the compensation should be for at least 5 years," he added.
"Tamil Nadu will lose Rs 9270 crore because of GST. This is not a small amount," he said.
"Till date, the revenue-neutral rate has not been fixed by the government," he said, adding that this was a problem in the GST Bill.
"Petroleum and petroleum products must be kept outside GST permanently. We can save our people only then," he said. "It is a well-known fact that Tamil Nadu is a manufacturing state. It is also known that this method of taxation is destination-based. We strongly oppose that," he said.
He then went on to elaborate on the changes which AIADMK wanted in the GST Bill.
"The composition of the GST Council is not fair. The weightage of each state's vote should be in proportion to their representation in the country," said the AIADMK MP in the Rajya Sabha.
"Now let me tell you about the ping pong match," O'Brien said
"I'm feeling like a teenager in the presence of these senior lawyers," O'Brien said. "There is the politics of the Bill. GST can also be interpreted as the Girgit Samjhauta Tax," TMC MP Derek O'Brien said in the Rajya Sabha.
TMC MP Derek O'Brien has always been dramatic in his speeches, and his speech during the GST Bill is a perfect example.
The money has to first come from Centre to states and then from states to local bodies. If the availability of funds to local bodies gets delayed, that can seriously hamper functioning of local bodies, Patel cites. In a larger context, this problem is not for MCGB alone. It would apply to all big and small local bodies across the country in the GST regime. Patels remarks suggest the magnitude of challenge the Modi government has while implementing the revolutionary tax regime.
Patel raises the challenge of GST implementation. Under the GST regime, when various indirect taxes including sales tax, VAT and Octroi get consolidated in one uniform tax rate, will large local bodies such as MCGB get funds on time for its daily functioning? Patel asks.
Firstpost Financial Editor Dinesh Unnikrishnan says that NCP Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel raises an interesting case of states within the states, citing the example of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGB), which under Octroi alone garners about Rs 8000 crore to Rs 9000 crore per annum.
"The Prime Minister should come to the House apologise to the nation. If he cannot come, we will be happy even if Finance Minister Jaitley apologises," Budania said. "It was Congress which forced you to follow the right path of this Bill."
"At that time, the then Gujarat CM had said that this Bill is against the welfare of the nation. Today, the same man who is now PM, said that this Bill is benefitial for the nation," he said.
"When the Congress had brought this Bill to the Parliament, then BJP had protested against it," said Narendra Budania, Congress MP from Rajasthan.
PM Modi should apologise to the nation for his U-turn on GST Bill: Congress in Rajya Sabha
"We have given this notice for discussion to wake up the government. It is unfortunate that the Taj of Hindustan is burning but the central government cannot feel the heat. Which kind of heat will wake up the Kashmir government?" Azad said.
"Today, it has been 30 days since curfew was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir. I do not think that any state in India has seen curfew for 30 days since Independence," Congress leader Azad said.
"Please call for an all-party meeting and send a delegation to Kashmir," he said.
"This cannot be solved through law and order machinery," he said. "The silence of the Prime Minister is more eloquent than words. He is sending the message that the government does not care about the situation in Kashmir."
"This is one of the most grave situations I have risen in to speak. I have not seen continuous curfew for 30 days in my life. How can we remain silent? More than 1000 incidents of firing have been reported in a month. More than 8000 have been injured. 60 are dead. It is inhuman and criminal. Why are we using pellet guns? I am told that even Israel does not use pellet guns against Palestinians," CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury said.
"If you (BJP) were not opposing this Bill at that time, this Bill would have been passed two years ago. So, you are actually responsible for delaying the Parliament passing this Bill, but we are taking the blame," he said.
"Why was it that in 2011, some ministers who are sitting on that side were opposing this Bill?" Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said in the Lok Sabha.
"Today, the Parliament is going to take a big step for the freedom from tax terrorism," he said. "Some people will know the condition of taxation in our country," he added.
"Today is 8 August. On this day many years ago, Mahatma Gandhi had moved the nation with 'Bharat choro' slogan," PM Narendra Modi said in the Lok Sabha.
"Therefore, who won and who lost is not a matter of debate," the Prime Minister further said.
"But the credit for this Bill does not belong to one party. It belongs to the culture of Indian democracy," Modi said.
"It is true that someone created this Bill while someone else nurtured it," he said. "Just as someone gave birth to Krishna and someone else raised him," he said.
"The most important requirement was the creation of trust between Centre and the states. The most important thing was to not decide this on the basis of sheer numbers. That is why I have earlier said that democracy is not just about numbers," he said.
"We were successful in taking care of a lot of flaws with the GST Bill. 'Ek manch, ek manth, ek marg, ek manzil' is the mantra behind GST which all of us have experienced," the PM said.
"Sometimes, there were doubts about the GST. When I was the CM, even I had doubts about GST. And today, because of seeing GST continuously as a CM, my viewpoint changed when I viewed it as Prime Minister," Modi said.
"All Centre and states need to unite to create a mechanism for Ek Bharat," PM Modi said in the Lok Sabha.
I had different view of GST because I looked at it earlier from the point of view of a CM: PM Modi in Lok Sabha
"A message will go to the people through GST that the consumer is the king," Modi said. "GST gives a guarantee of security to small traders and businessmen. It will result in economic growth."
"Despite our differences, we made efforts to take GST forward," he said. "A uniformity in the processing of taxation will come through GST."
"In the entire discussion of GST, none of us used it as a platform for politics. We rose above politics for the welfare of the nation," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in the Lok Sabha.
GST will send the message that the consumer is the king: PM Modi in LS
"Even during the all-party meeting, I had said that the credit for the GST Bill goes to all political parties," the Prime Minister said.
"It is a matter of great strength for Indian democracy that all of us are making efforts to take this forward together," he said.
"It is also true that we need to have IT-preparedness and legal preparedness. In the world, even the countries which are praised for their democracy find it tough to deal with Bills," he said.
"Because of GST, the taxpayer will realise that he will benefit from honesty. Therefore, we will succeed in bringing down the generation of black money," Modi said.
"There will be data integration. Because of a strong cross-checking mechanism, a seamless method which will help in catching any wrongdoing will be created," the PM said.
"GST will help in curbing corruption and black money," Modi said. "Corruption will move towards zero because of GST," he said.
"When something happens in Africa, the Prime Minister tweets about it. But when the Taj of India is burning, the heat is not reaching the central government," he added.
"We were told that he spoke on Kashmir issue in Madhya Pradesh because the CM told him to do so. This shows that the Parliament means nothing to the PM and he would not have spoken on the Kashmir issue if the Chief Minister had not asked him to do so," he said.
"This is the fourth time we are asking the Prime Minister to provide a statement in the House," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said in the Rajya Sabha.
PM spoke on Kashmir in Madhya Pradesh just because the CM told him to do so: Azad in RS
"When you truly feel pain from the heart, it will reach Kashmir," he said.
"When you say Kashmir is an integral part of India, it should not only be on paper. There should be integration of hearts and minds. What about the integration between federal and state government?" said Azad.
"Law and order in Kashmir in not just in the hands of Jammu and Kashmir police, but also in the hands of paramilitary forces," Azad further said. "If someone says that Mehbooba Mufti should alone solve the problem in Kashmir, that is not possible for her," he added.
"Kashmir is secular. The destruction of Kashmiriyat and insaniyat is not happening because of democracy but because of the pellet guns," he said.
"There is a difference between communalism and separatism. Militants are also targeting Muslims. Militancy has no religion," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said in the Rajya Sabha.
"You can only keep Kashmir in India when you treat Kashmiris as equals," he said. "Shoot the people but do not use pellet guns. Pellet Guns are worse than live bullets. It is worse than killing people," he further said.
"The Prime Minister said that the people of the country love Kashmir. But the people of Kashmir should also love the country," JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav said.
"Merely repeating what Atal Bihari Vajpayee said is not going to create that trust. Create that trust by stopping the communal polarisation that is taking place in the country," he said.
"If everyday you talk about abrogating Article 370, you talk about love jihad, ghar wapsi, are you creating trust?" said Yechury.
"Unless you address the central question of the promises made to the people of Kashmir at the time of independence, this problem will not be solved," he said. "The problem today can only be solved if you initiate a political dialogue. I have urging this government that this can only come through with an atmosphere of trust.
"The trust deficit exists (in Kashmir) because of the string of betrayals of the promises made," said the CPI(M) leader.
He also took a dig at the government's foreign policy and said, "When you want to wish Happy Birthday, you go to Pakistan."
"If other governments have engaged in dialogue in the past, what is preventing this government from initiating the political dialogue?" Yechury said.
"The threat we face today is not a mere question of autonomy. There is also an orchestrated terrorist threat in Kashmir," he said.
"Today, there is an attempt to create dual power in Kashmir," Dasgupta further said. "Let us remember that dialogue cannot be done if we are going to tie the hands of the executive."
"While I agree with Sitaram Yechury that we need a form of political approach, the form and time of that approach should be different," he said.
"We have been talking about development and healing hearts and unfortunately, we have come across a rather big emotional divide. At an earlier time, it was thought that Article 370 would facilitate the process of integration. But we may have actually hardened the emotional divide," he said.
"A lot of the people who have taken to the streets may be spontaneous. But there is also a large degree of pre-meditation in the protests," he said.
"That was the death of Burhan Wani. The death of any Indian should be a source of anguish. But Burhan Wani never considered himself an Indian. And what do you say about a person who glamourises terrorism?" Dasgupta said.
"The problem we face in Kashmir today is somewhat different from the problems we have faced earlier," he said. "Three months ago, Kashmir was peaceful. We had a unique political experiment. It was an alliance between the Valley and Jammu, something which was unique and encouraging. And then something broke loose," he added.
"While we try to evolve a consensus on this issue, we should sometimes be brutally frank about what we are dealing with," Swapan Dasgupta, nominated MP, said in the Rajya Sabha.
"I wish people in this Parliament talked about sending a delegation to AIIMS, where a girl injured by pellet guns is admitted," he said.
"Why do we only remember Kashmir when it is burning? Guns will not solve any problem," he said. "The people of this country should understand what the problem in Jammu and Kashmir is."
"Why wasn't there any problem in Kashmir until 1987?" said a dramatic PDP MP Nazir Ahmad Laway in the Rajya Sabha.
Why do we remember Kashmir only when it is burning? asks PDP MP in Rajya Sabha
Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia: When we are talking about Swachh Bharat, we should first clean our minds. Fringe elements have now turned into the Centre today. Why the Home Minister didn't visit Rohith Vemula?
PM made a strong statement: Shoot me, not the Dalits. But why he didn't include Muslims? Muslims can never be part of Hindu nationalism but they are a part of Indian nationalism.
Sexual violence against Dalit women has increased. About eight lakh Dalits are dependent on selling skins, bones of dead cows, what will they do now?
AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi: No democracy in the world has prioritise animal life over human life. But the Indian democracy has. Why do gua rakshaks have come to power? The credit goes to the idealogy of ruling party. What right do so-called gau rakshaks have to look at what I eat?
NK Premchandran, RSP MP from Kollam: The attrocities against the Dalits is politics. Educational, economical and social upliftment is the need of the poor.
We all should work together and committ ourselves in taking action in order to stop the atrocities on Dalit. Also, I would appeal all the state governments to take strictest action against anti-social elements who try to disrupt the harmony of secular fabric of the country.
It is pointless to blame the other government. Why did we celebrate Ambedkar's 125th anniversary with such genuinty? Respecting Ambedkar is like respecting India.
Seva Bharati, an RSS organisation, is one of the organisations which has been majorly active at the grassroots for the upliftment of Dalits.
Dalit community has contributed a lot towards Indian heritage. When India was under the British Rule, no matter how atrocities were inflicted on them, still they stood by India. They never demanded a separate country. We in the government emphathise with the Dalits.
On PM Modi's silence, Singh said, "Has any PM spoken during all discussions in Parliament? When PM spoke on the atrocities, and gau rakshaks, I issued an advisory that strict action should be taken against such gau rakshaks.
Our biggest challenge is to counter the twisted mentality of the perpetrators. What happened in Una was extremely condemnable.
"This is rumour that after BJP came to power that the atrocities on Dalit have increased. Just ask yourselves if this is true. Show me the data records. I don't want to point fingers at any political party. But following figures would explain: In 2013, 39,346 cases were registered against atrocities, 40,300 and 35,564 were registered respectively," Singh said.
"We can make India world's best country if we consider humanity above all. There are many articles in our Indian constitution for Dalits. But there is a need for effective laws to act on these articles. Our government is working at socio-economic development of the Dalits."
"It is painful that even after 70 years of independence we are still discussing atrocities on Dalits. We cannot deny that there are people from several castes and religion. We should not politicise the atrocities on Dalits," Singh said.
On Friday, 12 August, 2016 the bills for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha are Mental Health care Bill,2016 and Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016.
Congress leader Anand Sharma said that the government should not be hypocritical. He said, "When administrators have high salary, MLAs have a good rise, why don't we get the same treatment?"
Ram Gopal Yadav, SP, Uttar Pradesh raised the issue of the low wages of the members of Parliament. He said, "The pay of the MP's is only a fraction of ministers in Telangana Assembly or Delhi Legislative Assembly. We are asked to reduce our expenditure but we cannot do that when we have to entertain people of our constituency. The rising inflation also makes it difficult for us to sustain ourselves."
In the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha Congress leader Shashi Tharoor raised the issue of failing start-ups in India. He said, "The government has given tax incentives to the start-ups but everyone knows that they don't make any money in the first few years. Hence the tax incentives should be given to the angel investors."
After GST this is the second resolution which has been adopted unanimously.
She added, "This house earnestly appeals to all sections of society in India to work for the early restoration of normalcy and harmony. This is to restore confidence in people and youth in general. The resolution is adopted unanimously."
Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan announced that the resolutions proposed on the Kashmir issue has been passed. She said,"This house expresses serious concern over the violence in Kashmir Valley. Everyone here conveys loss of life caused by the deteriorating situation. The house is of the firm view that there cannot be a compromise on security."
Dubbing passage of the GST Constitution Amendment Bill as historic, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that manufacturing taxes and VAT will come down with the new national sales tax but the same for services tax will be decided by states and Centre. The Goods and Services Tax (GST), which will subsume over a dozen central and state levies including excise duty, service tax and VAT, is "perhaps the most important" tax reform, he said soon after Rajya Sabha overwhelmingly voted for the legislation.
"Today is a historic day for the reason that Rajya Sabha has passed the GST bill which have been held up for a very long time. All members present at the time of voting, voted in favour of the bill," Jaitley told reporters in Parliament House.
Thanking Congress and other opposition parties for supporting the legislation, he said proceedings in the Upper House demonstrated to the world that this is a great day for Indian democracy and Indian federalism. "In fact Indian democracy and Indian federalism are at there very best in as much as all national political parties and regional parties, state governments have come together to usher a major taxation reform.. The government wanted to build a larger consensus, which we succeeded in doing," he said.
Asked if the implementation of the GST would mean rise in cost of air travel, mobile bills and eating out because of incidence of service tax going up in the new regime, he said that tax rate would be decided by the GST Council, comprising of the Centre and the states.
"Manufacturing taxes will certainly will come down, VAT will come down. What level services taxes are to be kept is a discretion of GST Council. It will depend on what states along with Centre will decide," he later told Times Now. On Congress demand for not converting the supporting GST legislation as Money Bill, Finance Minister said he has not pre-decided on bringing the Bills as Money or Finance Bills.
"Once the GST is implemented, it will bring basic changes as far as the Indian tax structure is concerned, it will converge India into one unified market, with one unified tax in the country, it will improve the base of taxation, it will make evasion extremely difficult.
"The central and state governments have to work together to make this a great success. Overall, I think we had an excellent debate," he told reporters.
He said although every state government is on board in order to implement one of the most important taxation reform in India, the fact is that it has been passed unanimously all regional and national parties have actively supported it.
Congress hoped that subsequent legislations for its implementation like CGST and IGST bills would be brought in the Winter Session as financial and not money bills. Former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said he was only half satisfied with the Finance Minister's promise made in the Upper House in this regard.
"It's a half promise. Therefore, I am half satisfied," he told reporters after the passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill. Chidambaram said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has assured that he will hold discussions with the Congress party before bringing the bills. Senior Congress leader and former Law Minister Kapil Sibal cited the example of Aadhaar Bill to claim the new legislations could be converted into Money Bills to block voting.
"We have seen the Aadhar Bill was converted into a money bill and we were not given the right to vote on it. We have doubt that this GST bill will also be turned into a money bill whereby a discussion on it will take place in Rajya Sabha but members will not be allowed to vote on it. We are concerned over it," he said. "We hope that it will be a financial bill and there will be a discussion on it and we will be given the right to vote on it," he said.
Another Congress member Renuka Chowdhury said, "They have considered many of our aspects. Have to wait and see what happens in the winter session." NCP leader Praful Patel said it is very good that the Constitution amendment bill to bring GST was passed with general consensus.
"It is good for the country and states will also benefit, especially those which considered themselves as backward as they will get more revenue.
"We hope that the Bill to be brought by government in November will also be passed with general consensus. Finance Minister has given an assurance that whatever bill will be brought, it will be honoured," he said. Earlier in the day, Congress had made it clear to the government that firm assurances for keeping the GST rate capped at 18 per cent and bringing subsequent legislations needed for its rollout as financial bills alone could ensure its support to the long-pending Constitution Amendment bill.
"We also demanded an assurance that the CGST and IGST should not be moved as money bill. The Central GST and Integrated GST are bills which will apply on taxpayers, on common man. They must be debated and voted upon by both Houses of Parliament. We hope to get assurance from the Finance Minister. If these assurances are forthcoming, we will be able to support," Chidambaram told reporters.
The GST Bill will finally be taken up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha.
India Inc had said it is looking forward to introduction of the much-awaited Goods & Services Tax (GST), saying it would be a very significant step in the field of indirect tax reforms in India.
The government has circulated official amendments to the GST bill to drop 1 percent additional tax and include a definite provision in the statute for compensating states for revenue loss for 5 years as it gears up to discuss the long-pending bill in Rajya Sabha.
The eleventh day of Parliament's Monsoon Session on Monday began with AIADMK Rajya Sabha member Sasikala Pushpa's statement where she said that she was facing a "life threat" and was being "compelled to resign".
Sasikala, who hit the headlines for slapping DMK leader Tiruchi Siva at the airport on Saturday, said: "I am receiving an unconditional apology from Tiruchi Siva. Something was spoken against my party leader and I behaved like that."
The parliamentary proceedings over the day saw the passage of the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016, that provide for putting the NEET in place for admission to medical and dental courses across the country from next year; and National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in Rajya Sabha.
The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws Amendment Bill 2016 was moved in the Lok Sabha for consideration and passing.
Key proceedings/issues discussed in Lok Sabha:
Supplementary demands over additional spending
The government sought parliament's nod for additional spending of Rs 1.03 lakh crore, though the cash outgo will only be Rs 20,948.26 crore.
Presenting the Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sought parliament's approval for a transfer of Rs 5,000 crore towards National Employment Guarantee Fund and Rs 1,000 crore for providing funds to Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves for Sovereign Strategic Crude Oil Reserve at Vizag, Mangalore, and Pudur.
Bill for speedier recovery of bad loans passed
The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws Amendment Bill 2016 was moved in the Lok Sabha for consideration and passing.
Piloted by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the bill seeks to amend four laws the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002; the Recovery of Debts due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993; the Indian Stamp Act, 1899; and the Depositories Act, 1996.
Special status: TDP MPs protest in Parliament
Unhappy over the Centre's stand on special status to Andhra Pradesh, TDP, a partner in NDA government, staged protests both inside and outside Parliament. Seeking immediate announcement for special status, the MPs of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) tried to disrupt the proceedings in the Lower House.
Holding placards and raising slogans in support of their demands, the TDP members in the Lok Sabha began the protest as soon as the house met for the day. They rushed to the speaker's podium, demanding that the government fulfill its commitments under Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan repeatedly appealed to members to return to their seats but they continued the protest. The Speaker conducted the proceedings amid the uproar before adjourning the proceedings till 2 pm.
Attack on Dalits and Muslims
Opposition members expressed concern over growing attacks on Dalits and minorities and called for stern action against cow vigilante groups which have been targeting them.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay underlined the need for action against those targeting the Dalits and Muslims to uphold secularism and communal harmony.
Key proceedings/issues discussed in Rajya Sabha:
GST Bill listed for Wednesday
The government has listed the GST bill for discussion in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, hoping it will be passed through consensus, but the opposition Congress said that consultation is still on over the issue and an agreement is not yet finalised.
In view of the development, the BJP has issued whip for all its Rajya Sabha members to be present in the house for the next three days.
"The GST bill is listed for Wednesday. We hope it will be passed through consensus," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said.
Bills to put in place NEET passed
The Rajya Sabha passed by voice vote the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016, that provide for putting the NEET in place for admission to medical and dental courses across the country from next year.
The bills provide for a Constitutional status to the 'National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and seek to amend the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, and the Dentists Act, 1948.
Responding to a debate on the bills in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda said the whole exercise was aimed to stop multiplicity of examinations, to bring transparency to curb corruption and to stop exploitation of students.
Uproar over Manohar Parrikar's comments on Aamir Khan
Rajya Sabha witnessed a brief uproar by opposition members over alleged remarks by Manohar Parrikar against actor Aamir Khan even as the Defence Minister denied having said what was been quoted to him.
During the Zero Hour, Derek O'Brien (TMC) raised the issue of "dangerous" rise in religious fundamentalism in the country, saying the government, ministers and people associated with the ruling party were "shooting their mouths off every day".
"The Prime Minister needs to come and say these are in fact mistakes, this is not thinking of the government. Prime Minister come here and assure us that we can live in the India we know Unity in Diversity".
As soon as he finished his Zero Hour mention, Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad quoted a report which said 'Parrikar takes a swipe at actor Aamir; those who speak like this must be taught a lesson'.
"So may I ask him (Parrikar who was sitting in the House) what lesson he is going to teach us...The entire nation should be told what type of action and lesson he is going to teach the minorities of this conuntry," Azad said.
To this, Parrikar said: "I would only say one thing. Let the members see the video...and make up their mind". However, this did not pacify the agitated opposition.
The proceedings on the 12th day of Parliament's Monsoon Session began with brief adjournments as members of NDA partner Telugu Desam Party and the Opposition YSR Congress created an uproar and demanded special category status for Andhra Pradesh.
However, Tuesday's proceedings were not deeply disturbed and the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha managed to pass The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill with the new legislation having provisions for confiscating 'benami' (proxy) assets, and The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which will allow new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to be set up at Tirupati, Palakkad, Goa, Dharwar, Bhilai and Jammu.
On Wednesday, the much-delayed bill to amend the constitution and introduce a Goods and Services Tax is scheduled to be moved by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Rajya Sabha, with the government hoping it will sail through after the additional levy of 1 percent proposed earlier was scrapped.
The government on Tuesday appeared confident of getting the bill through the Upper House, where it is in minority, saying it was sure that all parties will support the bill.
Key proceedings/issues discussed in Lok Sabha:
- Bulandshahr gangrape, atrocities on Dalits: Congress member Sushmita Dev said despite strengthening several laws to protect women and children, law enforcement agencies have failed to protect children and incidents like the one in Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh, where a woman and her daughter were brutally raped, continued to occur.
"Situation has reached such a stage that the family has now threatened to commit suicide if the culprits are not arrested. Uttar Pradesh government has failed to provide security to women and children," she said during Zero Hour.
BJP MP Raghav Lakhanpal said the Bulandshahar incident reflected the "dismal law and order" situation in Uttar Pradesh and alleged that the state government has failed to provide security in highways.
He urged the Centre to frame a cohesive policy to enable every state raise a security force, equipped with latest technology and vehicles, to handle any crime on highways.
TMC member Saugata Roy raised the issue of alleged atrocities on Dalits in different parts of the country and asked the Prime Minister to take steps to stop such attacks.
- Special status to Andhra Pradesh: Jaitley assured Lok Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh that the government was looking into their demand for pecial category status for the state.
Lok Sabha witnessed two brief adjournments over the issue earlier in the day by members of TDP and YSR Congress.
"Some members have concerns over particular issues. Government stands by its commitment. We are trying to find a solution to these issues," Jaitley intervened.
But after this assurance, the MPs sought a timeline for resolving the matter and continued raising slogans like "We want justice" and "We demand special status".
- Bill introduced to provide transgenders separate identity: A bill seeking to empower the transgender community by providing them a separate identity and putting in place a mechanism to punish those who exploit them was introduced in the Lower House.
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016, seeks to define a transgender person and prohibits discrimination against them.
It also confers the right upon transgender persons to be recognised as such and also grants them right to "self-perceived" gender identity.
- Problems of Indians in Gulf countries: The problems being faced by Indians in Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf countries were raised in the Lok Sabha, with demands that the government of India should act fast to help them.
Key proceedings/issues discussed in Rajya Sabha:
- Circulation of GST amendments: Ahead of the long-delayed GST Bill being taken up by Rajya Sabha, the government has circulated to MPs the amendments it has proposed in the Constitution Amendment Bill to enable implementation of the tax.
Jaitley told Rajya Sabha that the amendments to the Bill, pending in the Upper House for the past one year, were given to the Secretariat of the House two days ago and have been circulated to the members.
- Black money transactions: Committing to deal strongly with black money, Jaitley warned those having undisclosed income against missing the chance to make the declaration by 30 September and assured that rapid progress has been made with regards to the probe into the revelations made by the Panama Papers leak.
Jaitley was replying to a debate on The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amednment Bill, 2016 in the Rajya Sabha. The House later passed the legislation by voice vote.
A law alone will not solve the problem of black money but efforts will have to be made to create fear of law and stop the generation of black money, he said.
"Since it's the Benami law like the black money law, there has to be a deterrent provision which we have put it in this partciular law and I hope people get the clear signal and don't give the State an opportunity as far as using this law is concerned," he said.
- Resolving Siachen dispute: The government said the solution to Siachen Glacier is a part of the larger issue to include Pakistan's support to terrorism in India.
Thirteen rounds of talks to resolve the Siachen issue have already taken place between India and Pakistan, led by the respective defence secretaries, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.
- Tea Board HQ being shifted out of Kolkata: The alleged shifting of Tea Board headquarters from Kolkata to Guwahati was among the issues raised by members.
Vivek Gupta (TMC) raised the issue of the alleged move taking place after the BJP came to power in Assam and likened it to "chopping off the hands" of Kolkata.
The Centre, he alleged, has not been consulting the state government on the appointment of the chairman of Kolkata Port Trust and Damodar Valley Corporation and was now shifting the Tea Board headquarters.
- Steel Minister Birender Singh takes oath as member: Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh took oath as member of the Rajya Sabha. Singh, who was re-elected to the Upper House recently, took the oath in English.
She works silently. Away from the limelight. Prefers to interact more with the plebeians than the media. But in just over two years into the job Sushma Swaraj has completely changed the way her portfolio, the Union External Affairs Ministry, is perceived. She has prised open the stiff upper lip of Indian Foreign Service, simplified the knotty, bureaucratic layers of Indian embassies and has added speed, sincerity, and humbleness to operations.
And Swaraj has done all this in a breathtakingly quick time, with an unparalleled human touch. The immediacy of her response and personal attention to detail have ushered in a refreshing change in South Block and Indian diplomacy. Her accessibility stands in stark contrast to the lal-batti approach that Indians have come to expect from netas.
Most importantly, Indians stranded or in genuine distress in any part of the world now know that the minister's intervention is just a tweet away. They truly believe that she will try her best to address their concerns.
The strength of this belief was tested again most recently when a message from a starving Indian worker pointed to the deep humanitarian crisis that has broken out in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom's economy has been hit hard by persistently low oil prices. Struggling with financial difficulties many companies, who employ millions of blue collar workers from the Indian sub-continent, have shut shop.
Over 10,000 Indian migrant workers, or maybe more, in the kingdom have been for months left without a job, hungry and waiting in misery to return home. They have no money to even buy food, let alone exit visas.
As soon as she received the message through Twitter, Swaraj jumped into the fray, battle-ready and with a clear plan in place to launch the latest relief and rescue operation.
The minister, in a series of tweets starting 30 July, gave regular updates on the scale of the operation, the steps being taken and how the immediate crisis was averted.
Large number of Indians have lost their jobs in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The employers have not paid wages closed down their factories. /1 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 30, 2016
The number of Indian workers facing food crisis in Saudi Arabia is over Ten Thousand. It is not 800 as is being reported. @JagranNews Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 30, 2016
We have asked @IndianEmbRiyadh to provide free ration to the unemployed Indian workers in Saudi Arabia. /4 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 30, 2016
We have asked the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia to serve you food in Jeddah. /1 @Imran_khokhar84 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 30, 2016
I assure you that no Indian worker rendered unemployed in Saudi Arabia will go without food. I am monitoring this on hourly basis. Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 30, 2016
Indian Consulate n Indian Community Jeddah food stuff distribution mission accomplished at 245 AM today morning. Kudos to all. @123nrs India in Jeddah (@CGIJeddah) July 31, 2016
Swaraj sent two ministers of state, Gen (Retd) VK Singh and MJ Akbar to negotiate the dues of Indian workers with the Saudi and Kuwait authorities and rescue them from camps where they have been kept in quasi-detention with unpaid salaries. On Monday, she assured the Rajya Sabha that no Indian worker will sleep hungry. "If any Indian worker abroad is unemployed, he will not sleep hungry... The government takes full responsibility to feed them. If they get another job, that is fine, but if they want to return home, then I assure you, we will bring them home."
Singh's brief will also be to make an "on-the-spot assessment" for a possible evacuation of thousands, officials said.
According to a report in The Hindu, efforts are already underway to arrange for exit visas for jobless citizens and that the airlift operation is likely to take place in the "next few days."
A rescue operation on this scale, though tricky, won't certainly be unprecedented. The minister, along with her colleague VK Singh, had in 2014 used commercial flights to evacuate hundreds of Indians from Iraq. A year later, the government pressed into service the Air Force, Air India flights, naval and merchant ships to rescue more than 5000 Indians and some foreigners out of war-ravaged Yemen. A report in Washington Post points out how more than 550 foreigners from 32 countries, including a dozen Americans and three Pakistanis, were evacuated. India's coordination and presence were such that the US Embassy advised American nationals to seek Indian assistance to leave Sanaa, the Yemeni capital.
Last month, the government sent 2 IAF C-17 Globemaster planes to fly about 150 Indians out of South Sudan.
This is par for the course for Swaraj. When not rescuing Indians stranded abroad, the affable minister addresses concerns of even those within the country, sometimes walking an extra mile. As a newly-wed Haryana couple found out, help is just a tweet away. The Haryanvi youth, Tinu, who married Kazakhstan girl Jahna, was in trouble because her wife's tourist visa was expiring on 1 August. The two ran from pillar to post to extend her visa but to no avail.
Hearing about the couple's plight in Dainik Bhaskar, Swaraj tweeted in Haryanvi: "If you've filed a request to extend 'bahu's' visa, send me a copy of the request." Swaraj called Jahna 'bahu'.
No wonder that in 2015 Sushma Swaraj was voted the 'best performing minister' in Narendra Modi cabinet by a nationwide India TV-C Voter opinion poll.
Swaraj has shown herself to be an extremely hands-on, proactive minister always ready to address genuine grievances. Just don't tweet her about your malfunctioning refrigerator.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis home constituency Varanasi, for a change or at least for a day, is shining with Congress colours. Congress external poll strategist Prashant Kishor has ensured that Sonia Gandhis posters, banners, welcome arches and gates are seen everywhere in the city and her road show on Tuesday becomes a talking point, on whatever merit.
Congress poll campaign in the politically crucial Hindi heartland state goes with the punch line 27 saal, UP Behal (No progress in UP for 27 years). Most posters and banners has this catchphrase. Interestingly, Prashant Kishor has borrowed this pre-poll catchphrase from BJPs 2005 Bihar election campaign: 15 saal, bura haal, hitting at the Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi regime, when the state had irreparably suffered. That had yielded good dividend to the BJP-JD(U) combine. The Congress and Kishor would be hoping that this tried and tested catchphrase in Bihar works for them in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
Beyond borrowing that punch line with slight modification, there is an obvious problem with their strategy. Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday will lead a road show in Varanasi to push chief ministerial candidature of her 78-year old party nominee Sheila Dikshit.
The timing of it could not be worse for the Congress. It comes a day after BJPs Gujarat Chief Minister (also a woman) resigned on high moralistic pretext, at least thats what is for public consumption, that she is turning 75 in November and should thus retire from active politics and high pressure post.
Contrast Anandibens position with Sheila Dikshit. Anandiben retires ahead of turning 75, Sheila is forced to return from retirement at the age of 78 to lead the Congress campaign in a state as big and complex as UP with the biggest Assembly of 404 members.
The BJP is sure to use this as a handle to hit at Congress. Sheilas advance age and diminished performance in the last Delhi Assembly election when she lost in her own constituency and ultimately reduced party to a zero in Assembly is troubling many Congress men and women.
A party leader had raised Sheilas age question before Rahul Gandhi in Lucknow and the Congress vice-president took a long a walk, up and down to explain how he thought Sheila was Congress personified and would do same in UP what she did in Delhi. He even picked up a chair from the podium and put that few yards ahead of the rest saying that was her chair, symbolic rulers throne for UP.
Its a different matter though that soon after Sheila and a host of other senior leaders concerned with UP campaign were packed in a bus to Kanpur, a yatra flagged off by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Sheila Dikshit had fallen sick and had to return to her posh Delhi home for rest and medical check-up.
Same question could trouble Sonia when she lands in Varanasi. But Congress leadership has decided to take that in stride.
Kishor and Congress strategy is to make news, for now. A continued publicity, media and word of mouth would make them relevant in some areas at a time when it is facing an existential crisis in the state.
That is precisely the reason why she chose to land in Varanasi for the road show. Remember this is UP Assembly election and the Congress party should ideally have been fighting against incumbent Samajwadi Party.
She should thus have considered going to Mulayam Singh Yadavs home turf, Saifai or Etawah or any of its neighbouring areas. But that couldnt have given the kind of publicity Congress and Kishor would want. More so, Congress would have faced difficult times mobilizing people in Mulayam's home turf.
In any case, it would perhaps have been beneath Congresss president aura to take on a regional satrap. The Congress' first family cant be seen to be confronting anyone less than a prime minister. Also, local MLA Ajay Rai has a strong presence in the region. Rai has been told to show pull all his gears and his strength for Sonia from airport itself. During parliamentary election, he had mobilized good crowd for Rahul Gandhis road show in Varanasi, though none of that turned into votes. Former MP Rajesh Mishra too has influence in some pockets and was a contender for state Congress president. He too could add some numbers to crowd in the lanes of this holy city.
That way Congress can boast that Sonia had a successful road show in Modis turf and also claim total dissatisfaction against Modi.
If Congress is hoping that Sheila Dikshits Brahmin surname which she got after her marriage with noted Brahmin Congress leader Uma Shankar Dikshit would work magic on this influential community, then Sonia is going a step forward to woo the community conclude her road show with garlanding of Kamlapati Tripathis statue. At a time when Dalits are flavour of political discourse, Sonia would begin her road show after rest at circuit house from paying a tribute to BR Ambedkar. She will go to Kachhari to garland his statue and begin her yatra.
The Congress would hope that by garlanding statues of Ambedkar and Kamlapati Tripathi, Dalit and Brahmin social constituency has been taken care off.
There is a soft Hindutva tinge also in Sonia road show. She will also head to Dasaswamedh to do puja at Baba Vishwanath temple. The city after all runs in Baba Vishwanaths name and Sonia too would need his blessing to halt Congresss downward slide, or reverse of fortune.
The legal team for U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl on Monday asked to have the charges against the former prisoner of war dismissed, arguing comments made by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain violated his due process rights.
Bergdahl, 30, is facing a court-martial with a potential life sentence on charges of desertion and endangerment of U.S. troops after he walked away from his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and became a Taliban prisoner for five years.
Defence attorneys argued in a motion filed on Monday that comments made by McCain and the committee's general counsel, Steve Barney, have unduly influenced his case. The filing quotes McCain as saying last October: "If it comes out that (Bergdahl has no punishment, we're going to have a hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee."
"I am not prejudging, OK, but it is well known that in the searches for Bergdahl, after - we know now - he deserted, there are allegations that some American soldiers were killed or wounded, or at the very least put their lives in danger, searching for what is clearly a deserter," McCain added.
The statements, among others, defence attorneys argued, undermine the independence of the military proceeding and violate Bergdahl's rights to due process. The motion said if the charges are not dropped and Bergdahl is convicted, he should at least face no punishment.
"It is not rocket science to see what was wrong with Sen. McCain's comment," the motion says. "His comments - as the Army certainly knows - constituted impermissible meddling in a pending criminal case and an abuse of his authority as chairman of a powerful Senate committee."
Representatives for McCain's office could not be immediately reached for comment, nor could a spokesman for the Senate Armed Services Committee.
U.S. military prosecutors have said Bergdahl sneaked off his post, resulting in a 45-day search that put soldiers' lives at risk and diverted attention from the fight against the Taliban.
Bergdahl was freed in a prisoner swap in May 2014 involving the release of five Taliban leaders held by the United States. The deal drew heavy criticism from Republicans.
The court-martial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 6, 2017.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Beijing: In a bid to nullify the international tribunal's verdict that struck down its claims over the disputed South China Sea, China's Supreme Court on Monday issued a regulation reaffirming the country's jurisdiction over its territorial seas warning foreigners of criminal liability for violations of its sovereignty.
The Supreme People's Court (SPC) issued a regulation of judicial interpretation to clarify China's jurisdiction over its territorial seas, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The explanation provides a clear legal basis for China to safeguard maritime order, marine safety and interests, and to exercise integrated management over the country's jurisdictional seas, it quoted an SPC statement as saying.
The regulation, taking effect from Monday, stated that Chinese citizens or foreigners would be pursued with criminal liability if they were engaged in illegal hunting or fishing, or killing endangered wildlife in China's jurisdictional seas.
The SPC statement said "judicial power is an important component of national sovereignty. People's courts will actively exercise jurisdiction over China's territorial waters, support administrative departments to legally perform maritime management duties, equally protect the legal rights of Chinese and foreign parties involved and safeguard Chinese territorial sovereignty and maritime interests".
The judicial explanation, based on Chinese law, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and judicial practices, further clarifies China's maritime jurisdiction.
According to the regulation by the SPC, jurisdictional seas not only include inland waters and territorial seas, but also cover regions including contiguous zones, exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.
The SPC move is seen as an attempt to provide legal cover to China's maritime claims over almost all of the South China Sea in the backdrop of the 12 July judgement of the tribunal appointed by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) quashing China's nine-dash-line claim over the SCS. It also upheld the Philippines' rights over the area claimed by Manila.
China has rejected the verdict delivered in response to the petition which the PCA said is binding.
While Beijing said the tribunal's verdict was null and void as it is illegally constituted, Monday's regulation by the top court was expected to provide a legal cover for Chinese military and coast guard to effectively implement China's claims over nearly 90 per cent of the SCS and back the rights of its fishermen to continue fishing in the region.
Besides Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan contests Chinas claims over the area with counter claims.
The court regulation followed assertions by the Chinese military to protect the country's maritime rights and interests in the backdrop of increasing tensions over the SCS after the PCA tribunal struck down Beijing's clams.
Washington: Donald Trump has claimed that the US presidential election could be "rigged" as the Republican presidential nominee tried to divert attention away from a disastrous week for his campaign by labeling his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton as "the devil".
"I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," Trump said on Monday during a town hall in Columbus, Ohio.
The 70-year-old White House hopeful who emerged as the winner of a tough Republican presidential primary of 17 candidates claimed his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton had to fight only against Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont.
"I had 17 people. I wasn't running against two people. I had 17 people. I got a similar number to Hillary Clinton, and she had Bernie and she had a hard time putting Bernie away, and Bernie, poor Bernie. He looked so upset. You know what, he made a mistake. He shouldn't have made a deal. He lost, he lost," Trump said.
"First of all, it was rigged, and I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest. Because I think my side was rigged, if I didn't win by massive landslides, I mean, think of what we won in New York and Indiana, California, 78 per cent. That's with other people in the race," he said.
At another rally, Trump branded the 68-year-old former secretary of state as a "devil". Trump used this extreme characterisation of Clinton when speaking about the decision of Senator Sanders to support her in the election.
"He (Sanders) made a deal with the devil. She's the devil," Trump alleged. In his rallies, Trump for the past several weeks has been using the word "crooked" against her. "His people are angry at him, and they should be. If he would have not just done anything, gone home, go to sleep, relax, he would have been a hero. But he made a deal with the devil. She's the devil," Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania.
The controversial Republican nominee has in the past few days faced a barrage of criticism following his comments about the Gold Star parents of a Pakistani-American Muslim soldier killed in Iraq. In response to an emotional attack on him by the parents of 27-year-old army captain Humayun Khan, who died in a suicide bombing, Trump had claimed to have made sacrifices equal to their son.
A range of figures and organisations from across the political spectrum from President Barack Obama to Senator John McCain have criticised Trump for his comments.
PURBALINGGA, Indonesia Rizki Mulyadi sits half-submerged in a steaming herbal bath, hands folded in his lap and head down.
Mulyadi hopes the concoction he is bathing in and the Islamic teacher who makes it will help him overcome a six-year addiction to the drug of choice for many in Indonesia: crystal methamphetamine, or "meth".
The traditional rehabilitation centre in Purbalingga village on Java island says it has treated hundreds of addicts like Mulyadi, 26, with herbal teas and baths, prayer and counselling.
President Joko Widodo says drugs pose a bigger danger than Islamist militancy and he has ordered an intensification of a drugs war that has included the execution of drug traffickers, the latest last week when three Nigerians and an Indonesian faced a firing squad.
But while raids, arrests and punishments pick up, state funding for rehabilitation, that weans people off drugs and cuts demand, is dwindling.
That leaves thousands of people like Mulyadi with few affordable options in a country that within years has gone from being a drug transit point to one of Southeast Asia's biggest markets for narcotics.
"We need support in terms of budget to be able to rehabilitate all drug users in need," Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indra Parawansa told Reuters.
"Our budget alone is not enough for that, it is experiencing a decline."
The government estimates there are six million drug users in the country of 250 million people. Of those, more than 1 million are addicted to meth, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said in a 2013 report.
But less that one percent of dependent users got treatment in 2014 compared with a global average of 16 percent, it said.
Indonesian law mandates rehabilitation for people caught with small quantities of drugs. But many end up in crowded jails.
"Many of those who are in prison should not be sentenced to prison at all, they should be sent to rehab," Parawansa said.
Parawansa's ministry aims to rehabilitate 15,000 drug users this year on a budget of 87 billion rupiah ($6.6 million). Next year, it will only get funds to help 9,000, she said.
While rehabilitation funding has been cut, the president has tripled the budget of the national counter-narcotics agency, known as the BNN, to 2.1 billion rupiah ($160,000). It also draws on the police budget.
A spokesman for Widodo, asked about the cut to rehabilitation spending, said many areas were seeing tighter budgets, and it did not mean the president did not value rehabilitation.
"The president is concerned about how to prevent the spread in drug use and rehab programmes are part of that," said the spokesman, Johan Budi.
"We need to be hard on smugglers and traffickers, and that explains why the president is taking a hard approach, but that doesn't mean the war on drugs is at the expense of rehabilitation. Both law enforcement and rehabilitation are happening at the same time."
HERBS AND FAITH
Indonesia is not the only country to take a hard line.
President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has also declared a drug war and about 300 suspected dealers were shot dead in July, most in vigilante killings, police say.
Thailand has also for years been tough on drugs but its soaring prison population has recently prompted a re-think and the downgrading of meth from a Category 1 drug to reduce numbers in jail.
Critics say Widodo's stand on drugs criminalizes victims and makes the path to recovery that much harder.
"They want to build more prisons but they should be building more rehab centres and making more treatment options available," said Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch in Jakarta.
The centre in Purbalingga is one of 160 such facilities across Indonesia that use traditional methods. There are 18 government rehab centres and almost 400 private ones and public clinics using more conventional means.
Ahmad Ischsan Maulana, head of the Purbalingga centre, said his clients must stop all drugs when they arrive.
"I get them to quit immediately and replace their intake with herbs," he said.
"That relieves withdrawal symptoms without side effects," said Maulana, known as "the boiling teacher" because of the hot baths.
His small complex of dormitories houses about 30 people.
"What's important is our faith in Allah who is the only one that can heal us. No doctor can heal us of drug addiction."
He says none of this clients has come back but he does not monitor people after they leave.
Mulyadi said he was determined to stop drugs.
"I've come here to rebuild my relationship with my family," he said, showing off a tattoo on his chest of his five-year old son.
(Editing by Robert Birsel)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
BAGHDAD Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Monday ordered an investigation into allegations of corruption in weapons deals that risks re-igniting a political crisis ahead of planned military moves to retake Mosul from Islamic State.
Infighting over anti-corruption measures, which stalled government activity for several months and sparked clashes between protesters and security forces in Baghdad earlier this year, threatens to slow momentum to recapture Mosul and capitalise on battlefield gains against the ultra-hardline militants.
Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri denied charges of corruption made at a closed parliament session by Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi that was broadcast late Monday on state television.
Obeidi told the session that Jabouri and other MPs he identified had lobbied on different occasions on behalf of companies or businessmen seeking contracts to sell planes, Hummer all-terrain vehicles, civilian cars or foodstuff to the army, or to appoint soldiers, officers and personnel at the ministry.
Abadi said in a statement that he had directed the Integrity Commission, a government body tasked with fighting corruption, to investigate the accusations.
Obeidi had been summoned to parliament to respond to allegations of graft in the Ministry of Defence, which has been accused of wasting billions of dollars in public funds and weakening the armed forces to the point where they collapsed in 2014 in the face of the Islamic State threat.
"What happened today was a charade in order for the questioning not to be held", Jabouri said in a televised news conference following the session. He also said he would refrain from chairing parliament until he can clear his name.
Islamic State seized a third of Iraqi territory two years ago, but has since been pushed out of many of those areas by Shi'ite Muslim militias and a military that is slowly being rebuilt with the support of a U.S.-led coalition.
Former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who was forced to resign following the Islamic State surge, was acting defence minister at the time.
Abadi has been trying for more than two years to tackle corruption in Iraq, which ranks 161 out of 168 on Transparency International's Corruption Index, but has faced resistance from much of the country's political elite.
Obeidi told state television in an interview on Saturday that the summons to appear in parliament was "a conspiracy by the corrupt, a political targeting because of tackling corruption".
He said that since taking over the ministry, he had cut down significantly on graft in weapons deals and "ghost soldiers" - members of the military who do not exist but whose salaries are collected.
(Reporting by Stephen Kalin, Saif Hameed and Maher Chmaytelli; editing by Richard Balmforth, G Crosse)
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LONDON A man who stabbed a passenger at a London underground train station in December while shouting that he was acting for Syria was jailed for life at a London court on Monday.
Muhaydin Mire, 30, of east London, beat his victim, forced him to the ground and kicked his head before attempting to cut his neck, leaving the man with a 12-cm (5-inch) gash that required five hours of surgery.
He will serve a minimum of 8-1/2 years in prison after being convicted of attempted murder at London's Old Bailey criminal court on June 8.
Initially described by police as a "terrorist incident", the attack at Leytonstone station in east London was investigated by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command.
"Whilst Mire was not accused of terrorist offences, it would appear from comments he made at the time of the attack and the content he had downloaded on his phone that he may have been inspired by terrorist propaganda," said Commander Dean Haydon in a statement.
Mire, who tried to attack several other people during the incident, had pleaded guilty to four counts of attempted wounding but denied trying to kill his victim.
Several people filmed the incident on their phones. Some of the videos were posted on the Internet shortly after the attack, including footage of a bystander shouting "You ain't no Muslim, bruv (brother)," a phrase which circulated widely and was praised by then Prime Minister David Cameron.
The Leytonstone incident took place on Dec. 5, a time of heightened tension over Islamist militancy in Europe following the Nov. 13 attacks that killed 130 people in Paris.
(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Stephen Addison)
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A quaint central Maryland town known for its antique shops and haunted mansions was beginning to clean up debris on Monday after weekend flooding killed at least two people and badly damaged dozens of buildings, government officials said.
Torrential rain caused a tributary of the Patapsco River to overflow and send floodwaters through Ellicott City, an unincorporated community in Howard County, about 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Washington, D.C.
"We've been through blizzards, we've been through hurricanes, we've been through terrible train accidents, but we have never seen devastation like this," U.S. Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, told reporters at a news conference.
Mikulski praised the work of emergency officials and citizens who helped save lives of those threatened by the surging waters.
Search and rescue workers came to the aid of about 120 people stranded in the flooding, while residents formed a human chain to free a woman trapped inside her car when raging waters enveloped the vehicle on a downtown street.
"For the people who did things like form the human chain -- I tell you, it really shows that the people here have such grit," she said.
A video posted online by local media of the so-called human chain shows an unidentified woman in a compact convertible car as muddy, waist-deep waters gush down a roadway that looks like a raging river. At first one man attempts to reach the woman but is swept off his feet. Soon after, the video shows a group of men link arms and stretch out towards the vehicle, eventually pulling the woman from her car to safety.
Overnight, more than 180 vehicles were towed from streets, parking lots and the riverbed to a local high school, county officials said. An additional 20 cars were stuck in an area of the river.
"With the cars removed, Monday's focus is on debris removal," county officials said in a statement.
Meanwhile, scattered thunderstorms were expected throughout the day, according to the National Weather Service.
Elliott City received almost 6 inches (15 cm) of rain in two hours late on Saturday, causing the tributary, Tiber Creek, to break its banks.
Vehicles were swept down city streets and dozens of buildings were badly damaged in addition to those destroyed, county officials said.
Every business near the river on the town's historic Main Street had suffered major damage, including building fronts torn off and doors stripped away, county officials said.
The bodies of two people, a man and a woman, were found in the aftermath, one in the river, officials said.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency, as did Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman. The declarations allow aid to be released more quickly for Ellicott City, which has a population of about 65,000.
Kittleman said the money would help pay for infrastructure improvements to make the town more resilient to flooding.
"We are going to make sure Ellicott City rises up to be an even stronger more vibrant place than it is right now," he said.
Officials were still assessing the number of people displaced by the flooding and the cost of damage to the community, a county spokeswoman said.
(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Frances Kerry and Diane Craft)
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London: The mother of a British man accused of seizing a gun to "kill" White House hopeful Donald Trump launched a campaign Tuesday to bring her autistic son home from the United States.
Michael Sandford, 20, will face trial next month after trying to grab a police officer's gun at a Las Vegas campaign rally in June, before being overpowered.
He later told police he wanted to "to shoot and kill" Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.
Lynn Sandford, 42, is trying to raise the money to fund a legal battle so her son can serve any sentence in Britain.
"Michael is extremely vulnerable and I don't think he will survive being incarcerated in a US prison," she told a London press conference, explaining he was now on suicide watch in a Nevada jail.
"We want to try to bring him home to the UK to a secure place that will help him."
Sandford has pleaded not guilty to charges of disrupting government business and being an illegal alien in possession of a gun, and his trial is due to begin on 22 August.
But his British lawyer has said he is mentally unfit to plead.
Lynn Sandford said her son had "tried to do a bad thing", but that he was mentally ill "and not a bad or dangerous person".
"Michael is an autistic man who would not have foreseen the consequences of his actions," she said.
"He has attempted suicide when he was 14 and has suffered from depression throughout his life."
Sandford had overstayed his US visa by several months and had been reported missing by his mother at the time of the incident.
The family has launched an online crowd-funding campaign to raise 25,000 ($33,200, 29,600 euros) to help repatriate Sandford, which has already hit over 20,000.
"Please, please help us to raise funds: to try to influence the legal process in the States, to try and get a good lawyer for him there," said the CrowdJustice funding page.
"I am not asking for my son to escape punishment. We want him to serve his sentence in a safe institution for vulnerable people."
Family lawyer Saimo Chahal told reporters that the top priority was "to try and secure Michael's repatriation to the UK so that he could be assisted in a medical facility".
Sandford faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fines for each of the charges.
SAO PAULO No ransom was paid and no shots were fired to free the kidnapped mother-in-law of Formula One empresario Bernie Ecclestone, the governor of Sao Paulo state said on Monday, a day after the 67-year old was freed in a police raid.
Aparecida Schunk was rescued on Sunday evening nine days after being seized at her home.
Three men have been arrested, police said. Two were seized as Schunk was liberated and a third man who masterminded the crime was detained on Monday morning.
The leader of the kidnap gang, who local newspapers said wanted 120 million reais ($36.5 million) in ransom, was a pilot who had worked for Ecclestone's family, according to news magazine Veja.
Reports said police were led to the hideout by fingerprints left by her captors and CCTV footage showing them exchanging cars as they made their getaway.
Police also examined phone records that helped them identify the gang leader, according to local news reports.
"This is exemplary work," said state governor Geraldo Alckmin. "The victim was unharmed, no ransom was paid, two criminals were arrested, as was the mastermind of the crime."
Schunk is the mother of Fabiana Flosi, a 38-year old marketing executive who met Ecclestone, 85, at the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Ecclestone, whom Forbes magazine estimates is worth $3.1 billion - along with his family - is one of the most powerful men in sport and married Flosi in 2012.
(Reporting by Andrew Downie; Editing by Andrew Hay)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
2016 Vision Awards - Apr 2016
Home News 2016 Vision Awards - Apr 2016
The seventh annual Vision Design Awards attracted a record number of entries, up 14% from last year. The competition accepts submissions of noteworthy projects from architecture and design firms all across the country. Winners are chosen based on design innovation and excellence with an emphasis on unique and beautiful applications of flooring materials.
Education and hospitality submissions were each up 50% from last year, and the number of corporate entries, which is by far the largest category, rose 27%. However both healthcare and retail entries fell considerably. Due to the balance of submissions this year, the retail entries were judged along with the hospitality category, and a grand prize was awarded in addition to a winner in each of the categories.
All product and firm names are stripped from the entries, so the judges vote strictly based on the merit of the design. Any project may be entered, regardless of the brand or type of flooring installed. Our forward-thinking sponsors, Bentley Mills, Crossville Tile and Tarketts Johnsonite, have supported this unique blind jury concept since the competitions inception in 2010.
This years independent jury panel included Shashi Caan of the Shashi Caan Collective, who has participated every year, as well as Cameron Wilson, director of interior architecture at LS3P Associates, and Margo Jones, professor of interior design at SCAD.
The winners and jury members, along with representatives of the sponsors and Floor Focus, will celebrate the winning designs at an event in Charleston, South Carolina this September.
Congratulations to all the winners! Floor Focus will begin accepting entries for next years awards in January 2017.
To see more on our Grand Prize winner and the other Vision Award winners, see the 2016 Vision Awards in the April issue of Floor Focus Magazine.
Copyright 2016 Floor Focus
Related Topics:Tarkett, Crossville
Masland Celebrates 150 Years - Apr 2016
Home News Masland Celebrates 150 Years - Apr 2016
By Calista Sprague
Few manufacturers survive to celebrate their centennial anniversary, fewer still reach their sesquicentennial, but this year Masland will celebrate 150 years of continuous business. To navigate world wars, economic recessions and depressions, industry shifts and fluctuating consumer preferences, Masland has relied on a legacy of integrity, innovation and calculated entrepreneurial risk.z
Today Masland Carpet and Rugs is one of five brands manufacturing higher end products for the Dixie Group, but for the majority of its lengthy history, it was a family business. Founder Charles Henry Masland hailed from a family of hosiery weavers in England. When mass production began to replace the cottage industry that sustained his parents and siblings, young Charles set sail for opportunities in North America, serving for several years in the armed forces, first for England in Canada and then for the United States.
After fighting for the Union during the Civil War, he took a job dying yarn. Charles possessed an entrepreneurial spirit, and just two years later, in 1866, he combined resources with his brother James and friend Joseph Scargle to purchase the dye business and convert an abandoned vinegar plant into a yarn dye house in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Scargle withdrew from the enterprise early on, and the company became known as C.H. Masland & Brother.
Although it was common practice among competitors to return less yarn to customers based on the heavier weight once dyed, the Masland brothers conscientiously returned every ounce of yarn they received, and soon built a strong reputation for integrity.
In 1875, Charles bought his brother out of the business, which then became C.H. Masland. After another decade of success in the dye business, Charles was ready to launch into his next challenge, shifting to carpet and rug production. He sold the dye works and purchased Amber Carpet Mills in Kensington, Pennsylvania. New buildings were erected and 30 ingrain looms began turning out product.
By this point Charles wanted to retire. In 1888, he formed a partnership with two of his six sons. Frank Elmer Masland, known as F.E., and his brother Maurice Henry Masland, known as M.H., ran C.H. Masland & Sons, but Charles retained title to the real estate and the sons rented from him.
Consumer tastes were changing, so in 1898 Masland purchased tapestry and velvet looms to manufacture Wilton and Brussels carpets. Just ten months later, the new equipment burned in a fire at the mill, a huge loss for the company. Masland leased a Wilton mill in order to offer the popular new styles of carpets, but would not return to in-house Wilton production for nearly four decades.
At several points in Maslands history, short-term sacrifices were made to ensure long-term success of the company. In 1907, for example, Maslands officers made the difficult decision to draw no salary for a year, a stop-gap measure that kept the mill operating during a national financial crisis and economic recession.
Once the crisis passed, Maslands leadership set about growing the business for several years, but during WWI, carpet weaving came to a halt. In order to support the war effort, looms were converted to produce heavy, white canvas duck, which was then dyed and flame proofed for use as tenting material. Many of the old ingrain looms produced blankets for soldiers as well.
Masland was poised to expand at the end of the war, and in 1919 purchased land for a new facility on former fairgrounds in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The expansion allowed the company to manufacture woven carpet for the Ford Motor Company in 1922 and eventually for much of the U.S. auto industry.
Masland was known for innovation early on, introducing the first manufactured carpet fiber before WWI and installing its first 9-foot velvet power broadloom in 1917. In the early 1920s, in addition to innovations in the auto industry, the company garnered national attention for its Argonne rugs, developing what became known as the Masland Method of printing colorful patterns on woven rugs.
Although they had no way of knowing it in the roaring 20s, the decision to diversify into the automotive market would eventually save Masland from ruin, providing an additional revenue stream to help weather the Great Depression.
At the lowest point in the depression, even the auto industrys contract terms left little margin for profit, and once again short-term sacrifices were made for long-term gain. This time, Masland associates agreed to a reduction of wages to ensure income for the coming months, another example of the cooperative spirit between management and associates that helped keep the company solvent during lean times.
The Great Depression had not yet ended, but in 1936 Masland took a calculated risk that would later prove vital, investing in Wilton production through the purchase of the Barrymore Seamless Wilton brand. In retrospect, the acquisition strengthened the company, which otherwise could not have competed in a market shifting away from woven goods.
In 1939, Masland began a pilot program to again convert looms for the production of cotton duck. Two years later, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Masland converted fully to war production, temporarily becoming the largest producer of canvas duck in the world. The company also manufactured parachutes as well as clothing for the Navy, which became a Sportswear Division after the war. For its efforts, Masland was the first in the textile industry to be awarded the Army-Navy E award for excellence, which it accepted a total of five times.
Following WWII, the fourth generation of Maslands took the helm. Frank E. Masland III, known as Mike after an uncle joked that there were too many Franks in the family, attended Princetons ROTC program and fought valiantly in the war, earning a Bronze Star. When he returned home, he assumed leadership of Masland & Sons, a position he held for several decades. Among his many accomplishments, Mike is credited with transforming the organization from a predominantly family held company to a publicly held, multi-national corporation.
In the early 1950s, the advent of the tufting machine allowed carpet makers to increase production. The average price of carpet dropped, making it affordable for a wider segment of the population, and wall to wall carpeting came into vogue. Masland took a risk to invest early on, improving both quality and productivity in the process.
Masland continued to innovate in the automotive industry as well, creating a non-woven needlepunch carpet for cars, trucks and airplane interiors that became one of the companys best sellers. Later, the Masland automotive division helped develop the first molded carpets used in vehicles today.
By the 1960s, carpet had become Americas favored floorcovering, and both Maslands floorcovering and automotive divisions flourished. It had become the largest employer in town, growing from 900 to 3,500 workers at the Carlisle facilitys peak, and practically everyone in Carlisle had a connection to Masland.
The companys sustained growth soon spurred the need for expansion. In 1965, Masland & Sons stock went public to raise capital, and in 1968, the burgeoning floorcovering division moved to a larger facility in Atmore, Alabama, leaving the automotive division in Carlisle, in close proximity to the automotive industry.
Masland reinvented its image in the early 1980s, developing a new marketing strategy with plans to become a leader of style and fashion. More sophisticated colors and textures were introduced in the product lines as well, to appeal to the residential design trade. Masland also introduced a line of area rugs, which it had stopped producing mid century. Eight designs quickly multiplied, and the company expanded the category to meet demand from designers for custom rugs.
Finally, in 1986after 120 yearsthe Masland family gave up control of the business, selling Masland & Sons to Burlington Industries. But only two years later, a group of investors from the Masland family, Dixie Yarns and Prudential Insurance bought back the floorcovering division. And in 1993, Masland became a wholly owned brand of the Dixie Group, as it remains today.
The Masland brand still thrives, operating its own headquarters in Mobile, Alabama. More than 700 Dixie Group associates support the Masland brand, producing millions of square yards of carpet each year in Alabama and Georgia.
To kick off Maslands sesquicentennial, all 50 Masland residential salespeople joined the management team for a celebration during the national sales meeting in Mobile this past January. The salespeople accounted for more than 750 years of combined service for Masland, including individuals with two days of service up to 53 years. In addition, the anniversary will be marked with commemorative coins presented to selected dealers, and an anniversary promotion to run with selected dealers through the end of the year.
The founding family may no longer run Masland, but C.H. Maslands legacy of integrity and innovation persists 150 years later, and its associates still endeavor to deliver the highest quality and provide the best service in the floorcovering industry.
Copyright 2016 Floor Focus
Related Topics:The Dixie Group, Masland Carpets & Rugs
In exchange for the Uber China assets, Uber will receive 5.89% of the combined company with preferred equity interest which is equal to a 17.7% economic interest in Didi Chuxing. Baidu and other Chinese shareholders will receive a 2.3% economic interest in Didi Chuxing. Under the agreement, Didi Chuxing will also obtain a minority equity interest in Uber. Cheng Wei, founder and chairman of Didi Chuxing, will join the board of Uber. Travis Kalanick, founder of Uber, will join the board of Didi Chuxing.
As a result of this deal, Didi Chuxing becomes the only company with common investment from Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu. Under the agreement, Uber China will maintain independent branding and business operations. Didi Chuxing will integrate the managerial and technological experience and expertise of the two teams, to meet Chinasever richer transportation demands with more value-added solutions. It will continue to work with global partners in connecting local resources to create the best possible cross-border ridesharing experience for their users.
Cheng Wei, founder and CEO of Didi Chuxing, said,
Didi Chuxing and Uber have learned a great deal from each other over the past two years in burgeoning new economy. As a technology leader deeply rooted in China, Didi Chuxing is constantly pushing the frontier of innovation to redefine the future of human mobility. This agreement with Uber will set the mobile transportation industry on a healthier, more sustainable path of growth at a higher level. Didi Chuxing commits all our energy to work with regulators, users and partners to meet the transportation, environmental and employment challenges of our cities.
Travis Kalanick, CEO and Co-Founder, Uber said in a blog post,
Microsoft India has announced that Anant Maheshwari will join the company from September 1, 2016. He will replace current president Bhaskar Pramanik who will be leaving the company in March 2017.
Anant Maheshwari who joins Microsoft from Honeywell will take over as president from January 1, 2017, and will be responsible for all of Microsofts product, service, and support offerings across India.
Before leaving, Pramanik will work side by side with Anant, to ensure a smooth transition of leadership.
He has held various business leadership roles in Honeywell for over 12 years. Prior to Honeywell, Anant was with McKinsey & Company for six years.
Commenting on Maheshwaris appointment, Jean-Philippe Courtois, EVP and President of Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing & Operations said:
I am delighted to announce that Anant is joining Microsoft India. As we continue to transform as an organization and to support our customers digital transformation, Anants leadership will be pivotal to our continued growth. Our mission at Microsoft which we all care deeply about is to enable every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. I know that in India, Anant will help us to continue to deliver against this, in one of the most vibrant, diverse and exciting markets anywhere in the world.
On joining Microsoft, Anant Maheshwari said:
Microsofts mission empowering people and organizations across the planet to do more is deeply energizing, especially at Indias current growth inflection point. The ambition of a mobile-first, cloud-first world complements Indias growth themes of Smart Cities and Digital India. The global mission and the ambition of the company are fully aligned with Indias needs and priorities, and enable a wide range of creative growth opportunities. I am excited to join the company at this transformational point and support the growth objectives globally and in India.
Bhaskar Pramanik commented:
I am privileged to have participated in the growth of the Indian IT industry over the last four decades from the days of the mainframe computing to the mobile first cloud first world of today where computing is all pervasive. I have seen the Indian IT industry grow from a few million dollars to the $200 B global behemoth that it is today.
Samsung India just sent out invites for an event in New Delhi on August 11th. Even though the invite just says to block the date, it also says that Samsungs next flagship will be unveiled at the event. This will likely be the Samsung Galaxy Note7 that will be introduced at an event in New York later today at 8:30 PM IST. It will also be streamed live in 360-degrees.
It is a good thing that Samsung is bringing a flagship product to India in a week after it is announced. It is expected to go on sale in India soon after the launch.
Samsung Galaxy Note7 specifications
5.7-inch Quad HD (25601440 pixels) (518ppi) Super AMOLED curved dual edge display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection
Octa-Core Exynos 8890 (2.3GHz Quad + 1.6GHz Quad), 64 bit, 14 nm processor / Quad Core Snapdragon 820 processor
4GB LPDDR4 RAM, 64GB (UFS 2.0) internal memory, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD
Android 6.0.1 (Marshmallow)
Hybrid Dual SIM (nano+nano/microSD) / Single SIM
12MP rear camera with LED Flash, dual-pixel PDAF, Smart OIS, f/1.7 aperture
5MP front-facing camera, f/1.7 aperture
IP68 ratings water and dust resistance
S Pen stylus
Dimensions: 153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9mm; Weight: 169g
Heart rate sensor, Fingerprint sensor, Iris scanner, Barometer
4G LTE Cat.12, Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2X2 MIMO), Bluetooth 4.2 LE, NFC, USB Type-C
3500mAh battery with fast charging (wired and wireless)
The Samsung Galaxy Note7 is expected to come in Black Onyx, Silver Titanium, Gold Platinum and Blue Coral colors. We should know all the details about the phone when it launches later today and the price of the phone in India at the launch next Thursday.
[Update August 9: Samsung has sent out press invites for the launch of the Note7 on August 11th.]
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Vodafone already promised to roll out its 4G services in Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (East) and West Bengal in the second phase. It recently started offering 4G ready SIMs at 250 Branded Stores and over 5,000 multi brand outlets across Haryana. Today the company has announced that it will offer 1GB of free 4G data for those who pre-book Vodafone 4G SIM between 1st and 23rd August in Haryana.
Vodafone customers can avail this benefit simply by sending the SMS Go 4G to 199. To enjoy this offer, Vodafone customers in Haryana, should have a 4G-enabled handset and active Vodafone 3G Pack/Plan as on 24th August.
Vodafone 4G customers from Haryana can enjoy 4G connectivity while roaming across all existing Vodafone 4G circles in India- Mumbai, Delhi & NCR, Kerala, Karnataka and Kolkata.
Commenting on the new offer, Mohit Narru, Business Head Haryana, Vodafone India, said:
Vodafone, one of the worlds largest 4G network, is now all set to bring the international 4G experience to our 5.4 million customers in Haryana. While we announce our formal 4G launch soon, we want our customers to be future ready. We are offering 1GB Free 4G data as a way of thanking our valued customers who upgrade their sim now. Also Vodafone 4G customers in Haryana can now experience 4G connectivity while roaming across all Vodafone 4G circles in India.
ConocoPhillips (COP 0.06%) recently reported mixed second-quarter results. Financially, the quarter was awful after weak oil and gas prices caused the company to report a whopping $1.1 billion loss. That said, CEO Ryan Lance wanted investors to know that despite the harsh operating conditions the company was making progress. He led off the company's second-quarter conference call saying that the key messages from the quarter were that: "we delivered strong operational performance, our financial performance is improving, and we're making progress strategically to position ourselves for a world of lower and more volatile prices." He then spent some time on the call drilling down a bit deeper into each item.
1. Strong operational performance
Lance went through the company's operations by noting:
Production grew year over year by 3%. Our second-quarter performance exceeded guidance, despite a busy season of turnarounds and over a month of downtime at Surmont due to the wildfires. Based on our strong year-to-date performance, we're raising the midpoint of our 2016 production guidance by 2%. We're also lowering our 2016 capex from $5.7 billion to $5.5 billion based on efficiency improvements, really across all business lines. Our major projects across our portfolio are on track for start-up as planned.
ConocoPhillips' production was surprisingly strong during the quarter at 1.546 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/D), which was well above its guidance range of 1.5 million to 1.54 million BOE/D. This outperformance came despite the fact that its Surmont facility in Canada, which is a 50-50 joint venture with French oil giant Total SA (TTE 0.91%), was shut down for more than a month. That is worth noting because Surmont was producing 60,000 barrels per day before the wildfires, with that production split evenly between ConocoPhillips and Total. The company was able to overcome the lost production and beat guidance due to stronger production from its North American shale plays.
Because of that strong result, the company is raising its full-year guidance while at the same time reducing its capital expenditures budget. In other words, the company expects to deliver more production for less money, which is what investors want to see in the current environment.
2. Improving financial performance
Lance continued by saying that:
Our financial performance was challenged, like the rest of [the] industry, but did improve sequentially in line with prices. Three of five of our producing segments were profitable this quarter, and I think this highlights the benefits of having high-quality legacy assets in our portfolio. Cash flows were in line with expectations, and we ended the quarter with over $4 billion of cash and short-term investments on hand. We're continuing to make progress on our asset sale program and expect to achieve our goal of about $1 billion of proceeds this year. We reduced debt by $800 million in the second quarter, so we're making progress on improving our balance sheet.
While the company reported a steep operating loss, Lance wanted to hammer home the point that the company's underlying financials are improving. During the quarter the company generated $1.26 billion in cash flow, which it used to fund capex and improve its balance sheet by paying down $800 million in debt. That brings debt down to $28.7 billion, which is still ahead of the company's $25 billion target, though the company is sitting on well over $4 billion in cash.
3. Making progress strategically
Lance concluded by explaining that the company's primary strategic focus is the phased exit of its deepwater exploration business. It made progress on that plan during the quarter by finding a buyer for its assets in Senegal. Further, it finished up drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, which included a successful appraisal well at Shenandoah and dry holes at Gibson and Tiber. With this drilling complete, the company now has enough data for prospective buyers to evaluate so that it can move forward with the next phase of its exit strategy.
Investor takeaway
ConocoPhillips' CEO wants investors to know that the company is making progress strategically, financially, and operationally. Its operations have been exceptionally strong, evidenced by its above guidance production and continued reduction in capex costs. That said, the company has more work to do, both strategically and financially, to put it in an even stronger position to meet the challenges of the current oil market.
Image Source: Getty Images.
Dividend stocks are the heart and soul of any well-constructed portfolio. Having said that, there are so many dividend-paying stocks populating the landscape these days that it can be rather difficult to decide which ones best suit your long-term investing goals. With this in mind, our Foolish team of dividend experts offer their five top picks below that may be worth adding to your portfolio in the month of August.
Tyler Crowe:In cyclical industries like oil and gas, the best way to maximize your profits is to find steady dividend-payers and buy them when they're out of favor. So far in 2016, the market really isn't a fan of oil refiners, as rising oil prices have led to smaller refining margins. That makes now a great time to buy beaten-down refiners, and that is why HollyFrontier (NYSE: HFC) looks like a great dividend stock to buy in August.
This company's stock is way down, but far from out
What really sets HollyFrontier apart from independent oil refiners is the geographic advantages it enjoys. With major refineries in the Midwest and Rocky Mountains, its facilities are close to hard-to-access crudes that sell for a discount to national benchmark prices. Similarly, these refineries are also in places where it's difficult to deliver refined petroleum products, so HollyFrontier enjoys slightly larger refining margins than others in more competitive refining markets. Just as importantly, the company runs a tight operation, having kept its operational costs in check and thereby allowing it to profit from these geographic advantages.
Gasoline and diesel consumption won't evaporate any time soon, and the refining industry waxes and wanes just like any other cyclical industry. So with shares of HollyFrontier down nearly 50% this year and the dividend yield at 5.5%, now seems like an opportune time to buy shares.
A top-notch dividend stock
Andres Cardenal: PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) is a giant in nonalcoholic drinks and snacks. The company owns 22 brands that make over $1 billion each in global revenue, and it enjoys rock-solid competitive advantages in scale, global distribution network, and financial resources to invest in marketing and advertising.
Demand in the industry is changing, as many consumers around the world are increasingly conscious about the importance of nutrition. Fortunately for investors, PepsiCo has been betting on this trend for several years now, and innovation is delivering results. According to management, nearly 9% of the company's revenue comes from new products, while "guilt-free" drinks and snacks represent 45% of revenue.
It's not easy for such a big company operating in a mature industry to find new growth opportunities, especially in times when foreign currency headwinds are hurting performance in international markets. However, PepsiCo is still expecting a healthy 9% increase in core constant-currency earnings per share during 2016.
PepsiCo has a pristine trajectory of dividend payments over the long term. The company has paid uninterrupted dividends in every year since 1965, and it has 44 consecutive years of consistent dividend growth under its belt. After raising dividends by 7% this year, PepsiCo stock is trading at a dividend yield of 2.8%.
Best of both worlds
Matt DiLallo: Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) pays its investors pretty well. In fact, at 4.3% the Canadian energy infrastructure giant's current yield is more than double the market's average as measured by the yield of the S&P 500. And that's a rock-solid income stream, given that long-term fee-based contracts secure 95% of Enbridge's cash flow, and it only pays out 40% to 50% of its available cash flow.
As lucrative as Enbridge's current yield might be, it's poised to go much higher in the future. The company has an enormousbacklog of commercially secured projects consisting primarily of fee-based assets. Because of that, Enbridge expects to grow its available cash flow from operations by 12% to 14% through 2019, which is projected to fuel 10% to 12% dividend growth over that same time frame. The company expects to deliver that growth while maintaining a conservative coverage ratio of two, along with an investment-grade credit rating.
The bottom line is that investors who are looking for a reliable income stream that will rise over the next few years should strongly consider Enbridge.
A rebound in the making?
George Budwell:British pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) has had a tough go of it in recent years due to declining sales of its flagship respiratory product, Advair, combined with a slew of high-profile clinical failures and its bribery scandal in China. The net result is that Glaxo's trailing 12-month payout ratio has ballooned to an astronomical 681%, and its debt-to-equity ratio isn't much better at 259%.So, when the pound sterling crashed following the Brexit vote, Glaxo seemed destined for a dividend cut and perhaps further restructuring to lower costs going forward.
However, the drugmaker pulled off a small miracle in the second quarter, beating analysts estimates due to the strong performance of newer pharma products like the HIV medicine Tivicay and its growing footprint in the vaccine space. Based on its strong second-quarter results, Glaxo decided to raise its annual guidance for the remainder of the year, forecasting an impressive core EPS growth of 11% to 12% for 2016.
Even with this double-digit growth trajectory, though, the sustainability of Glaxo's dividend isn't guaranteed. But management did note in its second-quarter earnings release that the company plans to keep the quarterly payout at around $0.57 per share (based on current exchange rates) through 2017. So, if management remains true to their word, Glaxo should be able to start attracting income investors in large numbers once again, especially in light of its hefty yield of 5.18% and improving growth prospects.
Detroit's best?
Daniel Miller: While Ford has been a clear fan favorite since the Great Recession, given that it funded its own turnaround without the help of a unique bankruptcy, the second quarter showed thatGeneral Motors (NYSE: GM) may have finally started to pull away as Detroit's best automaker.
During Q2, GM's revenue rose by $4.2 billion year over year to $42.4 billion. That strong performance filtered down to the automaker's bottom line, too: GM's EBIT-adjusted income reached $3.9 billion, a staggering 37% increase over the prior year -- and a company record.
Throughout the first half of 2016, GM's return on invested capital has reached an impressive 30.5%, a 710-basis-point improvement over the same time period a year earlier, proving that GM is running its business as efficiently and intelligently as ever.
GM recently bagged more segment awards in J.D. Power's 2016 Vehicle Dependability Study than any other automaker and received seven awards in J.D. Power's 2016 Initial Quality Study, showing that GM's offerings are greatly improving.
The kicker here is that GM -- and most other automakers -- are not sizzling growth opportunities, as their primary profit-generator, the U.S. market, is likely plateauing. That doesn't mean GM's top or bottom line is done growing, but it does mean it will increasingly be seen as an income play. At a share price of $30, GM's forward price-to-earnings sits just above five, according to Morningstar's estimates, and its yield is a robust 4.6%.
General Motors is cheap -- too cheap for a company that may now be Detroit's best automaker -- and a 4.6% yield looks very tempting for investors looking to buy a dividend stock in August.
A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, just click here.
Andrs Cardenal has no position in any stocks mentioned. George Budwell has no position in any stocks mentioned. Matt DiLallo has no position in any stocks mentioned. Tyler Crowe has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends PepsiCo. The Motley Fool recommends General 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.
Raytheon's stock rockets to new highs. Image source: Getty Images.
In a week of strong earnings reports, Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) stood out for its exceptional strength.
Last week, Raytheon released its fiscal Q2 2016 numbers, and there was very little for investors to complain about. And in fact, they didn't complain at all. Raytheon stock closed the week up 3.5%. For Q2, Raytheon reported:
Quarterly sales of $6 billion, up 3% year over year.
480 basis points' worth of improvement in operating margin, which came in at 15.9%.
Profit per share of $2.38, 44% better than in last year's Q2 and well ahead of analyst estimates.
$834 million in cumulative free cash flow for the first six months of the year, up from $289 million in H1 2015.
CEO Thomas A. Kennedy characterized the quarter as "strong ... with bookings, sales, operating margin, earnings per share, and cash flow all ahead of our expectations." Based largely on these results, Kennedy decided to raise guidance for the rest of this year as well. As of this date, Raytheon now expects to earn somewhere between $7.13 and $7.33 per share in profit, and to produce positive cash from operations of anywhere from $2.8 billion to $3.1 billion -- about $100 million more than previously anticipated.
Valuing Raytheon
Assuming capital spending continues to track where it's been heading in recent quarters -- roughly $500 million per annum -- that implies that by year end, Raytheon's operations could have churned out as much as $2.6 billion in real cash profit -- as much as a third better than what it produced last year.
Weighed against the stock's $41.6 billion market capitalization, that works out to only a price-to-free cash flow ratio of 16, which doesn't seem unreasonable at the rate the stock is growing earnings right now. At the same time, however, it's worth pointing out that few analysts expect Raytheon to be able to maintain this pace.
According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, the consensus on Wall Street is that Raytheon's earnings growth is due for an abrupt slowdown and will average less than 6% annually over the next five years. Even factoring in the stock's respectable 2.1% dividend yield, that adds up to less than 8% total return on investment -- and suggests that at 16 times free cash flow, the stock remains very richly valued indeed.
So what are the chances Raytheon can grow faster than 6%?
All systems go for growth
Well, judging from what management told us last week, those chances don't look too bad. In addition to raising guidance for this year, Raytheon noted that it scored a book-to-bill ratio of 1.18 in Q2, taking in 18% more orders for new goods and services, than it billed as revenues collected in the quarter.
The influx of new business added $816 million worth of future revenue(relative to Q2 2015's tally) to Raytheon's backlog of work to be done. And the vast majority of that work is already fully funded by Congress. The company's funded backlog number grew by $803 million.
On the other hand, Raytheon's backlog was pretty big already -- $34.5 billion at this time last year. All the new business added in Q2 still adds up to only 2% growth in total backlog. And whether that will be enough to push Raytheon's growth rate past 6% remains an open question. At the very worst, though, even if analysts' growth fears do prove to be well-founded, Raytheon's got plenty of work piled up already to keep itself busy for the next 18 months or so.
This company may not grow as fast as we'd like, but Raytheon's business is not going away anytime soon.
A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, just click here.
Fool contributorRich Smithdoes not own shares of, nor is he short, any company named above. You can find him onMotley Fool CAPS, publicly pontificating under the handleTMFDitty, where he's currently ranked No. 309 out of more than 75,000 rated members.
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Last week, Boeing (NYSE: BA) reported a quarterly loss for the first time since 2009. The company incurred $3 billion of pre-tax charges last quarter, giving it no hope of breaking even.
That said, Boeing's underlying operating performance was much better than the company's bottom line would suggest. Here are five key details about Boeing's Q2 results and outlook for the future that management highlighted on the earnings call last week.
Strong underlying margin performance
Boeing has faced some margin pressure in its commercial airplanes division this year, largely due to an increase in R&D spending and product transitions. However, the commercial airplanes division posted a strong 10.3% operating margin in Q2, excluding the impact of the one-time charges Boeing incurred.
This indicates that Boeing is successfully reducing its costs in order to eke out more profit per airplane delivered. Boeing still has a lot of work to do to reach its goal of a mid-teens commercial airplanes segment margin by the end of the decade -- but it's on the right track.
Mixed demand trends
Demand for Boeing's 737 narrowbody jet has remained red-hot this year. During Q2, Boeing received an important order for 100 high-density 737 MAX 200 jets from VietJet. As a result, Boeing continues to have a massive backlog of nearly 4,400 737s.
There's no shortage of demand for Boeing's upcoming 737 MAX jet. Image source: Boeing.
This supports Boeing's plans to ramp up 737 output by more than 35% over the next three years. Even at the increased production rate of 57 per month, Boeing's 737 backlog would stretch for more than six years.
On the other hand, demand for Boeing's widebody families -- and especially the 777 -- is weaker. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg noted that there is a clear widebody replacement cycle on the horizon for the 2020s, but airlines are being cautious about ordering widebodies right now. This is problematic, because Boeing's backlog of current-generation 777s is fairly small.
Hefty charges
While Boeing reported a loss last quarter, the massive charges it recorded should set it up for better performance going forward. For example, it wrote off the value of two of the first 787 Dreamliners it built after deciding not to try to sell them. This means Boeing doesn't have to find any more homes for early production models that don't meet the official specifications.
Similarly, Boeing wrote off the deferred production balance of its 747 jumbo-jet, acknowledging that it won't recover the money it lost on early production models. This should reduce the pressure that it feels to keep the 747 program going if demand doesn't bounce back soon.
Finally, Boeing took yet another charge on its troubled KC-46 tanker development program. But at least this time, its extra investment has paid off: the test models have now completed all of the refueling tasks necessary to get an official go-ahead for initial production from the Air Force.
787 profitability is improving
Leaving aside Boeing's decision to write off the cost of two early build Dreamliners as an R&D expense, profitability for the long-troubled 787 program is steadily improving. Deferred production costs increased by just $33 million, meaning that the profitability of 787s built in Q2 almost equaled the average profit margin Boeing expects over the 787 accounting block of 1,300 airplanes.
By contrast, deferred production costs increased by $790 million in Q2 2015. This shows just how far Boeing has come in terms of reducing 787 production costs. The company has clear plans to maintain this momentum, allowing it to recoup its $27.7 billion in deferred production costs during the next six years or so.
777 remains a risk
While the 787 program is finally running smoothly, Boeing is starting to have trouble with its 777 widebody jet. The company has more than a dozen available 777 delivery slots next year and has sold less than 60% of the 2018 delivery slots. Meanwhile, sales have slowed to a crawl, as Boeing has only brought in eight net firm orders thus far in 2016.
Boeing has struggled to sell 777s lately. Image source: Boeing.
Boeing still hopes to secure about 40 net firm orders this year, but management recognizes that this will be hard to pull off. As a result, for the first time ever, Boeing hinted at the possibility of cutting production beyond the effective rate of 5.5 per month scheduled for 2018 and 2019.
On the bright side, deliveries of the next-gen 777X are on track to begin in early 2020. And the introduction of that new model -- which has already garnered more than 300 firm orders -- will allow Boeing to ramp up its production rate again in the early 2020s. So while there may be some pain for investors from slowing 777 production, it won't last forever.
A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, just click here.
Adam Levine-Weinberg owns shares of Boeing. 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.
Image source: Getty Images.
The offshore drilling market continues to go from bad to worse. For evidence, we just need to look at Atwood Oceanics' (NYSE: ATW) deepwater fleet, which has been completely idled, with the result that the company has recorded no revenue from those vessels during its fiscal third quarter. The company did, however, partially overcome the problem by driving down costs and buying back a huge slug of its debt at a discount. And that debt buyback resulted in a hefty gain on the extinguishment of debt, which kept its earnings from sinking as deeply as they would have otherwise.
Atwood Oceanics results: The raw numbers
Metric FQ3 2016 Actuals FQ3 2015 Actuals Growth (YOY) Revenue $227.8 million $330.6 million (31.1%) Net income $99.5 million $113 million (11.9%) EPS $1.53 $1.73 (11.6%)
Data source: Atwood Oceanics, Inc.
What happened with Atwood Oceanics this quarter?
Atwood Oceanics earnings are holding up thanks to falling costs:
Atwood's revenue sank primarily because it had to idle its entire deepwater fleet. As a result, deepwater revenue plunged from $77 million last year, and $59 million last quarter, to zero during the company's fiscal third quarter. Meanwhile, revenue from jackups was basically cut in half because of idled vessels. On a slightly more positive note, revenue from ultra-deepwater drillships rose 4.6%.
Falling costs helped keep earnings afloat, with drilling costs plunging nearly 40%. But the company still recorded $10 million in deepwater drilling costs despite the lack of revenue, because it has to pay to idle these vessels.
The other thing that kept earnings from taking a deep dive was the huge gain Atwood Oceanics recorded after repurchasing $145.8 million of its senior notes on the open market at an average discount of 34.8%. That move resulted in a gain of $50.5 million, or $0.55 per share, on the retirement of debt.
After the quarter's end, the company completed a tender offer and acquired an additional $42 million in debt at a 25% average discount. The company will record another gain on the extinguishment of debt next quarter as a result. So far, the company's debt repurchases have reduced long-term debt from $1.7 billion to $1.4 billion.
What management had to say
CFO Mark Smith commented on the company's results on its quarterly conference call:
As Smith made clear, the roll-off and adjustments of rig contracts drove the revenue decline during the quarter. However, these rigs aren't likely to be going back to work anytime soon, and their idleness is expected to weigh on the company's results for the foreseeable future.
Looking forward
Right now, Atwood is focusing its attention on marketing just three of its rigs, because these vessels have the best opportunities to be awarded work during the current environment. CEO RobertSaltiel provided the following update on the company's marketing progress:
Filling the schedules of these rigs will provide valuable revenue at a time when offshore work is hard to find. Saltiel, meanwhile, ended his prepared remarks on the call reminding investors that the company remains "bullish on the longer-term prospects for offshore drilling, as we know that this downturn will eventually give way to recovery."
He continued: "We plan to be there on the other side with our modern, technically advanced rig fleet and our reputation for operation and safety excellence intact. In the meantime, we will take all steps to ensure that our company is positioned to get through this difficult period."
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As the Brexit dust settled on Wall Street, U.S. equities used the usually quiet mid-summer season to mark fresh record highs. With new capital put to work, though, former Wells Fargo CEO Richard Kovacevich told FOX Business Netowrk's Charles Payne the market feels fully valued.
Some asset classes are overvalued, like bonds, and the stock market is fully valued, and I dont think you should be adding to any asset classes at the moment, Kovacevich said on Cavuto Coast-to-Coast.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond, which moves inversely to price, rose 0.038 percentage points on Tuesday to 1.537%. While the yield remains low in the U.S., for fixed-income investors it has been among the best options for government debt as bonds around the world including Germany and Japan yield a negative return, meaning those investors who hold the paper until maturity will receive less money than they paid for it.
While hes not putting new money to work, Kovacevich said hes also not getting out of the market. Over the last two months, he said his strategy has been to sell stocks that appear to be overvalued, turning them to cash on the sidelines, ready to deploy when various asset classes post declines and become more attractive.
With the jobs report on tap for Friday, Kovacevich said anything close to 200,000 net new jobs will give the Federal Reserve reason to move forward with rate hikes as early as the September meeting. Wall Street expects the economy to have added 175,000 new jobs in July, down from the 287,000 created in June.
They may not [raise at that point] because they tend to be overly cautious. They should move in September and then they have the opportunity after that to see what happens and decide whether to do something in December, he said.
The following statement wont come as news: The pace and breadth of disruption in business today is breathtaking.
Were consumers of an array of technologies that have been introduced over the past decade that have improved our daily lives.
Think of the computing power in our hands with the arrival of smartphones, mobile apps, streaming video, social media and e-commerce.
Disruption
But whats less obvious is the impact of technology on conventional, mainstream businesses that comprise core economic activity.
The impact on incumbent businesses isnt always positive.
By competitive necessity, businesses today are leaner and more efficient than ever before. Technology has boosted employee productivity and driven waste out of the system.
Shock Therapy
This is good for the owners of the businesses (often public market investors), but not always so for employees who represent a smaller percentage of corporate expenses today than ever before.
On the flip side, technological advancements have sharply increased business start-up activity as it is less capital-intensive to be a successful entrepreneur today than at anytime in the past.
And capital allocation today is more efficient and capable such that even a capital-hungry business like Uber is satisfied.
New Breed
Further, young companies previously unwilling or unable to take on entrenched incumbents are now doing so with gusto.
Need to borrow money for a new car or business idea? Peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding sites now compete with conventional consumer finance companies.
Should I use mobile pay from Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) and others? Maybe I dont need so many credit cards issued by banks.
Amazon Prime (AMZN) at $99 per year that provides unlimited free overnight shipping and a video subscription?
Value Proposition
Thats remarkable value for a service to avoid the expense and hassle of driving to the mall and it may even provide a tolerable substitute for that $1,200 per year that you pay to for cable TV.
Ride-hailing apps like Uber are disrupting the taxi and limo industry, Airbnb is taking market share from hotels, and free calling via wi-fi are usurping costly mobile voice packages.
The news that Dollar Shave Club has sold itself to European consumer products giant Unilever for $1 billion has generated lavish media coverage.
Change Agent
Why? DSC is a four-year old business that quickly grabbed nearly 10% of the male shaving market despite having no in-house product design, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution capabilities. They were all outsourced.
Instead, it has thrived with clever marketing, value pricing, convenience and customer service.
Entrepreneurs spotted an industry ripe for disruption overpriced, often overbuilt products that had lost relevance with customers.
Gillette (PG), the shaving giant acquired by P&G in 2005 for $54 billion, was complacent and unprepared for an intrusion into its lucrative business.
Giant Killer
DSC pulled that off by adhering to an asset-light business model that emphasized product quality, low prices, free delivery and savvy use of social media.
DSCs business reportedly took off immediately following a provocative (and free) marketing video that its founder uploaded to YouTube in 2012.
DSC also reportedly ran on AWS, Amazons ten-year old web infrastructure platform that has enabled young companies across the digital spectrum to outsource all aspects of online and mobile presence on an a la carte basis.
Cost-effectively buying virtually all key operations functions while generating free awareness via social media helped make DSC a threat to Gillette.
And how did Gillette respond? It launched its own mail-based shave club in 2014 and sued DSC for patent infringement in 2015. DSC counter-sued earlier this year.
Takeaway
The paradox here, in my view, is that, while technology is improving lives, saving consumers money and enhancing business productivity, its also accelerating an economy of winners and losersand, by extension, income inequality.
The winners are the likes of DSC, Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN) and computer programmers. The losers are P&G, bank tellers, taxi drivers, ad salespeople, stock traders, retail clerks, and even brick-and-mortar commercial landlords.
Technological upheaval is making it possible for start-ups to challenge the giants of business.
The implications of this revolution are only now beginning to reverberate among investors. Make no mistake, theres no such thing as an entrenched incumbent anymore.
Photo Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via Flickr Creative Commons
The post The great disruption appeared first on Smarter InvestingCovestor Ltd. is a registered investment advisor. Covestor licenses investment strategies from its Model Managers to establish investment models. The commentary here is provided as general and impersonal information and should not be construed as recommendations or advice. Information from Model Managers and third-party sources deemed to be reliable but not guaranteed. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Transaction histories for Covestor models available upon request. Additional important disclosures available at http://site.covestor.com/help/disclosures.
Global health officials are racing to better understand the Zika virus behind a major outbreak that began in Brazil last year and has spread to many countries in the Americas.
The following are some questions and answers about the virus and current outbreak:
How do people become infected?
Zika is transmitted to people through the bite of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same type that spreads dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Aedes mosquitoes are found in all countries in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile, and the virus will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found.
How do you treat Zika?
There is no treatment or vaccine for Zika infection. Companies and scientists are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine for Zika, but the World Health Organization (WHO) had said it would take at least 18 months to start large-scale clinical trials of potential preventative shots.
How dangerous is it?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies. The CDC said now that the causal relationship has been established, several important questions must still be answered with studies that could take years.
According to the World Health Organization, there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause the birth defect microcephaly in babies, a condition defined by unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems. In addition, the agency said it could cause Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis. Conclusive proof of the damage caused by Zika may take months or years.
Brazil reports the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly at more than 1,700 as doctors and Brazilian health officials find that some suspected cases of microcephaly are not the disorder. Suspected ones under investigation declined to 3,257.
Brazil registered 91,387 likely cases of the Zika virus from February until April 2.
Current research in Brazil indicates the greatest microcephaly risk is associated with infection during the first trimester of pregnancy, but health officials have warned an impact could be seen in later weeks. Recent studies have shown evidence of Zika in amniotic fluid, placenta and fetal brain tissue.
What are the symptoms of Zika infection?
People infected with Zika may have a mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain and fatigue that can last for two to seven days. But as many as 80 percent of people infected never develop symptoms. The symptoms are similar to those of dengue or chikungunya, which are transmitted by the same type of mosquito.
How can Zika be contained?
Efforts to control the spread of the virus focus on eliminating mosquito breeding sites and taking precautions against mosquito bites such as using insect repellent and mosquito nets. U.S. and international health officials have advised pregnant women to avoid travel to Latin American and Caribbean countries where they may be exposed to Zika.
How widespread is the outbreak?
Active Zika outbreaks have been reported in at least 51 countries or territories, most of them in the Americas, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Brazil has been the country most affected. (http://1.usa.gov/1ovAJyh)
Africa (1): Cape Verde
Americas (42): Anguilla, Argentina, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saba, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelmy, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Eustatius, St. Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, U.S. Virgin Islands and Venezuela.
Oceania/Pacific Islands (8): American Samoa, Fiji, Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga.
What is the history of the Zika virus?
The Zika virus is found in tropical locales with large mosquito populations. Outbreaks of Zika have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Southern Asia and the Western Pacific. The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys and was first identified in people in 1952 in Uganda and Tanzania, according to the WHO.
Can Zika be transmitted through sexual contact?
The World Health Organization (WHO) said sexual transmission is "relatively common" and has advised pregnant women not to travel to areas with ongoing outbreaks of Zika virus. It also advised women living in areas where the virus is being transmitted to delay getting pregnant.
The U.S. CDC is investigating about a dozen cases of possible sexual transmission. Those cases involved possible transmission of the virus from men to their sex partners.
But the CDC issued updated recommendations for preventing and testing for Zika infection on July 25, warning that the virus can be transmitted through unprotected sex with an infected female partner.
A reported case of female-to-male sexual transmission in New York City, and limited human and non-human primate data indicating that Zika virus RNA can be detected in vaginal secretions, led to the new warning, the agency said.
CDC's expanded warnings on sexual exposure to Zika now caution against sex without a condom or other barrier method of protection with any person, male or female, who has traveled to or lives in an area with Zika, including female to female transmission with a pregnant partner.
British health officials reported Zika was found in a man's semen two months after he was infected, suggesting the virus may linger in semen long after infection symptoms fade.
The PAHO said Zika can be transmitted through blood, but this is an infrequent transmission mechanism. There is no evidence Zika can be transmitted to babies through breast milk.
The WHO has identified Zika cases in Argentina, Chile, France, Italy and New Zealand as likely caused by sexual transmission.
What other complications are associated with Zika?
Zika has also been associated with other neurological disorders, including serious brain and spinal cord infections. The long-term health consequences of Zika infection are unclear. Other uncertainties surround the incubation period of the virus and how Zika interacts with other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes, such as dengue.
The role of the female orgasm has been a head-scratcher for centuries. Case-in-point: Aristotle himself noted that the fact that human females don't need it to conceive clouded the quest for explanation.
The statistics that show it's an "uncommon" occurrence during heterosexual intercourse and the lack of correlation between orgasm and number of offspring deepen the mysterywhich scientists at Yale and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital may have "solved," reports the Guardian.
Science reports there are about a dozen theories out there (read a few here); here's the upshot of this one, published in the Journal of Experimental Zoology: The human female orgasm is rooted in an ancestral kind of ovulation present in some mammals (cats, rabbits) today, in which sex triggers a surge of hormones which then triggers the egg's release.
Gunter Wagner and Mihaela Pavlicev explain that with male-induced ovulation, the surge of oxytocin and prolactin triggers eggs to be released. Human females obviously don't ovulate that way: Our spontaneous ovulation has no dependence on sexual activity.
But the human female orgasm is still accompanied by that surge of oxytocin and prolactin, explains a press release. That suggests it's a remnant of that ancestral kind of ovulation, which the Guardian reports was replaced with spontaneous ovulation in the ancestor of primates 75 million years ago.
As Science puts it, "because those hormonal surges no longer confer a biological advantage, orgasms during intercourse may be lost in some women." Wagner tells STAT the female orgasm isn't going anywhere though, because one body of tissue becomes either the penis or clitoris in the human fetus.
"If the clitoris went away through evolution, so may the penis." (Sweden is trying to find out just how good sex is in Sweden.)
This article originally appeared on Newser: Researchers Get to the Bottom of Female Orgasm
More From Newser
The following timeline charts the origin and spread of the Zika virus from its discovery nearly 70 years ago:
1947: Scientists researching yellow fever in Uganda's Zika Forest identify the virus in a rhesus monkey
1948: Virus recovered from Aedes africanus mosquito in Zika Forest
1952: First human cases detected in Uganda and Tanzania
1960s-80s: Zika detected in mosquitoes and monkeys across equatorial Africa
1960s-80s: Zika found in equatorial Asia, including India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan
2007: Zika spreads from Africa and Asia, first large outbreak on Pacific island of Yap
2012: Researchers identify two distinct lineages of the virus, African and Asian
2013-14: Zika outbreaks in French Polynesia, Easter Island, the Cook Islands and New Caledonia. Retrospective analysis shows possible link to birth defects and severe neurological complications in babies in French Polynesia
March 2, 2015: Brazil reports illness characterized by skin rash in northeastern states
July 17: Brazil reports detection of neurological disorders in newborns associated with history of infection
Oct. 22: Colombia confirms cases of Zika
Oct. 30: Brazil reports increase in microcephaly, abnormally small heads, among newborns
Nov. 11: Brazil declares public health emergency
November 2015-January 2016: Cases reported in Suriname, Panama, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Paraguay, Venezuela, French Guiana, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Guyana, Ecuador, Barbados, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Curacao, Jamaica
Feb. 1: World Health Organization (WHO) declares public health emergency of international concern
Feb. 2: First case of Zika transmission in United States; local health officials say likely contracted through sex, not mosquito bite
Feb. 5: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says virus being actively transmitted in 30 countries, mostly in the Americas
Feb. 8: U.S. President Barack Obama requests $1.9 billion to fight Zika
Feb. 18: CDC adds Aruba and Bonaire to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 32
Feb. 23: CDC adds Trinidad and Tobago and Marshall Islands to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 34
Feb. 25: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases number more than 580 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers, with an additional 4,100 suspected cases of microcephaly
Feb. 27: France detects first sexually transmitted case of Zika
March 8: WHO advises pregnant women to avoid areas with Zika outbreak and said sexual transmission of the virus is "relatively common"
March 19: CDC adds Cuba to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 38
March 22: CDC adds Dominica to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 39
March 31: The World Health Organization says there is a strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause the birth defect microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis, though conclusive proof may take months or years
April 1: CDC adds Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 40
April 4: CDC adds Fiji to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 41
April 13: The CDC concludes that infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies. CDC adds St. Lucia to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 42
April 18: CDC adds Belize to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 43
April 25: Canada confirms first sexually transmitted Zika case
April 29: Puerto Rico reports first death related to Zika, according to the CDC. The island territory also confirms 683 Zika cases, including 65 pregnant women, and five suspected cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome from Zika
May 4: Panama confirms four microcephaly cases tied to Zika
May 6: Spain has first case of Zika-related brain defect in a fetus
May 9: CDC adds Papua New Guinea, Saint Barthelemy and Peru to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 46
May 12: CDC adds Grenada to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 47
May 13: Puerto Rico reports first case of Zika-related microcephaly
May 20: WHO says an outbreak of Zika virus on the African island chain of Cape Verde is of the same strain as the one blamed for birth abnormalities in Brazil
May 26: CDC adds Argentina to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 48
June 9: WHO updates guidelines on prevention of sexual transmission of the Zika virus, including advising women living in areas where the virus is being transmitted to delay getting pregnant
June 14: El Salvador confirms first case of microcephaly linked to Zika
June 30: CDC adds Anguilla to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 49
July 8: CDC confirms a Utah resident's death from the previous month is the first Zika-related death in the continental United States
July 14: CDC adds Saint Eustatius to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 50
July 15: New York City's health department reports the first female-to-male transmission of the Zika virus.
July 18: CDC reports the caregiver of Utah man who died of Zika tested positive for virus, raising questions about its spread
July 19: Florida health officials investigate a case of Zika virus infection that may have been caused by local mosquito bite
July 22: New York City health officials reports first baby born with Zika-related birth defect
July 25: Spain reports first case in Europe of baby born with Zika-related defect; CDC issues updated recommendations for preventing and testing for Zika infection, warning that the virus can be transmitted through unprotected sex with an infected female partner
July 26: Honduras detects 8 cases of babies with Zika-related defect; CDC adds Saba to countries and territories with active outbreaks with total at 51
July 27: Paraguay reports first cases of microcephaly linked to Zika
July 29: Florida authorities report what is believed to be the first evidence of local Zika transmission in the continental United States
Aug. 2: CDC adds Antigua, Barbuda, and Turks and Caicos to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 54
Aug. 3: U.S. researchers said they launched Zika vaccine clinical trial
Aug. 11: CDC adds Cayman Islands to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 55
Aug. 12: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declares a public health emergency in Puerto Rico over Zika with 10,690 laboratory-confirmed cases
Aug. 13: Brazil reports 1,835 confirmed cases of microcephaly
Aug. 16: Haiti reports first case of microcephaly linked to Zika
Aug. 17: Guatemala confirms first case of newborn with microcephaly linked to Zika
Aug. 19: Florida governor says five cases of Zika are believed to have been contracted in Miami Beach, the second area in Miami-Dade county where the virus is spreading.
Aug. 25: CDC adds The Bahamas and the United States to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 57
Aug. 26: FDA recommends that all blood donated in the United States and its territories be tested for Zika virus, starting with 11 states in the first phase; Nicaragua confirms first microcephaly birth linked to Zika
Aug. 27-29: Singapore confirms first case of locally transmitted Zika virus,
which rise to 56 cases two days later
Aug. 30: Confirmed cases in Singapore rise to 82, with some of the latest infections detected beyond the area of initial outbreak. Several countries advise pregnant women or those trying to conceive to avoid traveling to the city-state. Australia, Taiwan, South Korea and the United States issue travel warnings
Aug. 31: CDC adds Singapore and the British Virgin Islands to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing tally to 58 (The CDC groups together Antigua and Barbuda in its updated official count)
Sept. 3: Malaysia detects first case of locally transmitted Zika
Sept. 5: Philippines confirms first case of Zika virus likely to have been transmitted locally
Sept. 6: Florida confirms 56 locally transmitted cases, 577 travel-related infections, and 80 infections involving pregnant women
Sept. 8: Singapore reports 283 cases of locally transmitted Zika virus
Sept. 10: Singapore locally transmitted Zika cases rise to 329
SOURCES: World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Reuters
(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Compiled and edited by the Americas Desk)
The mosquitoes spreading Zika in Miami are proving harder to eradicate than expected, the nation's top disease-fighter said Tuesday as authorities sprayed clouds of insecticide in the ground-zero neighborhood, emptied kiddie pools and handed out cans of insect repellent to the homeless.
Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the mosquito-control efforts in the bustling urban neighborhood aren't achieving the hoped-for results, suggesting the pests are resistant to the insecticides or are still finding standing water in which to breed.
"We're not seeing the number of mosquitoes come down as rapidly as we would have liked," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Mosquito control experts said that's no surprise to them, describing the Aedes aegypti mosquito as a "little ninja" capable of hiding in tiny crevices, sneaking up on people's ankles, and breeding in just a bottle cap of standing water.
Fifteen people have become infected with Zika in Miami's Wynwood arts district, officials said Tuesday. These are believed to be the first mosquito-transmitted cases in the mainland U.S., which has been girding for months against the epidemic coursing through Latin America and the Caribbean.
On Monday, the CDC instructed pregnant women to avoid the neighborhood, marking what is believed to be the first time in the agency's 70-year history that it warned people not to travel somewhere in the U.S. The Zika virus can cause severe brain-related defects, including disastrously small heads.
At the same time, U.S. health authorities have said they don't expect major outbreaks in this country, in part because of better sanitation and the use of air conditioners and window screens.
On Tuesday, Miami-Dade County mosquito control inspectors toting backpack blowers released white clouds of bug spray in Wynwood.
They also went door to door, handing out information, checking tires and other objects for standing water, and dipping cups to take water samples from vacant lots, building sites and backyards.
In one lush yard, an inspector tipped over a kiddie pool and a cooler full of water.
Daily aerial spraying for adult mosquitoes and larvae has been approved for the next four weeks over a 10-square-mile area around Wynwood, county officials said.
The city of Miami said it is running more street sweepers in Wynwood to remove the litter and stagnant water that can serve as breeding grounds, and police officers handed out 50 cans of bug spray to homeless people in the neighborhood.
"Be sure that you use it," Officer James Bernat said as he gave repellent to several people who had been sleeping on the street.
Dozens of pregnant women streamed into Borinquen Medical Center, a clinic just outside Wynwood where doctors said they were getting more and more nervous requests for Zika testing.
On the sidewalk outside, eight-months-pregnant Gabriella Acevedo said she would rush back to her Wynwood home.
"I'm going to put the AC on blast and try not to go outside. I've been bitten by mosquitoes probably two weeks ago, but I don't feel sick," she said. "It's just really stressful to me."
Because of environmental regulations governing which chemicals can be used as insecticides, mosquito control authorities cannot easily switch to another compound if bugs prove resistant to it.
Nothing has worked to stop this mosquito elsewhere in the world except for the introduction of mosquitoes modified to pass on genes that kill their offspring, said Michael Doyle, executive director of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. And the Food and Drug Administration has not given approval to that approach in the U.S.
"We have to totally rethink mosquito control for Aedes aegypti," Doyle said. "It's like a little ninja. It's always hiding."
Frieden complained that in the U.S., "we really dismantled the mosquito monitoring and control infrastructure over the past few decades."
The result: "We have blind spots where we don't know where the mosquito populations are and what the susceptibility is to different insecticides," the CDC director said.
The U.S. government might have underestimated how difficult it would be to control Zika's spread, said University of Florida public health researcher Ira Longini.
But he also said there aren't enough of the disease-transmitting mosquitoes living in and around houses to cause long-term or widespread outbreaks in this country.
"In defense of the CDC and the government, it's a difficult problem to solve," he said.
Accepting the Democratic Party's nomination for president, Hillary Clinton declared the country is at a moment of reckoning.
Here's the truth: Americas economy is a mess and our social fabric is fraying. That's why Donald Trump, not Hillary Clinton, offers a better way forward.
Powerful computers, the Internet, handheld devices, robots and artificial intelligence are making our lives easier but they are also destroying jobs at an alarming pace. And the new opportunities those technologies create require better skills than most Americans have.
Politicians have pumped billions into public schools and universities led by faculty obsessed with political correctness and the alleged ills of American capitalism, financed vast entitlements instead of adequate investments in R&D and the infrastructure, and sowed divisions and suspicion among ethnic groups, and between men and women and the prosperous and those genuinely deserving a hand up.
Our High schools churn out students unprepared for college or vocational programs, and many university graduates lack the skills needed to function in a technology-intensive workplace. Businesses constantly complain about the shortage of adequately skilled job applicants.
All this is exacerbated by competition from Japan, Germany and other northern European countries where job training is better and from China and elsewhere in Asia where labor is much cheaper. Those pressures are multiplied by Washingtons failure to negotiate good international trade agreements and adequately defend Americans against foreign cheating on those agreements.
Since 2000, a much smaller percentage of adults are working or looking for work, economic growth is half the pace of the prior 20 years, and average family incomes are down nearly $4,000.
Suicides and drug abuse are up, fertility has dropped precipitously, millions of recent college graduates are employed at places like Starbucks and living with parents, and home ownership is at a 50 year low.
American society is increasingly polarized between the top 25 percent who manage to obtain a good education, land a high paying job and pay most of the taxes, and those who are stuck in dead end situations and clamor for more government benefits to shore up their diminished circumstances.
President Obama has pandered to the latter by expanding entitlements such as the earned income tax credit and food stamps, middle class subsidies for health insurance and student loans forgiveness, and social security disability pensions for 1 in 20 working age Americans.
He tells the inadequately trained, minorities and women they are victims of forces beyond their control and entrenched discrimination, and pressures universities and businesses to implement racial and gender quotas in admissions and hiring.
Those tactics win votes but discourage self-improvement and individual accountability, widen the skills gap between the haves and have-nots and further exacerbate inequality.
Now Hillary Clinton wants to generalize to the national level the California Fair Pay Act, which would require businesses of all sizes to justify virtually every hiring and salary decision to the Labor Department, extend Medicare to Americans over 50, establish broad federal funding for child care, and offer most Americans free tuition at state universities.
Already, the federal debt is on track to double over next 12 years, and Clintons prescriptions would only slow growth further and hasten the ultimate collapse of the nations finances.
Donald Trump indicts the tyranny and destructive consequences of political correctness and identity politics. But no politician can run and win the presidency by promising to cut social programs.
He does promise to do something about bad trade agreements and the high taxes smothering new business startups and investment. To lower taxes, he would be compelled by Congress to curtail the worst abuses of government benefits programs and thereby restore some individual responsibility to citizens for their successes and failures.
Trumps language may be crude -- but after nearly 50 years in the trenches of academia, managing in government, advising corporate leaders and toiling in policy battles of Washington -- I can attest he is absolutely right.
The problem he or any Republican faces running for president is that too many Americans have become dependent on government largess and preferences for employment opportunities. None can speak honestly without being branded a racist, sexist, homophobe or simply insensitive, and ridiculed to their demise in the New York Times, Washington Post and major network newscasts.
With each new president, more Americans go on the dole or benefit from some kind of government mandated sinecure and fewer are engaged in productive activities. Growth slows further, the debt increases and opportunities for young people become less adequate.
This can only end by Americans rejecting Clinton and voting for Trump to take back their dignity, or the country falling into complete dysfunction, decay and ultimate collapse.
For the second time in a week, Donald Trump has made an enemy of the fire marshal at his campaign rally.
"They said in this massive building, you're not allowed to have any more than 1,000 people, and that's nonsense," the Republican presidential nominee told reporters on Monday minutes before his mid-afternoon rally in Columbus, Ohio. "We could have had four, five, six thousand people. They've all been turned away. You saw them."
Trump had invited reporters to grill him before he took the stage but those present said he ignored several questions about recent controversies before proceeding to rant against the local fire marshal.
"So you have 1,000 people in there. They won't allow any more," he told members of the press. "The fire marshal said he's not allowed to allow any more even though the building holds many thousands of people. So I just wanted to tell you that."
Read more on WashingtonExaminer.com
The Democratic National Committees CEO and two other top officials have resigned in the wake of the leaked email controversy that marred the start of the partys convention last week in the latest shake-up at party headquarters.
According to a DNC statement, CEO Amy Dacey; chief finance officer Brad Marshall; and communications director Luis Miranda left their jobs on Tuesday.
The resignations mark the latest fallout from the email scandal that forced Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to step down on the eve of the Philadelphia convention. Those hacked emails exposed what appeared to be a pro-Hillary Clinton bias among top officials who at times disparaged primary rival Bernie Sanders.
Marshall had written the most explosive email, questioning Sanders' Jewish faith and suggesting he could be portrayed as an atheist.
He had written: He had skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist.
He has since apologized for the missive.
Longtime Democratic operative Donna Brazile is now serving as the party's interim chair.
Brazile said Tuesday that she has created a "transition team" to help prepare the party for its post-election mission. She said Tom McMahon, a former DNC executive director under then-Chair Howard Dean, will lead that group.
In a statement, she thanked the departing officials for their work on fundraising and the party platform.
She said: This election is the most important of my lifetime, and the DNC will continue to recruit top talent to help lead the fight to elect Hillary Clinton and Democrats across the country. I am committed to adding to our team of skilled professionals who will make sure that Donald Trump is held accountable for his reckless rhetoric and harmful policies.
Clinton operatives who moved over to party headquarters after she had effectively secured the nomination in June will continue in their roles; that group includes DNC chief of staff Brandon Davis. Additionally, veteran Democratic strategist Doug Thornell will serve as an interim senior adviser to the party.
Dacey already has a new job. She has been hired by Squared Communications, a Democratic consulting firm based in Washington.
"As one of the top campaign strategists in our party, and with our experiences together on presidential, Senate and congressional campaigns, Amy will help our firm's clients navigate this and future election cycles," Michael Meehan, founder and CEO Squared Communications, said in a statement.
Before joining the DNC, Dacey was executive director of EMILY's List, which works to elect female Democrats.
The cache of more than 19,000 messages was made public by the group WikiLeaks just before the convention.
Democratic Party officials learned in late April that their systems had been attacked after they discovered malicious software on their computers. A cybersecurity firm they employed found traces of at least two sophisticated hacking groups on the Democrats' network -- both of which have ties to the Russian government.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
In the course of the campaign, Donald Trump has taken his whacks at Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Lindsey Graham, Carly Fiorina, Paul Ryan, Reince Priebus, John McCain, Hillary Clinton and, yes, Bill Clinton.
But this time feels different.
The Republican nominee is, of course, entitled to defend himself against Khizr Khan, who took the stage at the Democratic convention and denounced him as an anti-Muslim bigot. But the way in which he has done it has fueled the story.
There is no question that Khan, whose soldier son was killed in Iraq, provided a heartbreaking moment in Philadelphia. Trump had nothing to do with his sons wartime death, of course, but Khan took his proposed temporary ban on Muslim immigrants and used it to question whether the candidate has even read the Constitution (which Trump says he has).
The media have given this man and his wife an enormous platformin a way they conspicuously declined to do when Patricia Smith blamed Hillary Clinton at the Republican convention for the death of her son in Benghazi.
Khans speech got a writeup on the front page of the New York Times. On Sunday he was on NBCs Meet the Press and CNNs State of the Union, calling Trump, among other things, a black soul. Yesterday it was the Today show, Morning Joe and New Day.
Trump, in a sitdown with ABCs George Stephanopoulos, questioned, among other things, why Khans wife did not speak at the convention. (She responded in a Washington Post op-ed that she gets emotionally overcome even looking at pictures of her late son.)
The problem for Trump is that hes in a fight with a Gold Star mother and her husband, who naturally have enormous public sympathy. (Trump later issued a statement calling Khans son a hero but saying Khan had no right to attack him, but the damage was done.)
The New York Times is calling it one of the biggest crises of his campaign, saying its too soon to say how severe the damage to Mr. Trump might be, but the clash has already entangled him in a self-destructive, dayslong argument with sympathetic accusers who are portraying him as a person of unredeemable callousness.
The paper did add that he has proved remarkably resilient, getting past controversies that might have sunk other candidates.
The Washington Post says Trump drew new criticism from his party for taking on Khan. But the Republican presidential nominee refused to back down from his attacks, and a former aide argued that the soldier would still be alive if Trump were president at the time of his service.
Politico says Trump had a horrible weekend, with disputed comments about Russia and the timing of the fall debates, that seemed to demonstrate all of the flaws trouble with the truth, an inability to let criticism go unanswered and a lack of knowledge of world affairs that Republicans fear Trump will be unable to put behind him and that Democrats hope will be the billionaires undoing come November.
The media narrative is clear. And some of Trumps allies arent helping. Roger Stone, the informal Trump adviser, tweeted that Khan is more than an aggrieved father of a Muslim son- he's Muslim Brotherhood agent helping Hillary.
New Hampshire state Rep. Al Baldasaro, who has called for Clinton to be killed, said this: Follow the money trail on Mr Khan. Shame on him for using his Warrior son, who made the Ultimate sacrifice as a pawn.
Every day that Trump is talking about Khizr Khan is a day hes not talking about jobs or taxes. It means that Clinton insisting again, with Chris Wallace, that she did not send or receive classified information, against all available evidence, was totally overshadowed in the media.
Patricia Smith drew little coverage for her speech attacking Clinton in Cleveland. That may be in part because she had repeatedly made the same allegations in television interviews. But Smith also drew criticism for bringing up Benghazi.
GQ writer Bethlehem Shoals tweeted: I dont care how many children Pat Smith lost, I would like to beat her to death. He later apologized.
In her Fox News Sunday interview, Clinton was asked about Smiths allegations that she misled her and another Benghazi family after the 2012 attack. She took a soft approach.
Chris, my heart goes out to both of them. Losing a child under any circumstances, especially in this case, two State Department employees, extraordinary men both of them, two CIA contractors gave their lives protecting our country, our values
I dont hold any ill feeling for someone who in that moment may not fully recall everything that was or wasnt said.
Its hard to avoid the conclusion that most of the mainstream media sympathize with Khans harsh portrait of Trump, but believe that Smiths harsh rendition of Clinton is unfair.
I leave you with this: MSNBC blogger Steve Benen, during the Democratic convention: "Khizr Khan's Words Won't Soon Be Forgotten." He said no speaker topped Khan for "sheer emotional weight and resonance."
Ten days earlier, during the Republican convention, Benen's headline was this: "RNC Manipulates the Pain of a Grieving Mother for Partisan Gain." He called it "probably the lowest point a party has reached in my lifetime."
President Obama on Tuesday denounced Donald Trump in his strongest terms yet, calling him unfit to serve and woefully unprepared to do this job while the Republican nominee responded by hammering the presidents record and saying November rival Hillary Clinton is the one who has proven herself unfit to serve in any government office.
In a written statement released Tuesday afternoon, Trump countered that Obama and Clinton have single-handedly destabilized the Middle East while putting the country at risk with Clintons use of a private email server.
She is reckless with her emails, reckless with regime change, and reckless with American lives, Trump said.
Earlier, Obama lit into the GOP nominee while fielding a question on Trump at the top of a White House press conference with the visiting prime minister of Singapore. Obama diverted from the central topic of that visit moving along the controversial Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, which Trump opposes to fundamentally question whether the federal government could function properly if Trump wins.
I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president, Obama said, adding, He keeps on proving it.
The president questioned whether Trump has basic knowledge on key issues. He went on to say that with past Republican nominees including his former rivals John McCain and Mitt Romney he never had doubts about their ability to do the job of president even though they disagreed on policy.
Had they won I would have been disappointed, but I would have said to all Americans, this is our president, Obama said, noting he was confident they would abide by certain rules and observe basic decency.
Obama added: But thats not the situation here.
The statements mark yet another escalation in the war of words between leading Democrats namely, party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Obama and Trump on the heels of both parties conventions.
The president used his remarks Tuesday in part to pressure top elected Republicans to abandon Trump entirely. For the most part, leading Republicans have repeatedly criticized Trumps more controversial statements including his criticism of the Muslim parents of a U.S. Army captain killed in Iraq but have not disavowed the nominee himself.
There has to come a point at which you say enough, Obama said.
Meanwhile, Trump ratcheted up the rhetoric on his end, while aiming his criticism more at Clinton than Obama.
At a rally in Democratic VP nominee Tim Kaines home turf of Virginia, Trump on Tuesday mocked Clinton for her talk on Russia.
She wants to play the tough one shes not tough, he said.
He asked the crowd, Does she look presidential? The crowd yelled back, No!
He also cited her widely challenged claim to Fox News Sunday that the FBI director determined her statements on her personal email use were truthful.
She lied, pure and simple, Trump said.
The comments came after Trump, on Monday, called Clinton the devil and warned that the November presidential election could be rigged.
"I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," the Republican nominee told a town hall crowd in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday. He added that he has been hearing "more and more" that the election may not be contested fairly, though he did not elaborate further.
Speaking at a stop Monday night in Pennsylvania, Trump did not mince words as he also blasted Sen. Bernie Sanders for backing Clinton.
If he would have just not done anything, go home, go to sleep, relax, he would have been a hero. But he made a deal with the devil. She's the devil. He made a deal with the devil. It's true, Trump said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rep. Richard Hanna on Tuesday became the first GOP member of Congress to say he will vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton for president instead of Republican candidate Donald Trump, castigating the business mogul as unfit to serve our party.
Hanna, a three-term congressman who represents the 22nd District in upstate New York, wrote in an op-ed for Syracuse.com that he disagreed with Clinton, but could not vote for a man who was unrepentant in all things.
I do not expect perfection, but I do require more than the embodiment of at least a short list of the seven deadly sins, Hanna wrote.
The written rebuke of Trump comes amid the newest controversy swirling around the GOP nominee, as Trump continues a war of words with the father of a Muslim U.S. Army captain who was killed in Iraq in 2004. In his piece, Hanna also referenced Trumps year-old attack against Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who Trump seemed to dispute was a war hero because he was captured.
Or the countless other insults he's proudly lobbed from behind the Republican presidential podium, Hanna wrote. For me, it is not enough to simply denounce his comments: He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country.
Hanna, who is retiring at the end of his term, has often broken with the Republican party line. A member of the LGBT Equality Caucus, Hanna has supported same-sex marriage since 2013. Hes voted against cuts to Planned Parenthood, and told a crowd of mostly women in 2012 to contribute your money to Democrats because they speak out on your behalf.
But his reasons for supporting Clinton go beyond simply refusing to cast a ballot for Trump. Hanna wrote that Clinton has stood for causes bigger than herself for a lifetime. That matters. He wrote that while he disagrees with the former secretary of state on a multitude of matters, he trusts that she can lead the country.
All Republicans may not like the direction, Hanna wrote, but they can live to win or lose another day with a real candidate.
Donald Trump stepped up security on Tuesday when he called for the removal of a crying baby from his speech in Ashburn, Virginia.
Trump originally praised the baby and told the mother that he loved babies.
Dont worry about it. I love babies. I hear that baby crying, I like it, Trump said. What a baby. What a beautiful baby. Dont worry, dont worry. The moms running around likedont worry about it, you know. Its young and beautiful and healthy and thats what we want.
Trump then continued his speech, talking about how China has ripped us absolutely to shreds.
About a minute later, Trump heard the baby crying again and told the mother he was just kidding and that she needed to get the baby out of there.
Click for more at The Washington Free Beacon.
Donald Trump is rapidly ratcheting up the rhetoric as the 2016 candidates charge out of their respective party conventions, warning Monday the November presidential election could be rigged and repeatedly calling Democratic rival Hillary Clinton the devil while his campaign tried to draw financial links between the Clinton Foundation and ISIS.
Speaking Tuesday morning to Fox Business Network, the Republican nominee also called Clinton a disaster and a liar.
She lied over the weekend, Trump said, citing her widely challenged claim to Fox News Sunday that the FBI director determined her statements on her personal email use were truthful.
The onslaught of accusations signaling a new and tougher phase in a campaign already characterized by sharp elbows and name-calling picked up late Monday, as Trump railed against his general election rival during stops in Ohio and later Pennsylvania, and in media interviews. He went so far as to suggest November could be fixed.
"I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," the Republican nominee told a town hall crowd in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday. He added that he has been hearing "more and more" that the election may not be contested fairly, though he did not elaborate further.
Trump made the claim after first suggesting that the Democrats had fixed their primary system so Clinton could defeat Sen. Bernie Sanders.
He repeated the charge Monday night on Fox News Channel's "Hannity," saying: "November 8th, we'd better be careful, because that election is going to be rigged. And I hope the Republicans are watching closely or it's going to be taken away from us."
Speaking at a stop Monday night in Pennsylvania, Trump did not mince words as he also blasted Sanders for backing Clinton.
If he would have just not done anything, go home, go to sleep, relax, he would have been a hero. But he made a deal with the devil. She's the devil. He made a deal with the devil. It's true, Trump said.
So far, Clinton has not responded directly to Trumps latest jabs. Shes focusing her fire on Trumps controversial comments about Khizr and Ghazala Khan -- Muslims whose U.S. Army captain son was killed in Iraq in 2004 -- and Trumps business record.
"For the life of me I don't know why someone runs to be president of the United States who thinks and says we don't win anymore, our country is full of losers, Clinton said Monday in Nebraska.
The Khans spoke out against Trump and questioned his familiarity with the Constitution last week at the Democratic National Convention. Trump struck back by questioning whether Ghazala Khan had been allowed to speak. She said she is still too grief-stricken by her son's death.
Trump has since faced bipartisan criticism for his comments.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign put out a statement late Monday alleging Clinton Foundation ties to a corporation funding ISIS.
The campaign detailed financial contributions the Clinton Foundation received from a cement-making company called Lafarge. The same statement cited reporting in French media outlets that the company had entered deals with the Islamic State and other armed groups in Syria to protect its interests there.
More than any major presidential nominee in modern history, Hillary Clinton is tied to brutal theocratic and Islamist regimes. Now we learn she has accepted money from a company linked to ISIS, Trump senior policy adviser Stephen Miller said in a statement.
Fox News Kristin Fisher and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Joan of Arc's claim to fame the mysterious voices she heard and visions she saw during the Hundred Years' War may actually have been due to a form of epilepsy, Italian researchers suggest.
Dr. Guiseppe d'Orsi, a neurologist at the University of Foggia in Italy, and Paola Tinuper, an associate professor of biomedical and neuromotor sciences at the University of Bologna, also in Italy, described their hypothesis in a letter to the editor, published in May in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior.
Joan of Arc may have had a type of epilepsy that affects the part of the brain responsible for hearing, or "idiopathic partial epilepsy with auditory features (IPEAF)," d'Orsi and Tinuper wrote. ("Idiopathic" means that the epilepsy likely has a genetic cause, and "partial" means that the epilepsy affects only one area of the brain.) [Senses and Non-Sense: 7 Odd Hallucinations]
When a person has epilepsy, they experience chronic, unprovoked seizures. A seizure occurs when electrical signals in the brain misfire. Where these misfired signals occur in the brain determines how a person acts during a seizure. For example, a seizure may cause a person's muscles to jerk, or cause them to become dazed and confused, or hear voices.
D'Orsi and Tinuper said they first came up with their hypothesis 10 years ago, when examining documentation of Joan during her Trial of Condemnation, during which she was accused of being a heretic and a witch, and was sentenced to be burned at the stake.
Historical clues
Several aspects of Joan's symptoms, which have been detailed in historical accounts, help support this diagnosis, d'Orsi and Tinuper wrote.
For example, Joan reported hearing voices and sometimes reported seeing different saints, such as St. Catherine and St. Margaret. These auditory hallucinations and occasional visual hallucinations are symptoms of this type of epilepsy, according to the researchers.
Joan is reported to have said that the "sound of bells" sometimes triggered the voices. Hearing certain sounds can be a trigger for seizures, d'Orsi and Tinuper said.
During a public examination on Feb. 22, 1431, Joan said, "It said to me two or three times a week," referring to how often she heard the voices. Several days later, on March 1, 1431, she is reported to have said, "There is never a day that I do not hear them [the voices]," according to the researchers.
But the frequency with which Joan reported hearing voices is not entirely consistent with the researchers' diagnosis. Other researchers have pointed out that patients with this type of epilepsy have a low frequency of seizures, they wrote. Patients may have seizures infrequently at the beginning, and may also have seizures if they are withdrawing from certain drugs, they wrote. It's unclear if Joan of Arc had taken any substances that may have affected whether she had seizures, they added.
Joan of Arc also sometimes experienced seizures during sleep. "I was asleep: the Voice woke me It awoke me without touching me," Joan was reported to have said during a private examination on March 12, 1431, the researchers wrote. According to d'Orsi and Tinuper, 40 percent of people with this type of epilepsy have seizures during sleep. [Top 10 Spooky Sleep Disorders]
Of course, diagnosing a medical condition in a woman who lived in the 1400s is not exactly easy. Indeed, the researchers noted that "after six hundred years from Joan's death, we reaffirm the impossibility to arrive at a final conclusion."
However, there may be one remaining opportunity to find an answer, and it lies in a missing strand of Joan's hair.
History suggests that Joan of Arc sealed letters with red wax that had "the imprint of a finger and a hair" in order to prove her identity, the researchers wrote. If historians can locate these letters, scientists may have the opportunity to test the DNA of the hair.
Indeed, in recent studies, scientists have discovered genes that are linked to the specific type of epilepsy that d'Orsi and Tinuper suspect Joan of Arc may have had.
But efforts to find the letters and the hair have come up short so far. "After ten years from our first hypothesis, we are still looking for this hair" d'Orsi and Tinuper wrote.
Originally published on Live Science.
Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
You never know whats around the corner, but you also know never to say never because in four years or so, you just might know exactly whats hiding there.
The U.S. Defense Departments Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently awarded a $4.4 million grant to researchers at the Morgridge Institute for Research and University of Wisconsin-Madison to design a camera that can see whats literally out of sight.
Seven other universities also received grants to study non-line-of-sight imaging and its potential applications.
The technology, developed by MIT scientist Andreas Velten and demonstrated for the first time in 2012, works by shining a pulse of laser light into a room that scatters when it hits a wall or ceiling. Digital Trends reports that the pulses bounce off of objects in the room, and then many of them bounce their way back to the camera, which can digitally reconstruct an image of what the photons have hit.
Velten is now collaborating with Mohit Gupta, assistant professor of computer sciences at UW-Madison, to see how far they can take the technology. They are creating models where the light bounces six or more times to spot things that are outside the field of view.
The more times you can bounce this light within a scene, the more possible data you can collect, Velten says. Since the first light is the strongest, and each proceeding bounce gets weaker and weaker, the sensor has to be sensitive enough to capture even a few photons of light.
Gupta, meanwhile, is developing algorithms that can better read the data and help recreate what the photons have hit.
The information we will get is going to be noisy and the shapes will be blob-like, not much to the naked eye, so the visualization part of this will be huge, Gupta says. Because this problem is so new, we dont even know whats possible.
But the scientists hope the skys the limit. They believe it could be used to test the safety of jet engines while they are running, to see hidden spaces in shipwrecks, even to probe the dimensions of caves on the moon.
It could also lead to breakthroughs in medical imaging, search-and-rescue missions, navigation and national security.
DARPAs grant will support research for four years two for investigating the technologys full potential and two more for developing a viable non-line-of-sight imaging camera.
Two major unions at Southwest Airlines are demanding that the carrier replace its CEO because of the technology outage that caused the airline to cancel or delay thousands of flights in July.
Technology experts are questioning whether Southwest fell short in designing and testing its computer systems.
A top Southwest executive told The Associated Press on Monday that the July 20 outage will cost the airline "into the tens of millions" of dollars a huge increase in the original estimate of between $5 million and $10 million.
The company will recover many bookings that were lost while its website was down, said Robert Jordan, Southwest's executive vice president and chief commercial officer. But it will lose money from a "couple hundred thousand people" whose flights were canceled and from refunds to stranded passengers, he said.
Jordan said the outage was the worst he could recall in his 28 years at Southwest, the nation's fourth-biggest airline. It has become a rallying point for unions who believe they deserve raises while Southwest Airlines Co. earns record profits.
The pilots' union said that its board voted 20-0 to ask that Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly and Chief Operating Officer Mike Van de Ven be removed. Union President Jon Weaks said the company had focused too much on controlling costs and buying back its own shares and not enough to upgrade "critically outdated IT infrastructure and flight operations."
The leader of the mechanics' union, Louie Key, said the outage was the "final straw" on top of unsettled contract negotiations and other disappointments.
Southwest's senior vice president of labor relations, Randy Babbitt, said union demands were just part of the contract-bargaining process.
"Their maneuvering is not about our leaders. It's not about 'IT infrastructure,'" Randy Babbitt said in a statement released by the company. "This is about the union's approach to contract discussions and its attempt to gain leverage in negotiations."
Southwest officials blamed a faulty router for a July 20 outage that briefly grounded all flights. Southwest struggled for several more days with unusually high cancelations and delays.
The outage briefly caused Southwest to delay all departures and hold planes at their gates. Passengers couldn't check in for flights electronically, and customers couldn't book new flights.
The outage lasted about 12 hours, but Southwest said that it canceled 2,300 flights 12 percent of its schedule over five days as it struggled to recover. Southwest did not say how many flights were delayed during that period, but tracking service FlightStats put the number at more than 8,000.
Independent experts in information technology said the outage was probably more complex than a single failed router. Routers connect networks and help sections communicate with each other, and networks are designed to avoid so-called single points of failure.
"You can't blame the router. The router triggered a chain reaction that should not have happened," said Doron Pinhas, chief technology officer of Continuity Software Inc. He said it was likely that Southwest didn't test its system adequately to see what would happen when that part failed.
Lev Lesokhin, executive vice president of Cast, a software-analysis company, said Southwest's explanation "doesn't add up."
"When you have an outage like this that lasts as long as this one did and takes as long to put back on track, that's typically a software issue," which is much more complex, he said.
Jordan, the Southwest executive vice president, said that a Cisco router, one of about 2,000 in the airline's network, failed "in a very abnormal way." The router did not send messages to other parts of the network or connect with backup systems, he said.
Jordan said Southwest's routers are designed to last seven years but are replaced more frequently. He said the airline's network had plenty of redundancies built in, but that the company was still studying the outage.
Oversight of computer systems "is primarily done by Southwest Airlines now," Jordan said, "and as we transition to a new data center over the next year, that will change" and mostly be handled by contractors. The decision to contract out much of the data center work was made long before last month's outage, he said.
U.S. prosecutors have indicted two former Venezuelan officials on drug charges.
Nestor Reverol and Edilberto Molina are named in an indictment unsealed on Monday in federal court in New York City.
American authorities have accused the pair of taking bribes in exchange for tipping off cocaine traffickers to raids and hindering drug investigations in other ways. Neither man is in custody.
Reverol is the former head of Venezuela's anti-drug agency and ally of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez (OO'-goh CHAH'-vez). Molina also once worked for the agency.
Reverol has denied the U.S. accusations, which were first made late last year. Molina hasn't spoken out.
The Venezuelan government has regularly accused the U.S. of using drug indictments against top military officials to destabilize President Nicolas Maduro's (nee-koh-LAHS' mah-DOO'-rohz) rule.
Like many seasoned entrepreneurs, Oprah Winfrey views failure as a stepping stone to greatness. For her, it has been, and then some.
In 1977, decades before she became a billionaire media mogul, she was fired from her job as a reporter at Baltimores WJZ-TV. Her boss said she was unfit for television news. She was devastated, but she didnt quit.
The queen of all media quickly rose from rejection and found her calling in daytime TV. Then came her eponymous talk show and 25 internationally syndicated seasons of success. The Mississippi native later launched her book club, magazine and TV network. Today, she sits at the helm of a multi-billion-dollar media empire.
Lady O is best known as an outspoken TV host, actress and philanthropist, but shes also an incredibly accomplished founder. The chairman and CEO of Harpo, Inc., Winfrey made history when she became the first first woman to own and produce her own talk show. Shes now one of the wealthiest and most successful business leaders in the world.
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There are many inspiring lessons entrepreneurs can learn from her remarkable journey from a poor, deprived ghetto girl to self-made billionaire. Here are three:
1. Trust your instincts.
Winfrey is a known to be a big believer in listening to your instincts and honoring them, often unsung life skills she credits much of her success to. Trusting her gut has also kept her out of trouble, she claims. I know for sure whenever your gut is out of kilter, trouble awaits, she wrote in O Magazine. Your gut is your inner compass. Whenever you have to consult with other people for an answer, youre headed in the wrong direction.
During a 2011 OWN Network Lifeclass session, she shared why she feels its important to listen to your inner voice: Listening to your life as it whispers to you first so that it does not have to knock you upside the head with a brick or come crashing down on you as a brick wall is one of the greatest principles of life.
Lesson: Pay close attention to your instinctual reactions whenever youre faced with a considerable business decision. Hearing -- and heeding -- even the slightest bit of hesitancy from within could potentially stop you from making poor choices that could impact your bottom line, and your life, now and for the years to come. In other words, as Winfrey says, "Follow your instincts. That's where true wisdom manifests itself."
Related tips:
How Listening to Your Gut Can Make You a Better Founder
The Scientific Reason You Should Trust Your Gut
5 Ways to Learn to Trust Your Instincts
2. Fiercely protect your brand.
From her namesake talk show to O Magazine, from Oprah.com to OWN Network, Winfrey has worked tirelessly to transform her unique name from a stumper -- which once prompted viewers to ask What is an Oprah? -- into a household name. To legally protect her brand, shes trademarked every one of her companies and their subsidiaries, and her legal team actively pursues those who infringe upon her trademarks. Most recently, on May 19, she filed a federal application to trademark a suite of foods and other goods branded under the name Oprahs Kitchen.
Lesson: Strengthen your brand and safeguard it from misuse and dilution by trademarking your business name and logo. Doing so gives you the ability to control how they are publicly used and displayed.
Related tips:
3 Routes to Register Your Business Name
A Business Name vs. a Trademark: Do You Know The Difference?
Whats in a Name? In Branding, Pretty Much Everything.
3. Value your fans.
One of Winfreys favorite things about her show was her famous Oprahs Favorite Things, a sometimes hilariously high-energy segment (check this SNL parody) during which audience members found free goodies of all kinds tucked beneath their seats on set. The popular segments purpose was twofold: First, it was product placement promotional gold and, second, it enabled Winfrey to connect with her brand fans in a memorable and public way.
The surest way to bring goodness to yourself is to make your intention to do good for somebody else, Winfrey, who gives away millions to charity every year, once said. The concept is simple: What goes around comes around. Do good and good shall be done unto you.
Lesson: Surprise your customers and brand advocates with extra value from time to time, perhaps in the form of coupons, discounts and giveaways. Giving a little extra can go a long way when it comes to locking in their loyalty and repeat business.
For related tips:
Want to Build Loyalty? Remember, Everyone Loves Free Stuff.
3 Sales-Boosting Freebies Customers Can't Resist
3 Ways to Increase Customer Loyalty
Sometimes it is difficult (if not impossible) for us to meet with our clients and colleagues in real life. Fortunately, technology has introduced a workable solution to this issue that is quite convenient for everyone involved.
Several months ago, I had a virtual meeting with a couple of my international colleagues via Skype. We talked extensively about my business etiquette topics and shared ideas on how I could contribute to their conference. Im certain that because we met each other in advance, we established a rapport and friendship. As a result, I was invited me to speak at their conference in Hong Kong a few weeks ago.
Virtual meetings used to be the wave of the future. Now they are practically an essential part of a businesss operations. Here is a list of some simple dos and donts to help you get the most out of your next virtual meeting.
1. Make introductions.
Introduce the people at the meeting to each other, especially if new people join the group and if time permits, give a brief background on each person. This helps create team cohesion. If your group meets regularly, ask for updates since the last meeting. Remember to conduct all meetings with civility and respect. Be respectful of others time, and be present. That means no multi-tasking.
Related: How to Run a Virtual Meeting That Gets Results
2. Engage everyone.
Because you are not in a room together, it is far easier for someone to slip through the radar. Some people may not contribute and you may not notice. If you are leading the meeting, maintain control at all times, but try not to be too dominating. Encourage each participant to share their ideas and contribute to the group. Its important to make participants feel important by soliciting their feedback. Otherwise, they might get bored and zone out.
3. Choose video over audio.
To get the most from your virtual meetings, use video conferencing where participants can see each other and you can see them. You will be more likely to get the undivided attention of your attendees and can pick up on nonverbal cues and facial expressions as well as what is being said. Video makes people feel more engaged because it allows team members to see each others emotions and reactions, which immediately humanizes the room.
Related: This App Will Make Your Next Virtual Meeting Awesome
4. Use high-quality technology.
In the middle of an important conversation, you surely dont want your meeting to be disrupted due to a poor-quality connection or equipment failures. Some of the more popular technologies used for virtual conferences are offered through Skype for Business, WebEx and GoToMeeting platforms that also permit all participants to share documents while they actively participate in the meeting. Choose a medium that is easy for everyone to access.
5. Plan your work and work your plan.
Send a meeting reminder with the agenda, needed materials and information about the technology to be used at least three days before the meeting. Ask key people to prepare items for the meeting ahead of time. Tackle critical topics at the start of the meeting while the participants are fresh. Before you conclude the meeting, document decisions and next steps.
Related: 5 Reasons In-Person Meetings Still Matter
Although virtual meetings are not always as effective as face-to-face meetings, they are convenient and cost effective. And when it comes to customer and client relationships, that ability to build trust across borders and countries is critical. If you want to succeed, you need to be able to meet in person no matter where you are in the world.
Immigrants who want to enter the U.S. illegally can learn how and where to avoid the Border Patrol from an advisory on the agency's own website, which critics say is evidence of the Obama administration's "schizophrenic" approach to enforcement.
Safety and sanctuary can generally be found at schools, churches, hospitals and protests, where Customs and Border Protection agents are barred under a "sensitive locations policy" from carrying out their duty of enforcing border security. In fact, the agencys website states that actions at such locations can only be undertaken in an emergency or with a supervisors approval.
The policies are meant to ensure that ICE and CBP officers and agents exercise sound judgment when enforcing federal law at or focused on sensitive locations, to enhance the public understanding and trust, and to ensure that people seeking to participate in activities or utilize services provided at any sensitive location are free to do so, without fear or hesitation, the government website states in both English and Spanish.
While the explanation is apparently meant to show the deference Customs and Border Protection agents show to sensitive societal institutions, critics, including the Media Research Center, say it also tells illegal border crossers where to go if they are being pursued. Agents are barred from interviewing, searching or arresting suspected illegal immigrants in such locations.
So, almost any illegal alien can escape arrest by either walking with a second person (a march), attending some type of class, or finding a nearby church, medical facility or school bus stop, the Center wrote in a post bringing the advisory to light.
A Frequently Asked Questions section explains in detail what the Customs and Border Patrols parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, considers safe zones for illegal immigrants.
Schools, such as known and licensed day cares, pre-schools and other early learning programs; primary schools; secondary schools; post-secondary schools up to and including colleges and universities; as well as scholastic or education-related activities or events, and school bus stops that are marked and/or known to the officer, during periods when school children are present at the stop;
Medical treatment and health care facilities, such as hospitals, doctors offices, accredited health clinics, and emergent or urgent care facilities;
Places of worship, such as churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples;
Religious or civil ceremonies or observances, such as funerals and weddings;
During public demonstration, such as a march, rally, or parade.
Critics of the Obama administrations immigration policies have long complained that it undermines the mission of border enforcement by imposing rules on agents that they say leave them unable to do their jobs.
This administration has systematically and maliciously attacked and deconstructed all phases of border enforcement, said Dan Stein, president of Federation for American Immigration Reform. Its to the point now where virtually nobody has to go home. ICE is no longer carrying out its core mission, of finding, identifying and removing illegal aliens from the country.
Agents are in a state of despair, Stein added. They are being turned into nursemaids, chaperones and bus drivers.
Telling people suspected of breaking the law where they can seek refuge makes no sense, said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies.
It's schizophrenic," Vaughan said. "What the Obama administration has done is to create sanctuaries for illegal aliens and to publicize them. That is fine for a social welfare agency, but not for a law enforcement agency. No law enforcement agency would ever want to broadcast where lawbreakers can go to be shielded from the consequences of their actions.
The site does say the sensitive locations policy does not apply to places directly along the border, but warns its own agents that if they plan to move on a suspect in such a location near the border they are expected to exercise sound judgment and common sense while taking appropriate action, consistent with the goals of this policy.
The CBP website also provides a toll-free number and email address to allow illegal immigrants to report possible violations of the sensitive locations policy.
Concealed handgun license holders in Texas can carry their weapons into public university buildings, classrooms and dorms starting Monday, a day that also marks 50 years after the mass shooting at the University of Texas' landmark clock tower.
The campus-carry law pushed by Gov. Greg Abbott and the Republican legislative majority makes Texas one of a handful of states guaranteeing the right to carry concealed handguns on campus.
Texas has allowed concealed handguns in public for 20 years. Gun rights advocates consider it an important protection, given the constitutional right to bear arms, as well as a key self-defense measure in cases of campus violence, such as the 1966 UT shootings and the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech.
Opponents of the law fear it will chill free speech on campus and lead to more campus suicide. The former dean of the University of Texas School of Architecture left for a position at the University of Pennsylvania because of his opposition to allowing guns on campus.
Officials told the Austin American-Statesman it was a coincidence that the law took effect 50 years to the day after the UT shooting. Marine-trained sniper Charles Whitman climbed to the observation deck of the 27-story clock tower in the heart of UT's flagship Austin campus, armed with rifles, pistols and a sawed-off shotgun on Aug. 1, 1966, killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others before officers gunned him down.
Whitman had killed his wife and mother before he headed to the tower, investigators said. One victim died in the hospital a week later and medical examiners eventually attributed a 17th death to Whitman in 2001 -- a man who had been shot and wounded in his one functioning kidney and elected to stop dialysis treatment.
Texas has more than 1 million concealed handgun license holders. People who wish to get a license must be at least 21 (18 if in the military) and pass both classroom and gun range training courses. There are also restrictions on convicted felons, people charged with felonies and high-level misdemeanors or people with a history of mental illness.
The open carry law in Texas specifically does not apply to college campuses. Any handguns on campus must be holstered and kept out of sight.
Officials at UT were set Monday to rededicate a new memorial to the 1966 shooting: a chunk of granite more than six feet tall, replacing a much smaller plaque. Crews sand-blasted the names of the victims onto the boulder, The Daily Texan reported.
Generally, the new Texas law allows guns in buildings, classrooms and dorms, but rules may differ from campus to campus, as each school is required to map that out.
For example, at the University of Texas at Austin, teachers will be allowed to declare their offices as gun-free zones, but most will post signs announcing it. Dorm residents can have guns in common areas, such as dining areas and lounges, but not sleeping rooms, where no storage of weapons is allowed. Exceptions to the room restrictions will be made for visiting family members who are licensed to carry handguns.
At Texas A&M University in College Station, guns are allowed in dorm rooms and teachers must get permission from the administration to ban guns from their office. State law still bans weapons from some campus areas, such as hospitals and sporting events.
Private schools like Baylor, Rice, Texas Christian and others can ban guns under the state law. Currently, Amberton University, which doesn't allow students under 21 and has a total enrollment under 2,000, is the only private school that has opted to allow guns.
As for community colleges, they have until August 2017 to allow weapons, giving them more time to adjust for security and other measures.
The killing spree in Texas helped introduce the nation to the concept of a "mass shooting" outside the context of a military battlefield.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A charter bus veered off a central California highway before dawn Tuesday and struck a pole that sliced the vehicle nearly in half, killing five people and sending five more to hospitals, some with lost limbs, authorities said.
Rescuers pulled out "bags of body parts" from the survivors of the crash on State Route 99, where the speeding bus hit the pole of a highway exit sign head-on, Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said. It sheared straight through bus, stopping at the first rear axle "with a great impact," he said.
Emergency workers climbed in through the windows to pull out trapped passengers. Others were ejected and were lying in a ditch, Warnke said.
Five people were killed and at least five others were airlifted to hospitals, California Highway Patrol Officer Moises Onsurez said. He did not have information about any additional injuries or the cause of the single-vehicle crash.
"The pole went through the center of the bus, and that's where the injuries were sustained," Onsurez said.
The still-intact sign stuck out from the roof of the crumpled bus. Wreckage and debris including seat cushions, drink containers, pillows and a blanket were scattered in lanes and on the shoulder of the highway a few miles south of the town of Livingston.
Onsurez identified the driver as Mario David Vasquez of the Los Angeles area, the Merced Sun-Star reported. The 57-year-old was among those with major injuries and was airlifted to a hospital, the newspaper said.
The bus operated by Autobuses Coordinados USA was heading to Washington state and was due in Livingston at 1:30 a.m. to change drivers, Warnke said. The crash occurred shortly before 3:30 a.m. between the community of Atwater and Livingston, just a few miles down the highway.
Calls to various telephone listings for the company went unanswered. Its counter was open at a Los Angeles depot, but nobody was present when an Associated Press reporter arrived midmorning. A sign in Spanish advertised daily 7:30 p.m. departures to destinations up the West Coast to Washington.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration listed the carrier as having a "satisfactory" rating as of May 17. The bus was inspected in April and had three violations, including a lack of or a defective brake warning device. That violation was not further described, and there was no indication whether each of the items had been fixed.
The highway runs through farm fields and almond orchards in the San Joaquin Valley northwest of Fresno. Its northbound lanes were closed during the investigation, backing up traffic for miles.
Click for more from Fox 26.
Conservative writer Ben Shapiro lashed out after DePaul University canceled a proposed speaking appearance, telling Fox News on Monday the school seemed to suggest it couldn't control its own angry students.
DePaul was the latest university to try nixing one of his speaking gigs. In December, officials at Cal State LA moved to cancel an event featuring Shapiro after some students reportedly compared it to an "underground KKK meeting." Shapiro wound up appearing anyway, sparking protests.
In a post that appeared on Shapiro's blog Monday, DePaul's Young Americans for Freedom chapter explained it invited the pundit to speak when the university stepped in.
DePaul Vice President of Facilities Operations Bob Janis wrote to the chapter in an email, "Given the experiences and security concerns that some other schools have had with Ben Shapiro speaking on their campuses, DePaul cannot agree to allow him to speak on our campus at this time."
Shapiro told Fox News' "The Kelly File," "What I love most about this situation is that they don't even say that what I'm saying is so terrible. Instead, what they say is that because I've been met with violence at other campuses, this raises security concerns. So in other words, they can't keep their own students from assaulting people... basically, we now have the rioters' veto."
Activists protesting his February appearance at Cal State LA reportedly blocked exits and pulled the fire alarm to cause disruptions.
Shapiro has frequently taken on movements such as Black Lives Matter, as well as schools that accommodate "micro-aggressions." The title of his Cal State LA speech: "When Diversity Becomes a Problem."
The pundit had some advice for DePaul, the nation's largest Catholic university. "What they should tell the students is, 'guys, you seem a little bit excitable.' Hand out some free pot, everybody will just calm down a little bit."
There was no further response from the Chicago university.
A man accused of killing an Indiana University student is the victim of a botched police investigation, his attorney told jurors on Tuesday, but prosecutors noted that the victim's blood and hair were found in his vehicle.
Daniel Messel, 50, is on trial for the April 2015 slaying of 22-year-old Hannah Wilson, who was last seen alive getting into a taxi after a night drinking with friends. Her body was found hours later in a vacant lot about 10 miles from the Bloomington campus. If convicted of murder, he could face up to 65 years in prison.
Defense attorney Dorie Maryan said during her opening statement that police didn't fully investigate the case. She said Messel was the first suspect identified by police and quickly arrested, and that investigators ignored other possible suspects.
She conceded that Messel and Wilson encountered one another on the morning of the slaying, but suggested someone else was present as well.
"Her friends will tell you that intoxicated or sober, Ms. Wilson would not have gotten into a car with a stranger, but maybe if she was with someone she knew she might have," Maryan said.
Brown County Prosecutor Ted Adams said evidence points toward Messel's guilt: His cellphone was found near Wilson's body, her blood and hair was found in his SUV, and Messel was carrying a bag of his clothes spotted with Wilson's blood when he was arrested.
"She was two weeks from graduation. She was a psych major, bubbly, fun," Adams said. "She was a fun person with fun friends."
Authorities haven't said how or when they believe Messel and Wilson came into contact. When police first went to Messel's home, his father told them his son had not returned from playing trivia at a local bar the night before.
Maryan suggested Wilson's boyfriend should have been a suspect, saying the only DNA tested was Messel's. She said the boyfriend spoke to Wilson on her phone 20 minutes before she disappeared. She also accused police of not testing a cigarette butt found near Wilson's body.
Messel's trial is expected to last two weeks. Maryan unsuccessfully sought a change of venue because of pretrial news coverage about the case.
___
Information from: The Herald Times, http://www.heraldtimesonline.com
A veteran FBI electronics technician who had top secret clearance pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of acting as an agent of China, and faces up to 10 years in prison.
Kun Shan Chun, who also went by the name Joey Chun, was born in China and began working for the FBI in 1997. Chun's duties with the FBI included "accessing sensitive and, in some instance, classified information." He's set to be sentenced in December.
Chun, 47, was originally charged with four counts of working to "falsify, conceal, and cover up by trick, scheme, and device a material fact." He allegedly did not disclose his ties to foreign organizations and individuals in a written questionnaire submitted to the FBI for his security clearance, and did not disclose to the FBI that he made contact with "foreign nationals during a trip to Europe."
The criminal complaint against Chun was unsealed Monday, but dated March 2016.
The documents contend that Chun and some of his relatives "maintained relationships" with individuals who worked for a Chinese technology company and at least "one individual whom Chun understood to be affiliated with the Chinese government." Chun was allegedly tasked with consulting work in the U.S. for that Chinese company, for which he was given financial and travel "benefits."
He allegedly met with a Chinese associate in Europe in July 2015 and, around the same time, told an undercover FBI Special Agent that he wanted to introduce the agent to some of his Chinese associates.
"Chun also expressed a willingness to facilitate the passage of sensitive United States government information from the [undercover agent] to one or more of his Chinese associates, including individuals associated with the Chinese government," the document states.
During one meeting, Chun is alleged to have told the undercover agent that he "expected a 'cut' of any payment that the [agent] received for providing information to the Chinese government."
Chun and the undercover agent also met in New York in August 2015 during a meeting that was recorded, the charging documents said.
"I could get you connected and then I'm going to stay off," Chun is alleged to have said. "You know, you do your thing, you make your money, I don't really care, but...if you make any money, just give me a little bit..."
During the same conversation, Chun is alleged to have acknowledged that he knew he was supposed to have disclosed his meetings and relationships with foreign nationals.
In this digital era, all aspects of your companys digital footprint -- earned, owned, placed or otherwise -- can be accessed by anyone at any time. From an exposure standpoint, its hard to not feel excited by this fact.
But before you get too carried away thinking about people across the globe visiting your website and learning about your company, its worth noting that your online presence comes across quite differently in Bangalore than it does in Bangor, Maine. People in Rio view your branding much differently than those in Riyadh.
Related: Become a Better Leader With These 5 Cultural-Awareness Tips
And that's where culture and politics come in: If you arent careful, even your own next-door neighbors may take offense to your branding. Just recently, a restaurant in Australia made headlines for naming itself Uncle Ho. The local Vietnamese community considered this a direct reference to communist dictator Ho Chi Minh -- a highly polarizing figure in their culture. Nearly 100 people gathered outside the restaurant in protest, threatening to burn the building down and inflict harm on the owners of the establishment.
That incident illustrates the importance of approaching your business from a global perspective. The broader your cultural horizons are, the more markets you will effectively reach -- and the less likely you are to commit embarrassing faux pas, costly mistakes and outright showstoppers.
The awkward crossing of cultures
It doesnt matter if youve created a stunning website that features eye-grabbing visuals and incredibly persuasive copy; the name of your company or product alone could stop international consumers dead in their tracks before they even click on your URL.
Dublins C&C Group, for example, couldnt get Germans on board with its Irish Mist whiskey because the sound of the word mist means manure in their native tongue. Similarly, Tripping.com wasnt getting much love from Germans because its nickname for its users was eerily similar to the German word for gonorrhea.
Related: The 5 Worst Marketing Fails of 2015
Enhancing your companys cultural sensitivity and knowledge doesnt just lower your odds of likening your product to an unpleasant infection; it helps you craft a brand presence that properly and effectively communicates your message to a wider audience.
Raise your global awareness.
Today, you dont just need to comprehend your clients business needs; you need to know where theyre coming from, culturally. Too many companies drum up their product and mission without considering how (or whether) those things apply to people outside their immediate surroundings.
As the founder of a PR firm in the tech world, I found it to be in our best interest to become a globally minded company. A good portion of our clients are located overseas, and we help these companies pitch their products and services to their local markets. To meet this challenge, we prioritized hiring global citizens.
As a result, my team speaks a combined 10 languages, and our staff is comprised of folks who grew up all over: Europe, the Middle East, the American Midwest and South -- and all five boroughs of New York (each its own cultural melting pot). Because of the expanded worldviews we now have in-house, we see an influx of creative ideas, opinions and solutions that resonate on a global stage.
Boost your cultural IQ.
Assembling a staff full of cultural wizards is no easy task, but following these three tips will send you in the right direction:
1. Cast the right net.
Start at the source. Identify colleges and universities that are known for having great study abroad offerings, high-quality international studies programs and high numbers of foreign students. You could also look at American schools located abroad, such as my alma mater, Franklin University, in Switzerland.
Once you amass your list of schools, reach out directly to their job placement departments to introduce yourself. Let them know that you have job openings (whether theyre entry-level or internships) that you hope to fill with their top soon-to-be graduates. Specify the international impact your company strives to make, and you'll likely find they are glad to send you the names of several relevant candidates.
This is the best and easiest way to find employees who will boost your companys global acumen from the ground up.
2. Look for the right cues.
Look at your applicants track records. If they studied abroad during college, they likely have an interest in other cultures. If they say theyre fluent in multiple languages, chances are strong that they grew up in a multicultural household or spent time in a foreign country.
Also, be sure to ask pointed questions about your industrys global climate during the interview process. If the applicant is in tune with current events and can speak confidently and thoughtfully about them, youve got yourself a keeper.
Related: What Immigrants Can Teach Entrepreneurs About Hustling to Succeed
3. Walk the walk.
Having even a base level of cultural awareness and sensitivity will help you win over the best and brightest applicants. Rather than line your desk with mini Eiffel Towers in the hopes of wooing a French candidate, have a meaningful conversation about his or her upbringing and values.
I know youre busy running a business, but try your best to visit your target markets and experience their cultures yourself. If thats out of the question, make a point to read about them. Start by asking Google to alert you every time something noteworthy happens in a country you currently (or someday plan to) operate within.
Also, if youre serious about operating in non-English-speaking cultures, consider learning a new language or two in your free time. You dont have to become fluent, but being able to at least understand a foreign language is an important part of becoming a global entity. Download an app that allows you to practice while making your lunch in the morning or commuting to work.
Hiring with cultural diversity in mind will liberate your companys creativity, branding and product development processes from the narrow confines of its leaderships limited experience. Most importantly, it will provide a comprehensive understanding of target audiences, allowing you to stand out from the pack as a culturally aware company with an expansive global reach.
Some trends are here to stay, while others - like bell bottom jeans and shell suites -- are destined to die out. Fashion isnt the only industry that works this way. The customer service industry has seen just as many fads come and go. Remember when companies thought it was a good idea to inundate customers with lengthy surveys?
That said, there are some recent trends in customer service that are here to stay because theyre delighting customers while simultaneously generating revenue. There are also some recent trends that need to die out as soon as possible and other trends that could doom companies if they arent shaken quickly.
Heres a look at the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to customer service.
Related: Customer Service Lessons Learned on the Road
Here's the good trends.
Customer experience is a high priority.
Customer experience has become a strategic priority for companies. And its not just the customer service team thats hard at work. Now, customer experience is a priority for the CMO, the COO and the CEO. Some companies have even added a new position - Chief Customer Officer -- to the c-suite to ensure customers' needs are well-represented in all areas of business.
Thats because the cat is out of the bag. Customer experience initiatives dramatically impact revenue. According to a recent Forrester study, customer experience leaders outperformed the portfolios of customer experience laggards by 80 percent. And, according to the London School of Economics, a seven-point increase in net promoter scores (NPS) can have a one percent impact on revenue. Reducing detractors by just two percent can unlock an additional one percent of growth. For companies with $1 billion in yearly revenue, thats an additional $10 million in revenue for every seven-point increase and $20 million if you can convert two percent of your detractors to be neutral or promoters.
Companies that prioritize customer experience, identify and fix problems faster and are able to tailor products and services to meet expectations. The end result is a reduction in haters and an ever growing pool of promoters.
Customer experience is a company-wide initiative.
As c-suites around the world start to embrace customer experience as a strategic priority, customer experience becomes a company-wide initiative. More and more, were seeing organizations make it easier and more efficient for internal stakeholders and employees to access customer insights. Now, every department has a hand in shaping the customer experience and driving change.
Take United Airlines, for example. The companys new CEO, Oscar Munoz, holds every employee accountable for doing better when it comes to customer service. He empowers employees to meet customer expectations. And its paying off. Fortune magazine recently recognized United Airlines as the fourth most respected airline in its 2016 Worlds Most Admired Companies list. When a company takes on a top-down approach to customer experience, empowering the entire organization to serve customers better, the results speak for itself.
Customer experience is customer driven.
Companies are starting to put customers in the drivers seat when it comes to customer experience. Thats because customers want to choose how they interact with businesses. And when customers are able to drive their own experiences, they feel empowered and have higher overall satisfaction and brand affinity.
Empowering customers to drive their own experiences is more important than ever before given the growing generational divide in preferences. According to a 2015 study by the Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA), millennials prefer to interact with brands via social channels while generation X looks to brands or the community for support.
Meanwhile, baby boomers still cling to direct human interaction. As each generation comes with its own set of needs, companies must be flexible when it comes to customer experience.
Related: What Buffer Can Teach Us About Customer Service
Here's the bad trends.
Social service is lacking.
Although many companies are prioritizing customer experience, just as many continue to fall flat on social customer service. For the first time ever, millennials are the largest segment of the population in the U.S. This group prefers to communicate with brands via social media. However, according to research by Satmetrix, 55 percent of customer requests for service on social media are not acknowledged. When brands ignore social customer service requests, they miss the opportunity to create a positive experience, and they lose out on valuable, candid customer insights.
Customer journey maps are falling short.
Customer journey maps - diagrams that illustrate the steps customers go through when engaging with a company -- are hugely important to providing a quality customer experience. In fact, they are the foundation on which customer experience strategies should be built. Unfortunately, the majority of companies are incorrectly mapping the customer journey.
According to Esteban Kolsky, a well-recognized expert in journey mapping, 34 percent of companies have undertaken customer journey mapping, but only two percent of those companies reported success with the process. Whats more, when customers are shown a customer journey map, 72 percent say it doesnt describe their needs or their relationship with the brand.
So where are companies going wrong? Often its a misunderstanding of the methodology. Journey mapping must be data driven. Brands must capture customer feedback and data as consumers are on their journey. The full journey is only captured when a company can weave interactions together into a complete experience.
Related: This Surprising Customer Service Exchange Has Gone Viral
And here's the ugly trends.
Some companies continue to take an inside-out approach.
As customer experience becomes central to business success, companies must embrace an outside-in mentality. The term - coined by Forrester analysts, Harley Manning and Kerry Bodine -- is a reminder that companies must think about customers first and their business second. While many companies have started to think this way, there are just as many that have not.
Brands are falling into the social care chasm.
Most brands are still falling into the social customer care chasm, with only 33 percent of social media users saying the service they received does not meet their expectations. Social use is climbing, and customers are clued into social as a channel for resolving issues, but brands still arent meeting the customers where they are.
The ugly truth is that customer experience is still a new concept for some companies. For others, customer experience is just a minor blip on their radar. Weve come a long way, as companies like Amazon, Apple and Kroger lead the charge. But theres still work to be done. Customer expectations are changing, and businesses must evolve, or theyll be left behind.
A high school teacher in Connecticut is facing charges after police say he let the air out of a student's tire after the student parked in his space.
State police say 52-year-old Edward Kimble IV, of Newtown, turned himself in Monday on a charge of second-degree reckless endangerment.
City police responded to Pomperaug High School in Southbury on June 2 for a report that Kimble had let the air out of the student's front tire.
Police say security personnel allowed the student to park in Kimble's parking space because student parking was unavailable.
Kimble was released on a $500 cash bond. He's due in court Aug. 10.
It's unclear whether Kimble has a lawyer.
A woman who answered the phone at Pomperaug High said there was nobody available to comment.
Click for more from Fox 61.
Did you know that more than 1.3 billion people around the world live in extreme poverty? Or that more than 2.6 billion people have been affected by natural disasters in the past decade?
Although these numbers wont change soon, scientists and engineers are getting closer to solutions that can help us build a more adaptable world. The answer lies in 3-D printing. From disaster-proof homes to structures printed from natural resources, were one step closer to combatting a number of global issues.
Who would have guessed that 3-D printing could be a solution to some of the worlds most pressing problems? Check out what these 3-D printing companies have planned that will positively impact the future.
Environmental improvements
More From Entrepreneur.com 5 Innovations In 3D Printing
WASP
Although people always talk about green efforts, WASP is taking action.
The company, a 3-D printing project launched by Italian research innovation company Centro Sviluppo Progetti, aspires to create 3-D printed homes for developing countries using natural resources found in local communities, such as wood, aluminum and even mud. Its goal is to advance 3-D printing and promote sustainable development, using the PowerWASP and DeltaWASP 3-D printers.
The aim of WASP is to build zero-mile homes, using materials found on the surrounding area, the company explains on its website.
Most recently, the company is building the first house entirely printed with eco-friendly, locally found materials, it said in a blog post.
Safety
HuaShang Tengda
Three-D printing will also improve our ability to respond to emergency disasters.
Beijing architecture firm HuaShang Tengda recently constructed a 3-D printed "indestructible" mansion that can withstand an 8.0 earthquake. Built from concrete and other raw materials, the two-story villa measures about 4,305 square feet and took only 45 days to construct.
Reduce poverty
WinSun Decoration Design Co.
The Chinese engineering company WinSun Decoration Design Engineering constructed a set of 10 single-story homes in under 24 hours through its 3-D printer (a device that took the company 12 years to create).
Reusing materials from construction waste and glass fiber to create a cement base, the company printed prefabricated panels that were then transported and put together on-site.
With each house costing roughly $5,000 to construct, 3-D printing is a viable solution to provide housing to those in need.
Disaster relief
University of Nantes
When disasters strike, vasts amounts of people are left without housing. Three-D printing may have a solution.
Researchers at the University of Nantes (IRCCyN) in France and engineers from the company Capacites came together to create INNOPrint 3D -- a 3-D printer that can construct 9-foot-by-9-foot houses in 20 to 30 minutes.
Life on Mars
Contour Crafting
Living on Mars isnt so far-fetched after all.
Contour Crafting, a 3-D printing technique created by University of Southern California researchers, has the potential to build safe and reliable structures on extraterrestrial habitats such as the moon and Mars, primarily using materials that already exist on both bodies.
With funding from NASA, the process allows computer-controlled machines to build houses and structures using concrete and even lunar soil, reports the Daily Mail. The buildings would also include radiation shielding, plumbing and electrical networks.
The researchers' ultimate goal is to construct livable habitats for future human exploration of space, so explorers can safely spend long periods of time on the moon and Mars.
Can a church survive without young people?
On the face of it the answer seems to be "no," according to the Leadership Network, a Christian nonprofit ministry headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that says engaging millennials is the most important decision a church can make regarding its future.
Millennials make up 20 percent of the entire U.S. population with 83 million people even more than Baby Boomers and by 2020 will make up 30 percent.
This group is a progressive bunch who are the most racially diverse generation with 60 percent anglo and 15 percent immigrants; the most educated with more college degrees than any generation in history, and the most single.
The following are some of Leadership Network's Eric Swanson's discoveries to help churches reach, retain and grow millennials.
1. Only 4 percent of millennials have a relationship with Christ
Of 1,300 people interviewed in 2000, Thom Rainer, then a dean of the Billy Graham School of Ministries, Evangelism and Church Growth at Kentucky's Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (now president of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention), noted an alarmingly low percentage of people who considered themselves to be Christians based on having accepted Christ. He categorized these people into four groups:
Builders (born before 1946), Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), Busters (born from 1965 to 1976) and Bridgers, or millennials, (1977-1994).
Sixty-five percent of Builders were Christian, 35 percent of Boomers were Christian, 15 percent of Busters were Christian and 4 percent of Bridgers were Christian, demonstrating a significant drop in the percentage of people who are Christian, from one generation to the next.
Rainer said, "Of these people, 75 percent of them became Christians before the age of 14. ... If we really look at the data and are objective, we will look at our preschoolers and children and become intentionally evangelistic. If you don't have a plan to reach these children, you've blown it," he concluded.
2. Millennials don't want to work for you, they want to work with you
Linda Hill, a Harvard professor and co-author of the book Collective Genius, said in a recent TED Talk, "Talented people don't want to follow me anywhere. They want to co-create, with me, the future."
Leadership Network's Eric Swanson said millennials don't want a "guided discussion" where the conclusions are already predetermined, and since they don't subscribe to the concept of lifetime employment with a company they want to be able to contribute from day one, which is a very positive thing when developing a leadership pipeline, he explained.
3. Millennials are different than portrayed
Swanson said millennials are often mischaracterized as entitled and self-centered, and are often said to represent what's wrong with America.
"Considering the fact that they graduated in which some say was the worst economy since the Great Depression," and have more college degrees than any generation in history, Swanson said they are a resilient bunch.
Here are a few stats about millennials that dispel some negative stereotypes:
63 percent donate to charity
43 percent actively volunteer
70 percent of millennials said their career is central to their identity
54 percent want to start their own business or already have done so
Millennials comprise one-third of all entrepreneurs in the U.S.
64 percent said they would rather make $40K a year at a job they love than $100K a year at a job they think is boring.
50 percent would rather have no job than one that they hate
Click Here to Read the Full Story at ChristianPost.com
A Tennessee newspaper that banned an ad from a Christian bookstore because it included the controversial word "Christian," has reversed its decision.
Curtis McGinnis of Cedar Springs Christian Stores told The Christian Post on Monday that "When my wife, Lois, called to find out why our ad did not run, she was told that the ad did not go through because it had an offensive word in it."
"She asked what was the offensive word and the lady told her 'Christian,' and the word was on the offensive word list," McGinnis added.
News of the ad rejection over the word Christian being labeled offensive garnered much outrage from supporters of Cedar Springs Christian Stores, who sent several complaints to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
In a statement posted to their Facebook page last Friday, the bookstore thanked those who offered support to the Christian company.
The Knoxville News Sentinel is now running an ad from Cedar Springs Christian Stores about their sale, and McGinnis reports that the newspaper also "gave us an extra two days free."
Click Here to Read the Full Story at ChristianPost.com
New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton will step down in September, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced during a Tuesday news conference.
Bratton will take a job in the private sector, but he did not name the company.
Ongoing turmoil between police and some members of the community "110 percent had nothing to do with this," de Blasio said on Tuesday.
The resignation announcement comes a day after 200 anti-police protesters gathered in City Hall Park to demand the NYPD be defunded and Bratton be fired.
NYPD Chief of Department James ONeill is set to replace Bratton, 68, who has been in his current post since December 2013. Bratton also served as New Yorks top cop from 1994 to 1996 and was Chief of the LAPD from 2002 to 2009.
ONeill has been Chief of Department since 2014.
Jimmy is one of the best prepared incoming police commissioners this city has ever seen, de Blasio said, noting that ONeill was the architect of the citys community policing program.
Bratton told de Blasio about his decision to step down in a July 8 conversation. Bratton described the theme of the conversation as "There's never a good time, but there's a right time."
Bratton said in an interview with The New York Times on July 25 that he would not stay in his post as commissioner if de Blasio were re-elected to another term as mayor; however, he gave no hint he would step down so soon.
During his first tenure as commissioner, under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in the early 1990s, Bratton was credited with driving down crime with a widely copied, data-driven, crime-fighting strategy before his brash style made him an annoyance to the mayor, who forced him out.
Though de Blasio was elected as a sharp critic of a police strategy known as stop-and-frisk -- which raised concerns over racial profiling and privacy rights -- he picked Bratton as a sign that he would balance reform and further drive down crime.
"When you see a policeman, remember that he is your friend," Bratton said Tuesday. "Thats the vision and thats the passion that I've had for 45 years."
"I would like to introduce you to the next police commissioner of the NYPD, James O'Neill."- @BilldeBlasio pic.twitter.com/yj3LYk5TLf NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) August 2, 2016
On Bratton's watch, the NYPD has drastically scaled back its "stop-and-frisk" strategy, but stepped up enforcement against so-called "quality of life" offenses. Critics said that approach still unfairly targeted minorities and came into play in the chokehold death of Eric Garner during his arrest for allegedly selling loose cigarettes on a Staten Island block.
Then Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were ambushed and shot dead by a gunman who had announced online he planned to kill police in retaliation for Garner's death. In an extraordinary display of scorn, officers turned their back on the mayor at a hospital on the night of the December 2012 killings and again at the officers' funerals.
Bratton found himself in the middle, calling the officers' gesture inappropriate but at the same time noting that it reflected officers' feelings about "many issues."
The tensions between the mayor and police eased, but officers have been under scrutiny this summer as concern about police-minority relations has welled anew in New York City and elsewhere.
On Monday, Bronx state Assemblyman Michael Blake, who is black, filed an excessive-force complaint against the NYPD, saying an officer handled him roughly as Blake tried to defuse an argument between officers and residents. The department said that the officer perceived a possible threat to a sergeant when Blake placed a hand on his shoulder and that the officer had apologized.
Bratton, however, on Monday refused to apologize, telling reporters, There will be no apology forthcoming from me."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A man caught climbing a fence at a Southern California jail on Sunday was trying to get in, not out, authorities said.
Sheriff's officials said 28-year-old Shane James McDonald wasn't a prisoner at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino when he was spotted scaling the perimeter fence early Sunday. But he did have a warrant out for his arrest.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported that McDonald was arrested on suspicion of trespassing and on the warrant. It's not clear on what charge he was wanted.
Officials aren't sure why McDonald wanted to get into the jail, but that's where he ended up. He's being held in lieu of $25,000 bail.
It wasn't immediately known if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
U.S. prosecutors on Monday formally charged the former head of Venezuela's National Guard and a former anti-drug official there with colluding with cocaine traffickers.
An indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn accuses Nestor Reverol and Edilberto Molina of taking bribes in exchange for helping the traffickers by tipping them off about future raids. It also alleges that from January 2008 to December 2010, they deliberately allowed cocaine shipments to leave Venezuela and returned seized drug money to them.
Reverol, 51, once ran the National Guard, which is charged with securing the country's borders, and had been a spokesman for Venezuela's anti-drug efforts. He also is the former head of Venezuela's anti-drug agency and ally of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez.
Reverol has denied the U.S. accusations, which were first reported late last year. Molina, 53, who once worked for the anti-drug agency, hasn't spoken out. Neither is in custody.
The indictment comes as the U.S has been stepping up pressure on high-ranking members of Venezuela's socialist government for their role in making the country an important transit zone for narcotics. Several Venezuelan officials, including a former defense minister and head of military intelligence, have been indicted or sanctioned.
The Venezuelan government has regularly accused the U.S. of using drug cases to destabilize President Nicolas Maduro's rule.
A car bombing targeting security forces in Benghazi, Libya Tuesday killed at least 23 people and wounded dozens more, a hospital official there told The Associated Press.
The news came one day after the U.S. launched a bombing campaign targeting Islamic State fighters in their Libyan hub of Sirte, hundreds of miles west of Benghazi, on the Mediterranean coast.
The official said bodies were still arriving at the hospital in the aftermath of the bombing Tuesday evening in the al-Qawarsha district on the outskirts of the city. For the past two years, fighting has been raging in Benghazi between forces under the command of Brig. Gen. Khalifa Hifter and Islamic militias.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
A coalition of Islamist militias called the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, which includes the Al Qaeda affiliate known as Ansar al-Shariah, claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in a statement posted on its Twitter account.
The U.S. airstrikes on Monday followed a request made by the internationally-recognized government and presidency council in the capital, Tripoli. The two executive bodies were formed after the United Nations brokered a deal among Libya's rival factions.
Libya has descended into chaos following the 2011 ouster and the killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Since 2014, the country has been divided between two governments and parliaments, and a loose set of militias and tribes. The U.N.-brokered government led by Fayez Serraj aimed at healing the rift, but a crucial vote of confidence has yet to be obtained from the parliament.
The parliament in eastern Libya does not recognize the U.N. government, and many in the east are angry that Serraj's administration invited foreign military intervention without the eastern parliament's consent.
The U.S. airstrikes, which were authorized by President Obama, are supporting the militias of Misrata, a city next to Sirte that is leading the anti ISIS-operation.
Misrata forces have been battling ISIS since May in fierce fighting that has killed and injured hundreds of militiamen.
A 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Five violent terror-related attacks in a two-week span are prompting Germans to turn on longtime Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has continued to embrace a liberal refugee policy some say has compromised safety.
Although Germany has so far been spared the kind of atrocities that shook Brussels, Paris and Nice in the last year, there have been 15 deaths and dozens injured in attacks in Germany since July 18. Two of the attacks have been linked to ISIS, and many suspect the others bore hallmarks of terrorism. Politicians from both the left and the right have assailed the once-enormously popular chancellors plan to integrate more than a million refugees from war zones in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
The sharpest criticism comes from Bavaria, which has been the entry point for most of the refugees. Leaders of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavaria-based sister party of Merkels Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are demanding tighter border controls and an annual upper limit on the number of migrants.
The left-wing opposition party, Die Linke, has also voiced criticism. Its co-leader, Sahra Wagenknecht, as quoted by Germanys international broadcaster Deutsche Welle, said the violence shows that the task of integrating the huge number of refugees is harder than Merkel with her frivolous we can do it slogan of last autumn would have us believe.
Merkels government denies that the terrorist attacks reveal flaws in the immigration program that began a year ago, in August 2015. But most Germans do not share Merkels optimism.
A recent survey conducted July 26-29 by the pollster You Gov finds that only a little more than a quarter of the 1,017 persons polled have confidence in Merkels promise. The number of people who share Merkels optimism is the lowest it has been since the influx began. Another poll, conducted in April and May, finds that 73 percent of Germans fear terrorism.
On July 28 Merkel again asserted that the migrants would be integrated and democracy defended. She also announced that the Bundeswehr, for the first time ever, is preparing joint exercises with the police to address potential terrorist scenarios. And Interior Minister Thomas De Maiziere reportedly will soon announce new security measures following the attacks.
Officials have long been warning that terrorists may have slipped into Germany with the refugees. At the peak of the influx, there were some 10,000 arriving each day. Authorities are investigating 59 cases with possible terrorist links.
Approximately 100,000 of the refugees are unaccompanied minors. These children and young people are especially vulnerable to recruitment by Islamic extremists, including ISIS.
There are also hundreds of thousands of traumatized and disaffected refugees, largely young men. They lack the language and work skills to get jobs, said Deidre Berger, Director of the American Jewish Committees Berlin office.
These young people have been uprooted and have been cast adrift, she said. They are traumatized, and they have no structure in their daily lives.
According to Berger, some of these young men are sent to shelters in small towns, which only accentuates their sense of isolation. Some flee to Germanys big cities, thereby avoiding any official scrutiny.
Most of these boys experienced horrible human rights violations in the Middle East and during their escape to Europe, said Karl Kopp, Director of Pro Asyl, a refugee advocacy non-profit organization, in a telephone interview.
According to Kopp, some of these minors have journeyed for as long as three years before reaching Germany, where they now face long waits before receiving asylum status. They often end up in places where there is no tradition of caring for young people, he said.
Keep in mind that many of these teenagers dont share Western democratic values and face identity problems in a new land, said Duzen Tekkal, a freelance journalist and a candidate for Parliament in next years national elections. Then the Salafists provide them with easy answers to recruit them, said Tekkal who is a Yazidi, one of Iraqs oldest ethnic and religious minorities.
The populist far-right party, Alternative for Germany, which achieved stunning success in state elections last spring, citing the recent terrorist attacks, charges that Merkels policy poses an increasing threat to Germanys internal order and security. The party calls Merkels policy the greatest threat to Germany and Europe since the end of the Cold War.
When the refugees started coming to Germany last year, Merkel was hailed as a humanitarian. Germans greeted the refugees at train stations with cake and warm welcomes. Now many are having second thoughts.
Rescuers in Syria said Tuesday a helicopter dropped barrels filled with toxic gas, seriously injuring dozens of people, not far from where a Russian transport helicopter was shot down the day before, Reuters reported.
A spokesman for rebel fighters reportedly said 33 people, most of them women and children, were hurt. They believed chlorine gas was used, but could not confirm it.
A video posted to YouTube apparently showed several men struggling to breathe in the aftermath. Russia and Syria did not immediately comment.
The Syrian National Coalition issued a statement that read: After shelling, besieging and killing civilians and perpetrating war crimes on them, the Assad regime has resorted once again, and in breach of UN resolutions 2118 and 2235, to using chemical substances and toxic gasses."
The Russian transport helicopter was shot down in opposition rebel territory on Monday and all five crew and officers onboard were killed, the Kremlin said.
The Mi-8 helicopter was shot down in Idlib province, where Russian warplanes frequently targeted rebels. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the chopper was returning to the Russian air base on Syria's coast after delivering humanitarian goods to the city of Aleppo. But video uploaded by opposition activists showed a rocket pod next to the wreckage.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the Russians "died heroically because they tried to move the aircraft away so to minimize losses on the ground."
Videos uploaded online by Syrian opposition activists show the burning wreckage of a Russian helicopter in footage seemingly taken in the first few moments after the helicopter crashed.
In one video, a rocket pod can be seen next to the wreckage. People standing nearby are seen taking cellphone photos and shouting "Allahu Akbar."
The helicopter appears to have broken up as it crashed, its tail can be seen lying separately from the aircraft's body in flames. In other videos, the body of one purported Russian soldier is seen being dragged by the legs while an unidentified person stands on the body of another soldier, also purportedly Russian.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Obama has authorized a 30-day mission for the U.S. military to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State terror group in Libya as new strikes were unleashed Tuesday, Fox News has learned.
Marine Corps Harrier jets launched from the Navy amphibious assault ship USS Wasp conducted at least two airstrikes against ISIS targets in the coastal city of Sirte Tuesday. USS Wasp is set to remain off the Libyan coast in the Mediterranean Sea for the next month along with an escort ship, the guided-missile destroyer USS Carney.
The U.S. has launched at least seven airstrikes in total since the campaign began Monday.
Speaking at the White House Tuesday, Obama explained, At the request of [the Libyan] government, after they had already made significant progress against ISIL and had essentially pushed ISIL into a very confined area in and around Sirte, it is in America's national security interests in our fight against ISIL to make sure that they're able to finish the job.
This is a finite period of time and a very finite mission, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters. We dont envision this as being something thats going to be too long in duration, he added.
Tuesday's strikes destroyed an ISIS rocket launcher and a heavy equipment excavator, Davis said. He added that three Harrier jets and two unmanned Reaper drones conducted yesterday's strikes, destroying two Soviet-era ISIS T-72 tanks, two other vehicles and an ISIS fighting position.
While President Obamas authorization to strike ISIS in Libya was limited to Sirte, Capt. Davis said the U.S. military reserved the right to conduct counterterrorism strikes elsewhere in the country as the U.S. military did in November and February.
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said Monday the number of
ISIS fighters in Sirte was under 1,000. When asked by Fox News how the number of ISIS fighters had decreased so rapidly in Libya, Davis said it was a combination of factors.
Some had been killed and others had changed allegiances he said. They have decided ISIS was not all that it was cracked up to be and have moved on to something else.
In February, the U.S. military began flying armed drones over Libya from Sigonella, Italy, on the island of Sicily. Fox News is told the drones used in Monday's ISIS strikes did not originate from Sicily, but likely from a drone base in Africa.
USS Wasp is the flagship of a flotilla of Navy ships carrying thousands of U.S. Marines, part of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. They are expected to move from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf eventually.
Aboard USS Wasp are Marine Cobra attack helicopters, Harrier jets and CH-53 transport helicopters to take Marines ashore should they be needed.
Italy's foreign minister said Tuesday his government would evaluate any U.S. request to allow use of the Sigonella base in the airstrike campaign.
I believe that it's a very positive fact that the Americans have decided to intervene, Paolo Gentiloni said. He noted that the extremists were concentrated in four or five compounds, but said it won't be easy to eradicate them.
In February, Italy agreed to let armed U.S. drones take off from Sigonella but only to defend U.S. forces targeting ISIS extremists. Italy has stressed that it won't let Sigonella be used for offensive purposes.
Italy has insisted Libya must request any anti-ISIS airstrikes, which Libya's U.N.-brokered unity government did in the case of Sirte.
The strikes send a very strong message not only against terrorism, but also for the stabilization of Libya, Gentiloni said. He added that "90 percent of migrants in Italy come from Libya, and this is the reason why we are so keen on its stabilization."
Libya slid into chaos after the ouster and killing of longtime strongman Col. Moammar Qaddafi in 2011.
Its long coastline on the Mediterranean's southern shore serves as a base for smuggling operations that have launched boats with hundreds of thousands of refugees toward Italy over the last few years. The Libyan coast is more than 300 miles from southern Italy.
Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Chicken Salad Chick To Open First Port Orange Location
Fast-Casual Restaurant Concept Expands Presence in Florida
August 02, 2016 // Franchising.com // Auburn, AL Chicken Salad Chick, the nations only southern inspired, fast casual chicken salad restaurant concept, announced today it will be expanding in Florida with its first location in Port Orange. The new restaurant will open on Tuesday, Aug. 9 and is located at 1760 Dunlawton Ave in the Dunlawton Commons. This location is owned and operated by existing husband-and-wife franchisee team Buck and Brooklyn Harris, who also own the Chicken Salad Chick restaurant in Ormond Beach and plan on opening a third location in Florida in the near future. Their Port Orange restaurant marks the 13th Chicken Salad Chick location in Florida.
During grand opening week, guests will enjoy southern hospitality through giveaways and specials at the new Chicken Salad Chick restaurant:
Tuesday, Aug. 9 The first guest will win a free pound of chicken salad per week for an entire year; the next 99 guests receive a free pound of chicken salad per month.* The Vibe radio station will also be broadcasting live from the restaurant.
The first guest will win a free pound of chicken salad per week for an entire year; the next 99 guests receive a free pound of chicken salad per month.* The Vibe radio station will also be broadcasting live from the restaurant. Wednesday, Aug. 10 The first 100 guests will receive a free Chicken Salad Chick cell phone armband.
The first 100 guests will receive a free Chicken Salad Chick cell phone armband. Thursday, Aug. 11 The first 100 guests to order will receive a Meet the Chicks punch card. For sixteen weeks, guests can try one free scoop of the chicken salad 'flavor of the week', allowing guests a tour of every Chicken Salad Chick flavor.
The first 100 guests to order will receive a Meet the Chicks punch card. For sixteen weeks, guests can try one free scoop of the chicken salad 'flavor of the week', allowing guests a tour of every Chicken Salad Chick flavor. Friday, Aug. 12 The first 50 guests to buy two pounds of chicken salad will receive a free Chicken Salad Chick mini cooler.
The first 50 guests to buy two pounds of chicken salad will receive a free Chicken Salad Chick mini cooler. Saturday, Aug. 13 The first 100 guests will receive a complimentary Chicken Salad Chick Selfie Stick.
All guests who make a purchase within the first week of business can also enter themselves into a drawing to win a free Louis Vuitton bag, valued at $950. The drawing will take place on August 13, and the winner will be notified the same day.**
With more than 15 years of experience in foodservice, I truly believe that Chicken Salad Chicks culture and menu offerings are unmatched in the fast casual industry, said Buck Harris, Port Orange Chicken Salad Chick franchisee. Once my wife and I saw the success of our Ormond Beach location, we knew it was time to open a second restaurant. Im confident the local community in Port Orange will fall in love with the brands chicken salad and enjoy the genuine hospitality that is offered at all Chicken Salad Chick restaurants.
The husband-and-wife duo opened their first Chicken Salad Chick restaurant in Ormond Beach in October 2015. Prior to Chicken Salad Chick, Buck owned and operated a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Ormond Beach for 15 years. He ultimately made the switch and became a Chicken Salad Chick franchisee after experiencing the brands culture and product offerings firsthand. Buck and his wife have agreed to develop multiple Chicken Salad Chick restaurants in Central Florida over the next several years.
The Chicken Salad Chick concept, born in Auburn, Ala., was established in 2008 in the kitchen of founder, Stacy Brown. When Stacy discovered that the local county health department would not allow her to continue making and selling her delicious recipes out of her home kitchen, she overcame that obstacle by launching her first restaurant with the business expertise of her future husband and fellow founder, Kevin Brown. Together, they opened a small takeout restaurant, which quickly grew; the company now has 58 restaurants across the Southeast.
Chicken Salad Chick in Port Orange will be open Monday Saturday from 10:30 a.m. 8 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.chickensaladchick.com, or call 386-265-5250. Follow Chicken Salad Chick on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest news and trends.
*Eligible winners must be over 16 years of age and are required to download the CravingCredits app.
**Eligible winners must be over 16 years of age.
About Chicken Salad Chick
Chicken Salad Chick puts an edgy twist on a Southern classic, offering guests a custom fit chicken salad experience, with 15 original flavors to choose from, as well as gourmet soups, flavorful side salads and freshly-baked desserts. Chicken Salad Chick serves southern style chicken salad with heart and strives to spread joy, enrich lives and serve others every day. Today, the brand has 58 locations across the Southeast, and has currently sold 146 franchises to be developed across the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana and Texas. The brand was recently named as the top chicken salad in the country to try in the 2015 March/April issue of Cooking with Paula Deen, as well as one of FastCasual.coms top Movers and Shakers and one of NRNs 2015 Breakout Brands. Corporate offices are located at 724 North Dean Road in Auburn, Alabama. See www.chickensaladchick.com for additional information.
SOURCE Chicken Salad Chick
Media Contact:
Ellie Mannix
Account Manager
Fish Consulting, LLC
O: (954) 893-9150
C: (954) 604-4583
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Coyote Ugly Inks Largest Franchise Deal to Date, Set to Debut in Japan with 15 Bars
August 02, 2016 // Franchising.com // NEW YORK Coyote Ugly the rowdy, western-themed bar that celebrates the wild side of American culture has signed a franchise agreement that will bring 15 bars to Japan.
The agreement Coyote Uglys first in East Asia and largest to date was awarded to Banc Inc., which currently has various business holdings in the real estate, insurance, restaurant, bar and night club industries. All 15 bars are expected to open within the next five years, with the first slated to open in Roppongi, Tokyo's busiest nightlife district.
Were thrilled with the opportunity and are eager to develop Coyote Uglys ultra-successful franchise system throughout Japan, said Banc Inc. owner Mayu Tachibana. The nightlife culture in Japan offers an endless amount of adventures and activities through which both locals and travelers can experience the almost surreal night time settings of this country. Coyote Ugly will be a perfect addition to the already iconic and energetic reputation of the Japanese nightlife.
With 21 locations already open and operating in four countries United States, Russia, Ukraine and Germany Coyote Ugly thrives on booze, bar dancing and girl power. Each night sexy, sassy, tough-talking Coyotes go well beyond serving drinks; they ascend the bar to entertain the crowd with choreographed dance routines, songs games, body shots and much more that celebrate the wild side of American culture. As for the drinks, the rule is hard-nosed: no frou frou shaken or stirred concoctions, and nothing that requires a blender or more than two ingredients to make.
We couldnt be more excited about exporting our version of honky-tonk to Japan and could not have found a better team with whom to partner as we enter the market, said Coyote Ugly founder Liliana Lil Lovell. Already widely recognized as the most famous bar in the world, we expect a strong and positive reception in Japan.
Coyote Uglys expansion into Japan comes on the heels of the companys recent announcement to focus on aggressive franchise expansion in non-U.S. territories, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Africa and the United Kingdom, among others.
Other franchise deals have already been signed in the United Kingdom and Kyrgyzstan.
For more information about the Coyote Ugly franchise opportunity, visit www.coyoteuglysaloon.com/franchising or call (720) 442-7777.
About Coyote Ugly Saloon
Founded in 1993 in New York Citys East Village, Coyote Ugly has become widely recognized as the most famous bar on the planet. The music is loud, the liquor is hard, and the female bartenders, known for their dance routines on top of the bar, serve a little bit of attitude with the drinks. The company currently has 21 locations operating in four countries the United States, Russia, Ukraine and Germany and is looking to strengthen its growing presence by attracting qualified single and multi-unit franchise owners. For more information on the Coyote Ugly franchise opportunity, visit http://www.coyoteuglysaloon.com/franchising/.
SOURCE Coyote Ugly Saloon
Media Contact:
Michael Misetic
Managing Partner
(O) 847.239.8171
(M) 773.680.9023
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Rita's Italian Ice Announces 15 Available Opportunities in Nevada
Ritas Italian Ice Continues to Expand Brand Out West
LAS VEGAS, NEV. (PRWEB) August 02, 2016 - Ritas Italian Ice continues to expand across the western U.S. by selling 15 new retail locations across Nevada. Amiracle Empire, LLC., has been named as the area developer for Churchill, Clark, Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, and White Pine counties, while being previously named this year as the area developers for Ventura County in California. Amiracle Empire is run by husband and wife team, Humza Chowdhry and Qurat (Annie) Naqvi.
Chowdhry and Naqvi reside in San Jose, California with their young daughter Amira, who inspired the naming of Amiracle Empire. In 2015, while visiting their local Ritas, the couple noticed a flyer on the door encouraging anyone interested in franchising to inquire within. Chowdhry and Naqvi were immediately intrigued.
Chowdhry and Naqvi each genuinely loved the product and, upon learning more about the business model, the couple was ready to commit. Despite having purchased their home 10 months earlier, the two decided to turn their direction of investment into being part of the #1 Italian Ice concept in the world, Ritas. Today, Chowdhry and Naqvi have opened their first Ritas location and obtained the exclusive rights to open 11 additional locations throughout San Jose. They were eager to take the next step and so have taken on the role of area developers for Nevada.
Working with Ritas has been a treat, says Naqvi. Ritas is such a fun and dynamic brand. Corporate is not afraid to try new things, try new flavors and they really listen to our ideas. Theres a culture and following of the brand and we cannot wait to bring that out west.
Ritas Italian Ice was started in Pennsylvania in 1984 and has since spread across the U.S., delighting customers with delicious frozen treats. The Ritas brand has a mass following and Chowdhry and Naqvi are eager to bring the joy of Ritas to Nevada. For those interested in franchising opportunities in Las Vegas, please go to ownaritas.com.
About Rita's Italian Ice
The popular chain offers many delicious frozen treats that combine their famous Italian Ice and award-winning Old-Fashioned Frozen Custard, including layered Gelati, blended Misto Shake and a personalized Blendini which mixes Italian Ice, Frozen Custard and a delicious topping. Other menu items include Milkshakes, Frozen Drinks, Sundaes, Frozen Custard Cakes and Custard Cookie Sandwiches. Since 1984, Rita's has been dedicated to serving up a big dose of happiness with its freshly made, delicious treats in a fun-filled atmosphere, and over thirty years later, it is still spreading "Ice, Custard, Happiness!" For more information about Rita's Italian Ice visit http://www.ritasice.com.
About Ritas Franchise Company
Ranked #1 in Nations Restaurant News Consumer Picks 2014 for Service and Value in the Frozen Treat category and 14th overall in the Limited-Service category, Ritas Franchise Company is the largest Italian Ice concept in the world with more than 600 stores in the U.S. The company is aggressively expanding internationally with operating locations in the Philippines, Canada and the Middle East. Ritas, headquartered in Trevose, Pa., was also named one of the Top 25 Franchise High Performers by the Wall Street Journals Startup Journal and ranks #81 on Entrepreneur Magazines 2014 Franchise 500 list. For more information about Ritas franchise opportunities, please call 1-800- 677-7482 or visit: http://www.ownaritas.com.
SOURCE Ritas Italian Ice
Contact:
Scott Curkin
Rita's Italian Ice
+1 (919) 459-8165
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Takeru Kobayshi Wins 6th Annual Gringo Banditos Chronic Tacos Challenge
The Reigning Champion Ate 137 Tacos in Ten Minutes
August 02, 2016 // Franchising.com // ALISO VIEJO, Calif. The 6th Annual Gringo Bandito Chronic Tacos Challenge winner is once again the legendary eater Takeru Kobayashi. The event went down at Ditch Fridays at the Palm Hotel in Las Vegas where Kobayashi ate 137 tacos in ten minutes and was awarded a cash prize of $5,000.
Gringo Bandito, the hot sauce created by Dexter Holland, and Chronic Tacos, the California-inspired Mexican Grill, hosted the annual event. Up and coming competitive eater Molly Schuyler came in a close second with 132 tacos eaten, winning a prize of $1,500.
The competition was a close call as it looked like Molly Schuyler was going to beat Kobayashi but once we weighed the scraps it was clear that Kobayashi had devoured more, said Chronic Tacos CEO Michael Mohammed. We always look forward to hosting this event with Gringo Bandito and this year did not disappoint!
The event brought a mix of music, lively patrons, and, yes, lots of taco eating. Additional awards went to Molly Schuyler for Messiest Eater and Kobayashi for Best Style.
About Chronic Tacos
Chronic Tacos is a California-inspired Mexican grill that celebrates authenticity and the individuality of its customers. The fast-casual franchise is known for its fresh Mexican cuisine that is customized for each guests distinctive taste. Founded in 2002, the Aliso Viejo, California-based company has more than 30 locations operating across North America and is committed to serving only the highest quality ingredients and all-natural meats. Chronic Tacos offers traditional Mexican items such as tortas, taquitos, flautas and tacos as well as burritos, tostada bowls and salads, including a breakfast menu all day. Customers can choose from vegetarian and gluten-free options, as well as carne asada (steak), pollo asado (chicken), carnitas (slow-cooked pork) and al pastor (spicy marinated pork). Seafood lovers can also order grilled, beer-battered or baja-style fish and shrimp. Each restaurant incorporates original art designs inspired by traditional Day of The Dead art, creating a unique experience at each location. For more information or to find the nearest Chronic Tacos, visit www.eatchronictacos.com.
About Gringo Bandito
Gringo Bandito hot sauce is the not-so-famous pepper sauce created by Dexter Holland of punk band The Offspring. Gringo Bandito is sold in Australia, Japan, Canada, Finland, Germany, Belgium, Hungary and coast to coast in the US and can be found in the top 10 on Amazon.coms highest customer rated hot sauces amongst 5000+ other products.
SOURCE Chronic Tacos
Media Contact:
Matt Kovacs
Blaze Public Relations
(310) 395-5050
mkovacs@blazepr.com
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Tropical Smoothie Cafe Propels Brand Refresh With Nationwide Rollout Of New Restaurant Design
August 02, 2016 // Franchising.com // ATLANTA Tropical Smoothie Cafe, the leading fast casual cafe concept known for its better-for-you food and smoothies with a tropical twist, recently kicked off a prominent brand refresh in an effort to reflect the companys evolution since its founding in 1997. The rebranding is propelled by the rollout of a new restaurant design at Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations nationwide, which exudes a relaxed coastal atmosphere and was designed to enhance the consumer experience and better align the dining environment with the brands culture.
As Tropical Smoothie Cafe continued growing and evolving over the past several years, it became obvious to us that our brands image needed to follow suit. We launched this rebranding in an effort to ensure every location nationwide reflects our companys vibrant and engaging personality while communicating the right message to consumers, and were thrilled that our new restaurant design has accomplished that goal, said Mike Rotondo, chief executive officer of Tropical Smoothie Cafe. Unveiling the new design successfully invigorated the face of our brand and helped us create a dining experience that truly conveys the essence of Tropical Smoothie Cafe, and we look forward to introducing the concept to more and more fans as we continue bringing the new look to communities throughout the country.
The new restaurant design has a coastal theme with muted, warm colors and worn wood and metals to provide guests with a relaxed atmosphere. Design elements reinforce transparency in regards to food preparation, with an open concept kitchen as well as a smoothie bar where customers can watch the creation of their smoothies. According to company research, the new design brings in 10 percent more first time visitors, as well as increased existing guests visit frequency by 28 percent, reflecting how the redesign has positively impacted sales and customer retention.
We know that for our guests comfort is key, which is why all of the new restaurant design elements were put in place to ensure that we provide the perfect environment for enjoying our signature better-for-you options in a comfortable and warm atmosphere, said Tom Plauche, director of construction for Tropical Smoothie Cafe. From the community-style seating to the brand-new smoothie bar, no detail was overlooked during the design process, and we are thrilled to unveil a new look that embodies everything Tropical Smoothie Cafe believes in.
In addition to a restaurant redesign, the rebranding also included a more modern and sophisticated logo. The new logo reinforces the continued evolution and accelerated growth of the Topical Smoothie Cafe brand, and reminds guests that the cafes offerings extend beyond smoothies. According to a company research, the rebranding has built confidence among consumers that Tropical Smoothie Cafes is not only a destination for smoothies, but better-for-you, high quality food.
Since unveiling the new look, the reception from customers who have visited our remodeled cafes has been overwhelming positive and were thrilled with the results, said Nick Crouch, Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchisee. The coastal theme and new design elements have created an enjoyable atmosphere that keeps guests coming back for more, and the redesign has had a huge impact on our business.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe reported its strongest year of growth in 2015 with same-stores sales of 11.25 percent and signed franchise agreements to develop 199 new cafes across the U.S. The brand recently reported its seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit positive comp sales. This year, the food and smoothie franchise plans to exceed 550 restaurants nationwide. The brand currently has franchise opportunities across the U.S. in markets such as Miami, Philadelphia, Boston, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta and Columbus, among others. By 2018, Tropical Smoothie Cafe plans to have 800 locations open across the U.S.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe is looking to add qualified franchisees to its growing brand. Candidates should have business experience; $125,000 in liquid assets and a minimum net worth of $350,000; and an initial investment of between $198,050 and $478,550. The healthier fast food franchise currently boasts an average unit volume (AUV) of more than $634,000 the highest in the company's 19-year history with the top 50 percent reporting an AUV of more than $806,000.
Tropical Smoothie Cafes aggressive franchise growth is backed by the entrepreneurs at the BIP Franchise Accelerator, a division of venture capital firm BIP Capital, which invested in the brand in 2010. BIP Capital has invested more than $250 million in emerging, high-growth brands across the franchising, software, and technology and consumer products industries. BIP Capital created the BIP Franchise Accelerator to leverage its leadership team's deep franchise experience to help emerging brands accelerate their growth. In addition to Tropical Smoothie Cafe, the BIP Franchise Accelerators portfolio includes Tin Drum Asian Kitchen, which has grown to 13 locations in Georgia and Florida.
For more information about opening your own Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise, please visit www.tropicalsmoothiefranchise.com.
About Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Founded in 1997, Tropical Smoothie Cafe is a fast-casual restaurant concept inspiring healthier lifestyles across the country, with over 500 locations nationwide. With snack and meal options for any time of day, Tropical Smoothie Cafe serves smoothies, salads, wraps, sandwiches, and flatbreads. The rapidly growing franchise has received numerous accolades including being ranked on Entrepreneurs 2016 Franchise 500, 2016 Fast Casual Top 100 Movers and Shakers, Franchise Times Top 200+ and Nations Restaurant News 2015 Top 200. Tropical Smoothie Cafe is seeking qualified franchisees to expand throughout the United States in markets such as Miami, Philadelphia, Boston, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta and Columbus, among others.
About the BIP Franchise Accelerator
The BIP Franchise Accelerator is a division of BIP Capital, an Atlanta-based venture capital firm with over $250 million invested in over 26 companies in emerging, high-growth brands across the franchising, software, technology and consumer products industries. BIP Capital created the BIP Franchise Accelerator to leverage its leadership teams deep franchise experience to help emerging brands accelerate their growth. The BIP Franchise Accelerator not only provides investment capital, but also uses proven strategies to help companies evolve into mature, thriving brands. From fast casual and QSR concepts to service brands and healthcare and education concepts, the BIP Franchise Accelerator has invested in emerging brands driven by people with an entrepreneurial spirit that have a great growth potential. Its current portfolio includes Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Tin Drum Asian Kitchen and BIP Franchise Finance. For more information on BIP Franchise Accelerator, visit www.bipfranchiseaccelerator.com.
SOURCE Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Media Contact:
Samantha Russo
Account Manager
Fish Consulting, LLC
O:(954) 893-9150
C:(954) 980-5128
srusso@fish-consulting.com
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The Seattle-born Brown was diagnosed with HIV in 1995 and kept it under control with antiretroviral therapy. Then in 2007 and again in 2008 he underwent bone marrow transplants as last-ditch efforts to cure acute myeloid leukemia after chemotherapy failed. His doctor in Berlin, where Brown was then living, decided to try to cure both diseases at once by finding a bone-marrow donor who carried a rare gene mutation that confers natural resistance to HIV. The hope was that this transplanted immune system would wipe out any hidden pockets of virus in Brown.
He required a second transplant after the cancer returned, but he has not taken antiretroviral medicine since the first, and today he still has shown no signs of either leukemia or HIV.
No one considers stem cell transplants appropriate for the vast majority of people with HIV. They are expensive, risky, last-resort treatments even for cancer patients. (Brown himself barely survived his second transplant.) Still, researchers have been interested in seeing if his cure could be repeated in other patients with HIV and cancer who need a transplant anyway.
Because people with two copies of the HIV-resistant gene are rare and finding one who would also be a good bone-marrow match would be harder still scientists at Fred Hutch and elsewhere are investigating using genetically modified stem cells to achieve a long-term HIV remission.
But researchers also are looking at what role the transplant process itself might have played in Browns cure, and whether he really needed that HIV-resistant donor. Could the pre-transplant conditioning he underwent the intense chemotherapy and radiation regimen that destroys the immune system to make room for transplanted immune cells to grow have affected his HIV reservoir? What about the graft vs. host disease he developed afterward, which is known to play a role in curing leukemia: could it have helped destroy the HIV reservoir?
Thats why Henrich, then at Brigham and Womens Hospital, now at the University of California San Francisco, was interested in finding people like Steinkohl who had undergone a bone marrow transplant, even if their donors didnt have the HIV-resistant gene. What could researchers learn from them about the HIV reservoir? How much would the reservoir need to be reduced to achieve a long-term remission or cure?
The Boston study
Steinkohl learned he had HIV in 1985, a decade before treatment turned it from a death sentence to a chronic disease. He was 27 and already launched in a corporate banking career. So much for feeling invincible. Instead he spent those awful early years burying friends and wondering why he stayed healthy.
Then in 2003, he developed a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma found in unusually high rates in people with HIV. Chemotherapy bought him two years, but when the cancer returned in a more aggressive form, he endured a bone marrow transplant in 2006. In 2010, he had a second, less grueling transplant using his own blood stem cells to treat myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disorder that can progress to leukemia.
Facing death four times over would be enough of a roller coaster for most people. But in 2013, with his cancer at bay and his HIV under control, Steinkohl volunteered to get back on what would turn out to be emotionally the wildest ride of all.
He first heard about Henrichs study from his oncologist on a checkup visit two years after his second transplant. He was immediately taken by the Boston researchers gregarious personality and infectious humor. He was impressed by how seriously Henrich took the risks of going off the anti-HIV drugs. But Steinkohl understood that he would do so under careful supervision and would immediately go back on treatment at the first sign that the virus was rebounding.
So talking it over with his sister and only sibling, who had been the bone-marrow donor for his first transplant and who had cared for him afterward, he willingly signed up.
I dont think it was so much for my own personal advancement as for our community and a larger sense the world, he said. Id survived all my experiences. I felt I could live a good life and a long life, having been through what Ive been through, without participating. But due to the uniqueness of my scenario, this is what I wanted to do.
Was he cured?
Every week after he stopped taking his meds, Steinkohl went in for a blood test to check for the virus. I have been stuck more than a pin cushion, and I still dont like it, he said. They would say, We need another 16 vials, and I would be like, Are you kidding me? But its what you do.
He confessed to feeling tremendously hopeful, even as he tried to contain his expectations. He only told his immediate family and closest friends what he was doing.
Steinkohl knew there was another patient in the Boston study Patient A but because of confidentiality rules, he knew nothing about this person. (Patient A has remained anonymous.) Still, he felt a bond. So when he learned that the virus had returned in Patient A after three months, he felt emotionally deflated. But Henrich explained that their circumstances differed somewhat Steinkohls sister, for example, had been a better match than Patient As donor.
Steinkohl had heard about other people with HIV who had taken unsupervised drug holidays. In most, the virus had returned within a few weeks and in all by the fourth month. Once he passed that mark, he began to feel different. No one told him he was cured. Henrich remained cautious. But Steinkohl began to conceive of himself as HIV-negative.
It felt shockingly good.
Over the subsequent couple of months, there was an awe in me that is indescribable, he said. I was born HIV-negative, became HIV-positive, and now Im HIV negative again. It was overwhelmingly wonderful, and in some sense scary. I would be walking on the street and Id be looking at hundreds of people and thinking, Im different from every one of them. It was emotionally intense in a way I could never tell anyone.
Weeks passed. The team of clinicians held their breaths every time the test results came back. So did Steinkohl.
Then, in late October 2013, he felt like he was coming down with the flu. He told himself it was the flu or maybe Lyme disease. He took himself to an emergency room in the middle of the night and asked for Lyme and HIV tests.
A nurse from the hospital called the next day: Almost eight months after going off treatment and just a week after he had last been tested at the research site, he now tested positive for HIV.
The aftermath
Under Henrichs supervision, he went back on medication. It took months for the virus to be brought under control. But Steinkohl approached the challenge with his usual determination. It was, like, OK! We go back on meds and it runs its course, he said.
Far harder to heal was the psychological trauma the dashed hopes at finding out he wasnt cured after all of either the disease or the stigma that accompanies it.
Until then, he hadnt completely realized the weight he was still carrying. The weight of the memories of those dark days in one of the epicenters of the AIDS epidemic, caring for friends dying of AIDS when support systems were scarce and some hospital orderlies refused to even deliver food to patients rooms. The weight of rejection and abandonment from the men who refused to date him because he was HIV positive. The weight of the illusion that HIV is a manageable disease when it had given him life-threatening cancer. The weight of three decades of worries.
He even felt that he had disappointed Henrich and the research team, with whom hed developed a deep bond.
I remember meeting with Tim and the team afterwards, Steinkohl said, and he essentially talked me down, saying Dont go down that path. What you and others have done has helped change the course of cure research. There is a tremendous amount we can learn from you.
Henrichs reassurances were reinforced last week at the biennial meeting of the International AIDS Society in Durban, South Africa, the largest global health conference in the world. Previous efforts to duplicate Browns results had been unsuccessful, largely because the patients died from either the cancer or the transplant. But last week, Dr. Annemaire Wensing of Ultrecht University in the Netherlands reported on a study of 15 patients with HIV who underwent transplants for cancer. Of the 15, six survived. Of the six, three are now a year or more post-transplant and show no or just a trace of HIV using the most sensitive tests. Only one had an HIV-resistant donor.
But while their HIV may be cured or in remission, the only test is to take them off their medication something that has not yet been done precisely because of lessons learned from the two Boston patients. Moreover, research in preclinical models has shown that maintaining antiretroviral therapy well beyond transplantation may allow the immune system more time to recover, said Fred Hutchs Dr. Chris Peterson, part of the Fred Hutch-based defeatHIV group.
'Deeply grateful'
Steinkohl now divides his time between New York City and Northwest Connecticut and looks forward to being married in the fall to a man who has known since Day One his HIV status and all he has been through.
He remains part of the study, though he no longer gives blood specimens regularly something he loathed but would do again in a heartbeat if needed. In fact, despite the emotional turmoil he has endured, he said he would do it all again.
I deeply appreciate, respect, and admire the cure research world, their dedication, and continuance, he said. It is such a long, slow slog. I am deeply grateful to them for continuing to keep at it. My deep disappointment is on a personal level. It is significantly outweighed by my satisfaction at helping advance research.
The public is invited to attend the free talk "Cured/Not Cured: A Tale of Two Diagnoses" at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Fred Hutch's Pelton Auditorium. See details here. The Conference on Cell and Gene Therapy for HIV Cure takes place Thursday and Friday, with keynote speaker Dr. Larry Corey and plenary speakers Drs. Warner C. Greene, Timothy Henrich, and Mark Kay. See details here.
A long time ago, your ancestors did something bizarre.
Deep in the primordial ooze, your ancient ancestors, being just single cells (this was a really, really long time ago), slurped up some of their neighboring bacteria.
More than a billion years later, we still have those bacterial remnants known as mitochondria dozens to thousands of them in nearly every cell in our body. Researchers think of the story of their ancient origins as one of the most classic examples of symbiosis, or mutually beneficial co-existence, ever to be studied.
But theres a strange flipside to mitochondrias near-total assimilation into our cells (and the cells of every other animal, plant and fungus on the planet). Theyre inherited completely maternally.
Now, a new study published Tuesday in the journal eLife identifies an unusual mutation in the mitochondrial DNA of fruit flies that renders males sterile but leaves the female insects completely unharmed. The mutation is proof of an evolutionary theory known as the Mothers Curse, which posits the existence of genetic changes that are harmful to the males of a species but neutral or helpful to the females. Such mutations had previously been found in plants and some mutations harmful to males had been seen in fruit flies, but a true Mother's Curse mutation had never before been seen outside of the plant kingdom.
Empire Legal Announces New Saint Lucia Citizenship Program
Empire Legal professionals are ready to help those investors who are interested in the new Citizenship by Investment Program. The St. Lucia Program was established in 2015 and offers a shortcut to a second passport.
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Empire Legal is pleased to announce the release of a new explanatory post describing the benefits and process for acquiring citizenship in St. Lucia through the investment program. The Caribbean island nation is one of the most recent countries in the world to offer citizenship by investment. The benefits of St. Lucia citizenship are among the best in the world and the process has been dramatically simplified. In the past, obtaining a visa could limit travel plans. The new citizenship program carries with it a Saint Lucia passport.
The benefits of the St. Lucia Citizenship by Investment Program include visa free access to more than 120 countries around the globe, including the Schengen Zone. This passport is recognized as one of the best passports to have, particularly for high net worth Globe trotters. There is an annual cap of 500 applicants which ensures that the exclusive passport status is retained. The entire process can be completed within three months. The team at Empire Legal handles the entire process and there is no need to travel to St. Lucia or to reside in the nation.
The application process is one of the simplest in the world, thanks to the skills and experience of Empire Legal and the team of professionals. There are four investment options, according to the needs of the applicants. These include investment in real estate, bonds, pre-approved enterprise projects, or a single one-time contribution to the country.
The initial application includes documentation consisting of processing fees, health certificate and police certificate. A banker's reference letter and a detailed proposal of the qualifying investment, as well as an affidavit of support for each qualifying dependent will be included. The financial resources require a minimum of three million USD. The full list of requirements can be found at the website which follows at http://empire.legal/the-new-saint-lucia-citizenship-by-investment-program-is-one-of-the-best-in-the-world/.
For more information, please visit http://www.empire.legal
Contact Info:
Name: Lionel Iruk, Managing Partner
Organization: Empire Legal PLLC
Address: 2211 Norfolk St Ste 600, Houston, TX 77098-4055
Phone: +12817695377 (Direct USA); +60350331665 (International)
Source: http://marketersmedia.com/empire-legal-announces-new-saint-lucia-citizenship-program/125941
Release ID: 125941
For more information visit r
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Children's Nursery Accessory Launches 1st / August / 2016
HAPPYBABY-HAPPYYOU announced the availability of their new Children accessory "Kids Wall Wooden Height Chart for Nursery - Movable, Foldable with Picture Frames" beginning 1st / August / 2016.
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Customers looking for the latest Children accessory will soon be able to purchase Kids Wall Wooden Height Chart for Nursery - Movable, Foldable with Picture Frames by HAPPYBABY-HAPPYYOU. Today Ganka Wolbers, CEO at HAPPYBABY-HAPPYYOU releases details of Kids Wall Wooden Height Chart for Nursery - Movable, Foldable with Picture Frames's development.
Kids Wall Wooden Height Chart for Nursery - Movable, Foldable with Picture Frames is designed to appeal specifically to Parents and includes:
Sturdy durable MDF - This feature was included because it is resistant to damage, but is light weight. This is great news for the consumer as it will save them a great deal of money..
Photo slots - This was made part of the product to capture the change in features too. In the slot is a card to write the measurements of the growth. Customers who buy Kids Wall Wooden Height Chart for Nursery - Movable, Foldable with Picture Frames should enjoy this feature because they can keep both information together..
Foldable - HAPPYBABY-HAPPYYOU made sure to make this part of the Children accessory's development as it makes it easy to store when it's not in use. Customers will likely appreciate this because it's easy to remove and transport to another place if necessary..
Ganka Wolbers, when asked about Kids Wall Wooden Height Chart for Nursery - Movable, Foldable with Picture Frames said:
"The chart is a unique gift that parents would not think of buying everyday. It can be used for 2 children simultaneously, can be pass to the next generation and create priceless memory."
This is HAPPYBABY-HAPPYYOU's one release of a new product and Ganka Wolbers is particularly excited about this release because its unique and the market hasn't seen anything like it before..
Those interested in learning more about the business can do so on the business website at http://www.happybaby-happyyou.com
Those interested in purchasing can go directly to the product listing, here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hanging-Children-Fold-ab...
For more information, please visit https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hanging-Children--Fold-able-Nursery-HAPPYBABY-HAPPYYOU/dp/B015NE40QC/ref=lp_10566370031_1_1_a_it?srs=10566370031&ie=UTF8&qid=1469457636&sr=8-1
Contact Info:
Name: Ganka Wolbers
Email: Ganka@happybaby-happyyou.com
Organization: HAPPYBABY-HAPPYYOU
Release ID: 125430
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Your Calvert Releases 10th Neighborhood Guide For Real Estate Developments
The website is well on its way to covering every neighborhood in the county, reports https://www.yourcalvert.com.
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Your Calvert, the go-to online resource for updates on what's new and happening in Calvert County, Maryland, has recently announced the release of its 10th neighborhood guide for real estate developments. The Your Calvert writers have a goal of being able to cover every neighborhood in the county, and the release of this new guide puts them much further down the path to achieving that goal. Those who would like to read the new guide can find it at https://www.yourcalvert.com/real-estate.
"We are beyond excited to have finally released our 10th neighborhood guide covering some great places to live in Calvert County," said Clif Bridegum, a representative of Your Calvert. "With a plan to make sure that we've reviewed every single neighborhood here, our goal in releasing these guides is to give prospective home buyers a useful tool that will help them locate the neighborhood in which they want to live. We're helping people all over Calvert County find a place to belong that suits their needs and caters to their desires."
Each neighborhood guide at https://www.yourcalvert.com reviews the following aspects of a neighborhood: location, homes (including information on home types and builders), amenities, standout features and quirks, and schools. The team at Your Calvert has striven to build a full profile on each neighborhood so that those making real estate decisions can truly understand what their lives will be like in that particular location.
As Bridegum goes on to say, "Calvert County is considered 'the jewel of the Chesapeake' for a reason. It's the great neighborhoods and the wonderful people who populate them that make our small county so notable. We are more than happy to be able to cover these Calvert County neighborhoods and show people who are currently searching for the perfect place to live the benefits associated with calling one of them 'home'."
Residents and visitors who would like to learn more about Your Calvert or stay informed about their updates are encouraged to visit and like their Facebook page.
About Your Calvert:
Your Calvert is the online guide to what's going on in Calvert County Maryland. The site provides up-to-date information on real estate, events, recreation, food and drink reviews, and business happenings in Calvert County, "the jewel of the Chesapeake". Whether a reader lives there or is just visiting for the day, YourCalvert.com is the starting point for all things Calvert County, MD.
For more information, please visit https://www.yourcalvert.com
Contact Info:
Name: Clif Bridegum
Organization: Your Calvert
Phone: (443) 684-2184
Source: http://marketersmedia.com/your-calvert-releases-10th-neighborhood-guide-for-real-estate-developments/126057
Release ID: 126057
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NYC Personal Injury Lawyers Announce Two Substantial Settlements
Frekhtman & Associates is a New York City personal injury law firm with several multi-million dollar verdicts. The firm specializes in serious and catastrophic injury litigation and many other types of accident and injury matters.
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Frekhtman & Associates, Attorneys at Law and attorney Arkady Frekhtman are pleased to announce that they successfully negotiated and resolved two complex litigation matters recently. The first matter settled at a private mediation for $525,000.00 It involved a paraplegic patient who alleged she was seriously injured when her home attendant improperly moved her into a wheelchair. When the home attendant's hand slipped from the patient's hip up to her armpit, the plaintiff claimed she sustained a permanent brachial plexus injury. The defendant's insurance carrier and attorneys refused to offer any compensation arguing the slight transfer mishap could not have caused such a permanent injury. However, due to expert testimony from a doctor and nurse, Frekhtman & Associates were able to recover over half a million for this client in a difficult litigation venue, Suffolk County.
In a car accident case, Frekhtman & Associates represented a passenger who was seriously injured when two cars collided at an intersection. A taxi failed to stop at a stop sign and a private sedan T boned the taxi. The difficulty presented by the case was that the taxi had relatively little insurance coverage while the private vehicle's insurance argued they had no liability. With the help of accident reconstruction experts and relying on violations of Vehicle & Traffic Law statutes, the firm was able to show that the private sedan was speeding based on the severity of the impact as well as how far each vehicle was pushed after impact. This resulted in a settlement of $500,000.00 with the insurance company that previously refused to pay anything tendering the majority of this global settlement.
Frekhtman & Associates offer a free case evaluation to potential clients. The accident lawyers
handle car, truck, bus, train, bicycle, and motorcycle accident cases, representing the plaintiff or injured party. Successful case prosecution in several cases has resulted in multi-million dollar verdicts for clients. In addition to vehicular accidents, the firm handles trip and fall accidents, construction accidents, brain injuries and burn injuries, as well as spinal cord injuries.
According to a spokesperson for the practice, "Frekhtman & Associates, are New York injury lawyers dedicated to vigorously representing the best interests of our clients. Our attorneys strive to win the maximum possible recovery for each client in his or her individual accident case. We represent individuals who have been injured due to the negligence of someone else. We have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients over the years."
The legal representatives understand that a personal injury is a life-changing event. In the aftermath of a catastrophic injury, it can be difficult to pay living expenses because the injured person is unable to work for a long time period. Insurance payment may not cover living expenses, doctor bills and various other expenses. It is critical to consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer to handle the case.
Car accidents, tractor trailer accidents, bus accidents, motorcycle and bus accidents, construction site accidents, ceiling collapses, burn injury and brain injury are areas of specialization for the practice. The professionals at the law practice also handle cases involving airplane accidents. Injury cases are handled on a contingency bases. Clients are not required to pay anything unless the case is won.
For more information, please visit http://www.866attylaw.com
Contact Info:
Name: Arkady Frekhtman
Organization: Frekhtman & Associates, Attorneys at Law
Address: 30 Broad Street New York, New York 10004
Phone: (866) 288-9529 or (212) 222-1111
Video URL: http://www.866attylaw.com/Video/mp4/New-York-Personal-Injury-Lawyer.mp4?_=1
Source: http://www.866attylaw.com/personal-injury
Release ID: 126115
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New Photo Booth Rentals Firm Launched in Santa Barbara
Rumor Photo Media offers photo booth rentals in Santa Barbara. The company provides quality branded booths for corporate events.
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Rumor Photo Media and Barnaby Drape are pleased to announce the launch of their new company offering photo booth rentals in Santa Barbara. The brand new photo booth rental firm serves Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and New York City, New York. The branded booths are available for corporate events, parties, receptions, and quinceaneras. The premium photo booth experience ensures a unique and fun opportunity for guests to take photos, look amazing and share the results.
The branded booths for corporate events provide a light-hearted and uninhibited fun of a photo booth coupled with a professional fashion portrait photo shoot. Rumor Photo Media has the ability to share branded images by way of social media, emails or text messages. The custom built booths are produced from walnut or mahogany in order to compliment luxury events, social events, and marketing events. The built-in facial recognition and editing software makes everyone look amazing. The soft beauty lighting makes pictures even more attractive.
According to a spokesperson for the firm, "Your branded images are available on two iPad Sharing Stations permitting guests to select their favorite images and share them on Facebook, Twitter, email or text with a custom message. There is an optional automatic upload to your Facebook page during the event. After the event, an automatic branded event gallery upload allows guest to view and share images away from the iPad Viewing Stations."
An event gallery link is provided to link the gallery to a business website. An email list can be generated when the user shares images. There are analytics of shares and guest email list provided after the event, as an option. A zip file of all images is delivered after the event. A photographer to operate the booth and an assistant to help guests at the iPad Sharing Stations/Printer is available. If needed, there is a Wifi Hot Spot for the booth. On-site printing makes it possible to print branded images on the spot and placed in envelopes for the guests to keep.
For more information, please visit http://rumorphotomedia.com/
Contact Info:
Name: Barnaby Drape
Organization: Rumor Photo Media
Address: 3965 B Foothill Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93110
Phone: (805) 324-7775
Source: http://rumorphotomedia.com/services/
Release ID: 126108
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Gill to receive 2016 Boston University Fine Arts Distinguished Alumni Award
Nationally recognized author, Joel Christian Gill, will be accepting the Boston University Fine Arts Distinguished Alumni Award on September 30, 2016. Recognized for his outstanding professional accomplishments, his storytelling is a powerful tool for changing narratives; black history is American history.
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Stoughton, MA - FUN Enterprises Speakers, a leadership and motivational speakers bureau, would like to congratulate Joel Christian Gill on his selection to receive the 2016 Boston University College of Fine Arts Distinguished Alumni Award. This award is in celebration and recognition of his outstanding professional accomplishments. Joel graduated from Boston University with a Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) in 2004 and joined FUN Enterprises Speakers in 2015.
"You are an exceptional role model for today's students and have made your alma mater enormously proud. You have a unique voice and talent that is propelling your medium and your storytelling is a powerful tool for changing narratives", wrote Lynne Allen, Dean ad Interim.
Joel is a speaker, author, illustrator and professor at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. He is the nationally recognized author of Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History and Bass Reeves: Tales of the Talented Tenth.
Joel believes black history is American history - "Stories of black people in America have been marginalized. Black history has been confined to one 28-day period. The stories of black people ARE the stories of America. Black people in America are the true rugged individualists, and if we don't share our stories, the stories of everyday people, then we will never get past that place where we are the exotic other." #28daysisnotenough
Boston University's Bostonia recently highlighted Joel's accomplishments in the article "Drawing Black History".
Boston University's College of Fine Arts Distinguished Alumni Awards is the most prestigious honor conferred by the College. The award will be given to Joel in Boston at the CFA Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony, held during BU's Alumni Weekend, on the evening of Friday, September 30, 2016.
About FUN Enterprises Speakers: Fun Enterprises Speakers is a leadership and motivational speakers bureau established in 2010. Speaker presentations inform, educate and entertain students, employees, clients and customers. Programs and trainings can be on designated topics or can be crafted presentations that match the organization's goals, objectives and needs.
For more information, please visit http://www.funent.com
Contact Info:
Name: Ken Abrahams
Organization: Fun Enterprises, Inc.
Address: 63 Tosca Dr. Stoughton, MA 02072
Phone: 781-436-3187
Release ID: 125746
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Encontre Dedetizadora Launches Pest Control Directory Website
Encontre Dedetizadora has launched a new website for listings of dedetizacao em casas e empresas (pest control in houses and businesses).Hiring a professional for pest control reduces the likelihood of disease and pain.
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Encontre Dedetizadora and Randerson Freire are please to announce the launch of their comprehensive website and directory. The directory allows clients to contact a serious dedetizadora firm what takes their work seriously. The website speeds up the process of initiating contact and gets control over the infestation of insects. Using the directory to identify the nearby firm which can do the job right, assures home and business owners that the insect pests will be eliminated in a way that is safe for humans and pets in the structure.
There are top quality firms in many areas of Brazil. Dedetizadoras em Fortaleza can be located by using the specific search tools found on the website. The type of pest control procedures which are utilized will depend upon the species of any pests which are located on the premises. The technician will do an assessment of the property in order to determine which insect pests are most likely to be causing health or other problems.
Dedetizadoras em Salvador may require focus on different pests than those found in other areas of the country. Home and business owners can always depend on the nearby empresas de dedetizacao to determine which insects are present and how to get rid of them in a way that doesn't cause harm to the humans or pets in the home or business. The most up-to-date methods and equipment are utilized in the eradication process.
Sao Paulo area pest control firms are marked, as are all listings in the directory, by their expertise. The dedetizadoras em Sao Paulo have the experience and equipment to perform the necessary procedures which free the structure of insect pests. Pests can be the cause of illness, even fatal illnesses. They may also cause structural damage to the buildings. The technicians then clean up any mess so that the premises are left in pristine condition.
For more information, please visit http://www.encontrededetizadora.com/
Contact Info:
Name: Randerson Freire
Organization: Encontre Dedetizadora
Address: Juazeiro, Brazil
Phone: 557436127233
Source: http://marketersmedia.com/encontre-dedetizadora-launches-pest-control-directory-website/126134
Release ID: 126134
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Kames Capital has launched a closed-ended property fund in a bid to exploit Brexit-induced opportunities in the sector.
The seven-year closed-ended Active Value Property Fund II, launched using institutional seed money, will target the secondary commercial property market, with a particular focus on assets in the 5m to 15m price bracket.
The fund, managed by Philip Bach, follows the investment strategy of Kames UK Active Value Property unit trust, which launched in 2013 and raised 275m.
The fund aims to capitalise on the current opportunities we believe are newly available from the fallout of the Brexit vote, available outside of the prime London hotspots, Mr Bach said.
We think there remains a lack of supply for good quality properties outside of London after the last property cycle.
The medium-term outlook for commercial property has dimmed following the UKs vote to leave the EU, according to the likes of M&G. The fund manager has cut its forecasts for the asset class and is among those to have suspended its open-ended property fund due to major redemptions.
Aiming to raise 250m, the fund will have a target distribution yield of 6.5 per cent, gross of annual management charges. Ongoing charges for the product were not disclosed.
UK retail investors withdrew a huge 3.5bn from funds during June as concerns over the EU referendum confirmed 2016 as one of the toughest environments on record for asset managers.
Retail investors withdrew some 2.8bn from equity funds during a month which was dominated by the vote on June 23, according to the Investment Association (IA).
The Property sector, mass withdrawals from which saw a number of funds suspend trading at the start of July , saw 1.4bn of net outflows.
The headline net outflow is the worst figure recorded under the IAs new sales calculation system, which extends back to 2012. It is also significantly worse than the 490m in redemptions recorded in October 2008 under the old sales formula.
It means net outflows for the first half of 2016 stand at 2.9bn, a figure which implies this year is likely to buck a long-running trend. Even the worst year of the past decade, 2008, still saw 4.8bn of net sales.
Only 11 IA sectors saw positive flows in June, with the most popular being Global Bond funds bringing in 250m and Targeted Absolute Return strategies taking 220m.
Overall, fixed income vehicles remained relatively popular with Sterling Corporate Bond, UK Gilts and Sterling Strategic Bond funds seeing an additional 212m of combined net sales. The Sterling High Yield sector, however, saw 142m of net outflows.
The only equity sector to see positive flows was Japanese Smaller Companies, with a minute 17m.
Despite the spectre of the referendum looming large, the single worst-performing equity sector was not UK-based. Europe ex-UK funds were also hit hard by investor sentiment, seeing 754m of net outflows.
The 2.8bn of net outflows from equity funds in June takes the total to 4.9bn in the first six months of 2016.
Bearish sentiment on equity strategies filtered into the multi-asset sectors, with the IA Mixed Asset grouping seeing net outflows of 191m in June, adding to Mays 75m.
Despite the significant flows, investment performance meant assets under management held by UK retail investors rose slightly year-on-year, to 947bn.
IA interim chief executive Guy Sears said: The retail outflow in June represented just 0.37 per cent of total assets during a period of intense market volatility. Clearly, Brexit has been unsettling, with property and equity funds particularly affected following earlier outflows during 2016.
It has been a long time since March 2009 when the bank base rate was cut to 0.5 per cent.
Since then, each time the Bank of Englands monetary policy committee (MPC) has met, we have been inundated with a barrage of press releases.
No change press releases have predominated over the past seven years, although it seems peculiar to me so much time should be wasted in writing a Nothing has Happened Today Shock Horror piece of marketing material.
Yes, newspapers covered this non-news anyway. What does that say about us? Answers on a postcard...
But last month, ah, that was a different kettle of fish. Mark Carneys comments on 30 June post-vote to Brexit suggested a rate cut was not just on the cards, but in the very next hand he would deal.
Cue much anticipation in July, with analysts, commentators and journalists alike waiting to see whether it would be a 0.25 percentage point cut or a full 0.5 percentage point cut. Consensus opinion was wrong in May 2015 during the General Election and it was wrong on 23 June this year
Would we go to zero?
No, was the answer. Again, the vast majority of decision-makers on the MPC chose not to push for a rate cut. The fundamentals, governor Carney told markets, just did not make it necessary.
But now we have another MPC decision, coming after consecutive sets of weaker than expected PMI data. According to Steven Bell, chief economist at BMO, he thinks the UK is in a recession - cue a rate cut.
He comments: The latest observation for the Composite Markit PMI showed the biggest decline since the global financial crisis of 2008-09 and, based on a regression and some assumptions, points to a 0.4 per cent contraction in GDP in the third quarter of 2016 compared with the previous quarter.
Ana Thaker, market economist at PhillipCapital UK, believes a rate cut will indeed be on the cards - especially if tomorrow (Wednesday 3) produces poor service data for the UK.
She says this indicates: Markets are 100 per cent certain there will be a rate cut by the BoE on Thursday and this view will only be reinforced by poor PMI figures. It remains to be seen how much looser monetary policy can stimulate the real economy as business expectations diminish in the wake of Brexit.
A whole 100 per cent. The markets were 99 per cent certain of this in July. Had 40 per cent of the MPC voted to cut last month, Id be more convinced. But Ive not yet seen Mr Carney make any rash decisions.
Plus consensus opinion was wrong in May 2015 during the General Election and it was wrong on 23 June this year. Ive learned to be sceptical of consensus opinions, and to leave important decisions firmly in the hands of people who are wiser and more experienced than I am.
Investors are put off lobbying fund managers over corporate culture issues over concerns it would destroy the value of their investment, according to an organisation representing shareholders.
The comments follow a report from the Financial Reporting Council calling on investors to put pressure on fund managers to address culture problems in the companies they own shares in, rather than just selling out of the fund.
It noted some shareholders are not convinced they have the power or the ability to change culture.
Catherine Howarth, chief executive at ShareAction, agreed investors often choose to mitigate the risk of value destruction by selling shares in a company, rather than engaging with management to improve long-term performance.
She suggested investors give asset managers clear guidance on how they would like their votes cast where there are concerns over governance.
Too often executives are incentivised to chase short-term profits over building the long-term wealth-creating potential of their companies.
They already have plenty of tools, and may soon have even more if Theresa Mays proposal for an annual binding vote on executive pay becomes law, she said. The field of responsible investment is growing and were cautiously optimistic that more investors are using their rights as shareholders to actively steward investee companies.
Investors ignore culture problems at their peril. Leon Kamhi
Hermes Investment Management, which has a 26-person strong specialist equity ownership team called EOS focused on engaging with companies on a daily basis, acknowledged culture helps drive the value in a business.
Leon Kamhi, head of responsibility at Hermes, said investors should ignore culture problems at their peril.
Hermes annual EOS report revealed that in 2015, the team engaged with 466 individual companies on 1,150 environmental, social and ethical, governance, strategy and risk issues.
According to Mr Kamhi, these engagements usually take place over a sustained period of years, sometime even a decade, as it takes time to see real positive change.
We recognise culture does not change overnight, he said, adding tick-box training and executive pronouncements are far from sufficient.
A recent example is Alliance Trust responding to pressure to change its board members after one of its largest shareholders raised concerns about the trusts underperformance and the cost of its internal management.
Jessica Ground, global head of stewardship at Schroders, said fund managers need to do more than just buy and sell stocks.
Her firms managers regularly meet with executive and non-executive board members to discuss long-term performance issues, addressing 86 governance issues with UK holdings alone in the first half of 2016.
Baillie Giffords head of corporate governance Andrew Cave said he has seen increased interest in corporate governance and stewardship in recent years.
These issues are now routinely discussed in our regular meetings with clients, he stated, adding: Stewardship isnt a cost of doing business, its an investment in its own right.
John Stirling, chartered financial planner at Walden Capital, said investor responsibility is a difficult topic.
Companies handling investments have had the most skilled persons reports commissioned into their activities by the Financial Conduct Authority in the most recent quarter.
Between April and June the regulator commissioned 17 reviews, which it orders a third party to carry out when it has concerns about a regulated firms activities.
Of these 17, five were commissioned into stockbroking firms, four into investment management firms and three into personal investment firms.
The remaining five were carried out into banks, general insurance brokers and other firms.
Most of the FCAs concerns during the past quarter related to conduct of business, with 12 reviews looking into this.
In December the FCA published a thematic review into the UKs 600bn wealth management industry.
It revealed that investors at some companies were being offered unsuitable investment portfolios and the FCA said it was considering investigating five firms, including using skilled person reviews to do so.
The FCA said many wealth managers still have to make substantial improvements in gathering, recording and regularly updating customer information to support the investment portfolios they manage for customers.
The regulator was been asked whether the reviews it commissioned in the last quarter related to its thematic review but it declined to comment.
During the previous quarter - between January and March - the largest number of the reviews commissioned by the FCA were into banks, with four ordered by the regulator out of a total of 10.
Only two were commissioned into investment-related firms - one into a stockbroker and another into an investment management firm.
The reviews during this period were mainly conducted into client assets.
A farm business has won a legal test case after challenging a ruling by the Rural Payments Agency that it was unable to activate Single Payment Scheme entitlements against land which was only available for a short period.
T & S King, a husband and wife farming partnership, took the case to the High Court after a protracted fight with the RPA and Defra.
The problem arose after the Kings sold their farm in Lincolnshire with the intention of buying a farm in Scotland to be closer to ageing parents.
See also: 1.3m payout in Cowshed Cinderella case slashed on appeal
The farm was sold in 2007 and the Kings retained the Single Farm Payment entitlements. However, it took three years for them to find another farm which left them with 135.99 SPS entitlements and no land on which to activate them.
While the Kings carried on farming during 2007-2010, renting land under a series of short-term arrangements, none of the agreements were suitable for activating their entitlements.
Concerned that they would lose them if they were not claimed against, the family was advised by a land agent that they could enter into a short-term agreement with a farm in Somerset which had eligible land, but no entitlements to claim against it.
Farm Business Tenancy
In 2009, the Kings entered a Farm Business Tenancy with the Wakely family for a block of land for a 10-day period from 10-20 May 2009. This gave them control of the land for the crucial 15 May date thus enabling an SPS claim. A similar approach was taken in 2010 and 2011.
In return, the Wakelys were contracted to maintain the land in good agricultural and environmental condition throughout the whole of the year.
In late 2011, once the Kings had moved to Scotland they applied to the RPA to transfer their entitlements in order to sell them.
However, the RPA refused their request ruling that the arrangement with the farm in Somerset was artificial and had no commercial purpose other than obtaining entitlement payments. It argued this fell foul of Article 30 of the EU Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 and was contrary to the objectives of the scheme.
The Kings were told they would have to repay all subsidy paid to them in 2009 and 2010 and the entitlements would be returned to the national reserve under use it or lose it rules.
But a High Court ruling published in July has reversed this decision.
Justice Cranston acknowledged that the arrangement was artificial, but said it was not against the objectives of the scheme.
He pointed out that the Kings sold their farm for quite legitimate reasons, made genuine efforts to locate a new one, but faced difficulties in doing so.
During the search the Kings were also still engaged in full-time farming, but not on land which enabled them to activate their entitlements under the scheme.
Agreement
The contract farming agreement between the Kings and the Wakelys also meant the Wakelys were bound to maintain the land in good agricultural and environmental condition throughout the whole of the year.
Jonathan Carroll, partner with solicitors Cartmell Shepherd, said: In the context of a proper farmer, and with the land being kept as the scheme would require, the judge found that the scheme objectives had not been breached and therefore the level of artificiality in the arrangement did not matter.
One can only speculate, but it is a fair bet that a non-farmer might have got a different result, and might still.
The case gives a reminder to those advising potential BPS claimants not to get too clever, but gives genuine farmers some comfort that the courts will not make their lives harder than, in many cases, they already are.
Bluetongue is a viral disease of both sheep and cattle, with sheep being the most severely affected.
The virus is spread by biting midges, so the risk rises when it is warm, particularly in the summer and autumn in Europe.
The disease has a significant effect on production as there is a high mortality rate among infected animals, and those that survive the virus, will lose condition with a reduction in meat and wool production.
Symptoms include:
Mouth ulcers
Mucus discharge
Swelling of the head and neck
Red skin
Lameness
See the NADIS website for detailed information on bluetongue in cattle and sheep.
Vets stress that vaccination should be seriously considered by UK farmers to protect their animals from the virus.
With vaccinations now available, we spoke to independent vet Andy Adler, director of Synergy Farm Health, to find out which farm and stock is most at risk and when vaccinations should be carried out.
See also: Bluetongue vaccines available for cattle and sheep
1. How should farmers assess the risk level on their farm?
Assessing risk is difficult. It really is up to farmers to decide what level of risk they are prepared to accept.
What we do know is that sheep are more at risk of clinical signs than cattle and the government has estimated an 80% risk of bluetongue coming to the UK from France at the end of the summer. The vaccine is the only way to prevent the illness.
Additionally, if the disease comes to the UK there will be a significant no-movement zone created and only vaccinated animals will be able to be moved from the zone.
Southern counties in the UK, particularly Devon, Somerset, Dorset and Hampshire, are at high risk geographically as they are the closest to northern France, where the disease is expected to spread from.
There is no official vaccine programme, so farmers need to speak with their vets to make an informed decision based on their own situation.
2. How should vaccination be carried out effectively and when does immunity kick in?
The vaccine is straightforward and consists of two injections given four weeks apart. Immunity is provided 25 days after the second injection.
3. Which animals should be vaccinated against the virus?
Animals thought to be most at risk of the disease should be vaccinated this would naturally be sheep and those that are pregnant.
However, all animals are at some risk, although the clinical signs and economic loss might not be as severe in other situations.
Farmers need to be aware of the economic cost of not being able to move infected cattle out of the no-movement zone and this may also be an indication for vaccination.
4. When should animals be vaccinated?
Obviously animals should be vaccinated before the onset of clinical signs of the disease. Farmers concerned about the risk of an outbreak in their livestock should begin vaccinating as soon as possible.
Those who are prepared to wait and see if the disease reaches the UK need to bear in mind that the vaccine takes nearly two months to become effective.
Farmers should also consider that there will only be a limited number of doses of the vaccine available in the UK. If bluetongue does spread from France to the UK, that supply will be taken up very quickly.
5. How long will the vaccination last and should it be done more than once?
The vaccination gives protection for one year. Once we know the spread of the disease this year, vets will be able to advise on animals that have been vaccinated this year and whether they will need to have a booster next year.
6. Are there any dangers associated with vaccination, such as increased abortion risk or other side effects?
There are no reported contra-indications for this vaccine and it is safe to use in pregnancy.
As with all vaccines, it should only be used on healthy animals and handling stress should be kept to a minimum.
7. What does the vaccine cost?
The cost of the vaccine will vary throughout the country and farmers should speak to their local vets. The vaccine is only available in batches of 50 doses, so buying for small numbers of livestock will be more expensive.
8. Should farmers speak to their vet about the vaccination? And must vets administer the vaccine or can farmers do it themselves?
The vaccine is a prescription-only medication and therefore farmers must always speak to their vets first. However, farmers are able to administer the vaccine themselves.
Pirates of the Caribbean 5 Release Date, News & Update: New Casts Revealed; Captain Sparrows Last Sail? End to Depps Iconic Character?
"Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales" is said to be released on May 26, 2017. Several fans are now to know more about the plot details of the upcoming "Pirates of the Caribbean 5" movie.
'Pirates of the Caribbean 5' latest news and updates
Orlando Bloom, the actor who plays the character of Will Turner, has revealed interesting updates on the "Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales" story line. There are rumors that Keira Knightly will also make a return in "Pirates of the Caribbean 5."
The 39-year-old actor Orlando Bloom mentioned that "Pirates of the Caribbean 5" could twist around Will Turner and his son. There is a possibility that the producers are thinking about a reboot of the entire franchise.
According to Headlines & Global News, Disney is not interested in doing the "Pirates of the Caribbean 6" and this also means that this might be the final appearance of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. The filming of the sixth part is simultaneous with the "Pirates of the Caribbean 5," but the production didn't turn out the way it was planned.
'Pirates of the Caribbean 5' cast and roles
Regarding the other casts of the "Pirates of the Caribbean 5" movie, Geoffrey Rush is rumoured to be returning back as Captain Barbosa and Javier Bardem will play the role of Captain Brand, who is the new villain of the movie. According to the movies IMBD page, Maze Runner's Kaya Scodelario will play the role of Carina Smyth, an academician and astronomer who fights for the rights of women to pursue a university degree.
However, Brenton Thwaites will also be playing the role of Henry Turner, who turns out to be Will Turners son, in "Pirates of the Caribbean 5". This young actor also starred at the movies "The Giver" and, recently, "Gods of Egypt." Meanwhile, Javier Bardem will be playing the role of Captain Salazar, the one who has a beef to settle with Captain Jack Sparrow for his brother's death. Bardem's role is to destroy all pirates that are alive.
"Pirates of the Caribbean 5" is expected to be released in May 26, 2017. Stay tuned to GamenGuide for more "Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales" news and updates!
Marco Polo Season 3 Air Date, Spoilers, News & Update: More Deaths, Bed Scenes & Rivalries Are Coming? Netflix Finally Renewed Series?
Millions of fans are now excited for the upcoming airing of "Marco Polo" Season 3. Now, new reports are claiming that the imminent season will follow a sexier and darker storyline, making the show a must-watch.
'Marco Polo' Season 3 to feature more bed scenes, deaths and rivalries
Recent reports are claiming that "Marco Polo" Season 3 is going to feature more deaths, bed scenes and rivalries. Sources have claimed that this is the only way viewers will remain hooked to the Netflix series.
As a matter of fact, John Prester is said to become the focus on the "Marco Polo" Season 3, which fans consider as a threat to Kublai Khan. Most viewers think that the background story of John Prester is an interesting topic to talk about in the popular series.
For starters, the story of John Prester has led countless treasure hunters to discover the abundance of his kingdom. Should this story be included in the upcoming installment, "Marco Polo" Season 3 is totally going to become more interesting and informative.
Netflix cancels 'Marco Polo' Season 3 due to poor ratings & low budget
Meanwhile, GamenGuide has previously reported that "Marco Polo" Season 3 might not be pushed through after the ratings of Season 2 significantly dropped. Reports are saying that the second installment of the show failed to surpass the expectations of the fans, making it far less successful that Season 1.
Another factor that made the management scrap the idea of having "Marco Polo" Season 3 is the very low budget allotted for the Netflix series. It can never be denied that the show has the most expensive production cost in the history of television.
To recall, STARZ has sold the series to Netflix for some million dollars. However, it seems like no "Marco Polo" Season 3 is happening with the show's plummeting ratings and low budget. Though these reports could be true, no official word for the management and production team has been made public as of yet.
"Marco Polo" Season 3 is expected to be released in 2017. Stay tuned to GamenGuide for more "Marco Polo" Season 3 spoilers, news and updates!
After promise of protection, land needs to be restored to be used.
The Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives at Oregon State Universitys Valley Library is celebrating its third anniversary with expanded collecting areas.
The collection is broadening its reach to include the history of home brewing, cider, mead, barley farming and research, and the pre-Prohibition eras. In August 2013, the librarys Special Collections and Archives Research Center established the first archives in the country dedicated to collecting materials related to the history of hops and craft brewing.
"We are so proud of the support we've gotten over the past three years and are excited to broaden our collecting areas to cover more topics, more time periods, and more territories," said Tiah Edmunson-Morton, an archivist at Oregon States Valley Library and the curator for the librarys Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives.
The archives includes the papers of world-renowned beer historian Fred Eckhardt; oral histories with growers, brewers and scientists; the records of the Oregon Hop Growers Association; extensive industry periodicals and book collections; homebrew club newsletters; photographs; memorabilia and advertising materials from Oregon breweries; and OSU research on plant disease, breeding and processing that dates to the 1890s.
To celebrate the expansion of the collecting areas and the three-year anniversary, the archives is releasing a photo per day for three months beginning on Aug. 1.
The photos will be on The Brewstorian blog (http://thebrewstorian.tumblr.com/and OHBA's Twitter and Facebook pages. For more information http://guides.library.oregonstate.edu/brewingarchives.
Simple logic, without using any math, suggests that if a park has area greater than 2 square miles (2 5/54 square miles or 113/54 square miles) and it is just over a half-mile in length (5/9 miles), then the only way to get an area greater than 2 square miles is if the width is greater than a mile. Choice B was only 5/6 mile. Think of a rectangle that is 1 mile by 2 miles (2 square miles). If it were only a half-mile long, it would need to be 4 miles wide in order to have the same area of 2 square miles.
Hawaiis new gun law, as described in Gary Richards July 7 letter, concerned me, so I decided to research Hawaiis laws. This is what I learned:
Felons and the mentally ill cannot own or possess firearms.
All guns must be registered when purchased.
When purchasing a firearm a federal background check is performed, including sending a fingerprint to the FBI Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System. When the background check is completed the fingerprint is destroyed.
In June 2016 the governor signed three new laws:
1. Harassment by stalking or sexual assault prevents a person from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition.
2. Police can seize firearms and ammunition from a person who has been disqualified from ownership due to mental problems.
3. Gun owners were added to the FBIs Rap Back program.
In the Rap Back program fingerprints are not destroyed after a background check but retained in the Fingerprint Identification System. If a Hawaiian gun owner is arrested in another state for a felony, the state of Hawaii will be notified. The Rap Back database is usually for positions of trust," such as school teachers and bus drivers. Hawaii is the first state to use it for gun owners.
The Rap Back law appears to fill a knowledge gap for Hawaii law enforcement about potential felons and the guns they own.
Michael Bomar
Corvallis (July 15)
In the 1990s the Oregon State University administration declared it would be its goal to make the OSU School of Engineering one of the top five in the nation! Yay!
Twenty years later, OSU is tied at No. 77 with Syracuse and Stephens Institute of Technology in Hoboken. Of the three, Stephens has about twice as many graduate students as OSU. The only Pac-12 school that ranks below OSU is Washington State University, tied at No. 80. Since the University of Oregon is not ranked in the top 100, OSU can boast about having the best school of engineering in Oregon. However, since the University of Washington is tied with Harvard at No. 24, OSU can only boast about being one of the two top engineering schools in the Northwest.
Recently, I heard that the administration has proposed a goal of making a program in music production at OSU the best on the West Coast. It is clear these folks are high on high-per-bole and low on I.Q. (Information Quota) The dean and subdeans and lower than subdeans and vice deans all start with the same problem that surfaced in the engineering fiasco. They don't know what theyre talking about. They dont recognize the competition (e.g. Clackamas Community College is years ahead).
I wonder what the next grand proposal will be. Corvallis as the new Ashland? MIT? Stanford?
One thing they have accomplished, though. Thousands of new students. Noticed how much busier Corvallis is now during the summer with all those extra students and cars? Aint it wunnerful?
Michael Coolen
Corvallis (July 24)
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
Telecommunications : Investigation of espionage which was aimed at Telekom
BONN An employee is accused of taking 150,000 euro to pass on information to a Chinese firm.
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Legal authorities in Bonn are investigating allegations of espionage which was aimed at Deutsche Telekom. Rheinische Post reported that a manager of the Chinese telecommunications corporation ZTE bribed a Telekom employee to gain classified information. It is alleged that the employee was paid 150,000 euros.
Telekom confirmed a compliance violation by an employee from the purchasing company BuyIn. Because of investigations, Telekom would not comment on what kind of information was breached. Deutsche Telekom said they expected a full explanation from ZTE, one of Chinas largest telecommunications equipment manufacturers.
BuyIn has filed a complaint and the employee is no longer with the company. Also being investigated on suspicion of bribery are two ZTE managers. Deutsche Telekom has filed criminal charges against both of them, who apparently have gone into hiding. At a raid in February, they both disappeared and it was said that their offices had been unusually well cleaned up.
At the ZTE head office in China, the corporation said it would fully cooperate with Telekom to provide an explanation for what happened. The telecommunications manufacturer said it first learned of the charges in the report from the Rheinische Post.
clarajancita at 2-08-2016 10:29 AM (6 years ago) (f)
Speaker, Yakubu Dogara might be in serious trouble as members of the House of Representatives have become divided over his involvement in the alleged budget padding. There was obvious tension in the House of Representatives on Monday over an alleged plot to remove the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara for his involvement in the budget padding allegations made by a former Chairman of the Committee on Appropriation, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin.
Speaker, Yakubu Dogara might be in serious trouble as members of the House of Representatives have become divided over his involvement in the alleged budget padding. There was obvious tension in the House of Representatives on Monday over an alleged plot to remove the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara for his involvement in the budget padding allegations made by a former Chairman of the Committee on Appropriation, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin.
According to reporters, members on vacation were forced to rush from their vacation spots to meetings in Abuja where the alleged plot was discussed. Even after the Majority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila had urged members to calm down while urging members to have faith in the leadership of the House under Dogara, there is still palpable fear of the unknown.
Gbajabiamila had since maintained a sealed lips over the budget brouhaha since it started on July 21. Gbajabiamila had refused to speak openly in support of Jibrin or Dogara, and the three other principal officers whom Jibrin had accused of padding the 2016 Budget. The others are the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Yussuff Lasun; the Chief Whip, Mr. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa; and the Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor.
It was learnt that some persons in the House in a text message that members of the House received on Monday accused Gbajabiamila of siding with Jibrin to remove Dogara because of his silence.
According to reporters, members on vacation were forced to rush from their vacation spots to meetings in Abuja where the alleged plot was discussed. Even after the Majority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila had urged members to calm down while urging members to have faith in the leadership of the House under Dogara, there is still palpable fear of the unknown.Gbajabiamila had since maintained a sealed lips over the budget brouhaha since it started on July 21. Gbajabiamila had refused to speak openly in support of Jibrin or Dogara, and the three other principal officers whom Jibrin had accused of padding the 2016 Budget. The others are the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Yussuff Lasun; the Chief Whip, Mr. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa; and the Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor.It was learnt that some persons in the House in a text message that members of the House received on Monday accused Gbajabiamila of siding with Jibrin to remove Dogara because of his silence. Quote This group circulated a text message among members, giving the impression that there would be a leadership change in the House. They attempted to re-open the old Dogara-Gbajabiamila rivalry and create mayhem, a senior legislative official told us in Abuja on Monday.
It read, a senior legislative official told us in Abuja on Monday.It read, Quote Plot to destabilise the leadership of the House of Reps has taken a new dimension as the Attorney-General of the Federation, working with Gbajabiamila, Jibrin and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, has drafted charges to arraign and detain principal officers of the House so that the Transparency Group, who recently met with Tinubus wife, will effect a leadership change with Gbajabiamila as Speaker and Jibrin as the Deputy.
This is why Jibrin did not mention Femi (Gbajabiamila) in his allegations. The 8th House wont be anybodys rubber stamp. We will resist them like the Senate resisted them, the message read.
It was the message being circulated that prompted Gbajabiamila to write members to calm them, urging them to disregard the text. He also explained that he had kept silent to avoid his comments being mistaken for taking sides. Gbajabiamila told members that he chose to break his silence because the text message gave the wrong signal.
Gbajabiamila however sent a text message to other members.
It read in part, This is why Jibrin did not mention Femi (Gbajabiamila) in his allegations. The 8th House wont be anybodys rubber stamp. We will resist them like the Senate resisted them, the message read.It was the message being circulated that prompted Gbajabiamila to write members to calm them, urging them to disregard the text. He also explained that he had kept silent to avoid his comments being mistaken for taking sides. Gbajabiamila told members that he chose to break his silence because the text message gave the wrong signal.Gbajabiamila however sent a text message to other members.It read in part, Quote Since the budget controversy that engulfed the House about a week ago, I have pointedly maintained a dignified silence. I did this for the sake of the institution that I represent and which I have laboured hard to grow and protect, knowing that whatever I say could be impactful both within the House and outside it.
I was determined to keep in place the glue that holds an otherwise fragmented House, protect its integrity and at same time avoid eroding the little confidence and vestiges of hope Nigerians have in us.
Unfortunately, the controversy has now taken a different turn following the rather strange text making the rounds among members about my complicity in this rather sordid matter. I am being dragged into an arena I tried very hard to stay out of for the good of the House.
The speakership election has come and gone. The election was divisive and acrimonious, but I have worked hard to heal the wounds, some of which still fester among members on both sides. It is my responsibility to bring together all tendencies in the House and I have worked well with the Speaker and all other principal officers in the interest of the institution and the country.
The text message, which desperately seeks to finger me in some macabre plot to destabilise the House, is a throwback and echoes our dark post-speakership election history. The resurfacing of the faceless text messengers will not help us as a House, and let me quickly add that it will fail.
My strongest critics and biggest political adversaries in the House cannot deny the fact that my commitment has always been to strengthen the legislature and its processes and our democracy as a whole.
I consider everyone a friend and colleague and urge that as we collectively work towards a stronger legislature and strive to deepen our democracy, we do not pull back the hands of the clock or lose sight of the enormous responsibility placed upon us by providence as members of a critical arm of government.
On Jibrins budget padding allegations, Gbajabiamila noted that judgment could not be passed on any official based on mere allegations.
He stressed that before the law, an accused remained innocent until proven guilty.
On Jibrins budget padding allegations, Gbajabiamila noted that judgment could not be passed on any official based on mere allegations.He stressed that before the law, an accused remained innocent until proven guilty. Quote It is clear that our budget process needs radical reform. Allegations have been made, but I strongly believe that judgment should not be passed based on allegations. We operate a constitutional democracy and we must at all times submit to its dictates and ethos. All parties are innocent until otherwise proven. This should be our guide. I plead with all members; the mudslinging must stop, Gbajabiamila added.
As the crisis continues, Jibrin on Monday submitted copies of his petition against Dogara to the EFCC, ICPC and the DSS. Gbajabiamila added.As the crisis continues, Jibrin on Monday submitted copies of his petition against Dogara to the EFCC, ICPC and the DSS.
Post Reply I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 2-08-2016 10:29 AM (6 years ago) | Hero
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FBI Employee Pleads Guilty to Acting in the United States as an Agent of the Chinese Government
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, August 1, 2016
Defendant Collected and Caused Sensitive FBI Information to be Provided to the Chinese Government
Kun Shan Chun, a native of the People's Republic of China and a naturalized U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty today to a criminal information charging him with acting in the United States as an agent of China without providing prior notice to the Attorney General.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York and Assistant Director in Charge Diego P. Rodriguez of the FBI's New York Field Office made the announcement.
Chun, aka Joey Chun, 46, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV of the Southern District of New York. He was an employee of the FBI until his arrest on March 16, 2016.
"Kun Shan Chun violated our nation's trust by exploiting his official U.S. Government position to provide restricted and sensitive FBI information to the Chinese Government," said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. "Holding accountable those who work as illegal foreign agents to the detriment of the United States is among the highest priorities of the National Security Division."
"Americans who act as unauthorized foreign agents commit a federal offense that betrays our nation and threatens our security," said U.S. Attorney Bharara. "And when the perpetrator is an FBI employee, like Kun Shan Chun, the threat is all the more serious and the betrayal all the more duplicitous. Thanks to the excellent investigative work of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division, the FBI succeeded in identifying and rooting out this criminal misconduct from within its own ranks."
"No one is above the law, to include employees of the FBI," said Assistant Director in Charge Rodriguez. "We understand as an agency we are trusted by the public to protect our nation's most sensitive information, and we have to do everything in our power to uphold that trust."
According to the complaint, the information and statements made during today's court proceeding:
In approximately 1997, Chun began working at the FBI's New York Field Office as an electronics technician assigned to the Computerized Central Monitoring Facility of the FBI's Technical Branch. In approximately 1998, and in connection with his employment, the FBI granted Chun a Top Secret security clearance and his duties included accessing sensitive, and in some instances classified, information. In connection with a progressive recruitment process, Chun received and responded to taskings from Chinese nationals and at least one Chinese government official (Chinese Official-1), some, if not all, of whom were aware that Chun worked at the FBI. On multiple occasions prior to his arrest in March 2016, at the direction of Chinese government officials, Chun collected sensitive FBI information and caused it to be transmitted to Chinese Official-1 and others, while at the same time engaging in a prolonged and concerted effort to conceal from the FBI his illicit relationships with these individuals.
Beginning in 2006, Chun and some of his relatives maintained relationships with Chinese nationals purporting to be affiliated with a company in China named Zhuhai Kolion Technology Company Ltd. (Kolion). Chun maintained an indirect financial interest in Kolion, including through a previous investment by one of his parents. In connection with these relationships, Chinese nationals asked Chun to perform research and consulting tasks in the United States, purportedly for the benefit of Kolion, in exchange for financial benefits, including partial compensation for international trips.
Between 2006 and 2010, Chun's communications and other evidence reflect inquiries from purported employees of Kolion to Chun while he was in the United States, as well as efforts by the defendant to collect, among other things, information regarding solid-state hard drives.
In approximately 2011, during a trip to Italy and France partially paid for by the Chinese nationals, Chun was introduced to Chinese Official-1, who indicated that he worked for the Chinese government and that he knew Chun worked for the FBI. During subsequent private meetings conducted abroad between the two, Chinese Official-1 asked questions regarding sensitive, non-public FBI information. During those meetings, Chun disclosed, among other things, the identity and potential travel patterns of an FBI Special Agent.
In approximately 2012, the FBI conducted a routine investigation relating to Chun's Top Secret security clearance. In an effort to conceal his relationships with Chinese Official-1 and the other Chinese nationals purporting to be affiliated with Kolion, Chun made a series of false statements on a standardized FBI form related to the investigation. Between 2000 and March 16, 2016, Chun was required by FBI policy to disclose anticipated and actual contact with foreign nationals during his international travel, but he lied on numerous pre- and post-trip FBI debriefing forms by omitting his contacts with Chinese Official-1, other Chinese nationals and Kolion.
On multiple occasions, Chinese Official-1 asked Chun for information regarding the FBI's internal structure. In approximately March 2013, Chun downloaded an FBI organizational chart from his FBI computer in Manhattan. Chun later admitted to the FBI that, after editing the chart to remove the names of FBI personnel, he saved the document on a piece of digital media and caused it to be transported to Chinese Official-1 in China.
Chinese Official-1 also asked Chun for information regarding technology used by the FBI. In approximately January 2015, Chun took photos of documents displayed in a restricted area of the FBI's New York Field Office, which summarized sensitive details regarding multiple surveillance technologies used by the FBI. Chun sent the photographs to his personal cell phone and later admitted to the FBI that he caused the photographs to be transported to Chinese Official-1 in China.
In approximately February 2015, the FBI caused an undercover employee (UCE) to be introduced to Chun. The UCE purported to be a U.S. citizen who was born in China and working as a consultant to several firms, including an independent contractor for the Department of Defense, among other entities.
During a recorded meeting in March 2015, Chun told the UCE about his relationship with Kolion and Chinese nationals and later explained to the UCE that Kolion had "government backing," and that approximately five years prior a relative met a "section chief" whom Chun believed was associated with the Chinese government.
In another recorded meeting in June 2015, Chun told the UCE that he had informed his Chinese associates that the UCE was a consultant who might be in a position to assist them. Chun said that he wished to act as a "sub-consultant" to the UCE and wanted the UCE to "pay" him "a little bit." In July 2015, after coordinating travel to meet Chun's Chinese associates, Chun met with the UCE in Hungary twice. During one of the meetings, Chun stated that he knew "firsthand" that the Chinese government was actively recruiting individuals who could provide assistance and that the Chinese government was willing to provide immigration benefits and other compensation in exchange for such assistance. The UCE told Chun that he had access to sensitive information from the U.S. government. Chun responded that his Chinese associates would be interested in that type of information and that Chun expected a "cut" of any payment that the UCE received for providing information to the Chinese government.
The count of acting in the United States as an agent of China without providing notice to the Attorney General carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
The FBI's Counterintelligence Division investigated the case. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emil J. Bove III and Andrea L. Surratt of the Southern District of New York's Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit, with assistance provided by Trial Attorneys Thea D. R. Kendler and David C. Recker of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
16-884
National Security Division (NSD)
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Coalition Strikes Target ISIL Terrorists in Iraq, Syria
From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release
SOUTHWEST ASIA, Aug. 1, 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.
Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Strikes in Syria
Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 10 strikes in Syria:
-- Near Manbij, eight strikes struck eight separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL vehicle and ISIL-used engineering equipment.
-- Near Mara, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions.
Additionally, due to an administrative error, one strike was misreported near Raqqah on the July 31 release. The correct assessment reads:
-- Near Raqqah, three strikes destroyed six ISIL excavators.
Strikes in Iraq
Attack, bomber, fighter, remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted 10 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:
-- Near Haditha, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
-- Near Hit, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL fueling station.
-- Near Mosul, two strikes struck an ISIL headquarters and suppressed an ISIL mortar system.
-- Near Qayyarah, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL vehicles, two ISIL mortar systems, an ISIL-used road and two ISIL assembly areas.
-- Near Ramadi, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL vehicle, and an ISIL heavy machine gun.
-- Near Tal Afar, a strike struck an ISIL vehicle.
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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RIMPAC 16: U.S. Marines, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force team up for beach landing
US Marine Corps News
By Staff Sgt. Jesse Stence | August 1, 2016
U.S. Marines and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members teamed up for an amphibious beach landing exercise at Pyramid Rock today during the final phase Rim of Pacific 2016.
The beach landing included close air support from FA-18 Hornets, followed by three waves of assault amphibious vehicles landing alongside Japanese combat rubber raiding craft.
As the AAVs launched from USS San Diego, Hornets with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 soared over Pyramid Rock. The fighters simulated an air strike to soften the enemy defenses on the beach for a landing force of JGSDF members and Marines with Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.
The Marines rolled ashore aboard AAVs from Combat Assault Company, 3rd Marine Regiment as JGSDF members debarked their raiding craft. The allied forces then consolidated on the beach to establish a lodgment and prepare for follow-on offensive operations.
AH-1W Cobras circled overhead providing close air support for machine-gun teams, mortarmen, and riflemen assaulting through the objective, toward the enemy-held airfield.
According to U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Ray Descheneaux, the commanding general for Fleet Marine Forces during RIMPAC 16, the exercise was executed successfully due to careful planning and progressive training.
Service members from nations throughout the Pacific began RIMPAC 16 by building fundamental amphibious skills together on the shores of Oahu. U.S. Marines taught their partnered and allied forces from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Tonga how to safely board and de-board helicopters. Special civilian-contracted instructors taught them water survival techniques to help them escape from aircraft downed over water.
After familiarizing themselves with the fundamentals, the multinational force left Oahu for ranges on the Island of Hawaii and open ocean off the coast. There they conducted a variety of platoon and company-level tactics to hone skills that would apply to a larger amphibious combat scenario. Descheneaux explained that all of this preparation is coming together now, during events like the amphibious landing.
The general called the amphibious assault a success and attributed it to a collective effort to overcome communication barriers and variation in tactics among participating forces.
"Collectively, that communication piece was the foundation," said Descheneaux. "Building on that communication piece with common tactics, techniques and proficiencies was absolutely pivotal, and it really set the success here in Hawaii "
The Marines and JGSDF members involved in the beach landing are currently supporting Provisional Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Hawaii, a Marine Air Ground Task Force commanded by 3rd Marines. The brigade has been a multinational force since July 16, 2016 and will dissolve upon the conclusion of the exercise.
The operation was commanded by PMEB-HI, which is headquartered on USS America, along with U.S. Navy Amphibious Squadron 3. PMEB-HI executed command and control from this amphibious platform, just off the coast.
Overall, approximately 25,000 personnel from 26 nations are participating in RIMPAC 16, the world's largest international maritime exercise. The purpose of the exercise is to build strategic partnership between participating nations and increase safety across the world's sea lanes and oceans.
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Pacific Partnership Arrives in Malaysia
Navy News Service
Story Number: NNS160801-04
Release Date: 8/1/2016 10:19:00 AM
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Lindsey E. Skelton, Commander, Task Force 73 Public Affairs
KUANTAN, Malaysia (NNS) -- Pacific Partnership arrived in Kuantan Aug. 1, embarked aboard hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), marking the first time Pacific Partnership has visited Malaysia, although Malaysia has provided teams to support the mission since 2006.
Malaysian civilian and military leadership led planning for Pacific Partnership 2016 activities, where personnel from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea and the United States will work side-by-side with the their Malaysian counterparts, conducting subject-matter expert exchanges to improve regional disaster preparedness and resiliency, focusing on multilateral cooperation. As the fourth mission stop of Pacific Partnership 2016, specific activities include a search and rescue (SAR) seminar followed by a live SAR exercise, medical seminars, civil engineering projects and community relations events. The Pacific Partnership engineering team consisting of U.S. Navy Seabee and Malaysian Armed Forces engineers is scheduled to renovate two schools while in Kuantan.
"We have two major job sites in Malaysia," said Construction Electrician 2nd Class Ernest Cherwin, assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion 1 of San Diego and crew leader for an elementary school restoration project in Kuantan. "Most of our work is meant to improve the quality of the sites we visit and learn from our partners."
Pacific Partnership's first visit to Malaysia highlights the evolving nature of the mission from past Pacific Partnership missions.
"The unique nature of [the mission] is how this really is an exchange of professionals, of partners," said Cmdr. Miguel A. Gutierrez, director of medical operations and planning, Pacific Partnership 2016. "In every country we've been to there have been different levels of medical capabilities. Malaysia, by all accounts, has world class medical capabilities, so our big thing here is a focus on high-end medical exchange."
Kuantan will not only be host to Pacific Partnership 2016, but will simultaneously host the Asia Pacific Military Health Exchange (APMHE) symposium. Mission medical personnel from Medical Treatment Facility Mercy will participate in the symposium, attending lectures both ashore and hosted aboard Mercy.
"We are [hosting] a maritime conference that APMHE is putting together," said Gutierrez. "We are offering our facilities here on board Mercy for them to utilize."
Most medical exchanges will take place in facilities in Kuantan with a few procedures happening aboard Mercy, according to Gutierrez. There will also be an opportunity for Pacific Partnership personnel to work alongside Malaysian medical teams in the field.
Pacific Partnership 2016 completed missions in Timor Leste, the Philippines, and Vietnam, with an additional mission operating simultaneously in Palau until Aug. 15, led by Japanese Maritime Self Defense Forces aboard JS Shimokita (LST 4002). Upon departure from Kuantan Pacific Partnership 2016 will make its final stop in Indonesia.
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Blackhawks Forge Ties during Operation Steele Root
Navy News Service
Story Number: NNS160801-08
Release Date: 8/1/2016 11:38:00 AM
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Barry Riley, Navy Public Affairs Support Element
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (NNS) -- Helicopter Mine Countermeasure Squadron 15 (HM-15) "Blackhawks" pilots and aircrewmen visited Fort Drum, New York, July 27, to participate in Operation Steele Root alongside the U.S. Army 1/108th Field Artillery Regiment.
During the three-day training exercise, the pilots took shifts flying over the regiment in an MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopter to perform sling-load external lifting operations.
Each pilot practiced individually lifting and moving five M777 Howitzers, a 155mm 39-caliber towed gun, testing the power and maneuvering capabilities of the aircraft.
According to HM-15 Weapons and Tactics Training Officer Lt. Jeff Spencer, the purpose of the exercise was to work with the Soldiers to provide training for rotary-wing movement of their M777 Howitzers while simultaneously providing HM-15 pilots with real-world joint heavy-lift experience and proficiency.
"For our community and our airframe, it's rare that we get operational tasking that requires this amount of coordination which pushes the limits of the aircraft and our aircrew," he said. "This real-world training provides us experience and proficiency to mitigate the risks associated with these types of missions."
This is the third year the squadron has participated in the training evolution, which is held annually in different locations around the U.S., and according to Spencer, this is a unique training opportunity that doesn't come often for the squadron.
"Our primary mission doesn't provide us much time to get out and test the full capabilities and limitations of the MH-53 like this," he said.
Naval Aircrewman (Helicopter) 1st Class Nick Borah said the training provided a unique opportunity for the aircrewmen to get hands-on experience with unusual single-point load lifting.
"We expected the Howitzer to move a bit because we're picking up something that has different snag points," said Borah. "We're used to doing this in a nice grass field with a concrete block where it's pretty much a controlled environment, so this was a good gauge to see how we need to operate under these conditions."
Naval Aircrewman (Helicopter) 1st Class Nathan Moore said he felt the joint environment and working with the Army's ground sling load crew helped build the aircrew's situational awareness.
"We train to the block and that's a base-level skill," said Moore. "Here we're adding different layers and going for a higher skill level. There were more people on the ground, different rigs and unfamiliar terrain. The field we were at had a lot more dust for the helicopter to kick up into the air, so it made us focus more, which was tricky because we also had to look out for the Army sling load team's safety as well as our own."
The pilots faced their own set of obstacles including power availability and maneuvering the aircraft with a massive amount of extra weight, explained Spencer.
"Most of the challenges we faced this year were with pushing the power limits of the aircraft, which we rarely do," said Spencer. "In these lifts, especially early on, we were operating at about 13 percent below the maximum capability of the engines, which provides us a good safety margin for training. It's something we're not used to seeing. It forces the pilots to closely monitor and manage the power output and usage of the engines."
In a real-world environment, the skills learned during Operation Steele Root could be applied during defense support of civil authorities and humanitarian aid and disaster relief, where the squadron could be tasked with taking on massive amounts of cargo and passengers, or performing external lifts similar to the training, Spencer explained.
"This airframe provides capabilities that others just can't, so it's important that we get this training, and to be ready and able to properly execute that," he said. "I think the interoperability with the Army gives us an outside perspective on how other people do things, and lets people evaluate us and see how we can better operate."
One of the most important facets was communication, explained Spencer. The high-paced training environment allowed the aircrewmen to see how they would manage the flight, and how communication flows.
"We have one intercom system and everyone is on it, and there is information about the load and what's happening on the ground that the pilot needs, that he can't physically put eyes on," he said. "In this situation, the aircrew essentially becomes the eyes for the pilot. Practicing that at this high of a level broadens capability to work together as a team, and increases the safety margin in everything we can do."
Moore said he felt the skills he and his counterparts will return home with will help broaden the capabilities of the squadron as a whole, and are essential to raising the bar in the aircrewman field.
"In the end, this type of training helps us develop better crew chiefs and a better skill level throughout the squadron and the community," said Moore.
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Proposed US military buildup in Guam outrages locals
Iran Press TV
Mon Aug 1, 2016 6:33PM
The US is proposing to bring an additional 5,000 marines to the Western Pacific island of Guam, which is already 28 percent occupied by the US military.
The move will add to the increasing tensions between the US personnel and the residents.
Human rights attorney, Julian Aguon, likened the US presence on the island to that of colonization.
"The story of militarization on Guam is inseparable from the story of colonization," Aguon said from Guam's capital, Hagatna.
He went on to explain the tense impact US personnel have on the ground, saying, "Honestly, it's hard to respond to the question of how the military impacts people on Guam because it's way too big. The military-industrial complex is in full swing here."
The new plans are thought to commence in 2022. Six thousand US military personnel are currently stationed on the island, and the new proposed 5,000 marines (two-thirds on a rotational basis) and another 1,300 dependents would nearly double their presence.
The planned US marine redeployment in Guam is thought to help reduce tensions on the Japanese island of Okinawa, where more than half of the 47,000 US military forces in Japan are stationed. In June, some 65,000 protesters called for the closure of US bases on the Japanese island.
The US territory of Guam in the northwestern Pacific Ocean also holds strategic geo-political importance. The US Navy has been operating in the disputed South China Sea, despite rising tensions with China.
The United States, too, has moved to step up its military cooperation with other allies in the region.
The presence of the US in the region has upset regional powers such as China and Russia, which say such extra-regional presence serves to inflame tensions among regional countries.
In the disputes revolving around the South China Sea, the US has sided with China's rival claimants.
Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, which is also claimed in part by Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. The contested waters are rich in oil and gas.
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Yemeni hold mass rally to support new ruling coalition
Iran Press TV
Mon Aug 1, 2016 5:34PM
Yemeni people have staged a mass rally in the capital, Sana'a, to voice their support for a new coalition government including the ruling Houthi Ansarullah movement and former president Ali Abdullah Saleh's General People's Congress party.
People gathered in the streets of Sana'a on Monday to express their support for the new alliance which they said could better counter the ongoing Saudi invasion and help Yemenis restore peace and order to their country.
The demonstrators said, however, that the armed resistance against the Saudi invasion should continue.
They also chanted slogans against Saudi Arabia, saying the regime in Riyadh is not committed to its promises to halt air strikes against Yemen to help facilitate the ongoing political negotiations in Kuwait aimed at putting an end to the conflict in the Arab country.
They also said plots to undermine the peace talks in Kuwait would go nowhere, adding that the Yemenis would never agree to a peace plan that would bring the resigned president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, back to power.
On Sunday, the Ansarullah movement and its allies rejected as unacceptable a United Nations peace plan proposed to the delegations in Kuwait, saying the plan lacked any initiative for establishing a unity government in the war-torn country.
Hadi delegation quits talks
The Saudi-backed opposing side, which represents Hadi and had initially agreed to the UN peace plan, said on Monday that it will pull out of the talks after it heard of the Houthis' opposition to the plan.
"We are leaving today after having completed our part in the talks," their spokesman Mohammed al-Emrani said, claiming that the ball is now in the court of the Houthis and their allies.
The UN plan stipulated that Houthis and their allies withdraw from three major cities they control in Yemen, including the capital, and hand over their heavy arms. That plan said political dialogue on a final solution could start if Houthis met those conditions.
Houthis and their allies said any peace plan must first forge an accord on a new consensual executive authority, including a new president and government.
Yemen peace talks began on April 21 in Kuwait City. The warring sides had agreed on a ceasefire before the negotiations began although the Houthis have repeatedly accused Saudi Arabia, which backs Hadi through air strikes and ground operation in Yemen, of violating the truce agreement.
About 10,000 people have been killed since the conflict in Yemen began in late 2014. Yemenis say most of those dead have been civilians killed in Saudi air strikes. The attacks by Riyadh are meant to reinstate Hadi.
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US military begins airstrikes against Daesh-stronghold Sirte
Iran Press TV
Mon Aug 1, 2016 4:3PM
The US military conducted airstrikes in Libya on Monday to target the Daesh stronghold of Sirte, marking the first time the US has carried out such operations in the country.
Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of Libya's unity government, announced the strikes in a televised speech.
The Pentagon press secretary, Peter Cook, also said in a statement, "At the request of the Libyan Government of National Accord, the United States military conducted precision airstrikes against ISIL targets in Sirte, Libya, to support GNA-affiliated forces seeking to defeat ISIL in its primary stronghold in Libya."
Cook added that the US strikes in Sirte "will continue," without elaborating.
Foreign forces, including from France, the US and Britain, are in Libya in a purported fight against the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group. In May, the US and the UK had both confirmed the presence of their troops in Libya.
However, Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) has denounced the presence of foreign troops as a "violation" of the country's sovereignty.
Sirte, the major stronghold of Daesh outside Iraq and Syria, fell to the Takfiri terrorists in February 2015. The full recapture of the city would be a major boost to the unity government, which has come to office through support from the United Nations.
Daesh has been taking advantage of the chaos embroiling Libya since the NATO-backed overthrow and death of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The oil-rich North African country has had two rival governments since 2014, when politician Khalifa Ghweil and his self-proclaimed government seized control of the capital, Tripoli, with the support of militia groups, forcing the internationally-recognized government to move to the remote eastern city of Tobruk.
The two governments reached a consensus on forming the GNA last December after months of UN-brokered talks in Tunisia and Morocco to restore order to the country.
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4 dead as attack on Kabul hotel used by foreigners ends
Iran Press TV
Mon Aug 1, 2016 7:4AM
A massive Taliban attack on a hotel housing foreign contractors in the Afghan capital has ended seven hours after the assault began, officials say.
One policeman lost his life and three others were wounded but none of the hotel staff or guests were hurt in the early morning attack.
The incident ended with one attacker killed when his vehicle detonated. Two other assailants were shot dead by security forces.
By Afghanistan's own standards, the casualties were limited despite the unusually loud explosion.
A truck packed with explosives struck the outer wall of the Northgate Hotel on the outskirts of Kabul at about 1.30 a.m. local time (2100 GMT Sunday) on Monday, triggering hours of clashes.
The hotel is a heavily-guarded compound favored by foreign contractors and is equipped with blast walls, watchtowers and sniffer dogs. The compound was previously attacked in July 2013.
This is the latest in a series of assaults against foreign targets in Kabul, underlining precarious security in Afghanistan, even in the capital.
Back in June, a bus carrying Nepalese security contractors who worked for the Canadian Embassy was targeted. Also in January, an attack was conducted against Camp Baron, a residential compound for foreign contractors.
Afghanistan is gripped by insecurity 15 years after the United States and its allies attacked the country as part of Washington's so-called war on terror.
The war removed the Taliban from power but insecurity is still rampant despite the presence of thousands of foreign troops.
The Taliban have intensified their attacks following the appointment of their new leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.
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Truck Bomber, Gunmen Attack Foreigners' Hotel In Kabul
August 01, 2016
by RFE/RL
A battle between Taliban gunmen and Afghan security forces raged through the night at a guesthouse and logistics facility used by foreign contractors in Kabul.
Police said a powerful truck bomb exploded at the gates of the Northgate Hotel at about 1:30 a.m. on August 1, after which militants stormed into the compound.
Roads in the neighborhood were blocked off by Afghan security forces and columns of vehicles with Afghan troops and police were deployed in the area.
Afghan media reported that forces from NATO's Resolute Force mission also were involved in what correspondents described as a "clearing operation."
Correspondents also reported hearing the sound of rocket-propelled grenades being launched and exploding within the heavily guarded compound to the east of Kabul's international airport.
Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said one attacker died when his vehicle detonated and two other militants were killed by police in the gunbattle, which is now over.
One police officer was also killed and four others were wounded.
The guests and staff at the Northgate Hotel were unharmed.
Power in parts of Kabul was briefly cut off shortly after the blast.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the truck bomb cleared the way for Taliban fighters to enter the compound with rocket-propelled grenade launchers and assault rifles.
Afghan officials did not immediately release complete casualty figures. But the BBC reports that Kabul police confirmed at least one policeman was killed and another injured by gunfire.
The Taliban, which is known to exaggerate casualties caused by its attacks, claimed that more than 100 foreigners had been killed and wounded -- calling them "American invaders."
In addition to housing foreign guests, the Northgate Hotel is a logistics facility that provides support services to foreign military and civilian contractors in Afghanistan.
In 2013, the facility was granted diplomatic status, allowing it to continue using private foreign security companies rather than the Afghan Interior Ministry's Afghan Public Protection Force.
A similar Taliban attack against the Northgate Hotel in July 2013 -- a truck bomb followed by a gun battle -- killed nine people, including four Nepalese and one Briton.
The latest attack comes about a week after the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a demonstration by members of the mainly Shi'ite Hazara minority, killing at least 80 people.
It also follows an attack in June on a convoy of Nepalese security contractors who worked for the Canadian Embassy and other attacks against foreigners in Kabul -- including a suicide attack in January at Camp Baron, a camp used by foreign contractors.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, Tolo TV, and BBC
Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/kabul-attack- northgate-hotel-taliban/27892055.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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Trump Criticized For Remarks About Muslim Parents Of Slain U.S. Soldier
August 01, 2016
by RFE/RL
Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for U.S. president, is facing harsh criticism from both Democrats and Republicans over comments he made about the grieving Muslim parents of a U.S. Army captain who was killed in Iraq.
Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate for the presidency, accused Trump of making "degrading comments about Muslims" after the soldier's Pakistani-born father and naturalized U.S. citizen, Khizr Khan, spoke out at last week's Democratic National Convention against Trump and his proposal to temporarily ban all Muslims from the United States.
On July 31, Khan called Trump a "black soul" and said Republican Party leaders should distance themselves from the Republican candidate.
Khan, whose son Humayun was killed in Iraq in 2004, said at the Democratic convention that Trump had "sacrificed nothing and no one" for the United States.
During the speech, Khan's wife, Ghazala, stood quietly by his side.
Trump, who avoided being drafted during the Vietnam war with four student deferments and a medical disqualification, responded to Khan's speech by saying: "I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. I've had tremendous success. I think I've done a lot."
Trump also said: "If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say."
Ghazala Khan spoke out against Trump in a July 31 Washington Post opinion piece, saying that she declined an offer to speak at the Democratic convention because talking about her son's death is still difficult for her.
She also said Trump does not know what it means to make a sacrifice and that "when Donald Trump is talking about Islam, he is ignorant."
Clinton on July 31 said Trump has a "total misunderstanding" of American values and has inflamed divisions in American society.
She said Trump's character is questionable because he repaid a family that made the "ultimate sacrifice" with "nothing but insults" and "degrading comments about Muslims."
John Weaver, a Republican strategist for Ohio Governor John Kasich said: "Trump's slur against Captain Khan's mother is, even for him, beyond the pale. He has no redeeming qualities."
Matt Mackowiak, another Republican strategist, said there was "only one response for Trump to the criticism: 'As an American, I deeply appreciate the patriotic sacrifice of the Khan family'."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan -- both Republicans -- have praised the sacrifices of the Khan family and Muslim Americans in the U.S. armed forces.
They both also issued fresh statements rejecting Trump's proposal to impose religious tests for entry into the United States, saying the idea is against American values.
They also called for Americans to honor the Khan family.
But both McConnell and Ryan stopped short of criticizing Trump by name for his remarks.
The Senate's Democratic leader, Harry Reid, said in a statement on July 31 that the top Republicans in Congress should revoke their endorsements of Trump.
He said saying anything less would be "cowardice."
Reid says "this shouldn't be hard" and called Trump "a sexist and racist man who insults Gold Star parents, stokes fear of Muslims, and sows hatred of Latinos."
Reid also said Republican leaders have "a moral responsibility" to say that Trump shouldn't be president.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/trump-khizr- khan-soldier-criticism/27892234.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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NATO Policing Jets Train With US Bombers in Baltic Sea
Sputnik News
20:30 01.08.2016
The exercise took place in European international airspace over the Baltic Sea and English Channel, according to NATO.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) NATO air policing jets practiced intercept procedures with US bomber crews over the Baltic Sea during the Polar Roar air exercises, NATO Allied Air Command said in a statement on Monday.
"Allied and Partner jets scrambled to train intercept procedures at designated points in the exercise, and the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force aircraft ensured command and control during operations," the statement noted.
The exercise took place in European international airspace over the Baltic Sea and English Channel, according to NATO. Danish F-16s fighter jets and Swedish JAS-39 Gripens participated in the training.
Additionally, UK Typhoons, one of the Baltic Air Policing detachments, were airborne in western Estonia while the bomber transited the Baltic Sea.
Earlier on Monday, US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) announced that three US B-52 bombers and two B-2 stealth bombers are conducting simultaneous, long-range flights to the North and Baltic Seas during the exercise.
The Polar Roar exercise is intended to demonstrate the global-strike capability of the US bomber force in integrated exercises with US allies.
Sputnik
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Riyadh: Houthi-Formed Council Not to Change Military Situation in Yemen
Sputnik News
19:37 01.08.2016(updated 19:38 01.08.2016)
The military situation in Yemen has not changed, and the formation of a supreme political council by Houthis together with the General People's Congress (GPC) will have no effect on it, Saudi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri told Sputnik Monday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) On July 28, Yemen's Shia Houthi rebel movement Ansar Allah and General People's Congress party supporting the country's ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed an agreement on creating the supreme political council for ruling the country.
"Concerning the military situation in Yemen, nothing has changed. Houthis' violations continue And no matter whether the council is formed or not, it won't change anything," Asiri said, commenting on Houthi influence in Yemen.
Since 2014, Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, which is the country's main opposition force. The Houthis are backed by army units loyal to former Yemeni President Saleh.
Since March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf countries have been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request despite a ceasefire agreed in April.
Sputnik
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UNICEF working at 'full strength' in north-east Nigeria, despite attack on aid convoy
1 August 2016 Despite an attack on a humanitarian convoy in which one of its staff members was injured, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is scaling up its response to provide assistance to thousands of conflict-affected children in Nigeria's Borno state, which has borne the brunt of violence by Boko Haram insurgents.
The agency estimates that 244,000 will suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year in Borno state alone and if they are not reached with treatment, one in five of them will die.
"We cannot let this heartless attack divert any of us from reaching the more than two million people who are in dire need of immediate humanitarian assistance," said UNICEF Nigeria Representative, Jean Gough, in a news release issued by the agency.
"The violence has disrupted farming and markets, destroyed food stocks, and damaged or destroyed health and water facilities. We absolutely have to reach more of these communities," she stressed.
Last week, unknown assailants attacked a humanitarian convoy returning from Bama in Borno state to the state capital Maiduguri after delivering desperately needed humanitarian assistance. The convoy included staff from UNICEF, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
An IOM contractor was also injured.
UNICEF said that is already working at full strength in Maiduguri and has called on donors and humanitarian organizations to scale-up the response to the emerging disaster in the state.
"Our teams were finding people living on the brink of disaster," said Jean Gough, "The violence has disrupted farming and markets, destroyed food stocks, and damaged or destroyed health and water facilities."
Before the attack, security conditions had been improving in several areas but as a result of the attack, travel by UN staff to high risk areas has been temporarily suspended.
However, despite the temporary suspension, UNICEF plans to scale-up its response in Borno state. At the beginning of the year, the agency had appealed for $55 million for its emergency work, of which $23 million has so far been received.
The agency has provided two million people with health services and treated 56,000 children for malnutrition in the three conflict-affected states of northeast Nigeria. A quarter of a million people have improved access to clean water, and over 200,000 children have been able to go back to school.
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US Conducts Strikes Against IS in Libya
by Carla Babb August 01, 2016
The U.S. military has conducted air strikes against Islamic State targets in Libya, the Pentagon said Monday.
The strikes were conducted in the Islamic State stronghold of Sirte at the request of the U.N.-backed Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), according to U.S. and Libyan officials.
The Pentagon says the president authorized the strikes in support of GNA-affiliated forces after they were recommended by Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joe Dunford.
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook told reporters Monday one strike hit an IS tank that had directly challenged GNA-aligned forces and indiscriminately targeted civilians in the area. Another strike hit two IS vehicles.
Goal to deny IS safe haven
U.S. strikes will continue to target Islamic State forces in Sirte in order to enable the GNA to "make a decisive, strategic advance" and to help deny IS a safe haven in Libya from which it could attack the U.S. and its allies, the Pentagon announced in a statement Monday.
"We want to strike at ISIL anywhere it rears its head," Cook said, using an acronym for Islamic State.
The militant group has been trying to expand in Sirte for more than a year. U.S. Africa Command's Deputy for Military Operations, Vice Admiral Michael Franken, told VOA in an interview at Africom headquarters in Stuttgart last December that "if Raqqa [Syria] is the nucleus, the nearest thing to the divided nucleus is probably Sirte."
Fighter numbers reduced
Pentagon press secretary Cook praised the progress made by the GNA-affiliated forces in Sirte, saying that IS fighter numbers have been reduced from thousands in the city to less than 1,000.
"We hope these air strikes can be conducted over a short amount of time and that their forces forces will be able to move even faster in terms of removing ISIL from that area," Cook said.
Monday's strikes mark the third American attack on IS in Libya since November, but the previous two had targeted high-value IS targets and were not requested by the GNA.
In February, U.S. warplanes attacked an IS training camp in western Libya that was near the border with Tunisia, killing dozens of terrorist recruits. Defense officials in Washington said the airstrike most likely killed senior Islamic State figure Noureddine Chouchane.
A U.S. air strike last November in the city of Derna killed Abul Nabil, the head of the Islamic State militant group in Libya, according to the Pentagon.
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Afghan Forces Declare Eastern District Free of IS
by Ayaz Gul August 01, 2016
Authorities in Afghanistan have declared a far eastern border district free of Islamic State militants, saying security forces killed nearly 300 IS militants during a month-long offensive.
Provincial governor Salim Khan Kundozi made the announcement Monday during a visit to the Kot district in Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan. Top military commanders accompanied him.
Afghan security forces are now moving into neighboring districts "to flush out Daesh terrorists from there," Kundozi said, using the Arabic acronym for the Syrian-based terrorist organization.
Authorities removed all IS-related symbols from the district and raised Afghanistan's national flag. But despite official assurances, residents say they fear IS militants may return to the area, and want the government to deploy effective security measures to prevent them.
Kabul attack
Afghan authorities, meanwhile, say that at least one police officer was killed and four others wounded when a group of Taliban militants staged a coordinated assault early Monday on a Kabul hotel frequented by foreigners.
An Interior Ministry statement says that, first, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-packed truck to breach the perimeter wall of the Northgate Hotel at around 1:30 a.m. Three gunmen then stormed the facility and started shooting.
Residents in the Afghan capital say the blast shook the city. The Taliban claimed responsibility and said the attack left a large number of people dead.
But the Islamist insurgency often exaggerates casualty numbers in such attacks.
Afghan security forces waited until dawn before engaging the attackers and killing them in a gunfight that last several hours.
Separately, fighting raged Monday between Afghan security forces and Taliban insurgents in northern and southern parts of Afghanistan.
The Taliban assaulted the Nad Ali district in restive Helmand province a day earlier. Local officials say at least 20 policemen and soldiers have died in the fighting.
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Nigerian Army Killed 348 Shiites in December Raid, Inquiry Says
by VOA News August 01, 2016
A Nigerian commission has found that the army killed 348 people from a minority Shiite Muslim sect last December and has called for the prosecution of those involved.
"The Nigerian army used excessive force," said the judicial inquiry in its report, published Monday. It said troops that took part in the three-day military raid on the northern city of Zaria should be identified "with a view to prosecuting them."
The Nigerian army raided the headquarters of Shiite Muslim leader Ibraheem Zakzaky in December, sparking three days of clashes in the area. One soldier was also killed in the violence. Zakzaky was injured in the raid and has been in detention since then.
The army accused Zakzaky's movement of attempting to kill Nigeria's army chief.
Zakzaky's group was inspired by the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. The commission report expressed concern that Zakzaky's group may receive support from Iran, as well as Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah.
The inquiry said it received thousands of documents and more than 80 witness testimonies during the course of the investigation.
The majority of Nigeria's Muslims are Sunni and live in the north. The southern part of the country is largely Christian.
Nigeria's new president, Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler, has promised to root out human rights violations by soldiers.
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New Security Laws Launched in Malaysia
by VOA News August 01, 2016
New security laws went into effect Monday in Malaysia.
Critics say the new measures give Prime Minister Najib Razak sweeping emergency powers which could be used to trample on human rights.
The new law enables Najib to suspend civil liberties whenever he believes there is a security threat.
Josef Benedict, Amnesty International's deputy director for South East Asia and the Pacific, said "the government now has spurned checks and assumed potentially abusive power."
The United Nations human rights regional office said it was "gravely concerned" that the laws may encourage human rights violations and lead to "unjust restrictions" on free speech and assembly.
The new legislation was passed as the prime minister is embroiled in a corruption scandal. Critics see the new laws as a way for Najib to hold on to power.
The prime minister has been under fire since revelations surfaced that he received about $700 million in his private bank accounts that appeared to have come from the state-owned investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad or 1MDB. Najib has denied all accusations of wrongdoing, insisting the money was a political donation from someone in the Middle East whom he has refused to identify.
In the largest initiative of its kind by the U.S. Justice Department's Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, authorities in the United Sates have initiated measures to seize more than $1 billion worth of luxury real estate, artworks, jewelry and even rights to a Hollywood movie that authorities allege were obtained with assets stolen from the 1MDB fund, which Najib founded in 2009 and now is owned by the finance ministry that the prime minister controls.
A spokesman for the prime minister has said the government will cooperate with any international probes. "As the prime minister has always maintained, if any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception."
The court filing alleges funds were laundered through bank accounts in the United States, as well as Luxembourg, Singapore and Switzerland.
The suits claims the stolen funds were used to buy penthouses, mansions, artworks and a private jet, as well as for hiring musicians and celebrities to attend parties.
Besides Malaysia and the United States other governments have been investigating 1MDB, including Singapore and Switzerland.
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Thai Charter Outcome Uncertain Ahead of Sunday Vote
by Ron Corben August 01, 2016
Up to 50 million eligible Thai voters are set to decide the future of the country's latest draft constitution, seen as crucial to the military government's 'roadmap' to fresh general elections.
But the outcome remains shrouded in uncertainty as surveys while indicating support also find 60 percent of voters 'undecided' ahead of the August 7 ballot.
The military, in power since 2014, has kept a tight hold over debate on the draft, arresting dozens of 'no' campaigners, often students, together with raids on some media offices.
Allegations have arisen that the new charter would see cuts in public health services all denied by the government.
In recent weeks, the military cleared the way for discussion of the charter on a state funded television station, Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS).
The military government has urged people to go to the polls, but analysts say few voters are likely to have read the 279 clause charter before saying 'yes' or 'no.'
Gothom Arya, a former election commission member and university lecturer, says people have insufficient information about the charter given the limited debate and the arrests of those campaigning for a 'no' vote.
"You can say that they threaten the people who try to campaign. What kind of freedom of expression when you cannot say 'No' and you cannot campaign for your opinion," Arya told VOA.
The arrests of at least 86 'no' campaigners has led the United Nations' expert on freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, to condemn the moves, saying the government should allow "rigorous debate" on the constitution.
The military has used laws supporting the referendum to criminalize the 'no' campaigners with fines and imprisonment of up to 10 years.
The draft charter, if passed, would strengthen the influence by the military in the next parliament.
Proposed tighter controls over the election of politicians in a 500 member House of Representatives and a 250 member appointed senate including key military leaders over a five year transition period have all raised criticisms. A joint sitting of both houses would elect the new prime minister and not the largest party in the House.
Kraisak Choonhavan, a member of the Democrat Party and former senator, says the tough stance taken by the military may trigger a public backlash.
"Increasingly, this method of repressing freedom of debate from the beginning and only allowing limited debate on television limited to three to four people only to talk about the draft constitution at all, will bring about a backlash against the regime and that people will eventually be turned off ever from participating at all in fact," Kraisak told VOA.
"How can you vote 'yes' or 'no' when you don't know what you're voting for in a sense that nobody knows the content of this draft constitution?" he said.
The Democrat Party, Thailand's oldest party, rejected supporting the draft charter. Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said the new constitution would not end to the political conflicts that have affected the country during the past decade as the people would have little role to play in the country's administration.
The Pheu Thai Party, backed by deposed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his family, also has called on voters to reject the draft. Thaksin's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, stepped down as prime minister shortly before the military's 2014 coup.
Samarn Lertwongrath, a senior figure in the Pheu Thai Party, says party surveys point to a close outcome on August 7, and he says he is suspicious of the military.
"The referendum according to our polls is very close. So I think to predict the result with our very cunning military men like this, they can cheat everything. So we wait and see, what can we do? [But] it's very close," Samarn told VOA.
Thailand has faced years of political conflict and protests largely between the rural and working class supporters of Thaksin, and the urban middle class and other elites, including the Democrat Party.
Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist and adviser to the government, believes the public is supportive of the constitution, and cautious after years of political turbulence.
"The mood of the general public, excluding some keen political activists and other observers, has shifted from the very important document to something like stability, continuity, progress and certainly elections, most people are expecting next year, there should be a general election and return of parliamentary democracy," Panitan said.
Analysts say the military desires to remain influential in guiding the country through an anticipated royal succession, as revered Thai King Bhumipol Adulyadej is in poor health.
Economist Supavud Saichaeu said this transition is reflected in the military's aim to maintain influence in the next parliament.
"There is a sense, if you really think about it, that the government is doing a lockdown of Thailand. That nothing is allowed to move, to change, to wiggle because of this twilight years," Supavud said.
Meechai Ruchupan, a veteran lawyer who chaired the constitution drafting committee, has called on voters to support the charter, warning of political turbulence if it is rejected. The military says if voters say 'no', they may press for elections using the existing interim constitution.
Over 10,000 police officers will be deployed on the day of the referendum. The election commission has printed more than 54 million cards for registered voters to cast their ballot.
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'America's Squadron' defend themselves during Exercise Eagle Wrath 2016
US Marine Corps News
By Lance Cpl. Aaron Henson | August 2, 2016
U.S. Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron 171, based out of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, completed the culminating event during exercise Eagle Wrath 2016 at Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji, Japan, July 29, 2016.
The purpose of the culminating event is to test the training and readiness events or Marine Corps tasks assigned to MWSS171, which pertain to air base ground defense.
During the culminating event, Marines established a mock air base that included a landing zone and refueling point, constructed defensive and machine-gun positions, and conducted convoys and patrols over the course of four days. Marines were tasked with securing a landing zone and establishing security.
"The Marine came in three waves," said U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Robert Rivera, engineer company commander with MWSS-171. "The first wave was initial security where they secured the air field so the rest of the Marines can come into a protected environment and employ the rest of their forces. Once the air field was secured, the follow-on air field services could establish services such as fuel, airfield operations and expeditionary fire rescue."
Throughout the next few days, Marines conducted patrols to build reconnaissance of the surrounding area, practiced mishap drills to maintain readiness and engaged simulated enemy contacts.
"We sent out patrols, established a listening post, and observation post and had a quick reaction force at the ready while patrols observed the areas where the enemy may be trafficking," said Rivera. "When we began our tactical retrograde, we ramped it up to troop patrols and one quick reaction force to ensure the enemy doesn't have any idea that we are in a tactical retrograde. If we up our defensive posture, the enemy will think that we are still going to be here and allow us to leave safely."
MWSS-171 conducts this exercise once a year in order to train all the Marines within the squadron, enhance their technical skills, field experience and military occupational specialty capability.
Cpl. Christian Marin, heavy equipment mechanic with MWSS-171 said by learning from his mistakes last year he was able to prepare and make this year more successful.
"Last year I was a young non-commissioned officer coming out here and learned a lot of hard lessons," said Marin. "The culminating even is where squad leaders should employ their squads, set up defensive positions and security, and send them on patrols on their own and react to the drills we have been training for. There are so many different scenarios and you can't prepare for all of them, but you can challenge yourself and let your Marines know who is in charge and what tasks need accomplished. Some of the challenges we could be tasked with are having multiple casualties, a large area to defend without enough personnel, where you want to place your landing zone and a lot of these scenarios are not in my day-to-day job. It opened my eyes to where I trained myself and my Marines prior to coming out here. This year we had platoon commanders and platoon sergeants involved, different platoons and squads, more Marines and equipment."
Known as 'America's Squadron,' MWSS-171 received assistance throughout the exercise from Combat Logistics Company 36 from MCAS Iwakuni, the Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion and Marine Air Traffic Control Mobile Team from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
"The Marines were outstanding throughout the culminating event," said Cpl. Raymond Berarducci, first platoon, platoon sergeant with MWSS-171. "For many of them, this was their first time behind some of the weapon systems such as the MK19 grenade launchers and M2 .50-caliber heavy-machine guns. We held classes building up to this event, came out here, the squad leaders directed their squads where they needed to be, and were able to accomplish the platoons mission."
To wrap up exercise Eagle Wrath 2016, 'America's squadron' will conquer Mount Fuji before packing up gear and washing down equipment.
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UN chief concerned about Saudi killing of Yemeni children
Iran Press TV
Tue Aug 2, 2016 5:4PM
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern about the number of fatalities among Yemeni children as a result of Saudi Arabia's deadly military aggression against the impoverished country.
"I still have very strong concerns about the protection of Yemeni children. They must always come first," Ban told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
Back in June, the UN blacklisted Saudi Arabia after concluding in a report that Riyadh was responsible for 60 percent of the 785 deaths of children in Yemen last year.
A few days later, however, the world body announced that Saudi Arabia would be scratched off the list, pending a joint review with the kingdom.
At the time, Ban acknowledged that he was forced to remove Riyadh from the blacklist after the regime and its allies threatened to cut off funding to many UN programs. The move triggered an outcry from human rights groups.
Last week, Saudi Arabia sent a 13-page confidential letter to the UN chief, outlining measures it claims to be taking in order to prevent civilian deaths in its war on Yemen.
However, Ban told the 15-member UN council that the Saudi measures had fallen short of safeguarding the lives of Yemeni children, adding, "We will continue our engagement to ensure that concrete measures to protect children are implemented."
He further emphasized that the content of the report that saw the kingdom being added to the UN blacklist still "stands."
Meanwhile, Jo Becker, children's rights advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, called Tuesday for Saudi Arabia to be returned to the "list of shame until it stops its indiscriminate bombardment of Yemen's civilians."
Yemen has seen almost daily military attacks by Saudi Arabia since late March 2015, with internal sources putting the death toll from the bloody aggression at about 10,000. The offensive was launched to crush the Houthis and allies and restore power to the resigned Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.
The Houthi Ansarullah 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, where an al-Qaeda affiliate is present.
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Some 60,000 flee recent South Sudan violence, bringing exodus to 900,000 since 2013 - UN
2 August 2016 Some 60,000 people have fled South Sudan's recent violence in the capital city of Juba, bringing the overall number of South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries since December 2013 to nearly 900,000, the United Nations refugee agency said today.
Refugee flows from South Sudan into Uganda have doubled in the past ten days, bringing the total to more than 52,000 since violence escalated three weeks ago. Kenya has reported the arrival of 1,000 refugees in the same period, while 7,000 have fled to Sudan, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
"The refugees bring disturbing reports that armed groups operating on roads to Uganda are preventing people from fleeing South Sudan," Melissa Fleming, UNHCR chief spokesperson, told reporters in Geneva.
The recent fighting between rival forces the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) loyal to President Salva Kiir and the SPLA in Opposition backing First Vice-President Riek Machar erupted in and around Juba, on 7 July.
New arrivals from Yei say they received letters warning them to evacuate the town in anticipation of conflict between rebel and government forces, the spokesperson said. Refugees have also reported that armed groups operating across different parts of South Sudan are looting villages, murdering civilians and forcibly recruiting young men and boys in to their ranks.
More than 85 per cent of the refugees arriving in Uganda are women and children under the age of 18, she added. Many children have lost one, or both of their parents. Most are from Eastern Equatoria, with smaller numbers from Juba and Upper Nile state. Many took advantage of the opportunity to flee alongside Ugandan military convoys evacuating Ugandan nationals.
"Improving conditions and capacities at existing reception facilities in Uganda is a key priority," Ms. Fleming said. Collection points in border areas have now been significantly decongested, although transit centres and reception centres remain severely stretched. Efforts are underway to rapidly open a new 100,000 capacity refugee settlement area in Yumbe district.
Both Kenya and Uganda are reporting rising cases of severe malnutrition, particularly among very young children, she said. Those found to be suffering are being placed on food nourishment programmes to bring them back to health.
The spokesperson said that UNHCR is reminding all parties to the conflict in South Sudan of a fundamental human right to seek asylum and urging them to ensure that civilians are provided with unhindered access to safety as the number of refugees crosses a worrying milestone.
With over 2.6 million of its citizens forcibly displaced, the world's youngest nation currently ranks among the countries with the highest levels of conflict-induced population displacement globally, she said, warning that half the population relies on humanitarian aid.
South Sudan was founded in July 2011, after it gained independence from Sudan. The country descended into conflict in December 2013 due to internal struggles between rival factions.
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South Korean Prosecutors Say North Korea Continues Cyber Attacks Against Country
Sputnik News
07:49 01.08.2016
North Korea is continuing to carry out cyber attacks against South Korean officials and experts, the South Korean Supreme Prosecutors' Office said Monday.
TOKYO (Sputnik) Some 90 South Korean government officials and experts have been targeted by cyber attacks emanating from the North, with at least 56 passwords hacked and emails stolen by North Korean hackers, South Korean prosecutors said, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency.
North Korean hackers have gained access to officials' emails, including those working for the foreign, defense and unification ministers, as well as creating 27 phishing sites on free South Korean hosts, according to the news outlet.
Last month, South Korean police said that North Korean hackers have targeted computer systems belonging to 160 large South Korean companies, government agencies and non-government organizations, infecting some 140,000 computers with malware.
North Korea is also suspected of targeting South Korea's military in two separate cyberattacks in 2014 and 2015, but no decisive evidence has been uncovered. South Korea believes that Pyongyang operates a 6,000-strong special hacker unit.
In March, South Korea's spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, reportedly said that North Korea had stolen information from dozens of Seoul top government officials' smartphones.
Sputnik
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Khizr Khan Challenges Donald Trump To Take A Naturalization Test
I challenge Trump to take the naturalization test with me any day. His is demagoguery and pandering for vote. A divider like Trump can never be the steward of this country, he said.
Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim American war hero who gave Donald Trump a lesson on citizenship at the Democratic convention last month, wants the GOP nominee to take the U.S. naturalization test.Khan, who became a United States citizen after emigrating from Pakistan in 1980, issued the challenge on Monday in reaction to a Trump foreign policy address in Youngstown, Ohio, in which the businessman proposed instituting an ideological test to visa applicants before allowing them to enter the country. Under the test, Trump said, applicants would be subjected to extreme, extreme vetting in order to screen out any who have hostile attitudes toward our country or its principles.But Khan, who lives in Virginia with his wife Ghazala, rejected such rhetoric.This is my country too, Khan told The Huffington Post in an email. We must make it safe as Muslim Americans it is our obligation to keep our country safe. We reject all violence. We support better immigration policies. We stand as a testament to assimilation and being part of patriotic America as anyone else.He then challenged Trump to take the U.S. naturalization test along with him.
Islamic State Tries to Trigger 'War of Religions' in West
by Jamie Dettmer August 01, 2016
The Islamic State (IS) is inciting supporters to mount more attacks on Christians just days after two of the terror group's sympathizers slit the throat of an 85-year-old French priest as he was celebrating Mass a killing French officials fear was a deliberate tactic to provoke a Christian backlash in France against Muslims.
The latest issue of IS's online magazine Dabiq, widely read by supporters and sympathizers, focuses on the theme of "Break the Cross." In a series of interviews, foreign fighters who have converted from Christianity are used as mouthpieces to urge supporters in the West to destroy "arrogant Christian disbelievers." They exhort Muslims to "pray for Allah's curse to be upon the liars."
Pope singled out as target
Pope Francis, as well as Orthodox and Coptic church leaders, is among those singled as targets in the 15th issue of Dabiq, released Sunday. IS propagandists mock the Pope, saying the Pontiff only condemned the mass shooting at a LGBT nightclub in Orlando "because he comes from long line of boy rapists."
The Catholic Church condemned forthrightly the Orlando terror attack in June, in which gunman Omar Mateen who had pledged allegiance to IS, killed 49 people and wounded another 53. After the slaughter the Church issued a statement, saying: "The terrible massacre that has taken place in Orlando, with its dreadfully high number of innocent victims, has caused in Pope Francis, and in all of us, the deepest feelings of horror and condemnation, of pain and turmoil before this new manifestation of homicidal folly and senseless hatred."
Fighter Abu Sa'd al-Trinidadi, a former Christian from Trinidad and Tobago, references recent terror attacks in the West and urges supporters in a Dabiq interview to "follow the example of the lions in France and Belgium, the example of the blessed couple in California, and the examples of the knights in Orlando and Nice."
He tells IS supporters in the West that they have the "ability to terrify the disbelievers in their own homes and make their streets run with their blood." He adds Christians are legitimate targets "due to their mere disbelief," adding, "for this reason, amongst others, the Islamic State leadership emphasized the importance not to differentiate between disbelieving soldiers and their so-called 'civilians.'"
Twilight zone
This is not the first time IS has exhorted followers to target Christians in the West or threaten to destroy Christianity. In February 2015, the terror group released a shocking five-minute video documenting the barbaric mass execution of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians on the shoreline of Libya. In the video a militant spokesman points northward after the killings, saying: "We will conquer Rome by Allah's permission."
And the terror group has targeted and terrorized Christians in territory it controls in Syria and Iraq with rapes, abductions, forced conversions, desecration of churches and forced evictions. In 2014 Pope Francis warned, "In Syria, another war is thriving in the shadow of the civil warthe war against the church."
But the redoubled focus on Western Christianity now, analysts say, is powered by a highly dangerous, macabre logic. They warn that IS strategists are aiming to provoke an overreaction by Western governments and enraged citizens, hoping to drive young Muslims into their arms and away from what the jihadists call the "gray zone."
The "gray zone" was defined in a January 2015 issue of Dabiq as a "twilight area occupied by most Muslims between good and evil, the Caliphate and the Infidel."
Last November, in the wake of the Paris attacks anthropologist Scott Atran told VOA that IS is "seeking to provoke deeper divisions between Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe, forcing the latter to overreact as the terror becomes ever wilder and more extreme, thereby leaving the former with no choice but to join the jihadist camp."
And to exacerbate antagonism toward Muslims in Europe, the more outrageous the targets, the more likely the terror will provoke Western governments to overreact or fuel the rise of populist nationalist parties or prompt revenge attacks.
Church attack
The murder last week of Fr. Jacques Hamel in the Norman village of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen differed from previous IS attacks in France. They targeted people and places that symbolized freedom of speech, Western liberalism, the ideals of the French Revolution, and Jews. Some analysts see the killing of Fr. Hamel as as the first act of war on European soil against Christianity by IS.
French officials were already alarmed before the release of Dabiq at the prospect of IS attacks causing a "war against communities." Last week, a French official told VOA that one of the highest priorities of the Elysee Palace is to prevent a clash between Muslims and Christians.
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THAAD will destroy regional balance
People's Daily Online
(China Daily) 08:51, August 01, 2016
Despite the strong opposition of China, the United States and the Republic of Korea have agreed to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system in the ROK. Although the US claims THAAD is aimed at countering the "nuclear threat" posed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea", it is actually targeted at China.
Why is THAAD's deployment in the ROK strongly opposed by China?
THAAD will undermine the regional strategic balance in East Asia and create more obstacles to the peaceful settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. When the strategic balance of a region is broken, an arms race follows and regional disputes and conflicts intensify.
The Korean Peninsula is one of the few places in the world where the fear of war is still real. The peninsula nuclear issue has been threatening security in the region for over a decade, and negotiations, including "the Six-Party Talks", to settle the issue have been stalled. In such a sensitive region, THAAD's deployment could open the door to a military confrontation.
One way of rectifying the strategic imbalance is for the US and the ROK to rescind their agreement to deploy THAAD. The second way is for Beijing to strengthen its nuclear capability, for once THAAD is deployed in the ROK, major parts of China will be under its anti-missile system umbrella.
The deployment of THAAD in the ROK is part and parcel of the US missile defense system in East Asia, a region of strategic importance to the US where it sees China challenging its "DLP" (dominance, leadership and primacy). The US has singled out China as the target for its "rebalancing to Asia" strategy. And THAAD is an indispensable component of that "rebalance".
John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of Harvard University recently published an article in Foreign Affairs outlining "rebalancing to Asia" strategy as a superior "grand strategy" to be applied seriously by the US in East Asia and Europe. These two neoconservative theorists have identified China as "likely to seek hegemony in Asia" and call on the US to undertake major efforts "to prevent it from succeeding". "Rebalancing to Asia" first calls for the US to "rely on local powers to contain China". Should that fail, the US may "have to throw its considerable weight behind them".
THAAD is a case in point. The US' involvement in the South China Sea issuesupporting the Philippines in its political farce of seeking "international arbitration" and the exhibition of force by the US Navy and Air Forceis another example of its "rebalancing to Asia" strategy.
The US is used to thinking and acting as a hegemonic power. But we live in an era of globalization where countries are more interdependent than ever. No country can be "balanced" or "rebalanced" away as the US wishes. As such, the deployment of missile defense systems in Eastern Europe and East Asia will hurt global stability.
THAAD's deployment will worsen the divide in East Asia, where regional arrangements for economic growth are shaped with China at its core while regional security is assumed to be based on the US-centered military alliances. Should this contradictory situation develop further, neither regional economic growth nor security can be sustained.
In short, THAAD is detrimental to the regional security of East Asia. No country can expect to achieve absolute security at the expense of other countries' insecurity. East Asia should enjoy peace and stability based on common and cooperative security. Therefore, the countries involved in the power game should reconsider their ill-conceived decisions in order to restore the regional strategic balance.
The author is former vice-minister of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council and former vice-minister at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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Chinese peacekeepers face up to challenges to safeguard world peace, stability
People's Daily Online
(Xinhua) 18:32, August 01, 2016
BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Deep into a primeval forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the weather is harsh -- you just sweat all over when it is sunny, get covered with mud when it rains, and could have a layer of your skin "removed" by the scorching sun that comes out again.
This is where the Chinese peacekeepers in the Central African country carry out most of their missions.
On the eve of the Chinese Spring Festival that fell on Feb. 7 this year, a section of the Baraka-Lusenda road in South Kivu Province in eastern D. R. Congo was severely damaged by a landslide caused by torrential rains.
The road is the only way for the South Kivu brigade of the U.N. Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) to reach the Lusenda refugee camp sheltering about 7,500 people, which was set up in June 2015 on the forested border between Burundi and the D.R.Congo.
The Chinese engineers were dab hands at rebuilding the damaged road. However, MONUSCO's South Kivu brigade was hesitating about whether to request the Chinese blue helmets to carry out the job, as they were celebrating their traditional Spring Festival -- the most important annual holiday season for the Chinese.
However, Liu Wei, commander of the 19th Chinese peacekeeping engineer detachment to the D. R. Congo, said: "Although it was on the occasion of the Spring Festival, Chinese blue helmets put implementation of tasks on top of their agenda and will successfully accomplish their mission."
In fact, the extent of damage of the road was much more than what the soldiers could imagine. On one side of the road, there were 20 meter-plus heaps of debris; on the other side, there was a trench as deep as more than 30 meters. The road was very narrow and some parts of it only could allow one machine to pass.
Nevertheless, no one complained or wanted to quit. After three days and two nights of arduous work, the lifeline passageway was reopened.
U.N. staff, local government officials and peacekeepers from other countries were deeply moved by the spirit of the Chinese engineers.
Guided by such a spirit of facing up to challenges, more than 30,000 Chinese peacekeepers have served overseas since China sent in April 1990 five military observers to the U.N. Truce Supervision Organization, which monitors and reports violations of cease-fire agreements in the Middle East.
Now nearly 2,500 Chinese peacekeepers are serving in nine U.N. peacekeeping operations.
Chinese peacekeepers have built or repaired more than 11,000 km of roads and more than 300 bridges. They have removed 9,400 mines or unexploded devices, and treated 149,000 patients.
But behind such accomplishments, the soldiers have sacrificed a lot.
Two years ago, when a vice commander of a medical detachment was carrying out a overseas mission, his father fell seriously ill. The doctor knew the seriousness of the disease, but he could do nothing about it. He had to pretend to be happy to call his unknowing father and quietly wept in a corner after he hung up.
One year ago, a member of a engineer detachment always held a cellphone displaying with no signal when he was having a rest. Staring at the photos of his son who was born shortly after he arrived overseas, he could not help touching the face, hands and feet of his baby on the cellphone's screen.
And the most painful experience for the soldiers is seeing the bodies of their comrades-in-arms put into coffins covered with a Chinese national flag -- They came for peace but passed away due to war.
Since 1990, a total of 13 Chinese peacekeepers have lost their lives on duty.
On July 8, Corporal Li Lei, 22, and Master Sergeant Yang Shupeng, 33, were killed in fighting between government troops of President Salva Kiir and forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar in South Sudan's capital of Juba.
On May 31, Shen Liangliang, a 29-year-old sergeant first class, was killed in a terrorist attack in the northern Malian town of Gao, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated at a U.N. camp.
Wiping off tears after seeing off their dead comrades, the Chinese blue helmets, with their high professionalism, fearlessness and compassion, keep advancing in continued display of the bravery and loyalty of contemporary Chinese servicemen.
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Beijing's Navy Launches Large-Scale Military Drills in East China Sea
Sputnik News
16:03 01.08.2016
Beijing's navy started large-scale drills including a cruiser, a submarine, more than 100 vessels, several dozens of combat aircraft and several coastal radar stations in the East China Sea.
BEIJING (Sputnik) The Chinese navy kicked off on Monday large-scale military exercises in the East China Sea, the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement.
"Currently, large-scale military exercises of the active military forces are held in the East China Sea in the area of 16,000 square kilometers [6,177 square miles]," the statement said.
The exercise, including a cruiser, a submarine, more than 100 vessels, several dozens of combat aircraft and several coastal radar stations, are aimed at practicing reconnaissance tasks, long-distance attacks, as well as the overall missile defense in the conditions of electromagnetic interference.
Sputnik
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North Korean Defector Waits for Freedom
by Joyce Huang August 01, 2016
The fate of an 18-year-old North Korean defector who sought asylum inside South Korea's consulate in Hong Kong last month is still up in the air, although human rights groups hope that China's recent non-cooperative stance with Pyongyang may eventually facilitate his freedom.
It is also in their hope that China can find ways to address the plight of hundreds of thousands of North Korean migrants living illegally in China, who have become easy targets of exploitation.
The teenage defector is believed to be Jong-yol Ri a three-time silver medalist of the International Mathematical Olympiad, the South China Morning Post reported.
Math whiz
Ri was one of six students from North Korea, accompanied by two teachers, who went to Hong Kong to attend this year's international math competition.
He was allegedly last seen at the event's closing ceremony on July 15 and believed to have successfully made it into the city's South Korean consulate to take refuge.
The math whiz's personal safety is temporarily guaranteed as consulates, considered foreign territories, are off-limit to authorities in Hong Kong or Beijing.
But given China's past track record of cooperating with the authoritarian regime in North Korea, human rights groups are concerned Ri is still at risk of being sent back home.
Amnesty International is "quite concerned because just like what we know about North Koreans, who arrive in China. They always stand the risk of being forcefully repatriated," its East Asia researcher Arnold Fang said.
"So, it's important for us to state that everyone, including North Koreans, have the right to seek asylum," Fang added.
As a signatory of the 1951 Refugee Convention, China should never repatriate the teenage defector or anyone else seeking refugee status, especially those who, once repatriated, may suffer torture, death penalties or other forms of human rights violations, the Hong Kong-based activist argued.
But the reality is that, in lieu of a legal system to determine refugee status, China has often helped North Korea bring home financially-disadvantaged migrant workers unless they take refuge at foreign consulates or have valid passports or travel documents.
Silver lining
In Ri's case, even if he has valid travel documents to exit Hong Kong, diplomatic negotiations are still required between the Chinese and South Korea governments to finalize if he will next be allowed to travel to Seoul via a third country as several past precedents have established.
As recently as this April, Beijing seemed to have adopted a neutral stance in the escape of 13 North Korean workers from a state-run restaurant in the Chinese coastal city of Ningbo.
"We believe that he will be safe. But the Chinese government has had experience in stalling the handling of such cases, where North Korean defectors sought asylum at foreign consulates in China," said Owen Lau, co-founder of Hong Kong-based North Korean Defectors Concern.
Such negotiations may take up to two to three years, during which time, the teenage defector will be forced to stay inside the South Korean consulate, he said.
And even if Ri is eventually set free, Lau is concerned that his family may either be put behind bars or forced to work with Pyongyang authorities by making TV appearance to accuse the South of abducting their son so as not to embarrass the Kim Jong-un regime.
Bargaining chip?
China, nevertheless, is once again caught in between the two Korean governments.
It has recently lashed out Seoul's cooperation with the U.S. to deploy an advanced missile defense system in South Korea. That has worried some as they suspect if China may now use Ri's release as a bargaining chip in its talks with Seoul.
But others rejected the possibility of political consideration in defection cases.
"There have established past examples, which were resolved on a case-by-case basis. So, I don't think any diplomatic confrontation will be triggered," said Lu Chao, a professor with Liaoning Social Science Academy.
Official statistics show that nearly 30,000 defectors now live freely in South Korea although most have a difficult time making a living there with the number of defectors picking up since early this year.
But what is equally concerning is the plight of North Korea migrant workers living illegally in China, who are estimated to have a population of 100,000 to 200,000 people and often forced into slavery, prostitution or exploitation, both Lau and Fang said.
Migrant workers' plight
In most cases, China is considered both a land of opportunities and a transit country where North Koreans make their escape into a third country or South Korea.
"Some North Koreans actually make use of the human trafficking system in order to leave their country. So, I think there must be some element of exploitation even though it may not happen to everyone," Fang said.
Fang urged China to either recognize the refugee status of some migrant workers, or legalize their working status, in order to end rampant human trafficking and to minimize the exploitation on socially- and financially-disadvantage North Koreans.
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Most North Korean Defectors Avoid Asylum Seeking in China
by Brian Padden August 02, 2016
The South Korean Foreign Ministry, during its weekly press briefing on Tuesday, did not address the reported defection of a North Korean national who is reportedly seeking asylum in Seoul's diplomatic mission in Hong Kong.
Beijing has also still not commented on reports that Jong Yol Ri, an 18-year-old North Korean student who was attending an international mathematics competition in Hong Kong, last week sought refuge in the South Korean Consulate, according to the South China Morning Post newspaper.
Hong Kong police have since increased their presence around the Far East Finance Centre where the consulate is located.
China's hard line
South Korea is not expected to make a public plea to China to allow the North Korean student to leave for Seoul or a third country on humanitarian grounds.
"If you pressure Beijing too much they could do it just for the sake of really going the other way, instead of responding to public pressure," said Arnold Fang with the human rights organization Amnesty International in Hong Kong.
Instead the two sides will likely engage in quiet negotiations.
To discourage asylum seekers, Beijing is known to wait months and even years before expelling defectors to a third county.
"During a period of one to two years, which is not short, [the South Korean government] negotiates with the Chinese government and the defectors are expelled, by about that time people tend to forget," said Kim Yong-hwa, with the North Korean Refugees' Human Rights Association in Korea.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s there was almost a constant influx of North Korean asylum seekers climbing the walls of foreign diplomatic missions in China.
On one day alone in 2004, 44 North Korean men, women, and children entered the Canadian Embassy in Beijing seeking asylum.
Forcing asylum seekers in China to remain basically as captives inside foreign diplomatic missions, and increasing security on both sides of the Sino/North Korean border has greatly reduced North Korean asylum seekers in China in recent years.
Harsh penalties for the families that defectors leave behind has also greatly decreased overall defections from the North, especially among the elites.
Underground railroad
North Koreans still cross into China to escape the extreme poverty conditions at home.
But most organizations that aid North Korean defectors today avoid seeking asylum in China or expecting any assistance from the South Korean government.
"We do not seek governmental help and they have not offered it. And we're fine with that arrangement," said Tim Peters, the director of Helping Hands Korea, a Christian aid organization for North Korean defectors in Seoul.
There are an estimated 100,000 undocumented North Koreans currently living in China, most near the border area.
Christian organizations, human rights groups, as well as private guides who charge thousands of dollars, help defectors in China arrange for transportation and documents to secure passage to a bordering country.
Some, like Vietnam and Mongolia, have imposed stricter border security. Many now head to Laos or even try to continue on to Thailand, where the government has allowed North Koreans safe transit to South Korea.
The journey for defectors is fraught with danger and physically demanding, usually requiring several long bus trips.
"The fear of forced repatriation is a nightmare that they face 24 [hours], seven [days a week], 365 days a year," said Peters.
Beijing considers defectors economic migrants rather than refugees, and will forcefully repatriate undocumented North Koreans, even though the United Nations Committee Against Torture warns that returning defectors face systematic torture and harassment in the North.
Youmi Kim in Seoul contributed to this report.
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India-France Rafale Jets Deal Needs Cabinet's Security Committee Approval
Sputnik News
14:07 01.08.2016
Long-awaited deal on Rafale fighter jets between Paris and New Delhi is waiting for the clearance by the India's Cabinet Committee on Security Affairs, a source in the Indian Defense Ministry told Sputnik on Monday.
NEW DELHI (Sputnik) The two countries have been in talks on Rafales since 2012 but disagreements on the pricing and India's demands for additional guarantees have hindered the signing.
"Rafale deal will put for another clearance from India's highest decision making body Cabinet Committee on Security Affairs (CCS)," the source said.
"Rafale deal is still in a state of uncertainty as negotiations are not fully completed," the source added.
In January 2016, India and France signed an intergovernmental agreement on the purchase of the 36 Rafale fighter jets. The French Dassault aviation manufacturer first asked almost $12 billion for the aircraft, while New Delhi demanded a 30-percent cut to the price. In May, Paris has agreed to decrease the pricing by some 7-8 percent, thus the France's current offer stands at some $8.6 billion.
Sputnik
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Leader rebukes US for failure to respect JCPOA - (UPDATES)
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Tehran, Aug 1, IRNA -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Monday rebuked the US for failure to honor commitments to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, saying they had promised to lift sanctions all at once on the Implementation Day.
The Supreme Leader made the remarks in a meeting with several thousand people coming from different provinces.
People of Sistan- Baluchestan, Kerman, Lorestan, Kermanshah, Ardebil and West Azarbaijan provinces from all walks of life called on the Supreme Leader.
The Supreme Leader encouraged the people to focus on the domestic capabilities to stimulate national economy and work for the welfare of the nation.
The Supreme Leader renewed Iranian complaint about procrastination of the US Department of Treasury to authorize the European banks to do business with Iran, saying that the way Washington dealt with the nuclear accord served as another example for the United States failure to keep promise in international relations.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the US procrastination to implement the nuclear deal must be taken as an experience that Iranians must rely on their own domestic capacities and resources to achieve economic development and improve life standards of people.
The Supreme Leader made clear that the enemies of Iranian nation are used to creating difficulties for Iran in the region and the entire world and that the people must contemplate on utilization of their own capacities.
Presence of people from all walks of life from different provinces proved that the Iranian people irrespective to their languages, ethnicity and religions are united to introduce the Islamic Republic of Iran as an exemplary model in terms of spirituality and material life to world nations to invite other Muslim nations to stand against colonialist policies of the global arrogance, the Supreme Leader said.
Lauding the breakthrough Iranians have made in scientific, political and social fields after triumph of the Islamic revolution, the Supreme Leader said Iranians who were dependent on US and Britain and treated as backwarded and humiliated, have turned into a mighty nation regarded as a rival for global powers in regional developments.
There is no doubt that that turning to an exemplary model will be very time consuming approach requiring collective and restless efforts of the government as well as nation, the Supreme Leader said.
Sometimes, the enemies create obstacles on our path which should be removed through rationality and wisdom but under no circumstances Iran will rely on them, the Supreme Leader said.
Iranian diplomats and all who were involved in nuclear talks with G5+1 admitted that the US broke its pledges and despite of the illusive wordings try to create obstacles and ruin economic ties between Iran and other countries, the Supreme Leader said.
'It is for several years that I repeat that the Americans are not trustable but some resisted to accept this reality.'
The Supreme Leader said that Iranian negotiators have communicated Iran's protest to the European states parties to JCPOA about the US failure to honor its commitments to JCPOA and Washington still continues to create difficulties with Iranian trade ties with the outside world.
It was over six months after implementation of the JCPOA, the Supreme Leader said it was agreed that all unfair economic sanctions to be lifted at once in a way that the people feel its positive impacts.
'About two years ago, we said the Iranian people would observe nuclear talks with the western countries as an experience to check whether the Americans will remain committed to their pledges but now it became clear that they still continue with masterminding plots and conspiracies despite of their pledges,' the Supreme Leader said.
They invite us to negotiate with them in resolving regional developments but the experience gained during JCPOA indicated that it will be a grave mistake and look like a poisonous task and under no circumstances one can trust on US promises, the Supreme Leader said.
The US minds to achieve everything and give nothing in return and negotiations with such government will be tantamount to deviation from right path, giving consecutive incentives and see in return the bullying and reneging on pledges and commitments, the Supreme Leader said.
The Supreme Leader advised the Iranian youth and intellectuals to mull policies to deal with the US plots.
Revealing direct contact between Saudi Arabia and Zionist regime was a dagger stabbed in the back of Islamic Ummah, the Supreme Leader said.
The crimes and atrocities of the Saudi government aggression and bombardment on Yemen should be regarded as part of their crimes, the Supreme Leader said.
Regretfully, even the United Nations failed to condemn these crimes under bribery, threats and pressure, Ayatollah Khamenei said.
The UN secretary general should confess to these pressures but instead of confession, he should be sacked, but, he still remains in the office and continues with treason against humanity, the Supreme Leader said.
The Supreme Leader expressed deep concern about military intervention of Saudi government in Bahrain under the US support as another example, saying that the Saudi government is currently run by unwise people but true analysis indicates that the US is meddling in all Saudi affairs.
The Americans claim that they have formed coalition to fight with Takfiri terrorist groups but they do nothing in practice and according to some reports even supports them, the Supreme Leader said.
These Takfiri groups have targeted their own supporters, the Supreme leaders said adding that we have a say in Persian 'every one who blows wind, will harvest storm'.
Countries in the region are able to resolve the issue and we underline that the US is not trustworthy and regards Arab states as an instrument to serve the interest of the Zionist regime and materialize the sinister goals of global arrogance.
These goals should be indentified to be dealt with and the Iranian nation pursue the same path, the Supreme leader said.
Since US plots have been revealed in the region, their policies are weakening day by day, said the Supreme Leader.
In Turkey military coup, there is a very strong accusation that it has been masterminded by the US and if to be proved, it will be another fiasco, the Supreme Leader said.
The US is opponent to Islamic lifestyle and that is why they have orchestrated a coup to stop the Islamic government in Turkey, the Supreme Leader said.
The military coup was suppressed and the American are nefarious in the eyes of Turkish people and Americans are weakening in Iraq, Syria and other states, Aytaollah Khamenei said.
1430**1416
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US must accept responsibility for violating JCPOA: Iran MP
Iran Press TV
Mon Aug 1, 2016 3:39PM
A senior Iranian lawmaker says the United States must accept responsibility for lack of commitment to its obligations under last year's nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries.
"We hold the US responsible for all violations [of the nuclear agreement]. The US must accept responsibility for reneging on its promises on the international level," Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi told reporters in Beirut on Monday after a meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil.
He added that the US' lack of commitment has been proven to Iran and all countries in the world more than ever.
The Iranian lawmaker stated that the Islamic Republic does not hold other European countries, which signed the nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with Iran, responsible for such failure to honor the P5+1's commitments.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei also said on Monday that Iran's experience in striking a nuclear agreement with the P5+1 group of countries, including the United States, was a clear example of the enemies' untrustworthiness.
"Today, even the diplomatic officials and those who were present in the [nuclear] negotiations reiterate the fact that the US is breaching its promises, and while speaking softly and sweetly [to Iran], is busy obstructing and damaging Iran's economic relations with other countries," Ayatollah Khamenei said.
On January 16, Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany started implementing the JCPOA that they had clinched on July 14, 2015.
Under the agreement, all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union, the Security Council and the US would be lifted. Iran has, in return, put some limitations on its nuclear activities.
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No Iran-US negotiations other than on nuclear issue: Qasemi
Iran Press TV
Mon Aug 1, 2016 2:39PM
Iran has rejected recent claims by CIA Director John Brennan about ongoing talks between Iran and the United States on various subjects, saying Tehran and Washington are holding negotiations on the nuclear issue only.
"Except nuclear topics, no other negotiations have been and will be held between Iran and the US," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Qasemi, said on Monday.
Speaking in a presentation Friday at the Aspen Security Forum, Brennan responded to a question about the trend of relations between Tehran and Washington and said, "In the tenor of relationship, there is still a lot of discussion going on between the US government and Iranian government on a number of outstanding issues to include how the international financial system is going to be able to now react to an Iran that is less encumbered by sanctions. So, there is dialogue."
Qasemi also said the CIA director is in no place to make baseless comments about Iran's internal issues.
Brennan had also claimed that there are "tensions" within the Iranian government, adding, "There is tension between hardliners and moderates within the Iranian government."
"Such remarks by US officials are aimed at [starting] psychological operations in order to create discord and bipolarization in the Iranian society which we regard as rejected and condemnable," Qasemi added.
He said integrity, unity and solidarity among the Iranian nation and government are exemplary in the region and the world.
The spokesperson emphasized that the Iranian people are vigilant and have repeatedly reacted to such irrelevant remarks which are made with "calculated and suspect" objectives.
Qasemi said the Iranian nation will support national goals, ideas and safeguard its interests regardless of Western intelligence services' fabricated categorizations.
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Hollywood said: Originally Posted by johnwk
Attacked or responded to an insult made by the Pope? Please explain. As I recall the Pope questioned Trump being a Christian for wanting to build a wall and protect our homeland. And Trump responded to that insult.
JWK Click to expand...
Why is what the Pope said an insult??? Why is what the Pope said an insult??? Click to expand...
American citizens are sick and tired of being made into tax slaves and forced to finance the personal economic needs of millions of foreigners who have invaded Americas borders.
You apparently need to take a remedial reading class. The answer to your question is found in what you quoted.JWK
JCPOA proved necessity of distrust in US promises: Leader
Iran Press TV
Mon Aug 1, 2016 12:15PM
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Iran's experience in striking a nuclear agreement with the P5+1 group of countries, including the United States, was a clear example of the enemies' untrustworthiness.
"Today, even the diplomatic officials and those who were present in the [nuclear] negotiations reiterate the fact that the US is breaching its promises, and while speaking softly and sweetly [to Iran], is busy obstructing and damaging Iran's economic relations with other countries," Ayatollah Khamenei said in a meeting with thousands of Iranians from several provinces in Tehran on Monday.
On January 16, Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany started implementing the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that they had clinched on July 14, 2015.
Under the agreement, all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union, the Security Council and the US would be lifted. Iran has, in return, put some limitations on its nuclear activities.
"The JCPOA, as an experience, once again proved the futility of negotiations with the Americans, their lack of commitment to their promises and the necessity of distrust of US pledges," the Leader said.
Ayatollah Khamenei added that the JCPOA experience also showed that the solution "for the progress of the country and the improvement of the nation's living standards is [focusing] attention to existing potentialities in the country, not the enemies who are constantly creating obstacles for Iran in the region and the world."
The Leader further stressed that the Iranian nation must learn from the experience of the US conduct regarding the JCPOA, adding, "They [the US officials] say come and negotiate [with us] on regional issues as well, but the JCPOA experience tells us that taking this step would be a deadly poison and that the Americans' remarks cannot be trusted on any issue."
Saudi-Israel relations stab in Muslims' back
Elsewhere, Ayatollah Khamenei said the disclosure of relations between the Saudi government and the Zionist regime is akin to stabbing the Muslim Ummah in the back.
"This move by the Saudis is a big sin and treachery but the Americans are also complicit in this massive wrong measure because the Saudi government is follower, possessed by and subservient to the American government," the Leader added.
Ayatollah Khamenei also referred to the Saudi aggression against Yemen, mentioning the relentless bombardment of houses, hospitals and schools and the continuous killing of children as another major crimes committed by the Saudi government.
"These crimes are also committed with Americans' weaponry and through their green light," the Leader pointed out.
The Leader further pointed to the backtracking of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on condemning the Saudi atrocities against the Yemeni children and said, "Unfortunately, even when the United Nations seeks to condemn these crimes after a long time, they shut its mouth with money, threats and pressure."
The UN chief on June 9 strongly criticized Saudi Arabia and its allies for putting "undue pressure" on the world body in order to seek their removal from a blacklist for overwhelmingly violating children's rights in Yemen.
In his first public remarks about the uproar, Ban said he decided to temporarily take Saudi and some Arab monarchies off the blacklist of children rights violators in Yemen after they threatened to cut off funding UN humanitarian programs.
Ayatollah Khamenei said, "The disgraced UN secretary general confessed to these pressures, but instead of confession, he should have stepped down, not continue to stay [in his post] and betray humanity."
Takfiris, US plot to sow discord among Muslims
The Leader also said the US played a role in creating and reinforcing Takfiri groups with the aim of sowing discord among Muslim nations and tarnishing the image of Islam.
"The Americans claim that they have set up a coalition against Takfiri groups. This is while they are carrying out no effective measure against them and according to some reports, they are even providing these groups with assistance," Ayatollah Khamenei stated.
The Leader added that Washington is either creating problems in the region or intensifying them.
"Regional nations are capable of resolving these issues and while calling on regional governments [to help fix these issues], we also reaffirm that the US is not trustworthy and sees the Arab governments as a tool to protect the Zionist regime [of Israel] and meet its own hegemonic interests in the region," Ayatollah Khamenei said.
The Leader emphasized that unity among Muslim nations and states as well as standing up against the hegemonic goals of the US and some European governments are main solutions to resolve regional issues.
"These objectives must be recognized and be resisted and our nation is also standing firm on this path," Ayatollah Khamenei stated.
The Leader added that despite all US efforts, its plots and agendas have been exposed and Washington is growing weaker by the day in the region.
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Iraqi forces free al-Anbar region from ISIL
ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency
Mon / 1 August 2016 / 13:17
TEHRAN (ISNA)- Iraqi security forces have liberated a strategic region in the western al-Anbar Province from the ISIL terrorist group.
Major General Ismail al-Mahlawi, in charge of al-Anbar Operations Command, told al-Sumaria on Sunday that security personnel had fully regained control over the Khalidiya Island river peninsula, which lies nearly 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of the capital, Baghdad.
He said dozens of terrorists were killed in the operation.
He added that bomb disposal experts were now busy defusing improvised explosive devices and clearing booby-trapped houses in the area.
Commander of Federal Police Forces, Lieutenant General Raed Shaker Jawdat, separately said that Iraqi security forces had killed nearly 200 ISIL terrorists and disarmed 250 bombs in the operation to free the Khalidiya Island.
Meanwhile, a high-ranking ISIL figure in Iraq, who was the self-proclaimed governor of northern Baghdad, has been killed alongside a large number of his aides in a US-led coalition airstrike.
Iraq's Joint Operations Command said the terrorists were meeting on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital when US-led forces, acting on information provided by Iraqi counter-terrorism and intelligence units, carried out a precision strike against them.
The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence ever since the Takfiri militants launched a campaign of terror in June 2014.
Iraqi government forces, backed by fighters from allied Popular Mobilization units, have been fighting the militants.
End Item
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Iraqi PM orders probe into corruption allegations over weapons deals
Iran Press TV
Mon Aug 1, 2016 6:6PM
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has issued an order for an investigation into alleged corruption in weapons contracts to avoid fomenting a political crisis in the country as the military plans to retake Mosul from the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.
The move was prompted on Monday after Iraq's Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri dismissed corruption allegations made by the country's Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi during a closed parliament session earlier in the day.
"If Obeidi can provide evidence for his charges against me, I am ready for any kind of investigations," he said, adding, "For the charges Obeidi claimed against me I will turn to the court since his claims are baseless."
The Iraqi parliament had summoned Obeidi to respond to allegations of blackmail in the Defense Ministry, which has been accused of wasting billions of dollars in public funds and weakening the country's armed forces in their fight against Takfiri groups in the oil-rich country.
"What happened today was a charade in order for the questioning not to be held," Jabouri said in a televised news conference after the session.
The Iraqi defense minister later wrote on his Facebook page that he had details of graft related to weapons deals, but did not provide evidence.
Back in February, Abadi pledged to stamp out corruption in 2016, following a criticism by Iraq's senior Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who said his government has done little to combat graft.
"2016 is the year of eliminating corruption, there is no such things as acceptable corruption and non-acceptable corruption," Abadi said.
In a sermon in August 2015, Ayatollah Sistani called on Abadi to resolve internal issues in the government.
Abadi assumed power in 2014, pledging tough action against corruption. In response to Ayatollah Sistani's call, he promised to combat graft and prepare a comprehensive reform plan.
Findings of an ad hoc parliamentary committee have shown that corruption within the officers' corps was one of the reasons the Iraqi military failed to counter the quick advance of the Daesh Takfiri terrorists in the summer of 2014.
Abadi's move comes at a time when Iraq is preparing for an offensive into Mosul, the country's second largest city which fell into the hands of Daesh in the summer of 2014. The city is the last remaining bastion of Daesh in Iraq as the military and allies have managed to retake key towns and villages from the militants over the past months.
Violence has plagued the northern and western parts of Iraq ever since Daesh launched its offensive in June 2014. Iraq's army soldiers and fighters from allied Popular Mobilization Units are currently battling to win back militant-held regions in joint operations.
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Iraqi forces liberate Khaldiyah Island in Anbar province
Iran Press TV
Mon Aug 1, 2016 2:42PM
The Iraqi Army, backed by fighters from allied Popular Mobilization Forces, has fully liberated the strategic Khaldiyah Island in western Anbar province from Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.
Hadi al-Ameri, the commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), known as Hashd al-Shaabi, told the Arabic-language al-Sumaria news on Monday that Iraqi government forces successfully established full control over Khaldiyah, a river peninsula and populated area in Anbar province, on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Chief Lieutenant General Raed Shaker Jawdat, commander of Iraqi Federal Police Forces, also confirmed that the area is fully cleared from Daesh terrorists.
"Today we declare the liberation of Jazirat al-Khaldiyah. This area was occupied by the enemy for a long time. After pleas from the Iraqi people and Anbar province officials, the Federal Police, Hashd al-Shaabi, the Islamic Resistance groups, Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Air force liberated the area which is vital for the Iraqi economy because it connects the Japanese bridge and the international border crossing with Jordan," he said.
This came after a two-week long battle between Iraqi armed forces and Daesh terrorists along the Euphrates River.
A footage filmed by the Associated Press shows Iraqi troops and pro-government forces firing at Daesh's targets from both the air and the ground.
Daesh terrorists have taken shelter in the area since being expelled from the city of Fallujah more than a month ago.
Sources say the capture of al-Khaldiyah has opened the highway between the two strategic cities of Fallujah and al-Ramadi.
The developments come as Iraq is preparing for an offensive into Mosul, the country's second largest city which fell into the hands of Daesh in the summer of 2014. The city is the last remaining bastion of Daesh in Iraq as the military and allies have managed to retake key towns and villages from the militants over the past months.
Iraqis managed to recapture the city of Fallujah, west of the capital Baghdad, in late June. The city was a main hub of Daesh militancy in Iraq and its liberation boosted hope for Iraq's final push toward Mosul.
The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence ever since Daesh terrorists began a campaign of terror in the country in June 2014, when they overran Mosul and declared it their so-called headquarters in Iraq.
The Daesh terrorists have gained notoriety for their barbarity, heinous atrocities and sacrilegious acts. The militants have been accused of committing gross human rights violations and war crimes in the areas they control in Iraq and neighboring Syria.
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Iraqi Military Demonstrates New Skills in Mosul Campaign
By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity
INCIRLIK, Turkey, Aug. 2, 2016 Military personnel unfortunately are all too familiar with the IED improvised explosive device and the VBIED vehicle-borne IED. But not too many service members are familiar with the TreeBIED or the FridgeBIED.
Iraqi army forces had to deal with tree-borne and refrigerator-borne IEDs during recent operations to build and defend a bridge over the Tigris River. It is a sign of the growing capabilities of Iraqi security forces that they took it in stride.
Iraqi military engineers installed a bridge over the Tigris near Qayyarah. The span -- called an improved river bridge connects the 9th Iraqi Army Division on the west side of the river and the 15th Iraqi Army Division on the east. "It is a sophisticated operation for even well-established militaries," Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said to reporters traveling with him.
On his current overseas trip, Dunford spent two days in Iraq receiving briefings in Baghdad and Irbil, and two days in Turkey speaking with Turkish leaders in Ankara and meeting American service members at Incirlik Air Base.
Bridge Provides Mobility for Iraqi Troops
The Qayyarah bridge is the only span across the Tigris between Mosul and Baghdad. A civilian bridge once spanned the river, but the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant had been using it, so coalition aircraft had to destroy it.
The military bridge gives Iraqi troops mobility, allowing reinforcements and materials to cross easily. It also helps to isolate ISIL fighters. Building it is a key accomplishment in the campaign to retake Mosul from ISIL control, officials in Baghdad said. While American combat engineers observed the operation, they had no role in building the span, officials noted.
The bridge across the Tigris is about 200 meters long, and Iraqi military engineers built approaches on either side. The engineers were under fire when they started, but Iraqi soldiers forced ISIL fighters away and construction proceeded, officials in Irbil said. "There was a bit of a bend in it at first, because they anchored it a bit loosely against the current, but they tightened it up and it is working very well now," one official said. The engineers also built the defenses for the bridge, and that is important, the official added, as ISIL fighters recognize the strategic importance of the span and have tried to destroy it.
Tree and Refrigerator Bombs
Hence, the TreeBIED and FridgeBIED. ISIL bomb makers hollowed out trees, packed them with explosives, and put them in the river upstream from the bridge. The idea was that the trees would float down the river and explode next to the span. It didn't work. The Iraqi defenses caught the ploy, and the span was never in danger.
Next, ISIL bomb makers packed a refrigerator with explosives and put that in the river. Again, the defenses caught the bomb and engineers disposed of the threat. Iraqi engineers also have placed defenses on the downstream side of the bridge.
ISIL fighters now are reduced to lobbing mortars at the bridge. "They fire two or three shells at a time," the official said. "They can't do any more, because coalition air would kill them if they stayed any longer."
The terror group has not come close to hitting the bridge yet.
Iraqi combat engineers may get a chance to practice their bridge-building skills closer to Mosul as the campaign to retake the city continues. Until then, they are keeping their eyes open for more TreeBIEDs.
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Russian Su-34 Bomber Gets Unique New Recon Gear
Sputnik News
14:17 01.08.2016(updated 16:20 01.08.2016)
Russia's latest Sukhoi Su-34 frontline bomber will soon be sporting advanced radio surveillance gear that will allow the crew to spot and destroy enemy headquarters, communications and drone control centers, the newspaper Izvestiya wrote citing a source at the Defense Ministry in Moscow.
The new system, dubbed the UKR-RT, is placed inside a container attached to the underside of the Su-34 (NATO reporting name Full Back).
"Right now the UKR-RT system is undergoing field trials and will soon be supplied to the Air Force," the an unnamed source told the newspaper.
The UKR-RT is primarily designed to locate and "read" the technical signatures of communications systems, radar installations and UAV ground control stations.
Independent military expert Anton Lavrov said that the new system would turn the frontline bomber into a multirole machine able to fight and reconnoiter all at the same time.
"With this specialized container on board, the Su-34 will save us the money that would otherwise be needed to develop a new AWACS-type aircraft."
During peacetime it can conduct reconnaissance without the use of dedicated spy planes, while in wartime it is less vulnerable compared to reconnaissance planes converted from transport and passenger aircraft," Lavrov said.
According to another in dependent defense expert, Dmitry Boltenkov, the UKR-RT has at its heart the M-410 radio reconnaissance system.
"The M0410 is a downsized version of the more sophisticated Fraktsiya system carried by Russia's latest Ty-214R reconnaissance plane," Boltenkov said.
Many foreign military specialists regard the Tu-2014R as a unique information gathering platform able to spot targets hundreds of kilometers away.
Several such planes conducted a series of reconnaissance missions late in 2012 near Japanese airspace and are frequent guests in Syria.
According to an article, titled "Russia Has Deployed its Latest Spy Plane to Syria," which recently appeared in the authoritative Internet journal Aviationist, the Fraktsiya system allows the Tu-214R not only to intercept radar, electronic communications and even cellphone massagers, but also to use the obtained information to create an "electronic picture of the battlefield" in real time.
Sputnik
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800 militants killed in joint Syria-Russia operation in Aleppo
Iran Press TV
Mon Aug 1, 2016 5:46PM
The Russian military says it has assisted the Syrian army in an operation that has killed around 800 militants who were trying to break the siege of the northern city of Aleppo.
Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy, head of the main operational department of the Russian military's General Staff, said Monday that the Syrian army, backed by Russian air cover, managed to fend off a massive offensive by militants in Aleppo to rupture the government's blockade of the militant-held part of the city.
Rudskoy said the militants, which numbered around 5,000, also lost some 14 tanks, 10 other armored vehicles and over 60 gun trucks during the operation.
The Russian general described as effective Syria's siege on the militants in Aleppo, saying that more than 300 civilians have managed to escape the grip of militants through corridors set up by the government. He said 82 militants have also surrendered to the Syrian army.
Rudskoy noted that Russian planes were supporting the Damascus government by delivering "selective" air strikes at militant positions near Aleppo.
The massive Russian-Syrian operation came hours after Moscow announced that one of its helicopters delivering humanitarian aid to the Syrian city of Aleppo was shot down in Idlib province. It said five people on board the copter were killed.
Since late September 2015, Russia has been assisting Syria, based on an official request from Damascus, in attacks the government is launching against the terrorists across the country. Syria says the air campaign has highly boosted the morale of the army in recapturing areas from the militants.
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Militant mortar attack kills four, injures 20 in Aleppo
Iran Press TV
Mon Aug 1, 2016 3:32PM
Foreign-sponsored militants have carried out a mortar attack on the eastern area of the embattled Syrian city of Aleppo, leaving at least four people dead and 20 others injured, Press TV reports.
The casualties occurred in Ramouseh and Hamdaniyah neighborhoods in Aleppo on Monday, after the terrorists fired mortar shells and opened gunfire at civilians, Press TV correspondent in Syria said.
Local sources have noted that the injured were transferred to hospitals to receive treatment, adding that the deadly assault caused material damage to public and private properties.
The development comes as fierce clashes are going on between Syrian government forces and militants trying to break the siege around the city of Aleppo.
Reports by Syria's official news agency, SANA, said that dozens of Syrian families have left the besieged militant-controlled eastern parts of Aleppo through humanitarian passages set up by the Syrian army.
Between 200,000 and 300,000 people are believed to still reside in eastern Aleppo, with the UN warning that food supplies will run out in the militant-held region in mid-August.
Aleppo has been divided between the government forces and militants since 2012, a year after conflict broke out in the Arab country. Army forces are in the middle of a large military operation to liberate the militant-held parts of the province.
The Syrian government, backed by Russia, launched a large-scale humanitarian relief operation in Aleppo on Friday and created corridors providing civilians and the militants, who chose to surrender, the opportunity to leave the city.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-sponsored militancy since March 2011. The Takfiri terrorists operating in the Arab country have suffered major setbacks over the past few months as the Syrian army has managed to liberate several areas from the grip of the extremists.
United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the Syrian 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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Russia helicopter shot down over Syria's Idlib, five on board believed dead
Iran Press TV
Mon Aug 1, 2016 12:8PM
A Russian helicopter delivering humanitarian aid to the Syrian city of Aleppo has been shot down in Idlib province, with reports suggesting the five people on board are killed.
Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Monday that the Mi-8 helicopter was shot down while returning to Russia's air base on the Mediterranean coast from a mission for delivering humanitarian goods to the war-wracked city of Aleppo in north.
The statement added that three crew members and two officers were on board the chopper, saying their exact fate is still unknown.
A later statement by the Kremlin said the five are believed to have died.
"As far as we know from the information we've had from the Defense Ministry, those in the helicopter died, they died heroically, because they were trying to move the aircraft away to minimize victims on the ground," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, expressing condolences over the deaths of the five Russians.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the downing of the helicopter. Militants from various terrorist groups are present in Idlib.
This is not the first case in which Russian forces have lost aircraft in Syria.
According to a report by The Associated Press, two Russian pilots were killed in the central Homs province in July when their Mi-25 helicopter was shot down by what the Defense Ministry said were Daesh terrorists.
An Mi-28N helicopter gunship also crashed near Homs in April, killing both crew members.
A Russian bomber plane was shot down by a Turkish jet along the Syrian border in November 2015, and one of the two pilots was shot and killed from the ground after ejecting.
The attack on the Russian copter comes as the Syrian army, backed by Russia and other allies on the ground, has managed to tighten its grip on militants in various parts of Aleppo.
Earlier on Monday, Syria said the militants had started massive attacks to repel government forces from their positions around the terrorist-held areas.
The downing of the copter marked the deadliest incident on a single mission for the Russian servicemen since Moscow began its air campaign against terrorists in Syria in September 2015. According to official data, 18 Russians have been killed since the air campaign started at the official request of the Damascus government.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The government blames the militancy on some foreign governments, including its northern neighbor Turkey and Arab governments of the Persian Gulf region.
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Russian Mi-8 Transport Helicopter Downed in Syria, Five People Confirmed Dead
Sputnik News
21:45 01.08.2016
The Russian Aerospace Forces' Mil Mi-8 Hip transport helicopter was downed in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib on Monday with three crew members and two reconciliation center officers aboard.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy told reporters that the helicopter was shot down from the ground over the area under the control of the Jabhat Fatah al Sham, previously known as al-Nusra Front, a jihadist group outlawed in Russia.
Rudskoy confirmed the deaths of all five people on board the helicopter, classifying its downing as a terrorist attack.
Attack on Humanitarian Aid Providers
The helicopter was returning to the Hmeimim air base after delivering humanitarian aid in Aleppo.
"On August 1 in the province of Idlib, the Russian military-transport Mi-8 helicopter, returning to the Hmeimim air base after delivering humanitarian assistance in the city of Aleppo, was hit by gunfire from the ground. Three crew members and two officers of the Russian center for reconciliation of the opposing sides in Syria were on board," the Russian Defense ministry's press service said.
It underscored that the fate of the Russian servicemen is being investigated through all available channels.
Heroic Death
The crew members on board Russia's transport helicopter downed in Syria died heroically in an attempt to minimize civilian casualties on the ground, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"Those who were aboard the helicopter, according to information from the Defense Ministry, have died heroically because they were attempting to steer the machine to minimize the casualties on the ground," Peskov told reporters.
He expressed deep condolences to the friends and relatives of the fallen servicemen.
White House Regrets 'Any Loss of Life'
The US administration regrets any death caused by the ongoing Syrian conflict, White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz told reports following the downing of the helicopter.
"[We] regret for any loss of life in association with this [Syrian] conflict," Schultz said.
In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the pullout of the bulk of the Russian contingent in Syria as the anti-terrorist campaign's objectives had broadly been completed.
Following Putin's announcement of the withdrawal, Moscow said that some Russian military personnel would remain at the Hmeimim air base as well as the naval base at Tartus to observe the implementation of the US-Russia-brokered ceasefire, which came into force across Syria on February 27.
Sputnik
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Irans top leader distanced himself on Monday from the nuclear agreement reached with major powers a year ago, accusing the United States of failing to honor pledges in the accord and citing the futility of negotiations with the Americans.
In blunt remarks prominently featured in Irans state news media, the senior leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the talks that led to the nuclear agreement in July 2015 should be regarded as an instructive lesson on the dangers posed by interactions with governments he regards as enemies.
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Ayatollah Khamenei, who has the final word on Irans national security and other vital issues, did not suggest that he wanted to abandon the agreement, which took effect in January and sharply limited Irans nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of many Western economic sanctions.
But his remarks indicated that he was hedging against any unraveling of the agreement. He had endorsed the accord despite many of his own public warnings of interactions with the United States.
Today, even the diplomatic officials and those who were present in the negotiations reiterate the fact that the U.S. is breaching its promises, and while speaking softly and sweetly, is busy obstructing and damaging Irans economic relations with other countries, Ayatollah Khamenei said in a translation reported by Press TV, an official Iranian English-language news site.
He said the agreement, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, once again proved the futility of negotiations with the Americans, their lack of commitment to their promises and the necessity of distrust of U.S. pledges.
He cautioned against talks with the United States on other regional crises, presumably including the wars in Syria and Yemen and the Islamic State extremist group. The experience of the nuclear deal, he said, tells us that taking this step would be a deadly poison and that the Americans remarks cannot be trusted on any issue.
Ayatollah Khameneis remarks may strengthen the hard-line conservative factions in the Iranian hierarchy and their hostility toward President Hassan Rouhani, who made achieving a nuclear agreement a central objective in his 2013 election campaign.
While oil sales have increased, Mr. Rouhanis optimism about other expected dividends of the agreement an end to Irans isolation and a rush of foreign investment and economic growth have yet to occur, imperiling his prospects for re-election next year.
Despite the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions, Iran is still barred from using the United States financial system because of many other prohibitions imposed after the break in relations more than three decades ago.
Big European banks, wary of violating those prohibitions and already leery about doing business in Iran, have largely stayed away, frustrating Iranian officials.
The banking problems have played a significant role in delaying Irans purchases of new jetliners from Boeing and Airbus, which the nuclear agreement specifically permitted. Congress has further angered Iranian officials by threatening new sanctions that could scuttle those purchases.
Secretary of State John Kerry, who played a critical role in reaching the nuclear agreement, has said the United States is working to ensure that all of the accords provisions, including the relaxation of the sanctions, are enforced.
But worries about the durability of the agreement have increased because of two other developments since it took effect: Britains vote in June to leave the European Union, and the possibility that Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, could win the November election.
The British vote has sent economic chills through the European Union, which may divert or delay European business ambitions in Iran. Mr. Trump has called the nuclear agreement a disaster, suggesting that he would seek to renegotiate it or withdraw American participation.
Political analysts outside Iran called Ayatollah Khameneis remarks his strongest criticism of the agreement to date. Some said they saw practical goals behind his bellicose words.
He is pressing the West to move more quickly on investing in Iran, so that Iranians feel the deal helping their economy, said Cliff Kupchan, the chairman of the Eurasia Group, a political risk consulting firm in Washington. But Khamenei is also buying a political insurance policy on the off chance that his elites turn against the agreement, and thats a problem.
Russian Aerospace Forces Actively Support Syrian Army in Repelling Attacks
Sputnik News
18:08 01.08.2016(updated 18:12 01.08.2016)
The Russian Aerospace Forces are actively supporting the Syrian government armed forces in repelling enemy attacks by delivering selective strikes on militants and avoiding populated areas, the Russian General staff said Monday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) Rudskoy noted that, unlike the US-led anti-Daesh coalition active near Manbij, Russian aircraft do their utmost to avoid collateral civilian damage by not targeting populated areas within city limits.
"The Russian Aerospace Forces aviation actively supports government troops in repelling enemy attacks, carrying out selective strikes on militant positions," Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy told reporters.
The Syrian armed forces with the support of Russian combat planes repelled a terrorist offensive near the city of Aleppo, killing over 800 militants and destroying 14 tanks, Rudskoy added.
"Together with the Syrian army troops and the national militia, with the support of Russian aviation, a militant attack was repelled at 4 a.m. today. More than 800 militants were killed, and 14 tanks, 10 infantry fighting vehicles, and more than 60 vehicles with mounted weapons destroyed," Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy.
Rudskoy noted that militant continued to pull reserves from other areas, intimidate government troops, prevent the local population's escape form the combat zone, as well as its use as a so-called human shield.
"Thus, the terrorists executed four people attempting to exit through the humanitarian corridors yesterday in the eastern part of Aleppo," he said.
Sputnik
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Some 25,000 people displaced by military attacks in western Aleppo - UNICEF
1 August 2016 About 25,000 people, including more than 12,000 children, have been displaced last night from a neighbourhood in western Aleppo City by intense military attacks initiated by armed opposition groups, a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) official in Syria said today, calling on the warring parties to do their utmost to protect all civilians.
"Twenty-five thousand people have fled instantly last night from this area, with whatever they could leave the door with," said Kieran Dwyer, Chief of Communications for UNICEF in Syria, in an interview with the UN News Service via Skype from Damascus.
He said that armed opposition groups launched a major military offensive late yesterday afternoon and evening, attacking through the densely populated western part of Aleppo City. Intense fighting, involving airstrikes and the use of heavy weapons, artillery and mortars, has continued through the night, and throughout the day today, he added.
Mr. Dwyer said that in the affected neighbourhood, people already displaced multiple times had put up temporary shelters in uncompleted high-rise apartment buildings. UNICEF and its partners had been helping them to get water, food, health services, and education so that they could settle for the time being.
Then, the fighting erupted, forcing many of them flee to parks, mosques, and wherever "they can feel a bit safe," he said, adding that emergency kitchens have been set up, and for its part, UNICEF is running emergency water trucks.
Asked if more people would be displaced, he said that "we don't know what the dynamics in fighting is going to result in. We are watching and responding at every turn."
Meanwhile, the eastern part of Aleppo city has been completely cut off from humanitarian aid since early July, he said, noting that UNICEF and all partners are calling for immediate access to the area, where 300,000 people, including over 120,000 children, are in need of nutrition, food, clean water, and health services.
The health system in Aleppo has been devastated, with four military attacks on hospitals last week alone, noted Mr. Dwyer, warning that with only 30 doctors left to serve 300,000, the situation in eastern Aleppo is "dire."
Regarding the idea of setting up 'humanitarian corridors' that would allow aid to be delivered without hindrance, and civilians to flee the besieged areas safely, Mr. Dwyer said that such arrangements must be run by the UN humanitarian team and partners.
If civilians decide to leave, they must be protected at every step, and if they decided to stay, they should be protected from attacks and violence, he added.
In New York today, Farhan Haq, the Secretary-General's Deputy Spokesperson, reiterated that the UN calls on all parties to the conflict to allow safe, unimpeded and impartial humanitarian access in line with international humanitarian law.
The UN remains deeply concerned over the plight of people trapped in Aleppo, as reports indicate that intense fighting has continued in the last days, and that many stores have closed as food runs low, the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, he added, an inter-agency convoy delivered food, nutrition, health, water, sanitation, hygiene and other emergency items for 71,000 people in need to the hard-to-reach area of Al Houla, in Homs governorate yesterday. Surgical items were removed from health kits during the loading.
Mr. Haq also said that the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura visited Teheran on Sunday, and held discussions with Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari on the means of pushing forward the political settlement to the crisis in Syria.
Also, on Sunday, Deputy Special Envoy Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem and Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, the spokesperson said, explaining that the meeting was part of regular, ongoing consultations between the Special Envoy's Office and the Syrian Government.
Mr. Ramzy informed Syria's Foreign Minister of the Special Envoy's intention to reconvene the intra-Syrian talks towards the end of August, with a focus on the political transition, according to the UN spokesperson.
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President apologizes to indigenous people on government's behalf
ROC Central News Agency
2016/08/01 14:40:25
Taipei, Aug. 1 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen () on Monday issued a formal apology on behalf of the government to Taiwan's indigenous people for the discrimination and neglect they suffered over the past 400 years.
The apology was made after a ceremony in front of the Presidential Office where representatives of Taiwan's 16 recognized aboriginal tribes gathered on Indigenous People's Day.
In the tradition of the Paiwan tribe, the representatives announced their arrival by singing songs and burning stalks of foxtail millet.
Tsai then greeted them at the entrance of the Presidential Office and invited them into the the building, where a Bunun tribe blessing ceremony was held and prayers were offered by six Christian priests of aboriginal heritage.
In her apology on behalf of the government, Tsai said it was a further step toward protecting the social status of the indigenous peoples and promoting their development in education, culture, social welfare and economic development, as laid out in an article of the Constitution that was added on Aug. 1, 1994.
The article also abolished the widely used term "shan-bao" (mountain fellow) to refer to Taiwan's indigenous peoples, after they agitated against it for decades because of the racist connotation, Tsai said.
"For the pain and unfair treatment suffered by all of you in the past 400 years, I apologize on behalf of the government," Tsai said. "I believe that even now there are still some people who think there is no need for such an apology, but that is the main reason why I need to make this apology on behalf of the government today."
Tsai also announced the establishment of a Presidential Office "commission for historical and transitional justice", which she will head.
The commission will hold discussions with representatives of the aboriginal tribes on issues such as national policies toward the indigenous people so that their voices can be heard, the president said.
In addition, Tsai said, the Cabinet will seek to introduce a basic law for the indigenous people, revive the historic memories of the tribes and give attention to their education, health and economic development.
She said a legal service center will be created to deal with the increasing number of conflicts between the existing laws and indigenous people's traditional practices such as the hunting of non-protected animals.
Tsai also said that before the publication of a final report, she will reexamine a government decision to store nuclear waste on Orchid Island and will offer compensation to members of the Yami tribe who live there .
She called for efforts to ensure better public understanding of the history and culture of Taiwan's various ethnic groups to help achieve reconciliation and prosperity for all and promote justice, diversity and equality.
The apology to the indigenous people was one of Tsai's campaign promises, which she said would signal respect for the early inhabitants of the country and a move toward solving related issues.
An 80-year-old elder of the Yami tribe from Orchid Island responded on behalf of the aboriginal tribes, saying that he hoped the government's apology on Indigenous People's Day would mark the beginning of peace and reconciliation.
He also said he hoped to see the people of Orchid Island and Taiwan proper become one big family.
On behalf of the 16 aboriginal tribes, he accepted a printed copy of Tsai's apology and offered her foxtail millet in a traditional gesture.
Other events scheduled for Indigenous People's Day included a national conference in the afternoon, at which the government was expected to detail its policies on indigenous people's affairs.
(By Tai Ya-chen, Lu Hsin-hui and Kay Liu)
Enditem/pc
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Turkey arrests 11 commandos for attempt to capture Erdogan during failed coup
Iran Press TV
Mon Aug 1, 2016 6:48AM
Turkey's special forces have arrested 11 fugitive commandos wanted for involvement in an alleged attempt to capture President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the July 15 failed coup in the country.
Gendarmerie special forces, backed by helicopters and drones, raided the hideout of the commandos in the Ula district in the province of Mugla, state-run Anadolu Agency said Monday.
The raid was launched on a tip-off from a local.
The detainees were part of a group of 37 soldiers who were reportedly involved in an attempt to capture Erdogan while he was holidaying in the resort town of Marmaris on the night of July 15. Anadolu further said 25 of the troops had been detained earlier.
Erdogan had managed to flee the hotel by the time the soldiers arrived as he had been notified of potential danger.
The development came a day after Turkey sacked nearly 1,400 military personnel suspected of having links with US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for the botched coup.
The dismissals were the latest in a series of purges related to the coup attempt.
So far, over 60,000 people in the Turkish military, judiciary, civil services and schools have been detained, dismissed or suspended over suspected Gulen links.
At least 246 people were killed and more than 2,100 others sustained injuries when an army faction, using hijacked helicopters and tanks, clashed with government troops and people on the streets of the capital, Ankara, and the city of Istanbul during the July 15 coup.
Shortly after the coup bid was declared over on July 16, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Gulen of being behind the coup attempt. The US-based cleric, however, has denied any role in the foiled putsch.
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Turkey to scrap EU deal if visa waivers not forthcoming: FM
Iran Press TV
Mon Aug 1, 2016 5:9AM
Turkey says it will "back away" from a refugee deal it has struck with the European Union (EU) if the bloc does not grant Turkish nationals visa-free travel to Europe.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has told the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that the refugee deal had worked due to "very serious measures" taken by Turkey, without specifying which measures.
He further said in the interview which is to be fully published in the daily's Monday edition that the success of the agreement now depends on the European side.
"All that is dependent on the cancellation of the visa requirement for our citizens, which is also an item in the agreement of March 18," Cavusoglu said.
The agreement, which the two sides signed in March, has been meant to stem the flow of irregular refugees into Europe. Under the deal, Turkey has committed to taking back all the asylum seekers and refugees who have used the Aegean Sea to illegally reach Greece. In return, Ankara has been promised financial aid, the acceleration of visa liberalization talks and progress in its EU membership negotiations.
The two sides have been negotiating a sub-deal under which Turkish nationals would be allowed visa-free travel to Europe. Efforts to reach that deal, however, have been hampered by Turkey's refusal to revise its anti-terrorism laws, which the EU says are too broad, as well as a Turkish government crackdown following a failed coup.
"If visa liberalization does not follow, we will be forced to back away from the deal on taking back (refugees) and the agreement of March 18," Cavusoglu said in his interview.
He also urged the EU to determine a precise date for granting visa waivers. "It could be the beginning or middle of October, but we are waiting for a firm date."
European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger has recently ruled out granting visa-free travel for Turks this year because of Ankara's crackdown on coup suspects.
So far, over 60,000 people in the Turkish military, judiciary, civil services and schools have been detained, dismissed or suspended over suspected links with US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for the botched coup.
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Turkish Defense Ministry Appoints 167 New Generals After Thwarted Coup Attempt
Sputnik News
21:01 01.08.2016(updated 21:02 01.08.2016)
The decree of the Turkish Defense Ministry on the appointment of 167 new generals was published in the official government's newspaper on Monday.
ANKARA (Sputnik) New appointments follow the failed coup attempt in Turkey, after which 163 generals and admirals were detained, what constitutes 40 percent of the total number. Eighty-seven out of 198 generals in the Army were dismissed, 30 of 72 in the Air Force, seven out of 32 in the Turkish Gendarmerie General Command, and in the Navy 32 of 55 admirals.
There are 94 new appointments in the Army Command, the Air Force has 44 new appointments and in the Navy there are 22 admirals' appointments.
On July 15, an attempted coup took place in Turkey, and was suppressed by the following day. Over 240 people were killed during the coup attempt and an estimated 2,000 were wounded. Ankara has accused US-based dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers of having played a key role in the coup. Gulen has denied the accusations.
Sputnik
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Ankara Threatens to Pull Out of EU-Turkey Migrant Deal Over Visa-Free Travel
Sputnik News
14:37 01.08.2016(updated 15:40 01.08.2016)
Relations between the EU and Turkey have become increasingly strained since the attempted coup in July, with Turkish foreign minister threatening to break off the EU-Turkey migrant deal if Turkish citizens do not have visa-free access to the EU by October.
Diplomats in the EU are hastily attempting to steady relations between Turkey and its member states after Ankara warned that it was ready to pull the plug on the migrant deal as the political roadmap in Turkey changed course following the attempted coup. Sources in the EU have told Sputnik that the deal giving Turks visa-free access to the EU is looking increasingly shaky.
There were already many issues over which Turkey and the EU were divided, even before the attempted coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July, to which he reacted by arresting or dismissing thousands of the military, judiciary and teachers.
The EU-Turkey migrant deal originally agreed in March 2016, was brokered by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in an attempt to stop the flow of migrants reaching Europe via Turkey and the Aegean Sea.
Under the deal, the EU was due to pay Turkey, initially, US$3.95 billion to bolster its refugees camps and accept "irregular" migrants denied asylum in Greece in return on a one-for-one basis for Syrian refugees in Turkey being relocated in the EU.
Suppression
However, as part of the deal, the EU was supposed to grant Turkish citizens visa-free access to the EU by the end of July and accelerate its accession to becoming a full member of the EU.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has now told Germany's newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that:
"If visa liberalization does not follow, we will be forced to back away from the deal on taking back (refugees) and the agreement of 18 March. It could be the beginning or middle of October but we are waiting for a firm date."
The deal had already hit the skids over Erdogan's increasing grip on power, crackdown on opposition parties and the media, as well as criticism of Turkey's human rights record. Since the attempted coup, however, his massive suppression of those associated with the coup the judiciary, the military and the police has been the cause of deep skepticism within the EU.
If Turkey fails to meet the basic benchmarks on democracy and human rights required by the EU, the visa-free travel deal will be abandoned and with it the whole migrant deal, once again leading to another flood of migrants crossing into Europe.
Relations between Brussels and Ankara were already under strain ahead of the attempted coup, but sources within the EU have told Sputnik that Erdogan's continuing reprisal against his enemies are making the whole migrant and visa-free agreement increasingly unlikely to come to fruition, plunging the EU into yet another crisis.
Sputnik
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Turkey Captures Soldiers Allegedly Linked to Coup as Crackdown Intensifies
by Chris Hannas August 01, 2016
Turkish forces detained 11 soldiers Monday who are suspected of attacking a hotel where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was staying during an attempted coup in mid-July.
The captures were made near the resort town of Marmaris, and followed the detention last week of several other soldiers accused of targeting Erdogan. The president had been vacationing in Marmaris on July 15 when the attempt to overthrow his government began and has said he left his hotel shortly before a group of soldiers attacked.
Monday's captures are the latest in a crackdown against those who allegedly played a role in the attempted coup.
Sunday, the government dismissed nearly 1,400 military personnel, including Erdogan's top military adviser, as the president also brought the country's armed forces under civilian rule.
More than 50,000 people have now lost their jobs across the country and more than 18,000 have been detained in connection with the coup attempt, which the government has blamed on Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Gulen is an Erdogan opponent who has lived in the United States for nearly two decades and has denied any connection in the uprising. Turkey has demanded the U.S. extradite the 75-year-old Gulen and sent documents on his alleged involvement in the failed coup to U.S. officials.
The top U.S. military officer, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, is visiting Turkey Monday as part of a trip to assess the battle against the Islamic State group. The U.S.-led coalition conducting airstrikes against the militants has been using Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey for about a year after getting approval from Erdogan.
The Turkish government Monday also summoned Germany's charge d'affaires after a German court ruling prevented Erdogan from addressing by video a rally in the city of Cologne Sunday that drew tens of thousands of his supporters. An Erdogan spokesman called the ruling a violation of free expression.
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Concerns Over Turkish Media Freedom in Aftermath of Failed Coup
by Dorian Jones August 01, 2016
With nearly 20,000 people detained and arrests continuing, there is rising concern the crackdown in Turkey after the July 15 failed coup is expanding to government critics and opponents, especially in the media.
Twenty-nine journalists have been imprisoned since the coup, and arrest warrants have been issued for dozens more.
Journalist Cafer Solgun, who worked for one of the more than 100 media outlets closed in the crackdown, struggles to understand why people like him are targeted.
"It was the coup plotters who were blinded with madness to bomb the Turkish parliament and attempt to seize power. But what relation can me, Cafer Solgun, and dozens of other journalists like me have to do with it?"
Gulen denies charges
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists all those being targeted are connected to the U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom he accuses of using a secretive network of followers to carry out the coup attempt.
Turkish authorities argue Gulen used his large network of national and local media outlets to support the military take over bid. Gulen denies all charges of involvement. And the motives of the crackdown are being increasingly questioned.
Nina Ornianova of New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says the scale and scope of arrests, in particular in the media, leads to worrying conclusions.
"It goes far beyond what is necessary to preserve the security of the state. It seems like Mr. Erdogan and the AKP government, have being using this failed putsch to cleanse the media, state, and cleanse the country of dissenting voices."
Ruling by decree
Such accusations are strongly denied by Ankara who say only media establishments and journalists are linked to Gulen have been targeted. Observers say that claim is broadly true with prominent mainstream media critical of the president being so far unaffected.
But Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas on Sunday criticized the detentions of pro-Kurdish and left-wing journalists. Turkey's Western allies, too, are voicing concern.
These concerns have been angrily dismissed by President Erdogan, who said those critical of the crackdown are siding with the coup plotters.
Ayse Sozen Usluer, Erdogan's foreign relations chief, defends the arrests and detentions, comparing the situation to that in the United States after the September 11th, 2001 terrorists attacks.
"After 9/11, I ask you, in Guantanamo were the people suspects or were they in prison in Guantanamo after the judiciary processes? They were suspects,' he said. "That's why these are the precautions being taken in Turkey at the moment."
President Erdogan has granted himself emergency powers allowing him to rule by decree. Analysts say fears continue to grow that the crackdown could turn into a witch hunt against all critics.
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Troubled UK Royal Navy destroyers return home
Iran Press TV
Mon Aug 1, 2016 10:15AM
All six of the UK navy's advanced Type 45 destroyers have been docked in Portsmouth Harbor and are about to undergo heavy maintenance operations after facing constant breakdowns in the Persian Gulf.
The UK Ministry of Defense confirmed the 1 billion fleet's return to home over the weekend and added that it might take a whole month before the warships are ready to be deployed again.
This is the first time over the past years that all of the Type 45 destroyers are called back home, a move that has drawn mixed reactions from experts.
A senior military figure told SkyNews that the ships' pullback was "almost unprecedented" and "either showed a gross lack of planning or was indicative of something more serious."
However, Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent, former Commander-in-Chief Fleet of the Royal Navy, told the British outlet that the stop is nothing special and would include "maintenance [and] software upgrades" while the crew will get a chance to meet their families.
The air defense warships mainly operate in the Persian Gulf region, protecting American assets in the US-led military effort against purported Daesh positions inside Syria and Iraq.
But it was revealed last month that the warships could not cope with Persian Gulf's warm waters and constantly experienced power failures, leaving hundreds of sailors in darkness.
The persistent issue prompted MPs to grill top navy officials and weapons manufacturers as part of an inquiry by the British parliament's Defense Committee.
It's a billion-pound asset that you're putting into perhaps a war zone and we don't know if these people who are making up the complement on that ship will go in there and come back out alive, because there might be a problem with the power system on the ship," committee member MP Douglas Chapman said.
Weighing around 8,000 tons each, the ships run on Rolls-Royce engines and have a crew of 190 people.
Rear Admiral Chris Parry, a former head of Britain's Maritime Warfare Center, said Saturday that the decision, taken in 2,000, to fit the warships with domestically-build engines had political motives.
"The Government made a decision that they would go for British shoddy engines and everyone said at the time 'don't go for them, they're rubbish'," he said.
"It was a political decision because of electoral politics, and now of course the engines are useless," Parry added.
UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon has also blamed the engines for the issue, saying the Royal Navy has learned lessons regarding choosing simpler and more robust engineering.
According to the defense ministry, all of the six ships will be refitted with new engines come 2019.
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The F-35A Lightning II fifth generation fighter aircraft was declared combat ready today by Gen. Hawk Carlisle, the commander of Air Combat Command. The 34th Fighter Squadron of the 388th Fighter Wing, based at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the services first operational F-35A squadron, having met all the established criteria for Initial Operational Capability including a successful June deployment to Mountain Home AFB, Idaho and a series of eight-aircraft sorties held in mid-July. Currently equipped with 15 combat-ready aircraft, the unit will eventually operate 24 F-35As.
Gen. Hawk Carlisle, Commander, Air Combat Command lauded the efforts of the Airmen and the Joint Program Office in bringing this powerful new weapons system to operational capability. He noted that the aircraft had met all key criteria for reaching initial operational capability: Airmen trained, manned and equipped to conduct basic close air support, interdiction, and limited suppression/destruction of enemy air defenses in a contested environment. All that is achieved with an operational squadron of 12-24 aircraft; the ability to deploy and conduct operational missions using program of record weapons and missions systems; and having all necessary logistics and operational elements in place. An official ceremony is scheduled at Hill AFB on Friday August 5.
I am proud to announce this powerful new weapons system has achieved initial combat capability, Carlisle said. The F-35A will be the most dominant aircraft in our inventory because it can go where our legacy aircraft cannot and provide the capabilities our commanders need on the modern battlefield.
The Marine Corps inducted their first F-35B squadron at Yuma Air Station in Arizona in June last year and are currently fielding the VMFA-211, the second unit at the base. The first operational F-35B squadron, Marine Fighter Attack 121 (VMFA-121) currently has 10 F-35Bs and is scheduled to deploy to Iwakuni air station in Japan next year. By the next summer, the unit will get six additional jets and, by the summer of 2018, deploy to its first mission at sea, on board the Wasp Class amphibious landing dock USS Bonhomme Richard.
While the F-35A is declared combat ready it is not likely to deploy overseas in the near future, but the aircraft and crews will take part in combat training, to assess and demonstrate the jets capabilities and demonstrate its combat readiness.
The F-35A is the latest addition to ACCs fleet of deployable and fifth generation aircraft. It provides air superiority, interdiction, suppression of enemy air defenses and close air support as well as excellent command and control functions through fused sensors, and will provide pilots with unprecedented situational awareness of the battlespace that will be more extensive than any single-seat platform in existence.
The combat ready F-35A is the latest fifth generation fighter aircraft in the Air Forces inventory and provides our nation air dominance in any environment. Gen. David Goldfein, Chief of Staff of the Air Force said. The F-35A brings an unprecedented combination of lethality, survivability, and adaptability to joint and combined operations, and is ready to deploy and strike well-defended targets anywhere on Earth, Goldfein added.
34 FS Airmen will fly and maintain the F-35A alongside Air Force Reservists from Hills 419th Fighter Wing. Its an honor to fly and maintain the F-35 with our active duty counterparts here at Hill, 419 FW commander Col. David Smith, said. Our units were the first to fly combat-ready F-16s nearly 40 years ago, and were very proud to have made history once again in bringing the Air Forces newest fighter jet.
OSCE Official Says Monitors Need 'Unfettered' Access In Ukraine
August 01, 2016
by Tony Wesolowsky
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is demanding unfettered access across eastern Ukraine after one of its monitoring missions there was threatened at gunpoint by Russia-backed separatists.
Alexander Hug, the deputy chief monitor for the OSCE monitoring mission in Ukraine, told RFE/RL that failure to prosecute those responsible for such attacks would only invite more.
"As long as there is no follow-up, no one identified as responsible, and as long as impunity prevails, there will be more of these incidents," Hug said. "If there is no follow-up, it is an open invitation for more of the same."
He said that if the monitors were prevented from carrying out their work, there was little chance of resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where more than 9,400 people have been killed since April 2014.
"If we can't do our job as monitors, it will be very difficult to assist the sides in finding the path to swift normalization in the eastern part of the country," Hug stressed.
The OSCE said a team from its Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) was stopped by two armed separatists near the separatist-controlled village of Lukove in the afternoon on July 29.
This occurred, the OSCE said, while the monitors were following what the mission said were fresh tracks, likely left by an infantry fighting vehicle.
The separatists blocked the road with their camouflaged jeep, pointed their guns at the monitors, and ordered them to leave the area, according to the OSCE.
As the group of monitors was leaving the area, another separatist jeep appeared, traveling at top speed. It almost hit the lead vehicle in the SMM convoy before coming to a stop in front of the patrol, blocking its path.
The OSCE said one separatist made a "cut throat" sign to the monitors and took photographs of both SMM vehicles and the drivers.
The OSCE monitors were led to a separatist checkpoint in Prymorske, some 5 kilometers south of Lukove.
There, according to the OSCE, nine armed separatists surrounded the first SMM vehicle, swearing and making threatening gestures. One of the monitor's vehicles was dented after a separatist hit it several times with his rifle butt.
The monitors were eventually released and returned safely to their base in Mariupol.
Hug said there had been "no concrete feedback" from the separatists regarding the latest violation, which the OSCE official stressed was not an isolated incident.
"We've had, of course, our patrols shot at previously. We had patrols be under crossfire, including involving artillery," Hug explained. "We had our colleagues being kidnapped earlier on, in 2014, when eight of our colleagues were taken and held for over a month. So, there are, of course, different scales of incidents."
On December 5, 2015, the OSCE said, armed individuals guarding heavy weapons in the separatist-controlled town of Yurivka in the Luhansk region fired into the air as SMM monitors tried to approach.
On April 7, 2016, the OSCE said an SMM vehicle was hit by a bullet not far from Snizhne in a separatist-controlled area of the Donetsk region. The same day, the OSCE said a SMM vehicle was stopped on a highway checkpoint north of Smile in a separatist-controlled area of Luhansk. In this incident, a monitor had a gun pointed at him from a distance of about 7 meters.
Just two days later, on April 9, an SMM patrol including five monitors and travelling in two armored vehicles was in Zhovanka, a government-controlled part of Zaytseve (50 kilometers northeast of Donetsk). The SMM was accompanied by Ukrainian military personnel. According to the OSCE, a mortar was fired in the direction of the SMM, followed by small-arms fire. According to the monitors, at least three or four bullets flew 1 or 2 meters above their heads. No one was hurt in the incident.
The latest incident in July came at the end of what has been the deadliest month for the Ukrainian military in nearly a year after a sharp spike in violence.
This despite an 18-month-old Minsk cease-fire deal that was meant to halt the fighting. But many of its key points -- including the complete withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line -- have not been implemented.
On July 19, Ukraine reported seven soldiers had been killed and 14 wounded over the past 24 hours in fighting against Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Days later, on July 24, Ukraine's military said six more soldiers were killed.
"It is indeed true that we see a correlation between an increase in cease-fire violations and in violence in general, and an increase in violations that affect our own monitors. And that is once again a reason why it is important that the security of our patrols are being looked after properly by the sides, Hug said.
Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-russia-osce-monitors- demand-unfettered-access/27893202.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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Trump Says He Would Consider Recognizing Crimea As Part Of Russia
August 01, 2016
The Republican candidate for U.S. president, Donald Trump, has said that, if elected, he would consider recognizing Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.
"I'm going to take a look at it," Trump said in an interview broadcast on July 31 on the U.S. television program This Week. "But you know, the people of Crimea, from what I've heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were. And you have to look at that, also."
The move would be a reversal of the Obama administration's policy of refusing to recognize Russia's occupation and illegal annexation of Crimea in March 2014.
He also suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin had no designs on Ukraine.
"Just so you understand. [Putin is] not going to go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down and you can put it down. You can take it anywhere you want," before admitting, after prodding by the program's host, that, "OK, well, he's there in a certain way, but I'm not there yet," an apparent reference to the U.S. presidency.
Writing on Facebook, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov called Trump's remarks "shameful," adding that "a marginal who support Putin's dictatorship cannot be a guarantor of democratic freedoms in the U.S. and the world."
Former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk called Trump's comments "a challenge to the values of the free world."
"It can hardly be called ignorance," Yatsenyuk said. "This is a breach of moral and civilized principles."
Trump also blamed U.S. President Barack Obama for the "mess" in "that whole part of the world" and said he had not been involved in a move that decreased support for Ukraine in the Republican Party platform.
His supporters at the Republican National Convention in July prevented a reference being added to the party's foreign policy agenda on providing offensive weapons to Kyiv for its fight against Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Trump also denied having any kind of relationship with Putin, saying he'd neither met Putin nor spoken on the phone with him.
Trump's campaign manager, political strategist Paul Manafort, previously had been a lobbyist for Ukraine's ousted pro-Russian former President Viktor Yanukovych.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, USA Today, ABC-TV, and RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/trump-ukraine- russia-putin-crimea-annexation/27892208.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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Russia to Deploy Airborne Forces Battalion in North Crimea in 2017
Sputnik News
16:11 01.08.2016
Russia will deploy a battalion and a regiment of its airborne forces in Crimea.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) The Russian Airborne Forces will deploy a battalion next year and a regiment by 2018 in the northern Crimean city of Dzhankoi, Airborne Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Nikolai Ignatov said Monday.
"We plan a regiment in Dzhankoi, one battalion in 2017, then a full-fledged unit to be deployed by 2018," Ignatov told reporters.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said last week a self-sufficient force grouping has been formed in Crimea with more than 4,000 weapons and hardware, including coastal missile complexes, missile systems and submarines.
Sputnik
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Ukrainian Interior Minister Slams Trump as 'Dangerous Outcast'
Sputnik News
06:46 01.08.2016
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has called US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump a "dangerous outcast" over the billionaire's promise to look into recognizing Crimea as Russian territory.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) On Wednesday, Trump said he would look into recognizing Crimea as the territory of the Russian Federation as well as into lifting sanctions against Moscow. On Sunday, Trump told ABC News that the people of Crimea prefer to be with Russia instead of Ukraine.
"The shameless statement by the US presidential candidate Trump about the possible recognition of Crimea as Russian is a diagnosis of a dangerous outcast. And he is dangerous for Ukraine as well as for the United States," Avakov wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Trump's statement on Crimea is a challenge to the values of the "free world" and international law.
Russia's historical southern region of Crimea rejoined Russia after a 2014 referendum. Almost 97 percent of the region's population voted for reunification in a referendum. Sevastopol, which has a federal city status, supported the move by 95.6 percent of votes.
Sputnik
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Alan Burkitt-Gray speaks to Don MacNeil, chief operating officer of GTT, about its company restructuring after coming out of Chapter 11 and its strategic roadmap for the next 12 months.
Just a few short years ago, Pittsylvania County Christian school Heritage Academy was nothing more than a dream of about eight educators hoping to bring religious values back into the classroom. Now, the Dry Fork-based school is poised to begin its fifth year in operation.
From the first round-table planning sessions to today, we have seen Gods hand at work, Heritage Academy Head of School Ann Haymes said in a news release. We are now close to outgrowing our second campus.
Haymes said the first year for the school was challenging, but the group of invested teachers, parents and students were able to overcome financial challenges and continue to grow the school. Two years ago, the school was able to move out of its old location in the former Climax Elementary School building and into the current building the former home of the White Oak Grove Outreach Center.
Its a great location, Haymes said.
Haymes said the school continues to provide both a Christian worldview and educational excellence.
Heritage supports a traditional American primary educational model designed to encourage students to reason and solve problems, to view the world through the lens of Christianity and to express their opinions clearly both orally and written, Haymes said.
Heritage currently employs 16 full-time and three part-time teachers. Haymes said the school invites a number of guest speakers to present every year, and has board members who all work and live in the community.
I was aware of the reputation that Heritage had in the community, but was truly impressed after attending a graduation, board member Rita Dupont said in the release. These children were not only impressive in the subject matter they had learned, but they also demonstrated a poise and respect that cannot be achieved in the public school environment today.
Haymes said she was excited about the potential for more growth in the future.
Heritage Academy appreciates all who have contributed to our first five years, Haymes said. We anticipate continued growth and expansion in this community in the coming years.
The school serves students from kindergarten to eighth grade. Aug. 16 is the first day back for students.
Two months after construction started, the Albany Historic Carousel & Museums new $5.6 million building downtown is progressing on schedule, and seemingly on track to open on June 1, 2017.
The concrete stem walls for the 12-sided centerpiece of the structure, which will house the carousel and its 50 steeds, was poured over the weekend.
There have been some unexpected curves as the Historic Carousel & Museum reaches for the brass ring, however.
Dr. Gary Goby, who is helping the organizations board oversee construction, said that during excavation for the basement area of the building, workers discovered, and then had to chip out, an ancient lava rock bed.
Most people dont realize that when you go down a ways in Albany, there are lava flows. Its nice that we have some very hard rocks to set the building on, but it took a bit of extra work to get there, he added.
During excavation, a natural gas line also had to be moved and a wall was re-engineered as a fiber optic cable for Southern Oregon was right next to it. We couldnt excavate around that, Goby said.
Otherwise, its been a piece of cake, he added.
The carousel, at 503 First Ave. W., attracted 2,000 to 2,500 visitors a month to see woodcarving and check out progress on the project before its building was demolished.
Now, the site gets visitors eager to view the construction progress on the new building, said Wendy Kirbey.
Theres always somebody down there looking through the fence, added Kirbey, who came up with the idea of the local carousel to draw visitors after seeing Missoula, Montanas carousel in 2002.
Goby said that a Pokemon hotspot by the U.S. Post Office means that curious kids and their parents will wander over to check out the construction work as well.
Were getting a lot of kids nearby hunting Pokemon, and all that is a bit interesting. Its nice to see them out and getting some exercise, Goby said.
The Historic Carousel & Museums new building will be 22,000 square feet. The first floor of the building will be 14,000 square feet and the 8,000-square-foot basement will include a workshop, storage area and volunteer break room.
Until the new buildings completion, the carousel animals are on display at various locations around downtown Albany, including at Two Rivers Market, 250 Broadalbin St. S.W., where woodcarving and other work on the animals also is continuing.
Kirbey said additional funding from donors still is needed.
For more information, call the Albany Historic Carousel & Museum office in Two Rivers Market, 541-791-3340, or check out construction updates on the organizations Facebook page.
CAROVA, N.C. A 5-year-old boy on vacation with his family died after being struck by lightning on an Outer Banks beach, authorities said.
According to The Virginian-Pilot, the boy and his family were trying to to get into a vehicle for shelter as a storm approached Carova Beach shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday.
The Outer Banks Voice reported that the boy is from the Philadelphia area.
The father and boy had not yet made it to the vehicle when the boy was struck by lightning, Currituck fire Chief Ralph Melton told the newspaper.
Authorities did not identify the family.
EMS crews from Carova took the boy across the state line into Virginia Beach, where he was transferred to a Virginia Beach Rescue Squad vehicle and taken to Sentara Princess Anne Hospital in Virginia Beach, the Outer Banks Voice reported.
We attempted to resuscitate him at the scene and en route to Sentara Princess Anne Hospital in Virginia Beach, and he ultimately did not survive, Melton told The Virginian-Pilot.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO--(Marketwired - Aug 1, 2016) - Gold Resource Corp. (NYSE MKT: GORO) (the "Company") today announced the timing of its first quarter earnings conference call scheduled for August 3, 2016. Gold Resource Corp. is a gold and silver producer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and exploration in Nevada, USA. The Company has returned $108 million to shareholders in monthly dividends since commercial production commenced July 1, 2010, and offers shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery.
Conference Call
Gold Resource Corp.'s CEO Mr. Jason Reid will host the conference call Wednesday, August 3, 2016 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time. Topics of discussion will include second quarter results and an update on current operations. The conference call will be recorded and posted to the Company's website in three to five business days from recording.
Q&A
Following Mr. Reid's opening remarks, the Company will answer questions during a live Q&A period.
Date: Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Time: 11:00 AM Eastern (9:00 AM Mountain)
Attendee Access Information:
- Title: Gold Resource Corp. Second Quarter Conference Call
- Host Name: Jason Reid
- Company Name: Gold Resource Corp.
US/CAN Toll Free: 800-967-7149
International Toll: 719-325-4932
Passcode: 986725
Please dial-in to the meeting at least 5 minutes prior to the start time using the attendee phone number and passcode.
About GRC:
Gold Resource Corp. is a mining company focused on production and pursuing development of gold and silver projects that feature low operating costs and produce high returns on capital. The Company has 100% interest in six potential high-grade gold and silver properties at its producing Oaxaca, Mexico Mining Unit and exploration properties at its Nevada, USA, Mining Unit. The Company has 54,266,706 shares outstanding, no warrants, no long term debt and has returned $108 million back to shareholders since commercial production commenced July 1, 2010. Gold Resource Corp. offers shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery. For more information, please visit GRC's website, located at www.Goldresourcecorp.com and read the Company's 10-K for an understanding of the risk factors involved.
Cautionary Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. When used in this press release, the words "plan", "target", "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the statements regarding Gold Resource Corp.'s strategy, future plans for production, future expenses and costs, future liquidity and capital resources, and estimates of mineralized material. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to Gold Resource Corp. on the date of this press release, and the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this press release. In particular, there can be no assurance that production will continue at any specific rate. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the Company's 10-K filed with the SEC.
DENVER, Aug. 1, 2016 /CNW/ -- Vista Gold Corp. (the "Company," "we" or "our") (NYSE MKT: VGZ) (TSX: VGZ) today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016. Management's quarterly conference call to discuss these results is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. MDT on August 10, 2016. The Company's unaudited financial statements, Management's Discussion and Analysis together with other important disclosures can be found in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed on August 1, 2016 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Canadian securities regulatory authorities.
Summary of Second Quarter 2016 Financial Results
We reported net income of $1.6 million or $0.02 per share for the three months ended June 30, 2016. This includes an unrealized $3.3 million mark-to-market gain on our investment in Midas Gold Corp. ("Midas"); offset by $1.7 million of operating expenses and other expenses. During the three months ended June 30, 2015, we reported net income of $3.6 million or $0.04 per share. This included a $5.9 million payment received from the Australian Government under a research and development incentive program; an unrealized $0.3 million mark-to-market loss on our investment in Midas; and $2.0 million in operating expenses.
Our working capital at June 30, 2016 totaled approximately $16.0 million, including cash and short-term investments (comprised of government securities) of approximately $10.3 million. The Company has no debt.
To review the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, including the related Management's Discussion and Analysis, visit any of the following websites: www.sedar.com, www.sec.gov or www.vistagold.com.
Management Conference Call
A conference call with management to review our financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and to discuss corporate and project activities is scheduled for Wednesday, August 10, 2016 at 2:30 p.m. MDT.
Toll-free in North America: 1-866-233-5249
International: 416-642-3300
This call will also be web-cast and can be accessed at the following web location:
http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=1234673&s=1&k=5184360283907E75CCB91632F5469D43
This call will be archived and available at www.vistagold.com after August 10, 2016. Audio replay will be available for 21 days by calling toll-free in North America: 1-888-203-1112, passcode 5515432.
If you are unable to access the audio or phone-in on the day of the conference call, please email questions to Connie Martinez, Manager Investor Relations (email: connie@vistagold.com), and we will try to address these questions prior to or during the conference call.
All dollar amounts in the press release are U.S. dollars.
About Vista Gold Corp.
The Company is a well-funded gold project developer. Our principal asset is our flagship Mt Todd gold project in Northern Territory, Australia where we continue to work to identify opportunities to improve project economics with the goal of advancing the project toward development. We also hold approximately 4.4% of the outstanding common shares of Midas, non-core projects in Mexico and the United States and royalty interests in Indonesia. For more information about our projects, including technical studies and resource estimates, please visit our website at www.vistagold.com.
For further information, please contact Connie Martinez at (720) 981-1185.
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vista-gold-corp-announces-second-quarter-2016-results-300307311.html
SOURCE Vista Gold Corp.
TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - August 02, 2016) - Excellon Resources Inc. (TSX: EXN) (OTC: EXLLF) ("Excellon" or the "Company"),Mexico's highest grade silver producer, is pleased to announce second quarter 2016 production results from the La Platosa Mine in Durango, Mexico.
Q2 2016 Production Highlights (Compared to Q2 2015)
Silver equivalent ("AgEq") production of 368,568 ounces (Q2 2015 -- 341,975 AgEq oz), an 8% increase
Silver production of 227,826 ounces (Q2 2015 -- 182,709 ounces), a 25% increase
Lead production of 1.3 million lb (Q2 2015 -- 1.0 million lb), a 28% increase
Zinc production of 1.6 million lb (Q2 2015 -- 1.7 million lb), a 10% decrease
Phases II and III of optimization program underway with increasingly dry mining conditions at Platosa and drawdown rates exceeding projections at current pumping rates
"Production during the second quarter remained steady and slightly improved from Q1," stated Brendan Cahill, President and Chief Executive Officer. "As a result of drier underground conditions, we accessed the second level of the Rodilla Manto where further high grade mineralization was mined. With operations on firmer track as a result of our continued efforts to improve operational efficiencies, we expect these improvements to reflect well in our operating costs during the quarter, further benefitted by higher commodity prices. As we move into the third quarter of 2016, we intend to remain focused on improving our operations through the ongoing optimization program, while carrying out exploration drilling near existing infrastructure and following up on high priority, drill-ready targets."
Q2 2016 Production Results Q2 2016 Q2 2015 6-Mos 2016 6-Mos 2015 Tonnes Mined 13,929 13,709 26,706 27,629 Tonnes Milled 14,453 14,629 29,173 28,457 Grades Silver (g/t) 536 475 509 499 Lead (%) 5.09 4.40 4.94 4.87 Zinc (%) 6.31 6.87 6.23 7.82 Recoveries Silver (%) 90.0 84.7 90.9 88.6 Lead (%) 81.2 73.6 82.5 75.9 Zinc (%) 78.7 80.1 79.0 81.9 Metal Production* Silver (oz) 227,826 182,709 439,382 399,788 Lead (lb) 1,313,197 1,024,813 2,632,113 2,277,608 Zinc (lb) 1,575,231 1,744,678 3,164,009 3,983,991 AgEq (oz)** 368,568 341,975 732,120 750,070
* Subject to adjustment following settlement with concentrate purchaser. ** Silver equivalent ounces established using average metal prices during the period indicated applied to the recovered metal content of concentrates.
Ore production during the second quarter was primarily from the Rodilla, 6A and Guadalupe North and South mantos. A total of 14,453 tonnes of ore was processed during the quarter, a 5% increase from the previous quarter. As the Company continued to access the Rodilla Manto ahead of schedule due to drier mining conditions, approximately 10,795 tonnes of ore were mined from the Rodilla Manto alone, with grades from Rodilla averaging approximately 662 g/t Ag, 5.94% Pb and 7.75% Zn. During Q3, the Company aims to continue production from the Rodilla Manto on the 975 level while continuing development and accessing ore from the 970 level, with development preparing the 960 level for Q4. Additionally, development is focused on further accessing the Guadalupe South Manto and driving development into the 623 Manto, hosting mineral resources of 83,000 tonnes at 1,231 g/t Ag (1,766 g/t AgEq).
As delineated in the Platosa resource block model, the upper levels of the Rodilla Manto host mineralization grading approximately 800 g/t Ag, 7% Pb and 10% Zn on an undiluted basis. During the second quarter, the Company continued to encounter materially higher grades than forecast from Rodilla, with approximately 1,700 tonnes of ore produced from Rodilla grading in excess of 1,000 g/t Ag, 10% Pb and 10% Zn on a diluted basis. Though the deposit is tightly drilled at 15 metre centres, manto boundaries are generally erratic and additional mineralization is often encountered outside of the resource block model. Additionally, the Company has noted historically that in areas with very high argentiferous-galena content silver and lead grades are underestimated as such mineralization may be washed out and lost during the diamond drilling process.
Approximately 1,850 tonnes of ore milled during the quarter were extracted from historic stockpiles and settling ponds at Platosa at minimal cost with grades of approximately 150 g/t Ag and 1-2% Pb and Zn. High-grade ore produced during the quarter was blended with this lower grade material to improve recoveries and concentrate payability. The Company expects to continue accessing and blending this low cost ore in coming quarters.
Update on Optimization Plan
As announced on June 2nd and November 2nd, 2015, the Company has developed an optimization plan to comprehensively manage water at Platosa through an enhanced pumping system. The Company is currently implementing the second and third phases of the program, with the drilling of primary dewatering wells and installation of submersible pumps. Additionally, the Company has further optimized its existing pump infrastructure, which demonstrated exceptional results during the second quarter. Effectively all areas of the mine are currently dry, with operations only being limited by potential water inflows and pressure in the deepest areas of the mine (the production headings in Guadalupe South and development headings into the 623 Manto), and conditions in those areas are expected to improve as drawdown continues. Pumping rates (primarily from existing infrastructure) during June 2016 averaged approximately 15,900 gallons per minute, resulting in a drawdown of approximately 1.5metres during the month, approximately 30% higher than predicted in the conservative drawdown model on which the optimization plan is based. More generally, the drawdown rate throughout 2016 has exceeded the expected drawdown at various pumping rates. Drawdown rates are expected to fluctuate from period to period, but the higher than expected drawdown at consistently higher pumping rates is a promising indicator of the project's upside efficacy.
All equipment required to equip the first eight dewatering wells is expected to be on site by the end of August. Three dewatering wells have been drilled to date. The initial drilling contractor was replaced in the second quarter to improve drilling performance and drilling has now resumed. Temporary, high head pumps have been installed to draw water from the initial wells prior to installation of the permanent pumping system, with further opportunities to optimize this interim system under implementation. Further updates on the progress of this program will be provided regularly during the implementation period.
The Company expects to release second quarter financial results prior to market open on August 8, 2016.
Qualified Person
Michael Verreault, Ing., has acted as a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101 for disclosure in respect of the drawdown rates referenced in this release. Mr. Verreault has a Masters in Applied Science (Hydrogeology) and 15 years of relevant experience focused on hydrogeology. He is a certified professional engineer (OIQ 125243) by the Ordre des ingAnieurs du QuAbec and is President of Hydro-Ressources Inc. Mr. Verreault is independent of the Company and visited Platosa several times during the preparation and ongoing implementation of the optimization plan referenced herein.
About Excellon
Excellon's 100%-owned La Platosa Mine in Durango is Mexico's highest grade silver mine, with lead and zinc by-products making it historically one of the lowest cash cost silver mines in the country. The Company is positioning itself to capitalize on undervalued projects by focusing on increasing La Platosa's profitable silver production and near-term mineable resources.
Additional details on the La Platosa Mine and the rest of Excellon's exploration properties are available at www.excellonresources.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this Press Release, which has been prepared by management. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 27E of the Exchange Act. Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future results of operations, performance and achievements of the Company, including potential property acquisitions, the timing, content, cost and results of proposed work programs, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, geological interpretations, proposed production rates, potential mineral recovery processes and rates, business and financing plans, business trends and future operating revenues. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, significant downward variations in the market price of any minerals produced [particularly silver], the Company's inability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies. All of the Company's public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties, and particularly the July 9, 2015 NI 43-101-compliant technical report prepared by Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. with respect to the Platosa Property. This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.
Toronto, Ontario / TheNewswire / August 2, 2016 - Latin American Minerals ("LAT" or the "Company") (TSX-V: LAT) today announced that it has initiated a plan to increase throughput and improve recoveries at the Independencia Gold Mine in Paraguay.
The technical study for the reconfiguration of the gold processing plant was developed with John T. Boyd Company ("Boyd"), after the Boyd engineering and metallurgy team visited the mine in December 2015 to assess the most cost effective way to increase gold production at the mine. The initial goal is to double the throughput of raw material and increase production to 300 ounces of gold per month.
Basil Botha, Chairman and CEO said: "For the initial resumption of operations, the company intends to reprocess 85,000 tonnes of existing tailings grading 0.84 g Au per tonne, followed by processing of low grade stockpiles grading 0.48 g Au per tonne. The reconfiguration of the plant will allow for the efficient processing of low grade ore otherwise considered uneconomic. The entire operation has been designed to move the raw feed hydraulically through pumps and pipes, which contributes to reduced production costs."
The Company's Chief Operating Officer, Cameron Tymstra, is now resident in Paso Yobai, Paraguay and is directly involved in the daily operations and the rebuilding of the gold processing plant under the guidance of John T. Boyd Company.
Cameron holds a degree in Mineral Engineering from the University of Toronto. He has worked on a number of exploration and development projects across Canada, United States and Colombia. These projects include gold, silver, iron and uranium. Cameron served as the Operations Manager for Northern Iron Corp. where he oversaw the feasibility investigations at their Ontario projects. He spent the last two years as the Mining Engineer at Magnetation Inc.'s iron tailings mining and reprocessing operations in the United States.
The Boyd recommendations include de-sliming, reconfiguration of the gravity circuit, conversion of the heap leach pads to a vat leach system, along with various upgrades to the carbon loading and stripping circuits. Based on Boyd's professional experience and LAT's empirical data, these changes are expected to significantly improve recoveries.
The company also plans to initiate a 10,000 metre drill program in early September.
About the Company
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.
Qualified person
Gregory B. Sparks, BSc, PEng,, Managing Director - Metals for the John T. Boyd Company, consultant for the LAT process plant reconfiguration, and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this press release with respect to matters relating to reconfiguration of the process plant located at the Independencia Mine.
For more information, please contact:
Basil Botha, CEO & Chairman
Toronto: (1-416) 363-0841 or Vancouver: (1-604) 418-3856
E-mail: information@latinamericanminerals.com
Website: www.latinamericanminerals.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Copyright (c) 2016 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA / TheNewswire / August 2nd, 2016 - Northern Iron Corp. ("Northern Iron" or the "Company") (TSX-V: NFE) (FRANKFURT: N8I) announces the acquisition of three prospective lithium projects in Nevada and Arizona.
Details of the properties follow below.
Basil Botha, president, said: "When determining the prospectivity of lithium projects, it's important that the following criteria is met: road accessibility, electricity, rail, labour and the ability to conduct work programs throughout the year. I am delighted to say that all the projects the Company has acquired have meet the logistical conditions that the Company looks at in assessing projects".
Mr. Botha started his career in the mining industry in the 70's and has extensive knowledge of the minerals and metals markets in Europe, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea where he supplied lithium and spodumene to the ceramics and glass industry from Bikita Minerals, Zimbabwe. Bikita Minerals together with the Greenbushes mine in Australia are the largest hard rock lithium mines in production. Mr. Botha was the chairman of Lithium Americas when the company went public in 2010. The properties held by Lithium Americas were lithium and potash brines in Jujuy Province of Argentina.
Mr. Botha continued, "Our goals over the next few months will be to complete the necessary geophysics and analytical aspects of delineating and quantifying the brine reservoirs".
NEVADA
Northern Iron Corp. has acquired 140 mineral claims comprising 2,800 acres in Clark County, Nevada. The contiguous 'Jackpot Lake' claim group is located 39 miles NE of Las Vegas.
Highlights/Geology - Jackpot Lake
The USGS conducted a survey in 1976 taking 129 core samples, all of which encountered lithium with values up to 550 ppm and an average of 175 ppm.
Click Image To View Full Size
Albermarle has been in continuous production of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide products from Clayton Valley brines since 1967.
The property is ideally situated to take advantage of amongst other things the solar energy zone in Nevada, and right off of the highway with associated logistical and infrastructural advantages.
Jackpot Lake claims cover the entire dry lake bed.
ARIZONA
The company has also acquired two land packages in Arizona, consisting of 1,434 acres in the Wilcox Playa Basin; a large dry lakebed in southeastern Arizona, and 289 acres in the the Little Rock Target in Yavapai County, Arizona.
Click Image To View Full Size
Highlights/Geology - Wilcox Playa
The Willcox Playa lithium brine target, as per the USGS 1976 report, consists of one of the most prospective locations for undiscovered lithium brines and most nearly like the currently exploited brine field in Clayton Valley, Nevada. Airborne electromagnetic prospecting by the USGS identified a 22-square-mile anomaly characterized by high electrical conductivity. The USGS interpreted this anomaly to be caused by a subsurface brine field hosted in sediments beneath the dry playa surface. Arizona Department of Water Resources records show that wells in the vicinity of this anomaly generally report water tables within 60 feet of the playa surface.
The combination of a gravity survey showing a closed gravity low coincident with the zone of high electrical conductivity reinforces the concept that an accumulation of brine is present
beneath Willcox Playa and that no hydrological outlet allows the accumulated brine to escape. High evaporation rates relative to precipitation in this desert environment allows any brine to become increasingly concentrated over time.
A likely source area for lithium is located to the south, up the hydrological gradient from
Willcox Playa in the felsic volcanic rocks at Three Sisters Buttes. Hot spring activity at Sulphur Springs, three miles up the hydrological gradient from the Arizona land permits, provides an ongoing mechanism for alteration and leaching of lithium-bearing felsic volcanic rocks. Subsurface drainage of this hydrothermal discharge will report directly to Willcox Playa in the vicinity of the Arizona land permits.
Highlights/Geology - Little Rock
The Little Rock target was first identified serendipitously during a helicopter-borne VTEM
electromagnetic survey conducted by Bell Copper Corporation in 2007 while searching for
massive copper sulfide deposits. A large, highly electrically conductive body at the south end of
the survey area was checked on the ground and found to be a strongly clay-altered rhyolite tuff mostly concealed by a basalt flow.
Geological mapping to the west shows a similar bimodal rhyolite-basalt volcanic association that has been dated between 12 Ma and 8.8 Ma (Late Miocene, Moyer, 1990).
Recognizing that the clay body had potential to be a lithium clay deposit, a reconnaissance
sampling campaign was done to understand the extent of the target and the presence, if any, of
lithium. Clear evidence was found of a closed, lacustrine paleoenvironment, including thinly
bedded rhyolitic claystone and ripple-marked rhyolitic sandstone.
Prior to emplacement of the capping basalt flow, hydrothermal fluid controlled by the basin bounding fault altered the rhyolitic glass to lithium-enriched clay, and then probably discharged
into a shallow lakebed. In order to capture the projected basin-bounding fault and the potential
volume of hot spring discharge into a closed basin beneath the capping basalt flow, 14 unpatented lode mining claims were staked.
The conceptual dimensions of the target are about 2500 meters along the strike of the basin-bounding fault, about 300 meters perpendicular to the fault, by about 20 meters thick.
Hectorite clay (LR-6) from an active bentonite mine located in the same late Miocene lacustrine and volcanic strata 40 kilometers to the east carries over 2700 ppm lithium.
Timothy Marsh PHD, P. Eng QP prepared the disclosures reports related to these projects.
NI-43-101 reports have not been prepared on these properties.
About Northern Iron Corp.
Northern Iron is the owner of five iron (magnetite) properties in the Red Lake District in the Province of Ontario. The Red Lake District is an established mining area in Ontario where Northern Iron has two near term development projects, the past producing Griffith mine and the Karas property.
Northern Iron is currently working towards the production of Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI), a transportable form of direct reduced iron. HBI is complementary and a viable metallic supplement to scrap steel. Quality scrap is a critical raw material in the steel making process. With the diminishing supply of quality scrap steel and ever increasing market demand, steel producers around the world will be looking to secure alternative supplies of metallic products.
As part of the business plan, Northern Iron has acquired the past producing Griffith mine, which produced pellets and sponge iron (Direct Reduced Iron/DRI) from 1968 to 1986. The mine was owned and operated by STELCO and supplied pellets and sponge iron to the Hamilton and Nanticoke steel mills in Ontario.
Transportation infrastructure is currently in place to ship produced HBI into the North American market via rail and lake barges and into Asian markets via rail through the port of Prince Rupert. Existing infrastructure includes all weather roads, 115kV power line, natural gas line, rail bed and port facilities.
To date, Northern Iron has focused on de-risking the project by seeking out potential joint venture partners, off-take agreements or a combination thereof.
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. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.
For further information, please contact:
Basil Botha
President & CEO
Northern Iron Corp.
Tel: 604-566-8570
Fax: 604-602-9868
Email: bbotha@northernironcorp.com
Website: www.northernironcorp.com
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Copyright (c) 2016 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
August 2nd, 2016 / TheNewswire / Redstar Gold Corp. (TSX.V: RGC, US: RGCTF, FRA: RGG) ("Redstar" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has entered into a Letter of Intent (the "LOI") with NV Gold Corp. (TSX.V:NVX) ("NVX") setting forth the terms under which NVX intends to acquire 100% of Redstar's exploration assets in Nevada, subject to completion of due diligence, the finalization of a definitive agreement governing the acquisition and receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"). These assets consist of a 100% interest (less existing NSRs) in 11 exploration projects (the "Projects") in Nevada, as well as the AngloGold-Ashanti database (the "Database") purchased by Redstar in 2008. Redstar recognises the Nevada portfolio's attractiveness, but is currently 100% focused on its highly prospective district scale Unga Gold Project in Alaska.
Under the terms of the LOI, Redstar and NVX propose to enter into a definitive acquisition agreement under which NVX will acquire the Database and the Projects in consideration of NVX issuing to Redstar 6,000,000 common shares of NVX and Redstar having the right to name two of a proposed 6 member board of NVX. Under the definitive agreement, NVX will also be required to raise CDN$350,000 within 90 days of the completion of the definitive agreement or else NVX must return the Projects and the Database to Redstar in exchange for Redstar returning 95% of the shares of NVX it receives under the acquisition. If, after NVX raises the CDN$350,000, Redstar owns less than 29.9% of the outstanding shares of NVX, NVX would be required to issue Redstar additional shares of NVX to increase Redstar's share ownership of NVX shares to 29.9%. John Watson, CEO of NVX has confirmed he will subscribe to a lead order of the placement for up to CDN$100,000 after signing of the definitive agreement.
The LOI is not binding on the parties, except that Redstar has agreed to a 30-day exclusive right for NVX to complete its due diligence and negotiate a definitive agreement and NVX has agreed to fund the annual claims maintenance costs due in August, 2016 for the 11 Nevada properties it proposes to acquire.
"Redstar's goal is create near term value for our shareholders, while ensuring that in the long term additional upside is realized for assets we control. To ensure our Nevada portfolio receives the attention and focus it requires for a potential discovery and/or joint venture partnership, we searched for a group with a solid management team that brings the technical and district expertise to unlock the value in our assets where the market currently gives no credit to Redstar and its shareholders," commented Peter A. Ball, CEO of Redstar, "NVX's highly regarded technical team, with their extensive knowledge of Nevada, now will control a solid portfolio of projects and an extensive database that will create the opportunity of exploration success for NVX, and subsequently Redstar's shareholders. Redstar looks forward to working closely with Mr. Watson and the NVX team and being a significant shareholder to participate in the upside."
John E. Watson, President of NVX, states: "The proposed acquisition of this exceptional exploration property package consisting of 11 projects in the main mineralized trends of Nevada, and the geological Database, would mark a significant milestone for NVX and its return to an exploration focus in Nevada and the Great Basin. The Database is extensive and represents the results of decades of reconnaissance and exploration by a respected major company, estimated at a historical cost close to US$20 million. NVX looks forward to welcoming Redstar as a significant shareholder, and working closely with its new director appointees, with a focus of creating value, the development of key partnerships and exploration to make the next Nevada discovery."
Review of Nevada Assets to be Acquired by NVX
The Database
The Database, which covers Nevada, portions of Utah, Idaho and California, includes extensive proprietary exploration files created by AngloGold-Ashanti and its predecessors, as well as significant regional geological, geochemical and geophysical data, much of it also proprietary, as well as significant amounts of exploration information performed by Redstar from 2005 to 2014. The exploration programs which generated this data encompassed nearly 30 years of effort at a cost of an estimated US$20 million.
The Projects
The eleven (11) Nevada projects NVX proposes to acquire include both sediment-hosted and volcanic-hosted gold systems on important mineralized trends, including the Carlin Trend, the Cortez Trend and the Walker Lane. Each of the projects has significant results to date:
-Cooks Creek is a sediment-hosted gold system located eight miles west of the world-class Pipeline deposits being mined by Barrick Gold. Historic drilling intersected 21.3m (70 feet) grading 2.3 gpt gold (0.068 opt). The undrilled "Dinner" Zone has yielded surface rock-chip values to 2.45 gpt Au. A drill permit is currently in place, providing the opportunity for immediate advancement of this promising project.
-Seven Devils is a volcanic-hosted epithermal gold prospect located along the "Western Nevada Rift" trend that includes Kinross' Goldbanks, Newmont's Sandman and Paramount's Sleeper deposits. The identified gold system at Seven Devils is in excess of 6,000 feet long and contains surface rock-chip gold values up to 3.47 gpt. Targets include both high-grade epithermal veins and disseminated gold.
-Oasis is near the Goldfield district in western Nevada and contains a porphyry-style copper-gold system with extensive low-grade gold mineralization (2010-11 drilling yielded 96.1m grading 0.26 gpt Au, 30.5m grading 0.4 gpt Au and 196m of 0.22 gpt Au). Drilling results also suggested increasing copper at depth with the gold. The gold mineralization is currently exposed over an area of approximately 1,000m X 1,250m and is potentially open at depth and to the south.
-Gold Cloud is along the southeastern portion of the Cortez Trend and contains a 2-km-long zone of carbonate veins and silicification (jasperoid) with gold values at surface up to 2.8 gpt. The mineralization occurs along a range-front structure and could represent the upper-most or lateral edges of a larger gold system yet to be explored at depth or under shallow pediment alluvial cover in the adjacent valley.
-Painted Hills is a low-sulfidation, mid-Miocene bonanza-style vein target located 50 miles NW of the Sleeper deposit, which is geologically similar. An initial program, conducted in 2007 yielded extensive low-grade gold mineralization beneath a barren opalite cap. Surface indications suggest the exposed mineralization is above the "boiling zone" pointing to a high-grade gold target at shallow depth. Drilling results point to a high-grade "boiling-zone" target below the levels tested in the drilling, and potential also exists under the adjacent alluvial cover outboard of a range-front fault.
-Richmond Summit is approximately 7 miles NNW of Newmont's Gold Quarry mine. This Carlin-style, sediment-hosted target has yielded surface samples as high as 7.75 gpt, with lower plate rocks exposed within 300 m of the property and intersected in drilling.
-Baker is approximately 12 miles north of Newmont's new Long Canyon mine. The project is focused on anomalous mercury and arsenic, along with local hydrothermal barite within fault-controlled jasperoids at a range front. Peripheral stratiform jasperoid is widespread.
-Larus is a Carlin-style gold system along the Cortez Trend, 2 miles NW of the Mt. Hope Molybdenum project. Rock-chip samples have yielded up to 3.2 gpt of gold. Carbonates occur as a block above a low-angle detachment fault, with upper-plate siliciclastic rocks and volcanics lying below the fault. Gold locally occurs in the underlying siliciclastic rocks (to 2 gpt), and N-NW trending faults with gold cut (post-date) the detachment, suggesting a rooted gold system. Mineralization is known over a strike length of at least 1,200 m and a vertical range of at least 160 m.
-Root Spring is an epithermal gold-silver vein system in northwestern Nevada that is geologically similar to the world-class Rochester silver-gold mine operated by Coeur Mining 26 km to the NW. The gently-dipping vein system within Triassic Koipato Group volcanic rocks lies along a range front and can be traced for 1.2 km with a width of 150 m, although alluvial cover obscures extensions. Rock-chip values in veins reach 9.36 gpt gold (0.273 opt) and 1500 gpt silver (44 opt). First-phase drilling in 2012 intersected vein and disseminated Ag-Au mineralization down-dip of exposed veins (e.g., 12.1 m grading 14 gpt Ag and 0.16 gpt Au), but drilling was very shallow (68 m average length) and the system remains poorly explored. -Queens and Long Island are 5-7 miles SE of Kinross's Round Mountain Mine and are volcanic-hosted epithermal systems similar in age to Round Mountain. Historic shallow (<150m) drilling at Queens in the early 1990's yielded 0.70 gpt over 23 m, 0.46 gpt over 17 m and 0.53 gpt over 14 m. Rock chip sampling has been encouraging.
If it completes the acquisition and raises the required funds, NVX intends to advance certain of the existing targets through surface geologic work, geophysical surveys and possible drilling at some or all of the 11 Nevada projects and NVX will immediately begin analysis of the Database to select priority target areas for acquisition of new projects. NVX plans to become a project generator, with the goal of providing high-quality mineral exploration projects for lease or joint venture in the Great Basin region. The immediate goal is to prepare these projects for lease or joint venture.
NVX also continues to advance its Surselva property, in Graubunden, Switzerland.
Dr. Jake Margolis, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific or technical information in this news release. It is intended that Dr. Margolis, formerly Redstar's U.S. Exploration Manager, will be a consultant to NVX on the existing projects and the generation of new projects. Dr. Margolis previously worked for AngloGold-Ashanti and was instrumental in developing and advancing these Nevada projects and assisting in building the extensive Database.
About NV Gold Corporation
NV Gold is junior exploration company based in Vancouver, British Columbia that is planning to focus on delivering value through mineral discoveries utilizing the prospector generator model. Leveraging its highly experienced in-house technical knowledge, NV Gold's geological team intends to use the Database, which contains a vast treasury of field knowledge spanning decades of research and exploration, combined with the eleven (11) gold projects, to uncover opportunities for lease or joint venture in the Great Basin region that have been overlooked.
About RedStar Gold Corp.
Redstar is a junior exploration company focused on high-grade gold exploration in North America. In Alaska, the Company is exploring the 100% controlled high-grade Unga Gold Project. In Nevada, Redstar is currently seeking suitable partners to advance its portfolio of eleven (11) 100% owned properties located along and within many of the major gold producing trends. Redstar also owns 30% of the Newman Todd Gold Project, in Red Lake, Ontario, Canada. Newman Todd is a high-grade gold discovery along a 1.8 km corridor within the Newman Todd Structure (NTS).
On Behalf of the Board of Directors,
Peter A. Ball, President and CEO
For additional information please contact:
T: +1.604.245.5861
Toll Free: 877.310.3330
E: pball@redstargold.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements or information. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the proposed acquisition of the Properties and the Database and the terms of such acquisition by NVX, the proposed raising of CDN$350,000 by NVX, the geological potential of or the potential to lease or joint venture any of the Properties, the generative value of the Database, the expectation of creating shareholder value from NVX's efforts as owner of the Properties and the Database and other future plans and objectives of the Company, including exploration plans, 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. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's plans or expectations include regulatory issues, market prices, availability of capital and financing, general economic, market or business conditions, timeliness of government or regulatory approvals and other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. 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 otherwise required by applicable securities legislation.
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Copyright (c) 2016 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
Vancouver, Canada (FSCwire) - Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSX-V: BAY) (Aston Bay or the Company) is pleased to announce that all conditions precedent have been completed in the Option Agreement (the Option Agreement), signed by the Company with a Canadian Subsidiary of BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP Billiton) on May 27, 2016, to cooperatively advance the Storm Copper Project (Storm) in Nunavut. BHP Billiton has made a cash payment of CAD$325,000 to Aston Bay in accordance with its terms and the Option Agreement is closed.
We are very pleased with our progress on the Storm Copper Project and with the completion of our Option Agreement with BHP Billiton, commented Benjamin Cox, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aston Bay.
The Summer 2016 exploration program including drilling is currently underway. See the Companys news releases of June 28, 2016 and May 31, 2016 for additional information about the exploration program and the Option Agreement.
Qualified Person
The content of this news release and the technical information that forms the basis for this disclosure has been prepared under the supervision of Michael Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., who is the Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and a Director of and Consultant to Aston Bay.
About Aston Bay Holdings
Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSX-V: BAY) is a publicly traded mineral exploration company focused on the 976,066-acre (395,000 hectares) Aston Bay Property located on northwest Somerset Island, Nunavut. The Aston Bay Property hosts the Storm Copper project and has been optioned by BHP Billiton. Historical drilling has confirmed the presence of sediment-hosted copper and zinc mineralization on the property.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Benjamin Cox, Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: (360) 262-6969
For further information about Aston Bay Holdings Ltd or this news release, please visit our website at www.astonbayholdings.com.
About BHP Billiton Ltd.
Further information on BHP Billiton can be found at: bhpbilliton.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words expects, plans, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, projects, potential and similar expressions, or that events or conditions will, would, may, could or should occur. Although the Company 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 may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Companys management on the date the statements are made. In the event that managements beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
We seek Safe Harbor.
THIS PRESS RELEASE, REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE CANADIAN LAWS, IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES, AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO SELL ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN IN THE UNITED STATES. THESE SECURITIES 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 U.S. PERSONS UNLESS REGISTERED OR EXEMPT THEREFROM.
To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/AstonBay02022016.pdfSource: Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSX Venture:BAY)
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Copyright 2016 Filing Services Canada Inc.
VANCOUVER, Aug. 2, 2016 - Blue Sky Uranium Corp. (TSX VENTURE:BSK)(FRANKFURT:MAL) (WKN: A0MKXP) ("Blue Sky" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement financing of up to 6,500,000 units at a price of $0.38 per unit for gross proceeds of $2,470,000.
"Our Company has maintained its large property portfolio with the belief that Argentina continues to be one of the best destinations for discovering uranium as an alternate energy provider," stated Nikolaos Cacos, President and C.E.O. "Argentina currently relies on the import of uranium at very high cost in order to satisfy its nuclear power requirement. The Company has several discoveries which, if developed, have the potential to become a domestic source for the country's uranium need."
Each unit will consist of one common share and one transferrable common share purchase warrant. Each warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one additional common share in the capital of the Company at $0.50 per share for two years from the date of issue. If the volume weighted average price for the Company's shares is $0.80 or greater for a period of 10 consecutive trading days, then the Company may deliver a notice (the "Notice") to the warrantholder that the Warrants must be exercised within twenty (20) days from the date of delivery of such Notice, otherwise the Warrants will expire at 4:30 p.m. (Vancouver time) on the twenty-first (21st) day after the date of delivery of the Notice. The accelerated exercise shall not apply until the expiration of the four-month hold period required under TSX Venture Exchange policies and rules, and securities laws that are applicable to the Company.
This financing is subject to regulatory approval and all securities to be issued pursuant to the financing are subject to a four-month hold period under applicable Canadian securities laws. Directors, officers and employees of the Company may participate in a portion of the financing. A commission may be paid on a portion of the financing. The proceeds of the financing will be used for exploration programs on the Company's projects in Argentina and for general working capital.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Nikolaos Cacos, President, CEO and Director
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.
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. Readers are encouraged to refer to the Company's public disclosure documents for a more detailed discussion of factors that may impact expected future results. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. 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.
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISSEMINATION TO OR THROUGH US NEWSWIRE SERVICES
Contact
Blue Sky Uranium Corp.
Corporate Communications
1-604-687-1828
Toll-Free: 1-800-901-0058
info@blueskyuranium.com
www.blueskyuranium.com
TSX-V: SIL
VANCOUVER, Aug. 2, 2016 /CNW/ - SilverCrest Metals Inc. ("SilverCrest" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the first drill hole results at its Las Chispas Project ("Las Chispas") located in Sonora State, Mexico. Las Chispas is in a historic silver-gold mining district which presently hosts two nearby precious metal producers. Historic information indicates that only three veins, the Las Chispas, William Tell and Babicanora, of the fourteen historically reported veins at Las Chispas had documented production, between 1880 and 1930. SilverCrest's initial focus is on these three veins. To the Company's knowledge, none of the known veins have been drilled prior to the Company's current campaign. For more information, please refer to our website at www.silvercrestmetals.com.
N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng, President & CEO remarked, "The initial Las Chispas drill hole results received to date are impressive. Not only do they indicate bonanza grades of up to*** 18.55 gpt Au and 2,460 gpt Ag or 3,851.3 gpt AgEq*, but also show mineralized widths up to 7.2 metres in estimated true thickness. These first results have exceeded our expectations and appear to confirm that historic mining completed in the early 1900's has left behind substantial unexplored, unmined and easily accessible high grade mineralization. Until now, we have only been guided by what we could access from the estimated 11.5 kilometres of historic underground workings with approximate mined widths of 1 to 3 metres. Our drilling adjacent to historic workings now suggests that 1 to 3 metres may be the minimum widths of the Las Chispas vein. By combining our recent underground sampling and new drill results for the first of several veins to be explored, we have begun to discover the hidden potential of this district-wide play. This news release is the first of a series of releases on Phase I drill results and other activities to be announced over the next several weeks."
The most significant core drilling results for this release are 4.6 metres wide grading 4.56 grams per tonne ("gpt") gold ("Au") and 621.5 gpt silver ("Ag"), or 963.2 gpt silver equivalent ("AgEq"* uncut, undiluted, see attached Figure) including 0.8 metres grading 3,851.3 gpt AgEq (see attached Photo) in hole LC16-05. Also noteworthy is 7.2 metres wide grading 2.41 gpt Au and 311.5 gpt Ag, or 492.5 gpt AgEq* in hole LC16-08. The following table summarizes the most significant drill assay results (uncut, undiluted) for the Las Chispas vein only;
Hole No. From (m) To (m) Drilled
Thickness
(m) Est. True
Thickness
(m)** Au gpt Ag gpt AgEq* gpt LC16-05 149.0 150.0 1.0 0.9 2.10 226.0 383.5
167.0 172.0 5.0 4.6 4.56 621.5 963.2 includes 171.0 172.0 1.0 0.8 18.55 2,460.0 3,851.3 LC16-06 66.0 67.0 1.0 0.7 14.90 1,815.0 2,932.5 LC16-07 144.0 145.0 1.0 0.7 1.73 164.0 293.8 LC16-08 143.0 145.0 2.0 1.4 1.58 163.5 282.5
171.0 182.0 11.0 7.2 2.41 311.5 492.5 includes 171.0 176.0 5.0 3.3 2.25 276.3 444.8 includes 181.0 182.0 1.0 0.7 14.40 1,900.0 2,980.0 LC16-11 95.0 96.0 1.0 0.9 1.32 198.0 297.0
108.0 110.0 2.0 1.6 1.30 152.6 251.8
Note: all numbers are rounded. *AgEq based on 75 (Ag):1 (Au) and 100% metallurgical recovery. ** All holes were driled at apparent angles to mineralization and adjusted for true thickness. Las Chispas Main Vein in bold. *** Drill hole grade intercepts range from 1.3 gpt Au and 152.6 gpt Ag to 18.55 gpt Au and 2,460 gpt Ag with a weighted average grade of 3.52 gpt Au and 454.8 gpt Ag.
All assays were completed by ALS Chemex in Hermosillo, Mexico, and North Vancouver, BC.
All drill holes have intercepted quartz stockwork veinlets, veining and/or breccia. No underground workings have been intercepted while drilling the Las Chispas vein.
Drill hole LC16-01 intersected the Las Chispas Vein (outside the potentially identified high grade corridor) with grades less than the initially established cutoff of greater than 150 gpt AgEq*. Holes 2, 3 and 4 were drilled exclusively into the adjacent parallel William Tell Vein and will be reported separately. Holes 9 and 10 intercepted quartz stockwork including anomalous but low gold and silver values. Holes LC16-12 to 19 are pending final results, some of which are William Tell intercepts only, and will be reported once all assays are received and compiled.
For comparison purposes, hole LC16-05 intercepted 4.6 metres wide at 4.56 gpt gold and 621.5 gpt silver, or 963.2 gpt AgEq of breccia near the previously announced underground channel sampling result (see new release dated July 19, 2016) of 8 metres in vein strike length, 1 metre wide, and grading 1163.0 gpt AgEq, also in breccia. By comparison, the mineralized drill intercept is 2.5 metres wider than the accessible historic workings and the Company's average underground sample widths.
Drill holes LC16-05, 08, and 11 intercepted a new continuous vein (unnamed) which appears to be parallel to the nearby Las Chispas Main Vein. This new discovery suggests additional potential for further exploration work with a three hole drill-intercept, weighted average of 1.3 metres grading 1.32 gpt Au, 152.6 gpt Ag or 251.8 gpt AgEq.
The Company is completing its expanded Phase I surface drill program having drilled 22 core holes totalling approximately 6,300 metres to date. Nineteen holes have been drilled in the Las Chispas and William Tell veins, and three holes in the adjacent Babicanora (La Victoria) area. Based on positive Phase I surface drilling results, the Company is planning a Phase II surface drill program for the fall of 2016.
With permitting near completion, the planned 2,000 metre underground drill program should commence in late Q3 or early Q4 2016. The underground drill program will focus on delineation of a potential bulk sample, infill and expansion drilling, and drilling to depth in preparation for the initial Las Chispas resource estimation.
The Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects for this news release is N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng, and President and CEO for SilverCrest, who has reviewed and approved its contents.
ABOUT SILVERCREST METALS INC.
SilverCrest is a Canadian precious metals exploration company headquartered in Vancouver, BC, that is focused on new discoveries, value-added acquisitions and targeting production in Mexico's historic precious metal districts. The Company is led by a proven management team in all aspects of the precious metal mining sector, including the pioneering of a responsible "phased approach" business model taking projects through discovery, finance, on time and on budget construction, and production with subsequent increased value to shareholders.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. These include, without limitation, statements with respect to: the strategic plans, timing and expectations for the Company's exploration, rehabilitation and drilling programs of the Las Chispas Project, including initial extraction program for bulk sample testing and preparation of an initial resource estimate; information with respect to high grade areas and size of veins projected from underground sampling results and drilling results; and the accessibility of future mining at the Las Chispas Project. Such forward?looking statements or information are based on a number of assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: the conditions in general economic and financial markets; availability of skilled labour; timing and amount of expenditures related to rehabilitation and drilling programs; and effects of regulation by governmental agencies. The actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of risk factors including: the timing and content of work programs; results of exploration activities; the interpretation of drilling results and other geological data; receipt, maintenance and security of permits and mineral property titles; environmental and other regulatory risks; project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; and general market and industry conditions. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this news release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law.
N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng
President & CEO
SilverCrest Metals Inc.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE SilverCrest Metals Inc.
Why chefs persist with sweet potato fries, I'll never know. Just as a chia seed pudding will never sub in for a tiramisu, batons of sweet potato will never replace crispy, fluffy potato chips.
But at the newly opened Salmon & Bear in Newtown, the second outpost for the successful Zetland restaurant, they come as close as they ever will. Using a crinkle cutter for maximum crunchy potential, these sweet potato fries are basically perfect. Apart from not being potato, of course.
But we're not here to talk about chips - at Salmon & Bear, it's all about the fish. And the fish is very, very good. The restaurant, run by Red Lantern head chef Mark Jensen, along with Joel Katz and Joe Ward, has reinvented the fish and chip shop. There's not a battered sav in sight, but there are fresh bowls of poke, crispy fish tacos with a tangy mayo and "Grizzly Plates" piled with Ora King salmon, plus your choice of sauces and sides. The fish, all cooked in the Mibrasa oven (imported from Spain), is really damn delicious. It's simple cooking done very well - a beautiful piece of barramundi, cooked just so, with a zingy salsa verde or a creamy lemon herb butter, with a side of crunchy slaw on the side. Comforting food that also happens to be comfort food.
The log-cabin-style interiors. Photo: Jacqueline Casimir
Little ones are well looked-after - the Cubs' Menu offers fish fingers or grilled salmon. Both servings are massive, and come with a side of chips, sweet potato fries or salad. And the place is suited to kids, too, so feel free to take them.
For afters, there's a short - but sweet - dessert menu: Salmon or Bear. Both made by Gelato Messina (soon to be a neighbour), the Salmon ice cream is a strawberry popsicle covered in white chocolate (coloured pink, of course) and the Bear is a chocolate ice cream cookie sandwich. Don't fight; order both.
Open Mon-Thurs 5:30-10pm, Fri-Sat 12-4pm, 5:30pm-late; Sunday 12-4pm; 5:30-10pm
226 King Street, Newtown, 02 9517 3200, salmonandbear.com.au
We're drinking HOT CHOCOLATE
This month there are 31 good reasons to visit Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and all of them are hot chocolates. Every week in August the chocolatiers will introduce eight new flavours. We're excited for The Wagon Wheel and Hot Gaytime, while kids are likely to go for hot chocolates inspired by freckles and frogs in a pond.
The sweetest drink around: hot chocolates from Yarra Valley Chocolaterie Photo: Supplied
We're eating THE BOURBON BURGEL
In this week's edition of freak food, we bring you Chicken & Sons' Bourbon Burgel, an American cheeseburger with a shot of glazed bacon-topped bourbon pushed through its centre. It launched at the Surry Hills store at the end of last month, just arrived at Leichhardt and is available on Friday and Saturday nights for $22 with a limit of two a customer. Eat and drink responsibly.
Australian sea urchin from Port Phillip Bay. Photo: Supplied
We're cooking with AUSSIE SEA URCHIN
Although Sydney's urchin or ''uni" season has just ended, diving has commenced in Melbourne around Port Phillip Bay (the Sydney season runs from December through June). Supernormal head chef Perry Shagen recommends serving them as simply as possible to "showcase the delicate flavour". Available via southcoastseaurchins.com.au or try it on seaweed crackers at Supernormal.
Crazy cones from Gelato Fiasco Photo: Supplied
We're buying GELATO FIASCO
A new gelato has hit shelves, and with flavours like the Log Cabin (chocolate with whiskey syrup and Sriracha flake coated almonds), we now have an excuse to eat gelato in the middle of winter. Hailing from Portland, Gelato Fiasco is available at 7-Eleven stores nationally or from the Gelato Fiasco Log Cabin pop-up at 82 Johnston Street, Fitzroy in Melbourne, which runs for six weeks from August 5.
A peanut butter and chocolate chip skillet cookie made by Shadi Hasanzade from Unicorns in the Kitchen Photo: Supplied
We're baking SKILLET COOKIES
Why use your skillet to cook heavy meat dishes and stir-fries when you can bake a giant cookie? Here's a peanut butter and chocolate chip version made by Shadi from Unicorns in the Kitchen and Rachel from Bakeria. If you're into soft centres, crispy edges and over-indulgence, this one's for you: unicornsinthekitchen.com/peanut-butter-chocolate-chunk-skillet-cookie.
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We're loving LASER-ENGRAVED ROLLING PINS
Baking is one skill, but decorating is another, says Zuzia Kozerska. She first engraved a wooden rolling pin with cats for her niece's birthday it was such a hit with children and adults alike it turned into a business. The high-quality pins are a great gift and come with cooking tips in beautiful packaging. Shop existing patterns online or place a custom order: valekrollingpins.com.
Pimple Cupcakes are here to haunt your dream (or nightmares?). Photo: Supplied
We can't believe THESE PIMPLE CUPCAKES
These vanilla cupcakes with chocolate icing look like giant, pus-filled zits and even "pop" vanilla pudding mix when squeezed. Invented by Rachael Sanchez, who works for Dr Sandra Lee (aka Dr Pimple Popper), her business @BlessedByBaking received a giant boost after Dr Lee Instagrammed the cupcakes during a pimple-popper potluck. "Naturally I signed up for dessert, never thinking these little cupcakes would go viral!" says Sanchez.
Address 375 Brunswick St Fitzroy, VIC 3065 View map Opening hours Wed-Fri 8am-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-7pm Features Bar, Wheelchair access, Family friendly, Breakfast-brunch, Lunch specials, Licensed Prices Moderate (mains $20-$40) Drinks Good mid-tier French wines, European and local beers, sakes and whiskies, all paired Phone 0423 694 763
Friends, in hard, dark times it's important to remember the good in the world. The Halal snack pack has become a hate-fighting symbol of solidarity, and now it's time for cheese to do the same. Arguably, no one needs extra propulsion when raclette and fondue is being tabled as it is nightly at this cheese shop, bar and kitchen on Brunswick Street but it's never felt a more vital time to go to Shifty Chevre.
A magnet for French expats, the night we arrive follows that when a truck full of explosives ploughed into a crowd in Nice. It's hard to think of a better place to unpack that horror. Everything about the place the work of Tom Petty, an architect, his partner Noemie Lacoste, and best friend Alex Whyte, who opened in 2014 after one of those "let's open a bar" nights that actually went right seems to wind the clock back to the '90s when nights hanging out with single friends didn't involve helping them swipe through Tinder.
The tall timber tables lining one wall (covered in political cartoons and books) each have in-built coat hooks for winter jackets. The top corner of the room is dedicated to couches and frilly lamps where you roll post-fondue to play Guess Who and Battleship in French. Couples lounge. Friends talk. Everyone is eating too much cheese. Everything is going to be OK.
Shifty Chevre Interior Photo: Joe Armao
Dairy in general is having a moment Big Poppa's is Sydney's new cheese and hip-hop specialist and here, Maker and Monger's grilled cheese sandwiches and raclette are cheesing up every paper and blog in the city.
Here the concept is simple three square meals of cheese a day. From the front cabinet you buy wedges of d'Affinois basically cultured silk local heroes such as Holy Goat and plenty in the stink-up-your-home Epoisse range. In the morning you come for reubens leaking Swiss cheese all over your plate and every version of eggs benedict/florentine turned into a fat croque monsieur/madame (aka put in a cheesy toastie and topped with an egg). Past 4pm, it's the stuff of future cheesemares.
This is definitely a strength-in-numbers scenario. Fondue, the smart Swiss farmers' solution to using ageing cheeses over winter and the '70s keys-in-a-bowl party highlight, serves four with ease. And it's good semi-hard Abondance from the French alps and maasdam gruyere from Holland arrives already melted, a winey, garlicky mass you take in turns to keep moving between dipping cubes of stale baguette.
Cheese please: a cheeseboard at the Shifty Chevre. Photo: Sunny Nyssen
A raw egg is provided for the traditional pot cleaning finale where you make the world's cheesiest scramble. Order extra cubes of saucisson, vegetables or more bread if you need, although for our money it's better just to get the raclette too which comes with the lot.
Sure, the mushroom-shaped table lamp doesn't have the romance of scraping the foot-ripe cheese from the giant wheel (instead you place slices under the lamp in little dishes) but the effect once easing the bubbling cargo onto cool waxy potatoes, and forking up some jambon and a pickle is much the same. There's no kirsch the cherry brandy the Swiss swear by to help you push through but mid-tier French wines starting at $40 and maxing out at $60 (the Immich-Batterieberg Mosel riesling is your friend; as is the crisp Loire Valley chenin blanc) will get you there.
Life is bad, here it's good. Come raise a tiny fork in support of France, and all that's still good in the world.
Fondue at Shifty Chevre Photo: Joe Armao
Spring Street grocer does evenings on request, as does Milk the Cow with similar whisky, sake and beer pairings.
Pro Tip: You need strength in numbers, bring friends
Go-to Dish: Cheese fondue, winter destroyer ($27/head, minimum serve 2)
http://www.shiftychevre.com/#shiftychevre
Standard-Times file Henry C. Ragsdale (left) is seen with son Milton Ragsdale (right) and grandson John, 7, in 1954.
SHARE Ragsdale entertained thousands of West Texans on his houseboat, the SS Goodyear.
Henry Ragsdale worked in photography first
By Rick Smith
He was the son of the late photographer M.C. Ragsdale, a well-known frontier photographer in West Texas.
From 1897 until 1909 the son worked with his father in the photography business in San Angelo and helped establish the firm as one of the country's more widely famed photo studios, noted especially for early-day photographs of cowboys and Western scenes.
In 1914 Henry C. Ragsdale went into the automobile business, owning, operating and serving as president of Ragsdale Auto Co.
For years he operated his businesses on the same corner of Chadbourne Street and Concho Avenue in downtown San Angelo. He was born there Oct. 17, 1883.
Henry started learning about machines early. In 1897, at age 14, he rode a bicycle its tires filled with molasses to prevent punctures all the way to Ozona, a trip of 81 miles.
He made the return ride in one day.
Henry graduated from San Angelo High School and attended Col. R. Bingham's School for Boys in Asheville, North Carolina.
Henry foresaw the popularity of automobiles and other machines and in 1909 purchased a motorcycle that he rode 2,850 miles to Syracuse, New York, where he studied automobiles at the Franklin Automobile Plant for a year.
Henry then returned to San Angelo and opened a machine repair shop with $150 worth of tools.
A few months later he got a helper, George Bailey, and Ragsdale Auto Co. was established at 16 W. Concho Ave.
He married Hermione Mays on Dec. 30, 1915.
In August 1929 he opened Bailey Auto Co. But Ragsdale didn't stop there.
He got the Willard Battery dealership and the Goodyear franchise.
He also became a dealer for Atwater Kent radios.
The Angelo Auto Electric Co. was formed under the same management.
He fathered radio station KGFL, which became KGKL, in 1928.
As president of the Merchants' Board of Trade he helped organize a San Angelo bank that closed Oct. 3, 1931. The bank reopened Jan. 4, 1932.
He was appointed to the board of the Upper Colorado River Authority by Coke Stevenson, then governor of Texas.
He received the Silver Beaver Award, the highest honor in Scouting, presented to him for "outstanding service to boyhood."
During those busy years he always found time to help young people and to enjoy his hobbies of photography, swimming, square-dancing and tinkering.
He also enjoyed boats and built a houseboat known as the SS Goodyear. On it he entertained thousands of West Texans during the years it was afloat.
When World War II came he could not get enough manpower to keep it afloat, so it had to be dismantled.
Sadly, at age 80, Henry C. Ragsdale died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Rick Smith is a local news and community affairs columnist. Contact him at 325-659-8248 or rick.smith@gosanangelo.com.
Champagne is joyous, giddy-inducing pleasure born in chalky white soil drenched in blood.
By law, Champagne can only be made in the Champagne region of northern France, northeast of Paris, framed by town/cities of Epernay, Ay and Reims. It is the northernmost wine producing region in continental Europe.
It also is the heart of Europe. The Marne, the river running through Champagne, is the stuff of war legend. The French-British "Miracle on the Marne" in 1914 stopped the German thrust into France and changed history. The "War to End All Wars" would be a slaughterhouse, much of it in Champagne, and its denouement set the stage for more horrors to come three decades later.
In the middle of Champagne, a pyramid ossuary contains bones of more than ten thousand unknown solders dedicated to the "Armies of Champagne."
Hauntingly, vines of Champagne reflect military order. There are strict rules on every aspect of how vines can grow: cordons no less than 24 inches off the ground, strict limits on foliage, and much more. Champagne vineyards resemble marching soldiers. The aim is to ensure quality of Champagne, but you cannot ignore the irony.
The rules begot another hallmark of Champagne place takes a back seat to brand. You buy Champagne for the name on the label: Moet & Chandon, Dom Perignon, Veuve Clicquot, Bollinger, Cristal, Krug, Taittinger, Charles Hiedsieck, Perrier-Jouet and others. And you pay top dollar because they are good, but even more importantly they impress you and your guests. Bottle label identifies you as an apex predator on the sparkling wine savanna.
You can purchase affordable, superb sparkling wines from around the world Italian Prosecco and sparkling, Spanish cava, California and New Mexico sparkling leap to mind. But Champagne is different. It, literally, is to die for.
Tasting notes
Laurent-Perrier Brut Champagne NV: Fresh, light, crisp, fizzy aplenty. Easily available, entry-level Champagne entry level in Champagne world. $43
Champagne Charles Heidsieck Rose Reserve NV: Heidsieck is Dom Perignon without inflated price. $78-80
Laurent-Perrier Cuvee Rose Champagne Brut NV: Lovely color evolves from raspberry into salmon-pink in glass; iconic, instantly recognizable dumpy bottle. $77-100
Last round: Wine wisdom: Never trust people who refuse to drink Champagne.
Email Gus at wine@cwadv.com. Follow tasting notes on Twitter @gusclemens. Website: gusclemens.com. Facebook: Gus Clemens on Wine.
istock A federal task force says there are not enough well-conducted studies to establish whether skin cancer checks saves lives without undue risks for patients.
SHARE
But experts say visual test is important tool
By Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times (TNS)
A federal task force that assesses the value of medical screening tests says it can't judge whether skin cancer checks by dermatologists are worth the trouble for healthy Americans because good research on the practice is lacking.
The finding of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is not a repudiation of the practice recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology, in which a medical professional inspects a patient's skin for moles, thickening, discoloration or tags that might be cancerous.
But the task force does say there are not enough well-conducted studies to establish the practice saves lives without incurring undue risks for patients. And it could influence health insurers not to cover skin cancer screenings for people who have no history of the disease.
Each year, 5.4 million new cases of basal and squamous cell carcinomas are diagnosed, and while they are seldom fatal, they can cause disfiguration and metastasize to other parts of the body if left untreated. The most deadly form of skin cancer, malignant melanoma, is diagnosed in more than 76,000 new patients yearly, and claims the lives of 10,000 Americans a year. Its incidence is growing faster than that of any other preventable cancer.
So the task force's "ehh" finding prompted a chorus of concern.
In a statement released Tuesday, the American Academy of Dermatologists said it was disappointed by the finding.
"Dermatologists know that skin cancer screenings can save lives," the academy said. Since the Academy launched a skin cancer screening initiative called "SPOTme" 30 years ago, the Academy said, dermatologists have performed more than 2.5 million screenings during which they have found more than 255,000 suspected nonmalignant skin cancers and 28,500 melanomas.
"We know that screenings, which are noninvasive, quick and painless, are the best tool possible to detect skin cancer early when it is most treatable," the academy said.
At the same time, the dermatologists' professional society wrote, "we acknowledge the need for additional research on the benefits and harms of skin cancer screening in the primary care setting."
Writing in JAMA Oncology on the Preventive Services Task Force's recommendation, a trio of dermatologists pressed the case for continued screening.
Most patients even those who have already been treated for melanoma, according to research don't check their skin thoroughly for problematic growths, wrote a team of dermatologists led by University of Mississippi dermatologist Vinayak K. Nahar. They overlook places where skin cancers can hide, or don't use a mirror to get a closer look, or don't enlist a loved one to help.
And let's face it: Patients don't really know what to look for, suggested dermatologists Hensin Tsao and Martin A. Weinstock, who wrote a JAMA editorial on the task force's finding.
The American Cancer Society recommends that primary care physicians should check for skin cancer in all patients 20 or older during regular checkups. These doctors are armed with the helpful mnemonic "ABCDE" (with which they're taught to look at moles for Asymmetry, Border irregularity, nonuniform Color, Diameter greater than 6 mm, and Evolution over time).
But even these physicians, wrote Tsao and Weinstock, may overlook melanomas that look benign or masquerade as something else.
In deciding that it had insufficient evidence on which to base a recommendation, the federal task force said it had found only one study of skin cancer screening, conducted in northern Germany. The study found modest evidence that lives were saved. But the study's design was not the gold standard for weighing the risks and benefits of a biomedical intervention. And follow-up suggested the benefits were more modest still.
Nahar and her colleagues said the short duration of that research people were screened for skin cancer only for a year in the study probably resulted in an undercount of the lives it had saved.
And, they argued, the task force's "insufficient" finding may send a message of complacency about skin cancer at just the wrong time.
"With melanoma's decadeslong increase in incidence and slow-to stabilize mortality, decisions must be made now," the group wrote. "A recommendation stronger than (insufficient) is needed to emphasize screening as part of regular physical examinations," the dermatologists wrote.
This is not the first time the federal task force of independent experts has waded into controversy with its findings. In 2009, the group drew the ire of breast cancer activists and many physicians by suggesting that yearly mammograms aren't necessary for most women and that with some exceptions, women under 50 don't need mammograms at all. In 2012, it recommended that men not get screened for prostate cancer using a prostate-specific antigen test.
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By Staff Report
The West Texas Boys Ranch will Host the 24th annual Wing Fling Dove Hunt at 3 p.m. Sept. 12 at St. Ambrose Church in Wall, 8602 Texas Loop 570.
The event, presented by 1st Community Federal Union, features a hunt and live auction, concluding with a steak and shrimp dinner.
The registration fee is $150 per hunter. Sponsors are needed, and there are several sponsorship levels available.
Call 325-374-7304 for more information.
Cynthia Esparza/Standard-Times
Father Martin Mary is congratulated by Edward Hernandez after his ordination May 25, 2012, at the Cathedral Church of the Sacred Heart.
SHARE Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times San Angelo musician Diane Deatherage plays the organ at the beginning of Mass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in 2013. She plays several church services, including other denominations, each week. Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times At right: Four men became priests during a three hour Mass held June 8, 2013, at Sacred Heart Cathedral. The Catholic faithful gather for the dedication Mass in the new Sacred Heart Catholic Church in San Angelo in August 1961. The cornerstone of the of the old Sacred Heart Church was removed and placed in the new church which held a dedication Mass in August 1961.
By Andrew Atterbury
The Most Rev. Thomas Drury rapped three times at the door of Sacred Heart Church fifty years ago Monday, intoning "Open" in Latin between knocks.
He blessed the outside of Sacred Heart, and on the third knock was admitted inside.
Drury, then bishop of the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo, led a procession toward the altar for the consecration ceremony, down the center aisle where Greek and Latin alphabets traced in ash ran at both sides symbolizing the church's antiquity.
The purpose behind the consecration, according to one local priest there in 1964, was to indicate permanence.
On that day, the church became Sacred Heart Cathedral, the spiritual center of the diocese and the bishop's home church in West Texas.
As Catholics commemorate the 50th anniversary of the church's consecration, so they are also celebrating the path leading to Sacred Heart.
The block where Sacred Heart Cathedral stands was given to the church in the late 1870s by Bart DeWitt, a developer in the city of Santa Angela.
Shortly after acquiring the block, the Catholic community led by Father Mathurin Pairier, the first permanent leader of the diocese, in 1884 erected a small adobe worship center on Chadbourne Street named Immaculate Conception Church, the first completed house of worship in San Angelo. The first Catholic school, Immaculate Conception Academy, followed in 1888.
The congregation in those days consisted of early Santa Angela settlers, ranchers, merchants and Hispanic families.
Room soon stretched thin in that adobe perish and a collection was taken for a new building. Under Father Joseph Hoban, a red brick church, 45 feet wide and 100 feet long at a cost of about $15,000, was built in 1906 at South Oakes and East Beauregard.
The church, baptized as Sacred Heart, remained until 1960 when it too was outgrown by the congregation and was razed to make way for the cathedral sitting downtown today.
Henry Stienbomer of San Antonio and Chakos and Zenner of San Angelo were called upon to design the new church, constructed for around $342,000 by local Templeton-Cannon contractors.
The new Sacred Heart was meant to be a blend of traditional church architecture with a modern mission style, a far cry from the red brick facility that preceded. The main sanctuary seated 690 worshippers with room for 48 more people in the choir loft.
Everything was new in the church except for the cornerstone borrowed from the old building and the three bells hanging 70 feet above the downtown streets.
The bells remain shrouded in mystery.
They were shipped to San Angelo by way of Mallory Line Steamship Co. in the late 1800s from an unknown location with no documentation upon arrival. Their provenance is still unknown.
The archbishop of San Antonio in 1896 dedicated the ringing trio, christened Mary, Joseph and Angelo and weighing a combined 1,800 pounds, to the San Angelo perish.
"The bells were rung by hand with ropes in those early days," Father Benedict Zientek said in the 70s. "Now, hanging in the cathedral belfry, they are electrically controlled."
Sacred Heart's construction lasted about a year and a half.
Publio Cavallini, a native of Italy and the youngest brother of the Cavallini Brothers Tile Importers of San Antonio, tiled the church, spending five days alone piecing together 350,000 intricate tiles for the outside mosaic.
Blue tile interwoven with brown and dark red stars, representing the stars of firmament, stretches 32 feet up and 14 wide at the church entrance. A Tree of Life design reaches 20 feet above the doorway, its roots sunk around a ceramic Greek monogram symbolizing Christ. At the top of the tree, a ceramic dove spreads it wings, representing the Holy Ghost, divine protector of the church.
"I think it's a good job," Cavallini said in 1961, taking in the finished mosaic.
San Angelo was designated the headquarters of a new 34-county Catholic diocese in 1961, the same year construction finished. The newly completed Sacred Heart was named as the diocese cathedral, with Rev. Drury assuming bishop duties.
Neither Drury nor the 30 priests who participated in the 1964 consecration had witnessed, much less participated, in a ceremony.
Bronze crosses and 13 pieces of marble were placed in the walls Sacred Heart's interior as part of the consecration. Relics of martyrs and saints were permanently sealed in three altars which too were consecrated on that Dec. 22.
Coincidentally, the man who would later lead the diocese for nearly 30 years as its fifth bishop was ordained a priest as Sacred Heart's consecration was taking place.
Bishop Emeritus Michael Pfeifer, who served San Angelo and West Texas for 29 years, was in his 20s when he was ordained, then served as a missionary in Mexico for 16 years before moving from San Antonio to become bishop in 1985.
"What a beautiful act of God," Pfeifer said. "I never dreamed I would be the bishop to the diocese. That's how it happens in God's plan."
The diocese has since grown to 29 counties encompassing 39,000 square miles and thousands of people, Catholic and non-Catholic.
The Most Rev. Michael Sis was ordained the sixth bishop of San Angelo, the first new leader for the diocese in nearly three decades, in January.
Sis will officiate a special mass marking Pfeifer's ordination and the consecration of Sacred Heart on Monday evening. Monsignor Bernard Gully, who served as a master of ceremonies at the consecration and is the current pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Big Spring, will offer the homily.
Visiting bishops from Oklahoma and Texas will visit as Catholics celebrate the anniversaries.
"Our prayer is that the cathedral continues to have a very successful presence in the city and diocese of San Angelo, and that it continues to be a service to the church and community for many years to come," said Monsignor Larry Droll, pastor of St. Ann's in Midland.
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The following editorial appeared in Thursday's Los Angeles Times:
Thirty-five years after shooting President Ronald Reagan, John W. Hinckley Jr. is a free man, having been released from a mental institution by a federal judge who concluded that Hinckley no longer suffers from the mental disorder that led him to attempt the assassination in 1981. In recent years Hinckley has been able to leave St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington to visit his family. Now he will be able to live full time with his mother in Williamsburg, Virginia.
But while this may mark the end of Hinckley's legal case, American law continues to be influenced by public outrage over his acquittal by reason of insanity and not for the good. The outcry over that verdict, stoked by opportunistic politicians, led to a weakening of the insanity defense and undermined the principle that a defendant shouldn't be held criminally responsible when his crime is the result of mental illness.
Hinckley was 25 when he shot Reagan with the deranged expectation that attacking the president would impress film star Jodie Foster. Reagan recovered, but another of Hinckley's four victims, White House press secretary James Brady, suffered lasting brain damage and partial paralysis. (Brady died in 2014.)
A jury acquitted Hinckley after concluding that he satisfied the definition of legal insanity in use in Washington at the time: that, because of a mental disease or defect, the defendant "either lacked substantial capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law or lacked substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct."
Even though Hinckley faced many years in a mental institution, his insanity acquittal caused an uproar, one that politicians were eager to inflame. Jurors in the trial were called before a Senate subcommittee and interrogated about whether they understood the judge's instructions. Congress passed a law narrowing the federal definition of legal insanity and shifting the burden of proof on the question of mental disease to the defendant.
State legislatures did likewise, and some adopted a verdict of "guilty but mentally ill" a concept that is hard to square with the principle that an insane person can't be criminally responsible for his act.
In the outcry over the Hinckley acquittal, two realities were obscured. One was that the insanity defense was seldom asserted and rarely successful. The other was that defendants acquitted by reason of insanity, far from being set free, were often confined (albeit in a mental institution where they could receive treatment) for longer than they would have been imprisoned if they had been convicted. In Hinckley's case, it's possible that, had he been convicted, he would have been released on parole years ago.
Hinckley's attack on Reagan was a shocking act of violence. But the reaction to it weakened an important legal principle without increasing public safety.
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Unwilling to hit property owners for the third time in one year, Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to raise the citys utility taxes to save the largest of Chicagos four city employee pension funds, City Hall sources said Monday.Chief Financial Officer Carole Brown acknowledged that the city needs in the ballpark of $250 million to $300 million in new annual revenue to shore up a Municipal Employees Pension fund with 71,000 members and $18.6 billion in unfunded liabilities.Yet another property tax increase would be the easiest and most reliable route to go, but top mayoral aides disclosed Monday that Emanuel has ruled out going back to that same well for fear of piling on.Last fall, Emanuel persuaded a reluctant City Council to raise property taxes by $588 million for police and fire pensions and school construction. He has agreed to raise property taxes by $250 million more for teacher pensions.
Dealing with any mental health or substance abuse issue is tough. It can often feel like no one really understands what youre going through. But theres a growing movement to change that by employing people who can better empathize with patients.Peer specialists are people who have personally struggled with mental health or substance abuse problems but are now in recovery and helping others. They work for community behavioral health centers, psychiatric inpatient facilities and other health-care providers.These programs are proliferating everywhere you look. Theres a lot of evidence to show that peers can support and acclimate someone to a new life of recovery, said Kim Nelson, the regional administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. She worked as a peer specialist for a decade before landing her current job.In Nebraska, peer specialists are saving providers' money and reducing readmission rates.Thirty day readmissions for mental health patients is usually around 30 percent nationally. We had been hovering around 20 percent before implementing the program. Now were down to about 13 percent, said Linda Knudsen, education coordinator of the Bryan Medical Center, a nonprofit health center in Lincoln, Neb.At least 38 states have developed some sort of certification for a peer specialist program. Training and programming vary from state-to-state, but Medicaid requires employers to supervise peer specialists' first 2,000 hours of work. They also must complete at least 30 hours of continuing education training in mental health every two years.Peer specialists are a supplement -- not a replacement -- for licensed mental health professionals.Its totally voluntary -- patients dont have to meet with one if they dont feel comfortable. Its just a way for peers to sit down and minimize anxiety. They arent asking about their medical history. Theyre just chatting with them to say Ive been there, and its going to be OK,' said Knudsen.But even after people get all the training, they aren't guaranteed a job as a peer specialist. In fact, they often struggle to find one, said Sue Abderholden, executive director for the Minnesota chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Since its a relatively new field, providers can be reluctant to hire peer specialists. Plus, she said, some of them have a criminal background because they were picked up by the police while having a mental health episode."Right now, 36 states' Medicaid programs reimburse peer specialists. In 2007, the Minnesota Legislature was one of the first to not only require peer specialists to be reimbursed but also to create a state program model. In 2013, the state set up separate program requirements for family peer specialists to better serve children.Peer specialists don't just affect their patients. They ultimately help themselves in their own recovery and help alleviate the shortage of mental health-care providers."It benefits everybody because we are already woefully short on people in a behavioral health setting," said Nelson.According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there were 96.5 million Americans living in areas with insufficient mental health care in 2014. For every 790 people in the U.S., there's just a single mental health provider, according to Mental Health America.For mental health care experts, peer specialists are also a smart investment for the field's new approach.For so long, we saw addiction and mental health issues as episodic illnesses," said Nelson. "Now were starting to look at is as a recovery process. The peer specialists system is one that focuses on wellness instead of sickness."
Serving time in prison is, obviously, unpleasant. But being pregnant behind bars is immeasurably more traumatic. While physical stress can take a toll, the emotional impact can be even worse. Many facilities use restraints during delivery, and in most cases female inmates are forced to say goodbye to their newborns shortly after giving birth.But a couple of states are working to ease that trauma through an unconventional new approach: bringing in doulas to assist pregnant inmates. Unlike a midwife, who typically helps only during childbirth, a doula assists a woman throughout her entire pregnancy, attending to her physical and emotional well-being before, during and after giving birth.Alabama this spring launched the Prison Birth Project, with the goal of assigning doulas to support about 30 female inmates in the first year. The effort was launched thanks to the help of Wendy D. Williams, the states first deputy commissioner for womens services in the Department of Corrections. Williams position was created in response to a scathing report from the U.S. Department of Justice in 2014, which detailed deplorable conditions for inmates at Alabamas Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. That report highlighted a number of troubling prison practices, including systemic sexual abuse of inmates by guards as well as other prisoners. While Williams has been working to address that and other issues at the facility, the report also got her thinking about childbirth in prison, and the role that plays in determining a womans future once she leaves incarceration.Williams turned to the Minnesota Prison Doula Project, which launched in 2011. That program currently serves women in 81 county jails and has supported around 100 incarcerated women over the past five years. Its entirely voluntary. Women will hear about another woman who got a doula during her pregnancy and will be interested and come to one of our support meetings, says Erica Gerrity, the projects program director. This is one opportunity for women in these situations to feel empowered.The Minnesota project has seen impressive results, including a much higher rate of healthy pregnancies and healthy babies than average prison births. But for Gerrity, the most encouraging signs arent measurable. She points to one inmate who was terrified of speaking to child protective services but grew more confident after working with a doula. A doula helps advocate on behalf of the woman, but we also give her language to advocate for herself, Gerrity says.Thanks in part to the success of the project, Minnesota passed a law in 2014 that bans shackling pregnant women in most instances and requires that pregnant inmates have mental health assessments. We are starting a growing conversation on issues surrounding health care for pregnant women who are incarcerated, says Rebecca Shlafer, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota and the projects research director.Its easy to villainize a pregnant woman who ends up in jail, says Ashley Lovell, the Alabama projects executive director. But motherhood can help shape an inmates success in the future. If, despite her incarceration, you can convince her shes capable of being a good mother, youre giving her tools to change the course of her life, Lovell says.In addition to Alabama, Minnesota has been contacted by 10 other states interested in implementing something similar. This is promising, Gerrity says, because there is currently a real dearth of research around the health of incarcerated women. For women in this system, she says, this is beyond just crime. Its about mental health, trauma and gender inequality. There has been so much progress around womens issues, but none of it really touches on incarceration.
Federal health authorities on Monday urged pregnant women not to visit a South Florida neighborhood where new cases of the Zika virus have emerged, the first time officials have warned against travel to part of the continental United States due to the outbreak of an infectious disease.Officials issued the unprecedented warning following the identification of 10 new infections in a dense urban pocket north of downtown Miami, and after aggressive efforts to combat Zikas mosquito-borne spread had proved insufficient.It is truly a scary situation, said Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is a really tough mosquito to control.The travel warnings and growing outbreak mark a troubling but not unexpected turn for efforts to stem the viruss spread through the United States, and they could have profound impacts on Floridas tourism-heavy economy. It also demonstrates how even the best prepared communities may struggle to deal with a virus that spreads so readily.
several stories into the sky, spraying enough wood chips to form a small mountain. Its part of the Georgia-Pacific paper mill in the small Oregon town of Toledo, a hundred miles southwest of Portland. The plant processes wood chips and recycled materials into 2,500 tons of cardboard every day. About 400 people work there, most of them unionized, pumping $42 million annually into the local economy through wages.The only thing unusual about the mill is that it exists at all. Its the last paper mill on the Oregon coast, a vestige of a timber industry that was a dominant force in the state just a couple of decades ago. Earlier this year, a paper mill was closed for good in Newberg, which is not far outside of Portland. About 200 workers were eligible for retraining under a federal program that helps people whose jobs were lost due to foreign competition (although the decline in Oregons timber industry has as much to do with federal land management policies as overseas competition).Some residents have grown cynical about efforts to retrofit workers to fit the shifting economy. The big joke along the coast used to be that the loggers ran into trouble, so they trained them to be fishermen, says Harry Roby, who owns a radiator shop in Newport, a few miles from the Georgia-Pacific mill. Then fishing got into trouble and they trained them to be loggers.Job training is all well and good, in other words, but it doesnt serve much purpose if there arent any jobs to be had. Last year, Oregon was tied with California as having the fastest-growing economy of any state, but almost all the action was in Portland. Half of the jobs in the state are now in a three-county metropolitan area. In four out of 10 rural counties in the state, employment remains substantially below where it was prior to the recession.Theres a similar problem throughout rural America. While some metro areas are thriving, two out of three rural counties have experienced a net loss in their total number of businesses since 2010, after the recession had technically ended. According to a recent report by the Economic Innovation Group, half the new businesses started throughout the nation since 2010 were created in just 20 counties, out of more than 3,000 nationwide.Urban America recovers from recessions, but rural America no longer seems able to. You look all across this country and some of these places are dying, says Seth McKee, an expert on rural politics at Texas Tech University. Theyre either going to be wiped off the map, or theyre getting smaller and smaller and theres nothing to sustain them.That may be overstating the case, but its no longer far-fetched to talk about permanent, Appalachian-style poverty spreading across rural America. There just arent enough jobs. By now, its a familiar story that many manufacturing plants have shut down or moved and taken their jobs with them. The prevailing fear of the moment -- that robots are going to take over all the work -- has already happened in agriculture. A machine knows more about the exact fat and protein content of the milk from every cow it touches than a human hand ever would. Farmers are becoming almost as likely to plant sensors as seeds, helping them map out where their drones should apply fertilizer. Already, farms account for less than 1 percent of employment, but the number of agriculture jobs is projected to decline another 6 percent by 2024.The old notion that jobs in timber, farming and small-town manufacturing are secure and will last for life is not just outdated but antique. Appalachia itself has been hit hard by the recent steep decline in coal jobs, with production down nationwide by 40 percent since 2008. As working-class jobs have dried up, rural communities have emptied out. Lots of rural towns around the country have come to resemble villages in wartime. Practically the only people left are those too young or too old to feel the magnetic pull of the city. Even an area like Oregons Lincoln County, which includes Toledo and Newport and can boast of a mix of surviving old and burgeoning new industries, struggles with an aging population, drug abuse and homelessness.Already, a majority of the country lives in metropolitan areas of more than 1 million people. If current trends continue, rural America will lose population between now and 2060, even as the country gains another 100 million residents, says Rolf Pendall, who directs economic development and housing studies at the Urban Institute. The people who grow up in these communities who are most capable of having a strong income trajectory, they leave, they go somewhere else, Pendall says. Its true in struggling neighborhoods in cities and its true in rural America as well.This is putting a strain on rural governments. Along the Oregon Coast, counties that once shared in rich revenues from timber royalties and federal subsidies have seen those funds dry up. Douglas County, roughly 150 miles south of Lincoln County and traditionally the heart of the states timber industry, once shared an average of $134 million each year in timber royalties. Last year, the figure was down to $11 million. The county itself has lost a third of its workforce over the past decade, but its still in better shape than a lot of its neighbors. Counties cant just cease operations, but some in Oregon have just about given up on programs such as running jails and juvenile services or enforcing building codes. Those kinds of services that are shared services, you just declare you cant do them and literally hand them back to the state, says Tim Freeman, a Douglas County commissioner.The anxiety caused by diminished prospects is starting to play out politically. People wondering what happened to their good-paying jobs have been drawn to Donald Trumps message that bad trade deals are to blame for their struggles, or to Bernie Sanders complaint that the economic system is rigged. Abroad, the resentment of rural residents who feel passed over by the global economy was a primary driver of the recent vote in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.Democrats used to be the party of working people, but its now the party of educated professionals who are part of technology or finance or other expanding industries, along with racial and ethnic minorities (who do make up a substantial share of the working class). Republicans have long been the party of business, but Trumps anti-trade stance has him drawing swords with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups. The Republicans are more and more the party of the unsuccessful, says Eric Schnurer, president of Public Works, which consults with state and local governments. Youre either in this international, networked economy, or youre not. The nonurban centers are largely being left out of the global economy. Its not surprising that they feel an extreme antipathy toward it.The decline in rural prospects is not only feeding political resentment, but causing serious social problems. Nationwide, the number of deaths among working-class whites at most age levels has been increasing, the sad result of a combination of preventable causes such as suicide and abuse of illegal or prescription drugs. Oregon has the second-highest rate of opioid abuse of any state, an epidemic so bad that the Oregon Medical Association devoted its entire annual meeting to the topic this spring. Oregonians also die from alcoholic liver disease at twice the national average. The economic strain can play out in other ways, too: The rate of child abuse in Lincoln County is double the rest of the state.has a lot of things going for it. Local officials have been able to leverage the presence of the coast not only to promote tourism and maintain a sizable fishing fleet, but also to develop marine science as an economic driver. What was at one time home to a single oceanographers lab has become the nexus for a range of enterprises that constitute a growing share of the local economy. Oregon State University (OSU) runs the Hatfield Marine Science Center, which houses an alphabet soup of state and federal agencies. Theres an aquarium next door that pairs well with the towns beaches as a tourist magnet. A few years ago, Newports harbor became the headquarters for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Pacific fleet, nabbing the ships from Puget Sound.All of these projects, along with many others, came about because the Newport area has managed to build a collaborative culture, with city, county, port and state officials pulling together with private-sector actors to make things happen. This cluster didnt happen by accident, says Gil Sylvia, an economist at the Hatfield center. You start with something small and you build out the components.All the players in town seem to belong to one anothers boards -- which is not unusual -- but everyone, from Georgia-Pacific executives to county commissioners, also meets routinely through the Yaquina Foundation and the Lincoln County Economic Development Alliance. In many struggling communities, various jurisdictions will jealously fight over every scrap. In Lincoln County, a couple of calls is enough to start people working on ways of lining up financing to get a project going. The different local entities have learned that scratching each others backs and putting up money for projects of shared interest can end up benefiting everyone.The latest example of their collaborative effort paying off is an expansion of the boatyard at the port of Toledo, across Sturgeon Bend from the Georgia-Pacific mill. Thanks to help from a variety of county and state funds, the port just brought in the first of a series of lifts that will allow boatmen to repaint and repair large, ocean-going ships. Its 63 feet wide and six stories tall and came in pieces from Italy, arriving in seventeen 40-foot containers. Its a huge step up from the type of lifts that have been in place at the boatyard, and its projected to increase the number of jobs involved repairing and painting boats from 20 to 160.Experts in the rural economy say what separates the winners from the many losers is inspired leadership on the ground, whether thats a plant owner who figures out a way to modernize and stay profitable, or economic development officials able to find a niche by building on successful enterprises or attractions that are already in place.Other towns on the Oregon Coast have ports, but they dont have anything like the burgeoning marine science sector that Newport has managed to create. Areas with other natural assets that might easily attract rich retirees or remote workers need to figure out how to sell themselves. Plenty of places have snowy mountains, but they arent all successful ski resorts. There are rural areas that are doing quite well, particularly those with natural amenities, says Brian Depew, director of the Center for Rural Affairs in Nebraska. They have aggressive leaders that have figured out how to make their places winners, despite having to swim upstream.Theres no magic formula, nothing you can bottle, when it comes to turning around a rural area. Rural economies once ran on commodities -- timber, corn, cattle, coal -- that by their nature were essentially the same regardless of where they came from. In todays economy, though, places have to find a way to offer something that other similar places cant.In Newport, local officials hope marine science will continue to grow into something that puts more than a few researchers to work. The Hatfield center links local fishermen who know the waters with telecommunications companies looking for the best spots to lay Trans-Pacific cables. Its also partnering with the community college and local businesses to put more people to work making specialized nets that avoid catching protected species -- a product that grew out of research at the center.The initiative thats drawn the most attention, however, has to do with seaweed. Researchers at the center developed a new strain of red seaweed called dulse. It tastes a bit like bacon, enough so that its become popular enough to be worth patenting. A for-profit company is being spun off to grow dulse in Newport and process it into things like flavor powders and salad dressing -- a total of 15 value-added products in all. This city always had a more solid mix of industries than other coastal communities that relied on a single industry, namely timber, says Sylvia, the Hatfield economist.research center with an annual budget of $55 million is quite a coup for a town of 10,000, but its no panacea. Marine research remains a small share of the overall Lincoln County economy, which is still led by tourism and fishing -- industries that provide work that is seasonal or part-time in nature, meaning jobs that dont pay all that well. The average age of minimum-wage workers in the county is 31. Half the income there comes from Social Security and other transfer payments. The poverty rate remains higher than the state average, which in turn is higher than the national average. It does look like were in an upturn, says Dee Teem of the Community Services Consortium in Newport, but were still seeing a huge number of people in poverty.Relying on jobs that require high levels of education presents two problems for rural communities. The first is that most such jobs wont go to locals. Although there are efforts in and around Lincoln County to get students engaged in marine science fromat least the eighth grade on up, most of the academic hires will come from outside the county. And attracting educated professionals to rural areas remains a challenge. People with MBAs, Ph.D.s or actual medical degrees often dont want to relocate to smaller communities, for fear there will be nowhere else for them to go if they ever want to change jobs. There also might not be available work for their spouses. A job for a spouse is a big, big problem, says Caroline Bauman, executive director of the Economic Development Alliance of Lincoln County. It comes up all the time.But theres also the problem of what might be called rural gentrification. As professionals move in, that raises prices and puts a squeeze on all the people making a living pumping gas or selling hand-dipped candles to tourists across the bay from the Hatfield center. Lincoln County has a particularly acute problem because so much of its property is now tied up as vacation or rental housing. As a result, even decent-paying jobs might not be enough to cover a familys needs. Many residents work two or three jobs to make ends meet, sometimes driving long distances to get there. Ive never had trouble finding work, says Terry Ayres, a construction worker who is raising three daughters in Newport, but the living expenses are just outrageous.You wouldnt expect this to be the case in big rural counties that can run the size of the state of Connecticut, but there are housing shortages all over the West and, indeed, much of rural America. For decades leading up to the recession, housing starts averaged nearly 1.6 million units per year. Over the past seven years, that number has been cut in half. Even last year, after things picked up, housing starts were still a half-million short of the historical average. Starter and trade-up home inventory has dropped by more than 40 percent since 2012, according to Trulia, the online real estate listing service. Thats a big barrier of entry against homeownership. The percentage of households that are renting is now at its highest level since the 1960s. One out of six families spends more than half its income on housing.Housing markets are squeezed tight in thriving metros, but a different convergence of forces is at work in rural areas. Lenders often dont like to do business outside the metro markets theyre already familiar with. Builders are so busy putting up apartment buildings in places like Portland that they cant be bothered making long drives out to places like Lincoln County unless a dozen or more units are involved. The federal government owns half the land in Oregon, while a good share of the rest is tied up by land preservation programs and zoning restrictions.For all these reasons, some Lincoln County residents are nervous about a planned expansion at the Hatfield center. What has been primarily a research facility is becoming a campus, with 500 undergraduates expected to arrive from OSU in the coming years. Most people welcome the development, but wonder where theyre going to put all those students, even though the university is building housing for half of them. Theres already more demand than there is supply. Given the cliffs that line the Pacific Ocean and the mountains that separate Lincoln County from the Willamette Valley to the east, theres not a lot of land left thats flat. Its difficult to insure much of the land that is available, due to growing concerns about tsunamis. As a result, the value of residential retail sales in the county shot up by 22 percent in May over last years numbers.About 10 percent of the schoolkids in Lincoln County are now homeless. But the issue of rural gentrification doesnt affect only the poor, it affects the middle class, too: Every year, a few teachers cancel their contracts in Lincoln County over the summer because they cant find housing. Anecdotally, lack of available housing has also been a recruiting problem for the countys two hospitals.The problems that plague Lincoln County -- and most of Americas rural working class -- are daily facts of life for a guy like Mike Walters.For the past two years, hes been living in a trailer park outside of Depoe Bay, a few miles north of Newport, but he recently received an eviction notice. At 52, hes followed a career path thats become common in rural America, stitching together a living by working a few hours here and there painting houses or providing home assistance to the elderly. Working for people with money, hes able to scrape together his monthly rent, but he usually pays in dribs and drabs throughout the month rather than paying in full on the first of the month. His landlord got tired of that and told Walters hed have to clear out.Walters has been barely getting by as it is. He could find more work if he had a car, but he has to rely on his bike and buses to get around. Transportation and access to services and jobs are huge issues in rural America. Walters admits hes freaking out, but his situation doesnt seem to keep him down for long. Riding his bike on the shoulder of Highway 101, he flashes two fingers to passing cars, wishing them either victory or peace. All these people on the highway got to be going to work to make money, he says. I gotta catch up.
Pennsylvania's Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid by two high-ranking GOP lawmakers to intervene in a legal battle over the retirement age of judges.With no explanation, the court denied the motion by Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati (R., Jefferson) and Majority Leader Jake Corman (R., Centre).The ruling put the Republican leaders on the sideline of a closely watched battle that has erupted into a forefront issue for some of the state's top officials.At stake is a question to voters on the November ballot that would raise the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 75 - a decision that could alter the partisan makeup of the Keystone State's highest court within the next year.
A grand jury found that a white Tupelo police officer acted within the law when he shot an unarmed black man.Tupelo police officer Tyler Cook was not indicted by a grand jury and will not be charged with a crime in the June 18 fatal shooting of 37-year-old Antwun "Ronnie" Shumpert, Lee County District Attorney John Weddle said Monday.In a timeline previously provided to The Clarion-Ledger by the city of Tupelo, Cook said he shot Shumpert four times in "self-defense."The grand jury stated they "found no criminal wrongdoing on the part of Officer Tyler Cook."
Footage from police dashboard cameras and body cameras helped lead to the swift sidelining of three officers involved in the latest fatal shooting by Chicago police, but officials acknowledged Monday that the shooting itself was not captured on video.Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the department is investigating why the body camera worn by the officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Paul O'Neal failed to show those critical moments.The Thursday night shooting came as the embattled Police Department accelerates its use of body cameras in a bid to improve transparency. Police have expanded a pilot project that started in 2015 in just one district to an additional six districts just last month with the addition of hundreds of cameras. The three officers had begun using the cameras just recently, Guglielmi said.Whatever the reason, the failure to capture O'Neal's shooting shows the technology won't be the panacea that some had hoped."People's hopes and expectations have gotten a little exaggerated," said Samuel Walker, a professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and an expert on police accountability. "There is a problem with officers not turning them on. ... They are refusing to (or) not thinking about it as part of their regular work habit. It is going to take a while for us to get full compliance."O'Neal, who was unarmed, was shot about 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the South Shore neighborhood after he crashed a reportedly stolen Jaguar into two Chicago police vehicles and took off running near 74th Street and Merrill Avenue.Two officers had opened fire at O'Neal while he was still in the Jaguar, according to police sources. A police dashboard camera captured one of the officers firing his weapon, a source said.A third officer who had been in one of the police vehicles struck by the Jaguar gave chase after O'Neal fled on foot and fatally shot him.Based on a preliminary review, police don't believe that officer intentionally disabled the body camera, a source said. Rather, investigators suspect the crash or the officer's lack of experience operating the camera played a role in the failure.O'Neal was shot in the back, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.On Monday, O'Neal's mother filed a federal lawsuit against the undisclosed officers, alleging they opened fire "without legal justification."The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the shooting, but police Superintendent Eddie Johnson moved quickly over the weekend to strip the three officers of their police powers, putting them on paid administrative duties. He didn't disclose the specific reasons for his actions other than that they had violated department policies.But in 2015, the department revised its use-of-force policy to prohibit officers from firing on a moving vehicle if it was the only threat against the officers or others. The policy, however, states that officers should not "unreasonably endanger" themselves or others to adhere to the policy.The swift action by Johnson won praise from critics who have long accused the Police Department of a code of silence when it comes to dealing with wayward officers.Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago law professor who has studied police misconduct for years, said it was noteworthy that Johnson acted against the officers for decisions that led up to the shooting."There are often shootings that if you were just analyzing what was happening in the last second you might say the shooting is consistent with policy and justified," he said. "But if you take two or three steps backward, there may have been no reason for the situation to have escalated to this point."That is another piece of the welcome change ... looking at the decisions and actions that led up to the shooting to see if we can do something better in the future. What do we need to train our officers better?"Still, Futterman said he remained cautious."A circle the wagons (mentality) doesn't change overnight," he said.In a telephone interview Monday night, Dean Angelo Sr., head of the Fraternal Order of Police union that represents rank-and-file officers, said he has talked to two of the officers. They are "concerned about their livelihood" and know they'll undergo intense scrutiny for their split-second decisions, he said.Angelo said there's "a learning curve" to properly using the body cameras and that it can be difficult for officers to remember to activate them "in a heavy-stress situation."Chicago's increased use of body and dashboard cameras comes as the department faces one of worst crises in its history. The court-ordered release of a video in November of a white officer shooting black teen Laquan McDonald 16 times led to widespread protests, the firing of then-Superintendent Garry McCarthy and the launching of a U.S. Justice Department probe of policing practices.According to department policy, the cameras should be activated by officers when they are making stops or responding to calls, including foot and vehicle pursuits.Walker, the policing expert, said most departments allow for some latitude for officers who fail to turn their cameras on under certain pressing circumstances."We have to say that it is possible in the heat of the moment the officer did not think to turn on his camera," he said.But evidence that cameras were intentionally disabled should result in discipline, Walker said.At a news conference at the scene of O'Neal's shooting, a lawyer for his mother, Tanisha Gibson, announced the lawsuit had been filed Monday in federal court.Attorney Michael Oppenheimer accused the officers of exacting "street justice" and expressed frustration at the Police Department's disclosure that no body cameras captured O'Neal's shooting."Supposedly, it is a new era where we get body cams to make things transparent," he said. "Many, many times police officers get blamed for something they may not have done. ... The body cams are supposed to correct that to show the truth. All we have asked is for the truth to come out."Asked if his case was hurt by O'Neal being in a reportedly stolen Jaguar, Oppenheimer said the teen didn't deserve to be killed."The penalties for ... those crimes do not include death," he said.O'Neal's mother did not attend the news conference, but activist Ja'Mal Green, acting as a spokesman for the family, said Gibson wanted the public to know that her son "wanted to be someone in life."Still, Green said, O'Neal had his struggles."He lacked a father in his life, he lacked mentors and the resources he needed," said Green, who is free on bail after his own arrest last month on charges he attacked a police commander during demonstrations over fatal shootings by police in Louisiana and Minnesota. "And so he got caught up in a few things with his friends, but he was not a bad kid."The IPRA investigation into O'Neal's shooting will likely take months to complete.But the McDonald scandal, which included allegations that city officials tried to hide the troubling video of the shooting from the public, led to a new city policy that calls for the release of videos of police shootings within 60 days.But the release of the video in this case could come even sooner than that."The superintendent said today he is pushing for the video to be released as soon as the investigation comes to a point where it will not hamper the case," police spokesman Guglielmi said Monday. "... We would defer to IPRA. Ever since this incident happened ... (Johnson) wanted it to be extremely fact-based, and he wants it to be open. ... The department has nothing to hide or conceal."Futterman, the U of C law professor, said critical video such as this should be released within two weeks. How soon the department moves on the video will be another strong indication of its commitment to reform, he said.
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GIS - 02 August, 2016: The 2016-2017 budget makes provision for the introduction of a new mass transit system with its network of Urban Terminals, to be known as the Metro Express, which will be the main thrust of the strategy geared towards building the infrastructure that fits the future. The 2016-2017 budget makes provision for the introduction of a new mass transit system with its network of Urban Terminals, to be known as the Metro Express, which will be the main thrust of the strategy geared towards building the infrastructure that fits the future.
As part of Governments plan for urban and rural regeneration, the Metro Express will totally redesign towns, create new growth poles around the terminals, drastically reduce the commuting time for citizens, raise productivity, eliminate the inconvenience of traffic congestion, save on petroleum import bills and significantly cut down pollution. The construction of the Victoria Terminal will kick-start the project which will be based under the Buildoperatetransfer (BOT) model. A space will be reserved to accommodate 1000 hawkers.
What Mauritius needs is an affordable new mass transit system along with a network of modern integrated urban terminals comprising parking facilities, food courts, commercial spaces, dedicated hawker areas and green spaces, stressed Mr Jugnauth in his budget speech.
The development of a new National Transport Network under the Road Decongestion Programme was also highlighted in the speech. The Phoenix-Jumbo-Dowlut roundabouts and the A1M1 Bridge linking Coromandel to Soreze will be constructed, with the assistance of the Korean Expressway Corporation.
In line with the strategy to engineer the infrastructure that fits the future, the Finance Minister underscored the necessity for investments from both the public and private sectors that would strengthen growth and raise productivity. Government will significantly raise its capital expenditure to Rs 19 billion in the 2016-2017 Budget. 169. Public sector investment totalling some Rs 34.5 billion in 2016/17 will jump to Rs 97.6 billion over the next three years, he said.
The new era of development, as outlined by Mr Jugnauth, calls for a holistic and coherent urban planning and development strategy. On that account, Port Louis will undergo a major transformation with the implementation of several development projects to rejuvenate its skyline and will include world class arts, recreation and culture zones for the residents of Port-Louis and for other Mauritians as well as tourists. Concerning the smart cities the construction of three such projects will start this year. The Heritage City that will create a new urban space for present and future generations to accommodate the new Parliament, offices and other infrastructure.
Boosting air and sea connectivity
According to Mr Jugnauth, the next strategy in infrastructure development is focused on sea and air connectivity. Around Rs 770 million will be invested in a new Integrated Government Clearance Centre in the Cargo Village and a modern Control Tower at the airport, and Rs 425 million will be invested by the CEB in a sub-station to cater for Cargo and Freeport power requirements. Government is working with the Chinese authorities on the setting up of a Regional Aviation Training Academy that will serve the African and Indian Ocean Rim region.
A sum of Rs 6 billion will be invested over the next five years to enhance port infrastructure. The Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd will acquire two additional Ship-to-Shore cranes and other equipment to service container vessels more efficiently.
The budget provides for strategic investments to boost the development of the petroleum hub which holds the potential of becoming a major economic pillar. To that endeavour, some 35 hectares of reclaimed land are being earmarked for petroleum storage, logistics and fishing activities. A new petroleum port will be developed at Albion.
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GIS 03 August, 2016: Budget 2016-2017 paves the way for the adoption of a new economic cycle focused on innovation, boosting exports and private investments. Productive sectors are expected to make a significant leap in embracing new activities and modern ways of doing business. The manufacturing sector which is the largest contributor to GDP will take the lead in this new economic cycle.
Budget 2016-2017 outlines actions geared towards advancing the manufacturing sector to new frontiers; diversifying its base; and, modernising the sector.
Advancing the sector
Three new niches will be launched:
Setting up of a modular near shore mobile oil refinery and onshore storage facilities at Albion by an international private consortium. With this project, Mauritius is likely to become a leading source of low Sulphur bunker fuel (LS380) in the Indian Ocean region.
Opening up the country to a wide spectrum of gold business such as refinery of gold, producing gold bars, setting up of top-end jewellery processing units, vault facilities, and enabling the trading of gold and bullions on Mauritius new Commodity Exchange. The Exchange will also facilitate trade in diamond and other precious metals.
Setting up of several manufacturing projects, one of which is the production of bicycles and motorcycles for exports to the African market.
Diversifying the base
Other measures to further diversify the manufacturing sector comprise:
Setting up of a Pharmaceutical Village at Rose Belle to cater for the local market as well as African markets.
Introduction of the application of 3D printing technology, by equipping the two technopoles at Riviere du Rempart and Rose Belle with 3D printers and removal of VAT on 3D printers. Provision is being made for customs duty exemptions on materials used in the manufacture of medical devices.
Modernising the sector
With regard to modernisation of the manufacturing sector, the following measures are announced:
Overhauling of the investment tax credit whereby a specified manufacturing company is able to offset against its tax liability 5% of the investment in new plants and machinery over 3 years. The minimum eligibility requirement of Rs 100 million investment in a year is being removed. This will allow more businesses to benefit, and the tax credit can be recouped over a longer time period.
Increasing the tax credit from 5 to 15% for manufacturers of textiles, wearing apparels, ships and boats, computers, pharmaceuticals and for film production. This represents 45% of capital expenditure incurred on new plants and machinery over three years.
Repositioning the textile and apparel sector in a bid to improve competitiveness and bring Mauritius nearer to the European markets as the country faces the challenges of Brexit. A major Air Freight Rebate Scheme will be introduced bringing a 40% reduction by Air Mauritius of the air freight cost to Europe.
Increasing the Bid Price-Preference from 10% to 20% for locally manufactured goods in respect of the procurement exercise by public sector bodies. This measure will apply to such goods as shoes, uniforms, school books, printing materials and furniture which will be listed in a Schedule. The aim is to support the Made in Moris initiative of the manufacturing industry.
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GIS - 02 August, 2016: Our challenge is to make the procurement system strong, transparent and corruption-free. Strong procurement systems, meeting international standards, can help ensure that money is well spent. Transparent systems allow us to see what is going on. These hold Governments, bidders and contractors accountable for their actions. Effective complaints mechanisms are imperatively required to report bribery, collusion or other corrupt practices. Our challenge is to make the procurement system strong, transparent and corruption-free. Strong procurement systems, meeting international standards, can help ensure that money is well spent. Transparent systems allow us to see what is going on. These hold Governments, bidders and contractors accountable for their actions. Effective complaints mechanisms are imperatively required to report bribery, collusion or other corrupt practices. This statement was made this morning by the Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, at the opening ceremony of the 2nd Global SIDS Conference on Anti-Corruption Reform which is currently being held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Balaclava. practices.
The Prime Minister underlined that it is befitting that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has chosen this theme, as public procurement has always been one of the most conducive vehicle for corrupt activities. He added that public procurement plays a very strategic role in any visionary Governments economic agenda.
Sir Anerood Jugnauth stated that corruption is a true enemy of development and one of the challenge of the Government is leading our nation into a new era of prosperity where social justice and equality prevail and to redefine our ambition and become a role model for transparency in this part of the world.
The Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance, and Institutional Reforms, Mr S. Bhadhain recalled the various measures that have been put into place to promote transparency and accountability and enhance good governance.
The three day Conference organised by the Ministry of Financial Services, Good Governance, and Institutional Reforms in collaboration with the Independent Commission Against Corruption and UNODC is being attended by some 48 participants from 13 countries.
Farmland a Cheaper Option
Farmers' Rights
(TNS) HARTFORD As Connecticut continues to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to preserve dwindling farmlands, the state is indirectly subsidizing major solar projects that are gobbling up prime agricultural acreage."It doesn't make sense to me," said Paul Miller, a Woodstock dairy farmer who recently lost access to about 100 acres of prime farmland in nearby Pomfret that is being leased or sold for a proposed solar project. The land in the Woods Hill project would be taken out of corn and hay production and used to install nearly 70,000 solar panels for electricity generation."In my view, it's the greatest threat to agriculture and the land available for farming today," state Agricultural Commissioner Steven Reviczky said last week of Connecticut's solar-vs.-farmland controversy.The issue is complicated not only by the competing goals of increasing renewable energy and preserving farmland, but also by concerns about the property rights of farmers. Some farmers see solar as a potentially key source of revenue that might allow them to continue raising crops on the rest of their land.Concern about this policy conflict among state energy and agricultural officials, farmers and outside experts is rapidly increasing as the pace of solar development accelerates.Reviczky said just five of the solar array projects now under consideration in Connecticut would use up more than 680 acres of valuable and productive agricultural land. He said there may be as many as 100 such solar developments being planned.Those projects are part of a surge in solar proposals that have come in response to the system the state set up to provide incentives for renewable energy. The program's goal is to reduce Connecticut's reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation by promoting sustainable, non-polluting energy sources like solar.Under the program, state-approved projects can get long-term contracts to sell energy at above-market prices to utilities. That enables the developers to get financing for a solar project effectively providing an indirect state subsidy.While the state is encouraging solar energy, it also spent $9.7 million in 2015-16 buying development rights to protect 1,631 acres of farmland. Reviczky fears that Connecticut's rapid push for more solar power will swallow up thousands of acres of productive farmland before the state can protect it.Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration is now struggling to reconcile these two often conflicting state policies. "This is an issue we see becoming more critical for us to address every passing day," said Katie Dykes, head of the state's energy office.Reviczky said this trend of solar projects taking over important farmland isn't "just here in Connecticut." He said this type of "competition for the best of the best farmland" is happening all over the northeastern region.State solar policy should discourage the development of key farmland and push to have these large solar arrays placed on brownfields, closed landfills and other industrialized areas, according to Reviczky. The difficulty is that those kinds of properties would cost more for solar companies to develop."The solar companies have figured out that large, open farmland is the easiest to convert," said Henry Talmage, executive director of the nonprofit Connecticut Farm Bureau. The least costly option for big solar arrays is to find generally flat, open land that doesn't need to be cleared of trees.Talmage describes the problem as "a kind of collision of two good ideas and unintended consequences" and as "one of those things that's complicated." The farm bureau two years ago opposed one General Assembly bill designed to provide added protections for key farmlands because Talmage's group feared it threatened farmers' property rights.The company behind the Pomfret project is RES Americas Inc. Company officials failed to respond to requests for comment.Miller believes that state support for solar development is the reason the company behind the project can afford to pay such high land costs.According to Miller, the property owner can lease that land to the solar developer for six or seven times the $200 per acre per year that Miller can afford to pay. "I guess I don't blame him," Miller said."I can see these two things being at loggerheads," Rep. Lonnie Reed, D-Branford, said of the contradictory state policies on solar energy and preserving farmland. Reed, who is co-chair of the legislature's Energy and Technology Committee, thinks the legislature needs to weigh in: "I do think we need to look at this."Another complicating factor is that many Connecticut farmers don't want the state to place more restrictions on what they can do with their land. "It's not a simply answered question," said Catherine Osten, who is both first selectwoman of Sprague and a state senator representing 10 communities in eastern Connecticut.Talmage said the farm bureau, which represents about 2,000 active Connecticut farmers, said his group is conflicted about exactly how to find a solution. "We're in a box," Talmage said, citing the dual desire to save farmland from development while preserving the rights of farmers to use their property as they see fit.The Pomfret project brought this issue into sharp focus in the past few months. The Woods Hill plan has the backing of Pomfret officials, and the siting council found there would be no environmental problems from the proposed solar array.Reviczky made an impassioned but unsuccessful protest to the Connecticut Siting Council in May, urging rejection of the Pomfret project. In a letter to the council, Reviczky said loss of that farmland "is largely incompatible with the goals of the State of Connecticut to keep agriculture viable and growing.""The loss of 102 acres of highly productive farmland will have an adverse impact on one or more farms in the Woodstock-Pomfret area as they struggle to find similar quality and quantity of land to farm," Reviczky warned. He argued that state and federal law require that the potential loss of important agricultural property needs to be considered if a proposed facility is getting public support.The siting council rejected Reviczky's protest, saying the commissioner "is under the erroneous impression that the project entails an expenditure of state funds, which requires agricultural evaluation."Another argument raised by Reviczky was that the solar project, with its thousands of support posts and miles of underground cables and service roads, was likely to have long-term "negative consequences for agricultural productivity on that property."In a written response to the siting council, a lawyer for RES Americas said there is no evidence that solar arrays have long-term negative impacts on farmland.Dykes also said that it's possible the land could be returned to agricultural uses in 20 or 30 years when the solar panels reach the end of their operational effectiveness. She said it's also possible those panels might simply be replaced when they start to lose their generating capacity."I don't think it's realistic to assume that the land would go back to agricultural production," Reviczky said.
(TNS) -- New Mexicos solar energy developers say their industry is finally hitting its stride as thousands of new residential and commercial customers opt to go solar, and more utilities nationwide turn to the sun for electric generation.Plunging prices are driving the market for solar systems, with waves of homeowners and commercial establishments tapping into sun power to offset rising electric utility bills. And, with many more financing options available today, plus a lot more solar companies competing, solar generation is beginning to penetrate the consumer mainstream.We continue to see about 20 percent more growth per year as more people become aware of the opportunities, said Regina Wheeler, CEO of Sunpower by Positive Energy Solar, which installs residential and commercial systems throughout the state. Theres solid knowledge today that solar is a viable, attractive way to fix a customers long-term energy costs at an affordable price. It can help control unlimited utility costs and people understand that now.Jerry Mosher, managing member of Consolidated Solar Technologies LLC in Albuquerque, said his business is signing up a lot more residential and commercial customers.Were doing a lot more solar installations than we used to, Mosher said. Business is very steady, whereas before it was up and down. The solar market has matured now to the point where its a pretty steady deal and theres still a lot more room to grow.By all counts, 2015 was a banner year for the industry in New Mexico and nationwide, and 2016 is so far shaping up to be even better.As of early this year, the U.S. market had reached 1 million solar installations a milestone representing 27.5 gigawatts of installed generating capacity, or enough electricity to power 5.4 million homes, according to the national Solar Energy Industry Association.The SEIA expects another 14.5 GW to be installed this year, or nearly twice the 7.3 GW developers built across the country last year.As of year-end 2015, New Mexico had about 400 megawatts of installed capacity. That includes 85 MW of residential and commercial systems, and 316 MW of utility-scale generation scattered throughout the service territories of New Mexicos public utilities and electric cooperatives.The generating power of solar systems can vary widely. Some utility-scale plants provide enough power per MW only for a few hundred average homes. Some offer a lot more, depending on location, type of technology used, and strength and availability of sunlight.Public Service Company of New Mexico accounts for about 41 percent of all installed solar capacity in the state. That includes 15 utility-scale projects with 107 MW of capacity, which PNM says is enough to power about 140,000 average New Mexico homes.All told, New Mexico ranks 8th in the nation today in terms of installed solar capacity per capita, according to the Environment America Research and Policy Center.New Mexicos utility-scale solar has increased as public utilities strive to meet the states renewable portfolio standard, which requires them to derive 15 percent of their electric generation today from renewable sources and 20 percent by 2020. Although PNM has no immediate plans to procure more solar now, other utilities and cooperatives are building new installations and the renewable portfolio standard will drive more procurements in coming years.Residential and commercial installations are booming in part because of state-mandated utility incentives to encourage consumer adoption, plus a 10 percent state tax credit for solar installations in effect since 2008.Until recently, PNM and El Paso Electric Co. in southern New Mexico offered payments to customers for each kilowatt-hour of solar electricity they produced, which helped consumers and businesses offset the costs of installing systems.Those utilities also offer net metering, which allows customers with solar systems to sell all the excess electricity they produce back to the grid at a price equal to what PNM pays for its own electricity. That net metering is separate from the renewable payments, which PNM pays to consumers for helping it meet its RPS mandates.To date, 7,100 customers have signed up for PNM credits, said Kumiko Styes, the utilitys customer solar program manager. Thats up from 4,400 in 2014.It really has exploded, Styes said. 2015 was a big year, but 2016 has been even bigger.This year, many PNM customers rushed to get their applications in because the payment program is winding down. Payments fell from 13 cents per kwh in 2009 to just 2.5 cents by year-end 2015. And, as of mid-2016, PNM stopped processing new applicants because the number of customers seeking credits surpassed the money available in the program.Were fully subscribed now, so were not paying renewable energy credits for the rest of this year, Styes said. We received like 2,200 applications and we have hundreds on the waiting list.PNM is seeking approval from the state Public Regulation Commission to restart the program in 2017, but at just one-quarter cent per kwh. El Paso Electrics payment program ended entirely in 2015.The 10 percent state tax credit also came to an end this year. That credit was formally scheduled to sunset in December, but available funding ran out in July and no more credit applications are being accepted.Nevertheless, solar installation companies expect residential and commercial markets to keep growing. For one thing, PNM and El Paso Electric still offer net metering, which solar companies say is far more critical for consumers to offset system costs than the renewable energy payments.In addition, the federal government still offers a 30 percent tax credit for solar systems and, in December, the U.S. Congress extended that through the end of 2019 before it begins to slowly ramp down.Most important, solar prices have spiraled downward. Prices for both residential systems and utility-scale power plants declined by more than 50 percent from 2008-14, according to a recent study by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In 2015, prices overall fell another 17 percent, according to the SEIA.Today, for example, an average 4.4 kilowatt residential system in New Mexico costs about $17,000 before tax credits or other incentives are factored in. Thats down from about $30,000 in 2009, according to some local installers. And, with credits and incentives, the actual cost to consumers ends up much lower.That same system, for example, would be reduced to just $11,900 after federal tax credits are factored in. And, with financing, the average New Mexico homeowner would in the end pay about $99 a month, or less than the average monthly bill for many utility customers today.Constant technology improvements for solar panels and components, plus increased operating efficiencies by installation firms, have cut costs. More solar companies are also operating here and elsewhere, offering better deals and broader options for consumers. That includes leasing, rather than buying solar systems, although there are costs and benefits to those new alternatives, such as ongoing responsibility for a lease contract when selling a house.There are also many more lending institutions providing financing.All that is generating fierce competition, creating economies of scale that help lower prices. New Mexico now has about 60 contracting and installation companies, including national firms like Solar City and ZingSolar that entered the market last year.As a result, most solar firms are poised to absorb the loss of New Mexicos state tax credit, as well as the decline in renewable energy payments from utilities, said Ryan Centerwall, CEO of Albuquerque-based Affordable Solar, which installs systems here and sells them nationally.It shows the development and maturity of the industry, Centerwall said. Even without state incentives, were still able to save customers money from day one and with no money down for a financed system, because it typically costs less now than for utility retail service.The industry in New Mexico and elsewhere could face more hurdles in coming years because many electric utilities want to roll back incentives like net metering, while imposing new charges on customers with solar systems. Power companies say they still maintain generating plants, transmission and distribution lines to serve customers with solar installations when their panels dont provide enough electricity, and those fixed costs remain unchanged, even though utility revenue has declined with more consumers going solar.When PNM filed for a new rate increase with the PRC in 2014, it asked for changes to its net metering program, plus a new interconnection fee on solar customers. It withdrew those things from the rate case in 2015, but they could come back in future rate cases.For now, however, with net metering unchanged and the federal tax credit firmly in place through at least 2020, installers have more time to drive prices down before solar is forced to fully stand on its own.The idea was never to have tax breaks and incentives forever, but rather use them to enter the market and begin to deliver until volume ramps up, and price reductions and economies of scale kick in, said Mellow Honek, co-founder of the Las Cruces-based installation firm Sunspot Solar Energy LLC.And, in the meantime, theres still plenty of room to grow in New Mexico and nationally.We have less than 10 percent market penetration overall today, Honek said. Theres still a long way to go to hit our peak.
(TNS) -- The Solar Impulse 2 has landed. More than a year after beginning its 25,000-mile trek around the world using only the sun as a fuel source, Solar Impulse 2 has returned to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the country where its historic flight began.This is a big deal. For the first time ever, a two-pilot team was able to circle the globe without using a drop of fossil fuel. The 5,070-pound solar-powered aircraft with a 236-foot wingspan was piloted by Solar Impulse 2 chairman Bertrand Piccard and co-pilot Andre Borschberg taking turns for long solo stretches. Though it is a monumental technological breakthrough, it didnt come easy for the pilotsThe trip, which achieved average flight speeds of 28 to 56 mph, was delayed for nine months after the aircrafts 17,248 solar cells were damaged during a flight from Japan to Hawaii.Still, Solar Impulse racked up 500 flight hours and glided across four continents, three seas and two oceans. Some of its stops included China, India, Japan, Myanmar, Egypt, southern Europe and the United States. During its trek across America, Solar Impulse stopped in Pittsburgh where Paige Kassalen, a 23-year-old electrical engineering graduate of Virginia Tech, is part of the planes pit crew. (Covestro, where Kassalen works, is the lead corporate sponsor of Solar Impulse.)The strategic breakthrough that this technology represents is undeniable. Clean, renewable energy in the form of sunshine that cant be metered has provided fuel for a flight around the world for the first time in human history. This is an innovation in energy that has implications going forward for every sector of modern industrial society. It isnt too much of an exaggeration to say that Solar Impulse has ushered in a new era.As solar and other non-renewable technology matures, so will the speed and capacity of planes and other modes of transportation to travel the globe without polluting. The days of fossil fuel as a staple of transportation are numbered thanks to the year long flight of Solar Impulse.
Why merge?
What will happen to my power rates?
How will it save money?
Energy getting cleaner or dirtier?
Whats the rush?
(TNS) -- In three years, Californias largest utilities could be slashing their use of fossil fuels by swapping homegrown solar energy for Rocky Mountain wind power in a sprawling Western electricity grid.Or a newly expanded grid could provide a profitable market to revive out-of-state coal plants that would otherwise face a harder time complying with Californias aggressive greenhouse-gas-reduction efforts.Those contrasting scenarios are driving debate as the states energy and air-quality regulators finish studies on a proposal to merge the grid for Californias biggest power companies Pacific Gas and Electric Co., San Diego Gas and Electric, and Southern California Edison with another privately run entity that serves 1.8 million customers across the West. The combined grid would serve about 32 million customers.California lawmakers set the stage for the merger last year when they passed SB 350, the law that calls for utilities to generate half of their power from renewable sources by 2030 This month, lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown could decide whether to commit to linking Californias main grid, known as the Independent System Operator , with one managed in six states by PacifiCorp Heres a look at whats motivating the proposal and some of the questions that are leading smaller utilities to ask the Brown administration to slow down the merger.Connecting Californias grid with other Western states will give power managers more leeway to move renewable energy around the country at the moment its created. Thats the part of the proposal that just about everyone likes.It means that a sudden surge of solar energy in California could power homes in Wyoming instead of going to waste. After dark, California customers could rely on wind power from Wyoming rather than draw from local natural gas plants.Supporters of the proposal contend that flexibility will help all the states use more renewable energy, leading them to move away from fossil fuels faster at a lower cost than they might be able to accomplish on their own. thick stack of consultant reports suggests state ratepayers stand to save more than $1 billion a year by 2030 if the ISO and PacifiCorp link their grids. The savings could grow if more states join the super grid, according to consultants.Some large agencies argue that those estimates may be too rosy. The State Water Contractors, an organization made up of utilities that draw from the State Water Project, in a July letter worried that grid expansion could be costly if the new grid raises fees it charges when utilities move electricity on its transmission lines. Those utilities say higher fees could swell the cost of delivering water to Southern California.The Sacramento Municipal Utility District is not part of the ISO, and the merger may not impact local customers. However, SMUD joined a number of other public power operators in writing letters asking the state to move cautiously in considering the proposal.Theyre worried that a multistate, regional grid will overwhelm the market. Like the water project, the agencies are concerned a merger would raise transmission fees. They also want to make sure that publicly owned utilities have a seat on the board that would govern the combined gird.At this juncture, there are more questions than answers on a host of significant market-related issues, wrote SMUD attorney Andrew Meditz in a July letter to the ISO.Utilities believe a larger, Western grid will save them money because they wont have to build as many renewable-energy production facilities to comply with Californias climate change law.For instance, California would need to use about 365,200 acres of land for renewable production to hit the laws 2030 goals. Without the grid plan, a little less than half of those sources would be located in the state.The total acreage required drops to 290,700 acres if the ISO combines its grid with PacifiCorp because the two organizations would be able to trade clean power. That means fewer new solar farms eating up acreage in California.What this does is it shifts the environmental impacts from California to the broader region, said Susan Lee, a consultant from the Aspen Environmental Group, at a California Energy Commission workshop last week.Also, utilities wont have to keep as much power in storage if they spread out their renewable-energy sources across a broader geographic footprint. That land would allow them to better account for sudden changes in weather that would affect energy production.In the long run, the ISO contends the combined market would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions across the entire West at a faster rate than if the utilities continue operating as they are now. The difference would be about 12 million tons of carbon emissions in 2030, according to a study released by the ISO in July.But in the near term, the utilities anticipate a 0.2 percent rise in carbon emissions as they draw from coal-fired plants managed by PacifiCorp in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.That short-term bump caught the attention of the Sierra Club , whose members fear that any boost in profitability for the PacifiCorp coal plants will lead them to stay in operation.What were worried about is if you open up Californias market, youre actually opening an outlet for those coal plants, said Travis Ritchie, a Sierra Club attorney.Supporters of the combined grid argue that the opposite will occur, with coal-fired plants losing their share of the market to renewable sources.If anything, this will expose the coal plants in the rest of the West to competition, which is what we need to do, said Robert Weisenmiller, the chairman of the California Energy Commission.By law, Californias energy regulators have until the end of 2017 to study how theyd manage a multistate power grid and to evaluate whether doing so would meet the states environmental goals.Weisenmiller said those studies are almost finished and likely will be available for lawmakers before the end of their legislative session this month. Itll be up to Gov. Brown and the Legislature to decide whether to move fast or to take more time.If lawmakers choose to expand the grid, a PacifiCorp partnership could be in place by 2020.Weisenmiller would prefer to commit to the PacifiCorp expansion soon. Passing on it, he said, could encourage utilities to join competitors in other regional grids. An Arkansas-based grid called Southwest Power Pool, for instance, added six states to its footprint last year The reality is theres a unique opportunity with PacifiCorp in terms of timing, he said. At some point you have to make the decision. If you keep saying, Were going to do more and more studying, that would be one way to obstruct the deal.A wide variety of utilities has written letters suggesting they like the idea of an expanded grid in theory. But, like SMUD, theyre generally not ready to endorse the proposal.When youre talking about a market this big, its going to have a lot of influence, said Michael Bell, the interim executive director of the California Municipal Utilities Association . His organization wrote a letter to the ISO in July asking it to take more time because of the enormity of the issues the merger presented.
(TNS) CHERRY VALLEY Competition for high-speed internet is so close that Adam Wykes can literally stand atop a fiber optic cable running through the village near the Butler Park water tower.It's getting it out of the ground that's the problem.The issue: Money.Three years after the $68.5 million iFiber broadband network was completed, Wykes is among the impatient. The nearly 900-mile fiber optic pipeline through nine northwest Illinois counties brought the promise of high speed connections to rural towns and more competition among providers in larger markets like Cherry Valley, where Comcast and AT&T are major players.But so far, the main users of iFiber are 500 schools, governments, police and fire departments, libraries, community colleges, health care providers and other community anchor institutions.Wykes wants iFiber for the people. Hes lobbied Cherry Valley Village Hall, started a petition to garner public support and reached out to service providers to see what it would take to tap into iFiber."Personally, it's not that I need a faster connection," said Wykes, 31, who lives in the village with his wife and two children. "I need cheaper internet."Ironically, getting cheaper internet takes cash. It requires an investment in "last mile technology," a telecom term for getting service from fiber optic pipelines to living rooms and offices.Cherry Valley, which has a franchise agreement with Comcast but can allow competitors to provide services, too, has other financial priorities."We need to spend money on keeping up sidewalks, roads, and drainage issues," said Cherry Valley Village President Jim Claeyssen.Claeyssen said last year that Cherry Valley had spent about $29,000 to run just 800 feet of fiber optic cable to connect the village's new public works building. He said the village doesn't have money in its budget for last mile connections.Such connections to iFiber, built from 2010 to 2013 by the Illinois Fiber Resources Group, will likely rely on a fledgling commercialization plan.Five partner companies have started selling connections to the iFiber network, which was funded with a $46.1 million federal stimulus spending grant, $14 million from the state of Illinois and $8.4 million from local governments.Matt Parks, interim director of iFiber, estimates that "a couple dozen" commercial connections have been sold so far.In Rockford, City Hall mulled a plan to snake fiber optic cables through its water pipes, and then sell internet services to residents.But Glenn Trommels, the city's IT director and iFiber board chairman, said the internet services business is "super competitive." And for a utility funded by taxpayers, going up against big corporate internet providers would be risky.Trommels hopes a private company puts transmitters on streetlight poles and other existing infrastructure, and rolls out service to homes and offices in the city."Our path forward is not to build it," Trommels said. "We want to induce outside investment to come in and leverage that (iFiber) backbone."Urban Communications Inc. in Oak Forest is one of iFiber's five business-residential service partners. CEO Ed Urban said Illinois's fiscal crisis has stymied discussion in many smaller, rural communities about tapping into the network. There's interest, he said, but without state seed money they can't afford such a venture."The problem I see often is that you have a handful of people who are very enthusiastic, and that doesn't translate to decision makers in the community," Urban said.Wykes briefly collected signatures in Cherry Valley this spring to build support. He said a Wi-Fi transmitter atop the water tower in Bugler Park could serve village business and homes like his, where he once wanted to set up compiling servers for a business venture but decided he couldn't afford internet bills."Everyone said yes, this is something I'd like to see," said Wykes, a self-described computer nerd.He dropped the petition drive after collecting a dozen or so signatures when he realized it was support from the Village Hall, not from citizens, that the effort needed.Claeyssen, an engineer, said he's fascinated by the technology behind fiber optics and the prospect of competition for internet services in the village. But Claeyssen, the public official, said there's no money in the budget to open and operate a municipal broadband internet spigot."It's not that we're not still looking at it, but right now the cost is just extremely high," he said.
(TNS) -- The last time state lawmakers tried to place limits on drones in the skies above California, they were met with the veto of Gov. Jerry Brown , who said he did not want to create new crimes to enforce bans on the use of such devices.This year, the pushback to new rules is coming not from the governor but through the lobbying efforts of a budding industry that hopes to influence policy at the state Capitol and nationwide.As drones multiply in number and category, cities and states want to set boundaries. But drone manufacturers and associations this legislative session boosted their politicking, successfully beating back several bills they said would create a patchwork of laws that vary by state and hinder innovation.We want to solve problems and address concerns, but to do it in a way that is constantly clear across the country, said Brendan Schulman, vice president of policy and legal affairs for DJI Technology Co., the worlds largest drone maker. Otherwise, it will be too confusing for commercial users and consumers to understand what the rules are when they travel from place to place.The Consumer Technology Assn. expects 2.4 million drones to be sold nationwide this year, up from 1.1 million in 2015.California has been home to some of the most innovative uses of the technology and is now also a central battleground over industry policy as it has become more commercialized.Farmers are employing unmanned machines to spray pesticides over vineyards, first responders are using them to train for chemical spills, and Realtors are sending them into the air to capture aerial photos of homes and businesses.But cities are seeking to pass their own rules and ordinances to prevent hobbyists from wreaking havoc. Just this month, a Placer County man was arrested on suspicion of flying a drone into a firefighting effort northeast of Sacramento.Brown last year signed a bill prohibiting the use of drones to record audio or video on private property. But he stopped short of signing bills that would have made it illegal to use drones over wildfires, schools, prisons and jails.Industry opposition this year has helped block two sweeping pieces of California legislation: One would have outlined drone regulations for law enforcement and another sought to drastically reduce the space in which the devices can be flown near power lines and critical infrastructure, private property and parklands and wildlife refuges.Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, a Santa Barbara Democrat who authored the latter bill, said she had spent months working on an approach that would balance the need to protect privacy, public safety and parkland with promoting the benefits of the technology.But she said tech industry leaders had not been willing to come to the table.The rules should be clear, she said. The rules should be fair. The rules should be a coordinated effort by all the stakeholders, but until we get the tech industry to sit down and participate, we are going to have to go at it alone.Opponents of the bill contended it would have required drone operators to obtain insurance, though there is no data that accurately reflects the danger the drones pose. And they said it created inconsistencies and contradictions that undermined federal law regarding aircraft operations.Debate has raged in recent years over just where federal authority begins and ends. Lawyers with the Federal Aviation Administration have said their agency has jurisdiction over any airspace above a blade of grass, though it has typically only regulated spaces at least 500 feet above the ground . The agency has also been slow to release regulations, revealing its latest set of rules for commercial users only late last month.In Washington, major firms with an eye toward drone delivery services, among the most aggressive of which has been Amazon, have poured millions of dollars into lobbying Congress as a way of pushing the FAA along. Major drone manufacturers have even created their own industry advocacy group, the Drone Manufacturers Alliance , focused on the consumer market.But industry experts say the battles with the highest stakes could play out at the state level, where lawmakers are trying to balance the needs of cities with those of drone operators.In California, DJI Technology Co. and GoPro, a body-wearable camera maker working on its own drone, doled out more than $125,000 for the first time this session to hire lobbying firms. And even Google and Amazon have added the unmanned machines to their lobbying priorities in Sacramento.The opposition helped stall another bill by Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) that would have required law enforcement to issue policies and obtain a search warrant before using drones. It has remained on the Senate floor since last year but is expected to be withdrawn.Of the five remaining proposals in the Legislature, criticized by some as piecemeal solutions, two of the most significant bills would ban the use of drones in state parks without permission and would hold that emergency responders and volunteers who damage a drone are not subject to liability.Another would mandate that the devices must be sold with a copy of FAA rules and that those with GPS technology must turn off near airports, sensitive infrastructure or fires.Jackson, whose drone legislation was vetoed by the governor last year, said she will try to pass statewide regulations for the third time next session. Cities are already moving forward, she said with or without the state.
A cloud continues to hang over the future of the German grand prix.
The Nurburgring's woes meant there was no race in Germany last year, and it appears unlikely the track will be able to resume its alternation deal with the Hockenheim for 2017.
"2017 is the Norburgring's turn," track chief Georg Seiler told DPA news agency after Hockenheim staged Germany's F1 return last weekend.
Seiler had targeted a crowd of at least 60,000 on Sunday to ensure Hockenheim breaks even, but the final figure was just short of that, at 57,000.
"On the positive side we sold more tickets than in 2014 so the trend is right," he told Stuttgarter Nachrichten newspaper.
"We already have a contract for 2018 and will comply with it. Then we'll see," Seiler added.
"A lot of water will flow down the Rhine before 2019," he said.
But what about 2017?
Seiler said "anything is possible", but only if there is no "risk" that Hockenheim will left with a bill to pay.
And he said that goes for 2019 and beyond, as well.
"Formula one should stay at Hockenheim, but the contract in the future must be that there is no risk," Seiler told the German website motorsport-magazin.com.
"There are many people within the F1 supply train that make money," he said. "It cannot be that we provide the playground only for others to make money."
He said Mercedes has already supported the circuit by way of advertising and marketing.
"I would be happy if Mercedes wants to continue with us as a formula one partner. I am also thinking of all the suppliers and other companies that are also part of the overall business," added Seiler.
(GMM)
The roadmap outlines the long-term technology needs to support future automotive material selection decisions with advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) including, optimized design, fuel economy, strength and durability, environmental performance and value.
Over the past 10 years, new steel innovations have reduced automotive component and sub-system mass by nearly 25%; some studies have shown mass savings up to 29% versus traditional mild steel benchmarks. The Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI)a business unit of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI)has now released its 2016 Steel Industry Technology Roadmap for Automotive .
It also outlines and responds to automakers needs by identifying AHSS solutions and recommended areas for future research. The roadmap also identifies technical gaps in the application of these advanced products and on a high level identifies potential projects. It also provides information on materials, joining and forming related to advanced steels.
Looking toward the 2025 CAFE fuel economy targets, a projected 20% reduction in BIW (body in white) weight is required to close the gap. Steels opportunity to contribute to fuel economy improvements is through vehicle mass reduction mainly in the body, closures and chassis / suspension systemsrepresenting more than 50% of the mass of the vehicle.
Source: ArcelorMittal. Click to enlarge.
As the auto industry focuses even more on mass reduction, the steel industry continues to develop new steel grades. More specifically, the roadmap notes, automakers have requested development of AHSS with improved ductility for better formability.
This classification of steel has been named third generation (3rd Gen AHSS) and is expected to provide a cold-stamped alternative for some hot-stamped applications through traditional stamping processes. Hot-stamped grades will still be needed for advantages in high strength, complex formability and part consolidation.
Progression of 3rd Gen AHSS development. The currently available 3rd Gen AHSS products are shown adjacent to the range of 3rd Gen steels under development. A new group of continuously heat-treated 3rd Gen AHSS alloys continue application and development adding to those 3rd Gen AHSS steels already available. Click to enlarge.
There are seven primary strategic areas for innovation in steel, the roadmap notes: materials; computer aided engineering (CAE) modeling and simulation; forming technologies; tooling technologies; joining technologies; and other.
Materials. Key initiatives within this particular area are:
Grade consistency across steel manufacturers and global availability.
Plasticity fundamentals. Successful modeling of polycrystalline behavior would benefit the understanding and application of new steel grade plasticity properties. Models should also provide grade-based forming information. Models ideally incorporating features of damaged / strengthened constituents could provide information for preformed and intermediate stages of material forming.
Elastic modulus. A higher elastic modulus would be highly desirable to compensate for gage reduction and avoid loss of part or panel stiffness. Standardized testing methods are required to accurately measure this property and model the effects of texture and anisotropy directionally on its measurement. Modeling change in elastic modulus for an AHSS material in a typical tension-compression-tension cycle is a difficult challenge for a material exhibiting component phase structure changes. However it would be very beneficial in part forming and performance characterization.
Standardized testing methods are required to accurately measure this property and model the effects of texture and anisotropy directionally on its measurement. Material Fracture. Better understanding of the effects of deformation mode on shear fracture including the influence of microstructure to aid in designing / refining AHSS products and processing.
Local formability. Standardize material test methods providing the appropriate material data required to support modeling and prediction of local flow stresses incorporating anisotropy.
Delayed fracture and hydrogen embrittlement. Standardize reproducible test methods to reflect real world conditions.
CAE. There are three major initiatives within this area:
Advancements in finite element formulations, enhanced modeling, analyses and post-processing techniques will significantly improve the fidelity and speed of the simulations and allow rapid iterations of the design to achieve an optimum balance of performance, mass and cost without compromising safety as the primary objective;
Accuracy and robustness of the material data generated and provided as input to the models to better predict formability (local and global); and
Modeling techniques in the future are anticipated to go beyond current simulation of vehicle performance and manufacturing. Additional requirements such as total GHG emissions to reduce the environmental impact as a function of all phases of vehicle life (production, use and end-of-life recycling) may be needed along with other inputs to support technologies such as autonomous vehicles.
Forming Technologies. Newer steel grades present additional technical challenges in forming that need to be addressed to ensure seamless applications of these grades with relatively reduced risks.
Conventional Stamping. As the most versatile and predominant production process for all steels, stamping and stamping process improvements are critical to expanding the future application of AHSS / UHSS. Arrival of higher-strength, more ductile, thinner-gage steel grades opens up a number of technical gaps.
Hot Stamping Process. Perhaps one of the most prominent processes under review for forming 1 st Gen AHSS is hot stamping. This technology can be direct or indirect and be further refined for softening, hardening and hybrid processing. As the technology continues to mature, there will be a continuing need to address gaps primarily aimed at cycle time improvements and production rate increase.
Hydroforming and Roll Forming. Hydroforming and roll forming processes are mature steel forming technologies widely used within the automotive industry to produce open and closed structural sections. As in the case of stamping, the development of higher-strength, more ductile, thinner-gage AHSS grades opens up technical gaps specific to hydroforming and roll forming needed to be addressed to ensure successful automotive applications.
Other Innovative Forming Technologies. Less common forming processes such as brake forming; spinning; electro-magnetic forming; electro-hydraulic forming; and explosive forming may be further developed in the future for use in conjunction with stronger, more ductile, thinner gage AHSS grades; especially if some of these technologies can offer tooling and part fabrication cost advantages.
Tooling. Regardless of the forming process, there is a continuous need to address the capability and adequacy of the existing tooling and equipment technologies. Technical focus areas include, but are not limited to:
Enhanced die modeling, design and optimization methods;
Die materials for improved tool life, longer production runs, less maintenance and reduced tooling costs;
Die heat treatment to prevent die surface damage and improve impact and wear resistance;
Die surface treatment to reduce friction, tool wear and permit operating at higher-surface temperatures for conventional cold forming and potentially improve die heat transfer characteristics in the case of hot stamping;
Die lubricant technologies to improve their performance at higher operating pressures and temperatures with stability, improve the cleaning ability with no residue, and corrosion protection; and
Press equipment technologies to address higher-tonnage capacity and potentially permit design of AHSS components with fewer hits.
Joining. The continuing evolution of AHSS grades demands significant updates to existing joining methods and creative simulation techniques. In addition, joining steel grades to other automotive grade materials has increased and presented a rising number of applications requiring mixed material joints in the BIW, closures and chassis applications.
Joining processes can be categorized as:
Welding processes which generally require some form of heat application (with or without filler materials). Examples include: resistance spot welding (RSW); laser welding; gas metal arc welding (GMAW); metal inert gas (MIG); tungsten inert gas (TIG); hot wire welding (HWW); and friction stir welding (FSW).
Mechanical Joining processes not requiring heat application (at least during joining), include: riveting (both self-piercing and blind); threaded fasteners; flow drill screws (FDS); clinching; hemming; impact riveting (Rivtac); and adhesive bonding.
Other. Other technical areas driving significant interaction with other automotive related industries and requiring attention as an integral part of the overall technical roadmap include (but are not limited to):corrosion; paint; repairability; recyclability; and LCA.
The city's top official is determined to eliminate under-the-table payments and allay investor concerns.
Ho Chi Minh City has recorded a 68.4 percent decline in foreign investments to $638 million in the first seven months of the year, statistics show.
The citys authorities are obviously worried that the southern city might be losing its attractiveness in the eyes of foreign investors as a dynamic business hub in Southeast Asia.
Top city leaders, including Chairman of the Peoples Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong, are aware of the realities of doing business in the city.
The citys chairman frankly pointed out that unofficial payments to public officials are part of the picture that gives foreign investors an unfavorable opinion of the citys business environment.
Officials from each industry need to make the time to hold public meeting with businesses to hear directly from them, not from a go-between, Phong said at a meeting on Monday.
The chairman said that businesses should not have to go through a middleman to set up a meeting with the citys authorities.
He also pledged to cut through red tape and remove other cumbersome administrative hurdles to create a more favorable business environment in Ho Chi Minh City.
The citys economy has expanded an estimated 7.47 percent in the first half of 2016, and is set to grow by 8 percent this year, said Chairman of the People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong. Photo by Ngoc Hau.
Ho Chi Minh City is striving to become a smart and dynamic part of Asia and a talent hub where investors and start-ups flock together to thrive on a sustainable market-based economy.
The southern city is strategically connected to seaports and home to an international airport, giving it the opportunity to grow into a regional commercial hub.
Municipal authorities have tried to boost transport infrastructure to keep track with the rapidly expanding economy.
Worsening congestion at Cat Lai Seaport and Tan Son Nhat International Airport are costing businesses time and money, said Phong.
With Ho Chi Minh City aiming for growth of 8 percent to increase the average per-capita income to $8,500 by 2020, we must improve infrastructure, the citys top leader continued.
Experts said the city will need some VND500 trillion ($22 billion) in the next five years and an additional $45 billion from 2020 to 2030 for infrastructure projects.
Statistics show that Ho Chi Minh Citys sales of goods and services grew 11.4 percent to VND407 trillion ($18.5 billion) in the first seven months of this year against the same period last year.
The citys import and export turnover from January to July was estimated at $18 billion, an increase of 1.8 percent compared to the same period last year.
Ho Chi Minh City currently has 250,000 household businesses. The city plans to double the figure by turning family businesses into small and medium-sized enterprise, said secretary of the citys Party Committee, Dinh La Thang.
Figures show small and medium-sized businesses have managed to secure VND93.4 trillion in loans so far this year, accounting for 60.6 percent of the total outstanding debts in the citys banking system.
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STAMFORD A former White House attorney who nearly bludgeoned his wife to death with a flashlight wants to delay paying her a $30 million settlement.
The attorney for J. Michael Farren asked Superior Court Judge Robert Genuario in Stamford on Monday to stop Mary Margaret Farren from collecting on a $28.6 million civil settlement until her clients U.S. Supreme Court appeal is heard.
Farren, 63, who served as an attorney for both Bush administrations, is serving a 15-year prison term at the Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown, for the attempted murder of his wife during a violent, prolonged and vicious domestic assault in their New Canaan mansion in 2010.
The state Appelate Court upheld the civil jurys December 2013 decision. Farren, who is not due for release until March 2029, now hopes the highest court overturns the ruling.
What he is trying to do is block further attempts to execute judgment, Mary Margaret Farrens attorney, Paul Slager said following the hearing on Monday. He has money in a variety of places and to stop any further efforts in that regard.
Genuario said he needed a few days to reach a decision.
Michael Farren did not attend the 15-minute hearing and was not present during the civil or criminal trials.
Part of Farrens appeal focuses on him not being present for the civil trial. However, Slager has said Farrens legal shenanigans involved putting himself in Hartford Hospital for having suicidal ideations on the eve of the trial to avoid having to defend himself.
The Appellate Court ruled the Stamford trial court did not know he had been committed to the hospital.
His attorney, Emily Gianquinto, told the judge on Monday he had the authority to make a stay in the case until the U.S. Supreme court makes a ruling.
But Slager, told Genuario he did not have the authority to delay his client from collecting the settlement.
He said the Appellate Court already denied Farrens appeal and now his attorney is going behind the higher courts back.
But Gianquinto told Genuario, Mr. Farren has exercised his right to take his appeal further.
They lost that, Slager said. And they are essentially seeking to appeal the decision of the Appellate Court with your honor, which is wholly improper.
Slager said Farren has been withholding the money from his client since the settlement was awarded more than two years ago.
Based on the justice that happened here, this is one after the next, after the next, after the next, in a series of delays, Slager said. This is only the latest in a long string of attempted delays.
Gianquinto said after the hearing Mary Margaret Farren has collected some of the settlement money, but she was not sure how much.
jnickerson@scni.com;
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Will Strain has been a volunteer firefighter for the past 10 years, and he is now joining the ranks of the paid firefighting staff.
Strain was sworn in Monday, following in a family tradition. Both his parents, Linda and Rick, are longtime volunteers affiliated with the Round Hill Volunteer Fire Company. Rick Strain is the current chief.
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Though many may assume they already know the answer to the question, a pair of evolutionary scientists released a study Monday explaining the point of the female orgasm.
Scientists at Yale and the Cincinnati Childrens Hospital have provided fresh insights on the subject by examining the evolving trait across different species. Their study appears Monday in the journal JEZ-Molecular and Developmental Evolution.
The female orgasm, unlike the male orgasm, is not necessary for conceiving, so why is it still there? said Dr. Mihaela Pavlicev, an assistant professor at the Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center, and one of two authors of the the study, The Evolutionary Origin of Female Orgasm.
Dr. Pavlicev and Gunter Wagner, an Alison Richard professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale University, started last fall and took three to four months to complete the study.
We wanted to try to understand the ovarian cycle and spontaneous evolution, because this concept is relatively new, Pavlicev said. While doing other things, we stumbled across this observation that the ancestral trait that evolved into the human female orgasm had an ancestral function during ovulation.
Pavlicev has been on the job for the last three years, but has focused on reproductive biology for the past 13, while Wagner has spent 35 years studying evolutionary biology, a quarter of a century teaching at Yale, and a decade researching biological reproduction.
Since there is no apparent association between orgasm and number of offspring or successful reproduction in humans, the scientists singled out one physiological trait that goes together with the human female orgasm, the neuro-endocrine discharge of prolactin and oxytocin, and searched for this activity in other placental mammals.
Although the effects of the female orgasm in humans may not be clear, however if present, the extant effects of the trait are not necessarily the functions for which the traits originated in the first place, wrote Pavlicev and Wagner in their publication. Instead, they can be new functions, for example, as is well established for feathers, hair, or swim bladder, etc.
Pavlicev and Wagner saw this reflex plays a part in ovulation for a large number of mammals.
For animals other than the human, the female orgasm can be seen as a mechanism to cause ovulation in response to copulation, as the egg and sperm must simultaneously be in the right place, Pavlicev said.
We must ask the question: Is there still a function for the female orgasm, and how will ovulation be affected? Many aspects of reproductive biology are still yet to be answered, Wagner said.
While the study affects the science community in a positive manner, the general implications for the average individual should not be overlooked.
People want to understand themselves and why things are the way that they are, Wagner said.
The scientists suggest that female orgasm may have evolved as an adaptation for a direct reproductive role the reflex that, ancestrally, induced ovulation. This reflex became superfluous for reproduction later in evolution, freeing female orgasm for secondary roles.
GREENWICH - Vineyard Vines will donate 10 percent of each purchase to the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk from 2 to 6 p.m. on August 5. The company will also donate a dollar for every printable whale that is colored and posted to social media with #WhalesForACause until September 16.
The Greenwich location of Vineyard Vines is participating, along with New Canaan, Westport, Grand Central, Third Ave. and Short Hills.
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The news is gloomy for Connecticuts head-in-the-sand conservatives who scoffed at the 2012 legalization of marijuana for the treatment of debilitating ailments.
That conjured image of a stoner paradise, with nodding-and-winking proprietors of state medical-cannabis dispensaries happily handing out bags of weed to anyone, has not panned out, to say the least.
And the presumed proliferation of people qualifying under the catch-all Post Traumatic Stress Disorder claim has also failed to materialize.
Yep, if you were a member of the General Assembly back in 2012 who voted against medical cannabis, well, lets say you werent a visionary. But that was the year that people who didnt know anything about the medical benefits could no longer meddle with peoples lives.
That is not entirely true, since last spring, a bipartisan group of conservatives on the legislative Regulation Review Committee, without a medical degree among them and in apparent violation of their own rules, decided to ax a new ailment from the list only because they couldnt kill the whole program.
At this point, nearly two years into its availability, 70 percent of the states medical cannabis isnt even being sold in the traditional dried-flower form. The chemicals are being extracted and sold for edibles, vaporizers and other non-smokables.
Oh yeah, and even the PTSD patients are getting forms of the medicine with lower amounts of the psycho-active THC and higher percentages of other compounds.
With PTSD you want a mood stabilizer, said Jonathan Harris, commissioner of the state Department of Consumer Protection, which runs the medical cannabis program.
And despite the Connecticut Medical Societys opposition, more and more doctors are signing on for participation.
When the first medical marijuana came on the market in September 2014, there were 81 doctors registered to recommend the treatment. Now, there are 502 physicians.
There are 11,832 patients, up from the original 1,681.
And maybe the really good news is that, come Oct. 1, a new state law takes effect that will promote research into the properties of the weed. And research means jobs in science, at a time when that single syllable is the default mantra of all political types.
Its really going to repudiate the head-in-the-sand types when hundreds of new employment opportunities spring up, nearly 80 years after the federal clamp down on the ubiquitous weed, including its laughably lingering status as a federal Schedule I drug, defined as dangerously addictive with no medical uses.
The current ailments for eligibility include cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, cachexia, wasting syndrome, Crohn's disease, PTSD, sickle cell disease, muscle spasticity, severe psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ulcerative colitis and complex regional pain syndrome.
On Oct. 1, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, terminal illness and uncontrolled seizures will be added.
Less than two years in, and the stigmas are getting lowered, Harris said in a Friday interview. We continue to make progress in providing for more patients suffering from serious conditions. We are getting more physicians on board.
Harris said he welcomes the so-called double-blind studies typical of scientific research. I think its going to play out incredibly and research will allow Connecticut to be a national leader.
In 2015 the General Assembly failed to approve the legislation that finally passed this year, allowing children to use oral medication, allowing for research and letting medical cannabis be administered in hospitals and hospices.
Harris said the pharmaceutical model in which the dispensaries, including two new ones in Milford has allowed a uniform product to be sold. The standardization of strains of marijuana and its combinations of THC and the other, associated chemicals, should make it easier to study the drugs benefits, taking information beyond the anecdotal that scientists demean.
Were going to be the place to do this kind of research, Harris said. Its going to create some good jobs, medium- to-higher-paying jobs that we lost in the Great Recession. I really think it is going to be a good win.
The state regulates how the plant is grown by the four producers. The Department of Consumer Protections food division licenses three of them that produce edibles.
Come Oct. 1, Harris anticipates the initial research forays to begin, by the growers, those labs now testing cannabis profiles, or totally new entities such as universities or existing bio-tech companies.
More people understand this is about good health care, Harris said. Its medicine to help those suffering from various diseases, who are your parents, grandparents, your next-door neighbors, friends. Its not a not a special class of people out there trying to get high. This is real.
It is one of the three largest foreign industrial park developers in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese subsidiary of Thailands industrial estate developer Amata Corporation is ready to invest $200 million in the first phase of its second industrial park in Vietnam.
The park will be located in Long Thanh District in Dong Nai Province, a strategic location near Ho Chi Minh City, according to Vietnam's National Assembly website.
Amata Vietnam Pcl will follow in the steps of other Thai retail giants including Berli Jucker Corporation and Central Group, underlining the potential international investors see in Vietnam.
The total overall budget for the project, known as Amata City Long Thanh, is expected to hit $800 million. The complex will be divided into two sections: 40 percent will be used for industrial purposes and 60 percent for housing and commercial buildings.
Amata Vietnam Pcl Chief Executive Officer Somhatai Pnichewa told DealStreetAsia that: We will start developing the industrial part first. For accommodation, we will start it once the government constructs the expressway, scheduled to start by 2019. By then the value of this project and the land will have risen sharply.
Amata is investing in another strategic location in the south of Vietnam. Photo from industrialzone.vn
One of the three largest foreign industrial park developers in Vietnam, Amata said that the 1,300 hectare industrial park will be available for investors in 2017 before the park is completed in 2019.
The Long Thanh project is Amata's second in Vietnam following Bien Hoa City that opened in 1994. Both investments are located in Dong Nai Province, a satellite city of Ho Chi Minh City and the gateway to the most developed economy in the country.
Bien Hoa City was a joint venture between Amata Corporation and Sonadezi Bien Hoa, a state owned industrial estate developer. This was the Thai corporation's first overseas industrial park investment.
Amata Vietnam is also applying for an investment license in another large industrial park complex in the north of Vietnam that would include industrial estates and residential buildings near a strategic deep sea port location.
Amata Corporation Public Company Limited is a Thai industrial estate developer established in 1989 with headquarters in Bangkok. It operates in Thailand and Vietnam and hosts global clients from industries such as the automotive, healthcare and food and beverage sectors.
Related news
> Industrial waste from Formosa steel plant found buried in public park
> Vietnam impatient as Thai supermarket giant dawdles over tax payment
> Vietnam province pulls plug on Thai-proposed $20-billion refinery
While women make up more than half of the U.S. population and nearly 52 percent of these women hold professional-level jobs, only 14.6 percent end up as executive officers, according to the latest statistics from the Center for American Progress. This figure tells us what many women already know: In spite of gains in the workplace, plenty of todays career-oriented woman are still struggling to break the glass ceiling.
To understand why, it helps to take a closer look at how female leadership roles develop and evolve in both the private and public sector. Are women better off exploring leadership positions with the government or working for private firms and corporations? With Hillary Clinton gunning for the most executive position in the country, the outlook is not all that bad. Even so, its clear that challenges remain - both in the government and the private sector.
Elle Magazines list of the 10 most powerful women in Washington featured women, who have overcome many challenges in the White House and beyond, providing us with inspiration on what it takes to succeed in an otherwise male-dominated sector. Author Rachel Combe emphasizes how many of these women are key players, leading their teams and colleagues to great levels of success.
Its not news that women have the skills needed to excel, though opportunity is a different story. According to the International Federation of Business and Professional Women, women tend to have the chops to become transformational leaders.
These leaders inspire people to follow them by working on gaining their trust and respect before attempting to persuade or change their views. They encourage a mutual relationship among everyone they work with, regardless of role or status. The experts at Business Professional Women's (BPW) International point out that women have a tendency to encourage participation and collaboration when running an organization. Unlike men, they rarely use threats to change behavior, instead focusing on improving performance. They also have the ability to work with a clear vision, and earn peoples trust because of that.
All of these traits and characteristics allow them to play a pivotal role in both private and public sector jobs. But to what extent? Women in top management positions and on corporate boards are stalling, according to the Center for American Progress, with only nine percent of women remaining in top management positions.
Overall, it appears women have excelled more in the public sector than in the private.
Related: How Women Leaders Win and Help Others Do the Same
Women make up 34.4 percent of senior executive services (SES) in the federal government compared with 14.6 percent of senior leadership roles in the private sector. The study highlights the fact that women have filled more leadership roles within the public sector than in the private sector - a trend we see more of at the federal level.
There are few skills unique to men or women, but the argument that men are better leaders innately has been definitively debunked.
In fact, the same skills that are rewarded in men can hinder women, and traditionally feminine leadership traits are downplayed in spite of their importance in a professional workplace. For example, a recent study shows that female executives outshine their male counterparts when it comes to fostering a collaborative environment. Collaboration, along with other traits, such as compassion and honesty, are cornerstones of good leadership. Unfortunately, popular opinion still regards men and stereotypically male traits as superior. Due to this discrepancy, some organizations are taking a stand to level the playing field.
Related: Why Women Are the Best Opportunity for Businesses
Anne Abraham, founder and CEO of LeadWomen, says, The Commonwealth has successfully achieved significant levels of women in political leadership in some regions. The same emphasis must now be placed on women in senior leadership roles in public and private offices.
More women are taking the lead on representing their female colleagues and counterparts in board meetings; leading critical planning and development discussions; and serving as key decision makers for an organization. However, women are still underrepresented, regardless of industry and fail to meet anywhere near the employment level of their male counterparts in executive and leadership positions.
So whats it going to take for more women to fill positions of power in the private and public sector? While it appears that more leadership job opportunities within the federal government are available - or accessible -- to women, women who are pursuing career growth in the private sector, may have a more difficult time. As Ive written about before, it is up to leadership to recognize female talent and to provide the opportunities to excel.
Related: Why Millennial Women Crave Authenticity
Women can also consider working with a mentor, or furthering their education, to explore high-level management positions. Some companies offer formal mentorship programs for internal employees so they can partner with an experienced executive and learn the ropes to get ahead in the organization.
Another option is to develop stronger interpersonal and team-building skills to serve as a leader at every opportunity within the organization. This can encourage managers to take notice and increase the chances of a promotion.
Women are still struggling to break through the glass ceiling in many organizations, but many do find rewarding leadership opportunities both in the private and in the public sector. While many firms and corporations in the private sector encourage women to join the organization and grow their careers, others are finding opportunities to excel working for the federal government.
At the end of the day, I believe we are amidst a cultural shift toward better inclusivity. It took much more effort for the women before us, and it will take extra effort for women today. But someday our hard work will pay off for the women of tomorrow.
Related:
Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Massively oversize portions are one of the most storied and competitive categories within the stunt-foods universe. The Italians in particular excel in this arena, casually creating mile-long pizzas and 10,000-pound bowls of spaghetti while sipping on spritzes. But Maine restaurant Dirigo Public House has put the whole world on notice with a 100-pound hamburger created with the noble cause of making fun of its customers.
This is what a 100+ lb cheeseburger looks like. And not too shabby on temping it to Medium! (It's a hair over but if you're going to complain about it, keep walking.) Posted by Dirigo Public House on Monday, August 1, 2016
Served this past Saturday at the restaurants first anniversary, the burger consists of a 70-pound patty, plus 30 pounds of lettuce, tomato, ketchup, and one giant bun. One of the restaurants co-owners, Ben Grant, says they were inspired by customers requests to go bigger, which he says he felt was inappropriate due to things like people not having enough money for normal food. Which makes sense, because these record-breaking foods are mostly notable for being a huge waste of resources. So, in response, Grants staff went way over the top, and will now donate some of the proceeds from the burger to the Good Shepherd Food Bank. Which, if anything, makes this monster burger seem like something of a noble cause.
Vinamilk plans to earn half its revenue in foreign markets in the next five years.
Vinamilk, or Vietnam Dairy Product JSC, has set a target of building its overseas business so it accounts for half of its total revenue in the next five years.
The dairy firm, currently valued at nearly $8 billion, said that net revenue from overseas markets rose 14 percent to VND4.4 trillion ($197 million) in the first six months of 2016 from a year ago.
Vinamilk has unveiled plans to gain a strong foothold in Asia through mergers and acquisitions after 40 years of focusing on the domestic market.
The dairy firm has formed strategic partnerships with Topmost Enterprise in Thailand and Synchro World in Myanmar. Vinamilk has also launched a dairy plant in Cambodia via a joint venture with local company BPC Trading that produces fresh milk, yogurt and condensed milk for the Cambodian market.
Vinamilk spent $3 million to become the sole owner of the California-based Driftwood Dairy, which contributed 6.5 percent to the firms total revenue of $1.7 billion last year.
Vinamilk reported revenues in the first half of 2016 over $1 billion, and profits rose 33 percent to VND4.97 trillion ($222.6 million) from the same period last year.
Vinamilk said changes to strategic product lines and lower corporate income tax had spurred growth.
Vinamilk products are displayed for sale at a Vinamilk shop in Hanoi. Photo by Reuters.
The Vietnamese government on July 20 scrapped a long standing foreign-ownership cap on Vinamilk in a move to boost foreign interest in the countrys stock market.
The State Securities Commission said in a statement that the decision now allows foreign investors to own a 100 percent stake in a company, up from 49 percent. The SCIC, the state's investment arm, holds a 45 percent stake worth $3.5 billion in Vinamilk, and has confirmed it will divest from the company without giving a specific time frame.
Related news:
> Vinamilk extends global reach with U.S. dairy firm acquisition
> Vietnam's leading state owned giant Vinamilk says scrapping foreign ownership cap
> Dairy giant Vinamilk opens $23 million plant in Cambodia
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Introduction
Last year, Samsung focused on its Galaxy S6 cash cow and the Note5 got slightly overlooked (especially in Europe, where it wasn't even present and the S6 edge+ was left to carry the flagship phablet flag alone). This year, the Note is back and stronger than ever.
The Samsung Galaxy Note7 stands at the heart of a multifaceted ecosystem that is supported by three pillars - business, games and multimedia.
Samsung Galaxy Note7 (left) next to the S7 edge (right)
On the business side, the improved S Pen collaborates with the Always-on screen for even easier note taking. The iris scanner works with KNOX and Samsung Pay to secure your data (both work and personal) and your money even tighter than before.
The Galaxy Note7 wants to rule mobile gaming. VR especially, with a redesigned Gear VR. The phone supports the new Vulkan API, which is just starting to gain ground with PC games. As a nice bonus, you get $25 worth of "console-quality" games at launch.
The Samsung Galaxy Note7 is a media creation and a consumption nexus too. It's one of few mobiles that can display HDR video (an up and coming tech for 4K TVs). With the Gear 360, it can also snap VR-ready panoramas too.
Other accessories come into play too. The phablet's 3,500mAh battery is paired with two new power saving modes and can use an optional wireless quick charger for quick cable-free top-ups. Active users have the Gear IconX wireless headphones and the Gear Fit 2 smart band to look forward to (and you can score the Fit 2 for free!). Also, the S Pen works underwater, so activities are not limited to dry land.
Yes, the Galaxy Note7 is the first Note to get waterproofed - it holds an IP68 certification.
Samsung Galaxy Note7 at a glance:
Form factor : metal frame, dual-tone paint job with the Blue Coral option
: metal frame, dual-tone paint job with the Blue Coral option Durability: IP68 rating (dustproof, water resistant beyond 1m of water); S Pen works underwater (!)
IP68 rating (dustproof, water resistant beyond 1m of water); S Pen works underwater (!) Display: Dual-curved 5.7" Super AMOLED of QHD resolution; Edge features are back; Gorilla Glass 5
Dual-curved 5.7" Super AMOLED of QHD resolution; Edge features are back; Gorilla Glass 5 S Pen : can leave notes on Always-on screen; 4096 pressure levels; doesn't break if you put it the wrong way in
: can leave notes on Always-on screen; 4096 pressure levels; doesn't break if you put it the wrong way in Platform: Snapdragon 820 or Exynos 8890 (region dependent); 4GB of RAM; Base model has 64GB of storage (expandable via microSD)
Snapdragon 820 or Exynos 8890 (region dependent); 4GB of RAM; Base model has 64GB of storage (expandable via microSD) Software: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Android 6.0 Marshmallow Security : iris scanner; fingerprint scanner
: iris scanner; fingerprint scanner Camera: 12MP dual-pixel camera; 2160p video capture
12MP dual-pixel camera; 2160p video capture Connectivity: USB Type-C (a first for Samsung) with On-The-Go support; NFC for Samsung Pay
USB Type-C (a first for Samsung) with On-The-Go support; NFC for Samsung Pay Battery: 3,500mAh; new power-saving modes; quick charging (wired and wireless)
3,500mAh; new power-saving modes; quick charging (wired and wireless) Launch: Pre-orders start August 3, sales officially begin August 19
Samsung's own research shows that Note owners use 50% more productivity and business apps than Galaxy S7 owners. And they consume 30% more multimedia. Let's see if the new Galaxy Note7 can live up to the magic created by its predecessors.
The roughly 25-cm long crocodiles were about 15 days old and were likely trafficked from Vietnam, said state-owned Xinhua news agency.
Border police seized 399 baby Siamese crocodiles, a protected endangered species, in southern China.
Police in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region said they saw three nervous-looking men moving goods in front of the house where the crocodiles were found and approached them for questioning. One man was caught, while the two others escaped.
Siamese crocodile skin is used to produce handbags and other luxury leather goods, but the reptiles can only be raised in China with a licence and trafficking in them is illegal, according to Xinhua.
China is a major destination market for many products made using exotic, and often endangered, species. The government has held high-profile events to destroy large caches of illicit animal products in attempt to discourage trafficking in them.
Related news:
> Alleged rhino horn smuggler busted at Vietnam airport
> Dead tigers found in Thai temple amid trafficking fears
> Endangered pangolins rescued as police bust smugglers in northern Vietnam
Haiti - FLASH : Results of examinations of the 9th AF (10 departments)
The Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP) has just made available the results of examinations of the 9th fundamental year 2015-2016, for the 10 academic departments.
According to data provided by the National Bureau of State Examinations (BUNEXE) 145,712 candidates are admitted over 205.940 participants, representing a success rate of 70.75% nationwide, a slight down compared to the previous year (72.21%) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14683-haiti-flash-exams-of-the-9th-fundamental-year-success-rate-by-department.html
The Department of Nippes is ranked higher in terms of performance with a 81% success rate (4,544 admitted out of 5,610 participants), followed by the North Department with 79% (17,.539 admitted out of 22.335 participants). The Artibonite Department accuses the lowest success rate with 67% of admitted
Success rate of the 9th Year Fundamental 2015-2016 :
For the department of South, out of 10,983 registered, there have been 10,702 participants.
In total there have been 8,395 admitted, representing a success rate of 78.44% ;
For the department of the Artibonite, out of 26,856 registered, there have been 25,342 participants.
In total there have been 15,793 admitted, representing a success rate of 62.32% ;
For the department of the Grand'Anse, out of 6,345 registered, there have been 6,171 participants.
In total there have been 4,111 admitted, representing a success rate of 66.62% ;
For the department of Nippes, out of 5,900 registered, there have been 5,610 participants.
In total there have been 4,544 admitted, representing a success rate of 81% ;
For the department of Centre, out of 12,919 registered, there have been 12,294 participants.
In total there have been 9,328 admitted, representing a success rate of 75.87% ;
For the department of Northwest, out of 11,789 registered, there have been 11,313 participants.
In total there have been 7,924 admitted, representing a success rate of 70.04% ;
For the department of West, out of 104,948 registered, there have been 95,864 participants.
In total there have been 67,117 admitted, representing a success rate of 70.01% ;
For the department of Southeast, out of 8,349 registered, there have been 8,007 participants.
In total there have been 5,363 admitted, representing a success rate of 66.98% ;
For the department of Northeast, out of 8,941 registered, there have been 8,302 participants.
In total there have been 5,598 admitted, representing a success rate of 67.43% ;
For the department of North, out of 23,398 registered, there have been 22,335 participants.
In total there have been 17,539 admitted, representing a success rate of 78.53% ;
At the National level, out of 220,428 registered, there have been 205,940 participants.
In total there have been 145,712 admitted, representing a success rate of 70.75%.
Note that palmares per school (by department) and per student have not yet been published by the Ministry of National Education. Will advise you as soon as these data are available.
Be patient.... and follow the information on HL
SL/ HaitiLibre
Haiti - Elections : The Government and its partners in consultation
Monday, Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles, accompanied by his chief of staff Andre Lemercier Georges, the Ministers : Yves Romain Bastien (Economy), Camille Edouard Jr. (Justice), Aviol Fleurant (Planning) and Leopold Belanger, President of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), met with representatives of its partners: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office for project services (UNOPS) and the United Nations stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
Exchanges technical as well as political around the electoral process were the subject of this high level meeting.
During the meeting, the Head of Government welcomed that the 2016-2017 electoral process is fully supported by public finances to the tune of $ 55 million. In addition, he called on all stakeholders to play their role effectively, so that the forthcoming elections take place in accordance with the timetable. He also stressed the need for the partners related to the electoral process, to make every effort to get involved in the success of the current process.
HL/ HaitiLibre
The Rescue Paw Foundation will have an adoption event at Herrick Park on Sunday, October 23rd. The event is sponsored by London Jewelers and will be an all out dog lover's dream, but it is also going to be fun...
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Company execs who thought they were off the hook will now be forced to stand trial.
The Da River water pipeline project was expected to bring water to about 200,000 households across Hanoi. The project was launched in 2004 and divided into two phases. The first phase of the project went into operation seven years ago.
Since the first phase was completed in 2009, the water pipes have broken 18 times, with an estimated loss of more than 1.5 million cubic meters of waters.
Due to these problems, around 177,000 residential households living in six of the city's inner districts have suffered a total of 343 hours without clean water.
The numerous ruptures along the pipeline have not only disrupted water supplies to hundreds of thousands of residents, but also cost suppliers more than VND13.4 billion ($600,000) in expenses to maintain water supplies to the city and in repair costs.
An investigation concluded that the reason behind the problem was the substandard quality of fiber composite that Vinaconex, the projects developer, used for the pipeline.
A pipe from the first phase of the Da River water project has burst 18 times. Photo by Ba Do.
Based on an initial investigation, Hanoi officially brought charges against nine Vinaconex executives for violating construction regulations.
As the investigation continued, investigators said five more Vinaconex executives, including Phi Thai Binh, former vice chairman of Hanois Peoples Committee, had also violated regulations on construction investment and management.
More specifically, Phi Thai Binh, Vinaconex chairman, Nguyen Van Tuan, chief executive officer, and board members To Ngoc Thanh, Hoang Hop Thuong and Vu Dinh Cham were allegedly responsible for selecting substandard pipes and an incompetent subcontractor for the construction of the Da River project.
Despite the conclusion of the investigation, police decided to dismiss criminal charges against the five, saying they were first time offenders with good personal records, and that they had not intended to violate regulations for their own benefit. The police also said the executives had cooperated with the investigation.
However, the People's Supreme Procuracy has overturned that decision and said that all those responsible should be held accountable.
Vinaconex invested VND1.5 trillion ($67 million) in the Da River water project. Its affiliate company, the Vinaconex Glass Fibre Reinforced Polyester Pipe Company, supplied the pipes for the project.
The second phase of the project, costing VND5 trillion ($224 million), is expected to double the total water supply to 600,000 cubic meters per day.
Related news:
> Hanoi water pipeline project cancels contract with Chinese company over quality dispute
> Questions raised over quality of pipeline supplied by Chinese contractor
Harlow is a former New Town in Essex with a population of 86,000. Located in the upper Stort Valley, it was built in the decades after the Second World War to ease overcrowding and London and provide homes for people bombed out during the Blitz. It includes Britain's first pedestrian precinct and first modern residential tower block, The Lawn. Old Harlow, the historic part of the town, was mentioned in the Domesday Book. David and Victoria Beckham's former home, Rowneybury House, nicknamed 'Beckingham Palace', is nearby.
11:01, 28 OCT 2022
Arts and Sciences dean Jeremy R. Knowles starts his annual letter to faculty colleagues, issued in January, with a literary hat trick. The first two pages quote John Adams, A.B. 1755, LL.D. 1781 (charging the Commonwealths legislature to cherish the interests of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries of them: especially the university at Cambridge); the vice-chancellor of Oxford (on the danger of entrenched success); and, as a counter-indicator of FASs present condition, Fiorello La Guardia (There are three reasons why I cant do this. The first is that we have no money. And the other two dont matter.). Literary flourishes aside, Knowles discusses many substantive matters reported on elsewhere in this section: planning for the libraries, the graduate school, a possible new natural-science and anthropology museum, and the condition of the College.
His overall theme might be deemed focused expansiveness. With FAS entering an era of endowment-funded prosperity (running annual surpluses in the tens of millions of dollars, and retaining resources to pay for future initiatives), its dean considers the time ripe to transform the educational experience of our undergraduates and graduate students and to improve the scholarly lives of the faculty. But rather than entertain innumerable proposals toward these worthy ends, his agenda emphasizes a single priority: increasing the number of professors. To do so, he directs attention to our largest challengespace.
A striking chart (adapted here) demonstrates that FAS ranks expanded dramatically in the halcyon postwar 1950s and 1960s. In that era, largely during Nathan M. Puseys presidency, federal research dollars were at flood tide and buildings proliferated, particularly for the sciences. Since then, the number of professors has grown imperceptibly.
To accommodate his goal of adding 60 faculty positions10 percent growthin this decade, Knowles unveils a sweeping construction agenda for the North Precinct. This area, bounded by Kirkland, Oxford, and Hammond Streets and Kirkland Place, encompasses the chemistry, earth and planetary sciences, and biology and biochemistry facilities; the Museum of Comparative Zoology and the Peabody Museum; the cyclotron and parking areas near the Divinity School; and, on its eastern edge, the Yenching Library and William James Hall, where several social-sciences departments are housed.
A planning exercise now under way, Knowles writes, aims at avoiding higgledy-piggledy construction in order to achieve an efficient, coherent multi-building complex encompassing underground parking and some 500,000 square feet of new academic space. Although specific proposals are well off in the future, one can imagine attempts to site there a consolidated research library for the sciences (see page 63), andalongside the relocation of the public museums and reuse of the present space for research facilities (see page 55)several new laboratory buildings.
Combined with other FAS priorities (graduate-student housing, student performance space, other planned renovations, and the slowly advancing center for government and international studies), Knowles writes, The cost of all these projects, when they are added up, amounts to a very large number. Preliminary estimates of at least several hundred million dollars are heard.
Facing such expenditures, plus the costs of recruiting new professors, paying the existing ones, and sustaining financial aid (Princeton recently announced it would be replacing loans with larger grants for undergraduate financial-aid packages), Knowles sketches things FAS ought not to do. He is skeptical, for example, of the sirensof conceivably profitable distance-learning collaborations not tightly tied to educational purposes. He does not favor increasing the size of the student body. And he wants the growth of the faculty to reflect the opportunities presented by a changing intellectual landscape, rather than mere proportional expansion of departments.
With proper planning, with carefully targeted fund-raising, and with a cautious eye on our priorities, we can make this a redefining moment for the Faculty, Knowles concludes. Part of that redefinition clearly will be worked in steel, brick, and stone, as new facilities house new faculty members pursuing new fields of knowledge.
Online posts and a young man's desire to show off have brought the killer to justice.
Police in the central province of Thanh Hoa have arrested a serial monkey killer after three pictures of the brutal slaughtering process went viral on the internet.
Cao Tuan Anh, whose Facebook account is Kubin Remix, posted the pictures on July 27 with the caption: "A successful week of hunting". He then got an unexpected visit by police, but they were unable to find any evidence in his house.
Tuan Anh admitted that the appalling scenes in his photos were real but he was not the killer. He claimed to have taken the pictures at his neighbors' house and posted them on Facebook to show off to his friends.
The Facebook post by Cao Tuan Anh reads: "A successful hunting week - feeling wonderful". Photo by Kubin Remix/Facebook
"He said he took the pictures while the neighbors were killing the monkeys for producing a drug," a police officer said.
Police raided his neighbor Le Van Sau's house and caught him making traditional medicine from the monkeys' body parts.
Sau said he had bought the three adult monkeys from the south some days before.
This species of monkey is listed as endangered and any commercial trading and exploitation of the animal are illegal, carrying fines of up to VND500 million ($22,000), according to police.
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Georgia grain facility cited and fined by OSHA over fatal dust explosion
The US Department of Labors Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ruled that JCG Farms of Rockmart in Georgia violated safety standards that could have prevented a fatal grain dust explosion in February. OSHA inspectors determined excessive accumulation of grain dust in the hammer mill area ignited and the subsequent explosion killed one worker and injured five others.
The blast caused serious damage to the building and closed the feed mill of the chicken feed manufacturer.
On July 22, OSHA issued 23 citations to JCG Farms, whose parent company is Koch Foods Inc.
"It is tragic that despite wide industry awareness of these hazards, that some employers remain unaware of the common hazards of combustible dust," said Christi Griffin, OSHA's area director in the Atlanta-West Office said in a statement. "This incident and this man's death were preventable. JCG Farms needs to take a proactive approach in their safety and health program to assess the workplace for hazards and correct them to ensure worker safety."
According to a statement on OSHA's website, the agency found JCG Farms:
Exposed employees to fire and explosion hazards due to the build-up of combustible dust
Failed to post warning signs to inform workers of fire and explosion hazards
Exposed workers to being caught-in machinery
Failed to develop or implement an emergency action plan
Failed to train employees to recognize hazards such as fire, explosion associated with combustible dust
Did not implement a written housekeeping program to reduce the accumulation of grain dust
Exposed workers to electric shock hazards
Other violations involve not certifying forklift operator training, not issuing hot work permit for welding and grinding, failing to develop or maintain safety data sheets for feed mill products, failing to carry out noise monitoring and failing to provide respirator use information to employees.
Altogether, OSHA cited JCG Farms for 15 serious and five other-than-serious safety and health violations.
JCG Farms had contracted the Atlanta-based A to J Electrical Services to perform electrical, mechanical and maintenance work at the facility. OSHA also issued that company with one serious violation for not informing workers of the fire and explosion hazards associated with their work.
The agency also issued citations to D. Sims Inc. of Cohutta, Georgia, for one serious and one other-than-serious violation for not training workers on common ignition sources for dust and failing to provide employees using disposable dust masks with information in Appendix D of the respirator standard. The contractor provides housekeeping services at the facility.
Proposed penalties for the three companies total $112,600.
Koch Foods is a leading poultry producer headquartered in Chicago which employs approximately 14,000 workers across the USA.
A major production company owned by Disney has pleaded guilty to a number of health and safety breaches that saw Hollywood star Harrison Ford suffer a broken leg.
The 71-year-old Star Wars actor was partially crushed during shooting when he was pinned to the floor by a hydraulic door on the set of the Millennium Falcon spaceship.
Director JJ Abrams was also injured in the incident, breaking a bone in his back while attempting to lift the heavy door.
Now, Foodles Production (UK) has admitted two breaches under health and safety law over the incident a further two charges were dropped by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Prosecutor Andrew Marshall claimed there has been a risk of death to the actor.
It could have killed somebody, he stressed. The fact that it didn't was because an emergency stop was activated.
While Foodles accepted the charges, the company rejected claims that the incident fell into the most serious of risk categories.
We don't accept the category that the Health and Safety Executive has placed it in but accept that by the virtue of the size of the company that the matter should be heard by a crown court judge, said lawyer Angus Withington.
The charges say Foodles erred in the design and manufacture of the hydraulic equipment and failed to carry out a risk assessment for actors using the equipment.
By law, employers must take reasonable steps to protect workers this is as true on a film set as a factory floor, said a representative for the HSE.
The company will be sentenced at Aylesbury Crown Court on August 22.
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While the ability to focus without interruptions is a top priority for employees, this need is being disrupted by todays open plan offices.
The latest report from Oxford Economics, entitled When the Walls Come Down, surveyed over 1,200 senior executives and non-executive employees from businesses worldwide and found that modern workplace design was affecting overall productivity levels.
Noise and distractions presented challenges particularly in open plan offices, the report found.
Ambient noise and lack of personal space can make it hard for employees to concentrate and get things done, Jeff Lowe, vice president of marketing at Smart Technologies, told Oxford Economics.
This is compounded by some businesses seemingly forgetting about noise considerations when designing their offices. In fact, the report found that 36% of firms overlooked how to minimise distractions in their workplace designs.
Designing for todays workplace means building spaces that help employees be as productive as possible and do their best work, said Lowe.
This means offering private spaces where individuals can get peace and quiet away from the hustle and bustle of the office.
Offering employees the tools to deal with distractions in the office is another area where modern day workplaces are failing, the report found. Only 32% of employees surveyed felt they had the necessary tools to cope with this issue.
The technology offered has to be user friendly and functional, ultimately conducive to getting the job done. This goes much further than just communications and IT devices though, the Oxford report advises and can even include workplace aspects such as acoustics to minimise distractions.
Ultimately, it is up to employers to talk with employees and seek out any issues in the workplace. In a noisy office environment, giving workers the ability to manage their distractions and get some quiet time will go much further towards boosting engagement and productivity than beanbags and free food.
Unscrupulous sellers can make a killing on these counterfeit products.
Despite threats to consumer health, many producers and traders are still supplying packs of fake sanitary napkins, Vietnam's national television broadcaster reported.
Although production is relatively simple and uses mainly waste cotton, counterfeit sanitary napkins still sell well in the country's rural regions.
People living in the countryside have a high resistance [to diseases], so its common for them to use them [fake napkins], said a producer from Thuan Thanh District in the northern province of Bac Ninh.
Couterfeit sanitary napkins (L) and real ones (R).
The factory price for each pack is VND1,000 ($0.05) but sales agents often offer them for VND2,000-3,000. When they reach consumers, the charge has jumped more than tenfold to about VND12,000.
These products are highly profitable, even higher than Dianas products (a popular brand of sanitary napkins in Vietnam), said a saleswoman in the northern province of Phu Tho.
Doctor Le Thi Kim Dung, head of the Nursing and Midwifery Health Office in Hanoi, said that using fake napkins can lead to numerous diseases and even cancer if the products are not carefully packaged, causing mold to grow.
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged two California men and their investment firm with operating a Ponzi scheme as they purported to specialize in serving middle-class investors and securing exorbitant returns by investing in hot pre-IPO stocks. The agency also obtained a court-ordered asset freeze against them.
The SEC alleges that instead of using the firms purported proprietary trading models and investing in pre-IPO shares of well-known tech companies like Uber, Alibaba, and Airbnb as promised to investors, Jaswant Jason Gill and Javier Rios personally pocketed at least $2.8 million in investor funds, using some of that money to pay for excursions to high-end restaurants and luxury retail stores as well as jaunts to Las Vegas casinos, gentlemens clubs, and professional sporting events.
They never actually invested in any pre-IPO shares, and have been using money from new investors to pay supposed returns to earlier investors. They have raised approximately $10 million through their firm, JSG Capital Investments, and related entities, by catering to average retail investors and promising them exclusive investment opportunities previously only available to the one-percenters, with guaranteed annual returns of up to 60 percent.
According to the SECs complaint filed in federal court in San Francisco, Gill in particular has brandished phony credentials, telling investors he founded his firm after serving as a managing director at Morgan Stanley. He also boasted partnerships with several Silicon Valley venture capital firms. Gill, Rios, and JSG Capital Investments are not registered with the SEC or any state regulator. Rioss background is in food service.
Investors can quickly and easily check the credentials of people selling investments and determine whether they are registered by using the SECs investor.gov website.
We allege that Gill and Rios enticed middle-class investors by promising access to highly coveted investment opportunities they claimed were typically reserved for the rich, said Jina L. Choi, Director of the SECs San Francisco Regional Office. Exclusivity, exorbitant returns, and exaggerated credentials are all classic hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme, and investors can protect themselves by heeding these red flags and checking whether the person pitching the investments is properly registered to sell them.
In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of California today announced criminal charges against Gill and Rios.
The SECs complaint seeks permanent injunctions plus disgorgement and monetary penalties from Gill, Rios, JSG Capital Investments and related entities. The SEC has obtained a court order to freeze the assets of Gill, Rios, and the JSG entities and preliminarily enjoin them from violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and raising money from investors.
The mountain peak, Halditsohkka, is situated 1,331 metres above sea level and would become the highest geographical point in Finland.
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg has confirmed that Norway is considering a proposal to commemorate the centenary of Finnish independence from Russia by moving its northern border westward in order to gift its eastern neighbour a mountain peak.
The proposal is, however, associated with some formal difficulties, Solberg reminds in an interview with NRK, the public broadcasting company of Norway.
But we're looking into it, she added.
The proposal to gift the lower of the two peaks of Halti, a fell located on the border between Finland and Norway, originated in GaivuotnaKafjord, a municipality in Northern Norway, and has recently gained notable media attention around the world, especially in the United Kingdom.
What do you give a country that has 188,000 lakes for a birthday present? asks the Guardian. Its highest mountain back, obviously.
Finland's current highest point is situated on the mountainside 1,324 metres above sea level, no more than 40 metres east of the summit of Halditsohkka. The proposal would thereby raise the highest geographical point of the country by 7 metres and only reduce the national territory of Norway by 0.015 square kilometres, according to the father of the idea, a retired geophysicist by the name of Bjrn Geirr Harsson.
Harsson came up with the idea after being puzzled by the location of the border while flying over the mountainous region in the 1970s, according to the Guardian. He has later estimated in interviews with local media outlets that the border, a straight line drawn in the 1750s, was geophysically illogical and that it was unfair and unfortunate for Finland that its highest point was not even a proper peak.
Finland will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its independence in 2017.
Aleksi Teivainen HT
Photo: Mikko Stig Lehtikuva
Source: Uusi Suomi
County orders emergency plans for festivals
Valley Hill Fire & Rescue Chief Tim Garren speaks to county commissioners.
Organizers of special events that attract more than 500 people will be subject to a new requirement to plan for emergency services, traffic management and other services thanks to the action of a divided Board of Commissioners.
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The board on Monday adopted the land development code amendment for the special events over the objections of Commissioner Michael Edney, an attorney who described the ordinance as an unconstitutional infringement on the right to assemble. He mentioned a political rally and other events planned in a quick time frame that would be unable to comply with the requirement for a detailed advanced plan.
Edney submitted an alternative draft that made the applications optional.
Four commissioners voted in favor of the ordinance after first responders expressed support for it. The emergency services and law enforcement leaders were still smarting from the experience of two big festivals on the same weekend last year that brought traffic and safety concerns and triggered complaints from neighbors and left one attendee dead.
Sheriff Charlie McDonald, Emergency Management Director Rocky Hyder, Rescue Squad Chief Jimmy Brissie and two rural fire chiefs all urged the board to support the land-use code addition.
Rick Livingston, chief of Mills River Fire & Rescue, said cars from a festival at Deerfields, a retreat off South Mills River Road, had blocked access to an emergency first responders were trying to reach beyond the festival area.
Henderson County is having more and more large scale events, primarily in the Mills River and Crab Creek areas, he said. We look to see these large scale events present problems for emergency services that we need to be addressing proactively rather than reactively. We could not reach the site of that emergency because both lanes were blocked. Thats just one example that could have been prevented through proactive planning at this level.
The ordinance requires festival organizers to meet with planners and law enforcement, health, fire and rescue agencies to draw up plans to respond to emergencies.
Livingston, a member of the Planning Board, said he had met with Deerfields owners, brothers Greg and John J. Redden, and explained the planning process in a dry run. They accepted the proposal, he said.
We spent a year researching and developing a proposal we felt was suitable and agreeable to everyone, he said of the Planning Board's work. The property owners, the attorneys for the property owners, everyone we spoke to felt like it was fair and there was no problem with it. We felt like it was reasonable and thats where we stand today.
Emergency Management Director Rocky Hyder said planning is the key.
If 500 (attendees) is a reasonable standard then I dont think we have an objection to that, he said. Lets go ahead and establish some standard, work with it and we can let you know what works and what doesnt.
Edney said the ordinance lacked enforcement measures, was applied unequally and raised too many questions.
Ive got concerns about the constitutionality, he said. Thats what led me to come up with my version, which mandates a notice requirement so law enforcement and emergency services can be prepared. The remainder I make discretionary where they can go through the hoops but they dont have to.
Livingston said that doesnt go far enough.
Im all about the Constitution. Im with you on that, he said. But why cant we put some common sense constraints in to this planning process? If were going to do this, leave enough teeth in it where its going to benefit us as emergency services. If you water it down where it says you can do it but you dont have to that doesnt accomplish anything.
There are signs of previous hacking attempts on the computer systems at two airports.
A Vietnamese cyber security organization said that computer systems at Vietnam's two biggest airports had been targeted by Chinese hackers before the attack took place on July 29, going back as far as 2014.
The Vietnam Information Security Association (VNISA) made the statement on Monday as the government continues to investigate cyber attacks carried out by a hacking group known as 1937cn on Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports last week.
VNISA said that there were signs of previous hacking attempts on the two airports in the mid-2014, but the an entirely new dedicated set of malware was used in the attacks last Friday.
The group allegedly took control of the speaker and display systems to broadcast information distorting Vietnams claims in the South China Sea (known in Vietnam as East Sea).
A day after the attack, 1937cn dismissed the accusations that it launched a cyber-attack at the two airports , saying they were unfounded, according to a statement on the group's website. However, the group did not refer to the attack on the website of Vietnams national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines that happened the same day.
Network security teams from multiple agencies have identified the malicious malware that was used to sabotage the systems. They also discovered how the hackers exploited and bypassed the security system long before initiating the attacks last week.
Independent security expert Nguyen Hong Phuc said the hackers had shared three internet links leading to files that contain personal data of over 400,000 members of Vietnam Airlines' frequent fliers club, Golden Lotus.
According to Phuc, this information may have fallen into the hands of the hackers four days before the attack, as the accounts used to share them were created on July 25, 2016.
Nguyen Hai Tung, head of Vietnam Airlines' IT department, said it had detected hacking attempts on the night of July 28 and issued a warning. Tung added that shortly after, the airline had taken measures to prevent the virus from spreading.
At around 4 p.m. on July 29, display screens at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat were taken over with messages insulting Vietnam and the Philippines regarding the South China Sea dispute, causing confusion and panic among passengers.
The speaker system at Noi Bai airport was also hijacked for a few minutes, during which time the speakers broadcast a male voice claiming the East Sea belongs to China in English.
Airport security forces soon regained control of the screens and speaker system.
The official website of Vietnam Airlines, was apparently hacked into by the same group at about 4 p.m. the same day. The website page was replaced by the picture that appeared on the airports screens. It returned to normal at 5:10 p.m., but the airlines customer database was stolen and made public on the internet, according to a press release from Vietnam Airlines.
Vietnam Airlines advised customers to change their account passwords, but later announced it will temporarily suspend online services.
The incident led to the delays of more than 100 flights; 64 from Tan Son Nhat and 30 from Noi Bai. Dozens of flights were delayed on Friday by 15 minutes to more than an hour, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.
As of May 2015, over 200 Vietnamese websites had been attacked by hacking groups from China, mostly 1937cn. According to security experts, 1937cn.net was established to provoke and attack Vietnamese websites.
1937cn is known as the most notorious hacking groups in China with over 40,000 attacks launched recently, according to Chinese hacker ranking site hack-cn.com.
On July 12, an international arbitration tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines, rejecting China's sweeping claim to large swaths of the South China Sea. China has dismissed the ruling as a "farce".
In June of last year, amid territorial disputes in the South China Sea, 1937cn attacked the website of the University of Santo Tomas' Museum of Arts and Sciences in the Philippines, leaving similar provocative messages.
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> Cyber-terrorists attack flight info screens at Vietnam's 2 major airports
> Chinese hacker group denies involvement in Vietnam airport cyber-attack
> Vietnamese banks freeze online payments after cyber attacks at 2 major airports
> Passengers stuck at Vietnam's major airports after cyber-attack
A new company hopes to bring an end to rent deposit disputes, as thousands of students scramble to find accommodation.
Third-level students are continuing the daunting task of house-hunting with just five weeks remaining before third-level lectures resume.
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) is to partner with Irish start-up Deposify - a deposit management service for landlords and tenants - after 60pc of people say they found difficulties getting their deposits returned.
Students are battling against limited accommodation and soaring rents, with just 1,318 properties available in Dublin on property website Daft.ie last night.
In Cork, just 182 properties were available to rent, while Galway had 128 vacant properties.
Gabby Luksaite, a Trinity College Student, spent six months searching for a room in Dublin.
The Galway woman (20) told the Herald that many landlords are now reluctant to rent to students.
"The main thing we found is that because we are students, landlords aren't willing to rent to us because they know there are so many people looking to rent," Gabby said.
Party
"Most of them are looking for professionals, even though some professionals may party more than students.
"Many landlords wanted to ring our parents, meet them or get them to sign an agreement to confirm the rent would be paid."
Gabby will pay 550 a month for a room in a shared house - she counts herself lucky.
"A lot of my friends still have no houses, it's awful," she said.
"It's so difficult to find anywhere and there are so many houses which are horrible.
"We visited one house in Dublin and it was a horror story ... the landlord wouldn't go in, he just stayed outside when we viewed it."
The USI today relaunched its website homes.usi.ie in a bid to help students find somewhere to live, while start-up company Deposify hopes to make the handling of deposits easier.
"Rental deposits cause problems for landlords and tenants," Deposify founder Jon Bayle said.
"We give landlords and tenants a joint account for rental deposits that lets them manage and control how and when deposits are paid and resolve deposit-related disputes."
USI President Annie Hoey is encouraging homeowners to rent their rooms out to students and is also urging students to register with Deposify.
Homeowners are being reminded they can rent their spare room to students and earn up to 12,000 tax free.
It is hoped the tax incentive will help alleviate the shortage of affordable rental accommodation in Dublin, Galway and Cork.
Michael Noonan says the tax would be worth 100m
Plans to tax sugary soft drinks are set to face a legal challenge from drinks giants, the Herald has learned.
The Government plans to introduce a controversial "sugar tax" in the upcoming Budget.
But the drinks industry is already looking at a legal challenge, following the example set by the tobacco industry - which has initiated court action against the Government's legislation on plain tobacco packaging.
Any legal challenge could delay the introduction of a sugar tax, which proponents say will go a long way to tackling the obesity epidemic.
According to documents published by Finance Minister Michael Noonan, a 10c levy on a can of soft drink would potentially yield 100m for the Exchequer.
Profits
A senior Government source last night said the move was "very much on the table" ahead of October's Budget.
The source added that the threat of legal action by figures within the drinks industry was motivated by concern over profits.
The looming row comes as the body representing companies such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi has seized on Brexit in a bid to stave off a sugar tax.
The Irish Beverage Council (IBC) has claimed that the Revenue Commissioner's capacity to collect the new tax would be "stretched" as a result of Britain's decision to leave the EU.
IBC's pre-budget submission, seen by the Herald, warns that the introduction of a sugar tax would result in an increase in illegal trade activity.
"We believe that the impact of the UK's decision to leave the European Union [Brexit] must be assessed before rushing into imposing an additional tax which could cause issues for UK-Ireland Trade," the document stated.
"The ability of revenue systems to manage the projected increase in customs declarations would be further stretched by the inclusion of a requirement to report on sugar in soft drinks.
"There are significant difficulties posed in controlling illegitimate trade imports from the UK unless any proposed Irish tax is aligned with the UK," it adds.
IBC said because there was no sugar tax in the North, any move to introduce one here would cause difficulties.
There are also concerns about cross-border smuggling, consumer health and businesses and "health risks in the case of the development of unregulated counterfeit products".
Two close associates of gangland criminal 'Fat' Freddie Thompson are set for release - sparking fears that a local feud could re-ignite.
The two criminals, who are both aged in their early 20s and from the Crumlin area, are currently serving lengthy prison terms for separate firearms offences.
Both men were previously seen as being on the lower rung of Thompson's gang, but have now built reputations as ruthless criminals.
One of the men is due for release in the coming days, while the other thug is expected to be released in November.
They are also suspected of being involved in a number of punishment shootings and beatings as part of a personal dispute with a local man.
The dispute began when the two thugs damaged the man's car, and has since led to the innocent family's house being shot up. They were also behind a botched attempt on the man's life.
Sources have stated that the local man is now living "in fear of his life" with the impending release of the two young criminals.
"This man is absolutely terrified, they have shot up his sister's Crumlin home before and also attempted to shoot him.
"They wore masks on that occasion but the target was certain these two criminals were behind it. Luckily the gun jammed.
Fearful
"They are extremely volatile criminals who have access to firearms, so the local community are fearful of them being released," the source added.
They are also closely linked to Gavin Quinn (22), a young Drimnagh criminal who is currently serving a prison term for firearms offences.
Quinn, who sources describe as a "dangerous and reckless" thug, is serving a six-year jail term with 18 months suspended after being caught by gardai with a sawn-off rifle and a knife on separate occasions during April and May 2012.
He was wearing a stab-proof vest and had a knife hidden in his boxer shorts when gardai arrested him in April 2012.
Quinn has 10 previous convictions including assault, criminal damage and unlawful possession of knives, and despite his young age is seen as a "major player" in the local Crumlin/Drimnagh feud.
Judge Martin Nolan imposed a sentence of six years in prison for the offences, with the final 18 months suspended.
"In all likelihood from his age and his record, he wasn't going to use the rifle for himself, but he should have known it was going to be used for certain purposes," the judge said.
"He was transporting it and it was to be used in either maiming or killing a person or robbery."
An Irish teacher is in a serious condition following an accident in China.
Lydia Daly Shorten (26), from Celbridge, Co Kildare, has been working as an English teacher in Guangdong for six months.
It is believed that she had a serious fall on Saturday and is in an induced coma and her condition is serious, but stable. Her friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help her distressed family.
"As some of you may already know, in the early hours of July 30 our friend Lydia suffered a serious accident that has left her hospitalised in Guangdong," the GoFundMe page reads.
Worried
"We are thankful that she is currently stable and recovering, but are of course desperately worried for her.
"This fund donates its proceedings to Lydia and her family. Separated by such a vast distance, we feel helpless when the unimaginable happens to someone we dearly value and love.
"We kindly ask that you please consider donating whatever you can to help Lydia and her family in this moment of great distress," it adds.
The distraught family declined to comment further on the accident when contacted by the Herald.
However, in an update on the fundraising page, her dad Paul thanked supporters for donating.
"We cannot express fully how amazing the support you all are showing for Lydia is. Thank you all from our hearts," he wrote.
The fundraising appeal has raised more than 10,500 in just one day.
Donations
Donations of up to 400 have been flooding in from people keen to help out the young teacher and the family.
It is hoped that 20,000 can be raised to help the family cover the expense of travelling to China to be with the young woman.
Well-wishes have been flooding in on social media from friends, relatives and people who know Ms Daly Shorten, urging people to donate what they can.
She left Ireland on February 9 to begin teaching in China.
An Irish woman is recovering after she was viciously assaulted with a motor- cycle lock-up chain by three men in France.
The 25-year-old suffered facial injuries in the early morning attack in the south-eastern town of Avignon.
It is understood she was pushed to her knees and beaten up by the men on Saturday morning.
Initial reports suggested it was a random attack.
Police said the victim suff-ered several injuries, including wounds to her head, cheeks and nose but was not sexually assaulted.
Shaken
She was reportedly discharged from hospital yesterday.
The attack happened at around 6.30 on Saturday morning as the woman was returning to her accommodation on Rue des Infirmieres, in the city centre.
Authorities were alerted to the incident, and found the heavy chain had been left behind.
The woman was taken to the Henri-Duffaut Hospital in Avignon.
Police said she had been left badly shaken by the experience.
"She is in a state of shock," a police spokesman told French media.
"Her injuries are not believed to be too serious," the spokesman said.
It is believed she has told police she did not know the attackers.
Investigators will interview her further when she has re- covered from her injuries.
CCTV footage from business es in the area is being examined.
It is not known if the woman lives in Avignon, or if she was visiting the popular tourist city.
A spokeswoman for the Dep- artment of Foreign Affairs said: "We aware of the case and are ready to provide consular assistance if it is required or requested."
Captain Zaharie Shah is suspected of flying the airliner into the ocean
One of the world's leading air crash investigators believes Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was "deliberately" crashed into the sea by a rogue pilot in a poss-ible murder-suicide bid.
Canadian expert Larry Vance said erosion on the edges of recovered wing parts suggested the plane was lowered to its doom in a controlled fashion.
The erosion was caused by a part of the plane's wing, called a flaperon, being exposed to the elements when it was extended.
Control
The flaperon can only be extended by a pilot in full control of a plane.
Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board.
It had been heading to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur when it disappeared from radar.
Investigators have searched more than 120,000 square metres of seabed using underwater drones, but are yet to establish what caused the disaster.
Mr Vance, who led the investigation into the downing of Swissair Flight 111 in 1998, said: "Somebody was flying the aeroplane at the end of its flight. There is no other theory that fits."
Previous theories suggested the plane crashed after malfunctioning or was shot down, with Australian investigators working under the assumption that no one was in control of the Boeing 777 when it disappeared.
However, there is growing evidence, investigators say, that points to a rogue pilot scenario in which Captain Zaharie Shah flew the plane into the ocean.
The most recent pilot suicide was last year, when the co-pilot of a Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed his plane into the French Alps en route to Dusseldorf, killing 130 people.
A brother of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch is under 24-hour surveillance after gardai foiled a second assassination attempt on him in the space of three weeks.
Patrick 'Paddy' Hutch Snr (55) is under active threat from the Kinahan cartel, and gardai fear he is the prime target of the organised crime gang.
The cartel is responsible for the murder of his son, Gary Hutch (33), his nephew Gareth Hutch (35) and his brother Eddie Hutch (58).
In the most recent incident - which occurred last Thursday - detectives were made aware of a hit "at an advanced stage" on Patrick Hutch Snr.
Officers from the Garda Crime and Security branch, which includes the National Surveillance Unit (NSU) and the Special Detective Unit (SDU) received intelligence of the threat.
Safety
The information was passed on to armed and uniformed gardai in the DMR North Central Division, with all available units racing to Mr Hutch's north inner-city home shortly after 4pm.
However, no hit was carried out and the quick response of gardai is believed to have prevented a planned shooting.
It has now emerged that as a result of two serious threats on Patrick Hutch Snr's life last month, gardai have put him under 24-hour surveillance for his own safety.
Checkpoints have also been placed near his Champions Avenue home, but it is not believed that the Kinahan target is living there due to safety concerns.
"There are checkpoints near and in the estates where members of the Hutch family live, but in recent weeks the only active threats have been made against Paddy Snr.
"Gerry has not been sighted in Dublin for the last number of weeks, so it seems his brother has effectively taken his place as the Kinahan's number one target," a source said.
Despite armed checkpoints being set up near 'The Monk's' Clontarf home on a regular basis, he has not been spotted by gardai, who want to question him in relation to the Regency Hotel attack.
The Herald previously revealed how a gunman on a bicycle pulled out of a planned hit on Patrick Hutch Snr last month.
Members of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) rushed to his north-inner city home after receiving reports of a gunman on a bike. However, no hit was carried out and no arrests have yet been made in relation to the incident.
The incident occurred on July 9, just days after gardai informed him that there was a threat on his life.
The ongoing feud between members of the Hutch organised crime gang and the Kinahan cartel has so far claimed seven lives.
However, the murders of Darren Kearns (33) last December and David 'Daithi' Douglas (54) last month have been linked to the dispute.
Members of the Kinahan cartel believed that the two men were involved in a botched assassination attempt last November.
A lone gunman approached gang members Liam Roe (38) and Liam Byrne (35) and tried to fire a number of shots, but his gun jammed.
Despite being linked to the failed hit, gardai are satisfied that neither man was directly involved in the incident at the Red Cow hotel on November 6.
A Dublin pub has decorated its urinal with a portrait of Donald Trump.
Staff at the newly-opened Adelphi on Abbey Street said they received no complaints, but would remove it if the Republican candidate was elected president in November.
"We've only received positive feedback from the public," said a staff member.
It is not the first time Donald Trump's image has made its way into bathrooms.
Chinese manufacturers are cashing in on toilet paper featuring the billionaire businessman's face.
A new development in the race for the White House has seen Trump facing a powerful foe - The Simpsons.
In a new standalone short, the cartoon family have declared themselves Team Hillary, with some not-so-subtle digs at Trump.
Homer made the decision for the family in the clip called 3am, which is a parody of Hillary's political campaign ad featuring a ringing phone at 3am, asking Americans who they wanted to lead their country in a crisis.
"It's 3am and the phone is ringing in the White House," intones the narrator. "Who do you want to answer that call - Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?"
Viewers see the Clintons in bed and Bill answers the phone.
"The Situation Room? I'll be right there! Oh, it's for you," he says.
"Yes, from now on, it's always for me," says Hillary.
Then Trump is seen, tweeting, and reading Great Speeches by A Hitler.
Wall
At first he ignores the call while his team of beautifiers work on him while the situation deteriorates.
It's 11.30 before he answers the call.
"We're too late," Trump says incredulously as he answers another call. "The Chinese fleet is advancing? Just build another wall. Yes, in the ocean, loser."
After viewing the ad, which is "paid for by Americans who are really starting to miss Obama", Marge says: "Fine, my mind is made up."
Gardai at the scene of the brutal attack
A shoe is removed from the area by forensic gardai
Gardai at the scene of the brutal attack
The chief suspects in a horrific rape in west Dublin all come from the same family, the Herald can reveal.
The violent attack occurred last Thursday as the victim was making her way home from a local garage and three men attacked her.
One of the men raped the young mum during the ordeal.
Gardai have so far arrested two people in relation to the incident and it is believed the third suspect is now in hiding.
The men, who live in the west Dublin area, are known to gardai but are not considered major criminals.
Despite investigating gardai following a definite line of inquiry, they have not been able to locate one of the suspects and fear that he is on the run. It is believed he is still in the country.
"Detectives called to his home on Friday but he wasn't there. He wasn't spotted over the weekend and it appears that he has fled the area," a source said.
Threats
"A number of online threats have also been issued, with local criminals threatening to kill the men involved.
"This - as well as being afraid of being arrested - may be the reason why he has gone on the run," the source added.
Online threats have been directed at the perpetrators since the morning of the attack, and it is understood that the names of individuals suspected of involvement were shared.
Two men, aged in their late teens and early 20s, were arrested by gardai and questioned at Lucan Garda Station over the weekend, before being released without charge.
Previously, the Herald revealed the two men had racked up 30 convictions between them and were out on bail for unrelated offences at the time of the attack.
Gardai have received a massive response from the public since issuing their appeal for information on the brutal attack.
It is understood the victim of the attack, who is in her 30s, was returning home after stopping at a Clondalkin petrol station to buy groceries.
She was pushing her bicycle along the footpath away from the direction of Clondalkin village after leaving the garage when she was grabbed by the three men.
Though the woman was threatened at knifepoint during her ordeal, there is no indication that the weapon was used on her. The victim did not know her attackers.
After raising the alarm, the woman was taken to the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit in the Rotunda Hospital.
Last Friday morning, gardai from the technical bureau recovered the victim's bicycle from the scene.
A running shoe and other items were also collected for forensic examination.
Interview
Specialist gardai from the Clondalkin district will interview the victim further about the attack. It is expected that gardai will establish more details about the incident during this interview.
Sinn Fein TD Eoin O Broin previously described how people were outraged following the attack.
"My thoughts are with the victim. The local community are very shocked but also very angered," Mr O Broin said.
"A crime like this will create a significant amount of fear in the area. I would urge anyone with information to contact the investigating detectives.
"It is the third such attack in the area in recent times, and we must do all we can to make sure that the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice and that it doesn't happen again."
Gardai are continuing to appeal for information.
Front door of the store in Ha Long City (Quang Ninh Province) that is suspected of having policy to serve only Chinese customers. Photo by VnExpress
The store reportedly discriminated against Vietnamese locals and tourists.
A store suspected of serving only Chinese customers in the northern province of Quang Ninh has been fined VND500 million (US$22,000) for listing prices of goods in foreign currencies, local authorities reported.
In Vietnam, all transactions, payments, listings and advertisements by residents and non-residents must be in Vietnamese dong, except in certain specified cases, according to Decree 95 issued in 2011 by the Vietnamese government.
The company that owns the store located in Ha Long City (Quang Ninh) was fined by Vietnam State Bank inspectors on July 23 after it was caught listing commodities in Chinese Yuan and U.S. dollars. The owner of the company, Bui Thi Muoi, admitted the violation.
According to local media, the store stocks Chinese furniture and other household products. It is one of about ten stores in Quang Ninh that are suspected of only serving Chinese customers, and reportedly discriminate against Vietnamese locals and tourists.
Quang Ninh authorities said these stores have caused serious financial losses and affected the image of Vietnams tourism industry, but there has not been enough evidence to charge them until now. Chinese individuals and companies manipulating Vietnam's tourism market have become an increasingly hot topic, even more so after a number of illegal Chinese tour guides were recently exposed for spreading lies about Vietnamese history.
On May 30, Ha Long authorities conducted an inspection of the store and found items listed in foreign currency and staff trading in Chinese Yuan.
A penalty of VND800 million ($35,800) was proposed but the report did not reach the State Bank on time and was therefore deemed invalid. In the end, only RMB18,000 ($2,700) was confisticated.
For the second violation in July, Ha Long authorities sent the report via courier to the State Bank inspector in Hanoi.
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> Vietnam to punish obnoxious Chinese tourists and guides
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It looks like Vietnamese workers will have to tighten their belts with a tough year ahead.
In a move that apparently bows to growing pressure from the corporate sector, Vietnam is looking to raise its minimum monthly salary by 7.3 percent next year, the lowest level since 2007, when the decree on minimum wage increases took effect.
The upcoming raise would also be way below what the only recognized trade union for Vietnamese workers has asked for. At a policy dialogue earlier this month, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor proposed an increase of 10-11 percent to raise minimum wages by VND250,000 - VND400,000 (US$11-$18) per month.
Currently, minimum wages range between VND2.4-VND3.5 million ($108-$157) a month, depending on location. The confederation maintains that this amount only covers only around 90 percent of a Vietnamese person's basic living costs.
At a meeting on Tuesday in the popular resort town of Tam Dao, 50 miles to the north of Hanoi, the National Wage Council, which advises the government on compensation policies, agreed that it would ask the government to raise the wage floor by 7.3 percent in 2017, meaning the minimum wage would increase by VND180,000-VND250,000, depending on locations.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will have the final say on the proposal. The government approved a minimum wage hike of 12.4 percent in 2016.
The National Wage Council comprises of the Labor Ministry, the confederation and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). The VCCI had even called for a raise of only 6.5 percent.
The corporate sector has been lobbying against any wage hikes next year. Both foreign and local companies often lament that minimum-wage increases hit their operations. They warned that any further wage hikes will have grave consequences on Vietnams competitiveness in the short-term, adding it needs to be considered very carefully.
Vietnam's annual average income was $2,111 last year, according to the World Bank. Experts say the minimum-wage hike is a step in the right direction, but even the annual adjustments are not sufficient enough for workers to make ends meet.
A total of 245 wildcat strikes took place across Vietnam last year with disgruntled workers demanding better pay and working conditions and protesting against overtime.
Minimum wages rose steeply in many Southeast Asian nations in 2015, the Nikkei Asia Review reported last month, citing figures from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).
Wages rose the most in countries where pay is the lowest, jumping 13.6 percent from the prior fiscal year in Cambodia, according to JETRO. Wages soared more than 10 percent in Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar.
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The project has been dismissed as unfeasible and economically unsound.
The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has asked the Ministry of Transport to approve a proposal to install an advanced automated Foreign Object Debris detection system (FODetect) at the country's two main airports.
The system, costing about VND1.16 trillion ($52 million), would be funded by the Progressive Corporation International (AIC), a joint stock company previously under the Ministry of Transport.
The system will be able to quickly detect foreign objects and wildlife hazards, including birds, to improve safety for aircraft at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City.
At the moment, foreign objects and wildlife hazards in Vietnams airports are identified and handled by airport staff.
Airlines in Vietnam have experienced several incidents where birds have crashed into planes and caused damage. ACV has applied various measures to chase away birds from the countrys airports, but none of them have worked.
The investors investment capital would be returned within six and a half years by charging a fee of $35 for international flights and $17 for domestic flights to and from the airports.
But the proposal has raised eyebrows.
In a letter sent to the Ministry of Transport, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) said that ACV should study the feasibility of the proposal, clarifying the total investment, fee for each flight and capacity of the FODetect system.
The CAAV pointed fingers at the proposal to levy fees on each flight, dismissing it as economically unsound.
An aviation expert said on condition of anonymity that the proposal to install the FODetect system at Noi Bai and Ton Son Nhat is irrational as there are not many birds living near the two airports.
Most of the incidents where birds crash airplanes in Vietnam occur at airports in mountainous areas, including some in the Central Highlands and one in the southern province of Ca Mau, the expert said.
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Vietnamese medical staff strike after eight months with no pay
A hospital in central Vietnam has been empty for the last two days, but not for the right reasons.
Thanh An-SaiGon General Hospital in the central province of Nghe An was deserted on the morning of August 2.
Patients had been transferred to other hospitals, and at the entrance, patients were informed that the hospital was closed.
Thanh An-SaiGon General Hospital on August 2. Photo by VnExpress/Hai Binh
This situation began on July 31 when nearly 200 doctors and medical employees walked out.
Ive been working here for more than three years with a monthly salary of nearly VND3 million ($135), but Ive not received my salary for the last eight months. Ive mentioned this to the hospital's directors, but nothing has been done, a nursing staff told VnExpress.
Some staff added that they were faced with a dilemma having paid deposits of VND50-100 million ($2,250-4,500) to secure jobs at the hospital. If they quit their jobs, it would be impossible for them to get their money back.
In response, the hospital claimed that they are unable to pay workers due to financial difficulties.
Hoang Van Hao, deputy head of Nghe Ans Department of Health, said that they are working with the hospital to find a solution.
Thanh An-SaiGon General Hospital was founded in 2009 and has 11 departments and 150 beds. The hospital has about 180 medical staff.
Related news:
> 1,000 Vietnamese workers strike after South Korean factory docks wages
Nancy Pelosi's husband 'violently assaulted' after attacker broke into their home
House Speaker Nancy Pelosis husband was violently assaulted early Friday morning in their San Francisco home when an assailant broke into the residence, according to a statement from her office.
This week marks the one-year anniversary of the Broadway opening of Lin-Manuel Mirandas hit musical Hamilton. Since then, the show has become a cultural phenomenon that has inspired millions to learn the history of its protagonist, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, who turned the world upside down with his economic plan for the new United States.
Advocates of limited government have rightly criticized the real-world Hamilton for his interventionist inclinations. Hamilton, after all, championed bailouts, sin taxes, and aggressive central banking in the young nation. But Hamilton is not given enough credit for a piece of his economic agenda much more compatible with free markets: his early and successful push for free trade among the states of the early Union.
Under the Articles of Confederation, states were free to lay their own duties on imports from abroad, and even from other states. There was no requirement for consistency. This resulted in a patchwork of separate markets with tax barriers between them, which inhibited the development of national commerce. Additionally, the weak national Congress had no power to sign trade agreements with foreign countries. State governments, which could never be satisfied, pursued heavy taxes and trade barriers with a populist zeal that brought about a weak economy and violent public resistance.
Hamilton recognized early on the need for a central government to set trade policy at the national level, lest the economic separation of the various states create political separation as well. As biographer Ron Chernow writes, Hamilton believed that unless a new federal government with a monopoly on customs revenues was established, disunion would surely ensue.
Thanks in no small part to Hamiltons influence, the new Constitution granted the federal government the sole power to levy duties on imports. Free market advocates might want to say no to this policy, but it was a necessary step to unify the several state economies into one single market without internal barriers. Hamilton himself best laid out the case for such unification in Federalist No. 11:
An unrestrained intercourse between the States themselves will advance the trade of each by an interchange of their respective productions, not only for the supply of reciprocal wants at home, but for exportation to foreign markets. The veins of commerce in every part will be replenished, and will acquire additional motion and vigor from a free circulation of the commodities of every part. Commercial enterprise will have much greater scope, from the diversity in the productions of different States.
In summary, the single market could (and did) lower the cost of imported goods, promote healthy competition across states, and encourage the development of industries that powered Americas economy in the next century. It also put the United States on stronger footing to negotiate international trade deals, since thirteen states have more bargaining power than one.
Enforcing trade laws is also much easier when the only barriers are external. Internal trade barriers would require checkpoints at every state border, with an army of bureaucrats to collect duties and police contraband. As Hamilton wrote in Federalist No. 12, the arbitrary and vexatious powers, with which [enforcement agencies] are necessarily armed, would be intolerable in a free country.
Civil libertarians owe much to Hamilton, who foresaw and prevented the development of interstate trade enforcement agencies that would have put the TSA to shame. Imagine going through a customs checkpoint every time you cross a state border. With a single market, protecting only one border was necessary: the Atlantic Ocean. Hamilton did so as Treasury Secretary with a fleet of customs ships that would eventually become the Coast Guard.
Americans take for granted that we can buy corn from Iowa, oranges from Florida, gasoline from Texas, and salmon from Alaska without having to worry about tariffs or other trade barriers. Other countries are not so lucky. Canada never pursued its dream of a national single market with Hamiltonian fervor. As a result, there are still substantial barriers between provinces, and it is often easier for a consumer in Alberta to import from China than Ontario. This all costs Canada up to US $99 billion annually, equivalent to 7 percent of the nations GDP.
India is another country without a single market. Its Byzantine system of provincial taxes and tariffs, combined with a national-level tax on trade between provinces, has kept many of its people mired in poverty. Narendra Modi, the growth-oriented prime minister, wants to replace the current mess with a single national goods and services tax, but he appears helpless in the face of fierce political resistance. That is a loss for Indiaestimates suggest that such a reform could boost growth by up to 1.7 percentage points, adding hundreds of billions of dollars to the economy over a decade. Hamilton would no doubt approve of Modis efforts.
Americas current economic dominance is thanks in no small part to the early and rapid unification of its regional markets. Alexander Hamilton foresaw what unrestricted commerce could do, and he campaigned for it diligently and forcefully. Free trade between the states is perhaps Hamiltons most underappreciated legacywithout it, 18th-century America might have become the India of its time. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, who have both criticized trade over the course of the presidential campaign, might want to read up on the ten-dollar founding father without a father. History has its eyes on them.
Preston Cooper is a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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Bloomington's Indian population, most notably its young adult demographic, has been on the rise. The Indian Cultural Center is trying to reach them.
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Read about this woman. But think about all the rest. After the roll call of the states at the Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton became the candidate for President of the United States. She is the first woman to win the nomination of a major party, a milestone for America nearly a century after women won the right to vote there.
Today, many American states have women governors. The number of women in Congress is increasing. In Canada, when Justin Trudeau was asked why his Cabinet was 50% women, he answered because it is 2015.
All these rights had been won through the efforts of an independent and courageous movement of women, both American and global. American feminists have often taken support and inspiration from their foreign counterparts.
Read: Conversation with Hillary: Leonardo DiCaprio to host Clinton fundraiser
The first female head of state in the 20th century was in Little Khural (now Mongolia). In India, women participated actively in the freedom struggle and got the right to vote in 1947. Activists such as Kamladevi Chattopadhaya jumped on to the train to demand of Gandhi the right to make salt and break the British salt tax along with male colleagues at the end of the historic Dandi march in 1930.
England, which had once persecuted independent or knowledgeable women and midwives who performed abortions and taught contraception, now has Theresa May as prime minister, who has told her Conservative Party colleagues: My pitch is very simple: Im Theresa May and Im the best person to be prime minister.
A simple, unambiguous statement went not only unchallenged but was accepted as a truism by many. It is that May would be the best person to negotiate Brexit with her tough female counterpart German chancellor Angela Merkel. The United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union to stop the influx of refugees, whereas Merkel took the decision to allow more than one million refugees into her country last year.
Read: Theresa May told to set cut-off date for EU migrants
Merkels success as someone who stabilised the German economy, while not necessarily being a feminist, is well known. But she is certainly not Deutschlands equivalent of Margaret Thatcher, who elected a cabinet of all men and cancelled milk subsidies in schools, acquiring the label Thatcher, the Milk Snatcher. Germanys chancellor, as holder of the G-7 presidency, set out her priority for the G-7 summit: Improving gender inequality at the workplace. We need to talk about the possibilities open to women around the world to establish their independence and ensure their advancement through safe and skilled labour. All the statistics show a reduction in poverty and inequality when more women play an active part in economic life. However, only about 50 per cent of all women are currently in gainful employment.
Merkel has paved the way for women leaders. They are no longer accused of being tougher or more cruel than men. All the 22 women presidents, prime ministers and other heads of state today have carved out a corner to promote girls and women. Elizabeth Sirleaf Jones in Liberia has made education compulsory and free for girls. Swedens Margo Wallstrom has promised a feminist foreign policy when her Social Democrats formed the coalition government in October 2014. She has criticised the lack of womens rights in Saudi Arabia, with which, she has announced, Sweden will revoke a weapons export agreement in place since 2005. President Michele Bachelet of Chile has galvanised unlikely allies such as Bangladeshs Sheikh Hasina Wajed, along with former Irish president Mary Robinson and former Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, in the Council of Women World Leaders, an international network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development. They have pushed the UN for Resolution 1325, asking for more women to be at the peace table.
Women leaders have come a long way from the time when Indira Gandhi was attacked for her commitment to reproductive rights and making family planning (contraception) a centrepiece of her national policy. Indian women leaders still face hostility and misogynistic attacks far worse than their counterparts in the West do. Recently, former UP chief minister Mayawati was described as a prostitute by a BJP functionary.
Read: Presstitutes and prostitutes: The language our netas use
Clinton has been learning from her women counterparts both within the US and outside. She has consistently assured people that she would leverage her power to help women. She had attended and supported the Beijing Womens Conference in 1995 as First Lady of the US and made popular the slogan Women Hold Up Half the Sky. As secretary of state, she mentored womens civil society groups and political leaders.
Her team had asked Indonesian human trafficking survivor Ima Matul to speak at the Democratic National Convention and Matul fittingly said before there were laws to identify and protect victims, even before I escaped my trafficker, Hillary Clinton was fighting to end modern slavery.
Ruchira Gupta is visiting professor at New York University and founder of the anti-sex trafficking organisation Apne Aap Women Worldwide
The views expressed are personal
On Monday the United States began air strikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in Sirte, Libya. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook in a statement said US President Barack Obama sanctioned the strikes after requests from the United Nations-backed Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA).
With this Washington has taken the war against IS to Libya, far away from Iraq and Syria. Under Obamas presidency, and after pulling out its troops from Iraq, the US has adopted the policy of supporting conflict against jihadists by providing air power.
Read | US conducts anti-IS strikes in Libya after official request: Pentagon
The last time the US carried out an air strike in Libya was in February. At that time, the White House declared an attack on a farmhouse in the coastal city of Sabratha, west of the capital Tripoli, successful. However, Serbia claimed that two of its diplomats, who were kidnapped in November 2015, were also killed in the US strike.
The sustained attack on jihadists, including IS and al-Qaeda, has paid off, but it will be a long time before there is any semblance of peace in Libya. The main reason for this is that the factors that led to the present chaos are yet to be addressed.
Read | Salvaging the war on terror
The GNA-led forces are making substantial progress in Sirte, unless there is a governance system IS, or other militias, will continue to exploit the administrative vacuum existing in Libya since 2011.
Until April, Libya had three governments, all staking a claim as a legitimate force to run the country and at loggerheads with the other: The National Salvation government in Tripoli, a government in Tobruk backed by Libyas House of Representatives, and the United Nations-backed GNA. It is worth noting that the GNA, when it took office in March, reached Tripoli in boats as the airspace was closed by the government in Tripoli. While the National Salvation government stepped down in April, the Tobruk government still opposes the GNA.
Read | Siege of Aleppo: The Islamic State will benefit from this mayhem
Libya today is a warzone where various nations, including the US, Britain and France, are fighting, and the GNA has little knowledge about the presence of these groups. On July 20, the GNA was taken by surprise when three French soldiers were killed by the Benghazi Defence Brigade, a rebel group, in Libya. The French forces were working with General Khalifa Haftar, who acknowledges the Tobruk government and rejects the GNA.
The resumed air strikes in Libya come days after Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic Partys presidential nomination. Clinton was US secretary of state when the US consulate in Benghazi was attacked killing four US personnel, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, on September 11, 2012. Many critics blame Clinton for the present chaos in Libya and accuse her of supporting and arming anti-Gaddafi forces, many of them extremists. If Clinton wins in November, one hopes that where she failed as secretary of state she wins as president and does justice to the people of Libya.
Read | What does Kremlin think of Hillary? Russian TV coverage of DNC said it all
Defeating IS in Libya is one part of the battle, forming a credible and secular government is another. For this, nations must be on the same side of this war. At the moment different nations are backing different groups in Libya, and thats not helping. US intervention in Libya is a reminder of how decisions taken in haste will come back in one troubling form or the other.
Twitter: @vijucherian
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Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to highlight the lack of development in Prime Minister Narendra Modis constituency Varanasi during her road show in the heritage city on Tuesday.
Modi may be in her line of fire, but thats only part of the agenda. In a two-pronged strategy, she is also out to woo Brahmins as the Congress tries to regain Uttar Pradesh after 27 years.
Flanked by the partys Brahmin face in Uttar Pradesh, Sheila Dikshit, Gandhi will offer prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple and participate in the aarti the evening prayer on the banks of the Ganga.
Modi ousted the 10-year-long Congress-led UPA government at the Centre with his development narrative in 2014. By highlighting the lack of development in his constituency, Gandhi will try to turn the Congresss campaign into an aggressive one, something that the party has sorely missed in UP over the years.
The BJP came to power in 2014 riding on its new found ability to attract different castes, more so in Uttar Pradesh where with its ally Apna Dal, it bagged 73 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The BJP, even when its political fortunes had plunged, won the Varanasi seat six times since 1991. The Congress won the seat just once, in 2004.
All MPs from Varanasi in the last quarter of a century, with the exception of Modi, have been Brahmins and the BJP counts on its support among the caste.
The Congress is now trying to cut into that BJP base. This is not Gandhis first visit to Varanasi but it will be her first to the famous temple. The road show starts at BR Ambedkars statue in front of the citys circuit house and will culminate with the Congress chief garlanding the statue of former chief minister Kamlapati Tripathi.
The Congresss message is that the city was last developed under Tripathi who also represented it in the Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1984. Experts say by wooing the Brahmins, who have significant presence in eastern Uttar Pradesh and are also seen as influencers in elections and stressing the lack of development in Varanasi, the Congress is trying to wean them away from the BJP.
The BJP is better placed to get the support of Brahmins but the Congress might do better than it earlier had, says political scientist and author Prof Sudha Pai. Even Brahmins want a change and development, she adds.
During his visit to Varanasi in September last year, Modi had promised he would do for the constituency in five years, what hadnt been done in 50. The Congress wants to send the message that the PM is not keeping his promise.
The wooing of Brahmins in UP will also send a message to the community in other states. They have felt abandoned by the Congress for a long time, says Prof Pai.
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones and Iraqs Minister of Trade Salman al-Jumayli signed a Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, in mid-July on the purchase and supply of U.S. rice for the Iraqi public distribution system. Millions of Iraqis will benefit from the high-quality and competitively-priced rice from the United States.
In signing the MOU, the Ambassador affirmed the U.S. Embassys intention to promote awareness of the Ministrys rice tenders with U.S. rice suppliers that can best meet the needs of the Iraqi market.
This agreement is a positive outcome of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Iraq Concerning the Development of Trade and Investment Relations. The MOU will be operative for six months with the possibility of renewal.
Ambassador Jones said, This MOU represents a win-win for Iraq and the United States and is a sign of how our two countries can strengthen commercial ties to the ultimate economic benefit of both our peoples. The Ambassador added, The U.S. Embassy is committed to providing technical assistance to enhance Ministry of Trade officials expertise with respect to purchasing agricultural products on the international market.
After shocking his fans with his emaciated look in Sarbjit, Bollywood actor Randeep Hooda is all set for yet another transformation.
Rajkumar Santoshi has roped in Hooda for his upcoming period drama on the battle of Saragarhi in which the actor will play Havlidar Ishar Singh, the military commander of the 36th Sikhs, today known as the fourth Battalion of the Sikh Regiment.
Read: When Randeep lost 18kgs in 28 days
As part of his preparation, Randeep will study Sikh history, learn sword-fighting and vintage-rifle shooting in the next 45 days.
Randeep Hooda (left) during the shooting of Sarbjit with director Oomung Kumar.
For the next month-and-a-half, Randeep will be studying Sikh history under a guru. He will also be learning sword fighting and shooting with vintage rifles. He is already a master of horse riding and has been visiting the stables more often in the last few weeks.
He has the body language of a warrior and he will be beefing up to resemble Ishar Singh. He has already started growing his hair and beard, said filmmaker and CEO, Wave Cinemas, Rahul Mittra, adding that Group Chairman, Raju Chadha has signed Randeep on board for a three-film deal with the focus on the big budget first production, Saragarhi.
Read: Salman Khan is a different breed altogether, says Randeep
Taking care of the sentiments of the Sikh community is of utmost importance and Randeep is extremely serious about the prep. Being a Sikh soldier means embracing calmness and pure forms of warfare. There can be no frivolous behaviour and Randeep has completely submerged himself into the part, Mittra added.
During the battle, Ishar Singh suffered severe wounds but refused to surrender and fought to his death.
Saragarhi follows the events of September 12, 1897, when 10,000 Afghans of the Orakzai tribe attacked a British Indian contingent of 21 Sikhs, stationed at an army post in the North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan). During the battle, Ishar Singh suffered severe wounds but refused to surrender and fought to his death.
Read: Id like to swipe Randeep right, says Pernia
In recognition of his sacrifice, the British Parliament had awarded him the Indian Order of Merit posthumously. Two Saragarhi Gurudwaras were built to commemorate the soldiers.
The mahurat shot will take place at the Saragarhi Gurudwara in Amritsar on September 12, the day when the historic battle began in 1897.
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Its a known fact that Tabu, who has two National Film Awards in her kitty, is a powerhouse actress. Her last few films Fitoor, Haider and Drishyam have proved that still is one of Bollywoods finest. But what most dont know is that she is a travel buff. The actress loves solo travelling. I love to travel alone. I have been all over the world. I have family in the US so I go there every. Travel is a passion for me.
Read: Chase rainbows on our waterfall trail this weekend
The 44-year-old says that she loves being close to nature. I love travelling to places that are surrounded by nature. Of course, I also like seeing monuments and historical places, but I prefer going to places that are rich in nature. I dont mind if its a secluded place or a tourist hub, as long as I can see some spot of nature. It can be anything, a snow peak or a beach, a jungle, a river, a lake or the ocean. I think we are deeply connected with nature. We dont often get a chance to reconnect with nature as we live busy lives in the city. Nature has a calming effect on me.
Fitoor review: It offers beautiful frames and great disappointments
The actor, who has shot in Kashmir, says that her best memories of outdoor shoots are from places that are close to nature. Some of my best memories are from my outdoor shoots in places like Kullu Manali, Kashmir, Seychelles and even north Bengal where we shot for Abar Aranye, says Tabu, who will soon travel to Bhutan to attend a literary festival, Mountain Echoes. Needless to say that she is excited about the visit. She is, however, not planning to undertake any long treks. I dont think a trek is for me. But I am planning to go on an easy one-day trek, says the Namesake actress.
Actor Ranbir Kapoor, who has been staying at his grandmother, Krishna Raj Kapoors house in Mumbais Chembur since he left the pad he shared with ex-girlfriend Katrina Kaif, will be moving to a new house this October. Ranbir, who turns 34 on September 28, plans to throw a joint birthday and house warming party at the pad that cost him Rs 15 crore.
Read: Not training Ranbir Kapoor for my biopic, says Sanjay Dutt
Ranbirs new house is very close to his parents, Rishi and Neetu Kapoors house. According to reports, the couple, too, might shift to the house soon.
After completing his prison term, Sanjay Dutt walked free from Punes Yerwada Central Jail in February this year. Now, the actor is concentrating on his upcoming films. In a candid chat at his Juhu office, Sanjay talks about his career plans, why he still cant believe that he is a free man, his contemporaries Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff, and more.
Its been over five months since you got out. Has the feeling of being free sunk in?
Sometimes, I have to pinch myself. When I wake up in the middle of the night and find myself in my room, I have to tell myself, Yes, Im home. Its a great feeling to be home. Who would want to go back to jail?
You celebrated your birthday recently
I requested everyone not to throw a big party. Those days are in the past. I cant listen to loud music now. I used to in my earlier days, but things change with time and age. These days, I listen to classic rock, jazz and blues, not heavy metal.
You have teamed up with film-maker Mahesh Manjrekar after a gap of 11 years for a film that is being produced by Omung Kumar and Sandeep Singh. How does it feel?
I have done so much work with him that now what we share is beyond a directoractor relationship. We are friends. I am glad that we are getting together again to do some great work. Its the remake of a Marathi movie. I have watched the film, and Im happy about the movie.
Read:Sanjay Dutts comeback film Marco to go on floors in November
Do you ever compare yourself to your contemporaries Anil Kapoor, Sunny Deol or Jackie Shroff?
I dont, and I think even they dont do that. Everyone is doing well. Though I entered the industry a little earlier than them, we have always been like brothers. I would like to do a project like The Expendables (American film series) with them. I hope I can get the rights for that.
Sanjay Dutt says he would like to do a project like The Expendables (American film series) with Anil Kapoor, Sunny Deol and Jackie Shroff. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)
A lot has been written about your film with director Siddharth Anand. Whats the current status of the project?
Siddharth is a good director and a dear friend. We have just delayed the film as it needs more work. We didnt want to rush into things. I will definitely do the movie.
Read: Salman Khan is my younger brother, theres no fight: Sanjay Dutt
You have done films such as Mission Kashmir (2000), Munna Bhai MBBS (2003) and Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006) with film-maker Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Your first movie after your hiatus will also be produced by him. What is your relationship with him like?
Vinod sir is like family to me. I couldnt perform the last rites of my father (late actor Sunil Dutt). He did. That shows how important he is to me. Before I went to jail, he told me, Make sure that when you come out, you dont have a paunch (laughs). I will announce my first film with you. We kept our promise. He is someone who tells me, Sanju, yeh karna hai (we need to do this), and I do it.
What kinds of roles do you want to do now?
Im not looking at doing anything in particular. I just want to do films that have good scripts. I cant say that every movie should have a message, as at the end of the day, Im an entertainer. I want to entertain the audience.
Most Bollywood actors aspire to work in Hollywood but Varun Dhawan has said Hollywood should not be a benchmark for success in the Indian film industry, adding that our industry should not ape them, but retain our culture.
At the launch of the Filmfare cover featuring him, Varun said, I dont think it should be a benchmark; its wrong. We are Indians, we have our own culture, we have our own standard. Obviously, there are so many things they do better than us, there are lot of things that we do better than them as well.
Read: Dishoom review
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We have our own style. Technology-wise and VFX-wise, they are quite ahead and we should get inspired. But I dont think we need to ape them. We have our own storytelling styles and methods and where song and dance is concerned, that is a part of Indian culture, part of Indian movies and I believe that should stay, the actor added.
Read: John, Varun plan Dishoom 2?
About Indian stars doing blink-and-miss roles in Hollywood, Varun said, I think if an actor is really big over here, somewhere we have a responsibility to our fans, so we should do films where we could impact that film more, and the role has more meat as a performer and I think Priyanka and Deepika are really big, actresses, brilliant actors and they are really making us proud.
Actresses Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone have ventured into Hollywood and their films are scheduled to release soon while actors like Irrfan Khan and Om Puri among others have featured in substantial parts in numerous films.
Watch: HTs live Facebook discussion on Dishoom
Oscars are another important part of Hollywood, which are widely-discussed every year. Is Varun also obsessed with it? I am not really obsessed with Oscars. I watched it because they do the shows really well, they make it entertaining to watch. Actually I dont like it when people say that Filmfare is the Indian Oscars; I dont think it is needed. Filmfare doesnt have any affiliation to the Oscars, Filmfare is the Filmfare of India. Thats the standard we should lay, Varun expressed.
Read: Dishoom earns Rs 37 crore on opening weekend
Varuns recent film Dishoom had a good opening weekend at the box-office.
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Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry, drug major Lupins Japanese subsidiary, has inked a pact to acquire 21 products from Shionogi & Co for 15.4 billion yen (around Rs 1,000 crore), paving the way for the homegrown firm to enter Japans branded formulations market.
Kyowa has entered into a strategic asset purchase agreement with Japans Shionogi & Co to acquire 21 long-listed products, effective December 1, 2016, subject to certain closing conditions and regulatory approvals including the transfer of marketing authorisation of the products to Kyowa, Lupin Ltd said in a statement.
Under the terms of the agreement, Kyowa will book the sales of the 21 products after December 1, 2016, and Shionogi will receive 15.4 billion yen from Kyowa, it added.
The 21 products cover therapy areas such as Central Nervous System (CNS), Oncology, Cardiovascular and Anti- infectives. The products had sales of JPY 9,400 million ($90 million) collectively on NHI (National Health Insurance) price basis.
This acquisition marks Lupins foray into the Japanese branded market in-line with our aspirations to build and strengthen our speciality business globally, Lupin Ltd managing director Nilesh Gupta said.
The new branded product portfolio has a strong fit with Lupins Kyowa business, as it adds depth and reach to its current CNS portfolio and other therapy areas, he added.
Im very pleased that this agreement with Kyowa could make both aspects of our mission a reality, allowing us to pursue innovative drug discovery with an even more intense focus, while ensuring that our high quality long-listed drugs continue to be delivered to patients to meet their unmet needs, Shionogi president & CEO Isao Teshirogi said.
Kyowa is amongst the top ten generic companies in Japan and a market leader in CNS space. With 21 new brands, Kyowa will rank sixth amongst generic companies in Japan.
Lupin stock was trading at Rs 1,704.45 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange, down 1.10%, from previous close.
Aviation secretary RN Choubey has directed that chief executives and not mid-level officials should represent airlines and airport operators for important stakeholder meetings with government after finding top honchos missing from a meeting convened recently.
Sources said Choubey made the observation after finding only a couple of airline CEOs in a meeting convened to address issues related to their dealing with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), ministry, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
Secretary highlighted the importance of such stakeholders consultation at the ministry level. He also directed that in future for both airlines and airport operators, participation in such meetings should be at the CEO level only and, if required, one participant may accompany each CEO, said the minutes of a May 24 meeting, accessed by Hindustan Times.
While Choubey and other senior officials were present from the ministry, AAI, DGCA and BCAS were represented by their respective heads.
Among airlines, only the CEOs of Vistara and IndiGo were present while among the airport operators the chief executives of Delhi and Mumbai airports attended the meeting.
When a meeting is being specifically convened by the ministry and, that too, to address the problems being faced by airline and airport operators like issues relating to security clearance, wet leasing of planes, licensing, you would obviously expect top executives to be present to brief government officials about the problems they are facing. You cant have junior or mid-level officials for such high-level meetings, said an aviation ministry official.
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After merging its China business with rival taxi-aggregator Didi Chuxing, US cab-hailing firm Uber will put is India expansion plans in top gear.
If that happens, Uber will be the third American technology behemoth after Amazon and Apple, to double down on India, after having failed to make a breakthrough in China.
The Didi-Uber combined entity will be valued at $35 billion.
If Uber is not going to work actively in China, it will put all its energy in India, said Anil Sharma, analyst at IHS Automotive Worldwide.
Reasons are many. India houses a sixth of the worlds population, but has one of lowest penetration of owned cars 30 vehicles per 1,000 people. Add to that low-income households, an aspiring middle-class and the fastest-growing internet economy, Uber has its perfect customer base in India.
But for now, it is pumping in millions to acquire customers and incentivise drivers, very similar to what it did in China.
On Monday, Travis Kalanick, Ubers founder and CEO wrote in his blog post that Uber and Didi are investing billions of dollars in China, but have not become profitable, which is not a sustainable business model.
In India, too, the situation is not different. Kalanick announced plans to invest $1 billion in the country during his visit earlier in the year. Ola, its $5-billion Indian rival, has raised $1.18 billion in seven rounds from 19 investors, Didi being of them. SoftBank is an investor in both Uber and Ola.
Cab aggregators spend 200250 to earn a revenue of 100. Once the deal is done in China, Didi and SoftBank might strike an agreement in India.
It might not happen in the next few months, but cant be ruled out in the long run, said an executive at a Netherlands-based consultancy firm.
Both firms have started offering incentives on every ride. At present, both Ola and Uber offer incentives if a driver completes a certain number of rides every day. More the number of rides, higher is the incentive. Both of them lease cars, and offer discounts to riders.
If Uber and Ola come together, they can monopolise the taxi market. There is a high probability that a similar arrangement will lead to a clear monopoly, said Siddhartha Pahwa, chief executive officer of Meru Cabs.
Kalanick mentioned in a Facebook post that Uber China will hold 20% in the merged entity, and indicated an Uber-Didi global partnership, which India may be a part of.
I have no doubt that Uber China and Didi Chuxing will be stronger together Im so excited about our future, both in China and the rest of the world, he wrote.
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NEW DELHI: Members of Parliament from BJP demanded on Monday the resignation of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav over the gang rape of a woman and her daughter in Bulandshahr, alleging that such incidents were happening as criminals enjoyed protection from the state government.
Raising the issue during zero hour, BJP MP from Bulandshahr Bhola Singh said the Samajwadi Party (SP) government has failed to tackle the law and order situation in the state.
The incident that took place just 65 km from Delhi has given a political handle to the BSP, BJP and the Congress to attack the ruling SP ahead of the next years assembly polls in the state. After winning 71 of the total 80 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has emerged as a serious contender for power in UP.
Police is not able to work. The situation is very serious. The chief minister should resign, Bhola Singh said, drawing support from other party members, including state chief Keshav Prasad Maurya. Uttar Pradesh is burning, said Sant Kabir Nagar MP Sharad Tripathi.
SP members were soon on their feet, asking the treasury benches to get Prime Minister Narendra Modis resignation first on the alleged atrocities on dalits in the country.
Alleging that the incident clearly indicated that jungle raj prevailed in the state, BSP chief Mayawati too asked the UP CM to step down on moral grounds if he cant handle the law and order situation.
Congress leader Sheila Di ks hit, who is the partys chief ministerial candidate for UP polls, said the lawlessness has increased to such an extent that nobody is safe in the state. Criminals are so emboldened that they think they can get away with anything, she said. If no action is taken, there is a possibility of a mass exodus from the state.
BULANDSHAHR: The government should allow the men who gangraped a 13-year-old girl and her mother in Uttar Pradeshs Bulandshahr to be shot in public by the victims, the family demanded on Monday.
The 13-year-olds uncle said the family will never come out of the trauma of the rape but an example must be set to avoid such incidents.
The familys car was waylaid early on Saturday morning on the Delhi-Kanpur highway by a gang, who tied the male members and raped the mother-daughter duo for three hours, before fleeing with cash and valuables.
The uncle alleged a police van drove past the crime scene without intervening, hours before the family was finally rescued.
Only we can understand how it feels when a woman and her daughter get beaten and raped in front of your eyes. I would request the government and judiciary to allow our women to shoot the culprit in public, said the uncle.
This was a gruesome human rights violation. But people raise cries of human rights violation when rapists are hanged. One of them even told his group not to abuse women, but some of them did not listen, he said.
The uncle said when they called the police helpline 100, the number was busy at first and then no one picked up for a long time. They then contacted a relative in Noida and after some time, the local police station called on their phone.
But then, the officer on the other side of the line repeatedly asked questions instead of rescuing the family.
Senior officials were sensitive to our plight and they were quite helpful. Some have even promised strict and exemplary action against the accused.
The uncle alleged that one of the suspended police officers senior superintendent of police Vaibhav Krishna had immediately arrived at the spot but had to be sacrificed. We are partially satisfied with UP police action till now, he said.
The family said the girl has high fever and her mother is in a state of shock.
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At the recent ASEAN Regional Forum in Laos, U.S. Secretary of John Kerry said there more areas for cooperation among ASEAN members.
Secretary Kerry spoke on the urgency of doing more together to fight trafficking of all kinds - trafficking in persons, wildlife and timber. As ASEAN nears the one-year anniversary of signing the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, the United States is increasing its funding to stop human trafficking in Asia with specific support to victim protection services. Secretary Kerry also spoke on how a lesser-known problem like timber trafficking can cause enormous threats to a nation's security through a nexus of corruption and environmental destruction.
At the forum, ASEAN members discussed steps to further integrate their economies, the future of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the challenge posed by illegal fishing.
Terrorism, climate change and sustainable development were also on the agenda.
With regard to the South China Sea, Secretary Kerry said The peaceful settlement of these disputes is absolutely critical. We encouraged all of the claimants to behave responsibly and to exercise restraint.
Finally, North Korea remains a serious concern for ASEAN member states. North Koreas destabilizing actions threaten international peace and security as it continues to develop its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions. In March, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2270, which imposed the toughest set of sanctions to date against North Korea. It is critical for the world and for all countries to fully enforce the sanctions that have been imposed, said Secretary Kerry, and we intend to do that.
ASEAN will continue to play an important role for the countries of Southeast Asia and the United States. As President Barak Obama has said, ASEAN is central to the regions peace and prosperity, and to our shared goal of building a regional order where all nations play by the same rules.
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel offered to resign on Monday, a decision seen prompted by mounting pressure over her governments handling of a string of political protests.
Patel said in a Facebook post that she told the BJP leadership about her plan to step down two months ago. She said the party needed a fresh face before next years state elections.
For the past some time there has been a tradition in the party that those who attain the age of 75 voluntarily retire from the post. I will attain the age of 75 in November, said Patel.
It (the age rule) is a good thing and it will give a chance to young leaders to come up.
Patel, the first chief minister to quit over social media, is likely to be succeeded by transport minister and party state chief Vijay Rupani.
The chief minister has been under pressure since last years protests by the Patidars seeking quotas in colleges and jobs, and more recently, over the public beating of four Dalit men by self-styled cow protection groups.
Many accused her government of being out of touch with peoples aspirations, and blamed her leadership for the partys dwindling support in both rural and urban Gujarat.
The BJPs vote share in panchayat polls dropped from 50.26% in 2010 to 43.97% last year. Its hold over semi-urban and urban civic bodies also weakened during the period, helping to revive a politically moribund Congress party in the state.
Patels downfall is also partly blamed on her frosty ties with BJP president Amit Shah, who is known to be close to Rupani, an old RSS hand.
Patel, Gujarats first woman chief minister, succeeded Narendra Modi in May 2014. But her governments handling of last years protests by Patidars, or Patels, drove a wedge between the BJP and one of its staunchest supporters. At least 11 people were killed in those demonstrations.
The fallout reflected in the BJPs poor performance in panchayat and municipal elections, as Patels, who account for 14% of the states population, distanced themselves from the party.
Political analysts say Patels exit could help the BJP rebuild bridges with its core supporters, including the Patidars.
In New Delhi, Amit Shah said :Anandi ben Patel has offered to resign. I will place her letter before Parliamentary Board which will take the final decision.
The rise of Rupani, 60, has coincided with a series of setbacks for Patel, who is also accused of favouring the business partners of her daughter. She denies the charges.
In what was seen as Shahs open support for Rupani, the latter was thrust forward to make an announcement for the states economically backward class (EBC) at a press conference in April, where Patel was also present.
A fortnight later, Rupani announced a government decision to accord minority status to Jains.
On both occasions, Patel chose to announce those decisions on social media.
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NEW DELHI: The Delhi governments Chunauti 2018 was introduced to improve the learning levels of students of classes 6-9. While it is in the process of being implemented, teachers across different schools said there is no clarity on how students will be assessed under the new system.
In particular, teachers have been trying to figure out which examination, especially the class 9 students, will appear for.
Four out of six days in a week, students study NCERT books and on the remaining two days they study Pragatithe book prepared especially for the scheme.
On the examination part, we are yet to get guidelines from the government. We are told we will now be given a new set of Pragati books, said the principal of Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in south Delhi.
As per the scheme, class 9 students have been divided into three groups. The ones who can read and write are called Pratibha, the non-readers are called Nishtha and those who have failed twice in class 9 and dropped out of school are called Vishwas. This group will now attend regular school. The Nishtha group has to study both the Pragati textbooks, as well as the NCERT books.
We have given flexibility to the school heads and teachers on how they would teach the children. These class 9 students who are non-readers we have told teachers to encourage them to go to Vishwas. The decision is totally on the students. We will have another second round of training with mentor teachers and everything will be clarified, said a senior official of the Directorate of Education.
Vishwas is the group that will be put through a focussed syllabus and will not have to go through regular SA-1 (Summative Assessment) and SA-2 . As the Patrachar scheme of examination has been modified, these students will appear in the patrachar exam of class 10 in 2017. Also, the directorate will transition to the CBSE board as against the school board, for standard X during the 2017-18 academic year. For this group there is a focused syllabus for SA-1.
Summative Assessment -1 will begin in September and we are stuck with this division of students. Syllabus will not be covered at all. This division also is having psychological effect on the students as there is clear cut division very pertinent in the class, said Ajay Vir Yadav, general secretary, Government School Teachers Association (GSTA).
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NEW DELHI: The government will table the 122nd Constitution Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with the Congress indicating its support for the legislation that will roll out the landmark goods and services tax (GST) across the country.
A five-member Congress panel led by former finance minister P Chidambaram met this afternoon to discuss the governments proposals that address the opposition partys concerns over the radical tax structure.
Once adopted, GST will replace a string of central and local levies such as excise, value added tax and octroi into a single unified tax and stitch together a common national market.
The bill, already passed by the Lok Sabha, is stuck in the upper House due to opposition from the Congress. The ruling BJP-led NDA does not have the required numbers in the upper House for passage of the bill without Congress support.
All the issues we have raised are therein the G ST constitutional amendment , said Congress leader and deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma, who briefed the committee on the governments response to the partys demands.
In clear signs of the growing bonhomie over the bill, the government deferred plans top ass the bill by 24 hours after the Congress said its chief Sonia Gandhi and leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad will be unavailable on Tuesday. Both are scheduled to attend a party programme in Uttar Pradesh.
The Centre, sources said, assured the Congress it will change the language of the bill to give more power to states in dispute resolution and that GST rates will not hurt the common people.
The Union cabinet earlier scrapped a provision in the bill for 1% additional tax to manufacturing states while approving a 100% compensation for any revenue loss for five years under the new tax regime.
After speaking to all political parties, the government has listed the 122nd Constitution Amendment bill in Rajya Sabha for discussion and passing on Wednesday. The amendments will be circulated to the MPs, parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar said.
The first bill on the GST, brought by the first UP A government lapsed at the end of the last Lok Sabha as two BJP-ruled states, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh expressed reservations over the bill. The NDA government introduced a fresh bill last year and sent it to a select committee even after the Lok Sabha approved it.
On Monday, finance minister Arun Jaitley again consulted senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury and leaders from Samajwadi Party.
While J Jay alalit ha a s AIADMK is yet to come on board, the party may stage a walk out during the voting on the GST bill, sources said.
NEW DELHI: For a city believed to be unsafe for women, a study of the rape cases in Delhi shows that most of the rapists are known to the victims. Out of the 2,199 rape cases reported from across the city last year, in 96.61% cases the accused were neighbours, relatives or friends of the victims.
In 74 cases, the arrested men in rape cases were strangers. Police said neighbours such as the one involved in the Gandhi Nagar rape case were involved in 21% cases, while a majority of the arrested men (71%) were relatives, family or friends.
Police said this has always been the trend in Delhi rape cases over the years. Sources said that this year, the police have planned to tie up with NGOs and conduct a sociological study on the rape cases in Delhi. Senior officers said the study would focus on the reason for the high number of rapes by relatives and the social profile of both the accused and the family.
The man who raped and murdered the minor girl in Gandhi Nagar was known to her and one of them was stalking her for one month. Sociologists say that the problem with our society today is that it teaches us to ignore sexual harassment, which happens across the city.
Kavita Krishnan, secretary, All India Progressive Womens Association, Our system and society teaches us to ignore sexual harassment but then it happens again and gets worse. We are expected to make light of these things. We dont see acts like stalking as serious crime. The process of reporting a sexual crime, according to experts, discourages women from going to the police.
The very act of getting an FIR registered is full of harassment. The police will ask you a thousand questions and will ask them repeatedly so that you live through the trauma over and over again. On top of that, the process of getting justice is slow and uncertain, said a counsellor who works with Delhi Police.
Another woman counsellor said that some cases, they come across are startling. In many cases, the family members tend to cover up the crimes within families.
We get cases where sexual assault by a father went unreported despite the mother knowing as he was the only earning member in the family, said another counsellor who refused to be named as she is not authorised to speak to media.
NOIDA/BULANDSHAHR: ANoida-based man whose wife and minor daughter were gang-raped by highway robbers in Uttar Pradesh said on Monday that the family of three will commit suicide if police fail to give them justice in three months.
My daughter and my wife are not in a position to speak. For 18 years we have lived in Noida and now we are not able to return to our homes because of the shame. I appeal to the Noida Police to deliver me justice. I give them an ultimatum of three months. Post that, we will commit suicide, he told newsmen.
The ultimatum by the family comes amid allegations of police laxity that allowed the gang to waylay five members of the family on the Ghaziabad-Aligarh highway on Friday night when they were headed to their native place in Shahjahanpur in a car.
The gang looted cash and other valuables before dragging the 13-year-old girl and her mother to a roadside field and raped them, the family said in its complaint.
Two people raped my wife and daughter. My elder brothers wife was spared because the rapists thought she was too old. We even appealed to them to kill us before they rape themthen they started beating us...They also took Rs 21,000 and jewellery from us, he said.
The crime in Bulandshahr has shocked the country and raised questions about law and order and the role of police in the state. The UP government has suspended seven policemen and set up a 300-member task force that arrested three suspects on Monday. They were remanded in police custody for two weeks.
The family said the initial response of police on Saturday morning was pathetic and that a police van had driven past the spot during the assault.
The uncle of the minor said when they called the police helpline 100, the emergency helpline was busy at first and then no one picked up for a long time. They then contacted a relative in Noida and after some time, the local police station called on their phone.
But then, the officer on the other side of the line repeatedly asked questions instead of rescuing the family.
Earlier in the day, the family even demanded that the two survivors be allowed to shoot dead the rapists in public.
The minors uncle said the family will never come out of the trauma of the rape but an example needed to be set to avoid such incidents, reigniting the debate around stricter punishment for crimes against women.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) also summoned a doctor for allegedly abusing the minor and asking her awkward questions during the medical examination.
NCW chairperson Kumarmangalam also criticised Uttar Pradesh police for not invoking sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Posco) against the accused.
DIG Meerut Range Laxmi Singh said the Posco Act was yet to be added in the FIR.
Kumarmangalam said the NCW members were counselling the victims, as they were traumatised and had not been offered any such assistance by the UP Police.
ISLAMABAD: Leaders of religious and extremist groups, including Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed, have warned of protests against Indian home minister Rajnath Singhs visit to Pakistan on August 3, putting the Nawaz Sharif government in an embarrassing position.
India on Monday said Singh would go ahead with the visit to attend a meeting of interior ministers of SAARC nations in Islamabad though officials ruled out the possibility of bilateral talks with his Pakistani counterpart.
Saeed on Monday threatened the JuD will organise demonstrations and rallies across Pakistan if Singh went ahead with the visit, alleging the minister was behind the killings of innocent Kashmiris.
The Jamaat-e-Islami, which too is protesting against the visit, said it will organise processions and block roads in Islamabad so that the Indian minister gets the message over the violence against innocent people in Kashmir. Sources in Islamabad said the government was in a bind as there is considerable public support for the stand adopted by groups such as the JuD in view of the unrest in Kashmir which has claimed nearly 50 lives. The state has witnessed widespread violence since Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces last month.
MoS for home Kiren Rijiju played down the threats by Saeed and told reporters Singh would attend the SAARC meet as scheduled. The SAARC meeting is a multilateral meeting. There are some commitments. He is not going to give some message or having a separate meeting with (the) Pakistani home minister, he said.
The external affairs ministry had last week ruled out bilateral meetings during the visit by Singh, who will be the first Indian leader to visit Pakistan since a sharp downturn in ties following the terror attack on Pathankot airbase in January. The assault was blamed on Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed.
In a statement issued in Lahore on Monday, Hafiz Saeed accused Singh of being responsible for the killings in Jammu and Kashmir. I want to ask the Pakistani government will it add insult to injury to the wounds of Kashmiris by welcoming Rajnath who is responsible for the killings of innocent Kashmiris? he said.
It will be ironic, as on the one hand, the whole Pakistani nation is protesting against the Indian atrocities in Kashmir and on the other hand, the Pakistani rulers will be garlanding Singh, he added.
He said the Pakistan governmentmight have compulsions to receive the Kashmiris killers but the people are siding with oppressed Kashmiris.
Saeed, accused by India of master minding the 2008 Mumbai attacks, said protests and rallies will be organised in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan, Faisalabad, Muzaffarabad and other cities on August 3.
The people of Kashmir had refused to meet Singh during his Srinagar visit. The PML-N government must also refuse to receive the BJP leader on the excuse that it may hurt and incite feelings of Kashmiris and Pakistanis, he said.
Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to immediately recall Pakistans envoy from New Delhi and suspend trade and diplomatic ties with India because of the unrest in the Kashmir Valley.
Ailing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should at least recall Pakistans high commissioner from New Delhi and suspend trade and diplomatic ties with India. The rulers should give up hypocrisy and the Pakistan government should either plead the case of Kashmiris or make friends with India, Salahuddin said while addressing the Azadi Kashmir March in Lahore on Sunday.
The organisers of the march originally intended to go up to the Wagah border with India but security forces stopped the protesters on the outskirts of Lahore.
(With inputs from HTC in New Delhi)
DHARAMSALA: Taking a break from his hectic lifestyle, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday arrived in Dharamsala to attend a 10-day meditation course.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader landed at Gaggal airport at 1.10pm and was received by Kangra deputy commissioner Ritesh Chauhan, Dharamshala sub-divisional magistrate Shrawan Manta and AAP leaders.
He will stay at the Vipassana Centre in Dharamkot. Otherwise known to rake up controversies through his media statements, Kejriwal on Monday chose not make any remark. I am here just for meditation, he said.
Meanwhile, Pawan Sharma, in charge of the centre, said the course would begin on Tuesday and end on August 11.
Participants wont be allowed to use electronic gadgets, read the newspaper or watch TV.
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BULANDSHAHR: The National Commission for Women (NCW) team members have summoned the lady doctor who conducted the medical examination of the two robbery and rape survivors on July 30 at Bulandshahr hospital.
It was told to us by the woman and her daughter that the doctor did not want to examine them and had allegedly said that such fake cases come often. We have summoned the doctor within three days and also asked her to file her reply into the allegation, said Rekha Sharma, member NCW.
She added that the three-member team sent by NCW to meet the victim family and women found that the provisions of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) were not mentioned in the FIR.
The FIR should have mentioned POCSO provisions and even the gang rape charges. But only section 376 of IPC was imposed and not the normal 376D section for gangrape. We will raise the issue in our report which will be submitted to the NCW chairperson in a couple of days, Sharma said.
NEW DELHI: A 16-year-old girl was found murdered and her body including her private parts partially burnt, inside her house in east Delhis Gandhi Nagar area on Thursday afternoon.
A 25-year-old tailor, Danish, who was arrested for the murder, reportedly told the police that he tortured and raped the girl, before smothering her to death and then burnt her private parts to cover up the act. The police, however, have not added sections of rape to the FIR and are awaiting the autopsy report.
Sources said Danish had been stalking the girl for the last one month, seeking sexual favours, but she had refused to comply.
According to the police, the girl returned home from school at 1 pm on Thursday afternoon and was alone as her brother and mother were at work. As she was going to change her school uniform, Danish barged inside the house and locked the door from inside. He allegedly gagged the girl and raped her.
When the girl resisted, he allegedly slapped her and then smothered her to death. To cover up the sexual assault, Danish then fetched kerosene oil from the house and poured it on her private parts, before setting her afire.
The incident came to fore after locals saw smoke emanating from the house and informed the police, DCP, East, Rishi Pal said.
The girls mother, who works at a jeans factory, told the police that she knew about Danish stalking other women in the locality, but never thought that her daughter may be a victim.
She said she had no idea that he was harassing her daughter. She also said that she had heard about Danish stalking women and misbehaving with them, but was completely unaware about her daughter being a victim, a senior police officer said.
During investigation, it was revealed that accused Danish was asking for sexual favours from the girl.
Evidence was collected and sufficient proof came on record to suggest that Danish had committed the murder. He was arrested. Danish is a physically well-built person with intimidating appearance having an old long cut mark on his face and several self-inflicted old cut marks on inner side of his arms. He is of quarrelsome nature and used to bully others in the locality to maintain his dominance, Pal said.
Investigation into the case also revealed that Danish and his brother Ashu, had allegedly raped another 16-year-old friend of the deceased. Another girl, who was a friend to the deceased, came forward to register a complaint after this case came to light. She alleged that Danish used to stalk her and his brother raped her a few months ago. She said she was scared of complaining about him as the duo had threatened her of dire consequences, Pal said.
NEW DELHI: The parents of Danish and Ashu who were arrested on charges of rape and murder in two separate cases, claimed their sons were being framed by the police as they had the pressure to arrest someone.
Danish gave a shoulder to her bier. He was there till she was cremated. Had he killed her, he would have gone underground and not helped the family with her last rites, Mohammad Ahzaz Ahmad, Danishs father said. Danish is accused of raping and killing a 16-year-old girl.
Speaking to HT, Danishs mother Parveen said, My son was with his father at our workshop when the rape happened. How could he be at two places at the same time? The police came to our house around 4 pm and asked for Danish and Ashu. They then went to Usmanpur, at our workshop and arrested Ashu. They called Danish on his phone and asked him to meet them. When Danish went to see them, they arrested him.
If Danish was at fault, would he go to the police himself ?.. They dragged him to the police station and beat him up. They forced him to confess something he was not even involved in, she said.
Parveen said that Danish even participated in the protest held in the area demanding arrest of the accused in the case.
The family also alleged that the police detained the two brothers, beat them up and forced them to sign the confessions. Why did the girl who alleged that Ashu raped her come forward now, Parveen said.
The police, however, said Danish participated in the last rites of the girl to fool the cop.
By moving around with the family, he wanted to assure that he was not zeroed down as a suspect. However the neighbours and friends of the deceased had told the police that Danish had been harassing the girl for sexual favours, following which he was detained.
A case against Danish and Ashu was registered under sections of rape, stalking, causing hurt, criminal intimidation and POCSO Act, after another victim surfaced claiming Ashu had stalked and raped her too.
Danish and Ashu, police said had earlier been involved in cases of petty thefts and fights.
Sources said that sections of rape will be added to the FIR once the autopsy report is out.
More than 2 billion dollars in new money was raised for the people of Iraq at a recent donors' conference jointly hosted by Canada, Germany, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, and the United States. The funds will go towards alleviating the suffering, deprivation, and devastation inflicted on the Iraqi people by ISIL.
In order to address the grave conditions faced by those displaced in Iraq, the international community has committed to providing desperately needed humanitarian aid including food, water, and shelter, as well as stabilization programming to help create the conditions that permit displaced families to return home to liberated areas in safety and in dignity.
The conference garnered more than $590 million for humanitarian assistance in support of Iraq, through bilateral and multilateral channels. This humanitarian assistance will support the needs identified in the 2016 UN Humanitarian Response Plan, in addition to other organizations providing aid in Iraq. Through these organizations, the international community has provided resources for assistance to every governorate in Iraq, helping people who need it most.
Donors also pledged more than $350 million to support stabilization efforts. Pledges for United Nations Development Plans Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilization totaled $125 million, a significant advance towards meeting the $180 million the UN requires in 2017 to support rapid restoration of power, water, and other essential services in areas liberated from ISIL control.
Over $80 million in new pledges for demining efforts in Iraq were secured. This will provide approximately three-quarters of the total amount of funding the United Nations estimates is required for one year of demining activities in Iraq.
The United States was the first major donor at 50 million dollars, to pledge funding to the new United Nations Development Program Funding Facility for Expanded Stabilization. This facility will support activities that will restore critical public services and create jobs in Ninewah, Salah al-Din, Diyala, and Anbar provinces. The United Nations estimates that teaching colleges, hospitals, and universities eligible for these funds will be able to employ an estimated 17,000 to 20,000 people in each of the areas previously devastated by ISIL.
The United States believes long-term stability in Iraq can only be achieved by ensuring that its people are able to return to their homes safely, with access to basic services, healthcare, and education, and hope for economic prosperity.
NEW DELHI: Chinese manja, the kite-flying thread made of nylon, is set to be banned in Delhi given the high number of fatal injuries it has caused across the country, the AAP government told the Delhi high court on Monday.
The government in an affidavit informed a bench headed by chief justice G Rohini of its plans to issue a notification banning the Chinese manja and threads with metallic or glass components. Only threads made of natural fibres like cotton will be allowed, the government said.
The affidavit was filed in response to a city residents plea that sought a ban on the manufacture, sale, purchase and use of Chinese manja called so because of its widespread use in flying huge dragon kites in China. In his petition, Zulfiquar Hussain said the synthetic thread was earlier killing only birds but of late humans are also under threat and referred to the recent death of a 28-year-old man in east Delhi who died when a string of synthetic thread slit his throat while he was riding his motorbike.
The governments decision comes days before Independence Day when tens of thousands of kites dot the citys skyline. Several localities organise kite-flying tournaments on August 15 and revellers resort to the use of sharp, synthetic threads to bag competitors kites for lucrative prizes. In his plea, the petitioner pointed out that the synthetics threads were already banned in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan and the Allahabad high court had issued directions for necessary steps to prohibit the manufacture and sale of such manjas.
The court was told that a similar plea was placed before the Supreme Court which held that the petition should be adjudicated upon by the National Green Tribunal since the issue was related to the protection of environment and wildlife.
The court then asked counsel of both parties to produce the top courts order on the issue by Tuesday. It also asked the governments counsel to inform the court whether the notification will be issued before August 15.
(With PTI inputs)
BULANDSHAHR: A day after principal secretary (home) suspended the top police officials of Bulandshahr district following the highway robbery and gang-rape, an inspector and two other police officials posted at the dial 100 control room were suspended for laxity in duties.
The control room staff reportedly did not take repeated calls from the victim family in the early hours of July 30.
The state officials on Sunday suspended Bulandshahr SSP, Vibhav Krishna, SP (city) Ram Mohan Singh, circle officer (city) Himanshu Gaurav, in-charge (Kotwali Dehat) Ram Sen Singh, police outpost (highway) incharge Pramod Kumar, highway patrolling in-charge Rustam and beat constable Anurag Yadav.
Deputy inspector general ( Meerut) Laxmi Singh on Monday ordered the three suspensions and said some technical glitches were also found with the police emergency number.
We have found technical glitches as some telephone lines in the control room were out or order and even the present lines were less in numbers. We have asked the service provider BNSL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) to immediately rectify the issues, she said.
Police sources said there were six PCR vans posted at Sikanderabad, Kotwali Nagar Bulandshahr, Kotwali Dehat Bulandshahr, Khurja city, Khurja dehat on the night of the incident but they failed to spot the criminals from around 1.15am on the intervening night of July 29/30 when the car was waylaid to 4.15am when the criminals allowed the family to go.
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For 22-year-old Sana, life has come a full circle after 10 painful years.
Abducted when she was 12, Sana was trafficked, sold twice, raped, married forcefully, made to bear two kids and worked in a dance bar before she could find her way home in northeast Delhi.
Her family had accepted it as their fate when efforts over three years failed to trace Sana. The police had also declared the case shut.
On July 25, it was an awkward homecoming for Sana whose mother could not recognise her. A police officer privy to the details of the case told HT that Sana had to introduce herself to her mother who had lost all hope of getting back her daughter.
In the safety of her home, Sana shared her ordeal over ten years.
She told her family that a couple had abducted her from near her house in Janta Colony, Seelampur. Her family now lives in Kabir Nagar in the same area. Sana had gone to visit a relative nearby. She said a couple dragged her into a car and drugged her.
When she regained consciousness after several hours, Sana found herself in a locked in a room in Ambala with 10 more girls of her age. The couple kept her there for 15-20 days and then took her to a village in Gujarat where she was sold to a farmer, Rubiya, Sanas mother, said.
The farmer kept Sana confined to a water pump room in an agricultural field for two years. She was forced to work in the fields during the day and was locked in the room during the night. During this period, the farmers son, who she idenfied as one Balwant, kept raping her.
Balwant used to beat me up and burn me with cigarettes, Rubiya said.
Read | Masked men gang rape schoolteacher in UPs Bareilly, take photos
After two years, the same couple who had abduced her, returned. They took her along to different locations in Ambala, Chandigarh, and some places in Punjab. In a village in Punjab, she was sold to one Jarnail. Sana doesnt recall the name of the village.
Jarnails relatives forced me to get married to an elderly driver, Bhagera Singh. I gave birth to two of his sons, Mamveer and Ranjit. After three years, he died and his family took away my sons and threw me out, Sana said.
She returned to Ambala as it was the only place she knew. She had a faded memory of her address in Delhi. Delhi and Jamnapaar (trans-Yamuna) were my only memory of the city I was born in, she said.
In Ambala, she met a woman who took her to Siliguri in West Bengal, promising her to get a job there. In Siliguri she worked in a dance bar. Moved by her story, the woman promised her help to return home. She used to frequently visit Delhi and knew about the city. Based on the description of the area, she brought me to Janta Colony.
They learnt about the new address from neighbours. Sanas parents run a grocery shop in the area.
DCP (northeast) AK Singla said the case will be reopened.
A case of kidnapping registered in 2006 was declared unsolved. Now that the victim is back, we will reopen the case and bust the human trafficking racket, said Singla.
(The name of the victim and her mother have been changed to protect their identity)
Read | Bulandshahr gang rape: Please leave us alone, pleads the family
Having an adult in a class of adolescents will lead to teenage pregnancy, substance abuse and other sexual and social problems, the Delhi government has said in its defence of fixing an upper age limit for school admissions.
Under the new rules for Delhi government-run schools, which came into effect this year, a child older than four years will not be given admission in nursery. Similarly, a seven-year-old old will have to be in Class 2 and a 17-year-old in Class 12.
The parents of 10 students denied seats have challenged the decision in the Delhi high court, which last year struck down a government circular fixing an age cap for nursery admission in private schools.
In an affidavit to the court filed on July 29, the Aam Aadmi Party government said, If an adult is in the same class as an adolescent, it will create complex behavioural problems, which may lead to teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, aggressive bullying and violent outburst.
The document was prepared by a committee comprising Directorate of Education officials and principals of government, private and aided schools. It said the problems stated were from the members personal experience.
Educationist Janaki Rajan called the governments decision a violation of the right to education law, which mandates the right to free and compulsory education for children between six and 14 years.
We are not talking about a 30-year-old but about an 18-year-old who is already enrolled in school. He/she has the right to a school education. This is equality of opportunity and everyone has the right to get a degree. Such reasons show the governments intent to not work for poor children. Teenage pregnancy does not necessarily require the presence of an adult, she said.
But the affidavit said, A child above the age of 18 is an adult and in a regular school, it is not feasible to have an adult studying with students younger than him. If a complaint arises, the adult can be prosecuted but a child cannot. If any incident occurs, it causes trauma to the younger ones.
The government also feels having diverse age groups in the same class will impact studies.
Denying the rules went against the RTE, an education department official said, Under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the government launches admission drives from time to time to help children get into age-appropriate class. We do not want children to be bullied and harassed in school.
The affidavit cited provisions from the 2009 law that say there should not be a wide age gap between children in the same class.
The section is being misread, said Khagesh Jha, the parents lawyer. The court has explained that age limit is not only chronological order of age but includes other factors.
Government counsel Anuj Aggarwal countered: There are provisions where students who are older can be sent for specialised training, after which, as per their age, they are sent to appropriate classes. This is a rational order, practised in several places, so that education can be imparted in a proper manner to all students. Psychologists also suggest children of varying age groups should not be in the same class.
Calls to education minister Manish Sisodia and the higher education secretary went unanswered.
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Armed robbers struck at posh Green Park area in south Delhi looting cash and valuables around Rs 50 lakh, police said on Monday.
Police said four armed robbers entered the residence of a retired engineer Vimal Nagpal at G Block in Green Park area and held hostage a 12-year-old boy and his mother at gun point after which they started looting cash and other valuables.
The robbers broke cupboards and drawers in the house in search of valuables, forcing the woman to cooperate in locating it as they roamed in the house for half an hour, said a senior police officer.
The robbery was reported to police on July 30 evening.
Police said that the robbers gained entry to the house after a servant in the house opened the door for them.
The servant Ranjan was absconding since the robbery.
A case has been registered at Safdarjung police station and teams have been formed to arrest the accused, said the officer.
The family employed servant and domestic help Kavita who were present when the robbers came.
Kavita was tied down while Ranjan fled before the robbers.
Role of both of them is being probed, the officer said.
The green tribunal on Tuesday deferred till August 9 the hearing on the NGTs order to phase out more than 15 years old diesel vehicles in Delhi.
The Centre was expected to oppose the green courts order to phase out more than 15 years old diesel vehicles in Delhi.
The Union government had on July 29 challenged the national green tribunals order to phase out diesel vehicles, saying there was no legal provision for the move described by a carmaker as a corporate death penalty.
The NGT has come out with several orders to bring down air pollution in Delhi, rated among the dirtiest capitals in the world. But its recent orders against diesel vehicles have caused concern in the industry as well as the government.
In an affidavit filed on July 29, the ministry of heavy industries ministry told the NGT that its orders were in contravention of the motor vehicle act.
At present no legal provisions exist under which diesel vehicles that are more than 15 years old and are BS-I or BS-II compliant could be scrapped, it said.
The forcible scrapping of vehicles could give rise to litigation and such an order would amount to penalising vehicle owners who complied with the law of the land, the ministry said.
The NGT, the countrys only exclusive court for hearing environmental matters, had on July 18 asked Delhis transport authorities to cancel registration of diesel-fuelled vehicles that were older than 10 years. Two days later, it asked the Delhi government to first focus on vehicles order than 15 years.
These orders came on a petition by lawyer Vardhaman Kaushik against poor air quality in the city.
The uncertainty has seen carmakers such as General Motors and Ford say that they are rethinking their investments plans in India. Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota, has challenged the ban, saying the NGT order on diesel vehicles across the country was like a corporate death penalty as it had an impact on the existence of the company.
Diesel vehicles older than 15 years are already banned in the national capital region. The Supreme Court has also stopped registration of new diesel vehicles with engine capacity of 2000CC and above and ordered all diesel taxis to convert to compressed natural gas.
Vehicular emissions are among the main causes of air pollution and diesel one of the biggest contributors.
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A court has rejected a plea for a second investigation into the lynching of Mohammad Ikhlaq in Bisada village on September 29 last year.
The district court also refused to allow a plea of Ikhlaqs family to seek details of the recovered meat recovered.
Ikhlaq was killed and his son critically injured after a mob attacked them over rumours that they slaughtered a calf.
The court said the pieces of meat recovered from Ikhlaqs house (as those accused of lynching him claim) and near the village power transformer are part of the evidence in the cow slaughter case lodged against Ikhlaq and six of his kin.
Read more: Dadri lynching: Accused seek details of meat, remains of carcass found in Bisada
The court refused to entertain the application as the demands were illegitimate. Also, there was no signature of the applicant on the letter, said Ram Sharan Nagar, counsel for the accused.
Last month, Ikhlaqs family had sought re-investigation in the case and addition of three new names in the FIR. They had also sought details of the meat which belonged to a cow or its progeny on forensic examination.
The applicants plea has nothing new It appears that the application is not fit for further hearing. Hence the court rejects the plea of the applicant, the court said in its order.
Read more: Greater Noida: Hearing in Dadri lynching case deferred to August 1
On the night of September 29, Bisada resident Mohammad Ikhlaq and his son Danish were attacked by a local mob over allegations of slaughtering a cow and storing its meat.
Ikhlaq had succumbed to his injuries while Danish survived with a fractured skull. Eighteen people, including three juveniles, were arrested on charges of murder and assault.
The accused demanded that a case of cow slaughter be registered against Ikhlaqs family, citing the forensic report of the meat recovered from Ikhlaqs refrigerator. An FIR of cow slaughter was registered against Ikhlaq and six of his family members on June 15.
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Delhi Polices Special Cell has seized Rs 20 crore worth of party drug Mephedrone, also known as meow-meow and arrested eight people in this regard.
The police first recovered the drug at a location in Greater Kailash, which led them to the arrest of one Surinder Singh from Chitaranjan Park.
The police have also come across a nexus of peddlers operating in Delhi and Mumbai, where they supply drugs to the youth.
Meow-meow or M-Cat has emerged as a popular party drug among revelers in recent times.
Last month, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) seized a consignment of Mephedrone valued at around Rs 90 lakh from three persons linked to a Mumbai-based Nigerian drug racket.
Lack of coordination between the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and Public Works Department (PWD) has left New Friends Colony (NFC) lanes waterlogged. According to residents, though the SDMC has completed work to construct drains in the internal lanes, no outfall has been provided to the main drain by PWD.
Given the poor condition of the drainage system here, SDMC approved a project two and half years ago to reconstruct drains, internal roads and pavement. It allocated a budget of Rs 7.5 crores for the project. However, the work could be started only 18 months back, said Rohit Kumar, member New Friends Colony RWA.
The residents claim that while the work was in progress, they approached SDMC requesting that it must ensure proper outfall to drainage system. We were told that the internal drains are connected to the main drain at Ashoka Park Road which belongs to PWD. And PWD has to ensure that the main drain is connected to nullah near Khizarbad for proper outfall so that the rain water is not accumulated on the surface, said Hema Badhwar Mehra, vice president, New Friends Colony RWA. SDMC officials said the persistent water logging is PWDs fault and the agency is aware of the situation.
Following this, the PWD was also apprised about the concern of residents and the area MLA was requested to resolve the matter at the earliest. SDMC also wrote to PWD but the department put blame back on SDMC for constructing new drains without proper planning. Finally, PWD started the digging work on main drain about one month back and assured to provide outfall by July 15. But the work is still going on, said Mehra. On the other hand a senior PWD official said that they were informed about the outfall problem only at the last minute and that they swung into action as soon as they were approached by the RWA.
Residents said it is apparent that there was no inter departmental meeting to coordinate the work between SDMC, PWD and Delhi Jal Board (DJB). Residents are also not happy with the quality of work done by SDMC. It was stated that with the heavy rainfall on Tuesday, the freshly paved sidewalks sank leaving deep pits. Newly constructed roads have been washed away and deep craters are visible at several places.
Vinod Sondhi, secretary, NFC RWA said, We spent hours with the project engineers, cajoling the contractor to comply with the deadline while no senior official visited the site. The RWA has written a letter to the Deputy Commissioner, SDMC Mona Sreenivas to investigate the matter. A senior SDMC official said, We have done our job and we cant carry the construction work on PWDs road thats why the agency was asked to provide the outfall. As far as the damage to road and pavements is concerned, we will arrange a visit and verify the situation.
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Are you looking for the girl who was raped? Take a right, says a local standing with a group of people.
They all know her house and are gladly guiding reporters, camera persons and even politicians, as they discuss how the incident ruined the girls life.
Near the girls house, there is hardly any space to stand. Everybody in the colony wants a glimpse of the girl and the mother who were raped in Bulandshahr on June 29 night. The camera persons some of them perched on terraces jostle to get the right shot, while reporters are fighting for a space to do their piece-to-camera.
Amid the circus, the girls father stands with a blank face, clueless.
Muffle your face with a handkerchief and tell us who raped your daughter. We do not have time to blur the face, we need to send the visuals as soon as possible, shouts a reporter. His camera person zooms the video camera into the face of the girls father. He does as directed.
After a detailed byte, the father removes the handkerchief. Just as he is about to go in, another set of reporters stop him and asks him to repeat himself.
How many times should I repeat what happened with my daughter and my wife? They have been raped. What else do you want to know? My daughter was better till last night. With all the people visiting, she is now being asked to recall everything again. She has fallen sick again. She cannot stop crying. Please leave us alone. I wish we had never returned, the father says with folded hands and breaks down. The reporters record that too. Send this byte in the ticker, shouts one.
Read | Azam Khans conspiracy comment has agonised us: Bulandshahr rape victims kin
The reporters have set up a camp of sorts in the girls house, having laid charpoys and placing their gadgets, tripods, cameras, mikes and laptops on it. When they get tired, they lie down to stretch their back, munching on chips. Some politicians also visited the family in the day.
Just a day ago, the victims family had said it was impossible for them to stay at their house after the incident as everybody now knows what happened to them. The hordes of people were doing them no good.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders address the media after meeting the family in Ghaziabad. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)
Explaining how the media and politicians defeat the purpose of the law meant to conceal the identity of the rape victims, advocate Shilpi Jain says, The law was made to protect the victim from the mental agony and torture of recalling the episode repeatedly. The moment media and politicians land at their residence, the purpose is defeated. Everyone knows who was raped and all locals talk about it.
Legally, if the family wants, they can move court against such politicians and media but they are not aware of their rights. Ideally the court should take suo motto cognisance in such matters, restricting the entry of media and politicians, but in our country they are not sensitive enough, she adds.
Downstairs it is no better. Hundreds of locals, including women and children, gathered to catch a glimpse of politicians visiting the girl. As cavalcades of politicians enter the narrow lane, a group of kids run behind the SUVs.
She used to say hello whenever she went to school, says a neighbour, referring to the survivor in past tense. Now everyone is going to look at her differently. After all, what happened is very shameful. They should have quietly gone to their village . Why return here, says the woman, discussing the case with others.
My daughter asked me what happened to her friend. I had nothing to say. She wanted to go visit her but I did not allow. I have full sympathies but I cannot expose my daughter to what rape is at this age, another woman says. The rest nod in agreement.
The men share the same view. Badnami toh hui hai. Ab pehle jaisi zindagi kahan rahegi, one man says.
Gender expert Kalpana Vishwanath says, There is already so much stigma attached to rape that the girl will never be able to forget what happened with her. The people wont let her. On top of it the insensitive media and politicians, make the situation worse. We should work to make the law on concealing the identity of the victim more effective. Till now, it has been made a joke each time such a case is reported.
Read | Azam Khan sees political conspiracy in Bulandshahr rape, draws flak
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In late July, Secretary of State John Kerry and the foreign ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam met in Vientiane, Laos, for the 9th Lower Mekong Initiative Ministerial Meeting. The Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) was launched in 2009 to narrow the development gap between the five Lower Mekong Countries.
The Initiative focuses on six areas: agriculture and food security, connectivity, education, energy security, environment and water, and health, as well as issues related to improving gender equality.
As Secretary Kerry has said, At the heart of the Lower Mekong Initiative is one concept: sustainability. This is particularly important today, as the entire region suffers through the worst drought in nearly a century. According to the U.S. Geologic Surveys chief scientist for climate and land use change, the Mekong region is among the most seriously imperiled regions on the planet. It will almost certainly see more intense dry seasons, wetter monsoons, floods, storms and rising sea levels.
We need to heed these warnings and act accordingly, Secretary Kerry said. Since we began this project, we have explored ways to cooperate, to share information, and address the full range of water, energy, and food security challenges that we face.
Responding to these continued challenges, this year the LMI Ministers meeting in Vientiane formally launched a Sustainable Infrastructure Partnership to improve regional infrastructure planning and performance while mitigating environmental impacts.
The Mekong River is the economic lifeblood of the entire region, and it helps to enrich lives, it pays the bills, fills the stomachs of some 70 million people. Its also a priceless center of biodiversity, Secretary Kerry said. We have learned that, wherever we have a fragile ecosystem supporting a regional economy, you need a strategy that nurtures the health of both, and you require all of the regional components of that ecosystem to share in responsibility.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis surprise goodwill visit to Lahore last Christmas seems so far back in time as we witness India-Pakistan ties slide into yet another unfathomable chill. The public recriminations have, not surprisingly, followed violence and unrest in Kashmir with Pakistan-based terrorist groups now taking centre stage in anti-Indian protests.
The Lashkar-e-Taibas Hafiz Saeed has warned the Pakistan government of countrywide protests including in major cities like Lahore, Islamabad Karachi, Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad and Muzaffarabad if home minister Rajnath Singh is allowed to attend the Saarc home ministers conference in Islamabad. Hizbul Mujahideens Syed Salahuddin, who has warned of more attacks in India, has asked Nawaz Sharifs government to recall its high commissioner and suspend trade and diplomatic ties.
Read: Reading between the lines: What Hafizs threats against Rajnath visit mean
The activities and activism of anti-Indian terrorist groups are to a significant extent regulated by the Pakistan State. Salahuddin, for instance, kept a low profile when India and Pakistan were discussing a non-territorial solution to Jammu and Kashmir between 2004 and 2007. The LeT orchestrated the 2008 Mumbai attacks with the active support of elements in the ISI but Saeeds public posturing has been relatively scaled back in recent years owing to Indian and international pressure. That he is now openly attacking India and brazenly challenging the Sharif government points to the support Saeed and the others are getting from sections of the political and military establishment in this round of posturing. And given the dynamics between the army and the civilian government, these kinds of activities serve to further undermine the standing of the latter.
The Sharif government may privately argue with Indian interlocutors that this is no more than a letting off of steam about civilian casualties in Kashmir. There are two problems with this line of thinking. For one, it is a bit rich for terrorist groups who unscrupulously maim and kill to be concerned about the loss of civilian lives. And second, what does it say of the power of the Pakistani State that it has to use non-state actors to lobby on a particular issue? More critically this underlines that Islamabad is yet again failing to recognise the cost of enhancing the authority and stature of terrorist, extremist organisations within its polity. The deep state in Pakistan clearly thinks that a few weeks of anti-Indian posturing by extremist groups is worth undermining its own society and further sullying its international image abroad.
Read: Hafiz Saeed warns of protests across Pakistan over Rajnaths visit
Mr Singh is rightly pressing on with his visit. Both sides must keep lines of communication intact and they need to frankly exchange perspectives on the current impasse. He arrives in a fraught climate made worse by non-State actors and is exactly the kind of situation both sides should be preparing for. It is a setting tailor-made to discuss our crisis management processes.
If you thought dressing like your favourite celebrity or buying clothes endorsed by them is a measure of your craziness for fashion, heres something that will blow your mind: How about wearing jackets or bags made of leather grown from the DNA extracted from their hair samples?
This is exactly what 26-year-old Slovenian Tina Gorjanc, a student at the Central Saint Martins in London, is attempting to do with her project Pure Human.
Read: Mumbai is Abu Jani and Sandeep Khoslas muse-in-chief
Though she is working with stylish biker jackets and totes made out of pigskin for now, Gorjanc has made pieces made out of the DNA of legendary British fashion designer Alexander McQueen.
The human skin contains far less natural protection against UV light than other living organisms. This would enable the cultivated leather which was not fully tanned to get sunburnt.
A graduate in fashion and textile from Slovenia, Gorjanc worked in London for two years before enrolling herself in Central Saint Martins. Her fascination for biotechnology pushed her towards Material Futures at the institute.
In an exclusive interview to HT, Gorjanc explains her concept and the controversies surrounding it. She says her project is more than just a creepy fashion collection made of human skin from a known personality.
Tina, tell us about your project and how you developed the skin.
I based the procedure on a process called de-extinction, where you extract the genetic information from a source (usually preserved hair, skin or bone) and use it to biologically programme an already existing skin draft (Human beings are pretty similar in their biological characteristics so the draft is easier to find, compared to other extinct species).
Body modification techniques can be applied to the material surface before and after the tanning process.
After that, the skin grows, using the mentioned genetic information, which means that the growing tissue mimics the tissue of the original source.
Its accuracy is dependent on how much genetic info you can extract. Once the growth process of the skin is stopped, it is preserved and processed into leather using common tanning techniques. The tests in the laboratory were intended to understand the technology and the extent to which we could exploit them. These tests were not made with McQueens genetic information. This technology is still in development.
MullenLowe Nova Awards Winner - Tina Gorjanc from MullenLowe Group on Vimeo.
How close is this to real skin?
I believe bigger laboratories could have more success in developing the process I am proposing. However, their intentions are purely different from my anticipation of future exploitations of genetic material. The skin itself, when grown in the laboratory, doesnt look anything like skin on a body as it does not have all the layers underneath the first two.
The TYR gene is responsible for the production of the pigment melanin. The stimulation of the genes performance can be achieved with biological agents. Depending on the amount of the applied agent the accumulated melanin can appear on a smaller (freckles) or larger (moles) scale.
It is also really interesting that a skin grown in the laboratory can be altered, which could result in interesting developments of material characteristics in the futures (elastic leather etc.). However, when the morphology of the skin is achieved, and it is tanned, it could look exactly like leather.
Was your choice, the idea of Alexander McQueens Rebirth, conditioned by the exploitation of genetic material around the world?
When I was researching old medical cases, I realised it was indeed the case. That kind of exploitation first happened in the medical field in the 1950 (Henrietta Lacks case) and later in the case of John Moore, where doctors extracted biological material from patients and ended up copyrighting and use the material for product developments (cures).
The final degree show display of the Pure Human project at Central Saint Martins.
Sadly, the patients never gave their consent for it, and neither did any of them receive any benefits from it. Today, the luxury industry is investing in biotechnology and it is fascinating to be at the intersection of the two fields. The trouble is, some of these products are developed from leftovers from surgical patients. As the patient is not expected to keep those kinds of materials, they belong to the institution executing the procedure on the patients.
Read: Designer Masaba Gupta on why shorts are your best friend this monsoon
Those materials are then sold to bioengineering companies as a source of stem cells. And if those companies are collaborating with a luxury brand, the cells are produced into products and copyrighted by the manufacturing company. I wanted to expose the issue and test how far I can exploit the legislation to patent someone elses genetic information.
Youve made samples using with pig skin. Do you plan to make a collection using skin developed from Alexander McQueens DNA?
Details from the final display explaining the process of extracting genetic information and harvesting it into a tissue culture.
Yes, I have made samples out of pig skin as it best mimics the human skin. It took several layers of paint and silicon details to make it closer looking to the human epidermis. The intention of the prototypes was to speculate a possible application of the technology and I believe making them look more like the real thing was essential, as the public was able to better relate to the objects. I never planned to develop the prototypes in human leather, as my intention was never a commercial application.
Do you foresee a future when the world of luxury will actually use the kind of skin youve developed?
I am not sure if the use of human skin will happen per se, but I believe there will be a time when genetic information regarded as an initial source of luxury will be a reality.
Assuming that we develop such skins using DNA/tissue sometime soon, would it then mean an end to animal exploitation by the fashion/luxury industry?
Tattooed detail of the modifiable product from the Pure Human Collection.
This is one of the issues I am really passionate about. I found laboratory-produced leather far more ethical than the process of producing leather we currently use. I believe it would be a viable alternative as it does not require animal slaughtering. Besides that, it also does not have unwanted by-products and can represent a reliable source for when we run out of resources.
Why did you choose Alexander McQueen for your project?
This is not just an Alexander McQueen project. My goal was to speculate how big corporations could exploit genetic information as a new source of luxury in the future. I chose McQueen for two reasons. First of all, in the absence of any legislation surrounding protection of genetic materials, I wanted to showcase how one could access biological material from sources youd otherwise think are extremely protected.
Read: 17 hot trends from India Couture Week you will want to try (like right now)
McQueens genetic information was interesting from the perspective that he is dead, has an enormous brand empire that is protected with numerous copyrights and still has relatives who have inherited his possessions. However, his genetic info is still not well protected. Secondly, the more practical reason was the possibility to authenticate and access his genetic info through his hair labels.
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Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar came down heavily on the district administration and civic agencies following the chaos across the city during the rain on Thursday. The chief minister has sought a report from the district administration within a week about waterlogging at Hero Honda Chowk and the Badshahpur drain.
Khattar was addressing a meeting of district officials at the Huda gymkhana club in Sector 29 after conducting an aerial survey of the worst-hit Hero Honda Chowk and areas around Badshahpur and Najafgarh drains.
The CM took off from the Tau Devi Lal stadium at 4 pm. He was accompanied by state PWD minister Rao Narbir Singh and Gurgaon deputy commissioner TL Satyaprakash, who briefed him about the situation. The survey started from Ghata village. The CM was briefed about the Ghata lake and the drainage of the low-lying area. Subsequently, the helicopter flew along the Badshahpur drain up to Hero Honda Chowk where the CM was briefed about the problem caused by the difference in the sizes of the main drain and the Khandsa drain downstream.
Thereafter, the choppers flew towards the Najafgarh drain that takes water from Gurgaon to Delhi. Here, the CM observed that there was a need to build a major bund along the drain to prevent waterlogging of hundreds of acres on the Gurgaon side.
TL Satyaprakash said he briefed the CM on various chokepoints and bottlenecks along the network. The chopper returned to the Tau Devi Lal stadium after 45 minutes.
Subsequently, during a meeting with the district administration, Khattar asked officials to prepare a detailed report on the waterlogging situation at Hero Honda Chowk so that such a problem does not arise in the future.
The CM wants to know the reasons behind the failure of drainage system that caused waterlogging at Hero Honda Chowk on Thursday, said an official.
Khattar also directed officials to finish major infrastructure projects by the end of this year as lack of an alternative to NH8 leads to congestion on roads across the city.
To decongest the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway, the CM asked the civic agencies to ensure that the Northern Peripheral Road (NPR) or the Dwarka Expressway is completed by the end of December.
It was directed that the work on NPR should be completed by December 16. He also directed expedition of the work on Greater Southern Peripheral Road, which will connect Manesar and Delhi, said a source in the administration.
PWD Minister Rao Narbir Singh said the CM asked the district administration to prepare a plan for water harvesting and building bunds in the Aravallis so that waterlogging does not take place in future.
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The disadvantages of a sedentary lifestyle have been discussed in the past. But the findings of a new study are urging people to explore the subject with renewed vigour. A new Texas A&M University (USA) study claims that employees who use sit-stand desks are 46% more productive than those at traditional desks. The concept of standing workstations is slowly gaining popularity in India.
Experts, too, believe that some amount of movement during office hours can go a long way in maintaining a healthier lifestyle. Standing requires the entire body to stabilise and coordinate itself in order to attain an erect posture. Standing is the position of alertness. This, associated with a feeling of efficiency, plays an important role in increasing an individuals work capacity, says Disha Shetty, physiotherapist.
Read: Standing desks at workplace good for health, productivity
She says the benefits of standing are wide-ranging. It helps you psychologically, as it keeps the mind alert, fresh and, to a certain extent, it also relieves stress and anxiety. It is good for your metabolism and also for your blood sugar levels. The heart rate increases by 10-20 beats per minute as compared to when you are sitting. Standing also reduces lower back pain caused due to prolonged sitting. It relaxes contracted muscles, she adds.
A large body of research has shown that frequent micro breaks improve levels of comfort. (Shivam Saxena/HT Photo)
Orthopedic surgeon Dr Tejas Upasani recommends taking regular breaks at work. He says sitting should be broken up by periodic standing or moving breaks during the day, preferably for one-two minutes every 20 to 30 minutes. A large body of research has shown that frequent micro breaks improve levels of comfort, and reduce the risks of musculoskeletal injuries, thus improving work performance, he says.
Movement is important to get the blood circulating through the muscles. While experts say there are no specific parameters for how long an individual should stand or move during a day, spending around 1/4th of the day standing or walking is ideal, says Shetty.
Read: Its time to deskercise: Tips for a quick workout in your office
However, one also needs to be careful. Standing for too long can be harmful too. It predisposes the person to varicose veins (veins that have become enlarged and twisted). Standing for long also puts a lot of strain on the circulatory system and on the legs and feet, says Upasani.
Prolonged siting can cause the development of awkward postures. (Shutterstock)
Problems associated with prolonged sitting
1. Developing awkward postures, which indirectly affect an individuals musculoskeletal health.
2. Conditions such as occupational lower back pain, neck pain, chest pain, and shoulder pain, and also metabolic conditions like diabetes, obesity, etc.
3. In some cases, it can also lead to anxiety and depression.
The eldest son of actor Michael Douglas has been released from prison after serving seven years for drug trafficking, and is now in a halfway house in New York, US media reported on Monday.
Cameron Douglas, 37, was sentenced in 2010 to five years in prison for possession and sale of methamphetamine. His sentence was extended by two years in solitary confinement after he admitted smuggling drugs into the prison.
Cameron, Michael Douglass son with his first wife Diandra Luker, was originally set to be released in 2018 but is currently living at a rehabilitation centre in New York, EOnline and ABC News reported.
Read: Michael Douglas writes about son experiencing anti-Semitism
Cameron Douglas now plans to write a tell-all book describing his life as heir to one of the most respected Hollywood dynasties and how drugs led him to prison, according to the New York Posts gossip section Page Six.
Read: Tom Hanks son wanted by British police for smashing up hotel room
The Oscar-winning actor visited his son in prison regularly. He criticized the US penal system when accepting an Emmy Award for playing the role of the pianist Liberace in the TV movie Behind the Candelabra in 2013.
At first I was certainly disappointed with my son, but Ive reached a point now where Im disappointed with the system, he said. If you happen to have a slip, they punish you. In my sons case, he has spent almost two years in solitary confinement.
The actors representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.
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Loved equally by the Sangh (RSS) and the sangathan (party), transport and water supply minister Vijay Rupani is the front-runner for the Gujarat chief ministers spot, as Anandiben Patel on Monday offered to step down.
For this MLA from Rajkot, the heartland of Patidar-dominated Saurashtra region, even his caste Jain may work in his favour. Facing the heat of the Patidar agitation and Dalit outrage, the BJP also wants a face that can pacify all communities, said a senior BJP leader.
Rupani, an aide of BJP president Amit Shah, has been seen within the party as someone who enjoys the trust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This was evident when in a press conference, Shah put Rupani ahead to make an announcement for 10% quota for the economically backward among upper castes while Anandiben Patel remained a mute spectator.
Read | Anandiben Patel offers to resign as Gujarat CM, BJP to decide on successor
Its no surprise that the 60-year-old has been allowed to retain his cabinet portfolio despite his appointment as state chief in February. From RSS volunteer to Rajkot mayor and the partys general secretary, the soft-but-outspoken Rupani has emerged as a leader who can keep the cadre intact.
Read | Politically incorrect Anandiben had bumpy two years at the helm in Gujarat
Similar to the selection of ML Khattar in Haryana, RSS leader Bhiku Dalsania, a Leuva Patel, can prove to be a dark horse. Dalsania, Rupanis senior and an organisational secretary, has been a vital figure for the party for decades. But unlike Rupani, who can claim clout over the Saurashtra region, Dalsania is not a peoples leader.
Unconfirmed reports of minister of state for agriculture and farmers welfare Parshottam Rupalas meeting with PM triggered speculation of him being in the race. A Kadva by caste, Rupalas prospects were seen to be increasing when the party sent him to Una to visit the families of the Dalits who were flogged on suspicion of cow slaughter. But Rupalas elevation to the Rajya Sabha was seen within the party as a move to distance him from the CM race.
Read | Social media like Anandibens FB resignation, call it Digital India initiative
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A complaint was filed with the police in Lucknow after two members of the Dalit community were thrashed by gau rakshaks (cow vigilantes) on suspicion of cow slaughter last week.
Scared of being beaten up, some members of the community approached their contractors to take up their case with the Lucknow Municipal Corporation or other authorities after some of them were assaulted in Takrohi area in Indira Nagar on July 28.
We are aware of the matter and have lodged a complaint with the police against unidentified persons, additional municipal commissioner Avaneesh Saxena told PTI.
He said the Lucknow Municipal Corporation has also requested police and the district administration to provide security to them so that they can lift carcasses and skin them.
He said as an immediate precautionary measure, photo identity cards would be issued to contractual workers engaged in such task.
The community members have decided not to lift carcasses till they were issued such identity cards to ensure their security.
There have been complaints of increased attacks on the Dalit community members in the city in the past six months. They have been attacked while transporting a dead cow on the civic bodys call to lift dead animals so that these do not rot in front of peoples houses.
They have often complained that when they go to dispose of the carcasses after skinning them, they are attacked by cow vigilantes who charge them with slaughtering the animal.
The resignation offer of Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel has brought the spotlight back on other Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states where the leadership is dealing with controversies.
The Monday resignation of Patel shows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent two years consolidating his gains at the Centre, but he might be now ready to give a hard look at the performance of BJP chief ministers with the aim to win back the states.
Patel said in a Facebook post that she told the BJP leadership about her plan to step down two months ago. She said the party needed a fresh face before next years state elections.
Read: Modi responsible for Gujarats woes, Anandiben a scapegoat: Rahul Gandhi
Her possible removal is significant given that she was Modis choice as his replacement as the Gujarat chief minister. Many other BJP chief ministers have courted controversies, but Patel is the first one to step down.
The Monday development should give jitters to those about whom the party and Modi seem to have some concerns.
The first of them could be Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh, who recently broke Modis record of being the longest-serving chief minister of the party. Singh took over as chief minister in December 2003.
He has won three elections, but his tenure has not been without controversies, the latest being Congress allegation about the overseas investment of his son.
The opposition party has attacked Singh over a number of irregularities including that in the supply of rice in the Rs 36,000 crore Public Distribution System (PDS) or the Nagrik Apurti scam in the state.
In May this year, Swaraj Abhiyan leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav claimed irregularities in the purchase of an A-109 chopper in 2007 by the Chhattisgarh government and demanded a probe against Singh.
Singh has denied all charges.
The party has stood behind Singh through troubled times, but there have been concerns about signs of Congress revival in the tribal state.
The difference between the vote share of the BJP and the Congress party in Chhattisgarh in the 2013 poll was less than 1% and Singh will fight and anti-incumbency of 15 years when the state goes to poll in 2018.
Read: Politically incorrect Anandiben had bumpy two years at the helm in Gujarat
Haryana, where the BJP came to power for the first time, is another state that has seen CM Manohar Lal Khattar grappling with controversies ever since he assumed power in 2014.
Khattar managed to survive an agitation of Jats for reservation, but the party remains concerned about the state of the affair in Haryana.
The massive traffic jam triggered by waterlogging after heavy rains in Gurgaon last week added to Khattars problem with residents, commuters and opposition leaders blaming his government for the chock-a-block situation.
Haryanas main opposition party, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), accused the BJP of only believing in hollow slogans without taking any concrete steps to tackle basic things. The Congress party too attacked Khattar, saying things cannot be improved just by changing the name of a city but by improving its infrastructure.
A leadership change in both the state may be ruled out immediately, but the chief ministers will have to make strides to keep pace with Modis expectations, a BJP leader said.
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The family of a woman and her minor daughter gang-raped by highway bandits accused Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan on Tuesday of heaping more agony on them by terming the incident a possible opposition conspiracy to defame the state government.
Would he have made a similar statement had his own family faced such an ordeal? questioned the Noida-based man whose wife and daughter were sexually assaulted near Bulandshahr on Friday night.
The statement made by Azam Khan has further agonised us, said the husband-father of the survivors who he said were in shock and were not speaking to anybody.
The family also vented their anger on ruling Samajwadi Party leader Rakesh Yadav who visited their Ghaziabad residence.
The incident took place late on Friday night when five members of the family were travelling to Shahjahanpur in a car. The gang of dacoits waylaid the vehicle, looted cash and other valuables before dragging the 13-year-old girl and her mother to a field and raping them.
Three accused have been arrested though four others are still absconding. The family of three has threatened to commit suicide if police fail to deliver justice within three months.
The incident has sparked outrage across the country which introduced stringent laws to prevent sexual assault of women after the December 2012 gang rape and murder of a paramedical student in Delhi.
Read | Azam Khan sees political conspiracy in Bulandshahr rape, draws flak
Khan, known for his controversial comments, came under attack from political parties including the BJP which said that the minister has crossed all limits of decency by indulging in politics over a sensitive issue.
Khan added to the anger by saying: It must be investigated whether people, with the opposite ideology or those who want to come to power, are behind this incident in order to malign the government.
On Tuesday Khan said his remarks were misconstrued since UP was headed for elections.
We understand their pain. We cannot change the truthThis is an insult to the government. Which government will want such an incident?
However, his comments left his own party squirming in embarrassment.
What can I say about it? I would not like to comment on what our senior leader has said, SP leader CP Rai said.
Senior ministers and party spokepersons Shivpal Yadav and Rajendra Chowdhary were not available for comments.
The BJP and Congress took potshots at Khan for trivialising the issue.
His comments either reflect loss of mental balance or an attempt to further agonise the victims. I request Mulayam Singh ji to discard love for his friendship and remove such people from the party, said UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya who visited the family with Union minister Mahesh Sharma.
In Delhi, BJP national secretary Srikant Sharma gave out statistics to highlight alleged lawlessness in the state.
UP tops the list in crime against women, he said, adding that 2,920 rape cases were reported between March, 2012 and March, 2016, besides 12,198 murders and 6,015 robberies.
What can you expect from a party whose top leaders have earlier been caught on camera defending rape as bacchon ki galti (mistakes of childhood)? This kind of approach is what has encouraged leaders like Khan to make such comments, said Congress leader Satyadeo Tripathi.
Faced with mounting political pressure, the government said chief minister Akhilesh Yadav will meet the family on August 4 in Ghaziabad.
(With agency inputs)
A 29-year-old woman from Bihar suspected to have links with the alleged recruitment of youths from Kerala to the Islamic State (IS) was questioned here by the state police after being taken into custody in New Delhi.
The woman, identified as Yasmin Ahmed, was arrested by a special team of Kerala police from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi when she was about to leave the country for Kabul on Sunday, police said.
She allegedly had close connections with Abdul Rashid, a native of Kasaragod, who is the prime suspect in the case of 21 missing youths from the state.
She was brought here on Monday evening and produced before a local court after interrogation, a senior police official said.
She was charged under various sessions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. A court here later remanded her to judicial custody, Kanhangad deputy superintendent of police Sunil Babu told PTI.
The woman is suspected to be the second wife of Rashid and believed to have played a key role in the alleged recruitment of state youths to the IS, the official added.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, referring to reports that some Keralites had joined the terrorist group, informed the assembly on July 11 that 21 people were missing from the state. Among them were 17 from Kasaragod and four from Palakkad, according to available information, he had said.
Media reports said these people had gone to Syria and Afghanistan and were in IS camps, he said.
In response to continuing violence by the Assad regime against its citizens, the U.S. Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, designated on July 21 eight individuals and seven entities for providing support or services to the Government of Syria, aiding Syrias weapons of mass destruction program, and/or supporting designated individuals and entities.
Any property or interests in property of the designated persons in the possession or control of U.S. persons or within the United States must be blocked. Additionally, transactions by U.S. persons involving the designated persons are generally prohibited.
OFAC designated Yusuf Arbash and Nabil Tizini for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material or technological support for, or goods in services in support of, and acting for or on behalf of, Hesco Engineering and Construction Ltd (Hesco), a designated Syrian engineering and construction company.
OFAC also designated Yona Star International which has long acted as a shipping agent for the Syrian Air Force, as well as other designated Government of Syria entities. Salah Habib, who was also sanctioned, manages Yona Star and serves as the companys owner and CEO, is a key figure in a network of intermediary and logistics firms based in the UAE that have shipped sensitive merchandise and war materials to Syria.
OFAC sanctioned T-Rubber, an entity which supplied aircraft tires to the Syrian Ministry of Defense and Syrian Air Force and its sales manager Jonha Lang; Atiya Khuri and Moneta Transfer & Exchange for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of the Government of Syria.
Aous Ali, a Syrian businessman who has supported the Government of Syria through his international business contacts, was also designated along with Imad Khuri; E.K.-Ultra Financial Group Limited.
The Mahrous Group, Iyad Mahrous, and Mahrous Trading FZE were designated for, among other crimes, acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of SSRC, which is the Syrian government agency responsible for developing and producing non-conventional weapons and the missiles needed to deliver them.
From expanding its weapons of mass destruction program to inflicting horrific violence upon the Syrian people, the Assad regime relentlessly engages in destabilizing behavior, said Adam J. Szubin, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Treasury will continue to act against those responsible for fueling the Assad regimes repressive actions and dangerous weapons proliferation.
The BJP parliamentary board will meet in Delhi on Wednesday to formally accept Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patels resignation and start the process of appointing her successor.
Gujarat BJP chief Vijay Rupani, 59, and health minister Nitin Patel, 60, are said to be the front-runners to succeed the states first woman chief minister. But sources did not rule out the possibility of the party leadership springing a surprise. Assembly speaker Ganpat Vasava, a tribal leader, is also said to be in the reckoning.
The BJPs state in-charge Dr Dinesh Sharma and general secretary V Satish will be in Gujarat on Wednesday to consult state leaders. BJP president Amit Shah is likely to arrive in Ahmedabad the following day to oversee the transition. The BJP legislature party may meet on August 4 or 5 to choose a new leader.
We have learnt that Shah will likely be in Gujarat for three days from August 4 and a series of meetings, including with MLAs, is being scheduled, said a party leader.
Read | The rise and fall of Anandiben Patel
Sources said the BJP chief had postponed his Kolkata visit to be in Gujarat.
They dismissed speculation of Shah returning to Gujarat, where he was a minister under former chief minister Narendra Modi.
They said he had a big task on his hands, keeping in mind assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh early next year and others before general elections in 2019.
The BJP has had several setbacks in Prime Minister Modis home state which goes to polls in December 2017 during Patels two years at the helm.
Read | Anandiben Patels exit may force other BJP chief ministers to step up
Its vote share declined sharply in civic body polls last December. The Hardik Patel-led reservation stir by the seemingly well-off Patidars who make up 14% of the states population and allegations of irregularities involving her family members put the CM on a sticky wicket.
The nationwide outrage last month over the assault on four Dalits by cow vigilantes may have been the final straw for Patel though she requested she be relieved of her post as she would be turning 75 in November.
While choosing her successor, the BJP leadership is likely to factor in the unrest among the Patidars. Nitin Patel, who served in Modis cabinet in the state, enjoys the backing of the community. Rupani, on the other hand, belongs to the Jain community, numerically insignificant in Gujarat, but is a confidante of Shah, who handed over the reins of the state BJP to him.
It is not necessary that she be replaced with a leader from her caste. We will take a call on merit, a Union minister from Gujarat said on condition of anonymity.
Her face covered with a scarf, the 16-year-old arrived at the Bulandshahr police headquarters on Tuesday, accompanied by her father. A victim of alleged rape, she had come to seek proper investigation into her complaint.
There were others, too. Women from different parts of the district, all alleged rape survivors and seeking justice.
The gang rape of a 35-year-old woman and her minor daughter near this Uttar Pradesh town has turned into a rallying point for other victims of sexual assault, all of them hoping that the spotlight on the latest incident will also help them highlight their grievance against alleged police laxity.
Bulandshahr, a district headquarter town around 70 km from Delhi, has seen a steady stream of top police officials, political leaders and media personnel since Saturday, a day after five members of a Noida-based family traveling to Shahjahanpur in a car were waylaid, their cash and other valuables looted before the two women were gang-raped.
The incident has sparked outrage across the country which introduced stringent laws to prevent sexual assault of women after the December 2012 gang rape and murder of a paramedical student in Delhi.
But for those present at the police headquarters on Tuesday, the laws mean very little without help from police.
My daughter was lured and abducted by one of our neighbours. She was taken to Himachal Pradesh where she was raped in a hotel. The police have not added sections of rape to the FIR and not even conducted her medical examination, the minors father said. The FIR was lodged at Pahasu on July 10.
He alleged that police scared his daughter by saying that medical examination entails surgery.
When other cases can be taken up on a priority and with such huge resources roped in, our case should also be taken up in a similar manner, the father said.
Another rape survivor said she had come to seek a different investigating officer in her case of abduction and rape at Khurja in January.
The accused is pressurising us to take back the case. We are getting threats from the accused persons and the police have not done anything in the case to protect us. The present IO says that my case has no weight to take action against the accused, she said.
I came here as I heard that lot of senior officials are camping in Bulandshahr after the recent gang rape incident and thought they will hear our woes.
Superintendent of police (rural) Pankaj Kumar Pandey said he has ordered changing the IO.
In case of the minor girl, the accused will be arrested today. I have directed the police station officers for immediate arrest. Sections of rape are also added to her FIR, he said.
Apart from the victims of crime against women, some victims of other cases such as murder also visited police headquarters and requested the media to highlight their cases.
I have come here in anticipation that those accused murdering my son will be arrested soon. Since media has highlighted the gang rape case, our case should also be heard at some level. However, there has been no arrest till date, the father said.
Newly-appointed senior superintendent of police, Anees Ahmad Ansari, said that there will be no laxity in dealing with cases, especially in cases of crime against women.
I have directed all officers to hear the complaints and to ensure that all victims get fair treatment and proper investigation. The FIRs must be properly registered and investigation carried out as per provisions. Other cases will also be monitored carefully, he said.
In Delhi, BJP national secretary Srikant Sharma gave out statistics to highlight alleged lawlessness in the state.
UP tops the list in crime against women, he said, adding that 2,920 rape cases were reported between March, 2012 and March, 2016, besides 12,198 murders and 6,015 robberies.
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The probe in Bulandshahr gangrape case has revealed that one of the three main accused in the horrific highway crime was a quarrelsome man who was thrown out of his home and disinherited.
Bablu, 22, who was sent to a 14-day judicial custody along with two others, hails from Aterna village in the Faridabad district of Haryana, said Bhupendra Singh, DCP, Ballabgarh.
Acknowledging his violent nature since childhood, father Roopchand said the family was shocked by the news and wanted him punished. He must be punished for this grievous crime. No one from the family or village will go to defend him, he said.
Roopchand added that Bablu was banished from the family home two years ago and since then he was working as taxi driver in Bulandshahr.
Eight years back, he was disinherited from the property after he engaged in physical violence with family members. But he didnt reform and brutally thrashed his grandfather two years back after which he was shown the door, said Bablus father.
He used to visit the village sometimes but was never allowed to enter our home, he added.
Bablu has no criminal record in Faridabad and no links with any local gang, DCP Bhupinder Singh said.
Last Friday night, alleged Bawariya gang members had brutally gangraped a woman and her 13-year-old daughter at gunpoint after dragging them out of a car in Bulandshahr on NH-91 when they were travelling with the family from Noida to Shahjahanpur.
Uttar Pradesh police had on July 31 arrested the three accused Naresh, 25, Bablu, 22, and Rais, 28 and detained a dozen others after a massive hunt for a gang of dacoits suspected to be behind the highway crime.
Facing flak from the Opposition, the state government suspended five police officers, including district SSP Vaibhav Krishna.
The matter had an echo in Lok Sabha yesterday when BJP members hit out at the UP government over the law and order situation and demanded the resignation of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.
The Supreme Court has agreed to examine if a married woman can be given a government job on compassionate grounds if her father dies before retirement.
The issue was raised by the Uttar Pradesh government, which has challenged an Allahabad high court order directing it to appoint a married daughter of a constable in the fire department after his death.
The HC had declared unconstitutional a state rule that excludes a married daughter from the definition of family. The rule provides for appointment to a government job on compassionate grounds of the only spouse, unmarried daughter and son.
It is against the principles of equality enshrined in the constitution, the HC ruled.
The UP state counsel, RP Mehrotra, assailed the verdict before a bench headed by Justice SA Bobde which stayed the implementation of the HC order. The top court has issued a notice to Neha Srivastava, who got relief from the HC in the case.
In its December 2015 order, the HC termed the rule as discriminatory, calling it regressive and an executive decision that amounted to gender injustice. The HC noted that Srivastava was the only adult amongst her five sisters, and the rest were ineligible for the post.
Mehrotra, however, said the HC had overstepped its jurisdiction as rule-making is the legislatives prerogative. Compassionate appointment is not a regular source of appointment but an exception.
The HC order enlarges the eligibility criterion for such appointments, which the SC has held cannot be made a parallel source of appointment, Mehrotra told the bench.
Compassionate appointment under service rules was started with the objective to provide immediate succour to a family in grief. But if the HC order is followed, the objective of the law will not be achieved, Mehrotra said.
He also referred to a similar verdict of the Madras high court, which took an undertaking from the married daughter and her husband that she would look after her mother with the salary she received.
Mehrotra contended that the top court should also judge the validity of this order so that there is uniformity in the rules governing compassionate appointment.
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For years, Saudi Arabia has been the dream destination for Indian migrant workers but that may be changing.
Minister of state for external affairs Gen VK Singh is headed for the Gulf country where around 10,000 Indian workers are facing a food crisis after being laid off. The minister is expected to make arrangements to bring back those who want to return.
Home to the largest migrant population in the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia hosts three million Indians, who come from all over the country Punjab in the north to Kerala in the south.
When the country launched an employment nationalisation programme in 2011, the Indian government, like other, hoped the ambitious plan that aimed to give priority to local youth wouldnt hit migrant workers.
Read| How oil crash, failing job market are ruining Indias Gulf stream of cash
The reason: The local population would not take up jobs favoured by a large section of Indians, employed as construction workers, taxi drivers and even vegetable vendors. And, construction workers accounted for almost 45% of Indian blue-collar migrants.
There were other arguments as well.
The Saudisation, as the plan has come to be known, wouldnt hit small enterprises that employed 25% of the foreign workers. Around 55% of the migrants worked in the industries that complied with the employment quota prescribed in the job plan.
But, that is not how it played out.
The slide in crude prices and Saudi Arabias attempt to expand the economy beyond the oil sector didnt work and failed to create the much needed jobs.
Construction projects, mostly funded by the government, are worst hit as the government battles fund crunch brought in by low oil prices. A number of firms have shut down, leaving thousands of workers jobless who dont have the money to buy food or a ticket home.
Cheap oil combined with nationalisation programme have dealt a blow to the country, where 70% of the population is under 30 and unemployment rate in the 16-25 age group is 29%.
These realities have created a situation that policy-makers didnt anticipate: Saudis working as salesmen and women for mobile firms, serving Starbucks outlets and driving taxis. Saudis are taking up these menial jobs as the government freezes hiring, leaving fewer jobs for migrants including thousands of Indians.
Read| Is India prepared for the returning NRIs?
Read| Money or dignity: The dilemma of Indians in the Gulf
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Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is on a 10-day break from work and will spend the time meditating in a village near Dharamsala.
The Aam Aadmi Party leader started an introductory course in Vipassana an ancient Indian form of meditation at the Himachal Vipassana Centre in Dharamkot on Tuesday.
He will not take up any official work during his time there and will not have access to mobile phones, pagers, television or newspapers, according to the rules of the centre.
Kejriwal will follow a strict regime. His day will begin at 4am and end at 9.30pm, said the centres in-charge Pawan Sharma.
He will eat simple meals and will not be allowed any food after mid-day. He will sleep on a concrete bed and will be given a blanket, bedsheet and a pillow.
He may have to wash his clothes if the need arises, Sharma said.
Participants arent allowed to interact with each other. They can only speak with their trainers at specific intervals.
The 47-year-old CM who has been busy with AAPs campaign in Punjab for next years assembly elections had taken 10 days off in January, too, to treat his chronic cough and diabetes at a naturopathy clinic in Bengaluru. This was his second stint at the clinic where he had spent 12 days in March 2015.
Located at an altitude of 2,000 metres amid deodar (cedar) forests with the Dhauladhar range in the backdrop, Dharamkot is called the Tel Aviv of the hills for being a favourite destination among Israeli tourists.
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The governments plan to invest in the stock market 15% of the EPF corpus instead of the earlier 5% ran into rough weather in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday with lawmakers cutting across party lines to oppose the proposed move.
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said the government was playing with the hard-earned money of employees and labourers. Is the government willing to give a guarantee on the returns to be earned from the stock market? Patel asked, adding that investing in the stock market has proved to be a loss-making exercise as the return was 7.45% compared to 8.8% offered under the EPF scheme.
At present, the government invests 5% from the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), the retirement fund body, in the Exchange Trade Funds (ETF), which holds several assets such as stocks, commodities and bonds.
Terming the criticism totally incorrect, labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya said: These (EPF) are social security amounts. That too workers amount. As head of the Central Board of Trustees, the apex decision making body of the EPFO, my paramount interest will be to safeguard the workers interest.
Patel, however, was not satisfied with the ministers response and said he will move a resolution to disapprove the government policy to invest up to 15% EPFO money in stock market.
Earlier in the day, MPs from CPI(M), BJD, Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party argued strongly against the move. The government is interested in doing this to favour the speculator to speculate further and keep the stock market hot, said CPI(M) leader Tapan Sen. He said trade unions, including RSS-affiliated Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh, had opposed the move when it was discussed at a meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) on July 21. CBT has said they do not want any extra returns. The move to invest 5% in ETF has resulted in a loss of `400 crore in the first ten months.
Trinamool Congress Derek OBrien said the government was aping the American model. The root of the problem is that I suspect that you are trying to use the American model. The American model has an independent retirement fund and social security account which we dont have.
In his reply, Dattatreya said the workers money in EPFO had not been diverted to stock markets but was invested in funds which are safe and profitable. Of the total amount, 75% is being invested in Nifty and the remaining 25% in BSE. The funds are not invested in individual shares, he said.
The minister said the total EPF amount invested so far in ETF is `7,468 crore and its current market value is `8,024 crore, which is an interest of 7.45%. He assured the House that the government was maintaining a cautious approach.
A day ahead of the discussion on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill in the Rajya Sabha, the Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi said on Tuesday the long-pending legislation will be passed if there is no obstacle.
The government on Tuesday circulated among the members of the house amendments to the draft legislation.
The amendments proposed in the bill -- scheduled to be moved by finance minister Arun Jaitley -- are expected to sail through as the government has scrapped the levy of additional 1% tax proposed earlier.
Jaitley briefed the Bharatiya Janata Party members on the bill at a BJP parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday morning.
Sources said Jaitley asked the members to read and understand the bill before it is taken up.
Both the BJP and the Congress have already issued whips to their members, making it compulsory for them to be present in the Upper House on Wednesday when the debate and vote on the GST Bill are expected.
Read | Rahul Gandhi meets Congress leaders to discuss party strategy on GST
The government wants the Supreme Court to reconsider a verdict that says being a member of a banned organisation doesnt make a person criminal, saying the order poses a risk as the country faces growing threat from ISIS and Pakistan-based terror outfits.
Following the judgment -- issued five year ago -- high courts were releasing members of banned outfits, making it tough for security agencies to deal with emerging challenges, the countrys second-highest law officer solicitor general Ranjit Kumar told the court on Monday.
The plea comes at a time when reports have come of youngsters heading to Syria and Afghanistan to join the so-called Islamic State or the al Qaeda. The government is also concerned about overt support enjoyed by the Maoists rebels, who often target security forces.
A three-judge bench headed by justice JS Khehar agreed to hear the Centres plea in the open court, which is rare for a review petition that is decided through a procedure called hearing by circulation in which arguments are not allowed.
The outcome of the case will have a bearing on free speech as statements or processions in favour of members of banned outfits may become a crime if the court accepts the governments view.
A refusal will make security agencies job difficult as they will not be able to act against potential terrorists and their supporters. This can prove tricky as the agencies are trying to prevent youngsters from leaving the country to join terror outfits or stop their radicalisation, especially through the internet.
The court is expected to strike a balance between the conflicting claims -- of security needs and civil liberties -- within the Constitution that offers ample scope for imaginative interpretation of legal provisions.
A bench headed by justice Markandey Katju had on February 2, 2011 held: Mere membership of a banned organisation cannot incriminate a person unless he is proved to have resorted to acts of violence of incited people to imminent violence, or does an act intended to create disorder or disturbance... The verdict came in the case of Arup Bhuyan versus State of Assam.
The terrorist and disruptive activities act, or TADA, declared membership of a banned organisation a crime. But on February 10, 2011, the SC read down TADA provisions to acquit Sri Indra Das, an alleged member of banned Ulfa.
In another case, the court upheld the bail granted to a doctor who treated one of the men accused of chopping off the hand of a Kerala teacher for alleged blasphemy against Islam. The doctor was arrested for his association with the accused, members of the Popular Front of India.
Earlier this year, a Delhi court acquitted Maoist ideologue Kobad Ghandy of terror charges.
Quoting a 1966 US supreme court decision, the Indian top court had said: A law that applies to membership without the specific intent to further the illegal aims of the organisation infringes unnecessarily on protected freedoms. It rests on the doctrine of guilt by association, which has no place here.
A study by Delhi-based Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association had in 2013 said 200 Muslim youth in Madhya Pradesh were arrested or prosecuted in 12 years for their alleged association with terrorist organisations.
Many were thrown into jail for either possessing incriminating literature or shouting slogans and pasting posters in favour of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India.
The Gujarat high court directed the medical officer of the civil hospital in Ahmedabad on Tuesday to examine a rape survivor, who has sought its permission for termination of her 22-week pregnancy.
Under the law, pregnancy cannot be terminated after 20 weeks.
The 32-year-old victim, who is speech and hearing impaired, was allegedly raped by a clerk at the shelter home in the city where she lives. The crime came to light when she became pregnant.
The accused, Amrut Patel, was subsequently arrested.
Justice Sonia Gokani ordered the medical officer of the VS Hospital to examine the woman and submit a report by Wednesday or the day after. The court will pass an order based on the medical report on Thursday, the judge said.
The victims lawyer argued that as she is disabled, she will find it difficult to take care of the baby.
On July 25, the Supreme Court allowed a rape survivor to abort her 24-week-old abnormal foetus, on the ground that continuance of pregnancy would gravely endanger her physical and mental health.
The apex court gave her benefit of the exception under section 5 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, which allows abortion after 20 weeks only if there is a grave danger to the life of the mother.
Since the Counter ISIL coalition came together less than two years ago, the terror groups fortunes have taken turn for the worse. At the time, the terrorists were rampaging through broad parts of both Syria and Iraq, said Secretary of State John Kerry at the recently-held Counter-ISIL Ministerial Meeting. They were overrunning and plundering key cities, murdering or enslaving thousands of people, and they were destroying ancient cultural sites and declaring themselves the leaders of all of Islam.
That tide has turned. Since then, ISIL, also known as Daesh, has been driven out of nearly 50 percent of the territory that it once controlled in Iraq and 20 percent of the territory in Syria. Its leadership has been degraded, its ability to attack militarily disrupted. Over the past year, they have recruited fewer foreign fighters, defections have increased, and the number of their fighters has diminished by at least one third.
The coalition is now firmly committed to helping the government and the people of Iraq as they prepare to finish the hard job of driving Daesh completely out of their territory so that they can go then forward and rebuild their cities and rebuild their lives and build Iraq into the inclusive and cohesive society that the people of Iraq want to see, said Secretary of State Kerry.
Daesh remains dangerous and they continue to inspire followers to perpetrate horrific violence and fan terror against innocent civilians in various places across the world.
Nothing that they do is going to lead us to abandon our principles, our beliefs, because they dont offer any alternative, said Secretary of State Kerry.
When the story of our era is written, the world is going to look back and say that Daesh made zero difference beyond the cruel suffering that it caused and that every single person who committed murder or suicide at its direction did so shamefully and in vain.
Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed has warned of protests across Pakistan if Indias home minister Rajnath Singh goes ahead with his visit to Islamabad on Wednesday to attend a SAARC meeting. Other religious parties and terror groups too have threatened to organise demonstrations and rallies.
What does this mean for India-Pakistan relations?
1. If ever proof was needed that Pakistans military establishment is in the driving seat as far as foreign policy is concerned, this is it. It is widely believed that Hafiz Saeeds Jamaat-ud-Dawah, declared a front for the LeT by the US and UN, has deep ties with the military and intelligence agencies. It is highly unlikely that a groups such as the JuD and Hizbul Mujahideen can threaten to hold protests during an Indian ministers visit unless they have the go-ahead from the powerful military establishment. Extremist leaders have said the protests will be held under the umbrella of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council, a grouping of nearly 40 radical and terror groups that has close links with the military and was last trotted for anti-US protests in 2012 following the death of 24 Pakistani soldiers in US air strikes along the Afghan border.
2. The JuD/LeTs capability to recruit and train terrorists and raise funds remain largely intact despite a symbolic crackdown on the organisation following the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Pakistan has never banned the JuD and it was only placed on a watch list by the interior ministry. It has also been raising funds through another front organisation, the Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation and making inroads in southern Sindh province, where it did not have a very large presence earlier.
3. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs much touted efforts to improve relations with India are unlikely to be priority as he enters the final two years of his term. The efforts never really took off as Sharif was stymied time and again by the army. With the next elections in mind, Sharif might no longer look at better diplomatic and trade ties as an area of focus and he might even be content to simply complete his term and key an eye on winning the next polls.
4. The stand taken by Sharifs government on the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani has garnered considerable support from the people in Punjab, Pakistans most populous and politically crucial province. It is also unlikely that groups such as the JuD and Hizbul Mujahideen could have gone ahead with large demonstrations and rallies in Punjab in recent weeks without the provincial administration headed by chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, the premiers younger brother, turning a blind eye to such protests. The most powerful anti-India terror groups LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed are based in Punjab.
5. India-Pakistan ties, which received a fillip when Sharif attended Prime Minister Narendra Modis swearing-in ceremony two years ago, are likely to remain in a deep freeze for the foreseeable future. As it is, there has been no substantial dialogue or contacts since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which were carried out by the LeT with the backing of elements in the Inter-Services Intelligence agency. The comprehensive dialogue that was announced after foreign minister Sushma Swarajs visit to Islamabad last December never got off the ground and contacts between the National Security Advisers too have been snapped.
Read: Rajnath visiting Pakistan strictly for SAARC, no bilateral talks: MEA
The recent suicide attacks on Shia mosques in Dhaka and Saudi Arabia have forced law-enforcers across the country to tighten security at installations significant to the sect, but the supposedly pro-Muslim Uttar Pradesh government seems to have done the least in this regard.
In a short but gruelling drill conducted on July 10, an HT team accompanied by a security expert visited Lucknows Bara Imambara to assess the security arrangements at the Asafi Masjid one of Indias most popular Shia mosques as well as its adjoining structures. The findings were disturbing, to say the least.
Built by Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula in 1784, Bara Imambara is the grandest monument of the nawabi era in the state capital. As many as 10,000 people gather at the site on Fridays, and the number grows to 50,000 on special occasions like Alvida, Muharram and Eid.
The expert, former director general of police Sri Ram Arun, found that nobody was being frisked at the main entry point. Its surprising. Instead of frisking people, the guards are busy chatting with each other, he said, stepping into the Bara Imambara premises.
Venturing further into the historic site, Arun came across another grave flaw. It was a small 2x2 cloak room that was being stuffed with bags by an official in-charge who scarcely seemed to care that any of them could be stuffed with explosives.
Whats more, many of the visitors could be seen moving around the complex with backpacks. A guard should be deployed to ensure that all visitors deposit their luggage at the cloak room. This is another security misstep that could lead to grave consequences, Arun said.
During the course of the 55-minute security drill, the expert cited the main entry point as the most vulnerable area of the Bara Imambara. Besides ensuring compulsory frisking of visitors and the construction of a bigger cloak room, he suggested that a private agency be roped in to enhance security at the monument.
The Hussainabad and Allied Trust (HAT) custodian of the Bara Imambara had sought door frame metal detectors and more security personnel from the state government in 2005. While they received two such metal detectors, the equipment couldnt be put to use for want of qualified operators. We did not get the security personnel we sought either, said Nasir Naqvi, officer on special duty with HAT.
District magistrate Raj Shekhar a member of HAT said frisking wouldnt be possible because the Bara Imambara was a religious monument. But we have deployed security guards and trust staffers to assist visitors, he said.
NK Pathak, superintending archaeologist, Lucknow circle, Archaeological Survey of India, said ensuring the security of the monument was the responsibility of the trust. We only take care of its maintenance and repair, he said.
Read | Red alert: Why alarm bells should be ringing at Mumbai airport
Lucknow has around 1,200 Shia mosques, most of which avail of security only on important occasions. However, senior superintendent of police Manzil Saini said they are well-prepared for the eventuality of an attack. The city has quick reaction teams deployed at strategic points. They comprise trained commandos, she added.
Saini said the response time of these personnel are reviewed repeatedly through mock drills. We ensure that the reaction time is less than 10 minutes.
Besides this, Uttar Pradesh also has a crisis management committee to handle emergencies. The chairperson of the committee is the states chief secretary. It covers all the negotiations and other strategic decisions to be taken at a time of crisis, said Asim Arun, inspector general of the Anti-Terror Squad.
Read | Sunni radicals blow up 16th century Sufi mosque in Yemen
A glorious chapter in the Indian Navys history will come to an end later this year when the worlds oldest operational aircraft carrier, INS Viraat, retires after serving the country for nearly three decades.
The UKs Royal Navy operated the carrier for 27 years - it was then known as HMS Hermes. International navies marvel at how India was able to keep the 57-year-old warship seaworthy for such a long period of time.
Completed and commissioned in 1959, it served as the flagship of the Royal Navy during the Falklands war in 1982 and was decommissioned three years later.
Read | Hotel, museum or just scrap: What will happen to INS Viraat?
It is currently docked at the state-owned Cochin Shipyard where final repairs will be carried out over the next three months and the warship will be stripped of its weapons, radars, propulsion systems, auxiliary machinery and communication equipment.
Heres all you need to need to know about the navys Grand Old Lady, inducted into service in May 1987:
Final voyage
Viraat set sail for Kochi from Mumbai on July 23, the last journey on its own propulsion before the warship is decommissioned by the year-end. It will be towed back to Mumbai in October for the retirement ceremony.
Future of crew
The navy requires trained crews to man the under-construction indigenous aircraft carrier-1 (IAC-1). The new carrier, Vikrant, is expected to be ready for sea trials by 2018. Viraat carried a crew of 1,500 men when it was fully operational. It will now have a skeletal crew of less than 300 till it is finally retired.
Final repairs
The navy wants to ensure that the warship is habitable for possible conversion into a museum, hotel or preserving it as a relic of maritime history. The repairs will involve strengthening of the war shipss hull and refurbishing underwater compartments. It will retain air-conditioning units and some generators on board.
Main air element
Viraats embarked air units operated Sea Harrier fighters, Seaking 42B anti-submarine helicopters, Seaking 42C commando carrier choppers and Chetaks for search and rescue. Viraats retirement marks the end of Sea Harriers, capable of vertical take off and landing. The fleet had become increasingly unserviceable and was decommissioned in May 2016 in Goa.
Retirement delayed
A string of refits and upgrades were carried out to keep Viraat seaworthy for so long. There were plans to retire the 28,000-tonne warship by 2010 but the delay in induction of INS Vikramaditya forced the navy to keep the carrier going for a few more years.
Incredible numbers
Viraat has spent more than 2,250 days at sea, clocking 10.94 lakh km (or covered the globe 27 times, as a navy spokesperson pointed out). Embarked planes have flown more than 22,034 hours.
Battle-ready platform
The carrier was mobilised during Operation Parakram when hostilities between India and Pakistan peaked following the attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001. It also played a crucial role when Indian peacekeepers were deployed in Sri Lanka in 1989. It was on stand-by when the Kargil war was fought in 1999.
Swan song
The International Fleet Review staged by the navy off the Vizag coast in February 2016 marked the final operational deployment of the warship. It holds the Guinness Record for being the oldest serving warship.
What next
The navy plans to deploy two carrier strike groups over the next four to five years. When complete and ready for sea trials in 2018, the Vikrant will weigh 37,500 tonnes. It will guarantee India a slot in history as the fifth country to have designed and built a carrier of this size - others being the US, the UK, Russia and France. Indias existing carrier INS Vikramaditya, bought from Russia and inducted in 2013, is currently undergoing a maintenance refit.
The future of INS Viraat appears to be uncertain after its decommissioning by year-end. It is still not clear if the 57-year-old warship will be reborn as a museum, turned into a tourist attraction or preserved as a war memorial.
The possibility of its ending up at a ship-breaking yard and later being sold as scrap cannot be ruled out, too. We are keeping our fingers crossed that it doesnt meet the fate of INS Vikrant. Viraat needs to be preserved as a relic of naval history, said a senior navy officer.
In 2014, Vikrant, Indias first aircraft carrier, was auctioned and sold to a ship-breaker for Rs 60 crore. It moved many navy veterans to tears. The navy operated the carrier from 1961 to 1997, and the countrys first home-grown carrier is named after it.
After being dismantled, some of Vikrants scrap found its way into a motorcycle manufacturing facility. Bajaj Autos new motorcycle range V uses metal from the carrier, which took part in the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
The Pune-based auto maker proudly claims that its latest offering is made with the invincible metal of INS Vikrant. Part motorbike. Part war hero, is how Bajaj describes its product.
Some may argue the government could have done more to preserve the legacy of that war hero. With Viraats decommissioning round the corner, many in the navy are asking if the country will squander another chance to preserve naval history.
The Andhra Pradesh government talked about converting Viraat into a tourist draw but it has not backed its proposal with action. The Centre has written letters to nine coastal state governments to find out if they are interested in associating themselves with Viraat. So far, none have responded.
Maintaining Viraat in its new avatar - whatever it may be - will be a costly affair. Some estimates suggest the initial cost of refurbishing the warship could be around Rs 300 crore if it were to be turned into a hotel or a tourist attraction. The recurring costs will be steep, too.
The Centre is willing to transfer the decommissioned ships ownership to any coastal state that shows interest for a token amount of Re 1.
However, it remains to be seen if any of the maritime states will step forward to be a part of a rich national legacy. And if not, does the defence ministry have a back-up plan to prevent Viraat from being sold to be scrapped.
Amid raging unrest among Dalits over atrocities in parts of the country, Union minister Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said it was wrong to kill a human being in the pretext of protecting the cow.
If you respect cows it is great, but other human beings also have the right to live, right to do their work. If you want to respect a cow, respect it. Nothing wrong in this, but that doesnt mean that you can kill anybody on that pretext. That is totally wrong, information and broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on the sidelines of an event to felicitate IAS topper Tina Dabi, a Dalit.
He asserted that Hinduism does not sanction discrimination and said, No person who discriminates against another human being could ever be called a Hindu.
He said some people have suggested that conversion can end this problem, but that has not happened. There have been cases where people came back saying they witnessed the same situation in other religions also, he said.
Naidus comments came days after the statement by Athawale, a Dalit leader from Maharashtra, that people from the community should embrace Buddhism to avoid pressure or violence against them.
There have also been reports of some Dalit families who have been protesting after being denied permission to attend a temple festival in Tamil Nadus Karur region last week, threatening to convert to Islam.
Emphasising on equality, Naidu said, Bharat Mata ki jai means glory of all those who live in this country, adding that those who live in this country are Indians and they are equal in all aspects.
Authorities continued curfew and restrictions on Tuesday as Kashmir remained shut for the 25th consecutive day.
Police said the curfew would continue in some areas of south Kashmir while restrictions under section 144 of the CrPc (Criminal Procedure Code) will remain in force in Srinagar city and other districts.
Overnight protests occurred in Shopian district.
Despite clashes at some places on Monday, some semblance of normal activities of life was noticed in parts of Srinagar city as private vehicles and pedestrian movement was seen almost after three weeks.
Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, who interacted with members of the civil society in north Kashmirs Baramulla district on Monday, appealed for a collective effort to reach out to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Traffic on both the Jammu-Srinagar and Srinagar Jammu national highways resumed during the night.
Train services, educational institutions, banks, post offices and government offices except essential services like health, water supply, electricity, food supplies, police and fire services are shut here for the last 24 days.
Officially imposed curfew and protest shutdown called by the separatists through weekly protest calendars have crippled life in Kashmir since July 9, a day after Hizbul commander, Burhan Wanis death in a gunfight.
Indias biggest tax reform, the Goods and Services Tax bill, is set to cross the Rajya Sabha hurdle to become a reality nine years after it was mooted in Parliament.
The NDA government has secured all-round support for the constitution amendment bill that will be taken up by the Upper House for passage on Wednesday and potentially pave the way for rolling out a single tax to replace a string of local levies.
The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha last year but remained stuck in the Upper House where the ruling NDA does not have the numbers.
The government circulated nine amendments on Tuesday that aimed to address concerns of the Congress and other opposition parties: more teeth to the grievance redressal mechanism, scrapping a proposed 1% additional tax, and mandatory compensation for revenue loss of states under the new tax regime.
The government said that the GST council will establish a mechanism to adjudicate disputes involving the Centre and the states in three possible scenarios: Centre versus one or more states, the Centre and states versus one or more states and state versus state. A standing mechanism to resolve disputes was a key demand of the Congress.
Although the Centre rejected the Congress demand to cap the GST rate at 18% in the amendment bill, it has verbally assured the party to ring-fence the tax rate in the GST bill that will come up after the constitution amendment is passed in Parliament and approved by majority of the states.
It also accepted a demand of regional parties that tax collected by state governments will not be parked in the consolidated fund of India, to allow quick disbursements.
Read | Can govt pass GST in Parliament? Five things you need to know
The concept for a nationwide uniform tax was first announced by then finance minister P Chidambaram in his 2007 budget speech.
The UPA government introduced the constitution amendment bill on GST in the 2011 budget session but failed to build a consensus. The bill lapsed at the end of the last Lok Sabha. The NDA government worked for the past two years to reach out to the Opposition parties, especially the Congress, for the GST which will dramatically change the countrys indirect tax regime.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa to secure support.
Everyone has the feeling it will be a win-win situation for all. The bill is coming after much deliberation and we are positive about the outcome. We are confident all parties will come together to pass the bill, said parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi discussed the GST issue with senior leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Chidambaram and Anand Sharma.
Read | To ensure GST passage, BJP asks members to be present in Rajya Sabha
In the original bill, the compensation for losses was kept as an option. In the amendment, the Centre has stated that Parliament shall provide for compensation to states for any loss of revenues, for a period which may extend to five years.
Trinamool Congress questioned why the government is keeping the option open for giving compensation for a lesser period. The government may bring a fresh amendment on Wednesday to make the compensation mandatory for five years.
Read |After big breakthrough, GST nitty-gritties might take time
Kolkata
West Bengal may soon become Bengal in English and Bangla or Banga in Bengali. After decades of deliberation, the first concrete step of renaming the eastern state was taken on Tuesday, with the cabinet adopting a resolution.
It has to be ratified in a special meeting of the assembly, which may take place on August 29-30. The resolution will then be sent to the Centre for approval of Parliament.
But before that, the proposal will be discussed at an all-party meeting where the assembly speaker will be present.
The assembly will meet for a special session ...to discuss the matter and adopt a resolution, said education minister Partha Chatterjee after the cabinet meeting.
The name of the state capital --- and the national capital till 1911 -- was changed to Kolkata in January 2001 by the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led Left Front government. It was previously known as Calcutta.
Senior bureaucrats and politicians from West Bengal often complained that they were attended to at the end of high-level meetings in Delhi where representatives were called in accordance with the alphabetical order of their states. If the eastern state gets the new name, it will leapfrog from bottom of the list to the top of the pecking order.
The change in name will be to protect the interests of the state, minister Chatterjee said.
Union minister Babul Supriyo, an MP from the state, posted on Twitter: Bengal in English is fantastic & makes a great pair with Bangla the State & its language Bangla Bhasha - but not BONGO.
Bangla is Good, but definitely not BONGOBongo is an instrument that is played (Bajano hoe)!Do not want people 2 crack dirty pun about it Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) August 2, 2016
Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay, a renowned Bengali author, said: This is actually no change in name. We are merely going back to the old name.
He was referring to the pre-Independence era when a united West Bengal, Bangladesh and some parts of Indias northeast were together known as Bengal.
Lyricist and film director Anindya Chatterjee suggested that there should be a referendum to consider the change of name.
After ending the Left rule in 2011, chief minister Mamata Banerjee changed the names of a number of roads and metro stations (Tollygunge station became Mahanayak Uttam Kuma etc.).
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has indicted the Odisha police for firing without provocation that killed six tribals in Kandhamal district when they returning home after collecting their rural employment scheme wages last month.
The commissions finding casts a doubt on the police version that the six were caught in a gunfight between the Special Operations Group (SOG) the anti-Maoist state police force and Naxals on July 8.
In its report to the state government, the commission stated that the victims and their family members were returning in an autorickshaw which got bogged down at a culvert near Gumudumaha forest area and they had to stop to extricate the vehicle.
Read | Odisha police under fire over killing of tribals in encounter
Survivors denied there was any gunfight at the spot before the police opened fire at them, the report said, which negates claims of the police that the civilians were caught in a crossfire.
Citing its interaction with the injured persons and family members of the deceased, the report said, The commission specifically asked them about the movement of Maoists in their village but they denied having seen them ever.
They also denied that there was any sound like that of bullet firing at the place of incident before the police started firing at them. In view of the inputs received from family members of the victims and witnesses, it prima facie appears that firing by the police was resorted to without sufficient cause/provocation though exact sequence and cause of event would be known only after SIT investigation and judicial inquiry have been completed.
The NCST report also stressed on the need to sensitize police forces involved in such operations to ensure such incidents do not recur.
It said the victims were poor MNREGA workers who had to travel for about 35 kilometres to collect their wages from a SBI branch at Balliguda. The commission has recommended that adequate banking facilities be made available in every panchayat or that the banks make arrangements for payment of wages in the villages concerned.
The commission also suggested appointing business correspondents as it is being done in states like Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. It also highlighted inadequacy of infrastructure including road connectivity and electricity and said that the compensation declared was inadequate.
The commission has also sought an action taken report from the Odisha government over its findings.
Andhra Pradesh shut down on Tuesday in response to a day-long bandh called by opposition parties to protest the denial of special category status to the state by the central government.
According to reports from various districts of AP, the bandh has evoked a huge response. All private educational institutions voluntarily declared a holiday while there was nearly no attendance in government schools and colleges due to lack of public transport.
The state-run road transport corporation buses remained confined to the depots as activists of various opposition parties locked up the gates and staged dharnas in front of the depots.
Commercial and business establishments in major cities like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Guntur, Nellore and Tirupati, also downed their shutters in support of the bandh.
Police arrested hundreds of activists of YSR Congress party, Congress and the Left parties early in the morning as they were taking out rallies and staging protests in front of bus stations in different parts of the state.
In Guntur, YSR Congress MLA from Mangalagiri Alla Ramakrishna Reddy was arrested as he and his party activists obstructed the movement of buses operating from Guntur to new secretariat complex at Velagapudi in Amaravati.
Traffic on the Chennai-Kolkata national highway came to a standstill for over two hours with the YSRC and Congress workers blocking the road.
In the temple town of Tirupati, former MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy was arrested for blocking the roads leading to famed Tirumala temple. The bus services to the hills were restored later. Police also arrested YSR Congress MLA from Chandragiri, Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy when he was taking out a rally in Tirupati.
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U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration, Anne Richard, recently announced nearly $27 million in new humanitarian assistance to support those affected by Boko Haram violence across the Lake Chad Basin region.
Assistant Secretary Richard travelled in Cameroon and Chad recently, to highlight the devastating impact of Boko Haram and strengthen international cooperation to ease the desperate plight of refugees and internally displaced persons in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad.
Approximately 9.2 million people are suffering forced displacement, deprivation, and disease across the Lake Chad Basin region, including 155,000 refugees and 2.6 million internally displaced persons.Nearly five million are classified as food insecure. According to the UN, the number of displaced people has tripled over the last two years. Recent humanitarian assessments have found possible famine conditions in parts of Nigeria, requiring immediate aid to prevent further deterioration and death.
The additional funding announced on July 13 by Assistant Secretary Richard bolsters efforts by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees or UNHCR, to provide Nigerian refugees with essential assistance, such as access to clean water and sanitation facilities, health care, essential household items, and shelter.It also supports UNHCRs protection efforts for internally displaced persons and refugees in the region, maintaining access to asylum and preventing forced returns, addressing issues of gender-based violence and sexual exploitation and abuse, and providing programs that protect children.
U.S. funding also backs the expansion of urgently needed food assistance to reach hundreds of thousands more in northeastern Nigeria and in Niger. Contributions to the UN Humanitarian Air Service in Chad and Cameroon ensure the safe and reliable transport of aid workers and humanitarian cargo.
This new funding brings the total U.S. government humanitarian assistance for the Lake Chad Basin humanitarian response in Fiscal Year 2015 and Fiscal Year 2016 to nearly $281 million.
Recently coined the most under reported, the most underfunded and the least addressed of the big crises we face by UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen OBrien, the Lake Chad Basin crisis urgently needs a more robust response.
The United States urges all nations to join in doing more to address the extraordinary level of need and to contribute generously to UN and other Lake Chad Basin humanitarian appeals.
Jammu and Kashmir education minister Naeem Akhtar said on Tuesday petrol bombs were hurled at his house in the Parray Pora area of Srinagar
The house is unguarded and no one was present there when the attack took place, Akhtar told HT.
The minister lives in his official bungalow at Gupkar Road. The attack reportedly took place late on Monday night.
Kashmir has been on the boil since the killing of Hizbul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter in southern Kashmir on July 8. His death sparked violent protests in the Valley that killed close to 50 people and wounded thousands.
Kashmiris have alleged atrocities by Indian armed forces during street protests, and the use of pellet guns has been under the scanner. Separatist have asked for a social boycott of ruling Peoples Democratic Party leaders.
Read| If forces knew it was Burhan, they would have given him a chance: Mehbooba
Akhtar said two petrol bombs were thrown at the house. No one was injured in the incident, but minor damages were reported.
One bomb fell inside the compound...The fire was doused by neighbours, Akhtar said.
Last month, protesters burnt a PDP leaders house in southern Kashmir. Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti too faced protests last week. She was surrounded by girl students at Srinagars oldest womens college on Sunday, and the protesters shouted slogans demanding azadi (freedom).
Read| Kashmir crisis: Mehboobas bid to strike a chord may be too little, too late
As the government circulated copies of the draft Constitution Amendment Bill to bring Goods and Services Tax (GST) among MPs, top Congress leaders got into a huddle to chalk out the partys strategy on Tuesday, ahead of its consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi met leader of the party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, former finance minister P Chidambaram and deputy leader of the party in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma, among others, in Parliament House and discussed various points regarding the key tax reform legislation.
Congress sources said Gandhi will hold another round of discussion on the issue after which Sharma will meet finance minister Arun Jaitley to put across the partys point of view.
Rahul ji held discussions with top party leaders on the GST Bill and discussed the partys strategy, Kharge told PTI after the meeting.
Another top Congress leader said the draft bill has just been circulated and party leaders will react only after studying it in detail. The draft of the bill has just come and let us study it first, the Congress leader said.
There were strong indications that the most far-reaching taxation reform in independent India would be supported by Congress and all other major political parties.
The government has said talks are on with major political parties to build a consensus on the measure before it is taken up for consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
We would list the bill for consideration tomorrow in Rajya Sabha. We have talked to all parties and the Prime Minister had said at the beginning of this session that GST is in the interest of all. We hope the GST Bill will be passed with consensus, parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar told reporters after BJP Parliamentary Party meeting.
At the BJP meet, Jaitley also briefed the MPs about the bill.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, which has been in the making for over a decade, entails introduction of a single indirect tax regime across the country.
According to top government sources, a fresh round of talks will be held on Tuesday with the main opposition Congress.
Jaitley had on Monday held consultations with leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma.
He had also met CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, besides some other leaders. Later, along with Anant Kumar, he met Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
The government, the sources say, is keen to bring about four key amendments in the Constitution Amendment Bill which will include the scrapping of 1% additional tax provision and grant of more powers to states for providing them full compensation for a period of five years.
The key Congress demand for rephrasing of the language for setting up of dispute resolution mechanism in the GST Council has also been agreed to by the government.
In view of a severe fuel crisis in Tripura due to disruption of vehicular movement on the damaged NH-8, the state government demanded fuel by rail after being was brought on the broad gauge map.
A broad gauge train was flagged off between Agartala and Delhi on Sunday.
We have submitted a memorandum to the railway minister on Sunday, charting out eight demands including dispatch of fuel, transport minister Manik Dey said on Tuesday. It seems he is taking a very proactive role to meet our demands. He immediately directed the rail officers to discuss the matter with IOC (Indian Oil Corporation Ltd). Later the officials of the rail and IOC met in the state guest house.
Vehicular movement on the National Highway 8 has been seriously affected for the last three months due to damage at Karimganj in Assam following incessant rain and waterlogging.
Dey said the other demands include introduction of four trains within Tripura to connect Agartala with Dharmanagar, the northernmost town in the state, and direct trains from here to Chennai and other big cities of the country.
The rail minister on Sunday announced that a direct train between Agartala and Kolkata would be introduced this month.
Dey also demanded inclusion of Tripura in the Trans-Asian rail network.
After the Trans-Asian railway network is established, Tripura could be included in the network if a 257-km rail track is laid from Tripuras Jawharnagar in Dhalai district with Kalay of Myanmar through neighbouring Mizorams Darlon, Dey said.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed a nine-year-old attempt to suicide case filed against a Punjabbased woman who slashed her wrist to express infinite love for her female partner to protect her from agony and harassment.
A bench found merit in the submissions made on behalf of Ms X who said she has now undergone a sex change surgery and is keen to live a normal life. Ms X, now 28, claimed the case was filed at the behest of her partners family to torture her because the couple had run away and got married.
Keeping the facts and circumstances in mind we quash the case, the bench ordered, giving a quite burial to the FIR registered against Ms X on July 5, 2007 in Gurdaspurs Batala police station. Punjab governments plea to let the petitioner face the trial was rejected. The offence leveled against Ms X is punishable with two years of rigorous imprisonment or fine or both.
If the criminal trial starts in Batala, it would cause extreme prejudice and stigma to the petitioner, who would have to attend the trial in his male identity and would face immense scrutiny of his gender identity. This would cause great stress and anxiety to the petitioner, which would interfere with his medical treatments, the petition stated seeking quashing of the FIR.
Ms X had moved SC after the Punjab and Haryana refused to quash the case in August 2012. Presently living in an undisclosed location under an NGOs care, the petitioner submitted she was in a close relationship with Ms Y and despite being adults their parents opposed it. The two got married in Vaishno Devi.
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Congress president Sonia Gandhi called off her much-publicised road show in Varanasi after she developed high fever, six hours into the campaign in Prime Minister Narendra Modis constituency on Tuesday.
Gandhi reportedly felt uneasy at Lahurabir and stopped there to rest. Later, she abandoned the campaign and was advised to return to Delhi.
But her flight to Delhi was delayed as she was treated at the Varanasi airport and officials were waiting for an air ambulance or a chartered plane, airport director D S Gariya said.
Gandhis health has been fragile for some time and the 69-year-old leader has made multiple trips to the United States for treatment.
Read | As it happened: Sonia Gandhi visits Varanasi, returns to Delhi after falling ill
Earlier in the day, Gandhi travelled an open sports vehicle amid cheering crowds to launch the Congress campaign for next years elections in Uttar Pradesh. Her 50-car cavalcade snaked through an 8-km stretch decorated with festoons and buntings, as thousands lined the streets while many peered from their homes and rooftops.
Party supporters stopped the cavalcade at prominent intersections to felicitate Gandhi, who wore a gold-and-white sari and had a party flag wrapped round her wrist.
The impressive turnout comes as a shot in the arm of the Congress, which is hoping to dent the support of the BJP and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi party (SP). The choice of Varanasi for a high-decibel campaign was seen as a strategic move by the Congress, which had hoped to highlight the alleged lack of development in Modis constituency as well as woo upper caste voters.
But the fallout of the aborted campaign remains to be seen. Gandhi was supposed to end her road show with an aarti at Kashi Vishwanath temple.
Underscoring the partys efforts to balance the caste equations in the state, Gandhi began her day by paying tributes to Dalit icon B R Ambedkar and was expected to end it by garlanding a statue of former Congress chief minister Kamlapati Tripathi, an upper caste leader.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi launched her partys poll campaign in Uttar Pradesh with an impressive roadshow in Varanasi, prime minister Narendra Modis parliamentary constituency, on Tuesday.
However, she fell ill after spending five hours under hot and humid conditions forcing her to cut the roadshow short barely a kilometre ahead of the last stop. She rested at the Varanasi airport for around two hours before flying back to Delhi late in the evening.
Her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the Congress chief was already indisposed when she left for Varanasi on Tuesday morning. She was very keen to go, but had a bit of strain I guess, Priyanka told mediapersons outside the Delhi airport on Tuesday night. She was there with her brother, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, to receive Gandhi upon her return.
According to party sources, the event which was initially expected to last for around two hours stretched for five hours, causing Gandhi to fall ill due to heat and dehydration. Gandhi later released a statement expressing regret at being deprived of the saubhagya (good fortune) to do a darshan of Kashi Vishwanathji during the auspicious month of Sawan. She promised to return very soon.
Modi had reportedly called up Sheila Dikshit, the Congress UP chief ministerial candidate, to enquire about Gandhis health while she was still at the Varanasi airport. He offered to help out by sending a doctor and a plane to take her back to Delhi.
Soniaji came and has gone to the hospital. She is stable now. Dehydration caused her fever, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad later told mediapersons at the Delhi airport. She was taken to the Army Research and Referral hospital for a check-up.
Earlier in the day, 69-year-old Gandhi showed no signs of illness as she stood in an SUV amid cheering crowds enthusiastically greeting and shaking hands with people. Her 50-car cavalcade snaked through an eight-km stretch decorated with festoons and buntings as thousands lined the streets and many peered from their homes and rooftops. Party supporters stopped the cavalcade at prominent intersections to felicitate Gandhi, who wore a gold-and-white sari with the party flag wrapped round her wrist.
Read | As it happened: Sonia Gandhi visits Varanasi, returns to Delhi after falling ill
In her statement, the Congress president accused the Modi government of paying special attention to the needs of a handful of people and industrialists. The palace built on false promises cannot last long, people will soon call it to account and give a befitting response, she said.
Attacking BJP leaders who talk of a Congress-mukt Bharat, she said that her party is not just an institution or a group of people. It is rooted in every particle of India... One cannot imagine the idea of modern India without the Congress, she added.
The impressive turnout at Gandhis roadshow comes as a shot in the arm for the Congress, which is hoping to make a big impact in the upcoming assembly elections.
Underscoring the partys efforts to balance the caste equations in the state, Gandhi began her day by paying tributes to Dalit icon BR Ambedkar and was expected to end it by garlanding a statue of former Congress chief minister Kamlapati Tripathi, a Brahmin leader and address party workers.
Minister of state for external affairs VK Singh will leave for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night to assess difficulties of thousands of Indians who lost their jobs, and finalise modalities of bringing back those wanting to return.
Ahead of Singhs visit, his ministerial colleague MJ Akbar, who looks after issues relating to Gulf region, met Saudi ambassador Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati and discussed the issue of the jobless Indians.
Had fruitful discussions with Saudi Ambassador to India Dr Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati on all bilateral issues. Glad to receive support and assurances from Saudi government to resolve all outstanding issues, including that of our Indian labourers, Akbar said in a series of tweets.
Foreign affairs ministry officials said Singh will arrive in Jeddah early on Wednesday morning and is scheduled to return on the evening of Friday.
Thousands of Indians in Saudi Arabia were facing severe food crisis due to financial hardships after they lost their jobs due to slowdown of the economy in the Gulf.
The Indian mission has provided food to those struggling to even buy food.
Making a statement in the Parliament on Monday, Union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said the workers will be brought back home, asserting that not one of them will go hungry.
Not one worker of ours will go hungry. This is my assurance to the country through Parliament... We will bring all of them back to India, Swaraj said.
Issues like logistics and modalities of a possible repatriation of the workers who want to return to India will be worked out during Singhs visit.
Official sources said approximately 10,000 Indian workers have been affected by the economic slowdown in the Gulf and the situation was fluid and dynamic as the situation varied from company to company.
Around 3,172 Indian workers in Riyadh have not been paid their salary dues for several months but are getting regular rations, sources said.
Separately, 2,450 Indian workers belonging to the Saudi Oger Company are housed in five camps in Jeddah, Mecca and Taif. Since July 25, the company had stopped providing meals to the workers besides defaulting on their salaries, the sources said.
The Indian Consulate in Jeddah, with the assistance of the diaspora, has provided rations to the workers which should be sufficient for the next 8-10 days, they said.
The government, Swaraj said, was in touch with the foreign and labour offices in Saudi Arabia to ensure early evacuation of affected Indians.
The Centre has requested Saudi authorities to give the unemployed Indian workers exit visas without NoC from employers and also urged it to clear the dues of workers who have not been paid for months, whenever they settle the accounts with the companies concerned.
Thirteen rounds of talks have been held between India and Pakistan on the issue of withdrawing troops from Siachen and New Delhi has made it clear that it is part of the larger issue of Islamabad supporting terrorism in India, defence minister Manohar Parrikar told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The minister said that on December 9, 2015, external affairs minister Sushma Swraj met the Pakistani leadership in Islamabad on the side-lines of the Heart of Asia process for regional cooperation on Afghanistan.
These discussions directed the foreign secretaries of both countries to work out the modalities and schedule of the meetings under the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue on various issues including Siachen, Parrikar said.
The minister said soldiers are deployed in extremely harsh terrain and weather conditions but are fully equipped and properly trained to undertake the operational challenges and carry out their mandated tasks.
The soldiers deployed at Siachen Glacier are provided with quality winter clothing including Extreme Cold Climate clothing. Besides, they are provided with prefabricated insulated shelters and wherever it is not possible to construct such shelters due to technical difficulties, insulated tents are provided which can withstand low temperatures, said the minister.
Parrikar said the units are self-sufficient for a period of 240 days of supplies.
A Rajasthan ministers son is among six persons named in an FIR lodged in a murder case of a 45-year-old man in Hanumangarh court.
Harish Sindhi was shot dead on Monday by two accused Sukhbeer and Dharmendra in the court premises where he had gone for hearing of a murder case in which he was a witness.
While the duo was arrested on Monday, police named water resources minister Ramprataps son Amit Sahu and three others, including Som Muni, Soma and Shrawan, in the FIR under various sections of IPC, including murder, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and 27 of Arms Act, police said.
The FIR was lodged by Monu Singh who was present with Sindhi in the court.
Sahu, however, denied any link with the murder and alleged he was being dragged in the case for political reasons.
I have no link with the matter. I am being falsely implicated. The allegations against me are baseless, Sahu said, adding he has not been approached by the police.
I was present in the court premises. I had gone to the office of the collector which is located near the court. My presence there had nothing to do with the case, he said.
Rampratap could not be contacted as he was in the cabinet meeting.
Remember your last argument with the cabbie when you took a ride from the airport to your home, where you suspected that the meter was rigged or that he was overcharging you? Times have changed now as the same cabbies are now willing to offer you a discounta flat 20%.
Pushed away to the corner by the app-based cab services like Uber and Ola, the conventional black and yellow taxis have started their fight back. Realising that the transport authorities may not be able to put too many restrictions on the fare structure of the app-based cabs, conventional taxi unions too have started exploring ways to attract commuters.
The 9211 Cabs, an IT company that runs an app-based taxi service for black and yellow cabs on behalf of various taxi unions, has announced flat 20% discount on the fare if it is higher than Rs 200.
The company will launch a new initiative called Heros of Mumbai on the eve of Independence day, under which passengers will be able to avail the discount throughout this month. According to company release, the discount will be available in a limited area initially.
Kaali Peeli or Cool cabs booked via 9211 CABS at the number 022-4002 9211, will be given a flat discount of 20% for pickups from Bandra East, Bandra West and BKC on meters reading more than Rs 200,said Malay Kothari, one of the partners at the company. Cool Cabs service is an air-conditioned taxi service provided by conventional taxi owners with sky blue and grey coloured vehicles.
To avail the discount, commuters will have to book the cab at least two hours in advance between 8am to 8pm on the above number and 9211 will confirm you a taxi. We have specially arranged around 250 taxis from these areas that will serve on a first-come-first-serve basis, said Kothari. Its simple, if the meter reading is more than Rs 200, pay 80% of the fare to the driver and use the rest for a good cause.
Fleet taxi operators such as Meru cabs and Tab Cab have already announced discounts on their fares.
On July 25, 2016, heaven needed a hero, so the gates were opened and Lloyd Omar Waters passed through. He left us knowing that cancer is limited (Poem by Dr. Robert Lynn) and didnt win.
Lloyd was born to Lloyd and Betty Waters in Gothenburg, Nebraska on May 14, 1952.
Lloyd was a proud Wyoming native. He grew up in Rawlins, Wyoming with six sisters and one brother. He spent his youth hunting and fishing with his family and felt at home in the Medicine Bow National Forest. Lloyd graduated from Rawlins High School in 1970.
Cancer didnt destroy his confidence.
Lloyd started working in his teens. His love of helping others began when he was an EMT, working on an ambulance crew, and also worked at Rawlins Memorial Hospital.
He began his career in mining in Hannah, Wyoming. Lloyd believed you earned your way and his dedication to providing for his family took him from Wyoming to Colorado, Utah, and back to Wyoming. In 1987, Lloyd and his family moved to Elko, Nevada, where he worked for Newmont Mining for 28 years. Lloyd could run any piece of heavy equipment, but spent many of his mining years as a driller. Lloyds mining career ended as a Tech IV in the warehouse at Emigrant.
Cancer didnt kill his friendships.
Lloyd enjoyed working in the warehouse. He loved talking to his fellow employees, the buyers, and the vendors whether in person or on the phone. Any one of them will tell you, Lloyd was guaranteed to go out of his way to help you, play practical jokes and dish out 100% pure b.s. to them all.
Date nights for Lloyd and Yvette included karaoke and they soon became part of a singing family of friends. Saturday nights were filled with music, laughter, and fun. Lloyd loved to dance with his wife and his favorite songs to sing were by Johnny Cash.
Lloyd believed everyone, especially children, had a right to be safe and know they were special. He spent countless hours at Harbor House helping his wife ensure this was true, especially at Christmas.
Cancer didnt shatter his hope.
As an avid Broncos fan since the 60s, Lloyd was in front of the television for every game. Win or lose he wore his orange and blue proudly. He never gave up believing the Broncos would win another Super Bowl and so they did last February.
Lloyds smile and laugh were contagious and he always saw the best in people and believed everyone deserved a chance to be his friend. If Lloyd was your friend, he was your friend for life and would spend hours in a store visiting.
Cancer didnt cripple his love.
Lloyd began his life with his best friend and soulmate Yvette in Wamsutter, Wyoming in 1984. They were married on August 17, 1985 in Ely, Nevada. As partners, they supported each other through 32 years and were holding hands when the time came for Lloyd to move on.
Together they raised their five children and his pride as a father filled the room when he talked about them. Lloyds love for life and his love and commitment to his family was and is an example to all.
Cancer didnt shut out his memories.
Lloyd spent as much time as his mining shifts allowed creating memories with his family, including annual camping trips at Cave Lake with their grandparents. Lloyd had just begun to plan his retirement and ways to make memories with his grandchildren. He looked forward to his time with them, whether it was in person, on the phone or Skype. Lloyd spent hours sharing stories with his children and grandchildren and would surprise them with stories of his youth and his escapades while he grew up.
Cancer didnt corrode his faith.
Lloyd loved the outdoors and felt closest to God when in the mountains and trees. He and Yvette spent a lot of time camping, four-wheeling and appreciating the beauty of our Lords earth.
Lloyd had a deep faith in our Lord and joined the Catholic Church in 1986. He became a member of the Knights of Columbus and dedicated himself to their mission.
He was a Deputy Grand Knight, a Grand Knight and a District Deputy. Lloyd was a Faithful Navigator for the Fourth Degree and felt it was a privilege to be a member of the Honor Guard and wore his regalia proudly.
Cancer didnt eat away his peace.
Lloyd had a special way of letting the past be the past and accepting Gods plan for the future. He accepted the fact he would not win the battle against cancer just months after his diagnosis, but refused to allow it to control who he was. He often said he was at peace with Gods plan and felt blessed that he had the love of family and friends and riches beyond what anyone could imagine. Lloyd was happy with the life he had and knew he had lived it to the best of his ability and the way God wanted him to.
Cancer didnt silence his courage.
Throughout the past year, Lloyd kept a positive attitude and showed courage at times when others would have given up. He spent his last days loving his family and passing on his courage so they could go on without him. Lloyd promised to watch over them and made them promise to be strong. With an example like his, it was an easy promise to make.
Lloyd leaves behind his wife, Yvette Joy Waters; daughters Holly (Tim) Trexler, Fallbrook, California; Brenda Wilkie, (Elko); Marlene (Kevin ) Haub, Hayward, California; and Serena (Steven) Collier, (Reedsport, Oregon); sisters, Deana (Bob) Huber, Thornton, Colorado; Susie (Harry ) Morris, Wright, Wyoming; Katie (Bob) Nulle, Rawlins, Wyoming; brother Johnny Waters, Tooele, Utah; uncle and friend, Gus (Norma) Mandros, Green River, Wyoming; mother-in-law Ma, Vivian Joy, Ely, NV; sisters-in-law Trudie (Jim) Hollinger, Ely, Nevada; Robbie (Lennie) Boteilho, Riverton, Utah; and numerous nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews. Lloyd was also proud to be a grandpa and his memory will live on his through grandchildren, Jacob, Sarah, and Makayla Trexler, Brittany and Connor Wilkie and Isabelle Haub.
Cancer didnt invade his soul, reduce eternal life nor lessen the power of the Resurrection.
As Lloyd left this earth, he took the hand of our Lord and joined his son, Cody Lloyd Waters, his parents Lloyd and Betty Waters, his sisters Ellen Nulle, Becky Jo Lucas, and Tammy Moyer, his cousin and friend Nick Sanchez and father-in-law, A.Z. Joy.
Cancer didnt quench his spirit.
From the moment Lloyd was diagnosed he began spreading a message and asked that it be passed on now to every man, young or old. Have your annual prostate exam, both a blood test and physical. Dont let your embarrassment, a doctor or insurance stop you from getting it. Dont walk the road my family and I have had to.
In lieu of flowers, please honor Lloyd with donations in his memory to, Knights of Columbus, Council 2511, PO Box 1247, Elko, Nevada 89303 or Harbor House, P.O. Box 2531, Elko, Nevada 89803.
Services for Lloyd will include a Rosary, led by Deacon Franklin Martinez on August 7, 2016 at 7:00 PM at Burns Mortuary and a funeral Mass at St. Josephs Catholic Church, 990 Highland Drive, Elko, Nevada on August 8, 2016 at 10:00 AM officiated by Father Daniel Hussey. Interment will follow at the City of Elko Cemetery, followed by a reception at Mater Dei Hall located behind the church.
The incessant rain since Sunday led to a flood-like situation in Nashik city and district, with two major rivers Godavari and Kadwa touching the danger line for the first time. All eight dams in the district have been opened and an alert has been sounded for villages along the banks of the river. The district administration is geared up to shift people in case of an eventuality.
According to the data compiled by the rainfall recording and analysis wing of the state agriculture department, Palghar district received maximum rainfall (700% more than the average) in the state since Monday, followed by Raigad (486% more than the average) and Nashik (433% more). Washim received 336% more than the average, while Akola got 246% more, states the data.
All roads in Nashik district have been flooded, forcing the district administration to announce a two-day holiday for all educational institutions. Citizens have been urged not to step out.
At Holkar bridge in Nashik city, the water flow was 23,000 cusec in the evening. Most of the temples and stalls along Godavari are submerged. Kadwa river was seen overflowing last in 2005, citizens said.
Relief and rehabilitation minister Chandrakant Patil confirmed Nashik was facing a flood-like situation. We have started moving people from low lying areas, Patil told HT.
The road and rail connectivity, too, were hit. Minor landslides were reported at Kasara Ghat, which is the main connecting route between Mumbai and Nashik. Manmad, a major railway junction in Nashik district, too, was out of bounds.
According to the Nashik control room, eight dams in the district were filled to 80% of their capacity, forcing irrigation officials to open all the doors.
An NDRF team, comprising 40 jawans and five boats, left for Nashik from Pune, as part of the precautionary measures.
The level of Koyna dam in Satara district has increased by four feet in the past 24 hours. Koyna officials said the dam has added almost four TMC water in a single day.
JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar had a run in with the BJP-led state government on Wednesday after he was denied entry inside the Maharashtra Legislative Council.
Kumar, who had a visitors entry pass and a council gallery pass said he had come to Vidhan Bhavan to see the live proceedings of the council but was denied entry by security officials. Kanhaiya was here with eight of his colleagues in the early afternoon but was confined to the police beat inside the Vidhan Bhavan premises. Talking to reporters on the Vidhan Bhavan premises, Kumar said, As per the rules, I have a gallery pass that is needed to enter the upper House. I was denied the permission despite this.
Shashikant Borate, deputy commissioner of police and chief security officer of Vidhan Bhavan clarified that visitors gallery pass is issued but it normally lapses after an hour of issuance.
Kanhaiyas gallery pass was valid between 12 noon to 1pm. When he entered the premises at around 12.30pm, Council proceedings were already adjourned for half an hour. The adjournment was later extended for another half-an-hour and he was not allowed to attend the proceedings, Borate told HT.
The opposition termed this move undemocratic with NCP leader Jitendra Awhad saying that if the student leader had a valid pass, there was no reason to detain him.
Kanhaiya was in Mumbai to attend an anniversary program of the Peasants and Workers Party of India (PWP). After Vidhan Bhavan, he left for Khalapur to attend an event. This is Kanhaiyas third visit to the state this year. He has been hosted in the past by the PWP party and had even addressed a students rally in Chembur.
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After protesting against its ally on the Vidarbha statehood issue for three days, the Shiv Sena finally backed down on Tuesday, but not without drama and speculation of joining hands with the Opposition.
The Sena said it would no longer protest within the legislature as it was satisfied with the response chief minister Devendra Fadnavis gave a day earlier -- that there was no proposal to grant statehood to the Vidarbha region. Fadnavis had also said he was chief minister of a united Maharashtra.
The Senas statement, however, came after its share of political drama - a phone conversation between Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and former CM Prithviraj Chavan, two rounds of meetings between the Sena, Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the possibility of a tie-up to corner the BJP.
Read: Vidarbha rocks Assembly again as Sena corners CM
Worried about such an eventuality, Fadnavis and the BJP moved quickly and spoke to Thackeray to diffuse the situation. At the end of the day, a subdued Sena came out and dismissed all these events as speculation.
We will not move any proposal with the Congress and the NCP. The CM has clarified what his stand is and we are satisfied. We dont need lessons on Akhand Maharashtra from the Opposition, said Eknath Shinde, Sena leader and public works minister in the government.
But what happened between these events and what led the Sena to swing like a pendulum - from threatening to hold meetings with the Congress and NCP to going out against them?
Sources in the Sena said the party initially wanted to put the BJP on the mat on the Vidarbha issue. We have felt the BJP is deliberately raking up the issue through different leaders at different points. With our opposition to Vidarbha so clear, them raising the issue is like challenging us, said a Sena leader.
Sources also said the Senas attempt was two-fold.
One was to drive home our stand, that until the Sena is a part of the government, we will not allow discussions on a separate Vidarbha. The second was to get the BJP to commit that it wont press for statehood anytime soon, explained another Sena MLA from the city.
This, Sena leaders said, was why Thackeray asked his partys ministers to meet the Congress and NCP and try and work out a consensus. A part of the reason was also the Senas desire, especially after the recent fracas over the control of the Shirdi Sansthan Trust, to ensure the BJP doesnt take its support for granted.
The flirtation with the Opposition paid off.
Fadnavis is learnt to have called Thackeray and told him that support to the Congress-NCP would needlessly embarrass the government.
Fadnavis said, Our views on the issue were clear and did not contradict with our allys stance. Being two different parties with separate ideologies, there may be different point of views on any issue. Uddhavji was convinced on our stand and assured me not to support the opposition in their attempt of moving the resolutions supporting unified Maharashtra.
In none of the four provisions in the parliamentary rules, does the resolution proposed by the opposition fit. I have studied the provision and have learnt no such resolution can be admitted for the lack of being substantive, the CM said.
A source from the Sena said the CM explained as there was no proposal before the government, there was no question of the government supporting the demand.
Minutes later, Shinde came out of Vidhan Bhavan and told waiting mediapersons the Sena never had any plans to go with the Opposition. The Congress-NCP invited us for a meeting, where we simply heard their views out and told them to clarify their stand. We will not support any proposal by them, he said.
But the Congress slammed the Sena for its flip-flops.
We held two rounds of meetings with Sena ministers and leaders on the Vidarbha issue as we wanted to move the resolution in the Assembly. But they backed out, probably after the call from the CMO, said former CM and senior Congress leader Chavan. He said he had two conversations with Thackeray in two days, and despite this, the Sena had backtracked.
Chavan said the Sena stood exposed as it diluted its stance on the united Maharashtra that the party swears by, and made a great show of in the past two days. The Congress, he said, is firm about such a resolution being passed with or without the support of the NCP.
The Congress and NCP have now planned to move a resolution in favour of united Maharashtra. The motion was submitted by the opposition parties on Tuesday. They will demand a discussion on the motion in the assembly on Wednesday. The intention of the opposition parties is to make Sena break ranks with its ally BJP on the floor of the House. If Sena refuses to, it will get exposed on the issue, Congress leaders said.
Earlier in the day, parties led by the Sena protested in the legislative Assembly, demanding the CM come out clean on his stance on the issue of granting statehood to Vidarbha. Sena MLA Sunil Prabhu had also demanded the suspension of MLAs who supported the creation of Vidarbha state. The CM dismissed the demand and termed it unconstitutional and added the issue of creating the state was not within the States purview.
Clarifying the NCPs stand, its chief Sharad Pawar reportedly told party leaders to support the demand for a unified Maharashtra. After the high drama in both houses through the day, Pawar convened a meeting of his legislators in the evening. The party, which was in favour of smaller states, has now said a referendum needs to be taken to understand the mind of the people from Vidarbha.
Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam on Tuesday alleged that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackerays wife Rashmi and party minister Ravindra Waikars wife Manisha had jointly purchased 18.50 lakh sq ft of land or about 42.5 acres worth Rs125 crore at Korlai in Raigad and more than 450 acres valued at Rs900crore elsewhere in the Konkan.
Waikar rubbished Nirupams allegations but admitted that they had bought 9.5 acres at Korlai for Rs4.5 crore. While there was no response from the Thackerays, the Shiv Senas spokespersons slammed Nirupam and said his allegations did not merit a response. At a press conference on Tuesday, Nirupam brandished copies of what he claimed was the land title for the Korlai plot and said the land was in the name of Rashmi Thackeray and Manisha Waikar since 2002-03.
Nirupam said the land was purchased in the name of Rashmi Thackeray and Manisha Waikar since 2002-03 and during the three terms of Waikar as standing committee chairman in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation ruled by the Sena. Civic standing committee has financial rights in the civic bodys decision making process.
He claimed that it was due to the joint ventures between the two families, the decision of extending clean chit to Waikar was taken during the meeting between chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray over dinner on the eve of commencement of the Monsoon Session.
Nirupam said the government should probe the source of income of those who purchased land in such a large quantity. Further, claiming that Rashmis uncle was a partner in one of the real estate firms once headed by Waikar, he demanded a probe by a sitting judge of the Bombay High Court into various allegations levelled against Waikar, who is minister of state for housing.
The CM has misled the people of Maharashtra by saying on the floor of the assembly that Waikars name exists in none of the slum rehabilitation authority projects cited by us. In fact, the links with the front companies floated by the minister clearly shows that Waikar is still on the board of the real estate firm Vijayalaxmi Infracon, floated as a front company of Vijaylaxmi Developers. One of the four partners in the firm is Dilip Shrungarpure, who happens to be the maternal uncle of Rashmi Thackeray. Though anybody is free to do business or purchase land with any partner, it is matter of conflict of interest. Nirupam said.
Waikar rubbished all allegations. As far as the ownership in the real estate company is concerned, I quit my position in March this year after I realised that a minister cannot hold an office of profit. It may not have been updated on the website of the union ministry of corporate affairs.
On the land deal, Waikar said, It is just 9.5 acres purchased for Rs 4.5 crore. I am ready to give up the entire amount if the land fetches Rs125 crore as claimed by Nirupam. Secondly, no law stops any two persons from entering into any legitimate land deal.
On the allegations, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis refused to comment. He however said, Anybody can buy land in partnership with whoever he/she wishes.
Two teenagers died and 31 fell ill following suspected food poisoning at Sukhjit Ashram, a home for mentally challenged persons run by the district administration, in Kapurthala on Tuesday.
Fourteen-year-old Chotu died on Monday afternoon while Jyoti Rani (16) died during treatment at the civil hospital on Tuesday morning.
The condition of four inmates Pooja (11), Jyoti (22), Nirmal Kaur (23) and Jaspreet Kaur (23) is stated to be critical.
The ashram staff said the food was donated by five unidentified people on Sunday evening which was served to inmates in dinner. The inmates complained of vomiting and stomach ache in the wee hours of Monday. However, the management took time in informing health officials about their condition due to which medical attention was delayed. Chotu was rushed to the civil hospital in a critical condition on Monday afternoon where doctors declared him brought dead.
The ashram authorities didnt inform the district administration about the incident on Monday. Deputy commissioner Jaskiran Singh said he came to know about it after the death of the second child on Tuesday.
The DC has ordered an inquiry and directed sub-divisional magistrate Mandeep Kaur to submit the report within three days. No case has been registered yet, but we will take strict action against those responsible for the incident, the DC added.
NO RECORDS OF DONORS
Despite the district administrations direction prohibiting serving of donated food, it was served to the inmates on Sunday night. The ashram authorities even failed to maintain the record of visitors who donated the food.
District social security officer (DSSO) who manages the ashram, evaded media queries saying he was not in the ashram on Sunday when the food was served to the inmates.
Contradicting his statement, ashram attendant Veena said the food was accepted after the DSSOs approval.
Kapurthala civil surgeon HS Kahlon said preliminary reports suggest the children fell ill due to food poisoning. Samples of food prepared on Tuesday morning and afternoon have been sent to a Chandigarh lab and the report is expected in a week, he added.
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The latest notice of Ludhianas Christian Medical College (CMC) to fill its seats based on the joint merit of NEET and its own soon-to-be-held aptitude test has created a stir among candidates.
The candidates parents say the test will be illegal, when the Supreme Court has ordered all private colleges and the Centre, too, has directed them to fill the MBBS (bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery) and BDS (bachelor of dental science) seats based on score in the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET).
Conducting a separate test and counting its merit for admission will violate the Supreme Court orders of May and defeat the very purpose of NEET. The state authorities should step in, said a candidates parent, Rajinder Sangha of SAS Nagar. Of the colleges 75 MBBS seats, 50% are reserved for Christian minority, and it follows a similar quota system to fills the 40 BDS seats.
On July 27, the college told both general-category and minority candidates to appear for a mandatory aptitude test after signing up from August 5. Chandigarh-based PMT (PreMedical Test) trainer Arvind Goyal said the college planned to tweak the merit list. A separate Bible test to fill minority students is understandable. Sikh candidates take a similar test at Amritsars Sri Guru Ram Das Medical College, he said, But where is NEETs sanctity, if students have to prove their eligibility again.
College registrar Dr George Koshy said the test was necessary. The college mandate requires students to serve in rural areas after graduating. NEET is subject-based assessment, while our aptitude test will judge the candidates joint merit and overall personality for the doctors job, he said. It is not a violation of the Supreme Court orders, as we have introduced the test on the advice of our legal team.
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Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Captain Amarinder Singh has decided to abolish the posts of district transport officer (DTO), which has become synonym of corruption, once he comes to power, said Congress vice-president and party chief spokesperson, Sunil Jakhar, during a Jan Sampark rally of the party.
The rally was organised by Fatehgarh Churian Congress MLA Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa.
The post has become a den of corruption, Jakhar said, adding, We will make necessary arrangements to ensure that the work does not suffer.
The state government has not even paid compensation to the farmers for last years crop loss, he said, adding, The sugarcane dues are also yet to be paid.
Cotton crop on more than 12-lakh acres land in Malwa belt was destroyed due to whitefly attack, he said.
The Congress leader compared the SAD-BJP government with Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. He said people in the state are fed up with atrocities of Badal and his family members.
The SAD leadership left no stone unturned to make the rally a flop show, but thousands gathered to make it a success, said Congress MLA Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa.
JAKHAR DARES BADAL TO TAKE UP SYL ISSUE WITH PM
AMRITSAR: After his visit to Fatehgarh Churian assembly segment, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president and chief spokesperson, Sunil Jakhar, addressed a press conference here on Monday.
Jakhar dared Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to take up the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As SYL issue is important for the state, then why does he (Badal) hesitate in talking to Modi about it, he said.
Taking a jibe on Badal over Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Prem Singh Chandumajras statement that his (Badal) move of clearing SYL files was an innocent mistake, Jakhar said the CM takes every decision innocently.
Badal is not protecting the states interest. Tension will erupt here due to water dispute. Why Badal is not taking steps to protect the waters, Jakhar asked, adding, We have asked him a number of times that a delegation of members of all parties should be formed to meet the Prime Minister on the SYL issue, but he did not pay heed to it even once.
Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre, Jakhar said, If tribunals are being formed for settling down the water disputes in other states, then why is it not being done in Punjab.
Commenting on SADs decision to contest assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Jakhar said as the SAD leaders had learnt that they would lose the polls in Punjab so he decided to move to UP. He also targeted Punjab BJP president Vijay Sampla for failing to bring scholarship amount of Rs 506 crore, allocated for Dalit students for 2014, 15 and 16, in the state.
Raising the issue of compensation for damage to wheat crop due to rainfall, he said Badal had written a letter to Modi to allocate compensation of Rs 717 crore, but not even a single penny has been received so far.
The Progressive Dairy Farmers Association (PDFA) has accused the Punjab Police of shielding the activists of Hindu right wing, who, they alleged, were harassing them in the name of cow protection. The association members said dairy farmers transporting livestock were being assaulted by the cow-vigilante groups.
At a press conference in Chandigarh on Monday, the association members feared that the livestock trade in Punjab will collapse if the state government did not take measures to rein in these elements. They cited incidents wherein gau rakshaks assaulted the drivers transporting the livestock.
The government has created a cow security board, which comprises shady people, who, along with cow-protection groups, beat up traders and dairy farmers and extort money from them, PDFA managing director Daljit Singh said.
At the behest of the RSS, the state government wants to promote indigenous cows, which is not a commercially-viable option for dairy farmers, he said, adding milk-producers across the state do a business of Rs 2,500 crore annually.
Also read | RSS, VHP role in sacrilege of Quran, Guru Granth Sahib be probed: AISSF
He said the government recent directive to the dairy farmers to procure the no objection certificate for ferrying animals was not being fairly implemented. Hundreds of applications for such NOCs remain pending for days in the offices of deputy commissioners, he said.
NOC SCAM IN DABWALI CATTLE MARKET
The PDFA said a big scam was going on at Dabwali cattle market in Haryana along the Punjab border in Muktsar in the name of NOCs. As DCs take their own time in issuing NOCs, dairy farmers from across the state go to Dabwali cattle market for the NOCs and have to pay Rs 2,000 as market fee, said Amarjit Singh, a livestock trader from Jagraon.
The cattle transport cost has gone up from Rs 20,000 to Rs 60,000, he said. He cited a recent incident where drivers were first thrashed by gau rakshaks and trucks impounded by Bathinda Cantonment police.
Complaints lodged with the police boomeranged on us in the form of harassment by the Shiv Sena activists and the cops only watched mutely, he said.
Bathinda SSP Swapan Sharma acknowledged impounding of the said vehicles, saying the drivers did not carry a permit needed for transporting the cows. On Shiv Senas harassing the dairy farmers, he said there was no such thing.
Patiala deputy commissioner Ravi Bhagat said NOCs to dairy farmers were being issued in a day.
The audit report of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has nailed the organisation for not recovering power dues running into Rs 2.2 crore of four city-based companies. Though the corporation has won cases against defaulters, they were not able to recover dues so far. Corporation officials are also under the scanner.
The four companies named in the audit report are located in the Focal Point division. These include Nagpal Alloys Ltd, Shivalikwala Steel Mill Ltd, Harsh Processors and Aar Key Concost Ltd.
Being a commercial organisation, the corporation cannot afford to allow the accumulation of dues. It is essential that its officials make concerted efforts to recover these dues as soon as possible, states the audit report.
According to the report, the execution was filed in case PSPCL versus Nagpal Alloys Ltd in November 2009 and PSPCL versus Shivalikwala Steel Mill Ltd in 2010, but PSPCL did not make these recoveries in which Rs 49.05 lakh and Rs 31.76 lakh were due.
In case of Harsh Processors, the sum due is Rs 59.77 lakh. Aar Key Concost Ltd has to pay a due of Rs 42.17 lakh to PSPCL.
The division office is also under the scanner because they had to locate properties of consumer units that had not deposited dues to the corporation.
In case of Aar Key Concost, the execution was not been filed even after 10 months elapsed since the date of decree. In this case, the division had made the consumer company as well as its directors as defendants and filed the suit against them. Though the defendants had taken the plea that they could not be made liable as company has a corporate veil which is separate from its members and their personal liability would not arise. However the court has decided that the directors of the company cannot shirk their responsibilities and decided the recovery against the defendants, stated the audit report.
The report has lambasted PSPCL and stated that not exploring a proper legal option at the time of filing suit, not taking up the matter with official liquidator if applicable and lack of proper pursuance had made the of recovery remote. This has resulted in loss in form of non-realisation of dues of Rs 1.41 crore and further interest of Rs 33.63 lakh in three cases. Also recovery of Rs 45.54 lakh was awaited in case number 4 (Aar Key Concost), the report stated.
NK Sharma, engineer-inchief of PSPCL, said executive engineer of the division Ravinder Singh could be contacted. However Ravinder said he will not be able to provide information on the matter.
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A Punjab and Haryana high court bench on Monday appointed senior advocate Rupinder Khosla to assist it in a public interest litigation (PIL), seeking measures to check uranium contamination in Punjabs groundwater.
The order came from the high court bench of justice SS Saron and justice Lisa Gill as petitioners counsel BS Loomba insisted that thorough tests were not conducted to check presence of uranium in Punjabs water. On the other hand, Punjab advocate general Ashok Aggarwal maintained that various studies, including one by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre had been done but uranium presence was not found to be abnormal.
Khosla, who in 2013 had appeared on behalf of the Punjab government in this case, stood up and questioned as to how thousands of cancer deaths were being reported in the Malwa region of state if that was not the case and insisted that government should be asked to find out the reasons behind it.
Later, the division bench appointed Khosla to assist court in this matter, and examine the whole issue by the next date of hearing on August 26.
In May last year, Punjab had told the court that it would take Rs 4,700 crore to supply surface water through canals to 4,005 habitations in six districts where groundwater is contaminated with metallic and other general pollutants. The districts included Moga, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Sangrur, Barnala, and Hoshiarpur districts. The government had also told court that Rs 100 crore were earmarked in the budget of 2015-16 for installing water-purification systems in the affected villages.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has in principle agreed for civil aircraft operations from Adampur in Punjab, the Union defence ministry said on Tuesday.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said it was subject to conditions that the Airports Authority of India will create all required infrastructure outside the existing IAF boundary to facilitate civil aircraft operations.
If the move goes through, it will provide relief to lakhs of passengers who now have to take the circuitous route via Amristar to Jalandhar and Ludhiana.
Also read | Airport authority board has okayed Adampur airport, says Sampla
HT SPOTLIGHT Punjabs unused airports: Winged dreams, grounded reality
An Interpol Red Corner notice has been issued against Baldev Singh Deol (62), the UK national accused in the May 2015 murder of NRI hotelier Ranjit Singh Power. Powers fellow non-resident Indian (NRI) Deol -- born in Kohar Kalan village and belonging to Shekhewal in Jalandhar district -- was already declared a proclaimed offender and is in England. Issued on the request of the police here, this Interpol notice is to seek the location and arrest of the accused with a view to extradition.
Baldev Deol, 62. (Photo: Interpol website)
This comes as a step ahead for the red-faced police after a body sent from here as that of Power was discovered to not be his, after DNA samples of his mother did not match that of the body in the UK. As for the co-accused, Deols nephew Sukhdev of Manakpur village, he is in jail and murder charges have been framed against him on May 31.
Also read | DNA report confirms body sent to UK not of hotelier Ranjit Singh Power
Inspector Navdeep Singh said, We have seen that the notice is up on the Interpol website. HT checked and found the notice too on the site. Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP-II) Amrik Singh Powar said, We are yet to receive any official communication but Ranjit Powers family has informed us. Navdeep, who is carrying out the investigation, said that with this all other 195 countries that come under the Interpol stand informed.
He said that despite the negative DNA report of the body sent to the UK, there is sufficient evidence against the accused to prove the murder charges. The police have submitted a statement of Narinder Singh, a taxi driver hired by Power when he landed at the Amritsar airport and travelled in his vehicle with Deol. Police have also procured immigration records of Power, besides his arrival and return tickets booked by the accused. They have records from the serai (inn) at Golden Temple where Power and Baldev stayed, and also security camera footage.
Also read | NRI hotelier murder: Court frames charges against one accused
It was on May 8 last year that Deol and Sukhdev picked Power from the airport in a Toyota Innova SUV and took him to the Golden Temple. Police say they made him get drunk and strangled him on the way. Later, they stripped the body and threw it into the Bhakra canal, says the case.
On June 1 last year, police fished out a partially decomposed body from a canal in Ambala, which it claimed was that of Power. The DNA of the body, however, didnt match with that of victims mother in tests conducted by the UK authorities.
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The 22-year-old woman who drove her Maruti Alto into several people and vehicles in Sectors 45 and 46 on Monday evening, on Tuesday denied that she had been raped, and also said she had drinks before the incident with a friend. She told the police that she was drunk at the time (Monday night) and thus not in the condition to give a statement.
What happened | 22-yr-old woman goes berserk, rams car into people, vehicles in Chandigarh
The Sector-34 police station now has registered a case under the Motor Vehicle Act and under Indian Penal Code for drunken, rash driving against her. Police said she told them she had drinks with a woman friend in Sector 9 before heading home in Sector 46. She lost control around 8.45pm. Her medical examination confirmed that she was drunk though the exact level would be known in further blood tests, police said.
Though initially the matter seemed that of drunken driving alone, the rape aspect came in at Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH) in Sector 16 when a relative said her drink had been spiked and she was raped. DSP (central) Ram Gopal and station house officer (SHO), Sector 11, Narinder Patial and a woman sub-Inspector reached the hospital to verify the allegations from her, but she retracted these on Tuesday. The DSP said, She confirmed that she had given a statement under the influence of liquor and nothing had happened with her.
Also read | What the relatives said on Monday night
In the incident, she had hit an elderly woman Kamla Devi, a resident of Sector 46, and a motorcyclist Pawan Thakur, a resident of Ram Darbar, who suffered multiple fractures, and were admitted to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32.
Rajinikanth has been bashing goons for decades in his films, but his latest release Kabali, cant seem to evade them. Online bootleggers have threatened Kabali since before its release. Now, an HD version of the film has been leaked online, as per a report in The News Minute.
Pirates, possibly in Malaysia, have leaked Kabali on a website and have issued a warning to the films Malaysian distributor, Malik Streams Corporation.
Read: Will Kabali be actor Rajinikanths new touchstone?
In a note addressed to the distributor, the pirates say: Special note : Malik streams corporation SDN BHD. If you send gangsters to CD shops to collect money then this will be the gift for all the movies u distribute. (sic)
Read: Kabali | Two-minute scene from the film leaked
From this message it is to be understood that distributors extort shops that sell pirated CDs. However, this remains an unconfirmed theory.
A day before its worldwide release on July 22, there was news that a two-minute introductory clip of the film had been leaked online. According to an IANS source, the leak might have happened from the Gulf. The leaked clip features Arabic subtitles too. Hence, it must have originated from the Gulf. The team is trying to find the source of the leak, said a source.
The film was later released on Vimeo and other Tamil web sites. However, most of the earlier prints seem to have been recorded in the theatres as the cheers and whistles of audience could be heard.
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Seeing the world no lo longer requires you to leave the comforts of your home and take an arduous journey. You take on the adventure of a lifetime while sitting comfortably on your sofa.
This time round, we take you to the glorious and historic British capital as explored through these five international movies you cant not watch.
Recent flick: London Has Fallen
After saving Washington, the US President, played by Aaron Eckhart, and Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) must foil an international terrorist plot to wipe out the worlds most powerful leaders, gathered to attend a funeral in the British capital.
Read: Want to travel on a shoestring budget? Look no further than Hanoi
Famous London monuments like Big Ben, St Pauls Cathedral and Westminster can all be seen onscreen, as well as Somerset House and the famous neighborhoods of Soho and Mayfair. The movie was released earlier this year and is now out on DVD and Blu-ray.
Classic must-see: Notting Hill
The London neighbourhood of Notting Hill found fame the world over in 1999 thanks to this romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. Its main thoroughfare, Portobello Road, takes center stage with its antiques market and famous coloured doors, including one particular blue door (since repainted white) thats home to the films main character, a travel bookstore owner.
A different view: 28 Days Later
Danny Boyle 2002 post-apocalyptic thriller, 28 Days Later, captures an impressive London landscape, showing the city entirely deserted. Its a great chance to catch a glimpse of usually busy tourist hotspots like Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street and Westminster Bridge, totally devoid of traffic and people.
Read: Worlds cheapest beaches are in Vietnam and India
The director filmed the desolate scenes very early on Sunday mornings, closing off sections of street for a few minutes at a time.
One for the kids: Mary Poppins
Thanks to this nanny with magical powers, millions of children have discovered the city of London as it was in the early 20th century. Soaring over the city with her magical flying umbrella, Mary Poppins takes kids on an original guided tour, with a birds eye view of the British capital. However, the Disney movie was entirely filmed in 1964 in The Burbank Studios, California, USA.
Historical setting: An Education
Danish director Lone Scherfig chose 1960s London as the setting for her 2009 romantic drama starring Carrey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard. The movie follows a 16-year-old schoolgirl who discovers a city beyond Ealing, a residential suburb of Victorian houses, when she meets a man twice her age and steps into the prestigious homes and luxury boutiques of Mayfair.
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The Busan International Film Festival, which is to run from October 6 to 15, is still not out of the storm that it ran into a couple of years ago. The South Korean movie industry is not willing to lift its boycott of the festival, which -- despite being a new entrant in the field, having held its first edition in 1996 -- has become Asias premiere event, miles and miles ahead of even the almost ancient International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which opened in 1956.
The Korean Film Groups Emergency Committee for Defending Busan International Film Festivals Independence -- a union of nine major movie industry organisations in the country -- announced on August 1 that it would not lift the ban.
Read: Venice Film Festival unveils titles
A bone of contention has been the reluctance of the Busan Mayor, Suh Byung-soo, to apologise for creating a sticky situation in 2014, when he tried to block the screening of a controversial documentary, The Truth Shall Not Sink With Sewol, helmed by Lee Sang-ho and Ahn Hae-ryong.
A Variety review during the 2014 festival had this to say: Emerging barely six months after the South Korean ferry disaster that claimed the lives of more than 300 passengers in April, this raw, ragged, controversy-stirring item never pretends to take a comprehensive view of its complex subject, instead using a narrow account of one mans stonewalled rescue efforts to pry open a small, infuriating window on the staggering levels of government incompetence and media collusion at work.
Read: Mira Nairs The Queen Of Katwe to premiere at Toronto film fest
Despite a strong attempt by Korean officials to stop the screening of the documentary, the then festival director, Lee Yong-Kwan, refused to buckle under political pressure. The film was screened.
Lee was dismissed soon after, and another demand of the Committee is that his honour must be restored.
Watch the trailer of The Truth Shall Not Sink With Sewol here:
Lee is still under a cloud after he was charged with misappropriation of funds. Many say that this is a politically motivated accusation.
Such incidents are nothing new in India, given to banning especially documentaries that have been critical of the administration.
Read: Taiwanese actor dropped from Chinese film on independence issue
Even a celebrated auteur like Satyajit Ray had to face Government flak when his Sikkim made in 1971 -- the only documentary to his credit -- was proscribed. Made four years before Sikkim became part of India, the work traces the states concern about its sovereignty. It was only in 2010, long after Ray was gone, that Sikkim got screening rights. There are only two copies of this now -- with the British Film Institute and in the US.
Rakesh Sharmas 2003 The Final Solution -- on the 2002 Gujarat riots -- was not allowed to be shown for a while, till in 2004 the ban was lifted.
These are merely two of the innumerable works that made the administration uneasy. But of course, better sense prevailed in the end.
The Busan festival now stands at the perilous crossroads of doom and shine. No festival can really succeed without the participation of the cinema industry. Even one like Cannes woos not just the French movie fraternity but also Hollywood.
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A young woman who returned home to The Netherlands with her two children after fleeing Syria has been arrested on suspicion of links to the jihadist Islamic State group, officials said on Tuesday.
Identified in Dutch media reports as 20-year-old Laura Hansen, the woman was detained late Monday at Schiphol airport as she arrived back in the country almost a year after leaving with her husband.
She had allegedly fled the conflict zone in Syria and arrived back in Schiphol airport, where she was arrested immediately on arrival, the Dutch prosecution service said.
She is suspected of participating in a terrorist organisation in Syria and/or Iraq between September 1, 2015 and July 12, 2016, it added in a statement.
Her two children were taken into care, and prosecutors are now investigating whether to bring any formal charges.
A woman identified by the same name appeared on Kurdish television early last month saying she had fled from the grips of the jihadist group.
She said her 27-year-old husband had told her they were going on holiday in September, and instead had taken her against her will to the IS stronghold in Raqqa, northern Syria.
After several months, she was transferred to Mosul, in northern Iraq.
Hansen told Kurdistan24 television she had escaped IS with the help of her father, and surrendered to the Kurdish peshmerga after her two young children were injured in a bombing in Mosul.
I didnt want to come to Syria... He pushed me, she said of her husband, speaking in halting English to the Arbil-based TV channel.
They put me in a house. It was all (guarded by) men. Men with beards and guns, she said.
I was trying all the time to flee from the hell in which I was living.
The Dutch foreign ministry told AFP that diplomats had been in touch with Hansen and her family when she was in Iraq.
Our consulate-general in Arbil was in touch with the local authorities all the time and assisted with Lauras return to The Netherlands, a foreign ministry spokesman said.
At least 250 Dutch people have left the Netherlands for Syria and Iraq to join fighters there, according to the Dutch National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV).
About 40 have since come home, while another 42 are believed to have died in the fighting.
Britains maritime authorities said on Tuesday an Indian ship named Malaviya Twenty was detained in July after surveyors found five deficiences when it docked in Great Yarmouth.
This was the second ship belonging to Mumbai-headquartered GOL Offshore Limited to be detained after Malaviya Seven was detained at Aberdeen in June.
The deficiencies listed for Malaviya Twenty, detained at the port in east England on July 4, were related to minimum safe manning (missing), medical certificate (expired), wages (missing), calculation and payment of wages (no records) and seafarers employment (invalid), the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said.
It said when a foreign ship at a British port is found to be not in compliance with applicable convention requirements, a deficiency may be raised. If any of the deficiencies are so serious they have to be rectified before departure, then the ship will be detained.
The vessel was among three new detentions in July and was still detained as of July 31, the agency said.
GOL Offshore describes itself as India's prominent integrated offshore oilfield services provider offering a broad spectrum of services to upstream oil and gas producers to carry out offshore exploration and production (E&P) activities.
Britain is part of a regional agreement on port state control known as the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MOU). Information on all ships inspected is held centrally in an electronic database known as THETIS, which allows ships with a high risk rating and poor detention records to be targeted for future inspection.
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A Bangladeshi-Canadian suspected of heading the local Islamic State faction and a sacked army official were named on Tuesday as the masterminds of the brutal attack on a Dhaka cafe that left 20 hostages dead.
Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, the Bangladeshi-origin Canadian citizen, and former army major Zia Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque were behind the attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in the elite Gulshan area, inspector general of police AKM Shahidul Haque told a news conference in Dhaka.
Though Chowdhury has been named by Bangladeshi officials as a leader of the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), leading counter-terror experts have identified him as the head of the IS chapter in Bangladesh. He is believed to have fled from Canada to Bangladesh in 2013.
The major was sacked from military service for his alleged attempts to organise coups in recent years.
The police chief announced a reward of 2 million takas each for information leading to their arrests.
Haque said nine suspected militants, who were gunned down in a police raid in Dhakas Kalyanpur area on July 26, were also connected with these two men.
In an overnight drive, security officials killed the nine militants and arrested one more as he tried to escape. The militant who was shot and captured is now being treated for bullet injuries.
Intelligence sources had said earlier Chowdhury held several meetings with the militants at Kalyanpur and went into hiding after the police raid.
The Islamic State claimed the responsibility for the July 1 attack on Holey Artisan Bakery but the government rejected it, saying the Sunni extremist group does not have a presence in Bangladesh. Authorities said the attackers belong to the JMB. Indian national Tarishi Jain was among the 20 hostages killed.
Chinas navy has fired dozens of missiles and torpedoes during exercises in the East China Sea that come amid heightened maritime tensions in the region, underscoring Beijings determination to back up its sovereignty claims with force if needed.
The live-fire drills that began on Monday follow Chinas strident rejection of an international arbitration panels ruling last month that invalidated Beijings claims to a vast swath of the South China Sea.
That led to days of angry statements from Beijing, followed by live-firing naval exercises in the South China Sea and the launch of regular aerial patrols in the area.
On Tuesday, the defence ministry said the East China Sea exercises were aimed at improving the intensity, precision, stability and speed of its military.
An information technology-based war at sea is sudden, cruel and short, which requires fast transition to combat status, quick preparation and high assault efficiency, the ministry said.
The drills include ships, submarines, aircraft and coast guard forces, illustrating Chinas growing emphasis on integrated training under realistic conditions.
Chinas navy has been closing the gap with its US rival in both ship numbers and technology, including the deployment of advanced anti-ship missiles, nuclear submarines and the countrys first aircraft carrier.
While global attention has been drawn to the South China Sea, where five governments exercise territorial claims overlapping with Chinas, Beijing also operates extensively in the East China Sea, where it claims a string of uninhabited islands controlled by Japan.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans war of words with the West got personal on Tuesday when he told Italian judges investigating his son they should be pursuing the mafia instead.
That prompted a withering putdown from Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi who tweeted: In this country the judges follow the law and the Italian constitution, not the Turkish president. Thats called the rule of law.
Erdogans eldest son Bilal, who was studying in Bologna, has been under investigation since February by judges who suspect him of involvement in money laundering.
An exiled Turkish businessman opposed to the Erdogan government has accused Bilal of having arrived in Italy with large stashes of cash and a heavily-armed bodyguard unit that had travelled on diplomatic passports.
My son is meant to return to Bologna to finish his doctorate but is in danger of being arrested, Erdogan said in an interview with Italian news channel Rai News24.
In this city they call me a dictator and demonstrate for the PKK (Kurdish militants). Why does no one intervene?
Is that the rule of law? This affair could compromise our relations with Italy.
Erdogan added: Let Italys judges deal with the mafia, not my son.
The spat with Italy came as Erdogan launched a bitter attack on all of Turkeys Western allies over his reaction to a July 15 attempt to overthrow him, which has led to a crackdown that has raised fears for the survival of democracy in the country.
For Nabin Lama, leaving Nepal after his annual home leave to return to his construction job in Saudi Arabia is not easy. What makes the journey bearable -- even enjoyable -- is the can of beer he can drink on the flight from Kathmandu.
As soon as the seat belt sign dinged off on a flight to Mumbai -- from where he and a couple of hundred other Nepalis would take a connecting flight to Jeddah -- Lama rose to look for the stewardess.
Beer, he bellowed, waving to her as she made her way down the aisle with a tray of fruit juice and water.
Its a tough life there. But at least we can earn something and help our family, said Lama, 24, one hand on his passport, a white sticker across its green cover identifying a Nepali recruitment agency and his job.
But we cant drink there. So we have a beer on the flight. It feels good, he said with a grin.
Lama comes from one of the worlds poorest countries. On-going political instability since a decade-long civil conflict ended in 2006 has discouraged investment, hampered growth and curbed job creation in Nepal, forcing hundreds of thousands to migrate overseas for work.
Most go to the Middle East, Malaysia and India, from where they send remittances which make up almost 30% of Nepals annual gross domestic product, according to the labour ministry.
Most migrants are in low-paid, unskilled jobs in construction, or work as security guards and domestic helpers.
Many face labour abuses including long hours, unsafe conditions and withholding of their wages and passports, say activists. Many are trafficked, tricked into doing jobs that they did not sign up for, or under conditions and wages far worse than they were promised.
Their families are not that much better off. Elderly parents, as well as young women and children left behind in remote villages are themselves vulnerable to traffickers and racketeers, and struggle with everyday hardship.
There are hardly any young men left behind in some districts, said Nandita Baruah, deputy country representative at Asia Foundation, an international development organisation, in Kathmandu.
Families left behind may be duped into sending their children with traffickers posing as aid workers, or even selling their kidneys in India for money, she said.
Migration is increasing the economic and social vulnerability of the country: People left behind are exposed to the harsh economic realities, and it makes them take greater risks, like trusting a trafficker or a kidney tout, she said.
Zero Cost
More than 3.8 million permits to work abroad were issued in the decade to 2015, representing about 14% of the current population, according to Nepals labour ministry.
This does not include the hundreds of thousands crossing the border into India, where they do not require a permit.
Nepal is forecast by the World Bank to have received about $6.6 billion in remittances in 2015. But the journey to an overseas job is fraught with challenges and usually leaves workers deep in debt.
Recruitment agencies that facilitate procuring a job and a work permit often charge 2,00,000 to 5,00,000 rupees ($1,860 to$4,660) per worker. That is several times the average income of about $730.
A Nepalese woman spins prayer wheels as she walks home. Hardly any young men are left in the country as they seek better paying jobs abroad, mostly in the Middle East. (AFP Photo)
Fear of losing their job and not being able to pay back the money -- usually borrowed from moneylenders, often underwritten by the family home, or from selling land -- forces workers to tolerate harsh working conditions and low wages.
Migration is important -- most workers do well, earn a living, support their families, Baruah told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
But the very first journey of migration leads to indebtedness. And they are bonded to their employers because of the huge burden of debt, she said.
The Nepali government introduced a zero-cost migration policy last year, which makes the employer and recruiter responsible for costs. But the law is applied unevenly.
After female domestic workers in the Gulf countries complained of abuse, Nepal in 2012 banned women below the age of 30 from going there as domestic helps.
But many women produced fake papers to say they were older than 30, or were hired for other jobs.
Nepal has since lowered the age limit to 26 years.
In June, Nepal banned its nationals from working in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria after 13 Nepali security guards were killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul.
These measures to protect workers have had limited success.
We know that when labour-sending countries try to protect their citizens through such bans, unscrupulous recruiters just use unregulated channels, said Meenakshi Ganguly, head of Human Rights Watch for South Asia.
Instead, Nepal should monitor recruitment agencies, engage with host countries to enforce worker rights and ensure embassies provide emergency shelters and assistance, she said.
A spokesman for the labour ministry said Nepal aims to sign labour agreements with Saudi Arabia and Malaysia to improve workers rights, similar to those already agreed with the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and South Korea.
Quake Effect
The absence of working-age men was felt deeply in the days and weeks following twin earthquakes in Nepal last year which killed about 9,000 people, and damaged or destroyed more than 9,00,000 houses.
Women tending to children and elderly relatives were often not in a position to go to relief camps, claim compensation, or rebuild their homes quickly, said Lily Thapa, founder of Women for Human Rights in Kathmandu.
Women whose husbands are working overseas are vulnerable and helpless, particularly during disasters, Thapa said.
There were many instances of sexual violence after the quakes directed at such women, she said.
Teaching skills and creating jobs at home will be key to keeping emigration in check, Baruah said. The government also needs to prepare for the return of these workers in the event of an economic downturn or anti-migrant laws in the host countries.
There is already a slow trickle from the Middle East and Malaysia as jobs dry up because of lower oil prices. More than 10,000 Indians in Saudi Arabia who have been laid off are facing a food crisis, Indian officials have said.
Imagine if the 1,500-1,700 men who leave each day from the Kathmandu airport start coming back, Baruah said.
Imagine what will happen when they come back to a country where there are no jobs.
For Lama and his friends, drinking beer on the flight, that is a distant prospect for now.
I have a contract for one year, he said. After that, I will have to find another job somewhere.
Deep in the heart of a medieval monastery in Nepals remote Upper Mustang region, the battle to restore sacred murals and preserve traditional Tibetan Buddhist culture is in full swing.
Tsewang Jigme is among the artists toiling to safeguard the unique cultural heritage of this former Buddhist kingdom high on the Tibetan plateau, which escaped the ravages of the Cultural Revolution in neighbouring China.
These murals are irreplaceable... I feel nervous every time I touch them, I know I need to work very carefully so as not to do any harm to them, the 32-year-old painter told AFP.
A Nepalese monk walks past a stupa (chorten) at Ghemi village in Lo Manthang in Upper Mustang. (AFP)
Upper Mustang only opened to outsiders in 1992 and its murals, scriptures and cave paintings provide a rare window into early Buddhism.
The regions Lo Gekar monastery was established by the founder of Tibetan Buddhism and predates the oldest temple complex built in Tibet, which was severely damaged in the 1960s during the Cultural Revolution.
But wind and rain eroded the mud walls of monuments and rotted wooden ceiling beams, while smoke from ceremonial butter lamps turned luminous frescos black.
A view of the walled city monastery and stupa of Lo Manthang in Upper Mustang. Deep in the heart of the medieval monastery, the battle to restore sacred murals and preserve traditional Tibetan Buddhist culture is in full swing. (AFP)
Irreplaceable
A decade ago, two chortens -- Buddhist shrines believed to protect communities from misfortune -- in the village of Ghemi were close to collapse.
One was in such a poor state that children were using it as a playground and had broken interior painted slate panels.
Nepalese artists restore sacred murals in a monastery in Lo Manthang in Upper Mustang. (AFP)
The shrine was already in such bad shape, the children had no idea that it was special and deserved respect, said Raju Bista, treasurer of the local non-profit Lo Gyalpo Jigme Foundation.
In 2008, the foundation, which is headed by the former king of Upper Mustang, received nearly $23,000 in US government funding to restore monuments, including Ghemis chortens.
The rich cultural heritage here is irreplaceable and the monuments are made of mud, of paint, of wood and can easily fade away and frankly be gone forever, said US ambassador to Nepal, Alaina B. Teplitz.
US ambassador to Nepal, Alaina B Teplitz speaks during an interview with AFP in Lo Manthang in Upper Mustang. (AFP)
I think that would be a loss for the people of Nepal but (also) for the world at large, she told AFP.
The two-year-long restoration involved more than 100 workers and craftsmen, who cleaned the monuments, rebuilt the walls, replaced rotting timber beams and repaired the carvings.
When a massive earthquake struck Nepal in April 2015, killing nearly 9,000 nationwide and destroying around half a million homes, Ghemi was unscathed, prompting devout villagers to say that the restored shrines had protected them.
In 2008, the foundation, which is headed by the former king of Upper Mustang, received nearly $23,000 in US government funding to restore monuments, including Ghemis chortens. (AFP)
Other monuments fared less well. Jampa Lhakhang, a 15th-century monastery famous for having the worlds largest collection of mandalas (Buddhist cosmic designs) painted on its walls, was severely damaged.
The earthquake weakened many medieval structures in Upper Mustangs walled capital of Lo Manthang, including the monastery and the former kings five-storey palace.
It also ruptured the main drainage system, allowing water to penetrate monastery walls and raising the risk of mould.
Damaged by quake
The quake caused layers of plaster to separate and crack into pieces at the Jampa Lhakhang, where shards of 500-year-old frescos still litter the floors.
The proposed restoration work will shore up the structure by injecting plaster and glue into the walls and will be overseen by the American Himalayan Foundation, which has worked in the region since 1998.
The murals will then be cleaned and retouched, a practice frowned on by some western conservationists.
Gyalpo Jigme Foundation treasurer Raju Bista in Lo Manthang in Upper Mustang. (AFP)
The local Loba community, however, believe it is better to pray to undamaged images of the Buddha, and see it as their duty to keep them in good repair.
That means artists like Jigme, who has spent years working to preserve Upper Mustangs murals, play a critical role.
It is a painstaking process that involves grinding gemstones like lapis lazuli and malachite into a fine powder that is mixed with water and animal glue to create pigments.
Compared to Tibet, where so much was destroyed, we have been very lucky, Jigme said, recalling his visits to a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Chinas Sichuan province a decade ago.
Jigme was part of a team working to restore murals covered by thick layers of mud, put there by villagers to keep the paintings safe during a failed 1959 uprising in the Tibetan capital Lhasa.
(AFP)
It took a long time to remove the mud but slowly the face of god revealed itself... and all the old villagers watching us began to cry, he said.
They did whatever they could to save those paintings... now we have to do whatever we can to protect our heritage.
A Virgin America passenger has been criminally charged with sexually touching a sleeping female passenger on an overnight flight to Newark, New Jersey from Los Angeles last week, federal prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Veerabhadrarao Kunam, 58, of Visakhapatnam, India, was charged with one count of abusive sexual conduct aboard Flight 170 which departed on July 29, US Attorney Paul Fishman in New Jersey said.
Fishman said the defendant was arrested on July 30 when his flight arrived, and was released on $50,000 bond following a Monday court appearance in Newark federal court.
Alexander Spiro, a lawyer at Brafman & Associates representing Kunam, declined to comment.
According to the complaint, Kunam was seated in an aisle seat when the victim, who was sleeping next to him in a middle seat, awoke to find his hands massaging her private parts, and the defendant rubbing his bare feet against hers.
The woman then traded seats with her male travel companion, and Kunam offered to buy him a drink and told him he wanted everyone to forget about the incident, prosecutors said.
A member of the flight crew then moved Kunam to another seat, and the defendant said he would not touch the victim again, the complaint said.
Virgin America spokesperson Dave Arnold said in a statement that the crew had been alerted to reports of a disruptive individual accused of inappropriate touching, moved the person, and told law enforcement, who were waiting for Flight 170 when it arrived.
The charge against Kunam carries a maximum two-year prison term and $250,000 fine.
A convoy of relief material mobilised by the Jammat-ud-Dawa (JuD) in Pakistan for distribution in the Kashmir Valley was halted on Tuesday near the Line of Control (LoC), triggering protests, officials said.
The convoy of dozens of trucks and ambulances left Muzzafarabad in Pakistani Kashmir early on Tuesday for Srinagar and was stopped by police in Chakothi village near the LoC.
The vehicles are loaded with essential supplies such as rice, oil, fresh and dry vegetables, clarified butter, baby food and medicines. There were also ambulances with doctors and paramedics.
The relief materials and ambulances were put together by the Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF), the charity wing of the proscribed JuD Islamist group.
The group is headed by Hafeez Sayeed, the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack, for whose capture the US has announced a bounty of $10 million.
Although the JuD is outlawed in Pakistan, it is known to operate more or less freely through its various fronts, and Sayeed frequently addresses public rallies.
People in the convoy staged a demonstration in Chakothi, insisting that they be allowed to proceed to the Kashmir Valley in India, the FIF said.
The caravan will not leave this place till the material is sent to the Kashmiri people who are suffering from over three weeks due to the Indian atrocities, it said.
Hafiz Abdul Rouf of FIF said markets in the Valley were shut due to curfew and restrictions, and that Kashmiris were suffering badly.
If the two countries can use this route for trade, why cant it be used for humanitarian relief? he asked.
The widespread protests in the Kashmir Valley following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani has claimed over 50 lives and injured more than 3,000 people.
Efforts by political parties from Nepals Madhes region to amend the countrys new Constitution could receive a boost after they finalised an agreement on Tuesday on backing Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda in the elections for the next prime minister.
The Sanghiya Loktantantrik Madeshi Morcha (SLMM) sealed the agreement with the Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Center ahead of the elections on Wednesday.
However, the cautious SLMM will not join the Maoist-led government even though Prachanda and Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba requested them to become part of the coalition.
Prachanda is perceived as being relatively soft on the demands of the SLMM and observers said the Madhesi leaders are now expected to play a constructive role in national politics and calm the situation in the southern Terai plains, which were hit by a prolonged agitation over amending the Constitution adopted last year.
The SLMM held 36 rounds with outgoing prime minister KP Sharma Oli since last September but without any results. They blamed Olis high-handedness for the lack of success.
The three-point agreement finalised by the SLMM states that Prachandas new government will implement several conditions set by the Madhesi alliance, including declaring those killed during last years protests as martyrs, providing relief and compensation to the injured and forging political consensus on the SLMMs demands for constitutional amendments.
We recognise and respect the agitations that helped Nepal to move towards the republic and also recognize the demands and aspirations of Tharus, Madhesis and Janajatis/Adivasis. We have to find a way out so that all sections of Nepali society can own up the new Constitution as common property, said a statement jointly issued by the Nepali Congress, Maoist and Madeshi leaders.
The parties also committed themselves to implementing the core values of the new Constitution, including inclusiveness, equality and proportional representation of different groups in state entities, the statement said.
Texas on Monday became the eighth US state to allow guns on campuses -- a controversial decision that comes on the 50th anniversary of a deadly sniper rampage at a university.
The law, which was passed last year, requires public universities in Texas to permit concealed weapons in campus buildings, although schools can impose limits on where guns are allowed.
At the University of Texas at Austin, where a mass shooting in 1966 claimed 14 lives, the institutions president Gregory Fenves said the emotionally charged issue would likely be little noticed on campus.
We have a very safe campus, Fenves said, And I think that will continue.
Texas joins seven other states which also allow concealed guns on university campuses, including Oregon, Colorado, and Wisconsin. Eighteen states specifically ban the practice.
Critics of the law include three UT Austin professors who have sued, claiming their free speech rights would be violated, because students with guns would create a fearful atmosphere and stifle the open expression of ideas.
In an opinion piece published last week in The Dallas Morning News, Seema Yasmin, who teaches at a public university in Dallas, echoed that theme.
Im not scared of guns. Im scared of this combination: term exam stress, undiagnosed mental illness and the ability to carry guns in university buildings, Yasmin wrote.
Proponents argue that allowing concealed weapons on campuses makes students and teachers safer, because any potential shooting attacks can be halted more quickly by armed citizens.
Read | One dead, three injured after shooting in Texas capital Austin
The clock on the University of Texas at Austin tower is stopped at 11:48am to mark the time Charles Whitman began shooting from the site 50 years ago. The architectural engineering student and Marine-trained sniper climbed to the observation deck of the 27-story structure in the heart of UT's flagship Austin campus, armed with rifles, pistols and a sawed-off shotgun. He killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others before authorities gunned him down. (AP)
Remembering a mass shooting
As the new law went into effect, UT Austin dedicated a new sculpture on its campus grounds for the victims of the 1966 massacre.
The stone block sculpture is etched with the names of all 17 people killed by gunman Charles Whitman: the 14 killed on campus, his mother and wife whom he killed earlier in the day, and one more campus victim who would die of his wounds years later.
Whitman, a former military sharpshooter, climbed the universitys clock tower building and shot for more than 90 minutes before being killed.
In this Aug. 1, 1966 file photo, one of the victims of Charles Joseph Whitman, the sniper who gunned down victims from a perch in the University of Texas tower, is carried across the campus to a waiting ambulance in Austin. The unidentified victim was gunned down inside the tower, according to police on the scene. (AP file photo)
Read | US Senate rejects gun-control measures after Orlando shooting
This massacre... occurred before terms like mass shooting, said Lloyd Doggett, a Texas congressman who 50 years ago was a student at UT Austin. Now, such gun violence has become all too commonplace.
Some of the shootings survivors attended the ceremony, including Claire Wilson James, who lost her unborn child when she was wounded.
Let this memorial remain here on campus and in our minds, as a reminder of the power we have each moment to become a community of love and reverence for life, James said during the ceremony.
Limits of new law
It is unclear what the impact of the Texas law will be.
For one, concealed guns have been allowed on Texas university campuses since 1995. The new law now allows them inside buildings as well.
A person has to be 21 or older to be licensed to carry a gun in the state. That limits the number of college students who would qualify.
And despite fears, university officials say there is little evidence of increased violence.
Read | Orlando aftermath: A dharna by Democrats in US House over gun control law
Guns sit for sale at a gun show where thousands of different weapons are displayed for sale on July 10, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. (AFP file photo)
After the law was passed a year ago, the University of Texas examined 17 other universities where students are allowed to carry guns.
Most respondents reported that campus carry had not had much direct impact on student life or academic affairs, said UTs subsequent report. We have found little evidence of campus violence that can be directly linked to campus carry, and none that involves an intentional shooting.
Still, the law could have damaging public relations effects.
Already, two UT Austin professors have parted from the school. A candidate to lead the universitys communications school reportedly withdrew citing the concealed carry law.
Asked whether the school was concerned that students might stay away, Fenves said the institution is monitoring any potential impact.
At this point, I cant say its had an undue effect on our ability to recruit, he said.
Read | Do strict gun laws keep Indians safer?
Pakistans parliament has unanimously passed a resolution, condemning the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and demanding the UN Human Rights Commission to send a fact-finding mission to the Valley.
The 34th session of the National Assembly (the parliament) on Monday with Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in the chair extended its support to Kashmiris.
The National Assembly of Pakistan strongly condemns the recent atrocities perpetrated on innocent Kashmiris by Indian security forces, said the resolution passed late last night.
It said the use of pellet guns is deplorable and is against the canons of international humanitarian laws.
This House denounces these reprehensible acts...It is confident that these blatant violations of international law cannot deter the valiant, oppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir from continuing to press their demand for realisation of their right to self-determination, which is enshrined in numerous UN Security Council Resolutions, it added.
It reiterated Pakistans continuing political, moral and diplomatic support for the struggle in Kashmir.
The resolution pressed the government to urge the international community, inter-governmental and inter-parliamentary organisations, international nongovernmental organisations and civil society and media to ask India to immediately stop alleged violations of the human rights.
It also demanded that the Human Rights Commission in Geneva should be requested to immediately send a fact-finding mission to Kashmir to investigate alleged Human Rights violations by Indian security forces.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Center, was the sole candidate to file his nomination on Tuesday for the election to the post of prime minister.
Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba proposed Prachandas name while Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara seconded it. His bid was also backed by Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum Nepal chairman Upendra Yadav.
Earlier, the Communist Party of Nepal-UML, the second largest party in Parliament, had said it would field a candidate for the post but it decided on Tuesday not to file any nominations. It also decided to vote against Prachanda and to sit in the opposition.
Prachanda is now set to with majority votes in the House on Wednesday.
He needs 298 votes in the 595-member Parliament to win. The CPN-Maoist Centre, the third largest party in Parliament with 82 seats, has the backing of the Nepali Congress, the largest party with 207 seats.
The agitating Sanghiya Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha has also thrown its weight behind Prachandas candidacy after finalising a three-point agreement with the Nepali Congress and CPN-Maoist Centre. But it wont join the government, the alliance with 39 lawmakers said.
According to the timetable for electing the new premier published by the Parliament secretariat, Tuesday was the last day for filing nominations and the polls will start at 11 am on Wednesday.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Center, was the sole candidate to file his nomination on Tuesday for the election to the post of prime minister.
Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba proposed Prachandas name while Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara seconded it. His bid was also backed by Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum Nepal chairman Upendra Yadav.
Earlier, the Communist Party of Nepal-UML, the second largest party in Parliament, had said it would field a candidate for the post but it decided on Tuesday not to file any nominations. It also decided to vote against Prachanda and to sit in the opposition.
Prachanda is now set to with majority votes in the House on Wednesday.
He needs 298 votes in the 595-member Parliament to win. His CPN-Maoist Centre, the third largest party in Parliament with 82 seats, has the backing of the Nepali Congress, the largest party with 207 seats.
The agitating Sanghiya Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha also threw its weight behind Prachandas candidacy after finalising a three-point agreement with the Nepali Congress and CPN-Maoist Centre.
The efforts by Madhesi parties to amend the countrys new Constitution could receive a boost after they finalised the agreement on backing Prachanda.
However, the cautious SLMM will not join the Maoist-led government even though Prachanda and Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba requested it to become part of the coalition.
Prachanda is perceived as being relatively soft on the demands of the SLMM and observers said the Madhesi leaders are now expected to play a constructive role in national politics and calm the situation in the southern Terai plains, which were hit by a prolonged agitation over amending the Constitution adopted last year.
The three-point agreement finalised by the SLMM states that Prachandas new government will implement several conditions set by the Madhesi alliance, including declaring those killed during last years protests as martyrs, providing relief and compensation to the injured and forging political consensus on the SLMMs demands for constitutional amendments
First they banned Russias version of Father Christmas, then they forbade foreign names for babies.
And now Tajikistan, one of Central Asias most reclusive states, is going to start fining journalists caught using incomprehensible words, a government official said on Monday.
There are cases when journalists use as many as 10 words in one day that the simple reader, viewer or listener cannot comprehend, said Gavhar Sharifzoda, the head of Tajikistans state language committee, in comments carried by Russias Interfax news service.
This grossly violates the norms of state language.
Authorities in the country of eight million have recently complained about the growing influence on Tajik, the official state language, of Farsi and Dari, which is spoken in Afghanistan.
Sharifzoda said fines for individuals will range from $75 to $100 (67 to 90 euros), while state officials and organisations will have to pay up to $200.
It remains unclear when the new regulations will come into force.
Tajik is the sole state language in Tajikistan although Russian is constitutionally recognised as a language of inter-ethnic communication and is widely spoken in the ex-Soviet republic.
In a bid to boost patriotism, the long-serving president of the impoverished country, Emomali Rakhmon, ended the use of Russian as an official language in 2009.
The Tajik language is still written in an adapted form of the Russian Cyrillic alphabet, however.
The landlocked country has in the past adopted restrictive legislation, including bans on Russias version of Father Christmas, large public celebrations and non-Tajik names for newborn babies.
Similar regulations exist in other post-Soviet states, as they aim to curb the influence of Russian.
Reports of bans on the sale of Islamic clothing in certain cities and forced beard shavings by police in the secular country are also widespread.
An influential committee of the British Parliament has called for an immediate announcement about the future of nearly 3 million EU citizens in the country following the Brexit vote, and suggested three possible cut-off dates.
The idea is to reassure migrants who arrive in Britain before the cut-off date of their indefinite future in the country. Setting the cut-off date will avoid a surge in immigration, the Home Affairs Committee of Parliament said in its latest report.
Keith Vaz, chair of the committee, said: "The biggest issue relating to Brexit is migration. There is a clear lack of certainty in the governments approach to the position of EU migrants resident in the UK and British citizens living in the EU. Neither should be used as pawns in a complicated chess game which has not even begun.
Britons voted in a June 23 referendum to exit the European Union, triggering a political storm that resulted in the resignation of former premier David Cameron. Britain is yet to begin formal negotiations on the exit.
Prime Minister Theresa May has reassured EU migrants in Britain but has not confirmed their indefinite stay, linking it to the fate of nearly 1.5 million Britons living in EU countries. The arrangements are expected to be finalised in negotiations due to start in early 2017.
EU citizens in Britain include more than 20,000 Portuguese citizens of Goa origin.
We have offered three suggested cut-off dates, and unless the government makes a decision, the prospect of a 'surge' in immigration will increase. Multiple voices and opinions from government ministers causes uncertainty, and must stop, Vaz said.
The report said the most obvious cut-off dates include the date of the EU referendum, June 23, or the date Article 50 of Lisbon Treaty is triggered for beginning the process of Britains exit, or the date when Britain actually leaves the EU after a process expected to last two years.
Calling for certainty on the future of EU migrants in Britain and British citizens in EU countries, the committee said they must not be used as "bargaining chips" in Brexit negotiations. It asked the government to move quickly to establish certainty over their status.
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A Syrian rescue service operating in rebel-held territory said on Tuesday a helicopter dropped containers of toxic gas overnight on a town close to where a Russian military helicopter was shot down hours earlier.
A spokesperson for Syria Civil Defence told Reuters that 33 people, mostly women and children, were affected by the gas in Saraqeb.
The group, which describes itself as a neutral band of search and rescue volunteers, posted a video on YouTube purportedly showing a number of men struggling to breathe and being given oxygen masks by people in civil defence uniforms.
Syria Civil Defence workers, who went to the scene of the attack, said they suspected it was chlorine but could not verify that.
Medium-sized barrels fell containing toxic gasses. The Syrian Civil Defence was not able to determine the type of the gas, said the spokesperson.
The Syrian government and its Russian allies were not immediately available for comment.
Both government and opposition forces have denied using chemical weapons during the five-year-old civil war. Western powers say the government has been responsible for chlorine and other chemical attacks. The Syrian government and Russia have accused rebel forces of using poison gas.
Monitors at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said barrel bombs fell on Saraqeb late on Monday, injuring a large number of citizens.
Russias defence ministry said a Russian helicopter was shot down near Saraqeb on Monday, killing all five people on board, in the biggest officially acknowledged loss of life for Russian forces since they started operations in Syria.
The helicopter came down in Idlib province, roughly mid way between Aleppo and the Russian air force base at Khmeimim, near the Mediterranean coast.
The Russian defence ministry said the Mi-8 military transport helicopter had been shot down after delivering humanitarian aid to the city of Aleppo as it made its way back to Russias main air base in the western province of Latakia.
No group has claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter.
As Donald Trump insults and attacks Khizr and Ghazala Khan, parents of a fallen Muslim-American soldier, his multiple deferments from military service are facing fresh scrutiny.
Between 1964 and 1968, Trump, son of a wealthy New York realtor, received four deferments for ongoing education, and one, after he had finished studies, for bone-spurs on his heels. Saved by the spurs, protrusions caused by a pile-up of calcium that can be treated, Trump stayed home as men his age were shipped to Vietnam to fight a war that America would lose.
But in earlier accounts, Trump has claimed he was saved by getting lucky in the draft lottery he drew a number that took him way back of the queue of those to deploy before him.
The New York Times said in a front-page article on Tuesday Trumps public statements about his draft experience sometimes conflict with his Selective Service records, and he is often hazy in recalling details.
Evading conscription has not derailed presidential campaigns before for Bill Clinton and George W Bush but Trump faces extra scrutiny because of his attacks on the Khans.
Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son Captain Humayun Khan was killed in Iraq in 2004, had criticised Trump at the Democratic convention for his anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Trump retaliated, by insulting them. Even people in his own Republican party were outraged Senator John McCain issued a very public rebuke in a statement on Monday.
But thats not going to be enough. Calling Trump unfit to serve as president, President Barack Obama on Tuesday challenged Republican leaders to repudiate their nominee.
So far, only Richard Hanna, a Republican member of the House of Representatives, has done so. He said Tuesday he would be voting for Clinton, becoming the first congressman to cross party line.
Other leaders and advisers are reported to be urging Trump, who is easily riled, to stay on the message and not be distracted by such rows that have tended to play badly for him, most times.
My advice to Donald Trump has been and will continue to be to focus on jobs and national security and stop responding to every criticism, Roy Blunt, Republican senator, said in a statement.
Polls show Americans do indeed believe Trump will do better than Clinton in fixing the economy, which is also polling as the most important election issue, more than national security.
Coming out of the convention, Clinton, whose poll numbers are up by between 3 and 9 points, tried to address it right away by undertaking a bus tour of areas hit hard by unemployment.
Her campaign is also trying to undercut Trumps appeal as a businessman who has created thousands of jobs, by rolling out endorsements by billionaires who have done more.
Warren Buffet, the man often called the richest in the world, appeared with Clinton at a campaign event Monday and challenged Trump to release his tax records.
The Republican nominee has refused to so far upending what has become standard practice in elections offering one reason or the other, triggering speculation he was hiding something.
Clinton is leading Trump in all major polls and holds a 4.4-point lead over him in the RealClearPolitics average, but has failed to widen the gap despite Trumps growing list of blunders.
His spat with the Khans, being the latest, which, apart from the outrage, has now brought back into light his deferments from military service, showing him up as an entitled elite.
Turkey on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for 100 staff, including doctors, at the main military hospital in Ankara as part of the investigation into last months failed coup, local media reported.
Police were searching the Gulhane Military Medical Academy (GATA) hospital in the capital, private NTV television reported. It was not immediately clear if any suspects had been detained.
A Ukrainian pilot released from a Russian jail in May launched a fresh hunger strike on Tuesday in protest over Kievs failure to secure the return of other prisoners of war in the separatist east.
A Russian court sentenced the 35-year-old army helicopter navigator Nadiya Savchenko to 22 years in prison in March over the 2014 killing of two Russian journalists in the Ukrainian war zone.
Her detention was based on flimsy and often contradictory evidence that turned her into a national hero and brought international attention to her cause.
She was swapped for two Russian soldiers and has since assumed a seat in Ukraines parliament and made a number of highly-charged statements protesting the Western-backed authorities failure to settle a 27-month war that has claimed nearly 9,500 lives.
One of Savchenkos biggest causes has been ensuring the release of more than 100 Ukrainian soldiers captured by pro-Russian insurgents who control swathes of the former Soviet republics industrial southeast.
As of today, I again announce a hunger strike in response to the inability of all those in power the world over to release Ukrainians from captivity, she told reporters.
The strike will continue until a positive result is achieved.
Savchenko added that she also wanted dozens of political prisoners returned from Russia and Crimea through talks between Moscow and Kiev -- two foes whose relations have been frozen since the Black Sea peninsulas annexation in March 2014.
Ukraines historic February 2014 pro-EU revolution was followed by its loss of Crimea to Russia and the onset of a conflict that Moscow denies plotting or backing in reprisal for the geopolitical loss of its western neighbour.
Savchenko staged repeated hunger strikes during her detention in Russia that at times stretched on for weeks.
Some opinion polls show her now ranking as one of Ukraines most trusted politicians.
But she has made enemies among some powerful fellow lawmakers for calling for talks with pro-Russian insurgents that could offer them broader autonomy and end the war.
Mediator role
Savchenko said she was ready to travel east and speak to the revolts leaders in order to get the stalled prisoner swap process moving again.
Prisoner exchanges have been delayed on repeated occasions due to the strong mutual mistrust between the rebels and Kiev.
I have said a thousand times: I am ready to go there -- undercover or not -- in order to achieve results, Savchenko said.
She added that mothers of captured soldiers intended to stage a protest outside Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenkos office next Monday to demonstrate their frustration with his inability to keep his promise and return the captives home.
A full prisoner swap was one of the clauses of a February 2015 peace deal that neither side has respected and thus failed to resolve one of Europes bloodiest crises since the 1990s Balkans wars.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has suggested that he fears the general election is going to be rigged -- an unprecedented assertion by a modern presidential candidate.
Trumps claim -- one he did not back up with any immediate evidence -- would, if it became more than just an offhand comment, seem to threaten the tradition of peacefully contested elections and challenge the very essence of a fair democratic process.
Im afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest, the Republican nominee told a town hall crowd in Columbus, Ohio on Monday. He added that he has been hearing more and more that the election may not be contested fairly, though he did not elaborate further.
Trump made the claim after first suggesting that the Democrats had fixed their primary system so Hillary Clinton could defeat Bernie Sanders. Trump has previously backed up that thought by pointing to hacked emails from the national party that appeared to indicate a preference for Clinton. Still, the former secretary of state received 3.7 million more votes than Sanders nationwide and had established a clear lead in delegates by March 1.
Read | Hillary Clinton has more cash; Trump forgives loans
The celebrity businessman -- who has been known to dabble in conspiracy theories, including claims that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States and, more recently, that senator Ted Cruzs father was an associate of former president John F Kennedys assassin -- also claimed that the Republican nomination would have been stolen from him had he not won by significant margins.
He then asserted that Novembers general election may not be on the up-and-up.
He repeated the charge on Monday night on Fox News Channels Hannity, saying: November 8th, wed better be careful, because that election is going to be rigged. And I hope the Republicans are watching closely or its going to be taken away from us.
Requests to Trumps campaign for additional explanation were not returned.
Read | America first: Trump thunders, accepts Republican presidential nomination
The statement could be an effort by Trump to lay the groundwork of an excuse if he goes on to lose the general election. But if he were to be defeated in November and then publicly declare that the election results were bogus, his claim could yield unpredictable reactions from his supporters and fellow Republicans.
Trump has not been shy about asserting that the electoral process has been rigged.
It became a frequent catchphrase of his during a low-water mark of his primary campaign this spring, when forces allied with Cruz managed to pack state delegations with supporters of the Texas senator. Trump also asserted that the Republican Party had changed the delegate allocation in the Florida primary to favor a native candidate, like Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio, at Trumps expense.
In recent weeks, in an effort to woo angry Sanders supporters to his campaign, Trump has made the claim that the Democrats process was also rigged. Monday night, Trump said Sanders made a deal with the devil, and said of Clinton, Shes the devil.
The Clinton campaign declined to comment about Trumps remarks.
The event in Ohio was Trumps first campaign appearance since the onset of his tussle with the parents of a slain Army veteran, but he did not address the flap. He spoke for nearly an hour Monday in Columbus, but did not mention his criticism of Khizr and Ghazala Khan, Muslims whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004.
Read | #CanYouHearUsNow screams at Trump for comment on slain soldiers mother
Trump criticized the family in an interview on Sunday and again in a pair of tweets on Monday morning. Asked on MSNBC Monday whether Trump should apologize, Ghazala Khan said, I dont want to hear anything from him and I dont want to say anything to him.
But his running mate, Mike Pence, quieted a campaign rally crowd on Monday that booed a woman who said she had a son who serves in the US Air Force and asked how he can tolerate what she called Trumps disrespect of American servicemen.
Pence asked the Nevada crowd to quiet down, then said about the questioner: Thats what freedom looks like. Thats what freedom sounds like.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Monday campaigned alongside US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at a rowdy rally in his home state of Nebraska, where he challenged Republican Donald Trump to release his tax returns and questioned Trumps business acumen.
Trump, a New York real estate developer making his first run at public office, has said he cannot release his tax returns, a ritual of US presidential campaigns, until the Internal Revenue Service has completed an audit.
Now Ive got news for him, said Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate is based in Omaha. Im under audit, too, and I would be delighted to meet him anyplace, anytime, before the election.
Ill bring my tax return, he can bring his tax return ... and let people ask us questions about the items that are on there, Buffett added, saying Trump was afraid not of the tax-collecting IRS but of voters.
In response, Trumps spokeswoman Hope Hicks said: As you know, Mr Trump is undergoing a routine audit. She had no immediate comment when asked to respond to Buffett saying that he too was under audit but would release his tax returns.
Trump asserted that his success as a businessman qualifies him to lead the country, but Buffett, who backs Clinton in the November 8 election, said Trump lost money the only time he went to the American people and asked them to invest.
He said it was in 1995 when Trump listed his Trump hotels and casino resorts on the New York Stock Exchange. He said the company lost money every year for the next decade. A monkey would have outperformed Trumps company, Buffett said.
In 1995, if a monkey had thrown a dart at the stock page, the monkey on average would have made 150 percent, he said.
Buffett spoke for nearly 30 minutes to a raucous capacity crowd of roughly 3,100 people in a suburban Omaha high school with Clinton sitting at his side.
He said Trumps final straw was an ABC interview broadcast on Sunday in which he criticised the Muslim parents of a decorated US soldier killed by a bomb in Iraq 12 years ago.
The father Khizr Khan spoke at last weeks Democratic National Convention about their son and attacked Trump for proposing a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States.
Trump said he was viciously attacked by Khan, a naturalised US citizen, when the father publicly doubted Trump had read the US Constitution. Khan said that Trump had sacrificed nothing, prompting Trump in his ABC interview to say, I think Ive made a lot of sacrifices.
Buffett on Monday bluntly contradicted Trump.
No member of the Buffett family has gone to Iraq or Afghanistan. No member of the Trump family has gone to Iraq or Afghanistan, Buffett said. Weve both done extremely well during this period and our families havent sacrificed anything.
In his remarks, Buffett announced the launch of a get-out-the vote effort, pledging to take at least 10 people to the polls who would otherwise have difficulty getting there. Buffett said he was backing a website, Drive2Vote, that would coordinate transportation to cast votes and that he had reserved a trolley that seats 32 people for the same purpose.
Im going to be on it all day. Im going to do selfies, whatever it takes, Buffett said.
Buffett said his goal is to generate the highest voter turnout in the congressional district that includes Omaha of any in the country. Nebraska is one of two US states that award electoral votes in presidential elections by congressional district.
Clinton responded to Buffetts pledge with a promise of her own, if his turnout goal is met.
Warren and I will dance in the streets of Omaha together! Maybe if were really lucky hell wear his Elvis costume again! she said.
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump reignited his very public feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, parents of a fallen American Muslim soldier, saying in a tweet on Monday he was viciously attacked.
He continued to be criticised for it, with Republican senator John McCain telling him that party nomination did not give him unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us.
And the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a leading advocacy group, demanded an apology from him for disparaging the Khans.
Trump tweeted: Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC (Democratic National Convention) and is now all over TV doing the same - Nice!
Trump has both courted and weathered controversies before in the campaign and emerged surprisingly unscathed, specially among his supporters and a Republican party mostly too weary to resist. But remarks against the Khans, whose son Captain Humayun Khan was killed in Iraq in 2004, have appalled many in his own party.
McCain said in a statement, While our party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us.
The senator added it was time for Trump to set the example for our country and the future of the Republican Party.
McCain is a war hero himself, jailed for years during the Vietnam war. Earlier in the race, Trump had insulted him too, questioning his status as a war hero. It was a race-ending move, but he survived. Trump will survive this one too, but it wont be easy, with the American-Muslim community, for long at the receiving end of his divisive diatribe, fighting back.
KATHMANDU: President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Monday called on Nepals political parties to form a new government based on majority votes.
Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, who is supported by the Nepali Congress, the largest party in the House, is poised to become the new premier.
The election was necessitated by the resignation of KP Sharma Oli after opposition parties moved a no-confidence motion.
The presidents office urged the Parliament to begin the process for electing a new premier on the basis of majority as the seven-day deadline given to political parties for forming a consensus government expired on Sunday.
Babin Sharma, press adviser to the speaker, told journalists the speaker had received a letter from the presidents office regarding the election in line with Articles 305 and 299(3) of the Constitution. The Parliament is preparing to begin the election procedure on Wednesday. A panel headed by the secretary general of Parliament will conduct the polls.
The Samuktya Loktantrik Madeshi Morcha (SLMM) said it will vote for Prachanda, even as it sought a credible political commitment from Nepali Congress and CPN (M-C) regarding its demands.
A nine-member panel of the three parties are hammering out a political roadmap to accommodate the Madeshis demands .
A political deal is likely to be sealed on Tuesday, which will pave the way for Madeshis to vote for Prachanda but will not give them room to join the government, leaders involved in the negotiations told HT.
We will vote for Prachanda but will not join the government, said Raj Kishor Yadav, chairman of the Forum Ganatantrik.
SYDNEY: Australian MH370 search authorities are hopeful a wing part found in Tanzania will shed light on how the flight crashed. As the underwater hunt far off Australias coast draws to a close without any sign of the plane, there has been speculation the flights final resting place may be outside the search zone.
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WASHINGTON: A New York tabloid has published nude pictures of Melania Trump from her modelling days and her husband, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, is not complaining.
Melania was one of the most successful models, and she did many photoshoots, including for covers and major magazines, Trump told the tabloid, New York Post. This was a picture taken for a European magazine prior to my knowing Melania. In Europe, pictures like this are very common, he added.
His campaign spokesman Jason Miller told CNN: Theyre a celebration of the human body as art, and (theres) nothing to be embarrassed about with the photos. Shes a beautiful woman .
There was speculation that Trump may have provided those pictures himself to divert attention from his ongoing row with the Khans, parents of a fallen American Muslim soldier.
The Post ran the pictures in two lots. The first debuted in its Sunday edition with a front-page picture of Melania Trump in the nude, with The Ogle Office as the headline.
A pitch-line added, You have never seen a potential First Lady like this! Melania Trump is indeed in the nude, completely, with stars covering some body parts. The second lot ran in the late edition of the Sunday paper under the headline: Melange A Trump, with Melania in the nude held from behind by another woman who is also naked. These pictures were shot in Manhattan in 1995 and first ran in a French mens magazine.
Melania was super-great and a fantastic personality and she was very kind with me, Ale de Basseville, French photographer who shot those pictures, told the Post. The publication doesnt give details of how it acquired these pictures, but the fact that it has endorsed Trump s campaign gave some people reasons to speculate about the circumstances.
Also note worthy was Trump s understated response almost approving of it compared to the storm he raised over nudes of Melania that had surfaced during the primaries and caucuses.
LAHORE: The Anti-Narcotics Force arrested 12 employees of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Monday for allegedly trying to smuggle 6 kg of heroin worth over 60 mn rupees.
PIA flight PK-203 was ready to leave for Dubai on Sunday from the Lahore airport when the ANF staff got it vacated on information that a huge quantity of heroin had been concealed in the aircraft, officials said.
After a thorough search of a couple of hours, the ANF team seized 6 kg of heroin which is worth over 60 million Pakistani rupees from the toilet of the aircraft, they said.
ANF arrested at least 12 PIA employees and launched a thorough probe into the matter, officials said.
PIA spokesperson Daniyal Gilani confirmed the arrests saying some PIA employees have been taken into custody in connection with a failed bid to smuggle heroin to Dubai from Lahore.
After investigation if these employees are found guilty, strict action will be taken against them, he said.
In the last few years, there has been a rapid rise in the number of cases in which the PIA employees were caught while smuggling different items like drugs, cigarettes, mobile phones, illegal passports and laundered money abroad.
In some cases, the PIA employees were caught at Pakistani airports and in others they were intercepted and arrested in other countries, mostly in the European destinations.
KABUL: A Taliban truck bomb blasted through a hotel for foreigners in Kabul Monday, triggering a seven-hour gun and grenade assault that highlighted growing insecurity in a city still reeling from its deadliest attack for 15 years.
The guests and staff of the Northgate hotel escaped unharmed. But one policeman was killed after the truck bomber paved the way for two other armed insurgents to enter the heavily guarded facility near Kabul airport.
The powerful bombing rocked much of the Afghan capital, leaving a huge muddy crater and piles of scorched debris strewn at the compound, which was previously attacked in July 2013.
A truck bomb packed with explosives struck the outer wall of the hotel, said Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi.
One policeman lost his life and three others were wounded but none of the hotel staff or guests were hurt. Three Taliban fighters including the truck bomber were killed.
The attack comes days after the Islamic State group claimed twin bombings that left 80 people dead in Kabul, the deadliest attack in the city since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001.
Afghan commandos set up a tight security cordon around Northgate as sporadic grenade explosions and gunfire shook the area after the attack began around 1:30am (2100 GMT Sunday). Local TV station Tolo cited a source inside the facility as saying that all the staff and guests -including 11 foreigners -- hunkered down in safe rooms throughout the night.
It added that NATO special forces had overseen the clearance operation at the Northgate, a luxury enclave which had been fortified with blast walls, watchtowers and sniffer dogs.
Tremors from the bombing rattled windows across the city. It also cut a power line that supplies electricity to half of Kabul, according to the citys main utility.
The blast was so strong that it startled everybody out of their beds, Abdul Mohib, a resident of the neighbourhood, told AFP. The children were shocked. We all left the house screaming and shouting as our windows were shattered.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons blasted their way into the compound after the truck bomb went off.
The militants are intensifying their annual summer offensive after a brief lull during the holy fasting month of Ramzan, which ended in early July.
WASHINGTON: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is suggesting the US accept Russias annexation of Crimea if it would lead to better ties with Moscow and stronger cooperation in fighting Islamic State.
That view runs counter to the Obama administration, which imposed economic sanctions against Russia for annexing the territory in Ukraine two years ago. The UN also doesnt want countries to recognise Crimea as part of Russia.
In an interview broadcast on Sunday on ABCs This Week, Trump suggested that the people of Crimea would rather be part of Russia.
However, the US hasnt recognised the legitimacy of Russian referendums in Crimea and believes they were not conducted fairly. Trump also said he wasnt involved in the effort that softened support in the Republican Party platform on assisting Ukraine. Although the platform is not pro-Russia, Trump supporters succeeded in preventing a reference to arming Ukraine from being added.
In the past, Trumps campaign manager, political strategist Paul Manafort, lobbied on behalf of Viktor Yanukovych, a Ukrainian president and supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
ISTANBUL: Turkey has arrested 11 fugitive soldiers suspected of involvement in an attack on President Recep Tayyip Erdogans hotel during the night of the failed coup, the deputy prime minister said on Monday.
Erdogan was staying in the western seaside resort of Marmaris on July 15 but dashed to Istanbul just before the hotel came under attack from rebel soldiers determined to oust him from power.
Eleven of them were captured in Ula, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told a press conference. He said one soldier was still at large.
Erdogan earlier said his swift escape had saved him from being killed or taken hostage.
An interior ministry official, who declined to be named, described the arrested men as members of a death squad and said the overnight operation to catch them followed a tip-off from local villagers.
The soldiers had been hiding in the wild landscape above Marmaris since the military action, and the villagers spotted them while they were out hunting.
There was an exchange of fire during the operation, the official added. Drones and helicopters were used to pinpoint the location.
Since the coup, Erdogan has launched a massive purge.
LONDON: There is anxiety among European Union citizens about their future in Britain after the June 23 Brexit vote, but not much of it was evident as more than 12,000 Portuguese citizens of Goan-origin revelled at a festival here on Sunday.
The UK Goan Festival London was celebrated in characteristic susegad (contented) style with a colourful carnival parade, music, alcohol and traditional cuisine, with Britains exit from the EU rarely in the air.
The day at Cranford Community College ground in west London began with mass by Bishop Gracias of Mumbai and hymns in Konkani.
Savio Menezes, a young Wembley-based worker who arrived from Goa last year, said as he jived to live music by a Brazilian group: Polou-ya kide zata (Lets see what happens), nothing will happen for two to three years. If I have to leave, I can always go to France or Germany.
The British government has so far refused to confirm that nearly 3 million EU citizens in Britain will be allowed to stay after Brexit, a process that is yet to commence.
The festival saw senior Labour MP Keith Vaz, who is of Goa origin, promoting his diabetes charity Silver Star, which is supported by Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan and Shilpa Shetty. Prominent individuals at the festival included Valerie Vaz, Labour MP, and noted writer Selma Carvalho.
Organised by the Goan Association UK (which was set up in 1966), the festival saw one of the largest gatherings in recent years.
Ravi Vaz, president of the Goan Association, told Hindustan Times: Nobody knows what will happen after Brexit but I think those already here will be fine. My advice to Goans thinking of taking Portuguese citizenship is to think twice. Job prospects are not exactly bright here, and Portugal itself has tightened rules for acquiring citizenship.
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BY E.E. BILLINGS
A group of San Franciscans wrote John A. Andrew, the governor of Massachusetts, in 1862 offering to provide a company of 100 cavalrymen to be credited to that states quota under the draft. The only stipulation was that Massachusetts pay the cost of organizing the company and transporting it to Boston. Governor Andrew agreed to the terms and the company reached Boston early in January, 1863. It became Company A of the 2d Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment. News of this companys success in the field led De Witt C. Thompson and a group of San Franciscans to offer Governor Andrew four additional companies on the same terms. The battalion of 387 men and 13 officers was recruited in less than a week and embarked for New York on the steamer Constitution, March 23, 1863. Thompson was given a majors commission and placed in command. Arriving in New York, the unit proceeded to Readville, Massachusetts, where it became Companies E, F, L, and M of the 2d Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment.
George W. Buhrer, 28, a farmer from Germany, enlisted in Company A, California Cavalry Battalion (later Company E, 2d Massachusetts Cavalry), commanded by Capt. Charles S. Eigenbrodt, on Feb. 10, 1863 and served until July 20, 1865, when he was mustered out as a sergeant. Extracts from his diary during 1864 provide and interesting picture of service against John S. Mosbys famous Confederate partisans and in defense of Washington. Sergeant Buhrers diary has been made available by a granddaughter, Mrs. Julie Colyer of Seattle, Wash. The opening of 1864 found Buhrers outfit camped at Vienna, Va. Extracts from his diary for that year follow.
ThursdayJanuary 21General inspection of quarters and equipment. In the afternoon detailed for dismounted camp guard. Last night some of Mosebys men made their way into camp and took three horses of Company B. The guerillas has cut the line in several places, intended to run off all the horses. The stable guard surprised them and gave the alarm. Company A and Company L had to turn out; the guerillas got away with the stolen horses but left their own tied in the woods near our camp, where they were found by some of our men.
SundayJanuary 31Inspection of quartersone of our best men, Robert Campbell, was tied on hand and feet to a post for not obeying a petty order given by one of our Sergeants, which created great indignation among men in our Company. If he had not been released in time, we would have cut him loose.
On February 22 a scouting party of 125 men from the regiment under Capt. J. Sewell Reed was surprised at Dranesville and lost 10 killed, seven wounded, and 57 prisoners. Among the slain was Captain Reed. Buhrer describes this action:
We left Belmount at 9 a.m.took the pike towards Drainsville; soon after we started we saw some rebel soldiers but too far away to give chase. We did not think of danger, but when two miles from Drainsville in a very favorable place for an ambush, we were attacked by from three to four hundred rebels. The advance guard of 16 took desperate chances and charged through the guerillas; one of my comrades, Byron Grover, was mortally wounded. Mosiman, Wilcox, Wooster, Paris Crawford, Sergeant Turner and Fisher were taken prisoners. Corp. Wyatt had his leg broken below the knee. Smith, Griffin, Davis, Rodgers and Howe of Company L got safely through the rebel column but were chased by them. I lost my horse, had a narrow escape. I started for Vienna on foot; found Griffin and Smith in the pines, and then Howe. We went most of the way through the woods and arrived at Vienna bout 8 p.m. they had the news of the disaster before we arrived. It was a heavy loss for our regimentof men and horses.
ThursdayMarch 10Went to Washington to see my old pardner and friend, W. L. McEwan, who had his discharge from the Army due to being deaf.
We went to the theatre together. L.G. [Lieutenant General] Grant was to be there, but we were disappointed. President Lincoln and some of his Cabinet were there.
In April portions of the regiment took part in an expedition to Fauquier and Loudoun counties. At Leesburg on April 28 there was action against Mosby. During May the regiment did patrol duty in the areas near Washington. Buhrer continues:
WednesdayMay 4Most all the men went out on a scout, dismounted. Major Thompson, Lt. Baldwin, Lt. Stone and Lt. Wilson in command. We went on a canal boat near Edwards Ferrycrossed the river to Youngs Island. Searched the Island then the Virginia shore; then crossed over to two more islands; no sign of any rebels. We returned to camp at night. The country looks goodbeginning to get green.
May 24 the regiment moved to Falls Church, Virginia. Buhrer writes:
WednesdayJune 1We crossed the Potomac at day break; 50 men of the 34d Maryland Infantry joined us; we took two different roads to the town [apparently Leesburg]. A small party of us searched a Mr. Jacksons house. He is a noted blockade runnerwe did not find him. We arrived in Leesburg 7 a.m., searched a number of houses, had a skirmishone of our Company, Edward Straub, was taken prisoner but made his escape. A sergeant had his horse shot from under him, a few of our men were slightly wounded. We took prisoners, one Lieut. and a number of citizens, to be held as hostages fro any depredations commited. We left Leesburg 2 p.m.arrived in camp after sundown.
On the Fourth of July Buhrer commented:
The 88th Anniversary of this great day. Most of the men out in the country to spend the Fourth. I was in camp all day writing some letters. There is excitement about camp. There is a rebel force about Harpers Ferry. We sent some forage and rations to Monocacy Bridge about 11 oclock last night. Two men and I were loading up some boatsit took us nearly two hours. Rumors about camp of the rebel General Early and his army. We heard sharp Cannonading near Harpers Ferry. Corporal Cook of Co. B and three men were captured near Harpers Ferry, also the store was robbed of all the goods and $400 cash. This happened about daylight.
On July 6 the regiment suffered another disaster near Aldie, Virginia, when a detachment of 100 men, under Maj. William H. Forbes, was attacked by Mosbys forces and badly routed. Eight men were killed, nine wounded, and 38 captured.
Earlys famous raid on Washington called the regiment into more active service. Buhrer writes:
WednesdayJuly 13Part of our regiment and some of the 2nd Michigan and Illinois Cavalry, in all 400 strong, started to reconnoiter. Capt. Eigenbrodt with Co. E had the advance, we commenced skirmishing with the enemy at Rockville. Most of us dismounted and took positions behind trees and logs and held the rebels back for some time, but we were driven back; we rallied three times. The rebels at last held Rockville. We had a number of men killed and wounded and about 40 taken prisoners. I had a narrow escape from the rebels, received scratch on my right arm. We went into camp a short distance from Rockville. All quiet during the night. Weather was very warm.
As Early fled from Washington he was pursued as far as Snickers Gap, after which the regiment remained at Rockville from July 26 to August 8. ON that date Buhrer renews his account:
Reveille before daylightin fifteen minutes we were in our saddles, crossed the Potomac on a Pontoon Bridge at Harpers Ferry, passed through the City, went 4 miles farther into Camp at Halltown. A good many troops about here; we are now attached to Sheridans Cavalry, are the First Brigade in the First Division, commander is General [Wesley] Merritt. A small party went out to reconnoiter and found the enemy in large force about 5 miles from here.
For the remainder of 1864 the regiment took part in Sheridans Shenandoah Valley Campaign. There was almost constant maneuvering in August and September.
MondayAugust 22Skirmishing commenced early in the morningwe are falling back, had a stubborn and sharp fight in and about Charlestown; held the town as long as possible to give our Infantry time to take a good position near Halltown. About noon we went into position of the left flank of our army. My Company and Co. H were ordered out on the skirmish line, dismountedwe had lively skirmishing, drove the rebels back; took a few prisonersout all night, but quieting down during the night.
ThursdayAugust25 Made another dash on the enemys line. Lost our Captain; he fell like a hero in a charge we mad eon the enemys breastworks. Capt. Charles S. Eigenbrodt was truly one of the bravest of the brae. We all lamented the loss; a ball went through his heart and several through his body; we were in a hot place. Robert Campbell, R. Mayers, and I were with our Captain when he fell.
On September 9 the 2d Massachusetts was transferred to the reserve brigade of the 1st Division, largely composed of Regulars and commanded by Col. Charles Russell Lowell. The regiment served with distinction at the Battle of Winchester, September 19.
On the 23d, Buhrer resumes his story:
Returned to Front Royal, had a skirmish with Mosebys Rangers; they attacked our Ambulance Train, shot some of the wounded. We pursued them hotly, took 17 prisoners, their fat was tough, they had to suffer death. Marched all night.
At Waynesboro the regiment was heavily engaged. Buhrer describes the action:
WednesdaySeptember 28Early in the morning we were attacked by the enemy; we routed them and drove them some distance back into the mountains. P.M., the enemy heavily reinforced, fighting very desperate. Our General Lowell and a few of us were nearly captured. We took desperate chances but were forced back. We fell back in good order, the enemy intended to cut us off; we marched all night, halted near Springhill for a few hours. Sgt. Butcher of our Company was killed. General Lowell had his horse shot, also Lt. Col. Crowenshield had his favorite horse shot down. One of Company M lost his arm.
Sheridans famous Battle of Cedar Creek is described by Buhrer:
WednesdayOctober 17 [19]Reveille at 4 a.m. The enemy flanked our left, surprised the 8th Corps in their camp, took 1500 prisoners and 20 cannons and a number of wagons. We were on the extreme right, had a sharp skirmish with the rebel Cavalry. For over two miles we rode in front of the enemys line. They poured shell and shot into us. In front of Middletown we held our position on the right and left of the pike200 of the Brigade dismounted, took position behind a stone wall and fence, stubbornly we held our position against the attacks of the rebel infantry. Everything looked favorable for the enemy till 4 p.m. our glorious General Sheridan arrived, he had been away. He gathered the fleeing infantry and soon our whole line made a desperate and furious attack; twice we were repulsed but the third time we broke their line and routed the enemy; we pursued the rebels until about 10 oclock at night. We captured 63 pieces of artillery, a number of wagons, ambulances, horses and men. We gained a great victory but it was a bloody onemany of our brave comrades fell. Our brace Col. Lowell was mortally wounded, also Capt. [Rufus W.] Smith. In our Company, Corp. Davis was killed, Sgt. Russell lost his leg, died in the hospital the next day. My comrade, H. Wyatt, had his horse shot. We all lament the loss of our commanders and comrades.
The 2d Massachusetts was engaged in guard and scouting duty for the remainder of 1864.
E.E. Billingss compilation of Sergeant Buhrers letters appeared in the April 1962 issue of Civil War Times Illustrated.
Account of the Battle Of Resaca, a western theater Civil War Battle during the American Civil War
Battle Of Resaca Summary Location Gordon County and Whitfield County, Georgia Dates May 13 May 15, 1864 Generals / Commanders Union: William T. Sherman
Confederate: Joseph E. Johnston Soldiers Engaged Union Army: 98,000
Confederate Army: 60,000 Outcome Inconclusive Casualties Union: 4,500
Confederate: 2,800
The front desk clerk at the Burnet House in Cincinnati, Ohio, must have done a double take when he looked up to see the two most famous generals in the Union Army standing before him one day in March 1864. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, newly installed as commander of all Northern forces in the field, and Major General William Tecumseh Sherman, his most trusted subordinate, needed a room for the night-forthwith, they got one.
With sentries installed at the door to prevent unwanted intrusions, the two old friends, Midwesterners both, spread their battle maps across the room and sketched out the plan that would, within a year, bring the Confederate Army to the brink of doom. Twenty-five years later, Sherman revisited the Burnet House with a friend and pointed out the room he and Grant had shared. Yonder began the campaign he said. He was to go for Lee and I was to go for Joe Johnston. That was his plan.It was the beginning of the end.
Grants plan, like most of his wartime formulations, had the surprisingly uncommon virtue of simplicity. While he directed the Army of the Potomac in Virginia, Sherman was to advance on the Confederate General Joseph Johnstons Army of Tennessee, which was wintering at Dalton, Ga., 30 miles south of Chattanooga. The Rebel armys defeat at Chattanooga the previous November had won Grant his third generals star and given him the power to direct the Northern war effort as he saw fit.
Grants final written instructions to Sherman were flatteringly vague; he left the details to his friends discretion. Sherman was to move against Johnstons army, to break it up, and go into the interior of the enemys country as far as he could, inflicting all the damage he could upon their war resources. Sherman, typically, was more direct: I am to know Jos. Johnston, and to do as much damage to the resources of the enemy as possible.
In early May, Sherman began his assault on Johnstons army and his ultimate objective, Atlanta, Ga. The Union drive would be made by three separate armies. In the center, Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas and his solid Army of the Cumberland stood 60,000 strong. Shermans favorite soldier, his young friend Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson, with his Army of the Tennessee, was moving out of northern Alabama with 24,000 men on the Federal right. The 14,000-man Army of the Ohio, under Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield, came swinging down from the east Tennessee mountains.
At Dalton, Johnston faced Shermans weathered and battlescarred veterans with 45,000 of his own. Johnstons position was anchored by Rocky Face Ridge, which crested 800 feet above the valley floor. Behind it, the ridgeline coursed for 20 miles through boulder-strewn, heavily wooded countryside. Schooled well in the digging of entrenchments, the Southerners could throw up adequate breastworks in an hour. Given the weeks they had at their disposal before Shermans advance, Johnstons Rebels worked martial wonders with their spades.
While Johnston was entrenching, Sherman was calculating his needs for the coming campaign. An erratic strategist, Sherman was nevertheless a master of military detail. The necessity of maintaining his army by rail dictated the tactics of the coming campaign. The rickety north Georgia rail system would not only become the Union armys lifeline, but also the target of all its moves.
On May 7, Thomas attacked Rebel cavalry pickets at Tunnel Hill, two miles northwest of Rocky Face Ridge. After resisting stoutly for a time, the pickets fell back to their main line on Rocky Face. Schofield moved up and extended the pressure through Crow Valley until the entire Federal left was involved. Union Maj. Gen. David S. Stanley, whose men had spearheaded the assault at Tunnel Hill, stood atop a rock and shouted out, The ball is open! It would be a ball danced to the rattle of muskets and the slam of artillery.
Protected by the rugged terrain to the west, McPhersons army moved toward Ships Gap with orders to proceed the next day through Snake Creek Gap, an undefended opening in the ridge 15 miles south of Dalton and directly across from the railroad crossing at Resaca. McPhersons orders were to secure Snake Creek Gap and from it make a bold attack on the enemys flank or his railroad . Do not fail to make the most of the opportunity by the most vigorous attack possible.
Thomas had devised the plan to attack through Snake Creek Gap nearly four months earlier. He wanted to send his own Army of the Cumberland striking through the gap at the Confederate rear. Thomas reputation for slowness, however, convinced Sherman to send McPherson-his whiplash-instead. Thomas, with his equally well-earned reputation for defensive fighting, was to hold the Union center and prevent Johnston from punching through Shermans own weakened lines to the railroad.
In retrospect, the Federal lines across the valley from Rocky Face Ridge were nearly as impregnable as Rocky Face itself, and probably could have been held by a much smaller force. True, the strike for the Confederate rear required speed and initiative-it also required (at least in the mind of its commander) more men than Sherman sent. Schofield later wrote, Thomas position in front of Rocky Face Ridge was virtually as unassailable as that of Johnstons behind it! He felt that half of Shermans infantry would have been ample for the demonstration in front of Dalton. The other half could have been sent through Snake Creek Gap to strike the enemy rear. Of the 100,000 troops he commanded, Sherman sent 24,000.
McPherson moved through Snake Creek Gap and approached Resaca from the west. He brushed aside Confederate cavalry in the area and moved into the more-open country near the Oostanaula River and the roads into Resaca, which lay on the north bank of the Oostanaula at its junction with the Connasauga River. Johnstons vital rail link at Resaca supplied his army at Dalton and Rocky Face. When he got word on the night of May 9 that McPherson had cleared the gap and was moving on Resaca, Sherman slammed his fist on a table at his headquarters and exclaimed, Ive got Joe Johnston dead! He was premature by nearly a year.
Johnston now had some 4,000 men at Resaca, including portions of Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polks 15,000-man corps, which was on its way to reinforce Johnston from the west. McPherson climbed atop a tree stump beside the Resaca road and viewed the Rebel defenses. Despite specific orders from Sherman and the urging of some of his own junior officers, McPherson decided against attacking the town. He was worried that Johnston would fall back so quickly from Rocky Face Ridge that he, McPherson, would be cut off from the rest of the Union army as you cut off the end of a piece of tape with a pair of shears. Instead, he pulled his troops back to the mouth of Snake Creek Gap and dug in.
Sherman, who personally liked McPherson (as did Grant), later commented, At the critical moment McPherson seems to have been a little cautious. That criticism could perhaps be directed against Sherman, as well, for sending too few men to do the job. Sherman conceded that McPherson had acted, technically, within his discretion as an Army commander. Still, when he saw his young subordinate, Sherman could not resist the pointed barb, Well, Mac, you have missed the opportunity of your life.
Johnston, at Dalton, apparently believed there were too few Yankees in the gap to threaten Resaca. He held on at Rocky Face for three more days, still expecting the main thrust to come from Thomas and Schofields Federals to the north. The men of these armies had been ordered to keep the Rebels attention riveted to their front-they did so gallantly and with great effect. One division from the Army of the Cumberland scrambled up the less precipitous northern end of the ridge and fought its way along the lower crest for nearly a mile. (The crest was so narrow that only four men abreast could pass along it.)
After struggling along the broken ground of the ridge, the Federals ran up against the main Confederate works and could go no farther. The Rebel defenses ran along a line that followed a natural palisade of rocks that was 20 feet high in places and nearly straight up. Not only were the defenders able to punish their blue- clad attackers with musketry, the steepness of the ridge allowed them to roll boulders down on the Federal ranks, as well.
The Union demonstration against the northern end of the ridge went perfectly. Sherman then began shifting Thomas and Schofields troops to the right, south behind the ridgeline. When Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheelers Confederate cavalry finally penetrated the heavy skirmish lines used to screen this move, they found most of Shermans infantry gone-hurrying on their way to Snake Creek Gap.
Johnston, who had been ill-served by Wheelers undisciplined cavalry, finally saw through Shermans ruse and began a masterful withdrawal to Resaca. Taking advantage of his interior lines, Johnston easily won the race to the crossroads town. By the morning of May 13, he was in position to receive the Union attack.
In their new position, the Rebels defended a four-mile front that protected Resaca from the west. Their left was anchored on the Oostanaula River, their right on the Connasauga. The Confederate line ran north along the high ground behind Camp Creek for two and a half miles, then followed the ridge away from Camp Creek and coursed east. Though the rivers securely anchored the Rebel flanks, they also forced Johnston to fight with a river to his rear, complicating any retreat.
Sherman determined to press Johnston head-on, while also trying to effect a crossing of the Oostanaula and get across the enemys line of retreat. That night, the Federal troops slept in their positions. On Schofields front, artillerymen, exhausted from dragging their guns across country, slept by their guns. Infantrymen rolled into their blankets. Pre-battle tensions brought troubled dreams to the sleepers. One man near the 19th Ohio Battery cried out in his sleep and fired his rifle. Men all along the line reached for their weapons and fumbled with their equipment. Nervously, they waited for dawn.
With the sunrise, the musket fire of the opposing skirmishers increased and the wounded began stumbling back from the front. Units moved forward and deployed for the attack. Sherman had decided to hit Johnston at a bend in the Confederate works. Here, Camp Creek forked and coursed northwest from the Rebel trenches. The valley floor was nearly flat and several hundred yards wide. The creek bed was deep in spring runoff and in many places unfordable. The muddy banks were tangled with brush; jagged limestone rocks made the footing treacherous.
To make matters worse, the Southern defenders had an unhindered field of fire. Thomas XIV Corps and two divisions of the Army of the Ohio would hit the angle on the Confederate right. Major General Oliver Howards IV Corps would go in on the left after trailing the rest of the army from Dalton Schofields left division, under Maj. Gen. Jacob D. Cox, had slightly easier ground to cover than the right, but the prospect of charging across the valley, through the creek and up the ridge into the Rebel trenches, was a fearsome undertaking. Lieutenant John A. Joyce of the 24th Kentucky (Union) Regiment, wrote, We charged across an open field interspersed with dead trees that flung out their ghostly arms to welcome us to the shadows of death.
Brigadier General Henry P. Judahs division formed Schofields right. He had not performed well recently, and Schofield had considered removing him from command. His performance during this attack would result in his forced resignation-unfortunately for his division, it came a couple of days too late. Judahs men charged down the western slope of the valley into the boggy ground around the creek. Their front had not been properly reconnoitered and the swampy ground proved nearly impassable for infantry.
Taking heavy fire from their front, as well as enfilading fire from their right, Judahs men struggled through the mud. Their right had become disorganized early in the assault, and Judah had refused to delay his attack long enough to allow units from Maj. Gen. John Palmers XIV Corps to complete their deployment. As a consequence, Brig. Gen. Milo S. Hascalls brigade of Judahs division charged across the left of the XIV Corps, destroying both units formations and carrying many of Palmers men forward with them.
With all hope of a cohesive attack shattered, Judah still refused to halt and re-form. He drove his division on into that deadly valley. They, made it to the creek bed, but could go no farther. Those who reached the creek tried to hold out as best they could. In waist-deep water and mud, they kept up what fire they could manage, but the mud and water rapidly disabled many of their rifles. Not only were they being slaughtered in appalling numbers, they were even losing the ability to fight back.
Compounding the divisions problems, Judah had failed to bring his artillery into action. Division gunners on the high ground in the rear stood frustrated beside their guns, looking to their officers for word to fire. They had to stand idle and watch as the regiments in the valley below were crisply decimated by sharpshooting Rebels.
For many of the men in Judahs ill-fated division, the headlong charge at Resaca would be etched forever in their memories. Resaca would always be their battle! Forty-seven years later, Ebenezer Davis of the 118th Ohio Volunteers, when asked about the most important event in his service, would respond, The terrible charge at Resaca, insane, useless charge, ordered by an intoxicated officer.
Palmers corps attacking to Judahs right also suffered from his incompetence. A high percentage of Palmers casualties were in the brigades carried forward into battle by Judahs disorganized men. On the left, with competent leadership, Coxs division fared better, managing to take the first line of Confederate works. Theodore Tracie of the 19th Ohio Artillery watched this attack develop. He later wrote: There was something horrible in being compelled to look upon this thrilling scene without being able to participate in it.We saw our gallant fellows charge the enemy rifle pits only to fall back under a withering fire, marking their pathway with dead and dying.
Cox took the first Rebel entrenchments, but once there he was not certain he could hold them. Attempting to force the second line, he was bloodily repulsed. Coxs men sheltered on the reverse of the captured Rebel trench, grimly holding on to what they had paid for so dearly. Five hundred and sixty-two men of their division lay dead or wounded around them while, on their right, Judahs division had lost 600 men. (In a mere 10 minutes, the 118th Ohio lost 116 of 300 attackers in its number.)
The Confederates continued to pour a heavy fire into Coxs defenses. The fighting had pulled the Union left toward the center and rendered that flank unprotected. Thomas recognized the danger and pulled Maj. Gen. Joseph Hookers corps out of the center and sent it hastening to support Howard on the Union left. Meanwhile, Johnston, a master counterpuncher, had also seen the flaw in the Federal lines. He sent Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood marching with two full divisions and four additional brigades to the vulnerable spot. Hoods men struck Stanleys division a crushing blow on the Union flank.
Stanleys men, stunned by the unexpected, savage assault, threw down their weapons and fled from the scene. Stanley later reported that his men did the best they could.they got out of the way with such order as troops can hurrying through a thick brush. The infantrys precipitous retreat left the 5th Indiana Battery alone to try and stem the Confederate attack. The Hoosier gunners stood their ground, doubleshotting canister at a killing range of 50 yards. Rebel momentum stalled.
The stand of the battery was still in jeopardy. Rebel soldiers began lapping around them on both flanks. Though in danger of being surrounded, the Indianians managed to gouge huge holes in the Rebel lines. Meanwhile, Hookers veterans, spurred by the sound of battle, came pounding to the batterys aid, their massed musketry helping to stop the Confederate onslaught. Under the concentrated Federal fire, the Southern troops began to recoil. Their officers scrambled to re-form them for a second attack, but darkness stopped their hopes.
The heavy fighting of the day had slowed now to desultory picket fire. Still, Johnston thought he controlled the field, and determined to send Hood against the Federal left the next morning.
Though most of the Federal casualties had fallen on the Union left, most of the Yankees success had come on their right. Heavy skirmishing by infantry and dueling by the artillery had continued all along the line. Rebel skirmishers who covered the Resaca road where it bridged Camp Creek showed a momentary weakness, and the Union 12th Missouri and other XV Corps units forced their way across the bridge and dug in on a hill overlooking the railroad, within the reach of Union guns. Their position now threatened Polks advance corps on the Confederate left.
McPherson, recognizing the Union gains, hurried several more brigades of Maj. Gen. John Logans XV Corps across the creek to establish a bridgehead against Polk. General Cox later observed, The Confederates under Polk, in their advanced position on our extreme right, were a good deal weakened in morale by the knowledge that the national troops had thus made a good foothold in their flank. The combination of shaken morale and determined Union attacks drove Polk back and, though he was able to re-establish his line, McPherson still held the high ground. When Union artillery arrived, it would be in position to shell Johnstons pontoon bridges in his rear.
Recognizing the danger, Polk sent his men forward to try to regain the lost ground. He succeeded in adding to the casualty lists, nothing more. That night, Johnston had a new military road cut through and moved his bridges out of the range of the Yankee guns. At the same time, Sherman had sent Brig. Gen. Thomas Sweenys division on a march to force a crossing of the Oostanaula River south of Resaca and cut off the Rebel line of retreat.
At Lays Ferry, Sweeny managed to drive off the Confederate cavalry and push across the river in pontoon boats. But shortly after getting into position, Sweeny abruptly ordered his men to fall back across the river- reports had reached him that a large Confederate force had crossed the river between him and Shermans main force. Fearing entrapment-one of his men called their new position an invitation to Andersonville-he pulled back and informed Sherman of the move. The report turned out to be false, but Sweenys incursion had alarmed Johnston enough for him to send a full division to block any further Federal moves. Johnston also cancelled his proposed attack on the Federal left and turned his attention to the threat at Lays Ferry.
On the morning of May 15, the blue-clad infantry on the Union left rolled forward in another of the wasteful charges that typified the fighting at Resaca. A four-gun Georgia battery was positioned on a spur of land about 80 yards in front of the main Confederate works. As the Union infantry advanced, they could see Southern soldiers busily throwing up earthworks around the battery. The battery was in position to enfilade the attacking line; Maj. Gen. Daniel Butterfields division of Hookers corps was ordered to take it. Under heavy firing from the battery and the main Rebel line, Butterfields men impetuously rushed forward and took shelter on the reverse side of the forts earthen parapet.
Future President Benjamin Harrison, then a colonel in the 70th Indiana, noticed the batterys infantry support breaking. With a wild yell, he led an attack over the walls into the battery. In the hand-to-hand brawl that followed, all but five of the batterys gunners were killed, wounded or captured. It was the only success of the attack. Fire from the main Rebel line soon forced the Yankees out of the fort, leaving the guns under fire in no mans land. That night, under cover of total darkness, the Hoosiers tore down the forts walls and dragged the guns back into their own lines with ropes.
While the heavy fighting on the Union left was getting under way, Sherman sent the skittish Sweeny back across the Oostanaula. This time, he stayed put. Sherman reinforced him with a division of cavalry, and together the Union force was able to drive off counterattacking Rebels under Maj. Gen. W.H.T. Walker, who had arrived too late to prevent the Yankees from consolidating their beachhead.
Realizing that the Federal position on his left flank again threatened the railroad, Johnston that night began retreating from Resaca. Covering the three pontoon bridges in his rear with cornstalks to muffle the sound of his artillery wheels, he pulled his army out of line and began retreating southward toward Atlanta. Rebel pickets kept up a distracting fire to cover the retreat. Dawn of May 16 found the Federals facing abandoned works.
Casualty figures for Resaca are hard to estimate because Sherman had begun turning in monthly figures instead of daily ones, but it is probable that the Federals lost at least 3,500 men (some figures range as high as 6,800). Confederate losses were at 2,600, and possibly as high as 5,200.
Much has been written about Shermans later frontal attack on Kennesaw Mountain outside Atlanta, with various historians commenting that Sherman was finally convinced at Kennesaw that frontal attacks could not carry well-entrenched, well-manned positions. Had Sherman walked over the battlefield at Resaca and viewed the crumpled blue forms that lay in dark contrast to the bright green grass of spring, he might not have had to learn that costly lesson twice.
This article was written by Michael J. Klinger and originally appeared in the September 2001 issue of Americas Civil War.
For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Americas Civil War magazine today!
Civil War: The Untold Story is a five-hour documentary from Great Divide Pictures, which has produced award-winning historical documentaries such as How the West Was Lost and visitor center films for several Civil War National Parks. Currently scheduled to air in the first quarter of 2014, Civil War: The Untold Story is produced and directed by Chris Wheeler. HistoryNet talked with him recently about the project.
HistoryNet: Your documentary is titled Civil War: The Untold Story. With all that has been written about the war, and all the documentaries that have been done, what is your Untold Story?
Chris Wheeler: Its really on multiple levels. Instead of focusing on the Virginia-Maryland-Pennsylvania campaign, were telling the story of the Civil War through the lens of the Western Theater, the area between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River: Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and the Atlanta Campaign. While it is not entirely an untold story, the story of that part of the war is not told very often. Many historians believe the Western Campaign is where the war was won and lost. Were not going to ignore the East; well briefly mention events there and put them in perspective within whats happening in the West.
HN: There is a widespread belief that the seat of war was in the Virginia-Maryland-Pennsylvania region, and that everything that happened in the Western Theater was simply a sideshow. Why do you think it is that the Western Theater gets less respect?
CW: I think theres no denying the Eastern Theater was very importantthe catastrophic loss of life makes it tragic, and that alone brings attention to the East, and deservedly so. It would be wrong for us to ignore the Eastern Theater, but we are focusing on the West. The war in the East was fought in a highly populated area around the capitals of Washington and Richmond. The medianewspapers and magazineshad very easy access to the Eastern Theater, and so logically it was covered more extensively at the time.
The lands between the Appalachians and Mississippi River were not the frontier by that time, but it was rougher country. Journalists had to cover hundreds of miles, from Fort Donelson to Shiloh to Vicksburg, eastward to Tennessee and onward to Atlanta. So the Western Campaign didnt get nearly the media coverage at the time the war was happening. I think that is part of the reason the West has gotten short shrift when it comes to interpreting the Civil War.
HN: Most of the photographers studios were in the East as well. Its not as easy to find photos taken in the Western Theater.
CW: The reality is that there are very few photographs that cover the West. We use battle recreations in the documentary to tell the story. If we had to depend on period photos we wouldnt have much to tell. I believe Ken Burns has been criticized for not doing more to cover the Western Theater in his series on the Civil War, but I think such criticism is unfair. You have to have images to make compelling television.
HN: Weve seen a media release about your documentary series that says, Its not just about who we were then. Its about who we are now . Would you like to expand on that thought?
CW: This film is not just a historical retelling of arguably the most important event in our countrys history. Hopefully our series will resonate with viewers and help Americans realize that many of the issues we fought over in the Civil War are still being discussed today: states rights versus a strong centralized government; civil rights; the Constitution; issues of race. A lot of these things still remain unresolved. Hopefully, after watching, viewers will have a better understanding of these issues and understand how the history of the Civil War remains relevant to all Americans today.
HN: The series will be narrated by someone very familiar to viewers of the PBS series Downton Abbey actress Elizabeth McGovern. What led you to approach her about being the narrator?
CW: Ive worked with Peter Coyote in the past; his agent also represents Elizabeth McGovern. I heard a demo of her doing some voice work, and I thought Elizabeth struck the perfect tone for what were trying to get across. She has a strong delivery but also a natural empathy. Elizabeth brings a sense of calm to this story while taking viewers through the horror, the carnage of the Civil War. One hundred fifty years later, its still hard to get your head around how truly horrible this war was. Elizabeth is a calming presence who in essence, takes viewers on a journey through hell.
Our series includes female historians who are very good on camera, but most of the voices in our documentary, whether historians or the voices from diaries and letters of the time, are male. A female narrator such as Elizabeth McGovern, brings much needed balance to the narrative.
Civil War: The Untold Story is being distributed to public television stations by American Public Television, but stations are not required to air the series. So from a distribution perspective, having Elizabeth involved in the show will hopefully encourage PBS stations to broadcast it.
HN: Tell us a bit about your own background if you will.
CW: I started off in the television business in 1981 as a news photographer. I loved history but wasnt sure I wanted to be a teacher. My first big project came when I was given the opportunity to create How the West Was Lost for the Discovery Channel. Since then Ive produced films on the Korean War (Our Time in Hell: the Korean War) and a documentary narrated by Walter Cronkite on John Glenn (Godspeed, John Glenn). Ive continued to produce documentaries on Native Americans. In recent years weve had the opportunity to produce visitor center films for National Park Civil War battlefields, and that has given me the chance to tell some of these stories that are so dramatic and so important to America today.
To return to your question about What is the untold story? we also want to bring a strong presence to the African American story in the Western Theater. At Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in Georgia, for example, I asked staff members if they receive a lot of African American visitors, since the park is just outside Atlanta. They replied No. Unfortunately, African Americans do not feel like they are part of the story of the Civil War. To me, that is tragedy. And it has been a motivating factor for us to tell a produce a series that conveys to modern day African Americans that their ancestors were an important and inspirational part of the Civil War story.
HN: It is often claimed that Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation didnt free a single slave, but in fact it freed Army officers from having to return runaway slaves to their owners as the armies penetrated deeper into the South, and allowed many, many thousands of slaves to find freedom by getting behind Union linescontrabands, they were called. That was particularly true with the Western armies, which conquered the largest portion of Dixie.
CW: I really liked the story of the contrabands, which we go into in our second episode. Early in the war, slaves began escaping to Union lines. Thousands of them! No one in the North had anticipated escaping slaves seeking refuge in these kinds of numbers. It led to a Constitutional question central to the war: Lincoln never recognized the Confederacy, so Federal law still applied to rebelling states. The Fugitive Slave Act was still the law of the land, so by law, runaway slaves had to be returned to their owners. But as a Union army officer, do you want to return the escaping slaves back over to the very people with whom you are engaged with in battle?
Lincoln is credited as the Great Emancipator, and certainly he was, but the slaves themselves put Lincoln in the position where he had to do something, and that was the Emancipation Proclamation. Most people dont realize the Emancipation Proclamation also gave African Americans the right to join the army and fight for the Union and defend their new-found freedom.
In our series, we also want to tell little-known stories about Lincoln himself. He was a man of the West, so he had a pretty good understanding of why the Western Campaign was so importantperhaps more so than most others in Washington did. Steven Spielbergs movie Lincoln begins in January 1865; our documentary ends about where Spielbergs movie begins, so The Untold Story could be considered a prequel to Spielbergs film, showing Lincolns ups and downssecession, the military campaigns, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the crucial 1864 presidential campaign.
I dont think Americans today realize how close Lincoln came to not being reelected. His opponent was George McClellan, the popular former commander of the Army of the Potomac. McClellan represented a Democratic party that wanted to end the war, to let the Southern states keep their slaves and come back into the Union. By 1864, Northerners were tired of the war that had no end in sight, tired of seeing their sons die. One of the biggest events that turned things around was in September 1864, when Union General William T. Sherman captured Atlanta, which was the next-best thing to capturing Richmond. For the first time, people in the North now had hope this war could be won. The Battle of Atlanta plays very much into the political campaign story we tell in Civil War: the Untold Story. Lincoln wins in a landslide. Just a few weeks earlier he had told his cabinet, We must prepare for McClellan to be president.
HN: How will civilians stories figure into the documentary?
CW: The story of Southern civilians is a big part of the untold story. I dont think a lot of people in our nation today realize that the war was fought almost entirely in the South. Civilians in places like Vicksburg, Chattanooga, and Atlanta found themselves in the path of the war. Vicksburg is perhaps the most dramatic example, with the civilian population trapped there for six weeks under bombardment during the siege in 1863 by Ulysses S. Grants army. The experience for Southern civilians was very different than for Northern civilians. Northern civilians could read about what was happening in the war, but it was fought on Southern doorsteps, and it devastated the South for years afterward.
So in Civil War: The Untold Story, youll see the military story, the social story of the civilians and African Americans, and the political story of Abraham Lincoln.
HN: Is there anything youd like to add in closing?
CW: I hope this series brings our countrys people together at a time when we are arguably as divided as we were in 1860. I hope it will bring a better understanding of the Civil War and help people to see what happens when we disagree, when we stop trying to solve our problems together. I think it is time for Americans to hear this story again, not just because it is the 150th anniversary of the war, but because of the state of our nation today. Ken Burns did a fantastic job of telling the story of the war in 1990, but it has been a generation since our nation heard the story of the Civil War. I sincerely hope a sense of healing and unity can come out of viewing this. Over 600,00 young men died from North and South. It is an American tragedy, one Americans should never forget.
Click here to watch a trailer of Civil War: The Untold Story.
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Read more about Jamestown in the June 2007 issue of America History magazine! Pick up your copy in newstands or subscribe to
American History
magazine today!
You probably know about John Smith and Pocahontas, but not much more. Jamestown in 1607 was English Americas first permanent settlement and, since then, perhaps its most unjustly maligned. According to many histories, Jamestown was a false start in the New World: a colony founded on greed that ultimately failed due to poor location, infighting and highborn colonists resistant to hard work. The colonys very physical legacy, its original fort, was believed to have long ago washed away into the James River.
Enter Dr. William Kelso, chief archaeologist for the Jamestown Rediscovery Project sponsored by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Using computer technology, centuries-old accounts written by the colonists themselves and the eye of a historical detective, Kelso has rediscovered James Fort and with it a trove of priceless artifacts that illuminate the lives, struggles and surprising accomplishments of those first English Americans.
The pioneering settlement Kelso describes in his book Jamestown: The Buried Truth is an astonishing place. Still, you may find it strangely familiar. This is the real story of the birth of a nation America before the Pilgrims.
Dr. Kelso, most people probably think that an archaeologist would be more likely to dig for King Tut than John Smith.
So did I! Until I discovered that there was an American history that archaeologists could make a contribution to.
What led you to believe James Fort was still there, when previous experts agreed that the fort was gone?
When I first came to James Island, I realized that story didnt have any particular backing to it no real evidence it was just agreed upon. When I looked at one of the earlier trenches, I could see that there was a dark layer underneath everything. I questioned it, but I didnt get an answer. I came to realize how little was known about the area.
Your project is called Jamestown Rediscovery. Why would we need to rediscover where English America began? Why dont we know it?
Because it keeps getting swept under the rug. I think this all goes back to the American Civil War. You know, the victors write the history. Thats the North. Thats the Pilgrims in 1620. Its not a Southern colony in 1607. In the standard history books, Jamestown comes off as a bunch of greedy men, coming here to make money.
Ive read they were lazy, too.
Thats been the story. But thats not at all what were finding. The artifacts weve unearthed indicate people very hard at work, performing long, strenuous labor. Sure, they were trying to make a profit for the corporation. Now, how un-American is that?
Its very American. But not like the Jamestown I learned about in social studies class. For example, in your book you talk about knights in shining armor.
There were at least three sirs knighted men at Jamestown. Weve found armor all over the place. They brought more helmets than heads to put them on. American history does go back to knights in armor. Shakespeare himself drew on the Jamestown experiences [for his play The Tempest]. To me, this means that to really understand the beginnings of America, we need to look back to a much older European tradition.
You say that almost immediately on arriving, the colonists began felling trees and splitting them into planks, not just to build homes but to ship the lumber back to England.
That first summer, they loaded three ships for exporting. That was the idea: Find items of value and send them back. Weve also found evidence that the colonists were attempting to manufacture glass, bronze and other valuables for export, using the resources here.
Even searching for gold?
Weve recovered state-of-the-art crucibles, the kind used to assay gold deposits. Its also documented that the colonists even sent back an entire shipload of dirt. They thought it was gilded. Which is ironic.
Why?
Because the dirt was the gold, the actual land what the settlers couldnt have back home.
So this was starting a nation and starting a business?
Oh, absolutely. After all, it was called the Virginia Company. Were not digging up columns and tombs here. Were finding a legacy that isnt made of bricks its the remains of a system of commerce.
For example, right now, Im looking out on the James River, and theres a barge thats loaded with gravel and its headed, I think, for Japan. So the whole thing is still in operation. And from this same place.
Thats a really different take on how America began. Every schoolchild learns that the Pilgrims came here for religious freedom. These entrepreneurial Jamestown pioneers sound much different.
Yes, but also more like modern Americans.
How difficult would it have been for the original colonists to construct James Fort?
Building this palisade in just 19 days is probably the main reason that half the original colonists died. The colonists erected, say, 600 logs, weighing up to 800 pounds each, in the hot Virginia summer, after being raised in England. And working under fire, literally, from the natives. It must have been a panicking thing.
Was this the wrong place to land?
No. The perceived threat to the colony was Spain. Against a Spanish sea attack, the colonists chose the right strategic position: an island. Theres no other place along the James River as defensible as this one.
So this one triangular fort, about 100 yards on a side, was how big America was in 1607?
English America, yes, you could say that. The dwellings, warehouses and other buildings that made up the colony were inside the fort. The building remains were excavating now are the buildings that John Smith and the other colonists lived and worked in.
Since the precise location of the fort had been lost, you used the colonists own writings to find it. Were the Jamestowners accurate record keepers? Can we believe what they wrote?
Yes. Theres no doubt. Especially William Strachey, one of the colony scribes. His location for the fort was very exact.
Poring through these archaically written documents, Jamestown takes on an almost mythological quality. You know about John Smith and Pocahontas. But it becomes real historical science when we retrace the steps. The stories become true. I have a friend who teaches colonial history, and after seeing the digs he said, Now I believe what Ive always taught.
You mentioned William Strachey. I understand you may have actually unearthed something of his.
Very likely his signet ring. It was recovered in the corner of the fort.
Is that the closest anyone has ever come to connecting an artifact with a specific colonist?
Its one of three. Weve also found a pewter flagon drinking mug in a well outside the fort, which bears the initials of settlers Richard and Elizabeth Pierce.
And the captains staff?
Unearthed in one of the burials. We believe the remains are those of Captain Bartholomew Gosnold. You think people dont know much about Jamestown, but boy, they have never heard of this guy! According to John Smith, Gosnold was the main reason the colony survived that first year. That would make this a very important find an unsung hero in American history.
Your work has even put a face on the Jamestowners.
Yes, using modern forensics. Thats another reason I think were revealing a forgotten century in American history. Its what archaeology does. In a document, you can have someones point of view. But what you find in the ground, no ones putting a spin on that.
Were getting a fairer picture of the settlement. There were mistakes made. A lot of people died needlessly. It was paradise, and it wasnt. People want to know: Did Jamestown succeed or fail? Well, it did both. These remains, their number, location and condition, point up how terribly hard life was in early Jamestown.
Especially during the Starving Time in 1609-10. After 400 years, how can you dig down and say definitively that these colonists very nearly starved to death?
Its clear from what they butchered. Weve found the remains of rats, dogs, horses I mean, youre chopping up your transportation. They were eating poisonous snakes, stuff thats really taboo unless youre absolutely desperate. Then theres a question: Why didnt they leave the fort for food? They couldnt. Documentary evidence says if they ventured out of the fort, they were picked off.
By the natives?
Yes, but weve also found evidence of natives working inside the compound. We have evidence that someone was actually making stone tools in the fort. They were flaking points and making beads. What weve found represents the greatest evidence of contact between the Powhatan Indians and the English: Powhatan artifacts like pottery, beads and native pipes.
Again, this brings another sense of reality that you wouldnt think of before. There were Indians in the fort, as well as outside. Not like a Western the settlers on one side of the fort, and the Indians on the other.
Youve recovered more than a million artifacts. Some look remarkably modern, like they were lost last year. Is there one artifact that stands out in your mind?
So many are astonishing. But Id have to say, the fort itself. Individual artifacts can also present several interpretations. The one absolute that weve found is James Fort. It exists on dry land; it didnt wash away. Thats undeniable. And in archaeology, its very seldom that you can come up with something undeniable.
The Jamestown youre discovering is nothing like what most of us have seen in pictures. You know, the little stick huts.
That was one of the biggest surprises to me. I thought of little Hansel & Gretel cottages. In fact, Jamestown never had those. The little huts didnt last long. We can see in the ground when they were torn down.
Jamestown started as poles in the ground, with tents over the tops. Then it went to something that would look at home in Ireland, one-story structures. Later, Jamestown becomes more of a city facade; they put up buildings which would have looked perfectly logical in London. Half-timber buildings. Finally it goes to brick, by statute, to make things permanent.
And while building that city, you say that Jamestown also built American independence, long before it happened at Independence Hall.
Absolutely. The basis of the American Revolution started at Jamestown. Jefferson knew that. In his book A History of Virginia, theres a section on how, by the mid-17th century, the Jamestowners insisted on the same rights as Englishmen. So when Jefferson writes about justifications for the Revolution, he says we want to maintain our rights that we established here 160 years ago.
Jeffersons sentiment was Keep your promise that started in Jamestown.
Yes, exactly.
Did Jamestown eventually decline because the colonial capital moved to Williamsburg?
Yes, the area reverted to farmland. Jamestown is not really a good deep-water port; there are better ports at Yorktown.
So Jamestown didnt disappear because it failed, but because the American experiment it started grew so successful.
Thats my point. The Virginia Company, the colonys sponsors, failed, so everyone concludes that Jamestown failed. But it didnt. By the time the Pilgrims step on Plymouth Rock in 1620, there were over a thousand people living up and down the James River on various prosperous plantations. And the ideas of Jamestown, that legacy, moved to Williamsburg, and then to Richmond.
And the site of James Fort even has a second history after that.
As a Confederate fort. Again, this was the most defensible position in the area. In fact, the Confederates used Jamestowns surviving church steeple as an observation tower. Their fort was earthen walls. Today, those walls are full of Jamestown artifacts.
Did the Confederates know that?
Oh, yes. Their journals record finding logs from the fort, and burials. The Confederates found a piece of armor that is still in our collection.
Another new nation, trying to start on this same spot?
In a way. And Union forces saw Jamestown as important to take. It was the beginnings of their country.
So this really is about becoming American. In your book, youve said that the Jamestown colonists arrived here as quintessential Englishmen.
Yes they did. Weve found their teacups and porcelain. Weve found hundreds of sewing pins for fine garments. They were bringing their lives here. As far as I can determine, Jamestown was the first permanent English colony anywhere on earth.
When did these Englishmen become American?
We can see it happening in the archaeological record. The Englishmen become Americans when they figure out how to use this new environment. They came to this place where the forests were endless, where you could have land. The Virginia Company sent them for gold, but they found valuables that you couldnt get back home.
Thats what drove them to endure the risks of this place. Then they adapted to it. They learned to make native pottery. Weve found Powhatan-type bowls with feet on them, made to sit on English tables. They adapted their European armor for guerrilla fighting, by chopping it up and making smaller pieces like flak jackets. Weve found the pieces. They even recast some of their armor into kettles and other implements when the fighting was over.
Like swords into ploughshares. In many ways, its sounds like the America we know today started in this one tiny settlement. What can Jamestown teach us now, 400 years later?
The most important lesson for Americans today? Probably how precariously this whole thing started.
This interview was conducted by Nick DAlto and originally published in the June 2007 issue of American History Magazine. For more great articles, subscribe to American History magazine today!
Growing Up
If theres one iconic figure in American history whose legend approaches sainthood, its George Washington. From the I cannot tell a lie legend to his label as the father of our country, just about all that storytelling on the man is deserved.
We can thank Washington for a lot. He persisted against absolutely overwhelming odds with completely inadequate funding to win the Revolutionary War. Our commander in chief won only three decisive battles in eight years, but he so ground down the British with a war that seemed as if it might never end that the king and Parliament said the hell with it after Yorktown. We also can thank Washington for agreeing to take on the first presidency when he would rather have been farming at Mount Vernon. And we can especially thank him for stepping down from that presidency after two terms when he could easily have become the new monarch.
So it isnt easy to write about Washingtons most remarkable talentthat he matured from being a flawed, ambitious and somewhat unethical young man into the honorable leader we all try to model today.
When historian Woody Holton first proposed to show us how a young Washington cheated some of his men out of western land, a couple of editors on staff started seeing red, and it wasnt Washingtons militia uniform. You want to write a story that says the father of our country was a crook? asked one editor. Another said, Let me get this straightyou want to bash Americas image of its greatest leader at a time when the nation is feeling a bit queasy about the course of events?
Ah, history. That sort of disagreement is what makes it so interestingthe constant debate about how known facts should be interpreted. In the end, this is what the editors here perceived to be true: George Washington may be even greater than we thought, because he so transformed himself from an overly ambitious, unethical young man into a wise and virtuous older man. Now, thats a model for your children. What Washington taught us is that people can change. They can rise up and improve themselvesdramatically so. They can become what they admire. They can become the president.
The Search Continues
Here we go again. The search is on once more for Amelia Earhart. The most famous womanhunt in recent history has been revived several times since the July 2, 1937, disappearance of Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, during a round-the-world attempt while flying a Lockheed Electra from Lae, New Guinea, to Howland Island in the north Pacific Ocean.
Since the initial search effort was called off and the aviators were declared lost at sea, several theories about their fatefrom running out of gas and crashing into the ocean to landing on another island and being captured by the Japanesehave surfaced and a number of expeditions have been mounted to find evidence regarding their fate. Ric Gillespie, head of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), has spent more than $2 million over an 18-year period looking for Earhart evidence, coming up with inconclusive pieces of aircraft aluminum and part of a shoe at Gardner Island (presently named Nikumaroro), south of Howland Island, where he believes the Electra ended up. As of this writing, he was mounting another attempt, his eighth. Another searcher, David Jourdan of Nauticos, spent $4.5 million on two deep-sea sonar searches around Howland Island, also to no avail. His theory is that the Electra ran out of fuel approximately 50 miles from Howland and is sitting on the ocean floor 17,000 feet down.
An exhibit recently opened at the Ninety-Nines Museum of Women Pilots in Oklahoma City to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the 1937 disappearance and the 75th anniversary of Earharts solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean. The 99s, the International Organization of Women Pilots, was organized byyou guessed it99 women pilots in 1929, and Earhart was not only one of the founders but was elected as the groups first president. The museum exhibit features several Earhart artifacts, including a scarf she wore on some of her long-distance flights, her pilots license, navigation charts and other items.
Stay tuned; this obsession aint over yet.
and on a more personal note. The founding editor of Aviation History is taking a few days off and handing the reins over to Carl von Wodtke, who has been the World History Groups managing editor for 12 years. It is a transition rare in the annals of publishing in that it is a pleasant changeover for both publisher and editor. I have been with Aviation History through more than 100 issues, since the first one appeared in September 1990. It has been a rewarding experience working over the years with the many contributors, publishing staff and the readers whose correspondence has kept us all on our toes. And where do retired editors go? I couldnt help ending with a takeoff another editor friend gave me on General Douglas MacArthurs farewell speech, which I listened to live in grammar school: Old editors never die, they just delete themselves.
BY PATRICIA CONDON JOHNSTON
A SERIES OF WATERCOLORS BY SETH EASTMAN, THE FOREMOST NINETEENTH-CENTURY PICTORIAL HISTORIAN OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN, IS NOW ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC.
In late 1994, the James Jerome Hill Reference Library in St. Paul, Minnesota, sold its collection of 56 Seth Eastman watercolors depicting Native American life on the Western frontier to W. Duncan MacMillan, a director of Cargill, Inc. of nearby Wayzata. The largest extant collection of Eastman watercolors, the paintings had been in the library since its completion in 1920, and before that, in Hills personal library at his Summit Avenue home in St. Paul.
This stunning collection comprises paintings prepared mainly for Henry Rowe Schoolcrafts gigantic six-volume work, Information Regarding the History, Conditions, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States, which was published between 1851 and 57. Monumentally important as American art, the paintings are also paramount to an understanding of Dakota and Ojibwa life in Minnesota in the 1840s. In addition to the Minnesota paintings, the collection includes works based on Eastmans experiences in Texas and his visits to other parts of the country; landscapes drawn from nature; maps relating to Native American ethnography and history; and depictions of Indian artifacts.
Widely regarded as the foremost pictorial historian of the American Indian in the nineteenth century, Eastman was a career army officer and talented artist with a keen eye for cultural detail. Assigned to frontier duty, including a seven-year stint at Fort Snelling in Minnesota, Captain Eastman recorded such things as winter villages, temporary summer encampments, and Indian burial grounds; courtship and marriage customs; and medicine men concocting potions and ministering to the sick, as he set out to preserve a visual record of even the most commonplace activities of everyday Indian life, which was then undergoing rapid change.
For many years, the paintings were kept largely under wraps, locked in a safe at the Hill Library, which more recently was moving away from its original mission as a general reference library toward becoming a more specialized facility that focused on business. The decision to sell the artworks, which was severely criticized in the local press, was predicated on the librarys changing needs and budgetary concerns. Proceeds from the sale were added to the librarys endowment to support general operations.
With the Eastman paintings now in private hands, however, they will be more accessible to a wider public than was previously the case. MacMillan, also president of the Afton Historical Society Press in Afton, Minnesota, has already published a lavish, coffee-table bookSeth Eastman: A Portfolio of North American Indiansshowcasing the collection. Publication of the book was celebrated with an exhibition of the paintings at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts; the artworks will also travel to other museums throughout the country.
Not everything you touch has to make money, said MacMillan. I didnt want to see the collection broken up and scattered. . . . It seemed to me that if it was possible to acquire them, we could keep them together on behalf of the people of Minnesota. The Eastmans are an extraordinary resource and legacy.
Born in Brunswick, Maine, on January 24, 1808, Seth was the eldest of 13 children of Robert and Sarah Lee Eastman. A gentleman devoted to scientific pursuits and a talented inventor, Robert hoped to send his firstborn son to Maines Bowdoin College, where he had friends among the faculty, but young Seth had a dream of his own. Enamored with soldieringa great-great-grandfather, Captain Ebenezer Eastman, had taken part in the reduction of the Fortress of Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island in 1745the lad at length persuaded his father to allow him to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Sixteen years old when he entered the Academy in July 1824, he spent five fruitful years there, preparing to be both a military man and an artist.
A two-year course taught by Thomas Gimbrede, a French-born miniaturist and engraver, at the schools Drawing Academy, gave Eastman training in sketching the human form, landscape studies, and topographical drawing. The purpose of the course was to turn out practical draftsmen with engineering skills who could provide civil services for the developing nation, but drawing was also deemed valuable for processing information and honing perception.
Although otherwise an undistinguished scholar, Eastman graduated in 1829 at the top of his drawing class. The new second lieutenants first assignment took him halfway across the continent to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. There Colonel Zachary Taylor was rebuilding Fort Crawfordoriginally of log constructionwith native rock. An exacting pencil sketch that Eastman made of the soon-to-be-demolished post and fledgling Prairie du Chien is the earliest extant example of his meticulously drawn military landscapes.
Early in 1830, Eastman was transferred 150 miles up the Mississippi River to Fort Snelling, then the countrys northernmost frontier post. Built in the wake of the War of 1812 to block British infiltration of the American Northwest and to protect the newly organized fur trade by maintaining peace among the Native Americans in the region, Fort Snelling was a stone behemoth situated on high limestone bluffs above the confluence of the Mississippi and St. Peters rivers in Minnesota.
While at Fort Snelling, Eastman used some of his free time to sketch the untamed beauty of the surrounding, pristine northland. His drawings from this period have been lost, but he is known to have always carried a sketchbook and pencils in his saddlebags. Landscape sketches of Fort Snelling and the Upper Mississippi Valley made in 1830 and 31 served as studies for oil paintings that Eastman completed when he later returned to the East.
Records indicate that Lieutenant Eastman satisfactorily carried out his duties at Fort Snelling. The Minnesota frontier was relatively quiet; only rarely were soldiers dispatched to put down Indian trouble. In fact, many of the officers, including Eastman, were cohabiting with Indian women. In 1831, when Eastman was transferred to topographical duty in Louisiana, he left behind a Native-American wife, Stands Like a Spirit, third daughter of Chief Cloudman of the Lake Calhoun village, and an infant daughter, Nancy Eastman.
After assisting with a railroad survey in Louisiana, Eastman served briefly with the Topographical Engineers at New London, Connecticut. Then in January 1833, he was recalled to West Point. His former drawing teacher, Thomas Gimbrede, had died, and, while the Academy sought a permanent replacement, Eastman assumed the hastily-created, temporary position of assistant teacher of drawing. The temporary assignment lasted for seven years. Gimbredes job finally went to Robert Weir, a landscapist of rising reputation with whom Eastman studied privately.
Preferring the outdoors to classroom duty, Eastman twicein 1835 and 38applied for a transfer to the Topographical Engineers, but to no avail. In the meantime, always giving his best to whatever occupied him, he proved to be a conscientious and productive instructor. In 1837, he prepared A Treatise on Topographical Drawing, a small book with folding plates that became the official text for classes at West Point.
These years at the Academy were happy ones for Eastman. In June 1835, when he was 27, he married 17-year-old Mary Henderson, the daughter of West Points assistant surgeon. An able young woman, who expressed herself well in prose and poetry, Mary would capture the fancy of the literary world with several books about Indians, which were illustrated by her husband.
In 1838, the National Academy of Design in New York City exhibited eight Eastman canvases; five were Eastern scenes, the remaining three relied on sketches he had made years earlier on the Upper Mississippi. A promotion to captain that year relieved Eastman of his classroom duties and led to his participation in the Second Seminole War in Florida. After a brief assignment at Sarasota, he took command of Fort Fanning, a temporary garrison on the Suwannee River. At both places, Eastman found time to paint not only his usual landscapes, but also, for the first time, the local Indians.
By late spring 1841, half of Eastmans regiment was suffering from dysentery and fever brought on by maneuvers in the steamy Florida Everglades. Unwell himself, Eastman was sent to Norfolk, Virginia, to recover his health. In the fall, he was reassigned to Fort Snelling, where he remained for the next seven years. No longer the inexperienced officer he had been ten years earlier, he served on four occasions as commandant of the post.
Eastman and his wife Mary raised five childrenfour sons and a daughterat Fort Snelling, and from all accounts, he was a first-rate frontier officer. He had no fear of the Indians, seeing them as wards of the government to be treated fairly but firmly. Besides keeping peace on the frontier, Captain Eastman engaged in a personal crusade to preserve for posterity the customs of a race he thought to be dying, by assembling a pictorial history of the Dakota who inhabited the region.
Landscape artist Charles Lanman, who came upriver from St. Louis to Fort Snelling in the summer of 1846, was spellbound by Eastmans collection, which by then already amounted to some four hundred drawings and paintings. It was, he said, the most valuable in the country, not even excepting that of George Catlin.
By the next year, Eastman was sending oil paintings to St. Louis, where they were exhibited in artist Henry Lewiss studio. Ranking him out of sight the best painter of Indian life the country has produced, the Missouri Republican judged Eastmans work quite unlike the vast mass of Indian pictures it has been our bad luck to see. Unlike most of his contemporaries, said the reviewer, Eastman stuck to the plain truth, producing masterful paintings that one less conversant with Indian character . . . could never have painted.
At the same time that Eastmans Indian paintings were gaining national attention, he was angling for a new assignment. Congress had authorized the publication of a major study of the American Indian to be written by explorer and former Indian agent Henry Schoolcraft, and the post of illustrator for the book was still open. Eastman wrote to the Office of Indian Affairs requesting that he be appointed to the position. He also petitioned the secretary of war for a transfer to the Office of Indian Affairs.
While waiting for a reply, Eastman was transferred to Texas. On October 1, 1848, he and his family reluctantly boarded the steamboat Dr. Franklin at Fort Snelling for the trip downriver to St. Louis, en route to a new posting in Texas. From St. Louis, Mary Eastman and the children went east to her fathers home in Connecticut, while the captain followed his company into Comanche territory. When the War Departments long-awaited decision finally reached Eastman in November, the answer was disappointing; he would not be assigned to the Schoolcraft project.
Baffled and angered, Eastman pleaded his case with friends in government, and his wife did the same. He declared his willingness to accept a leave of absence to work on the pictures, if a transfer could not be arranged. Writing to Minnesota territorial delegate Henry Sibley, Mary Eastman pointed out that during the twenty three or four years Capt. E. has been in Service he [has] never had a leave (except for a few days) but the one which occurred during the Florida War, when he was very sick . . . . If Captain E. is not here in the Spring, it may be a great loss to him . . . one which he could not repair.
Possibly as a result of Sibleys support, Eastman eventually won a five-month furlough. By Christmas 1849, he had settled in Washington with his family and was working on the Indian pictures. As yet, there were no funds for an illustrator, and Eastmans work was entirely speculative. Nonetheless, he plunged into the project, determined to win the long-term appointment that would be needed to complete the task. Finally, in February 1850, he received orders from the War Department that would allow him to complete the illustrations at his ordinary military pay. The monumental work, which comprised 275 pages of illustrations, consumed Eastman for five years.
Although he would have preferred to remain in Washington after finishing the Schoolcraft paintings, Eastman returned to his regiment in Texas in June 1855. Past his prime at age 48 and in failing health, he was soon back East on sick leave. In October, he was promoted to major and transferred to the Fifth Infantry. He served a short stint with the Quartermaster Generals Office in Washington, but for the most part, Eastman spent the final years of his military career on the move.
With the onset of the Civil War in 1861, Eastman was promoted to lieutenant colonel and named mustering and disbursing officer for Maine and New Hampshire. After suffering a sunstroke that left him permanently impaired and prone to apoplexy, he served for one year, beginning in January 1863, as military governor at Cincinnati. He then served as commandant of the military prisons at Elmira, New York, and Fort Mifflin, Pennsylvania. Appointed brevet brigadier general in 1866, he took charge of the Harrodsburg Military Asylum in Kentucky, remaining there until 1867.
Although frail in body, General Eastman returned to painting with renewed enthusiasm after the war. During his last years, he received a commission from the War Department to paint nine scenes of Indian life, based on his Minnesota sketches, for the House Office Building in the nations capital. His final commission, also for the government, specified 17 paintings of American forts for the House Committee on Military Affairs. On August 31, 1875, Eastman was completing a painting of West Point when he slumped over at his easel and died.
In the annals of American history, no war has produced as many famous horses as the Civil War: Traveller, Little Sorrel and Rienzi are among the best known, but there are others. Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, for example, rode several great mounts, including his loyal horse Roderick.
At the March 1863 Battle of Thompsons Station, Tenn., Roderick had been shot three times and removed froEE the front, but he jumped three fences to return to his masters side, where he suffered a fourth and fatal wound. As the legend goes, Forrest knelt and wept beside his dying steed.
Today, a new statue of Roderick marks the chestnut geldings final resting place. The memorial was dedicated this spring as part of the towns commemoration of the 145th anniversary of the Thompsons Station battle. In addition, the towns mayor, Leon Heron, announced the creation of the Roderick Award of Courage, which will be presented each March, starting in 2009, to an individual who exhibits bravery in the face of adversity.
Outside the world of horse racingwhich has erected statues for such famous chargers as Seabiscuit and Secretariatit is uncommon for a horse to be so honored without his famous rider depicted as well.
The Roderick statue, therefore, is a unique and fitting way to celebrate Civil War history. As historian Eric Jacobson said at the monuments unveiling. We may all live for the future, he noted, but all of us are products of our past.
Read The Generals Mount, a poem tribute to Nathan Bedford Forrests horse.
September/October 2008
thePROVINGground
The Mexican War gave future civil war generals their first taste of combat JOHN C. WAUGH
Chatham Roberdeau Wheat would one day lead a famous Louisiana battalion called Wheats Tigers into battle for the Confederacy. He would fight and die in the Battle of Gaines Mill, Virginia, in 1862. But that was still some 15 years in the future; right now, the young law students attention was directed toward adventure in another conflict, the Mexican War of the 1840s. There, whether he lived or died, he would be a winner, a hero. In his own florid fashion, he wrote: I would ask for no greater glorywhile our spirits should wing their flight to a brighter & a better world where we should enlist under the captaincy of Great Michael and mingle with the hosts of Heavenandwith Washington & the heroes that have gone before, hang out our banners from the battlements of Heaven & let the shout of our exulting voices ring from arch to arch of heavens bright canopy.
In the best case, of course, Wheat and his comrades would live, be victorious, enter the city of Mexico, and stand in the halls of the Montezumas covered with glory & with bright stars upon our breasts. In either case, he concluded, we are victorious, victorious even in deathhow sublime! How pleasing the thought!
George Brinton McClellan, who would command the Union armies early in the Civil War, was a fire-new graduate of West Point when the Mexican War began. He couldnt wait to get to the front and fight the crowdmusquitoes & Mexicans &c. Hip! Hip! Hurrah! he wrote home. War at last sure enough! Aint it glorious!
For young army officers of the time, the Mexican War was not only the road to glory, it was the road to promotion. Advancement in the peacetime army was maddeningly slow. An officer could stagnate in the same low grade year after year until those above him were promoted, resigned, or died, making room for his own advancement. When war came, everything speeded up. Armies expanded and fought, the unfortunate were killed, and the fortunate were promoted. Most young subalterns welcomed the war for that reason.
What they didnt know was that the war would be their rite of passage, their crucible, their proving ground. They would learn how to endure hardship, how to inspire the loyalty of troops, how to fight and win battles. In that reasonably tidy little foreign war of 1846-1848, they would be tempered for command in an incomprehensibly larger and messier domestic war to come: the American Civil War.
Compared to the Civil War, the Mexican War was small. Of the 17,000 or so Americans who became casualties during the conflict, only about 1,700 were killed in battle. The Union Army suffered a larger number of casualties in just three days of fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg in the Civil War. Despite this difference in scale, the Mexican War was by no means insignificant. It would add half a million square miles of territory to the United States, territory that would become the modern states of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and part of Colorado. Indeed, it was the desire for westward expansion that sparked the war.
When the United States admitted the Republic of Texas as a state in December 1846, the Mexican government still considered Texas a rebellious Mexican province. Tension between the two countries prompted U.S. President James K. Polk to dispatch Brigadier General Zachary Taylor to Texas with a force of 3,000 men to defend the Rio Grande.
Anti-American Mexicans viewed this as an act of war. Many Americans felt the same, seeing the move as a case of blatant aggression against a weaker nation, designed to satisfy the United States lust for territory. Congressman Abraham Lincoln of Illinois was one of the most vocal critics of the war. Army Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant, who would eventually command all Union armies in the Civil War, called the conflict in Mexico one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation.
Despite his reservations, Grant accompanied Taylor on his march across Texas in March 1846. On arriving at the Rio Grande, Taylors troops built an earthen fort in a provocative position across the river from the Mexican city of Matamoros. The Mexican War could be said to have begun when Mexican artillery finally opened fire on the fort in May. When Grant heard the bombardment from his camp miles away, he later wrote, I felt sorry that I had enlisted.
Others, like McClellan, were not yet in Mexico and were just as sorry to be missing the action. The Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, both American victories against larger Mexican forces, came within a week of the first bombardment. Taylor entered Matamoros on May 18 and in July pushed west on a campaign toward the city of Monterey. There, again, the Americans would be outnumbered by their Mexican foes.
Monterey was extraordinarily well fortified and surrounded by rugged terrain. The battle for the city would last three days and cost hundreds of American casualties.
On the third day of the battle, the Americans had taken control of Montereys outskirts and began pressing in from all sides toward the grand plaza at its center, held by Mexican troops. An American head poked into one of the streets radiating out from the plaza would instantly summon a hail of artillery and musket fire, and snipers seemed to lurk on every roof. Lieutenant Grant, although officially acting as a regimental quartermaster, had managed to find his way to the firing line. When the unit he accompanied began to run out of ammunition, he volunteered to ride to Taylors headquarters to plead for more.
One of the finest horseman ever to pass through West Point, Grant found a creative solution to the hazard of moving through Montereys open streets. He swung to the side of his horse farthest from the enemy, leaving only one foot holding to the cantle of the saddle and one arm over the neck of the horseIndian style. Shielded from stray bullets by his mounts body, Grant sped through the streets at such a furious clip that few of the citys defenders got off clean shots at him; both man and horse arrived at headquarters unharmed.
Thanks to that and similar instances of audacity, creative tactics, and good luck, the Americans were able to overcome Monterey. It was a resounding triumph for Taylor; news of the victory spread quickly north to the United States. To some eager young officers who had yet to reach the front, missing that battle seemed the ultimate tragedy of their military lives. McClellan was among those who arrived too late for the fight. It was a piece of bad luck, he moaned, which I shall regret as long as I live.
McClellan would soon see his share of action. Taylors victories were producing no overtures of surrender from the Mexican government. Convinced that nothing less than a campaign against the national capital, Mexico City, would bring the wars end, President Polk sent Major General Winfield Scott, the armys senior commander, to organize a coastal invasion of central Mexico. For that operation, Scott requisitioned the cream of Taylors force: most of his U.S. Army regulars and his cadre of West Point-trained officers. Taylor reluctantly acceded to Scotts order and remained at Monterey with a force consisting primarily of volunteers.
Taylors volunteers would be tested in one last fight: the Battle of Buena Vista. There, Taylor was nearly routed by a larger Mexican army led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. The swift and resolute action of troops from Indiana and Mississippi saved the day. The commander of the Mississippi volunteers was Jefferson Davis, future president of the Confederacy.
Buena Vista was the end of the campaign in northern Mexico, but far from the end of the war. Taylor stayed in Monterey and later returned home, but Scott spent the winter preparing a sea-borne invasion of Mexicos greatest port, Vera Cruz. McClellan, meanwhile, was having the time of his young life. Around the campfires at night, he wrote his mother, you never saw such a merry set as we areno care, no troublewe criticize the Generalslaugh & swear at the mustangs & volunteers. Waking before dawn was common: When on a march, we get up at 2 or 3, when we halt, we snooze it, till 8 or 9when we have cigars we smoke them, when we have none, we go withoutwhen we have brandy, we drink it, when we have not, we make it up by laughing at our predicamentthat is the way we live.
The novelty of campaign life did little to ease the desire for battle, especially for one of McClellans West Point classmates, a young artillery lieutenant named Thomas Jonathan Jackson. Jackson would become one of Americas most famous generals, earning the nickname Stonewall during his service to the Confederacy. But in 1847 he had yet to hear a shot fired in anger. Walking on a beach in February with another future Confederate general, Lieutenant Daniel Harvey Hill, he said: I really envy you men who have been in action. We who have just arrived look upon you as veterans. Then he added wistfully, I should like to be in one battle.
Jackson would not have long to wait. Early in March, Scott landed his army of around 10,000 men on the beaches near Vera Cruz, along with a host of cannon. The walled city was nearly impervious to infantry attack, so Scott decided to shell it into submission. Jackson manned one of the batteries that began bombarding the city later that month. A cannonball came within five steps of sweeping him into oblivion, but he paid it no mind; he was doing what he most wantedcommanding guns in battle and attracting glittering acclaim for his coolness and judgment. One of his West Point classmates, Lieutenant William Montgomery Gardner, a future Confederate brigadier, saw him under fire for the first time and said Old Jack was as calm in the midst of a hurricane of bullets as though he were on dress parade at West Point.
The success of the bombardment of Vera Cruz would depend not only on the skill of the artillerists, but also on the efforts of the engineers who oversaw the landing and placement of the guns. One of them was a 40-year-old captain named Robert E. Lee. Lees only previous field service had been a brief stint with Taylor, but from the moment he joined Scotts staff in January 1847, he began to shoulder ever greater responsibility. His role in positioning guns for the siege of Vera Cruz could be seen as his first step up the ladder toward military fame and immortality. The bombardment brought the citys surrender in less than a week.
Scott consolidated his force at Vera Cruz and then began a march inland up the National Road toward Mexico City. This movement met its first resistance in mid-April near the town of Cerro Gordo. There, Santa Anna had entrenched his troops in strong positions along the only passable road through the mountains for miles. Scott saw that any frontal assault on Santa Annas positions would be suicidal. He asked his engineers to find a route to the flank or rear of the Mexican position. A young lieutenant with the lyrical name of Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard thought he had spied such a route: he suspected the dense jungle and ravine-scarred landscape on the Mexicans left could be penetrated. Like McClellan and Lee, Beauregard was an engineer, an officer who specialized in reconnaissance and in moving men and equipment through hostile terrain. And like Lee, he would later become one of the Confederacys top generals.
Beauregards speculation prompted Scott to send Lee, fast becoming the generals trusted right hand, to investigate. Gifted with a singular sense of direction and an unparalleled feeling for topography, Lee determined that Scotts army could indeed cut a path where Beauregard suspected and surprise Santa Annas forces.
Scott did exactly that. While part of his force feinted against the Mexican front to draw Santa Annas attention, the bulk of the American army crept through the dense underbrush and passed through deep ravines to reach the Mexican rear. There, in a classic surprise attack, they swept Mexican troops from poorly defended positions. Santa Annas army broke and retreated toward Mexico City.
Scott settled into camp at the cities of Jalapa and Puebla to await reinforcements and, perhaps, peace overtures from the Mexican government. But he quickly ran into problems supplying his army from its base at Vera Cruz. The route between his inland bases and the coast was long and filled with Mexican guerrillas, and he could not spare enough troops to make sure his supply trains arrived safely. In the face of this quandary, Scott made a bold decision: he abandoned the lengthy supply line and consolidated his force at Puebla. His army would survive on whatever it could wrest from the Mexican countryside and its inhabitants.
To everyones surprise, it worked. Mexico City made no request for peace negotiations, but Scott was able to maintain his army as an effective fighting force through the summer. And when reinforcements arrived, swelling his army to about 13,000 men, he decided to push farther inland.
South of Mexico City, the Americans again encountered defenders in overwhelmingly strong positions. Again Scott turned to his engineers, particularly Lee, to find an option other than a pointless frontal attack. Again Lee served him well. The rugged terrain in the area included the Pedregal, as pure an impassable piece of desolation as any army would ever see, a barren no-mans-land that looked as if a tumbling sea of molten lava had instantly congealed. It was fissured, pocked with caves, bristling with jagged outcroppings, and devoid of life. Santa Anna felt secure enough to leave the area only lightly guarded; there seemed no way to push a goat, let alone an army, through such a dead desert. But Lee found a way and led a team of workmen on an expedition to cut a path for Scotts army. The resulting Battle of Contreras, on August 20, was another American victory, and the Mexican army retreated north to nearby Churubusco.
There, another battle came on the same day as Contreras. Again, Santa Annas troops held strong defensive positions. This time, though, there was no alternative to a frontal assault. Scott attacked from several directions at once. He did not pause to reconnoiter, instead relying on the momentum of his troops, who were pursuing fleeing Mexicans from Contreras.
The Battle of Churubusco lasted all afternoon and cost Scott more than 1,000 casualties, but again he triumphed, thanks to the bravery and skill of his soldiers. A number of young men distinguished themselves on the field at Churubusco, including Philip Kearny, a captain of dragoons who suffered wounds that cost him his left arm. He owed his survival to a lieutenant who bravely ensured his safe return to American lines. Kearny would later become a major general in the Union army during the Civil War. His rescuer, Richard Ewell, would achieve the rank of lieutenant generaland lose a legfighting for the Confederacy.
Scott had at last forced Santa Anna into Mexico City itself. Now, the citys defenses were all that stood between the Americans and victory. Early in September, Scott made his move. The linchpin of the citys defenses was Chapultepec, a towering hill surmounted by a fortified castle bearing the same name. After a costly preliminary fight at Molino Del Rey on September 8, Scott launched an attack on Chapultepec on the 13th. If he could carry the castle, he would control the ground in front of the final Mexican defenses at the citys gates.
One of the battalions attacking Chapultepec was led by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph E. Johnston. Beauregard, who witnessed the assault, later wrote that the gallant Colonel Johnston urged his men on against as terrible a fire as I had yet seen! The battalion was Johnstons first independent command; he would be brevetted to full colonel for his part in the battle and would eventually join Beauregard as one of the highest-ranking generals in the Confederacy.
Chapultepec would not fall without a fight. Lieutenant Jackson could attest to the passion of the castles defenders; he was on the armys left when the assault began and soon found himself in a mess of trouble. In plain view of most of the army, Jackson was stuck in a ditch with his guns, under heavy cannon fire. Nearly all the horses in his battery had been killed or wounded, and his men had scattered for cover. His infantry support, except for a small escort that continued to try to hold its ground, had also disappeared.
Not only could Jackson himself not disappear under the circumstances, he didnt want to. He intended to return fire, if he could just get his guns over the ditch and aimed at the enemy. But he was working alone. He had lifted one gun over, but needed help to take it any farther. He strode up and down the shot-torn road, prodding and exhorting his cowering command. There is no danger! he lied, as a cannonball caromed between his legs. See! I am not hit!
His men stared back at him with justified skepticism. The rest of the army could hardly bear to watch. His commander sent an order to retire, but Jackson replied that it would be more dangerous now to withdraw than to stay. If the general would give him 50 veterans, he would attempt to capture the Mexican breastwork instead. Help finally did come, and Jackson got his gun into position and engaged the Mexican battery in a virtual muzzle-to-muzzle shootout. In time, thanks mainly to Jacksons sheer will, the enemy gun was overpowered and the breastwork stormed.
Jackson was not the only one to distinguish himself that day. Among the first men in the ditch guarding the castle was Lieutenant Lewis A. Armistead. A step behind him, bearing the colors, was Lieutenant James Longstreet. And beside him was the man who had finished dead last in Jackson and McClellans West Point class, Lieutenant George E. Pickett. A musket ball struck Longstreet, but as he fell Pickett caught the colors and carried them heroically over the wall and into the castle. Last at West Point, Pickett was first at Chapultepec.
Little did these three young men suspect that 16 years later, on a hot July 3, 1863, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, their destinies would again intertwine. On that day Longstreet would command the Confederate corps that would make the most famous charge in American history. Directly under him, in command of the main division making the chargeand for whom the charge would be namedwould be George Pickett. One of Picketts brigadiers, destined to die there, would be Lewis Armistead.
Unlike Picketts Charge at Gettysburg, the charge at Chapultepec was a success. The Americans overran the castle in just over an hour, but Mexico City was not yet theirs. They had only made it possible to attack the last line of defense at the citys gates. As Jackson raced down the causeway toward the city with his artillery caisson, dying to administer the coup de grace, he was accompanied by Lieutenants D.H. Hill and Barnard Bee. All were urging Captain John Magruder, a hothead himself, to let them continue the assault. All four of these officers would one day be Confederate generals.
Two others in that category, Beauregard and Lieutenant Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox, were at that moment in deep trouble at the Belen Gate, at the southwest corner of the city. Both were finding it an emphatically hot placeso hot that nearly everyone there was wounded, including Beauregard. Wilcox, however, led a charmed life. A Mexican musket ball hammered into the side of the Colt revolver hanging on his left hip, spinning him around and dazing him. But he was unhurt, and when he picked up the musket ball that had struck his revolver, he found it flattened to the thickness of a silver dollar by the force of the impact. Clearly stamped on one side of this lead wafer was the name of the pistols maker and the place where it was made. The same luck would follow Wilcox through the Civil War. At the Battle of White Oak Swamp, Virginia, in 1862, he would take half a dozen bullet holes through his clothing but emerge untouched. Indeed, he would pass through his four years of service to the Confederacy without a single serious injury.
North of the Belen Gate into Mexico City was the San Cosme Gate, where resistance to the invaders was equally spirited. Ulysses S. Grant, still nominally a regimental quartermaster, had again made his way to the front lines. As his comrades dodged Mexican bullets, Grant spied a church belfry that seemed to command the area behind the gate. He commandeered a mountain howitzer, ordered it hauled up into the belfry, and from there, less than 300 yards from the gate, dropped fire on a startled and confounded enemy with striking effect. The Americans controlled both gates before evening and prepared for a final push through the city on the following day. But Santa Anna evacuated overnight, and the next day city authorities surrendered. The war was all but over.
The Mexican War gave Americas young crop of army officers a taste of glory and opportunity for advancement, but it also gave them a look at what war was really like. They didnt always like what they saw. After Mexico City fell, Jackson wrote his sister in Virginia that he had seen sights that would melt the heart of the most inhuman of beings: my friends dying around me and my brave soldiers breathing their last on the bloody fields of battle, deprived of every human comfort, and even now I can hardly open my eyes after entering a hospital, the atmosphere of which is generally so vitiated as to make the healthy sick. Jackson was finding that while battle elated him, war did not.
Even as hawkish an officer as George McClellan lost some of his enthusiasm during the war. At Contreras he had two horses killed under him and was knocked flat when canister fire struck the hilt of his sword. By the wars end, when he was in Mexico City and still alive, he would say: Here we arethe deed is doneI am glad no one can say poor Mac over me.
When the deed was done and the participants looked back on the war, they all agreed it was an unparalleled military experience. Grant, who would one day have a few successes of his own on other fields, praised Scott and summed up the accomplishment this way: He invaded a populous country, penetrating two hundred and sixty miles into the interior, with a force at no time equal to one-half of that opposed to him; he was without a base; the enemy was always intrenched, always on the defensive; yet he won every battle, he captured the capital, and conquered the government.
Although from the beginning of the war to the end of it some 100,000 men, regulars and volunteers, entered the American army, at no time did more than 14,000 fight in any one battle. Scott entered the valley of Mexico with only 9,000 troops and was not reinforced until after Mexico City had fallen. In every battle fought, the Mexicans were superioroften overwhelmingly soin numbers of troops and small arms and in numbers and weight of artillery. They had a superior cavalry and fought gallantly. Yet, the Americans consistently defeated them. Why?
What the American army had that the Mexicans didnt was overwhelming superiority in military skill. The Mexicans were outgeneraled and outmaneuvered at the top. But even more important, they were outmanned in the middle by the solid core of young officers, West Pointers mostly, who formed the backbone of the armys officer corps.
The group of officers who earned the most voluminous praise were West Point engineers. Lieutenants McClellan and Beauregard and Captain Lee were among the bright engineering talent that shone like burnished steel throughout the war. Their ability literally shaped victories for General Winfield Scott along the National Road from Vera Cruz to Mexico City in the spring and summer of 1847. All would go on to command huge armies in the coming Civil War. Even in that group of luminaries, though, one officer shone more brightly than most: Robert E. Lee.
There was not a general in the American army in Mexico who didnt, between Vera Cruz and Mexico City, praise the work of this brilliant engineer at least once. Scott called Lees two trips across the Pedregal near Contreras on the night of August 19 the greatest feat of physical and moral courage performed by any individual, in my knowledge, pending the campaign. Lieutenant Ewell, who would one day command a corps in Lees Army of Northern Virginia, wrote in his account of that battle: I really think one of the most talented men connected with this army is Capt. Lee, of the Engs. By his daring reconnaissances pushed up to the cannons mouth, he has enabled Genl. Scott to fight his battles almost without leaving his tent.
A decade after the war, Scott was still aglow over Lee, describing him in an official letter as the very best soldier that I ever saw in the field. When the Civil War was just beginning in April 1861, Scott was the aged, overweight, and immobile general-in-chief of the U.S. Army. He still thought enough of Lees abilities that he suggested the colonel for command of the entire Federal force then being assembled to put down the rebellion. Lee refusedhe could not take up arms against his people in seceding Virginiabut the offer was a signal honor.
Lee may have been the star of Scotts campaign, but he was by no means alone in earning the commanding generals praise. Scott gave credit generally to his young West Point-trained officers. At Contreras, he exclaimed to Beauregard, If West Point had only produced the Corps of Engineers, the Country ought to be proud of that institution. Later, at a dinner in Mexico City, he said that but for the science of the military academy this army, multiplied by four, could not have entered the capital of Mexico.
After the war Scott said flatly: I give it as my fixed opinion that but for our graduated cadets the war between the United States and Mexico might, and probably would, have lasted some four or five years, with, in its first half, more defeats than victories falling to our share; whereas in less than two campaigns we conquered a great country and a peace without the loss of a single battle or skirmish.
The same officer corps that earned such overwhelming praise in the Mexican War would rise to the highest commands of the Civil War. Of course, not every great Civil War general learned to lead armies from the experience in Mexico. Nathan Bedford Forrest, the unschooled military genius who rose from private to lieutenant general of cavalry in the Confederacy, was never in Mexico. William T. Sherman spent the Mexican War on garrison duty in California, a thousand miles from the heart of the action. Philip Sheridan was part of an entire generation of great Civil War commanders who were too young for the Mexican War. But for many of the generals who rose to highest command in the Union and Confederate armies, the Mexican War was their war college, their main preparation for command in the Civil War. Lee, Grant, Jackson, McClellan, Beauregard, Longstreet, Albert Sidney Johnston, Joseph E. Johnston, George Gordon Meade, Edmund Kirby Smith, George H. Thomas, Braxton Bragg, Joseph Hooker, and dozens of others all learned to make war in Mexico.
Not all of them would apply what they learned equally well, and some would forget the lessons altogether in the heat of combat, but Mexico would influence the way they fought nearly every battle in the Civil War. So it is a fair question: what exactly did the Mexican War teach them that they then fell back on in the 1860s, when suddenly they found themselves fighting one another?
To begin with, they had good teachers in Generals Taylor and Scott. The two men were cut from entirely different cloth, but both offered important role models for their young subordinates. Taylor was the soldiers general. He often came up short on tactics and he lacked skill in the logistics of war, but when his men called him Old Rough and Ready, they meant it as a compliment. He was somebody to have confidence in. He shared every hardship in the field with his troops and demonstrated an astonishing personal courage.
A reporter with Taylors army wrote in the Cincinnati Chronicle in early 1847, Gen. Taylor has gained more influence over his army than any other general, save Napoleon, that ever lived. There is not a man of them, I suppose, who ever thinks of any thing else than success, when Taylor leads them in battle. A certain conviction rests upon the mind of the soldier that old Rough and Ready cannot be whipped, and it nerves his arms and strengthens his heart to do and dare more than he could with any less feeling of confidence.
It was the same sort of confidence Civil War soldiers were to feel in Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and U. S. Grant. Probably no commander in the Civil War patterned himself on Taylor as closely as Grant did. In describing Taylor in his memoirs, Grant might have been describing himself. No soldier could face either danger or responsibility more calmly than he, Grant wrote. These are qualities more rarely found than genius or physical courage. General Taylor never made any great show or parade, either of uniform or retinue. In dress he was possibly too plain, rarely wearing anything in the field to indicate his rank, or even that he was an officer; but he was known to every soldier in his army and was respected by all.
That was Grants style as well. It might have been his style had he never seen Taylor, but from Taylor he learned it was a style that invoked trust, respect, and confidence in troops and officers.
Taylor also offered some practical, useful lessons of war. Lee, in his short service with Taylor, learned at least one such lesson that would influence his Civil War service. Lee was at Taylors quarters one day when an excited young officer rode up and announced he had seen 20,000 Mexican troops moving up with 250 guns.
Taylor, familiar with the resources available to his opponent, was naturally skeptical. Captain, he asked, do you say that you saw that force?
Yes, General, the captain said.
Captain, Taylor said, if you say you saw it, of course I must believe you; but I would not have believed it if I had seen it myself.
Sixteen years later, on the field at Chancellorsville, Virginia, Lee was to greet wild reports of the Federal strength and movements by recounting Taylors skepticism. The incident had left a deep impression.
But it was Scott, the thinking mans general, who emerges as the true mentor of the great Civil War commanders. Scott was perhaps the finest military mind of his century, and one of the best of any century. In personality he was the polar opposite of Taylor: conceited in his way, devoted to pomp and circumstance, quick to take offense, jealous of his prerogatives, often undiplomatic. He came to be known as Old Fuss and Feathers. But he, too, was courageous in the face of enemy fire, and he added to that trait a precise and original military intellect.
Lee was 20 months in Mexico, most of it with Scott. In those months, he learned lessons he would apply with striking effect in the Civil War a decade and a half later. One of his biographers, Douglas Southall Freeman, listed several military traits Lee learned under the brilliant Scott. Others learned the same lessons, but few would apply them with such success.
The first of these traits was audacity. Everything in Mexico called for audacity. The disproportionate size of the two armies, the professionalism of the American officers as opposed to the Mexican, the highly trained nature of Scotts army, all favored audacity, and Scotts campaign reflected it at every turn. Lee later carried that quality into battle after battle in the Civil War, and Jackson displayed it in abundance in his classic Shenandoah Valley campaign and at Second Manassas and Chancellorsville under Lee. On the Union side, Grant never lacked it.
Another lesson Scott taught was the need to delegate responsibility. He believed a commanding generals job was to plan an operation, acquaint his commanders with the plan, see that his troops were brought to the seat of action at the right time and the right placeand then leave the fighting of the battle in detail to his subordinates. A number of Civil War commanders borrowed that style from Scott, but Lee emulated him most closely.
Scott also knew the importance of a trained staff. He leaned heavily on his talented West Pointers; he knew winning was impossible without them. In the Civil War, Lee, Grant, and Jackson all put a high priority on building and maintaining smart, efficient, well-trained staffs.
Reconnaissance was a Scott byword. He relied on it at every turn along the National Road to Mexico City, and Lee had been his reconnaissance star. It was this all-important reconnaissance that made possible Scotts victories at Cerro Gordo and Contreras, and the importance of reconnaissance became firmly embedded in the minds of Scotts most successful pupils.
Cerro Gordo, one of the great flanking movements in all of military history, was in itself a critical lesson of the Mexican War. The flank attack was a staple of Napoleonic tactics; every West Point cadet would have been familiar with it in theory, but Cerro Gordo vividly demonstrated the impact of an attack where an attack was least expected. It would become the tactic virtually every Civil War general yearned most to emulate and recreate in his own campaigns. Lee fashioned Cerro Gordos with stunning success at Second Manassas and Chancellorsville. In both cases his instrument was Stonewall Jackson, a man who also thought in terms of Cerro Gordos and whom an admiring Union officer would one day call the supremest flanker and rearer the world had ever seen. Grant, too, knew the value of the flanking movement. He repeatedly tried to get around Lees right flank in the battles from the Wilderness to Petersburg in 1864, failing only because Lee always anticipated him.
Even George McClellan looked for Cerro Gordos, beginning at Rich Mountain in western Virginia in early 1861. He won that little battle with a flanking strategy, but unlike his peers, McClellan possessed little of the audacity that successful flanking movements require. He was never able to successfully repeat the maneuver.
One lesson Scott taught ran counter to accepted military practice. During the march toward Mexico City, he boldly abandoned his lines of supply and communication. Many who werent on the scene predicted disaster, but his army lived successfully off the countryside and was able to win battles even while it was isolated. Lee emulated this strategy later in both of his invasions of the Northinto Maryland in 1862 and Pennsylvania in 1863. Grant also boldly abandoned his lines of supply and communication, Scott-style, at Vicksburg in 1863. And Sherman, Grants protege, took the tactic to its zenith in his march through Georgia and the Carolinas in late 1864 and early 1865.
Scott also taught a healthy respect for fortification. Under Scotts command, Lee placed the batteries at Vera Cruz and at Chapultepec. He had also seen well-laid-out Mexican fortifications at Cerro Gordo and Contreras that had failed to work only because the Mexican generals didnt know how to use them properly. Scott did know how to use them, and so did Lee.
Not everyone who marched with Scott learned the same lessons, or learned them so well. McClellan, perhaps more than any of his peers, loved the siege. He, like Lee, Jackson, Grant, and so many others, had seen a classic siege at Vera Cruz. He saw yet another as an observer of the Crimean War in the 1850s. He was sold on them. Lacking the audacity of his contemporaries, who used it only as a last resort, siege was one of the first tactical tools McClellan thought of. It was, for instance, a Vera Cruz and not a Cerro Gordo that he thought of when he laid siege to Yorktown on the Virginia Peninsula in 1862. Given the choice, Lee, Grant, and certainly Jackson, would have tried a number of other approaches before resorting to a siege.
But of all the things the commanders in the Civil War learned in Mexico under the brilliant Scott and the dogged and confident Taylor, the most valuable may have been what they learned about one another.
Grant later put it this way: The Mexican War made the officers of the old regular armies more or less acquainted, and when we knew the name of the general opposing we knew enough about him to make our plans accordingly. What determined my attack on Donelson [Fort Donelson, Tennessee] was as much the knowledge I had gained of its commanders in Mexico as anything else. But as the war progressed, and each side kept improving its army, these experiments were not possible. Then it became a hard, earnest war, and neither side could depend upon any chance with the other. Neither side dared to make a mistake.
One of the men Lee came to know best in Mexico was McClellan, who had served with him as an engineer. They had labored side-by-side in reconnoitering, constructing batteries, building roads, and serving artillery. Lee was acquainted with McClellans strengths and weaknesses. When they met as opposing generals on the Virginia Peninsula and later at Antietam, Maryland, in the Civil War, Lee knew his man well and was able to base his strategy and tactics on that knowledge. McClellan had had as much opportunity in Mexico to observe and learn about Lee, but if he learned anything, he used it far less effectively. Had he been able to exploit his friend Lee as well as Lee exploited him in those important early campaigns of the Civil War, that conflict might have turned out far differently than it did.
Whether or not the generals of the Civil War absorbed their lessons well in Mexico, there is no denying that the lessons had been offered. Those who did absorb them and then used them, generally went on to greatness. Many of them stand today in the pantheon of great American generals, in large part because of what they learned in that little foreign war that took them so triumphantly together to the halls of the Montezumas.
John C. Waugh is a former newspaper journalist who now considers himself a historical reporter. He is the author of The Class of 1846: From West Point to AppomattoxStonewall Jackson, George McClellan and Their Brothers.
Australian scientists discovered some spherules in May. These give evidence that the earth was hit by an asteroid. Although chances of another asteroid hitting the earth are remote, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is exploring the possibility of a clash with asteroid Bennu.
Bennu was an asteroid that was spotted by researchers in 1999. As it crosses the earth's orbit once in six years, it has inched closer to us, with a sporadic shift of 100 miles.
The asteroid is expected to travel between the earth and the moon in 2135. Due to its nearness, it is expected that the earth's gravity will impact its orbit, according to Dante Lauretta, professor of planetary science at Arizona University.
NASA concludes that the possibility of being hit by Bennu may be just 1 in 2,500. However, experts estimate that Bennu's attack would be about 200 times as strong as the Hiroshima atomic attack, or even about as high as 3 billion tonnes of high explosives.
Bennu is certainly within the threshold of causing a "global catastrophe" due to its massive size, according to Professor Mark Bailey of Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland.
NASA's Osiris-Rex probe mission will be launched in September. It will first revolve around the sun for a year and then "slingshot" around the earth again, and align the earth's orbit with Bennu by August 2018.
Hence, it used the Yarkovsky effect or the force that can send asteroids orbiting the solar system and then the earth.
NASA would be able to get parts of a carbonaceous asteroid. As Bennu is an ancient relic filled with organic molecules, scientists have measured Bennu's density and speculate that space inside the asteroid can make the body a "rubble pile", or a loose conglomeration of "dust, rock, and boulders," according to Edward Beshore, deputy principal investigator for Osiris-Rex.
"We need to know everything about Bennu - its size, mass, and composition," said Lauretta. "This could be vital data for future generations."
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Dining room of the restaurant Kung Fu. Jaime Villanueva
Although weve known for a while now that Chinese food extends far beyond spring rolls, sweet-and-sour pork and fried rice, few restaurants have brought the authentic flavors of the Asian country to Spain. Since China has one of the most diverse and delicious cuisines in the world, specialization is key when it comes to understanding and enjoying each different areas delicacies. Here weve assembled a tasty tour through Chinas varied regions without having to leave Madrid.
Sichuan
Both within and outside of China, Sichuan food is notorious for its scorching hot spices dishes containing the famous Sichuan pepper can leave the tongue numb. Some of the most notable Sichuan dishes include mapo tofu, Sichuan eggplant, and kung pao chicken.
Sabor Sichuan (Ventura Rodriguez, 5)
Just a five-minute walk from Plaza de Espana, Sabor Sichuan specializes in one of the fundamental Sichuan dishes: huo guo, or hot pot, which is a kind of Chinese fondue. Customers can choose between a variety of broths (from very spicy to a simple tomato or meat base) and every kind of ingredient (tofu, spinach, dumplings, shrimp, lotus root and more) to mix together. The process itself is easy: add the ingredients to the pot and wait for one to five minutes, depending on the desired result.
Ni Hao (Silva, 20)
Spicy Sichuan chicken from Ni Hao. J. V.
Ni Hao is close to Plaza de la Luna and caters mostly to a Chinese clientele, with a spacious dining area resembling a tavern. It offers dishes from all around the country, but its menu is focused on Sichuan food; in addition to the hot pot, they have yu xiang eggplant, kubak ("three-delights rice") and fried chicken feet. For vegetarians, the mapo tofu is one of the best in Madrid.
Yue Lai Hotpot (Hermosilla, 109)
Whether it be duck, seafood, pork, blood, or dim sum, this restaurant in the upscale neighborhood of Salamanca offers an incredible variety of dishes. Use the peanut and sesame sauces liberally to counteract the searing Sichuan spices.
Guizhou
The cuisine from this southern Chinese region is only for the bravest of diners and stomachs. The fish, one of their specialties, is often served with soup and a plethora of peppers and chilies.
A shelf inside the restaurant Kung Fu J. V.
Kung Fu (Luna, 12)
Located on a side street just off of San Bernardo, this little restaurant boasts modern and elegant decoration and is frequented by young Chinese customers, especially on weekends. The sea bass and the spicy chicken are two of their specialties, which can be followed by a bit of rice and a coconut beverage to soothe the palate. The menu includes dishes that are difficult to find in Madrid, like century egg with tofu.
Shanghai
Called the Pearl of the Orient, Shanghai and the regions around it (like Zhejiang, where a large percentage of Chinese residents in Spain come from) provide some of the sweetest flavors that China has to offer. Hu cai gastronomy is characterized by the addition of sugar and liqueurs to its dishes, and, of course, one of the kings of Chinese cuisine: baozi, which are little steamed buns stuffed with meat, shrimp and vegetables.
Javier Belloso
Casa Lafu (Flor Baja, 1)
Located just off Gran Via, Casa Lafu opened its doors a few months ago and already comes highly recommended by Chinese food aficionados in the city. With two floors and views looking out onto the centuries-old thoroughfare, its the perfect place to enjoy the mix between the sweet dishes of Shanghai (rices, meat or seafood dim sum, eggplant) and the hot pots and spicy desserts of Sichuan.
Toy Panda (Espiritu Santo, 7)
Specializing in dim sum, Toy Panda is one of the few places in Madrid with a menu that offers xiaolongbao, which are broth-filled dumplings very typical of the financial capital of Shanghai. Located in Malasana, it also serves excellent baos, which are Taiwanese steamed pork belly buns.
Restaurant El Bund J. V.
El Bund (Arturo Baldasano, 22)
Named after the neighborhood that borders the Huangpu river in Shanghai, El Bund is one of the most luxurious Chinese restaurants in Madrid. The interior has recreated a 1930s villa in a house within the neighborhood of Arturo Soria. The menu includes handmade dim sum and a wide range of seafood and fish dishes, but most of the food is sweet.
Canton
From the region of Canton, in the south, Cantonese food is widely known outside of China, and in many places thought of as real Chinese food. It has mild, simple flavors, favoring fish, seafood and shellfish, with an abundance of ginger, soy sauce, garlic and onion. Canton gave us wonton soup, as well as some of the most popular dim sum offerings in the world.
Royal Cantones (Olvido, 92)
Located in the most Chinese neighborhood in Madrid, Usera, the restaurant Royal Cantones has gained popularity in the past few years thanks to an extensive and delicious menu. Favorites include fish, stews, scallopsprepared in numerous different waysand of course, the mild, delicate shrimp and pork dim sum, some of the best in the city.
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English version by Allison Light.
In every area of business, being proactive beats being reactive. For example, if investors can follow the ebbs and flows of the stock market, they can predict when to invest and when to hold back garnering a profit. The same is true in hospitality. However, this notion of beingproactive rather than reactive when it comes to providing positive guest feedback is still a foreign concept to many.
It doesn't just mean offering your guests a pleasant stay in the hopes of a positive review. Rather, it's about actually understanding the needs of each individual guest to provide them with the best experience.
How?
Self-Service Model
Guests like good service but it doesn't mean they want to talk to your staff every time they want a new bottle of hair conditioner. e3's Travel Trends whitepaper noted that airports are moving to self-service models (self-bag drop and self-boarding) in an effort to gain a competitive advantage.
Helsinki was the first airport in the world to use beacons to monitor WiFi-enabled phones of its passengers. This provides them with real-time data on how many passengers are moving through the airport. Up next: they want to provide push message notifications to passengers based on where they are in the airport.
The hotel industry has slowly started to jump on the self-service industry (think of SPG's keyless entry and Japan's robot hotel. However, we can take it a step further with real-time interactions and messaging.
Real-Time Messaging
Right now, hotel-to-guest interactions happen in primarily three stages: online pre-stay (for research), in-person during their stay (interactions with staff) and online again post-stay (for reviews and feedback).
What hotels aren't leveraging are online interactions with guests during their stay. That's where real-time messaging comes in.
Using services like Checkmate, hotels can engage guests before they arrive and during their stay in real time with SMS, email and Facebook messaging. Instead of waiting to hear on an online review that your guest wished they had an extra blanket, you could instead use real-time messaging. Hotels are able to solve this issue during the guest's stay, preventing negative reviews before they occur.
Hyatt was the first hotel to experiment with using Facebook's Messenger application. This allows guests to communicate with them exactly like they communicate with their friends. Marriott Rewards members can use their Mobile Requests feature on their app to instantaneously make requests during their stay.
Predictive vs. Proactive
So what does this have to do with predicting guests experiences? Being proactive is the first step of the puzzle. If we want to compete against rising threats to the industry, hoteliers have to engage with guests in real-time.
The next step of the puzzle, which I believe we will get to one day, is predicting what guests want. Some hotels already have this data from their loyalty programs, enabling you to know your guest prefers lower floors and two extra pillows during their stay.
I think the future of guest feedback is to be able to mine this data to prepare for guests' arrival. Using their personal profile info allows hotels to be more than just being proactive, but actually be predictive.
Until we move fully predictive, let's focus on getting better at being proactive when it comes to guest satisfaction. For real-time messaging, here are three aspects you should look for:
Instantaneous communication: Your real-time messaging app should provide you with the ability to send messages to guests instantaneously Multiple channels: It should allow you to communicate with guests on multiple channels text, email, social media etc. Simple and easy to use: It should be easy for not only guests to use but your hotel staff as well. The only way to prevent negative reviews, and to satisfy today's mobile-savvy, instant-gratification guest, is to provide a simple way for them to connect with you, when they want to, where they want to. Welcome to the world of real-time hotel-guest communications.
About TrustYou
TrustYou is on a mission to make communication and feedback simpler and more productive. All communication channels, together in one place, is the new way of doing business. Today, customers expect instant responses on their preferred communications channels. As a subset of communication, feedback is the foundation to build better products, services and companies.
TrustYou helps companies win through the power of listening and provides a Guest Experience (GX) Platform that makes listening to customers easy, powerful, and actionable. The platform unlocks the potential of guest feedback and helps to:
Create unlimited opportunities to listen and respond to guests' needs.
Understand all reviews across the web and make better business decisions.
Publish hotel reviews on the website and on Google and allow positive feedback to influence bookings.
TrustYou empowers companies to earn trust, make better decisions, and ultimately, win.
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Home2 Suites by Hilton announced yesterday its newest property, Home2 Suites by Hilton Houston Stafford. Offering 91 suites, the hotel is designed for travelers looking for a fresh, new stay experience, as the Home2 Suites by Hilton Houston Stafford complements the growing interest of travelers looking to visit America's fourth largest city.
"Home2 Suites by Hilton Houston Stafford is a great example of how 'everything is bigger in Texas' as each standard suite includes spacious living, cooking and sleeping areas which are perfect for both extended stay and leisure travelers," said Heather Cullen, general manager. "With our new extended stay offering in the Houston area, we are excited to give travelers yet another reason to visit one of the best cities in the country."
Located at 11121 Fountain Lake Drive, Home2 Suites by Hilton Houston Stafford offers guests convenient access to downtown Houston, Sugar Land Town Square, Fountains Shopping Center and First Colony Mall.
Owned and managed by Everwood Stafford, LLC, Home2 Suites by Hilton Houston Stafford offers guests all-suite accommodations featuring fully-equipped kitchens and modular furniture allowing for guests to personalize their room. The hotel also features easy access to technology with complimentary Internet, inviting community spaces, and trademark Home2 Suites amenities such as Spin2 Cycle, a combined laundry and fitness area, Home2 MKT for grab-and-go items, and the Inspired Table, a complimentary breakfast that includes more than 400 potential combinations. Guests can also enjoy the outdoor saline pool and patio with grill area. Home2 Suites by Hilton Houston Stafford is also pet-friendly.
On the other hand the 4 airports of Corfu, Zakynthos, Kefalonia and Aktio serving the Ionian islands recorded an increase of 10% in international arrivals up to June 2016 compared to the same period last year, while Crete received 11% more international arrivals, Rhodes 8% and Santorini & Mykonos together 16% during H1 2016 compared to last year.
Cairo was on a track of recovery, even though the tourism industry in Egypt as a whole is severely affected by the attack on a Russian plane leaving the town of Sharm el Sheikh in October last year. However, the crash of an Egypt Air flight from Paris to Cairo in May 2016 and the hijacking of another Egypt Air flight from Alexandria were another major blow to the country's tourism sector including Cairo, which recorded a drop in occupancy of 28% yoy this June.
Baltimore County Police officers executing a warrant in Randallstown, Maryland yesterday found themselves in a stand off with a 23-year old black woman, Korryn Gaines, who was inside the apartment holding a shotgun in one hand and her 5-year old son in the other.
A police spokesperson said three officers had gone to the apartment to serve an arrest warrant on Gaines, who had failed to appear in court over several traffic charges, and another man, wanted for assault, at the same address.
According to reports, after hearing the two talking inside the apartment, officers obtained a key from the landlord but when they opened the door they found themselves in a stand-off with Gaines.
The officers retreated to the hallway outside the apartment and called for additional support, the spokesperson said. The male suspect ran from the apartment with a one-year-old boy one of two children in in the apartment with the couple and was apprehended by police. The armed woman remained inside with the five-year-old boy, and a barricade situation began at about 9.40am and continued throughout the afternoon.
The standoff continued for hours, the entire building was evacuated, but Gaines refused to surrender and officers ultimately opened fire when she declared, If you dont leave, Im going to kill you.
Gaines returned fire on the officers but was reportedly struck multiple times and died at the scene. Her 5-year old son was also shot in a limb during the mayhem but was treated at a nearby hospital for non life-threatening injuries.
Some Facebook videos posted by Gaines during the stand-off and other social media posts were reportedly deleted, although one such video from an earlier encounter with police can be found below.
Despite all of this information and details about the danger she put her son in, the death of Korryn Gaines is being condemned by the Black Lives Matter movement. A vigil is planned for Friday night at Baltimore City College.
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Baz Luhrmann's '70s hip hop romp debuts on August 12
Netflix have released a behind the scenes featurette for The Get Down, Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martins keenly anticipated last days of disco/birth of hip hop drama, which premieres on August 12.
With Nas among the producers and a cast featuring Shameik Moore (Shaolin Fantastic), Justice Smith (Ezekiel Books Figuero), Herizen Guardiola (Mylene Cruz), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Cadillac), Jaden Smith (Dizzee Kipling), Skylan Brooks (Ra-Ra Kipling), Tremaine Brown Jr. (Boo Boo Kiping), Mamoudou Athie (Grandmaster Flash), Jimmy Smits (Francisco Papa Fuerte Cruz) and Giancarlo Esposito (Ramon Cruz), Team Hot Press is seriously looking forward to copping an eyeful.
The accompanying soundtrack receives its same day release through Apple Music, with music from both the cast and Grandmaster Flash and Nile Rodgers who were there as the 70s NYC action was going down.
This album is an introduction to the many musical genres and styles that can be heard in The Get Down, which is really a story of New York in the late 70s, an incredibly fertile time of creativity amid chaos, says Luhrmann. While our production is a musical that embodies many classic hits, we also use contemporary sounds and techniques connecting the dots between then and now. My great privilege is to have associated with such a diverse musical community.
What are they trying to keep out? Many seem to think it's Asian actors out of Hollywood
The trailer for China's largest ever film production The Great Wall has been released online, though not all are happy about it.
The $150 million blockbuster is set 1,000 years ago in ancient China and "tells the story of an elite force making a valiant stand for humanity on the worlds most iconic structure.", as the publicity material tease says.
The film features Chinese superstars Andy Lau, Wang Junkai, and Jing Tian and is directed by Chinese heavyweight Zhang Yimou. However, it's Matt Damon and Willem Dafoe in starring roles that seems to be ruffling feathers online. Claims of 'whitewashing' flooded onto Twitter when the trailer was released.
Although the role of Damon's character is not yet clear, it doesn't look like he's been made to look Chinese. Regardless, the trailer has been well received in China where not many seemed fussed about Damon's role in the film.
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The Great Wall will be released in February 2017 and is set to be the first big-budget, English-language Chinese blockbuster.
You can watch the full trailer below.
Naguisa's SOC espadrille, and to the right, a design from Castaner.
Back in the 1970s, Isabel and Lorenzo Castaner, a Spanish couple with a small artisanal business making espadrilles, or alpargatas as they are known in Spain, bumped into Yves Saint Laurent in Paris. When the fashion designer discovered what they did for a living, he asked if they would be able to make a wedge version of the traditional rope-soled sandal.
My father, who was always looking for new challenges, accepted. It was also a decision taken out of necessity. Within 10 days he had a sample, and that was how the espadrille took on a new lease of life, says Antonio Castaner, now CEO of the family firm that dates back six generations.
The offer to work with Yves Saint Laurent came at a time when Castaner was facing a downturn: its traditional market, made up of farmers and villagers, was dwindling as rural Spaniards left the countryside for the cities in search of work and better opportunities, leaving their espadrilles behind.
Now, four decades on from that propitious meeting in the French capital, tastes have changed and the time-honored simplicity of the original espadrille is in fashion. Around a third of Castaners output are designs for luxury brands.
Espadrille rope soles.
The espadrilles rustic look has always had its admirers, albeit relegated to the beach or as a replacement slipper, but an increasingly varied range of soles and insteps are now available, making it an haute couture option. In 2011, Karl Lagerfeld took Chanels famous two-tone dress shoe and adapted it to the traditional flat-soled espadrille, sowing the firms logotype on to the instep: the model is still available today in a multitude of colors and versions. A year later, Valentino created a sensation when it put its own spin on the espadrille by using delicate lacing instead of the usual sturdy canvas for the uppers. Since then, both pret-a-porter luxury brands and high street retailers have helped put the espadrille in the spotlight. There is something special and timelessly appealing about it, says Antonio Castaner. Its a return to something natural, to something hand made, Mediterranean. This year has seen lace up espadrilles from Oscar de la Renta stud them with baubles, Atuzarra added a heel, and Delpozo has produced platform and winkle-picker versions.
Barcelona-based company Naguisa, a newish firm that has made a name for itself by reviving traditional, hand-sown espadrilles, brought out its SOC model in 2012, which copied the traditional six-lace model using unusual colors. Eight years ago we began to see a trend developing for home-grown, sustainable shoes using natural materials, says Claudia Perez Polo, the firms co-founder. Naguisa exports more than 70% of its output to more than 25 countries. Its designs, many of which have been copied and recopied, are sold in US upscale womens fashion chain Anthropologie.
Chanel espadrilles in grey tweed and black velvet.
When we started out, the truth is that I would never have worn espadrilles, says Perez. But aware it needed to attract a younger clientele, Naguisa was able to combine tradition with local know-how to build a business that could establish an international presence. Since then, other Spanish fashion designers like Paloma Barcelo, Like Mimika, and Prism have begun making luxury espadrilles now found in the best-known stores around the world by combining Spanish tradition with cutting-edge design.
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English version by Nick Lyne.
It appears the Pokemon GO phenomenon is now taking over the heavy metal world
Metallica are the latest stars to catch the Pokemon Go fever.
A lot of people have jumped on the Pokemon train recently, most notably, Hillary Clinton's lame and awkward attempt to sound hip by crowbarring the phrase, "I'm trying to figure out how we get them [voters] to have Pokemon Go to the polls," at a campaign rally speech was the lamest one yet.
Alright, confession time, the mash-up video of Metallica "singing" the theme isn't totally legitimate, but it's still very entertaining none the less.
The video was created by Brazilian mash-up creator Gabreil Salles. "When I saw the Pokemon Go success, I thought, 'Well, why not the Pokemon song?'" he told Billboard.
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Check the his Metallica masterpiece below and his other viral video of Slipknot singing Ricky Martin's 'Livin' La Video Loca'.
The Strypes and Barq are also among the star turns in North Cork as homegrown heroes lead the party at Deer Farm
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"My grandmother would have smacked my teeth out of my head if I had referred to a woman as a fat pig"
While promoting his upcoming Suicide Squad film, Will Smith took the time to damn Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
"For a man to be able to publicly refer to a woman as a fat pig, that makes me teary. And for people to applaud, that is absolutely fucking insanity to me", the actor stated.
He added: "If one of my sons, I am getting furious just thinking about it, if one of my sons said that in a public place, they couldnt even live in my house anymore".
Still, Smith believes that America "won't and...can't" elect Trump.
In terms of Suicide Squad, Smith talked about portraying Deadshot, one of the few villains the actor has portrayed. Noting that he normally plays heroes, Smith stated that the role made him realise "nobody thinks of themselves as bad. People do the things they do because they think theyre right, no matter how evil".
Smith has yet to endorse Hillary Clinton, but he would join a growing list of 90s/early 00s hip-hop titans if he did so. RZA, Ghostface Killah, Pusha T, and Snoop Dogg have all publicly expressed their support for her, with Snoop citing his excitement at the prospect of a female president.
Speaking of legendary 90s hip-hop...
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Sara Moulton didn't really want to write another cookbook. With three well-regarded titles under her belt, the longtime television food host and culinary educator wasn't sure she had another one in her.
But she acquiesced because the new book would be her first technique-driven effort - the result is "Sara Moulton's Home Cooking 101: How to Make Everything Taste Better" (Oxmoor House, $35).
"Every book is like giving birth, and this one was triplets," she says. "If I didn't cook for another six months, I'd be happy."
Fat chance. At 64, she has the energy of a chef half her age. On the day the Chronicle spoke with her, she was busy testing a recipe for blueberry panna cotta with maple syrup. She's still on a book tour, sponsored by Houston-based Chantal Cookware. She also is gearing up for taping Season 6 of "Sara's Weeknight Meals" on public television, which will begin airing in January. And she's prepping for a tour of Texas with appearances at five Central Market locations throughout the state, including a cooking class Friday at the Houston store.
The Central Market Cooking School class is sold out - a testament to the popularity of a chef who has been in the public eye since her first cooking shows on Food Network in the 1990s. For more than 30 years, she's contributed to America's food knowledge with her work as food editor of ABC's "Good Morning America" and as executive chef of Gourmet magazine. Fans know her to be an honest, straightforward, encouraging teacher who wants nothing more than to help home cooks get a good meal on the table without a fuss - much in the vein of her mentor, Julia Child.
More Information 'Sara Moulton's Home Cooking 101' By Sara Moulton Oxmoor House, 368 pp., $35 See More Collapse
Moulton's new cookbook is, like its author, full of practical reassurance: You can do it, and this is how. It features new material and 150 recipes augmented with tips and techniques to make home cooks more intuitive in the kitchen and more imaginative when it comes to meal planning.
The recipes are almost all entrees. "I don't think most people entertain with courses anymore," she says. And the recipes embrace a variety of flavors and inspirations that suggest a more multi-cultural way of eating: Southwestern Gazpacho, Korean Chicken Noodle Soup, Thai-Style Chicken Salad, Grilled Jerk Pork, Tortilla-Crusted Tilapia, Cubano Burgers, Spiced Lamb and Hummus Pita Pizza, Indian Cauliflower Stew, Greek Shrimp with Farro and Feta, Saag Paneer, Moroccan Chicken in a Pot, Peruvian-Style Chicken and Crispy Pork Fried Rice.
"I know I like certain flavors," Moulton says. "I'm not the most original recipe developer in the world, but I take flavors and ideas I like and then do a spin or twist on them."
Now's the time to embrace flavors, especially ethnic ones, she suggests.
"We have become an international world. When I first started at Gourmet - and I worked there for 25 years - we had to put an asterisk by sesame oil (to indicate) it's available in specialty food shops. But now it's so mainstream," she says. "When I graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, we used one salt, table salt. Can you imagine? When Julia (Child) first started cooking, you couldn't find leeks and shallots in the market. We have so many toys to play with, so why not?"
It's that can-do spirit and sense of adventure that have endeared Moulton to so many.
In the new cookbook, Moulton offers what she calls "The 10 Basics of Great Home Cooking." They are:
1Shake hands with your stove.
Whether you cook with gas or electric, get to know your stove as a tool.
2Buy a good knife. Think of it as an investment for life and put your money on one good knife; keep it sharp.
3Plan ahead for shopping.
Have a game plan for the grocery store and try to plan for the week ahead in meals.
4Follow the recipe exactly the first time you make it.
Read it from start to finish and follow it, even if you think you know how to do it better. The person who wrote it had a good reason for writing it that way. You might learn something.
5Dispense with mise en place.
Though it is essential in something like Asian stir-fry, prepping everything for every cooking task isn't really necessary.
6Reach for the salt.
No ingredient is more crucial to making food taste good than salt. And knowing when to add it and in what amounts will successfully amplify flavor.
7Balance flavors.
Striking the harmonious balance of flavors (salty, sweet, sour, bitter, umami) is key to making delicious food.
8Build umami.
Use soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, miso, Worcestershire sauce and other ingredients to build meaty, savory flavor.
9Use all your senses.
Touching, smelling, seeing and even hearing food will make you better in the kitchen.
10Don't waste food.
A more thoughtful home cook knows how to reduce waste in the kitchen - economically and environmentally, it's the smart thing to do.
Zucchini Patties with Garlicky Yogurt Sauce
From "Sara Moulton's Home Cooking 101"
Makes 4 servings
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (full-fat or low-fat)
3 teaspoons minced garlic, divided
teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound zucchini (about 3 medium-size zucchini)
1 cup cooked chickpeas or drained, rinsed, canned chickpeas
cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
cup minced onion
teaspoons ground cumin
teaspoon ground coriander
cup dry bread crumbs
cup toasted pine nuts, chopped
cup packed fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
cup packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
4 6-inch pitas with pockets, halved
Shredded lettuce
Grated Carrot Salad (recipe follows)
Instructions: Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Combine yogurt, 1 teaspoons of garlic, lemon zest and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl and set aside.
Coarsely grate zucchini in food processor fitted with medium shredding disk. Toss with 1 teaspoon salt in a colander and let stand 15 minutes to drain. Wipe out food processor, fit it with cutting blade, and add chickpeas and 1 tablespoon water. Process until fairly smooth.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, add onion and cook until golden, about 8 minutes. Add remaining 2 teaspoons garlic, cumin, coriander and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl and set skillet aside.
One small handful at a time, squeeze out zucchini to remove excess moisture; add it to bowl with the onion. Add chickpeas, bread crumbs, pine nuts, parsley, mint and salt and pepper to taste; combine well, using your hands if necessary. Roll 2-tablespoon portions into balls (you should get about 16) and flatten them into patties -inch thick and 2 inches wide.
Heat 2 tablespoons of remaining oil in skillet over medium heat, add half the patties and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides, about 6 minutes.
Transfer them to a rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and patties. To serve, arrange several patties in each pita half, top with the yogurt sauce, lettuce and Grated Carrot Salad.
To make the Grated Carrot Salad: Whisk together 2 tablespoons white vinegar, teaspoon sugar and teaspoon kosher salt in a medium bowl. Add 2 cups coarsely grated carrots and toss well.
Tortilla-Crusted Tilapia with Pickled Red Onions and Crema
Makes 4 servings
2 (-pound) tilapia fillets
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, preferably grapeseed
2 cups store-bought tortilla chips and 2 teaspoons chili powder
1 medium red onion, sliced -inch thick (about 1 cup)
cup distilled white vinegar
cup fresh orange juice
1 tablespoons sugar
teaspoon kosher salt
teaspoon cumin seeds
teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeno, optional
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Crema and sliced pickled jalapenos for garnish
Instructions: Cut each fish fillet down the seam to separate the thin half from the thick half. Cut each of the pieces in half crosswise, making a total of 8 pieces. Sprinkle the fish evenly all over with salt, transfer to a resealable bag, and add the lime juice and oil. Chill for 30 minutes. While the fish is marinating, finely crush (not to a powder) the tortilla chips and toss with chili powder. Combine the red onion, vinegar, orange juice, sugar, salt, cumin and oregano in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool, drain the mixture and chop the onions. Combine them with the jalapenos, if using, in a small bowl. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Arrange the fish in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, keeping the thin pieces on one side and the thick pieces on the other. Pack the tortilla crumbs on top of the fillets, drizzle with the melted butter and bake on the middle rack of oven until fish is just cooked through, about 5 minutes for the thinner pieces and 8 minutes for the thicker pieces. Transfer a thick and a thin fillet piece to each of 4 plates. Serve each portion topped with crema, pickled onions and pickled jalapenos.
Note: A kind of Mexican sour cream, crema is increasingly available at American supermarkets. If you can't find it, sour cream or creme fraiche, diluted with a bit of milk, cream or water will do.
Crispy Pork Fried Rice with Pickled Radishes
Makes 4 servings
cup vegetable oil, preferably grapeseed, divided
2 large eggs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
pound Canadian bacon, cut into medium dice
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 cup sugar snap peas, strings removed, cut crosswise into -inch pieces
3 cups cooked rice or grains
2 cups coarsely shredded radishes (about 10 large radishes)
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons sake or dry sherry
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 cup blanched fresh or thawed frozen peas
Instructions: Heat tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly beat the eggs with a tablespoon of water, a pinch of salt and some pepper in a small bowl. Add the eggs to the pan and tilt to spread the eggs all around and make a flat pancake. Cook until almost set. Turn over the egg and cook another 10 seconds. Transfer to a cutting board.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil and the bacon to the pan and cook until the bacon is browned at the edges, about 7 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
Reduce heat to medium-low, add tablespoon of oil and the onion to the pan and cook until the onion is golden, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and sugar snap peas, and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the bacon.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skilled, then add the rice, pressing it flat with the back of a spatula. Cook until the rice is slightly crispy, turning it over with the spatula, 12 to 15 minutes.
Combine the radishes, vinegar and salt to taste in a small bowl. In another small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sake and sesame oil. Chop the egg and add it along with the peas to the bowl with the bacon.
When the rice is nicely crisped, add the contents of the bacon bowl, the peas and the soy sauce mixture to the skillet and cook, stirring, until the mixture is heated through. Transfer the fried rice to 4 bowls and top each portion with some of the radishes.
Five years after President Obama ended the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, the Navy will name a ship after a gay rights pioneer and San Francisco politician who was assassinated in 1978.
According to the U.S. Naval Institute, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has decided to name a future fleet oiler ship after Harvey Milk. The USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206) will be part of the John Lewis-class of oilers that replenish ships while underway. Like Lewis, the ships in the class will be named for civil rights figures. Others in the class will include former Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren and abolitionist Sojurner Truth.
The director general of Spains National Police on Monday asked for improved anti-terrorist cooperation among European Union member states.
All countries need to cooperate, and there is still leeway for improvement, said Ignacio Cosido at Menendez Pelayo University in Santander.
The police chief rejected the notion of nationalized immigration policies and border controls, and instead supported greater sharing of information.
Immigration in our country is mostly first and second-generation. The risk cases are in the third and fourth generations, due to their frustrated expectations or lack of self-identity Ignacio Cosido, chief of Spanish Police
Cosido noted that having access to recent information is key in the fight against international terrorism.
There are many databases from different countries that are not shared yet, he said, adding that the new type of terrorism requires early detection efforts.
Occasionally, its just one person acting alone with any type of material. In Nice, for instance, it was a truck. We need to stress intelligence in order to prevent these attacks, he said.
Immigration experience
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Because of its geographical position on the map, Spain has always faced the challenge of immigration. The Spanish government has cooperation agreements with the countries that illegal migrants come from or use as transit areas, in an effort to stem human trafficking at its origin.
Our collaboration with Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal or Niger is essential to success, and an example of how important intelligence is, said Cosido.
He said that Spains successful border management model and the work of its intelligence services have ensured that there is less radicalization here than elsewhere in the region.
We have 178 identified Islamic State combatants, compared with over 4,000 in the EU, he said.
Immigration in our country is mostly first and second-generation. The risk cases are in the third and fourth generations, due to their frustrated expectations or lack of self-identity, he explained.
He also underscored that Spain lacks far-right political parties with a xenophobe rhetoric and that immigrants do not live in ghettoes like they do in other countries, forming conflict zones within their territories.
English version by Susana Urra.
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AUSTIN -- University of Texas at Austin President Gregory Fenves on Monday said he expected the school to be as safe as it ever has been following the implementation of the state's campus carry law.
The law, which makes the carrying of concealed handguns legal on public university campuses in Texas, went into effect Monday. Almost all of the state's private universities and colleges have opted out of campus carry, as allowed under the law.
At the UT flagship campus in Austin, concealed guns will be allowed in classrooms and most public spaces; dormitories will be gun-free and faculty will be allowed to bar guns in their offices.
Passage of the campus carry law sparked numerous meetings on the UT campus and is opposed by a group of faculty and students calling themselves Gun Free UT. Three UT professors have sued to block implementation of the law.
Fenves at a press conference said the school is still working to make sure the community and licensed holders, in particular, have access to and understand the rules of campus carry.
Fenves said he expects the university to still be as safe a campus as it has been in the past. With the law officially going into effect, he said the university would monitor how this impacts faculty and student recruitment going forward.
Andrea Gore, chair of the faculty council, said she appreciates the work Fenves and others have done to address the law but she still does not think this is the best thing for UT.
"It is a sad day for this campus," Gore said. "Walking over here today . . . everything looked the same but it felt different."
Also Monday, UT was slated to hold a memorial ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Charles Whitman tower shooting that left 16 people dead and 32 wounded on campus.
A 25-year-old mechanic and loner from a small Czech town, who tried to travel to Syria in January, was charged Tuesday with attempted terrorism, in what the authorities said was the first known case of a Czech citizen trying to join the Islamic State.
"This is the first time a Czech citizen has been charged with this crime," said David Unger, a spokesman for the regional court in Plzen, in the western Czech Republic, which will rule on the next steps of the man's detention Thursday.
The case has stirred anxieties that homegrown Islamic radicalism may have migrated to Eastern and Central Europe.
The regional prosecutor's office in Plzen declined to provide further details. But Respekt, an influential Czech weekly that reported on the arrest this week, said that the man - identified by the Czech media as Jan S. - had been arrested at an international airport in Turkey after authorities there found him carrying a plane ticket to a Turkish town near the Syrian border.
The magazine reported that the man had told the police that he planned to enter Syria and join the Islamic State. After Turkish authorities sent him back to the Czech Republic, he was repeatedly questioned by police officers before being arrested two weeks ago. He was initially charged with participation in an armed criminal group.
Marian Brzybohaty, a terrorism expert from the Czech Police Academy, said it was not yet clear how the arrested man had become radicalized. Nevertheless, he said the case had punctured the notion that the Czech Republic was immune from homegrown radicalism.
"We don't know whether he had psychological issues rather than having been radicalized," Brzybohaty said. "But as we have seen in Germany and France, people like this can carry out terrorist attacks and are no less dangerous."
The case has raised alarm in the Czech Republic, where the populist leftist president, Milos Zeman, has been warning for months about the threat of Islamic radicalism. Last year, he cautioned that Islamic State jihadis must be crushed to prevent a "super Holocaust."
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The odds seem long for the Green Party of the United States. In a presidential election, it never has won more than 2.7 percent of the popular vote.
Right now, its presumptive candidate is slated to be on the ballot in only two dozen states.
Still, members say the November election could provide a unique opportunity for the progressive party, now in its fourth decade, to capture voters who will not vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump.
That will be one of the central themes as the Green Party kicks off its three-day national convention Thursday at the University of Houston, where delegates are expected for the second straight election cycle to nominate Jill Stein, a Lexington, Mass., physician, author and environmental advocate, for president.
"I think we're trying to take advantage of something this year," said party spokesman Scott McLarty. "That is the widespread realization by a lot of people, among non-voters, among independents, and, interestingly this year, among a lot of Democrats and Republicans, that the two-party status quo is failing us."
Political experts, however, say that despite dissatisfaction with both major parties this year, voters can expect little, if any, electoral success from Greens.
"In general, the Green Party is not likely to be a significant factor in this year's election," said Jennifer Victor, a political science professor from George Mason University. "Some disaffected liberals who are dissatisfied with Clinton's nomination may trend to the Green Party, but it's not likely to be a large enough number of voters to impact the electoral college."
Green Party leaders emphasize that the convention, and this year's election, are more about continuing to build the party's base, even without electoral victories.
The party was founded in 1984 to promote environmentally friendly policies, non-violence and grass-roots politics, among other values. Those remain core tenets of the party, considered more left-leaning than the Democratic party.
Peaked with Nader
The party's electoral peak occurred in 2000, when Ralph Nader ran as its presidential candidate, garnering 2.7 percent of the popular vote, equating to more than 2.8 million votes. No Green Party candidate before or since has received as many votes.
In 2012, Stein got .36 percent of the popular vote - fewer than 500,000.
McLarty said Greens also have won a half-dozen state legislative seats over the years. The mayor of Richmond, Calif., for eight years ending in 2015 was from the Green Party.
The party advocates for alternative energy sources, making Houston, a major hub for petrochemical and energy industries, an ironic choice for the party's national convention.
Tamar Yager, co-chair of the Green Party's annual national meeting committee and co-chair of the steering committee, said Houston was chosen last year at the party delegates' annual meeting, largely for practical purposes, such as convenient connections for transportation and the fact that the convention had been held in the Midwest for several previous cycles.
This, she said, will be the party's first convention in Texas.
"We try to move around to different regions and areas of the country," Yager said.
The party will nominate presidential and vice presidential candidates on Saturday.
Several candidates seeking state and local offices, including state representatives, also will speak at the convention. Saturday will feature speeches by writer and activist Cornel West and activist YahNe Ndgo, both former Sanders supporters.
Possible impact
The political impact of the convention itself likely will depend on media coverage, said Casey Dominguez, a political science professor at the University of San Diego who studies political parties. When parties do get political "bumps" from conventions, it usually is because of heavy and favorable media coverage, she said.
So far, most polls have about 3 percent of voters supporting Stein. Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson, in comparison, is at 7 percent.
Still, Green Party voters could play a "spoiler" role in November by drawing the votes of people who otherwise would vote Democrat, Dominguez said. Any such impact, she added, likely would occur only in competitive, battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida.
"(Texan H. Ross) Perot had an impact by siphoning away votes from George Bush and led to the election of Bill Clinton in 1992, and Nader took votes away from Gore, in particular in Florida, which one could argue among other things that this led to the election of George W. Bush in 2000," said Texas Southern University political scientist Michael Adams. "It's possible that this year third parties could impact the outcome in particular states because of high negatives of Trump and Clinton."
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An employment office in Madrid. EFE
This July has been a good month for the Spanish labor market, with unemployment falling and an increase in Social Security contributors. The drop in unemployment of 83,993 people registered at state employment offices is the biggest since 1997 for a July, says the Employment Ministry, which now puts Spains official unemployment figure at 3,683,061. At the same time, there are now a further 84,721 people contributing to the Social Security compared with June figures.
Non-seasonal employment figures have also improved, suggesting a sustained and gradual recovery of the labor market. Over the last year, Social Security affiliation has grown by 3%, with 17,844,992 people contributing to the state body that pays out pensions and unemployment benefit.
The increase in jobs, measured in terms of affiliation, is principally being driven by the hotel and catering sectors, which contributed 51,412 new Social Security contributors. The health sector and retail contributed 48,192 and 47,337 new contributors.
The end of the school year has seen some 93,062 people leave the Social Security.
In July, 1,816,271 employment contracts were signed, a 1.14% increase on the same month last year. Again, most of these were in the tourism sector or covering holiday periods. Of the total number of contracts, just 7.6% were open-ended.
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English version by Nick Lyne.
Whether you are a benefits expert keeping up with industry trends, a recruiter on the hunt for talent, an executive growing your company, or anyone in between, by now you have heard about the hottest emerging trend in employee benefits: Student loan assistance. Like countless other essential employee benefits youve heard of over the years, student loan assistance sounds like a good idea. However, youre probably wondering: Is this one going to last? All signs point to yes, based on the results of a recent survey conducted by IonTuition. According to the results, about 85 percent of respondents believe that employees would take advantage of student loan assistance. Respondents also believe that student loan assistance would have positive effects on recruitment, retention, morale, and productivity. Though not surprising, survey data also reveals that millennials, the generation with the most student loan debt, value a higher education degree and student loan benefits more than previous generations. Millennials already comprise the majority of todays workforce. As even more millennials make their way into management, their values will begin to shape organizational benefits and culture, increasing the likelihood that student loan benefits will become an expected part of benefits packages. Selected survey results: Stress Test: More than 90 percent of respondents recognize that student loan debt creates st...
A Workplace Demographic Shift Will Change the Way HR Needs to Attract and Develop Leaders The bad news: The talent acquisition world is about to get much more competitive and complicated. The good news: Those who are prepared will be able to stay ahead of the curve when attracting and retaining the best and the brightest. The biggest shift that HR and talent acquisition experts should prepare for is a talent shortage. According to McKinsey's 2015 Global Growth Model study, from 2005-2015 there were three times as many workers as retirees. By 2025, the ratio of workers to retirees will be 1:1, making the candidate pool much smaller. Couple that with a need for specialized employees, especially in the technology and life sciences fields, and it is clear candidates are in the drivers seat. This raises the question of how to win when recruiting. The answer in part depends on the generation of the employee. For example, a February 2016 Korn Ferry Futurestep executive survey found that nearly 50 percent of respondents said the ability to make an impact on the business was the top reason a Gen X candidate (born 1965-1980) would choose one job over another. Interestingly, a February 2015 Futurestep survey asked the same questions about Millennial candidates (born 1981-1995). That survey found that visibility and buy-in to the mission/vision of the organization is the top reason people of this generation wou...
ivists released cockroaches and locusts at two London branches of a UK restaurant-chain after the company was involved in a UK Border Agency immigration sting against its own staff.Byron Hamburgers, which has over 60 branches across the UK, is facing a growing backlash after it entrapped its own staff by calling them to a fake meeting which was in fact part of an operation to detain and deport illegal migrant workers.Activists, who have since started a campaign against the company, using the hashtag #boycottbyron, said that they released many thousands of the insects into two of the burger-chains London branches on Friday evening in response to Byrons dehumanised behaviour, Mail Online reported.A London branch was also forced to close on Sunday night after hundreds of protestors gathered outside.The raids, which took place across London on 4 July, saw immigration officers round up 35 people from Albania, Brazil, Egypt and Nepal, the Home Office has confirmed.Byron employees were allegedly told to attend a health and safety meeting at 9.30am, according to a report from The Guardian.In a statement published on its website, Byron said that it was unaware that any of its workers were in possession of counterfeit documentation until the Home Office brought it to its attention.Companies that employ illegal workers can be fined a maximum penalty of 20,000 per employee, which meant that Byron was facing a fine of up to 700,000 - but it evaded the penalty by colluding in the sting, Mail Online reported.The company said in its statement: The Home Office recognises that Byron as an employer has always been fully compliant with immigration and asylum law in its employment practices.We have cooperated fully and acted upon the Home Offices requests and processes throughout the course of their investigations: it is our legal obligation to do so.
The prime minister wasn't the only person making history at Vancouver's Pride parade on Sunday.
Alex Sangha was one of the annual procession's grand marshals this year and it was a big deal for several reasons.
Sangha, who is the founder of an LGBTQ support group for South Asians called Sher Vancouver, was the first-ever Sikh grand marshal of the parade, now in its 38th year.
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Alex Sangha dressed in a traditional Indian outfit for the event.
"I used to feel like an outsider, as a person of colour, as a minority in the mainstream gay-lesbian community," Sangha told Global News.
"And now as a Pride marshal, they're recognizing me and acknowledging me. I feel like, wow, I'm being embraced."
Along with Sangha, this year's parade had two other grand marshals trans activist Morgane Oger and Syrian gay-rights activist Danny Ramadan.
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They marched in the same parade where Justin Trudeau became the first sitting prime minister to take part in the Vancouver event. The PM's wife and three kids, as well as Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and several other members of the Liberal caucus.
Justin Trudeau takes part in the Pride parade in downtown Vancouver on Sunday. (Photo: Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)
Sangha wore traditional Indian attire a bright red kurta, or tunic, and a multi-coloured scarf in the parade, but embracing his heritage while being gay hasn't always been easy for the Surrey resident.
Growing up, Sangha wished he was straight and even contemplated suicide.
"It was very hard for me to come out of the closet," he told radio station CKNW.
Sangha, a social worker who also blogs for The Huffington Post Canada, says more South Asians are now coming out as LGBTQ and finding acceptance within the community. But there still is a long way to go.
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Alex Sangha drove down the parade in a customized car. (Alex Sangha/Facebook)
Many South Asians are reluctant to accept their queer family members, and often force them into marriages, Sangha told the Vancouver Courier.
But having such a prominent place in the Vancouver Pride parade is great progress in Sangha's struggle for acceptance, he said.
"It's like I'm coming full-circle."
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Mariano Rajoy is an anti-demagogue. ULY MARTIN
If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs...
Rudyard Kipling, English poet
Just who do the Spanish think they are? Look at them, so vain, boasting about how terrible their politicians are, feeling like they own a title deed on mediocrity. Dont they realize that in the sport of cheap populism, irresponsibility and sheer stupidity, they simply cannot compete on the international stage? Cant they see that their old inferiority complex with regard to the United States, England and indeed all of Europe makes no sense anymore?
The head of the caretaker government and of the Popular Party can be accused of many things, but being a populist is not one of them
The time has come for them to do a reboot. Ever since the British plebiscide, as the referendum on EU permanence is also known, I have made the London-Spain trip three times. And every time, I have had the same conversation.
How sad, the result of the referendum, such madness. But of course, we are worse here in Spain, because our politicians...well, you know, the locals always tell me. What? is my reply. Dont you realize that compared with what we are seeing today in the US election campaign, compared with what we saw in the Brexit campaign, compared with the demagoguery that is sinking so deep in the populations of France, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, the political climate in Spain is a shining model of tolerance, respect, civilized manners and temperance? Please!
I will admit that Spanish politics are boring its like Groundhog Day, just not as funny. But boredom is a virtue when you witness the collective hysterics displayed by followers of the potential next president of the United States, Donald Trump, or by supporters of his political cousin from England, the europhobe Nigel Farage (although, to be fair, Farage traveled to Trumps coronation at the Republican Convention in Cleveland and confessed that, for the first time in his life, he felt left-wing).
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It is also true that the winner of the two general elections held in Spain in the last few months (and almost certainly the winner of a third election, if it comes to pass) is a notoriously corrupt party. But Spaniards should not feel too special in this department, either, or consider that their own system favors impunity as much as many people like to think. In Spain, the kings sister has had to answer to charges of tax crimes inside a court of law. In England, Prince Andrew, the queens son, has been involved in all kinds of instances of power abuse and shady dealings with dictatorial regimes such as Kazakhstans, yet it never crossed anybodys mind to make him give explanations to a judge.
Yes, its true that there is matter for debate here, but the most relevant point of all is this: campaigns in Spain have shown a degree of maturity and sobriety that most countries in the world, but most especially the US, should be envious of. Debates between the candidates, for instance, did not stand out for their use of personal insults and lies, but were based instead on the dissection of each nominees different policies, almost always relying on data that was not too far off from reality.
In the US, most particularly, hard data is losing traction in the political debate. Barack Obama proved that he is living in the past when he complained that Trumps acceptance speech at the Republican convention was not based on facts. It is true that Trumps portrayal of a nation sunk in criminal violence does not fit reality; it is true that crime rates have dropped ever since Obama became president; it is true that the number of homicides in New York was 352 in 2015, compared with 2,245 in 1990, a proportional drop that reflects national trends throughout this period. But none of it matters. Trump appeals solely to feelings and prejudices. The voters who see Trump as a redeemer are immune to lies, just like the English majority that voted for Brexit.
Trump says: lets build a wall, lets deny Muslims access to the United States, lets turn our backs on NATO, lets trust Vladimir Putin more than we trust Hillary Clinton, believe in me and the US will be a healthy and prosperous nation once again. These are not workable policies, these are childish impulses. The Trump phenomenon is a personality cult. The people who see a hero in Trump are immune to reason, just like when one falls madly in love, he or she becomes blind to the loved ones faults.
Pablo Iglesias is often written off as a populist, but he is the epitome of good sense, temperance, pragmatism and rational thought compared with the man who could be in charge of the the most fearsome nuclear arsenal on earth, just six months from now
It is sometimes said that there is a personality cult around Pablo Iglesias. But first of all, the leader of Podemos has come nowhere even close to capturing the imagination of half of the countrys voters, the way Trump has; and second, it would be absurd to compare him with a hyper-narcissistic tycoon who defines himself as a champion of outsiders. Iglesias is intelligent and cultivated, he proposes debatable policies that are not based on some hallucinogenic vision of the world, and he speaks like an adult, using complete sentences, generally not in the first person. Iglesias is often written off as a populist, but he is the epitome of good sense, temperance, pragmatism and rational thought compared with the man who could be in charge of the the most fearsome nuclear arsenal on earth, just six months from now.
Next to Trump, so is Mariano Rajoy. The head of the caretaker government and of the Popular Party can be accused of many things, but being a populist is not one of them. He is the anti-demagogue to end all anti-demagogues. He does little and says nothing. The Spanish left detests him, but he is no Trump, no Farage, no Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right Front National party in France. Even Podemos voters would vote for Rajoy before voting for any one of those three.
All of which leads us to the most irrefutable argument of all against the idea held by Spaniards that their political class is exceptionally mediocre: none of the four main parties in Spain has appealed to racism or xenophobia to win votes. Yet the conditions were there for such a party to emerge. There has been a lot of indignation, a lot of immigration and a lot of unemployment. But unlike what we are seeing elsewhere in the wealthy Western world, there is none of that in Spain, which is a veritable island of decency surrounded by a sea of meanness. One cannot say too often how admirable this is, or what it says about the singularity of Spains politicians, and above all about the generosity of the citizens they represent no matter how much they insist on being hard on themselves.
English version by Susana Urra.
Louis Nastro/Reuters
One passenger on an Air Canada flight unexpectedly found a knife after sitting on it.
Glenn Deir told CBC News he was astonished after his wife Debbie Youden discovered the four-inch blade which was luckily folded on their St. John's to Toronto flight.
"There was a serrated edge to it, and we said 'What in the name of God is this?'" said Deir, a former CBC News reporter.
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Passengers find knife on Air Canada flight leaving St. John's, Newfoundland https://t.co/U5yhIgEhdjpic.twitter.com/ulmZVBMbjF CBC News (@CBCNews) August 2, 2016
CTV News reports Deir took the knife to a crew member after everyone had boarded the plane and was told an incident report had been filed.
[The crew member's] eyes popped and he opened up the blade and showed the pilots and their eyes popped and then he showed the ground crew and their eyes popped," Deir said.
Employee was still on flight
It turns out the knife belonged to a maintenance worker who was using it to fix a seat.
Angela Mah, an Air Canada spokesperson, told The Huffington Post Canada in an email the employee was still on the flight talking to the captain when Deir reported the knife.
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"All tools were removed before the flight departed," Mah said. She added that the airline is reminding employees to make sure they collect all equipment before leaving an aircraft.
Deir said the ordeal shows airport workers need to be better screened.
"Imagine ... if you were up to no good and somebody was on the inside of an airport and could leave you a gun, a knife, in the seat. I mean, the mind reels with possibilities," he told the CBC.
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Todd Korol / Reuters Farmers drive combines harvesting canola while harvesting on Barry Lang's farm near Beiseker, Alberta, September 27, 2013. Record crops are being produced all across the Canadian prairies this season. REUTERS/Todd Korol (CANADA - Tags: AGRICULTURE BUSINESS)
Workers Compensation Board (WCB) claims by Alberta farm workers have doubled since the government's controversial farm safety bill was enacted last year.
In the first six months of 2016, there were 395 claims from the agricultural sector compared to 158 filed last year, the Calgary Herald reported.
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Bill 6, or the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act, sparked massive protests after a series of miscommunications aggravated relations between Alberta's NDP government and the province's farmers and ranchers.
Farmers hold signs protesting Bill 6 on Dec. 2, 2015. (Photo: Mike Sturk/Reuters)
The bill, which went into effect on January 1, requires all paid farm employees to be covered by the WCB.
In 2014, 25 Albertans died in farm-related accidents. An average of 18 Albertans die on a farm every year. For every death in the province, an average of 25 people are hospitalized for a farm-related injury, according to the Alberta Centre for Injury Control and Research.
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It's too early to say if the increased claims are related to the bill's passage, but the numbers might signal a big change for the province.
Alberta was the last province to implement work safety legislation for the agriculture industry.
Theres never been any rules applied to occupational health on farms in Alberta. So everybody is starting from zero here," Don Voaklander, director of the Injury Prevention Centre at the University of Alberta, told Alberta Farmer Express.
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The animation company behind the most recent seasons of Thomas and Friends is filing for bankruptcy and has locked out its employees in Toronto, according to news reports.
Those who arrived at Arc Productions on Tuesday morning found a notice on the door from CEO Tom Murray notifying them that the company is experiencing significant financial difficulties and a liquidity crisis.
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The announcement was first reported by the Toronto VFX Jobs blog.
According to CBC News, the move affects approximately 500 people working at the company.
Arc has received tens of millions of dollar in public funding from the Canadian government, according to animation news site Cartoon Brew.
(Photo: Arc Productions via thomasandfriends.com)
Arc Productions, which was known as Starz Animation until 2011, produced three seasons of the long-running Thomas and Friends childrens show from 2013 to 2016. It also produced a number of direct-to-video movies of the franchise.
Arc also made the childrens movie Gnomeo & Juliet, as well as LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Avengers Reassembled! and was working on an upcoming Netflix childrens show, Tarzan and Jane.
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"They just announced a lot of other films and projects. ... I hope that this might just be a hiccup." Arc Productions employee Peter Holland
Murrays note to employees appeared to acknowledge that the company has had difficulty making payroll.
We are still working diligently to find a solution that will allow us to pay outstanding wages due to you, Murrays letter to employees stated.
But it referred employees to the federal governments Wage Earner Protection Program in the event wages are not paid.
Still, some employees are hopeful this isnt the end of the road for Arc Productions.
If there's one thing that holds true about most four-year-old's, it's that they're probably the most honest tiny humans around.
And Blue Ivy Carter is no exception.
On Sunday, Blue's grandma Tina Knowles posted a series of Instagram videos that showcased her wild side as she took what she called a "leap of faith" off the second story of a yacht into the deep blue waters of Monaco, Woman's Day Australia reported.
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A video posted by Tina Knowles (@mstinalawson) on Jul 31, 2016 at 9:46am PDT
But while it may have been all fun and games for the mother-of-two, Knowles' granddaughter seemed to be a little worried about the 62-year-old taking the plunge.
"Do you know how to sw...do you really know how to swim?" the mini Carter innocently asked.
After a quick laugh, Knowles' replied, "Don't scare me, Blue! Don't scare me."
The businesswoman then jumped into the water.
A video posted by Tina Knowles (@mstinalawson) on Jul 31, 2016 at 12:06pm PDT
And it seemed as if the tot's question influenced grandma to take her "leap of faith" to new heights literally.
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A brave mama Knowles decided to jump off the third story of the luxury boat into the bay shortly after, which even she described as "a little scary" in the video caption.
A video posted by Tina Knowles (@mstinalawson) on Jul 31, 2016 at 9:54am PDT
But this isn't the first time Blue has proved that despite being the daughter of two mega musicians, she's still just an ordinary four-year-old.
In late July, Queen Bey and her mini me took some cutesy mommy-and-me photos in Paris. And while mom may be the superstar on stage, Blue definitely stole the show this time, as she blew kisses, posed and danced for the camera.
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Don't ever change, Blue.
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Most people on whale-watching tours expect to see a sea creature or two, but few have an experience like this one.
A tour group in Quebec got their money's worth when a huge finback whale came up close to their Zodiac inflatable boat and slipped right underneath.
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French tourist Eric Mouellic posted two videos to YouTube over the weekend showing the epic encounter, which occurred near Tadoussac, Que. where the Saguenay and St. Lawrence Rivers meet.
The whale watchers can be heard getting excited as the giant mammal approaches their boat, and then screaming with excitement (and likely a bit of fear) as it slides under the boat, leaving them unscathed.
Mouellic described it as an "unforgettable memory" on YouTube.
Story continues below slideshow
Humpback Whale Visits Mill Bay, B.C. See Gallery
The endangered whales commonly weigh about 70,000 kilograms and are about 20 metres long, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
They're common to the area where the video was shot, the SaguenaySt. Lawrence Marine Park, one of the world's best places to see whales, according to CBC News.
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And while the run-in was likely scary for some passengers, Patrice Corbeil, the education director of a non-profit marine mammal centre in Tadoussac, told the outlet that there was nothing to worry about.
Canadas unemployment rate will tick up to seven per cent next year, from 6.8 per cent today, as more people enter the workforce in search of a job, the research arm of TD Bank predicted in a new report Tuesday.
But while the countrys job market will be sluggish, it wont be entirely hopeless over the coming year-and-a-half, TD Economics' Brian DePratto wrote.
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How tough a job search you face will depend largely on the industry youre in and where youre located.
The majority of employment gains are expected to accrue to B.C., Ontario, and Quebec, DePratto wrote.
In contrast, little hiring growth is expected in the Atlantic Provinces, while Alberta is expected to continue to lose jobs through the remainder of this year and into next.
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Thats little different than the situation weve seen in the first half of this year, when Ontario and B.C. accounted for all the net job growth in Canada.
What line of work youre in will also make a major difference. DePratto sees health care leading the way, adding an average of 22,000 jobs at annual pace over the next year-and-a-half.
While somewhat slower than the gains notched over the past six quarters, the projected pace is nevertheless enough to make health care the fastest growing industry, he wrote.
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Construction will also be a leader in job growth, no surprise given the continued housing booms in Toronto and Vancouver. That sector will add jobs at an annual rate of 13,600.
Manufacturing which according to Statistics Canada has lost more than 30,000 jobs in the past year is expected to bounce back somewhat and start adding jobs, at an average annual rate of 12,000 jobs.
The resource industries, including oil extraction, wont add much in the way of new jobs, but at least the job losses should stop, DePratto predicted.
TD Bank sees the jobless rate edging up next year because job growth which it says will be a tepid 7,000 to 10,000 per month wont keep up with population growth and new entrants into the job market.
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DePratto notes that so far this year, the leading industries for jobs have been accommodation and food services, as well as information, culture and recreation. Those two industries both rely in part on tourism, which has boomed in Canada in recent months, thanks to a low loonie.
The number of overnight visitors to Canada jumped by 13 per cent in the first five months of this year, compared to the same period last year, the Globe and Mail reported.
The strong Canadian housing market also appears to have fed through to the finance, insurance and real estate service sectors, DePratto noted.
Those industries added 13,300 jobs in the first half of 2016, he noted.
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Highest-Paying Jobs For People Who Hate Math See Gallery
An opposition supporter calls for the recall referendum. Bloomberg
More information El organo electoral venezolano valida el primer paso para el revocatorio contra Maduro
Venezuelas National Electoral Commission (CNE) said on Monday that the first two phases of the process to call a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro are now complete.
Tibisay Lucena, president of the CNE, said the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) had garnered the initial 1% of signatories registered to vote in each of the countrys 24 provinces. She said the opposition now had two working days to petition the CNE to begin collecting the 20% of signatories required to convene the recall process.
Lucena did not say when the opposition would be able to begin collecting signatures, although MUD sources said this would mostly likely take place during the first two weeks of September.
To revoke President Maduros election, the opposition will have to garner more than the 7.5 million votes by which he was elected in 2013
Lucenas appearance before the media was delayed for three and a half hours, during which time former CNE president Jorge Rodriguez, currently mayor of Caracas and a rising star in the ruling PSUV, called for the announcement to be delayed, citing irregularities committed during the first phase of collecting signatures. He described the recall referendum as a fraud.
Rodriguez has lodged an appeal with Venezuelas Supreme Court to annul the petition for a recall referendum. The court is seen as the judicial wing of the PSUV and has rarely ruled against it.
Furthermore, Lucena said that the CNE would be calling on the public prosecutors office to look into the 1,300 cases of duplicate signatures.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski, governor of the state of Miranda and a two-times presidential candidate, immediately tweeted: With more than 1%, lets go for the 2nd, and mobilize the country to do so.
Jesus Torrealba, MUDs executive coordinator, criticized the CNE on the social networks for taking so long to approve the collection of 1% of voters signatures, pointing out that they had been handed in on May 2. But he added that he was confident that the recall referendum would take place this year, under international pressure and from within Venezuela.
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To revoke President Maduros election, the opposition will have to garner more than the 7.5 million votes by which he was elected in 2013. According to a recent poll, 73.4% of Venezuelans disapprove of his administration, while 64% of taxpayers would vote him out of office.
English version by Nick Lyne.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau is proving she looks good in any colour.
On Sunday, the wife of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the Vancouver Pride celebrations, donning a bright, aqua blue jumpsuit by Canadian womenswear designer, Aleks Susak.
The vibrant, silk one-piece featured a one-shoulder top, flared bottoms and hand-painted florals on the right shoulder and on the pant legs.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau along with his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and kids Hadrien, Ella Grace and Xavier take part in the Pride Parade in downtown Vancouver, B.C. on July, 31, 2016.
The 41-year-old mother of three paired her colourful look with stacks of beaded bracelets by Montreal-based label, Anzie and a cool pair of sunnies made in collaboration by Claudia Alan and Susie Wall, former reporter for etalk. A pair of wedges from Browns finished off her look.
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Justin, on the other hand, went for a more laid-back look, opting for a teal dress shirt (with the sleeves rolled up, of course) and a pair of white jeans.
And walking in the parade was a family affair, with the Trudeau children, Hadrien, Ella Grace and Xavier, also joining in the festivities.
But that doesn't mean mom and dad couldn't share a kiss (though it looks like the kids were not at all interested).
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Check out more photos of Sophie Gregoire Trudeau's style below:
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau See Gallery
The so-called "red tide" that swept across Atlantic Canada in the last federal election has not convinced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the next Supreme Court justice must hail from that region.
Liberals unveiled a new, independent advisory board Tuesday that will change how top court justices are appointed.
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The seven-member group, chaired by former prime minister Kim Campbell, will recommend three to five names to fill the seat of retiring Justice Thomas Cromwell of Nova Scotia.
Cromwell is the only Atlantic Canadian on the Supreme Court.
Justice Thomas Cromwell laughs as he listens to speakers during a ceremony officially welcoming him to the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa in February 2009. (Photo: The Canadian Press)
Traditionally, the court has had three members from Ontario, three from Quebec, one from British Columbia, one from the West, and one from the Maritimes. There has yet to be a justice from Newfoundland and Labrador.
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Liberals have made it clear they are accepting applications from across Canada, despite the convention Cromwell's replacement should come from Atlantic Canada.
On a "frequently asked questions" backgrounder released by the justice department, the federal government acknowledges a "regional custom" exists, but says only qualified candidates including those from Atlantic Canada will be included on the list that will ultimately land on Trudeau's desk.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and MP Dominic LeBlanc bring a cooler of lobster onto the campaign media bus just outside Neguac, N.B., Sept. 8, 2015. (Photo: Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)
"Applications are being accepted from across Canada in order to allow for a selection process that ensures outstanding individuals are considered for appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada," it reads.
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Federal Conservatives, still smarting after they were shut out of Atlantic Canada in the 2015 election, aren't pleased.
Tory critic Rob Nicholson, a former justice minister, released a statement Tuesday pointing out that Trudeau's new process does not "guarantee" Atlantic Canadian representation on the top court.
Nicholson suggested the development reflects poorly on the Liberals elected in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island as well as the Liberal premiers of those four provinces.
"Every single federal Member of Parliament from Atlantic Canada, and every single premier, is a Liberal, and collectively they have failed to guarantee their region's representation on the top court in the country." Tory justice critic Rob Nicholson
"Every single federal Member of Parliament from Atlantic Canada, and every single Premier, is a Liberal, and collectively they have failed to guarantee their region's representation on the top court in the country," Nicholson said.
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"Regardless of the process he chooses, Conservatives urge the Prime Minister to adhere to the longstanding convention that at least one justice of the Supreme Court come from Atlantic Canada as he seeks to replace Justice Cromwell."
All 32 MPs in Atlantic Canada are Liberal. All four Liberal premiers received campaign help from Trudeau en route to majority governments in the region.
Tory pick was deemed unconstitutional
Trudeau pledged on the campaign trail to reform top court appointments. Former prime minister Stephen Harper saw his appointment of Quebec judge Marc Nadon overturned in 2014 after it was deemed unconstitutional, setting off a public spat with Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.
"Under Stephen Harper, the all-party Supreme Court appointment process has been disrespected and degraded, culminating in the Prime Minister's unprecedented attacks on the Chief Justice," the Liberal platform reads. "We will restore dignity and respect to the relationship between government and the Supreme Court."
With files from The Canadian Press
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Andrew Toth via Getty Images NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 12: Comedian Tom Green visits SiriusXM Studios on February 12, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew Toth/Getty Images)
Tom Green thinks American interest in heading north if Donald Trump wins the U.S. election may be strong enough for Canada to consider building a wall.
The Canadian comedian was joking, of course, during a recent interview with The Washington Examiner.
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"It's nice living in a society where you go outside and are walking around at night, you aren't scared.
But Green got more serious when he talked about how the U.S. can learn from its neighbour when it comes to issues such as health care and public safety.
The former "Tom Green Show" host said fear has been "pounded" into the heads of Americans opposed to gun control and universal health care. He advised skeptics to pay a visit to Montreal and Vancouver.
Green: Media gave Trump a pass
"It's nice living in a society where you go outside and are walking around at night, you aren't scared," he told the Examiner about living in Canada.
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Green partly blamed the rise of Trump on the media. He said he was shocked at how news outlets did not criticize the Republican nominee after he said "absurd" things.
"If you say something bigoted, and you're a presidential candidate ... everybody has to talk about it," Green told CBC Radio in July.
"The outrage is actually what's been promoting his candidacy."
Tom Green (centre) stands in front of Donald Trump during an episode of the eighth season of "Celebrity Apprentice." (Photo: Ali Goldstein/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
Trump and Green have a history together.
In 2009, the comedian appeared in the eighth season of "Celebrity Apprentice" with Trump, who fired him.
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I know Donald Trump. He fired me on Celebrity Apprentice because I went out drinking with Dennis Rodman on the night I was project manager. Tom Green (@tomgreenlive) April 11, 2016
The experience on the show was weird, Green told the Montreal Gazette in March. He compared the negativity among the host and contestants to the Republican primaries.
"In fact, its almost identical to my experience on Celebrity Apprentice," he said.
In July, Green appeared in a music video called "Do the Donald" poking fun at the Republican nominee. You can watch that video here.
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While giving a speech at a rally in Virginia on Tuesday, presidential candidate Donald Trump took issue with a crying baby.
In the middle of his talk, the father (and grandfather) stops and speaks directly to the baby's mom. "You can get the baby out of here," he said while gesturing with his thumb.
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But just prior to booting the baby, Trump claimed he was just fine with a healthy child being vocal. Check out the whole interaction in the video above.
Trump tweeted a thank you to Virginia after the rally with the hashtag #ImWithYou... unless you're a baby, I guess.
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Donald Trump Baby Poop Faces See Gallery
Imagine you're Justin Trudeau's speechwriter and you're on the phone with his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeu, who will soon give a speech in support of her husband. She says that one of the people she has always liked is Laureen Harper, Stephen Harper's wife.
Over the phone, she reads some passages from Ms. Harper's speeches as examples. You write them down and later include some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately becomes her final speech.
All hell breaks loose when your plagiarism is discovered.
But the Liberal Party chairman denies everything: "There was no cribbing of Laureen Harper's speech. To think that Sophie would be cribbing Laureen Harper's words is crazy."
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Then a Liberal Premier wades in with: "Ninety-three percent of the speech is completely different."
When this Wall of Denial starts to crumble, you offer to resign. But Mr. Trudeau refuses to accept your resignation. He says that people make innocent mistakes and that we learn and grow from these experiences.
So you write an online apology saying: "I did not check Mrs. Harper's speeches. This was my mistake and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Sophie and the Trudeaus, as well as Mrs. Harper. No harm was meant."
The scenario of one political leader's spouse claiming she admires the spouse of her partner's sworn enemy and would like that person's ideas incorporated into the most important speech she will ever give. Well, it practically quantum-shifts from fiction to fantasy to impossibility in this one sentence.
It's a bit like saying Mohammed Ali would quote from Sonny Listen. Or Mick Jagger would sing a Beatles tune -- without admitting it. Or Barack Obama, short on ideas, decides to steal some from Vladimir Putin for his next attack on... Vladimir Putin.
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I write speeches for executives and politicians, and the idea that my client would ever say they so admire their arch-rival that they would like me to incorporate some of their most memorable ideas into their next speech where the stakes are so high that the future of the world is up for grabs. It beggars belief.
And yet, the apology that Trump speechwriter Meredith McIver offered at the Republican Convention feels vaguely sincere and truthful.
I asked myself how that could possibly be, when we all know both the tweet and her speechwriter's confession are as false as a chocolate-covered four-year-old saying to Daddy with innocent eyes: "What chocolate?"
Then this week it happened again. Well, not exactly "it." But Melania Trump's second adventure in public dishonesty came on Wednesday when the media reported that she'd lied about earning her degree in architecture from the University of Ljubljana in her native Slovenia.
This time, the Trump campaign didn't deny it. They didn't even bother excusing it, or making a young staffer walk the plank for doing it. They simply took it down, following a tweet from America's possibly future First Lady: "The website in question was created in 2012 and has been removed because it does not accurately reflect my current business and professional interests."
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This double-header of cocky dishonesty reminded me of the last time a demagogue came close to tearing America apart.
It was in the early 1950s when Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy launched his witch-hunt for communists and homosexuals in the American government and Hollywood.
He sparked the age of McCarthyism, for which Wikepedia offers up this handy definition: "Today, the term is used by critics of McCarthy in reference to what they consider demagogic, reckless and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents."
McCarthy was eventually censured in 1954 by the U.S. Senate. But what really brought him down was a counter-attack by Joseph Nye Welch, the U.S. Army's chief legal representative on McCarthy's investigation into alleged communists in the Army.
When McCarthy wildly accused one of Welch's Boston law partners of being a mouthpiece of the Communist Party, Welch replied: "Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness ..."
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McCarthy carried on. Welch interrupted him again:
"Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"
With this, the Senate gallery broke into applause and the hearing was recessed.
America's real question now should be: "Joseph Nye Welch, where are you now that we need you -- again?"
Dave Shafer via Getty Images Capped beer bottles in the filling room
In a flourish of self-congratulatory bravado, Finance Minister Joe Ceci announced yet another major overhaul to Alberta's brewing industry on July 28, 2016.
Prior to the NDP taking power in 2015, Alberta enjoyed the best market for beer in all of Canada. Although, it was by no means perfect, Albertans were able to enjoy a far greater selection of products from around the world at a much more competitive price than any other consumers in any other province.
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Then the tinkering started.
No province is permitted to erect a "tariff barrier" -- a tax assessed by weight, volume, or a percentage of value -- that impedes interprovincial trade.
Behind the scenes, for years, members of the Alberta Small Brewers Association had been lobbying the government in Edmonton to protect them from outside competition and provide financial supports. These efforts fell on deaf ears until the current political regime took office.
As a result, the first major overhaul took place October 28, 2015 when the government imposed a tax on craft beers brewed outside of the New West Partnership (British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan). This tax violated both our constitution's so-called "free trade" clause and long established case law from the Supreme Court of Canada. No province is permitted to erect a "tariff barrier" -- a tax assessed by weight, volume, or a percentage of value -- that impedes interprovincial trade.
As intended, the tax drove up prices on beer from outside the New West Partnership. But the increase in price failed to further the government's goals of supporting local jobs and diversifying the economy -- the mantra constantly intoned in Edmonton these days.
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Muskoka Brewery was forced to pull out of Alberta entirely and lay off their Alberta employees. Steam Whistle Brewery languished under a 525 per cent tax increase and was forced to ask the courts to provide relief. Some of the small Albertan import agencies saw their sales drop by nearly 60 per cent. And since B.C. beers were exempt, producers from across the Rockies began shipping more than ever into the Alberta market.
Far from protecting local jobs and diversifying the economy, the October 2015 tax cost Albertans' jobs, made businesses less-profitable, and flooded our market with products from outside the province.
Back to the drawing board.
The second major overhaul was announced July 28, 2016. As of August 5, 2016, all beers in Alberta will be taxed at the highest rate regardless of their place of origin and Alberta brewers will be subsidized by taxpayers based upon the volume of their sales.
But this does precious little to remedy constitutional problem created by this government last fall.
Section 121 of the Constitution Act, 1867 says that products from each province must be "admitted free" into every other province. When reading the many drafts and revisions of this provision in the years leading up to 1867, it is clear--the Fathers of Confederation wanted to tear down all government imposed impediments to internal trade.
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For example, George Brown said, "[the] Union of all Provinces would break down all trade barriers between us, and throw open at once... a combined market of four million people." And Alexander Galt said one of "the chief benefits expected to flow from confederation [is] the free interchange of the products of the labor of each province."
Historical record aside, the judge in the Canadian Constitution Foundation's recent R. v. Comeau case also recognized that section 121 was "clearly intended" to uphold free trade between the provinces.
And this is why latest announcement rings so hollow. Alberta brewers will receive taxpayer money on a volume sold basis to offset their costs, which is merely an indirect means of imposing a tariff barrier on beer from elsewhere in Canada.
Ignoring the political hullabaloo, Alberta's new plan is to do covertly what it is not permitted to do openly. No court will have difficulty seeing through this sleight of hand.
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Warren Buffett, this Tuesday in Omaha with Hillary Clinton. Andrew Harnik (AP)
Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world and arguably Wall Streets most respected investor, gave Republican candidate Donald Trump a piece of his mind on Monday while speaking at a Hillary Clinton rally in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. He challenged the real estate mogul to release his income tax returns and chastised him for offending the family of a US soldier who died in combat. Have you no sense of decency, sir?, Buffett asked rhetorically, quoting Senator Joe Welchs words to Joseph McCarthy during one of the many Communist witch hunt hearings in Congress in 1954.
Buffetts remarks came just after another millionaire power player, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, spoke out against Trump at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last week, accusing him of being a dangerous demagogue and a con.
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As the 85-year-old president of Berkshire Hathaway introduced Clinton at a rally at Omaha North High Magnet School, he stuck his finger in one of Trumps sorest wounds: his refusal to release his income tax returns, citing an ongoing audit. I'm under audit too, Buffett said. And I would be delighted to meet him any place, any time, between now and the election...I'll bring my return, he'll bring his return and just let people ask us questions about the items that are on there, he said to wild applause.
The Oracle of Omaha, who owns stocks in Goldman Sachs and Coca-Cola, endorsed Hillary Clinton in December 2015 at an event where he said he was in favor of raising taxes on the rich. His remarks in Omaha on Monday mark his first campaign event since both parties held their conventions and ratified the presidential nominees.
Buffett and Bloombergs attacks are especially hurtful to Trump because the Republican candidate has made his status as a businessman one of the pillars of his campaign. He has presented himself as a self-made man who will lead the nation the same way he has led his businesses, promising that the United States will therefore prosper. Yet other, more powerful, moguls like Bloomberg and Buffett have questioned his abilities and warned Americans against a Trump presidency.
More of the countrys great fortunes are backing Clinton instead of Trump, even though she presented the most left-leaning platform the Democratic Party has seen in decades. Mike Cuban, the millionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, also made a surprise appearance at a Clinton event on Saturday.
English version by Dyane Jean-Francois.
I was born in Afghanistan, forced to leave at a young age, I did not return until I was 16 years old. I met with women, who had lost their husbands, their sons and/or their fathers during the wars. Despite their losses, these women were filled with love, but one thing that was notable was how dependent they were.
Their situation required them to work and provide for their families, but their lack of skills pushed them into cheap and sometimes even illegal labour.
The encounters with these women have inspired me to advocate for the creation of platforms to give girls and women in Afghanistan the knowledge and skills to participate in the labour force and be independent. I think we should empower more women in Afghanistan through entrepreneurship training.
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Since 2001, there have been significant improvements and achievements with regard to the role of women in Afghan society. Many more girls, who were once banned from attending school under the Taliban, are now enrolled in schools and universities; and the Ministry of Labour and newly created Ministry of Women's Affairs are drafting a National Action Plan for Women's Economic Empowerment, "to create an enabling environment for women to participate in economic activities to benefit their families, communities, and the country."
One of the main barriers that prevents Afghan women from entering the labour force are traditional beliefs and biased views that women should be housewives and mothers rather than breadwinners. There is a stigma around families where the mother or daughter earns money and women's potential and abilities are severely suppressed. Women have come to believe that attending school is merely to find a husband. When girls get engaged, their educational life stops and they become dependent on their husbands.
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The mindset has to change. For one, we have to convince women that getting an education is not a means to find a husband but an important way to be both independent and contribute to the economy and society. I believe that entrepreneurship training for Afghan women will help to change this mindset. Entrepreneurial skills, whether they are interpersonal skills, critical and creative thinking skills, or practical skills, will not just empower women to run their own businesses and give them more financial security, but will also give them more self-esteem and bargaining power in the household.
The government can play a role in this by launching, promoting, and improving access to training and initiatives that foster women's entrepreneurial mindsets and competences. This in turn, I trust, will bring about many more strong and independent mothers who will inspire their daughters to finish their education and find a job.
The female labour force participation rate of Afghanistan needs a big boost. I am committed to reducing the dependency levels of girls and women in Afghanistan by promoting education and entrepreneurship training and bringing more women into the workforce. Female participation in the labour force is key to economic growth, reducing poverty and improving living conditions, and it will bring back the peace and prosperity that Afghanistan deserves.
By Simin Shokrullah, G(irls)20 delegate, Afghanistan
Visit my G(irls)20 profile here or follow me on Facebook or Twitter.
Afolabi Sotunde / Reuters Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) campaigners look on during a protest procession marking the 500th day since the abduction of girls in Chibok, along a road in Abuja August 27, 2015. The Islamist militant group Boko Haram kidnapped some 270 girls and women from a school in Chibok a year ago. More than 50 eventually escaped, but at least 200 remain in captivity, along with scores of other girls kidnapped before the Chibok girls. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde
In a world continually flirting with chaos, challenges emerge that could provide the average citizen with a sense of involvement to at least make their own mark on a troubled age. Causes exist everywhere that call us to action, prompt us to give, force us to consider our own responsibility to the larger world.
The problem we face with these kinds of responses isn't awareness -- we get our news from everywhere these days -- but our retention. Every day, the news through all its venues reaches us with increasing calls to humanity to rise to the occasion and effect change. Our great danger is the temptation to move from one issue to another, like a stone skipping over a quiet pond, instead of sticking to our original commitments, seeing them through to the end.
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Just such a cause occurred 842 days ago, when the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram captured 276 Nigerian schoolgirls, dragging them off into captivity and the kinds of horror that are too easy to imagine. The world responded in outrage. The hashtag #bringbackourgirls was used hundreds of thousands of times within the first week. Celebrities, including Michelle Obama, were pictured holding up posters that simply said: "Bring Back Our Girls." It was a powerful movement of humanity that leaped across borders, religions, ideologies, and numerous distractions.
Increasingly, our collective conscience seems ever expanding but only skin deep.
But that was 842 days ago -- well over two years -- and despite some of the girls escaping, nothing of the present whereabouts of the remainder has emerged. The outrage that is Boko Haram is far greater than what happened to these schoolgirls. Altogether, the terrorist group has kidnapped 2,000 girls overall and have been responsible for the dislocation of 800,000 children, according to UNICEF.
Zoom out and we discover that the ripple effect of Boko Haram is even more tragic. NBC News, as reported in the Atlantic, cited a UNESCO study that concluded 10.5 million children in Nigeria have been denied access to education through the disruption of the terrorist vigilantes -- the highest in the world.
All this tragedy and ongoing misery, but two years later "bringbackourgirls" is all too rarely seen in social media -- millions of concerned citizens have moved on to other pressing matters. It's not the complexity of the problem that is the real issue here, but the tenacity of citizens once energized to press for action and collaboration. Increasingly, our collective conscience seems ever expanding but only skin deep. Or as Mark Twain put it: "A clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory." Alas, have we forgotten the Nigerian girls so quickly?
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And now we discover that all of Nigeria is either in massive insecurity or in starvation. UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, and numerous other non-governmental organizations are calling on the world to send aid to hundreds of thousands of people dying for lack of access to food. A great human tragedy is unfolding in Nigeria and the chances of the kidnapped girls will recede even further into the shadows.
In a world that seems ever more unpredictable, citizens everywhere are demanding to become an increasing part of the solutions of the future. But what if they are becoming more sensationalized than serious? It's an important question to consider and one Susan Sontag speaks up about in her book On Photography:
"To suffer is one thing; another thing is living with the photographed images of suffering, which does not necessarily strengthen conscience and the ability to be compassionate. It can also corrupt them. Once one has seen such images, one has started down the road of seeing more -- and more. Images transfix. Images anesthetize."
The problem for the modern citizen isn't that she doesn't care, or that he isn't generous, it's the temptation of always moving on instead of remaining in those places of humanity's pain until a resolution is achieved. We must be careful against the danger of, "Mistaking dramatics for a conscience," as author Louise Penny put it.
The real strength of modern citizenship will never be achieved unless we discover the collective capacity to be tenacious together. Over two years ago we made a commitment to some Nigerian girls experiencing a living hell. We will only discover hope when we go back and build on our collective promise to recover them.
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Jeng_Niamwhan via Getty Images The concept of building houses on sky
It wasn't even a year ago when a small idea popped into the head of Steve Zaleschuk.
Unbeknownst to him at the time, the thought would snowball into something big, and fast. Zaleschuk, a resident of Sturgeon County, Alberta, decided to get into the big business of building tiny homes.
With 30 plus years of construction experience on his side, Zaleschuk started his business, Finished Right Contracting (FRC) last fall. He educated himself on the tiny home movement, researched materials, and tiny home building plans, developed a website, and simply got to work. He hasn't looked back since.
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Zaleschuk builds the homes on an 80-acre farm not far from Morinville, Alberta (close to the City of Edmonton). His latest labour of love is a micro-cabin for Parks Canada. The cabin is a small square building with large tinted windows and a beautiful wood exterior. It's part of a pilot project that may see many more tiny cabins erected in national parks across the country. According to Zaleschuck, FRC was one of only two tiny home builders asked to build a prototype.
Pretty good for someone who just went full-time with his dream less than a year ago.
Currently, tiny homes are not permitted within the boundaries of many urban Alberta municipalities. According to Zaleschuk, the City of Edmonton, for example, says no to tiny homes, though it does appear to be a grey area whether they are actually legal there or not. Other communities, like the Town of Stony Plain, says Zaleschuk, do allow them in certain designated zones, such as mobile home parks.
Establishing space friendly to the micro-structures does appear to be moving quicker in some parts of Canada over others. In Northern BC, for example, tiny home communities, or micro-villages, have started to pop up. In Victoria and Vancouver, "micro-housing" is being considered as a way to address affordable housing and homelessness.
Back here in Alberta, Zaleschuk's is confident our province will follow suit. He says he's been bombarded with emails from people interested in learning about the ins and outs of tiny home living.
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Luckily for Zaleschuk he's got a great resource and champion for FRC on his side, helping him spread the word about his business. His very first customer shared her tiny home story online on her blog and emailed media she thought might be interested. She even allows people to rent out her miniature home on the weekends so they can try out tiny living for themselves.
It was this that led the well-known Canadian home renovation channel, HGTV, to catch wind of Zaleschuk and his tiny houses.
"They came out and filmed me making [a tiny house], it's crazy. The episode -- it's season 3 of 'Tiny House, Big Living,' episode eight or nine I think -- has already aired in the States...it should be running in Canada this fall."
And HGTV is not the only one to take note; Zaleschuck says both the CBC and Maclean's Magazine have also interviewed him regarding the tiny home movement.
So what's the big deal about tiny homes?
The allure of tiny homes has a lot to do with simplicity and attainability.
"People are really interested in tiny homes because it's about freedom -- financial freedom and freedom with your time. It takes way less time to clean a 250-square foot home versus a 2,000-square foot home."
Zaleschuck also adds, when purchasing a micro-home people can afford to include indulgent touches because it ends up costing way less than it would in a regular sized house, for obvious reasons. These mini-mansions give people the ability to live in luxury, even if it's in a small way.
And if you're wondering, the price of an average tiny home is, for the most part, also pretty tiny (think of it as a mini-mortgage). "We can realistically build a home starting at $39,900 -- that's on the very low end -- up to infinity, depending on the finishes and what's needed in the home." Zaleschuk estimates a typical tiny house will cost about $60,000.
"It seems like tiny home owners have a different mindset. They want to live in a house that is eco-friendly, with a smaller carbon footprint..." The entrepreneur says residing in a tiny home also gives people perspective, it forces them to ask, 'what do I have versus what do I need?'
FRC builds tiny homes (either as a main residence or as a guest house), micro-cabins, speciality sheds, ice fishing shacks, and any other related project clients may want or need.
It's no doubt, says the carpenter, however, tiny homes are the bread and butter of FRC. Those buildings range in size from about 150-square feet to 410-square feet and can be built to accommodate any requirements. For example, Zaleschuk recently completed a tiny home for a family of four that needed three separate bedrooms.
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The builder estimates his homes will last 50 to 60 years, or longer.
Another aspect contributing to his success is the fact Zaleschuk will deliver to locations found throughout the country -- his micro-cabin for Parks Canada is heading east, destined for a national park in Quebec. Two of his upcoming projects are headed to the Northwest Territories, and one has even had to take a ferry ride to its permanent home located on Keats Island (off the south B.C. coast).
When asked how he thinks his buildings -- which have an average weight of about 11,000 to 12,000 pounds for a 24-foot home -- manage over their long journeys to their final destinations, Zaleschuk simply laughs, saying, "they could roll them there if they wanted to. I'm not worried; [these houses] are built to withstand the trip."
Zaleschuck says he's obviously very delighted with his early success and will keep running with it, remarking things don't appear to be slowing down.
"I have close to 400 emails in my inbox right now, [it's surreal]...I joined a 'Tiny Homes Enthusiasts of Edmonton' group; we started off with a handful of people, now there are hundreds and it's growing each day."
FRC shares stories of its projects online, including building plans, photos for inspiration, and information on how you can get started with your dream of owning your own tiny home with big heart.
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This blog first appeared on the Morinville News website here.
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marctranvn via Getty Images little toes in mom's hands
Dr. Seuss said it best: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
My brother and his wife were trying to have a baby for the last seven years. With their hard earned savings, they set their sights on pursuing countless fertility treatments. Hanging on to a promise from one clinic that results were "guaranteed," they drove many long hours with remarkable sangfroid to receive treatments.
But both physical and emotional pain was served up in abundance for my sister-in-law as she endured multiple miscarriages. I was amazed at her fortitude and determination to have a family. With each setback, she would wait for the scars to heal and begin treatments anew with a resolve I had never seen in her before.
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Dr. Bill Cavers, past President of Doctors of B.C., believes that: "Medicine is no longer a one-way conversation. Patients want to get involved, they need to get involved, they deserve to get involved. Today patients are far more educated about their own conditions, they are far more empowered, and they have access to far more information. They're demanding to be full partners in their care, and they should be."
When it was confirmed that my sister-in-law could not carry to full term, they pursued a remedy to achieve their baby dreams. With the help of a gestational surrogate, they signed a contract that gave them new hope and a renewed purpose.
Source: Lisa Abram
According to Statistics Canada, in 2006 the gap widened a bit between households comprised of couples without children (29%) and couples with children (28.5%). Ever since 1978 when Louise Brown was born in the U.K., the world's first test tube baby, the possibilities for conception are now abundant. While some couples desire to have no children by choice, others are getting creative in their approach to having a family.
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Take Frank Nelson and BJ Barone for example -- a same-sex couple in Toronto whose emotional embrace of their new baby via surrogate went viral. However, with sisterly love, I assured my sibling there too is joy in being childless, should the Fertility Gods not shine down upon them with the same warm embrace.
In a Huffington Post blog about the childless life, the CDC reports that of the 19% of women who remain childless between the ages of 40 and 44, half are childfree by choice. The remaining population are unable to have children by biology and by circumstance (i.e. some late-age biological infertility is a result of not finding a partner until one's fertility is compromised by age). And much has been written by women about being childless by choice.
But that is not the backdrop for this story.
My brother and his wife moved full steam ahead with their baby plans, and a close bond formed with the gestational surrogate after many visits to the doctor and ultrasound technician. I have read about celebrities choosing this path for a multitude of reasons. Actresses Nicole Kidman and Sarah Jessica Parker both carried children of their own; however for subsequent births they invited a stranger into their lives in order to expand their family. But I never knew anyone personally pursuing this path.
After hearing my brother talk about his long journey to hoped-for fatherhood, he reminded me of the letter he wrote from camp. He told our family he missed us all very much, that he was having a great time and then signed his short note with "love and inaffection." These childhood moments are priceless, and we thank our mothers for reminding us about our years of innocence. But I've rarely seen the emotional side of my brother. Perhaps we ridiculed him too much about the letter, I think.
But my little brother does have a sense of humour with his six rules for the unofficial fertility club:
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#1. There is no blame
Never blame yourself or your partner for the situation. Instead, learn to accept it and move forward.
#2. Leave your dignity at the door
You'll have to do things you never imagined, so it's best to have a sense of humour.
#3. Whatever you have budgeted for treatment, it's not enough!
Better to have a list of expenses so, years later, you can laugh at how much money you spent.
#4. Be your own advocate
If the clinic isn't pursuing the kind of treatment you prefer, push for what you want, or go somewhere else for help.
#5. Know when to stop
One's focused determination can sometimes overtake the harsh reality set before you.
#6. Find a support group
They will help save your sanity and your life.
When the due date approached, we waited with breathless anticipation. Then the text message came: "The baby is doing fine and weighs 7 lbs 13 ozs." I imagined the delivery room and this union of three all fused together in their collective efforts to bring life into this world.
Shortly after the birth, while sitting in a car and looking at my emails, I unexpectedly let out a cry. My startled husband asked if I was okay. "Yes," I blurted through tears. "My brother just wrote the most beautiful birth announcement." The floodgates opened and I was awash in a torrent of emotion. His silence was over; the longing for fatherhood finally fulfilled.
As if a meteorite hit the ground after entering Earth's atmosphere, we all let out a collective sigh of relief from the sudden impact; showered praise on the gestational surrogate for her selflessness; and expressed unbridled joy at the happiness we all shared.
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I knew the years of waiting were worth it when I received a succinct text from the proud dad. "How are you doing?" I asked. "I'm crying more than the baby," he replied.
Once the paperwork proclaimed the infant as their son, my brother was no longer crying tears of joy, but smiling from ear to ear. Dr. Seuss definitely knew of what he spoke of. My little nephew, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Oh, the love and affection you will know.
(Photo: Sara Orme/Tourism New Zealand)
"Would you like your picture taken next to Bilbo Baggins' house?"
It's not a stress dream. I'm standing in the emerald green fields of Hobbiton, the original film set for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Just outside Matamata, the Kiwi director transformed a 1250 acre sheep and beef farm into The Shire, digging 44 hobbit holes into the undulating hills. After filming concluded, the set was converted into what's arguably the most popular tourist attraction in New Zealand, drawing over 1.5 million visitors since first opening.
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(Photo: Ian Brodie/Tourism New Zealand)
Believe it or not, Hobbiton is just the beginning. Jackson used more than 150 locations across New Zealand for filming, many of which you can now visit. There are even "Middle Earth" itineraries that Tolkien buffs can follow across the North and South Islands, with one spanning 21 days for mega fans.
Of course, you can't just freely roam Hobbiton like a villager. The only way to get that prized selfie by Bilbo's home is to take a two-hour guided tour departing from the Alexander farm. Wandering the 12 acres, you hear mesmerizing stories about the set's creation, learn obscure facts about the production, and see real sights that appeared in the films. Even non-fans (like myself) are captivated.
(Photo: Ian Brodie/Tourism New Zealand)
"Anyone here for Harry Potter?" jokes our guide. "Wrong country!"
Strolling along the Shire's pathway, it feel surreal to wander a mythical village filled with Munchkin-sized houses. Each has mossy roof and a round door painted with a lively colour, as well as windowsills filled with flowers, foods, and impish ornaments. One tourist tries to open a door.
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(Photo: Sara Orme/Tourism New Zealand)
"You can't go in," says the tour guide. "There's actually nothing inside."
The hobbit holes were designed for exterior filming, and a separate set was constructed for the interior shots (which now permanently resides at Jackson's home in Wellington). Even if there was something to see, good luck fitting inside: at 3 feet by 6 inches, the houses are sized to fit hobbits.
"The houses were dug out just a little inside," says our guide. "They had to keep the roof stable for actors running on top."
(One of the few hobbit holes that you can step inside for a photo. Credit: Sara Orme/Tourism New Zealand)
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Nearby is the Party Tree, where Bilbo celebrates his "one hundred and eleventieth birthday." Here, our guide explains that this tree is a crucial reason Jackson chose to film on this property.
"The Alexander farm had everything they needed," says our guide. "Even the 'nice rounded tree' described in Tolkien's book."
(Photo: Sara Orme/Tourism New Zealand)
Of course, it took some finagling to get. Back in 1998, Mr. Alexander was watching rugby when he heard a knock at his front door. On the doorstep was a film location scout, asking to inspect his property. Peering through binoculars at the tree and the gently sloping hills, the original plan to film across several locations was quickly tossed out.
"Peter Jackson did an aerial tour of the farm," says our guide. "And then he came back to Mr. Alexander with a proposal to build the Hobbiton set on the farm."
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"Lord of the what?" Mr. Alexander purportedly responded to Jackson's request.
(Photo: Sara Orme/Tourism New Zealand)
Despite the farm's suitability, it took some serious magic to transform the fields - normally used for sheep grazing - into the Hobbiton from the films. With endless rolling hills and emerald green fields, it functioned as a working farm even during production. In fact, Jackson often had to call Alexander when sheep strayed into shots, asking him to move the flock. Overall, the set took nine months to build, digging hobbit holes into the hills, removing marshland, and creating elaborate props to match Tolkien's tales.
"See that oak tree above Bag End?" says our guide. "Is it a real or fake?"
I wager a guess, but I'm wrong. Turns out, the tree is a replica, painstakingly bolted together and with artificial leaves wired onto the branches. But it sure looks real.
(The replica oak tree above Bag End (Photo: Sara Orme/Tourism New Zealand)
Faux trees aside, Jackson also faced the enormous feat of accommodating 400 people onsite every day on a limited budget. He requested a loan from the New Zealand government to build the roads and infrastructure, but it was rejected. Instead, he got the New Zealand Army.
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"The Prime Minister loaned him soldiers to help build the road into the site," says our guide. "In return, Jackson cast the soldiers as extras in the Orc army."
Apparently, the soldiers were completely immersed in their roles: the director actually had to tell them to settle down because they were injuring the actors during the battle scenes.
Around the pond and past the Watermill, our guide leads us to our final stop at the Green Dragon Inn. Sitting by crackling fireplace, I marvel at the enchanting decor (the pub is an exact reproduction of the one in the films) and sip my foamy pint of Hobbiton ale. To be honest, I can't think of a better way to end this unexpected journey.
(The Green Dragon Inn (Photo: Sara Orme/Tourism New Zealand)
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:
Hobbiton Movie Set is a 2.5 hour drive from Auckland, and there are bus operators that offer transfers to/from various Kiwi cities across the North Island.
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To really holiday like a hobbit, sleep in the Shire under a grassy roof at Woodlyn Park, a hobbit-themed inn near the Waitomo Glowworm Caves(another essential stop on the Middle Earth journey).
A member of the Star Alliance, Air New Zealandfeatures non-stop, overnight flights from Vancouver to Auckland, and connects to most major Canadian cities.
For more travel inspiration and advice, mosey on over to Eat Drink Travel Magazine. Get more ideas for planning your Middle Earth Adventure at Tourism New Zealand.
Yagi Studio via Getty Images Senior men are in pain a stiff neck
Ontario just announced that it is starting its war against addiction and deaths from opioid overdoses by targeting the elderly and disabled.
Beginning in January 2017, Ontario will no longer cover the cost of higher doses of certain pain medications on its drug benefit formulary. The formulary covers the cost of drugs for senior citizens and the disabled. Those on higher doses will have to pay for these prescriptions themselves or have their doctors prescribe lower doses in sufficient quantity to make up for the single pill or long-acting patches they get now.
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In an explanation to pharmacists, the government stated that part of the rationale is that they want to stop the diversion of legitimately prescribed medications which they call a "public health and safety issue in Canada." That assumes that a considerable amount of the drugs on the street are diverted from legitimate prescriptions, which is not the case.
British Columbia, which has considerable fentanyl overdoses, points out that some of the source is from diverted prescriptions, but the main source of fentanyl overdoses is in fake oxycontin pills and other club drugs sold as heroin in powder form or mixed in with cocaine, crack and other agents.
The Drug Enforcement Agency in the U.S. also points out that the increase in fentanyl deaths is largely the result of clandestinely produced supplies rather than legal prescriptions having been diverted. The illegal fentanyl is mostly manufactured in China and Mexico.
Ontario, however, is targeting seniors and the disabled which some doctors feel will have very negative effects. Writing in the Medical Post newspaper, (registration required) Dr. Darren Cargill of Windsor and a palliative care specialist pointed out that these changes will have serious unintended consequences. He states that "These medications are not just needed for the dying; we need them for the living as well." There are people with severe chronic, non-life-threatening pain whose lives are enhanced by pain medication.
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He and his colleague, Dr. Thomas Burgess, also of Windsor, listed these problems that will likely arise from this strategy:
Decreased access to appropriate medications for patients in need, resulting in poor pain control, leading to unnecessary ER visits and hospital admissions
Increased pill/patch burden, resulting in potential for decreased absorption/medication adherence and poorer pain control
Increased use of PCA/CADD pumps (for infusion of pain meds intravenously), limiting function and independence, requiring more intensive care
Increased number of pills/patches prescribed and increased potential for diversion
Inappropriate referral to palliative care specialists, already in short supply
The comments to this article from other doctors, for the most part, support what Dr. Cargill has to say. Dr Chris Giorshev of Barrie wrote that "There is no evidence that the recent measures will do anything meaningful other than torture legitimate pain/palliative patients" and "most of the problems arise from the illegal fentanyl coming from China -- not from the patches prescribed by us. And the smaller strength pills are actually easier to move on the streets -- so reducing the pill size will have no effect."
Dr Geoffrey Purdell-Lewis of Burlington, Ontario said that "Not every patient prescribed opioids gets addicted" and that "Some patients appear to need more than a morphine equivalent dosage of 200mg per day and these patients can do well on somewhat bigger doses, especially with careful and strict monitoring and support. Much more thought is needed before the '200mg portcullis' is brought down."
Federal Health Minister Dr. Jane Philpott has just announced a summit for this fall comprised of experts in the field from across Canada to develop sensible strategies to deal with the problem. While acknowledging opioid risks, Dr. Philpott said that "People need to have access to these effective medications where used appropriately."
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It would make sense for Ontario to hold off on its plans until after the federal summit has drawn up its plans. Targeting seniors and the disabled is not a sensible solution to this problem and is downright discriminatory.
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In developing countries, kangaroo mother care can make all the difference in the world for premature babies. (Photo: Save the Children, a collaborator in the Born on Time initiative)
Labour hit me hard. The hospital was a blur. All I can remember is the intense labour pain and the nurses rushing in and out of my room, making split-second decisions that would determine whether or not I delivered a healthy baby.
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Inside me, the baby I had longed for was also struggling. A severe drop in my baby's heart rate left the doctors with only one choice - an emergency C-section. Before I knew it, I was being whisked down the hall to the operating room. Despite the chaos and pain, I'll never forget the look of panic on one nurse's face.
When the ordeal was over, I was the proud mother of a beautiful, healthy, baby girl who just happened to have the umbilical cord wrapped around her whole body at birth. Despite my overwhelming sense of relief and joy, my body was still reeling from her dramatic entry.
For whatever reason, shock or surgery itself, my entire body was shivering and shaking. I couldn't calm down. Warm blankets, my husband's loving touch, or even deep breathing didn't help. I was beyond frustrated. At the very moment I was to begin the job of being a capable, strong mother, I had lost control of my own body.
Skin-to-skin contact
But then something incredible happened. The nurses handed my new baby girl over to me for the first time, and in that moment, it was like someone had flicked a switch. Eliana was placed on me, her skin right next to mine, and it felt like everything in the world went instantly still -- including my once-shaking body.
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I looked down, and just like her mommy, Ellie was amazingly calm. Before I knew it, she began to breastfeed for the first time, without any help or guidance from myself or the nurses. Both of us were automatically in sync. It was the most amazing experience, especially because I was a first-time mom.
I kept Ellie close to my skin for days afterward, as she became increasingly comfortable with breastfeeding. (Photo: Jonathan Schrader)
It didn't take me long to realize that what we were doing was called kangaroo mother care. I had read about it in parenting books, and learned about it in pre-natal class. It is often a perfect scenario for pre-term babies who have left the comfort of a mother's womb too soon.
For me and Ellie, who was born at term, kangaroo mother care worked to calm us both down and kick-start our breastfeeding journey. But for moms who don't have access to a hospital, it can take the place of a life-saving incubator. Kangaroo mother care can literally be the difference between life and death for a baby.
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It is especially critical for premature babies. Nowhere is it more important than in rural regions of developing countries where hospitals aren't readily close by, and life-saving equipment like an incubator is almost certainly not available.
Lacking health care
In some of the world's poorest places, families go without even the most basic health care. The result for premature babies is tragic: half of those born two months early will die.
"More than 90 per cent of extremely pre-term babies born in low-income countries die within the first few days of life", says Dr. Amanuel Gidebo, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health expert at World Vision Canada. "That's compared to less than 10 per cent who die in high-income settings." Here in Canada, our newborn mortality rate is less than five per 1,000 live births.
Working at World Vision Canada, I have come to learn that pre-term birth is now the leading cause of death in children under five. More than 75 per cent of those deaths can be prevented with approaches that aren't costly or complicated -- like kangaroo mother care. Dr. Gidebo describes it as "continuous skin-to-skin contact between the mother and her baby, both in hospital and after early discharge."
"It offers support for positioning, feeding, as well as prevention and management of infections and breathing difficulties", says Dr. Gidebo. It also simulates an incubator, and provides a warm and comforting environment for babies. One of the most important aspects of kangaroo mother care is the convenience of being able to breastfeed at any time, something that can make all the difference to a baby's survival.
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A mother caring for her newborn baby learns to wrap her little one close to her skin. (Photo: Save the Children)
This World Breastfeeding Week, I think back to my experience with my newborn daughter, who is now a thriving three-year-old. Her birth didn't exactly go as planned. I wouldn't wish that kind of stress on any mom in the delivery room. But I do wish every new mom could have that same sense of peace and serenity that comes from that amazing skin-to-skin contact as well as the ease of breastfeeding.
I especially want this for those mothers in developing countries who have to deliver their babies in less-than-ideal circumstances. For some of them, kangaroo mother care could make all the difference in the world.
"Kangaroo Mother Care has the potential to save the lives of millions of pre-term babies in low-resource settings," says Dr. Gidebo.
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To learn more about an exciting new initiative that aims to help mothers in Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Mali achieve healthy full-term pregnancies and care for pre-term babies, please visit www.BornOnTime.org.
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Thanks to the craft beer uprising, people are beginning to understand and appreciate the process involved in creating a crisp and refreshing pint; and moreover, that it involves equal amounts of science and creativity.
Although beer will always be considered the more laid-back relative of wine, don't interpret it as code for lacklustre taste. Beer can offer as much complexity as your favourite bottle of wine. And what better way to learn about flavour combinations than with two brewmasters to guide you.
I spoke with Gavin LaForce and Wanis Benzazzouz from Les 3 Brasseurs aka 3 Brewers, to learn about creating delicious suds. The former is in charge of creating brews at the Toronto (Adelaide) location, while the latter oversees all restaurant-breweries in Canada.
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One of the unique features at 3 Brewers is Custom Casking. You get to choose your own ingredients to create your very own brew, about 20 litres worth. The entire process takes a about an hour. Then you return in two weeks to taste your creation.
Why choose cask beer/ale?
LaForce explains that the brew is unpasteurized and unfiltered -- which results in fuller, fruitier flavours. You pour in the liquid (along with desired ingredients you want to 'infuse') and sprinkle in the yeast (aka top-fermenting yeast). The carbon dioxide dissolves into the solution (because it has nowhere to escape) -- and creates fizz.
Unlike beer from a bottle or keg, LaForce says that cask carbonation results in light, effervescent champagne bubbles that are fine and soft.
The brewmasters give us a brief rundown of what happens next:
The brew goes through 48 to 72 hours fermentation. Then the cask is placed in the fridge where it sits and ages. During the aging process, the beer clarifies -- this is when the yeast goes to "sleep" and starts sinking out of suspension in the liquid, similar to champagne. When it is ready to drink, the beer gets poured off the yeast and picks up its flavour -- an important characteristic of cask brews. The entire process takes about 2 weeks.
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From Hungarian oak to raspberry puree, the variations and combinations of ingredients in cask beer are endless.
But before creating our custom ale, the brewmasters offer us a primer on beer basics and teach us how to pair each type with food.
Traditional Beers at 3 Brewers
These are considered the 'mainstays' of the beer world. Each type offers variations in bitterness (IBU - International Bittering Unit), alcohol content (ABV - Alcohol By Volume), aromas, and flavours.
LaForce and Benzazzouz guide us through the range of beers and although it is perceived that nachos, chicken wings, pizza, fries and other deep fried salty eats reign supreme with these thirst quenching suds, the brewmasters suggest approachable food pairings that can elevate your eating and drinking game.
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White
IBU 18, ABV 4.7%
Although it's considered a 'beginner's beer' because it is the mildest of the bunch, don't confuse that for a lack of flavour.
On the Palate: Mild bitterness, citrus, wheat. Light and refreshing.
Food Pairings: The beer is delicate; pair it with lobster rolls (go light on dressing), bruschetta crostini with balsamic drizzle.
Blonde
IBU 24, ABV 5.2%
It's malty and dry and slightly more intense than White.
On the Palate: Crisp, clean. Does not linger on the palate. There's a subtle bitterness that's pleasing.
Food Pairings: Cheese platter (goat cheese and Asiago work really well), grilled chicken skewers with spicy cream sauce.
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IPA (India Pale Ale)
IBU 60, ABV 6%
Aggressive bitterness. You either love IPAs or hate them. In fact, the brewmasters note that compared with other IPAs on the market, this one is decidedly more 'tame' than other ones you can find.
On the Palate: Bold bitterness that lingers, back notes of citrus. Aftertaste of biscuit and burnt caramel.
Food Pairings: Panko sausage fritters with sriracha mayo (yes, these are deep fried, but the pork is seasoned with fennel and coated in panko-- which gives the meat loads of flavour and texture), spicy breaded pickles.
Amber
IBU 26, ABV 6.2%
It's a deep bronzed colour and considered more of a dessert beer. Bigger and bolder flavours offered with a touch of bitterness to cut through the sweetness.
On the Palate: Luscious, mellow caramel with a slight bitter edge. Biscuit, light coffee and toffee notes.
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Food Pairings: Bacon wrapped steak skewers, grilled button mushrooms.
Brown
IBU 27, ABV 4.8%
Creamy, very malty and rich. Intensely aromatic. Silky on the tongue.
On the Palate: Roundness of dark chocolate, espresso, burnt caramel, finished with bittersweet edge.
Food Pairings: Chocolate brownies, braised beef and stews, creme brulee.
In light of our tasting, we opted for a blonde beer with seasonal ingredients to celebrate the summer. We chose a blonde beer 'base' and 'steeped' in the following items: Belgian 'candi' syrup, fresh grapefruit peel, pink peppercorn, and raw coconut.
Spaces Images via Getty Images Chateau Frontecac illuminated at night, Quebec, Canada
The safety of an area is always top of mind when searching for a new home. Statistics Canada recently released their study on police-reported crimes in 2015. The 2015 report examines the Crime Severity Index (CSI), which measures the volume as well as the seriousness of each crime in comparison to others.
This year marked the first time in 12 years that Canada experienced an increase in CSI -- up five per cent year over year. The overall volume and severity of violent crime was up six per cent, while non-violent crime was up four per cent from 2014 to 2015. The significant increase in Alberta's police-reported crime contributed to the national increase. On a positive note, however, the CSI is still 31 per cent lower when compared to ten years ago in 2005.
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This rise in the CSI is largely attributed to more incidences of fraud, breaking and entering, robbery, and homicide. More than half -- eight out of 13 provinces and territories -- reported an increase in the CSI by the end of last year.Alberta experienced the largest increase (+18 per cent), which was largely attributed to more reported incidents of breaking and entering, theft of $5,000 or under, and motor vehicle theft. This was followed by New Brunswick (+12 per cent), the Northwest Territories (+10 per cent) and Saskatchewan (+10 per cent). Ontario's increased two per cent, due to a rise in police-reported fraud.
However, there were a number of provinces and territories that witnessed a decrease in CSI including, Prince Edward Island (-10 per cent), Nova Scotia (-7 per cent), Nunavut (-4 per cent), Quebec (-3 per cent) and Yukon (-2twe per cent).
Out of the 33 census metropolitan areas (CMAs), 20 reported an increase in CSI. Moncton had a 20-per-cent increase in CSI, Victoria and Edmonton both experienced a 16-per-cent increase, and Abbotsford-Mission had a 14-per-cent increase. Calgary was up 29 per cent -- the largest year-over-year increase. This jump was largely due to an increase of breaking and entering, theft under $5,000 and motor vehicle theft. These types of crime were also responsible for the uptick in New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories.
Saskatoon and Regina had the highest increase in CSIs, a trend that has sustained itself since 2010, with a 112.5 and 107.6 CSI respectively. Other cities with high CSIs were Edmonton, Kelowna, Abbotsford-Mission and Vancouver.
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These cities also experienced an increase in traditional crime rate, which looks at the volume of police-reported crime relative to the population size, and led to a national increase of three per cent. The highest increases were found in Calgary, with a 25-per-cent increase, and Moncton, experiencing a 21-per-cent increase. However, similar to the CSI, crime rates have also been on a downward trend since the early 90s.
Naturally, notable increases in both CSI and crime rate raise questions about safety in cities across Canada. That said, we've rounded the top 10 safest cities, based on data from Statistics Canada. So which ones came out on top? Hint: the safest cities all reside in two provinces, Ontario and Quebec.
Here is the full list of each CMA's CSI and crimes rates from western to eastern Canada:
Read more on YPNextHome.
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Peter Nicholls / Reuters
At the start of last year's leadership election, before Jeremy Corbyn had announced his candidacy, I ran a survey via the Local Government Association Labour Group asking Councillors for feedback on the General Election campaign and lessons we could learn for the future.
The majority of Councillors responded saying they did not believe Labour could win a General Election in 2020. This view was also widely held by Labour Party many members. As the Leadership debate progressed, there was a danger of this view becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Without the belief in our ability to win General elections, there was the risk we would stop behaving like a serious party of government.
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Discussions within the Labour Party rapidly turned to debates about whether winning elections is actually important. Things became increasingly polarised, ideological purity became increasingly important. People questioned whether we even wanted to be attractive to Tory voters.
A year later, we are set to spend another summer talking to ourselves and the debate doesn't seem to have moved on. In the 2015 General Election Labour lost over a million voters directly to the Conservatives. There is no route to Downing Street that does not include winning over (and indeed winning back) voters from the Conservatives.
The thing I am finding most frustrating is that discussions about the future of the Labour Party seem to be incredibly Westminster-centric. The Labour Party is about much more than what goes on in parliament. Labour runs over 150 councils in cities and towns across the country. Everyday our Labour councils demonstrate the difference voting Labour makes.
Despite massive Tory cuts to our budgets, Labour Councils are delivering for our communities, finding creative solutions to the different challenges we face. Our Council Leaders and Mayors are arguable more influential than our MPs. Our Councillors in opposition are flying the flag for Labour values in areas where we may never elect a Labour MP.
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Whoever is elected leader, the current tensions in the PLP will be hard to reconcile. This has led to speculation and rumours about Labour splitting. Splitting would be a short-term, Westminster-centric solution to the problems we face. The Conservatives are delighted by the prospect, particularly as a split in local government could hand control of numerous Councils over to them.
Splitting will not solve Labours many problems, which have been decades in the making and could take decades to address.
In the midst of our chaos, Theresa May will continue to try to directly appeal to our voters. Along with others, I argued for policies like workers on boards to be included in our 2015 manifesto. Expect to see more of our populist policies adopted by May's Conservatives.
Labour faces an existential crisis. Now is not the time to repeat the mistakes of the past on steroids. Instead of just retreating to our comfort zones and talking to ourselves, Labour must demonstrate we are a serious, credible political party worthy of public support.
Outside Westminster, Labour in local government does this every day. Our 7,000 Labour Councillors hold views across the political spectrum within the board church of Labour values. We understand the importance of compromise and have become adept at delivering for our different communities when resources are scare. As Labour seeks to win back public trust, the common sense voices of local government need to be heard more than ever.
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It is also worth remembering that Councillors are now the biggest single funders of the Labour Party. Our contributions to campaigning are enormous. If anyone owns the Labour brand, it is us in local government.
Women's Health Magazine ditches the body-shaming headlines. Image via Instagram @womenshealthmag
A revolutionary step has been taken by Women's Health Magazine in the fight against body-shaming. They have promised to ditch body-shaming language in their magazine. No-longer will they brandish headlines such as 'Are you beach-body ready?' 'How to drop two dress sizes', instead they will focus on the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Contrary to society's belief, a healthy lifestyle is not denoted by size, being healthy will mean something different for each and every one of us. Women's Health's ban on body-shaming headlines has come at a time when we are beginning to see a shift in our society.
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Focus on improving your lifestyle, not your dress size. Being healthy is far more empowering than reaching a specific size. Image via Instagram @ukwomenshealth
Shift from focus on weight-loss to fitness
Though we have all been brainwashed by the media into thinking that one size equals beauty, we are beginning to see a cultural shift in how society celebrates physical appearance. For years, we have focused on our weight and size, but now the realisation that you can be fit and toned at so many different sizes is starting to gain traction.
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Each and every one of us is different. Embrace your differences and aim for health. Image via Instagram @ukwomenshealth
This movement is recognised and promoted by significant figures in our society. Sadiq Khan, London's Mayor, took a stance against this negative body talk by banning body-shaming adverts from London's Public Transport network. Jennifer Anniston has also spoken out, via the Huffington Post, about the scrutiny we put women through calling it, 'absurd and distrubring.' She also described the stereotypical standard of beauty as 'warped' and urged us all to make our own decisions about what makes us happy and beautiful.
It is reassuring to see that slowly but surely, the media are taking some responsibility for and action against body-shaming. Women's Health Magazine is leading the charge with their ban on body-shaming headlines, closely followed by Sport's Illustrated Magazine who featured Ashley Graham, a 'plus-size' model, on their latest swimwear edition.
Together, we are making small steps in celebrating the female physical power, focusing on strength and fitness, not size. Being fit and healthy is becoming easier with the introduction of apps such as FitBit, which are there to support us in maintaining our health and fitness. We are becoming a health conscious society, which coupled with a shift in mindset, will empower us to become more body confident.
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We should all aim to be our optimum strength and fitness, not a specific dress size. Image via Instagram @ukwomenshealth
It seems that as a nation we no longer associate skinny with being healthy or beautiful. We are valuing the strength and power of our own bodies and the benefit of having a strong and fit body over reaching a certain size. Working with our bodies to achieve our optimum fitness is far more empowering than striving for unrealistic weight-loss goals.
Promoting change
If we are to truly revolutionise the way we see our bodies and develop a nation of body confident people, judgement of people's choices to change their bodies, to improve their lifestyle, should be eradicated. Body-shaming whether it is for those gaining or loosing weight is unacceptable and creates massive pressure on society to conform. In order to feel confident about how we look, we all need to stop commenting on the choices others make to improve their health and fitness. Body confidence should not come at the price of being judged, we should be free to make the changes we desire to maintain our fitness.
Do you think focusing on our fitness instead of our size is the way to improve our body confidence?
It's the fourteenth consecutive hottest month on record. The Louvre Museum of Art in Paris was recently forced to defend its collection from abnormal flooding. And in that same city, at the end of last year, world leaders agreed a deal on climate change with the hope of protecting people, ecosystems and cities at risk of sinking in the future.
Campaigners hold a "protest festival" inside the British Museum. Photo by Anna Branthwaite.
It is against this backdrop that, in May, the British Museum launched its new 'Sunken Cities' exhibition, sponsored by BP. Now, not content with the irony of a fossil fuel company sponsoring sunken cities, the museum has doubled down. Last week, alongside the Royal Opera House, National Portrait Gallery and Royal Shakespeare Company, it was announced that the British Museum would be renewing its sponsorship deal with BP for a further five years. Many were taken aback by a decision so out of step with the growing mood across the cultural sector that oil companies - like arms and tobacco companies - do not make ethical sponsors.
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In today's Times, over 200 artists, authors, actors, musicians, scientists, researchers and campaigners have demanded that the new deal 'must be dropped', and that museums and galleries 'must play a positive role in taking urgent climate action and defending human rights.'
Alongside renowned figures in the arts world, such as Oscar-winning actor Mark Rylance and respected composer Matthew Herbert, the 200 signatories include those from frontline and Indigenous peoples' struggles against BP around the world, from Canada to Australia, the Gulf Coast to Colombia. One of the signatories, Benny Wenda, is the exiled West Papuan independence leader and part of a campaign running a global boycott of BP over its collusion with the repressive Indonesian regime. BP's corporate crimes and rights abuses have been raised time and time again inside these sponsored institutions through creative protest, by groups such as Liberate Tate, Platform and BP or not BP?
But the British Museum has once again turned a blind eye and decided to take BP's cash regardless. And by claiming that BP's money is too important to turn down, the British Museum has made a bold statement: that the museum's version of culture is more important to defend than those defending their cultures against its sponsor.
We should not allow these cultural institutions to just 'take the money and run'. The widely held view that BP is not an appropriate sponsor is not just a matter of opinion. The British Museum's own Sustainable Development policy states that the museum will 'endeavour to incorporate sustainable development issues into future policy decision making at all levels'. But BP's business plans are wildly out of step with the consensus on climate change. Most of the oil and gas on BP's books cannot be burned, but the company continues to explore, drill and act counter to the UN Paris Climate deal, being the most effective lobbyist against climate action in the whole of Europe. In reality, the British Museum has incorporated unsustainable fossil fuel use into its policy decisions for well into the 2020s.
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BP's sponsorship has only ever made up a small proportion of museum and gallery budgets - less than 1%. And - in direct contradiction to BP's claims - despite arts funding cuts, free entry to our biggest national museums and galleries is protected by the government. BP and other corporate sponsors are nevertheless keen to claim the credit and link themselves to this commitment to accessibility.
In reality, BP has just slashed the size of its payments to cultural institutions by a quarter. The company blames this cut - and its decision to pull out of sponsoring the Tate and Edinburgh International Festival earlier this year - on the low oil price and a 'challenging business environment'. To trot out this lie again, when it still made 550m in profit last quarter, and just months ago gave its CEO a pay rise much higher than all of its arts sponsorship put together, is a reflection of a failed PR strategy. There is no question that this is cheap advertising for BP, and that publicly funded cultural institutions are sustained not by corporate sponsors but by taxpayers.
By renewing its arts sponsorship, BP is attempting to renew its 'social license to operate' - its appearance as a socially responsible company in the eyes of the public and policy-makers. But fundamentally, the debate around oil sponsorship is about asking who our publicly funded museums and galleries are for.
It also forces us to ask questions about cuts to the arts. Unsurprisingly, last week's sponsorship announcement was celebrated as 'excellent news' on Twitter by the new culture minister Matthew Hancock. But he is part of a government that has made excessive cuts to the arts budget while failing to clamp down on the tax avoidance of companies like BP. Instead, the government have offered up billions of public funds in subsidies and tax breaks to oil companies.
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We should not accept corporate sponsorship or privatisation in the arts as a given, and be short-changed on the values that should be at the heart of our art-making. Starting today, it's time we made these museums and galleries properly accountable to the public, and not to BP.
In the weeks after the Paris attacks in November over 150 concerned children called the NSPCC's ChildLine in the UK. Young people clearly want to talk about extremism.
Unfortunately, extremists are increasingly eager to talk to young people, and they have been proving more successful than ever before. An estimated 760 UK citizens have travelled to Syria or Iraq, with up to 50 thought to be under 18. This has included both high profile cases of teenage boys and girls, but also whole families of parents, children, and even infants.
According to figures released last month, in 2015 over 1,300 referrals to the government's Channel intervention programme were from the education sector. Under-18s accounted for 54% of all referrals to the programme. Only around one in five were considered vulnerable to radicalisation and received specialist support, yet this is still far too many.
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Intolerance, hatred and extremism can have a devastating impact on not only children, but also families, communities and society as a whole. It is a complex problem, with a quarter of referrals requiring Channel support related to far-right extremism and racism. The terrible murder of Jo Cox and the rise in hate crimes in the weeks surrounding the EU referendum are testament to the threat. The dangers of a resurgence in dissident republican youth should also not be ignored (nor overplayed), with the threat level in Northern Ireland raised to "substantial" only in May.
Depressingly the situation is mirrored in our schools, with an increase in the number of racist incidents reported in recent years accompanying widespread misconceptions around Muslims and immigration among pupils.
Amidst this context the government introduced the new statutory Prevent duty last July, legally obliging schools to safeguard children from "being drawn into terrorism". Too often in the past year this has meant well-meaning but ill-equipped teachers referring potential concerns that later turn out to be misplaced. There must be a mechanism in place for support where there are significant concerns for a child's safety, but only as a last resort.
High-profile but unnecessary referrals obscure the positive, proactive role schools can play in helping young people openly discuss and debate these issues in the classroom and creating an institutional culture of respect, belonging and purpose. We should educate all young people about the true nature of extremism, but more importantly equip them with the skills they need to think critically, for themselves. Teachers must be provided with the training, tools and confidence to do this effectively.
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That's why we've launched Extreme Dialogue in the UK, a series of freely available short films and educational resources to get young people, teachers, and parents talking to one another about extremism.
The short films tell the stories of two people profoundly impacted by extremism, a former member of Al-Muhajiroun, and a former member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) whose father was killed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The films are about real people, raw and unscripted. They do not lecture, they simply tell their own stories in their own words.
We recognise that addressing extremism can be daunting for teachers, so we have produced educational resources around the two stories that help spark conversations and create a safe environment for pupils and staff to feel heard. The resources contain exercises and activities that encourage pupils to engage critically with complex, emotive and controversial issues, and consider the causes, consequences and effects of extremist violence.
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Technology has revolutionised the way we communicate and seek information. Unfortunately these tools are also available to extremists, and present an attractive avenue for spreading propaganda and grooming potential recruits. We must equip young people with the digital literacy skills to become more discerning consumers of information. The educational resources therefore challenge commonly-held myths and consider the impact of the media and social media on public discourse.
Extremists exploit the inherent idealism of young people by offering simplistic solutions to complex problems. Consistently poor turnout among young voters is a symptom of our current inability to ignite enough of this passion in a positive way. The Extreme Dialogue resources therefore also explore how young people can help shape the world they want to live in, and challenge the extreme ideas that threaten it.
Extreme Dialogue will not turn people already involved in extremist movements away. Our aim with this project is not just to keep young people safe from harm in the first place, but also provide them with invaluable life skills to prepare them for the future. We also want to ensure teachers have the tools they need to feel confident covering sensitive topics. We therefore hope young people watch, share and think about the Extreme Dialogue films, and urge teachers to get in touch if they would like to find out more about the resources.
Tackling extremism of all kinds is a challenge we must face together. Unfortunately, extremists do not underestimate the importance of education. They use it to indoctrinate and exploit children. They attack schools and universities, and kidnap and murder pupils, teachers and academics because they fear genuine education. If we do not actively confront their abhorrent views they will take advantage of our silence. Young people will make up their own minds. We need to make sure they get the facts.
According to the Electoral Commission in the UK, all voters should have the right to cast their vote independently and privately. However, for those with disabilities, blindness or partial sight, this is not always the case. There are still significant barriers for particular groups of voters when it comes to claiming their right to an independent, private and secure vote, leaving many feeling ignored and excluded from the democratic process. It's clear that for many with disabilities and visual impairment, modernising the electoral process is not just a matter of convenience, it's a necessity.
Disabled and visually impaired voters currently have a number of options when it comes to casting their vote, with Electoral Commission guidance stating that polling stations must take proactive steps to ensure these groups are not at a disadvantage. For example, voters may request assistance from the Presiding Officer at the polling station to help mark the ballot paper on their behalf or bring a family member to help them vote, both of which clearly eliminate their right to secrecy. Proxy and postal voting are other options and rely on individuals having a trusted friend or family member who can cast their vote - again, voters must forfeit their right to privacy and secrecy with either of these options.
Tactile voting devices enabling visually impaired voters to mark their ballot paper in secret are a step forward, as well as the provision of large-print versions of ballot papers for reference before casting a vote. But let's not forget that most of these options rely on voters having access to polling stations, which we know is not always the case. Indeed, just last year there was a well publicised example of a wheelchair user being unable to access his local polling station. In this instance, the Presiding Officer proceeded to offer the voter the option of completing his ballot paper in a public street - his voting rights were almost completely eradicated on the basis of his disability.
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Technology holds the key to enabling those with disabilities and visual impairment to vote privately, securely and independently - in other words, to participate in the electoral process on equal terms. Indeed, the option of casting a secure and private vote using either online or telephone voting technology has been available for some time and utilised by governments around the world. So perhaps rather than asking 'when' the UK is going to provide citizens with disabilities the option of alternative voting channels, the question should be why these groups, and indeed all voters, dont have access to secure and private voting already?
Voting technology can play a key role in ensuring everyone can cast a secure and unassisted vote, as well addressing typical problems such as votes being invalidated by unintended marks on the ballot paper and voters not having access, for whatever reason, to a polling station. Online voting, for example, uses encryption so voters can transmit their ballot papers over the internet, and from the privacy of their own home if they wish, privately and securely. Similarly, for those who can and want to attend a polling station on Election Day, online voting using PCs, tablets or smart devices can be utilised on location and adapted for the specific needs of disabled or visually impaired voters, from screen readers to sip and puff devices. The options go very far beyond rudimentary tactile voting devices and large-print ballot papers.
Similarly, telephone voting utilising both voice and telephone keypad options offer voters with limited mobility the choice of a private vote in their home or at a polling station. This technology makes voting extremely easy but more importantly is an excellent alternative for absentee voters, improving their voting experience without having to give up their right to a private and secure vote. It also ensures there are options available for voters who might have minimal internet coverage, if they live in a remote area, for example, or perhaps no computer access at all.
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Downing Street is used to political battles, but yesterday a more 'Paw-litical' one was taking place between Larry and Palmerston, the Downing Street cats.
Larry is no. 10's resident chief mouser and has been living, happily, at the Westminster residence for more than 6 years. Although, his reign of top cat has recently been threatened by the Foreign Office adopted Palmerston, another cat from Battersea Dogs and Cats home.
Cat behaviour can be extremely complex and some cats do not cope well with change in their environment, and like Larry, many cats are happier living without other cats, however, this cannot always be the case unfortunately.
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So I thought I'd provide the Downing Street residents and anyone else in the same situation some top tips for introducing cats to one another.
Before you introduce your new cat
You can integrate a new cat into your home by ensuring that the new pet smells of "home" before being introduced to the resident cat, as scent is an important communication method for them. Gather scents from the new cat's head by gently stroking with a soft cloth and dabbing this around your home and furniture to mix and spread the scents. You may also wish to swap the bedding of your animals to enable them to smell each other prior to meeting.
Create a calm environment
When you initially introduce a new cat to your pet make sure the house is as calm as it can be. Avoid introducing cats when there are a lot of people around or when there is loud music playing.
Introduce new animals gradually
It is important to introduce animals to your cat gradually, make sure that the cats have some time on their own away from each other. Problems can arise if initial meetings are allowed to deteriorate into a fight or chase. The best way to avoid this is to use a kittening pen or cat carrier for initial introductions.
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If cats just don't like each other
Cats who aren't friendly to one another, don't like to share, or even start fights like Larry and Palmerston, must be kept apart. If your cats just don't get along, make sure to provide space to avoid each other at all times and accessibility to everything they need without having to pass one another.
Remember that most cats will only be friendly with cats they grew up with and may not accept new cats into the home, especially new adult cats.
Jonathan Brady/PA Wire
Better out than in. Owen Jones's Questions all Jeremy Corbyn supporters need to answer is the public climax to a private campaign of criticism of the Labour leader which Owen initiated within 24 hours of Corbyn's election last September.
Barely had the votes been counted to give Jeremy his unprecedented mandate than Owen was embarking on his "it's all going wrong" shtick to anyone who would listen. Some may now see this as the act of one whose prescience borders on genius, others as a campaign of petulant resentment by a celeb no longer quite as centre-stage as he was accustomed to being.
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Whatever, his assertion that "I cannot even begin to put into words how much I've agonised over Labour's terrible plight" is the one flat untruth in his blog, as can be attested to by anyone who has suffered his foaming hour-long reviews of the disasters that have attended Team Corbyn's failure to follow his advice to the letter.
That said, Owen's nine questions are mostly important ones and do deserve consideration. His blog would have been better had he stuck to them, rather than prefacing the interrogation with more than 2,000 words of pre-emptive self-justification which I am afraid make Simon Cowell look like a paragon of understated modesty. Nevertheless, there is an illumination in the prolonged preface too, in terms of where Owen is actually coming from.
Owen lists various charges he anticipates being made against him for his apostasy. Some are ridiculous - no-one thinks he is a Blairite, or really expects that he has been gagged by the Guardian, or that he has never been left-wing etc. As to whether he is a careerist, really only Owen himself can answer that, and it is not terribly important either way - there are many different routes to career advancement, as he doubtless had in mind when he turned down the offer to work for Jeremy as leader when it was made last August.
The more interesting charge which he himself raises is the allegation that "I support the coup against Corbyn." His plea of "not guilty" is no better than a half-truth. I am sure Owen had nothing to do with instigating the shameful moves in the PLP but he has certainly been no advocate of resisting them. On the contrary, from the first tremors he has defaulted to his accustomed panic mode and argued for the left dumping Jeremy and replacing him with Clive Lewis (without Clive's endorsement, be it said). So, not exactly supporting the coup, but not exactly resisting it either.
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It appears plain that the crisis Owen sees looming over the left is in part rooted in no more than his strongly-held belief that his advice has not been given the weight it deserves over the last ten months. Perhaps on some points he is right, although I wish he would not assert that "the most important advice I could give was that first impressions were critical" as if this was a unique insight which he alone had been mandated to bring to the unenlightened. A commonplace is a commonplace, even if presented as the last word in columnar wisdom.
But Owen is right that mistakes have been made. Some are down to inexperience and a lack of preparation, some are due to the difficulties in getting the right people in the right posts (shame you sat this out, Owen) and, yes, some are more culpably down to a rather passive attitude towards grappling with the real challenges of leadership: building a strong team, extending alliances, getting a grip on difficult issues and people etc.
Far more are down to the unremitting attack the Corbyn leadership has been under from day one, mainly from a symbiotic alliance of the right-wing of the PLP and the mass media, for all of whom a left leadership of the Labour Party is a standing affront to the natural order of things which must be rectified without delay. Even a leader with the rhetorical skills of a Bevan, the policy chops of Sidney and Beatrice Webb, the party management guile of Harold Wilson and the strength of will of Lenin, would have been taxed. Owen would do better to give greater weight to these factors. Without addressing them, all the words in the world about wanting a left government are for the wind, since these are the real obstacles and opponents which need to be overcome. In that sense, yes, the analogy with the miners' strike which Owen airily dismisses is apposite - these are different fronts in one struggle, and a prerequisite for victory in any or all is unity, loyalty, self-discipline and self-effacement in the common cause. These virtues I commend to Owen.
Now, to the questions which Corbyn supporters must answer (but which Owen doesn't answer himself, despite his capacity to do so, perhaps because he has now excused himself from the category).
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1) The opinion polling
Owen is not alone in preferring opinion polling to the votes cast by actual people in real elections - it is the general setting of the mainstream media in reporting politics. In this case, it is helpful in supporting his argument because, as he acknowledges somewhat sotto voce, Labour's election results under the Corbyn leadership have not been that bad. Not good enough, as Jeremy has publicly acknowledged, but by no means bad enough to justify panic. Corbyn Labour polls as well as Miliband Labour, and rather better than Brown Labour in fact. So Owen rests his catastrophism on recent, admittedly very bad, opinion polling. The figures he cites reflect two things above all - the novelty of Theresa May's premiership, which will obviously boost Tory ratings for a honeymoon period, and the chaos into which the coup plotters plunged the Labour Party after 24 June.
It is a truism that divided parties do not win public support or elections, and this is now being proved in spades. If Owen wished to examine polling over a somewhat longer period he would find that, before these two developments, Labour was near-level or even occasionally ahead of the Conservatives in some surveys. Not good enough, to repeat, and certainly not sufficient for victory in a real election, but indicative of a more nuanced story.
So how do we turn those figures around? First of all, we need unity. A willingness on all sides to respect Jeremy's mandate if he is re-elected will help. Second, a clearer and simpler policy prospectus addressing people's core concerns for security at work, in the communities and in society. Third, build a strong team in the shadow cabinet and beyond which people can trust to deliver on that agenda. Fourth, harass the Tories and their weaknesses at every turn, rather than fighting each other. And fifth, frame all this politics in a vision of what Britain could become under a progressive Labour government beholden to working people, rather than the bankers and the super-rich. Challenging, of course, impossible, no. And a better approach than wallowing in despair.
2) The vision thing
Owen criticises Ed Miliband's grasshopper approach to a political vision and contrasts it with the ruthless clarity of Tory messaging. He is right about that, and also right that Labour's vision needs to be expressed in a clearer and sharper fashion. Many of the elements of such a vision are there already - investment over cuts, public intervention over leave-it-to-the-market, peace and international law over aggression, closing the wealth gap over the unequal society.
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Yes, this needs to be the subject of a sharper focus and a more direct transition into practical policies. But it is wrong to ignore the systematic obstruction that has been placed in our way over the last year, where every policy announcement (and there have been at least twenty new policies launched in the last ten months) has been accompanied by gratuitous backbench sniping, turning every Labour policy story into an internal row story. I think there are few Labour members or voters who will not respond positively to a vision of the sort set out here when it is placed front-and-centre by a united Party.
3) 2015 revisited?
In a related criticism, Owen finds Labour policy insufficiently different from where Ed Miliband had left it. I will not repeat points made in answer to previous questions. The issue here is a different one - Miliband had indeed moved Labour policy on from "New Labour" dogmas in some significant respects, including on austerity, the NHS, inequality and state intervention. There is no point in positioning ourselves to the left of Miliband just for the sake of it.
However, there was a widespread public belief that Ed did not have the courage of his convictions, that he would actually overcome the doubters and dissidents in his own Shadow Cabinet and chart a different course. He seemed hesitant, as if hoping no-one would notice that he had tiptoed away from the Blair nostrums. No-one could say that of Jeremy Corbyn.
Take the Iraq/Syria issue, which Owen raises. Ed's approach to Iraq was a mealy-mouthed regret, anxious not to offend those of his colleagues who had voted for the war; while he seemed positively embarrassed to have won the vote in the Commons against bombing Syria. By contrast, Jeremy has led unashamedly and from the front on these questions - his record cannot be gainsaid. People do not just want policies, they want conviction politicians who stick up for what they believe in, come what may. That is the Corbyn difference.
4) Media strategy
Given his trade, and his skill at practising it, it is surprising that Owen's comments are shallowest on the matter of media strategy. Indeed, much of his approach seems to involve bombarding us with statistics on his own personal immense social media reach. When he is not busy burnishing Brand Jones, Owen offers poor advice - no, no public figure should "appear on TV at every opportunity", whatever the agenda; and getting press releases out on time is hardly a strategy. He is also wildly unrealistic.
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Owen writes:
"Corbyn often seems entirely missing in action, particularly at critical moments: Theresa May becoming the new Prime Minister, the appointment of Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary, the collapse of the Government's economic strategy, the abolition of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, soaring hate crimes after Brexit, and so on. Where have been the key media interventions here?"
All these events took place in the days and weeks after the launching of the coup against Corbyn. Most of the Shadow Cabinet had resigned, and around sixty frontbenchers in total. A vote of no-confidence had been tabled and passed in the PLP. Does anyone really think Jeremy could have credibly popped up on TV talking about Theresa May, or climate change, or BoJo under those circumstances? Would he not have been skewered by any half-competent interviewer with questions regarding his own position?
Again, I do not accuse Owen of support for the coup against Jeremy. But he seems bent on ignoring its consequences (or even its very occurrence) at every turn. And he should also understand one fact as well as anyone: there is absolutely no possibility, none whatsoever, of Jeremy getting a fair hearing from any of the corporate-controlled media, nor from the BBC as detailed independent research has confirmed, no more than capitalists will hand over all their worldly goods to the poor. They exist to defeat the left, not enable it.
So a media strategy must start from that point. It is not a matter of exaggerating the reach of the various social media platforms, as much as of recognising their potential as a vehicle for getting around the mass media roadblock. Their role seems only likely to grow. Of course, this must be supplemented by other ways of reaching people, from local broadcasters to mass-market magazines to developing Labour's own media. But if Owen is suggesting a reprise of flying half-way round the world to pay court to Rupert Murdoch, forget it. It may have worked for Blair personally, but it did nothing for Labour.
5) The older vote
On this point - building Labour support in the over-44 demographic - Owen acknowledges that Jeremy has some attractive policies that need more consistent presentation. We are all on the same page there. Personally, I am not sure this is exactly the right approach, however. Older people (particularly if so expansively defined) do not dwell in a separate box wherein they are motivate solely by policies appealing to their direct self-interest or their anxieties about their own future. They too can respond to a broad vision as to how society could be, and can be won to vote in what they perceive as their children or grand-children's interests as much as their own.
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6) Scotland
A year ago, Owen wrote this about Labour's position in Scotland:
"Scotland cannot be won back straight away, even if this is a test Jeremy's opponents will set. As things stand, Labour face being wiped out in next May's Holyrood elections. The SNP won 6 Westminster seats in 2010; in 2015 they won 56. Huge Labour majorities became huge SNP majorities. The SNP's lead in Scottish opinion polls is astronomical. Scottish Labour as a party currently remains a husk. The idea such a profound political shift simply be suddenly turned around -- even though Jeremy is by far the best candidate to do so -- in a matter of months is fantasy land stuff."
This was a sensible and realistic approach to a very tough question. So far, events in Scotland's politics have come to pass as Owen predicted. So it is hard to understand why this test Jeremy's opponents have indeed set is now being pressed in aid by Owen.
Nevertheless, Owen is right that it is a serious challenge. One thing I think we should all have learned by now is that it is not a challenge that can be addressed from London. Scottish Labour deserve all the support we can give them in trying to find a way to counter the SNP juggernaut and regain Labour's lost positions - it is our comrades north of the border who must take the lead. It would be idle to pretend that the position is going to be turned around rapidly. But if anyone English can help Scottish Labour address the concerns of Scottish voters turned off by a legacy of bureaucratic managerialism, it is Corbyn.
7) Winning Tories
Jeremy has outlined several attractive policies which could help win some Tory converts. Conservative voters too are concerned about the chronic shortage of affordable housing, about their children leaving university mired in debt and about widening inequality (although I would not place too many hopes on solar panels as a vote-switcher, it is true). Owen dismisses all this too casually, without really suggesting any alternative strategies.
The challenge Labour faces of course is projecting policies which at one and the same time convert Tory voters, stop defections to Ukip, win votes from Liberals and Greens and mobilise working-class abstainers. There is no point in targeting just one of these constituencies in isolation from the others, as Owen does. That way lies a fragmented and contradictory prospectus which will easily fall apart under scrutiny. The issue of winning Tories to vote Labour depends ultimately on the broader vision question already addressed.
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8) Immigration
Owen is right that immigration is a nettle that has to be grasped, particularly in the context of arresting any drift of core Labour support towards Ukip. There is little doubt that it played a significant part in the outcome of the EU referendum. Addressing the issues means, among other things, separating the question of support for refugees from that of the free movement of labour across Europe.
The latter has undoubtedly contributed to a lowering of wages at the less skilled end of the labour market because 30 years of labour market deregulation by Westminster had left people without protection. But Jeremy Corbyn has been bang on the money in highlighting how concerns about immigration are more often than not concerns about poor housing, lack of jobs, cuts in social provision and pressure on public services. Brexit, unwelcome as it may be, at least provides an opportunity to argue for greater regulation of our labour market through the implementation of sectoral collective bargaining so wages can't be undercut, while absolutely upholding the right of all migrants living in Britain to remain here.
9) Mobilising the members
The near-trebling of Labour's membership over the last year or so is a tremendous breakthrough, refuting the entrenched assumption that political parties are doomed to wither on the vine and cannot attract the young. It is right that Owen hails it as an achievement, and asks how we can make more of it. It is a potent campaigning force for progressive politics.
First of all, we need to move past this period of internal conflict and bitter rows (although nowhere near as bitter at the grassroots as they are in Parliament) and turn outwards to the rest of the population. And, yes, we must be welcoming and tolerant of difference as Owen suggests.
But really Owen's problem here seems to be that he has been criticised by some Party members (indeed, too many of these issues appear to turn on Owen's own personal experiences, a solipsistic approach he would do well to discard). It is unavoidable that those who thrust themselves forward in public debate and take controversial positions are going to have to take it in some measure as long as they keep dishing it out. This should not distract from a united campaign to take the new agenda Labour is developing out to the millions.
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I have addressed the questions Owen himself raised. There are others, at least as important for Labour's future, which he has not asked of Corbyn's supporters. One of course is how we handle Brexit and its aftermath, an issue about which Labour members are deeply and rightly concerned. Our job is to help Jeremy put together a progressive agenda which brings our country together in the face of Brexit, thus healing the deep wounds that the referendum created. At least Owen has not joined in the chorus of unjustified attacks on Jeremy concerning the referendum campaign, possibly because he has been a bit of a flip-flopper on the matter itself. Another critical issue is rebuilding unity in the Parliamentary Labour Party and establishing a strong fighting Opposition to the government in the Commons once the leadership election is behind us. Rumours of splits and continuing obstruction from the right of the Party need to be addressed, as well as the need for the Leadership to work in a way that is at once more dynamic and more inclusive. Since Owen has not highlighted these issues, I merely note them for further debate in the near future.
"Call me a Blairite, Tory establishment stooge careerist, sell-out whatever makes you feel better," Owen concludes. I will do none of these things. I will not go further than saying I would not like to be in a trench alongside Owen under heavy shelling. The events of the last month, which he mainly ignores, have represented an unprecedented attack on an elected Leader of the Party. They are part of a move to break the power and influence of the Left that Owen claims to represent. It is a moment for solidarity, not back-stabbing. Owen's concerns, many of them quite legitimate, could have been expressed privately. Raising them in the way he has, certain to give comfort to the Left's opponents, speaks for itself.
I have tried to address all his questions. Let me ask just one of Owen in return, since he left the answer obscure in his blog: Who are you supporting for the Labour leadership?
The answer will tell us if the shark has been truly jumped. But either way most of the left will recognise that we are in the fight of our lives - not just for our policies and vision, but for democratic decency and for the hope of a Labour government that will do more than just manage the affairs of the elite for a period. Owen, with his great talents as a writer and speaker, would be a most welcome ally to have in that effort. But our efforts will continue regardless. As the Arabic saying goes, the dogs may bark but the caravan moves on.
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Boris Johnson's new job as British Foreign Secretary came as a shock surprise to many, but Theresa May's new premiership mark the beginning of the end of the UK's whiplash political crisis, and the UK's entry into the long, drawn out political crisis that is leaving the European Union. But what does that all mean for the UK's Middle East policy?
A clue lies in Boris Johnson's Telegraph column, in which he wrote in 2013: "Tony Blair never visited Qatar once, even though it was a British protectorate until 1971. Well, we are making up for that now."
The UK government is undergoing unprecedented scrutiny into its policies in the Middle East: the Chilcot report exposed just how misguided and wrong the decision to invade Iraq was, casting a shadow on Cameron's own intervention in Libya. Meanwhile, June 2016 saw the first High Court hearing on a case against the government for selling arms to Saudi Arabia - arms which have been used in its war in Yemen, where the kingdom is credibly accused of war crimes.
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The era of intervention is coming to a close at a critical juncture for Britain. The decision to leave the EU will affect the UK's capability to act a global power at a time when the UK is pivoting to expand its influence in the Persian Gulf region and fill the gap that the United States' slow retreat is leaving.
An immediate repercussion to Brexit is the weak negotiating position it places on Britain when it comes to trade deals with other countries, with the two-year negotiations time limit putting the UK up against the clock. Among big investors who the new Foreign and International Trade Secretaries will be eyeing are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar - countries which the UK could become indebted to.
In June, Saudi Arabia strong-armed the UN with threats to pull funding worth $100m unless their names were removed from a blacklist of countries violating children's rights, having been placed there for their aggressive, untargeted bombing in Yemen. Threatened with a funding black hole, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon acquiesced. Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia also warned they would sell off hundreds of billions in American assets if the US Congress passed a bill on 9/11 allowing public investigation into the kingdom's role in the terror attack.
Theresa May's government will face the same issue. Saudi Arabia can come down hard on the UK for any controversies - such as the High Court case on arms sales - which displease them.
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Under David Cameron, the UK was complicit in empowering authoritarianism. The government's response to the execution of Shia cleric and dissident Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was muddled. Government responses to torture in the Gulf is regularly weak, even when the victims are British. Philip Hammond - then Foreign Secretary - praised political reforms in Bahrain in May 2016, on the same day that a politician's prison sentence on charges related to his speech were increased from four years to nine. This was no mistake - see for instance how a UK-funded Bahrain police ombudsman failed utterly to protect a torture victim from receiving the death penalty; the UK hails the same watchdog as a success.
Two months ago, my organisation the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy revealed that Bahrain has "gifted" the construction of a new Royal Navy base, Britain's first in the Persian Gulf since 1971. Such deals reveal the risks of the UK becoming indebted to, and even reliant on, authoritarian kingdoms. These countries' main role in the region has been to contribute to the same instabilities which the UK has helped cause and has been unable - or unwilling - to resolve.
Until now, the UK has been shielded by the failures of its interventions, but Brexit has left the UK exposed. Thousands of refugees continue to stream out of Iraq, destabilised both by the 2003 invasion and the total absence of a post-war reconstruction programme. Thousands more come through Libya, David Cameron's failure. The refugee crisis has been exacerbated by thirteen years of British interventionism.
It would be right for the UK to take greater responsibility for the effects of its interventions - where President Obama has called the aftermath of Libya was the "worst mistake" of his presidency and criticised the UK's and France's contribution to that "shit show", David Cameron avoided admitting responsibility for the anarchy which came after his bombing campaigns. Theresa May must take a more honest approach.
But the greater risk for the UK now is that the uncertainty faced will see negative trends in its foreign policy entrench and dominate during the first post-Brexit years. It may seem economically desirable to accept further "gifts", like the Royal Navy base, and investments from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the Emirates, despite all the strings that come attached, and continue to be complicit in dictatorship. These are countries as repressive as the Saddam regime the UK helped remove.
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With summer in full swing, increasing concerns about the spread of the Zika virus in the United States are raining on our long-awaited parade. The Zika virus infection is a relatively new disease in the western Hemisphere and, to date, there are only a limited number of cases reported in the United States. The hysteria regarding this virus surrounds its potential impact on developing fetuses. After evaluating evidence gathered from many studies over several months, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization announced that Zika definitely causes microcephaly (unusually small heads and damaged brains) in infants born to infected mothers. The Zika virus currently poses a significant public health threat to residents of South America countries, most significantly Brazil, and to Puerto Rico, while the impact here in the United States to date is still unclear even with 10 individuals contracting the virus in Miami just last week. One of the most concerning elements is that the virus has been found in bodily fluids including saliva, blood, urine, amniotic fluids and semen, and has been found to spread through sexual contact (and as mentioned above, from a mother to her unborn child) in addition to mosquito bites. Even more concerning, only 20% of infected people are symptomatic, meaning the rest of those infected with Zika don't know they have it and may not be taking precautions to keep it from spreading, which is especially problematic in cities and high traffic areas like airports.
With all of this media attention, physicians overall might be noticing more patients inquiring about how prevent transmission, more specifically how to safely keep mosquitos and their disease-associated bites away. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is stressing that people need to take steps to prevent mosquito bites with such protectants as ample clothing and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents. Established repellants include ingredients such as: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, paramenthanediol, oil of eucalyptus. Of these listed, DEET has the longest (over 50 years) proven efficacy against the Aedes mosquito (which is known to spread the virus) and safety data above all others. Between 20% to 50% concentration, it is both effective and safe, even in the setting of pregnancy, according to the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Picardin comes in at a close second.
I'm sure we've all encountered schmoozing in the workplace, with potent brown-nosers seeming to flatter their way to the top. Back in 2010 a study from Kellogg Business School examined the various types of schmooze.
It identified seven core methods used to schmooze our way to the top:
The Flattery as Advice Schmooze : Occurs when a person poses a question seeking advice as a way to flatter the subject (i.e. "How were you able to close that deal so successfully?").
: Occurs when a person poses a question seeking advice as a way to flatter the subject (i.e. "How were you able to close that deal so successfully?"). The False Argument Schmooze : Instead of agreeing immediately, a person will yield before accepting his/her manager's opinion (i.e. "At first, I didn't see your point but it makes total sense now. You've convinced me.").
: Instead of agreeing immediately, a person will yield before accepting his/her manager's opinion (i.e. "At first, I didn't see your point but it makes total sense now. You've convinced me."). The Social Schmooze : Praising manager to his/her friends or social network with hopes that word gets back to manager.
: Praising manager to his/her friends or social network with hopes that word gets back to manager. The Bashful Schmooze : Positioning a remark as likely to be embarrassing (i.e. "I don't want to embarrass you but your presentation was really top-notch. Better than most I've seen.").
: Positioning a remark as likely to be embarrassing (i.e. "I don't want to embarrass you but your presentation was really top-notch. Better than most I've seen."). The Conformity Schmooze : Expressing values or morals which are held by one's manager (i.e. "I'm the same way. I believe we should increase minimum wage.").
: Expressing values or morals which are held by one's manager (i.e. "I'm the same way. I believe we should increase minimum wage."). The Social Conformity Schmooze : Covertly learning of manager's opinion(s) from his/her contacts, and then conforming with opinion(s) in conversations with manager.
: Covertly learning of manager's opinion(s) from his/her contacts, and then conforming with opinion(s) in conversations with manager. The Similarity Schmooze: Mentioning an affiliation, such as a religious organization or political party, shared by both individuals. (i.e. "I watched the Republican National Convention last night. The keynote presented some great points.").
For those of us who aren't keen on sucking up the whole affair can appear massively fake and disingenuous, but a recent study in the Academy of Management Journal suggests that schmoozers may actually kid themselves in order to go about their work.
Authenticity is key
The study suggests that the best schoomzers aren't actually faking it at all, because they put an awful lot of effort into actually believing the things they're about to say, hence they come across more convincingly.
The researchers tracked directors in a number of large American companies. Each of the participants had a meeting scheduled with another director who had something they needed. What's more, each of the meetings took place before an impending board nomination process so there was also the prospect of a promotion to the board.
On the basis that acting is kinda hard (and easier to spot), the researchers hypothesized that people would try to make things as natural as possible.
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One way of doing this, for instance, might be for participants to emphasize just how much in common them and their 'target' have. The belief here is that when we see things in common, we're more likely to ascribe their successes to internal rather than external factors.
Schmoozing in practice
To test their hypothesis, the researchers surveyed directors several times prior to the crucial meeting. They were looking for things such as the perceived similarities and differences between the two people. They also quizzed the directors on their ingratiation tactics in the meeting itself, whether that was explicit behaviors such as paying compliments, or implicit such as laughing and smiling.
The analysis revealed that when people employed the tactic of looking for similarities between themselves and their fellow director, their ingratiation efforts paid off as the number of board invites increased.
What's more, this tactic of looking for similarities was most commonly deployed when their counterpart was most unlike them. In other words, when using such a tactic was most likely to yield a positive outcome.
The benefits of doing this were quite evident, with those fully deploying the strategy found to be three times as likely to be recommended for a board position than their peers.
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Was it conscious or unconscious?
Whilst the tactic was undoubtedly effective, the researchers were less sure on whether people deliberately engaged in the tactic or it was more of an subconscious behavior.
Regardless of the intent of the expert schmoozers, the results are strong enough to highlight the value inherent in shifting our perspectives on those we are trying to impress. It may well be something to consider in your own workplace.
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.
The Gulf of Tonkin attack on August 2, 1964 and another many believed to take place on August 4 led to an escalation of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. The USS Maddox was patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin, situated between North Vietnam and China, collecting intelligence in international waters when it engaged three North Vietnamese naval boats. The Maddox initially believed it had been fired upon by three torpedoes, which all missed; it retaliated with over 280 3-inch and 5-inch shells, while jet fighter bombers strafed the torpedo boats. One U.S. aircraft was damaged and though one round hit the destroyer, there were no U.S. casualties. A second incident reportedly took place two days later but this appears to have involved false radar images and not actual torpedo boat attacks. As a result of these incidents, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which granted President Lyndon B. Johnson the authority to assist any Southeast Asian country whose government was considered to be jeopardized by "communist aggression."
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The resolution served as Johnson's legal justification for deploying U.S. conventional forces and starting open warfare against North Vietnam. There has long been speculation that the Tonkin incidents were merely a pretext for LBJ and the military to escalate U.S. involvement in Vietnam. In 2005, an internal National Security Agency historical study was declassified, which concluded that "the Maddox fired three rounds to warn off the communist boats. This initial action was never reported by the Johnson administration, which insisted that the Vietnamese boats fired first." This account was compiled from interviews by ADST with General Maxwell D. Taylor (interviewed beginning September 1981), Ambassador to South Vietnam from July 1964 until July 1965, Elbridge Durbrow (June 1981), Ambassador to South Vietnam from 1957-61, Secretary of State Dean Rusk (July 1969), James F. Leonard (March 1993), State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), and Thomas L. Hughes (July 1999), Director of Intelligence and Research (INR) in the State Department. You can read the entire Moment on ADST.org.
TAYLOR: I would say that in Saigon we did not get an immediate interpretation from Washington as to what had happened. However, we intercepted the same information that Washington got and none of us questioned the fact that our ships had been attacked by North Vietnamese boats on both days. I can't say we made an analytical study of the evidence, but it seemed an obvious fact that attacks had taken place. True, it had done no real damage to our ships, but nonetheless it was an act of defiance of the U.S. Navy to rush out into international waters and attack our ships, even if they didn't do a good job of it.
I was surprised and disappointed we didn't retaliate for the first attack and waited till the second. But I was happy that some retaliation took place, bearing in mind that it was really a symbolic kind of thing that didn't do any great damage to the enemy and wasn't expected to.
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DURBROW: They started blowing up our barracks down there in the South and things of that kind. They'd done some of that when I was there, you know, they did two bombings when I was there. Fortunately, nobody was really badly hurt, but they could have been. They tried to do it subtly. I'm talking about the communists...Every once in a while they'd want to get a provocative thing going and they'd do it. It's not done by some battery commander that got drunk that day and pulled the lanyard and shelled the land just as far as whatever it is.
I don't know exactly what the motivation was, but they were up there in their territory, of course, in the Gulf of Tonkin, and they were getting pretty in close, I suppose, and they said, "Well, we've got to try to scare these guys off." I don't know. They're not afraid of doing a thing like that and when they feel they're not doing too well otherwise, why not try to shoot the works a bit? By the way, I took my oldest son out to see the Verdun war battlefields out there, and we'd gone out for the weekend in Paris and were driving and I had the radio on and by golly, I heard about the Gulf of Tonkin. I cheered, "We're finally going to clean that place up."
RUSK: They were on an independent intelligence-gathering mission in the Gulf of Tonkin. Of course, since it was high seas we expected to maintain our capability of being present in the Gulf of Tonkin, and we weren't going to be driven off the high seas in the Gulf of Tonkin just because of a scrap going on in South Vietnam. But it is not true -- and Secretary McNamara testified to this -- that these vessels of ours were there covering or, in a sense, associated with some South Vietnamese coastal operation.
You see there had been a little guerilla war going along on the coast back and forth across the DMZ [de-militarized zone] between the North Vietnamese and the South Vietnamese. The North Vietnamese were using coastal waters for infiltrating men and arms into the South, and the South Vietnamese were retaliating. But the destroyers that were attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin were not there to give cover to operations of that sort.
When the Gulf of Tonkin came along and the President consulted with the leadership of the Congress, he discussed with them whether this was not the time now to go for a resolution putting the Congress behind the United States policy on Vietnam and making it clear to North Vietnam that we were serious about it. The Congressional leadership encouraged him to do so. There was practical unanimity among Congressional leaders on the desirability of a Congressional resolution, and so we had our hearings, and promptly the Congress passed the so-called Gulf of Tonkin Resolution with only two dissenting votes in the Senate.
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Paragraph II of that resolution, which the historian will be able to see, of course, was not about the Gulf of Tonkin, but was about Southeast Asia, and it simply affirmed that the United States is prepared as the President determines to use whatever means are necessary including the use of armed force to assist the states covered by the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization in the defense of their liberty.
Now, there was no question at all at the time about the meaning of that resolution.
LEONARD: When I arrived I was curious about [the incident], because it to me had seemed like such an extraordinarily inexplicable and stupid action on the part of the North Vietnamese to have attacked our ships and brought down this escalation on themselves.
So I went back and looked at the classified material, and my conclusion from that was that you couldn't say that it hadn't happened, but also you sure could not and should not have said that it really did happen. Maybe there was other information that I never saw, but in fact I don't think there was, and it's all been researched and written up very thoroughly.
HUGHES: Sunday, August 2, occurred on another of those summer weekends when people were out of town. [Secretary of Defense, Robert] McNamara was climbing mountains in Wyoming. The Bundys [National Security Advisor McGeorge and his brother William, CIA officer and later Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the State Department] were up in Massachusetts. I happened to be here [Washington DC], was awakened early in the morning, and summoned to [Secretary of State Dean] Rusk's house for breakfast. There I found myself in the company of Rusk, [Under Secretary of State George] Ball, Cy Vance (McNamara's deputy), General Wheeler, the newly appointed Chairman of the JCS [Joint Chiefs of Staff], and a couple of men from the CIA and the Navy. We were briefed about an attack on the USS Maddox. The evidence pointed clearly to North Vietnamese PT [patrol torpedo] boats as the culprits. The Navy had sent the Maddox into the Gulf of Tonkin to show the flag and perhaps to be on the scene in case there was any intelligence to be gleaned from radar activity along the shore.
While Virginia Rusk cooked pancakes and served us breakfast, we sat on the floor looking at maps of the Gulf of Tonkin, noting the proximity of islands, speculating about 3-mile versus 10-mile off-shore claims, and guessing where our destroyer might have been. We were also aware that certain covert activities had been approved for this area, the so-called 34A operations. No one knew whether the captain of the Maddox knew about them, or whether the South Vietnamese involved in the 34A ops knew about the Maddox. The Pentagon seemed doubtful about both issues. The scene was reminiscent of the Versailles Peace Conference with Lloyd George and Clemenceau struggling to locate Trieste on their map of the Adriatic. Anyway after we brainstormed this for a couple of hours our small group first went off to our respective offices and then to the White House to brief Johnson.
The missing leadership was back in town by August 4 in time to handle the so-called second attack at the Gulf of Tonkin. McNamara with his usual decisiveness took charge of verifying the authenticity of the whole event, after doubts had been raised and LBJ briefed about them. Johnson demanded certainty before acting, and the Pentagon rose to the occasion by resolving doubts in favor of certainty.
Johnson arranged for McNamara to brief Capital Hill and without further ado, McNamara testified with assuredness about the second attack, misleading the Congress, and propelling more or less everybody into supporting the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. Not that Johnson didn't rather welcome the opportunity. Assistant Secretary Bill Bundy had drafted the resolution and had it on the shelf for just such an occasion. At the time, the resolution's supporters, including [Senator William] Fulbright the floor manager, were chiefly worried about [Senator Barry] Goldwater who was now the Republican nominee for president and eager to denounce Johnson for inaction.
Myles Lord, Managing Director Creative, DDB Berlin
In advertising, we are often expected by clients and media to conform to certain restrictions regarding content, length, layout, corporate design and editorial guidelines. We are always expected to shape our idea to fit the rules but sometimes breaking the rules is the idea in itself.
Its a fact that one in eight women will face a breast cancer diagnosis at some point in their life. An early detection can help save their lives. That is why all women from the age of 20 and above should regularly self-check their breasts. We knew, it would be the smartest thing to creatively use social media to get peoples attention.
On Womens Day, March 3, 2016, 17 brave women bared a naked breast on Facebook and Instagram for Pink Ribbon, spreading the message CHECK IT BEFORE ITS REMOVED. Each post asked other users to quickly re-share the posts before they were censored by moderators. Even Pink Ribbon themselves had their post removed for contravening community guidelines. But while the breasts were being removed from social media, the story started to be picked up by many other media outlets helping to spread the message to almost 30 million people on Womens Day. All this coverage and social buzz drew people to a special Pink Ribbon page where one could receive more information and a demo video instructing you on how to check your breasts regularly.
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When our team came up with this idea, I knew we had something strong in our hands because it was so bold and controversial, but for the right reasons. Germany is a very liberal place when it comes to nudity thats why #freethenipple was such a big topic over here. And especially seeing as though Facebook and Instagram happily tolerate topless pictures of men, whilst the slightest hint of a female nipple gets censored or even banned. The great thing about this idea is that it took this inequality and made something positive out of it. But the more we thought about it, the more we realized we were dealing with a self-destructing message like in the Mission Impossible series. We knew our message wouldnt last long and wouldnt travel very far so we needed to broaden our reach and have it uploaded multiple times from multiple sources. This broke another rule of social media of having one central element that collects all the views and shares and snowballs over time.
There is this old adage that if youre not nervous, then youre not doing anything new. Well, we were pretty nervous to be honest (and kept telling ourselves this was a good thing). But, the more people came aboard and made it their idea, the more confident we became.
First, the idea was taken up by a very brave client that spearheaded the social action and even put their entire social presence at risk to make this statement. Brave, too, were the 17 women who got behind the action by posing for the camera and exposing a breast on Facebook and Instagram. (Fun-fact: Initially we asked for 15 women, and the casting agent gave us 17 options. We chose 15, but somehow 17 ladies arrived on the set. Thats two too many, said our Art Director, to which the casting agent replied: They dont care. They want to be part of this.)
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Alain Sylvain, CEO, Sylvain Labs
Business evolves. Just like music or fashion or any other industry, it grows and adapts with time to meet the demands of the economy, marketplace and consumer tastes. And if business is evolving, so too should the methods we use. The traditional, bottom-line, efficiency-focused strategies the business elite espoused just arent making the cut in 2016. The demands of modern business call for new points of view and more carefully considered thinking. While tangible, measurable attributes like accountability or rationality obviously still have a place, what really counts in todays economy are soft skills like creativity, emotional intelligence and attentive listening. These are the building blocks of Strategy 2.0 and theyre laying the foundation upon which business will stand in order to thrive in the future.
Before you can fully grasp what Strategy 2.0 is, you have to understand what came before. That means acknowledging efficiency as the core value of business in the 20th Century. If we follow the timeline, it all traces back to the rise of industrialization, when Strategy emerged as a reaction to shifts in the greater economy. With an influx of new industrial capability, companies were able to make more stuff for more people at a higher rate and a lower cost. In this storied age of business luminaries and Six Sigma processes, it was declared that playing it safe would become the approved standard for getting things done. When traveling in uncharted waters, why would anyone rock the boat? It just made sense to say, What iceberg? and steer the whole titanic of industry toward a cozy, efficiency crazed status quo.
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Heres the thing about the status quo: its set to be challenged. Rational decision making through a strict adherence to process took us all pretty far, but people always want to go farther. What worked for past generations of business simply doesnt stand up to the way todays world works. Technology gives us instant access to information and opportunity, and that puts the power to change the world for the better right at our fingertips. Dont be confused; the end goal will always be the bottom line, but theres a better way to get there. And thats where Strategy 2.0 can change everything.
Strategy 2.0 is a more thoughtful vision for all aspects of business. Its not just about getting things done on-time and under budget to quell shareholder backlash after the next earnings report. It places a premium on imaginative problem solving, ingenuity and innovation. It welcomes new ideas and differing opinions from every color of the corporate org chart. It changes the question from, Where can we find wiggle room? to Where can we go from here?
Want to know how companies like AirBNB or Uber could disrupt boring industries like hospitality or transportation to become truly disruptive players? They went rogue and stretched traditional business dogma in a direction heretofore never seen in the boardrooms of corporate America: they just listened. All they had to do was put just one of Strategy 2.0s soft skills to use in order to step out from behind the two-way mirror in the focus group and hear people asking for a better way to do something mundane. Then they found a creative solution, they made it easy and they made it fun. Finding the right answers to a business problem really isnt as difficult as previous generations of executives would have you believe. All you have to do is take the time to realize when and how the questions have changed. This stuff is much less rocket science and much more social science.
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Unfortunately, listening isnt something youre likely to be taught in business school, even if it is as vital a skill as risk management. Sure, there are creative degree programs available to todays students that emphasize a softer skill set like imaginative thinking and design thinking over negotiation and risk management, but you cant get an MBA with a concentration in paying attention. Virtually all of the soft skills that define Strategy 2.0 begin with being a better listener. When you take the time to listen, it means youre giving others your attention and the time they need to speak. And if they trust you to listen more intently, theyre likely to respect your ideas and do the same. Then others will be heard, and more ideas will be shared, and a better, more empathetic understanding of everyone involved wont seem so out of reach. Before you know it, that innovative breakthrough and undeniable success that past generations were so efficiently striving for will be yours. And all you had to do was quit yammering on about processes and workflows for, like, a second.
There are more than 5,000 Muslims serving in various branches of the military according to the Pentagon, a fact that alone should serve as a foil to those hoping to perpetuate this idea that the War on Terror is somehow a war against Islam, a clash of civilizations, an example that Islam is incompatible with Western values, or as Trump told Anderson Cooper on CNN, " I think Islam hates us".
Yet, there I was at 5:45 a.m. on CNN having yet another debate spurred by Trump's bigoted, arrogant, and belligerent attacks on Muslims, except this time, on a mother and father who immigrated to America with their son, a captain in the Army who was awarded the Purple Heart along with he Bronze Star, in recognition for his bravery when he was killed in the line of duty in Iraq in 2004.
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(As if we needed one more reason to prove why Trump is neither temperamentally, intellectually or psychologically fit to serve as our nation's commander in chief.)
The feud speaks volumes about Trump's character. He accuses Khan of "viciously attacking" him for challenging him on his proposal to ban all Muslims from America. Never mind the racist, hateful, vitriol that has been spewing out of Trump's own mouth, since he launched his presidential campaign. But Khan's mothers silence and his father's questioning of whether Trump has read the constitution, while he speaking about his son's love of country, and his family's sacrifice -- and in doing so he exposed the anti-Muslim bigotry fueling Trump's campaign -- that somehow constitutes a "vicious attack".
Then there is the glaring hypocrisy. Trump had no problem inviting Patricia Smith (another American mother who lost her son in the line of duty) to speak at the RNC and attack Hillary Clinton, blaming her for her son's death and demanding that she be put "in stripes."
But when a Muslim American mother, also grieving her son who died fighting for the country he loved, stood by her husband as he spoke at the DNC, Trump ridiculed her, implying that she wasn't allowed to speak because her faith wouldn't allow her too. His bigotry, basked in cowardice as it may be, is still proving to be effective at dividing the country, providing ammunition to extremist elements and serving as a recruitment tool for ISIS, which like Trump, have discredited the Khans, calling their son an Apostate.
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Trump may not be particularly bright, but he is at least smart enough to realize that his only chance of ascending to power, to fulfill his only goal -- winning -- is to divide the country, and conquer it. What is worse, as the story continued to snowball, Trump tweeted: "This story is not about Mr. Khan, who is all over the place doing interviews, but rather RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM and the U.S. Get smart!"
He is asking fans on Twitter to get smart, and yet yesterday, in an interview with an Ohio television station, Trump lied through his teeth when he made the ridiculous claim that: "When you have radical Islamic terrorists probably all over the place ... we're allowing them to come in by the thousands and thousands ... And I think that's what bothered Mr. Khan more than anything else. And, you know, I'm not going to change my views on that."
Trump doesn't care about facts. He doesn't care about grieving mothers. He doesn't care about America. He only cares about himself, and winning at all costs. But he can only win if his surrogates and him are given the platforms to continue to distract from his lack of consistent or constructive policies to "make America great again", and instead instill fear in the heart of an already agitated electorate.
I had the unfortunate experience of debating Sajid Tarar, the founder of Muslims for Trump, on CNN. He parades across cable networks saying things like "not all Muslims are terrorists but all terrorists are Muslim" or that the reason Mrs. Khan didn't speak was because she was Muslim, pointing to Saudi Arabia, "where Muslim women can't speak" to make his point.
Never mind that Saudi Arabia and the severe restrictions it puts on women's freedoms, does not represent the other hundreds of millions of Muslim women around the world. Never mind that for as much as America is celebrating the possibility of electing a woman as President in 2016, the Muslim world has celebrated 9 Muslim women who have ruled their countries.
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It is hardly surprising that Republican leaders are increasingly struggling to criticize Trump and separate themselves from him, without discrediting him altogether as their party's nominee. But it is surprising to see the Democratic party emerge as the party that is espousing patriotism and embracing militarism, while the Republican party is led by a man who calls the military "a disaster" and insults millions of Muslims the world over, including a mother of an American war hero.
Fox News, chose not to air the speech, instead airing a video about Khan's death, an anti-Clinton attack ad about Benghazi, commercials, and broke in with fake Breaking news about the FBI Director saying if we make gains against ISIS overseas it increases the likeliness of an attack at home.
So long as the media continues to give airtime to the Trump campaign's fear-mongering and race-baiting, he stands a real chance to win this election. Because as powerful as Mr. Khan's impassioned speech was (which even brought Rich Galen, a former press secretary for Newt Gingrich to tears), fear is is all the more powerful, and has helped many a demagogue win many an election across the world.
Unfortunately in politics in general, and increasingly in this election, perceptions matter more than facts, which is precisely why Trump has been so successful.
Still, even former Vice President Dick Cheney denounced Trump's plan to ban Muslims from immigrating to the U.S. saying "it goes against everything we stand for and believe in", and that should tell us all something.
In today's business world, everyone is racing to be seen as an industry leader. Companies want to be the next big thing but without shelling out the money that may be needed to run certain business processes. And corporations are offering cheaper, boxed solutions to meet the basic needs of these rapidly iterating companies.
What used to happen was you would buy a mass-produced, all-in-one solution where what was in it was what you got. You might have shopped around for various options before selecting one that was at your ideal price point and still meet your basic needs. But what many companies find themselves left with is trying to fit their business into a piece of software they bought and not always getting the results they expected. It's like forcing a triangular block to fit into a square puzzle piece; sure, with enough force you can get the piece to fit but it's not a perfect fit.
EMS Barcode Solutions is doing the exact opposite of typical industry practices with Flowtrac Software. An inventory and asset tracking management software company founded by Eric Sutter based in Texas, EMS Barcode Solutions is the business expert you need to help you efficiently run your company. They believe "service is standard" - in other words, excellent customer service and going above and beyond the client expectation should be the industry standard. Instead of simply handing your clients a boxed solution, EMS Barcode Solutions, in conjunction with sister company Barcode Trading Post works with your business to identify the ideal solution to address your needs.
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Increased software customization can lead to increased work productivity, and EMS Barcode wants to be held responsible for all of your problems. Consider this: you run your business' day-to-day activities but aren't sure how to effectively manage your inventory. Rather than figure it out on your own, EMS Barcode alleviates this problem by managing your inventory for you and using a custom-tailored solution to assist your activity.
The difference between mass produced and customized solutions is the extra mile that some companies will go. Suppose you were choosing between a department store shoe and a custom, hand-crafted shoe. If you purchase a regular shoe from the mall, it might not fit your foot exactly. The shoe could be a little wide or too narrow, and you have to spend the first couple of weeks breaking it in and getting used to that shoe. On the other hand, if you went with a custom pair, the shoemaker would take the time to ensure that shoe fits perfectly to your foot. EMS Barcode is like the experienced shoemaker - they create a custom fitting solution that fits your business. And every enterprise is going to have varying challenges and expectations; no two solution should look the same and EMS Barcode prides themselves on their ability to mold software to fit your business, not the other way around.
This notion of customization is fairly new in the software solutions industry. Previously, companies would offer a solution and ask how it would fit within your company. Today, EMS Barcode is asking the client about their needs and problems first, then finding the ideal solution to address those pain points. Not only is this method much more effective, it also saves companies money down the road. Instead of having to replace a mass-produced boxed solution every few years, a customizable solution grows with your business and adapts to the changing problems as they appear.
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The Merchandise Mart has been a landmark hub of workplace design for many years. And if one thing was obvious at NeoCon 2016, it's that Chicago's Merchandise Mart is positioning itself to be a building at the forefront of workplace design for years to come. With the show Vornado Realty Trust, owner of the theMART, unveiled transformative architectural renovations. The creative force behind these changes is New York-based architecture, design and strategy firm A+I, cofounded by Brad Zizmor and Dag Folger.
Founded in 1996, A+I has grown to be an internationally renowned practice of architecture, strategy and design, but perhaps what is most unique is a prominent focus on design research. Peter Knutson, Director of Strategy says, "We don't believe in 'build it and they will come.' We think about building it, talk about building it, design it, think some more, build it, and THEN they will come - because we got it right."
Ownership of theMART has supported this iterative, well-researched approach. Through grassroots initiatives, A+I solicited (and continues to solicit) great feedback from tenants and visitors that shapes designs before they are built. The enhancements and changes are prototyped in full before they are built in an effort to gain insight from users of the space. Last year at NeoCon 2015, what is now known as 'The Grand Stair' was created in a 1-1 mock up with 790 silver Christmas ornaments. This gave visitors a clear impression of the scale of the space that eventually would be there. The park out front is another good example. A small park was originally built. As feedback has come back, it already has been expanded, and there are many more inspirational ideas on future expansion.
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Brad Zizmor, Co-Founder of A+I, describes the firm's unique approach: "We have been spending 20 years innovating in the workplace. What has been happening inside office lease holds has been transformative with teleworking, a move to openoffice, and other innovations, however the buildings that house these forward-thinking tenants have been woefully left behind. We have an increasing number of building owners coming to us to create public spaces that, for lack of a better word, 'catch up.' We are at the forefront of this 'catch up' as our interest is in improving the office space beyond the walls of the office." Dag Folger, Co-Founder of A+I, adds "Because of the sheer size, the relative cost of the recent upgrades in relationship to the total number of leaseholds is reasonable. We saw this project as a huge opportunity for proof of concept for our focus on these public spaces. With 4.2 million-square-feet of space, theMART could afford to try it... and they weren't wrong!"
What's Changing?
Highlights of the $40M project (to date) include a new park along River Drive, theMART's entry drive overlooking the Chicago River, interior renovation of 27 elevators, new wayfinding, and the full renovation of the Food Hall (formerly known as the food court), and the pinnacle: The Grand Stair, theMART's new portal, featuring The Lounge at the Top of the Stairs, and new Reception below. The Grand Stair spans 5,600 square feet, covered with 300 slabs of classic Roman Travertine stone. While beautiful, it's also interesting to know that it's not just the first impression, but the behavior that A+I in partnership with Vornado is looking to change.
Zizmor says, "From the beginning, the original research phase, we sat and watched the building work. It has been an intense exercise in listening and responding back to the tenants. Tenants would walk into a marble or travertine hallway and realize immediately it wasn't speaking to them or their company's brand. A spicket of commuters who come off the L into that building would leave as quickly as possible through a fire stair. The building was not communicating with them, either." This project is an adventure in designing public space that is functional for commuters, tenants and show spaces alike. theMART is already a huge tech hub and the contract furniture epicenter, but could it be more? Zizmor continues, "The ownership of theMART has challenged us to reinvent the future without forgetting the past. It is up to us to figure out how to continually reinvent another extremely successful community."
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What's Driving the Changes?
Anyone who has spent multiple years in the contract interiors industry can attest that theMART is a key component to the contract interiors industry; creating a uniquely tight-knit culture for designers, dealers and manufacturers in Chicago. But far beyond the Midwest, many tour groups fly clients in to Chicago because of this one central location. Folger says, "A whole generation of furniture companies have been built at theMART. Chicago became the single most important place to do one-stop shopping for strategic launch practices with a breadth of furniture companies within the workplace interiors industry. That's incredibly powerful."
While theMART was 60 percent showrooms and 40 percent tenants just three short years ago, now these statistics have flipped, but rest assured that theMART is not looking to unseat showroom tenants. Aaron Whitney, Senior Associate at A+I, says, "Events like NeoCon and others that create reoccurring community connections are really important in a showroom building. They create more buzz and connectivity. This is healthy for a community. Just like any city with music/art festivals. Showroom business is a natural generator."
Zizmor adds, "One of the major drivers of these changes is that buildings now, by necessity, need to design in 'third places.' As we lose privacy in open-office settings, many people find themselves in stairways to make phone calls. We see the spaces we create as a way to find privacy in public spaces. It's like hiding in plain sight." Zizmor continues, "As this personal, private office within the leasehold is disappearing, attention needs to be paid to the lobbies and public spaces of the office building. These are being challenged by providing anonymity and room for free thinking."
What is to Come for the Mart?
Vornado already has said this is just the beginning. Upcoming renovations include more changes around the food hall, enhancements to the lounge at the top of the stairs, and more new programming put into place this summer. Peter Knutson, Director of Strategy, says, "We will be creating even more spaces for workplace lifestyle amenities and programming including activities such as: yoga, watching the view in lobby, meeting space outside of the office, or even playing shuffleboard and bags. This is just the beginning of what could be."
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Zizmor closes us with this thought: "As far as the future goes, there is a huge opportunity. It already has been an incredible experiment on how forward-thinking office buildings can function in the future. All indications indicate that Vornado is more energized than ever to continue this research and reimagine these public spaces to see what's possible for the knowledge worker economy." It will be fun to watch - and possibly shape with our feedback - just how profoundly architectural changes can instigate changes in human behavior.
A special congrats to the team involved in this project:
Brad Zizmor, Founding Principal
Dag Folger, Founding Principal
Aaron Whitney, Senior AssociateStrategy: Peter Knutson & Ashley Bryan
Project Managers: Paul Privitera & Tom Zook
Design Team: Alexis Coir, Debbie Chen, Bernard Peng, Marielle Vargas, Matt Deluca, Kyle Digby
Architect of Record: Valerio Dewalt Train Associates
This article originally published in the Business of Furniture July 27, 2016. It is republished here with permission.
Line of Solders
In 2001, when U.S. troops entered Afghanistan en masse, pedophilia had been largely suppressed by the Taliban. However, since then, numerous Pashtun men have been abusing the new freedoms they gained by molesting young boys, a practice casually referred to as bacha bazi - literally "boy play." This widespread, vile practice has been documented by an Afghan journalist in a report he prepared for a public television program, "Frontline." The program states flatly: "In an Afghanistan ravaged by war and poverty, an ancient tradition has been secretly revived: Young boys sold by their families to wealthy merchants and warlords, taught to dance and entertain, and used for sex."
A U.N. representative refers to this outrageous conduct as "a form of slavery [...] sexual slavery." The Frontline documentary shows that some of the boys are as young as 11. When they do not satisfy, they are beaten and in some cases murdered. A State Department report puts it starkly: "Child abuse was endemic throughout the country, based on cultural beliefs about child-rearing, and included general neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, abandonment, and confined forced labor to pay off family debts." A US Defense Department report, "Pashtun Sexuality," quotes an Afghan saying: "Women are for children, boys are for pleasure." The "Frontline" investigation found Afghan police officers attending parties with their "dancing boys."
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My review of numerous dispatches from Afghanistan found no sign that U.S. diplomats and generals are doing anything to get the Afghan government to protect these children, in sharp contrast to the strong promotion of women's rights to attend school and to leave home unsupervised and of voting rights for the general population.
The president should inform our representatives in Afghanistan that although we shall continue to put up with much that we do not condone, there are limits to our accommodations. We shall neither finance nor protect a regime that refuses to act against large-scale sexual abuse of children.
When asked about American military policy, the spokesman for the American command in Afghanistan, Col. Brian Tribus, stated, according to the New York Times: "Generally, allegations of child sexual abuse by Afghan military or police personnel would be a matter of domestic Afghan criminal law." The NYT adds: "The American policy of nonintervention is intended to maintain good relations with the Afghan police and militia units the United States has trained to fight the Taliban. It also reflects a reluctance to impose cultural values in a country where pederasty is rife, particularly among powerful men, for whom being surrounded by young teenagers can be a mark of social status."
There was one American soldier who acted differently. Congress has asked the Pentagon to fully reinstate a decorated United States Army sergeant whose career status came under review after he hit an American-backed Afghan militia officer. The sergeant saw the officer abducting a boy and keeping him chained to his bed as a sex slave.
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I understand that the U.S. has to work with whatever allies it can find and must be sensitive to cultural differences. However, as I see it, every decent human being and nation must observe a line, one that separates the world of accommodations and compromise from non-negotiable core values to which one adheres, whatever the costs and consequences. If letting the rich and powerful subject defenseless children to sexual slavery does not cross that line, what does?
Cameron Douglas is free! Well, almost free. It is reported that he was released to a federal half-way house in Brooklyn after serving 7 years. So in reality he has one foot in prison and the other foot out of prison. I recently have been in contact with him and he seems to be doing well. He is out in the free world for over a month now. Cameron is working and adjusting to life and I know he wants to write about his prison experience just as he did when he wrote an op-ed here in the Huffington Post. As someone who spent 12 years behind bars on a nonviolent drug offense, I know returning to society after serving a long time in prison is not easy. I just wrote about this subject in my new book "This Side of Freedom: Life after Clemency.
I wrote the book because I wanted to offer insight and encouragement to those coming home, like Cameron. Carrying the stigma of being an ex-offender is often debilitating, from being denied employment and housing, to not knowing how to establish healthy relationships, life becomes exceedingly difficult. In addition, maintaining that freedom is no easy task while wrestling with the haunting memories of past imprisonment.
Below is an excerpt from Chapter 14 titled "Cameron Douglas" of my new memoir "This Side of Freedom:Life after Clemency:
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One of the biggest celebrity drug bust stories of all time came about when Cameron Douglas the son of academy award winning actor Michael Douglas got arrested by a multi-task force law enforcement team headed by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The DEA had existed for more than 40 years but Congress has rarely scrutinized the agency, its actions, or its $2 billion budget. Little attention has been given to its role in fueling mass incarceration, racial disparities, the surveillance state, and other drug war problems. The failure to exercise oversight has led to questionable enforcement practices, numerous scandals and human rights abuses, and open defiance of laws requiring decisions be based on scientific evidence.
The DEA had been watching Cameron for 3 years and had built a watertight case against him for drug dealing, which included large amounts of meth and cocaine through the mail via Fed-ex. This compelled Douglas to seek a plea agreement for his cooperation against his suppliers. What really got my interest in his case was why did the watch him for three years? I figured that they waited a long time in order to build a very solid case against him because he was the son of a rich and famous movie star. The impact of arresting him for selling drugs would be a media goldmine for the government in their ability to send their message of zero tolerance drug policy to the population of America.
After researching the facts of the case I found that Cameron Douglas was not the drug kingpin the DEA painted him to be. Instead I found out that he was just a troubled 32-year-old hooked on drugs since he was 13 years old. It was at this point I decided to defend Cameron and show that he was a prime example of the abuse DEA has been involved in. Douglas was facing a stiff 10-year mandatory sentence under federal guidelines. I thought it was absolutely absurd to lock him up for that much time when it was plain to see he was a drug addict who needed treatment not incarceration.I began to write a series of articles supporting him on my Huffington Post blog. The first piece was titled "Michael Douglas' Son Should Not Go to Prison." Life imitating art always intrigues me I declared. Michael Douglas who starred in Traffic, the Academy-Award-winning film about the drug war in America, now faced a real life situation similar to the role he played. In the film Michael Douglas played the United States Drug Czar whose daughter becomes addicted to heroin. Throughout the film, he struggles dealing with his daughter's drug addiction and the futility of the drug war.
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In real life Cameron Douglas, got arrested by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) in a sting operation for possession of methamphetamines with the intent distribute in New York City. It was not the first brush with the law for Cameron who had several arrests for cocaine possession and a 1996 bust for drunk driving. Reports also pointed out the good possibility that he had a severe drug problem. The role of drugs and drug addiction loom large in our society. The question I pose is should Cameron Douglas be put in prison or should he be able to seek drug treatment instead? Treatment is a valid vehicle for fighting the demons of addiction, and an effective alternative to the government's use of incarceration and punitive measures in response to low-level, nonviolent drug law offenses stemming from addiction.
According to Justice Department statistics, the U.S. holds a firm lead in maintaining the most prisoners of any country in the world -- now at 2.3 million and rising. There are an estimated 500,000 drug offenders in prison. Additionally, hundreds of thousands are incarcerated for drug-related violations of parole and probation, as well as for other crimes related to drug addiction. Criminal justice experts attribute the exploding U.S. prison population to harsh sentencing laws and record numbers of drug law offenders entering the system, many of whom have substance abuse problems.
Again, I asked the question, should we treat drug addiction as a criminal matter or a medical problem?For most people, treatment is much more effective way to overcome addiction, yet our prisons are full of drug-addicted individuals. Nonviolent drug offenders should be given an opportunity to receive treatment, not jail time, for their drug use. This would be a more effective and much more affordable solution for the individual and the community. Addiction affects tens of millions of people around the world. For most, it fills a void in their lives and becomes a crippling crutch. How best to treat addiction is a serious question we need to explore. Rich or poor, young or old, addiction has no boundaries - but the drug war does. Our 40-plus-year war on drugs has actually stifled the open debate society should be having about addiction and how best to deal with it.
I have always advocated the fact that we should give Cameron Douglas the drug treatment he needs instead of imprisonment. Why do I say this? I too faced a similar situation. Instead of treatment, I received a 15 year to life sentence under the Rockefeller Drug Laws of New York State. I was granted clemency by Governor George Pataki in 1997 after serving 12 years in prison for a first time non-violent drug sale. It was a waste of valuable tax dollars and human life to send me to prison for all those years. Instead of demonizing addicted individuals and sending them to prison, we need an alternative approach. Let's shift the focus from criminalization in drug policy and support a public health model. Not sending Cameron to prison would be a good example of taking a step in that direction. It's time to treat addiction for what it is, a medical problem, not a criminal one.
Soon after the piece was published, I was contacted by email from a girl who described herself as Cameron Douglas's friend. She told me she had read my article on Cameron and sent it to his mother Diandra, who was divorced from Michael Douglas. At that point I got Cameron's contact information from her and sent a letter to Cameron along with a copy of my book "15 to Life." In my letter, I told Cameron to hang in there and to keep his faith. Several weeks later, I got a response from him.
Imagine this: You're rushing down the subway stairs to catch an "A" train and are late.
Your phone starts ringing; it's a client with a crucially important call that you must take.
As you descend the treacherous stairs at breakneck speed, you simultaneously grapple in your cluttered pocket for your earbuds to take the call with some semblance of serenity. You're risking everything at this point ... your life, your business, your livelihood and your health.
When you finally retrieve the jumbled, spaghetti-like mess from your pocket, it's too damn late.
You've missed your call. You've missed your train. And seemingly, your life is over.
While this scenario may be over-dramatized, it is certainly not hard for any of us to imagine.
Ropes, a new product from ROAM, have your back on this and many more such situations.
Wearing these sharp, futuristic-looking Bluetooth earbuds as you would a necklace, your hearing is only eight inches from your head at all times. The patent-pending design form factor keeps the earbuds at hand, untangled and ready to get that important call within seconds.
Founded by Beats' co-creator, Steve Lamar, ROAM was built from the ground floor up by Lamar with the music foremost in his mind and that of his consumers. Hailing from the music industry, Lamar has a most interesting personal and entrepreneurial story which I won't cover here.
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"I got into the music industry by accident," Lamar told me, "I was running a hedge fund out of San Francisco, and we invested in an audio company. I left the hedge fund and became the CEO of the audio company. They had a great audio technology for audio speakers at big venues and I wanted to make that available to consumers. I thought the only way to market this was celebrity endorsement and we got Quincy Jones." Then it was off-to-the-races for Lamar, and we can see this celebrity endorsement marketing strategy and the undeniable role it played in Beats by Dre.
"I think over-the-ear (headphone) is done," Lamar told Mashable. "I think the next round of evolution needs to be an earbud because over-the-ear headphones are not practical for everyday use."
"I've grown tired of listening to my headphones the way the sound engineer, or Jimmy [Iovine] and [Dr.] Dre have tuned them," Lamar said.
In the scenario above, in order to relax after such a disastrous, subway calamity, we might turn on some of our calming music to recuperate. When we do, common white earbuds just play the music.
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According to Lamar, his Ropes are the first Bluetooth earbuds with a built-in EQ and EQ smartphone app which allows for the customization of your music, the way you want to hear it.
The EQ hardware hangs around the neck unobtrusively and provides the opportunity for the end-consumer of any musical content--those who really matter, not the artists--to control not only what they listen to but also how they listen to it.
The app is sleek and easily navigated and to the non-audiophile, magical.
Easily controlling five frequencies (Bass-60Hz; Warmth-230Hz; Body-910Hz; Clarity-3KHz; Brilliance-14KHz), Preamp Gain and DSP (Digital signal processing) that covers Dynamic Bass Boost and Spectral Effect, the EQ and app bring new listening capabilities to the consumer.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-NY, waves to delegates as he walks on stage during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , Thursday, July 28, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
For a glimpse of what New York's just-announced clean energy standard could mean to the state's economy, look West.
New York's plan to get 50 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030, announced Monday by Gov. Cuomo, matches the renewable standard set by California in 2015. It will make New York a major leader for clean energy (only tiny Vermont and Hawaii have higher standards than New York and California), setting an example for other states.
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Look to the other side of the continent at California, and the positive impacts of a 50 percent renewable standard are undeniable.
Solar panels are now ubiquitous from San Francisco to San Diego. Deserts are dotted with wind farms and solar arrays. Consumers and companies are saving billions of dollars by getting energy from the sun and by reducing energy waste through efficiency.
Thousands of small businesses have been started to construct, install maintain and invest in renewable energy equipment, and today more than 500,000 Californians now work in advanced energy businesses. For perspective, that's three times as many people who work in the movie and television business. It's more people than work in agriculture in the state.
Smart clean energy policies, we know from California and other states, create jobs and drive economic growth.
Clean energy, quite simply, is a tremendous economic catalyst. Smart clean energy policies, we know from California and other states, create jobs and drive economic growth.
New York already has had a taste of what clean energy can mean to the state's economy. More than 85,000 New Yorkers work in clean energy in every county of the state, according to the Clean Jobs New York report from E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) and partners. That's a lot. That's more than the number of New Yorkers who work in investment banking, and it's almost as many as work in the state's building construction industry. All those workers and their families should be cheering the job security and opportunities that just got a big boost by New York's new Clean Energy Standard.
But remember that 85,000 workers is less than one-fifth of the 500,000 advanced energy workers in California right now. California and New York are the No. 1 and No. 3 most populous states, respectively.
That leaves some serious room for growth for working folks and businesses in the Empire State.
Under the Clean Energy Standard announced by Gov. Cuomo and the New York Public Service Commission:
Utilities must get about 31 percent of their energy from renewables by 2021, before moving to 50 percent in 2030. That's similar to California's planned phase-in, giving utilities and clean energy companies alike the time needed to develop their business models.
NYSERDA, the state's energy research and development agency, will create a blueprint to advance offshore wind. That could create a major new job-generator for the state and help the United State catch up to other countries.
The state PSC will promote and support energy efficiency programs wherever possible. That's important in a state of 7 million households and some of the biggest office markets in the world. It's also important because 69,000 New Yorkers today work in energy efficiency -- representing about 80 percent of all clean energy workers.
Of course there are other good reasons to move to clean energy.
New York's 50 percent renewable plan is a critical part of the state's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030 (from 1990 levels). It will boost efforts to get us off of dirty fossil fuels that are contributing to climate change and nuclear energy that comes with myriad expensive environmental problems.
To be sure, New York's Clean Energy Standard could've been even better.
To be sure, New York's Clean Energy Standard could've been even better. It is still too dependent on expensive nuclear energy, and it could use more teeth when it comes to energy efficiency and offshore wind. And besides, there's no reason New York should ever want to simply tie California -- just ask any Dodgers-hating Mets fan.
E2 and other groups will keep pushing to make a good plan even better. That said, businesses, investors and everyday New Yorkers alike ought to be cheering the state's new Clean Energy Standard.
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In serving as Commander in Chief, the President's character, actions, and words are pivotal to military morale and victory.
Napoleon advised, "An army's effectiveness depends on its size, training, experience, and morale, and morale is worth more than all of the other factors combined."
President Abraham Lincoln's profound respect for the sacrifices of Union soldiers and families boosted morale and helped defeat the Confederacy. In his Gettysburg Address, Mr. Lincoln diminished his immortal words and elevated what soldiers had done on the battlefield:
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"... we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."
"I'd lose another leg for a man like that."
President Lincoln held a public reception at the White House after his second inauguration. Two of the visitors were Army nurse Adelaide W. Smith, and Army Lieutenant Gosper, who was using a crutch because his leg had been shot away in a skirmish before Petersburg.
As recounted in Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years, Mr. Lincoln stepped out before the two of them, took the hand of the Lieutenant, and in an unforgettable voice said, "God bless you, my boy."
The visitors moved on with the Lieutenant beaming and saying to Ada Smith, "I'd lose another leg for a man like that."
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In little more than a month, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House.
In a recent ABC interview, Mr. Trump insinuated that sacrifices that he had made were comparable to the ultimate sacrifice of Capt. Kahn.
Let us consider Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, respectively, as Commanders in Chief, and assess their probable impact on military morale--the cornerstone of military victory according to Napoleon.
Mr. Trump mildly supported sending men and women to Iraq to risk that last full measure of devotion prior to the March 2003 invasion. On September 11, 2002, during a Howard Stern radio interview, he was asked whether he supported the impending war. Mr. Trump responded: "Yeah, I guess so."
One of the men Mr. Trump approved dispatching to Iraq was Army Capt. Humayun Khan. He had enrolled in the ROTC at the University of Virginia before the 9/11 abominations. From Iraq, Army Capt. Khan spoke to his mother on Mother's Day 2004. He gently rebuked her plea to eschew risks with words which should live for the ages, "Mom, these are my soldiers, these are my people. I have to take care of them."
Capt. Khan was later killed by a car bomber outside the gates of his base attempting to save his soldiers and innocent civilians--perhaps his finest hour. He was the type of soldier President Lincoln had immortalized at Gettysburg, and was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
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In a recent ABC interview, Mr. Trump insinuated that sacrifices that he had made were comparable to the ultimate sacrifice of Capt. Kahn: "I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs."
If there are better ways to deflate the morale of the armed forces, they do not readily come to mind. Mr. Brian Duffy, the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, commented: "There are certain sacrosanct subjects that no amount of wordsmithing can repair once crossed." Compare President Lincoln's letter to Mrs. Bixby who had sacrificed five sons in the Civil War:
Dear Madam,-- I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.
I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
Donald Trump would be no Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief.
(Clinton) sent American soldiers into harm's way with the irresponsibility of Marie Antoinette.
As for Hillary Clinton, Capt. Kahn would never have died in Iraq if it were not for the gratuitous, multi-trillion dollar ongoing war that she jump-started with her 2002 vote in the United States Senate. She sent American soldiers into harm's way with the irresponsibility of Marie Antoinette. She neglected to read the 92-page National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction that had helped to persuade Senators Bob Graham (D-FL) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to oppose the Authorization to Use Military Force Against Iraq. She errantly insisted that Saddam Hussein's possession of WMD and harboring Al Qaeda were undisputed, when the NIE she had neglected to read challenged those conclusions.
Ms. Clinton argued:
In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001.
Thirteen years later in 2015, Ms. Clinton grudgingly conceded that her Iraq vote was a "mistake." In her earlier intellectually benumbing Memoir, Hard Choices, she defensively asserts: "I thought I had acted in good faith and made the best decision I could with the information she had." Her recollection was faulty. She chose not to read the 92-page NIE in her possession, which might have persuaded her to oppose the Iraqi war.
After learning that her twin factual premises for the Iraqi war were false, and that the prospect of making Iraq a bellwether democracy in the Arab Middle East was delusional, Ms. Clinton refused to advocate an end to our military engagement there to avoid new Capt. Khans. As of this writing, there are approximately 5,000 United States military personnel in Iraq, and Ms. Clinton is clamoring for more. Last March, Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin was killed defending an autocratic, Shiite Iraqi government that is closely allied with Iran and at war with Israel. Ms. Clinton can't even define what victory in Iraq would look like beyond the obscene blather of "I'll know it when I see it."
If she were genuinely concerned with military morale, Ms. Clinton would be emulating Congressman Walter Jones (R-N.C.), who similarly regrets his vote to support the multi-trillion dollar Iraq war caper. The Congressman has written more than 2,000 letters to the families of U.S. soldiers, sailors, and Marines killed in the ongoing conflict, which he vocally opposes. He writes additional letters every Saturday, alone in his office in Greenville. He related to Mother Jones magazine: "I can do four or five letters, and then I have to stop and do something else. And then I come back and do another five."
Outside his office on the third floor of the House Rayburn Office Building, Congressman Jones pays additional homage to American soldiers killed in Iraq by displaying their photographs.
I am certain that American military officers and enlistees would, to borrow from Lt. Gosper, lose another leg for a man like Walter Jones as Commander in Chief. Do you think they would do the same for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton?
By Arlene Holt-Baker
There is no escaping or writing off the division in our country that Donald Trump's candidacy for President of the United States has unleashed. I have known the signs of racism all of my life. I was born in Texas in 1951 when the signs of Jim Crow surrounded me at every turn.
Like many African-Americans I too chose to migrate from Texas to join other members of my family in places that were seen as more welcoming and progressive to blacks, not unlike those families written about in Isabel Wilkerson's "The Warmth of Other Suns," a sweeping historical account of the black migration from the South to the North after the 1940's. I settled in California, where my children were born and where they grew up in a suburban community filled with rich diversity. They were taught to love and respect all people.
My son-in-law grew up in a similar environment, surrounded by the Hills of Los Angeles and a diversity of friends that looked like the United Nations. My son-in-law and daughter, who now live in Maryland, are making every effort to instill in their children the values that were instilled in them.
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My son-in-law is one of the kindest men you would ever want to meet. He is smart, intelligent, and handsome, a fitting role model for my only grandchildren; he has my greatest love and respect.
However, a few weeks ago as my 6'3, 36-year-old, 240-pound muscled African-American son-in-law was working out at the gym in Virginia that he frequents when a white patron of the gym, who my son-in-law does not know, approached him to tell him that "Black Lives Matter was a terrorist group." My son-in-law reacted to this stranger in the manner of a psychologist trying to get to the root of this man's motivation and asked this gentleman why. My son-in-law explained the significance of Black Lives Matter and the disproportionate number of Black males who are stopped by police while walking or driving, only to be shot by police using excessive force. He explained the economic conditions and structural racism that leads to hopelessness among so many black Americans. He broke it down like the mathematician that he is.
None of this changed this fellow's mind, but it frightened me beyond words when my son-in-law told me what happened because I wanted to know what was really on this stranger's mind. Why would he approach a 6'3 African-American male that he didn't know to make such a provocative statement about "Black Lives Matter"? This question can be answered in one word "Trumpism," the ideology that has risen under Trump that is rooted in white populist nationalism.
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A few days after my son-in-law told me of his experience, I would not have believed in a million years that I too would have experienced the most uncomfortable and overt racist act that I had felt since I was a young girl growing up in Texas.
My twin granddaughters, who are 4-years-old, love the Smithsonian Natural History Museum's Butterfly Exhibit in Washington, D.C., where my husband and I live. I'm a typical grandmother. I grant their wishes, even if it means visit the same exhibit three times in two months. As they moved with lightning speed through the museum, their energy and laughter are infectious and captured the admiring glances of some of the museum patrons. But I was struck by the look on the face of a white man wearing a camouflaged hat and whose arms and neck were heavily tattooed and who stared at the girls and me with a look of such disdain and hatred. My guard went up immediately, as I looked at him for a moment before I moved on. I was emotionally shaken, but found some solace that it was not likely that he had anything dangerous on him because he and all museum goers are subject to going through security. But still, I hesitated for a moment.
I thought about my precious grandchildren and wondered what kind of person could look at children with such disdain, and then I quickly thought back to my son-in law's experience two days earlier and the answer was clear, once again, it's connected to "Trumpism."
Racism existed before Trump, and it will continue after him, but his unabashed audacity to unleash hateful rhetoric aimed at people of color, immigrants, women and the disabled has given some in our country comfort to openly act on their hate with words, hostile looks and tweets. All is not perfect in America, but for those of us who truly believe in the ideal of America (and I believe most Americans do), it is critical that we choose leaders who believe in the promise of America, the goodness of Americans and the ever improving greatness of America.
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Donald Trump has no decency, and he has emboldened those who hate and fear the "other." "Trumpism" is too dangerous for America's future. He must be stopped.
It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who said in 1847 that "[c]onsistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." While the phrase might be a cliche these days, in today's highly partisan, gridlocked Washington, DC, consistency characterizes both political parties: heels deeply dug in; minds apparently quite small.
Democrats favor abortion; Republicans oppose abortion. Democrats want tax increases; Republicans want tax decreases. Democrats want to confirm a ninth Supreme Court Justice now; Republicans want to wait until after November. And on, and on, and on... Rarely do the two major political parties change their views, not to mention reverse course and swap positions.
But there is an interesting exception to this policy rigidity, and it has largely gone unnoticed by the media and by the political-science profession. Indeed, the professoriate stands to benefit from examining and explaining the origins of this policy reversal. There are future doctoral dissertations waiting to be written about how and why Democrats and Republicans reversed positions on the merits of the for-profit trade-school sector.
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Here are some facts.
Approximately 30 years ago, U.S. Department of Education Secretary William J. Bennett launched a crackdown on the growing number of student loan defaults at America's postsecondary-education institutions -- both for-profit and not-for-profit. Default rates were reaching an alarming rate and were costing the government (and taxpayers) tens of millions of dollars annually. Assuming that lending banks and loan servicers followed certain "due diligence" rules in trying to collect delinquent student-loan payments, the federal government would guarantee these loans for the issuing banks (or for those institutions holding secondary-market paper) should a default occur.
Major network television programs like CBS's 60 Minutes and ABC's 20/20 ran exposes about how some for-profit trade schools recruited students from welfare lines. These students were promised the world about what a degree from some of these schools would mean for their future.
In many documented cases, students were misled into believing that they were signing up for grants when, in fact, they were assuming loans -- loans that had to be repaid, much to their surprise. Several proprietary schools simply took the money and ran: they failed to provide the promised education. Too many students then found themselves without an education, deeply in debt, and, shortly thereafter, in default on their student loans. As most people know today, student loan debts are not dischargeable in bankruptcy.
I worked for Secretary Bennett and remember listening to Bennett testifying on student-loan defaults before the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), then the chair of the Senate Education and Labor Committee. Kennedy asked Bennett whether he thought that a high student-loan default rate at an educational institution was a proxy for a lousy education at that school. Bennett shot back that this was precisely his point: if a school had a default rate of 90 percent or more -- and some schools even had 100 percent default rates -- it was pretty obvious that there were major problems with the quality of that school's education.
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Kennedy and then-Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) disagreed with Bennett. They contended that there were undoubtedly many reasons why students defaulted and that the federal government could not hold schools accountable for what their students did -- or did not do -- once they graduated.
Bennett nonetheless persisted, and the Education Department promulgated regulations that, in a relatively short time, began to reduce the number of student-loan defaults. Several trade schools went out of business or were shut down. I was deeply involved in this effort and repeatedly made it clear in testimony and other public statements that the Reagan administration was not against proprietary, for-profit schools. There were then -- and are now -- plenty of excellent for-profit institutions. The goal was to eliminate the bad actors -- the high-default-rate institutions -- whether they were for-profit or not-for-profit. To its credit, the Clinton administration essentially continued the policy that Bennett had initiated.
But at some point during the last 20-plus years, the parties switched positions on this issue. Today, as default rates have started to rise once again, it is Republicans who often side with the for-profit sector and Democrats who want to reduce defaults by clamping down on the rapid growth of that sector.
Moreover, in the eyes of some, the Obama administration has been waging a relentless war against the for-profit sector, first, by promulgating an "ability to benefit" regulation that made it harder for trade schools to enroll students who could not demonstrate an ability to benefit from their training. More recently, the Obama Education Department has threatened action against the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools ("ACICS"). ACICS was the accrediting body that gave consistent thumbs up to the large for-profit Corinthian Colleges chain of schools that collapsed in 2015. Former Corinthian College students were left without degrees, without an education, and had unpaid loans that the Obama administration (with good cause) wants to forgive, even though the U.S. taxpayers would be on the hook for what could be hundreds of millions of dollars.
With some $1.3 trillion in outstanding student-loan debt today, a high default rate means big money, as evidenced by the Corinthian collapse. It looks like we got into this situation, in part, because accrediting bodies looked the other way -- much like the lax oversight by those financial accrediting bodies that gave AAA ratings to securities and other esoteric investment instruments in 2008 based on subprime mortgages that should never have been issued.
Another explanation is that the responsible Congressional committees may have looked the other way and failed in their oversight responsibilities. They could easily have continued what was once a bipartisan crackdown on defaults and poor-quality educational offerings at all educational institutions.
Since 2004, student-loan debt has quadrupled and defaults have doubled. Clearly there is big money associated with this part of our education enterprise: big money for the schools and, I suspect, big money in campaign contributions to members of Congress.
American postsecondary education -- both for-profit and not-for-profit, and at public and private institutions -- must be focused on increasing completion and providing affordable excellence for all of our students. It is important to examine how we got into this situation by looking at the accreditors, the schools, and the Members of Congress who might have been spending too much time chasing campaign dollars and not enough time demanding affordable excellence. Follow the money, as we learned from Watergate.
Charles Kolb served as Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy from 1990-1992 in the George H.W. Bush White House. He was president of the French-American Foundation -- United States from 2012-2014 and president of the Committee for Economic Development from 1997-2012.
With the Obama presidency in its remaining months and with the 2016 primary season over, the political focus naturally turns to the November general election. The political gridlock that Barack Obama pledged in 2008 to fix not only remains but has clearly worsened. Remarkably, the primaries produced two leading party candidates with the highest unfavorable ratings ever. One is a serial narcissist; the other can't seem to find the truth. Actually, both major-party candidates have problems with the truth.
On November 8, 2016, voters will choose the 45th president of the United States, and like virtually all second marriages, there is the ever-present belief that hope will, somehow, triumph over experience. It is unfortunate that our Constitution does not allow for a presidential pre-nuptial agreement, because these are the times when such an innovation might prove useful.
As Americans, we are known for our optimism. No American chooses a president and wants that new leader to fail - and yet presidents do fail. Sometimes, the seeds of that failure are apparent (yet unrecognized) well in advance of the individual reaching the Oval Office: Richard Nixon's insecurities and paranoia; Lyndon Johnson's bluster; Jimmy Carter's micromanagement; George W. Bush's overconfidence. The failures seem to flow directly from some personality quirk or character trait that, in retrospect, was known before the candidate became president.
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Harvard scholar and Brookings Institution Fellow Elaine Kamarck has just published an important book: Why Presidents Fail: And How They Can Succeed Again. This trim, well-written volume reads almost like a novel and walks us through the experiences of three presidents who saw significant failures in office.
Jimmy Carter ran a botched hostage-rescue mission in the Iranian desert. George W. Bush ignored early warning signs about Al Quaeda, endured the irony of a bungled response to Hurricane Katrina (his administration was prepared for surviving a nuclear attack but not a Category 4 hurricane), and was caught unprepared for the 2008 financial crisis. Barack Obama - a former Harvard Law Review editor-in-chief and constitutional-law professor - inexplicably presided over a seriously flawed rollout of the Affordable Care Act's health care exchanges and a wide-ranging scandal at the Veterans Affairs Department.
Kamarck has developed a simple, straightforward methodology for assessing presidential failure. She examines the relationship between government policy, the related communications strategy, and the subsequent policy execution and implementation. She concludes that too many presidential failures result from an over-emphasis on communications and not enough focus on policy execution: "[t]he fact is that modern presidents find the federal government that they are supposed to run distant and unmanageable." As a result, they tend to fall back on what they can control, namely, communications. This tendency leads to failure: "Once presidents stopped assuming responsibility for the government they ran, they started to fail."
While ideology may be important in winning the presidency, Kamarck makes clear that it is operational effectiveness - policy implementation - that can make or break a presidency. Kamarck cites political scientist Shirley Warshaw, who observed that 58 percent of the Obama adminstration's first-term senior staff came either from his presidential campaign or from his congressional relationships, what Warshaw calls "loyalist/ideologues and loyalist/pragmatists." Only 42 percent were "campaign outsiders," and "[a]ll of the senior political and management jobs went to campaign-related staff rather than to outsiders." Campaign staff typically "spin"; they are not known for managing or executing well.
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Another problem for presidential policy implementation is the fact that in the modern presidency, "as the White House offices have grown and proliferated, they have created distance between the president and their cabinet secretaries - and even more distance between those who make policy and those who will have to implement it." Barack Obama let it be known after he was elected that he was reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's magisterial study of Abraham Lincoln's cabinet government, "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln," and yet, as Kamarck explains, in his first term, Barack Obama met with his cabinet a mere 19 times - for mostly ceremonial gatherings or photo-ops. She also reports that during Obama's first year in office, there were only 21 days when he did not have a public or press appearance.
And when it comes to distance between the Oval Office and on-the-ground implementation, nothing was more revealing of this disconnect than George W. Bush's now infamous remark to Michael Brown, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Administration, shortly after Hurricane Katrina leveled New Orleans: "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." A few days later, Brownie lost his job.
I would have liked to see Kamarck include in her analysis of failed presidential actions the administration of George H.W. Bush, who went from 90 percent popularity after the 1991 Persian Gulf War to losing the presidency to Bill Clinton in 1992 with 38 percent of the vote. Interestingly, the first Bush presidency failed (if you do not win re-election, you clearly have a failed presidency) for reasons other than policy implementation. After all, Bush executed flawlessly the military actions that reversed Kuwait's invasion of Libya, and his implementation of the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Clean Air Act, and the 1991 Civil Rights Act went smoothly. His problems stemmed from the fact that the Reagan base that elected him in 1988 cared little about those accomplishments. Additionally, his reversal of his 1988 "Read my lips" pledge not to raise taxes, plus overall poor communications, made him a one-term president.
Presidents can become fixated on communications to the detriment of substance. I was 21 years old when I met Richard Nixon in the Oval Office, just a few days after he installed the notorious taping system. Joining me were two other college friends. Nixon asked each of us what we wanted to do after graduation. He listened and then said, "Gentlemen, I'd like to suggest that each of you consider a career in communications." That advice, offered to three strangers, struck me as odd, but it became clear when I later read T.H. White's superb book on Watergate, "Breach of Faith," where White devotes a chapter to Nixon's lifelong obsession with communications.
Ms. Kamarck begins her new book with a humorous truism: "Most people think the government can't organize a two-car funeral." Today's resurgent populism (both left and right) reflects frustration that our government really isn't working for many Americans. She says that presidents should find a better balance between politicking and governing. Additionally, they should never assume "that the permanent government knows what it is doing." They must also focus on how to organize the White House staff, how best to use their Cabinet, and how to prioritize their time.
The book's last chapter is called "The Voter's Guide to Picking Presidents," and Kamarck emphasizes the importance of finding a president with the right combination of temperament, experience, and judgment. The candidates and the voters should read Kamarck's book. There is too much at stake in 2016 for us to get it wrong, and we owe Ms. Kamarck thanks for helping explain what we should look for in order to get it right.
Thousands of Bernie Sanders supporters and delegates from across the nation converged last week inside and outside the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia for 5 days, at times marching under 90-100 degree temperatures.
Refusing to fall in line behind Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee, they aimed to show the nation and the world their dissatisfaction with the outcome of this year's Democratic primary.
Some supporters, convention demonstrators, and one national delegate for Bernie Sanders from Ohio I interviewed say they see Clinton's nomination as not merely a victory for an opposing candidate, but a larger statement of gross injustice to American voters.
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Many I spoke to say the backlash against the existing two-party system of politics in the U.S. is a very strong movement with mass appeal to varied interest groups from Black Lives Matter, to the environmental movement, workers rights, single payer health care, and many others, and is a movement which will continue for quite some time.
Several denied the prevailing sentiment that they are willingly leaving the Democratic Party, even as some have joined the mass #DemExit action or by outright refusal to vote for Clinton in November.
When in fact, they say they have been essentially forced out through the actions of the Democratic party leadership, including Clinton herself. Until then, party unity, it seems, will remain just a figment of anyone's imagination.
Meg Mass, 44, is assistant director at The University of Chicago Writing Program and an environmental educator. She believes the Clinton nomination undermines the ideals of feminism because it sets the example that a woman would not be able to attain Clinton's level of political success in a legitimate manner, free of cheating, media collusion, party manipulation, and deception, as evidenced by the recent DNC email leaks.
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By trotting out her victory in this year's primary while refusing to condemn the now public dealings of the Democratic party staff, and bringing the denounced former party chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz into her campaign as "honorary chair", Clinton effectively places her stamp of approval on a highly manipulative and underhanded primary election.
"I came from a strongly Democrat family, " Mass explains. She said she has always voted Democrat, with the exception of local races when there are Green Party candidates on the ballot. Mass said she votes not so much by following the endorsements of organizations, but more so on the individual candidate's positions.
Mass says it is precisely Clinton's intelligence and political connections that make her "even more dangerous" because she operates "without a moral compass", and certain political actions under a Hillary Clinton presidency could have longer range consequences far more difficult to identify and prevent.
"I really don't see how I could vote for her," Mass explains. "Clearly trying to keep Trump out of the presidency is a goal...on the other hand who am I to support so many things that are unconscionable? There's a very good chance that I'll vote for Jill Stein. With Trump we will know the damage right away, there will be people to stop him before he gets very far. So it can be undone. With her, we may never know the damage that she does to our country, to other countries,...that is even more terrifying."
The issues facing the political climate in the U.S. are larger than Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton and all-encompassing, according to Mass.
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"We can't go back and we can't continue on this path, because it's just gotten us more and more off-kilter. Now we're being patted on the head...'now you need to smile and play nice.' We don't have to get along. "[Clinton] is a neoliberal and that trumps gender. I don't think that any window dressing can change what you think if you support neoliberal policies. This is a referendum on neoliberalism. The people said 'no.' Neoliberalism said: 'sorry you don't have a choice.'"
Puja Dutta, 28, from Columbus, Ohio works in the financial industry and has been a lifelong registered Democrat. She attended the convention as a National Delegate for Bernie Sanders from Ohio. This primary was the first time Dutta canvassed and phone banked for a political candidate.
"I canvassed in 4 different states, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky" she says. "I've probably made over a 1,000 phone calls. It's been exhausting, but also very rewarding."
She describes the scene from within the convention center and the strained interactions between the Sanders delegates and the Clinton delegates:
"All of us Bernie delegates arrived. We have a close-knit organization here in Ohio, it's sort of grown from the Bernie delegates in Columbus. We went into it having our community, but wanting to expand it. We were very excited to build relationships, network, but it was like we all had a light in us that was extinguished by the Clinton campaign. Most of the people that we spoke to (the Clinton delegates and their guests}, didn't want to interact with us. They would look at me, roll their eyes and walk away. They wouldn't even speak to us. They were curt. The level of condescension...it was very clear that this was their thing, their party, and we were the intruders. It was very exhausting and very demoralizing. If [the Sanders delegates] hadn't had each other, we wouldn't have had anyone. The reality is this is the governing of our country. We want to see our country prosper. For us, we're activists, most of us are activists, there doesn't seem to be a place in the Democratic Party for us. Most of us want to unite with [the Clinton supporters and delegates]. We want the Democratic Party to go back to the FDR roots. "For [the Democratic Party] to turn on us and basically attack us like this, especially with the DNC and the WikiLeaks emails, ....it's hard to understand why the Democratic Party is treating us like we're the enemy. We did make up something like 46 percent of the vote."
Dutta thinks the misconception that there is a typical "Bernie voter" is based on controlling and suppressing the progressive movement.
"It really bothers me that the whole Bernie Bro (myth) exists, ...I'm a millennial, I'm Indian, I'm a female, and I'm educated. They are terrified of us. We have awakened a movement. That's why you're seeing supporters get attacked this way: ignoring the fact that older men and women and people of color even exist in this movement. There's a class division, more than anything else. For someone who's comfortable in the system, that's terrifying. For a lot of people the system is broke, it's very broke. When you're afraid to go to the doctor, because you can't afford it. That is broke."
Some voters appear to see feminism as "a construct of the gender that you are born with," Dutta believes. She says this is an oversimplification of feminism and could explain the distaste many women voters, including herself, have regarding Clinton's nomination.
"How am I supposed to be proud of this situation..as a feminist? Being a feminist is not about getting one over on anyone, on being in charge of anyone, it seems to me that a lot of the Clinton-era feminists believe that. I don't think they've evolved beyond that. Is this what we wanted? We wanted a woman with active FBI investigations? That's not what feminism is to me. Tulsi Gabbard, Elizabeth Warren, Nina Turner, those are the kind of women who have integrity." If we're so reliant on identity politics, that we ignore policy,..then we are never going to get where we want in this country."
Dutta went to the convention with an open mind about supporting the eventual nominee, but her experiences there changed her mind. She said she is now leaning toward the Green Party choice.
"[Clinton supporters] are hoping that if they can shame us and demoralize us enough, that we will just vote for her and fall in line. I think they are hoping that the same thing that happened in the Obama presidency will happen to the progressive movement. I'm not angry at anybody. There's a lot of anger in our movement as well. The most important thing is that we don't allow ourselves to be splintered. They [Democratic Party] don't want us. The Democratic Party has shown us that they don't have room, we're not leaving..they're kicking us out. They don't even want to hear what we have to say. We're not a cult. Democracy is not about being a cult."
Brian Riley, 49, works in economic development in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was a volunteer for the Bernie Sanders campaign and canvassed and phone banked for Sanders during the Democratic Primary.
"I did not know about Bernie before the campaign. I found out about him in 2015. The more I found out, the more I was inspired. I had never done any political work before. I'm generally a Democrat voter, but I'm starting to question what that means," Riley says.
Riley admits he is not optimistic about a Stein 3rd party victory in the general election. This view colors his focus on actions beyond November. He is working on plans to organize brainstorming sessions with other similarly engaged voters in various cities. He said he has a goal to have talks occur in a dozen cities over Labor Day weekend.
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His objective is to "create space for that conversation" on how voters can identify issues closest to them and be moved to take action on these issues locally. Riley is interested in growing the circle of the existing 13 million or so voters who backed Bernie Sanders.
"People need a little time to process what it means to them. Figure out what they really care about. How to be active, how to plug in...it's not even about the next election," he explains. I think people need the space to become more aware of how to make this part of your civic life. The problems aren't going to go away because of who we elect in one election. There's a sustained effort by the right-wing think tanks...they've gotten us to know what the right stands for. We all know: smaller government, less taxes, this rolls off the tip of our tongues. It's even more complicated on the left. We have to do the business of democracy...This is much more complicated than election tactics. We're not going to beat them....this is long game. I think of democracy as a verb. I worked in 9 cities in my last job, I've seen Bernie signs in every city. I have seen 4 Hillary signs to date. There are a lot of people who are energized, more so than ever in my lifetime."
Riley attended the convention demonstrations for 3 days last week. He said the protest marches, were in a way, disempowering, but there will always be a role for public demonstrations.
"Everybody else knows what to expect from these types of activism. The photographer knows that they can show a certain [photo]. All of this is saying to me, yeah there's some stuff we've got to do, but yeah, we've gotta have new tactics. We've got to continually evolve to be the most effective. We've got to keep getting more people. I think there's a role for protests, but it's a diminishing one. In the end, it's a meme.
Meg Welch, from Evanston, Illinois, works for the federal government. She says she did not have preconceived ideas about what to expect in Philly. Welch was hoping the convention would be contested. She believes Sanders' endorsement of Clinton prior to the convention took the life out of the movement, at least temporarily.
"I think there would have been many, many more people [at the convention protests] had he not endorsed her. It wasn't massive as it could have been," she says. "I had sort of hoped that [Bernie] might walk out and start his own party. I knew it was probably unlikely."
Welch says she has followed the Sanders campaign since July 2015. She phone banked and later canvassed for Bernie Sanders in Indiana before that state's primary. In previous elections, she voted for Barack Obama twice, and for Bill Clinton twice.
"I'm not doing that anymore." she says, in reference to her Clinton vote.
She credits the Sanders' campaign with galvanizing various activist groups to convene: single payer healthcare, Black Lives Matter, Occupy Wall Street, Fight for $15. But, she says most were in Philadelphia to "protest the election." Welch stayed in Philadelphia for 3 days during the convention.
"Sunday I was disappointed by the turnout, ...but then Monday, it was a much bigger crowd as it wore on. [The firefighters] opened the fire hydrants for us. There were musicians playing, it made it more of a .. it did something for the morale. We saw no tensions or interactions with police. Tuesday night, I was on a plane coming home late, that's when people stormed the wall and there were a few arrests. I was a little apprehensive, to tell you the truth, because of all that had been happening with the police. The Philly police, for the most part, stayed calm."
She continues to have ambivalent feelings toward Bernie Sanders and wonders why he did not fight for California, when votes were still being counted. She has decided to vote for Stein in November.
"I do not believe [Sanders] lost California," Welch says. "I know it's perfectly routine for a candidate to endorse the nominee, but this was different. It was a strong endorsement..I didn't believe he believed a word he was saying. I thought he would never even use the 'e-word'. You're just doing a 180. When [Bernie] started out, he didn't know Donald Trump was going to be the Republican candidate. I really do think that he is apoplectic at the thought of Donald Trump being president."
Welch, like many Sanders supporters, has taken verbal abuse from some Clinton supporters with opposing viewpoints online. But, now she feels it has gotten out of control.
"I think about this, and I feel bad about this. I've unfriended 2 people [online]. What I'm finding..and I don't want to say this, but is it's one sided. I'm finding that people are being very aggressive. I have never online or in person, given them my reasons why they should be voting how I'm voting. It's not reciprocated. They feel very entitled. They just dismiss it, that you're being irrational. But, look I have reasons. But they're not even interested in hearing reasons. When you start responding...I get this vitriol. I'm pretty restrained..but if someone makes a claim, I'll make a counter claim. I just find it not based on issues."
Welch says many supporters of Clinton and the mainstream media continue to gloss over the DNC emails.
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"The kind of message that this sends is that you can do all of this and no one even bats an eyelash. It's not even incumbent on [Clinton] to at least disavow this kind of behavior. Win however you can, if you have to cheat do whatever you can."
Jessica Reed, 33, is a former tax accountant from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She traveled to the convention on her own and stayed with two Ohio delegates for Sanders from Sunday until Wednesday evening.
Reed says she was "crazy involved" in following the Sanders campaign online. She donated early on, often in response to a major event or call to action from the campaign. When it got closer to Pennsylvania's primary, she canvassed in her state and phone banked. While canvassing, she befriended two delegates.
"I always voted Democrat, Reed says. "My parents always told me, they're the party of the working people."
Most recently, however, Reed switched her party registration along with the many other Sanders' voters during the planned "#DemExit" action last week. But she does not intend to sit out the general election and "abhors" Donald Trump.
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"I will absolutely be voting. I am 98 percent sure at this point that I will be voting for Jill Stein. I have put it out there (for my Hillary supporter friends) if you can convince me otherwise.." I was excited to find out that [Stein] will be on the Pennsylvania ballot. I do think Jill Stein made a concerted effort to be a part of groups, and coordinate, she did a good job of tapping into the different groups."
Reed says she saw Stein speak at a rally toward the end of a march during the convention, and on Tuesday, she saw Stein out in the streets marching with the protesters, in "activist mode."
"I liked it because she was tapping into my feelings..I like activism. But, I worry about the broader appeal..I think the narrative could easily be written that she doesn't have much substance...I just worry about what the media narrative could be. I felt like she was showing that she is with us."
Reed reserves her greater admiration however, for the Sanders delegates at the convention who refused to give up their protests while facing condemnation and intimidation from Clinton supporters and convention staff.
"The delegates, to me, are the new American heroes. They showed immense integrity. I kept telling the delegates: I know it feels bad inside, but it feels really good to know that you guys are not folding. It was heartening to see that those people were standing their ground. I did meet a lot of like-minded people who weren't going to take no for an answer for a long time. We know we have big numbers. I think there's a lot of hope. We're not feeling defeated. They want us to feel defeated, but we're not."
Black humanity and dignity requires Black political will and power. Despite constant exploitation and perpetual oppression, Black people have bravely and brilliantly been the driving force pushing the U.S. towards the ideals it articulates but has never achieved. In recent years we have taken to the streets, launched massive campaigns, and impacted elections, but our elected leaders have failed to address the legitimate demands of our Movement. We can no longer wait.
In response to the sustained and increasingly visible violence against Black communities in the U.S. and globally, a collective of more than 50 organizations representing thousands of Black people from across the country have come together with renewed energy and purpose to articulate a common vision and agenda. We are a collective that centers and is rooted in Black communities, but we recognize we have a shared struggle with all oppressed people; collective liberation will be a product of all of our work.
We believe in elevating the experiences and leadership of the most marginalized Black people, including but not limited to those who are women, queer, trans, femmes, gender nonconforming, Muslim, formerly and currently incarcerated, cash poor and working class, differently-abled, undocumented, and immigrant. We are intentional about amplifying the particular experience of state and gendered violence that Black queer, trans, gender nonconforming, women and intersex people face. There can be no liberation for all Black people if we do not center and fight for those who have been marginalized. It is our hope that by working together to create and amplify a shared agenda, we can continue to move towards a world in which the full humanity and dignity of all people is recognized.
While this platform is focused on domestic policies, we know that patriarchy, exploitative capitalism, militarism, and white supremacy know no borders. We stand in solidarity with our international family against the ravages of global capitalism and anti-Black racism, human-made climate change, war, and exploitation. We also stand with descendants of African people all over the world in an ongoing call and struggle for reparations for the historic and continuing harms of colonialism and slavery. We also recognize and honor the rights and struggle of our Indigenous family for land and self-determination.
We have created this platform to articulate and support the ambitions and work of Black people. We also seek to intervene in the current political climate and assert a clear vision, particularly for those who claim to be our allies, of the world we want them to help us create. We reject false solutions and believe we can achieve a complete transformation of the current systems, which place profit over people and make it impossible for many of us to breathe.
Together, we demand an end to the wars against Black people. We demand that the government repair the harms that have been done to Black communities in the form of reparations and targeted long-term investments. We also demand a defunding of the systems and institutions that criminalize and cage us. This document articulates our vision of a fundamentally different world. However, we recognize the need to include policies that address the immediate suffering of Black people. These policies, while less transformational, are necessary to address the current material conditions of our people and will better equip us to win the world we demand and deserve.
We recognize that not all of our collective needs and visions can be translated into policy, but we understand that policy change is one of many tactics necessary to move us towards the world we envision. We have come together now because we believe it is time to forge a new covenant. We are dreamers and doers and this platform is meant to articulate some of our vision. The links throughout the document provide the stepping-stones and roadmaps of how to get there. The policy briefs also elevate the brave and transformative work our people are already engaged in, and build on some of the best thinking in our history of struggle. This agenda continues the legacy of our ancestors who pushed for reparations, Black self-determination and community control; and also propels new iterations of movements such as efforts for reproductive justice, holistic healing and reconciliation, and ending violence against Black cis, queer, and trans people.
If you don't vote for Hillary on November 8th, you may never vote again.
As I recover from sleep deprivation from the week at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, thoughts have been swirling through my mind, and I feel the need to put them to paper. Some are priorities for us all over the next 100 days; others would be important under normal conditions, but these aren't normal conditions. I'll put them out there while they're still fresh, for later referral when the future becomes clearer.
November 8th is a potential Extinction-Level Event. Applying the Precautionary Principle, to preserve a constitutional republic, Americans must vote for Hillary Clinton.
It matters not what one thinks of Hillary - love her or hate her, respect or disrespect her. Fundamentally it is not about Hillary. However much status quo the next four years might bring, the potential for change would remain. It is up to us to fight for the change in which we believe, and not just every four years from outside the party.
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In one of the more ironic twists of this election season, the Democrats have become the party of American exceptionalism. The Kahn family, which gave the most powerful presentation, in my mind, during the Convention, amidst the powerful speeches of the Clintons, Bloomberg, POTUS, FLOTUS and VPOTUS, represents the exceptional possibilities America represents to the world.
In another ironic twist the Democrats now are the party of the American military, the arena resounding with chants of USA! USA! In support of our troops and military campaigns (to the consternation of many Sanders delegates).
The Clinton campaign got a typical post-convention bounce; the Republicans got the first negative bounce in the history of such Gallup polling, and it was a huuuuge -15.
All of these points need to be emphasized as we move forward, with clips from the speeches of former NY mayor Bloomberg, the Khan family, the First Lady referencing that slaves built the White House, etc. These need to be promoted as the party continues to reach out to disaffected Sanders supporters, many of whom have never voted before, some too young to have voted before.
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Bernie paid back the Democratic party with respect for allowing him to participate as a Democratic candidate. It may have taken too long, but he came around, spoke forcefully about the need for his supporters to vote for Hillary (there is no other alternative), and then exhorted them to get involved in state and local politics next year to make the remarkably progressive party platform a reality.
For all of Bernie's talk of "our revolution," (at least he spoke in the plural), America is a non-revolutionary, non-ideological nation. The Clintons represent the best of that non-ideological, pragmatic bent towards public policy. As we approach the centenary of the Russian Revolution and Bolshevik coup, it behooves us to keep that in mind. We may be plodding, but much less blood gets spilled. We take to the streets when unarmed black men are gunned down, or four students at Kent State University are killed; in revolutionary states like Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany hundreds of millions are ultimately killed in the pursuit of unattainable utopian ideals.
I was simultaneously impressed with the passion and commitment of the Sanders delegates, and the appalling way some acted to disrupt the Convention. I had many interesting discussions with younger delegates, whose progressive principles give me hope for my children's future. I was disgusted that some groups of delegates deliberately refused to shower and change their clothes all week, and another group urinated in the public bathrooms of the Marriott in Center City as a protest within the California delegation. Cheri Honkala, the Green Party 2012 VP candidate, tried to organize a "fart-in" in the arena. In a year when childish tantrums are the tactics of the Republican nominee, we don't need the same on our side.
While I'm told the Convention was a success from the perspective of its role as a major television production (which is the main point), the view from inside the arena and the city wasn't always as sanguine. Control over access to seats and to the arena in general was problematic, as usual, and needs to be improved. Security, understandably intense, was too much so, particularly given the sun and heat which made getting there are real struggle for many older guests. The subway was diverted on Monday without warning, making access even more difficult, and cabs often dropped people off two miles away and left them without any help in finding their way. The food ran out too early; the bathrooms were, remarkably, more than adequate (although conservative media seemed confused about how to evacuate in a gender-neutral bathroom).
What was this fast food doing at a Democratic convention?
The fear of left-wing disruption led to a limitation of information, with lists of events and parties being held close and disseminated late, if at all. This created an aura of elitism around the event, which impacted hotel accessibility as well as access inside the arena. Not the impression one wants to give to a younger, highly frustrated generation of activists already turned off by the corporate nature of the upper echelons of the party. Given that the cost of attending was way too high for many Democrats in general, greater effort needs to be made to become more welcoming.
Being in the arena for four nights I saw that this party had truly become a mosaic. One didn't need to compare it to the Republicans' convention the week before. It was real; it felt natural and normal. As I mentioned last week, unlike 2012 when there were more rainbow flags in the hall than American flags, this year the LGBT events seemed no different than those of the other communities. The trans caucus event was an afterthought, unfortunately, and the Equality Forum events throughout the week were almost completely trans-free, but somehow it didn't seem to matter. There was even a Human Rights Campaign-promoted trans speaker, a first for any party (while Caitlyn got to hang outside in Cleveland).
Local politics continued as usual, with only a few attendees noting that there may not be state and local elections in 2018 should Hillary lose. In the Maryland delegation, there were multiple events put on by 2018 gubernatorial candidates, including the bussing up of a contingent of activists for "Maryland Day." Walking the streets of Center City (I had attended med school in Philly so I was comfortable navigating) I noticed a host of other such events from around the country. There were multiple opportunities to meet, in very informal settings, Congresspersons and Senators I had lobbied over the years, governors and former elected who needed to eat and hydrate like the rest of us. I even had the opportunity to thank Dan Rather for fifty years of investigative journalism.
To me the takeaway remains - for the first time during my life, and arguably since 1860, the future of this nation built on the principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is at risk. Khizr Khan has been making that point since Thursday night, not only on behalf of his son, Captain Khan, but of all those who have for generations come to America in the hope of living in freedom.
In spite of the convention bounce in the polls, and the odds of 65-70% in favor of a Democratic victory in November, we cannot let down our guard. We must work down ballot as well, "Don't boo - Vote," and while we need to laugh at the other side in order to stay sane, we need to remain committed to getting the job done. Captain Humayun Khan died to protect his men; we have to campaign to protect our Republic.
When a relentless sun parches the landscape and dries water sources to a dangerous and unhealthy trickle, who's supposed to pay the repair bill? It's not so much the water bill itself that's the trouble - most people will pay a fair price for good quality water if they can afford it - it's the cost of fixing a broken watershed. Drinkable water was once an inalienable right on planet earth; now there's talk of "payments for environmental services" (PES) through which ordinary citizens may have to pay to get rivers flowing and aquifers gurgling. That sounds awfully expensive for the average household.
Only a small fraction of Mexico City's 21 million residents, and indeed the country's 120 million, receive uninterrupted water from the tap that they can confidently drink. Working for the National Forest Commission of Mexico, CONAFOR, Joaquin Saldana spends his days (and many nights) figuring out how to finance the rehabilitation of Mexico's failing watersheds which diminish the quality and quantity of water to households across the nation. He tries to keep his piercing green eyes focused beyond the droughts, floods and politics to a far horizon where healthy ecosystems and healthy rural economies can deliver healthy water.
Joaquin has persisted at his job over many election cycles, observing that environmental conservation programs are, not surprisingly, sensitive to political whims and decisions. Having seen weak reforestation programs, he knows it's not just a matter of throwing money at the problem. His forestry team drives cautiously down steep mountain roads during field monitoring missions - brushing up with more than a few narco-traffickers - to identify projects and investigate whether funded strategies are actually nursing ecosystems back to health. The team is trained in forestry, but equally fluent in anthropology, hydrology and community organizing.
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Joaquin's Matching Funds program borrows a page from Economics Nobel Prize Winner, Elinor Ostrom by enlisting local users and providers of environmental services in co-managing shared water and land resources. Communal property owners (ejidos) and private landowners who steward ecosystems are considered ecosystem services providers - in this case, providing clean and abundant water - while a beer company, a municipality or a water utility operator - those who can compensate the providers - are users. Rural communities in ecologically-sensitive zones can receive a federal grant when they match it with local funds. Joaquin's program has a redistributive bent, with federal monies flowing to poor rural areas. Funds can be to used to restore watersheds and care for natural resources - for example through soil conservation, sustainable forestry and water source protection - which have the added benefit of shoring up a bleeding countryside that in recent decades has sent millions of displaced farmers to the U.S. The urban areas, wealthier than their rural counterparts, pay a greater share into this payment for environmental service program and benefit by safeguarding their distant water supplies. The program strengthens a critical link between cities and rural communities.
The water crisis is making headlines - long overdue from Saldana's perspective - from Mexico City to Flint, Michigan. The idea of payment for environmental services dates back at least as far as the Dust Bowl, when the United States Department of Agriculture offered soil conservation incentives to farmers to restore blown-away croplands. The wonkish term captures two big ideas: 1) Regulations and enforcement are only part of the solution; property owners and businesses need carrots - the sweeter the better - to motivate their watershed-friendly land and water use; and, 2) The human communities that steward ecosystems, for example, ensuring that forests recharge groundwater, ought to be incentivized and recognized as providing a public service. Also known as compensation for ecosystem services, payment for environmental service programs are gaining traction, occasionally written into public policies.
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One program model that caught Joaquin's eye is that of New York City. When Joaquin met Albert Appleton at a learning exchange among U.S. and Latin American fresh water advocates, Joaquin was keen to learn how the public water utility of that giant city made payments upstream. Appleton, the architect of New York City's program, described to him how, over 20 years, the water authority transferred over a billion and a half dollars of urban customers' money to the Watershed Agricultural Council and the Catskill Development Corporation. Those funds were invested in farm improvements and town sewage facilities that kept effluents out of New York City's water supply, helped the rural economy, and enabled the city to avoid having to build a $6 billion treatment plant. The upstream spending is written into the water utility's operating budget, a stable resource base Joaquin yearns for.
The New York City case works, however, because of Environmental Protection Agency regulations and legislation like the Safe Water Drinking Act - public policy tools and enforcement capacity that Joaquin doesn't have to work with. Big stick regulation loomed large for upstate NY farmers, providing a strong incentive to clean up their act - literally. Application of those sanctions is spotty and fraught in Mexico - and has deteriorated in the U.S. as well.
In the 1970s, Richard Nixon reluctantly signed into law the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts, setting in motion the heyday of environmental enforcement, paid for by polluters and taxpayers alike. Those regulations hurt - as was intended - leading the companies that spoiled the commons to fight back. From Reagan on, many regulatory agencies were dismantled or weakened. Even under Obama, enforcement remains under-resourced, evident in water disasters in Toledo, Charleston, and most tragically, in Flint. With thousands of cities around the world receiving lousy water quality ratings, payments for environmental services have grown in popularity as a possible way to improve quality without necessarily strengthening regulations.
One PES strategy garnering considerable attention is water funds. Monies are collected to invest in upstream watershed rehabilitation, whether it be to purchase conservation land or compensate landowners to preserve ecosystems. Joaquin collaborates with some of these funds in Saltillo, Coatepec and Monterey, among other places. These funds ask everyday water consumers to voluntarily pitch in to protect watersheds or in some cases, to pay a nominal environmental tax added to a water bill. Corona or Coca Cola might also be willing to make a tax deductible contribution for watershed recovery to safeguard its business' primary material and demonstrate social responsibility.
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The idea is for stakeholders, public and private, to mobilize money and in some cases seek agreement on water extraction and land use rules. Many funds are led by non-governmental organizations such as the Nature Conservancy and have contributed significantly to public education on water conservation and watershed restoration. But Joaquin has also seen their limitations. Funds raised can't achieve the scale of necessarily gigantic watershed recovery efforts. The environmental tax can be regressive for poor households that have a hard time paying even basic water bills. Water concessions - which may privilege water to mines and export crops over people - are not consistently challenged. How to buttress regulations and enforcement is rarely addressed. Without this advocacy, the U.N. ratified human right to water may be vulnerable.
Climate change and ongoing water mismanagement spell big trouble for the health of our planet's water sources. The more they deteriorate, the higher the price tag to get those natural systems once again pumping out healthy water. With the unfolding water crisis causing an increasing number of public health and human rights catastrophes, conflicting proposals - sometimes visionary, sometimes false - will be floated about where the money should come from to fix the problem. For the average person, and even the so-called expert, it won't always be easy to distinguish which is which.
Wiesel's Significance
It is not too much to say that Elie Wiesel, among his other important contributions, is the father of modern Jewish Studies. At a time when discussion of the Holocaust was often avoided if not suppressed and when The Diary of Anne Frank was read as a growing up story, Wiesel's Night (1960) spoke eloquently and succinctly about what happened in the concentration camps, especially Auschwitz. Notwithstanding the Nuremberg trials and Margaret Bourke-White's gruesome pictures in Life magazine of the liberation of Buchenwald in April 1945, the US tended to forget that as onlookers to Hitler's effort to eliminate Jews from Europe, the US was tacitly complicit in what happened.
It took a while for Wiesel's book (selling only a few thousand copies in its first few years) to make an impact because it appeared when 1) Europe wanted to forget the Nazi epidemic and Hitler's effort to obliterate the Jewish people and 2) the US wanted to put aside the question of whether it could have done more to prevent the murder of 6 millions Jews. Neither politicians who knew more than they acknowledged nor the media--notably the New York Times--did what needed to be done, and it was long after Night that some of what could and should have been done to save Jews was acknowledged. It might be noted that the 1978 miniseries Holocaust also accentuated interest in the Holocaust and later, Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993) greatly increased awareness of what happened to Jews in Europe in the late 1930s and first half of the 1940s.
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Wiesel's Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 was a belated way for the Western intellectual and political community to pay homage to those millions who died in the camps as well as to those who survived.
Night
While Wiesel wrote many books, it is Night by which he is best known. What is special about Wiesel's memoir? Its brevity heightens moments of significance without the careful linking of events we find in realistic novels. Steeped as a boy in the Jewish Bible, it is not surprising that Wiesel uses the Bible as a model in choosing to focus on crucial representative incidents that teach a lesson while giving little attention to transitions or the intricacies of the human psyche. His voice, too, takes something from the Bible's books of the prophets.
As a retrospective teller recalling what happened after a ten year hiatus, Wiesel takes as his role that of a passionate witness who takes on the ethical responsibility to describe what he has seen and to share his unimaginable experience with his audience. In part, he wants to call attention to the moral darkness that descended on Europe so that it will not happen again.
Wiesel's spare, laconic telling--this is what you need to know, no more, no less--conflicts with the elaborate, sometimes long-winded yet evasive explanations for the Holocaust that were in vogue in the 1950s and early 1960s. Stark imagery, such as that with which he describes as a work detail--"we were so many dried up trees in the heart of the desert"-- is all the more effective for its rough-hewn efficiency (35; page numbers refer to the original 1960 Hill and Wang edition). Or when he recalls that after seeing the hanging of a young boy: "That night the soup tasted of corpses" (62).
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Wiesel uses the concept of night as a nullification of light and reason, as a historical disruption, and as an obliteration of his personal religious faith: "The days were like nights, and the nights left the dregs of their darkness in our souls" (60). Antithetical to light and its association with understanding--think of the European Enlightenment--as well as with his faith in God and his belief in community wisdom, night is the dominant image around which Wiesel organizes his narrative. The narrator associates fire (we think of the crematoriums) and death with night.
Night is not only the loss of faith for the fifteen year old Elie, educated in the Hasidic tradition in the small city of Sighet, but also moral night where traditional ideas about human behavior no longer exist.. The recurring words "night." "never," and "empty" address the unspeakable that has undermined everything Elie has known in terms of material comfort, family and community bonds, and simple faith.
As if to represent the teller's struggle to stay alive--indeed, to survive in the face of hunger and terror--the unnumbered and untitled chapters become shorter and shorter. That the narrator sometimes jumps forward to the time of writing or the period after he leaves the camps implies that he is momentarily suppressing the horrors of his narrative.
My Reminiscence
I was fortunate to know Elie--which he let people who knew him call him-- reasonably well. He was not only a charismatic lecturer, but he was also a gifted teacher who excelled in the give-and-take discussion that followed his lectures. Whether answering questions after his powerful and passionate lectures, which combined his memory of the Holocaust with moral fervor about humanity's responsibilities, or more informal dialogue when meeting with students, he always made the people he met, and especially students feel that they were important. He had infinite patience and a gracious, welcoming manner which made those in his presence feel comfortable. Despite his commanding public presence he was rather shy.
I first wrote about Wiesel, mostly focusing on Night, in an academic journal in 1998 and revised that for my chapter on Wiesel in my book, Imagining the Holocaust (1999). We had met on his fall, 1999, visit to Cornell, not so long after he had read and liked my book.
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From the podium during his 1999 appearance here, I was happily surprised to hear him mention "my special friend Daniel Schwarz." He also wanted to spend some time with me. He did the same thing during his final Cornell visit in 2010 when he was 82. Then he wanted me to accompany him the entire day, saying I was the only person he knew here and that he was comfortable with me. He also wanted to see my wife, Marcia, whom he remembered and whom invited to join us at the final dinner given by the lecture sponsors. He confided that, while he was well paid for the day's appearance, were it not for losing money in the Madoff scandal, he would not longer be doing college appearances.
Some months passed after his 1999 visit when I received a letter from him. He objected to a few sentences of my discussion of Night in my book, notably those that spoke of his "transforming his nominalistic memoir into novelistic form" by his selection and arrangement of his material. He also objected to my pointing out that the young Elie, born in 1928, could not have been 15 throughout the 1944-45 period. I was not sure but I sensed that someone had convinced him that my using the word "novelistic' compromised his testimony. (Possibly someone had heard me talking about the book on Len Lopate's New York and Company or some other venue.) But what I was focusing on was the artistry in shaping more than 800 pages of the original manuscript into the spare, sparse 116 pages in the original English edition of Night.
A correspondence ensued. Always courteous, collegial and restrained, Wiesel was most worried that any questioning of his witnessing--even use of the word "novelistic"--would give credence to Holocaust deniers. I patiently responded that my discussing how he gave artistic shape to his memory did not question Night's authenticity or his truthfulness. In a November 30, 1999, letter to him I wrote:
The point of my book is to argue for the importance of imagination in transmuting fact into literature and to argue that acts of imagination are more powerful and compelling than simple statements of facts. We imagine through art. I argue, too, that there is always a difference between what happened and how we remember what happened, and a difference between how we remember and how we tell an event.
But I did change a very few words in the paperback of Imagining the Holocaust that appeared a year or so later. In his next edition of Night (2006), Wiesel made clear that Elie was 16 by the time the narrative of Night ended.
After this exchange, I was somewhat concerned that our friendship would lapse, but I heard from some sources that he still was mentioning me and my book in a positive way. A few years later I was interviewed at his suggestion for a PBS film on Wiesel, First Person Singular (2002), which has been rebroadcast a number of times. More importantly, as his 2010 visit to Cornell made clear, my friendship endured with this man whom I greatly admired.
Daniel R.. Schwarz is author of Imagining the Holocaust (1999).
He is Frederic J. Whiton Professor of English and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow at Cornell University where he has won Cornell's major teaching prizes. His book on the undergraduate experience entitled How to Succeed in College and Beyond: The Art of Learning. (2016) has been published by Wiley (Hardback: ISBN 9781118974841; Paperback: ISBN 9781118974858; ebook: ISBN 9781118974810).
He is the author of Reading the European Novel to 1900 (2014) and the well-received 2012 book Endtimes? Crises and Turmoil at the New York Times (Excelsior Editions of SUNY Press), which appeared in an updated 2014 new paperback edition.
He blogs on higher education and the media for the Huffington Post. He can be reached at drs6@cornell.edu and followed on twitter at www.twitter.com/danRSchwarz and https://www.facebook.com/SchwarzEndtimes.
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Khizr Khan, father of fallen US Army Capt. Humayun S. M. Khan, holds up his copy the United States Constitution, while his wife Ghazala Khan looks on, as he speaks during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Thursday, July 28, 2016. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Donald Trump clearly thought he could bully the Khan family. After all, they are Muslim immigrants and Trump has made demonizing Muslims and immigrants the cornerstone of his successful run to the GOP presidential nomination. And to be candid, deep down I thought he might get away with it, given that standing up for Muslims in today's political climate is risky, to say the least.
But we were both wrong -- me happily, Trump not so much. What we both discovered was that the Khans were not viewed by our fellow Americans as Muslims, immigrants, or in any way as foreigners. Rather, they were viewed as Americans who had lost a son while fighting heroically for the United States of America.
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What the Khan family did with their speech last Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention was make a point that I suspect many Americans were unaware of until then: Muslim Americans have not only served in our military, but they have also made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.
An image of Capt. Humayun Khan is displayed on a screen as his father Khizr Khan delivers remarks at the Democratic National Convention July 28, 2016. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The Khan family -- Khizr, Ghazala and their slain son U.S. Capt. Humayun S.M. Khan -- put a face to American Muslims who had fought for our nation. They brought forth a discussion that many Americans had not been aware of: the idea of Muslim soldiers, who contrary to popular knowledge, have fought for this country before its formation. In fact, Muslims fought alongside George Washington in the Revolutionary War. One soldier, for instance, Peter Buckminster, is believed to have been Muslim and was the one who killed British Major Gen. John Pitcairn at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Indeed, Muslim Americans have served in our military ever since, including in the War of 1812, the Civil War on the side of the Union, World War II and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. There are nearly 6,000 Muslim Americans -- if not more -- serving in the U.S. military today. And Captain Khan, who was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for heroic service, is not the only Muslim buried with honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
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This story was largely unheard until the Khan's speech Thursday night. Now, even after the convention has concluded, it has received even more attention after Trump despicably mocked this Gold Star family. Trump first maligned Mrs. Khan for not speaking at the DNC -- as if that had any bearing on the sacrifice of the Khan family or the heroism of Captain Khan. Then, when she responded in an op-ed to explain why she hadn't said anything at the convention, he lashed out again. Trump tweeted this week, this time claiming Khan was out to attack him:
Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over T.V. doing the same - Nice! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2016
The response to Trump's antics were truly heartening, especially given that Muslims have been demonized by Trump throughout his campaign with relatively minor pushback. In this case, though, it was different. Despite Trump's direct plea to Republican members of Congress to stand with him and issue statements in his defense, none were forthcoming. In fact, we saw just the opposite reaction. Republican members of Congress, such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), praised Khan as, "an American hero." Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), a former prisoner of war during the Vietnam War who Trump ridiculed last year for getting "caught" by the enemy, went further stating, "In recent days, Donald Trump disparaged a fallen soldier's parents. ... I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers, or candidates." Other Republicans voiced similar sentiments, such as Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), who forcefully responded, "I am appalled that Donald Trump would disparage [the Khans] and that he had the gall to compare his own sacrifices to those of a Gold Star family."
Soon nonpartisan groups began to stand up for the Khan family. On Monday, Brian Duffy, who serves as the head of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, an organization with nearly 1.7 million, stated bluntly, "the VFW will not tolerate anyone berating a Gold Star family member for exercising his or her right of speech or expression." He added powerfully, "There are certain sacrosanct subjects that no amount of wordsmithing can repair once crossed."
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Khizr Khan offers to loan his copy of the Constitution to Donald Trump, as he speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 28, 2016. (Reuters/Mike Segar)
This diverse group of Americans who defended the sacrifice of these immigrant parents were truly embracing the very ideals expressed on the Great Seal of the United States: "E Pluribus Unum," which means "Out of many, one." This motto, coined by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, sums up what the experiment of America was intended to be -- a country where people of diverse backgrounds can come together and become Americans. Despite the efforts of Trump to demean the Khan family, they have still accomplished something truly remarkable. They made it clear to all that you can be both a proud American and a proud Muslim, and there is absolutely no contradiction between the two. Captain Khan may have died on June 8, 2004 in Iraq while protecting the troops under his command, but he is still fighting for America against those who attack our values. And I'm happy to report that Captain Khan is winning that war.
Also on WorldPost:
(THOMAS LOHNES / GETTY IMAGES)
The old model of a teacher delivering a one-way message through a lecture is no longer engaging 21st-century students.
This post was co-written with Alex Tapscott.
If there is one institution due for innovation, it's the university. It's time for a deep debate on how universities function in a networked society. The centuries-old model of learning still offered by many big universities doesn't work any more, especially for students who have grown up digital.
To start with, big universities are still offering what I call the broadcast model of learning, where the teacher is the broadcaster and the student is the supposedly willing recipient of the one-way message. It goes like this: "I'm a professor and I have knowledge. Get ready; here it comes. Your goal is to take this data into your short-term memory so you can recall it to me when I test you."
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The definition of a lecture has become the process in which the notes of the teacher go to the notes of the student without going through the brains of either.
This is no longer appropriate for the digital age and for a new generation of students who represent the future of learning. Today's generation want to converse when they learn. They like to share. Immersed in digital technology, they are keen to try new things, often at high speed. To them, university should be fun and interesting, so they should enjoy the delight of discovering things for themselves.
It's true that universities are trying to update this broadcast model. And of course many professors are working hard to move beyond this model. However, it remains dominant overall.
If universities want to adapt the teaching techniques to their current audience, they should make significant changes, especially if they want to survive the arrival of free online courses, some from the world's top professors.
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The professors who remain relevant will have to abandon the traditional lecture, and start listening and conversing with the students. To begin, the mastery of knowledge (anything where there is a right or wrong answer) should be achieved by students working with interactive, self-paced computer learning programs. This can be done outside the classroom, freeing students and faculty alike to spend class time on the things that matter: discussion, debate and collaboration around projects.
This is now possible because of the wonders of modern technology. It is starting to happen at select campuses where professors have introduced a "just in time" approach to their teaching.
Warm-up questions, written by the students, are typically due a few hours before class, giving the teacher an opportunity to adjust the lesson to focus on the parts of the assignments that students struggled with. Harvard professor Eric Mazur, who uses this approach in his physics class, puts it this way: "Education is so much more than the mere transfer of information. The information has to be assimilated. Students have to connect the information to what they already know, develop mental models, learn how to apply the new knowledge and how to adapt this knowledge to new and unfamiliar situations."
He's right. What counts these days is your capacity to learn lifelong, to think, research, find information, analyze, synthesize, contextualize, critically evaluate it, to apply research to solving problems, to collaborate and communicate. This is, by the way, what you get out of a liberal arts undergraduate education, no matter what discipline you choose.
Another fixture of old-style learning is the assumption that students should learn on their own. Sharing notes in an exam hall or collaborating on some of the essays and homework assignments was often forbidden. Yet the individual learning model is foreign territory for most young people, who have grown up collaborating, sharing and creating together online. Progressive educators are recognizing this. Students start internalizing what they've learned in class only once they start talking to each other.
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Of course, universities play an important role in the sorting of individuals in society, through the admissions process and the awarding of degrees. They screen human capital for future employers and more broadly stratify society. Those who graduate have the credential to get the most desirable jobs or entrance to graduate programs. They have proven they have a degree of discipline and that they're prepared to play by the rules.
But a credential and even the prestige of a university is rooted in its effectiveness as a learning institution. If campuses are seen as places where learning is inferior to other models, or worse, places where learning is restricted and stifled, the role of the campus experience will be undermined as well. The university is too costly to be simply an extended summer camp.
Campuses that embrace the new models become more effective learning environments and more desirable places. Computer-based learning for instance, can free up intellectual capital -- on the part of both professors and students -- to spend their on-campus time thinking and inquiring and challenging each other, rather than just absorbing information.
The current model of university education raises many other questions: Why should a university student be restricted to learning from the professors at the university he or she is attending? True, students can obviously learn from intellectuals around the world through books or the Internet. Yet in a digital world, why shouldn't a student be able to take a course from a professor at another university?
Why are universities judged by the number of students they exclude or by how much they spend? Why aren't they judged by how well they teach and at what price?
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The digital world is challenging the very notion of a walled-in institution that excludes large numbers of people. Yet the Industrial Age model of education is hard to change. Vested interests fight change. And leaders of old paradigms are often the last to embrace the new.
Back in 1997, I presented my views to a group of about 100 university presidents at a dinner hosted by Ameritech in Chicago. After the talk I sat down at my table and asked the smaller group what they thought about my remarks. They responded positively. So I asked them, "why is this taking so long?" One president commented that we're still stuck in a "Gutenberg approach to learning."
A very thoughtful man named Jeffery Bannister, then president of Butler College, was seated next to me. "We've got a bunch of professors reading from handwritten notes, writing on blackboards and the students are writing down what they say," he said. "This is a not a Gutenberg model. It's a pre-Gutenberg approach -- the printing press is not even an important part of the learning paradigm. Wait till these students who are 14 and have grown up learning on the Net hit the (college) classrooms -- sparks are going to fly."
Bannister was right. A powerful force to change the university is the students. And sparks are flying today. There is a huge generational clash emerging in these institutions.
Changing the model of pedagogy for this generation is crucial for the survival of the university. If students turn away from a traditional university education, this will erode the value of the credentials universities award, their position as centres of learning and research and as campuses where young people get a chance to grow up.
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Don Tapscott and his son Alex Tapscott are authors of the Globe and Mail bestselling book Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin is Changing Money, Business and the World. This piece originally appeared in The Toronto Star.
According to a Japanese study, your dog is communicating with his canine friends (and foes) using his eyes alone. And in fact, some of his facial features may be designed specifically for that purpose, including the coloring around his eyes, the shape of the eyes, and the color and shape of the iris and pupil. These are all elements of the canine eye-based communication system.
Gray Wolves Adapted Gaze Signals to Help Them Hunt in Packs
Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology at Kyoto University in Japan compared 25 different types of canines and separated them into 3 groups based on their facial coloration and gaze:
Group A... species with clearly visible pupils and eye position (example: gray wolf)
Group B... species with clearly defined eye placement but camouflaged pupils (fennec fox)
Group C... species with fully camouflaged eyes and pupils (bush dog)
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The researchers observed that canines in Group A, those with clear pupil and eye positioning (which includes wolves and domestic dogs), tended to live in groups, while those in Groups B and C (for example, Group B foxes), tended to be more solitary or live in pairs.
The researchers theorize that the species in Group A adapted "gaze signals" to help them hunt in packs and live cooperatively in groups. Group B canines, including foxes, only use eye communication some of the time. The all-dark eyes of animals in Group C, such as bush dogs, blend in with their facial coloring.
According to the researchers, it is typical of various types of predators to obscure their eyes to improve their hunting prowess. (If a prey animal can't tell where his predator is looking, he can't predict what might happen next.)
The Whites and Irises Are Important Features of Canine Eye Communication Systems
The researchers speculate that the whites of the eyes (sclera) of the Group A canines evolved to amplify the appearance of the darker iris and pupil. This applies to wolves, dogs, and also humans.
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The researchers were also interested in the reason for lighter iris coloring in some canine species. Since it is generally assumed that lighter irises are an adaptation to ultraviolet light, the researchers compared three wolf species from Group A - one native to the arctic, another to temperate climates, and the third to subtropical regions. Iris color didn't vary much between the three species, leading the researchers to conclude that iris coloring is used primarily to facilitate eye communication.
The study authors also looked at social behaviors in the three groups and found a number of social species in Groups B and C -- animals that normally live in pairs or alone. As it turns out, the more social species within those groups are known to use auditory or other visual signals to communicate with each other, for example, a cry or howl, or a tail flash. This adaptation may help the Group B and C canines catch prey that can identify a gaze and escape before being caught.
Oh, Those Puppy Dog Eyes
According to the researchers, gaze communication may be a very useful tool for other canines as well, including the family dog. Prior studies have shown that domestic dogs are more likely to make direct eye contact with humans than wolves raised in the same environment.
Jason Goldman, writing for Scientific American, offers a thought-provoking explanation for why a pet dog, but not a hand-raised wolf, studies human gaze signals:
"It isn't only the source of their food that changed as wolves became dogs; their entire social ecology changed. Instead of sharing social space primarily with other wolves, dogs came to treat humans as social partners. This is one of the critical differences between a domesticated and a wild animal that is simply habituated to the presence of humans. Domestication is a genetic process; habituation is an experiential one. Domestication alters nature, habituation is nurture."
So now you know (in case you didn't already) that when your dog looks directly at his "social partner" (you), he's communicating with you. He's receiving cues from your gaze, and he's also sending you messages with those puppy dog eyes.
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Dr. Karen Becker is a proactive and integrative wellness veterinarian. You can visit her site at: MercolaHealthyPets.com
Her goal is to help you create wellness in order to prevent illness in the lives of your pets. This proactive approach seeks to save you and your pet from unnecessary stress and suffering by identifying and removing health obstacles even before disease occurs. Unfortunately, most veterinarians in the United States are trained to be reactive. They wait for symptoms to occur, and often treat those symptoms without addressing the root cause.
By reading Dr. Becker's information, you'll learn how to make impactful, consistent lifestyle choices to improve your pet's quality of life.
More often than not, a college president's summer "vacation" consists of a slightly slower work pace -- maybe the luxury of leaving the office at 6 p.m. instead of 9 p.m., for example. It affords a chance to catch up on reading about trends in higher education (not often for the faint of heart).
Lunches with donors can extend into a second hour. If enrollment trends are positive for August, there are fewer sleepless nights in June and July.
Then there's this summer -- which to me is exceptionally hot, volatile, uncertain. The atomic particles in and around higher education seem as super-charged as those up in the clouds over my home on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Ocean View.
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It's an election year, which has some impact on us in the college arena and usually breeds uncertainty. We look hopefully to the candidates for pronouncements about their commitment to education. The reality is that Washington tends to keep us off balance when it comes to government grants, work-study funding, student loans, and other programs. Stability is fleeting. We're always feeling vulnerable about how the shifting moods in the Capitol will affect students in the quad.
Meanwhile, the government churns on as an engine of increasing regulation. We're bracing for the Dec. 1 launch of the Fair Labor Standards Act rules on overtime, raising the salary threshold at which employees are considered exempt from overtime pay. At Virginia Wesleyan, we're still working through how those rules will affect us. I wish our fellow institutions, other not-for-profits, and area small businesses well in adjusting to this costly regulation.
As the Hampton Roads region continues to build its economy, smaller businesses and organizations need incentives to invest in infrastructure, hire employees, and increase production. The new overtime regulations don't help. And be reminded that the rules will be open to revision in another three years. I am not optimistic that the process will be favorable to colleges or our area's small businesses that contribute so much to the economic vitality of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and surrounding communities.
The violence in our country and around the world is making us feel insecure. On humid mornings much too often this summer, the flags outside my office have fluttered at half staff. For colleges, the challenge is multi-faceted. We must keep our campuses safe yet open to the social and intellectual commerce that contributes so much to our vibrancy.
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Just as important is ensuring that our students are not desensitized, that they celebrate the diversity and freedom that the forces of hate or insanity seek to destroy, and that they embrace the perspective of history in learning from the tragedies of today.
My long, hot summer also drives home the disruption in our natural environment. Whatever the cause, global climate change is upon us. The students and faculty who will occupy the new Greer Environmental Sciences Center on our campus will have plenty to do in analyzing the causes and evaluating the outcomes of global climate change and, locally, the threat of rising sea levels.
As with so many of the urgent issues of the day, colleges and universities are expected increasingly to host discussions and propose solutions. I look forward to doing so in partnership with other institutions in our area.
One year into my post at Virginia Wesleyan, I've discovered how many good ideas exist in our region, along with the energy and resources to convert conceptualizing into action. May it find lucrative expression in economic development, environmental stewardship, and public policy discussion to benefit all of us in Coastal Virginia.
Perhaps the energy produced by this summer of anxiety will be converted into positive action, not a storm. (The college presidency, though, has taught me to be ready for anything.) In just a few weeks, it will be good to welcome the incoming and returning students, to help them unpack their mounds of belongings along with a renewed focus on learning.
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It will be enjoyable as well to greet our faculty, many of whom keep in regular touch over the break. Come September, campus equilibrium will be restored; we will return to the business of teaching.
My long, hot summer will join the ranks of others in my experience: reflective, restorative, and, with some relief, concluded.
# # #
Dr. Scott D. Miller is President of Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk/Virginia Beach. Previously, Dr. Miller served as President at Bethany College in West Virginia (2007-15), Wesley College in Delaware (1997-2007) and Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee (1991-97).
(US Capitol/US Government Work)
Written by Howard Fox, Earthjustice Counsel
Washington, D.C., isnt just the seat of our national government; its also my hometown. Its the place where I was born and have lived nearly my whole life. I attended the very first Earth Day rally here in 1970. Ive also spent over three decades working here, under six presidential administrations and on a wide variety of issues.
During this time, Ive seen how things operate. Those who pollute our environment continue to send a swarm of hired lobbyists to this town. They blanket Capitol Hill in their quest for legislative favors and sue at the drop of a hat to overturn government policies they dont like.
Their latest effort focuses on the Clean Power Plan, which sets the first-ever federal carbon pollution limits for our nations electric power plants. It is a vital, common-sense safeguard that will greatly reduce the U.S.s largest source of carbon emissions.
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August 3 marks the one-year anniversary of the Clean Power Plans unveiling. The plan rests on a solid legal and factual foundation, but the coal industry and its allies have been attacking it relentlessly with misguided lawsuits. I have joined a team of attorneys working to defend the Clean Power Planand on Tuesday, September 27, the plan will finally have its day in court, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
For me, the Clean Power Plan isn't just an abstraction. At my apartment building, renewable energy is real. We have the largest residential solar energy installation in Washington, D.C. This isnt just a photo of a solar panel that might be built somewhere, someday: Instead, these panels are installed and operating, creating energy for myself and my neighbors.
The clean energy genie is already out of the bottle, in the form of technologies that dramatically cut carbon pollution. With every passing year, the need for those pollution cuts grows more urgent, as unprecedented warming continues to threaten our health and environment. Like communities around the nation, Washington, D.C., is at risk from a warming climate. Our beloved National Mall and other downtown areas are located on the coastal plain, making them vulnerable to sea level rise. A storm several years ago damaged several important D.C. buildings, including the National Archives where we keep many of our nation's most precious historical documents. The Army Corps of Engineers has built a levee south of the White House in an effort to keep floods at bay.
So there's no time to losethe Clean Power Plan and its common-sense cuts in carbon pollution must be allowed to take effect. We simply can't let fossil fuel interests turn back the clock and prevent progress on the biggest environmental challenge of our time.
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As Ive seen through my time in the Nation's Capital, progress never happens if there arent people willing to take a stand. Fortunately, most of us recognize the need to move decisively away from carbon pollution and toward clean energy. Among those vigorously defending the Clean Power Plan are state, county and municipal governments; forward-thinking power companies; renewable energy producers; companies that specialize in helping businesses and consumers save energy; and public health and environmental groups.
Disheartening trends of global violence continue with the latest attacks in Iraq, Germany, and France, including the direct taking of a Catholic priest's life. The lens we use to respond to these violent habits, especially as a Catholic Church is of utmost importance for both better effectiveness and faithfulness.
As a grateful participant in the April conference in Rome on just peace and nonviolence, I previously wrote about being deeply moved by the encounter with fellow Catholic peacemakers who lived in violent conflict zones. Out of this experience, I want to respond to this interview in Our Sunday Visitor about the conference outcome document. The person interviewed was a respected colleague, Dr. Gerard Powers, professor of the Practice of Catholic Peacebuilding at the University of Notre Dame.
I, and the Conference, appreciate and agree with Gerard on the following points: Catholic life needs to better integrate peacebuilding; there is value in a just peace theory; just war theory is unfortunately being used primarily in an unhealthy way; and the significant value of a new Papal document on this issue. So, hopefully there is a lot of common ground to work on together.
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There are four other points of divergence, which I want to address with the hope of deepening the dialogue as we seek God's truth together. These points arise in large part out of an emphasis on the pastoral question about how we better form peacemakers as a Catholic Church.
First, in the interview there is no clear articulation of how Jesus' way corresponds to the Catholic Church continuing to use and teach the just war theory. This is not a minor point. Yes, the Catholic Church uses both scripture and tradition, but as we Catholics all know it is an "and" not an "or" relationship. Jesus' way needs a clear role and any moral teaching needs to have consistency with that way. Scripture scholarship is basically unanimous that Jesus models a way of nonviolent love of friends and enemies. The call to love our neighbor must always be consistent with how Jesus loved (John 13:34), and our perceived enemies always remain our neighbors. Recent Popes have confirmed this reality about Jesus, and the conference builds its' appeal consistent with this realism about Jesus.
Second, the claim is made that Catholic social doctrine already has a just peace theory. In general, this is a promising point and something we can build on together. The article says that "the vision, principles, criteria for moral action constitute the substance of a just peace theory." Yet, it's not clear which criteria are intended here. Is it the just war criteria or something broader? Either way, I agree that Catholic social doctrine certainly has elements of a just peace theory. But Catholic social doctrine has yet to explicitly identify, explain, and prioritize a just peace theory/approach. For instance, the conference alluded to seven specific just peace criteria to guide moral action across all stages of conflict, including during violent conflict. These criteria and this method of application have not yet been affirmed in Catholic social doctrine. There are also specific virtues, such as the virtue of nonviolent peacemaking, which were discussed as part of a virtue-based, just peace approach consistent with Gospel nonviolence. Examples of a similar just peace approach have been articulated by others on lethal drones, nuclear weapons, and ISIS.
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Third, the interview claims that the "highly restrictive" version of just war theory, which the "Catholic Church uses," does not necessarily undermine the development of nonviolent capacities. It may be true that the "highly restrictive" version is better than the less restrictive version. However, either version which includes the suggestion that war may be justifiable, still cultivates social conditions (ex. heavy preparations for war) that also make it more likely our society will make choices that undermine the development of nonviolent capacities. Further, even an emphasis on the "highly restrictive" version has in the concrete undermined the formation of Christian peacemakers or "peacebuilders." For instance, we see how rarely we, including Catholics, speak about or promote nonviolent resistance (esp. boycotts, strikes, civil disobedience, etc.) to injustice and violence. We see how minimal resistance is mounted by most leaders, including Catholics, to enormous military spending, primarily in countries with large militaries such as the U.S. We see how little we hear from leaders, including most Catholics, or key advocacy organizations on the proven practice of unarmed civilian protection (25+ years old). We see how little we hear from leaders, including Catholics, about the need to humanize or illuminate the dignity of our enemies, especially regarding people in groups like ISIS. When the Afghanistan war was on the horizon, most Catholic leaders had few constructive nonviolent suggestions before the war began. Instead, they primarily lifted up the "legitimate defense" language before the bombs dropped, which in large part simply emboldened the war effort. That war of course enhanced the conditions for the next Iraq war in 2003, led to the spreading of non-state violent groups, and to the development of ISIS in Iraq. It is of course not the "intent" of the "restrictive use" for such things to occur, but good intent is not sufficient for discipleship or moral living. It should not be a surprise that as Christ's teaching gets distorted with the concept of just war, the distortion will predictably grow beyond what we intend or may even imagine.
The interview cites the Iraq war of 2003 as a good example of the "highly restrictive" use by the Catholic Church. Pope John Paull II was certainly strong on saying no to war as a practice itself, i.e. "always a defeat for humanity." The U.S. Catholic Bishops wisely raised questions of concern but did not clearly conclude the war was unjust; except for one Romanian Bishop in Ohio, who also called on all Catholics in his diocese to not participate in the war. And in the concrete reality, the war proceeded and the devastating impacts continue today.
If the interviewee agrees that in the concrete reality the just war theory is primarily being used to endorse rather than prevent war for over 1600 years and even if it's not, for the sake of argument, how the "Church uses it," doesn't that strongly suggest it is not a workable moral frame in practice and the Catholic Church should at the very least develop an alternative moral approach to trying to prevent, limit and as Vatican II teaches (Pastoral Constitution, par. 82), to outlaw war?
Let's imagine for a moment if the Catholic Church were to shift to an explicit just peace approach consistent with Gospel nonviolence. As Catholics, we would likely develop a better mindset for nonviolent alternatives -- with more urgent attention, creative imagination, and persistent will to commit to such practices. Although Catholics do some great peacebuilding, there would likely be an increased development of nonviolent and peacebuilding practices, as well as less Catholics giving their energy to preparing for war. When the Pope said not to "bomb or make war" on ISIS, Catholics would be further energized and organize around creative, effective nonviolent resistance practices. Instead, with a just war infused mentality, most U.S. Catholic press and leaders focused their discussion on the apparent openness to some military action and how much made sense. Therefore, the conference appeal was proposing a new moral framework, not the withdrawal of moral judgement about war, and addressing all versions of the just war concept not simply the more "permissive use."
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Fourth, the interview refers to the vocation for peacebuilding and how this is broader than Gandhi and MLK's approach of "civil resistance." Just to clarify, Gandhi was clear that his approach to nonviolence or Satyagraha (truth/soul-force) consisted of both a constructive and obstructive program (civil resistance), which enabled each other. For Gandhi, the former is the more important, which includes social uplift and the constructive "creation of alternatives to armed conflict;" which is what the interviewee refers to as "peacebuilding." MLK was building off Gandhi's Satyagraha approach but oriented by his Christianity. This is important because it illuminates how turning to an explicit just peace theory consistent with Gospel nonviolence is central to incorporating both the constructive and obstructive programs, i.e. more fully becoming "peacebuilders" or as Pope Francis says "peacemakers."
by Eric Reeves
It is telling that a visit to Khartoum by the U.S. Special Envoy for the Sudans, Donald Booth, generated not a single bit of international news coverage, even as his schedule was known to include a "fact-finding" trip to Darfur. According to one highly reliable Sudanese news source, the Khartoum regime didn't have to bother with requests from journalists asking to accompany Booth during his visit to Darfur: there weren't any. Among other things, this encourages Khartoum in its already strongly held belief that the world has forgotten about Darfur, and that it can simply wait for the final stages of "genocide by attrition" to accomplish themselves.
To be sure, the lack of non-Sudanese journalists is perhaps understandable, given the tight control by Military Intelligence and the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) over every moment Booth was in Darfur, every location to which he would travel--something that could easily have been foreseen on the basis of previous highly controlled "fact-finding" missions. But at least Booth went to the right places: North Darfur and what is now called "Central Darfur" (formerly part of West Darfur). The latter is where the Jebel Marra massif is located, site of the particularly savage military assault by Khartoum's regular and militia forces beginning in January of this year. We still have no fully reliable figures for how many were displaced during the campaign on the ground and from the air; 200,000 seems a reasonable estimate based on UN figures and reports from Radio Dabanga and Sudan Tribune, although it may well be higher. We certainly have no data that can establish mortality totals, but the reports from these two Sudanese news sources, as well as a range of other sources, makes clear that the death toll has been very high, as have the number of rapes, assaults on villages, and instances of large-scale looting and destruction.
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North Darfur is the location of what is somewhat loosely referred to as "East Jebel Marra," the region east of the massif itself and heavily populated, primarily by people of the African Fur tribe. Over the past four years this region in North Darfur has seen the worst violence in all of Darfur, rivaling in intensity and brutality the early years of the genocide (see my January 2016 report on the mass rape of girls and women and "Changing the Demography": Violent Expropriation and Destruction of Farmlands in Darfur, November 2014 - November 2015" [November 2015]).
Booth has become notorious for not making statements, according to a Sudanese journalist colleague, even when meeting with opposition groups in Paris or Addis Ababa. And true to form, Booth has so far made no statement during his current (and presumably now concluding) trip to Sudan. He did meet with some of those who have witnessed the horrors of recent years, and some apparently spoke honestly, acts of extraordinary courage. Booth was in Nierteti (Central Darfur) and Tawila ("East Jebel Marra" in North Darfur), scenes of some of the very worst human rights abuses and violent destruction. He reportedly also met with civil society representatives in el-Fasher, capital of North Darfur.
For their honesty, outspoken displaced persons and civil society representatives will pay a heavy price, as Radio Dabanga reported On July 31, 2016:
Agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) detained five men in Nierteti in Central Darfur today. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, multiple sources reported that Adam Siddig, of the Northern Nierteti camp for the displaced, and Abdelkarim Adam Abdelkarim, of the Southern Nierteti camp were held at the town's bus station this morning. Nasreldin Yousef and Adam Mohamed, the owner of a welding workshop, were detained in the market of Nierteti. Ahmed El Tijani Abdeljabar Yousef was taken from a house in the Dar El Naeem district. The sources said that the NISS officers seem to be still searching for others. Last week, the US special envoy for Sudan, Donald Booth, paid a visit to Darfur. In Nierteti, he reportedly spoke with a number of displaced.
Reporting on August 1, 2016, Sudan Tribune offered a fuller account of events in Nierteti:
Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on Monday has arrested at least 21 leaders of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the locality of Nirtiti, Central Darfur state following a meeting with the United States Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, Donald Booth, said IDPs official. On July 26, the American envoy started a visit to Darfur states to assess the security and humanitarian situation on the ground particularly in Jebel Marra area. Deputy Chairman of IDPs and Refugees Association Adam Abdalla Idris told Sudan Tribune that the NISS is now making intensive efforts to arrest dozens of IDPs leaders after it accused them of providing Booth with misleading information pertaining to the security and humanitarian situation in the region particularly in areas of east Jebel Marra. He added that several IDPs leaders have disappeared from sight for fear of being arrested by the NISS, pointing the latter has a list including names of all IDPs who met with the American envoy.
According to Idris, a security source disguised as an IDP has attended the meeting with Booth and submitted a report including details of the meeting to the NISS. Idris pointed that the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID), human rights groups operating in the area and the IDPs have provided identical reports to the American envoy including numbers of those killed in the recent clashes in Jebel Marra besides numbers of the newly displaced persons and the rape incidents. "The humanitarian situation is at its worst particularly after food and drug supply have stopped besides the lack of blankets and other basic necessities" he said. He added that the American envoy will likely delay his visit to South Darfur state in fear of subjecting dozens of IDPs to harassment and detention by the NISS.
[These reports are partially confirmed by another Darfuri source on the ground near Nierteti--ER]
Despite his reluctance to issues statements, it would seem incumbent upon Ambassador Booth to demand publicly that Khartoum provide assurances that his fact-finding mission did not result in the large-scale arrests of displaced persons, and that he be provided evidence of the safety of those with whom he spoke.
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Not to speak out is to allow diplomatic tactical calculations to outweigh the clear risks to those who dared to speak with Booth, at his request, in order to provide what the U.S. surely already knows from the many reports that have appeared in the last year: from UN OCHA, from other UN agencies and humanitarian organizations, from Human Rights Watch (two important reports in 2015, focusing on the mass rape of girls and women at Tabit, East Jebel Marra, by Khartoum's regular army forces, and the ghastly predations of recent years by Khartoum's current militia force of choice, the Rapid Support Forces). The Special Envoy's office is also in possession of a great deal of research--including first-hand interviews of victims--that reveals the scope of human devastation from this year's campaign against the people of Jebel Marra.
Silence from Ambassador Booth at this critical moment in the lives of courageous Darfuris will be acquiescence in their fate, a fate his visit to their ravaged lands has worked to define.
This week, the Legislature returns from its summer recess and begins the sprint to adjournment at the end of the month. For the bills that have survived multiple committee hearings, floor votes and amendments, this is the end of the line.
That makes August a very interesting month in Sacramento. A number of good bills are pending in the Senate, and I look forward to working with the authors to help get these worthy laws enacted. Here are several great proposals that will hopefully soon become law.
AB 1561: Repeal the tampon tax! This bill by Assemblymember Christina Garcia has gotten a lot of attention this past year -- and rightly so. We don't tax medicine. We don't tax food. We don't even tax candy. So why do we make every woman pay sales tax on a product she will need every month for decades of her life? It's not just unfair -- it's unjust. #Notaxontampons.
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AB 1559: Disaster Relief for Businesses. Last year, after the horrific Valley Fire and other wildfires up and down the state affected thousands of businesses, I partnered with Assemblymember Bill Dodd to introduce this legislation to allow people whose businesses have been affected by a natural disaster to delay paying their taxes. This is just common sense. If your business has burned down alongside the rest of your community, the last thing any of us should worry about it whether we get your quarterly sales tax on time.
AB 2678: Fair Funding. With summer in full swing, families across the state are taking the kids to the fair. It's a timeless tradition for nearly every community in America. But like so many places these days, local fairgrounds are struggling. Assemblymember Adam Gray has introduced this bill to dedicate a very modest revenue stream to these important local institutions. Fairgrounds serve such an important function, well beyond the few weeks each summer we typically think of. In emergencies or natural disasters they are routinely used as emergency shelters and first responder dispatch sites. Day to day, they can be used as anything from community centers to concert halls to commencement stages. Fairgrounds are essential to our communities, we need to keep them funded. (Besides, where else can we find deep fried twinkies?)
AB 2888: Response to Stanford Rape Case. Assemblymember Evan Low, Assemblymember Bill Dodd and Senator Jerry Hill introduced this bill that simply states no person can be merely sentenced to probation if they are convicted of sexual assault. The bill stems from the overly-lenient sentence handed down to a member of the Stanford University swim team who was convicted of attempting to assault an unconscious young woman, whose case sparked national attention after the young woman's letter to the defendant was posted on Buzzfeed.
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AB 797: Right to Rescue. Assemblymember Mark Steinorth and Assembly Majority Whip Miguel Santiago have jointly introduced this bill which would protect passers-by from liability if they break into a hot car to rescue an animal. Another bill that should have been in law a long time ago. Don't leave your pets in the car. Ever. And if you do, don't be surprised when a Good Samaritan breaks your window.
AB 717: Exempting Diapers from Sales Tax. Another easy call, this bill by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez exempts diapers from sales tax. Any new parent can tell you how expensive diapers are, and this is another clear cut example of why we shouldn't be taxing a basic necessities of life.
In fact, I believe that AB 717 and 1561 make a strong case for creating a fourth general exemption from sales tax in state law: basic necessities of life. Things like diapers and tampons are indispensable to our health, even if they aren't directly related to medical treatment or sustenance of life.
Finally, there are a trio of bills related to our continuing efforts to better regulate and integrate the medicinal cannabis industry in California.
AB 567 by Assemblymember Mike Gipson will establish an amnesty program for medicinal cannabis businesses so we can recoup back taxes.
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AB 2149 by Assemblymember Susan Bonilla authorizes SBOE and counties to accept cash payments from medicinal cannabis related businesses -- a very important rule change, given the federal blackout on banking services forces medicinal cannabis businesses to operate on a strictly-cash basis.
AB 821, also by Assemblymember Gipson, removes the fee imposed on cash transactions at SBOE. This is a simple change, but one that removes an unfair penalty on legal businesses that can't get banking services.
Each of these bills are pending in the State Senate, and I hope our senators approve them. These are all common sense bills, and some of them -- like repealing the tampon tax and strengthening punishment for sexual assault perpetrators -- should have been passed years ago.
More and more final candidates for senior roles are being asked to present their 100-day action plans as part of the interview process. The question is an obvious test that has a hidden trick in it. Shame on you if you walk into a late round interview without a plan for what you are going to do leading up to and through your first 100 days. And shame on you if your plan is all about you.
In a world in which 40% of new leaders fail in their first 18 months, hiring organizations are realizing that it's no longer good enough to hire the right leader. They have to help with executive onboarding. This is all about helping new leaders prepare in advance, manage their message and build their teams. It all starts with a plan.
Lincoln knew it wasn't enough to win the war. We had to "finish the work" and secure "a just, and a lasting peace."
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Conversely, Barack Obama looked back on "failing to plan for the day after" the 2011 toppling of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi as his "worst mistake".
It's not enough to win the war. It's not enough to bring down the dictator. It's not enough to get the job. You need a "plan for the day after" and after and after. You know this. The people interviewing you for your next senior leadership role know this. That's why more and more of them are asking final candidates for 100-day plans.
It's a trap. No one cares about you. No one cares about how you're going to ease into your role the day after they do in the old dictator. All they care about what you're going to do for them.
This is why you need to have a 100-day action plan ready to share and why going beyond the question asked to what matters most to the person asking the question is going to be the difference between your plan and the second place candidate's plan.
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Enough people asked for help with this that we created a tool just for 100-day plans for interviews. Click here for a free copy of the tool. The key pieces of it include:
1) Clarify their objectives. This may be the most important idea. Framing your thinking within the context of their objectives changes it from what you're going to do to what you're going to do to help them achieve what they want to achieve.
2) Lay out what you and your new team must do to move towards those objectives. This is where your framing starts to pay off. You are suggesting your team is part of the greater whole and should play its part in moving the greater whole forward. Who's going to argue with that?
The choice of where to focus is an important one. It's not critical that you get this exactly right. It is critical that the logic behind your choices makes sense to the people interviewing you. Thus, take the time to think this through.
3) Lay out what you must do over your first 100-days to get that started right. Now you're ready to answer the question asked. What you say here will not likely be all that different from the answer given by anyone that's read The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan, but the way it's positioned in the context of the first two points will be dramatically different and better.
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Key components should include:
It was a story with a bit of irony, as well as ominous health warnings.
Crystal Hefner, the 30-year-old wife of Playboy magazine mogul Hugh Hefner, announced in a story in People magazine last month that she'd had her breast implants removed because they were making her sick.
Hefner posted a photo of her post-surgery self on Instagram with the caption, "Using 2016 to reclaim my health and embrace and love myself for the real me."
The former model, now a DJ, was diagnosed a few months back with Lyme disease. Her symptoms included intolerance to foods and beverages as well as back, neck, and shoulder pain.
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Hefner also suffered from cognitive dysfunction (brain fog, memory loss), stunted hair growth, fatigue, burning bladder pain, low immunity, and recurring infections and problems with her thyroid and adrenals.
People on social media pointed out that her symptoms matched those of something called breast implant illness.
Is the illness real?
Because of her celebrity, Hefner's procedure was well-publicized.
There are also plenty of articles and blogs advising women to not get the implants or to have them removed.
However, doctors in the plastic surgery field suggest the connection between her symptoms and Hefner's implants -- almost 10 years old -- may not be well-grounded.
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"There are millions of women worldwide who have had breast implants for either reconstructive or cosmetic reasons, and the purported adverse health impacts are rarely reported," Dr. David Song, told Healthline.
Song is the president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and vice chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Chicago Medicine.
"There is no scientific evidence that breast implants and leakage of silicone has been the cause of any type of autoimmune disease," he added.
His words were echoed by Dr. Daniel Mills, president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, and in private practice in Southern California.
"The crux of the matter is that we had always done studies looking at breast cancer," he told Healthline. "But the rate of women who got cancer didn't change" if they had implants.
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"The FDA [Food and Drug Administration] responded to claims from women who had scleroderma, lupus, fatigue, or other autoimmune diseases," Mills said.
They looked for associations between the implants and the symptoms, and "they found no difference," he said.
A short-term solution
The potential symptoms and reasons for surgery vary among women.
While many seek cosmetic changes, others have different needs.
"Breast implants are used for not only cosmetic reasons, but a significant number for reconstructive reasons after a woman has a mastectomy for cancer or a genetic mutation predisposing them to cancer," Song said. "Rebuilding a woman's breasts after cancer is also helping them to restore a sense of normalcy not just in appearance, but a sense of well-being.
There are several studies that support the benefits of reconstructive breast surgery."
Over time, surgical procedures have changed.
"The techniques have become more minimally invasive (shorter, smaller scars), and can often be done without general anesthesia," Song said.
Women may choose between saline and silicone implants, depending on individual needs. From a safety perspective, in Mills' opinion, "there's not much difference between saline and silicone -- until it breaks."
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That is one reason surgeons -- and the government -- remind patients that the same implants are not meant to stay implanted for a lifetime.
On its website, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) stresses that point.
"The longer you have breast implants, the more likely it is that complications will occur and you will need to have them removed," it says.
Mills urges women who have implants, whether silicone or saline, to get them checked on a consistent basis. He recommends changing one's implants about every 10 years.
On average, implants last 10 to 15 years before the risk of possible rupture heightens considerably.
Certain implant breakage or leakage, such as with silicone implants, can lead to a late capsular contracture, or a buildup of scar tissue, resulting in a more difficult implant exchange.
A personal choice
Both surgeons stressed that getting breast implants is a personal choice and that patients should do their homework before going ahead.
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They should also consult a board-certified plastic surgeon to get the facts, and see if this is right for them.
There are women who are happy about their decision to get implants.
Sandy, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, got implants and a lift in 2005.
Describing herself as into health and fitness, she said she'd been unhappy about her post-pregnancy breasts. That led her to the surgeon's office.
"I'm super happy, have no issues," she told Healthline.
She did acknowledge that recovering from surgery was harder than she had anticipated.
"It's like any surgery. You don't pop right up," she said.
And there are others who aren't as gleeful.
Melissa Gilbert, the actress who gained fame on "Little House on the Prairie," had her breast implants removed in January 2015.
In a detailed blog post before the surgery, Gilbert explained why.
"I am concerned for my health," she wrote. "Frankly, I'd like to be able to take a Zumba class without the fear that I'll end up with two black eyes."
By Roberta Alexander
Started in 1994, Amazon has gone a very long time - over 20 years without making real money. Jeff Bezos, and his shareholders, have to be the most patient people in the world. Now it appears that the patience has paid off since Amazon just surpassed Berkshire Hathaway and Exxon Mobile as the 4th most valuable company in the world after Apple, Alphabet (Google), and Microsoft. How did Amazon do it?
World's biggest retailer
Most think of Amazon as an online retailer since the company branded itself that way and lots of us buy products from Amazon on their gigantic e-Commerce Web site. Amazon just passed Walmart a year ago as the world's biggest retailer. No surprise there. Unless you need to touch, feel, and try on the merchandise, Amazon is perhaps the most convenient place to find and buy products ever invented. Marketers know that Distribution's overall added-value function is convenience - making it convenient to find, buy and use products. That's not all. Buyers can use the site to read reviews, receive suggestions, and comparison shop for better prices. With increasing disincentives to go to physical stores - traffic, parking, wasted time, and opportunity costs, Amazon has gained the upper hand as more and more people feel comfortable buying online. However, since Amazon offers ultra competitive prices on small margins and most likely loses money on small orders, this is not how they have realized a boost in profits of late.
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Amazon Prime Day
Originally launched over a year ago, Amazon's second annual Prime Day on July 12th was the
ever for the company. In addition to increasing the number of Prime subscribers at $99 per year, Prime Day accomplishes the following:
Gives Prime subscribers deals and greater added-value, Creates a mid-year sales promotion opportunity (since retailers typically do not become profitable until the Holiday shopping season), Capitalizes on the need for buyers to purchase items for back-to-school, Reduces mid-year inventories.
Cloud computing
While continuing to grow its online retail business has been a great revenue generator, what seems to be contributing the most to its profits is Amazon Web Services, or AWS. Started in 2006, this part of Amazon has consistently grown to capture a dominant 31% share of the cloud computing infrastructure market. To put this in perspective, its nearest competitor - Microsoft - has 9% of the market followed by IBM (7%), Google (4%), and Salesforce (4%). Using a rule of thumb devised by the Boston Consulting Group (companies that have 20% market share are almost always profitable, it seems that Amazon's initiatives in cloud computing and its other B2B activities are likely to continue to pay off handsomely.
Lessons for businesses
Iraqi Shi'ite women stand by the holy Mosque of Abbas in the center ofKerbala April 22, 2003. Countless thousands of Iraqi Shi'ite Muslims,oppressed under Saddam Hussein, thronged the holy city of Kerbala onTuesday, free for the first time in decades to mark one the most sacredmoments of their year. REUTERS/Yannis BehrakisYB/WS
Last New Year's Eve it was reported that 2000 men sexually assaulted 1200 women in Cologne, Germany. Immediately, politicians and pundits jumped to make the connection between the rash of violence against women and the influx of refugees. And each time another incident takes place, the battle between political positions is reignited. One liberal politician in Germany noted that the debate must be centered around "no means no" and not around "whether refugees should be deported" or allowed safe haven in Western countries, and I agree with this completely. This is not a refugee issue. It is a case of incongruent cultural practices. Men from societies that reject women's rights must reform their attitudes and practices if they wish to exist in Western societies in which women are treated as equals. But more broadly, this sort of antiquated thinking must change.
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Just this month in Reutlingen, Germany, a man stabbed a pregnant woman to death after reportedly being rejected by her. His status as refugee has nothing to do with a tendency towards violence against women--his fundamentalist upbringing in which he was indoctrinated by perversions of Islamic teachings do. This is not meant to condone or excuse his behavior, but rather it points to a much bigger problem that will not be solved by demanding blanket bans on Muslims because it fails to consider the women who face this brutal ideology in Muslim majority countries every day.
Two weeks ago in France, a Muslim man from Morocco stabbed a woman and her two daughters--ages 8 and 14--because the he believed they were too scantily clad. He didn't try to hide it nor did he commit his violence in secret. In fact, he was vacationing with his family when he served the punishment he felt was deserved. This was not a refugee, but a man who was raised under the similar fundamental ideology that holds that women exist as subservient beings meant to respect men and have no business as free-thinking individuals.
Just consider a few of the current laws in Muslim-majority countries. Today in Saudi Arabia, in 2016, it is illegal for women to go anywhere without a male chaperone, drive a car, try on clothes in a clothing store, interact with men or play sports. In Pakistan, the Shariat Court sits parallel to the country's judicial system and openly calls for "swift and efficient punishments" for alleged Sharia violations that democratic court systems cannot carry out sufficiently. This court brazenly calls for violence against women when a man feels she has dishonored a Sharia principle or if she dares to deny him sex (an act considered to be a sin under certain teachings). Rather than crying out against refugees and Muslim immigrants, we should be demanding the entry of Muslim women and children so that we can teach them that women are equal and deserving of respect. We need to spread this message in the West and empower the Muslim reformist movement within Islamic culture -- throughout Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and other repressive societies - to bring Islam into the 21st century as leaders like Egyptian President Sisi have insisted upon. Obviously, this is a mammoth task given the pervasiveness of these beliefs, but the work of leaders like Sisi and others must be recognized, applauded and expanded.
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Last year, I took courses from a Qatar-based fundamental Islamist online school to gain insight into their teachings. I was told that "there are many more women in hell than men" and that women are to blame for many sins in the world and, as such, they should be respectful towards their husband and provide sex when a man requires it. The course trained students to understand that a woman covering her body and most importantly her hair, entirely in black is crucial to keeping her feminine nature and sexuality hidden from the outside world. Of course, this restriction of freedom for women conflicts with everything we are taught in Western society.
Garth Brooks may have been standing on stage in Yankee Stadium before tens of thousands of fans, but his words had such an intimacy about them. It was as if he was leaning in for a one-on-one chat. "When I come to New York I never feel secure enough that I can be myself," he told the wildly adoring crowd. "But it turns out that's exactly what you want me to be. And I realize, you love me just as I am!"
As his "People Loving People," song goes, there was a lot of love for Brooks who rousingly performed that song and other favorites like "Two Pina Coladas," "The River," "Papa Loved Mama," "Friends In Low Places," "The Dance" and more. He also sang "In Another's Eyes" with Trisha Yearwood. And she passionately belted her classics including "How Do I Live" and "She's in Love With the Boy."
Brooks' recent Yankee Stadium concerts marked the first time the country superstar has performed in New York since 1997 when he played to nearly a million people in Central Park. He and Yearwood are also the first country artists to have a concert at that legendary stadium. Just hours before taking the stage, Brooks and Yearwood talked to Parade. "The people out there have always taken care of me so I'll go out there, have fun and trust," said Brooks. "It's kind of like closing your eyes, falling backward and trusting they're going to catch you."
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, Thursday, July 28, 2016, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
I don't know where it ends with Donald Trump. He is somehow able to weather controversy after controversy, and dodge every criticism of his countless offensive statements. Yet, one would think that of all groups to insult, a Gold Star family would be off limits for the GOP nominee's fiery rhetoric. For years, support for our troops and respect for military families have unified both parties in an increasingly polarized climate. Surely, no presidential candidate would disrespect a Gold Star family.
That is not the case with Donald Trump.
The GOP nominee continued his war of words with the parents of Captain Humayun Khan, a Purple Heart recipient, who was killed defending his unit in Iraq in 2004.
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By now, you all know the backstory: Capt. Khan's parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, took to the DNC stage last week and delivered arguably the most electrifying moment of both conventions, when Mr. Khan held up a copy of the U.S. Constitution and challenged Trump to read it, accusing him of "sacrificing no one and nothing."
Trump responded promptly, lashing out at Mr. Khan, and accusing Mrs. Khan of having nothing to say. Trump heartlessly suggested she might have been silenced, playing on the chauvinist notion that Muslim women are somehow required to be subservient to their husbands. While it is true that Mrs. Khan stayed silent on stage, she did so because of the overwhelming emotion that overcomes her upon seeing pictures of her son. She said as much in a Washington Post op-ed, and declared on CNN's New Day, "I can say that my religion or my family or my culture never stopped me saying whatever I want to say."
Yet, Trump didn't back down from those initial comments made to ABC's George Stephanopoulos over the weekend. Trump went so far as to compare the Khan family's sacrifice to the sacrifices he made in building his business. "I think I've made a lot of sacrifices," Trump insisted. "I work very, very, hard; I've created thousands and thousands of jobs -- tens of thousands of jobs; built great structures; I've had tremendous success..."
Yes, Trump equated the loss of a child during wartime to his business successes.
For someone who repeatedly states how much he "loves the vets," and touts his donations to veteran charities, why Trump wouldn't just apologize and move on to focus on his campaign is beyond reason. This is more than that, though. This doubling down on his criticism of the Khan family shows a basic lack of empathy and leadership required of a president.
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Trump has received nearly universal condemnation for his comments. Gold Star families issued a repudiation of Trump , as did Arizona Senator and former POW John McCain. In his statement, McCain praised Khan and assured "the memory of his sacrifice will make us a better nation -- and he will never be forgotten."
Of course, Trump supporters are firmly (and blindly) in his corner, diverting the conversation to one about radical Islamic terrorism, and engaging in the playground argument of "Well, they started it!"
His supporters cling to the campaign's clarifying statement, which praised Capt. Khan as a war hero. Of course, that statement came after Trump's initial attacks. Surrogates like Corey Lewandowski and Jeffrey Lord conveniently leave out the fact that Trump continues to criticize Khan's father, and refuses to apologize to Khan's mother.
I need to ask, where does it end with this man? Where is his moral compass? When does the bar get so low that he says, "You know what? I misspoke. I apologize." Why does he continue to double down? Even as children, we're taught that not every attack warrants a response. I'll always remember my mom telling me, "Jess, sometimes you need to walk away, and be the bigger man."
But this situation isn't even about that. It should transcend politics. It's about human decency, empathy, and respect for those who have endured personal loss. Yes, Mr. Khan criticized Trump in a political forum, but running for the highest office in the land requires a higher moral standard and knowledge that criticism comes with the job. How can we expect Trump to react to criticism on his policies if he can't even handle criticism to his ego? How can we elect a man incapable of expressing sympathy to a family who has paid the ultimate sacrifice?
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Mr. Khan and his wife continued their press tour on Monday, speaking on CNN's New Day and MSNBC's Morning Joe. Some Trump supporters believe this media blitz serves to further politicize the loss of Capt. Khan. To that I ask, where were you when Pat Smith, mother of Benghazi victim Sean Smith, spoke out at the RNC, personally blaming Hillary Clinton for her son's death? Was that not political? Besides, the Khans did not blame Trump for their son's death, or call for Trump to be imprisoned, as Smith did with Hillary Clinton at the RNC.
But I digress.
This is how absurd some Trump supporters' mindsets have become. They will cling to anything to defend what is essentially indefensible. I don't know how they do it.
Last year, I wrote a blog post entitled, "How Long Can Donald Trump Remain the Teflon Don?" Well, one year later, it's about time something sticks. This latest offense cannot slide. It shows a blatant lack of character traits needed to become President of the United States: A moral compass, a sense of empathy, and an ability to admit fault.
In last year's blog post, I brought up Trump's questioning of Senator McCain as a war hero. So, for my final point, I'll share another portion of McCain's statement issued Monday morning: "I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers, or candidates."
If that is true, Senator, it is time for you and other Republican leaders to withdraw your endorsements of Trump. It is simply not enough to denounce the comments, and continue to support the man who made them. This family has paid the ultimate sacrifice, and for Trump to criticize that is a bridge too far. His disparaging attacks are not just unbecoming of a man worthy of the presidency; they are unbecoming of a man worthy of our respect.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 28: Khizr Khan, father of deceased Muslim U.S. Soldier Humayun S. M. Khan, delivers remarks on the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 28, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Philadelphia, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Democratic National Convention kicked off July 25. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Like millions of Americans, I was enthralled by the presentation of Khizr Khan at the Democratic National Convention. It was not only a highlight of the convention, but also a moment particular to the changing America of the 21st century.
Yet at the same time, Khan's story is classically American: an immigrant wanting to bring his family to this country, "not," in his words, "because of religion, but because of its values."
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Generations of immigrants of different faiths and backgrounds have been attracted to this country exactly because of these values -- the freedom to choose one's life, to think as one likes, to observe one's religion as one chooses, or not to follow any religion. Immigration has indisputably been an engine of American economic success and inseparable from American ingenuity.
Indeed, what is classic in Mr. Khan's story is how quickly this immigrant family integrated into American life. Khizr Khan attained an advanced law degree and became an attorney. Their middle child, Humayun, joined the army out of high school and, later, while preparing to enter the University of Virginia Law School, he was called up to serve in Iraq.
Humayun's story, his service, and his heroic and tragic death on behalf of his country in Iraq in June 2004, resonates so powerfully because every American can identify with it -- because we are a nation of immigrants.
It wasn't the fact that the Khan family is Muslim that is the core of this tale, though the Khans clearly are proud of their Islamic faith. It is the fact that they are Americans who believe in America and who made the ultimate sacrifice for the country they loved.
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For us at ADL, this event had particular significance.
First, it spoke to our long understanding of the value of immigration to this country. Back in the 1950s, ADL worked with the young senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy, to publish his work A Nation of Immigrants. The values presented by Khizr and Ghazala Khan at the convention were the very values embodied in JFK's classic book -- that we are all immigrants in one way or another, all contributing to making America what it is. It is this feature of our society that makes us exceptional -- what makes us American.
Second, back in 2010, we sought to convey the kind of message so powerfully delivered by Khizr Khan when we honored a different Muslim American who had given his life for his country. Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan was a New Jersey born American Muslim who volunteered to fight in Iraq. Laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery, Kareem was killed by an improvised explosive device in 2007 and was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. His mother Elsheba accepted the honor on her son's behalf at our annual "In Concert Against Hate" at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
We recall this only to point out what should be self-evident -- that Army Capt. Humayun S. M. Khan is another of many stories that need to be told about American Muslims' sacrifice and contribution to our country.
It has been heartening to see the response to his remarks from many politicians as they have stood up on behalf of the Khans. They and many others realize that scapegoating of Muslim Americans not only threatens the fabric of our society, but weakens us in our battle with Islamic extremism by playing into the tropes of ISIS recruiters that seek to portray the U.S. as an enemy of Islam.
While the fight against stereotypes is a collective responsibility, it has been a significant part of ADL's mission since our founding. My hope is that in the wake of this episode, in this effort we have won many new allies who recognize that in order to be for ourselves, we must stand by one another.
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History shows that one of the strongest generators of prejudice and stereotyping is fear: fear of the unknown, fear of the other. In the case of Muslim Americans, that fear is often conjured by invoking anxiety about terrorism. Indeed, Khizr Khan's remarkable presentation reminds us that, when it comes to the overwhelming majority of American Muslims, that fear is not only misplaced; it is unfair, dangerous and un-American.
Surely, the threat posed by Islamic extremism is real. Self-proclaimed Islamic extremists have employed terror and shaken communities around the world. We have recently seen unspeakable violence perpetrated in Brussels, Baghdad, Tel Aviv, Istanbul, Paris, Nice, San Bernardino and Orlando.
But, as the American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said in the face of a much grander threat, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." He explained that "nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." What we need at this hour is to draw on that great American reserve -hope- that has sustained us through so many difficult moments in our past and is the surest guide to our future.
Humayun Khan was an American hero, but his story is not an exception to a rule. His family's story is far more representative of Muslim American aspirations than the phantasmagorical stereotypes so often used to portray Muslims.
More than anything else, we can only hope that the attention appropriately accorded to Khan's remarkable speech and the heroism of his son will deliver a powerful blow to those in this country who would seek to blame an entire people, religion or ethnicity for the terrible deeds of the few extremists.
'Apartment blocks of a public housing project in Harlem, New York City, New York, USA.'
"The End of Black Harlem", as argued by Michael Henry Adams in The New York Times, is rapidly approaching. The trend is evident in the analysis of Census data from 2000 to 2010 by City University of New York's, Center for Urban Research. Data shows that the Black population in Harlem has fallen precipitously ("The largest loss of Blacks in Manhattan occurred in Central Harlem North (-5,453) and Central Harlem South (-4,091). The Black population also declined in Hamilton Heights (-5,366)."), and shows no signs of abating. The most historic black neighborhood in America is on the verge of becoming majority white.
While Mayor Bill de Blasio rebutted Adams' argument, expressing that the work of preserving Harlem is just beginning. The reality is, the process of gentrification began decades ago in Harlem. And the same developers we are turning to -- to preserve Harlem's historic character -- began that gentrification in the first place.
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The process of gentrification is usually associated with a fancy coffee shop popping up on the corner or maybe the shutdown of the neighborhood deli. But in reality, it is a process controlled by specific individuals -- usually wealthy white men -- seeking out new business ventures, with the community as a casualty in their push for inordinate profit.
The change we are witnessing is not a natural process caused by the ebbs and flows of individuals moving in and out of neighborhoods. It is driven primarily by developers and financiers. Throughout the past 50 years, displacement has taken many names: redlining, white flight, subprime lending, gentrification, hipsterization, among many others. Each time neighborhoods of color are turned into commodities by speculators, bankers, for-profit developers and real estate brokers. Neighborhoods that were once forgotten and neglected are now lured into change with words like "revitalization", "job creation" and "affordable housing". Often, none of the changes are meant for the current residents.
The current iteration of gentrification in Harlem, and frankly many urban neighborhoods across America, follows a familiar pattern. Rich, mostly white men, see opportunity in low-income communities -- that have traditionally had lower property values -- where they can gobble up property quickly, influence the neighborhood development, inhale public subsidies, market housing to outsiders and then walk away with millions after selling off to a private equity firm. Rinse, recycle, and repeat.
In New York, the main driver of gentrification is the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH). Aptly named, this group of developers does their business under the presumption of 'affordable housing.'
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With the promise of desperately needed affordable housing, NYSAFAH developers are able to infiltrate neighborhoods of color across the city.
But behind the promise of "affordable housing", lies a model that has perfected gentrifying communities of color. By buying land in low-income communities, taking advantage of city subsidies, using non-union, low paid construction workers, and last but not least building massive amounts of housing that is unaffordable to the neighborhoods.
Case in point is Ron Moelis, co-founder of NYSAFAH and L+M Development. Soon after NYSAFAH was established, Moelis began to greatly expand his portfolio by using public subsidies to take on projects in Harlem. His developments such as the Aspen, the Kalahari and Madison Park were built at levels unaffordable to the residents with the median incomes of Harlem. The developments were marketed to well-to-do residents who wanted the proximity to the rest of Manhattan and paved the path for gentrification of the most historic black community in the country.
Market-rate units at the Kalahari sold for more than $1 million. The "affordable" units in the building are sold for much more than the median income in Harlem, as they were for purchasers earning 80-175 percent of the area median income.
The changing character of the neighborhood happened while Moelis built his empire in what was historically the African-American mecca of the United States.
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As Harlem has shifted over the past 15 years, higher-income, mostly white families have become a much greater share of the population, and Moelis' L+M is now selling off its developments to private equity groups and making obscene profits, bolstered in part from favorable terms acquired from the City. The Aspen and Savoy Park -- an enormous rent-stabilized development that L+M purchased five years ago -- were both recently sold off to private equity firms for tens of millions in profit. The land and developments they first pursued are now worth tens of millions more than what they paid for it. They are now the immense beneficiaries of a gentrification process that they helped start.
L+M took its model of gentrification to Williamsburg and the Lower East Side with massive developments. And it is now pushing outward to neighborhoods on the verge of flipping, like the South Bronx and East New York.
It has helped fund Moelis' kingly lifestyle, with palatial homes in Greenwich, Connecticut, and on the Long Island Sound in Westchester, as well as an opulent 5th Avenue apartment overlooking Central Park. Moelis has managed to pay for stately apartments for his children, secure a position for his son in the governor's administration. In addition, Moelis has been able to create L+M's own investment vehicles worth hundreds of millions of dollars and partnerships that allow the developer to expand all over the country. Meanwhile, homeless mothers and their children ride the trains all night because they have been turned away from another shelter.
NYSAFAH and Ron Moelis are displacing communities across New York City, following a pathology that we have seen many times before. Real estate interests have consistently used this model, preying on communities of color to drive up, or drive down, the price of land, to the developer's benefit, while black and Latino families lose their wealth, incomes and neighborhoods.
With the help of the city, the destiny of our neighborhoods has been tipped heavily towards powerful private interests. And the people of New York City continue to lose control of their neighborhoods.
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Disguised under the promise of "affordable housing", developer kings like Moelis and members of NYSAFAH have managed to transform neighborhoods historically inhabited by people of color, all while using city subsidies to build units that are not affordable to the people of these neighborhoods. For-profit developers like Ronald Moelis and members of NYSAFAH do not need government assistance at the cost of communities of color.
Street vendors have always been in the crosshairs of the Broken Windows theory of policing. When the disorder-busting approach was first unleashed under former mayor Rudy Giuliani and an innovative new police commissioner named Bill Bratton, vendors were some of the first to go. Artists selling their creations on the street were an early target of these so-called 'quality-of-life' crackdowns until 2001 when a federal judge ruled the city couldn't stop art from being sold on the street. Still, other street vendors without proper permits remain at the mercy of both police, who can summons or arrest them, and city inspectors, who can levy fines as high as $1,000.
That practice has continued under mayor Bill de Blasio's administration, one which includes an older, more decrepit Bill Bratton. In the first couple of months of the de Blasio and Bratton era, arrests of panhandlers and peddlers (i.e. vendors) more than tripled in the subway system. Those crackdowns included the arrest of a woman who was selling "Churros", a Mexican pastry, in the subway. Another woman was reportedly arrested seven times over a two and a half year span for selling Churros in the subway. In fact, it's not uncommon for subway vendors to be held in transit precinct holding cells overnight.
In another incident in which video went viral, police in Sunset Park, Brooklyn were seen kicking a young member of a fruit vendor family in the back after an altercation. Street and subway vendors, many of whom are immigrants, are frequent targets of Broken Windows policing, along with subway performers and homeless people.
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This past month has seen the city launch an aggressive crackdown on vendors above ground in my neighborhood of Spanish Harlem. A married couple who sell Tamales and Tacos told me that city inspectors showed up early last week and dumped a handful of tickets on them while threatening to confiscate their small tables and pushcarts. The husband and wife, who have been married for over forty years and have sold street food for over a decade, suspect that nearby building owners complained to the local precinct. An inspector sat down in the vendor's chair as he sorted through the tickets he was giving them. He had already pre-filled most of the paperwork and arrived with two NYPD officers alongside him.
Another vendor a few blocks away says she has been hit with thousands of dollars in fines in the last month alone. Lola, 47, has been a resident of El Barrio, as Spanish Harlem is known, for 25 years. Originally from the Mexican town of Guerrero, she has three kids and sells Tacos, Tamales and all sorts of Mexican street food to make a living. Lola, like the vendor couple, has a licence to sell and pays taxes for her small business. However, she, like thousands of other vendors across the city, doesn't have a city-issued permit, which comes in the form of a coveted vendor sticker. Most vendors can't get that permit anymore since the city has capped the number available.
The food vendor cap hasn't budged since 1983.
There were other stories from vendors in El Barrio from the last couple of weeks: one woman, I was told, had her entire grill taken away and was left with multiple tickets. The cost of the grill plus the tickets, amounting to several thousand dollars, would effectively kill her business. A young man who sells Mexican yogurt drinks out of a cooler on third avenue was arrested later that week. To top that off, a well-liked 78-year old icy vendor who's pushed his cart in the neighborhood for decades was also caught in the crackdowns, losing his cart and, more than likely, his business.
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Sean Basinski of the Street Vendor Project, an organization that advocates for vendors, says the city's cap on vendor permits is a major part the problem. Another is the role of business improvement districts (BIDs), public-private partnerships where property and business owners fund services and wield influence over a specific area. Basinski notes their role specifically with street vendors, who are often neighborhood staples:
"The BIDS are incredibly powerful lobbying machines in support of broken windows policing. There are 82 BIDs across the city, and they have the ability to get to know local precinct commanders in neighborhoods all over. If the BIDs have a complaint about a street vendor, for example, they have a direct line to the NYPD, and can get them to come out much more quickly than a regular citizen ever could. In one case we knew about, the local precinct outpost and the BID security office literally shared the very same facility.
Second, they have a lot of money. Just one BID in Lower Manhattan - the Downtown Alliance - has a yearly budget of $18 million. Of course, this is not raised by individual donations, like regular non-profits have to do, but rather mandatory property levies approved by the city. With all their money, the BIDs can afford to hire private lobbying firms."
In this regard it's important to note how quality-of-life policing extends beyond police. These other levers of power and influence, represented by BIDs, merchant associations and chambers of commerce, fuel the broader Broken Windows ideology. "No police reform or community groups can match the BIDs collective reach," says Basinski.
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Queens Neighborhood United (or Queens Barrios Unidos) is a grassroots coalition of resident groups and small business owners which fought the creation of a BID in Jackson Heights. They see BIDs as a spear of gentrification and say that heavy-handed quality-of-life enforcement efforts will only get worse with the expansion of BIDs. Spanish Harlem, which has a local chamber of commerce, has been on the brink of creating a BID in the neighborhood for some time.
Crackdowns on vendors have also been happening in Jackson Heights and Corona, Queens as of late. Last week the city's health department, along with police officers, swept through neighborhoods in Queens harassing vendors, some who are even fined even though they had permits (enforcement can include all sorts other infractions, like being a few inches too close or too far from the curb). There, like in El Barrio, an icy vendor also had their cart confiscated. Even a vegetable vendor was targeted, the group says. Organizer Tania Mattos points to the Roosevelt Avenue Police Task Force and Jackson Heights Corona Business Improvement District, which she says "are tools used by government and the private sector to advance the interests of property owners."
The Street Vendor Project says that crackdowns cost more than one might imagine. Apart from their slice of the police budget--the Manhattan South Peddler Task Force, for example, is reported to enjoy $4.5 Million budget--the policing of vendors can be measured in tens of thousands of tickets each year that vendors have to pay. In 2014, the Street Vendor Project estimates that 1,542 NYPD tickets and summonses were issued to vendors for lack of permits or licences. In 2015, 18,924 tickets issued to vendors went through the Environmental Control Board court (these being those that other city agencies can levy). Put together one can estimate upwards of 20,000-25,000 tickets are being issued to street vendors on any given year.
While getting that cherished but capped vendor permit is nearly impossible, Basinski says that some can be bought on the black market for up to $20,000. More profitable food trucks and out-of-town vendors with wealthy investors (read: hipsters and white foodie-preneurs) may be able to afford those types of costs. However, most vendors, many of whom are immigrants and most of whom are people of color (Street Vendor Project estimates over 95% of vendors are non-white), cannot.
July 22, 2016 -- the day that journalist Pavel Sheremet came home.
Thousands lined up to see him in his hometown of Minsk, Belarus -- for the last time. Two days earlier, Sheremet was killed in a car bombing in Kiev. The New York Times reported: Another Russian journalist falls. On the surface, his story is not uncommon.
Let's start the story from the beginning.
1994: A young bank worker steps foot into the world of Belarusian state television. He quickly proves his talent in his weekly program Prospekt. In no time, he is President Aleksander Lukashenko's right-hand reporter. Until he isn't.
July 22, 1997 -- the day that Pavel Sheremet crossed the line.
Literally, he crossed the line. Recording himself crossing the border between Belarus and Lithuania, he exposed the government for lying about border security. Lukashenko took it personally. Sheremet was thrown in the KGB jail for "exceeding his professional rights as a journalist," and deprived of his Belarusian citizenship.
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That same year, in Kiev: an affair blossoms between two virtually unknown journalists -- Georgiy Gongadze and Olena Prytula. In 2000, they have the idea to create an oppositionist website together called Ukrayinska Pravda (The Ukranian Truth). Gongadze was the editor-in-chief. Prytula was not only his vice editor -- but also his mistress.
A couple of months later, Georgiy Gongadze was found a headless corpse.
The world erupted. The website sky-rocketed in popularity with Prytula left as its lone successor.
The circumstances surrounding his death are now called the Cassette Scandal -- named for a collection of audiotapes released in which top level admin, Volodymyr Lytvyn, discusses a plan to silence Gongadze for his investigative reporting. The Former Interior Minister of Ukraine, Yuriy Kravchenko, bore witness to this. Two days before he could testify against Lytvyn, he was found dead with two gunshots in his head.
What does any of this have to do with the death of Pavel Sheremet? To quote Alexandre Dumas: Cherchez la femme.
Look for the woman.
The last person to ever see Gongadze alive was his partner and lover, Olena Prytula.
Sixteen years later, Pavel Sheremet dies in a car bombing after leaving his partner's house in her car. His partner's name?
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Olena Prytula.
It sounds like a bona fide crime noir -- but on that side of the world, it's a reality. This is the story of three journalists -- connected through strange circumstance, but at the end of the day, all victims of an oppressive regime of censorship.
Where do I play into this? Well, it's more than just the fact that I was born in Minsk, myself. When I moved here fourteen years ago with my family, we were escaping the fate that Sheremet and countless before him faced themselves.
In fact, when Sheremet was thrown in the KGB's jail, it was only a year after my own father had been there. And although Sheremet spent most of his career working for Russian television, his office was only down the hall from my father's own at Belarusian state television.
When we moved to Cleveland fourteen years ago, everything my father had ever done was suddenly reset. When he started over, he created a newspaper and named it Prospekt in memory of the talent and vigor of his friend Pavel Sheremet. Just last month, we celebrated its 500th issue.
As for Prytula, it's hard to know what to say. Whether she is a true black widow or a repeated victim of long-lasting tragedy -- even she is not safe. Some speculate that it was she that was meant to disappear a few days ago. Let's not forget that since 2000, an average of more than one investigative journalist a month is killed in Russia and Ukraine. Under intense government pressure, these deaths are left unsolved.
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The FBI is currently investigating the assassination. The finale of this mysterious case remains open-ended.
Editor's Note
A HuffPost article that previously existed at this URL has been removed.
MOSUL, IRAQ - AUGUST 9: Thousands of Yezidis trapped in the Sinjar mountains as they tried to escape from Islamic State (IS) forces, are rescued by Kurdish peshmerga forces and Peoples Protection Unit (YPG) in Mosul, Iraq on August 09, 2014. (Photo by Emrah Yorulmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Most were deeply moved by the compelling picture of the Yezidi people trapped by ISIS in early August 2014, yet for most that image has become but a memory. That picture provides a lens into a most tragic story. The Yezidis call August 3 the "turning point." Approximately 5,000 Yezidi people were slaughtered in early 2014. The picture of the Yezidis fleeing and stranded on Mt. Sinjar was horrifying, Over 50,000 people were in imminent danger. The United States did get involved with air strikes for a short while, allowing the people to leave the mountain. However, today 500,000 Yezidis remain without homes, and are victims of rape and murder as the world watches ISIS attempt to destroy this historic and peace loving people.
In March of this year, in a rare act of unity, the House of Representative voted 393-0 to give the designation of genocide to the Yazidi. This is only the third time we have used that term in three decades. (The other two genocides are Rwanda and Darfur). Genocide is a legal term that has specific meaning all connected with the intent to systematically eradicate a religion, racial, ethnic group or national group from the face of the earth. The moral question that emerges is what is the responsibility of the world in responding to genocide? Regrettably, Darfur and Rwanda do not provide examples of intervention that are helpful. We need to grapple with both a humanitarian response as well as foreign policy that infuses the term genocide with a resolve to stop it.
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I recently returned from my journey to Berlin and Amsterdam where I met with refugees from multiple countries including Yezidis. I went to "bear witness" to their plight and to listen to their voices. I had learned about these unique people and the danger they are living with in a comprehensive and articulate report published by the United Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015. During this season of political campaigning with some stereotyping all refugees and immigrants, it is especially important to be keenly aware and respond to the largest refugee crises that the world has seen since WW 11.
I spent hours with Duezen Tekkal, a most personable and articulate Yezidi woman who is a German television journalist, author, and film maker. She wanted to know more about her roots, her people, and her history and joined her father on a perilous trip to Iraq in the summer of 2014. That trip resulted in her making a film and writing a book: "HAWAR-MY JOURNEY TO GENOCIDE."
Most Americans know little about the Yeziids, and often we fear what we do not understand. They practice a 4,000 year-old tradition that combines Christian, Jewish and Muslim practices. There are about one million Yezidis in the world, half of them living in great peril in the Ninewa province of Iraq, and 100,000 living in Germany, most of whom are well integrated into German Culture.
The Yezidis have a strong moral anchor which includes a prayer: "First save the other people on the earth, and then save us." Their spiritual center is in Lalish in Northern Iraq. They are inextricably linked with this land and have survived persecution throughout the ages. Most wish to remain there but many are seeking refuge. I met Deuzen's parents and some of her siblings. Her father Seyhmus who has lived in Germany for decades and has been an active leader in championing the cause of the Yezidis tells me: "We want justice, we want peace, and we want a future. We ask for the world to help us...Humanity is more important than whatever your religion is."
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In 2015 Nadia Murad Basee Taha, a 21 year old survivor of the genocide, told her horrifying story of enslavement and rape to the members of the United Nations Security Council. She shared in vivid detail her plight and that of her people: "Along the way, they humiliated us. They touched us and violated us. They took us to Mosul...where in a building there were thousands of Yezidi families and children and they exchanged us as gifts."
On the Statute of Liberty, are the inspired words of Emma Lazarus: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
It often seems that this refers only to people who are already here and is no longer an active value. Does it only apply to those who share our backgrounds, our religions? We know little about the Yezidis, we fear the Syrian refugees. Immigrants have shaped America. There are many others waiting to come to our shores including the Yezidis. They too yearn for a new life.
I say, it is not fair to support killers.
Let's read an interesting critical essay by Nietzsche -- I mean "Nietzsche contra Wagner" written by Nietzsche himself. Nietzsche explaines in this essay why he parted ways with his friend, Richard Wagner. Nietzsche attacks Wagner's views, his conversion to Christianity, perceiving it as a sign of weakness. In particular, he calls Wagner's music degenerative and relates it to a bit by bit degenerating German culture and society.
Nietzsche writes in the essay: 'Enough! Enough! I fear that, beneath all my merry jests, you are beginning to recognise the sinister truth only too clearly--the picture of the decline of art, of the decline of the artist'. The same thing I feel now when I read about Pavlensky and his support of Primorsky partisans. But when I expressed my critical opinion about cop killers in Pavlensky's Facebook, Pavlensky's partner Oksana immediately banned me, mocking my liberal views, despite the fact that I always supported Pavlensky.
Havel Prize and Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov, former World Chess Champion, awarded Pavlensky the Havel Prize for Creative Dissent. Kasparov praised a lot his "artistic precision and courage". But a decision on awarding a prestigious prize was annulled because the artist had supported the Primorsky Partisans group. Who are the Primorsky partisans? They are not only cop killers. They are members of a band of far-right extremists. By the way, one of the first victims of the Primorsky Partisans group was Aleksey Karas, a police sergeant. He was killed with atrocity-- his body had more than 20 stab wounds.
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July 20, the jury of the Primorsky regional court has recognized two Primorsky partisans not guilty on one of the episodes of the case.
According to the Russian businessman Yevgeny Chichvarkin who lives now in London, this court's decision is a sign of the impending catastrophe and a beginning of a civil war in Russia.
I repeat, the Primorsky partisans are members of a band of far-right extremists, I can't understand why some Russians support far-right extremists, how they can do that is beyond my comprehension. Let me remind you, my readers, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris. This declaration is a milestone document in the history of human rights, it tells us that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. It tells us that a human being has the right to live. Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person".
"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people.
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Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law, ...
Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction. "
Chimera of the Law Enforcement
The painting's size is 39" x 47", it depicts a monster with the head of a man, with wings of a bat, a beak of bird, a snake-headed tail and four hands.
The Chimera of the Law Enforcement wears a police cap, Chimera's hands hold an electric wire for torture, a tortured man, a gun and a police stick. The oil painting was created by me, Lena Hades, in Juny 2009. The Moscow Times published this painting 6 years ago.
Eva Hartog Skorobogatova, a reporter of "The Moscow Times" wrote about Petr Pavlensky an interesting article entitled "Partisans or Cop Killers? The Fight for Justice in Russia's Far East". "Meanwhile, the Partizany's supporters are trying to correct what they see as a state-run misinformation campaign against the group". Dear Eva Hartog, I would like to pose a question to you, what does it mean -- "a state-run misinformation campaign against the group"? Where did these "innocent guerrillas" get their weapons? I know, this question is purely rhetorical -- in Russia, by the way, there is no free sale of weapons, arms sale to anyone.
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Epilogue
Recently in a newscast I heard the following: "If only white men could vote, Trump would win. If only people lacking a college degree could vote, Trump would win. Conversely, if only college graduates could vote, Clinton would win. If only women or minorities could vote, Clinton would win." Assuming the expert who was being interviewed had some evidence behind his proclamations, what does this tell us?
For one thing it tells us either that white men, particularly the older and less educated among them, fail to understand something that more educated people do, or else this demographic feels less served by our society than others. This may come as a surprise, since most people would say that historically women and minorities were less well served in society than white men. There must be something these men are feeling that makes them want to revert to a former societal condition they somehow perceive as having been superior to the current one. So what is it that attracts so many older, less educated white men to Trump's message? What makes them respond favorably to the Trump persona, so utterly lacking in dignity, poise, compassion and respectability as it is?
I am old enough to remember how things were in the 1950s. White males had decreed that blacks must sit at the back of the bus, that women must limit their concerns to the best brand of detergent to use, and that the handicapped must remain largely hidden from view so as not to disturb "normal" people. The handicapped were afforded none of the accommodations they enjoy today, and "foreigners" were viewed with suspicion, if not contempt. This was a time when many Americans blithely assumed our country was "better" than all the others, and American white men took for granted that they deserved greater privilege than everyone else.
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Secluded (relatively speaking, anyway) as we were in those days from global influences, a triumphalist ethnocentrism was a natural and expected stance. Lacking much input from other cultures, we could freely assume that our country was the best, and our religious beliefs were the only correct ones; customs of other cultures were quaint, at best and "primitive" or barbaric at worst. In those days, we of the other gender, and those of nonwhite races willingly acceded all the power and privilege to the dominant demographic -- white males. This was a time when Trump was young, and our society had yet to even suspect the sweeping cultural changes that would force themselves into our consciousness, and that have colored our society ever since.
Since the 1950s however other nationalities and races have flooded into our country, enriching our society with cultural variety and color, and exposing us to many belief systems and customs. The internet and global news connect us on a daily basis with all parts of the world. This multicultural exposure has broadened our minds and deepened our humanity. What is more, we have been able to compare and contrast all sorts of religions and belief systems, and have recognized a trajectory people tend to follow as they mature spiritually, no matter which religion they follow.
We now understand that, regardless of what belief system a person may ascribe to, spiritual progress entails a continually expanding circle of concern. The least developed among us relate only to themselves; they are egocentric. Slightly more advanced people identify primarily with the groups of which they are a part, Democrats, Republicans, Christians, Americans, etc. These people can be said to be ethnocentric and they tend to fear or outcast anyone who is perceived as "other."
At levels more advanced than those two, people identify with the entire human race, or even all beings, or the entire universe. The broader one's worldview, the more a person will include in their circle of concern, the more spiritually mature they are.* The same trajectory applies in social development and cultural development. We can perceive a definite forward direction in spiritual development, societal or any other type of development. And a Trump mentality represents a definite step backwards on that trajectory. At best his worldview might be ethnocentric. Or at worst -- and more likely -- egocentric.
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Surely Trump's idea of what would make America "great" again harks back to a time of maximum ethnocentricity. The "great" America Trump would like to return to represents the less developed ethnocentric level. It was really only ever great for the very demographic to which Trump himself belongs -- white males, and NOT the minimally educated masses, but rather the elite, the RICH white males born into privilege and opportunity. Trump is first and foremost a largely ruthless businessman whose success has come at least in part by stepping on the backs of those with whom he did business. Everything he has said to date shows that he has clearly not reached a level that would cause him to empathize with anyone outside his own class.
The uneducated, the poor and the oppressed do NOT belong to the group Donald Trump sees himself a part of. Trump may talk like he shares their concerns, but rest assured he is not one of them. They are "the other" that a Donald Trump would not relate to, no matter how much he is trying to pander to them in his embarrassingly undignified campaign. Typical minimally educated older white males, whose hard labors have built this country into what it is, are kidding themselves if they think a Donald Trump would ever lift a finger to extend the material, social or cultural bounty he has enjoyed to them.
My warning to America's older, less educated white males: The "Great Again" America Trump promises is NOT the same one you are hoping for.
Thursday, July 28, when Hillary Rodham Clinton took to the stage to accept the Democratic nomination to be the first female candidate of a major political party for president, was also the 101st anniversary of the U.S. military occupation of Haiti that lasted nineteen years.
Hundreds of people took to the streets and filled a gym named after president Stenio Vincent, who negotiated the departure of the U.S. Marines in 1934, to launch the People's Tribunal on U.S. Occupation/Domination. The march began at Fort National, of historic significance. Equally significant was the rapprochement of various segments of Haiti's progressive movements, often fragmented along political lines.
As the U.S. is gearing towards what will almost certainly be an expensive, combative, and highly charged general election, Haitian authorities have rescheduled elections for October 9. While some praised interim President Jocelerme Privert for declaring financial independence from the U.S., vowing to hold the elections without U.S. funding, this assertion of sovereignty was eroded as much of the $55 million budgeted for the elections will go to foreign firms to print the ballots. Privert's tightening of the state's belts has asphyxiated the already fragile public sector, notably education and health care. The State University of Haiti is in a prolonged crisis deepened Friday by the arrests of protestors occupying the administrative building, and doctors at the State Hospital have been on strike for months.
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These contemporary struggles underscore the stakes in the efforts to re-unify the Haitian left. And they also underscore the need for a historical analysis and reparations. Without naming them all, here are six contemporary legacies of the first 1915-1934 U.S. Occupation:
1.Creating a new constitution that gave foreigners the rights to land in Haiti. Today, land rights - intimately linked with food sovereignty - remains one of the biggest struggles. International projects - free trade zones, export-oriented agriculture like Agritrans, high-end tourist development such as that at Ile-a-Vache, or mining - threatens this right.
2.Creating an army - which had devastating consequences of human rights violations and massacres, not to mention setting the stage for the Duvalier dictatorship.
3.Appropriating wealth - the U.S. stole $500,000 in gold reserves on December 17, 1914, right before the Occupation. During the occupation, National City Bank took control of Haiti's central bank. Since this time, Haiti's financial management remains under international agencies' rule.
4.Centralizing political and economic power in Port-au-Prince. Regional economies were undermined as nearly all wealth and all industries were developed in the capital. Political power was also centralized. These factors contributed to the hyperurbanization, and certainly after the killing of the Haitian pig population in the early 1980s. The 2010 earthquake exposed the consequences of this centralization in the "Republic of Port-au-Prince."
5.Fanning the conflict with other neighboring countries, certainly the Dominican Republic - it is not coincidence that the Dominican state chose the date of 1929, wherein if someone was born after this date their citizenship status was revoked in 2013. The U.S. occupied both sides of the island for several years, triggering a migration of Haitian laborers to cut Dominican sugar cane. Since June 18 of last year - where tens of thousands were either expelled or left 'voluntary' fearing mob violence - this situation has become a crisis and massive human rights violation.
6.Submitting the country under international agencies' tutelage - many in Haiti argue that the Occupation that began 101 years ago has never stopped. The 1915 military occupation prepared the ground for foreign control of development and fiscal policies. Haitian sovereignty has been eroded ever since. The debt claimed by international agencies was the opening for what used to be called "Structural Adjustment" programs, where international agencies forced the country to be open to foreign products, especially U.S. rice. In effect, Haiti was turned into a dumping ground for the U.S. and neighboring countries. In addition to this direct control, the 1915 Occupation prepared the country for what Sauveur Pierre Etienne called an "invasion of NGOs." After the earthquake Haiti was often called a "republic of NGOs" undermining state capacity and authority. This "humanitarian occupation" is accompanied by a U.N. invasion. These troops, who have brought cholera to the country with several documented cases of rape and sexual assault, have immunity.
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The march, several hundred people strong, gained strength as it wound its way through low-income neighborhoods where several onlookers, handed a cartoon
depicting an emaciated Haitian man feeding an already bloated Uncle Sam, joined. David Oxygene, of MOLEGHAF, spoke to the press across from the site of the demolished National Palace and barracks.
In the gym, at least six hundred attended the formal launch of the People's Tribunal. An initiative of the People's Democratic Patriotic Movement, MPDP in the original Haitian Creole, and other agencies, the People's Tribunal's principal objective is "To reinforce the people's foundations of consciousness-raising and mobilization to accomplish a political de-occupation, economic de-occupation, and a cultural and ideological de-occupation of the country."
These may seem like lofty goals, raising questions of why now? And why would this be a priority given so many other urgent realities in the country, and indeed the region and world.
In his presentation at the launch of the People's Tribunal, Camille Chalmers pointed out the historical amnesia, as a result of the lack of investment in education. "When people hear about this process, they are thirsty for more information." Chalmers recounted the impact of the 1967-1968 International War Crimes Tribunal, organized in by philosophers Bertrand Russell and Jean-Paul Sartre, which turned the tide of public opinion, mobilizing support for the eventual U.S. withdrawal.
Specifically answering why now, history professor Jean Eddy Lucien pointed out the continuities and historical roots of many contemporary social problems in Haiti. In addition to several noted above, Lucien pointed out the roots of poverty and Haiti's role as provider of cheap labor that began with the U.S. Marines occupation. Lucien noted how 82% of Haitian college educated professionals live outside the country, a result of these processes of migration and underdevelopment.
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Longtime refugee rights activist Collette Lespinasse emceed the event, which began with women's rights activist Danielle Magloire's presentation honoring Haitian resistance to the occupation, specifically noting Haitian women's participation in the struggle. Mirebalais high school teacher Fegues Germain testified about the U.S. Marines' massacre of peasants in the Central Plateau. French solidarity activist Claude Quemar of CATDM outlined the calls for reparations from France, especially the 1825 debt. Engineer-agronomist David Nicolas offered testimony of the destruction of the Haitian pig. Mario Joseph of Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) spoke of the impact of cholera and BAI's lawsuit against MINUSTAH, also detailed in a recently published book, Deadly River, by epidemiologist Ralph Frerichs.
MPDP coordinator Ernst Mathurin unveiled the list of the committee to investigate and bring forth the lawsuit, as well as the jury, available on the People's Tribunal Facebook page. Both teams include leaders of public opinion, seasoned NGO professionals, social movement participants, and university professors. Music of many styles and poetry also spoke to the importance of this encounter with history.
The People's Tribunal is moving ahead: the investigative committee is gathering facts to prepare its case. And it's already begun building bridges.
Especially in this volatile electoral season - in Haiti as in the U.S. - it is easy to lose sight of history and structural causes of today's social ills. The People's Tribunal allows for an imagination and articulation of solutions.
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Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's president, right, and U.S. President Barack Obama depart following a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, June 30, 2015. The U.S. and Brazil issued new commitments Tuesday to promote renewable energy and prevent deforestation, continuing momentum to address climate change leading into global talks later this year in Paris. Photographer: Pete Marovich/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In an interview with journalist Abby Martin, President Rafael Correa of Ecuador said that Latin America would be better off if Trump won the U.S. presidential election in November. He was relatively gracious and diplomatic about it, praising Hillary Clinton for her positive attributes, and ended by saying that for the sake of the U.S. and the world, he hoped that she would win. But Correa, who has done a great job in improving the lives of his compatriots and carrying out progressive reforms during his presidency, is highly educated and intelligent. He has learned much from the region's experience with the Bush and Obama administrations. So it is worth taking his claim seriously, because it says some important things about U.S. policy in Latin America.
The basic idea is that the U.S. is going to play a terrible role in Latin America no matter who is president, so it is better for Latin Americans to have a U.S. president who is widely disliked, like George W. Bush was, than someone who is charming and mediagenic like President Obama. In the short run, it is hard to counter this claim. In fact, it is quite possible that the region would have been better off if John McCain (2008) or Mitt Romney (2012) had defeated Barack Obama, and Obama is in general less hawkish than Hillary on foreign policy. The Obama administration's policies in Latin America were no better than those of George W. Bush. The administration helped consolidate the military coup in Honduras, and did the same for the parliamentary coup in Paraguay.
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In March 2016 President Obama traveled to Argentina to heap praise on the recently elected right-wing president there, and the administration reversed its policy of blocking international loans to the country under the prior, left President Cristina Kirchner. Many more examples of real or attempted harm of left governments could be cited. On the positive side of the ledger, there is one item: Obama's opening to Cuba. This is a historically significant policy change that would likely not have been done by a Republican president, but it is still part of a continued strategy of regime change by other means.
There are historical and structural reasons for the ugly continuity of U.S. policy in Latin America, and the shameful lack of debate over it either within the government or in the media. Perhaps most importantly, it has few electoral consequences, even when Washington alienates almost all of the region's governments, as it did with the military coups in Honduras and Venezuela.
So Correa is probably right, at least in the short run. But I would argue that in the long run, even Latin America would be worse off with a Trump presidency. That is because the two parties here do not have the same political constituencies, and the base of the Democratic Party is sufficiently different that it will continue to push overall U.S. foreign policy in a better direction. This was more evident for Latin America in the 1980s, when President Ronald Reagan's sponsorship of mass killings and atrocities in Central America caused so much opposition here that Congress cut off funding for the war in Nicaragua. (The Reagan administration then resorted to illegal funding; hence the Iran-Contra scandal). On this fight, Congress was divided along partisan lines, with Democrats against U.S. funding for illegal wars and assassinations.
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A recent example of these potential differences can be seen in the letter sent last week to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry by 43 Congressional Democrats, including some of the party's leadership in the House and members close to President Obama. The letter states:
We write to express our deep concern regarding recent developments in Brazil that we believe threaten that country's democratic institutions. We urge you to exercise the utmost caution in your dealings with Brazil's interim authorities and to refrain from statements or actions that might be interpreted as supportive of the impeachment campaign launched against President Dilma Rousseff. Our government should express strong concern regarding the circumstances surrounding the impeachment process and call for the protection of constitutional democracy and the rule of law in Brazil.
The Obama administration is officially neutral on the impeachment, or "coup" as many Brazilians call it, but there is evidence that they are supporting it. A member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee told me recently that it was "pretty clear" that the Administration was in favor of Dilma's impeachment.
It is very unusual, perhaps unprecedented, for dozens of Democratic members of Congress to push back against a Democratic administration on policy towards a country as large and important as Brazil. But the only major U.S. news outlet that reported on the letter was the Los Angeles Times.
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The major media is another structural reason for the appalling continuity and lack of debate over U.S. foreign policy in Latin America.
Pope Francis waves during a press conference on the plane after his visit to Krakow for the World Youth Days, on July 31, 2016.Pope Francis celebrated mass on July 31, 2016 with over 1.5 million pilgrims in a vast sun-drenched field in Poland, wrapping up an emotionally charged trip with some choice technological metaphors. In a nod to today's internet-dominated world, Francis urged the faithful, who had travelled to Poland from all over the world, to 'download the best link of all, that of a heart which sees and transmits goodness without growing weary'. / AFP / POOL / Filippo MONTEFORTE (Photo credit should read FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)
According to German, Nazi-era thinker Carl Schmitt, the function of the Catholic church and the papacy is to slow down the arrival of the Antichrist and the end of days. On his visit to Poland from July 27 to 31, Pope Francis made it clear that he is trying to keep a third World War from emerging -- in the shape of a war between religions. Among his remarks, he said that the characterization of Islam as violent is misguided.
Despite repeated attempts to get the pope to create an armed church -- by those who do not dare to demand a response to the terrorist phenomenon from politicians -- Francis is not alone in rejecting the military-theology option.
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Paradoxically, the few churchmen and the even fewer columnists who attempt to blackmail the church with the idea of an armed papacy are the same ones who chastise Francis for not following in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II.
But it's clear that Francis's refusal to enter the church and the gospel in a "clash of civilizations 2.0" follows in the path set by John Paul II. (The current cultural and religious war is considerably different from the clash of civilizations predicted roughly 20 years ago by the Harvard political scientist Samuel Huntington.)
It's also clear that he's carrying out the church's commitment to peace. It was almost a century ago, on August 1, 1917, when Pope Benedict XV described war as "useless massacre."
Anyone who asks Pope Francis to issue a theological sanction on Islam, in the form of a declaration of a war of religions, is making a desperate attempt to simplify the landscape we're all facing.
Francis is a profoundly anti-ideological pope who has learned a great deal from the clash between the church and political ideologies. He has experienced the full complexity and paradoxes inherent to life as a Catholic in a democratic, pluralistic society.
In 1989, John Paul II was celebrated as the undisputed victor of the battle between ideologies; for Jorge Mario Bergoglio, it was far more difficult to extricate himself from the historical and theological conflict between church and state in Argentina.
The battle is even harder for Francis as the bishop of Rome. He faces neo-liberal secularists who are enamored by the idea of a war between religions, narcissists who see in the assassins of Rouen what they believe to be the true version of Islam, and whom they want the church to fight in their stead.
But the pope is also dealing with those who are expecting him to condemn Islam at large. They expect him to make a theological judgment on the basis of such crazy factions who do not comply with any of the doctrinal, spiritual, social or political expressions of global Islam.
There are currently many issues and questions surrounding the geopolitical and cultural stance of Catholicism, including: The return of nationalism and the risks facing democracy in the West; the issue of the domination of a technocratic paradigm that brings about social inequality, the biopolitical question (which certainly hasn't disappeared from the horizon -- just ask any Western countries in which euthanasia has become an increasingly common practice); and the issue of global terrorism, which has marked our lives over the past 15, and for which no short term solutions can be seen.
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With his words, Francis keeps the church, and the entire Western world, safe from the abyss that would open up in the event of a theological retaliation on global Islam.
Overall, redefinition of ideological and religious alignments can be seen clearly in the United States, where the white nationalism of Donald Trump's Republican party has momentarily overshadowed -- but has not entirely eliminated -- the pro-life and pro-choice issues surrounding abortion, marking a major shift compared to the last 40 years of U.S. politics.
Anyone who asks Pope Francis to issue a theological sanction on Islam, in the form of a declaration of a war of religions, is making a desperate attempt to simplify the landscape we're all facing. They are under the mistaken impression that the issue is purely theological, or better yet, heresy-ological. It is as if a theological condemnation of Islam would be enough to resolve the massive, complex puzzle of issues that the whole world is grappling with today.
The genius of Catholicism, and the Roman papacy in particular, is the ability to scrutinize the "signs of the time," to avoid the temptation to take shortcuts. The papal magisterium witnessed this with the 1963 Pacem in Terris encyclical, the spiritual testament of John XXIII, and with the inter-religious encounters in Assisi organized by John Paul II (as a way to combat skepticism and opposition coming in from almost all sides) in 1986, 15 years before the events of September 11, 2001.
On his way back from Poland, Pope Francis said that it is wrong to equate violence and terrorism with Islam. With his words, Francis keeps the church, and the entire Western world, safe from the abyss that would open up in the event of a theological retaliation on global Islam -- which remains to be the primary victim of terrorism worldwide.
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It was 1973 when my dad jumped onto that moving train in Prijedor, Bosnia and broke his arm in the process. He was 10 years old, and his school was trying to force him to go to communist dictator Josip Broz Tito's birthday parade, again.
This wasn't the first time he felt the brunt of communism or felt the urge to flee from it, and it was only one of many suppressing incidents in his youth that would lead to his running away from Bosnia at 16. Among them were being forced to stop writing with his left hand (courtesy of a switch and a harsh teacher), being forced into the army, into a pro-Tito mindset, and into an education that was biased and propagandist. He was tired of his people being denied loans and jobs for rejecting communism, and tired of things like bananas being an expensive luxury. My dad ran away from home for freedom of speech, for freedom of thought, really.
In what has been a tumultuous and unrelenting year of tragedy and vicious discord among parties in the United States, a year where a brash presidential hopeful rose to power on the shirking of human dignity, it feels like we've stopped focusing on the free speech that families like mine always dreamed of having -- that we've left it alone. This is dangerous, because freedoms do not exist on their own.
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The legal granting of free speech doesn't mean it's present or prevalent or accepted; it's not just a statement on a historic piece of paper, but an environment conducive to logical and respectful debate. It's an environment without hate toward difference, without anger toward change, without silencing of opposition. My parents, for example, are still afraid to voice their opinions against government actions, even here in the U.S., because they know exactly how quickly and how unexpectedly governments fall apart and entire countries literally go up in flames (See Ex-Yugoslavia 1989-present). Government protections can be arbitrary and transient, but is an environment that makes freedom of speech come alive, and a population of citizens that create that environment.
This year, our First Amendment-granted duty is more important than ever.
It is our duty to push back against empty and fear-inducing rhetoric. It is our job to look past lofty, vague promises and think logically about what steps must be taken for something to "get better" or "be great." It is our job to fight for those who do not have our privileges, for those who are human and therefore our equals. It is our job to fight back, even when injustice will not directly affect us, because injustice for one is injustice for all.
When we choose to remain silent about these injustices, or we don't vote, a duty countless people would kill for, we are not performing our central functions as citizens within a democracy. Apathy is not a valid response to an election season you're not looking forward to: That's not rebellion. Rebellion means writing, voting, canvassing, speaking out, and fighting for what you want to change. Rejecting it, ignoring it, and waiting for it to pass are not ways to share your voice: That's not democracy. We are a privileged and free-spoken people, and it's simply not an option to remain ignorant or silent about the things that are wrong in the world.
It is in fact dangerous to ignore the stories that need to be told, to stifle the conversations that need to be had. When innocent people are persecuted anywhere or discriminated against for their appearances or religions or beliefs, when powerful people threaten to silence press and discourse and freedom, then it is our duty to push for conversation, for action, and for justice.
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Within that Bill of Rights lies our right to push back.
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on July 29, 2016, struck down a group of election "reforms" rushed though in 2013 by Republicans in the North Carolina Legislature.
The decision is crucially important. Still, the problem it addresses is part of a larger issue -- rejection by the majority party in North Carolina's Legislature of democratic principles -- all in an effort to establish one-party rule resistant to electoral change. The attack on democracy has been multi-faceted, including, but not limited to, racial-political gerrymanders in the state Legislature, new extreme "partisan" gerrymanders for Congress and election law changes aimed to hobble voting by blacks, minorities and the young.
Sadly some of the changes are eerily reminiscent of the attack on democracy during and after Reconstruction when the old-time, and ultimately defeated, bi-racial Republican Party had championed expanded democracy, voting rights, public education and democracy for local governments.
The Fourth Circuit dealt with changes passed in 2013 to North Carolina's election law -- "reforms" that increased barriers to voting. The question before the Court was whether intentional racial discrimination motivated the enactment of five election law "reforms" and, if so, whether they would have been enacted even without the racial motivation. In order to answer these questions, the Fourth Circuit panel looked at the full picture. It looked at the "reforms" collectively and in context.
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Part of that context was the growth of African-American political influence in North Carolina elections. In North Carolina, most whites vote Republican, blacks overwhelmingly vote Democratic. This fact, as the Fourth Circuit panel noted, "does provide an incentive for intentional discrimination in the regulation of elections." It may, as the Fourth Circuit stated, "motivate politicians to entrench themselves through discriminatory elections laws." Because of history and socio-economic factors, many blacks are particularly vulnerable members of the Democratic Party's multi-racial coalition.
"After years of [required] pre-clearance [under the Voting Rights Act] and expansion of access [under the laws the reforms repealed]," the appeals court noted, "by 2013 registration and turnout of African Americans' was in near parity with that of whites. ... African Americans were poised to act as major political force." At this crucial time, and freed from Justice Department pre-clearance after the U.S. Supreme Court's Shelby County decision, the Legislature acted with great speed.
The Fourth Circuit panel also noted:
For each reform, the General Assembly requested and got data on the racial effect of the "reform" -- so they knew the racial and political effect of each change. "Upon the receipt of the race data, the General Assembly enacted legislation that restricted voting and registration in five different ways, all of which disproportionally affected African Americans."
The so-called "reforms" included adding a restrictive voter ID law, ending same-day registration, cutting back on early voting days and eliminating one of the two "souls-to-the-polls" Sundays African-American churches had used to transport voters to the polls. The law also prohibited county election officials from counting votes by voters who mistakenly voted in the wrong precinct. The prior law required counting votes for those races for which the voter was clearly qualified to vote. The "reform" law eliminated pre-registration that allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to indicate their intent to vote when obtaining drivers licenses or attending mandatory registration drives. They were then checked for eligibility and, if eligible, automatically registered when they turned 18. Pre-registration increased turnout among young adults.
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Though not immediately obvious to most who simply read the law, the appeals court's decision explained the importance and effect of each of these changes for African-American voters.
When the Fourth Circuit looked at independent (non-racial) justifications for the laws, it found them to be weak. For example, the state failed to provide a single case of in-person voter fraud. But the Board of Elections had found some fraud in connection with absentee ballots. The statistics the Legislature had requested showed that whites, not blacks, predominantly used absentee ballots. No legislation was aimed at absentee-ballot problems.
A crucial part of the appeals court's decision focused on the intersection of politics and race. An argument against the decision is, even if, as it seems in light of the full context, the Legislature targeted black voters. It did not target blacks because they were black, but because they voted Democratic, and they were a convenient target.
The appeals court's answer was direct:
"Using race as a proxy for party may be an effective way to win an election. But intentionally targeting a particular race's access to the franchise because its members vote for a particular party, in a predictable manner, constitutes discriminatory purpose. This is so even absent any evidence of race-based hatred and despite the obvious political dynamics. A state legislature acting on such a motivation engages in intentional racial discrimination in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act."
History is full of ironies. After the Civil War the old-time Southern Republicans were the bi-racial party. In the era of Reconstruction, North Carolina tried democracy, public education and locally elected political power for cities and counties.
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When the old-time North Carolina Republicans were in power, they expanded democracy with election laws that facilitated voting. The "Democrats" regained power and enacted restrictive election laws that disproportionally disadvantaged blacks (and, of course, Republicans).
In a coalition with the Populists, the Republicans regained power and again democratized election laws. When North Carolina "Democrats" regained power, they again passed laws that contracted democracy and disadvantaged black voters. Some, but not all, of these later law were more overtly racial.
The old-time North Carolina Republicans benefited from expansions of the right to vote. And the "Democrats" benefited from facially neutral barriers they placed in the way of black voters. To treat this back and forth as just politics is a false equivalency. Expanding the ability to vote should not be legally or morally equivalent to impeding or contracting it.
The Fourth Circuit noted that "one of the legislature's stated purposes in enacting SL 2013-381 [the election "reform" act] was to "mov[e] the law back to the way it was." The District Court "apparently regarded this as entirely appropriate. ... [T]he voting mechanisms that SL 2013-381 restricts or eliminates were ratified 'relatively recently,' ' almost entirely along party lines,' when 'Democrats controlled the legislature'..."
SL 2013-381 was similar, except this time the partisan change came from the Republicans.
The Fourth Circuit panel responded: "When a legislature dominated by one party has dismantled barriers to African-American access to the franchise, even if done to gain votes, 'politics as usual' does not allow a legislature dominated by the other party to re-erect those barriers."
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Earlier in Dickson v. Rucho, the North Carolina Legislature, using two racial quotas, had packed more black voters into selected state legislative districts where the candidates preferred by black voters were already winning by landside margins. The packing, which wasted black votes and reduced black political power, was allegedly to protect against a Voting Rights lawsuit, supposedly based on the inability of blacks to elect the candidate of their choice in the reconstituted districts.
In addition to a 50 percent-plus quota for black voters in those districts, a quota the Legislature failed to show was needed or justified, a second racial quota sought blacks in the Legislature in proportion to the black population of the state. In support of that quota, white Sen. Linda Garrou (D-Forsyth), who had been preferred by black voters in her district, was removed from her district. For the proportionality quota, she was a senator of the wrong color.
The North Carolina Supreme Court approved the two racial quotas, its decision was vacated by the United States Supreme Court, and the North Carolina high court again approved both of the racial quotas.
Meanwhile in Harris v. McCrory, a three-judge federal court panel, finding racial districting that violated the Fourteenth Amendment, struck down congressional districts that the North Carolina Court had approved.
In response to the Harris decision, the Legislature ordered its line drawer to ignore race and to gerrymander congressional districts to favor Republicans. Essentially, regardless of the overall congressional vote or basic democratic principles, the line drawer was to give as many districts to Republicans and as few to Democrats as possible under existing law.
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As Rep. David Lewis (R-Dunn), who was leading the gerrymander effort, explained "we are going to use partisan data in drawing the map...to gain partisan advantage" by electing 10 Republicans and three Democrats. Why not an even more dramatically anti-democratic map? "I do not believe it is possible to draw a map with 11 Republicans and two Democrats," he explained.
Is there some hope? Yes, some.
In still another case, Covington v. North Carolina, a three-judge federal court has before it a challenge to 28 state legislative districts as a racial gerrymander in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. The powerful claim is that those districts were gerrymandered using two racial quotas for which no narrowly tailored compelling state interest was present. If that suit succeeds, the facade of Voting Rights Act justification for the gerrymander should fall. The result should be to revive the Whole County (anti-gerrymander) provision of our State Constitution, which bans dividing whole counties in state legislative districting except as needed to comply with supreme federal law (such as one person, one vote). Without the facade of the Voting Rights Act justification for these districts, the state constitution should limit the state legislative gerrymander.
Another hope is an outraged citizenry -- Republicans as well as Democrats and Independents -- in short, those who place democracy above partisan interests. Citizens could demand a non-partisan citizen districting commission. It would take a broad, deep and strong political effort to move entrenched partisan legislators, but if the public were squarely presented with the issue and outraged, that might happen. One demand could be for a referendum on the issue. In any case, partisan gerrymandering and its corrosive effect on America's and North Carolina's democracy needs to be put front and center in our political discussions.
Michael Kent Curtis teaches Constitutional Law and Legal and Constitutional History at Wake Forest University School of Law. The views expressed are his own, not those of the University.
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The Huntington Theatre Company has been a tenant of Boston University for the first thirty-four years of its existence, occupying a landmark-style theater up the street from Boston's Symphony Hall.
So what happens if you're the Huntington and the landlord informs you that your lease is up?
Boston is in the midst of an epochal building boom, and even a landmark-style theater dating back to the 1920s can become an inviting target for a wrecking ball.
The operative word in that sentence is landmark-style. Although the theater where the Huntington performs much of its works has existed since the 1920s, somehow it never received landmark status.
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So if you're Michael Maso, managing director of the Huntington since its inception, who you gonna call?
How about Mayor Marty Walsh?
The Huntington serves 200,000 patrons a year, has educated more than a million Boston students in the mysteries of the theater, and partially subsidizes the rental costs for smaller Boston theatre companies at the Calderwood Pavilion in the South End to the tune of $400,000 a year.
Maso says that Mayor Walsh recognized from the start the unique value that the Huntington played in the life of the city.
The city itself let its feelings be known to the mayor as well.
Mayor Walsh and his team did what mayors do--they cut a deal.
Boston University will move its theater operations closer to its campus, a developer will create a new commercial building on the part of the property where the backstage construction areas are located, but the theater will remain intact.
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The theater will end up better than intact, as Huntington plans to raise $60 million to $70 million for a renovation and modernization over the next few years, preserving the gold leaf chandeliers and other period grace notes that no one could ever afford to build into a theater today.
As the crow flies, it's actually not that far from the theater to the B.U. campus, but crows don't have to deal with Boston traffic.
So it made sense for BU to consolidate its theater facilities in a location closer to campus.
The remarkable thing is that a big city mayor stood up to developers to preserve a vital part of the city's heritage.
"We simply cannot say enough good things about Mayor Walsh and his team," Maso says.
"They recognized that the city of Boston would be poorer culturally if this gem of a theater were torn down and the Huntington was displaced.
"We're a nonprofit. There are no big salaries here. People do what they do for the love of theatre. To have a mayor who 'gets it' is a wonderful thing."
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Neither Maso nor the Huntington's Artistic Director, Peter DuBois, even made contingency plans in the unfortunate event that the company lost its home, always believing that a way would be found.
"We were so busy working on plan A that we never had time to formulate a plan B," Maso says.
The Huntington, which in the past has championed the works of playwrights such as August Wilson and Tom Stoppard, is embarking on a long-term exploration of the entire oeuvre of Stephen Sondheim, the American musical comedy equivalent of William Shakespeare.
Not the kind of thing you do if you're afraid you're going to lose your lease.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 26: Over 1,000 people gather outside of a LGBT center in downtown Philadelphia to protect it from Westboro Baptist Church members during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on July 26, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The church members, known for their hatred of the gay community and others, abandoned their plan to demonstrate.The convention officially began on Monday and is expected to attract thousands of protesters, members of the media and Democratic delegates to the City of Brotherly Love. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
There's been much said about the sea of American flags, the chants of "USA!" and the overt references to God and family values at the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Spending four days inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia I agree with those who viewed the inspiration for all of this as far different from the nationalist, jingoistic, religiously bigoted fervor that has inspired the typical Republican National Convention (RNC) of the past, much of which was often pandering and staged -- even as Republicans were apparently jealous while watching the DNC this year.
For all the production that goes into conventions, the patriotism at the DNC was real and it was inspired by mortal fear. It was truly about love of country -- the country we've transformed in the past eight years in powerful ways -- and the trepidation at the possibility a madman who'd already taken control of the Republican Party could snatch it away from us.
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A major part of that transformation over the past eight years has been the rise of LGBT rights, a struggle that now occupies a place within the mainstream of American life, brought to that place during the Obama years.
It was hard to fathom, listening to the speakers on the stage this year standing up for LGBT equality, and walking the floor of the convention and seeing so many out and proud delegates -- a record 600 delegates of the 4765 at convention were LGBT, with 28 transgender delegates alone -- that only eight years ago, the presidential candidate at the DNC, like that at the RNC, was opposed to marriage equality.
Barack Obama, like most Democrats -- and just about every prominent Republican -- had defined marriage as between a man and woman in 2008. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender soldiers could not serve openly in the military then, booted out unless they lived closeted and in terror. Gay and transgender people were often dismissed and disregarded in politics and popular culture.
The LGBT civil rights movement was, to Democrats at that time, a pain in the ass -- another constituency that made noise but which had to be paid attention to because it energized voters and contributed money. That was certainly how LGBT people were treated at past Democratic conventions, as one or two gay people would be given a speaking slot in the afternoon, and maybe there was a visit by a minor political figure to the LGBT (Gay and Lesbian) Caucus. In 2012, the year President Obama backed marriage equality -- after the enormous achievement of getting "don't ask, don't tell" repealed and becoming a leader on LGBT rights like no other president -- we saw the beginning of a true embrace, but it was still a cautious one, with speakers on the stage talking about the right to "to love" who one wants, keepings things a bit in code.
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Not in 2016. Queerness was flaunted, and very in-your-face, omnipresent at a convention that had the most pro-LGBT platform in history (contrasting with the RNC's most anti-LGBT platform in history, which includes promotion of so-called transgender "bathroom bills" and "ex-gay" therapy.) LGBT rights, like women's rights, racial justice, immigration reform and a slew of other issues, were integrated smoothly into the program rather than seeming forced and stilted, as it was at RNC, where billionaire Peter Thiel popped up on stage as the only openly gay speaker (and only the second one in RNC history), aware that it was jarring in the room to just state that he was "proudly gay," and asking "Who cares?" with regard to bathroom bills rather than simply saying the GOP platform was vile and repulsive. He received a rather silent response from the audience to that question -- and an "I do!" from the first delegate I asked on the floor, Judy Nichols of Nederland, Texas.
At the DNC this year, prominent governors, attorneys general, members of Congress and Democratic officials visited the LGBT Caucus, and the first transgender speaker ever to speak on the stage at a DNC, Sarah McBride, was broadly welcomed by the delegates. The same was true of speaker after speaker, many but not all of them gay, lesbian or bisexual -- or, in the case of Christine Leinonen, a mother of one of the Pulse nightclub victims in Orlando, the families of LGBT people -- who touted LGBT equality as an American value, a family value and an issue of faith.
When Rev. William Barber of North Carolina delivered his powerful sermon of a speech on the final night of the convention, he spoke out for "LGBTQ" rights, having himself been a force against North Carolina's anti-LGBT HB2, organizing sit-ins to protest the heinous law. And he lambasted those clearly aligned with the GOP who use religion to condemn people: "I am worried by the way that faith is cynically used by some to serve hate, fear, racism and greed."
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The faith on display at the DNC, as Jamelle Bouie noted at Slate, reflecting the social justice movement of the black church, was indeed that of inclusion, unity and equality, and one reason why it didn't creep many of us out the way bromides to God and faith do at GOP conventions. The same was true of the shows of patriotism, as Khazr Kahn displayed in his now legendary speech about his son, a fallen soldier, that has sent Donald Trump into a tailspin. Lifting up his copy of the Constitution -- something, again, we'd expect to see at a GOP convention -- he stole the issue of religious liberty from the GOP as well, defining it as issue that respects full equality and inclusion.
At the DNC this year LGBT people were an integral part of the new American majority on display -- a majority that includes many minorities banding together to fight off an angry, often bigoted minority in the GOP who'd found a messiah in Donald Trump. He's promised to take them back to a time when diversity wasn't revered, when African-Americans were second class citizens, when immigration wasn't the threat they now perceive it to be (because most of the immigrants now are brown) and when women, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people weren't afforded the place in society they now have -- a time before "political correctness," as Trump often says derogatorily.
Though LGBT rights and the march toward full equality helped form this majority, we're right to be fearful that the angry, aggrieved minority that Trump encourages can bring along other Republicans who know better but who are loyal to the party and will vote for Trump. We also must be aware that Trump's message plays to those who are rightly aggrieved -- some of them Democrats -- because they've been left behind in the slow economic recovery, something Bernie Sanders tapped into and which Hillary Clinton must speak to, as the American Prospect's Robert Kuttner strongly urges, rather than run away from.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey speaks about gun violence prevention at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 24, 2016. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan
As we all know, the American Revolution began when a group of colonials exchanged fire with British troops in Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1776. You can visit the battlefield today, it's a national monument beautifully kept by the U.S. Park Service, located a half-hour's drive from the office of Maura Healey, who happens to be the current Massachusetts Attorney General, a.k.a., the AG.
Maura started her own little revolution last week by issuing a regulation that basically banned the purchase of AR-15 assault rifles throughout the Bay State. Current AR-15 owners (like me) can keep their guns, they can also transfer them to anyone else who can own firearms in Massachusetts, but in terms of the civilian arsenal being increased through the addition of more AR rifles, to all intents and purposes Massachusetts is now AR-rein.
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Two things happened within 24 hours after the ban was announced: (1). Every, single AR in the inventory of every single gun shop in Massachusetts was sold; and, (2). The Gun-mob Nation noise machine started going full blast. The NRA got right into the act by calling the AR order "obviously incorrect;" the National Review said that her action meant that Healey could make the state gun law "mean what she wanted it to mean;" and a Republican state legislator in Massachusetts, who is known for his outspoken reverence for anything having to do with the 2nd Amendment, filed a bill to strip the AG from having any ability to alter rules and regulations over gun sales.
Now the fact that gun sales are legal commerce, the fact that someone who purchases a gun in a gun shop is, ipso facto, a consumer, the fact that the AG's office runs a very active operation known as the Department of Consumer Protection, the fact that this means the AG has the authority to promulgate and enforce rules on items that are sold to consumers in Massachusetts, none of these facts mean anything to State Senator Don Humason or his Gun-mob Nation supporters at all. Because the truth is that Gun-mob Nation doesn't want gun sales or gun ownership to be regulated because any type of gun regulations are, you know the rest of this sentence, a violation of 2nd-Amendment 'rights.' Now it just so happens that such rules are not a violation of anything within the Constitution or without. But just tell that to Senator Humason and his Gun-mob Nation friends.
In particular his Gun-mob Nation friends, who began peppering various media venues like Facebook with some of the worst, most offensive comments about Maura that have ever been seen. Calling her a 'fascist,' a ''bitch,' a 'c**t,' the language made a Donald Trump speech sound like something out of Mary Poppins. According to the Boston Globe newspaper, one big-mouth tweeted that he wanted to hire a homeless person to rape and disembowel the AG.
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Now don't get me wrong. Gun issues provoke strong emotions on both sides of the fence. And while I thought that the AG was absolutely correct in calling attention to the fact that removing a few, cosmetic doo-dads from an AR-15 doesn't in any way diminish the lethality of the gun. Nevertheless, gun owners have every right to voice their anger, and even State Senator Humason has the right to do a little grandstanding by filing his stupid bill.
Trade is not racially neutral "economic populism." When Sanders talked about trade, it was to talk about how corporations use trade to harm workers and democracy at home and abroad. When Trump talks about trade, he talks about other countries "stealing" jobs from "the United States"-- a zero sum image that implicitly argues for Trump taking back jobs from brown people and giving them back to his white constituency.
The liberal support for free trade in the immediate post-World War II period was that it was replacing "managed trade" of Europe with its global partners, better known as colonialism, where those with military and economic power would negotiate individual deals with weaker clients and extract their wealth to the advantage of the main European power's citizens and workers. Even as workers might be fighting capitalists at home, they might be sharing in the exploitation of poor Asian or African or Latin American workers -- essentially a global Jim Crow of white privilege for workers in the Anglo-American world.
Creating multi-lateral rules where every nation would follow the same rules with no nation getting special privileges or benefits in any trading relationship would ideally limit that colonial extraction of surplus. Given global imbalances of wealth and power, that was always more an ideal than complete reality but for decades it seemed better than colonial system it replaced.
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But Trump is de facto calling for a return to the colonial era of individual negotiations with countries like China or Japan, or inevitably whatever non-white nation he rails against, where the U.S. can use its military and economic power in the hands of master negotiator to extract a "better deal" from each individual nation to benefit its own citizens at the expense of the poorer, less white people of those other countries.
This is quite different from the progressive critique of modern trade. Where progressives argue things went wrong with trade deals of recent decades was that they began focusing less on lowering tariffs and making trade equal and more on protecting individual corporate interests, whether expanding intellectual property rules or restricting local consumer and environmental protection rules or trying to give corporations a legal right to strike down laws they don't like in unelected arbitration panels. They failed to strengthen labor laws at home and abroad to ensure that lower priced goods in a country didn't just reflect more exploitation.
Trump never rails against trade deals being used by our companies to hurt U.S. workers, just as his overall policy doesn't argue for strengthening labor laws or taking any other action at the expense of the corporate elite on behalf of his white working class constituency. No, the only groups he argues should lose economically to enhance the wealth of that constituency are poor immigrants at home and poor non-white workers abroad.
Trump's trade "populism" is as much a racist appeal to his voters as his attacks on immigrants or his denunciations of muslims. It's all part of othering non-white people to justify policy to advantage that white constituency over other groups. That those white workers in the U.S. have legitimate gripes with how the global economy may be treating them doesn't make Trump's appeals any less racist.
When AFRICOM Evaluates Itself, the News Is Grim
Cross-posted with TomDispatch.com
Its rare to hear one top military commander publicly badmouth another, call attention to his faults, or simply point out his shortcomings. Despite a seemingly endless supply of debacles from strategic setbacks to quagmire conflicts since 9/11, the top brass rarely criticize each other or, even in retirement, utter a word about the failings of their predecessors or successors. Think of it as the camouflage wall of silence. You may loathe him. You may badmouth him behind closed doors. You may have secretly hoped for his career to implode. But publicly point out failures? Thats left to those further down the chain of command.
And yet thats effectively exactly what newly installed U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) chief, General Thomas Waldhauser, did earlier this year in a statement to the Senate Arms Services Committee (SASC). Its just that no one, almost certainly including Waldhauser himself, seemed to notice or recognize it for the criticism it was, including the people tasked with oversight of military operations and those in the media.
Over these last years, the number of personnel, missions, dollars spent, and special ops training efforts as well as drone bases and other outposts on the continent have all multiplied. At the same time, incoming AFRICOM commanders have been publicly warning about the escalating perils and challenges from terror groups that menace the commands area of operations. Almost no one, however -- neither those senators nor the media -- has raised pointed questions, no less demanded frank answers, about why such crises on the continent have so perfectly mirrored American military expansion.
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Asked earlier this year about the difficulties hed face if confirmed, Waldhauser was blunt: A major challenge is effectively countering violent extremist organizations, especially the growth of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Boko Haram in Nigeria, al-Shabaab in Somalia, and ISIL in Libya.
That should have been a deja vu moment for some of those senators. Three years earlier, the man previously nominated to lead AFRICOM, General David Rodriguez, was asked the same question. His reply was suspiciously similar: A major challenge is effectively countering violent extremist organizations, especially the growth of Mali as an al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb safe haven, Boko Haram in Nigeria, and al-Shabaab in Somalia.
All that had changed between 2013 and 2016, it seemed, was the addition of one more significant threat.
In the midst of Rodriguezs 2016 victory lap (as he was concluding 40 years of military service), Waldhauser publicly drew attention to just how ineffective his run as AFRICOM chief had been. Some might call it unkind -- a slap in the face for a decorated old soldier -- but perhaps turnabout is fair play. After all, in 2013, Rodriguez did much the same to his predecessor, General Carter Ham, when he offered his warning about the challenges on the continent.
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Three years before that, in 2010, Ham appeared before the same committee and said, I believe that the extremist threat that's emerging from East Africa is probably the greatest concern that Africa Command will face in the near future. Ham expressed no worry about threats posed by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb or Boko Haram. ISIL in Libya didnt even exist. And even that greatest concern, al-Shabaab, was, Ham noted, primarily focused on internal matters in Somalia.
In other words, over these last years, each incoming AFRICOM commander has offered a more dismal and dire assessment of the situation facing the U.S. military than his predecessor. Ham drew attention to only one major terror threat, Rodriguez to three, and Waldhauser to four.
His Own Worst Critic
That said, Waldhauser isnt the only AFRICOM chief to point a finger at Rodriguezs checkered record. Another American general cast an even darker shadow on the outgoing commanders three-year run overseeing Washingtons shadow war in Africa:
AFRICOMs priorities on the continent for the next several years will be... in East Africa to improve stability there. Most of that is built around the threat of al-Shabaab. And then, in the North and West Africa is really built around the challenges from Libya down to northern Mali and that region and that instability there creates many challenges... And then after that is the West Africa, really about the Boko Haram and the problem in Nigeria that is, unfortunately, crossing the boundary into Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. So those are the big challenges and then just the normal ones that continue to be a challenge are the Gulf of Guinea... as well as countering the Lords Resistance Army...
That critic was, in fact, General David Rodriguez himself in an AFRICOM promotional video released on multiple social media platforms last month. It was posted on the very day that his command also touted its more than 30 major exercises and more than 1,000 military to military engagements between 2013 and 2015. It was hardly a surprise, however, that these two posts and the obvious conclusion to be drawn from them -- just how little AFRICOMS growing set of ambitious continent-wide activities mattered when it came to the spread of terror movements -- went unattended and uncommented upon.
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Waldhauser and Rodriguez have not, however, been alone in pointing out increased insecurity on the continent. Terrorism and violent extremism are major sources of instability in Africa, Assistant Secretary Linda Thomas-Greenfield of the State Departments Bureau of African Affairs told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in May. Terrorist organizations such as al-Shabaab, Boko Haram (which now calls itself the Islamic State in West Africa), al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and al-Murabitoun are conducting asymmetric campaigns that cause significant loss of innocent life and create potentially long-term humanitarian crises.
National intelligence director James Clapper, who called the continent a hothouse for the emergence of extremist and rebel groups in 2014, spoke of the dangers posed by the Lord's Resistance Army and al-Shabaab, as well as terror threats in Egypt, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, and Tunisia, and instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Congo, Burundi, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan before the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this year.
And then theres Brigadier General Donald Bolduc who heads Special Operations Command Africa (SOCAFRICA), the most elite U.S. troops on the continent. He painted a picture that was grimmer still. Last November, during a closed door presentation at the annual Special Operations Command Africa Commanders Conference in Garmisch, Germany, the SOCAFRICA chief drew attention not just to the threats of al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Boko Haram, ISIL, and the Lords Resistance Army, but also another 43 malign groups operating in Africa, according to another set of documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.
The growth of terror groups from the one named by Ham in 2010 to the 48 mentioned by Bolduc in 2015 is as remarkable as it has been unremarked upon, a record so bleak that it demands a congressional investigation that will, of course, never take place.
Questions Unasked, Questions Unanswered
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While these statistics may be damning, they are no more so than the words of AFRICOMs own chiefs. Yet the senators who are supposed to provide oversight havent seemed to bat an eye, let alone ask the obvious questions about why terror groups and terror attacks are proliferating as U.S. operations, bases, manpower, and engagement across the continent grow. (Note that this is, of course, the same Senate committee that Rodriguez misled, whether purposefully or inadvertently, earlier this year when it came to the number of U.S. military missions in Africa without -- again -- either apparent notice or any repercussions.)
In an era of too-big-to fail generals, an age in which top commanders from winless wars retire to take prominent posts at influential institutions and cash in with cushy jobs on corporate boards, AFRICOM chiefs have faced neither hard questions nor repercussions for the deteriorating situation. (Similar records -- heavy on setbacks, short on victories -- have been produced by Washingtons war chiefs in Afghanistan and Iraq for the past 15 years and they, too, have never led to official calls for any sort of accountability.)
Rodriguez is now planning on resting at his northern Virginia home for a few months and, as he told Stars and Stripes, seeing what comes next.
U.S. Africa Command failed to respond to multiple requests for an interview with Rodriguez, but if he follows in the footsteps of the marquee names among fellow retired four-stars of his generation, like David Petraeus and Stanley McChrystal, hell supplement his six-figure pension with one or more lucrative private sector posts.
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What comes next for AFRICOM will play out on the continent and in briefings before the Senate Armed Services Committee for years to come. If history is any guide, the number of terror groups on the continent will not decrease, the senators will fail to ask why this is so, and the media will follow their lead.
During his final days in command, AFRICOM released several more short videos of Rodriguez holding forth on varioius issues. In one of the last of these, the old soldier praised the whole team for accomplishing a tremendous amount over the last several years. What exactly that was went unsaid, though it certainly wasnt achieving AFRICOMs mandate to neutraliz[e] transnational threats. But what Rodriguez said next made a lot of sense. He noted that AFRICOM wasnt alone in it -- whatever it was. Washington, D.C., he said, had played a key role, too. In that, he couldnt have been more on target. The increasingly bleak outlook in Africa cant simply be laid at the feet of AFRICOMs commanders. Again and again, theyve been upfront about the deteriorating situation. Washington has just preferred to look the other way.
The violence, tragedy, bravery, and loss of the Vietnam War has been memorialized in countless novels and works of nonfiction. The powerful words in these seven books help us understand a complicated time in our recent history, and the political and personal legacy that it still carries.
The Barracks Thief by Tobias Wolff
Three young paratroopers waiting to be shipped out are brought together one sweltering afternoon to stand guard over an ammunition dump threatened by a forest fire. They emerge from their common danger full of confidence in their manhood and in the friendship they have formed.
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, this profound, startling, and beautifully crafted spy novel is the story of a man whose political beliefs clash with his individual loyalties. An astute exploration of extreme politics, as well as a moving love story, The Sympathizer examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film, and the wars we fight today.
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Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
A visceral and spellbinding novel by a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, Matterhorn tells the story of one young man at war, but transforms the tragedy of Vietnam into a powerful and universal story of courage, camaraderie, and sacrifice.
They Marched Into Sunlight by David Maraniss
They Marched Into Sunlight is the epic history of the Vietnam era told through the events of a few gripping, passionate days of war and peace in October 1967. It explores questions about the meaning of dissent and the official manipulation of truth--issues as relevant today as they were decades ago.
Read the review here
The Given World by Marian Palaia
From a quiet family farm in Montana in the '60s, to the grit and haze of San Francisco in the '70s, to a gypsy-populated post-war Saigon, The Given World spins around its unconventional heroine, whose brother has gone missing in Vietnam.
All the President's Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
Published just months before President Nixon's resignation, All the President's Men revealed the full scope of the Watergate scandal and introduced for the first time the mysterious "Deep Throat." Woodward and Bernstein's explosive reports won a Pulitzer Prize for The Washington Post, toppled the president, and have since inspired generations of reporters.
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The Things They Carried by Tim O' Brien
A classic work of American literature that has not stopped changing minds and lives since it burst onto the literary scene in 1990, The Things They Carried is a groundbreaking meditation on war, memory, imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling as written by a Vietnam veteran.
Read the review here
See the full list at Off the Shelf, a daily blog that connects great readers with great books.
Against a wall proclaiming "Make America Great Again" in blood red, an electric chair did not seem out of place. Not for nothing was the Watermill Center's annual gala called "Fada: House of Madness." Created by Pussy Riot, the work augured the ironies of installations throughout Robert Wilson's foundation's ample grounds. Even though rain threatened the evening's anarchy, bronze angels spouted eerie wisdom and monitors flickered in the woods.
For auction, Annie Leibowitz' playful portrait of Robert Wilson was on display among many paintings and photos, and art-world guests like Hunt Slonem, Bob Colacello, Jay McInerney, Lana Jokel, Fern Mallis, and Katharina Otto-Bernstein could mingle among them. Celebrating his own 75th birthday, Wilson greeted everyone.
Earlier on, we stopped at The Drawing Room for a look at Adrian Nivola's new show. Working in wood, he sculpted whimsical musical instruments, accented with wire, and other delicate materials including button sized clock faces for the keys on a clarinet. Looking close, you could see some were missing hands. The artist's brother Alessandro Nivola and wife Emily Mortimer hosted the celebration before going off to Ireland and Spain for work on their new movies. Blythe Danner stopped by on her way to a birthday party. Dominic West, sported a full beard, suggesting a new twist for his Showtime series, The Affair. And, Billionaire's Damian Lewis assured a mourner for his Homeland character, yes, "Brody is dead!"
Justin Wooley, a member of the Peninsula Multifaith Coalition, said of the Interfaith Vigil for Peace at Grace Cathedral that he attended with his daughter, "No one professed their race, religion, age or sexuality; we just walked into a room full of peace."
When I was a little boy, I didn't know the difference between white people and black people. I didn't know the difference between gay people and straight people. I didn't know the difference between citizens and immigrants, Republicans and Democrats, Muslims, Christians, Jews and atheists. When I was a little boy, I just felt open to the world as it was and as it felt.
We recently discovered family films from the days when I was a child that I had never seen before. I can't tell you how powerful it felt to see those images of people who I love and who have died. My grandparents and great aunts and uncles and others came alive on the screen.
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What struck me most profoundly is how uninhibited I was. I would walk around with my tongue out because I liked the feel of the wind. I saw images of me as a two-year-old, walking in water up to my shins. The whole way I moved stirred a deep memory in me of the pleasure of feeling the resistance of that water in such a wonderful new way.
Do you know what activity recurred most often in the films? It was dancing. It seems as if, as a child, every time I heard music I could not stop myself from moving. It was almost as if I became part of the music. Jean Piaget and other experts in child development say that when young children draw they are not trying to form a representative of some outside thing. They are not trying to draw something that looks like something else. They become part of the art themselves.
These days, I never dance. Sometimes, I hardly notice what it feels like to be alive. Somewhere, I learned to hide and suppress what my body really wants to do.
Robert Bellah taught at UC Berkeley for decades. He asks what it means to be human. Anthropologists distinguish between what they call online and offline behaviors. Online is what we do to get food and survive and pass on our genes. Offline is what we do during all the other times, as we make music and draw pictures and tell jokes. Bellah suggests that play may be the most important thing we do.
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The purpose of a symphony or a rock ballad or an old school hip-hop song is not to reach the end. It is to play -- to lose yourself in something that is a symbol of itself.
The recent violence in Istanbul, Baghdad, Baton Rouge, St. Paul, the murder of police officers in Dallas is taking its toll on all of us. Last night, I talked with a beautiful, strong young African-American father of a very young baby. He told me he has been having nightmares about being murdered. His wife has started leaving their bedroom door open and the light on in the hall.
You may think, "All this hasn't bothered me that much." But we experience ourselves only as a thin film of rationality over a deep sea of unconscious feeling. We are so much more than what we experience consciously.
Last night, we had an interfaith peace vigil here in the cathedral. As we sang, our bishop, the Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus, began using hand motions for the song in the most utterly unselfconscious way. In that instant, I felt both a deep longing from my childhood to join him along with all the embarrassment reinforced over so many years that someone would see me doing it.
Wanika Stephens, a minister and pastor at Saint John Coltrane Church, gave a short talk about how we need to look carefully at ourselves in the mirror and then to begin polishing that mirror until it is so perfect that we can see each other's image reflected in it. At the very end, we sang "We Shall Overcome." The person next to me reached out her hand, and I took it.
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When I was a little boy, I did not know the difference between white people and black people -- and neither did you. Can we grow closer to that child of God we once were? Can we begin again to experience the world as it is? Can we draw nearer to seeing the beauty in every soul?
Will you dance with me?
The original article appeared in the San Francisco Examiner.
Republican U.S. Presidential nominee Donald Trump attends a campaign event at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio August 1, 2016. REUTERS/Eric Thayer
Before the conventions, the esteemed pollster Peter Hart boiled 2016 down to this: "The Republicans have a party problem, the Democrats have a candidate problem."
A few weeks later one can argue with this: the Democrats' success in Philadelphia bolstered Hillary Clinton, and it is surely true that Republicans have a Trump problem.The latest embarrassments -- inviting Russian espionage; encouraging Putin's aggressions; and demeaning the immigrant Muslim parents of a dead American soldier -- are mere symptoms of his appalling unfitness to lead us. But on a deeper level Hart is right about the GOP -- Trump is the expression, not the cause, of a fractiousness and incoherence too deep for one election to resolve.
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True, the friction between the Clinton and Sanders forces in Philadelphia was more apparent than anything we saw in Cleveland -- if for no other reason than Republicans are better behaved than Democrats. But the Democrats' shared DNA is clear enough: diversity, social justice, tolerance, environmental stewardship, opportunity for all, and government as a means of ensuring that Americans don't fall through the cracks of a free-market economy. As a party they remain viable, and even vital.
Not true for the GOP.
The fissures within, divisive in themselves, hamstring their outreach to a broader electorate. On economics, the party is embracing a populist protectionism which offends its establishment and contravenes reality. And on racial and social issues, the GOP is fighting the tide of demographics, ever more dependent on a shrinking -- and very white -- slice of the electorate. Its principle hope of viability is to drive social wedges which galvanize the base, pushing away a growing share of the populace while widening the schisms in the country as a whole.
Trump invented none of this. He has simply turbocharged these forces by exploiting the divide between the official Republican Party -- donors, officeholders, business interests and free-market ideologues -- and a working-class base whose real problems it ignored.
How?
First, he intensified the racial scapegoating through which the party exploited blue-collar anguish without addressing its causes.
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Second, he trashed the GOP's free-market nostrums by promising to turn back time -- launching trade wars; materializing jobs lost to globalization and automation years ago; and reviving industries, like coal, sidelined by new energy sources.
Third, he compensated for these apostasies by acquiescing to the desperate dead-end fundamentalism of the party's angry evangelicals.
And so the GOP faces an identity crisis. Its spineless establishment is hoping that Trump is a transient malady, like the flu -- or, if not, that they can find a place in his brave new party. But their problems, ultimately, are not about Trump, but about what the party chooses to be.
The starkest choice is whether the GOP will become the party of white identity, defying demographics while explicitly embracing racial animus.
For years, the party found ways of propitiating white Americans resentful of minorities and fearful of displacement. But Trump's heated rhetoric about immigration and Muslims, and his disdain for Black Lives Matter, made him the Republican nominee. And so the party faces a fateful reckoning.
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It has been coming for a while. Mitt Romney won nearly 60 percent of the white vote, while widening the deficit with minority voters. Trump is turning this demographic crack into a chasm -- a startling 90 percent of his supporters are white. The ultimate question he poses, for the party and for the country, is whether the GOP can outrun the growing minority vote by increasing the number of whites driven by racial anger.
The Trump model is based on fear -- of terrorism, crime, and social and economic marginalization, all fueled by the sense among insecure whites that race in America is a zero-sum game. And so it looks backward, conjuring an American of the mind in which white men had their proper place, and everyone else knew theirs.
For non-white Americans, there is no mistaking what this means -- Republicans are their enemy. And Republicans of prescience know that this way lies oblivion.
All that [salvation] requires is for the party do what it has not done in years -- address real problems with actual solutions.
But much binds the GOP to the politics of race and paranoia. Its base of restive whites may be shrinking, but they respond to racial incentives. In contrast, by reaching out to minorities who view the GOP with understandable suspicion, the party may lose its most reliable voters. And so less honorable Republicans look not to expanding the party's appeal, but to passing laws which suppress minority voting.
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The wrenching question is whether the party can exit its racial cul-de-sac. And what happens to the country if it does not.
The second decision Trump forces on the party is intimately related to the first: how to address the economic insecurity suffered by middle-class and blue-collar whites in an honest and sensible way.
Right now the choice is between false choices. Reinforced by tea party nihilists who have declared war on government and rational governance, the GOP establishment has preached an economic philosophy tilted toward its donor base -- tax cuts for the wealthy; free trade; de-regulation; and cutting back entitlement programs, which do nothing for its voting base. In stark contrast, Trump offers a meretricious compound of populism and protectionism which will never work in the world which actually exists.
But there is a third way: shunning tax cuts for the wealthy which only explode the deficit; extending tax relief to the middle class; protecting entitlement programs through measured reforms; recognizing the positive aspects of Obamacare for struggling families; and embracing re- education and job retraining to help those who have been displaced.
That way lies salvation -- from the poison of racial politics; the grip of selfish donors; the fallacy of Trumpian economics. All that this requires is for the party do what it has not done in years -- address real problems with actual solutions.
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But to do this, the GOP must face down its donors. To be sure, in the era of Citizens United this problem is not exclusive to the GOP. But as our wealthiest citizens have departed economically from the rest of us, indulging themselves ever more ostentatiously, they have become ever more assertive about using the party to protect their narrow interests.
Americans notice -- and they don't like what this says about America. If there is anything salutary about Trump it is that, however briefly, he has separated the party from its donor class. This is the GOP's chance to reach a renewed appreciation of what America should be, and what the party should be -- and that is not the party of plutocracy.
But there is a third reckoning at hand -- whether the GOP will continue to embrace a theocratic social agenda which has been rejected by the country as a whole and which young people, in particular, see as narrow and outright nasty.
Here one need only look at Trump's running mate Mike Pence. This is a man of strikingly limited intellect and vision, encapsulated by his statement in 2001 that "despite the hysteria from the political class and the media, smoking doesn't kill."
Trump raises a foundational question fateful to any party -- for all its protestations of piety, does the GOP have a soul?
But it does, and so does stupidity. As Pence exemplified when he decided that banning needle exchanges would curb drug use, provoking a wave of HIV in Indiana. But then Pence epitomizes faith-based ignorance -- hence his disbelief in evolution and global warming, the latter a denial so dangerous that it threatens our future.
Despite all this, the GOP establishment greeted him as a mainstream conservative choice, well-suited to become president should the need arise.
Really? In his last year in Congress, Pence was rated the third most right-wing Congressman out of 435 members. But while he ably represents what might be called the low-wattage wing of the party, the rigidly evangelical Pence personifies a more distinctive problem: the GOP's institutional opposition to gay rights and reproductive freedom, rooted in the theocratic notion that, the Constitution notwithstanding, America is a "Christian nation."
Start with abortion. As a congressman, he repeatedly tried to shut down the government over funding to Planned Parenthood. As a governor, he promoted a law banning women from aborting a fetus with disabilities which, in bizarre touch, also required that fetuses miscarried or stillborn be buried or cremated.
That the law was struck down as blatantly unconstitutional seemed to bother Pence not at all. Which may explain why he was losing for reelection when Trump threw him a lifeline.
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But another reason was his vehement opposition to same-sex marriage and gay rights in general. Indeed, he is best known for pushing an Indiana law which made it easier for religious conservatives to deny service to gay couples -- for which he gave an excruciatingly incoherent explanation on national TV before being forced to back down by the forces of common sense.
It is these enthusiasms which commended Pence to Republican evangelicals. But the fact that Trump felt compelled to choose him illustrates the party's larger dilemma -- the evangelicals are loyal, and they are at odds with a changing society, another chink in the wall of the GOP's electoral Alamo.
It is striking, therefore, that the 2016 Republican platform makes all these problems worse.
On social issues, it opposes abortion in cases of rape or incest; bristles with hostility to gay-rights; advocates teaching the Bible in public schools; attacks transgender bathroom use; and bars women from serving in combat. All in all, it carries the sulfurous aroma of the Scopes monkey trial.
Beyond that, it adopts the worst of Trump -- protectionism; the wall; and anti-Muslim xenophobia. In every way -- morally, intellectually, demographically, and socially -- it makes the GOP a smaller party.
But Trump raises a foundational question fateful to any party -- for all its protestations of piety, does the GOP have a soul?
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Do they stand for local control, or support Trump's authoritarian assertions that he alone is the solution to -- as but one example -- crime in America?
Do they stand for free trade or, as they did in Cleveland, protectionism?
Do they stand up for our allies or -- as Trump suggested about the Baltic states and the Ukraine -- are our allies on their own?
Do they believe that America still has moral stature or that, as Trump suggested about the crackdown in Turkey, "How are we going to lecture when people are shooting policeman in cold blood?"
Do they aspire to conservatism, or phony populism?
Do they retain any spirit of civility, or is the coarseness, hatred, ignorance, mendacity, bigotry, shrillness, vengefulness, demagoguery and hunger for power exemplified by Donald Trump now the essence of the Republican Party?
Do they care about the country above all else, or are they so obsessed with hating Hillary Clinton that they are willing to place our future in the hands of a uniquely unqualified, dishonest and demented nominee?
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All these questions await them on the far side of 2016, and for years to come. Unless they can resolve them -- all of them -- honorably and well, fragmentation and extinction loom, a richly-deserved place in history's trash bin.
Hillary Clinton will trounce the self-destructive Donald J. Trump, but the neo-liberals secure total victory if the Sanders movement falls away.
Don't mourn, organize.
That testament by labor troubadour, organizer, agitator Joe Hill, from his Utah jail cell to Industrial Workers of the World leader Bill Haywood can inspire us again today.
The phenomenal Bernie Sanders campaign for President has ended. But the legacy of the stunning achievements lives on.
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Try as they might, Wall Street, K Street, the corporate CEOs, and all their servants in Washington, state capitols, and the rest of the political establishment, cannot put this political revolution back in the bottle.
The imprint of the issues Bernie, and all of us, raised, income and wealth inequality, guaranteed healthcare/Medicare for all, comprehensive criminal justice and immigration reform, real action on the climate crisis, a living wage, free public college tuition, holding Wall Street accountable, opposition to regime change wars, are now firmly embedded in the political discourse. We won't let that go.
Taking the long view, the campaign was always a powerful moment in our movement, a shining spotlight of populist upsurge that has been organizing at the grassroots for years.
So, while we grow our movement, let's also rededicate our support for his ongoing work. Here's 10 reasons to continue donations to Bernie's work:
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1.The movement is about more than an election. As Bernie himself tweeted, moments after his convention speech in Philadelphia, "elections come and go. But political revolutions that attempt to transform our society never end."
2.He has been the most successful, genuine progressive major candidate for President since, well maybe, ever. That's 13 million votes, winner in 22 states, demonstrating how to generate broad financial support without relying on corporate donors and billionaires, setting a new standard for integrity and authenticity, and drawing millions of new voters, especially young people, into the political revolution.
3.His heart is in the fight and he will remain with us. Bernie hardly needs to prove his credentials. All those reporters digging into his past during the primaries for dirt could only find him getting arrested for opposing housing segregation in Chicago, speaking out against U.S. intervention in Central America in the 1980s, and being a consistent voice for three decades against political corruption, poverty, bad trade deals, and for real reform, such as Medicare for all.
4.He is an invaluable advocate for the movement. No matter who wins in November, as the most prominent national voice promoting that political revolution, Bernie has an enormous bully pulpit from which to reach a wider audience on our most critical issues that are typically ignored by the major media.
5.His e-mail list is an instant mobilizer for progressive actions and causes. Worth noting that Bernie's campaign is committed to protecting his email list to ensure that it is used for progressive causes and candidates, not status quo electoral campaigns.
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6.He is inspiring other progressive candidates to run for office, and win. That includes Congressional candidates Tim Canova challenging the disgraced Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida, Pramila Jayapal in Seattle, and Zephyr Teachout in New York, and California State Senate candidate Jane Kim in San Francisco.
8.He is building an infrastructure that will help encourage the growth of the political revolution. Bernie is setting up three new educational and political organizations to "keep his progressive movement alive." It will include a Sanders Institute to elevate issues and ideas, and two organization to recruit 100 candidates running for offices from Congress to school boards, as well as to help them campaign.
9.He has embraced and encouraged the next generation to become the progressive leaders in our country. Bernie's message had particular resonance for voters under 30 - he won more votes with them, by a lot, than Clinton and Trump combined - who were inspired by his faith and trust in them and their right to define their future. Bernie will continue to lead, mentor and invest in young people to ensure a sustainable progressive social movement for years to come.
10.For once, someone in the Beltway will be happy to see the people's movement. As Bernie always said, movement pressure from below is the way to achieve genuine social progress and change, and always has been. Most politicians fear it, Bernie welcomes it.
One black cutout paper person holding hands with group of white people.
As a child, I was taught to respect those who were called to serve. It didn't matter if it was the person who delivered the mail, someone who was in the military, a doctor, a firefighter, or a police officer. These individuals deserved my positive considerations and appreciation for the work they do.
I can't imagine having a job that could potentially have me engage in a life threatening situation for myself or others. For those who answer the call to serve, this duty requires strength, courage, and mental fortitude. Whenever... shots are fired; they rush in; a house is on fire; they rush in; whenever there's a health crisis; they rush in; there's a bad accident; they rush in! From the most simplistic to the gravest of emergencies... they rush in! These brave individuals willingly risk their lives to serve, protect, and eliminate threats to safeguard others' well-being and to protect this nation.
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Notwithstanding, recent negative encounters with law enforcement have led to the murders of too many black men. As a result, there is growing outrage, is backlash, are unjustified attacks, and also unprovoked killings of numerous police officers. These events deserve condemnation and protests; however, taking vengeful actions to 'get even' will not make things any better.
The outcome of these horrific acts can cause increased tension, fears, and escalations of sometimes volatile race relations. As a black man, I strongly understand these frustrations, anger, and desire to bring an end to something that at times seems to be a systematic elimination of black men without any justifiable cause. Moreover, it's infuriating to watch - time and time again - the increasing video evidence of repeated, unjustifiable murders with no one being held accountable. Nevertheless, this doesn't justify the assaults or killing of innocent individuals (whether black men or police officers).
I don't understand the anger or projection of guilt upon all police officers because a few of them did something reprehensible and at times criminal. Moreover, there isn't value in creating a mob mentality or environment that individuals are determined to be guilty by association. If association is a criterion, then consider the hundreds of thousands or more police officers who serve willingly, honorably, and respectably. Conversely, it also must be recognized that black men aren't a greater threat just because of skin color. Black men as a group are honorable, respectable, and beneficial to society, too.
Personally, I don't want to serve my community in this way. Furthermore, I don't know if I would be willing to risk my life daily to protect others. For those who do, I offer the upmost respect and heartfelt thanks for your service! These brave men and women - without hesitation - leave the comfort and security of their homes not knowing the uncertain dangers that might be encountered that day. This is just one reason that these warriors should be celebrated every day.
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The negativity and disrespect against officers isn't limited to physical attacks. Recently, a police officer in Alexandria, VA was denied service after a cook refused to prepare her order, along with a cashier laughing with the cook about their actions. This incident led to community outrage and calls for a boycott of a well-known restaurant chain. Fortunately, company representatives took swift and decisive action to fire those who were involved with this deplorable behavior. In response to the mistreatment of this officer, another local establishment - Atlantis Pizzeria and Family Restaurant (Alexandria, VA) - offered a free meal for a week to police officers in this city and the neighboring county of Arlington, VA to demonstrate appreciation for their work.
I'm very proud that some of my high school friends actively chose to risk themselves to protect others. One of them --- Sergeant C. Downs, became a police officer because he always wanted to help others. This desire to serve the community was something he felt compelled to do. Another example is Technician V. Johnson who was inspired to service because of a neighbor who was a firefighter and a paramedic. Mr. Johnson was fascinated by these on-the-job- stories, which drove him to pursue this career. Yet another is Deputy Dennis Compton who tragically lost his life in the line-of-duty on August 6, 2008. Deputy Compton was a gentle soul who wanted to make a positive difference by protecting his community. These gentlemen are exemplary examples of my heroes who dare to put on uniforms to make a difference in the world.
Officer Downs added, "People should understand that we're human, too. We have families and loved ones. We have emotions and bleed just like everyone else. To this day, every time I do a traffic stop or get dispatched to a call, I have a heightened sense of awareness. I think to myself: Am I going to get killed this time; am I going to have to fight for my life; will I be able to help this person or resolve the issue? I never stop getting scared. I believe that if an officer stops being scared, that's a problem. We are only human and it's just instinctive to be scared. Being scared helps to save your life on the street. The majority of police officers aren't bad people; we just want to help".
Serving as a community protector and defender has both physical and mental challenges. The physical side is usually understood, but there aren't always considerations about the impacts of the mental side. Sergeant Downs said that it's important to learn to separate work and family life. However, this isn't always possible; therefore, his wife is an essential part of the restoration process to deal with his emotions. As for Mr. Johnson, he uses humor and discusses gruesome cases with other first responders, along with using exercise to combat stress. He also said that it's important to learn to not bring the work home with you.
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Admittedly there are unresolved societal issues related to the alarming number of deaths of unarmed black men. Even with this truth, engaging in violence against innocent individuals who serve and protect isn't the answer either. The solution to these critical dilemmas begin with "uncomfortable conversations" to address the source(s) of these issues, intolerances, and prejudices. Another step toward the resolution of these challenges requires reviews of policies, changes to organizational/societal culture, meaningful punishment for those who commit wrongful acts, involvement within local communities to drive substantive changes, votes to ensure officials who want to make a difference are elected, and other purposeful acts to create positive progress/changes.
I think my sister-in-law is a borderline personality, and after years now of deteriorating functioning, unpredictable and at times aggressive behaviour, my husband and I have sadly reached the point where we cannot see a way to include her in our lives or the lives of our two little girls, aged 3.5 and 8 months.
In the near decade that I've known my SIL (now aged 25), she's always been dysfunctional and anti-social, had only one friend, been unable to hold down a job, suffers from mood swings and randomly picks fights with the people that she does converse with (usually online). She is usually unwilling to make eye contact, mumbles to the point of being hard to converse with, and at times is obviously lacking in self care -- although if she decides that she likes you she can be a smothering presence that does not leave you alone.
In more recent times, many of these behaviours have become more pronounced, and although she is also often kind, empathetic and caring, and always loves spending time with our children, she is very unpredictable and can go from loving to hating my husband and her family at the flick of a switch. Worse, she has recently taken to threatening suicide if she doesn't get what she wants or feels that people are pulling away from her. Her parents' general response to these threats has been to simply ignore them.
Unfortunately, my SIL also has an extremely codependent relationship with her mother, who to a large extent enables her by refusing to enforce adult boundaries. Basically it seems like my husband's family would prefer that we all just ignore her behaviour, no matter how dysfunctional she becomes or how it affects us or our children. Although my MIL, a psychiatrist, has mentioned that my SIL 'probably has a personality disorder' and is prescribing her various mood stabilisers, I really think she needs independent treatment and diagnosis, especially given the nature of the relationship between them, however realistically I do not think anything will change.
Recently, after a series of incidents where my eldest daughter, my husband, and I have been upset by my SIL's behaviour, we have formally cut off contact with her by telling her that she needs to seek independent help urgently, and that unless and until she does, we are not prepared to have her around us or our children. My husband's parents are very unhappy with this decision, and do not seem to understand that we are trying to protect ourselves and our children, just as they are trying to protect their daughter.
Have we done the right thing -- for her, and most importantly for our family? I feel we have, but at the same time I feel sorry for my SIL and want to help her to get better. I am also sad that our children are losing contact with their only aunt, but cannot see a way around this given her condition.
"While our Party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us," McCain said. "Lastly, I'd like to say to Mr. and Mrs. Khan: thank you for immigrating to America. We're a better country because of you. And you are certainly right; your son was the best of America, and the memory of his sacrifice will make us a better nation--and he will never be forgotten."
Donald Trump is a bully. Faced with a grieving father and mother whose Muslim soldier son died defending the US, Trump went after the mother, absurdly claiming her religion had not allowed her to speak. "If you look at his wife, she was standing there, she had nothing to say, she probably -- maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say, you tell me."
As a Muslim woman who came to the United States on a full college scholarship due to foreign currency restrictions in India, I have lived, loved and raised my children in the United States. What I loved about the US right from the start was the generosity and kindness of Americans who did not know me at all and yet they stretched to invite me to their homes with a warmth and casualness that was really precious to an 18-year-old college student in Denver, Colorado. That's the America I came to and have loved ever since. I look back on that era is a period of civility and kindness, never dreaming that we would end up with Donald Trump as a front-runner presidential candidate defying civility to its core.
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Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of Captain Humayan Khan who died at the age of 27 on June 8, 2004 after he told his men to stop a suicide bomber outside the gates in Baquba in Iraq, were invited to speak at the Democratic Convention and tell their story. Mr. Khan, the father of the deceased son "electrified the Democratic Convention" and said to Mr. Trump, while waving a pocket Constitution "You have sacrificed nothing and no one."
Khan pointed out that in December, Mr. Trump called for "a total and complete shut down of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." With these rules in place, Khan would not have been able to serve the US.
After Trump in response went after his wife, Khizr fired back. He explained that his wife had not spoken at the convention because it was too painful. Mr. Trump, he said, "is devoid of feeling the pain of a mother who has sacrificed her son." Ghazala Khan did speak on Friday to MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, saying she "cannot even come in the room where his pictures are." When she saw her son's photograph on the screen behind her on the stage in Philadelphia, she said, "I couldn't take it."
Khan also said that his wife had helped him draft his remarks, and that he could not have done it without her support. "Her being there was the strength that I could hold my composure. I am much weaker than she is in such matters."
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Ghazala Khan, a retired professor at the University of Punjab, had a much tougher life than Donald Trump. I bet she's made of tougher stuff. I wonder if Trump thought he could attack her because she was wearing a head scarf out of respect for the Convention.
Fortunately, even Republican politicians condemned Trump for his insensitivity. Gov. John Kasich of Ohio blasted Trump, "There's only one way to talk about Gold Star parents: with honor and respect," he wrote, referring to the parents of veterans who die in service."
Tim Miller, a former communications director for Jeb Bush's presidential campaign, called Mr. Trump's comments "inhuman." "Memo to Trump supporters," Peter Wehner, a speechwriter for President George W. Bush, wrote on Twitter. "He's a man of sadistic cruelty. With him, there's no bottom. Now go ahead & defend him."
And finally John McCain speaks out. "While our Party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us," McCain said. "Lastly, I'd like to say to Mr. and Mrs. Khan: thank you for immigrating to America. We're a better country because of you. And you are certainly right; your son was the best of America, and the memory of his sacrifice will make us a better nation--and he will never be forgotten."
Mr. Khan has also urged Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, and Paul D. Ryan, the House speaker, denounce Mr. Trump. He called it "a moral imperative" that both leaders tell Trump "enough"; "You are about to sink the ship of the patriot Republicans"; he warned. "There is so much at stake, and I appeal to both of these leaders: this is the time. There comes a time in the history of a nation where an ethical, moral stand has to be taken regardless of the political costs"; he continued. "The only reason they're not repudiating his behavior, his threat to our democracy, our decency, our foundation, is just because of political consequences". The Democratic Convention with Hillary Clinton at the helm was decidedly different in that we are well on the way to electing America's first woman president: Hallelujah! It is definitely a feel-good moment for American women who have long waited in the wings and supported Hillary for president.
But for me, one of the highlights of this election was the fact that Hillary's team reached out to a Muslim couple whose son, a soldier had died fighting for America. It was especially poignant, given the animosity often directed at Muslim citizens. This includes soldiers who don't always get the glory and respect they deserve even on the battle fields -- where they fight the good fight for America, their new country of residence.
As a Muslim woman who has loved and lived in this country since my college years, I have admired how the United States welcomes new immigrants and makes us feel included and -- not excluded for the most part -- which is a tall challenge. The immigrant's journey from distant lands is often fraught with fear and anxiety as we land on American soil. I will not deny that this is a difficult time in America. Donald Trump has polarized and exacerbated the push/pull of immigration for a great many immigrants who have patiently waited their turn to become United States citizens.
When asked by Stephanapoulous what he would say to the grieving father, Mr. Trump replied, "I'd say, 'We've had a lot of problems with radical Islamic terrorism.'"
How callous can Trump be? Is he for real?
Have you ever gone into a store or even taken a quick trip somewhere and knew exactly what you wanted? You have a list both mentally and on paper and yet somehow you still end up coming back home with more than you had initially planned to buy. Well, you my friend have been the victim of hidden marketing strategies.
Don't be alarmed or in dismay each year companies spend millions of dollars on marketing and advertising. These companies are spending money in hopes of you spending more money on their brand or product.
So how exactly how do companies target unknowing customers. You'll be surprised at some of the ways you become easily lured into spending more money:
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Candy at the Checkout Counter
There is a popular marketing strategy that many use called decision fatigue. This idea of decision fatigue comes from asking the brain to make several decisions at one time. Every time your brain is forced to make several decisions at one time your will power becomes fatigued.
Popcorn Smells at the Movie Theater
What's the first thing you smell when stepping into a movie theater? Popcorn right? It's not by accident. Many movie theaters employees may not tell you but the popcorn they sell has a chemical that causes it's aroma to be filled throughout the theater. The stronger the smell the more tempting it becomes for you to buy it.
Company Cars
I am a big pizza fan. I could probably eat pizza every day. Because of this company cars have been a big weakness for me. If I pass by a Pizza Hut or Dominos car I almost instantly feel inclined to go buy pizza. The same is true in California where companies are obsessed with San Francisco car wraps a company that specializes in marketing companies by using your car as a moving billboard.
The Number 9
We have all been shopping at big sales events and noticed that some of the "cheapest" items often end in 9. In fact MIT and Chicago University conducted a study of women's clothing that was priced at $34, $39, and $44. At the end of the experiment more people had purchased the $39 item.
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Online shaming is a trend that has not only gone viral, it's became so normal that many are immune to digital cruelty and attacks.
What's not normal is that the cyber-attacks are being made by adults. We aren't talking about youth anymore. These are adults that should know better and need to grow up.
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In a 2014 survey by PEW Research Center, 73% of American adults have witnessed online abuse while 40% have been victims of it.
We're used to reading about cyberbullying with teens and kids, but it's time to start talking to the adults. If parents and adults are acting like children online, it's hard to expect different behavior from their kids.
Starting at the top.
Celebrities have a platform, but they also have feelings.
Just because they have the ability to address the trolls and their trash-talk, it doesn't mean they deserve it.
I applaud public figures who step up and use their voices (keypads) to empower social justice online. They have the ability to do this, whereas the average person doesn't. I'm sure the average "Joe" wouldn't have @Jack (Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter) reaching out to them personally, as we saw with Leslie Jones after her cyber-war on Twitter.
We witnessed Leslie Jones, actress and comedian, combat the troll-trash on Twitter. She said she felt like she was in a personal hell and begged for help.
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Jennifer Aniston had enough, after social media leeches' cyber-gossip spiraled out of control. She finally wrote, "For The Record," to set it straight. "I'm fed up with the sport-like scrutiny and body shaming that occurs daily under the guise of 'journalism,' the 'First Amendment' and 'celebrity news.'"
Ariel Winter, actress on Modern Family, has been fighting the constant online hate and body-shaming. When she graduated this year, she celebrated in a beautiful dress she posted a picture of online. Immediately, critics posted negative comments. Ariel quickly jumped in and addressed her troll-trashers:
"Dear sorry body-shamers, I looked HOT in that dress, And if you hate it, don't buy it. But please get a hobby. XOXO Ariel #EmbraceYourBody."
Amy Schumer is another actress and comedian that has learned to address trolls head-on. As the trolls typically take aim at Amy with body-shaming, she hits back by getting ahead of them, as she did on her vacation in Hawaii:
I meant to write 'good morning trolls!' I hope you find some joy in your lives today in a human interaction and not just in writing unkind things to a stranger you've never met who triggers something in you that makes you feel powerless and alone.
These celebrities all have been targets of cyber-bullets and have been able to empower others with their words of wisdom and encouragement. The average person can't engage with trolls like famous people can. As we saw with the Leslie Jones incident on Twitter, it inflamed a cyber-war that took a long time to burn out. The fact that people were finally removed from Twitter after this incident was a positive ending.
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Average adults acting badly.
Christopher Wimmer (33) and Kayla Renee Dubois (24) in Florida were two paramedics having a competition: who could take the most disturbing shots of unconscious patients being transported to the hospital. These are grown adults, whose jobs were to care for others, playing this sick game. These paramedics invaded the privacy of patients going to the hospital by taking 'selfies' with them. According to NBC station WJHG, the paramedics purportedly shared some of the photos and videos with other EMS and non-EMS personnel.
Investigators initially identified 41 victims. Their biggest fear was of these images being leaked on social media, which can happen very quickly.
Dani Mathers, a Playboy model, felt compelled to take a photo of a naked woman in her gym locker room she deemed unflattering and sent it to a friend with a message via Snapchat, "If I can't unsee this, then you can't either."
Unfortunately for Mathers, this message wasn't only sent to her friend, it's now global and Dani Mathers is not only out of a job and a gym -- she is being investigated by the LAPD because photographing someone naked, without their consent, in a private place, and posting their image online for everyone to see is illegal.
She later issued an apology online, saying the photo was supposed to be a personal conversation with a girlfriend. I'm assuming she doesn't realize that no matter whether this conversation was personal (private) or global, it was cruel.
Make no mistake about it, the rise of shame nation is spreading across the Internet on a daily basis, and sadly the leaders are grown-ups.
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Steps to turn this around (at all ages):
1) Use your keyboard responsibly, never share in haste. There is no rewind online, what goes online, stays online. You're temporary emotional will live a lifetime in cyberspace. Especially if you are sending a sensitive email (or any email at all), be prepared for it to go viral at anytime. Remember what happened to DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, as her emails were leaked and she was no longer able to speak at the convention.
2) Text with care. Many times, communication not only gets lost in translation online, people of different generations don't always understand what is being said in text lingo or emoji meanings and words can be misconstrued. Hurt feelings can quickly arise and friendships lost.
3) If you see someone being harassed online, reach out to them with support, publicly or in a private message. Report the trolls and the abusive content. The worst part about being harmed online is the thought you are alone.
4) Learn to leave constructive comments, not combative. A few years ago, major sites like Huffington Post decided to put an end to people who wanted to post anonymously, and Popular Science and Motherboard did away with comments all together. Why? Because adults couldn't behave themselves online. Your words reflect on your character.
5) As cliche as it may sound, the best advice is what you've been taught years ago, but now you must implement it through your digital lives. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." In today's world, simply click out. You won't have to worry about hacked emails or WikiLeaks exposing something months or years later.
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Takeaway tips:
Nuclear Bomb Explosion, Baker Day Test, Bikini, 25th July 1946
This weekend is the 71st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and it's a good time to give a few thoughts to nuclear weapons. Most people don't think about them much, and the majority of countries have fully rejected them. In fact, there are only a small handful of countries that like nuclear weapons -- the nine that have them (China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States) and another couple dozen that either have bilateral agreements with the U.S. (Australia, Japan, South Korea) for American nuclear bombs to be dropped on their behalf, or the countries that are part of NATO. Almost everyone else thinks they are catastrophic, inhumane weapons and should be illegal for everyone. Now, a series of UN meetings this year is showing that the majority of the world agrees a new treaty is needed to make nuclear weapons illegal. The minority that kept the world thinking nuclear weapons are still needed is just that -- a minority -- and their story is falling apart.
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For decades, countries without nuclear weapons have called on countries with nuclear weapons to do things -- from reducing numbers to sharing information. These nuclear free countries have done things themselves -- to verify that they are not trying to build nuclear weapons. There are only a very few exceptions -- Iran, Syria, North Korea -- but otherwise this non-proliferation regime has held up. Excuses have been made for why disarmament isn't happening (or is happening really slowly), but never before has the very legitimacy of the weapons themselves been challenged as it is now.
Last year, this UN working group (Open Ended Working Group on taking forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations) was set up and it has met in Geneva a few times this year. The final meeting will take place over the next few weeks with the goal to adopt a report and recommendations for the UN General Assembly. The first draft of this report and recommendations from the group was released last week and recognizes that "a majority of States supported the convening by the General Assembly of a conference in 2017, open to all States, international organizations and civil society, to negotiate a legally-binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination."
Most countries in the world want to start negotiations in 2017 on a treaty to ban the bomb.
Of course, not all countries want to ban nuclear weapons -- a few of them want to keep using nuclear weapons in their security strategies. They claim to support nuclear disarmament, but at the same time reiterate that they will keep relying on nuclear weapons as long as they exist. Their actions and their polices provide the enabling environment necessary for the nuclear armed to not only keep, but also modernize their nuclear arsenals.
Most UN meeting documents make only two distinctions -- the nuclear have and the nuclear have-nots. The new category -- the nuclear enablers -- are getting more distinct attention as a result of these meetings. The draft report puts this small group of states into their own category. In describing possible actions that countries can take to attain and maintain a nuclear weapons free world, it says these different approaches will "vary in their salience to nuclear-armed States, non nuclear-armed States and other States that continue to maintain a role for nuclear weapons in their security doctrines."
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There are five countries that host U.S. nuclear weapons (Belgium, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Turkey). Since the 1950s these countries have hosted U.S. nuclear bombs. Military personnel from all but Turkey train to use the bombs, and many NATO countries take part in annual exercises preparing for nuclear war. The recent coup attempt in Turkey (which forced the power to be shut down to the base holding the U.S. bombs -- see here) has brought some attention to the security and safety of the weapons, but they remain. The countries that host the weapons do so as a public secret -- everyone knows where they are, no one officially confirms it. At the same time, these same countries repeatedly call on other nuclear armed countries to be more transparent. To provide more information on locations and types of weapons. This hypocritical behavior did not go unnoticed in Geneva. It was discussed repeatedly, and the draft outcome document recognizes this information gap. It says:
Other States that maintain a role for nuclear weapons in their military and security concepts, doctrines and policies should also provide standardized information at regular intervals on, inter alia, the following:(i) The number, type (strategic or non-strategic) and status (deployed or non deployed, and the alert status) of nuclear warheads within their territories;(ii) The number and the type of delivery vehicles within their territories; (iii) The measures taken to reduce the role and significance of nuclear weapons in military and security concepts, doctrines and policies.
The parliaments in many of these countries have been calling for this type of information for decades. Resolutions get passed, and demands for information are met with silence. That silence is part of the problem, part of what enables nuclear armed countries to maintain their arsenals, their policies, their threats of massive nuclear violence.
BOOKS ABOUT BOOKS
It's summer. You are looking for something breezy to read. You want to be entertained yet still educated. It's too hot for a sizzling mystery that requires investigative energy on the part of the reader. Non-fiction on the beach is a bit geeky.
So how about a few books about reading books?
Here is a list of some old books about reading--books that are well worth dusting off and re-reading especially if you love getting lost between the covers of a good read, and if you love books that tell you what books you should be reading:
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett is a gem. 120 pages of pure joy. It takes place in England near Buckingham Palace. The Queen discovers the joy of reading when she strolls into a mobile library and through the portal into the land of book lovers. Written in 2007, it is timeless. You will laugh all the way through.
The End of Your Life Book Club is not funny. It is bittersweet but truly informative. It ask you: what books have meaning? That's the question Will Schwalbe asks his mother, Mary Anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2007, Mary Anne returned from a humanitarian trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis. Months later she was diagnosed with a terminal illness but she and her son are going to take a trip down memory lane through books. The back of this book is a guide to every book we all should read.
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The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a lovely novel by Katarina Bivald. It came out three years ago and is really a love story between a woman called Sara, and her books. Sara changes a broken town by bringing books and stories to life. Heartwarming and full of summer charm, it will keep you dreaming about the magic of reading.
Lastly, my favorite: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. This book is a gift to book lovers. It is the story of a man whose wife has died and whose bookstore, Island Books, is in trouble. Funny, tender, and inspiring, the bookstore and its owner get a second chance when a young sales rep shows up to dust off a few covers.
Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump pumps his fists during a rally in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, July 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Given that Donald Trump has been routinely compared to Hitler and Mussolini, contrasting him to Napoleon might seem a compliment.
Unfortunately for The Donald, he tends to match up with Bonaparte in all the wrong ways while falling short in the right ones.
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Accordingly, while the superficial similarities between the French dictator and the American developer might encourage Trump's followers to believe he's the strongman they're looking for, they likely will wind up frustrated.
Having studied Napoleon in some depth for my Ethan Gage adventure novels and my collection of his aphorisms, "Napoleon's Rules," I think it's instructive to look at ways the two men are alike and - more importantly - how they differ.
Bonaparte did "make France great again" - for a while. He ruled for roughly fifteen years and was extraordinarily successful the first half of his reign. But then came disastrous embroilment in Spain and Russia. By the time Napoleon was finally exiled in 1815, millions were dead and French boundaries were back to their 1791 pre-revolutionary origins. Europe was so exhausted that it didn't quarrel as catastrophically again for 99 years, until World War I broke out.
Now Trump wants to "make America great again" without any detailed policy prescriptions of exactly how. French politicians backed Napoleon in a coup d'etat because they thought they could control him, while Americans have glued any qualities they wish into the vague and blustering businessman in hopes he can work a reactionary miracle.
But how much does the New Yorker truly match up to the Corsican conqueror?
Well, both were pugnacious as children and combative as adults.
Both prided or pride themselves on negotiation skills.
Both went to military school, Trump as a teenage disciplinary problem and Bonaparte as a Corsican immigrant who graduated as a French second lieutenant.
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Napoleon fought about sixty major battles, winning most of them and suffering wounds. Trump got an educational deferment and then a medical one during the Vietnam-era draft, his "bone spurs" magically disappearing once he had secured a high draft lottery number exempting him from military service.
Trump does mimic Napoleon's ornate Empire style. His gilded Manhattan penthouse is very much as over-the-top as were some of Bonaparte's palaces. But the general spent a lot of time on an iron campaign bed, dressed modestly, and led armies from horseback in bad weather. He shared his soldiers' hardships.
It's difficult to picture The Donald (or most modern leaders) camping.
Both expressed, or express, boundless self-confidence. Trump's convention speech assertion that "I alone can fix it," not only echoes Napoleon's own certainty and vanity but also that of almost every strongman in history, from Julius Caesar to Vladimir Putin, and on down to the tin-pot dictators of banana republics.
But Napoleon came to power after two extraordinary military campaigns in Italy and Egypt that gave him not just military but administrative experience ruling conquered territories. Trump has never served in government at any level.
Both were outsiders pledging to reform a political system they perceived as broken. Napoleon was the general who would restore order to a France in chaos after the French Revolution, and Trump is the businessman promising to bring entrepreneur acumen to the federal bureaucracy.
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Napoleon militarized France. Will Trump business-fy America, and if so what would that mean for employees, unions, public servants, and investors?
Both were opportunists, Napoleon seizing chance in the military realm and Trump in the business world. By the same token, their strategic planning was fluid, seeking power and success more than any philosophic plan. Neither has claimed much of a moral compass.
Both were or are vague about religion and morality while not hesitating to appear before religious audiences in hopes of using faith to their advantage. Napoleon was a deist who could act ruthlessly without concern for the afterlife, and Trump does not seem affiliated with any particular denomination or creed.
Both enthusiastically pursued women romantically and sexually but had a clumsy tendency to insult. Both expressed misogynistic disdain for female ability or achievement.
Both have boasted of their womanizing. Both have divorced.
Both were, or are, narcissistic, obsessed about themselves to the point of limited empathy for other people - be they battlefield dead on Napoleon's part or immigrants and refugees on Trump's part.
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Both were obsessed with "building their brand." In Trump's case the use of his name has been a lifelong business strategy. Napoleon stamped his initial 'N' and his symbol of the industrious bee across his empire, because he was acutely aware he was not of royal blood and needed acceptance of his family as a new dynasty.
Both had a curious combination of charisma and blunt offence. Reactions to Napoleon's personality were as divided as opinions on Trump.
Both were masters of media attention. Napoleon wrote bulletins giving a positive spin to his actions, censored newspapers and plays, and relied on elaborate pageantry to excite the French about military culture and imperial rule. He invented modern propaganda, and renamed the Louvre the Musee Napoleon.
Both had or have a dizzying number of enemies. Napoleon dodged assassination and murder attempts. Trump is embroiled is 3,500 state and federal lawsuits and court cases, by the count of USA Today, many from unpaid contractors or employees. Napoleon admitted to few if any friends, and Trump appears to have no close friends either, outside his family.
Both could not resist a fight. Napoleon's fatal flaw was his obsession with endless foreign enemies and his inability to know when to quit.
Trump doesn't know when to stop tweeting.
For all their similarities, their differences are even more striking.
Napoleon was a voracious reader and persuasive writer, while Trump admits he's not. Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter of "The Art of the Deal," told The New Yorker that the businessman contributed almost nothing to the book, while Bonaparte wrote a great deal (including his memoirs) and scrutinized any writing he commissioned.
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The Frenchman was enthralled by science and got himself elected to the French National Institute of Sciences (the Academy) at a time of revolutionary discoveries. Trump dismisses science that he finds inconvenient.
While Trump embraces conspiracy theories, Napoleon wrote, "We must take things as we find them, not as we wish them to be."
Bonaparte excelled at math, and had a chess-like mind that was brilliant at anticipating opponents and calculating likely outcomes, particularly on the battlefield. His ability to mass the most troops at the critical moment was the result of months of prodigious preparatory work, calculation, logistics, and self-discipline. He wanted ministers who could count.
He wouldn't have tolerated Trump's vagueness because he despised wishful or magical thinking by his officers. He would have demanded, "What kind of wall, at what length, height, and width, of which materials, at what cost, built by whom, maintained at what expense, manned by how many troops, for how long, to what measurable goal?"
Trump has a celebrity's instincts, Napoleon those of the artilleryman. Trump knows how to dominate a news cycle; Napoleon dominated Europe.
Trump certainly has energy, but many colleagues have questioned his ability to concentrate long on complex subjects. Napoleon was the opposite, prying into every corner of his empire's affairs and working closely on complex legal documents such as the Napoleonic Code. Like Hillary Clinton he was a wonk for detail: and like Clinton, sometimes too much so.
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While Bonaparte was a curious mishmash of progressive and reactionary, he did claim he was exporting French revolutionary ideals with the bayonet, replacing heredity with merit. He envisioned a unified Europe under his command. He opened Jewish ghettos. He brought printing presses to Egypt to print the Koran. He courted intellectuals. He brought back the Catholic Church to France after the Revolution, while trimming its powers.
He was a builder of public works and a fiscal reformer.
Trump is a developer with large buildings to his credit. But so far, he has been more defined by the anger of his followers than a clear vision of an alternate America.
Of the two, Napoleon had by far the more extraordinary rise. Bonaparte's father died when he fourteen, and his only help to his son was securing him a place in French boarding schools. Napoleon was a truly self-made man, a Corsican rustic who was a second lieutenant at sixteen, a brigadier general at twenty-four, dictator of France at thirty and self-crowned emperor at thirty-five.
Trump, 70, reportedly got a million dollars from his developer father to start his business and ultimately inherited another $40 million. Not only has his indebtedness led to repeated bankruptcies in his web of holdings, but the National Journal has calculated that Trump would have earned more by investing his inheritances in a simple stock index fund than he has as a real estate developer.
Superficially, Trump takes on some of the trappings of Napoleon. Substantially, his achievements and victories do not remotely approach Bonaparte's.
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Yes, the same could be said of Hillary Clinton. But she doesn't make the strongman promise of being a sole savior, emphasizing instead the strength of unity. Dogged, earnest, and less charismatic than either man, she is deliberately and consciously the opposite of a Napoleon - except that, like Bonaparte, she perseveres.
What Trump would really do as president remains a mystery, given the impracticality and vagueness of his glib promises. But in terms of genius, work ethic, tenacity, experience, or achievement, he's no Napoleon either.
By Michelle DeFreese
The building of a union of countries with varied interests, political structures, and cultural characteristics is a challenging endeavor. As seen in recent developments with the United Kingdom's Brexit campaign from the European Union and similar movements in Europe, maintaining cohesion and adherence to supra-national entities is a messy affair. The African Union has similarly undergone continuously evolving processes of layered diplomacy to develop the union into a body that aims to speak for the shared interests and values of its member-states.
In the newest layer to come to light since the founding of the AU, a so-called Sixth Region was constructed to increase the participation of actors located outside of the continent. The 2003 Protocol on Amendments to the Constitutive Act sought to "invite and encourage the full participation of the African Diaspora as an important part of our Continent, in the building of the African Union." This has taken the form of participation as either observers or delegates at AU summits and stakeholder meetings.
At the 2012 Global African Diaspora Summit, organizers released a declaration reiterating the relevance of the Sixth Region. The document placed an emphasis on the Diaspora, calling on its representatives to "organize themselves in regional networks and establish appropriate mechanisms that will enable their increasing participation in the affairs of the African Union as observers and eventually, in the future, as a sixth region of the continent that would contribute substantially to the implementation of policies and programs."
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Despite declarations of inclusion, the Sixth Region has yet to gain traction and relevance. The practicalities of involving the diaspora in the affairs of the AU have proven more problematic than originally envisioned. Efforts to include the Diaspora have taken the forms of the AU Department of Citizens and Diaspora Organization, seats in the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), and the creation of regional entities in North America, Europe, and Latin America. Yet, significant barriers to participation persist.
For example, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) reserves seats for 20 members from the Sixth Region - and it is the only permanent AU organ with Diaspora representation. However, "in spite of the enthusiasm of the African Diaspora as reflected in the establishment of various Diaspora networks, the actualisation of their representation in ECOSOCC has remained evasive," according to Francis N. Ikome, Director of the Multilateral Programme at the Institute for Global Dialogue.
In another shortfall noted by Kassim M. Khamis, a Political Analyst specializing in the African Union, "the five geographical regions under which the AU is operating are only practical during the AU organs sessions, in which the African Diaspora is not represented." The current modus operandi of the Sixth Region represents a quandary in the operationalization of the involvement of actors outside of the continent.
The incorporation of special status and permanent member-states is one area where the AU has consistently drawn the line in terms of the participation of the Diaspora. This is due primarily to Article 29, paragraph 1 of the 2000 Constitutive Act of the AU, which limits membership to African countries. No other country challenges the current framework of the AU's relationship with the Diaspora more than Haiti.
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Despite Haiti's expressed desire to become a permanent member-state of the AU, its proposal has been summarily declined, with the Union opting to classify the island nation as an observer and one of the many actors in the ambiguous Sixth Region. The inclusion of Haiti - either as an associate or full member-state - offers an opportunity to engage the Diaspora in a more substantial and practical basis than what has ever been seen previously in the existing organs of the AU. Haiti's contested member-state status represents a missed opportunity to operationalize aspects of the AU decision-making processes intent on engaging the Diaspora.
The Sixth Region remains comprised of actors in multiple regions with competing agendas and disparate priorities; further challenging its ability to realistically participate in decision-making mechanisms of the AU. For the Diaspora to substantially contribute to the policy-making processes of the AU, more practical modalities on representation are needed to move beyond the largely symbolic role of the diaspora in stakeholders' summits and consultative meetings.
As the Africa Union continues to evolve as a major force in shaping geopolitics, its ability to engage with extra-continental interests will be challenged by the current structures, policies, and mechanisms that limit the representation of actors outside of the continent.
The number of people hooked on prescription drugs and heroin saw a sharp increase while overdoses hit a record high in the years from 2007 to 2014.Analysis by non-profit Fair Health found that there was a more than 3000 per cent rise in claims on private health insurance during the 7-year period and the report warns that the US in in the midst of an epidemic of opioid dependence, abuse and overdose.The research reveals that the current crisis differs from previous abuse epidemics as it is disproportionately affecting white, middle-class people in non-urban settings, including those with private health insurance.The situation has prompted the federal government to enact new legislation to strengthen opioid addiction prevention, treatment and recovery and expand access to the opioid overdose-reversal drug naloxone. The full report is on the Fair Health website Canadas largest law firm says that driverless cars will not mean that their drivers avoid liability in the result of a collision.A report from Borden Ladner Gervais notes that the technology will disrupt a number of industries including insurance and that the legal and regulatory framework for their use is yet to be finalized.The firms report Autonomous Vehicles Revolutionizing Our World also notes that manufacturers of driverless vehicles will require enhanced product liability insurance but opines that it will not mean auto insurance will cease to be required, except where vehicles do not involve human control at all.As long as a driver with some ability to assume or resume control of the vehicle is present, there would seem to be a continuing basis for driver negligence and liability as they presently exist. It is not much different than operating a vehicle with cruise control, it says.Global insurer Munich Re has acquired the insurance division of Greeces largest lender Piraeus Bank. The deal, completed Monday, transfers ATE Insurance to Munich Re subsidiary Ergo International for 90 million euros (U$100.5 million).A year ago the deal was almost cancelled as Greece was in the midst of its financial meltdown and political uncertainty ahead of an election. However subsequent deals with creditors and some stability has enabled the takeover to go ahead.
We work towards an equitable,
gender-just, self-reliant and
sustainable fisheries,
particularly in the small-scale,
artisanal sector
We work towards an equitable,
gender-just, self-reliant and
sustainable fisheries,
particularly in the small-scale,
artisanal sector
We work towards an equitable,
gender-just, self-reliant and
sustainable fisheries,
particularly in the small-scale,
artisanal sector
We work towards an equitable,
gender-just, self-reliant and
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particularly in the small-scale,
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RESPONDING to the growing transportation requirements of Northern Luzon, Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) has started initiatives meant to expand its reach in the region through the future opening of a new facility.
Set to stand on Iguig, Cagayan is the new Isuzu Tuguegarao satellite office, which is forecast to supplement the operations of Isuzu dealerships in Bulacan, Isabela, Cabanatuan and Meycauayan. To mark the site of the future facility, IPC executives led by President Hajime Koso, Isuzu Tuguegarao principal Dra. Zinnia Domingo - Perez, and Iguig Mayor Ferdinand Trinidad held a groundbreaking ceremony on July 20, 2016.
The thriving commercial activities in northern Philippines, most especially in the Cagayan region, equate to heightened demand for logistics and transportation solutions. We in Isuzu Philippines realize the potential for growth that partnerships with local business will bring to the communities in the area, and the opening of a new facility here seeks to ensure this progress, Koso said.
The new Isuzu Tuguegarao satellite office will be built on a 5,000-square-meter property. Its highly trained personnel can accommodate sales inquiries while its workshop can perform select services for several vehicles including trucks. When completed, this new Isuzu Tuguegarao satellite will be bigger than the current office.
We are extremely optimistic at the prospects of Isuzu Tuguegarao as the Isuzu brand commands a following among many Cagayanos. Isuzu vehicles durability, reliability and fuel efficiency should ably serve the needs of consumers in the region, Domingo said.
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Premium Apple reseller Power Mac Center recently inked a partnership with the University of Visayas New School of Art & Design (UVNS) to strengthen the position of its Apple Authorized Training Center (AATC) in Cebu within the creative market. UVNS Customized Education was recently named an Apple Distinguished Program.
Offering certificate courses in Visual Communication Design, 2D/3D Animation, Graphic Design, Photography, and Filmmaking, UVNS provides creatives an avenue to hone their talent and passion within a dynamic program tailored for artists. This output-based education model is the first of its kind in Cebu and even the entire Philippines.
For the partnership, Power Mac Centers Apple certified trainers will teach Final Cut Pro X initially to UVNS students. This is in line with the schools goal of producing creative professionals with skills marketable in the real world.
Power Mac Center AATC Head Maleng Raysag said, We look forward to having more Apple certified professionals on Final Cut Pro X in Cebu and nearby areas. As you know, an Apple certification is a globally recognized level of accreditation. This way, we can ensure that UVNS graduates will be able to compete even in the world stage.
While elated about having been given an Apple distinction after starting operations a mere three years ago, UVNS School Director Genesis Rana is looking to accomplish a lot more with Power Mac Center. In particular, he is planning to implement a One to One iPad Program for his students and possibly pioneer lifestyle enhancement programs using Apple technology.
Im a Steve Jobs fanatic and a follower of his vision and the way he does things. At one point, I told some of my students in class that I want to be the Steve Jobs of education. What he did to technology, I want to do it to education, Rana said. I believe that education should not be limited to the classroom. It should be for everyone.
Rana expressed that he is both humbled and challenged by the Apple recognition for it meant that the spotlight is on UVNS. He acknowledged the fact that the school has to innovate further since the award expires in 2017.
The University of Visayas New School of Art & Design is recognized as an
Apple Distinguished Program for 2016-2017.
Im confident that we can do it now that it opened up to partnerships with Power Mac Center and other entities. But what I want from my partners, to be candid about it, is to really push it. Ideas are easy but execution is a different story, Rana said. My personality is very driven. It would be good to have partners like that.
UVNS currently has a student population of about 25-35 at a time, with some coming from as far as Davao. Graduates attest to the effectiveness of the schools instruction model, which is a mixture of technical training and real-life exposure for a holistic learning experience. The school administration is planning to expand to cater to its growing stature as a premier design school.
Meanwhile, Power Mac Center has expressed support for institutions in the VisMin region that also want to produce Apple certified professionals.
We recognize Filipino talents especially in the VisMin region. We know that Filipinos are world class. Having strong partnerships will hopefully open up opportunities to hone young talents and produce the best generation of creatives, Raysag said.
Power Mac Centers AATC is the first to offer Professional Track Certification Training and Prometric Exams for IT and creative professionals in Mac OS X in the Philippines. More information about products and services may be obtained from the website www.powermaccenter.com or via email to aatc@powermaccenter.com.
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Flu shot rates among California adults vary by race and ethnicity
Los Angeles, California - More than 60 percent of all adults in California fail to get an annual flu shot, according to a new journal article by UCLA researchers that also found wide disparity in flu immunization rates among Asian subgroups.
Using California Health Interview Survey data for 2011-12, the article, which was published in the American Journal of Infection Control, reports immunization rates for two adult Asian ethnicities in the state Koreans and Vietnamese were the highest at 48.9 percent and 46.7 percent, respectively, compared to a 40.2 percent rate for whites. Rates for other ethnic groups studied Latino, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, South Asian, Asian other, and other were not significantly different from whites. African-Americans had the lowest rate of the groups studied, 28.5 percent.
Statewide, the immunization picture improved, with 1 in 3 adults participating in 2011-2012 compared to 1 in 4 in 2005, according to the article. An advisory committee of public health and medical experts, which makes recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines and disease control, advocates an annual flu shot starting at the age of 6 months to reduce the chances of contracting a potentially debilitating flu virus.
Its important to get the word out, said Ninez Ponce, associate director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and one of the articles co-authors. Some public health groups and ethnic media are better at communicating the importance of getting a flu shot.
For instance, Ponce said studies report more flu shots among Vietnamese in Santa Clara County, which has a strong public health infrastructure and community-based organizations that promote the importance of being immunized, and some Korean media regularly feature consumer stories on flu shot immunization.
According to previous studies, low household income and concern that getting a flu shot could result in a severe case of flu are factors in low immunization rates among African-Americans and other racial and ethnic groups.
That means African-Americans are at high risk of being infected with the flu, said Dr. Christopher Almario, assistant professor of medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and lead author of the study. Knowing who isnt participating can help us target those groups, encourage them to get flu shots, and keep them healthy during flu season.
Secretary of State John Kerry to Host C5+1 Foreign Ministerial
Washington, DC - U.S. Secretary of State Kerry will host the foreign ministers from the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan on August 3, 2016, at the Department of State, for the second ministerial meeting of the C5+1 diplomatic platform.
All six Foreign Ministers will deliver opening remarks in the Benjamin Franklin Room at 9:35 a.m.
The group will then discuss regional security, economic connectivity, environment and climate change, and humanitarian issues. Secretary Kerry and the ministers will also discuss five proposed projects developed by C5+1 working groups following the first ministerial in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in November 2015.
Following the ministerial meeting, Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken will host a lunch with the five ministers and leaders from prominent U.S. think tanks to share ideas about Central Asias development in the 21st century. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will then host a business forum with the Central Asian ministers and senior executives from major U.S. companies to discuss the opportunities and challenges of a connected and prosperous Central Asia. The Chamber will also host a cultural reception to celebrate the Central Asian states 25th anniversaries of independence, the regions unique cultural heritage, and partnerships between the Central Asian states and U.S. government, business, academic and cultural institutions.
This will be the second time this group has met in the C5+1 platform to commit to a joint approach to addressing regional issues of shared interest. The United States looks forward to continuing the C5+1 format to broaden and deepen its relationship with the Central Asian states.
Antique Bottle Convention & Expo auction
Sacramento, California - Collectors of vintage bottles, mostly from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire rare and desirable Nevada bottles at the annual auction of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, on Saturday, August 6th, at the Lions Gate Hotel in Sacramento and hosted by Holabird Western Americana of Reno, Nevada.
The auction event will be part of 49er Bottle Jamboree and will coincide with the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors 2016 National Antique Bottle & Expo being held at the same venue.
Nevada bottles in general are not only gorgeous and colorful collectibles, they are slices of state history, said Fred Holabird, President of Holabird Western Americana and the author of a two-volume series: Nevada History Through Glass (2012) and Ghost Towns & Medicines (Sierra Nevada Press, 2016). The stories of the Nevada pioneers who became druggists or apothecaries cross the lines of science. Many of them were miners, and their stories reflect Nevada mining history. Ghost Towns & Medicines will be available for purchase at the Sacramento show and auction (480 pages in color, $39.95).
Mr. Holabird said he approached the writing of the two books like he would a science project. We used comparative analogy of glass bottle construction and style, coupled with data from the historical record to date the bottles and their specific variants, Holabird said. The people and businesses that made up the drug store industry in Nevada since 1859 were dissected in scientific fashion to bring them to life in story form. These very stories will be offered at the auction.
Western bottles from Nevada give collectors a peek into the journey that medicines took as they made their way to the Wild West, said Bernd Schwalbe, whos been a practicing pharmacist in Nevada for 36 years. Many problems were encountered, both with supply and manufacturing, as pharmacies and the medicine bottles sold there came to the rough and tough mining towns in Nevada and the other Western states. As a result, many of these beautiful bottles are quite rare.
Eugene Hattori, a historical archaeologist for the Nevada State Museum, echoed Mr. Schwalbes words. Bottles are a gateway into Nevada history, Hattori said. Ive enlisted Fred Holabird on numerous occasions to help in identifying many embossed bottle fragments recovered from our excavations. Together, weve been able to place specific bottles within the who, what, where and when of Nevadas past. Now, collectors will be able to bid on and own these historic treasures.
Bob Ferraro, a past Chairman of the Federation of Historic Bottle Collectors and author of two books (The Past in Glass and A Bottle Collectors Book) said he got started in bottle collecting more than 50 years ago, when my mother gave me her purple bottles and began my passion for collecting. He added, I was particularly fascinated by Nevada pharmacy or drug store bottles, from the time of statehood until around 1920.Examples from this period will be in the auction.
In all, more than 250 items comprising 193 lots will come up for bid at the auction, most of them from the Western United States. These will include 60 whiskeys (featuring the two expected top lots in the sale and six from Nevada), 50 sodas (to include many rarities, 20 of them from Nevada), 45 medicines (featuring rare colored examples and some fantastic Owl bottles), five bitters (one from Nevada), beers (17 from Nevada) and ten miscellaneous bottles (to include a cobalt blue grenade and inks). From eastern California will come rare bottles from Truckee, Bodie and Castalian Springs in Inyo County.
Hours of the auction will be 7:00 to 10:30 pm Pacific Coast time, with previews Friday and Saturday, Aug. 5-6, from10 am to 5 pm. For those unable to attend in person, internet bidding will be available through the platforms iCollector.com, Invaluable.com (with AuctionZip.com and eBayLive.com) and AuctionMobility.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be taken.
Holabird Western Americana is always seeking quality bottle, advertising, Americana and coin consignments for future auctions. To consign a single piece or a collection, you may call Fred Holabird at 775-851-1859 or 844-492-2766; or, you can e-mail him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . To learn more about Holabird Western Americana's August 6th auction, visit www.fhwac.com .
USDA Begins Second Year of National Project to Quantify Effects of Agricultural Conservation
Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service is contacting 25,000 farmers and ranchers through August to take part in a national survey that will more accurately measure the environmental benefits associated with implementation and installation of conservation practices on agricultural land. The results of the National Resources Inventory Conservation Effects Assessment Project (NRI-CEAP) survey will help further develop the science-based solutions for managing the agricultural landscape to improve environmental quality.
The survey gives farmers and ranchers the power to provide a more complete and accurate picture of the conservation practices on their operations, said NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer. If contacted, I encourage farmers and ranchers to participate. Their collective responses can directly benefit themselves and all producers by helping leaders focus on what producers need to install conservation practices that are best for their operations environmentally and financially.
The results of the survey will demonstrate the work of Americas farmers to conserve natural resources while producing the food, fuel and fiber the world requires, participating farmers and ranchers support our cause for continued science-based conservation programs that protect natural resources while supporting farm-related jobs. Survey results will guide USDA conservation policy and program development and help conservationists, farmers and ranchers more efficiently and effectively conserve natural resources.
In addition to helping determine the effectiveness of existing conservation practices, NRI-CEAP analysis provides estimates of resources farmers may need to further protect the soil, water and related resources. Additional information about CEAP is available at the Conservation Effects Assessment Project survey web page.
NASS conducts the NRI-CEAP survey under a cooperative agreement with Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). NRI-CEAP results help determine not only the effectiveness of existing conservation practices but also what resources farmers may need to further protect the soil, water and related resources in selected watersheds and to document on-farm conservation accomplishments.
For example, a recent CEAP report for the Western Lake Erie Basin shows voluntary conservation is making significant headway in reducing nutrient and sediment loss from farms and that there is opportunity to improve conservation management across the basin with no single conservation solution meeting the needs of every field and farm. That report informed the development of the new Western Lake Erie Basin Initiative, which helps support farmers efforts to improve water quality in the region.
The NRI-CEAP survey will be conducted in two parts. In the first survey, which is shorter, NASS will determine eligibility for the more in-depth survey that will take place between October 2016 and February 2017. The privacy of all respondents is safeguarded, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified, as required by Federal law.
WATCH: This Restaurant in Pune Are Run by Speech and Hearing Impaired People
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A first look at WWII drama Dunkirk - the upcoming film from director Christopher Nolan - is imminent following the confirmation that a teaser will arrive with the release of DC film Suicide Squad.
The news was first reported by TrailerTrack who made an announcement via its social media pages.
Suicide Squad, which is released across the globe this Friday (5 August), is one of the summer's most anticipated films so it's no surprise that this is the film the teaser's been attached to.
David Ayer's new film, focused on a ragtag bunch of supervillains, is rumoured to feature a cameo from Ben Affleck's Batman - ironic considering Nolan is the man behind the popular Dark Knight trilogy he kickstarted with Batman Begins in 2005.
Which recent movies will become classics? Show all 21 1 /21 Which recent movies will become classics? Which recent movies will become classics? Birdman - Undoubtedly Alejandro G. Inarritus masterpiece will surely be remembered for years to come - fiercely original in its concept, brave in its single take(esque) format and the perfect satire of a very specific and bizarre era of cinema we find ourselves in. What perhaps was so astonishing about this Best Picture Oscar winner was that in spite of its experimental format and lofty intentions, it still also managed to be hugely entertaining, and is eminently rewatchable. - Christopher Hooton Fox Searchlight Pictures Which recent movies will become classics? There Will Be Blood - Potentially Inherent Vice feels like its been forgotten already, The Master was great but too weighty for some, but There Will Be Blood is the Paul Thomas Anderson film that comes up time and time again in pub film conversations, whether theyre between cinephiles or more casual fans. A blank yet brutal indictment of lucre, Daniel Day Lewis gave one of his best ever performances as oil man Daniel Plainview, and Jonny Greenwoods fearsome score is still being performed live several years after its release. But mainly, I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE! I DRINK IT UP! - CH Which recent movies will become classics? Avatar - Probably not Its undeniable that James Camerons gargantuan blockbuster Avatar will find its place in the cinematic history books. With a worldwide gross of over 2.7 billion, its currently the highest earning film of all time - even Star Wars' The Force Awakens return couldn't topple it. But will it actually be remembered fondly? Its ground-breaking special effects already betray the first signs of aging, and though its use of 3D was revolutionary at the time, its now so pedestrian as to be found in a Glee concert movie. What is there to revere then? The patronising narrative re-hash of the plot to Dances With Wolves? Or the bit where two cat-aliens had sex by plugging their hair braids into each other? - Clarisse Loughrey Which recent movies will become classics? Whiplash - Within its own genre at least Whiplash was perhaps the most buzzy, "have you seen it yet?" film of 2014, and winning major Oscars off a budget of $3.3 million was no mean feat. Damien Chazelle managed to make a film about drumming absolutely edge-of-your-seat stuff, and succeeded by not patronising his audience - trusting that even if they didnt understand the music theory detail, they would still be able to revel in it. Unfortunately, it might just be too small a film to be remembered as a classic, but will certainly be circling the top of best movies about music lists for some years to come. - CH Which recent movies will become classics? Skyfall Depends whos Bond next Best Bond of all time? Skyfalls slick, true, but its status as an icon seems heavily premature. Were still clinging onto the Craig era, and its hard to argue that Skyfall doesnt do the same; trading its entire dramatic tension on the premise that weve long been deeply attached to this grizzled Bond and equally grizzled M. In Silvas personal vendetta, or in the neat metaphors of Skyfall Lodges crumbling exteriors and Bonds crumbling interiors of a post-Vesper Lynd world; its only once the franchise has moved on to new pastures that well truly start to see whether Skyfall can go the distance. Doesnt help that Spectre was a bit of a disappointment, though. -CL Which recent movies will become classics? Mad Max: Fury Road - A gutsy yes Yes, its a madly confident move to already claim Fury Roads going to a bonafide classic within its first year of release, but Fury Road is a mad movie. 36 years after its original incarnation, George Miller returned to the wasteland to conjure the greatest adrenaline hit of the cinematic decade. Breathlessly edited, hued with the colours of dust and dirt and rage; packed to the brim with practical stunt work unseen in the digital age. Plus, its a film that actively dismantles the patriarchy through a gun-slinging, metal-armed Charlize Theron. If its not remembered as one of the greatest blockbusters of its time, itll certainly be remembered as one of the gutsiest. - CL Which recent movies will become classics? The Great Beauty - No, but it damn well should be It won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2014, but this Paolo Sorrentino masterpiece is still unknown to most. It centres on a group of aging intellectuals partying on rooftops across Rome to Eurodance, and within this frame of superficiality it manages staggering profundity. The dialogue is rich, the cinematography sumptuous, and if Fellini is considered classic, this fellow Italians work certainly should be too. - CH Which recent movies will become classics? Little Miss Sunshine - Within its own genre, yes The Sundance Effect has unfortunately developed a near plague of insufferable, self-conscious mawkishness over the years. Misfit boys finding new meaning to their existence in the arms of pink-haired manic pixie dream girls; sun-dappled bike rides as the latest band to feature a ukulele solo play softly in the distance. Some have indeed come off this false and cloying (Zach Braffs Garden State), others smarter and keener (last years Me and Earl and the Dying Girl); but as the fires of kook devour all in sight, there will always remain one film left standing in the ashes: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris Little Miss Sunshine. One scene that guarantees its elevation above the rabble sees teenager Dwayne (Paul Dano) realise hes colour-blind, and thus will never be able to achieve his dream of becoming a jet fighter. Danos meltdown here is so raw, and so positively tragic, that itll be a hard job to ever forget that epic f-bomb as the years pass. - CL Which recent movies will become classics? Lost in Translation - I'll still be watching it in my 80s at least Really a perfect movie. The casting couldn't have been better and Sofia Coppola conveys the choking feeling of an overly air-conditioned hotel room like no-one else. So many of the shots were beautiful in their simplicity. Bill Murray making a nice crisp, clean golf shot before walking off down the course. The flower arranging scene. Bill lightly grabbing Scarlett Johansson's foot and this subtly serving as the film's 'kiss'. It's the unconventional romance at the heart of the film that makes it so great, though, which is as much about companionship as physical and emotional love. - CH Which recent movies will become classics? Crash - Hahahahahahahahaha Seriously, how did it win that Oscar? Even the director doesn't know. - CH Which recent movies will become classics? Pans Labyrinth - Absolutely Guillermo del Toro dreams on celluloid; hes a weaver of fairy tales in an age where innocence is presumed dead. Its through innocence, through innocent eyes, that we witness the darkest excesses of human nature in a way that so exposes the incomprehensibility of evil committed in the pursuit of power. Through young Ophelias perspective we watch the horrors of Francos Spanish regime play out, the barbaric cruelty of her stepfather Captain Vidal; she fears not the horned faun who lives in the labyrinth when its so clear her own patriarchal figurehead is the true monster. And though its finale may be heart-breaking, del Toro still allows innocence a certain victory. Victory through Ophelias eyes, those pure and hungry enough to see beyond the borders of her bleak reality to find an escape from the seemingly unstoppable monstrosities of adulthood. - CL Warner Bros. Which recent movies will become classics? Im Still Here - When everyone realises its genius Initially admonished for being exploitative of Joaquin Phoenixs condition, it was astonishing that, when this Casey Affleck-directed mockumentary was revealed to be a hoax, most critics didnt give it a second review, and those who did still disliked it. In hindsight this was so much more than a prank. Phoenix stayed in character as a failed actor turned hip-hop artist for months on end. This dedication wasnt for nothing either (unlikely say, DiCaprio in The Revenant), Im Still Here is actually a very funny, moving and subtly satirical film, and definitely original. - CH Which recent movies will become classics? Boyhood - I doubt it While it too was an unprecedented piece of cinema, Boyhood for me faded from the memory very quickly. Dismissing this film as essentially a puberty timelapse might be a little harsh, but the set-up did ultimately come off gimmicky and as a coming of age story it failed to resonate. Admirable, but not a classic - CH Universal Pictures Which recent movies will become classics? The Social Network - Yes I was less than thrilled at the prospect of a movie about Facebook, but then pleasantly surprised upon watching it. A holy production trinity of David Fincher (director), Aaron Sorkin (screenwriter) and Trent Reznor (score) told a story that changed all of our lives with such panache. Texting, the internet, social media etc are so prosaic that many authors and filmmakers disingenuously leave them out of their stories, but here they were central and yet still the film was engrossing, stylish and human. - CH Which recent movies will become classics? Django Unchained - Hell yeah/hell maybe Swiping its titular characters name from a 1966 Spaghetti Western directed by Sergio Corbucci, Tarantino utilised his trademark flair for ultra-violence and nihilistic humour to create the perfect meeting point between revisionism and classicism. Django channeled brutality in the name of righteous fury, allowing the freedom fighting slaves of a pre-Civil War Deep South their own legendary cowboy of the John Wayne or Clint Eastwood type. - CL Which recent movies will become classics? The Tree of Life - A few people will kid themselves its classic Terrence Malicks experimental drama couldnt really have been more ambitious or tried to chip away at a bigger chunk of existence. As such, it was automatically lauded by many who didnt really know what to make of it, but looking back, was it worthy of the praise? The Brad-Pitt-is-a-family-man-in-the-50s plot strand was actually pretty unremarkable, and were it not for the brazenness of the extended shots of the universe being formed I doubt it would have made top ten lists the way it did. - CH Which recent movies will become classics? Her - Yes, as a historical document Films depicting the future remain fascinating decades later because they show, in retrospect, how we wanted the world to progress and what developments we simply couldnt have conceived. As such Her will definitely still be getting talked about in years to come, whether or not we do indeed end up falling in love with our computers. (Also see: Ex Machina) - CH Which recent movies will become classics? Any of the space movies? Maybe Interstellar We seem to get a big budget space movie annually these days, and while none of them really have the creativity of Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey, Interstellar stands a chance of staying atop VOD libraries. Gravity and The Martian, while technically brilliant, were pretty forgettable, and dont get me started on Sunshine. Interstellar was very impressive though, and if a Christopher Nolan films going to stand out Id rather it be this one than - CH Which recent movies will become classics? Inception - Please no Yes, its insanely watchable and the plot zips along nicely, but seriously, can we stop pretending people falling backwards off chairs and out of camp, alpine sub-dream worlds amounts to anything more than an overly convoluted, albeit pretty, action movie? - CH Which recent movies will become classics? The Wolf of Wall Street - Not compared to Scorseses earlier work If theres a burden of the artistic revolutionary, its that revolution is only ever momentary in its form; Martin Scorsese made his mark back in 1973 with Mean Streets, and its one thats been difficult to paint over in the 43 years which have since passed. The Wolf of Wall Street faults itself only in being pure Scorsese; its a film which trades purely in the breathless, macho style already so entrenched in cinematic culture. Essentially, Scorseses own genre-defining genius has doomed to obscurity any latter work which dares to fold into the directors own natural form of expression; its made derivative any work which doesnt actively rebel against what hes been most celebrated for. A tough reality, but a reality nonetheless. - CL Paramount Pictures Which recent movies will become classics? Nymphomaniac - Maybe if Part II hadnt happened Even the truest of arthouse directors are culpable for the whims of Hollywood franchises. Yes, with his dual Nymphomaniac films, Lars von Trier managed to ruin the potential classic of his career by needlessly stretching his narrative across two films; churning out the NC-17 answer to Peter Jacksons Hobbit trilogy in the process. Strip Nymphomaniac of the controversy and media hysteria surrounding its use of pornographic actors in its sex scenes; and theres a torn, throbbing soul at its centre. For all its salaciousness, von Triers exploration of the crippling effects of shame society burdens those, especially its women, who dare seek sexual pleasure is genuinely haunting. Thats in Part I, however; by the time Joes life story sees her grow from Stacy Martin into Charlotte Gainsbourg, von Triers epic dissolves into the bang of a drum in continuous, endless cycles. Shes horny and sad; we got it, Lars. - CL
Dunkirk will focus on Operation Dynamo, a British military operation that saw 330,000 Allied soldiers rescued from detainment. The film stars Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance alongside a string of young actors led by Fionn Whitehead.
Cillian Murphy and One Direction singer Harry Styles will also appear.
Since Memento launched Nolan onto the scene in 2000, he has directed numerous acclaimed films including The Prestige (2006) and Inception (2010). Dunkirk will be the British-American filmmaker's first since sci-fi Interstellar (2014) which starred Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Chastain.
Dunkirk will be released on 21 July 2017.
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In the most Matthew McConaughey move ever, Matthew McConaughey has become creative director at Wild Turkey bourbon whiskey.
His jobs will include writing, directing and starring in commercials, recording music for the brands campaign and even coming up with new Wild Turkey products himself, with a McConaughey edition bourbon very much on the cards.
While creative director positions are often created just for the big name (like when Martin Scorsese executive produces a film hes probably had little to no involvement with), in typical McConaughey fashion, the actor is throwing himself into the role.
I did get more than I bargained for, but in a great way, Melanie Batchelor, vice president for global spirits, told the New York Times. Personally, I have been completely overwhelmed with his level of commitment.
If this news werent already great enough, heres some more choice quotes from the NYT piece, in which McConaughey is astute about both millennials and whiskey:
They can smell it, he said in an ominous tone. Millennials, and I know this for a fact, can smell solicitation. And its a turnoff. The best ads are not solicitous.
The great news is that Wild Turkey hasnt changed in all these years its totally authentic. And that appeals to millennials. Because they can smell fake. Some manicured, bearded hipster soliciting them? No, thanks.
And millennials dont want bourbon lite. These people want bourbon, brother!
You heard the man. These people want bourbon, brother!
It feels appropriate to round off this story with the video of McConaughey spotting Brad Pitt on the balcony opposite in New Orleans and tossing him a beer.
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A few years after directing Braveheart to Oscar-winning glory in 1995, Mel Gibson acquired the film rights to novel Professor and the Madman. Only now - two decades later - is the Australian actor-director ready to move ahead with the project.
The bestseller from author Simon Winchester - originally published in England as The Surgeon of Crowthorne in 1998 - tells the story of Professor James Murray, the talented linguist who compiled the Oxford English Dictionary in 1857.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gibson - originally attached to direct - will star as Murray while Sean Penn will play Dr. W.C. Minor, a mental asylum inmate who submitted over 10,000 entries. On directing duties is Gibson's Apocalypto writer Farhad Safinia who also created the political Kelsey Grammar-starring series, Boss (2011-12).
Somewhat surprisingly, this will be the first time Gibson and Penn have worked with one another despite gaining Hollywood recognition around similar times - the former in 1979's Mad Max and the latter in Taps (1981).
The first trailer for Hacksaw Ridge - Gibson's first directorial effort in ten years - was recently released showing Andrew Garfield in action as conscientious Desmond T. Doss.
Penn's most recent film as director is The Last Face which premiered to negative reviews at Cannes Film Festival in May.
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Already known to have surpassed 2014 as Earths hottest documented year, 2015 also smashed records for sea levels, greenhouse gas concentration and extreme weather events, according to a new international report seen as the planets annual physical exam.
The wide-ranging State of the Climate report, led by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) with 450 scientists from more than 60 countries, provides a chilling image of what a hotter future might entail. As the world warmed at a dramatic rate last year, it brought worrying real-world effects across the globe, including drought, deadly heatwaves and devastating wildfires.
Not long after the end of 2015, it was declared the hottest year since records began in the 19th Century. The new report, published on Tuesday in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, found that the world had also passed several symbolic milestones in that 12 months.
At Mauna Loa in Hawaii, site of the longest-standing measurement of atmospheric carbon dioxide, for example, the annual average atmospheric CO2 concentration surpassed 400 parts per million for the first time.
Thanks in large part to the continuing increase in greenhouse gas production, the world is now 1C warmer than in pre-industrial times, with temperatures rising apace. The UN has said it hopes to hold global temperatures to a rise of no more than 1.5C, the point at which scientists envisage a major tipping point for life on Earth.
While the worlds groundwater storage levels were at their lowest ever, the global sea level was at its highest: 70mm above the 1993 average, when satellite measurements of sea levels began. The Greenland ice sheet, which would boost sea levels by some 7mm if it collapsed entirely, saw melting of 50 per cent of its surface in the warmer months of last year.
Twelve countries including Russia and China experienced their own individual hottest years. Last June, more than 1,000 people died in a heatwave in Pakistan, while drought left millions hungry in Ethiopia and much of Indonesia was blanketed by smoke from vast forest fires.
More than 90 per cent of greenhouse gas heat energy is absorbed by the oceans, where temperatures spiked at the surface and in the depths. In the Arctic, where August temperatures were a staggering 8C higher than the long-term average, walrus, polar cod and gelatinous snailfish populations were all dented, scientists found.
Meanwhile, a harmful algal bloom afflicted the northeast Pacific, which was also 2C warmer than average. The total of 101 tropical cyclones in 2015 far outmatched the 1981-2010 average of 82.
Some of the extreme weather came as a result of El Nino, the cyclical Pacific warming that coincided with man-made climate change to powerful effect. 2015s climate was shaped both by long-term change and an El Nino event, said Noaa director Thomas Karl.
His colleague and co-author, oceanographer Gregory Johnson, described the twin effects of man-made climate change and El Nino in a haiku, published as part of the report: El Nino waxes, warm waters shoal, flow eastward, Earths fever rises.
Madagascar drought: El Nino leaves 80 percent of people hungry
The State of the Climate report, which takes into account 50 different aspects of the global climate, is now in its 26th year. The UN has already warned that it expects 2016 to break through many of the records set by 2015.
The time to call the doctor was years ago, Noaas climate monitoring chief, Deke Arndt, told the Associated Press. We are awash in multiple symptoms.
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The survival of some of the worlds most iconic species such as elephants, rhinos and lions is hanging in the balance amid a campaign to legalise the international trade in rhino horn and other animal parts, it has been warned.
Speaking ahead of a debate about the issue at Londons Royal Institution on Wednesday, Will Travers, the president of the Born Free Foundation, said some countries were now seeking to make this nightmare a reality.
However the worlds largest rhino farmer, John Hume, questioned why, if a ban on trading rhino horn was such a positive conservation strategy, thousands of rhinos were being killed by poachers in South Africa.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is due to hold a major international meeting in Johannesburg later this year.
Mr Travers told The Independent that people could be forgiven for believing that at least some wildlife issues are not going to take up delegates time.
Planning for a future ivory trade in the face of poaching levels estimated to be running at around 30,000 elephants a year, would surely be one of them, he said.
And yet, despite the efforts of the majority of countries with wild elephants to create a unified global position by placing all elephant populations on CITES appendix one, thereby banning international commercial trade, the European Union has so far declined to offer its support.
Furthermore two African countries, Namibia and Zimbabwe, have tabled motions which would positively open up the possibility of further ivory trade.
Mr Travers said the trophy hunting of lions cannot be judged sustainable with estimated that there may be as few as 20,000 wild lions left in Africa.
This, he said, must surely mean that measures to more tightly control and, where necessary, prohibit lion trophy hunting, including placing Africa's wild lions on appendix one of CITES, would be widely welcomed.
Recommended Read more South Africa lifts ban on domestic trading of rhino horn
Again, the EU is remarkable for its lack of enthusiasm and commitment on the issue (although France and Italy, amongst others, are reportedly supportive of the measure.) The UK has yet to make its position clear.
On rhinos, he said South Africa had lost nearly 2,400 out of perhaps 18,000 animals in just two years to a poaching epidemic.
Given this background, he said: It seems almost inconceivable that any country or individual would actively support opening up legal international trade in rhino horn.
South Africa recently balked at such a step, after three years of consideration. However, Swaziland, a country with less than 100 rhino and a chequered conservation record, having sold half its wild elephant population into lifetime captivity in zoos since the turn of the century, has done just that and is seeking the support of two-thirds or more of the 182 parties to CITES to make this nightmare a reality.
Similarly, the world's biggest private rhino owner, John Hume, an outspoken advocate for legalising trade in horns 'harvested' from the anaesthetised faces of his 1,000 or more rhino, has raised the temperature of this increasingly acrimonious and highly controversial debate by claiming that those against legal trade are, therefore, in favour of illegal trade and 'worse than the poachers'.
The future survival of some of the world's most iconic species, and some of its most celebrated individual wild animals, hangs in the balance.
Corridor allows India's threatened elephants to roam in peace Show all 3 1 /3 Corridor allows India's threatened elephants to roam in peace Corridor allows India's threatened elephants to roam in peace 11832.bin IFAW/The News Market Corridor allows India's threatened elephants to roam in peace 11766.bin Alamy Corridor allows India's threatened elephants to roam in peace 11833.bin IFAW/The News Market
However Mr Hume, who will argue for legalising the trade in rhino horn at the Royal Institution debate, said: If the international ban on trade in rhino horn is seen by the worlds conservation body called CITES to be a positive strategy for all rhinos species, why has South Africa lost 6,000 rhinos to poaching in the last few years?
I would like to point out that Africa as a continent is unique in its wealth of wildlife resources, resources that the rest of the world has predominantly lost for various reasons including development.
These resources are the birth-right of the African people and a major avenue to uplift its people, the rural community who are the poorest of the poor and an easy target for criminals who recruit them for becoming poachers.
I believe that through CITES the opportunity to make African people a proud custodian of their natural heritage has been legislated away even politicised where European countries and America dictate to Africa how to manage its wildlife resources.
Rare Sumatran rhino born
Mr Hume, who has cut the horns of his rhinos since one was killed by poachers and now has a considerable stockpile, said the developed world should concentrate on shutting down black markets in their own countries rather than legislating the banning of legal sustainable supply of wildlife products by Africa.
Where is the political will of those governments in shutting down those markets and why are they supporting the ban on legal trade thereby putting the responsibility onto the African people and their governments? he said.
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Much as it would be lovely to dine in wonderful restaurants night after night, the brutal truth is that most of us cant afford it and dont have the time. So enter Option B the restaurant cookbook. In the last few years some truly excellent ones have hit the shelves, making it possible to enjoy an approximation of professional plates for your tea, or wow some dinner party guests with your sudden upsurge in culinary creativity. Here are ten of the best recently published options.
1. Honey & Co: Food from the Middle East by Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich: 25, Saltyard Books
Once schooled under the tutelage of the great Yotam Ottolenghi, its no wonder that Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich, the brains behind this small restaurant in Warren Street in London, are so inventive and masterful in their cookery. This reads like a love story set to food, with Middle Eastern recipes that you can actually make yourself without too much bother. Have a go at their notorious feta and honey cheesecake.
Buy now
2. Pitt Cue Co. by Tom Admas, Jamie Berger, Simon Anderson and Richard H. Turner: 25, Mitchell Beazley
Once notorious for housing legions of hipsters in a tiny space just off Carnaby Street in London all salivating into their beards at the thought of ribs and pulled pork now you can do it all at home. Youll find secret recipes for rubs, pickles, sauces, and how to perfectly cook Flintstone-sized lumps of meat, but as with the restaurant the real surprise winner is the bone marrow mash.
Buy now
3. Bar Tartine: Techniques and Recipes by Nicolaus Balla and Cortney Burns: 25, Chronicle Books
Bar Tartine is a popular San Francisco hangout, the sister restaurant to the legendary Tartine Bakery. This book is foodie-focused, with great details on what you should have in your larder, pinpoint instructions on relatively complex techniques, and scientific descriptions of performing near-alchemy on vegetables to turn them into powder. For keen cooks its a wonderful addition.
Buy now
4. Mildreds: The Vegetarian Cookbook by Daniel Acevedo and Sarah Wasserman: 25, Mitchell Beazley
The popular Soho restaurant has been churning out shriekingly good vegetarian food for 25 years, repeatedly proving that eating veggie can be a near-religious experience. This book is a real treat, crammed with soups and dips and sauces, and simple salads that will have your taste buds standing back and applauding. Proof that you dont always need meat to have a good time.
Buy now
5. Spuntino: Comfort Food (New York Style) by Russell Norman: 25, Bloomsbury Publishing
Russell Norman (of POLPO fame) seems to have spent a lifetime wandering the planet identifying the next wave of food trends, and his Spuntino restaurant in Soho serves the best of the Big Apple: two-bite burgers called sliders, prohibition-era cocktails, pizzettas and more. There are 120 recipes accompanied by notes on his travels around different eateries in New York. Feeling like youre brunching in Brooklyn is a particular treat.
Buy now
6. Morito by Samantha Clark: 26, Ebury Press
The good people of Morito have been bringing fine tapas and mezze to Londons Exmouth Market for the last few years, and their small plates would make a wonderful addition to any sophisticated dinner party. There are more than 150 recipes to choose from, with a detailed supplier list to help you find the more unusual ingredients. If you really want to push the boat out, have a go at slow cooking a rabbit, or one of their more curious specialties such as fish heads with dates and sherry vinegar.
Buy now
7. Rosas Thai Cafe by Saiphin Moore: 20, Mitchell Beazley
For decades gap year students have been returning from South East Asia raving about the food, but now they can skip the bit where they tell you about it and just cook it for you instead. Starting in London with a modest stall on Brick Lane, Saiphin Moore now has cafes across London, as well as this cookbook, full of excellent Thai recipes for popular favourites like beef massaman curry, or the unrivalled amazingness that is the papaya salad.
Buy now
8. Nopi by Yottam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully: 28, Ebury Press
Unless youre the kind of person who regularly throws together a wild rocket and parsley vichyssoise for lunch, some of the recipes in this exquisite cookbook might fly a little bit above your station. But dont let that put you off, as these 120 recipes from Yotam Ottolenghis excellent Soho restaurant are fantastic, and all of them are designed so that you can recreate them yourself at home, with relative ease. Try the roasted aubergine and black garlic to get you going.
Buy now
9. Gjelina Cooks: California Cooking from Venice Beach by Travis Lett: 21.99, Chronicle Books
If you ever find yourself on Highway One in America, take a pit stop at Venice Beach and pay Gjelina a visit, its a great restaurant. Alternatively, you could always bring some Cal-Med to the kitchen via this eclectic selection of fine recipes, accompanied by over 150 mouth-watering photographs. Featured within are instructions for condiments and pickles, all the way to mind-blowing fish stews and even making your own sausages.
Buy now
10. Zahav: 25, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Zahav is a popular Israeli restaurant in Philadelphia, specialising in traditional recipes, with a nudge towards the Middle East, North Africa and parts of the Mediterranean. You can learn to make your own award-winning hummus, or any number of rice and couscous dishes. Plus, best of all, theres the chance to finally master your very own take on matzo ball soup.
Buy now
Verdict
Theres something for everyones palate, from the excellent barbecue of Pitt Cue Co. to the delicate sophistication of Nopi or Gjelina, but for a top-quality cookbook that you can return to night after night, try Honey & Co: Food from the Middle East.
All prices listed are RRP
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It seemed too good to be true, and it was.
Hewlitt Packard have been forced to apologise after advertising one of its latest laptop models for the bargain price of 1.58.
The HP ZBook 17 was listed on the tech manufacturers website for a mere fraction of it 2,376 price tag.
The mistake was put down to a processing error and HP have apologised to customers who purchased the product after admitting they would not honour the deal.
HP said in a statement: "We can confirm that due to a processing error, select products were wrongly priced on our UK website over the weekend.
"This has now been corrected with related orders cancelled. We apologise sincerely to impacted customers for any inconvenience caused."
The computer giant was forced to take its website offline at the weekend because of the mishap.
Recommended Read more Microsoft and Hewlett Packard push for UK to stay part of Europe
According to consumer rights organisation Citizens Advice, companies dont have to send customers goods which have been bought at a price people should have known were accidental.
The website says they can cancel "if it if it was a genuine and honest mistake on their part that you shouldve noticed".
Airlines occasionally honour error fares scouted out by savvy passenger fares online.
Despite being calculated by complex software everything behind all the air fares is still driven by a human, according to travel deals website Flynous.
The Flynous website, which gives error fare tips, reads: The whole travel industry is one of the busiest sectors and so mistakes in air fares may appear time by time."
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At events in New York, Rio and London, Samsung today revealed its latest flagship phone. Thats the third major handset this year from the manufacturer, after the success of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge released in the spring.
This time its the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, the latest in the big-screen phone range which Samsung has pioneered. There was no Note 6, by the way, because the Note series has been re-numbered to reflect the fact that this handset builds on the features in the S7 range. And why not, the S7 and S7 edge have been extremely successful.
The first Note, released in 2011, had a screen measuring 5.3 inches on the diagonal. Preposterous, we said, itll never catch on, what were Samsung thinking?
It turned out that Samsung had correctly anticipated the rising demand for what was then called a phablet. Now every manufacturer, including Apple, has a phone with a screen larger than the original Note in its arsenal.
Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty
The latest model has a 5.7in display, though it has managed in successive models to increase screen size without adding to the overall size of the handset. The Note 7 is 7mm taller than the first Note but not as wide and thinner. Phones may be getting bigger, but our hands arent.
The first thing you notice about the Galaxy Note 7 is its smoothness. The edges are so perfectly aligned that the phone can be rolled in your hand as satisfyingly as a worry stone. And because the screen slopes down on both sides and the back scoops up, its an especially comfy phone to hold.
Samsung is the real challenger to Apple for the top end of the smartphone market and with a handset like this its easy to see why. It feels classy in every detail (which wasnt always the case with Samsung).
This is the most secure phone Samsung, or perhaps any company, has made. Partly because it includes Samsungs own Knox platform and mostly because it supplements the fingerprint sensor that is increasingly standard on smartphones with a new development: iris recognition.
Our irises are as unique as our fingerprints, Samsung says, and the sensor works even if youre wearing contact lenses or glasses. To use it, you press the home button and look at yourself in the two slightly spooky grey circles that appear on screen. In less than a second the sensor decides if its you and unlocks the phone.
Samsung says that banks and other organisations are already looking to build iris recognition into their phone apps. Like fingerprint recognition, something like this creates an intimate and personal relationship between phone and user.
Note handsets have always had another unusual feature, a built in stylus. The S Pen, as its called, is there so you can scribble notes on screen, highlight text and more. With the Note 7 you can even jot stuff on the screen when its in standby and the phone will store it anyway. Thats thanks to the always-on display technology which arrived with the S7 and which displays the clock at all times so you dont need to wake the screen to see how late you are. And now it has a memo feature added for those sudden, mustnt-be-forgotten thoughts.
This version of the S Pen, a slim stylus that slips into the corner of the phone for storage, has been improved with a subtler pressure sensor (4096 levels recognised) which means among other things that you can draw in more varied ways. It has a smaller tip, measuring 0.7mm so that it feels more like writing with a real pen.
It now works when its wet. So if youre writing on the screen when its raining then the pen and screen will recognise each other. Though also, why arent you indoors?
It may not sound much, but getting a stylus and a capacitive touchscreen to work together with water in the equation is a pretty impressive thing. Oh, and in case youre wondering if the rain will damage the phone, the Note 7 has the same IP68 ingress rating, meaning its water-resistant in 1.5 metres of water for up to half an hour. Its also dust-proof.
Recommended Read more Samsung smart TVs to start getting more ads
Samsungs display technologies have always been cutting-edge and the companys use of AMOLED (Advanced Matric OLED) screens has become a signature for the company.
This one adds a new feature, HDR (High Dynamic Range) which as a display technology is almost exclusively found in the most advanced TVs. It relies on a screen capable of extreme brightness levels in order to generate images which show detail in bright skies and shadowy areas simultaneously, to dramatic effect. Samsung says it will revolutionise what video playback on mobile devices is like, though I didnt see enough content yet to form a definite opinion. It will also be able to upscale non-HDR content, apparently.
The display is very high-resolution (518 pixels per inch) which means that its more detailed than the eye can routinely see. But in case you think thats overkill, it means that when you plonk it into the optional Virtual Reality headset accessory, it gives you great VR capabilities up close.
Samsung also announced that the Galaxy Note 7 will have an updated user interface with fewer colours and simpler shapes all part of the design which aims to offer a calming and balanced-colour concept.
The new phone has a big battery (3500mAh, compared to a 3000mAh cell in the last Note) so it shouldnt leave you high and dry.
It has a 12-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front-facing one. Theres a fast Octacore processor and it weighs 169g certainly it feels light in the hand. It comes in three opulent (and opulently named) colours: black onyx, silver titanium and blue coral, the last of which is especially good-looking.
You can order the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 from 16 August and it goes on sale on 2 September.
Im already looking forward to testing this phone in detail. It combines Samsungs established Note highlights (stylus, high-resolution screen, apps that work on the screens edge) with deluxe, attractive styling and clever new features.
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The NHS is able to fund a game-changing preventative HIV drug, the High Court has ruled after a charity launched a legal challenge.
The National Aids Trust (NAT) won its battle on Tuesday after NHS England claimed it did not have the power to fund pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
The highly-effective anti-retroviral drug is used to stop HIV from becoming established in the event of transmission.
When taken consistently, it has been shown to reduce the risk of infection in people who are at high risk by more than 90 per cent.
HIV in numbers
NHS England said it was not responsible for HIV prevention earlier this year, claiming that funding PrEP would pave the way for legal challenges from proponents of other treatments and interventions that could be displaced by PrEP.
But Mr Justice Green, sitting in London, ruled that NHS England has erred in deciding that it has no power or duty to commission the preventative drugs in issue.
He pointed out that while NHS England denied it had responsibility, local authorities do not have funds available, adding: "The potential victims of this disagreement are those who will contract HIV/AIDs but who would not were the preventative policy to be fully implemented."
But NHS England announced it would be appealing his findings, saying his interpretation of legislation was "inconsistent with Parliaments intention".
Tuesday's ruling was a victory for the NAT, which said the drug was urgently needed and is now calling for the NHS to make it available immediately.
Deborah Gold, the charitys chief executive said the ruling was a "vindication for the many people who were let down when NHS England absolved itself of responsibility for PrEP".
"The judgment has confirmed our view that it is perfectly lawful for NHS England to commission PrEP now NHS England must do just that," she added, stressing that the delay to commissioning PrEP is both "unethical and expensive".
"Over 4,000 people are getting HIV every year in the UK we desperately need further prevention options to add to condom use. PrEP works. It saves money and it will make an enormous difference to the lives of men and women across the country who are at risk of acquiring HIV."
The British Medical Association also welcomed the ruling, saying PrEP could "help save many lives".
Dr Iain Kennedy, chair of the association's public health medicine committee, said: Cuts to public health budgets are forcing local authorities to make cost savings and since the government took the axe to public health budgets, funding for many preventative services across England, including sexual health and HIV treatment, have been, and will continue to be, under pressure.
More widely, this is an inevitable symptom of a fragmented and increasingly underfunded public health system.
World Aids Day 2015 around the world - in pictures Show all 9 1 /9 World Aids Day 2015 around the world - in pictures World Aids Day 2015 around the world - in pictures Indian NGO volunteers light candles in the shape of a ribbon during an awareness rally on the eve of World Aids Day in Agartala, the capital of northeastern state of Tripura, India World Aids Day 2015 around the world - in pictures Government health workers wear masks as they display a streamer during a World Aids Day celebration in Manila, Philippines REUTERS/Erik De Castro World Aids Day 2015 around the world - in pictures Filipino women wear colourful costumes during a World Aids Day celebration in Manila REUTERS/Erik De Castro World Aids Day 2015 around the world - in pictures Indonesian students hold a rally to increase awareness of HIV and AIDS at a university in Surabaya JUNI KRISWANTOJUNI KRISWANTO/AFP/Getty Images World Aids Day 2015 around the world - in pictures An Indian college student poses alongside placards during an event at a local hospital to raise awareness about AIDS on the occasion of World Aids Day AFP PHOTO STR/AFP/Getty Images World Aids Day 2015 around the world - in pictures People Living with HIV AIDS (PLHA) lie on the street during a protest demanding the revival of focus on India's AIDS programme which has been on the decline in the past few years, in New Delhi AFP PHOTO / SAJJAD HUSSAINSAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP/Getty Images World Aids Day 2015 around the world - in pictures A red ribbon placed at the Puerta de Alcala in Madrid, Spain, by the Collective of Lesbians, Gays, Transexuals and Bisexuals of Madrid (COGAM) EPA/J.P. GANDUL World Aids Day 2015 around the world - in pictures South Korean middle school students hold umbrellas as they form a giant red ribbon during a ceremony to mark World AIDS Day in Seoul AFP PHOTO / JUNG YEON-JEJUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images World Aids Day 2015 around the world - in pictures Pakistani people hold placards as they attend a rally to create awareness in Peshawar Arshad Arbab/EPA
The World Health Organisation also recommends that people deemed to be at substantial risk of HIV infection are offered PrEP.
NHS England said the ruling meant it could not confirm funding for some other treatments and services to safeguard funding possibly needed for PrEP in the future.
"NHS England will publish a draft policy proposition for the potential commissioning of PrEP for public consultation as soon as possible," a spokesperson said.
"This does not imply that PrEP at what could be a cost of 10-20 million a year would actually succeed as a candidate for funding when ranked against other candidate interventions in this year's annual specialised commissioning prioritisation round."
Dr Jonathan Fielden, NHS Englands Director of Specialised Commissioning and Deputy National Medical Director, said Gilead the pharmaceutical company marketing PrEP under the name Truvada "will be asked to submit better prices, which would clearly affect the likelihood that their drug could be commissioned.
Previously started clinical trials researching how PrEP can be commissioned "in the most cost-effective way" will continue running.
The NHS in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have not yet made a decision on the treatment.
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It's the leading disability worldwide and it can kill.
Yet for decades, scientists have known surprisingly little about what genes are linked with the development of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).
A new study aims to change that. In their paper, published Monday in the journal Nature Genetics, a team of scientists pinpointed 17 genetic tweaks, or SNPs (pronounced snips), that appear to be tied to MDD.
The researchers combed through a trove of genetic data from thousands of people who submitted their information to the personal genomics company 23andMe.
Scientists have been looking for such genetic hallmarks of depression for years. And while some, including a 2013 study in the journal The Lancet and a 2015 paper in the journal Nature, have yielded some promising clues, none have been able to spot any precise, reliable genetic hallmarks of the disease.
And least not until now.
My group has been chasing depression genes for more than a decade without success, so as you can imagine we were really thrilled with the outcome, Harvard psychiatry professor Roy Perlis, one of the leading authors of the paper and the Associate Director of the Psychiatric Genetics Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, told Business Insider.
The hope is that identifying these watermarks in our DNA tiny areas on genes where high amounts of variation tend to occur among individuals will help usher in a series of new, more precise treatments for people suffering from the disease.
But this is really just the beginning. Now the hard work is understanding what these findings tell us about how we might better treat depression, said Perlis.
Using 23andMe data to uncover clues about depression
23andMe is a personal genomics company that lets you spit in a tube and get your DNA analyzed for $199. Most of the attention they've attracted recently has been focused on its tiffs with federal regulatory agencies like the FDA, who threatened to pull its tests because they were giving unauthorized medical advice.
But other research that the company is involved with has attracted less fanfare.
In a recent StarTalk interview with host Neil de Grasse Tyson, 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki said, We are about individuals accessing, understanding, and benefiting from the human genome. The genome has a massive potential to transform healthcare. And we got a million people genotyped, so now we have a million people running around going to their doctors and talking about genetics, and that has the potential to be disruptive.
This study which drew from 23andMe data could be one example of this disruptive potential.
Psychiatric diseases, since they are the result of a complex mix of genetics, environment, and behavioral factors, require large numbers of people, or what's known as a large sample size. In the past, recruiting these large numbers of people, not to mention screening and interviewing each potential participant, has been extremely expensive and labor-intensive. In contrast, the current study drew from research that had already been done.
We thought, what can we do with this huge set of data thats already been collected by 23andMe? said Perlis.
Quite a lot, it turns out.
Using data from more than 75,600 people who said they'd been clinically diagnosed with depression and from more than 231,700 people who reported no history of depression, Perlis and his team were able to identify 15 areas on our DNA that appear to be linked with Major Depressive Disorder. They also found some ties between these areas and those which have been previously identified as possibly playing a role in other psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia.
Still, the data has some limitations. For one thing, its based on self-reports, meaning that only people who were experiencing problematic symptoms and went to a doctor to seek help were included. As a result, the data could exclude the many people who experience major depressive disorders, but have not yet been diagnosed. On the other hand, it could also include people who have been wrongfully diagnosed.
What we might be identifying here is something much more to do with help-seeking behavior than anything to do with a psychiatric illness, University of California, Los Angeles professor of psychiatry Jonathan Flint told The Guardian.
Regardless of its limitations, however, the research hits home the message that diseases of the brain, such as depression or Alzheimer's are no less real and no less serious than diseases of the body, like cancer.
Beyond giving us this so much data to explore, said Perlis, being able to show that depression is a brain disease, that there is biology associated with it, I think that's really critical for people to understand that these are brain diseases. They're not someone's fault. They are diseases, like any other.
Read more:
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These 4 things could trigger the next crisis in Europe
Read the original article on Business Insider UK. 2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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As many as three quarters of women dislike their bodies, according to a new survey coinciding with the release of Weight Watchers magazine's first "Naked Issue".
Some 60 per cent of women and a third of adult men in the UK revealed that they avoid looking in the mirror when they undress, while a fifth said they did not look at their naked body at all, the poll showed.
The research also revealed how shame is impacting relationships, as some 27 per cent of women said they had sex with the lights off or avoided the act entirely because they lacked body confidence. In addition, 38 per cent of those surveyed said they believed that their partner would not find them as attractive if they saw them in the nude.
The survey of 2,000 men and women was conducted as part of the launch of Weight Watchers magazines September issue, which will feature six of the firm's members of varying ages and sizes proudly baring their bodies in a stand against fat shaming.
Hitting back at Photoshopped images that pervade mainstream magazines, the six women who appear in the issue lost a total of 22st 3lbs and hope to encourage others to value strong and healthy bodies. Three male members will appear in the October issue, after losing 29st 13lbs in total.
Helen Renshaw, Editor of Weight Watchers magazine, said the findings of the survey were worrying. She explained that the Naked Issue was inspired by the September editions of fashion magazines, including Vogue, that traditionally set trends for the year.
We love fashion as much as the next person, but what is more interesting than clothes is what is going on in our heads and how we feel about our bodies," she said.
Inspiring body positivity quotes Show all 12 1 /12 Inspiring body positivity quotes Inspiring body positivity quotes Ashley Graham "And cellulite, I have not forgotten about you. I'm going to choose to love you even though you want to take over my whole bottom half. You're a part of me and I love you." Inspiring body positivity quotes Danielle Brooks "Sometimes I don't like what I see, but I have the power to change the way in which I relate to my body both physically and mentally." Inspiring body positivity quotes Iskra Lawrence "Stop comparing yourself to anybody else. The [pictures of] movie stars, even the Disney characters, thats not real. Thats not attainable. You cant be anybody else. You are you. You cant be them. So you really just have to start embracing yourself and accepting so-called flaws that society has given the name flaws. Its just our body, our patchwork quilt. Inspiring body positivity quotes Beyonce "The most alluring thing a woman can have is confidence." Getty Images Inspiring body positivity quotes Kate Winslet "Nobody is perfect. I just don't believe in perfection. But I do believe in saying, 'This is who I am and look at me not being perfect.' I'm proud of that." Getty Images Inspiring body positivity quotes Rihanna "You just want something that someone else has, but that doesn't mean what you have isn't beautiful, because people always want what you have and you always want what they have - no one is ever 100 per cent like, 'Yes, I'm the bomb-dot-com - from head-to-toe!" REUTERS Inspiring body positivity quotes Tess Holliday "Never compare yourself with others and celebrate what makes you, you." Inspiring body positivity quotes Demi Lovato "Instead of looking in the mirror and focusing on your flaws, look in the mirror and appreciate your best features... everyone has them." Inspiring body positivity quotes Kim Kardashian-West "See this little dimple of cellulite here? It was so worth it for that cookies 'n' cream ice cream!" Inspiring body positivity quotes Jennifer Lawrence "It should be illegal to call someone fat." Inspiring body positivity quotes Mindy Kaling "Insults about the way I look cant be the thing that harms me and my heart the most. It has to harm me the least. If I have a daughter, Im going to tell her that. Far too many women are much more hurt by being called fat or ugly than they are by being called not smart, or not a leader." Rex Features Inspiring body positivity quotes Selena Gomez "Im learning that you can be comfortable and still look beautiful. AFP/Getty Images
The Naked Issue comes amid public pressure aimed at mainstream media and advertising to feature and celebrate a diverse range of bodies.
Earlier this year, Womens Health magazine announced it would ban the phrase bikini body on its covers.
Since our goal is always to pump you up, and never to make you feel bad, heres our pledge: Theyre gone,' she wrote of the phrases. 'Theyll no longer appear on Womens Health covers, explained Editor-in-chief, Amy Keller Laird in an essay revealing the new policyu.
Meanwhile, lingerie brand Aerie was last year hailed for releasing untouched images of models in its adverts - a move the firm revealed led to a 18 per cent increase in sales in the second quarter of 2015.
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The Bank of Englands annual stress tests of the UKs banks, designed to ensure Britains lenders will not be at the heart of another destructive financial crisis, have been branded worse than useless, by a new report.
Kevin Dowd, professor of finance and economics at Durham University, argues in a paper published today by the Adam Smith Institute that the Banks tests, which model various adverse economic scenarios each year such as a major fall in UK house prices or a Chinese property crash, have a series of fatal flaws and that the central bank is asleep at the wheel.
The purpose of the stress-testing programme should be to highlight the vulnerability of our banking system and the need to rebuild it. Instead, it has achieved the exact opposite, portraying a weak banking system as strong".
Recommended Read more Banking reform is more confusing than it needs to be
Professor Dowd warns that the eurozone banking system is on the precipice of another crisis, which will also engulf the UKs major lenders.
Once contagion spreads from Italy to Germany and then to the UK, we will have a new banking crisis but on a much grander scale than 2007-08 he said.
The Bank of England is asleep at the wheel again, and we will be back to beleaguered banksters begging for bailouts and the taxpayer will be ripped off yet again, but bigger this time.
Recession warning
Among the flaws in the Banks testing exercise identified by Professor Dowd are the fact that the stress tests rely on analytical risk weights for banks assets, which have been much criticised for potentially underplaying the true riskiness of various assets such as mortgages and sovereign debt.
Professor Dowd also cites the use of questionable estimates of the scale of banks' true exposures and the fact that the Bank of England, unrealistically, only models a single stress scenario at a time.
In addition, he says the Banks tests are less rigorous than those of the US central bank, and that if UK lenders were tested by the Federal Reserve all of them would fail.
Other former regulators have raised questions about the Banks reliance on stress tests to gauge the resilience of UK banks.
In a speech last year Robert Jenkins, a former member of the Banks Financial Policy Committee and now a senior fellow at Better Markets, said: For stress testing to be effective regulators must know which risks to stress and by what degree to do so. However hardworking and intelligent they may be they are also human. They, like the bankers they regulate will at some point get it wrong.
Mr Jenkins, along with Professor Dowd, argues that regulators efforts should be focused on requiring banks to raise considerably larger equity cushions to protect them against future risks that are simply unforeseeable to regulators today.
In relation to their total assets regulators such as the Bank of England are only requiring private banks to have equity cushions of up to 5 per cent. This would imply that if their assets fell by just 5 per cent they would be insolvent and, potentially, need a public bailout.
Recommended Read more Oldest bank in world would go bust in crisis according to EBA
The European Banking Authority a separate regulator published the results of its own latest stress test exercise for 51 or the continents largest banks last Friday, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds.
This found that in an adverse scenario HSBCs capital cushion falls to 8.7 per cent, RBS to 8 per cent and Barclays to 7.3 per cent all well above the level at which they would have been pressured to raise more equity.
Two previous EBA stress tests in 2011 and 2014 have been roundly criticised for giving a host of eurozone lenders, which subsequently needed to be rescued, a clean bill of health.
European bank stocks have fallen sharply this week, suggesting that investors are unconvinced by the latest EBA results too.
In its own latest stress test scenario for 2016 the Bank of England is modelling a fall in the price of oil to $20 a barrel, a 33 per cent slide in global property prices and a 4.3 per cent fall in UK GDP. The results are due to be published in the final quarter of this year.
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A pilot working for Bernie Ecclestone has been arrested on suspicion of involvement of the kidnapping of his mother-in-law.
Aparecida Schunck, 67, the mother of Ecclestone's wife Fabiana Flosi, 38, was taken from her home in Sao Paulo, in Brazil, over a week ago. Kidnappers demanded a ransom of $36.5million (28m), believed to be the largest sum demanded in Brazilian history.
The 67-year-old was rescued from a flat on the outskirts of the city on Saturday without any money being paid to those holding her. She was reportedly freed after investigators monitored calls between the kidnappers and members of her family.
Helicopter pilot Jorge Eurico da Silva Faria was one of three men arrested in connection with the kidnapping. A spokesman for Sao Paulo police said da Silva Faria was arrested with two other men, Vitor Oliveira Amorim and David Vicente Azevedo.
The investigation continues and the police did not rule out the involvement of other suspects, he added.
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.
Mr Ecclestone, 85, said he was very happy with the police operation to rescue his mother.
The last few days haven't been very good. This isn't a good thing to happen to you and your family, he told the Mail Online.
The police officers we dealt with were fantastic, they did an unbelievable job, it was absolutely first class. We are very, very, very happy with them.
Additional reporting by the Press Association
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A renowned Melbourne street artist has covered his provocative mural of Hillary Clinton with a niqab after he was threatened with a council fine for not keeping with their stance on "gender equity".
In the original scantily-clad image, the Democrat presidential candidate is depicted in a revealing swimsuit with $100 notes pushed into the costume.
The council responded by threatening the owner of the building with prosecution and a fine if the mural, which was painted onto the side wall of a wheelchair and mobility scooter shop in Footscray, 5km west of Melbourne, was not removed.
Despite the councils request for the image to be removed, the street artist Lushsux responded by covering Ms Clintons body with a niqab, leaving only her eyes showing, on Monday. The freshly painted mural included the caption: If this muslim offends you, you are a bigot, racist, sexist, islamophobe.
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.
He also posted the new image on Instagram, writing: This is no longer a wall of a supposed offensive and near naked Hillary Clinton, it is now a depiction of a beautiful Muslim woman. No reasonable person would consider this offensive.
But Lushsux told The Independent the mural had already been cleaned off by the council. It's been cleaned off by a thick layer of black paint courtesy of the council. They bullied the real estate agents that run the property into it, he said. They used intimidation to get their way.
He argued it was pathetic the council were attempting to censor his work. Lushsux said the business were being asked to pay the costs of removal rather than him.
Recommended Read more Naked selfies by street artist Lushsux to be left alone by council
The artist also claimed his Instagram account was taken down for two days after posting the initial mural of Ms Clinton. However, he said he managed to get it back after informing the media what had happened.
Lushsux said his inspiration for the original image of Ms Clinton in a risque swimsuit had been "to take the piss, nothing more". While he had received a positive reception for the image, he explained feminists were less keen.
"Other than that I've heard and seen via the internet that a lot of people have enjoyed it. Feminists hate it, go figure," he said.
The artist did not say who he would be supporting in the forthcoming US elections but that he enjoyed poking fun at the system regardless.
Stephen Wall, the chief executive for Maribyrnong Council previously said that the council would consider further action if the mural wasnt removed within the stipulated time frame.
If the matter proceeds to prosecution, it would be through the Magistrates Court, which will determine any fine and damages to be paid, he told local paper Herald Sun.
Wall said the original mural was offensive because it was not in keeping with the councils stance on gender equity.
Lushsux is known for his provocative naked murals. He has also painted a mural of Donald Trump and his wife in Melania in Melbourne and a two-story nude of Kim Kardashian which the City of Sydney ordered to be removed.
Representatives for the council and Instagram did not immediately respond to request for comment.
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The editor of Channel 4 News has hit back at Kelvin Mackenzies criticism of him as a c**k by poking fun at MacKenzie's journalism.
The former Sun editor attacked Ben de Pear, who runs Channel 4s daily current affairs programme, in his column on Sunday.
If the new C4 dating show [Naked Attraction], in which contestants have their faces hidden but display their penises and vaginas, is ever short of a large c**k they could always ask the current editor of C4 News to appear, MacKenzie wrote.
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.
De Pear responded by describing MacKenzies rant as one of his rare examples of decent, logical [and] non-discriminatory journalism which he can endorse.
The pair has been engaged in an ongoing row which recently escalated after MacKenzie complained Fatima Manji, a Muslim reporter who wears a hijab, had been selected to report on the Nice terror attacks for Channel 4 News in his column. MacKenzie then threatened to complain to Ofcom about the issue.
MacKenzie was widely criticised for his column which asked: Why did Channel 4 have a presenter in a hijab fronting coverage of the Muslim terror in Nice?
In the article, MacKenzie said he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Manji reporting on the terror attack. He said she wasn't one of the regular presenters even though she has been at the station for four years.
Was it appropriate for her to be on camera when there has been yet another shocking slaughter by a Muslim? MacKenzie wrote. Was it done to stick one in the eye of the ordinary viewer who looks at the hijab as a sign of slavery of Muslim women by a male-dominated and clearly violent religion?
Channel 4 condemned MacKenzies comments, saying they were offensive, completely unacceptable and comparable to inciting racial hatred.
In a statement, De Pear said: ITN accepts and understands that our reporters and presenters are in the public eye and can expect criticism and comment from many quarters, including newspaper columnists. What it cannot accept is an employee being singled out on the basis of her religion.
We are not going to simply stand by when an employee is subject to an act of religious discrimination.
In the aftermath of the article, Manji accused MacKenzie of smearing Muslims and rejected his comments as one wild screed in a long-running and widespread campaign to intimidate Muslims out of public life.
Ipso has received over 1800 complaints in connection to the article.
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Cameron Dallas has defended his comment about not wanting to use Jessica Albas toothbrush as a joke.
The 21-year-old Vine star stirred controversy after he said he did not know where Alba had been during his acceptance speech at the Teen Choice Awards on Sunday.
When asked whether he would prefer to use Alba or Justin Timberlakes toothbrush in a game of 'would you rather', Dallas said: Oh man, I would choose, I would honestly choose Justin Timberlake just because I don't know where Jessica's been.
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.
Dallas was criticised for his remarks on social media and some users accused him of slut-shaming the actress.
Did Cameron Dallas just slut shame Jessica Alba two seconds into winning something for teen choice awards, wrote one user. Another said: It's so sad to watch a kid slut-shame Jessica Alba. Who do you think you are Cameron Dallas.
But Dallas insisted it was a joke and argued attention should be directed towards Albas speech on gun violence at the award ceremony.
He tweeted: Yo it was literally a joke, I love @jessicaalba and would share a toothbrush with her till I die lol.
Really thankful for the message @jessicaalba spoke tonight, that's what we should focus on.
Dallas has amassed a large social media following and has 14.5 million followers on Instagram, 9.5 million on Vine and 8.24 million on Twitter. He was recently signed by IMG Models and unveiled as the new face of Calvin Kleins jeans campaign.
Representatives for Alba and Dallas did not immediately respond to request for comment.
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Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has pledged allegiance to the Hillary Clinton club by demanding Donald Trump releases his tax returns and by offering to drive voters to the polls so they can vote against the Republican.
Standing alongside Ms Clinton at a rally in Omaha, Nebraska, the 85-year-old founder of investment company Berkshire Hathaway said he hoped to extend an offer to Mr Trump that he could not refuse.
"You will learn a whole lot more about Donald Trump if he produces his income tax return," said Mr Buffett.
"I would be delighted to meet him any place, any time, between now and the election. Ill bring my tax return and he will bring his tax return," said Mr Buffett.
Ms Clinton told the crowd in the crucial Cornhusker state that Mr Buffett, the third richest man in the world, "supports a fairer tax code" whereas Mr Trump wants to cut tax for the rich.
Mr Trump has been the first presidential candidate since 1980 not to release his returns, and has claimed several times that he cannot release them while they are being audited, although Mr Buffett said there were no such rules.
"We are both under audit and believe me, nobodys going to stop us from talking on whats on those returns," warned Mr Buffett.
"Youre only afraid if youve got something to be afraid about," he added. "Hes not afraid because of the IRS [Internal Revenue Service], hes afraid because of you."
Forbes top 10 richest billionaires in the world Show all 10 1 /10 Forbes top 10 richest billionaires in the world Forbes top 10 richest billionaires in the world Bill Gates - $75 bn The creator of Microsoft is worth $78 billion. He has topped the list for 17 out of the past 22 years - though his net worth shrank by $4.2bn (3bn) to $75bn (53.7bn). Forbes top 10 richest billionaires in the world Amancio Ortega - $67 bn The Spanish business who set up the Zara chain of high-street shops is worth $67 billion. REUTERS/ AP Forbes top 10 richest billionaires in the world Warren Buffet - $60.8 bn Warren buffet is the world's most successful investor. Forbes rates him as being worth $60.8 billion. Getty Forbes top 10 richest billionaires in the world Carlos Slim Helu - $50 bn Carlos Slim, the Mexican telecom magnate, is this years biggest loser with a fortune of $50 billion, down from $77.1 billion last year. Getty Forbes top 10 richest billionaires in the world Jeff Bezos - $45.2 bn Amazons Jeff Bezos moved up to the fifth from the fifteenth spot last year; his net worth increased to $45.2 billion. Getty Forbes top 10 richest billionaires in the world Mark Zuckerberg - $44.6 bn The biggest gainer on the 2016 list is Mark Zuckerberg , whose fortune is up $11.2 billion for a total net worth of $44.6 billion. He is the sixth richest in the world. Getty Images Forbes top 10 richest billionaires in the world Larry Ellison - $43.6 bn The American entrepreneur has a fortune of $43.6 billion Bloomberg Forbes top 10 richest billionaires in the world Michael Bloomberg - $40 bn Michael Bloomberg, whose media and financial empire has created a personal fortune of $40 bn, is said to be willing to spend up to $1bn on a presidential campaign AP Forbes top 10 richest billionaires in the world Charles Koch and David Koch - $39.6 bn Charles Koch, along with brother David Koch of Koch Industries are joint sixth and are valued at $39.6 billion. Forbes top 10 richest billionaires in the world Liliane Bettencourt - $36.1 bn Liliane Bettencourt is the heir to the LOreal empire Getty Images
The billionaire also promised to take at least 10 people to the voting polls who otherwise would have difficulty come 8 November.
Mr Buffett also asked how could Mr Trump stand up to parents who have lost their son in the Iraq war and compare their sacrifices to his "building a bunch of buildings".
He was referring to Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son Humayun Khan died in 2004. At the Democratic National Convention, they demanded that Mr Trump stop smearing Muslims character.
"I ask Donald Trump: have you no sense of decency, sir?" Mr Buffett asked, mirroring Joseph Welchs question during the anti-communist McCarthy hearings in 1954.
Mr Buffett joins other known business people to endorse Ms Clinton over the last week, including former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and investor Mark Cuban.
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The owner of what was thought to be Britain's oldest dog has been left devastated after it was savaged to death on its morning walk.
Jack the Yorkshire terrier, who was 25, making him 117 in human years, was attacked just after owner Ray Bunn parked by Hartlepool Marina.
Mr Bunn, 70, said he would meet a friend to walk Jack every day but,as he returned to his car to get the lead, a black Lakeland terrier ran up, tore the dog from his friend's arms and began to attack him.
"It started to sink its teeth into the dog and I began punching it in the face but it wouldn't let go," he said.
"When it eventually stopped, Jack was left in a pool of blood on the floor. So I put him in the back of the car and took him to a vet but he came out and examined him and said he had gone."
Mr Bunn said Jack had been in the family for 16 years after being rescued from his previous owners who had tied him to a tree.
He said he loved to eat sirloin steak and suffered from epileptic fits, causing him to urinate on Mr Bunn's head one evening after falling asleep in the bed with him and his wife.
He said of Jack's death: "We're devastated. My wife had a panic attack and couldn't breathe.
UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA 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
"He was brilliant, very intelligent. If he wanted his tea he would tell you, if he wanted taking out he would tell you. He was a marvellous dog. He was a character, everybody loved him."
A Cleveland Police spokesman said: "Police received a report from a male that his dog had been attacked yesterday morning in Hartlepool and sadly it passed away.
"Cleveland Police will make inquiries into whether any offences have taken place."
PA
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Police in Portugal have arrested the man accused of murdering Rikki Neave after he fled the UK.
James Watson was arrested in April on suspicion of murdering the six-year-old in 1994 but escaped from the UK in a mobile home after being released on police bail.
The 35-year-old was arrested in Lisbon around lunchtime on Tuesday and will remain in custody while extradition proceedings begin.
The schoolboy was found naked and strangled in a patch of woodland in Peterborough in 1994.
His mother was originally charged with his murder, but after a jury found her not guilty in 1996 the case has remained unsolved.
The arrest came days after it emerged Watson was posting pictures of himself on social media showing him drinking beer and enjoying the sunshine.
In a string of Facebook messages he said: "The best thing is I don't even have a passport. I just walked out of our country.
"Me and a mate left the UK in a mobile home.
"Booked it on the ferry, drove on and that was that. No checks, nothing."
UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures 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 UK news in pictures 5 September 2022 Visitors at the PoliNations garden in Victoria Square, Birmingham, which is made up of five 40ft high tree installations and over 6,000 plants. The PoliNations programme aims to explore how migration and cross-pollination have shaped the UKs gardens and culture PA
He said he was creating some fun memories for the dark days to come and said the charges were all b*******.
His arrest followed a collaboration between the Major Crime Unit, national authorities and authorities in Portugal.
Watson has been arrested under a European Arrest Warrant on suspicion of breaching his licence.
Officers from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit are expected to travel out to Portugal in the coming days.
Additional reporting by PA
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A 13-year-old boy has completed a challenge to visit all 270 London Underground stations in one day in memory of his older brother.
Alasdair Clift, from Wirral, Merseyside, took on the "Tube Challenge" to raise money for charity Bloodwise after his brother Adam, 17, died from lymphoma in March.
The teenager began his journey at Chesham station at 5.15am on Monday and finished at Heathrow airport in the early hours of Tuesday morning, having navigated the entire Underground network.
Alasdair, who is "fascinated" by transport, has so far raised more than 11,000 in donations - far exceeding his original target of 100.
After spending nearly 20 hours on the tube with his father, Richard Clift, 50, the schoolboy arrived at Terminal 5 to applause from a welcome party of relatives, Tube staff and police officers shortly before 1am.
Addressing the crowd, as the achievement sank in, Alasdair said he felt "tired, but proud and happy" for the huge support he had been shown.
He said: "This has been an ambition of mine for a while. In 2013 my brother was diagnosed with lymphoma and unfortunately after many rounds of treatment he passed away in March. I've done this challenge to hopefully give other people a better chance."
Mr Clift said the kindness shown by fellow travellers and tube workers had been "phenomenal".
"We have had a very warm day on the tube and in terms of feeling shown to us. We have had terrific support, with people sticking their heads into the carriages saying how wonderful we are and the Transport for London staff have been right behind us. Alasdair felt like a star."
Mr Clift said they had been touched by the "random gestures of complete strangers" who donated along the way.
Heartwarming news stories from around the world Show all 30 1 /30 Heartwarming news stories from around the world Heartwarming news stories from around the world A boy who saved the life of a suicidal man by simply asking him "Are you okay? has said he did it because he likes to help people who need help. Jamie Harrington, from Ballymun, Dublin, told the Humans of Dublin project about a meeting with a man in his 30s sitting on the edge of a bridge and about to jump off it. After sitting down and speaking to the stranger for 45 minutes, 16-year-old Jamie persuaded the man to go to hospital and seek treatment Heartwarming news stories from around the world This little boy loves books so much that he cries when his mother stops reading to him A good book can keep a child entertained for hours, but there aren't many that can actually make babies cry when they end. That's exactly what happened to one little boy, who looks completely engrossed while his mother reads him the book 'I Am a Bunny', a classic children's book about the pattern of the seasons. However, when the story ends and his mother closes the book, he immediately begins crying. The only thing that seems to placate him is opening the book at the beginning and reading the story again. It's heartening to see such a little child so completely in love with a book, but it must get a little wearing for his parents after a while Leesedanielle/YouTube Heartwarming news stories from around the world Tattoo with a hidden message highlights the invisible battle faced by people with depression A young woman has brought attention to the invisibility of depression - by getting a tattoo which sends out two opposing messages depending on how you look at it. The tattoo on her leg appears to say "I'm fine" when read by someone looking at her, but reveals its true secret to its wearer when she looks down at it, reading "Save me" instead. Bekah Miles, a 21-year-old US student who has struggled with depression for some years, got the inking on her leg to start a conversation about mental health and give voice to her experience Facebook/Bekah Miles Heartwarming news stories from around the world Teen goes to extraordinary lengths to give autistic twin the high school graduation to remember A teenager has earned herself an army of fans after she finally reached her goal to help her severely autistic twin brother across the stage at their high school graduation. Anders Bonville, 18, from Birmingham, Alabama, was diagnosed with autism when he was two, which left him non-verbal but along with his sister, Aly the pair developed their own unique language and set out to alter perceptions of the condition. Aly was called first on-stage to receive her diploma. With her brother being walked quietly behind a curtained area in his wheelchair to keep him calm, she quickly exited to get him before his name was called out. Aly zoomed down the hallway with her brother in his wheelchair so that he would be happy when the big moment came. Although the principal had ordered the audience to hold all applause until the end the moment Aly took her brothers hand and led him across the stage the entire hall rose to its feet and erupted into applause including the principal herself Benida Pillitary Bonville via Facebook Heartwarming news stories from around the world 'Forrest Gump' completes 42 back-to-back marathons A man has completed 42 back-to-back marathons while dressed as Forrest Gump. Ewan Gordon, 42, from Oxfordshire, copied the popular film character by growing out his hair and beard to complete the 1,050-mile challenge in memory of nine-year-old Thomas Laurie who died last year. Thomas suffered from Cockayne Syndrome a rare premature ageing disease which is known to affect just 100 youngsters in the UK. Mr Gordon, a civil servant, ran about 26 miles each day (42km) the equivalent of a marathon a day for 42 days, from John OGroats to Lands End. He said he was inspired to adopt the quirky persona following a bet when a friend said he would sponsor Mr Gordon more money for his charity run if he did @OxLightBlues/Twitter Heartwarming news stories from around the world Charity shop thanks 'true gent' who donated late wife's wedding dress with heartfelt message A charity shop in Leeds has tracked down the elderly man who donated his late wifes stunning 1950s wedding dress with a heartfelt note. St Gemmas Hospice, which runs a speciality bridal shop in Garforth, described the man as a true gent while appealing for help finding him on social media. The stunning vintage gown has a lace bodice and sleeves and full embroidered skirt. A note attached to it read: I wish any lady who takes this dress to have a life with her loved one 56 years like I did. Happy years. I was a lucky man to marry a lady like mine" St Gemma's Hospice Heartwarming news stories from around the world Blood donors in Sweden get a text message whenever their blood saves someone's life With blood donation rates in decline all over the developed world, Swedens blood service is enlisting new technology to help push back against shortages. One new initiative, where donors are sent automatic text messages telling them when their blood has actually been used, has caught the public eye. People who donate initially receive a 'thank you' text when they give blood, but they get another message when their blood makes it into somebody elses veins Getty Heartwarming news stories from around the world Guide dog jumps in front of oncoming bus to save blind owner When Figo the service dog saw an oncoming mini school bus heading for Audrey Stone, the blind woman he was trained to guide, the golden retriever's protective instincts kicked in: He threw himself at the closest part of the vehicle he could. Police photos show the result: fur stuck to the front driver's side wheel and in the middle of Michael Neuner Avenue in New York, where the bus came to a stop after striking the pair. The driver of the Brewster school bus, carrying two kindergartners to St. Lawrence O'Toole Childhood Learning Center, told police he didn't see the pair crossing the road as they made their way home at about 8:15 Monday morning. But Figo saw the bus coming and leapt into action AP Heartwarming news stories from around the world Florida boy grew his hair for two years and endured bullying to donate it to charity After more than two years growing his hair, a boy from Florida has donated his locks to charity, despite being bullied along the way. Christian McPhilamy, an eight-year-old from Florida, began growing his hair after seeing an advert about paediatric cancer and has now donated four locks, each measuring over 10 inches, to charity Facebook Heartwarming news stories from around the world A police officer who told a student his parents were killed surprised him at his graduation ceremony Kazzie Porties parents, Riley and Emily, were killed by a drunk driver. Eric Ellison, an officer at the Orange Police Department in Texas, broke the news to the couples five children and told the youngest hed be by his side during graduation Heartwarming news stories from around the world Cafe asks customer to leave after he tells breastfeeding mother to cover up An Australian cafe has been praised for sticking up for a breastfeeding mother after a customer told her to cover up. Jessica-Anne Allen, owner of Cheese and Biscuits Cafe in Queensland, Australia, has described how she was approached by a male customer in the cafe on Thursday to complain that he was upset by a woman in the coffee shop breastfeeding her child nearby. The customer asked the cafe owner, 29, to tell the mother to cover up. When Mrs Allen refused to do so, he took matters into his own hands and challenged the woman himself. Staff at the cafe then asked the man to leave Heartwarming news stories from around the world Dog with cancer completes bucket list When their dog was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Cocos owners put together a bucket list and made sure their hound experienced an exciting few weeks before she died. Before she was put down on 5 May, Coco: visited a beach; took a ride in a helicopter; went in a fire engine; ate a steak at the pub; and also had a Big Mac from a McDonalds Drive Thru, amongst other activities https://www.facebook.com/symon.spencer.9 Heartwarming news stories from around the world Elderly cancer patient who rang 911 because he had no food is inundated with donations from well-wishers An elderly cancer patient who called 911 because he was hungry and had no food is receiving donations from hundreds of people across America who were moved by his story. Clarence Blackmon was discharged from a private hospital in Fayetteville, in North Carolina, on Tuesday after spending months there for cancer treatment. The 81-year-old returned to his house without any supplies and anyone close by to call for help, leading him to call 911 in desperation and ask for food. An hour-and-a-half later, Marilyn Hinson, the operator who answered that call, arrived at his front door with police carrying bags full of food and made him some ham sandwiches Heartwarming news stories from around the world Son receives touching 30th birthday card from father who died in 1999 A son has revealed how he only just received a birthday card from his dad who died from cancer over a decade ago, with the father having the foresight to mark his children's milestone birthdays before passing away. It was inscribed with a simple 'Love ya - Dad', and was written such a long time ago that even the corny joke on the inside feels quite charmingly dated ChrisBenRoy Heartwarming news stories from around the world Chinese student carries disabled friend to school every day for three years so he doesn't miss class A teenager has been hailed as the most beautiful student in China after spending three years giving piggy-backs to his disabled friend so that he doesnt have to miss a class. The story of 18-year-old Xie Xu, who volunteered to look after his 19-year-old classmate Zhang Chi, has been shared widely on Chinese social media and received widespread local media coverage Heartwarming news stories from around the world Teenage Aldi worker Christian Trouesdale walkes an old man home A young man from Horwich in Greater Manchester has become an unexpected internet sensation after he was photographed walking a frail old man home from the supermarket. Aldi worker Christian Trouesdale, 18, said he had received a crazy reaction with messages of support flooding in from as far afield as Dubai, Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. The image of Mr Trouesdale hand-in-hand with a 96-year-old customer on the street outside the shop was first shared by nearby worker and Horwich resident Samantha-Jayne Brady, 23, who said it was a lovely thing to witness Samantha-Jayne Brady Heartwarming news stories from around the world 8-year-old survivor of abuse writes inspirational 'thank you' letter to social workers An eight-year-old girl who was abused as an infant has written a thank-you letter to social workers and detectives who helped to rescue her from a home where she had been left paralysed as a result of beatings. Marie Suprenant is not able to walk as a result of the injuries that she sustained before she was taken under the care of a foster parent. I want to thank you for making me happy by giving me a new warm and safe environment, she writes. Now I have a home that is nice and I have three nice meals a day Heartwarming news stories from around the world Woman praised for defending Muslim woman 'harassed on train for wearing a hijab' An Australian woman has been described as a hero for challenging a train passenger who was allegedly being abusive towards a Muslim woman sat in the same carriage. Stacey Eden claimed an older woman was accusing the unidentified Muslim woman and the man sat next to her of being an Isis supporter because she was wearing a hijab. Ms Eden, from Sydney, said the alleged tirade began "a good ten minutes" before she started filming the woman, later uploading the video on to her Facebook page. Footage from the alleged incident began as the unnamed passenger asked the woman, who was also sat with a pram on the opposite side of the train, "why do you wear it [a hijab] for a man that marries a six year-old girl?" The woman and the man remained silent, but Ms Eden responded: "She wears it for herself, OK? She wears it because she wants to be modest with her body, not because of people like you who are going to sit there and disrespect her" Heartwarming news stories from around the world Loving parents have got matching tattoos of their daughters huge red birthmark Honey-Rae Phillips was born with the large strawberry mark covering half her body. The Daily Mirror reports that Mum Tanya Phillips and dad Adam Philips, who are both from Grimsby, got the tattoos after people starting making comments about it in public. We wanted Honey-Rae to feel special, that her birthmark was something to feel proud of and not embarrassed by, Ms Phillips told the newspaper Heartwarming news stories from around the world James Robertson who walked 20 miles to work every day for nine years is gifted new car James Robertson who was unable to afford a new car after his last one broke down nine years ago was recently awarded more than $310,000 in donations by kind strangers who learned of his daily difficulties. Even though the money raised was meant for a new vehicle, a car dealership decided to give him a new one worth around $37,000 (around 24,000) for free in his preferred colour, red Reuters Heartwarming news stories from around the world Stranger gives Kindle to homeless man An anonymous do-gooder has shunned praise after he gave a homeless man his Kindle. The man from San Diego, California, was visiting Las Vegas last month, when he met a homeless man named Paul, who had read the same, worn book, each time he passed. The man said he had also been down on his luck in the past, and decided to give Paul his Kindle e-reader. A moving photo showing Paul with his Kindle has been viewed over 2 million times on Imgur Mjuad/Reddit Heartwarming news stories from around the world Attacked pensioner Alan Barnes crowdfund passes 200,000 in donations Pensioner Alan Barnes was mugged outside his home in Gateshead last week in an attack that left him with a broken collarbone and too scared to return to his own house. Katie Cutler, who lives nearby to Barnes, set up a crowdfunding page intending to raise 500 to help the disabled pensioner find a new home. Her efforts have led to more than 200,000 in donations being made Heartwarming news stories from around the world Man reunited with stolen dog during search for new pet Richard Brower was heartbroken after his dog, a German shepherd called Dozer, was stolen from the Yard of his Alberta home, and his endless searching proved fruitless. But he had no idea that when he started searching for a new German shepherd, he would experience the closest thing to a miracle in his life the Claresholm Animal Rescue Society, unbeknownst to its organisers, had Dozer safe and well, and now hes back at home Global News Heartwarming news stories from around the world Bart the 'zombie cat' set to make full recovery following his unlikely return from the grave Bart, the Florida cat who was buried after his owner found him lifeless in a pool of blood after being hit by a car, is set to make a full recovery when he returned from the grave five days later. Upon his return owner Ellis Hutson took the cat for surgery to remove his eye and have his jaw re-wired, and Bart is expected to return home soon Reuters/Humane Society of Tampa Bay Heartwarming news stories from around the world Friendship Nine's civil rights-era convictions overturned by South Carolina court It is 54 years since the Friendship Nine walked into McCrorys in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and sat down at the whites-only lunch counter in a sit-in that inspired non-violent protests across the South that were an integral part to the civil rights movement. The nine were arrested and convicted of ignoring a segregation order and sent to jail for 30 days, but this week their convictions were finally overturned Reuters Heartwarming news stories from around the world 'Humans of New York' blog raises over $1 million for Brooklyn school Humans of New York, the photo blog that aims to capture daily glimpses into the lives of New York inhabitants, has raised over $1 million dollars for a school in one of the most-crime ridden parts of the city this week, all because of the story of 13-year-old Vidal. The money is for Vidals school to be able to make contributions towards its pupils college tuition and to fund trips for sixth-graders to tour Harvard University IndiGoGo/Humans of New York Heartwarming news stories from around the world Mystery man who gave heart-warming note to young mum on train to 'put a smile on her face' has been identified The stranger who handed a small piece of paper and a 5 note to a 23-year-old mother just to tell her what a great mum she is has been identified, after recipient Sammie Welch was so overwhelmed by his kindness she started a Facebook search just to be able to thank him. Ken Saunders, 50, said he just wanted to put a smile on Welchs face PA Heartwarming news stories from around the world Father calls out his daughters racist bullies in emotional video A father has taken to YouTube to shame bullies who bombarded his daughter with racist abuse on social media. Mr Knudsons daughter, from Prior Lake in the US state of Minnesota, was adopted and is of African American descent. He recounted how he approached the parents of the twin bullies only to be told that there was nothing wrong with the abuse. I have a beautiful African American daughter who I love more than life itself and would do anything for, he said in the video Heartwarming news stories from around the world This kid thought the postman should get post too It must be kind of lonely being a mailman, all this correspondence running through your hands every day but none of it addressed to you. It must be kind of lonely being a mailman, all this correspondence running through your hands every day but none of it addressed to you absofaluminium Heartwarming news stories from around the world Student raises thousands of pounds for homeless man who offered her 3 for a taxi Christmas is a traditionally a time for giving, particularly to the less fortunate members of society, but one homeless man was prepared to hand over everything he had. The man, named Robbie, offered a 22-year-old student 3 to help her get home safely after a night out - and now she is hoping to raise enough money to help him off the streets Rex
Alasdair was allowed to ride in the front cab for the first two journeys of his challenge and was given a certificate recognising his achievement from Mark Wild, managing director of London Underground, at Southwark station.
Mr Clift earlier said he and his wife Caroline, 51, had been "overawed" by Alasdair, who single-handedly arranged the challenge.
"We're very proud - and very proud of his organisation skills because Caroline and I have had absolutely nothing to do with it," he said.
Donations for Alasdair's Tube Challenge can be made through JustGiving.
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Rail passengers travelling between London and the East Midlands are experiencing major disruptions after a bridge partially collapsed onto the tracks in Leicestershire.
Network Rail said the incident at Barrow upon Soar, near Loughborough in Leicestershire, meant no direct trains are operating between St Pancras and stations north of Leicester, including Sheffield and Nottingham.
Pictures of the incident shows nearly half wall and a large section of the brickwork from one side of the bridge has collapsed onto the tracks, leaving the edge of the road above gaping over the exposed area.
Recommended Read more Watch the moment Tadcaster bridge collapsed
It collapsed and fell at around 2am and Network Rail teams have been working through the night to remove the debris from the railway, according to East Midlands Trains.
The operator said the line is not expected to reopen fully on Tuesday, warning that there will be severe disruption and a significantly reduced service running between Leicester and London St Pancras.
A Network Rail spokeswoman said train services between Leicester and Loughborough will be disrupted and while the operator is working to clear the track and reopen the line as quickly as possible, passengers are advised to check before they travel and allow extra time for their journeys.
"This will affect journeys on the London St Pancras / Nottingham / Leicester and the Leicester / Lincoln / Grimsby routes, they added.
Local people said part of a footpath in Grove Lane, which passes over the bridge, had recently started to subside.
Residents told the BBC that works had been due to be carried out on the bridge this week. One person told the broadcaster: "The path on the left hand side has decided to sink gradually over time. They scheduled for the road to be closed for the next three nights and then this."
A spokesman for Severn Trent confirmed that the collapse damaged one of its water mains but no customers had been affected and the pipe had already been repaired.
Additional reporting by Press Association
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Donald Trump has never been known for his command of the English language, but when he said that the Republican party were going to win bigly, he was resoundingly mocked on social media.
His detractors were quick to point out that bigly isnt a real word (actually it is), while his supporters were quick to point out that he was actually saying big league (which isnt an adverb and so makes even less sense).
Then there was the time he said that Hillary Clinton was going to get schlongeda word presumably of his own invention and apparently based on the Yiddish word for penis
Trump by no means alone in his misuse of language, of course, although the words our politicians tend to misuse arent always as glaring as his.
10 words you might hear misused in political speakand how you should be using themare explained here.
ENORMITY
When UKIP won Rochester from the Conservatives in 2014, Nigel Farage took the opportunity to point out the enormity of what UKIP is beginning to achieve. The problem with that, however, is that strictly speaking enormity means extreme severity or seriousness, not vastness or significance. But then again maybe thats the meaning he was going for?
(Getty Images Europe (Getty Images Europe)
DISINTERESTED
Talk of voters being disinterested in politics and the outcome of the referendum thrived in the aftermath of Brexitbut voters were actually anything but. Disinterested means neutral, impartial or unprejudiced. If youre just not that interested in things, then youre uninterested.
The use of one to mean the other here is a contentious style issue, but is now so widespread that many dictionaries allow both words to be used with both meanings, despite the views of the traditionalists. Not everyone is quite so accommodating, howeverin the words of the Guardian Style Guide, this distinction is one we should strive to maintain because it is not helpful to readers if we use disinterested and uninterested to mean the same thing.
REFUTE
(Getty Images)
I completely refute the suggestion that the Government are saying it is the customers fault, said Andrea Leadsom earlier this month. When challenged on their political record or impact, politicians often claim to refute their oppositions allegationsexcept what they really mean is reject.
Recommended Read more Andrea Leadsom says male childcare workers may be paedophiles
Strictly speaking, refute means to prove to be false or factually incorrect. The weaker sense of refute to mean just deny or reject is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, a more recent development that many traditionalists object to. Then again, you could always follow Sarah Palins lead, and just refudiate things
PRACTICABLE
If something is practicablea long term economic plan, for instancethen its merely capable of being put into practice. Put another way, practicable just means doable or feasible. Using it mean useful, attainable or advantageous encroaches on the meaning of practical, which might be related etymologically but has different very implications. Although the two words are frequently used interchangeably, there is a subtle distinction here that it is easy to fall foul of.
FORTUITOUS
Tony Blair has conducted his first one-on-one interview since the findings of the Chilcot inquiry were revealed (PA)
Was the timing of Chilcot so soon after the referendum result fortuitous or just fortunate? It all depends on how you saw it. Strictly speaking, fortuitous just means coincidental, or occurring by chance or luck, regardless of whether thats good or bad. So if you thought that the Brexit outcome was a welcome distraction from the Chilcot outcome, then the word you really want is fortunate, not fortuitous.
RETICENT
It is no use accusing anyone in politics of reticence in pursuing Article 50, because reticence and reluctance are not the same thing. If someone is reticent, then theyre shy or restrained. If theyre reluctant, then theyre unwilling or hesitant in doing something.
BARTER
Boris Johnson addresses staff inside the Foreign Office (Reuters)
Did the UK, as Boris Johnson claimed, risk bartering away our freedom and our democracy by remaining in the EU? That really depends what you mean by bartering. To barter is strictly to exchange things quid pro quo, rather than through a commercial transaction. It is not, despite how many people use it, a synonym of negotiateinstead, its really rather a consequence of it.
EXPEDIENT
Would an expedient or an expeditious Brexit be best? Brussels might want an expedient onenamely, one that is swift and immediately for the best, perhaps regardless of the implications. We, however, might prefer an expeditious onenamely, one that is quick, but efficient.
HONE
President George Bush and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1989 at Camp David. She encouraged Bush to speak to Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev (Getty Images)
George Bush Sr. might one have committed himself to honing in on the issues, but honing really means sharpening or refining, not focusing or concentrating on. The word that President Bush (and countless others) actually wanted was the words soundalikebecause honing in and homing in arent the same thing.
INVARIABLY
Because of confusion with words like variously and varyingly, invariably is often mistakenly used to mean every so often or on occasion. Instead it actually means always or habituallythink of it as just another way of saying unvaryingly and its true meaning comes through. As a result, invariably should really only be used to describe something that is all be assured to happen.
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People held at Britains immigration removal centres can be thrown into solitary confinement against medical advice and held for hours without any explanation, according to new guidance set to be issued to guards by the Home Office.
A draft detention services order, spelling out guidance to staff at the immigration prisons on the use of solitary confinement, says the sanction can be applied even if medical advice explicitly warns that it would be life-threatening.
The practice, described by campaigners as cruel, can also be handed out by guards to anyone who is judged to be stubborn or disobedient despite concerns by official watchdogs that vulnerable people with mental health problems are being being seriously affected.
Tens of thousands of would-be migrants to Britain are locked up in prison-style immigration removal centres every year. Not all people in the centres are destined for deportation: while some are waiting to be removed, large numbers are simply waiting for their asylum application to be processed or to have their rights to remain in the UK determined. These detainees are not being held in the centres as part of any sentence but are made to live in them for the administrative convenience of the authorities.
The new draft document, Removal from Association (DC Rule 40) and Temporary Confinement (DC Rule 42) advises staff that anyone who is being stubborn, unmanageable or disobedient may be thrown into solitary confinement, described euphemistically in the rules as rule 40 or rule 42 accommodation. It further advises staff that they can wait up to two hours before telling a person why they have been detained in such a way. Staff on location can authorise solitary confinement for up to two weeks; area managers only have to be consulted for longer detainments.
The new draft document advises staff that anyone who is being stubborn, unmanageable or disobedient may be thrown into solitary confinement (Rex)
Staff at the centres are also effectively given the go-ahead to disregard medical advice that solitary confinement could kill a particular detainee if they think they have a good reason for doing so. When medical advice is given that locating the detainee in [solitary confinement] would be seriously detrimental to a detainees health or is life threatening, the multidisciplinary team should urgently consider this advice, it says. The document however continues, stating that the medical advice may then be ignored as long as a note in made in a booklet clearly stating the rationale.
There is no prohibition in the draft guidelines on detaining people with mental health problems in such a way. The document is the first time a detention services order has issued advice about solitary confinement. Sara Ogilvie, policy officer at the campaign group Liberty, told The Independent that the Government was putting the health of detainees in danger and failing to afford them basic dignity.
Limitless immigration detention is a dark stain on our countrys human rights record. Adding the cruel practice of solitary confinement to the mix is a grave injustice which risks causing serious harm to innocent and vulnerable individuals, she said. But instead of abolishing this inhumane system, the Home Offices latest order would compound the problem by authorising the segregation of those who are deemed stubborn or suffer mental health problems, even where confinement may be life-threatening. Ms Ogilvie admonished the Government, saying it should be ashamed at its failure to afford even the most basic dignity and security to those within its care.
Pride and prejudice: The Victorian roots of a very British ambivalence to immigration Show all 3 1 /3 Pride and prejudice: The Victorian roots of a very British ambivalence to immigration Pride and prejudice: The Victorian roots of a very British ambivalence to immigration 405361.bin GETTY IMAGES Pride and prejudice: The Victorian roots of a very British ambivalence to immigration 405362.bin GETTY IMAGES Pride and prejudice: The Victorian roots of a very British ambivalence to immigration 405363.bin GETTY IMAGES
Earlier this year the independent monitoring board of Heathrow Immigration Removal Centres formerly Harmondsworth and Colnbrook centres criticised practices regarding solitary confinement there.
Case studies provided in the boards report from 2015 include a person with schizophrenic and bi-polar conditions who was detained for a 54-day stint in solitary confinement, as well as a detainee with serious mental health issues who was confined for 39 days before being sectioned under the Mental Health Act. The board said solitary confinement was used against detainees unable to integrate onto the normal regime, including individuals with serious mental health issues.
They are vulnerable and confinement is not a humane way to address the problems they experience, it concluded.
Ministers caused controversy last month after The Independent reported that families with children would be moved back into such prison-style immigration detention centres, albeit in a discrete unit from other detainees. The move was decried by campaigners as effectively reversing the 2010 Coalition governments pledge to end child detention in the immigration system.
A spokesperson for the Home Office told the Independent that it would take criticism into account when finalising the draft order.
It is important that maintaining safety and security of the detention facility is balanced against showing due regard for the dignity and welfare of the detainees," she said.
Detainees are only separated from others in exceptional circumstances. This is done for reasons of safety, either their own or for others, for security reasons or when an individual is being violent. Temporary confinement is never used as a punishment.
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I dont see this leadership election as a distraction. I see it as a massive opportunity, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told a cheering crowd of over 5,000 people at a rain-sodden rally in Liverpool.
The turnout meant police were forced to close roads around St Georges Plateau in the centre of the city, despite the event having only been organised two days previously.
Supporters descended on the square carrying banners reading unity is strength, Scousers for Corbyn and Our party Our leader Jeremy Corbyn, in a huge show of support for the leader who faces a leadership election at the hands of disgruntled MPs.
But Mr Corbyn dismissed the idea that he lived in a remote bubble of adulation, saying he spends three days a week travelling across the UK campaigning and meeting people and said the crowd was the biggest he had yet addressed at one of his rallies.
To be effective in politics youve got to listen to people, some of whom may not agree with you, some of whom may have criticisms, some of whom may have constructive suggestions for you, he told the audience.
In a broad-ranging speech, he criticised the governments record on housing, mental health and also referenced the Hillsborough disaster, paying tribute to Liverpudlians who had braved the abuse, the nastiness, the horror of what the Murdoch press can do.
You wont have read this in most of the papers, Mr Corbyn said, but this Tory government has been defeated 22 times in the past year alone.
He also hailed social media, saying it is so important as a means of bypassing the monopoly of the Murdoch media, and called for people to reach out to each other within communities.
Those that say this has been unpopular and had no effect, if thats the case, how come there are 540,000 people in Britain who are members of the Labour party?
The rally comes as Mr Corbyns campaign to keep his leadership of the party won support from the Communication Workers Union.
It is his third union endorsement ahead of the vote in September. Aslef, the train drivers union and Ucatt, the union for workers in the construction sector have both already pledged their support.
Meanwhile, Mr Corbyns rival, Owen Smith, launched his manifesto promising workplace rights in Britain would be the envy of the world under his leadership.
UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA 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
The Labour party has announced dates for five leadership hustings over the coming month, which will be held in Cardiff on 4 August, Nottinghamshire on 17 August, Birmingham on 18 August, Glasgow on 25 August and London on 1 September.
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The Department of Health has been accused of "airbrushing" concerns over a study into hospital mortality rates at weekends, in order to justify plans for a seven-day week NHS.
Plans for a seven-day week NHS, which have been championed by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, have been controversial as the data used to cite that hospital deaths increase over weekends has been fiercely disputed.
An email seen by the Mirror, which was supposedly copied to the Department of Health's head of news and the Prime Minster's private office, allegedly reveals the department used the study despite being aware of concerns surrounding its findings.
In the email, the Department of Health's press office suggests telling journalists the study provides further evidence of a weekend effect in hospitals, despite also listing concerns including a warning from experts that it is not clear how or to what extent investment in seven-day services will reduce weekend deaths".
In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK 20,000 Junior Doctors marched through central London in protest at the new contract changes the government is trying to impose which they say will be unfair and unsafe In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors protest in London In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK 4 year old Cassius takes part in a demonstration in Westminster, in support of junior doctors over changes to NHS contracts, London In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Protest over proposed changes to junior doctors' contracts, Leeds In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors and NHS staff protesting against the health service cuts and the proposed contract changes offered by the government outside Parliament In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors and NHS staff protesting against the health service cuts and the proposed contract changes offered by the government outside Parliament In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Over 5000 junior doctors rallied in Waterloo place, before marching through Whitehall and onto Parliament Square, in opposition to Jeremy Hunt's new working conditions for doctors In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Demonstrators listen to speeches in Waterloo Place during the 'Let's Save the NHS' rally and protest march by junior doctors In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors marched in London to highlight their plight In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK A protester at a demonstration in support of junior doctors in London
Other concerns reportedly included that the "weekend" was in fact over four days - from Friday to Monday - and that it would be "rash and misleading" to say deaths could be prevented.
The email was reportedly sent on 4 September when the British Medical Journal released its study, which included several warnings, to journalists.
It was released by the government after doctor Ben Dean, 37, won an appeal with the Information Commissioner watchdog.
Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh told the Mirror, the email shows "how the Government have tried to airbrush the junior doctors crisis and spin it in their favour".
A Department of Health spokesman said: Over the past six years eight independent studies have set out the evidence for a 'weekend effect' unacceptable variation in care across the week. We make no apology for working to create a safer seven day NHS.
A report in May by the Public Accounts Committee suggested that the plans for a seven-day NHS contain serious flaws and are completely uncosted. It accused the Department for Health of making no coherent attempt" to understand how staffing levels would be needed for the scheme.
However, the Department for Health has insisted a structure has been planned to support the proposals, saying there are clear plans to increase capacity in the future in order to deliver a safer, seven-day NHS.
Professor Julian Bion, from the University of Birmingham who is leading a review into seven-day working, has said Mr Hunts pledge to create a seven-day-week NHS will not be achievable for another twenty years.
Im convinced seven-day services cannot be achieved within current funding. There are huge gaps," he said.
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Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson will today attempt to encourage Northern Ireland to legislate for same-sex marriage as part of Belfasts Pride celebrations.
Giving the positive message about gay marriage at a major speech in Belfast, Ms Davidson, who recently became engaged to her partner Jen Wilson, will insist people living in Northern Ireland should be afforded the same rights as everybody else.
The country remains the only part of the UK where same-sex marriage illegal.
Ms Davidson, also an MSP, said she was honoured to have been invited to discuss the issue at a lecture as part of Belfasts Pride celebrations. As a practising Christian, a protestant and a unionist who is engaged to a Catholic Irishwoman, for me, equal marriage isn't about one religion, country or community, she will say.
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It is about people in Northern Ireland being afforded the same rights as everybody else.
Scotland is a better place today because of equal marriage and I want to take that positive message from our experiences here to Belfast and beyond.
Last year Ms Davidson, who impressed many with her media performances throughout the European Union referendum campaign and her success in elections in Scotland, was involved in the successful campaign for equal marriage in the Republic of Ireland.
However, Northern Ireland's devolved Stormont Assembly has repeatedly refused to legislate on the contentious issue. Although a slim majority of MLAs voted in favour of lifting the ban when it was debated for a fifth time last November, the proposal fell when the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) deployed a controversial voting mechanism to effectively veto it.
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A day after the United States began a formal campaign of air strikes against an Isis stronghold in Libya, anti-Isis fighters welcomed Washington's involvement but remained wary of advancing for fear of mines and snipers.
The initial US strikes on Monday targeted a tank and two vehicles in Sirte, where the jihadists are encircled in the heart of what has become an important base for the group beyond its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
Fighters from a range of anti-Isis brigades are dug in behind sand banks and concrete walls in the coastal city after suffering high casualties in months of street-by-street fighting.
If the United States is serious about these air strikes we are very pleased, and it will help us on the ground, said Husam Bakoush, a fighter with the Marsa brigade.
The battle highlights the challenges of driving the Isis from Libya, where it has struggled to win local support but exploited the chaos that followed the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi.
The country is still deeply divided and a UN-backed government had hesitated to call for US support until now for fear of a backlash.
For the fighters on the ground, this was a source of frustration. Most of my friends are happy, but they asked why it did not happen sooner, Mr Bakoush said.
Abdalla Ali Ibrahim Ismail, another fighter with Marsa brigade, said the strikes could be a game-changer.
I think the US strikes will help the ground troops a lot ... I hope that when we start to push again against Islamic State [Isis] positions the US planes will give us cover.
Morale is much higher, our men were celebrating last night.
US warplanes target ISIL in Libya for first time
The presence of Isis in Sirte has been reduced to a few hundred fighters who once controlled what was Gaddafi's hometown.
The air strikes in Libya are open ended, but each one will be coordinated with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), US officials said.
We requested support from the United States so that the operation could move quickly and we would not lose more fighters, said Mokhtar Fakron, an air force spokesman in nearby Misrata, from where the Sirte campaign is being run.
US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday it is in the US national security interest to support the fight against Isis in Libya.
The air strikes were undertaken to make sure that Libyan forces were able to finish the job of fighting the radical militant group and to increase stability there, Mr Obama said.
The absence of stability in Iraq and Syria has helped to fuel some of the challenges that we've seen in terms of the migration crisis in Europe, Mr Obama said.
US warplanes have conducted strikes on seven targets in and around the Libyan coastal city of Sirte over the past two days, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said at a news briefing on Tuesday. The targets were said to include two tanks, an Isise fighting position, construction vehicles, military vehicles, a rocket launcher and an excavator.
Also on Tuesday, Italy said it would consider allowing the United States to use the Sigonella air base in Sicily for strikes against Isis in Libya if asked. The two Nato allies had agreed in February that Italy would only allow the US to conduct defensive strikes from there.
When asked on RAI state television whether the US would be allowed to use the air base during the air campaign, foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni said: Should there be requests, we will consider them.
The battle for Sirte is now focussed around the Ouagadougou convention centre, a white structure where Islamic State hung its black banner, and in the streets around a hospital and the university.
Isis took over Sirte a year ago, but forces from the western city of Misrata allied to the UN-backed government began a campaign to liberate it in May.
Small teams of Western special forces have been providing intelligence and logistical support in Libya for months, and the United States has previously conducted isolated strikes against militants.
But Western powers said they would take more sustained action only at the invitation of the GNA, which arrived in Tripoli in March. The new government had held back, struggling to assert its authority over a fractured country and sensitive to criticism that it had been imposed from the outside.
Battle for Libyas Sirte intensifies
Since Isis embedded itself in Sirte, almost all the city's 80,000 residents have fled. Downtown residential neighbourhoods are now a battleground, with handwritten signs warning of snipers at junctions and blankets strung across roads to give brigade fighters cover.
The fighters talk of finding sophisticated booby traps, and explosives hidden among food or furniture, in buildings abandoned by Islamic State. They say they have been left alone to fight a dirty war against an enemy that represents a trans-national threat.
Maybe some of the men would not have come to fight if they'd known it would be like this, said Ahmed Grayma, a commander positioned near Sirte's port on Saturday who said his brigade lacked armoured vehicles, protective clothing and mine detectors.
We feel tricked because they said the international community was behind us but our colleagues are dying and we don't know when it will end.
Reuters
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South Africa's ruling party could lose control of major cities areas it has held virtually unchallenged for two decades in municipal elections on Wednesday, thanks to a strong challenge from opposition groups seeking to capitalise on scandals linked to President Jacob Zuma.
The ruling African National Congress (ANC), formerly the main anti-apartheid movement, has dominated South African politics since the first all-race elections in 1994. However, it has seen some erosion of support from South Africans who say their hopes for jobs and other opportunities have not been fulfilled since the end of white minority rule. The South African economy has stagnated since the global financial crisis in 2008.
If the ANC loses major cities in the elections, it could reshape the political playing field ahead of the 2019 general election, and may also embolden President Zuma's rivals within the party to challenge him.
The ANC is in danger of losing big cities and has increasingly been falling back on rural support, said Daryl Glaser, an associate professor of politics at Wits University in Johannesburg. He anticipated, however, that opposition parties might not win majorities even if they do well, forcing them to decide whether to form ruling coalitions despite differences that are extreme in some cases.
Even leaving aside any potential political upheaval, the municipal election season has been deadly for candidates and party activists, with more than 12 killed ahead of Wednesday's vote.
President Zuma's office has urged that the municipal elections remain peaceful, and campaigning in many parts of the country has been calm.
Corruption claims cloud South Africas local election
Many of the political killings this year have not been in such contested areas, instead occurring in the traditional ANC stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal, which has a history of political violence, though national police have determined it a serious enough problem to create a task force to investigate the deaths.
The killings have forced some candidates into hiding, said Nkosikhulule Nyembezi, co-chair of the National Coordinating Forum of community groups that partner with the Electoral Commission on observing and other activities.
One candidate from KwaZulu-Natal told South African media he was shot in the chest last month outside his home and said he had taken refuge about 200 miles away in Johannesburg, where he planned to remain until the elections.
David Mazibuko has said he remains a candidate, even in hiding. He told The Associated Press late last week that he didn't get anything from detectives yet on resolving his case.
The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party, whose roots lie in white liberal opposition to apartheid decades ago, hopes to make gains in key metropolitan areas controlled by the ruling party, including Johannesburg, Tshwane, which is the greater metropolitan area of the capital, Pretoria, and Nelson Mandela Bay, a municipality on South Africa's east coast. The Democratic Alliance already runs the city of Cape Town.
President Jacob Zuma, centre, waves to his supporters as he arrives for the ANC traditional Siyanqoba rally ahead of the elections (Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters)
In past elections the DA wouldn't dare to come here, IT graduate Zodwa Twani told Reuters from a rundown township in Port Elizabeth where DA placards line the streets alongside images of President Zuma.
I loved the ANC but now they only focus on themselves, not the people.[Nelson] Mandela would have been ashamed, the 25-year old added, standing in a pot-holed street in a ward where the ANC won 80 per cent of the vote five years ago and the DA barely registered.
A more radical opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), advocates the nationalisation of industry and other measures that it says would help the poor. It is contesting the local elections for the first time. On Sunday, a convoy of vehicles carrying noisy EFF supporters drove past restaurants serving affluent, mostly white clients in the Johannesburg suburb of Parkhurst, reinforcing the party's message that South Africa's white minority should relinquish its hold on economic power.
MPs of the Economic Freedom Fighters have disrupted parliamentary sessions several times to protest a scandal over state upgrades to Mr Zuma's private home. The case went to the Constitutional Court, which said Mr Zuma had violated the constitution and instructed the president to reimburse the state for $507,000 (380,000). The president has denied any wrongdoing.
A large crowd of ruling party supporters gathered Sunday at a stadium rally in Johannesburg, where Mr Zuma touted his party's record in leading the country for more than two decades. He cited data showing that 95 per cent of South Africans have access to clean, piped water, compared to just over 50 per cent of households in 1994.
In the past, our people lived in dirty, dusty townships and villages, and many still do, Mr Zuma said. The future entails the creation of viable small towns and vibrant metro cities where our people can earn a living.
Associated Press
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A 13-year-old rape victim has been denied access to an abortion after a judge ruled that the alleged assault was coercion.
The ruling has come despite the abortion being the girls legal right and medical evidence that she was subjected to sexual violence.
In May, the teenager was at home during a school holiday when she was sexually assaulted by a work colleague of her fathers. The teenager reported her attacker to the police and a medical report corroborated her version of the alleged crime.
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The public prosecutor accused the abuser of rape, according to The Guardian.
A judge in the state of Sonora instead accused the alleged attacker of having illegal sex with a minor.
Rape-related abortions are legal in the region and local health officials are blocking the girls access to the procedure.
When Mexico City legalised abortion within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in 2007, other Mexican states tightened up their restrictions on terminating a foetus.
By downgrading the nature of the crime from rape to coercion, the abortion in Sonora would not be legal for the victim.
The move is being protested by human rights campaigners, who argue that the judges interpretation of the crime does not alter the fact that the girl was assaulted and became pregnant as a result of rape.
"This is important in terms of the criminal investigation, but should not affect access to legal termination," said Regina Tames, president of GIRE, a womens rights organization, told El Pais.
"She was the victim of a sexual assault, and, as such, it is irrelevant what the judge considers to be a crime or not. There is no legal impediment preventing the authorities from supporting her," she added.
In Mexico, 25 per cent of girls are sexually assaulted before reaching 18 years old, according to a survey by the Executive Commission of Attention to Victims.
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A longtime FBI employee with top-secret clearances pleaded guilty to acting as an agent of China and providing officials in that country with sensitive information, prosecutors have announced.
Kun Shan Chun was secretly arrested in March and held on charges of lying repeatedly about his contacts in China, who lavished him with prostitutes, cash and expensive hotel rooms, according to the criminal complaint.
Chun, 46, who was born in China and is also known as Joey, faces up to 10 years in prison.
His lawyer, Jonathan Marvinny, said in an email: "Today Joey Chun accepted responsibility for some mistakes in judgment that he deeply regrets.
"The truth is that Mr. Chun loves the United States and never intended to cause it any harm. He hopes to put this matter behind him and move forward with his life."
Kun Shan Chun, an FBI employee who pleaded guilty to acting as an agent of the Chinese government, is pictured outside court in New York City. Nate Raymond (REUTERS)
Prosecutors accused Chun, who joined the FBI in 1997, of failing to disclose that he had contact with a Chinese national during an overseas trip, among other violations.
"Kun Shan Chun violated our nations trust by exploiting his official . . . position to provide restricted and sensitive FBI information to the Chinese Government," Assistant Attorney General John Carlin, who heads the Justice Departments national security division, said in a statement.
Authorities said Chun also did not tell the FBI about a business venture with a Chinese technology company called Kolion, according to the complaint. Since at least 2006, the FBI said, Chun performed research and consulted on behalf of the company in exchange for benefits that included foreign travel.
According to Kolions website, the company makes toner cartridges for copiers and printers.
During that period, the FBI said, Chun was also in contact with an individual affiliated with the Chinese government.
Its not clear why the FBI started to investigate Chun, who was required to answer questions in 2012 as part of a routine review to determine if he should maintain his security clearances. He had access to sensitive and classified material in his job as an electronic technician in the FBIs Manhattan field office.
As part of a deal with prosecutors, Marvinny said, they agreed to drop the charges of lying on his FBI questionnaire if Chun pleaded guilty to acting as an agent of the Chinese government.
The FBI, which is in charge of domestic counterintelligence, has taken aggressive steps to thwart Chinese espionage. The bureau has also seen a sharp spike in the number of economic espionage cases, most stemming from China and Russia.
According to prosecutors, Chun downloaded an FBI organizational chart from his work computer in 2013 and provided the document, without names, to the Chinese. In January 2015, he took photographs of documents in a restricted area at the field office that summarized details about multiple surveillance technologies used by the FBI. He later gave that information to a Chinese official, authorities say.
The FBI apparently became suspicious enough of Chun to mount an undercover operation in February 2015. The FBIs undercover agent told Chun that he worked as an independent contractor for the Pentagon. During a meeting in New York later that year, Chun told the agent that his associates in China provided paid prostitutes and had given his parents money.
His parents apparently had stock in Kolion, too, and owned property in China.
Chun told the undercover agent that Kolion was backed by the Chinese government. The criminal complaint says Chuns parents had urged him to work for these Chinese associates because of their investment in Kolion.
According to the complaint, Chun believed that his parents had told people in China that he worked for the U.S. government. He said that when he visited China, the associates gave him a place to live and . . . a hotel.
On one occasion, during a trip to Europe, Chun offered to introduce the undercover agents to his contacts in China, prosecutors said. In July 2015, the agent traveled to Hungary, where he met with Chun twice. During one meeting, authorities say, Chun told the agent that he knew firsthand that the Chinese government was involved in recruiting people who could assist it. In exchange, the government was willing to provide immigration benefits and other compensation, the complaint said.
The undercover agent said he had access to sensitive government information. Chun responded that his Chinese associates would be interested if that was the case.
In another meeting that was recorded in New York in October 2015, Chun said he had tried to make contact with a Chinese government official to facilitate the passage of sensitive information from the undercover agent.
Chun said he didnt care if the FBI fired him but was concerned about whether the bureau had evidence of him associating with a foreign contact and failing to report it.
I lied, I reported certain people [but] not everybody, he said, according to the complaint.
Copyright: Washington Post
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A mother who allegedly threatened police with a shotgun has been shot dead in the US during a raid over driving offences.
Korryn Gainess five-year-old son was also shot in a limb during a stand-off with police at their home in Randallstown, Maryland.
Baltimore County Police said the boy was taken to hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries, and would not confirm whether the child was struck by a bullet fired by his 23-year-old mother or police.
Police outside the apartment where Korryn Gaines was shot dead in Randallstown on 1 August (AP)
Tributes were being paid to Ms Gaines from across the US on Tuesday, with her death being condemned by friends, relatives and supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The race of the officers who shot the mother, who was black, have not been released, but campaigners characterised the incident as a continuation of a series of controversial police shootings involving people of colour.
There was also suspicion over the reported deletion of Facebook videos posted by Ms Gaines during the stand-off and other social media posts.
A police spokesperson said three officers were executing an arrest warrant on Ms Gaines and a man at the same address on Monday morning.
He was wanted for assault, while Ms Gaines had had failed to appear in court over several traffic charges, including disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after being stopped by police last March.
Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Show all 19 1 /19 Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors demand justice for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors lie in an intersection during a demonstration for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors lie in an intersection during a demonstration for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors demand justice for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters march throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters march throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters are arrested by NYPD as they call for justice throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters are arrested by NYPD as they call for justice throughout New York City. AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty
After hearing a man and woman talking inside and the sound of a child crying, police obtained a key to the apartment from the landlord and opened the door to find Ms Gaines pointing a shotgun with one arm and holding her son in the other.
The officers retreated to the hallway outside the apartment and called for additional support, the spokesperson said.
The male suspect ran from the apartment with a one-year-old boy - one of two children in in the apartment with the couple - and was apprehended by police.
The armed woman remained inside with the five-year-old boy, and a barricade situation began at about 9.40am and continued throughout the afternoon.
Police said the apartment building was evacuated as the stand-off continued for several hours with negotiators as Ms Gaines refused to surrender.
Baltimore County Police said an officer opened fire at around 3pm (8pm BST) local time after she pointed her shotgun at an officer saying: If you don't leave, I'm going to kill you.
Ms Gaines allegedly returned fire with two shots, missing officers, and was struck multiple times by bullets, dying at the scene.
A spokesperson said a body camera programme was being rolled out in the Baltimore County Police service and that she could not say whether the incident had been filmed.
All officers involved in this incident were placed on administrative leave, with their names expected to be released on Wednesday.
A vigil was planned on Friday from 7pm at Baltimore City College.
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Police have said they are unsure whether the shooting of an armed woman and her five-year-old son was caught on officers body cameras.
There were growing calls for any footage of Korryn Gainess death to be released after it emerged that videos posted on her social media accounts during a stand-off with police had been deleted.
The 23-year-old was shot dead at her home on Monday after allegedly threatening police with a shotgun while holding her son, who was hospitalised with bullet wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening.
Police outside the apartment where Korryn Gaines was shot dead in Randallstown on 1 August (AP)
The Baltimore County Police Department said it was not yet clear whether any of the officers involved were equipped with body cameras, which are currently being rolled out in the force.
Elise Armacost, the departments director of public affairs, told a press conference: Its not clear whether we have any body camera footage of this incident.
Our body camera programme is just a few weeks old. We are looking to see whether any officers involved in this case were wearing cameras but only a few officers are wearing them at this point.
Tributes were being paid to Ms Gaines from across the US on Tuesday, with her death being condemned by friends, relatives and supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The race of the officers who shot the mother, who was black, have not been released but campaigners characterised the incident as a continuation of a series of police shootings involving people of colour.
Korryn Gaines was shot dead by police after allegedly threatening officers with a shotgun on 1 August (Facebook)
There was also suspicion over the reported deletion of Facebook videos posted by Ms Gaines during the stand-off and other social media posts.
One of the videos from Ms Gaines account, which has since been shared on Twitter, appears to show her talking to her son as police officers can be heard outside.
What are they trying to do? she asks. Theyre trying to kill us, the little boy replies as he sits on the floor.
Ms Gainess death was the third shooting incident involving Baltimore County Police officers this year and the first killing by one of its officers in 2016.
A spokesperson said three officers were executing an arrest warrant on Ms Gaines and a man at the same address on Monday morning.
He was wanted for assault, while Ms Gaines had had failed to appear in court over several traffic charges, including disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after being stopped by police last March.
After hearing a man and woman talking inside and the sound of a child crying, police obtained a key to the apartment from the landlord and opened the door to find Ms Gaines pointing a shotgun with one arm and holding her son in the other.
The officers retreated to the hallway outside the apartment and called for additional support, the spokesperson said.
The male suspect ran from the apartment with a one-year-old boy - one of two children in in the apartment with the couple - and was apprehended by police.
Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Show all 19 1 /19 Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors demand justice for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors lie in an intersection during a demonstration for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors lie in an intersection during a demonstration for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors demand justice for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters march throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters march throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters are arrested by NYPD as they call for justice throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters are arrested by NYPD as they call for justice throughout New York City. AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty
The armed woman remained inside with the five-year-old boy, and a barricade situation began at about 9.40am and continued throughout the afternoon.
Police said the apartment building was evacuated as the stand-off continued for several hours with negotiators as Ms Gaines refused to surrender.
Baltimore County Police said an officer opened fire at around 3pm (8pm BST) local time after she pointed her shotgun at an officer saying: If you don't leave, I'm going to kill you.
Ms Gaines allegedly returned fire with two shots, missing officers, and was struck multiple times by bullets, dying at the scene.
All officers involved in this incident were placed on administrative leave, with their names expected to be released on Wednesday.
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The producers of Sesame Street have had second thoughts on dropping three much-loved characters and announced that Bob, Luis and Gordon may all return in future episodes.
The longstanding characters in the puppet show for children, played by actors Bob Mcgrath, 84, Emilio Delgado, 76, and Roscoe Orman, 72, said they had been axed from the show in late July, provoking an outpouring of dismay and anger on social media.
Sesame Workshop chief executive Jeffrey Dunn said in a statement that he was sorry for the misunderstandings around the changing cast, and that he could have communicated better with the actors around their lack of storylines in the upcoming season.
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"However, our production team also intentionally left the door open for all actors to continue to appear, based on the story lines that were written in any future season," he said.
A recent Facebook post from Mr Delgado, quoting a joint statement from Mr Orman, hinted that an upcoming meeting with producers might lead to their comeback.
"Due to your overwhelming reaction regarding the status of myself and others on the show, the new producers of Sesame Street have reached out to us with an expressed desire to continue our longstanding relationship, to be initiated with a meeting in September," he wrote.
"Hopefully, this will result in the inclusion of veteran cast members in upcoming productions."
The cast change came as the show was moved from an hour-long slot to just half an hour. The show was also moved from PBS to HBO in 2015.
After the beloved trio was let go, Sesame Street said in a statement that the characters would continue to represent the brand at public events.
"Since the show began, we are constantly evolving our content and curriculum, and hence, our characters, to meet the educational needs of children," the statement read.
"As a result of this, our cast has changed over the years, though you can still expect to see many of them in upcoming productions."
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Donald Trump accepted a Purple Heart from a military veteran during a rally on Tuesday, saying it was "much easier" to receive the medal as a gift than by serving in combat.
"I always wanted to get the Purple Heart," Mr Trump said. "This was much easier"
Mr Trump said Lt Col Louis Dorfman gave him his actual Purple Heart, but an NBC reporter was told the one given to the candidate was a replica.
The Republican candidate has been locked in a bitter public dispute with the family of a Muslim soldier who was killed in Iraq and immediately attracted fresh criticism for his off-hand response accepting an honour bestowed upon soldiers wounded in combat and joking about how easily he received his.
I fought in Iraq, was injured, and was awarded a Purple Heart, Sean Barney, a Delaware congressional candidate wounded in Iraq, tweeted. No one should ever want a Purple Heart.
The mother of US Army National Guard Sgt Patrick McCaffrey accused Mr Trump of making light of the honour.
Well, people have the freedom of speech and the freedom of action, so whoever gave that Purple Heart to Mr Trump is, you know, its his decision not mine, Nadia McCaffrey told CNN. To me, a Purple Heart is sacred for what it represents and should not be given to anyone who didnt deserve one.
Although Mr Trump never served in the US military, he had previously said I felt that I was in the military because of time he spent at the New York Military Academy when he was in the eighth grade.
Mr Trump avoided the Vietnam War through multiple deferments due to college and bad feet.
Donald Trump speaks about Vietnam
Mr Trumps acceptance of the veterans Purple Heart comes amid his feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, Gold Star parents whose son Humayun Khan was killed in action in 2004 while serving in Iraq.
Mr Khan rebuked the Republican nominee during a speech at the Democratic National Convention last Thursday.
You have sacrificed nothing and no one, he said, addressing Mr Trump while holding pocket-sized version of the US Constitution.
In response, Mr Trump said he made a lot of sacrifices, citing the numerous great structures he built.
Mr Trump based his appeal on rebuilding the US military and the treatment of veterans at home and abroad. However, his hostile response to the Khan family drew sharp criticism from fellow Republicans and military organisations, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
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Although the general election is more than three months away, Donald Trump is already declaring shenanigans and assuring his supporters that if he loses, it is because a fix is in.
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Im afraid the elections gonna be rigged, the Republican nominee said at a Columbus, Ohio, rally on Monday. I have to be honest.
Mr Trump echoed his earlier claims that the primaries were rigged after his loss in Iowa to Texas senator Ted Cruz. He continued claims that the primaries were slanted against him in spite of the fact that he dominated in most states. Nonetheless, he attributed overcoming of the insurmountable fixed system to his landslide victories.
I think my side was rigged. If I didnt win by massive landslides, he said, adding that he hears more and more that the 8 November election will rigged.
The New York business tycoon appears to be setting the tone in the event he loses to rival Hillary Clinton in November which would make him the first presidential candidate to contest the results of a national election.
Father of Muslim-American soldier killed in action tells Donald Trump: You have sacrificed nothing
After Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney in 2012, Mr Trump lashed out on Twitter with a similar message that the outcome of the election was illegitimate.
The electoral college is a disaster for democracy, he said in a series of tweets in 2012. This election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy!
Mr Trumps declaration comes after he has received days of negative press after his very public feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan Muslim parents of the fallen soldier Humayun Khan, who was killed fighting in the Iraq war in 2004.
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Donald Trumps success in avoiding the Vietnam War draft nearly fifty years ago is emerging as a new trouble spot for his see-saw campaign as he battles to contain the fall-out from his feud with the parents of a Muslim-American soldier slain in Iraq.
He has never denied that he benefited from five draft deferments that saved him from the conflagration in Southeast Asia, four to allow him to continue his studies and one thanks to a doctors note saying he had a spur on a heel bone. But new questions and possible inconsistencies have surfaced, particularly with regard to the one medical deferment.
In a 2011 interview with a Fox News channel in New York, Mr Trump spoke of the amazing moment as a college student when he was given a a very, very high number in the Vietnam draft lottery, which, he said, effectively ruled out his being sent to serve.
But, as a New York Times article now highlights, that lottery actually happened long after Mr Trump had finished his final round of studies at the Wharton School of Finance. Moreover, the medical classification he had received because of the bone spur, known as a 1-Y, meant he was disqualified anyway, rendering the number he received in the lottery draw - high or low - irrelevant.
For all practical purposes, once you got the 1-Y, you were free and clear of vulnerability for the draft, even in the case of the lottery, Richard Flahavan, a spokesman for the Selective Service System, the US military conscription agency, told the paper.
Mr Trump is likely meanwhile to come under renewed pressure to explain how it was that a successful athlete at college - and as a 70-year-old today with an apparently unblemished health record - he found himself diagnosed with a heel spur serious enough to stop him serving.
I had a doctor that gave me a letter - a very strong letter on the heels, Mr. Trump said in an interview with The Times last month. He added that over a period of time, it healed up. When questioned to say which heel was affected by the spur, Mr Trump avers that he cant recall.
Donald Trump speaks about Vietnam
Past presidential candidates have faced awkward moments when asked to explain how they avoided service in Vietnam. They included George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, both of whom nonetheless went on to win election to the White House.
On Tuesday, one of the nominee's sons, Eric Trump, attempted to suggest that the entanglement with the Khan family was somehow steam in a tea cup. "I think this is something that was honestly blown hugely out of proportion, he told CBS News.
But the timing for Mr Trump is especially bad because of his feud with Khizr Khan, the father of the fallen soldier, who provoked his fury by taking the stage last week at the Democratic convention and asserting that the nominee "had sacrificed nothing and no one, in his life.
It surely also doesnt help that in a 1997 radio interview with shock-jock Howard Stern, somehow Mr Trump managed to suggest that avoiding getting sexually transmitted diseases had been his personal Vietnam.
Ive been so lucky in terms of that whole world. It is a dangerous world out there. Its scary, like Vietnam. Sort of like the Vietnam-era, Mr Trump is seen to say a video that was recently found by the Buzzed website. It is my personal Vietnam. I feel like a great and very brave soldier.
The attacks launched by Mr Trump against Mr Khan and his wife, including the assertion that Ms Khan was silent on the convention stage because she had not been given permission by her husband to speak, have prompted widespread outrage, including from within the Republican Party.
On Monday, Senator John McCain vigorously repudiated Mr Trumps remarks. A Vietnam prisoner of war, Mr McCain himself suffered ridicule from Mr Trump during the primaries when the latter suggested it was wrong to call him a hero, because he shouldnt have allowed himself to be captured in the first place. I like people who werent captured," Mr Trump offered at the time.
On Tuesday, a Republican member of Congress from New York, Richard Hanna, declared in a column for his local newspaper, The Post-Standard newspaper of Syracuse, that he would be voting for Hillary Clinton in November, saying all Republicans surely should answer the question about where do we draw the line, with Mr Trump, their presidential nominee.
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President Barack Obama has issued a powerful repudiation of the Republican nominee, Donald Trump, suggesting in the clearest terms yet that he does not consider him fit to be president.
He had been asked to comment on Mr Trump in the light of attacks he had launched since last weeks Democratic convention on the family of a Muslim-American soldier slain in Iraq, and foreign policy remarks at the weekend which betrayed a lack of knowledge about the circumstances of Russias annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
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The Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president, I said it last week and he keeps on proving it, Mr Obama said. The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family, that made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he doesnt appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues, in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia, means that he is woefully unprepared to do this job."
This is different from just having policy disagreements, with the candidate of the other party, Mr Obama said, addressing reporters alongside the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, who was on an official visit to the White House on Tuesday.
There have been Republican presidents with whom I have disagreed, but I didnt have a doubt they could function as president, Mr Obama went on. I think that I was right that Mitt Romney and John McCain were wrong on certain policy issues, but I never thought that they couldnt have done the job.
I would have saidI know they are going to abide by certain norms and rules and common sense, they will observe basic decency, will have enough knowledge about economic policy and foreign policythat our government will work, Mr Obama said. "But that's not the situation here.
Mr and Ms Khan address the Democratic convention in Philadelphia (Getty)
Mr Obama said that each time Mr Trump triggered fresh outrage on another topic, senior Republicans found themselves forced to distance themselves from their own partys nominee. But he said the time surely should come when they also withdraw their endorsement of him, which has not happened yet.
Yet for the first time on Tuesday, a Republican member of the US Congress, Representative Richard Hanna from New York, said in an article in his local newspaper in Syracuse, that he would be voting for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, in November.
Mr Obama was meanwhile relentless in putting pressure on Republicans essentially to disavow the nominee en masse.
The question I think they have to ask themselves is, if you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him? What does this say about your party that this is your standard bearer?
I dont doubt their sincerity, I don't doubt they're outraged, the President went on. But there has to come a point at which you say somebody who makes those kind of statements does not have the judgement, the temperament, the understanding to occupy the most powerful position in the world, because a lot of people depend on the White House getting stuff right.
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Joe Biden has been enjoying himself recently.
As well as filming an episode of Law & Order last week, the vice president also took on the honourable duty of marrying two White House officials.
On their request, he officiated for Brian Mosteller, the director of Oval Office operations, and Joe Mashie, a trip coordinator for Michelle Obama, at his Washington home.
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The ceremony took place one year after his government legalised gay marriage.
"Proud to marry Brian and Joe at my house," he wrote on twitter.
"Couldn't be happier, two longtime White House staffers, two great guys."
He obtained a temporary licence from the District of Columbia to officiate their wedding, as reported by BuzzFeed.
The ceremony topped off a busy few weeks for the man whose favourite put-down is malarkey, according to the Washington Post. Last week he spoke at the Democratic National Convention to advocate for Hillary Clinton, saying Donald Trump had "no clue".
"He's trying to tell us he cares about the middle class. Give me a break! That's a bunch of malarkey," he said.
He then filmed his first cameo on NBC show Law & Order, where he joined star Mariska Hargitay to praise the Special Victims Unit for working on the backlog of rape kits.
The presidents faithful sidekick first met Ms Hargitay in May at a gala for the Joyful Heart Foundation which works to empower the survivors of sexual assault and domestic abuse.
The episode will air on 28 September as part of the 18th season.
Mr Biden has been a champion of womens rights, and has spent months touring college and university campuses to speak about the epidemic of sexual assault.
The VP told ABC news that when president Obama leaves the White House in January, Mr Biden has "no plan on saying goodbye".
"I still care deeply about so many things so Im going to be engaged," he said.
"Im going to be out there with a platform to talk about the things I care about. Foreign policy, violence against women and the inequity in the tax structure."
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The mosquitoes spreading Zika in Miami are proving more difficult to eradicate than expected, the nation's top disease-fighter said as authorities sprayed the ground-zero neighbourhood, emptied paddling pools and handed out cans of insect repellent to the homeless.
Tom Frieden, director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said the mosquito-control efforts were not achieving the hoped-for results, suggesting the pests were resistant to insecticides and were still finding standing water in which to breed in the bustling urban neighborhood.
"We're not seeing the number of mosquitoes come down as rapidly as we would have liked," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Mosquito control experts said that was no surprise to them, describing the Aedes aegypti mosquito as a "little ninja" capable of hiding in tiny crevices, sneaking up on people's ankles, and breeding in just a bottle cap of standing water.
Fourteen people are believed to have become infected with Zika from bites in Miami's Wynwood arts district the first mosquito-transmitted cases on record in the mainland US, which has been girding for months against the epidemic coursing through Latin America and the Caribbean.
On Monday, the CDC instructed pregnant women to avoid the neighbourhood, marking what is believed to be the first time in the agency's 70-year history that it warned people not to travel somewhere in the US. The Zika virus can cause severe brain-related defects, including disastrously small heads.
The Zika virus - in pictures Show all 5 1 /5 The Zika virus - in pictures The Zika virus - in pictures A three-month-old, who has microcephaly, in Recife, Brazil. A rise in microcephaly cases is thought to have been caused by the spread of the Zika virus in affected countries Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A mother holds her baby who has microcephaly Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A five-month-old baby, who has microcephaly, in Recife, Brazil Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A pediatric infectologist examines a two-month-old baby, who has microcephaly, in Recife, Brazil Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A baby affected with microcephaly
At the same time, American health authorities have said they don't expect major outbreaks in this country, in part because of better sanitation and the use of air conditioners and window screens.
However, it has been a major source of concern for athletes arriving in Rio de Janeiro for the start of the Olympic Games at the weekend.
Miami-Dade County mosquito control inspectors went door to door in Wynwood on Tuesday, handing out information, checking tyres and other objects for standing water, and dipping cups to take water samples from vacant lots, building sites and backyards. In one lush yard, an inspector tipped over a paddling pool and a cooler full of water.
Team GB talk Zika
Daily aerial spraying for adult mosquitoes and larvae has been approved for the next four weeks over a 10-square-mile area around Wynwood, county officials said. Also, the city of Miami is running extra street-sweeping routes to remove the litter and stagnant water that can serve as breeding grounds.
Because of environmental regulations governing which chemicals can be used as insecticides, mosquito control authorities cannot easily switch to another compound if bugs prove resistant to it.
Nothing has worked to stop this mosquito elsewhere in the world except for the introduction of mosquitoes modified to pass on genes that kill their offspring, said Michael Doyle, executive director of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. And the Food and Drug Administration has not given approval to that approach in the US.
"We have to totally rethink mosquito control for Aedes aegypti," he added. "It's like a little ninja. It's always hiding."
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A Dutch man who flew to China to meet a woman he met online has had to be treated in hospital with exhaustion after waiting at the airport for 10 days.
Alexander Peter Cirk, 41, refused to leave Changsha Huanghua International airport in Hunan after his online girlfriend, known as Zhang, failed to turn up.
Mr Cirk was eventually taken to the hospital suffering from physical exhaustion, according to Hunan TV.
He told the channel he had met Ms Zhang through a messaging app two months before and that they had planned for him to visit her.
Ms Zhang, 26, reportedly got in touch with the TV channel the day after to report her side of the story, explaining she "thought it was a joke".
She told Hunan TV: We had advanced our romantic relationship but later he seemed a little callous towards me.
One day he sent me a photo of air tickets abruptly and I thought it was a joke. He didn't contact me later.
Would like to meet: The truth about internet dating Show all 3 1 /3 Would like to meet: The truth about internet dating Would like to meet: The truth about internet dating 488366.bin Would like to meet: The truth about internet dating 487886.bin Would like to meet: The truth about internet dating 487887.bin
Ms Zhang added that she had been away having plastic surgery with her phone turned off while Mr Cirk was waiting at the airport.
Mr Cirk reportedly flew back to the Netherlands shortly after being treated in hospital.
Despite the failed first meeting Ms Zhang is said to be hoping to continue their online relationship.
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Video has emerged of the moment a tornado tore through an area of Vietnam, taking buildings and trees with it.
The dashcam footage, taken in Yen Trung, in the northern Bac Ninh province, shows a street going from calm to ruins in just 30 seconds.
Passengers in the back of the car watched on in fear and amazement, as everything disintegrated in its path.
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A number of people run for hiding and scooters race through the street, luckily escaping the scene despite metal sheets and roof beams flying inches overhead at high speeds.
The car reverses away slowly throughout the short event, seemingly untouched by any debris.
No injuries were reported after the twister, which occurred on July 28.
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. 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Quang Tung, an engineer working near the area, said the tornado could be seen from 4km away.
It "broke many trees and utility poles and blew off many iron sheet roofs," he told Thanh Nien News.
The entire area in Yen Trung was left "a mess" after the event, he said.
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Britains representative to Brussels has been nominated to be the EUs new counter-terrorism security commissioner despite the UK voting to leave the European Union.
Sir Julian King has been given the key role by Jean-Claude Juncker, even though the European Commission President previously warned that British deserters from the EU would have to face the consequences of being regarded as a third country, which won't be handled with kid gloves.
The surprise move means that as the UK prepares to leave, a Briton will be the new Commissioner for the Security Union, tasked with helping to fight terrorism and cybercrime while assisting in the creation of a new Security Union of EU member states.
Mr Juncker has also told Sir Julian, who was sent to Brussels after the former commissioner Lord Hill of Oareford resigned following the Brexit vote, that he will have to help the Commissioner for Migration develop solutions to forthcoming security challenges.
In a mission letter sent on Tuesday outlining Sir Julians new role, Mr Juncker struck a markedly different tone to the one he adopted ahead of the EU referendum in May, when he told Le Monde: Deserters will not be welcomed with open arms. The United Kingdom will have to accept being regarded as a third country, which won't be handled with kid gloves. If the British should say no, then life in the EU will not go on as before.
Instead Mr Junckers letter to Sir Julian seems to imply an expectation of Britain and the EU sharing a united and clear purpose for years to come.
The Commission president told Sir Julian: You are becoming a member of the European Commission at a particularly challenging time for the European Union. We will have a lot to do in the years to come and we will have to show a united and clear sense of purpose at all times.
The Union only succeeds, Mr Juncker added, with no apparent sense of irony, When everyone is pulling in the same direction.
Telling Sir Julian he would play a key role in ensuring an effective EU response to security threats over the period 2015-2020, even though Britain may have left the EU by 2020, Mr Juncker wrote: Security is one of the pressing challenges I have highlighted In particular, three priorities were identified as needing to be addressed: tackling terrorism and preventing radicalisation, disrupting organised crime, and fighting cybercrime.
Repeated subsequent terrorist attacks have underlined the importance and urgency of making swift progress towards an operational and effective Security Union.
The appointment of a Briton to help implement Mr Junckers goal of creating a new EU security union is a particularly unexpected twist, given the fierce opposition the concept aroused among Eurosceptics in Britain.
When Mr Juncker first called for the Security Union in April, insisting fragmentation is what makes us vulnerable, he was bitterly attacked by supporters of Brexit.
Ukips defence spokesman, the MEP Mike Hookem claimed: Juncker must be literally mad if he thinks British people will sign up to a security union with the EU. Does he really believe that inexperienced bureaucrats at the European Commission are better placed to deal with British security than British security services?
Sir Julian, a career diplomat and the outgoing UK ambassador to France, will report to a series of vice-presidents who form Mr Juncker's top team. In a recognition of the realities of Brexit, it is expected that unlike other commissioners he will not attend ministerial meetings.
Sir Julians appointment may signal a desire within the EU to retain strong links with the British security services, which are regarded as having a relatively impressive record in countering terrorism.
The security specialist Will Geddes told The Independent the UKs security services were regarded as among the best in the world, and were often asked to advise intelligence agencies in other countries.
Mr Geddes said: The UK and the US are probably the go-to countries in terms of depth and length of experience.
We have world beating relationships in terms of how MI5 and MI6 co-ordinate. We are much more advanced in that respect than they are in Germany and particularly in France. There are about seven French intelligence agencies and a lot less of a consolidated effort, which is half the reason they have been having as many problems [with terrorist attacks] as they have.
Mr Geddes, the founder and managing director of International Corporate Protection, speculated that Mr Juncker might be hoping that as a career diplomat Sir Julian might prove a useful, neutral and uncontroversial conduit into British Government circles.
He said: The boiler room practices [and co-operation] of the national security agencies will carry on regardless of Brexit, but this could provide a join-up on higher, more political and judicial levels for counter-terrorism issues.
However upset the EU may be about Brexit, they appreciate they have got to be able to have a civil conversation about these issues.
Theresa May says she has an 'open mind' over Brexit negotiations
Before Sir Julian can start work, however, his appointment to the newly created role of Commissioner for the Security Union must be approved by MEPs.
A European Commission press release announcing Mr Junckers intention to give Sir Julian the security brief states: President Juncker is sending today a letter to Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament informing the latter of his intention to allocate to Sir Julian King the responsibility for the Security Union portfolio.
An exchange of views between Sir Julian and the relevant Committee of the European Parliament is expected to take place in early autumn.
There is no guarantee, however, that this exchange of views will be a rubber stamping exercise. In October 2014, Sir Julians predecessor Lord Hill, nominated by Mr Juncker to be Commissioner for Financial Stability, reportedly failed to impress MEPs and was summoned before them for a second hearing. The eventual confirmation of his appointment, it was claimed, required some diplomatic smoothing of the way by Mr Juncker.
After Mr Juncker telephoned Theresa May on Monday evening to tell her he was nominating Sir Julian for the security role, a Downing Street spokesman said: "We welcome this decision. The UK will continue to fulfil our rights and obligations as a member state until we leave the EU and the Prime Minister has been clear that we will be an active player.
"Security is a vital issue for all member states and co-operation across the EU can help to better protect us all from the range of threats we face. We now look forward to Sir Julian being confirmed in the role."
Explaining how the appointment could be made despite the Brexit vote, the European Commission press release states: In spite of the referendum where a majority voted for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, the United Kingdom is still a member of the European Union and thus entitled, under Article 17(4) [of the] Treaty on European Union to send a Commissioner to the European Commission.
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Turkey's president has accused the West of supporting terrorism and said the coup in his country was organised by foreign powers.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested Turkey would be unable to continue its strategic allegiance with the US if it continues to harbour the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused by the Turkish government of instigating the coup attempt.
And he also took aim specifically at Germany, after a German court ruled against allowing him to appear on a video link to address a crowd of about 30,000 supporters and anti-coup demonstrators in Cologne over the weekend.
In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Show all 17 1 /17 In pictures: Turkey coup attempt In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish President Erdogan attends the funeral service for victims of the thwarted coup in Istanbul at Fatih mosque on July 17, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey Burak Kara/Getty Images In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Soldiers involved in the coup attempt surrender on Bosphorus bridge with their hands raised in Istanbul on 16 July, 2016 Gokhan Tan/Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt A civilian beats a soldier after troops involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, 16 July, 2016 REUTERS/Murad Sezer In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Surrendered Turkish soldiers who were involved in the coup are beaten by a civilian Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Soliders involved in the coup attempt surrender on Bosphorus bridge Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wave flags as they capture a Turkish Army vehicle Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt People pose near a tank after troops involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, 16 July, 2016 Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers block Istanbul's Bosphorus Brigde Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt A Turkish military stands guard near the Taksim Square in Istanbul Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Pierre Crom/Twitter In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers secure the area as supporters of Recep Tayyip Erdogan protest in Istanbul's Taksim square AP In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Murad Sezer/Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers detain police officers during a security shutdown of the Bosphorus Bridge Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish Army armoured personnel carriers in the main streets of Istanbul Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Chaos reigned in Istanbul as tanks drove through the streets EPA/TOLGA BOZOGLU In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media in the resort town of Marmaris Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Supporters of President Erdogan celebrate in Ankara following the suppression of the attempted coup Reuters
In an address for foreign investors in Ankara which was broadcast by the TRT network, Mr Erdogan said: I have to say that this was done by foreign powers. This was not done only domesticallythe scenario was written outside of Turkey.
He repeated a complaint that no foreign leader had visited Turkey since the failed coup on 15 July, which left more than 270 people dead.
He also said Turkey had sent Germany more than 4,000 files on what he said were wanted terrorists, but the country did nothing.
The West is supporting terrorism and taking sides with coups, he said. Those we considered friends are siding with coup-plotters and terrorists.
Turkey's President Erdogan defends government action
Turkey has demanded the extradition of Mr Gulen, who the government says instigated the coup, but Washington has asked for evidence of the cleric's involvement, saying the extradition process must take its course.
Mr Erdogan complained about the request for evidence, saying: We did not request documents for terrorists that you wanted returned.
Justice minister Bekir Bozdag has sent a second document to the United States seeking Mr Gulen's arrest, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. The minister said the second letter explained why there was an urgent need for the arrest.
They requested certain information following our first letter; we provided answers to the question 'why is it urgent, Anadolu quoted Mr Bozdag telling reporters in parliament, adding Turkey had intelligence indicating Mr Gulen might leave for a third country.
I hope that the United States decides in Turkey's favour, in line with democracy and the rule of law, and returns this leader of a terror organisation to Turkey, he said.
Additional reporting by agencies
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Nearly 2,000 mourners have gathered for the funeral of the Roman Catholic priest knifed to death at his church altar - with his sister decribing him as "our brother, your brother".
Father Jacques Hamel was leading morning mass in the industrial town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray last Tuesday when the attackers stormed in, forced the 85-year-old to his knees and slit his throat.
Amid tight security at the gothic Rouen cathedral in Normandy, a procession of senior clergy followed pallbearers who carried Father Hamel's coffin through the Door of Mercy and placed it on an ornate rug before the altar.
The priest's sister, Roselyne Hamel, told the congregation how during his military service in Algeria her brother had refused an officer's rank so as not give the order to kill, and how he once emerged the sole survivor in a desert shootout.
He would often ask himself: 'Why me?' Today, Jacques, our brother, your brother, you have your answer: Our God of love and mercy chose you to be at the service of others, she said.
Let's learn to live together, let's be workers for peace, Ms Hamel told the estimated 1,700 mourners. Hundreds of others watched the ceremony on a big screen outside the cathedral, under constant rain.
The service - attended by French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve - was to be followed by a private burial.
France boosts regional security after ISIL-claimed church attack
Archbishop Dominique Lebrun, celebrating the Mass, extended thanks to Catholics attending the service but also to believers of other religious faiths, in particular the Jewish community and the Muslim community, very affected and already decided to unite for: Never again.
Archbishop Lebrun invited people to return to churches on August 15, the day celebrating the Assumption of Mary, to express that violence will not take over in their hearts.
On Sunday, dozens of Muslims in France and Italy attended Catholic Masses as a gesture of interfaith solidarity following the attack on the priest.
Father Hamel's murder by French citizens was the first Islamist attack on a church in western Europe and came just 12 days after a Tunisian who had pledged allegiance to Isis drove his truck through a crowd of Bastille Day revellers in the Riviera city of Nice, killing 84.
Islamist militants have killed more than 200 people in France since January 2015.
Facing strong criticism from right-wing opponents over its security record, the Socialist government has warned of a long war against militant Islam at home and abroad in places such as Iraq, Syria and Libya.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said the state must reinvent its relationship with the Islam of France. France's Muslim minority, the European Union's largest, makes up about eight per cent of the population.
Mr Valls wants to ban foreign funding for mosques and says all French imams should be trained in France. His interior minister, Mr Cazeneuve, said that a foundation that would enable the secular state to finance cultural centres linked to places of worship would be established by the end of the year.
We must guard against being paternalistic but we must have the lucidity to recognise that there is an urgency to helping 'Islam of France' get rid of those that undermine it from within, Mr Valls told the weekly Journal du Dimanche.
Some Islamic leaders have expressed doubts over the government's plans.
It's on the internet that radicalisation takes place, not in the mosques, Moroccan-born Tareq Oubrou, a leading moderate imam from Bordeaux, told BFM TV. We mustn't kid ourselves.
Mr Cazeneuve, whose portfolio includes religious affairs, said on Monday that the Socialist government had shut down about 20 mosques and prayer halls in recent months and that more closures would follow based on intelligence in hand.
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Europe will not be blackmailed into granting Turkey visa-free travel by the threat to back out of a deal on refugees, Germanys Vice Chancellor has said.
Talks on the issue and Turkeys possible accession to the EU have been strained amid a continuing crackdown following the failed attempt to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said Ankara would back out of its agreement with the EU to reduce the flow of migrants if it does not receive visa-free travel for Turks in return.
Under the deal agreed in March, any asylum seekers arriving clandestinely in Greece are detained and returned to Turkey if their applications fail a move that has seen crossings over the Aegean Sea drop dramatically.
Mr Cavusoglus threat came after Germany joined other countries urging the Turkish government to show proportionality and restraint in response to last months coup, which has seen more than 16,000 people arrested, media outlets shut down and thousands of public sector workers dismissed from their posts.
Germany: Thousands rally to denounce Turkish coup attempt
Sigmar Gabriel, the German Vice Chancellor, said: It is up to Turkey if there is or there isn't visa liberalisation.
Germany and Europe should under no circumstances be blackmailed.
He applauded a controversial decision to prevent Mr Erdogan from addressing a rally in Cologne via video link Sunday, after the ban prompted the Turkish foreign ministry to summon the German ambassador.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, said it remained up to Turkey to fulfil the conditions required for visa liberalisation.
Turkey still has work to finish off here. Whether they do this under the current conditions we will have to wait and see, he told the Rheinische Post.
The EU demands that Turkey fulfil a list of criteria including amending its anti-terrorism laws so they cannot be used to target academics, journalists and political dissenters.
But Mr Erdogan has accused the EU of reneging on promises made during the refugee deal.
Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Show all 11 1 /11 Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Turkey's two million Syrian refugees There are already over 2.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, but their current camps can only hold 200,000 people ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Turkish citizens protest a new deal, also criticised by human rights activists, which will see refugees who arrived in Greece after March 20 be sent back to Turkey AP Photo/Emre Tazegu Turkey's two million Syrian refugees An estimated 80% of Syrian refugee children already in Turkey are unable to attend school BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Refugee children beg for water near the Turkey-Syria border. Turkey has been accused of illegally deporting asylum-seekers back to Syria BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees In Turkey, no-one from outside Europe is legally recognised as a refugee, meaning the 2016 deportations may not meet international legal standards for protecting vulnerable people BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees A refugee child cries as she is searched by police at the Syria-Turkey border, where 16 refugees (including three children) have been shot dead in the last four months BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Many refugees are living rough on the streets of cities such as Istanbul or Ankara (pictured) ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Turkish soldiers use water cannon on Syrian refugees BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Syrian refugees shelter from rain in the streets of Istanbul BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees A derelict building housing Syrian refugees in Istanbul Carl Court/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Turkey houses around half of all the refugees who have currently fled Syria Carl Court/Getty Images
"We are the ones who are protecting the European Union by sheltering 3 million Syrians and Iraqis, he said on Tuesday.
"They still haven't brought about their promises. They promised 3 billion euros (2.5 billion) this money still hasn't arrived.
"The visa issue still hasn't been brought about. But they expect us to meet (our) obligations. I am sorry but these steps will be taken simultaneously.
"You cannot demand the refugee return agreement without fulfilling your obligations. Sorry, but we are not a country that you can boss about."
Mr Erdogan has accused countries raising concern over the response to the coup of supporting the plotters and on Tuesday targeted Amnesty International for a report alleging that some people detained in connection with the attempt had been tortured.
He insisted that Turkey had a policy of zero tolerance toward torture and accused the human rights organisation of ignoring violence committed by plotters during the attempt on 15 July.
The President said injuries may have occurred during fights and battles as the operation was crushed, adding: If they hadn't, they would have killed our police.
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A British man believed to be fighting with Kurdish forces against Isis has been killed in northern Syria.
Dean Carl Evans from Reading was killed while fighting with the YPG on 21 July during an offensive to take back the city of Manbij from the terror group.
His death was confirmed by his father John Evans who told the Daily Telegraph he would be missed by family and friends.
In a tribute video on YouTube, the YPG called Mr Evans as a martyr who had always fought without hesitation to protect the people of this region.
They said his blood would "irrigate the flowers of freedom and peace" in Syria.
The YPG, or Peoples Defence Units, is a Kurdish military force operating in Syria.
A Slovenian man, Martin Gruden, was also killed in the assault.
Mr Evans, 22, is one of several young men and women from Britain to join in the fight against the extremists after they seize control of vast swathes of Syria and Iraq and declared a caliphate in 2014.
In March 2015, Konstandinos Erik Scurfield was the first British person to be killed fighting the jihadists.
The coalition of anti-Isis forces, which have received help from US backed air strikes, have made rapid progress in recapturing Manbij from Isis - who have used the city in the past as a meeting point for foreign fighters travelling over the border from Turkey to join the group.
The Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Sunday they have now wrested back control of 70 per cent of the city after pushing the militants back into the old quarter of the city.
Inside Isis secret tunnels Show all 7 1 /7 Inside Isis secret tunnels Inside Isis secret tunnels Network of underground tunnels was discovered by Kurdish forces after they regained the town of Sinjar in Iraq Inside Isis secret tunnels A member of the Peshmerga forces inspects a tunnel used by Isis militants in the town of Sinjar, Iraq Reuters Inside Isis secret tunnels An entrance to the tunnel used by Islamic State militants is seen in the town of Sinjar, Iraq Inside Isis secret tunnels The secret tunnels allowed militants to freely move underground Inside Isis secret tunnels The tunnels appear to be wired with electricity Inside Isis secret tunnels Some of the tunnels are 30 feet deep Inside Isis secret tunnels Concerns remain that parts of the tunnels are rigged with explosives
Manbij is in the northern Aleppo province which is currently the subject of a fierce battle for control by the other actors in Syrias five year civil war.
Rebels are still struggling to hold onto their corner of Aleppo city as the army continues to lay siege and recently cut off a major road supplying areas still under their control.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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Isis has published a photo showing one of its fighters cradling a kitten and images of honeybees in an apparent attempt to soften its image and attract new recruits.
Alongside the terrorist groups routine threats of new attacks on the West and its enemies in Syria and Iraq, the latest issue of Dabiq magazine seems to take a more nuanced approach in its efforts to entice followers.
A piece entitled Contemplate the Creation, credited to a fighter named Abul-Harith ath-Thaghri, contained his supposed musings while on guard duty in Syria.
The article claims a cat approached the militant and, after considering whether or not I was an aggressive or compassionate soul, jumped in his lap.
The release of the propaganda magazine was delayed amid a series of terror attacks by supporters (EPA)
Illustrated with a photo of an unnamed fighter cuddling a kitten at sunset against the backdrop of a sun-drenched wheat field, the piece went on to offer honey bees as supposed proof of creation.
The online magazine released periodically by the group also known as 'Islamic State' also includes photos of laughing children, hugging militants and rolling countryside amid its usual chronicle of atrocities and bloody executions.
Shiraz Maher, Deputy Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College London, told The Independent that the use of softer imagery is common in Isis propaganda aimed at Muslims.
Although we've grown accustomed to the ultra-violence of Islamic State, videos and images of that nature are only well known because their shock value makes them viral, he said.
Islamic State has actually been messaging to Muslims, and particularly Arabs, for years with softer images; showing children in playgrounds, bustling market places, functioning hospitals and schools. Images like this account for the majority of their propaganda.
What they want to suggest is that they're an ordinary and typical state where the physics of everyday life ticks over like it would anywhere else in the world. They do this not only to project an image of success for their state building project, but also to show they have a humanitarian side.
Recent video releases by Isis media arms have also concentrated on less gory aspects of life under the so-called caliphate as the group seeks to paint an impression of comfort and plenty despite severe military losses and relentless air strikes.
Continuing the theme, Dabiq contained advice and rose-tinted accounts from a Finnish jihadi bride and Muslim converts from Canada, the US and Trinidad.
Normandy church attack in pictures Show all 16 1 /16 Normandy church attack in pictures Normandy church attack in pictures The victim was the 84-year-old priest at the church, Jacques Hamel. AFP/Getty Normandy church attack in pictures French police at the scene of the attack on a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, northern France, on July 26 AFP/Getty Images Normandy church attack in pictures More police at the scene BFM TV Normandy church attack in pictures French President Francois Hollande shaking hands with security personnel at the scene AP Normandy church attack in pictures French soldiers standing guard outside the scene of the attack AP Normandy church attack in pictures A policeman secures a position in front of the city hall after two assailants had taken five people hostage in the church at Saint-Etienne-du -Rouvray near Rouen in Normandy Pascal Rossignol/Reuters Normandy church attack in pictures A policeman holds a HKG36 assault rifle as he secures the position in front of the local town hall following the attack REUTERS Normandy church attack in pictures French judicial inverstigating police apprehends a man during a raid after a hostage-taking in the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen in Normandy, France REUTERS Normandy church attack in pictures AFP/Getty Images Normandy church attack in pictures REUTERS Normandy church attack in pictures REUTERS Normandy church attack in pictures AFP/Getty Images Normandy church attack in pictures AP Normandy church attack in pictures AP Normandy church attack in pictures French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve visits the church REUTERS Normandy church attack in pictures AFP/Getty Images
In line with Isis characterisation of its terror as a holy war against crusaders, the latest issue of Dabiq was entitled Break the Cross and contained several articles dismissing Christian theology and leaders including Pope Francis.
It praised the Normandy church attack and the murder of a police officer and his wife by a French Isis follower in June, as well as the Wurzburg train attack and Ansbach bombing in Germany, and the Orlando shooting that left 49 dead at a Florida nightclub.
Tellingly, Isis accounts of the atrocities gave no additional information on the attackers, supporting indications by police that those responsible had no significant backing or organisational input from the group, which only claimed responsibility for the murders after media reported pledges to Isis.
Isis also used Dabiq to celebrate the Bangladesh attack and other operations in Syria, Iraq, Algeria, Philippines, Somalia, Egypt, Yemen, Niger and Afghanistan.
Michael Smith, president of the Kronos Advisory group, told The Independent Dabiq was aimed at recruiting fighters and inciting more terror attacks, while competing with al-Qaeda to achieve dominance in the global jihad movement.
The group might prefer to orient forces (intended for) mobilising attacks in the West toward defending territorial holdings in Syria and Iraq in the near term, he said.
However, it is important to consider that recent arrests in Germany demonstrate the Islamic State began building sleeper cells in Europe in 2014.
Mohammad Daleel, a Syrian asylum-seeker who detonated a bomb near a music festival in the German city of Ansbach, was praised by Isis (AFP/Getty Images)
So while it may not be deploying as many people to attack in the West during the near term, it is almost certainly the case that there are more Islamic State members already here in the West who are awaiting signals it is time to strike.
Mr Smith added that the inclusion of an Isis member from Trinidad and Tobago would fuel concerns that extremists could travel from the Caribbean to commit attacks in the US and South America.
In an article called Why we hate you and why we fight you, the group said it would not stop terror attacks until its targets embrace Islam.
Contrary to previous propaganda that has seen the group seeking to legitimise its atrocities as a response to military action and air strikes, the latest Dabiq says: Even if you were to stop fighting us, your best-case scenario in a state of war would be that we would suspend our attacks against youbefore eventually resuming our campaigns against you.
So in the end, you cannot bring an indefinite halt to our war against you. At most, you could only delay it temporarily.
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Containers of toxic gas have been dropped on a Syrian town overnight close to where a Russian military helicopter was shot down, a rescue service within the country ahs claimed.
Up to 33 people, mostly women and children, were affected by the suspected gas attack in Saraqeb, a spokesman for Syria Civil Defence told Reuters.
The group, which describes itself as a neutral band of search and rescue volunteers, posted a video on YouTube purportedly showing a number of men struggling to breathe after being given an oxygen mask by people in civil defence uniforms.
Recommended Read more Russian military helicopter shot down in Syria
Syria Civil Defence workers, who went to the scene of the attack, said they suspected it was chlorine but could not verify the type of gas used.
Medium-sized barrels fell containing toxic gasses. The Syrian Civil Defence was not able to determine the type of the gas, the spokesman said.
The suspected attack comes almost a year after the UN security council adopted a resolution that set a 12 month-deadline to identify the perpetrators of chlorine attacks in Syria. The deadline expires next week.
Western powers have said the Syrian government has been responsible for chlorine and other chemical attacks, while the government and Russia have accused rebel forces of using poison gas.
Both government and opposition forces have denied using chemical weapons during the five-year civil war.
But that did not stop the accusations from flying on Tuesday with the opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) accusing President Bashar al-Assad of being behind the attack.
Later, state news agency SANA said rebels had fired rockets armed with toxic gas on the government-held old quarter of Aleppo city, killing five people and causing eight breathing difficulties. It gave no further details.
The SNC said of the reported use of poison gas in Saraqeb: After shelling, besieging and killing civilians and perpetrating war crimes on them, the Assad regime has resorted once again, and in breach of UN resolutions 2118 and 2235, to using chemical substances and toxic gases.
The daily reality confirms that all the international agreements and previous security council decisions, be they about chemical weapons or otherwise, are meaningless for the Assad regime.
Monitors at the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said barrel bombs fell on Saraqeb late on Monday, injuring a large number of civilians.
Syrian rebels gather around the wreckage of a Russian Mi-8 helicopter that was shot down on Monday (MOHAMED AL-BAKOUR/AFP/Getty)
Syrian rebels gather around the wreckage of a Russian Mi-8 military transport helicopter after it was shot down along the administrative border between Idlib province, northwestern Syria and neighbouring Aleppo (MOHAMED AL-BAKOUR/AFP/Getty Images)
Russia's defence ministry said a Russian helicopter was shot down near Saraqeb, killing all five people on board in the largest loss of life for the Russian military since it started operations in Syria's civil war 10 months ago.
The Mi-8 transport helicopter was brought down by ground fire in Idlib province while returning to Hemeimeem air base after delivering humanitarian goods to Aleppo, the ministry said. It said all three crew members and two military officers on board died.
Images uploaded to social media purportedly show the flaming wreckage of the helicopter along with a dead body and what are alleged to be Russian identity documents taken from the wreckage.
The helicopter appeared to have broken up as it crashed: its tail could be seen lying separately from the aircraft's body in flames.
Syria's civil war: Russian chopper shot down in Idlib
A rocket pod was visible amid the wreckage, standard equipment for the Mi-8, which can be used for carrying troops and cargo and attacking ground targets.
People standing nearby are seen taking photos on their phones and shouting Allahu Akbar, or God is great in Arabic. The body of one Russian soldier was seen being dragged by the legs while a man jumped on the half-naked body of another soldier.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and Idlib province has a strong presence of fighters from both Jabhat al-Nusra and other groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
Rebels fighting for Jaysh al-Fatah (Army of Conquest) claimed to have recovered the body of the pilot on social media.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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Students and staff members in higher and further education are facing the most serious challenge to the future of our sector in a generation. Unlimited fees, private businesses entering and exiting the sector, job losses, and the closing down of institutions are all real threats we will need to face together as a movement in the year ahead. It is difficult to overstate the gravity of the situation, and the urgency for all of us to take action, both at a local and a national level.
Recommended Read more University grants for poorest students axed and replaced with loans
Students have faced relentless attacks over the past six years - from the trebling of tuition fees to the scrapping of the education maintenance allowance, from the scrapping of tier 4 post-study work visas that enabled international students to work in the UK for a short period following their studies to the introduction of fees and loans for students aged 24 and over who want to return to take their GCSEs and A-levels. And, of course, the scrapping of maintenance grants for the poorest students, only this year.
And not content with that track record, the Government is continuing at a pace with a raft of ideologically driven experiments, crow-barring the market ever more deeply into an education system that doesnt want it, and for which it can never work.
Recommended Read more Mass demonstration against Tory cuts to education confirmed in London
The Government is pushing ahead with the Higher Education and Research Bill which appears under the guise of furthering the student interest. Instead, though, it would open up the higher education system to a wide range of profit-making providers, in the spirit of the notorious Trump University experiment in the US, opening the door for universities to raise their fees even higher above an already eye-watering 9,000 a year.
In further education, which has seen years of cut backs to the point where colleges are very much on their knees, the Government is now leading an area review process - Orwellian doublespeak for an agenda that will see the closure of local colleges, and the subsequent loss of local education opportunities and local jobs. No thought of what this means for local communities, or for students, who, despite the lack of financial support available, will have to find a way to cover the costs to travel to the remaining regional colleges, or, otherwise, give up on the prospect of further study or training, and instead try to enter the far-from-attractive youth job market.
Its not a good time to be a student in the UK. And with deeply worrying, ferociously growing racism and xenophobia - particularly following the noxious Brexit campaign and referendum reaction - it can be a particularly inhospitable time for black and minority ethnic communities and international students in the UK.
Recommended Read more Westminster could actually learn something from student politics
Students and lecturers are clear that enough is enough. We cant accept the degradation of our education system, as the door gets closed to ever more people, and our campuses and communities risk becoming less open and less welcoming.
That is why, on Saturday 19 November, NUS and the lecturers union UCU will be coordinating what is anticipated to be the biggest education demonstration in over five years, as we stand united for education. We will also see coordinated international demonstrations taking place that month as we, in the UK, stand together with others internationally to demand a better, more positive future.
With so many challenges facing us, there has never been a more important time for us to come together and make the positive case for our futures. We cant allow others to dictate the terms of our lives, and we cant allow negativity and fear to win out. This is a time for students and staff members to come together, across trade unions and across institutions, across FE and HE, across regions and nations, to build a large, united, and formidable movement which puts forward our vision for a free and liberated society, and has the confidence to say that students and staff members should come before profits and markets.
I hope you will be able to join us in November as we come together and stand up for the future we all need and deserve.
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Two girls sunbathe on the deck; one holds a carefully-positioned book, the other nonchalantly drapes her foot over the swimming pool. An inflatable gold swan drifts past, while over at the pools glass edge, a beefed-up bro spends several minutes composing the perfect selfie overlooking the river.
Moored on the Left Bank, at Quai dAusterlitz, Off Paris Seine is clearly attempting to become the French capitals hottest new address and so far it seems to be working. Opened in late June, its Pariss first floating hotel; though more boxy than a boat, it has a touch of the catamaran about it, with two rows of rooms stacked over two levels, connected by a narrow, sky-lit communal space.
As well as being a hotel, Off is a bar, open to the public, with two glass-walled rooms (ideal for checking out the view over a sundowner), separated by the lap pool and deck; downstairs theres a separate smoking area with more tables. On the Saturday night we were there, the bar was packed with a sophisticated crowd sipping cocktails. Theres no restaurant, but the bar serves surprisingly good (and generously-portioned) tapas, including little gem lettuce with a cheese sauce, and cod croquettes.
The bar serves up cocktails and tapas in generous portions
Location
The area around the hotel the 13th and 5th arrondissements is on the up. Gare dAusterlitz, one of Pariss major stations, is having a serious revamp, while next to the hotel is La Cite de la Mode et du Design (the City of Fashion and Design). Also called Les Docks, this eye-catching former storehouse, with its serpentine green frontage, has been converted into gallery space (including a comic and cartoon museum), with several rooftop bars and restaurants.
On the other side of Off youll find LAsile, a makeshift bar and grill set within a few trailers, with waterfront seating. Youre also short stroll away from Jardin des Plantes, with its manicured flower beds and zoo, while a half-hour walk along the Seine will bring you to tourist sights such as Notre Dame Cathedral.
Further afield, in the 2nd arrondissement, director David Lynchs club Silencio (silencio-club.com) serves wines and cocktails in surreal surroundings. Members only before midnight.
For low-key evenings, LAsile is a makeshift bar with waterfront seating (Nicola Trup)
Comfort
There are 54 rooms, ranging from entry-level Left and Right Bank Rooms (the difference being views of the concrete quayside or across the river respectively) to the larger Horizon Suites and top level Designer Suites.
The decor across the lower categories is chic, minimalist and mostly monochrome, with touches of dark wood here and there. Fancy something a little brighter? Check into the Designer Sunset Suite, where orange is the only colour youll find. The Designer Silver Suite, meanwhile, is decked out in mirrors and muted tones, with the exception of the bright yellow bath.
The Designer Sunset Suite is sure to brighten up your stay
My boyfriend and I were on the lower floor in one of the Right Bank Rooms, which is, in estate agent speak (or, you might say, French), bijou. It felt more like a cruise ship cabin than a hotel, and the lack of space made rummaging through two suitcases a bit of a challenge. However, there are a few clever storage solutions, including an over-head shelf, which I might have used if Id been staying longer than one night.
A little more information wouldnt have gone amiss there was no printed material or tablet with details on the hotel, and no minibar menu, which left us wondering whether its contents were free (we asked, and theyre not).
The Right Bank Room is an entry-level option for those looking for a more affordable escape
Despite its size, the room is light and bright, with a generous window from which to admire the river and the pleasure boats drifting past. A glass-fronted shower room lets you make the most of the view.
Essentials
Off Paris Seine, 20-22 Port dAusterlitz, Paris, France (00 33 1 44 06 62 65; offparisseine.com). Doubles from 160, room only.
Wi-fi: free
Access: three wheelchair-accessible rooms
Rooms: ***
Service: ****
Value: ****
Nicola Trup travelled by Eurostar (eurostar.com), which offers tickets from London St Pancras to Paris from 29 one way.
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Q I am going on a photo tour to Brittany in September, flying with Ryanair. My cabin luggage will be my camera backpack full of expensive equipment. I read that Ryanair will guarantee only 90 bags in the cabin. Is there a way in which I can make sure mine is one of them? I shudder to think of mine in the hold!
John D
A Since budget airlines started charging for checked baggage a decade ago, many passengers have chosen to carry cabin luggage only; Ryanair insisted that was its plan all along. But so successful has the airline been in modifying behaviour (and filling its planes) that there is usually not enough room for all the hand baggage.
The airline says: Due to cabin space limitations only 90 large cabin bags can be carried in the cabin. Any remainder will be carried free of charge in the aircraft hold. Not only is this tedious (because you have to wait at baggage reclaim for your bag), it also means your luggage may be less gently handled than you would like.
Thankfully there is a way to be almost 100 per cent certain that you can ensure only you handle this valuable cargo - but, perhaps unsurprisingly, it comes at a price. You need to pay in advance for Priority Boarding.
Ryanair says: Passengers who have purchased Priority Boarding will not be asked to place their cabin bag in the aircraft hold, unless necessary due to operational reasons. You may be alarmed by that caveat - but it would be extremely unlikely. The only circumstances I can imagine in which it might come into play would be if Ryanair chartered in a different aircraft type to operate your flight, and for some reason the overhead bins could not handle 90 large pieces of cabin baggage. But even in this rare event, Im sure in explaining your concerns to the ground staff a solution will be found.
So how do you get Priority Boarding? Well, its available only when you also pay to pre-book a seat. If you buy a Premium Seat - in the first five rows, or the extra legroom offered by emergency exit rows 16 and 17 - then Priority Boarding is included. These seats typically cost 12-20. The cheaper way to do it is to pre-book a seat at the back of the plane (row 18 and higher) for as little as 4. You can then add Priority Boarding for 2.99.
Note that if other people are on the same booking as you, then they must also pay for Priority Boarding.
Every day, our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, tackles a readers question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder
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Lets be honest, Remainers badly needed a reason to smile after the Brexit referendum result. And the people of Cornwall provided one.
Despite voting overwhelmingly to quit the EU, Cornwall a significant beneficiary of European Union funds over the past couple of decades immediately demanded a Westminster guarantee of their European money. The day after the vote, Cornwall county council called for urgent confirmation of this cash from ministers, citing promises from the official Leave campaign that they would be no worse off if Britain voted to leave.
Surprisingly, no such confirmation has yet been issued by Theresa May. Perhaps the Cornish should take it up with the Leave campaign leaders such as Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Gisela Stuart.
Or maybe they seek an urgent meeting with their local MPs, five out of six of whom recommended a Leave vote. Surely theyll be good for the money? Or maybe not. For Cornwall council has also now insisted it will keep its lobbying office in Brussels even after Britain leaves the EU. Brexit means Brexit? Not for Cornwall, apparently.
Remainers, let it be stressed, cannot be accused of schadenfreude since, of course, they share the schaden of leaving the EU. Call it a wry sense of satisfaction that those who helped saw off the European branch are now also feeling the sudden jerk of gravity.
Brexit racism and the fightback Show all 9 1 /9 Brexit racism and the fightback Brexit racism and the fightback Demonstrators protest against an increase in post-ref racism at London's March for Europe in July 2016 PA Brexit racism and the fightback These cards were found near a school in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, the day after the EU referendum Twitter/@howgilb Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback Romford, Essex, June 25 @diamondgeezer Brexit racism and the fightback A worker at this Romanian food shop was asleep upstairs at the time of this arson attack in Norwich on July 8, but escaped unharmed. Hundreds later participated in a love bombing rally outside the shop to express their opposition to racism and their support of the shop owners. JustGiving/Helen Linehan Brexit racism and the fightback This neo-Nazi sticker was spotted in Glasgow on June 26 Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback But after news emerged of neo-Nazi stickers appearing in Glasgow, some in the city struck back with slogans of their own. Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback More signs began to appear in some parts of the UK, created by people who wanted to show their opposition to post-referendum racism Courtesy of Bernadette Russell
What more is there to be said about Cornwalls newfound Brexit anxieties? Be wary of aggregate statistics is one obvious lesson.
Its quite true that Britain, in aggregate, is a net contributor to the EU Budget. And its a card that Leave played relentlessly with their (inflated) 350m a week contribution figure money that we would supposedly get back if we voted to leave. But research shows lower income regions of the UK such as Cornwall, Wales and the North East (which also delivered a majority vote for Brexit) get more out of Europe than they put in.
These regions also get more out of London and the South East of England in public spending and welfare transfers than they pay in taxes into the national exchequer. It will be interesting to see how receptive more prosperous parts of the UK are to their demands for these transfers to be increased still further to compensate for the loss of EU funds, especially if the overall economy suffers in the next few years because of the vote.
Second, be wary of simplistic slogans about sovereign control. Its pretty clear Cornwall Council does not feel any greater level of control over its economic destiny in the wake of the Brexit vote. Nor, for that matter, do large swathes of British industry from car manufacturers, to steel plants, to farmers who are waiting to see whether they will retain access to the EU single market. Many jobs depend on the prosperity of these industries.
In a world of significant global trade and large-scale capital flows, national borders are not an irrelevance, as some claim. But the power of these national divisions to protect jobs and living standards in any given country is often grossly exaggerated. Sometimes, the best way for national governments to maximise that power to deliver positive economic outcomes for their populations is to pool a degree of sovereignty in (imperfect) transnational institutions such as the EU.
A final lesson is to be wary of those populist politicians who tell you that the source of all your economic frustrations is some malign external force, whether immigrants or a distant Brussels bureaucracy.
Theresa May says she has an 'open mind' over Brexit negotiations
The irony of the Cornish majority anti-EU is that the county was a very good example of the direct economic benefits of EU membership. EU investments in the Eden Project, built on the site of an old China clay pit, boosted the countys appeal as a tourist destination. Theres been much talk of the Brexit vote representing a cry of distress from the left behind of Britain. But the EU was in fact helping those left-behind regions stay in touch with the rest of Britain.
And why? The answer, not that you would know it from the right-wing presss absurd caricature of the EU, is the free market. The EUs Commissions regional development investments, such as those that have benefited Cornwall, are designed to support economic activity and productivity growth all around the bloc with a view to making the single market bigger.
Many of those investments in recent years have benefited communities in the Eastern European recession states such as Latvia, Bulgaria and Poland, just as they previously aided new member states such as Ireland, Spain and Greece. Yet those investments have also, indirectly, benefited UK exporters and their employees by expanding the single market just as big American loans for European reconstruction in the wake of the Second World War restored the USs conflict-ravaged customers to health and enabled them to afford more US exports.
It would be silly to suggest all this economic progress will instantly unravel because of Brexit. But the best evidence we have suggests such gains will be harder to achieve in future. And for places such as Cornwall, possibly considerably harder.
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A few years ago, I was driving through central London with a TV production crew from Japan. We were on our way back to the IBC after a very successful afternoon's filming, to send the footage by satellite on to head office. It must have been about 5pm, with bars already overflowing with office workers celebrating the end of another working week, and the beginning of their weekend. My camera guy, marvelling at the crowds, turned to me and said "Shouldn't they all be at work? It's barely 5 o'clock!"
I explained as best I could how here it is quite common for offices to shut slightly earlier on Fridays during the summer. "Life here seems like one big holiday," he mused, somewhat wistfully. "I think in Japan we work a lot harder."
I left it at that, neither agreeing with him nor disagreeing with him. I think if you asked most English people what they knew about Japanese working culture, they'd say something along the lines of "I hear they work really hard", but in reality it's rather more complex than that.
In a recent article by The Washington Post, attention was drawn to the word "Karoshi" (, literally overworking death) which can be registered as an official cause of death on a death certificate in Japan.
To many of us in the UK, it would seem pretty ridiculous that a person might die from overwork. Sure, there are a few top-level high pressure jobs where people might suffer physically as a result of the various pressures they are under, but I would submit that this is very much the exception.
We are very prone to think of Japan as a very "advanced" society, with gadgets we could only dream of and home to cities like Tokyo with her horizon-spanning skyscrapers. Under this veneer of superficial shine and fluorescent glory, however, lingers an ancient culture that still drives many of the decisions made by people in all aspects of their life, including work. It is of course hard to generalise about why overwork could be such a particular problem for Japan, but there are a few reasons why it is perhaps less surprising a social phenomenon than some might think.
Consider the fact that this is a culture where many men will leave their home by the first train, and arrive home by the last train, leading lives almost completely independent of their wives. This leads to a social phenomenon identified by Nobuo Kurokawa and referred to as Retired Husband Syndrome, whereby women begin to display signs of physical illness and depression as their husband reaches, or approaches, retirement.
The most expensive holiday destinations in the world Show all 19 1 /19 The most expensive holiday destinations in the world The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 19. Shanghai 131.90 ($186.18) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 18. Moscow 133.45 ($188.37) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 17. Paphos, Cyprus 135.73 ($191.59) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 16. Malta 138.25 ($197.19) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 15. Los Angeles 138.91 ($198.13) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 14. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic 139.78 ($199.38) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 13. Rome 152.14 ($217) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 12. Paris 153.38 ($218.77) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 11. Dublin 156.15 ($222.72) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 10. Lima, Peru 158.90 ($226.65) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 9. Cancun, Mexico 172.79 ($246.46) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 8. Caracas, Venezuela 172.79 ($246.46) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 7. Singapore 183.87 ($262.26) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 6. London 191.50 ($273.15) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 5. Sydney 203.06 ($289.63) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 4. Marrakesh, Morocco 223.44 ($318.70) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 3. Botswana, Africa 225.07 ($321.03) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 2. New York City 256.80 ($366.29) The most expensive holiday destinations in the world 1. Dubai, United Arab Emirates 278.92 ($397.84)
Lots of people would say that culture dictates language, but I would say that this relationship is far more symbiotic than that. Japanese is a language that relies on the people speaking it being constantly aware of where they figure in the current hierarchy, and in which you assert that position by the words you choose you in fact cannot use a verb without asserting your position (and implying that of the person you are talking to).
Hierarchy, and your position within it, is very important across society, and this is particularly the case in a work environment. If someone considered above you in a work environment asks you to do something, you are obliged to do it so if your boss invites you for drinks after work, whatever your plans might have been, you have to go. If he implies you should probably do some more overtime, the subtext is that you should definitely do more overtime.
The culture of long working hours becomes something of a self-fulfilling prophecy too. Standing out from the crowd is one of the riskiest things you can do in the context of Japanese society (just ask a gay person, or a non-Japanese person, for instance), so if you are in an office and everyone is working overtime, then you are very likely to do it too whether or not you actually have work that you need to do.
Japan asks Pokemon Go to remove Hiroshima as a gym as people keep battling there
Over the past decade in particular, there have been various initiatives both by the government and corporations to improve the situation when it comes to working hours in general in Japan, and work-life balance (a word conspicuously absent in that particular lexicon). The problem with these, I think, is that they have very much been presented as optional, and so people are reluctant to opt in, for fear of being thought of as lazy, and not pulling their weight. In the gold-watch culture that still exists, the people you work with are quite possibly the people you will be working with for the rest of your professional life, so of course you want to foster good relationships with them, with a view hopefully to moving gradually up the hierarchy.
Unless decisions are taken that tackle the overtime martyr culture head on not with superficial measures but with solid attempts to effect a real cultural shift, from within then results will continue to be disappointing and culture will not change. Karoshi will only cease to be a problem when the word itself has been deemed irrelevant.
Recruitment has already started for graduate sales and customer support positions
One hundred jobs are to be created with the expansion of a technology company.
SiteMinder, an Australian firm which provides online services for hotels, said the roles will be based at its new Galway office.
Recruitment has already started for graduate sales and customer support positions.
Galway staff will work with SiteMinder's European headquarters in London to service hotels around the world.
It will be the company's fifth office alongside Bangkok, Dallas and Sydney.
Dai Williams, managing director of SiteMinder's London office, said he was looking for staff passionate about technology.
"We are delighted to join the thriving technology hub of Galway, which we have identified to be greatly aligned with our company's culture and mission of providing terrific career opportunities for local talent who are passionate about technology and can benefit from an attractive lifestyle and work-life balance," he said.
"It will also allow us to further fuel the success of our multilingual sales and customer support teams servicing hotels located in Europe and all corners of the globe."
Oil exploration firm Aminex has announced the completion of a deal to sell 29.9pc of the business to ARA Petroleum, a subsidiary of the Zubair Corporation at an extraordinary general meeting.
The news comes a day after the company was granted a years extension to its Mtwana exploration field in Tanzania.
The deal means that ARA, an unnamed financial institution and Aminex management will now control 45pc of shareholders voting rights.
The company also confirmed that its facility in Kiliwani North is now in production, while the firms Ruvuma site is financed and is ready to proceed.
Aminexs share price has recovered to 1.29(1.52) having fallen to 1.26 1.49) on the announcement.
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said any new body could be set up without the support of the DUP. Photo: Tom Burke
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has said his party will look for the establishment of a north-south 'national dialogue' in the autumn as the economic fallout from 'Brexit' begins to take shape.
The leader of the Opposition has called for the speedy establishment of such a forum, which he says should include stakeholders such as farmers, business organisations and civil society groups.
Mr Martin said the new body, which would be all-island in nature, was essential for containing the aftershocks of Britain's decision to exit the EU.
Experts say the decision is now beginning to have a negative impact on many sectors across both Britain and Ireland.Opting to use the terms 'civil dialogue' or 'national dialogue', Mr Martin said he saw no reason why the body should not be up and running in the autumn.
"This is about reaching out and establishing how Brexit is affecting people and businesses. It should be up and running in the autumn, absolutely," Mr Martin told the Irish Independent.
But his call for an almost immediate establishment of such a body will heap pressure on Taoiseach Enda Kenny to act.
Read more: Guess what? It's a month after the UK's EU referendum and the sky hasn't fallen in
Mr Kenny has been less vocal about the issue since the Government's original proposal for an all-island forum was shot down by Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster.
It later emerged that Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan had not been consulted about the move.
Tensions between Dublin and Belfast were stoked further after Mr Kenny placed the issue of a border poll firmly on the political agenda.
But Mr Martin has said any new body could be set up without the support of the DUP.
Meanwhile, the Fianna Fail leader has responded to the suggestion that the border between the North and South could be a virtual one.
Mr Martin said clarity was urgently required in relation to the proposal, which was floated by Mr Kenny following his meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May in Downing Street last week.
Border
Mr Kenny said there would be no return to a 'hard border' and that the use of technology could be the solution to maintaining an open flow of people between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
The Fine Gael leader said that he was open to exploring models, such as the screening of vehicle registration plates, which are in place in places like Canada.
"I would not agree to a hard border with a whole range of customs posts and neither does the prime minister," Mr Kenny said.
"There are other ways of dealing with modern technology in terms of checking trade."
But Mr Martin said such a border run by technology could prove "equally as problematic" and that the issue "needs to be teased out".
Read more: There is absolutely 'no upside to Brexit' for Ireland, warns agriculture minister
"The most important point, and it depends ultimately on the deal negotiated between the EU and Britain, is that Britain still has access to a single market along the lines of the deal extended to Norway," the Cork South Central TD said.
"A borderless island of Ireland depends on that first and foremost. If you don't have a single market, well then you have serious problems.
"And Fianna Fail does welcome the soundings that suggest people are doing a bit more preparatory work on both sides."
A farming insider has been exposed as a key informant for criminal gangs operating in rural Ireland.
The major breakthrough in the battle against thugs targeting farmyards and isolated premises stemmed from a recent gardai operation that saw three men captured following a cross-country chase involving the garda Armed Response Unit and helicopters.
Phone records retrieved from the mens phones identified the gangs informant as a dairy farmer in the midlands who also provided a number of technical services to farmers in the region.
He is also believed to have established partnerships with landowners in the area.
Locals were shocked by the revelation, given the unprecedented access the gangs source had to farmers yards his access included security codes along with locations of keys and locks for gates.
Gardai are hopeful that the bust is the beginning of the end of the crime spree in the region. The gang targeted in the recent operation are believed to be linked with over 100 robberies in recent years.
The operation began with over 20 gardai spending five nights staking out a pick-up that had been discovered in a remote bog location. It had been stolen from a farmer in the previous weeks.
In addition to squad cars hidden in local farmyards, a number of helicopters were on stand-by in the area before the gang blew their cover. The men were apprehended after they attempted to evade a manned garda checkpoint on a laneway leading out of the bog.
During the failed getaway, the men drove the stolen jeep across an unmarked garda cars bonnet and crashed into an Armed Response Unit, before attempting to escape on foot. However, a garda helicopter was able to track the fleeing men with a powerful night light.
Four gardai were hospitalised during the course of the chase, with one suffering a broken leg and another a back injury. The squad car was written off.
The three men and their informer have been formally charged. Bolt cutters were recovered inside the jeep, which had been sprayed with sun-screen cream in an effort to destroy any DNA evidence.
Garda sources have warned that other compromised farmers are likely to be uncovered over the coming months as investigations progress.
Photographed with the 'Best Performance Internationally' award at the annual Freddy Clothing conference event held this year in Lake Maggiore, Italy are from left to right: sisters Elena Demery and Malindi Demery, co-founders of Freddy, the Irish based distributor for Freddy Clothing
Two Irish sisters responsible for bringing Freddy Jeans to Ireland 18 months ago have seen sales of the popular brand soar to over 1m last year.
Malindi (25) and Elena (21) Demery co-founded Freddy in Ireland and were awarded 'Best Performance Internationally' at the Freddy Clothing GTM event.
The pair have also secured a five-year exclusive distribution deal in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Demery sisters were also granted exclusivity for wholesale sales in the UK market too.
Freddy Clothing is now in 50 stockists across the country, including eight in the North. It's estimated 15,000 in the 16 to 30 year old bracket wear the jeans here.
Freddy in Ireland co-founder Malindi Demery said they have been "overwhelmed" by the interest and demand experienced so far.
"We are very excited about our future plans and what is possible over the next 12 months in terms of growing the business and building the Freddy Clothing brand.
"Our next big venture is to invest in the opening of our first high street retail store in Dublin and to follow this with a number of stores across the UK. We hope to be in a position to formally announce this opening very shortly.
Freddy Clothing is the brainchild of Italian designer Carlo Freddy. The brand has been well known in Italy for almost 30 years and is mainly known for its active lifestyle clothing.
Government plans to introduce a controversial 'sugar tax' in the upcoming Budget look set to be met by a high-profile legal challenge from the drinks industry, the Irish Independent has learned.
Drinks giants are preparing to follow the example set by the tobacco industry - which has already initiated court action against the Government's plan for plain cigarette packaging.
Any such legal challenge could delay the introduction of a sugar tax, which proponents say will go a long way to tackling the obesity epidemic.
According to documents published by Finance Minister Michael Noonan, a 10c levy on a can of soft drink would potentially yield 100m for the Exchequer. A senior Government source said the move was "very much on the table" ahead of October's Budget.
The source claimed the threat of legal action by figures within the drinks industry was motivated solely by concern over profits.
The looming row comes as the body representing companies such as Coca Cola and Pepsi has seized on 'Brexit' in a bid to stave off the introduction of a sugar tax.
Brexit
The Irish Beverage Council (IBC) has claimed that the Revenue Commissioners' capacity to collect the new tax would be "stretched" as a result of the decision by Britain to leave the EU.
The IBC's pre-budget submission, seen by the Irish Independent, also warns that the introduction of a sugar tax would result in an increase in illegal trade.
"We believe that the impact of the UK's decision to leave the European Union (Brexit) must be assessed before rushing into imposing an additional tax which could cause issues for UK-Ireland Trade," the document states.
"The ability of Revenue systems to manage the projected increase in customs declarations would be further stretched by the inclusion of a requirement to report on sugar in soft drinks.
"There are significant difficulties posed in controlling illegitimate trade imports from the UK unless any proposed Irish tax is aligned with the UK."
The IBC says because there is no sugar tax in the North, any such move to introduce one in the Republic would cause major difficulties.
The document also calls on the Government "to consider the consumer health risks in the case of the development of unregulated counterfeit products."
Gaelectric's Monnaboy wind farm in Co Derry in Northern Ireland, a 21.28m investment capable of powering more than 7,400 homes. Photo: Keith Arkins/Gaelectric/PA Wire
Irish energy firm Gaelectric is to receive 8.28m in funding from the European Union to develop a storage project in Northern Ireland.
Project CAES Larne, NI - a 330 MW energy storage project using compressed air energy storage technology ('CAES') - is being developed by Gaelectric on the Islandmagee peninsula near the port town of Larne, Co Antrim. The Connecting Europe Facility ('CEF') of the EU has awarded an additional 8.28m to the project.
The Larne CAES Project was designated as a European Project of Common Interest in 2013, and in July of last year was awarded EU grant support of 6.5m for front-end engineering and design studies.
Keith McGrane, Gaelectric's head of energy storage, said the extra EU financing was a major boost for the project. He said it was "a further validation of the importance and need for the project, both for Northern Ireland and for wider UK and European energy markets".
"The project will provide critical generation capacity of 330 MW for periods of up to six to eight hours' duration which is enough to meet the electricity needs of over 200,000 homes, and create demand on the system of 250 MW. It will also be the first in a pipeline of CAES projects which Gaelectric is developing across the rest of the United Kingdom and into Europe, each designed to help system operators meet generation needs and the challenges of increasing renewable generation being connected to Europe's power systems.
"Northern Ireland and Larne will be the vanguards for safe, flexible and technologically advanced energy storage."
Food exporters to the UK could be hit with losses of around 700m if sterling weakens towards the 90p mark against the euro, the country's biggest business body has warned.
Ibec has said Irish exporters are now in the midst of a currency crisis, arguing the speed of sterling's decline is on a par with the Exchange Rate Mechanism crisis of 1992.
The body also said just one in ten businesses have contingency plans for a Brexit, and one in four have currency hedging in place, but for many these arrangements are soon due to expire, it added.
A survey by the business lobby group found that the negative exchange implications of the UK vote is by far the biggest concern of business.
Some 45pc of those surveyed saw this as the main threat from the decision by UK voters to pull out of the EU.
Sterling declined versus all of its 16 major peers yesterday as a separate report showed UK manufacturing shrank more than initially forecast in July.
Against the euro, which is the important gauge for Irish exporters into the UK market, the pound has been hovering around 85 pence.
Ibec director of policy Fergal O'Brien said the Brexit impact is "manifest and intense".
"Without urgent action to address competitive pressures, hundreds of millions of euro worth of exports and thousands of Irish jobs will be lost," he said.
"Individual businesses have been slow to talk publicly, but the feedback from members is clear and unambiguous. Businesses and jobs are already under threat.
"This is now a full blown currency crisis. For exporters, the speed of sterling's decline is on a par with the 1992 currency crisis." He added that Irish exporters to the UK were already 15pc less competitive as a result of the Brexit vote.
A separate analysis found that the impact on UK focused export sectors, such as agri-food, will be particularly severe.
Ibec said a 1pc weakness in sterling results in a 0.7pc drop in Irish exports to the UK.
"If sterling was to weaken further towards the 0.90 mark, this would translate to losses of over 700 million in food exports and about 7,500 Irish jobs in that sector alone," Ibec said.
Lenders dragged down European equities amid investor scepticism even as stress-test results showed most of the firms would keep an adequate level of capital in a crisis.
By the close in Dublin, the ISEQ Overall Index was down 1.14pc, or 66.69 points, to end the Bank Holiday Monday trading at 5,800.95.
The laggards were led by Bank of Ireland, which tumbled 6.5pc in the wake of the stress tests. It was ranked fourth worst in the European-wide stress tests, which were released on Friday night.
Packaging giant Smurfit Kappa was down 1.7pc, while Irish Continental slipped 1.7pc to 4.64.
On the other side of the board, the leaders included drinks group C&C, which rose 1.8pc to 3.67, while insurance group FBD increased 1.1pc to 6.25.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.6pc, reversing an increase of as much as 0.6pc. Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which jumped as much as 11pc as it said it's working on a plan involving private investors to help bolster its finances, erased almost all its gains by the end of the day.
UniCredit, the second-worst performer in the exam, sank 9.4pc. Britain's Barclays and Deutsche Bank, slid more than 1.8pc. Energy producers also weighed on the market amid losses in oil, with Royal Dutch Shell down 3.2pc.
"Investors are sceptical about everything these days," said Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank in Hellerup, Denmark.
"The problem with the stress tests is that they were too soft, only assuming a mild to moderate recession. This means that the data doesn't tell us much, and it's not too surprising that most banks passed."
Graeme McQueen: Managers say staff are complaining about the price of housing. Photo: Frank McGrath
Close to 100 businesses in Dublin employ staff that face serious problems in finding suitable and affordable housing, a survey has found.
Dublin Chamber of Commerce said it polled 292 business owners or managers in Dublin about the issue most raised by employees, and just over a third ranked the cost or availability of housing as among the biggest issues.
House affordability is more about cobbling a deposit together than meeting mortgage repayments, the chamber said.
And it argued that the Dirt relief for first-time buyers has "clearly failed".
The chamber also warned that too few resources have been put into Dublin's public transport, with London spending four times more per head of population on its transport system than Dublin.
Every three months, the chamber asks its members by way of an online survey what the biggest problems facing them are.
In the most recent survey, more than a third of those who responded said the biggest issue was affordable housing for their staff.
"When we've polled them over the past 18 months, it's been a growing trend and has been increasing all the time as a big issue in terms of the housing," Graeme McQueen, public affairs manager at Dublin Chamber of Commerce, told the Irish Independent.
"Business owners and business managers are telling us a lot of the time that staff are coming to them complaining about the price of housing and trying to find housing, and people of a certain age trying to get mortgages and find a place to buy - the calls are just getting stronger and stronger."
The chamber said 292 of its members responded to the online survey, which asked what issue is most raised by their employees.
Read more: Housing supply at worst level for 50 years as prices exceed boomtime levels
Read more: Middle class 'Generation Y' feels pinch
About 34pc - just shy of 100 - said the cost or availability of housing was the biggest issue, while 33pc said traffic congestion and 10pc said the cost of childcare.
In its pre-Budget submission, the chamber argues that the housing shortage in the capital is getting worse.
"There were 26,800 units advertised for sale nationally in January 2016, representing 1.4pc of the private housing stock - a decrease of 13pc on the previous year," the submission stated.
"In Dublin, only 0.8pc of the housing stock was available for sale."
The chamber also said that the Government should consider the establishment of a savings scheme focused on first-time buyers that would incentivise and help them to build up a house deposit.
It suggested that the Government could contribute a 25pc bonus towards a first-time buyer's savings, when those savings are used exclusively to purchase a home.
It said a maximum of 400 could be saved into the account per month for a maximum of five years, with the Government topping it up by a maximum of 3,400.
The chamber also said that there was underinvestment in public transport in Dublin.
"At present, the transport capital envelope for Dublin stands at approximately 150m per annum," the chamber noted.
"Adjusted for population, London invests some 462m [per annum] and Manchester invests 367m per annum.
"Dublin Chamber recommends that the funding of bottleneck and congestion projects already identified not be delayed and that the investment timeline for the new Metro North be brought forward, with planning and design by late 2017.
"This would have a significant impact on the capital investment plan."
Ronan Dunne, the outgoing Irish chief executive of O2 UK, has been named group president of America's biggest mobile operator, Verizon Wireless.
Mr Dunne will take charge of "all aspects" of Verizon Wireless operations in the US, including network, digital and marketing processes, from September.
The move places him as a contender for the role of chief executive at the telecoms giant when it next becomes available.
Mr Dunne makes the move after eight years as chief executive of O2 UK, Britain's second biggest mobile operator. Before being appointed to his new US role, he was linked with a 10bn leveraged buyout of O2 UK following a failed takeover bid from rival mobile operator, Three UK.
Ronan brings a wealth of expertise, as well as global wireless perspective and experience to Verizon Wireless, said John Stratton, executive vice president and president of operations at Verizon Wireless.
He has a proven record of performance in highly competitive environments. We look forward to his leadership as Verizon continues to invest in and evolve our wireless business to provide the best experience for our customers.
Having been schooled at Blackrock College in Dublin, Mr Dunne qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte and moved to London in the 1980s where he worked for a number of companies before joining O2 in 2001. In 2005, he became chief financial officer of the UK operator before being appointed chief executive in 2008.
O2's parent company, Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica, has been trying to sell O2 to write down its own debts. But despite the successful sale of O2 Ireland to Three in 2014, the European Commission blocked the sale of O2 UK to Three UK, citing concerns over competition and pricing for UK consumers.
The operator Mr Dunne joins is currently on an acquisition spree, announcing a 2.15bn takeover of Dublin-based telematics firm Fleetmatics earlier this week. Last month, Verizon inked a 4.4bn deal for Yahoo, the once-powerful online portal that employs over 200 people in Dublin.
Headquartered in New York, Verizon logged revenues of $132bn in 2015 from 113m retail customers. As well as a mobile phone service, it also has its own fibre broadband network, which generates $10bn annually.
The company is currently trying to diversify into advertising and content distribution with the mobile industry currently undergoing structural pressure due to a price war and limited returns from mobile connections.
The number of foreigners visiting Turkey plummeted more than 40pc in June, new official data shows, marking the biggest drop in at least 22 years as tensions with Russia and a series of deadly bombings kept tourists away.
The decline is the latest in a string of bad news for the economy as political and security concerns erode foreign investor confidence.
An attempted military coup last month has further bruised the outlook for Turkey's economy, once seen as a stand-out among emerging markets.
Some economists have forecast that tourism revenue - a pillar of the economy - could drop by a quarter this year, costing around 7.1bn, or the equivalent of 1pc of gross domestic product.
In late June, 45 people were killed in bomb and gun attacks at Istanbul's main airport, an attack authorities have blamed on Islamic State militants.
Last month, a faction of the military tried to overthrow the government, leaving hundreds dead.
Last Thursday, British travel company Thomas Cook cut its full-year profit target, after the failed coup forced its customers to change holiday plans. Turkey's Aegean and Mediterranean resorts and beaches are traditionally popular with European holidaymakers.
Tourist arrivals fell by just under 41pc year-on-year in June, with 2.44 million people arriving during the month, data from the Tourism Ministry showed. It was the biggest drop on record, according to the data, which goes back to 1994. The previous record was set in May, when tourist arrivals fell 34.7pc.
Tourism has been hit hard by tensions with Moscow after Turkey shot down a Russian jet over Syria last year. While Ankara and Moscow have recently started to rebuild ties, tourist arrivals from Russia dropped 87pc in the first six months of the year, the data showed.
The trend in the statistics issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is for the decline to increase by a further 6pc monthly. This points to a fall of 47pc last month and 53pc for this month.
Thomas Cook, which is the market leader from the UK and Germany to Turkey, revealed that it had cut capacity to Turkey by 40pc, leading to a 118m fall in revenue between April and June this year. Peter Fankhauser, the chief executive, blamed the terrorist attacks earlier the year for a drop in demand.
The June figure for UK visitors to Turkey shows a fall of slightly more than one-third. In 2015, British holidaymakers arrived at a rate of 12,000 a day; this year, it's below 8,000.
Britain's Foreign Office has warned travellers that the security environment "remains potentially volatile" and is urging them to carry passports and printed copies of e-visas at all times.
One hope for the Turkish tourism industry is that the slump in sterling since the EU referendum could trigger more demand from British visitors. Costs are far lower than in Spain - which is gaining millions more holidaymakers this year as a result of the downturn in travel to Turkey and other destinations.
Greece may win over last-minute visitors scared away from tourist rival Turkey but overall growth in the sector remains fragile. Tourism accounts for about 17pc of Greece's 185bn economic output and employs one in five people in work.
"Turkey's share of last-minute arrivals will shrink and it will probably suffer cancellations," Andreas Andreadis, head of Greek tourism businesses association SETE, told Reuters. "Greece will gain a share, even if it is a small one." But Mr Andreadis said he could not exclude a spillover effect from Turkey which could impact overall arrivals.
"We don't like the fact that Turkey is destabilised, it could also affect Greece. We are not happy about this," he said. (Reuters)
Here's another solemn reminder in a year of commemorations: this Wednesday, 100 years ago, Roger Casement was hanged. A group of artists are staging A Wake for Roger Casement in a nightclub as part of Kilkenny Arts Festival. Kooky as the event may sound, it's easy to see Casement as an icon fit for a nightclub.
Of all the 1916 deaths, Casement's feels particularly unfair today. Casement had tried to stop the Rising. But the judge convicted him of treason anyway. When he appealed his sentence of death, they built a flimsy case against him, using certain 'black diaries' to besmirch his name and destroy him.
The 'black diaries' were the leaked private books in which Casement recorded his sexual encounters with men. Some said they were fabricated by political enemies. Most agree on the proof that they were real.
Whether they were Casement's fantasies is a different question. Whether they are really "black" and degenerate - some of the men were actually adolescents - is a can of worms. Whichever way, it wasn't Casement's part in the Rising that got him hanged, it was that he was gay.
Which is a great shame. Of all the martyrs, Casement was a superhero. Never mind the submarine he set off in for the coast of Kerry, arriving shivering wet and malarial on Banna Strand in April 1916 before his untimely capture. He was a human-rights activist before human rights existed - as a British consul, he exposed the slavery, murder and abuse of indigenous people in the Congo and Amazon.
Roger Casement lived his life an outsider, made up of contradictions. English and Irish, Protestant and Catholic, knight and nationalist, humanitarian and poet. And a closet homosexual. Artists will always be intoxicated with curiosity for such a fascinating person.
In 1916, WB Yeats and George Bernard Shaw were among the men of letters who wrote pleas for his clemency. The appeal failed: handsome Casement, aged 51, was noosed and hanged.
Another stab to the heart: he was buried in an unmarked grave inside Pentonville prison, his naked body thrown in quicklime.
Yeats wrote a poem that would give you the cold sweats, with the line, "The ghost of Roger Casement/ Is beating at the door." It wasn't until 1965 that the martyr's bones were brought back and buried in Glasnevin.
And so to Kilkenny, where that ghost is still beating at the door. A Wake for Roger Casement is part of this year's Arts Council-funded 'Casement Project' packed with Casementite events - a dance piece, Butterflies and Bones, is still to open in Ireland. At this wake/club night, dance artist Fearghus O Conchuir and drag queen Mangina Jones (aka Cian O'Brien, director the Project Arts Centre) are giving Casement the burial rites they feel he deserves, as a martyr not just for Irish freedom but for gay people. "I see him as a hero," says O'Brien.
There will be a eulogy written by journalist Una Mullally, while actress Olwen Fouere will read from the aforementioned 'black diaries'.
The sought-after Fouere, of the long pearly white hair and magisterial voice, jumped at doing this project even though she had no time. (She was about to play 'death' in Death at Intervals in Galway when we met). She believes Casement is a "true revolutionary", because his revolution began "within the person".
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Fouere has something of the revolutionary in her, too. Her father, Yann Fouere, was a Breton activist who came to Ireland in the 1950s escaping a prison sentence, though his work had been peaceful. "He was on the run, just like Casement, for treason," says Fouere.
As an artist, she says: "I can never accept the formulaic world-view. The various systems we live within. I have a natural tendency to dismantle anything that becomes a system to which you must conform.
''Whether it has to do with growing up a foreigner in Ireland, I don't know. I spent a lot of time trying to become assimilated."
The Fouere family lived by the sea in Connemara, where Yann Fouere assumed a false name and farmed lobster. They spoke French and drank cider. "In the fifties, there were really no foreigners in Ireland. You become very aware of not being of Irish descent. And you realise the fact that you don't fit in is a gift of sorts.
"I think that displacement or cultural alienation of any kind works two ways, it makes or breaks you. What it usually makes is a mind that has had to really negotiate a very" - she pauses - "true path."
Upon channelling Roger Casement, Fouere says she believes "true art" is not about self expression. "True art" is "something that you happen to be in the space to see. It's giving space to that 'other' thing, the elephant in the room, or the ghosts in the room."
Casement's ghost might never find rest but at least he gets a fabulous wake.
A Wake for Roger Casement, Set Theatre, Kilkenny, Friday, August 5 at 11.30pm. Kilkenny Arts Festival. kilkennyarts.ie
stagestrong@gmail.com
The Blizzards have announced their highly anticipated return to the Olympia Theatre on Saturday November 19.
The band are going from strength to strength since their comeback, with their headline show at Whelans selling out in just two hours.
The group also headlined at Indiependence last weekend.
The current single Drop Down The Achor has been taking over Irish radio since its release and it is just about to hit the UK. The bands new single Perfect on Paper is released in Ireland on 16 September.
Tickets priced from 23.00 including booking and restoration fee are on sale this Friday, 5th August at 9am from Ticketmaster outlets and online at www.ticketmaster.ie.
A DUBLIN teenager has pleaded guilty to breaking a garda's jaw after he was stopped for driving illegally.
One garda suffered a broken jaw and his colleague was also seriously assaulted during the incident in Ballyfermot on Sept. 1 last year.
Judge John O'Connor adjourned the case until a date in September to allow time for a pre-sentence probation report on the boy (17) to be prepared.
The teen appeared at the Dublin Children's Court where he pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing harm.
However, he denies charges for driving without a licence or insurance and a separate hearing date has been set for those allegations. The boy, who was accompanied to court by his parents, made no reply to the charges, the court has been told.
The court heard that when he was initially stopped driving a scrambler motorbike he punched Garda Daniel Matthewson, who suffered a fractured jaw.
It was alleged the teen fled and Garda Trevor Mallon called to his home where he was head-butted in the face by the youth, who cannot be named because he is a minor.
The youth has no prior criminal convictions, Judge John O'Connor head.
Defence counsel Ann Sheridan told the court that a couple of weeks before the incident, the teen's home had been raided by mistake by armed gardai and this had an effect on the youth.
GardaI in the midlands have smashed a major rural crime ring involved in stealing farm machinery and equipment across the country.
A professional who provided services to farmers had been supplying 'insider information' to the gang, which also includes a number of rogue farmers.
The crime gang has been operating from a base in Co Laois for a number of years, gardai believe.
They had been conducting surveillance operations on farms to identify specific items of property which were then stolen to order.
Gardai believe that the gang was behind more than 100 burglaries since the beginning of this year.
In the past fortnight, detectives recovered stolen vehicles, trailers and other farm equipment in Co Laois as part of a series of searches involving gardai from three divisions backed up by Regional Support units and the Air Support Unit.
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It is understood that some of the property was recovered from a number of farmyards, including one owned by a man who works in the agricultural sector. His legitimate work involves visiting farms throughout the midlands.
The ongoing garda operation, under the command of Chief Superintendent John Scanlan in Portlaoise, has uncovered a complex underground network of people involved in stealing to order and selling stolen goods.
The investigation has been hailed by farmers' representatives as a major breakthrough in the investigation of rural crime. Three men have also been charged as part of the same operation.
The Irish Independent understands that a large quantity of plastic bale wrap was included in the large amount of property so far recovered. In recent months, gangs have stolen several tons of the expensive bale wrap, which is used to wrap silage and hay, from farms and co-operatives.
Sources say that the wrap was being specifically targeted by gangs, who steal to order.
Gardai and the farmers being targeted say that unscrupulous farming contractors and fellow farmers are creating a crimewave by agreeing to buy stolen goods and machinery.
In the early hours of June 30, five farms were targeted in the Athnid area, near Thurles in Co Tipperary, where the gang stole only bale wrap and ignored other valuable equipment.
Dairy farmer Michael Hackett senior had over 2,000 worth of wrap stolen.
"They knew exactly which farms in the area were using bale wrap and it was clear that they had us under surveillance before they came," he told the Irish Independent.
"Other farms that were targeted in the past were left alone because they don't use the wraps.
"They knew exactly what they were looking for and left everything else. It was clearly being stolen to order."
The thieves had intimate knowledge of the layout of the Hackett farm and entered the property through a gateway which is unused and overgrown, situated over 50 metres from the family home.
A vehicle was then driven through an adjoining field, bringing the gang in behind the farmyard. They stole 26 boxes of the plastic wrapping, with each box weighing over 30kg.
Bale wrap
"The gang used either a big jeep or a large van because the total weight of the boxes would be around a ton and they took around the same amount at the other four neighbouring farms," said Mr Hackett, who runs the family farm and a dairy equipment supply company along with his son, Michael Jr.
"Because the boxes are so heavy, they had to carry them individually up to 40 yards to the van or jeep and that meant there could have been three or four men involved."
The Hacketts and their neighbours have no doubts about why they were targeted.
"These things are being robbed to order because the gangs are not going around the country asking people do they want to buy bale wrap," said Michael Jr.
"That means that there are rogue farming contractors and individual farmers willing to buy stolen goods, which they are ordering.
"It is terrible to think that unscrupulous members of the farming community are betraying their fellow farmers by creating this crimewave."
The Hacketts and their neighbours in this close-knit community are no strangers to the scourge of rural crime.
Last year, theirs was one of six farms targeted in a series of robberies between June 8 and August 13.
On that occasion, the Hacketts lost over 6,000 worth of farm equipment, with similar quantities of expensive tools, diesel and equipment stolen at the other farms.
Barry O'Gorman, who lives a short distance from the Hackett farm, had welding equipment, power tools, saws and diesel worth over 1,000 taken.
The thieves returned on a second night and took a trailer, which was then used to take away a ride-on lawnmower and tools which had been stolen from John Quinn, a neighbouring farmer.
In an earlier robbery at Mr Quinn's yard, the gang stole a chain saw, strimmer, battery pack drills, hand tools, oils and lubricants worth 5,000.
After the Irish Independent began highlighting the extent of the problem, a group of farmers and local businessmen in the area organised the Save Our Local Communities campaign in a bid to highlight the scourge of rural crime and lack of garda resources.
The campaign culminated in a public meeting in Thurles, attended by an estimated 2,500 people. This forced the Government to take action to fund Operation Thor, which specifically targeted rural crime gangs.
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald also introduced new legislation, tightening up on the granting of bail to repeat burglars.
However, despite the recent breakthrough, the Hacketts and their neighbours believe that the force is still under resourced and depleted in numbers.
"The guard who came to investigate the theft arrived in a 06 hatchback Fiesta, which was the only squad car available in the nearest station, Templemore. How is he expected to pursue criminal gangs in that?" asked Michael Snr.
"Our local station has to cover 1,400km with that car, so how can we blame our local gardai when these robberies happen?
"It was recently announced that the county is to get 16 new garda recruits, while 20 gardai are retiring and there are plans to shut the local garda station at 9pm. What chance have we got then?"
The ongoing crimewave has left farming families fearful for their safety if they disturb burglars on their property.
Michael said that he worries for his son, who lives with his young family on the farm.
"If he goes down the yard on his own, anything could happen to him. Our Alsatian dog was seriously injured by the robbers last year and is too afraid to go into the yard at night although he does bark," he said.
Michael's wife Margaret said that the robberies had destroyed her sense of security.
"The country is so unsafe now and these robberies leave you feeling pure deflated," she said.
A new company hopes to bring an end to rent deposit disputes, as thousands of students scramble to find accommodation.
Third-level students are in the middle of house-hunting, with just five weeks remaining before lectures resume.
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) is to partner with start-up Deposify - a deposit management service for landlords and tenants.
The move comes after 60pc of people said they had experienced difficulties getting their deposits returned, according to a Red C poll, which surveyed more than 1,000 people over the age of 18.
Students are battling against limited accommodation and soaring rents, with just 1,318 properties available in Dublin on property website Daft.ie last night.
In Cork, just 182 properties were available to rent, while Galway had 128 vacant properties.
Gabby Luksaite, a Trinity College student, spent six months searching for a room in Dublin.
The Galway woman (20) said many landlords are reluctant to rent to students.
"The main thing we found is that because we are students, landlords aren't willing to rent to us because they know there are so many people looking to rent," Ms Luksaite said.
"Most of them are looking for professionals, even though some professionals may party more than students.
"Many landlords wanted to ring our parents, meet them or get them to sign an agreement to confirm the rent would be paid."
Ms Luksaite will pay 550 a month for a room in a shared house - she counts herself lucky.
"A lot of my friends still have no houses, it's awful," she said.
The USI today relaunched its website homes.usi.ie in a bid to help students find somewhere to live, while start-up company Deposify hopes to make the handling of deposits easier.
"Rental deposits cause problems for landlords and tenants," Deposify founder Jon Bayle said.
"We give landlords and tenants a joint account for rental deposits that lets them manage and control how and when deposits are paid and resolve deposit-related disputes."
USI President Annie Hoey is encouraging homeowners to rent their rooms out to students and is also urging students to register with Deposify.
Homeowners are being reminded that they can rent their spare room to students and earn up to 12,000 tax free.
It is hoped the tax incentive will help alleviate the shortage of affordable rental accommodation in cities.
A former trainee priest who alleges he was harassed by a member of staff while studying at the national seminary in Maynooth is to meet members of the Garda sexual assault unit over the coming days to file a formal complaint against the priest.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous for now, told the Irish Independent that the priest concerned was meant to be his "spiritual father" who would help him to "discern if God was calling" him to serve in the priesthood, and also to "act as a support and guide in living a chaste and celibate life".
Instead, he alleges that the priest placed his hand on him inappropriately on a number of occasions, and that he asked him very intimate questions concerning his sexuality during meetings. This, he said, was not part of the priest's remit.
He also told salacious jokes during the meetings.
"I am now, thank God, a happily married man. My faith was severely shaken after my experience in Maynooth, and I suffered from severe depression for a long time," he recounted.
He said he would "definitely not suggest Maynooth to any young man currently considering a vocation".
"I am not homophobic - my main issue with the priest is that he grievously abused his position of power and influence," he said, adding that he believes the Church has lost many vocations because some members of staff in Maynooth have behaved inappropriately and because seminarians' grievances are not listened to.
Investigation
The man, who joined the seminary at 26, reported his experience at the hands of the priest to the college president and vice president in Maynooth, and though he was invited to return to his studies, he declined, saying the priest concerned needed to be "investigated and disciplined".
However, an internal complaints panel which investigated his claims did not find any grounds on which to discipline the priest.
"I was highly disillusioned and depressed with the Irish Church at the time," he said.
"When I was in Maynooth there was an atmosphere of neurotic fear among seminarians who loved the Church and wanted to be holy priests. Seminarians felt they had no support from their bishops in relation to voicing their concerns about problems with priests or formation programmes in the seminary.
"This type of atmosphere protects and enables abusers."
Separately, another former seminarian who studied in Maynooth for three years has told the Irish Independent that he believes part of the problem which prevents abusive behaviour by staff and senior seminarians being tackled in Maynooth is the culture of secrecy that pervades the seminary and the Church.
"Within nine weeks of commencing formation, each seminarian is summoned by order by the president to enforce the signing of confidentiality agreements forbidding the disclosure of any activities - heard, seen or experienced - within the seminary, including disclosure to our families," he said.
He likened the practice to confidentiality agreements signed by victims of child sexual abuse, and said it contributed to the "culture of secrecy within the Church".
"The hierarchy of the college still enforces this same type of emotional abuse and control over its own seminarians, stripping them of their liberty and human rights to speak freely," the disappointed former trainee priest said.
He claimed the compulsory agreements are "deceitfully presented to the fledgling and naive seminarian without prior warning, explanation or consultation".
They are told they must be signed when presented, and the seminarian is given no choice or any opportunity for understanding or seeking advice on the agreement.
He said the experience had left him "feeling disgusted, intimidated and ambushed".
Meanwhile, the editor of the 'Catholic Voice' newspaper has warned that seminarians who report inappropriate behaviour are being expelled from Maynooth, as happened last May.
Read more: Martin removes priests from Maynooth amid allegations some seminarians were using gay dating app Grindr
Read more: Unholy row as Martin removes priests from Maynooth seminary
Anthony Murphy said: "It is unfathomable - the one who speaks up is punished, while those engaging in behaviour which the Church regards as objectively sinful remain in formation for the Catholic priesthood.
"The only thing that can save Maynooth is a complete overhaul - a new leadership team needs to be appointed."
He also called on the bishops to publish the full report of the Apostolic Visitation and appoint a senior bishop to ensure the recommendations made within it are implemented in full.
Separately, the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin (pictured inset) has explained that his decision not to send trainee priests to St Patrick's College, Maynooth was due to a worrying "atmosphere" at the national seminary.
Following on from the Irish Independent's story yesterday, Dr Martin said that he "wasn't happy with Maynooth".
"There seems to be an atmosphere of strange goings-on there, it seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around," he told the 'Irish Times'.
"I don't think this is a good place for students. However, when I informed the president of Maynooth of my decision, I did add 'at least for the moment'."
The 25-year-old was hospitalised after being brutally attacked with a motorcycle chain lock in the French city of Avignon. GETTY
An Irish woman was recovering yesterday after a savage attack in France.
The 25-year-old was hospitalised after being brutally attacked with a motorcycle chain lock in the southern city of Avignon.
It is understood the young woman was pushed to her knees and then beaten up by a gang of three men early on Saturday morning. Initial reports suggest the attack was a random assault.
Local police in the French city said the woman's injuries included wounds to her head, cheeks and nose.
Local media in Avignon reported that the woman was not robbed during the incident. And French police have also stated the woman was not sexually assaulted.
The violent incident occurred at around 6.30am on Saturday as the woman was walking back to her accommodation on Rue des Infirmieres, in Avignon's city centre.
The gang fled the scene after the attack, but left the chain lock they used to beat the woman at the scene.
The woman was taken to the Henri-Duffaut Hospital in Avignon where she was treated for her injuries. She was reportedly discharged yesterday.
Local police sources say she has been left shaken by the attack.
It is believed the woman later told police that she did not know the three men who attacked her.
Motive
Authorities in Avignon are trying to establish a motive for the attack and are examining CCTV from the quiet area.
Detectives are expected to examine the motorcycle chain lock used in the attack in the hopes that there are any fingerprints which may lead them to the attackers.
It is also not yet clear whether the Irish woman lives in Avignon, or if she was visiting the city, which is popular among tourists.
The area where the young woman was staying - the Rue des Infirmieres - is in the centre of the Provencal city.
The area sees a spike in the number of people visiting during the month of July when the Avignon theatre festival is held.
The festival ended last week.
More than 600 teachers and gardai have suffered a freeze in increments worth between 1,000 and 3,600 because they have not signed up to the Lansdowne Road Agreement.
The Department of Education revealed that 519 secondary teachers have been affected by the halt on the payments, which are normally made each year.
A further 97 trainee gardai who were due to move from a salary of 23,750 to 25,727 have also been hit since the freeze began at the start of last month.
The pay freeze came into force under emergency legislation on members of unions who have not backed the Lansdowne Road deal.
Although the agreement restores pay cuts worth in the region of 2,000 each to public servants, it also requires them to work extra hours.
Members of the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) object to working an extra 33 hours a year, while members of the Garda Representative Association do not want to work an additional 30 hours.
Gardai also want a review of their pay and conditions promised under the previous Haddington Road deal to be completed before they will consider reballoting members.
Read more: 38,000 health service support staff to ballot for strike action
Read more: Gardai call for postponement of 'punishing' pay freeze as over 100 face losing 2,000
The Department of Education said the ASTI could have avoided the pay freeze if it had agreed to suspend a directive to members asking them to stop working the extra hours.
It said it would have then in turn put the pay freeze on hold until October to avoid industrial action that would shut schools and to allow talks to take place on the issue.
"A suspension to the end of October was suggested in order to provide a realistic time frame for agreement," said a spokesperson.
"ASTI members would be asked to continue to fulfil the requirements of the Lansdowne Road Agreement, including the 33 hours requirement, during that period."
It said the measure was intended to create a more "constructive context" for talks.
"It was also intended to ensure any disruption to schools from September, arising from ASTI actions, could be avoided during the talks period," said the spokesperson.
"The ASTI Standing Committee decided to reject this suggestion. As a result, the immediate implications of the Lansdowne Road Agreement withdrawal arise. These would have been avoided for ASTI members during the talks period if a suspension was agreed."
The department spokesperson said Education Minister Richard Bruton had expressed his disappointment at the ASTI Standing Committee's decision.
She said the ASTI appeared intent on proceeding with its action, which would lead to disruption in the new school year.
Mr Bruton said continuing dialogue between his department and the union was in the best interests of schools, parents, students and teachers.
He said his department would be "seeking arrangements" for talks to continue.
John Smith, Meath farmer and final year agricultural engineering student at Tralee IT, adheres to cultural tradition by driving a tractor in slippers while on placement on a farm in Hidaka, Hokkaido, Japan
Demand for ag college places has plummeted as the economy picks up, while concerns mount over the suitability of the education on offer.
The latest CAO data reveals that total preferences for traditional university honours degrees in agriculture or horticulture-based courses has dropped by almost 30pc from 3,163 applications in 2015 to 2,328 this year, while first preferences dropped from 657 last year to 483 in 2016.
Total preferences for level 6 and 7 ordinary qualifications in agriculture or horticulture has declined from 2,259 in 2015 to just 1,677 this year. First preferences for these courses have also fallen significantly from 735 last year to 528.
Tony Pettit, head of education at Teagasc, said the downturn in full-time courses has been expected and that previous demand was "unsustainably high". However, he says demand for part-time and distance education courses is consistently strong.
"Demand in recent years has been extraordinarily high, against the grain in ways, but it is moving down and we expect it to move down again this year," he said.
"For full-time courses, whether it's in higher education or further education, we have peaked and you're back to a more normal kind of scenario. We won't know until September exactly how it'll pan out, but it should have happened maybe a year or two earlier," he said.
Reasons cited for the downward spiral include: improvements in the economy, opportunities in engineering and construction and a surge in apprenticeship demand.
Mr Pettit said the deepening farm income crisis has also been a contributing factor. "It was a fairly difficult climate for farming this year and that's probably having a small affect as well," he said.
Teagasc are very involved in young farmer education and have set up a special advisory group to assess the state of the country's agricultural academic sector. The national body providing integrated research, advisory and training services to agriculture and the food industry are questioning whether programmes are "fit for purpose" for the next 30 years.
"We're looking really at what is in our control on the education programmes, and the future as the farming sector is changing. We're flagging where we need to go," said Mr Pettit.
Teagasc's recently published the Technology Foresight 2035 report, highlighted the surge in new technologies and challenges coming on stream for farmers across many different fronts."We're trying to examine the skills and knowledge that people will need to be equipped in if they are entering the farming sector and associated sectors down the road," he said. The review will also consider the duration of courses, appropriate qualifications, classroom balance versus practical instruction, and work-based learning.
The Teagasc education strategic vision project will run for a number of months, inviting submissions from organisations, stakeholders and individuals on what business skills, typical knowledge and soft expertise will be needed to manage farms of the future.
"What is right for now, and may be very well developed and very suitable for today, but will it be adequate in the future?" asked Mr Pettit.
Edmond Harty, CEO and technical director of Dairymaster, a milking equipment manufacturer, is also a member of the steering group reviewing the agri-education sector.
With herd numbers destined to rise, Mr Harty said farmers need to be prepared to manage a bigger business. "You mightn't necessarily recognise the need to change but you have to start looking at things differently as farm business expands.
"My view of the future of education is that you're going to have your typical agricultural courses like today, but at a broader level, you're also going to have a lot more online input, technology, software development, sales, marketing, engineering, nutrition and all those areas," he said.
Mr Harty said future farmers will reap huge financial benefits from having a third-level qualification. "For a farmer producing milk from 100 cows, if he can get his somatic cell count down from 300,000 to under 100,000, there is a gain of about 18,000 per year to be had. That's serious money, the knowledge is all there, some are adapting, but we need to get all farmers to take action on it," he said.
He says fertility technology must be maximised, pointing to the success of Dairymaster's MooMonitor, a device that goes around a cow's neck to measure fertility and health. "Every time you miss a cow in heat, it means that cow is going to calve three weeks later, the pattern gets spread out and economically there is a cost of 250. People may think it's okay to miss a cow in heat when herd size is very small but if herd sizes grow, that's where the technology will come in. Adapting adds to the bottom line," he said
Brendan O'Donnell, registrar at IT Tralee, said demand for ag engineering remains "consistently high". Current trends also suggest that growing numbers of students are more interested in pursuing careers within agri business rather than farming. "The reality is the number of farmers is dropping and we must have enough for what we require down the track," he said.
Experience of a lifetime in Japan
Driving a tractor in slippers has been a strange new challenge for John Smith, a young farmer from Meath on placement in Japan, but overall it has been "the experience of a lifetime".
The 21-year-old, who is a final-year agricultural engineering student at the Institute of Technology, Tralee, has been based on a stud farm, in Hidaka, Hokkaido, for six months. The Oldcastle native is mainly doing mechanical maintenance, fixing machinery and tractors and helping his Filipino co-workers to top meadows and look after horses.
However, his computer-aided design skills have come in handy. John recently drew up the designs for a show arena on the grounds. "They had a rough sketch just on paper but they didn't really know where to go next so it was nice to have something official to offer and they built the arena based on my CAD design," he said.
As the stud farm is owned by an Irish man, John says "the set up is quite western". However, getting used to the climate has been a challenge. "From December to April, the place was covered in two feet of snow. But, unlike Ireland, everything keeps going here. They put the snow tyres on their vehicles, everyone has four-wheel drive and everybody just gets on with it," he said.
Managing grass growth has also been difficult. "The grass here grows much quicker than at home so you're constantly topping and sharpening your blades. There are rice farms everywhere and they are all based beside rivers because they have to flood them," he said.
He added that all local farms in the vicinity are family run and very small at around 20-30 acres. "It's all old people working on them. At home you'd see boys going down the road drawing silage but over here it's quite poor, they use different machines like side mowers and cut the grass down to the butt. They have no other choice so that is strange to see. Obviously the bigger farms have equipment that is way ahead of Ireland," he said.
Another big change has been driving a tractor in slippers. "The Japanese tradition is you take off your shoes when entering a house. In the tractor you have a little box to leave your boots. You put on your slippers and work away," he said.
"Everything has a value here, no matter how old or battered. That's what I will bring home with me, a greater appreciation that anything can be recycled. It's been the experience of a lifetime, it's opened my eyes and will make me a better farmer and be more economical about how to use machinery," said John who will continue his diverse agricultural studies in the UK in September.
The Archbishop of Dublin will no longer send trainee priests to the National Seminary in Maynooth because of anonymous allegations of "homosexuality and misconduct."
Speaking on RTE One's News at One, the Archbishop Dr Diarmuid Martin said that he is "somewhat unhappy about an atmosphere which was growing in Maynooth."
These comments follow the Archbishop's decision to transfer three seminary students to the Irish Pontifical College in Rome next autumn, rather than keeping them in St Patrick's College in Maynooth.
He added that "you'd learn about it through anonymous accusations made through anonymous letters and blogs, accusing people of misconduct or accusing the faculty of Maynooth of not treating allegations correctly."
When asked for details regarding these allegations, the Archbishop explained that gay dating app Grindr plays a central role.
He said: "One (of the allegations) is that there is a homosexual, a gay, culture and that students have been using an app called Grindr which is a gay dating app which would be inappropriate for seminarians.
"Not just because they're training to be celibate priests, but (because) an app like that would be something that would be fostering promiscuous sexuality."
The Archbishop added that he would continue to send Dublin seminarians to the Irish College in Rome and suggested that Maynooth put a system in place to listen to such complaints.
He said: "I felt that a quarrelsome attitude of that kind was not the healthiest place to be so I sent them to the Irish College. A culture of anonymous letters is poisonous and until that's cleared up I'd be happier sending my students elsewhere.
"I offered to provide a totally independent person, who is an expert with dealing with people who come forward like this and that (people with complaints) could go to and provide the evidence they had.
"The answer was simply more anonymous letters. That's not a healthy culture. We have to find a way where people will come forward with solid hard evidence which can be used to follow up allegations."
Maynooth currently has approximately 60 seminarians in residence and has been educating men for the catholic priesthood since 1795.
A mature student who lost 3,000 to a Dubliner posing as a legitimate businessman has told of how the trickster duped him and his friend of their hard-earned cash.
Eamon Shield (45) was found guilty of 25 counts of theft and deception following a two-week trial in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in July.
He stole 178,000 from 12 people as part of his scheme and has been jailed for four years.
Today one of his victims has told how Shield conned "investors", starting in 2011.
"A friend of mine saw the ad in which this man said he could double your investment. He wanted to meet him but brought along another friend who was interested, as well as me as an observer.
"My friend rang him and we met in a hotel lounge, and my first impression of Shield was that he was clean cut, well spoken, confident, business-like and very relaxed.
"He explained how he bought repossessed cars from banks who were off-loading them at a discount to clear them, and then he was selling them on at market rate for a profit.
"He said the more investors he had the cheaper he could get the cars for, and the more money he could make, and promised a 100pc return on an investment.
Pressure
"There was no pressure at that first meeting, and no demand for money, but an arrangement was made to have a second meeting if we wished. He answered all questions without any hesitation," he said.
"After the first meeting the other lad with us decided he didn't want to proceed but my friend said he would meet Shield again.
"I was a mature student in college and had around 3,000 to get me through. Although it seemed too good to be true I must say the lure of turning 3,000 into 6,000 was too tempting to turn down, so I opted to invest with my friend," he added. The two men then met again with Shield.
"I was a bit suspicious, but at the end of the second meeting we exchanged photographs of our passports with Shield, and at a third meeting my friend gave him 6,000 of which 3,000 was mine," he explained.
"A friend of mine was sick in Australia at the time and I went over to him while he was on chemotherapy. But I did that on a credit card on the expectation that my money would be there for me when I came home. Of course, the money wasn't there.
Excuses
"We phoned Shield but there were excuses and more excuses. There was one small lodgement back to us to buy him time, but in the end we reported him to gardai," he said.
"I had to pay back that credit card and pay my way through college. I'm still paying for it," he added.
In a three-page letter read out in court, Shield said: "I have deep regret at how things worked out for the people I've left out of pocket."
He went on to say the incident had left him "stressed and anxious" and that he was the victim of a "smear campaign" on social media.
"I have also had people follow me and who have placed me under watch on this issue," he wrote.
Sentencing Shield - of Weston Meadows, Weston Park, Lucan, Co Dublin - Judge Patricia Ryan accepted he was remorseful but noted a large amount of money was involved. She handed down a four-year sentence and said 20,000 that was left in Shield's account would be divided among his victims.
"I was happy enough with the sentence, and while I was angry with Shield at the time now I just look upon him as a sort of fool. The message I have learned though is that if something seems too good to be true it more than likely is exactly that," said the investor.
An English woman has issued an appeal for her missing son who she believes may be in Ireland.
Curtis Higgins (29) was last seen in his home in Manchester at around 11am on Sunday morning. Mr Higgins, who lives with his mother Denise, is 6'4, has greenish blue eyes and short brown hair.
He was last seen wearing navy slacks, a pale green top with a 'Manchester Royal Infirmary' logo on it, black trainers and a black backpack.
Mr Higgins sent a message to his mother shortly after leaving their home stating that he wasn't coming back.
His phone has since been turned off and his passport cannot be found. Police are currently following up reports that Curtis' bank card has been used to purchase a ferry ticket from Holyhead to Ireland.
His mother, Denise, said that Curtis was in good humour in the days leading up to his disappearance.
She said: "He was in good spirits with me in the few days before he went and I've talked to all of his friends and they said he was happy with them too."
The family have connections in both Westport and Longford and on a previous trip Curtis expressed an interest in visiting the home of his late grandmother in Westport.
Mrs Higgins said that this is not the sort of thing that he'd normally do.
She said: "This is totally out of character. He is not thinking like the Curtis I know. He has a responsible job and is a member of the Labour party. He is not normally the sort of person who leaves responsibilities."
Mr Higgins, who is a trainee shop steward with Trade Union Unite, also has connections in Northern Ireland.
DUBLIN Bus drivers will consider a no fares day, an all out strike and 24 or 48 hour work stoppages, a union leader has warned.
The General Secretary of the National Bus and Railworkers Union, Dermot O'Leary, said a range of options will be presented to his members as they are almost certainly set to ballot for industrial action this week.
The union and SIPTU are balloting members after they rejected a Labour Court recommendation for an 8pc pay rise over three years.
"It is clear that a mandate for industrial action will be received from Dublin Bus staff over the coming days," said Mr O'Leary.
"We will ballot our members this Thursday and Friday in order to send a clear message to Dublin Bus and its paymasters that staff are deserving of a flat no strings attached pay award at least in line with the public transport sector norm set by the Labour Court in the Luas dispute."
He urged the Transport Minister Shane Ross to encourage Dubin Bus to reexamine the pay award on offer after staff went through two cost-cutting plans.
"We will as a matter of course consult with trade union colleagues in advance of initiating any mandated action," he added.
"We also remain available to discuss the concerns of our members with the Company in advance of any proposed industrial action."
SiPTU Organiser John Murphy said the union sought a pay increase in the region of 15pc but the court's proposal was just over half of this.
He said the company is making profits again but drivers had suffered cost reductions and given more productivity over the last eight years.
Mr Murphy said members decided to hold a ballot next week as they had "exhausted" the state industrial relations machinery to resolve the dispute.
SIPTU members in Dublin Bus have expressed anger at the pay increases proposed in the Labour Court recommendation which they overwhelmingly voted to reject last week," he said.
"Dublin Bus has made significant profits for the last two years and is on target to be profitable, again, this year.
The workers have not had a pay increase since 2008. They deferred a pay increase of 6pc due in 2009 and since then have also implemented several measures that have increased productivity and reduced costs for the company.
He said the agreement of the workers to introduce cost reduction and productivity measures was crucial to the stabilisation of the company's finances and its return to profitability.
Mr Murphy said the Labour Court recommendation did not in any way recognise or attempt to redress the sacrifices made by the workers.
"SIPTU representatives are available to meet with the management of Dublin Bus to try to resolve the current dispute," he said. "However, the possibility of industrial action, which will unfortunately inconvenience Dublin Bus users, is increasingly likely.
The ballot of SIPTU members in the Dublin Bus Traffic Grade will be conducted next week.
An 8-year-old girl has died after a farming accident in Co Mayo on Tuesday evening.
Gardai have confirmed that the young girl was fatally injured in an incident involving a tractor on a farm near Islandeady, Co Mayo at around 5pm.
The victim was named today as Jessica Needham (8) from Lismolin, Islandeady, County Mayo.
A garda spokesman said the accident happened at 5pm yesterday involving a tractor on the farm.
She was taken to Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar. She was pronounced dead at 5.40pm.
Local people said today the whole community was shocked and deeply saddened by the tragedy and their hearts go out to her parents Patrick and Michelle.
A close family said: "The young girl was always out and about and was very active.
"Her family are very well respected in the community and have lived here all their lives."
So far this year seven people have lost their lives on Irish farms, while the figures show that 18 deaths occurred last year.
Read More
A spokesman for the HSA confirmed that they have been informed by gardai of the tragic accident: "We have been notified about that. We will be sending inspectors tomorrow.
"This is obviously a very sensitive issue and it will be treated accordingly."
Vice Chairman of Mayo County Council Christy Hyland said he was shocked to learn of the death: "As a councillor my sympathies go out to the family and the relatives of this child. It is a terrible tragedy."
Cllr Hyland (Ind) explained that it was the second tragedy to hit the area after sheep farmer Christy Gallagher (51) fell to his death from Mweelrea mountain on Sunday.
The local politician explained that he was at Mr Gallagher's funeral on Tuesday evening when news filtered through of the child's death.
"This is our second tragedy in a few days and the whole community is grief stricken. We were at Christy Gallagher's funeral when we learned about this.
"Christy was out herding sheep on Mweelrea Mountain on Sunday when he slipped and fell 200ft to his death."
Councillor Frank Durcan (Ind) said this evening's tragedy took place "only a few miles from the Taoiseachs home".
Its very tragic for any family to have an accident like that.
There have been a lot of farm deaths involving children and the Government has learned nothing from it.
Councillor Cyril Burke (FG) said: Its a very sad situation for the family to lose their eight-year-old while working on the family farm. For the rest of their lives it will be very difficult for them.
You can never be too careful with children on a farm.
An Irish man who is being held in a detention centre in Australia will return to Ireland within the coming days
Bernard Lee (26), originally from Greystones, Co Wicklow, has said he is very happy to be returning to Ireland on Friday.
Mr Lee, who says he could be back in Ireland by next Saturday night, was arrested by Australian police and immigration officers at his Perth home early last week.
Speaking to RTEs Liveline on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Lee said he will be escorted to the airport in handcuffs and back to Ireland by security guards, despite being free to walk freely around Australia for the past seven years.
He also said if he returns to Australia at any stage in the future he believes he will be presented with the bill for the cost of transporting him back to Ireland.
He said he will now have to explore all avenues after he returns home as his girlfriend and her family are Australian.
Mr Lee had, up to the point of his detention, been working seven-day weeks as a tiler in Australia.
Speaking from Yongah Hill Detention Centre near Perth, Mr Lee said there were another five Irish people in the facility and one he was sharing a room with another Irish man, Padraig, who had been there for 11 weeks.
Today, his mother Una confirmed to Independent.ie the family was working with a number of Irish bodies and was hopeful Bernard would be back in Ireland by the end of this week, beginning of next week.
Weve been working away on it and were hopeful that were going to get a release fairly soon, thanks to the efforts through both the diplomatic channels and the media, she explained.
However, she added: [Its] still a bit up in the air but were hoping that sort of in the next week or so, so its looking a lot more positive than it was.
Until hes actually on the flight one can never be sure in these situations.
She said the family has been working with the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Irish Consulate in Perth and the Irish ambassador in Canberra to secure her sons release.
Mr Lee had been living and working in Australia for the past seven years and had recently applied for an employer-sponsored residents visa.
However, the Australian authorities detained him when they claimed he had been issued with a letter refusing his application and cancelling the business visa he had been using.
Both Mr Lee and his lawyer have denied receiving such a letter.
Mr Lee said he believed his previous criminal convictions in Australia, including an obstruction of police and two drink-driving offences, had led to the rejection of his application of a residents visa.
The mans family had previously said an appeal process could take a number of weeks or months.
Although Bernard is happy with the possibility of returning to Ireland soon, he is concerned for some of the other Irish people being held at the Australian detention centre, his mum revealed.
Well obviously hes delighted but in all these situations you can sometimes get false hopes, so you try to modify your reaction to take it on board and keep calm.
I know that hes really concerned also about a number of other Irish guys who are in the detention centre. They have been there for a long time and maybe arent fortunate enough to have the same sort of support network he has.
Hes very conscious that although we may have achieved something for him, there are other guys in there as well who have been there for a long time.
She added: While we wanted to really highlight it and let people know whats going on we also appreciate that there are other guys in there as well.
Ms Lee said she was surprised such an incident could have occurred in Australia.
Its very positive that weve been able to highlight that this sort of thing happens in what one would consider to be a very civilised country with a justice system based on the English justice system, as ours is.
Its not the sort of thing you expect to happen. You think of it happening maybe in other countries but not in a country like Australia.
Maybe its opened a few eyes to what can go on and that when you wave goodbye to your son on his adventure out to Australia there can be repercussions, things can happen.
She also said the family would be pursuing the issue following Bernards return and would be working with his lawyer to figure out the how the detention occurred.
The main issue we are concerned about is the way the situation was handled, that he did not receive a notification and that he was detained before he had received any notification that his visas had been cancelled.
We will be continuing to work with Bernards lawyer to clarify the situation.
When contacted, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ireland said it could not comment on individual cases.
The politician, who is not from Cork, is a keen music fan and is understood to have attended the festival with friends.
A politician was arrested twice by gardai in the space of 24 hours after attending a popular Cork music festival.
The man was arrested by gardai after he had apparently attended the Indiependence music festival in Mitchelstown.
The politician, who is not from Cork, is a keen music fan and is understood to have attended the festival with friends.
He has served at both local and national levels of government. However, officers became concerned about the man's apparently erratic behaviour in the vicinity of the popular three-day music event.
After approaching him, one officer was verbally abused by the man. He then refused to calm down or leave the area as directed by other officers.
After several warnings, he was finally detained and taken to a nearby garda station.
It is understood the man vehemently protested about being detained and was argumentative with officers.
During one angry confrontation, it is alleged that one garda was assaulted. The officer was not injured. The man was released without charge several hours later.
However, just over 90 minutes later he was detained by other officers outside Mitchelstown for suspected drink driving. He was brought back to a garda station for a second time.
It remains unclear what action, if any, will result from the two detentions.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny is to give the all-clear to Fine Gael's report into party structures - which calls for more limelight to be given to backbenchers and an overhaul of the party's "stage managed" conferences, writes Niall O'Connor.
The report also calls for the appointment of a new liaison officer to counter leaks to the media from the parliamentary party meetings.
The issue has been the subject of much disquiet in recent weeks - with some deputies even proposing moving such meetings to a room that has no mobile phone coverage.
The review itself was finalised by a team of TDs who carried out surveys of up to 400 Fine Gael party members.
But the report does not "name or shame" or single out any individual over Fine Gael's disastrous election result, which saw the party lose 20 seats.
A large portion of the report focuses on giving backbench TDs a greater input into party and Government policy. One of the key recommendations relates to ministerial announcements - a proposal to involve TDs in launches that relate to their areas of expertise.
Once again, the national seminary in Maynooth, which has been educating men for the catholic priesthood since 1795, finds itself mired in scandal.
There are currently approximately 80 men studying for the priesthood at Maynooth.
For most of its recent history, Maynooth comprised three colleges in one: the national seminary; St Patrick's College, a pontifical university; and NUI Maynooth, a secular college.
Under the 1997 Universities Act, the seminary and pontifical college formally split from NUIM, giving it greater autonomy as a secular university.
It was Monsignor Micheal Ledwith, who, in his final year as president of Maynooth, oversaw that separation.
A priest of the diocese of Ferns, Ledwith was first appointed a lecturer in theology at St Patrick's College in 1977.
At just 44, he was made college president. Seen as a future bishop, he was even tipped for the archdiocese of Dublin, before a number of abuse allegations brought his star tumbling to earth.
Ledwith has always denied the allegations.
In a setback for Maynooth, allegations that Ledwith had abused a child exploded just as it was about to launch its bicentenary celebrations and resulted in the president resigning six months early.
It later emerged that as early as 1983-84, Fr Gerard McGinnity, then a senior dean in Maynooth, had made complaints about Ledwith to seven bishops.
The Ferns Report in 2005 noted that the complaints related to alleged homosexual "orientation and propensity" but did not specify any improper conduct.
The then Bishop of Galway, Dr Eamon Casey, conducted a private investigation but as no seminarian came forward to make a complaint, the matter was dropped.
Fr McGinnity was pressured into stepping down from his position while Mgr Ledwith's appointment as president went ahead.
Maynooth again came under scrutiny in 2010, when Pope Benedict XVI ordered an Apostolic Visitation of the Irish Church including an investigation of all Irish seminaries, and St Patrick's College, Maynooth in particular.
As recently as 2011, reports circulated in the Catholic press in Ireland that plans were afoot to close Maynooth as a seminary and move all of the country's trainee priests to the other seminary, which the Irish church operates in Rome.
The decision by one trustee, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, to move his seminarians out of Maynooth this autumn to the Irish College in Rome is causing many to speculate once again about Maynooth's future.
The scene of the attack on the Ninth Lock road, Clondalkin. Picture; Gerry Mooney
The chief suspects in a horrific rape case in west Dublin may all be from the same family, it has emerged.
The violent attack occurred last Thursday as the victim was making her way home from a local garage. Gardai have so far arrested two people in relation to the incident, but fear one of the suspects is in hiding.
It has now emerged that the three chief suspects in the brutal attack may all be closely related to one another.
Read more: Rapist behind shocking Clondalkin park attack 'might be hard to trace' after fears he's fled
The men, who live in the west Dublin area, are known to gardai but are not considered to be major criminals.
Despite investigating gardai following a definite line of inquiry, they have not been able to locate one of the suspects and fear that he is in hiding.
"Detectives called to his home on Friday but he wasn't there. He wasn't spotted over the weekend and it appears that he has fled the area," a local source said.
"A number of online threats have also been issued, with local criminals threatening to kill the men involved," the source added.
The threats have been directed at the perpetrators since the morning of the attack, and it is understood the names of individuals suspected of involvement were shared on social media.
Attack
Gardai have received a massive response from the public since issuing their appeal for information on the brutal attack. That, combined with the gardai's own detective work, led to the two arrests.
Two men aged in their late teens and early 20s were arrested by gardai and questioned at Lucan Garda Station over the weekend, before being released without charge. It is understood the victim of the attack, who is in her 30s, was returning home after stopping at a local petrol station to buy groceries.
She was pushing her bicycle along the footpath away from the direction of Clondalkin village when she was allegedly grabbed by three men. It's now known that one of the men raped her.
Though the woman was threatened at knifepoint during her ordeal, there is no indication the weapon was used on her.
Read more: Men questioned over horror rape attack of woman in park were out on bail
The victim did not know her attackers. After raising the alarm herself, the woman was taken to the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit in the Rotunda Hospital. On Friday morning gardai from the technical bureau recovered the victim's bicycle from the scene.
A running shoe and other items were also collected for forensic examination. Specialist gardai from the Clondalkin district will interview her further about the attack.
It is expected that gardai will establish more details about the incident during this interview.
Gardai are continuing to appeal for witnesses to contact them at Ronanstown Garda Station on (01) 666 7700.
Advice from our GP on looking after your medical conditions while abroad and on what may be causing recurrent eye infections in a child.
Q. My husband has booked a trip away for my 70th birthday. I have a number of medical conditions requiring prescription medication. Have you any tips to make travel easier?
Dr Nina replies: Travelling away from familiar access to medicine and healthcare can be daunting for those with a chronic disease. When preparing for any foreign holiday, considering your health is as important as considering your wardrobe or travel choices.
Health insurance is vital, especially if travelling outside of the EU. If you have private health insurance, this may provide some cover for travel abroad, but always check your policy before you travel. You may need to top up your policy, or if you have pre-existing medical conditions, some insurance companies will require a medical report from your doctor documenting your fitness to travel. Within the EU ensure that you have a European health card, which will provide access to local public health care.
Planning your trip through the airport is important. Those with arthritis or limited ability to walk far can arrange for transport or mobility assistance through security and to your gate. This must be arranged at least 48 hours in advance of your flight.
Travelling with medication is stressful, especially with all the restrictions that are now in place for carry-on baggage. Ensure that you have enough medication with you for your entire trip and bring some extra to cover any unplanned delays. Bring a copy of your prescription with you with details of the generic names and doses clearly detailed. You may need to provide this at airport security to confirm the need to carry these drugs and it will help if you need to seek an emergency prescription abroad. You should also bring your doctor and pharmacist's name, address and phone numbers with you. Carry a letter from your doctor that clarifies your medical history along with a list of medication, and any allergies. This can also verify if you need to carry items such as syringes or needles.
Transport all your medication in your carry-on bag. Securing emergency prescriptions abroad can be very difficult to do. Some medication is temperature sensitive and the temperature of the cargo hold of an airplane can vary from very cold in the air to very hot on the ground. Carry your medication in its original packaging and not in dosing boxes. This will make it easier for airport personnel to verify its authenticity. Also talk to your doctor before you travel to arrange a dosing schedule when travelling across time zones. Some medication is best taken at the local hour, but the interval between doses remains the most important for certain medication, and you may need to adjust the times at which you take it.
If you find yourself abroad and needing medical assistance or prescription medicine, talk to your tour provider or hotel staff. They can usually direct you to medical services that are used to dealing with tourists or who speak English. Your travel insurance should also have an emergency contact line and this can be a helpful source of advice on local care. Some medication that is only available on prescription in Ireland can be purchased over the counter abroad. Talk to a local pharmacist for advice.
Q. My son seems to have recurring eye infections. His lids are sticky every other week. He seems to be able to see OK and the eye itself looks alright. We clean his eyes regularly and he isnt in a creche. Whats causing this?
Dr Nina replies: Tears produced in a tear gland in the upper eye drain from the eye through the tear duct which runs from the inner corner of the eye to the back of the nose. 5% of newborn babies will have an immature tear duct. This causes an effective blockage in the drainage system. Watering or tearing of the eye may starts days or weeks after birth. Sticky discharge occurs at times, as the normal process for clearing bacteria from the surface of the eye is impaired.
Thankfully the tear duct issue resolves itself in ninety per cent of cases by the time the child is twelve months and so specialist review or any kind of procedure is not necessary unless infections are severe or symptoms persist beyond the first year of life.
If discharge is thick of the conjunctivae is becoming red or inflamed, infection may be present and antibiotic ointment or drops may be required. Antibiotics dont clear the duct and discharge can reoccur. Taking a medical swab of the eye will help to identify the cause of infection. Massaging from the inner corner of the eye to the outer corner of the nose and from the side of the nose to the inner corner of the eye will help clear any debris from the blocked duct. This may need to be done many times a day. If symptoms persist more than a year you may be referred to see an eye specialist who can perform a procedure to clear or open the duct.
Recurrent sticky eye in new-borns is rarely due to other bacterial infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhoea or viral infections. In these cases the conjunctivae is usually red and infected and the baby may be unwell in itself. These causes are rare.
We all know that Irish women are drinking more - and more frequently - than previous generations. We only have to look at the empirical research presented in the media and anecdotal experiences of Friday nights.
What many of us don't know, however, is that a specific demographic of women are drinking the most - and it's not alcopop-drinking teenagers, footloose and fancy-free 20-somethings or disillusioned 30-somethings.
Perhaps surprisingly, women in their 40s and 50s are drinking more than any other age group, and the pattern has been observed by both researchers and healthcare professionals.
The Rutland Centre, a private addiction rehabilitation facility in Dublin, has noted a rise in the number of admittances of middle-aged women, especially those in their 40s.
Addiction counsellor Gerry Cooney says the pattern began to emerge seven or eight years ago, but has become more prevalent in the last half decade.
Consultant gastroenterologist Dr Orla Crosbie, who spoke at the recent conference Girls, Women and Alcohol, has also noticed excessive drinking within this age bracket. She attributes it to the increased consumption of wine.
There are certain social stereotypes about women that drink to excess, but it's important to remember that the women most affected aren't necessarily bored housewifes. According to the research, they are ambitious working mothers who are struggling to keep all the balls in the air.
As psychologist Allison Keating of the bWell Clinic notes: "The more educated and well-off a woman is, the more likely she is to have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol."
Recovering alcoholic and author Ann Dowsett Johnston writes about the complicated love affair between women and wine in her book Drink: The Deadly Relationship Between Women and Alcohol. She describes wine as the "modern woman's steroid".
"It enables her to do the heavy lifting of a complex life," she explains.
"We see wine as a way to decompress after a busy day. By that I mean you rush home with the groceries after a hard day at the office. You then have more emails and work ahead of you that evening.
"You're probably overseeing some homework and you have a meal to prepare. The easiest thing to do - far easier than going to a yoga class or a walk around the block - is to pour yourself a glass of wine after which you start to feel your shoulders come down from your earlobes."
"You can just crash for a while, switch off and forget your worries," adds Gerry. "The nothingness is better than something, I suppose."
In many ways, wine is a form of self-medication for busy women, but the trouble with self-medication is that we often dose incorrectly - especially when you consider the goblet-sized glassware we're using.
One unit of alcohol is 76ml of standard 13pc wine. However, as Dr Crosbie pointed out in her talk: "I rarely recall being served such a mean glass of wine at receptions and parties".
"What you're pouring at home is dramatically different," adds Allison. "You think you're just having the one whereas you're actually having two or even three."
"Wine is cheap and very accessible," agrees Gerry. "It's very easy to get a bottle on the way home from work." He adds that women undergoing treatment at the Rutland Centre were usually drinking alone in their homes.
"Women tend to isolate, especially if their problem escalates," explains Ann. "They tend to have rituals: I drink at this time and out of this glass and I don't even tell my best friend.
"Women know that it is shameful and they may do what I did, which was to drink at my book club the same as other people but then, when I got home, I would open a bottle of wine and drink alone."
Drinking in isolation can be one of the early warning signs of a problem, says Gerry. "They may also pull back from friends, stop going out as much and make poor excuses.
"In other cases, there is a loss of control or a change of behaviour. Things are not happening so easily. Maybe the kids aren't being collected from school or kids aren't bringing friends home because they are concerned about how mum will be.
"Sometimes you're out and everyone is having a few drinks but one member of the party is a having a little more than most. They want the party to keep going, they are always the last to leave and their friends have to keep an eye to make sure they get home safely.
"The extreme form of it would be a sense of oblivion," he continues. "When it gets too extreme they would have to be helped to bed."
Gerry says that women have usually "crossed the line" by the time he meets them. "Very few people come before they get to that point."
Interestingly, he notes that female admittances often have a much more pronounced problem than men in a similar situation.
"When husbands are drinking, women tend to be more proactive and supportive and willing to make sacrifices," he says. "With women, the problem tends to be more chronic when they seek help because an intervention hasn't happened when it should have.
"In my experience, women are more supportive to their drinking husbands. When women have a problem, their husbands are either not able to cope, too busy or not sure what to do about it. Meanwhile, somebody who needs help doesn't get the help they need."
So where exactly is this line that Gerry talks about when Irish women drink more than our female counterparts in any other European country?
The low-risk guideline for alcohol consumption is 11 units, spread out over the course of a week, with at least two to three alcohol-free days.
We should also remember that women's bodies process alcohol differently to men's. We have lower body weights, less body water and higher percentages of body fat, hence we don't metabolise alcohol as efficiently.
"The female body cannot deal with alcohol in the same way as men," says Allison Keating. "Yet sometimes there is a keeping-up-with-the-boys mentality. Also, women are integrating into higher levels of work and there may be a culture where there are harder levels of drinking and stress."
Women should also know the health risks - and myths - surrounding alcohol consumption. Ann points out that the advice about the health-promoting effects of a glass of red wine has since been debunked. "It was disproven in the journal Addiction three years ago. Yes, a glass of red wine is good for a 40-year-old couch potato male - but it's no good to women."
Alcohol also poses far greater health risks to women than it does to men. A man who drinks six or more standard drinks a day is 13 times more likely to develop cirrhosis of the liver compared to a non-drinker. Four standard drinks a day increase a woman's risk to the same degree.
Elsewhere, a study by Harvard University found that having one drink a day increases the risk of breast cancer in women by 15pc. It should also be noted that 12pc of all breast cancers in Ireland are associated with alcohol.
This is all in vast contrast to the way wine is marketed to women. "We glamorise wine," says Ann. "If you're sophisticated, you're supposed to know your wine. And I would go further for women: we see wine as a food group. We don't really see it as a drug."
"We know our downward dog and our gluten-free recipes. So it's really simple: you measure and count your drinks just like you count your calories," says Ann.
The advice for everyone else is to find a stress-reduction tool that isn't served in a glass. "Fundamentally, women are hardwired to look after and nurture those around them so they can often be the last person being minded," says Allison. "The alcohol becomes that ally for them - and they don't even need to leave the house for it.
"We need to give women the tools to realise that they are wired and tired all the time, and we need to help them find other mechanisms to release that stress, whether it's through exercise or engaging in self-care.
"It's about carving out some time for yourself that is nourishing rather than depleting."
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Colette Browne Opinion Every effort must be made to retrieve oral histories of mother and baby home survivors
With three days to go until the Mother and Baby Homes Commission ceases to exist as a legal entity, we are being told that audio recordings of hundreds of witnesses which were deleted may not actually be gone forever. It is another usual twist in a most emotional saga. For decades, survivors of mother and baby homes have been denied a voice and denied autonomy. When they fell pregnant, many through rape and abuse, they were marched to the doors of religious institutions.
St Patricks College, Maynooth: If there is a problem, the countrys Catholics need to be told about it; it is, after all, the national seminary Photo: Arthur Carron
Following one official report after another into the disastrous handling of clerical child abuse scandals by the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, at the end of 2010, announced an 'Apostolic Visitation' to Irish dioceses, religious orders and seminaries.
To put it more simply, he sent an inspection team to investigate the church's child-protection systems. In the case of the seminaries, in particular St Patrick's College, Maynooth, the national seminary, the purpose was to see how well they were being run.
The man who headed up the inspection of the seminaries was the Archbishop of New York, the ebullient Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who was himself rector for a time of the National American College in Rome - that is the North American seminary in Rome, the American equivalent of our Irish College there.
The details of his subsequent investigation into the seminaries were never published. All we got was an outline of his recommendations.
One recommendation was that the 'episcopal governance' of the seminaries be improved; that is, the bishops should exercise more oversight. In the case of Maynooth, that means those who are its trustees.
What must Cardinal Dolan be thinking now, several years on from his inspection, assuming he has heard that Dublin will not be sending any of its trainee priests to Maynooth this autumn?
Instead, the three new entrants for this year from the Dublin archdiocese will be sent to the Irish College, which is headed by a Dublin priest, Mgr Ciaran O'Carroll.
Unfortunately, the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has not given his reasons for doing this. He told this newspaper merely: "I have my own reasons for doing this" and that he had made the decision "some months ago".
Elsewhere, he referred to "strange goings-on there" and a "quarrelsome" atmosphere.
However, Dublin's Catholics - and indeed Ireland's Catholics generally - need and deserve to be told more than this. It is less than transparent to give that answer and no more.
If there is a problem at Maynooth, then the country's Catholics need to be told about it in some detail because it is, after all, the national seminary. It trains the great majority of the country's priests.
Perhaps the answer is as innocent as Archbishop Martin merely wanting to support the Irish College because it is being run by a friend and because it, like Maynooth, has low student numbers. If there is more to it than that, however, then ordinary Catholics doubly deserve to know.
Otherwise, the gossip-mongering will go on and on and it will be very hard to sift fact from fiction.
I was editor of 'The Irish Catholic' from 1996 until 2003. Right from the start, past and present seminaries would contact me from time to time to make complaints about St Patrick's.
The complaints sometimes concerned the quality of the teaching and, in particular, the extent to which some lecturers departed from church teaching on certain key doctrines.
Some of the time, the complaints were about "inappropriate sexual behaviour" among the seminarians themselves.
I was never sure what to do about the complaints from a news point of view because even the past seminarians were extremely reluctant to go on the record.
If they were now ordained priests and went on the record, there could be a backlash from their bishop.
I know of one priest to whom this did happen.
Despite concerns such as the above, I did run stories about Maynooth from time to time. When I did, there were inevitable and immediate complaints that I was listening to 'gossip' and as editor of the country's main Catholic paper I should be above that.
However, complaints about various facets of life at Maynooth are incredibly persistent and this is why the trustees, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin included, owe it to the country's Catholics to give some idea of what is going on there.
Otherwise, all we are left with are the whispers and this will further reduce vocations to the priesthood.
As it is, Ireland is one of the world's vocations blackspots. Vocations here are low, even by the standards of other Western countries. The Irish church is doing well if it attracts 20 vocations in a year.
The Catholic Church in England and Wales, which is comparable in size to the Irish Church, had 35 vocations last year.
The figures there have bounced around from the mid-thirties to the mid-forties over the course of the last few years.
Maynooth currently has about 55 students training for the priesthood. If we had proportionately the same number of seminarians as the Catholic Church in the US, it would have about 180 students. Maynooth wouldn't know itself. Those sorts of numbers improve morale and generate confidence and both of these things in themselves attract vocations.
The very low morale that seems to be evident at St Patrick's College has the opposite effect and this will only be made worse following Archbishop Diarmuid Martin's decision.
This is why the bishops need to be transparent about what is happening and then they need to tell Ireland's Catholics what they intend doing to improve the situation there.
We might hear a lot about the lay church these days, and we ought to. But the church needs to have priests and a vibrant seminary can help provide them.
Whatever else might be said about Maynooth, it is certainly not vibrant.
Hillary Clinton is on a mission to prove that any little girl can grow up to be president. Just so long as she marries one first. Last week's Democratic convention in Philadelphia displayed American liberalism in all its hyper-wealthy, incestuous glory. Chelsea Clinton was showcased as an heir apparent; Bill Clinton - the future First Gentleman - played with the balloons that fell from the ceiling. "And didn't Michelle Obama give a good speech?" the Democrats asked themselves. Well, perhaps she'd like to be president someday too? Everybody gets a turn in liberal land.
Everybody except rebel socialist Bernie Sanders.
Thanks to Bernie, the convention turned out to be a lot more interesting than anticipated. Hillary's original plan - hatched in about 1993 - was to cruise to the nomination on the back of her experience and with a little help from her friends in the party establishment.
An email leak has revealed that members of the Democratic elite were even willing to spread a rumour that her opponent was an atheist to defeat him in the primaries (the European equivalent would be spreading a filthy rumour that he believed in God).
Televised debates were limited to reduce Bernie's airtime, and the convention was stuffed with unelected 'super delegates' pledged to Clinton, just in case she should fail to win the nomination democratically.
In the end that proved unnecessary. Hillary did get more votes than Bernie. But the Sanders brigade arrived in Philadelphia in a mutinous mood.
They booed some of the first night speeches; the self-styled DNC Action Committee even threatened to "arrest" Hillary on the charge of election fraud. Time that should've been spent reaching out to voters watching at home was wasted on either begging the Sanders folks to calm down or telling them to shut up. "To the 'Bernie or Bust' people," said comedian Sarah Silverman at the podium, "You're being ridiculous!" In the end, a lot of them chose to walk out. Much as supporters of conservative Ted Cruz had done at the Republican convention in Cleveland.
In fact, the similarities between the Democrat and Republican conventions were striking. Trump's nomination might have been a rebellion against the Republican elite, but once he got the nomination he had to deal with a revolt against his revolt - indicating that both of the main parties are fracturing.
The Democrats are torn, culturally and strategically. Hillary's people think that the best way to win is to offer an orderly contrast to Trump. She promises, in effect, to be Obama's third term. Sanders represents those who don't see much to gain from keeping the status quo: students indebted for life by college fees; blue-collar Americans who have watched their jobs go to China; the poor languishing on handouts.
As these two sides of the American left duked it out, the Democrats visibly fossilised into the party of the dotcom millionaire and the professional activist - as far flung to the left of the US political spectrum as the Republicans are to the right. One speaker talked the convention through an abortion she'd had when she was younger - as casually and enthusiastically as one might extol the virtues of Botox.
These past two weeks have proven that the Republicans and Democrats are as bad as each other.
But there is one crucial difference which, increasingly, gives the electoral edge to the Republicans. Donald Trump is relevant. He is setting the political agenda and he is speaking to it. Hillary Clinton is not.
On the first night of the Philadelphia convention, one day before the murder of a priest in France, not a single speech referenced Isil. Trump, by contrast, speaks of little else but terrorism and urban disorder. The irony is that many voters regard Trump himself as a catalyst for anarchy - and so millions of independents and soft Republicans who normally lean to the right will probably be voting for Hillary in November.
But millions of independents and soft Democrats who normally lean to the left find nothing at all appealing about Clinton's personal mission to be president and will be taking a second look at Trump.
Do not underestimate the power of Trump's gutsy pledge to lock people out and lock people up.
The Church has been under sustained attack for more than a decade.
Abject failure to deal head on with a series of scandals has done irreparable damage. There has been a clamour amongst its enemies to tear down its structures; but by far the greatest reputational threat to its standing has come from within.
Confirmation by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin that he would no longer be sending priests of the Dublin Diocese to St Patrick's College, Maynooth, and would instead be sending them to the Irish College in Rome, begs many questions.
Dr Martin has refused to elaborate, obliquely referring to "strange goings on," and "a quarrelsome atmosphere."
Neither, one would imagine, would be conducive for preparation for a life of service. All the same, the difficulty is that refusal to clarify what precisely is the problem will not do much for either the standing of the college or, indeed, the church.
For centuries, Maynooth College has been one of the most respected institutions in the country. Founded back in 1795, by 1850 it had become the largest seminary in the world.
So it is simply not good enough for Archbishop Martin to decide to no longer send seminarians there without offering a proper explanation.
The church has endured a firestorm of anger for its failure to learn from the past. The main charge levelled against it was that it continually elevated its own interests ahead of those of its members. Avowed atheist Richard Dawkins chided that: "religion is about turning untested belief into unshakable truth through the power of institutions and the passage of time."
The passage of time will not be kind to the enduring reputation of the church unless it can show that it meets its responsibility to be transparent and accountable.
Wagner Moura, the star of hit Netflix series Narcos, has called for drugs to be legalised.
The Brazilian actor said he had learnt a lot from playing notorious Colombian drugs kingpin Pablo Escobar, who became a billionaire through the production and distribution of cocaine, in the show.
Moura told the Press Association: "The drug trade - the Narcos craze - is a very, very big deal. It's a big problem for all of us, especially for Latin people. I think it's very important.
"I have learnt so much about it by doing Narcos and it was so important for me politically. For example, I always thought that drugs should be legalised."
The 40-year-old added: "I see the policy towards drugs, especially in America, North America and South America, is completely wrong. It's proved to be a flop.
"I think that addiction is a very, very important thing that has to be treated, but has to be treated as a health problem and not as a police problem.
"The amount of people who are dying in the war, especially people in poor countries, countries that produce and export drugs like Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil - I would say that is much more than people who are dying of overdoses. There is something fundamentally wrong with that policy."
Escobar himself died in 1993 at the age of 44, which means Moura will be making his exit in season two.
Having read "everything that was written about Pablo and modern Colombian history", moved to Colombia with his family for two years, learnt Spanish and put on 40lbs to play the role, it will be an intense experience for Moura to leave behind.
He said: " During this time I was dealing with a lot of bad energy of course, he was a very mean person.
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"But at the same time he was a human being. He was a dad, you know. He was a family man, he was someone who at some point was concerned about the situation of poor people in his home town.
"My goal was to display him, to show him as somebody that was between the black and the white. My goal was to find the grey area, that's what makes us all human beings, you know what I mean?
"It was a very intense experience. But at the same time I feel relieved, not having to carry that character with me any more."
TV3 star Elaine Crowley has opened up about her struggle with body confidence and her decision to put herself through her paces on Operation Transformation.
The Midday host (38) will join a host of famous faces on the upcoming celebrity version of the RTE weight loss show, but Crowley says it isn't shedding the pounds that's motivating her but rather the next step on her journey of body confidence.
"I don't know what I weigh now and I don't care. It's not the driving force behind this at all. I have battled with body image demons my whole life. For once that is not what this is about," she told the RTE Guide.
"If I thought I was fat and horrible, I wouldn't be doing this, because, psychologically I wouldn't be able to. What I really need is support in getting a bit of healthy routine into my life.
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"I want to be able to do exercise and enjoy it consistently."
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The Cork native, who has been at the helm of the afternoon panel show for the last five years, has been vocal about her battle with depression, which she describes as a "chronic illness".
"It is a disorder. It is a disease. There is an epidemic of mental illness in this country and it's not being treated the way it should be," she added.
"If you look at the resources we have, it's scandalous. Unless you have money, you can't see a psyhaitrst. We have made massive inroads where awareness is concerned, but we don't have the services to back up the awareness. It's all arseways."
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Crowley previously said she takes her role in the public eye seriously and hopes to break down body barriers on television.
"I'm delighted I'm not a size 8-10, the size I wanted to be,as out there, somewhere, maybe a schoolgirl who is size 14 or 16 and feeling shit about herself and looking at me and thinking, 'She's on the telly and you don't have to be skinny to be successful,'" she said.
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"We've a huge responsibility in the media now to be so aware, especially with social media, there's 20 times more pressure with the likes of Instagram."
The tiger is one of five land predators with the greatest proportions of threatened prey whose plight was highlighted by researchers
Large carnivores around the world are increasingly at risk of going hungry as the prey species they depend on for survival decline, research has shown.
The tiger is one of five land predators with the greatest proportions of threatened prey whose plight was highlighted by researchers.
Half of the animals it hunts in the wild are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species.
The other most at-risk carnivores were the clouded leopard, with 60% of its prey threatened, the Sunda clouded leopard (50%), an Asian wild dog, the dhole (42%) and the Ethiopian wolf (40%).
The scientists compiled a list of 494 prey species that provided food for 17 large carnivores - including the lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, grey wolf, Eurasian lynx and spotted hyena.
Of the prey species, a quarter were on the IUCN Red List. Of these, 14% were classified as vulnerable, 9% endangered and 2% critically endangered.
Large carnivores that were themselves on the Red List were more likely to have threatened prey. On average, 27% of their prey was threatened compared with 19% for non-Red List carnivores.
The researchers, led by Christopher Wolf from Oregon State University College of Forestry, wrote in the journal Royal Society Open Science: "Abundant terrestrial mammalian prey are required for the survival of large carnivores.
"In fact, there is a strong relationship between prey and carnivore abundance - approximately 10,000 kg of prey supports about 90 kg of large carnivore biomass, regardless of species.
"When sufficient prey is unavailable, large carnivore populations will decline, possibly becoming locally extinct."
Carnivores deprived of prey may come into conflict with humans as they raid farms for livestock or stray into highly populated areas, said the scientists.
Large predators were said to be "ecologically important" as a group of species. As well as keeping crop-damaging herbivores in check, they played a vital role in attracting tourists to developing countries.
The scientists concluded: " These results show the importance of a holistic approach to conservation that involves protecting both large carnivores directly and the prey upon which they depend."
It has all the trappings of a Cold War thriller. A Russian-speaking femme fatale is tracked down to a tropical paradise resort by American spies, accused of being at the heart of an international multi-million dollar criminal syndicate.
But that is the reality for Olga Komova, a glamorous 25-year-old from Uzbekistan, who was arrested by police at Thailands four-star Emerald Cove Koh Chang Hotel last month, where she worked as a receptionist and guest liaison.
She is accused by the FBI of helping a Russia-based hacking network to steal and launder 26m from British and American bank accounts.
Described by guests at her hotel as pleasant and professional and very efficient, she allegedly led a double life, using multiple bank accounts, credit and debit cards in Thailand to receive the stolen funds.
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Ms Komova was arrested by Thai police and presented to local media on July 21 along with Dmitry Ukrainskiy, a 44-year-old Russian who runs multiple tourist yacht charter businesses in Pattaya, and is reportedly a friend and former business partner of Ms Komovas father.
FBI agents investigating the cyber thefts from American bank accounts over the course of two years traced the transactions to at least 40 accounts in Thailand owned by the pair, and requested the arrests, Thai police officials said.
More than 50 people from Britain, the US, Australia, Italy, Germany and Japan had fallen prey to the network, which sent emails containing malware to gain usernames and passwords of victims' online bank accounts, officials said.
The pair, believed to have operated at the heart of the purported hacking network, have both been indicted and face money laundering charges in the US, MailOnline reported.
Born in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent, Ms Komova moved to Thailand immediately after studying languages at university to work in tourism.
According to her LinkedIn profile, she started out as a tour guide in the seedy resort city of Pattya, before progressing to a job as guest relations officer at a luxury Seychelles resort. She returned to Thailand last October.
She remains in custody and has not yet commented on the allegations against her. Mr Ukrainskiy, her co-accused, flatly denies the claims made against him, according to a spokesman for the Russian prosecutor-generals office.
Surachet Hakpal, Thailands tourist police commander, told journalists that the suspects will be extradited to the US for trial.
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However, Russia has launched a diplomatic campaign to block Mr Ukrainskiys deportation. Sergei Ryabkov, the deputy foreign minister, accused the US of extrajudicial and illegal abductions of other countries nationals, describing the latest extradition request as categorically inadmissible.
Thailand is considered a major money laundering country by the US State Department, which warns that proceeds of illegal gaming, official corruption, underground lotteries, and prostitution are laundered through the countrys financial system.
Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
One Dutch man has recently proved how far he would go for love by spending 10 days in an airport waiting for his online girlfriend.
Alexander Pieter Cirk (41) had to be hospitalised for exhaustion following the incident at Chinas Changsha airport when the woman failed to turn up.
Speaking to local Chinese media, Mr Cirk said he had flown to Hunan, China to see the woman but she had not turned up to meet him there.
He had been in contact with her for a number of months after the pair connected on an online app.
The 26-year-old womans name was only given as Zhang and she later got in contact with the media to give her side of the story.
Zhang told local Hunan TV: We had advanced our romantic relationship but later he seemed a little callous towards me.
One day he sent me a photo of air tickets abruptly and I thought it was a joke. He didn't contact me later.
She also revealed another problem with Mr Cirks plan to meet her, saying that when Mr Cirk arrived at the airport, she was undergoing cosmetic surgery in Zhengzhou, in Chinas Henan province.
She also said that before Mr Cirk had gone to China to see her, they had previously agreed to wait a year before meeting.
Mr Cirk eventually returned home to the Netherlands on his return ticket.
Despite this Zhang reportedly told the media she would still be interested in continuing the pairs relationship.
Yuan Shanshan, left, the wife of detained Chinese lawyer Xie Yanyi, is questioned by a police officer near the Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People's Court (AP)
A court in China has imposed a suspended three-year prison sentence on a human rights activist charged with subversion of state power, following a brief trial.
It was the first publicly acknowledged hearing in a year-long case shrouded in secrecy and involving hundreds of Chinese human rights activists.
The official Xinhua News Agency said a court in the northern city of Tianjin sentenced Zhai Yanmin, who was arrested in July last year as part of a countrywide government campaign which paralysed China's activist legal circles. Roughly 300 lawyers and activists were initially seized and questioned before most were released.
Zhai's is the first of four cases expected to be heard this week after prosecutors announced in July that they would try a lawyer, Zhou Shifeng, of Beijing law firm Fengrui - which worked extensively on human rights cases - and three activists who worked with the firm, including Zhai. More than a dozen others remain jailed, their legal status uncertain.
According to Xinhua, Zhai said in a court confession that the group of lawyers, citizens and petitioners who believed in "pushing the wall" - a Chinese expression for overthrowing the government - methodically hyped politically sensitive cases.
They organised popular rallies during controversial human rights cases to draw international attention and undermine the Chinese state, Xinhua quoted him as saying in remarks which echoed previous government accusations towards the group.
Xinhua said the court was told that Zhai and the three others had "conspired and plotted to subvert state power", and had "established a systematic ideology, method and steps to achieve it".
Lawyer Zhou's sentence was suspended for four years, meaning that although he will not go to prison, he will have to live under considerable restrictions and supervision. He also lost all political rights for the same period, making him ineligible to run for local councils or other offices.
The punishment was the most lenient allowed for those convicted of subversion, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. That may be a reflection of concern at the harm to China's international reputation among officials, as well as a relentless campaign by family members and human rights groups to draw attention to the cases.
Police cordoned off the Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People's Court on Tuesday, one day after protesters flanked by foreign diplomats demanded more information about the cases.
The trial was attended by five foreign media outlets invited by the court and other observers, according to Xinhua, in an apparent attempt to address vocal criticism from the activists' supporters about a near-total lack of transparency surrounding the cases.
Many wives have said they and their retained lawyers have been denied access to the jailed activists for more than a year, receiving only occasional updates by word of mouth, while some family members seeking information have been briefly detained themselves.
Zhai's wife, Liu Ermin, was taken into custody on Sunday night and returned late on Monday to her Beijing home, where she is kept effectively under house arrest, friends said.
It was not clear whether Zhai would immediately be allowed to return home. A lawyer and legal assistant released recently have been filmed apparently recanting their actions, but their whereabouts remain unknown.
AP
President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington (AP)
US president Barack Obama has declared Donald Trump is "unfit" and "woefully unprepared" to serve in the White House.
In a searing denouncement, Mr Obama challenged top Republicans to drop their support for their party's nominee, declaring: "There has to come a point at which you say, 'enough'."
The outgoing president's blistering critique of his potential successor followed Mr Trump's criticism of an American Muslim family whose son, a captain in the US Army, was killed in Iraq.
A growing number of Republicans have disavowed Mr Trump's comments, but most of those who have endorsed him are sticking by that stance.
At a White House news conference, Mr Obama said: "If you are repeatedly having to say, in very strong terms, that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him?
"What does this say about your party that this is your standard-bearer?"
The US president said his opposition to Donald Trump is about more than policy differences. He said that while he disagreed with his Republican opponents in the 2008 and 2012 elections, he never thought they were unfit to do the job.
Mr Obama - who is enjoying heightened popularity in his eighth and final year in office - has made clear he plans to be an active player in the White House race, campaigning around the country for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
The president and first lady Michelle Obama spoke at last week's Democratic convention in Philadelphia, where Khizr and Ghazala Khan also made an appearance.
Mr Trump responded with a statement that summarised the points he makes in his stump speeches: "Obama-Clinton have single-handedly destabilised the Middle East ... released criminal aliens into our country who killed one innocent American after another ... produced the worst recovery since the Great Depression (and) shipped millions of our best jobs overseas."
Last week, Khizr Khan criticised Mr Trump's call for a temporary ban on Muslims coming to the United States and challenged whether he had read the American Constitution.
Mr Trump has questioned why Ghazala Khan did not speak, implying her religion prevented her from doing so, and has said he was "viciously attacked" by Khizr Khan.
Mr Trump spent the days after winning the Republican nomination criticising a US district court judge's Mexican heritage. The morning after accepting the Republican nomination at the party's convention, he re-opened months-old grievances with primary rival Ted Cruz.
Those who have worked with Mr Trump say that in private meetings, he can often appear amenable to putting a controversy aside. But the businessman can quickly be drawn back in by an interview, especially if he believes he has already answered the question, or if he grows irritated by commentary on cable television.
Khizr Khan delivered an emotional address at last week's Democratic convention, with his wife standing by his side. The Pakistan-born Khan told the story of his son, US army Capt Humayun Khan, who was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart after his death in 2004.
Mr Trump's unwillingness to let the matter subside sparked outrage from several Republicans.
Arizona Senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war, said Trump did not have "unfettered licence to defame those who are the best among us". #
Mike Coffman, a vulnerable Republican in a competitive Colorado district, said he was "deeply offended when Donald Trump fails to honour the sacrifices of all of our brave soldiers who were lost in that war".
Missouri Senator Roy Blunt said the Khans "deserve to be heard and respected".
Mr Blunt added: "My advice to Donald Trump has been and will continue to be to focus on jobs and national security and stop responding to every criticism whether it's from a grieving family or Hillary Clinton."
But when asked about Khizr Khan on Fox News Channel's "Hannity," Trump responded, "His son died 12 years ago ... If I were president, his son wouldn't have died, because I wouldn't have been in the war, if I was president back then."
AP
The records include the highest amount of heat energy absorbed by the oceans and the lowest groundwater storage levels globally
Dozens of climate records were broken last year, according to a report nicknamed the annual physical for the planet.
Soon after 2015 ended, it was proclaimed the hottest on record - and the new report shows the broad extent of other records and near-records set last year.
Those include record heat energy absorbed by the oceans and the lowest groundwater storage levels globally, according to the research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US.
"I think the time to call the doctor was years ago," NOAA climate monitoring chief Deke Arndt, co-editor of the report, said in an email. "We are awash in multiple symptoms."
The 2015 State Of The Climate report examined 50 different aspects of climate, including dramatic melting of Arctic sea ice and glaciers worldwide.
A dozen different nations set hottest year records, including Russia and China.
South Africa had the hottest temperature ever recorded in the month of October, at 48.4C (119.1F).
"There is really only one word for this parade of shattered climate records: grim," said Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb.
Ms Cobb was not part of the report, but called it "exhaustive and thorough".
Scientists also said the turbo-charged climate affected walrus and penguin populations and played a role in dangerous algae blooms, such as one off the Pacific Northwest coast.
They added that there were brutal heat waves all over the world, with ones in India and Pakistan killing thousands of people.
Much of the intense record-breaking and record-flirting weather was because of a combination of a natural El Nino - the periodic warming of parts of the Pacific that changes weather globally - and ever increasing man-made global warming.
"This impacts people. This is real life," said NOAA climate scientist Jessica Blunden, co-editor of the report published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society on Tuesday.
Oklahoma University meteorology professor Jason Furtado said in an email that the report, which he was not part of, illustrates the combined power of nature and humans on Earth's climate: "It was like injecting an already amped-up climate system with a dose of (natural) steroids."
Around 450 scientists from around the world helped write the report and in it, the NOAA highlighted one of the lesser-known measurements, ocean heat content.
Around 93% of the heat energy trapped by greenhouse gases - such as carbon dioxide from the burning of coal, oil and gas - goes directly into the ocean, the report said. And ocean heat content hit record levels both near the surface and deep.
NOAA oceanographer Gregory C Johnson, a study co-author, said the oceans are storing more heat energy because of man-made climate change with an extra El Nino spike.
AP
Former British prime minister David Cameron has sparked a furious row within the Conservative Party and has been accused of "devaluing the honours system" by rewarding his No 10 colleagues and his wife Samantha's stylist in his resignation honours list.
Senior Tory MPs reacted with anger at Mr Cameron's decision to put his staff forward for the privileges as he was accused of "cronyism".
A list published by the 'Sunday Times' detailed Mr Cameron's request for honours to be bestowed on 48 advisers and Remain campaigners, including two major donors who helped fund the case to stay in the European Union to the tune of more than 650,000 (770,000).
Donors
Isabel Spearman, who served as stylist to Mrs Cameron during her time in No 10, and two of Mr Cameron's former drivers will be handed awards, as will Will Straw, the son of Labour heavyweight Jack Straw and leader of the unsuccessful Remain campaign.
A senior minister who asked not to be named said on Sunday night that Mr Cameron's list would provoke anger among backbench MPs and Leave-supporting Conservative members.
Andy Burnham, the shadow home secretary, said that if the list was accepted it "will destroy any remaining shred of respect for the honours system".
Staff and advisers for both Mr Cameron and the former Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne have been included on the list, leading to claims that the former prime minister has sought to reward personal friends in an abuse of the honours system.
Mr Cameron previously gave his hairdresser an MBE for "services to hairdressing" in the 2014 New Year's honours list.
One Tory MP said Mr Cameron appeared to be sprinkling the highest awards in the land around "like confetti". Andrew Rosindell said staff were being rewarded simply for doing "the jobs they were paid for".
Mr Cameron has also secured additional severance pay for his closest aides following his decision to resign as prime minister earlier this year after the Brexit vote.
However, Mr Cameron found some support among former Cabinet colleagues. Anna Soubry and Sir Eric Pickles said he was entitled to reward those staff who had helped him in Downing Street.
A male Virgin America passenger has been criminally charged with sexually touching a sleeping female passenger on an overnight flight to Newark, New Jersey from Los Angeles last week, federal prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Veerabhadrarao Kunam, 58, of Visakhapatnam, India, was charged with one count of abusive sexual conduct aboard Flight 170 which departed on July 29, US Attorney Paul Fishman in New Jersey said.
Fishman said the defendant was arrested on July 30 when his flight arrived, and was released on $50,000 (44,530) bond following a Monday court appearance in Newark federal court.
Alexander Spiro, a lawyer at Brafman & Associates representing Kunam, declined to comment.
According to the complaint, Kunam was seated in an aisle seat when the victim, who was sleeping next to him in a middle seat, awoke to find his hands massaging her vagina and buttocks areas, and the defendant rubbing his bare feet against hers.
The woman then traded seats with her male travel companion, and Kunam offered to buy him a drink and told him he wanted everyone to forget about the incident, prosecutors said.
A member of the flight crew then moved Kunam to another seat, and the defendant said he would not touch the victim again, the complaint said.
Virgin America spokesman Dave Arnold said in a statement that the crew had been alerted to "reports of a disruptive individual" accused of inappropriate touching, moved the person, and told law enforcement, who were waiting for Flight 170 when it arrived.
The charge against Kunam carries a maximum two-year prison term and $250,000 (222,652) fine.
Donald Trump has said he fears the presidential election "is going to be rigged" - an unprecedented assertion by a modern White House candidate.
The Republican nominee's extraordinary claim - one he did not back up with any immediate evidence - would seem to threaten the tradition of peacefully contested elections and challenge the very essence of a fair democratic process.
"I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," the Republican nominee told a town hall crowd in Columbus, Ohio.
He added that he has been hearing "more and more" that the election may not be contested fairly, though he did not elaborate further.
Trump made the claim after first suggesting that the Democrats had fixed their primary system so Hillary Clinton could defeat Bernie Sanders.
The billionaire tycoon has previously backed up that thought by pointing to hacked emails from the national party that appeared to indicate a preference for Clinton.
Still, the former secretary of state received 3.7 million more votes than Mr Sanders nationwide and had established a clear lead in delegates by March 1.
The celebrity businessman also claimed that the Republican nomination would have been stolen from him had he not won by significant margins.
He repeated the charge on Monday night on Fox News, saying: "November 8, we'd better be careful, because that election is going to be rigged. And I hope the Republicans are watching closely or it's going to be taken away from us."
The statement could be an effort by Trump to lay the groundwork of an excuse if he goes on to lose the election.
But if he were to be defeated in November and then publicly declare that the election results were bogus, his claim could yield unpredictable reactions from his supporters and fellow Republicans.
Trump has not been shy about asserting that the electoral process has been "rigged".
It became a frequent catchphrase of during his primary campaign this spring, when forces allied with Republican rival Ted Cruz managed to pack state delegations with supporters of the Texas senator.
Trump also asserted that the Republican Party had changed the delegate allocation in the Florida primary to favour a native candidate, like Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio, at his expense.
In recent weeks, in an effort to woo angry Sanders supporters to his campaign, Trump has made the claim that the Democrats' process was also rigged.
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On Monday night, Trump said Sanders "made a deal with the devil" and said of Clinton: "She's the devil."
The event in Ohio was Trump's first campaign appearance since the start of his row with the parents of a killed Army veteran, but he did not address the controversy.
He spoke for nearly an hour in Columbus, but did not mention his criticism of Khizr and Ghazala Khan, Muslims whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004.
The Khans spoke out against Trump and questioned his familiarity with the Constitution last week at the Democratic National Convention.
Trump struck back by questioning whether Mrs Khan had been allowed to speak. She said she is still too grief-stricken by her son's death.
The candidate criticised the family in an interview on Sunday and again in two tweets on Monday morning.
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By Mike Eads of the Independent Mail
CLEMSON The Clemson City Council unanimously approved a plan Monday to manage the city's remaining sewer treatment capacity until the Cochran Road wastewater plant is expanded.
The council voted 5-0 in favor of the proposed Development Project Review and Approval Policy for Allocation of Wastewater Treatment Capacity. It will allow developers to reserve some of the 50,000 gallons per day of treatment capacity still available at Cochran Road when their plans are approved by the city.
Developers would pay each year to hold the reserved space, up to three years. The Cochran Road expansion work would nearly double to the plant's current 1.15 million per day treatment capacity, according to city officials.
Even with the reservation system, the short-term treatment squeeze could slow down, or temporarily halt, construction of anything bigger than single-family homes at some point in the next few years, because the sewer plant expansion may not be done until 2019.
The council also voted 5-0 to pursue the purchase of a wooded lot in the 400 block of Berkeley Drive for a stormwater retention pond. City Administrator Rick Cotton said homeowners in the area have sought relief for years from flooding problems, and a pond in that spot would alleviate much of the problem.
Stormwater Manager Nathan Hinkle told council members that the acre would be leveled and the pond would be lined with grass to prevent erosion. He said they would save as many of the trees on the lot as would be possible. The price would be $52,000, and Hinkle will come back to the council with final plans for constructing the pond.
In other business, Cotton briefed council members on the just-announced federal grant for the purchase of electric buses to add to the Clemson Area Transit fleet. The city will put up $4.2 million to go with the $3.9 million grant to buy 10 buses.
The city and Clemson University originally applied for $6 million to combine with a local match to buy a dozen electric buses and replace old diesels to be taken out of service. Cotton said falling prices for electrics could allow them to buy 10 new buses for $8.1 million, despite not getting all of the federal money they had sought.
Follow Michael Eads on Twitter @MikeEads_AIM.
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By Nikie Mayo of the Independent Mail
An Anderson-based engineer from the South Carolina Department of Transportation says the outcry to keep Rhody Farm Road open in Starr will likely affect how the state agency makes future street decisions.
"I've been with the department for 16 years and this is the first time I've had a thing like this happen, where we agree to transfer a road to a private citizen and then residents make this tremendous effort to ask the state to reverse the decision," said Fritz Wewers, a resident maintenance engineer for the state Department of Transportation. "I have just never seen anything like this."
Rhody Farm Road is a connector between Agnew Road and S.C. 81 South. Former Anderson County Councilman Eddie Moore, who owns land on both sides of Rhody Farm Road, petitioned the state to have the road transferred to him and got that permission in June.
But after "ROAD CLOSED" signs were erected, drivers started a petition to ask the state to reverse course.
"We as taxpayers have invested tax money for the upkeep of this road, I, myself over 40 years," Ricky Burdette said in a Facebook post about Rhody Farm Road. "We taxpayers should demand that we be refunded if this goes through and the road closed."
The road remains drivable and Moore cannot legally close it without going to court, Department of Transportation officials said.
Ray Graham, who started the petition, said in a recent interview that residents who back it plan to forward all the signatures to the state later this week.
"We want to make sure we have everything in order," Graham said. "We think maybe the Department of Transportation did not have the complete information when this decision was made, and if it had been given to them, there might have been a different outcome."
Moore did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
"There is nothing wrong with what he did to get the road transferred to him and there is nothing DOT did wrong in responding to him," Wewers said. "It's not a requirement of the process for us to run a study to see how much the road is used. But based on what has happened here, I expect there will be changes in policy, maybe a requirement for public input, before any road is transferred to a private citizen again."
In previous interviews, Moore said he wanted to close the road because he was concerned about his family's security and the amount of trash thrown out along the highway. But he has not responded to most questions about the road since a petition about it was taken from Redi-Mart in Starr last month and returned by him a few days later.
Wewers said the state Department of Transportation is negotiating with Moore "trying to mediate a solution" regarding the future of the road.
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President Tran Dai Quang meets with voters in Ho Chi Minh city (Photo: VNA)
The President cited the Governments report that public debt made up 62.2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of 2015, putting big pressure on the country to pay off debt.
The management and use of public debt in Vietnam has yet proved efficient, he said, adding that it is necessary to curb the debt at a safe level to mitigate risks in the coming time.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), Vietnam was excluded from the countries having high debt burdens, he noted.
The President agreed with a majority of voters that the prevention of corruption and wastefulness has reaped significant achievements but it should be further promoted.
In the context of regional and global complicated developments, the country proactively and resolutely safeguards its independence, sea and island sovereignty, and territorial integrity as well as ensures peace and stability for national development, he stressed.
After the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague issued its final ruling for the Philippines lawsuit against China on disputes in the East Sea on July 12th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam had prompt reaction, and Vietnams standpoints on the East Sea received international support, he said.
He noted that many countries and international organisations have called on the involved parties to attach importance to navigation and aviation safety and security in addition to abiding by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) , and reaching a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) as soon as possible.
The President also shared voters concerns over the massive fish death in central provinces. He said the Politburo along with Party and State senior officials convened a number of meetings to promptly enact measures to support fishermen in the affected areas while clarifying reasons of the maritime environmental incident.
The Government announced the conclusion of the incident, he said, adding that the Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Limited Company was responsible for the incident and pledged to compensate over VND11.5 trillion (USD500 million), and address shortcomings in the waste treatment system and build synchronous measures to control marine environment in the central region.
He stressed the State will examine all environment-related projects nationwide.
He affirmed that Vietnam rolls out red carpet for foreign investors for national socio-economic development, however, it is crucial to ensure national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity as well as benefits and security of the country.
The President also clarified voters concerns over other matters such as food safety and hygiene, water resources security and protection of consumers rights./.
Protecting Mato from trophy hunters
By Ari AmehaeGOAL Tribal CoalitionSpecial to the Native Sun News
CODY, Wyo. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Director Dan Ashe and Wyomings Governor Matt Mead have so far resisted calls to publicly denounce comments extolling Manifest Destiny made to the media by a financier of an organization that promotes the feds and states grizzly delisting and trophy-hunting message that is opposed by tribes.
Native Sun News obtained a copy of the email sent July 5 by GOAL Tribal Coalition to USFWS Director Ashe that is titled Stop the Racism and catalogs a litany of verified incidents that GOAL categorizes as a shameful display of racism. The latest was sparked when the tribal alliance recently raised a billboard in Cody, Wyoming, that questions delisting the grizzly from the Endangered Species Act, condemns proposed trophy hunts, and urges all to protect the sacred. It is the first billboard in the region to feature Native languages.
However, a billboard advocating USFWSs delisting agenda and Wyomings plan to trophy hunt grizzlies has been displayed in the Yellowstone National Park gateway town since April. Emblazoned with a dead grizzly bear at the feet of a hunter, the slogan reads, Wolf. Griz. Delist. Hunt, and is attributed to Wyoming Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife, a group that actively supports Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD).
The GOAL Tribal Coalition billboard in Wyoming asks "Why?" in Native languages. A rival billboard advocates delisting of the grizzly bear and hunting of the sacred animal. Photo from Facebook
Responding to the tribes billboard, Scott Weber, who funded the pro-trophy hunting sign, submitted comments that were published by the Cody Enterprise in which he denounced tribal leaders as delusional and denigrated tribal ceremonies as ramblings before concluding: For Manifest Destiny to reach its goals, four entities had to be taken off the very land where your home sits: 1. Indians 2. Grizzly 3. Buffalo 4. Wolves. Never can any regain their ground. Never, ever.
In GOALs email to Ashe, the coalitions co-founder, R. Bear Stands Last, writes, If you do not denounce this statement, I wonder what it will take for you to denounce anything? In online forums Weber, a gun storeowner who vehemently opposes gun control, has previously called reservations cesspools, vilified the LGBT community, and disparaged African-Americans. He is presently a school board trustee in Cody.
Read the rest of the story on the all new Native Sun News website: Protecting Mato from trophy hunters
(Contact Ari Amehae at goaltribalcoalition@gmail.com)
Copyright permission Native Sun News
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The addiction of Pokemon Go is plaguing everyone and no way can we see it fizzling out anytime soon.
We have told you enough crazy stories about Pokemon Go and to what extent addicts are stooping to 'catch 'em all.
The world is busy finding Pokemon without knowing how much damage it can cause.
Gameinformer
However, to teach everyone a good enough lesson, a religious group in UK actually arranged a Satsang for Pokemon Go addicts!
(Read: Bandra Dude Makes Indian Gaming History, Rams Mercedes Into Auto Playing Pokemon Go On The Road)
On July 30, the Nirvair Khalsa Jatha organised a Satsang (sacred gathering) in Wolverhampton in order to preach to people about the cons of this game.
Video Screengrab
Another unbelievable fact? It was a full house!
Video screengrab
Don't believe us? Well, watch this video right NOW!
Those who were fascinated with the movie '300' would be even more impressed by what a group of 21 young Sikh men did in the Battle of Saragarhi.
wikipedia.com
The Battle of Saragarhi is considered to be one of the greatest last stands in history. 21 soldiers of the 36 Sikh Regiment fought an army of over 10,000 Afghans and killed more than 600 of them before perishing to enemy bullets. The battle took place 12th September 1897 in Tirah region of North-West Frontier Province, now in Pakistan. Saragarhi was a post that connected British India forts of Lockhart and Gulistan on the border areas of Afghanistan.
youtube
The post was prone to attacks as Afghans were always hostile on Indian borders. But when the Afghans attacked, they marched down with 10,000 soldiers. Unbelievably, the Sikh soldiers who were guarding the post chose to face them instead of retreating! The detachment at Saragarhi had 1 NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) and 20 ORs (Other Ranks) and commander Havildar Ishar Singh was the leader of this unit.
The Sikh knew that the mud walls of the post wouldn't stand for long and soon they will be exposed to the brutal might of Afghans. By the time the mud walls fell, the 21 brave hearts had repulsed two attacks from the Afghans.
They faced odds of 1:476
The odds were striking. It would have taken more than just courage to face such a challenge where death was certain. Even in Thermopylae, the Greeks had an outside chance because they were fighting in hilly terrain. But at Saragarhi, it was face off in the open. The ratio of Sikh-Afghan soldiers was 1:476 and even Alexander the Great would have had second thoughts about this challenge. But the Sikhs thought only once and that was enough.
How the battle unfolded
The morning of 12 September 1897 brought with it an army of 10,000 Afghans. Around 9 am, Sardar Gurmukh Singh signalled to Col. Haughton in Fort Lockhart, that they were under attack. But the Colonel pleaded helplessness in sending reinforcement at such a short notice.
The soldiers decided to fight. Surrender would have probably saved their lives, but it would have made the fall of Fort Lockhart certain. Soon the battle began and Sepoy Bhagwan Singh became the first casualty followed by a brutal assault on Sepoy Lal Singh. The injured Lal Singh and Jiwa Singh dragged the dead Bhagwan Singh back to inner layers of the post.
Far from the post, Col. Haughton could see the Afghans attacking Saragarhi. He knew that it was a matter of time before the Afghans would rout the post and kill all soldiers. Afghans too were aware of a certain victory and tried to entice the Indians to surrender.
But the Indians kept firing at Afghans. The Sikh successfully repulsed two Afghans attacks to rush open the gates of the post. As a result, Afghans broke the wall and got in.
Panthic.org
Soon the battle, which was being fought with guns, turned into hand to hand combat. Ishar Singh, ordered his soldier to remain in the inner lines and decided to take on the Afghans himself. The battle was intense as the menacing Afghans were too strong in numbers. At last Gurmukh Singh, the soldier who communicated and narrated the battle to Col. Haughton said that since their number where shrinking quickly, he will have have to leave the communication set and play his role of a soldier. He went out to fight in the battle along with his fellow soldiers.
Col. Haughton could only hear the Sikhs shouting their battle cry, "Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal". But slowly the sounds died along with the 21 bravehearts who kept 10,000 Afghans a bay for almost three hours. As a result Col. Haughton got time to get reinforcements and Fort Lockhart was defended.
The entire unit was awarded
Linkedin.com
Post the battle, Col. Haughton narrated the heart wrenching story of the battle to the top brass of British Indian Army. As a result all 21 soldiers were awarded the prestigious Indian Order of Merit Class III award. It was also for the first time in history, that each and every member of unit won the gallantry awards for a single battle.
Saragarhi day
wikipedia
Even today, 12th September is celebrated as the Saragarhi Day in honour of the sacrifices made by those 21 brave soldiers and it's observed as the Sikh military commemoration day. Three gurdwaras - Saragarhi, Ferozpur and Amritsar have been made to commemorate their sacrifice.
Even as the police continue their hunt for the main accused in the gangrape of a 35-year-old Noida woman and her teenage daughter after waylaying their car on Friday, more chilling details are emerging.
According to the villagers, just 12 days ago a few men had "brought a woman in a tempo and gang-raped her late into the night". The first incident too, happened at the same spot where the woman and her daughter were robbed and gangraped.
msecnd/representative image
What is even more shocking is the police inaction.
According to locals, the police did not act, even after they approached the authorities.
"We got the news and immediately reached the spot after which the men fled. The woman was distraught, dishevelled. We stopped a police vehicle passing by and handed over to them a mobile phone and some clothes that the men had left behind. The police pocketed the phone and left. They later told the woman to come to the police station. We don't know what happened to her after that. She was in a bad shape and needed help from the police," Devraj Thakur, former pradhan of the village told The Times of India.
BCCL
They are blaming the police for the rise in crime in their neighbourhood.
"Police don't file cases even as the dangerous stretch has become a safe haven for criminals who often target travellers here. Had the police been vigilant in its patrol, the crime could have been averted," Govindpal Singh, another village elder, said.
It had also been revealed that the victims kept on trying to get help from the police by dialing 100 when the criminals left. But the number was either busy or was not picked up. Ultimately, they called up a relative for help.
ANI
Police however continues to be in denial mode. DIG (Meerut range) Lakshmi Singh said these were just rumors.
"This is at best the rumour mill at work. We do admit there have been a few lapses. We are doing everything in our means to bring the culprits to justice. More than half a dozen cops have already been suspended."
However Police have admitted that "two similar incidents" had occurred in the district on May 7 and May 12 this year.
The same modus operandi was used, something was thrown at the vehicle to stop it, the occupants led out at gunpoint and then robbed and assaulted. Police, though, on both occasions had registered cases of normal theft (under IPC's sections 379 and 356). The culprits in both the incidents were not arrested.
ANI
The gangrape and robber is believed to be the works of Bawariyas, a nomadic tribe. While three members of the gang have been nabbed, the hunt is still on for the remaining four.
Police said, for the gang which is spread across the area, highway robbery is the primary source of earning.
Like she fights her opponents in the ring, the brave-heart teenage victim of the Bulandshahr gangrape fought attackers for half an hour when they tried to catch her. She surrendered after her parents were taken on gun point.
Indiatimes
The 14-year-old was sexually assaulted along with her mother on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday near at Dostpur village along the Delhi-Kanpur highway near the western Uttar Pradesh district when they were on way to Shahjanpur to attend the terahnvi (rituals held 13 days after a death) of a relative.
When two of the goons tried to drag her away to an isolated place, she fought like a champion of self-defence. But she had to surrender once they turned their firearms towards us. What could she have done when her father could not do anything? said her father adding that her teen daughter is trained in karate (martial arts).
Sharing the horrific experience of that fateful night, the tearful father who is an Ola cab driver told Indiatimes, When the attackers first grabbed her, she cried out: Papa. I tried to save her but the assaulters hit me with a hammer and after I fell unconscious, my legs and hands were tied. She did her best what she could do in her self-defence. She fought like a tigress. She is not a coward. She never accepts defeat. What we want is justice.
Indian Express/Necklace lying abandoned at crime scene
My daughter unable to sleep, culprits faces continue to haunt her
He said her daughter says whenever she tries to sleep, she sees their faces. She tells me, Papa, whenever I try to sleep, I see their faces. My wife has barely eaten since the incident. She is not in a state to talk to anyone. My daughter knows karate but what could she have done when her father could not do anything? They had told her that if she makes any noise, they will kill me, he said.
He threatened to commit suicide if the accused are not punished. We were looted, brutally thrashed and we all know what my daughter had to suffer. These men need to be punished within three months. If it is not done, I, my wife and daughter will commit suicide, he said.
The family left home at Noida for Shahjahanpur after mid night on Friday. At around 1.30-2.00 am, the criminals allegedly Bawariyas, a nomadic tribe in norther India, hiding in the bushes along the road threw a blunt metal object at the white Hyundai Xcent in which the victims were travelling. When the driver stopped the car to assess the damage, robbers emerged and overpowered the occupants of the vehicle at gunpoint. The car was taken inside, driven on the kuchcha road, to an isolated place. The hands and legs of the male members of the victims family were tied and they were kept in the jowar (millet) fields. The two of the females were taken further inside and sexually assaulted.
Indiatimes
This is what happened on the fateful night
He said they (he, his wife and their daughter) left their residence at Noida at around 9 pm on Friday and picked up his brother, sister-in-law and their son on the way. At around 1.30 am, something was thrown at their car two km before Bulandshahr.
I stopped the vehicle and got out to check the tyres. When I stood up after inspecting the tyres, someone pointed a firearm at me. They took us to a jowar (millet) field, tied up the hands and legs of the three men and started beating us. The women were kept in another side of the field, he said.
The three men according to him were beaten for the next two hours every time they made a sound. It continued for around two hours. They tried to take away the car but could not do so because it was stuck in mud. Later, we realised they had left because no one responded when we called out. My nephew used his teeth to free us and we found the women, he said.
They had taken our mobile phones but left in the car. We called 100 at least five times but got no response. Then we called a friend in Noida, who gave us a police control room number. We called on the number and 15 minutes later, the police reached the spot, he said.
PTI/UP DGP Javed Ahmed visiting the spot
Indifferent and brutal society
He said they want to leave their locality because everyone in the area knows what happened. But the wife of his friend who gave them shelter after the incident has asked them to leave.
The entire locality where we have been living for the past 18 years knows what happened to us. We are so embarrassed that we are unable to return to our home. How will we be able to live with respect there? We are left with no option but to leave the area, he added.
He also wants to change the school of her daughter although she does not want it. What will she reply to her friends if they ask her about the incident? asked the father.
Because of frequent visits of policemen and media persons, the people living in my friends locality have also come to know about the incident. And therefore, the wife of my friend who has given us shelter in this difficult time has asked us to leave, he added.
Three suspects were arrested on Sunday as a massive manhunt was launched to nab those involved in the shocking crime. The main accused, according to cops, of the incident has also been identified and search is on the nab him.
Under attack over sliding law and order situation in UP in the run-up to the assembly elections, the Akhilesh Yadav government on Sunday suspended Bulandshahr senior superintendent of police Vaibhav Krishan for dereliction of duty. Six others, including SP (city) Rammohan Singh, circle officer (Sadar) Himanshu Gaurav and SHO Ramsen Singh of Kotwali Dehat, too were suspended.
Days after Delhi government ministers mocked the Haryana government for the massive gridlock in Gurgaon, the capital came to a halt on Monday due to rain.
BCCL
Waterlogging on almost all the major arterial roads lead to massive traffic snarls in south and central Delhi. Ring Road and Outer Ring Road, which carry the bulk of traffic, were the worst-affected. Traffic police said about 50% of the complaints received since morning pertained to waterlogging that caused jams in Jasola, Okhla, Apollo (towards Ashram), RTR towards IIT gate, Chelmsford Road towards Paharganj, Sarai Kale Khan towards DND, Sarita Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Defence Colony flyover and INA among others.
Areas like Sarai Kale Khan, IP flyover, Ashram, Lajpat Nagar, Moti Bagh, AIIMS flyover, IIT flyover, Adchini, Nelson Mandela Marg, Dhaula Kuan, Greater Kailash, Chirag Dilli, Zakhira, Chandgi Ram Akhara, South Extension, Peeragarhi, Laxmi Nagar and Geeta Colony had ankle-deep water that slowed down traffic.
BCCL
Residents blamed the civic agencies for not carrying out desilting work before monsoon. "Due to the incompetence of civic agencies, the people are suffering. Potholes have appeared on most of the roads and even light showers result in massive waterlogging," said Chetan Sharma, president of Greater Kailash II RWA.
Police officers said the emergency response teams that were created last week to deal with waterlogging were pressed into service to divert vehicles. Traffic around Dhaula Kuan was severely affected due to a breakdown near Sardar Patel Marg, which was only removed later in the evening.
Police said a report regarding the choke points was sent to the civic bodies, but nothing happened as they kept on passing the buck.
Also Read: Gurgaon Floods, PoK Protest Against Vote Rigging And Other Must Read News Stories From Friday
BCCL
Senior corporation officials, though, said they had desilted all the drains. "We have desilted our drains and waterlogging is reported in areas under PWD. Corporation drains are connected with PWD drains and if their drains are not cleared on time then it results in backflow of drain water," said a senior official from South Corporation.
"I inspected the areas under our jurisdiction on Monday evening after the rain and none of our areas were affected. PWD roads were choked as desilting work was not finished. We have written numerous letters to PWD to ensure drains are desilted," said Satya Sharma, mayor of East Corporation. But the civic bodies don't have enough machines to desilt drains. For instance, the South Corporation has only two super suction machines to cater to its 265 drains in 104 wards.
Likewise, North and East corporations have one super suction machine each to carry out desilting in their 104 and 64 wards respectively . Senior politicians said corporations claimed to have finished desilting work every year but flooding happens.
BCCL
"We have been raising this issue for a long time but no action has been taken. South Corporation has only two super suction machines.Most of the drains are covered and this machine can pull out silt from the entire stretch. But we have been rotating them between 104 wards and many drains are left out," said Virender Kasana, former central zone chairman and CR Park councillor. But house chief Subhash Arya claimed that due to high cost of super suction machine, South Corporation had floated a tender to procure eight jetting-cum-suction machines.
"A super suction machine costs Rs 3 crore to Rs 4 crore," said Arya.
PWD officials said they hadn't received reports of any major waterlogging anywhere. "Water did accumulate at various points during the rain but drained soon after. Our staff is on the ground, cleaning drains and draining water from whereever we are getting complaints," said a PWD official.
Also Read:Normalcy Returns To Gurgaon After Traffic Mayhem
When one thinks of Delhi, one thinks of our countrys legislative capital, home to the Parliament, the Supreme Court and our nations top leaders and policy makers. On the surface, it appears to be a relatively lawful city, far from the infamous gang violence of Mumbai. It may come as a surprise that the city has of late become a safe haven for a huge illegal gun trafficking industry. From .315 and 12 bore pistols to assault rifles and AK-47, all sophisticated firearms are first brought here from manufacturers in bulk and then distributed to local suppliers based in the national capital or its surrounding areas. The heavy crowd in the city helps arms supplier escape security agencies attention, thereby providing them a safe entry and exit.
millenniumpost.in
The recoveries of fire arms made by the Delhi Police in the past four years give a disturbing picture. A total of 388 firearms have been seized till June 15 this year. While in 2015 and 2014, this number was at 431 and 868 respectively, a total of 700 and 586 firearms were recovered in 2013 and 2012 respectively.
So where do these guns come from?
About 90% of illegal weapons being brought in Delhi are manufactured either at Munger in Bihar or the Khargone district in Madhya Pradesh. Both areas were historically home to government ordnance factories that were later shut down. Most residents had been working in these factories for generations and making guns was the only thing they knew how to do. The closures put hundreds of highly skilled workers out of jobs, and in towns with few available employment options, they needed to find a source of sustenance. Not knowing what else to do, many resorted to making firearms in their own homes and selling them to local criminals.
Today, this has morphed into a full-fledged illegal gun-manufacturing racket. In Munger, almost every home in every village has a lathe machine, which is used to make sophisticated pistols, says Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), Delhi Police.
What about the quality of these weapons?
Surely, if they are being made in homes, they must be prone to misfiring or breaking apart, right? On the contrary, weapons from both Munger and Khargone are of impeccable quality and nearly indistinguishable from originals. It is practically impossible for even a police officer to differentiate between the two, which is partly why they are so hard to catch. Manufacturers are not limited to Indian pistols, or katas, either; they make all kinds of sophisticated automatics and revolvers, and even some AK-47s.
How are the weapons transported and sold?
There are intermediaries based in various states who manage the distribution. Firearms are brought to Delhi and given to these intermediaries, who later sell them off to various criminals and gang-members. Delhi is very populated, so it has become a transaction point between buyers and sellers, says Yadav adding that rather than receiving consignments in the areas where they live in, which are mostly concentrated around Agra, Meerut, Mathura and Aligarh, intermediaries come to the capital region to pick them up because there is a smaller chance of being caught here.
Picofiles.com
They buy mostly bulk consignments (which may amount to more than a hundred guns) at a rate of Rs 10,000- 15,000 per gun. They then sell off two or three guns at a time to criminals based all over the country, again using Delhi as a transaction point.
According to the top cop, intermediaries sell the weapons at rates ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 1 lakh per piece, depending on who the criminal is.
The actual moving of weapons to Delhi is done in different ways. Bulk consignments are mostly stuffed into ingeniously hidden cavities inside cars and driven to the city. These cavities can be anywhere inside the vehicle, from behind the headlights to inside a duplicate petrol tank.
They are difficult to spot during cursory checks, and smugglers can easily get by, said Taj Hassan, Special Commissioner, Crime Branch.
The Hindu
If arms and ammunition are being trafficked to Delhi so easily, then what is the Delhi police doing? Speaking of the predicament the police face, Hassan said, It is not possible to check every car or person coming to Delhi. There is not one road; there are more than one thousand entry points. For smaller consignments, smugglers often hide guns amongst clothes in suitcases or bags and transport them to Delhi by train or bus. A common tactic is to use female transporters, since they are less likely to be frisked or checked by station security. Once in the city, the weapons are quickly sold to intermediary agents, and the cycle continues.
It is practically impossible, he said to check each and every vehicles coming to the city from adjoining areas. We have to depend on intelligence input. Therefore, we keep on developing and building intelligence and it is a continuous process. We launch any crack down on the weapon smugglers only on the basis of a tip-off. There is no other way to do it.
Weapons being brought into Delhi are not only sold to buyers based in Delhi and NCR, but also to interested parties all over North India. Gang members from Uttar Pradesh to Rajasthan come here to purchase weaponry. Within the city, the police say that buyers are mostly concentrated in areas with heavy criminal activity such as Najafgarh, Badarpur, Sangam Vihar and certain portions of Northwest Delhi.
The Delhi Police is working hard to dismantle this trafficking ring, but progress is slow.
BCCL
Clueless cops
It all started when, in 2012, officers caught a couple of very large weapon consignments in the region. At that time, we were not aware that such large consignments were coming into Delhi, says Yadav.
They then started looking for the source of these weapons and began working towards bringing them down. They conducted numerous raids in the Munger region, and the local police soon became actively involved. By now, claims Yadav, they have managed to destroy 80-90% of Mungers manufacturing industry.
The quantity of weapons coming from Munger has vastly decreased, said Yadav with the cooperation of Bihar Police.
One breath of relief in this entire story is the fact that none of these weapons are being used for terror-related activities or against civilians in any manner. They are mostly used for threats or violence within competing gangs. This containment is perhaps why the booming business has not been in the public spotlight. However, it is a real, growing problem. As the amount of illegal weapons in circulation increases, so does gun violence. Next time, the collateral damage may be an innocent civilian.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh is likely to use this week's Saarc conference to highlight the irony of Burhan Wani, a top Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist who was recently killed, being declared a 'martyr' in Pakistan.
BCCL
Pakistan, which paints itself as a "victim" of terror just like India, was quick to milk Wani's killing to raise the Kashmir bogey. Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif reportedly not only declared him a "martyr", but also announced that July 19 would be observed as a "black day to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir".
BCCL
Sources in the security establishment said Singh, in his address at the Saarc meet on August 4, may choose to underline how a person indulging in terror activities in one SAARC country was being hailed as a 'martyr' by another.
Also Read: Burhan Wani May Be Projected A Martyr, But Kashmiri Youth Will Do Well To Stay Away From Militancy
Incidentally, TOI has learnt that at least three home ministers of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal will skip the conference.
BCCL
"Despite this, India has taken a conscious decision to attend the event and showcase its commitment to regional cooperation," said an officer.
Singh will arrive in Pakistan on the evening of August 3. Sources said he was likely to stick to multilateral SAARC engagements, with no bilateral interaction with Pakistani representatives scheduled so far. Singh will skip the dinner to be hosted by Pakistan on Thursday and fly back to India.
India has recently made it harder to acquire firearms in India. To get a license, youll need to show that youre properly trained to use a firearm, carry in in holders, and secure them in a"knocked down" condition, in a gun locker.
And youll even need a license for an air gun, a blank fire gun and even a paintball gun
akrockefeller flickr
A Ministry of Home Affairs officials said that the new laws aims "to bring in transparency in the arms control regime, prevent, combat and eradicate illicit trade in small arms and light weapons . . . and bring in the contemporary practices in international laws."
What does the Indian gun lobby think?
This Injection Can Even Seal A Gunshot Wound In 20 Seconds, And You Can Get One For Just Rs 7000
"Last few years we have discussed with the government steps to remove the harassment law abiding citizens face in getting firearm licenses. One shouldn't have to jump through 25 hoops to get a license, Rahoul Rai, president of the National Association for Gun Rights India said. The amendment may come as a surprise in May last year the government had proposed amending Arms Act rules to cut down the paperwork and ensure swift grant of the licence, after quick police verification.
America's Gays & Lesbians Are Buying Guns In Record Numbers, And Gun Owners Are Teaching Them How To Shoot!
Gun deaths in India: Unlicensed license to kill?
Ibro Palic flickr
India has about 26 lakh gun license holders and it looks like theyre less lethal than the unlicensed firearms owners.
In contrast, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data shows that gun-related deaths were 3,655 in 2014, and 86% of the victims in these deaths died from illegal weapons.
How dangerous are unlicensed guns?
According to a 2015 report, over 85% of all murders committed using firearms have unlicensed guns involved. UP and Bihar, prominent makers of these guns, also are home to67% of all murders by unlicensed guns.
Surprisingly, unlicensed gun crime has fallen
2012: murders by unlicensed weapons stood at close to 3,500. This fell to about 3,300 the next year and declined further to just over 3,100 last year.
Killer states
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana lead India's body count of murders committed by unlicensed weapons, and apart from Arunchal Pradesh, every Indian state sees more unlicensed gun killings.
Where do unlicensed guns come from?
skyandsea876 flickr
"The arms market is thriving in India and the law is ill-equipped to put curbs on it. Sophisticated small arms enter India through Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, regions bordering Nepal, Nagaland and Manipur; some are also made in places like Munger in Bihar. But the percentage of people owning such guns is lower as compared to those owning country-made firearms such as kattas or tamanchas," Major General (retd) Dipankar Banerjee of Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies told the Economic Times.
Small, difficult to trace factories spread all over Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar manufacture kattas, 10 and 12 bore shotguns and even rifles. These weapons are favourites with local gangs that indulge in robberies, kidnappings and extortions. What's worseeven schoolchildren have access to such weapons.
The Men Of Madhya Pradesh Are Guarding Their Water With Guns!
The external affairs ministry has stepped up efforts to bring back its citizens in Saudi and Kuwaiti who have been without food after they lost their jobs.
Reuters/ Representative Image
Two minister, VK Singh and MJ Akbar, both MoS, External Affairs have been tasked with coordinating the efforts, in the two countries.
While Singh is set to travel to Saudi, Akbar will head to Kuwait, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj confirmed.
Had fruitful discussions with Saudi Ambassador to India Dr. Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati on all bilateral issues. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Gy25aht8a1 M.J. Akbar (@mjakbar) August 2, 2016
Glad to receive support and assurances from Saudi government to resolve all outstanding issues, including that of our Indian labourers 2/2 M.J. Akbar (@mjakbar) August 2, 2016
We will employ all resources 2ensure tht our countrymen in Saudi get adequate supplies. Our citizens anywhere in the world are our priority. Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) August 1, 2016
The ministers have been tasked with finding a way out for the workers who are in a deep financial mess. Essentially, their salary arrears have to be logged as a legitimate claim with the company. The workers could have probably returned earlier but stayed on in the hope of getting some of their salary arrears from the company that has gone belly-up.
Officials leaving with direction to collect all necessary details of 2500+ Indians in different camps to speed up process of crisis mangmnt India in Jeddah (@CGIJeddah) July 31, 2016
The action comes after reports of over 10,000 Indian nationals who were working in Saudi were starving after they lost their jobs a couple of months ago.
Acting up on the reports Indian mission in Saudi had arranged for free food rations for the affected people.
Twitter
The Indian Embassy and the Indian diaspora in Saudi had also came together to help those who were in a workers camp, without food.
CGI Jeddah with help from Indian Community in Jeddah distributed 1700 pack of (khuboos-chapati),each pack having 1/2 pic.twitter.com/BUln6MhL0q India in Jeddah (@CGIJeddah) August 1, 2016
There is an estimated over 30 lakh Indians working in Saudi, making it the largest expat working community in the country.
Even as the state is limping back to normalcy following the violence that erupted following the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, some fringe elements are using it as an opportunity to assert their moral policing.
AFP/ Representative Image
A hitherto unheard organization, which calls itself 'Sangbaaz Association Jammu and Kashmir, Azad Kashmir' has issued a 'Taliban-style' diktat against women and shopkeepers in the valley.
The chilling warning, issued through posters threatens the Kashmiri girls of death if they would be seen driving their two-wheelers on the streets.
We request all girls, please do not use Scooty. If we see any girl who rides Scooty, we will burn the Scooty as well as the girl.
AP/ Representative Image
Issuing a 'last warning' against shops, banks and commercial establishments against opening them "till the end of this fight."
This is for the first time, the fringe group otherwise only know for stone-pelting at Indian army during protests have come out with such a stern warning.
EPA/ Representative Image
According to some local media reports, posters of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) also have surfaced in south Kashmir. They ask people to continue agitation till freedom and urge women not to venture out of their homes, and government employees not to go to work.
Earlier Hizbul Mujahideen had put out posters with photos of their gummen, which agencies believe was aimed at recruiting Kashmiri youths towards militancy.
West Bengal will very likely now be called just 'Bengal' when it's being referred to in English and 'Bangla' or 'Banga' when its referred to in Bengali.
Google Map
The state government's cabinet on Tuesday okayed a proposal to this effect, and that proposal will be forwarded to the Centre after it's ratified by the West Bengal Assembly, in a special session that is expected to be held soon.The state Assembly is very likely to ratify this proposal because the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has a majority in the House.
The long-standing demand for a change in the name of the state received the nod of the state Assembly on Tuesday. If the name change gets across the board approval, it would require a Constitutional amendment to effect the change.
BCCL
In the Bengali language, the state is currently referred to as 'Pashchim Bengal', which translates to 'West Bengal.' The proposal is looking to change it to either 'Bangla' or 'Banga', in Bengali. This would then gel with the already in effect change in the spelling of the state capital Kolkata, which was once officially called 'Calcutta.'
That it is referred to as 'West' Bengal rather than just 'Bengal' is seen by some as the reflection of a colonial hangover. That's because the British partitioned the then 'Bengal province' to Hindu-dominated West Bengal and Muslim-dominated East Bengal.
The latter isn't called 'East' Bengal anymore. It was called East Pakistan after Partition and then Bangladesh after it won independence from Pakistan in 1972. In fact, there was no need to call India's state 'West' Bengal after it won independence from the British.
For example, Punjab - which the British had divided up as 'West'and 'East' Punjab - was called just that by both India and Pakistan after Partition.
The Indian government has sent emergency aid to nearly 10,000 workers in Saudi Arabia who have been stranded without any money or food.
Thousands of Indian workers, who work as construction labourers, haven't received their salary in seven months. The Indian Consulate in Jeddah has set up emergency food centers to dispense essential items such as onions, rice, and cooking oil, all completely free of cost.
Twitter
Indian MEA Sushma Swaraj urged Indian citizens in Saudi Arabia to come forward and help the stranded in their time of need:
I assure you that no Indian worker rendered unemployed in Saudi Arabia will go without food. I am monitoring this on hourly basis. Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 30, 2016
I appeal to 30 lakhs Indians in Saudi Arabia. Please help your fellow brothers and sisters. /1 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 30, 2016
There is nothing mightier than the collective will of Indian nation. Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 30, 2016
Companies like Saad and the BinLaden group laid off 50,000 workers in the past year alone. Many others are giving workers "permanent exit visas" to leave the country but without any promise of salaries.
However, the Indian community in Saudi Arabia has come out full throttle in support of the workers and are doing their best to provide them comfort with free food.
Happy 2 share more pics of Food distribution at Highway camp on July 30, 16.CG, Jeddah wid DCG/Consul(Haj) present 2 pic.twitter.com/WwkcJIsJJ4 India in Jeddah (@CGIJeddah) July 31, 2016
The Indian Consulate, along with the Indian community, has already distributed 15,000 kg of food over the past three days.
Twitter
While speaking to The Hindu, Ahmed Javed, the Indian Ambassador in Riyadh said "We are providing immediate humanitarian assistance in terms of food and medicine to stranded Indian workers here, and at the same time meeting with the Ministry of Labour in the Saudi government to take up their concerns."
The Indian government is reportedly also considering the possibility of paying the workers' their due before they are brought back to India.
A man from the Netherlands flew to China to meet his online love interest but instead ended up at the hospital after 10 days at the airport when his lady love was a no-show.
CCTV News
Alexander Pieter Cirk met his girlfriend Zhang online and flew to China to visit her. He landed at Changsha Huanghua International Airport and waited for his love interest to arrive.
The two met online two months before he made the journey. A few passersby noticed the 41-year-old Dutchman and pictures of him emerged online.
CCTV News
China's Hunan TV contacted 26-year-old Zhang after Alexander was taken to the hospital due to exhaustion.
CCTV
She explained her absence and said she thought he was joking about coming to China. He showed her plane tickets to China on a video call but she didn't believe him about that either. When he arrived in Changsa, she was in another province - Zhenzhou - getting cosmetic surgery done. Since then Cirk has returned home but Zhang is hopeful they will still be able to work things out.
CCTV News
It is not a bad thing for us, that the route known as the Goldene Strae or the Golden Road as we will get to know it- has escaped the attention of so many. It has been spared being overrun by hordes of tourists and as you will discover the
Human Rights Watch Reports U.S. Government Tortured Children By Paul Craig Roberts August 01, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - Human Rights Watch (HRW) has just released its report, Extreme Measures: Abused Children Detained As National Security Threats . From my reading of the report, Israel and the US are the two worst abusers. Boko Haram is a distant third. Which country is the worst abuser, Israel or the US? Taking into account that the US is responsible for the violence in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria that has resulted in torture and detention, if we include these victims in the American total, then the US is the Number One torturer of children. As it is unlikely that Israel could get away with abuse of Palestinian children without Washingtons support, we can add Israels abuses to Washingtons total. Guantanamo Bay is a great distance away from Washingtons wars against Muslims in Afghanistan, North Africa and the Middle East. Yet even at Guantanamo, where the only violence is the violence that the US military inflicts on detainees, the US government tortured children, according to the Human Rights Watch report. What kind of military tortures children? The only answer that I can come up with is a military that has no self-respect. What kind of US government would pay two US psychologists $81 million to help the CIA devise torture techniques? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/09/cia-torture-contractors_n_6296758.html Only a lawless government with no respect for US law and international law. Think back to the torture memos written by US Department of Justice (sic) officials John C. Yoo and Jay S. Bybee. These memos justifying the US governments torture of detainees despite the prohibition of torture by both US statutory law and international law to which the US is a signatory have been denounced by civil libertarians as the work of legal incompetents or criminals or both. Yet, John Yoo is a professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley, and for his service to the White House torturers Jay Bybee was appointed a US federal judge to the second highest court. If Hitlery becomes president, Bybee and Yoo could end up on the Supreme Court. The positions held by Yoo and Bybee tell the world all that is needed to know that the United States is a lawless entity and that this lawlessness is accepted by Americas legal, political, and educational institutions and by the American people. What self-respecting parent would send a son or daughter to study law at a university that hosts a legal scholar who discounts law in behalf of torture? If you were a judge on the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals and a torturer was appointed to the court, would you welcome the criminal or resign in protest against a government that has no respect for its own laws? How many NSA officials have resigned over illegal spying on the American people? How many FBI officials have resigned over false flag frame-ups of terrorists? When the Democratic National Committee can hire Americans for $50 per night to fill up the empty seats at the Democratic convention, what does that tell you about the price of American integrity? http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-28/did-dnc-hire-actors-below-minimum-wage-work-convention Do you remember the 775 Guantanamo detainees described by the US Secretary of Defense and the Vice President of the US as the most dangerous, most violent men on earth? We will never know how many of these detainees were tortured in an effort to elicit a confession in support of the governments unfounded claims, but nine of them died in custody. We do know that despite torture and the assurances from the highest officials that the detainees were dangerous and violent, as of July 12, 2016, 90 percent of the detainees have been released without charges. Only 76 remain, and apparently there is no evidence that can be used to charge them. Apparently, they are being held only in order to save the US government from being 100 percent wrong. Being 90 percent wrong is close enough for government work. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Guantanamo_Bay_detainees and http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees Do you remember those photos of the torture of the Abu Ghraib prisoners? As horrifying as the photos are, they are the mild part. Others photos were not released. The photos reveal more than torture. The photos reveal the extreme pleasure that the US soldiers got from torturing the prisoners. They were having the time of their life abusing other humans! Some feminists have excused the female soldier, one of the several grunts punished while the higher officials responsible went scot free, with the rationale that she was only getting back at the male gender for the abuses she, as a female, had suffered from men. The Abu Ghraib photos required silencing. Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the senior American commander in Iraq, appointed Major General Antonio Taguba to compile a report based on an investigation of the torture. All Gen. Taguba had to do was to explain away the torture and be promoted from 2-star to 3-star general. If that is what Sanchez intended, he chose the wrong man. Gen. Taguba filed an honest report, finding: That between October and December 2003, at the Abu Ghraib Confinement Facility (BCCF), numerous incidents of sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuses were inflicted on several detainees. This systemic and illegal abuse of detainees was intentionally perpetrated by several members of the military police guard force (372nd Military Police Company, 320th Military Police Battalion, 800th MP Brigade), in Tier (section) 1-A of the Abu Ghraib Prison (BCCF). The allegations of abuse were substantiated by detailed witness statements (ANNEX 26) and the discovery of extremely graphic photographic evidenceIn addition to the aforementioned crimes, there were also abuses committed by members of the 325th MI Battalion, 205th MI Brigade, and Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center (JIDC).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taguba_Report Instead of becoming a 3-star general with lucrative consulting opportunities and board memberships at the end of his military career, Taguba was sent into retirement. Seymour Hershs report on The Generals Report shows a US military whose leaders, both military and civilian, are devoid of integrity. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/06/25/the-generals-report If we contrast the fate of Gen. Taguba, who took the US Military Code seriously, with the mindlessness of Fox News and its incoherent insouciant Medal of Honor winner, Dakota Meyer, who is displayed on need, we can see how integrity was lost to ignorance and propaganda. Mischaracterizing Democratic convention delegates protests, no more war, as disrespect for the military, Dakota Meyer declares that America is the beacon of hope. https://www.yahoo.com/news/medal-honor-recipient-reacts-disrespect-140945017.html That is not the way the world sees it. In every world poll, the United States is ranked overwhelmingly as the greatest threat to peace, with Israel as the runner-up. The threats, such as North Korea and Iran, designated by the warmongers in Washington hardly register as threats in world polls. Long ago Americans were divided into liberals and conservatives and set against one another, while those who did the dividing took away our civil liberties and prosperity. Both the Fox News imbecile and the Medal of Honor winner, who think of themselves as conservatives, believe that it is liberals who are disrespectful of the military and that their hatred of the military is why liberals are opposed to war. Of course, informed Americans are aware that it was conservatives who did not want to get into wars. It was conservatives, not liberals who opposed US involvement in WWI and WWII. Liberals were hot to trot. It has escaped Fox News and the Medal of Honor winner that Democrat Hitlery is all in favor of war and wants more of it. The people who dont want war are the ones that understand that WWIII will be nuclear and bring an end to life on earth. The people denigrated by the Fox News imbecile and the insouciant Medal of Honor winner are the people who are trying to save not only the United States but all life on earth from the stupid, reckless, arrogant war crowd. To whom is America the beacon of hope? Is America the beacon of hope to the millions of peoples who have been killed, maimed, and displaced by Americas wars during the past 15 years? Is America the beacon of hope to the Palestinians trapped in the Gaza Ghetto that Israel uses for a shooting gallery? Is America the beacon of hope to the Latin American peoples whose representative governments Washington routinely overthrows? Is America the beacon of hope to the Russians and Chinese who are being encircled with military bases and demonized with hostile words and misrepresented with lies? Is America the beacon of hope for the middle class whose jobs and future were offshored? Is America the beacon of hope to the poor whose public assistance was wiped out by Clintons Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996? America is a beacon of hope only to the One Percent who loot and plunder both our economic future and our civil liberties. People can be intelligent without being brave, and they can be brave without being intelligent. Our soldiers fit in the later category. They do the work for the One Percent and are paid for their physical and emotional injuries with medals. In the past 15 years the beacon of hope has destroyed in whole or part seven countriesAfghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, and Syria. The beacon of hope has overthrown representative governments in Honduras, Ukraine, Egypt, Argentina, and Brazil, installing in their place right-wing crooks, and is working hard to overthrow the elected governments in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. The extraordinary range of death and suffering for which the beacon of hope is responsible is unprecedented. As if this is not enough, the beacon of hope is now recklessly and irresponsibly threatening two nuclear powersRussia and Chinawith military encirclement justified with the most blatant and transparent lies. We hear the propaganda 24/7. Even the liberal NPR specializes in telling lies about Russia. Is it hopeful to convince two nuclear powers that the US is preparing to attack? It is Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, who says he doesnt want conflict with Russia and sees little point to NATO. Yet, the liberal media doesnt miss an opportunity to demonize Trump, just as the presstitutes demonize the peace-seeker, Vladimir Putin. The presstitutes are screaming: Give us Hitlery and more war! Feminists want Hitlery for war on the glass ceiling. The neoconservatives want Hitlery in order for them to achieve their ideology of world hegemony. The military/security complex and Wall Street want Hitlery for their profits. Why is it Donald Trump, the candidate who says he wants to avoid dangerous conflict with nuclear powers, who is being demonized? Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following. Roberts' latest books are The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West , How America Was Lost , and The Neoconservative Threat to World Order .
Frances Terror Spiral Ends When France Stops Being a Rogue State By Finian Cunningham August 01, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " SCF " - French shock at the murder of an elderly priest by two knife-wielding Islamist terrorists is understandable. The 85-year-old cleric, Father Jacques Hamel, was forced to his knees before the tiny mass-going congregation in a Normandy parish church, when his throat was slit. The killers then proceeded to film themselves proclaiming a macabre Arabic ritual on the churchs altar. Expressing the nations horror, Father Philippe Maheut, the vicar general for the Rouen district in northern France where the murder took place earlier this week, reportedly said: We ask ourselves: how have we arrived at this point? The shock of the barbaric slaying is all the more compounded coming less than two weeks after a Tunisian-born man smashed a 19-ton lorry into crowds of pedestrians watching a Bastille Day fireworks display in the Riviera resort city of Nice. French authorities say that attack in which 84 people were killed was also motivated by Islamist terrorism. Since January 2015, France has incurred over 10 terror attacks, which have taken the lives of more than 250 people. The country has been in a state of emergency for nine months and will continue to be so until at least the end of this year. Perhaps even beyond that. Yet there seems to be no respite from the violence. What is even more galling for citizens is that in the latest attack near Rouen, one of the two assailants who were subsequently shot dead by police officers, was known to the French authorities for having terror links. Adel Kermiche (19), a French-Arab, was tagged electronically and under surveillance as part of a sentence from a French court for attempting to go to Syria on two occasions during 2015 to join Islamist militias fighting there. The disclosure adds to the growing popular discontent with the government of President Francois Hollande. It follows claims made by local French police in Nice that they were not given adequate national security support at the time of the lorry massacre. Hollandes Socialist government is being assailed on the political right for being too soft on security. Nicolas Sarkozy, the leader of the Republicans, is calling for a merciless response in the aftermath of the priests slaying this week. Sarkozy, who is expected to make a second bid for the presidency in elections next year, appears to be trying to sideline the rightwing, anti-immigrant National Front of Marine Le Pen. Emergency measures being demanded by Sarkozy include detention without trial for anyone suspected of Islamist terror links, greater surveillance powers for police, and the deportation of French citizens to their country of heritage if convicted of terror offenses. That is a slippery slope towards mass internment of entire ethnic-religious populations, akin to a martial law state. With Hollandes government under increasing electoral pressure from both the Republicans and the National Front, and given its woeful performance so far on security issues, it seems inevitable that France will intensify its already draconian emergency powers. French military operations overseas can also be expected to escalate. Both Hollande and his Prime Minister Manuel Valls have declared war on Islamic State (IS or Daesh) and have vowed that the war will be long. Only days after the Nice atrocity on 14 July, French warplanes carried out several air strikes near the IS stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria. However, Syrian government sources claimed that the strikes resulted in over 100 civilians being killed. Damascus sent a letter to the UN Security Council condemning French violation of humanitarian law, as well as its sovereignty in carrying out the air raids. What we have then is a death-terror-spiral. Under prevailing circumstances this spiral will drill deeper and deeper into horrific oblivion. Lets go back to the question posed by the vicar general of Rouen following the priests murder: how did we arrive at this point? It cannot be understated that much of the so-called jihadist violence that has erupted across Europe, from France to Belgium to Germany, is a form of blowback from illegal wars that European states have waged in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. These wars have been conducted overtly along with the United States, under the auspices of NATO, in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia and Mali. The legality of these interventions is highly questionable, if not criminal on the face of it. It was under the French presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy in March 2011 that NATO bombed Libya into a failed state, overthrowing the government of Muammar Gaddafi, and unleashing Islamist terrorism across the Maghreb, Sahara and Middle East regions. Under Hollandes presidency from 2012, France has been a key sponsor of the covert war in Syria over the past five years to topple the elected government of President Bashar al-Assad. Along with the United States, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, France is responsible for one of the great crimes in modern history the wanton destruction of Syria, with a death toll of 400,000 people and the displacement of millions refugees, all stemming from the covert support of terrorist militia for regime change. As Syrias ambassador to the UN, Bashar al-Jaafari, admonished the Security Council this past week with sarcasm: Why are attacks in Europe condemned as terrorist acts, but when they are carried out in Syria, Western governments refer to them as the actions of moderate rebels? The slitting of a priests throat in a Normandy church by self-proclaimed Islamist terrorists is indeed shocking. But how much more shocking is the beheading of thousands of Christians and Muslims by the same terror groups in Syria? Syrian Christian patriarchs have for years been warning about the extermination of Christians in towns and villages that have fallen under siege from Islamic State and other al-Qaeda-linked terror groups. Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II told of just one horrific incident among many when 21 Christians were slaughtered inside a church in the town of Al Qaryatain. The reign of terror only came to an end in April this year when the Syrian Arab Army and Russian air force recaptured the town from the jihadists. The jihadist networks mercenaries from as many as 100 countries nearly toppled the Syrian state until Russias President Vladimir Putin ordered military intervention last October. Toppling the state was the objective of the French government and its allies. And the proxies were directed, financed and weaponized by the foreign powers. France, the US, Britain and others are guilty of huge war crimes. The political leaders of these countries need to be prosecuted. Because without accountability under the law then there is no law. We have succumbed to the jungle. Francois Hollande is on record publicly admitting that French weapons were being supplied to Syrian rebels as early as 2012, in contravention of a European Union embargo on Syria. Western media reports have also occasionally and coyly acknowledged that foreign weapons have ended up in the hands of officially proscribed terror networks. The notion of a distinction between moderates and extremists is a cynical charade to absolve Western governments from the legitimate charge that they are aiding and abetting terrorists. The videoed decapitation of a 10-year-old Palestinian boy near the northern Syrian city of Aleppo last week by US-backed rebels from the Nour al-Din al-Zenki brigade is proof of that charade. The US State Department admitted its link to the group, saying that the gruesome slaying of the boy would give it pause to continue its support for the brigade. There seems no way out of Frances death spiral with terrorism. Not just France, but the whole of Europe. A spate of terror-linked attacks in Germany three in the last week is stoking fear and resentment among ordinary Germans towards asylum seekers who have fled violence in Arab and Muslim countries. The atrocity at the French church near Rouen is seen as a profanity against Frances Christian heritage. There are reports of fears that far-right French nationalist groups will seek revenge through attacks on Arab and Muslim communities. The mentality of fear, suspicion, retribution and xenophobia is in turn being reinforced by increasing emergency state powers and incendiary political rhetoric. There is, it seems, an abysmal, apocalyptic vista of never-ending violence. Understandably, European citizens seem to be at a loss as to how to break out of the cycle of violence. The truth is that Frances terror spiral, and that of wider Europe too, will only come to an end when states like France stop conducting themselves like rogue powers, trashing international law and violating other countries sovereignty with their support of terrorist proxies for illicit schemes of regime change. France is in mourning once again. The country needs to wake up to the reality of its own international lawlessness. And break the cycle of terrorism that its governments have in a big way instigated in the first place, along with their European and American NATO allies. Speaking after the slaughter of the priest near Rouen, President Hollande looked into the TV cameras and solemnly said: I owe you the truth. This war will be long. It is our democracy that is being targeted. We must unite. Hold it right there. This is the kind of lying deceit that Western governments have to be called out on. The first thing that people should unite for is the prosecution of war criminals and the systematic violation of international law that has largely induced the phenomenon of endless terror in our midst. Finian Cunningham is a former editor and writer for major news media organizations. He has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages
By Finian Cunningham
Indeed, far more media coverage is given to Hillary Clintons nomination as the Democrats presidential candidate. While Clinton was declaring to her partys convention how she would wipe out Islamist terrorists in the Middle East, the Syrian army and its Russian allies were actually getting on with that very job.
Syrias northern city of Aleppo which was the countrys biggest city before the onset of the war in 2011 is about to be fully retaken by the Syrian army, supported by Russian air power. Humanitarian corridors have been created to allow civilians and surrendering fighters to escape before the final assault begins on anti-government militias holed up in the east of the city
The militants are an amalgam of illegally armed groups, including the proscribed terrorist brigades affiliated to al-Qaeda. Western governments and media engage in cynical word games by referring to some of the fighters as moderates and rebels.
For example, a CNN report states: Syrian and Russian forces are to open humanitarian corridors for people to flee the besieged city of Aleppo, officials in both countries said Thursday, the day after Syrias army announced it had encircled the city and cut off rebel [sic] supply routes.
Note how the nice-sounding word rebel is invoked as a way of sanitizing the fact that the city has been besieged by extremists, who have seen fit to chop off the heads of their victims, including 10-year-old boys.
What Syrian and Russian forces are about to achieve in the recapture of Aleppo is nothing short of a historic victory. It is not just the symbolism of regaining Syrias second city, which has the strategic significance of government-controlled Damascus. With its proximity to the Turkish border, Aleppo has been a bastion for illicit flow of weapons and mercenaries that has fueled the entire Syrian conflict.
The United States and its NATO allies, Britain and France, have worked with their regional partners Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey to use Aleppo as the staging post for their covert, dirty war of regime change against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The death-cult mercenaries for this foreign conspiracy of regime change in Syria have come from all over the world, from some 100 countries, including Western and Arab states, as well as from Russias Caucuses.
In many ways, Aleppo represents the last stand for the regime-change forces. When Aleppo finally falls in the coming weeks, it will spell the end of Syrias torturous conflict which was imposed on the country by the US and its allies for the purpose of regime change under the guise of a pro-democracy uprising.
What an indictment that is of Washingtons criminality and that of its rogue state cronies. Some 400,000 people killed over the past five years and nearly half the population of 23 million turned into refugees. The refugee crisis and blowback terrorism that Europe is confronted with are also repercussions from this foreign criminal conspiracy to subvert Syria.
The victory against state-sponsored terrorism on Syria is a tribute to the tenacity and courage of the Syrian people, their government and their army.
And in that victory Russia has played a formidable, heroic role. President Assad has acknowledged the vital role of Russias military intervention in saving his nation from the fate that other nations have succumbed to, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya all victims of US-led regime-change machinations.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin resolved to send in his military forces to salvage Syria at the end of September 2015, the turnaround was immediate and crucial.
The industrial-scale oil smuggling routes run by the jihadist networks in eastern Syria were smashed by Russian air power. That cut off major financial support to the jihadists which the Turkish state had facilitated. That, in turn, left the terrorist center at Raqqa to wither from isolation.
The retaking of ancient Palmyra in the center of Syria with its world-class archaeological heritage was also another momentous victory for the Syrian army and its Russian ally. The holding of a classical music concert by Russian artists among the Romanesque ruins recaptured from terrorists was not merely smart public relations. It spoke eloquently of what the Syrian war was all about.
A conflict between a sovereign nation supported by Russia against barbaric killers mobilized by lawless foreign powers.
The battle now underway for Aleppo is one more perhaps the final historic stage in Syrias struggle against regime-change forces. Russia and President Putin can proudly take pride of place in this historic victory.
No wonder then that Western media would rather ignore what is happening in Syria. For years, they have spun a torrent of lies and fabrications, claiming that rebels were fighting for democracy against a tyrannical regime.
Now as Syrian and Russian forces bear down on these rebel remnants the truth is hardly deniable. They are being seen for what they are: a network of terrorist mercenaries deployed by the United States and its allies, who are facing ultimate defeat.
And so in order to avoid the moment of ghastly truth, and their own complicity in state-sponsored terrorism, the Western media by necessity have to pan away from Syria and the battle of Aleppo.
They turn to a new narrative for distraction the wonderful nomination of Hillary Clinton as the first woman to run for the US presidency.
Typical of the inane subject-changing maneuver are glowing quotes from Clinton on how she will lead America and the world in defeating jihadist terrorism.
This is the same Clinton who as US Secretary of State (2009-2013) orchestrated the covert war for regime change in Syria, with the despicable deployment of terrorist mercenaries guided by the American Central Intelligence Agency.
That is, the very war that Russia is now helping to finally put an end to, along with extinguishing the US-sponsored moderate terror groups. Washington and Clinton in particular may start wars, but evidently it is Russia that finishes them.
Yet, amazingly, listening to Clinton regale her supporters at the Democrat convention this week one cannot but be in awe of the astronomical cognitive dissonance. A warmonger posing as a champion for world peace and law and order?
This breath-taking, absurd deception is only made possible because of the way Western media operate to change the narrative, distort perspectives and obliterate the facts.
But the incontrovertible fact is that Russia and Syria are winning a historic war against Western-backed terrorist aggression. Aleppo is the clarion call for this victory.
The Western media cant handle that. Instead, they are obliged to try to shift the focus. And to whom do they turn for light relief? Why, one of the culprit architects of the criminal war on Syria Hillary Clinton and her promises to defend America from Russia and terrorists.
American politics and media deception what a freak show.
Don't be Fooled by the News that al-Qaeda and Nusra Have Split
By Robert Fisk
August 02, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " The Independent " - Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is at it again. Qatars ruler has been trying to get Jabhat al-Nusra off Americas infamous terrorist list once more and calculating that the institutional memory of the worlds media is that of a street dog. Hes right.
Last year, Tamims Al Jazeera satellite channel produced a tiresome two-part interview with Mohamed al-Julani, Nusras CEO, in which the poor man boasted that he had absolutely nothing against Christians, Alawites or Americans. Nusra just wanted to get rid of that pesky Assad chappy in Damascus, he told the world, along with Assads Russki friends. Syrian Christians to Lebanon and Syrian Alawites to the grave? Nonsense. That was the claptrap peddled by the rotten, horrid Isis of which the Saudis were so enamoured.
Then in May this year, ol Doc Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Ladens luckless successor, told Mohamed al-Julani that he could dissociate himself from the original al-Qaeda. Bingo. The split cometh. Americas enemies were breaking apart. Nusra would be the new moderates, worthy of Americas backing, certainly of Britains whose then-Prime Minister, David Cameron, had invented 70,000 moderate Syrian rebels for the world to support against Assad.
And now, wearingly, we are being served up the same old cocktail again. Claiming that he is giving his first ever recorded message a palpable nonsense since al-Julani had bored us all last year with the same stuff the BBC told its audience that Syria Nusra Front announces split with al-Qaeda. And yet again, we were treated to al-Julani distancing himself from al-Qaeda and telling us that Nusra is now changing its name to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (Front for the Liberation of the Levant).
Al-Julani did though this was missed by the experts in the networks make passing reference to Bin Laden, giving the murdered al-Qaeda leaders blessing to the split because he had once said that the interests of the Muslim homeland take precedence over any state. So the break with al-Qaeda was mutual and all in the interests of the suffering Syrian people, and so on, and so on. Washington dismissed the story as a rebranding exercise without giving the slightest indication that the whole tale was a reboot. The Algerians have a good saying for this: boiling old stones in the saucepan.
So lets take a look into the saucepan. Its all about the growing military power of Nusra or Fateh or Sham or whatever nonsensical nomenclature we are now supposed to dream up for this twaddle and the fact that its now far superior in fighting tactics, personnel and guns to the supposedly apocalyptic Isis. The latter may be able to massacre French and Syrian and Belgian and Iraqi citizens to their hearts content, but on the ground in Syria, where it matters they are turning into a pretty feeble bunch. Ask the ruthless soldiers of Assads army and theyll tell you that Nusra is becoming far more important than Isis.
Even more to the point, however, is Sheikh Tamim, whose new rule in Qatar analysed in an earlier piece by me this week embraces a soft version of Nusra. His father, the former Emir Sheikh Hamad, poured weapons and cash and resources into Nusra. This got him into very hot water with the Saudis (who have a horrible liking for Isis), the other Gulf states, America, the EU, Nato and just about every entity in the world that thinks it is fighting a war on terror.
So when the new Emir Sheikh Tamim took over from his dad with the help of his mother Sheikha Moza again, see my recent takeon the whole Qatar phenomenon he produced a new policy. While giving medicines and soft aid to Nusra, theyd be sending no more arms shipments to these folk. As detectives used to say in the 1950s, a likely story. But Tamim stuck to it, and his Al Jazeera channel clanked out the long interviews with the Christian-loving, America-adoring al-Julani last year and then gave the same al-Julani more airtime this week to claim that he was no longer associated with al-Qaeda.
Its not so much a series as a serial: Cleaning Up Al-Nusra should be the title. Turn it into a respectable army of moderates, give it a spanking new name, and then the Americans and Russians will stop bombing the daylights out of it and Qatars loyal militia will destroy the Assad regime and well, if that happened, Qatar would control the future of Syria, a territorial empire far more influential than the increasingly decrepit Al Jazeera.
Tamims father Hamad was much more forthright about these matters. He had no qualms about supporting Nusra, guns and all. The Qatari emirate is, after all, a Sunni Wahabi institution and the then Emir Sheikh Hamad had the help of his prime minister, Sheikh Hamad (yes, alas, the same first name but indeed a distant relative) bin Jassem. Once Tamim took over in what Lebanese economist Marwan Iskandar calls a white coup, Hamad bin Jassem lost his job.
But as Tamim then tried to wash Nusra of its sins and al-Qaeda supposedly cleared the way for a split, Foreign Policy magazine (owner: Graham Holdings Company, The Washington Post) carried a tendentious story about how al-Qaeda was trying to integrate itself into Nusra and overshadow Isis by becoming part of the mainstream opposition. According to the author of the Foreign Policy article, Charles Lister, al-Qaeda was thus trying to take control of Nusra and the best way of thwarting al-Qaedas ambitions would be to dramatically scale up assistance to vetted [sic] military and civil components of the mainstream opposition inside Syria. These components, Lister made clear, were moderates the same old gofers, presumably, who used to be the Free Syria Army and are now called the Syria Democratic Front or the New Syria Army or whatever mythical warriors remain from David Camerons 70,000-strong legion.
In other words, Lister was trashing the whole idea of the Nusra split with al-Qaeda. In fact, he told readers that four top al-Qaeda leaders had recently arrived in Syria to set up yet another emirate in Idlib province. The Syrian opposition the nice, moderate pro-American opposition, that is needed a substantial expansion of military, political and financial assistance, according to a Free Syrian Amy commander quoted approvingly by Lister. So much for Tamims efforts to clean up Nusra.
But hold on a moment. Among Listers academic jobs, hes a senior consultant in the Sheikh Groups Track II Syria Initiative. The Sheikh in question is Salman Sheikh, director of the Brookings Doha Centre in Qatar and fellow at the centre for Middle East Policy. And the Brookings Doha Centre belongs to the Brookings Institute and its co-chair is you guessed it none other than Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem, the former prime minister of Qatars ex-ruler Sheikh Hamad whose son the new Emir Sheikh Tamim is now trying to present Nusra as a shiny brushed-up guerrilla army fit for acceptance by the rest of the world as a real opposition to Assad.
Retired Marine Gen Predicts 'Civil Military Crisis' If Trump Is Elected
By Connor OBrien August 02, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Politico " - The election of Republican Donald Trump as president could mean a breakdown in the relationship between civilian and military leaders, a former top commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan warned Sunday. In an interview on ABC's "This Week," retired Marine Gen. John Allen criticized Trump for his rhetoric on the wider use of military force and torture. And if Trump followed through with those pledges, Allen said, it would create "a civil military crisis, the like of which we've not seen in this country before." "It's an inherent responsibility in who we are," Allen said. "So what we need to do is ensure that we don't create an environment that puts us on a track conceivably where the United States military finds itself in a civil military crisis with a commander in chief who would have us do illegal things." "That's a major issue that we're facing here, the potential for a civil military crisis where the military could be ordered to conduct illegal activities," he added. But Allen, a supporter of Hillary Clinton who spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, said he hoped it wouldn't come to a public feud between military leaders and a Trump administration. "My hope would be that the conversation would occur quietly in the Oval Office, or somewhere else, to advise him not to continue along this track," Allen said. Allen, who also served as President Barack Obama's special envoy to the counter-Islamic State coalition, slammed Trump's pledge to forge better relations with Russia and leverage its support for the campaign, adding that Russia's conduct in Syria isn't helping in the fight against the Islamic State. "They drop dumb bombs," Allen said of Russia. "So when we talk about carpet bombing ISIL, that's what it looks like, creating huge numbers of civilian casualties, which increases the numbers of refugees flowing out of the region, which increases the misery of the Syrian people. "Russians haven't helped us," he said. Allen also deflected criticism from Trump, who dismissed him as a "failed general" in response to his Democratic convention speech criticizing the Republican's national security stances. "He has no credibility to criticize me or my record or anything that I have done," the retired four-star general said. "If he had spent a minute in the deserts of Afghanistan or in the deserts of Iraq, I might listen to what he has to say." General John Allen Trump has 'No Credibility' Video ABC News
American Horror Story
How the Democrats Found a Boogeyman in Hillarys Emails By Paul Craig Roberts August 02, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Katehon " - Bernie Sanders won the presidential nomination, but he was cheated out of it by the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which is the operating body for the Democratic Party. The DNC helped Hillary win the nomination by the combination of vote miscounts with appointment of super delegates, who no one elected, to vote for Hillary. So, she won this nomination illegitimately. All of Bernie Sanders supporters know that. They have turned against Hillary, and it is unlikely that many of them will vote for Clinton.
When the email scandal hit, the Democratic National Committee, hoping to shift the blame elsewhere, asked: Who do Americans dislike more than Hillary and answered the Russians. Washington has been demonizing the Russians for last 3-4 years. So, the Americans are told to dislike the Russians. Thats why the DNC and the presstitute media blame Putin for the WikiLeaks release of the emails that showed that Democrats were cheating Sanders out of the presidential nomination. Putin was made the issue instead of Hillary.
Hillary is a crook in many ways. But she has escaped from prosecution, because she is too useful to the oligarchs. So they shift all that blame to Putin, saying that this is a Russian plan to get Donald Trump elected. But I dont think it will fool many people. Only the stupid ones. It will play in the media, because the media is not honest, not independent. The American media is like the old Soviet Media it has to answer to the Master and cant say much independently. Its not going to fool the American people that all this e-mail scandal is the work of Putin.
Democrats are looking for a boogeyman, for somebody to shift the blame away from them. They dont even realize that their allegations make Russia look like a cyber superpower. Well, Russia may be a cyber superpower, but we all know that Clintons e-mails did not reach WikiLeaks via Russia. Its just something Clinton operatives made up. The media simply went along with it, reporting it without investigating it.
I dont think that many people will believe that Putin is behind the leak of Hillarys incriminating emails. It just makes the Democratic National Committee look even more ridiculous. The DNC steals an election from the candidate that people wanted and tries to blame Putin for doing that.
Bernie Sanders, when he supported Clinton at the Democratic convention, discredited himself and demoralized all his supporters. Therefore, they turned from him too. That eliminates Sanders as a leader. He ruined it for himself. If he had gone to the convention and said: You stole the presidential nomination from me! I am the one who won, he would be the most popular American today. He could run as an independent candidate and win. But he didnt have the courage to do that. He gave up, surrendered. The oligarchs are accustomed to people surrendering to them. They think that Putin will surrender to them. And that China will surrender. And Iran.
Bernie Sanders does not have the support of the oligarchs. The military security complex, Wall Street, and the Israel Lobby are not behind him. He is not their agent. His support came from the Democratic voters themselves. So he doesnt have the power to prevail, unless he really takes the fight to Hillary. But he wasnt willing to risk that. Bernie Sanders is considered as an outsider by oligarchs. They did not fund his campaign. His endorsement of Hillary has broken him as a political leader, and it is the end for him as a potential leader.
Hillary has chosen a war-mongering general as her vice-president.
The American media, which is bloodthirsty for war, will support Clinton and attack Trump. But the media has lied so much that the media has lost its credibility. Fewer people depend on the media, because it was lying so much and for so long. Much more important is how Trump handles himself. If he continues to say that he doesnt want a conflict with Russia, that NATO is a problem and not a solution, and continues to denounce the offshoring of American jobs that have destroyed the middle class, Trump will win the presidential election regardless of the opposition from oligarchs and the media. The fact that corporations moved the middle-class jobs offshore really hurts Americans and the American economy. Trump is against having tensions with Russia. He realizes that there is no real need for NATO. So, Americans are supporting him for these reasons. If Trump sticks to these issues he will win, if the election is not stolen,
But the question is: what could he achieve, if he gets the office. It may turn out that he could do nothing, but hes the only hope we have. Does Trump know who to appoint in order to achieve his aims, or will his government be appointed by the establishment who will advise him and thereby control him?
If a Trump victory seems in the cards, Democrats will try to steal the election by programing the electronic voting machines that leave no paper trail. So, whoever programs the voting machines can determine the vote outcome. And nobody will ever know that fraud has occurred.
Unless Trump has experts, who can ensure that the voting machines are programmed correctly, I suspect that the machines will be programmed to vote for Hillary. Trump cannot trust the Republican political establishment, because it is opposed to him. If Trump relies on them, they will cooperate with Hillarys people and program the machines so that Hillary wins. There are no paper ballots to be recounted. This is the way a lot of elections have been stolen in recent years in the US.
The American Establishment is evil incarnate and will not accept an outsider as President. If Hillary becomes president, American violence against other peoples will increase. Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following. Roberts' latest books are The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West , How America Was Lost , and The Neoconservative Threat to World Order .
Home Sign up for our FREE Daily Email Newsletter The New York Times's Outrage at Trump's Refusal to Demonize Russia By Matt Peppe August 02, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - After baseless allegations from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) that the Russian government was behind a hack of the DNC's emails, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump sarcastically quipped that he hoped Russia would find and release the deleted emails from Hillary Clinton's private server from her time as secretary of state. The New York Times failed to note the sarcasm and treated the comments as evidence of high crimes against the state. It was an example of the modern day red-baiting against Trump, who is portrayed as being in league with Russian President Vladimir Putin to conspire against the United States itself.
The Times said Trump was "essentially urging a foreign adversary to conduct cyberespionage against a former secretary of state." While Trump is such a narcissitic buffoon that it is often difficult to discern when he is being facetious, he was clearly making a joke.
But treating the comment in the spirit it was intended would mean passing up a golden opportunity to bash Trump for what has become common knowledge in mainstream political analysis: Trump is anti-American for being diplomatic instead of vilifying Russia and Putin at every opportunity. They scrutinize and make a point of every statement Trump makes that fails to antagonize Russia for actions the US government doesn't antagonize other countries for.
While they merely imply "urging" cyberespionage is treasonous rather than state it explicitly, the Times finds it so important that they place it in the lead paragraph. This is curiously prominent, much more prominent that when President Barack Obama literally joked about incinerating a family with a remotely guided missile.
At the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in 2010, Obama said:
"The Jonas Brothers are here. (Applause.) They're out there somewhere. Sasha and Malia are huge fans. But, boys, don't get any ideas. (Laughter.) I have two words for you - predator drones. (Laughter.) You will never see it coming. (Laughter.) You think I'm joking. (Laughter.)" Unlike Trump's joke, which warranted its own headline ("Donald Trump Calls on Russia to Find Hillary Clinton's Missing Emails"), Obama's joke wasn't mentioned in the Times' headline about the event ("Obama and Leno Share a Time Slot") nor the lead. Their summary of the night's newsworthiness noted "jokes about Representative John Boehner's tan, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s lack of restraint and the Fox News-MSNBC divide."
You had to go all the way down to the eighth paragraph to find the briefest possible mention of Obama's obscene drone murder joke/threat:
"Mr. Obama noted the presence of the Jonas Brothers, who can count Sasha and Malia Obama among their fans. But the First Father warned the band: 'Two words: predator drones.' " If another world leader hypothetically ran a global assassination campaign under which he unilaterally assumed the power to kill anyone he wanted in the world, anywhere, any time, with the only criteria needed to order someone's death being internal deliberations within the executive branch, it would produce such a frenzy in corporate media they would devote themselves nearly exclusively to beating the drums for regime change, much as they did leading up to the Iraq War.
If that hypothetical leader then joked about people he was killing, it would undoubtedly be a banner headline on the front page for days or weeks. There would certainly be apoplectic outrage, and you most definitely wouldn't have to scroll down to the eighth paragraph to learn about it.
Mark Karlin wrote in Buzzflash at Truthout in 2014 that Obama's mock threat to the Jonas brothers "evoked the US indifference to those persons killed overseas by drone strikes. That is because the guffaws of the corporate media were based on the subconscious premise that Obama's boasting of his power to authorize kill strikes is limited to people of little note to DC insiders, Middle-Eastern civilians (collateral damage) and persons alleged to be terrorists or in areas where terrorists allegedly congregate."
As Jeanne Mirer, president of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, writes in Drones and Targeted Killing: "If the person against whom lethal force is directed has not been convicted of a crime for which a death sentence is permissible in the state where the killing occurs, the targeted killing is also an 'extrajudicial' killing, outside of any legal process. Targeted extrajudicial killing is, by its very nature, illegal." [1] But corporate media like the New York Times could care less that Obama is violating international human rights law and the US Constitution itself by assassinating people.
What produces the greatest moral outrage in the Times and the media elites is perceived attacks on the American state, or perceived threats to American supremacy. Thus the Times calls Trump's joke "another bizarre moment in the mystery of whether Vladimir Putin's government has been seeking to influence the United States' presidential race."
What is supposedly bizarre is unclear. What is dubbed a "mystery" is really nothing more than a conspiracy theory. The Times cites the DNC's accusations that Russian intelligence agents hacked the committee's emails. The DNC's frantic finger pointing at Russia are a transparent tactic to distract from the damning content of the emails themselves, as Nadia Prupis has written at Common Dreams.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange noted in an interview with Democracy Now that any such claims are "simply speculation" and when Hillary's campaign manager Robby Mook was asked in a TV interview to name the experts he was citing as evidence, Mook refused flatly.
The Times validates the DNC's objective evidence-free accusations by saying American intelligence agencies have confirmed with "high confidence" the Russian government was behind the attack. They have not publicly presented any evidence at all, but their word at face value is good enough for the Times to consider it damning proof.
American intelligence agencies and the military have a motive to hype the Russian "threat" to justify their own budget requests and advance the US government's policy of global hegemony, presumably unaware that the Cold War ended 25 years ago.
In case Russia's transgressions are not self-evident enough for Times readers, they call attention to Trump's refusal to condemn Russia's "seizure" of Crimea and willingness to consider whether to lift sanctions against the Russian government as a "remarkable departure from United States policy."
It would be a departure from US policy against Russia. But it is not US policy to sanction countries for incorporating territory outside their recognized borders in general. Quite the opposite in fact. Unlike Crimea, which voted with roughly 97 percent support to join Russia in a peaceful transition to re-integrate itself into the country it had been part of for several centuries, Israel seized the Palestinian territories nearly 50 years ago through violent military aggression against the unanimous wishes of both the Palestinians themselves and nearly the entire Middle East and beyond. In the subsequent half century, the US has showered Israel with more than $150 billion in aid while fighting tooth and nail any attempt in the United Nations to hold Israel to account for its indisputable violations of international law.
The US has also generously gifted millions of dollars in aid to countries like Indonesia after they had seized East Timor and carried a genocidal assault against nearly one third of the country's population and sponsored France's attempts to reconquer their former colony Vietnam after World War II (before stepping in directly and unleashing the most horrific military assault on a country's people and environment in modern times.)
But policies of supporting other country's human rights and international violations are not of interest to the Times if those countries are seen as allied with US "interests" or "values." It is only when someone questions whether it is necessary to continue treating another government as an enemy that they are called on to take a hard-line in standing up for international law.
The Times calls Russia "often hostile to the United Sates" while NATO continues to encircle the country from all sides and Obama has ordered what amounts to a permanent buildup of NATO personnel and weapons along Russia's borders and instigated a new nuclear arms race by spending $1 trillion to upgrade the US nuclear arsenal and make weapons more usable, i.e., more likely to be employed.
In another article titled "As Democrats Gather, a Russian Subplot Raises Intrigue," the Times asks what they purport to be a widespread question: "Is Vladimir V. Putin trying to meddle in the American presidential election."
While this is merely another conspiracy theory without any actual evidence supporting it, it is the case that countries often do meddle in the elections of other countries. But it is almost always the US government itself doing it to others, which explains why it is ignored by the Times and the rest of the media establishment.
In Rogue State, William Blum lists twenty cases of US interference in the elections of sovereign countries (including Russia itself) [2]:
Philippines, 1950s
Italy, 1948-1970s
Lebanon, 1950s
Indonesia, 1955
Vietnam, 1955
British Guyana, 1953-64
Japan 1958-1970s
Nepal, 1959
Laos, 1960
Brazil, 1962
Dominican Republic, 1962
Chile, 1964-1970
Portugal, 1974-75
Australia, 1974-75
Jamaica, 1976
Nicaragua, 1984, 1990
Haiti, 1987-1988
Russia, 1996
Mongolia, 1996
Bosnia, 1998
But the actions themselves are not the issue. Not all violations of international law or subversion of state sovereignty are created equal. If the US government is the perpetrator of such actions, they are glossed over or ignored entirely. But when the US itself is seen as the subject of such violation (even when it is purely in the imaginations of conspiracy theorists and others seeking to demonize official enemies, as appears to be the case in the current moment) any one who doesn't join forcefully in the demonization is vilified relentlessly, as Trump is experiencing in the pages of the Times and across the mainstream media. Matt Peppe blogs at http://mattpeppe.blogspot.com
References
[1] Cohn, Marjorie. Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues . Olive Branch Press, 2014. Kindle Edition.
[2] Blum, William. Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower . 2016. Kindle Edition. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load. What's your response? - Scroll down to add / read comments Sign up for our FREE Daily Email Newsletter For Email Marketing you can trust Donate
Please read our Comment Policy before posting - It is unacceptable to slander, smear or engage in personal attacks on authors of articles posted on ICH. Those engaging in that behavior will be banned from the comment section.
Home Sign up for our FREE Daily Email Newsletter US Airstrikes Hit Libya to Bolster UN-Created Government By Daniel McAdams August 02, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " RPI " - The Pentagon has announced today that the US has begun conducting military airstrikes against Libya with the stated intent of defeating ISIS in that country. According to the Pentagon spokesman, the Libyan "Government of National Accord" requested that the US begin airstrikes against what they claim is an ISIS stronghold in the Libyan town of Sirte, the birthplace of murdered Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Pentagon Spokesman Peter Cook has indicated that this is the beginning of a more sustained US air campaign against Libya and that each US airstrike is approved by the US Africa Command (AFRICOM).
Some observations:
1) No ISIS Before 2011 US "Liberation"
It goes without saying that before the US "liberation" of Libya in 2011, there were no ISIS forces in Sirte, or anywhere else in Libya. ISIS in Libya is a problem created by the US intervention in Libya in 2011.
2) Libyan Government Created by UN
The Pentagon cites the "Government of National Accord" as the legitimate Libyan government and its willingness to carry out airstrikes in favor of that government signifies US policy favors consolidation of power in the hands of this one of several factions competing for power in Libya. It should be noted that the "Government of National Accord" is a governing body that was not selected by the Libyan people, but rather created by the United Nations and sent into Libya on a ship from Tunisia.
At the time this government was imposed on the Libyan people by the UN, that body's envoy for Libya, Martin Kobler told the Libyan people they should accept this new governing body even though they had not elected it He said: I call on the Libyan people to extend to the Presidency Council and the Government of National Accord their full support and cooperation. The international community stands firmly behind them and is ready to provide the required support and assistance. The US-led attack on Libya was supposed to give the Libyan people back their sovereign vote by deposing a leader not sufficiently democratic by US standards.
The US is bombing Libya to consolidate the power of a non-elected government that the US installed because the previous government was not elected.
3) US Claims 2001 Force Authorization as Authority
At the 28:04 minute mark of today's briefing on the airstrikes, one journalist finally asked the Pentagon spokesman under what legal authority these strikes were being conducted. The Pentagon spokesman replied that they were authorized by the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force.
This Administration claim is an incredible stretch -- beyond the breaking point. Libya was not involved in any way with the 9/11 attacks on the US and ISIS did not even exist at the time of the 9/11 attacks.
None of the journalists followed up on the Administration's claim of authority to attack Libya based on legislation targeting those who attacked the US on 9/11.
4) Millions Spent on Strikes to Hit a Tank
According to Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook, this US airstrike resulted in the bombing of a tank and a few trucks. The cost of a round of airstrikes on Iraq or Syria is approximately $8.5 million.
5) No Media Interest in ISIS Appearance in Libya
Through the entire 37 minute Pentagon briefing, no one in the press corps asked why ISIS is in Libya where it had not been before the 2011 US attack. No one challenged the Administration narrative. Copyright 2016 by RonPaul Institute. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load. What's your response? - Scroll down to add / read comments Sign up for our FREE Daily Email Newsletter For Email Marketing you can trust Donate
Please read our Comment Policy before posting - It is unacceptable to slander, smear or engage in personal attacks on authors of articles posted on ICH. Those engaging in that behavior will be banned from the comment section.
Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for authorising the ongoing military operation against oil thieves and vandals terrorising Ibafo, Ogijo, and other neighbouring communities in the state.
Amosun, who spoke yesterday while visiting the affected communities, called on the Federal government to ensure that the creeks, especially areas hosting petroleum pipelines, were cleared for proper visibility.
The Nigerian military is currently carrying out an operation codenamed Operation Awatse, which involves series of air strikes on camps of oil thieves in the Arepo area of Ogun State.
The governor, who was appalled by a large number of jerry cans the hoodlums use to siphon fuel from ruptured pipelines, noted that there was the need for the nations creek line to be cleared of shrubs and bushes that make it attractive for hoodlums to hide and rupture pipelines.
He said: We have gone round this place they say is the camp of the vandals, and I must say I feel sad, sad because some of us can deliberately be engaging in this type of economic sabotage.
But I will advise the Federal Government to embark on a deliberate policy to clear our creeks. All the shrubs and bushes 500 metres of our creeks should be cleared. As you can all see, this place is bushy and it is enough incentive to hoodlums to hide and operate. I want to believe this is how our creek is nationwide. We should be proactive and solve this problem.
The governor, who was accompanied on the visit by the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga; Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon Adekunbi Suraj; Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Taiwo Adeoluwa; Brigade Commander, 35th Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Ogun State; State Police Commissioner, Ahmed Illiyasu, and State Director of the Department of State Security (DSS), expressed appreciation to the service chiefs for their focus and determination to rid the country of all forms of criminality.
Leader of the Sufficient Grace and Truth Ministry, SGTM, Okinni in Osun state, Seun Adeoye has cried out over the presence of heavily armed policemen in his residence on Sunday.
Recall that the Bishop staged a-one-man protest in May in Osogbo against the federal governments removal of fuel subsidy and the resultant price hike of the premium motor spirit, otherwise known as petrol.
Adeoye raised the alarm in a statement issued yesterday, where he noted that the police visit to his home may not be unconnected with his critical assessment of the policies of both the federal government and those of the Governor Rauf Aregbesola-led administration in Osun state.
He stated that though the policemen did not harass him, their mission to his house was suspicious.
Adeoye said, I belong to a class of people who will not close their eyes to injustice and maladministration. I cannot withstand governments anti-democratic ethos in a society expected to treat its people equally.
I cannot choose to be mute and deaf when people are hungry and dying because of bad economic policies.
If saying the truth is an offence, I am ready to die for it. As I mentioned during my protest, things are becoming more difficult for Nigerians and our government appeared not to have answers to myriads of problems facing the nation. I said Nigeria is in chain and I have not been proved wrong.
I was surprised to see six stern looking and fully armed policemen storm my house on Sunday morning. They claimed to have come from Zone XI Command looking for some miscreants.
Only one of the policemen wore uniform while others were on vests bearing police and they didnt come with any police vehicle but a private car.
First of all, there was no report of any threat to peace or crime in my area at Hallehuyah Estate and till now we havent heard of any.
Secondly, my house was not the only one in the neighbourhood, yet mine was the only one visited.
Source: Dailypost
The governing All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday waded into the budget padding scandal rocking the House of Representatives by summoning the lawmaker in the eye of the storm, Abdulmumin Jibrin, a former chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation and member of the party.
Mr. Jibrin is to appear before a disciplinary committee at the partys national secretariat in Abuja not later than Tuesday (today) afternoon.
The governing party, in a letter it dispatched to the Kano federal lawmaker, explained that it resorted to summoning him via a letter after all attempts to reach him by telephone calls and text messages were unsuccessful.
In the letter, dated August 1, 2016, and signed by the partys Deputy National Chairman for the Northern Zone, Lawal Shuaibu, the APC cautioned Mr. Jibrin over his media campaign against the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, and other principal officers over an allegation of budget padding.
To say the least, it is absolutely unacceptable to resort to media war as a means of settling scores without recourse to and/or exhausting the partys internal dispute resolution mechanism, the party said.
The APC appears to have found its voice after its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Timi Frank, chastised the partys leadership for failing to call Jibrin to order and resolve the dispute between him and Speaker Dogara.
Mr. Jibrin was removed as chairman of the Appropriation Committee in controversial circumstances on July 20 on allegations of betrayal of trust.
He denied the allegation and launched a vicious campaign in the media against Mr. Dogara; his deputy, Yussuf Lasun; House Whip, Alhassan Ado Doguwa and Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, calling for their removed from office. (Mr. Ogor is the only non-APC member of the quartet).
On Monday, Mr. Jibrin formally visited the Independent Corrupt Practices and related offences Commission, ICPC, Department of State Services, DSS, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and Police Force Headquarters in Abuja, where he submitted petitions against the aforementioned principal officers and some other lawmakers.
However, the APC, in the letter to its member, said decried the steps he took, stressing that it underscored a blatant disregard for party supremacy and its existing internal dispute resolution mechanism, adding that it would work to ensure that it instilled discipline on all members.
As a disciplined party, the constitution of our party has made adequate provisions on ways of resolving any issue among our members, Mr. Shuaibu said. It behoves on the party to take all necessary steps in order to ensure that no member of the Family brings dishonour to the party.
The APC, therefore, reiterated its notice for Mr. Jibrin to appear before the party today, urging him to be guided accordingly as he digested the content of the letter.
You are, therefore, by this invitation, expected to appear before the undersigned at the APC National Secretariat on Tuesday, 2nd August, 2016, at 2 p.m. Kindly note that failure to and/or refusal to honour this invitation will amount to a decision you have made not to submit to the party.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday approved the appointment of 17 new chief executives of various parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Education.
A statement by a deputy director in the ministry, Benjamim Goong, said the new chief executives had been invited to meet with the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu today, Tuesday.
The new appointees are Prof. Abubakar Rasheed (National Universities Commission); Prof. Lilian Salami (Nigerian Institute For Educational Planning and Administration); Dr. Hameed Boboyi (Universal Basic Education Board); Prof. Lanre Aina (National Library of Nigeria); Prof. Charles Uwakwe (National Examinations Council); Prof. Abba Haladu (National Commission For Mass Literacy, Adult And Non-Formal Education); Prof. Bashir Usman (Nomadic Education Commission); and Prof. Ifeoma Isiugo-Abanihe (National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB).
Others are Prof. Sunday Ajiboye (Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria); Afolabi Aderinto (Computer Registration Council of Nigeria); Prof. Bappah Aliyu (National Commission for Colleges of Education); Dr. Abdullahi Bichi Baffa (Tertiary Education Tax Fund); Prof. Garba Dahuwa Azare (National Teachers Institute); and Prof. Michael Afolabi (Librarian Registration Council of Nigeria).
Also appointed are Prof. Steven Ejugwu Onah (National Mathematical Centre, Sheda); Prof. Ishaq Oloyede (Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board); and Prof. Chinyere Ohiri-Aniche (National Institute of Nigerian Languages).
Mr. Goong also said four heads of parastatals under the ministry were retained. They are Prof. Samaila Junaidu of Nigeria Educational Research & Development Council; Prof. Raaufu Adebisi of Nigerian French Language Village Badagry; Dr. Masud A. Kazaure of National Board For Technical Education; and Prof. Muhammad Muaz of National Arabic Language Village, Maiduguri, Borno State.
The Ekiti State House of Assembly has berated human rights activist and lawyer, Femi Falana, (SAN), for his double standards in the legality or otherwise of the Department of State Services, DSS meddling in the internal affairs of the legislative arm of government.
The House of Assembly specifically frowned at Falanas condemnation of the DSS decision to investigate principal officers and others members of the House of Representatives over alleged involvement in the padding of the 2016 budget because it lacked the powers to do so, while looking the other way when the agency invaded the Ekiti Assembly and arrested a member over allegations of fraud.
Chairman of the Assemblys Committee on Information, Gboyega Aribisogan, on Monday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, said the Senior Advocate of Nigerias new position on the DSS role at the National Assembly and the arrest of members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly over attempt to impeach the state governor, was a show of hypocrisy.
Mr. Falana had Sunday issued a statement questioning the legality of the DSS move to investigate alleged padding of 2016 budget, which he described as a straight forward case of economic crime, which ought to be handled by appropriate law enforcement agencies such as the police, EFCC and ICPC.
He argued that by virtue of National Security Agencies Act, the DSS is strictly limited to the preservation and detection within Nigeria of any crime against the internal security of Nigeria.
The rights activist had also lampooned the DSS for clamping down on principal officers and administrative staff of Zamfara State House of Assembly for attempting to commence impeachment proceedings against Governor Abdulazeez Yari on grounds of alleged corrupt practices.
Falana should be ashamed that he gave tacit support to the DSS when the agency engaged in illegalities in Ekiti, his home state and now elects to complain when the same DSS extended its illegalities to the House of Representatives and Zamfara State House of Assembly, Mr. Aribisogan said.
The question that Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) needs to answer is whether he just realised that the duty of the DSS according to the National Security Agencies Act, is strictly limited to the preservation and detection within Nigeria of any crime against the internal security of Nigeria.
Also, Falana needs to tell Nigerians whether the DSS invasion of the Ekiti State House of Assembly that he supported was in preservation of internal security of Nigeria.
The Ekiti Assemblys spokesman accused Mr. Falana of always finding his voice only when his political allies in his party, All Progressives Congress (APC) were involved.
The question is, is Falanas human rights activism only about defending the interests of his political allies in his party, the APC? queried Mr. Aribisogan.
Could Falana have spoken against the DSS arrest of and detention of the principal officers and administrative staff of the Zamfara State House of Assembly if Zamfara was a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) controlled State like Ekiti?
It is our view that a credible rights activist will not blow hot and cold at the same time as being done by Falana, and Nigerians should stop taking self-centred political activists like him seriously, he added.
The Federal Governments plan to revive the steel sector received a massive boost on Monday with the signing of a renegotiation concession agreement with Global Steel Holdings Limited for the Nigerian Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO), Itakpe.
With the renegotiated agreement, the Ajaokuta Steel Complex has also been reverted to the Federal Government, effectively releasing the entity from all contractual bottlenecks that had left it uncompleted and non-functional for decades, while GSHL retains NIOMCO.
The new agreement, which came after four years of mediation, was signed at a short ceremony presided by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), in his office at the Presidential villa on Monday.
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, signed on behalf of the government, while Chairman of GSHL, Prammod Mittal signed on behalf of the company.
The Minister of State for Solid Minerals Development, Hon. Abubakar Bwari; the International Mediator, Mr. Phillip Howell-Richardson, and top officials of the Ministries of Justice and Solid Minerals Development, also witnessed the signing ceremony.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Osinbajo hailed the mediation process that led to the resolution of the problem that has made it impossible for the two national assets to be functional for years.
He added that it was important the concession works so that Ajaokuta can take off too.
Fayemi, who led the Federal Government side in the mediation process, said with the new agreement on NIOMCO, the next step is to commence the process of taking over Ajaokuta and ensuring that it is given out to a serious operator with proven technical and financial capacity.
Fayemi said: It is our expectation that we would accomplish two things bring NIOMCO to full function and start the process of retaking Ajaokuta and then give it to a new operator.
With this, we will move from being just a mineral nation to a mining nation.
Once the first phase of the agreement is accomplished, it is the intention of the FGN to quickly move into accomplishing the objectives of concessioning the Ajaokuta Steel Plant to the most competent operator who meets the requirements of credible track record, technical capacity and financial competence.
The minister described the settlement as a landmark development that would help the diversification plans of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
In his remarks, the GSHL Chairman, Mr Mittal, said the company waited for eight years to achieve this amicable settlement.
Mittal pledged the commitment of his company to the objectives of the agreement and guaranteed supply to Ajaokuta plant and Delta Steel Company, after which it will sell what is left to other interested parties.
He assured the government of its readiness to commence operation soon, adding that in the next two years Nigeria would begin to produce steel.
The Federal Government have resumed the delayed payments to former militants in the oil-rich Niger River delta, addressing some grievances amid attacks that cut crude production close to a 30-year low.
This is contained in a statement by the coordinator of the presidential amnesty program, Paul Boroh as he said about 30,000 ex-fighters, who were receiving a 65,000 naira monthly stipend, were told the government would resume paying stipends after a two-month hiccup.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has also said it is trying to engage militants to establish a cease-fire after oil output fell to 1.4 million barrels a day, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Emmanuel Kachikwu said on Monday.
Following several years of relative calm, the attacks by the Delta Avengers started in February after president Buhari announced the suspension of security contracts and payments that had turned earlier militants into protectors.
Boroh said he had given assurance to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta militants that their patience was appreciated by President Muhammadu Buhari, who backs the amnesty and plans to invest heavily in the region.
The amnesty program is set to end in 2017 and the government earlier this year said it planned to cut financing by half to about $100 million.
A couple identified as Mr and Mrs Francis Ekanem, has lost their two children and home, in Ikot Usen, Ibiono Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, to fire caused by a lit candle in the house.
The couple are bean cake (akara) traders.
They were said to be outside grinding the beans needed to prepare their product later in the day while their children were asleep in a room where the lit candle was placed.
The candle fell and started a fire but the busy couple were not aware at the initial stage.
Eyewitness say the children cried for help and tried to escape from the house but could not because of the burglary proof.
The parents then rushed to neighbours for help after they were alerted to the fire outbreak.
Sadly, the children were burnt to death before they could be rescued.
Police say it has opened an investigation into the incident.
Source: Dailypost
A governorship aspirant for the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo state, Chief Olusola Oke, said Monday that whether or not he emerges the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress, APC, he will work for the success of the party in the November election.
Speaking after obtaining his nomination form at the APC secretariat on Monday, the aspirant said every index on ground in the state suggests that the people of Ondo were eagerly waiting for the APC to redeem it from the clutches of oppression, which they have been subjected to in the last eight years by the Peoples Democratic Party.
Mr. Oke also dismissed speculations that the high number of aspirants jostling for the APC ticket was dividing the party.
Our party is very lucky to have so many aspirants in Ondo state, he said. As the last count, about 18 have so far collected the nomination form and I am aware that many others are coming. That is a lot of lesson for our party and it shows that those desiring change in Ondo state are very many and the voices are very loud.
The aspirant stated further that Ondo state has no reason to be where it is today. We have the longest coastline, the richest forestry in Nigeria, the richest mineral resources, the bitumen is second to the largest in the world, we are oil producing and we have all mineral resources.
The Human Resources is in abundance. Ondo state, therefore, has no reason to be poor. Unfortunately, in the last seven years, we have been misruled and misguided by a leadership without vision, direction or mission. The consequence of this is that the cherished value of unity, inter girth and pride, has been lost.
My mission is to arrest the drift and turn around our economy which used to be a civil service economy. Even the civil service has no capacity anymore to service the economy with six months salaries unpaid. This translates to an economy that is totally castrated.
I believe that the many projects in Ondo state which have been abandoned if turned around will transform the economy of the state. A tidal example is the Olokola project which has been abandoned, the cassava processing factory, and many others. My mission immediately revives these projects and completes them so that we can diversify our economy.
Oke also accused the Governor Olusegun Mimiko government of abandoning the road map of development initiated by previous administrations in the state beginning from Chief Adekunle Ajasin to Adebayo Adefarati and Olusegun Agagu.
He, however, promised to revive this road map to ensure that education, which used to be our pride, is revived. Today, Ondo state has lost its pride of place in education.
He said further that In 2009, when Dr. Olusegun Agagu was leaving the saddle of power, he left N38 billion in the coffer of Ondo state which was unprecedented anywhere in Nigeria. Today, we are down with N108 billion indebtedness. It takes a man of vision, a man that has the grace of God and the fear of God to be able to pilot the affairs of Ondo state.
I want to create the enabling environment that can attract private investors to Ondo state end you cannot do that without infrastructure. We will also engender a policy that will create wealth for our people so that we can regain those values we have lost.
The people of Ondo state are looking up to APC because it is the only hope for the people because they cannot trust the leadership of a party that has held them hostage for eight years running.
In 2012, about 120,000 illegal voters were in the voters register and this was proven at the Supreme Court. The election was characterized by a lot of unfairness and the people of Ondo state are wiser for it.
I told them that this government will impoverish them and will not do anything during the second term and the testimonies are very clear for everybody. What us standing between me and the government house is the ticket of APC. Once I get the ticket, I am governor of Ondo state, the PDP candidate in the 2012 governorship election in Ondo.
Asked if he will work join hands with any candidate who emerges winner of the APC primary if he failed to secure the ticket, Oke said I believe that I am the best candidate in the race. As a Christian, I have heard that power belongs to God and He gives it to whom He pleases. If at the end of the day the delegates take a decision and it is not me, I will work for the APC.
On cases of inconclusive elections in recent times, he said I am aware of the provisions of the electoral act that states that where an election has been conducted and there remain units where votes did not take place and the number of registered voters in that unit are such that may affect the outcome of the election if they had voted, the election should be inconclusive and that what is guiding INEC in their decisions.
I am not expecting such to happen in Ondo state, but if it happens, the law will prevail. But I am not praying for inconclusive election because it can be very frustrating and very challenging. But that is the law at the moment until it is amended; we have to play it according to the law.
The Special Adviser on Legislative Matters to Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State, Rabiu Idris, has called for total scrapping of security votes.
Mr. Idris, who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Funtua, Katsina State, Monday, said that such funds should be used to execute meaningful projects.
According to him, the security votes are tagged in approved budgets as miscellaneous, without any specific projects attached to the provision, thereby giving the president, governors and local council chairmen the chance to do as they like with it.
I vehemently condemn the security votes allocation and call for its scrapping, Mr. Idris said.
The adviser, a former member of the State House of Assembly, said scrapping the security votes would enhance accountability and proper utilisation of public funds.
Idris further urged federal lawmakers to support President Muhammadu Buhari in his effort to promote transparency in governance.
He criticized ongoing attempt to provide immunity to some lawmakers, describing the move as self-centered and detrimental to democratic growth.
He said Nigerians must oppose the moves through constructive debates, to make the legislators concentrate on their duties.
Mr. Idris also said current happenings in the National Assembly should make the electorate to ensure that, henceforth, only those with genuine intentions are voted to represent them.
He advised Nigerians to always scrutinize the records of candidates and their capacity to deliver quality leadership, rather than material gains, during elections.
According to him, electing the right people will bring about desired changes at all levels and ensure positive transformation. (NAN)
He is a rare Nigerian, at a time when the present economic hardship in this country could make an average Nigerian throw goodwill, kindness and benevolence to the dogs. This young man displayed an act that would erect a mansion for him in Paradise.
His name is Mr Akpan Nsikak from Cross River State (calabar), he is a keke operatoroperator in Owerri.
About a week ago, he found a purse containing recharge cards of all the network providers in Nigeria worth about N80,000 forgotten by a passenger in his keke.
He brought it to zanders 105.7fm studio and we announced it (not mentioning the content of the purse). Few days later and elderly woman came, identified and claimed the purse and its content.
Now here is the big deal about this whole story: Mr Akpan Nsikak owns a rickety keke that needs major repairs. Whit that amount of money, he would have fixed his keke, and had some extra money to flex around with.
But he chose to return it to the owner.
The C. E. O of zanders 105.7fm Owerri and zanders foundation decided to honour Mr. Akpan Nsikak today.
Mr Akpan Nsikak got a cash gift of N10,000 a one year house (self contained) rent in Owerri town. (as he lives at akabo) at the moment. He also got an electronic Kettle from the Noble Women Association, his decapitated keke was fixed.
He will also have a night (all expenses paid for) at the prestigious New Concorde Hotel Owerri).
Do good and good will follow you.
We celebrate Mr. Akpan Nsikak today and always.
Source: Nairaland
The Lagos State government has disclosed that it paid the sum of N891 million to 324 retirees from the mainstream Civil Service, Local Governments, State Universal Basic Education and other parastatals for the month of July, 2016.
The State Director-General of Pension Commission, Mrs Folashade Onanuga, made this disclosure while speaking at the 29th Retirement Benefit Bond presentation ceremony.
She claimed LASG had fulfilled her own part of paying the retirees entitlements and that it was now left for the Pension Fund Administrators/Annuity Service Providers to fulfill their part of the arrangement by ensuring that monthly payment to retirees were made.
Mrs Onanuga however, appealed to the beneficiaries to use the money judiciously, urging them to seek professional advice when making an investment decision with their payment.
It will be recalled that the sum of N16,336,552 billion had already been paid to 3,924 retirees by the Lagos State government as accrued pension rights through LASPEC from August 2015 to July, 2016.
The Delta State Police Command has confirmed that a man chopped off the hand of a member of his extended family over land dispute.
The suspect, Mr Jude Boroh, had allegedly attacked Morgan Ekure, a civil servant with the Delta State government, with a cutlass.
The spokesperson of the Delta State Police Command, SP Celestina Kalu confirmed the incident which happened in Emevor, Isoko North Local Government Area of the state.
It was gathered that the incident occurred at about 5pm after a meeting of an extended family to demarcate and adjust a land boundary.
The resolution of the meeting between Edivri and Othiro families did not please some members of the Othiro family.
A member of the Edivri family, Mr Edward Akure, said the suspect had before the meeting threatened to eliminate members of his family over the land.
According to him, the meeting had gone peacefully, before the suspect attacked the victim.
Edward noted that previous threats by the suspects family to eliminate members of the Edivri family were not taking seriously by police at Otor-Owhe where they had earlier reported.
Source: Punch
On what could be termed as tragedy, residents of Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State woke up to the news of the death of a young man Timothy Akan who apparently committed suicide by hanging on a palm tree.
What could have led the young man to take his life cant be ascertained immediately as no note was left by him to know the reason. As at filing this report, the lifeless body of the young man was still handing on the tree along Stadium road Ikot-Abasi. Calls to the DPO to draft his men to the site has not been returned nor the FRSC Sector commander. However, only the Fire Service were willing to take down the body only if the Police gives the go ahead.
Source: Facebook
A man from Montana, USA, was issued a $400 fine after posting a video on social media showing him using his pickup truck to chase a grizzly bear.
Lawrence Kennedy was charged with a violation of the Endangered Species Act after a video he posted to Facebook showed him driving his pickup truck on March 19 and chasing a grizzly bear.
Kennedy initially pleaded not guilty to the charge, arguing he was merely trying to keep the grizzly bear away from a nearby herd of cattle. He said the chase never exceeded 10 mph.
Kennedy said he posted the video of the chase, which he said lasted for about 90 seconds, to warn other residents about a bear in the area.
Kennedy struck a plea agreement with federal prosecutors July 5 and was issued a $400 fine with a $25 processing fee for unlawfully harassing a threatened species.
Binta Ali, the mother of Amina Ali, one of the Chibok schoolgirls rescued in May of 2016 after two years in Boko Haram captivity, has expressed fears that her daughter may never be the same again.
Mrs. Ali fears her daughter is being pressured to follow Islam, the religion she was forced to convert to by her captors.
Amina, her four-month-old baby and the father of her child, a Boko Haram fighter, who she claimed facilitated their escape from captivity, were rescued in May near Damboa, in the remote northeast, by soldiers working together with a Civilian JTF.
After a widely publicized meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, in the hope she would shed light on the fate of the other kidnapped girls, Amina has since been held in a house in Abuja for what the Nigerian government has called a restoration process.
While the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, insists that Aminas confinement in the house had nothing to do with religion, her mother, Binta, who has spent the last two months in the house, is concerned about her daughters welfare and future.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation quotes Mrs. Ali as saying that before her daughter was kidnapped in April of 2014 alongside hundreds of other schoolgirls from their hostel in Chibok, she wanted to further her education.
Binta, who returned briefly to Chibok to seek medical treatment, said But now she is afraid of schooling, and she wants to be close to me at home.
According to her, Amina wants a sewing machine so that she can start a business making clothes.
Binta said she was also worried that her daughter was being pressured into following Islam, having been forced to convert from Christianity during her captivity.
Amina herself does not want to remain a Muslim, Binta said, explaining how an Islamic teacher had visited the house several times and told her daughter to maintain her new faith.
She did not want to see him, her mother said, adding that the teacher had stopped visiting after Amina complained about him.
Giving an insight of some of the tortuous experiences Amina and the other girls passed through, Mrs. Ali said starving and with nothing to cook with, the girls resorted to eating an entire bag of beans and maize raw.
I cannot imagine how a human being can eat raw maize and beans like a goat, Binta said.
Amina also told her mother how some of the abducted girls had died in captivity, while others suffered broken legs or went deaf after being too close to explosions. But she pleaded with her mother not to break the sad news to the families in Chibok.
Other parents have been coming to visit me since I returned, Binta said. But I have not told them anything, even though I know some of those whose daughters have died.
Despite her fears over her daughters religion and education, and uncertainty over when she will be allowed to return home, Binta said she still had reason to be positive about her.
She used to be very afraid, Binta said, explaining how Amina would talk to herself during the night prior to her kidnap.
But now she sleeps soundly. She is no longer afraid.
The Nation
He is believed to have sneaked out of the country since he could not be located in all his Nigerian addresses.
Punch
Some vandals allegedly responsible for attacks on communities in Lagos and Ogun states are escaping in large numbers to riverine communities in the Ilaje and Ese-Odo local government areas of Ondo State.
New Telegraph
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday sacked 17 Chief Executives of Parastatals and Agencies under the Federal Ministry of Education.
Vanguard
A group of ex-militants under the aegis of Former Forest Soldiers, FFS, aka Isaac Boro Last Born, yesterday, denied claims by security agencies that it belongs to Niger Delta Avengers,
Thisday
The presidency has denied a report that it used aid from the United Kingdom for the war against terrorism in the North-east to prosecute the oppositio
The Sun
Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson has called on members of All Progressives Congress (APC) to use their contacts and influence at the national level to bring federal appointments and projects to the state, rather than embarking on divisive tendencies that can polarise the people.
Daily Times
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo state, has vowed to retain power and defeat the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the governorship election that would hold in November 26th in the state.
Guardian
Attempt by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, to defend President Muhammadu Buharis alleged lopsided appointments incurred the wrath of participants at a forum organised, yesterday, by the Federal Ministry of Information in Enugu.
Daily Trust
A former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday declared his intention to contest for the national chairmanship of the party.
Leadership
The newly elected President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abubakar Mahmoud will be sworn in on August 26, 2016, in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Senator Ben Bruce of the Peoples Democratic Party, took to his twitter handle to endorse the president Muhammadu Buharis fight against corruption. Many of his followers could not hide their displeasure as they came at him almost immediately saying his debt issues with AMCON has made him change his position on being on the side of the masses.
He had written that the fight against corruption is not a witch-hunt but everyone who has been named should go and prove their innocence.
The admins anticorruption war isnt a witch hunt. In my opinion, we need it. If youre innocent, prove your innocence. Dont say witch hunt! Ben Murray-Bruce (@benmurraybruce) August 1, 2016
And his followers seemingly displeased by the tweet didnt waste any time in letting him know it
@benmurraybruce After reading this tweet Dareys song came to mind Ur not the Ben I used to know- Ur a shadow of ursef -Haba @ogeorge306 Charles otobo (@charles_otobo) August 2, 2016
@benmurraybruce they have succeeded in caging you last last. Bring back our common sense Stephen Emmanuel (@Emmysteve9) August 1, 2016
@ICON_ADENUSI see all these politicians have zero integrity. Sigh computer Village (@LaptopMechanic) August 2, 2016
@benmurraybruce Yes, youre right, its not a witch hunt. Youre more corrupt than Amaechi, Sylva, Fashola, Fayemi & other untouched APC OD_SIT (@I_amOD_SIT) August 2, 2016
@benmurraybruce , I totally disagree sir.Are you now saying that those that defected from PDP to APC even after elections are now saints? UFFIE EDISON (@UFFIEEDISON) August 1, 2016
@benmurraybruce l never knew #Debt make people think straight.. Na wa oh!! May God put all enemies of Nigeria into an uncommon Debt Dotcom (@onlydotcom) August 1, 2016
@benmurraybruce really and Amaechi and Fayemi and fashola are ministers even with mounting allegations and petitions with EFCC? u don fear. i-stev (@IsiakaSteven) August 2, 2016
@benmurraybruce The next thing we see is you Twitting Buhari is the best President ever. We need Dino in PDP tired of this complaisance Desmond Joyce (@DesmondNatu) August 2, 2016
@benmurraybruce I cant believe the voice is changing to another direction Olawale Adebayo (@B_yworld) August 1, 2016
@benmurraybruce Sir, Ever since your AMCON issues, you have been highly compromised. You are no longer on the side of the Masses. #Fact Jaiyeoba Oluwaseyi (@afrooomedia) August 1, 2016
@benmurraybruce see as small debt don dey make uncle white banana head get plenty sense pass Mr Bean! Good-head (@goodhead_hills) August 1, 2016
@benmurraybruce @APCNigeria I refused to belive this is a tweet from Senator Common Sense Orire Abdulfatah (@Oriiskyy) August 2, 2016
But he did win some over, as they praised him for his very first commonsense tweet
@benmurraybruce now I can begin taking your common sense gist seriously. nsisong effiong okon (@nsikool_terror) August 2, 2016
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has declared that the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, slated for August 17 in Port Harcourt, the state capital, will go ahead as there is no court order stopping it.
Wike, who said this yesterday, explained that the court was yet to hear the suit filed by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff challenging the national convention.
The governor, who was addressing the South-South Executive Committee of the PDP at the Government House, Port Harcourt, said: the court could not have sacked the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee because it cannot sit on appeal from the judgment of a court of coordinate jurisdiction.
Wike added that there was an application to allow Senator Makarfi join as a party in the suit, noting that the suit had been adjourned to August 15.
The governor said the PDP leaders in the South-South geo-political zone would meet on Thursday to determine the zoning of positions.
Wike also said the Edo State chapter of the PDP would be given the necessary support to win the September governorship election.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday assured that the ongoing military operation code-named Operation Crocodile Smile in the South-south region, was not an indication of its plan to commence action against recalcitrant militants in the region.
The Acting Director of Defence Information, Rabe Abubakar, stated this yesterday in an interview with Daily Trust.
According to him, troops deployed in the region on training, would ensure security of critical oil and gas infrastructure.
The fact of the matter is that we are very much aware that negotiation is ongoing with our leaders, lets be hopeful that there could be an agreement. So, our presence there does not in any way translate to mean that its a signal to internal security actions against the militants, he said.
Mr. Abubakar, a Brigadier-General, said there could be some level of military deployment to ensure that miscreants and militants were stopped or contained from destroying oil infrastructure.
Its just a normal exercise; Crocodile Smile is an exercise just to refresh our memories on amphibious training. It does not mean that we are warming up for action, but if training is still deemed to be warming up for internal security action so be it.
You know training must be continuous, security agents must always be training to keep abreast with current happenings, with the modern techniques, modern strategies and ways of doing things, the Defence spokesman added.
Speculations that the military was planning to launch an offensive against militants in the Niger Delta heightened last Wednesday following a series of tactical drills in Enugu from weekend, days after the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, hinted that military action might be deployed if the federal governments negotiations with militants who are attacking oil and gas installations for months, failed.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said those mocking the change promised Nigerians by the All Progressives Congress, APC, would soon be disappointed as things begin to take shape.
Mr Mohammed, who spoke in Enugu at a town hall meeting for the South East organised by the ministry on Monday, said the change was already manifesting in every facet of the nations life.
He said contrary to the insinuations in certain quarters that the people were not feeling the impact of government, a lot had been done in moving the country forward.
Many have said they are yet to see the change we promised. Much more have called the promise a ruse, Mr Mohammed said.
In fact, they are now mocking us. But we remain undaunted because we know that the change we promised is real.
In fact, the change we promised is already here, and it is manifesting all around us, he said.
Buttressing his position, the minister said that the government had successfully stopped the looting of public funds which was responsible for underdevelopment.
He said, Before now, public officials simply opened the public till took as much money as they wanted and walked away without consequences.
That explains why funds allocated to the military to fight Boko Haram ended up in the piggy banks of many unscrupulous Nigerians.
Today, all those who looted the public treasury are being made to answer for their actions, as impunity gives way to accountability.
Many have offered to return their loots, and much more are facing charges.
Mr Mohammed said with the introduction of the Treasury Single Account, funds meant for the federal government were directly paid in and used for development of infrastructure.
He noted that before now, funds accruing to the government were paid into so many accounts and went to private purses.
He said the government had successfully identified and stopped salaries hitherto paid to more than 30,000 ghost workers.
According to him, We promised to diversify the economy away from oil, to ensure that other sectors are able to significantly contribute to sustainable development.
In June 2016, for the very first time, about 70 percent of the more than N500 billion raised from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee came from the non-oil sector, while 30 per cent came from the oil sector.
It was the first time in 2016 that the Federal Government shared more than N500 billion among the three tiers of government.
In the area of security, Mr Mohammed said that the government had successfully crushed the Boko Haram terrorists and not a single territory was being administered by them.
On infrastructure, the minister said that construction firms had been mobilised to sites on major roads in the country.
He said, As they move to the site, they are creating thousands of new jobs. No part of the country is left out of this.
Where the contractors have not been seen on the site, it is because of the rains, not because of lack of mobilisation.
The minister said the complaints about perceived or real instances of lopsidedness in appointments were being addressed.
There are hundreds of appointments yet to be made. It is an evolving scenario and any lopsidedness is being addressed as we progress, he said.
The minister said the town hall meetings were held to bridge the communication gap between the government and the people and to carry the people along in the process of governance.
(NAN)
On this day in 1997: The African continents most creative Afrobeat superstar, anti-military dictatorship activist, social maverick and pan-Africanist Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, died of AIDS.
He was a saxophone player who fused rock with African rhythms into a blend known as Afrobeat. His albums included: Zombie, Army Arrangement. And Vagabond in Power. He recorded more than 50 albums in the 1970s and 1980s and had 27 wives to mourn his death.
Fela Kuti was born on October 15, 1938, in Abeokuta. Musician and activist Fela pioneered Afrobeat music and was repeatedly arrested and beaten for writing lyrics that questioned Nigerian government.
The Nigerian Army announced on Monday that troops accompanied by members of the Civilian JTF blocked an attempt by Boko Haram terrorists to attack a village in the North Eastern state of Borno.
The Acting Army Public Relations Officer, Colonel Sani, made the announcement in a statement yesterday.
He said: Today (yesterday), Monday 1st August 2016, at about 8.00pm, troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE accompanied by Civilian JTF successfully thwarted an attempt by Boko Haram terrorists on Yauri Community at the outskirts of Maiduguri city, Borno State.
In the encounter, the troops killed five of the attackers and recovered 2 AK-47 rifles, 1 General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), one 60mm Mortar Tube, 1 Fabrique Nationale (FN) rifle, 2 Dane Guns, 2 AK-47 rifle magazines, 2 FN rifle magazines, 131 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition, 31 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunitions, a 60mm Bomb and the sum of N31,275.00 from the terrorists.
We are glad to inform the public that the general area is calm, while troops have deployed to maintain security in the village and environs.
In the latest round of the Hillary-Trump contest, the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump called Hillary Clinton the devil, referring to her abuse of competitor Bernie Sanders in her race to the top.
SEE ALSO: Hillary Takes Swipe At Trump In DNC Speech
Trump, at a Pennsylvania rally made fun of former Democratic contestant Bernie Sanders for endorsing Clinton. He made a deal with the devil. Shes the devil, he said.
He also told a crowd in Ohio that he feared the US presidential election in November is going to be rigged.
His comments come after a CNN poll released Monday showed Clinton with a 52% to 43% lead over Trump in an head-to-head match-up taken after the Republican and Democratic conventions.
Trump is has also lost popularity after he made fun of a family who lost a son serving in the US Army.
SEE ALSO: John McCain Knocks Trump Over Comments To Khan Family
A group of ex-militants under the aegis of Former Forest Soldiers, FFS, aka Isaac Boro Last Born, yesterday, faulted claims by security agencies that it was affiliated to the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, asking the Federal Government not to associate or treat it as Avengers.
The Avengers are a new militant group, who have vowed to bring Nigeria to its knees by ensuring that crude oil production in the Niger Delta region is brought to zero level. The group has set out to achieve this by sustaining its campaign of destruction of oil and gas facilities across the region, in spite of calls by the federal government and stakeholders for negotiation.
The FFS while absolving itself of culpability in any act of bombing or kidnapping in Arepo area, a community between Ogun and Lagos States notorious for pipeline vandalism, its leader, General O. Ibori, said: We are ex-militants and not part of Avengers. We are shocked that the Federal Government has reneged on its part to fulfil its obligation from the several peaceful dialogues we had with it after we laid down our weapons for years now.
We have surrendered but rather than fulfil its obligation by enlisting us in the amnesty programme, the Federal Government just began linking us to some recent kidnappings in the Arepo area of Lagos and the destructive activities of the Avengers that we know nothing about. All we want is to be part of the amnesty programme as the final step of the various dialogues.
Security forces have burnt down three houses of our leader in Lagos in connection with a purported recent kidnapping in Arepo area and security men have been hunting us down. This is why are crying out that we were not responsible for any act of kidnapping and we are not part of the Avengers, only that we are asking to be enlisted in the amnesty programme.
The government has chosen force and fire instead of peace and freedom. It has reneged on its part after the various dialogue we had, but we have pledged to be law abiding and never return to arms any longer. We are now asking the Federal Government to stop harassing us and members of our families, including burning down our homes and stop treating us as if we are part the Avengers, because we have given peace a chance.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday assured that Nigeria is working round the clock to resolve the epileptic power situation in the country.
The president lamented that the problem is also affecting other neighboring countries that are dependent on Nigeria for their power supply.
President Buhari spoke while receiving the Togolese President, Faure Gnassingbe, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja earlier today.
He said: They say seeing is believing, you can see the efforts private investors are making. We are also building pipelines but it is not as formidable as what Dangote is doing, we are improving on it. We also have the LNG that is helping us to liquidify the gas and then turn it into gas with modern technology and modern technology is making it flexible.
And if you will recall, I made mention to President of Benin, We have power problem and Benin has power problem because they depend on us and we are working very hard to stabilize the situation. The resources are available, the technology is available we are trying to stabilize the situation.
If we improve power which means our productivity can be competitive and Gods willing we are going to achieve our objectives.
The Nigerian leader said he also discussed the unfortunate incidents in South Sudan and Burundi with the visiting Togolese President during the closed door meeting.
It is an agonising situation, several citizens are living under primitive conditions, we hope at the AU meeting we will be able to stabilise the situation in South Sudan and Burundi with the efforts being made, he said.
President Gnassingbe said that he was impressed by the Dangote investment, which brought him to Lagos State.
He said: Because we have been talking of Socio-economic integration and promoting trade among African countries. If you want to promote trade you have investors that are very competitive and will contribute to reduce import from non-African countries.
He also said was in Abuja to personally invite President Buhari for the maritime summit billed for Togo on the 15th of October, 2016.
A woman in the US state of Florida tried to Snapchat a video of herself holding a gun but instead accidentally shot her cellphone, injuring her right hand, authorities said.
Regina Powell, 22, said she was foolishly playing with the .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun, trying to make a Snapchat video, when it went off, the Volusia county sheriffs office said.
The bullet destroyed her cellphone and injured her thumb and index finger.
The incident occurred Sunday in Deltona, Florida.
Police were still looking for the gun, which the womans aunt tossed out of her car window as she drove Powell to the hospital.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 586 people were killed last year in accidents involving firearms.
The right to bear arms is protected under the second amendment of the US Constitution.
Source: AFP
Its been 20 years since Windows NT 4.0 server operating system was released to manufacturing. No one could be sure at the time, but this breakout version turned out to be the one that would finally establish Microsoft in the datacenter.
I recently visited Microsofts Redmond headquarters to talk to Jeffrey Snover, Technical Fellow and creator of PowerShell -- and currently the architect of Microsoft's server operating systems. It was time to reminisce about Windows NTs past as well as muse about its present and its future.
Engineers overestimate what can be done in two or three years, and underestimate what can be done in 10, Snover observes. With 20 years weve evolved incredibly. What started off running on a 44MHz 486 now runs our cloud. That ascendance has closely followed the evolution of the server in the enterprise, from departmental file server to client-server, to n-tier, to the web ... and now to the cloud, both on premises and in massive datacenters.
An interesting career thread ties those early Windows Servers' architects together: They all had senior engineering roles at DEC. As Snover explains it:
You could think about the evolution of Windows Server as the journey of three Digital consulting engineers. Dave Cutler was the first, he came in and gave us the great kernel that led us through the server for the masses era. Then Bill Laing took over as chief architect. He was a big enterprise guy, and he really took that enterprise approach to the server. I took over as chief architect and focused on the management aspects of it and the cloud aspects of it. Digital really was a fantastic engineering environment, but they didnt have that connection between how to take technology and really turn it into mass appeal and mass monetization that Microsoft has.
That was the key to Microsofts server business: making it the server for the masses.
The heart of it all, says Snover, was Cutler's "great kernel." Snover calls him "just one of the great minds of the industry, and he produced a way of bringing the systems together with the object-based kernel. This extends from the foundations of Windows Server to, today, the entire Windows family of operating systems:
That's been the enduring thing: the heart and soul of Windows. So the things that were so successful 20 years ago, that made Windows Server so successful, wasn't Dave's kernel -- after all, Dave had done a variation of that kernel at Digital. The thing that made Windows so successful was matching that kernel with a great desktop experience and then running it on PC class hardware. That combo now meant that what used to be -- servers that were run by the high priests and princes of the industry -- now anybody could buy their own server and deploy and run it. That really was the magic.
It certainly was. My own career in the industry followed that trend: using Windows NT first to run an office, then to link to minicomputers, before building large-scale web servers and services on that same OS.
From boxes to the cloud
That approach continues today. Snover sums up his philosophy of Windows Server simply: Architecture is the art of deciding when one thing should be two and when two should be one. In the early days of Windows NT, it was essential to have one thing: a combined kernel and desktop OS.
But as time progressed permutations evolved. Snover likes to think in terms of four eras of servers: the server for the masses, the enterprise era, the datacenter era, and now the cloud era. That has required some changes. The server for the masses is now at heart the familiar Windows desktop client, with server features added -- what Snover calls fidelity to the client. But in the datacenter theres no need to go from server to desktop, hence a focus on the UI-less Server Core:
Now we're confident that Server Core has everything people need so they can be successful. Our focus on Nano Server has driven the clean-up of the long tail of manageability; and that means if you can't do it remotely you can't do it all. Its a little bit like Cortez burning his ships.
Not every business is ready for that. Snover points out that his four eras persist today, with different companies living in different eras. Thats going to affect what you do with Windows Server and how you do it. As Snover notes, Each of the eras has its own set of tools its own set of methodologies and its own ecosystem. We've seen partners, tools, and so on that are great in one era and then you never hear of them again. Snovers advice is simple:
You have to decide where it is you want to go and then make sure you have the right people, tools, and partners that want to go there. One sure way you can fail is wanting to go somewhere and coupling that with tools, people, and partners that dont want to go there as well.
Working with the cloud has meant thinking about servers in a different way. One way to get that it's 'not just somebody else's server' is serverless computing. Of course there's a server there, he says, But you give us your code and well run your code: You dont have to worry about the server and setting it up. When your code runs we fire up a server, put your code on, and it runs -- and when your code's done, then we throw that server away. Its one of the reasons Microsoft has developed Nano Server as part of Windows. In that environment having a very small, very lightweight, very fast server is very important.
Theres a parallel with Windows NT 4.0, Snover suggests, noting the release of the Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack, which added new features, including Microsoft Transaction Server. Before transaction monitors you had to write all this horrible code, and you needed big systems. Transaction monitors came in, and you just write this little code and dont need worry about all the rest of it.
The heart of Microsoft
This is what Snover calls the heart of Microsoft. How it works is easy to understand, he says. The company takes what was once available only to the elite few and makes it available to everyone by simplifying it and making it affordable. In a modern cloud context, this has also led to Windows Servers support for containers and its adoption of new hardware approaches.
Another big change and huge benefit is the increased networking bandwidth, speed, and lower latency, says Snover. It means now I can do with protocols things I could only ever do in the past with DLL calls and because of that I can now separate things into their own environment where they have their own versioning and their own lifecycle. And that's the big thing of this era.
Architects like Snover need to think about software as a science and the history of thinking about how we build code. Thats where he goes back to big-picture concepts like software factories and employing reusable components with well-defined interfaces. These approaches are key to delivering decoupled environments.
Rebooting the software factory
The software factory idea is one thats coming back with containers and services and in serverless computing. You get these decoupled systems that have their own lifecycle management of their environment and their own own versioning and use protocols as the interface. The shift from DLLs to protocols allows the idea of software factories to work.
Snover thinks that, ultimately, we can shift from writing code to solving business problems. Using this interface, if I use it a lot, I dont really care if it is responsible for scaling itself up and down. I just use it as an issue and I'm freed up of that hard problem to go focus on my own business hard problem: How do I get you to give me money?
This follows the structure of scientific revolutions, As we go from one model to another there's a period of chaos and confusion, while people try to adhere to the old model, even when the old model ceases to solve the problems people want to solve.
Were somewhere in the middle of one of those transitions between eras, Snover suggests. Before the new model arrives is an era of great churn and creativity, and I think thats what we're seeing now.
What is that new model? At the heart of it will be software factories with loosely coupled interfaces exposed as microservices. So much of what well do will be stitching together components that software development becomes software integration.
Last night I was surprised -- no, shocked -- to see Microsoft release a last-minute patch for Windows 10 Anniversary Update, build 1607. Why? Any release of a patch, even a simple patch, on the night before a scheduled massive rollout is begging the Bug Gods to start rumbling.
As of very early Tuesday morning, the Dung Beetles are rolling.
Last night, Microsoft released KB 3176929, the third cumulative update for Windows 10 build 1607. (I call it Win 10.2.3.) As you no doubt know, build 1607 is scheduled to start a massive rollout today, Aug. 2. In the normal course of events, Microsoft would roll out the latest release -- the version with all outstanding cumulative updates applied.
Given the problems Ive seen reported online, its likely that somebody in Redmond is reconsidering the decision to roll out 14393.10 this morning.
What does KB 3176929 actually do? We havent a clue. Theres no KB article, no Insider Hub post, no Blogging Windows post.
Windows Insider spokesperson Dona Sarkar tweeted last night:
We have now released cumulative update 14393.10 to the Fast Ring via Windows Update ... and this is *just* for PC.
Then, four hours later:
14393.10 is now live for Fast, Slow, RP rings. Rel notes coming in FB Hub shortly.
That was around midnight, Aug. 1, the night before build 1607 is scheduled for full release.
Since then, Ive seen reports of various kinds of anomalous behaviors.
For one, the people who have version 14393 and didnt acquire it through the Windows Insider program (yes, pirates live among us) also received KB 3176929, and are now sitting at Version 1607 OS Build 14393.10. Clearly, Sarkars first tweet was wrong.
More problematic are the reports appearing sporadically about problems with Cortana in this build. On WindowsCentral, poster AB Lambert says:
On my laptop Cortana stopped working ... All I have is the search icon which replaced the Cortana icon. I uninstalled the update and got Cortana back and then I reinstalled the update and lost her again.
John McIlhinney says:
This update broke Cortana on my Surface 3. She's still there on the Task Bar and she still opens but she can't do anything. I hope they don't roll out this release as the Anniversary Update and break Cortana for everyone. UPDATE: She's working again.
Over on Reddit, netherbound says:
This update broke Cortana for me. She is not working at all now. Host machine is effected but VM on the host updated just fine and Cortana still works.
And rpodric confirms:
Uh oh, same here with Enterprise (yes, it had been working fine). This is the last thing they needed to happen on Day 0.
That's precisely the point.
It looks like some Win10 customers are experiencing a last-moment bug -- present in 14393.10, but absent from yesterdays 14393.5 -- that disables many of Cortanas features, including voice response and internet access. With only a few hours of experience under our belts, its much too early to pinpoint the exact symptoms or speculate about causes -- except its clearly linked to this last-minute patch.
I have no idea what possessed The Powers That Be to change a final build only hours before it was due to roll out to 370 million-or-so customers.
Are you having problems with Win 10.2.3? Hit me here in the comments, or over on AskWoody.com.
t/h rpodric
The U.S. Department of Commerce is not just rubber-stamping applications to join the new Privacy Shield data protection program: 24 hours after companies began certifying their compliance, the administration's website still listed no approvals.
Microsoft was among the first businesses to certify that it complied with the new rules for transferring European Union citizens' personal information to the United States when the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration began accepting applications on Monday.
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"We expect it to be approved in the coming days," Microsoft Vice President for EU Government Affairs John Frank wrote on a company blog.
The company isn't waiting for official approval to begin applying the new rules, he said. "Going forward, any data which we will transfer from Europe to the U.S. will be protected by the Privacy Shields safeguards."
Workday, a provider of cloud-based HR and finance services, also submitted its self-certification Monday, it said.
The ITA will have its work cut out if all the organizations that self-certified under Privacy Shield's predecessor, the Safe Harbor Framework, choose to re-register. Some 5,534 organizations signed up to Safe Harbor during its 16-year lifespan, with the certification status still listed as "current" for 3,375 of them.
Safe Harbor was ruled inadequate by the Court of Justice of the EU last October, forcing EU and U.S. officials to come up with replacement rules to allow the transatlantic flow of personal information to continue legally. Many multinational businesses are reliant on such transfers for internal functions, such as payroll processing, or for processing customer information.
EU and U.S. officials agreed to the new rules on July 12, and the Commerce Department said it would begin accepting certifications from Aug. 1. It set out a five-point plan for organizations to ensure their self-certifications can be accepted.
First, they must be sure they are eligible to participate: Banks and telecommunications operators, for example, aren't covered by the program. Next, they must develop a clear, concise privacy policy that meets all the Privacy Shield Principles. The policy must identify the independent recourse mechanism an organization will use in case of dispute, typically either a U.S.-based arbitration service or an agreement to work with European data protection authorities. Self-certifiers must also set out how they plan to verify they are in compliance. Finally, they must designate a Privacy Shield contact -- someone who will be able to respond to complaints within 45 days.
Although businesses self-certify their compliance with the Privacy Shield rules, the process isn't free.
The Commerce Department charges a fee for processing their annual applications and adding them to the register. The processing fee ranges from $250 for organizations with revenue under $5 million up to $3,250 for those with revenue over $5 billion.
On top of that, organizations will have to pay to join an arbitration service or to cover the costs of data protection authorities dealing with complaints.
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Recently, we highlighted how a few funders were approaching the global refugee crisis differently. Among them are the Cisco, Vodafone, and Google foundations. What makes the charitable arms of these titans of tech unusual in this space is that they are focused on information connectivity in the face of disasters and crises.
Say what, you might ask? Does this kind of giving really make sense given more acute more priorities that involve life and death?
As someone who covers global crises and disasters closely, I have to admit that when I read (and wrote) about Google.orgs $5.3 million grant to help launch NetHopes Project Reconnect, I thought What the hell? Children are dying, families are starving, and Google is concerned with the Internet? Im sure I wasnt the only one who thought that.
What's more, it's easy to be suspicious about the motives of companies who engage in charity that emphasizes their own worldviewe.g., better technology is the answer to most problemsas opposed to focusing on more urgent if pedestrian needs.
All of this is why it's helpful to dig down further into what NetHope is about and what its funders are trying to accomplish.
NetHopes tagline is Changing the world through the power of technology and collaboration. This consortium of over 40 international NGOs has been around since 2001 and has been working to tackle some of the worlds most pressing global health and development challenges like poverty, food security, the ever-growing refugee population, and gender equality.
Google.org and Cisco aren't the only tech funders behind this outfit. NetHopes supporters and partners list is a veritable whos who in the tech world.
With its recent $5.3 million grant, Google.org is among the funding leaders here. Prior to that, the foundation awarded NetHope a $600,000 grant in 2014. Next up is the Paul G. Allen Foundation, which has committed over $2 million to the organization to date. Heres a quick look at other tech supporters:
Gates has invested nearly $400,000
Intel awarded NetHope $350,000 in grants
Cisco has put in for $200,000
Tosa Foundation has awarded nearly $300,000 in grants
Dell has given the outfit $300,000
Adobe contributed $$50,000
Hewlett put up $40,000
In terms of corporate giving, Microsoft has donated over $44 million in cash and software to NetHope and its partners since 2005. More recently, Microsoft Philanthropies is also getting in on the action by announcing a donation of $1 billion of Microsoft Cloud Services, including Microsoft Azure, Power Bi, and the Enterprise Mobility Suite, to serve a number of nonprofits and university researchers for the next three years. NetHope will be one of the many recipients of Microsofts donations.
Foundations of the non-tech variety are big contributors, too. Since 2009, the Rockefeller Foundation has supported NetHope with over $1.8 million in grants and the Patterson and Seattle foundations have each contributed around $165,000 and $120,000, respectively.
Related: Food, Water, Shelter, Wi-Fi: How Microsoft is Helping Refugees
So whats got all of these funders so jazzed about NetHope? Because communication, information sharing, and connectivity are crucial elements to mounting effective campaigns in response to global humanitarian and health crises.
Humanitarian aid tends to bottleneck, in part, because of a poor flow of information. When public officials, aid agencies, governments and the like, dont know the full depth or breadth of a crisis, its difficult to develop a response blueprint. And it's hard to get supplies from point A to point B, in the right quantities in a timely way, if communications systems are weak.
A lack of connectivity often means desperately needed supplies and human resources are stalled until critical information is gathered and dispersed among key actors. That delay can mean the difference between life and death, as we saw in the Ebola crisis, where the world learned some hard lessons about the importance of connectivity.
In January 2015, the San Francisco-based nonprofit Inveneo, with the help of Facebooks data science team, launched a three-month campaign to bring Internet access to some 100 locations in West Africa to help combat the spread of Ebola. Why? Because according to Chris Weasler, Facebooks director of global connectivity, it took three months after the first Ebola deaths in Guinea before anyone got word to health officials and people figured out this was Ebola and started reacting to it. Weasler went on to say that the time gap was a function of poor connectivity.
NetHope collaborated with its partners in response to the Ebola outbreak as well, providing communications equipment, mobile satellite terminals, satellite phones, and solutions to connectivity problems that unified disparate sources of humanitarian care.
More recently, NetHope has been tackling the global refugee crisis. In Dadaab, Kenya, NetHope, along with Cisco, Microsoft, Inveneo, and USAID, executed a large scale plan to implement a high-speed broadband network at the Dadaab refugee camp. The result:
Over 20 local relief agencies were able to work together, share information, and deliver aid more efficiently and effectively.
Five of Dadaabs community centers were able to offer online education at the high school and college level.
People were able to access vocational and life skills training.
As for that $5.3 million give from Google.org, it will allow NetHope to provide 25,000 Chromebooks to NGOs supporting refugees in Germany. The hope here is that with the connectivity offered by the Chromebooks will help refugee populations rebuild their lives by facilitating access to education and other important information resourceslike how to file for asylum and language lessons.
Related: How Do Chromebooks Help Refugees? Google.org Has an Answer to That
NetHope is also providing charging states along migration routes and refugee camps and providing refugee camps in Jordan connectivity kits. Finally, its developing a comprehensive information portal where refugees can learn about safe migration routes, specific locations offering aid, and information regarding the state of conflict in their home countries.
So there are plenty of reasons why tech funders are heavily backing NetHope. But the bigger question here may be Is this what refugees want or even need? The answer, which may surprise some, is Yes.
A Thompson Reuters Foundation article revealed that the first questions often asked by refugees arriving at camps in Greece was whether or not the camps had Internet access and a place to chare their phones. Isaac Kwamy, director of Global Programs, Disaster Preparedness and Response at NetHope who who visited the camps this summer said Very few of them (migrants) sad We are hungry, we need food. Or we are thirsty, can we have water. They are literally asking Do you have Wi-Fi access and where can we charge our phones.
He went on to say It's as important as eating food, drinking water, being treated (medically), being given a tent.
Founded in 1989 by charismatic Hollywood spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson, Project Angel Foods original mission was to supply food and counseling to patients left homebound by the AIDS crisis. Today the nonprofit cooks and delivers 10,000 meals each week to people living with cancer, kidney dialysis, heart disease and lung disease and HIV/AIDS.
That's a sizeable operation, and finding the funding to keep such direct service work going year in and year out can be no easy thing. Here's a look at how Project Angel Food makes it happen.
First some background. In this day of HIV drug therapies that allows patients like Magic Johnson to now handle HIV as a survivable, chronic disease, its hard for us to recall the treatment landscape in 1989. AIDS deaths were rapidly increasing year over year. It would soon become the number one cause of death for U.S. men ages 25 to 44. Instead of todays multi-pronged pharmaceutical attack, one antiretroviral drug had been approved, zidovudine (AZT). The disease often led to AIDS wasting syndrome where patients lost their appetites and entered a downward spiral of weight loss.
Inspired by Hippocrates who said "Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food," Project Angel Food was launched in 1989 to supply diatetically appropriate meals and counseling to 15 patients left homebound by the AIDS crisis. It was founded as an outreach program of the Los Angeles Center for Living by charismatic Hollywood spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson, and 10 others.
Louise Hay, Marianne Williamson and David Kessler held the first fundraiser, bringing in $11,000 but that was barely enough money to keep the charity functioning. It had to get more creative to survive. In 1990, it held an art auction, Angel Art, that raised more than $540,000, boosted by the contributions of David Geffen and Barry Diller. By 1992, Project Angel Food was supplying nearly 400 daily meals but money was still tight leading to infighting and a raft of problems. It shut down its counseling services. Eight employees were let go or quit, including the executive director. Williamson and other board members resigned. The charity stayed afloat due to a grant of $150,000 from the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, donations in memory of actor Anthony Perkins, who had died recently of AIDS, and Williamsons pledge of personally underwriting the $50,000 cost of a celebrity flea market.
Today the charity is run by an Emmy Award winning television producer, Richard Ayoub. Angel Foods new Executive Director oversees a $4 million annual budget for a charity that cooks and delivers 10,000 meals each week in Los Angeles to people living with cancer, kidney failure, heart disease and lung disease and HIV/AIDS. Ive always had a passion to make a difference in my small part of the world, Ayoub told Inside Philanthropy. Our clients are people who are sick, at home; 50 percent of them live alone. Many have become forgotten by their family and friends. According to Ayoub, Williamson to this day makes the point, Were not just delivering food, were delivering love.
Related: Get Out There and Sell: How One Local Meals on Wheels Keeps Rolling
Ayoub led us through the details of Project Angel Food's revenues. Our funding comes from corporations, foundations, individuals and events. We do get 10 percent of our funding from the government, he said. The events do very well for us as do the online donations." On this last point, Ayoub told us that early this year Project Angel Food did a text-a-thon around the time it delivered its 10 millionth meal. With the help of local media, the push raised $25,000 in a 19-hour period.
Other sources of revenue included bequests, with Project Angel Food doing well on the planned giving front. Grants are important, too.
We have multiple grants, in fact we get $1.2 million in grants per year, Ayoub said. Wells Fargo has been very generous to us for a long period of time. The Weingart Foundation, the M.A.C. AIDS Fund and the Annenberg Foundation have been six figure donors in the past few years. The Annenberg Foundation also helped with the $800,000 cost of building out the kitchen in Angle Foods headquarters.
Events also bring in money. Our tent pole event is the Angel Awards, which is a gala in our parking lot under the stars, Ayoub said. Food is supplied by the Angel Food kitchen so that donors get to experience the quality of Angel Foods cuisine while costs are kept low. You get so close to the mission and there is no other charity in Los Angeles doing this.
Meanwhile, Ayoub has been keen on raising local awareness about the organization. He has turned to small community newspapers as a way to promote Project Angel Foodand raise money. When the charitys delivery van started to wear out from high mileage, Ayoub got the Beverly Press, a local supplement of the Los Angeles Times, to write about the need to keep food deliveries going to Angel Foods 400 square mile service area. In an article printed Christmas Day, the paper quoted the driver saying, All I want for Christmas is a brand new van.
At $40,000, the cost was substantial. Ayoub hoped that the publicity would generate some contributions. Between Christmas and New Years Day Ayoub got a call from jazz musician Corky Hale, married to songwriter Mike Stoller of the team Leiber & Stoller. Hale said, We read your story, we were very moved by it, were going to buy you the van. One donor gave us $40,000 to buy that van from one article, Ayoub said.
Ayoub said that one of the challenges he faces in fundraising is that the general public assumes that the AIDS crisis is over, because deaths from HIV have fallen precipitously from their peak in 2004. Today, however, patients who have been on anti-viral medication for 20 years or more are showing the side effects of the drugs, and have resume relying on Angel Food. People who took crixiv an often now have brittle bones, Ayoub said.
Related: How the Annenberg Foundation supports LAs Aging LGBT Population
What advice would he give to other nonprofits? Make sure that you keep in touch with donors. Dont always ask them for money, but let them know what is happening with the organization. Call to thank them, dont call just to ask wheres your check?
Ayoub loves his work, and sees what he does as making a difference. He does his best to implement Project Angel Foods motto, For life, for love, as long as it takes.
Im sure some people could think of not-so-nice things to say about that full-page newspaper ad signed by 39 foundation presidents that appeared Sunday in the New York Times and other top newspapers. The ad, citing the recent killings of people and police officers in communities across the country offers a message of hope based on Americas past track record of steady progress toward dignity, equality, and justice, and it calls on readers to chime in with their optimistic thoughts at #reasonsforhope on Twitter.
Sounds nice, right? But Im imagining that more than a few advocates working in the trenches on race, policing, and guns looked at the list of foundations on the ad, and then at their own list of funders, and noticed something amiss. Or maybe they Googled the cost of a full-page New York Times adwhich starts at around $100,000and mused about how far that money could go in their shoestring operations. Or perhaps they composed in their mind a much stronger ad, in which foundations took a stand for something more tangible and that actually mentioned the words race. Even Hillary Clinton spoke the once-radical phrase, structural racism in her acceptance speech the other night; couldnt foundations have mustered the same courage here? At the very least, couldnt that ad have mentioned the color of the people whove lately been killed, along with police officers?
Today, though, lets resist the temptation to shoot fish in a barrel and instead move on to an interesting question raised by this effort, which is this: What role do foundations have as moral cheerleaders for America?
The implicit premise behind the expensive ad is that foundations have an important role in publicly encouraging the better angels of the American psycheand are also uniquely qualified to do so because, as the ad said, they support organizations working for change all across the country, and which are working to promote dialogue neighbor to neighbor, community by community.
Jim Canales, the president of the Barr Foundation, who signed the ad, suggests in a blog post yesterday that foundations have an unusual vantage point because the business theyre in is fundamentally a hopeful one.
I think theres something to these points, especially about hope. If you think of all the other major institutions in U.S. society, its hard to name many others that so often express their missions as advancing the well-being of humanity writ large. Thats not governments role, exactly, with its practical focus on providing a collective way for citizens to solve problem. Its not the role of business (whatever techies may say), with its bottom-line imperative. Its not the medias role or that of the military. Political parties might say something similar, but as partisan entities, theyre not cheering on everyones better angels. Ditto for religious institutions, more or less.
In any case, all the institutions I just mentioned have hemorrhaged public trust in recent decades (except the military), which makes them imperfect as society-wide cheerleaders. Some slice of Americans instantly tune out when the hope message comes from, say, Hillary Clinton, Rick Warren or Mark Zuckerberg, or even the president of the United States, a figure now viewed in more narrowly partisan terms than at any time in history.
Foundations, in contrast, dont carry much baggageyetand most really are in the business of pushing some version of hope, regardless of party or creed or quarterly returns. So it does seem like there's a vital cheerleading opening here that, if anything, foundation leaders should play more often, when so many other would-be cheerleaders are distrusted.
We can argue about the content of these uplifting messages (more details, please!) and we can argue about the venue (maybe not an expensive full-page ad to reach the mostly liberal upper-middle class professionals who still get the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times in hard copy). But fundamentally, the cheerleading role makes sense for foundations in an age of cynicism and polarization.
Going forward, though, there are few clear challenges to effectively playing that role.
One is that it may only be a matter of time before foundations join the ranks of distrusted institutions. After all, these elite-run entities are products of concentrated wealth at a time of rising anger against inequality and wealthy elites. That fact is likely to loom larger in the publics mind as an era of legacy foundations run by technocrats gives way to an era of mega-foundations run by living donors. Look no further than the field of K-12 funding to see how quickly the backlash can grow and how toxic it can be.
With more funders pushing into controversial public policy issues, and often in non-transparent ways, the risk grows that these institutions will lose the publics trust as high-minded institutions with noble intentions. The ever-greater warehousing of tax-subsidized wealth at a time of fiscal austerity is also an invitation to popular ire. Which is one reason why the foundation sector would be well advised to embracenot reflexively fightgrowing calls for reform. The stakes are too high, here, for the sector to not get ahead of this curve.
Second, and more obviously, foundation leaders need to be mindful of appearing hypocritical in their cheerleading role or hogging the spotlight, as people sitting on piles of money often do. Its the change makers in the field who should be out front, and the last thing those folks want to hear are foundation CEOs giving lip service to priorities that, in practice, theyve been underfunding for years.
Enough said.
Related: Philanthropys Leaders Need to GetAhead of theCurve on ReformWhile They Still Can
Bob Dylan famously said "Don't look back," but it wasn't the greatest advice, with any number of other sages telling us why it's actually rather important to know one's past. After all, things tend to repeat themselves.
Such is the underlying logic behind a historic gift from Alpert Lepage to his alma mater Villanova University. Lepage, the retired co-chairman of Lepage Bakeries Inc., pledged $10 million to the Pennsylvania school to establish the Center for History in the Public Interest.
The Albert Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest will be a multifaceted resource that through academic programs, research, publications and events will engage the public, policymakers, scholars, teachers, and students from history and other fields.
The commitment marks the largest-ever gift to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the universitys oldest and largest college.
We've reported lately on some impressive gifts flow to the liberal arts space, but we've never seen a gift of this magnitude earmarked towards the field of history. Why is that?
Well for starters, it isn't the sexiest field in the world. It isn't as immediately intriguingor quixotic?as recent gives to elevate public discourse. History also lacks the subtle artistry of literature or philosophy. (But that's just our bias talking.)
Perhaps most tellingly, history, like these aforementioned fields, it isn't perceived as a ticket to a lucrative career, especially given all the STEM-related hoopla across the higher education space.
None of this matters to Lepage. "My hope is that the good study of history will foster a greater understanding of today relative to yesterday," Mr. Lepage said. "History often repeats itself, and the center will bring historical perspective to current events."
Amen, right? And here we should pause to note that this gift underscores the upside of the massive increase in the number of wealthy Americans over the few decadeswhich is that there is now a larger, more diverse pool of major donors than ever before, with a vast range of interests. That's good news for campuses looking to fund the kinds of overlooked areas that donors typically haven't been much interested in.
And what about Lepage himself?
Well, he joined the family business in 1971 and was co-owner from 1978 and chairman from 1983 to 2012, when the company was acquired by Flowers Foods, Inc. He also was chairman of the Quality Bakers of America Co-operative and treasurer of the American Bakers Association.
As for his recent philanthropic endeavors, in 2015 the Albert Lepage Foundation gave New Orleans-based Tulane U. Freeman School of Business a $12.5-million donation to establish a center for entrepreneurship and innovation. Earlier this year, the foundation committed $10 million to Hebron Academy to complete renovations to the Albert Lepage Center for the Arts and to establish the Albert Lepage Center for Diversity. Lepage also established the Albert R. Lepage Endowed Professorship in History at Villanova.
And so we'd like to sign off with a rather applicable quote from William Faulkner: "The past is never dead. It's not even past."
When we picture the working class, we tend to fall back on that old image of factory workers and teamsters, plumbers and electricianssturdy masculine mainstays of blue-collar America. In truth, things look a lot different now, amid dramatic demographic changes in the working class that Tamara Draut documents in her excellent recent book, Sleeping Giant. Service workers of color loom large, especially women. Those with the proverbial lunch pail might be Latina or Filipina, and the factory gates in question might well stand over a tasteful welcome mat.
Largely composed of women, many of them low-income immigrants, and working in isolated conditions, the home care workforce often faces exploitation and abuse. In 2014, the Fair Labor Standards Act was finally updated to include this class of workers, but thats only a start. As the field continues to grow, groups like the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) are pushing for better labor protections. And as we've reported, some funders are rallying behind them.
Early this year, we covered the Robert Wood Johnson Foundations partnership with NDWA on the Good Work Code, an effort to protect care workers from potential labor threats in the gig economy. Other givers in this area include the Ford Foundation, Kellogg, Atlantic Philanthropies, the California Wellness Foundation, and the Altman Foundation.
The Good Work Code, as we pointed out, is a pretty innovative effort to partner with companies to raise labor standards for home health workers, and you can see why RWJF put into $400,000.
Well, now comes news of a much smaller grant for NDWA, by a much smaller funder, one that's also for a smart project: Giving homecare workers better information.
With a $25,000 grant from the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), NDWA will pilot a National Homecare Workers Hotline in New Mexico and Georgia, two states with high numbers of workers in this field. The hotline will provide these vulnerable workers with information about their rights, connect them with legal assistance, and serve as a model for a national rollout.
The money comes from UUSCs Human Rights Innovation Fellowship, a yearly program providing project funding around a specific theme (last years theme was the right to water; this year, its economic justice). An innovation focus is encouraging. UUSC, with its limited resources, isnt a prominent funding source. But it's not afraid to be on the cutting edge of social justice issues.
A nonsectarian organization, UUSC works around the world to challenge human rights abuses. Its founders began their work helping refugees escape the Nazis in 1939. Since then, the organization has directed its efforts to a wide variety of human rights hotspots including Korea, Haiti, Central America, L.A. during the 1992 civil unrest, Rwanda and Darfur, among others. UUSC puts emphasis on grassroots partnerships and on activating networks of supporters and supporting organizations.
Despite its international focus, UUSC backs a number of projects in the United States, many of them environmental. Notably, the charity also supports the settlement of Middle Eastern refugees in this country, hearkening back to its pre-World War II origins. On the work front, UUSC partners with groups like the Northwest Arkansas Workers Justice Center and NDWA.
Well be watching to see how NDWAs hotline works out, and who jumps on board if it expands to cover the entire country. There are some good candidates to write bigger checks. Supporters of NDWA in recent years include Ford, Kellogg, OSF, Surdna, the Nathan Cummings Foundation and the Oak Foundation.
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Firehouse Self Storage in Loveland, Colo., last month hosted a Christmas in July toy-collection drive to benefit underprivileged children in the community. The toys will be distributed to children on their birthday who might not otherwise receive a gift on that day, according to the Firehouse website.
In addition, the storage operator will host its annual Hoodies for the Homeless drive in September, and collect toys during the winter holidays for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots campaign. Other annual charity events include an Easter egg hunt each spring and a garage sale in June.
Our belief as a family-owned company is that we are here for our community first and foremost, said CEO Christopher Burton.
A second Firehouse facility is under development in in Longmont, Colo. It will resemble a 1900s firehouse and carry the theme throughout. Burton and his wife, Barbi, decided on the firehouse theme several years ago after learning the Larimer County Search and Rescue (LCSAR) team was in need of cash. Barbi suggested rebranding their existing facility as well as donating money each month to LCSAR, a nonprofit search and rescue resource for Larimer County, Colo. The Burtons continue to offer a percentage of revenue from every storage rental to the organization. They also offer rental discounts to firefighters, military personnel, police officers and senior citizens.
Through our floods and fires, our first responders are there to stand by those in need. We are here to remember the 145 Colorado firemen who have lost their lives in the line of duty along with the 343 lives lost in 9/11, Burton said.
Firehouse Self Storage offers a variety of self-storage unit sizes as well as vehicle parking. A portion of the welcoming center at the Loveland facility includes a firefighter memorial exhibit.
Real estate developer Moishe Mana, who owns Moishes Self Storage and other related businesses, has offered to donate $1 million to a charity of Donald Trumps choice if the Republican nominee for president will publicly release his tax returns. Trump has refused to release his returns, citing an ongoing audit, according to a source.
Trump has said hes worth more than $10 billion, but Mana believes hes worth no more than $300 million. The self-storage owner said the returns will prove Trump isnt as wealthy as hes claimed. Many people voting for him think hes so rich and charitable, Mana told a source, but hes not as rich as he says, not charitable as much as he says. Not close to it.
Born in Israel, Mana came to the United States as a dishwasher, he told a source. He started Moishes Moving Systems in 1983 with a single van before building the business into one of the largest in the New York area, a source reported. Hes also founder of GRM Document Management, Moishes Guarantee Asset Management, Moishes Guarantee Wine Storage and Moishes Mobile Storage. Hes reportedly invested $198 million in property acquisitions in downtown Miami and is involved in multiple developments in the area.
Although Mana says hes supported Democrats and Republicans in the past, hes fully supporting Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. He donated $33,400 earlier this year to the Democratic National Committee and has indicated hell write a check worth at least $100,000 to Clintons campaign within the next month.
Mana told a source he doesnt expect Trump to take him up on his offer but is willing to increase his donation. America is worth more than a million dollars for me, he said. If he says $2 million, Ill go $2 million.
Moishes Self Storage operates five facilities in New Jersey and New York.
The Texas Self Storage Association (TSSA) has released details on its fall conference, Oct. 9-11, in The Woodlands, Texas. Designed for self-storage developers, managers and owners, the annual eventthemed Big Ideas in Storage for 2016will take place at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center.
The conference will offer four educational tracks of seminars: development and growth, management and operations, marketing and technology, and strategy and enterprise. This years keynote speaker is Steve Vrooman, a professor of communication studies at Texas Lutheran University. His presentation, By the Time They Need Us, They Already Know Us: A New Approach to Social Media for the Self-Storage Industry, will focus on how operators can build a productive social media strategy.
The event will also include networking breaks to allow attendees to meet with peers, as well as a new-member and first-time attendee orientation. A Sunday Social will be held at The Gooses Acre, 3-5 p.m., on Oct. 9. Other activities include a membership luncheon, product and service exhibits, a cocktail reception, roundtable discussions, live and silent auctions, and a charity poker tournament to benefit the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Galveston, Texas.
Early-bird discounts are available until Aug. 31. Additional show details can be found on the TSSA website.
Established in 1986, the TSSA is a nonprofit trade association dedicated to enhancing the quality of self-storage in Texas. It provides industry education, research and discussion.
@PtboSpeedway @OSCAARracing Peterborough, ON (August 2, 2016)- Another month of Peterborough Speedways 2016 campaign came to an end on Saturday, July 30 as the OSCAAR Super Late Models, Modifieds, Midgets and Pro Midgets joined the home track Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun and Jiffy Lube Mini Stock divisions for a thrilling night of action at Canadas Toughest 1/3-Mile Paved Oval.
The first feature race to hit the track was a 20 lapper for the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun, with Griffin Powell and Jeremy Kelly leading the pack. Kelly wanted the top spot and pushed Powell for the position, but the former Autumn Colours Classic champion was up for the challenge. A slow car in the second turn brought out the races only yellow flag with four laps on the scoreboard and within a few laps of the restart, defending track champion Ryan Oosterholt had joined the battle at the front of the pack, using the outside line to gain positions. With Powell and Kelly staging their own battle in front of him, Oosterholt moved into a lead he wouldnt give up. Jeremy Kelly was second, with Powell, Jake Kelly and Dave Feeney finishing out the top five.
The OSCAAR Super Late Models were originally scheduled for a 50 lap main event, but track and series officials revised that plan to a pair of 20 lappers and both were run with quick, military precision. Former Peterborough Speedway regular Kelly Balson took the opener over Glenn Watson, J.R. Fitzpatrick, Tyler Hawn, Roy Passer, Gary Passer and Charlie Gallant. Roy Passer was victorious in round two, over his son in-law Fitzpatrick, Watson, Balson, Hawn, Gallant and Gary Passer.
With 20 laps on the agenda, the Jiffy Lube Mini Stocks rolled from the staging area for their main event with Tiffany Vanderbelt and Kevin Strutt on the front row. On the drop of the green flag, Strutt took control, with defending track champion Tyler Junkin moving into second before there was a single circuit on the scoreboard. The leaders moved-in on lapped traffic with nine laps complete, allowing current point leader James Townsend to close ground. Strutt would lead the caution-free feature from start to finish. Junkin would thwart Townsends charge, with Vanderbelt and Donovan Price completing the top five.
James Stanley and Wayne McKibbon brought the starting field to the stripe for the 25 lap OSCAAR Midget feature, but it was Owen Elliott who played the starring role, with an advantage of nearly half a track at different stages of the event. Shawn Stanley would close ranks as the leader struggled with lapped traffic, but the eventual outcome was never in doubt. Not even a late yellow flag with 23 laps complete would keep him from the win. Stanleys charge would come-up one position short, with Brian McDonald, McKibbon and Ryan Brown following the lead duo across the line.
Brad Stevenson and Gary McLean would bring the OSCAAR Modified pack to the Great Canadian RV green flag to kick-off their 30 lap feature tilt. Stevenson led the early stages, before surrendering the top spot to McLean just before a yellow flag waved with 17 complete. A.J. Emms would wrestle second spot away from Stevenson on the restart that followed a mid-race red flag, but McLean the most dominant driver in series history would add another win to his resume. Cory Horner and John Harper would complete the top five.
The nights action would conclude with a 15 lapper for the upstart Pro Midget division, as Kelly Summers would take the checkered flag.
Earlier in the show, Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun heats were shared by Ryan Oosterholt with a pair and one each to Brandon and Dave Feeney. James Townsend, Brandon Hannah, Tyler Junkin and Kevin Strutt each took a Jiffy Lube Mini Stock preliminary round. OSCAAR Midget heats went to Owen Elliott with a pair, Shawn Stanley and Wally Wilson. A.J. Emms, Cory Horner, John Harper and Luc Gignac each won an OSCAAR Modified qualifier. Ted Greenwood scored a pair of Pro Midget opening rounds.
Bullring Bullet Points: Several cars were plagued by loose wheels throughout the night. Ray Schroer lost a right rear during a qualifying heat, while fellow 4Fun pilot Mitch Cook suffered the same fate later in the night. In one of the scariest incidents of the evening, OSCAAR Modified rookie Rob DiVenanzo caught his right front on the base of the back stretch wall and flipped; sliding on the cars roof along the track.
Action at the tight, tricky bullring on Mount Pleasant Road, west of the Liftlock City continues Saturday, August 6 with the return of the Lucas Oil Sportsman Cup Series. The Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun, Jiffy Lube Mini Stock, Paul Davis Systems Thunder Car and Ontario Modifieds Racing Series classes will also be in competition; with kids rides at intermission. Pit gates open at 2:00, with the spectator areas unlocked at 5:00 and the first green flag of the night at 6:00.
Full schedule details along with up to the minute news and results are always available at www.peterboroughspeedway.com, by liking the track on Facebook or following it on Twitter. You can also download the free Peterborough Speedway app on your Smartphone.
Prepared by: Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media
clarkemotorsports@hotmail.com, www.facebook.com/clarkemotorsports
613.968.6410
This content is from: Portfolio
A new report by McKinsey examines the industry amid a volatile environment and offers a look at what investors can expect.
A statutory body has reported that small businesses in regional Queensland are more likely to be under-insured or uninsured, reported ARM NewsDesk.In an audit conducted by WorkCover of 650 Queensland businesses, it was revealed that uninsured business accounted for approximately 260 claims last year, which cost the scheme about $6.5 million.The audit has also revealed that about 15 per cent of employers did not declare superannuation as part of their assessable wages, 8 per cent failed to declare wages paid to contractors, and 3 per cent were uninsured.A WorkCover spokesperson told ARM NewsDesk that more uninsured and underinsured businesses are found in regional and rural parts of the state.Tony Hawkins, WorkCover Queensland CEO, said that although most businesses have an accident insurance policy with the correct premium, non-compliance remains a concern."Any Queensland business who employs a worker is breaking the law if they don't have a WorkCover Accident Insurance policy," he told"It's never too late to start complying and doing so can reduce the costs should a worker be injured," Hawkins added.Hawkins has revealed that WorkCover planned on doing more employer compliance audits this year."Uninsured employers who lodge WorkCover claims will be held to account. These businesses will be subject to significant financial penalties, including the cost of the claim which can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars for severe injuries," said Hawkins.Said the report, the statutory body has visited 2300 Queensland businesses last year to educate employers on worker insurance.
The growing concern around the country about peeping drones may have come to a town in New Hampshire.
Police in Hollis say theyve received more than 20 complaints about a drone flying outside peoples windows, usually late at night or early in the morning.
Hollis Police Lt. Rick Bailey said residents are concerned about the invasion of privacy.
Federal Aviation Administration rules require drones to be flown only during daylight, and police say anyone caught using a peeping drone could face state charges as well, including harassment, trespassing or invasion of privacy.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics New Hampshire
New York City has agreed to pay $2.7 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the mother of a 14-year-old autistic boy who was found dead after leaving his school in Queens.
The Daily News reported the settlement. The lawsuit accused school officials and the New York Police Departments safety division of negligence for failing to monitor the exit doors and not properly supervising the boy who had a history of being a flight risk.
Avonte Oquendo ran off from his school in 2013 and was found dead in a river months later. A law passed after his death required schools to install audible door alarms.
City Law Department spokesman Nicholas Paolucci said hopefully the settlement will bring some measure of solace to Avontes family.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics New York
New York authorities charged a Long Island engineering firm and one of its former executives with forging damage reports for homes swamped by Hurricane Sandy, altering the documents in such a way that owners flood insurance claims were eventually denied.
Matthew Pappalardo and his former employer GEB HiRise Engineering PC were named in a 50-count indictment accusing Pappalardo of directing his staff to remove descriptions of flood damage from least 25 reports that had been prepared by subcontractors who visited the properties.
Its the first indictment over what some lawyers say was a widespread practice intended to benefit the Federal Emergency Management Agencys flood insurance program and the private insurers that administered its policies following a storm that caused more than $75 billion in damage.
Todays charges reveal a flagrant disregard for the well-being and safety of New Yorkers and my office will not tolerate it, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Monday in a statement.
Pappalardo, 38, and Uniondale, New York-based HiRise were arraigned on Monday in state court in Nassau County, according to the statement.
Pappalardos lawyer, Avraham Moskowitz, said his client pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Pappalardo adamantly denies all of the charges against him, Moskowitz said in an e-mail. He has done nothing wrong and looks forward to being vindicated at trial.
Widespread Litigation
Disputes over insurance claims stemming from the 2012 hurricane spawned widespread litigation. Insurers sued in a related case paid millions of dollars to homeowners in settlements over allegedly manipulated reports, with some companies accused of conspiring with engineers and lawyers to deny claims.
Lawmakers including U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer of New York and Robert Menendez and Cory Booker of New Jersey pushed FEMA to address potential manipulation in the handling of flood-insurance claims.
FEMA Pressure
As we have from the beginning, we steadfastly maintain that there was never any intent by HiRise or its principals to defraud any homeowner with respect to the preparation of these reports, the company said in an e-mail.
Moskowitz said Pappalardos departure from HiRise was amicable and declined to give any more details. The attorney said Schneidermans failure to give any possible motivation for the former executive to alter the reports was one of the many weaknesses in the case.
But Steve Mostyn, a Houston-based plaintiffs lawyer who represents several storm victims, has said engineering firms hired by insurers altered damage reports to them. And insurers want payouts to be lower because FEMA, $24 billion in debt after 2005s Hurricane Katrina and other storms, pressured them to hold the line on Sandy payments, he said.
A message left with FEMAs press office on Monday seeking comment on Mostyns allegations wasnt immediately returned.
Schneiderman also released a report identifying what his office called fundamental flaws in the National Flood Insurance Program, created by Congress in the 1960s to drive down the financial impact of disasters. The report recommends an increase in transparency and accountability for the program, including improving communication with buyers about what is and isnt covered by the insurance and providing homeowners with all documents related to the claims process.
When the next major storm hits, its crucial that families know exactly what kind of damage is covered by insurance, and that their claims are being handled professionally and reliably, Schneiderman said.
The case is The People of the State of New York v. Pappalardo, 1171N-16, New York Supreme Court, Nassau County (Mineola).
Related:
Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
Topics Claims Flood New York
Greenlight Capital Re Ltd., the reinsurer that counts on hedge fund manager David Einhorn to oversee investments, posted its fifth loss in six quarters as the portfolio slumped.
The second-quarter net loss widened to $63 million, or $1.69 a share, from $39.6 million, or $1.06, a year earlier, the Cayman Islands-based company said Monday in a statement. Einhorn was hurt in the period by an oil-fracking short and a bet against Amazon.com Inc., the online retailer that surged 21 percent in the three months ended June 30, according to a letter to his hedge fund investors last week.
Greenlight Re is seeking to recover from the 20 percent loss on Einhorns investments last year, when he was burned by the plunge of Micron Technology Inc., SunEdison Inc. and Consol Energy Inc., and the reinsurer was unprofitable all four quarters. The company has also struggled to find profitable underwriting opportunities amid increased competition from other Wall Street investors seeking to bet on insurance. Greenlight Re said Monday that it had obtained coverage from a third party to take on risks that Einhorns company had assumed from another insurer tied to flaws in building projects.
Combined with the wind-down of a book of underperforming commercial auto policies, our exit from construction-defect business leaves us without significant exposure to poorly performing lines for the first time in several years, Chief Executive Officer Bart Hedges said in the statement.
The net underwriting loss widened to $24.5 million from $13.3 million in last years second quarter. The result was driven by the risk transfer and claims tied to Canadian wildfires, the company said.
Greenlight Res adjusted book value, a measure of assets minus liabilities, fell to $21.20 a share as of June 30 from $22.88 at the end of March. The net investment loss widened to $38.1 million from $20.3 million a year earlier.
The reinsurer had gained 13 percent this year to $21.22 as of 4 p.m. in New York, buoyed recently by a 4.8 percent jump in Einhorns main fund in July. That stock price compares with $19 in the companys initial public offering in 2007. Results were released after the close of regular trading.
Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
Topics Profit Loss
Wisconsin doctors should prescribe opioids sparingly, tell patients they could become addicted and avoid the drugs as the first option to treat pain, according to new guidelines the state Medical Examining Board recently adopted to combat heroin use.
The board, which monitors Wisconsins doctors, came up with the guidelines after Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill in March giving the panel the authority to develop best prescribing practices.
The state is among many in the U.S. grappling with an uptick in use of heroin, which opioid users often turn to when prescriptions run out.
Many people believe that all medications prescribed by a doctor are 100 percent safe, bill sponsor Republican Rep. John Nygren, whose daughter has struggled with addiction, said in a news release. While a vast majority of medical professionals do a wonderful job educating their patients about the dangers of certain drugs, our state is still seeing an overprescribing problem specifically with opioids.
The guidelines, based on standards from the federal Centers for Disease Control, call for treating pain without drugs through yoga, exercise or other alternative treatments before turning to opioids. Once drugs are introduced, they should be prescribed in the lowest dose possible and in the quantity needed for the expected duration of the pain. Doctors also should consider people who are unwilling to obtain other treatment for their pain questionable candidates for opioids and document the rationale for giving them such prescriptions.
Doctors also should issue two prescriptions, each with specific refill dates, rather than one large prescription, which the guidelines believe with limit the potential for misuse.
Patients on chronic opioid therapy should give their informed consent after being told that the drugs can lead to addiction, overdose and death and agree to a treatment plan documenting how to avoid those outcomes. If evidence emerges that a patient is in danger or that their opioids are going to someone else, the drugs should be discontinued and the patient treated for withdrawal.
Doctors also should consider prescribing overdose antidote naloxone, best known by the brand name Narcan, for home use for patients at a higher risk of overdosing.
Dr. Tim Westlake, the MEBs vice chairman, said Nygrens bill was needed because the panel exists mostly to ensure doctors are competent and lacked the authority to issue practice guidelines. But the board wanted to do something about overprescribing opioids and heroin use.
According to the state Justice Department, the number of cases the state crime labs have handled that involve heroin has increased from 1,061 in 2013 to 1,141 last year. Nearly 200 people died of a heroin overdose last year, up 50 percent from 2014, according to statistics on the DOJs website.
Its just not an effective medical treatment and theres so much harm that can come from it, Westlake said. How do we bend the prescriptive curve back? What we really want to do is have a cultural change.
The MEB issued its guidelines in late July. The bill also gave the state podiatry credentialing and nursing boards as well as the dentistry and optometry examining boards the authority to issue opioid prescription guidelines, too, although they havent issued any yet.
Walker has signed 15 of Nygrens bills aimed at combatting heroin use since 2014.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics Wisconsin Drugs
A Wisconsin shipyard faces nearly $1.4 million in penalties after it exposed workers to unsafe levels of lead, the U.S. Department of Labor announced.
Officials said the exposure to lead and other heavy metals at Fraser Shipyards Inc. in Superior happened during the retrofitting of a ships engine room. Officials said tests by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that 14 workers had lead levels up to 20 times the exposure limit.
Additional testing of more than 120 other employees showed that more than 75 percent of those tested had elevated blood lead levels.
Messages left for Fraser Shipyards were not immediately returned. The company has 15 days to comply, contest the findings or request an informal conference with OSHA officials.
OSHA began inspecting the shipyard earlier this year after receiving complaints of unsafe working conditions after Fraser contracted with Interlake Steamship Co. of Ohio to modernize the Herbert C. Jackson.
Fraser Shipyards accepted a contract with a very low profit margin and penalties for delayed completion, but could not meet the schedule without endangering its workers. This employer was unwilling to pay the necessary costs to protect employees from lead exposure, David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for Occupational Safety and Health, said in a statement.
The agency found that Fraser Shipyards management knew about the presence of lead and asbestos, but ignored regulations and worker concerns.
OSHA cited 14 willful egregious health violations for the 14 workers who were overexposed. OSHA also issued other violations for failure to assess employee lead exposure and other issues, and it placed Fraser Shipyards in its program for severe violators.
Lead overexposure can lead to brain damage, gastrointestinal problems, anemia and kidney disease.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics Workers' Compensation Wisconsin
Judy Bjerke Severson wants to be normal visit friends and family, go to the grocery store or even sleep in her own bed but she says the crippling pain from fibromyalgia and back surgery complications, as well as a painkiller-induced fog, have made her a shell of her former self.
Aug 1. brought a sliver of hope to her and other Minnesota residents who have incurable pain: They can finally buy medical marijuana. Bjerke Severson will be the first to be seen at a Bloomington clinic, one of eight statewide that sell the medicine.
I could just cry Im so excited, the 70-year-old Edina woman said. I dont enjoy this life I have right now.
Expanding the list of qualifying conditions to include intractable pain marks a critical juncture in the year-old program, which is among the most restrictive in the country. Manufacturers and patients have big hopes that it will usher in thousands of new patients, eventually bringing down high costs which exceed $1,000 a month for some patients and easing dependence on addictive narcotic painkillers.
Those hopes were buoyed by data from the state showing nearly 500 patients suffering intractable pain had registered in July, the first month of registration and a month before legal sales could begin. Thats more than five times the number of people who signed up in the month ahead of the programs launch.
The Minnesota Legislature legalized medical marijuana in 2014. The law bans the plant form, but allows pills, oils and vapors to be used by patients with nine serious conditions who received their doctors permission.
The Legislature directed Minnesotas health commissioner to determine if intractable pain should be added as a 10th condition within the programs first year. Commissioner Ed Ehlinger cited the programs successful first few months when announcing in December that intractable pain would qualify starting Aug. 1.
Kyle Kinglsey at Minnesota Medical Solutions, one of the states two medical marijuana manufacturers, said hes confident a largely problem-free first year and his companys own outreach efforts to the medical community would make it easier in the second year. He also said he thinks doctors, many of whom patients have said are wary of the health benefits and possible drawbacks of marijuana, will be convinced its an attractive alternative to addictive and often deadly opiate painkillers.
The reason why I left a comfortable job was to help fight the opioid scourge. Medical cannabis is one of the tools that will help fight the crisis, said Kingsley, the companys chief executive.
The long-awaited expansion is welcome for patient advocacy organizations, though Maren Schroeder doubts whether it would have any impact on the programs costs. Her patient advocacy group, Sensible Minnesota, is pushing to allow patients to use the plant form and has petitioned Ehlinger to add post-traumatic stress disorder as a qualifying condition next year.
For now, manufacturers and patients are focused on intractable pain, which the state defines as pain that cant be otherwise treated or cured.
For Bjerke Severson, that means muscle spasms, tingling and fiery pain so severe she can barely walk. Having lived the last two decades with chronic pain, she struggles to describe it.
Bjerke Severson knows medical marijuana wont be a magic cure. But she is hoping to kick the hydrocodone and get some relief.
I would love to do an errand, she said. Things that people not just take for granted, but busywork theyre sick of.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics Cannabis Minnesota
The pilot of a hot air balloon that crashed in Texas and killed all 16 people aboard was arrested in Missouri in 2000 for driving while intoxicated, and the Better Business Bureau warned consumers about doing business with the balloon touring company he used to operate in that state.
Authorities havent publicly named anyone killed in the crash, saying it could take a while to identify the bodies. But Alfred Skip Nichols, 49, was identified as the pilot by his friend and roommate Alan Lirette, who said that Nichols was a good pilot.
Thats the only thing I want to talk about, is that hes a great pilot, Lirette said, speaking to The Associated Press from a house he shared with Nichols in Kyle, Texas. Theres going to be all kinds of reports out in the press and I want a positive image there too.
Authorities say the balloon, which was operated by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, hit high-tension power lines before crashing into a pasture Saturday morning near Lockhart, which is about 60 miles northeast of San Antonio. Margaret Wylie, who lives a quarter-mile from the site, said she heard popping sounds and saw what looked like a fireball going up.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators are trying to determine what caused the crash, said board member Robert Sumwalt. He said the pilot was licensed to fly the balloon, but that it was too soon to say whether he had a criminal history.
A Missouri police officer, though, told The Associated Press that Nichols was arrested there in 2000 on a felony driving while intoxicated charge and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DWI in 2002.
The officer said that based on photographs, he is confident the man arrested in Missouri is the same man who piloted the Texas balloon. Nichols had lived in Missouri before moving to Texas. He was known as Skip in both places and owned a hot air balloon touring company in St. Louis County at the time, said the officer, who spoke to the AP on condition that he not be identified because he was not authorized to comment publicly.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in 2008 that the Better Business Bureau had warned consumers about doing business with Nichols, the third time since 2000 that Nichols had gotten an unsatisfactory record for not responding to complaints. The paper quoted the BBB as saying Nichols was on probation in Missouri for the distribution, delivery or manufacturing of a controlled substance and that when asked to respond, Nichols said, I prefer to make no comment on that.
There were reports of foggy weather in the area of the crash around the time of the flight. At least two of the passengers, Matt Rowan and his wife Sunday Rowan, posted photos on social media of the preparations, the early morning sunrise and themselves in the basket of the balloon a short time before the crash.
Ground crew members told investigators that they launched about 20 minutes after the expected 6:45 a.m. time. The balloon traveled about 8 miles from takeoff to crash, and the basket was found about three-quarters of a mile from the balloon itself.
NTSB investigators recovered 14 personal electronic devices, including cellphones, an iPad and three cameras from the crash site, which will be sent to a lab in Washington for analysis.
Sumwalt, the NTSB member, said the immediate focus of the investigation would be gathering witness testimony, starting Monday with the ground crew.
Theyve been busy trying to collect the maintenance records for us, Sumwalt said of the crew.
Schmall reported from Fort Worth. Associated Press writers Jim Vertuno, Jamie Stengle in Dallas, Maria Fisher in Kansas City, Missouri, and Chad Day and Joan Lowy in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
Related:
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics Texas Missouri
Risk management firm Cobbs Allen has opened an office in New Orleans. The company is partnering with First Insurance in opening the office under the Cobbs Allen name.
This will be the fourth office for the firm specializing in commercial insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance and alternative risk financing services. It recently opened an office in Houston, as well.
The First Insurance and Cobbs Allen partnership will include a focus on marine and sea-based operations.
With the transaction, Burnett Tappel, CEO of First Insurance, becomes a partner at Cobbs Allen.
Cobbs Allen said it plans further expansion across the United States. Founded in 1887, the firm is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.
Source: Cobbs Allen
Federal safety officials on July 28 cited Oscar Renda Contracting Inc. for safety violations at a site in Houston and proposed penalties of $124,300.
The U.S. Department of Labors Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigator witnessed workers performing trench and excavation work unsafely at a subdivision in Houston and initiated an inspection on Feb 11, 2016. As a result, the agency has cited Oscar Renda Contracting Inc. for allowing employees to work unprotected in excavations and permit required confined spaces.
Without using a trench box or proper benching or sloping techniques, trench walls may collapse crushing and burying workers. A cubic yard of soil can weigh almost 3,000 pounds, the weight of a small automobile, which makes escape difficult or impossible for workers. Each year, dozens of workers die in trench collapses and hundreds more are injured often seriously.
OSHA issued citations for one willful, 11 serious and two other violations. The willful violation was cited for exposing workers to cave-ins. The agency has investigated Oscar Renda Contracting six times in the past 10 years and cited the company each time for similar violations.
Inspectors identified the following serious violations as the company:
Allowed unnecessary material and unsupported equipment within 2 feet of the excavations edge.
Failed to train employees in the safe performance of their duties.
Did not verify that permit-required spaces were safe for entry.
Failed to provide rescue and emergency equipment.
Did not ensure that the required supervisor checked all appropriate entries on the permit before allowing employees to enter.
Six times in 10 years, we have found Oscar Renda Contracting risking the lives of its employees in underground trenches. Imagine the fear of working below ground when thousands of pounds of soil begin to fall on you and the likelihood that you will be buried alive because your employer valued a contract more than your life, said Mark Briggs, OSHAs area director in the Houston South office. OSHA remains firm in its commitment to hold employers accountable for their actions when fundamental common sense and humanity are not enough to make them change.
Headquartered in Roanoke, Texas, Oscar Renda Contracting is a national pipeline, well and wastewater construction company. The company also operates Renda Environmental and Renda Pacific. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHAs area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Topics Texas Workers' Compensation Contractors
Nine residents in Pitt County, North Carolina, were arrested in connection with an alleged staged auto accident ring, according to a statement from the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI). Investigators allege the accused staged seven separate vehicle crashes between April 2015 and August 2015, in order to defraud approximately $25,000 from Farmers, Nationwide, GEICO, Allstate, National General, State Farm and MetLife.
Jacinda Gethers Best, 42, Greenville, was charged with seven counts each of insurance fraud and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense, four counts of obtaining property by false pretense and three counts of attempting to obtain property by false pretense and of misdemeanor child abuse. Best is charged with misdemeanor child abuse for taking her daughter, a minor, to the hospital for medical care and testing when she had no need for medical treatment. Best was arrested on July 27 in Pitt County and placed under a $20,000 bond.
Jaquanda Bradley, 19, of Greenville, was charged with two counts each of insurance fraud and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense and one count each of attempting to obtain property by false pretense and obtaining property by false pretense. Bradley was arrested on July 26 in Pitt County and placed under a $10,000 bond.
Tonya Bradley, 43, of Greenville, was charged with one count each of insurance fraud, obtaining property by false pretense and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense. Bradley was arrested on July 26 in Pitt County and placed under $5,000 bond.
Carniqua Paige, 23, of Winterville, was charged with one count each of insurance fraud, obtaining property by false pretense and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense. Paige was arrested on July 26 in Pitt County and placed under a $5,000 bond.
Connie Carmon, 38, of Greenville, was charged with one count each of insurance fraud, obtaining property by false pretense and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense. Carmon was arrested on July 27 in Pitt County and placed under a $2,500 bond.
Redmond Wilks, 39, of Greenville, was charged with one count each of insurance fraud, obtaining property by false pretense and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense. Wilks was arrested on July 27 in Pitt County and placed under a $2,500 bond.
John Earl Best, 39, of Greenville, was charged with one count each of insurance fraud, obtaining property by false pretense and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense. Best was arrested on July 27 in Pitt County and placed under a $2,500 bond.
Shalonda Foreman, Greenville, was charged with one count each of insurance fraud, obtaining property by false pretense and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense. Foreman was arrested on July 27 in Pitt County and placed under a $2,500 bond.
Cursha Phillips, 22, of Greenville, was charged with two counts each of insurance fraud, attempting to obtain property by false pretense and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense. Phillips was arrested on July 28 in Pitt County and placed under a $2,500 bond.
Investigators seek an additional suspect in association with this case. John Overton, 41, of Greenville, is wanted for two counts of insurance fraud and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense and one count each of obtaining property by false pretense and attempting to obtain property by false pretense.
NCDOI employs 20 sworn state law enforcement officers dedicated to investigating and prosecuting claims of insurance and bail bonding fraud.
Source: North Carolina Department of Insurance
Topics Auto Fraud Property North Carolina
An eastern Kentucky man accused of stealing 10 vehicles in a crime spree spanning less than two weeks has been arrested.
Clay County Sheriff Kevin Johnson tells the Lexington Herald-Leader that the series of crimes allegedly committed by Timothy Lawson sounds like a novel.
Johnson says the Clay County man is accused of stealing the vehicles since July 21.
The sheriff says it started when a shotgun-wielding Lawson allegedly robbed an Owsley County woman at her home and took her car. The sheriff says the 29-year-old Lawson wrecked that car, beginning the series of alleged car thefts.
Officers arrested Lawson on Saturday when his stepfather detained him. Lawson was being held in the Clay County Detention Center. His charges include first-degree robbery, kidnapping an adult and first-degree wanton endangerment.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics Fraud Kentucky
The state of Florida has identified 10 more cases of Zika virus caused by local mosquitoes and has asked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to send in experts to help with its investigation of the outbreak.
The state now has 14 cases of Zika caused by locally transmitted mosquitoes, according to a statement issued on Monday by Florida Governor Rick Scott.
Scott said the state has called on the CDC to activate a CDC Emergency Response Team (CERT) to assist the Florida Department of Health and other partners in their investigation, sample collection and mosquito control efforts.
The team will consist of public health experts who will augment Floridas response efforts, Scott said.
Reuters was first to report that as of last Friday, Florida had not activated a CERT team to help with its investigation, raising concerns from infectious disease experts that the state was not taking every step it could to contain the spread of Zika in the continental United States.
CERT teams are a key part of the CDCs national Zika plan and are intended to help local officials track and contain the virus. A similar team was sent to Utah earlier this month to investigate how a person may have become infected while caring for a Zika-infected patient, before local officials went public with the case.
The state said it began investigating its first suspected case of locally transmitted Zika on July 7. According to CDC spokeswoman Kathy Harben, the CDC first became aware of the investigation on July 18, a day before the state announced its investigation into possible local transmission.
Florida on Friday said the first four cases of Zika in the state likely were caused by mosquitoes, the first sign that the virus is circulating locally, although it has yet to identify mosquitoes carrying the disease.
Scott said in a statement the 10 new cases of Zika also were likely caused by the bite of a local mosquito.
The Florida Department of Health said six of the 10 new cases are asymptomatic and were identified through the door-to-door community survey and testing that it is conducting.
The health department said it believes active transmission of Zika is restricted to 1 square-mile (2.6 square km) area in Miami-Dade County, just north of downtown Miami.
The state health department has been testing individuals in three locations in Miami-Dade and Broward counties for possible local transmissions through mosquito bites. Based on its investigations, two locations have been ruled out for possible local transmission of Zika.
The current Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of the birth defect microcephaly, and has since spread rapidly through the Americas.
Scott said women who live within the impacted area and are either pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant should contact their doctor for guidance and to receive a Zika prevention kit.
(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Bill Trott)
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(Bloomberg) -- New York authorities charged a Long Island engineering firm and one of its former executives with forging damage reports for homes swamped by Hurricane Sandy, altering the documents in such a way that owners flood insurance claims were eventually denied.
Matthew Pappalardo and his former employer GEB HiRise Engineering PC were named in a 50-count indictment accusing Pappalardo of directing his staff to remove descriptions of flood damage from least 25 reports that had been prepared by subcontractors who visited the properties.
Its the first indictment over what some lawyers say was a widespread practice intended to benefit the Federal Emergency Management Agencys flood insurance program and the private insurers that administered its policies following a storm that caused more than $75 billion in damage.
Todays charges reveal a flagrant disregard for the well-being and safety of New Yorkers and my office will not tolerate it, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Monday in a statement.
Pappalardo, 38, and Uniondale, New York-based HiRise were arraigned on Monday in state court in Nassau County, according to the statement. Pappalardos lawyer, Avraham Moskowitz, said his client pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Pappalardo "adamantly denies all of the charges against him," Moskowitz said in an e-mail. "He has done nothing wrong and looks forward to being vindicated at trial."
Widespread Litigation
Disputes over insurance claims stemming from the 2012 hurricane spawned widespread litigation. Insurers who were sued in a related case paid millions of dollars to homeowners in settlements over allegedly manipulated reports, with some companies accused of conspiring with engineers and lawyers to deny claims. Lawmakers including U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer of New York and Robert Menendez and Cory Booker of New Jersey pushed FEMA to address potential manipulation in the handling of flood-insurance claims.
"As we have from the beginning, we steadfastly maintain that there was never any intent by HiRise or its principals to defraud any homeowner with respect to the preparation of these reports," the company said in an e-mail.
Moskowitz said Pappalardos departure from HiRise was "amicable" and declined to give any more details. The attorney said Schneidermans failure to give any possible motivation for the former executive to alter the reports was one of the "many weaknesses" in the case.
FEMA Pressure
But Steve Mostyn, a Houston-based plaintiffs lawyer who represents several storm victims, has said engineering firms hired by insurers altered damage reports to them. And insurers want payouts to be lower because FEMA, $24 billion in debt after 2005s Hurricane Katrina and other storms, pressured them to hold the line on Sandy payments, he said. A message left with FEMAs press office on Monday seeking comment on Mostyns allegations wasnt immediately returned.
Schneiderman also released a report identifying what his office called fundamental flaws in the National Flood Insurance Program, created by Congress in the 1960s to drive down the financial impact of disasters. The report recommends an increase in transparency and accountability for the program, including improving communication with buyers about what is and isnt covered by the insurance and providing homeowners with all documents related to the claims process.
"When the next major storm hits, its crucial that families know exactly what kind of damage is covered by insurance, and that their claims are being handled professionally and reliably," Schneiderman said.
The case is The People of the State of New York v. Pappalardo, 1171N-16, New York Supreme Court, Nassau County (Mineola).
Chiarella has 20 years' experience in business law. Before joining Garrigues, Chiarella was a partner at Rodrigo, Elias & Medrano Abogados in Peru where he advised clients on the tax aspect of international projects, particularly in the areas of planning, commercial transactions and M&As. Prior to this, Chiarella worked at the Luxembourg office EY as a consultant in the areas of tax planning and structuring of international transactions.
Even six years after the Panama Papers leaked a confidential list of offshore accounts held by the global elite, tax morality is still very much on the table.
Nel terzo trimestre del 2016 il tasso di disoccupazione rimane stabile all11,6%, mentre cresce di 0,4 punti rispetto allo stesso periodo del 2015. In linea con il periodo luglio-settembre anche il dato degli occupati (57,3%, +0,8 rispetto al terzo trimestre del 2015). Stabili anche gli inattivi (35,1%). Lo rileva lIstat spiegando che loccupazione e pari, al netto degli effetti stagionali a 22.775.000 unita. I disoccupati sono 2.987.000.
Nel dettaglio, dopo 15 mesi consecutivi di crescita, nel terzo trimestre 2016 segnala lIstat gli occupati diminuiscono di 14 mila unita (-0,1%) sul secondo, mentre crescono di 239 mila unita sullo stesso periodo del 2015. Il calo congiunturale e trainato dal lavoro indipendente (-80.000, -1,5%) mentre i dipendenti continuano a crescere (+66.000, +0,4%). Laumento tendenziale riguarda in maggior misura le donne (+189.000 in un anno), ed e concentrata esclusivamente tra gli over 50enni.
Il tasso di disoccupazione dei giovani tra i 15 e i 24 anni nel terzo trimestre 2016 risale al 37,5% dal 36,8% del secondo trimestre. Sul mercato del lavoro (offerta) si spiega che rispetto allo stesso periodo dellanno scorso il tasso di disoccupazione e diminuito di 1,8 punti (era al 39,3%). Se si guarda al tasso di occupazione la percentuale dei giovani occupati e cresciuta su base congiunturale dal 17,2% del secondo trimestre al 17,5% del terzo (era 17% nel terzo trimestre 2015). Gli occupati under 24 sono 976 mila (erano 997.000 nel secondo trimestre) mentre coloro che sono in cerca di lavoro sono 587 mila (erano 580.000 nel trimestre precedente). Rispetto al terzo trimestre 2014 i disoccupati giovani sono diminuiti di quasi 110 mila unita mentre gli occupati sono cresciuti di 43 mila unita
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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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BREA, Calif. - October 26, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) ("Mullen" or the "Company"), an emerging electric vehicle ("EV") manufacturer, announces today the beginning of the Mullen FIVE Strikingly Different EV Crossover Tour, which will commence on Oct. 27 in Pasadena, California. Due to overwhelming interest, new dates have been added for Nov. 1 and 2 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.
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Breaking AI Stock News: FatBrain (OTCQB: LZGI) Acquires Confidential Computing Platform ZeroTrust to Protect Data Privacy and Accelerate Innovation for Millions of Growth Businesses
NEW YORK, NY - October 19, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, has acquired the confidential computing and privacy intellectual property (IP) plus software assets of Zero2A PTE LTD ("ZeroTrust Platform"), a software company based in Singapore.
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A 25-year-old Irish woman has been released from a French hospital following a savage attack by three men wielding a motorcycle chain lock. The woman was attacked in in the southern French town of Avignon.
Walking to her accommodation near the center of the town at around 6.30am on Saturday morning, the woman was pushed and hit with a chain in an apparently random attack by three men.
According to a local French newspaper, the woman sustained injuries to her mouth, nose and cheeks and was immediately brought to the hospital. RTE News reports that she has now been released.
"She is in a state of shock," a police source told Le Dauphine Libere newspaper.
The 25-year-old is not believed to have known her attackers, who abandoned the chain when they fled the scene of the incident on Rue des Infirmieres, where the young woman was staying.
The police are currently investigating the identity of the attackers.
The southern French city of Avignon is a popular tourist and holiday destination that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
Another young Irish women has also been left seriously injured following an accident in China, where she was working as an English teacher.
Lydia Daly, 26, from Celbridge in Co. Kildare, is thought to have been injured in a serious fall on Saturday. She is currently in an induced coma but is believed to be in a stable condition.
Daly left for China on February 9 and has had been teaching in Guangdong for the past six months.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help her family.
As some of you may already know, in the early hours of July 30 our friend Lydia suffered a serious accident that has left her hospitalized in Guangdong, China. We are thankful that she is currently stable and recovering, but are of course desperately worried for her, the page reads.
This fund donates its proceedings to Lydia and her family. Separated by such a vast distance, we cannot help but feel helpless when the unimaginable happens to someone we dearly value and love.
H/T: Irish Independent
Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan has said a heavily fortified border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland would be simply inoperable.
Flanagan said that a border with tight security measures to prevent migrants entering Britain by the back door that being via the Republic into the North - "wont work."
Speaking to the BBC, Flanagan said: It is absolutely essential that every effort be made to ensure the existence of what is an invisible border.
The only visible sign is the change in the road signs from miles to kilometers as you cross from north to south.
Any suggestion that there will be a heavily fortified EU frontier, or a heavily fortified border, be it for customs and trade on the one hand, or for security and immigration on the other, is simply inoperable.
The issue of the border has been brought into focus once again following Britain's vote on June 23 to leave the European Union.
The majority of people in Northern Ireland, however, voted to remain in the EU.
The Irish government and all the political parties in Northern Ireland are determined that there will be no return to a hard border between north and south.
Former Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Theresa Villiers, who campaigned for a Leave vote, has also said the border should remain as it currently is.
There would be, perhaps, some risk that non-Irish EU citizens might enter the UK over that land border.
But the way you tackle people who come and work in the UK without the appropriate permissions is through measures such as cracking down on employing illegal workers.
She added: The idea of imposing, suddenly, a whole host of new border checks frankly isnt practical and its certainly not desirable.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has expressed his deep disappointment at what he called the failure of the Taoiseach Enda Kenny to respect and uphold the vote of the people of the North to remain within the EU during his meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May in Downing Street last week.
I agree with the taoiseachs objective of minimizing the likely damage arising from the Brexit vote and of coordinating our response to it, Adams said.
However, there is no point in having that objective if, at his first meeting with the British Prime Minister, the taoiseach fails to defend the rights of citizens in the North to remain within the EU.
There is also no point in the government spinning the line that there will be a soft landing when the reality is that any restrictions on the border will have serious economic consequences.
A leading Irish politician was arrested three times by Ireland's police force (gardai) over the past weekend, a holiday weekend in Ireland. Under Irish law he cannot be named unless successfully prosecuted.
The politician, who is in his 30s and, according to the Irish Times, has served at a national level, was drunk and disorderly at the Indiependence Festival in Mitchelstown, County Cork on Sunday night and spat at an officer trying to arrest him.
He was taken to Fermoy police station where he allegedly assaulted an officer and was drunk and unruly.
The unnamed politician was released early Monday morning. Later that morning he had, allegedly, started to drink again and was arrested by police for drunk driving after police stopped him when his car was being driven dangerously.
He was charged with drunk driving and was again brought to Fermoy police station, where he was processed and released.
Incredibly, he was arrested again later that day after acting drunk and disorderly and accosting members of the gardai. He was released once more on Tuesday morning and the police are expected to prepare a file for the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to the alleged assault.
The politician has not been identified under Irish law, but speculation is rife as to who the person may be. The Irish Times has said that the politician is not from Cork. The Sunday World reported that he has served at both local and government level.
The music festival the politician was attending, Indiependence, is now in its 11th year and saw 10,000 music fans in attendance over three days. It was headlined by bands such as the Editors, Bell X1, The Kooks, Ash, and Walking on Cars. The police said that the the well-attended event pass off without any other major incidents.
Read more crime news from IrishCentral here
Three gunmen, wearing masks, opened fire into a van, in Belleek, County Fermanagh. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) are investigating whether there is any dissident republican links to the shooting.
The three gunmen escaped into the Republic of Ireland. The PSNI are working closely with the Gardai Siochana (Irish police).
The incident took place just outside the Carlton hotel, on the Main Street of a small border village, just before 9.30am (local time) on Tuesday. The armed men, wearing balaclavas, shot at least one shot into a van. It is believed the vehicle is owned by a local contractor, who is currently working on the hotel.
Police were not able to release information on whether there was someone in the van at the time, what kind of contractor the man works as, and what kind of weapon was used in the attack.
The PSNI report that no one was injured in the shooting, although people were left badly shaken by the violent attack. The police, on both sides of the border are appealing to the public for any information they may have on the incident.
Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Tom Elliott condemned those responsible. He said Belleek is a quiet Fermanagh border village and this incident will have come as a complete shock to the local community.
It is a reminder that we are still plagued by those who are intent on murder, attempted murder and disruption, and of dark days which we all want to put behind us.
Belleek, in County Fermanagh, just on the border of County Donegal. The small town with a population of just 836 is no stranger to violence. During the Troubles the border town witnessed eight fatalities between 1972 and 1992.
Chief Inspector Graham Dodds, of the PSNI, told the Guardian I would appeal to anyone who may have noticed any suspicious activity in the area or anyone who has any information about this incident to contact police at Enniskillen on the non-emergency 101 number, quoting reference number 272 02/07/16. Alternatively, if you prefer to provide information without giving details, please contact the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800555111.
Twenty-three people have been killed and dozens wounded in a suicide car bombing in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, according to a hospital official.
The official said that bodies are still arriving at the hospital in the aftermath of the bombing in the al-Qawarsha district on the outskirts of the city on Tuesday evening.
Five people have been killed and several others have lost limbs after a bus veered off a central California highway and struck a pole that sliced the vehicle nearly in half, authorities said.
Rescuers pulled out "bags of body parts" from the survivors of the crash on State Route 99, where the speeding bus hit the pole of a highway exit sign head-on, Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said.
It sheared straight through bus, stopping at the first rear axle "with a great impact", he said.
Emergency workers climbed in through the windows to pull out trapped passengers. Others were ejected and were lying in a ditch, Mr Warnke said.
Five people were killed and at least five others were airlifted to hospitals, California Highway Patrol Officer Moises Onsurez said.
He did not have information about any additional injuries or the cause of the single-vehicle crash.
"The pole went through the centre of the bus, and that's where the injuries were sustained," Mr Onsurez said.
The still-intact sign stuck out from the roof of the crumpled bus. Wreckage and debris including seat cushions, drink containers, pillows and a blanket were scattered in lanes and on the shoulder of the highway, a few miles south of the town of Livingston.
Mr Onsurez identified the driver as Mario David Vasquez from the Los Angeles area, the Merced Sun-Star reported.
The 57-year-old was among those with major injuries and was airlifted to hospital, the newspaper said.
The bus operated by Autobuses Coordinados USA was heading to Washington state and was due in Livingston at 1.30am local time to change drivers, Mr Warnke said.
The crash occurred shortly before 3.30am between the community of Atwater and Livingston, just a few miles down the highway.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration listed the carrier as having a "satisfactory" rating as of May 17.
The bus was inspected in April and had three violations, including a lack of or a defective brake warning device.
That violation was not further described, and there was no indication whether each of the items had been fixed.
The highway runs through farm fields and almond orchards in the San Joaquin Valley northwest of Fresno. Its northbound lanes were closed during the investigation, backing up traffic for miles.
A study by Oxford University and Deloitte found that UK jobs in customer service were one of the top 50 occupations at risk of becoming automated by robotics.
But even as bots break into the mainstream, humans are still needed to deal with customers, according to Liam Keegan, a content marketing specialist at XSellco, an Irish company that offers help desk and repricing technology to online retailers.
At the moment, bots are good at cutting out the really basic, low-hanging fruit in customer support Basically, bots are just a fancy version of automated responders on telephones, Mr Keegan says.
They are good at dealing with mind-numbing, repetitive customer queries. Where they fail is in their ability to process empathy and the human stuff.
If the customer is angry, an automated response is not going to appease them for long.
Add any degree of complexity and automated responders wont work, Mr Keegan explains.
There are a lot of semantic technologies being developed to make machine learning better, to make artificial intelligence better, to understand human language. But were nowhere near that being applied in a business situation, he says.
Humans are still much better at dealing with complex queries. Its likely to stay that way for some time. Large companies are, however, investing heavily in the potential for chat bots.
Facebook rolled out a bots service in its Messenger app earlier this year. And Mr Keegan believes that smaller companies will also dabble in bot life.
These firms could be a testing ground because the bots could work for them in dealing with repetitive tasks such as maintaining a presence on social media.
If bots work for firms at this level, they could start using them more widely across their business.
The process is likely to be slow, however. Once we have a template that works across the board, I think youll see it become more prevalent across small and medium sized businesses, Mr Keegan says.
Tom Richards, group product manager at Intercom, the Irish tech start-up that creates live chat and marketing services, says using bots will not necessarily replace human interaction.
Bots could help humans to put their best foot forward and resolve issues more quickly.
I think that interactions with customers can be a really complex workflow. Before you have any of theses interactions or while youre trying to juggle loads of them at once in a customer support context, you have to learn a lot about the things that are happening in that customers life that leads them to the question they have. Bots are going to be great at being able to set that context for humans, Mr Richards says.
Theyre going to be able to give humans a real leg-up inside the support tools they use while talking to customers, so they can focus on the conversation rather than the administrative tasks, he adds.
Professor Barry OSullivan the director of the insight centre for data analytics at University College Cork and the incoming vice-chair of the European Association for Artificial Intelligence says that though artificial intelligence is developing at a fast pace, the process is still slow.
One of the very early innovators in artificial intelligence and winner of the Nobel Prize, Herbert Simon, once said that Machines will be capable of doing any work a man can do. I believe that Simon was right, but were several decades away from this, Prof OSullivan says.
There are already a number of systems able to carry out many semi-professional and customer-facing jobs.
But he warns to expect a fundamental change in the nature of work over the coming years. The social effects will need to be carefully assessed.
Liver specialist, Professor Frank Murray, said the rise in the number of alcohol-related cases of liver disease in young women has become tragically high and people are unaware or reckless about risks of alcohol abuse.
The President of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland said it is a silent disease which often shows little or no symptoms until the liver has gone into failure.
He said: About three-quarters of people with liver failure have no symptoms attributable to their liver until their liver fails or the damage is irreversible. Sometimes people get a warning and get an abnormal liver test or go yellow. But once you go yellow you are in terrible trouble.
Liver disease has approximately doubled in Ireland in the last 20 years for both men and women. Its a pattern of drinking which over years and decades leads to cirrhosis. Were seeing people in their early 30s dying from liver failure. Before it was 40s and 50s mainly.
Mr Murray, who is a consultant physician and gastroenterologist at Beaumont Hospital, said alcohol has become a much more equal opportunities destroyer. The pattern has changed from mainly men drinking in pubs to both men and women drinking at home, vast amounts of cheap alcohol. One patient told me she drank half a bottle of wine, Monday to Thursday every day and a bottle of wine every day of the weekend. She was a professional woman, lived a normal family life. She didnt think it was a problem because she never missed a days work, she had no symptoms, she was a very sociable person but she got liver failure.
The effects are insidious and pernicious and under recognised. You see it on the wards every day.
He said three deaths every day are related to alcohol in Ireland: It is shocking and horrifying. Three people are dying every day in Ireland from alcohol liver disease, brain damage, overdoses, accidents, incidence, falls. (Deaths) that wouldnt have happened without alcohol. Liver disease is about a third of that.
He said the country needs to take steps to address the alcohol crisis claiming so many lives every day: There is no healthy way of doing the 12 pubs of Christmas. Alcohol is very enjoyable but its very dangerous.
Prof Murray said part of the solution is to reduce that availability and increase the cost of all the cheap alcohol consumed by young people in Ireland. Everyone knows tobacco is harmful. Nobody is ambivalent about it. Its the same with drugs but with alcohol were ambivalent about because we all like a few drinks and because alcohol is part of everything we do in Ireland. But what we need to do in Ireland is learn how to drink in a sensible way.
When President Kennedy came in the 1960s Irish people drank about five litres per person and now its about 11 litres. It peaked at around 13 or 14 litres in 2000. The reason for that is Ireland went from a nation of relatively low alcohol consumption of mainly in men to being a nation of very heavy alcohol consumers of both men and women in the last 40 years.
The photo emerged on social media over the weekend with the youngster standing on the wrong side of a fence and a man holding his hand from the viewing side.
A spokeswoman for the zoo said the incident was being reviewed internally.
It is understood the health and safety measures around the African Savanna enclosure for the zoos southern white rhinos are being examined.
One of the photos of the incident on Saturday afternoon was taken by architect Ciaran Ferrie, who posted it to Twitter and said: Just a child inside the rhino enclosure at @dublinzoo.
Just a child inside the rhino enclosure at @dublinzoo pic.twitter.com/xxsn8Dm5Ag Ciaran Ferrie (@ccferrie) July 30, 2016
The youngster is less than a metre from the fence and can be seen standing on large boulders which act as an additional barricade about a metre above the ground.
The adult can be seen taking photos of him while passers-by take pictures of the two of them.
Dublin Zoo is expected to reveal a further response to the latest incident in the coming days.
Viewers will see the pair, played by Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie, head to the tiny, fictional village in Ireland to search for Kats long lost son.
The cast have now finished filming the six hour-long episodes of the BBC One drama but they wont be broadcast until next year.
When John Paul , modern day chieftain of the McAuliffe Clan in north-west Cork, said in 2012 that he and his family would restore the former Church of Ireland building in Newmarket as a clan heritage centre locals were thrilled.
However, some then expressed the fear that the project was too big a financial burden for the Sydney-based family to bear but now they can see that its coming to fruition.
The project is about three-quarters finished and is costing the McAuliffe family serious money, although John Pauls declining to say how much.
John Paul, who is in his late 70s but still works in the familys builders providers business, would only say: It is costing more than I expected, but then I expected it would.
His daughter, Julie, added: Theres no price on the love of your homeland.
To date, the McAuliffes have forked out to get the roof and top walls completely replaced. A new floor, with underfloor heating, has been created inside along with a dance floor, performance area and seating.
All 19 windows have been replaced and the largest one now features the McAuliffe clan crest. When completed, the building will also boast a audio-visual interactive heritage project and an extension is being added which will feature toilets, kitchen area and foyer.
This is amazing when one thinks that it is financed completely by John Paul McAuliffe who himself was born and raised in Greenfield, Kanturk, and emigrated to London as a young man and later on to Sydney in Australia. But he never forgot his roots and he always kept a great love for the Gaelic language, music and culture of his youth, said Eilis Hourigan, secretary of the project committee.
The building which will be called Culturlann MacAmhlaoibh will not only be a resource centre for the McAuliffe clan worldwide but also as a heritage and event centre for the community of Duhallow.
The potential and possibilities of what we can do in it are endless and it just depends on out own imagination and resourcefulness and we are all exited at the prospect, Ms Hourigan said.
Its intended to run Irish language, music, dance and drama classes for young people and enthuse them with a love of the Irish culture in a fun and entertaining setting, John Paul McAuliffe said.
The Culturlann will be suitable for concerts, drama, ceilis, lectures, banquets etc but also for small events. The committee is preparing a year-long programme of diverse events for the centre, which project co-ordinator Maurice Angland said he hopes will be open by next summer.
It starts with a Hosting of the OSullivan Bearas and continues during the year with young scientist exhibitions, trad music weekend workshops, schools history projects, art exhibitions, Irish language weekends, a folklore festival, and McAuliffe clan gathering.
She has told police she didnt get a clear view of her attackers.
The assault occurred in the southern French town of Avignon at around 6.30am yesterday morning.
It is understood that the woman, visiting the region as a tourist, was returning to her accommodation on the Rue des Infirmieres in the city centre when the assault occurred.
According to a report on the Le Dauphine Libere newspaper, the woman was pushed and hit in the face with a motorcycle chain.
She was taken for treatment to Henri-Duffaut hospital but was released yesterday afternoon. It is believed she suffered serious injuries to her mouth, head and eyes. The three men fled the area leaving the motorcyle chain used in the assault at the scene.
She is particularly shocked, a police source told the French newspaper.
The woman told the police she did not know any of the men and there appears to have been no clear motive for the attack. She will be fully interviewed after she recovers from her injuries.
French police have not formally commented on the incident.
The Department of Foreign Affairs says that it is aware of the case and is ready to give assistance.
Avignon is a particularly popular summer tourist destination and attracts thousands of visitors every year.
Even if the capacity of the Central Mental Hospital was greatly expanded it would not be able to cope with the numbers of people who need to access services, the minister of state for mental health has said.
It comes after Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald brought a memo to cabinet this week on the first report of the interdepartmental group which is examining the issue of mental health in the criminal justice system.
A second report is also being worked on by the group.
In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Ms McEntee said addressing the large numbers of people suffering with mental health problems who are sent to prison is one of the biggest problems that needs to be tackled.
The biggest problem here is that if you built that [the Central Mental Hospital] five times the size, you would probably be able to still fill it because you have a lot of people who would be in prison who really shouldnt be in prison, they actually have psychiatric problems.
But because there isnt enough space for them thats where they end up and its not maybe realised that thats where the actual problem is.
While the Irish Prison Service has a number of in-reach mental health services which it runs in collaboration with the HSE in a number of jails, there is still a continuous waiting list of inmates who are awaiting a bed in the Central Mental Hospital (CMH).
Responding to recent parliamentary question, Ms Fitzgerald said: The Irish Prison Service has access to a limited number of places in the CMH for prisoners who require residential mental health treatment. There is currently an average of 15 persons each week awaiting transfer to the CMH.
Ms McEntee said that it is now time for the Government to address what she described as the biggest problems we are facing and she has started to look at options of removing these vulnerable people from jail: It costs a lot more to keep somebody in prison, let alone the fact that its not actually right that someone is in prison when they actually have a mental health problem.
Sometimes its hard to identify that as well. It might not be identified, or there might not be space, so thats why its so important that our new Central Mental Hospital progresses as quickly as possible so that we have more space. I think its one of the biggest problems we are facing.
Although planning permission was given to build a new Central Mental Hospital last year, it is expected that this new facility will not be completed until 2018.
A 2014 report by the Mental Health Commission said the current Central Mental Hospital building in Dundrum is outdated and unsuitable as a mental health facility for the 21st century.
The Meath East TD said: While the team in Dundrum do an absolutely amazing job, its a building that was built in the 1850s, it needs to be upgraded. So progressing that is a priority for me.
Seamus McMahon, 60, thought of the idea for the novel website when he lost he lost his hugely successful security company in the crash of 2008. The father- of-one has spotted what he believes to be a gap in the market in the recruitment industry.
Mr McMahon said: Those looking for work are logging to the site and Facebook page to gauge how the jobs market is, for all types of work including medical, construction, engineering, clerical, legal and accountancy professions. For too long its been the norm for employers to advertise jobs they need to fill rather than employees marketing their skills and qualifications, he said.
A section of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015, which has still not been signed into law despite being published a year ago, criminalises the purchase of sex but decriminalises the person offering sexual services.
The minister was asked by Green Party TD Catherine Martin for her views on the way sex workers will be decriminalised while still retaining sanctions for a person working together with another for safety.
Ms Fitzgerald confirmed it is a provision of the law that it is an offence to keep or manage a brothel: While I understand that this provision can prevent persons offering sexual services from working together with others, I am particularly concerned that any decriminalisation of brothel-keeping would create a legal loophole ripe for exploitation by the organised crime gangs involved in the trafficking and exploitation of women in prostitution.
Women would come under pressure to claim they were working independently when that is not the case and the Gardai would be limited in the actions they could take to close brothels and disrupt the activities of criminal gangs. For this reason I have no plans to amend provisions relating to brothel- keeping at this time.
Ms Martin also asked Ms Fitzgerald about the Governments decision to criminalise solicitation under the Public Order Act. The minister explained that, on foot of government amendments, people offering sexual services were removed from the existing solicitation and loitering-related offences.
This was in recognition of the exploitation associated with prostitution and the need to decriminalise the women and men involved in offering sexual services, she said.
People who solicit the sexual services of others that is the buyers and pimps remain subject to prosecution for the solicitation and loitering offences under the 1993 Act. This did, however, give rise to concerns that the Gardai would be left with no means of combating any public nuisance if sexual services were to be offered, for example, in a residential area. There was also concern the provision could be exploited by criminal gangs.
Ms Fitzgerald said that in order to address those concerns, an amendment was made to section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994.
That section addresses a number of behaviours, for instance intoxication in a public place, for which a member of An Garda Siochana can issue a direction to a person so behaving to leave the area, she said.
Failing to comply with that direction can give rise to an offence. Loitering for the purpose of offering sexual services has now been added to the behaviours covered by Section 8. The effect of the proposed amendments will be that on-street prostitution will not be an offence, but the gardai will still have the power to move persons offering sexual services on from a public place, when necessary.
In a blog on the Impact trade unions website, its head of communications, Bernard Harbor, said membership of the commission needs to be balanced.
Its bound to involve academics, including economists, he wrote. But, please, not too many. And not with the predilection for parsimony now so common to the dismal science. Lets also hope that the Public Appointments Service which will make recommendations about who should be on the Commission understands that people with a union background have a contribution to make, and attracts some genuine experts who support quality public services and fair pay. Because a body packed with the usual suspects will quickly become debased in the eyes of public employees and others.
Mr Harbor said assurances that pay will continue to be set through direct negotiations between unions and public service management meant that the commissions role will essentially be an advisory one. But he added that the ability of advisory bodies to determine public policy varies a lot, and the degree of PSPC influence over pay will rest largely on whether its perceived to be both expert and fair.
He also said he could think of commentators who would rush to link the initiative to benchmarking, even though weve been through peak boom, deep bust, two changes of Government, and a massive downward adjustment of public service pay and pensions since that unloved process was put to the sword.
Its believed that the minister wants the Commissions evidence to be published along with its findings, Mr Harbor told union members. This is the right approach, which should help avoid some of the criticism that benchmarking attracted, although the job of getting private sector employers and consultants to share their data with all comers including their competitors here and abroad should not be underestimated.
In any case, the establishment of the Commission will likely mean that public service pay... will be at the centre of public and political debate for a good while yet.
The creation of the commission will follow a public consultation and the finalisation of its terms of reference. It is expected it will start work later this year.
According to Impact, the commission will likely compare pay rates for specific public service grades and occupations with private sector trends in the context of recruitment and retention difficulties. It will also be able to compare the pay of Irish public servants and their equivalent grades in other countries.
However, such comparisons will have to have due regard to the cost of living in each jurisdiction, the union said.
In 2003 when Finding Nemo became an instant Pixar hit, petshops around the world saw a huge boom in demand for clown fish, the species the characters Nemo and his father belong to.
The massive popularity of the clownfish following the movie nearly drove the species to extinction due to overfishing. In Australia, the regulation of fishing on the coral reef is strict, but in other areas of the Pacific Ocean near to Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines the fish suffered serious drops in local stock.
There are 650 extra beds available at Maynooth University and University College Dublin for students this autumn. A further 3,000 spaces are planned at the five other universities and Dublin Institute of Technology by 2020, according to the Department of Education.
However, there is already an under-supply of 25,000 purpose-built student accommodation spaces.
The numbers in higher education are expected to rise by 20,000, or 15%, to 193,000 by 2024, and around half of them may require places to live.
By 2019 alone, total demand is projected to increase by nearly 6,000 to 63,000 bed spaces.
There may be between 8,000 and 10,000 spaces being planned or already under construction either by colleges themselves or by private developers nationally, which would bring supply to something over 40,000 beds.
That would just reduce the shortfall slightly to nearer 20,000 and some of those projects may not be ready for occupation until at least 2020. There is also no guarantee of all those coming to fruition due to planning or finance issues.
A number of private developers specialise in building and managing student accommodation, including some from overseas.
Dublin City Council required the developers of a new scheme in Dublins south inner city to provide evidence of an under-supply of student accommodation when the planning application was lodged three years ago.
Before the development was even complete, UK-based The Student Housing Company had filled all 471 spaces at the Binary Hub scheme in Bonham St within six weeks of opening bookings last March.
Some rooms were booked direct by colleges and others went directly to students who had been on our waiting list for some time, a spokesperson told the Irish Examiner.
It is already taking booking inquiries on another 450-space development at Dorset St one of two others it is planning more than a year before it will open doors to its first tenants.
Many colleges have borrowed to acquire and refurbish existing residential developments in order to guarantee additional space for their students. Last years Higher Education Authority (HEA) report encouraged a greater role for Nama to assist in provision of sites suitable for student residences.
A key recommendation was that any reviews of city and county council development plans take account of the growing student accommodation demand.
The Cork City Council development plan, revised earlier last year, requires that any existing student residential facilities can not be changed to non-student use without planning permission. But criteria for new student accommodation developments include the need to consider potential impact on surrounding residents a big issue due to antisocial behaviour in some areas near both of Corks main third-level institutions.
The HEA also recommended continued flexibility by local authorities on how guidelines are applied to student accommodation specifications.
DUBLIN
Trinity College Dublin: Denied.
The city-centre university was notified last week that plans for 278 new bed spaces at the Pearse Street side of its campus have been rejected by An Bord Pleanala. Its proposed knocking of an existing five-storey office building and construction of the seven-storey accommodation facility had been approved by Dublin City Council in February.
A planning inspector recommended scaling down the plan by one floor to take account of concerns about the overbearing impact on TCDs adjoining 18th-century Printing House. But An Bord Pleanala found this suggestion would not satisfactorily negate those concerns.
Grangegorman: Permitted.
More than 125 bed spaces are planned on a site near the new north inner-city Grangegorman campus of Dublin Institute of Technology. The centralisation of DITs various constituent colleges to the old mental health facility site is being staggered over a number of years, and this is one of a number of private schemes aimed at catering for the surge of students into the area.
LHC Properties got permission in January from Dublin City Council to knock terraced houses, and some commercial property at Grangegorman Road Lower. But the seven-storey project only got the final go-ahead in May after An Bord Pleanalas consideration of a third-party appeal.
Stoneybatter: Denied.
Located near an entrance to the Grangegorman campus, plans to accommodate nearly 220 students on this site at Prussia Street were turned down by both Dublin City Council and An Bord Pleanala, either side of Christmas 2015.
The one-acre site is in backland of existing older houses and businesses, and planning officials had concerns about the shadow and other impacts of the four-storey facility.
Aungier St: Undecided.
An appeal is now with An Bord Pleanala over the councils refusal of permission for a 282-bed student accommodation plan in the south inner city.
Kesteven Ltd wants to build the complex in Dublin 2, but the council said the demolition of buildings on Stephen St Upper to facilitate the works was unjustified. It also had concerns about the density and its location in a conservation area.
The outcome of the applicant companys appeal is likely to be known early next month.
CORK
Carrigrohane Rd: Permitted.
Planning permission was granted in April for a 410-bedroom, seven-storey student accommodation development on the site of a former Coca-Cola bottling factory at Carrigrohane Rd.
The project by Gainstar Limited Partnership is convenient to both Cork Institute of Technology and University College Cork.
Lancaster Quay: Undecided.
Cork City Council should decide next week, or else request further information, on an application to provide more than 200 new student spaces on the former Muskerry Service Station site near the entrance to University College Cork.
More than a dozen objections have been received in relation to the application by an Irish subsidiary of UK student accommodation specialists Ziggurats plans for 30 apartments at the riverside location.
It is one of several site acquisitions the group has made to add to its existing portfolio of facilities for college-goers in Dublin and Cork.
With Leaving Certificate results to be issued shortly, the hunt for student accommodation for the coming academic year will begin in earnest, but the USI said figures from website daft.ie show securing suitable housing is harder than ever.
It has issued a plea for anyone with spare rooms in and around colleges and universities to rent them out to students.
It cited daft.ie figures which indicated that there is 40% less rental space available than there was this time last year, while rents have increased by more than 8% nationally and more in cities.
In a Red C poll of more than 1,000 people conducted two years ago almost 60% of tenants said they had experienced difficulty in getting their deposit money back. USI president Annie Hoey said the figure is unlikely to have improved and may have gotten worse.
The USI will today launch its Homes for Study campaign, which will include a deposit management service, with some students, particularly those in urban areas, facing into a hunt for suitable accommodation in a crowded rental market.
Ms Hoey said: We are trying to get people into houses near their institutions.
The USI today relaunches its website, homes.usi.ie, a room rental registration website for students looking for accommodation and for landlords who can lease vacant rooms to students during the college term tax-free up to the value of 12,000 annually.
Ms Hoey said there has been a mindset change in recent years regarding digs accommodation, with peoples attitudes changing from viewing it as an outmoded form of student accommodation to an affordable and often convenient way of attending college.
Very often they can be quite near where you are studying, she said, adding that in some cases people with spare rooms can avail of the non-taxable earnings which would be of huge benefit to them.
Todays launch will also feature USIs partnership with Deposify, an Irish start-up offering a deposit management service for landlords and tenants. It effectively places the deposit amount in a holding account and links in with a disputes service if its required.
The USI said that student tenants can register at deposify.com for access to the service.
More than 1.5m has been invested in the white-tailed sea eagle programme based in the Killarney National Park, and it was now at a very critical stage, the wildlife service also said.
It urged that planning permission for a major upland windfarm by ESB Wind Development Ltd, along the Kerry-Cork border within range of the eagles be turned down. Eagles fly from their valley roosts upslope to upland windfarms and are at risk of collision as they soar, the NPWS said.
However, the bord last week gave the go-ahead for the Grousemount windfarm which spans 32 townlands across Kerry and Cork.
The ESB accepted that eagles are sensitive to wind farms but rejected the objections of the wildlife service, saying it found eagles rarely frequented the area. There have been 30 eagle deaths since the reintroduction and the majority of these were due to poisoning, it also said.
A project ecologist will be employed to report annually and ensure there is no carrion, which is what eagles live on, it said. Some 100 sea eagle chicks were brought from Norway between 2007 and 2011 to the Killarney National Park; no more releases are planned, and breeding territories have been established from Kerry to Fermanagh and one male has set up home in Scotland.
The NPWS said the sea eagle is particularly susceptible to collision with turbine blades, noting that 39 eagles died in Norway at one large wind farm between 2005 and 2010: Three deaths due to turbine collision were recorded in Ireland and all of these deaths occurred at adjacent windfarms in 2011 and 2012.
Further deaths may have occurred as a result of collisions after 2012, the NPWS also said. It strongly recommended refusal given the risk of collision. The application, by ESB Wind Development Ltd, for the 38 turbine farm 17 km NE of Kenmare to 14km along the Cork border to the SW of Ballyvourney had been lodged directly with the bord last September as a strategic infrastructure development.
It has granted permission for 25 years. The development is to start within 10 years.
1 WELLIES OPTIONAL
The first thoughts on hitting Indie 16? Its dry, its dry, oh thank God its dry. The Irish summer has been positively cruel to this festival in recent years, and moving the main stage into a large marquee was a particularly shrewd move by the organisers last year, when an unrelenting rain assaulted Cork on the Sunday of the August Bank Holiday weekend.
This year? Dry as a bone. Wellies were still plentiful, but sported by the prepared who packed for the worst. The ground was solid and negotiable in trainers, and the only reason any marquee tents were packed this year was because punters were there to see a band not because it was a handy place to stay out of a downpour.
2 IDIOSYNCRASY IS VERY WELCOME
Mainstream Irish rock is currently plagued with identikit middle of the road acts producing anthem-by-numbers, the sort of music with all the intensity of a Sunday morning trip to a farmers market.
Be thankful then that there are hidden gems like Oh Boland, whose noisy garage pop is raw and unpolished and all the better for it.
Playing to a small Friday afternoon crowd, the Galway three-piece have the kind of earworm hooks and stage presence that deserves a bigger audience.
Local metallers Mindriot have been on the go since 1992, and that experience shows in a perfectly judged couple of sets that are unapologetic, unrelenting, and unmistakably fun affairs. Their rapport game is particularly strong from their short set in the Beer Hall, and a couple of stage invaders arent just tolerated but actually praised for their adherence to the spirit of rock n roll before security hauls them off.
3 IRISH BANDS PROVE TO BE THE BIG DRAW
The Strypes Sixties-homage rock proves a sizable draw, but Bell X1 bring the first huge crowd of the weekend. Trying new material with a festival crowd is a gutsy move, but this is a band with credit in the bank, and the fans think nothing of indulging Paul Noonan and co as they preview their forthcoming LP Arms. Naturally, however, the set is littered with crowd-pleasers spanning over 16 years from albums right up to 2013s excellent Chop Chop and a Bowie tribute that has the main stage marquee dancing.
On Saturday the Main Tent and second Big Top stage overflow with the crowds taking in Walking On Cars and the Blizzards if you didnt get there relatively early in either set you had to make do with listening from outside.
Still can't over how good @Indie_pendence was! Hope you're all recovered pic.twitter.com/s2cLJ5OKBh Walking On Cars (@WalkingOnCars) August 1, 2016
4 DID YOU EVER THINK YOUD SEE THE LIKES IN MITCHELSTOWN?
Idlewild suffer their set overlapping with Bell X1 on Friday but give it socks regardless, and the small gathering in the Big Top slowly but surely fills out as You Held The World In Your Arms and other favourites lure them in, and When I Argue I See Shapes and A Modern Way of Letting Go finish them off.
A shout-out goes to the absolute die hard at centre stage, right at the front, for whom the set was more akin to a religious experience.
Greeting each song by gripping the barrier and propelling himself into the air in appreciation, this was no doubt another fan who was amazed that his favourite band was actually here in a field in Mitchelstown playing to him.
Mark Lanegan, Public Enemy, De La Soul, British Sea Power, Alabama 3 down through the years Indiependence has brought acts that would leave many of its target late teens/early twenties demographic scratching its collective head, yet brings local fans who thought a trip to Dublin would be necessary to take in sets from their favourite acts.
5 CHANGE CAN BE A GOOD THING
A regular complaint leveled at Electric Picnic in recent years is that while its capacity has increased, it doesnt feel like the festival site has grown in proportion with it meaning some parts of the experience feel a little busier and crowded than before. There are no such arguments here, and the latest tinkering with Indiependences site have resulted in a farm which once hosted 5,000 music fans now comfortably catering for twice that size.
The craft beer hall remains the festival sites greatest asset, but there are plenty of bar tents, comedy sets, and other attractions to ensure that theres no great congestion focused in one particular spot at any point, and the expanded site was done in such a way that Indiependence retained its intimate feel.
WE have just returned from a three week tour around Europe which for the main part was an incredible experience travelling from Rome to Madrid by train and stopping in various places along the way, it all went off without a hitch apart from the very serious issue of a language barrier relating to a medical condition.
My eldest son is anaphylactic to nuts and allergic to several types of seeds. Because of the current trend for being allergic to every foodstuff under the sun, many people do not seem to realise the danger of anaphylaxis.
It is a very different condition to the extremely mild intolerance and even to the allergic reactions people get which usually manifests in an itchy rash, some mild swelling, nausea and a feeling of being unwell for several hours after the allergic reaction (even after anti-histamine has been given).
Anaphylaxis on the other hand, is a potentially fatal condition which causes a closing of the airwaves and possible death within a very short period of time.
We never go anywhere without a supply of Epipens and over the years while travelling, we have always learned how to explain to restauranteurs the nature of our sons condition.
However, a lot is lost in translation as we learned to our cost having looked up the word for nuts in various languages, we used Spanish, Italian and French the most frequently and were informed that it was nueces in Spanish, noix in French and noce in Italian.
We have been using these words with success over the years but on this trip we visited all three countries and on several occasions our warnings were greeted with confusion and in those cases my son opted for something which couldnt possibly contain nuts (like a steak and chips).
But last month we discovered that the aforementioned words often only refer to one type of nut and therefore for years I had been informing waiters in Spain that my son was anaphylactic to walnuts when in fact his most serious reaction is from hazelnut and in France the situation was similar with restauranteurs in one part of the country saying the word meant one thing, while it meant something entirely different elsewhere.
Noting this serious confusion, we found a wonderful French restaurant where one of the owners was English so, therefore, understood our predicament entirely and we were assured that she would alert the kitchen to the serious nature of the allergy.
While waiting for the food to arrive, we were brought some nibbles which we all duly tucked into but less than a minute later, the owner rushed over to say that before she had time to inform the kitchen we had been given food containing hazelnut.
My son had just swallowed a small amount of food and already I could see his lips beginning to turn blue and swell up.
I can hardly begin to describe the terror I felt in that moment.
With shaking hands I grabbed his Epipen and taking him away from the table, told him that I would have to administer a shot to him.
I had never had cause to do this before and although I practised so many times with the dummy pen, I could hardly figure out what to do what seemed like about 20 minutes, but was probably only 20 seconds later, I jabbed the pen into the correct spot (at the top of the thigh) and held on to my son as the restaurant called for an ambulance.
He was shaking all over and no doubt as terrified as the rest of us were, but did his best to reassure us that he was fine.
By this point he was bright red and swollen from head to toe but the ambulance arrived quickly and thanks to the swift action of both the restaurant owner telling me immediately about the allergen and most importantly the fact that I had given him the shot of adrenalin straight away, he was pronounced out of immediate danger but would still need to be taken to hospital.
While my husband went off with him and I looked after his brothers, I spent the next few hours in agony as I couldnt get through to anyone to find out what was going on (a lack of signal in the hospital rendered my husbands phone useless).
But after spending four hours strapped up to a heart monitor and receiving specific medicine to further reduce the reaction, he was discharged.
Arriving back to our hotel, my poor son was still several shades darker than he should be and was utterly exhausted from his ordeal. I was afraid to let him go to sleep but he could hardly keep his eyes open so I made do with a twice-hourly check-up throughout the night.
The next day, he was totally drained from the experience and still needed a lot of sleep, but thankfully this was the only side-effect.
Needless to say, this was a really shocking event for all of us and highlighted the need to be 100% sure of how to communicate a serious allergy in whatever country we happen to be in.
It also made us realise the importance of making a nuisance of yourself if necessary to ensure that the food served up is totally free of allergens.
A couple of years ago, there was talk of the need to introduce Epipens into public places in Ireland I thoroughly supported this at the time and really believe this is something which needs to be addressed immediately.
A jab of an adrenalin pen will save someones life and if given in error, there are no problematic side-effects, so it makes no sense to me whatsoever that restaurants, bars and airplanes in particular, but also schools and public places have no access to these life-saving devices.
Society and even the Government doesnt seem to be aware of how serious anaphylaxis can be.
Allergy specialist, Dr Paul Carson, believes that because so many people are allergic nowadays, the distinction between feeling unwell and having a life-threatening condition has been blurred and that the public has no understanding how dangerous anaphylaxis actually is and dont realise it can kill in a very short space of time.
I do believe the abuse of the word allergy reduces the impact of serious allergy issues like anaphylaxis which is an aggressive, life threatening total body allergic crisis.
The sufferer has multiple organ involvement, including circulation collapse, swelling throughout the entire breathing tract obstructing the airway, skin swelling and the emotional sense of impending doom, he says.
Then, even if the auto-injector (Epipen) has been used the patient must get proper medical attention ASAP.
This is based on second wave anaphylaxis attacks in those who are extremely allergic mainly children with eczema, allergic rhinitis and asthma.
They and may need more than one injection or need more intense supportive measures such as I/V fluids. Dr Carson, who runs Slievemore Clinic in Dublin, says very few people know what to do in the event of an attack.
There are no rules (regarding administering adrenalin to a person with anaphylaxis), he says.
Schools have to come to their own arrangements and often refuse to be involved and when it comes to the general public or members of staff; its just pot luck whether anyone would know what was going on or feel confident about administering an injection.
And I know of no airline which offers in-house expertise in injection administration.
After our experience this month, I urge the Government to put in place some measures to ensure that adrenaline pens become available in public places (particularly where food is consumed) in the same way that businesses and local authority buildings are required to have a first aid kit sticking plasters and iodine will help to make someone comfortable in the case of a cut or a burn but an Epipen will save someones life its a no brainer.
Difference between anaphylaxis and allergy allergies
The most common food allergies in young children are milk, egg, and peanut.
An allergy will manifest itself initially with a rash, lip swelling, cough and hives.
Many childhood allergies improve as the child gets older.
Allergies to peanuts, shellfish and tree nuts tend to persist and a portion of sufferers will continue to have a reaction to these foodstuffs throughout their adult life.
Hay fever and asthma are the most common allergies in Ireland
Anaphylaxis
2% of adults and 6% of young children have food allergies which have the potential to cause anaphylaxis.
Symptoms of anaphylactic shock include swelling of the throat, wheezing, vomiting and loss of consciousness.
In the event of anaphylaxis, medical help needs to be sought immediately. And even if given a shot of adrenalin, the patient must be taken straight to casualty.
Young children need to be reassessed every six months, phasing out to yearly appointments as they get older.
People who suffer from anaphylaxis should carry an Epipen with them at all times. They should also wear an SOS bracelet to alert people of their condition.
For more information see www.anaphylaxisireland.ie
If you aspire to enjoy your retirement you need to make a financial plan for that future. An aging population and increasing life expectancy means that the state pension is expected to come under growing pressure. The current maximum state pension is 233.30; payable to those over 66 but many expect to see the amount fall in real terms in the coming decades while the qualifying age rises.
Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar admitted as much recently when calling for pension reform: The current situation where a majority of our citizens will rely solely on the State pension in retirement is unsustainable.
So whatever plans you have for your golden years, accept that you will have to save for them yourself.
Work-related expenses will disappear when you retire and hopefully mortgage and other major debts will be repaid. But other areas, such as healthcare, will cost more. Pension planners say to aim for between half and two thirds of your final salary in retirement. The state pension of 233.30 works out at a little over 12,000pa, so that gives you an idea of the gap you need to fill with your own retirement savings.
When it comes to pensions, starting early reaps enormous benefits. All money saved is not equal for the simple reason that money you add to your pension in your 20s and 30s has decades longer to accumulate interest than funds you add to the pot later in your working life. Every year that you delay means more needed later, with costs roughly doubling every 10 years that you dont have a pension. The Pensions Authority has a calculator to help estimate the contributions you should be paying to provide your desired pension, based on your current age and salary level, at www.pensionsauthority.ie.
Pension advisers recommend starting a pension early in your working life. Most employers provide pension plans; if they do join it. Many will pay a percentage of your income into the fund for you, while expecting you to match the contribution from your pay. This way, the money is deducted before it ever reaches your bank account. If you do not have access to a company plan you can set up your own once you are working. Go to a broker to discuss your options or your bank will can also give you advice.
The Government are keen for people to save for their own retirement through tax breaks. These are higher later in life, but even in your 20s and 30s you should ensure you are saving up to the tax-free limit if at all possible.
As you enter your peak earning years need to keep a close eye on your pension. If you are still contributing the same amount into your pension as you did when you started, it may be time for a review. Your pension should be checked and adjustments made on a regular basis to ensure you are taking full advantages of the pension tax breaks available. Between 40 and 49, you are entitled to tax relief up to 25% of gross pay.
Increasing your payments in line with your salary also ensures the gap between your current lifestyle and that in old age doesnt widen.
The tax relief available for pension contributions rise to 30% when aged between 50 and 54, and 35% from aged 55 to 59. In addition to the financial input, you should also review the security of your plan. When you are younger it makes sense to make slightly riskier investments, to maximise growth. But closer to your retirement sit down with your adviser and ensure your money is being placed in more secure funds.
The value may increase at a lower rate as a result but it avoids a serious shock, such as the recent Brexit vote and the resulting market instability, seriously impacting your pension pot.
DEAL OF THE WEEK
Comparison site Bonkers.ie has launched an insurance comparison service to make it easy to compare and switch mortgage protection insurance.
Largely because of fear of the hassle of switching, 48% of households have never shopped for this product.
All 740,000 mortgage holders in Ireland need mortgage protection insurance, but most buy it directly from their lender without shopping around, putting them at risk of overpaying, Bonkers.ie managing director David Kerr said.
He estimates the average non-smoking household can save 190 annually by switching, with savings up to 379 for households with smokers.
There may be extra savings for men too. Under new EU rules, insurers can no longer quote based on gender, meaning men with older policies could make additional savings.
John Bowe, Willie MacAteer, and Denis Casey, a trio found guilty for their part in a 7.2bn fraud that has shattered the lives of many of the little people are, after one night in Mountjoy, now ensconced in the low-security Training Unit that sits on the Mountjoy campus. After their appeal, no doubt, they will apply to be sent to Shelton Abbey, a Victorian pile in Wicklow, or Loughan House in Cavan.
There is a pattern within the prison service for people like the Anglo Trio. After arriving in Shelton/Loughan and serving a few months, they will be given time out to further their careers and job prospects, and their time in jail will be minimal.
At no stage am I blaming the Anglo Trio for the system in which they now find themselves. Instead, I point to the almost deferential way that white collar crime is treated in this country.
John Bowe
Almost apologetically, we sentence people convicted of same. The prison system then picks up that vibe and some misfortunate is kicked out of his precious and scarce single cell to allow a guy, who once owned a briefcase, wore a suit, carried a business card, and had a corporate seat in the Aviva or Croke Park into the jail equivalent of those external status symbols. To the newcomer, shocked that he was placed in jail when he is already seething that bigger fish are swimming freely, the securing of a single cell is small beans. To the ODC (Ordinary Decent Criminal), that cell was his kingdom.
A man who had differences with a member of the gardai online recently copped a five-year jail term, possibly a correct sentence, I am not sure, but then the head-scratching comes into play. Three men found guilty of the most serious fraud, involving billions, fraud that wrecked a nation, are given almost red carpet treatment by the penal system. Indeed, to them, the trio themselves would be aware of other players in this game who were never hauled before the courts; those sentences must seem odious and unfair.
However, the scales of justice that sit atop our courthouses in many towns wears a blindfold, carries a sword, and scales. But does Lady Justice dispense her punishment and sentences equally? Why should three men that lived in normal houses, drove nice cars, had big jobs, the ears of the powerful, and abused it all by engaging in virtual treason yes treason, this nation and its citizens are indebted for decades to come thanks to their book cooking be placed in the Training Unit whilst three other prisoners are either transferred out or back into the main jail?
Willie McAteer
I dont buy the low threat to security they pose. If that were, then they could have easily been fined an inordinate amount of money, and placed on licence in the community. What this sequence of events has done within the prison community is this: It has shown staff that voices from the exterior impinge once more on the running of our jails.
Of course, that will be denied; and, of course, staff will believe that as they whistle away their days on duty. The inmates already within the system, those who also are of a low security threat and I confidently say that more than 90% of prisoners are a very low security threat what message this sends out? What does the guy serving six years for Vat avoidance on garlic think of the guys serving half of that for bursting a nation to the tune of 7bn upwards?
That type of carry-on tears another strip away from staff and prisoner. Cynicism abounds, belief and faith in an already creaking system continues to be eroded. Despite what most people think, those three prisoners would be no more under a threat than anyone else within the walls of the main Mountjoy jail. Those under threat are sex offenders; those who are termed rats; and those in drug disputes or allied to the numerous gangs that are free to roam outside. Most prisoners would find those three an object of curiosity and fun but never a threat.
Denis Casey
The only ones that cannot handle prisoners such as the Anglo Three is the State itself. So a series of non-committal conversations, unfinished sentences and looks take place. Its as if the jail system is unable to perform its only and basic function lock up all convicted criminals equally and without favour. Someone decides those prisoners are to be seen as special and treated as such. That undermines the entire system and dismays both prisoners and staff.
Even in the final acts of trying to clean up this mess that the crash of 2008 brought with it, its tsunami of long-term nation debt, job losses and sadly house loses, those convicted, the very few convicted of their part in it, are like Nama and the developers, they are also given special status within the lowest tier of respectability in this nation, our prisons. Continually we tend to doff the hat where and when possible, even to those we jail.
John Cuffe is a criminologist and a former senior prison officer.
Aparecida Schunck, 67, the mother of the Formula One bosss wife, Fabiana Flosi, 38, was abducted from her home in Sao Paulo more than a week ago.
It is believed investigators monitored phone calls between the family of Ms Schunck and the captors, tracing them to the location where she was being held.
Brazilian police said they rescued Ms Schunck from two men on the outskirts of Sao Paulo.
She was was not harmed in the operation conducted by Sao Paulos anti-kidnapping division.
Elisabete Sato of Sao Paulo police told the BBC that the ransom, thought to have been the largest in Brazilian history, had not been paid.
She said there had been a major police operation to free the victim and two suspects were arrested.
Mr Ecclestone, 85, married Ms Flosi in 2012, three years after meeting her at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Brazilian magazine Veja had reported that the ransom for Ms Flosis mother had been demanded in pounds sterling and divided into four bags of cash.
Mr Ecclestone has so far declined to comment on the abduction. It is understood he wanted to fly to Brazil to assist police and also offered the use of a private security company to deal with the abductors.
Brazil is hosting this years Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro which start on Friday.
Security has emerged as the top concern, including violence possibly spilling over from Rios slums.
Authorities have said they will be prepared.
It was the deadliest single incident for the Russians since their entry into Syrias civil war.
The Mi-8 helicopter was shot down in Idlib province while returning to the Russian airbase on Syrias coast after delivering humanitarian goods to Aleppo, said the Defence Ministry.
The helicopter had three crew members and two officers deployed with the Russian centre at the Hemeimeem airbase on the Syrian coast.
From what we know from information provided by the Defence Ministry, all those who were on the helicopter died, said Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He said the Russians died heroically because they tried to move the aircraft away so to minimise losses on the ground.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Idlib province has a strong presence of fighters for the al Qaeda branch in Syria known as the Nusra Front and other groups fighting against Syrian president Bashar al-Assads forces.
Nusra Front announced last week that it was changing its name and relinquishing ties with al Qaeda in an attempt to undermine a potential US and Russian air campaign against its fighters.
The group is part of a coalition of insurgent groups called Jaish al-Fateh, or Army of Conquest, which has captured most of Idlib.
Meanwhile, IS has called on its members to carry out jihad in Russia in a nine-minute YouTube video.
Listen Putin, we will come to Russia and will kill you at your homes... Oh brothers, carry out jihad and kill and fight them, a masked man driving a car in the desert yelled while wagging his finger.
The subtitled video showed footage of armed men attacking armoured vehicles and tents and collecting arms in the desert.
Breaking into a barrack of the Rejectionist military on the international road south Akashat, read one subtitle.
It was not immediately clear why Russia would be a target, but Russia and the US are talking about boosting military and intelligence cooperation against IS and al Qaeda in Syria.
IS has called on its supporters to take action with any available weapons targeting countries it has been fighting.
There has been a string of attacks claimed by IS in Europe over the past weeks.
Now, the Republican nominee has kicked off the first full week of the general election campaign having put his strategy of saying the politically unimaginable to its greatest test yet.
Trump broke a major American political and societal taboo over the weekend when he engaged in an emotionally-charged feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the bereaved parents of a decorated Muslim Army captain killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq.
He further stoked outrage by implying Ghazala Khan did not speak while standing alongside her husband at last weeks Democratic convention because they are Muslim.
The outcry was swift and bipartisan, leaving Trump largely isolated among his fellow Republicans and potentially putting at risk whatever progress the New Yorker had made during his convention at winning over the independent voters who will likely decide the election.
I am appalled that Donald Trump would disparage them and that he had the gall to compare his own sacrifices to those of a Gold Star family, said New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte, a Republican seeking re-election in one of the nations most competitive Senate contests.
Both House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued statements praising Captain Humayun Khan, awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart after the US soldier was killed in Iraq in 2004.
Though neither explicitly mentioned Trump, the congressional leaders pointedly denounced his proposed ban on foreign Muslims entering the country, a policy he had altered in recent weeks but nevertheless one that returned to the centre of the campaign debate via his attacks on the Khan family.
For the second time in a week, Trumps running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, issued a statement that appeared designed to put some space between the two men atop the Republican ticket.
The father of a Marine, Pence said that he and Trump believe Capt Khan is a hero and his family should be cherished by every American.
Last week, Pence said Russia would face serious consequences for meddling in US elections at roughly the same time Trump appeared to encourage it, telling reporters he would welcome Russia unearthing emails that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton deleted from the private servers she used while secretary of state.
Pences late Sunday statement came after an afternoon of debate among his aides as to whether he should find a way to subtly distance himself from Trumps comments, according to a person familiar with the internal campaign conversations who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss them publicly.
At last weeks Democratic convention, the Pakistan-born Khizr Khan told his sons story, questioned whether Trump had ever read the Constitution and said you have sacrificed nothing.
During the speech, Ghazala Khan stood quietly by his side.
Trump responded in an interview with ABCs This Week, saying: If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasnt allowed to have anything to say.
Ghazala Khan wrote in the Washington Post that she did not speak because talking about her sons death remains difficult.
Every day, whenever I pray, I have to pray for him, and I cry. The place that emptied will always be empty, she wrote.
Trumps dispute with the Khans entangled his campaign in a days-long dispute at a moment when voters typically begin paying closer attention to the presidential race.
Trump tried several times to deflect the criticism, though he refused to back down from his initial attack.
Am I not allowed to respond? Trump tweeted.
Hillary voted for the Iraq war, not me! His tweet followed a late Saturday night statement where Trump described Humayun Khan as a hero, but said his father had no right to say many other inaccurate things.
That doesnt matter, said Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who enthusiastically endorsed Trump at the Republican convention. He said that as the parents of a fallen solider, the Khans are off limits.
I dont care what they say. Youll never hear me question anything about a Gold Star family, Walker said.
Ive gone to too many funerals, met too many families. What theyve sacrificed is just unbelievable.
Trump was taken aback by the uproar, believing he was attacked first by Khan, according to a person familiar with the candidates thinking.
The billionaire real estate mogul has also told people around him that when answering questions on This Week about sacrifice, he was simply pointing out his own and not equating them to those of the Khan family.
Trump spokesman Jason Miller said a biased media was at work framing the issue as one of Trump vs Khan and suggested the real issue was a Trump vs Clinton battle over fighting terrorism.
He added that Clinton camps was fanning the controversy to distract from her weaknesses on national security, highlighted by the probe into her email server.
Clinton carefully leapt on Trumps comments, even as her aides admitted that they werent sure whether the dispute would spark a significant movement of Republicans to her campaign.
Their immediate goal is to keep Trump enmeshed in a fight against the Khans.
One doesnt know where the bottom is. Its hard to imagine anyone who has ever run to be president of the United States saying any of what hes said, Clinton said, at a campaign stop in Ashland, Ohio.
She told Republicans: This is a time to pick country over party.
The Royal Commission will now be conducted by two commissioners, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda and retired Supreme Court judge Margaret White, Attorney-General George Brandis said.
Aboriginal leaders had said they would not co-operate with the inquiry unless they were represented on the commission.
They added that they were unhappy that the inquiry was not national.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ordered the probe last week, after prison CCTV footage showed guards teargassing six Aboriginal teenage inmates and strapping a half-naked, hooded boy to a chair at a Darwin youth prison in the Northern Territory.
The footage sparked renewed criticism of Australias treatment of Aborigines and their high imprisonment rate.
Aborigines comprise just 3% of Australias population.
However, they make up 27% of those in prison and 94% of juvenile inmates in the Northern Territory.
Im not the only person who can conduct this Commission effectively and competently and it is critical that whoever is appointed has the confidence of those who are vitally concerned with this matter, retired judge Brian Martin told journalists in Darwin, announcing his resignation as head of the inquiry.
Since the broadcast of the prison video last week, the United Nations Human Rights High Commission has called on Australia to compensate the victims, and protests have been held in Australian capitals.
Kweku Adoboli, 36, was released from prison last summer after serving half of his seven-year sentence for two counts of fraud.
He told the BBC he was sorry for his mistakes but warned his former colleagues were still under the same pressure he was to make money.
Somali-born Muhiddin Mire, 30, targeted strangers at random in the ticket hall at Leytonstone Underground station in east London on December 5 last year.
He grabbed fellow passenger Lyle Zimmerman and attempted to murder the 56-year-old after they travelled on the same train from Stratford to Leytonstone, where Mire lived alone in Sansom Road.
Mire will serve a minimum of eight-and-a-half years before being considered for parole, and will start his sentence at Broadmoor secure hospital.
The whole incident was caught on CCTV and mobile phone footage taken by a passer-by who carried on filming even as Mire lunged at him with the rusty blade.
One onlooker shouted at him: You aint no Muslim, bruv, after he declared he was going to spill blood for his Syrian brothers.
Sentencing him at the Old Bailey, Judge Nicholas Hilliard said that while he accepted Mire was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the offence, he was also of the opinion he had been motivated by events in Syria.
In other words, because Muslims were being bombed in Syria, he was going to attack civilians here. That was designed to intimidate a section of the public, and it was to advance an extreme cause, he said.
Judge Hilliard said Mires brazen actions were carried out to advance a religious and extremist cause.
This was an attempt to to kill an innocent member of the public for ideological reasons by cutting his throat in plain sight for maximum impact, he said.
Flanked by several dock officers and wearing a blue tracksuit top, Mire stared ahead as he was sentenced.
Judge Hilliard went on to publicly commend Mires four other victims, the doctor who helped Mr Zimmerman and the first police officer on the scene, for their courage and presence of mind.
Mire had images of fusilier Lee Rigby and British IS executioner Jihadi John on his mobile phone, along with material linked to IS.
He has a history of mental illness and psychosis, including the paranoid belief that he was being persecuted for his religion and stalked by MI5 and MI6.
However, prosecutor Jonathan Rees said the stabbing was a revenge attack for the events in Syria.
He told the court: We suggest that it can be no coincidence that the attack was carried out some three days after parliament had voted to extend the UK bombing campaign against Isis [IS] in Syria.
Mr Zimmerman said that he was fortunate to have received prompt first-aid treatment at the scene from a passing doctor.
One target paid out $15.4m, according to a statement from Interpol.
The alleged ringleader of a global scamming network, identified only as a 40-year-old known as Mike, was arrested along with a 38-year-old accomplice in Nigerias oil capital, Port Harcourt, in June, said the statement.
He is on administrative bail, which implies that officers do not yet have enough evidence to charge him in court.
The man is accused of leading a criminal network that compromised email accounts of small and medium-sized businesses around the world including in the United States, Australia, Canada, India, Romania, South Africa and Thailand.
The statement didnt name any of the targets.
The network involved about 40 people in Nigeria, Malaysia and South Africa who provided malware and carried out the frauds, with money-laundering contacts in China, Europe and the United States providing bank account details.
A suppliers email would be compromised and fake messages sent to a buyer with instructions for payment to a bank account under the networks control, the statement said.
Or the email account of a high-level executive would be taken over and a request for a wire transfer sent to an employee responsible for handling such requests.
Such crime poses a significant and growing threat, with tens of thousands of companies victimised in recent years, Noboru Nakatani, executive director of the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation, said in a statement.
The public, and especially businesses, need to be alert to this type of cyber-enabled fraud.
Nigeria is notorious for internet fraud. The US Embassy says it receives inquiries every day from Americans who have been defrauded.
Ashraf Amrani, 30, was on bail when his body was discovered on a first-floor roof in Westbourne Park Road, west London, on February 13 2015.
When police went to inform his parents the following day, Hassan, 72, and Zohra, 59, they were found dead at their flat, which was on the same street.
Francis was asked by reporters on the papal plane returning to Rome from Poland why he never used the word Islam when condemning killings by extremists like that of an elderly priest in France last week.
The Pope said: Its not right to identify Islam with violence, adding that every religion had its little group of fundamentalists.
He said that if he spoke of violent Islam, he would have to speak of violent Catholicism, since Catholics kill too.
Referring to the Islamic State group, Francis, 79, said it presents itself with its violent identity card, but its not Islam.
During his five-day pilgrimage in southern Poland he prayed privately in a church that God protect people from the devastating wave of terrorism in many parts of the world.
Francis told young people who flocked by the hundreds of thousands that they needed to believe in a new humanity stronger than evil and warned against concluding that one religion was more violent than others.
Organisers of the Catholic jamboree known as World Youth Day estimated 1.5 million youths attended his Mass at a meadow near Krakow, many having camped out in sleeping bags from a vigil service of prayer, singing and dance performances the previous evening.
The jamboree, meant to infuse young Catholics with fresh passion for their religion, was the main reason Francis came to Poland on the trip, which also took him to the former Auschwitz Nazi death camp, where he prayed in silence and reflected on what he called so much cruelty.
Extremist violence was on his mind when he set out last week, the day after terrorists rushed into a church in the French countryside and murdered the elderly priest there, slitting his throat, as he was celebrating Mass.
The Pope used his several encounters with the young pilgrims from mega-gatherings to a private lunch with only a dozen people from five continents to encourage a new generation to work for peace, reconciliation and justice.
God, said Francis in his final homily of the pilgrimage, demands of us real courage, the courage to be more powerful than evil, by loving everyone, even our enemies.
People may judge you to be dreamers, because you believe in a new humanity, one that rejects hatred between peoples, one that refuses to see borders as barriers and can cherish its own traditions without being self-centred or small-minded, Francis said.
Earlier in his pilgrimage, Francis expressed dismay that many people and places were not welcoming enough to refugees or those fleeing poverty in their homelands.
This pilgrimage marked the first time the Argentinian Pope had set foot in eastern Europe.
Flying back to Rome, he was asked by reporters what he thought about Poland and its welcome to him.
Referring to the enormous crowds he drew, Francis joked that Poland was invaded, this time by young people apparently referring to Germanys 1939 invasion of Poland that triggered the Second World War.
Not only are some 1,400 athletes at risk of getting violently ill in water competitions, but the Associated Press tests indicate that tourists also face potentially serious health risks on the golden beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana.
The survey of the aquatic Olympic and Paralympic venues has revealed consistent and dangerously high levels of viruses from the pollution, a major black eye on Rios Olympic project that has set off alarm bells among sailors, rowers, and open-water swimmers.
The first results of the study published over a year ago showed viral levels at up to 1.7m times what would be considered worrisome in the US or Europe.
At those concentrations, swimmers and athletes who ingest just three teaspoons of water are almost certain to be infected with viruses that can cause stomach and respiratory illnesses and more rarely heart and brain inflammation although whether they actually fall ill depends on a series of factors including the strength of the individuals immune system.
Since the release of the initial results last July, athletes have been taking elaborate precautions to prevent illnesses that could potentially knock them out of the competition, including preventatively taking antibiotics, bleaching oars, and donning plastic suits and gloves in a bid to limit contact with the water.
But antibiotics combat bacterial infections, not viruses. And the investigation found that infectious adenovirus readings tested with cell cultures and verified with molecular biology protocols turned up at nearly 90% of the test sites over 16 months of testing.
Thats a very, very, very high percentage, said Dr Valerie Harwood, chair of the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of South Florida.
Seeing that level of human pathogenic virus is pretty much unheard of in surface waters in the US. You would never, ever see these levels because we treat our waste water. You just would not see this.
While athletes take precautions, there are fears for the 500,000 foreigners expected to descend on Rio for the Olympics.
Testing at several of the citys world-famous beaches has shown that in addition to persistently high viral loads, the beaches often have levels of bacterial markers for sewage pollution that would be cause for concern abroad and sometimes even exceed Rio states lax water safety standards.
Harwood has one piece of advice for travellers to Rio: Dont put your head under water.
Swimmers who cannot heed that advice stand to ingest water through their mouths and noses and therefore risk getting violently ill, she said.
Danger is lurking even in the sand. Samples from the beaches at Copacabana and Ipanema revealed high levels of viruses, which recent studies have suggested can pose a health risk particularly to babies and small children.
Both of them have pretty high levels of infectious adenovirus, said Harwood, adding that the virus could be particularly hazardous to babies and toddlers who play in the sand.
You know how quickly an infant can get dehydrated and have to go to the hospital. Thats the scariest point to me.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Interior Ministry said terrorists used a truck full of explosives to breach the perimetre wall of the Northgate Hotel around 1:30am.
Three gunmen then entered the premises and started shooting.
The ministrys deputy spokesman Najib Danish said the truck driver was killed when he detonated the explosives.
The blast in the eastern part of the Afghan capital shook the city and was followed by widespread power outages.
A Taliban statement said they had sent heavily armed operatives as part of the attack.
Abdul Rahman Rahimi, the Kabul chief of police, said all the attackers who were on foot had been killed and that none of the hotels residents were harmed.
A man identifying himself as Steve Jones answered the phone at the hotel and said all the guests were safe.
We have 100 percent accountability, he said.
However, as daylight broke and Afghan policemen deployed at the site kept the roads leading to the hotel sealed off, questions remained as to how the insurgents were able to bring a truck loaded with explosives into the Afghan capital.
Foreign guesthouses have long been a Taliban target. The Northgate Hotel was attacked in July, 2013, in a similar manner, with a truck bomb breaching the gate and gunmen storming the compound.
Reports at the time said that four security guards were killed before the attackers were shot dead.
The Northgate, which is east of Kabuls international airport and near the Bagram Air Base, is typical of many pre-fabricated compounds that offer accommodation to foreigners working in the Afghan capital.
According to its website, it offers the same services as most hotels, along with high security, sniffer dogs, airport transfers and background checks, if necessary.
The ministrys statement on the hotel attack said that police commandos arrived and surrounded the facility, but had to be careful because fuel tankers were stored in the area. They waited until dawn before trying to find the gunmen.
The operation finished at 7:30 am when the terrorists were killed, the statement said.
Yesterdays attack followed a massive suicide bombing of a peaceful rally by the Afghan minority ethnic Hazara community on July 23 that killed more than 80 people and wounded hundreds.
The Hazaras were calling for a power project to be rerouted through their impoverished region in the central highlands when the suicide bomber hit.
That attack was claimed by Islamic State, which emerged last year in Afghanistan as an affiliate of the militant group fighting in Iraq and Syria. It was the IS Afghan branchs first assault in Kabul and the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since the US-led invasion to oust the Taliban in 2001.
The Taliban statement on yesterdays attack noted that guesthouses occupied by foreigners, especially Americans invaders, are frequent targets.
Following a leak of the list, opposition MPs demanded a complete overhaul of the system after it was claimed the former PM is rewarding personal aides, political donors and senior figures on the losing Remain campaign.
Ms May was under pressure to intervene, but a spokeswoman said the new premier would not interfere in decisions of the honours committees, which are independent of No 10.
It is standard for an outgoing prime minister to submit a resignation list, the spokeswoman said.
The names on the list were at the former prime ministers discretion, and they will now go through all the proper processes and committees.
It would set a very bad precedent for a new prime minister to interfere in the official processes.
The row was sparked by reports that Mr Cameron recommended knighthoods for four pro-EU cabinet colleagues Philip Hammond, Michael Fallon, Patrick McLoughlin and David Lidington.
He requested a Companion of Honour award for George Osborne, who was dismissed as chancellor by Ms May, according to The Sunday Times.
Will Straw, head of the failed pro-Remain campaign, was proposed for a CBE, and more than 20 Downing Street staff were recommended for awards, according to the report.
Among those reported to be recommended for OBEs is Isabel Spearman, who helped Samantha Cameron with her diary and outfits for various engagements.
It was also claimed Mr Cameron recommended knighthoods for major Tory donors Ian Taylor and Andrew Cook.
Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said Mr Camerons bid to reward his friends presented the worst of the old boys network, adding: That Mr Cameron proposes to reward his friends network on such a huge scale will not only bring the honours system into disrepute, it will undermine the reputation of Theresa May.
But Conservative former minister Desmond Swayne, said an honours list was a relatively light way of paying off debts of honour.
Nominations for honours are reviewed by honours committees, which include senior civil servants and people judged to be independent of government.
Each committee has a majority of independent members, with one of them chairing discussions, and reviews nominations for specific activities such as sport or arts and media, according to the government.
A No 10 representative is invited to attend all meetings.
The individual committees feed into the main honours committee, which then produces a list and its decisions go to the prime minister and then the Queen who bestows the honour.
Drones and helicopters pinpointed the location of the 11 fugitive commandos in hills around the Mediterranean resort of Marmaris after a two-week manhunt, an official said.
They were part of a group that attacked a hotel where Erdogan was holidaying on the night of the July 15 coup bid.
The operation took place overnight, after the government tightened its control over the military by dismissing over 1,000 more soldiers, widening the post-coup purges of state institutions that have targeted tens of thousands of people.
The coup attempt and resulting purges have shocked Turkey, which last saw a violent military power grab in 1980, and have shaken confidence in the stability of a NATO member key to the US-led fight against Islamic State and to stopping illegal migration to Europe.
Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said coup plotters would bitterly regret trying to overthrow Turkeys democracy, in words reflecting the depth of anger among the thousands of Turks who have attended rallies to condemn the coup night after night.
We will make them beg. We will stuff them into holes, they will suffer such punishment in those holes that they will never see Gods sun as long as they breathe, Zeybekci was quoted by the Dogan news agency as telling an anti-coup protest in the western town of Usak over the weekend.
They will not hear a human voice again. Kill us they will beg, he said.
Erdogan blames followers of US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen for the coup bid and has vowed to rid state institutions of his influence.
But the extent of the purges, and suggestions that the death penalty could be reintroduced, have sparked concern in Western capitals and among rights groups.
Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the US, has denied involvement.
Erdogan and his government have been angered by the response of Western allies to the abortive coup and its aftermath, accusing them of being more concerned about the rights of the plotters than the gravity of the threat to Turkey.
The USs top military official, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, met Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in Ankara after visiting the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey, used by the US-led coalition for bombing raids in Syria.
The first air strikes were carried out at specific locations in Sirte today causing severe losses to enemy ranks, Prime Minster Fayez Seraj said on state TV.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the strikes did not have an end point at this particular moment in time.
Burma Bagan Bids for UNESCO World Heritage Status
Burma will nominate the Bagan Archaeological Zone as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017, to be considered the following year.
MANDALAYBurmas branch of the World Heritage Site Committee announced its plans to nominate the Bagan Archaeological Zone for UNESCOs list of culturally significant sites in 2017 for reconsideration the following year.
The planning follows a meeting held in Mandalay in July between officials from the divisional government, Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture, Ministry of Home Affairs, engineering experts and representatives of the committee. A separate nomination committee was formed following the meeting with the aforementioned officials along with the Bagan Heritage Trust.
Than Zaw Oo, director of Burmas branch of the World Heritage Site Committee, explained that if the draft report and the draft management plan needed for the nomination could be submitted by September 2017, committee representatives would visit the site in 2018. Bagans nomination would then be brought up for deliberation at UNESCOs 2019 World Heritage Site convention.
UNESCO guidelines for selection include deciding whether the site exhibits outstanding universal value, international significance and the ability to transcend national boundaries and be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity.
Economic development and a growing tourism infrastructure in Bagans vicinity have been the biggest challenges facing the site in its bid to become a World Heritage Site, threatening preservation of the cultural areas.
We will just have to wait and see what the experts decide at the convention, said Than Zaw Oo.
Burmas initial application for recognition came in 1996, but it was rejected due to poor management plans and legal frameworks.
After UNESCO inscribed the ancient Pyu cities as the first Burmese World Heritage Site in June 2014, the culture ministry decided to continue campaigning for the addition of Bagan.
In 2015, the committee completed a comprehensive data collection project and implemented measures to survey and maintain historical records, including the impact of future development on the area. The survey also looked at how many structures remained in their original forms and to what extent preservation efforts would have to be undertaken.
Bagan houses stupas, temples and other Buddhist religious buildings constructed from the 9th to 11th centuriesa period in which some 50 Buddhist kings ruled the Bagan Dynasty. There are more than 3,000 stupas and temples in the area. Of these, 120 temples have stucco paintings and 460 have mural paintings that are found to be in need of preservation.
Burma Bill Committee Moves to Abolish Controversial Emergency Provisions Act
A new bill that would repeal Burmas 1950 Emergency Provisions Act is submitted to the Lower House of Parliament.
NAYPYIDAW A new bill that would repeal Burmas controversial 1950 Emergency Provisions Act was submitted to the Lower House of Parliament on Monday; the move was met with divergent opinions from lawmakers.
The bill, which proposes the abolishment of the 66-year-old law, was drafted and submitted to the Parliament by the Lower House Bill Committee. Tun Tun Hein, committee chair, argued that the Emergency Provisions Act had been used by previous governments to stifle political dissent.
It is not safe for citizens as long as this act exists. We therefore propose annulling the act for the sake of public security, Tun Tun Hein told the reporters after the parliamentary session.
This act was [initially] applied for military purposes, but then it was also applied for political purposes, he said. All the governmentsfrom Anti-Fascist Peoples Freedom League to the Revolutionary Council to the previous governmenthave applied this act, allowing the government to arrest a person quite easily, he claimed, referencing independent Burmas first government, Ne Wins military regime, and the Union Solidarity and Development Partys (USDP) quasi-civilian administration.
The NLD government is now [in office] and we want to change this, Tun Tun Hein added.
The Emergency Provisions Act was originally enacted in 1950 by the government of Burmas first prime minister, U Nu, in response to the civil war that erupted in the wake of the countrys independence. The law grants sweeping authority to the government to prosecute individuals who disseminate false news or are otherwise determined to have jeopardized the state. Successive governments have abused it to suppress dissidents and people.
The act carries the death penalty and sentences of up to life in prison for treason or sabotage against the military. It also dictates up to seven years in prison for a sweeping range of other offenses against the state.
Opposing the abolishment of the act, military lawmakers suggested instead amending some provisions that are deemed no longer suitable.
Brig-Gen Maung Maung, a Lower House military representative and a member of the bill committee, and Steven, a USDP lawmaker and the committees secretary, argued that a new law that fits the present time should be drafted and promulgated first if the Emergency Provisions Act is to be abolished.
Lwin Ko Latt, a lawmaker representing Thanlyin Township and a member of the Lower Houses Public Administration Committee, told The Irrawaddy that the act was misused to perpetuate arbitrary arrests and to suppress the work of human rights and pro-democracy activists. He expressed his support for its abolishment.
In the Parliament, the Lower House Bill Committee described the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act as a threat to fundamental rights of citizens at a time when a new democratic nation is being built. Representatives of the committee said they had held multiple discussions with the Public Administration Committee, the Office of the Attorney General of the Union, as well as the Home Affairs Ministry regarding the abolishment of the act.
Committee chair Tun Tun Hein said that the National League for Democracy (NLD) government is committed to changing laws and regulations, procedures, orders, and instructions that do not meet democratic and human rights norms. Lawmakers who want to discuss on the new bill have until Wednesday to register their names to indicate support for further exploration of the proposal in Parliament.
In 2015, during ex-president Thein Seins administration, the NLDthe then-leading opposition partyproposed scrapping the legislation at a Lower House legislative session. However, the move failed as the chamber was under the wider influence of the military-backed USDP majority at the time.
Win Myint, then a Lower House lawmaker, and the current Speaker of the House, said in 2015 that the legislation was designed to instill fear and restrict political activity.
Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
Burma Embassy Warns Burmese in Thailand About Pre-Referendum Crackdown
The embassy is alerting Burmese migrants in Thailand of a surge in police and army raids targeting migrants ahead of Thailands constitutional referendum.
CHIANG MAI, Thailand The Burmese embassy in Bangkok has sent warning notices to Burmese migrants in Thailand alerting them of a surge in raids and surprise checks by Thai police and the army on migrants workplaces and living quarters.
These interventions are part of a an extensive security clampdown by the Royal Thai Police and the Royal Thai Army ahead of an August 7 referendum on the new draft constitution drafted by the ruling military junta.
The notice, issued by the embassy on Monday, warned Burmese nationals living or visiting Thailand for any reason to exercise extra caution while working and traveling, to carry the required immigration documents with them at all times, and to calmly submit to inspections from the Thai police.
The notice also provided contact numbers for the embassy, and invited calls from any Burmese national in Thailand requiring assistance.
Thai online news outlets have reported Thai police and army raids on the workplaces and living quarters of Burmese migrant workers, alongside crackdowns on small businesses run by migrantswhom Thai authorities accuse of stealing jobs from Thai nationals.
According to Burmese migrant sources, Thai police have been conducting surprise inspections in the markets of the northern city of Chiang Mai, where many Burmese migrants make their livelihood.
Ko Oo, a Burmese migrant worker living in Chiang Mai, said it had been worse than previous crackdowns, with Thai police intervening not only in migrants workplaces but also in the houses and makeshift structures where migrants live. He said small shops run by Burmese migrants in the city had been kept shut as a precaution.
During workplace raids, Ko Oo said the police arrest all migrants whose papers state different employers and workplace addresses.
In recent days, a crackdown by Thai police and soldiers has been taking place in Mae Sot, a town near the Burmese border with a large transient Burmese population. Reportedly many Burmese migrant workers in the town have been arrested and deported to Myawaddy, the Burmese town on the other side of the border.
Royal Thai Army soldiers have also been deployed at illegal crossing points along the Burmese border.
Migrant labor rights groups in Thailand estimate there to be between 3-4 million Burmese migrants in Thailand, only 1.7 million of whom are registered.
On a trip to Thailand in June, Burmas State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi made a series of public addresses, including to Burmese migrant workers at the Talay Thai Seafood Market in the port town of Mahachai in Samut Sakhon Province. She cited agreements for increased cooperation with the Thai government on ensuring migrants labor rights, as well as plans to improve job opportunities in Burma in order to tempt migrants back.
Burma Human Rights Group Presses Govt to Suspend Extraction Projects in Ethnic States
A Shan human rights group presses the government to suspend resource extraction projects in ethnic states and to end military offenses against civilians.
RANGOON A Shan human rights group has pressed the Burmese government to immediately suspend all resource extraction projects in ethnic states that have been ravaged by conflict and to end Burma Army offenses against civilians.
The group stated that such projects should only be considered after a federal peace settlement has been reached, granting local communities ownership and usage rights of natural resources in their regions.
The Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) documented detailed accounts of Burma Army abuses against civilians during military action to secure the local coal mines in Shan States Hsipaw Township in May. The groups recent Killing for Coal report highlighted arbitrary arrest, looting, torture and killing.
In operation since the 1990s, the Nam Ma coal mines in Hsipaw Township have contributed to environmental destruction and the loss of crops in nearby villages, according to a SHRF representative.
Sai Kheun Mai, SHRF spokesperson, said, more than 30 acres of farmland have been destroyed because of the project and more than 100 acres are likely to be affected in Kho Lang Pha, about five kilometers south of Nam Ma.
Villagers have experienced not only environmental degradation, Sai Kheun Mai added, but also human rights abuses, due to an increase of Burma Army troops in the region this year.
In May, locals were forced to flee their homes due to conflict between the Burma Armywhich protects the Nam Ma project and maintains control of the surrounding areaand Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army-North (SSPP/SSA-N) troops based in the area.
Although the fighting has decreased in recent months since the SSPP/SSA-N troops left the area, the presence of government military troops persists.
Some internally displaced persons managed to return to their respective villages in May and June to attend to their farms during the growing season.
Regarding suspension of the Nam Ma project, Shan State lawmaker Nang San San Aye told The Irrawaddy that when she raised the issue in divisional parliament two weeks ago, the state minister of natural resources said the decision would come from the Union-level government.
I asked the state parliamentary speaker and my constituencys Union-level lawmakers to raise the issue in the Union Parliament. We are still waiting to hear, she said.
Civilians and activists have voiced dissatisfaction with the new National League for Democracy (NLD) governments tackling of public safety issues, especially related to those concerning the military. SHRF, an outspoken voice for ethnic minority rights, continuously urges for an end to the war, military offenses, and the impunity granted to military personnel in regards to human rights violations.
We cannot depend on the government to protect civilians safety. So, if my people want the project to stop because theyve faced many losses, I will stand with them, the state lawmaker added.
Business Govt to Continue Tourism Policy of Maximum Growth
The government is continuing its predecessors tourism policy of maximum growth, and will stick by its controversial method of enumerating visitors.
RANGOON The government will continue the tourism policies set by its predecessoraiming for maximum growthand will continue to enumerate day-visitors crossing land borders as tourists, in contravention of international tourism standards.
These intentions were laid out by Tint Thwin, director general of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, at the Myanmar Hospitality & Tourism Conference taking place in Rangoon on August 2-3.
Tint Thwin also expressed confidence that Burma would meet its target of 5.5 million tourists for 2016, while noting that the tourism sector was sensitive and depended on the situation in the country. He also made plain that the government would not be changing its controversial method of enumerating visitors.
Burmas Tourism Master Plan 2013-20, unveiled under the previous government in 2012, prioritizes high-growth, with a target of 7.48 million visitors in 2020drawing criticism from advocates of sustainable tourism that the target would promote rash policies with adverse long-term implications.
As well as counting day-visitors, Burma counts all visitors as touristseven the substantial proportion that does not arrive on tourist visasin contrast to other countries in the region.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) only includes visitors who stay overnight in a country as tourists, while the World Tourism Organization requires that they stay for 24 hours.
The wide mismatch between official government figures and what are considered to be the real tourist numbers has created uncertainty in Burmas tourism industry, and may have exacerbated current problems of oversupplynotably in hotel roomsin the major cities of Rangoon, Mandalay and Naypyidaw.
At the conference, STR business development manager Fenady Uriarte noted that tourism arrivals in Burma for 2015 were enumerated at only 1.2 million by PATAa stark contrast to the governments own figure of 4.68 million for that year (a 52 percent increase from the amount claimed by the government for the previous year).
Sabei Aung, managing director of Nature Dream tourism agency, expressed concern that the governments divergent statistics may confuse, mislead or put off investors.
After 2010, international investors came to learn about the [Burmese tourism] market but they found that the data was wrong. Singaporean investors came in, but European investors backed out, she said.
Hotels have mushroomed domestically but hoteliers have built hotels with their own money and through loans. These hotels have not received enough guests and have suffered huge losses. The incorrect data misled local businessmen as well, she said.
According to figures from STR, an American company that provides supply and demand data for the global hotel industry, the current supply of hotel rooms in Rangoon exceeds supply by 8.5 percent. Sabei Aung said a similar picture held for Mandalay and Naypyidaw.
Supply is good [in the industry] but demand has not been keeping up in the recent period, said Fenady Uriarte of STR.
With a view to furthering investment opportunities in Burma, participants in the hospitality and tourism conference discussed expanding into the countrys many undeveloped areas and developing infrastructureincluding new international airportsas outlined in the Tourism Master Plan.
One of the priorities outlined in the Ministry of Hotels and Tourisms initial 100 day policy, unveiled in early May, and discussed further at the conference, was the development of community-based tourisminvolving the establishment of village guest houses and package tour visits to rural communitiesin specially designated areas.
These areas are to include Indawgyi Lake in Kachin State, Loikaw in Karenni State, Thandaunggyi in Karen State, the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone in southern Shan State, Myaing in Magwe Division, and Kyauk Myaung Village in Mandalay Division.
We hope that more tourists will come since were expanding international entry-points, including through new airports. Now, at least 24 airlines land in Rangoon International Airport and five airlines land in Mandalay International Airport, former Minister of Hotels and Tourism Htay Aung said at the Tuesday press conference.
We need better infrastructure to welcome them, he said.
He also maintained that the government would continue to count all visitors who come here, even day-return visitors.
The ministry is still counting tourist arrivals for first six months of this year, he confirmed.
According to the ministrys figures, Burmas tourism industry earned US$254 million in 2010, $319 million in 2011, $534 million in 2012, $926 million in 2013 and $1.8 billion in 2014.
Lifestyle Ten Things to Do in Rangoon This Week
A rock concert, a poetry slam, art exhibitions, international beer day, and moreall in Rangoon this week, as picked by The Irrawaddy.
The Irrawaddy picks 10 interesting events happening in Rangoon this week.
Influence Rock 2016
Rangoon rock bands Big Bag and Idiots & Reason will perform. Tickets are available in City Mart and Ocean Supercenter. The admission fee is 8,000 kyats.
Where: Myanmar Convention Centre (MCC), Min Dhamma Street, Mayangone Tsp. Tel: 09-253739071
When: Sunday, August 7, 7pm
International Beer Day
Started in California in 2007, International Beer Day is an annual worldwide celebration held on the first Friday of August. Join the festivities in Burma at Mahlzeit where they will serve Carlsberg, Tuborg and Yoma beer.
Where: Mahlzeit, 84 Pann Hlaing Street. Tel: 09-784151250
When: Friday, August 5, 12pm
Myanmar Remix
Rooftop bar Yangon Yangon hosts the Remix every Sunday night with DJs playing all Burmese songs after 8pm. Happy hour is from 5 to 7 pm, when all frozen cocktails are 50 percent off.
Where: Yangon Yangon, Sakura Tower, 339 Bogyoke Road, Tel: 01-255131
When: Sunday, August 7, 8 pm to 10:30 pm
IELTS Mock Exam
Anyone planning on taking the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam can complete a mock exam free of charge at the Impact Skill Development Center. Seats are limited and registration is required at 09-258577778/9 or [email protected].
Where: Impact Skill Development Center, 270 Anawrahta Road, Third Floor, Pabedan Tsp.
When: Sunday, August 7, 10 am
Slam Express
Slam Express is a slam poetry event organized by a group of young Burmese poets. Listen to poems performed in English and Burmese. Free admission.
Where: Pansuriya Gallery, 100 Bogalay Zay Street, Botahtaung Tsp., Tel: 09-778 949170
When: Saturday, August 6, 6:30 to 8 pm
9Power Art Exhibition
An exhibition showcasing more than 50 paintings from nine artists will be held at Myanmar Artists and Artisans Association. Prices for the artwork range from US$150 to $1,000.
Where: Myanmar Artists and Artisans Association (Central), Bogyoke Market
When: Wednesday, August 3 to Sunday, August 7
Minimal Art Exhibition
Nawady Tharlar Gallery showcases a solo exhibition by the artist Maung Theid Dhi. Nine paintings will be sold for prices ranging from US$500 to $1,200.
Where: Nawady Tharlar Gallery, Building 20B, Room 304, Yaw Min Gyi Road, Dagon Tsp. Tel: 09-43097918
When: Saturday, July 30 to Sunday, August 7
East Village Light Bird Exhibition
Maung Dis solo show featuring more than 30 paintings will be displayed at Ahla Thit Art Gallery.
Where: Ahla Thit Art Gallery, 17 University Avenue Road, Bahan Tsp.
When: Sunday, August 7 to Monday, August 15
Lokanat Gallery Exhibition
Artist Maung Maung Thein (Pathein) will hold his fourth solo show, which features more than 70 works, some of them dating back to the 1950s. Prices for the art will range from US$150 to $1,500.
Where: Lokanat Gallery, 62 Pansodan Street, 1st Floor, Kyauktada Tsp., Tel. 095-1382-269
When: Tuesday, August 2 to Monday, August 8
Gongs and Skins II
The second annual international percussion festival will be held at the National Theater. Percussionists from Myanmar, Malaysia and Germany will perform.
Where: National Theater, Myoma Kyaung Street
When: Thursday, August 4, 7pm
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016 (10:10 am) - Score 935
The 12m+ Central Bedfordshire Broadband project in England claims to have completed its first Phase 1 contract with Openreach (BT), which has so far expanded the availability of superfast broadband (24Mbps+) to around 90% of the region and benefited an additional 16,422 premises.
The project, which is a partnership between Central Bedfordshire Council, Bedford Borough Council, Milton Keynes Council (the Phase 1 coverage goal for MK alone was 97% fibre broadband), BT and the Governments Broadband Delivery UK programme, originally only intend to extend its coverage to 15,500 local homes and businesses but theyve clearly been able to beat that (news).
Some of the most recent FTTC Street Cabinets to go live have been in Ampthill, Biggleswade, Blunham, Cranfield, Eaton Bray, Flitwick, Haynes, Heath and Reach, Hexton, Hockliffe, Leagrave, Leighton Buzzard, Lower Shelton, Luton, Potton, Sandy, Shefford, Shillington, Silsoe, Stotfold, Toddington, Whipsnade, Wilstead, Woburn Sands, Wrestlingworth and work is on-going to complete a further three in Dunstable (overall a total of 188 street cabinets have been installed).
Meanwhile the 11.2m (4.09m from the local authorities) Phase 2 Superfast Extension Programme (SEP) contract has already begun, which aims to benefit another 8,000 premises and push superfast broadband coverage to 96.5% of the area by 2018/19. However its worth pointing out that the projects official website is a jumble of conflicting targets, terminology (fibre vs superfast etc.) and funding levels, which makes it difficult to know precisely what will be delivered.
Kate Middleton and Prince William prove that the divorce rumors circulating in the social media are not true. In fact, the royal couple is happily together as evidenced by their recent foreign trip.
According to Daily Mail, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge went to France a few days ago. The Duke of Westminster lent the couple an 8 million Cessna plane for the said trip. The couple brought with them their kids, Prince George and Princess Charlotte to visit the Duchess relatives.
A statement released by a Kensington Palace official expressed positivity and strength on the marriage of the royal couple. The royal couple also plans to travel to Canada, a country close to their hearts.
The Duke and Duchess are delighted to be returning to Canada. They hold very happy memories from their visit in 2011 their first overseas tour as a married couple. They are really looking forward to seeing other parts of this beautiful country and having the opportunity to meet many more Canadians along the way
A couple of days ago, news spread out from various tabloids that Kate and William are having marital problems and that a divorce is on its way. Kate was reported to not fulfilling her royal duties.
Her absence on the royal families special occasions such as Easter Sunday Church Services and St. Patricks Day celebration stirred speculations that she is unhappy with her relationship with William and that she wanted a separation. This drew criticisms from the followers of the royal family. Neither one of them issued any comments about the said gossips according to the Bit Bag.
The rumors about their troubled marriage are no longer new as their relationship has often been doubted to last for certain reasons. Nevertheless, the royal couple is enjoying each others company and they are together as they always do.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has been the talk of the smartphone town. While this is all for good reason, as the device is shaping up to be one of the best of 2016, mobile carriers need to get creative in order to sell their share of the same. With the threat of competition looming, mobile carriers have partnered up with the Korean-tech giant to a create very tempting bundles.
According to 9 to 5 Google, both T-Mobile and Sprint are giving away a Samsung Gear Fit 2 smartwatch with every purchase of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. However, for the customers who do not find this an enticing offer to make, the two mobile carriers have another option in mind.
Buyers can instead opt for a 256 GB memory card, which would just enhance the Samsung handheld even more. It is likely to come in the form of the standard microSD card, but the publication argues it could be a 256 GB UFS card. That is, if the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will come with UFS storage.
While T-Mobile and Sprint are confirmed to be making the deal, others are soon expected to follow. Especially because the launch is just a few hours away, it is highly likely that AT&T, Verizon and other carriers will pick up the same deal or strike their own with Samsung.
While the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is already expected to make plenty of innovations for the smartphone market, there has been a recent confirmation on another breakthrough. According to Phone Arena, Samsung will give users the chance to alter the display resolution.
Reportedly, users can opt for a Quad HD display in 1080p Full HD or push it down to a 720p HD panel. Supposedly, this is for saving the life of the unit's 3500mAh battery. The option is viewable at the display section in setting.
A day before Samsung's launch of the Galaxy Note 7 and amidst hopeful rumors of the upcoming iPhone 7, LG made a game-changing announcement of their own. That is, that the LG V20 will be arriving in September and will be the first handheld to run on the Android Nougat 7.0.
As Gotta Be Mobile reports, the successor to the LG V10 has been long awaited, especially since the V10 was very well received. It had its own set of unique features which included two displays and three cameras. In addition, it had an incredibly powerful and solid build, as well as a relatively large 5.7-inch screen.
It is highly likely that LG will take all the best from the V10 and make further improvements for the LG V20. In fact, the company boasted that the unit would provide a great multimedia experience. This is pointing to another dual screen, improved audio and possibly an even sturdier build.
Most notable, however, is that the LG V20 will run on the newest operating system from Android. That is, the Android Nougat 7.0, which will debut on LG's upcoming flagship. The timing is perfect, as Google will release the new OS mid-August, giving LG the right amount of time for a September launch.
As Phone Arena adds, the tech manufacturer is calling the LG V20 the "new standard for premium phones." LG is also reportedly developing a fingerprint scanner that works on the display of the device, as opposed to one specific area.
There is a lot of pressure from LG at this point, as its latest release, the LG G5 did not do so well in the market. In fact, the company needs the upcoming handset to do well, in order to keep up with the likes of Samsung and Apple.
Hours before the unveiling of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7, the Huawei Honor Note 8 was surprisingly revealed. The product of a partnership between Huawei and its sister company Honor, which has some killer specs packed into a relatively large screen.
According to Tech Radar, there are a few features that the Huawei Honor 8 has over Samsung's upcoming flagship. First of all, the screen is larger at 6.6 inches, as compared to the 5.7-inch rumored screen of the Note 7. Furthermore, the battery will last longer at 4500mAh, as Samsung's is expected to come with a 4000mAh battery.
The Huawei Honor 8 will have an eight-core Kirin 955 processor and 4 GB of RAM. While the Kirin 955 is said to be as powerful as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, it is slower than Samsung's Exynos processor. Alternately, the Snapdragon 820 is expected to power the Galaxy Note 7 units sold in the United States and China, while the Exynos processor will be found in all other locations.
What truly sets the unit apart, however, is the price. For only $346, users can take home the 32 GB model and $421 for the 128 GB option.
Digital Journal adds that the display of the Huawei Honor 8 will have a 2k resolution, or 2560 x 1440 pixels. The rear and front cameras are 13 megapixels and 8 megapixels respectively.
The unit will have several connection options, particularly a USB Type-C port for power and data. It also includes Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2 and GPS. It also has two SIM card slots, which of course are not required.
All these features are neatly packed in an aluminum body with rounded corners. The unit will be available in ice silver, light gold and other shades of gray.
What truly sets the unit apart, however, is the price.
The iOS 9.3.3 jailbreak tool may let hackers gain access to user's personal and financial details. Pangu has issued a statement denying that it has anything to do with the reported data breach.
Many Apple smartphone users were eagerly awaited the release of the iOS 9.3.3 jailbreak tool. In late July, Pangu released the anticipated software. The first version was in Chinese but an English version was subsequently released according to an earlier iTech Post report.
Unfortunately, some Apple users are regretting the day they have downloaded and used the iOS 9.3.3 jailbreak tool. A number of them are posting their horrible experiences in online forums such as Reddit. One poster claimed that a person in China withdrew $50 from his Paypal account. He also claimed that the incident happened after recently installing the jailbreak app.
Most of the attacks seemed to have originated in China. The hackers will usually take over the user's Paypal account, credit cards and any other accounts where they can siphon the money and send it elsewhere. The number of victims is relatively small based on the number of jailbreak users, according, to 9To5Mac.
There is also the possibility that the iOS jailbreak app installation and the digital thefts are merely coincidence. But the news has already has caused some anxiety among jailbreak users.
Some jailbreak tool experts pinpointing a certain tool called "PPHelper" as the possible cause of the digital intrusion, according to Forbes. However, this was refuted by Pangu and issued a Tweet post about it. To allay the fears of the iOS jailbreaking community, the group also set up an official Reddit account. The iOS 9.3.3 is the fourth jailbreak tools release by Pangu.
Owners using the jailbreak tool are advised against downloading pirated software since many of them have hidden viruses and malwares. The iOS 9.3.3 jailbreak tool and its previous versions are considered illegal apps by Apple.
Jeremy Renner expressed his disappointment in how his character Hawkeye in the first "Avengers" film was played out. There even came a point that he would rather have his character killed, rather than playing it out as it was.
Reports claim that actor Jeremy Renner was not pleased of how his character as Hawkeye went around. His character practically became Loki's minion among the Avengers. During the London Film and Comic-Con, he said he was a little frustrated because he was excited to know more of his character.
According to IGN, he was in dismay in how quickly his character became what he described as a zombie and left no room for Hawkeye to evolve. Thus, this prompted him to suggest that his character just be killed off while they were filming. "I'm giving you an option, if you just want to kick me out of this movie. Just you know, at any given moment, if you wanna kill me off, daddy's gonna be having a heart attack," Renner said during the Comic-Con Question and Answer portion.
Renner said that during the first "Avengers" film, he was still at the stage of getting to know his character as Hawkeye and then he suddenly became a zombie. However, Collider reported that now Renner no longer wants his character to die. Since he had more chances to portray the role of Hawkeye in the succeeding Marvel films, he got to explore his character more now.
In the recent Marvel movie, "Captain America: Civil War" was when Renner last made his appearance as Hawkeye. There were even reports claiming that Hawkeye's development on the film was more entertaining than that of the movie as a whole.
Renner is set to appear again as Hawkeye in the upcoming "Avengers: Infinity War" and another Avengers movie that has not yet been titled to date. The upcoming Avengers film is set to start filming later this year.
Comcast is currently facing a $100 million filed by the State of Washington in behalf of its constituents who were allegedly duped by the cable company.
Bob Ferguson, the State Attorney filed the consumer protection complaint against Comcast, according to Ars Techinca. State justice officials accused the company of misleading its Washington subscribers about its Service Protection Plan. The full document of the lawsuit can be obtained here.
Ferguson said that Comcast basically tricked its customers into paying $4.99 a month for a service that was supposed to be free in the first place. Subscribers who availed of the plan will no longer incur a service fee every time the company's cable technician comes to make repairs.
However, Comcast failed to inform its service protection plan holders that the monthly payment does not cover "wall-fished wiring" repairs or those wires hidden inside the house's walls. The Washington State claimed that it was an intentional omission since most if not all repairs involved hidden wirings.
A Comcast spokesperson said that the company has yet so see the complaint but mentioned that the issue has already been addressed. The spokesperson also said that the company was taken aback by the state government lawsuit. But the cable company will not take it lying down and will fight it out in court, according to the spokesperson.
The state attorney did admit that there were indeed negotiations going on. However, he claimed that Comcast had been unable to adequately address the issue. The company reportedly balked at the state attorney's proposal to pay the aggrieved plan holders.
Comcast is also accused of engaging in dubious credit checks on its customers. Normally, deposits are only required from subscribers with low credit scores. Company records reveal however, that it also collected deposits from several thousand high credit scores subscribers. This implies that Comcast did not conduct the credit score check once it obtained the deposit from the cable subscriber.
The U.S. judge who tossed out one of the biggest court cases in Apple Inc's smartphone technology battle is questioning whether patents should cover software or most other industries at all.
Richard Posner, a prolific jurist who sits on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, told Reuters this week that the technology industry's high profits and volatility made patent litigation attractive for companies looking to wound competitors.
"It's a constant struggle for survival," he said in his courthouse chambers, which have a sparkling view of Monroe Harbor on Lake Michigan. "As in any jungle, the animals will use all the means at their disposal, all their teeth and claws that are permitted by the ecosystem."
Posner, 73, was appointed as a federal appeals court judge by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and has written dozens of books, including one about economics and intellectual property law.
Posner, who teaches at the University of Chicago, effectively ended Apple's lawsuit against Google Inc's Motorola Mobility unit last month. He canceled a closely anticipated trial between the two and rejected the iPhone maker's request for an injunction barring the sale of Motorola products using Apple's patented technology.
Apple is in a pitched battle with its competitors over patents, as technology companies joust globally for consumers in the fast-growing markets for smartphones and tablet computers.
Posner said some industries, like pharmaceuticals, had a better claim to intellectual property protection because of the enormous investment it takes to create a successful drug.
Advances in software and other industries cost much less, he said, and the companies benefit tremendously from being first in the market with gadgets - a benefit they would still get if there were no software patents.
"It's not clear that we really need patents in most industries," he said.
Also, devices like smartphones have thousands of component features, and they all receive legal protection.
"You just have this proliferation of patents," Posner said. "It's a problem."
GENERATION SMARTPHONE
The Apple/Motorola case did not land in front of Posner by accident. He volunteered to oversee it.
Federal appellate judges occasionally offer to preside over district court cases. Posner had alerted the district judges of his interest in patents, so after part of the smartphone battle landed in Wisconsin federal court, the judge there transferred the case to him.
When Posner began working on the smartphone case, he told the litigants he was "really neutral" because he used a court-issued BlackBerry made by Research In Motion Ltd . He soon accepted an upgrade to an iPhone, but only uses it to check email and call his wife, he said.
"I'm not actually that interested in becoming part of the smartphone generation," he said.
Posner's corner office is filled with the requisite library of law tomes, and a row of books he wrote sits alongside his family photographs. He also has a signed photograph from the late Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr., for whom he clerked in the early 1960s.
Judges rarely speak openly to the press, but Posner is outspoken on a range of topics. Last week in online magazine Slate, he penned a withering critique of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's recent dissent in the Arizona immigration case.
"It wouldn't surprise me if Justice Scalia's opinion were quoted in campaign ads," Posner wrote.
MOTOROLA V. APPLE
Motorola sued Apple in October 2010, a move that was widely seen as a pre-emptive strike. Apple filed its own claims against Motorola the same month.
In canceling the trial, Posner said an injunction barring the sale of Motorola phones would harm consumers. He also rejected the idea of trying to ban an entire phone based on patents that cover individual features like the smooth operation of streaming video.
Apple's patent, Posner wrote in his June 22 order, "is not a claim to a monopoly of streaming video!"
Not all judges in the patent wars share Posner's skepticism of injunctions. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, granted Apple two critical pretrial injunctions against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd <005930.KS> last week: one against the Galaxy Tab 10.1, and the other against the Galaxy Nexus phone.
In Friday's 101-page ruling barring the Galaxy Nexus, Koh cited the harms to Apple due to competition from phones that infringe its patent on the Siri search feature. Samsung is appealing both injunctions.
Posner said he had not read Koh's orders.
In his own ruling, Posner also barred Motorola from seeking an injunction against the iPhone because the company had pledged to license its patent on fair and reasonable terms to other companies - in exchange for having the technology adopted as an industry standard.
Posner's idea of examining whether industries like software should receive patent protection is a mainstream one, especially in the computer industry, said John Allison, a professor at University of Texas at Austin who studies intellectual property rights.
However, recent patent law reforms passed by the U.S. Congress did not directly address the issue, and Allison said classifying industries for the purposes of intellectual property protection - as Posner suggests - was "completely impractical" because talented lawyers could game the system.
When it comes to the smartphone litigation wars, Posner said tech companies should not be blamed for jumping into court since they are merely taking the opportunities that the legal system offers.
Given the large cash reserves in Silicon Valley, high legal fees are not a deterrent. Apple, for instance, had $110 billion in cash and securities as of March 31.
"It's a small expense for them," Posner said.
Posner said he had been looking forward to presiding over a trial between Motorola and Apple, but had no other choice than to toss the case.
"I didn't think I could have a trial just for fun," he said.
Today, 2 August 2016 marks the release of Windows 10 first anniversary update. It is being rolled out progressively W10 users dont need to do anything.
iTWire has covered the Anniversary update for enterprise users and consumers these articles cover the new Windows Defender Advance Threat Protection, and Windows Information Protection to consumer features like Windows Ink, Windows Hello, Cortana, Xbox integration, Edge browser and more.
Jaron Cohen, Windows commercial product manager at Microsoft Australia, invited iTWire for a briefing on what he now calls Windows as a service and it is time we all realised that Microsoft has been hugely successful in getting 350 million users onto this platform the remainder either have old metal that wont run it or are locked into corporate systems that take a little longer to investigate and cautiously deploy.
Microsoft has also been hugely successful at moving from a very fragmented Windows ecosystem to just two versions Windows 7 and Windows 10. The latter is a universal Windows across all devices from phones to the huge 84 Surface Hub.
Cohen said that Australia had been a leading adopter of W10. 90% of Australian enterprises have trials underway to ensure a seamless upgrade to W10 Pro or Enterprise. Well you cant have an airline delaying its planes while it rolls out Windows 10, can you now? He was referring to one of the few remaining bastions of Windows XP!
One happy W10 adopter is Cash Converters that had gone from a mish-mash of decentralised legacy systems and software to a 100% Microsoft environment using Windows 10 on endpoints, Windows 10 Mobile for its phones, Windows Azure infrastructure and platform as a service, Office 365, SharePoint and Business Intelligence.
Cash Converters is a second-hand goods dealer, a pawnbroker and lender. It has more than 700 stores in 21 countries including 140 in Australia and the remainder in international franchise operations in the United Kingdom, Spain, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Canada, United States, and Malaysia.
Cash Converters chief information officer Glen Fee said, When you are looking at an ecosystem where you have the same operating system on your desktop, tablet and phone, as well as running Office 365, it makes the management of IT smoother and more efficient. Weve had extremely positive feedback from staff.
After preparatory work carried out by the Perth-based Microsoft partner Ignia, the actual migration to Windows 10 for all corporate stores throughout Australia took around five weeks (approx. 1000 devices). It was as easy as sending a pre-configured USB to each store to update any Windows device less than four years old.
We deployed Windows 10 because it offers a standard user interface across PC, Notebook, Tablet and Phone devices. Moving forward Microsoft ensures that the platform is up to date, so we can focus on servicing our stores and customers, said Fee.
Besides streamlining day-to-day activities for staff, the solution has delivered enterprise-wide benefits. Fee said, We originally commenced rolling out the POS on the individual store servers, but we calculated that at the rate we were going it was going to take many years. However, once we explored Azure we worked out that we were going to be able to deploy across all Australian corporate stores in a matter of months, with the UK corporate stores over a similar timeframe.
Josh Boys, director at partner Ignia, said, "We worked with Cash Converters during their national rollout of Windows 10 to retail stores. Leveraging their investment in System Centre Configuration Manager, Cash Converters found the in-place upgrade simple and easy to implement and are now utilising the new security & functional features available within Windows 10 Cloud OS.
Fee said Azure had opened up a raft of fresh possibilities as well as providing a very cost-effective and efficient solution. When we looked at the cost and the added efficiencies of software upgrades and patching, capability for backup and all the other capabilities of a data centre provided as a service, it was a no-brainer for us. Now that we have a solid IT foundation and the capability for consistent mobile access we can truly build for growth.
Cohen finished the briefing, Windows 10 was built on the back of 12 million insiders who gave their time freely to make W10 what it is they spent the equivalent of more than 50,000 years on Windows 10 resulting in nearly 75 million pieces of feedback and 5000+ enhancements into the Windows 10 product. The ecosystem is driving the ecosystem.
Windows 10 has the highest approval rating of any Windows ever; its take-up is the fastest ever; and more and more it has become the Windows people have fallen back in love with.
If comparisons with car engines are anything to go by V4, V6, V8, V12 then LGs new V20 should be a screamer.
The only issue is that Australia is not on the preliminary launch list South Korea, US, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Turkey, Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan and Hong Kong will get to see it first.
The V-series well, the initial V10 are intended to be the best of the best, like the Signature OLED series is to TV. It sits above the very well specified G series and the current G5 is one of the best flagships on the market and one of the very few with a removable battery and microSD storage.
What we know is that the launch is in September, and it has dual everything selfie cameras and even screens.
"We are excited to offer the first phone in the world to feature Nougat out of the box," Juno Cho, president of LG Electronics Mobile Communications division, said in a statement. "The LG V20 upgrades and extends its predecessor's cutting-edge multimedia features a step further, providing distinct mobile experience and sets a new standard for premium phones for consumers."
GSMArena posted preliminary specifications just a few hours ago and it is usually pretty spot-on. If the specs are right, his is an amazing phone.
Primary Screen: 5.7, IPS, 2560 x 1440, 515ppi, Gorilla Glass 4.
Second notification screen: 2.1 strip, 1040 x 160.
Processor: not mentioned but probably a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
Memory/storage: looks like options for 3/6GB RAM, and 32/64/128GB storage as well as microSD 256GB support and Android Adoptable Storage support (uses SD as system storage).
Rear camera: 16MP, laser autofocus, Optical Image Stabilisation (probably the same as the G5).
Front camera: 5MP dual lens.
MilSpec ruggedized looks like carbon fibre is used.
Wi-Fi AC, dual band, MU-MIMI 2 x 2, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, NFC, IR port, FM radio, USB-C, rear fingerprint reader, 32-bit DAC.
Removable battery.
Why this is important to LG
LG make very good flagship phones. The G4 and G5 have a special place in my heart because they are just different enough from the mainstream to be interesting. The G5 is as good as it gets yet it struggles to sell in the volumes that Samsungs also excellent S7 series does.
The V series sits above the G series, and it may allow the G to be repositioned as a better value flagship and increase volumes. It will also sit about any Nexus phones that LG is rumoured to be making.
There are many similarities between the head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics David Kalisch and federal Attorney-General George Brandis.
Nobody who was in Australia during the time when the government was trying to push its metadata retention regime will ever forget the trainwreck of an interview that Brandis had with Sky anchor David Speers.
It was clear that Brandis had no idea what he was talking about and even clearer that he was annoyed at being questioned.
Similarly, Kalisch appears to have no idea about the concept of privacy even as he and others at the ABS try desperately to offer a figleaf of justification for the high-handed decision that was taken quietly in December, to retain names and addresses in this month's census.
Kalisch was even willing to admit that the ABS had beenfor years, and double back on the period of retention, reducing it from an indefinite period to four years, in order to try and plead his case.
But it has all fallen flat.
To the public in an increasingly digital and connected world, Kalisch appears like some arrogant landlord of old, disconnected from reality, who is trying to raise the rent without telling the tenants about it.
There was a time when data in one area of government would stay there and be used for that department alone. It was too difficult to be brought across to another department.
Now, with the era of big data upon us, it is child's play to collate data across agencies to find out more and more about the citizens of a country. The US National Security Agency is a master at this; Google is not far behind.
The treasurer, Scott Morrison, alluded to this during the federal election campaign when he said that there would be efforts to cut back on welfare payments based on information that the government had about those who were beneficiaries. Information that could be well derived by government-sanctioned collection of data. The census springs to mind.
And if Kalisch thinks that people are naive enough to believe that separating names from the remainder of a person's data means that the two cannot be correlated, then he is living in a fool's paradise.
As the online newsletter Crikey pointed out yesterday, (paywalled) it is child's play to tie so-called "anonymised data" to an individual.
The publication has been a harsh critic of the name retention policy and has called on Australians to boycott the census altogether.
It is remarkable that no politician has come out and criticised this high-handedness. iTWire has written to the Labor Party and the Greens and also contacted independent Andrew Wilkie. Neither party deigned to even reply, while an aide of Wilkie's responded and provided some inane government advice that had been sent to him when he asked the government about it after one of its constituents had approached him.
One thing is sure: this time, the ABS hoped for better quality data than ever before. Given the bid to invade people's privacy, the data is likely to be much worse. And for that, Kalisch will have only himself to blame.
A living room keyboard needs to look schmick, be part of the furniture and do what it does well. Logitechs K830 does all that with aplomb, and it is subtly backlit as well.
Why do you need a keyboard in your lounge room? Well, many still use Windows computers as media servers and as a bonus, it will also control many smart TVs, Android, and Chrome devices all they need is a USB port or Bluetooth. Believe me, a touchpad works wonders on most TVs compared to an imprecise remote. It is even better for typing in passwords for Netflix et al.
I had been using an $69 Logitech K400r dedicated Home Theatre PC (HTPC) keyboard/trackpad, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that in fact, it will now be used on a spare TV and media centre (read old PC) in the bedroom.
The $149.95 K830 design reflects Logitechs new direction slimline, svelte, and suitable for the coffee table.
It is not an everyday typist's keyboard but a portable, rechargeable, living room based keyboard/touchpad. Its island style keys are very similar to the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 keyboard a close set, compact design.
Its unique selling point is its backlit keyboard, and this is a boon in darkened viewing conditions. It adjusts light automatically to suit the room conditions. You can also manually override.
It has a 10-metre range and lasts 20 hours on a micro USB charge (cable, and extender cable supplied but not a charger unit).
It is plug and play plug the Unifying receiver into a Windows device. Or you can use Bluetooth which is a boon for Android and Chrome devices.
You can download optional configuration software to add more functionality like defaulting to Function (Fn) keys or their alternate use.
The touchpad supports point and scroll actions. Overall it is a good keyboard for media centre use and elegant enough for any lounge room.
Specifications
Size/Weight: 125.3 (H) x 367 (W) x 16.5 (D) x 495g
Touchpad: (included in dimensions above) 52 x 80mm
Wireless Unifying receiver: 2.4GHz (will not interfere with Router) or Bluetooth Smart LE (V.4 or higher)
Life: 5 million keystrokes
Range: 10m
Backlight: smart illumination
Cables: 130cm USB-A to micro-USB charger and 150cm USB-A male to USB-A female extender
Special keys: Mute, Volume up/down
Colour: Black Matte
Warranty: 1 year
Manual: Click here
Conclusion
A nice addition to the smart lounge with a great trackpad, subtle backlighting and Logitech quality. If the price is too high for you, the K400/r sans Bluetooth and backlights is a bargain.
I was impressed with the devices preciseness on an Android TV and a tablet yes, using a trackpad beats a remote control.
The best way to find vulnerabilities is via a bug bounty big enough to attract white and black hatters so Kaspersky is stumping up the cash.
Kaspersky Lab has announced at the Black Hat USA Conference the launch of the Kaspersky Lab bug bounty programme with HackerOne, an industry leading bug bounty platform provider. With this programme, Kaspersky Lab will not only further bolster its mitigation strategy for addressing inherent software vulnerabilities but enhance its relationship with external security researchers.
Todays cyber threat landscape is becoming increasingly complex. Security companies must continuously identify and implement effective tools to provide the most robust level of protection. Bug bounty programs are an effective and proven security measure that incentivises external researchers to safely find and disclose software vulnerabilities to companies. As a result, these organisations can fix the reported issues without placing customers at risk.
Our bug bounty programme will help amplify the current internal and external mitigation measures we use to continuously improve the resiliency of our products, said Nikita Shvetsov, chief technology officer, Kaspersky Lab. We think its time for all security companies, large and small, to work more closely with external security researchers by embracing bug bounty programmes as an effective and necessary tool to help keep their products secure and their customers protected.
The first phase of the Kaspersky Lab bug bounty programme will officially begin on 2 August and last for six months. Kaspersky will offer a total of $50,000 in bounty rewards to security researchers to examine Kaspersky Internet Security and Kaspersky Endpoint Security.
After the preliminary phase is complete, the company will evaluate the results to determine what additional products and rewards should be included in the second phase.
Vulnerabilities are inevitable, and bug bounty programmes are proven to supplement traditional security best practices with the help of the incredibly diverse global hacker community, said Alex Rice, chief technology officer and co-founder, HackerOne. We look forward to partnering with Kaspersky Lab to help them run the most competitive bug bounty programme and continue to protect customers.
More information on the Kaspersky Lab bug bounty programme, including the scope, eligibility, rewards, exceptions and rules, is here.
Networking hardware vendor TP-Link has agreed to allow customers to install open-source firmware on its routers as part of a settlement with the US Federal Communications Commission.
TP-Link admitted it had broken US radio frequency rules by selling routers that could work at power levels higher than the approved limits.
The company paid a fine of US$200,000 and agreed to abide by the rules from now on.
Allowing the installation of open-source firmware was part of TP-Link's settlement with the FCC.
According to FCC rules, manufacturers have to ensure their devices cannot be used in ways that interfere with other wireless signals. The FCC investigation found that TP-Link marketed wireless router models that could be manipulated to operate at a higher power than allowed on certain restricted Wi-Fi channels.
Devices such as routers are certified by the FCC's office of engineering and technology for use on unlicensed wireless spectrum within certain output levels so as to prevent interference with other lawful wireless communications, including those on adjacent spectrum bands.
"The Commission's equipment rules strike a careful balance of spurring innovation while protecting against harmful interference," said Travis LeBlanc, chief of the Enforcement Bureau, in a media release.
"While manufacturers of Wi-Fi routers must ensure reasonable safeguards to protect radio parameters, users are otherwise free to customise their routers and we support TP-Link's commitment to work with the open-source community and Wi-Fi chipset manufacturers to enable third-party firmware on TP-Link routers."
Google, in new federal court papers, is rebutting claims of age discrimination and its handling of two older job applicants who were rejected for positions.
Google insisted in a court filing Friday that its policy "rigorously forbids discrimination of any kind," including age discrimination. It is fighting an age discrimination lawsuit brought last year by two plaintiffs who were rejected for jobs. Both are over the age of 40.
One plaintiff, Cheryl Fillekes, a programmer, filed a motion in June to make this age discrimination lawsuit a "collective action" case for software engineers, site reliability engineers or systems engineers over the age of 40 who applied for a job at Google, but where rejected. That could broaden the case to include thousands of people.
Specifically, Fillekes' motion asks the federal court in California to require Google to provide the names and contact information of engineering applicants who have applied for a job since Aug. 13, 2010, received an in-person interview and were refused employment.
But Google said it has received "over one million applications" for those three positions since 2010. It didn't disclose how many people who applied for one of these jobs received an in-person interview.
The job application figure for the three types of technical positions involved in Google's lawsuit is an estimate made without regard to age, said Google, "because there is no systematic or reliable way of identifying applicants who were 40 or more years of age when they submitted applications or interviewed in-person since Google does not collect data on the age or birthdate of its applicants."
In her lawsuit, Fillekes said that she was recruited by Google four times, in 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2013, and in each instance was invited for an in-person interview and rejected each time. Fillekes earned a Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of Chicago and undertook postdoctoral work at Harvard.
But Google questions why it would "waste Google employees' time" with "five or six onsite interviews only to reject the candidate on the basis of age." Fillekes' age was allegedly discerned at her first in-person interview with Google in 2007.
Google argues in its motion that neither Fillekes nor the other plaintiff, Robert Heath, "offers a coherent theory" or "substantial evidence" to back up their claims.
In an email response to a Computerworld query, Fillekes' attorney, Daniel Low, said that the "courts have recognized that a party seeking conditional certification of an opt-in class bears a very light burden in establishing that the legal requirements for certification are met, and we believe that plaintiffs have met that lenient standard here."
Google said it conducts a "rigorous technical evaluation" of potential candidates for the three engineering jobs.
The process works like this: Google identifies a "promising candidate" from among the applications. Recruiters conduct a phone interview to assess the candidate's interest in a job and their current roles and responsibilities.
If the candidate passes the initial interview, the person is invited to a "Technical Phone Screen." The interviewers, who are engineers, present the candidates "with a series of technical challenges related to computer code or systems design, and the candidate responds -- for instance, by proposing an algorithm or a piece of computer code."
Candidates who pass the technical interview may be invited to on-site interviews, which may consist of four or five separate in-person interviews. Google says it tries to match candidates with interviewers who have expertise in relevant areas. These interviewers also "test a candidate's proficiency with algorithms and system design."
The recruiting team then evaluates the interview scores, notes and comments and decides whether the candidate should be reviewed by the hiring committee. Hiring committees "are usually comprised of at least four experienced Google employees who have the relevant skillset to assess a candidate," Google said.
Google claims that Heath, a software engineer, did not pass the technical test, and wasn't invited to an in-person interview. But it is Fillekes, not Heath, who has filed the collective action.
Google also disputed the contention that the average age of its workforce is 29. That number, included in the lawsuit, is based on a Payscale analysis, which is compared to a U.S. government report that puts the average age of computer programmers at 42.8.
Google is dismissive of the Payscale age estimate, but didn't offer an alternative. Instead, it said that U.S. data shows "workers age 40 or older are not as available as younger workers" because job tenure increases with age.
There are plenty of companies vying for a piece of the worldwide cloud infrastructure market, but the top four -- all in the U.S. -- currently dominate by such a wide margin as to effectively leave their competitors in the dust.
That's the overriding conclusion of a study released Monday by Synergy Research Group, which provides quarterly market tracking and segmentation data, including vendor revenues by segment and region.
Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, and Google collectively control more than half of the worldwide cloud infrastructure service market, Synergy found, with an overwhelming lead by AWS, which held a 31 percent share in the second quarter. Microsoft came next with 11 percent, while IBM weighed in at 8 percent, and Google came in with 5 percent.
Synergy included infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and hosted private cloud services in its figures.
Amazon and the other big three players have distanced themselves from the competition in this market and continue to widen the gap, said John Dinsdale, chief analyst and research director with Synergy. What marks them out as different is their global presence, marketing muscle, ability to fund huge investments in hyperscale data centers and, in most cases, a determination to succeed in the market."
The top four leaders are also growing more rapidly than their smaller competitors, Synergy found. In aggregate, the big four grew their cloud infrastructure service revenues by 68 percent in the second quarter, while the next 20 largest providers grew by 41 percent. All other smaller providers grew by just 27 percent. Overall, the market as a whole grew by 51 percent.
AWS remains "in a league of its own," holding a clear lead in all major regions and most segments of the market, Synergy said, but Microsoft and Google are enjoying substantially higher growth rates. IBM, meanwhile, leads the hosted private cloud segment, it said.
Global revenue for cloud infrastructure services is now close to US$28 billion, Synergy estimates. North America continues to account for more than half of the worldwide market. Though the Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia/Pacific regions are similar in size, Asia/Pacific is growing more quickly.
U.S. companies are often at the head of the pack in technology markets, but the heavy dominance in this one is striking, and it's not for any lack of overseas competitors. Also included in Synergy's top 20 are Alibaba, Fujitsu, NTT, China Telecom, BT, and Orange.
Cloud is also an area where privacy and other issues have sparked strong data-sovereignty concerns, particularly in Europe. Numerous cloud companies have built regional data centers in response, and Privacy Shield -- the replacement for the defunct U.S. and Europe Safe Harbor Agreement -- just recently took effect, promising to ease data transfers.
Still, the U.S. dominance of cloud services could present opportunities for local cloud providers, Dinsdale said.
"I expect to see vendors in other regions, particularly Asia, grow rapidly and become increasingly competitive," agreed Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT. "Political issues in some countries -- China is a good example -- will likely make it easier for homegrown companies to compete there, and curtail efforts by vendors from elsewhere."
Looking ahead, the sheer size and variety of the cloud market make it unlikely that any one vendor will become fully dominant and threaten innovation or choice, King said.
Instead, "we're seeing vendors build much of their efforts around specific areas of expertise," he said. "That's great for customers since many of the resulting services are well-attuned to their actual business needs."
Japan began the world's first regular 8K television broadcasts on Monday, five days ahead of the opening of the Olympic Games.
8K refers to broadcasts with a resolution of 7,680 x 4,320 pixels. That's 16 times the resolution of today's full high-definition (FHD) broadcasts and four times that of the 4K standard, which is only just emerging in many other countries. (See chart below)
The format used by NHK, which it calls "Super Hi-Vision," also features 22.2-channel surround sound.
Wikipedia Video image resolutions
Public broadcaster NHK launched a satellite channel that will broadcast a mix of 8K and 4K content as it prepares to launch full-scale 8K transmissions in time for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
The channel will be on air daily from 10am until 5pm, with extended hours during the Rio Olympics.
A look at Monday's schedule reveals programming focused on the arts, sports, music and documentaries -- not dissimilar to early HDTV channels. Highlights of this year's Rio Carnival, the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, and Japan's Aomori Nebuta festival were among the 8K programs. A J-pop concert and program on Japanese botanical drawings was also broadcast.
Tim Hornyak A float from Japan's Nebuta festival is displayed in 8K at an open house May 26, 2015, at the NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories in Tokyo.
Japan's early lead in 8K broadcasting is thanks to NHK and its Science and Technology Research Laboratories in Tokyo.
The broadcaster was instrumental in the development of high-definition TV, starting broadcasts in an early analog format in 1989, and has been working on 8K for two decades. It first demonstrated 8K in 2002, when many homes hadn't even transitioned to high-def TV.
The engineering challenges associated with 8K are significant. Cameras, mixers, recording equipment, monitors and other studio gear must be built to handle uncompressed 8K video in real time, at data rates that can easily reach 100Gbps.
Compression equipment then needs to take that signal and encode it into more efficient streams for broadcast, again in real time. The resulting satellite signal is several tens of megabits per second, and consumer receivers and televisions are required to decode it.
Tim Hornyak At an open house at NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories in Tokyo on May 26, 2015.
For now, consumer reception equipment isn't available, so NHK has set up several public viewing areas at broadcasting stations across the country.
It hopes the test broadcasts will be replaced by regular directy-to-home transmissions in 2018, in time for full coverage of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Hard on the heels of its Demandware acquisition in June, Salesforce confirmed on Monday that it's acquiring cloud collaboration software maker Quip.
The purchase price is $582 million, plus the value of Salesforce's previous investments in the company, according to a regulatory filing late last week. According to one estimate, the total value amounts to roughly $750 million.
"We can confirm Salesforce has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Quip," the company said via email, but declined to provide further details.
Founded in 2012, Quip makes cloud-based software designed to make team collaboration easier through capabilities such as chat-enabled documents and spreadsheets.
"As part of Salesforce, we will be able to expand our service more quickly and reach millions of people all over the world," Bret Taylor, Quip's cofounder and CEO, said in a blog post. "And, well be able to extend the Salesforce Customer Success Platform in powerful new ways with our next-generation productivity capabilities. The possibilities of mixing data, content and communication are amazing."
As part of Salesforce, Quip will continue to serve its existing customers, he added.
Taylor was a co-creator of Google Maps and also worked as CTO at Facebook, where he created the "Like" button. Cofounder Kevin Gibbs also hails from Google, where he created Google Suggest. He is now Quip's head of engineering.
The move is "one more indication that Salesforce has 'yuge' plans" for its customer relationship management (CRM) software platform, said Denis Pombriant, managing principal at Beagle Research Group.
"A platform has to be universal and all-encompassing, because its mission is to be a complete one-stop shop for customers," Pombriant said. Competitors Microsoft and Google both have similar products, so Salesforce "had to be able to check off that box."
While Microsoft Word is "fine for shorter documents, it's tough to wrestle with when you want to do more," Pombriant said. "I am betting they think Word is long in the tooth and document creation needs to be reimagined."
Salesforce also went head-to-head with Microsoft recently in bidding wars over LinkedIn. Microsoft ultimately won that contest, but now Salesforce is "dropping solidly into Office territory with a word processor," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst with Enderle Group.
"This would imply a much stronger Office competitor in Salesforces future," he said.
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The enemy has launched 22 attacks against Ukrainian forces in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone in the east of the country on Monday, the ATO Headquarters said.
In the Donetsk area, 82 millimeter mortar rounds and large-caliber machineguns pounded Avdiyivka and the outskirts of Horlivka, near Troyitske and Nevelske. The enemy also used machineguns, various grenade launchers and small arms near Luhanske.
"Now, already after lunchtime, there has been active standoff between enemy and the Ukrainian defenders near Avdiyivka, Opytne and Luhanske," the headquarters' press center said in a statement on Monday evening.
In the Mariupol area, even before dawn the enemy fired grenades against Ukrainian army strongholds in Novomykhailivka, according to the statement. Small arms and 82-millimeter mortars were fired in Hnutove and Krasnohorivka.
As for the Luhansk area, a relative lull remained there throughout Monday afternoon, the Ukrainian military said.
Poroshenko set for first official visit to Malaysia, followed by state visit to Indonesia
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will take his first official visit to Malaysia on August 3-5, 2016.
"The agenda of the first visit in the history of bilateral relations of the two countries includes meetings with Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak and other Malaysian leaders," the presidential administration's press service said.
On August 5-7, the Ukrainian president is scheduled to make a state visit to Indonesia, where he will meet with President of Indonesia Joko Widodo, Speaker of the People's Representative Council Ade Komarudin and the Head of Yogyakarta Sultanate.
Business forums will be held as part of these two visits. The parties are scheduled to sign a series of bilateral documents aimed at the enhancement of cooperation, the press service said.
Employees of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) together with the Prosecutor General's Office have exposed the deputy head of one of the departments of the Kyiv City Customs Service for taking a bribe.
As the press center of the SBU reported on Saturday, law enforcement officers learned the official systematically demanded money from businessmen for freight customs clearance.
"SBU detained the customs officer after he received $5,700 from a businessman importing a shipment of goods. Agents documented the official taking almost $10,000 in bribes," the report says.
The official has charged under Article 368, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. A pre-trial investigation is underway.
COLUMBUS, Ohio Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump suggested Monday that he fears the general election is going to be rigged an unprecedented assertion by a modern presidential candidate.
Trumps extraordinary claim one he did not back up with any immediate evidence would, if it became more than just an offhand comment, seem to threaten the tradition of peacefully contested elections and challenge the very essence of a fair democratic process.
Im afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest, the Republican nominee told a town hall crowd in Columbus, Ohio. He added that he has been hearing more and more that the election may not be contested fairly, though he did not elaborate further
Trump made the claim after first suggesting that the Democrats had fixed their primary system so Hillary Clinton could defeat Bernie Sanders. Trump has previously backed up that thought by pointing to hacked emails from the national party that appeared to indicate a preference for Clinton. Still, the former Secretary of State received 3.7 million more votes than Sanders nationwide and had established a clear lead in delegates by March 1.
The celebrity businessman who has been known to dabble in conspiracy theories, including claims that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States and, more recently, that Sen. Ted Cruzs father was an associate of President John F. Kennedys assassin also claimed that the Republican nomination would have been stolen from him had he not won by significant margins.
He then asserted that Novembers general election may not be on the up-and-up.
Requests to Trumps campaign for additional explanation were not returned.
The statement could be an effort by Trump to lay the groundwork of an excuse if he goes on to lose the general election. But if he were to be defeated in November and then publicly declare that the election results were bogus, his claim could yield unpredictable reactions from his supporters and fellow Republicans.
Trump did not repeat his claim at an evening rally in Mechanicsburg, Pa. But he has not been shy of asserting that the electoral process has been rigged.
It became a frequent catchphrase of his during a low-water mark of his primary campaign this spring, when forces allied with Republican rival Ted Cruz managed to pack state delegations with supporters of the Texas senator. Trump also asserted that the Republican Party had changed the delegate allocation in the Florida primary to favor a native candidate, like Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio, at Trumps expense.
In recent weeks, in an effort to woo angry Sanders supporters to his campaign, Trump has made the claim that the Democrats process was also rigged.
The Clinton campaign declined to comment about Trumps remarks.
The event in Ohio was Trumps first campaign appearance since the onset of his tussle with the parents of a slain Army veteran, but he did not address the flap. He spoke for nearly an hour Monday in Columbus, but did not mention his criticism of Khizr and Ghazala Khan, Muslims whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004.
The Khans spoke out against Trump and questioned his familiarity with the Constitution last week at the Democratic National Convention. Trump struck back by questioning whether Ghazala Khan had been allowed to speak. She said she is still too grief-stricken by her sons death.
Trump criticized the family in an interview Sunday and again in a pair of tweets Monday morning. Asked on MSNBC Monday whether Trump should apologize, Ghazala Khan said, I dont want to hear anything from him and I dont want to say anything to him.
But his running mate, Mike Pence, quieted a campaign rally crowd Monday that booed a woman who said she had a son who serves in the U.S. Air Force and asked how he can tolerate what she called Trumps disrespect of American servicemen.
Pence asked the Nevada crowd to quiet down, then said about the questioner: Thats what freedom looks like. Thats what freedom sounds like.
He continued: Capt. Kahn is an American hero. We honor him and his family ... we cherish his family. He added that Trump had great respect for veterans.
The total volume of road destruction in Donetsk and Luhansk regions is almost 2,000 km, the restoration will require more than UAH 7 billion, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Kistion has said.
"The amount of funds for road restoration is estimated at billions of hryvnias. This is about UAH 7 billion," he said in an interview with the Holos Ukrainy newspaper.
According to him, the railway facilities were also significantly affected as a result of fighting.
"More than 1,000 rail infrastructure objects in the ATO zone require recovery. In the current year we plan to begin rebuilding part of these objects in the territory controlled by Ukraine, which will require UAH 350 million," the official said.
He added due to the closure of the airspace over the ATO zone the aviation industry of Ukraine saw a shortage of hundreds of millions of hryvnias.
As reported, Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Kistion is responsible for the issues of transport, postal services, transport safety, traffic management, the Chornobyl NPP exclusion zone and decommissioning the station, state administration in the field of radioactive waste treatment, nuclear energy safety.
08/02/2016
Do you know what to do during the event of severe weather, a fire, or an active threat on campus? Join the University Police Department for emergency response training on August 10, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. or 1-4 p.m., in the Wallace Hall auditorium (Lela Sarrell Learning Center). All faculty, staff and students are strongly encouraged to attend to gain valuable life-saving tips and learn how to better respond to an emergency on campus. Even if you have attended training in the past, you should refresh your knowledge annually and learn the newest best practices. Registration is not required. For more information, contact Melonie Carmichael , emergency management specialist.
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BLM argued that police violence and killings against Black people in the U.S. are connected to the decades-long Israeli oppression of Palestinians.
Activists from the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S. joined a protest in the Palestinian village of Bilin near Ramallah city in the West Bank in an effort to put an international spotlight on the Israeli oppression, occupation and genocide of Palestinians.
Today, delegates from the Movement for Black Lives join organizers and activists in Bilin, a territory in occupied Palestine where resistors are engaged in nonviolent protest, the Black Lives Matter movement said in a statement through its official Facebook page Friday.
In the fight for dignity, justice and freedom, the Movement for Black Lives is committed to the global shared struggle of oppressed people, namely the people of occupied Palestine and other indigenous communities who for decades have resisted the occupation of their land, the ethnic cleansing of their people, and the erasure of their history and experiences.
At least two people were arrested during the peaceful protest by Israeli forces as they crack downed on the demonstration, which takes place every week. Palestinian news agency Maan said those arrested were taken to an unknown location and their citizenship remained unidentified.
Bilin has become a well-known site for action against Israeli occupation and settlement activity in the region and its residents have been organizing a weekly Friday protest for the past 11 years. Protest at the village are often met with tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and stun grenades from Israeli forces.
Meanwhile, the Black Lives Matter movement argued that police violence and killings against Black people in the U.S. are connected to the decades-long Israeli oppression of Palestinians.
In this violent, political climate, it is urgent that we make clear the connection between violence inflicted on Black people globally that is encouraged and permitted by the state and the profiling, harm, and genocide funded by the United States and perpetrated by Zionists vigilantes and the Israeli Defense Forces on Palestinian people.
The group further stressed its support for the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions movement and its work to fight for freedom, justice and equality for Palestinian people and to end international support of the occupation.
In recent weeks BLM activists has been intensifying their international efforts against the killings of Black people and other non-white minorities around the world.
Last week the group joined activists in Brazil to protest police killings as they joined a ceremony at Candelaria cathedral, the infamous site of a 1993 massacre in which a death squad, including off-duty policemen, killed eight children and adolescents who slept on the church steps.
Also last week, BLM activists traveled to France to join more than 1,000 protesters against the the death of a young Black man in police custody July 19.
Via TeleSur
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Related video added by Juan Cole:
IMEU: Progressives Speak: From Black Lives Matter to Palestinian Rights
Vancouver, BC / TheNewswire / August 2, 2016 - Pursuant to the press release dated July 26, 2016, NORTEC MINERALS CORP. (the "Company" or "Nortec") (TSXV: NVT) is pleased to announce that the Company's Joint Venture earn-in partner, Avalon Minerals ("Avalon") of Milton, QLD, Australia, has completed data compilation on both the Riukka and Satulinmaki gold prospects. The historical drilling results for both projects were compiled and interpreted in Three Dimensions (3D). Riukka and Satulinmaki prospects are located only 1 kilometre north and 5 kilometres north-west respectively of the Kietyonmaki lithium prospect (Figure 1). Avalon's press release can be referred to on www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20160801/pdf/439039yymqfmc2.pdf, avalonminerals.com.au/
Tammela Minerals Oy, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Nortec, controls 100% interest in the Somero 1 to 12 and Tammela 1 to 3 claims comprising the Tammela Project. The property hosts the Kietyonmaki Lithium prospect and the Riukka and Satulinmaki gold zones. Avalon has also submitted applications for two Exploration Reservations over an area of 117 km2 around the Somero and Tammela claims. These reservations form part of the Joint Venture with Avalon.
The Highlights are as follows:
-Data compilation has been completed on both Satulinmaki and Riukka gold prospects
-The highest priority targets were identified on the Satulinmaki prospect. Drilling is planned after the completion of the drilling on the Kietyonmaki lithium zone.
-Diamond drilling by the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) at Satulinmaki during the years 2001 to 2005 returned significant results (Table 1).
-Outcrop channel sampling returned values between 1.9 and 8.5 g/t gold.
Both the Satulinmaki and Riukka prospects were drilled by GTK during the period 2001 to 2005. At Satulinmaki 60 shallow holes were completed for a total of 4727m, which only tested to a depth of 80m below surface. At Riukka, 40 shallow holes were completed for a total of 3350m and also only tested to a vertical depth of 60m. While Riukka has returned some very encouraging results (see Table 2) over narrow intervals, the Satulinmaki prospect exhibits more intense and complex quartz veining and alteration, and is considered a higher quality project for follow-up.
At Satulinmaki, clear drill targets exist at depth (see figure 2 below). Targets also exist along strike where preliminary structural interpretations suggest historical drilling may not have tested all scenarios.
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 1: Locations of Satulinmaki and Riukka gold prospects, Kietyonmaki lithium prospect.
The Riukka and Satulinmaki gold prospects are situated in the Hame Schist Belt in southern Finland, dominated by mafic and felsic to intermediate metavolcanic rocks. Gold mineralization at Riukka is hosted within the arsenopyrite-pyrrhotite bearing quartz veins and biotite-altered and silicified wall rock that is over 100m wide and can be traced for over 1km along an east-west strike. Gold mineralization at Satulinmaki is hosted within sulphide-tourmaline rich quartz veins within a 400m wide biotite-altered and silicified wallrock along a 700 metre northeast-southwest strike. Wide zones of mineralization at Satulinmaki are confirmed by the intersection in drill hole R330 (37.70 metres of 1.03 g/t gold).
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 2: 3D modelling of gold mineralization at Satulinmaki showing multiple zones of gold mineralization that are open at depth. Drilling has only tested the mineralised horizon to approximately 80m below surface
The first drill test by Avalon will be to follow the high grade zone at Satulinmaki to depth to extend the mineralization zone beyond the current shallow 70m of vertical extent. Intersections in this zone range for 3m to 10m wide, and contain grades of between 1.4 g/t and 10.3 g/t.
The immediate target zone is interpreted to have a steep shoot geometry and has a strike extent of at least 100m. Additional target zones also occur along strike.
Table 1: Significant results from GTK's drilling:
Hole_ID From (m) Interval (m) Gold g/t Prospect Year of Drilling R328 40.3 1.0 17.8 Satulinmaki 2001 R330 59.5 1.00 5.6 Satulinmaki 2001 and 73.0 8.5 1.4 and 85.5 5.0 2.1 R334 30.2 4.0 1.5 Satulinmaki 2002 R344 72.5 1.0 15.0 Satulinmaki 2002 R389 73.0 8.0 1.4 Satulinmaki 2004 incl. 75.0 1.0 8.2 R391 50.0 25.0 3.2 Satulinmaki 2004 incl. 54.0 3.0 9.3 incl. 66.0 4.0 10.3 R413 51.3 25.0 1.7 Satulinmaki 2005 incl. 51.3 1.0 9.8 incl. 62.3 1.0 8.6 incl. 74.3 1.0 6.2 R414 33.9 3.0 5.9 Satulinmaki 2005 R416 15.0 10.0 2.7 Satulinmaki 2005 R418 78.0 2.0 8.8 Satulinmaki 2005 R419 101.3 4.0 5.2 Satulinmaki 2005 R422 64.0 3.0 4.0 Satulinmaki 2005 R428 63.0 7.0 1.6 Satulinmaki 2005
Re-sampling by Nortec geologists of the core drilled by GTK on both the nearby Satulinmaki and Riukka gold zones returned significant gold values. Some of the significant results are 37.7 metres @ 1.03 g/t Gold from 51 metres (Hole R330 - Satulinmaki Prospect), 10.0 metres @ 2.47 g/t Gold from 20 metres (Hole R356 - Riukka Prospect) and 2.50 metres @ 6.81 g/t Gold from 61.35 metres (Hole R357 - Riukka Prospect). Details with respect to the analytical methods and the assay lab can be referred to in Nortec's press release dated March 1, 2011.
Table 2: Confirmation Sampling by Nortec.
Hole_ID From (m) Interval (m) Gold g/t Prospect R329 13.40 7.10 1.67 Satulinmaki R330 51.00 37.70 1.03 Satulinmaki incl. 58.50 3.00 3.85 Satulinmaki incl. 84.20 4.50 3.37 Satulinmaki R332 19.60 1.00 1.16 Riukka R334 29.20 5.00 1.60 Satulinmaki R340 20.80 11.00 0.48 Satulinmaki R356 20.00 10.00 2.47 Riukka incl. 21.00 3.00 7.37 Riukka R357 61.35 2.50 6.81 Riukka R374 53.00 3.00 0.66 Riukka R385 13.00 2.00 1.57 Satulinmaki R386 40.00 3.00 0.56 Satulinmaki
Avalon - Nortec Heads of Agreement:
Details of the Heads of Agreement with regards to the formation of the Joint Venture Agreement between Nortec and Avalon can be referred to in the Company's press release dated May 19, 2016.
Avalon previously announced a 3000 metre drilling program on the Kietyonmaki lithium prospect scheduled to commence in late August, 2016 (Nortec press release dated June 26, 2016). Historical drilling by the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) identified a high grade lithium pegmatite deposit including diamond drill intersections of up to 18m @ 1.8% Li2O. Proposed work will deliver a mineral resource estimate and preliminary metallurgical studies by the end of 2016.
About Nortec Minerals Corp.
Nortec is a mineral exploration and development company based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Information on the Company's projects can be referred to on www.nortecminerals.com.
Mohan R. Vulimiri, M.Sc., P.Geo, CEO, Nortec Minerals, is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Vulimiri has approved the corporate and technical content contained in this press release
On behalf of the Board of Directors, NORTEC MINERALS CORP. "Mohan R. Vulimiri" Mohan R. Vulimiri, CEO and Chairman
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept the responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
This press release contains certain forward looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, delays and uncertainties not under the Company's control which may cause actual results, performances or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the results, performances or expectations implied by these forward looking statements. 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.
Copyright (c) 2016 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
JURIST Guest Columnist Jonathan Bruno of the Harvard Law School discusses recent changes to and ongoing limitations of the Freedom of Information Act
A few weeks ago, President Obama signed into law a major amendment of the US Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA. Ironically for a measure intended to make government more transparent, the event garnered little publicity. What coverage did appear was buried beneath a mountain of headlines about Brexit, Boris, and Trump. Nevertheless, backers say the new legislation will be hard to ignore. According to one prominent cosponsor, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, this latest FOIA reform ensures that sunshine, not secrecy, is the default setting of our government.
To see just how far that overstates the conceivable impact of the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016indeed of any such disclosure mandateits best to return to FOIA itself. How did our nations premier transparency law (again Senator Leahy) come to be, and what exactly does it require of government agencies? To answer those questions is to develop a more sober view of the recent amendments.
FOIA was enacted in the summer of 1966. For the better part of two decades following World War II, a coalition of newspaper editors, together with a few dedicated lawyers and legislators who took up their cause, had been pushing for better disclosure of documents held by the federal government. They dreamed of a general rule according to which all records should be open except as otherwise provided by law. What they eventually got, when a skeptical Lyndon Johnson signed FOIA fifty years ago this Fourth of July, was language apparently narrower in scope, but amounting to more or less the same thing. Here is the legislations punch line: [E]very agency shall, upon request for identifiable records made in accordance with published rules make such records promptly available to any person. (A litany of exceptions follows.)
In plain English, FOIA instructed government bureaucrats to turn over documents when people ask for them. That was a big deal, even if the law contained no explicit presumption of openness (all records should be open except). The prior standard under the Administrative Procedure Act [PDF] gave federal agencies wide latitude to shield their records from public view. It said that disclosure was owed only to persons properly and directly concerned with the requested documentswhatever that meant. Under FOIA, by contrast, any person can demand the release of any identifiable records held by a covered agency, without so much as citing her affiliation or occupation or purpose in making the request. Whats more, FOIA gives requesters the right to sue in federal court if they believe records have been wrongly withheld.
FOIA certainly warrants two cheers. It has been instrumental in exposing many problems of governance. It gives political and legal standing to people curious about agency conduct, for whatever public or private reasons. (The laws undiscriminating approach has been both a blessing and a curse, serving not only the relatively disempowered but also entrenched corporate interests that have inundated some agencies with profit-seeking disclosure requests.) Wholly apart from its consequences, FOIA expresses an important principle of democratic politics: that the exercise of power should be publicly knowable.
Though we should give FOIA its due, its also crucial to recognize its limits. Too often this statute has been portrayed as a silver bullet. But it cannot possibly secure the freedom of information it promises, much less a government that is meaningfully transparent.
For one thing, FOIA governs only recordsthings written and storednot information in general. Thats a crucial distinction. The law imposes no obligation on agencies to answer the questions we might pose; questions like, How did you decide to write this new regulation? or Why havent you taken a stronger stance against [this or that industry practice]? It requires only the release of existing documents that bear on such matters, and typically only upon request. Yet as anyone whos worked within a large organization will understand, agencies dont document every conversation that might shed light on their decision-making process, or on their relationships with regulated industries. For all sorts of reasons, some nefarious and some altogether mundane, much agency work is conducted informally, viva voce and out of view of the wider public.
Moreover, not all existing records are subject to disclosure. FOIAs numerous exemptions frequently relieve agencies of the duty to honor document requests. The exemptions cover information that reasonable people would agree should enjoy confidentialitypersonnel records, for example, or the details of active law enforcement investigations. In addition, they sanction the withholding of documents containing even a whiff of commercial data, which business interests have been remarkably successful in lobbying to protect.
More worryingly, FOIAs exemptions sweep in many records that are directly relevant to assessments of agency competence and integritymatters of core public concern. This includes a wide array of material that could shed light on the pathways of agency decision-making. Suppose wed like to gauge the degree to which a given agency has cozied up to the industries it is responsible for regulating. Under FOIAs Exemption 5which effectively asserts the governments deliberative process privilegemost conceivable evidence of such deference would be shielded as pre-decisional.
Finally, even where no exemption applies, compliance can be lacking. Huge backlogs, evidence of strategic avoidance, and chronic underfunding make clear that FOIAs promise of openness sometimes goes unfulfilled. And while the laws framers sought to protect against this outcome by providing for de novo judicial review, in practice courts have often deferred to agency claims of secrecy.
Which of these basic limitations was altered when the recent FOIA amendments took effect? The short answer is: almost none of them.
At first glance, the new legislation achieves what FOIAs advocates sought those five-plus decades ago: it incorporates a presumption of openness, declaring that records may be withheld only when the agency reasonably foresees that disclosure would harm an interest protected by an exemption (or is otherwise prohibited by law). In practice, though, its hard to imagine this provision will make much difference. In the rare cases in which a requester actually litigates an agencys decision to withhold, the presumptions only likely effect will be to compel the governments lawyers to describe some harm that might result from disclosure. Thats hardly an insurmountable hurdle.
This summers amendments do make three important changes. First, they impose a 25-year limit on what may be withheld under the deliberative process privilege. Second, the new law calls for affirmative disclosure (on a public website) of any document requested three or more times. Though compliance will undoubtedly remain a problem, there are reasons to believe this measure will reduce the burden of requests by corporations. Finally, the amendments call for the establishment of a consolidated online portal for submitting and tracking document requests under FOIA. In principle that sounds like an attractive proposal, but it remains an unfunded mandate: the legislation authorizes no new expenditures.
Even assuming the government could meet the demands of the FOIA Improvement Act without additional resources, the basic point remains. Post-amendment, FOIA still covers only existing records, still exempts a great deal that would build public understanding of administrative power, and still leaves effective control over agency information with officials themselves.
Does FOIA make transparency the default setting of the federal government? I do not see how anyone could maintain that claim with a straight face. The truth is that, valuable as they are, disclosure laws like FOIA leave the opacity of the administrative state largely intact. Thats not necessarily a bad thing. After all, some (time-limited) secrecy in government is essential. Agencies could never hope to enforce their regulations without it. Still, we should be clear-eyed about what laws like FOIA can and cannot accomplish.
Jonathan Bruno is a Climenko Fellow and Lecturer at Harvard Law School, and a doctoral candidate in political theory at Harvard University.
Suggested citation:Jonathan Bruno, JURIST The Freedom of Information Act Was Just Amended. Heres What ChangedAnd Didnt., JURIST August, 2016, https://www.jurist.org/forum/jonathan-bruno-foia-changes.php.
This article was prepared for publication by Dave Rodkey, an Assistant Editor for JURIST Commentary service. Please direct any questions or comments to him at commentary@jurist.org.
The prime minister of Cambodia filed a lawsuit alleging defamation against an opposition leader and opposition party leader on Monday. Primer Minister Hun Sens lawyer filed [VOA report] suit against Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) President Sam Rainsy for posting on Facebook that the fatal shooting of Kem Ley today is another terrorist act organized by the authorities. A separate lawsuit was also filed against CNRP Senator Thak Lany for allegedly saying [Khmer Times report] during a public forum that she did not know what [the Prime Minister] is thinkingSuddenly he killed Kem Ley, a political analyst. The lawsuits seek a 100 riel fine, approximately 2 cents in US dollars, and argue that both statements were defamatory and negatively impacted Hun Sens reputation. Kem Ley was a popular political analyst, spoke critically of the government, and was shot and killed on July 10. The lawsuit is widely considered [RFA report] a maneuver by the ruling party to suppress the opposition ahead of the local elections scheduled next year.
The lack of transparency in the Cambodian legislature and contention between political parties have caused international concern. In June the Cambodian parliament voted [JURIST report] to allow the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to open an investigation into opposition leader Kem Sohka regarding his alleged involvement with a prostitute. Last November the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith, warned [JURIST report] that the increasing polarization of the political parties in Cambodia is reaching a breaking point. Also in November Cambodia opposition leader Rainsy was removed [JURIST report] as a member of the countrys National Assembly. That month a Cambodian court indicted [JURIST report] three men in the beating of two opposition lawmakers. In October the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed [JURIST report] concern over the organized attack on opposition politicians in Cambodia.
Chinese authorities released a prominent human rights lawyer from detention on Monday. Wang Yu was released [NYT report] on bail after confessing to subverting state power and rejecting awards from the American Bar Association and Ludovic Trarieux Prize for her work defending human rights, saying that they were intended to blacken the reputation of the Chinese government. The televised confession alleged that foreign forces trained her and her colleagues to attack and smear the government of China. Yus colleagues claim [WP report] that she would never say such things unless she were put under extreme pressure. Yu was detained over a year ago during Chinas crackdown on the legal and human rights activist community.
Chinas human rights record has drawn international scrutiny. Last month China was set to prosecute [JURIST report] a prominent human rights lawyer on charges of subverting state power. Also last month Amnesty International urged [JURIST report] Chinese authorities to end their ruthless assault against human rights lawyers and activists. In June a report claimed that China continues to harvest organs [JURIST report] from prisoners and those opposed to the Chinese Communist Party. Also in June a UN expert presented [JURIST report] a report showing that fundamentalist intolerance is growing throughout the globe and is directly contributing to infringements of the rights to association and peaceful assembly. That same month a prominent Chinese civil rights lawyer was put on trial for fraud during a crackdown on political dissent, a month after China passed a law restricting [JURIST reports] non-governmental organization (NGOs).
Crimea has completed a transition period following occupation by the Russian Federation, which is responsible for its administrative reassignment, MP from Bloc Poroshenko faction Vadym Denysenko has said.
"Putin made a number of rearrangements. The abolition of the Crimean Federal District is one of the solutions. It is far from being the most important. According to Russia, Crimea finished its transitional stage and there are no reasons to retain it in a separate district and with separate status. The Kremlin believes Crimeans have no other choice," Denysenko wrote on his Facebook page.
As reported on the official website of the Bloc Poroshenko Solidarity party on Thursday, the deputy thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin will invest the necessary military resources in Crimea to turn it into a military base.
"There are three unsolved global issues for the peninsula: communications, electricity and water supplies. Bridge construction is hampered by the lack of technology. The electricity issue is partially resolved due to circumvention of sanctions, but it is a temporary solution. As for water, it is enough only for local citizens. It is impossible to talk, even theoretically, about the development agriculture without water from the Dnipro River," Denysenko said.
He said that Putin's construction of a bridge linking the Russian mainland to Crimea "is a matter of honor," and the project will be completed in five years.
"No other major investments will be made in the peninsula. Crimea is not a priority for Putin. It is exclusively a military base, where the average standard of living for the Russian Federation will be maintained," the deputy said.
As reported on July 28, Putin, in order to enhance the effectiveness of the federal authorities, abolished the Crimean Federal District by making Crimea and Sevastopol part of the Southern Federal District. Under the president's decree, the District now consists of Adygea, Kalmykia, Crimea, Krasnodar Territory, Astrakhan region, Volgograd region, Rostov region and Sevastopol.
A judge for the US District Court for the District of North Dakota [official website] on Monday barred [opinion, PDF] the state from enforcing its voter identification law. Judge Daniel Hovland issued a preliminary injunction, finding that the strict law had made it difficult or impossible for many Native Americans to vote. Under previous voter ID legislation, voters could present many different documents or swear an oath affirming their identity. However, under the 2013 law, acceptable documentation was limited to a valid state drivers license, a nondriver state ID, a state-issued long-term care certificate or a tribal identification card, and swearing an oath was no longer an option. Hovland wrote:
The public interest in protecting the most cherished right to vote for thousands of Native Americans who currently lack a qualifying ID and cannot obtain one, outweighs the purported interest and arguments of the State. It is critical the State of North Dakota provide Native Americans an equal and meaningful opportunity to vote in the 2016 election. No eligible voter, regardless of their station in life, should be denied the opportunity to vote.
North Dakota Secretary of State Alvin Jaeger has said the state does not plan to appeal [NYT report] and that the November election will be conducted under the pre-2013 standards.
North Dakotas law is the latest to be blocked by a court. Last week, voter restrictions were overturned in Kansas, Wisconsin and North Carolina [JURIST reports]. In June a federal judge ruled that Ohios elimination of the states early in-person voting [JURIST report] was unconstitutional and in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In May a federal judge ruled that Virginias voter ID law, which requires that voters have a valid form of ID either before voting or within three days after voting, is constitutional [JURIST report]. In February the Maryland Senate overrode a veto by Governor Larry Hogan to pass a bill that will allow felons to vote [JURIST report] before they complete parole or probation.
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Member of the Verkhovna Rada from the Batkivschyna Party's parliamentary faction Nadiia Savchenko has announced she is ready to go to militant-controlled Donbas in eastern Ukraine to hold negotiations with militant leaders.
"I've said a thousand times - I'm ready to go there - with cover or without it - but only to achieve results," she said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Answering an additional question from journalists whether she was ready to hold talks with the leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), she answered: "I'm ready and I'll go."
Savchenko said she had already been beyond the contact line, but had not encountered the militant leaders. "I was there. The self-proclaimed DPR and LPR representatives were just not aware of this. I crossed the contact line and talked to people, listened to their problems. I just did not get too close to the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk," she added.
As was reported, Savchenko said on June 7, 2016, that the Ukrainian side should establish a direct dialogue with "DPR/LPR" representatives to address the return of Donbas. She also announced readiness to negotiate with "leaders of the republics" Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky.
The second president of independent Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, who is Ukraine's envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group on the peaceful settlement of the Donbas crisis, says he has no objections against the establishment of the direct dialogue between Savchenko and "DPR/LPR" representatives if this could contribute to the resolution of the crisis in the region.
Savchenko has said she is ready to negotiate the release of captive Ukrainian soldiers with "DPR/LPR" leaders, but not with people who introduce themselves as the politicians of the self-proclaimed "republics." She mentioned "DPR" and authorized representative Denis Pushilin, who, according to her, is a "Russian-controlled puppet."
Mexican food company Grupo Lala has appointed Alberto Arellano Garcia as its new chief financial officer.
Garcia has more than 20 years experience in consumer goods companies, and has held various positions in different countries such as, Russia, Belgium, France, Venezuela and the US. Most recently, he was CFO at Microsoft Corporation Mexico.
Lala said his relevant experience includes SAP implementation projects, the acquisition and integration of new businesses, strategic planning and competitive intelligence.
Garcia is an industrial engineer from Anahuac University in Mexico, and has a Masters in engineering management.
Last month, Lala attributed higher sales and earnings to its drive to expand via M&A as well as geographical growth. Lala flagged progress on two initiatives: the conclusion of an agreement to acquire the branded business of Laguna Dairy Company in the US and expansion in Costa Rica via a tie up with Florida Bebidas for the production, distribution and sale of its products in the country.
Dallas, TX, USA, 08/02/2016 /SubmitPressRelease123/
Recently, a Baltimore police officer named Edward Nero was found not guilty of assault in connection with the arrest and death of Freddie Gray. Mr. Gray died of injuries while in police custody during a ride in a Baltimore police van, points out Dallas criminal lawyer John Helms.
The prosecutions legal theory was very unusual. They claimed that the police did not have probable cause to arrest Freddie Gray, that they were therefore not authorized by law to arrest Gray, and that the arrest of Gray was therefore an assault. One of the prosecutors told the judge that the State believed that a police officer commits assault by arresting someone without probable cause even if the officer reasonably believed he had probable cause for the arrest. Officer Neros criminal defense attorneys said that they couldnt find any Maryland case in which this theory has been used.
Top criminal lawyer Helms poses this question: Could this legal theory work in Texas? That is, if a police officer arrests someone without probable cause in Texas, does that mean that the officer could be charged with assault?
The answer is that Maryland and Texas have very different legal frameworks when it comes to the crime of assault. In Maryland, a statute passed by the state legislature, called the Maryland General Assembly, defines the crime of assault.
However, there is no statute that defines defenses to assault, such as self-defense. Instead, a Maryland law says that Maryland allows any legal defense recognized by its courts. See, Maryland Code, Title 3, subtitle 2, section 3-209 This leaves it up to judges to define defenses to assault.
As far as assaults by police officers during an arrest, there are few, if any, Maryland cases that deal with the standard of conduct involved in an arrest. This leaves the playing field open for an unusual theory like the one used in Officer Neros case.
Texas does it differently. Our laws specifically define a law enforcement officers defense to an assault charge when making an arrest. Section 9.51 (a) of the Texas Penal Code provides that a peace officeris justified in using force against another when and to the degree [the officer] reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to make or assist in making an arrest or search, if(1) [the officer] reasonably believes the arrest or search is lawfuland (2) before using force, the [officer] manifests his purpose to arrest or search and identifies himself as a peace officerunless he reasonably believes his purpose and identity are already known by or cannot reasonably be made known to the person to be arrested.
In other words, in Texas, even if an officer lacked probable cause to make an arrest, the officer does not commit an assault if the officer believed he had probable cause and his belief was reasonable. Maryland law simply does not have this kind of clarity, adds attorney Helms.
I believe that the prosecution of Officer Nero would not have occurred if Maryland law was as clear as Texas law. Instead, an officer was put through the incredible stress of a criminal trial only to be found not guilty, and members of the community that wanted a guilty verdict to avenge the death of Freddie Gray were given unrealistic expectations and let down by a not guilty verdict.
Prosecutions of police officers can be emotional and polarizing. I know. I successfully represented former Dallas Police Officer Mark De La Paz in the first Fake Drugs trial in Dallas. The not guilty verdict in that federal trial was met with both relief from some and anger from others. I will never forget, though, what it felt like to hug Mark and his wife when the jury found him not guilty on all counts.
If you or a loved one has been charged with assault or other crime, such as drug possession, fraud or even DWI call Dallas criminal lawyer John Helms at 214-666-8010 or contact him through his website.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/102874298661508534943/+JohnHelmsLawFirmDallas
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source: http://johnhelms.attorney/dallas-criminal-lawyer-offers-insight-freddie-gray-prosecution/
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Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Onyschenko, who is suspected of abuses during the sale of gas produced with the involvement PJSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia, has not appeared for interrogation by agents of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Bureau's press service said.
"Onyschenko has not come to interrogation today," the NABU told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday afternoon.
The NABU said that the next interview could be appointed as early as the current week.
"If he fails to come again, we'll appeal forced delivery to court and selection of a restraint," the Bureau said.
After that, if the court decides positively, Onyschenko will be wanted by the police. According to the procedure, he will be first wanted in Ukraine, and then he'll be placed on the international wanted list.
As was earlier reported, on June 22 Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office made public the scheme of gas production and sales involving PJSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia. As a result of this gas scheme, the state suffered damage in the amount of UAH 3 billion.
Ukraine's parliament on July 5 voted to allow law enforcers to hold Onyschenko's liable and to detain and arrest him. On July 27, Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine head Yuriy Lutsenko signed the indictment for Onyschenko.
Meanwhile, using his immunity from prosecution, Onyschenko left Ukraine. Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine Nazar Kholodnytsky said that MP Onyschenko was currently in Russia.
On July 29, Onyschenko Ukrainian said on the phone on TV Channel 112 Ukraina that he was in London acquiring a residence permit and seeking political asylum in the United Kingdom.
Half of cyber crimes solved in Ukraine with 80-85% of damage repaid
The cyber police department of the National Police of Ukraine has announced it solves half of all cyber crimes committed in Ukraine and 80-85% of damage repaid to the victims.
"[It's] about 50%. And 80-85% of damage are repaid," Deputy Chief of the cyber police department's intellectual property and e-commerce crime unit Oleh Zavorotniy told the Vesti publication when answering a question about the level of cyber crimes resolved in Ukraine.
In his words, fraud accounts for the bulk of the crimes committed on the web. It includes stealing money as advance payments for goods on sites with ads, creation of clone websites of popular online stores.
Also, criminals steal credit card data from victims through phishing or skimming directly at ATMs.
Zavorotniy said that users could verify websites and own credit card numbers by visiting the cyber police department's website.
A total of 415 Ukrainian airborne troopers have been killed in Donbas war, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.
"Four hundred and fifteen airborne troopers haven't returned from their missions, having been killed in severe fights with the Russian aggressor," he said at the Training Center of the Ukrainian Airborne Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Zhytomyr on the occasion of Ukrainian Airmobile Forces Day.
In his words, 2,295 airborne troopers were granted state awards, and seven of them were designated as Heroes of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says that the combat capability and potential of Ukraine's Airmobile Forces grows daily.
"The combat capability of our Airmobile Forces has considerably changed in the past two years. They are constantly on the radar screen of mine as Commander-in-Chief and that of the chiefs of the Defense Ministry and the General Staff," he said at the Training Center of the Ukrainian Airborne Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Zhytomyr on Tuesday on the occasion of Ukrainian Airmobile Forces Day.
The airmobile forces are the elite of the Ukrainian armed forces, the president stressed. "Every day, there is an intensive build-up of combat abilities, the capacity of air assault and airborne units," he added.
He mentioned drills with practical tasks where the airborne troopers are engaged in. They are also trained to improve interoperability with NATO member countries' units. In addition, a training center was created for the first time to train paratroopers.
Poroshenko stressed the importance of assistance provided by Western partners in strengthening the combat capability of the Ukrainian army.
"I would also like to remind that paratroopers were among commanders of the Ukrainian-Polish-Lithuanian brigade. This again highlights your military knowledge and high confidence in you of not only the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but also our foreign partners," he said, addressing the Ukrainian Airmobile Forces.
The Opposition Bloc party has demanded the Ukrainian authorities heed conclusions made by the international community about corruption, justice system and freedom of speech in Ukraine and stop political prosecution of the opposition.
"Ukraine remains a non-free country dominated by corruption, censorship, and where there is no fair justice. High-profile murders of journalists and opposition figures still haven't been properly investigated and resolved. Attacks of political radicals on the offices of mass media have become usual practice," the party said in a statement published on Tuesday.
The Opposition Bloc said that according to a report on the results of the annual survey of the development of democracy "Nations in Transit 2016" published by Freedom House, Ukraine has problems with corruption, justice and freedom of the media and is a state with a hybrid political system. In particular, the progress in the fight against corruption, media freedom and justice remained at the level of 2013 and has not changed for three years.
"We urge the authorities to listen to the conclusions of the international community to stop political persecution of dissidents on trumped-up cases built on false testimony and hearsay. The current government is obliged to investigate all high-profile corruption scandals that have taken place over two and a half years of its governance," the party said.
In particular, the statement says Ukrainian society demands an answer about what happened to the hundreds of millions of dollars allocated for the construction of the so-called "Wall" on the border with Russia, whether an inquiry is carried out into the allegations by former head of State Financial Inspection Mykola Hordiyenko, who testified that the government embezzled UAH 7.6 billion, what is the progress of the investigation of the case on the leadership of Oschadbank making private flights at the state account and the unprofessional actions of the Justice Ministry, which resulted in Ukraine's debt of UAH 6.3 million. Also, the party noted the release of the management of Odesa Port-Side Chemical Plant from custody.
"The authorities will not be able to avoid answering these questions. All these high-profile cases will be investigated, if not by this government, then by the new one. The only way to stop the repressions, corruption and censorship is to hold the early elections. This is the only way Ukraine can get a new, professional government and really move along the path of democratic reforms," the Opposition Bloc said.
Many years later, facing streets filled with self-driving cars, you might be reminded of the afternoon that the ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing merged with Uber China, read a post on 36Kr, a Beijing-based technology-oriented news website.
Chinas leading ride-hailing app, Didi Chuxing, said on Monday that it will take over the Chinese operations of its U.S. rival, Uber, ending a ferocious battle over the Chinese market that cost both firms billions.
Together, the ride-hailing venture is worth about $35 billion, estimated the financial channel of Peoples Daily Online. Uber will receive a 5.89 percent share of the combined entity, with preferred equity interest, which is equal to a 17.7 percent economic interest in Didi Chuxing, read the statement.
Although the two companies have not announced any detailed plans relating to future cooperation, self-driving and artificial intelligence algorithms are expected to be key to future operations.
On Monday, Travis Kalanick, CEO of Uber, posted on Facebook an email that he had send to his China team regarding the massive merger: This merger paves the way for our team and Didis to partner on an enormous mission, and it frees up substantial resources for bold initiatives focused on the future of cities--from self-driving technology to the future of food and logistics, wrote Kalanick.
Uber has never hidden its ambitions and excitement about a driver-free world. In February 2015, Uber, together with Carnegie Mellon University, announced the creation of the Uber Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The center focuses on the development of key technologies in areas of mapping, vehicle safety and autonomous technology.
On May 19, Uber tested its first prototype of a self-driving car on the streets of Pittsburgh. The car, a hybrid Ford Fusion, collected mapping data at the same time as it tested its self-driving capabilities. The car was equipped with radars, laser scanners and high-resolution cameras to map the details of its environment, according to a blog post written by Uber.
Didi, too, reportedly started working on a design for a self-driving vehicle. On June 4, 2015, Didi Chuxing signed an agreement with Beijing-based BAIC Motor Corporation Co. Ltd., one of Chinas leading vehicle manufactures, to cooperate on self-driving cars.
As recently as July 20, the CTO of Didi Chuxing, Zhang Bo, said at an awards ceremony in Beijing that, self-driving [cars are] an important strategic plan for the company."
In May 2014, Apple Inc. invested $1 billion in Didi Chuxing. Didi Chuxing, in exchange, provided Apple with rich data for its own self-driving car experiments.
The massive merger came after China announced the upcoming legal status of ride-hailing apps last week, allowing qualified private cars and drivers to get involved in the business.
Under the terms of the merger, Didi Chuxing will acquire Uber Chinas brand, business operations and data. Didi and Uber will also become each other's minority stockholders, and each company head will join the other's board of directors.
However, according to Bloomberg, the two companies will maintain distinct brands, apps and business operations.
Since Uber launched its China operations a little more than two years ago, both companies have spent billions of dollars subsidizing their China operations, each one vying for dominance in the potentially lucrative market. Earlier this year, Uber announced that it was losing $1 billion annually in China, and Didi was thought to be dropping similar amounts of money.
OMAHA -- Hillary Clinton and Warren Buffett doing the foxtrot on the streets of Omaha?
Its not likely, but it became a distinct possibility Monday as the Democratic presidential candidate promised to dance in the streets if Buffett one of her key supporters succeeds in cranking out a record number of voters in Omaha.
For his part, the Democratic billionaire said he had already rented Ollie the Trolley the citys familiar tour bus to drive voters to the polls on Election Day and to help Clinton defeat Republican Donald Trump.
Im going to be on it all day. Im going to do selfies. Whatever it takes, Buffett said.
The promises to dance and to drive voters to the polls came during a rambunctious rally for Clinton at Omaha North High School on Monday. Buffett introduced Clinton and, in a nearly 30-minute speech, unleashed a fusillade of criticism against Trump, questioning whether he is a successful businessman.
Buffett also unveiled a voter turnout initiative to help Clinton win an electoral vote in the Omaha-based 2nd District. He pledged to drive 10 voters to the polls. He also urged others to help people get to their voting booths and touted a new website: drive2vote.org.
Buffetts goal is to have the highest voter turnout out of any congressional district in the country. If Buffett succeeds, Clinton dances.
I will shortly after I become president, sometime as soon as I can arrange it, come back here. And Warren and I will dance in the streets of Omaha together, Clinton said to the delight of the crowd.
Clintons trip to Omaha comes as part of the candidates whirlwind tour of battleground states since she accepted her partys nomination on Thursday. Over the past three days, shes traveled across Ohio and Pennsylvania. Her trip to Omaha underscores her campaigns belief that Clinton can duplicate President Barack Obamas success in 2008 and win an electoral vote in Omaha.
Nebraska and Maine are the only two states in the union that allow electoral votes to be split by congressional districts.
The Omaha district is a battleground for the campaign, said Amanda Renteria, Clintons national political director.
Nebraska Republicans scoffed Monday at the notion that the Omaha-based district is in play.
J.L. Spray, Nebraskas Republican national committeeman, also predicted that gimmicks such as Clintons promise to dance in the street would fall flat with voters.
At this point, I dont think its at all realistic. And I dont think a gimmick will be successful, Spray said. People care enough about their vote here, not to vote based on public dancing in the streets.
About 3,300 people attended the rally. It was an energetic crowd that frequently chanted Hillary, Hillary, and stomped the wooden bleachers. However, it was not a capacity crowd. There was still plenty of room left open on the gymnasium floor, despite earlier predictions from some state Democrats that it would be an overflow crowd.
Many people said they came for a chance to hear and see the woman who is striving to become the nations first female president.
A hundred years since we got the vote. Its a big deal, said Stephanie Brunt-Howard, 61, who attended the rally with her mother, Ardella Rodgers, 79.
Clintons visit was not merely political. It was also about cash. Warren Buffett and his daughter, Susie Buffett, hosted a small but expensive fundraiser for Democrats later in the evening, with tickets going for $100,000 apiece. The Buffetts have long been active on the national front in Democratic politics. Buffett endorsed Clinton earlier this year.
In her speech, Clinton outlined her economic agenda. A key part of that agenda is her infrastructure package. She has called for spending $275 billion over a five-year period to help rebuild the nations highways, bridges, ports and airports. She has said that she would pay for it with unspecified business tax reforms.
She also said she would work to make college tuition free for the middle class, and to promote trades for people who dont want to go to college and get a four-year degree.
My overriding mission as president will be to do everything I can to help our country create more jobs, with rising income, Clinton said.
Clinton also took several verbal pokes at Trump. She criticized the businessman for having some of his retail products manufactured overseas. She noted that Trump-branded furniture is made in Turkey, while Trump-branded neckties are made in China.
He says he wants to make America great again well, he can start by actually making things in America again, Clinton said.
World-Herald staff writers Roseann Moring contributed to this report.
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Historically China has an old relationship with African countries, and the trade factor is a sole means supporting the communication between the two sides. But recently the relations enter in a new phase full of mutual cooperation in all domains which promote the confidence between the Chinese government and African countries. However, the communication process has witnessed a great progress till it became a real partnership and a joint objective. The African countries have exerted an efforts due to develop the cooperation and make it as strategic goal. The ties between People's Republic of China and Africa were witnessing progress reflects the two sides determination and their serious work to carving out the mutual interests for their peoples who also contributed more and encourage the two sides to exert an efforts towards the historic relations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dec. 4, 2015. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
The Chinese-African Cooperation Forum which established in 2000 in Beijing became an effective organ for the collective multiparty cooperation between China and Africa and it represents framework and important forum for equal and stable partnership based on mutual interest on the long run. China is giving due concern to the positive role played by the forum with regard to boosting political dialogue as well as realistic cooperation between china and Africa. People's Republic of China government implemented seriously the statement of the Chinese-African Cooperation Forum, which considered the backbone of enhancing the communication process in upcoming future. The ChineseAfrican Cooperation is a basic part of South- South cooperation, explaining that the unshakeable policy of the Chinese government is based on supporting solidarity and Cooperation with the African and other developing countries.
Over the past few decades, China's rapid economic growth and expanding middle class has fueled an unprecedented need for resources. The economic power house has focused on securing the long -term energy supplies needed to sustain its rapid industrialization, locking down sources of oil and other raw materials across the globe. As part of this efforts, China has turned to Africa. Through significant investment in a continent known for political and security risks, China has helped many African countries develop their nascent oil sectors in exchange for advantageous trade deals. At the same time, Beijing's complex relationship with the continent has challenged its noninterference policy in the affairs of African governments. China's rise and Africa's renaissance have gone hand in hand, creating a historic opportunity for the development of China-Africa relations. However, the international situation remains complex and competition among great powers in Africa has intensified. This brings many internal and external challenges to the China-Africa relationship. seizing opportunities, meeting challenges, and upgrading ties will continue to be major tasks, China's strategic to continue promoting South-South cooperation, and constantly enhance African governance capacities. SouthSouth Cooperation is an important means tackling global imbalances. It is also a vital support in advancing China-Africa relations. The promotion and further development of South-South Cooperation must be based on improving the governance capabilities of African nations. In fact, the current developmental plight African societies face is this, how to choose a development path suitable for regional realities, how to achieve political and social stability in Africa, how to concentrate the superior resources of the region to participate in international competition and cooperation, and how to properly use favorable international factors to enhance Africa's own development capabilities.
The keys to enhancing governance capacities in Africa are achieving peace and stability, building strong and responsible governments, and exploring an effective development path, in this regard, there is tremendous scope for cooperation between China and Africa. In fact, African people have clearly expressed their ideas on exchanging experiences with China in state governance. China actively participate in Africa's peace building, effectively securing Africa's international rights. Peace and stability in Africa are currently some of the most critical problems in the region, and also affect Africa's sustainable development. China can use its platform as UN Security Council permanent member to play a constructive role in UN peacekeeping in Africa which famous for the civil wars and complicated conflicts. In fact, China has deployed the largest number of peacekeeping forces among the permanent UN Security Council ( UNSC) members, making it an indispensable part of the African peacekeeping process. On the other hand, China needs to provide more assistance in promoting peace-building capabilities in Africa, such as technical support, staff training, and equipment. In other words, China should be an all-dimensional participant in the process of peace building in Africa, engaging in specific peacekeeping operation and helping African countries increase their own peace-building and peace-keeping capabilities.
Historically, the China-Africa friendship was built on the foundations of political equality and mutual support and respect. Today, China has the ability to safeguard the legitimate rights of African countries in international affairs. Beyond that, China should play an active role in enhancing the voice and representation rights of African countries in international organizations. For example China can clearly and persistently support Africa efforts to join as permanent members of the UN Security Council and increase their weight in the IMF, World Bank, and other institutions. This is not only an important means of balancing global power distribution, it is significant manifestation of China's African responsibility. Combining principles and innovation to ensure the sustainable, healthy and stable development of relations.
To lay a solid foundation for the ongoing development of China-Africa relations, the Chinese -African relations, the Chinese government needs to establish confidence in its African diplomacy. In fact, compared to other countries, China has some advantages in this regard. First, China -Africa relations have a clear direction. At the 2006 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China -Africa Cooperation Chinese and African leaders jointly proposed the construction of a China-Africa New strategic partnership, the core of which is political equality and mutual trust, economic win-win Cooperation, and cultural exchanges and mutual learning. The partnership is based on the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefits, tolerance and mutual learning, which is in time with Africa's development interests and has a lasting vitality. Such as a clear strategic vision provides an important political assurance for the smooth and steady development of bilateral relations. Second, ChinaAfrica relations have a clear development road map - China's new administration has specific African policy initiative. For instance, China will continue to expand investment and financing cooperation with Africa and provide 30 billion dollars in loan credits to Africa in three years, and take part in cross-border and inter-regional African infrastructure construction. China will train 30,000 African professional in various sectors, after 18,000 government scholarships, and take steps to improve the content and quality of the training programs in three years. Beijing has promised to grant zero-tariff treatment to 97 percent of exports from least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China. These specific policies provide important advantages for Africa's infrastructure construction, personnel training, capital accumulation, and trade with China, which also helps strengthen China-Africa relations.
Third, the Chinese government has always positioned safeguarding the interests of developing countries, including African countries, as fundamental aspect of China's diplomacy something that has earned it moral superiority in Africa. On March 28, 2013 in Durban, South Africa, President Xi Jinping speech at a breakfast meeting with African leaders, clearly stating that china will always be steadfast defender of Africa's peace and stability a firm promoter of African prosperity and development, a staunch supporter of African Unity for self-development, and firm supporter for Africa's equal participation in international affairs. This clearly defined China's policy towards relations with Africa, while bolstering its image as a responsible power change is a constant, and China's African policy is no exception as Xi said : To maintain the vitality of China-Africa relations, we must advance with the times. while adhering to the principals of mutual respects, equality mutual benefits, and win-win cooperation , China's Africa policy needs innovation that keeps pace with international realities and African and Chinese capabilities. The vitality of China's Africa strategy depends on constantly updating its policies and the institutionally mechanisms of relations, while combining China's national interests and Africa's development interests. This will maintain vigor and ensure that the relationship continues to grow.
(Sudan News Agency)
South Korea will become a puppet of US policy in Northeast Asia if it finally deploys the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system on its soil, the Peoples Daily warned in an editorial published on Monday, urging Seoul to think twice.
Seoul will be a frontline of the US missile defense system after it takes over the hot potato, the article emphasized, comparing such acts as drawing fire against itself.
The editorial, published under the pen name Zhong Sheng, comes as Seoul, despite rising dissenting voices from within and the international community, insists on the THAAD deployments necessity at its recent national security council meetings.
The THAAD system will bring nothing to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but will only further escalate tensions by creating new conflicts, the article pointed out, adding that South Korea will also face risks in politics, economy, security, environment and society.
The paper pointed out that once a conflict breaks out, South Korea would be the direct victim and will turn its destiny around, and its people will pay the highest price for a missile defense system that is ultimately useless in their defense.
Urging South Korea to keep a clear mind on the reality and the broader world arena, the editorial reminded the country that hollow weapons like the THAAD system and the US are by no means reliable approaches to protect itself.
It further noted that peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula calls for a systematic endeavor, and the deployment of the THAAD system is indeed unwise and irresponsible. South Korea should think over the reason for China's efforts to resume the Six-Party Talks, the article said.
The article hailed the rapid development of China-South Korea ties, but stressed at the same time that a development of bilateral ties needs more joint efforts.
With frequent high-level exchanges and a deepened strategic cooperative partnership, China has become South Korea's largest trading partner, export market and source of imports. The free trade agreement signed by both sides is reaping huge returns, and bilateral personnel exchanges have exceeded 10 million, the paper illustrated.
Warning South Korea not to repeat the fate of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, the paper said that it is not the first time the US has employed a puppet strategy.
In order to expand its hegemony, the superpower usually throws other countries or regions into disarray and then escapes unscathed, the editorial said of the hidden agenda.
For the South Korean government, deploying the THAAD system is like setting wolf to keep sheep. Such a self-destructive move will result in irreversible consequences, the article warned.
It is hoped that South Korea could put long-term and people's interests first and bear the reality in mind, the article said.
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Recently, physicians in small private practices and rural areas breathed a collective sigh of relief. There is a possibility the implementation of changes to physician reimbursement (known as MACRA) could be delayed. Thank you, Mr. Slavitt, for listening. I am grateful to Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) for keeping our rural needs in mind. We have a window of opportunity for rural health care to survive, but we must communicate our needs as physicians and patients loud and clear.
Whether in reference to health care or public education, trying to increase quality while simultaneously decrease costs is an unrealistic proposition. Physicians in rural areas simply have fewer resources at their disposal. Adding insult to injury, Medicare payments to rural physicians are dramatically less than those of their urban counterparts for equivalent services, a point driven home by the fact 470 rural hospitals have closed in the past 25 years. Does it cost less to stitch up a laceration in a remote Alaskan village than in New York City? I doubt it. The expenses incurred obtaining supplies may be even greater for remote locations.
In order to set primary care physicians up for success, it is imperative those in charge understand our challenges. Rural physicians are alone, save for our spouses running our medical practices while we see patients. For physicians to be successful, additional revenue would be necessary to meet the expensive health IT burdens placed on us by this new payment model. Creating virtual groups to consolidate reporting will still require provision of a virtual assistant because it is more administrative burden than we can handle. Our profit margin is too narrow to accommodate additional employees.
I am not convinced time and money spent implementing new technology does anything to improve patient care; I am fairly certain, however, conversations with my patients provide considerable value. Can you not extract the information from claims, like private insurance companies already do? If we have to hire an additional employee, who is going to pay them? The solution is relatively simple; shift the burden of data collection from small practices to elsewhere or increase reimbursement so meeting your demands becomes feasible.
Preserve what we have in rural America until you have more clarity where we are heading in the future. According to a report on Rural Participation in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, rural providers already deliver value and quality within our existing infrastructure. Adjusted for lower volumes, Medicare spending per beneficiary is 3.5 percent less. Physician spending is 18.4 percent lower overall compared to our urban peers. We have strong personal relationships with our patients, operate at the top of our capabilities, and keep care local whenever possible. I fail to see the problem with our old-fashioned style of practice. In fact, maybe you should use us as models of efficiency or cost-containment for larger conglomerates.
Being in a small or rural practice is extremely challenging. In rural America, 75 percent of exchange consumers had incomes less than 250 percent of the federal poverty level. Every family in my practice who obtained insurance through exchanges met criteria for Medicaid, known in Washington State as Apple Health. 24 percent of rural children live in poverty. We are surrounded by Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) and Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas because primary care physicians are spread entirely too thin. The elderly and poor in rural areas deserve access to quality health care. What happens to those people if small practices cannot keep their doors open as a result of overreaching government mandates?
According to the National Rural Health Association, 10 percent of physicians practice in underserved areas despite the fact 25 percent of the population lives there. One-third of automobile accidents occur in rural areas, however, two-thirds of the deaths from these accidents occur on rural roads. Rural residents are more likely to die from injury due to delays in care. I have direct experience, recently providing road side care after an accident while awaiting EMS arrival for 15 minutes. Delays are related to increased travel distance and personnel limitations.
Extrapolate for a moment what could happen if numerous small practices closed in rural areas. Can you imagine if one-third of strokes occurred in rural areas, but two-thirds of stroke deaths were rural due to significant delays in receiving timely treatment? It makes no sense to cripple our livelihood when we provide lifelines to underserved and disadvantaged populations.
Rural residents have fewer resources, significant geographic obstacles, and the acuity level of their medical problems is far greater. These detrimental conditions drive tremendous health disparity. We need to spend our time healing, comforting, and having conversations with patients, instead of reporting their medical problems and immunization status to non-physician statisticians.
For physicians in small or rural practices with scarce resources and deteriorating infrastructure, it will require significant investment for us to undergo meaningful transformation. Either learn more about the challenges small or rural practices face, provide waivers (like No Child Left Behind did) for exemptions, invest in our infrastructure, or leave solo physicians and our practices alone. Do not try to fix what I am not convinced is broken.
Niran S. Al-Agba is a pediatrician who blogs at MommyDoc.
Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Han Chunyu, a Chinese scientist, published his DNA-guided genome editing technique, NgAgo, in the magazine Nature Biotechnology on May 2. However, since his results have not yet been replicated, Han is now encountering doubts and questions from his peers.
On July 29, a blog post pushed the story to new levels of publicity. Gaetan Burgio, group leader and head of the transgenesis facility at the John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR) within ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, published the results of his own experiment, which used mice to try to reproduce Hans results. On his blog, Burgio wrote that he holds serious doubt [about] NgAgo over its endonuclease activity. Meanwhile, he urged "Nature Biotechnology" to petition Han to release his raw data and experimental conditions to the public.
On the afternoon of July 30, Lluis Montoliu, former chairman of the International Society of Transgenic Technology (ISTT), replied to an email from a Caixin reporter. In his email, Montoliu explained that every experiment trying to reproduce Hans results since Han's paper was published has so far failed.
Facing mounting doubts, Han replied that his results can only be proven through science, and he will not respond to media speculation, which in his opinion is not scientific.
Other Chinese scientists have remarked that doubts and second-guessing are very common in science. Qiu Zilong, a researcher with the Institute of Neuroscience under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, wrote in an online Q&A that, we have enough time to optimize our technology [to test Hans paper] since the paper was published only two months ago. As for the authenticity of Hans paper, its up to a third-party organization to decide.
Typically, journals will launch an investigation into papers that are met with great skepticism. If the doubts are confirmed in this case, the journal will either make corrections or delete the paper. At the time of writing, no comments had been made by Nature Biotechnology.
WARNING: The following story contains mature content.
A sexually explicit photo of a woman in front a Laredo Fire Department fire truck is making the rounds on social media.
The pictures show a nude woman posing by a Laredo Fire Department truck inside of a local fire station.
We reached out to the department for a comment on the authenticity of these pictures. Fire Chief Steve Landin says the pictures are real.
However, he goes on to say after an investigation, they are 100 percent certain that fire department staff were not involved with taking the pictures.
They also believe this woman came into the fire station in the middle of the night while staff were asleep and took the pictures.
Landin adds the woman has a history of taking these types of pictures in front of local landmarks.
They are investigating the case, and may look into pressing criminal charges against the woman.
27 / 2022 .
Jessica and Nathan Pugh's 5-year-old son, Lachlan, has a rare brain malformation that affects his motor skills, but that doesn't seem to slow him down much. Lachlan enjoys zipping around in his motorized wheelchair, and he is content to spend hours in the toy aisle at Target. "He's a very stable, happy and super fun kid," says Jessica. "He loves Spider-Man and Disney and is full of surprises."
Lachlan also needs constant care. His condition impairs the development of the skeletal and muscular systems, and he also has difficulty with speech and swallowing. Lachlan gets around in a wheelchair or with a walker, and he has to use a feeding tube. He spent his first 104 days in the neonatal intensive care unit. "They thought it was likely he wouldnt make it," says Jessica.
The cost of raising any child is steep, but for a child with special needs, it's astronomical. It can cost more than $250,000 to raise a child (not including college), but the cost can be more than twice that for a child with disabilitiesand much more if lifetime care is needed, says Adam Beck, director of the MassMutual Center for Special Needs at the American College, which teaches financial professionals about special-needs planning. Insurance doesn't come close to covering all of the expenses, but you are entitled to benefits and programs that can help. As the Pughs discovered, it often takes patience and persistence to find themespecially when youre managing your child's health care. Meanwhile, long-term financial planning is essential to make sure that your child continues to receive the best possible care, even when you can no longer provide the care yourself.
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The Pughs, who live in Salt Lake City, have spent countless hours navigating the system to take advantage of benefits. They have researched special programs, scoured the internet for extra sources of financial assistance and in general advocated for as much help as they can get for Lachlan.
Many families with a special-needs child are overwhelmed by the day-to-day care, let alone the struggle to pay for it. But after learning how to steer through the special-needs world with Lachlan, the Pughs decided to help another child with special needs. Last April, they adopted 2-year-old Conlan from China.
Dealing With the Unexpected
Even with good health insurance through Nathan's job as a cartographer with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Pughs have had a lot of unreimbursed expenses, such as deductibles and co-payments as well as the costs of therapy and other care. They budget as if they're going to spend the out-of-pocket maximum for their insurance every year, and they put one-twelfth of that total into savings each month.
That advance planning has helped them cover the cost of care for both of their sons. Conlan has microtia and aural atresia, which causes severe hearing loss. He also has limited use of his left arm as well as heart and gastrointestinal issues. Conlan's two hearing processors cost $18,000. The Pughs' insurance covered 70% of the bill, leaving them responsible for $5,400. Conlan will wear those hearing processors on a soft headband until hes at least 7 years old, when he'll be ready for surgery to anchor the processors to his skull.
Caring for her sons is Jessicas full-time job. Her persistence, creativity, networking and perpetual research help the boys get what they need while staying within the familys means. "I'm constantly Googling 'special-needs grants,' " she says. "We've had to be advocates for both children and figure out all of the best resources."
Recently, Lachlan's pulmonologist recommended a $16,000 vest that breaks up mucus (he isnt able to cough) and helps him breathe. But the Pughs' insurance covers the vest only for children with cystic fibrosis, and it denied the claim. Jessica asked the vest manufacturer if it offers financial assistance (it does), which reduced their cost to about $4,000. She then applied for a grant offered by the United Healthcare Children's Foundation (which isn't limited to United Healthcare customers) that picked up the remaining charges.
The Pughs moved out of a three-level townhome to a ranch house with hardwood floors so that Lachlan has more space to maneuver his motorized chair. Such chairs can be expensive (and kids quickly outgrow them), so Lachlan is using a loaner from the local Shriner's Hospital.
Families with special-needs children under age 18 generally aren't eligible for Medicaid unless they have very low assets and income (cutoffs vary by state), or their child qualifies for a special program in their state. The Pughs got a big financial boost when the Utah legislature approved a "medically complex child waiver" program last year, which provides Lachlan with Medicaid coverage to supplement the Pughs' private insurance. The program only covers up to 250 children.
"That's been a life-changer for us," Jessica says. Not only does the program fill the gaps in their insurance coverage, but it also provides three hours of respite care every week. Lachlan needs nursing-level care at all times, and that gives Jessica a break. "Now I can go to appointments or on a date with my husband," she says.
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Benefits for School-Age Kids
A big expense for families with special-needs kids is the cost of ongoing therapies, but federal and state benefits can offset some of the cost. Lachlan received speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy through Utah's early-intervention program. Such programs are available nationally for children until they turn 3 and may be free or have a sliding-scale fee based on the family's income (the Pughs paid about $30 per month for the services). Conlan receives speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and hearing therapy through the program, but he is turning 3 soon and will no longer be eligible.
After that, the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires school systems to provide free and "appropriate" education for children with disabilities until they graduate from high school or to age 21, 22 or 26, depending on the state. The school system must pay for private services if it is unable to provide the special education a child requires. Many parents don't realize they can receive these benefits before their child starts attending school, says Shawn Ullman, director of TheArc@School, a program that helps families navigate school-based benefits programs. Lachlan, for example, receives about 20 minutes per week of physical therapy and speech therapy through the school system.
Families often supplement government programs with private therapy, which may be covered by their own insurancebut often with limits. The Pughs hired a private speech therapist for Lachlan to supplement the early-intervention services; now that he's older, they've added more private services. Their insurance covers up to 50 visits per year for occupational, physical and speech therapy combined. The co-pay for each visit is $30, and Medicaid helps cover it. Once they reach the maximum number of therapies allowed under their insurance, they will have to pay out of pocket (some providers give an out-of-pocket discount) or search for grants.
Denise Sikora, an insurance claims specialist in Monroe Township, N.J., says that families often have trouble getting insurance to cover therapy because they fail to request preauthorization or submit the required paperwork. The insurer usually asks for a detailed report from the pediatric developmental specialist who did the initial evaluation and an explanation for why the therapy is needed, she says.
Many families also end up with large unreimbursed expenses from providers who aren't in their insurer's network. "When they get a diagnosis, parents often feel as if they have to do something fast, and they start going to providers with no idea what their insurance requirements are," says Sikora. Your insurer may have a care coordinator who can help find in-network providers. If an in-network provider cant furnish appropriate care, your insurer may cover an out-of-network provider at in-network prices.
Advocacy groups can help you learn about the benefits available and laws governing coverage. The internet is a good place to start your search for resources. Ask your doctor and the staff at your doctor's office, as well as other families you meet there, about local organizations that focus on children with similar needs.
Preparing for Adult Benefits
After your child leaves the school system, the benefits landscape changes. At that point, benefits are no longer required under IDEA but may be available through a variety of other sources, such as nonprofit organizations and your state or county department of developmental disabilities (see www.nasddds.org/state-agencies (opens in new tab) for links to your state agency). Some programs, especially for housing, may have long waiting lists.
IDEA provides a third level of benefits, which many families overlook, that can help prepare for the next step. Starting at age 14 or 16, depending on the state, the school system must offer transition benefits to help families learn about the options for their child after high school. Contact the school's resource coordinator to talk about your goals after your child leaves school, and ask about vocational, recreational and housing options, says Terry Smith, a resource coordinator in Portland, Maine. Those transition benefits are only available while your child is still in school.
Mary Ellen Mayo's son, James, 27, received physical, occupational and speech therapy when he was in public school in Massachusetts, but Mayo needed to find new programs after he graduated. Whenever Mayo and her husband, Charles, relocated, her first call was to the local Arc chapter (www.thearc.org (opens in new tab)) to find out about resources and programs for James. "James loves being around other people, he likes music, and he likes being outdoors," says Mayo. Now living with his family in Michigan, he attends a full-day program that includes music therapy. Another program takes him out into the community and provides wheelchair transportation.
Once your child turns 18, the government considers his or her assets separately from the family's when determining eligibility for programs such as Supplemental Security Income, which provides a monthly stipend, and Medicaid, which provides health insurance. To qualify, applicants cannot have more than $2,000 in assets in their own name. For more information, go to the "Supplemental Security Income" section on the Social Security website (opens in new tab). You'll need to apply in person at your local Social Security office.
Before you sign up for SSI and Medicaid benefits, work with a lawyer who focuses on special-needs planning to set up a special-needs trust (you can find a lawyer at www.naela.org (opens in new tab) or www.specialneedsplanners.com (opens in new tab)). The trust can hold assets for the child without counting as the child's assets for Supplemental Security Income or Medicaid. The Pughs set up a special-needs trust for Lachlan when he was 2 years old.
You'll also need to decide whether you'd like to petition the court to become your child's guardian at age 18. Otherwise, in most states, he or she will legally become an adult. "Consider whether they're competent to keep themselves safe and make decisions about their medical needs and education and where they're going to live," says Karen Mariscal, a special-needs attorney with Margolis & Bloom in Boston. Parents can petition the court to become the childs guardians and can also name a successor guardian. But you may not need to have full guardianship. If you're concerned primarily about medical decisions, you can designate yourself or another adult you trust to be a health care proxy instead.
On Aug. 1, Dior launched its first boutique shop on WeChat and broadcast information about a limited edition Lady Dior handbag, to be sold only between Aug. 1 and Aug. 4 for 28,000 yuan.
The advertisement was first published on Diors official WeChat public account, and then promoted through a sponsored advertisement platform on WeChat Moments. This makes Dior the first luxury brand to sell bags on WeChat Moments, according to thepaper.cn.
The advertisement states that the limited edition Lady Dior Small China Valentine, a leather handbag in the color of rose poudre, is only available in Dior's online boutique, where customers can personally design certain details on the bag.
The sale reportedly began at 12:13 a.m., and the bags were sold out as of press time. Dior said the same bag will be available in offline shops after Aug. 4 for the same price, thepaper.cn reported.
Luxury brands like Dior are facing a sales slump in the Chinese market, with sales down 2 percent in 2015, and an ongoing reduction of customers at brick and mortar stores. On the other hand, a report from consultancy firm Ipsos Group showed that some 36 percent of Chinese respondents said they were willing to purchase luxury goods online in 2015, up 24 percent from 2014, according to the same report.
Offline shops have indeed entered a bottleneck period that is in need of adjustment, said Josephine Liang Shangjiu, general manager of Longchamp China, in an interview with thepaper.cn. Liang added that there is so far no luxury e-commerce platform in China that can meet luxury brands sales requirements.
Longchamp has also opened a boutique on its official WeChat account.
Geoffrey Sanzenbacher is a research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
States are starting to set up 401(k)-style retirement plans. Why? The majority of people save in a 401(k) or they dont save at all. But only one-third of employers offer a plan, and only half of workers are covered by one. The idea of these state-sponsored plans is to overcome that hurdle.
How do the plans work? There are three broad alternatives. The first brings together private plans into a marketplace and allows small employers to pick a plan out of this portal without requiring that they do so. Thats in place in Washington State and New Jersey, and proposed in Utah and Indiana. In the second model, a state would set up an IRA managed by a private-sector provider but overseen by the state. Employers would be required to participate and to enroll employees automatically, although workers could opt out. As long as the role of employers is minimal, these plans are not covered by the federal law regulating retirement plans that employers establish voluntarily. California, Connecticut, Illinois and Oregon are all taking the auto-IRA approach. None of the plans is up and running yet. My guess is youll see money in them by year-end 2017. In the third approach, the state creates a prototype 401(k) in which employers can choose to enroll. Massachusetts did something like this for small nonprofits.
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Isnt giving up federal protections in the auto-IRA a big shortcoming? Only if states dont do due diligence to make sure peoples money is protectedand I think states are doing that. We prefer the auto-IRA because its required and automatic. One of the biggest barriers to retirement saving is inaction. The auto-IRA overcomes that.
Are there other objections, such as too few investment choices? Investments would be limited, but there are reasons for that. States want investments to be simple, such as low-fee index or target-date funds. Complexity can scare people off, and its expensive. Some people dont like that the auto-IRA doesnt allow an employer match. That would trigger federal regulation, and a fear of overwhelming employers.
Are there alternatives? A federal auto-IRA has been proposed, but it isnt off the ground. People can save through federal myRa accounts, but you have to take the initiative to enroll, and the maximum balance is only $15,000. People who want a lot of investment options would most likely open their own IRA; state plans are for people who may not want to make those choices.
For her doctoral thesis, Entwicklung eines mikrofluidischen Brailledisplays (development of a microfluidic Braille display), Dr. Elisabeth Wilhelm is honored with the one of the German Thesis Awards 2016 (Photo: Korber Foundation/David Ausserhofer)
Many applications on digital devices use graphical elements such as widgets, icons, windows, menus, often improving their ease of use. For visually impaired people, however, they have exactly the adverse effect, as so-called Braille displays so far only convert alphanumerics into Braille. At Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Elisabeth Wilhelm designed a display on which not only alphanumerics, but also images and graphics become tactile. For her doctoral thesis, she is now honored with the German Thesis Award 2016 in Natural and Technical Sciences, worth EUR 25,000. The award ceremony will take place on 8th November in Berlin in the presence of Norbert Lammert, President of the Bundestag and patron of this award.
The promotion of junior scientists plays an important role at KIT, Professor Holger Hanselka, President of KIT, states. It focuses on the PhD degree as the first step in their career. It is an overwhelming success that one of the highly sought-after German Thesis Awards goes to a female mechanical engineer congratulations to Elisabeth Wilhelm!
At the Institute of Microstructure Technology, Elisabeth Wilhelm designed a large-scale, cost-effective Braille terminal that displays graphics as tactile elements. Her aim is to enable people with sight impairments to access important graphics contents and control elements, allowing for the fact that digital information increasingly consists of images and graphics. Traditional terminals for visually impaired people are not able to display these in Braille. The display developed by Elisabeth Wilhelm is based on a microfluidic chip with phase change valves that can be addressed individually. If some valves are open, a specifically designed pump then pumps fluid to the corresponding locations that bend up slightly. This way, an imprint of the digital information is created that reproduces not only alphanumerics, but also shapes as tactile image elements. Elisabeth Wilhelm built an exemplary prototype that is equipped with this technology.
The annual German Thesis Award, established by the Korber Foundation, honors the achievements of the best German junior scientists in Humanities, in Social Sciences, and in Natural Sciences and Sciences of Technology. Coming with a total of more than EUR 100,000, it counts among the most valuable awards for junior scientists in Germany.
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.
A plasmonic detector that is directly coupled to a silicon optical waveguide and smaller than one micrometer was developed by KIT. (Graphics: KIT)
Data traffic is growing worldwide. Glass-fiber cables transmit information over long distances at the speed of light. Once they have reached their destination, however, these optical signals have to be converted into electrical signals for subsequent processing in the computer. KIT researchers have now developed a novel type of photodetector that needs far less space than conventional ones. The component has a base area of less than one millionth of a square millimeter without the data transmission rate being affected adversely. The corresponding article is published in the Optica journal. (DOI:10.1364/OPTICA.3.000741)
The newly developed photodetectors, the smallest photodetectors worldwide for optical data transmission, can be used for integrated optical circuits that significantly enhance the performance of optical communication systems. Due to the small space needed, many detectors can be assembled on optical chips. In experiments, the researchers reached a data rate of up to 40 gigabits per second. This component can transmit the contents of a complete DVD within a fraction of a second, physicist Sascha Muhlbrandt of KIT explains. He conducted his studies at the Institute of Microstructure Technology and the Institute of Photonics and Quantum Electronics of KIT. This rate can be even further increased. It is the so far smallest detector reaching this data rate. It is one hundred times smaller than a conventional photodetector, Muhlbrandt emphasizes. The high-speed photodetector, called PIPED (Plasmonic Internal Photoemission Detector), is now presented by Muhlbrandt as first author, together with colleagues of KIT and ETH Zurich, in the Optica journal under the heading Silicon-Plasmonic Internal-Photoemission Detector for 40 Gbit/s Data Reception.
A special advantage of the reduced size is that the photodetector can be integrated with electronic components on the same CMOS chip. Introduction of novel plasmonic components for high-speed transmission of information between electronic chips in the computer combines the advantages of electronic and optical components, while the transmission rate is comparable or even improved, says project coordinator Professor Manfred Kohl of KITs Institute of Microstructure Technology. The photodetector was developed under the NAVOLCHI (Nano Scale Disruptive Silicon-Plasmonic Platform for Chip-to-Chip Interconnection) project. Under the 7th EU Research Framework Programme, the KIT project of three years duration in the area of information and communication technologies was funded with about EUR 500,000.
The high-performance photodetector uses so-called surface plasmon polaritons, highly concentrated electromagnetic waves at metallic-dielectric interfaces, to combine optics and electronics on smallest space. This new class of plasmonic transceivers is based on the mechanism generating photocurrent, i.e. direct signal conversion at metallic interfaces with optical frequencies. This process is known as internal photoemission, Muhlbrandt says. For enhancing the efficiency of light absorption and light conversion into electrical signals, charge carriers are generated at a titanium-silicon transition and taken up at another gold-silicon transition. The high rate is due to the special detector geometry: Both metal-silicon transitions are located less than one hundred billionth of a meter apart.
The researchers consider the PIPED concept to be essential not only for future optical data transmission systems, but also for wireless data transmission. This novel approach to detecting optical signals allows for the generation and detection of electromagnetic signals with bandwidths in the terahertz range, says Professor Christian Koos of KIT, Spokesperson of the Helmholtz International Research School for Teratronics (HIRST) that focuses on the combination of photonic and electronic processes for ultra-rapid signal processing. Plasmonic components might be used in wireless high-speed communication and allow for transmission rates of up to 1 terabit per second. Research related to PIPED was also supported by the EnTeraPIC Starting Grant of the European Research Council, the Helmholtz International Research School for Teratronics (HIRST) at KIT, at which the disciplines of physics, electrical engineering, computer science, and mechanical engineering cooperate, as well as by KITs Karlsruhe Nano-Micro Facility (KNMF) platform.
S. Muhlbrandt, A. Melikyan, T. Harter, K. Kohnle, A. Muslija, P. Vincze, S. Wolf, P. Jakobs, Y. Fedoryshyn, W. Freude, J. Leuthold, C. Koos, M. Kohl: Silicon-Plasmonic Internal-Photoemission Detector for 40 Gbit/s Data Reception. Optica. DOI: 10.1364/OPTICA.3.000741,
https://www.osapublishing.org/optica/abstract.cfm?uri=optica-3-7-741
Information on NAVOLCHI:
http://www.imt.kit.edu/projects/navolchi/
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.
Science and research will be presented to pupils aged between 7 and 14 years by KITs childrens university. (Photo: Manuel Balzer, KIT)
Summer holidays and childrens university belong together on August 2, 2016, it will happen again: The childrens university of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) will start with an exciting kick-off fair. Until August 18, ten lectures, a closing ceremony, and a childrens university campus with freely accessible interactive workshops will be presented. The lectures will be organized in the Audimax of KIT (Strae am Forum 1, 76131 Karlsruhe) for pupils aged from 7 to 14. Entrance tickets for the lectures and the closing ceremony are now available for presale and will also be available at the venue.
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For a full program of KITs childrens university 2016 and more information please see: http://www.kinder-uni.kit.edu (in German only)
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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.
Lisa Garland of Bremerton drops off ballots at the Norm Dicks Government Center in Bremerton on Tuesday.
(LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN)
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By Christina Henry of the Kitsap Sun
PORT ORCHARD Barring a big last-minute influx of ballots, voter turnout for Tuesday's primary election is trending low.
As of Monday, just shy of 20 percent of the 159,236 eligible voters in Kitsap County had turned in their ballots.
Ballots must be postmarked Aug. 2, delivered by 8 p.m. Tuesday to the Kitsap County Auditor's Office, 619 Division St., or deposited by 8 p.m. Tuesday in one of the county's ballot drop boxes.
The top two vote getters in each race will move on to the Nov. 8 general election.
Voters have a packed ballot before them that includes contested legislative, state and federal races, including the U.S. Senate and Sixth Congressional District.
There are four candidates in the race for the 23rd Legislative District, covering Bainbridge Island and North Kitsap, and four in the race for the 26th, covering South Kitsap and northern Pierce County.
Voters in South Kitsap and a portion of Bremerton have a choice of four candidates for Kitsap County commissioner, district 2. Only voters in district 2 have a say in the primary. All of Kitsap County will vote in the district 2 race in the general election.
So many choices ... such nice weather.
Kitsap County Elections Manager Kyle Joyce thinks the low turnout might stem from voters being distracted by summer pursuits, full of good intentions to get their ballots in.
"But they're running out of time to do that," Joyce said. "On Election Day, we recommend if possible use an election drop box."
Drop boxes locations are:
Bainbridge Island: the school district administrative campus, 8489 Madison Ave. NE.
the school district administrative campus, 8489 Madison Ave. NE. Kingston: North Kitsap Fire and Rescue, 26642 Miller Bay Road NE.
North Kitsap Fire and Rescue, 26642 Miller Bay Road NE. Poulsbo: Fire station, 911 NE Liberty Road.
Fire station, 911 NE Liberty Road. Silverdale: Central Kitsap School District offices, 9210 Silverdale Way NW.
Central Kitsap School District offices, 9210 Silverdale Way NW. East Bremerton: Kitsap Regional Library, 1301 Sylvan Way
Kitsap Regional Library, 1301 Sylvan Way West Bremerton: Norm Dicks Government Center, 345 Sixth St.
Norm Dicks Government Center, 345 Sixth St. South Kitsap (East): South Kitsap Fire and Rescue Station 8, 1974 Fircrest Drive SE.
South Kitsap Fire and Rescue Station 8, 1974 Fircrest Drive SE. South Kitsap (West): South Kitsap Fire and Rescue Station 17, 7990 McCormick Woods Drive SW
South Kitsap Fire and Rescue Station 17, 7990 McCormick Woods Drive SW Port Orchard: Kitsap County Administrative Building, 619 Division St.
The second best choice, Joyce said, is to walk your ballot into the post office to get it hand-stamped Aug. 2. If you do place your ballot in a blue mailbox on Election Day, check to make sure you haven't missed the last pickup of the day for that box. "Every box is different," Joyce said.
There are options for people who have lost their ballot or who cannot get to a drop box by 8 p.m., Joyce said. "If you're having trouble, give us a call, and the Kitsap County Elections Office will work with you to help you vote."
The Elections Office is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Call 360-337-7128 or click here.
The Auditor's Office plans to have returns posted online by 8:15 p.m. here.
By Andrew Binion of the Kitsap Sun
PORT ORCHARD If convicted of murdering 6-year old Jenise Wright, a former Olympic High School student who was 17 at the time of her death could face life in prison without parole, a Kitsap Superior Court judge has ruled.
In the lead up to his Oct. 10 trial, Gabriel Zebediah Gaeta's lawyers argued to Judge Jennifer Forbes that recent court decisions about sentencing juveniles meant, if convicted of aggravated first-degree murder, he should be eligible for early release after 25 years in prison. Forbes disagreed.
Gaeta, who was charged as an adult, was 17 at the time of Jenise's death in August 2014 and would have started his senior year at Olympic High School that fall. He is now 19 and has been lodged first in Kitsap Juvenile Detention and then in the Kitsap County Jail since his arrest. Initially he was to be evaluated for competency to stand trial, but his lawyer advised him not to cooperate and stipulated that Gaeta understood the charges against him and was able to participate in his own defense.
Sentences for juveniles convicted of aggravated murder became a national issue following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2012 ruling in Miller v. Alabama, finding that the automatic life without parole sentences for juveniles violated the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
Lawmakers adjusted state law to fall in line with the decision, the so-called "Miller fix," allowing judges to impose the sentence on defendants whose crime fell between their 16th and 18th birthdays, but mandating judges first take into consideration a defendant's young age, such as the defendant's maturity, his or her ability to appreciate risk as well as his or her home life.
"We are pleased with the ruling and the reasoning the court used," Chief Deputy Prosecutor Chad Enright said.
Gaeta's lawyers can ask the Division II Court of Appeals to review Forbes' ruling, but the appeals court is not obligated to take the case. On Monday, one of Gaeta's lawyers, Roger Hunko, said he disagreed with Forbes' Friday ruling but said he would need to speak to Gaeta and co-counsel Jeniece LaCross before saying whether Gaeta would appeal.
The case attracted widespread media attention along with an intense response from law enforcement when Jenise was reported missing Aug. 3, 2014. Described as a spirited and independent girl, she was well known to the residents of the Steele Creek Mobile Home park in East Bremerton. Gaeta was a neighbor and had been friends with Jenise's brother.
Her body was found four days later submerged in mud between the neighborhood and Highway 303.
Gaeta's DNA was found on Jenise's clothing and during an interview with detectives Aug. 9, 2014, an emotional Gaeta indicated no one else was involved in Jenise's disappearance and death, according to court documents.
By Christina Henry of the Kitsap Sun
PORT ORCHARD The Kitsap County Department of Community Development has operated under an interim director since December, when former director Larry Keaton retired.
Louisa Garbo, a former planning director in Manitoba, Canada, will fill the key county position starting Aug. 8, Kitsap's Board of Commissioners announced Monday.
Garbo will oversee the department's 70 employees and a budget of $8.8 million for a salary of $119,000. She was selected by the board after a yearlong, nationwide search.
"She is the right person at the right time to lead our Department of Community Development to the next level while engaging stakeholders and the community at large," said Ed Wolfe, chairman of the board. "I'll suggest to the public there's a culture change coming to DCD. That's not a negative about anyone in DCD. It's a leadership style."
Wolfe, who represents Central Kitsap and the booming Silverdale area, said Garbo is a strong leader with the "can do" attitude he was looking for in a candidate.
"I wanted someone to say, 'I think we can help you get there,'" Wolfe said. "She's going to make things pop."
A director of planning and building safety for Brandon, Manitoba, Garbo oversaw development activities, building inspections, heritage preservation and implementation of long-range plans and policies. She has strong budgeting skills, Wolfe said.
Garbo is a certified planner in both America and Canada and an accredited LEED Green associate, certified in familiarity with resource efficient, environmentally friendly construction. She has a master's degree in planning, a law degree and another master's in conflict resolution.
Garbo began her planning career in Arizona, working for the cities of Scottsdale and Peoria, and for Cochise County.
South Kitsap Commissioner Charlotte Garrido said she looks forward to seeing Garbo's ideas for public outreach and user-friendly information adapted to Kitsap County.
North Kitsap Commissioner Rob Gelder expects she will build on Keaton's successes, including LEAN management practices for department efficiency.
"More importantly, I think she'll help us engage stakeholders in unique ways," Gelder said.
As to the lengthy search for a new DCD head, Wolfe said the board went through two pools of candidates before hiring a search firm in March, because they hadn't found just the right person for the job.
Karras Consulting of Olympia screened 58 candidates. Garbo and another finalist met with stakeholders and department directors before the board unanimously selected her.
Garbo's salary reflects an increased pay scale the board approved for all director positions, according to Karen Goon, county administrator.
"I feel incredibly fortunate to be chosen for this challenging position," Garbo said. "It is certainly a great opportunity for me both personally and professionally, and I am excited to be part of the growth in Kitsap County."
Garbo has a three-year visa to work in United States. The TN nonimmigrant classification, issued under the North American Free Trade Agreement, permits Canadian and Mexican citizens qualified in certain professions, including community planning, to seek temporary entry into the United States, according to the NAFTA website.
Unlike visas for some other types of workers, including seasonal agricultural workers, the TN visa does not factor in the availability or lack of qualified candidates within the United States. There were other well qualified U.S. candidates, Wolfe said, but Garbo was simply the best.
"She's a strong woman. She's a leader," Wolfe said.
Jeff Rowe, deputy DCD director and interim director of the department, was among applicants for the position, according to Goon.
"I think Jeff Rowe's done an admirable job with what we've asked him to do," Wolfe said. "I have nothing but respect for Jeff."
DCD director meet and greet
When: 3-5 p.m. Aug. 11
Where: Kitsap County Administration Building, 619 Division St., Port Orchard.
Pied Piper's Emporium, a longtime Bremerton head shop on Callow Avenue, is closing in October. Outside the shop, the mural of a frog and the Beatles remain.
SHARE Employees Vince Garrido (left) and Jen Schmidt handle counter duties Monday at Pied Piper's Emporium on Callow Avenue in Bremerton. The store is closing in October due to over-saturation of the local market, the owner said. Employee Jen Schmidt wraps a pipe for a customer Monday at Pied Piper's Emporium on Callow Avenue. The store will close in October. The store's owner said that a more open marijuana market has brought cheaper paraphernalia that is hurting business.
By Josh Farley of the Kitsap Sun
BREMERTON Within a case of colorful glassware at Pied Piper's Emporium, a sticker hearkens back to what now feels like ancient history in Washington state: "I (heart) My Tobacco Water Pipe."
There was a time when the phrase "tobacco water pipe" provided the supposed legal cover for those purchasing them as marijuana bongs. No more. In 2012, voters in Washington legalized cannabis and subsequent bong rips for adults. The sticker, at this point, is merely for a laugh every now and then at the Callow Avenue store.
But in a paradoxical twist, Pied Piper's, long a home base for cannabis culture in Bremerton, is closing down due to the vamped competition the legal marijuana market has created.
"What always paid our bills were pipes," owner Alyssa Miller said. "Now, there's a million places to buy pipes all around us."
Since 56 percent of Washington voters approved legalization in November 2012, three pot stores and a head shop have opened in the vicinity. That, combined with two recent burglaries in as many months, got Miller thinking it might be time for the store to end its 18-year run.
"We used to be a little niche business," she said. "But now it's all been commercialized."
Miller was only 17 when the store opened at Sixth Street and Pacific Avenue, now home to a large office building constructed by Poulsbo developer Tim Ryan. At 20, Miller got a job there, and just three years later she bought the business from its founder. In 2005, it moved to 816 Pacific; the store again moved, this time to Callow, and has been there almost seven more years.
According to Miller, employees and some customers, legalization flooded the market with cheaper goods used to get high. The store prides itself on carrying American-made glassware that Miller, a glass artist herself, ensures is of high quality. But those getting stoned these days might not care about that.
"It opened the market so wide that it allowed for the influx of all these cheap products," Angela Kartischko, a longtime Pied Piper's customer, said of legalization.
Vince Garrido, an eight-year employee of the store, compared it to big-box stores that put smaller, locally owned places out of business.
"It's like Walmart versus mom-and-pop stores," Garrido said.
The store will close Oct. 18. Miller plans to liquidate inventory by slashing prices. She'll take anything left to a barter fair in Okanogan County in late October.
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I'm fixing to do Donald Trump a big favor, because he clearly does not grasp the axiomatic Law of Holes.
That's the old scrap of cornpone wisdom that advises, "When you're in a hole, quit digging."
This is generous on my part, because I'm not a fan. But here at no charge! is a superb piece of political advice, which he would be uncharacteristically wise to heed: Shut your trap about the Khan family.
Stop talking about the Khans. Quit tweeting about them.
Change the subject, move on, and take comfort in the likelihood that we in the media with our little grasshopper attention spans, will forget all about them by the end of the week.
Because every single effort Trump has made since last week to denigrate the Muslim American family of a slain U.S. soldier has exploded in his face.
Constitutionally unable to relinquish a topic without firing off the final salvo, the GOP candidate for president of the United States (Wait, let me check: Yep, still feels like an elaborate practical joke) keeps making things worse for himself.
This started Thursday night, when Khizr and Ghazala Khan took the stage at the Democratic National Convention. Khizr Khan spoke about his son, Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed by a car bomb while ordering other soldiers to keep back in 2004 while serving in Iraq.
In speaking about his son's sacrifice, Khan rejected Trump's proposals to suspend Muslim immigration as unconstitutional, and said Trump "has sacrificed nothing and no one."
Trump, in keeping with his predictable nature, fired back by recounting his own "sacrifice" of being a rich guy who employs a lot of people an awkward attempt to equate himself with a fallen hero.
When criticized by well, pretty much everybody Trump compounded the insult by suggesting Ghazala Khan, who did not speak during the DNC appearance, was a victim of sexist oppression because the family is Muslim.
"I'd like to hear his wife say something," Trump said in one interview. "She had nothing to say," he said in another. "Maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say."
As it turns out, she had plenty to say. In an op-ed piece published in Sunday's Washington Post, Ghazala Khan said she did not speak from the convention stage because she was afraid she would break down.
"I could hardly control myself. What mother could?" she wrote. "Donald Trump has children whom he loves. Does he really need to wonder why I did not speak?"
Even for a reliable geyser of tasteless insults, this episode represents a spectacular trifecta. Since last Thursday, Trump has managed to offend U.S. service personnel and their families, American Muslims and women who would prefer not to have men telling them when they should or should not speak.
If Trump is genuinely worried about whether Ms. Khan "was allowed" to speak, it represents enlightenment. The Donald has not always been so deeply concerned that wives and husbands share partnership status. Some of his quotes on the topic include:
"My big mistake with (first wife) Ivana was taking her out of the role of wife and allowing her to run one of my casinos in Atlantic City, then the Plaza Hotel I soon began to realize I was married to a businessperson rather than a wife" and "When I come home and dinner's not ready, I'll go through the roof, OK?"
Because Trump did not have enough sense to not insult a Gold Star family whose son died fighting for this country, the Khans on Monday were still being sought for media interviews.
And Trump could not help himself: He tweeted out the insults, apparently in real time as he watched them on television.
As Mr. Khan spoke in measured tones to CNN about "decency," "dignity" and "respect," Trump accused him of a "vicious attack" and tweeted that "this story is not about Mr. Khan who is all over the place doing interviews, but about RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM in the U.S. Get smart!"
No charge, Mr. Trump. This is free advice.
Stop talking. Or even better, wise up and shut up.
Jacquielynn Floyd is a columnist for the Dallas Morning News. John Crisp's column will return next Monday.
Former tourism official sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment for graft
HEFEI, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- A court in east China's Anhui Province on Tuesday convicted and sentenced the former head of the provincial tourism bureau to 12 years behind bars for bribe-taking.
The ruling was handed down by Anqing City Intermediate People's Court Tuesday after it found Hu Xuefan, previously director of Anhui provincial bureau of tourism, was guilty of having taken bribes totaling more than 4.6 million yuan (about 691, 729 U.S. dollars).
The court found that Hu or his family members accepted cash, shopping cards and gold bars while he held positions at Mount Huangshan Resort, the Huangshan City Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Tourism Bureau of Anhui Province from 1999 to 2014.
He helped more than 20 companies or individuals with allocation of tourism funds, resort ratings, personnel promotion and other decisions in exchange for bribes.
The court hearing started on Dec. 22, 2015. Hu confessed to the local procuratorate during the investigation but withdrew the confession later in court.
He was stripped of the illicit proceeds of 4.6 million yuan and was also fined 4 million yuan, according to Tuesday's court ruling.
Hu said he would file an appeal after the ruling.
LINZ have released their latest quarterly data on house transfers. There are lots of caveats around the data, but what is absolutely clear is that Labours surname analysis about how up to 40% of Auckland homes are being sold to buyers from China is a failed racist smear.
Just 3% of transfers were to foreign tax resident buyers and only one third of those to buyers from China so of the 57,678 transfers, only 0.96% were to tax residents of China.
One can have a legitimate debate about whether restrictions on foreign buyers would impact house prices (it hasnt had much if any impact in Australia) but the dog whistling by Labour with their surname analysis was designed to stir up xenophobia.
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The Herald reports:
Labour has selected music teacher Jamie Strange as its candidate in Hamilton East once considered one of the bellwether seats of New Zealand. The father of four young children will try to wrestle the seat back from National. David Bennett won the seat with a 10,000 vote majority in 2014. Strange missed out on selection in Hamilton East in 2014 and was instead selected as Labours candidate in Taupo despite his Hamilton base. That is a safe National seat and Strange worked full-time throughout the campaign.
Candidates serious about willing will often leave their job six to nine months before the election to campaign full-time.
The majority in Taupo last election was 15,046 and in Hamilton East 10,199. Both safe seats.
Hamilton East and its sister electorate Hamilton West have traditionally been viewed as bellwether seats as the MP who wins them is usually from the party that goes on to form a government.
It was from 1972 to 1993. The record since then is more mixed:
1993: Labour (opp)
1996: National (govt)
1999: National (opp)
2002: Labour (govt)
2005: National (opp)
2008: National (govt)
2011: National (govt)
2014: National (govt)
So it has been held five times by the government and three times by the opposition. And six times by National and three times by Labour since 1993.
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(Photo/81.cn)
Construction of a new martyr memorial park in the southernmost part of China has officially been completed. The park is located on Chenhang Island, which is part of the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea.
The original memorial park was established in 1975 to pay tribute to 18 martyrs who sacrificed their lives during the Battle of the Xisha Islands in January 1974. Construction on the new park began in early March. There is now a 9.8-meter-tall memorial monument made of white marble, complete with carved battle scenes, the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Daily reported.
Over 200 PLA naval officers, veterans from the battle and family members of the martyrs participated in Mondays opening ceremony. All the participants pledged in front of the monument to carry out the martyrs wishes and resolutely defend national sovereignty, according to the report.
(Photo/81.cn)
There has been a tradition among PLA soldiers stationed on Chenhang Island to pay tribute to the memorial park during national holidays or when new troops are dispatched to the island. Every vessel harbored on the island also visits the memorial park, reported China News Service.
The Battle of the Xisha Islands was a small-scale ocean battle between China and South Vietnam that broke out on Jan. 20, 1974. During the battle, the PLA navy fought back against South Vietnamese naval forces who were occupying some of Xisha Islands and attacking Chinese civil and military personnel. The PLA navy won the battle, sinking one South Vietnamese military vessel and damaging another three, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
(Photo/81.cn)
At 12:42 this afternoon rescue workers were called to a grain silo in Murtaugh where a teen boys leg was caught in an auger. The silo was at the corner of Archer and Third Street.
According to Twin Falls County Sheriffs Office, the 16-year-old male was working in the silo and took a step backwards where his leg became caught in the auger. Rescue workers entered the silo to stabilize and treat the teen.
To reach the teen, workers cut a hole into the silo. He was airlifted to a Boise hospital for treatment. His condition is not known.
The silo is owned by Pure Grain Commodities. Twin Falls County Sheriffs Office, Rock Creek Fire and Magic Valley Paramedics responded to the incident.
On the morning of Aug. 2, the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Procuratorate carried out a public trial, charging Zhai Yanmin with subversion of the state. Zhai was found guilty and sentenced to three years' imprisonment with a four-year probation period, and was deprived of political rights for four years.
Twenty journalists from 12 domestic media outlets and five foreign media outlets, along with 28 representatives, attended the trial. Among the representatives were National Peoples Congress deputies, CPPCC members, scholars and lawyers.
Zhai, 55, was accused of illegally organizing paid protests, exacerbating public unrest and fabricating rumors on the Internet to sway court decisions. Prosecutors hold that Zhai has been influenced by anti-China forces for many years, and that those forces gradually gave him the idea to subvert the state. Zhai has posted anti-China remarks online many times since 2012. More recently, he participated in a plot to subvert the state, complete with specific methods and procedures.
At the trial, Zhai admitted, I was in charge of buiding the protest--getting the public worked up and inviting passersby to join. With more people on the street, conflicts between citizens and law enforcement were exacerbated. Our ultimate goal was to get international outsiders to intervene, overthrow the leadership of the CCP and carry out revolution in China.
The group was arrested in July 2015. According to a statement from the Ministry of Public Security, published on July 11, 2015, the suspects consisted of lawyers, who had been the core organizers, and social media celebrities, who were in charge of implementation. The statement accused the group, led by Fengrui Law Firm, of disrupting public order and seeking profits by illegally hiring protesters and swaying court decisions in the name of "defending justice and public interests."
Since July 2012, the group has organized more than 40 controversial incidents and severely disrupted public order, the statement added.
Heather Tookey, a 23-year-old wildlife protection volunteer, takes photos with cheetahs she helped to rescue in South Africa. She has traveled to South Africa a total of seven times to help take care of rescued cheetahs, starting when she was 18. Two of the cheetahs, Dew and Eden, have grown especially close to Tookey. (Photo/People's Daily Online)
SHARE This is a Home Federal Bank surveillance camera photo of a suspected serial bank robber taken on March 11, 2016, at 2940 S. Mall Road in Knoxville. (SUBMITTED BY FBI) This is a Home Federal Bank surveillance camera photo of a car driven by a suspected serial bank robber on March 11, 2016, at 2940 South Mall Road in Knoxville. (SUBMITTED BY FBI) This is a bank surveillance camera photo of a suspected serial bank robber taken on Aug. 8, 2015, in Raleigh, N.C. (SUBMITTED BY FBI) This is a bank surveillance camera photo of a suspected serial bank robber taken on Feb. 12, 2016, in Raleigh, N.C. (SUBMITTED BY FBI) Related Coverage Police search for man who robbed Home Federal Bank
By News Sentinel Staff
The FBI is seeking help in identifying and capturing a serial bank robber who has been linked to seven robberies in four states since August 2015, including one in Knoxville.
Dubbed the "Flip-Flop Bandit" because he wore flip-flops in several of the robberies, the unidentified man robbed the Home Federal Bank, 2940 South Mall Road, in Knoxville on March 11, according to the FBI.
The man handed a bank teller a note demanding money about 9:25 a.m. and left the bank after receiving an undisclosed amount of cash.
He drove away in what was believed to be a dark blue or black 2015 Toyota Camry LE sedan, which might have been a rental car, according to the FBI.
The robber was described as a heavyset white man, approximately 6 feet, 2 inches to 6 feet, 3 inches tall, thought to be in his mid-40s, with a large mole on his right cheek.
During the Home Federal robbery, he wore a khaki-colored bucket-style hat, wire-rimmed glasses, a blue, zip-up hooded sweatshirt with white draw strings, a light-colored, button-down shirt, shorts and flip-flops.
The man also is wanted in bank robberies in Raleigh and Greensboro, N.C., Bryant and Morrilton, Ark., and Yukon, Okla., according to the FBI.
The first robbery linked to the man occurred on Aug. 11, 2015, in Raleigh, and the latest on July 1 in Yukon.
The FBI said the man should be considered armed and dangerous. Authorities asked anyone with information to call the FBI's Knoxville office at 865-544-0751.
Surveillance image of man who on Monday robbed a Weigel's store on Tazewell Pike.
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By Don Jacobs of the Knoxville News Sentinel
KNOXVILLE Knox County authorities are seeking a man who claimed he had a firearm Monday morning when he robbed a convenience store and ordered employees into a cooler.
The robbery occurred about 5 a.m. at the Weigel's, 7420 Tazewell Pike, according to the Knox County Sheriff's Office.
The robber said he had a gun and demanded cash from the safe. After getting the money, the robber forced clerks into a cooler and fled out a back door, according to authorities. There were no physical injuries reported.
Authorities described the robber as white, about 5 feet, 11 inches to 6 feet tall, weighing 200-220 pounds, with an average build. The Sheriff's Office did not say if the robber had any facial hair or any visible marks or tattoos.
Authorities asked that anyone with information about the heist or the robber call the Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit at 865-215-2243.
More details as they develop online and in Tuesday's News Sentinel.
Two Knoxville police officers crashed at the intersection of Chapman Highway and Moody Avenue while responding to assist other officers at the scene of a shooting in South Knoxville, authorities said. (KNOXVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT)
SHARE Two Knoxville police officers were injured in a crash at the intersection of Chapman Highway and Moody Avenue while responding to assist other officers at the scene of a shooting in South Knoxville, authorities said. (KNOXVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT) Two Knoxville police officers were injured in a crash late Monday while responding to assist other officers at the scene of a shooting in South Knoxville, authorities said. (FACEBOOK)
By News Sentinel Staff
Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch said Tuesday that two officers injured in a crash were rushing to a South Knoxville shooting call because of the possibility someone planned to ambush police.
"In this environment today, they did not know if it was an ambush issue," Rausch said, so officers were urgently driving to the scene to provide backup for the officer already there.
Rausch told Mayor Madeline Rogero and City Council on Tuesday evening Knoxville Police Department Officers Zach Wilson and Jordan Henderson suffered severe concussions in the 11:35 p.m. Monday crash.
Wilson and Henderson were taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center for treatment. They were discharged Tuesday and are at home, the chief told the officials.
"Officer Henderson has some surgery that he'll have to have done on a fracture to his left orbital (eye socket), but other than that they came out of that relatively unscathed," Rausch said.
Rausch said Wilson and Henderson were rushing to the scene after a "shots fired" call about 11:20 p.m. Monday in the Montgomery Village housing development. The first officer on the scene located a victim on Daylily Drive and tended to the severely wounded Daniel Wells, 26.
Wells, police later said, had been shot at least once by an acquaintance. He sustained a potentially fatal wound and was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. His condition was unavailable Tuesday because of medical confidentiality.
Because of the ongoing investigation, Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk declined to say where Wells had been shot on his body, the type of firearm used or if the weapon was recovered. Police have not identified Wells' acquaintance and no arrest had been made as of Tuesday night.
While officers were directing medical personnel and first responders from the Knoxville Fire Department to the scene, gunshots were fired from a couple of buildings away, police said.
With the continued gunfire, officers requested more officers to secure the area to allow first responders to safely reach Wells.
Wilson and Henderson were answering that call for help when they crashed at the intersection of Chapman Highway and Moody Avenue, police said. Henderson was traveling west on Moody while Wilson was headed south on Chapman when their cruisers collided. Both officers had activated their emergency lights and siren before impact.
Rausch said after the council meeting the investigation of the crash is ongoing, but it appears both officers were using seat belts. The chief said department policy just as state law mandates using vehicle restraints.
Rausch said the crash will be reviewed by supervisors, as opposed to an Internal Affairs Unit investigation. If supervisors find negligence was involved in the crash, they will "make a recommendation for punishment."
Authorities have not said if both police cruisers are a total loss or can be repaired.
China's e-commerce giant Alibaba responded on Aug. 1 to a recent rumor about its donation to the Clinton Foundation. A spokesperson acknowledged that Alibaba made a donation of $250,000 to the organization in 2005, but said that the money was for AIDS treatment and other medical care in developing countries, and that it carried no political agenda.
As more details of the Hillary Clinton email controversy have come to light, a number of Chinese enterprises have been forced to comment on their donations to the foundation. In Alibaba's statement, the company claims that the records of the foundation have been open for inquiry since 2008. What's more, the donation was used exclusively for charity.
The Clinton Foundation, established by the former U.S. President Bill Clinton, is a non-governmental organization working to fight climate change, support economic development and fight for women's rights, global health and and public hygiene. The foundation receives donations from diverse sources, including governments and multinational corporations. These include companies like Coca-Cola, Microsoft, HSBC and Citi Group, who have donated around $5 million. Chinese companies and organizations, including Alibaba, have altogether donated less than $1 million.
The e-commerce giant also clarified that Clinton had left office by the time Alibaba made the donation, and the company had no idea at the time that Hillary Clinton might one day be a presidential candidate. Finally, the company expressed its resolution to keep contributing to charities despite the recent misunderstanding.
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Farmers markets across East Tennessee will begin hosting a variety of demonstrations, competitions, raffles and other activities on Sunday in celebration of National Farmers Market Week.
"Farmers markets are a central part of many communities, where farmers, artisans, chefs and the public come together to enjoy and share some of their area's best produce, farm goods, foods and more," said Charlotte Tolley, executive director of Nourish Knoxville, a nonprofit organization that aims to promote local food options.
"We're excited to celebrate our individual communities as a part of Farmers Market Week, while simultaneously showing off all that our region has to offer."
The number of farmers markets in the U.S. has increased by more than 60 percent since 2009, according to the USDA. There are more than 160 farmers markets in Tennessee, according to Pick Tennessee Products.
For National Farmers Market Week, which begins Sunday and lasts until Aug. 13, Nourish Knoxville will sponsor an Instagram competition. Participants can pick up "I heart farmers markets" temporary tattoos at participating markets, apply them to someone or something, and take a photograph.
Participants are then encouraged to post the picture on Instagram with the hashtag #LoveMyETNmarket, tag @nourishknoxville and name their favorite farmers market. Prizes will be awarded to the judges' favorite post and to posts with the most likes.
Knoxville farmers markets participating in the competition include the Dixie Lee, Market Square, New Harvest Park and the University of Tennessee farmers markets.
The deadline is Aug. 14. More details can be found at nourishknoxville.org.
With a new school year roughly two weeks away, students and administrators are both adjusting to changes at the University of Tennessee Pride Center and planning for its future. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL)
By MJ Slaby of the Knoxville News Sentinel
The funding and the faces of staff at the University of Tennessee's Pride Center will be different when students return for the fall semester, but administrators said they hope those changes won't prevent students from feeling supported.
And students said it remains to be seen if the upcoming changes including administrative support to the center by the Office of the Dean of Students are a success.
It will be an adjustment for students to learn to navigate being a student group that's running the physical space and planning programming, said Johnathan Clayton, who graduated this summer and was a member of the student group, UT Pride Ambassadors.
In May, the controversies of the academic year ended with a new law that defunded the UT Office for Diversity and Inclusion, redirecting the funds for a year to engineering scholarships for minority students. The pulled funding included what was allocated to the Pride Center and its staff.
After the law passed, students started fundraising and planning how the Pride Ambassadors would keep the center going. Many of the students didn't leave campus this summer and their work never stopped, said Danny Glassmann, associate dean of students and the new liaison to the Pride Center.
With a new school year roughly two weeks away, students and administrators are both adjusting to changes at the center and planning for its future beyond the next year.
"It would be a mistake as a university to think the emotion about what happened in the spring is gone just because everyone went away for the summer," said Vince Carilli, vice chancellor for student life. He said the new law "doesn't prevent the space, it prevents the funding for the space."
Using student suggestions, UT administrators gave students at the Pride Center the option of the Office of the Dean of Students or the Office of Multicultural Student Life to provide administrative support since the diversity office no longer existed to fill that role.
Clayton said the students, after weeks of discussion, picked the Dean of Students, in part because it seemed "less targetable." He added that the students knew Glassmann would be their liaison from that office, but didn't know who they would work with in Multicultural Student Life, which he said is understaffed.
But he said some students believe there is a history of not feeling supported by that office, so the verdict is still out about how this choice will work out.
Melissa Shivers, dean of students, said supporting students, as well as advocating for them and guiding student development, is exactly what her office does. She and other administrators added that many other universities also have a similar relationship between their pride centers and dean of students.
To adjust funding, the center will run on directed donations as well as other dollars that aren't from the state, largely federal dollars, Carilli said. He estimated that the UT gift fund to the center was about $10,000 to $11,000 and more fundraisers are possible.
Student workers will be paid through federal work study funds matched with nonstate dollars, Carilli said. About 10 percent of Glassmann's time will be devoted to the Pride Center, he added, and that portion of his salary, which is about $9,000 for a calendar year, will be paid without state money.
The Pride Ambassadors also will be able to fundraise as a student group. Clayton said the students plan to use the money they raised over the summer for an ice cream social and for bracelets that represent the identities within the LGBTQIA community.
Having student workers will allow the Pride Center to stay open 57 hours a week like it was last year, while Glassmann's role will be to help with things like unlocking and locking the center and making sure light bulbs are replaced as well as to act as a bridge between the Dean of Students office and the center, administrators said.
He also will work with former center director Donna Braquet, the adviser of the Pride Ambassadors.
Glassmann's role will be similar to the role that staff from the Dean of Students' office has had with other student groups and their advisers including sororities and fraternities, Shivers added.
She said she knows that the new law caused students to worry about the center staff, but she hopes they still feel supported by the new faces and are reassured to have Braquet in her role as adviser.
The administrators said they first worked to keep the center open after the new law; they have "no idea" what happens after this school year.
Shivers said students feared that the money would be pulled forever even though the law was for a year. She said students and faculty have already been working on supporting the center for the long term. The university wants to support them through that plan and while they are working on it, she added.
The future of diversity-related programs, including the Pride Center, is something that needs to be figured out because they are important to both student and employee recruitment, Carilli said.
"We need to figure out the right way for Tennessee as the university and the state" to continue diversity programming, he said.
U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, along with a host of state Democratic lawmakers, stressed the need for changes to Tennessee's voter ID laws on Tuesday. (Joel Ebert / The Tennessean)
SHARE AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS/NEWS SENTINEL Voters fill booths at the Downtown West building during early voting located at 1543 Downtwon West Blvd. Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. Early voting continues at ten locations across Knox County through Feb. 23, 2016. Voters line up to check in during early voting at the Downtown West building located at 1543 Downtwon West Blvd. Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. Early voting continues at ten locations across Knox County through Feb. 23, 2016. (AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS/NEWS SENTINEL)
By Joel Ebert, USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee
NASHVILLE Seizing on recent federal court decisions that have struck down voter identification laws in several southern states, Tennessee Democrats on Tuesday called for their Republican counterparts to make changes to state and federal laws.
Citing decisions by federal judges in North Dakota, North Carolina and Texas, which have similar voter identification laws as Tennessee, U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, quoted Abraham Lincoln.
"He said that government is of the people, by the people and for the people. The people cannot express their wishes unless they vote," Cooper said, explaining that, in the aftermath of a 2007 Supreme Court decision in Indiana, several state legislatures, including ones in the South, successfully passed laws to "not only ID voters but to suppress the vote."
Despite the calls from Democrats, Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, and House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, stood behind Tennessee's voter ID law.
Cooper pointed to circuit court decisions that have come from courts surrounding the 6th Circuit which includes Tennessee to suggest that the tide on voter ID laws is turning.
On Friday, a federal appeals court in North Carolina struck down that state's ID law, saying it targeted blacks "with almost surgical precision."
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals said Texas's voter ID law was "intentionally discriminatory."
North Carolina's law, however, was not viewed as one of the strictest laws in the country, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Tennessee is one of nine states including Texas and Wisconsin, which also had their voter ID laws struck down in court that NCSL categorizes as having a strict photo ID law.
There are several different forms of valid identification voters in Tennessee can use. They include: a state issued ID, a valid U.S. passport, a valid military ID and a handgun carry permit with a photo.
Any voter who doesn't have an acceptable form of identification has to vote using a provisional ballot. That ballot would only be counted if the voter is able to provide an election administrator with proper evidence of an ID on the day after the election.
For years, Democrats have balked at the state's voter ID laws, arguing they have led to a decrease in turnout, and have been unsuccessful in convincing Republicans to alter them.
Cooper, along with several other lawmakers present Tuesday, said they hope the recent federal decisions will change things in Tennessee.
"It's time for Tennessee to get it right," Cooper said, while encouraging people to get out and vote during Thursday's primary election. He said anyone who is not registered to vote in the November election should register before the Oct. 11 deadline. "And finally, most important of all, let's change some of these state laws."
State Rep. Harold Love, D-Nashville, said he was particularly concerned about the fact that a number of students who come to Tennessee from other states are unable to use their state-issued IDs to participate in elections.
"They pay tuition here, some of them pay rent here and surely they contribute to our society here," he said. "And yet we say that we don't acknowledge the fact that they are who they say they are based upon their other state's identification. To me, that's wrong."
Last year, a federal judge in Nashville upheld the state's voter ID law that prohibits students from using their school identification cards to vote at the polls.
Pointing to the impact that voter ID laws have on women, blacks and the elderly, Rep. Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville, said the purpose of the laws is to prevent those groups from being able to vote.
"Most of that happened after the election of our president President (Barack) Obama."
Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, said the General Assembly needs to pass new laws because the "deck is stacked against people" based voter ID laws and the way districts are drawn.
Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Mary Mancini blamed Republicans in the General Assembly for passing laws that have put obstacles in front of young people, people of color and the elderly.
"This has been by design," Mancini said, calling for an end to the state's voter ID law. "Republicans know that when Democrats vote and turnout is high that Democrats win."
Mancini said voting rights should be a nonpartisan issue that Republicans have politicized.
State Rep. Bill Beck, D-Nashville, noted that Republicans often say voter ID laws are necessary to prevent voter fraud.
"Ladies and gentlemen, voter fraud in the state of Tennessee is like hunting zebras. They don't exist," he said. "It is not about voter fraud, it is about keeping people from the ballot box."
Ramsey took issue with Beck's claim saying that the state's law has successfully suppressed voter fraud.
"Not only have we protected the franchise from fraud and abuse, we have made getting a photo ID easier than ever before. People need a photo ID to cash a check, rent a car or board an airplane," he said. "It is not unreasonable to require them to show an ID to vote."
State Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, said the state's law was modeled after one in Indiana, which has withstood the scrutiny of the U.S. Supreme Court, and was even tested in Tennessee's Supreme Court.
"It should not be easier to board a plane, cash a check, or buy cigarettes than to vote in Tennessee," Ketron said. "Our right to vote is one of the most sacred symbols of our freedoms and we must protect the integrity of our elections."
Ketron also took issue with Yarbro's claims about redistricting, saying every redistricting plan created by Democrats between 1970-2000 were struck down.
"No plan has been overturned since Republicans took the majority; therefore, any statement of 'democracy being stacked against the people through redistricting' is factually wrong and hypocritical," he said.
Cooper said, despite the recent federal court decisions, the group of lawmakers were not organizing litigation against the state's law but were simply trying to call attention to the issue in hopes of encouraging the state Legislature to change it.
But such a change is unlikely given that Ramsey and Harwell support Tennessee's law.
Harwell noted that the law includes provisions that allows Tennesseans to obtain an ID for free and vote using a provisional ballot if someone forgets their identification when they head to the polls.
"I am comfortable with the law as it is written," she said.
Cade Cothren, spokesman for the House GOP caucus, said Democrat attempts to undo Tennessee's voter ID laws would send the state in the wrong direction.
"The right to vote is a bedrock principle of our state and nation and Republicans believe this right should be both encouraged and protected. It is a shame those on the other side of the aisle wish to return to a time when voter fraud was a commonplace occurrence," he said.
President Barack Obama on Tuesday slammed Donald Trump as "woefully unprepared" to serve in the White House. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
By JULIE PACE, AP White House Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama slammed Donald Trump as "woefully unprepared" to serve in the White House on Tuesday and challenged Republican lawmakers to drop their support for their party's nominee. "There has to come a point at which you say enough," Obama said.
The president's blistering comments came on the heels of Trump's criticism of an American Muslim family whose son, a captain in the U.S. Army, was killed in Iraq. A growing number of GOP lawmakers are voicing concern about Trump's comments, but none have so far revoked support for the businessman in the White House campaign.
"If you are repeatedly having to say, in very strong terms, that what he has said in unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him?" Obama asked during a White House news conference. "What does this say about your party that this is your standard-bearer?"
"I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president," Obama says of Trump. @knoxnews @informemphis Michael Collins (@mcollinsNEWS) August 2, 2016
The president said his opposition to Trump is about more than policy differences. He said that while he disagreed with his Republican opponents in the 2008 and 2012 elections, he never thought they were unfit to do the job.
Obama has made clear he plans to be an active player in the White House race, campaigning around the country for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. He and first lady Michelle Obama spoke at last week's Democratic convention in Philadelphia, where Khizr and Ghazala Khan also made an appearance.
Khizr Khan criticized Trump's call for a temporary ban on Muslims coming to the United States and challenged whether he had read the Constitution. Trump has questioned why Ghazala Khan did not speak, implying her religion prevented her from doing so, and has said he was "viciously attacked" by Khizr Khan.
For Donald Trump, it's become a familiar pattern. The Republican nominee can't let go of a perceived slight, no matter the potential damage to his presidential campaign or political reputation.
Trump spent the days after winning the Republican nomination criticizing a U.S. district court judge's Mexican heritage. The morning after accepting the Republican nomination at the party's convention, Trump re-litigated months-old grievances with primary rival Ted Cruz. Now, he's sparring with an American Muslim family whose son was killed in Iraq.
Republican leaders have urged Trump to drop his attacks on Khizr and Ghazala Khan, who appeared at last week's Democratic convention and harshly criticized the GOP nominee. It's not just the optics of picking a fight with a military family that has GOP officials eager for Trump to move on, but the timing of his attacks: Election Day is just three months away.
Those who have worked with Trump say that in private meetings, he can often appear amenable to putting a controversy aside. But the businessman can quickly be drawn back in by an interview, especially if he believes he's already answered the question, or if he grows irritated by commentary on cable television.
"It's just who he is," said Stuart Jolly, a former campaign staffer and current political director for the pro-Trump Great America PAC.
Others who have worked with Trump say the only way to ensure he moves on is to wait for him to tire of an issue or get drawn into another matter. Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who has advised Trump, said the candidate's inability to back away from a political land mine "makes him vulnerable."
"His whole experience up until running for office was in a very combative New York media market," Gingrich said. "He's been doing it now for over 30 years. It's a very deeply held habit."
Khizr Khan delivered an emotional address at last week's Democratic convention, with his wife standing by his side. The Pakistan-born Khan told the story of his son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart after his death in 2004.
Khan said that if Trump were president and enacted his proposed temporary ban on foreign Muslims coming to the U.S., a position Trump has backed away from in recent weeks, his son would have never been allowed into the country. He also questioned whether Trump had ever read the Constitution.
Trump responded by implying Ghazala Khan's religion preventing her from speaking at the convention, though she later said talking publicly about her late son was still too difficult. On Monday, Trump tweeted that he was being "viciously attacked" by Khizr Khan.
Trump's unwillingness to let the matter subside sparked outrage Monday from a chorus of Republicans.
Arizona Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war, said Trump did not have "unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us." Rep. Mike Coffman, a vulnerable Republican in a competitive Colorado district, said he was "deeply offended when Donald Trump fails to honor the sacrifices of all of our brave soldiers who were lost in that war." Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt said the Khans "deserve to be heard and respected."
"My advice to Donald Trump has been and will continue to be to focus on jobs and national security and stop responding to every criticism whether it's from a grieving family or Hillary Clinton," Blunt said in a statement.
However, none of the Republican lawmakers pulled back their support of Trump's White House campaign.
In his first rally after a weekend of controversy, Trump spoke at length and took several questions at an event Monday in Columbus, Ohio never once mentioning the Khans.
But when asked about Khizr Khan on Fox News Channel's "Hannity," Trump responded, "I guess it's part of my life."
"His son died 12 years ago," Trump added. "If I were president, his son wouldn't have died, because I wouldn't have been in the war, if I was president back then."
Trump backers attending the Ohio rally dismissed the issue, underscoring how the businessman was able to survive numerous such firestorms in the GOP primaries.
"I think the Democrats laid a trap for him," said Tom McClanahan, a 54-year-old from Johnston, Ohio. "I think they knew what they were doing when they asked that family to speak at the convention. They knew he'd respond."
Dale Brown, a maintenance supervisor from Grove City, Ohio, whose son is in the Navy, said Democrats were blowing Trump's comments out of proportion and had "politicized this by asking that family to speak."
But the real test for Trump isn't the opinion of the loyal supporters who attend his rallies. It's the broader general election audience, a far more diverse group still weighing Trump's readiness for the White House.
___
Associated Press writers Erica Werner in Washington and Jonathan Lemire in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.
As I watched the stories of the killing of patrons at Pulse, the gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, several reporters commented that it was the worst massacre in America in modern times. I wondered what bloodbath in the past was worse than the one in Orlando. A letter to the editor in the News Sentinel gave me a clue when the writer mentioned Wounded Knee.
I suppose most of us have heard of that massacre but don't know what happened there on Dec. 29, 1890. American Indians who had been herded onto reservations and oppressed by the loss of their land, hungry because of the lack of buffalo and suffering from diseases of the white man looked for deliverance. They needed a Moses or Abraham Lincoln who had freed others before them.
A Paiute Indian named Wovoka, also known as Jack Wilson (1858-1932) by whites, convinced his people that such a Messiah would come soon to deliver them if they participated in a ritual called the Ghost Dance. Believing that the ceremonies would lead to hostilities, the federal government tried to stop them.
Led by Gen. Nelson A. Miles (1839-1925), 3,000 troops went to the reservations near Pine Ridge in present-day South Dakota to keep the peace. Fearing the intention of the troops, 2,000 Sioux fled their reservations for the Badlands, where they joined 1,000 others. The Army thought they were preparing for a fight and would be led by Chief Sitting Bull (1834-1890), who had defeated Gen. George A. Custer at the Little Big Horn River on June 25, 1876.
On Dec. 15, 1890, Sioux Indian police employed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs arrested Sitting Bull at his cabin. The protesting chief was led outside, where his men had gathered to support him. A hotheaded Indian shot the police lieutenant, who in turn shot Sitting Bull in the stomach. Another policeman shot him in the back of the head.
After Sitting Bull's death, about 340 more Sioux led by Chief Big Foot fled to the Badlands. They were captured, however, on Dec. 28 by 200 soldiers of the Seventh Cavalry and taken to a trading post called Wounded Knee. When they tried to disarm Big Foot's followers, a young Sioux warrior fired a single shot into the troops then numbering about 470, who returned fire.
With their repeating rifles they slaughtered as many as 300 Indians, including women and children. Sixty soldiers died or were wounded, many of them shot by their own men in the crossfire. The dead Indians were buried in a common trench on New Year's Day 1891. The wounded were left to die in the cold.
After I read the notes in my history book, I went to the McClung Collection to read the unsanitized version in the Knoxville Daily Tribune of Dec. 30, 1890, which said: "Bloody fight Big Foot's band of Indians surrender to the troops, but later resist being deprived of their arms. A lively battle ensues in which a number of soldiers are killed and many redskins are hurried on to the happy hunting grounds.
"The Indians, men, women, and children ran to the south, the battery firing rapidly as they ran. Soon the mounted troops were after them, shooting them down on every hand. The engagement lasted an hour and a half. The soldiers are shooting Indians down wherever found, no quarter being given by anyone."
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A recent opinion issued by Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery III has prompted the city of Knoxville to extend negotiations for a new contract to operate the city's traffic light cameras.
Moving forward with the contract is the right move, especially in light of a recent study that shows jurisdictions that abandon traffic light cameras see increases in fatal crashes at intersections.
City Council is set to vote tonight on a contract extension with LaserCraft Inc. while officials evaluate the effect of Slatery's opinion on a new agreement with LaserCraft subsidiary American Traffic Solutions.
Slatery's opinion, issued on July 6, states that only law enforcement personnel can review traffic camera video to determine whether a violation has occurred. Under current arrangements, the contractor's employees screen the videos first before passing along those they determine show a violation.
An attorney general's opinions are advisory and do not carry the force of law, but Slatery's interpretation of the state's traffic law camera statute is hard to dispute. The law states unambiguously that only "law enforcement officers shall be authorized to review video evidence from a traffic light signal monitoring system and make a determination as to whether a violation has occurred."
State Rep. Andy Holt, the Legislature's most vocal critic of traffic light cameras, promptly issued a call for a class-action lawsuit against jurisdictions that use the cameras. The Dresden Republican has urged Tennesseans receiving traffic light camera tickets not to pay the $50 civil fine and garnered notoriety when he posted online a video of himself burning what appears to be a citation.
Holt has said he wants to ban camera enforcement, but that would be a bad idea.
A recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that traffic deaths attributed to running red lights soar by 30 percent in cities that eliminate video enforcement, The Associated Press reported. The rate of fatal red-light-running crashes is 21 percent lower in cities with cameras compared to cities that do not use video enforcement.
The cameras have made Knoxville's most dangerous intersections safer. A 2009 report by University of Tennessee researchers for the Southeastern Transportation Center found that multiple studies showed red-light cameras reduce the number of crashes at intersections, particularly right-angle, or T-bone, collisions. In Knoxville, the number of angled crashes dropped an astounding 42 percent between 2006 and 2007, the first year of operation. Even rear-end collisions, which have gone up in other jurisdictions, went down. There are more camera locations today, but the numbers remain low.
Some critics say money, not safety, is the primary reason cities turn to video enforcement, but the numbers do not add up. According to city documents, Knoxville receives about $22,500 a month, or $270,000 a year, in revenues from traffic light camera citations. That is a fraction of the city's $302.68 million total net budget.
To comply with Slatery's opinion, city police will have to take over the initial review of the videos. That use of city resources will be well worth the cost, because traffic light cameras save lives.
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The assassination of police officers, Chicago-level black-on-black murder, terrorism at crowded venues.
Everyone can debate the root cause of the above issues, but solving the root or any contributing cause will, most likely, take decades.
For me the first step in reducing murders from the examples given above is unwavering enforcement of current laws.
Tim Antonacci, Knoxville
Local teachers and students become park rangers
Teachers and students that completed the Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranger program this summer.
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK Great Smoky Mountains National Park offered two unique summer programs engaging selected high school students and teachers as park rangers. The Teachers in Parks and the High School Student Intern programs are six-week paid work experiences where participants learn about the resources of the Park through on-site training exercises that enable them to perform ranger duties. Participants completed the programs just in time for the new school year to begin, allowing them to return to the classroom with a wealth of knowledge and experience gained from a summer working with rangers in a National Park.
These programs are mutually beneficial, said Susan Sachs, Education Coordinator for the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center located in the park. The students and teachers get an in-depth study of resource education techniques, scientific methods, and field research to enhance their skills and talents, and, in turn, the Park creates advocates through better understanding of and appreciation for the Smokies. Teachers will bring the knowledge into their classrooms and the interns will share their education and experience with the local community through their friends and family.
During their time in the park, teachers worked alongside park rangers in the field assisting with resource management activities and education programs. When not in the field, teachers were working with resource educators to develop elementary, middle, and high school curriculum for the popular Parks as Classrooms program.
In partnership with American Conservation Experience (ACE), student interns, from different local high schools within the surrounding counties and communities, assisted scientists and park staff with field research and education programs while exploring possible career opportunities. They were exposed to and gained knowledge about a variety of areas while working in the park, including wildlife biology, fisheries science, front and backcountry campground management, forest and stream ecology, preventative search and rescue, archaeology, appalachian history and park management.
The two successful programs were expanded this summer, thanks to a variety of public and private funding sources. Grants were received from Alcoa, Friends of the Smokies license plate funds, Community Foundation of Haywood County, Great Smoky Mountains Association and the federally-funded Youth Partnership Program (YPP). These funds supported five teachers and 24 high school students from Tennessee and North Carolina school systems.
The following high school students in Tennessee were selected for the program: Sterling Fisher and Paula Guenther, Gatlinburg-Pittman High School; Grace Keith, L&N Stem Academy; Abbot Drybread and Raven Askew, Cocke County High School; Rachel Long and Hunter Palmer, Central High School; Spencer Bailey, Seymour High School; Brandon Brombach, Cornerstone Academy; Ethan Carr, Sevier County High School
Teachers in Tennessee were selected for the program were: Debbie Kipp and Lisa Stone, Sevier County High School; Ashley Brooks, Dogwood Elementary. Published August 1, 2016
KARM opens store in Sevier County
AUGUST 1, 2016 at 6:37 p.m.
KNOXVILLE Knox Area Rescue Ministries (KARM) is opening a new store at 1916 Winfield Dunn Parkway, Sevierville. The store is set to open in early August. The Donation Center for used clothing and household items at the location is now open.
The new KARM Stores location anticipates the need for 20-30 employees. Employment opportunities are available for all work areas within the store. Potential applicants may apply online at www.karmstores.com/jobs or www.karm.org/careers.
The Sevier County KARM Stores location will offer quality, gently used clothing, furniture, and other household items at affordable prices. As the one of the largest stores across the chain of 18 retail locations, it will provide unique opportunities for donors, shoppers, and volunteers. The stores location is convenient for those residing and working in Sevier County as well as the many visitors who travel there.
The KARM Stores are a valuable resource for the entire community. They offer quality, affordable products, employment for many, and an avenue for giving back, said Burt Rosen, President and CEO of Knox Area Rescue Ministries. KARM serves a broader area than Knox County and frequently provides food, shelter and recovery services to those originating from Sevier County who come to our ministry. Were pleased to now offer this increase in goods and services for the Sevier County area.
KARM Stores provide major financial support for the ministrys programs. Donations are accepted at all store locations and the stores will pick up selected quality large donations. Call 865-521-0770 or visit www.karm.org. All KARM Stores are open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (extended hours until 9 p.m. at the Knoxville Center Drive, Merchants Drive, Sherlake Drive, and Farragut locations).
Knox Area Rescue Ministries, which is home to nearly 400 people each night and provides more than 1,000 meals daily, has served the East Tennessee area as a Christian ministry since 1960. KARM is devoted to rescue, recovery and restoration, providing food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, and healing for hurting people in our community. To learn more visit www.karm.org. Published August 1, 2016
Three Miami residents sentenced in $40+ million Medicare fraud scheme
AUGUST 1, 2016 at 6:37 p.m.
MIAMI Three Miami residents were sentenced for their role in the largest Medicare fraud scheme loss prosecuted in the Southern District of Florida in 2015.
Jorge Lorenzo, 36, Yahima Pardo, 33 and Roberto De Jesus Alonso, 48, all of Miami, Florida were sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 188 months, 41 months, and 37 months in prison, respectively. The defendants were also ordered to pay $40,388,943.00 in restitution to the Medicare program. In addition, forfeiture money judgments were entered against each defendant and the government has seized assets and cash in excess of $2 million. On May 10, 2016, Lorenzo and Pardo pled guilty to conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud, and Alonso pled guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to the court record the three men participated in massive health care fraud, money laundering and kickback schemes, that over the course of approximately four years, resulted in more than $40 million in losses to the Medicare program. During the course of the criminal conduct, Lorenzo owned and/or controlled eight home health agencies across Miami-Dade County that collectively received more than $40 million in fraudulent claim payments from Medicare. Lorenzo installed shell owners at his home health agencies whose primary role was to authorize millions of dollars in Medicare claim payments through corporate checks made out to fictitious companies staffed by other co-conspirators. The co-conspirators then laundered the fraudulently obtained money to Lorenzo. More than $40 million in Medicare payments were made in response to fraudulent claims for services that were not medically necessary, never rendered and in some instances were linked to prescriptions that Lorenzo counterfeited. Collectively, these eight home health agencies were operational for an average of only 8 months before being closed at Lorenzos direction at the first hint of a Medicare fraud investigation. Conspirators Pardo and Alonso, were shell owners of two of the eight home health agencies and laundered millions of dollars in Medicare claim payments to Lorenzo.
Lorenzo also directed co-conspirators to incorporate more than fifteen fictitious shell companies. The shell companies were used to disguise the flow of more than $25 million in fraudulently-obtained Medicare proceeds for Lorenzos personal benefit, including the purchase of real estate, luxury vehicles, artwork and jewelry. Coconspirator Alonso incorporated at least two of the fictitious companies to launder proceeds which were intended to benefit elderly, blind and disabled patients.
An additional co-conspirator, Sonmy Rodriguez, 45, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced on July 27, 2016 to 22 months in prison. Published August 1, 2016
Chinas Ministry of Commerce said on Aug. 2 that Didi Chuxing, the countrys leading car-hailing app, cannot proceed with its Uber China buyout deal without giving prior notification to the ministry.
The Ministry of Commerce has yet to receive the notification of intent from Didi Chuxing and Uber China. In accordance with Chinas Anti-Monopoly Law and the provisions of the State Council on Notification Thresholds of Concentrations of Business Operators, the notification is required before the actual merger goes through, spokesperson Shen Danyang said at a press conference on Aug. 2.
Shen pointed out that Didi Chuxing also failed to submit the notification before its 2015 merger with Kuaidi Dache, the Alibaba-backed service.
If Didi Chuxing and Uber China intend to proceed with the buyout, they cannot do so without submitting formal notification, Shen emphasized.
In response to the ministrys statement, Didi Chuxing issued its own statement, saying that both companies had so far failed to achieve profitability in China, and the revenue of Uber China in the last fiscal year did not meet the standard for mandatory notification.
The floor in Wang's home is stained with blood.
A man in Dongguan, Guangdong province has recently been condemned by netizens for abusing and killing over 50 dogs, and then posting videos of the abuse online, Shenzhen Evening News reported on Aug. 1.
In November of last year, the man, surnamed Wang, contacted a local dog adoption organization, but then refused to go through with the adoption after learning that he would have to sign an official agreement promising to keep the adopted dogs safe. Instead, Wang bought a German shepherd from a seller on the Internet.
Several days later, Wang began posting videos that depicted serious animal abuse. In one of the videos, an Alaskan malamute is huddled in the corner of a room whose walls are stained with blood. Wang shocks the dog with electricity and beats it with an iron stick.
When asked about the reason for his abuse, Wang answered that it was just for fun. According to his own count, he has abused and killed more than 50 dogs.
A volunteer saves the German shepherd in Wang'a home.
Wang's behavior has angered many netizens, one of who later leaked Wang's personal information. Worried that there might be other dogs still vulnerable to Wang's abuse, volunteers from the local adoption organization went to Wang's home, where they found a German shepherd locked on the balcony, covered in feces. The dog was almost dead when the volunteers found it. Its legs were bleeding and some of its teeth had been knocked out. The volunteers quickly brought the dog to a vet for medical treatment.
TheGerman shepherd gets treatment after being saved.
Wang's actions have infuriated many netizens, who are demanding that he be severely punished. However, due to a lack of laws and regulations on animal abuse, Wang can only be morally condemned for his behavior.
Chen Wei, a lawyer in Beijing, said that China is not making enough effort to protect animals. Chen believes that there is insufficient social awareness about the issue. Meanwhile, "animal abuse" is not even clearly defined by law, Chen added. Therefore, Wang cannot be legally punished for his cruelty.
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Hanjin Shipping's efforts to settle the rescheduling deadlines for financing ships and reducing charter fees before the end of July has not yet be resolved, raising concerns over the possibility that the nation's top shipping line may go into court receivership.
The shipper's struggles to normalize management is in stark contrast to its smaller local rival, Hyundai Merchant Marine, which has reported "significant" progresses.
According to financial circles, Tuesday, Hanjin Shipping has failed to conclude negotiations with foreign ship owners and creditors in a bid to lower charter fees and prolong looming deadlines for financing its shipping. Its remaining loans are reportedly worth up to 1.2 trillion won set to mature next year.
Hanjin Shipping's creditors, led by state-run Korea Development Bank, however, is sticking to its position to support the debt-ridden shipper's restructuring plan only if it independently resolves its liquidity deficit for management.
A Hanjin Shipping official said the shipper would cut its deficit down to 1 trillion won if it reduces charter costs by 27 percent and secures additional funds worth up to 500 billion won if it reschedules the deadlines for financing shipping.
Last month, Hanjin Group requested financing the deficits with creditors while offering to supply the ailing shipper with 400 billion won through capital increases by issuing new stocks.
Its creditors immediately refused the group's offer, conditioning "at least 700 billion won" for such a request.
Fortunately, creditors said they will extend the Aug. 4 debt relief deadline by a month. But possibilities remain high for court receivership if the group does not come up with additional financing.
"The situation for Hanjin Shipping seems even worse than for Hyundai Merchant Marine," said a creditor. "Unless the group helps the company with additional finance to give room for its liquidity, creditors should consider receivership."
As a part of its efforts to secure liquidity to stay afloat, Hanjin shipping sold its 21 percent stake in Tan Cang Cai Mep International Terminal in Vietnam for 23 billion won to Hanjin Transportation, a parcel delivery company under Hanjin Group. It also sold a bulk carrier to H-Line Shipping for 14 billion won as well as its H-Line Shipping stake for 33 billion won.
In June, it sold its trademark rights to Hanjin Kal for 74.2 billion won and operating rights on eight Southeast Asian routes for 62.1 billion won. The company also sold its London and Tokyo offices for 32.2 billion won and 8.2 billion won, respectively. Through the selling spree, the company has so far secured some 267.7 billion won.
/Courtesy of Twitter
By Lee Han-soo
Police have arrested a criminal ring that held secret group-sex parties inside what was disguised as a restaurant in Seoul.
According to police, the group leased a house in Gwanak district and registered it as a restaurant with the city, only to operate it as a den for their secret sex parties.
The alleged ring leader, surnamed Ahn, is accused of recruiting random people who wanted to have group sex with strangers, by using mobile messaging apps. Police said he was paid 100,000 won ($90) to 250,000 won by those who attended the sex parties.
Police raided the secret lair on July 16 and arrested over 27 men and women. But with the exception of eight people, including Ahn, those captured claimed that the sexual intercourse was consensual.
"Ahn, who provided the venue and actively advertised the secret party, has been arrested on Saturday," police said. "The venue was registered as a restaurant but was actually a prostitution site decorated with stage settings."
Police said they will investigate Ahn further for any other criminal charges.
By Jun Ji-hye
Park Won-soon
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon urged the National Assembly, Tuesday, to investigate allegations that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) carried out a secret smear campaign against him using conservative civic groups.
Park, a presidential hopeful, said in a radio interview that the Assembly should form a fact-finding panel and hold a hearing on the allegations before next year's presidential election.
The demand came a day after some media outlets reported that the spy agency started activities in 2011 to suppress Park by mobilizing conservative groups, citing an NIS document.
The document was drawn up right after Park was first elected in the by-election of October 2011, according to former NIS officials cited in the reports. After being elected, Park, a former human rights lawyer, gained popularity as a potential presidential candidate.
In 2013, Rep. Jin Sun-mee of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) first made such a document public, which led to an investigation of the prosecution. But at the time, prosecutors concluded that it was not a genuine document written by the NIS.
The latest testimony from former NIS officials reversed the prosecution's 2013 conclusion as they said it was the NIS that created the document.
"It ruined the nation's democracy and constitutional order," Park said. "The Assembly should hold a hearing and work to reform the NIS. Otherwise, the same thing will happen to other politicians."
According to Park, the document contained detailed "strategies to damage the reputation of Mayor Park," and the strategies have been implemented in reality.
Park cited that the right-wing civic group Korea Parent Federation (KPF) staged rallies against him 19 times and that his planned appearances in the media were canceled for no particular reason.
"There was a TV journalist who confessed the fact that it was difficult for him to follow a direction to deliberately damage my reputation," he said.
Since April, the KPF has been embroiled in severe controversy over the suspicion that the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) provided funds to the civic group and that the FKI and Cheong Wa Dae used the KPF to orchestrate pro-government, pro-business rallies.
"The most important thing is that content in the document has been taking place in reality," Park said. "I believe the NIS has been carrying out more underground activities that damage the nation's democracy, given that it did it to a person who is in a high position such as the mayor of Seoul."
MPK floor leader Rep. Woo Sang-ho also said the Assembly should deal with the issue seriously and make efforts to prevent a recurrence.
The NIS denied the allegation in a release, saying "The prosecution already concluded that the document was not identical to other NIS documents."
Hong Dong-gon from the Ministry of Environment announces a sales ban on 83,000 Audi Volkswagen Korea vehicles in response to the company's fabricated test results in certification papers during a press conference at the Government Complex Sejong, Tuesday. / Yonhap
Gov't halts sales of 80 models, slaps $16 million fine
By Kim Se-jeong
A Volkswagen logo / EPA-Yonhap
The government has banned the sale and revoked certificates of 80 Volkswagen models for fabricating the results of emissions and noise level tests.
The Ministry of Environment said Tuesday it will ban the sale of 32 types of vehicles, or a total of 80 models which include different size engines or trimmings of each type of vehicle.
It revoked certification for 83,000 vehicles sold here between 2009 and July 25 this year.
The ministry also slapped a 17.8 billion won ($16 million) fine against the German automaker for the breach of relevant laws.
The sanctions, which came after the Korean government investigated the emissions cheating scandal since November, affect VW, Audi and Bentley models.
"What Volkswagen did was grave, challenging the basis of the legal foundation of the vehicle certification process in Korea," Hong Dong-gon from the ministry said during a press briefing at the Government Complex Sejong.
Twenty-four models out of the 32 had emissions test results faked in their certification papers, while others had fraudulent noise test results, according to the ministry.
Besides the 83,000, the ministry had already revoked certificates of 126,000 vehicles in November for cheating devices.
The total number will reach 209,000, 68 percent of the 307,000 cars which the automaker has sold here since 2007.
The ministry said the 83,000 cars are not subject to a recall because no technical defects were found but stated that the certification papers were fabricated.
"Document forgery is serious enough to justify revocation of licenses," Hong said.
Volkswagen should reapply for certificates for each model to sell them again in the Korean market. The process will take three months on average, according to Hong.
For the 24 types with fake emission test results, the ministry imposed 17.8 billion won fine.
"The ceiling of the fine for each vehicle model was raised from 1 billion won to 10 billion won on July 28 following a law revision. But the company stopped sales voluntarily before that date, so we applied the 1 billion won ceiling," Hong said.
In November, the ministry had slapped a 14.1 billion won fine for cheating emissions tests, so the total amount of fines imposed on the company by the government stood at 31.9 billion won.
The ministry said it also found an additional model, A5 Sportback 35 TDI, having passed emissions tests with cheat software, and ordered Volkswagen to recall all 5,800 sold vehicles to replace the software.
The new charge of fraudulent certificate papers was found while the prosecution investigated the company since January following the ministry's request for emissions testing.
In response, Volkswagen expressed regret over the ministry's decision. "We will have a close look at the ministry's decisions before deciding what to do," Volkswagen said in a statement on its website.
It said it will come up with countermeasures after closely looking into the government's sanctions.
While reapplying for the certification of the affected models, the company said it is also considering filing an injunction to keep selling the vehicles and administrative suits to cancel the ministry's decision.
Meanwhile, a local court rejected the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant for former Audi Volkswagen Korea CEO Park Dong-hoon.
Park headed the company between 2005 and 2013 and is suspected of knowingly selling vehicles with the faked software and faking efficiency tests. Park, currently leading Renault Samsung, denied the allegations.
By Kang Seung-woo
President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday the decision to deploy a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea is "irreversible."
She said she will meet lawmakers and officials in Seongju Country, North Gyeongsang Province, to seek their understanding about how the county was selected as the site for the battery. However, she did not say whether she will visit the county herself or meet residents there as opposition parties asked her to.
"I am agonizing over the endless feud over the THAAD deployment although North Korea is modernizing its nuclear weaponry. Bringing THAAD is about ensuring the security of South Korea and its people from North Korea's evolving threats, so the decision is irreversible," said Park during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae.
"Should North Korea advance its nuclear and missile capabilities, no region in South Korea could be assured of safety. If we cannot take basic defensive steps such as the THAAD deployment, how can we protect the nation and its people?"
South Korea and the United States announced on July 8 that they will bring a THAAD battery here by next year. Two weeks later, Seoul's defense ministry said the U.S. missile shield will be stationed in Seongju.
However, the envisioned deployment is facing backlash from the residents, as well as lawmakers and activists, who are concerned that the electromagnetic waves from the THAAD radar could pose health risks and hurt their agricultural crops.
The Uzbekistani suspect is captured by police in less than six hours after running away from a prosecutors' office in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, Monday. / Yonhap
By Hong Dam-young
An Uzbekistani man who escaped from a detention center at a prosecutors' office in Gimcheon on Monday was caught by police about six hours later.
The man, 30, was being questioned over allegations of threatening another Uzbek with a weapon and assaulting his girlfriend in downtown Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, in March.
Before questioning, the man was in the Junior Correctional Institution at Gimcheon, a 10-minute drive from the prosecutors' office.
The escape happened when the man was sent to a detention center behind the prosecutors' office building after questioning finished around 4 p.m.
The man knocked down an officer who was attempting to handcuff him and escaped.
The prosecutors' office immediately announced a 5 million won ($4,500) bounty on the man and deployed 250 police to find him. He was caught about six hours later at a nearby apartment.
He was found wearing new clothes and had shaved his beard, officials said.
Who should pay operating costs causing controversy
By Kim Bo-eun
Another controversy has erupted over the recently established foundation for former wartime sex slaves, after the Korean government decided to pay operational costs for the organization.
The Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, dedicated to compensating the Korean victims of Japan's sex slavery during World War II, was founded last week to carry out the agreement reached between the Korean and Japanese governments last December.
The two governments agreed to put the issue to rest with Japan providing 1 billion yen (10.7 billion won) in compensation funds to Korea.
The foundation was set up to decide how the funds will be spent, but the 1 billion yen has not yet been transferred.
An official from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, in charge of the comfort women issue, confirmed Tuesday the government's stance that the entire 1 billion yen from the Japanese government will go to the victims and other operating expenses will be covered by the Korean government.
This has brought criticism from activists over why the Korean government should bear any financial burden while Japan is responsible for the wartime atrocities. Until the opening ceremony on July 28, foundation officials had not announced who will cover the operating costs.
The official said, "The foundation board suggested spending the 1 billion yen exclusively on the victims, as the nature of the fund is (for the Japanese government) to apologize and repent (for its atrocities), and the Korean government agreed."
The foundation's operational costs will include a security deposit of 20 million won for renting office space, monthly rent of 3.3 million won and 3 million won in expenses for office furnishings and supplies.
But the Korean government has yet to provide anything, as "budget details need to be discussed with the finance ministry." So, the foundation's office is being managed "on credit," with the rent and deposit not yet having been paid, according to the gender ministry.
The organization also needed money to get approval for its foundation, and this was covered by a personal donation of 1 million won from the foundation head, Kim Tae-hyeon.
On why the foundation was set up hastily without the necessary funds, the official said, "Setting up the foundation was a precondition for the Japanese government to provide the 1 billion yen in the December agreement."
It is also unclear when the Japanese government will provide the 1 billion yen, as the December agreement did not specify when the provision would be made.
There is discord over the issue of the comfort woman statue in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul as well as the nature of the fund.
The Japanese government has been discontented with the symbolic bronze statue, and has been imploring the Korean government to remove it. The agreement does not explicitly require the statue to be removed, but states that "the Korean government will make an effort to resolve the issue."
There are speculations that the 1 billion yen may not be provided until the statue is removed, but the foundation head denied this at a press conference last week.
The ministry official said, "Because the agreement was made with the Japanese government, and this is an issue based on trust between the two governments, the payment is expected to be made soon."
The nature of the fund, which was initially understood as official compensation from the Japanese government for its atrocities, later became murky after Japanese media reported that it was perceived differently in Japan.
The point of contention is whether the fund is to be provided as compensation for wrongdoings or simply as a donation.
Meanwhile, many of the 40 surviving victims have refused to accept the December agreement and the subsequent establishment of the foundation, stating that the Japanese government did not take legal culpability for its atrocities.
Japan laid claim to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo again on Tuesday, raising worries that it could deepen diplomatic friction between the two neighboring countries.
Earlier in the day, Japan's defense ministry released a white paper in which it referred to Dokdo along with Kuril Islands as its sovereign territory. This marked the 12th consecutive year that Tokyo claimed sovereignty over the islets in the annual paper.
"The territorial issue over our sovereign territory of the Northern Territories and Takeshima still remains unresolved," the paper said, using the Japanese names for the Kuril Islands and Dokdo.
Dokdo, which lies closer to South Korea in the East Sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, has long been a source of tension between the neighbors. South Korea has kept a small police detachment on the islets since 1954 and has made clear that Tokyo's claims are groundless.
South Korea immediately voiced its protest with Japan's renewed claim on Dokdo.
Shortly after the release of the white paper, the defense ministry urged Japan "not to repeat such an act" and warned that it would take "stern" measures against any attempt to hurt the country's sovereignty of the islets.
The ministry called in a defense attache from the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to lodge a formal protest with Tokyo.
The foreign ministry also issued a statement in which it made it clear that Dokdo is South Korean territory and expressed its strong protest with Japan's "unjust" claim on the islets.
"The Japanese government should stop making such a useless claim on Dokdo immediately, see squarely historical facts and actively work in a way that South Korea-Japan ties can move toward the future based on mutual trust," it added.
Japan's renewed claim on Dokdo is likely to adversely affect relations between South Korea and Japan which had been showing signs of improving after the two sides reached a deal last year to resolve the long-running rift over the sexual slavery of Korean women who were sent to Japanese military brothels during its colonial rule of the peninsula.
In his bilateral talks with South Korea's Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, which was held on the sidelines of a regional security forum in Laos last week, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida expressed that he was pleased with the improving ties with South Korea, after the landmark deal was reached on Dec. 28. (Yonhap)
Csoma Mozes, third from left, a professor in Eotvos Lorand University's Korean studies department, receives an award from Dankook University President Chang Ho-sung, third from right, for his contribution to academic exchanges between the two education institutions and to cooperation between Korea and Hungary.
/ Courtesy of the Embassy of Hungary
By Rachel Lee
The Embassy of Hungary held a special seminar to mark the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, at Dankook University's Jukjeon campus in Gyeonggi Province on on July 21.
From 1945, Hungary was under the Soviet Union's oppressive control.
The revolt in the Central European country began with a student demonstration and spread nationwide, and the government collapsed.
The seminar, co-hosted by Dankook University and Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE) in Budapest, discussed the significance of Hungary's transformation in the aftermath of the uprising.
"When the revolution began in Budapest in search of freedom, Hungary had very close ties with North Korea," Csoma Mozes, a professor in ELTE's Korean studies department, said at the event.
"About 1,000 North Korean students were in our country back then, and the North Korean government had them back home to protect them from any consequences of the Hungarian Revolution."
The professor also mentioned special relations with the South, which supplied necessities to Budapest during the uprising. The two countries connected at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and established bilateral relations a year later when democracy replaced Hungary's communist system.
Following his presentation, Dankook University President Chang Ho-sung presented the Hungarian professor with an award for his contribution to academic exchanges between the Korean university and the ELTE and to cooperation between the two nations.
John Patrick Starling & Drownin' River perform at Cinder Bar in Songdo, Incheon, early this year.
/ Courtesy of Dave Bartlett
By John Redmond
Incheon-based band John Patrick Starling & Drownin' River, comprised of American and Korean musicians, released its debut CD "Tell My Boss I'm Dead" on local record label Ruby Records last week.
Formed in early winter of 2014, the lineup of the band includes songwriter John Patrick Starling from Baltimore on rhythm guitar and harmonica, Sojin Kaya Park on vocals and ukulele, South Carolina native Vincent Schachner playing lead guitar, Tim Henkels from Colorado on mandolin, Patrick Cho playing lead mandolin, Andy Yi on double bass, Alex Lim on dobro and Youngran Lim on banjo.
With a launch at Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival and a warm-up show at Cinder Bar on Songdo, band leader Starling spoke to The Korea Times about the record deal and his inspiration to form a band in Korea.
Q: What inspired you to form a band?
A: I'm a songwriter and lucky for me the folks that joined the band like the songs. I guess my inspiration falls into two categories: good times and hard times and I've had my share of both.
Q: Could you explain your sound?
A: Well, genre-wise we play original roots music, cutting across blues, country, bluegrass, rockabilly and folk and a couple of our songs bring some of those genre together... heading towards Americana. Soundwise I'd say "roughhewn" is a good way to describe us. The musicianship is solid.
We have one of the best double-bass players in the country and one of the best mandolin players anywhere. My voices are pretty raw and Sojin has that high mountain Appalachian sound, which is pretty awesome. We bring it all together though and Tim and I jokingly call it "Koreacana."
Q: How did the record deal come about?
A: The very first show I played in Korea was the summer of 2014 when I moved back here (I had lived here a long time ago). It was in front of a couple thousand people at the Incheon International Beer Festival's backstage and was (unknown to us until afterwards) broadcast on the radio to a lot of people. That night I met the owner of Ruby Records and we hit it off immediately.
We talked about doing something together but we both knew we weren't ready. Heck... at that time it was just me and Sojin anyway, but over the last two years we built a good band and he had been tracking our progress and reached out to us when we completed the first album "Tell My Boss I'm Dead."
Q: Do you find it difficult being in a band in Korea? (People leaving the country to work abroad, going home etc.)
A: We've been very lucky in that we've had roughly the same core group for going on two years. We haven't lost anyone due to relocation. Half of the members are Korean and the foreigners (including me) all like it here and we plan to be here for a while.
John Patrick Starling & Drownin' River will play at Cinder Bar Aug. 6 and at the Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival Aug. 13.
Visit facebook.com/DrowninRiver for more information.
At around 2 a.m. on the morning of July 31, several drivers on a highway in Chongqing spotted three young foreigners, all loaded down with heavy bags and looking exhausted, attempting to hitch a ride.
Some of the drivers called the police, worried for the safety of the stranded group. The police came and picked them up, bringing them to a police station and checking their passports. The group, which consisted of two men and a woman, all in their 20s, turned out to be from Russia. They had entered China two weeks before, and recently departed from Xinjiang, wishing to travel throughout China in just over a month. They carried with them daily necessities, including tents and blankets.
They took no money, and had so far traveled exclusively by hitching rides. They had been earning a bit of money by taking pictures with Chinese citizens.
The three could speak only simple Chinese. They traveled with boards that conveyed in writing the gist of their situation: We have no money but want to continue our dream of traveling around China. We can take pictures together, and you can give us a little money.
Local police provided the three travelers with free accommodations on Sunday night, a breakfast the next morning and 100 yuan. The police offered to drop them off at the train station, but the young people refused and again set out on their journey. They said they planned to go all the way to Guangzhou, and then north to Beijing.
The new U.N. special rapporteur on North Korea's human rights situation said Monday he is interested in looking into Pyongyang's alleged exploitation and abuse of its people for overseas labor.
Tomas Ojea Quintana, an Argentine lawyer who previously served as special rapporteur on Myanmar's human rights situation, made the remark in an interview with the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea as he began his term as rapporteur on the North.
"It is clear that the situation of those workers from North Korea who leave the country to work overseas, according to some reports under the worst of conditions, including in countries in Europe and Asia then return to the DPRK, will be of interest," Quintana said, according to an interview transcript provided by the committee.
"The agenda in this respect includes dialogue and engagement with countries that somehow have connections with the people from the DPRK. As to how, this is something that I need to work on. As a preliminary view, I would say it is in my interest as the Special Rapporteur on the DPRK to listen to those other governments and stakeholders who have this kind of connection with people from the DPRK," he said.
About 50,000 North Koreans are believed to be toiling overseas, mainly in the mining, logging, textile and construction industries. Such workers earn on average $120-150 per month while employers pay significantly higher amounts to the North's government.
They are also forced to work sometimes up to 20 hours per day, with only one or two rest days per month, and health and safety measures are often inadequate, the report said. Workers are given insufficient daily food rations.
Quintana was appointed last month to succeed Marzuki Darusman, who had served in the job since 2010. His six-year term officially began on Monday.
"The situation inside the country, according to their reports, is critical in many aspects. For me, working for many years to improve human rights around the world, this is a new challenge," the new rapporteur said.
"I am happy to get involved in this, trying to contribute to the efforts of so many civil society organizations that have been working throughout the years trying to put onto the U.N. agenda the problems of the common people in the DPRK who are suffering," he said. "I am motivated by this. I hope to contribute to improving the lives of people in the DPRK."
Quintana said he will try to enlist cooperation from the North's government in a way that does not compromise his No. 1 mandate: providing voice to those suffering from human rights abuses.
"It's my main task to provide a voice to those who suffer human rights abuses on the ground. That's basically our main mandate as Special Rapporteurs: to report independently and impartially about the suffering, the human rights abuses, by those living in the country. A strategy of cooperation can never compromise that important mandate," he said. (Yonhap)
North Korea must realize that it "cannot escalate its way to victory," the U.S. Strategic commander said, expressing concern about the communist nation's nuclear and missile programs.
U.S. Navy Adm. Cecil D. Haney, commander of the Strategic Command (STRATCOM), made the remark during the 2016 Deterrence Symposium that the command hosted in Omaha, Nebraska, last week, the command said in a release Monday.
"North Korea's coercive, irresponsible rhetoric and actions undermine regional stability. Kim Jong-un continues to defy international norms and resolutions. Their persistent, but failed, attempts to launch submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) underline this irresponsible behavior," Haney told the symposium.
"They continue their quest for a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the United States and our allies and partners, launching satellites into space using ballistic missile technology, and continue threatening to conduct additional nuclear tests," he said.
The commander also said the North's actions are not only "disturbing," but they represent flagrant violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions, and demonstrate a serious lack of regard for peace and security in the broader region.
"As with Russia, North Korea must understand it cannot escalate its way to victory, and the United States will take actions to assure our allies in the region," the commander said.
North Korea carried out its fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch the following month, drawing widespread international condemnation and leading the U.N. Security Council to impose the harshest sanctions ever imposed on the regime.
Undeterred by the sanctions, Pyongyang kept on launching missiles, including the intermediate-range Musudan missile, believed to be capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam, as well as a submarine-launched ballistic missile.
The North Korea-monitoring website 38 North reported last month that satellite imagery shows high-level activity at the North's Punggye-ri nuclear test site, raising concern the regime may be preparing for another nuclear test. (Yonhap)
Canada has urged its citizens to avoid North Korea. / Courtesy of Twitter
By Lee Jin-a
Canada has warned residents not to go to North Korea, saying visits to the communist country can carry "extreme risks," a U.S.-based media outlet said Tuesday.
According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), Canada's Foreign Ministry said its citizens should "avoid all travel" to North Korea.
"Canada made the decision because the North's development of nuclear weapons and its repressive regime are causing safety concerns," RFA said.
North Korea joins Afghanistan, Syria and Mali on the highest level of Canada's four-tier travel warning system.
Late last year, the North sentenced a Korean-Canadian pastor to life in prison on subversion charges. The pastor reportedly entered the reclusive country as a missionary.
Thirteen female North Korean defectors who worked at a North Korean restaurant in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province in China entered South Korea on April 7, 2016.
/ Yonhap
By Hong Dam-young
The number of North Korean defectors is rising sharply, the first time under leader Kim Jong-un's regime.
Reportedly, 815 North Koreans defected to South Korea in the first seven months of this year, a 15.6 percent increase year-on-year, the Ministry of Unification said Tuesday.
The increase comes after the number dropped from 2,914 in 2009 to 1,276 last year. When Kim Jong-un came to power on his father Kim Jong-il's sudden death in 2011, the yearly number was 2,706.
Among recent defectors are those from the "upper-middle class." Experts said the notable increase, especially of those from that class, may indicate growing dissatisfaction with the regime due to social and political instability in North Korean society.
Yoon Yeo-sang, director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB), said: "The ratio of North Korean defectors who say they were upper-middle class back home has been increasing for several years, according to the think tank's interviews with defectors."
The number of defectors among North Korean overseas workers has also increased. Heavy international economic sanctions against the state may be responsible, Yoon said.
North Korea has been sending workers overseas to earn hard currency for the struggling country. Those workers are usually loyal to the regime and more affluent than ordinary citizens. But the economic sanctions are pressuring the workers to send more hard currency home, which probably triggered them to defect, Yoon said.
"It's a sign that North Korea's dollar earnings are in bad shape," Yoon said.
In April, 13 North Korean workers at a restaurant in the Chinese eastern port city of Ningbo defected to South Korea. In June, three North Korean restaurant employees in Weinan, in China's Shaanxi Province, also defected.
The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on July 29 that eight North Korean female workers at a marine product-processing factory in Donggang, in China's Liaoning Province, had escaped the workplace at the end of June.
"More and more North Koreans are defecting in search of better lives and opportunities," a government official said. "Around 50 percent of the defectors still named the adverse economic situation as a reason for their escape, but to have a better life' as a reason increased up to 20 percent."
The total number of North Koreans who have fled to South Korea is expected to exceed 30,000 by October or November this year.
By Bernard Rowan
South Koreans should accept the reality that using THAAD represents. It's a sign the nation is a fuller partner in her defense and in defense of the region and world. It's a small step toward greater autonomy and independence from over-reliance on the United States. Get over THAAD insecurity and internal wrangling! Let me tell you my opinion why.
When I lived in South Korea, I witnessed some protests by students and others against the American military presence, against American military actions, and against related concerns. Koreans said they wanted more control over their land and their defense. I remember visiting sites that showed the American military presence. I went to the DMZ. I read about plans to return land to South Korea and to increase Korean control of security installations and defense. I don't remember much angst and opposition. On the contrary, I felt anguished that despite her best intents, the United States military creates unease among many in South Korea.
Our alliance is a special friendship, and it'll continue. I don't think South Korea should or will jettison it. I think controversy over THAAD looks like growing pains. Does South Korea want to be a full power for her own self-defense? I think the answer from most South Koreans is "Yes!!"
So, if that's the case, THAAD makes sense. Serious North Korean missile capacities threaten the South. THAAD can't stop everything, but it's a deterrent. It's not the best deterrent. Political science still says the best offense is an offensive weapon or deterrent. THAAD has a place in a fuller national defense. South Korea needs to build this capacity. As defensive weapons technology improves, not only will Ronald Reagan's spirit be happier but also the world may become safer. The best days of defensive weapons aren't in the past.
Living in the real world means some places and spaces must serve the public good, the common interest, and collective defense. Locating THAAD imposes particular and unequal social costs. THAAD as a policy wants transparency and discussion. The government must compensate those impacted and include their needs. The Park government has failed in some respects. Don't expect a 21st century weapon to impact places like a children's bottle rocket! There is no security without sacrifice, and that sacrifice may cost people in particular spaces and places. Not a happy story, but I think a true story.
"Let's not rouse China," say THAAD opponents. China doesn't over worry about THAAD. The Americans, Koreans, Chinese, Russians, Japanese, and even the North Koreans can detect missiles in other ways. China has many means we don't fully know, as do the Americans and Russians.
The Chinese won't be stupid to punish South Korea for THAAD in some tit-for-tat. South Koreans have a right to erect defenses against North Koreans. It's an objective and important threat. China needs South Korea more than opponents of THAAD give credit.
Some say THAAD lacks credibility beyond short-range defense. It's not much security against missile threats. More say it's a good bet for particular purposes and worth the risks and costs and doubts. Remember THAAD is part of a full defensive and offensive capacity needed in the face of an enemy.
The urgent interest is to continue posing an effective deterrent to a first-strike by North Korea, conventional and nuclear. Sadly, Kim Jong-un's "rise to power" is accenting the military means of policy. South Koreans must brace for more offensive and defensive military investments. The miracle that is South Korea over decades' long development needs protection. South Koreans also should take bitter heart. Now, even after the end of the Soviet Union and the Cold War, other great nations continue to spend heavily on defense. It's the 21st disease and cancer, but great caution needs nothing less.
The cure deserves separate treatment elsewhere. However, let's close with a few points. How do we avoid the need for more THAAD? Build greater soft power and a wave of Asian prosperity and development. Press the United States and China to aim for cooperation in the region. Work to lead greater Asian alignment for regional security and economic progress. Stop viewing Japan as the defamed enemy of old. Continue positive efforts with other rising and middle powers such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Don't discount strength in numbers with shared purpose.
Shed THAAD insecurity! South Korea is a mighty nation and people that must take more steps to protect itself as a full partner in self-defense moving toward autonomy.
Bernard Rowan is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University, where he has served for 23 years. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University. Reach him at browan10@yahoo.com.
By Vladislav Inozemtsev
MOSCOW Western policymakers in recent years have struggled to categorize the Russian political system, often resorting to vague phrases such as "illiberal democracy" or " authoritarianism ."
If anything, the Russian system should be characterized as proto-fascist tamer than European fascist states during the 1920s and 1930s, but still featuring key elements of those regimes. These include the structure of Russia's political economy; the idealization of the state as a source of moral authority; and Russia's particular brand of international relations.
"Fascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal constraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion."
Judging by these definitions, it would be difficult today to find any trend in Russian political society that could not be labeled fascist.
For starters, consider the state's encroachment into the economy. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been hoarding national wealth in state-owned banks and now refers to Russian oil and gas companies as "national treasures." His goal is to establish new "state corporations," even as the state ownership in the economy already well exceeds 60%. Meanwhile, independent trade unions have been all but crushed, and oligarchs now declare themselves willing to render their property to the state as needed.
Moreover, Putin now has near-absolute control over the use of violence, thanks to multiple "enforcement agencies" that report to him directly, including the Army, the Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Security Service, a 30,000-member Federal Guard Service that was created in 2002, and a 400,000-member National Guard that was created earlier this year. And this doesn't include state corporations' own "private armies" or loyal warlords like Ramzan Kadyrov in Chechnya. Kadyrov commands an estimated 30,000 armed enforcers, and his followers have been accused of retaliating against dissidents.
Completing the formula, Putin appeals to Russians' sense of historical loss and former glory, openly praising irredentism and militarization. Victory Day celebrations commemorating the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany now surpass the bombast of the Soviet period; and state propaganda constantly fuels anti-Western sentiment with claims that parts of "historical Russia" were illegally seized hence the need to "reclaim" Crimea by force in March 2014.
In fact, Russia's propaganda machine is its most profound proto-fascist achievement. Putin can surround ordinary Russians with the uninterrupted message that theirs is a modern economy on par with leading global powers. And each year, populist rhetoric about a "national renaissance" and a "showdown with the enemies" grows stronger.
But Russia's nod to fascism poses little long-term danger, for three reasons. First, fascist elements in Russia did not emerge organically as they did in Europe in the early twentieth century. Rather, they are being imposed on Russian society by the state, whose leader enjoys far-reaching power under the 1993 constitution. Without any deep national roots among the people, the fascist structures being built can be easily dismantled.
Second, Russia is a multi-ethnic country that for centuries developed as an empire, not as a nation-state. Therefore, fascistic tendencies here are more imperialistic than nationalistic. And, notwithstanding Russia's aggression in its "near abroad," it lacks the economic wherewithal to sustain an empire.
Third, and most important, Putin's Russia is a cult of personality . Short of a North Korean-style dynastic succession, these regimes never outlive the leader, whether in Italy, Germany, Spain, or Portugal. Or as Putin's deputy chief of staff, Vyacheslav Volodin, unwittingly put it: "Any attack on Putin is an attack on Russia.[T]here is no Russia today if there is no Putin."
Russia's current geopolitical neighborhood is far less tolerant of totalitarian ideologies than it was 90 years ago. Western powers need not undermine or destroy Putin's Russia; they simply need to outlive it. Even with the diminished power of so many Western countries today, that should be achievable.
Vladislav Inozemtsev is Professor of Economics at Moscow's Higher School of Economics and Director of the Center for Post-Industrial Studies. Copyright belongs to Project Syndicate.
Ewha Womans University President Choi Kyung-hee on Monday suspended a plan to establish a night school in 2017 after protests by students who claim it is nothing but a money-making scheme.
Few can contest their right to have a say in all matters of the school since students are the core of any university. But the opinions should be delivered in a civilized and rational manner. Some of the protesters' behavior is unfit for young intellectuals attending the nation's top women's university. Since July 28, the protesters have occupied the main hall. Last week, some faculty members were besieged inside the building by the protesters and the police had to intervene to rescue the trapped professors and staff.
It was wrong for the school to make a unilateral decision on the night school plan without proper consultation with the student body. If the faculty had been more communicative, the prolonged sit-ins could have been avoided. However, the decision to establish a night school for adults is sensible and one that does not infringe upon the students' school life in any way.
The night school is part of the education ministry's plan to ease the financial burden of universities facing increasing difficulties in recruiting students amid the aging population. The ministry will provide 3 billion won ($2.7 million) for the selected schools. Under the plan, Ewha will provide a higher education opportunity to female workers with high school diplomas or those over 30 who quit work after marriage or childbirth.
The open-minded view to take would be to perceive the adult night school as a useful avenue to expand learning opportunities for women from various backgrounds. From this perspective, it is incomprehensible that students attending a school that was founded to educate women should be opposed to such an inclusive plan.
The university shoulders the responsibility to ensure financial viability and competitiveness of the university over an extended period. Therefore, it is simply conducting its duty by working with the education ministry to establish such special programs, which is good for the school and also for potential applicants who otherwise might not have had the chance for a post-secondary education.
Because of the prolonged sit-ins, a statue of Dr. Helen Kim, a pioneering educator and the university's dean from 1939 to 1961, was damaged. The students should stop causing further disorder on campus by terminating their sit-ins and respond to Choi's call for a discussion to resolve their differences over the night school.
Time to confront Pyongyang's cyber attacks
If recent records serve as any indication, South Korea is losing the cyber war with North Korea. To turn this situation around, it is important to go on the offensive against the North's cyber misadventures.
Typically in dealing with the North's misbehavior, Seoul has settled for the gesture of finger-pointing at the North without taking any effort to hold it responsible for its actions.
The latest hacking by the North adds to the urgency of immediate and stringent action. Pyongyang tried to hack the emails of some 90 officials from the foreign and defense ministries and successfully gained access to 56 of them. Whether any confidential information was leaked is under investigation. According to prosecutors, these hackers employed the "spear phishing" method, by which they designed targets, warned them of possible personal information leaks and duped them into entering their passwords on duplicitous websites. This appears to be the same method used in a cyber attack against Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power in 2014, which the government concluded was the work of North Korea.
It followed the North's theft of personal information belonging to 10 million customers at Interpark, the major online shopping mall, last month. In an interesting twist, the hackers threatened to reveal the leaks unless the site paid. Then, there was a heist of $101 million from a Bangladeshi bank account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. There also were attempts against other Asian banks, with the global money transfer coordinator of 11,000 financial institutions, Swift, looking vulnerable in the process. The hackers are believed to employ the methods used by "Lazarus" that is believed to be responsible for the 2014 crippling hacking of Sony Pictures.
To string these attacks together, it would be plain to see which way the North is heading with its hacking misadventures. Immediately, it wants to make some cash to shore up the shortages following the United Nations' toughest-ever sanctions after its nuclear and missile tests.
Seen in a broader stroke, it is possible that the North eventually wants to gain the ability to render ineffective the South's core systems _ government, defense, infrastructure, communication, etc. _ as part of a pre-invasion scenario. As a matter of fact, some experts would go to the extent of saying that, for instance, the anti-missile Patriot system could be vulnerable from an outside cyber attack.
It is also plausible that the North may use personal information databases, such as the one it stole from Interpark, to create countless SNS accounts and spread rumors in an online disinformation tactic.
The North is believed to train thousands of hackers, with about 6,000 working under the Reconnaissance General Bureau, which is responsible for cyber warfare. In August 2014, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared that cyber warfare, together with nuclear weapons, is a "treasure sword to guarantee the ruthless striking force of the People's Army."
Now, there appears to be little room for the South to step back on this real war. Perhaps it is time for Seoul to adopt cyber fighting rules as stringent as the current military rules of engagement that allow field commanders to attack the source of North Korean provocations at their discretion, when they take place, and inflict damage many times that sustained. This was adopted after the North's fatal torpedo attack on the frigate Cheonan and the deadly shelling on Yeongpyeong Island, and has been proved to work as a restraint on the North's wanton behavior.
LSIS senior vice president Seo Jeong-min, left, with Luis Ruales Corrales, the head of the country's electricity generating board CELEC EP, after signing a contract for a power substation project, in Ecuador's capital Quito, Tuesday.
/ Courtesy of LSIS
By Lee Min-hyung
LSIS said Tuesday it has won a 10.3 billion won ($9.1 million) contract to establish an electricity substation in Ecuador.
Under the contract, the company plans to build the facility for the nation's electricity generating board, CELEC EP, by November 2017.
The 230-kilovolt (kV) substation project is expected to speed up its business expansion in South America.
"Expectations are high that we will win more orders from other overseas markets, as we have recently been acknowledged in a series of contracts including one from Haiti in 2014," an LSIS official said. "The power substation project requires high levels of technological expertise, and we are acknowledged by growing numbers of overseas organizations on it."
In particular, the electric infrastructure business is expected to grow faster in Central and South American countries, as global financial authorities including the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank have recently pushed for aggressive expansion in the areas, according to LSIS.
"Our short-term goal is to win more orders from Ecuador's neighboring countries including Chile and Peru after successful completion of the recent project," the official said.
The electricity market in Ecuador will be worth some $8.4 billion by 2020, as the country is expanding consumption in household and industrial use. Ecuador is reconstructing electricity infrastructure in the aftermath of a severe earthquake in April.
Morgan Stanley, UBS say Note 7 to be profit booster
By Kim Yoo-chul, Lee Min-hyung
Samsung Electronics' latest phablet Galaxy Note 7 (Note 7) is expected to lift profits for Samsung's parts affiliates as the world's biggest smartphone manufacturer remained confident of solid sales of the new Note.
"Initial response about the Note 7 from Samsung's local and overseas carrier partners was very favorable. The sale of the new Note will exceed that of previous models," a Samsung executive told The Korea Times, Tuesday.
The executive declined to specify how many orders it has so far received from mobile carriers in markets in which the Note 7 will be available.
But he said Samsung's handset facilities are "fully operational" to ship the Notes to carriers as scheduled.
Samsung has chosen New York City in an attempt to directly confront Apple and take an early lead in the smarpthone competition ahead of Apple's new iPhone, which will be released in the latter half of this year.
The point is that while LG Electronics is disappointed at sluggish mobile sales, Samsung Electronics has clearly staged a strong turnaround during the second quarter this year.
There's no question that Samsung's performance in the June quarter was a testament to its earnings renaissance.
Samsung's mobile business is making solid earnings for Samsung's component business and the group's parts-related affiliates as the company has "vertically-integrated" its supply chain system from parts to sets.
"We maintain our 70,000-won per share target on Samsung Electro-Mechanics (Samsung Electro) because Samsung Electro is responsible for offering some improved new features on the Note 7 such as water-resistance and eye-scanning," said Samsung Securities analyst Lee Jong-wook in a report to clients.
Lee said Samsung's shift to focus more on components such the size of displays, camera functions and storage capacity will also keep Samsung Electro's factories running.
"Note 7 made little overhaul in its surface; however, it made some meaningful changes in components with Samsung Electro leading the way," according to the analyst.
Hana Financial's Park Joon-hyung said the local brokerage revised up its target for Samsung Electro to 63,500 won per share from 61,000 won thanks to the better-than-expected forecast of Note 7 sales.
"We expect Samsung Electro to report 55.4 billion won as its third quarter operating profit, up 263 percent from the previous quarter. This is due to increasing orders for the Note 7 from major carriers specifically those in China," said Park.
With Samsung Electro, Samsung SDI, the battery affiliate of Samsung, is also expected to benefit from the Note 7 given Samsung SDI's greater exposure for the supplement of its batteries to the Note 7, they said.
Brighter second half outlook
More importantly, Samsung Electronics itself will benefit most from the release of the Note 7 at a time when the company's Galaxy S7 smartphone has already logged good early shipments, boosting Samsung Electronics stocks to an increase of 19 percent of its price since the release of the Galaxy S7 smarpthone.
"Samsung Electronics' stock could climb higher," Morgan Stanley analyst Shawn Kim said. "While smartphone profits could dip in the September quarter as Galaxy S7 shipments settle down and marketing expenses rise, the launch of the Note 7 is expected to cushion the fall."
Morgan Stanley expects Samsung Electronics' operating profit to rise as much as 18 percent in the second half from the first half.
"We have an overweight rating on the stock with a 1,800,000 won per share target price," Kim said.
Bernstein Research's senior analyst Mark C. Newman said the Note 7 will help increase its manufacturing efficiency and the company continues the margin improvement trend.
UBS analyst Nicolas Gaudois focused on Samsung's plan to aggressively promote curved OLED screens because the production yields defect rates of curved OLED screens by Samsung reached a "stable level."
UBS has a buy rating on the stock with a 1,700,000 won a share target price.
"Samsung's OLED prowess has given the company a head start in moving towards foldable handsets seen as the next disruptor product in the smartphone market with the flexible display of its edge models," said Gaudois.
By Kim Yoo-chul
Korea's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is considering probing Microsoft Korea for allegedly violating antitrust regulations, sources said, Tuesday.
The latest moves by the country's top antitrust watchdog came as the government agency is squeezing leading technology firms such as Qualcomm and Google, which have operations here.
"FTC is looking into allegations that Microsoft Korea has been taking unfair advantage of its position by pushing its clients purchasing cloud computing-related products with unfair conditions," said one source, wishing not to be unidentified.
The source said the agency is collecting information before probing the Korean affiliate of the U.S.-based licensing giant because the regulator is yet to find clear evidence.
"Any moves to force clients to purchase products with bundled packages are against antitrust law," the source said.
FTC fined Microsoft Korea 30 billion won in 2005 after the agency found that the company forced local companies to purchase the Windows operating system, media player and messenger programs in one package.
The Microsoft Korea case will be different to Qualcomm, as the source said: "For Microsoft Korea, this issue isn't about a royalty-related one, at least."
Microsoft Korea said it wasn't being probed by the FTC over patents abuse. Microsoft earlier struck a cross-licensing pact with Samsung.
FTC may fine Qualcomm up to 1 trillion won because the agency believes that Qualcomm's moves to collect licensing fees based on equipment pricing rather than chip pricing is against fair trade.
On a related note, FTC has begun probing Google over the search giant's alleged violation of antitrust regulations. Three years ago, Google was found not to have breached the regulations.
FTC recently sent investigators to Google Korea's headquarters in Yeoksam-dong, southern Seoul, to check documents to discover whether Google Korea forced handset makers to use the Google Android platform and not sell products that use non-Android software.
Samsung Electronics Mobile Communications Business President Koh Dong-jin introduces the Galaxy Note 7 during the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, Tuesday (local time).
/ Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
By Yoon Sung-won
NEW YORK Samsung Electronics unveiled its latest big-screen smartphone Galaxy Note 7 to the world at a launch event in New York, Tuesday local time.
Offering technological improvements such as iris recognition and advanced S-Pen stylus, the world's leading handset maker expected that the Note 7 will strengthen Samsung's leadership in the premium smartphone sector alongside the company's flagship model Galaxy S7.
"Galaxy Note 7 will reconfirm our unrivaled position in the phablet' market, providing consumers with more innovative usability," said Koh Dong-jin, president of Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. Phablet is a combination of "phone" and "tablet" and refers to smartphones with a front screen larger than 5 inches.
"Alongside the Note 7, we will establish an ecosystem consisting of diverse wearable devices and services, aiming at offering a richer mobile experience."
Following the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event at Manhattan's Hammerstein Ballroom, Tuesday, the Note 7 will be rolled out in the global market on Aug. 19.
Though it is the sixth model in the Galaxy Note brand, the new handset has been dubbed the Note 7. Samsung Electronics said it aims at "unifying the numbering with its flagship model Galaxy S7 to better communicate with customers." By doing so, the company will solidify its two-pillar strategy of its flagship S series and the Note series with its larger screen for the premium smartphone segment.
The Note 7 will be the first in the series to have IP68-grade waterproofing and dustproofing. Unlike the S7, which is also resistant to water and dust, users can control the Note 7 in wet conditions such as in the rain using its S-Pen stylus, developed in house at Samsung Electronics. The stylus tip became slimmer from 1.6mm to 0.7mm compared to the Note 5 and the pen itself is twice as sensitive to pressure as its predecessor.
Samsung Electronics also stressed that the Note 7 provides automatic word translation through the stylus. Users can check the translation of a word on the smartphone by touching it with the S-Pen's tip, the company said.
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and China on Tuesday vowed to broaden bilateral trade relations for the benefits of the two countries and peoples, according to a statement released by the Cambodian side.
The statement was made after a meeting between Cambodian Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak and visiting Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng.
"Talks mainly focused on strengthening bilateral trade, including duty free and quota free treatment, and the exports of Cambodian rice and other agricultural products to China," the statement said.
"The two ministers underscored the 18 percent increase in Cambodia-China trade volume (to 4.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2015), and agreed that Cambodia and China should do more to attract investment to Cambodia," it said.
Gao stressed that Cambodia is China's strategic trading partner under the "Belt and Road" initiative and ASEAN-China Framework.
According to the statement, China would assist Cambodia to organize the 1st Cambodia-China trade and investment forum in Nanning City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in September 2016.
It added that China would consult with relevant agencies to provide tariff preferences up to 97 percent of total tariff lines under the Duty-Free, Quota-Free Scheme as soon as possible.
Besides, China would consider increasing export quotas for Cambodia's rice to 200,000 tons in 2017 and encourage more Chinese enterprises to invest in Cambodia in the fields of food processing, light manufacturing, and agro-industry.
Also, China would coordinate with relevant agencies to continue the negotiations of the protocol on the exportation of broken rice, banana, mango, longan, cashew nut, pepper, coffee bean and soybean from Cambodia to China, the statement said.
Gao arrived here on Monday for a two-day visit to explore ways to broaden ties and cooperation between China and Cambodia.
(Photo/IC)
Two Chinese steel giants have said that there is no exact information regarding China's plan to consolidate the major producers, according to an Aug. 2 report by National Business Daily (NBD).
Wuhan Iron & Steel Group Corp. and Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp. said in an interview with NBD that they have not received any information about the merger, and that they therefore have no official statement to release.
Nevertheless, a report by Bloomberg, citing a source who asked to remain anonymous, said that Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp. and Wuhan Iron & Steel Group Corp. will merge to become Southern China Steel Group. Shares of the listed units of Hebei and Shougang rose in the wake of the news.
Northern China is more developed in steel production than southern China, and the majority of large steel enterprises are located in Hebei, Liaoning and Shandong provinces.
The report by NBD said that the proposed merger will help to reduce competition between the two companies in southern China. However, given that the merger involves the state-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission and the Wuhan Iron & Steel Group Corp., there is no specific information currently available, explained a spokesperson from the group. The spokesperson also told NBD that they will release the information on their official website as soon as they know more.
In the mean time, the two groups already released a joint statement on June 26, announcing plans for a strategic merger. Before that, the companies had denied rumors of a merger many times.
A fighter of Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government runs for cover during a battle with Islamic State fighters inSirte, Libya, July 31, 2016. (Reuters photo)
TRIPOLI, Aug. 1 -- The U.S. launched the first airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) targets in the Libyan city of Sirte, at the request of Libya's UN-brokered government, the prime minister said in a televised speech.
"The first airstrikes were carried out on precise positions of the IS in Sirte, causing heavy losses," Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj said.
He said the airstrikes would be limited to Sirte and its surroundings.
In Washington, Pentagon confirmed the operation in a statement, saying "additional U.S. strikes will continue to target IS in Sirte in order to enable the Government of National Accord (GNA) to make a decisive, strategic advance."
"The U.S. stands with the international community in supporting the GNA as it strives to restore stability and security to Libya," the statement said.
It said the strikes were authorized by U.S. President Barack Obama.
Since May, Libya's UN-backed government have been striking the IS targets in Sirte, about 450 kilometers east of the capital city Tripoli.
The IS has claimed responsibility for a series of suicide attacks in Libya.
4 July 2016, Geneva, Switzerland - A Framework of Cooperation between the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the Group of Fifteen (G-15), a grouping of developing countries focused on South-South cooperation, was signed on 4th July, 2016 in Geneva.
Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, Chairman of the Personal Representatives of the Heads of State and Government of the G-15 and the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva signed the Agreement on behalf of the G-15 while Mr. Nikhil Seth, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director, signed on behalf of UNITAR.
The Agreement intents to further enhance cooperation between the two organisations. Its targeted objectives include, the design and development of technical assistance and capacity building activities for government officials from G-15 member states, the development of a training portfolio that would support continuous learning through the implementation of activities that incorporate the principles of adult learning, the joint publication of knowledge resources such as training workbooks, thematic reports, policy papers, research papers and the provision of scholarships to individuals from G-15 members states to participate in face-to-face and e-learning courses offered by UNITAR in the priority areas determined by the G-15.
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The price of LITRO gas cylinders would be further reduced in the first week of November in accordance with the
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The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary
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BEIJING, Aug. 1 -- The People's Liberation Army(PLA) marked its 89th anniversary Monday, Army Day, with a call to action: A strong China needs a strong armed forces.
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinpinghas said a strong armed forces can only be achieved through military reform.
Xi, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), called the reform drive "a comprehensive and revolutionary change," and said obstacles and policy issues that may hold back reform measures must be addressed to build a strong armed forces commensurate with China's international status.
The latest reform drive marks a historic shift in the organization and structure of the PLA. It is expected that the PLA's command system and structure will be more efficient, powers and responsibilities will be better managed, and its troops better arranged.
The fundamental criterion should be the test of war, especially modern combat. The military's role is to protect the country and it should be capable of winning battles, should the situation arise.
China has been pushing to reform various fields and its measures in the military have been some of the most successful.
After the third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee in2013, the CMC drafted a reform plan, and subsequently the general command of the PLA Army, the PLA Rocket Force, and the PLA Strategic Support Force were established. The previous seven military area commands were regrouped into five theater commands, and the four military departments -- staff, politics, logistics and armaments -- were reorganized into 15 agencies.
With these measures, the PLA has established a system whereby the CMC manages the overall administration of the armed forces, while theater commands focus on combat preparedness, and the various armed services pursue development.
The PLA is committed to being "a peacemaker," adhering to peaceful development, contributing to world peace and protecting international order, State Councilor and Defense Minister Chang Wanquan said Sunday.
China will pursue a defensive defense policy, safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and protect territorial integrity and maritime interests, he said.
China is "confident" and "capable of" dealing with various security threats and provocative acts, Chang noted.
A strong China needs a strong military to uphold peaceful development. While anticipating peace, China will not accept any infringements on its sovereignty, security and interests.
The latest military reform drive is another Long March for the PLA. Today, this same spirit will drive forward this next stage of military development.
Baca's lawyers. Photo: WitnessLA.com
Disgraced former Los Angeles County sheriff Lee Baca on Monday withdrew his guilty plea for lying to the FBI in his jail scandal and said he would take chances with a federal trial. He pulled back the plea bargain after the judge indicated he would not accept the six-month prison sentence that prosecutors agreed to with Baca. The former sheriff needed to serve more time, the judge said. So Baca took some time to think about it and decided to gamble his future on a trial. If convicted he likely would get a multi-year sentence like his former underlings have after their convictions.
Prosecutors now have to decide how many crimes they will charge Baca with, and then begins the dance by Baca and his lawyers to see how long they can delay a trial. A trial date of Sept. 20 was set, but the longer it goes, the more chance that witnesses could become unavailable or forgetful, and also Baca's health could deteriorate. He already has early signs of Alzheimer's, according to his doctors, and there was talk Monday that the disease could play a part in his defense. Baca, however, said he withdrew his plea so he could defend his reputation against "untruthful statements" by the judge.
From the LA Times story after court:
In deciding to walk away from the agreement he struck with federal prosecutors, Baca opened the door to the government bringing a broader and more serious case against him that could include charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy in addition to the lying allegation.
Michael Zweiback, one of Bacas attorneys, said he expected prosecutors to level the more serious charges, which mirror those brought against Bacas former second-in-command, Paul Tanaka, who was convicted earlier this year in an obstruction-of-justice case stemming from the same FBI investigation. Bacas decision came after U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson said last month that he would reject the plea deal, which had limited the former sheriffs prison time to a maximum of six months. Anderson had sentenced Tanaka to five years in prison. After withdrawing his plea, Baca told a horde of reporters on the steps of the downtown courthouse that he had done so because of untruthful statements made by the judge and prosecutors about his involvement in a scheme by sheriffs officials to thwart the FBIs jail probe. He did not specify what was untruthful. Instead, reading from a prepared statement, Baca referenced his recent diagnosis with Alzheimers disease and said the inevitable progression of the illness had injected an element of urgency into the case.
Witness LA's Celeste Fremon reminds everyone how we got to this point:
PRESS RELEASE
Biggest Banks Jettison Customers, Become Investment Banks
Aug. 1, 2016 (EIRNS)An in-depth study by Bloomberg News, published July 29, shows the effects of 20 years without Glass-Steagall and eight years of insane central bank policies, on two of the worlds biggest banksCitigroup and HSBC. "Citibank, HSBC Jettison Customers," is the title of Bloombergs article describing their findings, which are that the two mega-giant banking groups have essentially spent the Obama years trying to become immense investment banks, cutting their commercial banking activity by about 40% in each case.
Citigroup, for example, brags that it has trading floors in more than 80 countries, for trading of securities, derivatives, structured products, etc. But is has retail banking operations in just 21 countries, having pulled out of 29 countriesmostly in Europe and South Americasince 2006. In the United States, two-thirds of Citis retail bank offices across the country have disappeared since 2006, and now exist in just seven metropolitan areas on the East and West Coasts. Where investment banking accounted for 33% of its profits in 2006, it now accounts for 56%. And its retail banking operations are now primarily in Asia.
With HSBC, which once had the largest global retail banking operations in the world, all the same changes have occurred, but to an even more exaggerated degree. Investment banking now accounts for 75% of its profits.
In other words, both these giants have come to function like Deutsche Bank.
Interestingly, Citigroup "has used capital freed up from divestitures to boost its derivatives business," the nominal exposure to which has zoomed from $26.4 trillion in 2006 to $55.6 trillion now.
Both megabanks have severe problems with deferred prosecution agreements stemming from Wall Street-London crimes, which have motivated them to abandon commercial banking in some countries; most obviously, Citibank has divested its Mexico subsidiary.
Wells Fargo, by contrast, has more commercial banking customers than it did ten years ago, by virtue of buying the bankrupt Wachovia Bank. But with Wells Fargo, too, the share of its profits coming from investment banking casinos has grown, from 25% in 2006 to 34% now.
PRESS RELEASE
ISIS Video Threatens President Putins Life and Calls for Jihad in All of Russia
Aug. 1, 2016 (EIRNS)A nine-minute YouTube video reportedly issued by ISIS yesterday, threatened the life of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and called for followers to wage jihad in Russia. The video went viral shortly after the shooting down of a Russian Mi-8 helicopter returning from a humanitarian mission delivering food and medicine to residents of Aleppo, Syria. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy, Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian General Staff, told reporters that the helicopter was downed over ground under the control of the Jabhat al-Nusra group and allied members of the "moderate opposition," Russias Defense Ministry reported today.
According to Sputnik, Reuters and multiple other media sources, the video showed a masked man driving a car in the desert, yelling, "Listen Putin, we will come to Russia and will kill you at your homes... O Brothers, carry out jihad, and kill and fight them." The video shows footage of armed men attacking armored vehicles and tents, and a subtitle reading "Breaking into a barracks of the rejectionist military on the international road south [of] Akashat." It was posted to the Telegram account which ISIS has previously used to transmit threats.
RT reminds readers of the speech by President Putin last October, in which he reported that an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters from Russia and other CIS member states were fighting for the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, and warned of the danger of these radicalized jihadis returning to Russia.
"We certainly cannot allow them to use the experience they are getting in Syria on home soil," Putin stated, and called for the creation of a broad international coalition to combat the spread of terrorism.
PRESS RELEASE
Russia Invites NATO Officials to Moscow for Constructive Dialogue on Avoiding Conflicts
Aug. 1, 2016 (EIRNS)Speaking today, Russias Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov announced that military officials from NATO have been invited to a September meeting in Moscow to discuss the military-political situation in Europe, Sputnik reported. The issue of preventing any incidents in the air or on the sea is high on the agenda, he said, as is the fight against the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations. He emphasized Russias willingness to ensure that all military flights over the Baltic region take place with transponders on, a subject that was also discussed July 29, at a briefing for all foreign military attaches stationed in Moscow.
At that same July 29 meeting, Antonov explained, attaches were briefed on the results of the July 13 meeting of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC). Russia Beyond the Headlines reported today that at the NRC meeting, Russia proposed a "positive program" for improving relations with NATO, based on abating tensions and preventing
"military incidents on the contact line between the sides armed forces." Within the NRC format, he said, the Russia-NATO Cooperative Airspace Initiative (CAI) can be an important means of "promoting the safety of aviation flights."
Antonov underscored that Moscow is prepared to carry out joint incident-prevention work, based on existing bilateral agreements and consulting with the Defense Ministers of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Sweden, and Finland "to address mutual concerns related to military activities in the near-border areas."
The Deputy Defense Minister also reported that Russias Defense Ministry is carrying out a "meticulous" evaluation of decisions made at the last NATO summit in Warsaw.
Dorothea Langes photographs of rural life, which she took for a U.S. government agency, are among the most famous images of Depression America: farmers, resettled ex-slaves, inhabitants of migrant camps, homesteaders and landscapes, they tell the story of a nation indomitably facing an uncertain future.
As we reported last week, the photographs belong to the nation. Lange was on assignment for the Farm Security Administration, one of a cadre of photographers and writers dispatched by New Deal official Harry Hopkins, in a remarkable act of service to posterity, to chronicle the challenges of the worst economic crisis in Americas history.
As long as Congress keeps shrinking the public domain by copyright extensions, tons of stuff that used to be public no longer is. Rick Prelinger, historical archivist
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As a product of U.S. government employment, the images are in the public domain. Langes photographs of migrant mother Florence Owens Thompson and Washington farmer Chris Adolf, along with Walker Evans image of Alabama sharecropper Floyd Burroughs and thousands of other photos taken by other Depression-era photographers, can be downloaded by anyone as a digital file of pristine quality from the Library of Congress website, at no charge and without restriction.
But they also can be purchased from the commercial licensing firm Getty Images, for fees that can run to thousands of dollars, depending on how theyre to be used, how large they will be displayed, and how many people might see them. Gettys library of public-domain images is vast, and its rates arent cheap.
This raises obvious questions. Why would anyone pay so much for something they can have for free? And is Getty acting legally?
These questions are at the heart of a lawsuit filed against Getty and others last week by Carol M. Highsmith, a photographer who donated her work to the Library of Congress, only to receive a nasty letter from a Getty subsidiary over her use of her pictures on a personal website. The letter warned Highsmith that she had infringed the license holders rights and demanded $120 in compensation. Her lawsuit asks for $1 billion in damages.
The case isnt the first time that private exploitation of publicly available images has been an issue. Just last year, the veteran computer columnist John C. Dvorak wrote that he was stunned by the number of free public domain images being sold by Corbis, a photo agency then owned by Bill Gates. (Gates later sold Corbis to a Chinese consortium, which promptly licensed the collection to, yes, Getty Images.)
According to her lawsuit, Highsmith retains the copyright to her work; she simply donated to the public the right to reproduce and display her work for free. She argues that that prevents anyone else from asserting the right to charge for the images, and that any such claim is fraudulent.
The issues involved with Gettys charging a fee for images whose copyright belongs to the public are somewhat different. Copyright experts say theres no legal obstacle to charging money for that material, as long as the fee isnt charged as a copyright claim.
If this stuff really is in the public domain, says Carl Malamud, a prominent warrior against copyright claims by government agencies, you can use it any way you want, and that means for commercial purposes. In other words, nothing stops Getty Images from acquiring the New Deal images from the Library of Congress on its own and charging others to download them from its own website. To charge you is immoral, but not illegal, Malamud says.
So what is Getty selling when it charges a client for the use of a publicly owned photograph? In an emailed statement, the firm says its selling such services as image search tools and research support to assist clients in locating the right image for their needs. Getty also provides specialized delivery methods for certain clients, including direct feeds into software apps.
Perhaps most important, Getty provides legal indemnification for the use of images taken from its inventory in other words, if a client faces a lawsuit for infringing an unsuspected license or copyright, Getty will cover the cost.
Many people dont understand that ownership of copyright is distinct from ownership of the object, cautions Robert Jacobs, a copyright expert at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Los Angeles. That means they could still be liable for copyright infringement even if theyve paid for a specific image. Clearing copyrightable material for commercial use that is, identifying its rights owners and obtaining their permission is a complicated task that often challenges even professional publications.
Gettys guarantee therefore is crucial for many clients, according to Richard Prelinger, whose archive of more than 60,000 historical advertising, educational, amateur and industrial films is accessible for free via the Internet Archive, and also for a fee via Getty Images. For users vulnerable to lawsuits, he says, Gettys commitment to protect the licensee from liability is especially important given that the details of copyright law are too complex and changeable for many to follow on their own. As long as Congress keeps shrinking the public domain by copyright extensions, tons of stuff that used to be public no longer is, he says.
Getty is careful about the distinction between licensing rights and copyright, Prelinger says. Gettys usually quite precise about licenses, he said. They dont like to promise rights they dont possess.
But a review of Gettys public domain offerings suggests that the firm doesnt always if ever inform buyers that the publicly owned images licenses are also available for free from public sources, though theyre not under any legal obligation to do so. But the absence of any such disclosure arguably could mislead customers into thinking that Getty is the only source.
For example, one image of sharecropper Burroughs, a sepia-toned color image on file at the Library of Congress, bears the credit, Photo by VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images. Although a note on the image does state it was taken by Walker Evans, theres no mention that the identical image can be downloaded in high resolution from the Library of Congress website for free and for unrestricted use. An unwary customer might assume that paying Getty whose license fee can run to nearly $5,000 for a six-month term is the only way to obtain the photo legally.
If youre looking for material created for the government, its probably in the public domain and available for free. If you find it on the website of Getty Images or another commercial archive, they can charge a fee to send it your way. For the average consumer, the applicable rule is buyer beware, and keep looking.
Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.
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The big news takeaway from Donald Trumps rally Tuesday in Ashburn, Va., was that he got irritated by a crying baby and ordered the tot and its mother out of the hall.
This was sadly typical of the tendency of the Trump campaign press and lets face it, the rest of us to be distracted by the more childish elements of Trumps behavior. But its a shame, because as a consequence nobody paid any attention to the policy discussion that Trump wrapped around his moments of preoccupation with the baby. That discussion dealt with China, and it was a good illustration of the Republican candidates once-over-lightly, soundbite-oriented approach to the real issues.
They have ripped us to shreds. Ripped us absolutely to shreds. Donald Trump on China
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So lets pick up Trump in the minute or so before he went on a tear about the baby. The exact topic was Chinas devaluation of its currency, the yuan. Well start just after his initial notice of the baby, when he seemed to give approval to having the infant in the hall.
When China devalues its currency (he said), they make it impossible for our companies to compete. When China devalues its currency they take our guts out. And they do it so often, they do it so often. Theyre constantly devaluing their currency and they always wait till like its a bad time like, we have a problem with Iraq, we have a problem with Afghanistan, every time we have like a big problem, they always devalue. And a year and a half ago they devalued, the biggest devaluation theyve done in 20 years. The biggest in 20 years. And I said, man, how did they get away but we had a problem, we were doing other things. OK. So when China does that, we have to fight back. Now heres how you fight back. Because we cant fight back any other way. We have the piggy bank. They have ripped us to shreds. Ripped us absolutely to shreds Actually, I was only kidding, you can get the baby out of here.
And, scene.
Much of this is right out of Trumps anti-China playbook. There are nuggets of truth and understanding sprinkled through, like fruit nuggets in a fruitcake. But the entire spiel adds up to unpalatable nonsense.
Yes, its true a devalued currency makes a countrys exports cheaper abroad and its imports more expensive, tending to reduce trade surpluses. Yes, China had a major devaluation recently last August, not quite 18 months ago.
But the idea that China has in recent years been targeting the United States with devaluations, especially by waiting until the U.S. is embroiled in some crisis, is fantasy, currency experts say. So is the implication that the Chinese economy is controlled by a cadre of sinister masterminds who can manipulate it to their own domestic and international ends.
The truth is different and more mundane. Chinas currency valuation reflects more than ever before the condition of its economy, and thats not good. Devaluation is unwelcome to large sectors of the economy. Chinese policymakers, recognizing that devaluation is an issue of international politics, have been sensitive about accusations that theyre letting the yuan slide.
That showed up in January, when the yuan tumbled, setting off stock market losses around the globe. Chinese economic policymakers struggled to assure international trading partners that they were committed to supporting the currencys price. As it happened, international markets were concerned both that they might not be telling the truth and that they werent actually capable of supporting the currency. (Chinese economic managers attempts to bring troublesome stock markets to heel border on slapstick, The Economist observed in January.)
More generally, the feeling in the market is that, if anything, the Chinese yuan is overvalued, rather than artificially cheap that the weakness in the Chinese economy genuinely warrants a further devalued yuan.
Yet some economists say a devaluation would cost the Chinese economy more than it gains. Much of Chinese manufacturings parts and other inputs are themselves imported, so a devaluation raises costs for Chinese importers, potentially more than it cuts the prices of their goods abroad. Moreover, China has been trying to encourage consumption by domestic consumers, a goal that would be undermined by higher prices for goods from abroad.
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Devaluation, furthermore, encourages capital flight out of China. The government already limits the sums that Chinese citizens can invest overseas, but current outflows arent close to the limit devalue the currency, however, and the prospect is that the outflow in search of profitable investments elsewhere would become a torrent.
Put it all together, and the notion that China is in a position to manipulate its currency just to harass American manufacturers seems even more fanciful.
Trump didnt go into his remedies for Chinas supposed offense during the brief clip that emerged from his baby-hampered rally. But generally he has talked about imposing a tariff of 45% on Chinese imports if they dont behave. (He also has proposed a 35% tariff on Mexican imports.)
Economists across the ideological spectrum have expressed horror at the trade war with China this would trigger. Peter Petri of Brandeis University has observed that low-wage manufacturing would shift from China to other countries, forcing the U.S. to extend its tariff wall globally. Rather than cut our trade deficit, tariffs retaliating against the U.S. goods would lead to a higher trade deficit, not a reduction. Petri estimated in March that the trade deficit of $736 billion in 2015 would grow by $67 billion. Other consequences would be reduced productivity and wages in U.S. industry, and possibly more than a million jobs.
Bashing China is a popular political sport, among Republicans and Democrats alike. But theres a reflexive tone to it, like complaining about the DMV as a symbol of government bureaucracy. The China struggling to maintain growth today is something less than a rapacious economic winner, Jeffrey Rothfeder observed in the New Yorker in March. The value of its currency may be partially the result of centralized economic planning, but is responding more to market forces over which Beijing often seems powerless.
Any policies aimed at addressing imaginary foes and forces are doomed to fail. More frighteningly, they risk unleashing unanticipated consequences, and not good ones. And thats if they make sense even in their own terms. Trumps trade policies dont.
In order to qualify as a coherent set of policies, the policies have to not be cartoonish and the policies have to stand some chance of being actually enacted, Michael Strain, a resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, told CNBC this spring. I just dont think Mr. Trumps trade policies meet either of those criteria.
That hasnt stopped him. That squalling you heard at Tuesdays rally wasnt just a baby.
Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.
Return to Michael Hiltziks blog.
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Some Irvine renters and businesses will soon be able to use Google Fiber, making the city the first in Southern California to receive the tech giants ultra-high-speed Internet.
The Irvine Co. said Tuesday that the Internet service will be available in many of its properties within the city, with a roll-out starting in coming months.
Orange Countys largest landlord did not provide a list of those properties or a specific timeline. In a Facebook post, Google said it would start with some apartment communities and small businesses in Irvine.
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Such Internet access up to 40 times faster than typical broadband is increasingly sought after by both consumers and businesses. As a result, landlords and developers are looking at options for providing the service or similar systems, which can download a high-definition movie in minutes or even seconds.
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Developers, for example, are hard wiring the Ontario Ranch community under construction in San Bernardino County for ultra-high-speed Internet, seeing it as an amenity that can help lure prospective home buyers to fill what will eventually be about 47,000 homes.
Commercial landlords stand to benefit as well. Having ultra-high-speed Internet could serve as a key marketing tool and help fill buildings with tenants, said Jeff Ingham, a senior managing director in the Orange County office of commercial real estate brokerage JLL.
Everybody wants high speed, he said.
The Google Fiber roll-out in Irvine will be limited, at least at first.
In its Facebook post, Google said the company would start with Irvine Co. properties near existing fiber infrastructure. And well continue to explore bringing Fiber to more of Irvine and Orange County.
Irvine Co. said that it has been installing empty conduit to its properties since the mid-1980s, making it easier to quickly launch a high-speed service.
Google has previously said it was looking to roll out Google Fiber in Los Angeles and San Diego, as well. A Google spokeswoman declined to provide an update on those plans.
andrew.khouri@latimes.com
Follow me @khouriandrew on Twitter
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When the Democratic National Committee discovered in April that its computer networks had been hacked, leaders there did not just alert government intelligence. They called CrowdStrike, a 5-year-old cybersecurity firm that makes millions from mercenary work sold with a promise: We Stop Breaches.
The Irvine-based contractor last month revealed what it had found: Two Russian intelligence groups, code-named Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear, had spearheaded competing hacks over the last year using a barrage of malicious implants and backdoors. CrowdStrikes experts knew the hackers well: Theyd also recently infiltrated the White House, State Department and Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Their weapon of choice: The cybersecurity equivalent of a neighborhood watch program on steroids, said CrowdStrike co-founder George Kurtz. That same offering has helped them turn their young business into a juggernaut, with sales of $100 million this year.
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Our clients now include the creme de la creme of companies, said Kurtz, a former chief technology officer of antivirus giant McAfee. From a growth perspective, its just been explosive.
CrowdStrike is one soldier in a very new kind of army: private cyber-defense contractors. Their skill in fending off and eradicating hacks has become increasingly prized at the top echelons of American business following the crippling attacks on Target, insurance-giant Anthem and Sony Pictures -- the first time a foreign government targeted a U.S. company.
As payback for a movie poking fun at North Koreas supreme leader, state-sponsored hackers stole the studios employee records, trade secrets and unfinished movies; shared embarrassing internal emails; and wiped thousands of computers and servers.
But the cyber-defense firms are also increasingly being called in to shield quasi-governmental agencies such as the DNC and American think tanks, which the company said are highly targeted by hackers aligned with nations such as Russia, China and Iran due to their stables of prominent experts and activists.
For companies such as CrowdStrike, the new age of information warfare -- and the ensuing climate of fear -- has led to a flood of cash. Analysts at research firm Gartner says the security-software market climbed to $22 billion last year, with sales growing by $1 billion for three straight years.
The growing business has also led to fierce competition in the cybersecurity industry, including with companies such as Cylance, ThreatConnect and Palantir. CrowdStrike said it would not share its client list or details of financial performance, but said it now works with three of the worlds 10 largest companies and five of the worlds 10 largest banks.
Their battlefield was made center stage last week when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump encouraged the Russian government to infiltrate and distribute private emails from his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of State.
Russia, if youre listening, I hope youre able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press, Trump said during a press conference.
Trumps comments came amid an FBI investigation into whether Russian state actors were responsible for stealing emails from DNC computers and distributing them ahead of the partys convention.
This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue, Jake Sullivan, Clintons senior policy advisor, said in a statement last week.
The DNC first alerted CrowdStrike of their breach in April, and within 24 hours a threat-analyst team installed software on DNC computers to examine the attack. The firms report tying Russian intelligence to the hack has since been supported by other watchdogs, such as Fidelis Cybersecurity and Mandiant, and discussed as evidence in government officials intelligence briefings.
CrowdStrike actively tracks 80 global threat-actor groups, including Cozy Bear, that specialize in three tiers of modern cyberattacks: cash-seeking e-crime; cause-centric hacktivism; and nation-state hacks, engineered for political warfare or espionage.
CrowdStrikes main threat-tracking platform, Falcon Host, compares and maps 14 billion events a day into a global graph, using the same style of technology powering a social network like Facebook.
The firms involvement in the DNC hack began as detective work, but teams there have claimed victory in repelling other attacks. CrowdStrike said last year that its expert hunters had successfully blocked a Chinese hacker group, called Hurricane Panda, attempting to blitz an unnamed American technology firm.
But the firms have also attracted criticism over the secrecy of their work. Threat-intelligence companies have a particularly infuriating habit of being very public with their conclusions, but very secretive about their methods, data, and even malware samples, wrote Matt Tait, the founder of Capital Alpha Security, a U.K.-based consulting firm. That actively frustrates independent corroboration, and doesnt inspire an enormous amount of confidence in their conclusions.
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CrowdStrikes rapid growth has attracted big bets from American tech. The firm last year raised $100 million from an investment led by one of Googles venture-capital arms in the search giants first cybersecurity deal. In an investment report, CrowdStrike said it had seen a 700% year-over-year increase in its deals of $1 million or more.
Companies such as CrowdStrike are also finding themselves increasingly tapped to safeguard the political establishment. Administration officials told the Washington Post that the DNC email dump could warrant raising parts of the electoral process to the level of critical infrastructure, such as power grids, that receive special protection from cyber-attacks.
America is digitally exposed, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), said in a statement. The United States must take serious offensive and defensive actions now.
CyberStrike now employs 440 engineers, threat analysts and other employees across the globe, including in offices in Silicon Valley, London and in the Washington-defense-contractor hub of Crystal City, Va. Many, Kurtz said, joined the firm following careers in American or foreign military and intelligence.
As a company, we do have a strong mission focus, which is really protecting our customers from the adversary, Kurtz said. When you have a purpose, which is to fight the bad guy, people take that very seriously.
Drew Harwell writes for the Washington Post.
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(Photo from Weibo)
China opened a large fishing port, the closest one to the Nansha Islands, on Monday to handle fishing vessels working in the South China Sea.
Local authorities and thousands of people held a traditional ceremony to celebrate the opening of the port at Ya- zhou, about 50 kilometers west of Sanya in Hainan province.
Monday also marked the end of the annual fishing ban in parts of the South China Sea, which started on May 16.
More than 300 fishing vessels flying red flags left the port at noon for nearby South China Sea fishing ground. Those intending to make long journeys delayed leaving because of Typhoon Nida's approach.
Gui Junjiang, a fisherman from Sanya, sailed with his colleagues from the port to the Xisha Islands, about 260 km away, where four generations of his family have fished.
"The new port will provide a more comfortable, clean environment for fishermen, as well as more convenience," he said.
Li Jin, vice-general manager of Sanya Yazhou Port Investment Co, said the port can accommodate 800 fishing boats, but in the long term it will be able to handle 2,000.
Zhang Huazhong, head of the Sanya Ocean and Fishery Bureau, said, "We have not had a large and modern public fishing port that performs various functions. We have now filled the gap."
The port will be the largest in Hainan. Apart from harboring fishing vessels, it can also shield ships from typhoons and serve as a logistics and studies center for fisheries products.
Zhang said earlier that the port has "very important significance in safeguarding China's fishing rights in the South China Sea".
It is also designed to be a support base for exploiting fishery resources and will help with supplies for Sansha, the southernmost Chinese city, which administers an area of about 2 million square kilometers in the South China Sea.
The city headquarters are located on Yongxing Island, which is the largest of the Xisha Islands.
With his latest move, Elon Musk is challenging Wall Street to determine whether merging two of his high-flying but unprofitable companies will help bolster their performance or double their risk.
How investors decide the issue is crucial to the future of a combined Tesla and SolarCity because theyll need to continue tapping the financial markets to satisfy their voracious appetite for funds.
Electric automaker Tesla Motors Inc. agreed Monday to acquire solar-power provider SolarCity Corp. for $2.6 billion in Tesla stock. Musk is the largest shareholder and chairman of both firms.
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The billionaire sees the companies marriage as a way to gain efficiencies for both operations, part of his master plan to combine solar power and its storage such as for Tesla car batteries into a single sustainable energy company.
We expect to achieve cost synergies of $150 million in the first full year after closing the merger, Tesla said in a blog post Monday.
We also expect to save customers money by lowering hardware costs, reducing installation costs, improving our manufacturing efficiency and reducing our customer-acquisition costs, Tesla said.
But both Tesla and SolarCity have been losing money and burning through lots of cash as they attempt to expand their operations. Both rely on government subsidies, which wont last forever. Those factors have some analysts fretting that fusing the firms makes their financial situation more precarious.
We see benefits from a combined solar/storage offering and manufacturing efficiencies, but remain concerned about cash flow and capital needs, analyst Efraim Levy of S&P Global Market Intelligence said in a note to clients Monday.
Tesla lost $888.7 million on revenue of $4.05 billion in 2015, a year in which it delivered 50,580 vehicles, mostly its mainstay Model S sedan.
Tesla, based in Palo Alto, also builds the Model X sport utility vehicle and is ramping up production for its $35,000 mass-market sedan, the Model 3, with deliveries set to start late next year.
So far, Wall Street has been willing to keep supporting Musks companies with fresh capital, a need that is expected to grow as Tesla and SolarCity tackle bigger pieces of Musks master plan.
Tesla had $1.44 billion of cash as of March 31, down from nearly $2 billion at the end of 2014. But in May, the company raised an additional $1.7 billion with a secondary stock offering; its a familiar pattern in which Tesla has issued stock or convertible debt every year since it went public in June 2010.
SolarCity, meanwhile, lost $768.8 million last year on revenue of $399.6 million, and its cash on the balance sheet shrank to $361.7 million as of March 31 from $504.4 million at the end of 2014. It also had more than $1 billion of long-term debt.
But SolarCity said in July that it raised an additional $345 million from four partners to fund the equipment and installation of new solar projects.
In a separate statement updating its 2016 operations, SolarCity said Monday that residential bookings in the first half of the year were still lower than we anticipated despite fresh efforts to boost sales.
The statement reaffirms weak market trends, analyst Patrick Jobin of Credit Suisse said in a research note.
SolarCity also is facing regulatory pressure in certain states such as Nevada and Arizona, which is one reason that its stock price has plunged by more than half so far this year.
In December, for instance, SolarCity announced that it would cease operations in Nevada after regulators drastically cut benefits to rooftop solar owners.
Utility companies argue that rooftop solar owners do not pay their fair share of the cost for the poles, wires and substations that make up the electric grid.
Utilities have pressed regulators in states nationwide to increase fees on rooftop solar owners and to cut the amount paid for electricity that those solar owners produce. That could curb demand for SolarCitys products.
SolarCitys shares fell $1.98, or 7.4%, to $24.72 on Monday. Teslas stock fell $4.78, or 2%, to $230.01.
Their proposed merger calls for SolarCity holders to receive 0.11 of a Tesla share for each SolarCity share, or $25.30 a share based on Teslas close Monday.
When the companies first disclosed their deal in June, they indicated a price between $26.50 and $28.50 of Tesla stock per SolarCity share.
Musk on Monday assured investors that the companies rapid cash consumption was more a sign of success than anything else.
If we werent in such a kind of crazy rapid growth mode, he told analysts during a conference call, we would be producing significant free positive cash flow.
james.peltz@latimes.com
For more business news, follow James F. Peltz on Twitter: @PeltzLATimes
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The parents of Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin on Tuesday sued the makers of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, an SUV that had been recalled when it crushed and killed the 27-year-old in a freak accident at his Studio City home.
Victor and Irina Yelchin filed the wrongful-death and product-liability lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The suit contends that the gear selector in the actors 2015 Jeep was defective and poorly designed and manufactured.
Its against nature when parents bury their own child. Thats why we hope this lawsuit will make other families never go through the same hell we are going through right now, Victor Yelchin said at a news conference in Los Angeles.
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The actors Jeep rolled backward down the driveway of his home, pinning him between a brick column and a security fence on June 19.
Anton Yelchin was crushed and lingered alive for some time, trapped and suffocating until his death, the lawsuit states.
The SUV was among 1.1 million vehicles recalled by the automaker in April because their electronic gearshifts confused drivers, causing the vehicles to roll away unexpectedly and leading to dozens of injuries.
1 / 3 Actor Anton Yelchin in 2015. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 3 Yelchin played the title role in Charlie Bartlett, which won Best Feauture Film at Boulder International Film Festival in 2008. Yelchin starred alongside Robert Downey Jr. as a wealthy yet troubled high-schooler. (Ken Woroner / Associated Press) 3 / 3 Yelchin is pictured with co-stars Chris Pine, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban and John Cho in his best-known role playing Chekhov in the 2009 Star Trek reboot. (Industrial Light & Magic / Associated Press)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that operation of the gearshift was not intuitive and gave poor tactile and visual feedback to the driver, increasing the potential for unintended gear selection.
Unlike traditional gearshifts, the electronic shifter does not move to a different position after gears are shifted. In order to get from drive to park, a driver must push the lever forward three times. A light indicates which gear is selected.
It doesnt give sufficient information to the user, said Gary Dordick, a Beverly Hills attorney representing the family.
A few days after Yelchins death, a group of Jeep Grand Cherokee owners filed a class-action lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler over issues with the gearshift.
In June, Fiat Chrysler said it began providing dealers with a software update that would automatically shift the car into park if a door opened while the engine was running.
Dordick said the notice was received at the actors house seven days after his death, but it was unclear if he had received a May letter sent by the automaker indicating it was working on a fix.
Dordick said the actor had started his vehicle and then apparently got out to retrieve something in his house, thinking it was in park, when the accident occurred.
The lawsuit is seeking punitive damages but does not specify an exact amount.
Dordick alleged Fiat Chrysler knew of problems with the gear selector as early as 2012 but still installed it into the 2014 and 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokees. The gearshift was changed for the 2016 model.
Fiat Chrysler issued a statement extending its sympathies to the Yelchin family for their tragic loss but said it could not comment on the lawsuit because it had not yet been served with the legal action.
The company urged customers to follow the instructions on their recall notices and set their parking brakes before exiting the vehicle. Fiat Chrysler has said it is speeding up its recall, which also covers the 2014 Grand Cherokee as well as the 2012 through 2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300.
A government investigation into the gearshift issue found it was associated with 266 crashes that had injured 68 people as of late June.
In a separate action last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered Fiat Chrysler to pay a record $105-million fine and buy back as many as 193,000 cars after accusing the automaker of moving too slowly on past problems with its vehicles.
The company pledged to improve its handling of recalls and hire an agency-approved monitor to track its recall performance over the next three years.
The Yelchin lawsuit also names auto parts maker ZF North America, the North American arm of the German transmission, chassis and driveline manufacturer ZF Friedrichshafen AG that made the shifter.
ZF North America did not respond to a request for comment.
Yelchin is perhaps best known for his role as Pavel Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek franchise. The third film in the series, Star Trek Beyond, has grossed more than $106 million in the U.S. in its first two weekends.
The Yelchins filed another legal action Friday to take control of his estate, which is valued at nearly $1.4 million. Anton Yelchin left behind several unreleased projects, including the Netflix animated series Trollhunters and four films.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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UPDATES:
2:15 p.m.: This article was updated throughout.
The first version of this post was published at 12:05 p.m.
Banning resident Jim Bailey and his wife went in recently for their annual physicals. They came away with hundreds of dollars in charges for co-pays and tests.
Bailey, 78, told me that he feels duped.
The Affordable Care Act dictates that all annual physicals be provided at no cost to the policyholders no deductibles or co-pays, he said. But that wasnt the case with us.
Nor will it be the case with anyone else even though many Americans believe otherwise.
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Theres nothing in the ACA that guarantees a free checkup, said Bradley Herring, an associate professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins University. Its surprising how many people think its part of the law.
For consumers, this is perhaps one of the more confusing aspects of Obamacare, which does indeed cover certain free preventive services and so-called wellness visits but stops short of free annual physicals.
Complicating things, patients might go in for free preventive care covered by the law, mention some unrelated ailment and find out later they were billed for a normal office visit.
This illustrates the somewhat arbitrary division between preventive exams, which the ACA seeks to encourage, and diagnosis and treatment, which remains subject to normal payment rules, said Wendy Mariner, a professor of health law at Boston University School of Public Health.
A visit to get a diagnosis for pain is not classified as preventive, she said.
In Baileys case, what he expected to be a free visit to his doctor ended up requiring a $15 co-pay after the doctor decided to run an electrocardiogram test on Baileys heart. EKG tests are not a covered preventive service under Obamacare.
The doctor referred Bailey to a heart specialist, who did more testing and, said Bailey, found nothing amiss. Nevertheless, this second opinion entailed a charge of about $300.
Baileys wife, Peggy, 75, was billed $200 by her doctor for a mammogram. But when she pointed out that mammograms are a covered preventive service, the charge was removed. Nevertheless, she too had to cough up a $15 co-pay because her doctor went beyond the parameters of a free wellness visit for seniors by renewing a prescription.
The couple are insured by the Federal Employee Health Benefits program because Bailey is a former government worker.
Eligible preventive screenings and wellness visits are 100% covered by insurers under Obamacare, with no cost to the patient. Reimbursement rates can be higher for more comprehensive office visits, not to mention the added revenue from patients being responsible for co-pays.
Tomas Philipson, a professor of public policy at the University of Chicago, said its no surprise that some doctors may order additional tests or bill for a full office visit when all theyve done is sign their name to a prescription form.
This is how they get reimbursed by insurers, he said. Its the same reason a doctor makes you come back to the office in two weeks to get your test results rather than just letting you call. Its all about the reimbursement.
Thats not to say this is what happened with Bailey. Its entirely possible that his doctor believed an EKG was warranted, as was a second opinion by a specialist. As Bailey put it, Better safe than sorry.
Its also possible that a clerical error was to blame for Baileys wife being charged for what should have been a free test. A copay for a prescription renewal well, thats technically legit, although Philipson told me that not all doctors are so money-minded.
Its hard to see why youd code that as an office visit, he said.
Coding is how doctors and hospitals handle bills. Every interaction with the healthcare system has its own code. How a doctor records a patient visit will determine if it was entirely covered by the Affordable Care Act or if it qualified as billable treatment involving an insurance claim.
Dr. Tanya Spirtos, a physician in Redwood City, Calif. said that theres no cookbook outlining steps for coding when patients raise issues beyond the scope of an Obamacare-covered visit. Its all on a case-by-case basis, she said.
A spokesman for the American Medical Assn. said that if a doctor records additional treatment in a patients file, the coding must reflect that.
The healthcare experts I spoke with described this aspect of the Affordable Care Act as a buyer-beware kind of thing: Know your rights and know where the pitfalls may lurk.
The official Obamacare website, HealthCare.gov, says that most health plans must cover a set of preventive services like shots and screening tests at no cost to you.
For all adults, these include screening for high cholesterol, depression, Type 2 diabetes, hepatitis, HIV and lung cancer, plus counseling for obesity, sexually transmitted diseases and tobacco use. Additional screening is available to women for anemia, urinary tract infections and other conditions.
A wide range of free preventive screenings are available for kids, including for autism, behavioral and developmental issues, hearing and vision. Most common vaccines are covered.
Medicare beneficiaries are entitled to a free annual wellness visit that includes routine measurements such as height and weight, a review of current medications and a check for any cognitive impairment.
Be careful during both preventive screenings and wellness visits about stepping outside the box, as it were. Even though it would seem perfectly natural to bring up all medical concerns during a trip to the doctors office, its clear that some doctors will recode your visit for the most trivial of reasons.
My suggestion: Before raising an additional healthcare issue, ask your doctor if, hypothetically speaking, such a question would result in a co-pay or other charge.
That at least puts the doctor on notice that youre wise to any billing shenanigans.
David Lazarus column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com.
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For a time, the Santa Monica Museum of Art was an institution without a home. Last year it lost its building at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, and its future was uncertain. But now it is busy rebuilding. In May it announced a new location on East 7th Street in downtown Los Angeles and a new name: the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA).
Now the museum moves forward with more news: It has announced the appointment of Hammer Museum assistant curator Jamillah James as its curator. James joins the ICA after two years at the Hammer, where she worked on project installations and major exhibitions, and helped oversee a range of programming at Art + Practice, the arts space the Hammer runs in collaboration with artist Mark Bradford in Leimert Park.
Elsa Longhauser, the executive director of ICA LA says she has followed James work for the last couple of years from the project show she organized of the painted collages of Njideka Akunyili Crosby at the Hammer to the group exhibition A Shape That Stands Up at Art + Practice and has been impressed with whats she has seen.
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Seeing the work that she was doing and talking to people with whom she had worked made me think she would be perfect for ICA LA, she says. Shes a speaker and a critic and a writer in addition to being a curator. I think Jamillah, with her sensibility and her experience and her knowledge of the global and local art world, will add a dimension that is new and exciting and expansive.
Prior to her tenure at the Hammer, James was a curatorial fellow at the Studio Museum in Harlem in New York City, where she worked on a number of exhibitions, including a critically acclaimed survey of works by the California conceptualist Charles Gaines (a show that later traveled to the Hammer, with additional pieces shown at Art + Practice).
Los Angeles conceptual artist Charles Gaines at his 2015 exhibition at Art + Practice, which was co-curated by Jamillah James. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times )
James has likewise been an admirer of what the three-decade-old Santa Monica institution has achieved over its existence.
They have this radical experimental history, she says. Theyve championed artists Ive been committed to in my own work, like William Pope.L and Mickalene Thomas.
And the nimble quality of the kunsthalle model that is, the non-collecting institution is an environment she is looking forward to working in. This, she says, will provide her the ability to showcase a dynamic mix of Los Angeles and international artists in more reactive ways.
[The museums] identity isnt tethered to a collection, she says. It gives us a lot more flexibility. This means there will be a lot of different artists we can engage with. It wont be the five- to seven-year timeline that most museums have.
The ICA does face the task of having to distinguish itself from the myriad contemporary art organizations now operating in art-clogged downtown Los Angeles including the under-construction Main Museum, a non-collecting institution that will open its principal exhibition spaces in 2018. But Longhauser says she isnt worried about overlap.
You have a lot of very large-scale organizations there with the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Broad and Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, she explains. We are very human-scale. Were about new ideas. Were about community relationships and social action. So I think we are defined quite differently from other organizations.
The ICA LA is scheduled to open in spring 2017.
Find me on Twitter @cmonstah.
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The Austin, Texas-based film festival Fantastic Fest, the largest genre festival in the U.S., announced the first wave of programming for its 12thh annual get together.
Tim Burton is scheduled to appear with his adaptation of Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. This years festival will run Sept. 22-29 at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin.
Fans of genre filmmaking, a catch-all phrase that can include horror, fantasy, science fiction, crime pictures and just about anything, now have a strong international network of festivals that includes Spains Sitges Film Festival, Montreals Fantasia festival, Londons FrightFest, Los Angeles Beyond Fest and Screamfest and curated sections at festivals such as Sundance and the Toronto International Film Festival.
Fantastic Fest in particular has often pushed at the edges of its own definition, showing films that might not obviously fall within the boundaries of genre filmmaking. Among the unexpected selections over the years have been the world premiere of Paul Thomas Andersons There Will Be Blood. Last years festival included such films as Yorgos Lanthimos The Lobster, Ben Wheatleys High-Rise and Jeremy Saulniers Green Room. This year will feature the Texas premiere of Andrea Arnolds American Honey, a languidly intense drama that is the film debut for its lead actress, Sasha Lane, a Texas native.
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We really wanted to challenge the edges of what genre means this year, said Tim League, Fantastic Fest founder and Alamo Drafthouse CEO in a statement. This world of cinema has evolved so dramatically since our first festival in 2005, and we want to be part of the change by exposing audiences to films, formats and filmmakers that they may never otherwise see.
This years festival will feature a special spotlight on Indian cinema, with new and older titles. The program will include the U.S. premiere of Anurag Kashyaps 2016 cops and crime story Psycho Raman and repertory screenings of S.S. Rajamoulis 2009 epic Magadheera and Sughash Ghais 1993 gangster film Khalnayak.
It is a dream come true to bring the glorious excess and pageantry of Indian cinema to Fantastic Fest, said Evrim Ersoy, the festivals head of programming, in a statement. We are celebrating not only Bollywood but also Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam cinema, highlighting the kaleidoscope of textures and content that is as wide and varied as the subcontinent itself.
As many other film festivals, including Sundance and Austins South by Southwest, have been featuring virtual reality presentations over the past few years, for the first time Fantastic Fest will get into the VR space as well. A virtual reality experience from Los Angeles studio Dark Corner will have its world premiere, with the program announcement declaring the experience known as Mule to be an emotional, fast-paced hell-ride that catapults the viewer through the final shocking moments of a mans life (and beyond.)
There will also be a presentation of a two-part experience with Burlap, which includes a traditional 2-D short film and an immersive VR experience.
Revered filmmaker Don Coscarelli will be celebrated for his long-running Phantasm series with the world premiere of Phantasm: Ravager, directed by David Hartman. There will be a special presentation of the recent remaster of Coscarellis influential 1979 Phantasm, which will stream to art house theaters across the country as part of Art House Theatre Day on Sept. 24.
The initial programming release also spotlighted the world premiere of Jungle Trap, by Lady Street Fighter director James Bryan. Shot in 1990, Jungle Trap remained unedited and without a score at that time but has more recently been cut and given a musical soundtrack.
In all 26 titles were included in the festivals initial announcement on Tuesday. Speaking to the international nature of Fantastic Fest, the program included films from Canada, Ireland, Switzerland, New Zealand, France, Laos, Australia, Thailand, France, India, Germany, the Netherlands, Mexico, Italy and Russia as well as the United States.
For the full program announcement plus ticket information, go to www.fantasticfest.com.
Mark.Olsen@latimes.com
Follow on twitter: @IndieFocus
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Slow jam this news: Jimmy Fallon will host the 2017 Golden Globe Awards.
The announcement was made Tuesday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills.
Fallon took to Twitter shortly after the news broke: Im so excited to be hosting The Golden Globes in January. Followed by: Im really looking forward to spending time with the Hollywood Foreign Press before Donald Trump has them all deported.
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The Tonight Show host follows Ricky Gervais, who emceed the ceremony earlier this year. Fallons former Saturday Night Live cast mates Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted in 2015.
Fallon isnt a newbie to awards hosting, of course. He previously helmed the 2010 Emmy Awards, when the ceremony aired on NBC.
The Golden Globes are set to air live on both coasts from the Beverly Hilton on Jan. 8, 2017.
yvonne.villarreal@latimes.com
Twitter: @villarrealy
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Kielbasa (Polish sausage), weisswurst (Bavarian veal and pork sausage), chorizo (Spanish, Mexican or Portuguese sausage), Linguica (smoked-cured Portuguese pork sausage), morcilla (Brazilian blood sausage) the list of traditional sausages goes on and on, spanning hundreds of cultures and originating back a few thousand years. Today, in a city such as Los Angeles, a convergence of a diverse set of communities and influences builds a case for a whole new world of links.
Weve been seeing some unusual ingredients in sausages curry paste and leek ash to name a few that take us beyond whats available at our neighborhood deli. Read on for a sampling of unique sausages to be found around town:
Chicken Parm sausage at the Cannibal
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Chicken sausage isnt exactly new, but we cant say weve seen a breaded-and-fried variety before, as can be found at the Cannibal, the new Culver City restaurant that, like the name suggests, has a menu designed for meat-lovers. The sausage is topped with a slow-roasted tomato paste, or conserva, as well as burrata and basil for a hearty but fragrant rendition of chicken Parmesan. 8850 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310) 838-2783, www.thecanniballa.com.
Mini Hokkaido Dog at Connie & Teds
The fact that you can get the mini Hokkaido dog at Connie & Teds, Michael Cimarustis seafood-centric restaurant in West Hollywood, only during happy hour is as much a drawback as it is a plus. On Monday through Friday, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., its available for a mere $5. Succulent scallops are the centerpiece of this juicy dog, and its topped with caramelized onion, house-smoked mustard and chives, nestled inside a buttery, classic hot dog bun. 8171 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 848-2722, www.connieandteds.com.
Another Night in Bangkok at Dog Haus
This franchise favorite with locations through Southern California and the U.S. is serving up imaginative dogs, including a hot dog aptly named Another Night in Bangkok. At the center of the sweet Kings Hawaiian bun is a fiery, snappy Thai Currywurst sausage made of pork, curry paste, lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, Thai chiles and turmeric. Finished off with Thai peanut sauce and slaw, this dog is decidedly more Bangkok than Berlin. Multiple locations at www.doghaus.com.
Leek ash and porcini salami at Gwen
The new Hollywood restaurant and butcher shop by Curtis Stone and his brother, Luke, has an ambitious charcuterie program. Stone and his team of butchers, which includes Alex Jermasek and Daniel Roderfeld, are working on quite a few varieties at the moment, but the sausage currently on offer as part of the restaurants charcuterie first bites on the tasting menu is a leek ash and porcini salami. The leek ash lends a fantastic sweet char flavor to the cured pork. 6600 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 946-7500, www.gwenla.com.
Kalbi sausage at Seoul Sausage
Having first risen to fame as a food truck concept on Food Network, Seoul Sausage has long been a proponent of the fusion sausage concept in L.A. You can still count on its trademark beef Kalbi dog, made with beef, soy, sesame oil, sugar, garlic and onions (all of the flavors found in traditional Korean BBQ beef short ribs). The sausage is topped with fried shallots for crunch and a red garlic aioli with a sweet heat that may remind you of gojuchang (spicy fermented chile paste). 236 S. Los Angeles St., Los Angeles, (213) 935-8677, www.seoulsausage.com.
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Aug. 25, 2016, 10:40 a.m. Reporting from imperial beach, Calif.
We made it, Oregon to Mexico, along an 1,100-mile beach The drive began at the Oregon border. It ended five weeks later at the Mexican border. Where I almost got arrested. OK, thats an exaggeration. When photographer Allen Schaben and I got to the border of Tijuana and Imperial Beach, the party was much better on the Mexican side. Families were in the water and on the sand, a Mariachi band played, and the whole scene was rather festive compared with two people strolling quietly on the Imperial Beach side. I thought briefly about defecting. One man stood at the fence on the Tijuana side, so I walked up to say hello. I asked why he wasnt swimming and he said he didnt have a bathing suit, then he stuck his hand through the fence to shake my hand. A Border Patrol agent sped toward me in an SUV and yelled for me to stand back from the fence. I hesitated, because what was the big deal? But then I noticed a sign warning against contact or the passing of narcotics through the fence, etc. So I stepped back from the fence because I didnt know if Id be able to write my last road trip columns from a jail cell. Im going to wrap up the series on Sunday, but that wont be the end of my coverage of the California Coastal Commission on the 40th anniversary of the Coastal Act. Theres lots to keep an eye on. Legislation to ban private meetings between commissioners and developers could move forward later today. A vote has been delayed on the controversial proposal for a desalination plant in Huntington Beach, a project that doesnt make a lot of sense in my opinion but has big money backing it. The ever-controversial Newport Banning Ranch project -- a massive hotel/housing development on the last undeveloped plot of privately owned coastal property in Southern California -- will be up for a vote in early September. And the City Council election in Pismo Beach has gotten very interesting because Erik Howell, a councilman and coastal commissioner who ticked off Pismo residents by supporting a development that will block ocean views, now has challengers in his reelection campaign. Howell, if youve forgotten, accepted a $1,000 campaign donation from the domestic partner and business colleague of the lobbyist who represents the Pismo development. If he loses his council seat, he loses his Coastal Commission seat too. So stay tuned. The Coastal Commission will have a new director soon, a new chair and at least two new commissioners, and we need to watch closely because whats at stake is the greatest 1,100-mile coast in the world.
10:25 A.M. reporting from san diego
Lawmaker who led 72 coastal preservation bike ride from San Francisco to San Diego still has Schwinn that delivered win Former senator James Mills, 89, stands with the bike he rode from Sacramento to San Diego in 1972 to promote Prop 20, which created the Coastal Commission and led to the Coastal Act. The photo was taken overlooking the San Diego skyline from Mills Coronado apartment Wednesday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The bike. I wanted to see the bike, and meet its owner. Arriving in San Diego meant our coastal trek from Oregon to Mexico was coming to an end, and it meant that it was finally time to pay a visit to Jim Mills. Mills, a state legislator from 1962 to 1981, was Senate president pro tempore in 1972 when he decided to support Proposition 20, the coastal preservation act. Without it, conservationists feared, coastal development would run amok, Highway 1 would be widened, and a string of nuclear power plants would spring up on some of the greatest beach fronts in the world. But there wasnt much money to fight Prop. 20s foes, said Mills, who had grown up wading in La Jolla Cove and has a deep appreciation of the states greatest natural resource. So in September 1972, he hopped aboard his canary yellow Schwinn Super Sport and led a bike rally from San Francisco to San Diego. The number of riders swelled at times, Mills said, and bikers were greeted each evening by locals serving plenty of carbs. We ate a lot of weenies and beans, and spaghetti too, he said. He recalled PG&E executives following the cyclists in a chauffeur-driven Cadillac, doing their own spin on Prop. 20. The bike rally drew lots of publicity, Mills said, and whether it made the difference is anyones guess. But Prop. 20 won 55% of the vote and led in 1976 to the Coastal Act that to this day protects the coast for the benefit of fragile marine and land habitats and the enjoyment of everyone. Mills was 45 when he rode down the coast, and 89 now. He greeted me and photographer Allen Schaben at his Coronado condo and said he hasnt done any riding lately, but hes doing a lot of writing. Mills has written several books and is working on another. He leads us down to the basement, and there it is. The dusty, canary yellow Schwinn that Mills rode in 1972, and for many years after the Prop. 20 campaign. He was an avid cyclist. Mills also kept the helmet he wore in 1972. We took the bike upstairs, where Mills put on his helmet and posed next to the bike that is a piece of California history. The Coastal Act has done a great deal of good over the years, Mills said, and the cause is no less important now than it was when he rode south from San Francisco. We need to preserve the coast for the benefit of future generations, he said, and I thank him for his contribution.
Aug. 21, 2016, 10:50 p.m. Reporting from the Mexican border
Steve Lopez reflects back on his 1,100 mile trek down the California coast
6:57 P.M. Sometimes the sausage is good enough to eat Two things will happen soon. The last column from my 1,100 mile road trip down the California coast will be done. And the reform bill banning private communications between California Coastal Commissioners and developers, as well as others, could finally emerge from the factory. As Ive been saying, Hannah-Beth Jacksons bill sailed through the Senate and should have done the same in the Assembly, but it got pushed off into a dark corner after a very fishy report claimed that reform costs money. The thing has come back to life, though, with amendments that arent as bad as the original amendments. I dont see why we need the amendments at all, or why the wrangling has to take place behind closed doors and out of public view. While I was thinking about that, a reader emailed me a clever idea about how to keep coastal commissioners honest -- make them strap on body cameras, like cops. I like it, and why not do the same with legislators, so we can all see whats going on? Having said all this, though, Im hearing from supporters of Jacksons bill that they think theres actually a chance the legislation is going to be OK, once all the cooks are done tweaking the recipe. Sausage is full of awful stuff, but just about all of it is good on the grill. So as much fun as Ive had telling you to ping Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, @Rendon63rd, and Appropriations Chair Lorena Gonzalez, @LorenaAD80, and ask what gives, maybe we should try another approach. Im told that Rendon, Gonzalez and other Assembly leaders have done some decent work rescuing this much-needed bill from the trash. So go ahead and tweet them again, and tell them youre encouraged, and still watching -- to the extent thats possible -- and counting on them to do whats necessary to get the bill to Gov. Jerry Brown, which is when the real fun will begin.
8:46 A.M. When it comes to coastal protection, why does state Assembly have such a problem with transparency? The need to clean up the way the California Coastal Commission operates was obvious. Commissioners meet privately with developers more than with any other group, by far. They have repeatedly failed to fully explain the nature of those meetings, and have even failed to report them on occasion. State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) penned a bill to ban such meetings. It cleared the Senate and bounced over to the Assembly, which nearly killed it, but finally decided this week to merely beat it to a pulp. The toothless mess that emerged from the Assembly Appropriations Committee this week would allow private meetings to continue under certain circumstances, and now Sen. Jackson has the task of trying to put some punch back into her bill. And heres the irony: We dont know which Assembly members, or higher powers, conspired to water down Jacksons bill because there is no transparency in the process. You cant peer through a window into the sausage factory. These amendments were hammered out privately. One can guess that the development lobby and labor groups did not like Jacksons reform bill because it would get in the way of a process that gives an advantage to those who want to build on the coast. One can even guess that the Brown administration shares their view. But we dont know, because a bill to shine a light on important decision-making got pummeled in a dark room, and the perps left no fingerprints. See Dan Weikels story at latimes.com. Ive sent in a request for an explanation to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount). He has appointing authority for four coastal commissioners and itd be nice to hear what he thinks about the handiwork by his Appropriations Committee. If youd like to ping him or Appropriations Chair Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) to ask what happened, try @Rendon63rd and @LorenaAD80. Or you can drop a line to The Silent One @JerryBrownGov, but Ive tried, and despite months of turmoil and controversy on the 40th anniversary of the Coastal Act he signed into law, the governor doesnt want to be disturbed.
7:36 A.M. Summer is in the rear-view mirror, end of journey just down the road The tide splashes up on the beach at sunset on a warm summer evening at Windansea Beach in La Jolla. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Carlsbad. Leucadia. Encinitas. Cardiff. Solana. Del Mar. Summer is disappearing in my rear-view mirror. Week Five of my trip from Oregon to Mexico will be over in just a few days, 1,100 miles after it began. Photographer Allen Schaben is farther down the road, waiting for me in San Diego. Soon well stand at the Mexican border and reflect on a deeper love of the California coast, a greater appreciation of the Coastal Act on the 40-year anniversary of protections that became law. Ill wish Id had a week to spend in places where I only had an hour or two. Ill thank the people we met along the way, and tell others well take up their offer the next time through. Californians are passionate about their coast. Theyre closely watching those in public office whose job is to protect fisheries and dunes, to limit development and maximize access. Ive got one eye on Sacramento myself. On legislative reforms that would serve all Californians. On coastal commissioners, some of whom seem to have forgotten their purpose. Im pulling into San Diego, where the air is warm, the water blue, Mexico in the near distance.
4:14 P.M. La Jolla The palm fronds of a palapa reveal a surfer, a couple and children taking in a warm summer sunset at Windansea Beach in La Jolla. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
1:07 P.M. newport beach
Watts in a name? Find Amp-le answers in Newport Beach On Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach. (Steve Lopez / Los Angeles Times) Im driving south on the Pacific Coast Highway and spot the sign. The boat name of the week, it says, is Watt A Man. Thats not a mistake. This is the headquarters for Duffy, which makes the electric boats that are part of the culture in the Newport harbor. Many years ago, I wrote a column about a day of hobnobbing and bar-hopping, by boat, with local residents. I also wrote, at the time, about boat owners trying to out-do each other with clever names for the battery-powered boats. One of my favorites was Salt n Battery. So what are some of the newer ones? I walk into the office, and salesman Jim Drayton says one of the best ones this summer was Amp-ly Endowed. Not bad. Tyler Duffield, of the Duffy family, shows me a list with a few more recent winners. Your name here. (Steve Lopez / Los Angeles Times) Its a Ohm Run. Watt the Hey. Watta Yacht. Going back through the years, some of the better names include: Current Affair. Carry Us Ohm Watts the Hurry. Shock Cousteau. Ohmer Simpson. Knots and Volts. I could go on, but why dont you, instead? Send me your best names. Its not as easy as it looks, Duffield said. Its usually the hardest part, he says. Someone comes in and orders a boat, and they get the colors and everything figured out, and the last thing to do is come up with a name before the boat leaves the factory. Yeah, Its a Duff Life out here, where people are Ohm on the Watter, but It Is Watt It Is.
9:13 A.M. Going under in Laguna Beach A snorkeler looks for fish at Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Garibaldi swim and feed on rocks at Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
2:41 P.M. Catching waves in Huntington Beach
10:53 A.M. On our way toward Mexico A view of the beach through a telescope at Pacific City, a new 31-acre mixed-use development in Huntington Beach, also known as Surf City U.S.A. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The site of the proposed Banning Ranch development now before the California Coastal Commission. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The tide rolls in at twilight at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station located on the border of San Diego County and San Clemente. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
4:52 P.M. Laguna Beach
4:45 P.M. Laguna Beach
12:51 P.M. Dana Point A pod of dolphins leaps out of the water with a view of south Laguna Beach in the background on Aug. 12, 2016. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
10:37 P.M. sacramento
Profiles in courage: Legislators soften Coastal Commission reform, leave no fingerprints A perfectly sensible bill to clean up the way California coastal commissioners do business has been getting the waterboard treatment. First, Santa Barbara Sen. Hannah-Beth Jacksons SB 1190 was submerged by a ludicrous report claiming it would cost too much money to prohibit private conversations between developers and commissioners. Then it was tossed overboard and dragged like chum. Then on Thursday, legislators pulled SB 1190 back into the boat so badly decomposed its barely recognizable. As my colleague Dan Weikel reports at latimes.com, five amendments gutted the good intentions. The most egregious one allows commissioners to meet privately with developers during on-site visits. This comes just weeks after reports that Coastal Commission Chairman Steve Kinsey met twice with developers of the massive Newport Banning Ranch development and failed to properly report those confabs. Environmental groups, however, would not be able to have such meetings in the bills current form. On my best day, I could not have come up with a more Alice in Wonderland outcome. Details were still emerging, and it wasnt clear which legislators were responsible for the hatchet job, or whether they caved in to political, development or union pressure, or all three. No fingerprints on the body, in other words. Three environmentalists I checked with were livid, and understandably so. Stay tuned for updates on the autopsy, and dont stop letting @JerryBrownGov know how you feel about whats happening to coastal preservation on his watch. #SaveYourCoast
7:46 A.M. Sunset at Crystal Cove Beach Cottages Children run along the beach at twilight near the Crystal Cove Beach Cottages. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The sun sets over the Crystal Cove Beach Cottages in Newport Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Isabella, 9, and Holden, 7, roast marshmallows over a beach fire with their parents, Steve and Amy Knuff, of Aliso Viejo at twilight at Crystal Cove Beach Cottages. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Incoming tide rolls onto the beach at twilight at Crystal Cove Beach Cottages. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
1:29 P.M. Column: Fighting for the California coast from a tiny office in her kitchen nook Susan Jordan, who created and runs the California Coastal Protection Network, is seen in her Santa Barbara office. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) If you were a coastal conservation activist in California, with 1,100 miles of shoreline to look after, how would you even decide where to begin? Theres always a battle somewhere, and let me give you just a couple of examples from one tiny section of the coast. Moss Landing is in the news again this week as the Surfrider Foundation and other activists try to stop Cemex, an international sand mining company, from trucking away the beach as it has done for decades, causing erosion that has begun to set off lots of alarms. Read more
8:49 A.M. Hermosa Beach
Remember when you could spend a night at a California beach motel for less than a weeks pay? A third-generation motel owner in this seaside town tells me he gets an offer, about every other day, from someone who wants to buy his property, bulldoze it and rebuild. But hes hanging on because three generations of families have been staying at his low-budget, no-frills motel since the 1960s, and he doesnt want to end those summer vacation traditions. Elsewhere on the California coast, motels and hotels have been bought out by chains and developers, driving up the cost of affordable family vacations. Look for my column on the Hermosa Beach motel in the coming days. And if you know of good low-budget beach lodging, or if youve seen your motel go from cheap to chic, drop me a line at steve.lopez@latimes.com Over the next two days, photographer Allen Schaben and I will be in Hermosa and Huntington Beach, reporting on the proposed desalination plant there. And, by the way, we should find out in the next day or two whether legislation banning private meetings between coastal commissioners and developers is released from legislative prison and put up for a vote in the state Assembly. Theres still time to weigh in at #SaveYourCoast and be sure to give a poke to @JerryBrownGov and Assemblywoman, Lorena Gonzalez @LorenaAD80. Read more
China is currently working toward building a mixed-power aircraft, which would greatly reduce the cost for ordinary people to visit space, according to a report by CCTV's Xinwen Lianbo.
China hopes to grasp the key technologies required for such an aircraft, including orbiting and injection, by around 2030, according to Zhang Yong, deputy chief researcher from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
Researchers believe that the future aircraft will be able to be recycled, allowing it to be used for more than one trip between Earth and space. Furthermore, the aircraft will be able to land at an ordinary airport, just like standard airplanes. Together, these characteristics will greatly reduce the costs passed along to potential passengers.
Compared with space shuttles and some recycled carrier rockets, the proposed aircraft will be superior in terms of required maintenance and practicality, according to the report by CCTV. A report by Guancha said that the aircraft aims to challenge Space X from a technological perspective.
According to a previous Guancha report, an agreement was signed on July 6 between an R&D center from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the Department of Aviation of Northwestern Polytechnical University and the Academy of Aerospace Liquid Propulsion Technology (a subsidiary of CASC). The agreement states that the institutions will work together to jointly develop the technology for a mixed-powered aircraft.
Yang Yang, a designer at CALT, said that ordinary people will one day be able to visit space without professional training, all thanks to this aircraft. Astronauts on carrier rockets tend to be fighter pilots in excellent physical condition, as astronauts have to bear a great deal of weight due to the extreme speed of the rocket, Yang said.
Different from carrier rockets, the new aircraft will use low-thrust rocket engines, turbine engines and scramjets so as to gain speed more gradually. This way, the extra force placed on passengers will not exceed what an ordinary person can stand.
The aircraft will not only be capable of manned aerospace missions, but will also be able to launch satellites, according to Yang. However, Yang admitted that there is still a long way to go to realize these abilities.
A federal court has found that the leader of a Southern California cement workers union and an attorney for the organizations trust funds retaliated against two employees who questioned the labor officials financial practices.
Ruling in a whistle-blower lawsuit brought by the U.S. Labor Department, the court ordered Scott Brain, who heads the Cement Masons Union Local 600, and attorney Melissa Cook permanently barred from any position with the trust funds, which pay for retirement and other benefits for the labor groups members.
The department alleged that Brain and Cook orchestrated the firing of the trusts audit director, Cheryle Robbins, because she complained about Brains handling of the funds and cooperated in a long-running criminal investigation of him. The agency accused Brain and Cook of having the second employee, Cory Rice, fired because he made similar complaints about Brain.
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The courts order should send a clear message that the department will not tolerate retaliation against whistle-blowers, Assistant Labor Secretary Phyllis C. Borzi said in a statement Monday. Law enforcement depends upon witnesses feeling safe and protected to report violations to the government and to internal decision-makers.
An attorney for Brain said his client, who remains business manager of Local 600, did nothing wrong and would appeal the courts decision. Were confident well win, lawyer Peter Morris said.
The criminal inquiry into Brain is ongoing, a Labor Department official said. No charges have been filed.
Cook, who was an outside attorney for the trusts, did not respond to requests for comment. The court ordered Cook and her firm to return to the trust funds about $61,000 in legal fees that were paid during the episodes involving Robbins and Rice.
In his 71-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge John Kronstadt concluded that the actions of Brain and Cook violated the whistle-blower protections of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
The ruling also said Cook had an apparent conflict of interest in representing the benefit funds while engaged in a personal relationship with Brain that she did not disclose to other trustees.
Last year, as part of the same case, most of those trustees and an administrative firm for the funds agreed to pay Robbins, Rice and a third employee who was fired, Louise Bansmer, a combined $630,000 in lost wages and damages to settle with the government. Robbins earlier collected $200,000 in a separate, wrongful-termination suit she filed as an individual.
Bansmer is Rices mother and worked alongside him. Kronstadt found there was insufficient evidence to show that Brain and Cook retaliated against her.
The judge also determined that the government had failed to prove that another trustee, Jaime Briceno, retaliated against Robbins.
On Monday, Robbins said she hoped the ruling would encourage others in the union to speak up. Justice prevailed, she said.
Rice said he was ecstatic about the courts decision.
Citing records that were turned over to investigators, The Times reported in 2013 allegations that Brain supported efforts to place Robbins on leave in 2011 after she complained about millions of dollars in uncollected employer contributions to the trusts.
Later, Robbins was the only employee not retained by the trusts administrative firm when the benefits office was reorganized. Rice and Bansmer were fired after Robbins.
Danielle L. Jaberg, a Labor Department attorney in the case, said the ruling makes clear that people must be able to speak to the government and complain about any concerns they have with trust funds without fear.
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Detectives are trying to locate the missing granddaughter and four great-grandchildren of a woman who was found dead in her home in the city of Bell on July 21.
Paula Montoya, 64,was found dead by police who went to her home after family members did not hear from her for several days.
Local news outlets reported that Montoya was found wrapped in a blanket.
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Her body was discovered in a way that was suspicious in nature, said Lt. Mike Rosson. We do not have a cause or mode of death from the Coroners office at this time.
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Investigators said Montoya was last seen July 18 at the residence in the 6600 block of Pine Avenue with her granddaughter, Sarah Montoya, 24, and her four young children. But family members and police have not been able to locate Sarah Montoya.
Detectives believe the granddaughter and her children were the last to see Paula Montoya alive, and have identified her as a person of interest in the case.
We got information that Sarah crossed the border into Mexico on the 21st of July, the same morning, said Rosson.
Sarah Montoya is described as Latina with long black hair and brown eyes. She is 411 and weighs 130 pounds. She is believed to be with her daughter, Abagail Rodriguez, and three sons, Joshua, Yosu and Elijah Rodriguez. The children range in age from one to nine.
Sarah Montoyas mother, Julia Isham, made a public plea Tuesday, hoping it would reach her daughter.
Sarah, first and foremost, we want you to know that your family is behind you 100%, she said. You need to do the right thing and just come home so we know that you and the babies are safe.
The case will continue to be treated as a suspicious death investigation rather than a homicide, pending results from the coroners follow-up testing.
We just want to make sure Sarah and her children are safe, Rosson said, and wed like to talk to them.
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A red-light camera fiasco has left some Culver City police officials with red faces as they admitted Monday they got the wrong man.
The Police Department dismissed a $490 ticket issued to actor Steve Tom for allegedly running a red light and acknowledged it was a case of mistaken identity. Authorities now believe a man who resembles Tom and is the registered owner of the vehicle was the driver.
We are dismissing the citation in the interest of justice, Culver City Police Capt. Ron Iizuka said.
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The department decided to reexamine video from the red-light camera and speak to the vehicles registered owner after Tom questioned the ticket in a Times report. Iizuka said it determined Tom was not the driver.
Mr. Tom is happy and we are happy to resolve this, he said.
The mix-up may have resulted in part from an uncanny resemblance. The ticket had Toms name on it, but the address was in St. Louis, far from Toms North Hollywood home. And the registered owner of the white Land Rover Discovery that allegedly ran the red was someone named Barry L. Babcock. Attached to the ticket was a photo from the red-light camera video. Tom said he and Babcock looked an awful lot alike.
Tom, 62, said he is glad the bizarre episode is over, but doesnt know why it took an article in The Times and his own sleuthing to figure things out. He said he received an apology Monday morning after the department reviewed video of who was behind the wheel during the incident on June 15 at 2:44 p.m.
Im fine with the outcome, he said.
According to the video, the vehicle made a right turn on a red at Sepulveda Boulevard and Green Valley Circle.
After receiving the citation two weeks ago, Tom, who played a judge on the TV drama Major Crimes, scoured the Internet for information about Babcock. He quickly found images of the former cable television executive. Tom said he was taken aback by their resemblance. He hired a private investigator and found addresses in Florida and Missouri.
All the while, Culver City police were insisting he was the culprit.
The guy insisted to me the department got the right guy and it was me, Tom told The Times. The city was going to win. He said, When I saw the photograph, I knew it was you. You can bring as many attorneys, but it is you.
Iizuka told The Times last week one of the officers knew Tom and identified him as the man in the video.
Babcock, meanwhile, acknowledged that he didnt know Tom, but declined to comment at length about the red-light violation or ticket.
Red-light cameras have been a financial boon for Culver City since 1999. Theyre installed at 11 intersections across town, according to city records. In 2014, the cameras generated more than $2 million in revenue, with about 40% going to a company that operates the system, according to the records.
Jay Beeber of Safer Streets L.A., a group that successfully campaigned to eliminate Los Angeles red-light cameras in 2012, said the ticket Tom got raised questions.
That is the craziest red-light cam ticket I have ever heard of and I have been doing this awhile, Beeber said. They have to have a reasonable suspicion. What other evidence do they have?
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the number of cities nationwide using red-light cameras has declined to about 400 from more than 700 in recent years as questions over whether they improve safety have arisen. More than 100 cities in California once used the cameras, but that number has dropped by about two-thirds, Beeber said.
In Toms case, Iizuka said Culver City police were happy to correct the error.
Thank you for keeping us on our toes, he told a reporter Monday.
Twitter: @lacrimes
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Los Angeles police shot and injured a man inside an East Hollywood Walgreens shortly after midnight Tuesday during what was described by a sergeant as an significant struggle.
Officers answering a report of a dispute inside the store near the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Western Avenue arrived about 12:50 a.m., said LAPD Sgt. Frank Preciado.
The officers found the man who was allegedly fighting with a store employee and attempted to take him into custody, Preciado said.
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The man became extremely combative and started fighting the officers, taking them to the ground, Preciado said. At some point, he said, police shot the man, wounding him in the leg. A Taser may have also been used, Preciado said.
The man, who police said was about 30 years old, was taken to a hospital, as was one of the officers, who had a gash on his forehead, Preciado said.
The officers, assigned to the LAPDs Hollywood Division, were not wearing body cameras, but Preciado said investigators were reviewing store security video.
The shooting, like all LAPD shootings, will be reviewed by the Los Angeles County district attorneys office, the Los Angeles Police Commission and the Office of the Inspector General.
kate.mather@latimes.com
Twitter: @katemather
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A homeless man was critically injured Tuesday after he was stabbed several times by at least a half-dozen transients near an Anaheim park, police said.
The man was attacked by six to seven people, who were also homeless, at 1:46 a.m. in the 1100 block of La Palma Parkway near La Palma Park, according to Sgt. Daron Wyatt, spokesman for the Anaheim Police Department.
A passerby spotted the victim bleeding in a nearby parking lot and immediately notified police, he said. The man was taken to a hospital.
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Police arrived in the neighborhood shortly after and found one of the victims alleged attackers.
Police arrested Joshua Shawn Ryan, 23, of Anaheim on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and robbery, Wyatt said.
veronica.rocha@latimes.com
For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.
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Civil rights lawyers filed suit Tuesday accusing the Los Angeles Superior Court of improperly suspending driving privileges for tens of thousands of poor people because they cant afford to pay their traffic fines.
The suit said the court triggers license suspensions by the Department of Motor Vehicles without determining whether the motorists willfully ignored fines or were too broke to pay the often exorbitant penalties. The suspensions disproportionately hurt black and Latino people, the suit alleged.
For the record: The original version of this article incorrectly included the law firm of Hadsell Stormer & Renick among the groups that filed the suit against the Los Angeles Superior Court.
If they are poor and dont have the money to pay, by definition, they cannot be found to have willfully failed to pay, said Antionette Dozier of the Western Center on Law and Poverty, one of the lawyers on the case. They are just poor.
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The impact of traffic tickets on poor people came under scrutiny after the Department of Justice, in the wake of the police shooting of Michael Brown, issued a searing report finding that Ferguson, Mo.s, license suspensions and other low-level enforcement fueled racial inequality.
A later study by legal and civil rights advocates found that more than 4 million Californians had their licenses suspended for unpaid tickets since 2006.The highest suspension rates came in poor neighborhoods dominated by black and Latino residents, including Compton, Bell, Hawthorne and East Los Angeles, a follow-up report found.
In Los Angeles County, black people make up 9.2% of the population but accounted for 33% of those arrested for driving with a suspended license from September 2013 to September 2015, the report said. Without a license, poor people often cannot find a job, drive to medical appointments or get public benefits, advocates said.
A bill proposed by state Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) to stop automatic suspension of driving privileges for failure to pay minor traffic tickets is currently before the Assembly.
The cost of traffic tickets soared during the states budget crisis because of fees added to pay for state programs. The suit said what was once a $100 ticket now costs $500, and $800 if the first payment deadline is missed.
The lawsuit alleges that plaintiff Gloria Mata Alvarado lost her license after failing to pay a $712 fine for adjusting her seat belt while riding with her husband. Alvarado and her husband are disabled and living on fixed retirement and disability payments of $1,514 a month, the suit said. After she told the court she was disabled and unemployed, the judge would reduce the fine only to $600, the suit said.
The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, but may have to be transferred to another jurisdiction to avoid a conflict, lawyers said. It asks the court to conduct a racial-impact analysis of its ticketing and license suspension policies and to institute new notification and hearing procedures to ensure individuals do not lose their licenses for inability to pay.
Also bringing the suit were the USC Gould School of Law; Rapkin & Associates; Schonbrun Seplow Harris & Hoffman; and a New Way of Life Reentry Project. The lawyers also sent the Department of Motor Vehicles a letter asking that license suspensions be halted unless due process for poor people is guaranteed.
gholland@latimes.com
Twitter: @geholland
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Marcie Edwards, who is quitting her job as general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power slightly more than two years after she was appointed to reform the agency, will step down in two weeks, Mayor Eric Garcettis office announced Monday.
Garcetti said in a statement that DWP Chief Operating Officer David Wright, who has been at the department for two years, would take over on an interim basis after Edwards leaves Aug. 16. Wright, who previously worked at other public utilities for 25 years, will be the departments eighth general manager in 10 years.
For the record: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that David Wright, named interim general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, has worked at the agency for 27 years. He has been at the DWP for two years, and had previously worked at other public utilities for 25 years.
Edwards, 59, will continue to serve as a special advisor to Garcetti and the DWP through the end of the year, according to the mayors statement.
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The statement marks the first time Garcetti has directly acknowledged Edwards departure, which he declined to discuss with a reporter last week. One of his aides said Edwards was planning her retirement but that she would stay in her job at least through the end of August.
When I took office, LADWP was facing difficult challenges we needed a visionary leader to put our utility back on track, and thats exactly what Marcie Edwards has done, Garcetti said in the statement. She has left an indelible mark on our city, and I am deeply grateful for her service.
Garcetti, who campaigned on promises to improve the DWP, cast Edwards as a key figure in his administration when he appointed her in 2014. Yet Edwards leaves the department at a time of organizational flux and with lingering questions about how much of her reform mandate has been fulfilled.
She steered the agency through crisis in the aftermath of its botched rollout of a new billing system and helped persuade the City Council to approve a rate increase that department officials said was necessary to repair the citys water and power infrastructure.
Edwards has had less success in achieving what she has described as another primary goal: making the department more responsive to the needs of ratepayers.
Last month, the consumer-research group J.D. Power & Associates ranked DWP last in customer satisfaction among large Western power providers for the fifth year in a row. Edwards had said improving the departments standing in the survey was one of her top priorities.
This fall, city residents will vote on a ballot initiative supported by Edwards, the City Council and the mayor that is intended to reduce political interference in the agency by giving it greater autonomy in day-to-day operations such as hiring and contracting.
peter.jamison@latimes.com
Follow @petejamison on Twitter
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Los Angeles County voters will be asked in November to approve a half-cent sales tax increase that would continue indefinitely to fund a major expansion of Southern Californias transit network.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed Tuesday to add the Metropolitan Transportation Authoritys tax increase proposal to a ballot already crowded with other initiatives.
The proposal, approved by Metros directors in June, would generate at least $860 million per year to expand the countys rail network through the San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Valley and the Sepulveda Pass.
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The so-called Los Angeles County Traffic Improvement Plan would also fully or partially fund 10 new highway projects, including an extension of State Route 71 and a new carpool-lane interchange between the 405 and 110 freeways.
The proposal would raise the countys base sales rate to 9.5% and push the rate to 10% in some cities, including Santa Monica and Commerce.
The half-cent tax would double to one cent in 2039 to replace the revenue lost when Measure R, another half-cent sales tax, expires. The one-cent tax would then continue indefinitely.
Our region has some of the worst traffic jams and smog in the country. We must act now. Glendora Mayor Gene Murabito
Metro officials have requested that the initiative be called Measure M, but a name has not yet been formally assigned.
During nearly an hour of public comment at the Board of Supervisors downtown meeting Tuesday, representatives for local municipalities, labor unions and advocacy groups voiced their support for the measure.
Our region has some of the worst traffic jams and smog in the country, said Glendora Mayor Gene Murabito, the president of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments. We must act now.
Supervisor Don Knabe said he agreed that the measure should be put on the ballot, but voiced concerns about a sales tax that would continue indefinitely. The measure would be the third tax that funds Metro without an expiration date.
This is an open check. This is a forever tax. Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe
This is an open check, Knabe said. This is a forever tax.
If voters approve the increase, Metro will receive two cents for every dollar spent in the county.
Some transit boosters fear that a ballot crowded with other tax initiatives could hurt Metros chances. The sales tax proposal requires a two-thirds vote to pass often a high hurdle.
County voters will also be asked to approve a parcel tax for parks and a community college bond measure.
City of Los Angeles voters will weigh a proposal to issue $1.2 billion in bonds to build housing for the homeless.
laura.nelson@latimes.com
For more transportation news, follow @laura_nelson on Twitter.
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A 71-year-old man with Alzheimers disease who was reported missing by his family has been found dead in downtown Los Angeles two days after he was arrested then released from jail on his own recognizance, authorities said Monday.
Relatives in Pasadena reported Gerald Sakamoto missing Friday after he left home in the middle of the night. His family told KABC that he had pretended to take his medication before leaving.
Los Angeles County jail records show that Sakamoto was arrested by the California Highway Patrol about 3 a.m. Friday on suspicion of driving drunk. But his daughter Mindy Brink said the problems he had driving resulted from him failing to take his medication.
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I dont think that he was drunk, she told KABC. I believe that the reason that he had such impaired judgment is because he hadnt had his medication.
Records show that Sakamoto was released from jail about 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Sheriffs Department said there was no indication he had Alzheimers disease before he was released on his own recognizance.
All persons being released from our custody are offered the opportunity to stay in custody up to 16 hours, or until daylight hours, to arrange transportation or to contact service providers. Mr. Sakamoto declined the accommodation, the statement said.
Any inmate who shows signs of needing medical attention or requests it will be treated at the booking center, department officials said.
However, the agencys statement continued, records indicate that Mr. Sakamoto was not identified as requiring special needs or assistance during his time in custody.
There is no foul play suspected in Sakamotos death and the coroners office is investigating, officials said. A family member who answered the phone at Sakamotos home declined to comment.
joseph.serna@latimes.com
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.
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The pilot of a light sport plane was killed Tuesday afternoon when the aircraft crashed against a building east of Van Nuys Airport, authorities said.
Firefighters worked to rescue the pilot trapped inside the single-engine plane at 1:29 p.m., according to Margaret Stewart, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles city Fire Department. The plane was resting up against the building.
There were no reports of significant structural damage to the building.
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Authorities think the pilot was flying an Arion Lightning kit aircraft, said Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings at Van Nuys Airport, he said. The touch-and-go procedure requires a pilot to land on a runway and then immediately take off, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn.
On his last touch-and-go run, the pilot made a hard landing, said Diana Sanchez, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles World Airports.
Airport officials have temporarily closed its 4,000-foot training runaway.
Live TV footage showed a damaged power pole and the wreckage of the plane along the side of a building in the 16000 block of West Hart Street.
The building appears to house Los Angeles Modern Auctions.
Firefighters warned that wires were down and that drivers should stay clear of the area.
veronica.rocha@latimes.com
For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.
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UPDATES:
3:20 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from a Los Angeles World Airports spokeswoman.
2:55 p.m.: This article was updated with fire officials confirming the pilot was killed.
2:25 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.
This article was originally published at 1:50 p.m.
By all accounts, Uber Chinas head of strategy and the president of Didi Chuxing have a lot in common. Both are young, highly successful women in positions of power, and both work in the same industry. But one more thing unites them: the two women are also cousins.
Chinese car-hailing app Didi Chuxing announced on Aug. 1 that it will take over Uber's Chinas operations. The deal will form a single car-hailing operation in China valued at $35 billion. Uber will take a 5.9 percent stake in Didi; Didi did not disclose the stake it will take in Uber. Uber China's service will continue to operate independently.
The takeover, which will end the fierce competition between the two rivals in the mainland market, has also been described by some as a "family struggle."
Liu Qing, president of Didi Chuxing
Liu Zhen, Uber Chinas head of strategy, is the niece of Liu Chuanzhi, founder of Lenovo, whose daughter, Liu Qing, is the president of Didi Chuxing. Liu Chuanzhi himself is the largest shareholder of China Auto Rental, another major car-hailing company in China.
Liu Zhen, Uber Chinas head of strategy
A former Palos Verdes resident found guilty of traveling to Cambodia to sexually exploit children was sentenced to 70 years in federal prison Monday.
Ronald Gerard Boyajian was convicted in March on federal counts of international travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with minors, engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in foreign places, and commission of a felony offense involving a minor while required to register as a sex offender.
Boyajian, 55, had been convicted of 22 counts of illegal sex with a minor and oral sex with a minor stemming from a 1995 California case.
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After he was released from parole, he traveled to Cambodia 35 times in a nine-year period to sexually abuse young, impoverished children there.
After being convicted of sexually exploiting two children here in California, this defendant tried to evade justice by traveling to Cambodia to victimize even younger children, U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder said during Mondays hearing.
The total number of people who were victimized by Boyajian is unknown, officials said.
The conduct for which he was convicted is extremely serious, Snyder said. The reason the court has decided to impose the maximum sentence on each account is for the protection of the public.
During sentencing, Boyajian was also ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution to a victim and $20,000 to Hagar International, a Cambodia-based organization that works against human trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children.
Boyajian, who also previously resided in Menlo Park, was one of the first people to be charged under operation Twisted Traveler, an international law enforcement initiative to crack down on Americans traveling to Cambodia to engage in sex with minors. Investigators from the Cambodian human rights organization Action Pour Les Enfants witnessed Boyajian visiting a child brothel and launched an investigation. Boyajian was arrested in 2009.
According to a 2009 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement report, a victim told investigators the names of nine girls between ages 10 and 17 who were paid to perform oral sex on Boyajian, whom they knew as John. The U.S. attorneys office said that Boyajian preferred his victims to weigh less than 70 pounds.
Four of Boyajians victims, who were between ages 8 and 11 when they were abused, testified in court.
I would like the court not to allow him to leave prison because there are possibly other children out there who could be harmed, just like it happened to me, one child pleaded.
U.S. Dist. Atty. Eileen Decker said that pursuing child predators is a high priority.
These victims were very young women and children who were clearly very deeply affected, Decker said. Hopefully the sentence gives them some sense of peace.
Boyajians attacks took place in Svay Pak, a city where many poor Vietnamese immigrants live. Its about 11 kilometers, or seven miles, outside Cambodias capital, Phnom Penh. Svay Pak is infamously known as a popular place for foreigners to have sex with young girls.
Acting as his own attorney, Boyajian delayed the case for several years, objecting to nearly every aspect of the proceedings. During that time, he remained in custody in Los Angeles. In his last attempt to delay sentencing, Boyajian filed a motion to have Snyder removed from the case.
The sentence issued Monday is conditional pending a ruling on that motion.
erica.evans@latimes.com
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Billionaire Democratic political activist and potential gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer toured skid row Tuesday with Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who said afterward that he is courting Steyers support for a potential March sales tax initiative for homeless services.
County supervisors contemplated placing a homeless tax initiative on the November ballot and voted last month to go forward with a proposal to tax marijuana businesses for homeless services. But they quickly reversed course and voted not to place the initiative on the ballot after all, after a number of advocates pushed back against the idea.
Ridley-Thomas had pushed for a quarter-cent sales tax initiative, projected to raise an estimated $355 million a year compared with a high-end estimate of $130 million for the marijuana tax but the sales tax fell short of the four-fifths vote on the board needed to place it on the ballot.
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That could change after November, when voters will choose two new board members to replace retiring supervisors Don Knabe and Michael D. Antonovich, who both voted against the sales tax. Ridley-Thomas said he is very hopeful that the newly configured board would support a March sales tax measure.
Steyer said he had planned the trip to Los Angeles to attend events at the branches of the non-profit community bank he founded with his wife, and took the skid row tour at Ridley-Thomas request.
Steyer was the nations largest individual political donor in 2014, spending $74 million that year, and he spent $1 million to help an initiative to increase the states tobacco tax qualify for the ballot this year.
County staffers and nonprofit homeless-service providers walked Steyer through the offices of Housing for Health, a county program that started as an effort to house homeless people who are frequent users of hospital emergency rooms and has since expanded into a broader housing initiative; the next-door Star Apartments, a 100-unit complex of prefabricated apartment units for formerly homeless tenants; and then through several blocks of sidewalk encampments to the nearby Downtown Womens Center.
Steyer said afterward that he was impressed by both the scope of the problem and the systematic and coordinated efforts to address it he saw.
To me this is a fantastic chance to meet the people who are trying to solve homelessness in Los Angeles, he said.
Steyer said he was not sure yet what sort of help he would give to effort in Los Angeles, but added, I think what [Ridley-Thomas] was saying is, heres an issue thats central to our civic kind of sense of well-being and progress, and its a chance to participate in it, and thats the kind of thing that is interesting to me.
Ridley-Thomas said afterward that he had intended the tour to give Steyer a firsthand view of the scope of the problem and the intensity of the problem and to give him an introduction to the innovation thats taking place in efforts to address it.
He said he had discussed the potential ballot initiative with Steyer and that hes indicated that hes very interested in helping.
A spokesman for Steyers political organization, NextGen Climate Action, said the group had not taken a position on the potential ballot measure.
Apart from the potential March county measure, the city of Los Angeles is placing a $1.2-billion bond measure on the November ballot, with the proceeds to be used to build more housing for the homeless. But the money maybe used only for construction, not for services.
The countywide homeless population has swelled in recent years and stood at nearly 47,000 as of this years count by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
abby.sewell@latimes.com
Twitter: @sewella
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Police are hoping to find the person who placed a Purple Heart at a memorial to fallen officers, where candles have burned for days in honor of Jonathan JD De Guzman.
The medal, which officials believe to be authentic, was left Saturday morning at the granite monument that bears the names of 32 officers who have died in the line of duty. Soon, De Guzmans name will be inscribed with them.
The 16-year-veteran was killed and his partner, Wade Irwin, was wounded Thursday night during an incident that Chief Shelley Zimmerman said began as a traffic stop.
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A watch commander on duty at the downtown memorial said he saw a man get out of a car Saturday and walk up to the memorial before placing something next to a folded flag, San Diego police said.
The sergeant went over to see what had been left and found the medal. He brought it inside for safekeeping.
See the most-read stories in Local News this hour >>
The Purple Heart, one of the best known and most revered combat decorations, is awarded to U.S. service members who are wounded in war and given posthumously to family members of those killed in action or who died of wounds received in battle. It has an image of George Washington on the front and the words For Military Merit on the back.
The medal in question has no identifiable markings; according to the American War Library, only in rare cases are the medals officially engraved with the recipients name.
Officers believe the medal was placed at the memorial in a gesture of respect to De Guzman and the sacrifice he made. If the person who left it can be identified, officers will try to contact him to hear the story about the medal. Otherwise, he will just remain anonymous.
Other offerings left at the memorial include a pendant of St. Michael the patron saint of police and a note from the Archie Buggs family. Buggs was a San Diego officer killed in the line of duty in 1978. The Buggs family feels your pain, the note read.
Drawings from children are set among the dozens of bouquets, some of which are tied in blue ribbons.
One note written by an 8-year-old read, I am sorry your dad died but he is still with you. He is in heaven looking over you. I think your dad was really brave and strong and protecting us all from the bad guys.
Pam Grace stopped by Tuesday morning with an American flag that another mourner helped her carefully fold, military style.
She said that she flew the flag at the procession for fallen Navy SEAL Charles Keating, who was killed in Iraq last spring. So now its going to another hero, Grace said.
Police said the Purple Heart will be given to De Guzmans family, along with other items that have been left as a tribute to him.
debbi.baker@sduniontribune.com
Baker writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune
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When William J. Bratton announced he was stepping down as L.A.s police chief, even the ACLU seemed saddened.
Now, seven years later and three time zones away, Brattons resignation as New York Citys police commissioner is drawing a similar reaction from the U.S. attorney leading a corruption investigation that has already resulted in criminal charges against four ranking New York police officials.
Over a long career, on both coasts, no one has done more for policing and public safety in Americas largest cities than Bill Bratton, federal prosecutor Preet Bharara said.
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Bratton, one of the nations most prominent and well-known cops, has long had a knack for turning potential adversaries into admirers.
Over a long career, on both coasts, no one has done more for policing and public safety in Americas largest cities than Bill Bratton. U.S. Atty. Preet Bharara
His resignation, effective next month, ends a long career in law enforcement that included stints as the top police official in some of Americas largest cities. It also marks the second time he has stepped down from police work to take a private sector job.
Im leaving with reluctance, Bratton, 68, said at a news conference with Mayor Bill de Blasio. I wish I had more time chronologically to stay around three, four years to work on the issues that are going to take that long to straighten out, but I dont have that kind of time.
Bratton served as New York police commissioner in the 1990s under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, when he was credited with moving aggressively to bring down the citys high crime rate. He returned to the office in January 2014, after serving in Los Angeles from 2002 to 2009.
During Brattons second tenure, the department has been dogged by the ongoing federal corruption investigation and a strained relationship with black residents.
Josmar Trujillo, left, who lives in Spanish Harlem, and Nicholas Heyward Sr., whose son Nicholas Heyward Jr. was killed by police is 1994 in Brooklyn, rally during a protest against police brutality outside City Hall. (Drew Angerer / AFP-Getty Images )
One of the central events of that discord stemmed from the death of Eric Garner, who died in July 2014 after a police officer put him an apparent chokehold during an arrest for selling loose cigarettes. The case became a rallying point for the Black Lives Matter movement and drew national attention.
Later that year, two New York police officers were fatally shot while sitting in their patrol car by a gunman who had said on social media that he was seeking retaliation for Garners death.
Bratton said Tuesday that the department had made progress in healing relations by instituting neighborhood policing policies and adding more training for officers.
Regarding the issue of race and community relations, were on a journey, but its not a journey thats unique to New York City, he said.
Its a crisis in America at this moment; the national election is revolving around it. I would argue that we are farther along in New York City than most places to meet it.
But the racial tensions remain. Brattons announcement came a day after Millions March NYC, a group linked to the Black Lives Matter movement, began a protest in a park near City Hall, demanding among other things -- the commissioners resignation.
Bratton, however, said he was stepping down for personal reasons only.
I received an offer that for me and my wife was extraordinarily exciting, he said. Bratton declined to say anything more about his new job except that it was at a private firm not involved in policing, and that he would be remaining in New York.
In Los Angeles, his tenure was defined by data-driven policing, a significant drop in crime and ongoing efforts to mend the rifts in the community that he inherited.
The LAPD he took over was still crawling out from under its reputation as a military-style operation that confronted urban problems with aggression and force. It was also still steadying itself following the Rampart scandal, in which members of an anti-gang unit were blamed for narcotics dealings, unprovoked shootings and planting false evidence.
At the time, the department was operating under a consent decree a binding agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that spelled out dozens of major reforms the LAPD had to implement.
Initially, Bratton seemed to embrace the decree as a blueprint for remaking the LAPD. But as the years passed, he and others chafed at the courts refusal to loosen its grip on the department. The oversight came to an end in 2013, years after Bratton had left.
After he left the LAPD, Bratton became chairman of a New York-based security consulting firm, Kroll. But he was drawn back West.
In 2011, he was asked to head a University of California investigation into the pepper spraying of student protesters at UC Davis.
The university system had reached out to him in part because of his forceful handling of the 2007 May Day confrontation at MacArthur Park, where L.A. police officers were caught on video wielding batons and firing rubber bullet to disperse a crowd of largely peaceful protesters. The city eventually paid a $13-million settlement to protesters and bystanders.
Bratton also was hired to develop a security blueprint for Dodger Stadium after the 2011 near-fatal beating of Giants fans Bryan Stow.
After a near-fatal beating at Dodger Stadium in 2011, Bratton was hired to develop a security blueprint for the facility. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times )
Bratton said that under his leadership in New York, the department had brought down crime, become better prepared for a potential terrorist attack and had improved the safety of officers through the purchase of better equipment. Bratton will be replaced as commissioner by James ONeill, the chief of department and top uniformed officer.
I wish I had words for what this man has accomplished, De Blasio said.
Haller is a special correspondent.
ALSO
How Khizr and Ghazala Khan went from grieving parents to stars of the presidential race
For Baltimore officers cleared in Freddie Grays death, an uncertain future
Black lives matter! chants erupt as Mothers of the Movement take the stage at the DNC
UPDATES:
12:20 p.m.: This article was updated with additional background information and comments from Mayor Bill de Blasio and U.S. Atty. Preet Bharara.
This article was originally published at 11:40 a.m.
The Supreme Court has its first chance this week to weigh in on the legal controversy over transgender students, as a Virginia school board seeks an emergency order exempting it from the Obama administrations policy to allow students to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity.
The 4th Circuit Court in a 2-1 decision upheld this policy in April and ruled for Gavin Grimm, a 17-year old transgender boy from Gloucester, Va. He had sued after the school board adopted a rule saying the use of restrooms shall be limited to the corresponding biological genders.
The U.S. Department of Education cited this ruling in May it when said that according to its interpretation of the federal anti-discrimination law known as Title IX, schools and colleges must allow transgender students access to restrooms, locker rooms and dormitories that fit their gender identity.
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The same week, the Justice Department sued the state of North Carolina over its law, known as House Bill 2 or HB2, which says schools and colleges must maintain restrooms and changing facilities that are segregated by sex, defined by the physical condition of being male or female which is stated on a persons birth certificate.
Now with a new school year approaching, several courts are being asked to decide quickly on the issue.
A federal judge in North Carolina heard arguments Monday from lawyers for the ACLU and Lambda Legal, who called HB2 discriminatory and unconstitutional. They said the states law should be put on hold.
All I want is to use the appropriate restroom in peace, just like everyone else, said Joaquin Carcano, 28, the lead plaintiff. He is an employee of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a transgender man. Its humiliating that this law separates me from my peers and treats me like a second-class citizen.
All I want is to use the appropriate restroom in peace, just like everyone else. Joaquin Carcano, lead plaintiff
U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder said he would rule shortly on whether to temporarily suspend the state law, and then will hear further arguments in November on whether to strike it down entirely.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has been considering the appeal from the Gloucester County School Board asking it to put on hold the 4th Circuits decision upholding the gender identity rule.
The school boards lawyers said the dispute goes far beyond a single students use of a particular bathroom. The case has assumed nationwide importance, they say, now that the administration seeks to impose its Title IX interpretation on every school district in the nation, and indeed, to extend that interpretation beyond restrooms to locker rooms, showers, single-sex classes, housing and overnight accommodations.
ACLU lawyers representing Gavin Grimm said the appeal should be turned down. They said the case involves only the 17-year old who sued, and no irreparable harm will occur if [Grimm] is allowed to use the boys restroom this year while the school board seeks a full review of the 4th Circuits decision.
The emergency appeal was filed with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who oversees the 4th Circuit. If he or the full court turns down the appeal, which is likely, it will be seen as an early signal that the administrations rule on transgender rights will be upheld.
With the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February, the courts conservatives can no longer muster a five-member majority needed to issue a ruling, including emergency orders in pending cases. The school boards lawyers would need at least one vote from the four liberal justices.
The Gloucester case raises a procedural issue that might well draw the attention of the conservative justices. The Obama administration did not seek a new law to clarify the rights of transgender students, or even issue a new regulation. Instead, Education Department lawyers issued a new interpretation of a 1970s-era regulation that had permitted sex-segregated restrooms and locker rooms. The new guidance said transgender students must be treated consistent with their gender identity.
The school boards lawyers characterized this as a sleight-of-hand gesture that resulted in a major change in the law. In recent years, the courts conservatives said they were increasingly skeptical of federal agencies that change the law by announcing new interpretations of old regulations. But without Scalia, they may not have the votes.
So far, the 4th Circuit Court, based in Richmond, Va., is the only one to rule directly on transgender students and school bathrooms. Since May, lawyers for Texas, Nebraska and 20 other Republican-led states have joined suits challenging the Education Departments policy.
On Twitter: DavidGSavage
MORE NATIONAL NEWS
How Khizr and Ghazala Khan went from grieving parents to stars of the presidential race
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Despite Donald Trump cementing the GOP nomination, the Koch network keeps its distance
When President Obama declared Tuesday that Donald Trump was unfit to be commander in chief and suggested Republicans would be wise to break from their nominee, GOP leaders could be forgiven for discounting the advice of the leader of the opposition.
What they might not have counted on was that within hours, Trump himself would threaten to abandon them first.
The high-wire political tactics from both Obama and Trump backed Republican lawmakers into a predicament amid another day of controversial statements and erratic behavior from the GOP nominee.
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Obama said Republicans repeated denunciations of Trumps actions most recently for a spat with the family of an Army captain killed in Iraq rang hollow if they continued to endorse him.
There has to come a point at which you say, Somebody who makes those kinds of statements doesnt have the judgment, the temperament, the understanding to occupy the most powerful position in the world, the president said at a White House news conference.
Trump appeared to invite open warfare within his party by signaling he would not back House Speaker Paul D. Ryan or Arizona Sen. John McCain in their reelection bids.
I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country, Trump told the Washington Post, one day after he tweeted support for Ryans GOP primary rival. We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And Im just not quite there yet. Im not quite there yet.
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His utterance echoed Ryans own hesitation in May to endorse Trump before finally backing Trumps presidential run.
On McCain, the partys 2008 presidential nominee, Trump took a harder line. Ive never been there with John McCain because Ive always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets, Trump said.
The refusal to endorse fellow Republicans renewed attention on internal party squabbling at a time when the GOP is racing to mount a united front in the general election fight and make its case against Hillary Clinton.
McCain had said that Trumps complaints about Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of fallen Army Capt. Humayun Khan who denounced Trump last week, do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers, or candidates. McCain said that though he still supported Trump, his nomination was not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us.
Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had also expressed support for the Khans but did not mention Trump by name. On Tuesday, spokespeople for each declined to comment on Obamas assertions.
Zack Roday, a spokesman for Ryans reelection campaign, responded to Trump, however.
Neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trumps endorsement, he said. We are confident in a victory next week regardless.
Ryan is widely expected to win his primary next week. His larger challenge, though, is maintaining party unity, at least for the benefit of his own House colleagues as they seek to hold on to their majority.
McCain faces a clearer threat both within his own party the Arizona GOP recently censured him for his support of a comprehensive immigration reform measure and from a Democratic challenger.
Another Trump target was first-term New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, locked in one of this years closest Senate contests, who had said she was appalled by Trumps criticism of the Khans. Trump, who won the states lead-off presidential primary, questioned why she was offering zero support for him. I call it like I see it and Im always going to stand up for our military families and whats best for the people of New Hampshire, Ayotte tweeted in response.
Obama said that in standing by their nominee, GOP leaders risked blurring a distinction between conservative philosophies and what he has called Trumps demagogic views. He diagnosed Trumps liabilities coolly and with lawyer-like precision; among them, that he doesnt appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia.
The Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president, Obama said. I said so last week at the Democratic convention and he keeps on proving it.
Obama noted that he had serious policy differences with the two Republican presidential nominees he defeated, McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. But I never thought that they couldnt do the job, Obama said.
Had they won, I would have been disappointed, but I would have said to all Americans, This is our president, and I know theyre going to abide by certain norms and rules and common sense will observe basic decency, he said.
But with Trump, Obama said, Republican leaders need to say, Enough.
The alternative is that the entire party, the Republican Party, effectively endorses and validates the positions that are being articulated by Mr. Trump, he said.
Trump responded by blaming Obama and Clinton, the presidents former secretary of State, for policy missteps at home and abroad.
Hillary Clinton has proven herself unfit to serve in any government office, he said in a statement. She is reckless with her emails, reckless with regime change, and reckless with American lives. Our nation has been humiliated abroad and compromised by radical Islam brought onto our shores. We need change now.
Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way, saw Obama making a political argument but also one on principle.
A major party either collapsing or experiencing crisis is not good for the other party, he said. When you are the president, particularly a president nearing the end of your term, his interest is not political. What he wants is for the United States to be secure, and for his legacy to be secure. And handing the country over to an unstable sociopath would endanger both things substantially.
Third Way and the Truman National Security Project have been advising Democrats on what they call an Admit Hes Unfit campaign to pressure Republicans to acknowledge what they see as Trumps liabilities. Trumps posture toward Ryan in particular speaks to the necessity of doing so, Bennett said.
He is not going to change. There will not be a pivot, he said. Trump is telling the world as loudly and as clearly as he can that this is me. So if you think this behavior will stop with the campaign you are crazy.
One Republican did make a clean break with Trump. Retiring Rep. Richard Hanna of New York became the first GOP lawmaker to say he would vote for Clinton.
I do not expect perfection, he wrote in an op-ed in the Syracuse Post-Standard, but I do require more than the embodiment of at least a short list of the seven deadly sins.
And in yet another unusual campaign sight, Trump, during a rally in Virginia at nearly the same time Obama spoke, asked a mother to leave with her crying baby.
You can get the baby out of here, he said, a few minutes after he said he liked hearing the childs cries.
michael.memoli@latimes.com
For more White House coverage, follow @mikememoli on Twitter.
Child yells profanity directed at Hillary Clinton during Donald Trump rally
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UPDATES:
5:50 p.m.: This story was updated with more comments from Trump.
2:40 p.m.: This story was updated with reaction from Donald Trump.
This story was originally published at 9:40 a.m.
Clinton makes a play for a single electoral vote, with help from Warren Buffett
The crowd chants Hillary! as she and Warren Buffett enter the gym. #TeamFOX42 pic.twitter.com/5Yrcs3YcDL FOX 42 KPTM (@FOX42KPTM) August 1, 2016
In what could be a close election, every electoral vote matters. And so at an event in Omaha on Monday to encourage a huge voter turnout there on Nov. 8, billionaire Warren Buffett was offering free rides to the polls.
Hillary Clinton did one better.
Warren and I will dance in the streets of Omaha together, she promised, saying shed return as president if voter turnout in the district is highest in the country.
Nebraska, unlike every other state but Maine, does not simply award its electoral college votes to the winner of the statewide popular vote. Instead, just two of its five electoral votes go to the statewide winner, while one additional vote is awarded to the winner of each of its three congressional districts.
In 2008, the Obama campaign contested Nebraskas 2nd Congressional District mainly the city of Omaha and managed to pick off its vote. Aides dubbed it Obamaha, but the presidents campaign failed to replicate it in 2012. Now, Hillary Clinton is making another run at it.
Buffett noted that one political analyst had recently predicted a 269-269 electoral vote tie.
I am looking at the people who can change that 269 to 270, he said.
Buffett said he was committed to making voter turnout in the congressional district the highest of any in the country, and said hed personally arrange for transportation via trolley to the polls for anyone in the district who might need it.
Im going to be on it all day, Buffett said of the trolley. Im going to do selfies, whatever it takes. Lets give America a civics lesson! How about it?
Even if Clinton fails to carry the district, the stop could help boost her standing nearby. The Omaha media market reaches into western Iowa, a swing state in November.
Meg Whitman joins chorus of Republicans supporting Hillary Clinton
Meg Whitman, the Hewlett-Packard chief executive who ran unsuccessfully for governor of California in 2010, will back Hillary Clintons presidential campaign, joining other prominent Republicans troubled by Donald Trumps candidacy.
As a proud Republican, casting my vote for president has usually been a simple matter. This year is different, Whitman wrote on Facebook. Donald Trumps demagoguery has undermined the fabric of our national character.
Whitman, a major GOP fundraiser whose net worth is about $2 billion, also told the New York Times that she planned to raise money for Clinton.
Whitman has already donated more than $100,000 to anti-Trump efforts, but her decision to actively solicit donations for Clinton is a major blow to Trumps fundraising, which has deeply lagged behind Clinton. Last month, Clinton raised $90 million for her campaign and that of other Democrats, while Trump said he raised a bit more than one-third of that.
Trumps unsteady hand would endanger our prosperity and national security. His authoritarian character could threaten much more, wrote Whitman, urging fellow Republicans to reject his nomination.
In recent days, Trump has drawn scorn from Democrats and Republicans alike for his criticism of an American Muslim family whose son died in combat in Iraq, and several leading Republican operatives have backed off from supporting Trump.
Sally Bradshaw, an influential GOP strategist in Florida who advised former Gov. Jeb Bush during his primary campaign, announced Monday that she would leave the party.
A day later, Maria Comella, a top former advisor to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, also called Trump a demagogue and signaled her support for Clinton.
Trump, she said, has been a demagogue this whole time, preying on peoples anxieties with loose information and salacious rhetoric, drumming up fear and hatred of the other.
The move by several Republican women to back Clinton underscores the issues the GOP nominee has had with female voters.
Trumps comments about women, including suggesting that a Fox News reporter was menstruating when she questioned him in a Republican debate, have been the subject of advertising by Clinton and super PACs supporting her campaign.
While speaking to reporters Tuesday, President Obama declared Trump unfit to become president and said Republican denunciations of Trumps actions were hollow if they continued to endorse him.
There has to come a point at which you say, Enough, he said. "... The alternative is that the entire party effectively endorses and validates the positions that are being articulated.
Whitman echoed some of the presidents themes in her Facebook post: Trumps reckless and uninformed positions on critical issues from immigration to our economy to foreign policy have made it abundantly clear that he lacks both the policy depth and sound judgment required as president.
She added that in a tumultuous world, America needs the kind of stable and aspirational leadership Secretary Clinton can provide.
Updated at 9:16 p.m.: The post was updated with additional comments from Whitman.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
By Maksim Tsurkov Trend:
OSCE is expected to monitor the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops Aug. 3, said Azerbaijans Defense Ministry Aug. 2.
It is planned to hold the monitoring under the mandate of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative on the contact line near the Orta Gervend village of Azerbaijans Aghdam district, the ministry said.
On the Azerbaijani side, the monitoring will be held by the personal representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office Andrzej Kasprzyk and his field assistant Hristo Hristov.
On the opposite side, the monitoring will be carried out by the field assistants of OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative Jiri Aberle and Peter Svedberg.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Good morning. It is Tuesday, Aug. 2. Theres a new drone video, and this one will take you high above Californias coastline. Heres what else is happening in the Golden State:
TOP STORIES
Legal decisions
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Former L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca withdrew his guilty plea to a charge of lying to federal authorities during an FBI investigation into the jail system. The former sheriff had worked out a deal with prosecutors to serve six months in prison, but U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson rejected the deal. Now, it appears Baca will take his chances at trial. Los Angeles Times
Concert concerns
Three people died after the Hard Summer rave this weekend near Fontana. The festival was moved from the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona last year after two college students died of drug overdoses. An estimated 147,000 people attended the rave this year. The attendees who died were Derek Lee, 22, of San Francisco; Alyssa Dominguez, 21, of San Diego; and Roxanne Ngo, 22, of Chino Hills. Los Angeles Times
Green energy
The $2.6-billion merger of Tesla Motors Inc. and SolarCity Corp. will create a one-stop shop for green customers. But its success will depend on sales of the Model 3 car, the completion of the so-called Gigafactory 1 and high demand from customers. There are just a lot of real-world production and sales and volume challenges these companies have to meet. The merger doesnt solve these challenges, said Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book. Los Angeles Times
Readers, we always love hearing from you. You can keep up with Alice and Shelby during the day on Twitter. Follow @TheCityMaven and @ShelbyGrad.
L.A. AT LARGE
Deadly fire: A couple in their 90s died Sunday after a fire engulfed their Sun Valley home. Theodore J. Kiapos, 91, and Aspasia M. Kiapos, 90, were asleep in bed when a fire broke out in the attic. The couple was married for 64 years. Los Angeles Times
Lessons learned: What did LAUSD school police learn last year when they shut down the school district because of an emailed threat? A lot of what happened on Monday night Dec. 14 and Tuesday the 15th was because we did not have some of the intelligence and technology mechanisms that we have today in our district and our department, said Deputy Los Angeles School Police Chief Jose Santome. Los Angeles Times
Getting paid: One in 10 Californians is employed in the restaurant industry and every year, about 4,000 of those workers file wage claims, whether its for overtime, stolen tips or the denial of meal and rest breaks. KCRW reviewed 2,683 wage claims filed between 2013 and 2016 and found Southern California restaurant workers had claimed $22 million in back wages and penalties. KCRW
Out with the old: The Promenade in Woodland Hills is on the verge of closing. The upscale shopping mall that opened in 1973 next to gleaming Warner Center high-rises now could boast only the vestiges of former businesses, such as a torn away McDonalds sign. Daily News
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
Back on TV: Proposition 64 to legalize recreational use of marijuana in California allows for the possibility that cannabis could one day be advertised on television. Its unlikely to happen, but the provision is fueling critics opposition to the initiative. We view marijuana advertising in the same light as cigarette and e-cigarette advertising we dont want to see smoking re-normalized, and exposure to marketing and advertising does that, said Dr. Ravi Dave with the American Heart Assn. of Greater Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times
On leave: Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina) lost his committee assignments after his ex-wife accused him of domestic violence and a judge issued a restraining order against him. Now, Hernandez is on medical leave. A date for his return has not yet been set. Los Angeles Times
CRIME AND COURTS
Dismissing the victim: Vallejo police thought a womans kidnapping was a hoax because she did not act like a kidnapping victim and rejected their help in being reunited with her family. Thats according to court papers filed by the officers attorneys in a case filed by Denise Huskins and her boyfriend Aaron Quinn. I found it odd that a recently released kidnap victim would not want to go to her family, said Det. Mathew Mustard. Los Angeles Times
Back to jail: A 28-year-old man was found trying to break into San Bernardino Countys Central Detention Center early Sunday morning, authorities said. Shane James McDonald was not an inmate, though he did have an outstanding warrant. After he was captured, McDonald was jailed with bail set at $25,000. Los Angeles Times
DROUGHT AND CLIMATE
Protecting nature: Sequoias, glaciers, the everglades officials with the National Park Service are wondering just what will be left of these parks in 100 years. Thats particularly true in Joshua Tree. Theyre well adapted to what we have now. But you turn up the temperature a couple of degrees and that would be the end of most of these plants, said Cameron Barrows, an ecologist with UC Riverside. KQED
Smoke gets in your eyes: The Bay Area is expected to have clearer skies today. Monterey Bay spent most of Monday in a haze thanks to smoke from the wildfires near Big Sur. You can tell its not fog or smog. Its an orange-brown haze, said Kostas Chloros of the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton. Mercury News
CALIFORNIA CULTURE
Going down: The Millennium Tower in San Francisco is sinking. The 59-story tower has dropped 16 inches since it was completed in 2008. Thats significant ... and of concern, said Professor Greg Deierlein, director of the John A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center at Stanford University. SFGate
So L.A.: Should I Uber so I dont lose my parking spot? And 24 other tweets that are a little too real about Los Angeles. BuzzFeed
Mergers and acquisitions: Didi Chuxing will acquire Uber in China. Taking the if you cant beat em, join em approach will allow Uber to stop spending cash in that country and focus its resources on other markets. Los Angeles Times
Thats a lot of zeroes: Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom is now a billionaire. When he sold the photo sharing app to Facebook, Systrom was given Facebook stock. His $280 million from that deal has now grown to $1.1 billion. Forbes
Mazel tov: San Pedro native Misty Copeland, who made history when she became the first African American female principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre, married her boyfriend of 10 years over the weekend. She and Olu Evans wed in front of 100 people at the Montage Hotel in Laguna Beach. People
CALIFORNIA ALMANAC
Los Angeles will have low clouds and a high of 82 degrees. San Diego will have clouds as temperatures reach 79 degrees. Riverside will be mostly sunny and 93. It will be sunny and 97 in Sacramento. San Francisco will have low clouds and a high of 69.
AND FINALLY
Todays California Memory comes from Ty Tran:
My family came to California from Vietnam in December 1985. My aunt sponsored us and we lived with her family in Bakersfield. Once a month, we drove to Little Saigon to placate our cravings for Vietnamese food and culture. On the drive back, my mother would wake me at the Grapevine. She would say: Look at the river of red and yellow lights. This is our home now. And every time I drive the 5, I recall how wonderful the sight of headlights and taillights stretching into the horizon must have been for her like lights guiding us home.
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.
In Los Angeles battle for affordable housing, two philosophies are facing off. On one side are those pushing to build more units, who argue that a growing population and a static housing supply are a sure-fire recipe for rising rents. On the other side are those trying to save affordable units, especially rent-stabilized apartments. Progress on L.A.s affordability crisis depends on turning these warring factions into allies and you can see why at the intersection of Yucca Street and Argyle Avenue in Hollywood.
There, next to the Hollywood Freeway, developer Champion Real Estate wants to build 200 new apartments, including 39 that will be reserved for low-income households. The rub? It means tearing down an older apartment complex with 40 rent-stabilized units first.
The proposed multi-use development is a good one. Its just one block from a Metro station and will replace the rent-stabilized units with affordable ones nearly 1-for-1. If Los Angeles is going to have a more equitable, transit-oriented future, it needs lots more projects like this.
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But for the tenants of the Yucca-Argyle apartments, thats cold comfort. When their building is torn down, theyll get a relocation payment, yes but also be pushed out into a cutthroat rental market where vacancies are at a historic low of 2.7% and rents are spiraling out of control. Some will have to pay considerably more for a similar apartment, or find a less desirable one that fits their budgetassuming any still exist. If that doesnt work, they can leave the city or live on the street. These grim alternatives are the explicit consequences of our affordability crisis.
In response, the Yucca-Argyle renters have joined with the L.A. Tenants Union a year-old organization fighting against the loss of rent-stabilized housing to oppose the development and demand better. Can anyone blame them?
Pro-growth, yes-in-my-backyard housing advocates like me usually respond to these stories by emphasizing the greater good, and the regional benefits of density and development. Were big picture. Sure, some rent-stabilized housing will be lost, but the net impact is positive. Los Angeles cant preserve its way out of a housing shortage, and we know from the experiences of other cities (San Francisco, Santa Monica) that stopping development only exacerbates an affordability crisis.
The two sides on this debate share a common objective, though we rarely acknowledge it.
Anti-displacement advocates, the other side, also worry about affordability but in the here and now. Theyre concerned about the disabled veteran being displaced and at risk of homelessness. Or the fixed-income retirees who will never find an affordable replacement if their rent-stabilized home is demolished. Those people cant wait for Mayor Garcettis promised 100,000 new units, or count on winning a lottery to occupy one of the Yucca-Argyles 39 affordable replacement homes. They need help today.
Right now these two camps one focused on long-term regional need for development, the other on short-term individual harms rarely see eye to eye. But if were committed to affordability for the long haul, for everyone, those divisions wont do. We need to protect existing residents without downsizing or stopping new development. Both goals are too important to compromise on, so it behooves us to work together and find win-win solutions.
Heres one idea: a nonprofit that acquires older apartment buildings across the city. The buildings would generally charge market-rate rents, but profits would be used to subsidize rents for people displaced by new development. The tenant gets to stay in or near their neighborhood, keep their low, stable rent, and enjoy the new amenities that arrive with mixed-use redevelopment. Tenants who moved into nonprofit housing would turn over most of their relocation payment to the organization, helping to fund its mission.
See the most-read stories this hour
While we work toward that, heres another, shorter-term way to protect existing residents: Give them a choice between their relocation payment and a rent-voucher program that would work like the federal Housing Choice voucher. Under Housing Choice, tenants pay 30% of their income toward rent and have a voucher that covers any difference. Someone earning $2,000 a month would pay just $600 for their unit, with the government covering the rest. More than 60% of L.A.-area residents already spend more than 30% of their income on rent each month, so a voucher would actually improve the lives of many rent-stabilized tenants. As with the nonprofit housing idea, if renters opted for a voucher, any relocation payment would be redirected to fund the voucher program.
Allowing redevelopment to run roughshod over current renters isnt acceptable. At the same time, stopping the construction of new housing will just lead to greater displacement pressures in the future. For most of us, neither of these are controversial statements. The two sides on this debate share a common objective, though we rarely acknowledge it. By identifying our shared goals and unifying behind a pro-housing, pro-tenant platform, we can develop solutions that we can all get behind, and perhaps most importantly assemble the political power needed to turn them into reality.
Shane Phillips is an urban planner in Los Angeles. He writes about housing and transportation policy at Better Institutions.
Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
MORE FROM OPINION
Motive is irrelevant when states make it harder for minorities to vote
Should we care about Hillary Clintons historic candidacy?
L.A. isnt a suburb. We need to stop planning it like one.
Why are the rules of journalism being rewritten this election year?
My local newspaper, the Sonoma County Press-Democrat, is so clearly in the tank for Hillary Clinton that I no longer take pleasure in my morning read. Trumps acceptance speech, for example, was covered on the front page with two stories: on the left a straight, albeit somewhat judgmental, account of the speech, and on the right a fact check that disputed every point made by the GOP nominee. Clintons speech was covered with three front page stories, with headlines describing her nomination as historic, inspiring and trailblazing. A relatively mild fact-checking piece was relegated to the back pages.
This transparent bias is a national phenomenon, infecting both print and television media to such an extent that it has become almost impossible to separate coverage of the Trump campaign from attempts to tear it down. The media has long been accused of having a liberal slant, but in this cycle journalists seem to have cast themselves as defenders of the republic against what they see as a major threat, and in playing this role theyve lost the ability to assess events rationally.
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To take a recent example: Trump said at a news conference that he hoped the Russians who are accused of hacking the Democratic National Committees computers would release the 30,000 emails previously erased by Clintons staff. The DNC went ballistic, claiming that Trump had asked the Russians to commit espionage against the United States. Aside from the fact that Trump was obviously joking, Clinton claims those emails, which were on her unauthorized server during her tenure as secretary of State, were about her yoga lessons and personal notes to her husband so how would revealing them endanger national security? Yet the media reported this accusation uncritically. A New York Times piece by Maggie Haberman and Ashley Parker, ostensibly reporting Trumps contention that he spoke in jest, nonetheless averred that the Republican nominee basically urged Russia, an adversary, to conduct cyber-espionage against a former secretary of state. Would it be a stretch to conclude from this description that the New York Times is a Trump adversary?
The DNC emails, published by Wikileaks, reveal a stunning level of collaboration between important media outlets and the Democrats. Former DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz sought to silence NBCs Mika Brzezinski, who had found fault with the DNCs role in the primaries. The emails have headings like This must stop. Incredibly, NBCs Chuck Todd agreed to act as a go-between, even arranging a call between Wasserman Schultz and Brzezinski. Which raises the question: Why was a major media figure taking his marching orders from the Democratic party chair and how did this affect his networks coverage of the Trump campaign?
[News coverage tying Trump to Russia] smacks of the sort of McCarthyism that we havent seen in this country since the most frigid years of the Cold War.
The DNC emails also show that Politico reporter Kenneth Vogel sent his copy for a story on Clintons fundraising operation to the DNCs national press secretary, Mark Paustenbach, prior to publication. Politico has since apologized, but Vogel has his defenders. The Washington Posts Erik Wemple said Vogels prepublication generosity was meant to give the people youre writing about the opportunity to rebut all relevant claims in a story. One wonders if the Washington Post does this for the Trump campaign. Somehow I doubt it.
Since last summer, Politico has been vehemently anti-Trump, and its only getting more extreme. Its run several stories linking Trump to Vladimir Putin: Why Russia is Rejoicing Over Trump, GOP Gobsmacked by Trumps Warm Embrace of Putin, Donald Trump Heaps More Praise on Vladimir Putin and dozens of similar articles. The gist of these pieces is that Trumps stated desire to get along with Putin, and his comments on the costs imposed by our membership in NATO, mean that Trump is essentially an agent of a foreign power. A recent article by Katie Glueck on Trumps hacking joke said that Trump appeared to align himself with Russia over his Democratic opponent as if he were a kind of Manchurian candidate.
Of course, Politico is not alone in what was once called red-baiting. The Atlantic also weighed in with Jeffrey Goldbergs Its Official: Hillary Clinton Is Running Against Vladimir Putin, and a Franklin Foer story in Slate was headlined The Real Winner of the RNC: Vladimir Putin. This coverage smacks of the sort of McCarthyism that we havent seen in this country since the most frigid years of the Cold War.
Any objective observer of the news medias treatment of Trump can certainly conclude that reporters are taking a side in this election and they dont have to be wearing a button that says Im with her for this to be readily apparent. The irony is that the medias Trump bashing may wind up having the exact opposite of its intended effect.
Polls shows that journalism is one of the least respected professions in the country, and with Trump calling out media organizations for their bias, widespread slanted reporting is bound to reinforce this point and to backfire. Trumps campaign is throwing down the gauntlet to the political class. If journalists are seen as the mouthpiece of that class, they may soon find themselves covering Trumps inauguration.
Justin Raimondo is the editorial director of Antiwar.com and the author of Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement.
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Trump gives GOP leaders another reason to repudiate him. Why dont they?
Dont appreciate the significance of Hillary Clintons nomination? Too bad. This moment doesnt belong to you.
Possible presidential spoiler Gary Johnson speaks to The Times editorial board about siphoning votes from Hillary Clinton
Before GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump commenced his most recent public meltdown over comments made by the father of a Muslim U.S. soldier killed in the Iraq war, he was riding a post-convention bounce high enough to raise concern that Americans might elect arguably a fascist as their president.
Finally, it looks as if prominent Republicans are starting to bail, convinced that their nominees ramblings against the Gold Star parents who spoke at the Democratic National Convention will weigh down the Trump campaign ship enough to sink it.
On Monday, The Times editorial board said it was time for GOP officials to stop condemning Trumps individual offenses as if they were gaffes and recognize that his entire campaign is based on his ego, his intolerance and his disreputable world view. The editorial board warned, Those who will not repudiate him are on the wrong side in this battle for the nations political soul.
His problem isnt a lack of normal propriety but the absence of basic human decency. He is morally unfit for any office, high or low. Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal
The repudiations began in earnest after we posted the editorial Monday afternoon (and yes, Im aware that correlation does not equal causation). The Wall Street Journals Brett Stephens, after warning that Trump risks bringing the Republican Party permanent dishonor, describes what he finds uniquely grotesque about the nominees callousness:
What makes Mr. Trumps remarks so foul is their undisguised sadism. He took a woman too heartbroken and anxious to speak of her dead son before an audience of millions and painted a target on her. He treated her silence as evidence that she was either a dolt or a stooge. He degraded her. She was standing there. She had nothing to say, Mr. Trump told ABCs George Stephanopoulos. She probably, maybe she wasnt allowed to have anything to say. You tell me. In this comment there was the full unmasking of Mr. Trump, in case he needed further unmasking. He has, as Humayuns father Khizr put it, a black soul. His problem isnt a lack of normal propriety but the absence of basic human decency. He is morally unfit for any office, high or low.
On Tuesday morning, New York Rep. Richard Hanna became the first House Republican to pledge his vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton. He wrote in an op-ed article:
In his latest foray of insults, Mr. Trump has attacked the parents of a slain U.S. soldier. Where do we draw the line? I thought it would have been when he alleged that U.S. Sen. John McCain was not a war hero because he was caught. Or the countless other insults he's proudly lobbed from behind the Republican presidential podium. For me, it is not enough to simply denounce his comments: He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country. Secretary Clinton has issues that depending on where one stands can be viewed as great or small. But she stands and has stood for causes bigger than herself for a lifetime. That matters. Mrs. Clinton has promoted many of the issues I have been committed to over the years including expanding education and supporting women's health care. While I disagree with her on many issues, I will vote for Mrs. Clinton.
See the most-read stories this hour
Finally, President Obama (who isnt a Republican but whose frank remarks, spoken by a sitting commander in chief about a possible successor, make them noteworthy) got straight to the point in a news conference Tuesday:
I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president. I said so last week, and he keeps on proving it. The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family that had made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he doesnt appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia, means that he's woefully unprepared to do this job. And this is not just my opinion. I think what's been interesting is the repeated denunciations of his statements by leading Republicans, including the speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader, and prominent Republicans like John McCain. And the question I think that they have to ask themselves is, if you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him? What does this say about your party that this is your standard bearer? This isnt a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. This is daily, and weekly, where they are distancing themselves from statements he's making. There has to be a point in which you say, this is not somebody I can support for president of the United States, even if he purports to be a member of my party. And the fact that that has not yet happened makes some of these denunciations ring hollow. I dont doubt their sincerity. I dont doubt that they were outraged about some of the statements that Mr. Trump and his supporters made about the Khan family. But there has to come a point at which you say somebody who makes those kinds of statements doesnt have the judgment, the temperament, the understanding to occupy the most powerful position in the world.
These denunciations are more pointed than anything weve read from members of Trumps own party, but heres the thing: They all sound familiar because similar charges have been leveled against Trump in the past and by Republicans.
Remember Gonzalo P. Curiel, the U.S. district court judge presiding over the Trump University fraud case? Trump blithely dismissed Curiel as biased to the point of disqualification because it has to do with perhaps the fact that Im very, very strong on the border and Curiel, a natural-born U.S. citizen from Indiana, is Hispanic, I believe. Nothing about that statement is qualitatively different from Trumps insinuation that Ghazala Khan, who stood silently next to her husband at the Democratic convention, maybe wasnt allowed to have anything to say because shes a Muslim. Still and despite a rebuke from House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who said Trump's comments on Curiel are the textbook definition of racism the Republican candidate closed in on Clinton over June and July and briefly pulled ahead of her in the polls.
Trumps previous obscenities would have killed any other presidential candidacy by now. He once called on the U.S. to kill the family members of terrorists. He declared Muslim immigrants categorically unwelcome in the United States. He speculated that journalist Megyn Kelly was menstruating when she asked him pointed questions about his treatment of women. He vouched for his, um, virility during a televised debate in a way that would have caused Teddy Roosevelt, the manliest man ever to reign from the White House, to blush. Each of these offenses deserve only to be noted, not rebutted.
And this was all before Republicans were out of options, when they had time to spare the country from their own internal turmoil. But each crass utterance that caused rational observers to prepare Trumps political obituary only invigorated the campaign when it came to the polls. Members of the #NeverTrump movement appealed to fellow conservatives to save the Republican Party from the existential threat within; now, chances are you remember #NeverTrump because I just mentioned it.
Today, Trump is the second-most likely person to succeed Obama as president, having ascended to his current position despite past denunciations and expressions of dismay and so on. If the recent past is any guide and what better guide do we have than that? our memories, especially Republicans, are short enough to give Trump a decent chance of being taken seriously again.
Just ask Gonzalo Curiel.
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My first reaction to the news that the Satanic Temple hopes to establish after-school Satan Clubs at elementary schools was to crack a joke -- actually two.
Joke 1: Most of the kids who sign up for the Satan Club will do it just to pad their yearbook mentions.
Joke 2: Inspired by Donald Trumps description of Hillary Clinton as the devil, kids in the Satan Club will make campaign posters for the Democratic nominee.
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But the prospect of Satan Clubs at public schools isnt only a laughing matter. As two Washington Post reporters discovered, several school administrators believe that such clubs would probably conform to their policies for after-school organizations. One school district in Prince Georges County, Md., is reviewing a request for the establishment of such a club.
Congress seemingly has left high schools no choice. The Equal Access Act, passed by Congress in 1984, prohibits public secondary schools receiving federal funds -- that is, virtually all of them -- from discriminating against student clubs on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at such meetings. The Supreme Court upheld the law in 1990.
A school doesnt have to establish what the court called a limited open forum, but once it does, it cant discriminate on the basis of viewpoint. That also tracks the Supreme Courts interpretation of the 1st Amendment, which applies to elementary as well as secondary schools. (In 2001 the Supreme Court ruled in a New York case that a school district violated the Constitution when it excluded a Good News Club from meeting after hours at a school.)
So do schools really have to let little Satanists meet? That wait, what? question is probably on the lips of lots of Americans, and not just devout Christians or Donald Trump supporters who believe that his election will revive the practice of wishing Merry Christmas.
The answer is basically yes, and would probably be yes even if kids in the Satan Clubs formed a circle and chanted, Hail, Satan! But human or even animal sacrifice would probably be prohibited under an exception in the Equal Access Act for meetings that materially and substantially interfere with the orderly conduct of educational activities within the school. (In fact, the Satanic Temple isnt in the blood sacrifice business; heres a primer on the group by my colleague Robin Abcarian.)
Meetings of the Satan Clubs would focus on teaching reason and science. That would be consistent with the Satanic Temples mission statement, which doesnt mention worshiping the Dark One (although hes pictured on its website). Instead, the group says its goal is to encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense and justice, and be directed by the human conscience to undertake noble pursuits guided by the individual will.
As for the Satan Clubs -- promoted on the website as Educatin with Satan -- they seem to be primarily a form of counter-programming for Good News Clubs. Its important, the Satanic Temple explains, that children be given an opportunity to realize that the evangelical materials now creeping into their schools are representative of but one religious opinion among many.
Even a few years ago, the notion that an atheist or humanist club -- let alone one named after Satan -- would be allowed to meet at a public school would have caused a national outcry, and politicians would join in the chorus of condemnation.
But times have changed. In his 2009 inaugural address, President Obama said: We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers. Granted, Obama didnt mention Satanists of either the serious or the satirical sort. But the principles the same.
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For all the scripting and stage managing that goes into political conventions, the moments that can change a race are often unanticipated.
Khizr Khans speech at the Democratic National Convention last week in Philadelphia was one such moment.
For the record: An earlier version of this story said Humayun Khan was an enlisted soldier. He was an Army captain.
Convention organizers knew Khan would be a powerful speaker, but they had not expected he would be a considerably more potent symbol for the campaign than the other everyday Americans invited to the stage and everyone else who appeared in Philadelphia.
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Long after Americans have forgotten the nearly hourlong address Hillary Clinton delivered while accepting her partys nomination, what will linger is the haunting, emotionally charged plea to Donald Trump from a Muslim father whose son, an Army captain, was killed by a suicide bomber in Baghdad.
Timeline: The Khan familys road to confrontation with Donald Trump
The Clinton campaign is doing its best to just step aside and let the story play out, as Khan and his wife, Ghazala, are proving more effective at inflicting damage on Trump independently than the campaigns official surrogates ever could be. Clinton didnt mention the Khans during a rally in Omaha on Monday, though top Republicans and the families of other fallen soldiers have rushed to condemn Trumps condemnation of the Khans. The feud has grown into a full-blown political mess for the Republican nominee.
During Khans speech Thursday night, he lacerated Trumps plan to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. by speaking of personal sacrifice that, he said, Trump could not possibly know. Then he pulled out a pocket copy of the Constitution and asked Trump if he had ever even read it. Since then, thanks in part to Trumps complaints about the Khans, the familys story has dominated the news cycle.
The Clinton campaign became aware of Khan in December, when it came across an interview he did with Vocativ, a site that promotes itself as mining the deep Web chat rooms and databases outside the grasp of Google searches for original story angles.
The article was titled The Father of a Muslim War Hero Has This to Say About Donald Trump. It told the story of Khans son, Humayun, one of the 14 American Muslims who died serving in the military in the decade that followed the Sept. 11 attacks. Trump had recently called for a ban on Muslims entering the country.
Khan made a comment in the article that caught the attention of Clintons headquarters in Brooklyn, N.Y., about the 10 steps his son had taken toward the car of the suicide bombers as he warned all of the other men to hit the dirt and take cover. Those 10 steps told us we did not make a mistake in moving to this country, Khan told Vocativ. These were the values we wanted to adopt. Not religious values, human values.
Days after the Vocativ article was published, Clinton would come to read Khans words about the 10 steps in a speech in Minneapolis in which she repudiated Trump.
Khan describes himself as a political independent who votes for both Democrats and Republicans. The first time he had heard from the Clinton campaign was when it called to say the candidate wanted to quote him to pay tribute to his son.
Which father is going to say, No, you cannot do this? Khan said in an interview on PBS on Monday.
Clintons December speech, in which she quoted Khan extensively, was well-received. But voting in the primaries had not yet begun, and Trump was leading a field that still consisted of 14 Republicans running for their partys nomination.
After Trump had sewn up the nomination, and Democrats began to consider convention speakers, Khans name was among the first on the list of everyday Americans they would like to invite. As the event neared, they called him.
They asked if me and Mrs. Khan would come to say a word or two, Khizr Khan said. I dont know what was in their minds, but that is how it came into being.
Trump has since accused the Khans of being shills for the Clinton campaign and of reading its scripted text. Not so, Khan said. He wrote the speech with his wife. Clintons staff eventually read it, but the edits were all done by the Khans.
We were not tricked, Khan said during the PBS interview with him and his wife. That memorable moment when Khan brandished a pocket copy of the Constitution was his own idea, he said.
I carry this in my pocket out of affection for this document, said Khan, who holds a Harvard Law degree and resides in Charlottesville, Va. At home we have a stack of it sitting. Any time a guest comes, we give them a copy of it. Its a good starting of conversation. We live under the shadow of Thomas Jefferson. And I point that out.
Khan said he figured hed leave his copy at home when he headed to the convention, to avoid the hassle of going through security with it. Thats when the thought came: Why dont I pull it out during the speech?
In Khans mind, the discussion the speech has spurred about Trumps proposed Muslim ban was just one reason it was a success. Khan is also delighted by how much interest it has generated in pocket copies of the Constitution, which have been selling like mad thanks to him. They have never sold that many copies of the Constitution ever, ever.
evan.halper@latimes.com
Follow me: @evanhalper
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One of the more emotional moments of the Democratic National Convention was the stirring speech by the father of fallen U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan.
Khizr and his wife, Ghazala Khan, who lost their son to a suicide bomber in Iraq 12 years ago, made headlines when they stood on the convention stage and addressed Donald Trump.
You have sacrificed nothing and no one, Khan said. If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America, he said, referring to his son.
Khans remarks were given a standing ovation. They also prompted an unusual response from Trump, the Republican nominee: a repudiation of Khizr Khans comments and the suggestion that his wifes Muslim faith might be the reason she stayed silent during the couples appearance. The result was an instant and ongoing back-and-forth. Some background on the Khans:
They came to the U.S. in 1980
Khizr and Ghazala Khan were born in Pakistan. In 1976, their second son, Humayun, was born in the United Arab Emirates. The family moved to the U.S. in 1980 and settled in Boston, where Khizr studied law at Harvard University.
The family moved to Maryland, where Humayun went to high school and later attended the University of Virginia, where he joined the ROTC program. Humayun, who dreamed of becoming a military lawyer, graduated with a degree in psychology and joined the Army. He was deployed to Iraq in 2000, and quickly climbed the ranks to captain.
Killed in action
Capt. Humayun Khan is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. (Getty Images) (Test)
In 2004, Humayun was deployed to Iraq for a second tour. On Mothers Day, he called home and talked to his mother for the last time.
He was killed a month later guarding the gates of a U.S. military base. He spotted a car approaching and told his soldiers to get back. He walked 10 steps toward the car before more than 200 pounds of explosives went off, killing him and injuring others. Humayun, who was 27, was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Trump calls for a ban on Muslims
On Dec. 7, and in the midst of the Republican primary, Trump released a statement in response to the San Bernardino terrorist attack, calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the U.S.
The next day, Khizr Khan denounced Trumps statement on Vocativ, saying: Its the values [of this country] that brought us here, not our religion. Trumps position on these issues do not represent those values.
We still wonder what made him take those 10 steps, he told Vocativ. Maybe thats the point where all the values, all the service to country, all the things he learned in this country kicked in. It was those values that made him take those 10 steps. Those 10 steps told us we did not make [a] mistake in moving to this country.
Clinton features Humayun Khans story
Hillary Clinton first mentioned Humayun Khan in a speech in Minneapolis on Dec. 15, when she quoted the elder Khans Vocativ comments.
https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/678239724742422528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The Clinton campaign said it had not yet forged a relationship with the Khans at the time of her speech.
If you want to see the best of America, you need look no further than Army Capt. Humayun Khan, Clinton said in the speech.
Invited to speak at Democratic convention
Before the convention speech, Khizr Khan told the San Francisco Chronicle that he was nervous and had practiced a lot.
Nowhere but in the United States is it possible that an immigrant who came to the country empty-handed only a few years ago gets to stand in front of patriots and in front of a major political party, he told the Chronicle.
Flanked by his wife, Khan spoke directly to Trump during his speech.
"Let me ask you: Have you even read the United States Constitution?" he said, holding a pocket-sized Constitution. "I will gladly lend you my copy."
Khizr Khan speaks at the DNC
Trump responds
Trump responded to Khizr Khans remarks in an interview on ABCs This Week, insisting that Khan was misguided. Trump said he had made sacrifices by creating jobs and building buildings.
I think Ive made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. Ive created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures, Trump said in the interview. Ive had tremendous success. I think Ive done a lot.
Trump also went on to suggest that Ghazala Khan did not speak at the convention because of her Muslim faith.
https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/760070280932982784
Watch the interview:
Trump's ABC "This Week" interview
Ghazala Khan answers Trump
Ghazala Khan wrote in the Washington Post that her reason for remaining silent on the stage was simple: grief.
Walking onto the convention stage, with a huge picture of my son behind me, I could hardly control myself. What mother could? Ghazala Khan
Donald Trump has children whom he loves, she wrote. Does he really need to wonder why I did not speak?
Donald Trump said he has made a lot of sacrifices. He doesnt know what the word sacrifice means. More interviews
Since her statement was published, the Khans have given interviews. Khizr Khan called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan to speak out against their party's presidential nominee.
Two things are absolutely necessary in any leader or any person that aspires, wishes to be a leader. That is a moral compass and, second, is empathy. This candidate is void of both traits that are necessary for the stewardship of this country," Khan said on CNN's "State of the Union."
Watch Khizir Khans CNN interview:
Republicans condemn Trumps remarks
Sen. John McCain and the Veterans of Foreign Wars are among those who have condemned the remarks.
I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trumps statement, McCain said. I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers or candidates.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars also released a statement saying it will not tolerate anyone berating a Gold Star family member for exercising his or her right of speech or expression.
Ryan and McConnell released separate statements Sunday. Neither denounced Trump directly, but said they disagreed with the idea of a Muslim ban and honored Capt. Humayun Khans sacrifice.
Capt. Khan was an American hero, and like all Americans Im grateful for the sacrifices that selfless young men like Capt. Khan and their families have made in the war on terror, McConnells statement said.
alexia.fernandez@latimes.com
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Trump's remarks about the parents of a fallen Army captain become the latest trouble spot in his campaign
The controversy over his jibes at the Muslim parents of a soldier killed in action continued to overshadow Donald Trumps campaign Monday as he struggled to prevent broader defections among nervous Republicans after days of self-induced trouble.
Party leaders worried that Trumps verbal assault on two non-politicians would hurt his standing with voters more profoundly than did his earlier attacks on fellow candidates and rivals. Several upbraided their nominee as they worked to prevent Trumps latest imbroglio from consuming the partys candidates in other races.
Arizona Sen. John McCain issued an emotional rebuke of Trump but stopped short of pulling his endorsement, following in the steps of House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
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One high-profile Florida Republican, a mainstay in campaigns for more than two decades, announced that she had quit the party and that she would vote for Hillary Clinton if the race in her crucial state seemed close.
Trump used an audience in Ohio, another must-win state for him, to try to symbolically turn the page. After a morning in which he had tweeted another accusation about the father of the Muslim U.S. Army captain killed in Iraq Khizr Khan had viciously attacked him, he said Trump did not mention the family of Humayun Khan or the four-day feud he had pursued.
But he delved into another distracting issue, relitigating an argument over remarks he had made about Russia and its behavior toward Ukraine, comments that had unnerved GOP foreign policy experts.
The threat to Trumps campaign comes largely in its timing. Fewer than 100 days remain before the general election, putting the campaigns in a period in which stumbles become more dangerous because there is less time to craft a recovery.
As important, any time taken to try to clean up campaign messes pulls attention away from issues with greater political upside. Only when he got to Columbus, Ohio, for example, did Trump mention the meager economic growth figures released last week; any emphasis on them had been obliterated by the feud between Trump and the Khan family.
Likewise, Trump did not mention a fresh Clinton controversy stemming from her remarks in a Sunday Fox News interview. She told interviewer Chris Wallace that FBI Director James Comey had said she had been truthful in discussing her use of a private email server while secretary of State, an overstatement of Comeys actual remarks.
Trumps political power has come from a potential appeal beyond partisan lines. Now the reverse is happening, as criticism of him crosses party lines: The Veterans of Foreign Wars, a 1.7 million-member group generally allied with conservative causes and Republican candidates, denounced him Monday.
The VFWs national commander, Brian Duffy, released a statement saying the group would not tolerate further insult to a Gold Star family the designation given to those who have lost a family member in service to the nation.
There are certain sacrosanct subjects that no amount of word-smithing can repair once crossed, he said. Giving ones life to nation is the greatest sacrifice, followed closely by all Gold Star families, who have a right to make their voices heard.
For Trump, the danger is less that he will lose his committed backers than that he will narrow his ability to attract new ones. Many of Trumps supporters at the Columbus event said that they continued to back him regardless of the comments about the slain Army captain though they wished he would not have made his remarks precisely as he had.
Is he gonna say something stupid? Hes human. Hes gonna say something stupid all the time, said David Haskins, a 58-year-old carpenter and one of roughly 1,000 Trump supporters at the event.
None of that would dampen support for Trump, Haskins said, because Americans are aware and awake to the failings of the political system and veteran politicians like Clinton.
But Trumps supporters have already weathered controversies over his treatment of women, minorities and the disabled, among others. More troubling to Trump and other Republicans are defections like those of Sally Bradshaw, a Republican power in Florida for a generation.
She told CNN that she had abandoned her party registration and become an independent a decision that she said was reinforced by the way Trump belittled the mother of a fallen soldier for not speaking along with her husband at the Democratic convention. Ghazala Khan has since said she was still too upset by memory of her sons death to speak at the time.
As much as I dont want another four years of Obamas policies, I cant look my children in the eye and tell them I voted for Donald Trump, Bradshaw said.
For more on politics
Her departure came as a symbolic slamming of the door on the image the Republican Party had wanted to put forth in this election.
Bradshaw was one of the authors of an extensive report authorized by party Chairman Reince Priebus after the 2012 defeat of Republican nominee Mitt Romney. The report implored Republicans to reach out in 2016 to women, Latinos and young people groups that if anything have distanced themselves further from the party during Trumps rise.
McCain, in issuing his denunciation of Trumps comments about the Khan family, spoke to Republican fears that the presidential nominees problems would spread.
I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trumps statement, McCain wrote in a statement. I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers, or candidates.
Several polls released Monday showed that Clintons support has grown in recent days, although how much can be directly attributed to Khans convention speech and the subsequent controversy is unknown. Overall, in surveys from CNN and CBS, Clinton now has leads of 9 and 7 points, respectively, over Trump, erasing gains he had made after the Republican convention.
In a Gallup survey, 45% of respondents said the Democratic convention had made them more likely to vote for Clinton, compared with 41% who said they were less likely. In the same survey, 51% of respondents said the Republican convention made them less likely to vote for Trump, while 36% said it made them more likely to vote for him.
The 2016 race has been notable to this point by the sheer unpopularity of the candidates; neither Trump nor Clinton enjoys a positive favorability rating. That has left both with a pocket of support large enough to make them the nominee but too small to win the election.
The fear among Republicans after Clintons well-produced convention was that she would take a lead and never give it up. Democrats worked Monday to create the imagery of momentum in three parts.
President Obama, speaking in Atlanta to the Disabled American Veterans, smacked Trump for trash-talking Americas military and troops. He referred to his introduction at the Democratic convention by a Gold Star mother.
Vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine, speaking in his hometown of Richmond, Va., listed the groups Trump has maligned.
And just remember, whoevers the victim this week, it could be you next week, the Virginia senator said.
And Clinton appeared in Omaha, where billionaire Warren Buffett a well-known symbol of the business acumen Trump touts for himself introduced her and challenged the Republican to a joint release of their tax returns.
Trump was by himself in Columbus, blaming the fire marshal for the relatively small crowd that greeted him, and trying to clean up messes hed made before heading to another state, Pennsylvania, where he faced an uphill struggle even before the events of the last few days.
cathleen.decker@latimes.com
Twitter: @cathleendecker
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We know there are some things we do not know, former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld once famously said. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we dont know we dont know.
That sure sounds like the feeling you get trying to guess whats next in this latest flashpoint over words spoken by Donald Trump.
Good morning from the the state capital. Im Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers, and prepare yourself for another day of intense back-and-forth about Trumps critique of a fallen soldiers parents, a Muslim American couple that took him to task during the Democratic National Convention.
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TRUMP, KHAN, MILITARY FAMILIES: THE FIGHT CONTINUES
The Republican nominee was roundly criticized on Monday for his weekend comments about Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of the late U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, killed in Iraq in 2004.
Arizona Sen. John McCain said that Trumps comments do not represent the views of our Republican Party, an amazing statement from the 2008 nominee about the 2016 standard-bearer. Even so, McCain stopped short of actually withdrawing his support.
Then, it was a leader of the Veterans of Foreign Wars who admonished Trump for his criticism of the Gold Star parents, calling the comments out of bounds.
President Obama joined in, too, during a speech in Atlanta. No one no one has given more for our freedom and security than our Gold Star families, said Obama.
Trump tried to shake off the controversy on the campaign trail in Ohio on Monday. But as Cathleen Decker writes, the real danger for Trump may be the timing of all of this controversy less than 100 days from the election and in a period where voters may be now carefully tuning in.
AND SPEAKING OF THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
The public feud with the Khan family is far from the only presidential campaign news as the post-convention period begins.
On Monday, billionaire Warren Buffett endorsed Hillary Clinton and did what only a billionaire could do: He promised to disclose his own tax returns if Trump, who has refused to do so, did the same.
He even offered to provide a trolley to transport voters to the polls in his hometown of Omaha, Neb., on election day.
Im going to be on it all day, Buffett said of the trolley. Im going to do selfies, whatever it takes. Lets give America a civics lesson! How about it?
SOME TRUMP SUPPORTERS HANG TOUGH
Is the dustup swaying die-hard Trump supporters? Not Peggy Hayes of swing-state Virginia. Noah Bierman, who profiled Hayes a few months ago as part of our Trump Nation series, checked in with her. The personal fitness instructor remains in the Trump train, she tells him.
And check out what one Trump supporter said to an NBC News reporter: I told the L.A. Times, if he murdered the right person, I still might vote for him.
KOCH BROTHERS FACE THE TRUMP QUESTION, TOO
The Koch brothers the nations best known and most controversial independent political actors had an unambiguous message to donors at their biannual retreat this weekend: Were staying out of the presidential race.
Melanie Mason was on the scene at the swanky Colorado Springs resort, where conservative-leaning attendees mingled with elected officials like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
But Charles Koch strongly pushed back on the perception not backing Trump was a de facto endorsement of Clinton; in fact, he called such a notion blood libel.
Get the latest from the campaign trail on Trail Guide and follow @latimespolitics. And check our daily USC/Los Angeles Times tracking poll at the top of the politics page.
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO FIGHTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING
More than two decades ago, human trafficking was a crime without a name. Now as prosecutors, law enforcement officials and advocates have brought the problem to the political forefront, California lawmakers are attempting to tackle a multibillion-dollar industry that sweeps hundreds of thousands of children and teens into the trade nationwide every year.
But as Jazmine Ulloa reports, theres no coordinated approach in the two dozen or so legislative proposals that remain pending in Sacramento. And in some cases, they pit advocates against law enforcement.
CAMPAIGN CASH STARTS ROLLING IN FOR NOVEMBER PROPOSITIONS
Weve got an early look at the money being raised and spent on this falls 17 statewide ballot propositions, thanks to filings submitted on Monday.
While Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsoms gun violence initiative, Proposition 63, is significantly outpacing its opponents in campaign cash, the biggest haul so far appears to be the effort to defeat the prescription drug pricing initiative, Proposition 61 almost $66 million, largely from drug companies.
Meantime, efforts at two competing ballot measures on the fate of Californias death penalty reported only a total of about $6 million in contributions. And the states largest teachers union has opened up its wallet to the tune of some $13 million as part of the effort to pass Proposition 55, an extension of existing income tax rates on the most wealthy.
Well be tracking all of the campaign cash, and more state political news, on our Essential Politics news feed.
HERNANDEZ CALLS IN SICK AFTER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ALLEGATIONS
Lawmakers returned to the state Capitol Monday for the beginning of their final four weeks of the 2016 session, but Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina) wasnt one of them.
The embattled Democrat, facing domestic violence allegations, requested medical leave for at least the first week and a half of August.
His staff wouldnt disclose what was causing him to miss work or when he might return. Whenever he does return, Hernandez will find himself less busy: He was stripped of his committee assignments last month after a judge issued a domestic violence restraining order against him.
TODAYS ESSENTIALS
Californias campaign ethics watchdog agency said Monday that its looking into whether there was illegal coordination between the campaign of Assemblyman David Hadley (R-Manhattan Beach) and an independent expenditure committee supporting him.
Meantime, the state agencys former chief enforcement officer says final approval of a $1.2-billion dollar condominium and hotel project in Beverly Hills should be denied because the citys former mayor lobbied on behalf of its Chinese developer.
Gov. Jerry Brown and First Lady Anne Gust Brown have sold their Oakland home, and they took a small loss on the sale. Their official residence is now the historic governors mansion in Sacramento.
Two prominent Democrats running for governor in 2018 were the first to report their campaign contributions in Mondays state filings.
A man who once had enormous political influence, former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, withdrew his guilty plea on Monday to charges of lying to federal investigators.
Black Lives Matter has signed on to a political platform for the Nov. 8 election. The document suggests 40 policy proposals and calls for black liberation.
Heres what Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson told The Times Editorial Board.
The Simpsons have their say on the Clinton-Trump battle.
Who will win the November election? Give our Electoral College map a spin.
LOGISTICS
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Please send thoughts, concerns and news tips to politics@latimes.com.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
Trend:
The statement of the Armenian leadership, which has lost its influence both inside the country and at the international level, is of regular nature and addressed to the domestic audience, Hikmat Hajiyev, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys spokesman, told Trend Aug. 2.
Hajiyev was commenting on the statement made Aug. 1 by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan regarding Azerbaijans occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Sarsgyans speech once again shows that being prisoner of the last century, the political leadership of Armenia doesnt understand todays reality and has warlord mentality of late 80s, Hajiyev said.
He added that he would like to remind the Armenian authorities, who falsify the history, of the Maragha-150 monument erected in Maragha village of Azerbaijans Aghdere district in 1978 on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the resettlement of Armenians to the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The Maragha-150 monument was deliberately destroyed by Armenians in 1988 when they started territorial claims against Azerbaijan, Hajiyev said. Thus, Armenians may put forward territorial claims against other countries as well, where they lived for several decades before the resettlement, having stated that it is their historical Armenian land.
Nagorno-Karabakh, temporarily occupied by Armenian armed forces, is an inseparable historical and sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, he added.
Sooner or later, Azerbaijan's sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh will be fully restored, Hajiyev said. No one should ever doubt it.
Heres a look at some of the Legislatures most notable moments By John Myers (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) Lawmakers early Thursday morning wrapped up their work for the two-year session of the California Legislature, heaping praise on their many accomplishments. Even so, at least one major item on the to-do list was never resolved. And some of the battles during this session could leave political scars that last much longer. Read More Facebook
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Consumers could pay a new battery recycling fee under a bipartisan bill sent to the governors desk By John Myers Soil taken from a yard in Commerce near the now-shuttered Exide battery plant is tested in February by a team from the L.A. County Health Department. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) Californians who purchase lead-acid batteries like those used to start cars and trucks would pay a new $1 fee under legislation sent to Gov. Jerry Brown early Thursday morning, with the funds earmarked for cleaning up contaminated sites such as the former Exide battery plant in Los Angeles County. The fee charged to battery buyers would rise to $2 in 2022. Lawmakers would direct the revenues estimated to be as much as $40 million a year to deal with contamination sites as needed. "For four decades, our community has been waiting for something, said Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), the author of AB 2153. The bill was the final piece of legislation taken up before the Legislature adjourned, and it received a quick bipartisan vote in both houses within a span of only a few minutes. Garcia said there were late negotiations with the Brown administration on the final details. AB 2153, if signed into law, would not take effect until April 1, 2017. Battery manufacturers and consumers would each pay $1 fees on each new battery for the first five years of the proposal; after that, the full $2 fee would be shouldered by consumers. Some Republican legislators said that setup is a mistake. This tax is regressive, Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) said during the midnight debate. Its paid by the people who make the least amount of money. The Vernon site of the former Exide battery plant was closed under a deal with federal prosecutors last March. Lead contamination in the soil of homes around the plant was discovered two years ago. The battery fee would likely go first to Exide cleanup efforts, which are already underway. Brown estimated in February that the price tag could reach $176.6 million. Facebook
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Sorry, Internet poker fans. It wont be legal in California anytime soon By Patrick McGreevy After 10 bills over eight years failed to legalize Internet poker in California, the latest plan also died Wednesday in the Legislature amid continued squabbling by competing factions of the gambling industry. A bill that would have allowed Californians to legally play poker online lacked support from two-thirds of Assembly members and was not brought up for a vote on the last day of the legislative session. Read More Facebook
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The clock runs out on a major bid to overhaul the states energy regulator I've lost to a lot of forces in my time, but never to a clock. It's not a good feeling. PUC reform is officially dead. Mike Gatto (@mikegatto) September 1, 2016 Facebook
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Lawmakers say goodbye to their termed-out colleagues on the final day in Sacramento By Sophia Bollag Outgoing Democratic state Sens. Isadore Hall III of Compton, left, and Mark Leno of San Francisco share a moment on the last day of the two-year legislative session. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Lawmakers cried, sang, recited limericks and confessed crushes on departing colleagues this week in their farewell speeches for California legislators whose terms are up. For 14 Assembly members and six state senators, Wednesday likely marked their last day arguing on the floors of their respective chambers. In an end-of-session tradition, lawmakers said goodbye to their termed-out colleagues between voting on bills. Assemblyman Matt Dababneh (D-Encino) revealed he might have a legislative crush on outgoing Assemblywoman Nora Campos (D-San Jose). I will not miss anyone more than I will miss you, Dababneh told Campos, who is running for state Senate this fall. Often as a single guy, I get asked ... when are you going to find the perfect girl, and I say, If I find anyone half as amazing as Nora Campos, I would be married the next day. Campos, like the other members whose terms are up, served six years in the Assembly. Termed-out state senators have served eight years. Although new 12-year term limits were passed in 2012, lawmakers elected in 2010, including Campos, are still subject to the old term limits. Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown (D-San Bernardino) sang Katcho, Katcho Man to the tune of Macho Man by the Village People while saying goodbye to Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian (R-San Luis Obispo). Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno) recited a limerick he wrote for departing Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina) that drew chuckles for the line, As a doctor, Im happy your blood pressure is lower. Hernandez was running for U.S. Congress before allegations of domestic violence involving his ex-wife crippled his ability to campaign, he told reporters earlier this month. After a judge issued a domestic violence restraining order against him, he took a nearly three-week leave of absence from the Legislature for high blood pressure. The speeches featured many bipartisan compliments for departing lawmakers. Sen. Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) described Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) as his liberal complement in the Senate. This is a sad day for me. You see, Mark completes me, Anderson said. Im sorry I have two more years and I wont be spending them here with you. Assemblyman Richard Gordon (D-Menlo Park) wiped away tears as fellow Assemblyman Brian Jones (R-Santee) thanked him. If I have been able to have any effect across the aisle, its because of your grace and your compassion, Jones said. If I had the opportunity to give back my six years so you could have six more, I would do it in a heartbeat. Facebook
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California workers wont be getting double pay for Thanksgiving Day duty By Liam Dillon (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) State lawmakers defeated a measure late Wednesday that would have given retail and grocery store employees who work on Thanksgiving double pay. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), the bills author, said it was needed as more and more retailers were extending Black Friday sales into Thanksgiving Day. I narrowed and narrowed and narrowed this bill so it only affects the things that concern us the most: the larger retailers who continue to open up on Thanksgiving rather than allowing people to stay home with their families, Gonzalez said. No opponents to the measure spoke on the Assembly floor, but numerous business groups, including the California Chamber of Commerce, were against it. They argued the bill unfairly hurts big-box retailers that are competing with online outlets for sales. The measure fell 10 votes short of passage, with both Republicans and Democrats in opposition. A similar bill from Gonzalez failed last year. Facebook
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Bill to advance Californias high-speed rail project is sent to Gov. Brown By Sophia Bollag In the last few hours before the end of session, lawmakers passed a measure to advance the California bullet train project. Voters approved nearly $10 billion in bonds for the high-speed rail project in 2008, but it has since stalled. The bill passed Wednesday would clarify wording in the 2008 measure and allow some of the money for the project to upgrade existing rail lines. Its a critical investment in our infrastructure, the bills author, Assemblyman Kevin Mullin (D-South San Francisco), said. But opponents say the bill passed Wednesday alters the voter-approved measure too much. This is a revision of what the voters intended, Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) said. The bill, AB 1889, now heads to the governor for approval. Facebook
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An overhaul of Californias taxi regulations passes the Legislature By Liam Dillon In potentially a major change to Californias taxi business, state lawmakers passed legislation late Wednesday to centralize control over the industry, an effort supporters said would allow cabs to better compete with Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing services. The bill, AB 650, would prohibit local governments from setting taxi rates or limit the number of taxis on the road as well as allowing cabs to pick up and drop off passengers outside specific local jurisdictions. Ride-hailing companies have looser regulations in those areas and have made significant inroads into the taxi business. The laws and regulations governing the provisions of transportation services are many decades old and have evolved slowly, said the bills author, Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell). As with many new technologies, the rapid growth of [ride-hailing] companies has created a disruption in taxis archaic model of transportation. Under the bill, the taxi industry would be regulated by state departments that handle transportation. The measure exempts San Francisco, which backers of the measure described as having a unique taxi medallion system. AB 650 would take effect as soon as next year, once Gov. Jerry Brown finishes a reorganization of transportation departments. The bill has caused significant consternation among local governments and within the taxi industry. Last week, the city of Los Angeles voted to oppose the measure unless it was also exempted. Since that vote, Low changed the legislation to accommodate some of the largest objections. Cities will still be allowed to force taxis to pick up in every neighborhood to prevent discrimination and require taxis to accommodate people with disabilities. Some lawmakers opposed to the bill argued on the Assembly floor that it was rushed. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) also contended that the measure lowered worker protections for taxi drivers in an effort to increase competition with ride-hailing companies. Those are such terrible jobs with such few regulations that protect workers that to say the answer to the [ride-hailing] problem, and there is a problem in the sharing economy, is to say, Lets just forget regulations? Gonzalez said. That may be somebodys answer, but thats not mine. The bill now heads to Browns desk. Times staff writer Laura J. Nelson contributed to this report. Facebook
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After facing long odds, $3 billion low-income housing bond is done for the year By Liam Dillon A $3 billion low-income housing bond is done for the year. The measure, which would have put a ballot measure authorizing the bond before voters in 2018, was aimed at helping relieve the states huge housing supply deficit, especially for Californias poorest residents. The bill, authored by state Sen. Jim Beall (D-San Jose), didnt come up for a vote in the Assembly. It faced long odds, needing a bipartisan vote there and then the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown, who had already expressed his opposition. Facebook
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After a rocky final few months, Roger Hernandez quietly finishes his legislative career By John Myers (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) A number of politicians wrapped their legislative careers on Wednesday as the Legislature adjourned for the year, but few face as much uncertainty in the months to come as Assemblyman Roger Hernandez. The West Covina Democrat spent much of the final day of the 2016 legislative session sitting quietly at his desk after returning to Sacramento last week in the wake of a domestic violence restraining order in July. Hernandez was then excused on medical leave for the first few days of the August proceedings. In a final farewell speech in the Assembly on Wednesday afternoon, the lawmaker briefly reflected on some 17 years in local and state public service. I leave this floor with great joy and some sadness because I love this job, Hernandez said. This is my favorite job Ive ever had. In the final legislative hours, Hernandez also sought to explain his decision as a committee chairman this summer to kill a closely watched bill to expand the states parental leave law only to then vote for the proposal once it was resurrected by its author, state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara). In a post on his Facebook page, he said the earlier action was because of the original bills impact on small businesses. I believe the impact on small businesses has been taken into greater consideration in todays bill, he wrote on Tuesday. Hernandez recently said that he no longer feels he can mount a campaign for Congress against Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Norwalk). The lawmaker left his Assembly colleagues with some advice in his farewell speech. There are so many people that are depending on each and every one of us to fight ardently for them. he said. You are their champion. Dont forget that please. Facebook
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Planned Parenthood-inspired bill to crack down on secret recordings clears Legislature By Melanie Mason Its already illegal to record someone without their permission in California; under a bill that got final legislative approval on Wednesday, distributing such a recording could lead to even more legal trouble. The bill by Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez (D-Echo Park) would make it illegal to distribute secret recordings involving a healthcare provider. The measure was inspired by the high-profile videos taken by anti-abortion activists that purported to show Planned Parenthood doctors and employees engaged in illegal sale of fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood was not charged with any wrongdoing, and the organization argued the videos were doctored. The bill, AB 1671, represents a compromise between Planned Parenthood and media organizations, which were wary that the proposed crime could ensnare journalists. But approval from Gov. Jerry Brown is not a sure thing; the bill creates a new crime and the governor has rebuffed other efforts to add to the penal code. Read More Facebook
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Lawmakers approve new climate plans to help Californias disadvantaged communities By Chris Megerian (Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images) Three more measures intended to address climate change in poor and polluted communities were passed by state lawmakers Wednesday night. They followed on the heels of major legislation approved last week to set a new target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to increase oversight of state regulators. One of the bills, AB 1550 from Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez (D-Echo Park), would refine guidelines for spending revenues from the states auction of greenhouse gas pollution credits and would require more money be used to help low-income households. Gomez said the bill would bring greater equity to the states programs. Our most polluted neighborhoods are disproportionately home to Latinos, African Americans and other communities of color, he said. AB 2722 from Assemblywoman Autumn Burke (D-Marina del Rey) would ensure more state grants awarded through a housing program would go toward disadvantaged communities. A third measure, SB 1383 from state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), would direct state regulators to crack down on short-lived climate pollutants, which include emissions that contribute to global warming and create health hazards. Gov. Jerry Browns office has signaled that he supports all of the proposals. Facebook
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Lawmakers and Capitol staff, tired as long and final day dragged on, vented on Twitter Facebook
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Technical difficulties in Californias Capitol On the last night of the legislative session, the state Senate is going old school, said the chief of staff for Senate leader Kevin de Leon. This is pure speculation, but I think Putin just hacked our computer system. Going old school now with paper analyses & bills. Never dull. Dan Reeves (@DanReevo) September 1, 2016 Facebook
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Lets get the Olympics back to California: Lawmakers OK $250-million spending guarantee for 2024 Summer Games By Patrick McGreevy State lawmakers on Wednesday sent the governor a bill that would allow him to provide up to $250 million in financial guarantees in case the city of Los Angeles goes over budget in its proposal to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles) said the authorization is needed to allow the city of Los Angeles to compete to host the Games, which he said are not expected to show a deficit. Lets get the Olympics back to California, De Leon told his Senate colleagues before they voted to approve the bill. The guarantee is required by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee as a prerequisite before any city can be considered for hosting an Olympic Games. Hosting the Games in California is expected to generate billions of dollars for the states economy, stated De Leons bill giving authorization to the governor. The city of Los Angeles expects there will be net revenue exceeding expenses that can be devoted to legacy programs for youth and citizens of California. Facebook
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New processing standards for medical marijuana would be set under bill sent to governor By Patrick McGreevy Lawmakers proposed new standards for manufacturing medical marijuana products in a bill sent to the governor. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune) The University of California would conduct a study of the effects of marijuana on motor skills, and new standards would be set for manufacturing medical cannabis products under legislation sent Wednesday by state lawmakers to the governor. The measure was approved as California prepares to begin issuing licenses to marijuana growers and sellers in 2018 and as voters consider a November ballot measure that would legalize recreational use of pot. The bill by Assemblyman Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova) and others would exempt collectives and cooperatives that manufacture medical cannabis products from some criminal sanctions if they meet state requirements. The manufacturing must use processes without solvents or processes with nonflammable, nontoxic solvents. Recent raids and busts on the ground have highlighted the need for this bill, said Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), a co-author of the bill. Cooley said the new manufacturing standards can be enforced by the new Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation. As the bureau ramps up licensure programs and puts regulations in place, it is important that local governments have clarification about what types of manufacturing and extraction are allowed, Cooley said. The measure, which also provides for reporting of license denials, is supported by the California Cannabis Industry Assn., which said it will protect the health and safety of medical cannabis patients. The study on pots effect on motor skills comes as groups opposing recreational use charge that legalization will lead to more automobile accidents in California. Facebook
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Yes, in your backyard: Legislature OKs easing restrictions on building granny flats in California By Liam Dillon Construction on John Gregorchuks secondary dwelling unit has been stalled because of a legal ruling against the city of Los Angeles. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) It might soon be easier for California homeowners to convert garages into new residences or build additional freestanding structures in their backyards, after lawmakers approved a measure to streamline restrictions on the units statewide. This week, the Legislature approved two measures, SB 1069 from Sen. Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) and AB 2299 from Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) aimed at forcing local governments to approve the secondary housing units, often known as granny flats. People are shocked and frustrated when they see the enormous fees and requirements that are preventing them from adding a small unit or converting a room in their house, Wieckowski said in a statement. SB 1069 will eliminate unnecessary fees and reduce requirements to give homeowners more control over their home. Under the two bills, local governments will no longer be able to require homeowners to add parking for new granny flats near transit stops or have a large uncovered pathway to the street, and will limit fees for connecting the additional unit to water and sewer lines. State lawmakers who have tried to encourage building such units for more than a decade as a way to address Californias soaring housing costs have expressed frustration with local government inaction. In Los Angeles, for example, all granny flat permitting is on hold after a Superior Court ruling earlier this year found a conflict between local rules and state law. City officials have tried to resolve the issue recently, but are facing opposition from homeowners who argue that the units would hurt the character of neighborhoods. Gov. Jerry Brown endorsed both measures earlier this year, and is expected to sign them. UPDATE Aug. 31, 4:22 p.m. This post was updated after AB 2299 passed the Legislature. This was originally posted on Aug. 30 at 7:04 p.m. Read More Facebook
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Wear your jean jacket proudly. Legislature makes denim Californias official fabric By Liam Dillon Its official. The California Legislature has declared denim the states official fabric. Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-Marin County) presented the wryly named AB 501, while his colleagues displayed jean jackets and joked whether Jordache jeans would be included. AB 501 tells both the story of California and global culture, Levine said. Levine easily overcame the opposition. Well, I tried to speak up for California sheep & the Wool Growers Association... But denim still won the day. I voted yes @nathanfletcher Lorena (@LorenaSGonzalez) August 31, 2016 The bill passed 59-3. Gov. Jerry Brown hasnt weighed in yet. Facebook
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Uber and Lyft drivers could soon face tougher background checks, thanks to bill headed to Gov. Jerry Brown By Liam Dillon Drivers for Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing services could soon face stricter background checks under a measure that passed the California Legislature on Wednesday. The bill would prohibit the companies from hiring drivers who are registered sex offenders, have been convicted of violent felonies or, within the last seven years, have a driving-under-the-influence conviction. The bills author, Assemblyman Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove), said the measure will help ensure the safety of passengers utilizing [ride-hailing] services. He noted that prosecutors in Los Angeles and San Francisco last year found 25 people with lengthy criminal histories driving for Uber. But Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) argued that the measure is too strict and hurts the ability of those with long-ago convictions to find jobs. The language in the bill doesnt take into consideration individuals who committed crimes 10, 15 or 20 years ago, have paid their debt to society and are now model citizens, Quirk said. The bill also mandates a maximum $5,000 fine each time a ride-hailing company violates the background-check rules. The measure now heads to Gov. Jerry Browns desk. Facebook
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California lawmakers ask governor to criminalize possession of synthetic drug spice By Patrick McGreevy Safety officials assist a man on downtown L.A.'s skid row last week. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) Alarmed that dozens in Los Angeles have been sickened after ingesting a synthetic drug called spice, state lawmakers on Wednesday sent the governor a bill outlawing possession of the substance. The urgency measure requested by the California Narcotics Officers Assn. would make a first offense of possession of specified synthetic cannabinoids or stimulants an infraction. A second or third offense could be a misdemeanor. It is already a crime to sell the drugs. Sen. Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) cited the situation on Los Angeles skid row in which more than 50 people have been hospitalized in the last few weeks, many suspected of using the drug. These synthetic drugs are a uniquely dangerous threat to public safety, Galgiani told her Senate colleagues before a unanimous vote to approve her bill, Senate Bill 139. The measures supporters also included the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, the California Police Chiefs Assn. and the Los Angeles Police Protective League. The measure is opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Drug Policy Alliance. Facebook
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California soon could expand the states family leave law to smaller businesses By Jazmine Ulloa Kim Turner holds her daughter, Adelaide, before a rally at San Francisco City Hall in support of paid family leave. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press) California soon could expand its family leave law to 2.7 million residents across the state, the latest of legislative efforts this session that have sought to assist working parents. SB 654, dubbed the New Parent Leave Act, is headed to the governors desk after it passed out of the state Senate on Wednesday with a 24-12 vote. The bill would allow parents at smaller companies with 20 to 49 employees to take six weeks leave to care for a newborn or newly adopted child, without fear of losing their jobs. Current state law extends only such job protection to those at businesses with 50 or more employees. The legislation also would allow parents to access the states Paid Family Leave Program, which provides up to six weeks of partial wages for some caregiving responsibilities. Supporters of the bill said it closes a loophole in the states family leave law for many employees who already pay for the leave program through payroll deductions and are not eligible for its benefits. But the legislation has faced major opposition from the business community, which has labeled it a job killer, saying it would overwhelm small companies. On the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Jeff Stone (R-Murrieta) said it would hurt small businesses already struggling to meet new minimum wage requirements signed into law this year. Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) argued her bill would impact only 6.3% of California companies, while helping 16% of its workforce. She said she had done everything possible to address the concerns of small businesses through amendments that narrowed the scope of the legislation. But we live in a different world today, colleagues, she said. It is a world where both men and women are working. It is a world where both men and women want the opportunity to bond with their newborns, and frankly, no parent should be forced to choose between the well-being of their new child and their familys financial security. The vote Wednesday comes as momentum continues to grow for stronger family leave laws nationwide, and as some tech giants in California have rushed to amend their policies. The state became the first in the country to guarantee workers paid leave to care for a new child or ailing family member more than 15 years ago. But two main challenges have kept many parents from taking advantage of the law: Some could not afford to take time off because of the limited partial wages offered, while others feared they would lose their jobs if they did. Gov. Jerry Brown sought to address the first obstacle when he signed legislation earlier this year to help low-income families. That allows people earning close to minimum wage to be paid 70% of their salary while on leave, while workers with higher pay, up to $108,000 annually, will get 60% of their salary during leave. The change takes effect in 2018. Jacksons bill seeks to tackle the latter challenge and is a priority of the California Legislative Womens Caucus, which the senator co-chairs. It faced trouble earlier this year when it was surprisingly killed in an Assembly committee, following friction between Jackson and Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina). He was stripped of his committee chairmanship earlier this year after a judge granted his ex-wife a domestic violence restraining order against him Legislative leaders in both houses have supported the measures revival. Facebook
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Scenes from the end of session The California state Capitol in Sacramento. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) The California Legislature wraps up its two-year session Wednesday. As lawmakers debate and vote on hundreds of bills in the final few days, lobbyists and residents have swarmed the Capitol to advocate on issues ranging from energy policy to farmworker overtime pay. Here are some images showing what its like in Sacramento at the close of session. Click the link to see the full gallery. State Sen. Mike Morrell (R-Rancho Cucamonga) on the Senate floor at the Capitol in Sacramento. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar Energy Industries Assn., works in the rotunda at the Capitol. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Members of the United Farm Workers union hold a rally outside the Capitol in Sacramento after California lawmakers passed legislation that would expand overtime pay for more than 825,000 laborers. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Read More Facebook
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Californias former budget director tapped to pitch in on Puerto Rico crisis By John Myers Ana Matosantos and Gov. Jerry Brown (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press) Ana Matosantos, who served two governors as budget director, was appointed Wednesday by President Obama as one of seven members of a financial oversight board to assist cash-strapped Puerto Rico. Matosantos role on the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, created through a new federal effort to help the U.S. territory through its fiscal crisis, will be to help create a new dialogue between the islands government and its creditors. Puerto Rico defaulted on a $422-million bond in May, and faces significant problems in providing basic government services. Matosantos, 40, left Gov. Jerry Browns administration in 2013 and has been in private consulting roles ever since. She also served in the Arnold Schwarzenegger administration. With a broad range of skills and experiences, these officials have the breadth and depth of knowledge that is needed to tackle this complex challenge and put the future of the Puerto Rican people first, Obama said in a written statement. Facebook
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Gov. Jerry Brown, state lawmakers reach last-minute deal on spending cap-and-trade revenues By Melanie Mason Gov. Jerry Brown, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon pictured in Sacramento in March. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) In the closing hours of the legislative year, lawmakers approved a last-minute deal Wednesday to free up hundreds of millions of dollars from the states cap-and-trade program to fund green projects across the state. Under the agreement, which broke a two-year impasse, the state will spend $900 million on programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions nearly two-thirds of $1.4 billion that has been raised but was tied up unspent in a political stalemate. The money will go toward subsidies for electric cars, new park space and pedestrian-friendly affordable housing. Californias 4-year old cap-and-trade program raises money from businesses that purchase permits to pollute. The deal was announced on the Legislatures final day, and was hailed by the governor and legislative leaders. It comes not long after they inked an ambitious plan to combat climate change by extending and expanding Californias targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Californias combating climate change on all fronts and this plan gets us the most bang for the buck, Brown said in a statement. It directs hundreds of millions where its needed most to help disadvantaged communities, curb dangerous super pollutants and cut petroleum use while saving some for the future. The deal is expected to land on Gov. Jerry Browns desk as early as Thursday morning. The spending proposal is tilted toward urban areas and low-income communities, marking a win for lawmakers who argued their poorer constituents were being left out of the largesse generated by the cap-and-trade program. The final deal included money for energy efficiency upgrades for aging buildings and urban parks, but no money for conservation projects such as wetlands restorations. Such spending priorities are typically haggled over during the budget process, but for two years, the funds were trapped in political limbo, being held as leverage while politically fraught climate bills were being debated in the Legislature. Another 60% of the auction revenues are not subject to the annual budget process; instead, they are automatically directed each year toward certain projects, including the bullet train and affordable housing. This new agreement would allocate $135 million for transit projects such as intercity and commuter rail systems. It would spend $133 million for the states main subsidy program for low- and zero-emission vehicles, and another $80 million for a second subsidy for low-income Californians living in poorer parts of Los Angeles and the San Joaquin Valley. Thousands of consumers were pushed to wait lists while the cap-and-trade funds were held in limbo. Once the budget is finalized, rebates will go out to those already on the waiting list, with priority going to low-income buyers. It includes $80 million for urban parks and other green spaces. Such projects will be chosen by state and local agencies during a grant process over the next several years. The reality is we have many communitiesespecially in Los Angeles, that are urban asphalt and concrete wastelands, said Senate leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles). He said urban greenerywhich can be as small as an alleyway or pocket park help combat high temperatures caused by vast stretches of asphalt and concrete, leading to lower cooling costs. The plan allocates $140 million to assist disadvantaged communities to develop their own local efforts to combat climate change, such as city planning that includes affordable housing and pedestrian walkways. Multiple bills expected to pass in the Legislature late Wednesday add new restrictions on how the money is spent. About half of those who had received subsidies to purchase low- or zero-emission vehicles were earning more than $200,000 a year, according to a state survey. A new bill would limit the subsidy to those making less than $150,000. Similarly, the spending package includes $50 million to reduce methane emissions from dairy and livestock dependent on a separate bill that would require sharp cuts in these emissions by 2030. And a third bill creates a new program that encourages disadvantaged communities to develop their own local efforts to combat climate change, such as such as city planning that includes affordable housing and pedestrian walkways. The legislation includes $140 million to fund this effort statewide. The spending plan is not as expansive as the one proposed by De Leon earlier this month, which sought to spend $1.2 billion.
Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) had expressed reservations about using nearly all of the available cash in light of dwindling proceeds from recent cap-and-trade auctions. Facing legal uncertainty due to a pending lawsuit, cap-and-trade auction revenue has sharply declined. The most recent auction, held in August, generated around $8 million. Lawmakers said they hoped the recent extension of the states emissions targets which demonstrated a political will to shore up the program would restore faith from the markets. With this agreement, we take an aggressive approach to investing cap-and-trade funds that provides tangible results for cleaner air and helps lower income Californians benefit from emission reduction programs, Rendon said in a statement. At the same time, we are also maintaining a responsible reserve to provide for the future. Brown, who has championed setting aside money in the case of economic downturn, appeared even less inclined to dip into cap-and-trade dollars. Asked last week if he backed spending those funds, the governor said he was committed to spending a little of that money, placing emphasis on the word little. This post was updated at 12:25 p.m. to include comments from the governor and legislative leaders and again at 11 p.m. to provide more details and context. It was originally published at 11:45 a.m. Facebook
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White House promises more federal aid for Lake Tahoe region By Phil Willon The White House on Wednesday announced a series of new funding and environmental programs to address the deteriorating health of Lake Tahoe and the surrounding forests caused in part by the increasing temperatures brought about by climate change. The announcement came just hours before President Obama was scheduled to address the Lake Tahoe Summit, an annual environmental conference that California and Nevada leaders began two decades ago because of concerns about the declining water clarity in the once crystal-clear Sierra lake. Tahoes surface water temperature in 2015 was the highest ever recorded, while annual snowfall levels have been on the decline. The increasing air temperatures in the Lake Tahoe region also have stressed the surrounding forests, causing an alarming increase in tree mortality and fire danger, according to the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center. In response, the Obama administration announced the following assistance: The Department of the Interior will provide $29.5 million to reduce dead trees and other hazardous fuels to improve forest health and decrease the threat of catastrophic wildfires.
The Environmental Protection Agency will provide $230,000 to manage and reduce storm water runoff in the Tahoe region.
The National Forest Foundation, working with the U.S. Forest Service and local communities, announced it has raised over $4 million for creek restoration projects, for sustainable recreation and to improve forest health throughout the nearby Truckee River watershed. Along with assistance for the Lake Tahoe region, the White House also announced a new partnership between California and the Department of the Interior to assess the future of the Salton Sea.
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Bill allowing landlords to bar medical pot use is dropped By Patrick McGreevy A lawmaker has dropped a bill that would have allowed landlords to bar tenants from smoking medical marijuana in apartments. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune) A state lawmaker has dropped a proposal that would have allowed landlords renting apartments in California to bar their tenants from smoking medical marijuana in their residences. Assemblyman Jim Wood (D- Healdsburg) could not work out an agreement with the chairwoman of a key committee on how to meet the needs of people relying on medical cannabis, an aide said. Wood had said AB 2300 is needed because secondhand smoke can easily travel through windows, doors and shared ventilation system in multiunit apartments and condos. This is about protecting families that live in close proximity to others, Wood said in a recent statement, adding that there are cannabis products that can be ingested without smoking them. However, Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, thought the bill was too limiting on medical cannabis patients. They had a difference of opinion regarding the effectiveness of cannabis delivery mechanisms other than smoking, said Liz Snow, a spokeswoman for Wood, who said the assemblyman agreed to drop the bill in lieu of Jacksons continuing concerns. Facebook
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In the wake of allegations against Bill Cosby, California may end statute of limitations for prosecuting rape By Sophia Bollag Artist and actor Lili Bernard, who has accused comedian Bill Cosby of raping her in the 1990s, speaks at a rally at the site of Cosbys star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) California lawmakers on Tuesday sent the governor a bill to end the statute of limitations for prosecuting rape and other felony sex crimes. If the governor signs the bill, crimes including rape and child sexual abuse could be prosecuted at any time. Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) introduced the bill in the wake of news that dozens of women have said comedian Bill Cosby raped them. Most of their cases cannot be prosecuted because the statutes of limitations for those crimes have expired. Its called the Justice for Victims Act for one clear and specific reason: Victims should always have the opportunity to seek justice in a court of law after such a violent act, Leyva said. Read More Facebook
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New campaign donation disclosure rules rejected by the state Senate By John Myers Lawmakers on Tuesday narrowly rejected an effort to create new disclosure rules for California political mailers and money gathered from several donors into a single contribution. Assembly Bill 700 failed by a single vote in the state Senate, needing a supermajority of 27 senators to pass. The complex campaign finance bill became ensnared in a disagreement this month over whether it represented more or less donor disclosure. The states Fair Political Practices Commission voted to oppose late amendments to AB 700 regarding the disclosure rules for earmarked contributions. The bill sought to address instances in which a political contribution is cash collected from a series of donors who ask the identified donor to then earmark the money for a particular campaign. Jodi Remke, the FPPC chairwoman, wrote in a letter last week that the changes to AB 700 would create a loophole for some organizations to bypass the contribution limits. Supporter of the bill disagreed with the FPPCs interpretation, but the disagreement may have proved a distraction in the bills final days. Facebook
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U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez tweets support for expanding overtime pay for California farmworkers By Jazmine Ulloa Fabric Fierros of Salinas and other United Farm Workers members cheer as Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles) appears in a balcony during a rally after California lawmakers passed legislation that would expand overtime pay for farmworkers. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez on Tuesday took to Twitter to voice his support for a California bill that would expand overtime pay for thousands of farmworkers across the state. Assembly Bill 1066, authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown after it was approved Monday in a historic vote on the state Assembly floor. Brown has made no indication as to whether he will sign the legislation, and his office said Tuesday he generally does not comment on pending proposals. A spokesman also said he would not comment on Perezs support for the bill. Farmworkers that put food on our table deserve same protections that other industries have had for years. CA bill would ensure fairness. Archive: Tom Perez (@SecTomPerez) August 30, 2016 The proposal would roll out new rules for farmworker overtime in 2019, lowering the current 10-hour-day threshold for overtime by half an hour each year until it reaches the standard eight-hour day by 2022. It also would phase in a 40-hour standard workweek for the first time. The governor would be able to suspend any part of the process for a year depending on economic conditions. The United Farm Workers association, which sponsored the bill, said it addressed an injustice inflicted on farmworkers nearly eight decades ago, when they were first exempted from federal minimum wage and overtime standards. The bill has drawn wide and diverse support, including from Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. But prominent business groups, led by the California Farm Bureau Federation and a coalition of agricultural producers, have thrown their political weight against it, saying the legislation would devastate the agricultural community and backfire on the workers it seeks to help. Read More Facebook
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Kamala Harris calls for measures to end the crisis of confidence between police and the public By Phil Willon U.S. Senate candidate Kamala Harris on Tuesday called for new national policies to reduce recidivism by felons released from prison and to make data on crime and police actions more accessible to the public. Harris, Californias attorney general, made the comments during a roundtable discussion on criminal justice at Community Coalition in South Los Angeles. Harris said there is a crisis of confidence between law enforcement and communities that must be addressed. She spoke about how the fatal police shooting of Philando Castile in Minnesota in July and the ambush that killed five Dallas police officers shortly afterward broke our collective hearts. Harris also called for more diversity in law enforcement agencies and additional training to eliminate police bias. In 2015, Harris launched her agencys Open Justice website, which provides public access to data on arrest rates, in-custody and arrest-related deaths and law enforcement officers killed or assaulted breaking the numbers down by race and ethnicity, cause of death and other factors. That is a model of how criminal justice data should be made more transparent nationwide, she said. We need to have mandatory data collection. Publication of data, Harris said. Which means, those who have the information have to report it. ... And the place wheres its being reported should make it transparent. Harris added that transparency includes universal protocols around body cameras for law enforcement officers. Last year, Harris stopped short of supporting statewide requirements for officers to wear the body cameras, including legislation by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (D-San Diego) to develop statewide standards on how the cameras would be operated and when the footage could be viewed. Harris, who launched a pilot program on body cameras at the state Department of Justice, had cautioned against using a one-size-fits-all approach to regulate their use. Harris campaign spokesman Nathan Click said theres been no change in Harris position. He said her comment Tuesday was in reference to the findings from the pilot program at the Department of Justice. Harris is running to succeed retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer and is being challenged by a fellow Democrat, Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez. Facebook
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Cal State students could get help graduating on time under bill sent to governor By Sophia Bollag Gov. Jerry Brown speaks with Steve Glazer, then mayor of Orinda, in 2011. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) California lawmakers on Tuesday sent the governor a bill that could help students graduate in four years from California State University schools. Only 19% of students at Cal State campuses graduate in four years, state Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda) said, citing statistics from 2011. Glazers bill would create programs at Cal State campuses to help students graduate on time. Students in the programs would receive extra support from academic advisors and priority registration in classes. They would be required to take a minimum number of credits and maintain a qualifying GPA. Low-income and first-generation students, as well as community college graduates and students from communities with low college attendance rates, would be given priority to participate in the programs. They would also have to be eligible for in-state tuition. State Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) lauded the bill and said it would have helped him when he was in college. He said it took him six years to graduate with a bachelors degree from a California State University. If I had something like this when I was in college, it would have given me the tools to perhaps graduate in four years, he said. State Sens. Robert Huff (R-Diamond Bar) and Pat Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) both praised the legislation, but questioned whether it should be made available to more students. Huff said he wished the program were available to every Cal State student, not just a limited subset. Glazer defended the legislation, saying better graduation rates for a subset of students would save the state money and open spots for other students. Im convinced that everyone will benefit from a more efficient university system, Glazer said. This legislation will open up more pathways to student success and four-year degrees. Facebook
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Smoking would be banned in California state parks and beaches in bill sent to governor By Patrick McGreevy Amid concerns over health impacts and wildfires, smoking and using electronic cigarettes would be outlawed at Californias 270 state parks and beaches under a bill sent by state lawmakers to the governor on Tuesday. The measure creates a fine of up to $250 for those caught vaping or smoking a cigar or cigarette, or disposing of the remains of a cigarette on a state beach or park. SB 1333 will make our state parks and beaches cleaner and safer by reducing cigarette and tobacco litter, curtailing exposure to second-hand smoke and limiting the threat of park fires, Sen. Marty Block (D-San Diego) told his Senate colleagues Tuesday before they voted 26-10 to approve the bill. He also said cigarette trash can hurt wildlife and fish. The bill is backed by the California State Firefighters Assn., the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Sierra Club Sacramento and the Surfrider Foundation. It has been amended from Blocks original proposal to include a provision allowing the director of the state Department of Parks and Recreation to designate small areas in parks where smoking would be allowed. Facebook
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Sentencing laws in California could be changed to add language about rehabilitation By Sophia Bollag Inmates at the state prison in Lancaster in 2010. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times) California lawmakers voted Tuesday to add language to sentencing laws that would promote so-called restorative justice. State law says the purpose of imprisonment is punishment. The bill the California Assembly voted to send to the governor Tuesday, AB 2590, would amend the law to state that the purpose of sentencing is public safety achieved through punishment, rehabilitation, and restorative justice. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation would have to update its policies to promote inmate rehabilitation under the bill. AB 2590 now goes to the governor. Facebook
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California could see new rules on flying drones in state parks By Jazmine Ulloa A drone hovers over seals and sea lions at Childrens Pool Beach in La Jolla. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times) California soon could have new rules on flying drones in state parks, where regulations on the use of unmanned aircrafts have been vague and vary widely. This bill, authored by Assemblyman Chris Holden (D-Pasadena), makes it unlawful to launch, land or operate a drone without a permit on lands managed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. It also prohibits the use of drones in the taking of fish or animals. AB 2148 moved out of the state Assembly with a 45-15 vote. Under federal law, unmanned aircraft are prohibited in national parks without a permit, a ban that covers 59 locations and about 350 national monuments, seashores and other sites about 84 million acres in all. But there are no blanket rules for Californias state parks, and the state park system has no systemwide drone policy in place. With such few regulations for drones, Holden said, its like the wild, wild West out there. He said his bill would create a safer environment at state parks, while allowing some exemptions for drone use, such as for conservation or scientific research and for legitimate newsgathering purposes. The National Park Service reported at least 10 drone incidents in areas of Washington, D.C., in 2015, including a Dec. 16 citation of a man operating a drone near the Washington Monument. A drone also was said to be the cause of a big horn sheep stampede in Utahs Zion National Park, and studies suggest that such aircraft can distress bears, sea lions and gulls. But critics have called the bill one of several piecemeal solutions that remained after major drone lobbying efforts killed wider statewide drone regulations this legislative session. Read More Facebook
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California lawmakers approve bill to deny state contracts to companies that boycott Israel By John Myers Lawmakers took action Tuesday to prevent California state government agencies from awarding contracts to companies that participate in a boycott of Israel. AB 2844 requires any company that accepts a state government contract of $100,000 or more to certify that its not in violation of California civil rights law -- which, said the Assembly members who wrote the bill, would include companies involved in an international Israeli boycott. That global campaign -- the Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions movement -- is intended to put pressure on Israel to change its policies until the country ends its occupation of all Arab lands and recognizes an independent Palestine. Other states have taken similar action, and the bill was the subject of eight separate amendments during the 2016 legislative session in Sacramento. The bottom line is that the state should not subsidize discrimination in any form, said the bills author, Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica). AB 2844 now heads to Gov. Jerry Brown for a signature or veto by the end of September. Facebook
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Compromise struck on Planned Parenthood-backed bill on secret recordings By Melanie Mason A deal has been struck on a controversial bill sponsored by Planned Parenthood to create new penalties for distributing illegal recordings in the wake of high-profile secret videos circulated by anti-abortion activists. The bill, by Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez (D-Echo Park), had sought to create a new crime for distributing video or audio recordings involving a healthcare professional that were taken without a persons consent. In California, it is already illegal to make such recordings without all parties authorization. Planned Parenthood argued that adding additional punishment for circulating those recordings was necessary following the controversial videos taped by David Daleiden and other anti-abortion activists that purported to show Planned Parenthood employees illegally trafficking in fetal tissue. The healthcare provider, which has not been found guilty of any wrongdoing, says the videos were manipulated. After the video smear campaign last summer, we experienced a ninefold increase in violence against our providers and our health centers, said Beth Parker, chief legal counsel of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. With the Internet and the tremendous wildfire nature in which news can be spread now through social media, we need to have a crime against distribution by those in particular who did the illegal recording, Parker said. A slap on the hand of a $2,500 fine isnt sufficient. But the proposal immediately raised alarm among civil liberties activists and press organizations, which argued such a penalty could ensnare journalists who are reporting on secret videos. After multiple rounds of amendments, the two sides appear to have reached a compromise: The bill will now make clear that members of the media cannot be held liable if they did not participate in the initial illegal recording. We took precautions to make sure the press could still do their jobs, Gomez said on Tuesday. Nikki Moore, legal counsel to the California Newspaper Publishers Assn., said with the anticipated changes set to be put into the bill Tuesday her group will move from opposed to neutral on the measure. While we find it troubling that this bill potentially criminalizes speech, we realize this bill had political momentum and our immediate concern is to protect newspapers and journalists, Moore said. Another opponent of the bill, the American Civil Liberties Union, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the changes. Gomez said he wasnt surprised by the heated back-and-forth surrounding his bill, AB 1671. I always knew itd be difficult to balance the right of privacy and the right of free speech, Gomez said. I think that is a tension that weve seen in court case after court case and law after law. And we always strive to find that right balance. Facebook
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Police agencies could soon charge more for concealed-weapon permits under bill headed to governor By Patrick McGreevy (Andrew Burton / Getty Images) The state Assembly on Tuesday sent the governor a bill that would allow local police and sheriff agencies to increase the fee for issuing concealed weapon permits, removing the current $100 cap and allowing charges that fully recover costs for enforcement. Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) introduced the measure, saying the cap has resulted in Sacramento County facing a budget shortfall of about $250,000. Unfortunately, the current fee structure is rigid, leaving a strain on some local budgets, McCarty said. McCarty said the bill does not change the requirements for Californians to get a license to carry a concealed weapon. But Republican Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez of Lake Elsinore said the bill will not prevent gun violence but could result in pricing people out of their constitutional right to carry guns. It is not going to increase anybodys safety, she added. McCarty countered that the bill will provide cities and counties with ample resources to do proper vetting to keep [concealed-weapon permits] out of the hands of people who should not have them. Facebook
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If you cant vote in person, this bill would allow anyone you choose to turn in your ballot By John Myers (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) Ballots cast by California voters could be turned in at elections offices by anyone, including campaign workers or political party officials, under a bill sent to Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday. Assembly Bill 1921 removes the language in existing state law that limits help in submitting a vote by mail ballot to close family members. The bills author, Assemblywoman Lorena S. Gonzalez (D-San Diego), has said those limitations are an obstacle to getting ballots back in a timely fashion for voters in need of help. In a legislative committee hearing in June, opponents noted that AB 1921 has no maximum number of ballots a single person can turn in and could therefore open the door to vote tampering during large-scale ballot gathering efforts. Most other states that allow someone to turn in multiple ballots generally limit it to as many as 10 ballots. AB 1921, however, places no maximum number on those that could be submitted to California elections officials by a single person. The bill passed with no floor debate on Tuesday in the Assembly. Brown has until Sept. 30 to sign it into law or veto it. Facebook
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Smoking would be banned on California college campuses under bill sent to governor By Patrick McGreevy Incoming freshmen tour the dorms at California State University Fullerton last year. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times) Smoking and the use of electronic cigarettes would be banned on campuses of the California State University and California Community Colleges systems beginning in 2018 under legislation approved Tuesday by the state Assembly. We need to promote a safe and healthy environment for the campus staff, students and faculty, said Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), who introduced the measure. This bill helps address the harmful health effects that come with smoking and secondhand smoke on our college campuses. The bill is one of many anti-tobacco measures the governor is considering this year. It follows the model set by the semi-autonomous University of California system, which adopted a tobacco-free policy that took effect in 2014. The Cal State system is nearing completion of a smoking policy, but the practice is already banned at Cal State Fullerton. The community college chancellors office says 18 of the 72 community college districts, comprising 37 campuses, already have smoke-free policies. The bill calls for fining violators $25 for the first offense, up to $100 for the third and additional offenses, with the money going to anti-smoking education and cessation programs. Facebook
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California soon could enhance penalties for sex buyers By Jazmine Ulloa A Los Angeles march against sex trafficking drew hundreds of people carrying signs and chanting Our children are not for sale. (Sandy Banks / Los Angeles Times) The state Assembly on Tuesday sent a bill to Gov. Jerry Brown that would enhance penalties for sex buyers, one of at least two dozen bills this legislative session that have sought to curb the trade of forced sex and labor. AB 1708, authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), would enhance penalties for sex trafficking near schools and impose minimum fines and mandatory minimum county jail terms for people convicted of purchasing commercial sex. It also would recast the crime of prostitution so that the statute differentiates between people receiving compensation for sex from sellers and buyers of sex. By redefining the statute, Gonzalez said, law enforcement officials will be able to decriminalize prostitution for victims and increase the punishment for those who fuel the trade. But the bill might be a tough sale to Brown, who has tended to oppose tough-on-crime policies in the past. Read More Facebook
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California may start giving vouchers for diapers to families on welfare By Sophia Bollag A family passes by bulk packages of diapers at a Costco store in Tucson. (Chris Hondros / Getty Images) California families on welfare would receive a $50 monthly diaper voucher for young children under a bill sent to the governor Tuesday. The bill would provide a benefit to families in CalWORKs, the states welfare program, that could be used only to purchase diapers. Starting in 2020, families in the program would receive the diaper benefit each month for each child younger than 2. The California Assembly passed the bill 54-12. It requires the governors approval to become law. Diapers may soon become cheaper for all families under a separate bill sent to the governor this month. That bill would exempt diapers from California sales taxes. This post has been updated to reflect an updated vote total. Facebook
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Assembly members say goodbye to those who are leaving in 2016 Facebook
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State senator introduces resolution to condemn EpiPen price hikes By Melanie Mason A pharmacist in Sacramento holds a package of EpiPens. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) State Sen. Ed Hernandezs attempt to push through a drug pricing transparency bill sputtered this year, but the West Covina Democrat still wants his colleagues to weigh in on the latest controversy in the cost of prescription drugs: the surging price of EpiPens. Hernandez is introducing a resolution that excoriates the anti-allergy devices manufacturer, Mylan, joining a chorus of federal lawmakers who have accused the company of price-gouging. The price of the emergency injection devices meant to treat severe allergic reactions climbed to more than $600 for a two-pack a more than 500% increase since the drug was acquired by Mylan. Following a firestorm about the price hike, the company has since announced will offer coupons to offset the high cost and that it will sell a cheaper, generic version of the drug. Hernandezs resolution would urge Congress to investigate Mylans near-monopoly on the EpiPen and would urge the federal Food and Drug Administration to reconsider denying approval of generic alternatives. The federal administration and Congress have the power to limit the unrestrained ability of Mylan to gouge our health care system, and they should use it, Hernandez said in a statement. The measure is the latest sign that Hernandez will continue to hammer pharmaceutical companies on prescription drug prices, even though he opted to pull his measure SB 1010 after it was significantly scaled back earlier this month. Hernandez, the chair of the state Senate health committee, intends to hold a series of informational hearings about drug prices in the fall, and he plans to invite Mylans chief executive to participate in one. My experience with Senate Bill 1010 has made me more resolved than ever to bring transparency to these arbitrary and harmful drug price increases, he said. In addition to the series of informational hearings on rising drug prices, I will reintroduce SB 1010 in December. However, something must be done now to correct the market for this particular drug. The joint resolution will come up for a vote on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon and will then head to the Assembly. It must clear both houses by the close of the legislative session on Wednesday. Facebook
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Bullhooks to control elephants banned in California By Patrick McGreevy Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed legislation outlawing the use of bullhooks to handle and control elephants in California even as many animal handlers have stopped using the devices. The measure by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) got a boost after similar measures were adopted in the cities of Los Angeles and Oakland, and after Feld Entertainment announced an end to traveling elephants in the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey circuses. More than 70 Hollywood celebrities including Woody Harrelson, Kim Basinger and Hilary Swank sent Brown a letter urging him to end what they called inhumane treatment of animals. Californias commitment to the humane treatment of elephants is strengthened today, Lara said. Banning bullhooks removes cruel and horrific treatment against these kind, gentle animals. Last year, Brown vetoed a similar measure saying he was concerned it was part of a flurry of bills that was creating more crimes without considering alternatives. Brown declined to comment Monday on why he signed the new bill. Ed Stewart, president and co-founder of the Performing Animal Welfare Society, which cares for eight elephants at its California sanctuary, said: By its very design, the bullhook is meant to inflict pain and instill fear. The use of this archaic and inhumane weapon on elephants -- a species that is self-aware, intelligent and emotional -- is abhorrent. Facebook
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Was your ballot counted? Youll be able to find out if Gov. Jerry Brown signs this bill By John Myers (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Californians would have a new legal right to be told whether their ballot was counted under a bill that won final approval in the Legislature on Monday. AB 2089 won bipartisan support in the Assembly and now heads to Gov. Jerry Brown. The bills author, Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward), tweeted the news just after the final vote. In every election, a small number of marked ballots arent counted for a variety of reasons -- from arriving too late to being damaged or illegible and beyond. AB 2089 would require county registrars of elections to set up a free system enabling voters to check what the ultimate outcome was of their own ballot and, if it wasnt counted, why. Many of our constituents whose votes arent counted at a registrars office never know, said Assemblywoman Catherine Baker (R-San Ramon). Facebook
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An effort to impose campaign donation limits on local races is killed by the state Senate By John Myers State lawmakers rejected a plan on Monday to place limits on individual campaign donations for city and county offices, races where in some California communities there are no restrictions on the size of a legal donation. Assembly Bill 2523 was supported by a simple majority of senators, but had been recently amended to require a supermajority vote to actually pass. The bill would have set the maximum campaign donation in a local campaign at a level equal to those for Assembly and Senate races, currently $4,200. It would have allowed local communities to set lower limits if desired. Democrats and Republicans disagreed during the Senate floor debate as to whether setting contribution limits would effectively limit the influence of money on local politics. Floor debate over the bill had just begun when Senate Republicans halted the proceedings and asked for a private caucus meeting of their members. The bill would have required only a single GOP senators support to pass. Facebook
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Ratepayers will remain on the hook for gas leaks after Assembly rejects new legislation By Chris Megerian Shown is the Aliso Canyon facility where an enormous natural gas leak was discovered last year. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Though it was approved by the state Senate earlier this year, legislation that would have prevented ratepayers from being charged for natural gas lost during leaks fell far short and stalled in the Assembly on Monday. The issue gained new attention in the wake of the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak, which lasted four months and forced thousands of people to relocate because of foul air. Although an executive order from Gov. Jerry Brown helped protect ratepayers from covering the cost, there are other, smaller leaks for which theyre still charged. If your gas bill is $50 a month, some small part of that is paying for gas you never got, said Timothy OConnor, an attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund. Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), the bills author, said utilities would be more likely to fix problems with their equipment and prevent methane pollution if they couldnt charge ratepayers for gas that is lost due to leaks or venting. Why we should we be paying for the faults in their system? he said. Were paying to work against our own climate goals. Advocates said utilities ramped up their lobbying in their effort to kill the measure, which they view as unnecessarily punitive. The bill would penalize utilities for the value of natural gas lost due to factors outside of the utilities control, said Chris Gilbride, a Southern California Gas Co. spokesman. This includes venting for safety and reliability, and damage to pipelines caused by third parties. Other business organizations, including the California Chamber of Commerce, have also opposed the bill, calling it yet another burden put onto already heavily regulated industries. Facebook
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Gender pay equity could be expanded under this measure By Sophia Bollag Assemblywoman Nora Campos (D-San Jose), center. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) A bill sent to the governor Monday would prevent California employers from paying women less than male colleagues based on prior salary. The state strengthened its protections against gender-based wage discrimination last year. The bill the state Assembly sent the governor Monday, AB 1676, would add prior salary to the list of reasons women cant be paid less than men. Nationally, a woman on average makes roughly 79 cents for every dollar a man makes, according to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2014. AB 1676, authored by Assemblywoman Nora Campos (D-San Jose), joins another pay equality bill sent to the governor last week that would strengthen protections against wage discrimination based on race or ethnicity. An earlier version of AB 1676 would have barred employers from asking job applicants about prior salary, but amendments cut that provision from the bill. The governor vetoed a similar bill last year and said in his explanation that the legislation was flawed because it hindered employers from seeking relevant information when determining a workers salary. Facebook
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Major changes in California elections are on the way if Gov. Jerry Brown signs this bill By John Myers (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) A broad push for millions more California ballots to be cast somewhere other than polling places is now in the hands of Gov. Jerry Brown, after lawmakers on Monday gave final approval to a plan that would allow thousands of neighborhood polling places to be closed. Senate Bill 450 would focus the work of local elections officials on newly created vote centers, one-stop election offices spread out in communities to allow early voting and late voter registration. Supporters have consistently pointed to low voter turnout in recent elections as the impetus for a substantial revamping of the system. Weve got to figure out a way to implement a new voting model, said state Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), the bills author, during Mondays floor debate. SB 450 would allow a handful of counties, if they agree to use the new system, to open fewer vote centers than polling places in 2018. The rest of Californias counties could follow suit in 2020. And with the exception of Los Angeles County, those counties would have to mail each voter a ballot. Those ballots could be dropped off at new, secure drop boxes in various places around the county. (Los Angeles County would have an additional two years to comply with the mailed ballot mandate.) Sen. Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) voted against SB 450, and said he didnt believe the bill does enough to address the needs of the disabled when moving away from in-person voting. Anderson also took issue with suggestions that the system is based on a similarly conceived voting system in Colorado, arguing that Colorado has more strict voter fraud rules than does California. Were not doing the Colorado model, Anderson said. Read More Facebook
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New mandatory prison sentence bill inspired by Stanford sexual assault heads to governors desk By Liam Dillon State lawmakers passed a bill Monday to add mandatory prison sentences for certain sexual assaults a measure inspired by a Santa Clara County Superior Court judges decision not to sentence a Stanford University student to prison in a high-profile case this year. The June decision by Judge Aaron Persky to sentence Stanford student Brock Turner to six months in jail after sexually assaulting an unconscious woman sparked significant criticism that the punishment was too lenient. Under current California law, those convicted of rape using additional physical force must serve time in prison. This measure would require the same punishment for sexual assaults of those unconscious or incapable of giving consent due to intoxication. If we let a rapist off with probation and little jail time, we re-victimize the victim, we dissuade other victims from coming forward and we send a message that sexual assault of an incapacitated victim is just no big deal, Assemblyman Bill Dodd (D-Napa), a coauthor of the measure, said during floor debate in the Assembly. The bill, AB 2888, passed unanimously in the Assembly and now heads to Gov. Jerry Browns desk. Opponents of the measure have argued the states history of mandatory sentencing has disproportionately affected people of color and led to the states large prison population. Read More Facebook
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California farmworkers could see overtime expanded in the next decade after historic Assembly vote By Jazmine Ulloa In a historic win for farmworkers, California lawmakers on Monday passed legislation that would expand overtime pay for more than 825,000 laborers who bring produce to stores and tables across the state. AB 1066, authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), calls for a four year phase-in of new overtime rules beginning in 2019, ultimately resulting in overtime pay for more than eight hours of work in the fields in 2022. It is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown after it was approved 44-32. The decision followed another intense showdown on the floor of the state Assembly, where a similar proposal died in June four votes short of the majority it needed to pass. As the vote was tallied, applause broke out inside the Assembly chamber and in an overflow room, where more than 100 farmworkers watched the debate on a livestream feed. Outside the Assembly floor, Gonzalez exchanged warm embraces with workers and labor union leaders. These workers have been the face of this bill, she said. Theyre the ones who pushed it, not just today but for decades in California. Arturo Rodriguez, president of the United Farm Workers of America, which sponsored the measure, lauded the workers who came to the Capitol, losing a day of work, to, as he put it, be able to witness history. These are the men and women who every day ensure that we have fruit, vegetables and wine on our tables, he said. Supporters cheer and wave United Farm Workers flags on the steps of the Capitol after CA Assembly passes #AB1066. pic.twitter.com/Sx7DlR6qbx Sophia Bollag (@SophiaBollag) August 29, 2016 During what was an emotional debate, supporters of the bill framed the legislation as a matter of human rights and dignity of work, saying farm laborers deserved the same protections as the vast majority of workers. Assemblyman Jose Medina (D-Riverside) called the vote an opportunity to correct a wrong against a subset of workers that would do more to honor Cesar Chavez than any ceremony, walk or statue. Assemblyman Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond) said it was about a simple equation: A fair days pay for a fair days work. This is not an attack on those who employ farmworkers, Thurmond said. But this is in fact what farmworkers have asked us to do. They have asked us to give them dignity, and we have the opportunity to make history todayhistory that has been 80 years in the making. Opponents said they were frustrated with rhetoric that implied farmers did not care about their workers, calling the bill purely symbolic. In a critique similar to those used by opponents of increasing the minimum wage, they argued it could backfire on farmworkers, as it saddled farmers and growers with higher costs and could force them to limit work hours and hire more employees. We are asking our farmers to compete in a global market with a higher cost than any other industry, said Assemblywoman Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield). Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Nicolaus) argued the bill ignored the will of people with their hands in the dirt. This bill means they will get less hours, that they will have less money in their pockets, he said. .@AsmRocky: #AB1066 is going to passspeaker has said he wants it to pass. But workers are going to lose hours, growers will leave state. Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) August 29, 2016 The Western Growers Association called the Assembly decision a major disappointment, calling it short-sighted policy. The members who voted for this bill have placed California farms at an even further competitive disadvantage internationally and with other states, Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif said in a statement. The issue of farmworker overtime festered in recent weeks into one of the most contentious at the end of a two-year session that has been marked by major internal Democratic strife, with rifts growing between those members aligned with business interests and those allied with labor. Gonzalez quietly revived her proposal against this backdrop, pushing past the normal procedures used to introduce legislation by replacing the language of an unrelated bill. United Farm Workers argued it corrected an injustice farmworkers have lived with since they were first exempted from federal minimum wage and overtime standards nearly eight decades ago. But prominent business groups, led by the California Farm Bureau Federation and a coalition of agricultural producers, countered its provisions further burdened farmworkers already dealing with increased regulations and an ongoing water crisis. Emotions flared Thursday when hundreds of farmworkers arrived at the Capitol as the state Assembly had been primed to take its final vote. For reasons that are in dispute, the lower house abruptly adjourned without ever taking up the issue, and although Gonzalez contended she had the 41 votes she needed to get the bill passed, the lack of action suggested she did not have the support. 250+ farmworkers in the Capitol today for vote on #AB1066. Many watching floor debate in overflow room. #CAleg pic.twitter.com/FevQzFG4MR Sophia Bollag (@SophiaBollag) August 29, 2016 California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount), who rose to the floor in support of the bill and last week promised to do everything in his power to get it passed, said he spent the weekend having conversations and going over wage data with lawmakers who held concerns. Of the final vote, he said he felt a tremendous sense of history, a tremendous sense of us doing something right. Rendon said Gov. Jerry Brown has not given him an answer when asked if he will support but the legislation, but Rendon said he felt the governor would be thoughtful. When you look at farmworkers they are some of the most vulnerable employees in our state, he said. At the Capitol, Zulma Priego, 40, said she and her three children would benefit from the decision. Im very emotionally moved, she said. We have been struggling for this for many years... Today we took a step forward. Facebook
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Inmates in county jails cant be denied visits from family, under bill now on its way to Gov. Jerry Brown By John Myers (Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times) All of Californias county jails would be required to provide visits from inmate family members under legislation approved on Monday by the state Senate. Senate Bill 1157 would force a change in as many 11 counties that have either fully switched to video conferencing or are in the process of eliminating in-person visitation. Without this, it means we will have incarcerated people in our jails who are not able to bond with children or family members for years, said state Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), the bills author. Critics have said that existing law has allowed counties to save money by shifting to video-only visitation for inmates. During debate on the Senate floor, Mitchell said that some counties are making money by charging family members to connect long distance via closed video systems. Republican opponents largely focused on the potential cost for counties that dont have any in-person visitation space. But some GOP senators lashed out that SB 1157 would allow more illegal items smuggled into jails, and that jail inmates must accept the consequences of their crimes. "That is the penalty for continuing to victimize their fellow citizens, said state Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber). Counties that dont offer in-person visits and are instead moving toward video systems would have until 2022 to change their operations. Facebook
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California on guard after cyber attacks on elections databases in two states By Phil Willon A voter arrives to cast her ballot in the Arizona primary in March. (Matt York / AP) Californias elections agency announced that there is no evidence that the states voter registration databases had been targeted by the foreign hackers who reportedly infiltrated elections systems in Arizona and Illinois. Yahoo News reported Monday that personal voter registration information for up to 200,000 people at the Illinois Board of Elections had been downloaded by foreign hackers. The FBI issued an alert early this month warning state elections officials about the data breach, according to the Yahoo report. A spokesman for California secretary of state said the agency, which oversees elections statewide, was aware of the cyber attack reports. We have no evidence of any breaches or hacks of our system, agency spokesman Sam Mahood said. Mahood declined to say whether any extra precautions are being taken, saying the agency does not disclose its security protocols. The secretary of states website has been down most of Monday but Mahood said that was not caused by a hack or breach. Unlike some other states, California counties have maintained their own databases of registered voters. However, the secretary of states office is in the process of centralizing voter registration information in a statewide VoteCal database, which is expected to be operational in September. Dean Logan, registrar of voters in Los Angeles County, said the county has a cyber-security unit and outside contractors that constantly monitor all potential threats to the agencys systems. I think that we just live in a time where we have to be really vigilant on this, Logan said. Logan emphasized the computer system that scans and counts votes is separate from the voter registration database and is not connected to the Internet or any other outside computers, insulating the system from hackers. That computer system also is housed in a secure facility, he said. However, Logan said Los Angeles Countys voter registration database is connected to the secretary of states computer system, which is why the reports in Illinois and Arizona are so concerning, he said. We have been looking at this in conjunction with the larger political dialog about the security of elections system and with the presidential election, Logan said. Federal authorities already are investigating cyber attacks in June against the Democratic National Committee and another on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Federal law enforcement officials have said the hack was likely carried out by Russian intelligence agents. The release of Democratic Party emails by WikiLeaks just ahead of Julys Democratic National Convention revealed comments suggesting the party was aiding Hillary Clinton over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, violating the partys commitment of neutrality. Democratic Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz was forced to resign her post. Facebook
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Do reforms to Californias energy regulator go far enough? By Liam Dillon John Gutierrez, 77, a member of the group Save Porter Ranch, joins a February protest calling for Southern California Gas Aliso Canyon storage facility to be shut down. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) A major overhaul of Californias utility regulator is working through the Legislature with the blessing of Gov. Jerry Brown. But some advocates and observers are worried that the efforts dont go far enough to combat the cozy relationships between industry leaders and the California Public Utilities Commission. Even if the new measures get implemented, energy executives will still be able to meet privately with regulators during discussions about setting electric and gas rates -- though there will be more transparency surrounding the communications. Read More Facebook
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California Politics podcast: A climate-change deal plus a look at the Legislatures final three days By John Myers It was on, then off, then back on again. This week, the last chapters of the summers climate-change agreement were finally written at the state Capitol. On this episode of the California Politics Podcast, we examine how the deal came together and the lingering impact between factions of Democrats in the Legislature. We also look at some of the big items left for action in the Legislatures final few days. And we discuss the impact two longtime statehouse staffers had on decades of California public policy. Im joined by Marisa Lagos of KQED News and Anthony York of the Grizzly Bear Project. Facebook
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Smartphone cases that look like guns will be outlawed under bill signed by Gov. Brown By Patrick McGreevy Cellphone cases made to look like guns are a new fashion trend but they may also put owners at risk, so their manufacture and sale will be outlawed in California under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Jerry Brown. The legislation was introduced by Assemblyman Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) in response to concerns by law enforcement officials that the phone cases might be mistaken by police officers for a real firearm and lead to a violent confrontation. Some of the cases have a handgun grip and trigger system. These devices are fairly new, and this bill takes a proactive approach to stop a problem before it happens, said Cooper, a former captain with the Sacramento County Sheriffs Department. Brown previously has signed seven other gun-control bills, and he has others on his desk. The latest bill would make it a misdemeanor to import, manufacture or sell smartphone cases that look like guns starting Jan. 1. The bill is supported by groups including the Assn. of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, the California Assn. of Highway Patrolmen, the California Police Chiefs Assn. and the California State Sheriffs Assn. Facebook
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Gov. Brown signs bill to block state funding of coal terminals By Patrick McGreevy Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Friday that prohibits the California Transportation Commission from providing money for any new bulk-coal terminals in the state, and he urged cities with ports to take action to reduce such shipments. I believe action on multiple fronts will be necessary to transition away from coal, Brown wrote in a signing message. In California, were divesting from thermal coal in our state pensions, shifting to renewable energy, and last year coal exports from California ports declined by more than one-third, from 4.65 million to 2.96 million tons. Thats a positive trend we need to build on. State Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) authored the bill, which was signed even as Brown noted that the city of Oakland has documented the health, safety and climate effects of coal and banned its shipment through the city. Other localities should follow suit and the state should, too to reduce, and ultimately, eliminate the shipment of coal through all California ports, Brown wrote. Thats why Im signing SB 1279 and why I will continue to work with the Legislature on further actions to curb coal and combat climate change. The bill is opposed by groups including the California Teamsters Public Affairs Council, the California Trade Coalition and the League of California Cities. Opponents said the measure might violate U.S. treaty obligations and commerce laws because it singles out one commodity. Facebook
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Hollywood skyscrapers and other large L.A. developments could get fast-tracked under law signed Friday By Liam Dillon Four proposed mega-projects in Los Angeles could be fast-tracked under a new law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday. The measure aims to speed up any lawsuits under the states primary environmental law governing development against large projects that also pay high construction wages and meet certain greenhouse gas and renewable energy standards. The new law, authored by state Sen. Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton), applies across the state. And proponents of four projects in Los Angeles have already said they plan to apply for the benefit. The law says that environmental lawsuits against the projects shouldnt take longer than nine months to complete, something that the Los Angeles developers believe could get their projects off the ground three years faster than they would otherwise. Here are the four projects that plan to apply: A $1-billion redevelopment of the Crossroads of the World complex in Hollywood
A $200-million hotel and residential development at the corner of Yucca Street and Argyle Avenue in Hollywood
The redevelopment of Barlow Respiratory Hospital near Dodger Stadium that would add 400 single-family homes to the property
A $1-billion park created by capping 38 acres of U.S. Highway 101 between Hollywood and Santa Monica boulevards Opponents of the law had questioned whether the environmental provisions were strong enough to allow for streamlined review in the courts.
It also remains to be seen how much the law will help the projects. None of the six that qualified under a previous version of the law has so far successfully used its provisions to go through court faster. The new law takes effect immediately
Before she became district attorney in Alameda County, Nancy OMalley prosecuted rape cases. She soon came to recognize a number of young women and girls who cycled through the courtroom.
Their stories were always the same, she says. They loved their boyfriends, who coerced them into selling sex to other men.
That is when we started seeing that there was money attached to sexual exploitation, she said. A lot of money.
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Two decades later, the trade of forced sex and labor now has a name and its own criminal statute human trafficking. And in recent years, as advocates and prosecutors like OMalley have worked to push the issue to the political forefront, there has been no shortage of proposed solutions in the state Capitol.
More than 30 bills this legislative session alone have attempted to combat a multibillion-dollar industry that now operates as much online, if not more, as it does on the streets. But much of the legislation, still pending as lawmakers return to Sacramento for their final month of deliberations, varies in its approach to the problem. Critics say the competing proposals present a difficult path forward.
There is no easy solution to modern-day slavery if there was, we would have already been doing it. Stephanie Richard, policy and legal services director at the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking
There is no easy solution to modern-day slavery if there was, we would have already been doing it, said Stephanie Richard, policy and legal services director at the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking.
California passed its first laws against human trafficking in 2005, five years after a federal law to crack down on the international trade of victims brought attention to the vulnerable children and teens swept into the industry.
Federal lawmakers used to think it happened only in third world countries, and we noticed that it was a large criminal industry right here in our own counties, said Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Summer Stephan, who heads the Human Trafficking Advisory Council in San Diego County.
In the decade since, coalitions and task forces have emerged across California to curb the business. They brought advocates, social services workers and law enforcement officials together to target traffickers and improve the safety net for victims.
Although human trafficking encompasses the trade of people for labor, the attention this legislative session at the state Capitol has centered on curbing the sale of sex. As statewide efforts have grown, so has knowledge of the problem in certain legislative districts.
State-run regional human trafficking task forces arrested nearly 1,800 people and identified 1,277 victims from mid-2010 to mid-2012, 72% of whom were American and 56% of whom had been trafficked for sex, according to the state attorney generals office. FBI statistics consider three California cities among the areas with the highest rate of child sex trafficking: Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.
Victims tend to be young. Boys are typically ages 11 to 13 when they are entered into the trade; girls are usually between 12 and 14.
With such staggering numbers, local coalitions began focusing on diverting young victims away from the criminal justice system and dismantling the perception that children and teens willfully and knowingly enter prostitution.
The most significant changes came in 2012 with the passage of Proposition 35, which increased sentences for all trafficking crimes and clearly articulated that trafficked people are victims, not criminals.
Now agencies are continuing the move from an approach that criminalizes prostitution to one that protects trafficked victims from prosecution and provides them with social services. But as lawmakers join the cause, how the Legislature can help make the shift is up for debate.
San Diego launches campaign to expose Ugly Truth about sex trafficking and child exploitation
I dont think this is the end of the road, but we are in a precipice of sea change with how we deal with human trafficking and human trafficking victims, said Sean Hoffman, director of legislation for the California District Attorneys Assn.
Lawmakers approved a $10-million effort in last years state budget to support grants for community groups that provide resources including housing to human trafficking victims. The Legislature added another $10 million for those services this year.
Some two dozen pieces of legislation on the issue are awaiting action before the legislative year ends Aug. 31. The proposals run the gamut, from providing protections for human trafficking victims in court to enhancing penalties for sex buyers. Some have no opposition.
A bill by former Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and supported by state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris would create a state task force to coordinate human trafficking investigations across multiple agencies. Another bill by Atkins would establish pilot programs for intensive social services in three counties.
Other proposals have struggled to find consensus, in some cases pitting advocates against law enforcement, and in others, stirring clashes between organizations and agencies that typically align on the same side of the cause.
In Alameda County, OMalleys office, which has garnered national recognition for its work on human trafficking, has been embroiled in allegations that at least one of its investigators, officers with the Oakland Police Department and members of other Bay Area agencies engaged in sexual misconduct with a minor at the center of one of their cases.
The scandal has brought attention to a bill that would allow the seizure and impoundment of a vehicle used in the solicitation of prostitution. It falls in line with at least three other bills that seek to tackle the demand for the sex trade and its profits through harsher repercussions for those who solicit sex and greater protections for young witnesses testifying against traffickers in court.
But opponents are concerned some of the laws could lead to unconstitutional seizures and violations of defendants rights.
Three of the human trafficking bills seem to have garnered most of the attention this year: One seeks to decriminalize prostitution for minors, and two others take differing approaches to help victims clear their convictions and have their police records sealed.
For a large coalition of advocacy organizations, social services agencies and some district attorneys offices, the move is a step further in protecting young people caught in the trafficking web. But other prosecutors and law enforcement officials warn of unintended consequences.
The true story of a former special agent rescuing young girls from human traffickers
At the Los Angeles County district attorneys office, Jane Creighton, coordinator of its human trafficking unit, urged lawmakers to take a step back. Decriminalization and erasure of records could allow traffickers to build a Chinese wall between themselves and the victim, making it impossible for prosecutors to link them together in court, she said.
Many sex trafficking victims also are young, vulnerable women, tied to their abusers through complicated psychological and emotional bonds, prosecutors and social workers said. Officers need the authority to arrest minors to hold them in secure facilities, where they can be provided with services they often do not want to accept, Creighton said.
Right now, service groups are struggling with what they have in place there [are] just not enough resources, she said. I am not saying these bills should never pass. But we are not ready for them right now.
In San Diego, where a University of San Diego analysis found sex trafficking generates an estimated $810 million in annual revenue, a new study found that gangs are increasingly using young women to recruit younger women to the business. Under some of the proposed laws, Stephan said, no one might be held accountable.
Still, Stephan, whose division prosecuted the first human trafficking case in the state, said it was gratifying to see lawmakers pay so much attention to the issue. Of all the crimes she has prosecuted, she said, human trafficking has been the most complex.
But it is the one we cannot afford to lose, she said.
jazmine.ulloa@latimes.com
Follow @jazmineulloa on Twitter
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Senior citizens need more medical care than anyone else in the United States. And the Internet is chock full of health information. Yet seniors are far less likely than other adults to tap into it, new research shows.
A report published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. found that only about 18% of participants in the National Health and Aging Trends Study got health information online in 2014.
That pales in comparison with the approximately 60% of adults of all ages who have told the Pew Research Center that they consult Dr. Google at least once a year -- including the 35% who said they rely on the Web to diagnose their own ailments or the maladies of people they know.
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Since 2011, thousands of Medicare beneficiaries in the aging trends study have been completing annual surveys that gauge their use of technology. In the surveys first year, 64% of the survey takers had computers and 43% were hooked up to the Internet. Their average age was 75.
Apparently, these seniors had better things to do than research ways to prevent heart disease, manage symptoms of diabetes or stave off dementia. Email was far more enticing. Electronic banking (but not online shopping) was also more popular.
Among all 7,609 initial study participants, only 16% said they went online to learn something about health. In addition, 8% said they filled prescriptions online, 7% used the Internet to get in touch with their doctors and 5% dealt with their insurance claims on the Web.
Altogether, 21% of seniors who were surveyed in 2011 used the Internet for at least one of these four health-related tasks, according to the JAMA report. By 2014, that figure rose to 25% a small yet statistically significant increase, the study authors wrote.
Some senior citizens were more likely to go online for health-related reasons than others. For instance, the odds were twice as high for white seniors than for their black and Latino counterparts. College graduates were seven times more likely to handle health issues online than were seniors who didnt finish high school. Seniors who rated their own medical condition as excellent were twice as likely to boot up their computers for the sake of their health than were seniors who rated their medical condition as poor.
These disparities -- along with the slow rate of uptake overall -- prompted the study authors to fret that seniors arent taking full advantage of the health resources available online.
Digital health is not reaching most seniors, wrote the authors, all from Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. That means the Internet isnt living up to its potential as a tool to improve quality, cost, and safety of their health care.
But perhaps seniors are right to eschew the health information available online. A 2014 study in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Assn. found that Wikipedia entries for nine common health conditions -- coronary artery disease, lung cancer, major depressive disorder, osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, back pain and high cholesterol -- contained a significant amount of information that was at odds with the latest medical research.
karen.kaplan@latimes.com
Follow me on Twitter @LATkarenkaplan and like Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook
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The cultivation, sale and distribution of marijuana for commercial purposes is not explicitly banned in Burbank, but the City Council plans to consider a proposal Tuesday that would formally prohibit all business-related activities involving the drug.
The proposed regulations would bar medical marijuana delivery services and dispensaries from operating inside city limits.
While not currently banned, medical marijuana-related land uses are not authorized in existing zoning codes.
However, a recently approved state law aimed at regulating medical marijuana requires cities to make such restrictions explicit, if they want to keep them in place.
Californias Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, which became law on New Years Day, contains a provision that gives cities until March 1 to enact ordinances banning or regulating marijuana cultivation or forfeit the authority to do so.
The act will bring a multibillion-dollar industry that has grown up largely in the shadows into the light, Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg), one of the legislations authors, wrote in an open letter to city and county governments.
However, the acts March 1 deadline, which has left cities scrambling to enact new ordinances, was a drafting error, Wood said.
He said he intends to introduce urgency legislation this month to remove the deadline and maintain a local jurisdictions ability to create their own regulations.
The urgency legislation would become effective upon receiving the governors signature. A spokeswoman told the Los Angeles Times last month that Gov. Jerry Brown supports the legislative fix, which an official with California NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, also welcomed.
In the meantime, the proposed Burbank ordinance would conform its definition of commercial cannabis activity to the new state laws definition, which lists cultivating, possessing, manufacturing, processing, storing, laboratory testing, labeling, transporting, distributing and selling medical marijuana.
The local measure, which was recommended for approval last month by the Burbank Planning Board, would ban all marijuana activities under that definition and all noncommercial marijuana cultivation as well, according to a city staff report.
The ordinance would amend three areas of the citys code that apply to businesses and licenses, police and public safety and land use, said Daniel Villa, assistant planner, during the Planning Board hearing on Dec. 14.
This week, Villa clarified that a patient with a medical marijuana card or their primary caregiver who purchased pot at a dispensary outside the city would still be allowed to bring it back into Burbank for personal use, but not for cultivation or commercial activities.
Among the reasons for supporting the ban, according to the city report, is the fact federal law still prohibits cultivation, possession, distribution and marijuana use, even though medical marijuana use was legalized in California in 1996.
Other reasons included the strong odor marijuana plants produce when they flower, the potential for increased fire risk, due to high-wattage indoor grow lights, and the cash only nature of many medical marijuana dispensaries, making the businesses and patients the target of a disproportionate amount of violent crime.
There was hardly any discussion among the four Planning Board members Diane Eaton, Apraham Atteukenian, Undine Petrulis and Christopher Rizzotti who all said they concurred with the city staffs recommendation in favor of the proposed ordinance before voting to recommend the City Council adopt the measure.
No members of the public spoke at the hearing for or against the measure. Rizzotti said he received one email in support of the ban on the matter.
The ordinance would not change the legal status of those activities in Burbank, according to a city staff report, but makes an affirmative ban of cannabis activity of all types ... to prevent ambiguity.
--
Chad Garland, chad.garland@latimes.com
Twitter: @chadgarland
The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control recently awarded the Laguna Beach Police Department a $15,530 grant for a yearlong effort to prevent alcohol-related crimes, according to a news release.
The funds will be used to reduce the number of alcoholic beverage sales to minors and intoxicated patrons, the illegal solicitation of alcohol and other criminal activities such as the sale and possession of illegal drugs.
Laguna was one of three Orange County law enforcement agencies to receive grants through the ABCs grant program.
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The program improves the quality of life in neighborhoods, ABC Director Timothy Gorsuch said in the release. Weve seen a real difference in the communities where the grant program resources have been invested.
A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by a woman who alleged a mechanic who broke into her home and sexually assaulted her got her address from the Newport Beach Mercedes-Benz dealership where he worked.
Karen Sommers, a nurse practitioner who lived in Newport Beach, filed a civil suit in 2013 against Fletcher Jones Motorcars, seeking unspecified damages.
On Friday the 11th day of trial in the case in Orange County Superior Court lawyers representing Sommers and Fletcher Jones Motorcars said a settlement had been reached and asked the court to dismiss the case, court documents state.
The terms of the settlement have not been released. Attorneys for Sommers and the dealership could not be reached for comment Monday.
Travis Dewayne Batten, 34, is serving a 107-year prison sentence for two separate attacks on Orange County women in their homes, including the 2005 assault on Sommers.
Sommers alleged that Fletcher Jones Motorcars, Battens employer, bore some responsibility for the assault. Sommers bought a car from Fletcher Jones in 2004 and regularly had it serviced there, according to the lawsuit, which claimed Batten used the dealerships computer system to look up her address so he could rape her.
The Daily Pilot usually does not publish the names of victims of sexual crimes, but in Sommers case, she came forward with her allegations publicly.
Sommers attorney Christopher Rudd told jurors during opening statements in the case that the dealerships measures for protecting customer information amounted to Swiss cheese.
In 2005, Rudd said, Sommers returned home from a gym to find a masked man in her Back Bay apartment.
Rudd said the man, later identified as Batten, used duct tape to restrain Sommers, dragged her to a bedroom and began tearing her clothes off.
Sommers fought back, Rudd said, and after Batten punched her on the head hard enough to break his hand, he fled but not before warning Sommers that he would come back to kill her.
Fletcher Jones Motorcars argued that evidence presented at trial did not prove the dealership to be liable, according to court documents. Fletcher Jones attorney Karl Lindegren told jurors that Batten never worked on Sommers car and that there was no evidence the two interacted at the dealership.
Lindegren said Batten got into Sommers home through an unlocked door and may have been trying to steal from the apartment, not lie in wait for her.
Staff writer Jeremiah Dobruck contributed to this report.
hannah.fry@latimes.com
Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
More than 700 retired city employees will soon no longer have their insurance policies subsidized, a move that will potentially save Glendale hundreds of millions of dollars.
Retirees have historically paid the same rate for their healthcare as active employees, a practice known as blending. But with a 5-0 vote, City Council members voted to end the benefit by the end of 2016.
A two-party PPO plan under Anthem, for example, costs $2,454 per month with the city covering $1,049. The decision means retirees would pay the full amount.
Some former workers complained to the council that the move would cost them between $6,000 and $12,000 per year, costs that are difficult to bear on a fixed income. In addition, some said they were explicitly promised the benefit for life.
Former Assistant City Manager Bob McFall said blending was around when he first starting working for the city back in the early 1970s.
There was never a time that this benefit was expressed to say as long as we have money, as long as things continue to go right, McFall said, who received more than $154,000 in pension benefits last year. It was expressed as an obligation that the city has and will continue to make.
But the blending of rates has never been stated in a labor contract, which would have to be adopted by the City Council, City Manager Scott Ochoa said.
Council members said they dont know who made the promise.
Mayor Ara Najarian said he had gone over labor agreements with McFall years ago, and blended rates were never mentioned.
Its just not fair to put it on the council and for everyone out there to think the council knew about this, he said. I take issue with that.
The change comes about during the impending arrival of a new standard established by the Governmental Accountant Standards Board. Beginning in 2017-18, cities will be required to start listing the unfunded liability of retiree insurance premiums on their balance sheets.
For the city of Glendale, the estimate is $240 million because the amount must encompass the subsidies over all retirees lifetimes.
City officials say having an unfunded liability that big would hurt the local bond rating and impair chances of receiving government grants.
In order to pay it off, the city would have to shift about 20% of the annual payroll budget. Other services and departments such as parks could take a big hit to cover the cost, said Ochoa.
There has to balance all of those interests; the retirees, the active employees and again, most importantly, the taxpayers as to how best safeguard community resources, he said.
Halting the insurance subsidy would eliminate nearly all of the unfunded liability, Ochoa said.
But in an effort to ease the transition for the retirees, the change wont be enacted until next June so they can either decide to stay with the same coverage with an unblended rate or find a plan elsewhere.
Through end of 2016, the city will also pay $200 subsidy a month for retirees with household incomes of more than $100,000 and $300 a month for those earning less than $100,000, according to a staff report.
The item was brought once to the council in 2009, where it was rejected. Councilwoman Laura Friedman voted against it at the time, but said since then, the arrival of Affordable Care Act has been a game changerits the only reason she said shes entertaining the discussion again.
The one thing I will not do is to jeopardize the health of our employees, she said. I will never put an ex-employee in a situation where they have to jeopardize their health because of us trying to balance our budget.
The citys health benefits broker, Keenan & Associates, has already started working with retirees to help find a plan and continue to do so over the next 14 months.
This will give you more time to make your decision, said Councilwoman Paula Devine.
She said while the choice was the difficult one, she had to take all residents into consideration and unblending would have a positive impact on long-term municipal sustainability.
But for retired police captain Mark Distaso, the transition, he says, wont be very easy. According to the website Transparent California, Distaso received more than $160,000 in pension benefits from CalPERS in 2014.
He said his wife suffers from non-life-threatening medical conditions and has doctors that know her and are familiar with treating her.
Its not just a matter of changing plans, its a matter of reinitiating your whole course of treatment, he said.
During her sermon at the 10:30 a.m. service this Sunday at La Canada United Methodist Church, Pastor Elaine Cho will address the topic of biblical heroes and heroines who survived challenges because of their faith. The title of the sermon is Living Strong.
Sunday School is available for early elementary during the worship service. At noon, the church will hold its August friendship luncheon.
La Canada United Methodist Church is located at 104 Berkshire Place. For more information phone the office at (818) 790-3605 or visit lcumc.com.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
Trend:
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has received a delegation headed by minister of communications and information technology of Iran, co-chairman of the State Commission for Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran in economic, commercial and humanitarian spheres Mahmoud Vaezi, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend.
The sides noted successful development of relations between Azerbaijan and Iran based on the principles of good-neighborliness and friendship, mutual respect, expressed satisfaction with the level of bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas, engineering, pharmaceutical, transport, energy, agriculture, tourism and other spheres.
The parties stressed importance of trilateral meeting of presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia to be held August 8 at the initiative of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Noting that the North-South transport corridor will be one of the main topics at the trilateral meeting of the presidents, the ministers expressed confidence that this project will make an important contribution to the development of interregional cooperation.
The sides also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest at the meeting.
The Killers return to the bands Las Vegas roots with concerts and other activities to mark the 10th anniversary of their second album.
The bands Sams Town album is named after the Las Vegas hotel-casino popular with locals. The pop culture website A.V. Club calls the album a love letter to Las Vegas on vinyl.
The Killers will perform Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 two nights only at the original Sams Town.
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Unlike the groups last Vegas show at the gala opening of T-Mobile Arena in April, this falls shows will take them to a much-smaller venue eight miles east of the Strip.
Tickets cost $99.50 and go on sale 10 a.m. Friday. Members of the Killers fan club will get first dibs during a pre-sale starting 10 a.m. Wednesday.
And theres more Killer things to do. Two music experts will take guests on bus tours of Las Vegas on the same dates as the concerts.
The tours visit sites significant to band members during their early years, including Battle Born Studios and the Flamingo resort. Tickets cost $99.
Sams Town will also be re-released on vinyl as part of the celebrations. The album was first released on Oct. 2, 2006.
According to a news release, profits from the concerts will be donated to Las Vegas charities for addiction recovery and the homeless.
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China is putting three human rights activists and one lawyer on trial this week in the eastern city of Tianjin, and on Tuesday the court handed down the first verdict, finding one defendant guilty of subversion and imposing a three-year suspended prison sentence.
Authorities have tried to give the proceedings an air of transparency by handpicking a few media outlets from Hong Kong and Taiwan to be present in the courtroom. But family members of the accused have complained that they have not been allowed to contact the defendants during their year-plus detention and that the defendants were not allowed to choose their attorneys.
Zhai Yanmin, 55, was sentenced Tuesday after a three-hour trial. The state-run newspaper China Daily said he had posted comments on the Internet that harmed national security and social stability and organized protests to disturb the public order.
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The three others who will stand trial this week are Zhou Shifeng, director of the Beijing-based Fengrui Law Firm, and two other activists, Gou Hongguo and Hu Shigen.
The four are among approximately 300 human rights activists and lawyers detained in a crackdown that began last summer. About 20 of those who were held remain in custody.
Fan Lili, the wife of imprisoned lawyer Gou Hongguo, lies on the ground in tears following an interaction with a plainclothes police officer outside the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate Peoples Court in Tianjin, China, on Aug. 1. (Gerry Shih / Associated Press )
Last year, a number of state-run media outlets ran identical articles accusing Zhou and his lawyers of forming a major criminal gang that organized and planned the creation of an uproar in more than 40 sensitive cases and that seriously disturbed social order. The lawyers also sought to undermine the Communist Party and enrich themselves, the report claimed.
On Tuesday, foreign reporters who tried to enter the courtroom at the Tianjin Municipal No. 2 Intermediate Peoples Court found roads near it sealed off, and they were met by a large number of police.
Some journalists were then taken by bus to a nearby hotel where they were allowed to watch a live transcript from the trial projected onto a screen.
On Monday, the eve of the trials, a videotaped confession made by another detained attorney from the Fengrui firm, Wang Yu, aired on a website affiliated with the Hong Kong newspaper Oriental Daily.
Wang was well known for taking up sensitive cases, representing feminists, members of the spiritual movement Falun Gong (which China has banned and declared an evil cult) and a professor from the Uighur ethnic minority who was sentenced to life in prison in 2014 on charges of separatism.
In the video, Wang renounced her legal work and blamed foreign groups for instilling dangerous notions in her. She pledged that she would no longer accept awards from foreign organizations. I am Chinese, and I only accept the Chinese governments leadership, she said robotically.
A lone reporter monitors what is supposedly the live court transcript displayed at a media center near the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate Peoples Court in northern Chinas Tianjin Municipality on Aug. 2. (Ng Han Guan / Associated Press )
Friends and associates of Wang have said they believed the confession was made under duress, like a number of other broadcast confessionals in the last two years. Wang was arrested in January and was accused of subverting state power.
The U.S. Embassy in Beijing released a statement Monday saying the U.S. remains concerned by the Chinese governments continuing efforts to harass, intimidate and prosecute defense lawyers and human rights activists for their work.
China Human Rights Defenders, an advocacy group, said in a statement on the eve of the trials that the use of national security-related charges to target human rights lawyers and activists has become a hallmark of [Chinese leader] Xi Jinpings reign. It accused authorities of grossly abusing their power in handling the detainees, disregarding Chinese laws and violating international human rights conventions.
A consistent theme running through the recent trials and confessionals has been statements from the accused saying they were influenced by foreigners, and pledging to stay away from them in the future. The confessors have painted human rights lawyers as troublemakers who should be avoided perhaps to discourage ordinary citizens from seeking out their assistance.
In his final statement to the court on Tuesday, Zhai said he wanted to remind the public to be aware of the true meaning behind the slogans about democracy and human rights, reported the South China Morning Post, which was allowed to send a reporter into the courtroom. He also pledged he would not talk to any foreign media or media hostile to Beijing.
See the most-read stories in World News this hour >>
Zhais wife, Lin Ermin, told the paper she had received no official notification of the verdict and never had access to the government-appointed lawyer nor was able to attend her husbands hearing.
According to China Human Rights Defenders, Zhai had been detained several times since 2014 on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking trouble by rallying for the release of detained human rights defenders. He was also held by police in 2014 for supporting the Hong Kong democracy protests. He participated in the 1989 pro-democracy protests as a student, the group said.
A taped confession by Zhai was aired by Chinese state-run media in June 2015, in which he expressed remorse for working with people petitioning the government. He apologized for causing terrible, negative social influence and disturbing the social order.
Zhai apparently is eligible to return home, given his suspended sentence, but will also have his political rights suspended for four years. Like other released activists, he will likely be subject to heavy surveillance by police.
Lin told the Post that she wanted to appeal, calling the outcome totally unacceptable. If authorities silence him, she told the paper, how is that different from being dead?
julie.makinen@latimes.com
Follow me on Twitter @JulieMakLAT
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Early on the first day of August, the peak of the summer season in Greece, the Greek coast guard spotted an inflatable motorized boat laden with refugees and migrants off the tourist island of Chios, near a fishing village called Waterfall.
Coast guard vessels approached and saved the 54 people aboard, according to a statement released late on the same day. It was an operation that, over the past year or more, has become a standard task of the Greek coast guard patrolling the narrow strip of waters between Greeces islands and the Turkish coast.
But Greek officials are nervously monitoring the area after the president of its bigger neighbor, Turkey, survived a coup on July 15, launching a purge of the military and suspending human rights treaties. Home to one of the largest refugee populations in the world, Turkey is key to a March agreement with the European Union that halted a million refugees and migrants streaming into Europe via Greeces islands, the biggest refugee crisis since World War II.
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While there has been no notable new surge in Syrian and Afghan refugees fleeing the Turkish coast for the islands since President Recep Tayyip Erdogans troubles, the numbers are being closely watched and the fate of the March 18 EU-Turkey pact openly discussed. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told Austrias Kurier newspaper that the deal could collapse, the risk is great and that success so far has been fragile.
If it does fall apart, then you can expect that again refugees are standing at the gates of Europe, he said.
The Greek coast guard saved 310 refugees and migrants in the last week of July, according to a statement Monday before the Chios incident. Shipping Minister Theodoros Dritsas said there was no cause for concern yet, as the refugees fleeing to Greece will continue to find the borders to other European nations shut to them, a fate shared with some 57,000 refugees stranded still in Greece.
The migrants and refugees who want to go to Europe dont want to stay in our country, Dritsas told the state-run Athens News Agency on Sunday. Greece was always a transit country. That continues to be the case now when all avenues and border crossings are shut. We are not concerned. We need to be vigilant.
Under the March 18 agreement with Turkey, the EU will funnel more than $3 billion to the country to help police the coast. The agreement called for illegal arrivals to be detained on the Greek islands and subject to a fast-track asylum process and deported to Turkey if rejected, a procedure that has been criticized by human rights groups. In return, Turks get visa-free travel to the bloc and stepped-up talks on joining the EU.
A composite image shows a key location during the height of the 2015 migrant crisis last year and the situation there now. (Milos Bicanski / AFP/Getty Images )
While controversial, the agreement does seem to have achieved its primary task of deterring arrivals. Dimitris Avramopoulos, the Greek politician who is Europes commissioner for migration, home affairs and citizenship, said the daily average of arrivals since May 1 was 47, compared with an average of 1,740 a day in the months up to the March agreement, according to a statement released Tuesday by Greeces ruling Syriza party.
David Milliband, the former British foreign affairs secretary who now heads the International Rescue Committee, a global humanitarian aid group providing water and sanitation for about a third of the refugees and migrants encamped in Greece, said a resurgence of arrivals couldnt be ruled out and it was crucial that EU-Turkey cooperation hold.
Its really important that Europe engages with Turkey in a wholehearted way, Milliband told reporters in Athens on Tuesday. Unless there is an organized route to come into Europe then you drive people into the hands of the smugglers.
For Greece, the prospect of another surge in refugee arrivals is another headache in its relations with Turkey, which may be imperiled by how it handles eight Turkish military officers who flew to Greece to seek political asylum the day after the attempted coup. Turkey has demanded their extradition.
But, Milliband said, the Turkish coup was one of a battery of issues that could affect the evolution of the European refugee crisis, which has not gone away.
There is no suggestion that the situation in Syria is going to get any better soon, he said. The reasons for the exodus of people have not abated. The push factors are still there.
Petrakis is a special correspondent.
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On the first Thursday in November 2000, Irom Sharmila was observing a weekly religious fast. She did not know it would be 16 years before her next regular meal.
That day, Indian security forces killed 10 civilians at a bus stop in Sharmilas restive northeastern state of Manipur, prompting her to begin what has become the worlds longest hunger strike, opposing a controversial law that grants impunity to the Indian armed forces in troubled regions.
Since then she has been confined to a hospital ward and force-fed through tubes in her nose, emerging as a symbol of pacifist resistance to military atrocities in her isolated state. But last week she surprised even her closest associates by declaring that she would end her strike on Aug. 9.
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This has been my life for the past 16 years, the thin, frizzy-haired Sharmila, 44, told a small group of associates who met her the next morning outside the hospital in Imphal, the capital of Manipur. I want my life back.
In 2011, Sharmilas mother spoke of the heartbreak of her daughters path
Sharmila said she plans to run for office in state elections next year, and that she would marry her fiance, an Indian-born Briton who began writing her letters after reading about her in 2009.
Her announcement has sparked a debate in insular Manipur, a remote state of forests and rolling hills along the border with Myanmar. Many supporters worry that Sharmilas cause will be sullied by electoral politics, and they question the influence of her fiance, Desmond Coutinho, described by her fellow activists as a bit of an eccentric.
But others believe the woman who has become known as the Iron Lady of Manipur simply calculated that her long, solitary struggle needed a new strategy.
This has been my life for the past 16 years. I want my life back. Irom Sharmila
The idea and the issue she is fighting for is bigger than the person, said Sanjoy Hazarika, director of the Center for North East Studies and Policy Research in New Delhi.
I dont think shes withdrawing from the battlefield. Those who have supported her in the need to repeal this law need to give her the same dignity and respect she was given when she was on the hunger strike.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was established in Manipur in 1958, granting the Indian security forces widespread authority over a state where several local insurgent groups were agitating for independence. Sharmila, the youngest of nine siblings in a lower middle-class family, grew up amid curfews and a heavy presence of army soldiers and police commandos.
After failing out of the 12th grade, she wrote a newspaper column and traveled through the state on her bicycle, documenting reports of abuses by security forces for a local human rights organization.
On Nov. 2, 2000, a roadside bomb detonated near a paramilitary vehicle outside Imphal. Although there were no injuries, the commando unit retaliated by opening fire on residents, killing 10 people. The paramilitary force said its men had acted in self-defense, although a judicial inquiry found no evidence to support that claim.
The special powers act meant that no member of the security forces could be held accountable for that incident or any other atrocity. Activists say there have been more than 1,500 extrajudicial killings in Manipur over the last two decades. Indian forces deny allegations that their members have committed abuses.
Last month, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that the armed forces cannot use excessive powers under the law, a key victory for rights groups, who still want the law overturned altogether. Supporters credit Sharmilas fast for bringing attention to the law, which is also in force in the volatile northern state of Kashmir, the subject of an intractable territorial dispute with Pakistan.
Indian rights activist Irom Sharmila is greeted by her supporters in 2014 in Imphal, the capital of Manipur state. (AFP/Getty Images )
Babloo Loitongbam, a local human rights activist, said that when Sharmila began her fast it was seen as almost sacrilege to question the Indian security forces.
Today, we see widespread debates on the special powers act, Loitongbam said. Sharmilas contribution in this transition is immeasurable.
Indian authorities have kept Sharmila under near constant arrest, periodically releasing her briefly, only to detain her again on charges of attempted suicide. Her struggle has unfolded far from the media glare of New Delhi or Mumbai, and the three-times-daily force-feeding has ensured Sharmila stays alive an easy status quo that allows the government to do nothing about the controversial law, author Anubha Bhonsle wrote in a recent column.
Maybe it was easier for the government to deal with a solitary hunger strike in a distant part of the country, Hazarika said. But that does not detract from her courage or the magnificence of the struggle.
Sharmila, who passes her time writing poetry, reading literature and taking walks with visitors in the hospital compound, has said over the years that she does not seek personal glory. I dont want to be a goddess, she once told the Indian Express newspaper. I just want a normal life.
That includes marriage although some allies privately express skepticism about Coutinho, 52, who proposed to her in a letter even before they first saw each other face-to-face, during a court appearance in Imphal in 2011. He has clashed with Sharmila supporters, some of whom worry he will detract from their advocacy campaign.
Deepti Priya Mehrotra, author of a book about Sharmila, said it was not surprising that even the activists family members did not know about her decision until she announced it publicly.
She responds to her inner voice, Mehrotra said. Mahatma Gandhi often said consistency is not always a virtue. One needs to keep evolving.
Others say the movement to repeal the armed forces law relied too heavily on Sharmila, who had reportedly become frustrated by a lack of public support. One of the first things she asked Loitongbam, among those who met her the morning after her announcement, was how the world had reacted to her decision.
If something has not worked for 16 years, it is not likely to work for another 16 either, Loitoingbam said. Right now, her decision to enter politics could go either way. But if she has managed to garner so much support over the years, there is no reason why she would not be able to do it as a politician.
Parth M.N. is a special correspondent.
shashank.bengali@latimes.com
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BEIJING Malaysian officials investigating the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines plane Saturday said they were not ruling out terrorism or any other causes as reports emerged that two Europeans listed on the passenger manifest were not aboard and may have had their passports stolen.
Vietnamese military aircraft participating in a search-and-rescue operation for the Boeing 777, which was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard, had spotted two oil slicks in the waters off southern Vietnam, the Associated Press reported.
The government said the slicks were each six miles to nine miles long and were consistent with the type that would be left by fuel from a crashed jetliner, the AP said.
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PHOTOS: Malaysia Airlines plane missing
Malaysias director general of civil aviation told a news conference Saturday night that authorities had reviewed closed-circuit TV footage of passengers and their luggage and hadnt seen anything of concern. But Prime Minister Najib Razak cautioned that it was too early to come to any conclusions, and other officials said nothing was being ruled out of consideration at this point.
The plane was carrying 227 passengers and a dozen Malaysian crew members, the airline said. The biggest contingent 154 was from China and Taiwan.
An initial passenger list posted at the Beijing airport, apparently by Chinese authorities, listed three U.S. passport holders: an adult, Philip Tallmadge Wood, and two children, Nicole Meng and Leo Meng.
However, a full manifest published online Saturday evening by the airline listed the American passengers as Wood, age 51, Nicole Meng, age 4, and Yan Zhang, age 2.
Wood is believed to be an IBM employee who recently began working for the company in Kuala Lumpur after several years in its Beijing offices.
According to the airline, other passengers on the flight included 38 Malaysians, five Indians, seven Indonesians, six Australians, four French, two Ukranians, two Canadians and two New Zealanders. There were also a Russian, an Italian, a Dutch and an Austrian aboard, the airline said.
However, shortly after the list was published on the airlines website, Italys ANSA news agency reported that Luigi Maraldi, 37, who was listed on the manifest, was in fact not on the plane (link in Italian). The agency said he had phoned his family to say he was alive and well in Thailand.
Austrias APA news agency made a similar report about an Austrian citizen listed on the passenger manifest, Christian Kozel, 30 (link in German). APA reported his passport was stolen about two years ago in Thailand.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it lost contact with air traffic controllers around 2:40 a.m. local time Saturday, two hours after takeoff, the airline said.
The airlines chief executive, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, told a news conference in Kuala Lumpur that there was no distress call or bad weather report from the pilots before the plane lost contact with air control 120 nautical miles (140 miles) off the east coast of Kota Bharu, Malaysia.
As the search-and-rescue effort got underway, in addition to Vietnamese aircraft, China sent two ships to assist, state-run CCTV reported, while Singapore dispatched a C-130 aircraft. Malaysia sent three maritime enforcement ships, a navy vessel and three helicopters, a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency official told Reuters.
Mikael Robertsson, cofounder of FlightRadar24, which tracks about 120,000 flights per day with 3,000 receivers around the world, said the last transmission it recorded from the flight was at 35,000 feet. While its possible the plane veered into an area too far away from receivers to track it, he said that was unlikely.
In this case, we have quite good coverage, he said. We had a very good stable signal and it just disappeared . I dont want to speculate, but something very sudden happened. FlightRadar representatives also said they believed the plane had lost radar contact about 40 minutes into the flight, not two hours as the airline said.
Relatives of some of the missing passengers were brought from the Beijing Capital International Airport to a nearby hotel and were sequestered in a conference room on the second floor of the complex Saturday morning.
Periodically, wails could be heard coming from inside the room, and several people emerged in the midafternoon, complaining that airline officials were not providing sufficient information. We are being treated like dogs! one man yelled, pushing through a crowd of reporters.
We are still trying to locate the current location of the flight based on the last known position of the aircraft, the airline said in a statement. We are working with the international search and rescue teams in trying to locate the aircraft. So far, we have not received any emergency signals or distress messages.
The airline said it was dispatching a go team of caregivers and volunteers to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur late Saturday afternoon to assist family members of the passengers.
State-run media in China said a delegation of 24 Chinese artists and calligraphers and their family members were aboard the flight.
PHOTOS: Malaysia Airlines plane missing
The airline identified the pilot as Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, who joined the airline in 1981 and had more than 18,000 hours of experience. The first officer was identified as Fariq Ab. Hamid, 27, who joined the airline in 2007 and had about 2,700 hours logged.
The focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilize its full support, the airline said. Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members.
Boeing said it was assembling a team to provide technical assistance to investigating authorities.
Those seeking information on passengers may contact Malaysia Airlines at +60-3-7884-1234.
julie.makinen@latimes.com
Tommy Yang and Nicole Liu of The Times Beijing bureau contributed to this report.
jing bureau contributed to this report.
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Monday August 1 ushered in a day of controversy in Texas as the state's 2015 "Campus Carry" law went into effect, allowing students at public colleges and universities to legally carry concealed firearms on campus.
Upping the controversial ante of this legal landmark is that Monday also marked the 50th anniversary of what many declare the first widely recognized mass school shooting in the United States. On this day in 1966, Charles Whitman, armed with handguns, rifles and a sawed-off shotgun, climbed the clock tower on the University of Texas at Austin campus, opened fire and killed over a dozen people while injuring at least 30 others, according to a CBS News report.
While there are certainly plenty of Texans in favor of this new gun-friendly legislature, it seems that segment of the Lone Star population is significantly dwarfed by individuals in both the scholastic and public spheres alike who vehemently oppose it. There are many who are up in arms over the potential for danger on campuses across the state, particularly given the increasingly violent climate in terms of mass shootings occurring throughout the country in recent years.
"Guns do not have a place on campus," John Fox, a survivor of the 1966 University of Texas shooting told Reuters. "A university is a battleground of words and ideas, and not of weapons."
University of Texas professor Joan Nueberger also opposes the new law, citing its potential impact in terms of stifling academic freedom of expression.
"Guns are designed to hurt people...and if you don't know if someone has a gun in their pocket, you don't know if you're in danger," Nueberger said in a CBS News interview. "We want students to be passionate about what they have to say...without worrying if someone's going to pull out a gun and shoot you."
Alternately, University of Texas at Dallas student Antonia Okafor told CBS News that these types of fears are absolutely unfounded from her perspective.
"Once [students] get a license to carry, it's [not] a license to kill...obviously not...it means someone is wanting to protect themselves if something may happen," Okafor said. "The important thing is that me as an individual, I am able to protect myself. As a law-abiding citizen, I am able to protect myself against someone who is trying to harm me."
The new law, which currently applies only to public universities in the state, does carry with it a number of safety-enhancing stipulations. Among these are that students who plan to take advantage of carrying on campus must be at least 21 years old (or 18, if enlisted in the military) and must pass official classroom and gun range training courses, according to the Associated Press.
In addition to the aforementioned academic institutions, Texas community colleges will legally enforce the "Campus Carry" measure come 2017. This extra time is to allow for officials at these schools to adjust regulations concerning safety and other related measures.
Fox News reports that private colleges and universities across Texas, including schools like Baylor, Rice and Texas Christian (amongst others) may legally opt to ban guns from being brought onto their campuses, thanks to state law.
As of Monday, Texas became the eighth state in the U.S. to adopt mandatory campus carrying laws. The other states with such laws already in place include Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin. Each of these states, however, maintains its own specific regulations concerning possession of firearms on their university and college campuses.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug 2
Trend:
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Minister of Information and Communications Technology of the Islamic Republic of Iran, co-chairman of Azerbaijan-Iran State Commission on Economic, Trade and Humanitarian Cooperation Mahmoud Vaezi.
The head of state noted that the agenda of the bilateral relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran was very broad and covered almost all areas, adding that very good results were achieved. President Ilham Aliyev praised the activity of Mahmoud Vaezi and his role in expanding ties between the two countries. The head of state stressed the importance of the presidents' valuable recommendations in terms of strengthening relations between the two countries. President Ilham Aliyev noted with pleasure his recent official visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani`s forthcoming official visit to Azerbaijan, and described this as a good sign of high-level and dynamic development of relations between the two countries.
Mahmoud Vaezi extended sincere greetings of President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani to the head of state. The Iranian Minister hailed the role of President Ilham Aliyev in enhancing the bilateral relations and friendly ties between the two countries.
At the meeting, the sides discussed political and economic ties between the two countries and cooperation in the Caspian Sea, as well as exchanged views over the prospects for relations in energy, oil-gas, transport, investment making, finance, banking, agricultural, tourism and healthcare fields.
The head of state thanked for the greetings of President Hassan Rouhani, and asked the Minister to communicate his greetings to the Iranian President.
Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) and British Council agreed upon expanding the bilateral partnership relations.
Elmar Gasimov, Rector of BHOS had discussions about the potentials of widening the collaboration during the meeting with Elizabeth White, British Council Country Director for Azerbaijan.
Underlying that the cooperation between the two institutions were being continued at the highest level Mr.Gasimov said that annually the BHOS students demonstrated high results during the IELTS examinations administered by British Council while this years results were even higher, especially with Chemical Engineering student Fidan Guliyevas 8.5 band score which was the top one among the students.
Ms. White expressed her pleasure of the current relations with BHOS emphasizing the schools distinguishing role among the national higher education institutions in terms of the collaboration with UK Universities.
She said that the partnership between BHOS and Herriot-Watt University had always been the focus of attention and British Council was committed to assist in establishing and developing further relations with UK institutions.
The parties also agreed about jointly holding various social and cultural events reflecting the UKs history and culture.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
By Elena Kosolapova Trend:
Georgia should settle energy issues in partnership with Azerbaijan, a country it has traditionally friendly relations with, Georgian expert, chairman of the Institute for the Study of Georgias Development Gia Khukhashvili told Trend.
He was commenting on the information which appeared in the Iranian media outlets regarding signing of a contract for the supply of Iranian gas to Georgia via Armenia.
Azerbaijan and Georgia need to act in tandem in such matters and not make steps which may be contrary to the two countries interests, he said.
While Iran had an opportunity to supply its gas to Georgia through Azerbaijan, it chose Armenia.
Iran signed a deal with the Georgian International Energy Corporation to export gas to the country within a four-month period, Alireza Kameli, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), said earlier.
Almost 40 million cubic meters of gas will be sold to the company under the test agreement, Kameli said, the Iranian oil ministrys SHANA news agency reported July 31.
Georgian Deputy Energy Minister Mariam Valishvili earlier told Trend that Georgian government hasnt concluded an agreement with Iran on gas supply and has no information on the conclusion of such contracts with private companies operating in Georgia.
If there is any activity regarding the supply from Iran, I would prefer to cooperate with Azerbaijan, said Khukhashvili. There have never been problems with Azerbaijan and the system of gas supply from Azerbaijan to Georgia has no political risks.
As for gas supply from Iran to Georgia through Armenia, the expert said that there is no transit infrastructure from Iran to Georgia and there is only a local pipe running from Iran and Armenia with a diameter of 700 millimeters. He said that most likely, it is about swap contracts, thats to say, a contract is signed with Iran, but real gas will be delivered to Georgia from Russia in accordance with some Russian-Iranian mutual settlements.
Khukhashvili noted that it is theoretically possible to lay a transit pipe from Iran to Georgia, but since Armenias gas pipelines system is controlled by to Russian Gazprom, Armenias participation in such projects is tantamount to Russian participation.
The expert said that the transportation route of Iranian gas through Armenia wont also be interesting for the West, as this route includes Russias participation, while the West is trying to find ways gas supply that bypass Russia.
Given the fact that gas is not only a product, but also a tool in politics, Europe as the final consumer will be more favorable towards those projects, which will bypass Russias interests, noted Khukhashvili. This route may be the transit of Iranian gas through Azerbaijan and Georgia.
The expert added that the breach of SOCARs monopoly on the Georgian market that some commercial structures are trying to achieve, is likely to prejudice the Georgian government in the medium-term and long-term prospect.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
By Maksim Tsurkov Trend:
New ferries will be launched for freight traffic between Azerbaijans Baku International Sea Trade Port in Alat and Kazakhstans Kuryk port, which is being built, said a message from the CJSC Baku International Sea Trade Port.
The message said that the head of the Baku International Sea Trade Port Taleh Ziyadov held a meeting with a delegation visited the new Baku port and headed by the president of Kazakhstan Railways (Kazakhstan Temir Zholy) Askar Mamin.
During the meeting, Ziyadov said that the cargo transshipment via the Baku International Sea Trade Port increased by more than a third due to the increase in freight traffic on the route Baku-Aktau-Baku.
Askar Mamin, in turn, noted that the construction of the new Kuryk port in Kazakhstan will have a positive impact on the volume of cargo transportation between the two countries.
Both new ferries and the available ones will operate between Baku and Kuryk port, said Mamin.
Moreover, a free trade zone will be created at the Kuryk port following the example of the Baku port, he added.
It is expected that up to five ferries will be served daily at the Kuryk port that will ensure the transshipment of four million tons of cargo per year.
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Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
Aug 2, 2016, 1:15pm ET
July sales: Honda, Hyundai, Kia gain as many brands slip
After experiencing an upswing in June, the industry appears to be faltering in the second half of the year.
The US auto industry is showing more signs of trouble entering the second half of the year.
Sales began to falter in May before leveling out in June, raising hopes of an extended turnaround. The positive momentum has not been carried through into July, however, with just a few exceptions.Among the major players, Honda, Hyundai and Kia all managed to grow sales by at least five percent, while BMW posted a modest gain of less than two percent.Luxury brands achieved mixed results in July, with Audi up by 4.0 percent and Mercedes-Benz rising by 3.6 percent. BMW, Infiniti, Lexus and Acura were all in the red for the month. Volvo, meanwhile, soared by 52.3 percent.(Charts will be updated throughout the day as other automakers post their monthly results.)
July year-over-year:
- Acura down 8.3%, 13,674- Alfa down 12%, 43- Audi up 4.0%, 18,364- Bentley down 20.7%, 165- BMW down 4.4%, 25,777- Buick up 10.4%, 22,960- Cadillac up 1.3%, 14,341- Chevrolet down 5.3%, 178,820- Chrysler down 4%, 19,095- Dodge down 10%, 35,520- Fiat down 14%, 2,754- Ford down 3.0%, 206,170- GMC up 4.8%, 51,137- Honda up 5.9%, 139,125- Hyundai up 5.6%, 75,003- Infiniti down 4.7%, 9,945- Jaguar - Jeep up 5%, 79,246- Kia up 6.5%, 59,969- *Lamborghini up 2.4%, 86- Land Rover - Lexus down 6.5%, 27,890- Lincoln down 4.6%, 9,098- Maserati down 15.3%, 811- Mazda up 2.8%, 27,915- **Mercedes-Benz up 3.6%, 28,523- MINI down 8.0%, 4,774- Mitsubishi flat, 7,890- Nissan up 1.7%, 122,530- Porsche - Ram up 5%, 44,069- Scion up 66%, 6,423- smart up 11.8%, 493- Subaru up 3.1%, 50,517- *Tesla up 7.1%, 2,250- Toyota down 0.5%, 186,343- Volkswagen down 8.1%, 28,758- Volvo up 52.3%, 8,556
2016 year-to-date
- Acura down 9.2%, 92,668- Alfa down 5%, 338- Audi up 3.6%, 115,298- Bentley down 45.6%, 793- BMW down 8.4%, 195,593- Buick flat 127,105- Cadillac down 7.9% 87,572- Chevrolet down 4.6%, 1,185,710- Chrysler down 22%, 148,398- Dodge up 3%, 311,658- Fiat down 16%, 19,346- Ford up 3.1%, 1,498,043- GMC down 2.5%, 305,724- Honda up 6.9%, 852,486- Hyundai up 1.5%, 449,063- Infiniti flat, 74,923- Jaguar - Jeep up 14%, 543,714- Kia up 5.7%, 388,296- *Lamborghini up 2.4%, 602- Land Rover - Lexus down 4.9%, 179,454- Lincoln up 10.1%, 62,395- Maserati down 4.0%, 6,013- Mazda down 6.9%, 173,269- **Mercedes-Benz down 0.6%, 191,300- MINI down 15.6%, 29.918- Mitsubishi up 4.2%, 59,824- Nissan up 8.0%, 855,666- Porsche - Ram up 10%, 302,082- Scion up 53%, 44,142- smart down 24.1%, 3,086- Subaru up 2.7%, 331,551- *Tesla up 5.3%, 15,475- Toyota down 2.2%, 1,232,579- Volkswagen down 13.6%, 177,772- Volvo up 29.2%, 45,210
*Based on estimates from Automotive News.** NOT including Sprinter
Note that last month's highlights and lowlights listed below are merely a selection of some of the month's bigger movers.
Highlights (sales up > 40%)Audi Q3, up 56%Jeep Renegade, up 57%Toyota Land Cruiser, up 58%Lexus LX, up 49%Hyundai Tucson, up 98%
Lowlights (sales down > 30%)Audi A7, down 44%Audi A5, down 33%Chrysler 200, down 43%Chrysler 300, down 38%Dodge Dart, down 42%Fiat 500, down 43%
Toyota Yaris, down 43%Scion FR-S, down 36%Lexus CT, down 38%Lexus LS, down 31%Toyota FJ Cruiser, down 33%
Aug 2, 2016, 4:13pm ET
VW lawyers fight to dismiss US lawsuit; Bavaria vows to sue
Despite a $15 billion settlement agreement, VW\'s potential legal troubles are far from over.
Volkswagen attorneys are reportedly working to keep a shareholder lawsuit from being heard in US courts, while the German state of Bavaria promises litigation to recover lost investment.
The US class-action proceeding is said to list the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Retirement System and Miami police pension fund among its lead plaintiffs. Attorneys argue that the company illegally deceived investors when it decided to cheat US emissions regulations.
"Volkswagen believes that the consolidated securities class action complaint is without merit," a company spokesman told Reuters. "The plaintiffs do not satisfy the basic elements of a U.S. securities claim and, in any event, this action challenging Volkswagen's investor disclosures, issued in Germany, does not belong in a U.S. court."
A separate report by the German news outlet DPA suggests Bavaria plans to file a similar lawsuit in Germany, after the scandal allegedly erased 700,000 (~$786,000 USD) from the state's pension fund. The state owned approximately 58,000 shares when the news first emerged.
Despite reaching a $15 billion settlement agreement with US regulators, the latest reports demonstrate that VW's potential legal troubles are far from over.
The opening ceremony of new Shirvan branch of Azer Turk Bank took place on August 1st.
The branch, located at Shirvan city, 33, M.A.Rasulzade str. has been established in accordance with the Banks development concept and is equipped with modern banking technologies.
Citizens of Shirvan city, as well as residents of neighboring regions, are welcome to use high-quality banking services in Shirvan branch of Azer Turk Bank every weekday from 09.30 to 17.00.
Here, individual and corporate clients are offered services on deposits, different loan products, cash and settlement operations, money transfers, plastic cards, utility payments, operations with cash and other transactions.
It also should be noted that this is the eighth servicing office of Azer Turk Bank. Last year the bank established its Yasamal branch and sub-branch 1 in ASAN Service Center in Baku. At the same time, "Baku", "Merkez" and "Ganja" branches were re-opened in new offices meeting modern standards.
Azer Turk Bank OJSC, which has identified financial support to the real sector of the economy as its main mission, by 75 percent is owned by the government of Azerbaijan.
More information about the bank, its service network, products and services is available at www.azerturkbank.az the banks corporate pages at social networks or at (012) 945 Call Center.
Kayla Bauman (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)
A Bethlehem Township teenager who had been missing more than a week has returned home, township police report Tuesday morning on Facebook.
Kayla Bauman, 17, was missing since last Tuesday, police said on Monday.
Police on Monday said Bauman's parents reported she ran away.
Bauman had been in the company of Aidan Sweeley, 16, and David Rivera, 19, police said.
Police in Shamokin, in central Pennsylvania's Northumberland County, relayed to investigators that Bauman may have been driven to either the Shamokin or Allentown areas, according to township police.
Tuesday's Facebook posting and a followup statement from police provided no information on where Bauman was.
WolfPack Search and Recovery reported Monday evening "working with her family, we have been informed that Kayla Bauman has been located alive and is currently safe."
Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The lone occupant of a Jeep Wrangler that struck a tree off a gravel road Monday in Bethlehem Township was taken by ambulance for treatment, according to a township fire official.
The crash was reported about 3:40 p.m.. off Hope Road south of Freemansburg Avenue, on the unpaved road that leads to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's launch on the Lehigh River.
Authorities did not immediately identify the driver, a male, and township police were continuing to investigate what had caused the crash.
The driver left the gravel road on a righthand curve, while headed west from the boat launch to Hope Road, said Michael Lenner, assistant chief with the township's Nancy Run Volunteer Fire Co.
Tracks could be seen through vegetation along the road, as could damage to a tree. Debris from the Jeep littered the base of a second tree.
Township fire police closed Hope Road until the Jeep was towed away shortly after 6 p.m.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The 1920s mansion inherited by Bethlehem Township is in line for an exterior makeover aimed at arresting decay caused by years of neglect.
Township commissioners on Monday approved seeking an architectural/engineering proposal for the exterior stabilization of the Archibald Johnston Mansion.
Spanning some 6,000 square feet and boasting 22 rooms, the mansion stands in the Janet Johnston Housenick & William D. Housenick Memorial Park along Christian Spring Road.
The exterior work comes without a firm grasp of what to do with the building, and amid fears from some township residents that the project could become a money pit.
Renovating the interior could cost anywhere from $3 million to $5 million, depending on what the township wants to do with the mansion. That's a decision well into the future, with the exterior stabilization expected to take three years from the time construction bids are approved, officials said.
The mansion could just end up as "eye candy" for park visitors, Commissioner Michael Hudak said in response to resident Don Wright Jr.'s concerns about the potentially deepening cost. Resident Andrew Azan also cautioned that as with any improvement, the unexpected can easily drive up the scope of work.
"We're just trying to stabilize the outside so the building's not going to deteriorate," Hudak said. "We don't know what we're going to use the building for yet."
The township is working on the stabilization with Spillman Farmer Architects, co-founded by the architect who designed the mansion, Curtis Lovelace. Commissioners on Monday asked Spillman Farmer and Boyle Construction to return with their proposal for the most involved of three options for the exterior work, an option estimated at $684,890 and described as historically preferable.
The contractors will build off an extensive stabilization study completed in January for the project by Spillman Farmer, whowe team members Russ Pacala and Vanessa dela Torre presented their restoration plans Monday night.
The mansion and land for the park were left to the township after Janet Johnston Housenick's death in an August 2005 fire in her nearby home on Santee Mill Road.
Johnston Housenick was a granddaughter of Archibald Johnston, a vice president of the former Bethlehem Steel Corp. and the City of Bethlehem's first mayor. Completed in 1923, the home was built on land Johnston began acquiring in 1919.
Archibald Johnston died at the estate in 1948, and Johnston Housenick and her husband later took ownership of the mansion and 91-acre surrounding property. In 1986 the couple donated 36 acres to Northampton County for creation of the Archibald Johnston Conservation Area, and the remainder of the 55 acres were donated along with the mansion upon her death.
Money for the exterior work would come from a fund managed by the Janet Johnston Housenick and William D. Housenick Memorial Foundation. The fund is valued at about $1.7 million, down from close to $2 million at the time of Johnston Housenick's death, foundation trustee Tim Brady said. Previous park improvements and declining earnings on the principal have cut into the total, he said last week.
Among those to praise the township's commitment to repairing the mansion's exterior on Monday were Victoria Bastidas, president of Friends of Johnston Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to preserving Johnston's Camel's Hump Farm on Santee Mill Road.
She pledged the group's help "in any way possible."
William Leeson also spoke during Monday night's meeting. He is one of three trustees of the Housenick foundation, along with Northampton County President Judge Stephen Baratta and Brady, who was a close friend of Johnston Housenick.
Leeson described the foundation as encouraged by and appreciative of the township's efforts, as well as ready to partner on the stabilization work.
The township's focus for the property so far has been the park, with the addition of trail markers in 2013 and a new paved parking area in 2015. Work to date has cost about $300,000, in grants from the Housenick foundation and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said township Manager Melissa Shafer.
The historically preferable option backed by commissioners calls for:
Replacing the 6,100-square-foot slate roof to prevent water infiltration.
Repairing the chimney.
Re-stuccoing the entire facade, including replacing the underlying lath where necessary.
Securing the porch.
Miscellaneous woodwork repairs and repainting of the exterior wood.
Restoring all 88 windows and doors.
Adding missing storm-windows and -doors
Restoring the shutters, emblazoned with a winged icon that the township recreated on signage throughout the Monocacy Creek-side park.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Kayak probe leads to possible meth lab in Wilson Borough, cops say
Following an investigation into stolen kayaks, a garage and home in the 2300 block of Wilson Borough is placarded against inhabitation following the discovery Thursday, July 21, 2016, of materials used to make crystal methamphetamine and a possible meth lab, according to borough police. (Jim Deegan | For lehighvalleylive.com)
The Wilson Borough man arrested on crystal methamphetamine charges during an investigation into stolen kayaks claims he had purchased the kayaks online, according to court records.
Robert S. Badua, 29, of the 2300 block of Forest Street, was charged Tuesday in the theft of three kayaks valued at $1,500 total from a home in the 2600 block of North Delaware Drive in Forks Township.
The investigation led authorities on July 21 to Badua's garage, where "evidence of the production of methamphetamines was recovered," borough police said at that time. Badua was arrested on two felonies and related charges and sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail.
The kayaks' owner had reported them stolen to police on July 12, saying a trail camera captured images of the vehicle used to cart off the watercraft, records say.
Trail cameras outside a home in the 2600 block of North Delaware Drive (Route 611) in Forks Township capture July 12, 2016, a Ford Expedition allegedly driven by 29-year-old Robert S. Badua, of Wilson Borough, on a mission to steal three kayaks from the property. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Township police shared the images on their Facebook page, and three sources linked the vehicle to Badua, records say.
One source reported having heard Badua tell his children on July 13 "he had purchased kayaks for them" and that they were in Badua's garage behind his home as recently as July 21, according to police.
Police responding to the home that day found the Ford Expedition seen on the trail camera and the three kayaks -- two red Mainstream and one yellow Spitfire -- inside the garage, police said.
Badua told police he had purchased them on craigslist.com and a male told him to remove him from the North Delaware Drive (Route 611) property, records say.
Badua was arraigned Tuesday on theft and receiving stolen property charges before District Judge Jacqueline Taschner, who ordered him held in lieu of an additional 10 percent of $15,000 bail.
He faces a preliminary hearing in the kayak thefts, tentatively scheduled Aug. 16 before Taschner and another hearing, in the meth case, Aug. 17 before District Judge Richard Yetter III.
Three children, under age 10, lived in the home on Badua's property where the meth materials were found, police had said. Authorities condemned the home, which was burglarized over the weekend, leading to the arrest of 28-year-old Wilson man Jordan B. Stackhouse, according to police.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A Wayne County man already jailed for being an accomplice in a Northampton County ATV theft now is charged for participating in a pharmacy break-in that netted prescription drugs.
Franklin Vincent Davis, 30, whose most recent address was listed in Gouldsboro, allegedly helped Clifford M. Foss, 40, of Port Carbon, Schuylkill County, as well as one other accomplice in the July 2014 burglary of the Southmoore Pharmacy. The pharmacy is located at 2453 Plaza Court outside Bath.
Moore Township police responding to the pharmacy at 4:51 a.m. July 13 found pry marks on the back doors and pill bottles scattered on the floor. Video surveillance footage showed Foss -- with a bandanna on top of his head -- and Davis, with something covering a portion of his face, riding into the parking lot on ATVs. The pair then used a crow bar to pry open the back doors to gain access, according to police.
A third male accomplice stood lookout and when he saw a Moore Township patrol vehicle traveling along Route 512 to another call, the accomplice banged on the door and all three fled the scene on the ATVs, police said.
Stolen ATVs
Lehigh Township police in October 2014 developed Foss as a suspect, court records say.
Foss on July 11, 2014, had stolen two new ATVs from Backwoods Outdoor Recreation on Route 248 in Lehigh Township and used the ATVs during the pharmacy burglary, police said.
Lehigh Township police were investigating the ATV theft case, which also included the attempted theft of a third new ATV. Investigators worked to find Foss based on the tread pattern on his shoe, which was left in the mud near ATV crates, records say.
Meanwhile, Moore Township investigators were probing the pharmacy burglary when a detective received an email Sept. 24, 2014, from police in Berks County about a pharmacy break-in there involving two suspects and an ATV.
Two tipsters responding to a Berks County Crime Stoppers alert, as well as Foss' mother in an interview with a detective, identified Foss as one of the suspects to Northern Berks Regional police, court records say.
Pennsylvania state constables picked Foss up in October 2014 on several outstanding traffic warrants from Schuylkill County, locating him at the Ford Motel on Route 61 in Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County, court records say.
Taken in the ATV thefts were two 2014 Polaris 550 Sportsman ATVs, one green and one gray, which together retail for about $18,000, the dealer said; a camouflage 570cc 2014 Polaris Sportsman was also taken from Backwoods Outdoor Recreation, but abandoned at a nearby wood line after a tire went flat, police said.
The ATVs were stored in crates outside the business, which has since moved to a new location in Lehigh Township, court records said.
Moore Township police recovered the green Polaris 550 by following ATV tire tracks from Southmoore Pharmacy into a wooded area. With it were the yellow crow bar, hand saw, bolt cutters, pry bar and utility knife, records say.
Following cellphone records
During the arrest of Foss, police seized a cellphone, which led authorities to Davis.
Investigators found on Davis' Gouldsboro property a truck with one of the stolen ATVs in its bed, police said. Davis initially told officers in an interview at his home he helped Foss transport the Polaris ATV, but didn't know it was stolen, police said.
Police obtained a search warrant and downloaded text messages, GPS maps and images off Foss' phone. The data showed exchanges between Foss and Davis about the crimes, including photos of the stolen ATV in Davis' truck bed, police said.
Davis on June 10, 2015, was interviewed again by investigators at the Berks County Prison, where he was incarcerated, and he admitted knowing the ATV was stolen. Davis said he used the ATV on his property and knew it was stolen during the pharmacy burglary, records say.
Davis also allegedly admitted to being with Foss during the pharmacy burglary and driving the stolen ATV from the Backwoods Outdoor Center.
In the ATV theft crime, Davis was charged with theft by unlawful taking, conspiracy theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and conspiracy receiving stolen property. In December 2015, he pleaded guilty in county court and was sentenced to a maximum of 18 months in prison.
In the pharmacy break-in, Davis is charged with four counts burglary, criminal trespass, theft, receiving stolen property, possessing instrument of crime and criminal mischief. He was arraigned Tuesday before District Judge Robert Hawke, who set bail at $100,000. In lieu of bail, Davis was taken to Northampton County Prison.
Foss was charged in the break-in with burglary, trespass, receiving stolen property, possession of an instrument of crime and criminal mischief. In August, Foss was ordered to serve a minimum of eight years and 11 months in prison for the crimes. Northampton County Judge Paula Roscioli imposed a maximum sentence of 28 years in state prison.
The third accomplice in the crimes is yet to be charged.
Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Washington Borough sign generic
An investigation into the Washington Borough clerk/manager is ongoing. (courtesy photo)
A temporary replacement has been hired in place of a Warren County municipal official under investigation.
Washington Borough Manager/Clerk Kristine Blanchard was indefinitely suspended without pay last month after authorities secured her office at the request of elected officials.
The nature of the investigation into Blanchard, which Mayor Scott McDonald has said is still ongoing, has not been disclosed. No charges have been filed.
McDonald on Tuesday said that an interim manager has been hired as a search for a full-time replacement continues.
"She's going to keep the ship on the right path until we get that person in," McDonald said. The borough's part-time chief financial officer, Natasha Turchan, had temporarily assumed managerial duties after Blanchard's suspension.
Jasmine Lim, a consultant with the Morristown-based Canning Group, started in the interim role Tuesday at a rate of $95 an hour, the mayor said. The Cannning Group provides services to municipalities including staffing studies and searches, according to its website.
Lim said she has 35 years of experience in local government, most of that time spent in administrative roles. She has been working with Canning since retiring from full-time work, she said.
"The situation itself is not a concern to me," Lim said of Washington. "I've been in messy situations before and had to deal with those."
Blanchard, a Warren County native, started as borough clerk in June 2006 and was named the borough's interim manager in 2012, eventually appointing her to both positions full-time. She was making $97,680 this year, according to state pension records.
McDonald previously said that Blanchard in June tendered her resignation as borough manager, effective later this month, but planned to stay on as clerk.
An ad on the New Jersey League of Municipalities website says the borough is seeking someone with five years of experience, and that residency is preferred. The borough has a population 6,500, 30 employees and a $7 million budget, the ad says.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
By Anvar Mammadov Trend:
The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) sold $49.1 million to 29 banks through an auction held by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA), SOFAZ said Aug. 2.
SOFAZ offered $50 million at the auction, but the banks demand was $49.1 million.
SOFAZ will continue selling foreign currency through auctions in 2016. The foreign currency is sold as part of SOFAZs transfers to the Azerbaijani state budget, which are envisaged to stand at 7.615 billion Azerbaijani manats in 2016.
SOFAZ was established in 1999 with assets of $271 million.
As of July 1, 2016, SOFAZs assets increased by 4.6 percent and amounted to $35.1 billion as compared to $33.57 billion in early 2016.
Two small schools which closed in 1973 are coming together to celebrate their reunion from August 4-6.
Cartron and Eslin National Schools were closed in 1973 without any fanfare or farewell.
This year the reunion committee have received some funding from Leitrim County Council to hold a reunion weekend.
Past pupils from both schools will travel from all over the world, Ireland and Leitrim to meet up with old pals and reminisce about school days.
The reunion kicks off on Thursday, August 4 with a concert in St Mary's Church, Eslin at 8pm.
Top of the bill is Eleanor Shanley, with performances also by Fionnuala Maxwell, Leitrim Male Choir as well as an Irish Music Session. Fionnuala Maxwell will sing songs written by Tom Moran from Eslin. Tickets are 10 with proceeds going to the hospice. On Friday, August 5 past pupils will attend a reunion dinner dance in The Bush Hotel. Tickets are limited.
Bishop Colm Reilly will launch the reunion book at the dinner dance which includes memories and photos from both schools.
Everyone who was registered in the schools are named in the book. A huge amount of work went into the book, it was edited by past pupil Fr John Kilcrann. Fr Kilcrann has returned to Ireland after spending years in Brazil.
The book costs 15 and proceeds from it will go back into the community to Eslin Ladies, Eslin GAA and Eslin Community Centre.
On Saturday August 6 the roll books for the school will be on display in Eslin Community Centre, there will a shuttle bus between the schools and tours available.
On Sunday Mass will be concelebrated by Fr John Kilcrann, Fr Ciaran O'Flynn and Parish Priest Patrick Murphy.
Refreshments will be available in the community centre all weekend.
A WEST Limerick success story is now set to be a game-changer for the environment in the US state of Maryland and possibly throughout North America.
The agric-tech company firm, BHSL, which is based in Kantoher and which has pioneered the conversion of poultry manure into energy, will begin a $3m contract in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland later this year.
The aim of the operation is to reduce the estimated 1.2m tonnes of chicken manure produced each year in the region. Over 1bn chickens, or 12% of total US production, are produced in the region annually but one result is an excess of phosphorous on the land which contributes to the flow-off of pollutants into Chesapeake Bay. This has given rise to environmental problems such as algal bloom and damage to fish and shellfish stocks.
Converting the chicken manure to energy will release heat for future batches of chick or can be sold as energy into the national grid.
But for BHSL, the Chesapeake Bay project may well just be the start of their big American adventure.
The potential size of the US market opportunity for BHSL is conservatively estimated at over $500m, company chief executive Declan OConnor said this week. We are very excited about the potential to grow our sales in the US following the State of Maryland demonstration.
There are some 11,000 commercial chicken producers in the US.
Last year, the company made a big break-through into the global market when it signed a ground-breaking agreement with Cargill, a US-based company working in 67 countries and with over 150,000 employees. This 20-year agreement saw BHSL instal and operate one of its manure-to-energy units on one of Cargill's enormous poultry farms in the UK with the potential for extending the system to Cargills other 78 poultry farms.
The monitoring of the system however is being done from Kantoher.
But the key to this global success had modest beginnings on the OConnor family farm in Ballagh and as BHSL founder, Jack O'Connor explained to the Limerick Leader, it has taken over a decade to bring the revolutionary process to this stage.
"It all started out on my own farm back in 2001. It was in response to a restriction on land spreading of poultry manure, he said. In conjunction with the University of Limerick and the EPA, Jack began the search for another, sustainable, use for poultry manure.
The final solution is the fluidised bed combustion unit, where sand is heated to high temperatures, the manure is dropped in, combusts and heats water which is then piped to heat the chicken houses. The resulting ash can also be used as it is a pathogen-free and highly valuable fertiliser.
"It is safe for the environment, safe for humans and safe for the chickens," said Jack O'Connor who is now the companys chief technology officer.
However, to get to the final solution , the company, founded in 2004, had to overcome a number of obstacles including seeking a change in EU regulations which allowed poultry manure to be classified as a bio-mass fuel source. BHSL technology is currently the only approved system under the new European regulations that became law in July 2014.
And even then, Jack O'Connor pointed out, poultry manure can only be processed on your own farm.
But it was BHSLs ability to develop a made-to-measure unit for individual farms of different size that has been crucial to their success in the UK and now also in the USA.
A VIOLENT criminal who held a knife to the throat of a man as he sat in his car is beginning a lengthy prison sentence.
Damien Quinn, aged 34, who has an address at OMalley Park, Southill pleaded guilty to robbing a wifi dongle and 80 in cash from the man at Pery Square on March 17, last year.
During a sentencing hearing, Limerick Circuit Court was told Quinn had received a suspended prison sentence less than four months earlier after he admitted assaulting a prison officer while trying to escape from custody.
Judge Tom ODonnell was told the victim, who is from County Galway, was sitting in his car when two men got into the vehicle. Quinn, who got into the back seat, held a knife to his throat while his accomplice demanded he hand over his money.
In a victim impact statement, the injured party, now aged 55, said he has lost confidence while driving late at night or while parking up as a result of what happened.
I am always in fear of what might happen, he said.
Detective Garda Paul Crowley said the defendant, who has a large number of previous convictions, was identified as a suspect from CCTV footage and made admissions following his arrest a number of weeks later.
Imposing sentence, Judge ODonnell commented the offence was premeditated and he said Quinns propensity for violence and his previous record were a concern.
The judge noted the 34-year-old had an extremely difficult upbringing and was abused as a child.
He commented that while the victim was not physically injured during the robbery, it was extremely frightening for him.
He imposed a six year prison sentence, suspending the final year for six years. No order was made in relation to the suspended prison sentence.
Previously another man 21-year-old Christopher Higgins was sentenced to six years imprisonment with the final two years suspended for his role in the same offence.
A BRAND new political party focused on preventing animal cruelty wasformally established in Limerick City this Monday.
The Irish Animal Welfare Party (IAWP) was founded following a special convention in the Pery Hotel at Glentworth Street.
Among its number are Sheila Fogarty, its chairperson, who has family ties with Bruff, and Marion Fitzgibbon, Limerick Animal Welfare, who sits on the partys National Executive Committee.
Ms Fogarty, a former Green Party local election candidate, said the IAWP would be seeking to run candidates in both local and national elections in Limerick City and Limerick County.
Among the partys initial goals, she added, is to take on the practice of puppy farming.
The IAWP estimates this rural, effectively black market economy is worth in the region of 1.5bn over the six year life cycle of 100 breeding bitches across the country.
Ms Fogarty says following the move to vote down a motion calling for a ban on live hare coursing, the IAWP's confidence in government is at a low.
We have lost all faith in this government to uphold animal welfare in this country and believe without a proper political structure to address the total disregard expressed by the present government to large scale endemic animal abuse, nothing will ever change, she said.
Ms Fitzgibbon is delighted there is finally a party which focuses on what she has devoted her life to.
I feel I have been talking to myself and that wall [about animal cruelty] for the past 25 years. What difference have we made? Everyone is telling me Limerick Animal Welfare has made a huge difference. But animal cruelty is a huge problem, and we are not changing it, she said.
Ms Fogarty said more than 400 people nationwide have signed up to be a member of the IAWP.
The last national mainstream party launched in Limerick was the Progressive Democrats, founded by Desmond OMalley in 1985, which went on to have a big impact on national politics.
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Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.2
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
Azerbaijan and Iran have discussed the projects for joint production of pharmaceutical products, cars and car spare parts, said the message from Azerbaijans Economy Ministry.
The issues were discussed during the meeting of Azerbaijans Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev with Irans Minister of Communication and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi.
Vaezi is on an official visit to Baku as part of the preparations for the visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Azerbaijan.
During the meeting, the parties also discussed the draft cooperation agreements between the two countries, the important projects being implemented by Azerbaijan and Iran, including the North-South international transportation corridor.
The ministers discussed the cooperation in the oil and gas, energy, customs, agricultural spheres, as well as healthcare, tourism and investment making, said the message.
The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Iran stood at 89.75 million manats as of the first half of 2016, or 65.7 percent more than in the same period in 2015, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee.
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Follow the author on Twitter: @Anvar_Mammadov
Aug 2, 2016, 8 AM
The National Court of Spain sentenced 11 former officials of Afinsa, a Spanish stamp dealer, to prison terms of up to 12 years July 27 for their involvement in a fraudulent stamp-investment pyramid scheme.
By Charles Snee
Eleven former directors of Afinsa Bienes Tangibles S.A., one of Spains biggest stamp companies, were sentenced to prison July 27 by Spains National Court, following conviction on charges that included criminal bankruptcy, fraud, and falsification of accounts.
The prison terms, which range from two to 12 years, were handed down by the court in response to the officials roles in the sale of stamp investments in a pyramid scheme that siphoned the savings of hundreds of thousands of investor customers.
Among the officials sentenced was former Afinsa president Juan Antonio Cano, who was sentenced to 12 years and 10 months.
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The Associated Press reported July 27 that the court ordered six of the former directors of Afinsa to pay a total of 2.6 billion euros [$2.9 billion] in compensation to the companys 190,000 investors.
Investigations of Afinsas questionable philatelic investment practices date back to early 2005, when Barrons, the Financial Times and others published high-profile reports critical of the firms methods.
In early May 2006, Spanish authorities began investigating whether Afinsa and Forum Filatelico, another large Spanish stamp dealer, sold questionable stamp investments to as many as several hundred thousand small investors.
Linns reported May 29, 2006, that the Afinsa and Forum Filatelico stamp-investment programs were shut down. Spanish authorities raided both companies May 8, 2006, and ordered them to close.
At that time, eight officials of Afinsa and Forum Filatelico were sent to jail.
According to accounts in Spanish newspapers, Linns reported May 29, 2006, the Afinsa investors were being promised a return of 6 percent a year on investments as low as $400.
But the investors, many of them said to be elderly, never saw the stamps in which they were investing, one Spanish news service said. Afinsa held the stamps in its vaults.
In that same report, Linns said the Financial Times reported that the Spanish investigation might have been prompted by the refusal [in early 2006] of the Lloyds of London reinsurance syndicate to renew policies for the two Spanish collectibles firms.
The Financial Times said stamp experts had advised Lloyds that the investment plans being offered by Afinsa and Forum Filatelico lacked a sufficient number of what the Financial Times called investment grade stamps.
According to the July 27 Associated Press report, Spains National Court said Afinsa lured people with promises of high returns on investments in antique stamps that turned out to be overvalued or fake. The interest payments came from new customers and not from appreciation in stamp value, as promised.
Another factor that likely contributed to the magnitude of investors losses is that investment plans in collectibles were not regulated in Spain at the time. Because of this, most such investments were not insured.
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The biggest US automakers, General Motors Co (GM.N) and Ford Motor Co (F.N), reported July US sales that disappointed Wall Street on Tuesday but results were strong overall for the industry despite fears its long growth spurt may soon be over, Reuters reported.
GM reported that sales fell 2 percent to 267,258 vehicles, at the low end of expectations, while Ford posted sales of 216,479 vehicles, down 3 percent.
Overall, July US auto sales on Tuesday rose 0.7 percent to 1.52 million vehicles, according to Autodata Corp, for a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 17.88 million vehicles. Autodata said the annualized rate for July was the highest since last November.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected, on average, 17.7 million vehicles on the annualized basis, and 21 economists polled by Reuters had expected 17.36 million vehicles.
GM's chief economist, G. Mustafa Mohatarem, and Ford's sales chief, Mark LaNeve, both said sales are still at healthy levels.
Sales for the year were 1 percent higher than they were at this time in 2015, which ended at a record high, Mohatarem said. "Let's calm down on the doomsday talk," he said at an industry conference in Traverse City, Michigan.
GM thinks there is potential for a new record for US industry auto sales this year, Mohatarem said.
Nonetheless, GM shares shed 4.4 percent, Ford slid 4.3 percent and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCHA.MI)(FCAU.N) dropped nearly 4 percent.
Each of Ford's four top-selling models lost ground, including the Explorer SUV, which dropped 22 percent. GM and Ford are the market leaders by sales volume.
FCA, the No. 4 by US sales, said its sales rose 0.3 percent, missing estimates.
Since 2009 when auto sales slipped to a modern-day low, the industry has posted annual growth.
"The growth is over," Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks said in an interview with Reuters last week. Pent-up demand built during the last recession has been satisfied, and lower used car prices are drawing some buyers away from new vehicles.
Wes Lutz, owner of Extreme Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Jackson, Michigan, said consumers "are maxed out and can barely afford the vehicles they are driving." Lutz said he is expanding his used car showroom, anticipating that new vehicle sales will decline.
Japanese and South Korean automakers reported more robust monthly sales than had been expected, boosting total vehicle sales as consumers continued to spend on pickup trucks and SUVs.
Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), No. 3 in the US market, reported sales down 1.4 percent, but it surpassed expectations.
Showing the largest gains were corporate stablemates Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS), sales up 5.6 percent, and Kia Motors Corp (000270.KS), sales up 6.5 percent, beating expectations.
Incentive spending in July was 9.9 percent of average vehicle selling prices, up from 9.6 percent a year earlier, said auto sales website and industry analyst TrueCar Inc. (TRUE.O)
While Wall Street took a dim view of American automakers on Tuesday, sales of SUVs and pickup trucks, which are responsible for record or near-record earnings this year for GM and Ford, are expected to continue to rise.
Sean McAlinden, chief economist at the Center for Automotive Research, said on Tuesday SUVs and other light trucks could account for 70 percent of the US market within two years because of low gas prices. They represent about 60 percent of the market now, up from 50 percent in 2010.
Citi analyst Itay Michaeli said sales volume should fall in August in part because of fewer weekends than in July. But he emphasized that as sales plateau, they still remain historically strong.
Japan's Honda Motor Co (7267.T) said sales were up 4.4 percent, and it joined Toyota in reporting higher-than-expected July US sales. Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) said sales rose 1 percent, including a 33 percent hike for its top-selling model, the Rogue compact SUV.
FCA last week restated its monthly sales going back to 2011. It is under investigation by the US Justice Department for its sales reporting practices.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Aug. 2
By Demir Azizov Trend:
Moody's Investors Service has maintained its stable outlook on the Uzbek banking system, reflecting its expectation that operating conditions for Uzbekistan's banks will stay accommodative, said the report of Moodys posted on its website Aug. 2.
The outlook expresses Moody's expectation of how bank creditworthiness will evolve in Uzbekistan over the next 12-18 months.
Uzbekistan's banks continue to benefit from a growing economy with well-diversified export revenues, according to analysts of Moodys. As a result, banks in Uzbekistan are somewhat shielded from the volatility characteristic of some other countries in CIS.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts real GDP growth of 5 percent for Uzbekistan in 2016, with growth supported by increasing gas exports to China, strong domestic demand from continued public infrastructure spending, and wage increases.
As a result of this benign operating environment, Moody's expects problem loans to remain stable over the outlook period at 4-5 percent of total loans. In addition, the rating agency does not expect sector-wide credit losses to exceed 1.5 percent of banks' average gross loans over the next 12-18 months, in annualized terms.
Uzbek banks' problem loan ratio declined to 3.5 percent at late 2015 from 3.9 percent a year earlier, owing largely to nearly 25 percent loan growth over this period.
Nevertheless, Uzbek banks' capital buffers and earnings are sufficient to absorb incremental credit losses over the outlook period.
Banks in Uzbekistan have a high proportion of loss-absorbing capital, as evidenced by a system-wide tangible common equity ratio of 14.7 percent as of late 2015, according to Moodys. The reported system-wide Tier 1 leverage ratio also was high at 9.7 percent as of late 2015.
In addition, funding and liquidity metrics for the country's banks will stay stable, underpinned by domestic customer deposits and long-term government funding.
Rated Uzbek banks' corporate and retail deposits comprise only about 56 percent of their non-equity funding - two other major sources are stable and long-term financing from the Uzbek government (20 percent) and funding from international financial institutions (15 percent).
Profits for Uzbek banks, too, will likely continue to be healthy over the outlook period, according to Moody's, as continued strong borrowing demand boosts net interest income, and fee and commission income also remains solid.
The rating agency forecasts system-wide return on average assets and return on average equity to remain around 1.5 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
Currently, 26 commercial banks operate in Uzbekistan's banking system.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
By Fatih Karimov Trend:
A German company is negotiating with the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) to purchase gas from the country, Azizollah Ramazani, director of the International Affairs Department at the NIGC, said.
The negotiations with the leading German company will pave path for export of Iranian gas to the West Europe, Ramazi said, SHANA news agency reported Aug. 2.
He did not mention the German companys name.
The Iranian official further said that contracts have been signed with leading international companies including Russias Gazprom, German Siemens, and South Korean SK Telecom and Kogas for cooperation in gas sector following the removal of international sanctions against Iran last January.
The Islamic Republic holds 34 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves, sharing 18.2 percent of total global gas reserves, which puts the country in the top of the world's gas holders list.
Earlier, Iran stated that LNG export to Europe is its priority.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
By Fatih Karimov Trend:
An Iranian private company is negotiating with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan for gas swap, Azizollah Ramazani, director of the International Affairs Department at the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), said.
Serious talks are underway for gas swap between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan through a private Iranian company, SHANA news agency reported Aug. 2.
He did not unveil further details.
Iran has already announced readiness for natural gas swap projects with Russia, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan.
It was earlier announced that Iran and Azerbaijan have agreed to increase the volume of gas swap. The two countries have gas swap infrastructure via which Azerbaijan supplies its fuel to Iran's northern provinces. Iran, for its part, ensures the gas demand of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.
Elsewhere in his remarks Ramazani said that talks are underway with Oman, Kuwait and the UAE for gas export, in order to increase Tehrans share from global gas market.
Studies are on the agenda to take share in the LNG markets in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, India and China as well as eastern and western Europe and Southeast Asia, Ramazani added.
The Islamic Republic holds 34 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves, sharing 18.2 percent of total global gas reserves, which puts the country in the top of the world's gas holders list.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug 2
By Farhad Daneshvar Trend:
President Hassan Rouhani has expressed hope that the country will register a five percent economic growth over the current Iranian calendar year (starting March 20).
I hope that by the end of the current (Iranian) year we will reach 5% of economic growth as promised before, Rouhani said during a live interview on state TV August 2.
Elaborating on the countrys economic situation, President Rouhani showed graphs explaining that Irans non-oil export increased over the first four months of the current Iranian year.
The President explained that in the meantime the volume of Irans imports decreased.
According to the graphs provided by the president, Iran exported $13.4 billion worth of goods while the country imported $12.9 billion worth of products in the aforementioned period.
President Rouhani further touched upon a nuclear agreement reached between Iran and the world major powers last July and said that the implementation of the joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPOA) has paved the way for increasing Irans exports of oil and condensate.
However, the president criticized the westerners for failing to fulfil their commitments regarding their commitments.
He said that the P5+1 has had some shortcomings in honoring its side of the JCPOA.
According to the president, Iran has increased its output of oil and condensate from 3.25 million barrels per day to 4.124 million barrels per day.
Speaking about the impacts of the implementation of the JCPOA on Irans economy, president said that the country has exported 2.382 million barrels of oil and condensate per day over the first four months of the current year.
Rouhani added that the JCPOA has also enabled Iran to establish ties with about 400 banks across the world.
The country has also attracted more than $3 billion in investment following the implementation of the JCPOA in January, he noted.
The president went on to comment on a recent scandal in Iran on the astronomic salaries paid to a group of senior managers in saying that the country needs to combat corruption.
He called for unity among Iranians to tackle corruption and said this is not a partisan issue.
Platinum, a highly valued and desired metal, has a wide range of uses, including jewelry, catalytic converters, electrical contacts, pacemakers, medication and magnets. Because it is rare there are only about 5 parts per billion by weight in Earth's crust, according to Chemicool platinum tends to be very pricey, as anyone looking to buy a platinum wedding ring might discover.
Platinum is a silver-white metal it was once known as "white gold." It is extremely resistant to tarnishing and corrosion (which makes it known as a "noble metal") and is very soft and malleable, making it easy to shape; ductile, making it easy to stretch into wire; and unreactive, which means it doesn't oxidize and is unaffected by common acids.
Platinum is one of the transition metals, a group that includes gold, silver, copper and titanium and most of the elements in the middle of the periodic table. The atomic structure of these metals means they can bond easily with other elements.
It is also one of the densest elements at 12.4 ounces per cubic inch (21.45 grams per cubic centimeter), a little more than 21 times the density of water or 6 times the density of a diamond according to Chemicool. These properties lead to many uses for this very rare and precious metal.
Just the facts
Atomic number (number of protons in the nucleus): 78
Atomic symbol (on the periodic table of elements): Pt
Atomic weight (average mass of the atom): 195.1
Density: 12.4 ounces per cubic inch (21.45 grams per cubic cm)
Phase at room temperature: solid
Melting point: 3,215.1 degrees Fahrenheit (1,768.4 degrees Celsius)
Boiling point: 6,917 F (3,825 C)
Number of natural isotopes (atoms of the same element with a different number of neutrons): 6. There are also 37 artificial isotopes created in a lab.
Most common isotopes: Pt-195 (33.83 percent of natural abundance), Pt-194 (32.97 percent of natural abundance), Pt-196 (25.24 percent of natural abundance), Pt-198 (7.16 percent of natural abundance), Pt-192 (0.78 percent of natural abundance), Pt-190 (0.01 percent of natural abundance)
The 'unmeltable' metal
In ancient times, people in Egypt and the Americas used platinum for jewelry and decorative pieces, often times mixed with gold. The first recorded reference to platinum was in 1557 when Julius Scaliger, an Italian physician, described a metal found in Central America that wouldn't melt and called it "platina," meaning "little silver."
In 1741, British scientist Charles Wood published a study introducing platinum as a new metal and described some of its attributes and possible commercial applications, according to Peter van der Krogt a Dutch historian. Then, in 1748, Spanish scientist and naval officer Antonio de Ulloa published a description of a metal that was unworkable and unmeltable. (He originally wrote it in 1735, but his papers were confiscated by the British navy.)
Back in the 18th century, platinum was the eighth known metal and was known as "white gold," according to van der Krogt. (Previously known metals included iron, copper, silver, tin, gold, mercury and lead.)
In the early 1800s, friends and colleagues William Hyde Wollaston and Smithson Tennant, both British chemists, produced and sold purified platinum that they isolated using a technique developed by Wollaston, according to van der Krogt This technique involves dissolving platinum ore in a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids (known as aqua regia). After the platinum was separated from the rest of the solution, palladium, rhodium, osmium, iridium, and later ruthenium were all discovered in the waste.
Today, platinum is still extracted using a technique similar to that developed by Wollaston. Samples containing platinum are dissolved in aqua regia, are separated from the rest of the solution and byproducts, and are melted at very high temperatures to produce the metal.
Who knew?
A cylindrical hunk of platinum and platinum alloy is used as the international standard for measuring a kilogram. In the 1880s, about 40 of these cylinders, which weigh about 2.2 lbs. or 1 kilogram, were distributed around the world.
Platinum, iridium, osmium, palladium, ruthenium, and rhodium are all members of the same group of metals (called the platinum metals) and share similar properties. These metals are often used together to create highly durable parts for various machines, tools and jewelry.
Platinum is used in several anti-cancer drugs because of its very low reactivity levels. About 50 percent of cancer therapy patients currently use platinum-containing drugs, according to a 2014 study by Johnstone, Park, and Lippard Some of these drugs, such as cisplatin, are also used to treat tumors and cancer in animals, according to veterinarian Barbara Forney.
Platinum is also used in pacemakers, dental crowns, and other equipment used within the human body because of its resistance to corrosion from bodily fluids and lack of reactivity to bodily functions, according to Encyclopedia.com.
The majority (about 80 percent) of platinum is mined in South Africa. Approximately 10 percent is mined in Russia, and the rest is found in North and South America, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Because platinum and other platinum metals usually aren't found in large amounts, they are often byproducts from mining other metals.
Nearly 14 times more gold than platinum is mined per year about 1,800 tons (1,633 metric tons) of gold compared to 130 tons (118 metric tons) of platinum, according to Science for Kids
According to Total Materia, nearly half of the platinum that is mined is used in catalytic converters, the part of the automobile that reduces toxic gases into less-toxic emissions. Platinum and other platinum metals can withstand the high temperatures required for the oxidation reactions that reduce the emissions.
Platinum combined with cobalt creates strong, permanent magnets, according to Chemicool. These magnets have many uses, including in medical instruments, motors, watches, and more.
Platinum is often used as a catalyst in the production of several solutions and byproducts (that end up in substances such as fertilizers, plastics and gasoline and in fuel cells, increasing their efficiency according to Encyclopedia.com.
Many investors buy and sell platinum, even though the price can fluctuate greatly during economic growth and decline even more than the prices of other precious metals (because of its many uses).
Approximately 30 percent of mined platinum is used in jewelry, according to Total Materia. Most of the famous diamonds in the world, such as the Hope Diamond (according to Famous Diamonds) and many items in Elizabeth Taylor's collection (according to Bulgari), are set in platinum.
The international prototype kilogram is a cylinder of platinum and platinum-iridium alloy, which is kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) near Paris. (Image credit: Image Courtesy BIPM)
Current research
Researchers are continuing to find new uses and applications for platinum. For example, platinum is used in the development of anti-cancer drugs.
In 1844, Michele Peyrone, an Italian chemist, accidently discovered that platinum has anti-neoplastic properties (which means it prohibits the development of tumors, according to MedicineNet). Research continued, and in 1971 the first human cancer patient was treated with platinum-containing drugs.
Today, about 50 percent of cancer patients receive treatments that include this rare metal, according to a 2016 article published in the journal Chemical Reviews. These drugs include cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin, and several others in trial stages.
The article discussed some of the next-generation platinum-containing cancer drugs and delivery systems that they say will be more effective in fighting cancer cells. The authors call this a "dual threat" platinum-containing drugs within a platinum-delivery system.
These so-called platinum "warheads" target cancer cells and can be programmed in a variety of ways to interact with the cancer cells that contain many receptors on their surfaces, which are responsible for many actions of the cell including growth, the authors explained. Because cancerous cells divide very rapidly, they need an excess of nourishment (such as glucose or folic acid), and these targeting systems can search the body for these various traits and deposit the medications directly within the cells, the authors said. Once the platinum is within the cells, it works with other chemotherapy drugs to prevent the cancer cells from continuously dividing, they explained.
Another benefit of using these nanodelivery systems is that they can remain in the bloodstream for longer periods of time, thus leading to better distribution and delayed releases of the medications, the article said.
Due to the large amount of platinum needed to study these anticancer drugs, refining companies were eager to become involved very early on, as described by the authors. And although the use of refined platinum in cancer drugs is beneficial to many, those who work on platinum mines do have to be careful because inhaling or coming into direct contact with platinum salts (created from the purifying process and prior to being melted into metal) can have the opposite effect by potentially causing adverse health affects such as allergic reactions, damage to internal organs, or even cancer, according to CancerTreatment.net.
Several studies, including a 2006 study published in the journal Water, Air, and Soil Pollution (opens in new tab) and a 2009 study presented at the Canadian Metallurgical Societys annual conference have shown associations between platinum mining and adverse environmental and health effects, although more research is needed to prove the links.
Additional resources
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.2
Trend:
Head of the Turkish oppositional Republican People's Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu has withdrawn all the lawsuits and complaints against Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Haberturk TV channel reported Aug.2.
Earlier, Erdogan withdrew all the lawsuits filed against the leaders of the countrys oppositional political parties, the TRT Haber news channel reported July 27.
The president made this decision after the meeting with head of the oppositional Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahceli and leader of the Republican Peoples Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Erdogan filed a lawsuit against MHP and CHP leaders in May for the personal insult.
On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.
However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.
Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.
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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Rembrandt made nearly 100 self-portraits from the 1620s until his death in 1669, including around 50 paintings as well as dozens of etchings and drawings. This Rembrandt self-portrait in oil on canvas from 1659 is nearly life-size.
Rembrandt may have traced his celebrated self-portraits from optical projections created by assemblies of mirrors or lenses, a new analysis suggests.
Two U.K.-based researchers Francis O'Neill, an artist and art teacher; and Sofia Palazzo Corner, an independent physicist have identified several arrangements of a flat and curved mirror, or a flat mirror and a lens, which they say can recreate the perspectives, proportions and lighting seen in the self-portraits of the famed 17th-century Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn.
"The evidence suggests he used lenses and projections," O'Neill and Palazzo Corner wrote in a paper published online July 13 in the Journal of Optics. "The similarity of his images to projections, in their lighting and soft focus, along with the use of lens technology by his peers and fellow artists, and the contemporary literature on the subject, all support this." [See Photos of How Rembrandt May Have Created His Self-Portraits]
O'Neill told Live Science that the new findings follow the work of British artist David Hockney and American physicist Charles Falco, who proposed in 2001 that Rembrandt and other artists had used optical instruments to capture details and proportions with almost photographic accuracy such as the camera obscura, which projects an upside-down image into a darkened room.
"But I knew there was this hole in the theory, about self-portraits," O'Neill said, "because if they're using a camera obscura, where the subject is in the light and the artist is in the dark, how would they do self-portraits?"
British artist and optics researcher Francis O'Neill with a projection of his face on a copper plate, created by using a flat mirror and a concave mirror. (Image credit: Francis O'Neill)
In 2012, when O'Neill began painting his own self-portraits from his reflection in a flat mirror, he discovered how difficult it was to accurately paint his face while giving attention to both his reflection and his work on the canvas.
"By this stage, I'd been drawing for 20 years, and I'm teaching drawing ... but my skills did not transfer as well to the self-portrait as they did if I was drawing someone else," he said. "And I was thinking, 'How has Rembrandt done his best work in his self-portraits, if it is such a demanding physical discipline?' And so I thought, 'It has to be done this way [with optics].'"
Through the looking glass
After discussing his ideas with other artists, O'Neill began experimenting with a pair of cosmetic mirrors bought at a pharmacy one flat and one concave. He arranged them to project his reflection onto a metal surface so that the projected image would be as bright as possible.
At first, O'Neill used aluminum foil as the projection surface. "It wasn't the best surface, but you could achieve projections," he said. "And then I got myself some copper etching plate, and from there, I was able to make bigger and better projections and that convinced me that this was how it was done."
The research paper by O'Neill and Palazzo Corner details several combinations of subjects, mirrors and a projection surface that result in projected images that almost exactly match the physical measurements taken from a sample of Rembrandt's self-portraits.
A diagram of set-up for life-size self-portrait projections using a curved and a flat mirror. (Image credit: Journal of Optics)
The researchers also analyzed other features of Rembrandt's self-portraits that they think indicate he was using projections to guide his initial drawings and final paintings, including the off-center eye line an effect that O'Neill said was impossible to achieve accurately without using a flat mirror with a concave mirror or a refracting lens. [Gallery: Hidden Gems in Renaissance Art]
Even Rembrandt's famed use of contrasting light and dark regions, which art historians call "chiaroscuro," appears to be an artifact of the "soft focus" at the edges of a projected image. This results in very little detail where there is very little light, and a lot of detail in areas that are strongly lit, O'Neill said.
Secrets of the Old Masters
O'Neill said some art historians criticized his research; no historical record exists of Rembrandt ever using mirrors or other types of optics to help him create his paintings, they argued. But O'Neill pointed out that leading artists of the time were often secretive about their techniques, and said the historical evidence for his theory can be found by examining the paintings.
Meanwhile, work by Hockney, Falco and other researchers has demonstrated that knowledge of optical techniques, such as the use of curved mirrors and camera obscuras, was known to artists in Europe from as early as the 1350s, O'Neill said.
The new research supports the ideas proposed by Hockney and Falco that the development of optical instruments and techniques in Europe after the 14th century had a profound impact on Western art, as they did on scientific thought, O'Neill said.
"This becomes really obvious having studied it, that the invention of the lens gives mankind the possibility of seeing their position in the world," he said. "So they see the stars, and astronomy begins in earnest; they start to look through microscopes, so they're seeing the minutiae of the world. They're seeing the enormity of space, and they're seeing their own position in the world, because they are using lenses to look at themselves."
Original article on Live Science.
Tough lessons
(Image credit: Patricia Marroquin | Shutterstock.com)
Things don't always work the way they were intended to work. Sometimes those failures are almost imperceptible as they build incrementally, and other times, they happen in a terrible, overwhelming instant.
"You could argue, legitimately, that engineering is the study of failure, or at least consideration of ways to avoid it," said Benjamin Gross, the Associate Vice President for Collections at the Linda Hall Library in Kansas City, Missouri, which specializes in science, engineering and technology.
These catastrophes are reminders that "engineering is a human activity," Gross told Live Science. "Disasters of this sort aren't just based around the technologies."
And so, when calamity strikes, people often ask three questions: "What went wrong? Who's to blame? What could have been done differently?" Gross said. Given the complexity of modern engineering projects, answers can be hard to find, but they may influence and improve the next attempts to cross the great expanses.
Here are 10 of the worst engineering disasters in U.S. history.
Hyatt Regency walkway collapse (1981)
On July 17, 1981, the suspended walkways collapsed at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. The accident killed 114 people and injured another 200 guests. (Image credit: Dr. Lee Lowery, Jr., P.E.)
On July 1, 1980, the newly constructed Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, opened to the public. The hotel featured several suspended walkways crossing its multistory atrium. Preliminary plans called for the fourth-floor walkway to hang from the ceiling, connected by steel rods. In that design, the rods would barely hold the weight of the walkway itself, and would not have passed local building codes. Those supports were included in the final construction, and to make matters worse, the second-floor walkway was suspended from the fourth-floor walkway directly above it, doubling the load on those parts.
On July 17, 1981, the hotel was crowded for a dance. The linked walkways crashed to the dancefloor, killing 114 people and injuring another 200 revelers. The structural engineer in charge of the walkways blamed the design flaw on a breakdown in communication, but the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse has become a popular case study in the ethics of engineering.
Johnstown Flood (1889)
On May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam broke, unleashing 20 million tons of water from the artificial Lake Conemaugh. (Image credit: Andrews, E. Benjamin. History of the United States, volume V. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. 1912.)
On May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam broke, unleashing 20 million tons of water from the artificial Lake Conemaugh. The city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania was 14 miles (23 kilometers) down the Conemaugh River, and the waters destroyed 4 square miles (10 square kilometers) of the city's downtown. In total, the flood killed 2,209 people, and bodies were later found as far away as Cincinnati.
The dam was owned by the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, which counted many of Pittsburgh's financial elite among its members. In the aftermath, the tragedy was publicly blamed on the club's failure to properly maintain the dam, but courts maintained it was an "act of God."
Space Shuttle Challenger (1986)
The space shuttle Challenger STS-51L spaceflight ended in tragedy on Jan. 28, 1986 73 seconds after liftoff. (Image credit: NASA.)
The 25th flight of the space shuttle Challenger, STS-51L lasted just 73 seconds on Jan. 28, 1986. Shortly after liftoff, smoke briefly appeared at a joint on the right rocket booster. After a minute, flames appeared near the same location and spread. Seventy-two seconds after launch, the shuttle was obscured by white smoke, followed by an explosive fireball. The seven crewmembers aboard Challenger were killed.
An investigation into the accident, the Rogers Commission Report, determined that the O-rings used in a joint seal on the rockets were inappropriate for the ambient temperature at the time of launch: 36 degrees Fahrenheit (2.2 degrees Celsius). In the cold, the rings reacted differently to the compressive forces of liftoff. The commission found that some engineers were aware of the issue, and had advised against launches in ambient air temperatures below 53 degrees Fahrenheit (12 degrees Celsius).
Tacoma Narrows Bridge (1940)
On Nov. 7, 1940, the newly built Tacoma Narrows Bridge swayed and collapsed in 42 mph winds. (Image credit: Public domain)
Spanning a section of the Puget Sound in Washington, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge became the third-longest suspension bridge in the world upon its completion in 1940. But its ambitious design lighter, thinner and more flexible, with the deepest ever piers driven into the waters below overlooked the winds that would often buffet the bridge.
Wind caused the bridge to move, creating an undulation that ran its length. When a cable snapped, that wave combined with a twisting motion, known as torsional flutter, that kept building upon itself. The bridge collapsed on Nov. 7, 1940, just four months after it opened to traffic. There were no human fatalities, but the accident spurred interest in modeling the effects of wind on large structures.
New Orleans Levees (2005)
(Image credit: Patricia Marroquin | Shutterstock.com)
When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005, it killed hundreds of people and displaced many thousands more. The levees surrounding the city became a point of scrutiny in the aftermath of the destruction. A report from a team that included engineers from the University of California, Berkeley and the American Society of Civil Engineers identified several types of flaws in the levees soon after the hurricane hit.
As waters rose over the tops of levees, also known as overtopping, they eroded unprotected embankments on the other side, weakening the walls. Engineers also found weak points where different sections of flood protection met. Major breaches also occurred where it appears the levees may have been built on poor foundation soil that was vulnerable to storm surge.
The rebuilding of the levees, and with them the city of New Orleans, have sparked debate over how infrastructure should account for natural disasters.
St. Francis Dam (1928)
Photo of the St. Francis Dam before it was destroyed. (Image credit: Public Domain)
The St. Francis Dam was completed in 1926 to provide water for the booming population of Los Angeles. Overnight on March 12, 1928, the dam failed, washing out its contents 52 miles (84 km) to the ocean. The accident officially killed 432 people, but an unknown number of Mexican migrant laborers were also caught in the flood zone. The failure of the St. Francis Dam has been called the deadliest engineering disaster of the 20th century.
Although there were aspects of the design and construction that would be questionable today, engineers didn't fully account for the geological features of the dam site. An ancient landslide created the chokepoint in the San Francisquito Canyon, which made it both an excellent location for a dam and a poor foundation for the structure.
Space Shuttle Columbia (2003)
Space shuttle Columbia launched into orbit on Jan. 16, 2003. The shuttle was scheduled to land on Feb. 1, 2003, but foam damage caused the orbiter to disintegrate over Texas as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere. (Image credit: NASA)
The space shuttle Columbia launched on its 113th flight, STS-107, on Jan. 16, 2003. The day after launch, a scheduled review of takeoff footage revealed that foam debris from the external fuel tank had struck the left wing of the shuttle. Similar debris had been seen in previous takeoffs. Repeated requests to capture detailed images of the spacecraft in orbit to assess the extent of the damage were denied. On Flight Day 8, NASA's Mission Control informed the crew of the debris impact, and reported that there was absolutely no concern for entry" with regards to the heat-resistant tile paneling on the shuttle's wing.
Columbia was scheduled to land on Feb. 1, 2003, after 16 days in orbit. As the shuttle re-entered Earth's atmosphere and passed over California, ground observers saw a bright trail of debris trailing the ship. By the time the space shuttle flew over Texas, communication with the crew was failing. Soon after, Columbia disintegrated midflight, killing its seven-person crew.
The Columbia Accident Investigations Board, set up to investigate what went wrong, concluded that organizational issues contributed to the fatal incident. The panel, which released its report in August 2003, made specific recommendations (such as better pre-flight inspection routines) to improve the safety of future shuttle flights.
Ford Pinto (1971-1976)
(Image credit: Steve Lagreca | Shutterstock.com)
When the Pinto made its debut, the Ford Motor Company knew their new car design wasn't perfect. The fuel tank was easily punctured by nearby bolts, which left the vehicle susceptible to bursting into flames in the event of a rear-end collision.
But, the Ford Pinto, marketed for the model years 1971 to 1980, was conceived as an inexpensive, high-performance subcompact car, and that vision did not include safety as a selling point. And so, a decision was made, weighing the cost of $11 in parts per vehicle against the risk and expense of litigation over death and serious injury. The eventual adoption of new safety standards in the 1977 model year forced Ford to alter the design of the Pinto.
Three Mile Island (1979)
(Image credit: A. L. Spangler | Shutterstock.com)
At 4:00 a.m. on March 28, 1979, a water pump in one of the nuclear power generators at Three Mile Island, in central Pennsylvania, malfunctioned. Some of the facility's safety procedures worked as intended for example, a failsafe stopped the fission process in the reactor in response to an overheating steam generator but workers forgot to open the valve for the emergency water pump after testing it just days earlier.
As a result, there was no water flowing to the steam generator (water creates steam for a turbine and cools parts of the generator). Eventually, the entire system overheated, causing a partial meltdown.
The accident exposed the public to some radiation, about 3- to 6-months worth of normal background radiation dose in the region, according to a report from Dickinson College. But during the tense 10 days until the situation was brought under control, public attention centered on fears of a more dramatic event, such as an explosion in the reactor.
Love Canal (1978)
A protest about the Love Canal contamination by a resident. (Image credit: EPA)
From 1942 to 1952, a 2-mile-long (3.2 kilometers) ditch once planned as the beginnings of a canal was used as a hazardous waste landfill. In 1953, after dumping more than 21,000 tons of hazardous chemicals into the would-be canal, the Hooker Chemical Company covered the dump site in the Love Canal area of Niagara Falls, New York. Houses and a public elementary school were subsequently built in the surrounding acreage.
Over time, it became evident that the landfill had been managed improperly. In the 1960s, residents began noticing the effects of contamination. There were noxious odors and later, elevated rates of cancers and birth defects. In 1978, heavy rains unearthed leaking drums of chemicals, which pooled in foul, burning puddles throughout the neighborhood, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The response from the state and federal governments was unprecedented, and the site became influential in the acknowledgment of the public health threat posed by improperly stored industrial chemical waste. In 2004, the Love Canal site was removed from the EPA's Superfund List, which catalogues polluted locations that require long-term cleanup efforts.
An outbreak of anthrax that has killed more than 2,000 reindeer and sickened 13 people in Siberia has been linked to 75-year-old anthrax spores released by melting permafrost.
It's an event of the sort many scientists have warned about: Warming temperatures reviving dormant diseases, perhaps even pathogens long-thought extinct. There are, however, ways to protect both livestock and humans from an anthrax infection, and the current outbreak is likely to end quickly, said George Stewart, a medical bacteriologist at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine.
"This particular outbreak is going to fizzle out very quickly now that public health officials are in place," Stewart told Live Science. [Zombie Animals: 5 Real-Life Cases of Body-Snatching]
Zombie diseases
The anthrax currently infecting reindeer and people in western Siberia likely came from the carcass of a reindeer that died in an anthrax outbreak 75 years ago and has been frozen ever since until an unusually warm summer thawed permafrost across the region this year, according to local officials.
Bacillus anthracis, the bacteria that cause anthrax, are capable of surviving in the soil for centuries, so it's no surprise that melting permafrost could resurrect a long-dormant plague, Stewart said. Anthrax spreads through soil. Grazing animals pick up the bacteria, which quickly gain a toehold and start reproducing like mad in the animals' blood. Unlike many pathogens, which aim to keep the host alive long enough to reproduce, anthrax wants to kill, and it produces toxins to do so, Stewart said. That's because anthrax demands a dead and decomposing host to spread: Once oxygen enters the rotting animal, the bacteria transform into spores.
"Spores are basically a bacterial cell in a really tough protein shell," Stewart said. They're in a state of suspended animation, and they stay that way in the soil until another grazer accidentally ingests them.
In the United States, anthrax occasionally pops up along the cattle trails of the Old West, Stewart said, because cows stricken with anthrax were left to rot.
Because anthrax is so hardy, it's no surprise that it could survive in permafrost. Researchers warned in 2011 in the journal Global Health Action that outbreaks such as this one could become common as the remains of livestock killed in earlier outbreaks thaw. There are also fears that other pathogens may lurk in the frozen soil of Siberia. In 2015, researchers discovered that a 30,000-year-old virus isolated from permafrost was still infectious (though, fortunately, not dangerous to humans).
Human infection
The humans infected with anthrax in the Siberia outbreak likely got it from butchering and eating infected animals, Stewart said. There are three forms of human anthrax, he said. About 80 percent of cases are cutaneous, or introduced through the skin. These cases are eminently treatable with antibiotics and have a mortality rate of 10 to 20 percent if left untreated.
Pulmonary anthrax occurs when the spores are inhaled. Without treatment, pulmonary anthrax is almost always fatal, Stewart said. During the 2001 anthrax attacks, in which someone mailed anthrax spores to politicians and news media offices, 22 people were infected and five died.
The rarest form of human anthrax, gastrointestinal anthrax, is the form that has sickened people in Siberia, killing one 12-year-old boy. It's hard to pinpoint the mortality rate of gastrointestinal anthrax, because it's rare and people usually aren't diagnosed until late in the disease, Stewart said. But if left untreated, this form probably causes between 50 and 75 percent of patients to die. According to local news reports, 90 nomadic people have been tested for the disease as a precaution so that anyone who is infected can start treatment quickly.
In places where anthrax is a known threat, cattle get vaccinations, Stewart said. Outbreaks can also be quelled by burning livestock that died of the disease, or burying corpses very deep in the ground so that spores won't penetrate to the surface.
Original article on Live Science.
The only complete skeleton of the newfound whale species is on display at Unalaska High School, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands. The whale was found in 2004, and students helped prepare the specimen.
The discovery of a new species of rare and elusive whale in the North Pacific shows how little humans know about the deep and vast ocean, researchers say.
The 24-foot-long (7 meters) beaked whale is full of mystery, said the study's lead researcher, Phillip Morin, a molecular geneticist at Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California.
"We've only ever seen it from dead animals that have washed up on the beach," Morin told Live Science. "We only get bits and pieces of evidence from each of these animals." [Whale Album: Giants of the Deep]
A skull of the newly identified species that's been housed at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., since 1948. Back then, researchers thought it was another species of whale. (Image credit: Charles Potter U.S. National Museum of Natural History)
The still-unnamed whale lives in the cold Pacific waters spanning from northern Japan to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, the researchers said.
The whale came to the scientists' attention after they read a 2013 study describing three mysterious dead whales that had washed ashore in northern Japan. The specimens were genetically distinct from the common Baird beaked whale (Berardius bairdii), which lives in the North Pacific, but the study researchers weren't sure whether it was a completely new species.
The whales certainly looked different. Baird whales have slate-gray-hued bodies and are fairly large, measuring up to 40 feet (12 m) long, Morin said. In contrast, the newfound whale was about two-thirds that size and black, prompting Japanese whalers to call it karasu, the Japanese word for raven.
Genetic plunge
To investigate, Morin and his colleagues scoured museum collections for specimens of beaked whales. A DNA analysis of 178 beaked whales from the Pacific Rim (a coastal region circling the Pacific) yielded eight of the mystery whales, he said.
The whale carcass discovered in 2004 was measured by Reid Brewer, an associate professor of fisheries technology at the University of Alaska Southeast. (Image credit: Don Graves)
The team also analyzed the tissue of two black whales that had washed ashore one in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands, whose skeleton now hangs in Unalaska High School in Alaska, and another found on the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea. Interestingly, many scientists thought that these black whales were either juvenile or dwarf Baird whales, but the specimen from the Pribilof Islands had teeth that were worn and yellow in color, indicating that it was an adult, Morin said.
Genetic tests of these two whales verified that the black whale was a previously unidentified species, Morin said. He added that the black whale has a "slightly different shape of head and placement of the dorsal fin" than the Baird whales do, but scientists will need to study a live animal, or at least find a well-preserved dead one, before commenting on its anatomy, he said.
Those beached whales also had cookie-cutter-like bites on their bodies that looked like shark bites, suggesting that they migrate to tropical waters, Morin said.
Whale cousins
The DNA analysis revealed that the new species belongs to the same genus as the Baird whale but that it's actually more closely related to another whale within that genus, the Arnoux's beaked whale (Berardius arnuxii), which lives in the South Pacific. [High-Res Satellites Help Track Whale Populations]
More research is needed, but Morin hypothesized that the whales had a common ancestor before they split into two species B. arnuxii in the South Pacific and the newly identified species in the north. B. bairdii likely evolved later, but more evidence is needed to say for sure, Morin said.
An illustration of the newfound whale species, which measures about two-thirds of the length of the Baird beaked whale. (Image credit: Uko Gorter Natural History Illustration)
Now that researchers are aware of the newfound species, they can work to protect it.
"The implication of a new species of beaked whale is that we need to reconsider management of both species to be sure they're sufficiently protected, considering how rare the new one appears to be," study co-author Erich Hoyt, a research fellow with Whale and Dolphin Conservation in the United Kingdom, said in a statement.
The study was published online July 26 in the journal Marine Mammal Science.
Original article on Live Science.
Skydiver Luke Aikins became the first person to jump from a plane without a parachute or wingsuit this past weekend, carrying out the daring stunt on live television. Aikins jumped from a height of 25,000 feet (7,600 meters) and, after a two-minute fall, flipped onto his back to land in a 100-foot-by-100-foot (30 m by 30 m) net, according to news reports. How did the daredevil pull off such a heart-stopping stunt?
To accomplish such a jump with a parachute, a skydiver would typically jump from the plane, free-fall at 120 mph (190 km/h) or faster and then, at higher than 2,500 feet (760 m) above the ground, deploy the parachute, according to Nancy Koreen, spokeswoman for the U.S. Parachute Association. The parachute works to slow the skydiver's descent enough for a safe landing, she told Live Science.
Without a parachute, a skydiver would continue to fall at 120 mph, a speed at which it would be fatal if the person hit the ground, she said. However, instead of hitting the ground, Aikins fell into a net in Simi Valley, California, reported CBS News. "That was what he used to survive," Koreen said. [8 Craziest Skydives of All Time]
But did Aikins' movements, such as flipping onto his back or tumbling in the air, slow his fall? Not by much, Koreen said. To slow down, a skydiver can spread his or her limbs to increase surface area, but "that will only slow you down maybe 10 miles an hour [16 km/h] not substantially. You're still falling above 100 miles an hour [160 km/h]," Koreen said.
Yet, even in a jump without a parachute or wingsuit, locating a landing site (in this case, a large net) is not as difficult as people may think, said Jean Potvin, a professor of physics at the Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology at Saint Louis University in Missouri.
"And obviously he practiced that move a lot," Potvin told Live Science.
Finding the net
Aikins' helmet gave him GPS alerts throughout the dive, and lights on the net, visible from altitudes of more than 25,000 feet (7,600 m), turned red when he was off-track and white when he was on course, according to CBS News.
Still, finding the net is not as simple as jumping out of a plane directly above the target and falling straight down, Potvin said. The plane is moving forward at the time of the jump, which means the skydiver leaves the plane on a forward trajectory, Potvin said, speculating that Aikins probably jumped from the plane before it flew over the net.
So how does a falling skydiver steer his body toward a target on the ground? Aikins' maneuvers in the air were efforts to do just that, Potvin said. As Aikins falls from the plane, he does something called "tracking."
"Instead of falling like an X he brought his arms back along his body, and so we call that tracking, so it means that what he did there is he started to glide forward and direct himself to the center of the net," Potvin said. Skydivers can also direct themselves backward, he added. [Photos: Skydiver Sean MacCormac 'Surfs' on Thunderstorm Clouds]
Safe landing
And just before hitting the net, Aikins flipped over onto his back so that his body would bend in the direction the back is flexible toward the front, Potvin said. "[Aikins] had to land on his back to not break his spine, basically," he said.
A skydiver falling at high speed has a lot of kinetic energy, and that energy has to transfer somewhere upon landing, Potvin said. If you hit the ground, the kinetic energy is "dissipated into the ground, then reflected back into your body and breaks your body into a million pieces," he said.
But the net, made of a polyethylene cord that is twice strong as steel, prevented that from happening, reported National Geographic (opens in new tab).
"The net absorbed his fall, dissipated his energy, and allowed him to survive the jump and actually walk out of it," Potvin said.
Potvin, who is a skydiver himself, said he was impressed by the feat. But not everyone was captivated by Aikins' jump.
Michael Turoff, a skydiver and co-author of the book "Parachuting: The Skydiver's Handbook" (Para Publishing, 2007), called it "a ridiculously dangerous stunt that could have easily resulted in a fatality."
Original article on Live Science.
A new prototype display could enable people to watch 3D movies from any seat in the theater, without having to wear 3D glasses.
Someday, moviegoers may be able to watch 3D films from any seat in a theater without having to wear 3D glasses, thanks to a new kind of movie screen.
The new technology, named Cinema 3D, overcomes some of the barriers to implementing glasses-free 3D viewing on a larger scale, but it's not commercially viable yet, the researchers said when describing their findings.
Although 3D movies can offer unique perspectives and experiences, one major drawback is the cumbersome eyewear that moviegoers typically have to wear. Although glasses-free 3D strategies already exist, these technologies currently cannot be scaled up to movie theaters. [10 Technologies That Will Transform Your Life]
For example, glasses-free 3D methods for TV sets often use a series of slits known as a parallax barrier that is placed in front of the screen. These slits allow each eye to see a different set of pixels, creating the illusion of depth.
However, for parallax barriers to work, they must be placed at a set distance from viewers. This makes parallax barriers difficult to implement in larger spaces such as theaters, where people can sit at a variety of distances and angles from the screen.
In addition, glasses-free 3D displays have to account for the different positions from which people are watching. This means that they have to divide up the limited number of pixels they project so that each viewer sees an image from wherever he or she is located, the researchers said.
"Existing approaches to glasses-free 3D require screens whose resolution requirements are so enormous that they are completely impractical," study co-author Wojciech Matusik, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, said in a statement.
But in the new method, the researchers used a series of mirrors and lenses to essentially give viewers a parallax barrier tailored to each of their positions.
"By careful design of optical elements, we can achieve very-good-quality 3D content without using glasses," study co-author Piotr Didyk, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics and Saarland University, both in Germany, told Live Science.
"This is the first technical approach that allows for glasses-free 3D on a large scale," Matusik said in a statement.
In addition, the scientists reasoned that instead of displaying images to every position in a theater, they would need to display images only to a relatively tiny set of viewing positions at each theater seat.
"In our solution, we exploit the layout of the audience in a cinema," Didyk said.
The scientists developed a simple Cinema 3D prototype that could support a 200-pixel image. In experiments, volunteers could see 3D versions of pixelated figures from a number of different seats in a small theater.
The scientists cautioned that Cinema 3D is currently impractical to implement commercially. For instance, their prototype requires 50 sets of mirrors and lenses, but the screen is just barely larger than a pad of paper. The researchers hope to build a larger version of their display and further boost the image resolution.
"It remains to be seen whether the approach is financially feasible enough to scale up to a full-blown theater," Matusik said in a statement. "But we are optimistic that this is an important next step in developing glasses-free 3D for large spaces like movie theaters and auditoriums."
The scientists detailed their findings July 26 at the SIGGRAPH computer graphics conference in Anaheim, California.
Original article on Live Science.
Government spokesman, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmush, told the press that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is being restructured in order to prevent power from being focused in a singular institution, Daily sabah reported.
Asserting that the restructuring of the TSK has a well-prepared plan, Kurtulmush said on Monday after the Cabinet meeting that the aim is to empower civic authority. "The new regulations intends to prevent the [power over the] armed forces from being amassed by a single institution. In this regard, the Gendarmerie General Command and Coast Guard Command will become subordinate to the Interior Ministry and the [Land, Air and Naval] Forces Commands and General Staff will be subordinate to the National Defense Ministry and the president, respectively. The military schools have been closed. The preparations to transform the military into a professional one are underway," Kurtulmush said.
Talking about the reasons for the reforms, Kurtulmush said: "We have to prevent the TSK from being abused as means for coups. The system is structured in a way that allows coups. We are working on a new system in which no one will ever think of launching a coup. The TSK will be modernized, rendering it more powerful in protecting our country." Kurtulmush added that Turkey will continue to fight terror and terrorist organizations with the "utmost determination."
Responding to Pope Francis' statement that he does not know what exactly is going on in Turkey, Kurtulmush asserted that the pope should send an envoy to Turkey and ask the people about the July 15 coup attempt. "Ask any person walking on the streets," Kurtulmush said, "almost all of them will say that it was done by FETO.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.2
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Operations against the supporters of Fethullah Gulen are underway in Turkeys Petkim petrochemical holding, the Anadolu Agency reported Aug.2
Currently, searches are being held in the campus on the territory of Petkim.
No other details of the operation have been reported.
Earlier, Vagif Aliyev, head of the board of directors of Petkim said that 27 people have been dismissed from various departments at Petkim petrochemical holding (SOCARs Turkish asset) since July 27.
Moreover, former director general of Petkim petrochemical holding Sadeddin Korkut was detained over the complaint of the companys high-ranking official who was dismissed earlier.
Sadeddin Korkut was dismissed from his post and Anar Mammadov, who is also head of SOCAR Greece (SOCARs Greek subsidiary), replaced him.
Earlier, some officials of SOCAR Turkey Energy (Turkish subsidiary of SOCAR) resigned.
Among those resigned are Omer Adsiz, director of public relations department at SOCAR Turkey, Ilgar Mehmetoglu, director of the companys human resources department, Cetin Korkut, director of the companys IT department, as well as Fuat Ulagay, director of human resources department at Star refinery.
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Longford doesn't need any more sprawling estates according to one local councillor who spoke in the wake of the announcement of the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness last week.
The document, among other things, sets out an objective to deliver 47,000 social housing units by 2021, with an investment of 5.35 billion.
Speaking to the Leader, Cllr Gerry Warnock said that Longford doesn't need any more 'sprawling estates' but the focus should be on regenerating existing estates and think outside the box to create communities, not units.
Responding to An Taoiseach Enda Kenny's claims at the launch of the plan that local authorities fell short in terms of building social housing, Cllr Warnock said that the Taoiseach's comments were disingenuous to a high degree.
The Taoiseach failed to refer to the bureaucratic hoops local authorities have to jump through to in order to draw down capital funding, Cllr Warnock stated. If he is so confident that the money is there, let him direct the department to electronically transfer these funds to the 31 local authorities capital accounts as a matter of urgency.
Cllr Warnock went on to add that councils are drip-fed funding and that he would respect the man more if he was upfront and admitted that part of the reason we find ourselves where we're at is because local authorities have been starved of capital investment in housing for decades, in favor of Approved Housing Bodies.
Cllr Mae Sexton also rejected criticism of local authorities in relation to housing.
I dont think we need to build any more houses, she said adding that she was calling for more funding for refurbish social housing that was currently boarded up.
Cllr Sexton told the Leader that there are over 100 houses out of commission around the county, the majority in Longford town, and she felt that this was a better deployment of resources.
We do not want to see new houses being built under the guise of regeneration because we already have too many houses in the wrong locations, she pointed out.
On the issue of boarded-up houses, Longford/Westmeath Deputy Kevin 'Boxer' Moran is urging the local authority to avail of a 60m fund, as part of the plan, which would assist in the restoration of these vacant council houses.
Longford County Council has a problem with vacant or what is termed void houses that they are having difficulty in refurbishing and are currently out of use, said Deputy Moran.
According to Deputy Moran, some 5,000 social houses were returned to productive use between 2014 and 2015 where 60m from the Exchequer helped local authorities to tackle the problem .
Local News, Travel & Local Attractions, Press Releases
By Long Island News & PR Published: August 02 2016
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today unveiled a new Watkins Glen International license plate, available for order beginning Thursday, August 4.
Albany, NY - August 1, 2016 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today unveiled a new Watkins Glen International license plate, available for order beginning Thursday, August 4. The plate is the newest addition to DMVs NASCAR custom plate series and features the WGI and NASCAR logos with a checkered flag background. The announcement coincides with the 2016 Cheez-It 355 at the Glen New York States only NASCAR race and one of the highlights of Upstate tourism every summer. The Glen supports Governor Cuomos commitment to tourism, which recently reached a new record-high economic impact in New York State of $102 billion an increase of 25 percent since 2010.
The new Watkins Glen license plate celebrates New Yorks strong partnership with this award-winning NASCAR racetrack, Governor Cuomo said. New York is proud to host this world-class event at the Glen, which attracts motorsport enthusiasts and drives tourism in the Southern Tier. I encourage racing fans to stop by the DMV exhibit on the Midway during this weekends events and take advantage of the services they have to offer.
Personnel from DMV will also be on hand to personally sell the newly-issued plate to NASCAR fans for the first time. DMV staff will help visitors order additional custom plates, renew their registrations, assist with address changes, schedule road and vision tests, and complete web transactions.
DMV Executive Deputy Commissioner Terri Egan said, DMV is excited to once again partner with Watkins Glen and make this plate available to racing fans all over the state who make the venue a destination each year. The Glen is a perfect venue for DMV staff to interact with its customers and promote tourism at the same time. I thank Governor Cuomo for providing DMV with this opportunity to connect with customers statewide, and I encourage New Yorkers to order this plate to show their support for the Glen.
Watkins Glen International President Michael Printup said, We are thrilled to unveil this Watkins Glen International license plate. The timing couldnt be better with New York States largest sporting event, The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Cheez-It 355, less than a week away. Wed like to thank Governor Andrew Cuomo and his office for their unyielding support of Watkins Glen International and tourism in our region and state as a whole.
In 2015, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul and DMV partnered at WGIs Cheez-It 355 to launch a redesigned customer NASCAR license plate series. The redesigned custom NASCAR license plate series, which can be found and ordered here , reflects the changing the number of drivers and their racing colors, and has made Danica Patricks updated custom plate available for order August 4. There are now 11 NASCAR designs for fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Danica Patrick, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, as well as the Dale Earnhardt NASCAR Hall of Fame, NASCAR fan, and Richard Petty Historical plates. All NASCAR plates are available in both passenger and commercial classes.
The initial fee for these special plates is $60, with an annual renewal for $31.25. Personalized NASCAR plates carry an initial fee of $91.25 with an annual renewal fee of $62.50, in addition to the vehicle registration fee. Like NASCAR plate holders, WGI plate holders are billed for the plates every two years upon registration renewal.
In addition to the Watkins Glen plate and the updated Danica Patrick plate, DMV will make several other redesigned license plates available for order , including:
Airborne
Association of Former NYS Troopers, Inc.
Eighth Air Force Historical Society
Land Surveyors
Lions Club
Marine Corps League passenger/commercial
Marine Corps League motorcycle
World War II Veterans
Music, Movies & Entertainment, Local News, Press Releases, Seasonal & Current Events
By Long Island News & PR Published: August 02 2016
Nassau County will host CBS Presents Saturday in the Park featuring Taylor Dayne and Eddie Money on Saturday, August 13th.
East Meadow, NY - July 29, 2016 - Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano announced today that Nassau County will host CBS Presents Saturday in the Park featuring Taylor Dayne and Eddie Money on Saturday, August 13th at the Harry Chapin Lakeside Theatre in Eisenhower Park. The show will begin at 8:00 p.m.; admission is free.
Taylor Dayne stands out as one of musics most dynamic artists of all time. Her unique vocal style has earned her numerous best-selling gold and platinum albums, which produced seventeen Top 20 singles, among them number one hits such as Tell It To My Heart, Love Will Lead You Back and Prove Your Love To Me. During the course of her career, Taylor has sold more than 75 million albums and singles worldwide, garnered three GRAMMY nominations and appeared in many film, television, and Broadway stage roles such as Elton Johns, Aida.
After signing a recording contract with Columbia Records, Eddie Money burst onto the scene with his eponymous debut album in 1977. Fans immediately fell in love with Moneys sound, and the album, which went double platinum, featured hits like Baby Hold On and Two Tickets to Paradise. Money followed the success of his debut album with a stream of Top 40 hits, as well as some of the eras most creative videos for songs like Think Im in Love and Shakin. In 1986, Money released Cant Hold Back, which featured the classic, Grammy-Nominated duet with Ronnie Spector, Take Me Home Tonight. The song reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album went platinum and also featured the hit I Wanna Go Back.
Much of the Nassau County Parks Department programming for July, August and September is funded through the Nassau County Hotel/Motel Proceeds Grant. These funds are made available to us through proceeds from taxes on hotel and motel rooms in Nassau County. Since 2006, Nassau County has received over ten million dollars from this grant, and it has assisted in historic building restoration and other cultural enhancements.
The concert is free of charge and will take place at the Harry Chapin Lakeside Theatre, near Parking Fields 6 and 6A. Special accommodations are available for persons with disabilities, including reserved parking, accessible restrooms, and a convenient reserved location on the hill. Assistive hearing devices will be available free of charge for the hearing impaired. There is no formal seating at Lakeside, so concertgoers are urged to bring folding chairs or blankets. If weather conditions are doubtful, call (516) 572-0200 after 6:30 p.m. for updated performance information.
Eisenhower Park is located in East Meadow, with entrances on Hempstead Turnpike at East Meadow Avenue and at the intersection of Stewart and Merrick Avenues. For further information, please call the Nassau County Parks, Recreation and Museums Department at: (516) 572-0200, or visit the website.
Local News, Crime, Business & Finance, Press Releases
By Long Island News & PR Published: August 02 2016
Report identifies several fundamental flaws in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Schneiderman: Today's charges reveal a flagrant disregard for the well-being and safety of New Yorkers, and my office will not tolerate it.
New York, NY - August 1, 2016 - Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced today the unsealing of a 50-count indictment charging Matthew Pappalardo and his former employer, HiRise Engineering, P.C., with allegedly altering engineering reports prepared in connection with the assessment of structural damage of residential properties resulting from Superstorm Sandy. Pappalardo and HiRise Engineering, P.C. (HiRise) are charged with 25 counts of Forgery in the Second Degree, a class D Felony; Pappalardo is also charged with 25 counts of Unauthorized Practice of Engineering, a class E Felony. In addition, Attorney General Schneiderman also announced today the release of a report identifying several fundamental flaws in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which includes recommendations to increase transparency and accountability.
Fraudulently altering engineering reports undermines the integrity of the entire FEMA claims process, which homeowners and families rely upon in a time of crisis. Todays charges reveal a flagrant disregard for the well-being and safety of New Yorkers, and my office will not tolerate it, said Attorney General Schneiderman. Along with our criminal investigation, my office has also released a reported calling on federal regulators and industry participants to enact reforms to ensure that the insurance claims process is more transparent, which will help protect homeowners against the alleged fraud that we have uncovered. When the next major storm hits, its crucial that families know exactly what kind of damage is covered by insurance, and that their claims are being handled professionally and reliably.
In June 2014, counsel for owners of residential properties in New York that had incurred damage as a result of Superstorm Sandy reported alleged fraudulent alterations in engineering reports to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). In December 2014, the OAGs Criminal Enforcement and Financial Crimes Bureau commenced a criminal investigation into the suspected unlicensed practice of professional engineering and forgery of engineering reports by engineering firms operating in Nassau County and elsewhere in New York.
According to statements made by prosecutors at arraignment, after Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, HiRise, a Uniondale-based engineering firm, was contracted to perform structural engineering assessments for properties covered under the National Flood Insurance Program. HiRise, in turn, retained numerous licensed professional engineers to perform house inspections and prepare engineering reports.
According to prosecutors, the original reports authored by the on-the-ground, subcontracted professional engineers were allegedly altered by employees of HiRise, under the direction of project manager Pappalardo. Pappalardo and the other HiRise employees who made the alterations to the original reports did not personally inspect the damaged buildings and were not licensed to practice engineering in New York State. The altered reports were then allegedly submitted by HiRise, and ultimately provided to the adjusting firms, without the consent or approval of the underlying professional engineers. Federal flood claim administrators and adjusting firms then relied on these reports as part of their evaluation of coverage under the NFIP.
Pappalardo, 38, and Hi Rise were arraigned today in Nassau County Supreme Court before the Honorable Robert Vogle. Bail for Pappalardo was set at $20,000 cash over $40,000 bond.
The charges against the defendants are allegations and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
In addition to the crimes charged in Nassau County, the Attorney Generals investigation into the damage assessment process after Superstorm Sandy has also uncovered evidence of other crimes which fall outside the scope of New York States jurisdiction. As a result, the Attorney General has referred these findings to the United States Department of Justice.
The Attorney Generals Report, entitled Murky Waters: Increasing Transparency and Accountability in the National Flood Insurance Program, Findings and Recommendations in the Wake of Superstorm Sandy, identifies several fundamental flaws related to both the scope of coverage and the structural damage assessment process under the NFIP. The report also calls for the immediate implementation of specific reforms.
Flaws in the NFIP identified by the OAG include:
A lack of clarity in the scope of coverage under the Standard Flood Insurance Policy;
Inadequate training and lack of certification requirements for structural engineers retained in connection with flood claims; and
Poor administration and supervision of the flood claims process, including the failure to provide important documentation to policyholders.
Reforms to the NFIP recommended by OAG include:
Increase the transparency and clarify the scope of flood insurance coverage and any applicable exclusions, to provide consumers with a better understanding of what is and is not covered under their flood policy, through the creation of a plain language disclosure sheet;
Provide policyholders with all documents created during the course of the flood claim administration process and ultimately relied upon in determining payment or denial of a flood claim, including all final adjuster and engineering reports, as a matter of course;
Implement a national certification process for all engineers retained to provide structural damage assessments in the wake of a flood event; and
Ensure the transparency of fees paid to engineering experts by implementing a standardized fee schedule for all engineering services.
Attorney General Schneiderman thanks the United States Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General for their valuable assistance on this investigation, including Special Agent in Charge Gregory K. Null, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Julio Santana, Special Agent in Charge of Headquarters Michael Dawson, Special Agent George Heitz and Special Agent Steven Tseng.
Attorney General Schneiderman also thanks the New York State Education Department, Office of Professions for their valuable assistance on this investigation.
The OAG investigation was conducted by Senior Investigator Michael Leahy and Investigator Anna Ospanova. The Supervising Investigator is Sylvia Rivera and the Deputy Bureau Chief is John McManus. The Investigations Division is led by Chief Investigator Dominick Zarrella.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Joseph DArrigo and Robert Miller of the Attorney Generals Criminal Enforcement and Financial Crimes Bureau. The Bureau is led by Bureau Chief Gary T. Fishman and Deputy Bureau Chief Stephanie Swenton. The Division of Criminal Justice is led by Executive Deputy Attorney General Kelly Donovan.
The original Consumer Frauds investigation was handled Assistant Attorney General Melvin L. Goldberg of the Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau. The Bureau is led by Bureau Chief Jane Azia. The Division of Economic Justice is led by Executive Deputy Attorney General Manisha M. Sheth.
Crime, Press Releases
By Long Island News & PR Published: August 02 2016
The Homicide Squad reports the details of a Homicide that occurred on July 29, 2016 at 7:28 AM in Glen Cove.
Detectives request anyone with information regarding this crime to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.
Glen Cove, NY - August 2, 2016 - The Homicide Squad reports the details of a Homicide that occurred on July 29, 2016 at 7:28 AM in Glen Cove.
According to detectives, Glen Cove officers received a call for a male Hispanic, 25, with multiple stab wounds in the rear of Chama Restaurant located at 284 Glen Street. The victim, Pedro Orellana of Glen Cove was pronounced at scene at 0733 hours by Glen Cove EMS.
The investigation is ongoing.
Detectives request anyone with information regarding this crime to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases
By Don Miller Published: August 02 2016
Celebrities David & Raquel Castro join Petro Home Services' executives & staff, Island Harvest Food Bank personnel, and anti-hunger advocates at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Island Harvest Food Bank and Petro Home Services officials were joined by local celebrities David Castro and his sister Raquel at a ribbon-cutting ceremony unveiling one of four Petro Home Services moving billboards helping Island Harvest Food Bank to spread the word about hunger on Long Island.
Hauppauge, NY - August 2, 2016 - As part of its steadfast commitment to helping Island Harvest Food Bank end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island, Petro Home Services recently unveiled a customized tanker truck and a customized service van to help increase awareness of Island Harvest Food Bank and the issue of hunger on Long Island.
The brightly colored vehicles, branded with Petros and Island Harvests logos, feature a photo of children along with the message: Hunger Lives Here. So Does Hope. The vehicles will be placed in-service in Nassau and Suffolk counties as part of the companys existing fleet while serving as a mobile billboard for Island Harvest. Two additional vehicles will be placed in-service in the future.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony unveiling the vehicles, local celebrities David Castro, who is starring in the ABC show Shadowhunters, and his sister Raquel, who appeared in the Fox hit Empire, were on-hand along with officials from Island Harvest Food Bank, Petro Home Services, and local hunger-relief advocates.
Petro Home Services leadership understands the importance of being a good corporate citizen and supporting Island Harvest Food Bank in its mission to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island. In addition to the moving billboards, the company provides Island Harvest Food Bank with financial support to help more than 316,000 Long Islanders who face the risk of hunger every day, including adults (often working two jobs), seniors, veterans, and children. Approximately 70,000 individuals seek food assistance in Nassau and Suffolk counties each week through soup kitchens, food pantries and other feeding programs served by Island Harvest.
We feel it is an honor for our company to be able to support organizations such as Island Harvest. The services they provide to the communities of LI are important, and we are tremendously thankful for the work they do, said Jeff Hammond, Senior Vice President of Operations at Petro Home Services. So many of our employees and their families live here on Long Island and understand the importance of giving back to our local communities. Whether it is through food drives, monetary donations or being able to spread the word about Island Harvest by displaying their logo on our vehicles, we are glad to be a part of it mission to end hunger, and reduce food waste on Long Island.
Petro Home Services has taken an important leadership position working with Island Harvest Food Bank to help us provide food, and other vital services to more than 316,000 Long Island men, women, and children who rely on us each and every day, said Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO, Island Harvest Food Bank. Petro Home Services management and employees are proof that working together, we can make a positive impact in the lives of those who struggle to find enough to eat each day, and we are extremely grateful for their generous support.
About Hunger on Long Island
Hunger is a state in which people do not get enough food to provide the nutrients for active and healthy lives. It can result from the recurrent lack of access to food. More than 316,000 Long Islanders face the risk of hunger every day, according to Island Harvest Food Bank and Feeding America, a national hunger-relief organization. Those facing hunger include adults (often working two jobs), seniors and veterans. Unable to make ends meet, they (and their children) are often forced to go without food. Approximately 70,000 individuals seek food assistance in Nassau and Suffolk counties each week through soup kitchens, food pantries and other feeding programs served by Island Harvest Food Bank.
About Island Harvest Food Bank
Island Harvest Food Bank is a leading hunger-relief organization that provides food and other resources to people in need. Always treating those it helps with dignity and respect, its goal is to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island through efficient food collection and distribution; enhanced hunger-awareness and nutrition-education programs; job training; and direct services targeted at children, senior citizens, veterans and others at risk. Approximately 96 cents of every dollar donated to Island Harvest Food Bank goes to programs that support more than 316,000 Long Islanders. Island Harvest Food Bank is a lead agency in the regions emergency-response preparedness for food and product distribution, and is a member of Feeding America, the nations leading domestic hunger-relief organization. More information can be found at www.islandharvest.org.
Headline changed, details added (first version posted on 09:59)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.2
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Operations against the supporters of Fethullah Gulen are underway in Turkeys Petkim petrochemical holding, the Anadolu Agency reported Aug.2
Currently, searches are being held in the campus on the territory of Petkim.
No other details of the operation have been reported.
Earlier, Vagif Aliyev, head of the board of directors of Petkim said that 27 people have been dismissed from various departments at Petkim petrochemical holding (SOCARs Turkish asset) since July 27.
Moreover, former director general of Petkim petrochemical holding Sadeddin Korkut was detained over the complaint of the companys high-ranking official who was dismissed earlier.
Sadeddin Korkut was dismissed from his post and Anar Mammadov, who is also head of SOCAR Greece (SOCARs Greek subsidiary), replaced him.
Earlier, some officials of SOCAR Turkey Energy (Turkish subsidiary of SOCAR) resigned.
Among those resigned are Omer Adsiz, director of public relations department at SOCAR Turkey, Ilgar Mehmetoglu, director of the companys human resources department, Cetin Korkut, director of the companys IT department, as well as Fuat Ulagay, director of human resources department at Star refinery.
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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
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.2
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Turkish air missile defense commander, lieutenant general Mehmet Sanver has resigned, the Hurriyet newspaper reported Aug.2.
The reason for resignation was not specified.
A total of 110 generals have been dismissed from Turkeys armed forces after the military coup attempt in the country.
On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.
However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.
Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.
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Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.2
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Commander of the US Central Command Joseph Votel, who earlier said that the plotter generals in Turkey are friends of the US, has changed his position on the military coup attempt in the country, the Anadolu Agency reported Aug.2.
During the meeting with Turkeys Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Aug.1, Votel said that he personally condemns the military coup attempt in Turkey.
The US general said that his visit to Ankara and meeting with the countrys officials is the bright example of the US support to Turkish government.
On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.
However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.
Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.
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Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.2
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
As many as 250 judges and prosecutors have been arrested in Turkeys Istanbul city as part of the fight against the terrorist organization of Fethullah Gulen who was involved in the military coup attempt in the country, the Milliyet newspaper reported Aug.2.
Moreover, over 50 judges and prosecutors, who are accused of having ties to Gulen movement, have been put on the wanted list.
Reportedly, the people in the wanted list, have left Turkey.
It was earlier reported that the supporters of Fethullah Gulen have penetrated into several government bodies of Turkey.
On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.
However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.
Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.
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The Taliban denied reports that both its shadow governor for Helmand province and his military commander were killed in a US airstrike in the southern Afghan province of Helmand. The Afghan government has a questionable track record when reporting on the deaths of Taliban commanders.
The provincial governors office for Helmand announced today that Mullah Abdul Rahim and Commander Mustaqeem, the Talibans shadow governor for Helmand and his military commander, were killed in a US drone strike, Khaama Press reported. The airstrike purportedly targeted the two in the village of Zarghoon village in Nad Ali district.
The US military has not yet commented on the airstrike, but it has stepped up attacks on the Taliban leadership and other key nodes after the jihadist group has gained ground against government forces over the past year.
The Taliban, via one of its official spokesmen, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, quickly issued a denial that its top two leaders in Helmand were killed in an airstrike. Ahmadis statement was published on the Twitter account of Zabihullah Muhajid, another official spokesman for the Taliban. Ahmadi denied that the two Taliban leaders were killed and called the governments claims false rumors designed to detract from its military defeats in Helmand.
We strongly reject this propaganda, Ahmadi said in the statement.
The Talibans shadow governor for Helmand is Mullah Abdul Manan Akhund, not Mullah Abdul Rahim, as the Afghan government claimed. The shadow governor for Helmand was identified by the Taliban as Mullah Abdul Manan Akhund in 2015 after announcing the death of its emir, Mullah Omar, and again in 2016 after the death of Omars successor, Mullah Mansour. And in the statement released by Ahmadi, the shadow governor was also identified as Mullah Abdul Manan Akhund.
Additionally, Ahmadi released an audio clip purporting to be that of Helmands shadow governor, Mullah Manan. However it is unclear if the audio was recorded after the reports of Mullah Manans death.
In the audio, the Taliban claimed that the districts of Nad Ali and Nawa-i-Sarraj in Helmand are under Mujahideen control after heavy fighting with Taliban forces. The Talibans claims cannot be independently confirmed, but it has accurately reported on the control of districts in the past while the Afghan government has downplayed or ignored districts lost to the Taliban. The Taliban currently control or contest more than 80 of Afghanistans 400 plus districts, according to a study by The Long War Journal. That number may be higher as reports from some districts known to be Taliban strongholds are unavailable. [See LWJ report, Taliban seizes district in northern Afghanistan.]
Security in Helmand has deteriorated as the Taliban has pressed its offensive to regain the ground lost there between 2009-2011. Of Helmands 14 districts, five are known to be controlled by the Taliban (Now Zad, Musa Qala, Baghran, Dishu, and Khanashin), and another seven are heavily contested (Nahr-i-Sarraj, Kajaki, Nad Ali, Nawa-i-Barak, Marjah, Garmsir, and Sangin). Of the remaining two districts, The Long War Journal believes one (Washir) is contested, but the situation is unclear. Only Lashkar Gah, the district that hosts the provincial capital, has not seen significant Taliban activity, however the Taliban has reported activity there. But Taliban forces based in Nahr-i-Sarraj and Nad Ali are just miles from the city.
While it is exceedingly difficult to assess the status of Taliban commanders based on the claims of the Afghan government and the Taliban, particularly after the Taliban was exposed for hiding Mullah Omars death for more than two years, the Taliban maintains a better track record. The Taliban frequently rebuts government claims by releasing audio of its commanders denying their deaths.
For instance, last month, Afghanistans Ministry of the Interior claimed that the Talibans shadow governors for Ghazi and Logar province were killed in airstrikes. The Taliban quickly denied the reports. And in October 2015, the government claimed it killed the Talibans shadow governor for Kunduz. The Taliban responded by publishing an interview with Salam, whose forces took control of Kunduz City for two weeks in the fall of 2015.
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 US military launched at least four airstrikes against al Qaedas network in Yemen during the month of July, according to statements released by US Central command (CENTCOM). Eleven members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were killed in the strikes, all which took place in the province of Shabwa.
CENTCOM announced the four strikes in separate statements that were released on July 8 and Aug. 2. The US military has begun to release information about counterterrorism strikes outside areas of active hostilities since President Obama directed the military and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to increase transparency on operations against jihadist groups outside of Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. [See LWJ report, US government releases data on counterterrorism strikes outside areas of active hostilities.]
According to CENTCOM, the four US strikes took place on July 1 (two AQAP fighters killed), July 4 (two AQAP fighters killed), July 8 (one AQAP fighter killed), and July 16 (six AQAP fighters killed). Two of the four strikes (July 1 and 4) were identified by CENTCOM as taking place in Shabwa province. The other two strikes (July 8 and 16) took place near central Yemen, which CENTCOM has previously identified as Shabwa, a province that is in southern and central Yemen and is a known AQAP stronghold. AFP reported that the July 16 strike took place in Shabwa.
No senior or mid-level AQAP leaders or operatives were reported to have been killed in the July counterterrorism operations in Yemen. According to CENTCOM, the US has launched 12 airstrikes against AQAP in Yemen this year.
However, The Long War Journal has recorded 22 airstrikes against AQAP in Yemen in 2016. This discrepancy may be due to the fact that CENTCOM may not have released all of its data. It is also possible that the CIA instead executed some of the airstrikes, or that strikes attributed in the press to the US military were conducted by Saudi Arabia.
The US has ramped up attacks in Yemen this year after reducing the number from its peak of 41 in 2012, when AQAP controlled significant territory in the south. The operations were halved (26 in 2013, 23 each in 2014 and 2015) until AQAP went back on the offensive and took control of large areas in southern Yemen at the end of 2015. [See LWJ report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Yemen, 2002 2016.]
AQAP a significant threat
Like past military press releases announcing the strikes in Yemen, the US military justified the attacks by noting that AQAP remains a significant threat to the United States and its allies.
AQAP remains a significant threat to the region, the United States and beyond, CENTCOM noted in todays press releases. Al Qaedas presence has a destabilizing effect on Yemen; it is using the unrest in Yemen to provide a haven from which to plan future attacks against our allies as well as the US and its interests.
The U.S. will not relent in its mission to degrade, disrupt and destroy al Qaeda and its remnants, the CENTCOM statements continued. We remain committed to defeating AQAP and denying it safe haven regardless of its location. Strikes conducted by the US in Yemen continue to diminish AQAPs presence in the region.
CENTCOMs statement is at odds with President Barack Obamas official policy of using drone and conventional airstrikes only as a last resort. In his 2014 speech at West Point, President Barack Obama said that the US would launch airstrikes only when we face a continuing, imminent threat from terrorist groups. However, CENTCOMs statement indicates the airstrikes are part of a broader effort to degrade, disrupt and destroy al Qaeda.
AQAP is one of al Qaedas most prominent branches, and has hosted some of al Qaedas top leaders. The US killed Nasir al Wuhayshi, al Qaedas last general manager, in a drone strike in June 2015. In addition to serving as al Qaedas general manager, he was also the emir of AQAP. His death and the death of other senior al Qaeda leaders, such as deputy general manager Nasser bin Ali al Ansi, did not prevent AQAP from overrunning much of southern Yemen in 2015 up until early 2016.
AQAP controls areas of central and southern Yemen despite both US drone and conventional strikes. AQAP is known to operate training camps in Yemen, and claims to do so to this day. In mid-July, AQAP touted its Hamza al Zinjibari Camp, which trains its special forces. Zinjibari was an AQAP military field commander who was killed in a US drone strike in February 2016.
The US military targets AQAP with the approval of Yemens government in exile. The government was forced to flee the capital of Sanaa after Houthi rebels overran it and several provinces in north and central Yemen.
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.
Business / Billionaires
Aug 02, 2016 | By Vimi Haridasan
It takes more than a fancy car or luxury property to get onto the list we are about to share. In fact so exclusive is this group that few would ever be able to climb to the top and stay there, as the number one billionaire has done all these years on the Forbes List. And yes, The Donald doesnt make the cut here so you know this is serious.
Jokes aside, one thing is certain: these high net worth individuals have placed their investments in more than one industry, which would explain why they rake in the millions each year. Having said that, some like Jeff Bezos (who rises several spots) track along the lines of their companies (thats Amazon, in case youve been hanging on to your Blockbuster and Borders cards). We take a look at the individuals whose wealth and income will make you greener than the greenback.
Bill Gates, $78.3 billion
Really, it is no surprise that this tech mogul sits at the top of the food chain (but atop our Richest of All Time story). While he is best known for that little tech company called Microsoft (remember those guys?) he started after dropping out from Harvard University, it is not his direct source of income. In fact he only owns 2.5% of the company, which makes up a mere 15% of his fortune. His other investments happen to be in other industries such as the Canadian National Railway (believe it or not).
Amancio Ortega, $73.1 billion
Up two spots from last year is the Spaniard multi-billionaire behind fashion label Zara. From a family-owned textile manufacturer to the owner of brands such as Massimo Dutti and Pull & Bear, this is one success story that has defied even the financial crisis in Spain. He currently draws in an annual $400 million in dividends alone after stepping down as chairman of the company. His other source of income comes from property investments in countries such as Madrid, Barcelona, London, Chicago, Miami and even New York.
Jeff Bezos, $65.8 billion
He is the head of aerospace company Blue Origin and also the founder of Amazon he also happens to make running various companies look like a walk in the park. Bezos has also set the bar high as an employer. Rather than axing disgruntled employees who may or may not have had a part to play in The New York Times piece that reported unfavorable working conditions in Amazon, he wrote an open letter to say that it was not the kind of company he would have employees work in.
Warren Buffet, $64,7 billion
He may be an octogenarian but that has not stopped the fourth richest billionaire from expanding his portfolio to include aerospace and technology firms. His company Berkshire Hathaway also owns companies such as Dairy Queen while also investing in Coca-Cola, IBM and Geico. While he has billions to spend, Buffet is known as a frugal man who still lives in the Omaha home that he bought in 1958. He was recently in the news after his companys failed venture to buy Yahoo.
Mark Zuckerberg, $53.5 billion
Another Harvard dropout, Zuckerberg is one more tech billionaire in the list (is this a sign?). He currently holds the title as richest billionaire under 40 years of age something few of us will be able to say. In just one year, his fortune rose another $18 billion thanks to the rising Facebook stock price. His other venture that has seen gains is the Oculus Rift VR, which started shipping headsets in March of this year. Another major gain for the social media kingpin was the birth of his daughter and if those milestone pictures are anything to go by then it is safe to say that he cherishes her more than those billions in the bank.
Larry Ellison, $51.6 billion
A former employee for the CIA (he built their databases), this billionaire founded Oracle and turned it into a database-software giant. Since 1977, he headed Oracle as its CEO. However in 2014, he stepped down as CEO but remained as the chairman for the board of directors. While technology may be his cup of tea, his children are looking to explore Hollywood by financing films such as Zero Dark Thirty, American Hustle, The Terminator and Mission Impossible.
Carlos Slim Helu & Family, $50 billion
He may be the seventh on the list but Slim Helu happens to be the biggest loser since 2015. Thanks to the weakening economy and stricter regulations in the Mexican telecom Industry, the former second richest man slipped two places in 2016. Apart from being a leader in the telecom industry in Mexico, the billionaire also owns a 17% stake in The New York Times.
Michael Bloomberg, $48.3 billion
The former mayor of New York is back to helm his ship that is the media-and-data company we have come to know. At 74, the former Harvard Business School graduate has shaken up the company that bears his name by cutting jobs in the media sector to refocus resources in business and financial news. He was also recently in the news for his address at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, where he tore into The Donald. Actually, Buffet did the same after the DNC and Mark Cuban went to town on Trumps ego on Late Night with Stephen Colbert.
Charles and David Koch, $44.2 billion each
The Koch brothers may be billionaires with the most awkward names to most but both Charles and David are heavyweights in the political world, supporting libertarian causes. Neither has joined others in the billionaire brigade in thrashing The Donald but that may yet change. Having led Koch Industries since 1967, Charles has seen it move from a $50 million business to a $100 billion empire. Together with David, the Koch brothers run Americas second largest private company. From oil pipelines to refineries and even paper towels, these brothers seem to have something to do with everything. Another reasons the name Koch might be familiar is because David has a building named for him at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Source: Forbes
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.2
By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend:
Turkey will continue the fight against the Fethullah Gulen movement outside the country, the TRT Haber news channel quoted the countrys Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying Aug.2.
The foreign minister made the remarks during his visit to Pakistan.
Cavusoglu noted that earlier, Turkey was supporting the Gulen movement, but that time, the government was not aware of its plans to seize the power through a military coup.
On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.
However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.
Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.
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Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > A Tale of Two Vehicles: Sadhvis Motorcycle and Rubinas Car
by Ram Puniyani
Can there be two types of justice delivery system in the same country? This question came to ones mind with the U-turn taken by the NIA in the cases related to terror acts in which many Hindu names were involved. Now the NIA in a fresh charge-sheet (May 13, 2016) has dropped the charges against Pragya Singh Thakur, has lightened the ones against Colonel Purohit and others. Along with this new line of the NIA it is being stated that Hemant Karkares investigation in these cases was flawed and that it was the ATS which had got the RDX planted in Purohits residence to implicate him in this case. The implication is that all this was being done at the behest of the previous UPA Government.
A brief recap is in order. Maharashtra in particular and many other places in the country were witness to acts of terror. The first major attention to this phenomenon took place when two Bajrang Dal activists were killed while making bombs in the house of one RSS worker, Rajkondawar (May 2006). There was a saffron flag flying atop the house and a board of the Bajrang Dal was put up in front of the house. At the site of the bomb explosion fake moustaches, beard and pyjama-kurta were also found. This was followed by many other blastsin Parbhani, Jalna, Thane, and Panvel etc. In most of these cases the police investigated on the lines in which the generally Muslims were blamed for such acts. After every act of blast a few Muslim young men were arrested and they were later, after long gruelling court cases, released as no evidence was found against them.
The Malegaon blast, in which the Sadhvis role came to the surface, took place in 2008. In the blasts those returning from Namaz (prayers) were killed and many injured. Following this the usual suspects, Muslims, were arrested. Then while investigating the cases the Maharashtra ATS chief, Hemant Karkare, found that the motorcycle used for the blast belonged to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, an ex-ABVP worker. The trail of investigation led to Swami Dayanad Pande, retd. Major Upadhyay, Ramji Klasnagra, Swami Aseemanand amongst others. They all belonged to the Hindu Right-wing politics. There were lots of evidence in the material recovered. One of the helpful evidence came in the form of the legally valid confession of Swami Aseemanand. This confession was made in judicial custody in the presence of a Magistrate.
In the confession the Swami spilled the beans and said that after the Sankat Mochan blast of 2002, they had decided that bomb will be replied by bomb. He was then looking after the VHP work in Dangs. He gave a detailed narrative of the whole process in which all the people were investigated and became part of the charge-sheet of the NIA.
When Karakare was investigating the case and many of the Hindu names started coming under the scanner Bal Thackeray wrote in Saamna that we spit on the face of Karakare. Narendra Modi, the then CM of Gujarat, called him deshdrohi (anti-national). Advani also reprimanded Karkare. Feeling the heat of this pressure from the Hindutva political outfits, Karkare went to meet his professional peer, Julio Rebeiro. Rebeiro has a record of high level of professional integrity. Rebeiro appreciated his painstaking work. Karkare asked what should be the stand of a person like him when facing such a heat from the politicians. The senior officer told him to honestly do the work and ignore these insinuations.
Meanwhile the global terror phenomenon hit Mumbai. On 26/11 ten terrorists, armed to the teeth, attacked Mumbai. On this occasion Karakare got killed. There is a strong controversy about this killing also. The then Minority Affairs Minister, A.R. Antulay, said that there is terrorism plus something else which is behind the killing of Karakare. Narendra Modi, who had earlier called Karkare a deshdrohi, landed up in Mumbai and wanted to give a cheque of Rs one crore to the widow of Karkare; she refused to accept the amount.
After Karkares death the investigations continued on the lines laid down by him. The charge-sheet was ready and all the involved were to be tried for acts of terror. Meanwhile the government changed at the Centre and the NIA adopted the line which has led to the present situation where the efforts to release the Sadhvi are gathering intimidating speed. The change in the line got reflected in the statement of the Public Prosecutor, Rohini Salian. She stated that she was told to go soft on these cases. As she refused to toe this line, she was sacked.
One recalls that in the 1992-93 Mumbai violence, over one thousand people had died. This carnage was followed by the bomb blasts in which over two hundred people died. As far as the communal carnage is concerned, not many got severe punishmentsno death penalty, no life imprisonments. In the cases of bomb blasts many have been given death penalty and many more life imprisonment. One of the people undergoing life imprisonment is Rubina Memon. Her crime: she owned the car which was used to ferry the explosives. She never drove the car with the explosives.
Sadhvi owned the motor cycle used for the Malegaon blasts; she will be out from the prison soon. Rubina owned the car; she will be in prison all her life. In the Mumbai carnage so many died. No severe punishment to anybody. So many severe punishments in the bomb blasts case!
So where does our democracy stand at the end of all this? It seems two types of justice delivery systems are out there in the open. While shrill debates on TV will defend the Sadhvi and blame Karkare for faulty investigation, the people in Malegaon are protesting furiously and planning to go to the court against the change in the stance of the NIA. Two political parties seem to be preparing to save the honour of Karakare and press for sincere examination of the evidence collected by him.
One hopes the guilty will be punished and innocents will be protected. But this seems a bit too much to expect in the current scenario!
The author, a retired Professor at the IIT-Bombay, is currently associated with the Centre for the Study of Secularism and Society, Mumbai.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > Lets Await Courts Ruling
There is a vast difference between perception and evidence. When Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi says that the RSS is responsible for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, he is conveying the general perception. In fact, the then Home Minister, Sardar Patel, imposed a ban on the RSS which he withdrew when the organisation gave in writing that it was only a cultural outfit. However, the perception has remained till today.
The BJP, which is said to be a political wing of the RSS, has always denied the charge. But there is no clinching evidence either with the BJP elements or those opposed to it. The Congress, which is in the forefront of those who say that the Mahatma was assassinated by the RSS, has not placed before the public any evidence to buttress the charge; the RSS too has not given any evidence that it was a victim of a conspiracy either.
When the Congress was in power at the Centrethey ruled for more than 50 yearsit could have published the intelligence reports or some other documents to suggest that the assassination was the doing of the RSS. Nor did the BJP, when it was in power, release anything which would remove the charge once and for all.
What Rahul Gandhi has said was the perception prevailing throughout the country and abroad; it persists even today. At that time the RSS elements were on the defensive and generally preferred to keep quiet. This only confirmed the perception that the Mahatma was killed by Nathuram Godse, a fanatic Hindu, having an RSS connection.
I was working with an Urdu newspaper, Anjaam, then. We were all sitting at the office when the PTI teleprinter machines bell alerted for a flash. We rushed to the machine and the cryptic message was: Gandhi shot at! I wasted no time and went straight to the Birla House on my scooter. My office was situated near Jama Masjid and I rode through the Darya Ganj area. The locality was calm and oblivious to the great tragedy.
There was a wooden gate at Birla House and there was no security to stop any visitor. I went to the raised platform where Gandhis body, swathed in white khadi, was lying. Lord Mountbatten, the last British Viceroy, came after I had reached the venue. He saluted the body; both Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Home Minister Patel, who followed him in the queue, were openly crying. The crowd had started swelling by then.
The assassin, Godse, who did not escape, was still there and surprisingly without any remorse. The cartage was carried through Raj Path, with Nehru and Patel sitting on either side of it, to what is today called the Rajghat. Ironically, Gandhiwho had spread the new philosophy of non-violence to the worldwas taken for his last rites in a military vehicle which the Mahatma would not have liked.
Rahul Gandhi was not even born then. But he had the privilege of being a scion of the family which gave its all to the national struggle. He has every right to find fault with the RSS and he is not a third party to the entire episode of courage and sacrifice. The entire conspiracy to kill the Mahatma has been placed before the public, though bit by bit. And there is no doubt that the RSS elements were behind it.
In a letter addressed to jailor Arjun Das at Ambala, where he was detained, Godse confessed that he shot Gandhiji and argued that the Congress leaders at that time were weakening the country, making it an easy prey for Pakistan. This was a flimsy argument which did not go down well with the public when the letter was ultimately released.
The dust of time has covered many a footstep and it is very difficult to find out today who else at the Nagpur headquarters of the RSS had blessed the heinous crime. This was probably the first crime committed in the name of ideology. Things have, however, changed now because the atmosphere has been politicised and there are very few voices left whose credibility is beyond reproach. The RSS is still riding the high horse and refusing to join issue.
The fact that the matter has been given to the party spokesman to handle shows that the Congress is already making preparations for diluting its stand. If it does so, the party would lose face, more so Rahul Gandhi, who is being projected to lead the party in the next Lok Sabha elections. This is a tough case before the Supreme Court because it is going to be damned if its verdict goes either in favour of the Congress or the RSS.
What saddens one is that the secular forces in the country are not marshalling their strength to face the biggest challenge to the idea of India, democratic and anti-communal. The struggle for independence was for the ethos of pluralism and egalitarianism. Once Gandhi was portrayed as a non-violent Communist and he did not take any offence to the comment, although the Communists had described him as a running dog of imperialism. The Communists should make amends for their mistakes and hang the picture of the Mahatma at their headquarters in Kolkata.
My advice to the RSS and BJP is the same. Gandhi is an apostle of the marginalised and the backward. He represented the national struggle and Indias emancipation from the British. This is the point on which all the political parties meet and they should have no hesitation in collectively recognising the fact that Gandhi rolled up the 150 years of foreign rule.
As for the allegations of Rahul Gandhi, the Supreme Court has taken note of them. In the wake of the Court hearing, many skeletons may tumble out of the closet. Now that the Congress Vice-President has refused to apologiseone can only hope that he will stick to his statementthe fat is on fire and the public may see an ideological warfare in the Court itself. Rahul Gandhi is either made or marred.
The author is a veteran journalist renowned not only in this country but also in our neighbouring states of Pakistan and Bangladesh where his columns are widely read. His website is www.kuldipnayar.com
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > The Supreme Court Speaks: Ending impunity for the Armed Forces
In a historic ruling, Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice U.U. Lalit of the Honble Supreme Court have spoken out in favour of democracy. The judgment came on a plea by hundreds of families in the North-Eastern State of Manipur for a probe by a Special Investigation Team into 1528 cases of alleged fake encounters involving the Army and the police.
In particular, by saying: It does not matter whether the victim was a common person or a militant or a terrorist, nor does it matter whether the aggressor was a common person or the state. The law is the same for both and is equally applicable to both...This is the requirement of a democracy and the requirement of preservation of the rule of law and the preservation of individual liberties, the Honble Supreme Court took a step in the direction of equality before the law, and reaffirmed Article 21 that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.
The judgment has been welcomed especially among people in the disturbed areas of our North-Eastern States and Kashmir, and is surely in partial vindication of Irom Sharmilas principled, 12-year-long ongoing fast demanding repeal of AFSPA.
This writer, with his Army background, is the first to point out that no soldier (the term refers to all ranks of the Armed ForcesArmy, Navy and Air Force) will defend wrong-doing of any sort, leave alone heinous crimes like murder and rape, by another soldier whether he is on-duty or off-duty. The reason is not merely that such should be the attitude of any good citizen, but because a known offender in the team is a threat to the coherence, man-to-man trust and fighting efficiency of the military team, and to the survival of the individual soldier in high-risk situations, at all levels from the section, platoon, company and battalion upto the highest formations.
The Honble Supreme Courts ruling will not find dissonance within the Armed Forces (hereinafter Army, for short). However, without in any manner questioning the wholly welcome order of the Honble Supreme Court and with all due respect and humility, this writer would like to make some points on the larger issue of AFSPA and deployment of the Army on internal security (IS) duties.
Disempowerment of the Soldier
The plea by the families of Manipur concerns alleged fake encounters involving both the Army and the police. While a faked encounter is reprehensible, a murder is a murder and a rape is a rape, it is necessary to examine the differences between the Army soldier and the armed policeman, and see why the Army and the AFSPA take a beating.
Under Article 246 of the Constitution, Parlia-ment makes laws concerning the deployment of the Armed Forces in aid of the civil power, prescribing the powers, jurisdiction, privileges and liabilities of soldiers during deployment. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) is one such law. The others are, the Army Act 1950, the Navy Act 1957 and the Air Force Act 1950, and associated Rules and Regulations, to administer military law to all ranks of the three Armed Forces.
These laws abrogate a soldiers constitutional rights under Article 19(1)(a), (b) and (c), of freedom of speech and expression to communi-cate with the media, freedom of assembly, or the right to form or be members of associations or unions for collective bargaining. Besides this, the Army Act (AA, for short) and the Acts for the Navy and Air Force are strict by any standards, and in fact their excessive strictness has been commented upon in legal circles. Thus, because of the nature of duties performed by them and the strict laws in force for maintenance of strict discipline among them, soldiers are by law, uniquely disempowered citizens. This is not the case with members of the bureaucracy, State policemen or armed policemen (CAPFs), on whom restrictions by law and administrative rules are far less stringent. This (necessary) disempowerment is a stumbling block for the Army when called in aid of the civil power. The reasons are discussed hereunder.
The government can function in the interest of people when there is peace and order in society, functionaries in power use people-oriented politics, and the rule of law prevails among all sections of society. Providing security and public order by fair and just enforcement of extant laws, and maintenance of supplies and services essential to the public, is the primary task of governance by the civil administration, which is the combination of the powers, roles and functions of peoples elected representatives, bureaucrats and integral police forces.
Disturbance of law and order usually happens because of conflict of interests within civil society, caused by inappropriate laws and/or unfair policies and/or poor or ill-motivated implementationin short, maladministration or misgovernance. When law and order, and peace in society is disturbed and is beyond political resolution, governance calls for using the force of the State and/or Central police (CAPFs). When law and order cannot be restored despite deploying State and Central police or because of their misuse, it can only be restored by deployment of the Armed Forces (Army) on IS duties in aid of the civil power as permitted by the Constitution. The government has no other option; the Army is its instrument of last resort.
When the government calls the Army for IS duties as, for example, to quell rioting, the Army may confront a violent mob. The Army officer commanding the sub-unit is obliged to take the written permission of a Magistrate who accom-panies the sub-unit, before opening fire if the situation so warrants according to the discretion of the Magistrate, because the soldier cannot use firearms against civilians without permission from civil authority. But when law and order breaks down in a large area, the government cannot provide Magistrates to day-and-night accompany every Army sub-unit, and it therefore empowers the Army to handle such situations by means of AFSPA.
The AFSPA
The AFSPA is an enabling legislation. It legitimises deployment of the Army in large areas which the civil administration may notify as disturbed areas. AFSPA is applicable only to the Armed Forces (under the Ministry of Defence), and not to CAPFs or State police forces under Central or State Ministries of Home Affairs respectively. The Constitution of India makes a distinction between the members of the Armed Forces [Article 33(a)] meaning soldiers, and members of the Forces charged with the maintenance of public order [Article 33(b)] meaning police personnel. Thus the term Armed Forces (proper noun) should not be applied to just anybody of uniformed persons bearing firearms such as police or CAPFs who may be authorised and trained to use firearms, but only to the soldiers of Indias military. But, often unable to distinguish between the Army and civilian forces that bear arms, mediapersons use the catch-all term security forces or armed forces (common noun) to include the military, CAPFs and State police.
The confusion is exacerbated because CAPFs and police forces wear camouflage uniforms that are virtually indistinguishable from Army uniforms. In tense situations where a journalist takes risks, it can be risky for him/her, and even more so for any member of the public, to ask an armed man to which force he belongs. Thus often enough, the media and the public straightaway blame the Army for incidents involving CAPFs or police, because of AFSPA being in force. Even if subsequent inquiry by civilian authority in a particular case finds that the Army was not involved, the negative Army-AFSPA image persists in public opinion.
According to AA Section 69 Civil offences and AA Section 70 Civil offence not triable by court-martial read together, a soldier who commits rape, murder or culpable homicide not amounting to murder of a civilian, will not be tried by a court-martial unless he is on active service, or at any place outside India, or at a frontier post. In any case, AFSPA being in force is not the cause for his committing crime, and cannot be viewed as a facilitator for crime. But repealing AFSPA would cause AA Section 70 to become inapplicable, making the soldier liable for trial by criminal lawand this is really the cause for the public demand to repeal AFSPA.
AFSPA Section 3 confers upon a State or Central Government, powers to declare the whole or some part of the State as a disturbed area ... in such a disturbed or dangerous condition that the use of Armed Forces in aid of the civil power is necessary, by issuing a notification to that effect. The assessment of the condition of society and the discretion to notify it as disturbed is the sole prerogative of government. The Armed Forces have no role in this whatsoever. AFSPA Section 4 confers special powers upon members of the Armed Forces in the notified disturbed areas to arrest, enter and search, or open fire.
Demand for Repeal of AFSPA
Notwithstanding the constitutionally permissible last-resort necessity of using military force for internal security when the political-adminis-trative tools of governance fail, there is little justification for an elected govern-ment to use even police force for day-to-day governance continuously over decades.
People in our North-Eastern States and Kashmir, for decades trapped in the crossfire between the government police and military forces on the one hand, and the bullets, grenades and IEDs of militants on the other, want nothing more than peace and democratic freedoms. Irom Sharmila, a national icon of courageous non-violence, who has been on fast for 12 long years demanding the repeal of AFSPA, stated it squarely and unequivocally in 2013: I am against a government that uses violence as a means to govern. [Jiby Kattakayam; I am against a government that uses violence to govern, The Hindu, March 5, 2013]
She goes further to say that the government and the army are colluding to cheat the people. Her stating that the people are being cheated of peace, social order and meaningful development is understandable and correct. But her accusation of the Armys collusion with the government, suggesting that the Army has an institutional interest or stake in IS deployment, is unfounded. It bears repetition that the Army comes out of barracks at the specific call of the government and not of its own accord. Therefore, cheat the people refers to the government cheating the people through abject failure of the politics of development, and monumental political-bureau-cratic corruption of ideology and principles. Decades-long continuous violence through the instrumentality of police and military for governance is antithetical to peace and social order essential for development of the sort that people crave for and need. This legitimate craving of the people is reflected in their demand for the repeal of AFSPA.
Continuous Use of AFSPA
Hearing several petitions challenging the constitutional validity of AFSPA, the Supreme Court ruled in 1997 [Naga Peoples Movement of Human Rights v Union of India (1997) ICHRL 117 (27.11.1997)] that the powers given to the Army by AFSPA were not arbitrary or unrea-sonable and did not violate constitutional provisions. However, the Supreme Court went further to rule that (1) declaration of an area as disturbed should be reviewed every six months, (2) Central Government sanction or refusal to prosecute Army personnel should be accom-panied by reasons in writing, and (3) Army personnel operating under AFSPA would do so under legally binding safeguards or guidelines in the form of a comprehensive list of DOs and DONTs before, during and after operations, in dealing with civil courts, and when providing aid to civil authority. [Note below]
The restriction that the government should review the declaration every six months is cosmetic, since it merely calls for bi-annual bureaucratic paperwork. It has not prevented governments from maintaining entire States as disturbed areas continuously for decades. To limit Army deployment on IS duties, the continuity of AFSPA needs to be broken. This writer suggests an amendment by inserting a final sentence in AFSPA Section 3 as follows: Provided that the Governor of the State or the Adminis-trator of the Union Territory or the Central Government shall not declare an area as disturbed for more than an aggregate of 90 days in any calendar year. The period (of 90 days or less or more) suggested can be finalised after wide public discussion and cross-party consultation.
Endnote
The use of the military in aid of the civil power is an option that no government, howsoever liberal, will discard especially since it has constitutional sanction. The military on IS duties is to civil society what an ICU is to a critically ill person. A patient cannot remain for years in a hospital ICU, because he/she would be effectively dead. The patient needs treatment for the disease and right nutrition to regain normal health. Likewise, the military remaining deployed on IS duties over decades makes civic life in society effectively dead, without assuring peace or security. Indias societies need the treatment of honest political effort by transparent dialogue and engagement with people, and nutrition of good governance for their growth. Society does not need the Army, except to guard the countrys borders against external aggression and protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
While no government may ever propose to Parliament to repeal AFSPA, it would certainly be open to amending it. An amendment to cap the applicability of AFSPA to a total of, say, 90 days in any calendar year, will allow governments to retain their (albeit undoubtedly coercive but unavoidable) option of military deployment when civil administration fails to maintain law and order. This will make governments accountable to the people, to rediscover ways of providing a deeply troubled society with honest politics and good governance. It will also enable the Army, one-third of which is engaged in IS duties, to focus more on securing Indias borders.
Note
List of DOs and DONTs as directed by the Supreme Court in NPMHR v. India in 1997, that are legally binding
DOs:
1. Action before Operation:
(a) Act only in the area declared Disturbed Area under Section 3 of the Act.
(b) Power to open fire using force or arrest is to be exercised under this Act only by an officer/JCO/WO and NCO.
(c) Before launching any raid/search, definite information about the activity to be obtained from the local civil authorities.
(d) As far as possible coopt representative of local civil administration during the raid.
2. Action during Operation:
(a) In case of necessity of opening fire and using any force against the suspect or any person acting in contravention of law and order, ascertain first that it is essential for maintenance of public order. Open fire only after due warning.
(b) Arrest only those who have committed cognisable offence or who are about to commit cognisable offence or against whom a reasonable ground exists to prove that they have committed or are about to commit cognisable offence.
(c) Ensure that troops under command do not harass innocent people, destroy property of the public or unnecessarily enter into the house/dwelling of people not connected with any unlawful activities.
(d) Ensure that women are not searched/arrested without the presence of female police. In fact women should be searched by female police only.
3. Action after Operation:
(a) After arrest prepare a list of the persons so arrested.
(b) Hand over the arrested persons to the nearest police station with least possible delay.
(c) While handing over to the police a report should accompany with detailed circumstances occasioning the arrest.
(d) Every delay in handing over the suspects to the police must be justified and should be reasonable depending upon the place, time of arrest and the terrain in which such person has been arrested. Least possible delay may be two-to-three hours extendable to 24 hours or so depending upon a particular case.
(e) After raid, make out a list of all arms, ammunition or any other incriminating material/document taken into possession.
(f) All such arms, ammunition, stores etc. should be handed over to the police station along with the seizure memo.
(g) Obtain receipt of persons and arms/ammunition, stores etc. so handed over to the police.
(h) Make record of the area where operation is launched having the date and time and the persons participating in such raid.
(i) Make a record of the commander and other officers/JCOs/NCOs forming part of such force.
(k) Ensure medical relief to any person injured during the encounter, if any person dies in the encounter his dead body be handed over immediately to the police along with the details leading to such death.
4. Dealing with civil court:
(a) Directions of the High Court/Supreme Court should be promptly attended to.
(b) Whenever summoned by the courts, decorum of the court must be maintained and proper respect paid.
(c) Answer questions of the court politely and with dignity.
(d) Maintain detailed record of the entire operation correctly and explicitly.
DONTs:
1. Do not keep a person under custody for any period longer than the bare necessity for handing over to the nearest police station.
2. Do not use any force after having arrested a person except when he is trying to escape.
3. Do not use third-degree methods to extract information or to a extract confession or other involvement in unlawful activities.
4. After arrest of a person by the member of the armed forces, he shall not be interrogated by the member of the armed force.
5. Do not release the person directly after apprehending on your own. If any person is to be released, he must be released through civil authorities.
6. Do not tamper with official records.
7. The armed forces shall not take back a person after he is handed over to civil police.
List of DOs and DONTs while providing aid to civil authority
DOs:
1. Act in closest possible communication with civil authorities throughout.
2. Maintain inter-communication if possible by telephone/radio.
3. Get the permission/requisition from the Magistrate when present.
4. Use little force and do as little injury to person and property as may be consistent with attainment of objective in view.
5. In case you decide to open fire:
(a) Give warning in local language that fire will be effective;
(b) Attract attention before firing by bugle or other means;
(c) Distribute your men in fire units with specified Commanders;
(d) Control fire by issuing personal orders;
(e) Note number of rounds fired;
(f) Aim at the front of crowd actually rioting or inciting to riot or at conspicuous ringleaders, i.e., do not fire into the thick of the crowd at the back;
(g) Aim low and shoot for effect;
(h) Keep Light Machine Gun and Medium Gun in reserve;
(i) Cease firing immediately once the object has been attained;
(j) Take immediate steps to secure wounded.
6. Maintain cordial relations with civilian authorities and paramilitary forces.
7. Ensure high standard of discipline.
DONTs:
8. Do not use excessive force.
9. Do not get involved in hand-to-hand struggle with the mob.
10. Do not ill-treat anyone, in particular, women and children.
11. No harassment of civilians.
12. No torture.
13. No communal bias while dealing with civilians.
14. No meddling in civilian administration affairs.
15. No Military disgrace by loss/surrender of weapons.
16. Do not accept presents, donations and rewards.
17. Avoid indiscriminate firing.
[Source: Naga Peoples Movement of Human Rights v Union of India [1997] ICHRL 117
(27.11.1997)]
Major General S.G. Vombatkere, VSM, retired in 1996 as the Additional DG, Discipline and Vigilance in the Army HQ AGs Branch. He is a member of the National Alliance of Peoples Movements (NAPM) and Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). With over 490 published papers in national and international journals and seminars, his current area of interest is strategic and development-related issues.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > Solution to the Kashmir Problem
On July 8, 2016, the Supreme Court said that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958, in force in parts of the North-East and J&K, cannot be an excuse for extrajudicial killingwhenever such allegations surface they have to be investigated regardless of whether the person is a dreaded criminal, terrorist or an insurgent. On the same day a young militant, Burhan Wani, was killed in an encounter with the security forces. We dont know whether it was a case of extrajudicial killing. Prashant Bhushan says it was a fake encounter. Extrajudicial killings have been going on quite freely. The case in which the above judgment has been delivered has a list of 1528 deaths in counter-insurgency operations in Manipur from which the Court has sought details on 62 which are suspected extrajudicial killings. And Manipur is a small State compared to J&K.
Moreover, the turnout at Burhan Wanis funeral indicates two thingseither the killing was perceived to be extrajudicial or he is viewed by the Kashmiri youth as more than just a militant. He represents the aspirations of the Kashmiri youth because of which they like to associate themselves with him even taking the risk of facing fire from the Indian security forces. The experience of Burhan Wani at the hands of the Indian security forces when they beat him up and humiliated him is the same that every Kashmiri youth faces at some point or the other and even repeatedly. Most simply pocket the insult. Some, like Burhan Wani, revolt against it and in the process become a militant. There are a number of organisations from across the border which are ever willing to train such youth in the use of arms and explosives and guerilla warfare, even though Burhan is not believed to have received training in Pakistan. He was the commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen at the young age of 22 years.
The basic question is: who or what is responsible for the birth of militants? Pakistani terror organisations or the policy of the Indian state which alienates the youth of the Valley? Why is the demand of Omar Abdullah as the then Chief Minister of J&K and for which Irom Sharmila has been fasting in Imphal for the last 15 years the removal of AFSPAnot being met? Only a reduced presence of the security forces can lead towards a situation of normalcy. But the security forces scuttle this idea.
A political problem cannot be treated like a law and order problem. The Indian state must accept that there is disaffection in Kashmir and the political views of the national political parties and the people of Kashmir probably differ greatly. The only way out is dialogue with not just the political parties but all sections of separatists and insurgents in Kashmir which the current BJP Government at the Centre seems to be disinclined towards. It is not that the government doesnt talk to such groups. In Nagaland they have had an agreement with the separatist groups. Moreover, if the government is not talking to the separatists in Kashmir, then it is sure recipe to push them towards Pakistan, for which then the govern-ment should not blame them.
At a time of grief and crisis a refreshing approach has been offered by the former Home Minister, P. Chidambaram. He has differentiated between the land of Kashmir and the people of Kashmir. He argues that successive governments of India have worried about the territory of Kashmir in their zeal to maintain Kashmir as an integral part of India but have failed to take the people along. The people have become more and more alienated because of the governments policies.
Considering that P. Chidamabram was the Home Minister, it is commendable that he has expressed his opinion so candidly and taken a position very radically different from the traditional official position of the government.
Chidambaran advocates honouring the promises made by India to J&K at the time of its accession to India. He argues for more autonomy to J&K, allowing them to frame their own laws as much as possible as long as they dont conflict with the Constitution of India. He calls for Indians to respect the identity, history, culture and religion of the people there.
Chidambaram has made a surprising revelation that he was in favour of withdrawal of the armed forces from the civilian areas and for them to be posted only in border areas but the defence establishment did not agree to it. In any case he thinned the security forces by 10,000. He also wanted the State Government to be responsible for the day-to-day law and order situation but again the security forces were not agreeable to this proposition.
If Chidambaram and Omar Abdullah were allowed to work on their ideas, the situation would have been completely different today. People would have been spared the presence of the security forces among them which can be oppressive and humiliating. If people had felt more involved in running their own government they would have also felt the responsibility to maintain peace. It is possible that still some extremists would have continued to operate. But then it must have been left to the Kashmiris to deal with their fellow citizens to try to convince them to leave the path of violence.
Right now the presence of the Indian security forces for such a prolonged period makes them look like an occupying force. P. Chidambaram says we cannot preach to Sri Lanka to respect the democratic rights of its Tamil minority when were not able to do it with the Kashmiris.
If human rights violations take place because of the presence of the security forces, we cannot expect the Kashmiris to trust the government. The ultra-nationalist view of the present government in power in New Delhi makes things worse. They know only one way to deal with their opponentsthat is, to remain tough. It is beyond their imagination to talk to the people whom they consider as anti-nationals. They just cant perceive that whom they consider as anti-nationals may not be so in the eyes of the people of Kashmir. They could even be their heroes. Unless the government starts seeing things from the Kashmiri perspective, there would be no headway towards resolution of the Kashmir conflict.
Noted social activist and Magsaysay awardee Dr Sandeep Pandey was recently sacked this year from the IIT-BHU where he was a Visiting Professor on the charge of being a Naxalite engaging in anti-national activities. He was elected along with Prof Keshav Jadhav the Vice-President of the Socialist Party (India) at its founding conference at Hyderabad on May 28-29, 2011.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.2
By Aygun Badalova, Elena Kosolapova - Trend:
The military coup attempt that took place in Turkey on July 15, was very critical and defining moment in the countrys new history, Ismail Alper Coskun, Turkish ambassador to Azerbaijan, said in an interview to Trend.
What took place is not a terrorist attempt that we attribute to the military as a whole, but it was a fraction within the Turkish military, which instigated this coup attempt at the behest of the Fetullah Gul terrorist organization. Therefore it was very critical and defining moment in our new history in the sense that it was an attack not particularly against a political party but at the statehood and at the well-being of Turkey and its society at large, the ambassador said.
What extremely worrying about what took place on the 15-th of July, according to the ambassador, is the fact that this was the first time when Turkish military units opened fire at the Turkish population.
Amid this extremely worrying picture however, the ambassador underlined that with the strong reflex of Turkish population, very positive elements have been witnessed, in the sense that every person in the Turkish Republic irrespective of who they may have voted for, irrespective of what their ideological preferences may be, took to the streets, heard the call of the president, asking the population to stand up for their legitimate political leaders and for their legitimate constitutional order in the country.
They went to the streets and they stood in the face of military power and they defended our democracy, the ambassador said.
Azerbaijans support
The ambassador expressed deepest gratitude to the Azerbaijani government, officials, as well as to each and every Azerbaijani citizen, saying that from the very first evening the Azerbaijani population shared, as they always do, in agony, in worries, in excitement, as to what was going on in Turkey.
Some came here, in front of the embassy together with Turkish citizens living in Azerbaijan, they displayed solidarity with Turkish democracy, they expressed their support for maintaining constitutional order in Turkey, the ambassador said.
So, the sensitivity that was displayed by the Azerbaijani government and population is deeply appreciated in Turkey. Azerbaijan stands on the side of what is right, in other words, it is standing on the side of our constitutional order, it is putting itself against a military coup attempt, the ambassador said, adding that it is an exemplary attitude, which Turkey would wish to see more, particularly from its western allies and friends.
Solidarity of political parties
Up until the 15-th of July, Turkish domestic political atmosphere was quite fragmented, it was an atmosphere in which there was a very heated debate, as should be in democracies, all issues are openly debated in Turkey, according to Coskun.
It was in immediate aftermath of the 15-th of July that we saw a totally different picture of the Turkish political scene, particularly the display of solidarity by all of our population, irrespective of their political affiliation. It was a fantastic show of solidarity, putting aside political differences, and standing up for democratic order, for legitimate order in Turkey, the ambassador said.
That night, the parliament, despite the fact that it was being bombed by F-16's and helicopters witnessed something else that was fantastic, according to the ambassador.
All of the members of parliament from different political parties rushed to the parliament, despite the fact that it was being bombed and they also undertook their responsibility as the legitimate representatives of the people to come to parliament and to show that they would stand for the constitutional order in Turkey, the ambassador said.
All these were very positive shows of solidarity, starting in the streets with the people, carried on to the political spectrum with the undertaking of our political parties and showed, I think, to everyone around the world that when push comes to shove Turkish society will not allow democracy to be undermined and that political parties though they may have very deep differences in various issues in politics and so on, that when it comes to our constitutional order they will also come together and defend it. I think in healthy democracy one cannot ask for a better display of solidarity from both the people on the street and its political leader, the ambassador added.
Death penalty in Turkey
Currently the issue of bringing back the death penalty is a debate, and this debate comes from people in the street that have been chanted for this, the ambassador said.
He added that the president of Turkey and the countrys government have not committed to anything.
With regard to the possibility that the EU may disapprove of Turkey possibly reinstating the death penalty, the ambassador said that the country respects this, and is ready to talk on the subject.
But it is very important that when they express their disappointment on this case they do it at acceptable manner," the ambassador said.
He added that Turkey is very open and sincere in its relationship with the EU.
Over 50 years, the ambassador said, Turkey has been held at the door of the full membership to the EU because of numerous new obstacles that have been put up in front of Turkey, despite the fact that many other countries have been given much more softer approach to the membership.
Turkey-NATO relations
The ambassador said that Turkey is a very strong and longstanding member of the alliance. Coskun does not see any direct correlation with Turkey's relationship with NATO and what is going on in Turkey.
We will continue to have very strong military. Obviously it is a big challenge because significant number of military personal have been withdrawn from the duties. Some have been retired, some have been implicated in the coup attempt, the ambassador said.
But Turkey institutes with a number of new reforms and wants to make sure that what happened on 15th of July will never be repeated in Turkey, the ambassador said.
He also added that all the institutions in Turkey will be reformed and both with the democracy and with systemic improvements the country will continue to play very important role not only in this region or as a member of the alliance, but on the global scale.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > Kashmir: Nearing Zero Hour
From N.C.s Writings
Kashmir today has become the touchstone of Indian statesmanship. The crisis that has emerged there can no longer be managed by conventional methods of settling political acrimony. It has gone much beyond, and now it has assumed the magnitude of a definite threat to the integrity of the country.
The militants who want Kashmir to secede from the Indian Union are today in control of life and politicsat least in the Valley itself. It is time the public in this country was informed about the actual state of affairs in Kashmir. It is a grim, very grim situation and the nation cannot afford to take an ostrich outlook That will be self-deceiving, because any delay in facing upto the reality may ultimately end up in the actual secession of a part of Indian territory. There need be no doubt on this score.
How precarious the situation is can be gauged from the fact that the entire administration is now openly divided in its loyalty. Roughly, it can be stated that the most active and dominant in the Valley today are the militants who want Kashmir to secede from India. Next to them come the large masses who are discontented with the prevailing conditions for which they blame New Delhi. Lastly, there is a small number, mostly muted and passive, who still want Kashmir to stay within the Indian Union. In such a situation it is but natural that the militant secessionists dominate over the discontend masses today while the pro-Indian forces are hopelessly marginalised, and forced into inactivity. In other words, the balance of forces in the Kashmir Valley has qualitatively changed.
In the past, roughly about the time the National Conference-Congress-I Ministry took office in 1987, the secessionists were a hard core minority group, and the discontended gathering round the Muslim United Front (MUF) having had a substantive following could have been forced to meet the challenge of the National Conference and the Congress-I, had the two parties worked actively as a unified force.
Unfortunately, such an opportunity was squandered by both the parties in the coalition. The alliance turned out to be just a pact between the leaders of the two partiesFarooq Abdullah and Rajiv Gandhi. There was no rapport whatsoever between the ranks of the two parties, not to speak of their launching a united front movement. This was further compounded by the total malfunctioning of the coalition Ministry. From personal experience borne out by two visits to the Valley in that period, this correspondent gathered the very disturbing impression that behind all the high-visibility political impetuosity and exhibitionism on the part of Farooq Abdullah, his Ministry emerged as the symbol of utter corruption and maladministration. It was this very phase which saw the growing activity of the secessionist groups emerging out in the open.
This account of the past in the Kashmir Valley has been necessitated by the patently distorted account given by Rajiv Gandhi in his letter to the Prime Minister on March 6. One would like to remind both Rajiv and Farooq as to what happened on the Independence Day, August 15 last when the secessionists, coming out in the open, had forced a black-out in Srinagar with Pakistani flags flying at many places. Was it an example of their maintenance of political contact with the people or that at no time was the administration alienated from the people as has been claimed in Rajivs letter?
It is such a display of dishonest alibi on the part of Rajiv Gandhi that weakens his appeal for a national consensus for meeting the crisis in Kashmir today. Such a consensus, which is urgently called for to meet the fast deteriorating situation, demands that all the leaders of all partiesparticularly the Congress-I, the National Conference and the National Front Governmentmust desist from mutual recriminations. This is not the moment for washing each others dirty linen in public, but for making a determined endeavour to work out a united national approach to salvage Kashmir for the Indian Union.
Such a united approach has become necessary because it will be imperative to boldly meet even the discontented militants and win them over by seriously meeting some of their genuine demands. While terrorism needs to be curbed, there has to be side by side a determined effort to prove to the people in the Valley that they stand to gain by remaining in the Indian Union, that this democracy can ensure for them a better life with more autonomy. Whether it is Article 370 of 1951 or the accord of 1975all these can be re-examined in all good faith and a degree of self-government can be assured in keeping with the spirit of the times. No rigid posture will help on this score. In fact, the present government by its very commitment will have to meet the claims of the States for more autonomy vis-a-vis the Centre, as dece-ntralisation is on the agenda of the day. Viewed in this context, the discontent in Kashmir can be met only by taking into consideration its special status born out of historical reasons. Only when such a line is taken, backed by a united national stand, can the challenge of Pakistani interference be met effectively. Not only that. Such an approach can very well be the stepping stone towards Indo-Pakistan understanding as well.
Kashmir unreconciled shall be the Achilles heel for the Indian Republic; Kashmir contented can be the most important show-window for Indian democracy. Once again, let it be remembered: the crisis in Kashmir poses today the most formidable challenge for Indian statesmanship.
(Editors Notebook, Mainstream, March 10, 1990)
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > Kashmir Scenario Today
MUSINGS
Ban on newspapers in the Valley. No news, no reports, no views, no comments. Pumping pellets right into connectivity. A complete black out as mobile and internet connections are snapped. Reeking of dictatorship. Nothing short of an undeclared Emergency. Back to those dark ages in these developed times!
Last weekend the police raided the newspaper offices of the three leading newspapers of the Kashmir regionThe Kashmir Times,Rising Kashmir,The Greater Kashmir, and its Urdu sister concern, Kashmir Uzma. They not just seized thousands of copies, they shut down the printing press, took away the printing plates, beat up and arrested the staff.
Why should news be murdered by the political rulers? Why this crackdown on the media? What is the establishment trying to conceal? What is to be camouflaged? What more havoc is to be unleashed on the hapless masses of the Kashmir Valley? Why extend crackdowns from homes to newspaper offices?
Together with these developments, photo-graphs are surfacing which more than relay the extent of brutality unleashed on human forms. Eyes, faces, ribs, chest, stomach, lungs, limbs grievously injured by pellets and bullets. Even children not spared, dragged by hardened cops.... In fact, several of these photographs carry some level of similarity to pictures of Palestinian children hounded and thrashed by Israeli cops. Dragging along apprehensions of what more could follow in the Kashmir Valleyin fact, whilst keying in I am reminded of some of the grave apprehensions that Kashmiris had been talking of when the news of Sainik colonies had first come up. Theyd told me that they consider Sainik colonies as a ploy to get RSS workers to reside in the Valleyin the coming years we Kashmiris could be pushed here and there and those RSS cadres will be given our prime locales.... Look what massive tragedy had taken place in Palestine... Palestinians driven out of their homes/lands and Israelis sitting in total control!
Instead of making certain that these apprehen-sions and insecurities are done away with, the establishment seems determined to compound the mess. Instead of sending additional force to the Valley, there is an urgent need to send an army of healers, communicators, medical/health experts, counsellors, dialoguers to the Valley, to reach out to its bruised angry population. Instead of banning the publication of newspapers, efforts should have been on that they are published against all possible odds; after all, newspapers do play an extremely vital role in connecting the masses with ground realities and with that help curb spread of rumours and apprehensions. Today how does the Kashmiri get to know the basic facts when every possible means of communication is banned?
And in this scenario not one per cent trust in government/police hand-outs or those briefings or those stale assurances from the rulers who dare not come out in the open and face the wrath of their own people. None seemingly around. Except, of course, within the confines of the television studios. Even the local MLAs not to be heard or seen. The only exception is Rashid Engineer but he is different; he carries the sheer conviction to raise his voice. Loud and clear.
Also, none of the VVIPS flying from New Delhi to Srinagar with announcement of hefty packages of crores! Crores for whom when people are dying?
Ongoing Mishandling of the Situation
What a mess we have made of the paradise on earth! What brutality has been unleashed on a hapless lot! There has been a complete mishandling of the situation for the last so many years... In fact, right from the early nineties, when I had begun reporting on the situation in the Kashmir Valley, one aspect was writ largemishandling of the situation. In fact, I recall the words of the former Chief Justice of J&K, Justice Bahauddin Faruqi: The government is treating each person as a suspect. I would say there are no more than 100 militants, yet to locate them a whole citys population is hounded. The searches are done in the most brutal wayeven before dawn the whole area is cordoned off ... even women in labour are not allowed to move... Hed said this during the course of an interview given to me in Srinagar in the early 1990s. And now, over the years, gaps have been widening, alienation standing out stark, together with some bitter realities.
Alienation and anger furthering over the years. Poor governance, failed promises by the politicians in power, together with vested interests of the political lobbies and a complete bypass of the local sentiments had helped heaped havoc in the Kashmir region. Decay is writ large. To put across this decay in the words of Mohamamd Ashraf, former Director General of J&K Tourism and author of several book on the ValleyWe used to live in paradise but it is lost now. For the locals the political turmoil has turned it into a hell. Especially the last two decades have been the worst in the recent history. Apart from losing thousands of lives and the cultural mosaic of centuries, the people have lost the sensitivity to various happenings around them. We abhorred violence but now it hardly affects us. Blood has become the cheapest commodity around.
And if you were to read Ajit Bhattacharjeas volume, Tragic Hero of KashmirSheikh Mohammad Abdullah (Roli Books), you would realise how over the years the Kashmiris patience has got transformed into sheer anger. The stark contrast between 1947 and the years that followed ... As Ajit Bhattacharjea writes in the very preface to this bookUnforgettable recollections of Srinagar as an island of amity in a sea of religious bloodshed in the Indian subcontinent inspire the writing of this book. The contrast between the cordial atmosphere of Srinagar and the foetid communal fear still stalking Delhi in October 1947, from where I had flown, exceeded even the first enchanting impression of the beauty of the Valley. It provided a ray of hope that secularism could survive in India... In the capital of India, as in much of the north of India, Muslims were under attack in reprisal for the bloody eviction of Hindus and Sikhs from the newly born Islamic state of Pakistan. Yet in the capital of Kashmir there was no sign of religious tension: its Muslim inhabitants were helping newly arrived elements of the Indian Army, Hindus and Sikhs, to defend the city against advancing Pathan lashkars ...
Pause and think and reflect and introspectwhy has the calm Kashmiri turned rebellious and angry? Is poor governance to be blamed for this present-day mess? Have political tactics failed? Can the hapless Kashmiri survive on speeches fitted with hollow words and layers of complete deceit?
For this mess political tactics and strategies used by the government at the State level and also at the Centre are to be blamed. Human rights violations by the government machinery and its agencies have gone a long way in bringing about alienation.
Holding elections is one formality-ridden aspect. Governance has to run deeper. Politicians have failed. Failed miserably. Governance is to connect with the masses. Yet, ironically, the political establishment seems hell-bent on bypassing the people and their local leaders.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > BJP and Cow Brigade
EDITORIAL
As we go to press, news has come that yesterday two Muslim women, suspected of carrying beef, were beaten up and abused at a railway station in Madhya Pradeshs Mandsaur district. The police had reportedly come to the railway station to arrest the women on receiving information that they were travelling with 30 kg of beef to sell. However, before the police could do anything a mob that had gathered there began to thrash the women. The mob allegedly comprised activists of the Hindu Dal, obviously one of the numerous fringe groups belonging to the Sangh Parivar.
Now, look at the kind of division of labour in the BJP. Party MLA Yashpal Sisodia strongly defended the Hindu Dal activists, saying: Those (Muslim) women are criminals and it was women who beat them up, so its a reaction to an action. This was almost an echo of what Narendra Modi, our present PM who was the Gujarat CM in 2002, had said following the post-Godhra anti-Muslim pogrom in the State in February-March that year: According to Newtons Third Law of Motion, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
Madhya Pradesh being a BJP-ruled State, its Home Minister had to adopt a different stance owing to his constitutionally held position. He promised to initiate action against those who have attempted to take law in their hands. He also disclosed that, according to the veterinary report, prima facie it (the meat the Muslim women carried) was found to be buffalo meat.
The Hindustan Times report informed:
Slaughter of buffalo and consumption of its meat are legal in the State, but sellers require a permit from the local civic body for the same. Since the two women did not have the necessary permit, they have been booked by the police.
This was also what the Minister conveyed.
This incident has come just a fortnight after four Dalit youth were flogged by cow protection vigilantes for having allegedly skinned a dead cow in Gujarats Una district. That sparked a massive outrage with Dalits taking to the streets to register their anguish and indignation against the persecution of members of their own community.
Yesterdays incident at Mandsaur justifiably triggered resentment in the Rajya Sabha today on the lines of the Upper House members vociferous protests against the Una attack on Dalits as well as the derogatory and insultingly abusive words used by UP BJPs Vice-President Dayashankar Singh against Mayawati at a gathering in Mau. BSP supremo Mayawati led the charge today while Leader of the Opposition in the House, Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad, declared: Gau raksha honi chahiye, lekin uske naam par bahaana karke Dalit aur Mussalmanon ko target karo, uske khilaf hain hum. (Cow should be protected, but we are against the targeting of Dalits and Muslims in its name.)
Mayawati referred to the BJP slogan mahilaon ke samman mein, BJP maidan mein, and averred: But actually women are thrashed over beef-rumours in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.
But what did the BJP Minister, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, say? We should rise above politics on such issues, and the welfare of society should be above personal motives. These were the only words that he could utter.
His response itself exposed the ruling partys ulterior game: let the members of the cow brigade continue with their nefarious activities, we of the Treasury Benches shall turn a blind eye to all such acts on their part!
July 28 S.C.
Thrissur: Coming down heavily on Kerala's violent politics, actor Sreenivasan on last day said that martyrs are only born in the family of party workers, but not at any leader's house. While speaking at a book release function in Thrissur, the actor said that Keralites are fed up with such violent politics.
Politicians believe that they can drum up support by splashing martyrs picture on flex. He reminded that these flexes contain the pictures of the workers who were left to die for their leaders. The workers are pushed to become martyrs by helplessness and by the leader's brain washing. he added.
Mumbai : 26/11 Mumbai attacks key plotter and Lashkar-e-Toiba operative Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal was among seven persons sentenced to life imprisonment today by a special MCOCA court in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case. Besides Jundal, six other convicts--Mohammed Aamir Sheikh, Billal Ahmed, Sayed Akif, Afroz Khan, Mohammed Aslam Kashmiri and Faizal Ataur Rehman (who is on death row in the July 11, 2006 Mumbai train bombings case)-- were handed out life by designated Judge Shrikant Anekar. Prounoucing the sentence, the court said that all the seven convicts will serve imprisonment till their (natural) life.
Also, two other convicts--Mohammed Mujaffar Tanvir and Dr Mohammed Sharif-- were handed out 14 years of imprisonment while three others--Mushtaq Ahmed, Javed Ahmed and Afzal Khan were awarded eight years imprisonment. The court while sentencing all the 12 convicted, today observed that it has taken into consideration the gravity of offence, lack of remorse (of the accused) and potential effect on common man in the case. On July 28, ten years after ATS recovered a huge haul of arms near Aurangabad, the special court had convicted 12 persons and acquitted eight others in the case but had dropped the stringent MCOCA charge against them. Out of total 22 accused in the case, the court last week acquitted eight others while trial of two accused was separated as one of them was declared hostile after he turned approver, while another accused is absconding.
On May 8, 2006, a Maharashtra ATS team chased a Tata Sumo and an Indica car on Chandwad-Manmad Highway near Aurangabad and arrested three terror suspects and seized 30kg of RDX, 10 AK-47 assault rifles and 3,200 bullets. Jundal, allegedly driving the Indica, managed to give police the slip. The court had observed that the accused had a common thought process and wanted to wage "jihad". The judge had also accepted prosecution's case that the accused wanted to strike terror in the minds of the people and wanted to eliminate public figures like (the then) Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi and Hindu leader Praveen Togadia (of VHP). The judge had also said that the accused wanted to avenge developments that unfolded after the 2002 Godhra riots.
PTI
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend:
Turkey sent the US another request last week for the extradition of Fethullah Gulen, Anadolu Agency reported Aug. 2 referring to Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag.
Gulen is considered to be involved in the military coup attempt in Turkey that took place in mid July.
On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.
However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.
Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.
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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
With 146 quiet, ocean-facing rooms, 3 restaurants and bars, swimming pools, a fully equipped gym and conferencing facilities for up to 300 delegates, the Hotel White Sands Beach Resort is a place where one can unwind in a beautiful landscaped environment set in a verdant scenery, situated on an idyllic stretch of 1km private sun-kissed beach front, just 25kms North of Dar es Salaam city center and airport, making it the preferred gateway to a uniquely East African experience.
Whether your trip is for business or pleasure, at White Sands one can combine a little of the two with all rooms inclusive of complimentary Wi-Fi service, whilst the resort is equipped with 16 separate conference venues as well as a unique multimedia auditorium/cinema seating 60 guests, an electronic translation system, individually controlled air-conditioning in each venue, and a flexibility in offering tailor-made conferencing and special events, has earned the White Sands Resort the reputation of being one of the finest conferencing and events destinations on the East Coast of Africa.
Whilst overall the atmosphere is a languorous one where one can relax and unwind in the evenings whilst enjoying a ice-cold Kilimanjaro beer on the impressive hardwood deck of the Pweza Jetty boasting panoramic views of the popsicle-blue Indian Ocean, or indulge yourself with a relaxing treatment from the White Sands Wellness Spa and Relaxation Centre. Or take a boat trip to one of the uninhabited nearby islands.
For a sumptuous dining experience with panoramic ocean views, the Mchanga Restaurant & Bar open-air restaurant and adjoining bar and lounge seats 300 guests and offers an a-la-carte menu as well as buffet-style dining options. With the ocean lapping at the shore the restaurant serves light meals with a full bar service and is the ideal place to watch the picturesque African sunset, while sipping on a pre-prandial cocktail.
Or be adventurous and explore Dar es Salaam. The largest and most influential city in Tanzania with many local activities and destinations for you to see and close to 6 million people calling it home, the city is filled with vibrant excitement and character. So whether you are looking for culture, beaches, shopping and adventure - Dar Es Salaam has it all with enthralling local attractions such as the Kariakoo Market on Swahili Street, or The National Museum with its cast of one familys footprint trail left in volcanic ash over 3.5 million years ago. Or take a weekend boat trip out to Zanzibar, the famous exotic Spice-Island offering some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. From the crystal clear warm waters of the Indian Ocean to the cultural diversity, slave trade history and spice plantations, Zanzibar is a destination not to be missed by anyone visiting the Swahili Coast.
The White Sands Resorts rooms themselves were evidently created with the guest in mind, a tranquil setting and utilizing harmonious design elements. All rooms include individually controlled air-conditioner, mini-bar fridge, tea/coffee making facilities, satellite television, electronic safe, telephone, hair-dryer, en-suite bathroom with shower, wireless internet, work-desk, 24 hour room service and all rooms are serviced daily, with the staff even pulling back your mosquito net for you each night. Jangwani Beach giving you the pleasure of white sands and crystal waters right at your room's doorstep, are just one of the many reasons Hotel White Sands is the perfect location.
For more information, please visit: www.hotelwhitesands.com
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend:
The operation against supporters of Fethullah Gulen in Turkeys Petkim petrochemical holding wont affect its work, Petkim said in a statement released Aug. 2.
At present, Petkim petrochemical holding continues its work in normal mode.
It was reported on Aug. 2 morning that operation against supporters of Fethullah Gulen started in Turkeys Petkim petrochemical holding.
Earlier, Vagif Aliyev, head of the board of directors of Petkim said that 27 people have been dismissed from various departments at Petkim petrochemical holding (SOCARs Turkish asset) since July 27.
Moreover, former director general of Petkim petrochemical holding Sadeddin Korkut was detained over the complaint of the companys high-ranking official who was dismissed earlier.
Sadeddin Korkut was dismissed from his post and Anar Mammadov, who is also head of SOCAR Greece (SOCARs Greek subsidiary), replaced him.
Earlier, some officials of SOCAR Turkey Energy (Turkish subsidiary of SOCAR) resigned.
Among those resigned are Omer Adsiz, director of public relations department at SOCAR Turkey, Ilgar Mehmetoglu, director of the companys human resources department, Cetin Korkut, director of the companys IT department, as well as Fuat Ulagay, director of human resources department at Star refinery.
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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
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Minimalists rejoice
Calvin Klein have finally put us all out of our misery and announced the appointment of Raf Simons as Chief Creative Officer of the brand. Effective immediately, the ex-Dior and Jil Sander genius will debut his first collection for the brand this September, for the autumn/winter 2017 season, presumably on the New York Fashion Week schedule where the brand usually shows.
Simons will be heading up the creative strategy of the Calvin Klein brand globally across Calvin Klein Collection, Calvin Klein Platinum, Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Jeans, Calvin Klein Underwear and Calvin Klein Home.
In case you haven't noticed, the iconic American brand have been ramping up their advertising campaigns of late, harkening back to the uber-cool reputation it was built on in the 90s. Since reacquiring the Calvin Klein Jeans and Calvin Klein Underwear businesses in 2013, theyve teamed up with old faces including Kate Moss (who could ever forget her early ninties campaigns for the brand with Mark Wahlberg), and new, with everyone from Bella Hadid to Justin Bieber fronting the brand's recent campaigns. In keeping with this theme, the brand took a millennial's approach to announcing the news and used social media including Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Its a move that the fashion industry have anticipated for a long time. And considering Raf left Dior back in October 2015, one weve been waiting almost a year for. Dior also took their time in announcing Simons successor, Valentinos co-creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri. But with almost everything in place - the next steps for Calvin Kleins recently departed Creative Director Francisco Costa remain a mystery - we are literally bursting with excitement over what delicious minimalism the Belgian designer will bring to the brand that near-founded minimalism in the ninties. Its quite literally a match made in fashion heaven.
(Image credit: Aurora Rose/WWD/REX/Shutterstock)
The arrival of Raf Simons as Chief Creative Officer signifies a momentous new chapter for Calvin Klein, said Steve Shiffman, CEO of Calvin Klein, Inc. Not since Mr. Klein himself was at the company has it been led by one creative visionary, and I am confident that this decision will drive the Calvin Klein brand and have a significant impact on its future. Rafs exceptional contributions have shaped and modernized fashion as we see it today and, under his direction, Calvin Klein will further solidify its position as a leading global lifestyle brand.
As part of this new creative strategy for the brand, Calvin Klein also announced the hire of Pieter Mulier, Simons' long-standing right hand man and studio director, who fans of the documentary Dior & I, will recognise as the unexpected star of the show. Under the esteemed title of Creative Director, Mulier will handle the creative and design vision for mens and womens ready-to-wear, as well as the bridge and accessories lines.
The countdown to fashion month starts here.
The U.S. Coast Guard and DNV GL have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) authorizing DNV GL to participate in the Alternate Compliance Program (ACP) and delegated certain survey and certification services for U.S. flagged vessels.
This delegation and MOA, signed by Rear Adm. Paul Thomas, assistant commandant for prevention policy, and Captain Blaine Collins, DNV GL vice president of group government and public affairs for the U.S., supersedes the agreements previously executed by DNV and the Coast Guard on August 4, 2006, and GL and the Coast Guard on September 7, 2011.
The ACP is an alternative to complying with vessel certification and inspection standards contained in Title 46, Code of Federal Regulations, and administered through inspections conducted by Coast Guard personnel. It provides an alternate process for an owner of a U.S. registered vessel to obtain a Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection by complying with the standards of an authorized classification society, International Conventions and a U.S. supplement.
With the signing of this memorandum, DNV GL is undertaking a significant level of responsibility and work on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard, said Thomas. We are confident in their abilities to support our efforts and look forward to having them on board.
We greatly value the ongoing relationship we have with the Coast Guard, said Collins. We appreciate their trust and confidence in DNV GL to provide statutory services on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard.
The classification society ACP authorization is intended to reduce the regulatory burden on the maritime industry while maintaining existing levels of safety and provide the maritime industry with flexibility in determining how to build and operate U.S. flagged vessels.
Europes largest port is the latest to allow the GAC EnvironHulls eco-friendly hull cleaning system to operate in its waters. The launch of HullWiper at Rotterdam, widely acknowledged as a pioneer in innovation and shipping technology, was marked by a panel discussion, webinar and live demonstration.
The Port of Rotterdams Senior Manager, Peter Mollema, said the ground-breaking technology exactly aligns with Rotterdams ambition to be the most sustainable port of its kind.
In its 'The Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016' the World Economic Forum has for the fourth consecutive time declared that the Netherlands has the best port infrastructure, he told more than 100 industry figures from the city and beyond who gathered at the Floating Pavilion or followed the event online. How did we get there? And how will we stay there? One very important aspect is innovation. There is a real and pressing need to decarbonise the shipping industry, and [HullWiper] is just one way that vision can be achieved.
Co-hosted by GAC EnvironHull and the Port of Rotterdam, the Smart Ship Technologies and Measures for Greener Ports discussion addressed the technological and regulatory pressures on ports and operators. It also highlighted solutions to help vessel owners and operators save costs and remain compliant particularly with hull maintenance.
Traditional hull cleaning operations using divers with brushes are prohibited within Rotterdams port waters due to concerns about marine pollution. No such problem exists for GAC EnvironHull, thanks to HullWipers adjustable water-jet cleaning and debris collection systems.
Christer Sjodoff, GACs Group Vice President - Commercial, said: Ports around the world are under a lot of strain when it comes to the environment. GAC, as part of the maritime community, has realised that we must change and evolve, and part of that evolution is the creation of innovative products with world class partners. New technologies and initiatives are contributing to a cleaner, safer and healthier shipping world a world that GAC is an active part of.
Sjodoff was joined on the panel of experts: John Willsher, Global Accounts Manager at AkzoNobels Marine Coatings Business, International; Gavin van Popering, former Performance Manager, Underwater Services for A.P. Mller-Maersk Shipping; and Ron van Gelder, Senior Advisor to the Port of Rotterdam, who stressed that the port has an eye for innovation, especially when it supports regulatory compliance.
Van Popering said the presence of HullWiper at a significant port like Rotterdam would only be seen as a positive step: The advantages speak for themselves. The versatility and value is still there, despite the drop in fuel prices. HullWiper is a positive step forward for the shipping industry in general.
The event ended with a live demonstration of HullWiper in the waters of the Nieuwe Maas. Its inventor and GAC EnvironHulls Technical Director, Robert Andersen, was at hand to answer questions and demonstrate the online fuel calculator which enables ship owners and operators to compare savings reaped using HullWiper with traditional diver-based cleaning methods.
HullWiper is seeing growing interest and uptake at the ports where it operates in the Middle East, Far East and Europe. One of Northern Europes oldest ship owners ha ordered hull cleaning in Singapore and in Rotterdam, and is implementing a policy to use HullWiper to clean all its vessels from here on. A leading scientific marine consultancy has also expressed an interest in conducting a rigorous data analysis of HullWiper with a view to putting it to their customers as an efficiency solution.
Hullwiper in operation Photo GAC
APL announced today that its West Coast 5 (WC5) service will be serving the additional ports of Corinto, Acajutla and Puerto Quetzal in Central America, enhancing direct connectivity between the Port of Los Angeles and the Latin American markets.
APL said that the WC5 service has been refined to better support trade activities between Central America and the United States (U.S). As the industries of Central America continue to be key exporters of agricultural produce and commodities; as well as manufactured products such as clothes and textiles to the U.S., APLs enhanced WC5 service will enable a more direct access between the two regions. Meanwhile, shippers can expect to benefit from shorter transit times, compared to trans-shipment options that involve land transportation via Mexico.
From 14 September 2016, the enhanced WC5 service will call the ports of Los Angeles, Lazaro Cardenas, Corinto, Acajutla and Puerto Quetzal every week.
The Korean Register (KR) an IACS member classification society has announced that it has significantly expanded its land-based test facilities for Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) by opening a brand new specialist facility.
KR has been conducting type approval testing of BWMS since 2004, with a consortium of six different partners. KR and its partners segregate the duties, taking into account each organizations specialist expertise. This range of expert knowledge and high quality services was recognized when KR was accepted as the first Independent Laboratory in Asia to be accredited by the United States Coast Guard (USCG IL).
Manufacturers who have already secured BWMS type approval from their administrations or have developed new equipment and want to secure USCG type approval testing are currently facing long delays because there are not enough test facilities. As a result, there is a significant bottle-neck of manufacturers awaiting USCG type approval testing, particularly land-based testing.
To mitigate this situation, KR and one of its partners, Korea Marine Equipment Research Institute (KOMERI) agreed to work together to establish and to build additional test facilities to meet this demand. On 22 July, 2016, KR and KOMERI and the consortium partners celebrated the completion of the building works for the new land-based test facilities.
The test facility, which already offered the largest capacity for BWMS testing of anywhere in the world, has been expanded through the addition of three further units, and it now offers a total testing capacity for Max. TRC 500 m3/h of BWMS together with four testing slots.
KRs goal is to meet the growing demand for testing and certifying services from BWMS manufacturers around the world, and by providing high quality specialist services to support the development of improved, more reliable BWMS.
The new facility will be approved by the USCG in September and at the same time will become fully operational for land-based testing for USCG type approval as well type approval testing for other Administrations under the IMOs G8 guidelines.
Commenting on the completion of the building works, Dr. B. S. Park, Chairman and CEO of KR said, KR and its consortium partners already offer the most expert skills, specialist knowledge and the highest technical capabilities of any test facility anywhere in the world. With this new facility we will be able to offer significantly increased capacity and enhanced type approval services to BWMS manufacturers, ready for the Ballast Water Convention to enter into force. At the same time KR will continue to support its global customers with high quality expert services tailored to their business needs.
James Fisher has acquired the entire share capital of Lexmar Engineering Pte Limited and Lexmar Sat Systems Pte Limited (together 'Lexmar').
Lexmar, which was founded in 1996 in Singapore and a specialist providing diving equipment, will become part of JFD and will enhance JFD's saturation diving capability and offering. Together JFD and Lexmar will improve the regional support and capability to defence markets within the Asia Pacific region.
The business, complementary to JFDs specialist technical division, is currently completing three 18 man twin bell saturation diving systems. They are currently in the process of undertaking installation and commissioning in China and will commence the third system in Singapore early 2017.
The inclusion of Lexmar as part of JFD improves the companys capability and offering of specialist diving equipment services to the Asia Pacific market, enhances the production capacity and customer support in this area, as well as strengthening our support to the Singaporean Navy for all activities related to submarine rescue.
Giovanni Corbetta, JFDs MD, commented: We are delighted to welcome Lexmar to the JFD family and are excited at the opportunities this presents to us, particularly within the Asia Pacific region. The addition of Lexmar brings JFD to the forefront of diving equipment capability and saturation diving systems offering and support and will further strengthen our vision to support our clients core operations by offering market leading technology solutions and world class support.
Marieke Barker, Lexmars CEO, added: We are very happy to become part of the JFD family as this acquisition provides unique opportunities to grow. Lexmar has come a long way and we are proud and thankful of what we have accomplished and ready to go to the next level with JFD. Together we are strong!
JFD are currently completing two saturation diving systems and commissioning is underway in both Norway and Baku. With a track record spanning the last 35 years, the companys track record shows more than 100 systems built.
Sixty-four young men and women started their careers at Hapag-Lloyd on yesterday (August 01). Chief Executive Office Rolf Habben Jansen warmly welcomed the new apprentices this morning during an event held at Hapag-Lloyds headquarters in Hamburg.
In the land division, 21 young men and 17 young women began their training programs to become shipping agents, forwarding and logistics clerks, office management clerks and warehousing specialists.
In addition, some of the on-shore apprentices are also starting dual-track courses of study in Logistics Management, Business Administration, Maritime Management, Information Systems and Applied Informatics. Four more grant holders will also join the IT department in October.
In the marine division, 26 apprentices (21 men and five women) will complete training programs to become a ship mechanic or a course to become a nautical or technical officers assistant as a prerequisite for completing a three-year course of study in nautical science or shipping technology. Another 12 apprenticeships will begin their training to become ship mechanics in January 2017.
At present, Hapag-Lloyd employs 239 apprentices and students in dual-track study programs. Of these, 127 are based on shore and 112 are in the marine division.
Hapag-Lloyd has been investing in the next generation of maritime staff for many years so that Germany remains one of the leading shipping nations in Europe, says Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd.
Rolf added: Many of our managers and captains today are former Hapag-Lloyd apprentices. Thats just one of the reasons why we view hiring young apprentices as laying the foundation for the future success of our company.
Hapag-Lloyd is Germanys largest provider of training in the shipping industry. Up to 90 percent of all graduates will be offered employment at Hapag-Lloyd after completing their training. Some of them also leave to start university-level studies immediately after graduating from the Hapag-Lloyd training programs.
1865 - CSS Shenandoah, commanded by James I. Waddell, encounters the British merchant bark, Barracouta, in the Pacific Ocean and receives the first firm report the Civil War ended in April with the defeat of the Confederacy. Shenandoah rounds Cape Horn in mid-September and arrives at Liverpool in early November, becoming the only Confederate Navy ship to circumnavigate the globe. There she hauls down the Confederate ensign and turns over to the Royal Navy.
1943 - (PT 109), commanded by Lt. j.g. John F. Kennedy, is rammed by the Japanese destroyer, Amagiri, which cuts through the vessel at Blackett Strait near Kolombangara Island. Abandoning ship, Kennedy leads his men to swim to an island some miles away. With the aid of a Coastwatcher and local residents, they return to Rendova PT base on Aug. 8.
1944 - While in action with the German submarine (U 804), USS Fiske (DE 143) is torpedoed mid-ship, breaks in two and sinks. Thirty of her crew members are lost with her.
1944 - USS Tautog (SS 199) attacks Japanese (KO 8801) convoy, sinking army cargo ship Konei Maru off Miki saki, Honshu.
1964 - USS Maddox (DD 731) engages three North Vietnamese motor torpedo boats. In the resulting torpedo and gunfire, Maddox hit all the boats, while she was struck only by a single 14.5-millimeter machine gun bullet. Air support arrives from USS Ticonderoga (CVA 14) and her planes strafe the three boats. Both sides then disengage.
(Source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division)
China's Supreme Court said on Tuesday people caught illegally fishing in Chinese waters could be jailed for up to a year, issuing a judicial interpretation defining those waters as including China's exclusive economic zones.
An arbitration court in The Hague ruled last month that China had no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea and that it had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights with various actions in the sea, infuriating Beijing which dismissed the case.
None of China's reefs and holdings in the Spratly Islands entitled it to a 200-mile exclusive economic zone, the court decided.
China's Supreme Court made no direct mention of the South China Sea or The Hague ruling, but said its judicial interpretation was made in accordance with both Chinese law and the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), under which the Philippines had brought its case.
"Judicial power is an important component of national sovereignty," the Supreme Court said.
"People's courts will actively exercise jurisdiction over China's territorial waters, support administrative departments to legally perform maritime management duties ... and safeguard Chinese territorial sovereignty and maritime interests."
Jurisdictional seas covered by the interpretation include contiguous zones, exclusive economic zones and continental shelves, it said.
People who illegally entered Chinese territorial waters and refused to leave after being driven out, or who re-entered after being driven away or being fined in the past year, would be considered to have committed "serious" criminal acts and could get up to a year in jail, the Supreme Court said.
"The explanation offers legal guarantees for marine fishing law enforcement," it added.
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.
China periodically detains fishermen, especially from the Philippines and Vietnam, and Chinese fishermen also occasionally get detained by other claimants in the South China Sea.
Separately, China's military has inaugurated a memorial to servicemen who died in clashes with South Vietnamese forces in 1974 which resulted in China cementing its rule over the Paracel Islands, the People's Liberation Army Daily said on Tuesday.
The memorial, on Duncan Island, commemorates the 18 Chinese personnel who died, the paper said.
Reporting by Ben Blanchard
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
By Anakhanum Idayatova Trend:
The normalization of relations between Turkey and Russia will heal the wounds, which appeared not only in economic sphere, but also in various other fields between the two countries over the past nine months, Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu, vice chairman of the Turkish analytical center Strategic Outlook, told Trend Aug. 2.
Henceforth, the sides will continue the implementation of many mutually beneficial projects, said Oztarsu.
He noted that Turkeys relations with Russia also affect the relations with countries of the region.
Turkey is not able to carry out its usual policy in the region over many months, while the economy, tourism, agriculture and industry need to be improved, said Oztarsu.
It is expected that Russia will also cancel visa regime for Turkish citizens soon that will have positive impact on Turkeys cooperation with countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Turkey is a dialogue partner at the SCO.
Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Russia on Aug. 9 and will have a meeting with the countrys President Vladimir Putin.
Relations between Moscow and Ankara deteriorated when Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber with two pilots on board. On June 27, Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter of condolences to Putin over the death of Russian Su-24 pilot and expressed regret over the incident. After that, the two countries relations began to improve.
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The American Waterways Operators (AWO) will hold Subchapter M information sessions open to both members and nonmembers at its summer regional meetings in Portland on August 10, in Pittsburgh on August 17 and in New York on August 24.
Subchapter M is one of the most important rulemakings ever to affect the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, and the AWO said it is committed to helping all members successfully navigate the transition to towing vessel inspection. AWOs Board of Directors has also asked the association to serve as an information resource for the entire industry, including tugboat and towboat companies that do not belong to AWO, so that the rules promise of improved marine safety and environmental stewardship industry-wide can be achieved.
The information sessions will provide information regarding the Subchapter M rule and its implementation from AWO staff and members of the Coast Guards Subchapter M Implementation Team.
Each session will include briefings and updates on:
The Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Tuesday issued a regulation of judicial interpretation to clarify China's jurisdiction over its territorial seas, reports Xinhua.
"Judicial power is an important component of national sovereignty," said the statement, adding, "People's courts will actively exercise jurisdiction over China's territorial waters, support administrative departments to legally perform maritime management duties, equally protect the legal rights of Chinese and foreign parties involved and safeguard Chinese territorial sovereignty and maritime interests."
The explanation provides clear legal basis for China to safeguard maritime order, marine safety and interests, and to exercise integrated management over the country's jurisdictional seas, said an SPC statement.
The regulation, taking effect on Tuesday, stated that Chinese citizens or foreigners would be pursued criminal liability if they were engaged in illegal hunting or fishing, or killing endangered wildlife in China's jurisdictional seas.
The judicial explanation, based on Chinese law, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and judicial practices, further clarifies China's maritime jurisdiction, the statement said.
Softening demand growth coupled with larger liner shipping alliances and bigger ships is moving the container ports industry towards a value sector from growth sector, albeit still highly profitable, according to the Global Container Terminal Operators Annual Report 2016 published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.
Global and international container terminal operators are faced with the dual challenges of weaker demand growth and rising operating and capital costs due to larger vessels and alliances.
On the stock markets, ports are increasingly seen as a mature value sector rather than a growth sector.
Global container port demand is forecast by Drewry to grow by less than 3% per annum over the next five years with projections softened in particular due to the sharp slowdown in Chinas exports. Positives are the resilience of the Middle East and South Asia and potential recovery of Russia (along with oil prices).
In response, terminal operators and investors have been urgently reviewing capacity expansion plans. Many projects within the five-year forecast horizon are already too far advanced to change significantly, but those scheduled to appear later in the period are subject to reconsideration in terms of timing and scale.
For terminal operators, the focus is switching from greenfield developments to M&A activity, with a number of major deals already in the pipeline and more likely to come. APM Terminals has acquired Grup TCB, CMA CGM bought APL and Yilport is taking over Tertir.
Three Chinese companies China Merchants Port Holdings, Cosco and China Shipping (the latter two now merged) have a strong appetite and significant activity in terms of expansion through buying existing businesses.
By 2020 the combined Cosco-China Shipping entity will be the largest of Drewrys global/international terminal operators (measured by capacity), albeit with a large proportion of this in one country (China).
Neil Davidson, Drewrys senior analyst for ports and terminals said It is clear that global and international terminal operators are fundamentally reviewing their strategies, becoming cooler on greenfield projects and more interested in M&A opportunities. A natural response to the increasing size of liner alliances is for terminal operators to look to consolidate terminal ownership in parallel.
However, a dichotomy in approaches is evident. On the one hand many of the established international players have become more cautious because they are concerned that returns may be less than what they are used to," he said.
"But on the other hand there are several expansion minded players like the Chinese operators and Yilport Holdings (a new entrant this year in Drewrys league tables of global and international terminal operators) whose top strategic priority is to acquire more assets, added Davidson.
Japan has accused China of being assertive over maritime issues, taking actions that effectively amount to a "fait accompli", reports Strait Times.
In its 484-page annual defence white paper on Tuesday (Aug 2), the defence ministry said the aggressive actions by China could "cause unintended consequences", referring to past incidents including one where a China naval frigate entered Japan's contiguous zone this year, near a crop of islets in the East China Sea that has been claimed by both countries.
The report called Chinas reclamation moves in the South China Sea a provocation, and urged Beijing to accept a recent international arbitration ruling.
It said Chinas escalating activity in the East China Sea caused Japan to scramble against Chinese warplanes more than 570 times last year.
The islets, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, have been a constant flashpoint between both countries in recent years.
"Recently, China has been intensifying activities near the Senkaku islands such as its military aircraft flying southward closer to the islands," said the defence paper.
The report said China has stepped up activity around Japancontrolled islands that Beijing also claims, adding that a Chinese warship entered a strip of water just outside Japanese claimed waters in the area.
Chinas actions over conflicting maritime claims are unilateral and high-handed, and some of them are dangerous actions that could trigger unanticipated situations, the report said. They raise strong concern about what may happen in the future.
Beijing didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.
Greece has received only one bid to build and run a new rail freight terminal outside Athens, a project it has been trying to get underway for years, the country's transport ministry said on Tuesday.
The bid is from ETBA, a unit of Greece's Piraeus Bank which develops and manages industrial parks, in collaboration with Goldair, a domestic firm offering cargo and logistics services, the ministry said.
The selected investor will build and operate the terminal at Thriasio for 60 years under a 250 million-euro ($280 million) investment plan which will create a new rail freight transport hub linking up with Greece's largest port of Piraeus.
Greece, which had to turn to its euro zone partners and the International Monetary Fund in 2010 to be rescued from its debt crisis, is still struggling to revive its economy after seven years of recession.
The project will create some 3,000 jobs over 10 years, cut transport costs and turn the country into a gateway for imports to central Europe, the ministry said in a statement.
The deadline for binding bids for the new terminal - which was pushed back twice this year to give investors more time to prepare - expired on Monday.
The process is being managed by state-owned company GAIAOSE, real estate manager for national railways operator OSE.
"There has been one bid by ETBA and Goldair and GAIAOSE's task now is to evaluate the bid," said an official at GAIAOSE who declined to be named.
Once the investor has qualified, GAIAOSE will unseal technical and financial details of the proposal. The official said it would aim to have the details of the financial offer by the end of the month.
Sources close to the process said on Monday that ETBA was interested in the project but another potential suitor, China's COSCO along with Greek real estate firms Grivalia and NBG Pangaea, a unit of National Bank, would not submit an offer.
Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou
THORNICO launched its newest player on the shipping market, the dry bulk carrier Thorco Bulk. THORNICO already owns the project oriented carrier Thorco and with this expansion it aims to offer a wider range of services to meet the needs and demands of their clients.
Thorco Bulk will be an asset-light operator, primarily within the handy/supra segment. The team behind Thorco Bulk consists of the three Managing Directors Marc Slinger, Rene Mikkelsen and Uffe Hansen. They all have years of experience within shipping and according to THORNICO owners, Thor and Christian Stadil. Rene, Marc and Uffe have a great track record, great know-how and expertise within the field and furthermore, an eye for sound business practice. We thus believe that the business model is sound and puts us in a great position to capitalize on any synergies, they both elaborate.
A Sound Expansion
According to Thor Stadil, an expansion into the dry bulk segment, in the form of the new company Thorco Bulk, seems natural and complements the existing business very well. During the last years, the lines between the different shipping segments have been fading and especially bulk is a growing part of the business. We are very strong within project and as the segments overlap, it makes sense to expand the business to get closer to our clients and thus be able to serve them with a wider range of services, he explains.
The two Thorco companies will be separate subsidiaries, each running their businesses independently within bulk and project. Still, they will as sister companies be run very closely.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
By Orkhan Guluzade Trend:
In connection with the military coup attempt in Turkey, the countrys prosecutor's office and the bureau of investigation of the constitution violations are conducting investigation at the Akinci Air Base, which was the headquarters of the coup plotters, the Haber 7 newspaper reported Aug. 2.
Head of Turkeys general staff and other high officials of the countrys armed forces were also held hostage on the day of the coup attempt at the Akinci Air Base located in Ankara.
Earlier, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced the closure of the Akinci military base.
On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.
However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.
Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.
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All the Trump men, and Consiglieri
Twentieth-century Minister of Propaganda and Enlightenment, Joseph Goebbels, stressed how best to psychologically control the masses. Abstracted by scholars Jowett and ODonnell, these principles are:
1. Avoid abstract ideas and appeal to the emotions.
2. Constantly repeat just a few ideas and use stereotyped phrases.
3. Give only one side of the argument.
4. Continuously criticize the opponents.
5. Pick out one special enemy for special vilification.
The receptivity of the great masses is very limited, their intelligence is small, but their power of forgetting is enormous, wrote Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf. In consequence of these facts, all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these slogans ..."
Goebbels concurred. The rank and file are more primitive than we imagine. Propaganda must therefore always be essentially simple and repetitious ... keep forever repeating them in this simplified form despite the objections of intellectuals.
For example, repeat:
Make America Great Again!
America First!
USA! USA! USA!
Build The Wall!
After the Brexit victory in Britain that Donald Trump supported, a major donor said it was won on the basis of emotion, like the Trump campaign, rather than fact fact fact fact fact.
Where will fact fact fact fact fact fit into Decision 2016: Clinton vs. Trump, if at all? Are anti-intellectualism, press suppression, character assassinations and McCarthyism on the rise along with Donald Trump?
Anti-intellectualism is a component of the Trump movement, but has historical antecedents.
In 1963, Richard Hofstadter analyzed anti-intellectualism in American life. He concluded it was historically embedded in the culture of America, an outcome of its European and evangelical Protestant heritage.
In 1952, Adlai Stevenson was called an egghead by Richard Nixon during the 1952 U.S. presidential race. Egghead became a pejorative term that replaced the former epithet highbrow used to denigrate intellectuals.
In 1969, Richard Nixons Vice-President, Spiro Agnew, swiped against Vietnam War protesters calling them an effete core of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals.
That [Agnew phrase] perfectly sums up todays self-delegated protectors of American conservatism, wrote Roger Stone at pro-Trump Breitbart.com, as, in their desperation to stop Donald Trump at all cost.
Roger Stone, who once allegedly jumped out of Trumps inner circle but now has magically returned as ally, is known as a GOP political provocateur and dirty trickster. He was Nixons dirty trickster before he was Reagans dirty trickster before he was George H.W. Bushs dirty trickster, wrote CNN.
On November 22, 2000, Stone disrupted the Florida vote recount effort in Miami-Dade County. Later, the Supreme Court stopped all recounts; Al Gore conceded; and George W. Bush became the next president. Stones operation in Florida became known in the trade as the Brooks Brothers riot.
Roger Stone had been a protege of Watergate felon Donald Segretti who wrote the Canuck Letter that destroyed Edmund Muskies presidential hopes in 1972. Segretti was an agent provocateur of Nixons infamous 1972 Committee to Reelect the President (CREEP), where Karl Rove, the election guru of George W. Bush, also worked.
Stone recently chided his friend Trump with words that parallel those of Hitler and Goebbels. Campaigns cannot be a democracy, they must be a dictatorship, he told Politico.com.
Also dominating the Trump campaign is Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort who, as one acerbic critic wrote, is an unsavory type who looks like he just stepped out of one of the less successful Godfather movies.
Over the course of a long lobbying career in D.C., Manafort and his firm made a fortune fronting for a group of clients once referred to as the torturers lobby, wrote The Daily Beast.
[Manafort and company] made millions by representing a rogues gallery of clients: dictators, guerilla groups, and despots with no regard for human rightsincluding one man responsible for mass amputations, and another who oversaw state-sanctioned rape.
In 1970, Vice-President Agnew denounced journalists as nattering nabobs of negativism. In May, 2016, Donald J. Trump said, [t]he press should be ashamed of themselves ... they are not good people ... The political press is among the most dishonest people that Ive ever met.
But it was what Donald Trump learned from Joe McCarthys Red-baiting consigliere, Roy Cohn, that will remain a fixture in the Trump campaign and possible future presidency.
Mr. Trumps wrecking ball of a presidential bid ... has been a Roy Cohn number on a grand scale, wrote The New York Times. Mr. Trumps response to the Orlando massacre, with his ominous warnings of a terrorist attack that could wipe out the country and his conspiratorial suggestions of a Muslim fifth column in the United States, seemed to have been ripped straight out of the Cohn playbook.
And just what were Donald Trumps ties to the Mob?
Politico.com (May 22, 2016) will tell you.
USA? USA? USA?
2016 Michael T. Bucci.
(Michael T. Bucci is a retired public relations executive currently residing in New England.)
Notes:
Propaganda - Goebbels' Principles,
http://www.physics.smu.edu/pseudo/Propaganda/goebbels.html
Goebbels' Principles of Propaganda, Leonard W. Doob, Public Opinion Quarterly, Fall 1950 pp. 419-442 (PDF)
https://istifhane.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/goebbels.pdf
Hitler, Adolf, Mein Kampf Vol. 1 Ch. VI, The receptivity of the great masses is very limited ...
http://www.physics.smu.edu/pseudo/Propaganda/
Propaganda
http://www.physics.smu.edu/pseudo/Propaganda/
Anti-intellectualism in American Life, Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-intellectualism_in_American_Life
Egghead, Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egghead
Trumpism and Reaganism, Roger Stone and Paul Nagy, Breitbard.com, February 15, 2016.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/02/15/trump-ism-and-reagan-ism/
nattering nabobs of negativism, Taegan Goddard, Taegan Goddards Political Dictionary.
http://politicaldictionary.com/words/nattering-nabobs-of-negativism/
Donald Trump declares war on the press, Paul Waldman, Washington Post, May 31, 2016.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/05/31/donald-trump-declares-war-on-the-press/
The return of Roger Stone, Dylan Byers, CNN, April 19, 2016.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/19/politics/roger-stone-donald-trump/
Trump Campaign Now Run by Manafort-Stone Torturers Lobby, with Many CIA-Backed Overseas Clients, Webster Tarpley. April 21, 2016.
http://tarpley.net/trump-campaign-now-run-by-manafort-stone-torturers-lobby/
Presidential Key Events: George W. Bush, Miller Center-American President.
http://millercenter.org/president/gwbush/key-events
Context of 'February 24-25, 1972: Canuck Letter Destroys Muskies Presidential Hopes; Letter a Nixon Campaign Trick', History Commons.com.
http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a022472canuckletter
Trump ally Roger Stone says campaign must be a dictatorship, Politico, July 19, 2016.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/roger-stone-campaigns-dictatorships-225803
What Donald Trump Learned From Joseph McCarthys Right-Hand Man, Jonathan Mahler and Matt Flegenheimer, New York Times, June 20, 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/us/politics/donald-trump-roy-cohn.html?_r=0
Just What Were Donald Trump's Ties to the Mob?, David Cay Johnston, Politico, May 22, 2016.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-mob-organized-crime-213910#ixzz4F0NteTLk
###
2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.
Economic Confidence Index Plunges while Stock Market Makes Record Highs
The Gallup Poll has released an Economic Confidence Index which reflects the sentiment of Americans, as it pertains to the economy.
As the stock market makes new record highs and the housing bubble market soars, one would expect that the average American would be smiling from ear to ear. However, the chart below appears to present nothing but gloom and doom. The Gallup Polls results are dumbfounding the American public as to why this divergence has occurred. I feel we have touched upon a few points as to why this is occurring.
First off, half of all Americans do not even own one stock. Secondly, there are many U.S. companies making large profits overseas. That may be positive for the company but that does not necessarily translate into a better financial position for mainstream Americans.
A survey was recently released showing that 62 percent of Americans do not even have $1000.00 in their savings accounts. Most Americans are only one small emergency expense away from being on the streets. What this means is that many will simply rely on credit cards, friends and/or family for their funding should a financial emergency arise. Is this meant to be our economic recovery?
How much do Americans save?
Housing values, which are being artificially inflated, only prevent Americans from purchasing their dream homes, as is reflected in low homeownership rates.
The housing market is once again too expensive for most American families to afford. During the last housing bubble, many Americans were able to partake in the mania and enjoy equity gains although they were fleeting.
This time around, most of the gains are going to investors and large institutional buyers that have crowded out mainstream America. This is a first in history to occur, at least on this large of a scale. The homeownership rate is the lowest in a generation as many young Americans are saddled with unsurmountable student loans and consequently forced to return to living at home.
Inflated home prices coupled with decreasing incomes, provide a recipe for disaster! Total wealth, in the U.S., is at a record high level, once again. Consequently, most of the gains are in the hands of a very few.
Americans are angry with the establishment and are frustrated with their economic uncertainty
Americans no longer trust mainstream media. This is being reflected in the political climate: i.e., non-establishment candidates, Brexit, etc. and even new asset classes like digital currencies like bitcoin.
The stock market is fully decoupled as to how good Americans are doing, overall.
The SPX is up a stunning 220% since the lows that were reached in 2009 and US economic confidence index shows more people simply do not trust the economic numbers and media.
Concluding Thoughts:
In short, I continue to warn about a down turn in both the economy and stock market. The markets continue to mature and the leading indicators point to a sharp correction in the financial systems I the coming months.
Safe haven investments have rocketed higher like bonds, gold, silver, mining stocks as smart money positioned its self in preparation for a crisis. As I have mentioned many times already, is just going to take one bad event or piece of data to cause the tipping point for the market. The question is when and what will it be?
Just like the 2008 bear market in stocks and financial down turn, this will be no different in terms of what will happen, just like every previous bear market/financial down turn before that. Stock prices will fall, people will lose their jobs, companies go bankrupt, housing defaults increase, personal spending comes to a grinding halt.
When it comes to our investment and trading capital, you can either ride the financial rollercoaster and do nothing, move to cash with some safe haven investments like bonds/precious metals, or bet against the US economy and watch your net worth reach new highs during a time when everyone you know is losing money, jobs and confidence.
Follow my weekly articles, swing trades, and long-term ETF investing positions.
Chris Vermeulen www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com
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Disclaimer: Nothing in this report should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Technical Traders Ltd., its owners and the author of this report are not registered broker-dealers or financial advisors. Before investing in any securities, you should consult with your financial advisor and a registered broker-dealer. Never make an investment based solely on what you read in an online or printed report, including this report, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isnt well known. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report has been paid by Cardiff Energy Corp. In addition, the author owns shares of Cardiff Energy Corp. and would also benefit from volume and price appreciation of its stock. The information provided here within should not be construed as a financial analysis but rather as an advertisement. The authors views and opinions regarding the companies featured in reports are his own views and are based on information that he has researched independently and has received, which the author assumes to be reliable. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content of this report, nor its fitness for any particular purpose. Lastly, the author does not guarantee that any of the companies mentioned in the reports will perform as expected, and any comparisons made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect.
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What You Need to Know If Youre Exposed to Muni Bonds
The housing bust was awful, particularly in Florida and other sand states. As the economy slowed, consumers lost their jobs, and when they couldnt pay their mortgages, they then lost their homes.
Even though that wrenching period happened almost a decade ago, it will live in our memories for years to come. I can recall much of the pain, but also other aspects of the moment. Some people were desperate for the relief that came their way; others were using it as cover to game the system.
Were about to see the same thing happen again, but this time on a much larger scale. And the sucker on the other end of the line wont be a bank or faceless mortgage company, it will be individual investors, and once again theyll have government help to blame.During the housing disaster, the government took a series of steps to ease the pain, including mortgage modification and relief from taxes on forgiven debt. At the time, government officials were looking for any tool that would stop the financial bleeding, and almost forcing the banks to write down loans seemed like a good way to do it.Struggling homeowners able to modify their loans and stay in their homes were thrilled. Those that just wanted out of the trap went the short sale route and were also glad for a way forward. But another homeowner category rose to prominence, those looking to accrue ill-gotten gains.These people simply stopped paying their mortgages, daring their lenders to foreclose and become stuck with the property.At one point, foreclosure courts in Florida were running 600 days behind. Homeowners that chose not to pay knew that their lender couldnt move on the property for almost two years. I know of people who stayed in their homes without paying for over four years, pocketing the cash that would have gone to the lender.This wasnt what the government had in mind, of course. Officials had a nice, happy plan where everyone plays by the amended rules and things come out well in the end.It never happens that way, as were seeing today.Puerto Rico is out of money. The Commonwealth begged Washington for debt relief, since the territorial laws of the U.S. and the islands own constitution dont allow for paying creditors less than they are owed.The day before Puerto Rico owed $2 billion in principal and interest, Congress and the President approved a restructuring plan, called Promesa, that allows the Commonwealth to pay back less than it owes, as long as it agrees to a federal financial oversight board and follows certain rules.The move was hailed as a great step forward for the struggling territory, and showed that the federal government wasnt deaf to the fiscal woes of Puerto Ricans. Bondholders were furious. The Puerto Rican constitution demands bond principal and interest be paid first.First, as in before any other expenses.Instead, the federal government is allowing Puerto Rican officials to keep the lights on, paying civil salaries and meeting other essential obligations, even though they arent making good on their debts.But it didnt stop there.Before the ink was dry on Promesa, Puerto Rican Governor Padilla unveiled his budget for fiscal 2017, which runs from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017. The document is a vivid example of putting politics ahead of contracts.The governor approved the payment of half the debt service due in July, but not on the most senior, secured bonds. Instead, he authorized payment of junior bonds issued for the convention center and local roads that are more widely held by Puerto Ricans.Beyond that, he authorized almost no debt service whatsoever for the entire year. He also approved moving $800 million to the public employee pension fund, which is $170 million more than would have been required during the year. Beyond the big-ticket items, the budget allocates $2.5 million for the Office of the First Lady to spend on incidentals, and money for the development of professional Puerto Rican athletes.Investors went crazy when the governor presented the budget, and eventually filed a lawsuit to stop the Puerto Rican government from sucking all the money out of the system before any restructuring could happen.Puerto Rican supporters claim investor fears arent justified. If the oversight board deems the payments unnecessary, they can just claw them back. Really?How do you claw back money paid out as principal and interest on junior bonds? How do you unwind payments by the Office of the First Lady for daily expenses? What sort of legal fight would start if the Puerto Rican government tried to reclaim cash from its woefully underfunded pension system?Those dollars are gone forever, and the investors know it.Take this as an example of things to come. When states in dire financial straits, like Illinois, Kentucky, and Connecticut, start scraping the bottom of their financial barrels, they will look for someone to sacrifice.Theyll eventually identify bondholders, claiming they couldnt possibly cut expenses in their own state, even if thats what the law requires. Eventually, the federal government will devise a plan for restructuring debt, but like Puerto Rico, there wont be any good faith effort to send bondholders everything they are due.Instead, state politicians will gobble up any lingering grace period, and any leeway they can find, shoveling money to the most expediential political places like underfunded pensions.Municipal bond investors should view this as a wake-up call. No one wants to wake up owning bonds issued by the next Detroit or Puerto Rico.Now is the time to review your portfolio and identify the potential investment landmines, then dump them in an orderly fashion.If you dont, its possible the government will have a hand in deciding how much of your money you get back, and its a good bet you wont be happy.
Rodney
Follow me on Twitter ;@RJHSDent
By Rodney Johnson, Senior Editor of Economy & Markets
http://economyandmarkets.com
Copyright 2016 Rodney Johnson - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.
Rodney Johnson Archive
2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.2
Trend:
Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized the anti-Turkey ticker at the Vienna airport, the TRT Haber news channel reported Aug.2.
What kind of democracy is this? said Erdogan during the meeting with foreign investors.
Earlier, a live ticker 'travelling to Turkey will only support Erdogan' appeared at the Vienna airport.
Turkeys Minister for the EU Affairs Omer Celik said that the anti-Turkey ticker is a hostile action and violation of European values.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.2
By Aygun Badalova - Trend:
Turkey is a very strong and longstanding member of NATO, and historically made significant contributions to the well-being of all its allies, Ismail Alper Coskun, Turkish ambassador to Azerbaijan, told Trend in an interview.
"Currently if we are looking at the geography that Turkey is situated in, our continuous contributions are quite evident," the ambassador said.
Coskun said he does not see any direct correlation between Turkey's relationship with NATO and what is going on in Turkey.
Obviously it is a big challenge because significant number of military personal have been withdrawn from the duties. Some have been retired, some have been implicated in the coup attempt, the ambassador said.
But Turkey institutes with a number of new reforms and wants to make sure that what happened on 15th of July will never be repeated in Turkey, the ambassador said.
He also added that all the institutions in Turkey will be reformed and both with the democracy and with systemic improvements the country will continue to play very important role not only in this region or as a member of the alliance, but on the global scale.
On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.
However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.
Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.
MARTINSVILLE Valeria Baires wants to donate blood. Thats good news for the Red Cross, which announced on Monday theyre facing critical blood shortages. The problem is the Henry County teenager cant contribute, because shes been out of the country recently.
"I travel in and out of the country a lot because I have family overseas and south of the border," Baires said. "Thats the main reason Im not allowed to donate blood."
Food and Drug Administration rules dont allow anyone who has been out of the United States or Canada in the last three years to give blood. In that case, Baires likely never will be eligible, as she visits her family as often as possible. Its a shame, because she has Type O blood, basically making her a universal donor.
Its the same for many local Hispanic families. Due to those travel restrictions, theyre not able to contribute. As the blood supply in Virginia reaches critical levels, the rules appear to block off a portion of the population that could help.
"Researchers have found that nearly 60 percent of the Hispanic population has Type O blood, which is most frequently requested by hospitals to treat a range of patients from trauma victims to premature babies," explains a release from the One Blood Organization. The group encourages people to donate and help others.
Why is there a travel restriction in place? Its due to the threat of Malaria. Blood donations are not tested for malaria because there is no sensitive blood test available for the illness. Since its impossible to guarantee donations wont have a Malaria strain, the FDA puts the restrictions in place.
But aside from travel, why do people refuse to donate? Theres no denying the need. Across the country, every two seconds a patient needs either blood or platelets, according to Red Cross statistics.
"Right now, blood products are being distributed to hospitals faster than donations are coming in," said Nick Gehrig, communications director for the Red Cross Blood Services Operation.
Other donation centers around the U.S. are seeing the same problem. Miller-Keystone Blood Center is experiencing the same issue. Overall, the issue is the same. About 50 percent of the population is eligible to donate, but only 5 percent usually do, according to some of the Centers statistics.
"The Red Cross continues to have an emergency need for blood and platelet donors to give now and help save patient lives," said Bernadette Jay of the Appalachian Blood Services Region. "We are grateful for those who have already stepped up this summer to give and want to remind those who are eligible that hospital patients are still counting on them to roll up a sleeve."
Blood and platelets are used in multiple ways. Hospitals use them to treat accident and burn victims, heart surgery patients, organ transplant patients and those receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or sickle cell disease.
So what stops people from donating? The answer seems to be the restrictions. Thousands of gay men, for example, cant give blood because of a law set in place by the Federal Drug Administration. Any gay man who wants to donate must be celibate for a full year, under the rules.
The issue came up for several locals who knew people killed in the Orlando shooting. Friends and family members of the deceased also found themselves unable to donate, because of the 12-month restriction.
"Its ridiculous; there is no reason why they shouldnt be able to donate," said Cassandra Bragdon. The college junior feels some of the restrictions placed on donations, like the 12-month rule and travel ban, are outdated.
Other people tend to steer clear of donations not because of restrictions, but rather due to how its collected.
"The needles bruise my arm so bad that if I go to the doctor, they have to use a butterfly needle on me," said Bassett resident Brenda Stewart. "If I donate to the Red Cross, they use a rather large needle that bruises me for weeks."
There are two blood drives going on this week in Henry County. The first is from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday at the RSMO Holiday Shopping Center in Collinsville, 1910 Virginia Avenue. The next is Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Blackberry Baptist Church, 3241 Stones Dairy Road in Bassett.
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Mass General.
Massachusetts General Hospital has again been named one of the top hospitals in the nation for patient care.
U.S. News & World Report, in its 27th annual Best Hospitals rankings released Tuesday, named the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota the top hospital in the nation, followed by the Cleveland Clinic.
Massachusetts General Hospital came in third on this year's list. Mass. General was rated the best hospital in America last year and placed second in 2014.
The 204-year-old hospital serves as the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and oversees the largest research program based in any hospital in the world. It employs over 23,000 workers making it the largest non-governmental employer in the city.
Hospital reputation, patient survival rates and adequacy of medical staffing are a few of the factors U.S. News researchers consider in the rankings.
Third in the nation, Mass. General was the highest ranked hospital in Massachusetts. Bringham and Women's Hospital, another top institution for care in Boston, was ranked at 13.
Both hospitals were honored for speciality care. Massachusetts General was rated fourth best in the nation for cardiology, behind the Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic and New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell.
Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center was ranked fourth for cancer treatment.
Baystate Medical Center was ranked the third best hospital in the state, 40th in the nation. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center was the fourth highest rated in the state and Tufts Medical Center came in fifth.
When it comes to treating children, another Boston hospital took top billing overall and in seven of 10 specialities ranked.
Boston Children's Hospital was ranked number one children's hospital for the second year in a row by U.S. News. It was ranked the top hospital for the following specialities: cardiology; gastroenterology; neonatology; nephrology; neurology; orthopedics; and urology. The hospital placed second for diabetes and pulmonology.
Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center was named the best children's hospital in the country for cancer treatment.
The hospitals were rated on a number of factors, from clinical outcomes to availability of programs tailored to particular illnesses and conditions.
Additionally, the children's hospitals were ranked based on where doctors would take their own children. U.S. News asked 8,000 pediatric specialists across 10 fields to name the hospitals they consider the best for children with serious or difficult illnesses, regardless of price or location.
Cheryl Boone Isaacs
Springfield native Cheryl Boone Isaacs was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors on July 30, 2013.
(AP file photo)
Updated on Aug. 2: Cheryl Boone Isaacs was re-elected to a fourth one-year term on Tuesday night. The other officers elected were Jeffrey Kurland, first vice president and chair of the awards and events committee; John Baily, vice president and chair of the preservation and history committee; Kathleen Kennedy, vice president and chair of the museum committee; Nancy Utley, vice president and chair of the education and outreach committee; Jim Gianopulos, treasurer and chair of the finance committee; and David Rubin, secretary and chair of the membership and administration committee.
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The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences' board of governors is expected to re-elect Springfield native Cheryl Boone Isaacs tonight to a fourth-term as the Academy's president, Deadline reported.
Under the Academy's rules, officers may serve as up to four successive one-year terms.
Boone Isaacs, 66, led the Academy during the #OscarsSoWhite controversy earlier this year and developed a plan to boost diversity among its mostly white, male membership. Of 683 prospective new members asked to join the Academy in late June, 46 percent were women, 41 percent were people of color, and 283 were from abroad.
Boone Isaacs, who has been described as a soft-spoken, conservative Hollywood marketing executive, became the first African-American to lead the Academy and only the third woman to serve as its president when she was first elected in 2013.
She has worked in Hollywood for 40 years and heads CBI Enterprises, Inc., where she advised on such Oscar winning films as "The Artist" and "The King's Speech."
Boone Isaacs grew up on Alden Street, not far from Springfield College, with her three siblings and later moved to the Sixteen Acres section of the city.
Her interest in filmmaking was shared by her brother, the late Ashley Boone Jr., a marketing and distribution executive associated with such hits as "Star Wars" and "Chariots of Fire." For much of his life, Boone was known as the industry's highest-ranking black executive.
When he died of pancreatic cancer in 1994, at the age of 55, Variety called him "a Jackie Robinson of Hollywood."
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.2
By Orkhan Guluzade - Trend:
Turkey has protected Europe from the refugee influx, the TRT Haber news channel quoted Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying Aug.2.
He made the remarks during the meeting with international investors in Ankara.
Europe has never kept its word. They havent yet paid 3 billion euros to upkeep the refugees, he said.
Earlier, Turkeys then Minister for the EU Affairs Volkan Bozkir said that by late February, Ankara will receive $3 billion euros allocated by the EU to upkeep the Syrian refugees in Turkey.
At present, over 2 million Syrian refugees are in Turkey. Syrian refugee camps in the country accommodate about 300,000 people. The rest of them are spread throughout the provinces and cities of Turkey. In Istanbul alone, there are currently 40,000 refugees from Syria.
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Chick-fil-A will open a restaurant this fall at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn.
(Chick-fil-A photo)
Chick-fil-A will be bringing its hand-breaded boneless chicken breast sandwiches, Waffle Potato Fries and hand-spun milkshakes to the Mohegan Sun Casino this fall.
The new restaurant will be located across from Carlo's Bakery in Casino of the Earth and near a future entrance to the Earth Tower hotel, which is also opening this fall.
"We're very excited to be welcoming Chick-fil-A as a new restaurant offering for guests here at Mohegan Sun. They're an extremely popular restaurant, with some of the best tasting menu options you can find anywhere. Their commitment to their team members and top quality guest service is in alignment with our culture and values. We can't wait to open this fall," said Mohegan Sun's President and General Manager Ray Pineault in a statement.
The Uncasville, Conn., restaurant will be one of more than 2,000 Chick-fil-A locations across 43 states and Washington, D.C.
Locally, there are Chick-fil-A restaurants in Chicopee, Westborough, Peabody, Burlington and Framinham, as well as Enfield and Wallingford, Conn.
Mohegan Sun, which will mark its 20th anniversary in October, will open its 400-room, $130 million Earth Tower in the fall.
The casino is also undertaking a $50 million renovation of its 14-year-old Sky Tower hotel.
AGAWAM The Agawam Police Department, Mayor Richard Cohen, and community partners will host the town's 33rd Annual Night Out Against Crime today, from 5 to 7:30 p.m., at School Street Park, 511 School St.
Before the event, there will be free cars eat checks at 3 p.m. A properly installed car seat can save a child's life, according to authorities.
Mayor Cohen has invited the public to come out and "join forces with thousands of communities nationwide for the crime and drug prevention event."
Night Out, the equivalent of a public safety carnival for the whole family, will include free hotdogs and beverages, a dance presentation, face painting, balloon sculpting, a giant inflatable tunnel, and a number of other safety-oriented activities and presentations for children and adults alike, including:
bike safety tips;
ID kits for kids;
free document shredding to prevent identity theft;
information booths and giveaways;
a police K-9 demonstration;
Agawam firefighters using the Jaws of Life hydraulic extrication tool;
and a photo opportunity for youngsters to have their picture taken in a giant car seat.
Agawam police and firefighters will be joined by representatives of the Massachusetts State Police, MEMA, Agawam Emergency Management, Hampden County Sheriff's Department, U.S. Marshals Office, and private security businesses, all of whom will be available to discuss safety and security issues with the public.
A Massachusetts State Police helicopter will be landing at 5:15 p.m., and live music by Corey & The Knightsmen begins at 7 at the band shell.
Agawam Police Officer Robert Burke has more information at 413-726-9787.
National Night Out organizers estimate more than 38.3 million people will participate in this year's anti-crime initiative, which is designed to:
Ryan O'Donnell, a candidate for an at-large seat on the Northampton City Council, offers a brief biography and answers to questions relating to his experience and desire to serve. His opponent is Marlene Morin. The election is Thursday.
1.) Please provide some brief biographical information, to include: street address, highest education level, current occupation and any other personal information you would be comfortable sharing.
Ryan is vice president of the Northampton City Council, and is in his second term as the councilor for Ward 3.
He was born in 1980 and went to public schools in the Valley. After graduating from UMass in 2002, Ryan worked at the Fine Arts Center and then moved to the Washington, D.C., area, where he worked with nonprofit organizations such as Common Cause on issues of campaign finance reform and government transparency. After returning home to Western Massachusetts, he has continued to do that kind of work as a consultant.
He lives on Day Avenue. More at www.ryanodonnell.org.
2.) What are some of the big-ticket items you see coming down the road for Northampton? Please state them and comment on how they can be paid for.
Northampton has a Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan, encompassing many different projects involving new construction and replacement of old and aging infrastructure. Specifically, this includes everything from pump stations and sewer lines to buildings and equipment, and much of it is related to necessary improvements to almost every aspect of our Wastewater Treatment Plant on Hockanum Road.
The costs of this infrastructure work will be significant and ongoing. Generally speaking, most of the upgrades will be financed from the city's sewer enterprise fund.
I believe that making these investments, while unpleasant, is fiscally responsible. Kicking the can down the road and neglecting urgent projects will only lead to higher costs later on. This is another example of the how City Council cannot play politics with our budget. We must make responsible and effective investments in our city, especially in those things people rely on every day.
3.) Please discuss why you are running for the office.
I am running to represent all of Northampton. I will strive for equity in services and funding across all seven wards, and represent people whether they live in Leeds, Florence or Northampton, whether they are homeowners or renters, whether we agree or disagree.
The City Council is a coequal branch of government with the mayor, and must not only scrutinize proposals that come our way, but originate our own. I have done this by strengthening affordability and energy requirements in our zoning code, by writing a first-in-the-state ordinance to reduce money in local politics and by prohibiting the privatization of our water system.
I will work to make Northampton a place where people of all income levels can live, explore new ways to boost the local economy, stand up for our public schools and advocate for affordable housing.
4.) Please discuss what you would like to say about your opponent.
I commend my opponent for stepping up to run for this office, and I do not doubt her love for or commitment to the City of Northampton.
5.) Please describe your ties to the city of Northampton.
I grew up in the Valley and have spent most of my life here. I love Northampton and I want to help give people a city government that they are proud of.
My mother's side of the family is originally from Holyoke, where my grandfather was a public school teacher for 25 years. My mother and father were married at St. Mary's Church and then lived for a number of years on Isabella Street in Northampton. My parents separated just before I was born, after which my mother moved us to an affordable unit in an apartment complex in Amherst.
After working in the D.C. area, I returned to Western Massachusetts and became involved locally with the Ward Three Neighborhood Association and the Northampton Living Wage Coalition. Eventually I had the opportunity to represent my part of the city, Ward 3, on the City Council. Serving in this way has been one of the most meaningful things I have ever done because I got to directly help people in my community.
6.) Please discuss whether you perceive racial profiling as an issue with the Northampton Police Department.
Recently, under the leadership of Chief Jody Kasper, Northampton became the first city in the commonwealth to participate in the White House's Police Data Initiative. As part of the initiative, our police department will regularly publish important up-to-date information about policing in a transparent and accessible way. Data sets on topics like traffic citations and use of force, along with demographic data on race and ethnicity, are or will be available online for anyone to review.
The reality is that bias exists everywhere in America, within all of our institutions, manifested in ways both explicit and implicit. The real question is whether Northampton's police department and its leadership are resolved to listening, understanding and exploring ways to improve, and I am proud to say that I believe they are.
Defense attorneys for Michelle Carter, the teenager charged with manslaughter for encouraging her boyfriend to kill himself, have asked the court to throw out all evidence police obtained from her.
Carter appeared in court July 29, in her first hearing since the state's Supreme Judicial Court rejected her lawyers' petition to have her case thrown out.
That day, the Boston Globe reports, her defense attorneys filed a motion to suppress the police evidence, arguing it was illegally obtained. The motion alleges that police officers who interviewed Carter at school following her boyfriend's death asked for her phone and laptop passwords without a warrant and before arresting her or telling her of her right to an attorney.
That claim does not exactly square with the contents of a detective's arrest warrant, which says that the officers did have a search warrant for her phone when they approached her, according to the Globe. But the detective did not write that he physically produced the warrant before obtaining her passwords, the Globe reports.
On her phone, police found a series of text messages which prosecutors say show a deliberate campaign to encourage her boyfriend, Mattapoisett native Conrad Roy, to kill himself.
Carter stands accused of involuntary manslaughter for that series of text messages. Roy killed himself by ingestion carbon monoxide in a Kmart parking lot in 2014. And now, after the state's Supreme Judicial Court upheld the charges, the case is moving forward in Taunton Juvenile Court.
The criminal case has stretched on for well over a year. Carter was charged with involuntary manslaughter in February of 2015. In September Taunton Juvenile Court Judge Bettina Borders rejected Cataldo's motion to dismiss the charge, allowing the case to move forward and for Carter to be charged as a "youthful offender." Free speech, Borders ruled, does not extend to encouraging suicide.
Cataldo then filed an appeal to a single justice of the state Supreme Judicial Court and the district attorney's office filed a response in November. The full court announced it would hear the case in February, and earlier this month ruled that the charges were proper and the case can proceed.
In the defense's appeal brief, Carter's attorneys wrote that prosecutors had overcharged Carter to compensate for a lack of applicable law against encouraging suicide in Massachusetts.
"Charging her with manslaughter was a transparent effort calculated to circumvent the fact that the legislature has not criminalized words that encourage suicide," the brief argued.
Prosecutors allege that Carter led a campaign of encouragement that directly led to the death of Roy, who had graduated from Old Rochester Regional High School that June.
"Carter assisted Conrad's suicide by counseling him to overcome his doubts," the indictment reads. "Her counsel took the form of positive direction, where she told him he was 'strong' enough to execute the suicide plan and would be happy once he was dead."
The text messages included in court filings show Carter, in between professions of love, advocating for suicide as Roy's best option after an extended period of depression.
"It's painless and quick," she wrote in one text. "Everyone will be sad for a while but they will get over it and move on," she wrote in another. She urged him not to delay the act, and advised him to find alternative methods of producing carbon monoxide when it became clear his truck's diesel engine would not work.
She also allegedly cajoled him back into the truck over the phone after he had second thoughts in the middle of the act, the prosecution said.
The prosecution has portrayed Carter as an active participant in Roy's death -- one who, after the fact, pretended to have no knowledge of the plan. She texted with Roy's relatives, asking where he was in the hours before his body was found in the Kmart parking lot.
SPRINGFIELD - Pope Francis High School on Monday announced two upcoming events including a long-awaited groundbreaking in September for its new building slated for construction at the former Cathedral High School property.
The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled Sunday, Sept. 18, at 2 p.m., at 99 Wendover Road in East Forest Park, once home to Cathedral High School. The event will serve to kick off construction of the new Pope Francis High School facility, according to a news release from Pope Francis spokeswoman Jennifer Lopez.
Prior to the groundbreaking, representatives of Pope Francis will participate in a neighborhood meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 23, to discuss the upcoming school construction project with area residents, Lopez said.
The East Forest Park neighborhood meeting is at 5 p.m., at Holy Cross/St. Michael's School, 221 Plumtree Road.
Pope Francis is being formed through a merger of Cathedral and Holyoke Catholic High School.
Cathedral High School was demolished after being struck by a tornado on June 1, 2011, with severe damage. Cathedral moved to a temporary location in Wilbraham after the tornado.
Neighborhood residents and city officials have long awaited the plans and groundbreaking for the estimated $55 million school construction project at the Cathedral grounds, which followed a prolonged review by two Bishops, and the consideration of multiple sites.
The new regional Pope Francis High School will be located this fall at the Holyoke Catholic school site in Chicopee Center, remaining there until the new school is built. The new school is slated to open for the 2018-2019 school year.
Officials attending the neighborhood meeting are expected to include Paul C. Gagliarducci, executive director of the Pope Francis school construction project; David Owen, the owner's project manager; and representatives from Fontaine Bros. Those officials and Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski are expected to participate in the groundbreaking in September.
PALMER -- A well-known defense attorney is wanted for arrest after an alleged domestic violence incident over the weekend during which, according to court records, his wife said she would have been killed had police not arrived.
Palmer District Court Judge Michael Mulcahy on Monday afternoon issued an arrest warrant for John "Jack" St. Clair, 69, of East Longmeadow, for failing to show up to his arraignment on charges of assault on a family member. St. Clair allegedly beat his wife, 68, while in a drunken stupor Friday night.
St. Clair, a former Hampden County prosecutor whose clients as a private criminal defense attorney have included high profile defendants such as State Rep. Thomas Petrolati and former Springfield city councilor and ex-homeless shelter director Frankie Keough, was arrested on Friday and released on bail the following day, court records show.
East Longmeadow police who responded to a call of a domestic incident at St. Clair's Orchard Road home at about 9:15 p.m. on Friday arrived to a disturbing scene, according to police reports filed at Palmer District Court.
"There was blood at the scene all over up and down the house," Assistant District Attorney Michael Wallace said in court Monday afternoon.
Officers arrived at the home after receiving a call that a woman's husband was brandishing a knife and had stabbed himself, a police report written by Officer Daniel Manley filed in court states.
St. Clair's wife answered the door, surprised to see the police because she had not called them, the report says.
When questioned, St. Clair's wife told police that her husband, who was intoxicated, had gotten involved in an argument with her and grabbed a knife, a police report by East Longmeadow Officer Steven Moore says. St. Clair followed her around the house while trying to stab himself, she told police, causing minor cuts on his hands and chest.
Afraid for her life, she tried to grab a phone, she told police, but St. Clair took both house phones into his bedroom. She locked herself in their guest bedroom and found his cell phone, Moore's report says. From there, she left a voicemail with her daughter in Florida, who called police about 15 minutes later.
"I observed blood on her face and around her neck. Her lips and chin had a sustainable amount of dried blood on them," Moore wrote in his report. "(The victim) stated numerous times that if the police were not called, he probably would have killed her."
She told police that he had slapped her in the face and choked her before picking up the knife, records show. The alleged victim's left eye was bloodshot, with bruising around it, according to Manley's report.
Taking note of dried blood droplets on the floor of the dining room, kitchen and stairway, Manley and Officer Joseph Dalessio made their way to St. Clair's second-floor bedroom, in which his wife said he shut himself, Manley's report says. When Dalessio knocked on the door, St. Clair answered, bleeding, disoriented and clad only in a towel. When asked about his cuts, St. Clair told police he cut himself while slicing steak.
After being treated for his cuts, St. Clair was placed under arrest for assault and battery on a family member.
Police advised the victim to obtain an abuse prevention order, but she refused, fearing it would cause her husband problems, Moore's report says.
"She stated numerous times that she did not want him arrested," Moore's report says. "'A jail cell is not the place for him right now, he doesn't deserve that,'" she told police.
St. Clair's wife was similarly defensive of her husband last August, when she refused to testify against him after he was charged with assaulting her in their home at that time. In that case, a neighbor called police after St. Clair allegedly assaulted his wife, but the case stagnated when the alleged victim refused to cooperate.
A day after his arrest last Friday, St. Clair received bail and was admitted to Mercy Medical Center's Providence Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke on Sunday, and as of Monday, St. Clair remained at Providence, court records show.
But during St. Clair's scheduled arraignment on Monday, Wallace insisted that St. Clair's admission to Providence is a ploy.
"He was extremely arrogant, and I believe that he's using this ... to better his case," the assistant DA said in court. "He has the ability to sign out (check himself out of the hospital) at any point."
The commonwealth intends to argue for St. Clair to be held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing, Wallace told the judge.
WEST SPRINGFIELD -- Following early morning rainfall that partially flooded the roadway, Route 5 has been reopened.
A portion of Route 5 in West Springfield was closed Tuesday morning due to flooding near the tunnels. Workers with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation partially closed the road to clear the roadway of water.
Both south and northbound lanes are clear and free of water.
SPRINGFIELD -- City Police Lt. Robert Tardiff on Tuesday sought to give a judge a sense of the situation that led to the arrest of Rodolfo Gomez last year.
Tardiff, speaking to Hampden Superior Court Judge Edward J. McDonough as Gomez pleaded guilty to 13 counts, said officers had one option -- to move in and secure the armed Gomez as quickly as possible.
That was because the Spring Street location where Gomez was found was crowded with children and parents waiting for children to get off the bus, he said.
What followed was a violent struggle between four police officers and Gomez, who repeatedly reached for the gun in his waistband, Tardiff said.
McDonough sentenced Gomez, 30, of Springfield and Norwalk, Connecticut, to 21/2 to 31/2 years in state prison followed by three years probation.
Assistant District Attorney Nina A. Vivenzio had asked for a three- to five-year state prison sentence. Defense lawyer Joe Smith III asked for a 21/2-year sentence to the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow.
Both Vivenzio and Smith recommended the three years probation after incarceration.
Gomez, who has no criminal record, pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm, possession of a large capacity feeding device, four counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, three counts of assault and battery on a police officer and one count each of resisting arrest, possession of heroin, larceny under $250 and threat to commit a crime.
Vivenzio said that on April 2, 2015, a family member flagged down Officers William Catellier and Herman Little to say Gomez was armed and was threatening to kill his domestic partner.
The officers found Gomez's car and saw him return to it and then proceed toward 116 Spring St., where the family member lived. When the two officers, who were in uniform, identified themselves, Gomez reached toward his waistband, where they saw a gun, Vivenzio said.
The gun was a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol with a 15-round capacity magazine and 14 live cartridges, she said.
Tardiff, who responded along with Officer Darrin Fitzpatrick, said when Little and Catellier approached Gomez, Gomez was "looking completely out of control" while putting his hand on his firearm.
Tardiff said there was a violent struggle with himself and the three officers to get Gomez under control.
Tardiff said 99 percent of the times when police move in on a person with a firearm, the person will try to get away. But he said Gomez's mindset and demeanor indicated that if he could get control of his firearm, he would use it.
Smith said no one can determine what is in another person's mind or what their intentions are.
He said Gomez, who pleaded guilty through an interpreter, came to Norwalk in 2006 and worked at a grocery store for eight years. Smith said a 2014 car accident left Gomez injured, and a Percocet prescription led to an addiction that became a heroin problem. Smith said there was also alcohol and cocaine use combined with untreated mental health issues.
Gomez has 488 days credit toward his sentence for time spent in jail awaiting trial.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
By Orkhan Guluzade Trend:
During the meeting of the presidents of Turkey and Russia, the two countries will reconsider their relations in the economic sphere, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a meeting with international investors in Ankara, TRT Haber TV channel reported Aug. 2.
Erdogan said that Turkey has always been attentive to economic issues, even in times of crisis in relations with Russia.
He went on to add that during his visit to Russia on August 9 as part of the representative delegation the sides will discuss the whole range of issues without any restrictions.
Earlier, Turkish presidential administration told Trend that Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will discuss a number of important economic and political issues during the meeting in St. Petersburg Aug.9.
Fighting the terrorist organizations in Syria is among the issues planned to be discussed during that meeting, said the presidential administration.
Moreover, the presidents are expected to discuss the joint energy projects of Russia and Turkey, such as the Turkish Stream gas pipeline and the construction of Akkuyu nuclear power plant.
The relations between Russia and Turkey deteriorated after the Su-24 bomber incident in 2015.
On June 27, Erdogan sent a letter of condolences to Putin over the death of Russian Su-24 pilot and expressed regret over the incident.
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You have to make your own self remarkable. Make them say, "Wow, this couldnt be any other child." Dont be like everybody else.
Video: http://blog.ted.com/a-teenage-ted-speakers-mom-on-how-she-encourages-her-sons-to-innovate/
Baku, Azerbaijan, August 2
By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:
The prospects for reviving the Turkish Stream pipeline project, which envisages Russian gas supplies to Turkey and further to Europe bypassing Ukraine, at least in a downscaled form, appear more promising given the recent dramatic improvement in Russian-Turkish relations, Gareth Winrow, independent analyst on Turkey, believes.
It will not be surprising if Turkey and Russia return in practice to the situation as it was in the summer of 2015, when the prospects for building at least the first leg of Turkish Stream looked quite promising, thats if Moscow and Ankara could come to terms over gas pricing, Winrow told Trend by email on August 2.
Initially, the Russian "Gazprom" planned to build 4 lines of the Turkish Stream with total capacity of 63 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The capacity of each line was expected to reach 15.75 billion cubic meters per year. Later, it was decided to build fewer lines.
The Turkish Stream had to replace the South Stream project, which should pass in the Black Sea and through Bulgaria and deliver gas to the Balkan republics, as well as Hungary, Austria and Italy, but was abandoned in December 2014.
Gazprom refused from the South Stream gas pipeline because the European Commission did not grant an exception from the rules of the Third Energy Package, which, in particular, says that one gas provider should use no more than 50 percent of the pipeline capacity, and the remaining capacity should be put up for auction.
In late 2015 the Turkish Stream project was frozen due to sharp deterioration of relations between Moscow and Ankara when Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber with two pilots on board. On June 27, Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter of condolences to Putin over the death of Russian Su-24 pilot and expressed regret over the incident.
After that, the two countries relations began to improve. Last week Russia and Turkey announced the resumption of negotiations on the Turkish Stream this week and the intention to create a working group on this project.
On August 9 Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold the first meeting after the incident with the aircraft in St. Petersburg.
Erdogans meeting with Putin could lead to an announcement for re-launching plans to build a 15.75 bcm/y pipeline to connect Russia and Turkey via the Black Sea, Winrow said.
He noted that the laying of the first line of the pipeline across the Black Sea would enable Russia to bypass troublesome Ukraine to deliver significant gas volumes to Turkey.
Moreover, the expert noted that Russian officials appear hopeful of building a second pipeline of similar capacity to carry Russian gas to south-eastern Europe via Turkey.
However, such a pipeline could encounter the same problems as the earlier proposed South Stream project, he said.
Winrow noted that citing the provisions of the EUs Third Energy Package, Brussels has opposed Gazproms control over the proposed pipeline which would cross EU territory, either running through Greece or Bulgaria.
He said that one possible way around this would be for a second string of Turkish Stream to connect with interconnector lines in south-eastern Europe where gas flows could then be reversed.
This may be seen as not running counter to the provisions of the Third Energy Package, he said.
In return, though, talks could also re-commence between Moscow and Ankara over reducing the price of gas for deliveries to the Turkish State Pipeline Corporation, BOTAS, according to the expert.
Winrow noted that there has also been some speculation over possibly linking a deal on Turkish Stream with reviving plans for a Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline to carry Russian oil across Turkey bypassing the Bosphorus.
But, it seems that Russia is also re-considering plans to resurrect the moribund Burgas-Alexandroupolis Bosphorus-bypass oil pipeline option which will not cross Turkeys territory, he said.
Sunil Bholah a pris la parole lors de la ceremonie douverture dune atelier de travail organise par lInternational Organization for Standardization en collaboration Mauritius Standards Bureau sur le Leadership and Management Programme le 26 novembre 2019.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to address you this morning on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the ISO workshop on Leadership and Management Programme organized by the International Organization for Standardization in collaboration with the Mauritius Standards Bureau.
On behalf of the Government of Mauritius and in my own name, I wish to extend a warm welcome to all the overseas delegates and resource persons who have travelled all the way to attend this workshop. I hope you will be able to spare some of your precious time to visit Mauritius. I also wish to thank the International Organization for Standardization for choosing Mauritius for this workshop. It is indeed a matter of pride and prestige to host this ISO flagship event. This gives Mauritius its rightful place in the fraternity of ISO Members and will evidently further consolidate our relationships as regards international standardization.Ladies and Gentlemen,
On 1st January 1995, Mauritius Standards Bureau became a full Member of the International Organization for Standardization. It marked a new beginning for the Bureau as it opened the door for international standardization. This was in consonance with the Government policy to adhere to WTO-driven trade liberalization process and to eliminate and reduce technical barriers to trade through the use of international standards and harmonized standards.
This event was a game-changer for the Mauritius Standards Bureau as it kick-started a long and fruitful journey for collaboration, cooperation and partnership between our two institutions.
It is worth mentioning that the building at Moka which houses MSB purpose-built laboratories and offices was inaugurated in the presence of the late Secretary-General of ISO Dr Lawrence Eicher and the late President of ISO, Mr E. Mollmann.
It would be appropriate here to briefly highlight the collaboration between ISO and MSB during the last two decades.
In 2012, the Bureau hosted the ISO Regional Workshop on Stakeholder Engagement and Participation in Standardization which enlisted the participation of Standards Bodies from several African countries. The workshop provided an overview of the importance of international standardization as a key enabler for unlocking world markets, promoting technical progress and ensuring sustainable development.
In the same year the Mauritius Standards Bureau conducted a study on the economic benefits of standardization in Mauritius in collaboration with ISO to determine the contribution of standards to the national economy and industrial productivity. The report of the study and similar reports from other countries have been published by ISO in a compendium.
Similarly, MSB is in the process of developing the National Standardization Strategy of Mauritius based on a framework established by ISO. As a first step, an intensive consultation has been conducted to assess the needs and demands of our stakeholders. The strategy will map out the standardization activities of the country for the coming five years and will support the socio-economic development of Mauritius.
The Mauritius Standards Bureau has also benefitted from an ISO Project Sponsorship Programme to be a Member of the CASCO Working Group 46 for the development of the International Standard ISO/IEC 17029 on General Principles and Requirements for validation and verification bodies. The Acting Director of the Mauritius Standards Bureau attended all the meetings of the Working Group for the full cycle development of that standard. The standard has been recently published. This was a first milestone for Mauritius and its National Standards Body.
The Mauritius Standards Bureau was also invited by ISO at the 34th ISO CASCO Plenary Meeting and Workshop this year to share its experience as a Member of ISO Working Group 46 with other National Standards Bodies from developing countries.
The Mauritius Standards Bureau has also the privilege to get the support and partnership of ISO within its Action Plan for Developing Countries to define the content of a CASCO toolkit which will provide the technical underpinnings to public policies to facilitate trade and enhance ease of doing business.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Overcoming the steep curve of learning is one of the major challenges of National Standards Bodies in developing countries. Without a strong and
synergistic partnership with world-class standards bodies and ISO, it would be impossible for standards bodies to scale up their capacities and capabilities.
It is useful to recall that out of 164 Standards Bodies affiliated to ISO over 120 are from developing countries.
These national standards bodies will not be able to derive benefits from international standardization unless they build their capacity and participate more actively in the development of international standards. Most of these national standards bodies like the Mauritius Standards Bureau are standards takers. They should make the shift and become standards setters. To this end, ISO should enlist the participation of its Members from developing countries in Technical Committees or Working Groups.
It is comforting to note that ISO has renewed its commitments for capacity building and inclusive international standardization in its Strategic Plan 2030. The Workshop on Leadership and Management Programme is a step in the right direction as leadership and management are key elements which determine the success of a country and an organization.
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is often said that the standards and conformity assessment infrastructure of a country is anchored in the social, economic and cultural realities of that country. In this sense the Mauritius Standards Bureau has evolved in response to the economic, industrial and social needs of Mauritius. It has continuously provided the scientific and technical underpinnings to the economic and industrial operators to boost the economic growth, bolster regional and international trade, promote the welfare of the citizen and protect the environment.
The Bureau has adopted a horizontal approach to standardization whereby Metrology, Standards Development and Conformity Assessment services are provided under a single roof. This model is adequate and suitable given the limited technical and financial resources available.
It is widely acknowledged that Mauritius is today at the cross-road of its development path. The strategies and policies which propelled the nation from a low-income economy to a middle-economy have outlived their purposes and are inadequate for the next phase of its development. A new Economic Model including innovative strategies are required to fuel the economic growth and uplift the standard of living of the citizens. A new development plan has already been elaborated to transform Mauritius into a high-income economy while ensuring inclusive growth and sustainability.
My Ministry is in the process of reviewing the National Export Strategy with the main objective of establishing the building blocks and engines of growth of the future. The strategy outlines the roadmap for the development of key sectors having high export potential.
The next phase of development will no doubt pivot on the strengthening of the standards and conformity assessment infrastructure as a competitive tool to spur growth and create gateways for trade in the complex world of market access and market acceptance.
Ladies and Gentlemen
With these remarks, I have now the pleasure to declare the ISO Workshop on Leadership and Management open and wish all the participants fruitful deliberations.
Le Board of Racing Stewards compose de S de Chalain (Chairman), B Daruty de Grandpre, G Kishtoo et Ms J Keevy a renu public le Racing Stewards Report de la journee hippique du 20 Juillet 2019.
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Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
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Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim sent a bill on creating a sovereign wealth fund to parliament after his cabinets approval, according to a copy of the draft obtained by Bloomberg on Aug. 2.
This was done to stabilize markets and fund infrastructure projects in the wake of a coup attempt.
The proposal allows the government to establish a wealth management company called Turkiye Varlik Yonetimi AS with a capital injection of 50 million liras ($17 million), to be financed from the state Privatization Fund. That company would create another entity, Turkiye Varlik Fonu, or Turkey Wealth Fund TVF, and other funds as it sees necessary, according to the draft.
The finances for the fund will be provided from the governments asset sales program, cash surpluses from the state Privatization Fund and other state institutions, the draft said. Income from national and international capital markets and money markets can also be used to finance the fund, it said. Some assets from the governments privatization program will be transferred to the funds portfolio, according to the draft.
The plans come as Turkey has been trying to reassure investors and calm markets after a military coup attempt in mid-July. Customs and Trade Minister Bulent Tufenkci said the economic damage from the attempt may be about 300 billion liras ($100 billion), according to Hurriyet newspaper.
On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.
However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.
Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.
The new Xiaomi Redmi Pro smartphone with a metal body and dual-camera setup has high performance and nice features. (Photo : Facebook/Mdroid )
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi just unveils the new Xiaomi Redmi Pro smartphone with a metal body and dual-camera setup on the back at the Beijing press conference. It is the latest model in its budget brand of Android phones and is the first smartphone from the company to sport the metal body and dual-camera setup.
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Xiaomi had already released a few teasers online to confirm the Redmi Pro launch back on July 27. The company's Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun confirmed this unveiling event at its recent Weibo post on July 26 with a teaser photo of him holding the smartphone in his hand. In the photo, the upper half of the smartphone's back is seen, giving a good idea of the design and the dual-camera setup.
According to BGR, Redmi Pro has a metal body and a 5.5-inch full high-definition OLED 1080p display. It is powered by a deca-core MediaTek Helio X25 chipset. It runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow operating system with MIUI 8. It is packed with a 4050 mAh battery. Since its dual-camera setup is on the back, the fingerprint scanner is embedded in a physical home button below its screen display.
When it comes to the dual-camera setup of Redmi Pro, a 13-megapixel Sony IMX258 sensor for a dynamic depth of field and a 5-megapixel Samsung sensor for the secondary depth sensing are at the back to produce DSLR-quality photos. Users can choose the focus point after a shot is taken because of its hardware-level depth of field processing, as the company claimed. Effects such as blurred backgrounds can also be used, as The Verge reported.
Redmi Pro comes with three storage options: a 3 GB of RAM in a 32 GB of internal storage for a price tag of $224, a 3 GB of RAM in a 64 GB of internal storage for $254, and a 4 GB of RAM in a 128 GB of internal storage for $299. It also features a dual-SIM slot and USB-C port. Its connectivity options are 4G LTE, VoLTE voice calling, GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi 802.11ac.
Redmi Pro is expected to come with three color options such as space gray, gold, and black on August 6 in China.
Here is the video of the new Xiaomi Redmi Pro smartphone that is released at the Beijing press conference.
President Xi wants a leaner and fiercer People's Liberation Army. (Photo : Getty Images)
Troops of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) are urged by President Xi Jinping to retire early and are given a hefty retirement package.
The move to cut the PLA is part of the Communist Party's plan to cut 300,000 troops from the 2.3 million membership. This has been the biggest cut in the army since the Cold War.
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The planned reduction will be to reach 2 million which will be split to the National Guard and a million spread out in the army, navy and air force. Much of the reduction are being burdened by the army.
The army used to have 850,000 troops and at present only holds 490,000. The maritime force is slashed to 210,000.
An officer from the PLA, who asked to remain unknown, said that the retirement package includes tens of thousands of dollars and 80 percent of the pre-retirement wage. The amount is not publicly revealed.
The government has also released an order to state-owned enterprises to employ former soldiers, and to ensure "social harmony and stability".
Yue Gang, a retired colonel who served in the PLA's General Staff Department, said, "Soldiers have a deterrent and destructive power once they unite to do something together, and they could cause some social stability issues easily.'
He continued, "Soldiers are less adapted to society because they may not have the skills that the job market wants and not be familiar with workplace culture. And that's why they need more support from the government."
The Chinese PLA was established as the armed forces of the Communist Party of China. Its four branches are Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Rocket Force and the Strategic Support Force.
A veteran from Guangzhou agrees with making the PLA a leaner fighting machine. He said that the CPC should focus on strengthening the Navy.
He said, "China's national interests have expanded overseas year after year, with the PLA Navy needing to protect the country's offshore oil lines and overseas Chinese nationals, and boost its capability in international anti-piracy missions."
A memorial service was held for two Chinese peacekeepers who died in South Sudan last month. (Photo : Getty Images)
Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, asked the Sudanese government to identify and punish the rebels who were responsible for the death of two Chine U.N. peacekeepers.
The two peacekeepers, Li Lei and Yao Daoxiang died during an attack by rebels on the U.N. compound in Juba, the capital of Sudan.
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Opposing forces of President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, the former rebel leader who became vice president, are engaged in a civil war.
According to the statement, Deng Alor Kuol, the Sudanese foreign minister, grieved over the deaths of the peacekeepers and committed to investigating the matter.
Wang said that in order to attain development, peace should be attained first. The Chinese minister asked Sudan to take the public's interest as a first priority, which included safety of Chinese citizens.
According to reports from the government controlled media, China has sent 30,000 troops to 24 U.N. peacekeeping missions, and 13 have already died.
China had good relations with the North Sudanese government but failed because of the conflict. Relations with the new government in South Sudan has also been derailed.
The China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) has evacuated workers because of the intensifying civil war. However, production has not been affected.
Oil production is the main foreign investment in the country and accounts for 90 percent of the country's national economy. Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd. and India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp. produce oil with CNPC.
According to U.N. chief Ban Ki-Moon, the country is "on the brink of the abyss".
The U.N. has extended operations until Aug. 12. A three day waiting period was issued by the Sudanese government to U.N. forces and diplomats who are applying for visas.
More than 7,500 U.N. peacekeepers are deployed in Juba.
Chinese military authorities have detained a Japanese man for alleged espionage. (Photo : Twitter)
The Chinese government has reportedly detained a Japanese man for alleged espionage, raising concerns about potential tensions that might arise between the two countries.
China's foreign ministry confirmed the detention of the man, who's identity was not disclosed but is said to be in his late 50s, after Japanese media reported that he has gone missing and did not return from his five-day trip to Beijing. Japanese government officials have earlier confirmed his detention, after being notified by the Chinese embassy.
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According to records, the man, who hails from Ibaraki Prefecture, heads an organization that promotes friendly exchanges between the Japan and China. He was also received very well and considered a friendly figure prior to his detention, Reuters reported.
When asked whether the man is indeed being detained on suspicions of espionage, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga stressed that the country does not engage in such activities. The Japanese government has yet to release additional details about the case.
Some analysts said that the detention could be intended to Keep Japan's criticisms of China in check. The former has been vocal in its opposition to the latter's actions in the South China Sea.
The latest incident brings the number of Japanese citizens in China detained for alleged spying to five. Earlier, the Chinese government has reportedly indicted two of the five for the charges.
Japanese authorities confirmed the first indictment in May of a 50-year-old native of Aichi Prefecture. The man has been in detention for a year after he was arrested near a military facility in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province.
The second detainee indicted was a woman who was an executive of a Tokyo-based Japanese language school. She was in detention since June 2015, but was only formally arrested in November, the Japan Times reported.
China has reportedly been tightening control over foreign individuals and organization over concerns of undercover activities, with the government under Xi Jinping creating a new national security commission.
by Gord Hotchkiss , Featured Contributor, August 2, 2016
Fellow Spinner Cory Treffiletti told you last week that data without context is noise.
Absolutely right.
I want to continue that conversation, because its an important one. Its all about context. So lets talk a little more about context -- specifically, how we decide what makes up that context.
You might have seen or heard the hubbub that emerged around a tweet from Neil Degrasse Tyson a month ago: Earth needs a virtual country: #Rationalia, with a one-line Constitution: All policy shall be based on the weight of evidence.
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Nice thought, but it ignited a social media shit-storm. Which was entirely predictable, because we dont want to be rational. We want to be human. Did 79 episodes of "Star Trek" teach us nothing?
The biggest beef against #Rationalia was that evidence is typically in the eyes of the beholder. Its all a matter of context. Im guessing that the policies that come from evidence in the hands of Republicans will not bear much resemblance to policies that come from the evidence of Democrats. The evidence could be the same but the context is different, because Democrats and Republicans think differently.
As Cory said: Evidence without context is just noise. And our context is only marginally based on evidence. And thats why #Rationalia -- as intellectually attractive as it might be -- wont work.
We as humans understand the world through something called sense-making. This is the process we use to build context. In 2006, psychologist Gary Klein shed new light on how we make sense of the world. We start with a frame that captures our current understanding of the situation and, depending on the evidence presented to us, we decide whether to elaborate our frame or discard it and create a new frame. So, sense-making is really an iterative loop that is constantly using our current frame as a reference point.
But heres the thing. What we consider evidence depends on the frame we already have in place. Its the filter that determines what data we pay attention to. And much as Neil Degrasse Tyson would like the governments of the world to be totally unbiased in the filtering of evidence, that dog just wont hunt. It cant -- because we cant consider data without some context to put it in.
Perhaps someday artificial intelligence will advance to the point where it can pull unbiased context out of random data. Maybe computers will be able to do what were unable to: make sense of the noise without assuming a preexisting frame. But were not there yet. And even if we were, we would simply look at the conclusions of the computer and decide whether we agree with them or not. As long as humans are in charge, there will always be a biased filter in place.
So back to Corys column. If context is so important, think about where that context is coming from. Who is defining the context, and what frame are they operating from? That in turn will define what data you consider and how you consider it.
Perhaps the most important decision before considering data is to be totally clear about what the goal is. Goals, together with experience, form the underpinning of beliefs. Frames are then built on those beliefs. Context comes from those frames. And context is the filter we apply to evidence.
Air pollution is a severe problem in China. (Photo : Getty Images)
The local government of Shangqiu in Hunan Province cracked down on local stalls and restaurants causing smog. Residents were upset over the move.
After a meeting with local leaders and a mandate from the Ministry of Environmental Protection on April 8, the local government shut down food establishments which did not comply with environmental regulations.
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The regulation imposed a ban on burning straw, controlling dust and removing smoke belching vehicles which did not meet the emission standards.
Particles harmful to human health was found in the city's air concentration of PM2.5. After the crackdown, the concentration was down by 19.6 percent month-on-month.
An official, who requested to be unnamed, said, There has been a significant improvement in the environmental quality" after a citywide campaign and "the blue skies with white clouds, unseen for a long time, are now back."
In spite of the dramatic change in air quality in the area, residents are complaining that the city lost the bustling atmosphere it once had. Other residents are finding a hard time buying food.
Zhang Han Xin, a local resident, said, "The street used to be busy and lively, but now it looks very quiet. The blot left by the barbecue stalls is still there. I don't know how long it will be like this."
The city officials said that the stalls and restaurants can resume operation after complying with government rules. Some of the restaurants were permitted to operate but will have to be inspected again.
There have been many attempts by the government to address the issue of air pollution in China. Most of the air contamination are caused by coal-powered industries and cars.
Experts are alarmed by the toxicity levels in the air and expressed concern over the danger of air pollution.
Dr. Jim Zhang, a professor of global environmental health at Duke University said, "It's very hard to get data to show whether the pollution is going to have a long-lasting effect, like cancer, but there is a reason to believe that because the pollution soup contains chemicals which can induce cancer."
by Larissa Faw , August 2, 2016
Those looking for jobs in the ad industry may want to head to University of Colorado, Boulder.
The school's College of Media, Communication and Information (CMCI) is launching IXDMA, a graduate degree program that is a spinoff of BDW, its design-based graduate certificate program that had a 100% placement rate at companies including R/GA, Google, Pinterest and Uber.
"We have an unique learning culture," says David Slayden, associate professor, CMCI, executive director, IXDMA. He says every project solves real-world problems through a partnership with BIGSHOP, an advance projects lab that works with companies, including Microsoft, R/GA, Allstate, and ESRI.
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Professors also hail from the business world, rather than work solely in academia.
Sixteen students will inaugurate this "experimental, collaborative" program beginning August 22. The structure retains the core curriculum of BDW, which is designed to adapt to the ever-changing ad world by always being ahead of the industry.
For instance, students aren't specifically taught Flash programming because it may be outdated by the time they graduate. Rather, students "learn how to learn," says Slayden.
The major change between shifting from a certificate to degree program is evident in recruitment, says Slayden. It's a lot simpler to attract international students, since Visa requirements are easier to land with degree programs, adding that 90% of the 104 graduates applied only to this program.
The student body is also more diverse since BDW first launched in 2009.
The first class primarily "hit the ceiling in their careers," but now students seek skills that will enable them to jump from agencies to startups to brands. Graduates are "recruited from day one" and rise quickly in their careers often to leadership roles," says Slayden.
There are already expansion plans, says Slayden. "We always designed it to be three verticals: design, technology, and strategy."
Next year, the school will introduce the two other verticals -- brand design and design technology -- to eventually bump up its admitting class to around 60 students.
by Jess Nelson , August 2, 2016
The past week has been one of extreme highs and lows for Hillary Clinton as she made history as the first female presidential candidate of a major political party while emails from the Democratic National Committee were hacked and released online.
Although the United States has not officially accused Russia of the security breach, Clinton suggested that Russian intelligence was behind the email hack in an interview over the weekend with Fox News Sunday.
Evidence points to spear phishing, or an email spoofing attempt targeting a specific organization, as one of the main purveyors of the attack.
Email phishing has also significantly increased this year, and the first quarter of 2016 saw the biggest jump in fraudulent scams in more than a decade, according to the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG). The global regulatory group recorded a 250% increase in phishing sites between October 2015 and March 2016.
Spear phishing and whale phishing, or email spoofing attempts impersonating leaders and CEOs, are also notoriously difficult to prevent because spam filters do not protect against social engineering attacks.
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There are no defenses against it, says Markus Jakobsson, CTO and founder of security firm ZapFraud. Its not outlandish like Nigerian scams. Its everyday behavior, such as acting like a colleague or requesting transfers to be made -- that makes it tough. It all comes down to mimicry.
Jakobsson says cybercriminals leverage social media, corporate networks and data from past breaches to pose as individuals that email recipients have relationships with. He recommends that email users analyze the content of emails and look for known phishing story lines. For example, any wire transfer request with specific instructions should be re-evaluated because vendors' companies have previous relationships with should already have relayed financial instructions.
Authenticating emails is another solution to deter phishing attempts, but Jakobsson says DMARC is not enough to protect brands from data breaches.
DMARC is great, and its fantastic for what it does, says Jakobsson. But DMARC doesnt protect everyone because only about 25% of users have it deployed."
DMARC, or Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance, is an email authentication tool that detects spoofing attempts, when headers are changed to make it appear like an email is being sent from a legitimate source, but it does not protect against lookalike domains.
Dimitri Sirota, chief executive officer of security firm BigID, suggests that brands may want to prioritize preventative measures to limit exposure as opposed to detection services.
There is a certain degree of inevitability now of getting breached, says Sirota. Its increasingly becoming almost predictable that you will get breached. That doesnt negate the need for defenses, but how do you take certain precautions in advance to be ready in the event of a breach?
Sirota recommends email marketers practice preventative hygiene measures, such as deleting unnecessary data, and focus on response time to quickly notify who has been impacted by the security assault.
Marketers are going to have to figure out what is worse losing their data or losing their jobs, says Sirota. If exposure can be avoided through simple data list hygiene, because of omission or laziness or just reaching one other customer, thats unacceptable.
by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, August 2, 2016
Harley-Davidson has selected Interpublic Group to handle its global creative, media and digital marketing account after a review that began in December of 2015.
The companys total ad costs last year were about $120 million and the firm has increased its ad budget by double digits the last several years in the face of stiffer competition from rivals such as Indian Motorcycle and Victory.
Incumbents on the account included Victors & Spoils, Starcom MediaVest Group and sibling digital agency DigitasLBi.
The holding company confirmed that it has assembled a Harley-dedicated unit called Team Ignite that is headquartered in Detroit, with regional hubs in New York, London and Singapore. Team Ignite is comprised of creative and strategic resources drawn from a range of IPG agencies.
IPG CEO Michael Roth stated that "Team Ignite has the strength, experience and creativity to help Harley-Davidson grow demand and build on their substantial market leadership position.
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"The single most important way to prevent death in the case of heart attack is to rapidly open the blood vessel so that blood flow is restored. This is one of the most important things we can do in all of cardiovascular care," said Granger, who is also a professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine.The 18-month project, called Mission: Lifeline STEMI Systems Accelerator, involved nearly 24,000 patients, 484 hospitals, and 1,253 EMS agencies in 16 regions across the U.S., including large, populated cities such as New York City, Atlanta, and Houston.Current national guidelines for STEMI treatment have two key recommendations for how quickly the blood vessel should be opened.For patients who initially arrive at a hospital that is fully equipped to respond to STEMI, the unblocking should happen within 90 minutes of first contact with emergency responders. For patients who must be transferred to facilities that can fully handle their cases, the unblocking should happen within 120 minutes of first medical contact.Patients treated within the guidelines have higher survival rates. But according to the study, up to 50 percent of patients in the U.S. currently aren't treated within the recommended times, as coordination is often lacking among those who care for STEMI patients before and after arrival at the hospital."People are dying with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction because of gaps in the American healthcare system: gaps between competing hospitals, gaps between competing physician groups, and gaps in emergency medical services," said James Jollis, M.D., a study co-author, project leader, and adjunct faculty at Duke University School of Medicine,With coordinated efforts over the course of this study, however, researchers saw a modest yet statistically significant increase in the proportion of patients meeting the guideline goals:- In patients transported by EMS to hospitals fully-capable of treating them, the proportion increased to 55 percent from 50 percent.- In patients transferred from other facilities, the proportion increased to 48 percent from 44 percent.Additionally, five of the 16 regions that stood out as the most improved saw an increase to 57 percent from 45 percent in the proportion of their patients meeting the 90-minute guideline when transported by EMS. The most successful region treated 76 percent of its patients within guideline goals by the end of the project.The work highlights the crucial collaboration between paramedics, emergency physicians and nurses, interventional cardiologists, and hospital administrators. The results also confirm the importance of better training, feedback for hospitals and EMS agencies, and coordinated and standardized STEMI treatment protocols.For example, Granger said in many of the regions, emergency responders were given standardized protocols for diagnosing patients with STEMI symptoms and activating teams to be ready when patients arrived at the hospital, regardless of the hospital where the patient was being taken."For the first time in many of these regions, this project has provided a framework for bringing together groups that are critically important to providing the best emergency care," Granger said. "Even though the effect was modest overall, we proved that it is possible to significantly change care and if these results are leveraged and optimized over years of effort, there could be even more benefit.""Our results demonstrate a successful approach to bridging these gaps that appears to be translating into saving lives," Jollis added.Source: Newswise
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The Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Amendment Regulation will allow doctors to apply to the NSW Health Board to prescribe cannabis-based products that are not currently on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.Among the potential uses for medical cannabis is the treatment of arthritis, epilepsy, glaucoma, schizophrenia, Crohn's disease and sleep disorders. Medicinal cannabis can be taken orally, smoked, used as an oil and in some cases injected.Medical cannabis is legal in 20 US states, while recreational cannabis can be sold legally in Colorado and Washington states.Medical Research Minister Pru Goward said that NSW was regulating cannabis-based medicines in the same manner as any other emerging medicine. "Patients wishing to investigate the use of cannabis-based medicines will need to talk with their doctor about suitability," Ms Goward said. "There is still a lot to learn about safety and efficacy for different patient conditions and groups, which is why we are investing $21 million to further world-leading ... research." Ms Goward added.Australian Medical Association NSW spokesman, Associate Professor Saxon Smith said that doctors will need approval from both the Commonwealth Therapeutic Goods Administration and NSW Health before they can prescribe an unregistered cannabis-based product. "It is an important step forward to look after patients in terminal situations or suffering side effects from chemotherapy, so it adds to our arsenal," he said.Anecdotal reports say that in the absence of legal cannabis-based medicine, many patients have been forced to break the law by sourcing cannabis oil and medicine on the black market.The NSW government gained approval to grow cannabis under license from the federal government as part of research into the best way to cultivate the plant. The drug will be grown at a high-security facility under strict protocols.Earlier this year, about 330 people in NSW took part in a clinical trial, testing medicinal cannabis for chemotherapy patients. Premier Mike Baird said the drug, a cannabis tablet manufactured by Canadian company Tilray, was only for people suffering nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy. "I think all of us who know people who are in the battle for their lives, to have some form of relief to give them strength, to give them energy, to stare down cancer and to take it on - well, that's what this is all about." the Premier added.This trial, which was announced in February, was the third of its kind in NSW, the other two were for terminally ill patients and children suffering from severe epilepsy.Source: Medindia
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"When you are sleep-deprived, you don't think as clearly. Staying up all night to study can backfire and affect performance on exams," Das said. "If you can't avoid an all-nighter, do it strategically by getting a good night's sleep before and after."Here are other sleep tips Das shares with college students:- Aim for a room that's cool, dark and quiet at night - like a cave.- Avoid trying to sleep with devices such as TVs, computers, tablets and phones on. They emit a blue light that disrupts sleep. If your roommate still needs to work, try using eyeshades.- Finish up work and allow yourself about 30 minutes to calm down before bed.- In the morning, get bright light as soon as you wake up. This will help you be alert for those 8 a.m. classes.- Exercise during the day can help the body wind down for sleep at night.- Don't rely on pills to get you to sleep or caffeine to keep you going. Both can mask a bigger sleep problem.- If you nap, do it before 4 p.m. and sleep no more than 30 minutes to avoid sleep inertia.Ashlee Chadwick is a sophomore at Ohio State, and one of about 20 million college students who are adjusting to living on their own or in a dorm. "It's hard getting used to all of those noises from people in the hall or next door, and I lived right next to the stairwell. Plus I wasn't used to my roommate shifting in the bed above me," Chadwick said.Das says chronic lack of sleep makes people more vulnerable to diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. So developing good sleep habits early can have a life-long impact.Source: Newswise
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"When making decisions together, men take actions that are maximally different from feminine norms, which prioritize moderation, and maximally similar to masculine norms, which prioritize extremity," said Hristina Nikolova, Assistant Professor at Boston College, in the US.Womanhood is not precarious and does not need the same level of public defense as manhood. That is why the compromise works effectively in the joint decisions of two female partners.In addition, men criticized compromise among other men, but is embraced by women."Only men judge other men very harshly when they suggest the compromise option to a male partner," Nikolova pointed out.It doesn't happen when a man suggests the compromise option to a female partner or when women suggest the compromise option so it's really specific to men dealing with other men, the researchers explained.Conversely, individuals and mixed-gender and female-female pairs will likely go for the middle option since it seems reasonable and is easily justified, the researcher said."In contrast to men, women act the same together as they would alone because they don't need to prove anything in front of other women," Nikolova added.The study examines how joint decision-making contexts change consumer's preferences for the compromise option and suggests that retailers and marketers should be aware of the gender composition of the joint decision-making pairs they might be targeting.The findings are published in theFor the study, the team conducted four experiments with 1,204 students at two US universities, and a fifth experiment using 673 online participants.Source: IANS
Itchy skin or pruritus is an uncomfortable and unpleasant skin sensation that urges the person to scratch. It may be due to a skin condition, or due to a systemic illness like liver or kidney disease.
It may be localized or generalized, and can be acute or chronic (lasting more than 6 weeks). Your skin may appear normal or show an obvious pathology.(1 Trusted Source
Itching
Go to source)
Causes of itchy skin include:
I. Skin conditions result in obvious skin lesions. They may be localized to one part of the body or may be spread throughout the body. Skin conditions that cause itchy skin include:
Dandruff
Allergic conditions like urticaria and contact dermatitis
Psoriasis
Eczema
Inflamed hair follicles
Prickly heat
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Conditions that can predispose to some of the above skin diseases include:
Allergy to certain foods or medication
Hot, humid weather conditions
Direct contact with:
Rubber, that contains latex
Metals like cobalt or nickel in jewellery
Cosmetics, hair dye, nail varnish hardeners
Exposure to plants like sunflowers, tulips, daffodils
Exposure to dyes and resins used in the textile industry
II. Infections:
Fungal infections like ringworm, athletes foot and yeast infection
Viral infection like chickenpox and measles
III. Insects & Parasites:
Infection by trichomonas vaginalis, a sexually transmitted infection (STI)
Bites from insects like bees, mosquitoes, bedbugs and fleas
Infestation by scabies mite or lice
IV. Other Conditions:
Piles (hemorrhoids)
Hormonal conditions like thyroid disorders, pregnancy and menopause
Iron deficiency anemia
Liver disease or kidney failure
Cancers of liver, pancreas, leukemia and Hodgkins Lymphoma
Psychological conditions like depression or anxiety
Nerve disorders such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes mellitus, herpes zoster( Trusted Source
10 Reasons Your Skin Itches Uncontrollably And How To Get Relief
Go to source Trusted Source Trusted Source
Itchy Skin
Go to source Trusted Source
Itching may be localized to a particular part of the body, or may be generalized. A condition like a thyroid or liver or kidney disease produces more generalized itching, whereas a local lesion on the skin often produces localized itching. The skin may appear completely normal or may have the following features:
Redness
Scratch marks on the affected part
Blisters or bumpiness in certain areas
Scaly or leathery texture of the skin which indicates chronic itching
Dry and cracked skin. A dry skin is usually itchy
Diagnosis of itchy skin involves a detailed medical history and physical examination. Depending on the suspected cause, the following tests may be done:
Blood Tests
Blood Counts: A complete blood count will determine evidence of conditions that causes itching, like iron deficiency anemia
Thyroid Function Test: Measurement of thyroid hormone levels can help diagnose itching caused by the thyroid disorders
Liver or Kidney Profile: Blood tests to diagnose liver and kidney disease that may indicate the cause for itching
Biopsy of the Skin lesions
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Treatment for itchy skin depends on underlying cause. Treatment of the underlying cause usually stops the itching, but there are certain remedies that can be tried and offered by your healthcare practitioner.
Medication
Commonly recommended treatments include:
For Cooling: Use topical products containing cooling menthol for cooling the skin and relieve itching due to prickly heat. A damp flannel can also help to reduce itching.
To Control Allergic Reaction: Use anti-histamine medications. The older antihistamines cause drowsiness but are usually more effective in treating itchy skin.
medications. The older antihistamines cause drowsiness but are usually more effective in treating itchy skin. On Inflamed Areas: Use mild steroid creams (only for few days).
Other medications like anti-depressants can be recommended if the above treatments do not work or if the itching is particularly long lasting.
Certain drugs like tacrolimus can be used instead of corticosteroid creams, if the area of itching isn't large.
Phototherapy: Skin is exposed to certain wavelengths of UV light. This can be done multiple times until itching is under control.
Anesthetics: Topical anesthetics like lidocaine or benzocaine are also helpful. But, benzocaine should not be used in children younger than 2 years unless recommended by the health provider. In adults, benzocaine should not be used more than recommended dose
For Dry or Flaky Skin: Use an oily moisturizer or emollient. It is best to apply the moisturizer soon after a lukewarm or cold bath so that the moisturizer retains the moisture within the skin.( Trusted Source
Itchy Skin after Burn Injury
Go to source Trusted Source
Bathing
Use cool or lukewarm water instead of hot water. In the lukewarm water, baking soda, uncooked oatmeal or colloidal oatmeal (finely grounded) can be added.
Avoid using perfumed soap, shower gel or deodorants.
Reduce your bath time to less than 20 minutes.
Use un-perfumed moisturizer lotions and emollients soon after the shower to prevent your skin from drying.
Dont rub your skin dry, rather pat or dab it.
Clothes
Wear cotton and silk clothes whenever possible. Avoid irritant clothes or which are too synthetic or tight clothes.
At night, wear cool, light and loose clothes.
Since the detergent on your clothes can also cause itching, a mild laundry detergent should be used for washing clothes. While washing clothes, extra rinse cycle can be used to wash away any remaining soap. Towels and bedding should be soft; this is especially true for sensitive skin.
Itching can be worsened by stress. To curb stress counseling, medication, yoga, behaviour modification therapy must be adopted.
Health Tips
To heal dry skin and prevent it from getting worse, below are some of the tips recommended by dermatologists.
Gordon Brown, former British Prime Minister, gives an opening remark at the first global philanthropy conference sponsored by Alibaba on July 9 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. (Photo : Getty Images)
Alibaba founder and CEO Jack Ma, through Ant Financial, will start using blockchain technology used in Bitcoins to record donations and improve the accountability of Chinese organizations engaged in philanthropy, Bloomberg reported.
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Cheng Li, Ant's chief technology officer said that they have started using the blockchain technology on a tamper-proof ledger to record the donations of more than 400 million users of Alipay, the company's online payment and investment service platform. He added that "Ant Love" charity donors can track their transaction histories, learn where their donations go and how the fund is spent.
Chen said that with the use of this technology, records cannot be easily altered and it would help restore credibility to the organization.
Xinhua News Agency said that philanthropy in China increased by about 10-fold, reaching $15 billion, in the decade through 2014, despite reports of scandals and mismanagement.
The South China Morning Post has reported about a high-profile case involving Project Hope, which the country's anti-corruption watchdog has been investigating for irregularities. In 2011, the Red Cross Society of China was investigated after a woman who claimed to be associated with the organization posted pictures showing her extravagant lifestyle. But the organization later denied that she had been a member or staff of the agency.
Chen said that Ant has partnered with the China Social Assistance Foundation and several larger charities to launch the initiative for Ant Love, connecting users with more than 1,000 charitable organizations. As of the end of last year, they were able to collect over 600 million yuan.
"We hope to bring more transparency to charity and blockchain technology's decentralized nature fits that purpose well," Cheng said in a phone interview. "It means that all the information and transaction history of funds will be more reliable and can't be easily tampered with."
According to the report, Ant Financial also joined Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. in putting the blockchain technology to test. Financial firms are also studying the use of smart contracts to monitor events as well as enhance security. The other applications of decentralized ledgers are also being studied by Ant.
Blockchain technology has been hailed by the World Economic Forum as one of the six computing "mega-trends" that will shape the world in the next decade. By 2027, about 10 percent of global gross domestic product could be stored on blockchains.
"Ant Financial is smart to start experimenting with blockchain technology with something like charity, which is less sensitive and risky," according to Ma Haobo, the Beijing-based founder of Hoopox, a startup using blockchain for intellectual property security. "If it's really ambitious, the company should start looking at how to apply the technology in other financial areas."
Ant Financial used a private blockchain in its initial project, as Cheng said that the company plans to allow charity organizations and auditors to use the ledger in the future.
"It's great that Ant Financial is using blockchain technology to bring transparency to a murky industry that has operated like a blackbox," Chandler Guo, an investor in digital currency startups, said. "The key challenge is whether they have the right talent and execution strategy."
Russia-NATO Update is a new monthly review by the MEMRI Russian Media Studies Project, covering the latest news on Russia-NATO relations from the Russian and East European media.
Cartoons Of the Month
Vk.com/13studiya, July 21, 2016.
Psychiatrist to NATO soldier: Stop, stop... Now tell me again: for an entire year you kept looking into a bear's den and screaming into its ear not to attack you? And what happened next?
Twitter.com/sharzhipero, July 11, 2016
NATO military official: Citizens of Russia, do not worry; All this is for your own security!
Quotes Of The Month
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that NATO has rejected Russia's proposal "to ensure indivisible security," since security cannot be ensured at the expense of others. Lavrov said: "They [NATO members] want [instead] to involve ever more countries in NATO and tear them away from Russia."
(Tass.ru, July 22)
Mikhail Alexandrov, military expert at the Moscow-based International Relations Institute, an academic institution run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia: "We need to quit the nuclear weapons testing moratorium, in order to demonstrate NATO that our nuclear arsenal is in an effective warfare condition."
(Pravda.ru, July 14)
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rozogin, who is in charge of the defense industry and served as Russia's ambassador to NATO until 2011, explained his views on NATO while visiting Tiraspol, Moldova's second largest city, and the capital of the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (Transnistria). Rozogin said: "One by one, they are normal guys, but when they gather together - they are devil incarnates. It is a relic of the Cold War. What they are doing now toward Russia, its allies, its partners - this is really going too far. They are openly building up not as much military capabilities as military rhetoric...There is in fact nothing behind this apart from the selfish interest to justify its own existence. NATO is not a useful organization. NATO should have been dissolved long ago, and the Russian president talked about it...When new difficulties appear in international relations now, they openly enjoy it, they are glad that they can show that someone needs them... In principle, this organization was set up exclusively for conflicts, for wars, for aggravating the situation."
(Tass.ru, July 6)
In the News:
Russia-Slovenia Relations
On July 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Slovenia, a EU and NATO member, at the invitation of Slovenian President Borut Pahor, amid tensions between Russia and the West. During his working visit to Slovenia, Putin held talks with Pahor on security issues and counter-terrorist efforts, as well as various bilateral issues, including trade and economic cooperation, despite EU sanctions. During the talks, Pahor said that Slovenia, as a member of the EU and NATO, and Russia "have become more estranged from each other." He then added: "I think now is the time to start using dialogue to overcome any disagreements because now of all times it is necessary for all of us to join forces to deal with the serious threats of our time... I am pleased that you have accepted our invitation to visit Slovenia...and that we are doing our best to preserve Russian-Slovenian friendship."
In response, Putin stressed the common history that unites Slovenia and Russia. Putin said: "The reason behind our meeting is of a humanitarian and historical nature, but it has given us an opportunity to talk about... Russia's relations with the European Union and NATO, bearing in mind that Slovenia is a member of both. We can see how Slovenia respects our common history, and the memory of those who suffered in past global conflicts."
(Kremlin.ru, July 30)
The cordiality of the visit was also reflected in an article that appeared in Gazeta.ru titled "In Slovenia Putin Forgot about a war with NATO". Slavic studies experts Georgi Engelgardt and Nadezhda Pilko emphasized that Slovenia traditionally emphasized the common Slavic ties between itself and Russia and was working within the EU for the removal of sanctions against Russia, an issue that probably surfaced in discussions between Putin and Pahor.
(Gazeta.ru, July 30, 2016)
NATO-Russia Council
On July 13, a NATO-Russia Council meeting took place in Brussels at the permanent representative level. For the first time since this format resumed, the meeting was attended by representatives from the Russian Defense Ministry and the alliance's military agencies.
Commenting on the NATO-Russia Council meeting during her weekly briefing, Zakharova said: "Russia unequivocally and decisively rejected the alliance's attempts to gloss over the discussion on Ukraine with political slogans and declarations...We pointed to the destructive nature of NATO's efforts to strengthen Kiev's military capability and the military exercises conducted by alliance members on Ukrainian soil."
(Mid.ru, July 14)
(See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6525, Russian Government Reactions To Meeting Of NATO-Russia Council, July 14, 2016; See MEMRI No. 6522, Following The NATO Summit In Warsaw July 8-9 And Ahead Of The NATO-Russia Council Meeting On July 13 - An Interim Review, July 13, 2016; See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6514, NATO July 8-9 Summit In Warsaw: Russian Envoy To NATO Grushko Calls NATO 'Military Methods' An Attempt To Create New Dividing Lines In Europe, Make European Countries Dependent On The U.S., July 8, 2016; See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6510, One Day To The NATO Summit In Warsaw, Russian Reactions To UK Parliament's Report On British And NATO Relations With Russia, July 7, 2016; See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6507, Two Days To NATO's Warsaw Summit, Pro-Kremlin Think Tank Valdai Club's Expert Warns: 'Western Support... To Anti-Russian Political Forces In Belarus, Armenia And Azerbaijan Would Lead To New Crises Like That In Ukraine', July 6, 2016; See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6505, Three Days Before NATO's Warsaw Summit, Russian Envoy To NATO Grushko: NATO Transformed 'Central And Eastern Europe Into An Arena Of Military Confrontation', July 5, 2016; See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6503, Four Days To NATO's Warsaw Summit, Putin Tells Meeting Of Russian Diplomats: 'Today, NATO Seems To Be Making A Show Of Its Anti-Russian Stance', July 4, 2016)
Military Drills And Defense News
Military tension is rising between Russia and NATO. The recent NATO-Russia Council meeting, held on July 13, did not bring produce any serious development in terms of political dialogue. The Head of the European Security Department RAS Institute of Europe, Dmitry Danilov, said that the meeting's goal was to reduce risks and mutual harm, since "practically no positive agenda" exists. NATO accuses Russia of conducting "provocative" military activities in the periphery of NATO territory, and of destabilizing European security through aggressive actions such as the annexation of Crimea, and large-scale snap exercises that violate the spirit of the 2011 Vienna Document for building confidence and transparency amongst member states. Russia in return accuses NATO of "confrontational" actions close to the Russian border, since it considers the deployment of NATO' battalions in Poland and in the Baltic countries, and a brigade in Romania a breach of the 1997 Russia-NATO Founding Act. Moscow is also concerned about the U.S./NATO missile defense system deployed in Eastern Europe. NATO claims that it is directed at Iran and not against Russia, but Moscow considers it a direct threat to its nuclear arsenal. According to MGIMO University Associate Professor, Mikhail Troitskiy, NATO could send a positive signal to Russia if it were to abandon its plans to make the European missile defense system capable of "intercepting intercontinental ballistic missile [i.e. nuclear-armed ballistic missile] by 2020, as neither Iran nor other Middle Eastern players seem capable of acquiring such arms."
In May 2016, the pro-Kremlin Russian think tank Council for Foreign and Defense Policies published a memorandum, titled "Russia's Foreign Policy: From the Late 2010s - To the Early 2020s," that pointed to an increased risk of a nuclear war between Russian and the West. The memorandum stated: "In the world of traditional politics, such a rapid re-distribution of economic and political powers and of moral influence would almost inevitably trigger a series of large-scale wars or even a new world war. But so far, this has been prevented by the most important structural factor that has determined the world's development for the past seventy years - nuclear weapons, especially super-powerful arsenals in Russia and the US. They only prevented the Cold War from becoming a nuclear war. Had it not been for the sobering threat of a nuclear Armageddon, the 'old' world establishment would hardly have agreed to the explosive growth of influence of rising powers, primarily China and India. But the proliferation of nuclear weapons goes on, whereas the level of trust, dialogue, and positive cooperation in the military and strategic sphere is extremely low. Taken together, all this increases the probability of a nuclear war. Sustainable international strategic stability has decreased."
(See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6526, Rise Of Military Tensions Between Russia And NATO, July 18, 2016)
Vk.com/13studiya, May 19, 2016.
Russian President Vladimir Putin standing in front an intercontinental ballistic missiles "Topol-M"
On July 27, the Russian news agency Tass.ru reported that the Northwestern District troops have been reequipped and received new warplanes and air defense missile systems. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said: "The district troops have been reequipped and received new warplanes and the S-300V4, S-400, Buk-M2 air defense missile systems, the Pantsir-S1 combined short to medium range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon system. As a result, the efficiency of the country's anti-aircraft defense in the northwestern strategic direction has improved 1.5 times."
Shoigu also divulged that Russia formed 13 divisions and brigades and 22 regiments in Southern Military District over 3 years. Shoigu said: "Over 200 organizational structure measures have been carried out in the Southern Military District since 2013 to boost the troops' combat capabilities...Four divisions, nine brigades and 22 regiments have been established, including two missile brigades armed with Iskander-M tactical missile systems that have helped build up the firepower capabilities for destroying a notional enemy." Shoigu added that the Southern Military District has received over 4,000 new and modernized pieces of the armor, including Bastion and Bal coastal defense missile systems, submarines and combat ships armed with Kalibr missiles. He also stressed that a self-sufficient grouping was established on the Crimean peninsula.
Shoigu also informed that more than 2,000 items of new and modernized combat hardware will arrive for the Western Military District in 2016.
(Tass.ru, July 27)
On July 27, the Russian news agency Ria.ru reported that Central Military District launched massive drills of anti-aircraft units involving 3000 servicemen deployed to four various ranges, in Astrakhan, Orenburg, Chelyabinsk, close to Caspian Sea and Kazhahstan borders and Tajikistan. The operational scenario is defending military and civil critical infrastructure. Equipment includes: S-300, Buk-M2, Tor-M2. During the drills the units will fire more than 4000 rounds of various weapons, including the firing of 120 missiles.
(Ria.ru, July 27)
On July 27, the Russian news agency Ria.ru reported that the Eastern Military district launched different set of drills, involving 8.000 servicemen, 100 aircrafts, 1.000 units of infantry equipment and the Navy ships of the Pacific Fleet (close to Mongolia, North Korea, China and Japan). The operational scenario involves joint actions by anti-aircraft units, military aviation, military air-defense and infantry in eight different regions of the Russian Far East.
(Ria.ru, July 27)
On July 26, the Russian news agency Tass.ru reported about other drills in the Eastern Military District, close to Mongolia, China and North Korea. The massive drills of anti-aircraft units involve 1.500 servicemen. The operational scenario implies deployment by rail and by road transport, locating enemy air targets, changing positions and reporting to command centers.
(Tass.ru, July 26)
On July 25, Russian news agency Ria.ru reported about drills in the Western Military District, more specifically in the Leningrad region, close to Finland, Estonia, Latvia. Iskander-M tactical missiles brigade started drills involving 50 units of launchers and special equipment. The operational scenario is to locate and destroy radiolocation stations and command facilities of a "hypothetical" adversary. The operational scenario implies concealed deployment to a remote operational area.
(Ria.ru, July 25)
On July 23, the Russian news agency Ria.ru reported on the Russian Northern fleet's drills in the Barents and White Seas, which involved over 100 vessels, including nuclear and conventional submarines. The vessels received shore support from at least two brigades and 1.000 pieces of heavy equipment. Russian jets and anti-aircraft units also participated in the drills.
(Ria.ru, July 23)
The Barents Sea and the White Sea.
On July 19, Ria.ru reported that the First Armored Army of the Western Military District announced anti-aircraft/anti-missile drills. The anti-aircraft units will conduct a rapid relocation and deployment. The drills will take place at a distance of 1500 kilometers from the regular deployment district. More than 2.000 servicemen and 500 units of heavy and special equipment will participate in the drills aimed at repelling a hypothetical combined missile-aircraft strike.
(Ria.ru, July 19)
Vk.com/13studiya, May 24, 2016
On the wall U.S. President Barack Obama wrote "War," but Putin writes: "We are choosing peace"
Russia To Respond If Finland Joins NATO
On July 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Finland. In that occasion, Putin said that Russia would respond if Finland joins NATO. Putin said: "Do you think we will continue to act in the same manner [if Finland joins NATO]? We have withdrawn our troops 1,500 [km from the border]. Do you think they will stay there?"
Commenting on Putin's statement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov mentioned possible Russian reactions if Finland joins NATO: "Clearly, if the infrastructure of an organisation that refers to you as an enemy is getting closer to your borders, you have to respond. We have enough expertise in this area. I'm confident that the Defence Ministry and the General Staff know exactly what to do. Again, we believe that our relations with Finland are as good as ever. We hope that our Finnish neighbors will not succumb to the temptation to join anti-Russian actions."
(Mid.ru, July 4)
Confidence Building Measures In The Baltic Region
During Putin's visit to Finland, the Finnish President Sauli Niinisto recommended enhancing confidence building measures in the Baltic region. Putin said: "The Finnish president [Sauli Niinisto] came up with the proposals today on the first steps aimed at enhancing confidence and preventing conflicts [in the Baltic airspace]. I have already said that I agree with this... We welcome the Finnish President's proposal [to ban flights over the Baltics with transponders off]. Upon my arrival back in Moscow I will order the Foreign and Defense Ministries to raise this matter at the upcoming Russia-NATO Council meeting, which is to take place after the Russia-NATO summit in Warsaw." On July 2, Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu ordered the defense apparatus to present recommendations on building such confidence measures. In an official statement the Ministry of Defense stated: "According to the President's orders, the Minister of Defense orders the preparation of recommendations on building confidence [trust] measures, which will enhance the safety of aviation activity in the Baltic Sea region. Specifically, the work is being performed on organizational and technical measures, including the use of transponders by the military aviation". During Putin's visit to Finland, the Finnish president recommended to Putin to ban military aviation flights without transponders.
(Ria.ru, July 2; See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6502, Russia This Week - June 27 - July 4, July 4, 2016)
Commenting on the confidence measures in the Baltic, (ret.) Colonel Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the Russian National Defense magazine, said: "This decision reiterates Moscow's intention to decrease the military tensions with NATO and to provide confidence and transparency in military activities so as to minimize possible incidents in the Baltic airspace." Korotchenko added that he would like to hope that NATO countries would act as responsibly as Moscow.
(Ria.ru, July 2)
The president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, Konstantin Sivkov, mentioned that by using transponders, Russian military aircraft will increase security along Russia's borders but NATO would not reciprocate on the issue since it is interested in continued tensions. He added that the U.S. would seek to keep its aircraft along the Russian borders unidentified. Sivkov said: "[If we use transponders] no one is going to accuse us of violating foreign airspace; safety and security will increase and this in turn will decrease tensions in the airspace. Furthermore, if previously we had to scramble our aircraft in order to identify the air target, now we will know for sure that it is an American reconnaissance aircraft. It's very undesirable for the U.S."
(Ria.ru, July 2)
Commenting on the same issue, Mikhail Nenashev, captain first-rank and Chairman of the All-Russian Movement for Supporting the Fleet, said: "NATO's and America's conduct is about straightforward provocations, and thus all the technical deterrence, security and safety measures are not the first priority. The priority is NATO's policy to increase tensions."
(Ria.ru, July 2)
The Baltic Fleet - Vice Admiral Alexander Nosatov Appointed Acting Commander Of The Baltic Fleet
In June, Russian Defense Minister and Army General Sergei Shoigu fired Baltic Fleet Commander Viktor Kravchuk, his chief of stuff Rear Admiral Sergey Popov and more than fifty high-ranking fleet officers, including other admirals and captains first class. According to the Russia media outlet, Fotanka.ru, this is the first time that a massive firing of officials has been publicized. According to the official statement Kravchuk and Popov were penalized for "serious shortcomings in organizing combat training, daily activities of their units, poor care of their subordinates as well as misrepresenting the real situation in their reports."
On July 1, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that he had appointed Vice Admiral Alexander Nosatov to the post of Acting Commander of the Baltic Fleet. Until recently Nosatov commanded the Black Sea Fleet headquarters and also headed the Naval Academy. Viktor Litovkin, a military observer from the TASS news agency and a retired colonel, said: "All those involved in the Baltic Fleet will be replaced. They will all be demoted and sent to the Northern Fleet and the Pacific Fleet and other places."
(Rbth.com, July 4; See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6502, Russia This Week - June 27 - July 4, July 4, 2016)
Makeup of Baltic Fleet Command Forces (Source; Themoscowtimes.com, July 6, 2016)
The Black Sea
Ria's columnist Sergey Varshavchik writes that the Black Sea became strategically important for NATO, after Crimea was annexed by Russia. Varshavchik writes: "All sides understand quite well that no one is going engage in a nuclear Ping-Pong, while a military confrontation between fleets will end in the quick death of NATO's crews...The entire territory of the Black Sea is within the range of the Russian missile carriers and submarines". Varshavchik also writes that the Black Sea fleet conducted a series of drills, while NATO was holding its summit in Warsaw (July 8-9, 2016), in order to test combining missile strikes with heavy bombers during naval battle.
(Ria.ru, July 20)
Russia-Montenegro Relations
In an interview with the media outlet EUobserver.com, Montenegro's prime minister, Milo Dukanovic, said that Russia is working with "strongholds" of anti-EU and anti-NATO sentiment in the Western Balkans in order to compete for influence. Dukanovic said: "They [the Russians] have their strongholds, the role of which is to oppose NATO and the EU, not only in our country, but in all the countries of the region." He then added: "It is clear Russia is very supportive and provides the logistics for certain political parties, NGOs, and media outlets which are trying to hamper Montenegro's path to Euro-Atlantic integration", he said. It should also be noted, that Montenegro, in an observer status, participated for the first time at a NATO summit. The Balkan country was invited to become NATO's 29th member in December 2015, and subsequently the Accession Protocol was signed in May 2016. Montenegro now enjoys invitee status and is integrating into NATO activities.
During her weekly briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova said: "We have taken note of Prime Minister Dukanovic's statements...It can be seen that even before Montenegro was dragged into the alliance, the prime minister of that country rolled over for the leaders of this organization one more time... We can see that Mr. Dukanovic is openly and unequivocally exercising a policy of intentional damage to the traditionally friendly relations between Montenegro and Russia...Responsibility for the consequences of Podgorica's anti-Russian line lies fully and completely with Montenegro's current officials."
(Euobserver.com, July 12, 2016; Mid.ru, July 14; See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6443, Russian Reactions To Negotiations On Montenegro's NATO Membership, May 20, 2016)
Russia-Moldova Relations - Russian Deputy PM: Moldova May lose Transnistria Due To Rapprochement With Romania
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said in an interview with the Kommersant daily after his visit to Moldova: "The fact remains, it is obvious even to the fiercest supporters of unification with Romania, that if Moldova takes a step towards Romania, the Transnistria region will fall off at this steep turn... [If Moldovans want to join Romania] then they had better let the Transnistrian region go amicably, and if they do not want to go to Romania, if they want to remain a sovereign state, a smart state that will protect all its citizens, then it will take years, but those years will not be in vain as they will be spent on restoring territorial integrity."
(Tass.ru, July 8)
Russia-Sweden Relations
During Sweden's Almedalen Week, an annual political festival (July 3-10), Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said that Russia is using "various methods to try and weaken Europe".
The head of Sweden's military intelligence and security service, Major General Gunnar Karlsson, also spoke at the event, saying that Russia would "benefit from and would like to see a split within the EU, and also NATO". Sweden's Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Micael Byden, also spoke of Sweden's relationship with Russia, voicing his concern about a number of near-collisions in the past years between Russian military jets and Swedish aircraft. Byden said: "There are examples when we flew close to each other. One mistake can mean an accident that can be used improperly or maybe I have information that could solve the issue but it does not reach [its destination]."
Commenting the Swedish official's statement, Zakharova said: "We were perplexed by the statement made by Supreme Commander of Sweden's Armed Forces Gen. Micael Byden about Russia being the biggest military threat to Sweden at the annual Almedalen political week...One gets the impression that many Western countries are part of a well-orchestrated effort to accuse Russia almost daily of posing a threat to someone...As for Sweden, we hear such statements regularly and in different contexts...Ultimately, all the stories about Russian subs proved to be simply the inventions of Swedish military officers, like the universally known tale about the Loch Ness Monster but this time [set] in Sweden. Not a single story was confirmed. Needless to say, it is deplorable that Russophobic statements coming out of the Swedish military - all haunted by a phantom Russian threat - are becoming routine...Let me repeat that if our Swedish partners have concerns over the so-called 'Russian threat,' we are always ready to discuss them in a direct dialogue on all issues that arise. Regrettably, the Swedish side is deliberately avoiding a businesslike, substantive discussion, resorting instead to public diplomacy that is not being used for its designated purpose. This is not public diplomacy but using the media for propaganda."
(Thelocal.se, July 7, Mid.ru, July 7)
Interview Of The Month
Sergey Karaganov (Source: Karaganov.ru)
On July 13, the German weekly Der Spiegel published an interview with former Kremlin foreign policy advisor Sergey Karaganov on NATO and Russia-West relations. In the interview, Karaganov said that the world is in a pre-war situation. He stressed that Russi warned NATO against approaching the borders of Ukraine, because that would create a situation that Moscow cannot accept. Karaganov said: "Russia has stopped the Western advance in this direction and hopefully that means that the danger of a large war in Europe has been eliminated in the medium term. But the propaganda that is now circulating is reminiscent of the period preceding a new war."
Concerning the Baltic States, Karaganov said: "This chatter that we intend to attack the Baltics is idiotic. Why is NATO stationing weapons and equipment there? Imagine what would happen to them in the case of a crisis. The help offered by NATO is not symbolic help for the Baltic States. It is a provocation. If NATO initiates an encroachment -- against a nuclear power like ourselves -- it will be punished."
(Spiegel.de, July 13)
Yes, beer lovers can cheer on now that there is an avant-garde pub in the confines of Connaught Placethe citys oldest hub. Smoke On Water, a new gastropub that opened about two weeks ago, has decided to let you pour your own beer. No, it doesnt mean you get behind the bar. All you need to do is sit at your table, choose your beer and pour it out! Sounds like magic? Well, its nothing less than that for beer chuggers.
Smoke On Water
Whats so great you ask? Read on
Smoke On Water is Delhis first tap-your-beer gastropub. What that means? It offers a stylized experience of drinking by introducing a state-of-the-art beer dispensing system, the first of its kind. The tap-your-beer-on-table system allows guests to pay by the ounce rather than the conventional pint or glass. You get a rechargeable card which you can fill with a certain amount of money; then, sit at your table, place your card on an electromagnetic card slot at the side of your table. Once the card has been read, place your glass under the gigantic tap you see at one corner of your table and let it flow!
Smoke On Water
While you pour out your beer, you can keep a tab on the amount of beer and the money being deducted from your card, subsequently, in the little screen embedded in your wooden table. Its as crystal clear as it gets, really. And you get to choose between a Bira and a Hoegaarden tapsit on the first floor if youre a Bira guy; or on the ground floor, if youd go with the Hoe!
Smoke On Water
Oh and it gets better. 16 F*CKING KINDS OF CHICKEN WINGS TO TRY OUT WITH YOUR BEER!
Need I say more, really?
When you think of the finest method actors in Bollywood, your list will probably start with the effervescent and the forever perfectionist Randeep Hooda. The Sarabjit star, who lost an insane 18 kilos of weight in 28 days, has always gone overboard when it comes to preparing for his roles.
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This time, he is all set to impress his fans with his upcoming movie Battle Of Saragarhi, in which he is essaying the role of a Sikh Solder. The drama movie is going to be directed by the ace filmmaker Raj Kumar Santoshi and will see Randeep play the character of Ishar Singh, the commander of the fourth battalion of the Sikh Regiment. Randeep will be studying Sikh history in detail, take sword fighting lessons and vintage rifle shooting.
He has the body language of a warrior and he will be beefing up to resemble Ishar Singh. He has already started growing his hair and beard, said Rahul Mitra, filmmaker and CEO, Wave Cinemas. Taking care of the sentiments of the Sikh community is of utmost importance and Randeep is extremely serious about the prep. Being a Sikh soldier means embracing calmness and pure forms of warfare. There can be no frivolous behaviour and Randeep has completely submerged himself into the part, he added. Battle of Saragarhi will tell the story that unfolded with the 12th September events of 1897, when a British Indian contingent of 21 Sikhs was attacked by around 10,000 Afghans of the Orakzai tribe. Ishar Singh was stationed in the North-West Frontier Province, refused to surrender and fought till the end. He was also awarded the Indian merit posthumously by the British parliament.
The story is definitely a moving tale and there is no doubt about the fact that Randeep Hooda will do full justice to his role.
A corporate business professional doesn't necessarily have to be all nerdy; instead, they can be super stylish too. A corporate business professional is generally a person working in a multi-national corporation, who attends a lot many meetings, deals with a lot of professional clients and, above all, lives in a suit from day to night.
Because of the nature of work a corporate professional does, it is imperative for him to wear suits all the time. And while they are champs at the work they do, they can also afford (like literally) to wear suits and be all dapper. To make you more stylish, here are some suit combinations that will help you look sharp and suave.
1. White Shirt + Black Trousers + Black Blazer + Black Shoes
iamgalla
2. Blue Shirt + Tie + Plaid Trousers + Plaid Blazer + Brown Shoes
thescotteffect
3. White Shirt + Blue Trousers + Blue Blazer + Formal Shoes
onedapperstreet
4. White Shirt + Tie + Brown Trousers + Brown Blazer + Blue Shoes
themetroman
5. White Shirt + Striped Blue Trousers + Tie + Maroon Blazer + Formal Shoes
themetroman
6. White Shirt + White Trousers + Blue Double-Breasted Blazer + Brown Shoes
iamgalla
7. Checked Blue Shirt + Brown Chinos + Blue Blazer + Black Shoes
thescotteffect
8. Plain Blue Shirt + Grey Trousers + Blue Blazer + Black Shoes
onedapperstreet
Uber Sign (Photo : Getty )
Uber has reportedly spent $500 million on a new mapping project so the ride-sharing company can free itself from Google Maps. The company announced that the new project involves mapping cars that collect street images to improve the experience of Uber customers. Its mapping system would especially help foreign customers because Uber drivers often have had to call people who ordered the taxi service, to get their exact location.
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The news was reported by the Financial Times during the weekend. Google has also recently increased the cost of its Maps service, which has lowered Uber's profit margins.
Uber has not confirmed that it has invested half a billion dollars in road maps. However, Uber's ex-Google Maps engineer Brian McClendon stated that his new company is "doubling down" on its spending on mapping. Its new street maps will improve issues such as the best pick-up/drop-off points and taxi routes.
Uber is using mapping vehicles in the United States and Mexico. It also has plans to add similar vehicles to other countries in the near future.
Uber has bought some mapping tech and hired Microsoft engineers to improve its maps, according to Tech Crunch. It has also teamed up with navigation system companies like Digital Globe and TomTom.
The San Francisco-based company also has about $12 billion in funding it has received from private equity firm TPG, China's web services company Baidu, and Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. Several other investors are ready to spend big money on the company.
In May Uber posted the first photos of its road tests of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in the city of Pittsburg. Its improved mapping system could expedite a fleet of self-driving cars.
Uber's early success was based on hardware and software that already existed such as cars and smartphones. However, it is now spending more on research and development (R&D) to boost long-term sales growth.
The American transportation company now operates in over 60 countries and provides customers with over two billion rides.
In related news, Uber has announced it will sell its China business to rival Didi Chuxing after their expensive price wars, according to Bloomberg. Didi will reportedly invest $1 billion in the ride-sharing company's global company.
Uber shared that big losses in China have slowed down world-wide growth. It has also reportedly delayed sales of its first public stocks.
Here's Uber's self-driving car:
People take photos of a Sony Playstation 4, not the PlayStation NEO, and its controllers on display (Photo : Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
Sony's PlayStation Neo is already expected to be launched in fall but a new simulation of the console's hardware shows that it could perform horribly at 4K resolution.
Both Sony and Microsoft had claimed that their upcoming upgraded consoles will be able to handle 4K gaming. The latter has their Project Scorpio which is basically an Xbox One with upgraded hardware but it is expected in 2017 and not this year compared to the PlayStation Neo.
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Now, researchers from Eurogamer have tried to simulate the claimed power of the PlayStation Neo which has been leaked to contain a new Polaris 10 GPU. The researchers have used the new AMD Radeon RX 480 GPU for the tests.
In order to simulate the true power of the PlayStation Neo, the RX 480 was underclocked to 911MHz which is the card's "power state two" that uses less electricity in order not to generate a lot of heat which is bad for consoles due to their closed system. The processor used in the simulations was an Intel Core i7 6700K to put as much as the graphics load onto the video card.
While the PlayStation Neo did perform well for the 1080p and 1440p tests, it did not hold well in 4K with framerates below 30 frames per second. Sony could use 4K upscaling for the PlayStation Neo which means it would still output 4K but not the true native version that everyone was expecting, 4K reported.
The same could be said for the Xbox Project Scorpio but Microsoft could still do some more hardware tweaking and improving as there is still over a year before it can be released. Sony's PlayStation Neo could be disappointing for those who were expecting true native 4K resolution gaming for their 4K televisions and monitors.
PC gamers have already anticipated that there will be some sort of quality cost cutting for the PlayStation Neo and the Project Scorpio which both claim true 4K gaming capabilities. Even the NVIDIA GTX 1080 cannot really provide a straight 60fps for all games on 4K.
Sony could launch the PlayStation Neo this fall along with the PlayStation VR. Official specs and release date have not been confirmed yet.
The Pirate Bay (TPB) is Best Alternative, Last Man Standing as KickassTorrents (KAT) Still Down and Unlikely to Come Back Heres Why
The Pirate Bay (TPB), ExtraTorrent and YTS.ag Now Listed as Top Free Download Alternatives; Torrenting Still Hurting from KickassTorrents, Torrentz Shut Down (Photo : Facebook)
Nearly two weeks after the KickassTorrents domains takedown and arrest of its alleged owner, the file-sharing site is still down and the chance of resuming operation is next to zero. Numerous mirrors, clones and alternatives have surfaced but only one is likely to remain as last man standing - The Pirate Bay.
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But first, KAT picking up the pieces and going back online is just impossible. It appeared that the original KickassTorrents code is exclusive only to Artem Vaulin, tagged by the U.S. government as KAT owner and operator and is currently detained in Poland. Behind bars, Vaulin will not be able restore what was lost in the aftermath of the KAT crackdown and even in the event that he wins back his freedom, getting the site live again is not an easy task.
TorrentFreak said in a report that the KickassTorrents operation has been deeply compromised. When given the chance, the report agreed that Vaulin can technically bring back KAT where it left off but it will prove to be a short-lived victory. It's no secret that rights holders and authorities are monitoring Vaulin and every effort to restore KickassTorrents will only be met by takedown moves.
So torrent users are left with the so-called mirror, clones and proxies. Yet as quick as these KAT replicas came out following the KickassTorrents domains seizure, they went out in the same way.
The most notable clones were KickassTorrents.website and KAT.am but both have been taken out, Venture Beat reported. More clones popped out but at best these players "are simply copycats piggybacking on the KAT brand," the report added.
The last recourse would be the alternatives or the torrent sites that have been around longer than the KickassTorrents did. Reports pointed to the likes of ExtraTorrent and Torrentz but really the services delivered by these players only point to other sites where the contents are actually hosted and indexed.
The compass points to The Pirate Bay. TPB has seen it all - site owners and operators have been jailed, domains or physical servers seized and downtimes that lasted for weeks and months - but it survived and resumed operation.
"The Pirate Bay may not be as large as it once was, but it is definitely the most resilient torrent site. And with KAT all but out of the picture, The Pirate Bay will likely gain more users," Venture Beat said on its report.
And that would mean that in the event of KickassTorrent's eventual demise and ExtraTorrent or Torrentz fizzling out, it is The Pirate Bay that will be left as the last man standing in the torrent scene.
The OSIRIS-REx Visible and Infrared Spectrometer, or OVIRS, will look at the asteroid's spectral signature to detect organics and other minerals. (Photo : NASA)
Next month, NASA will launch a space probe that will land on an asteroid that is heading to Earth.
This new mission known as OSIRIS-REx or Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, will mark the first spaceflight mission that will collect asteroid samples then bring them back to Earth. The space probe is targeting an asteroid known as Bennu.
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According to chief astronomer and planetarium director Derrick Pitts from the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, scientists hope to not only investigate an alien asteroid but also to find new clues about the early evolution of the solar system, as asteroids are also considered as ancient remnants of the solar system when planets were only beginning to form billions of years ago.
On September 8, the OSIRIS-REx mission will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida where it will complete an orbit around the sun for its first year in space. Using the Earth's gravitational forces as a slingshot, the probe will use this to propel itself towards Bennu. Two months before its rendezvous at the asteroid, the probe will survey and map out potential spots to obtain samples before landing on the surface briefly of the asteroid according to NASA.
Briefly landing on the surface means a mere five seconds, as the OSIRIS-REx probe will not return to Earth until 2023, says Pitts. The mission may seem rather hasty, but this round trip to collect crucial samples of space dust is pivotal to gain a better understanding about the evolutionary of our planet and how the solar system formed.
Bennu might be near the direction of Earth but Pitts explains that there is one chance in 2,700 of this asteroid crashing into our planet by the 22nd century, which can also make a significant impact.
An unspecified number of Egyptian expatriate workers have been detained for running away from their employment sponsors
Related Egypt secures release of 43 citizens in Saudi Arabia
Egypt said it is working to facilitate the repatriation of Egyptian expatriate workers who have been detained -- among many of other nationalities -- by Saudi authorities for violating the countrys labour law.
The Egyptian general-consul in Jeddah, Adel Al-Alfy, said the consulate team is following up on the conditions of those who have been detained in the capital Riyadh for "escaping" from their employment sponsors.
Under restrictions introduced in March 2013 by the oil-rich kingdom, foreigners are only allowed to work for their legal sponsors and are not authorised to work independently, even if their employers approve.
Many foreign workers enter Saudi Arabia under the sponsorship of a Saudi national but end up working for others, or set up their own businesses.
"The Egyptian consulate in Jeddah has contacted Saudi authorities in an attempt to find a solution to the matter," Egypts foreign ministry said in a statement late on Monday.
The consulate is following up on the conditions of those who have been detained on a daily basis and is working to facilitate the procedures so that they can be extradited to Egypt, the statement added.
The ministry did not provide the exact number of Egyptian expatriates being detained.
The violators will be fined 10,000 riyals, handed a final exit order and repatriated back home after official travel papers are issued for them.
The ministry urged Egyptian workers in the Gulf country to conform to employment and stay regulations to avoid any legal sanctions.
Foreigners made up 10.1 million of the total population of 30.8 million in 2014, according to the latest official data.
Tens of thousands of Egyptians work in the kingdom.
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A police vehicle carrying four conscripts on the ring road near Giza's Nahya district was attacked by unidentified armed assailants on Tuesday morning leaving two injured, Ahram Arabic news website reported.
The two injured conscripts have been transported to hospital.
Tens of security personnel have been killed in drive-by shootings believed to be carried out by Islamist militants in Cairo and other cities since the ouster of Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
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Egypt's army is also part of a Saudi-led military coalition that has been fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen since early 2015
Egypt's armed forces Chief of Staff Mahmoud Hegazy flew to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Monday on a multi-day visit aimed at bolstering military cooperation between the two Arab allies.
Hegazy is heading a delegation of top Egyptian military officials to conduct talks of mutual interests between the armed forces of the two countries with Saudi counterparts during the seventh session of Saudi-Egyptian joint military committee, a statement by Egypt's military said.
Saudi Arabia has emerged as a key backer of Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi since the 2013 overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
The oil-rich kingdom has pumped billions of dollars in aid and investment into Egypt to help prop up its ailing economy.
Earlier this year, Cairo participated in a 20-nation military drill in the Gulf, which was organised by Saudi Arabia and billed as the biggest-ever in the region.
In July 2015, Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed a pact aimed at boosting military and economic ties between the two countries.
Egypt has also been taking part part of a Saudi-led military coalition -- that includes Bahrain and Qatar -- that has been battling Houthi rebels in Yemen since March 2015.
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Pope Tawadros II, the head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church, called Tuesday on Egyptian Coptic expats in the US not to demonstrate in front of the White House hours before a planned protest over attacks against Christians in Egypt.
"I oppose any demonstrations that might harm Egypt and cause conflict with higher authorities...Please, for Christ's sake, avoid this behaviour that is not acceptable in any of our churches in the USA," said the pope in statement published on Coptic World, the official website of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
On July 22, Coptic Solidarity, a non-profit organisation, called the demonstration for today in the wake of recent sectarian attacks in Upper Egypt.
The pope argued that such demonstrations do not help or change the situation, but instead "stain the image of Egypt locally and internationally," adding that Egyptians are now capable of dealing with their problems and its consequences.
"These demonstrations disfigure our country and fuel evil. Our circumstances are completely different from those of five or 10 years ago, and we cannot afford to deal with new evolving events using old ways," he said.
In recent months, a number of high profile sectarian attacks against Coptic Christians in Upper Egypt resulted in injuries to many individuals, some deaths, and damages to homes and businesses.
Two weeks ago, Muslim assailants set ablaze Christian homes in the village of Abu Yacoub in Minya over a rumour that a Christian intended to turn a kindergarten into a church.
Also last week, a Muslim mob stabbed a Christian to death in the village of Tahna also in Minya during a street argument.
Various estimates suggest that there are anywhere between 300,000 and one million Egyptian Coptic Christians currently living in the US, making it one of the largest Coptic communities abroad.
Last Thursday, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed to Pope Tawadros in a private meeting that all Egyptians are equal in rights and duties in accordance with the country's constitution.
The Egyptian president praised the "wise and patriotic" spirit that Egyptian Christians have displayed in dealing with challenges throughout the past few years, and warned of the danger posed by those who would use religion as a tool for division or to foster extremist ideas.
The pope in return assured El-Sisi that all citizens should stand together to work for the country's interests and accomplish the aspirations and hopes of the Egyptian people.
Earlier last week, Pope Tawadros told a parliamentary committee that the country's legacy of religious unity is currently being "defaced" in the wake of sectarian attacks.
"The incidents we heard about are very painful. On my part, I'm patient and enduring, but there have been incidents that warn of danger," a Coptic Church statement quoted the pope as saying.
The pope cited a report compiled by the church showing that in the past three years there have been 37 attacks on Christians; an average of one attack per month.
In May, Muslim villagers torched seven homes of Christians and assaulted a Christian man's elderly mother in Minya's El-Karm village, stripping her and parading her naked in public. The assault was sparked by rumours that the man was having an illicit relationship with a Muslim woman.
Following these incidents, El-Sisi warned of anyone attempting to drive a wedge between Egyptians and vowed to hold violators accountable.
There are no official figures on the number of Christians in Egypt, but informal numbers suggest that Christians make up around 10 to 15 percent of Egypt's population of 91 million.
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The agenda, titled "A Vision for Black Lives: Policy Demands for Black Power, Freedom and Justice" was released Monday by the Movement for Black Lives. The platform also comes after both the Republican and Democratic conventions, during which Black Lives Matter activists were noticeably absent from protest lines.
"We seek radical transformation, not reactionary reform," Michaela Brown, a spokeswoman for Baltimore Bloc, one of the group's partner organizations, said in a statement. "As the 2016 election continues, this platform provides us with a way to intervene with an agenda that resists state and corporate power, an opportunity to implement policies that truly value the safety and humanity of Black lives, and an overall means to hold elected leaders accountable."
The agenda outlines six demands and offers 40 recommendations on how to address them. To address criminal justice reform, for example, movement organizers are calling for an end to the type of militarized police presence seen at protests in cities like Ferguson, and the retroactive decriminalization and immediate release of all people convicted of drug offenses, sex work related offense and youth offenses.
The group also is calling for the passage of a bill that would create a commission to study reparations for descendants of slaves.
This is the first time Black Lives Matter has articulated its demands and has faced pressure to do so.
The Black Lives Matter movement dates to 2012, but ignited two years later when 18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who is white, on August 9, 2014. The incident, followed by other killings of black men and boys by police in cities including Baltimore and Cleveland, sparked racial tensions and weeks of protests that evolved into a national conversation about disparities in policing.
Fueled largely by social media, the movement has grabbed the attention of elected officials, including President Barack Obama who has invited activists to the White House to discuss their grievances and possible solutions. Their efforts also have forced the issues of criminal justice reform and policing disparities into the 2016 election cycle, and were credited, in part, with the ouster of district attorneys in Illinois and Ohio earlier this year.
A Navy appellate judge is the subject of an ethics complaint months after an investigation in The Washington Post indicated he misrepresented his actions while acting as a prosecutor in the trial of an officer accused of inappropriate relationships with Naval Academy students.
In an arraignment for Marine Maj. Mark Thompson at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Monday, military judge Lt. Col. Christopher Greer confirmed that Cmdr. Aaron Rugh was under investigation by Naval Legal Service Command.
"There appeared to be an allegation that he misled, misspoke, any sort of prosecutorial misconduct," Greer told attorneys during the hearing.
A spokesman for the Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy, Lt. Cmdr. Robert Carr, said the command "can neither confirm nor deny the existence of a complaint regarding Cmdr. Aaron Rugh."
Rugh remains on the bench, officials confirmed. He declined to comment through the office.
Now, a panel judge for the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, Rugh is the latest officer to come under scrutiny following a March report by the Post that dived deep into the military's criminal and administrative proceedings regarding Thompson, a former Naval Academy instructor.
Thompson was acquitted of sexual assault of two female midshipmen in 2013, but convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer, fraternization and indecent conduct, and sentenced to two months behind bars. At a later administrative board of inquiry hearing, a panel of officers would opt to allow him to continue serving in the Marine Corps.
During this board of inquiry in 2014, Rugh was asked by one of the officers on the panel how the prosecution had proved in the earlier court-martial that Thompson and one of the midshipmen, publicly identified as Sarah Stadler, saw each other following her graduation -- a key contention in the case. According to the Post report, which cited a transcript of the hearing, Rugh said the prosecution team had interviewed Stadler's family.
But both Stadler's mother and her brother denied to The Washington Post that Rugh and his team had ever spoken to them.
"That's a complete and total lie," Stadler's mother told reporter John Woodrow Cox.
The same report would reveal apparent inconsistencies in Thompson's own account of his innocence, resulting in new charges of false official statement and conduct unbecoming an officer. A court-martial is now expected early next year on these charges.
The Post story would also lead to the removal of Maj. Mike Pretus, another instructor at the Naval Academy. Pretus would ultimately agree to testify against Thompson in exchange for immunity, telling investigators both men had been involved in a threesome with the same midshipman in 2011.
In Monday's arraignment, Greer revealed he had had a conversation with another military judge shortly after reading The Washington Post story about whether they, on the judiciary side, would have to take any action if an ethics complaint should arise in light of the reporting. They ultimately determined they needed to take no action as Rugh had moved to an appellate post.
"Anyone who looked at The Washington Post article might have said, 'Are there any charges that might potentially be forthcoming?'" Greer said.
He was ultimately informed by Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary Chief Judge Capt. Moira Modzelewski of the existence of a complaint, he said, but did not know who filed it.
According to Navy and Marine Corps rules governing the professional conduct of attorneys, ethics complaints that are verified and determined to be significant breaches of appropriate conduct may result in disciplinary action, including corrective counseling and suspension.
-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at@HopeSeck.
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.
The Pentagon's biggest buyer of the fifth-generation Joint Strike Fighter declared the aircraft ready for combat Tuesday with the achievement of initial operational capability.
Air Force Gen. Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, told reporters at the Pentagon that the Air Force's F-35A was ready for combat, adding that he hoped to see the aircraft deployed to the European and Pacific theaters of operation for training and partnership within the next 18 months.
"It is a fantastic airplane," Carlisle said. "It's something that the American military, given the national security strategy -- we need it.
"If you look at the potential adversaries out there or the potential environments where we have to operate this airplane, the attributes that the F-35 brings -- the ability to penetrate contested airspace, the ability to deliver precision munitions with a sensor suite fusing multiple information sources -- is something our nation needs to be able to do what we're asked to do in support of national security strategy," he added.
The Air Force expects to buy 1,763 of the jets, making the service the biggest purchaser of the aircraft. The F-35A is the conventional takeoff and landing variant and the cheapest of the three variants in production. The low-rate initial production cost of $98 million is expected to fall to $85 million by 2018, when the fighter enters full production.
For the F-35A, the milestone means the Air Force has a squadron with between 12 and 24 operational aircraft and the training to conduct basic close-air support (CAS) missions, as well as interdiction and suppression and destruction of enemy air defense (SEAD/DEAD) in contested conditions, according to Pentagon documentation.
Carlisle said Tuesday that the Air Force now had 15 aircraft, to be assigned to the 34th Fighter Squadron of the 388th Fighter Wing, based at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. They will be flown and maintained with the support of reservists from the 419th Fighter Wing, also based at Hill.
The general said he couldn't divulge all the specifics of what constituted basic CAS but noted that some features would be absent until the aircraft upgrades from its basic 3i software to 3f and the follow-on 4 block.
"It doesn't necessarily have all the attributes with respect to things like an IR [infrared] pointer that we use in A-10s, for example, that is not currently in this airplane," Carlisle said. "There are other things with respect to the [Link-16] architecture that we'll continue to improve on so it can hand off information to other airplanes."
The F-35A will also lack advanced CAS potential until after the Small Diameter Bomb II, an advanced precision-guided weapons system, enters service in 2017. It's expected to be integrated with the F-35 in 2022.
The aircraft had been expected to reach IOC between August and December of this year, so Tuesday's announcement represents a relatively early achievement of the milestone. The announcement was widely expected this week after multiple officials told the press the aircraft had completed the key tests needed to reach the capability.
"We have achieved all our milestones," Lt. Col. Steven Anderson, deputy commander of the 388th Maintenance Group, told reporters last week, according to multiple media reports.
On July 28, officials with the military's F-35 Joint Program Office announced the F-35A had achieved its first air-to-air kill in testing, taking out a drone in a designated training range off the coast of California with an externally mounted AIM-9X Sidewinder missile.
Carlisle has also praised the aircraft in recent days, telling reporters earlier in July that he was ready to deploy the F-35A at the behest of geographic combatant commanders as soon as it achieved IOC.
The declaration comes 13 months after the Marine Corps declared IOC for the F-35B short takeoff and vertical lift [STOVL] variant of the aircraft. The Corps expects to send its first squadron of F-35Bs forward to Japan in January 2017, where it will deploy aboard the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.
But the deputy commandant for Marine Corps Aviation, Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, told an audience in Washington, D.C., last week that the aircraft was ready to deploy earlier if called upon.
"If we think we need to do that, we're ready to do that," he said.
Officials with Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-35, congratulated the Air Force on achieving the milestone in a statement Tuesday.
"With the F-35A, the Air Force now has a fighter combining next-generation radar-evading stealth, supersonic speed, fighter agility and advanced logistical support with the most powerful and comprehensive integrated sensor package of any fighter aircraft in history," company officials said in a statement. "It will provide airmen unprecedented lethality and survivability, a capability they will use to defend America and our allies for decades to come."
-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at@HopeSeck.
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The aim of the initiative is to draw up a programme to be adopted by potential candidates and implemented as state policies once they get into office
Former presidential scientific advisor Essam Heggy announced on Tuesday that a number of figures from across the political spectrum will form a committee to prepare a presidential programme to be adopted by any potential candidate in the 2018 presidential elections.
The aim of the initiative is to draw up a programme under the slogan "fight poverty, ignorance and disease," to be adopted by potential candidates and implemented as state policies once they get into office, Heggy said in a statement on his Facebook page.
The team is open for anyone to join, according to Heggy.
The programme will promote a "civil state with a strong economy," and its main goals will include developing educational institutions, fighting poverty and unemployment, empowering women, achieving religious equality and developing health institutions, the statement said.
The team also aims to coordinate with "all civil society groups" in Egypt willing to work towards these stated goals.
The proposed programme, the first major initiative addressing the 2018 presidential elections, has stirred social media debate among members of the opposition.
Some have welcomed the initiative as the first to propose a viable alternative and others have slammed Heggy for having been part of interim president Adly Mansour's presidential team.
Heggy's presidential initiative was first introduced last month when he announced that a "new vision adopted by the 25 January youth" should be presented in the 2018 elections.
Heggy was the scientific advisor for interim president Mansour, who held power following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Heggy has a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Paris, and is currently a professor of geosciences at Western Michigan University.
Heggy has become an outspoken critic of Egypt's current government and state institutions, and has come under heavy fire from pro-regime media outlets.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was elected president in May 2014 and can run one more term according to the Egyptian constitution.
Heggy cannot run for president because he holds dual citizenship.
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Michael Hoffman is a former managing editor of Military.com and an Air Force veteran. He is now executive editor and director of marketing for Tandem National Security Innovations in Arlington, Virginia. The views expressed in this commentary are his own.
Donald Trump expects you to forget about his attack on a Gold Star Family who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country when they lost their son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, in Iraq. Trumps expects Americans to tune into entertaining reality TV, like the Bachelorette finale that aired Monday night, and move on to the next news cycle.
It's not a bad bet. He won the Republican nomination using this strategy.
Trump has insulted U.S. Sen. John McCain for his sacrifices as a prisoner of war; he stood on a podium and mocked a reporter with a disability during a campaign event; and he questioned Judge Gonzalo Curiel's ability to do his job because of his Mexican heritage. Each action should have rendered him unfit him for the presidency, and yet here he stands.
America's service members and veterans must ensure that America's memories sharpen.
Because by attacking Ghazala Khan and questioning her strength, Trump attacked every mother or father who had to see their son or daughter return from Iraq or Afghanistan in a casket draped in the American flag.
Trump had the indecency to compare his job to the sacrifices felt by a family who lost a loved one fighting for America.
True sacrifice is found on the flight line of Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, where heartbroken families wait for their loved ones to return from war in the bellies of U.S. cargo aircraft. True sacrifice is found at Arlington Cemetery or the hometown cemeteries where those families bury their loved ones.
Families are the ones who often suffer the most. America's fighting men and women know this best. They know about all the birthdays, graduations, first steps and first kisses missed. They know about the hell families go through not knowing whether their soldier, Marine, airman or sailor will survive until the next email, Skype session, or phone call.
Trump turned the spotlight on the most crucial 1 percent of this country with his attack on the Khan family. The 1 percent who volunteered and fought for this country in Iraq and Afghanistan. The 1 percent Trump called a "disaster" during his speech accepting the Republican nomination.
His example has led to attacks on the families of other service members.
On Monday evening, a concerned mother of an airman asked Trump's running mate, Gov. Mike Pence, about the attacks on Khan's family. She was booed by those in attendance at the Trump-Pence rally as she held up a photo of her son.
Most reactions to Trump's attack on this Gold Star Family have included a caveat about his political opponent. This time, it's not about the Democratic nominee. It's about Trump attacking one of the most sacred parts of the military community in an election in which he is running for commander in chief. He attacked a Gold Star Family.
Bonnie Carroll, the president and founder of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), told The Washington Post that Trump's comments forced her to "defend the honor" of a family who had lost a service member for the first time in the program's history.
Brian Duffy, the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), issued a statement defending the Khans, saying: "There are certain sacrosanct subjects that no amount of wordsmithing can repair once crossed. Giving one's life to the nation is the greatest sacrifice, followed closely by all Gold Star families, who have a right to make their voices heard."
It is true. The Khans chose to put themselves and their son's sacrifice in the spotlight by speaking at the Democratic National Convention. Addressing their message for its content would have been a fair response.
Instead, Trump tried to identify a weakness and attack Mrs. Khan for not speaking beside her husband. He then unleashed a tirade on Twitter trying to connect the Khan family with radical Islamic terrorists. He had the indecency to connect the Khan family to the enemy that their son sacrificed his life to defeat so other American families like the Trumps may sleep soundly.
This despicable action must not be forgotten in November by America's service members, their families, or any American family.
-- If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration.
A Navy ship supporting the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp in the Mediterranean was called on to support the rescue of nearly 100 migrants whose small inflatable watercraft was adrift in the water.
The rescue happened July 29, according to officials from U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa and U.S. 6th Fleet. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer Carney arrived where the migrants were adrift in their vessel and provided aid to them until a rescue ship, the MS Aquarius, arrived. The Aquarius, owned by the European civil and humanitarian initiative SOS Mediterranee, took the migrants on board and carried them to safety.
According to officials, physicians with Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) routinely embark with this rescue ship and give care to rescued refugees until they can be released to the appropriate authorities.
Officials with NAVEUR/6th Fleet did not identify the nationality of the migrants. But they said 96 men and one woman were aboard the small vessel and were rescued.
"Today, Team Carney aided in the rescue of 97 migrants while operating in the Mediterranean Sea," Carney commanding officer Cmdr. Kenneth Pickard said in a statement released by the command. "Seeing the plight of these desperate migrants and the danger they were in was humbling. As Sailors we make our living on the high seas. We were honored to help these 97 people to safety. My crew acted with the utmost professionalism and compassion and I couldn't be more proud of them."
The Carney forward deployed to Rota, Spain, last September as the fourth U.S. destroyer in a quartet of ships tasked with supporting European ballistic missile defense in concert with two Aegis ashore batteries located in Poland and Romania. It also conducts presence missions in the region in support of the U.S. and NATO.
At the time of the rescue, the Carney was supporting the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, which is transporting the North Carolina-based 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit on a deployment that will ultimately take the unit through the 6th Fleet and into the waters around the Middle East, where it will likely support the fight against Islamic State militants.
-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at@HopeSeck.
U.S. warplanes, in a campaign now dubbed "Operation Odyssey Lightning," hit ISIS targets in the Libyan port city of Sirte again Tuesday, bringing the total number of airstrikes over the past two days to seven, the Pentagon said.
A combination of U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft using precision-guided weapons carried out the strikes in support of Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli, said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
At least two of the airstrikes were carried out by Marine Corps Harrier jump jets flying off the amphibious assault ship Wasp off the Libyan coast, Fox News reported.
Five strikes on Monday hit a variety of targets, including an aging Soviet-era T-72 tank acquired under the regime of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, Davis said. Two more strikes Tuesday hit a rocket launcher and a heavy equipment excavator, he said.
Davis declined to say where the flights approved by Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the new commander of U.S. Africa Command, originated from, but Italy signaled a willingness to allow the use of its Sigonella air base in Sicily for additional strikes in support of the GNA.
Davis said the U.S. was prepared to carry out additional strikes "with the objective of helping the GNA take Sirte. We don't envision this as something that's going to last too long. They need help getting across the finish line" to take the city, he said.
At the White House, President Obama said the strikes were conducted "at the request of [the Libyan] government. "It is in America's national security interests in our fight against ISIL to make sure that they're able to finish the job," Obama said, using another acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
However, Davis confirmed that the strikes against ISIS in Sirte were part of a "new phase" of U.S. involvement in what could be considered yet another civil war in the Mideast. The U.S. conducted previous airstrikes in Libya in February and last November, but those strikes were described as "counter-terror" missions against "high-value" ISIS individuals, Davis said.
The current airstrikes in Libya were in support of the GNA , which has been endorsed as the legitimate government by the United Nations and consists of multiple militia factions in its armed wing. The GNA is opposed by a separate, self-declared government in eastern Libya based in Tobruk near the Egyptian border, which also is backed by multiple militia factions.
'Nominating' Targets
As described by Davis, the latest airstrikes were coordinated through a multi-layered target selection and forward air control system that the U.S. has employed in Iraq and Syria to support local forces on the ground.
GNA forces besieging Sirte were "nominating" targets.
"We have a close relationship with them where we have direct contact," Davis said, but he declined to describe the method of communication. The nominated targets were then evaluated by a Joint Terminal Attack Controller at an operations center in the region using live aerial surveillance. The JTAC would then give approval or disapproval for a strike to the manned or unmanned aircraft on station, Davis said.
To illustrate how the system works, Davis singled out the strike that took out the T-72 tank on Monday. The tank was used by ISIS fighters to control a neighborhood in southwestern Sirte, Davis said, and "it remained a problem for GNA forces. It was used repeatedly to beat back advances."
The tank was "nominated" for a strike that was carried out quickly, allowing the GNA forces to push back the ISIS fighters and gain control of the neighborhood, said Davis, who estimated that the ISIS forces remaining in the city now numbered in the "several hundreds." He said the airstrikes were limited to the retaking of Sirte, but the U.S. commitment to the GNA would continue.
On Italian state television Tuesday, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said his government would approve the use of the Sigonella air base in Sicily for U.S. strikes in Libya if Washington made the request, the Associated Press reported.
"I believe that it's a very positive fact" that the U.S has decided to intervene, Gentiloni said. He noted that the extremists were concentrated in four or five compounds in Sirte, but he expected that the GNA forces would have a difficult time ousting them
More Strikes in Yemen
At the same time that Davis was briefing on Syria, U.S. Central Command put out a statement on the latest U.S. counter-terror airstrikes in Yemen, where another civil war is raging involving tribal Houthi rebels and government forces backed by Saudi Arabia.
The statement said that a strike on July 8 killed one member of the Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula terror group, or AQAP, and a strike on July 16 killed six AQAP operatives and injured one. "AQAP remains a significant threat to the region, the United States and beyond," the statement said, and AQAP was using the unrest in Yemen "to provide a haven from which to plan future attacks against our allies as well as the U.S. and its interests."
Several weeks ago, the U.S. sent a small team of Special Forces troops into Yemen in support of local forces and United Arab Emirates troops to retake the port city of Mukalla from AQAP. Davis declined to say whether the U.S. team was still on the ground in Yemen but said that U.S. troops were periodically sent into Yemen.
-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
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This article originally appeared on Task & Purpose, a digital news and culture publication dedicated to military and veterans issues.
Instead of losing his sense of purpose and drive after the military, this vet channeled it into his civilian life.
A few key decisions made all the difference for Justin McCarty, a former soldier now living in San Francisco. He grabbed opportunities as they were presented, accelerating the successful transition to a rewarding post-military career. McCarty, 30, now works in operations for a fast-growing startup. There he applies everything he learned in the military, college, and at previous jobs.
Transitioning from the military can be daunting. Many veterans, particularly those who enlisted, have a hard time navigating the complexities of the civilian world. Is my hometown the best place for me or is it smarter to get a fresh start? Should I go for an education, then get a job? Or take a lower paying job while going to school? These are difficult questions to answer, and it can help hear from others who have walked the path and have some wisdom to share.
McCarty did not wait on anyone else to tell him that he needed to excel. "I was able to hit the ground running and get after [school and work] quickly after getting home," he told Task & Purpose. This attitude helped him move up the ranks, then transfer to Cornell University, and then jump from finance into tech startups.
McCarty joined the Army in 2005, leaving his home town of Rockford, a small city in Illinois, and spent 18 months on active duty and another four in the reserves as an infantryman, including a tour in Iraq. According to McCarty, this time overseas gave him perspective on his life. He spent a lot of time thinking about what he wanted to achieve after he got out of the military, he said.
"I remember flying over Ireland on our way home after a twelve month deployment," McCarty recalled. "Something about the rich green of the grass really resonated with me after so much time in the desert. I think back to that moment a lot."
After transitioning to the reserves, McCarty channeled his energy into academics. He attended Parkland College, a community college in Illinois. His sights were set much higher, though.
"I didn't know where the bar was set to get to a top tier school, but I knew a 4.0 GPA would give me the best possible chance," said McCarty.
Turns out, he was was right. McCarty earned a spot in the transfer class at Cornell University.
Switching to finance after graduating in 2010, he took a job with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
"I knew a stint on Wall Street would be a great place to build my analytic skills," said McCarty. "Plus I would get a chance to learn how the business world works."
After three successful years at Bank of America, McCarty, moved on to Goldman Sachs to take on even more responsibilities. But despite the larger salary he wasn't happy. Something was missing.
"I had this moment of clarity where I realized that I was repeating the same deal over and over," McCarty recalled. "I could do this for 20 years, then look back on my work and wouldn't see the impact on the world that I was hoping for."
Driven by this need to find a deeper purpose, McCarty took a huge risk and switched to a new career in technology. Through some friends he was able to make contact with people who were hiring at Uber. There, he found a good job in their operations department where his banking skills could be used.
The decision proved to be a good one. McCarty was able to enjoy his work more, learn new skills, and find the time to get married. He also helped start UberMILITARY, which is now responsible for helping over 25,000 military personnel and veterans make money as Uber drivers. The benefits are clear to McCarty.
"Moving to tech let me be a part of companies that are changing the world for the better, and this is what I am looking for," he said.
He didn't stay still, either.
McCarty recently moved to another job after several years at Uber. He still works in operations, but now in a more senior position at Sprig, a food delivery startup.
"Every day is a different challenge," he said. "You must be able to think differently, and pair that with a 'get shit done' mentality. Fortunately that is something that most veterans share. The ups and downs of college or the corporate world are nothing once you've sat on your rucksack for hours in the rain because some Humvee broke down. Nothing fazes you after that."
This article originally appeared at Task & Purpose. Follow Task & Purpose on Twitter.
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Egypt's religious endowments minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa said that having pre-prepared Friday sermons is of "legitimate national interest," though he stressed that the "era of silencing people is over."
During a workshop on an integrated vision on the renewal of religious discourse during the Presidential Leadership Programme's (PLP) forum, the minister said that exploiting religious discourse for political and partisan purposes causes severe damage to society, stressing on the necessity of curtailing the efforts of those who would exploit religion.
Last Month, the endowments ministry announced that Muslim clerics will be required to read from a single script prepared by the ministry during the weekly sermon at Friday prayers, a move aimed at promoting moderate Islamic ideology and combating extremism.
"There is no religious source that prohibits a pre-written sermon, and we are in exceptional circumstances," the minister stressed.
He added that some in the country have been quick to reject the idea of a pre-written sermon without knowing the details.
Gomaa highlighted that these sermons would allow for the tackling of various topics throughout the year, adding that there are different programmes for the rehabilitation and preparation of preachers.
However, Egypt's top Islamic body Al-Azhar rejected last Wednesday the decision requiring preachers to read out a standardised, pre-written sermon during Friday services.
The Council of Senior Scholars, headed by Al-Azhar's Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, said the move amounts to "freezing religious discourse."
The Al-Azhar Mosque did not follow the ministry's standardised sermon last Friday, entitled "Cleanliness is a Civilised Behaviour," and instead gave a sermon on national unity and the rights of Christians in Islam, as announced on Al-Azhar's official website.
The ministry's decision sparked outcry among many clerics earlier this month, who said that scripted sermons would waste an imam's talents and fail to cater to different communities.
The ministry has been setting topics for weekly sermons at Friday prayers across the country since 2014.
Under the Egyptian constitution, the 1,000-year-old seat of Islamic learning Al-Azhar is in charge of regulating Islamic preaching and proselytising, while the endowments ministry is responsible for administering mosques and Islamic centres.
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UPDATE 12:32 p.m.: I-94 has reopened to traffic.
ANN ARBOR, MI - A rollover crash closed all lanes of eastbound I-94 at Jackson Road for nearly two hours Tuesday, Aug. 2.
The Michigan Department of Transportation reported the closure at 11:50 a.m. Tuesday. Cameras show a rollover at the entrance ramp from Jackson Road onto the expressway. Traffic is backed up to at least Zeeb Road, the cameras show.
A 1999 Ford F350 was hauling cars on a trailer was merging onto I-94 when the load on the trailer shifted and caused the trailer to rollover just before 10:45 a.m., said Michigan State Police Sgt. Mark Thompson.
Huron Valley Ambulance did not transport anyone from the incident to the hospital, said spokeswoman Joyce Williams.
Ann Arbor Fire responded to the scene.
PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI - Firefighters aren't positive yet what caused grass fires along more than 30 miles of U.S. 23 on Friday, July 29.
Milan Fire Chief Bob Stevens said the fires started near the Ohio border and continued to the area of Pittsfield Township, just south of Ann Arbor, before stopping.
His department was called about 2:45 p.m. Friday to about eight grass fires along the east side of U.S. 23.
Pittsfield Township Fire Chief Sean Gleason said his department was initially called to a fire on northbound U.S. 23 north of Bemis Road, but was called to assist the Milan department as well.
The Pittsfield Township department ended up responding to at least six fires during the busy afternoon, Gleason said. Two of the fires were threatening structures, and crews also came upon one crash and witnessed a rollover, as well.
"We have had situations like this in the past where a vehicle is dragging something that is throwing sparks and due to the dry conditions, fires start," Gleason said.
Stevens said that is likely the case with the miles of multiple fires from Friday. He believes the fire may have started from sparks from a truck dragging a chain along the road or a fragmented tire.
Either way, officials may not be able to identify a specific cause, he said.
According to the fire chiefs, fire departments from Milan, Dundee, Deerfield, Ottawa Lake, Summerfield Township and Pittsfield Township all assisted with the fires.
Darcie Moran covers cops and courts for MLive and The Ann Arbor News. Email her at dmoran@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter @darciegmoran.
Photo gallery: Ann Arbor residents vote
A voter fills out a ballot at Slauson Middle School on Tuesday, August 4, 2015.
(Melanie Maxwell | The Ann Arbor News)
ANN ARBOR, MI - Polls open for voting at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, for the 2016 primary election in Michigan.
In Washtenaw County, voters have a number of local primary races to decide, as well as some important ballot proposals to vote up or down.
Will taxes for Ann Arbor's streets and sidewalks and Washtenaw Community College be reauthorized?
Who might be Washtenaw County's next representatives in the state House or serve on the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti city councils?
Those questions and more remain to be decided.
To find out where to vote and view what's on your ballot, go to the Michigan Voter Information Center website.
The Ann Arbor clerk's office is reminding voters to bring a photo ID to vote. If you don't have an ID, you will be required to sign an affidavit.
Polls are open until 8 p.m. Registered voters standing in line by 8 p.m. will be eligible to vote.
Check back after polls close for live results on MLive.
A quick guide to what's on the ballot in Washtenaw County
For background on candidates, check out the MLive Voter Guide.
Ryan Stanton covers the city beat for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at ryanstanton@mlive.com.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Health officials have confirmed the person believed to have contracted Lyme disease in Washtenaw County lives in a rural area in the western part of the county.
Washtenaw County Public Health reported last week that evidence suggested a resident was infected with the tick-borne disease without leaving the county, though it wasn't immediately clear last week where the resident lives.
Jessie Kimbrough Marshall, WCPH medical director, confirmed on Monday, Aug. 1, the resident lives in western Washtenaw County.
Tick information courtesy of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
More specific information was not available. Marshall said she was not aware of any nature areas the resident might have visited.
While there have been cases of Lyme disease among Washtenaw County residents in the past, until now local cases have been related to travel to west Michigan or other states with infested tick populations, according to WCPH.
Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is spread by the bite of an infected blacklegged tick.
Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, aching muscles or joints and a skin rash at the site of the tick bite that may look like a bull's eye or target.
Untreated infections can spread to the joints, heart and nervous system. Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with antibiotics.
WCPH and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services plan to work together to identify areas of the county where the blacklegged tick may be present.
During the peak tick activity season, ticks from wooded and natural areas will be collected, identified and tested.
No ticks from Washtenaw County have tested positive for Lyme disease, WCPH officials note.
Amanda Ng, WCPH health educator, said since there has been little testing done up until this point, it's hard to say which areas pose more of a risk.
She said residents are encouraged to avoid wooded and bushy areas with high grass and leaf litter, to walk in the center of trails, and to wear long sleeves, pants and shoes that cover feet, and follow other prevention tips.
WCPH is stressing prevention practices to reduce chances of getting a tick-borne disease by using repellents, checking for ticks and showering after being outdoors. Also, if you have a tick bite followed by a fever or rash, seek medical attention.
WCPH also encourages residents to submit ticks for identification. Michigan has a program to identify ticks, and if it is a live blacklegged tick, test for Lyme disease.
There is no fee charged if the tick was found on a person.
Ticks can be submitted with or without a tick submission kit. Testing information is available at www.michigan.gov/lymedisease.
WCPH also has a limited number of kits available.
For more information, read the WCPH fact sheet on Lyme disease or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
Ryan Stanton covers the city beat for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at ryanstanton@mlive.com.
After more than a year of statewide debate over Detroit's debt-ridden public schools, this fall's school board elections are being touted as a return to local control for the district. Scores of candidates will fill the ballot for seven seats that will, unlike the previous board, legally have a role in running the city's troubled schools.
But the hard reality behind this November's crowded election is that Detroit's new school board will only have as much authority as a state-controlled oversight commission is willing to give it.
And so far, the state treasurer's office, which is responsible for administering the state commission, won't reveal how much authority or direction it will give the elected board.
"It makes me feel powerless," said parent Marquita Ashe of the restraints placed on the new board. She said she worries a board with little authority will fail to attract top-quality candidates. "Why would anybody run for this board?" she asked. "I don't know. I don't know anything about most of them. It's like they came out of the blue."
Under the deal reached in Lansing, the state is providing hundreds of millions of dollars to help pay off district debt. The arrangement calls for the existing, powerless board to be dismissed with the new board to replace it beginning in January. But under the terms of the deal, the new board won't be able to hire and fire key officials, or make any significant decisions, without approval from the Detroit Financial Review Commission, which is comprised mostly of state appointees.
State lawmakers who approved the deal say that maintaining oversight over the school district, which has faced a cascade of financial scandals for years, is the most prudent way to ensure that its investment in the city's schools is spent wisely.
Gov. Rick Snyder tried to assuage Detroiters' fears about the state's continued role in the city's schools when he signed legislation to create the new school district. He vowed that the "control will be returned to a locally elected school board," while acknowledging that the state commission will "monitor the district's finances to protect taxpayers and students."
House Majority Leader Kevin Cotter (R-Mt. Pleasant) also spoke optimistically of the new arrangement, calling it "the right plan to save Detroit's school system from itself and give the children of Detroit a chance at a brighter future."
But critics counter that the state is replacing Detroit's failed school system with a new one that does nothing to address declining enrollment, the source of most financial catastrophe, while creating a school board that lacks the power to operate like one.
Give and take
The state passed legislation in June that gives Detroit's public schools a $617 million aid package. The Detroit Public Schools Community District, as the district will now be known, replaces the former Detroit Public Schools. The new district will have a seven-member board that has more responsibilities than the former board (which was powerless while the district was under a state-appointed emergency manager), but less ultimate authority than typical local boards across the state.
For example, the board elected in November has authority to approve a budget and contracts and hire employees. But key decisions have to be approved by the Detroit Financial Review Commission. Any closings of the city's lowest-performing schools must be approved by the state. The board can hire a superintendent, but needs approval to fire that person. Contracts that run more than two years or include payments of more than $750,000 must go through the state-controlled commission. So too with union contracts or anything related to the hiring or firing the district's chief financial officer.
The state Legislature originally created the FRC to oversee the City of Detroit's finances as part of the "Grand Bargain" -- a 2014 deal that gave the city $816 million in funds from the state, area foundations and others to help resolve pension issues related to Detroit's municipal bankruptcy.
In extending the FRC's reach to oversee schools, the district's board, which has had no role in governing Detroit schools since 2009, was dismissed and a new board election scheduled for Nov. 8. Detroit voters will encounter a ballot with 68 candidates. Until they take office in January, Detroit's traditional public schools will continue to be run by the state-appointed emergency manager, Steven Rhodes, the retired federal bankruptcy judge who oversaw the city of Detroit's exit from bankruptcy in 2014.
Breaking down the law
The Detroit Financial Review Commission is overseeing Rhodes' decisions and so far has held two public monthly meetings on the schools after its city-related public meetings. Its next meeting is set for Aug. 29.
The new board will be elected at-large, not by district, with staggered terms of two to six years depending on the number of votes each board member receives, with top vote getters receiving longer terms.
Board members' authority will be more limited than typical local school boards in Michigan in the following ways:
The new board will make academic policy and financial decisions but most financial decisions
The state commission must approve the board's decisions on collective bargaining agreements, the budget, budget amendments, loans and contracts over $750,000 or that have a term of more than two years.
If the board wants to fire the superintendent, the FRC must approve
If the board wants to hire or fire a chief financial officer, the FRC must approve
The FRC must approve all reimbursement to school board members, officials, and employees for travel outside the state.
The State School Reform/Redesign Officer (SRRO) will create an accountability system for all schools in Detroit, including charter schools, by 2018. As a result, the SRRO can, starting in 2021, order the closure of schools that perform in the bottom 5 percent of state schools for three straight years, or received an "F" rating for three straight years. The school board will have no say in the process.
The board would need SRRO approval to open a new school within three years in the same building where the state SRRO had closed a school
The board must evaluate and annually notify administrators of whether their employment will be renewed
The board cannot consider length of service when determining compensation for teachers or administrators
The new board can, but is not required to, hire uncertified teachers. That provision does not apply to any other district in Michigan
The state can dissolve the oversight commission if the new district meets certain conditions for balanced budgets.
Bridge Magazine asked Treasury to describe how hands-on the oversight commission will be in monitoring the new Detroit school board. An office spokesperson would only refer Bridge to the parameters of state law.
Ivy Bailey, interim president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers union, which has pushed for the return to an elected school board in Detroit, said she attended the July meeting of the FRC and was impressed with commission members. Bailey recalled that they asked questions that indicated they were on the lookout for wasteful spending.
But she said she doesn't know how involved the FRC plans to be with the new school board. She said her union expects to negotiate a six-month contract with the the district before school starts this fall, but is unclear what will happen with the contract once the new board takes office in January.
"If the school board says the contract is OK and is willing to extend it for whatever period, my question is, what if the FRC disagrees?" Bailey said. "I need clarification on the hierarchy."
Lesser standards for Detroit teachers
One of the controversial parts of the new law was the provision that allows the new school board to hire uncertified teachers. That does not apply to any other public school districts in the state. That provision was successfully pushed by charter school and school choice proponents in the package approved in June. A provision to create a separate commission that control openings and closings for traditional schools as well as charter schools in Detroit was gutted, again after strong lobbying efforts by the state's powerful charter school industry.
Alycia Meriweather, interim superintendent for the Detroit Public Schools Community District, is on the financial review commission that oversees the district.
Alycia Meriweather, the new district's interim superintendent, who also has a seat on the state-controlled commission, said the district does not intend to hire uncertified teachers.
Don Wotruba, executive director of the Michigan Association of School Boards, which opposed the limitations placed on Detroit's new board, said the restrictions are similar to those the state now places on 41 deficit-ridden school districts in other parts of Michigan.
The fact that Detroit's new board members will not take office until January, the middle of the school year, also makes Detroit unique. The board will enter their posts with yearly budgets and contracts already in place, making it difficult to immediately gauge its effectiveness.
"For the first, year, I would caution against comparisons to other general powers school districts because no other school board starts from scratch in the middle of the year," Wotruba said.
But Craig Thiel, senior research associate for the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a not-for-profit public affairs research organization, said new board members shouldn't expect to gently settle into their jobs in January. In fact, he said, board members could be thrown into a financial fire if student enrollment drops in the fall.
DPS enrollment has declined steeply beyond projections following a series of changes in the way the system has been structured over the years as the state, as well as local board members took turns trying to reverse years of academic decline. When unexpected enrollment drops take place, mid-year budget cuts and layoffs were used to balance the budget, Thiel said.
The turmoil over the past year -- including the public debate about paying off the DPS deficit, the oversight over the new school board and the former school board filing a lawsuit to halt the reform -- likely means that more Detroit families will send their students elsewhere, Thiel said.
"How realistic is that budget now?" he asked.
Elena Herada, former Detroit school board member, said the power the new board will have will depend on whether the state oversight commission trusts the people who get elected.
Who's running?
Statewide, local school boards have found it difficult to convince people to run for board openings, so the large crop of Detroit candidates could indicate that many of the candidates want to use the board as a platform to oppose further state intervention in the district.
"Clearly (limited authority) didn't have a chilling effect," Wotruba said. "The bigger question is, what will happen two years from now when board members are up for election? That will depend on how the FRC and the (new) board interact."
The list of 68 people on the Detroit elections department's list of school board candidates as of July 26 shows several retired teachers and principals, at least one current teacher, a former Flint-area superintendent and ten of the 11 former board members who were on the DPS school board when it had no authority.
Candidate Deborah Hunter-Harvill has perhaps had more education-related roles than the other candidates. The former president of the Washington-based National Alliance of Black School Educators, she was a principal in DPS for eight years, a superintendent in Westwood Heights school district in Flint for two years, superintendent in the now-dissolved Buena Vista schools and was president of a DPS charter school board.
The FRC oversight for the school board is an extra layer of checks and balances that can't hurt as long as the board makes good decisions, she said.
"You have to follow the rules until you prove yourself, until the district is stable, I don't have a problem with that," she said.
Lamar Lemmons, a former school board member running for a seat on the new board, said the new law is unclear and leaves the state-controlled commission's authority open to interpretation. He called it unfair because the oversight will limit the board's ability to run the district but will leave the board accountable for the results.
"We are being penalized by the state's actions over the last 17 years when the state ran the district," he said. "They're tying our hands then holding us accountable for academic and financial outcomes. We're being set up to fail."
Former board members filed a lawsuit to try to block the new law from taking effect. They argue the law creates a local act applicable only to Detroit and therefore under state law required a two-thirds vote of the legislature.
They also argue that the law violates Detroit children's Constitutional right to equal protection of the law because the new reform law allows only Detroit students to be taught by uncertified teachers.
The next court hearing in the suit is scheduled for Aug. 4, said former board member Elena Herrada.
Herrada, who opposes state intervention, said if the FRC does not like the people who are elected to the board, the FRC could use its oversight to keep the board as powerless as the prior school board. She said she is running to inject institutional knowledge about how the district was run in the past, to monitor the state intervention and to continue to push for an audit.
"A lot of people think the board caused the deficit in DPS. We didn't have the authority to do that. We can't lose track of what has been taken, what has been misspent, to keep up with the malfeasance."
Concerned about the limits
Lamar Lemmons, former Detroit school board member, is running for school board again though the former board is suing to stop the new district from moving forward.
Vertongie Bailey, an employee of the new Detroit school district with two children in its schools, said her biggest concern about the new board's authority is whether the FRC oversight prevents the board's decisions from taking immediate effect.
"What if there is an emergency situation?" she said. "The children won't get what they need because the board can't make decisions."
Tonya Allen, president and CEO for the Skillman Foundation, was a co-chair for a community group called the Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren that in 2015 created a proposal for reforming DPS, including proposing that the state allow Detroit to have an empowered, elected school board. She said the Coalition opposed the idea of FRC oversight, but said that if the new school board hired the right administrators who make competent decisions then the state commission will not impede progress.
And, Allen added, if the state commission overreaches and neuters the board's ability to make decisions, the board has the "bully pulpit" to publicly lash out.
"I don't see this as a toothless board," Allen said. The new school board is responsible not only for financial decisions but the primary operation of the district: making educational policy and hiring the superintendent. That gives the board responsibility for addressing attendance, social promotion, discipline, and academic rigor, she said.
"There's great opportunity and promise," she said of the next board. "There's also opportunity of peril if (they) don't focus on the right things."
School Board Candidates
RITA MCFADDEN CARPENTER
ANNIE CARTER
KEITH LINNAEUS WHITNEY
TONYA RENAY WELLS
REVEREND D. MURRAY
STEPHEN CZAPSKI
RENAE A. MICOU
ANGELIQUE NICOLE PETERSON-MAYBERRY
ANDREW JACKSON, JR.
GWENDOLYN BRITT
KEVIN TURMAN
ELENA HERRADA
TAWANNA SIMPSON
DEBORAH HUNTER-HARVILL
JOHN TELFORD
RONALD DIEBEL
MARKITA MEEKS
CHRISTOPHER POMPEY
VICTOR B. GIBSON
NICOLE LATRICE VAUGHN
MARY KOVARI
JOANN JACKSON
RYAN CHARLES MACK
WANDA REDMOND
TAMARA PERRIN
CHARLES M. HALE
ANTHONY ZANDER
BEN WASHBURN
MISHA STALLWORTH
INGRID WALTON
NORMA GALVAN
DEJOYCE COURTNEY
KATHY MONTGOMERY
IRIS A. TAYLOR
YOLANDA Y. PEOPLES
MIRIAM KEYES
VALERIE ELAINE MASSEY
SONYA MAYS
LAMAR LEMMONS
BETTY J. ALEXANDER
KAREN WHITE
KIMBERLY R. JONES
JUVETTE HAWKINS-WILLIAMS
IDA CAROL SHORT
AARON RENALDO SMITH
PATRICIA SINGLETON
HERMAN L. DAVIS
RYAN TOWNSEND
THERESA MATTISON
CHARMAINE D. JOHNSON
TAMARA PERRIN
TAMMY L. YOUNG
CAROL PRATT FARVER
PHILLIP CALDWELL, II
VALENCIA ROBIN GRIER
LESLIE ANDREWS
VICTOR D. ROBINSON
VONETTA D. CLARK
RYAN CLAYTON WILLIAMS
GEORGIA LEMMONS
PENNY BAILER
PHYLLIS BERRY
ROBERT EARL THOMAS
KWAME SIMMONS
MARY BRENDA T. SMITH
WILLETTA ANN RAMEY
BRANDON BRICE
STEVEN MILLER
DETROIT -- In the past, the most-heated public debate surrounding Terrance Guido Gerin has been whether to spell his pro-wrestling moniker with a "y" or an "i."
Gerin, known within pro-wrestling circles as Rhyno/Rhino, is not only running for Michigan 15th House District seat, but just returned to WWE's active roster as a member of "SmackDown Live."
The Dearborn Heights native, 40, is running as a Republican against two other candidates, Paul Sophiea and Richard Johnson, in Tuesday's primary election for a spot on the November ballot.
Gerin earned his chops as a wrestler at the Can-Am Wrestling School across the bridge in Windsor, Ontario in the early 1990s.
Sophiea and Gerin did not fill out questionnaires for MLive's Voter Guide, but Johnson did.
Johnson, a 58-year-old chiropractor, said he hopes to bring a "sensible" approach as a small business man to the House of Representatives.
The candidates are looking to fill the seat held by term-limited Democratic state Rep. George Darany. The position pays $71,685 annually.
To read Johnson's stances on several issues or to compare him to other candidates, click here.
Gerin has sporadically appeared on WWE programming over the past year, and cemented his return on the USA Network's first edition of "SmackDown Live" on July 26.
Video from the Michigander's return to the squared circle is attached at the top of this post.
Gerin told MLive in March that his run is no stunt.
"I understand some people might be hesitant thinking it's a gimmick," he said, "but my friends and family know my love for this country, my passion for politics and my love for helping people out. If elected, that becomes my number one priority."
His campaign slogan is "I'll Fight for You" and he's highlighted as a key issue the potential closing of Dearborn's public pools.
He points to his experience working with corporate sponsors in his wrestling career as a valuable attribute.
"One thing I learned early on in wrestling is that you get sponsors. That way your bills are paid before you even sell one ticket," Gerin writes on his website.
"Let's get local businesses to sponsor these pools. Businesses like Ford Motor Co. and Little Caesar's that have ties to the community.
"And, let's face it, If you're kids are swimming at a Little Caesar's sponsored pool and you stop on the way home to get a Hot-n-Ready pizza for dinner, you're going to be the coolest parents ever!"
On the other side of the 15th District's race, six Democrats are fighting for the opposite spot on November's ballot.
They are Norman Alsahoury, Abdullah Hammoud, Roxanne McDonald, Alex Shami, Brian Stone and Jacklin Zeidan
Stone went on the attack in March after "Rhyno's" campaign launch, with a sharp-tongued thank you to Donald Trump for making American Democracy "a pay-per-view joke."
The 29-year-old is an openly gay U.S. Navy veteran who writes for the Huffington Post.
Stone said in the MLive Voter Guide questionnaire that he hopes to continue his "tradition of service" by representing his hometown in the State House.
"My campaign has no official position on whether the public should laugh or cry," Stone said in the March press release. "All we know is that house district 15's general election will be the biggest defeat of any wrestler since Hogan and Andre."
FLINT, MI - A special meeting to discuss a legal battle regarding the city's controversial trash contract lead to the arrest of Flint City Councilman Eric Mays.
In less than an hour, Mays, the sole supporter of a recommendation by Mayor Karen Weaver's office to hire Rizzo Environmental Services to haul the city's trash, was handcuffed and escorted from Flint City Council Chambers during the Aug. 1 meeting.
"This was an attempt to keep the council from talking about an agenda item that we must talk about before we can move forward," said Mays. "We can only vote and do something as a council. (Councilman Scott Kincaid) cannot file a lawsuit on the behalf of the council. You cannot represent the council unless you are an attorney."
The trash contract dispute has been ongoing since June when the council voted against Weaver's recommendation to hire Rizzo to haul the city's trash for $17-million contract spread over five years.
Rizzo submitted a bid $2 million lower than the city's current trash provider, Republic Services.
Mays said the council needs to review the city's charter - An issue he put on tonight's agenda.
"This was an attempt to stop me from discussing the agenda item I had about the purchase order and the rules," Mays said. "You can't represent the council unless you are an attorney."
Council members said they questioned Rizzo's integrity, their ties to Canada and connections to former Mayor Woodrow Stanley.
The issue was taken to court on July 29 after Kincaid filed an injunction against Weaver and her office. Flint's trash contract expired that same day leaving no one to pick up trash on Monday, Aug. 1.
"The reason I filed this lawsuit is because the administration is ignoring the will of the people and wants to line the pockets of certain individuals by giving a contract to a company out of Detroit who has never serviced the city of Flint," said Kincaid. "The mayor should have never stopped picking up garbage."
Since then, Weaver's office and Republic have announced that the company will serve as interim trash collector until an Aug. 12.
City Administrator Sylvester Jones Jr., said the lawsuit is a move to undermine the Mayor's administration.
"Over the past few years he has filed several lawsuits against the City of Flint, in spite of his role as a sitting City councilperson," Jones said. "On Thursday, July 28, he inappropriately filed a lawsuit, on behalf of the Flint City Council, before the Flint City Council even considered or discussed by the Flint City Council. He consistently works to circumvent the City of Flint Ordinances and Charter to send funds from the City to the courts and other bodies."
The council voted during the special meeting to join Kincaid in his efforts against Weaver and her administration. They also voted in favor of the city hiring attorneys to represent the council in court. The next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 11 in Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Farah's chambers.
Mays was the sole 'no' vote.
Kincaid said suing is his only recourse.
"Over the past years I have sued because there was no other way to address how residents were being treated while we had an emergency manager and the court has ruled in my favor all the way up to the Supreme Court on behalf of the residents of the city of Flint," Kincaid said.
The contract dispute has now been moved to a Aug. 10 Receivership Transition Authority Board meeting. Flint officials are hoping the RTAB makes a decision as to who will hold the city's trash contract.
Seven people, including four children, were killed in the collapse of a three-story building in Upper Egypt's Sohag governorate, state-owned MENA agency reported.
According to a preliminary reports by governorate officials, the house in Nage El-Naggar village collapsed due to digging by a neighbour who was constructing a house adjacent to the building.
Rescue workers are currently attempting to recover the bodies of the dead from the debris.
Building collapses are commonplace in Egypt as buildings are often constructed without meeting safety standards.
In January, nine members of a family died following the collapse of a six-story residential building in Egypt's northern Sharqiya governorate.
Several officials in the governorate were sentenced last March to 10 years in prison for "murder and gross negligence" over the deaths.
The sentences were reduced following appeals by the defendants.
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FLINT, MI - A former Michigan Department of Environmental Quality worker was arraigned Tuesday, Aug. 2, on multiple charges in connection to the Flint water crisis.
Patrick Cook, 52, turned himself in and was arraigned before Genesee District Judge M. Cathy Dowd on charges of felony misconduct in office, felony conspiracy to commit misconduct in office and a misdemeanor charge of willful neglect of duty by a public officer.
Cook, a resident of Dewitt, is in charge of compliance for lead and copper monitoring with the MDEQ. In 2014, Cook signed a permit that was the last approval needed for use of the Flint Water Treatment Plant, investigators allege.
Cook was subsequently aware of the problems with Flint's water, investigators claim, but took no corrective action. He also is accused of misleading the EPA in connection to the necessity of using corrosion control in Flint after the switch to Flint River Water.
He was released by Dowd on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond.
Cook was suspended by the state without pay after the charges were announced.
He is the third MDEQ employee to be arraigned on charges connected to the water crisis.
Mike Prysby and his boss at the DEQ -- Stephen Busch -- were each charged earlier this year with misconduct in office, conspiracy to tamper with evidence, tampering with evidence, a treatment violation of the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act, and a monitoring violation of the Safe Drinking Water.
Three Michigan Department of Health and Human Services workers were arraigned Monday, Aug. 1, on felony charges connected to the crisis.
Robert Scott and Nancy Peeler were each arraigned the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 1, by Genesee District Judge Nathaniel Perry III after being charged by Attorney General Bill Schuette. Perry arraigned Corinne Miller earlier in the day.
Charges against the four were announced July 29 by Schuette. He also announced charges against three Department of Environmental Quality employees the same day.
Miller, previous director of the state's Bureau of Epidemiology and state epidemiologist with the MDHHS, was charged with felony misconduct in office and conspiracy and misdemeanor neglect of duty by a public officer.
She retired in April.
Miller, Peeler and Scott knew children in Flint were being poisoned by lead and suppressed the information, special investigators with the Attorney General's Office allege.
Peeler, 54, of Midland, was the director of the MDHHS Program for Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting in July 2015 when she requested an internal report on blood lead levels in Flint children. The report was created on July 28 and showed a significant spike in blood lead tests for kids in Flint for the summer of 2014, Schuette said.
That report was never passed on to the proper health officials, investigators allege.
Peeler and Scott, the data manager for the Healthy Homes and Lead Prevention program, created a second report two days later that falsely indicated there was no significate rise blood lead levels of Flint children for the summer 2014.
Peeler was charged with felony misconduct in office and conspiracy, along with misdemeanor willful neglect of duty by a public officer.
Scott, 58, of Haslett, was charged with felony misconduct in office and conspiracy and misdemeanor willful neglect of duty.
Peeler and Scott are currently on unpaid suspension.
Miller, 65, of Dewitt, received the report first, but told others not to take action and snubbed other employees who asked about what to do next, Schuette said. She later told another MDHHS employee to delete emails concerning the original blood lead data report from July 28, 2015.
No arraignments are scheduled in the criminal cases filed against DEQ employees Liane Shekter Smith and Adam Rosenthal.
Lapeer motorcycle crash.jpg
Two people were seriously injured on Monday, Aug. 1 after a motorcycle crashed into the back of a Tahoe in Attica Township. Photo courtesy of the Lapeer County Sheriff's Office.
(Courtesy Photo)
ATTICA TOWNSHIP, MI - Two motorcyclists were seriously injured on Monday in Lapeer County after crashing into the back of a vehicle.
Lapeer County Sheriff's deputies were called to Imlay City Road east of Lake George Road in Attica Township at 6:19 p.m. Aug. 1 for a traffic injury crash, according to a statement.
Cheryl Hazel, 53, of Yale was driving a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe east on Imlay City Road and began slowing down because of a vehicle in front of her turning left into a driveway, according to police.
James Church, 52, of Imlay City was driving a 2015 Harley Davidson east on Imlay City Road when he hit the back of Hazel's vehicle, the statement said.
The motorcycle slid on the road after the crash.
Church and his passenger, Angela Church, were both wearing helmets.
The Churchs were taken to McLaren-Lapeer Region with life-threatening injuries, the sheriff's office said.
Angela Church was then transferred by helicopter to University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor. An updated condition report was not released by police.
James Church remains hospitalized at McLaren in serious condition.
Police said he did not have his motorcycle endorsement.
Hazel was not injured.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lapeer County Sheriff's Office. Anyone with information is requested to contact Detective Sgt. Jason Parks at 810-245-1381 or email jparks@lapeercounty.org.
GLEN ARBOR, MI - When Merrith Baughman thinks back to the Aug. 2, 2015 windstorm that devastated a swath of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and damaged parts of neighboring Glen Arbor, it's the amazing near-misses that she can't get over.
Park rangers had been through the popular D.H. Day Campground earlier that day, warning campers about the rounds of severe storms that could be rolling in across Lake Michigan. By the time the third and strongest line of storms approached, people could sense something big was coming, they told Baughman later.
"They could feel something different in the air," said Baughman, a ranger and the park's chief of interpretation. "They were sitting at a picnic table playing cards outside and their ears started popping. They got in a car or something solid, and (when the storm came through), a tree came down on the picnic table where they had been playing."
It's been a year since 100 mph winds raced through Michigan's popular Up North tourist destination, downing and twisting thousands of trees. While the trails were cleared and the camping and other facilities were quickly reopened, the lingering forest wreckage in spots like Alligator Hill is a daily reminder to the park staff. The fact that no one was killed or seriously injured was hard to grasp in the storm's aftermath.
"We had power lines down, roads blocked," Baughman remembers in the hours following the late-afternoon devastation. Falling trees crushed tents at the campground.
"If that had happened when people were sleeping in their tents ... Luckily, we had been warning people all day (about the incoming storms). People were on high alert."
The next few hours were dedicated to triage. There were park visitors stuck on Sleeping Bear's landmark Dune Climb. Others had sheltered in place along the park's scenic Pierce-Stocking Drive. A kayaker reportedly out in Lake Michigan needed to be found.
Baughman handled the phones during that chaotic time. She helped campers who found themselves blocked from accessing their sites and belongings, and fielded myriad other questions.
"It was a crazy night," she said.
But the park staff and a team of volunteers got to work. After a brief closure, the campground and other sites reopened. The Friends of Sleeping Bear group, using chainsaws and elbow grease, cleared the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail - including a heavily forested section between the historic town of Glen Haven and adjacent Glen Arbor that had been rendered impassable. In about two weeks, it was open again to bicyclists and hikers.
While the park staff racked up plenty of overtime, Baughman said the National Park Service is used to dealing with natural disasters. Sleeping Bear was able to draw from special funding to help cover the costs of the extra staff time and the cleanup.
And as for the park's decision to leave much of the forest destruction as it fell? It's letting the violence of nature take its course, Baughman said.
"This is a natural process," she said. "(Windstorms) are one of the natural forces of disruptions in the Upper Great Lakes, and a major change agent in the forests."
As it recovers, a damaged forest can bring in new animal species.
"So while it's hard to look at, I think it's rather interesting to see what changes will occur."
After the park's trails were cleared to address the human safety aspect, the park began working with local land owners in Glen Arbor to provide buffer zones so they would not be as affected by the forest destruction.
Baughman knows there are some who look at the twisted-off trees and wonder why the park didn't bring in loggers to clear the mess. She said using that heavy equipment would cause erosion concerns in some of the dune areas. Beyond that, the park staff believes it's better for the plants and trees to decompose back into Sleeping Bear's soil.
"We're just going to let nature take its course," she said.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - The Grand Rapids School Board voted unanimously to accept purchase offers for two former school buildings totaling $615,000 on Monday, Aug. 1.
The vacant Pine Elementary and Park School are pieces of larger development projects planned for the West and Southeast sides.
Related: GRPS poised to sell two former school buildings for $605K
"It appears that this should be a big win for all parties," said school board president Tony Baker, who said his inquiries were mostly about community support and engagement for the planned developments.
"I mainly think GRPS should be a good neighbor and be sure the community supports the impact of our decisions."
The board accepted the $295,000 offer for Pine Elementary, located at 1138 Pine Ave. NW, from the Kent County Land Bank Authority.
The authority is partnering with the Dwelling Place, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, who plans to demolish the building to develop approximately 30 affordable housing units. The school is one of three sites being developed as part of a $10 million initiative.
Related: $10M project would bring affordable family housing to the West Side
The board also approved a $320,000 purchase agreement with 1150 Adams, L.L.C.
Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal informed board members earlier that for this project Rockford Construction is partnered with the Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation, the Cheri DeVos Foundation, and the Mike and Gayle VanGessel (Mike VanGessel is CEO of Rockford Construction) to develop portions of the Boston Square and Cottage Grove areas.
Grand Rapids Public Schools is selling the vacant Park School, 1150 Adams St. SE, for $320,000. The 2.85-acre site, last used for a Head Start, has been vacant for a year.
The nearly 3-acre property initially was listed by the district as selling for $310,000 but was corrected before the Finance Committee recommended the full board approve both deals on July 25.
"It is a great opportunity for GRPS to sell vacant buildings and positively impact the local communities with strong emphasis on affordable housing and increasing (Pine) and maintaining (Park) green space in the city," said board member Monica Randles, chair of the Finance Committee, after the recommendation.
Board member John Matias said Monday it was exciting to see the properties be included in larger developments that will help the residents in those communities, especially the affordable housing.
"As a district, we are helping communities by finding responsible investors," he said.
The Southeast Side initiative seeks to makeover the industrial area along Madison Avenue SE and add new housing along a stretch of Eastern Avenue SE. It could involve as many as 75 properties and investment upwards of $60 million, according to 2015 proposal.
Baker said previous concerns about gentrification and community engagement regarding the Adams development have been been addressed.
"Their team (Rockford/DMD/CDV) is committed to partner with the community to expand the mix of home ownership and affordable housing options, create jobs through employment and entrepreneurship, and support education and community health for the benefit of all who live and work in the area," said Neal on July 21, when the property offers were announced.
She reiterated Monday that the plan is for developers to be very intentional about including all stakeholders and engage in extensive community engagement.The developers will also be partnering with Dickinson Elementary and Southeast Career Pathways.
Both the vacant schools are being purchased at the appraised value. Park School has been vacant for a year and was last used as a Head Start. The 2-acre Pine site was last used as an alternative high school and has been vacant three years.
In order to address a deficit, the district did include $600,000 from selling buildings in its 2016-17 budget.
The remaining vacant buildings are: West Leonard, Kensington, Straight, Ridgemoor (reopening as a Montessori school) and Alexander.
In other board business:
Approved executive exempt contracts for 13 members of Neal's leadership. As with the previously approved contracts for its seven unions, there were no raises. GRPS is increasing health insurance payments ranging from $642 to $1,854, depending on whether it is a single coverage, two-person coverage or coverage for three or more people.The executive team remains insured by Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Approved a 99 year sub-lease (city owns building) and professional services agreement with the Public Museum for housin its theme school, the Grand Rapids Public Museum School, use of premises and museum support staff services. Rent for the dedicated fourth floor classroom space for middle schoolers is $67,500 per year beginning this fall. Rent includes free parking for school staff and any special guests, janitorial and security services.
The use of museum spaces will cost $5,000 per grade per year. The professional support staff services will cost $9,000 per grade per year. There will be sixth and seventh graders at the school this year, with eighth grade added for 2017-18. High school students will be housed in the old museum at 54 Jefferson St. beginning in 2018.
Egypt denounced the cremation of an Egyptian citizen's body in Germany following his death in a hospital in Essen after an alleged suicide attempt.
Egypt's foreign ministry said in a statement that it condemns the cremation of the body of Mohamed Abdel-Fattah El-Naggar, who passed away on 22 June, without coordinating with the Egyptian envoy, adding that cremation conflicted with the deceased's religious background, which mandates burial.
The statement said the Egyptian side should have been given the opportunity to examine the body to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.
According to the statement, German authorities said that El-Naggar had signed a request stating that the Egyptian consulate in Frankfurt should not be notified that he was arrested last February following a theft attempt at a store.
The German authorities added that El-Naggar asked in his "farewell letter" that he wrote before his alleged attempted suicide on 16 June that his body not be returned to Egypt, and that he did not want any emergency contacts to be notified of his death.
The requests by El-Naggar led German authorities to finalise the cremation process after no one stepped forward to claim the body. The remains were buried in the city's graveyard.
Egypt's foreign ministry added that it has decided to dispatch its Egyptian consul to Essen on Thursday to meet representatives from the office of the German prosecutor-general to review all papers and documents related to the situation, as well as investigate the authenticity of the papers and the will that the Egyptian man signed prior to his death.
The statement comes only days after Egypt's envoy in Berlin received an official letter from the German foreign ministry stating that El-Naggar had attempted suicide.
Cairo had earlier demanded a swift probe be carried out by German authorities into the incident, saying that its envoy in Berlin requested "official clarification" on the incident following reports by local media that El-Naggar was tortured to death in police custody.
Germany's foreign ministry has said that initial investigations showed that the death of the Egyptian national did not result from "any criminal wrongdoing."
El-Naggar's family claims that their son was tortured to death by German police, and that Egyptian authorities were not informed of his arrest.
Egypt's foreign ministry said its consular sector was in ongoing contact with El-Naggar's family for updates regarding his death to ensure that the procedures were conducted properly.
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The World Bank is discussing the possibility of extending new loans to support Myanmar in areas such as financial sector development, budget support and disaster risk management.
This fiscal year, Myanmar has access to around US$480 million in International Development Association resources, said senior economist Habib Rab.
Of this, $100 million plus another $100 million from a separate IDA crisis response window is already committed for a flood and landslide emergency recovery project, he said.
The World Bank also plans to loan $100 million to the Ministry of Planning and Finance for a financial sector development project planned for this fiscal year.
For the remaining $280 million, we are still in discussions with the government on possible areas of support, which could include health, disaster risk management and development policy financing, Mr Rab said.
The World Banks existing loan program extends across the power, health, education, agriculture, energy and communication sectors.
Translation by San Layy
Fifty members of the sales staff at a VIVO smartphone service centre in Bago Region will now have set work hours, a minimum daily wage and paid public holidays, after management and the employees reached an agreement on July 28, a protest leader and a township labour official told The Myanmar Times yesterday.
The employer accepted all the demands of his employees, said deputy director of the Pyay township Labour Administration Daw Su Su Hlaing. So, their dispute has been resolved. Now we are planning to have them both sign contracts.
On July 25, the manager asked the sales staff to sign a contract that workers said would have subjected them to unfair penalties. They were given almost no time to think about the offer, the workers said, and when they asked for more time they were driven out of the service centre.
In response, 26 members of the sales team protested in front of the store until mediation meetings were arranged.
Ko Myo Swe Oo, who has worked at the store for more than a year, told The Myanmar Times yesterday that all the workers were satisfied because they will now receive the rights they were entitled to under the labour laws.
Now, we dont have to work for 12 hours without additional pay, he said. We have to work for eight hours per day. We also get public holidays, which we will take in turns because there is not enough staff for everyone to take time off.
There will be changes made to their appraisal system, which held employees to very high sales standards that mandated that they be fired if they did not hit their targeted sales numbers, workers said.
Ko Myo Swe Oo said his salary, which was K150,000, will drop to K108,000, but he will receive a sales bonus for every phone sold and fines have been removed from the contract.
The Myanmar Times called the VIVO sales centre in Pyay township yesterday, but there was no spokesperson available to comment.
The Kachin contingent showed uniform unity in their matching military-green T-shirts, the Shan shone out in a blaze of orange, and the Kayin maintained a disciplined and tight-lipped presence in their loose-fitting thin dine shirts.
But if the larger minority groups dominated the Ethnic Youth Conference in Panglong, Shan State, over the last week in terms of numbers, it was often representatives of the smaller ethnicities who stole the show in terms of traditional costume - and who expressed the most enthusiasm about being involved.
From Nagaland in the northwest to Dawei in the deep south, delegates made their way to join the week-long conference aimed at strengthening links between young people from different ethnic backgrounds, achieving peace and generating consensus on how a federal Myanmar should look.
And while political and ethnic activism is well-established among Myanmars better-known minorities, for a number of those present, the topics being discussed took them into new territory.
J Yaw Daw, of the Lisu Network, described some of the challenges facing his ethnic group, which he said struggles to maintain its identity as a Kachin people apart from the majority Jinghpaw group.
Some people dont know Kachin has many groups. They think Kachin language is Jinghpaw, and ask if I dont speak Jinghpaw, how can I be Kachin? he said.
He added that in many peoples eyes, Kachin and Jinghpaw are interchangeable. But he said he believes that is changing.
Now were getting a little more chance to get a place. Before, if there was any meeting such as this, the Lisu wouldnt get any information. Now things are getting a little better.
He said in the past, Lisu people would be punished or even killed if they rose to too high a position in the Kachin army. But he hopes moves toward federalism will lead to greater equality for his people.
According to federalism, we will also get the same opportunities and that will be better.
J Yaw Daw said one thing that had contributed to disparity between the Lisu and Jinghpaw was that the Jinghpaw generally had better access to education. One of his principal reasons for attending the Ethnic Youth Conference was to go back and share the information he gained there with young people in his own community, most of whom, he said, were not particularly interested in politics or activism.
Before we didnt know anything about democracy. But after the election, we Lisu got a little bit of light and we opened our eyes. We Kachin tribes should say something about what we need, he said.
For the Lisu that is especially about education. We still dont have big professors. Also some people go to other countries to work and stay there. If we get education, hopefully villagers will get more democracy.
Myint Naing from Nagaland said people in his region also need education, along with basic amenities including electricity, transport and water. He said the conference had provided an opportunity to develop his awareness of ethnic rights activism.
For a long time Ive been interested in this kind of program for Naga people, but theres no place to discuss such things. It feels a privilege to be here. It makes me feel comfortable raising our issues for Naga people, he said. The government has cheated our local people. We want to research things many things, like the constitution.
He said he would bring the issues raised at the youth conference back with him to discuss with senior Naga leaders.
Our leaders dont want discussions on federalism, they say only independence, he said, adding that after attending the conference he would be keen to encourage them to think about the prospect of becoming involved in discussions about federalism.
From the opposite end of the country, members of the Dawei delegation, who made the long journey to Panglong from southern Tanintharyi Region, also expressed their happiness at being involved in the event.
Ko Kyaw Min Htaik said, I want to introduce the Dawei to the other ethnic people because our area is so far away [from the better known ethnic minority heartlands] that even our neighbours dont recognise us.
If we use the English name Tavoyan, that is more familiar, but when people hear Dawei they just think thats a city.
He said one major concern for Dawei activists was that most younger people of Dawei background are identified as Bamar on their ID cards.
It is rare for anyone born since the Ne Win era to have [a Tavoyan/Dawei ID], he said.
Ko Kyaw Min Htaik said he had been working as an activist for Dawei rights for more than 10 years.
This is the first time I have left my group to come to something like this, so its really fantastic. Before I worked with a small alliance, and we shared our problems, but here there are so many people we feel united.
The Syrian regime's key ally Russia launched heavy air strikes overnight on the outskirts of divided Aleppo city, slowing a "last-chance" assault by rebels seeking to break a government siege.
The assault began on Sunday and is intended to ease the encirclement of the opposition-held east of Aleppo city, where an estimated 250,000 residents have been under a regime siege since July 17.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described it as the largest rebel attack in Aleppo since 2012, when fighting reached the city and left it roughly divided between the opposition control in the east and regime forces in the west.
But government troops backed by Russia's air force have put up a fierce defence, the monitor said.
"The Russian raids didn't stop all night on the front lines" there, said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
"This has slowed the offensive and allowed regime troops to retake five of the eight positions that rebels had taken since Sunday," he added.
The strikes came despite an appeal by US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday for Russia to "restrain" itself and its ally in Damascus.
"It is critical, obviously, that Russia restrain both itself and the Assad regime from conducting offensive operations, just as it is our responsibility to get the opposition to refrain from engaging in those operations," he told journalists.
Kerry said regime attacks had prevented the warring parties from meeting for negotiations on Monday, the target date set for the regime and opposition forces to agree on the framework of a political transition.
The offensive groups fighters from Fateh al-Sham Front, formerly Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, as well as the powerful Islamist Ahrar al-Sham and other factions.
The Observatory said 50 rebels and allied militants had been killed since the operation began on Sunday, as well as dozens of regime troops.
Its main target is the government-held district of Ramussa, on the southwest outskirts of Aleppo.
The route used by regime forces and civilians living in government-controlled parts of Aleppo runs through Ramussa. Its capture would both cut off government forces and open a new route into the city for rebels.
The Observatory said at least 30 civilians had also been killed since Sunday in opposition bombardment of government-held southwestern districts of Aleppo.
According to a Syrian military source, around 5,000 pro-regime fighters, including Iranian forces and the powerful Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, are taking part in the battle for the city, including fighting north of Aleppo.
Facing off against them are thousands of fighters from the Fateh al-Sham Front and allied groups, according to the Observatory.
"This battle is the last chance for rebels. If they lose, it will be difficult for them to launch a new assault to break the siege," Abdel Rahman said.
"For the regime also, it's a question of life or death. They've been preparing for this battle for months and it'll be a tough blow for its troops if they lose," he added.
Residents in east Aleppo have reported food shortages and rising prices since government troops seized the last remaining road into opposition-held districts on July 17.
Last week Russia announced the opening of "humanitarian corridors" to allow residents and surrendering fighters to flee the east for government-held territory.
The announcement was met with scepticism by both residents and some in the international community, but Damascus and Moscow say some residents and fighters have begun using the passages.
On Tuesday, Syrian state media said "dozens of families" had crossed from the east, after reporting similar crossings over the weekend.
Residents and rebels on the ground had dismissed the reported weekend crossings as "lies."
Syria's conflict has killed more than 280,000 people and drawn in world powers on both sides since it erupted in March 2011.
Russia began an aerial campaign in support of Damascus last September, and has lost 18 forces since its intervention began.
The latest deaths came Monday, when Moscow announced five people on board a military helicopter were killed when it was shot down over Idlib province.
It was the single deadliest incident for Russia since its intervention began.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident, which occurred in an area controlled by a rebel alliance dominated by the Fateh al-Sham Front.
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Singapore Red Cross has donated US$360,000 to support building two additional first aid stations along the Yangon-Mandalay death highway.
The two new stations will be established at the 40 mile post and the 320 mile post of the main artery linking the two cities, according to the Myanmar Red Cross Society. Each emergency outpost will operate 24-hours every day and will provide pre-hospital triage and ambulances to transport crash victims to the nearest hospital.
The construction of the two aid posts should be completed by the end of 2017, said Dr Tha Hla Shwe, president of the MRCS.
The funding from Singapore will also be used to train additional volunteers in firest aid so they can help staff the emergency outposts.
The MRCS has been providing ambulance services on the highway since November 2011, and launched the aid post scheme in 2013 with an initial station at the 115 mile rest stop. A second aid station was built at milepost 285.
According to a World Health Organization survey, Myanmar is second-worst for road deaths per capita in the Southeast Asian region. The fatalities climb annually. In the first six months of this year, an average of 13.9 people were killed every day in road accidents, up from the 2015 average of 11.6.
Dr Maw Oo, head of the Yangon General Hospitals emergency room, said at the beginning of this year that ambulance services along the roadway could be critical to saving lives. In any given week, of the 2500-3000 emergency patients coming to the hospital, more than 10 die en route, he said.
Over $273,000 from the donated funds will be used to build the two new stations, while $93,626 is earmarked for trainings and equipment to support safety volunteers from 150 townships across the country, according to the memorandum of understanding inked on July 29.
Singapore Red Cross has donated over $273,000 to help its Myanmar counterpart build two first aid posts, complete with one ambulance for each post. We will continue to support this important work, said Benjamin Jeyaraj William, secretary general of the Singapore Red Cross.
Most accidents along the Yangon-Mandalay highway are attributed to driver error, but engineers have also admitted that the road is badly designed and was rushed in construction, leaving it devoid of many international safety features. A total of 4313 deaths occurred along the road in 2014.
The waters of the Ayeyarwady River in Mandalay have surpassed the danger mark, with floodwaters yesterday inundating more than half the villages in Amarapura township and forcing closure of a major university outside Myanmars second-largest city.
The Ayeyarwady Rivers warning level in Mandalay is set at 1260 centimetres (41.3 feet), and waters reached 1325cm yesterday, according to U Win Than Hlaing, an official from the citys No 1 water sentry post.
The [Mandalay] City Development Committee is now placing sand bags, he said. Authorities from the fire services and ward administrations are watching over it day and night. Potential places where water can enter have been piled with sand bags.
Although the river has not yet burst its banks in Mandalays riverside wards, villages in Amarapura as well as settlements near the bridge connecting Mandalay and Sagaing are grappling with floodwaters.
Of a total 24 villages in Amarapura township, water has entered 16 villages at the moment, U Than Aung, a member of the local administration for the Shwe Kyat Yat group of villages, said yesterday. More than 1200 households and over 5000 people are already suffering from the floods. Medicine, food and aid are needed for their health.
The river level yesterday clocked in just 57cm below a record-setting 2004 measurement of 1382cm, which was the highest recorded since the 1970s, U Than Aung added.
The Ayeyarwady River at Mandalay has been rising since last month, and the water level stood at 1248cm on July 28.
In addition to the closure of Yadanapon University in Amarapura township yesterday, motorists struggled to navigate the road that leads to the bridge linking Mandalay and Sagaing. Some families displaced by the high waters have taken shelter in makeshift roadside huts.
Yadanapon University officials said they have not decided when the campus will reopen.
The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH) has warned residents of low-lying areas in Mandalay to be on alert for potential flooding.
Further downstream on the Ayeyarwady River, water levels were also recorded above their warning marks at Myinmu township in Sagaing Region; Minbu and Pakokku townships in Magwe Region; and Hinthada and Zalun townships in Ayeyarwady Region.
The DMH has issued an identical warning for similarly situated low-lying populations living along the Chindwin and Nga Won rivers, both of which have also seen waters rise past their danger marks at points.
More than 700 households were evacuated last week due to flooding along the swollen Chindwin River in Sagaing Region. At least seven townships in the region Homalin, Paungbyin, Mawlaik, Kani, Mingin, Kalaywa and Monywa recorded water levels above their warning marks yesterday, according to the DMH.
The Nga Won River, an offshoot of the Ayeyarwady River in Ayeyarwady Region, surpassed its danger mark by 1.5 feet at Ngathaingchaung in Yegyi township, with waters expected to rise an additional foot over the next four days, the DMH said yesterday.
The department said heavy monsoon rains are expected across much of the country in the coming days due to the persistence of a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal.
Coastal regions could see strong waves brought on by wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour (72 kilometres per hour).
Additional reporting by Myint Kay Thi, translation by Kyawt Darly Lin
Peace is coming and all Mandalay is coming out to greet it. Over the next week, political activists, civil society groups and ordinary residents throughout the region will be holding rallies in support of the 21st-century Panglong Conference.
Until August 8, processions, the distribution of pamphlets, musical concerts, public speeches and painting and cartoon exhibitions will be held in every township to mark what everybody hopes will be a giant step toward peace and national reconciliation.
The 21st-century Panglong Conference, scheduled for the end of August, is the cornerstone of the governments peace process. Demonstrations in support of the event are also being held in the United States, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Japan and Thailand.
The first Panglong Conference took place in February 1947 in Shan States Panglong between the Shan, Kachin and Chin ethnic minority leaders and Bogyoke Aung San, who was head of the interim government and is also the late father of State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
All ethnic groups in our country have suffered from civil conflict for more than 60 years. Only if the fighting ends can our country pursue national reconciliation. We have to establish a federal union through national reconciliation and we hope the 21st Century Panglong Conference will bring solutions. To support the event, we will hold processions for nine consecutive days while other organisations put on concerts and people make speeches, said organiser Ko Thein Aung Myint.
The run-up to the event began on July 31, when more than 50 people held a procession in Chan Mya Tharzi township in favour of a federal union, national reconciliation, an end to civil conflict and the successful conclusion of the conference.
Political activist Ko Aye Thein said the success of the conference was essential for the countrys development and the right of children in ethnic minority regions to continue their studies in peace, with the cooperation of all the peoples of the Union.
Im so glad to see public involvement in support of the second Panglong Conference under our new government. Weve received applications for permits to hold bigger events and weve decided to permit all of them. Some ethnic armed groups have yet to sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement, which is essential. We need peace to pursue national reconciliation, and the search for peace requires respect for ethnic rights. I believe this second Panglong Conference will mark a turn for the better in our country, said Mandalay Region Chief Minister Dr Zaw Myint Maung.
Translation by Zar Zar Soe
Elections for Mandalay City Development Committee members, representing six townships, will be held by the end of September, a spokesperson for the election commission said yesterday.
Anyone wishing to be considered for a seat on the committee must submit an application by August 5, the spokesperson said.
The 13-member committee includes the Mandalay mayor and the joint secretary. Five members will be appointed to the committee by the regional government and six will be elected, from Aung Myay Tharzan, Chan Aye Tharzan, Maha Aung Myay, Chan Mya Tharsi, Pyigyitagun, and Amarapura townships.
After the application deadline, the applications will be analysed, the spokesperson said. If they are qualified in accordance with the rules of competition, they are allowed to take part. After that, there will be campaign period. I do not know yet when we will hold the campaign period.
On July 7, the previous 11 committee members were relieved of their posts by the Mandalay mayor in accordance with a decision from the regional government.
The recently sacked 11 committee members were elected or appointed in July 2015 under the rule of the Union Solidarity and Development Party-backed government. The local administrative body, as with Yangon City Development Committee, was disbanded in order to reappoint new members that will serve a term that coincides with the five-year Union governments time in office.
Last years MCDC election was marred by a lack of eligible candidates, and a poor voter turnout. Two of the six townships Aung Myay Tharzan and Chan Mya Tharsi had to re-stage the vote, one for lack of a candidate and the other because voter turnout fell below 50 percent.
Translation by Emoon
Growth of the local economy is key to attracting more residents to Nay Pyi Taws Pobbathiri township, where plans to create a retirement community for former civil servants have fallen flat, according to Nay Pyi Taw Council member U Tin Tun.
Its true that this township has a sparse resident population so far. It is important to develop the local economy to attract more residents, he told The Myanmar Times yesterday.
Houses in Pobbathiri township were built under Myanmars former military regime, aiming to provide accommodation for civil servants and military personnel after they retired.
The scheme has failed to live up to its billing, however, and many houses sit empty. Most of the vacant residences are owned by serving civil servants and just a few are owned by retirees.
Most of the civil servants in Nay Pyi Taw are originally from Yangon and Mandalay. So they usually return to their homes after retirement. Thats why there is a low number of residents, said U Tin Tun, who also acts as officer in-charge of the township.
He said that might change if cottage industries or larger-scale operations such as export industries were to set up shop in Pobbathiri, part of the eight-township Nay Pyi Taw Council area.
People will come to live here when the town has opportunities to make money, U Tin Tun said.
Under the previous government, there were rumours that an industrial zone would be created in Pobbathiri township, but no plan was ever implemented.
Such a zone would still be welcome, U Tin Tun said.
We are working for development of the township. If an industrial zone project comes to fruition, there will be industries as well as construction companies so people will come here to work, he said.
Perhaps sensing that the townships many empty dwellings were increasingly giving Pobbathiri a ghost-town vibe, the Nay Pyi Taw City Development Committee in February sent letters to house owners instructing them to return to their properties regularly for housekeeping and maintenance.
The idea of an enclave for retired civil servants and military personnel was proposed in 2008, when a retired captain submitted a letter directly to then-senior general Than Shwe suggesting that accommodation be provided to them after retirement in Nay Pyi Taw.
That retired captain said the plan, put forward in the letter three years after the military government moved the capital to Nay Pyi Taw, was botched.
This town was to be a place mostly inhabited by retirees, but there are few retirees living here because a majority of the houses were slated for current civil servants. But they arent living in their houses and in public housing instead. So the houses became empty, said the retired captain, who lives in Pobbathiri townships Wanadipa ward.
From the beginning, it [land and houses] should have been allocated for retirees who would really live in them and at least it [buyers intentions] should have been scrutinised in advance.
The 2014 census put the population of Pobbathiri township at 116,491, out of about 1.16 million people in the greater Nay Pyi Taw Council area.
Translation by Zar Zar Soe
Two Pakistani nationals were given a choice yesterday: imprisonment for a year or deportation. The Muslim visitors were charged with an immigration violation after they came to Yangon to allegedly deliver sermons, but were on a tourist visa, according to police.
Ahmed Zulfiqar, 63, and his son, Ahmed Saifullah, 29, arrived in Yangon on July 26 and toured three townships Pabeden, Kyauktada and Mingalar Taung Nyunt where they discussed the practice of Sufi Islam.
The father and son were detained over the weekend and yesterday morning the Tarmwe Township Court found them guilty of an immigration violation under sections 4(2) and 13(1) of the 1947 Immigration Act. They were sentenced with a K100,000 fine each, and told they could be deported or face a year in prison.
Tarmwe township immigration officer U Maung Maung told The Myanmar Times yesterday afternoon that the father and son had opted for deportation, and the office was waiting only for a green light from the Union government.
They will leave immediately when we receive instructions back, he said.
The Sufi lectures drew large crowds at all three mosques, including around 900 people at the Pabedan site, 500 at the Sule Mosque in Kyauktada, and over 1000 at the Mingalar Taung Nyunt mosque, according to police.
But a local Muslim leader said the father and son visitors had no intention of breaking the law.
Really it was a misunderstanding, said U Aye Lwin, a Muslim leader and member of the Muslim Interfaith Association.
They were not delivering sermons, but only teaching about Sufism, similar to the Dhamma sessions They came only to share the lessons of Sufism after praying. We are so sad for the misunderstanding as they are very respectable religious people.
Official Chinese media are having a field day touting the dysfunction of Western democracies. Between the British vote to Brexit the European Union and the nomination of Donald Trump as the Republican candidate for the US presidency, not to mention increasingly frequent terrorist attacks, they have plenty of evidence. But the truth is that the Wests loss is not Chinas gain.
The hope, of course, is that the current travails of democracies around the world could boost the credibility of the Chinese Communist Party. And indeed, a commentary in Peoples Daily, the CCPs official newspaper, portrayed the Brexit vote as a reflection of the fundamental flaws of Western democracies. The same paper used Trumps rise to show that, in the American system, political leaders are helpless to address complex social conflicts like racial tensions and other sources of popular discontent.
The Global Times, an ultra-nationalist tabloid affiliated with the Peoples Daily, seemed to suggest that recent terrorist attacks in the West were a harbinger of some kind of democratic apocalypse. The West may be facing some mysterious and unthinkable change, intoned the tabloid.
Given the CCPs ideological hostility to the West, and its zero-sum geopolitical mindset, such gloating should come as no surprise. Indeed, the CCP has long used challenges that arise in democratic countries as part of its never-ending effort to enhance its own legitimacy. Claiming that democracy barely works in the West, the party argues that it would be disastrous for China. Moreover, so long as Chinas government is delivering consistently rising standards of living, as it has been over the last few decades, there is no need, according to the authorities, even to consider alternative systems.
But there is little evidence that democratic tumult translates into autocratic legitimacy. On the contrary, dictatorships have historically fallen, regardless of the fortune of Western democracies.
When the so-called third wave of democratisation began in the mid-1970s, Western democracies were mired in stagflation and the political trauma of the Vietnam War. The fall of communism in the former Soviet bloc coincided with the reinvigoration of Western democracies in the 1980s. When the Arab Spring erupted in 2011, Western democracies were struggling with the consequences of the global financial crisis of 2008.
All of this suggests that autocrats in China should not be holding their breath for some Brexit-induced surge in support. Though stories of democratic dysfunction can give people living under autocratic rule a negative impression of democracy, the effect is most likely short-lived. As long as dictatorships mistreat their own people and fail to improve their lives, their legitimacy will be challenged.
Of course, China is no ordinary autocracy. But what makes it unique the link between the CCPs authority and its ability to sustain economic growth does not make its gloating any more rational. After all, one of the keys to Chinas economic success is its integration into a global economy dominated by the Western democracies, which buy roughly 60 percent of Chinese exports.
In other words, the CCP derives more legitimacy from Western democracies success than it would from their failure. No good businessperson would hope their best customers go bankrupt. It makes little sense that the CCP is so pleased about the struggles of Chinas most valuable trading partners.
The factors driving the challenges facing Western democracies today hold even worse implications for China. Support for Brexit and Trump is rooted largely in voters rejection of globalisation. Regardless of how Brexit or the US election plays out, it is very likely that governments in Western democracies will respond to voter angst and take measures that imply a return to some degree of protectionism.
As the worlds largest exporter, China will not escape the damaging economic consequences of such efforts. In that context, the legitimacy of the CCP, already challenged by Chinas economic slowdown, could erode further. Instead of gloating, Chinas leaders should be watching developments in the Western democracies with concern and start planning for their own difficult times ahead.
Project Syndicate
Minxin Pei is a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College and a non-resident senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
Thousands of jobless Tens of thousands of people have fled a fresh outbreak of violence in South Sudan, reporting mass killings, looting and forced recruitment of child soldiers, U.N. agencies said on Tuesday.
Many of the refugees pouring into neighbouring Uganda, Kenya and Sudan have been carrying malnourished children, the refugee agency the UNHCR added, the victims of a humanitarian crisis exacerbated by food shortages and a cholera outbreak.
The world's newest nation has been caught up in more than two years of ethnically charged fighting between supporters of President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival Riek Machar that has raised fears of wider instability across east Africa.
Machar's supporters said at least nine people had died in the latest clashes on a road in Central Equatoria state, the region that includes the capital Juba, over the weekend.
Government spokesman Michael Makuei Lueth played down those reports, insisting that a frequently broken peace deal signed last year was still on track. "People must understand that the peace agreement doesn't belong to Riek Machar," he told reporters in the capital on Tuesday.
The personal rivalry between Kiir, from the Dinka group, and Machar, a Nuer, has worsened ethnic splits in a country awash with weapons since the long civil war that led to its separation from Sudan in 2011.
Machar, who returned to the capital in April under the terms of the troubled peace deal, left again last month as new clashes broke out between his men and Kiir's.
GUNS, OIL, CHOLERA
Government military helicopters flew over the capital over the weekend, but the streets were quiet on Tuesday. Residents reported sharp rises in the prices of fuel, vegetables, flour and other basic foodstuffs, with traders blaming shortages on blockages on the main trade route to Uganda.
Banks closed their branches and many families stayed in shelters outside U.N. compounds across the city.
Further afield, local militias, who often fight over control of land, grazing and oil-producing areas, have been taking advantage of the chaos to step up their operations.
U.N. agencies said refugees had reported gunmen trying to block their flight and harassing them on the way.
"Armed groups operating across different parts of South Sudan are looting villages, murdering civilians and forcibly recruiting young men and boys into their ranks," UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a briefing in Geneva.
Around 60,000 people have fled as violence mounted over the past three weeks, she said, the bulk of them to Uganda, doubling the flow over that border over the past 10 days.
"We are very concerned about quickly having the capacity to treat the increasing numbers of malnourished children who are coming across," Fleming said.
A further 1.6 million South Sudanese are displaced people within their country, said Jens Laerke of the U.N. Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
"These are really very vast numbers, it's a massive crisis," Laerke added, noting that in all 900,000 refugees have fled South Sudan since December 2013.
A cholera outbreak is spreading in South Sudan, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, with 35 new admissions being recorded in Juba county daily, WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said.
There have been signs of a split within Machar's movement since he left the capital, and analysts have questioned whether both men have full authority over their followers. Asians stranded in Saudi
Wires-AFP English
Thousands of jobless Indians, Filipinos and Pakistanis are stranded and destitute in Saudi Arabia after a plunge in oil prices sparked construction layoffs, activists and officials said Tuesday.
Some Filipinos are forced to beg or sift through garbage to survive after going unpaid for months, said Garry Martinez, chairman of the Migrante group which works for the millions of Filipino overseas workers worldwide.
"Some of them have nothing to eat and have to go through the garbage for food," said Martinez.
India said Monday it was negotiating with Saudi authorities to repatriate thousands of its own nationals after they lost their jobs, leaving them with no money to return home.
Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told parliament in New Delhi she was sending a junior minister to Riyadh after reports that around 10,000 Indian workers had been left to starve.
Indians are among millions of poor Asians working in the Gulf states, where human rights groups say many suffer exploitation and abuses including non-payment of wages.
In Manila, Migrante coordinator Gilbert Saludo -- who returned from Saudi Arabia last month after two years working there -- said as many as 20,000 Filipinos could be affected.
Saludo said that while Manila had extended financial aid to them so far, it was not clear how long this aid could last.
The labour problem appeared likely to worsen, he added.
"It will get much worse because so much of the income of Saudi Arabia comes from oil... so their budget for infrastructure and other projects will not be met and more people will be affected," Saludo told AFP.
The Philippine Labour Department said Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello had visited Saudi Arabia last month to address the problem but would not elaborate.
Pakistan confirmed its nationals were also stranded in Saudi Arabia but gave no number. It said it had set up a special centre and fund to provide aid, food, medicine and shelter.
"The (Pakistani) embassy has further informed that Saudi King has issued a decree for urgent payment of dues to workers by the concerned," the office of the prime minister said.
"We stand by our hardworking workers who are away from their homeland to earn a living for their families. They are our strength and pride. We will help them out in all possible ways," Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a statement.
The Indian consulate in Jeddah has been providing free food for its nationals since their plight came to light last week but repatriation has been complicated by restrictive labour regulations.
Swaraj cited a Saudi requirement that workers provide a no-objection certificate from their employers before they can leave the country.
In Manila the Migrante officials also said Filipinos could not leave because they lacked proper permits or were still awaiting months of back pay.
Nearly three million Indians live and work in Saudi Arabia, according to the foreign ministry, one of the largest populations outside of India.
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02.08.2016 LISTEN
Africas leading Airline Ethiopian Airlines was on Friday honored as the best Airline in Africa at the Ghana Aviation awards held in Accra.
The event was held to recognize distinctions in the Aviation industry and attracted various dignitaries including the Deputy Minister of Tourism and Area Manager of IATA for West Africa, Samson Fatokun.
At another event held on Saturday, Ethiopian Airlines honored the top selling agents in Ghana.
The event was held at Accra city Hotel .
At the well attended event the Area Manager for ET in Ghana Mrs. Genet Michael thanked the agents who have contributed to making ET the number one Airline in Africa.
She promised them more rewards as they continue to give their passengers great benefit.
She informed them that Ethiopian Airlines has started flights to New York from Lome and have just introduced the newest Aircraft in the world A350 into its already modern fleet.
By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Monday, August 1, 2016
Folks, I am still piqued by the impact of Rawlings revelation and confirmation of rumours that the late Nigerian strongman, Gen. Sani Abacha, did give him some millions of Dollars. The controversy surrounding the exact quantum remains, even if Rawlings feels nothing wrong about the deal. Is he clean in his conscience that he deserved the money given him by Abacha, especially when it wasnt taken from Abachas own earnings but from the Nigerian chest? What did he do to warrant being given that money? And how did he spend it? Is Rawlings prepared to return that money to Nigeria? Too many worrying questions.
Now that Rawlings has conceded, he seems to have put very high hurdles in front of his wife (Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings) to jump. Can she? Will she tell us that she knew nothing about the Abacha largesse or that her husband has kept her in the dark all this while? A heavy conscience weighing her down? Too many troubling questions for Nana Konadu too.
Pushing everything further, we have noticed that before Rawlings concession, Nana Konadu had dominated the media scene, making all kinds of noise to castigate the Mahama-led administration about corruption, incompetence, and many others. In launching her political missile at the incumbent, she sought to push her own agenda as well.
But immediately after her husband caved in to expose the deal between him and Abacha, she has virtually gone underground. Is she feeling the pinch already? We know how Rawlings has supported her in her bid to lead the NDP to Elect6ion 2016. The unexpected revelation by Rawlings and the ripples it provoked are really tough. They seem to be undercutting Nana Konadu (the implications for Rawlings himself are already clear). Can the Rawlingses still go about professing to be apostles of probity and accountability?
By confirming the long-held rumours about the Abacha deal, Rawlings doesnt come across to me as honest (as his NPP friends have portrayed him). He came out strongly to refute and condemn the allegation when the rumours first emerged more than 10 years ago. Turning round now to admit it doesnt make him honest or sincere. It makes him a bad person instead. The political fallouts are heavy. Rawlings has virtually shot down his wife.
As if that headache isnt acute enough to detract from Nana Konadus standing, the chiefs and people of Adoagyiri are fuming and mobilizing for action against Nana Konadu in respect of the 600-acre land acquired compulsorily for Carridem Development Company Limited. The land, which was acquired through an executive order in 2013 for 50 years, was sold for GHC5 per acre. Who sold the land? Certainly not the chiefs but the Agbodo-led Divestiture Implementation Committee!!
Making a case for the chiefs and people, the MP for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Frank Annor Dompreh, has petitioned President John Mahama to return the land to the original owners. (See http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/President-Mahama-petitioned-to-return-50-acre-Carriedem-land-459297). I support the move to divest Nana Konadu of that property. The original owners are embittered at the manner in which the land was taken from them; and I agree with everything they intend to do to reclaim their property.
This is where I urge President Mahama to accept the petition and act on it with little ceremony. He should grant the chiefs and people their right to their land. After all, beyond anything politically interested, the matter is too serious to gloss over. This is a good opportunity to add more woes to Nana Konadus lot so she cannot continue throwing dust into anybodys eyes about probity and accountability.
I am strongly persuaded by the arguments raised by the chiefs and people and the fallouts for President Mahama if he listens to their plea. I dont want to say that granting their wish will automatically translate into votes for President Mahama at Election 2016; but it will definitely prove that he understands what the issues are and can act in the best interest of the chiefs and people of Nsawam-Adoagyiri. This is the opportune moment to ditch Nana Konadu all the more, now that her own husband has shot her down. What belongs to the people must not be trampled upon. Mr. President, over to you!!
I shall return
The Gender Minister has underscored the relevance of the Ghana National Household Registry (GNHR) towards the development of the country.
Nana Oye Lithur says the registry, when collated, will guide government in the dispensing of many government supports to the needy and vulnerable households in the country.
The Registry will ensure that the social economic characteristics of each and every household in Ghana that should benefit from social protection programmes are prioritized, he said.
Mrs Lithur disclosed this at the launch of the programme in the Upper West Regional capital of Wa.
Initiated by the Gender Ministry, the GNHR entails the registration of households and collection of basic information on their socio-economic status in order to aid planning of social protection programmes.
Government is hopeful the full implement of the programme will help it address the hurdle of mass poverty in the country.
Touching on other benefits, Mrs Lithur says the project will ensure that we have a face, a name, a physical address, and a location to target households that will require government support.
Upper West Regional Minister, Alhaji Amin Amidu Sulemani, used the opportunity to call on all head of District Assemblies to help make the project a success.
According to him, the only way the project will make its impact is when the District Assemblies put on board their exceptional knowledge.
He charged religious bodies and other groups in the society to mobilize their members for the project.
Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | Email: [email protected]
02.08.2016 LISTEN
Historian Dr Gus Casely-Hayford will travel to Ghana in October to mark the centenary of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) .
The institution, based in central London, is staging a series of talks in Britain and further afield, to celebrate the 100-year academic reputation it has cultivated across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Gus is a London-born writer and broadcaster, who is best known for fronting BBC Four programme 'Lost Kingdoms of Africa'. He told MisBeee he was one of a number of SOAS alumni chosen to participate in talks across different African countries as part of the anniversary. Gus will be visiting Accra and will talk about Ghanas heritage during the visit.
Gus comes from a prominent family line hailing from Ghana and Sierra Leone. The list includes lawyer, politician, pan-Africanist and journalist Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford his grandfather, and brother British fashion designer Joe Casely-Hayford OBE.
Childhood stories
Gus has spent much of his career charting and exploring African history - a passion that was nurtured from stories his Ghanaian relatives told him as a child.
"they would sit me down and tell me stories and it just fired something in me, he said. I wanted to travel and I wanted to learn more about the history, so as soon as I got the opportunity, I travelled, wrote a PhD and began to investigate ways in which I could further my knowledge. The thing that really drove me was that I wanted to give other people the chance to learn about their history without them having to travel thousands of miles or to put in hundreds of hours of work. So thats why I tried to write and make TV programmes to try and bring them into peoples homes.
Ensuring that a more balanced representation of African history is available in the UKs national curriculum is something Gus advocates. "There is an attempt to do that, he said, but the teachers have to have the resources, they have to have the knowledge, they have to have the right books and they have to have the motivation. Not many of them have all of those things together, so we need to find ways of making it easier for them to do that."
Authenticity in films
Of course, the body of work that comes from the Lost Kingdoms of Africa series is one that schools can naturally take advantage of and Gus welcomes this - as long as it is connected to education.
I think it is fantastic particularly for a young generation many of whom feel very dislocated from the history of their own ancestry, he said.
Re-telling African stories through film is another route that Gus applauds. While he agrees that there is a need for Black directors and producers to be authentic when telling these stories, Gus also believes these storytellers should be afforded some artistic licence and have the space to share more uplifting African narratives.
.. whilst accuracy is absolutely important, it is important that we dont terrify people into thinking that our history was nothing but appalling, he said. There are some fantastic chapters of African history that are deeply uplifting and those are the ones that Id love to see young people given access to because if we want them to feel inspired by the past, we cant just overload them with what are, of course, important but the terrible things. It is good that they know those but I think alongside them we have to give them access to some of the really inspiring and positive stories.
Positive feedback
The positive feedback Gus received following the airing of the Lost Kingdoms of Africa series is testament to this idea of sharing positive images of Africans and their history. The programme, which was first aired in January 2010 and ran for two years, generated positive feedback from Africans both home and abroad. The programme was shown in English-speaking African countries and was translated into French for the francophone market, as well as being available on the BBC World Service, Gus said.
Gus continues to champion learning and is currently working on a series for TV company Sky that will tell the story of British landscape art. He is also curating an exhibition for the National Portrait Gallery that opens in 2022. The exhibition is going to bring all of the great portraits of Black figures from the 18th century, painted by some of the most important artists, and bringing them together for the very first time into one space, he said.
Kirsty Osei-Bempong is a journalist and blogger at MisBeee Writes.
Rome and Ankara traded barbs on Tuesday over an Italian investigation into accusations that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's son Bilal laundered money.
Erdogan told RAI television that the probe by prosecutors in the northern city of Bologna, where Bilal had been studying, might affect bilateral links.
"If my son came back to Italy at this moment, he could be arrested," Erdogan said in an interview with the state broadcaster. "This could even cause problems for our relationship with Italy."
Bilal, 35, went to Italy in 2015 to finish a doctorate. It was not clear when he left, but a legal source said he had been back in Turkey for some time. He denies wrongdoing.
Erdogan, criticised in the West for the scale of a post-coup crackdown, told RAI: "Italy should be attending to the mafia, not my son."
In response, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said Italy had an independent legal system and "judges answer to the Italian constitution and not the Turkish president."
Turkish authorities have detained, suspended or placed under investigation more than 60,000 people in the military, judiciary, civil service and education system since the failed July 15 bid to overthrow Erdogan, in which more than 230 people were killed.
The money-laundering investigation followed accusations by Murat Hakan Uzan, an exiled member of one of Turkey's richest families and an opponent of the president, a legal source said.
Italian press reported prosecutors were looking into sums of money allegedly brought to Italy from Turkey. In July, a Bologna court allowed them to extend their investigation by six months.
Bilal's lawyer Giovanni Trombini said his client declared that "all his economic and financial activity is totally transparent and legal, and the accusations are completely unfounded".
Bilal, one of the Turkish president's four children, has shipping and maritime assets and controls several oil tankers through his company and partnerships in other firms
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The Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, is said in the media to have been lamenting over the huge wage bills expended on the state civil service. He sees it as a waste of public funds. He says he doesn't need more than 200 workers to run the state civil service. He is concerned that these huge wage bills are expended on a non-productive sector of the economy. He prefers employing people in productive sectors of the economy like agriculture to maintaining an unproductive civil service.
The Governor is quoted as saying: I dont need more than 200 workers in the state civil service but I need more than 100,000 in the agricultural sector of the state. Its like if this nation makes $1 trillion every day and ends up paying salaries with it, there still will be no progress. Unless we address those basic issues and get people to work in the productive sector of the economy, we cannot make any headway. If I have 70 percent of the money that comes to the state for capital expenditure, Imo State would look like London in the next five years. Public service is not welfarism. We dont have a welfare state where people can sit down and expect money from government. We have what is called governance by investment and not people sitting down and collecting money. That money they collect does not aid production."
Unbelievable as it may seem, I think Governor Okorocha has a point here. In my article published in Tell Magazine and in the 27 October 2013 edition of Sahara Reporters titled: Nigerias Siamese Twins of Corruption, I pointed out certain facts which the current position of the Imo State Governor seems to echo. And for that reason I would like to visit the story once again, for the records.
The indispensability of civil servants in the evolution of democracy in developing countries like Nigeria was never in dispute. Government depended on the civil service for the success of its business of governance inside the country and out of it. As a result of this dependence of government, civil servants found themselves saddled with the dispensation of very sensitive national policies some of which were economic. For that reason, the civil service in Nigeria continued to remain one of the most formidable organisations which directly impacted not only on the activities of the countrys political class and business community, but on the nation at large.
Stringent rules and regulations had been put in place to ensure that civil servants were politically neutral and that they did not engage in activities likely to call their political impartiality to question. They were expected to refrain from doing anything that might create the impression that, as people paid from public funds, they could be compromised for the attainment of political or party goals. As career public officers, they were expected to perform their duties with a sense of impeccable political neutrality. But that was not the case with the civil service over the years. The general behaviour of civil servants in Nigeria called their level of professionalism to question.
Those of us who are old enough still remember when the civil service in Nigeria metamorphosed from the colonial civil service which Britain established to administer Nigeria as its colony. It inherited many good qualities. At that time, civil servants were employed purely on the basis of their skill and competence. There was nothing like quota system. Recruitment into the civil service meant that the applicant had to pass several tests conducted without prejudice to state of origin, social status or religious affiliation. Those early civil servants were known to be very hard-working and self-disciplined. They were always ready to make self-sacrifices, just to ensure that the nation moved forward through the efficient functioning of their ministries. They were sensitive to the interests of the local people, and to the feelings of the ordinary citizens of the nation.
It was at this time that the foundation of the civil service in Nigeria was laid. The civil service was meant to represent the broader interests of the nation in a fair, unbiased manner by being totally unaffiliated to any political or party interests. On the other hand, politicians and political parties were regarded as representing the more narrow interests of the nation because their commitment was self-serving and predicated on their party affiliations and the mandate of their constituents. The implication was that while governments came and went, the civil service remained to work with the government of the day. This fact, more than any other, deeply contributed in making the civil service in Nigeria extraordinarily powerful. The civil servants came to have what could be seen as legitimacy over the political class a legitimacy they continued to wield tenaciously over the years. The long years of military interregnum also enabled the civil service in Nigeria to consolidate its grip on government.
The side-effect was that once a new government came into power, the newly elected public office holders, like the proverbial new broom, begin to sweep clean. They commit their time and skills to making good their campaign promises. They know full well that the people who voted them into office will always take them to ransom on account of their campaign promises. They wont want to be seen as a disappointment to those who elected them into public office. But no sooner have the politicians been sworn into office than the civil servants [who have been in the system for so long] begin to educate them on how stupid they would look if they failed to seize their opportunity to make some quick money while in office. They begin to indoctrinate them into the attitude of grabbing as much money as comes their way, to prove to all and sundry that they are the ones actually running things, as Nigerians would say. They begin to remind them that political appointments have expiry dates and that opportunities dont last forever. They begin to convince them that this is their opportunity to make as much money as they possibly can. And they begin to give them daily doses of tutorials on the way forward. Gradually, but steadily, politicians who initially came into government with clean hands and open minds, and a willingness to genuinely serve their people, begin to get corrupt. The government of the day begins to soil its hands with corruption and as a result, all the loud noise about tackling bribery and corruption in the country ends up only on the pages of the national newspapers and the screens of television sets.
Sadly, this had been the trend for more than five decades since Nigeria had self rule. But Nigerians cannot be fooled forever. The truth must be told someday. That truth is that over the years in Nigeria, the civil service and the political class had become like Siamese twins of corruption. They are joined in their hearts, feeling each others heart-beat as they continuously collude to milk the national coffers dry.
To prune the civil service to a manageable and less unproductive workforce certainly makes sense. But to dump the whole lot of civil servants in the state is a recipe for disaster. At the end of the day, it is the responsibility of government to create jobs for its citizens. Government must not shy away from its responsibility. For that reason, if Governor Okorocha implements what he has said, it would definitely become an infectious trend that will catch up with other states of the Federation sooner than later. Nigerians do not need an over-bloated civil service whose staff do nothing but loaf around or sit in office busy gossiping and expect to be paid at the end of the day. They will be needed in more productive areas like agriculture, as Governor Okorocha points out.
The governor must not forget though, that this decision will throw up its own challenges. The government will have to itemise the sort of agriculture it wants to divert this workforce to. Is it animal husbandry, rearing goats, sheep and cattle? Is it cultivating staple foodstuff like potatoes, yams, cassava and vegetables like tomato and pepper? Is it fisheries? Is it poultry farming, rearing chickens and hatching eggs? All these would need serious feasibility studies. And then of course where is the land? Would it be possible to acquire about half a mile of arable land from each of the 27 local government areas of the state and assign each locality with the production of a specific food item? And would it also be possible to build factories within the farms which would be associated with the farms final products. For instance, build a factory that will turn fresh tomatoes in ketchups, tomato soup etc in the tomato farm; or cashew into cashew nuts, cashew oil etc in the cashew farm; or cassava into garri in the cassava farm and so on. In this way, jobs can be created along the lines I suggested some time ago in my article titled Coping with hard times in Eastern Nigeria and published in the 16 July 2013 edition ofModern Ghana and The Nigerian Voice newspapers. These are challenges that the Okorocha Administration must set in position if he sincerely wants to prune the workforce in Imo State civil service and re-channel it to more productive use. It wont be easy. But it can be done. And the pressure is mounting.
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Good afternoon. Thank you, Jennifer, for the warm introduction, and to Richard, Ben, and the terrific teams at CSIS and the U.S Commission on International Religious Freedom for bringing us together.
As you probably know, we at State rely on CSISs world-class research and analysis to help us look around the corner and make sense of emerging challenges. So Im pleased that youve taken on the topic of religious extremism in Africa.
As your project implies, policymakers need to better understand both how religion affects issues of security and stability, and equally important, how to encourage and reinforce non-violent, tolerant expressions of faith.
And while much global attention to violent extremism focuses on Syria and Iraq, religiously motivated violent extremism is on the rise in Africa in East Africa, West Africa, the Sahel and the Maghreb. You have picked an understudied yet vitally important issue to examine.
Now let me state the obvious at the outset: freedom of religion and conscience are bedrock principles of U.S. foreign policy. The United States favors no particular faith. Within our own borders we embrace all religions.
The United States abhors the use of any ideology to justify violence or to violate universal rights. It simultaneously rejects claims that specific religions are the cause of terrorism. As President Obama has said repeatedly, we are not at war with Islam. We are at war with people who have perverted Islam.
In Africa and around the world, religion propels many people to do inspiring good. In my work as Under Secretary, one of my greatest privileges has been meeting countless faithful who give all they have to their communities.
Last March I traveled to Zanzibar, a small island off the coast of Tanzania. As I so often do, I met with representatives from different local faith communities. This meeting had particular impact because its where I learned what acid does to a persons face.
Sheikh Zaraga is more than a local imam; hes an institution. He won peoples respect not through fiery sermons, but through tireless, thankless work for people in the community. Connecting the unemployed to jobs. Mentoring aimless youth. Preaching tolerance and respect.
His face was the face of Islam positive, hopeful, peaceful. When attackers hurled acid at it, they shook the community to its core. Extremist violence had come to Zanzibar in the last couple of years, seeking to terrorize in the name of the same religion the community had practiced for centuries. Sheik Zaragas faith was being perverted and rebranded.
Elsewhere in Africa, violent extremism is linked to purported religious tenets. Boko Haram abducts young girls who have the audacity to learn. The Lords Resistance Army enslaves children to carry out horrors. Rogue followers of traditional religions attack people with albinism to traffic their body parts. Homophobic vitriol spouted in some churches and mosques has inspired mobs to murder gay people in the streets of Abuja, Kampala, and elsewhere.
Many violent extremists harness religious claims to cloak their depravity and inspire followers. Sadly, acts of violence in the name of religion are as old as religion itself, and they persist in communities around the world, from so-called honor killings to wife burnings.
But today we see trends that appear novel and dangerous: the rise of organized, heavily armed, non-state actors that justify violence and territorial ambitions with religious ideologies. Groups like al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, al-Qaida in the Maghreb, and the LRA. These groups threaten Africas every achievement and aspiration: from economic growth, to womens rights, health care, and education.
For Africas future and for global security they must be defeated.
That begins with understanding what allowed these groups to take root and spread.
We cannot ignore the influence of violent religious ideologies that inflame passions and dehumanize the other. Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram, for example, justify their brutality in twisted interpretations of Salafism. Many al-Shabaab leaders were indoctrinated in ultra-conservative religious schools in the Middle East. The LRAs purported faith entails a warped version of the Ten Commandments it seeks to impose on others. When these groups repeatedly invoke religion to spill blood and inspire followers, we cannot pretend religion has no role.
But our analysis cannot stop there, because the story is far more complex. Many other factors play a role in spurring people to violence or making them susceptible to violent ideologies, including religious ideologies. These factors will be unique to local circumstances, but they will likely also reflect broad themes such as marginalization, poor or abusive governance, limited opportunity, and feelings of discontent and dislocation.
AQIM exploited feelings of marginalization across northern Mali to establish new outposts of terror. Most of Boko Harams followers hail from historically neglected regions of northern Nigeria. Political and economic exclusion among the ethnic Acholi helped spark the LRA in northern Uganda.
In many parts of Africa, vast ungoverned territories provide violent extremists areas to train, recruit, or tax. Deep in the forests of Central Africa, the LRA and Boko Haram are free to sustain their evil. They have safe havens from which to strike and wreak havoc on communities before melting away to recover and strike again.
Government incompetence and abuse also fan extremist violence. In East and West Africa, corruption allows extremists to cast themselves as pious alternatives. In Somalia, years of anarchy in the 1990s led some to welcome al-Shabaabs promise of security and the rule of law. Unlawful and excessive force by government often in the name of security can empower factions arguing that violence is the only option.
After the former Nigerian governments spate of police brutality and extra-judicial killings, Boko Haram escalated its campaign of terror. Similarly, alleged abuses by the Ethiopian military in Somalia elevated al-Shabaab by allowing the group to tout itself as defender of the faithful.
Violent extremists are also abetted by more recent trends linked to globalization, like the proliferation of information and communications technology, which gives them new platforms to cultivate followers, connect otherwise distant sympathizers, and recruit beyond areas of their physical control.
Violent extremists similarly exploit rapid population growth and industrialization across Africa. Countless people, especially young people, have left villages to find work in teeming cities and make sense of their place in a new economic and social order. Adrift in these rapid changes, violent ideologies promising purpose, community, and identity find appeal. Compounding the problem, extreme weather events made worse by climate change add to experiences of dislocation and discontent.
All these factors help explain the emergence of violent extremist groups, and they raise serious alarm about the vulnerability of communities across Africa struggling with similar issues especially as Daesh seek new footholds for expansion on the continent.
The United States stands with all Africans to prevent the spread of extremist violence. Across the continent, but especially in East Africa and the Sahel, we train and equip foreign militaries, share intelligence, and support police to enhance border security. These are well-known elements of our counterterrorism approach in Africa.
However, today Id like to focus on a newer but equally vital dimension of our approach what we call Countering Violent Extremism, or CVE.
While counterterrorism focuses on existing extremist threats, CVE seeks to prevent the next generation of threat from emerging.
CVE emphasizes governance, elevating issues of rights in the counterterrorism partnership. It calls on governments to embrace a do no harm approach. This means working with security and police forces to end impunity for abuses, embedding public institutions with mechanisms for transparency, and reforming prisons to separate petty criminals from violent ideologues.
Engagement around CVE can work. After months of outreach by U.S. diplomats, the police chief of Mombasa began to openly question whether the practice of widespread, indiscriminate round-ups was compounding the problem. The County Commissioner of Mombasa confided, We are trying to stop being firefighters.
Encouraging that shift can be hard. In the wake of extremist violence, governments and citizens often want quick results and tough shows of force, making it easier to fall into harmful patterns of overreaction that can compound the problem.
Countries must also push back against the propaganda violent extremists use to twist vulnerable minds and pull communities to their orbit. Part of that work is partnering with the tech community to disrupt extremist incitements to violence on the Internet by flagging content or accounts tied to known terrorists.
Another part is amplifying the voices of mainstream religious leaders to denounce violence as an insult to the deepest tenets of true faith. Up to 90 percent of Africans say religion is very important in their lives; giving African religious leaders enormous influence.
We help religious leaders make use of that influence, for example by training imams to use Facebook, Twitter, and text messaging to reach a wider audience. We lead efforts to promote inter-faith dialogue to soothe sectarian tensions that can inflame calls for violence. And we encourage the efforts of other governments, like Moroccos regional initiative to train imams from Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, and Nigeria on refuting violent perversions of Islam.
These steps are important but insufficient. Violent ideologies and propaganda resonate with some because they offer something to those desperate for purpose, identity, community, and even adventure. So we cant just refute what theyre offering; we have to offer something better, something more empowering and affirming and connected to their needs.
We must also unleash the power of communities, including local officials and civil society. The voids violent extremists try and fill are often best tackled on the ground, in town halls, schools, and families. Governments that stifle civil society and sideline communities sap their own power against violent extremism. Instead, governments need to lift burdensome restrictions on civil society and give them a meaningful role in identifying and addressing the forces behind violent extremism.
Here again, the engagement of religious actors is vital. In Africa especially, where weak states struggle to perform core functions, religious institutions often fill the void providing education, employment, and even financing. These roles can be just as important, if not more so, for curbing radicalization.
CVE recognizes this and calls for active engagement with religious communities, and not just religious leaders, who are overwhelmingly male and are not especially young. Often the best messenger is not a crusty authority figure, but a classmate, a sister, a peer. So engaging with younger members of faith communities is vital.
The same is true of women. Although African women hold few formal leadership roles in faith communities, they are often the most active members. When womens rights and status come under attack, it often foreshadows a broader shift toward radicalization and violence. I remember hearing the anguish of Muslim women in Tanzania, who lamented that they could barely recognize their faith in the weekly sermon because the tone had grown so hardline and exclusionary.
Finally, CVE emphasizes strengthening ties between African governments and the communities they serve. Things we may take for granted constituency outreach by local officials, town halls between police departments and the neighborhoods they protect these are not common in many parts of Africa. In their absence, it becomes harder to build trust and cooperation between citizens and government.
By contrast, when communities come together in common purpose, violent groups struggle to infiltrate. When dozens of young Kenyans were arrested last year for links to violent extremism, parents, police, and imams came together to develop a solution. The children were released, but on the condition that their parents vouched for their behavior and that they attended weekly religious instruction. Cooperation, trust, and little creativity by the community put these kids on a better path and saved dozens of young lives from languishing in jail.
Thats what communities of common purpose can do.
Over the last two years, the U.S. government has helped lead a shift toward this more localized and preventive approach to violent extremism in Africa and around the world. Secretary Kerry empowered the Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism to embed this broader approach in all our work. This May, State and USAID released their first-ever joint CVE strategy outlining how to unite our diplomatic and development tools. Weve also stood up a new Global Engagement Center to spearhead our messaging effort and seize the initiative in the battle for vulnerable hearts and minds.
In East Africa, weve launched pilot CVE programs to serve as a model going forward. Instead of having a variety of short-term, disparate efforts a youth outreach program in one area, a counter-messaging initiative in another heres what we did. Experts from across our government came together to pool funds, conduct extensive research, develop a common diagnosis, and design a truly integrated program to address the specific forces enabling radicalization to violence in the specific places identified as most vulnerable. This sort of targeted, holistic, and research-driven effort is how we can help communities remain on a path of stability instead of succumbing to extremist violence.
At the global level, State is helping foreign governments, international NGOs, and multilateral bodies establish counter-messaging centers, develop CVE strategies, and share best practices. The United Nations has taken up the cause. The U.N. Secretary General released a Plan of Action for Preventing Violent Extremism, and just last month, the General Assembly endorsed its recommendations calling on member states to emphasize good governance, human rights, community engagement, and development in their approach for violent extremism. UNESCO has mobilized to help teachers prevent radicalization to violence, and the UNDP will assist African governments undertake CVE programs.
These steps represent a positive evolution, a maturing of sorts, in how the world tackles violent extremism. These steps are more holistic and realistic in recognizing a multiplicity of sources of violent extremism and seek to address underlying factors that make people susceptible to messages of extremist violence. They are proactive in that they seek to prevent radicalization. They recognize the limits of governments to shape faith itself, and the necessity of relying upon the mainstream faith community to reassert the tolerant and peaceful tenets of a given religious practice.
As CVE efforts expand, however, governments must be clear-eyed about the challenges.
It takes time to change harmful government practices, strengthen public institutions, and repair trust between communities long neglected by the state. And while there is no guarantee that research can fully disentangle the complex drivers of extremist violence to guide CVE efforts, it is certainly critical for helping governments and civil society better address the causes that render individuals and whole communities vulnerable to violent ideologies.
Some international actors seem reluctant to adapt their programs and priorities to address CVE, even as violent extremists threaten everything they work for from womens health and empowerment, to economic development, to human rights.
Resources remain limited. Last year, the U.S. spent less than $200 million on CVE programs worldwide. Thats less than the cost of just one F-22 fighter jet. Despite the attention terrorism garners and the devastation it inflicts globally, there is an unfathomable gap between what the world spends to combat existing threats instead of preventing new ones from emerging. Foreign assistance lacks a constituency, and prevention work is the most difficult to fund because its hard to measure dangers that never materialize.
Thats why strengthening monitoring and evaluation will be crucial to building support for a more preventive approach, and we are encouraged that bodies like the World Bank, World Economic Forum, and African Development Bank are starting to lend their expertise in this area.
There are also challenges in identifying and funding the right local partners on the ground. Local groups and leaders with the greatest influence over those most vulnerable to violent extremism often look very different from the partners the international community has grown accustomed to working with.
In addition, current law prohibiting material support for known terrorists can inadvertently prevent us from assisting those best positioned to help. For example, the group Kenya Supkem de-radicalizes and rehabilitates al-Shabaab fighters. This work is essential for peeling off faltering supporters and creating powerful voices to refute al-Shabaabs lies. But under existing law, Kenya Supkem would have to exhaustively itemize every single expense to confirm that U.S. funds provided no direct assistance to former al-Shabaab fighters.
Moreover, those best positioned on the ground rarely have the means for reporting, budgeting, administration to apply for and maintain international funding. So we have to look closely at this issue and consider how to better make use of third parties to empower those on the ground, like the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, which has pilot CVE programs in Nigeria, Mali, and soon in Kenya.
But we are making progress on this front as well. We helped establish the RESOLVE Network (Researching Solutions to Violent Extremism) to connect local researchers studying the drivers of violent extremism in their communities. And we helped launch the Strong Cities Network to link municipal leaders including from cities in Kenya, Senegal, and Mauritania struggling on the front lines against violent extremism.
Let me be clear: this is a struggle for the future of countless communities across Africa. The damage wrought by violent extremists measures not only in the blood they spill, but the investments they deter, the textbooks they burn, the women and girls they enslave, the vast human potential they squander.
But despite the grim headlines, I remain hopeful. Im hopeful because I saw how, even after acid mutilated his face and terrorized his community, Sheikh Zaraga insisted on tolerance, on respect, on peace. Im hopeful because I remember how hungry he was for answers, how resolved he was to answer the sting of violence with the strength of community.
And we must stand with him and leaders across Africa struggling for the future of their communities and the soul of their religious beliefs.
At the same time, we must reject framing the problem solely around religious ideology not only because this pits religions against each other, but because it misses the broader picture. It needlessly limits what we can do. We know individuals are not born hating and violent. They become so for a series of complex reasons personal, communal and structural.
Where violent religious movements operate, we are not powerless to prevent their spread, even if there are limits to what we can achieve. Moreover, much of what we can do to help avert violence is also worth pursuing on its own giving people a greater stake in their community and greater confidence in their future; ending government abuses; improving basic education and health services.
These are steps we can take, practices we can change, debates we can and must win on behalf of the most vulnerable communities.
So the complexity of this threat is not a call for complacency, but a call to all of us who care about Africas future to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
Thank you.
The U.S. Department of States Energy Resource Bureau welcomed a delegation from Angola for the third installment of the U.S.-Angola Strategic Energy Dialogue. The Minister of Petroleum of the Republic of Angola, Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, and the Minister of Energy and Water of the Republic of Angola, Joao Baptista Borges, participated in the discussion co-hosted by the U.S. Department of States Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, Amos J Hochstein, and the U.S. Department of Energys Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Christopher Smith. The dialogue focused on Angolas petroleum and power sectors.
During the dialogue, the U.S. and Angolan delegations reviewed progress made in the bilateral relationship in the energy sector since the previous strategic energy dialogue in August 2011. Participants discussed the need for regulatory changes in the energy sector as well as the importance of creating a favorable business climate to attract more private investment to Angola. Other topics included oil and gas sector operational security and the environmental impacts of oil and gas installations.
The U.S. and Angolan delegations concluded the dialogue by reaffirming their joint commitment to this important area of cooperation and mutual interest.
A few weeks ago, I rang my mother to find out how she was getting on with life in Ghana. However, our conversation inadvertently stretched into Ghanas political landscape.
This piece is a retrospective commentary of the conversation I had with my mother which I would like to share with my dearest readers.
Our telephone conversation went like this:
Kwaku: Hello Mum, how are you doing?
Mum: Hmmm, I am not feeling good at all this morning. My body is really aching.
Kwaku: Have my sympathy Mum; I think you are feeling the intrinsic effects of aging.
Mum: Many thanks for sympathising with me my son.
Kwaku: What about life in general then Mum?
Mum: Eiiiiii, Kwaku, it has become extremely hard ooooo! The dumsor is not going away, prices of goods are on the high and your brothers and sisters businesses arent flourishing at all.
Kwaku: I know Mum; I noticed all the hardships when I visited Ghana in March 2016; have my sympathy once again.
Mum: Many thanks for showing concern, Kwaku; are you also experiencing dumsor over there in London?
Kwaku: Dumsor? No Mum. I have not witnessed a single dumsor since I have been in the United Kingdom.
Mum: Really? Do you mean for the last three decades youve been in the United Kingdom there has not been a single dumsor?
Kwaku: Yes Mum; we do not have dumsor time table here.
Mum: Your President is doing well then; do you normally vote for him?
Kwaku: Yes Mum, our Prime Minister is performing alright. And to answer your follow up question, I do not normally vote for the Conservatives because I do not subscribe to their campaign messages.
Mum: But your Prime Minister is doing fantastically well, so what all the farce about campaign messages?
Kwaku: Mum, you dont vote for the sake of voting; you weigh all the campaign promises before giving away your mandate.
Let me tell you Mum, I did not even vote for my MP (Kwesi Kwarteng) who belongs to the Conservative Party and has Ghanaian parents.
Let me tell you once again Mum, although I am one of the king makers in the Labour Partys leadership contest by virtue of my Trade Union membership, I will probably vote for the incumbent Conservative Prime Minister, Theresa May in the next general election because of her unparalleled credibility.
Mum: Really? As for me four years ago I chose that tall and handsome guy.
Kwaku: Do you mean President Mahama?
Mum: Yes, I voted for him because of his handsome looks.
Kwaku: Hmm, Mum, why are you then moaning now over all the hardships? Didnt you choose handsome looks over competence?
Mum: But I also chose handsome President Kuffour over Atta Mills.
Kwaku: Well, Mum, competence does not reside in ones stature.
Mum: But President Kuffour was tall, handsome and extremely competent.
Kwaku: You are right Mum. But you are also aware that we have useless tall and handsome individuals around.
For example, the biblical Goliath was also tall and handsome but was useless, for it took the midget, competent and intelligent David to floor him.
Mum: Well, Kwaku, so what is your point now?
Kwaku: Mum, my point is we dont vote for handsome looks, we rather vote for competence, integrity and realistic campaign messages, for handsome looks wont solve the existential dumsor and the ever sinking economy.
Mum: Well, Kwaku, Ive got your message.
Kwaku: Mum, am glad youve embraced the message. Please dont keep it to your chest; pass it on.
Mum: Kwaku, Ill do.
Kwaku: Mum, remember you all have another opportunity to choose between handsome looks and competence.
Mum: Many thanks Kwaku for your illumination.
Kwaku: Thats alright Mum. Good bye and I will speak to you again next week.
How glad I was when I put the telephone handset down, for I managed to get the real message to my Mum, who will in turn, pass on the message to her dependents and other associates.
Compatriots bear in mind that you all have a second chance to put it right. Dont vote for the voting sake, vote for competence, realistic campaign messages and integrity.
K. Badu, UK.
02.08.2016 LISTEN
Dedication - To my revered motivator and senior friend, Frank Kyei-Baffour.
This was how my friend, Sheila A. Dontoh, complimented me on my personality in a certain group chat, "He has a tiny body but he has got big brains." Well, I know it was a funny-cum-realistic description of who I really am today as a very young person. As an ambitious guy from a financially constrained home, I always cherish my mind as my greatest asset. Yes, it is the resource which will ultimately catapult me to global prominence as a rare genius.
For I do not enjoy riches like rich kids, but my brainpower is more than priceless and attracts all wealth I can ever imagine. Life has been tougher for me since childhood, yet I really do not crave money as the average hustling boy will; I am fond of developing my mind beyond people's imagination. In fact, I have the exceptional ability to train my mind at a world-class level in the pursuit of success.
Moreover, the ancient Greek philosopher, Plato, is famed for declaring that, "Mind is ever the ruler of the universe." Biologically, the brain controls the sensory organs in the form of vision, hearing, taste, smell and balance. If the human mind gets damaged, the whole human system will malfunction to a large extent.
I once told my elder brother, Alvin Buah, that, "If you put your hand in fire and completely believe with all your mind that it won't hurt you, I bet you'll feel no pain at all. However, no normal human being can do that because we have all been used to that involuntary action or reflex from infancy." That is a seemingly impossible thing the human mind is capable of.
Also, "Thought [the mind] is the original source of all wealth, all success, all material gain, all great discoveries and inventions, and of all achievement," according to Claude M. Bristol, an erstwhile American author. Nothing fundamentally produces wealth except the mind, which creates it in the unseen world before physical actions can work towards it. Forget silver and gold, the mind is the primary source of riches, mainly because "The human mind is our fundamental resource," as John. F. Kennedy stated. And nobody can accomplish anything great unless he first conceives it deep in his subconscious mind and facilitates it with pragmatic deeds. Why? What you constantly think will eventually translate into what you become. Hey, these are not unusual philosophies but pure facts.
Besides, I find the story of how Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah spearheaded Ghana's struggle for independence in the mid-20th Century, a big testimony to the title of this article. The remaining five of the Big Six regarded Nkrumah's "self-government now" plan of action as a near impossibility. Other people were also sceptical of Osagyefo's pro-independence movement, because Kwame, his cohorts and the masses were perceived as the underdogs in the eyes of the Great Britain. But the Show Boy proved Robert Collier's famous quote in action. Collier said, "There is nothing on earth that you cannot have once you have mentally accepted the fact that you can have it."
Source: sirarticle.blogspot.com
The ministers of state and Ghanaians criticizing the Supreme Court over the jailing of the Montie 3 are nation wreckers who must be condemned, the moderator of the Presbyterian church of Ghana, Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Martey, has said.
According to him, a nation is ruled by laws and therefore cannot allow the misconduct of citizens to prevail.
Host of Montie FMs political talk show Pampaso Salifu Maase, popularly known as Mugabe, and two panelists, Alistair Nelson, and Godwin Ako Gunn both of the National Democratic Congress were jailed four months by the Supreme Court on Wednesday for contempt.
Since their jailing, members of the NDC who have described the four-month jail term as harsh, have mounted pressure on President John Mahama to pardon them or risk losing votes in the upcoming election.
Several ministers including education minister Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang and gender minister Nana Oye Lithur have signed the petition calling the president to activate article 72 and pardon.
But commenting on the development, the presby boss told his congregation that such calls are inimical to the state.
A nation is an entity, a people ruled by law; so if there are any people who are a lawless society then they are doomed. A country like America, when you break the law even if you are the President or a Presidential candidate and they get you, youll go to jail. I hear some people are saying what the Judges did was not right. Look, threatening to kill a Judge, it has happened before in Ghana, whoever has issues with the sentence of these three people are nation wreckers who must be condemned and not entertained.
The Writer
02.08.2016 LISTEN
"The LORD is a warrior; yes, the LORD is his name!" Exodus 15: 3
War can be defined as conflict, fighting or hostilities between two countries or interest groups. You fight wars to protect your interests or sovereignty. When you are putting together a nation or any entity for that matter, it is taken for granted that you should also put in place the machinery to protect it, otherwise you will wake up to see that your enemies have overran the whole place.
I believe this is the reason why it is wisely said that if you want peace, you must have to prepare for war. True. And I think that was what helped the wisest man ever-lived - Solomon. He was so wealthy, powerful, connected (humanly and divinely), wise, blessed and also militarily prepared that no enemy dared to attack him. The result - he had a very peaceful and prosperous reign. It was not that everybody loved him, but his strength and capability were enormous. He was well prepared for any eventuality. You are in a war!
Our God is a man of war, a warrior and we must see things the way He sees them. We must go closer to Him and see the way He fights His battles, and also learn how to allow Him lead us through the war called life. We must not take anything for granted. Yes, life is war, and as in every war there are always many battles to fight. When you win one, then you prepare or go over to the next, until you win the entire war. Have you noticed that even the bible is a book of war? It is a record of so many overt and covert battles between the kingdom of God and that of Satan. Between righteousness and unrighteousness. It started with a battle and ended with another. And in-between, almost every book shows this battle of two kingdoms.
In Genesis chapter one, there was a battle that threw the whole earth into a chaos. The earth was left empty, formless and in darkness, before God started working again. It was a battle between the angels loyal to God and the angelic rebels led by Satan himself. The book of Revelation (the last book of the bible), is just full of the last battles that will culminate to the battle of Gog and Magog. After this, Satan will be cast into the lake of fire, and shall be tormented day and night forever. He knows this and it makes him afraid and very sick everyday. This is why he is desperate in everything he does. He is desperate to take as many people as posible with him to hell.
Now, you must wake up everyday with the consciousness that you are in a war. The battle fields are your life, your health, your position, family, faith, your mind, your marriage, your job, your people survival and freedom, your calling, your business, etc. All these are the battle fronts, but the war is between the kingdom of light and that of darkness for your destiny and the destiny of your people. Are you prepared this war? You just have to because it is a fact of life. Life is warfare. Now, let's go back to King Solomon and see how he prepared himself and Israel for this war.
Solomon
Immediately Solomon took over after the death of his father as the king of Israel, he summoned all the generals, military commanders, judges, political and clan leaders and led them to the presence of the LORD. They went to the hill at Gibeon where God's Tabernacle was located. As they gathered in front of the Tabernacle, Solomon went up to the bronze altar in the LORD's presence and sacrificed a thousand burnt offerings on it. And this singular action sparked off a new phase of divine relationship. God visited Solomon that same night and asked him, "What do you want? Ask and I will give it to you. Wonderful!
Solomon asked Him for wisdom and knowledge to rule Israel properly. This further pleased God and He decided to embarrass Solomon with all His blessings. God gave him wisdom and knowledge as he asked, and also added riches, wealth and honour. Gold and silver became like stones in Jerusalem. His empire extended to the nations around Euphrates River to the land of the philistines and the border of Egypt. All these kings (and others from all parts of the world) regularly brought gifts of gold, silver, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, cattle, etc, to him. Solomon became the wisest, richest, most influential and most famous king on earth.
With this kind of resources, he went ahead to build a very strong military force. He had 1,400 chariots (tanks) and 12,000 horses. These troops were strategically stationed in the cities and some brought into Jerusalem to provide personal security to the king. Wow! So King Solomon was also a military strategist? Now, why won't this king enjoy a whopping 40 years of peaceful and prosperous reign?? Attempting to attack him or his kingdom would have been a suicidal mission for anybody or nation.
How did this man achieve this level of security and success? First, in humility, he acknowledged God; the maker and controller of all things. He was honest in his dealing with God, and also provoked Him with his massive sacrifice and sincere love for the people. He also rightly and timely applied the wisdom God gave to him. Beginning from the first, immediately he got on the throne, he gathered his lieutenants and headed for the presence of God. He handed over himself and his kingdom to God. Sure, he had seen how his father related to the God of Israel and the blessing and security that followed him.
His father died of ripe old age, enjoyed long life, wealth and honour. So, he decided to go the same proven way. Security, victory and good success are all in the hands of God. When you acknowledge Him in all your ways, He will direct you paths, and give you security in all areas of your life. And nobody, no power or situation shall be able to defeat or destroy you. Not just Solomon, other war veterans in the bible knew this principle. Ask Abraham, David, Joshua, Jehoshaphat, etc. When you give God His place, He will give you a place. To be ready to win the current war, you must give Him the first place in your life, and in that situation. If you fail, then, you have only prepared to be defeated and disgraced.
Then, Solomon rightly and timely applied the wisdom, knowledge and the resources God gave to him. This manifested in the way he quickly established and strategically deployed well-trained and equipped soldiers to protect the country and also his throne. The spiritual and the physical were properly taken care of. And he had the desired result - secured and prosperous reign for 40 years! Are you prepared for war? Till next week, God bless you!
Rev Agbo is the author of the book Power of Midnight Prayer. Website www.authorsden.com/pastorgabrielnagbo E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 08037113283
Once upon a time when only few people were interested in education and even fewer found themselves in universities, luxury was synonymous to university education where each student had a room to him or herself, pay less fees and were being fed.
Upon completion each graduate was given a well paid job with accommodation and means of transport, bonuses and other motivation packages. Then, it was every high school students dream to go to the university for there were abundant job opportunities. However the same cannot be said about this era, I mean our present situation. We are in a period where universities admits thousands of students and run more than thirty programs.
Every year more than 2500 students graduate from nine(9) public universities and more than fourty(40) private institutions. There are the ten(10) polytechnics too that also produce graduates, thousands of them. Yet jobs are very very limited. Most government institutions are choked and can only do replacement every year (death and retirement) and few recruitment which constitute less than 8 percent of the graduate population. Employment at the private sector too is limited. The questions I have in mind are:
How many people can the public sector replace and recruit as compare to the number of graduates every year? How many people can the private sector employ? And how many surplus graduates will remain unemployed every year? What happens to the dream of these graduates and their families? Is this current situation a motivation or deterrent to university education?
I am sure the statisticians will put one and one together and come out with the statistics/facts/answers to the first three(3) questions above but the figures change everyday and I hate the idea of quoting figures dated eight years ago when all I am referring to is in the present and desire only todays updates. Another challenge Ghana has to revisit soon.
I am not in a position to encourage or discourage university education but I can confidently say it is now time to revise Ghana`s university education to reflect our present high rate of unemployment. We need programs which upon completion, the student can do something for him/her self without searching for a job. We need our universities to start thinking about training employers and not employees. Entrepreneurship, vocational and technical training at the various institutions are what we need now. Practical programs are now necessary and the resources to ensure their delivery should be made available too.
If no one is making an attempt to change the current university education situation in Ghana, then students have to decide on what they want to do with their lives. Whether it is worth to risk joining the unemployment association or to choose a career path with better job prospects. Hope everyone makes a better choice.
02.08.2016 LISTEN
The real character of our Commander In Chief and his associates has been demonstrated in the militarys secretarys publication of 1st July 2016 and the statement issued by the leader of our community in the sacking of Major General Richard Opoku-Adusei and the immediate appointment of Major General Obed Boamah Akwa (GH/1671) in his place.
The withdrawal of the routine guards on duty at No 2 Roman Ridge (the official residence of the Chief of Army Staff) with those believed to be loyal to the UNTOUCHABLE Chief of Staff, Major General Sampson Kudjo Adeti in a very bizarre manner leaves much to be desired.
As if that was not enough, the quickly arranged and humiliating manner in which the handing/taking over between Major General Richard Opoku-Adusei and Obed Boamah Akwa took place vividly demonstrate the ingratitude of the umbrella and its entire fraternity. As long as one is found useful to the umbrella, one would be hailed and praised but as soon as one is seen or believed to have outlived ones usefulness (from the spectacles of the umbrella) one is disgracefully dumped in the dust bin as has happened to Major General Richard Opoku-Adusei.
In other to achieve an undeserved third term, very strategic and tactical promotions have been made. Relatively younger men in service, poorer in military knowledge, maturity and experience have been promoted Generals and Colonels within a very short period of time during the combined Presidency of Mills and Mahama.
Within a matter of four to six years, questionable characters have been promoted to and from the rank of Colonel and Generals.
It is no longer a question of merit, morality, maturity and standards but a question of animal loyalty pregnant with wicked infections, atrocities, barbarism, callousness and vindictiveness. It is the likes of the Adetis, Adokpas, Fiawoos, Degbes, Mustaphas, Alhassans, Ntems, Oforis, Abus, Santrofis and Dzisis.
It is now the reign of politically corrupt, militarily wicked and ethnocentrically correct members of our community.
The postings and appointments show the wicked intentions and biases of shade that the politically and ethnocentrically correct ones can have under the umbrella while the perceived politically and tribally incorrect ones are chased out of our community, victimized, humiliated and left to the vagaries of the volatile political and economic mess created and deepened by the P/NDC.
How come that all these fine officers have been found unsuitable for positions as Director Generals, Formation Commanders, Commandants but their juniors have been elevated to the status of Generals (one and two stars)? The fine officers include Brigadier Generals Samuel Yanyi Akofur (GH/1834), Alfred Issah Wuni (GH/1835), Emmanuel Tetteh Akunor (GH/1859), Joseph Kwankye (GH/1838), Commodores Seth Vincent Aidoo Coomson (GH/1969), Mark Ransford Nanabayin Yawson (GH/1974) and Group Captain John Emmanuel Kojo Ankah?
These fine officers have been shown the exit. Meanwhile a certain pattern has been established by the ethnocentric guys in our community. After the death of our former Commander In Chief, the current leader appointed his kinsmen, Brigadier General Seidu Mumuni Adams (GH/1782), as the Defence, Military, Navy, Air attache (DMNAA) on 14th October 2013.
On 1st July, 2016 the current leader has again appointed another kinsmen Brigadier General Alhassan Abu (GH/2023) as the DMNAA to the office of the DMNAA, Washington DC, USA.
Similarly in March 2009, the former leader appointed then Commodore Geoffrey Mawuli Biekro (GH/1668) as the Chief of Staff to see to the 2012 elections while the current leader has appointed Major General Sampson Kudjo Adeti as the Chief of Staff. The common denominator is that they are all Ewes willing and able to cause a lot of havoc to non Ewes especially those from the ABE Zone of Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and Eastern Regions.
What was done to then Colonel Kofi Asare under Commodore Biekro has been done to Naval Captain Emmanuel Kofi Ankamah. Under the same bizarre circumstances that then Acting GOC of the Northern Command of the Ghana Army, Colonel Kofi Asare was made to go on compulsory retirement when he could been promoted Brigadier General commensurate with his appointment, Naval Captain Emmanuel Kofi Ankamah has been retired while his closet friends and mates Naval and Air Commodores Seth Amoama (GH/2157) and Griffiths Santrofi Evans (GH/2027) have been promoted to the ranks of Rear Admiral and Air Vice Marshal respectively.
Is it not strange that while Captain (GN) EK Ankamah does not deserved even the rank of Commodore, his colleagues have passed that rank and are today two star Generals (Rear Admiral and Air Vice Marshal)?
What was the crime of Captain (GN) Ankamah?
He had risen with his close friend Amoama from A/SLT to Lt Cdr without any hitch. But the first hitch happened in 2007 when Amaoma and Evans got their ranks to Commander and Wing Commander respectively. Then came 2012 and 2013 under the umbrella and again Amaoma and Evans got promoted to the ranks of Commodore leaving behind Ankamah who got his Naval Captain rank in 2008.
In the cases of Kofi Asare and Kofi Ankamah they were supposed to be politically correct as the all fly under the umbrella but unfortunately they were found to be ethnocentrically incorrect. The two Kofis are all from the ABE Zone, specifically the Brong Ahafo Region.
Our leader pretends to love the people of Brong Ahafo presumably because his wife, Madam Lordina Mahama is from the region. However, it seems he hates military personnel from that region. I can cite many examples but I wont because many members of this community are aware already.
Those who remember Kofi Ankamah and Seth Amoama very well know that both of them attended courses together especially in India and Pakistan where they move together as real brothers. They brought the same type of salon cars with diesel engines and bluish color (Navy biased) to match.
Today Kofi Ankamah has been retired as a Naval Captain while Seth Amoama is flying high as a Rear Admiral and the Commandant of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College. With 18 March 1959 as his birth date, Rear Admiral Seth Amoama can be in the Ghana Armed Forces until March 2022 even if he does not get promoted beyond Rear Admiral. What a demonstration of injustice and unfairness!!!
Eh, Ghana Airforce too so it is all a question of rewarding only those who are politically and ethnocentrically correct?
I cannot think far about the appointment of Air Vice Marshal Griffiths Santrofi Evans as Commandant of KAIPTC. This combines beautifully with the appointments of Air Commodore Joseph Yaotse Morgan Nyadodui (GH/2181) and Group Captain Elvis King Arneson (GH/2606) as Defence Adviser for New Delhi, India and Cario, Egypt respectively!!
The common denominator is that both are Ewes and members of the cabal that exercises control over both the current Chief of Air Staff, AVM Maxwell Mantserbi Nagai and Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Peter Kofi Faidoo.
Again, the situation in the Airforce is close to that in the Navy. While there are very senior Naval Captains, the cabal was at Kofi Faidoos throat to send a member to London as a Deputy Defence Adviser. That explains the appointment of Naval Captain Francis AYITEVI NYARKO (GH/2618). PLEASE DO NOT BE DECEIVED BY THE NAME NYARKO.
And AVM Maxwell Mantserbi Nagai rewarded Colonel John Felix Nana Kwame Freeman (GH/2345). Colonel JFNK Freeman has been rewarded with the position of Deputy Military Adviser (MILAD) at the office of MILAD United Nations Headquarters New York. I know that the former Army Commander wanted him to stay at the Airforce Headquarters as the accountant or sort so I am shocked he is travelling outside.
AVM Maxwell Mantserbi Nagai, can you tell us (members) something about this reward? Or are you afraid?
Acting National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Freddie Blay, has added his voice to the party's '1 District, 1 Factory' policy being propagated by the party's flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Mr Freddie Blay believes strongly that the policy is achievable.
It takes creative minds to think big and make them work; and the NPP is capable of doing that. We are noted for creating jobs and implementing social intervention programmes that lessen the household burdens and poverty. 'One District, One Factory' is very achievable and Nana Addo is bent on ensuring that this is done under his reign, he said with great emphasis.
The acting National Chairman was speaking at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region after meeting with NPP regional and constituency executives as part of his agenda to monitor party activities towards the December 7 elections.
He has been to the Northern Region, where he did same, and was very sure that with the level of work done so far and the advances made by the NPP to areas that hitherto were strongholds of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), there are indications that the party (NDC) is losing the support of many Ghanaians owing to its retrogressive policies for the past eight years.
Nana Addo and Dr. Bawumia have been going round the country and telling Ghanaians what plans the NPP has to transform the country's economy, improve on health care delivery and education, even at the rural level. In all their tours across the country, job creation has been at the heart of their message; and an NPP government will work hard to create more jobs and business opportunities across the country, he articulated.
Chairman Blay noted that the NPP parliamentary candidates in the Upper East Region are all capable persons who can represent their respective constituencies well and lobby for development projects for their people.
He kicked against the IGP's intention to tamper with the use of social media on this year's Election Day, describing it as a joke.
According to him, the IGP, John Kudalor, and the Ghana Police Service need to be creative in mapping up strategies to maintain the peace and stability of the country before, during and after the polls.
Mr Blay noted that with the help of social media, the public can follow the process and malpractices on the Election Day and even before the day and expose them (malpractices) to the security agencies and stakeholders to address.
The acting NPP National Chairman said once the Electoral Commission (EC) consults all parties in its dealings and makes its electronic mode of transmitting the election results highly transparent, devoid of hidden tricks, the IGP wouldn't see the need to temper with the social media.
He believes that people will use the social media judiciously and not for mischief, once the process is transparent, and goes as has been agreed by all parties and the EC.
From Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Bolgatanga
Apparently unaware she could face a death sentence, a British porn actress says she flew to Iran to undergo a nose job and later wrote online about it, immediately sparking a social media outcry in the largely conservative Islamic Republic.
The buxom performer, known by the stage name Candy Charms, posted a photograph on Instagram several days ago showing her in the back of a car, her eyes hidden behind sunglasses with a scarf partially covering her blonde hair.
"Hey guys I have been on holiday in Tehran," she wrote online. She later added: "My nose was not straight and they are the best in the world in nose surgery. I had my nose done."
Iran is one of the top countries in the world for undergoing rhinoplasty, with more than 20,000 surgeries carried out each year.
The actress deleted the Instagram post and her account following a torrent of comments from Iranians, some friendly and others hostile. On Tuesday, the semi-official ISNA news agency quoted Hasan Qashqavi, a deputy foreign minister in charge of consular affairs, as saying a British-American actress visited Iran after she "applied for a visa through a travel agency" under a different name.
While not naming the actress, the story implied it was the adult film performer. An ISNA report Monday suggested she listed her occupation as a "hair stylist" on her visa application form.
Qashqavi was quoted by ISNA as telling tourism companies and officials to carefully examine the documents of those trying to visit Iran.
"We have clerics and lawmakers who have cultural sensitivities and these sorts of events may cause problems later," Qashqavi said.
That may be a bit of an understatement in the Shia power. Under Iranian law, spreading corruption via broadcast carries a possible death sentence. Pornography likely would fall under the law's purview.
It's unclear whether the actress knew the risk before she made the trip. She did not respond to a request for comment made via Twitter by The Associated Press and an email address listed on her website bounced back as undeliverable.
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Charles Kofi Lavie in police custody
02.08.2016 LISTEN
TWO SUSPECTS, including a junior high school (JHS) student, have been arrested by the Highway Patrol Unit of the Tema Regional Police Command for allegedly engaging in robbery on the Accra-Tema motorway.
The suspects are: Charles Kofi Lavie, a 28-year-old labourer and Isaac Awotwum, a 16-year-old JHS student all residing at Ashaiman, near Tema. Police are hunting for a third suspect who managed to escape arrest.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Juliana Obeng, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Command, told DAILY GUIDE that the suspects were caught in the act at about 7:30 am on Thursday, July 30, 2016, and were nabbed.
According to her, The team spotted a vehicle parked at a place notoriously known for attacks along the motorway, and approached the occupant of the car to offer help if he needed any assistance.
As they approached the vehicle, the police driver saw three men wielding machetes approaching the team from the bush and the attention of the other police personnel was drawn to the act.
She further stated that the suspects surrendered their weapons upon orders by the policemen; but two of them, who sensed danger, took to their heels. This, the PRO said, prompted the police to give them a hot chase amidst firing of warning shots.
Two of the suspects were arrested whiles the third, who was suspected to be wielding a gun, managed to escape, she added.
ASP Obeng disclosed that they were brought to the Command to assist with investigations so that they could be processed for court to face the full rigors of the law.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema
By Dag Heward-Mills
A leader may use his creativity or he may not. But a good leader will use his creativity. This will be seen in the innovations, inventions and ideas that men come up with. Remember, God created man in His image and therefore man is innately creative!
History Shows the Impact of Creativity
How Venice and Holland Became Rich through Creative Activities
Spain was one of the great seafaring nations of Europe. You will realize that most of South America and Latin America speak Spanish. This is because they were invaded by the Spaniards who came there in search of gold.
But it became clear to observers in the mid-1500s that the enormous wealth, made up of gold and silver flowing into Spain, through their ships returning from South America, just flowed out again and ended up in two places Venice and Holland.
Why did this flow of gold and silver finally end up in these two places? What distinguished Venice and Holland where so much of the Spanish gold ended up? The answer was simple. Venice and Holland had hardly any arable land for agriculture. Both of these places are well known for their swamps and water locked lands. But they had an extensive and diversified industry. The realization spread through Europe that the real gold mines of the world were not the physical gold mines in South America but in the manufacturing industry.
Anders Berch (1747), the first economics professor in Sweden, also stated, The real gold mines are the manufacturing industries. Italy is a country in which there is no important gold or silver mine and so is France: yet both countries are rich in money and treasure; thanks to industry.
In various forms, the statement that manufacturing is the real gold mine is proven all over Europe.
4. How King Henry VII Made England Wealthy by Ensuring Creativity through Industrialization
King Henry VII of England, who came to power in 1485 had spent his childhood and youth with an aunt in Burgundy in Europe. There he observed great affluence in an area with woolen textile production. Both the wool and the material used to clean it were imported from England.
When Henry later took over his destitute realm of England, he remembered his adolescence on the continent. In Burgundy not only the textile producers, but also the bakers and the other craftsmen were well off. England was in the wrong business of farming. The king decided on a policy to turn England into a textile-producing nation, and not an exporter of raw materials.
Henry VII created extensive policies to ensure that England would shift from diminishing returns activities to industrial activities.
He introduced export duties to discourage the export of raw materials from England to force the people of England to manufacture wool instead of exporting raw materials. He gave tax exemptions to anyone who would manufacture wool from the raw materials. He attracted craftsmen from Holland and Italy who would take up manufacturing in England.
In the eighteenth century Daniel Defoe and other historians saw the wisdom in this strategy which they labelled the 'Tudor Plan' after the kings and queens from that family. Like Venice and Holland, and by the same methods, England prospered from the triple incomes of their industries, raw materials and overseas trade.
How Creativity, Industrialization and Increasing Returns Activities Drove Malaria out of Europe
Malaria was endemic in Europe for centuries, and the fight against this disease is already documented from the times of the Roman Empire. Historically, malaria was present in areas no one today would associate with: Swiss Alpine valleys as high as 1400 metres above sea level were infested with malaria in the Middle Ages, and the disease had been found as far north as the Kola Peninsula in north-western Russia, beyond the Polar Circle.
Europe got rid of its malaria through industrialization and development.
More advanced and intensive agriculture caused swamps to be drained, and irrigation canals even hydro-electric power plants meant that the type of stagnat water where malaria thrived was incompatible with economic development. Huge public health works and eradication systems also freed Europe from malaria.
In the place of this economic development that made Europe rich and malaria-free, Africa continues to keep a colonial economic structure that mainly exports raw materials.
Remember you can be creative because God, your creator, is creative:
And God said, LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowls of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:26-27
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The minority in parliament the New Patriotic Party is leading a crusade to get the house to reject the nomination of National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkwanta North in the Volta Region, John Oti Bless, as deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development.
It is being spearheaded by the Minority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, MP for Suame in the Ashanti Region, and his colleague Joe Osei-Wusu, MP for Bekwai, also in the region, following what is turning out to be 'reckless comments' amid threats made against Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, by the nominee. He is also reported to have implicated the CJ in a kidnapping bid.
Total Rejection
Oti Bless was expected to be given the nod by the house yesterday but as at press time, there was what looked like lobbying to get more MPs to block the Nkwanta North MP's clearance.
There is already a petition before the Speaker Edward Doe Adjaho by Richard Asante Yeboah, asking parliament to defer the approval of Oti Bless.
DAILY GUIDE learnt that Oti Bless' confirmation had subsequently been stood down pending a meeting by the leadership of the house on the petition.
The Nkwanta North MP is said to have made the scandalous comments, including kidnapping allegation, against the Chief Justice on Montie FM an Accra-based radio station which has become notorious for broadcasting hate speeches and remarks as the December 7 general election approaches.
Parliamentary Proceedings
On the floor of the house yesterday, when Oti Bless' issue was brought up, the Minority Leader said the comments made by his colleague MP were un-parliamentary.
The language was disparaging to the justices, Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said, adding that the words used were unprintable especially coming from a Member of Parliament, taking the justices of the Supreme Court to the cleaners without any iota of evidence.
The Minority Leader even said on radio yesterday that Oti Bless had confirmed he indeed made those comments about the Chief Justice and said the under-pressure MP had expressed regret.
Joe Osei Wusu, who is the Minority Spokesperson on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, had said on Friday that the nominee formed part of the panel that made the contemptuous statements against justices of the Supreme Court on Montie FM.
Kidnapping Allegation
The deputy minister-designate suggested on the show of June 24 which landed the Montie 3 in prison that the Chief Justice was part of a plot to kidnap a child of Tony Lithur who was President Mahama's lawyer during the Presidential Election Petition case heard by the Supreme Court.
Let me give you a last filla (information). Do you know that during the Election Petition case, these people made a plot to kidnap a child of Tony Lithur who was lawyer for our Excellency John Mahama so he would not concentrate on the case?
We have to watch this Chief Justice. My brother Mugabe (referring to the host), I am telling you, when you go to the Supreme Court today, the Chief Justice is fighting one worker all because of politics, Oti Bless was reported as saying.
A few days after making the scandalous comment on Montie Fm, he was 'rewarded' with a ministerial appointment by President John Mahama, which is now facing resistance in parliament.
The host of the afternoon political talk-show called 'Pampaso' on Montie FM, Salifu Maase aka Mugabe, together with two NDC activists Godwin Ako Gunn, 39 and Alistair Tairo Nelson, 41 are currently serving four months each in jail for scandalizing the court. In addition, they have been fined GH10,000 each or in default, serve a month each in jail.
Vetting Process
Oti Bless, apart from what many see as going on radio to scandalize the Supreme Court, performed poorly at the vetting, in the estimation of the minority.
In a vetting that was shown live on state broadcaster, GTV, the young MP, who said he is not married but has two children, appeared to fumble in answering many pertinent questions asked.
The minority said even the least of questions seeking clarity on his own CV presented to the committee, could not be answered satisfactorily.
Unsavory Comments
Oti Bless reportedly said specifically on 'Pampaso' on June 24, 2016 that the Chief Justice had to be monitored closely because she was actively engaged in partisan politics and was working against the Mahama NDC administration and also added that the Chief Justice had been 'scheming' for the NPP to win cases.
Today we have a CJ who because of a political favour done her will do anything to help the NPP. It is an agenda. The Electoral Commission should stop working and give it to Georgina Wood. Why meddling in the affairs of the Electoral Commission? He fired.
By William Yaw Owusu
The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis in the Western Region recorded 2,829 suspected cases of hepatitis B in 2015, out of which 268 were confirmed. Out of the number, one person died.
Statistics on the disease from January to June 2016 also revealed that 1,071 cases of hepatitis B were recorded, out of which 121 were confirmed, while one person has died of the disease within the period, bringing the number of dead persons of the disease to two.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver and has five main types commonly seen globally, including hepatitis A, B, C, D and E.
Yaa Pokua Baiden, Chairperson of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH), Western Region, who disclosed to DAILY GUIDE in an interview, advised all Ghanaians to get tested and vaccinated against hepatitis B.
This was during a free screening and counselling on the disease held at Kwesimintsim in the metropolis on Friday to mark this year's World Hepatitis Day, which is celebrated on July 28 every year.
It was organised by the Western regional branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH).
The event was on the theme: 'Know Hepatitis, Act Now', and was aimed at creating awareness about the disease.
According to her, most people are not aware of the disease, adding, Even if people are aware, they have not been vaccinated for protection.
Mrs Baiden, therefore, called for concerted efforts by all stakeholders to educate and vaccinate the citizenry against the disease.
As pharmacists, we have the obligation to educate the public on the relevance of testing and early recognition of symptoms, she stressed.
Explaining the mode of transmission, the chairperson of the regional PSGH pointed out that a person can be infected with hepatitis A and E through contaminated food and water, while hepatitis B and C is commonly spread through direct contact with blood of a person who had the disease.
If the virus is not detected early, it becomes a chronic hepatitis which affects the liver and results in cancer and inflammation of the liver, she indicated.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Kwesimitsim
Ali Zorkot (3rd left) being supported by executives of APE Ceramica to hand over the items to Rev. Fr. Joseph Rabbiosi
Leading distributor of building supplies, Batimat Ghana and APE Ceramica have presented educational materials to In My Father's House (IMFH) charity organization.
The donation was made as part of their corporate social responsibility to support the less privileged in society.
The items included reading books, calculators, math sets, pens, pencils, text books, novels, toys and clothes.
Managing Director of Batimat Ghana, Ali Zorkot and Chief Executive Officer of APE Ceramica presented the items to the institution at a short but impressive ceremony at the premises of Batimat Ghana.
Presenting the items on behalf of the two bodies, Mr Zorkot said they were touched by the plight of inmates of the organization.
As a way of giving back to the society, we decided to target these individual we consider very vulnerable in society.
We are happy to safeguard their future well being through support in the area of education and make them useful to themselves and the society, he said.
Mr Zorkot commended leaders of the organization for giving hope to inmates and tasked them to wholeheartedly guide the kids positively to reinforce their objective of training them to be useful individuals.
Founder and Executive Director of the Organization, Rev. Fr. Joseph Rabbiosi, an Italian Comboni Missionary, who received the items on behalf of the organization, expressed appreciation to Batimat Ghana and APE Ceramica for the support.
We are all blessed to become a blessing to somebody, as such I am excited about this gesture and hope society can come together and help the less privileged to believe in themselves and get the dignity to grow to become useful to themselves and society, he said.
In My Father's House Orphanage
In My Father's House is a foreign-owned but locally managed Catholic Mission humanitarian organization operating in seven administrative districts and municipalities in the southern sector of the Volta Region.
It undertakes 'children-centered' programmes in remote villages to ensure that the African child, especially the neglected and socially vulnerable, are catered for and protected.
There is nothing to talk about this week except Montie and the supplementary budget presented to parliament on Monday 25th July. So unfortunately, I cannot write again about the economic Ananse Sem we have been fed these past seven years, except if I concoct something more weird. When the NDC leaves government in December, we will have turned a major leaf of poverty, which we home grew systematically, while consistently pushing lies through the IMF's cardinal mistake of acquiescing to the home grown designer label attached to their many Ananse reports provided to them by a government bent on staying in power by any means possible. We wait to see if the people of Ghana will recount the votes or accept a change in leadership on first ballot and save us the insanity of another eight years of Tom Thievery.
For eight years this government has managed a planned and consistent spiral of decreasing wealth, making us poorer in the today while promising that swallowing a bitter austerity pill today will create a future gain and mirage income status for tomorrow as we spiral into an uncontrollable future poor.
This year's supplementary budget for additional spending of GH1.88billion was presented in its usual aplomb and pageantry as befits a country that thinks it is heading someplace, except ours is in a tailspin to future nothing. The finance minister, with the opposition at its heckling best, spun the web of opening statements, seemingly more conscious of the grandiose protocol than with the content of what he would say for the rest of the two hours.
Read his opening salvo and ask yourself if this jives with what you know about the Ghana you live in today.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move that this Honorable House approves the sum of one billion, eight hundred and eighty-eight million, two hundred and three thousand, and three hundred and eighty-seven Ghana Cedis (GH1,888,203,387) as Supplementary Estimates for the 2016 Financial Year.
Mr. Speaker, in doing so, I would proceed by first presenting to this August House, a review of the performance of the economy of Ghana for the 2015 and 2016 Financial Year.
Right Honourable Speaker and Honourable Members of Parliament, on the authority of the President, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, the positive review and, in particular, the need for Supplementary Estimates are necessitated by both domestic and global developments.
Mr. Speaker, again on behalf of the President, I wish to express our profound appreciation to this August House for your cooperation in the management of the economy. In particular, we wish to show appreciation for the House's pursuit of a very active legislative agenda in the areas of fiscal, financial and monetary management.
No doubt, this has contributed to a very clear turnaround story that now shines the nation's path to a well-planned bright positive prospects for the economy. Despite a few lingering problems, we will demonstrate in this Statement that the context today is clearly different from the challenges that made H.E. President Mahama call on fellow citizens to change course from an unsustainable path when I presented my first Budget on His Excellency's authority to you in March 2013.
The specific aims of this review and Supplementary Estimates are to:
brief Honourable Members on the performance of the economy during the first five months of 2016;
update the House on the macroeconomic performance as well as the Budget Estimates for the 2016 Fiscal Year;
request the House to approve Supplementary Estimates for 2016 Fiscal Year; and report on progress of major Initiatives and programs being implemented in various sectors of the economy.
Mr. Speaker, the update will highlight the overall positive impact of the President's policies. It will show that several daunting domestic and international challenges did not hinder our determination to change course. More importantly, the strategic focus enabled us to pursue the very active infrastructure and development programs that the President himself has been presenting in his Accounting to the People visits. This is also the basis for the turnaround and the course for pursuing a very robust growth agenda for the near-to-medium term.
The launch of our Home Grown policies, which are now part of the IMF Program, were designed to achieve fiscal consolidation; address short-term vulnerabilities; reduce a high budget deficit that had become harmful to the private sector; as well as stabilize and reverse the rise in the post-HIPC public debt. Mr. Speaker, we are on course to achieving these goals through management of prudent fiscal, financial, sectoral, and monetary policies.
Provisional fiscal data up to end-December 2015 show that total revenue and grants were higher than the Budget targets by 5 percent. The overrun in total expenditures, including arrears, narrowed to 2.1 percent above target. These performances resulted in a cash budget deficit of 6.3 percent of GDP, much better than the Budget target of 7.3 percent and 10.2 percent in 2014.
Indeed, at 0.2 percent of GDP at the end of 2015, the primary budget balancethat shows our ability to service loans for developmentwas a surplus for the first time in over a decade.
GDP also grew by 3.9 percent at end-2015, better than the projected 3.5 percent. It is getting better, with the economy growing by 4.9 percent in the first quarter of 2016, compared to 4.5 percent for the same period in 2015. In spite of unanticipated shortfalls in price and production of crude oil, GDP growth is projected to end the year at 4.1 percent or better.
The nation's public debt level rose rapidly from a very low 26 percent in 2006with the steepest post-HIPC increase of 31 percent in 2007to approximately 72 percent by end-2015. We note that HIPC reduced the public debt from over 150 percent of GDP to 26 percent and created significant borrowing space. That era ended with the increase in public debt above sustainable levels.
We are proud to note that, for the first time since the declaration of HIPC in 2001 we were able to first, slow down the rate of growth of debt accumulation between 2014 and 2015; and, second, now reverse course, with the debt-to-GDP ratio falling from 72 percent of GDP at end-2015 to 63 percent at end-May 2016. Certainly, this is not the trajectory that will take the nation back to HIPC, as some had predicted only recently. We will persevere in bringing down the level of our public debt.
Mr. Speaker, the budget deficit is also narrowing, as we raise more domestic revenues and curtail expenditure overruns. Though the debt level is declining, we are able to continue the rapid expansion of infrastructure through prudent project management. The currency has been fairly stable; and private sector confidence is bouncing back. All these point to a turnaround and very bright prospects for the economy. As promised when we launched the Home Grown policies, the trend provides us with the opportunity to remove the temporary taxesthe Fiscal Stabilization Levy and the Temporary Import Dutythat helped reverse course, in the near term. Etc., etc.
And after all the stories, Ananse looked up at the crowd and with a self-congratulatory smile, asked the House, am I not smart?
So what about the montie3?
How does the NDC justify its home grown policy to threaten Justices of the Peace and does the party really expect President Mahama to grant a pardon? It can only mean one thing if he does. Our President will be telling us that any threat to assassinate him will be met with a Presidential pardon for the very same criminals who he will free to come attempt to, this time, really kill him. Doesn't make any sense to me.
Ghana, Aha a y din papa. Alius atrox week advenio. Another terrible week to come!
Sydney Casely-Hayford, [email protected]
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has observed that the recent Supreme Court order for the Attorney General (AG) to release the agreement signed between the governments of Ghana and the United States of America in respect of the transfer of two ex-Guantanamo Bay detainees (Gitmo 2) to Ghana, is an indication that the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration is not running a transparent government.
The 1992 Constitution is anchored on probity, transparency and accountability in the governance of the country. The NDC constitution also gives pride of place to the tenets of probity, transparency and accountability. President Mahama in the early days of his presidency, declared: 'As President, l am committed to running a transparent and accountable government, devoid of corruption.' It is therefore, with great shock that the NPP and many Ghanaians have observed the total lack of transparency and accountability in President Mahama s government, NPP Communications Director Nana Akomea, said in a statement yesterday.
Court Order
According to the NPP, it took a court to order the release of the agreement President Mahama had with the US government over the relocation of the former Gitmo detainees to Ghana and said, That was a clear example of President Mahamas non-transparency and non-accountability.
The statement underscored, In this Gitmo saga, with national security implications, Parliament of Ghana was kept in the dark. It is apparent that even Cabinet and the National Security Council were not fully briefed nor consulted as two cabinet ministers of state, also members of the National Security Council, have stated publicly they did not have full details of the Gitmo agreement.
The NPP noted, In the wake of the arrival in Ghana of the detainees, there was so much concern from Ghanaians on the implications for national and personal security, and possibly violation of the law. There were also so many conflicting statements on the conditions of the stay of the Gitmo 2 in Ghana. Despite the resultant widespread calls for full disclosure, President Mahama remained adamant.
Smarttys Linkage
The NPP said the Gitmo 2 saga could be likened to the Smarttys controversial bus branding contract that sent tongues wagging due to the huge amount involved.
The Smarttys bus branding saga is another sad story in the governance of non-transparency and non-accountability. Public funds had been spent on the dubious decision to put colour images of President Mahama and NDC campaign slogan on public buses. When this activity and expenditure were exposed, there was great public indignation and protest. In response, government directed the Attorney General and Minister for Justice to investigate.
Despite the huge public interest and agitation, the government refused to publish the findings of the Attorney General but rather issued a terse White Paper. It had to take a court order obtained by a group of patriotic citizens to order government to publish this report, the party bemoaned.
GNPC Loans
According to the NPP, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), a public body, procures loans that are secured by the Ghanaian taxpayer, but the corporation, with 'tacit' support from the government, had refused to disclose the terms and conditions of the loans.
GNPC rather decided to fight a court action that sought to compel them to full disclosure before parliament. Even though the court upheld GNPCs case, the strong and costly resistance they put up against disclosing loan agreements to parliament, has further dented the aims of transparency and accountability in governance, the party claimed.
ADB Shares
The party also said that Agriculture Development Bank (ADB), a public financial institution, recently embarked on shares floatation and despite calls and expectations that the terms and conditions should be disclosed before parliament, ADB refused and instead resorted to all kinds of manoeuvres, giving rise to allegations of bribery, just to avoid disclosure.
The statement said the bank's actions had the tacit support of a government that had proclaimed transparency and accountability to the people of Ghana.
By William Yaw Owusu
The embattled Youth Organiser of the Convention People's Party (CPP), Ernesto Yeboah, is insisting his suspension has been lifted despite the partys Central Committee stating otherwise.
I am the Commander-in-Chief of the Youth League of the Convention People's Party and we are carrying on without tasks, he stated on Eyewitness News.
Mr. Yeboah, alongside the CPP General Secretary, Nii Armah Akomfrah, were suspended after publicly contradicting their flagbearer's position on President Mahamas Ford gift saga.
The two were subsequently referred to the Disciplinary Committee following which their reinstatement was recommended.
The party's Central Committee however rejected the recommendations from the Disciplinary Committee arguing that certain basic tenants of natural justice were not observed before the determination of the matter.
But Mr. Yeboah asserted that the recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee empanelled it with respectable members of the party should stand
A competent quasi-judicial body established by Article 113 of the CPP constitutional body has acquitted and discharged me. They found no wrong doing or anything as may have been the case. It goes for Nii Armah Akomfrah, General Secretary of the Convention People's Party.
I didn't tell the Central Committee to send me to the disciplinary committee of the party or Nii Armah Akomfrah. They did. We submitted ourselves to the process in spite of the glaring breaches of our fundamental human rights.
Disciplinary Committee overstepped its boundaries
The Vice Chair of the CPP, Susan Adu Amankwaa, also gave her take on the Ernesto Yeboah's response to the Disciplinary Committee's recommendation.
According to her, the recommendation did come and the CC [Central Committee] did say that no; because you did not receive charges and sit on the case with the charges. We are referring the matter to you again presenting charges then you can then come up with the recommendations.
Mrs. Amankwa maintained that It is not for the Disciplinary Committee to write to the people to reinstate them. That is not what is in constitution.
If Ernesto and the General Secretary were being disciplined, they would have waited for the body that indicted them and the recommendation that were given to that body for that body to reinstate them.
Mrs. Amankwa also condemned the actions of the party thugs who caused a fracas at the party office on Monday saying we will definitely scold them but she believes the suspended duo brought it on themselves.
In her view, Ernesto Yeboah and Nii Armah Akomfrah should not have come to the office without official letters coming from the CC saying that, we have reinstated you per the recommendations of the DC.
By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
President John Dramani Mahama has asked the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), to dismiss allegations of conflict of interest against him.
This is in response to three separate petitions against him over his decision to accept a Ford car gift form a Burkinabe contractor, Djibril Kanazoe. Many including the Minority in Parliament have said his acceptance of the gift amounts to conflict of interest.
The Youth league of the CPP, among others officially petitioned CHRAG to investigate the President. But in a letter signed by his lawyer, Tony Lithur, and addressed to the acting Chairperson of CHRAJ, President Mahama indicated that he was innocent of all the allegations leveled against him.
Background President John Dramani Mahama has come under intense public bashing for accepting the car gift worth about US$100,000 from a Burkinabe contractor, allegedly to influence him.
The Burkinabe has admitted giving President Mahama a Ford Expedition vehicle, for which the President called to thank him.
The gift, according to reports, was prior to an attempt by the contractor, to win a bid to execute the Dodo Pepeso-Nkwanta road construction project.
The same contractor had also been contracted to build a wall, at a cost of over half a million dollars, for the Ghana Embassy in Ouagadougou.
-Citifmonline
02.08.2016 LISTEN
A 20year-old man, Charles Ayitey, is being held by the Tema Regional Police Command for allegedly attempting to behead one Daniel Norteye, a 19- year old Junior High School student at Tema Newtown.
The suspect, Charles Ayitey, who is a dancer was said to have attempted to behead Daniel Norteye, also a dancer at about 4:00am on Sunday, July 31, when the two were both sleeping in the suspect's room.
The victim, Daniel Norteye, had his throat slit and has since been undergoing treatment.
Narrating his ordeal to Citi News, the visibly distraught Daniel Norteye, said the two went for dancing rehearsals at Adjetey Ansah, a suburb of Tema Newtown on Saturday, July 30, where it was agreed he passed the night at his friends place since his house was far.
According to him, the rehearsals ended at 1:30am on Sunday and since my house was a bit far from the rehearsal grounds, my friend asked me to spend the night in his house and go home the next day which I agreed.
Daniel explained that, he got up in the middle of the night and saw the suspect standing by him. According to him, when he asked the suspect why he was not sleeping, he gave a flimsy excuse.
Daniel continued that, at about 4:00am, he felt a sharp pain around his neck and suddenly woke up, only to see the suspect (his friend) holding a knife and trying to slit his throat.
He said he struggled with him and eventually escaped from his room.
At about 4:00am whiles sleeping, i felt a sharp cut in my throat so I woke up only to see my friend with a knife in hand trying to slit my throat to death. I had to try and struggle with him until I overpowered him and run out of the room to my aunts house which was not too far from the place.
He said his aunt upon seeing him, called his father who organised some guys in the area, who caused the arrest of the suspect and handed him over to the police.
Asked whether he had previously had any grudge with the suspect, Daniel responded in the negative.
I dont remember having any problem with my friend and so I am very much surprised about his attempt to take my life
The Public Relations Officer for Tema Regional Police Command, ASP Juliana Obeng, has confirmed the incident and says investigations have commenced.
She said initial search in the suspect's room revealed a stinking beheaded snake, egg shells and powder, which was sprinkled around the room.
The police, according to her, also retrieved a doll from the suspect's room.
She said when the suspect was interrogated, he indicated to the police that he took the beheaded snake from a friend, but could did not say what he was going to use the items for.
She said the suspect would be arraigned before court as soon as investigations are concluded.
By: Elvis Washington/citifmonline.com/Ghana
A car bomb targeting security forces on Tuesday in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi killed 22 people and wounded 20, a spokesman for the forces and medical officials said.
The blast occurred in a residential area in the Guwarsha district, the scene of fighting between security forces loyal to Libya's eastern government and an alliance of Islamists and other opponents
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Pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) group called the NPP Network in Gonjaland, has admonished Gonjas to reject President John Dramani Mahama (their kinsman) at the December 7 polls.
According to the groups Spokesman, Fredrick Tahidu, it will be politically suicidal to attach tribal considerations to the upcoming 2016 polls as they did at the 2012 polls.
He was addressing the media at the partys Northern Regional secretariat where he chastised President Mahama for neglecting the Gonjaland during his two-day accounting to the people tour of the Northern Region.
Fredrick Tahiru insinuated that, President Mahama has failed the chiefs and people of Gonjaland who delivered all eight Parliamentary seats in the area to the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) at the 2012 polls.
He thereby urged all well meaning citizens of Gonjaland, to massively vote for Nana Addo Dankwh Akufo-Addo and the NPP to build on the foundation laid by the erstwhile Kufuor-led NPP administration.
Below is the statement:
MAHAMA SNUBBED GONJAS AGAIN
A PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE NPP NETWORK IN GONJA LAND
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, we are hugely grateful to you personally and your various media houses for responding to our call. We have called you here this morning to come and partner us to convey our grievances to H.E the President of the Republic of Ghana, John Mahama, on his recent visit to the Northern Region and on a wide range of pressing concerns militating against us, his own people.
On Wednesday 13th July, 2016, the wrecked train of Accounting to The People Tour, carrying the incompetent president, H.E John Dramani Mahama brought the re-election campaign message of the NDC to the Northern Region.
The streets of Tamale were empty because only few people came out to catch a glimpse at the president. The President was seen shamefully waving at the story buildings and some other strange objects on the streets. Heads of basic schools in the Tamale metropolis were compelled to chase school kids with horse canes onto the streets but still, the streets were empty.
The NPP Network in Gonja Land wishes to state emphatically that, the president's failure to include any of the administrative districts in Gonja Land in his so-called tour of the Northern Region was not only arbitrary waste of state resources aimed at deceiving the people but also a senseless ploy, calculated at bathing the chiefs and people of Gonja Land with disrespect and naked propaganda.
The presence of the President again, was yet another opportunity for him to rubble rouse and engage in unclothed rhetoric rather than accounting to the people. He was instead engaged in what can at best be described as accounting to himself and party cronies.
The Northern Region has thirty one (31) political constituencies and twenty six (26) administrative districts, but the president visited about fifteen (15) districts in his much publicized but abysmally patronized tour of the region. For the records, the president's two day's tour of the region was more or less whistle stops at some districts rather than elaborate tours.
The following urgent questions are worth asking:
Why did the president not visit any of the eight (8) political constituencies in Gonja Land to account to us his stewardship?
Can his failure to visit any of the political constituencies in Gonja Land be translated to mean, he did not do anything for us and therefore had nothing to account for?
Could it also be said that the president does not respect us, the electorates in Gonja Land and therefore did not deem it fit or prudent to visit and account to us?
Indeed, we are not knocked down at all by the president's deliberate disrespectful decision to embarrass the chiefs and people of his native land. This is not the first time that Gonjalanders have been disrespected and politically pushed around by H.E John Mahama.
During the annual Gonja Land Youth Association Meeting which was held in Kpembe, Mr Mahama shunned the function and was accosted somewhere in the Volta Region attending church service. He did so consciously because there is nothing to show on the slate of performance:
The president snubbed the people of Daboya/Mankarigu because; the Community Day School which is under construction is just about 20% complete. The polyclinic in Daboya built by the previous NPP government can only boast of just five (5) beds in one ward serving both men and women at the same time.
The president snubbed the people of Yapei/Kusawgu because; there is nothing to account for in a district where animals and human beings are in a competition for drinking water.
The president couldn't go to Damango because he has failed his mother's clan. The president snubbed the people of Kpembe because; work on the sixty (60) bed capacity ultra-modern hospital started by the previous Kuffour led NPP government has come to a standstill and the project is sinking at site. Contractors have chosen the court as the appropriate site. Work is speedily progressing at the court because of some corrupt hands.
In Bole, his own backyard, there is nothing concrete to be pinpointed as a would-be legacy when H.E John Dramani Mahama joins the club or league of ex-presidents on 7th January, 2017. Our sources from Bole, the homeland of H.E the President hinted that, the final funeral rites of Hajia Abibata Nneba Sluwu, biological mother of H.E President Mahama which was supposed to take place in Bole on Sunday July 31st has been rescheduled. The venue has been moved from her family house in Bole to the forecourt of the state house in Accra.
We can confidently state without any fear of contradiction that, H.E President John Mahama was advised to shift the venue from Bole to Accra to avoid the whole exercise serving as an incubator of disgrace and embarrassment because some African Presidents were billed to attend. President Mahama shifted the final funeral rites of his mother to Accra because he doesn't want his collogues Heads of state to find out how he has neglected his own people in Bole\Bamboi.
It has always been the wish of every Gonja, rich or poor, old or young, man or woman that after passing on, his or her body be laid to rest in Gonjaland and his or her funeral rites performed in Gonjaland and not on a strange land. John Mahama have denied his own mother her wish. How can he fulfil the many wishes of Ghanaians when he has failed to seek for perfect peace for the soul of his mother Hajia Abibata Nneba Sluwu?
My dear friends in the media, the president visited some constituencies through the use of state helicopter. Indeed, the signs were clear from top to bottom that he has failed his exams when it comes to development and the provision of infrastructures. It is because of that the President sent the infantile Parliamentary Candidate of the NDC in the Tamale North Constituency, Alhassan Suhuyini to play the final tribal card. The president's ineptitude views have left him with no legacy and convincing political message and for that matter; he is appealing to northerners to vote for him because he is one of us in the midst of poverty and deprivation. We don't want to dwell so much on the obvious use of state resources for NDC activities but there are some fundamental questions we wish to raise our hands and ask;
Why didn't he travel by road? Did he travel by air to avoid the terrible bad roads in the region?
There are several questions to ask of the failed visit of the President to the Northern Region. One thing that is obviously clear is that, the visit of John Mahama was more of a jolly ride than a visit to account to the people. The stand of the NPP Network in Gonja Land is that, if the President had indeed done something in Gonja Land worth accounting for, he would have made time to thoroughly tour all the eight (8) political constituencies in his own backyard.
At this juncture, we wish to appeal to all Gonjalanders especially stakeholders on the land, to as a matter of urgency, join us in this voice count protest to send a signal of our displeasure to the doorsteps of H.E John Dramani Mahama on the way and manner our land has been neglected for far too long by one of our own. The man who made promises to us when he wanted to be elected president is now running away from his own people.
Ladies and gentlemen, may we also use this opportunity to thank the people of the region for the low reception they accorded the president in protest to his low development of the area. The NPP NETWORK IN GONJA LAND is very grateful to all Northerners, most especially the chiefs and people of Tamale for refusing to be partners in crime. It is always said that ''when leaders tell lies and followers clap for them, then they are all partners in crime. To the people of Tamale again, we say to you, ''Ansan ne kushun'' (thanks a lot)
Furthermore, the NPP NETWORK IN GONJA LAND wish to condemn the culture of forcing students to stand by the road side to wave at the President anytime he is in the region. This act of lining up school pupils to dance to sirens from the Presidential motorcade amidst waving is not only insulting but also reminds us of the colonial era when students were lined up on the streets to sing praise songs for the colonial masters. This relic of colonialism must stop.
In conclusion, we want to call on all the people of Gonja Land and the entire people of Northern Region to come out and vote massively for Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo and the New Patriotic Party so that we will see the real difference between a non-performing President who strives on Machiavellian propaganda and the one who truly and genuinely cares for the people. It is our hope that, as voters we will set our minds on the collective interest of the larger society rather than the parochial agenda of a few covetous individuals.
THANK YOU.
Fredrick Tahiru
National Communications Director
(NPP Network in Gonja Land)
0209251742 or 0244691177
By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
When Ghanas Ambassador to Cuba, Amo Gottfried, once approached Commandante Fidel Castro to thank him for helping resolve a problem which he described as critical because of the threat it posed to a scholarship programme instituted by Cuba for Ghanaian students, Fidel responded: No you do not have to thank me. We did it as a part of our internationalist duty. We are not Latin Americans, we are Latin African because we have African blood in our bodies.
Mr Amo Gottfried, recollected these special events in the history of Ghana-Cuba relations at an event held at the Cuban Embassy in Accra to mark the 63rdanniversary of the Moncada Attacks- a world shattering mission that ushered in the Cuban revolution and brought an end to the regime of the US backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.
He called on all people who are fighting on the side of the oppressed and marginalized in society to always remember the valour and heroic deeds of Fidel and his compatriots because Cuba has set the blueprint for us and all revolutionaries must look up to that country and whilst we do that, we must also remember the incidents that took place around the Moncada Attacks by the 26th of July Movement and the Cuban revolution which must serve as an example to all of us.
On the 26th of July 1953, 160 Cuban revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro launched an assault on the Moncada Army barracks in Santiago de Cuba, as a first step in the resistance of the Batista dictatorship. Sixty one of Fidels men were slain, and others were taken into custody.
Though the attack itself was a disaster, Castro used it as inspiration for the Revolution later. During his trial in September 1953, Fidel, a lawyer, defended himself and offered a disturbing critique of the poverty, class repression, and injustice caused by the American-backed Batista dictatorship. His two-hour defense statement later called "History Will Absolve Me" became a sacred text after the successful 1959 revolution.
In his defense, Fidel said that if his revolt had succeeded, he would have caused a complete change in the social and economic conditions of all Cubans. According to him, he would have given squatters full tenure of small farms, brought an end to the expropriation of profit by Batistas cronies and added that the people of Cuba had the right to fight against the tyrants ruining their country.
The revolution which began in July 1953 with the Moncada Attack continued until Fidel and his men finally ousted Batista on 1st January 1959, replacing his government with a revolutionary socialist state. The 26thof July movement later reformed along communist lines becoming a communist party in October 1965.
Mr Alex Segbefia, the honorable Minister of Health called for an end to the blockade on Cuba and for closer ties between the two countries. According to him, concrete solidarity and friendship between Ghana and Cuba was formed as a result of the revolution that took place in the two countries, adding that the principles that have bound the two countries together will always remain.
Mr Segbefia said We continue to send our students to Cuba and Cuba continues to send their doctors and educationists to Ghana, so it is clear that for many years to come we hope that this strong friendship which actually seeks to bring meaningful development is a good thing for both countries and especially for Ghana.
He made special mention of Ambassador Amo Gottfried and Kwesi Pratt Jnr for their dedication towards the Cuban people and government for keeping the torch of solidarity with Cuba alive against all odds and in the most difficult moments.
President of the Association of Ghanaians trained in Cuba, Kofi Asafo Agyei said that as part of Cubas foreign and educational policies, the revolutionary government extended scholarship programmes to needy children as a humanitarian programme to revolutionary countries in the world, including the MPLA of Angola, Swapo of Namibia and SPLA of Sudan, now South Sudan in Africa.
The scholarships were also extended to many countries in the Americas, Caribbean and Asia and added that he and his colleagues were part of the over 2000 Ghanaian students who were sent to Cuba from 1983 to take academic courses in the various fields of endeavours under the PNDC government.
The Charge dAffairs of the Cuban Embassy, Julio Cesar Sanchez noted that in recent years there have been momentous events in the foreign relations of Cuba, the United States and Europe, but stressed that as has been repeatedly stated by President Raul Castro, Cuba will never renounce the principles of sovereignty and national independence nor renounce internationalism, because over the past 63 years, the Cuban people have worked very hard in the construction of a socialism that is invulnerable and irreversible.
He said that Cuba has been able to confront serious dangers because of the solidarity of fraternal countries, such as Ghana and reaffirmed the friendship and brotherhood with the Ghanaian people, who he claimed have always stood beside Cuba.
Following the dismissal of two male employees of the so-called Independent Electoral Commission (EC) in the Walewale district of the Northern Region, it has come to light that the two men were fired by EC Chair Charlotte Kesson-Smith Osei for reasons that appear to be purely partisan and may have absolutely nothing, whatsoever, to do with the alleged misdeed of these EC employees (See I Was Never Verified in My Family House Dr. Bawumia Ultimatefmonline.com / Ghanaweb.com 7/30/16).
The target of the EC-NDC collaborative shenanigans, to wit, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the three-time presidential candidate of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), has been speaking to reporters about what actually transpired vis-a-vis the widely reported incident that resulted in the summary dismissal of Messrs. Jobey Ambrose and Mumuni Latiffah from their EC jobs. Dr. Bawumia has confirmed that, indeed, the two men had visited his Kperiga family house to get him to verify his voters register particulars, in a routine show of common courtesy, only to be met with the absence of the former Deputy-Governor of the Bank of Ghana.
In plain language, Dr. Bawumia never got to verify his electoral registers particulars in his family house because Nana Akufo-Addos running-mate had traveled out of town to attend the funeral of the late Nasia Chief of Nalerigu. He would shortly return and be told by members of his household that Messrs. Ambrose and Latiffa had come looking for him and had just left the house; and also that their mission had been to get him to verify his voters register particulars.
Needless to say, the foregoing account does not in any way exculpate the two men from being guilty of breaching EC regulations or standing orders, whatever be the case. Nevertheless, even as I pointed out in a previous article, if this happens to be a routine practice by way of extending common courtesy to prominent local figures in the form of saving them the trouble of queuing up on long lines to have their voters register particulars verified, then it clearly stands to reason that Messrs. Ambrose and Latiffa were merely following established precedence when they visited the Bawumia family house to have the 2016 NPPs vice-presidential candidate verify his electoral particulars.
Consequently, making an obviously partisan exception of Dr. Bawumia does not stand to reason. Indeed, the EC Chair would be better off walking back her patently criminal deception of the Wood Supreme Court than stabbing at crepuscular shadows. Indeed, even as I write, reliable testimonies are coming to light indicating that Mrs. Osei may have perjured herself before the Supreme Court, when she submitted a niggardly list of some 56,000 names and claimed the same to be the total number of people who had registered to vote by the use of their National Health Insurance Scheme-issued cards in the lead-up to the 2012 general election.
In his personal account of this issue, Alhaji Bawumia noted that the Kperiga Polling Center is a stones throw from his family house and therefore he would not have had to walk very far to have his voting particulars verified. He also adds that he had actually met Messrs. Ambrose and Latiffa halfway on their way back to the Kpreiga Polling Center, where the two dismissed men decided to help him verify his voting particulars as part of the ongoing voters register exhibition exercise being undertaken by the EC. In other words, the location of Dr. Bawumias electoral verification was within the threshold of the Kperiga Polling Center.
The 2016 New Patriotic Partys presidential candidate has also dismissed claims that he had offered Messrs. Ambrose and Latiffa the whopping payola sum of GH 5,000 apiece to have the two men carry the Biometric Voting Machine into his family house. In a press statement signed by Mr. Simon Ali, the Walewale New Patriotic Partys constituency secretary, the Simon Fraser University doctoral degree holder riposted thusly: This is hallucination of the highest order. He went on to observe that it did not gibe with common sense for him to have paid GH 10,000 for a verification process that was totally free of charge.
Indeed, as noted by this writer in a previous article, this incident needs to be promptly and thoroughly investigated and justice done to Messrs. Ambrose and Latiffa. If I really believed that she possessed any remarkable modicum of moral and professional integrity, I would have personally called on the EC Chair to issue a public apology and to promptly reinstate Messrs. Ambrose and Latiffa to their EC jobs.
*Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs
Pro-opposition group, NPP Network in Gonjaland, has taken President John Dramani Mahama to the cleaners, describing him as a divisive leader whose actions are clearly dividing the people of the three Northern regions.
They do not understand why the President deliberately neglected the people of Gonjaland in his recent wrecked train of Accounting to The People Tour to the Northern region which embarrassingly saw only students who were coerced to come out and cheer him.
The group at a press conference addressed by Fredrick Tahiru, National Communications Director, expressed their utter disappointment at how their own blood could resort to divide and rule antics, an unfortunate development they said has the potential to pitch one tribe against the other in the northern part of the country.
According to the group, the Northern Region has 31 political constituencies and 26 administrative districts, but sadly the President visited about 15 districts, wondering why the he refused visit any of the 8 political constituencies in Gonjaland to account for his stewardship.
The NPP group said the President's failure to visit any of the political constituencies in Gonjaland can only be translated to mean he did not do anything for the people in that area and, therefore, had nothing to account for.
They enquired: Could it also be said that the president does not respect us, the electorates in Gonjaland and therefore did not deem it fit or prudent to visit and account to us?'
"The presidents ineptitude views have left him with no legacy and convincing political message and for that matter, he is appealing to northerners to vote for him because he is one of us in the midst of poverty and deprivation," the group added.
According to the group, the presidents failure to include any of the administrative districts in Gonjaland in his so-called tour of the Northern Region was not only arbitrary waste of state resources aimed at deceiving the people but also a senseless ploy, calculated at bathing the chiefs and people of Gonjaland with disrespect and naked propaganda.
They added, the presence of the President again, was yet another opportunity for him to rubble rouse and engage in unclothed rhetoric rather than accounting to the people. He was instead engaged in what can at best be described as accounting to himself and party cronies.
"Indeed, we are not knocked down at all by the presidents deliberate disrespectful decision to embarrass the chiefs and people of his native land. This is not the first time that Gonjalanders have been disrespected and politically pushed around by H.E John Mahama," they group noted.
They pointed out that during the annual Gonjaland Youth Association Meeting which was held in Kpembe, President Mahama shunned the function and was accosted somewhere in the Volta Region attending church service, adding that the President snubbed the people of Yapei/Kusawgu because there is nothing to account for in a district where animals and human beings are in a competition for drinking water.
They said the President had done nothing even his own his own backyard, Bole, which would have pushed him to the area.
There is nothing concrete to be pinpointed as a would-be legacy when John Dramani Mahama joins the club or league of ex-presidents on 7th January, 2017. We can confidently state without any fear of contradiction that, H.E President John Mahama was advised to shift the venue for his mother's funeral from Bole to Accra to avoid the whole exercise serving as an incubator of disgrace and embarrassment because some African Presidents were billed to attend, the group pointed out.
The group further claimed that President Mahama shifted the final funeral rites of his mother to Accra just because he did not want his colleague heads of states to find out how he had neglected his own people in Bole\Bamboi.
A former District Chief Executive in the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress government says all those claiming that the proposal by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to ensure that each district in the country gets one factory is not feasible are doing so either for political expediency or they are not telling the truth.
The NPP presidential candidate first made the commitment while on a campaign tour to some constituencies of the Central Region last month. Doubts have since been expressed by some persons, mainly within the camp of the governing National Democratic Congress, about the feasibility of the proposal.
But, Dr Martin Luther Obeng, a former NDC DCE for Agona East in the Central Region, has told the Daily Statesman that there is nothing whatsoever on the ground to suggest that the proposal is not feasible.
The project is doable; it is practicable, stressed the Chief Executive Officer of the Dubai based international consulting firm, Touchstone Consulting Limited.
The fact of the matter is that there are already structures at the local level to ensure the success of the project, provided the political will is there. We have the Rural Enterprise Programme in the districts which seeks to promote the establishment of cottage industries. That is the machinery that can be utilized to effectively ensure the success of such a project, which the country badly needs to create jobs for the teeming jobless youth, he explained.
Dr Obengs position coincides with what has been expressed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Gratis Foundation, Emmanuel Asiedu, who also insists the proposal for the construction of a factory in each of the 216 districts of the country is practicable.
According to the former DCE, ensuring the success of the project means creating the enabling business environment to attract private investors to enter into partnership with the government.
He told the paper: In the Gulf State only, with my survey as a consultant in that region, I can tell you people are ready to come, provided the state can provide effective guarantees for them to do business.
In the Agona East district, for instance, most of the coconuts that we consume in Accra come from there. We can therefore easily set up a factory to process them into oil and juice while thinking outside the box to see what can be done with the sheds. We need to move out of our comfort zones and see what can be done to help the nation and the people, he stated.
According to Dr Obeng, in implementing such a proposal, what needs to be done is to look at what will help the most at the initial stages.
He explained: For example, we import a lot of rice and sugar. So we can look at those areas first. Once we produce to end or reduce importation of these commodities, we will be getting more money to look into other areas. Lets put in place good policies that will ensure the successful implementation of the proposal. We have the capacity to do it. I am all for it. This is not about politics; it is about business.
02.08.2016 LISTEN
ACCRA The economy of Ghana is losing some GHC4.6 billion (US$2.6 billion, or 6.4 percent of GDP) a year to the effects of child undernutrition, according to a new study launched today in the capital.
The Cost of Hunger in Africa: the Social and Economic Impact of Child Undernutrition on Ghanas Long-Term Development (COHA) shows vast amounts being lost through increased healthcare costs, additional burdens on the education system and lower productivity by its workforce.
The consequences of stunting (low height for age) are of particular concern. Stunting occurs when children miss out on critical nutrients -- including proteins, vitamins and minerals -- while in the womb and in the first two years of life. This is compounded by diseases and poor hygiene practices. People affected by stunting face lifelong consequences starting in childhood such as frequent illness, poor school performance, having to repeat classes or dropping out altogether, and low workplace productivity.
Among other findings, the COHA report reveals that:
37 percent of the adult population in Ghana suffered from stunting as children;
24 percent of all child mortality cases in Ghana are associated with undernutrition;
child mortality associated with undernutrition has reduced Ghanas workforce by 7.3 percent.
Ghana has made some progress in improving child nutrition over the past two decades, reducing chronic malnutrition or stunting from 23 to 19 percent. However, this study highlights the critical need for further progress.
Dr. Margaret Agama Nyetei, the African Union Commissions Head of Health, Nutrition and Population Division, said the issue was vital to the AUs vision and action plan for the next 50 years, known as Agenda 2063. At the African Union, we believe that the realisation of Agenda 2063 and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be possible without fully harnessing the potential of all sectors of the population and this includes our children, she said.
The goal of eliminating stunting is key to achieving Zero Hunger, Sustainable Development Goal 2, said Thomas Yanga, Director of the World Food Programme Africa Office. The losses to the economy can be averted through strategic interventions which ensure adequate nutrition for mothers and young children.
Stunting is not just a health issue, it needs to be addressed through a multi-sectoral approach and prioritised in all development programmes from community to national level.
Ensuring a generation free from malnutrition requires significant investments in nutrition strategies and interventions. There is therefore a need for Ghana to forge strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, particularly the private sector and non-state actors, to combat undernutrition holistically, said Prof. Takyiwaa Manuh, Director of the Social Development Policy Division at the Economic Commission for Africa.
In the Northern Region of Ghana, thirty percent of children under five are stunted or chronically malnourished. This not only affects their growth but also their educational development and economic potential, and consequently the future of the country, said Margot van der Velden, WFP Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa.
The COHA report is led by the African Union Commission (AUC), in partnership with African governments, the New Partnership for Africas Development Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA); the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Studies have so far taken place in Egypt, Ethiopia, Swaziland, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Malawi and Rwanda, and are due to be carried out in Chad, Lesotho, Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritania.
The COHA National Implementation Team which, was responsible for collecting, processing and presenting results from Ghana was composed of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, UN Agencies, Civil Society Organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, international organisations concerned with the elimination of child stunting. The launch of the study was under the auspices of the National Development Planning Commission.
The Government of Ghana, the African Development Bank, the French Development Agency, the Office of the United Nations Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Rockefeller Foundation, and WFP contributed financially to the realisation of this study in Ghana.
02.08.2016 LISTEN
The NPP 2012 Parliamentary Candidate for the Tamale North constituency, Mr Akilu Sayibu, has called on the rank and file of the NPP in the Northern Region to rally behind Chairman Bugiri Naabu to enable the party to prosecute effective and winnable campaign towards Victory in December.
He made this call during an interaction with the media in Tamale.
Hon. Akilu Sayibu who has generally been seen as an avowed critic of Chairman Bugiri Naabu told the media that his strong views about happenings in the NPP in the Northern Region some of the time provided the platform in the past for him to be misrepresented by some persons.
Hon. Akilu added that he was responsible for his views on topical political issues in Northern Region and in the country but not responsible for how his views are interpreted.
President Mahama and his NDC government were underperforming and it is only ideal for there to be a change of government through the thumb on December 7, Mr Sayibu opined.
The former Parliamentary Candidate also criticized President Mahama for mounting billboards in the Tamale Metropolis highlighting how compassionate he was. To this, Hon. Akilu Sayibu remarked: " show practical compassion to the suffering people not on billboards. Big photos and writings on billboards do not put food on table".
Hon. Akilu Sayibu used the occasion to call on the electorates in Northern Region to vote massively for people who have the experience and track record to represent them in Parliament but not to vote for people on ethnic, Religious and Chieftaincy grounds.
Hon. Akilu hinted that Ghanaians have seen what an NDC government under President Mahama can offer. The next thing to do is to give Nana/Bawumia the chance to make life better for Ghanaians come December 7.
02.08.2016 LISTEN
By Pascal Kafu Abotsi
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has expressed worry over the Electoral Commissions unjustified disenfranchisement of thousands of Ghanaians in its 10-day National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) card voters' re-registration exercise, which ended on the 28th day of July, 2016.
The exercise, which was a Supreme Court order, directing the Electoral Commission (EC) to delete the names of registrants of NHIS cards on the countrys electoral roll, after a former General Secretary of the Peoples National Convention (PNC), Abu Ramadan and Evans Nimako had sued the EC and convinced the apex court that the use of NHIS cards paved the way for names of foreign nationals to be captured on the register.
Even though the Electoral Commission (EC) announced at close of work on Thursday, July 27 that, only 24,287 persons representing 42.2 per cent out of the 56,772 NHIS cards holders, whose names were deleted from the voters register, had been re-registered, the EC has refused to heed to calls to extend the time.
The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) also joined the prayer for the EC to extend the window for the NHIS re-registration exercise. Its National Coordinator, Kofi Arhin, argued that it would only be fair for the EC to extend the period for such persons.
But speaking to the media last week, Communications Director of the EC, Mr. Eric Dzakpasu, posited that there was no indication that an extension would ensure the re-registration of more people.
There is no evidence that when an extension is granted, the remaining people will come out of their houses or communities to get their name re-registered, he added.
In an interview with The Chronicle, the Director of Communications of the NPP, Nana Akomea, who acknowledged that reports reaching his outfit indicated that the inability of thousands of Ghanaians to re register was through no fault of theirs, emphasised that many were present but could not re register, due to the short comings of the process put in place by the Electoral Commission.
Before the NPP even dropped the hint of petitioning the EC over the issue, the Member of Parliament for the Efutu Constituency in the Central Region, Alex Afenyo Markin, has taken the lead in his individual capacity.
He appealed to the Commission to extend the re-registration period by 10 days. The private legal practitioner explained that the exercise in his constituency had been fraught with power and logistical challenges which prevented the EC from capturing as many names as possible.
02.08.2016 LISTEN
By Kofi Attenkah
Issues of water are likely to take center stage of the upcoming 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, scheduled to take place in the Marrakech city of Morocco from November 7 to 18, 2016.
This follows a call by African leaders on the international community to integrate water into climate discussions to help build elastic societies and protect ecosystems, in order to meet the needs of adaptation to climate change, as well as achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the just ended International Conference on Water and Climate at Rabat.
The African leaders also called on the international community to consider water as a priority in all adaptation discussions, set up Adaptation Committee and put adaptation policies at the same level as those of mitigation at the COP 22 conference.
Other calls made by the African leaders at the water and climate conference dubbed Water Security for Climate Justice include the following;
Create a political momentum; launch a call for action for water and adopt a priority action plan particularly in Africa put in place mechanisms to monitor the commitments made in the field of water and climate change.
Open up more climate funds (Adaptation Fund, Green Fund) to projects targeting better water management and support both infrastructure projects and the improvement of knowledge related to resource and climate change impact, capacity building, governance, monitoring and policies assessment.
Create an Intergovernmental Group of Experts to assess the interactions and impacts of climate change on the water cycle and follow their evolution.
Link the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals to resilience actions to climate change and adopt a priority action plan for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals in Africa.
Invite international donors and the green fund to help Africa to provide effective contributions in terms of adaptation, particularly in water field, and to implement the related intended actions, the African leaders noted.
Over 600 participants including 20 African ministerial delegations participated in the Water Security for Climate Justice conference, which was co-organized by the governments of Morocco and France as well as the World Water Council.
In a three page document christened; The Rabat Call Water for Africa, a call for action was launched to unite African voices around specific needs of the continent with regards to water and climate change.
The Continental leaders were of the opinion that globally Africa is below the world's average when it comes to majority of indicators related to access to water and sanitation services, as well as food security.
It was on this note that they were pushing that Africa, which is confronted with enormous climate change related problems, should be given the needed financial support and know how, in order to offer efficient contributions for adaptation.
Consequently, they pointed out that there is the urgent need to undertake adaptation actions in the water sector, particular for Africa, in order to minimize climate change impacts in accessing water, health and food security, as well as to protect the aquatic ecosystems and ensure sustainable development.
The conference, which broke into four thematic sessions to thoroughly discuss the different departments of the inter-linkages between water and climate, spent two days on its deliberations.
Issues discussed include; water vulnerability to climate change and the place of water in the implementation of global agreements (namely the Paris Agreement, and the Sustainable Development Goals).
Others issues are the interactions between water, energy, food security, health and education, as well as the role of civil society in the water and climate alliance, and climate finance. Furthermore, a workshop on the role of dams and reservoirs in mitigating climate change effects such as droughts was also organized.
Concluding, Ms Charafat Afilal, Morocco's Minister Delegate for Water who brought the curtains of the conference to a close said We have sensitized the COP 22 Presidency about mainstreaming water in the climate discussions. Water deserves correct positioning, and we need to guarantee that investment will follow.
Ms Charafat called on the World Water Council to sustain the programme by organizing similar interim meetings on water and climate in the years to come.
02.08.2016 LISTEN
By Naabenyin Joojo Amissah,Cape Coast
The parliamentary candidate for the Progressive Peoples Party in the Cape Coast North constituency, Mr Bright Edem Droefenu has officially launched his campaign for the 2016 elections.
The colourful occasion took place at the London Bridge, in Cape Coast. Before the official launch, scores of party faithful converged at Siwdu in the morning, amidst drumming and dancing.
The supporters later moved from Siwdu through Kotokuraba to the venue where they were addressed. Addressing the gathering, Mr Droefenu said he would make the issue of job creation for the youth a priority, if voted for.
He alleged that past and successful governments have done very little to create jobs for the people of the central region in general and Cape Coast in particular.
According to him, the time has come for Ghanaians to own their destinies by changing their usual NDC and NPP voting patterns and vote for the PPP for a real change.
He said, even though Cape Coast can boost of several educational institutions, there are no jobs in the town where students who complete these schools could work.
He said a vote for him and Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, the presidential candidate, is a vote for job creation and employment where a lot of employment avenues would be created to alleviate the plight of many suffering Ghanaians.
The national chairman of the party, Nii Allotey Hammond, National Secretary, Murtala Mohammed and the Central Regional Chairman, Mr Andrews Sefa, all took turns to address the gathering.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he had decided to allocate the Security Union portfolio to the British nominee for the EU executive.
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron nominated Julian King as Britain's representative at the European Commission to replace Jonathan Hill who resigned after Britons voted to leave the bloc on June 23.
King's portfolio will include setting up a European response to the fight against terrorism, organised crime and cybercrime, the Commission said.
King's appointment will now need to be endorsed by the European Parliament.
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02.08.2016 LISTEN
By Maxwell Ofori, Parliament House
([email protected])
A group calling itself 'The Coalition on the Right To Information (RTI)- Ghana, has noted the failure by the Mahama government to ensure the passage of the Right To Information Bill will mean it was not ready to ensure that citizens have the freedom to probe for any information they need.
The Coalition would like His Excellency to note that the failure to pass the RTI Bill this year, 2016, will mean firstly; the NDC Government has again lied not only to Ghanaians but to the International Community about its commitment to the passage of the RTI Bill.
Secondly, it would mean that Ghana has failed for the second time to fulfil her obligations under the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Initiative, as well as the country's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Thirdly, the failure to pass the RTI Bill this year will mean that the NDC government cannot be trusted and that government's proclaimed commitments to the fight against corruption are mere words, without action, it said.
Addressing the media in Accra last Thursday, the co-Chair to the Coalition, Mr Vitus Azeem, sought to prompt the Executive and Legislative arms of government that the RTI Bill had delayed for a longer time and needed authorization.
The Coalition, through its statement, also sought to draw the attention of the public to the fact that the passage of the Bill had delayed enough and that it would be proper if the legislators continued to work on the Bill and possibly pass it into law this year.
It said: As at 28th July 2016, Parliament has only considered 29 clauses out of 157 clauses of the amendments proposed. The Bill was last considered on June 23rd and till date it is not clear why Parliament has decided not to proceed with the consideration process.
According to the group, the Executive is doing nothing to ensure the Legislature worked on the Bill. They described as worrying, the silence of the Deputy Attorney General, Dr Dominic Ayine on the Bill, after he came from the 117th Session of the United Nations' Human Rights Committee in Geneva in June, this year, where he proclaimed that the RTI Bill will be passed this year.
There is nothing to show that the Executive is lobbying or working with Parliament to ensure that the Bill is passed before the elections. In fact, we have heard some Parliamentarians say that the RTI Bill is an orphan because nobody from the executive is lobbying for its passage.
This provides grounds for the public to wonder whether Parliament and the powers that be are afraid of the light that a robust RTI law will throw on all aspects of public life and ensure that, those in whom the public trust is reposed carry out their function in a climate if transparency and are accountable to the sovereign people of Ghana.
Most importantly and indeed more worrying is the outright proclamation made by government through the Deputy Attorney General, Dr Dominic Ayine, at the 117th Session of the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva that the RTI Bill will be passed in July 2016.
Interestingly the Bill has not been discussed even once since his return from Geneva. Yet another failed promise, the group noted.
They further indicated how the NDC's 2012 manifesto captured the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act, citing that President Mahama even promised Ghanaians that the next NDC Administration will implement the Freedom of Information Act once it is passed by Parliament and will work with the legislature to prioritise the passage of the Freedom of Information Act.
His Excellency, President Mahama, has indicated on many occasions that when the Bill gets to his table he would sign it into law without delay and that if the Bill is passed, his government would be reckoned as having passed the oldest Bill in Parliament.
We will like our Parliamentarians to tell us whose interest they are actually serving. When loans are brought to Parliament, we see Parliamentarians turn out en-mass to endorse those loans so that government can borrow more money and put the country in more debt, however, the law that will give them the right information to enable them as well as the citizenry effectively scrutinize these loans and ensure that they are properly utilized has the support of only a handful of MPs. What excuse will our MPs give for not passing the RTI Bill in this sitting? They queried.
It, however, called on the Executive to engage Parliament to, as a matter of urgency, pass the RTI with the amendments before the current Parliament (6th Parliament) lapses in January 2017.
02.08.2016 LISTEN
It looks all the way like an innovative means of solving the graduate unemployment problem. When President John Dramani Mahama urged newly-inducted graduates in the country to think of setting up their own businesses, he was directing those who have benefitted from higher education to make themselves useful, and help to get their less fortunate ones off the scrap-heap of unemployment.
At the graduation of 2,575 students from the University of Professional Studies Accra, President Mahama said by becoming independent and productive through their own initiatives, the youth, particularly graduates, would become less dependent on government.
You have the ability to create jobs yourself, the Head of State told the students who are taking their first steps into the real world. In a society, where a very large percentage of the youth are classified unemployed, the President's speech is understood to urge the students to direct their passion and education acquired into setting up their own businesses and employing others, instead of depending on the state to offer them employment.
The occupant of Government House is reported to have said that the government he heads has provided the framework for youth entrepreneurship to thrive, citing the Youth Enterprise Support programme as one of those schemes conceived by the government to aid the youth to stand on their own two feet.
Ordinarily, every human being would like to set up his or her own business. But the mechanism to aid such a venture should be available. It is unfortunate, but this administration especially, has built more castles in the air than actual structures on the ground.
The Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency especially, was conceived as a mechanism to aid the youth gain entrepreneurial skills as a means of establishing their own business. In the end, it became a conduit pipe for state officials and party apparatchiks to connive with service providers to fleece this country of funds and other scarce resources.
Apart from the huge risk involved in seeking to establish one's own as a business concern, lack of resources is a major disincentive for the youth to branch into setting up their own businesses.
It is becoming crystal clear that under the Mahama administration especially, politics has become the shortest route to fame and riches. The pay structure and the patronising nature of public office holding aside, politics has long departed from providing public service. It is now the main route to join the creme de la creme of this society.
Four years ago, with the 2012 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections engaging the attention of hard-pressed Ghanaians, news broke out that Deputy Minister of Information (now at the Education Ministry), Mr. Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa, visited his constituency, and on his return to Accra, sent his driver to the car wash.
It emerged that the Deputy Minister, who prior to his ministerial appointment had never held any paid job before, had apparently left a whopping GH25,000 in hard cash in the car, after a rendezvous in his constituency.
Ordinarily, the state should have led in an enquiry into how the Deputy Minister came by that largesse, to the extent of leaving it in a car meant for the car wash.
Like many things involving party big-wigs, the State of Ghana was not interested. In other words, party members could play with as much cash as they liked, no one was going to ask them to account.
It is this attitude of the state and its governance system that has dampened the spirit of the average Ghanaian youth, The Chronicle would like to submit.
We are unable to gauge the mood of the President and his advisors. But this patronising attitude towards party apparatchiks, who are clearly milking this country dry, has lowered the can-do spirit among Ghanaian youth especially.
It is not for nothing that this country has an association holding unemployed graduates together. It is a sign of hopelessness that a group of young men and women, who have successfully undergone the stress of educating themselves at the university level, would consign themselves to the scrap-heap of unemployment.
We believe it is good to urge those who have trained at huge costs to the nation, to make use of their training to become useful to themselves and society. But, as they say literally, soldiers do not move on empty stomachs.
The President's admonition would have to be backed by the concrete provision of the necessary structures and tools to get the Unemployed Graduates Association of Ghana, for instance, to be dissolved. That would not happen when state resources necessary to equip the youth are squandered by party apparatchiks, with government officials looking the other way.
Over 150 youth besieged the Tafo Chiefs palace in Kumasi on Tuesday demanding protection over a fears of a possible attacks from Muslim youth in the area.
According to them, some youth from the Zongo community have been threatening to attack them and are making attempts rekindle tensions in the area.
The Ministry of Interior placed a curfew on the Tafo Township in February 2016 following clashes between some Muslim youth and non-Muslim youth the area backed by the Tafo Traditional Council over a piece of cemetery land.
Citi News' Hawa Iddrissu was on the ground when the irate youth of Tafo petitioned their chief over fears of the reprisal attacks on them.
One of the youth spoke to Citi News saying, we need peace but residents of the Zongo community have made up their minds not to let peace prevail because of the death of one of their own.
According to him, a Muslim from the Zongo community was killed at a rural bank during an alleged robbery but a section of the Muslim youth are blaming them for the demise of their compatriot.
He noted his contingent's concerns saying the Muslim youth were armed and cautioned that the protesting youth may be forced to do same.
They have guns and clubs on them. Because they have weapons on them, we cannot defend ourselves. These developments are very worrying so we are calling on authorities to come to our aid else we will defend ourselves.
They made specific mention of the Asantehene and the Ashanti Regional Minister in their calls warning the situation could escalate to something that will not be good for Asanteman.
Armed police have since been deployed to the area to ensure calm.
By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonlune.com/Ghana
Pressure group Occupy Ghana has described the position of Ministers of State and officials of the government who signed a petition seeking a presidential pardon for the convicted Montie FM trio as untenable.
According to a statement from the group, the support from the top government officials for the jailed Montie FM host and panelists could be said to be endorsement for their criminals actions, which was inexusable for persons in their position.
Their comments come in response to a statement from the deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, which chided Occupy Ghana for their earlier criticism of the petition.
Your position and those of your fellow ministers who were falling over each other to sign this petition, is untenable. Let us remind you again that it is not everything that is lawful (even arguably) that is also needful. Do take some time to do some deep introspection, and ask yourself whether this is the stance you would have taken if you were still in opposition, and the convicts were government spokespersons, or vice versa, Occupy Ghana said.
This is the state of affairs that informed our criticism of all ministers and members of the Executive who have effectively stabbed the President in the back, by signing this petition.
Okudzeto Ablakwa had earlier chided the group for criticising the efforts to secure the release of the incarcerated men.
Occupy Ghana even touts its mission to be Occupying Hearts & Minds for God and Country!!! Claims we have all accommodated though there are those who may consider a self-imposed status of Gods special envoys more blasphemous than flattering. Nonetheless, the Occupiers have been granted the benefit of the doubt and yet they choose to label the conduct of others simply exercising their rights as incongruous and bizarre. Ablakwa had noted.
It is troubling that to the Occupiers we cannot exercise rights under the constitution as citizens of Ghana simply because we belong to the executive arm of Government?
In their statement, issued on Tuesday, August 2, Occupy Ghana responded: We have never said that you do not have the legal right to organize and sign a petition. But the uniqueness of your position should have made you take a step back to ascertain whether this was the right and proper thing to do, and then passed up on it, like several of your colleague ministers have done.
First, as a minister of state, you are an integral part of the Executive of this nation. You are part of the Presidents eyes and ears with respect to education. Presumably, several young students in the land look up to you, and the position you hold has imposed a mentorship role on you, whether you asked for it or not. How can you, a member of the Executive that is to consider the petition, be an organizer and signer of the same petition? In other words, you are essentially presenting a petition to yourself. You have made it impossible for the President to rely on you for any disinterested advice on this matter, if it relates to your sector.
Dept. Education Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa signing the petitition
Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn and Salifu Maase, alias Mugabe, were sentenced to serve four months in jail , after being found guilty of contempt by the Supreme Court, for threatening the lives of the judges who were presiding over a case on the credibility of the voters' register.
They are currently being held at the Nsawam prison.
A book, opened by a group calling itself the Research and Advocacy Platform (RAP), garnered several signatures including those of high-profile government officials including Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare and the Education Minister, Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.
Other notable people who signed the petition include the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, founder of the Ghana Freedom Party, Akua Donkor and an official at the presidency, Valerie Sawyerr.
The petition has since been presented to President Mahama .
Find below, Occupy Ghanas full statement:
OCCUPYGHANA PRESS STATEMENT
OPEN LETTER TO SAMUEL OKUDZETO-ABLAKWA (HON. MP)
The story is told of The Lord Christ heeding the plea of 10 lepers who asked him to have pity on us. He gave them a simple task: go and show yourselves to the priest. They were healed before they had made the full journey. One, only one of them, and a foreigner, returned to thank the Lord Christ. The Lord is said to have asked what happened to the other nine.
Our attention has been drawn to a rather long and self-serving missive from your Facebook wall, in which you take issue with us for criticising ministers who are organising and signing the Petition for Pardon to the President with respect to the jailed Montie 3. We respect your right to reply and to disagree with us, obviously, because you are one of those ministers whose conduct in this matter, we find reprehensible. Although originally, we were not minded to respond, we find the need to write this short note to you, in the hope that it might help you notice the error of your ways, like the 9 lepers and, hopefully, repent.
There are two key lessons from that story. The first is that although the 9 lepers were not lawfully bound to return to The Lord Christ with thanks when their mission succeeded, He still expected them to do the needful. The second is that people are likely to forget where they have come from when they attain success before they have walked the whole 9 yards required of them.
You were part of the team of valiant persons who took the late Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey on at the Supreme Court. Although you lost, which meant that the law was not on your side, the judges praised you for standing up to be counted. Your action had no basis in law, but you did the needful, like the one leper.
We have never said that you do not have the legal right to organize and sign a petition. But the uniqueness of your position should have made you take a step back to ascertain whether this was the right and proper thing to do, and then passed up on it, like several of your colleague ministers have done.
First, as a minister of state, you are an integral part of the Executive of this nation. You are part of the Presidents eyes and ears with respect to education. Presumably, several young students in the land look up to you, and the position you hold has imposed a mentorship role on you, whether you asked for it or not. How can you, a member of the Executive that is to consider the petition, be an organizer and signer of the same petition? In other words, you are essentially presenting a petition to yourself. You have made it impossible for the President to rely on you for any disinterested advice on this matter, if it relates to your sector. The incestuous nature of this should be clear, or at least apparent, to you. Would prudence not mean that you wait and counsel the President on the matter, if your opinion was to be sought, instead of signing the petition and trying to put pressure on your boss, the President? The least you deserve is a slap on your wrist.
Second, your acts and omissions in the face and teeth of this brouhaha speaks volumes about who you are and what you stand for. You stoop to call this a fight for Free Speech. Wrong! The acts of the convicts were despicable and illegal. Clear crime was committed, which the Executive-controlled Attorney-General would not prosecute. In fact, the Executive-controlled Attorney-General would not even commence quasi-criminal contempt proceedings. To add insult to injury, the Executive-controlled BNI issued a pathetic white-washing statement about the matter. Clearly, the Executive, which you are a part of, had no interest in seeing to it that these convicts faced justice. Had the judiciary not stood up to be counted, these gentlemen would be walking free, they and several others waiting in the wings from all sides of the political divide, emboldened by deliberate Executive inaction, to perpetrate even more dastardly acts on air.
Then within hours, literally, after they were sentenced, you lead a charge to have them freed, as if they dont even deserve a day in jail for acts to which they pleaded guilty.
This is the state of affairs that informed our criticism of all ministers and members of the Executive who have effectively stabbed the President in the back, by signing this petition.
We shudder to think that your position on this would mean you would not have taken Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey on if he belonged to your party.
When you have had that introspection, also take a long look at yourself in the mirror and, hopefully, you will see that you probably have become that which you detested and fought against. You can argue that your current position is lawful. We think it is unwise and we will not mince any words in telling you so.
No amount of verbiage will take down the fact that you are wrong, and gravely so. The other parts of your bluster, spin and spiel do not merit detailed responses, save one. We are mildly tickled by your reference to doyens like Yaa Asantewaa, Nkrumah, Lincoln, Luther King, Biko and Mandela and their stand in history. Mr. Okudzeto-Ablakwa, do not mention your name within 100 yards of these. You are nowhere near what they did and stood for.
Yours in the service of occupying hearts and minds for God and Country
OccupyGhana
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana
02.08.2016 LISTEN
By Hafsa Obeng, GNA
Accra, Aug. 2, GNA - An Accra Circuit Court on Tuesday remanded one Ebenezer Acheampong for threatening to kill his wife, Madam Ivy Nyarko.
Ebenezer pleaded not guilty to the charges was remanded by the court to reappear on August 8. The court also ordered the complainant to find an alternative accommodation.
Prosecuting, Police Detective Inspector, Kofi Atimbire told the court that the complainant and the accused person are married couples, blessed with four children.
He said for some time now the two have been having series of misunderstandings, and Ebenezer assaulted the complainant on several occasions, but she kept her ordeal to herself.
He told the court that on July 26, the accused person heard a news item on radio announcing that a policeman had murdered his mother in law and two children and committed suicide in Tema, and drew his wife attention to the news item.
The prosecution said Ebenezer repeated the news item to his wife and threatened her that, her behaviour in the house would soon lead to such an act.
Police Detective Inspector, Atimbire said this put the complainant in fear and so she reported the threats to the Kwabenya Police Station.
He said when Ebenezer was arrested, he again threatened the complainant at the
Police Station, saying, 'When I come home to meet you, you should count yourself dead.
GNA
By Samuel Akapule, GNA
Sandema (U/E), Aug. 2, GNA - The Builsa Community Bank limited (BUCO-Bank) has been declared a model bank for all rural community banks in the three northern regions.
The bank, which is based in the Builsa North District of the Upper East Region, has for the past twenty years performed creditably and was rated as 'strong 'in 2015 by the Efficiency Monitoring Unit of Apex Bank.
More so it is the only rural bank in the Upper East Region that met the mandatory minimum stated capital of GH 500,000.00 for 2016.
The bank's achievement was made known at its 20th Anniversary and 16th Annual General Meeting held at Sandema.
The Regional Manager of the Apex Bank, Mr Zinzendorf Pascal Nkulenu and the President of the Upper East Chapter of the Association of Rural Banks, Alhaji Abdul-Sharif Adams, both lauded the bank for its remarkable achievement.
Whilst calling upon the management and staff of the bank to ensure that they continued to focus on customer care to attract more customers, Mr Nkulenu said there is the need for the shareholders of the bank to buy more shares to help increase its capital base to meet the mandatory requirement of the GH 1,000,000.00 set by the Bank of Ghana (BOG) for the year 2017.
He said all banks which cannot meet the BOG mandatory requirement for the year 2017 should consider a merger.
Naab Akanab Apoom-Weem, the Board Chairman of the bank, said in spite of the general economic challenges in the year 2015, the bank recorded a profit of GH 708,621.00 before tax which represents a decrease of 86,432.00 (10.9) from the previous year's performance.
He said during the year under review, the bank grew its balance sheet size by 30.5 per cent to close the year with an asset base of a little over GH 18.62 million adding that the growth in the asset of the bank was propelled by a 75.8 per cent growth in short time investments as well as 54.1 per cent growth in property, plant and equipment investment.
He said cash on hand, plus balances with other banks also increased by 23.7 per cent to GH 1.73 million at the close of the year under review.
The Board Chairman said the increase in the bank's assets was funded mainly from an increase in the customer base and borrowings adding that customer deposits for 2015 increased by 29.7 per cent to GH 13.57 million.
Mr Awudu Hayatudeen, the General Manager of the Bank, who presented citations and some rewards to the founders and past board members of the bank, said the bank which has branches in Sandema, Bolgatanga, Fumbisi and Yagaba, currently has about fifty thousand clients.
Mr Bonaventure Adangabey, District Chief Executive for the area, who read the speech for the Regional Minister, Mr Albert Abongo, commended the Bank for complementing government's efforts in the areas of job creation, health, education, agriculture, and small scale businesses
'All these support from the BUCO-Bank have translated to the growth and development of the Builsa North District and I urge you to continue', the Regional Minister, said.
GNA
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Cyprus' support for Britain's air campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq has been essential in sustaining almost 3,000 combat missions so far this year, Britain's defense secretary said Tuesday.
Michael Fallon said the Royal Air Force hasn't kept such an operational tempo in a single theatre of conflict in more than 25 years.
Britain maintains two military bases on Cyprus including Akrotiri, from where anti-IS group missions are being flown.
Fallon said it would be "much harder to sustain" so many missions, which included 948 air strikes in Syria and Iraq, without the help of Cyprus. The country's eastern shores are 100 miles (160 kilometres) from the Syrian coastline.
"Only the U.S. is doing more," Fallon said after talks with Cypriot counterpart Christoforos Fokaides, adding that IS group "is losing land, losing money, losing the fight."
Fallon said the air campaign has helped push the Islamic State group out of 40 percent of the territory it had taken since 2014.
"Britain is determined to keep pulling out all the stops in this fight against evil," he said.
Fallon also offered assurances that British voters' decision to leave the European Union in a June referendum doesn't mean that the country will "abandon European security."
He said Britain would accelerate the fight against IS, step up efforts to counter illegal migration and build stronger security ties with Cyprus, an EU member. Britain will take part in the coming months in joint search and rescue exercises.
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If youve ever wondered what the future might be like, just stop and look around. We already have futuristic tech that would blow your socks off. Did you know that our smart phones can instantly translate any text using their cameras?
If youre struggling to learn a language, or just tired of using Google Maps in a foreign country, dont fret. Just whip out your phone to understand whats written in front of you.
Did you also know that scientists can make a video out of human memories? Imagine how useful and valuable this technology is to others. Our memories and experiences are a determining factor in shaping who we are.
So why not let science create a video of exactly who you are? No more sliding through pictures saying remember that time Instead, you just extract the memories straight from your brain.
But, perhaps even more exhilarating is the fact that we finally have jet packs. That is, of course, if you have the money to pay for it.
Martin Aircraft Company Ltd [ASX:MJP] is a New Zealand company bringing jet packs to the mainstream. The company has developed the Martin Jetpack, which can be used for multiple applications, including search and rescue, military and, of course, recreational uses.
Yet, this morning, Martin Aircraft traded down as much as 23.6%, to 42 cents per share. Shares have since bounced off this low. But how could jet pack shares go down?
Source: Google Finance
The Martin Jetpack
This morning the company released a business update. Martin Aircraft said their principle focus is on completing the Series 1 Martin Jetpack assembly by the end of 2016 with the aim of flight testing, demonstrating and delivering the Series 1 aircraft in early 2017.
On face value, this is good news. Customers will only have to wait until early next year to receive their jet packs. However, this revised timeline is in fact a delay. Original deliveries have been delayed by complexities with system integration requiring further design analysis, the company said.
The jet packs also had to be adjusted to meet certain targets. The Series 1 jet packs will now be modified to the following:
A range of 1520 kilometres;
A flight time of 28 minutes;
An airspeed of 40km/h and;
An altitude with 100 kilograms of 2,500 feet above sea level.
Early Series 1 aircrafts will be used to demonstrate their capabilities to customers. This would also likely create market interest, if there wasnt enough already for a jet pack! Based on prior customer feedback the company is optimistic about revenue generation.
A number of commercial opportunities have already popped up. The company is now exploring potential distributors. And this will hopefully generate future sales. The costs for Series 2 will be higher than anticipated. But these costs should be reduced by scaling up production, reducing the cost per jet pack.
So if youre a futurist looking to invest, look no further than what we currently have today.
Harje Ronngard,
Junior Analyst, Money Morning
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A Republican lawmaker in Congress became the first to break with the party and support Democrat Hillary Clinton for the White House on Tuesday amid signs of growing Republican unease with volatile presidential nominee Donald Trump.
The break by Representative Richard Hanna of New York followed days of uproar over Trump's criticism of the parents of a Muslim U.S. Army officer killed in the Iraq war, which has fueled a fresh round of Republican rebukes of the New York businessman.
Illustrating the escalating tension between the candidate and the party, Trump pointedly thanked the primary opponent of Republican House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan on Monday for his "kind words" after Ryan had issued a statement saying the sacrifice of the parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, should be honored.
Wisconsin businessman Paul Nehlen, who is challenging Ryan in next week's primary in Wisconsin, had posted material on his campaign website accusing Ryan of misrepresenting Trump's proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the country and defending him in the dispute with the Khans.
Several congressional Republicans have said they will not support Trump in the Nov. 8 election against Clinton, but Hanna was the first to take the extra step of endorsing the Democrat. Citing Trump's attacks on the Khans, Hanna called him "deeply flawed in endless ways," "unrepentant" and "self-involved."
"For me, it is not enough to simply denounce his comments: He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country," Hanna wrote in a letter posted on syracuse.com, the website of the Post-Standard newspaper in New York.
Trump has had a running feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan since they took the stage at last week's Democratic convention to cite their son's sacrifice and criticize Trump's proposed ban on Muslims.
Many Republicans have expressed support for the parents, and some have sharply rebuked Trump, most notably Senate Armed Forces Committee Chairman John McCain, a military veteran and former prisoner of war.
President Barack Obama questioned on Tuesday why Republican leaders were repeatedly criticizing Trump but still endorsing him, saying Trump's attacks on the Kahns showed he was "woefully unprepared" to serve in the White House.
"There has to come a point at which you say 'enough,'" Obama, a Democrat, told reporters.
Ryan and Republican Senate Majority Leader McConnell have offered support to the Khans, but no Republican leaders have withdrawn their support for Trump as the party's presidential pick. Ryan's office declined to comment on Hanna's announcement.
Hanna is retiring from the House and is not seeking re-election, leaving him more leeway to risk upsetting colleagues and voters over his break with Trump.
"While I disagree with her on many issues, I will vote for Mrs. Clinton. I will be hopeful and resolute in my belief that being a good American who loves his country is far more important than parties or winning and losing," he wrote.
Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, one of the most outspoken critics of Trump in Congress, said he would never join Hanna in voting for Clinton.
"Conservatives should reform the party of Lincoln, not surrender to the Clinton's machine's dishonesty and identity politics," Sasse said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
'INCENDIARY COMMENTS'
Trump, a former reality TV star, has troubled many in the Republican establishment with his off-the-cuff, often insulting style, and controversial policies including the proposed ban on Muslims and his plan to build a wall along the Mexican border to keep out illegal immigrants.
His presidential campaign has appealed to Capitol Hill for support amid the controversy over the Khans, including circulating talking points for lawmakers to use, but has found little support.
Trump's son, Eric Trump, told CBS News on Tuesday his father's comments toward the Khans have been "blown hugely out of proportion."
U.S. Republican Representative Charlie Dent, who has not endorsed Trump, criticized the candidate's tone on Tuesday and called for more measured responses, telling MSNBC his "incendiary comments ... are causing real problems."
Dent added that he was not shocked by Hanna's break with the party, although he said he himself has no plans to support Clinton.
"Like me, I think he's also been very concerned about the incendiary statements plus the lack of solid policy," coming from Trump, Dent said.
Trump has fallen slightly behind Clinton in recent polls since each party held their nominating conventions last month.
He also has trailed Clinton in fundraising. The Democrat reported raising nearly $90 million in July for her campaign and the Democratic Party, with more than half the donations coming from new donors.
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Its a bloodbath
Just as Ive been warning you for some time, and initially near the high of US$52 per barrel, the good days are over for crude. Its started to nosedive.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, has pulled back to US$42.21 per barrel. It remains 51.6% higher than the low of US$27.83 per barrel on 20 January. Brent prices ended July with a monthly loss of 12.7%. Its down almost 18% since peaking above US$50 in early June.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), also known as US crude, is trading down at US$40.09 per barrel. Its up 53.8% from the low of US$26.05 per barrel on 2 February. The US oil price dropped 14% last month its worst monthly performance since last July.
With crude trading lower, is it time for a big dump, or another short term pump?
Ill explain
Investment bank forecasts the good and the bad
Its clear that the sentiment has changed, and it happened quickly. When I warned you that crude would break out higher at around US$33 per barrel on 1 March, the majority of investment banks said it would crash to US$20 per barrel. A fortnight ago, when crude oil was trading higher when I warned again that it would crash CNBC reported:
Bank of America Merrill Lynchs energy research team maintained its outlook for 2017 oil demand, saying it will grow by 1.2 million barrels per day to bring supply into a deficit. Brent will hit $55 a barrel by end-2016, it forecast.
To be fair, Bank of America Merrill Lynch wasnt alone with its bullish forecast. With crude starting to trend lower, it probably wont be long until more investment banks downgrade their crude oil forecast. As Ive explained at length, the supply and demand dynamics are shocking.
Goldman Sachs, on the other hand, seems to understand whats going on. Its forecast has been more consistent of late. This is what Goldman said during the week of 6 June the week of the high, and when I initially warned you to sell your crude stocks. Bloomberg reported:
A decline in production driven by unexpected supply disruptions, as well as sustained demand, have resulted in a sudden halt to the output surplus, Goldman analysts Damien Courvalin and Jeffrey Currie wrote in a report. Other banks such as Morgan Stanley, Barclays Plc and Bank of America Corp. also noted that supply losses are leading markets to rebalance. The physical rebalancing of the oil market has finally started, Goldman said. The bank raised its U.S. crude price forecast for the second half of 2016 to $50 a barrel from $45 estimated in March. It cut its forecast for the first quarter of 2017 to $45 from $55, but sees oil at $60 by the end of that year. The bank expects global demand to grow by 1.4 million barrels a day in 2016, versus 1.2 million predicted previously.
While Goldmans forecast is on the safe side of the fence, the crude oil price has crashed to the bottom end of its 2016 target. Regardless, hats off to the investment bank for sticking with its forecastat least for now. According to CNBC on 28 July,
Crude oil prices will remain in the $45-$50-a-barrel range till mid-2017, with little to change the global supply and demand situation, Goldman Sachs said in a note Thursday. The investment banks analysts ran through the many scenarios that would keep the oil market in stasis. The improvement in oil fundamentals remains fragile and continues to feature large offsetting forces: wildfires have helped offset surprisingly strong Iran production, slowing demand growth in India and China in 2H16 will help offset production issues in Nigeria and Venezuela and finally product builds have offset crude draws, they said.
Look, I cant argue with the Goldmans forecast. The demand story remains anaemic in a deflationary-driven world economy, and the supply outlook doesnt look great.
The trend is your friend, until it changes
High gasoline inventories at New York, Europe and Singapore have raised concerns. According to investing.com yesterday,
Oilfield services provider Baker Hughes said late Friday that the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. last week increased by three to 374, the fifth straight weekly rise and the eighth increase in nine weeks. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, gasoline inventories increased by 452,000 barrels last week. Despite being in the midst of the peak summer-driving season in the U.S., gasoline stocks are well above the upper limit of the average range, according to the EIA. The report also showed that total crude oil inventories rose by a surprising 1.7 million barrels to 521.1 million barrels, which the EIA considered to be historically high levels for this time of year. According to market experts, elevated stocks of fuel products amid slowing global demand growth is expected to keep prices under pressure in the near-term.
Whatever way you want to look at it, crude stinks!
Resource Speculator readers who followed my buy and sell signals on the oilers have made a lot of money. But, unless a stock has near-term exploration upside that can offer potential short term share price rewards, Im not recommending any crude stocks to my readers. I believe there will be plenty of bargains in the months ahead especially if crude crashes to a new low, as I expect.
Of course, crude could easily bounce higher in the ultra-short term. Remember, no market moves straight up or down. Financial markets have a habit of surprising, and playing with your mind. Thats why its important to appreciate the trend, despite your fundamental analysis. Take a look at the weekly Brent crude oil chart below:
Source: Resource Speculator; Tradingview.com
Click to enlarge
Brent peaked on the major green resistance at roughly US$52 per barrel, which lines up with the blue resistance dating back to mid-2015 breakthrough range. The pink trend line, which acted as major support and dates back to the 2015 low, has broken down. Crucially, crude has now cracked the black support level.
On all measures, the crude oil trend has turned down, and that screams sell. However, its never that simple. While crude could hit a new in the months ahead, we could see a bounce first.
Keep in mind, crude tends to rally during August to September on a seasonal basis. The northern hemisphere summer, often results in a rise in gasoline demand. If gasoline drawdowns start to rise, and the rig count starts to fall, crude could rally to about US$47.60 per barrel this month thats the green resistance on the chart above.
Of course, a rally isnt guaranteed. After all, the trend is your friend
As it stands, the chart doesnt look good for crude. After posting a five-month rally, crude peaked in June. It then nosedived, closing below support last month. Thanks to higher taxes and excessive global regulation, crude demand could easily remain depressed into September. If the Baker Hughes rig count and inventories keep rising, oil could return to the US$37 per barrel range before bouncing higher.
I recommend being cautious for now. Regardless of what happens next, crude should hit a fresh low in the months ahead.
In the meantime, while the future remains uncertain, I suggest checking out three stocks that you can find in my free report, Three Bounce-Back Mining Belters to Buy NOW. In my view, there are no better three stocks to own this year.
To get your FREE report today, click here.
Regards,
Jason Stevenson,
Resources Analyst, Money Morning
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shot back at President Barack Obama's criticism of him as unfit for office, saying Democratic rival Hillary Clinton has embraced policies that have hurt national security and America's workers.
"Hillary Clinton has proven herself unfit to serve in any government office," Trump said in a statement shortly after Obama issued a scathing attack and challenged Republican leaders to withdraw support for their "woefully unprepared" nominee.
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A man who survived a pre-dawn bus wreck on a California highway says he was awakened from his sleep when he was thrown into the seat in front of him and then to the floor.
Leonardo Sanchez spoke to The Associated Press in Spanish outside a hospital near where the bus hit a sign post on State Route 99 in the San Joaquin Valley early Tuesday.
Authorities say five people were killed and at least five others were flown to hospitals in unknown condition.
Sanchez says he found himself in a chaotic scene: passengers were screaming and crying, some called for help and some were unable to move.
The 55-year-old says the impact left him with pain in his stomach and a bruised jaw and mouth.
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The CF Woodford Equity Income fund has reached 9.2 billion under management despite outflows of 157 million over the last two months.
Investors worried about the impact of Brexit on UK equities sold off the sector in June, marking the first outflows for Woodford Equity Income since launch in June 2014. According to from Morningstar Direct, June outflows totalled 143 million, with considerably more modest outflows last month of just 14 million.
Before June the fund had seen constant inflows ever since its launch. In 2015 the fund enjoyed 3.2 billion of inflows, making it the most popular fund of the UK equity income sector within the year. Even during the stock market selloff in August 2015 thanks to the Chinas stock market crash, the fund still recorded inflows of 290 million.
The news comes as the Investment Association reveals that assets under management reached a 12-month high across all fund sectors in June, totalling 948 billion despite outflows of 3.5 billion.
CF Woodford Equity Income is a Bronze Rated fund managed by Neil Woodford, who has 34 years investment experience and he is one of the UKs most experienced equity income managers, said a Morningstar senior fund analyst.
Analysts said that the long term track record of Woodford at his previous employer Invesco Perpetual proved his ability to stick to his strategy even during periods of poor performance.
The strategy of this fund is clear, set with the objective of generating a positive capital return over the long term and growing the income whilst offering capital preservation. They added.
The fund posted a positive return of 16.2% in 2015 and has gained 2.1% year to date. Despite the confidence shock of Brexit leading to fund withdrawals in June and July, the fund has taken 694 million inflows year to date.
The Morningstar Category UK Equity Income sector as a whole has recorded 1.4 billion outflows year to date amid growing market uncertainty. The UK flex-cap equity sector has also suffered from 1 billion withdrawals. However within the sector, the Gold Rated CF Lindsell Train UK Equity fund still enjoyed 450 million inflows year to date. This fund gained 10.5% year to date and it has 16% five years annualised return.
Investors Eye Gold and Biotech Funds
Gold often becomes the safe haven go-to among investors in times of severe economic uncertainty, and this has been reflected in the popularity of gold funds.
Chris Mellor, executive director of equities product management at Source, the ETF provider, said the recent amount of money flowing into gold products have been incredible.
I guess it's a hedge against weaker growth, worse of economic outcome than people are expecting and the Brexit vote back at the end of June, the surprise there has induced to get more inflows into gold as people realized that this isn't a smooth process of economic recovery, Mellow said.
The Gold Rated BlackRock Gold and General fund was on the top three most popular fund lists among Morningstar.co.uk readers in July, behind Woodford Equity Income and AXA Framlington Biotech. The fund saw 2 million inflows in June 2016 and has delivered a positive return of 129% year to date. Morningstar analyst Fatima Khizou believes this fund remains a strong offering for investors seeking mainstream gold and precious metals equity exposure in a risk-controlled manner.
AXA Framlington Biotech also caught Morningstar.co.uk readers attention in July, coming second on the most popular fund list. The fund is managed by Linden Thomson since 2012, and it has proved a strong track record since then. It has 27.6% five years annualised returns and 17.6% three years annualised return.
Investors Seek Global Equity Exposure
The Bronze Rated Fundsmith Equity fund continues to see record inflows in 2016 amid market uncertainty. It came forth on the most popular fund list in July among Morningstar.co.uk readers. In April 2016 the fund recorded 404 million inflows, the highest inflows of the fund in five years and in June 2016 the fund recorded 396 million inflows. Morningstar analyst Muna Abu-Habsa said from a performance perspective since launch the fund has been in a sweet spot.
Since launch in Nov 2010 to the end of Nov 2015, it is up 16.7% on an annualised basis; by comparison, the MSCI World Index is up 10.3%. The fund is further ahead of its average global large-cap equity Morningstar Category peer, which has returned 6.7% annualised, said Abu-Habsa,We believe Smiths long-term, distinctive approach and focus on delivering consistent, positive risk-adjusted returns make this a strong choice.
Another global equity fund, the Lindsell Train Global Equity fund came after Fundsmith Equity on the most popular fund list in July. The fund gains 21.1% year to date and it has a 18.4% five years annualised return. Legg Mason IF Japan Equity fund was also on the most popular fund list in July.
European shares hit a two-week low on Tuesday following poor results from some firms, including Metro and chipmaker Infineon, and another day of weak performance for the banking sector.
The STOXX 600 fell 0.8 percent, its lowest level since July 19.
Commerzbank fell 7 percent, the worst performer on the index, after warning that its earnings would fall this year.
Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank fell 4.7 percent and 2.9 percent respectively after STOXX said they will be dropped from the STOXX Europe 50 index from Aug. 8.
Europe's banking index fell 2.3 percent to its lowest in three weeks.
German retailer Metro fell 5.4 percent after reported an unexpected loss in its fiscal third quarter largely due to restructuring costs at its core wholesale business in Germany, Belgium and Italy.
Infineon, whose chips activate car airbags and enable cruise control, were down more than 4 percent after its profit and sales missed predictions due to a drop in demand at its power management and card payments businesses.
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As opposed to new taxes, housing policies with greater scope and powers are actually the most effective solutions for the long-running affordability crisis in Canadas red-hot real estate markets, according to a major real estate firm.In a July 28 press release, Royal Pacific Realty Group stated that the government should focus on ensuring that ownership is possible even for first-time buyers by instituting comprehensive housing policies which will increase the supply of more affordable homes.The government needs to increase the supply of medium-density, ground-oriented family housing, Royal Pacific vice president and general manager Andrew Peck said in the news release.One effective way that governments can go about this is promoting the development of high-density, low-cost family homes via financial incentives.Our realtors have clients desperately looking for townhomes. If the government gave municipalities a financial incentive for each townhouse built, municipalities would increase their efforts to rezone property, Peck stated. Builders would build more townhomes and find eager buyers.The executive added that while it does exist on some level, the oft-talked about competition between domestic and foreign buyers is not the fundamental problem in Canadas red-hot real estate markets.The first hurdle is saving a down payment in a region where incomes continue to lag far behind home prices. The second hurdle is finding an affordable home in a market where demand for lower priced units far exceeds supply, Peck explained.
As we enter the final week of the National Theatre Festival, Ahram Online highlights five plays worth attending before the festival ends
Egypt's 9th National Theatre Festival opened on 19 July and runs until 8 August, offering a large assortment of plays on 14 stages.
Check our recommendations for the festival's final week (2-8 August).
Ya Sem
Four dancers wearing red belly dance costumes, stepping slowly, they appear on stage while the tabla player gives the rhythm. Three other characters take their places around them as if listening to stories of old times.
With each rhythm of the tabla, the dancers bodies convulse. They put on the anklets and get up to indulge in motion. However, this is not a belly dance show.
Written, directed and choreographed by Sherine Hegazy, the performance makes us hear the cries of the female body and its revolt against all kinds of aggression, harassment and stress.
The dance envelopes the concept of refusal or even rebellion as women stand up to the violence and oppression they experience in society.
Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 August , 7pm
Falaki theatre, Downtown, Cairo
Nehayt El-Laaba (Endgame)
Based on the text by Samuel Beckett and adapted and directed by Youssef Mostafa, the play showcases the absurdity of the world.
The director based the performance on two characters (instead of four), underscoring the interdependent relationship between the blind and unable to stand Hamm and his servant Clov, who is unable to sit.
Staying at home all the time, both Hamm and Clov are isolated from the world, torn between feelings of resentment and pity towards one another.
The performance brings to the fore well balanced acting skills while the lighting helps emphasise the scenography and props.
Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 August , 7pm
Salah Abdel Sabour Hall, Taliaa Theatre, Attaba, Cairo
Zay Al-Nass (Like People)
In this performance, director Hani Afifi offers a lively and rather touching approach to the short play written by Bertolt Brecht in 1930, The Exception and the Rule.
A humorous apology to injustice is about the rich merchant Karl Longmann, who crosses the desert with a guide and a coolie who carries his luggage.
Desperate to reach his destination for the oil concession, he deprives the impoverished employees of rest. As he starts fearing that the two companions whom he mistreats would turn against him, the merchant decides to let the guide go.
He also shoots the coolie when the latter one offers him a flask of water, which the merchant thought was a stone the coolie wanted to throw at him. In court, the merchant is acquitted.
Not without a dosage of irony, Afifi captures the characters complexity in a sequence of skits that tell each scene. The scenography creates an additional emphasis on the sarcasm hidden in each of the situations.
Friday 5 and Saturday 6 August at 7pm
Creativity Center, Cairo Opera grounds, Zamalek, Cairo
We enter the world of theatre director Abir Ali, who gives her take on George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, adapted by Amal El-Marghani and staged by the independent troupe El-Messaharati.
The famed novel presents the world of Winston Smith, a member of the Outer Party in Oceania, one of Orwells fictional super-states, believed to reference the Americas, the British Isles, Iceland, Australia and New Zealand.
Freedom of expression does not exist, all thoughts are monitored, and large banners on the streets remind everyone that "Big Brother is watching you."
On the visual level, Ali paid attention to many details that aim at transposing us to the meticulously monitored universe. She used the screens and cameras that duplicate scenes from life: video projections show war scenes, landscapes, etc. All serves to emphasise the idea of a mechanical life. There is neither a place for thinking nor for questioning the regime in power.
Ali deprives the actors of colours, dressing them in gray uniforms and short black wigs. Black humour betrays painful and paradoxical messages long propagated by Islamists and male society. To ease the tension and resume with everyday images, Ali opts for a simple, everyday dialect.
The songs written and performed by Mohamad Ali, who plays the protagonist (Smith), summarised some ideas and scenes from the novel.
Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 August, at 7pm
Hanager Theatre, Cairo Opera grounds, Zamalek, Cairo
Kolena Caligula (We Are All Caligula)
Based on a play by Albert Camus, Kolena Caligula is directed and choreographed Mahmoud Moustaf and staged by the Egyptian Modern Dance Theatre Company.
The performance stresses on a depiction of a struggle within Caligula (played by Ahmed Yehia), one that shifts between the human and the monstrous, power and weakness, good and evil. Through the dance that portrays the dramaturgy, the internal conflict of the legendary Roman tyrant is revealed.
Caligula evokes desires, dreams and ideas about absolute power. Each idea is embodied by a dancer who captures Caligulas contrasting personality traits.
Friday 5 and Saturday 6 August, at 9pm
El-Gomhouria Theatre, 12 Al-Gomhouria Street, Abdeen, across from Abdin Palace, Downtown, Cairo
Complete programme of the 9th National Theatre Festival:
For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
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Home Price Gains Continue Cooling
The pace of home price appreciation does finally appear to be slowing. CoreLogic has released its Home Price Index (HPI) for June and both monthly and year-over-year price gains are slightly lower than they were in May.
Nationwide home prices, including distressed sales, rose 1.1 percent from May. The month-over-month gain from April to May was 1.3 percent and the index has seen monthly increases that have averaged 1.45 percent over the first half of 2016.
On an annual basis the national HPI posted a 5.7 percent gain in June. The year began with a 6.9 percent gain over the previous January. It has slipped every month since.
Prices increased way above the national average in the same three states that have led for months. Oregon posted a 10.9 percent gain and Washington was second at 10.3 percent with Colorado following at 9.2 percent. Nevada and Florida rounded out the top five with significantly lower gains, 7.7 percent and 7.0 percent respectively.
Two states in the Northeast were the only ones with price declines over the year. Connecticut posted a 1.7 percent loss and New Jersey was down by 0.8 percent.
The CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates that home prices will increase by 5.3 percent on a year-over-year basis from June 2016 to June 2017, and on a month-over-month basis home prices are expected to increase 0.6 percent from June 2016 to July 2016. The CoreLogic HPI Forecast is a projection of home prices using the CoreLogic HPI and other economic variables. Values are derived from state-level forecasts by weighting indices according to the number of owner-occupied households for each state.
"Mortgage rates dipped in June to their lowest level in more than three years, supporting home purchases," said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. "Local markets with strong economic growth have generally had stronger home-price growth. Among large metropolitan areas, Denver had the lowest unemployment rate and the strongest home-price appreciation." Denver's annual gain was 10.2 percent.
"Home prices continue to increase across the country, especially in the lower price ranges and in a number of metro areas," said Anand Nallathambi, President and CEO of CoreLogic. "We see prices continuing to increase at a healthy rate over the next year by as much as 5 percent."
On Monday, August 1, 2016, California bill AB 51, the lane splitting bill, passed the full California State Senate in a 38-0 vote. AB 51 recently passed the Senate Transportation Committee in an 11-0 vote. The bill now returns to the California State Assembly for approval.
All California motorcyclists who are interested in seeing AB 51 passed should contact their state senator and ask them to support the bill. You can find out who your representative is here.
California AB 51 Lane Splitting Bill Passes State Senate Transportation Committee
California Bill AB 51 Codifying Lane Splitting To Be Introduced To Committee
AB 51 To Formally Legalize Lane-Splitting
Hallelujah! The AMA Endorses Lane Splitting
The Truth About Lane-Splitting
Skidmarks Splitting Headache
Anyone interested in watching a video of the vote can view it on Lanesplittingislegal.com (Caution: very boring!).
Orbital Outfitters business is good to go. Thats the message that CEO Jeff Feige gave to Midland Development Corp. during the organizations monthly meeting Monday at City Hall.
Building stuff always takes longer than it should, Feige told the Reporter-Telegram after the meeting, but Orbital is ready to kick off more than the spacesuit side of its business at Midland International Air & Space Port. The Midland Altitude Chamber Complex (MACC), which Orbital will operate, is fully operational and ready for customers.
Feige said he is negotiating with four or five customers that want to conduct altitude chamber testing at the MACC, a critical step before sending anything or anyone out into space. The chamber could see its first commercial use next month, but scheduling is the toughest part.
Some of these are multiyear projects, Feige said. A big satellite project is $50 million, and youre trying to do $500,000 of that project. Trying to work into their master multiyear schedule can be a hassle. Customers are just starting to turn up, but weve only been operational for a little while.
Feige said space companies have a lot of interest in the MACC because their only other option is to have their testing performed by NASA. He said one spacesuit company he had talked with has made spacesuits for NASA for the past 40 years. While NASA offers them altitude chamber testing for free, the government space agency has an 18-month wait time to use its facilities. When is the MACC available? Stop by next week, he said.
Orbital Outfitters and MDC inform space companies about the MACC by attending various industry conferences around the nation. The buzz is growing.
Weve been telling people for three years that were going to do this, and when (Orbital Outfitters) presented this paper, people in the audience said, Oh my gosh! They actually built the thing! Were just so used to companies presenting the PowerPoints and not doing the projects, Feige said. Its almost like until you show pictures of the finished facilities and the stuff in it, people in the industry almost dont treat it like its real.
Its only within the last four to five months that people realize the project is real and now need to jump on using it.
Thats just a hangover of how the industry works, he said.
Feige said that as more space companies work altitude chamber testing at the MACC, the chamber should be continuously busy. With seven full-time employees and counting, Orbital Outfitters welcomes the business, as does the MDC.
The MACC is a significant asset for the city of Midland, MDC board Chairman Brent Hilliard told the Reporter-Telegram. Based on my own personal experiences having attended space conferences this year and feedback from our staff, I believe that investment is going to be a good draw for the city of Midland and Orbital Outfitters.
Other MDC business
Budget gets OK
The board approved its budget for fiscal year 2016-17. MDC is projecting about $8.5 million in income from the Type A sales tax, the quarter-cent sales tax that funds the development corporation. Even though MDC expects more, Hilliard said that the board would rather lower its income projection to prevent being over-budget.
Total operations are expected to cost about $9.7 million; $7.2 million of that is for previously made contractual obligations and investments. In total, the MDC has about $22.7 million in cash or cash equivalent and about $1.7 million in sales tax receivables for a total of $24.3 million in assets.
Fairgrounds funding
Board members approved entering into an economic development agreement with the city of Midland for right-of-way acquisition. MDC agreed to give the city up to $600,000 to acquire right-of-way for the possible extension of Fairgrounds Road north of Loop 250.
MPO update
Permian Basin Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Director Cameron Walker presented an update on its activities. An Interstate 20 corridor study funded by the Texas Department of Transportation is underway to gauge what improvements should be made to the highway. Its the interstates first study since 1999.
The MPO is also working on an overpass at Loop 250 and Fairgrounds Road and will next eye a curvilinear overpass at Loop 250 and county roads 1150 and 60. Also in the works is a traffic demand model, which takes a scientific look at all things traffic in Midland.
Downtown report
Downtown Development Coordinator Cristina Odenborg gave a presentation about the city agencys role in revitalizing downtown. She said the city looks to attract new businesses downtown through a variety of incentives, perhaps the most critical being assistance in covering the cost of asbestos abatement. Odenborg also said she is working on ideas for monthly downtown events, such as farmers markets and art walks.
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Few things are as universally beloved as getting something for nothing. Everyone supports free samples at the grocery store, soda refills, and, perhaps one day soon, college tuition.
Once an idealistic pipe dream of the far left, free higher education is now largely supported by a majority of Americans. Sixty-two percent say they support debt-free university tuition, according to a July survey of 1,000 American adults conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International for consumer financial company Bankrate.
Among those who are opposed to the initiative, 26 percent said they would support making college debt free for students coming from families that earn less than $50,000 annually. Another 5 percent are willing allow it for those whose families earn less than $85,000 a year.
But when it comes to putting their money where their mouth is, Americans are more reluctant. Among those surveyed, 48 percent they would not be willing to pay more in federal taxes to fund free college.
Making college tuition free is most heavily supported by those in the millennial generation, the survey found. This is unsurprising, given that millennials face a staggering amount of student loan debt. Undergraduate borrowers who finished college in 2014 are burdened with an average $28,950 in loans, and the delinquency rate on such loans is increasing. A July survey by the Federal Reserve found 29.2 percent of those polled did not attend college because it was too expensive. Among those who started their degree, 28 percent said they could not complete it because of the cost.
While 79 percent of millennials support free college, only 64 percent of Gen Xers and 49 percent of boomers feel similarly. Support is also split along political lines. Democrats overwhelmingly support the idea, while just 33 percent of Republicans are in favor.
Debt forgiveness is not as attractive as free college, the survey found. About a third of those surveyed said student loans should be forgiven after the debtor makes payments for 10 years, but 40 percent said the loan should never be forgiven. So while the future might be student loan-free, Americans dont expect to cut a break for those who are already laden with debt.
Quinton Gonzalez was a sophomore last school year at Roosevelt High Schools Design and Technology Academy, where an Advanced Placement Computer Science teacher told his class about a drone-building summer camp.
Gonzalez, 16, didnt need further persuasion to sign up.
Being able to fly stuff and crash them into things just sounds like fun, Gonzalez said. Its the dream.
Gonzalezs dream became reality Thursday, when classrooms at the San Antonio school filled with flying and crashing drones.
He and 19 other students from North East Independent School District middle and high schools finished the two-week drone camp by steering their creations through an obstacle course.
Resembling quadrupeds with propeller feet and narrow, glowing eyes, the drones were supposed to hum their way under and over PVC pipes propped on chairs and through two hula hoops before landing on a trash can.
Youth Code Jam, an organization that promotes computer programming to students, sponsored the camp. The students built the drones and remote controls themselves, said Debi Pfitzenmaier, the organizations founding executive director. They also used the Java computer language to program the remote controls. The students worked together, but each student got individual drones.
This was Youth Code Jams first drone camp, but Pfitzenmaier hopes it will become an annual summer program. The camp was designed to boost students interest and confidence in science, technology, engineering and math and show them related career pathways, she said.
The San Antonio tech ecosystem begins here, with these kids, she said.
Some had experience coding, but few had used computer code to program something they could touch, Pfitzenmaier said.
They begin to see what the code really can accomplish, she said.
Many of the students came from White Middle School and Roosevelt Highs DATA program. The full cost of the camp was $550, but Pfitzenmaier said about 60 percent of the students received partial or full scholarships provided by Conceptual MindWorks, Rackspace and Accenture.
Jenny Jett, 16, was the only girl in her AP Computer Science class last school year, as a sophomore at Roosevelt High. She said the drone camps director recruited her to join because Youth Code Jam wanted to enroll more girls.
Jetts drone made it through the obstacle course. Afterward, she programmed the lights in its eyes to blink purple.
Im the girl, she said. I cant mess up. I have to show I can do it.
Some drones still needed work Thursday before their operators attempted the final challenge.
Why is it doing that? an anguished Ramiro Rocha, 13, asked as his drone drifted to the ground.
In an upstairs computer lab, Mahagani Lasciers, 12, was repeatedly trying to upload her code to the drone. She will be a seventh-grader next school year at Bush Middle School. She said she wanted to use her newfound skills to program other things, like remote-controlled cars.
I really learned how I could put work from a computer into an object and see how it works, Mahagani said.
Moments after District 4 Councilman J.Ross Lacy started off the citys budget process with a no vote on a top-end tax rate, he dropped the hammer on a proposed budget and tax rate he called unacceptable.
Lacy called for city leaders to tighten their belts, even trimming staff if necessary, to keep the same tax rate as last year. He said the community is suffering this year because of the economic conditions and that the city should not follow the tax-raising trend he expects to be set by the other government entities inside Midland County.
We should be setting the example and showing how we can lower our budget and keep our tax rate the same because we are not seeing a large decrease in property valuations, Lacy said. In fact, our property valuations increased by $450 million this year and yet we are still increasing the tax rate. It is unacceptable.
The four members of the council who appeared at Tuesdays meeting considered a property tax rate for the upcoming year. The proposed tax rate previously reported is the effective rate (38.8038 cents per $100 valuation) plus 3 percent, or 39.9679 cents. The current fiscal year tax rate is 38.048.
That means a Midlander with a property appraised at $200,000 will pay around $800 in property taxes (assuming no change in valuation). That is an increase of nearly $40. The city expects the average home price to increase 2.08 percent to $211,202.
That extra 3 percent is expected to bring in an addition $1.372 million to the general fund.
City leaders actually approved a rate Tuesday that is the effective rate, plus 4 percent. It is higher than the proposed rate, but the expectation is still to lower that rate when the final rate is approved. City staff told the council members present that once the rate is set they can still lower it but they cant raise it.
Lacys was the lone vote against the rate and he anticipates more no votes through the process. He wants last years tax rate, is calling for the council to bypass certificates of obligation (council-approved bond debt) for street maintenance and is proposing a $150 million street maintenance bond (over a five-year period) to go before the voters in November 2017. He said he expects it is the obligation of the voters to make such a commitment, not the council sitting on its dais.
He said Midlanders will follow the lead set by Texas voters who overwhelming approved propositions for infrastructure needs in a 2014 statewide election.
If it is such a great idea, the voters will let us know, he said.
Note: Council members present Tuesday were Lacy, Spencer Robnett, Sharla Hotchkiss and John Love III.
The following is the City Council budget schedule:
Aug. 16: The first of two public hearings will be held for discussion about the tax rate increase.
Aug. 23: The second of two public hearings will be held for discussion about the tax rate increase.
Aug. 30: A public hearing will be held about the 2017 budget.
Sept. 13: Council will adopt a budget and tax rate increase ordinances.
San Antonio Express-News
SHERMAN, Texas (AP) An ex-principal at a North Texas elementary school has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being arrested at a mall for trying to solicit sex from someone he thought was a 16-year-old boy.
Federal prosecutors say 47-year-old Oscar Figueroa of Carrollton was sentenced Monday in Sherman for child exploitation. He was convicted by a federal jury in April for attempting to coerce and enticement of minors.
We were not bribed to drop ...
Sonora Police, Serving Up Ice Cream During National Night Out 2015 View Photos
Sonora, CA Across the country and the Mother Lode law enforcement officials and other first responders invite the public to National Night Out events.
According to Sonora Police Chief Mark Stinson, tonight marks the 33rd anniversary of this community outreach effort. As he puts it, It is held in all 50 statesfor all citizens to come together with law enforcement and talk about ways they can better prepare themselves and fight crime and also how to protect against some of the criminal elements that are out there these days.
While other jurisdictions may favor cookouts, Chief Stinson says his department prefers to dish out ice cream with their resource tips as they hobnob with local residents and also hear them share their perspectives. Discussing the latest and common-sense ways to secure ones residence remains a popular topic. He also emphasizes that, these days, another hot button subject how to become more alert about personal finances will help avoid citizens from inadvertently being tapped by some criminal element, either online or in person. The chief points to a series of Sonora Police Facebook posts recently created, alerting folks to the dangers of a whole new array of evolving scams being perpetrated through various means.
Local National Night Out Event Details
This evenings Sonora Police-hosted event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at Sonora Opera Hall (250 S. Washington St.). Come on downafter our presentation, myself and other individuals from the police department will be serving up ice cream. We can serve up a sundae, a banana split no matter what we will be happy to serve you, Chief Stinson says cheerily, confiding a preference for the frozen flavor concoction, Rocky Road.
Tuolumne County Sheriffs Department is holding a somewhat similar event from 5 to 8 p.m. at Indigeny Reserve (14679 Summers Lane) in Sonora. Sheriffs officials are promoting it as a way to promote and reinforce law enforcement-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make local neighborhoods safer, better places to live as well as to increase awareness about law enforcement programs in the community, such as town watch, neighborhood watch and other anti-crime efforts.
Too, in Calaveras County, the Calaveras Consolidated Fire Support Team will stage an interagency program where Calaveras Sheriff Rick DiBasilio and other officials from the countys first responder groups will be available for the public to meet and talk with at the Terrace Plaza (1906 Vista Del Lago Drive) in Valley Springs from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Along with speakers the event will also feature games for the kids and free hotdogs.
It was a close call for several homeowners in Seminole County Monday night when a brush fire in Geneva got out of control. And lightning is being blamed for sparking the fire.
In the nearly 30 years hes lived in rural Seminole County, Tim Lee says hes never had flames come so close to his home from a brush fire.
Brush fire burns close to homes in Geneva
Lightning from over the weekend blamed for the fire
Fire contained by late Monday night
Never this close, said Lee. This was a close call for us.
On Monday afternoon, the brush fire spread through the woods right behind Tim Lees home off Bee Lane in Geneva.
Firefighters with the Florida Forestry Service and the Seminole County Fire Department had their hands full.
The fire threatened several peoples homes, including Lees. Flames came within a few feet of Lees neighbors home.
Its just what you deal with when you live out in the rural area you know, said Lee.
Lee says this is why he keeps brush and trees cleared out and far away from his house.
This used to be palmettos and pine trees and I cleared them all out to get rid of the pine trees, which are lightning rods, said Lee.
Lightning over the weekend is being blamed for the fire. Lee believes it smoldered for a couple days until wind got it going on Monday.
The forestry service said they found the tree with the lightning strike on it, thats how it started, said Lee.
Lee says while there have been storms and rain all around here, his area has missed out any actual rain.
Its been two months since weve had a good soaking rain, just a sprinkle here or there, said Lee.
If we dont see some rain we will. Its a tinderbox out here, its dry.
Luckily firefighters were able to stop the flames from reaching any of the homes. They had the fire contained by late Monday night. Firefighters are expected to keep a close eye on the area in the coming days.
A North Texas woman who had plans this summer to meet her half-sister face-to-face for the first time never got the chance.
Instead, Huong Tao's sibling traveled from California to Texas this week to attend her funeral.
Tao, 32, was killed last week by her ex-husband, who bludgeoned her to death with a hammer just weeks after their 16-year marriage ended. The couple had three children.
Khoa Dang Tao, 43, is being held without bail in the Dallas County Jail, charged with her murder.
Huong Tao, a Vietnamese immigrant, and her half-sister Gina Rose had the same father, but they grew up in different countries. The two half-sisters recently became acquainted and talked over the phone. They had planned to meet in June, Rose said.
"At least we did find each other in our hearts before he took her away," Rose said Tuesday. "And it's a comfort that he won't be getting out soon."
Police said Khoa Tao called 911 on April 22 and admitted to police that he killed his ex-wife.
Garland Police Lt. Keith Thompson said he told them her body was at his rented Garland house. Police found her body in a bedroom.
Police confirmed that Huong Tao was bludgeoned to death with hammer but declined to give further details.
According to her family, police told them that Khoa Tao ambushed his wife as she was leaving her Murphy home to go to work early that morning. They said police told them he hid behind the front seat.
After the divorce, Huong Tao began a new life with her children and her fiance, said her mother, Suu Tsingo of San Francisco.
"I don't know why he wanted to kill my daughter," Tsingo said in Wednesday's editions of The Dallas Morning News. "My daughter didn't make any trouble. He wanted to marry another woman in Hanoi, then we wanted Huong back."
But trouble was brewing, said some neighbors and friends. They said Huong Tao had told them that her ex-husband had been stalking for the last few weeks.
Huong Tao's supervisor at Dallas Semiconductor, Lance Davis, said she was afraid of her ex-husband.
"She said that her ex-husband was threatening her," Davis said. "She was crying and didn't know what to do.
"I didn't take it as seriously as I should have," he said. "Apparently, he followed through with his threats."
Tsingo said her daughter tracked down her biological father to let him know he had grandchildren. She and Huong came to the United States in 1985.
Her father worked at the U.S. Embassy in 1970 and was reassigned to the United States a month before she was born, family members said.
Rose said her father first acknowledged Huong Tao as his daughter after she contacted him three years ago. He attended the funeral, but family members said he declined to be interviewed.
Rose said a strong bond developed between the sisters within a few phone calls. They traded pictures and talked about their family resemblances.
"It breaks my heart I wasn't able to meet her, or push to see her sooner than this," Rose said. "I can only pray the Lord will put her kids where they need to be, and if there's anything I can do about it, I'll be there for them.
"Huong was my blood," she said.
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SACRAMENTO With more than two years to go, the race for Californias next governor is already attracting millions of dollars in campaign contributions.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has been raising money for more than a year and has $8.6 million in cash between two campaign accounts including $1.6 million raised between Jan. 1 and June 30 but a competing candidate is proving to be a strong fundraiser as well.
Campaign finance reports released Monday show that state Treasurer John Chiang raised $2.3 million in the seven weeks of his campaign that were covered by the filing. Chiang, who entered the race in May, has an additional $3.2 million in his campaign account from his successful run for treasurer that can be used in his race for governor.
More candidates are expected to join the race to replace termed-out Gov. Jerry Brown, with those potentially including former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former state Controller Steve Westly, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer.
Money doesnt always win, but in a race like this when there are potentially half a dozen or more candidates, someone would like to jump ahead to give others a reason to say, Well, maybe I will consider something else, said Larry Gerston, professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State University.
In Bay Area legislative races, former Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, raised $102,000 in the reporting period of May 22 to June 30 and has $936,000 in cash for her effort to replace termed-out Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley. Skinners opponent, former Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, D-Alameda, raised $113,000 during the reporting period, but has $76,000 in cash.
In the contentious San Jose state Senate race, incumbent Jim Beall has been spending big against his rival, Assemblywoman Nora Campos. Beall has spent $883,000 since January, with half of those expenditures coming right before the June 7 primary, which he won by a large margin. Beall has $125,000 in cash remaining heading into the runoff against Campos in November.
Campos reported Monday that she has $36,000 among four campaign accounts. She spent $184,000 ahead of the June primary on campaign mailers.
The Bay Areas only Republican in the state Legislature, Assemblywoman Catharine Baker of San Ramon, has a significant fundraising lead over Democratic challenger Cheryl Cook-Kallio in the East Bays 16th Assembly District.
Baker raised $237,000 between May 22 and June 30 and ended with $991,000 in cash. She has spent $452,000 since January. Cook-Kallio raised $169,000 during the most recent reporting period.
In the mad dash to qualify Gov. Jerry Browns ballot measure on prison sentencing reform for the fall ballot, the campaign supporting Prop. 57 spent nearly $5 million on signature gathering this year, according to Mondays filings. Browns own ballot measure committee contributed $4.1 million to the Yes on Prop. 57 campaign, which now has just $120,000 in cash on hand.
Wealthy Palo Alto physicist and Republican donor Charles Munger Jr. gave $7 million to the Yes on Prop. 54 campaign. The ballot measure would require the state Legislature to wait 72 hours after a bill is made public before voting on it and mandate that videos of public hearings be put on the Internet within 24 hours.
A ballot measure to extend taxes on the wealthy to fund education has raised $18 million so far this year. The Yes on Prop. 55 campaign has spent $4 million this year in its efforts to extend income taxes being paid under Prop. 30. Its biggest contributor is the California Teachers Association, which gave $3.5 million this year.
Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez
Virgin Galactic says it has received an operating license for its space tourism rocket from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Virgin Galactic says the operating license awarded by the FAAs Office of Commercial Space Transportation will ultimately permit commercial operations.
The company said Monday the licensing process involved a review of the systems design, safety analysis and flight trajectory analysis.
Virgin Galatics first spaceship broke apart in 2014 during its fourth rocket-powered test flight when the co-pilot prematurely unlocked a key system. The second version of the companys SpaceShipTwo was unveiled in February.
The first taxi test of the new spacecraft took place Monday morning at the Mojave (Kern County) airport.
The taxi test evaluated and calibrated navigation and communications telemetry systems as it was pulled by a sport utility vehicle.
Cybercrime
Charges in
Nigeria scams
A Nigerian accused of scamming $60 million from companies around the world through fraudulent emails has been arrested after months of investigation, Interpol and Nigerias anti-fraud agency said Monday.
One company paid out $15.4 million, according to an Interpol statement.
The ringleader of a global scamming network, identified only as 40-year-old Mike, was arrested along with a 38-year-old accomplice in Nigerias oil capital, Port Harcourt, in June, the statement said. He is on administrative bail, which implies that officers do not yet have enough evidence to charge him.
The man is accused of leading a network that compromised email accounts of small and medium-sized businesses around the world including in the United States, Australia, India, South Africa and Thailand. The statement didnt name any targets.
The network involved about 40 people in Nigeria, Malaysia and South Africa who provided malware and carried out the frauds, with money-laundering contacts in China, Europe and the United States providing bank account details.
A suppliers email would be compromised and fake messages sent to a buyer with instructions for payment to a bank account under the networks control, the statement said. Or an executives email account would be taken over and a request for a wire transfer sent to an employee.
Acquisitions
Verizon to buy
Fleetmatics
Verizon says it plans to pay about $2.4 billion to buy Fleetmatics, which makes software used by cable companies, energy providers and others to manage their fleets of vehicles.
Verizon will pay $60 for each share of Fleetmatics, a nearly 40 percent premium of the stocks closing price of $42.96 Friday.
Fleetmatics, from Ireland, has more than 37,000 customers that use its software to track the location of vehicles driven by workers.
New York
Superstorm
fraud alleged
An engineering firm that was hired by insurance companies to evaluate damage caused by Superstorm Sandy was charged Monday with illegally altering reports prepared by inspectors in the field.
HiRise Engineering and one of the companys project managers, Matthew Pappalardo, were charged with felony fraud. Pappalardo also faces charges of practicing engineering without a license.
He and the company have denied wrongdoing. They pleaded not guilty during an arraignment in Nassau County.
The charges are the result of an investigation opened in 2014 by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman after lawyers for scores of New York and New Jersey homeowners filed civil lawsuits claiming that altered engineering reports had led to them getting less insurance money than they deserved.
In at least 25 cases, prosecutors allege that Pappalardo who was not an engineer had employees heavily edit field reports, sometimes in ways that substantially changed conclusions about the extent or cause of damage.
The altered reports were submitted by HiRise without the approval of the engineers who actually inspected the homes, the attorney generals office said.
Courts
Workers comp
claim denied
A woman who found her 77-year-old husband crushed to death under an all-terrain vehicle when she brought him lunch at his job cannot sue his employer for severe emotional injuries she suffered, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Monday.
Justices issued a unanimous decision in an appeal filed by Jenny Velecela. Her husband, Austin Irwin, was under the ATV doing repairs at All Habitat Services in Branford on July 16, 2011, when it slipped off a lift and killed him. Velecela found him a short time later.
In an agreement with All Habitat Services, Velecela received $300,000 in workers compensation benefits for her husbands death, but she also filed a lawsuit against the company alleging it was responsible for the emotional injuries she suffered.
The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that Connecticuts workers compensation law bars people from suing for negligent infliction of emotional distress if they receive workers compensation.
Chronicle News Services
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RENSSELAER Monolith Solar hopes to break ground within the next three weeks on its long-delayed, $4.6 million headquarters project in Slingerlands using a U.S. Small Business Administration loan program.
The company needs to close the loan and start construction by Aug. 25 to still qualify for $680,000 in tax breaks through the Bethlehem Industrial Development Agency. The New York Business Development Corp. in Albany is originating the loan, with participation by KeyBank, Monolith executive Steve Erby told the Times Union.
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DANBURY Customers will find 63,000 square feet of bright, airy space to do their grocery shopping when the ShopRite at 1 Padanaram Road opens for business on Wednesday morning.
Formerly an A&P, the store is the 11th ShopRite in Connecticut owned by the Cingari family.
The store will open at 9 a.m. on Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at which the Cingari family will announce a donation to a charity at the ceremony. Regular store hours will be 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The transformation is amazing. Its one of the most beautiful stores we have. The people of Danbury will love it, Tom Cingari Jr., the familys produce and dairy supervisor, said.
Cingari said the Danbury location will be unique with its expanded prepared food section and full-service meat department.
They always have the best meats, seafood and produce, Stephen Bull, president of the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce, said Monday evening during a special reception for employees and invited guests.
The new store will have about 230 employees. The Cingaris employ about 2,200 people in their supermarkets.
You dont get a lot of family-owned supermarkets these days, Cingari said. When people work for us they feel like family.
ShopRite is a cooperative under the parent company Wakefern/ShopRite. There are more than 250 ShopRites throughout Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Cingari family, one of 50 cooperative members, owns ShopRites in Brookfield, Southbury, Derby, Shelton, Fairfield, Stamford and Norwalk.
They know what they are doing. These guys take it personal and have a formula that really works, Bull said. I think theyll be extremely well-received. They are very good businessmen and they know where to put their stores. Im happy this location will remain a grocery store. This side of town needed it to remain a grocery store.
Rocky Cingari, president of the family business, said the Danbury store was the only A&P location that his family took over. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2015 and closed the Danbury store last fall. ShopRite worked throughout the winter and spring to get the store ready for Wednesdays opening.
Weve become our own contractors and designers, he said. We had to be mindful of the new trends and had to incorporate them.
Bruce Robinson, a consultant for the Cingari family, added: Every ShopRite is different. They reflect the area they are built in and the ethnicities of the people in the area. We also build every store with efficiency and sustainability in mind.
The Danbury store features a series of photographs and paintings near the check-out area that reflect the citys history.
The Cingari family has an interesting history of its own in the grocery store business. Tom Cingari Jr. and his cousin, Dominick Cingari, are part of the fourth generation of the family to work at ShopRite.
The business started during the Depression when Salvatore Cingari loaded a bus with fresh produce and called his business Grade A Market. He opened a traditional location in 1943 and brought his sons into the business. They joined the Wakefern/ShopRite cooperative in 1991.
The Cingaris have a strong tradition of giving back to the community in various ways. Sam Cingari is chairman of the board of the Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County.
We started out in Stamford and started growing our roots. Its a big priority for us to become part of the community, Tom Cingari Jr. said. We bring that community-centered aspect into all of the communities where we expand.
Rocky Cingari said Danbury customers can expect another ShopRite staple.
Super service, super quality, he said. Thats our basis.
cbosak@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3338
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San Antonio medical technology company Acelity LP Inc., which sells advanced wound care and regenerative medicine products, saw its net loss widen by 14.2 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, but marked its seventh consecutive quarter of revenue growth.
The company which is not publicly traded, but is owned by a private equity consortium achieved its biggest gains in regenerative medicine, such as products used to build soft tissue for breast reconstruction patients.
Acelity reported a net loss of $20.1 million for the three months ending June 30, up from a $17.6 million net loss posted during the same period last year. The increase was primarily due to the loss on debt extinguishment of $10.1 million and professional fees of $6.9 million associated with debt transactions in the second quarter, the company said in a statement.
But the companys revenue rose 2.3 percent in the latest quarter to $472.4 million, up from $461.6 million during the same period last year, buoyed partly by strong growth in sales of its expansion products and higher volumes associated with breast reconstruction procedures.
Those expansion products include the Prevena Incision Management System, a battery-powered portable device used to prevent infections in surgical incisions, and the Abthera Therapy System, used to heal open abdominal wounds.
Acelitys adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization declined 1 percent in the second quarter to $171.1 million, a slight drop from the $172.9 million recorded during the same period last year, primarily because of the companys push to release new products and investments made in its franchise structure and sales force to drive growth.
Credit analysts focus more on EBITDA than net income to evaluate the financial health of private-equity-owned companies such as Acelity. The company also believes EBITDA is a better measure of its performance. EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Acelity demonstrated solid financial performance in the second quarter, CEO and President Joe Woody said.
I am pleased with our performance during the quarter and continue to be impressed with our outstanding team of employees, Woody told investors and analysts during a conference call today. They are restoring peoples lives and finding new ways to deliver value to our customers and to the patients who use our products every day.
For the company as a whole, the investment and focus on our strategy, innovation and commercial execution strengthens our position for future growth, he said.
Acelity announced last August that it is planning an initial public offering of stock. How soon that happens still hasnt been determined. The company is continuing to evaluate the market, said Laurel Harper, Acelitys senior manager of corporate reputation.
Acelity could pay down roughly $900 million to $1 billion in debt with the net proceeds of that public offering, Fitch Ratings predicted in a report released in May.
Acelity was founded in San Antonio in 1976 as Kinetic Concepts Inc. KCI was a public company several times over the years, but went private in a leveraged buyout in 2011 when investors led by private equity firm Apax Partners, based in London paid more than $6 billion for the company.
KCI and two medical technology companies it acquired, LifeCell and Systagenix, were rebranded as Acelity in 2014. Today, Acelity employs 1,500 people at its San Antonio headquarters. The company has more than 5,800 employees worldwide and sells products in more than 80 countries.
Acelity is the worlds market leader in the advanced wound care industry, followed by Smith & Nephew, according to a BMI Research report released in June.
During the second quarter, revenue for Acelitys advanced wound therapy products rose slightly by 0.2 percent to $355 million. Those products accelerate healing and prevent complications in patients with surgical wounds or chronic wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers, company filings show.
Revenue for the companys regenerative medicine products grew 11 percent to $114.9 million, the biggest growth recorded since 2012, which Woody described as outstanding execution. Those products are used in general and reconstructive surgical procedures for soft tissue repairs, such as breast reconstruction and hernia repairs.
This exceptional performance was led by double-digit growth in revenue from breast reconstruction procedures in the U.S., higher sales of our fat-grafting technology and solid performance in our international markets, Woody told investors and analysts today. The adoption of improved surgical techniques and solid execution by our sales force continues to positively impact our revenue.
One analyst predicted Acelity will continue to expand its portfolio.
We expect them to look outside the firm and acquire products that perhaps cant be developed in-house very easily or quickly or in a cost-effective way, said Bob Kirby, a Fitch Ratings analyst who monitors health care companies.
In December, for instance, Acelity acquired the SNAP Therapy System from Spiracur Inc. for $42.5 million a portable device that patients can wear discreetly to keep wounds clean.
One other way we expect them to enhance their growth is through expanding outside of the U.S., Kirby added. There are opportunities for them in emerging markets.
Acelity generates about three-quarters of its sales in the U.S., according to the Fitch Ratings report released in May. The companys sales force already markets its products in Canada, Western Europe and other emerging markets, corporate filings show.
Overall, the advanced wound care market is still growing, but not as rapidly as some other segments of health care because payers such as hospital chains and health insurance companies are pushing back and questioning prices they would have readily paid in the past, another analyst said.
Its still a positive market. But it is challenging because of that fundamental issue, said Jamie Davies, BMI Researchs head of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and health care.
pohare@express-news.net
Humana
The health insurance company Humana is hosting a series of mobile health screenings free of charge this month at specified locations in San Antonio, Boerne and New Braunfels.
The events also will feature health education resources and live customer service agents to assist both Humana members and nonmembers.
Courtesy photo
San Antonio stem cell technology company StemBioSys Inc. has reached an agreement that will allow its products to be distributed in Europe.
The agreement allows Cellaviva AB to be the exclusive distributor of StemBioSys products in Sweden and Denmark. The agreement also gives Cellaviva nonexclusive rights to distribute and market those goods throughout the rest of Europe.
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The family of a man shot dead by four Oakland police officers as he carried a toy gun filed a federal lawsuit against the city Monday, saying the killing violated his constitutional rights and was the result of poor police training.
Police said Richard Perkins Jr., 39, pointed a realistic-looking pellet gun at the officers the evening of Nov. 15 in East Oakland. Officers fired about a dozen rounds, killing him.
His relatives, however, after watching surveillance-camera footage of the incident, said Perkins had complied with police commands and had warned the officers he was carrying the toy pistol but never raised it.
Perkins was a motorcycle enthusiast and father of two who was working on a neighbors house remodeling before his death. He was shot after stopping to admire motorcycles that police had impounded while breaking up an illegal sideshow on 90th Avenue near Bancroft Avenue, the family said.
Police referred questions about the case to the city attorneys office. A representative there declined to comment, saying lawyers hadnt yet been served with the lawsuit.
The confrontation with the four officers three rookies and one sergeant who had been on the force for seven years happened after Perkins brandished the Desert Eagle replica gun, police said.
Perkins was struck by several bullets, some of them in the head and back, according to an Alameda County coroners autopsy report.
Perkins mother and siblings said the police account didnt match what they saw when they sat down with homicide investigators and watched footage taken from a gas station surveillance camera.
The family said that when Officers Jonathan Cairo, Joshua Barnard and Allahno Hughes and Sgt. Joseph Turner approached Perkins, he held one arm in the air and the other arm lifted up his shirt to show the toy gun tucked into his waistband to forewarn them it was fake.
Regina Perkins Bradley, 46, said it would have made no sense for her brother to point a toy gun at officers.
Thats just like saying you would want to commit suicide, she said. That wasnt my brother. He loved life.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Oakland on behalf Perkins mother, Ada Perkins-Henderson, 66, and 20-year-old son, Richard Perkins III. It claims the officers were inadequately trained, were negligent and used excessive force, and asks for unspecified compensation.
Outside the Oakland federal courthouse Monday, Perkins family said police had been slow to tell them what happened the night he was killed. His mother recalled standing alongside the crime scene tape, not far from her house, and praying as investigators collected evidence, not knowing it was her son who had been shot. She found out two days later, she said.
I know they have to go home at night, she said about police concerns for their safety. But they need to be careful when they pull the trigger.
The incident was one of seven officer-involved shootings in Oakland last year, five of them fatal.
Police and district attorney investigations into the Perkins shooting continue. The Police Department said all four officers involved in the incident have returned to work.
Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
Kimberly Veklerov
A teenager killed after an argument with another boy was identified Tuesday as a 16-year-old Fairfield resident.
Dominic Gilliam was shot Sunday night in a parking lot on the 2700 block of North Texas Street, police said. Paramedics rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he died.
Not every television show has a huge marketing budget, but that doesn't mean it isn't as good as its competitors.
When it comes to what's popular on Netflix, it's not just the shows you know. Some of these programs that you've probably never heard score major points with viewers, including "The Last Kingdom." Akin to "Game of Thrones," this show follows an outcast who is out to claim the throne - and his birthright.
On Monday Fox News announced the addition of Taya Kyle, widow of Navy SEAL and best-selling author Chris Kyle, to its list of contributors.
Taya Kyle, 41, made her first appearance as a contributor on FOX & Friends just hours after Fox News made the announcement, discussing whether military officials should weigh in on politics.
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NBC's hotly anticipated time-travel drama, "Timeless," will zip to San Antonio's Alamo a few days before the 1836 fall, for one episode of the gripping thriller, which bows on Oct. 3.
First, the set-up: The series, from Eric Kripke ("Revolution," "Supernatural") and Shawn Ryan ("The Shield"), has a mysterious criminal stealing a secret state-of-the-art time machine, intent on destroying America as we know it by changing the past.
Hope arrives in the form of a trio: scientist Rufus (Malcolm Barrett), soldier Wyatt (Matt Lanter), and history professor Lucy (Abigail Spencer), all of whom must use the machine's prototype to travel back in time to critical events.
While they must make every effort not to affect the past themselves, they must also stay one step ahead of Flynn (Goran Visnjic), a dangerous fugitive.
The pilot has the team traveling back to 1937 and the Hindenburg disaster; another takes them to the Ford Theater in 1865, when President Lincoln was shot.
A future installment will put the three at the Alamo, Ryan said at a press session today, "with heroes Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie and some non-famous people."
"They'll be there (in vintage attire) three or four days before the siege began," Kripke added, "when there were women and children at the Alamo."
As for where the filming will take place, don't expect Hollywood to travel to the actual Alamo in San Antonio.
"We're in the process of building something -- not the entire Alamo, but part," Ryan said. "We're building these worlds each week. It's a high-wire act. We're doing something that most shows don't try and we'll succeed in a spectacular fashion -- or not."
Kripke said a historian has been hired to make sure facts and details are as accurate as possible. The goal, however, is to present history to the audience that they've never seen before. "It's not dusty and school lesson-y," Kripke added, "but fascinating and visceral."
No date has been set yet for the Alamo episode.
jjakle@express-news.net
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Colin Bonnington has been looking for a way to shake things up for himself as an actor.
Ive gotten tired of being stuck with someone elses idea, he said. It seems like a great way to stagnate.
So he decided to pursue his own muse. Thats how he ended up standing under an overpass near Trinity University on Monday morning, waiting for sunrise. He was preparing for the first performance in his Under the Overpass: 31 Days at Dawn project.
He stood stock-still for several minutes, eyes closed. As weak sunlight started to break through the clouds, he spoke the first words of Tennysons poem Tithonus: The woods decay, the woods decay and fall.
The poem, written in 1833, is the plea of a man given eternal life to be released from it.
Bonnington plans to perform the piece every morning this month in the same spot, just a few yards from the intersection of Mulberry Street and Stadium Drive.
The whole idea is, I almost dont care if anybody is there, said Bonnington, 32. Im trying to get some answers out of it. If nobody sees a piece, is it theater? Does it count? What is a performance space?
To Bonnington, whose local credits include playing a volatile ranch hand in Of Mice and Men at the Cellar Theater of The Playhouse San Antonio last fall, the spot where hes performing has all that he needs in that regard.
Its an open area, he said. Thats a stage to me.
And he finds the notion of revisiting a piece every day appealing.
I like the idea of doing it for a month, he said. The poem is about someone who is stuck being eternal, and I think its easier for that to resonate if it feels like someone has got a period of time in their head.
The performance takes less than 10 minutes. On Monday, the words were sometimes drowned out by the rumbling of traffic, but he held his focus, delivering a well-calibrated rendering of Tennysons words.
Its a challenging piece, Bonnington said.
Shakespeare wants you to succeed, he said. Tennyson wants to mystify you forever.
Nanette Guadiano, Bonningtons girlfriend, stopped by for the performance, standing quietly on the sidewalk.
Her encouragement motivated him to do the piece, he said. And shes glad that hes doing it.
I love the idea, she said.
If all goes according to plan, the project wont be a one-off. Bonnington has ideas for other non-traditional stagings and hopes to pursue them, as well.
To me, this seems like an active step into my career, he said.
dlmartin@express-news.net
Twitter: @DeborahMartinEN
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The secret to Chez Vatel Bistros enduring success?
We are untrendy, chef Damien Watel said simply, after being informed that the restaurant has been awarded both readers and our critics top choice for French Restaurant.
Then he clarified: We serve classic French cuisine in a friendly and unpretentious atmosphere. And that keeps our customers coming back.
Indeed, Watel said he has many regulars whove patronized the restaurant for years.
We know their favorite tables and what theyll order. Its almost like the Cheers bar here.
Open since 1999 just a croissants throw away from the Olmos Park traffic circle, the restaurant, more commonly known by its former name Bistro Vatel, has watched as any number of other French dining spots have come and gone in San Antonio.
Customers who rush to every new restaurant to try every new dish are not my clientele, he said. This is not an easy business, and Im proud to see that weve outlasted so many others.
His menu includes dishes that have been there almost from Day One, including such classics as Dover sole, mussels, steak frites, salade nicoise and any number of duck-centric entrees.
Being untrendy doesnt mean never changing, however. But even when he does tweak the menu, his regulars still will order dishes no longer listed.
If we have the ingredients, well make it, Watel said. Its all about making the customers happy.
Chez Vatel Bistro, 218 E. Olmos Dr., 210-828-3141, chezvatelbistro.com
rmarini@express-news.net
Twitter: @RichardMarini
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UPDATE, 3:50 p.m.:
PHILADLPHIA -- The day after the trade deadline is always filled with hellos and goodbyes. On Tuesday, the Giants said hello to new starter Matt Moore and reliever Will Smith. They had to bid Matt Duffy farewell by phone and text, and one starter had to say farewell to his rotation spot.
Jake Peavy, a starter for all but one of his 378 career regular-season games, is moving to the bullpen to open a rotation spot for Moore, who will make his Giants debut at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday.
Jeff Samardzija will be pushed back a day and start Friday night's series opener in Washington, slotted between Moore and Matt Cain.
The Giants made a slew of additional moves. The activated infielder Ehire Adrianza from the disabled list. They also optioned relievers Albert Suarez and Matt Reynolds to Triple-A Sacramento to clear roster space for Moore and new reliever Will Smith.
Peavy and Cain were the obvious choices to move to the bullpen. Manager Bruce Bochy said Peavy was "better equipped" to be a reliever because he can get loose more quickly, and that Cain looks like he is returning to the same good form he showed before injuring his hamstring.
"Ive already spoken to Jake, Bochy said. Hes all in. He said hell do whatever it takes to help us win. He has a great attitude about it."
Indeed, Peavy bounced around the clubhouse smiling as usual after getting the news and said, "What do you want me to do, sit around and pout about it? That's certainly not who I am or what I would ever do."
Peavy had a 5.47 ERA in 21 starts this season but does not believe this move signals the end of his days as a starter.
"Of course I want to start," he said. "I'd be lying to you if I didn't tell you that, and I believe I can start. That being said, I'm 100 percent committed to this organization and the contract I signed.
"I love the guys in that room too much. I've put too much time and effort with those guys to let them down in any way of me not being happy with my personal situation or my role.
Asked what kind of reliever he expects to be, Peavy said, "I think I'm going to be a good one."
To get Moore, Giants had to part with a popular clubhouse guy in Duffy. Bochy spoke with his former third baseman by phone.
"That's the crummy part of this time of year," Bochy said. "It's a bad-news, good-news thing. It's good news getting guys you're excited about, but to call Matt and thank him for his contributions. . . He was very popular here. I love Matt. He's such a good kid.
"It's always tough to tell one of your players, especially one as popular as he is, 'Bye.'"
Moore settled into the visiting clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park and got uniform No. 45, giving up the 55 he wore in Tampa Bay. The Giants are not giving that number away. It belonged to Tim Lincecum.
Moore said he had no emotional attachment to 55, the number he was handed when the Rays first promoted him.
Obviously Tim meant a lot when he was here, Moore said. By no means did I give it a second thought.
As for joining the Giants, Moore said, Its hard to keep a smile off my face when I think about the things to come and being part of this group.
Moore spent the afternoon getting acquainted with new teammates, casting one eye warily toward Joe Panik's locker.
Moore was the Ray who beaned Panik with the bases loaded June 18 leading to his concussion.
"It was a very scary moment, I'm sure, for him a little more than me," Moore said. "I was pretty upset with myself. I don't think I looked at him for five minutes because I didn't want to know what happened to him, where it hit him. I'm sure we'll catch up sooner or later."
They caught up when Instigator in Chief Madison Bumgarner saw Panik, pointed toward Moore and yelled, "There he is. There's the one you've been looking for."
Panik grabbed a bat and smacked the barrel into his open palm, as if he were ready to pound Moore, but Panik had a smile on his face and they had a nice chat.
"Nobody wants to hit somebody in the head, at least I hope not," Panik said. "At the time I thought he was doing me a favor. I thought, 'Sweet! RBI.' When things start spinning on you after a while, you'd rather have taken a (strikeout) than the RBI."
ORIGINAL POST: Folks, there is going to be a lot of roster news Tuesday with reliever Will Smith, infielder Ehire Adrianza and (perhaps) starter Matt Moore added to the 25-man roster. They could hold off with Moore until the day he pitches.
Youll want to return here for the latest news. Or, as always, follow me on Twitter @hankschulman for instant news.
For now, the lineup against the Phillies. The Giants finally have everyone healthy. Bochy is going with an interesting lineup that has Eduardo Nunez ninth.
The lineup:
Span CF
Pagan LF
Pence RF
Posey C
Crawford SS
Belt 1B
Panik 2B
Bumgarner P
Nunez 3B
Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: hschulman@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @hankschulman
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Albany
The state's Public Service Commission on Monday passed a new set of standards that by 2030 aims to ensure that half of New York's energy comes from renewable sources such as solar and wind, as well as hydro plants.
Also being used: geothermal power and off-shore wind energy in the state's coastal areas.
"The commission's primary interest is to see that renewables get built in New York,'' PSC Chairwoman Audrey Zibelman said prior to the 3-0 vote. "I think this is a pragmatic approach.''
The move, which fulfills a goal earlier set out by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was lauded by environmental groups that say it puts the state in the forefront nationally of the clean energy movement.
Environmental Advocates, for example, offered particularly strong praise for the mandate that power generators move toward a more renewable, green standard.
"New York state has set visionary climate and clean energy goals what was missing until today was the requirement to turn those goals for the electricity sector into action,'' said Peter Iwanowicz, EA's executive director.
"The Clean Energy Standard moves us down the path toward clean, renewable energy by taking the promise of getting half of our electricity from clean, renewable sources by 2030, and requiring power companies to get there.''
"Mandating that clean energy goals be achieved by 2030 cements New York's role as a leader in addressing climate change,'' Stuart Gruskin, chief conservation and external affairs officer for the Nature Conservancy in New York, said.
The plan isn't without controversy, however, since it includes subsidies to ensure the state's existing upstate nuclear plants remain open.
The thinking was that, without nuclear plants, natural gas would likely fill the gap.
But unlike gas, nuclear plants emit no carbon, therefore they aren't viewed as contributing to global warming.
Due to the current low price of gas, nuclear plant operators say they need a subsidy to compete on price or they will go out of business.
With that in mind, the state agreed to subsidize the upstate plants. And it left the door open for possible subsidies to the Indian Point nuclear plant in Westchester.
Critics, such as Westchester Democratic Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, have complained that the subsidies mean New Yorkers across the state will be paying more for their power as much as $7.6 billion over the next 12 years.
Anti-nuclear activists such as Manna Jo Greene, who works with the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, said that money would be better spent to develop more renewables. "That's where the subsidies should be going,'' she said.
But supporters, such as Rob DiFrancesco, of New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance, a nuclear industry group, said the state's nuclear plants avoid what could otherwise be another 15.5 million tons of carbon going into the atmosphere each year.
"New Yorkers win because they keep abundant, clean sources of power that generate billions of dollars in annual economic activity in the state, while preserving emission-free nuclear power plants that help the state meet its goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent," he said.
State officials also noted that the subsidies shouldn't be more than $2 per month for most residential consumers.
The subsidies will come through carbon reduction credits that are built into the plan.
One of the main beneficiaries will be the Chicago-based Exelon Corp., which owns the R.E. Ginna and Nine Mile Point nuclear plants in Wayne County and north of Syracuse.
The firm, according to reports, also is looking at purchasing the James A. FitzPatrick plant near Oswego from the Entergy Co.
Timing was a consideration in passing the plan, Zibelman said. FitzPatrick's operators need to plan now to refuel or restock the plant with new fuel rods. They had initially said they would shut it down next winter when refueling time came.
But shutdowns in nuclear plants tend to be permanent due to the cost of getting them started again. "When it shuts down, it's gone,'' Zibelman said.
The plan does more than subsidize nuclear plants. It also calls for a ''Made in New York'' element that allows consumers who don't mind paying a bit more to specify that they want to purchase energy from renewable sources developed in New York.
Zibelman compared that to the desire by some consumers for locally grown as well as organic foods. They envision a "New York certified'' renewable energy designation for such providers.
At the same time, the plan also allows credits for new hydroelectric sources, as long as they don't require new impoundments, or dams. Those sources could come from Canada, which has a wealth of hydroelectric resources, especially in northern Quebec.
The nuclear and renewable component of Monday's vote drew onlookers and demonstrators.
Pro- and anti-nuclear supporters packed what is usually a largely empty Public Service Commission hearing room, prompting the agency to open up two additional conference rooms where people could watch the meeting on a webcast.
While the rules are now in place, Zibelman stressed that the plan includes a triennial review when they can reassess how the plan is progressing and make adjustments as needed.
rkarlin@timesunion.com 518-454-5758 @RickKarlinTU
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BRIDGEPORT Housatonic Community College will holds a Super Saturday registration blitz on Saturday, August 6.
The event runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will give individuals the chance to get their questions answered and register for classes. Students will be able to learn about programs, decide on courses and move through the registration process.
All other community colleges in the state will be hosting similar events on their campuses that day.
Classes start August 29. The campus is located bounded by Lafayette Blvd, State Street and Broad Street in downtown Bridgeport, right off Exit 27 of I-95.
For more information, contact Earl Graham, HCC Director of Admissions, at 203-332-5290.
BRIDGEPORT A 23-year-old man was in serious condition Monday night in Bridgeport after being shot six times.
Police said the man, who was not immediately identified, was shot while standing on Butler Avenue near Fairfield Avenue.
Police Capt. Brian Fitzgerald said the victim was shot in the arms and the buttocks.
The shooting victim was taken to St. Vincents Medical Center where Fitzgerald said he was expected to survive.
He is talking but is being uncooperative, Fitzgerald said.
Police Chief Armando Perez said it appears that the shooting was the result of an earlier dispute. But the chief said the incident was still under investigation.
Its just terrible, the number of illegal guns that are on the streets, but we are taking efforts to get them, Perez said.
Another report of a shooting Monday night on Wood Avenue turned out to be fireworks, police said.
Anyone with any information on the Butler Avenue shooting is asked to call Bridgeport Police at 203-576-TIPS.
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STAMFORD The former White House attorney who nearly killed his wife with a metal flashlight has been dealt another legal setback.
The attorney for J. Michael Farren argued Monday before Judge Robert Genuario that her clients ex-wife should not be allowed to collect the $28.6 million civil judgment until the U.S. Supreme Court decides on his latest appeal.
Genuario, however, denied Farrens petition on Tuesday, saying only t he state Appellate Court could provide a stay of execution for a pending U.S. Supreme Court case. Genuario noted Farrens motion to the Appellate Court to stop his former wife, Mary Margaret Farren, from collecting the judgment had already been denied.
Genuario said the state law is clear and mandatory.
The defendant is not entitled to seek a stay from the Superior Court having been denied one by the Appellate Court, Genuario said in his ruling.
Farren, 63, who served as an attorney for both Bush administrations, is serving a 15-year prison term at the Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown, for the attempted murder of his wife during a violent, prolonged and vicious domestic assault in their New Canaan mansion in January 2010.
More for you Former White House attorney convicted of attempted murder...
Farren, who has already lost his state appeal on the case, is hoping the highest court will review the case on the grounds that he was committed in a Hartford hospital during the time of the civil trial in late 2013.
But his ex-wifes attorney, Paul Slager, said Farren has been holding his clients money since the settlement was awarded more than two years ago and he should not be allowed to continue to cause delays.
jnickerson@scni.com;
BRIDGEPORT A suspect briefly eluded capture Tuesday morning by jumping from the East Washington Avenue bridge into the Pequonnock River.
The problem was, he didnt know how to swim, police said.
The man, who was not immediately identified, had four outstanding warrants. When an officer approached, at 11:30 a.m. he jumped into the river but quickly began to flounder.
He cant swim and he looks like hes drowning, an officer radioed. Hurry up.
A dispatcher got the police departments Marine 1 rescue boat started, but the suspect was able to climb out of the water and was taken into custody.
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The Museum of the Gulf Coast and The Jefferson County of Historical Commission will host a "Jefferson County Scavenger Hunt" from Aug. 22 to Sept. 30 to promote historical sites in the county.
Participants must check in at the Museum of the Gulf Coast to sign up, see the scavenger hunt list and be considered for prizes.
The hunt is free and open to all ages, but participants 18 and under must have a parent or guardian sign for them.
Acknowledgment of the rules are required in order to avoid trespassing.
"If the recent Pokemon Go craze has taught us anything, it's that common sense isn't so common," Sarah Bellin, a curator with the Museum of the Gulf Coast, said.
The way to play is to document visits with photographs. They way to win is to be the first person to deliver your answers and photographs to the Museum of the Gulf Coast.
There will be three additional prize categories for: best photography, additional historical material provided and most likes or shares on social media.
The hunt will begin on Aug. 22 at 9 a.m., but registration will stay open through Sept. 30. The deadline to submit scavenger hunt materials is by noon on Oct. 1.
One free admission to the Museum will be given to hunt participants.
Other sites are not obligated to give participants free admission; however, entrance to a marker site which has a fee is not required to win.
The clues to the hunt are in the form of riddles and photographs displayed in the Museum's Dunn Gallery, and the majority of sites have Texas Historic Markers placed by the Jefferson County Historical Commission.
Members of the Jefferson County Historical Commission are not eligible to win, but may assist contestants in finding the answers.
NEW CANAAN Police arrested a Miami, Fla. woman who drunkenly drove off the road and into a ditch on Monday afternoon.
On July 26 around 5:20 p.m., police were summoned to the area of Indian Rock and Country Club roads on a report of a vehicle in a ditch. When officers arrived at the scene, they smelled alcohol on the drivers breath. The 30-year-old Floridian consequently failed a field sobriety test and was taken into police custody. She refused a breathalyzer test.
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Almost a year after a federal judge upheld a trial court ruling to award $1.5 million to family of an Orange man who died in county custody in 2011, attorneys for the county will try this month to sway a higher court to toss the verdict.
Judges with the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in an Oxford, Mississippi, courtroom on Aug. 30 in the death of Robert Montano, a diagnosed schizophrenic who a federal jury found died as a result of neglect inside an Orange County jail cell on Oct. 12, 2011.
After more than 24 hours here I havent seen or heard a mosquito, which many think is the most frightening thing this city has to offer. So on my first full day in the Olympic city, I ventured to see another scary thing: the waters of Guanabara Bay.
The huge bay is on the other side of Sugarloaf from Copacabana beach. It is where the sailing events will take place and is the subject of horror stories about the high level of pollution. Raw sewage dumps directly into the bay. The Associated Press reported Monday that the levels of viruses in the water remain at dangerous levels, putting athletes and visitors at risk.
My colleague David Barron and I took a trip bus, then Uber from the Olympic Park to Marina da Gloria, site of the sailing venue. This is roughly like going from Santa Rosa to San Francisco: The main Olympic Park is basically a distant suburb from the heart of Rio.
The sailing site is spectacular, but flawed, like so much else here. Construction workers were busy repairing the main ramp at the venue, which collapsed Saturday in the midst of high winds and rain.
In the distance, the mountaintop Cristo statue watches over all. The breezy bay was full of athletes training for competition. Though one American sailor told us the garbage scows were out, collecting debris, we didnt see them.
But its what you cant see that will harm you. The microbes are undetectable by the naked eye. So though body parts and dead animals have been reported washing up, and I saw plenty of garbage, thats not the primary concern. The worry is that athletes could get violently ill during training and competition.
It turns out sailors are used to such things. They deal with all kinds of waters around the globe.
Caleb Paine, an Olympian from San Diego, said he hasnt gotten sick despite putting in more than 200 days over three years on the Guanabara waters.
On Monday, Paine was hosing down his Finn dinghy, but not because of bacteria. It was because he didnt want the salt to damage the chrome fittings. He said he takes no more precautions than he would anywhere else. Washes the boat. Washes himself. Doesnt worry.
Brazilians have been sailing here forever, and there are a lot of really good Brazilian sailors, Paine said.
Paine sails with a sticker that says No Paine, no gain. Thats pretty much the athletes mantra: Keep your eye on the prize, not on the microbes.
Ann Killion is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: akillion@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annkillion
Tropical Storm Earl is heading west at 22 mph with sustained wind of 50 mph, that National Weather Service reported.
The storm - the Atlantic season's fifth named storm - is moving south of Jamaica heading for Central America.
At its current, Earl is expected to vault over the land mass in the south of the Yucatan peninsula and across the southern Bay of Campeche.
By Thursday night, Earl make a second landfall in Mexico.
"There might be some extra moisture in deep South Texas," said Andy Tingler of the National Weather Service office in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
"It doesn't have time to gather strength because even though the water is warm enough," Tingler said.
He said a ridge of high pressure along the Upper Gulf Coast is steering the weather system to the west.
A second wave that formed south of the Cape Verde islands off the west coast of Africa that at first had seemed as if it had a better chance of strengthening. Tingler said it fell apart.
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WILTON The Wilton Womans Club (WWC) awarded four scholarships last month to Wilton High School seniors Jessica Kobsa, Tori Baggio, Lauren Wyman and Sarah Moore.
Each year, the Club awards two types of scholarships to deserving young women in Wilton. One is the Julia Robb Memorial Art Scholarship; the other is the Elizabeth Sternad Scholarship.
The Julia Robb Memorial Art Scholarship honors a former very active member of the Womans Club. Robb was passionate about the arts, and ran the Wilton Autumn Art and Craft Festival a two-day, juried event at the Wilton High School Fieldhouse that featured over 150 exhibitors and ran for over twelve years. The WWC used funds raised from the festival to help support over 40 non-profit organizations in Wilton and Fairfield County.
Local artist and WWC member Maya Boreen and Doris Noonan judged the work of the Julia Robb Memorial Art Scholarship applicants.
First place went to Lauren Wyman for her technically superior pencil drawings. Wyman will be attending the University of British Columbia this fall. Second place went to Sarah Moore for the wonderful sense of composition in her photographs. Moore will be attending the University of Connecticut.
The Elizabeth Sternad Scholarship honors the founder of the Wilton Womans Club, Betty Sternad, who established the club in 1966. Along with her daughter Shelley Sternad Dempsey, she remains an active member of the club.
Sternad is celebrating her 90th birthday this year. This scholarship is awarded for outstanding community service, strong character and leadership. Dempsey and Stacey Savas evaluated the applicants, and awarded the scholarships to Tori Baggio and Jessica Kobsa.
As president of C.O.D.E.S., Baggio facilitated a community-wide leadership conference, in addition to coordinating and leading a drive to help homeless people. As a leader of Circle of Cares Art From the Heart team, she spearheaded fundraising efforts to makeover the room of a child cancer patient into the room of his dreams. This fall, Baggio will start at Providence College where she intends to major in social work.
As president of the Open Art Club, Kobsa initiated a planned annual project, donating student-created art to Yale-New Haven Childrens Hospital and the Greens at Cannondale senior living facility. As president of the Habitat for Humanity Club, Jessica not only worked each month on houses under construction, but also led fundraisers for the organization. Kobsa will be attending Dartmouth College, where she plans to take pre-med classes and major in Spanish so that she can become a doctor and offer medical services in both languages.
The Wilton Womans Club celebrates its 50th anniversary in Wilton this year, and remains committed to community service, philanthropy, education, and creating social bonds between women.
As Kobsa put it, The club is one of the parts of town that make Wilton not just a town, but a community.
For more information, please visit www.wiltonwomansclub.org.
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The vice president of the Student Government Association at the University of Houston has been punished by her student senate after she posted on Facebook: "Forget #BlackLivesMatter; more like #AllLivesMatter."
Student body vice president Rohini Sethi has been suspended by the SGA and is temporarily barred from participating in group activities. She is also due to attend a diversity workshop per the ruling.
She must also attend three cultural events per month, write a reflection letter, and make a public presentation to a senate meeting on Sept. 28, according to KTRK-TV.
Sethi could lose her position in student government if she doesnt meet these demands.
RELATED: Hashtag demands UH student leader leave office after 'All Lives Matter' post
On Monday, the University of Houston released a statement reiterating that the actions taken by the association are those of the student-run group and did not come from the university itself.
Actions by SGA, a registered student organization subject to its own governance, are not University actions and do not affect the academic standing of a student at the University of Houston. The University of Houston continues to stand firm in support of free speech and does not discipline students for exercising their Constitutional rights, the school stated in a release on Monday afternoon.
In early July, the association vice president came under fire for her comment, which she quickly apologized for and deleted.
RELATED: Black Lives Matter Houston: We don't condone violence
This all began the night of the deadly shootings at Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas that left five officers dead and nine others wounded.
#RemoveRohini was trending in Houston in the days after the posting, with the vitriol towards Sethi palpable.
Soon after this, UH Student Government Association President Shane Smith told the Daily Cougar, the UH newspaper, that Sethi's opinion was not SGA's official position.
"SGA believes that the diversity of our student body is what has led to our success as a university. While we value each other's differences, there are racial injustices throughout our country that prevent true equality. We all need to work together to be part of the solution."
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IRVING, Texas - The news crew is here, but the famous boy is still asleep. He had just flown 22 hours, back to this squat stone house where he used to live when he was just a regular 14-year-old. His bright green go-kart is still out back. A year ago, he could have woken up and spent hours tinkering with its engine. He could have spent the day on his trampoline, or just watching funny YouTube videos on his phone.
Instead, he's waking up to the sound of more reporters in the living room. Because he's not Ahmed Mohamed, a regular 14-year-old. He's Clock Boy, a viral sensation, the accidental embodiment of a national debate about Muslims being dangerous - or not. A black youth mistreated by overzealous cops - or an example of vigilance against potential terrorism.
So Ahmed gets out of bed, opens the bedroom door and steps into the hall. He lifts his arm in a half wave.
"There he is!" The cameraman shouts, like he's seeing an old friend. Ahmed got taller, they all point out. New glasses and a growth spurt have subtly transformed him from boyish to teenage.
"He is still sleepy," his father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, apologizes.
The reporters are from Fox 4, a local TV channel. Mohamed invited them here, on Ahmed's first day back in Texas after nine months in Qatar. They moved a month after Ahmed was arrested for possessing a homemade clock that his school deemed suspicious-looking.The move, it seemed, was an attempt to escape the spotlight, or at least the hate mail and death threats that came with it.
And yet, Ahmed's summer homecoming was heralded to reporters with a news release sent out by the family and its supporters: Clock Boy is back, and ready to be interviewed.
"You just wake up?" Ahmed's uncle, Aldean, says. "Go prepare yourself."
Ahmed changes into a T-shirt with the number 23 - for LeBron James - across the chest. They hand him a microphone. He doesn't need to be told how to put it on. They seat him on a velvet-tufted chair.
"All right, Ahmed, it's just you and me talking, the rest of the world listening," the reporter says. "So don't be nervous."
His father interrupts.
"Do you want to talk to me? Or just him?"
"Oh. Yeah, we'll talk to Dad, too. We'll just do it separate."
---
The living room is packed: cousins, aunts, grandmother. Ahmed's Uncle Aldean, who in the early 1980s was the first Mohamed to move from Sudan - where their family owned a successful cotton farm and attended prestigious schools - to New York, where he sold balloons and hot dogs in front of Rockefeller Center. Ahmed's father, an imam, who followed his brother to America and ever since has been explaining to anyone who will listen that real Muslims are peaceful. Their family friend Anthony Bond, the founder of the Irving NAACP, who has been calling the Mohameds in Qatar to tell them how, since they left, things are getting worse. Clashes between black communities and the police are in the news every day. Donald Trump, the man who wants to ban Muslim immigrants like the Mohameds from the United States, may become president.
Everyone's eyes are on Ahmed.
The reporter leans forward.
"How empowered do you feel to help make a difference in the world today, given what you've been through?" he asks.
"Wait," Ahmed says. "Did the interview start?"
Yes. The reporter moves on to another question.
Bond gives Ahmed a reassuring smile. He was the first person the family called when they brought Ahmed home from the police station. They wondered: Would this have happened if his name wasn't Ahmed Mohamed?
Bond said: Let's call the media.
He said: This city has transformed from whitewashed to incredibly diverse, and we're still being mistreated.
He said: With all the discrimination going on in the world, this little boy can make a positive difference.
"Upon coming back, what went through your mind?" the reporter is asking. "Did you have thoughts in your head like, 'Oh, God, there may be protesters?' "
"Why would people protest me?" Ahmed says.
"Well, I'm just asking. So you came in and you're like, 'I'm a rock star!' "
"I came in - I was just - heading home, because I was tired."
---
Ahmed walks in the house later that evening to find his uncle, dad and Bond in front of the TV, searching for his name again.
"We want to watch you on the Dallas Morning News," his dad says. Ahmed had a "Facebook Live" interview with the newspaper after talking to Fox 4, and they're trying to find it on YouTube.
"It's on Facebook," Ahmed says, raising his voice over the clang of dishes being washed by his aunts in the kitchen. His mom and four of his siblings haven't yet come from Qatar, so Ahmed, his brother and his father are staying with the cousins who now live in their old house. They push the remote into Ahmed's hand.
Searching for his name is a daily ritual. The family is its own public relations firm, founded Sept. 14, 2015, as they brought Ahmed home from the police station.
Mohamed was ranting about how only God will judge his son. Ahmed was still hearing the "Ooooooh" sound the other students made as he was led out of class. The police were going to charge him with possession of a hoax bomb.
His parents had a choice: deal with this quietly, or tell someone. Their son had been placed in handcuffs and interrogated, in a town known for its resentment of Muslims. So they called the media, and soon Ahmed was trending on Twitter, and everyone from Mark Zuckerberg to President Barack Obama was sharing messages of support.
Two days after he was arrested, the charges were dropped.
"This is what happens when we (IPD) screw something up," one Irving Police Department detective wrote in an email later uncovered as part of a public records request from Vice. "That thing didn't even look like a bomb."
And so came the next choice: Let this all die down, or seize the platform they'd been given and use it.
So they put Ahmed on "Good Morning America," MSNBC and "The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore." He told reporters how kids in school called him ISIS Boy. Sympathetic crowdfunders raised $18,000 for his education. He visited the White House, the Google Science Fair and the president of his home country of Sudan (a wanted war criminal, but Mohamed said it would be rude not to accept the invitation).
---
"It's not on here," Ahmed is saying, trying to find the video for his dad. "It's on Facebook. It's not on YouTube." His 8-year-old cousin Dooly is hanging on his legs.
"Ahmed, hold me!" Dooly whines.
"Ahmed, go to the Dallas Morning News," Bond says.
Soon an argument has broken out: They've learned that Fox 4, the channel that interviewed Ahmed that morning, had conservative commentator Ben Ferguson on the 10 p.m. news to say that the Mohameds plotted Ahmed's arrest and is obsessed with being famous.
"They've never been fair about Ahmed," Bond growls at Mohamed. "If I had known you were going to invite them, I would have told you! I would have told you to work with Channel 8!"
"They're going to talk no matter what we do!" Mohamed snaps back.
In his eyes, the more Ahmed is seen, the better. It's good for the family, he says. Twice in his life he has run for president of Sudan. He plans to run again in 2020. The more people who know him, the better his chances.
Ahmed slinks away to the corner of the room and gets on his phone.
Does he want to do all these interviews?
"For the most part, yes, and sometimes no. If I wouldn't get tired, I would do more interviews so I would have more influence."
His dad tells him that this is God opening doors for him. Something bad happened, but God turned it to make it good. God chose him for this, so he can make the world a better place.
Only now, he feels safer on the other side of the world. As trolls tried to pick apart his story, someone posted the Mohameds' home address on Twitter.
Many American schools contacted them, but Mohamed says they would only take Ahmed and not his siblings. Qatar Foundation, the government-sponsored school in what is known as the country's elite "Education City," offered to take them all and pay for his older sisters' college.
In Qatar, his parents don't work. Ahmed goes to school at 7 a.m., comes home to the four-bedroom townhouse where their family of eight lives, and gets on his laptop.
"Not many kids play outside. I never really do anything," he says. "I just watch stuff online and I get bored. Sometimes I just go outside and stare at the sun, and then go back inside."
The Internet is his refuge - and his attacker. He reads every story and long, rambling conspiracy theory about him. Countless blogs and videos have been dedicated to proving Ahmed's clock was just a Radio Shack clock he put in a new box. (It was partially made of Radio Shack parts, but the design was all his own, he says.) Others insist that this was all a stunt masterminded by Mohamed to get attention. ("He can't plan the reaction. And why would he want me to get arrested?" Ahmed says.) Still more have proclaimed that the Mohameds are terrorist sympathizers because they once owned a company called Twin Towers Transportation. (They did own a company by that name, because their offices were housed in a Dallas office building called the Twin Towers.)
Ahmed would like to respond, but he never does because then he will have allowed himself to be angry. In Islam, Ahmed says, you are most vulnerable to the devil when you are angry.
Instead he tweets only positive messages to his 97,000 followers. Like when he announced "Just Arrived in Dallas!" with a heart emoji and "It feels good to be back!"
"plz go back to Qatar. You're not welcome here."
"Go back with your terrorist dad"
"They think that all Muslims are terrorist people who kill for their religion," Ahmed says.
A mosquito lands on the floor in front of him and he sets down his phone.
"I can catch a mosquito," he tells his cousin Dooly. He lunges. It flies away. He sits back down, waiting until it zooms around again.
"#BinLaden Reincarnated ANYONE?"
The mosquito lands, and he nabs it. Instead of killing it, he picks off its wings.
"Ohhhhh," his cousin says in awe.
"Mosquitoes are bad. They kill a lot of people."
Ahmed pauses, smirking.
"That's wrong. I shouldn't generalize mosquitoes."
---
Some days, Ahmed lets himself imagine what life would be like if none of this had happened. Amy Schumer wouldn't follow him on Twitter. He wouldn't know what it feels like to shake Obama's hand. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology wouldn't have accepted him to college.
But he wouldn't be scared when he sees police cars. Maybe he would have made new friends in high school. By now he could have invented something new - not just a clock that only took him a few minutes to put together from parts in his family's garage, which was full of '90s-era electronics from when his uncle ran a chain called Beeper Warehouse.
His middle school tutors say shy Ahmed would always perk up when talking about his latest creation: a DVD player, a remote, things that lit and beeped and buzzed. Ahmed would charge his older sisters' friends $10 to fix their cracked phone screens, then use the money to buy the parts he was missing for his next gadget.
The family moved back and forth between Texas and Sudan, where Ahmed was born. In Irving, Mohamed owned a taxi company and served as religious leader for a small group of Sufi Muslims. Sufism is a mystical interpretation of Islam centered in rituals such as the prayer chants Mohamed writes himself. Whenever there's a reporter around, he insists on explaining passages of the Koran: "When you kill one person, it is as if you are killing all mankind."
When Ahmed was 9, Mohamed decided to run for president of Sudan. The current president, Omar al-Bashir - whom they would later visit after Ahmed became famous - had just been indicted by the International Criminal Court for directing genocide in Darfur. Without him in power, Mohamed argued, the United States might lift its sanctions on Sudan, and the country could prosper.
He never made the ballot. But the next year, in 2011, he made international headlines. Florida pastor Terry Jones held a "trial of the Koran." Mohamed, who saw the trial as a chance to spread his message - and take his kids to Disney World - showed up to defend the Koran. International outrage over the event, which ended in the burning of the holy book, led to rioting in Afghanistan. At least 20 people were reportedly killed, including seven U.N. employees.
"I did what I think is right," Mohamed says.
While he was trying to make a name for himself, his American home town was rapidly changing. Irving was once a white-flight suburb best known for housing the Dallas Cowboys' Texas Stadium. By the time Ahmed entered middle school, the Cowboys had moved to Arlington and the Mohameds' Zip code was deemed the most diverse area in the country. Only 9 percent of the students in Ahmed's school district are white. (There remains only one nonwhite person on the Irving City Council.)
---
The neighborhood surrounding the Islamic Center of Irving, which serves around 10,000 area Muslims, began to flourish with condos and mansions built by those who wanted to live close to the mosque. Rumors spread that the neighborhood was a "no-go zone," an area only Muslims could enter, and that the mosque was imposing sharia law in the city. The rumors were false.
Meanwhile, Ahmed was preparing to start high school. He kept the same Adidas backpack he'd had since 6th grade. He planned out his outfits, one for each day of the week. He would wear his NASA T-shirt every Monday.
On Friday of his third week of school, the architecture teacher was about to throw away some dead batteries. Ahmed, always the hoarder of scrap materials, asked whether he could have them. Later in his English class, he taped the batteries together to make a sword. He slid the creation up his long-sleeved shirt, walked up to his teacher's desk and slid the sword out of his arm, "like Iron Man," he says. She laughed.
"That's not the only thing I can make," he told her. He promised to bring her something else on Monday.
Sunday night, he made his clock. It had a motherboard, an LCD screen, a 9-volt battery, an alarm. All the pieces fit into a pencil case from Target adorned with a tiger hologram.
In English class, he plugged it in to show a girl in the corner of the classroom. When the alarm on it vibrated loudly, he stuffed it back in his backpack.
He always thinks: What if he had just left it in the bag? And left class without showing the teacher anything?
But he took it up to her desk, eager to show his creation as he had promised.
"That looks like a bomb," she said.
---
Here is what Ahmed's school now has to say about what happened: "At no point did we think it was actually an explosive device. It looked suspicious and was presented in a way that the teacher took the appropriate actions, and we support the teacher."
Although the Irving police dropped the charges against Ahmed, stating that "the student apparently did not intend to cause alarm bringing the device to school," Ahmed was suspended for three days.
The Justice Department is now investigating the incident. Rather than release the letter of inquiry from the agency, which states the reason for the investigation to the public, the district is suing the Texas attorney general's office.
"Irving ISD has argued that the information is confidential because it reasonably anticipates litigation regarding this matter," the district's spokeswoman said.
Ahmed's father is expected to file suit against the school district this week. In November, the family asked for formal apologies - from the district, the police chief and the mayor - and $15 million in damages for alleged violations of federal and state law, arguing that the teenager's arrest violated his civil rights. Citing a potential lawsuit, city officials declined to comment on Ahmed's arrest.
Ahmed's family is adamant that their children have been discriminated against even before Ahmed was arrested.
When their daughter Eyman was in eighth grade, another student reported that Eyman said she wanted to blow up the school. Eyman says she never said anything like that, but she was suspended for three days anyway.
In middle school, Ahmed was suspended multiple times for getting in fights. His tutors remember the conflicts stemming from Ahmed's small size; Ahmed and his family claim he was only defending himself against students who picked on him because of his religion and race.
"Our employees work with students from different cultural backgrounds," the district said in response to these claims. "Our policies and training stress making sure that all students enrolled at Irving ISD feel respected and safe."
---
Ahmed's face is expressionless as he stares at his father's phone. Mohamed is showing him another news video he found online. They're at a gas station on their way home from Dallas, where they spent the afternoon of Ahmed's second day home in the office of their lawyer.
"Since he was arrested, he has been in high demand and he's got some events with tech companies lined up," the news announcer says. "Sounds like life isn't so bad for Ahmed."
Later, they'll stop at a sculpture of galloping horses where Ahmed used to play as a child. Tourists will recognize him from a distance, yelling "Clockmed! Clockmed!"
"Next year," the video says, "he'll be 15, and planning to sue the Irving school district and the city, all over a clock that gave him 15 minutes of fame."
The screen goes black.
"Fifteen minutes of fame?" Mohamed repeats.
"That's all you heard?" Ahmed retorts.
"Maybe 15 million, that's what I'm looking for."
Ahmed looks at his father.
"I'm just joking with you," Mohamed says.
"Everyone gets 15 minutes of fame who gets covered," Ahmed says. "But it's always your choice to extend it."
"You know, I am a Sufi. I don't worry about the money," Mohamed replies.
"I'm not worried about the money," Ahmed says.
"But it will help, yeah?"
"Yeah," Ahmed says, "Money will help you, temporarily."
His dad's phone rings, and Ahmed gets back on Twitter, thumbing through the messages in his notifications:
"should have never let those terrorists back in the US".
"That Little Bastard Needs to Leave American Soil."
"Go back!"
There's one with a picture of a plastic bag.
"since you left there's a new invention for breathing under water put this on your head & jump in"
The Hays County Sheriffs Department identified the body of a 26-year-old woman, who was reported missing on June 15.
Brittany Parker, 26, was found in the same cornfield where her abandoned Toyota Camry was located in June, a press release from the Hays County Sheriffs Department stated. Parker was last seen July 12 at 6 p.m. in the South Austin Area.
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John and Stacee Gore were waiting for the perfect summer day to celebrate their third wedding anniversary.
The couple tried multiple times over the past few months to hitch a hot air balloon ride, but the weather was never just right as storms swept across central Texas in the spring, the Mineral Wells Index reported.
The couple, from Mineral Wells, Texas, about 50 miles west of Fort Worth, were among 16 killed in a hot air balloon crash in Lockhart July 30. The Gores were in the hot air balloon as it struck a power line, caught fire and plummeted to the ground killing everyone on board, including the pilot Alfred "Skip" Nichols.
RELATED: Heartbreaking selfies emerge of San Antonians killed in worst hot air balloon crash in U.S. history
The Gores had four children. A memorial service will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at the First Baptist Church of Mineral Wells, Stephanie White wrote on Facebook. White said she was "feeling heartbroken."
Another Facebook friend, Danielle Jones, wrote she was also feeling heartbroken upon hearing the news of the crash.
RELATED: Pilot of balloon that crashed in Texas had driver's license suspended twice for DWI
"Stacee has been a friend since her high school days working at Walmart and Walgreens with me. To me moving on to open a studio and her being a client to my studio. Please pray for their children and family left behind," Jones said.
Bianca Silva-Lowe posted a photo of the last text she received from Stacee Gore.
It was an image of a highlighted passage in a Bible that read: "I prayed to the Lord and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all of my troubles. For the angel of the Lord is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him."
Silva-Lowe said she would miss receiving such messages from Stacee Gore.
RELATED: Local mother, daughter among 6 dead from San Antonio in hot air balloon crash that killed 16
On May 19, 2013 Stacee Gore wrote on Facebook: "I'm married I'm married I'm married!!!!! Lol to the best guy in the whole world couldn't be more blessed him and his family is the best thing that's ever happen to me."
Saturday's crash is the deadliest of its kind in U.S. history. Before, 60 hot air balloon accidents occurred since 2011, with five resulting in seven deaths, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, the operator of the balloon, has canceled all flights for the "foreseeable future." Previously, the company received a D+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
Nichols' driver's license was suspended in 2010 for 10 years and he had multiple intoxicated driving offenses in Missouri.
Federal Aviation Administration records show that Nichols' commercial pilot's license for hot air balloons was current at the time of Saturday's crash. He first received his pilot's license in 1996 and it was updated in 2014 when he changed his address. It wasn't immediately clear whether his pilot's license had ever been suspended.
It did not appear that Nichols was ever arrested in Texas, where he moved in 2014.
The NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident, and will look at weather conditions, the balloon's maintenance records, the pilot, and the company.
Staff writer Jason Buch contributed to this report.
Correction: This story initially reported Nichols had a Texas driver's license. He has a state-issued identification card.
kbradshaw@express-news.net
Twitter: @kbrad5
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MAXWELL Federal authorities investigating the worst hot air balloon crash in U.S. history were meticulously combing through the last of the wreckage and securing evidence Monday as they wrapped up the initial phase of their inquiry.
This is the very beginning of what will be a very long and comprehensive investigation, Robert Sumwalt of the National Transportation Safety Board told a raft of reporters and photographers Monday in the agencys final press briefing near the crash site in farmland off Jolley Road.
Its still not clear why the balloon apparently hit high-voltage power lines that set it on fire and caused it to plummet to the ground Saturday, killing all 16 people aboard.
Sumwalt said it didnt appear the basket was overloaded and the balloon, known as the envelope, didnt show any signs of failures or malfunction.
He said the vehicle owned by Heart of Texas Air Balloon Rides had a passenger weight limit of 4,400 lbs.
Sumwalt also said weather conditions didnt appear to be a factor when the balloon lifted off from Fentress Air Park at about 7 a.m. Saturday for the airborne sight-seeing trip that ended in a fiery heap of tangled rubble less than an hour later.
He said the vent was found in the open position atop of the envelope which landed about a half mile away from the gondola - which is consistent with the position used during landings.
Several spots on the electrical lines roughly 120 feet overhead showed evidence of arcing, Sumwalt reported, and a 30-foot stretch with abrasions.
Later Monday evening, several dozen family members were taken to the crash site in four school buses. Sheriff Daniel Law said the community has rallied around the families and theres appreciation for the work the law officers have been doing.
Its a very tough and difficult situation to handle all the way around, Law said.
Official identification has been slow; only two of the victims had been formally named by authorities as of Monday.
Dental records are being used to make positive identifications, said Caldwell County Justice of the Peace Matt Kiely.
He identified the latest victim as Scott Douglas, but provided no age, home town or other identifying information. The other person confirmed deceased is Skip Nichols, the owner and pilot of the balloon.
Keep the families in your prayers. Its tough, Kiely said.
While Kiely has declined to name anyone else, family and friends have identified other crash victims as couples Matt and Sunday Rowan and Brian and Tressa Neill, both of San Antonio; Paige Brabson and her mother, Lorilee Brabson, of San Antonio; and Joe and Tressa Owens, a Houston-area husband and wife.
Michele Jech, executive pastor of CityChurch, said the Neills and their two daughters regularly attended the churchs Bandera campus.
To know them was to love them, Jech said, choking up. They were the family that was all in. We have a cafe in our church and for several years they volunteered as a family and all four of them taught themselves to be baristas. They saw a need in the church and did it. They gave back.
Tressa Neill had worked at CPS Energy for nearly 25 years and her co-workers are deeply saddened, officials said.
Grief counselors were on site (Monday) morning to support and comfort those who worked closely with her as we know how difficult this time is for everyone who worked alongside her, said Paul Flaningan, spokesman for the utility. Our focus is on Tressies daughters and her family and we have reached out to offer and provide support in any way we can.
Back in Lockhart, the sheriff said this was one of the toughest tragedies Caldwell County has had to face. The community is reaching out to the family members, and giving them time to visit the crash site privately can help the grieving process.
Hopefully, the healing part can start for the families, Law said. Our prayers from this community and thoughts for the family members are whats in our hearts right now.
Staff writers Eleanor Dearman, Ed Ornelas and Bruce Selcraig contributed to this report.
Ongoing
Million Summer Meals for Kids raises funds through Aug. 19 to feed kids during the summer. The goal is to provide 6 million meals; the drive was at 3.9 million meals as of early July. Take donations of money or nonperishable food items to any Air Force Federal Credit Union branch, Country Home learning center, Prestige ER or Express Lube location. Every $1 pays for seven meals. Contact: 337-3663
SA Reads summer book drive continues through Aug. 19. Donate books for infants to teens at any San Antonio Public Library branch and any Firstmark Credit Union (theres one at Alamo Ranch at 10911 Culebra Road), among other locations. Contact: 957-8790 or literacysanantonio.com
Wednesday, August 3
Astronomy in the Park celebrates the celestial sky at night with help from the San Antonio Astronomical Association 8 p.m.-10:30 p.m. in the parking lot at Raymond Rimkus Park, 6440 Evers Road. The public is invited. Association members say its the longest running free public star party in the San Antonio metro area. Contact: 262-8384
Thursday, August 4
Elderberries Ice Cream Social is 2 p.m.-4 p.m. at Igo Library, 13330 Kyle Seale Parkway. Seniors celebrate Older Americans Month with mind games online, crossword puzzles and learning basic computer skills as well as enjoying cool refreshments. Contact: 207-9080
Friday, August 5
Beginner Hatha Yoga class is 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. at Igo Library, 13330 Kyle Seale Parkway. Learn proper breathing, basic poses and sequencing. Bring you own yoga mat. Contact: 207-9080
Lions Club Bingo is at 7 p.m. at the Helotes Lions Club, 14690 Bandera Road, on the east side of the highway between Floores Country Store and El Chaparral. Contact: 695-2356
Saturday, August 6
MarketPlace at Old Helotes is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at 14391 Riggs Road. The family friendly event features all kinds of artisans selling their unique jewelery, crafts, artwork, clothing, food items and more. And theres plenty of good food and drink, too. For a booth map, go tohttp://www.helotesmarketplace
Pet adoptions will be conducted by the Helotes Humane Society at Petco at Bandera and Loop 410 from noon to 3:30 p.m. Contact: 422-6242.
Sunday, August 7
Lions Club Bingo is at 2 p.m. at the Helotes Lions Club, 14690 Bandera Road, on the east side of the highway between Floores Country Store and El Chaparral. Contact: 695-2356
Coming up
Historical Society of Helotes 9th biannual history exhibit opens with a reception at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 11 in the gallery at the Helotes City Hall, 12951 Bandera Road. The focus is the Schott Heritage Farm. Free. Light refreshments will be served. Contact: info@historicalsocietyofhelotes.org
Great Northwest Book & Movie Club meets at 1 p.m. Aug. 11 at the Great Northwest Library, 9050 Wellwood. The book to be discussed is Dances with Wolves by Michael Blake. After the discussion, stay to watch the movie. You may bring your own refreshments. Contact: 207-9210.
Helotes City Council will meet at 7 p.m. Aug. 11 at the council chambers, 12951 Bandera Road. For details, go to www.helotes-tx.gov and click on agendas.
Third Annual Bull Blow Out & Salute to the Military is Aug. 12-13 at the Helotes Festival Grounds, 12210 Leslie Road. Gates open at 6 p.m.; bull riding starts at 7:30 p.m. There will be a dance Friday night with the Meyer Anderson Band, 9:30 p.m. to midnight. General admission is $10. Six box seats are $250 for both nights. Contact: 373-0012
Third Annual Bull Blow Out & Salute to the Military continues Aug. 13. Gates open at 6 p.m.; bull riding starts at 7:30 p.m. Tonights dance, from 9:30 p.m. to midnight, features the music of Felix Truvere. General admission is $10. Contact: 373-0012
Hike the Government Canyon State Natural Area, 8 a.m.-noon. Aug. 13 Friends of Government Canyon and the Sierra Club jointly lead the group on one of the many trails in the area. Hike ranges from 4 to 7 miles, depending on the group; wear sturdy footwear for hiking over rough terrain. Open to ages 13 and older; minors must be accompanied by an adult. No pets.. Bring two liters of water per person and a snack. Be at the Visitor Center, 12861 Galm Road, by the rainwater harvesting tower (after paying at the entrance) no later than 7:45 a.m. Contact: 688-9055, ext. 2009
Meet the Mayor 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Aug. 16 at Maverick Library, 8700 Mystic Park. San Antonio Mayor Ivy Tyler will be talking with community members . All ages. Contact: 207-9060
All numbers have a 210 area code unless otherwise noted. To have your event listed, send the details, including date, time, place and contact phone number, to dfuentes@express-news.net
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Authorities last month discovered a 50-year-old naked man at a historic home in a Texas coastal town drinking a pina colada he found in the refrigerator.
The naked man, James Vanwright, was found inside the White Haven house a two-story home and official Texas Historical Marker built in 1915 in the 2400 block of Lakeshore Drive in Port Arthur on July 12 (a Tuesday) after an officer was dispatched to the house to investigate a residential alarm, police said.
RELATED: Naked dancing woman on top of big rig ties up 290 traffic in Houston
A security guard arrived at the New England-Colonial-style house, located in the city's historic district, before police and told dispatchers he could see a naked man in the house, an affidavit obtained by KFDM said.
Police said Vanwright got into the home by breaking a window pane to the kitchen door and opening the door from the inside, an affidavit said.
RELATED: Texas State student sits nearly nude outside library for art project on objectification of women
Vanwright grabbed the pina colada mix from a refrigerator in the home after removing all of his clothes in a bedroom, the affidavit said.
The White Haven house, open to the public by appointment for tours, is owned the Daughters of the American Revolution and maintained by Lamar State CollegePort Arthur, according to Rediscovering SE Texas.
RELATED: Video: Police chase smiling naked man near downtown San Antonio
Vanwright was found in the home around 11 p.m. It's unclear why he was naked, however, he is facing a burglary of a habitation charge, a second-degree felony.
According to online records, Vanwright was also charged with indecent exposure in 2013. KFDM reported Vanwright was also previously charged with sexual assault of a child and attempted arson.
More from about the home's background from the historical website:
"(The home was) built in 1915 for Dr. H. D. Morris, an early physician and British Consul... Through the years, the house had changed owners only a few times. In 1919, the Morris family sold it to Clarence Booz and his kin, who lived there until 1942. The house was sold that same year to the last owners, Carl and Stella White. Stella White was a world traveler and an antique dealer. She acquired many antiques throughout her journeys. Many of the artifacts you see in the house were bought and donated by her. Some noteworthy pieces are a French-made screen previously owned by Empress Carlotta of Mexico (from the 1700s), a candelabra from the Shah of Persia, and all of the fine furniture comes from as far afield as England, China, and France.Stella lived in the house until her death in 1985, and left the home and all the furnishings to the DAR. Charter member, Ella Young Atwell, subsequently endowed the restoration of the home."
MMedina@mySA.com
Twitter: @Mariahmedinaaa
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SAN ANTONIO A 23-year-old mother allegedly scalded her 3-year-old son with hot water after he soiled his pants, and the boys 33-year-old father did not take him to the hospital for at least a week after, according to court documents.
Mother Kris Smith was arrested Tuesday on a first-degree felony charge of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury with intent, while the father, Calvin Williams was arrested Tuesday on a first-degree felony charge of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury by omission. Both are still in custody on a $75,000 bond.
RELATED: 3 indicted in 'horrific' San Antonio child abuse case involving tied up children
A booking photo was not immediately available for Smith.
The incident occurred on or around July 23, at the Delta Inn located in the 9500 block of Interstate 35 North.
Smith stays at the Inn and takes care of four children while Williams works odd jobs during the day.
According to a witness statement in an arrest affidavit obtained by mySA.com, the child defecated in his pants and Smith became upset. She took the child into the bathroom and immersed him in hot water by using the shower head and using it to wash the childs buttocks and thighs. Smith allegedly told the witness to cover the childs mouth to muffle his screams so that the other tenants couldnt hear him.
RELATED: Arson that almost killed 7-year-old draws lengthy sentence
Smith then allegedly hit the child on the buttocks with a wooden back scratcher before putting the childs buttocks against the hot water, the affidavit said.
The witness said the water was so hot that the bathroom filled with steam and fogged up the mirror. The witness also said for the next week Smith and Williams did not take the child to the hospital. The boys burns were so severe the child would often cry, the witness said, especially when the child had to have his diaper changed, according to the affidavit.
Williams later told police he did not take the child to the hospital for fear that he would lose custody of his children. He also said Smith threatened him, the affidavit said.
RELATED: Police: Undocumented immigrant sexually assaulted 7-year-old girl in San Antonio
The child suffered third-degree burns and was transported in critical condition to University Hospital.
If convicted, the two suspects face five to 99 years in prison.
twhite@mysa.com
Twitter: @tylerlwhite
SAN ANTONIO A 29-year-old man was arrested Monday for allegedly stealing more than $2,500 worth of clothing from an Old Navy store, according to court documents.
Eddie Sanchez was being held on a $10,000 bond for a state jail felony charge of theft between $2,500 and $30,000. He has since bonded out of jail, according to the Bexar County Central Magistrates Office.
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SAN ANTONIO A sex offender who pleaded for state jail officials to castrate him following two child sex assault convictions in the '90s was released from the Bexar County Detention Center on Sunday, the Sheriffs Office confirmed.
Larry Don McQuay, 52, finished serving more than 11 years of a 20-year sentence in a work-release program at the Bexar County Jail on Sunday, said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark.
Clark said McQuay was being monitored as part of the TDCJs Super Intensive Supervision Program, highest level of security for offenders in a work-release program, according to the Houston Chronicle.
RELATED: Freed sex offender ordered back into state program
He had been in the work-release program in San Antonio since May 3, 2005, and was at a facility in Huntsville before, but "McQuay is no longer on parole supervision with TDJC," Clark said in an email.
He was convicted around 1990 for indecency with a child for sexually abusing a 6-year-old boy. He was then later convicted around 1997 on the same charge for sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl, who was related to the boy he molested years before, according to the Texas DPS Sex Offender Registry website.
RELATED: Police increase reward for 'Most Wanted' sex offender
McQuay worked as a school bus driver and at SeaWorld while living in Bexar County before his convictions, according to the Houston Chronicle.
His second conviction occurred after he was paroled in 1996, at which time McQuay also asked to be castrated, the Houston Chronicle reported.
He made claims that he had molested children more than 240 times and would do so again, going as far as killing his victims, in order to keep them from identifying him to police. He said he later regretted those statements because he was trying to add weight to his castration plea, according to the Houston Chronicle.
McQuays lawyer told the Houston Chronicle in 2005 that his defendant had underwent surgical castration within a year of that interview. McQuay pleaded to have the operation done, believing the surgery would reduce his urges and likelihood to commit crimes against children again in the future, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Clark said he could not release information regarding the apparent surgery on Tuesday because of "privacy laws."
His desire to be castrated led the Texas Legislature to pass a law in 1997 that allowed the state to offer surgical castration to pedophiles in prison, but only on a volunteer basis, according to previous Houston Chronicle reports.
The procedure, called a an orchiectomy, involves surgically removing a person's testicles, according to WebMD.
An orchiectomy is approved under Texas Government Code 501.061, which states the procedure must come under a volunteer basis for inmates who admit to the crimes they have been accused of involving sexual assault. Repeat offenders are considered candidates for this surgery, according to the Government Code.
Texas became the first state to allow this kind of voluntary surgical activity for inmates, according to the New York Daily News.
RELATED: San Antonio masseur accused of sexually assaulting woman during birthday massage
Those involved in the SISP must be monitored by GPS technology and are required to comply with a strictly regulated, 24/7 schedule that is approved by a parole officer.
Clark said McQuay was able to go to job interviews, work, medical appointments and other approved activities.
The Bexar County Sheriff's Office would not comment further on their involvement with McQuay's case.
Renee C. Lee, Robert Crowe and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
twhite@mysa.com
Twitter: @tylerlwhite
State Sen. Bob Duff has become a politician with many opinions on the key issues affecting the families he claims to represent in Hartford. Nowhere is that more evident than with a new proposal that would slam all Connecticut drivers with a mileage tax.
Anyone who follows Connecticut politics has heard a lot about this new tax from their elected officials. Without the doublespeak from career politicians, the mileage tax is exactly what it sounds like the state of Connecticut taxing you for every mile that you drive in your car, using your odometer and other information to track you.
When I learned about this special Orwellian kind of desperate money-grub, I bet my reaction was similar to yours and other people who drive on Connecticuts highways daily with initial bewilderment, then shock, and outrage. We already have the highest gas tax per gallon in the country. More people leave Connecticut than any other state in the union and this is how the Democrats in Hartford respond?!
To be fair, many of our local representatives have condemned this tax. Good ol boy, Sen. Bob Duff, Dan Malloys best friend in the senate for tax hikes, did say he does not support the mileage tax. In a statement, Leader Duff said the senate would never advance the proposal and then accused concerned Republicans of fear-mongering.
Case closed, Duff said, smugly.
OK, Bob, but theres a problem with that: Why did you set aside $300,000 in the budget that you greased through the state house for studying a mileage tax? Theres no hiding this from your constituents. Connecticut is in the midst of a fiscal catastrophe and Norwalk and Darien just saw crucial state tax dollars carved out of its education budget. You and Dan Malloy chose to use $300,000 to study a mileage tax that supposedly no one wants instead of relieving Norwalk and Darien schools. This is a fact.
Lets be serious: Bob Duff is no backbencher in Hartford who keeps his head down and spends all of his time high-fiving fifth-graders who visit the Capitol hes the senate majority leader. Dont tell me and other terrified parents in this district to pay no attention to the tax money that is being spent on studying how the state can charge us for dropping our kids off at school and then driving to work!
Its deceptive, its manipulative, and its exactly what people are fed up with in politicians. Bob Duff has made his political career telling his constituents hes doing one thing, while doing the opposite in the service of Gov. Malloy. He claims he supports health care while cutting millions to our hospitals, shifts the tax burden to local towns by cutting aid and now saying the mileage tax is a pipe dream while allowing Gov. Malloy to study it.
We can do better this fall. We do not have to live this way. At the very least, we need someone in Hartford who will be candid about what governments role in our lives should be. Im not a politician. If youve met me, you know that Im not afraid to speak my mind for what I think is right and ask questions when I do not know the answer. You can bet I will never ask motorists to pay more for the privilege of driving to work so they can pay taxes.
If Im elected to replace Bob Duff in the state Senate, you will always know where I stand on every issue and what I plan on doing. I will NEVER doublespeak, hedge, equivocate, or dodge.
If I did, then I would be a career politician who moonlights as a failed real estate agent.
Greg Ehlers of Darien is the Republican candidate for the state Senate 25th district.
Hillary Clinton must have another private server to hide her emails to Satan according to the 18 percent of voters in a recent poll who believe the Democratic nominee for president has "ties to Lucifer."
The Public Policy Polling poll of 1,276 likely voters nationwide found that 18 percent of them believed that Clinton is friendly with the Lord of the Flies. Another 21 percent were "not sure," probably pending clouds of locusts emerging from her mouth.
By Paul Buchheit, whose essays, videos and poems can be found at YouDeserveFacts.org. Originally published at Alternet
Corporations are viewed as untouchable by big business media giants like the Wall Street Journal, which blurts out inanities like Income inequality is simply not a significant problem and Middle-class Americans have more buying power than ever before.
In the real world, inequality is destroying the middle class. The following four issues, all part of the cancer of corporatocracy, have grown in intensity and destructiveness in just the last few years. They should be campaign issues, given more than just lip service from candidate Hillary Clinton, and given more than just passing reference in the news reports of the mainstream media.
1. Monopolies: Increasing prices, cutting jobs. The Busch/Miller merger is the latest attack on competition, joining the recent surge toward oligopolies in the banking industry, pharmaceuticals and hospitals, wireless companies, and airlines. Contrary to any condescending claims that mergers contribute to price-lowering efficiencies, they have actually led to price increases in 75 percent of examined cases, according to a Northeastern University study. The resulting corporate profits are often used for investor-enriching stock buybacks.
And jobs are cut. When Merck took over Cubist Pharmaceuticals, the latters research and development staff was eliminated, ending their studies of other promising medicines.
2. Finance: Now costing us more than the military. A Roosevelt Institute study estimates that the financial system will impose an excess cost of as much as $22.7 trillion between 1990 and 2023. That comes to about $660 billion per year, more than the discretionary military budget. Thats over $5,000 per U.S. household in excess financial costs.
Banks once spent the majority of their money on business investments; now its just 15 percent. Rana Foroohar summarizes: U.S. companies today make more than ever before by simply moving money around.
3. Medicine: Pampering the rich more than ever before. A new Health Affairs study concluded that since 2004, our medical dollars have been increasingly concentrated on the wealthy. The cost of treatment for life-threatening or debilitating diseases is out of reach for most Americans:
Cancer: up to $183,000 per year
Hepatitis C: up to $95,000 per year
Multiple sclerosis: up to $74,000 per year
Rheumatoid arthritis: up to $42,000 per year
The pharmaceutical industry gouges us twice: 1) Our tax dollars go to Medicare and Medicaid, which have to pay up to 600 times the manufacturing cost of drugs, as with the notorious hepatitis drug Sovaldi, which costs $10 in Egypt and $1,000 in the U.S.; and 2) most Medicare patients still face out-of-pocket costs of $7,000 or more a year.
4. Corporate Taxes: Little change with Clinton, disastrous tax cuts with Trump. Corporations constantly gripe about their taxes, even though the corporate tax rate has dropped precipitously in recent decades, and even though they are reaping almost all the benefits of one of the most prosperous times in history. Pfizer CEO Ian Read moaned that U.S. taxes had his company fighting with one hand tied behind our back. Pfizer paid almost zero taxes in the U.S. last year, despite $9 billion in profits.
The complaints arent new, but a brand new president will soon be catering to the complainers. Hillary Clinton proposes cosmetic changes to the business tax code, while Donald Trump would let corporate taxes plunge to 15 percent.
Corporations vs. America
Progressives have long been fighting injustices like the corporate takeaways in free trade deals, and the declining corporate tax rate, and the massive amounts of corporate subsidies. But the battles are getting fiercer and more numerous. Corporations keep finding new ways to race unfettered toward the takeover of our democracy, and they have staunch allies in Congress and the business media.
The New York Times Dealbook has managed to outdo itself, and not in a good way.
On Monday, the Grey Lady published This is Your Life, Brought to You by Private Equity, a slide show apparently intended to stand in place of a bona fide reported story to close off a recent series on the industry.
The disgrace isnt just that it took so many writers (four) and such a clearly costly presentation to convey so little substance. The style of presentation, the at best mildly concerned tone, the inaccuracies and understatements, and the thinness of information were worse than a whitewash or conventional agnotology. The story came off as an arch promotional piece for private equity, with a few necessary ugly disclosures worked in, as if the reporters had been pwned. As a lawyer who has written extensively on private equity said, Did David Rubenstein [of Carlyle Group] write this?
Overarching Story Line Faithfully Echoes, and Therefore Evokes, Classic Corporate Do Gooder Pitch: Our Company Touches Your Lives in So Many Ways A long standing staple of corporate advertising, going back to before World War II, is the seeminlgy faceless major corporation such as Better Living Through Chemistry DuPont, showing citizens how its products, unbeknown to viewers, supposedly improved their daily lives. This trope is so widely recognized as a classic that its even incorporated casually in movies. For instance, Michael Clayton, about evil Monsanto-like company U North, shows this commercial, in which U North depicts itself as playing a far-reaching, positive role:
U-North, for the film Michael Clayton from Victor Melton on Vimeo.
In other words, corporate influence is pervasivebut consumers are told again and again and again all and only for the good. Thus in the absence of concrete information otherwise, the fact that private equity firms now have their fingers in lots of pies the way, say a conglomerate like GE does, wont sound any alarms.* From the standpoint of the overwhelming majority of readers, its at worst dog bites man. For instance (each mini-paragraph is a separate slide, with a fitting cute image with the text:
Lets say that, like most Americans, you drive to work. These roads, bridges and highways are increasingly maintained by Wall Street investors. They either own the road, or manage it on the governments behalf.
Isnt this just swell? Nowhere does it describe, as we have, that toll road projects are almost always construction projects, and the process is so flawed that they have, without exception, resulted in bankruptcies? And worse, that when these roads are built as essential infrastructure (replacing existing roads or to serve rapidly growing suburbs or exurbs), the communities served by them are left with a mess, since the roads are typically maintenance-starved before they go belly up?
A key slide:
So should consumers be worried that Revlon is owned by raider Ron Perlman of MacAndrews & Forbes? The slick image doesnt even show which private equity owned company is associated with each of the products it shows, so the reader has no idea whether they are dominant or minor players. Indeed, the message looks an awful lot like, You need private equity to get you through your day.
Childrens Story Book Visual Style Makes Private Equity Look Kind and Talks Down to Readers. Was this weird format used to hide the lack of newsworthy information or to soft-pedal what little the Times team had to convey? The result is childish and anesthetizing, as if the intent was to tell a comforting bedtime story. True to the form, the slides go from someone waking up in the morning to get their first glass of water, and closes with:
Notice the palette: calming, institutional, with a lot of blue undertones, the sort of thing you might see in a dentists office or an upscale retirement facility.
And the presentation adheres closely to the tried and true presentation style of first grade teachers: no more than one sentence per slide, the shorter and simpler, the better.
The Story Omits and Minimizes Negative Information. Whitewash is too kind a word. Lets start with the opening text:
You wake up thirsty. [Mind you, that is a single slide] A few years ago, that glass of water might have come from your local government. Today, it could be courtesy of a private equity firm. It may taste the same, but theres a good chance your bill has gone up.
This leaves readers with close to nothing. How many local municipal water works have been bought by infrastructure funds (which are treated by investors not as private equity but as infrastructure funds, with risk and expected returns that are distinct from private equity, revealing lazy, sloppy reporting)? Are there any estimates of what proportion of water supply nationwide is now under corporate control? Is this trend growing or has it fallen off with the bad press infrastructure plays have gotten recent years? And how much have prices gone up?
With only a vague threat mentioned and no supporting details, this winds up being the reverse of an alarm. It numbs the reader to accept the incursion of investors as a given, and probably benign, since he never knew about it before and the Times gives him no reason to be particularly bothered.
Heres the next slide:
First, by carrying over the water discussion through the water glass image, the text promotes the privatization messaging that government services should be regarded and run with an eye to efficiency, as opposed to supporting communities on an affordable basis. And it therefore blandly treats turning critical public services over to profiteers as perfectly reasonable. In fact, as we wrote in 2013:
As weve discussed at length earlier, these schemes are simply exercises in extraction. Investors in mature infrastructure deals expect 15% to 20% returns on their investment. And that also includes the payment of all the (considerable) fees and costs of putting these transactions together. The result is tantamount to selling the family china and then renting it back in order to eat. There is no way that adding unnecessary middlemen with high return expectations improves the results to the public. In fact, the evidence is overwhelmingly the reverse: investors jack up usage fees and skimp on maintenance. And their deals are full of sneaky features to guarantee their returns.
The Flint water supply disaster is a stark reminder of the danger of a focus on costs n providing critical services. It also pushes the private equity line that they are smart and by implication, that their historical outsized returns were the result of their investment acumen. In fact, the profits of the general partners come overwhelmingly from fees that have nothing to do with investment success, and the returns they do earn depend heavily on tax avoidance. As tax expert Lee Sheppard wrote, Private equity often resembles a tax reduction scheme with an acquisition attached.
The next slide is inaccurate:
These investors have lots of money at their disposal, mainly from rich individuals and pension funds. They also face fewer regulations than banks. Since the 2008 financial crisis, theyve expanded their horizons and begun shopping for bargains in new places.
This perpetuates the canard that most of the money in private equity comes from high end retail investors, who are assumed to be big boys and able to walk on the wild side, when thats demonstrably false and again shows obviously deficient reporting. The biggest single investor group in private equity is government investors, meaning public pension funds like CalPERS. Historically, the next biggest group has been private pension funds, but recent news stories suggest that sovereign wealth funds may have surpassed private pension funds. Other big investors in private equity are life insurers, endowments, foundations and fund of funds (which take money from smaller public and private pension funds, endowments, foundations, and individuals; fund of funds are large investors in private equity in aggregate). The idea that private equity buys on the cheap is not a given, despite the Times hammering that claim; the industry at the end of cycles (late 1980s, 2006 to 2007) does a huge volume of deals at peak prices at the end of stock market cycles. And as weve pointed out over the last year, private equity has been buying companies at multiples that are richer than at the peak of the last cycle, leading experts to fall back on the cliche that the deals are priced to perfection, meaning everything needs to work out for them to turn a profit.
The authors even tone down their tame findings from earlier stories in the series. For instance:
You call 911 and Wall Street answers. You might think that you paid for your fire department with your taxes. But yours happens to be run by a private-equity-owned company, and youll likely receive a bill for their services even if they show up late. The paramedics who treat you for smoke inhalation might show up late, too. Response times for some ambulance companies under private-equity control have worsened.
This is a synopsis of sorts of the first flabby article in their series, which we deigned to shred. The cheery images, with the cartoonish grey smoke balloon and a mere Oops signaling an emergency, presumably a fire (with no people, and therefore no reminder of harm, not even a prostrate figure and an obligatory X over each eye to show hes passed out) and a cute teeny red fire engine running across the screen, trivialize the issue. And again, the warnings are so general as to again deaden any personal reaction. Why should anyone think this warning might apply to them? You might be in a town where private equity has take over these services. If so, youll likely be charged. But is the tab likely to be serious? Youve got no idea. As we wrote:
Another factor impeding dealing with these articles crisply isnt that they are wrongheaded, but that they are flabby and inconclusive. They are reminiscent of a McKinsey progress review where the team got a ton of data but didnt figure out the so whats so they instead dumped a ton of slides in a semi-organized manner on the client to show they had done a lot of digging and initial analysis. You might call this the Here is a lot of shit, I am sure you can find a pony school of journalism. The worst of this is that the fact that the Times appears to regard these pieces as impressive (among other things, they created custom graphics for each, as well as giving them lots of real estate) when the basic issues are all old news. Yes, private equity regularly crapifies their offerings through via overly-aggressive cost-cutting and installing know-nothing managers. Yes, alternative investors have been providing public services via infrastructure deals and other types of outsourcing, and their business model virtually requires that they provide a lower level of service at a higher cost to citizens. And yes, they regularly bankrupt companies.
Did any of those old hat facts get into the super dumbed-down childrens tale? You tell me.
Agnotology, New York Times Style: A Google Search (or One of Our Archives) Tells You More About Private Equity Than a Big Series Did. Agnotology is defined as the study of culturally induced ignorance or doubt. This series is a classic example. The Times made it clear that it regarded these stories as a major journalistic exercise by investing lots of reporter resources and flagging their importance by their length and the use of large, original graphics at the beginning of each one.
Yet the series averted its eyes from most of the bad aspects of private equity by taking only the neoliberal frame of impact on consumers. That meant the writers would be dealing only with anecdotes, since private equity targets narrow niches. Putting on my consulting hat, its a major exercise to make even a crude assessment of basic trends across a sector since there are almost never any third party sources of data. So a large swathe of private equitys bad conduct stripping and bankrupting companies, tax avoidance, lowered employment, and abusing investors completely out of the storys frame. Thus the reporting team chose to cover results would never be able to investigate well.
To illustrate, the second story in their series, on the role of private equity in real estate, was such an embarrassment that I didnt dare go near it, since addressing all of the errors and misleading simplifications would easily have run to over 10,000 words and readers would not have patience for it. But a few examples: it failed to make any kind of clear distinction for a lay reader of the role played by lenders versus mortgage servicers. It acted as if private equity firms buying foreclosed properties ought to have bought in low income neighborhoods or older properties, when that was never the expectation of experts and insiders (I attended industry conferences when the trend was just getting started).
This gives a high-level sense of how wrong-headed the series is:
Private equity can follow you back home when you pay your monthly mortgage. After the 2008 housing crisis, private equity firms expanded dramatically into the mortgage business, as the nations banks struggled. They helped stabilize Americas housing market. But at the same time, some private-equity-controlled mortgage firms have repeated the kinds of mistakes that got big banks into trouble in the first place.
Private equity did not get into servicing and rental purchases in a big way until well after 2009, when the banks had been bailed out and after Obama and Geithner had given them what amounted to a second bailout, the National Mortgage Settlement of 2012. Yes, Bank of America was still saddled with a lot of legacy mortgage costs, but that was more a big drag on profits than a threat to survival.
But the Big Lie is repeated the same mistakes which the original article features prominently on its first page, with its jazzy image. Again, no reasonable observer expected better results. The one exception was small, independent combat or default servicers, which were high-touch operations that had the expertise and manpower to modify mortgages, since that is much more work than foreclosing. But those economics worked only because regulators for a while had their boots on the necks of the major servicers, in particular Bank of America, which it forced to use third-party servicers for many delinquent mortgages. This salutary development had nothing to do with private equity and there was no reason to expect private equity to emulate it, save for a few bottom-fishers who might buy a portfolio of defaulted mortgages and might work some of them out. Youve never expect a servicer, whether owed by private equity or a bank, to do that because servicing contracts pay servicers to foreclose, and not to modify mortgages. The underlying problem has yet to be addressed.
A simple example of how big a fail this big ticket series is: you will learn more about private equity, including how it hurts consumers as well as lots of other innocent bystanders, from one article by a lone writer, David Stockman, in 2012 than this entire series with a whole team on it. A representative section:
Except Mitt Romney was not a businessman; he was a master financial speculator who bought, sold, flipped, and stripped businesses. He did not build enterprises the old-fashioned wayout of inspiration, perspiration, and a long slog in the free market fostering a new product, service, or process of production. Instead, he spent his 15 years raising debt in prodigious amounts on Wall Street so that Bain could purchase the pots and pans and castoffs of corporate America, leverage them to the hilt, gussy them up as reborn roll-ups, and then deliver them back to Wall Street for resalethe faster the better. That is the modus operandi of the leveraged-buyout business, and in an honest free-market economy, there wouldnt be much scope for it because it creates little of economic value. But we have a rigged systema regime of crony capitalismwhere the tax code heavily favors debt and capital gains, and the central bank purposefully enables rampant speculation by propping up the price of financial assets and battering down the cost of leveraged finance. So the vast outpouring of LBOs in recent decades has been the consequence of bad policy, not the product of capitalist enterprise. I know this from 17 years of experience doing leveraged buyouts at one of the pioneering private-equity houses, Blackstone, and then my own firm. I know the pitfalls of private equity. The whole business was about maximizing debt, extracting cash, cutting head counts, skimping on capital spending, outsourcing production, and dressing up the deal for the earliest, highest-profit exit possible. Occasionally, we did invest in genuine growth companies, but without cheap debt and deep tax subsidies, most deals would not make economic sense.
Yes, Stockman has the considerable advantage of being an ex-practioner, but there is now a large literature on the damage done by private equity, as well as accessible insiders and other experts, like Eileen Appelbaum and Rosemary Batt, whom weve regularly cited.
Resorting to Google would have produced better results at far less cost. Yet rather than build on existing knowledge, these reporters delivered a mediocre piece that they seem to believe was a bona fide journalistic exercise. As one maven put it, At every juncture, the reporters went to some length to reach the most favorable conclusion to private equity possible. The result is that these articles leave you thinking, If thats all the Times can get on private equity, its really not that bad.'
This series is also a big warning about the state of journalism. It appears that younger reporters so regularly take dictation from sources that have honed access journalism to a fine art that they have lost most if not all of the sense that reporting is often a blood sport, and that the proper relationship between a writer and the object of his investigation is inevitably adversarial if the reporter has found real dirt.
Contrast this series with the Wall Street Journals intrepid work on Theranos, where the company sent a team of big-ticket lawyers to intimidate the paper into dropping its investigation. The Journal nevertheless dug in and went toe-to-toe with a company with the blue-chippiest of boards and a peak valuation of $9 billion. By contrast, what passes for business reporting at the New York Times, like this feeble series, is largely out of Dealbook, which will never do more than nip the hand that feeds it.
____
* That before you get to the fact that the possible concern, of monopoly or oligopoly power, isnt even alluded to here. Private equity is not a monolith with a single powerful actor at the top, like JP Morgans trusts, where he achieved concentrated economic power in steel, railroads and electricity, as well as owning other important industrial concerns, often related to these core industries. Private equity firms regularly seek to obtain dominant positions in niche businesses, which gives them similar pricing power, but that concern was absent from this series.
New consortium to explore use of magnetic skyrmions in data storage (w/video) (Nanowerk News) The use of nanoscale magnetic whirlpools, known as magnetic skyrmions, to create novel and efficient ways to store data will be explored in a new 7M research programme led by Durham University.
Skyrmions, which are a new quantum mechanical state of matter, could be used to make our day-to-day gadgets, such as mobile phones and laptops, much smaller and cheaper whilst using less energy and generating less heat.
It is hoped that better and more in-depth knowledge of skyrmions could address society's ever-increasing demands for processing and storing large amounts of data and improve current hard drive technology.
Scientists first predicted the existence of skyrmions in 1962 but they were only discovered experimentally in magnetic materials in 2009.
The UK team, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), now aims to make a step change in our understanding of skyrmions with the goal of producing a new type of demonstrator device in partnership with industry.
The use of nanoscale magnetic whirlpools, known as magnetic skyrmions, to create novel and efficient ways to store data is being explored in a new research project led by Durham University and funded by the EPSRC.
Skyrmions, tiny swirling patterns in magnetic fields, can be created, manipulated and controlled in certain magnetic materials. Inside a skyrmion, magnetic moments point in different directions in a self-organised vortex. Skyrmions are only very weakly coupled to the underlying atoms in the material, and to each other, and their small size means they can be tightly packed together. Together with the strong forces that lock magnetic fields into the skyrmion pattern, the result is that the magnetic information encoded by skyrmions is very robust.
Scientists can potentially move a skyrmion with 100,000 times less energy than is needed to move a ferromagnetic domain, the objects currently used in the memory of our computers and smartphones. Currently when we access information through the web, we remotely use hard disk drives that generate lots of heat and waste lots of energy. Skyrmionic technology could allow this to be done on smaller scale devices which would use much less energy.
Professor Peter Hatton from the Department of Physics at Durham University, who heads the research team, said: "Skyrmions hold so much promise for advancing our basic understanding of matter and, crucially, also for using them as highly efficient memory elements.
"Within the new consortium, we will bring together experts in materials synthesis and theoretical and experimental techniques so we can answer questions about the status of magnetic skyrmions and develop technological applications based on this new realm of science, known as topological physics.
"We will work very closely with industry partners and align our scientific programme with the engineering and commercial realities of modern-day information technologies."
The national research group includes experts from the universities of Durham, Warwick, Oxford, Cambridge and Southampton.
The first prediction of a new type of stable configuration came from British physicist Tony Skyrme and has since opened up a whole variety of different sized and shaped skyrmion objects with different properties to conventional matter. However, numerous questions remain unanswered which focus on how best to exploit the unique magnetic properties of these magnetic excitations in devices.
The three generic themes the team will look at are:
The development, discovery and growth of magnetic materials that host skyrmion spin textures; A greater understanding of the physics of these objects; Engineering of the materials to application.
WASHINGTON Pop Quiz. Complete the following sentence, taken from the Democratic National Committee's platform:
"At a time when many of the largest banks have shunned communities across America, Democrats believe that we need to give Americans affordable banking options, including by _________."
If you answered "reforming and modernizing the Community Reinvestment Act," you would be wrong. (The correct answer is "empowering the United States Postal Service to facilitate the delivery of basic banking services.")
In a campaign season when income inequality and the banking industry are topics with an unusually high profile for both major political parties, notably absent is any mention of CRA. While most observers said the law has been a success in ending racial and socioeconomic redlining, many are scratching their heads about what is keeping the issue on the sidelines.
"This is a no-brainer, softball pitch to a hardball batter asking or demanding that the banks do more safe and sound lending to blue collar workers," said John Taylor, president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and longstanding advocate for CRA reform. "This should be in the Democratic mainstream let the Republicans defend their banker friends. You would think that, if they're trying to appeal to [blue collar and minority voters], they'd be all over this."
Nikitra Bailey, who oversees coalition building and constituent services at the Center for Responsible Lending, said that if bringing unbanked or underbanked Americans into the financial mainstream is a part of addressing income inequality, building off the CRA would be a logical place to start.
"It's clear that if CRA got some teeth, it could be a useful instrument for driving people into the mainstream financial services sector," Bailey said. "What we see is a lot of people who should be in the mainstream financial services sector aren't, and that is problematic because it's a strain for families when they have to pay more for basic financial services."
The CRA, passed in 1977, was designed to compel banks to extend services and loans to qualified low- and moderate-income communities in the areas they serve. The law facilitates this by periodically requiring each bank's regulator to assess a bank's performance in those communities in its assessment area, based on three categories: services, investment and lending. Banks' performance is graded within a handful of categories Outstanding, Satisfactory, Needs Improvement and Substantially Noncompliant. Banks with a less than satisfactory grade may be barred from future mergers or acquisitions.
But there is widespread agreement that major aspects of the law are outdated. Assessment areas are tied to census districts in which a bank has physical branches, meaning that banks that do most or all of their banking online without physical branches are not considered. The law also only applies to chartered banks, ignoring other financial services sectors like fintech, shadow banks and credit unions. Community groups have also complained that the grading scale doesn't provide any incentive for banks to do more than the bare minimum necessary to get a satisfactory grade, while banks have said the grading system doesn't always give them CRA credit when they go beyond the minimum requirements or get creative.
The Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. began a series of listening sessions in 2010 with the intent of finding ways to improve the CRA by updating the law's implementing guidance, known as "Questions and Answers," or Q&As. Those final changes were published July 15, but critics said they were at best incremental improvements to the existing guidance.
"The regulators have made some modest changes and improvements in this Q&A, but they will have limited benefit," Taylor said in a July 18 statement. "The clear expectation was that the agencies would update the regulation. That did not happen."
The question remains as to why. Eugene Ludwig, former Comptroller of the Currency under President Clinton and co-founder of Promontory Financial Group, said bank regulators didn't go further with regulatory reforms because there are limits to how far they could go without running afoul of their statutory mandate.
"You couldn't have a group of regulators who are more supportive, well intentioned in terms of making the CRA effective," Ludwig said. "The fact of the matter is, CRA, though not perfect, has worked pretty well, and changing it given the realities of the statute takes a lot of doing."
If that's right, it means that any broader changes to the law would have to come through Congress, where partisan differences will likely keep any substantive legislation on the sidelines.
"The community advocates are afraid of losing ground in any revision, and the banks are terrified of a new structure requiring new costs at the time when they are just emerging from years of hideously expensive regulatory change management," said Todd Baker, managing principal of Broadmoor Consulting. "Thus, no change, even though everyone knows it should happen as a technical matter."
Taylor and Bailey both agreed that the CRA was widely portrayed in the years after the housing bubble as having incentivized banks to take on risky or nonproductive loans to poor people who could not pay them back. While they said that portrayal was inaccurate, it may have created a lingering stigma that has sapped any political courage on the part of the law's champions to open it up for revision.
"What's happened is, there's such a push to the center, and moderate Democrats have fallen victim to this vilification of the CRA by conservatives," Taylor said. "Just like with Fannie and Freddie, CRA was blamed for the housing crisis, and it doesn't matter how much data or studies refute that idea it was just put out there. It would have been a perfect working class issue [but] they didn't fight back."
Though bankers see flaws in CRA and would like to see the law cover other financial firms, they mostly appear to be willing to leave it alone. Unlike more recent regulatory changes that emerged after the financial crisis, CRA has been baked into the way banks do business.
"If you asked a banker to make a list of the 10 regulations that bug them the most, chances are the CRA would not make it onto that top 10," said Wayne Abernathy, executive vice president of financial institutions policy and regulatory affairs at the American Bankers Association. "[It's] not that it doesn't bug you, and not that it isn't a pain in the neck, but it's a pain in the neck you can tolerate whereas some of this other stuff may really affect their ability to serve customers."
The problem, Abernathy said, isn't extending credit to low and middle income communities, but having to document it. The CRA is set up in such a way as there is no benefit to being graded "outstanding" versus "satisfactory," he said. There are no incentives for a bank to outperform or innovate in its engagement of LMI communities if anything, it acts as a disincentive.
"If they get an outstanding, it can become an albatross around your neck, because there's only one way you can go," Abernathy said. "And if you should slip from outstanding down to satisfactory, that can be seen as a fall from grace. So a lot of them will say, 'Just get the satisfactory, and life will be easier.' "
Ludwig said that probably CRA's biggest blind spot and one on which both CRA advocates and the banking industry can agree is that it only applies to banks. As a result, as more financial services are performed by nonbanks or other entities, fewer and fewer financial services are being performed by entities with CRA obligations.
"The shadow banking sector, which represents a substantial percentage of the financial sector of the United States, has no obligations, no interest in this at all," Ludwig said. "So if you really want to move the needle, you need to expand the obligation to others. That's where the pop is."
Abernathy agreed, saying it may be the growth of nonbank firms into traditional banking services that ultimately changes the industry's mind about whether or not CRA is a top-flight issue.
"CRA is a law that was based on a model that's becoming more and more behind the times," Abernathy said. "I think there could come a point where things have changed enough with the industry, both with the customers and with the banks themselves, where adjustments in CRA are timely and around which maybe a consensus can be established."
Nonbanks have so far not been receptive to the idea. Fintech firms have repeatedly argued that since they do not reap the benefits of deposit insurance, they should not be bound by laws like the CRA that come as conditions of that insurance.
Brad Thaler, vice president of regulatory affairs at the National Association of Federal Credit Unions, said the CRA was passed to bar redlining activities that by and large have not been associated with member-owned credit unions, so expanding the act to cover them would be counterproductive.
"Credit unions were not included under CRA because there has never been any evidence that credit unions have engaged in these illegal and abhorrent activities," Thaler said. "Credit unions, as member-owned, not-for-profit cooperatives, must and do invest in their fields of membership so calls for including them under CRA are baseless."
Bailey said that regardless of when a fight to modernize the CRA ever gets off the ground or what a specific proposal may look like, community advocates intend to continue to push the issue into the public eye as much as possible because the national dialog on income inequality is far from finished.
"The conversation isn't over," Bailey said. "The CRA is an important law particularly at a time when our nation is talking about making sure families aren't left behind. [CRA] modernization needs to be a part of that."
Allison Slomowitz
Mid America Mortgage in Addison, Texas, has executed its first electronic closing and e-note through its retail origination channel.
The closing builds on the company's plan to expand e-closings and e-notes across all of its origination channels, Mid America founder and chief executive Jeff Bode said in a news release Tuesday.
"This strategy aligns Mid America with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's initiatives, as the CFPB has signaled its position that e-closing should be an option for all borrowers," Bode said.
The company also announced plans to launch e-closing for its correspondent business later this summer. Loans eligible for that program include conventional products, FHA loans, VA loans and Section 184 (Native American) loans.
"Historically, warehouse lenders have been the less than enthusiastic about e-warehousing, but the tide seems to be turning," Bode said. "Several banks have expressed their desire to participate in e-warehousing. Once we get the program up and running, our goal is to purchase loans closed electronically from participating lenders warehouse lines within two business days of funding."
Mid America has worked with its warehouse partners, MERSCORP Holdings and Fannie Mae in developing its e-note strategy. Last September, the company unveiled plans to use technology from DocMagic and eSignSystems along with its own Mortgage Machine loan origination system as the foundation for its e-mortgage platform.
Celebrate National Aviation Day with free educational activities from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Aug. 20 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
National Aviation Day is a celebration of all things related to aviation and is held on the anniversary of Orville Wrights birthday (145 years ago on Aug. 19). During the event, museum visitors will learn about achievements in aviation and aerospace from the time of the Wright brothers' first flight to modern Air Force technology.
These aviation and space demonstrations are appropriate for all ages and take place throughout the day. Activities will include a flying race between a Wright Flyer and an F-22, as well as flying a Wright Flyer in a wind tunnel while learning about the stability and control of aircraft. Visitors also will witness some modern-day technologies with a look at fuel cells, nanotechnology and robotics.
In addition, visitors will be able to build and fly their own foam gliders from 1:30-3 p.m. while supplies last. This activity is free and open to all ages.
Younger visitors will enjoy a Storytime program at 11:30 a.m. and again at 1:15 p.m. in Carney Auditorium. This activity will feature stories of flight as well as a hands-on craft project. A limited number of books will be available free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis during each storytime, through the generosity of the Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc. and PNC Foundation. (No federal endorsement implied.)
While youre at the museum, be sure to check out MathAlive!, a highly entertaining, interactive traveling exhibit that allows visitors to experience math in action. The 5,000-square-foot exhibit is located in the Cold War Gallery and includes more than 40 immersive experiences.
All activities are free, and no advanced reservations are necessary. Call the Education Division at (937) 255-4646 for additional information.
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the worlds largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 19 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year about one million visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.
NOTE TO PUBLIC: For more information, please contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Education Division at (937) 255-4646.
NOTE TO MEDIA: For more information, please contact Rob Bardua at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Public Affairs Division at (937) 255-1386.
GlaxoSmithKline and Google parent Alphabet's life sciences unit are creating a new company focused on fighting diseases by targeting electrical signals in the body, jump-starting a novel field of medicine called bioelectronics.
Verily Life Sciences, known as Google's life sciences unit until last year, and Britain's biggest drugmaker will together contribute 540 million pounds ($715 million) over seven years to Galvani Bioelectronics, they said on Monday.
The new company, owned 55 percent by GSK and 45 percent by Verily, will be based at GSK's Stevenage research center north of London, with a second research hub in South San Francisco.
It is GSK's second notable investment in Britain since the country voted to leave the European Union in June. Last week it announced plans to spend 275 million pounds on drug manufacturing.
Galvani will develop miniaturized, implantable devices that can modify electrical nerve signals. The aim is to modulate irregular or altered impulses that occur in many illnesses.
GSK believes chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and asthma could be treated using these tiny devices, which consist of a electronic collar that wraps around nerves.
Kris Famm, GSK's head of bioelectronics research and president of Galvani, said the first bioelectronic medicines using these implants to stimulate nerves could be submitted for regulatory approval by around 2023.
"We have had really promising results in animal tests, where we've shown we can address some chronic diseases with this mechanism, and now we are bringing that work into the clinic," he told Reuters.
"Our goal is to have our first medicines ready for regulatory approval in seven years."
GSK first unveiled its ambitions in bioelectronics in a paper in the journal Nature three years ago and believes it is ahead of Big Pharma rivals in developing medicines that use electrical impulses rather than traditional chemicals or proteins.
The tie-up shows the growing convergence of healthcare and technology. Verily already has several other medical projects in the works, including the development of a smart contact lens in partnership with the Swiss drugmaker Novartis that has an embedded glucose sensor to help monitor diabetes.
Gain of Rice
Famm said the first generation of implants coming to market would be around the size of a medical pill but the aim eventually was to make them as small or smaller than a grain of rice, using the latest advances in nanotechnology.
Patients will be treated with keyhole surgery and the hope is that bioelectronic medicine could provide a one-off treatment, potentially lasting decades.
Major challenges including making the devices ultra low-power so that they function reliably deep inside the body.
The idea of treating serious disease with electrical impulses is not completely new.
Large-scale electrical devices have been used for years as heart pacemakers and, more recently, deep brain stimulation has been applied to treat Parkinson's disease and severe depression, while EnteroMedics last year won U.S. approval for a device to help obese people control their appetite.
Galvani, however, is taking electrical interventions to the micro level, using tiny implants to coax insulin from cells to treat diabetes, for example, or correct muscle imbalances in lung diseases.
Galvani will initially employ around 30 scientists, engineers and clinicians.
The company will be chaired by Moncef Slaoui, GSK's vaccines head, who pioneered the drugmaker's drive into the bioelectronics field. Slaoui is retiring from GSK next March but will continue to steer Galvani after that date, a spokesman said.
Galvani will be fully consolidated in GSK's financial statements, following the model of the group's majority-owned ViiV Healthcare business, which sells HIV medicines.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control warned pregnant women Monday not to travel to an area in the southeastern state of Florida where new cases of Zika virus infections have been identified.
Florida officials have discovered ten more cases of the Zika virus, increasing the total there to 14 and prompting Governor Rick Scott to ask for federal help to fight the spread of the virus.
A team is being deployed by the CDC in short order so that we will be able to work with Governor Scotts team on the ground in South Florida, White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters on Monday.
Scott said all known cases of Zika in Florida were caused locally by mosquitos.
State health officials believe the spread of the Zika virus is limited to a square mile area in Miami-Dade County, just north of downtown Miami. The area is rapidly gentrifying and has numerous construction sites where standing water can collect and serve as a breeding area for mosquitos.
In addition to the travel warning aimed at pregnant women, the CDC said pregnant women in the Miami area should make every effort to avoid mosquito bites.
Officials identified six of the new cases by conducting door-to-door community surveys.
On Friday, officials announced four cases of the Zika virus, believed to be the first cases contracted from mosquitos within the 50 U.S. states.
More than 1,650 people in the mainland U.S. have contracted the virus in recent months, nearly all while traveling in other countries.
U.S. officials have said they do not expect broad outbreaks like those in Brazil and in some other Latin American countries.
Aggressive mosquito control efforts in Florida were announced on Friday but the CDC said mosquito control efforts are not working as well as expected.
Health officials have reminded the public that most people with Zika don't know they are sick and that infection during pregnancy can cause babies to develop birth defects.
(NaturalNews) Ferocious vaccine manufacturers are constantly on the move, looking for new "demographics" to shoot with vaccines. If they could stick a needle into a rock and get paid for it, they would find a reason to do it.(Article by Jon Rappoport, republished from www.thedailysheeple.com But in this case, we're talking about pregnant women.Protection, protection, protectionthat's the cover the government keeps pushing.Meanwhile, the vaccines they're foisting on pregnant women have a track record of damage.Barbara Loe Fisher, head of the National Vaccine Information Center, has the story, so I'll let her tell it. These are excerpts from her testimony before the Nov. 13, 2015 "meeting of the FDA Vaccines & Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) on proposed changes to FDA requirements for licensure of vaccines intended for use during pregnancy":Fisher ("FDA Prepares to Fast Track New Vaccines Targeting Pregnant Women," 11/17/2016):"In 2006, CDC officials directed doctors to give all pregnant women a flu shot and, in 2011, a Tdap shot during every pregnancy, no matter how little time has elapsed between pregnancies. Prior to FDA licensure, influenza, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccines [Tdap and flu shots] were not tested in or proven safe and effective for pregnant women in large clinical trials when given during every pregnancy either singly or simultaneously.""Categorized by FDA as Pregnancy Category B and C biologicals because it is not known whether the vaccines are genotoxic and can cause fetal harm or can affect maternal fertility and reproduction, administering influenza and Tdap vaccines to pregnant women is an off-label use of these vaccines. It is a policy that assumes maternal vaccination is necessary, safe and effective without proving it.""...pertussis containing vaccine [Tdap] injuries and deaths are the most compensated claim in the federal vaccine injury compensation program (VICP) for infants and children, while influenza vaccine-related injuries and deaths are the most compensated claim for adults. And yet, in the absence of credible biological mechanism and epidemiologic evidence pre-licensure proving these vaccines are safe for all pregnant women , their fetuses and newborns, female health care workers are being fired for refusing to be injected with them while they are pregnant.""The National Vaccine Information Center is opposed to FDA retroactively licensing influenza and Tdap vaccines for use in pregnant women and fast tracking RSV [respiratory syncytial virus] and group strep B vaccines to licensure..."No evidence of safety, but so what? Reports of injuries and deaths, but so what?Pregnant women are a "lucrative market," and that's all that counts.Need a terrific target for further disabling the population? Pregnant women are ideal.The FDA and its army of allies will assure you that these untested and off-label uses for vaccines are perfectly safe, because all vaccines are safe.The FDA speaks for the pharmaceutical industry. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.It might be tempting to say the FDA is careless, is overlooking important factorsbut it's much, much worse than that.Here are excerpts from a 2012 piece of mine about an FDA drug reviewer, and what happened to him when he went against the grain, and opposed his bosses on judgments about what was safe medicine and what was dangerous medicine:In a stunning interview with Truthout's Martha Rosenberg, former FDA drug reviewer, Ronald Kavanagh, exposes the FDA as a relentless criminal mafia protecting its client, Big Pharma, with a host of mob strategies ("Former FDA Reviewer Speaks Out About Intimidation, Retaliation and Marginalizing of Safety," 7/29/2012).Kavanagh: "...widespread [FDA] racketeering, including witness tampering and witness retaliation.""I was threatened with prison.""One [FDA] manager threatened my children...I was afraid that I could be killed for talking to Congress and criminal investigators."Kavanagh reviewed new drug applications made to the FDA by pharmaceutical companies. He was one of the holdouts at the Agency who insisted that the drugs had to be safe and effective before being released to the public.But honest appraisal wasn't part of the FDA culture, and Kavanagh swam against the tide, until he realized his life and the lives of his children were on the line.What was his secret task at the FDA? "Drug reviewers were clearly told not to question drug companies and that our job was to approve drugs." In other words, rubber stamp them. Say the drugs were safe and effective when they were not.Kavanagh's revelations are stunning. He recalls a meeting where a drug-company representative flat-out stated that his company had paid the FDA for a new-drug approval. Paid for it. As in bribe.***Kavanagh remarks that the drug pyridostigmine, given to US troops to prevent the later effects of nerve gas, "actually increased the lethality" of certain nerve agents.Kavanagh recalls being given records of safety data on a drugand then his bosses told him which sections not to read. Obviously, they knew the drug was dangerous and they knew exactly where, in the reports, that fact would be revealed.end of excerptWomen have to know what is waiting for them, in vials of vaccines, when they become pregnant. Waiting for them and their unborn children.Huxley's Brave New World portrayed a nation of docile citizens. But there, at least, the drug of choice was Soma, a compound that stimulated pleasure centers.Here, we're talking about docility and obedience in the face of suffering, pain, neurological damage, and death.Doctors don't want to know about this. They don't want to know the true story about vaccines. If they did, they'd suddenly remember the body count they've been responsible for.So instead, they polish their act, designed to invoke credibility and, above all, authority.Invent a mountaintop, stand on it, and sell, sell, sell.That's their vaccine motto.What's yours?Read more at: www.thedailysheeple.com Sources:
Man loses everything after officers claim his soap bars are cocaine
Police field drug tests often give false positives
(NaturalNews) When Pennsylvania state police officers pulled Alexander J. Bernstein over to the side of Interstate 78 it appeared to be just another traffic stop. Bernstein was going 5 mph over the speed limit, traveling 60 in a 55 mph zone.Bernstein and his friend Anadel Cruz were on their way to visit a relative when the red and blue lights appeared in their rear-view mirror. Bernstein pulled his Mercedes Benz to the side of the road and waited for the officers to issue their citation. The officers, suspicious of the luxury vehicle and its out of state license plates, were quick to probe Bernstein. With nothing to hide, Bernstein allowed the suspicious and interrogating officers to have a look inside the vehicle.When the officers popped the trunk, they found two bars of soap wrapped in plastic. It didn't look like soap, according to the officers, whose motives were unclear. According to, they decided the soap looked like cocaine. Bernstein and Cruz pleaded that the contraband in question was just soap bars wrapped in plastic.The troopers didn't listen and moved quickly to arrest Bernstein. He was detained and placed in police barracks as the officers waited for drug test results on the "cocaine" bricks they had confiscated.When the drug test came back, the results affirmed the officer's suspicions; the homemade soap bars were determined to be cocaine. Bernstein was immediately charged with drug trafficking. He was transported to the Leigh County Prison, where he spent 29 excruciating days behind bars on a $500,000 bail.As Alexander J. Bernstein awaited the results of laboratory tests, he lost his job, reputation, apartment and possessions. He missed having Thanksgiving with his 17-month old son. When the laboratory results were in, they confirmed that the officers were wrong and that their field test had been faulty . The soap was indeed, soap. The state released Bernstein. Even so, Bernstein was left with $32,000 in court costs, a month of his life had been taken away from him, and everything he had was gone.Attorney Joshua Karoly is now leading a suit against the state. The lawsuit claims that Bernstein was left homeless and destitute after being falsely accused and imprisoned for cocaine. "[Bernstein] did not so much as receive an apology from the defendants," wrote Joshua Karoly."And even then, the FBI, the internet and other media sources will still contain a permanent record of his arrest and the criminal charges upon which he was maliciously prosecuted," the lawsuit states.This is yet another horrifying case where police drug tests have given false positives. According toBernstein is not alone; police field tests have been proven faulty for potentially thousands of innocent people. Even worse, these faulty police field tests are relied on and used as evidence to put people in prison.Aspoints out, in Las Vegas, 33 percent of field tests were proven false by authorities after arrests had been made and after jail time had been issued. What's horrifying is that these faulty field tests could be used intentionally to target certain people or to affirm an officer's arrogant search and seizure of an innocent person's property. They could also inadvertently give a false positive, putting naive travelers in handcuffs.When the Florida Department of Law Enforcement did a laboratory review of several samples of methamphetamine confiscated by police, they found that 21 percent of the substances weren't meth at all. It should be noted that police field tests are used to force a guilty plea from over 100,000 people each year. Between 20 and 40 percent of these drug arrests could theoretically be unfounded and illegal, as false positives are used as false evidence to put innocent travelers in handcuffs and behind bars.It's never been more important to learn how to stand up to authorities, to stop them from going through with illegal searches and seizures, breaches of privacy and destruction of civil liberties
'A solid return on investment'
'Science's worst enemy'
(NaturalNews) Tens of millions of American voters just learned during the current presidential election cycle that the Democratic National Committee's rules for nominating the party's White House candidate aren't fair. And what's more, they learned that the party clearly favored one competitor Hillary Clinton over another, Sen. Bernie Sanders.The way that Democrats ensured a Clinton victory was a lot like the way Monsanto ensures that the health and safety of its genetically modified seeds and crops are never seriously challenged or questioned in the scientific realm. I'll explain.Take the case of Clinton winning her party's nomination. From the outset, the Sanders campaign was doomed. The Democratic Party, like the Republican Party, holds a series of nominating primaries and caucuses ostensibly to select their respective presidential candidates.It's important to note that the difference between primaries and caucuses is that in the former, voters statewide cast ballots to elect their preferred candidate; the latter is a system of local gatherings where voters decide which candidate to support and select delegates for nominating conventions.Republicans select delegates; Democrats select delegates and so-called "superdelegates." And these superdelegates are free to support any candidatechoose, irrespective of the wishes of voters in their districts.Starting out, Clinton had around 600 pledged superdelegates to Sanders' 40-something. So, even though Sanders began closing in on Clinton in the regular delegate count as the primary/caucus season moved forward, he had a formidable mountain of superdelegates to overcome.Plus, we now find out, thanks to hacked then leaked emails, that the DNC conspired to ensure a Clinton victory over Sanders from the outset , just as the Sanders campaign charged in May So, while the DNC's mouthpieces claimed the party was not favoring one candidate over another, that clearly wasn't the case.Monsanto operates in much the same way. While claiming that its disease-causing GMOs are safe, it stacks the deck by hiring pseudo-scientists and turning them into paid hacks and shills for the company, to give it an air of legitimacy.One such hack was exposed byand others last fall. His name is Kevin Folta, a University of Florida professor who promised the agri-business giant "a solid return on investment" just a few days before receiving $25,000 in Monsanto money.As Mike Adams, the Health Ranger and author of the top-selling bookwrote in September, despite the fact that Folta emphatically stated he never took any money from Monsanto, unearthed correspondence between the two says otherwise. This from a guy who also regularly blogged in defense of GMOs.A letter from Monsanto, dated August 8, 2014, confirms that Kevin Folta received an "unrestricted grant" in the amount of $25,000 money which "may be used at your discretion ... in support of outreach projects." That means he could spend the money on anything he wanted travel, food, hotels, etc.Folta confirmed the grant in an email response to a Carolyn Daly from Monsanto , asking if Folta was going to send the company an invoice, or if Monsanto should "do a check request for" his payment.Folta certainly isn't the only paid hack for Monsanto. In fact, as Adams pointed out in a column last week , the scientific community is rife with fraud, chicanery and untrustworthiness filled with propagandists pushing corporate or globalist agendas of control (like "climate change"), all in an effort to enact a certain political agenda It's the new "reefer madness:"Indeed, corporate funding has been called 'science's worst enemy.'
With nearly 20,000 people detained and arrests continuing, there is rising concern the crackdown in Turkey after the July 15 failed coup is expanding to government critics and opponents, especially in the media.
Twenty-nine journalists have been imprisoned since the coup, and arrest warrants have been issued for dozens more.
Journalist Cafer Solgun, who worked for one of the more than 100 media outlets closed in the crackdown, struggles to understand why people like him are targeted.
"It was the coup plotters who were blinded with madness to bomb the Turkish parliament and attempt to seize power. But what relation can me, Cafer Solgun, and dozens of other journalists like me have to do with it?"
Gulen Denies Charges
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists all those being targeted are connected to the U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom he accuses of using a secretive network of followers to carry out the coup attempt.
Turkish authorities argue Gulen used his large network of national and local media outlets to support the military take over bid. Gulen denies all charges of involvement. And the motives of the crackdown are being increasingly questioned.
Nina Ornianova of New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says the scale and scope of arrests, in particular in the media, leads to worrying conclusions.
"It goes far beyond what is necessary to preserve the security of the state. It seems like Mr. Erdogan and the AKP government, have being using this failed putsch to cleanse the media, state, and cleanse the country of dissenting voices."
A tiny "origami" robot may just save your child's life from stomach bleeding and imminent death.
Infants and young children love to explore. So whether it is a juicy strawberry or a shiny battery, they will put it in their mouths out of curiosity.
The Problem: Death by Battery Ingestion
Lithium batteries, also known as button batteries usually found in toys and watches, may look harmless, but according to Cleveland Clinic, the batteries are loaded with dangerous chemicals.
When ingested, these chemicals form reactions that can be very harmful to a child's digestive system. It can even burn a hole through the throat and lead to serious internal bleeding and death.
The Solution: Ingestible Origami Robot
In an attempt to stop the growing cases of death by battery ingestion, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed an ingestible robot as the latest microsurgery tool named the origami robot because the accordion-shaped gadget gets folded up and frozen into an ice capsule.
"You swallow the robot, and when it gets to your stomach the ice melts and the robot unfolds," Daniela Rus, a professor who directs MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, told the Associated Press in an interview. "Then, we can direct it to a very precise location."
The tiny object can be used to remove foreign objects in the stomach, deliver medicine and patch up wounds to halt the bleeding via the "stick-slip" motion. According to MIT's press release, the 'stic-slip' motion is a process "in which its appendages stick to a surface through friction when it executes a move, but slip free again when its body flexes to change its weight distribution".
Robot Made From Pig Gut?
The robot is a successor of the initial robot the MIT invented last year, but the material used to form the structure of the new robot is quite different. To ensure the stiffness and malleability of the robot as it enters the fluid-filled stomach, dried pig intestine used in sausage casings was used to form the robot's biodegradable frame.
"They tried rice paper and sugar paper and hydrogel paper, all sorts of different materials," Rus said. "We found that sausage casing has the best properties when it comes to folding and unfolding and controllability."
The robot is still at the experimental stage and is being tested in an artificial stomach made of silicone.
Records at National Capital Poison Center in Washington, D.C., show that between 2005 and 2014, 11,940 children under the age of 6 swallowed batteries, 15 of those died while 101 suffered major medical problems.
Daenerys Targaryen's dragons in "Game of Thrones" can now be a reality -- only smaller. Scientists have found two new species of spiky ants in New Guinea that resembles Khaleesi's famous dragons, Drogon and Viserion.
According to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE, the two new ants species, named Pheidole drogon and Pheidole viserion, are extremely rare and classified as major workers. These ants are significantly different in appearance due to their spiky, wing-like spine portruding out of their dorsal plates.
Eli Sarnat, author of the study, explained to CS Monitor that usually, spines are used as defense against predation. However, for these new dragon ants, the spikes could be another way to support their large heads and jaws, which are used for chomping and gathering resources.
To examine their theory, the group scanned the new ant species through micro CT tomography. In this process, they were able to do a 3D X-ray image of the dragon ants even without cutting them.
"This is one of the first studies in ant taxonomy to use micro-CT," said Evan Economo, the researcher who came up with the "Game of Thrones" names, via Phys.org. "While this method is gaining popularity in different scientific fields, it is rare to use it in this way."
The scientists discovered that unlike minor worker ants, the new species of major ants have muscles supporting their spikes.
However, Sarnat did not scrape off the idea that these spines could have been used for predators but said that their function was initially for head support.
Of the 1,100 species of ants under the Pheidole genus, Sarnat reveals that the two newly discovered species are the only ones with an elaborate and complex spine structure.
James Water from Providence College says that there are still more ant species waiting to be discovered in the future.
"It's estimated that we've only discovered a small fraction of the different kinds of life on Earth, so every new species we identify and describe is a huge benefit to humanity," he said.
In search for other celestial objects, NASA was able to capture an intriguing star they dubbed as the "loneliest" among all the creations in space. This young star, which is called CX330, is believed to be the most isolated star in the universe with a neighbor that is about a thousand light-years away.
Through the study conducted by the Royal Astronomical Society, astronauts were able to find the star "as a source of X-ray light in 2009," as posted in AOL News. The star is considered as "the most isolated young star that has been discovered" in the history. Though it is still uncertain whether how long it has already been that far, experts are sure that it has been "outbursting for several years."
Based on the information gathered, the loneliest star CX330 probably has an age of one million years about as young as that of a teenager here on Earth. Because of its young body, it has the tendency to go "through a tremendous growth spurt by sending out jets of materials that slam into the gas and dust around it," as noted by RT.
'The most isolated young star': Unique and loneliest star revealed in center of Milky Wayhttps://t.co/7vE9B4lcDj pic.twitter.com/W8T0vV2E2C - RT (@RT_com) July 27, 2016
As of yet, NASA have already identified about 10 outbursting young stars, but according to the experts, the CX330 is the hottest, most compact and massive among them all. Joel Green, a researcher at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, said if that's the case, then there would not be any possibility that the CS330 has revolving planets around it because nothing can withstand the heat.
"If it's truly a massive star, its lifetime is short and violent," Researcher Joel Green said. "I wouldn't recommend being a planet around it."
Based on the study, there would be this great possibility that the loneliest star will only last for a couple of centuries experiencing great heat and instability. After that phase, it will then create a huge blast with its rocks disappearing through the Milky Way.
Private pilots who dream of working for NASA now have a shot at becoming part of the agency. In hopes of tracking the cause and exterminating toxic algae blooms, NASA along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is asking the help of private pilots.
Toxic algae bloom has plagued Florida and Georgia waters for long. Despite constant research and study, finding out when and where algal blooms could start is the problem. Even with the help of satellites, the data takes long to analyze. In addition, satellites have difficulties seeing through clouds. Plus, satellites can't move around to specifically track the algal blooms. Moving the satellites around is also quite expensive. This is where aviation comes in.
"There are about 600,000 private pilots in the U.S. and over 200,000 GA aircraft," states Rafat Ansari, scientist at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland . "A fraction of this untapped resource can be used to study scientific issues in the nation's waterways....GA pilots are more knowledgeable of the communities they live in, and are therefore aware of the water-quality issues near them. As citizens, they love to help their communities."
However, there's a catch - private pilots have to do this on a volunteer basis. NASA won't be paying for the fuel, and not even for time spent up in the air. In fact, the agency has a preference for private pilots hoping to help out in the research of algal blooms. Particularly, NASA is asking help from private pilots who follow a routine flight path at an altitude between 2,000 and 3,000 feet above water.
Yet, private pilots who are willing can choose their own flight path all for basic algal bloom tracking and forecasting. If you're a private pilot with much time on your hands, sign up for the program by visiting the project website.
Scientists found aggressive cancer tumors in a 1.7 million-year-old foot bone.
According to the researchers from the University of Witwatersrand's Evolutionary Studies Institute and the South African Center for Excellence in Paleosciences, the benign tumor was found in a fossilized foot bone suspected to belong to a bipedal hominin - early ancestor of modern-day humans, which was discovered in the Swartkrans cave outside of Johannesburg, South Africa.
In the first study, which was published in the South African Journal of Science, the researchers identified the cancer in the foot bone as an osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of cancer that commonly affects younger individuals in modern humans and results to early death if untreated.
"Due to its preservation, we don't know whether the single cancerous foot bone belongs to an adult or child, nor whether the cancer caused the death of this individual, but we can tell this would have affected the individuals' ability to walk or run," Dr. Bernhard Zipfel, Witswatersrand scientist and co-author of the study, said in a press release. "In short, it would have been painful."
In an accompanying study by the research team, which was published in the same journal, the scientists also discovered the oldest known tumor in human fossil record in Malapa cave near Johannesburg. The tumor, which was non-cancerous, was found in the vertebrae of an Australopithecus sediba child - about eight or nine years old upon death - and dated almost two million years back.
Prior to the discovery, the oldest hominin tumor was found in the rib of a Neanderthal, which dated back to about 120,000 years old.
The researchers used a new method known as micro-CT imaging in discovering the tumor. The technique allowed researchers to examine the insides of the fossil in detailed 2D and 3D images, DigitalTrends reports.
"Modern medicine tends to assume that cancers and tumors in humans are diseases caused by modern lifestyles and environments," Edward Odes, Witswatersrand scientist and co-author of both studies, said in the same statement.
"Our studies show the origins of these diseases occurred in our ancient relatives millions of years before modern industrial societies existed."
Authorities are now blaming climate change for the recent outbreak of Anthrax in the Far North of Russia, sickening 72 nomadic herders and killing over 2,300 reindeers.
According to the report from The Guardian, the thawing of the permafrost due to the increasing temperature releases a certain strain of Anthrax from a carcass of an infected reindeer that was frozen for 75 years.
Officials are now taking extreme precautionary measures to prevent further outbreak of the killer bacteria.
"It's not the first situation when anthrax returns to Russia," said Anna Popova, director of state health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, in a report from Siberian Times. "We need to be ready for any manifestations and return of infection. The (Yamalo-Nenets) territory, which has had no anthrax in animals or people since 1941, and which has been considered free from infection since 1968, demonstrates that this infection is subtle."
Authorities have evacuated 63 nomads belonging to a dozen of families away from the site of the outbreak. Reindeers were also getting vaccinated for the virus. Yamal authorities have stopped vaccinating reindeers ten years ago because there have been no reported case of Anthrax infection for more than half a century.
NBC News reported that the temperature in the Yamal tundra above the Arctic Circle have been abnormally high for the past month, reaching 95 degrees Fahrenheit, which is way above the average of 77 degrees Fahrenheit.
The rest of Russia have also experience an 0.43 degree Celsius increase in temperature in the past ten years. The warming climate is causing the permafrost soil to thaw. These permafrost cover much of Russia, including animal burial grounds and cemeteries.
Anthrax spores are capable of surviving in frozen animal and human remains for hundred years and can be released when thawed. People infected with Anthrax have 25 to 80 percent mortality rate.
Local officials are now thinking of a way to dispose the corpse of the dead reindeers. Burning is the most usual way to dispose infected carcasses. However, burning poses a severe risk in the tundra.
NASA recommends summertime stargazing because mesmerizing celestial bodies can be seen from the sky this August.
The month of August is filled with celestial extravaganzas starting with overlapping meteor showers, the Delta Aquarid and the Perseid. But aside from that, five planets will also be visible from Earth namely Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn and Jupiter.
This month's summertime sky watching offers a lot to show for both astronomers and the public. The five-planet line-up can be seen as soon as the Sun sets starting Aug. 4. On Aug. 11, the three planets Jupiter, Mercury and Venus will be seen in a group while on the other side of the sky, Saturn, Mars and the moon will also be visible.
But if that's not enough, there are more planets, dwarf planets and asteroids that can be seen in the sky this month. "Uranus, Neptune and dwarf planet Ceres are visible before dawn in the southern sky," Jane Houston Jones, from NASA's jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a video released by the agency. "Asteroid Pallas is visible in the Southern sky at the same time," Jones added. Pluto and the rest of the dwarf planets can be viewed using telescopes.
While NASA elaborated the days to spot the planets, meteor experts said that the Perseid meteor shower is best viewed from Aug. 9 to Aug. 15, according to Telegraph. This year, spectators are expecting to see more of the Perseid annual meteor shower since the outburst is reportedly bigger this year and may potentially create about 200 meteors per hour.
According to NASA the clear summer weather will enable sky watchers to see the meteor shower and the planets easily with warm nights and clear skies, a haven for stargazers. For meteor shower stargazing, NASA recommends the use of binoculars. For a closer look, a telescope is necessary.
North Korean officials posted overseas secretly use smartphones made in South Korea, the Daily NK reported Monday quoting a source in China.
The news outlet said North Korean officials and security agents who act as minders of overseas workers use Samsung or LG smartphones although they ban their charges from using any smartphones.
Some of them are keenly trawl the web without permission from their superiors.
"They want to find out on the Internet what the outside world thinks about the Pyongyang regime," the source said. "They latch onto news about the North no matter how small."
But most agents use Chinese-made smartphones because they fear that their own information could be leaked to South Korea if they use South Korean phones, according to another source.
Workers also often clandestinely use smartphones and are susceptible to propaganda targeting them.
In a surprise move while the jury is still deliberating, federal prosecutors on Tuesday walked away from seeking a half billion dollars in enhanced fines against Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on pipeline safety counts.
The government had sought as much as $562 million under the federal Alternative Fines Act, a proceeding that would have necessitated a second trial should the jury have found the company guilty.
The decision by prosecutors midday came without explanation. PG&E accepted the move in a separate filing.
The decision left San Bruno officials stunned.
Were surprised at this, we believe that the prosecution has put on a compelling case, said City Manager Connie Jackson. We look forward to guilty verdicts and that the appropriate penalties will be imposed by the judge.
The city wants the judge to order that the company be overseen by a federal monitor, something that Jackson says is still possible based on the charges.
The original $562 million sum had been calculated as roughly twice the profit the company reputedly reaped by not properly testing and maintaining its gas pipelines, as alleged in 11 counts.
The company also faces a lone count of obstructing the federal National Transportation Safety Administrations probe of the San Bruno blast in 2010. The explosion killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes.
Under the original charges, the company would now face about $6 million in fines -- $500,000 per allegation -- stemming from the 11 pipeline safety violations in the case as well as the lone obstruction count.
Under criticism, federal prosecutors originally amended the indictment to seek more fines under the alternative act in 2014.
The jury has been deliberating since last week. On Friday, the panel asked to see a presentation made by prosecutors during closing argument, access to a PG&E spreadsheet of pipeline data, as well as certain records of federally mandated pipeline pressure tests.
Earlier on Tuesday, Judge Thelton Henderson ruled that the prosecutors presentation was not evidence in the case and denied the jurys request to see it. He allowed the panel to see the database spreadsheet and the individual stretches of pipeline and pressure test records at issue in the case.
PG&E issued a statement following the decision by the government.
Regardless of this action or the next legal steps, we want our customers and their families to know that we are committed to re-earning their trust by acting with integrity and working around the clock to provide them with energy that is safe, reliable, affordable and clean.
A Redwood City high school teacher's aide is facing multiple felony charges for having a relationship with a 15-year-old student, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.
Gustabo Rodriguez, 22, was exposed when an anonymous tipster forwarded a video of him shaving the student's pubic hair to the school's vice principal, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Rodriguez has been charged with four counts of felony oral copulation with a minor. He made an initial appearance in court on Monday, the DA's Office said.
Rodriguez was a part-time teacher's aide at Sequoia High School in Redwood City and while working there allegedly had oral sex with the victim four times at his Redwood City home earlier this year.
At one point, he allegedly made a video of himself shaving the student's pubic hair without the teen's knowledge, according to the DA's Office.
District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe admits the way the relationship was exposed is unusual.
"There was an email sent to the vice principal over at the school, and in the email, there was a video showing the conduct that was being engaged in," Wagstaffe said.
The DA added that the relationship was consensual.
"They started out as a friendly relationship, and it turned into a sexual relationship," Wagstaffe said. "The victim wasn't forced into it. There's no allegations of force or coercion, but it is a crime to engage in oral copulation with a minor."
Rodriguez was arrested and charged last week.
Sequoia Union High School District Superintendent James Lianides released a statement saying district officials were "shocked and concerned" when they received the "disturbing video. Our staff effectively executed the district's student safety protocols in this situation and have been working closely with law enforcement."
Parents were equally shocked.
"What happened isn't right," said Bob Hayes. "Think about if it's your child. Rage goes through you first, especially if it's your child. Then you have to deal with your family. Words can't describe what goes through you."
The identity of the anonymous tipster is a mystery, according to prosecutors. Rodriguez remains in jail on $300,000 bail and is set to return to court on Aug. 10.
Attorneys for an accused criminal who was beaten by Alameda County sheriff's deputies in San Francisco last November filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Monday against the deputies, Sheriff Gregory Ahern and the county.
The suit on behalf of 29-year-old Stanlislav Petrov seeks unspecified compensatory, exemplary and punitive damages as well as an order barring the sheriff's office from engaging in unconstitutional practices and prohibiting it from engaging in a "code of silence" about deputies who engage in misconduct.
Deputies were caught on camera beating Petrov after a high-speed chase that began in the early morning hours of Nov. 12 in unincorporated San Leandro, where Petrov had allegedly used a stolen car to ram two marked sheriff's patrol cars, causing minor injuries to one deputy, before fleeing in a stolen car.
The pursuit ended at Stevenson and 14th streets in San Francisco's Mission District, where Petrov ran out of gas and crashed the car. The alleged beating occurred a short distance away on Clinton Park.
Two of the deputies named in the suit are Deputy Luis Santamaria, a 14-year veteran of the department, and Deputy Paul Wieber, a three-year veteran, both of whom were charged by the San Francisco District Attorney's Office in May with assault under color of authority, battery with serious bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon.
Prosecutors allege Santamaria and Wieber struck Petrov at least 30 times over the course of 40 seconds in the head and hands with their batons. Petrov suffered injuries including a concussion, broken bones in both hands, a mild traumatic brain injury and deep cuts to his head.
The suit also names deputies Shawn Osborne, Malizia Miller, Shelton Griffith and Sgt. Taylor, whose first name was not disclosed.
Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said Monday that Osborne no longer works for the department as the result of an internal affairs investigation into the matter, and it's possible that additional deputies may be disciplined when the investigation is completed.
Petrov's suit, which was filed by Oakland attorney Michael Haddad, alleges that Osborne stole a valuable gold chain and money from Petrov after he was beaten.
The suit says the sheriff's office recommended that Petrov be charged with 12 separate crimes for allegedly stealing the car and ramming the patrol cars, but the Alameda County District Attorney's Office declined to charge him with any crime.
However, Petrov faces gun and drug charges in a federal case that followed a March 8 search of his apartment by the FBI.
The assault against Petrov came to light after the San Francisco Public Defender's Office obtained surveillance camera video footage. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon said investigators also made use of a second video taken from a body-worn camera that one of the deputies appears to have activated accidentally.
The suit, which was filed electronically and has been assigned to U.S. District Court Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers in Oakland, says that Petrov raised his hands in surrender when Santamaria and Wieber caught up to him in San Francisco, but Wieber tackled him to the cement and repeatedly punched him in his head and neck areas.
President Barack Obama called Donald Trump "unfit" to be president and challenged leading Republicans to repudiate their party's nominee.
"The question they have to ask themselves is, if you are repeatedly having to say, in very strong terms, that what he has said is unacceptable: Why do you continue to endorse him. What does is say about your party? Obama said.
Speaking at a news conference Tuesday after meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the White House, Obama said Trump's criticism of a fallen Muslim-American soldier's family is the latest evidence that the billionaire businessman isn't ready to lead the country.
"There has to be a point where you have to say, I can't support this for president of the United States," Obama said, adding that otherwise, the denunciations are "hollow."
Trump responded with a statement that summarized talking points he makes in his stump speech: "Obama-Clinton have single-handedly destabilized the Middle East ... released criminal aliens into our country who killed one innocent American after another ... produced the worst recovery since the Great Depression (and) shipped millions of our best jobs overseas."
Obama also reaffirmed his commitment to the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal, saying that if U.S. were to "pull up the drawbridge" on trade it would hurt American workers.
He said people have legitimate fears about the impact of globalization and being "left behind," but the answer cannot be to back away from trade and the global economy.
"I'm a stanch supporter of TPP because it will reduce tariff's on American goods and make it easier for Americans to export to emerging economies across the the world," Obama said.
Singapore, a close U.S. partner, is one of the 12 nations in the TPP, an agreement key to Obama's effort to boost U.S. exports and build strategic ties in Asia. But Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Washington visit starting Tuesday comes as opposition to the TPP intensifies in the United States. Both Republican contender Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, who are competing to succeed Obama as president, are against it.
Asked how the president plans on passing TPP under strong opposition by the presidential candidates, Obama said, "Well right now Im president and Im for it. And I think Ive got the better argument."
Lee is urging Congress to ratify the deal as soon as possible, calling TPP "vital for a strategic point of view" and an integral commitment of America's rebalance to Asia.
Obama and first lady Michelle Obama welcomed the leader of Singapore to the White House for a state visit marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between their countries.
Prime Minister Loong was greeted by an elaborate welcome ceremony as his limousine pulled in to the South Lawn of the White House. Hundreds of U.S. military members in blue and white uniforms formed an honor guard, some carrying bayoneted rifles.
Speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce late Monday, Lee urged its ratification, saying the pact would give the U.S. better access to the markets that account for 40 percent of global economic output. He said it would also add heft add heft to Washington's so-called "rebalance" to the Asia-Pacific.
"For America's friends and partners, ratifying the TPP is a litmus test of your credibility and seriousness of purpose," he said.
His sentiments are shared by Obama, who told Singapore's The Straits Times in an interview published Monday that the U.S. can't "turn inward" and embrace protectionism because of economic anxieties that have been drawn out by the presidential election.
The Obama administration says it remains determined to try and win congressional approval for TPP, but the chances of achieving that in the "lame duck" session after the Nov. 8 election and before the new president takes office Jan. 20 appear slim because of the depth of political opposition, not least from Obama's fellow Democrats.
The deal would eliminate trade barriers and tariffs, streamline standards and encourage investment between the 12 countries that include Mexico, Japan, Vietnam and Australia. But critics say the pact undercuts American workers by introducing lower-wage competition and gives huge corporations too much leeway.
Singapore, a city state of 5.7 million people, is heavily dependent on international trade for its prosperity. In 2004, it became the first Asian nation to strike a bilateral free trade agreement with the U.S. Last year, the bilateral trade in goods totaled $47 billion, with the U.S. enjoying a $10 billion surplus.
Singapore is also a strong advocate of the U.S. security role in Asia although it retains cordial ties with China too. Under Obama, the U.S. has deployed littoral combat ships in Singapore, and last December, deployed a P-8 Poseidon spy plane there for the first time, amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea.
Lee's meeting with Obama on Tuesday will be watched for reaction to an international tribunal ruling July 12 that invalidated China's historical claims to most of the disputed South China Sea. The U.S. says the ruling is binding but China has rejected it. Southeast Asian nations have been reluctant to speak out against Beijing.
Lee will be honored with a state dinner Tuesday evening the first held for a Singaporean leader since October 1985, when Ronald Reagan hosted Lee's late father, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
The U.S. and Singapore opened diplomatic relations in 1966, a year after the U.S. recognized Singapore's independence from Malaysia.
Donald Trump said Monday on the campaign trail he worries the general election in November will be "rigged," and later called rival Hillary Clinton "the devil."
"I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," the Republican nominee for president said at a rally in Ohio.
Trump's remarks did not mention the controversy generated by his criticism of the parents of a slain Muslim U.S. soldier. He didn't elaborate on the comment.
Trump said he felt the Democrats had fixed their primary system so Clinton could defeat Bernie Sanders and claimed the Republican nomination would have also been stolen from him had he not won "by such tremendous margins."
If the remark was more than just an offhand comment, it would seem to threaten the tradition of peacefully contested elections and challenge the very essence of a fair democratic process. He repeated the charge Monday night on Fox News Channel's "Hannity," asserting that the election "is going to be rigged" and that Republicans should watch closely.
Associated Press requests to Trump's campaign for additional explanation were not returned.
Speaking in Pennsylvania later on Monday, Trump said Sanders had "made a deal with the devil" in supporting Clinton.
"She's the devil," Trump said.
Trump's Ohio rally was held after President Barack Obama spoke at the annual convention of the Disabled American Veterans in Atlanta, implicitly admonishing Trump by saying no one has given more for American freedom and security than the families of those who have died for their country. Obama's statement was the latest rebuke from a politician, following comments critical of Trump from both parties over the weekend.
Trump had taken issue with the Muslim parents of Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed in Iraq over a decade ago. They spoke out against Trump at the Democratic National Convention, sparking a back-and-forth between Trump and the parents in the press.
Trump spoke to reporters before the Ohio rally, but did not address the Khan family controversy, NBC News' Hallie Jackson reported. He also made no mention of the issue in Pennsylvania, though he said there that if he doesn't win on Nov. 8, he will consider running for president "a tremendous waste of time, energy and money."
"I would have rather lost a year ago, it would have been easier," he told the crowd in a Harrisburg-area high school, urging them to bring their friends to vote.
Trump said "it takes guts" to run for president and he could "have a very nice life right now."
"I don't have to be with you people, ranting and raving," Trump said.
While Trump may suspect some wrongdoing in the election, he sounded a more optimistic note about his own campaign at the Ohio rally, saying over 500,000 small donors had contributed $35.8 million in the last month, with an average donation of $69.
If true he said that his campaign would be announcing the figures soon it would nearly equal the $39.4 million he received in total contributions he received from April 2, 2015 to June 30, 2016, according to FEC filings.
Trump compared himself to Sanders, who funded his presidential bid through small donors. Trump said the money both of them have collected is evidence of "a movement."
Trump and Clinton both must report their July fundraising information to federal regulators by Aug. 20.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
When billionaire investor Warren Buffett introduced Hillary Clinton at a Nebraska campaign event Monday, he made an announcement that he said would be news even to the Democratic nominee for president.
Buffett pledged to "take at least 10 people to the polls who otherwise would have had difficulty getting there" on November 8, challenging his congressional district to "give America a civics lesson."
He launched a website, Drive2vote, where people can sign up for a ride or to give a ride on Election Day, as well as to register to vote.
"My goal is to have the turnout here be the highest percentage of potential voters of any district in the country," Buffett told the crowd in Omaha.
Buffet, a famed investor and one of the wealthiest people in America, endorsed Clinton last year.
The "Oracle of Omaha," as Buffett is sometimes called, said he even reserved a trolley called "Ollie" Monday. "It seats 32, Im gonna be on it all day, Im gonna be doing selfies, whatever it takes," Buffett said.
Clinton thanked Buffett for the introduction before transitioning into her rally. As it finished, she said that if she wins the election, she will "come back here and Warren and I will dance of the streets of Omaha together!"
Her campaign is seeking to highlight support from the business community. Buffett is the latest business leader to back Clinton over Republican Donald Trump. She appeared with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in Pittsburgh over the weekend and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke on her behalf at the Democratic National Convention.
Buffett also discussed Clinton's rival for the White House, saying "La-di-da" of Trump's Republican National Convention assertion that he's the only one who can fix the country's ills.
"It takes some kind of nerve, or something else, to really have the notion that out of 335 million people you're the only one who can fix it," Buffett continued.
Clinton said she wants to be "the small business president," and took issue with the way Trump has allegedly not paid contractors for their work, referring apparently to the bankruptcy of his Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic city in the 1990s.
"That is just not the way we do business in America. We make good on our promises," she said, noting the issue was important to her because her father was a small businessman.
Authorities found a 4-month-old Ohio girl dead along a riverbank on Monday and her father, who reported her missing, was charged in her death.
The remains, believed to be those of Kaylynn Crawford, were discovered less than 24 hours after her father told police someone snatched her from his parked car in a northern Cincinnati suburb and fled.
The girl's father, Charles Crawford, has been arrested on a charge of murder, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office. He's being held at the Clermont County Jail.
Crawford reported Sunday night that Kaylynn was taken from his vehicle while it was parked at a dollar store in Loveland, but investigators said they believe that story was fabricated.
Authorities found the remains and the girl's car seat near the Little Miami River, a few miles from the store. An autopsy has yet to be completed.
Loveland police, the FBI and special agents with the state's Bureau of Criminal Investigation had helped in the search for the girl.
A statewide alert issued earlier for the missing girl had said she was wearing a sleeveless, white onesie decorated with a pink giraffe, with pink sandals and a gold band with a bow on her head.
Information on an attorney for Crawford was not immediately available.
North Korean hackers stole the e-mail passwords of 56 officials in the South Korean foreign, unification and defense ministries as well as staffers of defense companies, prosecutors here said Monday.
Most of the officials handle intelligence on the North, many of them in senior positions.
Yang Seok-jo at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said further investigation is needed since the officials exchanged work-related messages via the hacked e-mail accounts.
The hackers sent phishing e-mails to 90-plus South Korean officials claiming their passwords had been hacked. If they opened the e-mail and changed their passwords, the new passwords were then known to the hackers. Further phishing attacks using this leak as a pretext are likely, he added.
The prosecutors believe the North Korean regime is behind the latest scam given that the hackers used the same IP address in Shenyang, China that they used when they hacked Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power in 2014.
The North's hacking operations are controlled by the General Bureau of Reconnaissance, the agency that masterminded the sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan in 2010.
Illinois politicians reacted to incendiary comments Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump made about the parents of late U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who took the stage at the Democratic National Convention to criticize the candidate's proposed ban on Muslim immigration.
Capt. Khan was awarded both the Purple Heart and Bronze Star posthumously after he was killed while serving in Iraq in 2004.
Khans father, Khizr Khan, spoke at the convention, condemning Trumps proposed policies. His wife, Ghazala Khan, joined him on stage but chose not to speak, saying she was nervous.
In an interview that aired Sunday, Trump said maybe Ghazala wasnt allowed to speak.
Politicians came to the defense of the Gold Star family after Trumps comments.
Republican Sen. Mark Kirk, a former Navy reservist, issued a statement Monday invoking Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address and slamming Trump.
In his Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln honored the fallen Union soldiers who gave their last full measure for freedom, Kirk said. There is no doubt Cpt. Khan also gave his last full measure for this country and our freedom and security. The Khan family should be honored not attacked."
To Mr. Trump, I would simply say hands off Gold Star families, Kirk added.
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran, also issued a statement praising military members and their sacrifices without mentioning Trump by name.
No one can truly understand the sacrifice a family makes when their loved one serves their country or the heartbreak of losing a loved one, Kinzinger said Monday. Theres no greater love than a man who lays down his life for his friends. As a military man myself, I have deep respect for the sacrifices made by anyone who is willing to defend the Constitution.
Comments disparaging our service men and women, and their families, are deeply disturbing and wholly unpatriotic, Kinzinger said.
Democrats also rebuked Trumps comments. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, an Army veteran who lost her legs piloting a helicopter over Iraq, called Trump intolerant and unfit to be commander in chief.
With his despicable attacks on a Gold Star family, we now know he is a cruel and cowardly man, as well, Duckworth said Monday. My heart breaks for the Khan family. Their service and sacrifice are more than most Americans will know, and for that, they should receive nothing but our gratitude. They certainly have mine.
Additionally, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin wrote a letter to supporters Monday criticizing Trumps statements and claiming the candidate has sunk to an unimaginable depth with his vile words."
Sadly, it came as no surprise that Trump attacked the Khan family, Durbin wrote. This American Gold Star family joined a litany of Trump targets: John McCain, Americas military, the disabled, women, a Hispanic judge, Mexican immigrants, Muslims, and many, many more. Yet despite his loathsome words and bottom-feeder politics, Republican leaders like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell condemn Trump and in the next breath tell us they still believe he should be our president."
"It is more important to them to have a Republican president even if he is clearly unqualified, unstable and hateful, Durbin added.
A man who claims he was attacked by a guard at Cook County Jail more than two years ago has filed a lawsuit against the sheriffs office and the officer he says initiated the attack.
Litroy Bolton said the incident, which was all caught on video, began when he was being transferred from one cell to another.
Bolton said the guard told him the new cell had been quaratined and thats when Bolton claims he asked to see a sergeant.
He said, You are going to get in that cell or I am going to put you in that cell anyway, Bolton said.
Thats when the 29-year-old North Lawndale man says he was attacked.
All of a sudden he just started punching me up in my face and my head, Bolton said. I just cant believe he was punching me like he was.
Bolton said he never fought back in the attack, and assumed there was nothing he could do.
I just felt helpless, he said. Defenseless, like I couldnt do nothing. I knew nothing was going to happen about this, nothing ever happens. They just want to beat me up and they are going to get away with it. Its whats going to happen.
The Cook County Sheriffs office moved to fire the officer, identified as Miguel Ortiz, in March. Last week, the Cook County States Attorneys office approved charges of official misconduct.
According to Boltons attorney, 10 others have claimed they were assaulted by Ortiz before he was removed from active duty.
Im actually proud [of coming forward], Bolton said. I am happy because who is to say if anyone else got beat up and it never got reported, maybe nobody would even know about it.
Earlier this year, the sheriffs office released six videos showing correctional officers using what officials said is excessive force on inmates. Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart called it the first step in his "long-term campaign to restore accountability" to Cook County jail after decades of violence and overcrowding.
The sheriffs office later released videos showing inmates assaulting correctional officers at the jail in an effort to display the difficult job correctional officer face each day.
Ortiz remains on leave as of Monday, but if convicted of official misconduct, he faces up to five years in prison. The 20-year veteran of the department could also lose his pension, officials said.
NBC Chicagos requests for comment from Ortiz were not immediately returned.
In an interview with NPR during last weeks Democratic National Convention, House Speaker Mike Madigan tied his primary political opponent, Gov. Bruce Rauner, to divisive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Bruce Rauner is of record that he will fully support the Trump candidacy, Madigan told Illinois Public Radio Statehouse Bureau Chief Amanda Finicky and WBBM radios Craig Dellimore in the interview that aired Monday.
Its documented, its available. Hes trying to backpedal by not attending the Republican convention in Cleveland, but he is of record that he fully supports Trump, Madigan added.
Rauner made it clear that he wouldnt endorse Trump or attend the convention in May. However, the governor previously said he would support Trump if he became the Republican presidential nominee in March.
"If you study the statements and the actions of both men, youll see a great similarity in their methods and how they castigate people and how theyre always criticizing people without ever talking about their own programs, Madigan said. "And so I think I'm fully justified in linking Trump and Rauner together in extremism
Nevertheless, Madigan predicted that Trump's methods would be rejected by most voters in November and that Americans would ultimately support Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
"Trump has his methods, he has his ways of doing things and I think at the end of the day, the majority of Americans are going to say, 'that really doesn't have a place in America,'" Madigan said. "America is a country that recognizes decency and tolerance and respect for others."
Madigan, who has served as Illinois house speaker since 1983 with the exception of only two years, claimed that Americans want spirited debate and compromise, not extremism.
He related that method to Illinois current deficit problem, claiming that the problem should have been dealt with a year and a half ago using a balanced approach including spending reductions and new revenue.
The speaker, who also serves as the Democratic Party of Illinois chair, said Rauners Turnaround Agenda, which deals with things like workers compensation and collective bargaining, has gotten in the way of dealing with the states deficit.
Madigan also faulted the governor for stifling the state's Monetary Award Program, which provides grants for low-income college students.
What we need is for the governor to become reasonable, to recognize that Illinois is not some extreme right state in the right part of America," Madigan said. "Its a moderate state, its in the middle of the country. Its a mainstream state, and the people of Illinois expect the public officials in the state not to be extreme, but to be reasonable.
A spokesperson from the governor's office said Rauner is "100 percent focused on Illinois, growing our economy and getting good government reform like term limits."
Middletown police arrested two couples while investigating gang activity and said they found drugs, weapons and an illegal tattoo parlor.
The investigating suspected Bloods street gang activity raided 159 Liberty St. and 188 Pearl St. on Monday.
Ryan Parks, 30, and his 36-year-old wife, Tammy, live in the Liberty Street home with their three children, according to police, and police officers and SWAT raided the home.
Police said Ryan Parks has a criminal history in New York for robbery, bail jumping and additional charges, and has been recruiting Middletown residents and indoctrinating them into the Mills set of the Bloods gang.
Inside the house, police found guns; information on the Bloods street gang, including on the Mills; ammunition; a letter from a person in prison on a New Britain murder charge; and marijuana residue.
Police said the Parks 8- 10- and 15-year-old children could access the gun, so the Department of Children and Families was notified and a relative took custody of the children.
Ryan Parks told police that he bought the revolver from a stranger and his wife didnt know it was there, according to police.
He was charged with criminal possession of a pistol or revolver and three counts of risk of injury to a child and held on $300,000 bond.
Tammy Parks didnt make a statement and was charged with three counts of risk of injury to a minor, according to police. Bond was set at $50,000.
Police arrested 46-year-old Ricardo Nieves and his 48-year-old wife, Suzette, when they raided the Pearl Street residence and said they found an illegal tattoo parlor.
When police searched the home, they found a digital scale, a red bandana police said signified affiliation with the Bloods gang, a sheet of paper with the Bloods history on it, counterfeit cash, two guns and more.
Ricardo Nieves admitted to giving tattoos and charging customers for money, according to the arraignment report, and police said tattoo parlors are not allowed in Middletown.
Police also found 11 people in the three-bedroom apartment and the couple admitted to charging people to stay in their apartment, according to police.
Ricardo Nieves was charged with marijuana and drug possession and possession with intent to sell.
Suzette Nieves was charged with delivery of drug paraphernalia, possession with intent to sell.
Bond was set at $100,000 for both.
Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal's Republican challenger, Dan Carter, is reviving a 6-year-old controversy about whether the Democrat intentionally distorted his Vietnam-era military service, but it's questionable whether it still strongly resonates with many veterans.
Leaders of veterans' organizations contend Blumenthal, the ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, has been a strong political ally during his first term in the U.S. Senate, pushing for bills addressing everything from reducing suicide among veterans to helping vets re-enter the workforce.
"As far as my personal feeling, yeah, he lied about it. But since then, he's done more for veterans than anybody in the Senate," said John Schmidt, state commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of Connecticut.
Blumenthal's first U.S. Senate campaign erupted in crisis after The New York Times reported in May 2010 that he inaccurately portrayed his military service in several instances. The story included quotes and a video of Blumenthal saying at a 2008 event that he had "served in Vietnam" when he actually served stateside for six years in the Marine Reserve, after completing six months in Marine boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.
The state's popular attorney general at the time, Blumenthal acknowledged he had "misspoken" and meant to say he served "during Vietnam" instead of "in Vietnam." He said the statements were "totally unintentional" errors that occurred only a few times out of hundreds of public appearances. Months later, he went on to defeat Republican Linda McMahon in the November election.
Carter, a Republican state representative from Bethel and Blumenthal's challenger, said many people he speaks to on the campaign trail haven't forgotten about the misstatements. Some, he said, are still angry about it.
"He misspoke multiple times. When I'm talking to people, it comes up pretty frequently," he said. "There's no statute of limitations on that. It comes up all the time. As an Air Force veteran myself, I don't think you should embellish your service."
This week, Carter issued a news release criticizing Blumenthal's first television ad in the 2016 campaign as "political opportunism at its worst." It features the widow of a Connecticut serviceman who was suffering from PTSD and took his own life. In that same public statement, Carter said Blumenthal "lied about serving in Vietnam to score political points," posting a link to news coverage on MSNBC about the issue.
When asked about the criticisms, Marla Romash, a campaign adviser, said Blumenthal "works his heart out for veterans" and that he's a "tireless advocate helping our veterans get the care and services they need."
Rick Weidman, executive director for policy and government affairs at the Vietnam Veterans of America, said his national organization was well-aware of the controversy in 2010. But he credits Blumenthal with becoming one of the four or five people his organization goes to for help on significant issues.
"Among the Democrats, he is the guy," he said. "He's the most responsive."
Ronald "Rusko" Rusakiewicz, the adjutant/quartermaster at the Connecticut VFW, said there are still some veterans, especially from the Vietnam era, who remain angry with Blumenthal. Some vets from around the country turned in their VFW membership cards after Blumenthal used a VFW hall in West Hartford in 2010 to explain his misstatements.
"I think most of that has gone away," he said. "I personally just think maybe it's time to just see that he's working hard for veterans and we can possibly get over this."
A state sergeant has been fired from the Connecticut State Police Department, police confirm.
Sgt. Michael Hassett's termination will be effective Monday, Aug. 8., state police said.
While it's unclear the exact reasons why Hassett is being let go, a public information officer sent NBC Connecticut a list of disciplinary offenses and rules of conduct that appear to have been violated.
The alleged violations include failing to display the proper attitude of someone in his position, committing an intentional act of deception and failing to discreetly carry a firearm when not in uniform.
The president of the state police union Andy Matthews told NBC Connecticut he cannot comment on any disciplinary actions against a current member.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation is proposing a 5 percent fare hike for Metro-North and Shoreline East trains as a way to make up for lost state funding.
The DOT is in need of more revenue after state lawmakers slashed transportation funding by $37 million when they refused to raise taxes in their latest budget.
A 5 percent increase only adds about $1.60 to an off-peak, round trip from New Haven to Grand Central on Metro-Norths New Haven line.
Daily riders who rely on the train service to get to work might need to dig deeper into their wallets. The monthly fare from New Havens Union Station to Grand Central in New York City would go up $28, costing passengers an extra $336 for a year.
"Commuters understand that there was a cut to transportation however how that cut was to be achieved could have been handled much better," Jim Gildea, chairman of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council, said in an email.
The DOT should have reached out to the council before announcing the proposed fare increase, Gildea added.
In addition to the DOT proposal, which would kick in on Dec. 1, the sixth of seven consecutive 1 percent fare raises to pay for new train cars is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1.
"So much, too much, too much, can't afford it," said Annmarie Hewitt, who takes the train every week from Union Station to Grand Central.
In a letter to leaders of the General Assembly on July 22, Gov. Dannel Mallloy wrote, "These are not decisions anyone takes lightly, but are nevertheless necessary to avoid significant reductions in service."
Ray Ortiz, of Long Island, rides the train in Connecticut a couple times a week to visit family and opposed the proposed fare increase.
"It appears trains are late, theyre not always clean, and cost of living just keeps going higher and higher," Ortiz said. "Difficult to even get to your job with these increases."
Gowan Dishman, en engineer who has worked across the country since the mid-1980s, said more revenue is needed for the DOT to fix failing roads and bridges.
"While it is an onus on many people, without that, we will be facing a lot more critical infrastructure problems in the future," Dishman said.
Dishman is living in Milford while working on the new bridge replacing the Tappan Zee in New York.
"Mass transportation is going to be the way of the future, we cant keep increasing lane widths on our highways," he said.
The CT Commuter Rail Council is encouraging riders to attend several public hearings with DOT officials in September.
OLD SAYBROOK
Old Saybrook Town Hall
302 Main St.
Old Saybrook, CT
Tuesday, Sept. 6 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
HARTFORD
Hartford Public Library
500 Main St.
Hartford, CT
Wednesday, Sept. 7 - 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
MERIDEN
Meriden Town Hall
Room 218
142 East Main St.
Meriden, CT.
Tuesday Sept. 13 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
WATERBURY
Silas Bronson Library
267 Grand St.
Waterbury, CT
Tuesday, Sept. 13 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
STAMFORD
UCONN Stamford Campus Auditorium
One University Place
Stamford, CT
Wednesday, Sept. 14 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
NEW HAVEN
New Haven Hall of Records, Room G-2
200 Orange St.
New Haven, CT
Thursday, Sept. 15 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
In an effort to help reduce spending, eight state park campgrounds will close one month early.
That leaves campers like Wolcotts Tracy Comeau wondering how it affects fall reservations. She booked her campsite at American Legion State Park last November, only to realize in June the site she paid for is no longer valid.
"When you do something year in and year out, you really look forward to that," said Comeu. "And to know it wasnt happening we had to make other decisions."
Comeau wanted to transfer to another park, but representatives from the popular reservation website, Reserve America, told her that wasnt an option. A Reserve America agent said she could only cancel her site, paying an 18 dollar forfeiture fee. She would then have to separately reserve a site at her new desired campground with a nine dollar processing fee.
"I did not feel that that was fair," said Comeau. "I was on the phone (for) an hourhalf of an hour with the representative, then another half hour with the supervisor."
The supervisor told her they needed permission from the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in order to waive the fees.
Comeau then reached out to NBC Connecticut Responds, who contacted DEEP. Tom Tyler, Director of State Parks, said the decision to close certain campsites came early, causing a glitch in the Reserve America system.
"That was a miscommunication on our part," said Tyler. "Information got out and people began making their calls to Reserve America before all those changes got embedded into Reserve Americas system. And we do apologize for thatthat inconvenience to her."
Tyler said the system should now work properly, and anyone who booked a site months in advance, including Comeau, will receive a full refund.
Campgrounds closing early:
Black Rock State Park Thomaston Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of the end of September.
Hopeville Pond State Park Jewett City - Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of the end of September.
Kettletown State Park Southbury - Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of the end of September.
Mashamoquet Brook State Park Pomfret - Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of the end of September.
Macedonia Brook State Park Kent - Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of the end of September.
Lake Waramaug State Park New Preston - Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of the end of September.
Housatonic Meadows State Park Sharon - Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of Columbus Day
American Legion State Forest Barkhamsted - Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of Columbus Day
Subpoenas from the U.S. attorney's office for Connecticut were issued starting more than ten days ago for documents related to the 2014 reelection campaign of Governor Dannel Malloy.
Multiple sources confirmed to NBC Connecticut that federal authorities are searching similar ground that led to a settlement between the Connecticut Democratic Party and the State Elections Enforcement Commission.
Gov. Dannel Malloy was asked about the investigation during an appearance on Fox News by Maria Bartiromo. Malloy described the probe as an "election examination of fundraising an expenditures."
He later said, "Whatever was done was done legally and whatever was raised was raised legally and I'm sure that that's the outcome of the investigation."
Republicans called for Malloy to authorize the party and his former campaign staff to release any and all emails related to his 2014 campaign, Monday. Senator Len Fasano said it's a way to show ultimate transparency.
The way you get rid of the suspicion and the cloud is you open up the emails and say, here they are, have a look, if theres a problem, lets face it, if theres not, so be it" Fasano said. "But when you hide them, and you pay money to hide them, people can only come to the conclusion that there is something you want to hide, Fasano said.
The issues being examined by the U.S. attorney's office were investigated by the State Elections Enforcement Commission starting shortly after the 2014 campaign. They posed questions relating to the use of a a campaign account set up for the receipt of donations for federal races. The account received donations from contractors with state business, and those funds were later used for mailers and "Get out the vote" efforts.
After more than a year of legal fighting, the Connecticut Democratic Party agreed to pay $325,000 in penalties, a record amount.
The Executive Director of the SEEC, said the settlement likely, "saved the Clean Elections Program," the public funding option for eligible candidates. The settlement, he said, helped to close a loophole that would have allowed future campaigns to use money meant for federal campaigns to be used in state races.
Both the SEEC and the State Democratic Party are cooperating the federal investigation.
Leigh Appleby, a spokesman for CT Democrats, wrote, "We have advised authorities of our intent to cooperate and will continue to do so in order to bring this to a close and continue to do the work of our party to elect Democrats on all levels."
Appleby also wrote that the party has complied with the SEEC probe, saying it provided a "sound framework" for how to navigate both state and federal campaign finance laws.
East Hampton town officials are urging drivers to be alert after receiving reports of children jumping in front of cars on Main Street.
Town Manager Michael Maniscalco said he was first notified of the incidents about two weeks ago and he was concerned for the safety of the children, as well as the drivers.
It is a bit of a disappointment that kids would make the decisions like this. We always hope that we are going to be working with and raising youth in our community that are going to be making wise and smart decisions and obviously this is far from one of those, Maniscalco said.
He said police have stepped up their patrols in the area.
East Hampton Police Chief Sean Cox said the department has not received any additional reports over the last few days.
However, Maniscalco encourages residents to call 911 immediately if it happens again.
It is important that they make that report immediately after something like this has happened with a very clear and good description. If people dont call it in at the time of, it is very hard for us to try and address it appropriately, he said.
The biggest reason behind the declining birthrate in Korea is a drop in the number of women of childbearing age to the tune of 94,000 a year over the past decade.
The decline gets worse the younger the women are as the declining birthrate bites in the age group between 25 and 34, the prime childbearing years.
That population shrank by 100,000 in 2015 and this year, because the birthrate started dropping fast in the late 1980s when the number of babies born annually dropped from around 800,000 to 600,000.
Women are also marrying later in their lives these days, which means the average age when women have their first child is now 31, the highest in the world.
Men too are postponing marriage as jobs have become scarce, while soaring home prices have made it extremely difficult for couples to set up a home.
Only 119,700 couples got married in the first five months of this year, the fewest since 1990. Demographers project that the number of childbirths could hover at around 400,000 annually over the next 10 years.
Changing attitudes and perceptions of marriage and childbirth are also reducing the birthrate.
Lee Sang-rim at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs said, "Koreans who have now grown into the prime marrying age are those who witnessed their parents' divorce or suffer other marital problems in the 1997 Asian financial crisis. It will be difficult to turn the tide unless there is a major shift in attitudes."
Last year 60.4 percent of single women between the ages of 30 to 34 said it is OK not to marry. The proportion of single women who said it is fine not to have children stood at 30.8 percent.
The government has vowed to boost the birthrate to 1.5 by 2020, which would delay the population decline by four years from 2031 to 2035. But if the number of childbirths falls to 400,000 a year, the population could shrink much faster than projected.
Already, a shortage of new students has forced many kindergartens to close down, and now the effect is spreading to schools. Statistics Korea had forecast that childbirths would dwindle to around 430,000 a year in 2026, but this already started happening in 2013.
Stratford police said they have identified a person of interest in thefts from town hall, including an employee's wallet and money from the snack bar in the employee lounge.
A woman who works in the Chief Administrative Office at town hall reported her wallet stolen on Tuesday, July 26 and police said the man in the photos spent around 20 minutes in town hall, walking around the building, and cased several offices.
The same man is also suspected of stealing money from the snack bar in the employee lounge on Friday, police said.
Investigators are following up.
One of the top elected Republicans in Connecticut politics attempted to distance himself and party nominees running for office from the recent comments made by presidential nominee Donald Trump.
"Trump is an outlier. Hes doing his own thing. Everyone knows hes doing his own thing. Everybody knows whatever he says, that comes out of his lips, is not a reflection on this state or the Republicans on this state," Senator Len Fasano said Monday.
Trump has been sparring in the press with Khizr and Ghazala Khan since they appeared at the Democratic National Committee in Philadelphia last week. Their son, Humayun, was killed in an explosion in Iraq where he was serving with the US Army in 2004.
Khan held up a copy of the U.S. Constitution and challenged whether Trump has read it or whether he's made similar sacrifice.
Trump responded by questioning whether Ghazala Khan was even allowed to speak at the DNC at all.
Fasano has never endorsed Trump for president. The closest he came to such a move was on April 27, the day after Trump won the Connecticut Republican primary in a runaway.
Fasano, who endorsed Ohio Gov. John Kasich and was a part of his Connecticut leadership team, described Trump as a, "cathartic voice," for many voters who feel left behind.
Fasano denounced Trump on Monday.
If you are going to go after a Gold Star mom, someone who lost their son, someone who gave their life to our country, that is just off limits. You dont do that. I dont care what party thats from, I dont care what the issue is, you just dont do that so I find his comments to be way out of line, Fasano said.
Two Army soldiers who served with Micah Xavier Johnson, the gunman who attacked police officers in downtown Dallas, believe the Army should investigate the handling of a bizarre incident that resulted in Johnson's removal from Afghanistan in 2014.
The Army has said it is reviewing Johnson's records but has stopped short of saying it is investigating how the incident itself was handled.
In an exclusive interview with NBC 5 Investigates, Sgt. Mark Wallace, an Army reservist who was in Afghanistan with Johnson, described how Johnson was caught stealing underwear from a female soldier in his close-knit Army platoon.
The female soldier had reported underwear disappearing from her laundry, prompting unit leaders to conduct a barracks search.
"We discovered that there was a stash of women's underwear in his room. And as we discovered it he, of course, jumped into the room, swooped them up and put them in his hoodie in his front pouch, which added to the bulk that was already there," Wallace said.
Wallace said Johnson took off running after he was confronted prompting a search for him in the darkness on the remote Army base known as FOB Shank.
Commanders ultimately caught up with Johnson and recovered more evidence.
"We start looking in the dumpsters, we start looking in all the latrines and the showers, and we found one pair one or two pairs that he had attempted to kind of flush down the toilet," Wallace said.
On Friday the Army released an investigator's report that confirms Wallace's account of the incident.
It says an Army investigation determined Johnson "took underwear" from a laundry bag belonging to a female soldier who was a friend of his and tried to "dispose of the evidence" after unit leaders found some of the underwear in Johnson's room.
The report says that Johnson also sent messages to the same female soldier that "constitute sexual harassment." The woman had been a friend of Johnson's but both he and the woman told investigators their friendship had splintered before the incident.
During the search, the report says investigators also found Johnson was "storing an explosive article" in the barracks where he lived and did not have any reason to possess that explosive device.
Concerned about Johnson's behavior, commanders put him under watch after the underwear incident, posting an officer outside his room at all times and taking away his weapons.
"At least one NCO (non-commissioned officer) was either right outside of his room or had visual on him at all times until he left the location that we were at," Wallace told NBC 5 Investigates.
Two days later the Army sent Johnson away to Bagram Airfield and eventually back home.
But Johnson showed no remorse before leaving, Wallace says.
"He blatantly, like even the next day, was like, 'No, they're lying. They're lying about all of it. They're making all of it up.' And it's like, 'Dude, like we caught you doing this. We caught you red-handed doing this,'" Wallace said.
Despite the investigator's finding that Johnson sexually harassed the female soldier and concealed a grenade, Army records suggest Johnson received an honorable discharge from his active-duty assignment in Afghanistan.
Wallace, and another former member of the unit, retired Sgt. Gil Fischbach, want to know how that could happen.
"I want them to thoroughly investigate. I want them to figure out and I would like to see someone held accountable," Fischbach said.
The Army has not responded to questions from NBC 5 Investigates about the handling of the incident. In a statement last week an Army spokeswoman noted that a review of Johnson's records, "has not identified any documented acts of violence."
The recommendations of the Army investigator who initially looked into the 2014 incident have been redacted from the copy of the report released to the media Friday.
Fischbach said there is no question the incident clearly damaged Johnson's friendships with others in the unit.
"Now, that trust has been fractured and not just a small hairline crack, but a severe fracture," Fischbach said.
But the two soldiers still think it's a stretch to think that what happened in Afghanistan ultimately led Johnson to attack police officers in Dallas.
"You take that to, 'I want to kill white police officers.' How do you tie those things together? It's inconceivable," Wallace said.
An East Texas woman is alive after coming within hours of death and she's thanking her guardian angel, who had to make a life and death decision of her own to keep the woman alive.
Brenda Jones, 69, had waited seven months to get the news that she's next on the list for a new liver, but then her doctors at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas had to ask her a question they say they've never asked a patient before: Would she be willing to give the liver to someone else?
Jones's answer? Yes.
"I had time to wait and she didn't have any time to wait, so that was just common sense," is how Jones described her decision to give the liver she was about to receive to a stranger, 23-year-old Abigail Flores of Quitman, Texas.
At the same time Jones was prepping for her surgery in a few weeks, Flores was being air-lifted to Baylor Dallas with complete liver failure and doctors believed she would only survive a few hours if she didnt receive a new liver.
"The doctor called me at 3:30 a.m. and he explained her situation and that she wouldn't be alive in a few hours, and that the liver I was going to get was a match for her," Jones said.
"All I could think about was that I had more time to wait a little longer on a liver and she didn't have any time. If I had taken the liver, and she had died when I could have saved her and got another liver, I just knew that's what I had to do," explained Jones.
"It makes me feel good because my husband and I, we just got married and we want to have kids. She gave me the opportunity to be able to do that later on in life," Flores said in tears.
Jones's life saving decision was rewarded in a big way.
Within four days later, doctors found her a match and she underwent liver transplant surgery.
"Everything just kind of fell right into line. I mean, you have to wait for a liver a long time. I had to wait four days and I was able to save her," said Jones.
Both have now received new livers and recovered in rooms across from one another at the hospital.
NBC 5's Brian Curtis is in Rio de Janeiro, reporting for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
On Monday, Brian took us on a bird's eye view of the sprawling city from atop the Corcovado. Later, we headed down to the white sands of Copacabana beach, with a stop at a Texas Connection in the famous Selaron Steps.
Tuesday, Brian's busy sharing even more the sights and sounds from Brazil on his Facebook page and Twitter page.
This will be one of the busiest places in Rio - the Olympic Megastore at Copacabana. #Rio2016 @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/QrOUS4CqPY Brian Curtis (@BrianCurtisNBC5) August 2, 2016
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As of Monday, Aug. 1, Texas will allow concealed handgun license holders to carry their weapons into public university buildings, classrooms and dorms.
Monday is also the 50th anniversary of the mass shooting at the University of Texas' landmark clock tower.
The campus-carry law pushed by Gov. Greg Abbott and the Republican legislative majority will make Texas one of a handful of states that guarantee the right to carry concealed handguns on campus.
Here's a Q &A on how the law will work:
WHO CAN HAVE A CONCEALED HANDGUN ON CAMPUS?
Anyone who holds a Texas handgun license. To get one, a person must be at least 21 (18 if in the military) and pass both classroom and gun range training courses. There are also restrictions on convicted felons, people charged with felonies and high-level misdemeanors or people with a history of mental illness.
Texas has more than 1 million concealed handgun license holders.
ARE THERE ANY RESTRICTIONS ON WHERE GUNS WILL BE ALLOWED?
Generally speaking, the law allows guns in buildings, classrooms and dorms, but rules may differ from campus to campus, as each school is required to map that out.
For example, at the University of Texas at Austin, where faculty and students vigorously protested the law, teachers will be allowed to declare their offices as gun-free zones, but most will post signs announcing it. Dorm residents can have guns in common areas, such as dining areas and lounges, but not sleeping rooms, where no storage of weapons is allowed. Exceptions to the room restrictions will be made for visiting family members who are licensed to carry handguns.
At Texas A&M University in College Station, guns are allowed in dorm rooms and teachers must get permission from the administration to ban guns from their office.
State law still bans weapons from some campus areas, such as hospitals and sporting events.
WITH THE STATE'S OPEN CARRY LAW, WILL WEAPONS BE ON DISPLAY IN CLASS?
No. The open carry law specifically does not apply to college campuses. Any handguns on campus must be holstered and kept out of sight.
ARE GUNS ALLOWED AT PRIVATE SCHOOLS? COMMUNITY COLLEGES?
Private schools like Baylor, Rice, Texas Christian and others can ban guns under the state law. Currently, Amberton University, which doesn't allow students under 21 and has a total enrollment under 2,000, is the only private school that has opted to allow guns.
As for community colleges, they have until August 2017 to allow weapons, giving them more time to adjust for security and other measures.
WHY IS THE LAW SO CONTROVERSIAL?
Texas has allowed concealed handguns in public for 20 years. Gun rights advocates consider it an important protection, given the constitutional right to bear arms, as well as a key self-defense measure in cases of campus violence, such as the 1966 UT shootings and the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech.
Opponents of the law fear it will chill free speech on campus and lead to more campus suicide. The former dean of the University of Texas School of Architecture left for a position at the University of Pennsylvania because of his opposition to allowing guns on campus.
WHAT'S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE AUG. 1 START DATE?
It's unsettling for some because it falls on the anniversary of Charles Whitman's shooting rampage, in which the Marine-trained sniper opened fire from an observation deck on top of the school's landmark clock tower. It has come to be accepted as the nation's first mass shooting, with 17 deaths attributed to him.
Among those who urged state lawmakers not to approve campus carry was Claire Wilson James, the first person Whitman shot. She was pregnant and was shot through the belly, killing her unborn child.
Dallas Police Association leaders continue to pressure City Hall for funding to build perimeter fencing and secured parking at Dallas' seven police patrol stations.
For now, there are visible checkpoints at most of those patrol stations, where visitors and vehicles are stopped to make sure the citizen is there to file a report, make a complaint or has a meeting scheduled with an officer.
Police officers say the checkpoints continue to be necessary because over the past year there have been threats on individual officers and people trying to enter through back entrances.
Police association leaders say despite two violent attacks on the department in a 13-month stretch, the city still isn't listening to their concerns.
For at least 40 Dallas officers on a blistering Monday afternoon, their patrol shift won't involve much patrolling, but rather watching, guarding and checking. The officers try to stay out of the oppressive sun whenever possible.
"Some guys don't mind it. They know it's a necessary evil that they have to be there to be the front lines against the individuals who may want to do harm to the officers inside the station," said Fraternal Order of Police President Michael Walton. "They recognize it's a job that must be done."
Last summer James Boulware fired dozens of rounds into DPD Headquarters and through DPD cruisers. In the aftermath, police union leaders asked for secured fencing at the city's seven patrol stations. The city agreed to bring in consultants to analyze and study the idea, along with other security improvements at the patrol stations.
Police association leaders said their officers felt unsafe parking their cars in unsecured lots. Police thought perimeter fencing or even requiring citizens late at night to be buzzed-in at the front entrances would prevent another attack.
Some city leaders pushed back on the plan, fearing that fencing and locked-doors could prevent a crime victim from coming forward, or that too much security would make the police facilities look like unwelcome fortresses.
Security was beefed up at DPD Headquarters and the city of Dallas paid about $150,000 to hire a consulting firm for site surveys and safety studies at other facilities.
This infuriated many street cops and their association leaders, who warned of growing animosity and violence against officers.
There's still no plan in place to give officers' secured parking at the patrol stations. This week, city council members are meeting with the city manager, Dallas Police Department chiefs and the various Dallas police unions to go over budget items for officer pay, new gear and weapons and improved police facility security.
FOP President Michael Walton says he doubts the mayor or city manager will ever sign off on a plan to improve patrol station security.
"The mayor said he doesn't want to make police facilities look like a fortress, where the public doesn't feel comfortable," he said. "But where the officers park and the squad cars are located, the public doesn't need access to those things. And my officers would feel safer if those areas were protected by a fence with secured entrances."
For the last year, patrol station commanders have been authorized to hold back cops at the sub-stations for security. Usually it's two officers per shift. In the weeks after the deadly downtown ambush, though, sometimes there were double or triple that amount.
"The officers obviously want to be there helping other individuals. Yes, it's just only two officers, but those two officers can make a difference if they were instead out responding to calls," Walton said.
A former principal in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was found guilty of child exploitation charges.
Oscar Figueroa, 47, also faces a $17,600 fine, 10 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
Figueroa is the former principal of Viridian Elementary School in Arlington. He was convicted in April of trying to lure a minor into a mall bathroom for sex, investigators said.
Figueroa was taken into custody at Stonebriar Centre Mall in Frisco on July 7, 2015, after officers said he was communicating with detectives on Craigslist and via text that he thought were children.
"An undercover officer posing as a 16-year-old boy contacted Figueroa and began exchanging text messages. Figueroa instructed the undercover officer to meet him at a particular place within the AMC Theatres at Stonebriar Centre. Frisco PD Officers arrived at the theater and discovered Figueroa, who directed an undercover officer to a bathroom for sexual activity," said the U.S. Department of Justice, in a news release.
The DOJ said evidence entered at the trial included Figueroa's text messages with undercover agents, his interview with law enforcement, his Craigslist ads and the contents of his phone.
Figueroa, who lived in Carrollton, had been the principal at the school since 2014. Before that, Figueroa was the principal at Hurst Hills Elementary School for two years.
No evidence has been revealed that indicates any children at the schools were solicited by Figueroa.
A Fort Worth family is among more than two dozen Gold Star families to sign a letter demanding an apology from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for questioning the grief of a fellow Gold Star mother who stood on stage at the Democratic National Convention last week.
"Ours is a sacrifice you will never know," the open letter says. "Ours is a sacrifice we would never want you to know."
Trump has questioned why Ghazala Khan stood by quietly as her husband Khizr Khan talked about their son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, at the DNC.
Humayun Khan, a Muslim-American soldier, died in Iraq in 2004 while saving his fellow soldiers from an attack. He was 27 years old.
During his speech, Khizr Khan asked Trump if he'd ever read the United States Constitution, then pulled a copy from his jacket and said, "I'll gladly lend you my copy."
Since then, Trump has come under fire from Democrats and some in his own party after he questioned why Khan's wife stood on stage and said nothing, suggesting maybe the Muslim mother wasn't allowed to have anything to say.
"The man doesn't have an essence," said Beatriz Saldivar, whose nephew, Sgt. Daniel Torres, of Fort Worth, was killed in Iraq in 2005.
"People deal very differently with grief," said Saldivar. "For Trump to say anything negative about the families of the fallen is a disgrace."
Saldivar said she was speaking out because her sister, Torres' mother, could not bring herself to do it without breaking down.
"Silence is the most valuable weapon of strength," Saldivar said. "And this is something that Trump doesn't even know."
Saldivar's name, as well as Torres' parents, are on the open letter sent to Trump on Monday.
"He doesn't know what it is to receive an American flag that has been folded and given to you as part of a funeral for the fallen," Saldivar said, trying to hold back her own emotions. "Let's demand better for ourselves, better than division, better than anger, better than hate."
Authorities said a man was killed and a woman was injured after a vehicle crashed into a bridge column in Duncanville Tuesday morning. [[388914652,C]]
Dallas County Sheriff's deputies said the vehicle crashed into a pillar on eastbound Interstate 20 near Duncanville Road just before 3 a.m.
A male passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, according to authorities.
Deputies said the female driver was transported to a hospital in critical condition.
Authorities said alcohol the crash was alcohol related.
As of 3:30 a.m., all lanes eastbound lanes of I-20 were shut down. Authorities said they were preparing to open two lanes as of 4:30 a.m.
A dance party is held every time a new national team arrives at the athletes' village in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Brazilian dancers dressed in green outfits dance to the rhythms of the Samba and Bossa nova.
On Sunday it was the turn of the North Korean and Ugandan athletes, but their responses could not have been more different. While the Ugandan athletes danced happily along, the North Koreans shuffled quickly to their quarters.
Only the top North Korean representatives including delegation head Yun Song-bom, watched the dancers with stony faces, clapping stiffly at times, and their lapels bearing pins of nation founder Kim Il-sung, former lead Kim Jong-il and the North Korean flag.
Asked about his team's medal expectations, Yun gave reporters a graceless brush-off. "Does anyone come to the Olympics without goals?" he demanded testily. "We will live up to the expectations of the North Korean people."
As the parents of fallen Army Capt. Humayun Khan continue to voice their concerns about Donald Trump's candidacy for president and Trump defends his remarks about them visitors to Arlington National Cemetery are paying their respects where Khan was laid to rest.
Several people visited Khan's grave on Monday, leaving flowers at his headstone while Khan's service to the country is at the heart of a national debate.
Jake Dowell, of Chicago, went to the cemetery with his family to visit his grandfather's grave. When they learned about Khan, they wanted to honor him too, Dowell said.
"He was willing to step up and save the lives of men who were different skin color, who were different religions. Because they were American, he was willing to sacrifice his life for them," Dowell said. "He just acted upon his patriotism."
"He's an American hero. He served this country, died for this country," Dowell's father, Anthony Dowell, said.
D.C. resident Sally Schwartz visited Khan's grave on Monday with her mother.
"To go and see this captain that had sacrificed so much, it was really moving," she said.
Khan, a Muslim from Bristow, Virginia, was on tour in Iraq when he was killed by a suicide bomber on June 8, 2004. He was 27. Khan posthumously received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.
He rose to national attention again last week, when his parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, appeared at the Democratic National Convention. In an emotional speech that received rapturous applause, Pakistan-born Khizr Khan asked if Trump had read the Constitution, and said if it were up to Trump, his son never would have been American or served in the military.
"Have you ever been to Arlington cemetery?" he asked. "Go look at the graves of brave Americans who died defending United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities.
"You have sacrificed nothing and no one," Khizr Khan said to Trump.
Trump disputed that. He said Saturday on ABC's "This Week" that he had given up a lot for his businesses.
"I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures," he said, while also suggesting Ghazala Khan might not have been allowed to speak while she was on stage at the DNC.
Trump's campaign later issued a statement calling Capt. Khan a hero but said Khizr Khan had no right to intimate Trump hasn't read the Constitution. That prompted further rebuke from the Khans and many more, including other military families and President Obama.
On the "Today" show, Khizr Khan said he was grateful for all the support his family is receiving.
"The good thing out of all this has come that there has been so much love, so much courtesy, so much support. I am just amazed," he said. "My belief in the goodness of America is reaffirmed."
The mother of a British man accused of trying to assassinate Donald Trump at a Las Vegas casino said her son had "a lifetime of mental health problems" and was on suicide watch in a Nevada jail, NBC News reported.
Lynne Sandford said her son, 20-year-old Michael Sandford, has autism and Asperger's syndrome and watches children's cartoons. She said her son would not have understood the consequences of his actions.
Michael Sanford is accused of attempting to grab a police officer's gun after asking for the Republican candidate's autograph on June 18. He faces charges of disrupting government business and being an illegal alien in possession of a gun. His U.K. lawyer argues he is unfit to enter a plea.
Lynne Sandford said she feared her son would die inside a U.S. prison.
"He is extremely vulnerable and would not survive," she said. "We want to try to bring him home from the U.S. to a secure place that will help him."
The mother of an Air Force veteran who confronted Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence at a town hall in Carson City, Nevada, Monday night, said she felt "disrespected" by the crowd's overwhelming reaction to her question, NBC News reported.
Catherine Byrne, the mother of Raymond Harmon, who is currently deployed in the Persian Gulf, asked Pence about Trump's treatment of Muslim parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son, a decorated Army veteran, was killed in Iraq in 2004.
"Will there ever be a point in time when you're able to look Trump in the eye and tell him enough is enough?" Byrne asked Pence, prompting boos from the crowd.
Pence did attempt to quiet the jeers after she spoke, saying, "folks that's what freedom looks like and what freedom sounds like," to a smattering of applause.
The Indiana governor added that he has never spent time around someone who is "more devoted" to military and to veterans than Trump.
Republican nominee Donald Trump was given a Purple Heart by a veteran on Tuesday, prompting the Republican nominee to declare that this was "much easier" than serving in combat.
Trump, who is embroiled in controversy over his criticism of the family of a slain soldier, said a man approached him before his event in Ashburn, Virginia, and handed him his medal, which is awarded to soldiers wounded in combat.
"I said to him, 'Is that, like, the real one or is that a copy?'" Trump recounted. "And he said, 'That's my real Purple Heart. I have such confidence in you.' And I said, 'Man! That's like, that's like big stuff.'"
"I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier," continued the celebrity businessman, who has never served in the armed forces. "But I tell you, it was such an honor."
The veteran, Lt. Col. Louis Dorfman, declined Trump's invitation to speak at Tuesday's town hall. He told NBC News before the rally it was actually a copy of his Purple Heart.
On Monday, The Veterans of Foreign Wars, a non-profit service organization with 1.7 million members, released a statement calling Trump out of bounds for tangling with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, a Muslim family whose son, Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in Iraq in 2004. The fallen soldier was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.
At last week's Democratic National Convention, Khizr Khan criticized Trump's call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the U.S. and accused Trump of sacrificing "nothing and no one." In response, Trump said he was "viciously attacked" by Khizr Khan and implied that Ghazala Khan, the soldier's mother, stood silently alongside her husband during the speech because as a Muslim, she was restricted from speaking.
Trump, who has made helping veterans a centerpiece of his campaign, also drew criticism from some former servicemen when he was slow to produce millions of dollars he raised for veterans groups. The New York Times reported Monday that Trump received multiple student deferments and a medical deferment for a bone spur during the Vietnam War.
"Our veterans are being treated horribly," Trump said Tuesday. "We're going to turn that around so fast your head is going to spin."
Eric Trump defended his dad earlier Tuesday on "CBS This Morning" as "a great patriot" who "doesn't want to see more Americans dead." He said Donald Trump's comments were "honestly blown out of proportion."
Eric Trump added that Pat Smith, the mother of a Benghazi attack victim who is highly critical of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, has not received the same amount of airtime as the Khan family.
Clinton's policy, he said, "crippled Libya and Syria and Iraq."
President Barack Obama, meanwhile, said Trump's criticism of the Khan family was the latest evidence that Trump is unfit to lead America.
At a news conference Tuesday, Obama asked why Republicans in Congress are still endorsing Trump. Obama said there has to be a point when people break with the party's standard-bearer. Otherwise, he said, the denunciations are hollow.
Another of Trump's light-hearted remarks at the Virginia event also produced double-takes. He was interrupted Tuesday by the wails of a child and Trump joked that he wanted the crying baby ejected from his rally.
"Don't worry about that baby, I love babies," Trump said. "I hear that baby crying, I like it. What a beautiful baby."
But when the baby continued to cry, Trump followed up by saying, "Actually, I was just kidding. You can get that baby out of here."
Trump still appeared to be joking. It was unclear if the child's mother left the room or if the child just fell silent.
Trump touched on other topics during Tuesday's event, telling supporters that without the U.S., "the Gulf states won't exist." If he is elected president, Trump said, he will require the Arab Gulf states to finance a safe zone in Syria.
"They are going to pay," Trump told the crowd.
The Arab gulf states, which make up a cooperative body called the Gulf Cooperation Council, are home to 20 percent of the world's oil supply.
On the top of Clinton's donors, Trump claimed that 20 people have given his opponent $60 million and he would like to know who they are. Trump did not specify a time frame in which Clinton allegedly raised that money.
Clinton's campaign said the Democratic nominee raised $63 million in July for her campaign.
Trump's reference to Clinton drew a strong reaction from the crowd, with one child reacting by screaming "take the b---- down."
The adults accompanying the child told NBC News after the rally they did not want to be interviewed but dismissed the behavior as "children being children."
Activists submitted 1.2 million signatures on Monday calling for the ouster of Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky over a controversial jail sentence he gave former Stanford student Brock Turner for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman.
The effort, the Mercury News reported, is led by Miami-area nurse Maria Ruiz. On Sunday, she tweeted Tomorrow is the big day!!!! #impeachpersky can't wait to see you all!!!
The change.org petition was delivered by nearly 40 protesters at the courthouse around noon. This is a separate petition from the move.org petition, which was also signed by a million people.
Both efforts are seeking to get Persky to leave his post. The change.org petition makes clear it is seeking to force impeachment hearings against the judge, and is not seeking a recall against him.
In June, Persky sentenced the former Stanford swimmer to six months in jail rather than the minimum state prison term of two years for digitally penetrating an intoxicated unconscious woman outside a campus fraternity party. Persky has faced intense international criticism over the sentence, including a recall threat from Stanford law professor Michele Dauber and the national women's advocacy group UltraViolet.
"We cannot let him continue," protestor S. Suresh of Saratoga said.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen had wanted Turner to spend six years in state prison. But the judge followed probation officers' recommendation for a shorter sentence in jail, noting his youth, intoxication at the time and previously clean record.
Legal experts said Monday's efforts will have little impact because Turner's sentence was still within legal guidelines and the judge has not committed an impeachable offense.
Protest organizers disagree.
"The bias part is basically what we are focusing on. He has shown to treat one group of people one way, and the other gorup of people another way," Ruiz said. "We hope they will see the pattern that we see."
The protestors said until Persky is recalled, impeached or steps down on his own, they will continue to speak out to give victims a louder voice.
Authorities Tuesday put out a call for public help to find a 24-year-old woman described as a "person of interest" in the "suspicious" death of her grandmother in Bell and whose own four young children are also missing.
Sarah Montoya is being sought in connection with the death of Paula Montoya, whose body was discovered July 21 in her residence in the 6600 block of Pine Avenue.
Sheriff's investigators said the 64-year-old woman was last seen alive three days earlier at her home. She was described in a sheriff's statement as an active member in her local church, a "doting grandmother of six children and an attentive great-grandmother to four children."
Detectives did not release the cause of the woman's death. Her body was wrapped in a blanket and discovered by police responding to a request for a welfare check.
"We believe that Paula's granddaughter, Sarah Montoya ... and her four children, ranging in age from 1 to 9, were the last ones to see Paula alive," sheriff's Lt. Mike Rosson said at a news conference. "The body was discovered in a way that was suspicious in nature. I can't describe specifics on the case at this time."
Julia Isham also took part in the news conference, speaking directly to her daughter.
"Sarah, I love you honey so much, and I pray that God keeps you and the babies in his hands," Julia Isham said. "Call me or one of your (aunts) please and we'll go pick you up wherever you are."
Sarah's car apparently was found near the U.S./Mexico border, and detectives said she might have crossed into Mexico with her children. She was described as 4 feet 11 inches tall, weighing 130 pounds, with long brown hair.
Her children are named Elijah, Yosu, Joshua and Abagail.
Anyone with information about the case was urged to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 980-5500.
When Lisa Bloom and her husband Braden Pollock saw a story online a few months ago for a $2.3 million mansion in her favorite neighborhood, they jumped at a chance to own a piece of prime LA real estate.
They weren't scared off that the 5,050-square-foot, four bedroom Spanish revival circa 1925 was the scene of a grisly murder-suicide in 1959 and is "haunted" by ghosts that lurk its hallways to this day.
Mediums brought in by a documentarian crew recently assured the couple that the place was free from ghosts.
"I don't really believe in ghosts and spooky spirits," said Bloom, the daughter of high-profile lawyer Gloria Allred and the former host of truTv's "Lisa Bloom: Open Court." "The house didn't do anything wrong. The house is innocent."
The house has been the subject of much media coverage this year when it went on the block and wound up being sold in a probate sale. Some claim the Glendower Place has been visited by the ghost of Dr. Harold N. Perelson who in 1959 bludgeoned his wife to death with a hammer and attacked his 18-year-old daughter before killing himself.
Bloom, who is also an NBC News legal analyst, talked about her plans for rewriting the mysterious mansion's history.
"What we're really doing is overlaying a story of love over a story of hate," Bloom said, as workers remodeled.
The idea to buy it came months ago when her husband read about it and sent a link to his wife with a note, "Want to move to your favorite neighborhood?"
"She responded 'yes' with three exclamation points," Pollock said. "She doesn't just throw out three exclamation points for nothing."
They plan to settle in after several months of renovating. The remake involves expanding rooms, transforming a ballroom into a home theater and adding front decks, while preserving the original architecture.
"It's just a fantastic house," Pollock said.
A man shot by police was hospitalized Tuesday morning after a confrontation at a Hollywood Walgreens.
Officers responded to an attempted robbery call around 12:50 a.m. at a Walgreens pharmacy located on Sunset Boulevard and Western Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department Hollywood Station. The dispute involved a check that the man was attempting to cash.
Based on surveillance footage, a suspect was engaged in a "full-on fight" with two officers, said Sgt. Frank Preciado in a news conference. The suspect was struck after an officer fired shots and was taken to a hospital, police said. The suspect survived.
One officer sustained a gash over his forehead and was taken to a hospital, Preciado said. The cause of this injury was unknown.
LAPD is reviewing surveillance footage.
Interruptions to landline internet and telephone services still plagued residents in portions of the Hollywood Hills Monday evening in the wake of the latest water main break in a series over the years.
The break Sunday sent torrents of water as much as a thousand gallons a minute cascading down Oak Glen Drive, across sidewalks and into homes, yards, and businesses below. The rupture has since been repaired, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
It's believed water from the break got into a below-ground AT&T equipment vault at the corner of Cahuenga and Oakshire Drive.
"Due to a break in a water main, some customers in the Hollywood Hills area may be experiencing issues with their wireline service," said AT&T spokesperson Meredith Red. "Technicians are on-site working around the clock to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience."
Late Monday evening, AT&T reported that service had been restored "for the majority of our customers," and that work would continue "through the night until all our customers are back in service."
The 8-inch main failed beneath the 3300 block of Glen Oak Drive. LADWP crews replaced a 10-foot section after finding a split in the cast iron pipe, said Marty Adams, Sr. Asst. General Manager. He said it had been installed in 1958.
Oak Glen runs two curvy, hilly blocks between Oakshire and Broadlawn Drives. Previous breaks had occurred last summer, in 2011 and in 2005, Adams said.
"It's not an indication the pipe is failing as a whole," Adams said. "But we're certainly looking at it and we're sending out engineers to make sure we don't have a bigger problem than we thought we did."
The possibility of earth movement, which can strain pipes, will be investigated, Adams said.
Last summer, at the north end of Oak Glen, the Vaughan family had watched water from another break rush over the sidewalk and through their front yard. Additional breaks in a separate main beneath Oakley Drive had also sent runoff down Oak Glen past the Vaughan home. Oakley Drive has experienced "multiple leaks since 1998," according to the LADWP.
Oak Glen has a summit in the middle of its run, and Sunday's break sent water away from the Vaughan home. But Deb Vaughan heard about it.
"I think it's an issue," Vaughan said of the multiple failures. "But hopefully not in our front yard again."
For much of the 20th century, thanks to the visionary work of the legendary William Mulholland, LA's water delivery system had been recognized as a national model. But in recent decades, deferred maintenance has taken a toll, and in the past handful of years, the LADWP has begun ramping up replacement of critical water mains believed to be near the end of their service life.
Like students, water mains are graded from "A" to "F." Of the 7,000 miles of mains in the LADWP system, it rates 440 miles as "D" or "F." Oak Glen's main has been given a "D," Adams said.
This past year, LADWP replaced 31 miles of "F" pipes, including the main through Runyon Canyon, a project which required four months.
The department plans to replace 35 miles in the coming year, and eventually expects to fix 50 miles per year, Adams said, acknowledging that even at this rate of progression, replacing all of the "F" pipes could still take another five years.
Temperature extremes tend to lead to increasing rate of pipe failure, with spikes during both winter and summer. Adams said the rate of breaks had increased slightly at the beginning of this summer, then tapered off.
"As we continue replacement, hopefully we'll see the number of breaks go down," Adams said.
A pilot was killed Tuesday when the small plane he was in crashed into a building during takeoff from the Van Nuys Airport, officials said.
The crash was reported at 1:38 p.m. at 16145 W. Hart St., an industrial section of Van Nuys near the general aviation airport, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart.
Van Nuys Airport spokeswoman Diana Sanchez said the plane was a light sport aircraft with one person on board.
The plane was largely demolished when it slammed into the concrete structure near Woodley Avenue.
Aerial footage showed debris from the plane strewn across a parking lot, with much of the fuselage pinned between two brick buildings.
A power line had been sheared and a pickup truck was heavily damaged.
Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane is believed to be an Arion Lightning, a light-sport kit-type aircraft.
He said the pilot was apparently performing "touch-and-go" practice maneuvers at Van Nuys Airport when the crash occurred.
City News Service contributed to this report.
Seven-year-old Wyatt Seth Gillette died Sunday one day after being presented the title of Honorary Marine, his father said.
Wyatt, who would have turned 8-years-old this month, received the title of Honorary Marine on Saturday in a ceremony at the School of Infantry-West Parade Deck at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego.
Wyatt was born on Aug. 15, 2008 and was diagnosed with Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome when he was 4-years-old.
Aicardi-Goutieres is a developmental disorder affects the brain, the immune system and the skin. The disease causes severe secondary medical problems and complications.
Wyatts father, Sgt. Jeremiah Gillette, is a drill instructor with the Recruit Training Regimen.
Marine Corps Commandant General Robert Neller agreed to make Wyatt an honorary Marine last week in response to an online petition. The honor is bestowed on just a few people every year and recognizes civilians who have made extraordinary contributions to the Marine Corps.
Neller wrote on his official Twitter page that granting the petition was one of the easiest decisions he had to make as commandant.
"Keep fighting, Wyatt! You are a Marine!" he posted Saturday.
When the boy was undergoing dialysis last month, his father reached out to fellow Marines on social media for prayers. They started the online petition, which quickly gained supporters.
Gillette said he believes his son, had he been healthy, could have joined the Marines someday.
Wyatt was the 96th recipient of the award since the program first started in 1992.
As Republican loyalists continue to flee, Donald Trump ignited new party tensions by refusing to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan or a pair of senators seeking re-election, a remarkable display of party division just three months before Election Day.
The Republican presidential nominee told The Washington Post Tuesday he's "just not quite there yet," when asked about an endorsement of Ryan, who faces a primary election next week. In doing so, he echoed the House speaker's comments of almost three months earlier, when the Wisconsin congressman was initially reluctant to embrace Trump as his party's standard bearer.
A top GOP source told NBC News Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is "apopletic" over Trump's refusal to back Ryan and Sen. John McCain. Priebus called several Trump staffers to express his "extreme displeasure" with the nominee's comments and there was talk Tuesday that key Republicans could come out against Trump, the source said.
Trump's statement comes amid intense fallout over his criticism of the family of the late Capt. Humayun Khan, a U.S. Army soldier who died in Iraq in 2004. Indeed, just two weeks after a Republican National Convention that tried to focus on party unity, the Trump-driven rifts inside the GOP appear to be intensifying.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman came out in support of Hillary Clinton late Tuesday, saying that even as a Republican she could not support Trump, who she called a "demagogue," CNBC reported.
Hours earlier, retiring New York Rep. Richard Hanna became the first Republican member of Congress to say he will vote for Clinton in November instead of Trump.
"He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country," Hanna wrote in a column published in The Post-Standard newspaper of Syracuse, New York. "He is unrepentant in all things."
Also Tuesday, the woman who helped shape New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's national image declared that she's voting for Clinton.
"As someone who has worked to further the Republican Party's principles for the last 15 years, I believe that we are at a moment where silence isn't an option," former Christie senior aide Maria Comella told CNN.
They join dozens of high-profile GOP leaders who have previously said they would not vote for Trump, including the party's 2012 nominee, Mitt Romney, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
A day earlier, Sally Bradshaw, an architect of the Republican National Committee's 2013 "Growth and Opportunity" report, said she's leaving the GOP. While not a household name, her decision to leave the party rocked those who make politics their profession.
Bradshaw was one of the five senior Republican strategists tasked with identifying the party's shortcomings and recommending ways it could win the White House after its losing 2012 presidential campaign. She said she will vote for the Democratic nominee if the race in her home state of Florida appears close come Election Day.
"Trump has moved in exactly the opposite direction from our recommendations on how to make the party more inclusive," said Ari Fleischer, who worked with Bradshaw on the GOP's so-called post-election autopsy and was a senior adviser to President George W. Bush.
Fleischer still supports Trump over Clinton. But Bradshaw and Comella are among a group of top Republican operatives, messengers, national committee members and donors who continue to decry Trump's tactics, highlighting almost daily with fewer than 100 days before the election the fissures created by the billionaire and his takeover of the party.
Veterans and families of fallen soldiers continue to call on Trump to apologize for his treatment of the Khan family, who spoke out against Trump at last week's Democratic National Convention. Trump said the grieving father had "no right" to criticize him, only later acknowledging their son is a hero.
"If @realDonaldTrump wants to be the Commander in Chief, he needs to act like one. And that can't start until he apologizes to the Khans," Dakota Meyer, one of a handful of living Medal of Honor recipients and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's son-in-law, wrote Tuesday on Twitter.
Trump invited more tension Tuesday when he told The Washington Post he's not ready to endorse Ryan in next week's Republican primary contest against Paul Nehlen, praising the underdog for running "a very good campaign."
Tensions were already running high between the two high-profile Republicans, who will have to work together closely should Trump win the presidency. Said Ryan's campaign spokesman Zack Roday, "Neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trump's endorsement. And we are confident in a victory next week regardless."
In the Post interview, Trump also declined to support the re-election of Arizona Sen. John McCain and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte. Both had been among Trump's harshest critics in the wake of his comments about the Khan family, particularly McCain, a former prisoner of war who said Trump did not have "unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us."
McCain is a locked in a three-way race ahead of an August 30 primary. The primary for Ryan's House seat is next week and Ayotte's primary is next month. All three have said they would support Trump as the GOP presidential nominee.
The Arizona senator and 2008 GOP nominee also reiterated Wednesday that he is not going back on his pledge to support Trump as the Republican Party's presidential nominee, despite Trump's recents comments.
McCain declined to address Trump's statements that he would not support McCain's re-election because he hasn't done enough to help veterans.
Christie, the New Jersey governor, continues to be one of Trump's biggest supporters. But Comella, his former aide, said the very survival of the party depends on stopping the celebrity businessman.
"Instead of speaking out against instances of bigotry, racism and inflammatory rhetoric, whether it's been against women, immigrants or Muslims, we made a calculus that it was better to say nothing at all in the interest of politics and winning elections," she told CNN. "For me, if our party has a future, we have to change that trajectory and lead by example."
For Republicans like Ryan, McCain and Ayotte, renouncing Trump might not yield much benefit beyond ensuring more headlines connecting them to Trump, something most want to avoid. Instead, vulnerable Senate Republicans like Ayotte and McCain are trying to focus on running their own races and hoping voters will make a distinction between them and Trump, something some polls suggest may be happening.
"I call it like I see it, and I'm always going to stand up for our military families and what's best for the people of New Hampshire," was all Ayotte would say.
For his part, Trump sent a Twitter post from @realDonaldTrump early Wednesday proclaiming, "There is greater unity in my campaign, perhaps greater than ever before."
Associated Press writers Julie Bykowicz, Jonathan Lemire and Bob Christie contributed to this report from Washington.
All across South Florida on Tuesday, our local police departments will host their annual "National Night Out."
It's an event which invites you at home to go out and meet your law enforcement officers with the aim of bridging the gap and encouraging safety starting at home
For more than 30 years police departments across the country have been putting on "National Night Out" events.
From Miami-Dade to Broward County, last year many coming out in record numbers and departments will again host "National Night Out" against crime Tuesday.
The goal is for neighbors to meet, learn crime prevention tips and to promote neighborhood unity
After last year's event, members in the community said to us that they think its important to shed a positive light on law enforcement
"I think it's very good its actually a positive thing and it shows a positive light in law enforcement, some of the good things they do and they had some good demonstrations," says Ken Mills, attended event last year.
Miami-Dade Police will be set-up at different parks and schools in each district across the county
Events will begin as early as five and last until nine.
Miami-Dade Police Department "National Night Out" Locations:
Miami police are asking for the public's assistance in locating a man missing since April.
Allen Lampkin, 66, was reported last seen from the 1200 block of northwest 60th Street in Miami. He was last seen wearing a brown and white t-shirt and white pants.
Authorities say Lampkin suffers from schizophrenia and depression.
Police urge anyone with information to contact Miami Police Department at 305-603-6300 or 305-603-6310
After a weekend tour of the city by the Consular General and his deputy from Washington D.C., one Florida city appears closer to becoming home for a Cuban Consulate office in the United States.
According to NBC affiliate WFLA-TV, the delegation met with officials from St. Petersburg, including Mayor Rick Kriseman, for a tour of both the city and potential office locations for a future home.
The city has spent much of the last year working to get the consulate office in Pinellas County.
At the same time, a scheduled trip to Tampa did not take place. That citys mayor has said he would not block the consulate if they are chosen, but he will not actively pursue it out of an obligation to supporters that oppose Tampa being picked.
While Miami has the most Cuban-American residents in the entire state, Mayor Tomas Regalado has said a consulate office would not be welcome. Miami Beach Mayor Phillip Levine championed his city, but that commission voted 4-3 against any potential location.
Even if you can't make it all the way to South America for the Olympics, you can still get a taste of Brazil in South Florida.
Only New York and Boston have larger Brazilian populations in the United States. But as we learned from local Brazilians who frequent Boteco in Miami, no city can offer the feel of Brazil quite like South Florida.
"The weather, the beaches," answers Andre Postale when I asked him why he moved to Miami from Brazil 2 years ago. Postale now works at Boteco, where customers feel at home with authentic food, music and dancing.
The Brazilians we spoke to at Boteco admitted they are concerned about their home country hosting the Olympics. They are fearful of Brazil's problems being exposed on the world stage.
"It's a bad time in Brazil," said a patron named Elizabeth. "But we are welcoming people and they will overcome. We love to be (hosts)."
South Florida has seen a surge in the Brazilian population recently, especially among the wealthy, with the country's economy struggling. And with current political turmoil and increasing crime, you can expect more Brazilians to migrate to Miami in the near future.
What to Know NYPD Chief of Department James O'Neill will take over as commissioner when Bratton leaves the post next month
Bratton has served as commissioner of the NYPD since 2014, and is credited as one of the architects of "broken windows" policing
His tenure has been marred by tensions with the public and a high-profile standoff between the NYPD's biggest union and the mayor
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton is stepping down as the city's top cop and will be replaced by Chief of Department James O'Neill in September, Mayor de Blasio announced Tuesday.
De Blasio lauded the commissioner's contributions to New York City since taking over the job in January 2014 and praised the man who will replace him, a veteran cop with more than 30 years on the force who grew up in the city and whose experience he said will advance the work of neighborhood policing.
Under Bratton, the city already has made plans to shift toward that strategy, one predicated on building trust and working relationships between police and communities. O'Neill has been heavily involved in those efforts, and de Blasio said neighborhood policing would be in place in 51 precincts as of this fall.
[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More
"I don't think anyone could've imagined a more productive 31 months. We will never forget or fail to honor the achievements of Bill Bratton," de Blasio said.
Of O'Neill, he added, "Jimmy is the real thing in every way."
Bratton will stay on with the department until mid-September to ease the transition, officials said. According to a news release from global consulting firm Teneo, Bratton will join the company as the senior managing director and executive chairman of a newly formed risk management division.
Sources close to the commissioner told NBC 4 New York that the job was a "perfect fit" for financial and lifestyle reasons, and that Teneo wanted him sooner than he had planned to be available.
De Blasio joked that Bratton would be able to "afford" to take him out to eat in the new job.
Bratton did not address the new position at the resignation announcement Tuesday, but instead reflected on his long-standing relationship with New York City and the people and politicians within it. The Massachusetts native called himself a "proud adopted son" of New York City and touted O'Neill's prowess, saying he would help make a seamless transition that, in this age of terror and sometimes volatile race relations, is more important than ever.
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said Tuesday he would step down in September, and indicated he could not be handing over the reins to a more capable colleague and exemplary department.
The resignation comes days after Bratton told The New York Times in a widely cited interview that he wouldn't serve as the city's top cop after 2017. Law enforcement sources say he has been talking to de Blasio for at least a month about the possibility that he may vacate his office earlier.
Bratton has served as the city's commissioner under de Blasio since January 2014 and was also the commissioner during the Giuliani administration. He is credited as one of the early proponents of the CompStat crime-tracking methodology and the "broken windows" policing philosophy, which prioritizes enforcement of minor offenses to prevent major violent crimes. He also served as the top cop in Los Angeles and Boston.
De Blasio tapped Bratton for the job after campaigning on a promise to change police tactics and the department's relationship with New Yorkers. In announcing his resignation Tuesday, de Blasio vowed to continue that charge, and said O'Neill would be an extraordinary leader of the department.
O'Neill said rather than look at the promotion as the culmination of the career "of an old transit cop like me," he said he sees it as an opportunity and invitation to advance all of the work Bratton has done in the last 31 months.
"I love being a cop. I love this uniform. I love what it stands for," O'Neill said. "We are here for you, the people of this city."
O'Neill spoke of his optimism for the future -- a hopefulness imparted to him by his mother.
"Because of her I learned we can change the world into what we want it to be and that life is about much much more than just oneself, it's about all of us," O'Neill said, choking back tears.
He also emphasized the importance of bridging the divide between communities and police, and reiterated that the department knows most of the crimes in the city are perpetrated by a few criminals. O'Neill said he would focus on zeroing in on those perpetrators as Bratton has done while working to protect the city from broader scale threats like terrorism.
NYPD Chief of Department James P. ONeill will succeed Bill Bratton as NYPD commissioner after he resigns his post in September, Mayor de Blasio announced at a press conference Tuesday.
Despite some of the lowest crime rates the city has seen in history, Bratton's latest tenure as the head of the NYPD has been marred by tumultuous relations with the public and a tense standoff between the department's rank-and-file union and de Blasio following the killings of two officers in late 2014.
But sources close to the commissioner say he feels comfortable leaving the post with the crime rates as low as they are and in the capable hands of O'Neill.
"I'm leaving because it's the right time," Bratton said Tuesday.
The sources also said he wants to take more time for his three grandchildren, and that he wanted to leave before the next mayoral campaign.
Ben Tucker, first deputy NYPD commissioner, will stay on, and Carlos Gomez, the NYPD's chief of patrol, who has been with the force since 1984, will take over as chief of department. Calling Gomez a great friend, O'Neill said he "has the will to make the change, the vision to make the change."
The fate of others, including Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence & Counter-terrorism John Miller and spokesman Stephen Davis are unclear.
Bratton's resume is unmatched in local law enforcement. He first held the top NYPD post in 1994 and is credited with leading the development of CompStat, a crime-mapping database begun in New York City that has been copied by police in other cities. Crime dropped significantly during his tenure, but civilian complaints about police misconduct and brutality went up.
Somewhat coincidentally, protesters had staged a demonstration outside City Hall Monday night and Tuesday to call for Bratton's resignation. One protester said that he was "very happy" to see Bratton step down and that he "will take anyone over Bratton, even a corpse."
The head of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, the NYPD's largest union, said that he "wishes him well in his new endeavors."
"We hope that Chief O'Neill will make supporting and protecting police officers on the street his first priority when he assumes his new role," said PBA President Patrick Lynch. "We look forward to working with him to make sure that New York City police officers are fully supported, with the fair compensation, staffing, equipment and training that we need to protect all New Yorkers.
Bill Brattons police resume is hard to match: Hes run police departments in three of the countrys biggest cities and changed the way cops fight crime. Along the way and not by accident he also became a celebrity. Tom Llamas reports.
Under Giuliani, Bratton was also remembered for his theatrics, including proposing a police parade on his birthday. He left the job for the private sector in 1996, creating his own law enforcement consulting business.
Bratton, a Vietnam veteran who began his career as a Boston police officer, served as chief of the LAPD from 2002 to 2009, where he dramatically expanded the use of stop and frisk. On his watch as NYPD commissioner, the department drastically scaled back that strategy, but stepped up enforcement against of so-called "quality of life" offenses. Critics said that approach still unfairly targeted people of color.
Bratton was also hired by Oakland, California, in 2013 to serve as a consultant to the citys troubled police department.
Bruce Beck is in Rio to cover the Olympics! He shares his insights and observations from the Olympic Village, the streets of Rio and Brazil's iconic beaches.
Watch Bruce on NBC 4 New York and keep up with him throughout the day by following @BruceBeck4NY on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
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Bruce tries his hand at table tennis on the last day of Rio 2016.
Going toe to toe in @usatabletennis with @twangsterr - two-time Olympian! I hung tough! A video posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 21, 2016 at 3:32pm PDT
Getting into the spirit at the Gold Medal Game in Rio! @usabasketball @terrathedactyle @therealjamarcus A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 21, 2016 at 12:43pm PDT
Bruce talks to members of the gold-medal winning women's basketball team!
Great to catch up with @tina31charles of @nyliberty & Sue Bird of Syosset, NY after they captured gold in RIO! What a remarkable run for the @usabasketball women - 49 straight wins and 6 consecutive Gold medals! A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 20, 2016 at 5:48pm PDT
What does @ShakurStevenson think of his Silver Medal in boxing? We'll hear from him @NBCNewYork 4 at 6! pic.twitter.com/M6kJmIutHb Bruce Beck (@BruceBeck4NY) August 20, 2016
What does @ShakurStevenson think of his Silver Medal in boxing? We'll hear from him @NBCNewYork 4 at 6! pic.twitter.com/M6kJmIutHb Bruce Beck (@BruceBeck4NY) August 20, 2016
Bruce goes one-on-one with the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt!
Another Gold for the World's Fastest Man @usainbolt_official! He might be the world's greatest showman too! A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 18, 2016 at 8:07pm PDT
Our gold medalist - Dalilah Muhammad from Jamaica, NY & Cardozo HS! we'll hear from her @NBCNewYork at 6! pic.twitter.com/GBRydjuoE3 Bruce Beck (@BruceBeck4NY) August 19, 2016
Bruce catches up with Dalilah Muhammad and her family as she goes for gold in the 400 meters hurdles!
Big night for @dalilahmuhammad_ and her family as she goes for Gold in the 400 meters hurdles! Great local story - Jamaica, NY; Benjamin Cardozo HS; Novas Track Club; Rochdale Village! What an athlete! A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 18, 2016 at 4:29pm PDT
Bruce interviews a NJ high school phenom who made her debut in Rio.
Sydney McLaughlin called it "Great experience!" Can't wait 2 see her win in Tokyo! @unioncatholichs @uctrack pic.twitter.com/qMWvIPo30J Bruce Beck (@BruceBeck4NY) August 17, 2016
Congratulations, grandpa-to-be!
Bruce sits down with the most decorated Olympian of all time!
We'll hear from gymnast @lauriehernandez_ tonight on @nbcnewyork 4! The pride of Old Bridge, NJ captured a silver medal today on the Balance Beam to go with her team gold! She's only 16! What a talent! A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 15, 2016 at 7:04pm PDT
Bruce watches Usain Bolt win the 100 meter race and the title of world's fastest man!
My favorite event of the Olympics - The Men's 100 Meters! Usain Bolt looking for 3 straight gold! @justingatlin looking for a repeat of Athens in 2004! #World'sFastestMan A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 14, 2016 at 5:15pm PDT
Wherever I work in the world - I run into @KennyAlbert who's calling track & field here in Rio! What a pro! pic.twitter.com/sW7sqH8RjO Bruce Beck (@BruceBeck4NY) August 14, 2016
Bruce celebrates bronze with the history-making women's fencing team and improvises with a little help from an ice cream vendor!
Nothing like Athletics (Track & Field) at the Olympics! Tonight I took in mlive the Women's 100 Meter dash! A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 13, 2016 at 7:45pm PDT
Ice Cream and WNBC! Yes we got creative just moments ago and used the local Good Humor Man to help with the stand-ups! We were in need of an umbrella desperately to block the hot Rio sun so we hired our buddy to take the umbrella off his ice cream wagon and work in television for a few minutes! The shot looked great and cameraman @ed_alonzo is now looking to hire him full time in the future - lol! A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 13, 2016 at 12:26pm PDT
Bruce talks to Katie Ledecky's uncle, who is also the new owner of the New York Islanders.
Nothing like Athletics (Track & Field) at the Olympics! Tonight I took in mlive the Women's 100 Meter dash! A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 13, 2016 at 7:45pm PDT
Ice Cream and WNBC! Yes we got creative just moments ago and used the local Good Humor Man to help with the stand-ups! We were in need of an umbrella desperately to block the hot Rio sun so we hired our buddy to take the umbrella off his ice cream wagon and work in television for a few minutes! The shot looked great and cameraman @ed_alonzo is now looking to hire him full time in the future - lol! A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 13, 2016 at 12:26pm PDT
Bruce gives us an update on Day 6 and catches up with Carmelo Anthony.
Bruce interviews a fencer from the Bronx who won a silver medal.
With legendary @StJohnsFencing Coach Yury Gelman! His pupil @DarylDHomer is in the semis in Sabre in Rio! pic.twitter.com/9CCRfgURcQ Bruce Beck (@BruceBeck4NY) August 10, 2016
Bruce meets a very courageous boy from New Jersey, and the face of NBC News.
My favorite picture of the Olympics so far! It was with Darius Ziabakhsh who was invited to the Games by the @mcdonalds Olympics Kids Program! He suffers from a rare disorder that affects several vital organs. I did a feature on him about his experience in Rio which included attending the Opening Ceremony! What an inspirational and courageous kid from New Jersey. I just loved interviewing him. A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 8, 2016 at 3:47pm PDT
Bruce keeps tabs on the winning women's field hockey team -- and gets a care package!
Congrats Melissa Gonzalez & @usafieldhockey - taking the Olympics by storm! 2-0 with wins over Argentina & today, Australia! Great story brewing! A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 8, 2016 at 1:46pm PDT
Bruce meets with Team USA's silver medal-winning fencer Alexander Massialas.
It's silver for @amassialas - so happy for the 22 year old from San Francisco! My 4th Olympics covering @usfencing! I root hard for this team! Can't wait to see my locals perform! A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 7, 2016 at 5:10pm PDT
On Day 1 of the Olympics, Bruce meets a broadcasting legend!
A privilege & pleasure to talk Olympics, politics and baseball with NBC legend, Tom Brokaw! #rio2016 A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 6, 2016 at 11:59am PDT
Bruce meets a New Jersey wrestler who is seeking redemption in Rio.
Swimming Dream Team! The best swimming play by play team on the planet - getting set another @nbcolympics! Good luck @danhicksnbc & @rowdygaines! #rio2016 A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 5, 2016 at 2:44pm PDT
The day before the Opening Ceremony, Bruce interviews a local Olympian who is breaking barriers and making history!
We are Live on Copacabana Beach today on @nbcnewyork 4 st 4, 5 and 6! See you there! #rio2016 A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 4, 2016 at 12:52pm PDT
With just two days until the Olympics begin, Bruce catches up with a star boxer from New Jersey.
With the pride of Newark, NJ - @ShakurStevenson - a 2 time Amateur World Champ. Dynamic 19 yr old! @Usaboxing pic.twitter.com/bAp9l8moQs Bruce Beck (@BruceBeck4NY) August 3, 2016
We are live in Rio - literally now! First live shot in the books! Join us at 5 and 6 on @nbcnewyork 4! A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 3, 2016 at 1:19pm PDT
Three days until the Olympics! Bruce is getting ready by interviewing local athletes in Rio.
On Monday, Bruce visited some of Brazil's top tourist sites: The Christ the Redeemer statute, which is one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, and Copacabana beach.
Here are his dispatches as he explores Rio:
LIVE on #Periscope: Live at Christ The Redeemer https://t.co/orZYWCGpHK Bruce Beck (@BruceBeck4NY) August 1, 2016
Finally made it to Copacabana Beach on a magnificent 80 degree in Rio! Prepping hard for Olympics! A photo posted by Bruce Beck (@brucebeck4ny) on Aug 1, 2016 at 12:18pm PDT
Longtime local dairy plant Elmhurst Dairy, provider of the familiar milk cartons in New York City public schools, is shutting down.
The plant will be closing in 90 days after nearly 100 years in business, officials said, citing a drop in demand for milk.
In its heyday, Elmhurst Dairy processed nearly a million and a half gallons of milk a week. The silos were a fixture of the Jamaica, Queens, for as long as anyone can remember.
The red-and-gold delivery truck still housed on the site provides a fleeting memory of the home deliveries of yesteryear. The plant has operated at the same location for eight decades, processing the raw milk produced and delivered from upstate dairy farms, much of the end product headed for New York City public schools.
The 15-acre site was the largest milk processing facility in the city and for many years has been the only milk plant.
A big part of the reason for closing: a drop in demand.
"People for whatever reason are not consuming as much milk as they were 30 and 40 years ago," said Henry Schwartz, CEO of Elmhurst Dairy.
The grandson of the Elmhurst Dairy founder says products with longer shelf lives -- like soy and almond milks -- soured the market for fresh milk.
Now 273 employees are losing their jobs.
"Hundreds of people work here. What are they going to do?" said Singh Hundal, who's worked at the plant 20 years.
"I figure I'm going to move on," said a resigned Lorenzo Seguil, who's been at the plant 27 years.
The company says it plans to bring new jobs into Jamaica by redeveloping the site, though just how is not yet certain.
An engineering firm that was hired by insurance companies to evaluate damage caused by Sandy was charged Monday with illegally altering reports prepared by inspectors in the field.
HiRise Engineering and one of the company's project managers, Matthew Pappalardo, were charged with felony fraud. Pappalardo also faces charges of practicing engineering without a license.
He and the company have denied wrongdoing. They pleaded not guilty during an arraignment in Nassau County.
The charges are the result of an investigation opened in 2014 by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman after lawyers for scores of New York and New Jersey homeowners filed civil lawsuits claiming that altered engineering reports had led to them getting less insurance money than they deserved.
HiRise Engineering was one of several companies working for insurance companies that came under scrutiny.
The company hired many subcontractors to inspect flooded homes and help insurers determine whether problems such as cracked foundations, sloping floors or buckled walls were caused by the storm surge or other factors not covered by flood insurance, such as strong winds or old age.
In at least 25 cases, prosecutors allege that Pappalardo who was not an engineer had employees heavily edit field reports, sometimes in ways that substantially changed conclusions about the extent or cause of damage.
The altered reports were submitted by HiRise without the approval of the engineers who actually inspected the homes, the attorney general's office said.
Schneiderman said the alterations of the reports undermined the integrity of the federal flood insurance program.
He added that his investigation also "uncovered evidence of other crimes which fall outside the scope" of his jurisdiction and that he referred those findings to federal prosecutors. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pappalardo was released on $20,000 bail Monday. He declined to comment as he left court. His attorney, Avi Moskowitz, said his client looked forward to proving his innocence.
Kenneth Murphy, an attorney for HiRise Engineering, said Monday that the company steadfastly maintains "there was never any intent to defraud any homeowner in the preparation of these reports."
A website created by a Stanford University student purports to help New York City drivers beat parking tickets -- for free.
The site, DoNotPay, is entirely automated and draws up template appeal letters based on a few identifying details entered by the driver, according to Crain's New York.
The bot was invented by 19-year-old Joshua Browder, a rising sophomore at Stanford, when he received 30 parking tickets as a teen in London, he told Crain's. The tickets were often issued unfairly, and because the appeals process in the U.K. is so formulaic, Browder thought he could program a system to beat the tickets.
The site launched in London in 2014, and then in New York City this past April, where it's still in its testing phase.
Instead of fighting the city's parking violation codes, DoNotPay focuses on generating the appeal most likely to get a ticket overturned, Crain's reports. Browder estimated that of the 10,000 tickets fought so far in New York, about 40 percent have been overturned, with the majority in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Browder says he's gotten buyout offers from lawyers who specialize in these types of ticket appeals. But Browder says he doesn't plan on selling the site or turning it into a money maker.
"Deep down, I think they're threatened," Browder told Crain's. "They've built their livelihood on fighting these parking tickets, and in reality, technology can do it for free. Lawyers would write a letter, probably copying and pasting from Microsoft Word. Whether you've done something or not you have to pay 50 percent, which is so extortionate."
Starlin Castro hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning and the New York Yankees hardly resembled a team resigned to fading away after selling off their stars at the trade deadline, rallying past the Mets 6-5 on Monday night in their Subway Series opener.
Didi Gregorius hit a tying single with two outs in the eighth and new closer Dellin Betances worked out of a major jam for his first save this season. Hours after trading slugger Carlos Beltran and pitcher Ivan Nova before the non-waiver deadline, the Yankees snapped a four-game slide and won for the seventh time in the past nine meetings with their crosstown rivals.
Wilmer Flores and rookie Matt Reynolds homered for the skidding Mets, who lost their fifth in six games as fans in the sellout crowd of 42,125 traded chants throughout the night following a hectic afternoon at Citi Field.
Earlier in the day, the defending NL champions completed deals to land All-Star outfielder Jay Bruce and reacquire left-hander Jon Niese.
Jacoby Ellsbury drew a four-pitch walk from rookie Seth Lugo (0-1) leading off the 10th and went to second on Mark Teixeira's single. A fired-up Ellsbury beat Lugo's throw to third on pinch-hitter Ben Gamel's sacrifice, loading the bases.
Gregorius struck out, but Ellsbury scored easily when Castro hit a long fly to the right-center warning track.
Betances, now a closer after the Yankees traded predecessors Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller within the past week, came through in his first chance since those deals - but not without some tense moments.
James Loney hit a leadoff double and the Mets had runners at the corners when Rene Rivera hit a comebacker for the second out. With two men in scoring position, Betances struck out Curtis Granderson on three pitches for his 11th career save.
Adam Warren (1-0) worked two hitless innings for his first win for the Yankees since they reacquired him from the Chicago Cubs in the Chapman trade.
Playing again without ailing slugger Yoenis Cespedes, the Mets took a 5-3 lead in the sixth when Reynolds - just recalled from the minors - connected for a three-run homer off CC Sabathia.
Gregorius fought back from an 0-2 count and tied it at 5 with a two-run single off setup man Addison Reed after his costly wild pitch in the eighth.
Reed had not allowed a run since June 25, a career-best streak that lasted more than 16 innings. During that stretch, he struck out 26 and gave up only seven hits.
The third-place Mets dropped to 2-6 on their nine-game homestand and lost for the ninth time in their last 11 at Citi Field.
Ellsbury and Brett Gardner both scored twice. Gardner hit an RBI double with two outs in the fifth, and Ellsbury followed with a run-scoring single that gave the Yankees a 3-1 advantage against starter Logan Verrett.
The Subway Series got off to a bang when the speedy Gardner hit the second pitch to the center-field fence 408 feet away and tried for an inside-the-park home run after the ball caromed away from Mets center fielder Justin Ruggiano.
Granderson, alertly backing up, started a 9-4-2 relay that cut down Gardner at the plate as he attempted to score with a headfirst slide.
MATZ BATS
With the banged-up Mets short on the bench, pitcher Steven Matz was sent up as a pinch-hitter in the sixth. He walked on a full count, ending Sabathia's night.
ROSTER MOVES
To replace Beltran and Nova on the roster, the Yankees recalled Gamel and RHP Nick Goody from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Goody retired No. 3 hitter Neil Walker on a shallow fly with the bases loaded to end the sixth, keeping the Yankees within two runs. ... Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said C Gary Sanchez, a touted prospect, is likely to be called up from the minors as soon as Wednesday. ... RHP Tyler Clippard, who pitched for the Mets in the World Series last season, made his first appearance for the Yankees since they reacquired him Sunday from Arizona. Clippard, who beat the Mets at Shea Stadium in his major league debut for the Yankees in May 2007, struck out two in a scoreless seventh inning.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mets: Hampered by a strained right quadriceps that's been nagging him for weeks, Cespedes sat out for the second consecutive game. ... Ruggiano exited in the fourth with a mild strain of his left hamstring, the team said. Alejandro De Aza moved from left field to center, and Michael Conforto entered in left. Conforto had an RBI double in the fifth against Sabathia, a rare hit off a left-hander. ... Reynolds started at shortstop after Asdrubal Cabrera sustained a strained patellar tendon in his left knee Sunday against Colorado. ... RHP Zack Wheeler (Tommy John surgery) threw a simulated game in Florida.
What to Know Chief James P. O'Neill will succeed Bill Bratton as NYPD commissioner.
As the NYPD's Chief of Department, O'Neill introduced "community policing" tactics in precincts across the city.
Bratton, Mayor de Blasio and O'Neill all credit community policing tactics with helping drop the city's crime rate to record lows.
The architect of the NYPDs community policing program, Chief of Department James P. ONeill, will succeed Bill Bratton as NYPD commissioner after he vacates his post in September, Mayor de Blasio announced Tuesday.
Jimmy ONeill has built a national model for bringing police and the community together to fight crime, de Blasio said. As the top-ranking uniformed member of the NYPD, Jimmy has spent each day ensuring that New York City remains the safest big city in America."
O'Neill has served in the NYPD for more than 30 years, de Blasio said, beginning in the New York City Transit Police in 1983.
He was appointed to chief of patrol in 2014. He then became chief of department later that year, when Philip Banks resigned his post.
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As chief of department, O'Neill implemented community policing in precincts across the city. Under the program, officers were assigned to precincts with the goal of engaging the community to create trust between police and residents. The "neighborhood coordination officers" were assigned to precincts in every borough of the city.
In a new community policing program, NYPD officers are getting to know the residents in their neighborhoods through an old-school approach and its helping to bring crime statistics down. Marc Santia walks the beat with two cops in Washington Heights, where residents have warmed to their local cops. Read more about the NYPDs new plan for neighborhood policing.
Bratton, de Blasio and O'Neill all credit the neighborhood policing initiative with lowering crime across the city.
"Few understand the human side of policing better than Jim O'Neill," Bratton said. "As chief, his innovative NCO program is not only making communities safer, it has brought police and the people together."
O'Neill said the strategy lowers "crime, but not at the expense of losing the vital support of the people we are sworn to protect and serve."
O'Neill is a New York native, born and raised in Brooklyn's East Flatbush neighborhood. He holds a master's degree in criminal justice from John Jay College and has taught criminal justice at CUNY Rockland.
His rise to the NYPDs top position includes serving as commanding officer of the 25, 44 and Central Park Precincts, the NYPD's website says. He also served as the commanding officer of the Firearms Training Section, the Police Academy, Warrant Section and the Fugitive Enforcement Division.
This is what some people were tweeting about the change at the head of the NYPD:
UPDATE: The Merced County Coroner said on Wednesday that four people, not five, died in the bus crash.
Four people died early Tuesday morning after a tour bus crashed into a sign on the highway in central California on its way up from Mexico, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Fifteen people suffered serious to critical injuries, some of whom were trapped in the bus for hours, and a dozen had less serious injuries, according to CHP spokesman Stephen Weeke, who said only four people were not hurt.
Fifteen people suffered serious to critical injuries, some of whom were trapped in the bus for hours, and a dozen had less serious injuries, according to CHP spokesman Stephen Weeke, who said only four on the bus were not hurt.
The Van Hool bus slammed into the highway "Hammatt Avenue" sign on Highway 99 in Atwater, Merced County, at 3:25 a.m. with 30 people on board, according to CHP Officer Moises Onsurez. Atwater is a city of 28,000 people, about 65 miles northwest of Fresno.
Onsurez said the pole sheared through the center of the white bus, with a California license plate, at an unknown speed.
The bus originated in Mexico, Onsurez said, and was headed to Washington state with stops in Los Angeles, Livingston in Merced County and Sacramento along the way.
There were no brake marks at the scene, meaning the bus hit the pole at full-speed, according to the CHP.
Deadly Tour Bus Crash
The CHP identified the driver as Mario David Vasquez, 57, Los Angeles, who suffered "major injuries." Six passengers were also airlifted to various hospitals, he said.
Sgt. Luis Lara later said that about 10 "walking wounded" passengers were outside the bus when officers arrived.
"It was a mess," Lara said. Some passengers were trapped inside, and firefighters cut them out. "We have every type of injury in that bus."
Onsurez also said that the charter bus had no name on its side and he didn't immediately know who was operating the vehicle. "With this sort of tragedy there is a lot of triage involved," he said.
Jennifer Rivera, 12, told NBC's sister station Telemundo that she was asleep when the bus crashed. She was thrown under the seats and was unable to see anything because her vision was blocked, she said.
Waking to people crying, Jennifer recalled being stuck and getting scraped up as she "got out through a hole." The young girl, who was traveling with two uncles, had been living in Nayarit and was returning to the United States to study, she said.
Meanwhile, Xiomara Huezo, the drivers daughter-in-law, became emotional because at first, the family had barely any information about Vasquez's condition. Initially, they thought Vasquez was dead and then were informed that he was, in fact, hospitalized with grave injuries.
Vasquez is a good driver and a good man, who is grieving the loss of his wife, who recently died of cancer, Huezo said. He doesnt drink or smoke, she stressed, and has never had problems or been involved in accidents.
The driver's granddaughter, Vanessa, also told reporters in Los Angeles that she and her family are hoping he is able to come home soon.
"He's always been there for me ever since I was a little kid, never left my side," she said.
KSEE
DMV records indicate the 1998 bus is registered to Auto Buses Coordinados USA. No one answered the phone at the Los Angeles office Tuesday.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the bus company, which also lists locations in Oceanside and Fresno, has a "satisfactory" service record. But, the FMCSA does show that 30 percent of its bus inspections prompted the government to pull its vehicles out of service over the last two years above the national average of 20 percent.
Federal records showed the company had more than 23 vehicle maintenance violations since 2014. At least eight of those were severe enough to force inspectors to pull the company's buses off the road, records show.
Of those eight, three were for brake issues, federal records show. The latest inspection for the bus that was involved in Tuesday's crash occurred on April 28, when the federal safety agency found the VanHool had "no or defective brake warning device."
Also, on Feb. 5, 2015, a driver in a vehicle with the same license plate was pulled out of service in Oregon for driving a commercial vehicle with a suspended license.
California Secretary of State business records show that Marisela Castaneda is the "agent of service" for the company. A man who answered the phone number provided to federal inspectors associated with the company said Castaneda was not available to speak, but would pass the message along.
While the cause of the crash is under investigation, the deadly scene quickly turned into a political talking point for the driver's union, the Amalgamated Transit Union AFL-CIO.
Larry Hanley, president of the ATU in Washington, D.C., had no direct knowledge of Tuesday's accident. But he said driver fatigue is the No. 1 cause of motor coach bus accidents and is an issue that is "plaguing our nation's bus companies."
According to a report called "Sudden Death Overtime," the National Transportation Safety Board estimated that 36 percent of motor coach crash fatalities over the past decade have been due to driver fatigue, compared to road conditions (two percent) or inattention (six percent). There was no fog blanketing the highway at that time in the morning, weather radar shows.
KSEE
The union has been calling on Congress to pass the Driver Fatigue Prevention Act, introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, which would extend the overtime protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act to these bus drivers, who often work second jobs during their "rest periods." Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democrat from California, introduced the same thing in the House last month.
Under the legislation, drivers would be paid time and a half for the work they put in above 40 hours a week, making them less inclined to work other jobs and push "their bodies to the limit," Hanley said in a statement.
Since 1990, the ATU has documented 250 tour bus crashes in the United States.
NBC affiliate KSEE in Merced and Telemundo contributed to this report.
Residents and local police departments throughout the country will come together on Tuesday for the National Night Out- a community-building campaign that promotes partnerships between police departments and residents.
Townships in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are not missing out on the family-friendly event and invite everyone to come and build neighborhood camaraderie. The events offer residents a chance to have some fun with their neighbors while also meeting the local responders who are keeping them safe.
Below are some events happening in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Don't see your township? Head over to the National Night Out website to find an event near you.
Pennsylvania
Kennett Square - 200 & 300 Block of East Linden Street, 5 7 p.m.
Upper Darby Upper Darby High School, 5 8 p.m.
Philadelphia Masjidullah Inc., 7401 Limekiln Pike, 5 8 p.m.
Horsham Horsham Township Complex, 1025 Horsham Road, 6 9 p.m.
Fox Chase Fox Chase Elementary School, 500 Rhawn Street, 6 8 p.m.
New Jersey
Atlantic City Pop Lloyd Stadium, 1200 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, 4 to 8 p.m.
Egg Harbor Township Veterans Memorial Park, 5 to 8 p.m.
Somers Point William Morrow Beach, 5 to 8 p.m.
Maple Shade Forklanding Road & Brubaker Lane, 5 to 8 p.m.
West Windsor West Windsor Township Community Park, 6 10 p.m.
Overbrook Overbrook High School, 1200 Turnerville Rd, 6 p.m.
Westampton Burlington County Safety Center, 6 9 p.m.
Camden Fairview Neighborhood, 2940 Yorkship Square, 6 p.m.
The driver of an SUV plowed into a young woman crossing a road in Atlantic County late Monday night, killing her, then left her dead in the street, police said.
Now, police are searching for the SUV -- described as an older model silver Chevrolet Tahoe or Suburban -- and the person who drove it at the time. Authorities said 27-year-old Aubrey Servis, of Little Egg Harbor, crossed White Horse Pike at 6th Avenue in Galloway Township about 10:20 p.m. Monday. As Servis walked across the road in the crosswalk, the SUV, which was traveling west in the left lane, ran a red light, police said, and struck her, throwing her forward.
The SUV driver took off, and Servis died at the scene, police said. Witnesses who saw the crash provided information to police..
Police said the SUV they're searching may be a 1990s model and likely has damage to its front driver's side. They're asking that anyone with information on the SUV or its driver contact Galloway Township Police Officer Gorneau at 609-652-3705, ext. 095 or Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office Det. Hutton at 609-909-7873.
The day Trump Taj Mahal workers' strike hits the month-mark, dozens of the picketing employees will be joined by several New Jersey legislators to voice their support of a bill that would offer unemployment benefits after 30 days on strike.
The group will be on the State House steps in Trenton Monday afternoon, according to Press of Atlantic City.
While about 100 workers will travel to New Jersey's capital, other members of the UNITE HERE Local 54 union will remain in Atlantic City to continue their round-the-clock demonstration outside the Trump Taj Mahal casino and hotel.
The approximately 1,000 Taj Mahal employees went on strike as the Fourth of July holiday weekend began. The casino, owned by Carl Icahn, as well as four others were warned of a possible strike. Ballys Atlantic City Hotel and Casino, HarrahsResort Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City Hotel and Casino, and the Tropicana Casino, which is also owned by Icahn, came to terms with the union and avoided a strike.
To read the full article, click here.
For more business news, visit Philadelphia Business Journal.
The stadium sits empty, the balloons swept up. As thousands of delegates left Philadelphia and the Democratic National Convention, Noemi Tungui sat on a friend's couch grappling with what comes next. She wanted to decide what she would say, on her return home, to the more than 200 donors who helped her make her way to the convention.
The 23-year-old California State University Northridge student was one of more than 1,800 Bernie Sanders delegates at this year's DNC. She raised more than $2,000 on GoFundMe and an additional $1,000 through fundraisers and selling homemade Bernie pins. But being at the convention that named Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee for president proved as difficult as getting there. Sanders supporters repeatedly said they felt denigrated by Clinton delegates.
Natalie Higley, a 23-year-old Sanders delegate also from California, said she felt like an outsider.
"It's a very high school atmosphere, like you're the unpopular kid and they're the cheerleaders," Higley said on the first day of the convention.
Ninety percent of consistent Sanders supporters said in a recent Pew Research poll that they would back Clinton in the general election. But the fervent Sanders delegates at the convention were not so easily swayed.
By the third day, California delegate Josephine Piarulli, 55, said the convention was a "love fest for Hillary." Clinton supporters treated her like a leper, she said.
Tungui said she stood with her back to the stage during Clinton's acceptance speech. She said that after she had water thrown on her by a Clinton delegate, a security guard told her he would not do anything about it, because "this is Hillary's house." She and a group of delegates contacted the Sanders campaign who eventually got the delegate removed. NBC has reached out to the DNC for comment.
Tungui said she felt support from fellow Sanders delegates whom she called her "Bernie family," a spirit of inclusion that drew her to Sanders when she first heard him speak at a rally in Los Angeles last August. She was planning to attend a Clinton campaign event but couldn't go when she realized the high cost to attend, she said. Then she saw two college-age friends post on Facebook about a Sanders event.
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was full but she was able to watch Sanders' speech from a large television screen just outside. She said she was inspired by the speech and the like-minded people she met that day.
"It was the first time I heard a politician talk about immigration in a way that made us feel like human beings, like we were welcome and like he was going to do something," Tungui said.
Tungui's family moved from Mexico to the United States when she was 3 years old. Her parents are hard working, tax-paying permanent residents, but she is often the victim of discriminatory remarks because of her heritage, she said. After the August rally, inspired by Sanders, she began the process of becoming a U.S. citizen because she wanted to cast her vote in 2016.
In Philadelphia she was among a group of delegates hoping to make Sanders the nominee. But on the first day of the convention Sanders sent a text to supporters urging them not to engage in protests on the convention floor. At the end of the formal roll call vote last week, Sanders moved to suspend the rules and nominate Hillary Clinton by acclamation, a symbol of unity within the party.
The move left many Sanders delegates with a dilemma.
Dozens of delegates, including Tungui and Piarulli, chose to walk out of the convention hall in protest. Tungui sat outside the arena with tape over her mouth to symbolize the silencing of her voice by the Democratic National Committee. Just before the start of the convention, a series of leaked emails suggested the DNC favored Clinton as the partys nominee despite a promise to remain neutral throughout the primary process.
While Sanders has publicly endorsed Clinton, Tungui said it was important to her that the issues that his campaign addressed not be forgotten.
"I came here to be change," Tungui said. "I'm not just going to sit down and stay quiet because that's what they expect us to do and I'm not going to do that. I hope Bernie respects that from me."
"I'm sure there were people that told him not to do that," she said, pointing to Sanders' civil rights protests during his time at the University of Chicago.
Throughout the four-day convention, speakers, including Clinton, President Barack Obama and Sanders himself, praised the Sanders campaign and its supporters for their organizing efforts and influence in creating a progressive platform. Still, speakers urged Sanders supporters to vote for Clinton.
Samantha Rise Roberson, a Sanders delegate from Wyoming, said she would do just that, though she was disappointed Sanders had not won the nomination.
"It's bittersweet to me," Roberson said shortly before Clinton's acceptance speech on the final day of the convention. "I'm nervous to go home to my constituents. There's a lot of Bernie or bust in my hometown. How do we reconcile these people who are hurting and feel left out?"
But Roberson said she was excited that Sanders believed Clinton was the best candidate moving forward.
"I am proud and honored to celebrate the first female president," she said.
Many Sanders delegates said they were often told that uniting behind Clinton was the only way to defeat Donald Trump, but for some that was not enough.
"We want to make our voices heard for a real democratic alternative," 41-year-old California delegate Joey Aszterbaum said on the first day of the convention. "Its not enough for the platform and the speakers to mention Trump all the time. Whats important is for us to stand for what we believe in."
Piarulli described Clinton as the antithesis of the progressive agenda and said Sanders supporters who came out in favor of Clinton were "traitors." She said that by supporting Clinton the Democratic National Committee and by extension the party would "reap what they sow" if Trump was elected.
Still, some Sanders delegates saw the convention as an opportunity to find out how serious Clinton was about enacting a progressive agenda.
Sanders delegate Susan Posey of Virginia, where Tim Kaine served as governor and is now a U.S. senator, said she had not yet decided who to vote for in November. She said she was initially disappointed that Kaine was chosen as Clinton's running mate but she is optimistic after learning more about him at the convention.
"It was a bit of a slap in the face because he's not progressive in his politics," said Posey, 45. "On the other hand, he is a nice guy and apparently has sort of a progressive heart. I have some hope he's a person we'll be able to work with," she said the morning after Kaine's DNC speech.
For her part, Tungui said Thursday morning that she recognized the historic significance of the convention but thought that many of the speakers were pandering to various demographics, like touting 10-year-old Karla Ortiz, the child of undocumented immigrants, as proof that Clinton would fight for immigration reform.
On Nov. 8, Tungui said, she likely could not vote for Clinton, someone who she feels flip flops on too many issues, including fracking and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Still, she said she does not believe that Clinton is the "evil criminal" that some paint her to be. She would like the Clinton campaign to apologize to the Sanders campaign and speak with Sanders' supporters about the issues important to them if Clinton wants to earn her vote.
Tungui said she was pleasantly surprised that Clinton mentioned working with Sanders on an affordable college plan in her convention speech Thursday, but overall felt little unity throughout the convention. About two dozen Sanders delegates protested outside during Clinton's speech and occasional screams of "never Hillary" could be heard.
Tungui said as the daughter of immigrants she would not cast a vote for Trump, but would likely vote for one of the third-party candidates, Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson or Green Party candidate Jill Stein. She said she had lost faith in the two-party system and hopes that working with third-party candidates can make a long-term difference even if neither wins the presidency.
As the Democratic Party fights to unify behind Clinton, the Sanders campaign has begun to think about what comes next. It has launched an organization called "Our Revolution" which will aim to continue the message of the Sanders campaign and support progressive candidates for office.
Tungui might count herself among those candidates in the near future. She said she still believes the country can elect honest political leaders and has been inspired by the Sanders campaign to have a role in shaping the country's democracy.
"We have to be the leaders that we seek to elect," she said.
Who doesnt love a good party? While some folks are a bit more awkward at parties than others (cough, me, cough), a little live music always seems to get the good times rolling more often than not. Where theres bands a-playin, theres fun to be had. When thinking about acts thatd be perfect for a summer party, there were a few that jumped out as obvious suspects (the Creepy Creeps, the Verigolds, the Schizophonics, etc.) since they seem to be San Diego's go-tos for sunny weekend good times (see nearly every outdoor San Diego fest lineup). But you know what? Theres plenty of great groups ready to take your party from meh to magical if you think outside the box. Know a killer band that always ups your party game? Let me know in the comments. [Bands listed alphabetically]
Astral Touch: Want to be the coolest kid on the block with the freshest party? Whatever slang the kids are rockin' these days, your electro needs are signed, sealed and delivered by Astral Touch -- a one-man band (Nathan Leutzinger) of wicked riffs, laptop beats and tasty remixes (and he sometimes wears a mean headband too). Do yourself a favor and check out his tunes here.
Behind the Wagon: When your kegger's got more whiskey flowing than beer, you'll need an equally reckless band to throw shots back with. And that band, folks, is Behind the Wagon. These rabble-rousers play the perfect brand of punkified country that'll have your guests streaking through the quad in no time.
Big Bloom: Fresh off some love from Paste Magazine for their new video, Heavy Angel, Katie Howard and Co. dish out indie-rock that becomes the perfect soundtrack to epic all-night benders. They may not cause the hookups, hangovers or drunk ex texting, but theyll sure as hell sound good while its happening. [Listen/buy their new album here]
Dani Bell & the Tarantist: Sometimes chill-out music takes different forms but in the case of Redwoods Music duo Dani Bell & the Tarantist, it appears as two Eyes Wide Shut-esque masked musicians (Dani Bell and Alfred Howard), homemade percussion trinkets, and old-school ghetto blasters. The music is criminally smooth, beautiful, eerie and just plain cool -- all at the same time. [Listen/buy their Dark West record here]
The Donkeys: You knew this was coming. Is there a better party band in town than San Diego's beloved Donkeys? For my money -- and my house party -- I'd have these blue-eyed soul/rock/pop kings on speed dial. Mainly because every song of theirs sounds like a late-'60s, early-'70s AM radio hit you grew up sweating along with in the back of your parents station wagon, even though they're not. Are they the pinnacle of good times? You tell me: They play SoundDiego Summer Splash on Aug. 20 at Harrah's SoCal. Get info here.
G Burns Jug Band: Maybe your party could use an old-timey feel or you just got a thing for suspenders, banjos and washboards -- but either way, plug in this ragtime-lovin' troupe (that's a joke cuz they don't need to be plugged in, bonus!) and let 'em go to town. Anyone not kickin' up some dust by the end of the night might just be dead inside. Weed the zombies outta your friends and give this group a call. [Listen/buy their latest album here]
Juice Box: Sometimes parties are of the more laidback variety than all-night ragers, and for those, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better band to bring the non-ruckus than Juice Box. They specialize in smooth, complex jazz/soul that brings just the right amount of edge to the table, but fun enough to put a little pep in your strut and a cocktail in both of your hands. [Pick up their new album "Vol. 2" here]
Los Shadows: If you like your surf-pop with a dash of 80s New Wave style and a sprinkle of punk attitude, youll do no better than these Chuck Records boys from Chula Vista. They're young, they're spry and they'll kick your fancy cowabunga party right into the sewer. [Check out the video for their infectious single, Chugger, here]
Monarch: Long hair, don't care. Similar to their San Diego brethren Joy and Earthless, Monarch kick out the bongwater-rock jams that'll shake your backyard halfpipe right off its foundation. Do yourself a favor and pick up the band's excellent new album ("Two Isles") of '60s-influenced psychedelia, and then book 'em for guaranteed good times.
The Tommy Mitchell Show: Who doesn't dig a little soul/funk/jam rock & roll when they're kickin' back under the sun with the crew and a brew? These dudes, who've made a name for themselves around town with their lively shows (usually at the Belly Up), are led by their namesake frontman -- an unusually cool cucumber on the mic/guitar -- and their ivory-tickler extraordinaire, Jody Bagley on organ/keys. You bring the gig, they'll bring the show. [Check out their tunes here]
Dustin Lothspeich books The Merrow; plays in Diamond Lakes and Boy King; and runs the music-equipment-worshipping blog Gear and Loathing in San Diego. Follow his updates on Twitter or contact him directly.
San Diego's City Council is looking at another approach to handling its skybox tickets at Petco Park and Qualcomm Stadium.
Actually, the taxpayers' skybox tickets -- which the council has controlled since 1967, when the stadium opened.
It's been nearly a decade since a County Grand Jury first called out the Council's use, and giveaway, of skybox tickets as inappropriate -- if not unlawful.
A few years later, another grand jury recommended the tickets be sold off to benefit the city treasury.
But so far, no dice.
"I could see them wanting to hold on to them, says Francine Maxwell, a community activist who lives in Encanto. But these political favors that are being handed out? People are going to the Beyonce concert at Qualcomm. Charger game after Charger game."
Critics say for all too long, the city-owned skybox tickets at the stadium and ballpark were shared with Council cronies, donors and lobbyists, if not used by the members themselves.
The seats could bring in upwards of a million dollars a year on the open market, according to a study by the citys Salary Setting Commission, which has investigated the Councils various "perks" of office.
For the most part, in recent years, the tickets have been turned over to charities, veterans, law enforcement and youth groups.
Now, the latest idea is to start a formal registry and prioritize requests from non-profit and community based groups and community organizations, with distribution overseen by the Council President's office.
However, past grand jurors -- and even Mayor Kevin Faulconer, at one point have said the skyboxes are municipal revenue assets that should be removed from councilmembers' jurisdiction.
"They have no clue what the people think about this, says attorney Robert Ottilie, who chairs the salary commission. But the average person knows, 'I don't have a thousand-dollar Charger ticket to give away to benefit me socially, professionally, politically. But you do'?"
In at least one case, Ottilie noted, skybox tickets have wound up on Craigslist.
The new distribution policy, which would prohibit resale or transfer of the seats, is scheduled for a Council vote on Tuesday.
But in the absence of a city attorney's opinion on whether the ticket policy might be an unlawful "gift of public funds", it could be subject to a legal challenge if approved.
Local families who have lost loved ones in the line of duty say the latest shooting of a San Diego police officer brings back memories.
Officer Jonathan JD De Guzman was shot and killed on Thursday night during a traffic stop. He is survived by his wife and two children. His partner, Officer Wade Irwin, was seriously wounded but expected to survive.
NBC 7 spoke with the father of a fallen officer who offered words of comfort for the family of De Guzman.
Its never going to be right but it does get better every day and believe it or not, theres hope and joy in the future, Steve Bessant said.
His son, Oceanside Police Officer Dan Bessant was shot and killed in December, 2008.
Bessant told NBC 7 his faith and his 10-year old grandson gave him hope and comfort.
Knowing that my ability to talk to Dan is done now on this Earth but we will have eternity together, he said.
Bessant says it is also the support for the police and community that have helped him get through it all.
Shawn Dee Hartless, who lost her husband Jerry Hartless in the line of duty in 1988 shared the same sentiment, saying that wounds dont go away but you just move on.
San Diego Police Officer Jeremy Henwood, 36, died after a man pulled up next to his patrol car in City Heights and shot him in August 2011. He had served with the department for four years and had also been a Captain in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.
In 2014, local leaders, law enforcement and Henwoods family dedicated a park in City Heights in his honor.
On Monday, August 8, police are planning a commemorative barbecue at the park in honor of Officer Henwood. Some of Henwoods family who live in Texas will be attending.
A local mom and pop donut shop is getting ready to face down a business giant in Carmel Mountain Ranch.
Sesame Donuts, a donut shop off Interstate 15, will have a new neighbor just 100 feet away starting Tuesday: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.
Sesame Donuts has been in the same strip mall for 27 years, 17 of those years owned by the Kim family. NBC 7 San Diego first reported the story when the Kims learned their new next door neighbors would be Krispy Kreme.
In the following weeks, the donut store had so much business they ran out of donuts.
Loyal customers say they are standing by the store in the face of the new competition.
"It's a local family store, and they treat us like family," said Sonya Gulati-Brown, a frequest Sesame Donuts customer.
But Jennifer and Chin Kim are worried; their new competition is so close, you can see Krispy Kreme reflected on their store's front window.
"So they'll get their business but I don't think that Sesame Donuts will do any worse because of it," predicted Gulati-Brown. She said she has been coming here for so long the Kims know her family well.
She doesn't want to see the strip mall become too corporate.
"Too many of the local businesses are getting pushed out by the big ones and i just want to support the Kims and the local people," said Matthew Golding, a loyal customer.
He said he's going to keep supporting Sesame Donuts. He wants to show that big corporations can't come in and push out the local businesses.
Tuesday, as Krispy Kreme celebrates their grand opening, Sesame Donuts will also be celebrating.
Community members will be coming out to help to Kims celebrate the store's 27th anniversary.
The family says they have hired three new employees to keep up with their recent uptick in demand, but Tuesday, the real test begins.
Krispy Kreme is offering free donuts every week to the first 10 people in line and other deals for their Grand Opening.
At the same time, the Kim's at Sesame donuts will have face painting, bouncy house and donut discounts.
A San Diego mother says her 9-year old son, who is on the Autism spectrum, flew on Southwest Airlines as an Unaccompanied Minor (UM) during delays caused by a computer glitch. But, according to the airline's website, no UM can be allowed to fly if there are delays or cancellations.
Kendra Wingfield told NBC 7 that Southwest never told her this before putting her son on a plane from San Diego to Oklahoma City.
On July 20, more than 900 Southwest Airline flights were grounded on July 20, leaving passengers stranded at airports across the U.S.
Kendras son Jaxon was one of the passengers on Southwest Flight 1755 from San Diego to Oklahoma City, which had also been delayed due to the glitch.
She told NBC 7 that her son has high-functioning Autism. It was his first time flying alone.
When they got to the airport, they were told by Southwest Airlines that Jaxons flight was delayed three hours.
But Kendra says the airline did not inform her of their policy to not allow UMs to travel during delays.
When Jaxon arrived in Phoenix, Arizona, the connecting flight was also delayed and then canceled, leaving her son stranded at the airport.
My 9-year old is calling me. He doesn't know whats going on, she said.
She says it was the airlines responsibility to contact her or another family member to notify them of the delay but they did not receive any calls. Instead, it was her son who called her.
I was on the phone with him when he asked a flight attendant to speak with me and they said they were too busy, she told NBC 7.
Describing the situation as a heart wrenching, she said she was frantically calling Jaxons dad who lives in Oklahoma City and her mother-in-law to figure out how to bring her son home.
I put my heart and soul on that plane and now we have no idea what's going on, she said.
In a Facebook post, Kendra described the incident, saying that when she and Jaxons father arrived at the airport in Oklahoma City, no one from Southwest Airlines wanted to explain the situation to them.
Kendra says what was supposed to be a three-hour trip, ended up being 12 hours for her son. Jaxon eventually made it to Oklahoma but she said so many things could have gone wrong.
He was scared and I think any child put in that situation would feel the same way, she told NBC 7.
Kendra has filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation and Southwest Airlines.
In a statement the airline wrote:
"We extend a heartfelt apology to all customers who were inconvenienced by the disruption in service our recent technology outage created. We appreciate their patience as we continue our work to make this right, individually reaching out to the thousands of customers impacted."
In their latest response to Kendra, Southwest tweeted her saying they will respond to her within 30 days.
[Jaxon] will not be flying on Southwest ever again. Ever again, Kendra said.
But she told NBC 7 that she cant afford to buy another return flight for her son because Southwest has not given her a refund or compensation.
A 21-year-old San Diego resident has been identified as one of three people who died at the HARD Summer Music Festival this past weekend.
The festival took place at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on July 30 and 31, approximately 50 miles east of Los Angeles.
Alyssa Dominguez, 21, of San Diego, died early Sunday morning at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Fontana after she was transported from the music festival, the San Bernardino County Coroner's Office said.
She had lived in Chula Vista and attended Olympian High School and San Diego State University.
Paulo Cruz, a close family friend of Dominguez says he's heartbroken after learning of her death Monday morning.
"She was just a really loving, caring girl," he told NBC 7. "Every time I was with her, she was just full of laughter, full of joy. And that's what kept everyone happy. Hearing her laugh kept us happy."
Cruz had also been at the festival but says did not attend with Dominguez.
"I really can't explain it. It's just so unreal. Just cause we were close, our families were close," he said.
Cruz says Dominguez was well-known on social media because she did a lot of promotions for clothing brands.
"I just want everybody to know that she was an amazing person," he said. "She's beautiful, loving and caring and she'll always be remembered and missed," Cruz said.
Derek Lee, 22, of San Francisco, died early Sunday at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center after attending the festival. Roxanne Ngo, 22, of Chino Hills, died early Monday at Loma Linda University Medical Center.
The Coroner's office said the deaths are under investigation. They are not believed to be related.
The Festival was moved from its 2015 location at the Los Angeles County Fairground in Pomona to a new spot this year after two college students -- including a Coronado High School graduate -- died of drug overdoses.
Nearly 150,000 people attended HARD Summer this year, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Nine people were transported from the festival over the weekend, including the three people that died.
Authorities arrested 325 people over the weekend, mostly for public intoxication.
No other information was immediately available.
Law enforcement officers in San Diego County opened their doors to visitors Tuesday for the annual National Night Out.
The event to bring communities and law enforcement together takes on special meaning this year after the fatal shooting of Officer Jonathan De Guzman from the San Diego Police Department (SDPD).
De Guzman and Officer Wade Irwin were shot Thursday night in Southcrest.
Many community members who attended the event in City Heights said they were there to show support for law enforcement officers.
With the last two tragic situations that just happened currently, by the community coming together and showing the symbol of peace, love and hope is how we could cure, heal from our wounds and make things happen in a good manner, said Arthur Soriano, from a Youth Empowerment group in City Heights.
Soriano said the event represented a "civic engagement" where police and the community could come together and work through differences.
Were here to stay and were here to continue to build bridges, he said.
Maria Cortez, a City Heights resident for 43 years told NBC 7 that the police department was like their family.
We too depend on the police just as much as they depend on us, she said.
SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman also attended the event.
After what happened last week, I want our community to know that its our resolve to go out and protect our communities, Zimmerman said.
She told NBC 7 that the community offered their condolences and words of encouragement to her and other officers.
Our officers need to hear that, she said.
SDPD attended the following events:
Grape Day Park located at 321 N. Broadway in Escondido, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Colina Park, located at 5319 Orange Avenue, San Diego, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
National City Municipal Pool, located at 1800 E 22nd St., National City, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
This is the 33rd National Night Out, an event celebrated in about 16,000 communities across the United States.
[G] Local Police and Community Gather for National Night Out Events
If you can't were not able to make it out to one of these events, the San Diego Sheriff's Department (SDSO) is asking that you leave your porch light on as a sign of solidarity.
Dozens of public safety officers received free skin cancer screenings from Scripps Health on Monday.
Scripps Health has offered free screenings to San Diego Lifeguards, firefighters and police officers for more than 10 years.
Chris Van Gorder, President and CEO of Scripps Health told NBC 7 that as a former police officer, he knows how much time first responders spend in the sun, making it necessary to get the skin screening.
Gorder says he had also developed skin cancer in his hand but it was caught in the early stages and treated successfully. He advised first responders to wear sunscreen and cover up when being exposed to the sun.
Last year, I know we caught a couple of skin cancers, one significant one. And if we catch it early, we can get these public servants treated and back doing what they want to do and what they need to do for all of us, he said.
Gorder told NBC 7 about 75 first responders, including firefighters and lifeguards were screened on Monday. But he says he would like to see more police officers.
Part of this is an awareness thing. If we can remind our firefighters and public safety people to wear sunscreen, protect yourself, and get routine skin cancer screenings, then this should be a problem for you, he said.
Rick Wurts, San Diego Lifeguard Chief says hes grateful for the free screenings since they do spend a lot of time in the sun, responding to rescues and emergency situations.
[Scripps Health] volunteer their time and their talents and they come out here to work with lifeguards, firefighters, police officers -- have a look at their skin and then give them some advice about what they can do next to treat any problems they might have, Wurts said.
Scripps Health will be doing screening for two more days.
A mosque in Spotsylvania County may stay at its current location rather than build a bigger facility nearby after meeting resistance from residents who denounced Islam.
Samer Shalaby, a trustee of The Islamic Center of Fredericksburg, tells the Free Lance-Star that the mosque is considering selling some its land to a homebuilder and using the proceeds for a possible addition at its current facility.
The Islamic Center previously planned to build a new 8,000-square-foot mosque on the land now being considered to be put up for sale to a homebuilder. A community meeting in November to discuss the plans drew national attention after Shalaby was interrupted several times by residents who disparaged Islam.
A sheriff's deputy halted the meeting after the discussion got heated.
The chief executive of the Democratic National Committee and two other top officials have resigned in the wake of an email hack that embarrassed the party on the eve of its presidential nominating convention.
CEO Amy Dacey, Chief Finance Officer Brad Marshall and Communications Director Luis Miranda left their jobs on Tuesday, the party said in a statement.
The resignations are the latest fallout from the hacked emails, which exposed an apparent lack of neutrality in the primary race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, with some party officials disparaging Sanders.
Marshall wrote the most explosive email, questioning Sanders' Jewish faith and suggesting he could be portrayed as an atheist. He has apologized for the missive.
Earlier, party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned her position and, after being booed at a pre-convention appearance last week in Philadelphia, chose not to speak from the convention stage.
Longtime Democratic operative Donna Brazile is serving as the party's interim chair. Brazile said Tuesday that she has created a "transition team" to help prepare the party for its post-election mission. She said Tom McMahon, a former DNC executive director under then-Chair Howard Dean, will lead that group.
Clinton operatives who moved over to party headquarters after she had effectively secured the nomination in June will continue in their roles; that group includes DNC chief of staff Brandon Davis. Additionally, veteran Democratic strategist Doug Thornell will serve as an interim senior adviser to the party.
Dacey already has a new job. She has been hired by Squared Communications, a Democratic consulting firm based in Washington.
"As one of the top campaign strategists in our party, and with our experiences together on presidential, Senate and congressional campaigns, Amy will help our firm's clients navigate this and future election cycles," Michael Meehan, founder and CEO Squared Communications, said in a statement.
Before joining the DNC, Dacey was executive director of EMILY's List, which works to elect female Democrats.
The cache of more than 19,000 messages was made public by the group WikiLeaks just before the convention.
Democratic Party officials learned in late April that their systems had been attacked after they discovered malicious software on their computers. A cybersecurity firm they employed found traces of at least two sophisticated hacking groups on the Democrats' network both of which have ties to the Russian government.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority may be looking for a new home after a review of the property of their current headquarters showed a value between $56 million and $132 million.
The Metro current headquarters is located at 600 5th Street, Northwest, in downtown Washington, right next to the Verizon Center and close to two Metrorail stations.
The large range of the current market value takes into account the renovation of the existing building (the lower end) and demolition and redevelopment of the site (the higher end), according to a report from Jones Lang LaSalle, a commercial real estate advisory firm.
Current zoning only allows Metro to use the 48,041 square foot property. If the transit agency decided to stay on 5th Street, the report said it would cost $75 million to $90 million to replace plumbing, heating and air conditioning, electrical, and safety systems, all of which are at the end of their useful lives.
The choices facing Metro about its headquarters building are clear. Either expend millions to retrofit the existing building to bring it up to modern fire and life safety standards or sell the building at the top of its potential value range and use those proceeds to fund a relocation, said Metro General Manager and CEO Paul Wiedefeld.
News4s Adam Tuss said during the administration of former D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, from 2007 to 2011, there was a serious proposal to sell the headquarters and move Metro to a new location in Anacostia.
Wiedefeld is waiting for a rezoning of the location to high-density commercial redevelopment before making a determination about whether to move forward with the sale of the headquarters location.
Members of the Boston Police Department are taking part in National Night Out, an event where police officers head out into the community and engage with people in hopes of fostering stronger relationships.
Police and city officials got a head start on Monday with Operation Hoodsie Cup using a mobile truck and handing out free ice cream and food.
"There's a lot going on in the world and we really appreciate it with the police," said Elizabeth Sullivan, of Brighton.
Sullivan said she wanted to show her children that they should support their local police.
"I want to teach them that people put their lives on the line for us everyday so it's wonderful that they give us the opportunity to come out," Sullivan said.
The main goal of the two-day event is to foster relationships with law enforcement.
"If you told me 32 years ago when I came on this job that my officers would be OK driving ice cream trucks, and giving out hoodies, I would say you were crazy," said Boston Police Commissioner William Evans. "But we get the need for this type of activity."
Evans said people are often skeptical of the ice cream truck as a police tool.
"When I explain the rationale of how it lets us meet the young kids, and how the young kids are where we have to go after to build trust, they understand," Evans said.
Gatherings continue Tuesday across several Boston neighborhoods including Chinatown, the North End, the South End and East Boston.
A South Boston community center will reopen to kids Tuesday, one week after the drowning death of a 7-year-old boy.
Kyzr Willis wandered away from the Curley Community Center and he later drowned at a nearby beach. No foul play is suspected in his death.
Kyzr's body was located about 15 yards from the shore behind a bathhouse that's part of the community center.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh met with parents Monday to reassure them of some changes to make sure this tragedy doesn't happen again.
The changes include head counts throughout the day and more staff members to oversee the children. Thirty-four security cameras have been installed as well.
Willis' family feels it's too soon.
Walsh said, "Unfortunately, you have to open the camp, a lot of parents depend on it. There's probably no right time to open the camp for the parents. I can't imagine, I try to put myself in their shoes."
Walsh said the city is doing everything they can for the Willis family.
The center's director was placed on paid administrative leave on Wednesday.
Kyzr will be laid to rest on Thursday.
With the Centers for Disease Control warning pregnant woman to avoid a Zika-stricken part of Miami, travelers at Boston's Logan Airport are expressing concern.
"It's scary, it's really scary and I hope it doesn't spread," said Marsha Maceachern, of Las Vegas Nevada.
Maceachern, who is pregnant, was traveling Monday through Logan Airport.
"We tried really hard to get where we are right now," Maceachern said. "It wasn't easy. We are so thrilled that we are pregnant and having our first kid."
The mosquito-borne virus, which can cause severe birth defects, has infected 14 people in the United States so far.
Although a tropical vacation has been tempting, many travelers said they aren't taking any chances.
"We actually went on our baby moon a couple weeks ago and we chose Sedona because it's in the desert, far away from the Zika virus," Maceachern said.
Dorothy Giard told necn that even though she lives in Orlando, it's still too close for her pregnant sister.
"She's not going to come visit until after she has the baby now," said Giard.
She and many others from Florida say the message is education Zika is mostly spread through mosquitoes but can be sexually transmitted.
"I'm not really worried about it, the worst thing that could happen to a male is the flu flu like symptoms," said Andy Hetzel of Jacksonville, Florida. "If you're not planning on having a baby, I don't think you should be really scared about it. For those that are, yah, it's probably a concern."
A 32-year-old Cranston, Rhode Island, man has been ordered held after being charged with murder in the stabbing death of his former girlfriend's current boyfriend.
Fredi Lopez was arraigned in District Court on Monday. No plea was entered and a judge set a bail hearing for later this month.
Police say Lopez went to his ex-girlfriend's apartment early Saturday and confronted 33-year-old Andres Arguijo-Acosta. At some point, investigators say Lopez grabbed a knife and stabbed Arguijo-Acosta, who later died at a hospital.
Lopez was arrested at his Cranston home. His lawyer, Joseph Voccola, calls the case tragic. He says his client's family has called the allegations completely out of character for Lopez.
A dentist in Worcester, Massachusetts, is facing indecent assault charges after a patient told police she was inappropriately touched.
Authorities said a 35-year-old woman called police on Monday morning to say that Dr. Nikilkumar Patel had assaulted her during an appointment earlier in the day. The victim told police when she realized what was happening, she got up from the dentist chair and immediately left.
The victim also told authorities that Patel had inappropriately touched her on several other occasions.
After meeting with Patel, 54, of Shrewsbury, police arrested and charged him with indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14.
Patel will be arraigned at the Worcester County District Courthouse on Tuesday.
A Massachusetts man was ordered held on $500-thousand cash bail at his arraignment on Friday after being charged on six counts of trafficking cocaine.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, state troopers had obtained information that Nicander Serna, 46, was distributing large amounts of cocaine in the Brighton area.
Authorites said as part of the investigation, troopers arranged four cocaine transactions from Serna, also known as Luis Borja, between June 3 and June 19. In those transactions, troopers allegedly purchased more than 140 grams of cocaine from Serna.
Only July 28, troopers arranged the purchase of another 250 grams of cocaine from Serna, according to authorities. It was then that Serna was taken into custody and a search warrant was executed at his Parsons Street apartment in Brighton.
The district attorney's office said troopers seized an additional 25 grams of cocaine at the apartment, more than $8-thousand in cash, a digital scale, two cell phones, and notes allegedly related to drug transactions.
Serna is due to return to Brighton Municipal Court on August 30.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report, citing the Essex County District Attorney's Office, stated that the two suspects had plotted to kill police officers. In court, the men faced weapons charges, with the district attorney's office saying the men had made reference to violence against police.
Two men have been arraigned on gun and drug charges after one of them allegedly referenced shootings of police officers after being pulled over in Salem, Massachusetts.
The Essex County Disitrict Attorney's Office confirms the arrests of Kelvin Mendoza and Emanuel Rodriguez-Shonyo. The suspects were stopped after going the wrong way on a one-way street.
According to the police report, Mendoza, the driver, jumped out of the car and started shouting obscenities at the officers, making references to "police officers being 'shot all over the country' in a tone that we believed was intended to intimidate the scene officers."
The police report also says an erratic Mendoza yelled at Rodriguez-Shonyo "Don't say nothing! Don't show them nothing!"
The district attorney's office says Mendoza is on active duty with the Army Reserves, but according to the police report, he mentioned being discharged from the military.
A search of the car, prosecutors say, turned up a loaded rifle and handgun. Police say they noticed that Rodriguez-Shonyo had been using an app on his phone as a police scanner to hear exactly where Salem Police officers were located.
Both suspects face multiple charges, including carrying guns without licenses, possession of ammunition without FID cards and possession of Class C drugs. Mendoza is also charged with improperly operating a vehicle.
The suspects were ordered to be held without bail. They are due back in court Aug. 10.
Authorities in New Hampshire are asking for the public's help with finding a "Lone Ranger" burglar.
Allenstown police say a resident called 911 around 2 a.m. on Monday after her security system alerted her to an open door.
She reviewed the footage, which showed a man, about 40-60 years old, wearing a mask and blue gloves entering her home, taking a purse and then leaving through the same open door.
The resident called police, and eventually officers, who were already in the area, found the stolen items, but not the burglar.
Anyone with information is asked to call Allenstown police at 603-485-9500.
Police in Wilmington, Massachusetts, are asking for the public's help in locating a missing female.
Ira Jaan Simbulan was last seen in the area of 12 Glen Road Monday evening around 5 p.m.
She is 5' tall, weighs 110 pounds and has a slender build.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 978-658-5071.
President Barack Obama has lashed out at Donald Trump with his harshest critique yet. He said on Tuesday, I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president. I said so last week, and he keeps on proving it."
President Obama called out Trump for his attack on a Gold Star family adding that Trump does not have basic knowledge of critical world issues and is "woefully unprepared to be President."
And the President posed this question to GOP leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: If you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him?
If this were any other election cycle, and any other time, to have a sitting president say something like that against a parties major nominee for president it would be a stop the presses moment, said New Hampshire political consultant Scott Spradling.
With some Republican members of Congress including Hanna of New York and Dent of Pennsylvania now saying they can no longer support Trump, Spradling says many are watching to see what New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte will do.
Ayotte, in a tight reelection bid against Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan - once again was distancing herself from Trump's latest tangle with a Muslim father whose son died in the Iraq war.
"However, I do not believe that she can, in this race, politically, afford to completely turn her back on those Trump Republicans or she probably loses the race, said Spradling.
Asked if Ayotte's support of Trump has evolved in recent weeks her campaign responded:
"Kelly's focus is on doing what's right for New Hampshire and that's what she'll continue to do regardless of who is in the White House, unlike Governor Hassan who is in lockstep with Hillary Clinton and Washington Democrats."
Ayotte released her own statement later:
"I call it like I see it, and I'm always going to stand up for our military families and what's best for the people of New Hampshire," her statement read.
And this story continues to evolve, Trump reportedly singled out Ayotte on Tuesday as a weak and disloyal leader in New Hampshire. He's also refusing to back House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. John McCain in their primary battles saying, He is not quite there yet.
The Trump campaign also released a statement saying that Obama-Clinton have single handedly destabilized the Middle East, betrayed our security and that Hillary Clinton has proven herself unfit to serve in any government office.
Two Massachusetts men were arraigned on multiple charges on Monday in connection with an ATM robbery operation that stretched from the Bay State to New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont.
David Barker, 39, and Efrain Montero, 40, were taken into custody by state and Lawrence Police following a 10-month long investigation.
The Essex District Attorney's Office said the investigation started in October 2015 when an Apple Store in Mansfield, Massachusetts, reported a break-in. Authorities said stolen phones from the store were allegedly connected to Lawrence.
Working with local police, authorities allegedly connected the suspects to multiple ATM break-ins in four states. Authorities said the investigation came to an end on Monday when three search warrants were executed at three separate locations. Police seized $82,400 in cash, a 9 mm firearm, tools, clothing and masks.
"This case represents an extraordinary collaborative effort by all of the law enforcement agencies involved," District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said. "By joining forces and building a single case against these defendants, we can more effectively dismantle this sophisticated criminal enterprise. I commend the hard-work and dedication of all the officers and their respective agencies for their contributions to this case."
Both men are are scheduled to return to Lawrence District Court on August 29 for a probable Cause hearing.
The Essex County DA's Office says a man has been charged with murder after allegedly strangling his estranged wife in an apparent domestic situation in Salem, Massachusetts.
The incident happened early Tuesday morning at 11 Chandler St. The victim was a 48-year-old woman.
Salem Police say the Douglas Steeves, 50, walked into the Salem Police Department and told police, "I killed my wife."
Prior to the murder, the victim filed a restraining order against her estranged husband.
Steeves is believed to be homeless.
Police say the crime scene is still active.
Steeves was arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Salem District Court.
He was ordered held without bail.
A woman who found her 77-year-old husband crushed to death under an all-terrain vehicle when she brought him lunch at his job cannot sue his employer for severe emotional injuries she suffered, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday.
Justices issued a unanimous decision in an appeal filed by Jenny Velecela. Her husband, Austin Irwin, was under the large ATV doing repairs at All Habitat Services in Branford on July 16, 2011, when it slipped off a lift and killed him. Velecela found him a short time later.
In an agreement with All Habitat Services, Velecela received $300,000 in workers' compensation benefits for her husband's death, but she also filed a lawsuit against the company alleging it was responsible for the emotional injuries she suffered when she found her husband's body.
The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that Connecticut's workers' compensation law bars people from suing for negligent infliction of emotional distress if they receive workers compensation benefits.
The decision on Monday was similar to one the high court issued last week. In that case, justices said two workers injured in a power plant explosion that killed six other people in Middletown in 2010 could not sue a contractor for negligence because they had received workers' compensation benefits.
Velecela's lawyer, Kevin Dehghani, argued that the state Workers' Compensation Act does not cover bystander emotional distress, so Velecela should be allowed to sue the company. Barring such claims would "leave a whole class of injuries uncompensated in Connecticut," Dehghani wrote.
Dehghani said Monday that he was disappointed with the court's decision and the precedent it sets.
Velecela could not be reached. A phone listing for her could not be found.
An official with All Habitat Services did not immediately return a message Monday.
The company's lawyer, Michael Deakin, said he and company officials express sympathy to Irwin's family. Deakin said the issue in the court case was straight forward. He said that under Connecticut and most other workers' compensation laws, people who receive workers' compensation benefits give up rights to pursue other claims against employers.
Interpol has arrested a top Nigerian email scammer who stole more than US$60 million by tricking businesses into handing over funds by posing as trusted suppliers.
The 40-year-old Nigerian, known as Mike, is allegedly the leader of a criminal ring that targeted hundreds of victims across the world, Interpol said on Monday.
He and at least 40 other individuals pulled off their scheme by allegedly pretending to be CEOs or suppliers using hacked email accounts of legitimate companies.
The criminals then sent fake emails, asking the victims to wire funds or send payment to bank accounts under the scammers control.
The Nigerian at one point conned a victim into paying $15.4 million, Interpol said. To hack the email accounts, the scammers targeted small and medium businesses in the U.S., India, and Romania, among other countries.
Authorities first became aware of Mike when, in late 2014, security firm Trend Micro began investigating the malware used in his scams. The malware was designed to steal email and web logins.
By analyzing the malwares command-and-control infrastructure, Trend Micro managed to track the Nigerians location. Mike was then arrested in southern Nigeria in June and he faces charges for hacking, conspiracy, and obtaining money under false pretences.
However, Interpol made no mention of the rest of his criminal ring. Its members also come from Nigeria, along with Malaysia and South Africa, Interpol said.
These kinds of email scams, also known as CEO fraud or the supplier swindle, have become a growing problem. Businesses across the world have been duped into giving away at least $3.1 billion, according to the FBI.
Interpol is advising businesses verify an email senders identity before wiring off any funds. To avoid hacking, emails accounts can also be better protected when using two-factor authentication.
Being always-on, along with pressure to answer email out of work hours, is leading to dangerous levels of emotional exhaustion, a study has found. As a result, employees are experiencing burnout, absenteeism and low job productivity.
The report suggests that managers are kidding themselves when they think workers checking email at home adds to productivity. The folks are, in fact, feeling like they never left the workspace and arent able to mentally detach from work, which is something experts say is necessary for family balance and emotional health.
+ Also on Network World: How to avoid becoming overwhelmed with email +
The technology thats supposedly there to help them is failing them, the Lehigh University in Pennsylvania press release about report says. And modern workplace technologies may be hurting the very employees those technologies were designed to help.
The researchersLiuba Belkin of Lehigh University, William Becker of Virginia Tech and Samantha A. Conroy of Colorado State Universitypolled 385 participants (with the technology industry making up 11 percent) and found in many cases, just the anticipation of email was enough to cause a job-stresser.
The workers didnt need to do any actual work, even, to suffer. The mere expectation of email that might have to be addressed at home caused the destructive issue. The researchers say its serious, and they place it alongside high workload, interpersonal conflicts, physical environment or time pressure.
Previous research has shown that in order to restore resources used during the day at work, employees must be able to detach both mentally and physically from work, the release explains.
But thats not happening when employees have to deal with email in the evening and on the weekend. It leads to chronic stress, says Belkin, one of the papers authors.
Weekend work email illegal in France
And the researchers arent the only ones who say so. Weekend work email is now illegal in France for many companies, the New Yorker explained in a May article. The new French right to disconnect law is based on worker health.
That information and communication technologies, if badly managed or regulated, can have an impact on the health of workers is part of the magazines translation of that law there.
People who like highly segmented schedules have a worse time of it, the new study says. It refers to those who separate family and work more. Those who werent as rigid did better.
The reason is that their personal preferences do not conflict with organizational expectations, Belkin says.
And it was in the organizational expectations that something peculiar arose. While the state of anxiety studied was caused by perceived or anticipated threatsin other words, not the actual emailjust the thought of them, and presumably having to revisit work issues was stress-inducing. Additionally, the expectation from bosses that email needed to be seen to after work didnt have to be formalized to cause anxiety.
The expectation does not have to be explicit or conveyed through a formal organizational policy, the report says. Standards for behavior in the organization can be enough.
So, employees didn't have to actually receive email and there didn't have to be a written out-of-hours email acceptance policy to cause worry.
The authors suggest banning email after work, and if thats not possible, then introduce email-free days or rotate after-hours email schedules.
Another option would be to delete all email that comes in after work hours. Auto maker Daimler famously deletes vacation-received email for staff.
It seems so simple, and I hope its not: Russia has invaded the U.S. and assaulted the U.S. presidential election, and they havent fired a single shot.
It would seem all roads lead to the Russian government having their fingers in the U.S. Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Committee. And WikiLeaks now becomes the New New Gun poised at the collective heads of U.S. politiciansby their revelations and their intent.
+ Also on Network World: U.S. cyber incident directive follows DNC hack +
The U.S. government is believed to have a playing hand full of Zero Days that theyve used to invade and perhaps harass foreign governments and their officials. Certainly German Chancellor Angela Merkel wasnt happy about talking into the ear of the NSA, or rather her smartphone, sometimes called a handy in Germany.
Russia appears to have played a few of the cards themselves, handily feeding WikiLeaksand WikiLeaks is no friend of the U.S. As we continue to force Julian Assange to stay in the London embassy of the Ecuadorian government, so also did the U.S. cause Edward Snowden to find a new home in Russiain fear of his life and limb.
Did we also forgive and forget Hillary Clintonalong with a long list of previous U.S. secretaries of statefor running their own mail.
You fools!
It is with profound sadness, long past amusement, to observe that the assets of the U.S. have been consistently and thoroughly compromised. Is this the new crux of politicsto see who can hack whom? Is MAD Magazines Spy vs. Spy now reduced to accidental reality?
Is this the new crux of politicsto see who can hack whom?
Yes, the systems security turf is long and wideand larger than can be imagined. So far, and with great luck, no ones fooled with the primary U.S. government funding mechanismstax collections. Will law enforcement be next? Will we start releasing prisoners from the Joliet Correctional Center randomly? Will executions and trials be dismissed? Will the grids go down?
The first answer might be of course not. I dont believe that answer.
This week Im in Las Vegas, attending the Black Hat and DEFCON security conferences. There will be few told ya sos because security researchers have been raising alarms for years. There will be new and amusing ways taught and learned in how incredibly brittle and vulnerable systems have been, are andwithout a lot of brains and effortswill be.
It will be treated as business as usual.
Except that Russia has tried to sway a U.S. election by hacking its assets. And the U.S. let them. And there are no Air Force bombers in the air, and nary a shot was firedbecause no bullets are necessary to break systems security. Instead, someone walked in the back door, grabbed the goods and embarrassed the U.S. populace.
SolaQuaGen gains funding to develop desalination products
Mark Hardiman
SolaQuaGen International Ltd, based in Newbury, has announced the successful completion of first-round funding by a consortium of Chinese investors.
The full commercial rollout of SolaQuaGens desalination and waste water treatment products in the UK and internationally is facilitated by the funding and linked sales opportunities in China.
Successful trials of its prototype unit, funded by UK government agencies, demonstrated a capacity to generate 30,000 litres per day of pure water from brackish and contaminated water.
China Ventures Ltd acted as advisor in the transaction.
China Ventures is a leading UK strategy consultancy specialising in developing business between China and Western countries.
It is working to coordinate a second funding round as well as developing strategic alliances with Chinese partners to support further growth of SolaQuaGen, which has offices in Oxford Road.
Newbury MP Richard Benyon, chairman of the UK Water Partnership, has also taken an active interest in supporting SolaQuaGen.
SolaQuaGens chief executive, Mark Hardiman, said: We are delighted to be working with China Ventures to both access investor funds and help open up the Chinese market for us, which is a major opportunity for SolaQuaGen.
This investment also demonstrates the continued strong interest by foreign investors in the UK. The long-term support of the British Government has also been instrumental in assisting the development of our technology.
In China our technology will assist in reducing carbon emissions and bringing clean safe water to Chinese citizens.
SolaQuaGen has achieved a breakthrough in the clean technology field for desalination and treatment of waste/dirty water, reducing energy consumption and hence carbon emissions by 90 per cent compared to conventional processes.
The resulting fresh water is produced, at an overall cost, 40 per cent lower than traditional processes.
Early stage support to prove the concepts and build a commercial demonstrator have been provided by two grants from Innovate UK and one from the Department for Energy and Climate Changes Energy Entrepreneurs Fund.
A full-scale demonstrator unit has been operational in the UK for the last 12 months.
Newly-appointed head chef wins prestigious Acorn Award
Robby Jenks, the newly-appointed head chef of The Vineyard at Stockcross, has won a prestigious Acorn Award.
Affectionately known as the 30 under 30, the Acorn Awards are celebrating their 30th anniversary and have sought to recognise the brightest prospects in the hospitality industry.
Since 1987, a total of 870 Acorn Awards have been presented to individuals including Jason Atherton, Marcus Wareing and John Campbell, former head chef at the Vineyard who gained the property two Michelin stars.
The Caterer (previously known as Caterer & Hotelkeeper) said that the awards aimed to turn the spotlight on men and women who had the best chance of becoming the greats of the next generation and Mr Jenks is fast becoming one of those greats.
He has been at the helm of the kitchens at The Vineyard since February and has brought with him a wealth of experience and rich culinary background from working in some of the UKs most gastronomic hotels, including Gidleigh Park under Michael Caines and Whatley Manor with Martin Burge.
Mr Jenks said: I am very proud of this fantastic recognition and hope that I am seen as an ambassador for young people.
It just goes to show that if you work hard then great achievements can be made.
It is so important to build solid foundations early on in your career, working in the right team under the right chefs.
The Acorn Awards Ceremony was held on Monday, June 13, at Chewton Glen in Hampshire.
A third car wash over a 2-mile stretch is being proposed in Middletown
The Planning Board on Nov. 9 will take up a proposal for a 110-foot tunnel carwash with associated parking and vacuums.
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Lashkar-e-Toiba operative and 26/11 Mumbai attack plotter Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, along with 6 other convicts have been sentenced to life in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case.
While two have been sentenced to 14 years in jail, three others have been sent to 8 years in jail.
While holding the 12 guilty, the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) Court had on July 28 said that the larger conspiracy behind the arms haul case was to instil fear as well as attack the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia to avenge the Godhra riots.
Apart from 12 convicted, 8 had been acquitted, one is absconding and one has turned an approver. The court had dropped MCOCA charges in the case, in which 22 people were arrested.
In a shocking case of corporal punishment, a class-IV student was kept in chains at Nushrat Ali Islamic Madrasa in Haryana allegedly for not completing his homework.
The boy was rescued by the police after his father lodged a complaint and demanded stern action against the teachers.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that the student was chained to prevent him from bunking classes on a regular basis. The Madrasa teachers claimed that his son fled home from the Madrasa on Monday without completing his school work and thats why he had been chained as a disciplinary action.
"We did it to stop him from fleeing home during school hours," teachers reportedly told the police.
The police registered a case against two teachers of the madrasa including Sabir and Mubarak under various Sections of the IPC, including 506 (threatening to life) and the Juvenile Justice Act.
No one has been arrested so far.
Meanwhile, the chairperson of district child welfare committee Satpal Kaur has formed a team to probe the incident.
#UPCM @yadavakhilesh also directed PS Home/DGP to ensure speedy investigation and ensure justice is delivered at the earliest. CM Office, GoUP (@CMOfficeUP) August 2, 2016
Nearly four days after the highway gangrape of a woman and her teenaged daughter on NH-91 last week, there seems to be no headway in the investigation even though Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had announced that the case would be cracked within 24 hours.Questions have been raised by locals as to whether the three arrested men were really involved in Friday night's gory crime.Bulandshahar SSP Anees Ansari put all those doubts to rest in a press conference on Tuesday and assured everyone that they were on the right track.Meanwhile, on CM Yadav's instruction on Wednesday, IG Meerut Sujith Pandey has been asked to head the Bulandshahr case and PS Home/DGP has been directed to ensure speedy investigation and justice at the earliest.Earlier, Bulandshahr MP Bhola Singh said the police arrested three persons in haste to fulfill the assurance of the CM Akhilesh Yadav.Innocent people are being harassed by the police, he alleged, adding that the real culprits are being spared under political pressure.The police had on Monday arrested three men who were presented before the local court, which sent them to 14 days in judicial custody in Bulandshahr jail.The suspects have been identified as Shawed, a resident of Dehpa Hapur; Rahees, a resident of Sutari Bulandshahr; and Jabar Singh, a resident of Rabupura in Gautam Budh Nagar."We are looking for other culprits whose role in the crime has been revealed during investigation," Deputy Inspector General of Police Laxmi Singh said.Meanwhile, the victims told IANS that the police was apathetic towards their plight and did not provide any medical treatment.Neither were there any counsellors to deal with their trauma, the victims said. It was only when the crime was reported in the media that the police swung into action, they added.(With inputs from IANS)
Stockholm: A dip in the sex drive of couples in Sweden which made headlines in media recently will become a major 'political problem' if not addressed immediately, the government has said.
In a bid to know why the nation's sex drive seems to be falling, the government has initiated a major study into the sex lives of its citizens and it is due to be completed in 2019.
"It is important to find out how much less sex Swedes are having, and what is the reason," Gabriel Wikstrom, Sweden's Public Health Minister, was quoted as saying to Dagens Nyheter, the country's national daily.
According to Wikstrom, it has been 20 years since the last in-depth study of the sex habits of the Scandinavian country and it is time for another survey.
"If stress and other health issues are affecting Swedes' sex lives, then that makes it a political problem," Wikstrom added.
The last study, conducted in 1996 and published in 2000, showed that male Swedes have had an average of 7.1 partners and females 4.6.
The difference is mostly explained by the two genders using different criteria of who counts as a sexual partner, thelocal.se reported on Monday.
Sexual health policy should be guided not just by the problems but also by the pleasurable aspects of sex, Wikstrom noted.
"Sex is a political matter as well. We often discuss sex in negative terms, like, for example, we relate it to rape, we relate it to sexual abuse, but not to the positive thing that sex really is," Wikstrom said.
New Delhi: A day after being cleared by the National Anti-doping Agency (NADA), wrestler Narsingh Yadav on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who asked him to focus on winning laurels for the country at the Olympics without any tension.
The Prime Minister, who met the wrestler at his office in Parliament House soon after the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, also assured the wrestler that no injustice will be done to him.
"The Prime Minister gave his best wishes to me and asked me to be carefree and participate in Olympics without any tension. He asked me to focus on winning medals for the country. He also assured me that no injustice will be done to me," Yadav said after the meeting.
The wrestler, who had failed a dope test on June 25 and claimed that it was a conspiracy against him, said he wanted to leave behind the controversy and focus on his participation in the Olympics and winning a medal there.
"I am thankful that the Prime Minister has met me and supported me. I am thankful to people for supporting me. I hope to live up to their expectations. I am also thankful for the support of the Wrestling Federation and the media for standing by me," he said.
Asked if he would like those behind the doping row be punished, he said an inquiry is on and hoped that justice will be done.
"This should not happen to any player, otherwise they will stop taking interest in sports," he said.
Wrestling Federation of India President Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, who is also a BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh accompanied Narsingh during his meeting with the Prime Minister.
Brijbhushan said, "The Prime Minister asked Narsingh not to take any tension and play freely and focus on winning laurels for the country."
Yadav was on Monday exonerated of doping charges by the National Anti-doping Agency (NADA), which concluded that he was a victim of sabotage, paving the way for the wrestler's participation in the Rio Olympics.
After more than a week of drama which began with Narsingh testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid methandienone in tests conducted on June 25, NADA DG Naveen Agarwal put an end to the suspense on the wrestler's fate by exonerating him.
Art historian's ink works focus on mountains and rivers
From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-08-02 09:36
Shao Dazhen, painter and art historian.[Photo provided to China Daily]
As a well-known art historian, Shao Dazhen has written lots of books on modern art of the East and West as well as done reviews of countless artists' works for about half a century.
Shao, 82, is also fond of using ink paintings to reveal his inner thoughts.
He is now holding a solo show of his paintings at Beijing's Gauguin Gallery. On display are 20 landscape paintings Shao has done in recent years.
"I think of nothing when I paint. I just follow my heart and paint freely," says Shao.
Although he has done research on art history for decades and has produced many books, Shao says it is by experiencing painting himself that he understands art better.
It's the second time that Shao is holding a solo show of his ink paintings. In 2004, he held his first show in the Chinese capital to celebrate his 70th birthday.
Shao has been fascinated by ink painting since the 1990s. Apart from reading and writing, he spends hours painting as a kind of relaxation every day.
The subject of his paintings are always mountains and rivers, which he says is a result of his personal experience and the "accumulation of ideas" in his mind.
His love for mountains and rivers comes from a city along the Yangtze River called Zhenjiang, in East China's Jiangsu province, which is his hometown.
Shao Dazhen's landscape ink paintings are now on display in Beijing.[Photo provided to China Daily]
"I can only dedicate a small amount of time to painting in the course of a day as I need to read and write. That's why my ink paintings are small in size," the artist explains.
Yin Shuangxi, an art critic and historian, says: "Shao's paintings are authentic literati paintings. They are simple, natural and reflect his spiritual world."
"Literati painting" is a special term used to describe ink paintings by scholarly Chinese painters and official painters that lived after the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The works of many famous painters in ancient China like Dong Qichang and Mi Fu fall into this category.
Having spent years on research of Western and Chinese art, Shao says his paintings are also influenced by Western art. Water and ink for him are a "kind of pen", but the more important thing is how to use that pen to express his emotions and ideas.
Zhu Qingsheng, an art critic, says Shao has seen lots of masters' works and has made friends with many artists, and such interactions have given him a deep and unique understanding of art.
This is also visible in the details of his paintings.
Shao went to the former Soviet Union to learn art history in 1955. After returning to China in 1960, he taught art history at the Central Academy of Fine arts in Beijing. He has published many books on modern art, some of which are must-read for art students.
The fire of Dalit anger against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may have torched Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel's career and reduced the party's prospects in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to ashes, but it has ignited AAP's hopes of becoming the political home for Indias oppressed castes.
Just three months ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was attempting to appropriate Babasaheb Ambedkar with a powerful speech on the Dalit icon's 125th birth anniversary.
But this effort came undone recently with the demolition of Ambedkar Bhavan in Mumbai, the flogging of Dalit men by cow protectors in Gujarat and the slur on four-time Uttar Pradesh CM and Dalit powerhouse Mayawati by a BJP leader.
All this has opened a door for AAP and Arvind Kejriwal intends to walk right in.
The Delhi CM and AAP boss has been seen and heard on all Dalit issues of late. He called for prominent BJP MP Udit Raj and all other Dalit MPs of the saffron party to quit in protest "against the countrywide assault on Dalits by BJP goons".
He has also taken a swipe at Modi, suggesting that the PM's Independence Day address focus on "Dalit atrocities, Gau Rakshaks, Kashmir, Akhlaq, Farmer suicides, Dal price."
"People are dying to hear you on these," he added, for good measure.
In Punjab, due to go the polls early next year, Dalits constitute a third of the state's population, and AAP will woo them with a 'Dalit manifesto' , likely in September. The manifesto will be built after a series of Dalit Dialogues.
One of the AAP men in charge of Punjab, Durgesh Pathak said: "They use the name of Dalits to divide, we will use it unite people. Their issues are different. We have to accept that they are victims of injustice and have suffered systemic exploitation."
Interestingly, of AAP's four Lok Sabha seats from Punjab, two are from reserved constituencies.
Political analyst Badri Narayan said, "AAP is going to develop the Bhangis (manual scavengers) as a base vote of the Dalits, with the Chamars as a stepney vote. That may create problems for both the Akalis and the Congress."
AAP's challenge is to unite the Dalit vote in Punjab, something even Mayawatis mentor Kanshi Ram could not achieve.
As for Modi's den and Hindutva crucible Gujarat, AAP plans a mega rally on October 6 in Surat, at which Kejriwal will speak and probably launch his campaign for the state.
AAP hopes to ride on the discontent among Muslims, Dalits and Patidars. Kejriwal has been to Gujarat twice in the month of July to visit the famous Somnath temple and to Una and Rajkot to meet Dalit victims of cow vigilantism and protesters.
AAP doing well in Gujarat -- and theres every sign it will -- would be a blow to BJP's pride.
AAP's engagement with Dalits is nothing new. In fact the partys broom or jhadoo symbol was launched amid the Valmiki community in central Delhi.
AAP leader Ashish Talwar used numbers to illustrate AAP's hold on the Dalits: "In 2013 we won 75% of the seats in reserved constituencies compared to 35% of general seats. In 2015 we won 100% of reserved seats."
"Dalits found new hope in Kejriwal, and the bonding seen in Delhi is seen in other states like Punjab and Gujarat," he said.
Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's remark, that the Bulandshahr highway gangrape could be a political conspiracy to defame the Uttar Pradesh government, has been panned by his rivals and activists.
This is the umpteenth time though that a leader from the SP, or for that matter any political party, has made such an outrageous remark on rape.
Azam Khan's boss and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had crossed all limits during the campaign for the 2014 general elections when he said, "Boys make mistakes. They should not be hanged for this. We will revoke the anti-rape laws."
When it comes to insensitive remarks, Yadav's son and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav too wasn't far behind his party colleagues.
When a reporter from a television channel once quizzed him about increasing rapes in the state he hit back at her asking, "You are safe, why are you bothered?"
SP leader Abu Azmi told a newspaper, If rape happens with or without consent, it should be punished as prescribed in Islam. Any woman if, whether married or unmarried, goes along with a man, with or without her consent, should be hanged. Both should be hanged. It shouldnt be allowed even if a woman goes by consent.
Leaders from the BJP, Congress and other political parties too were guilty of making bizarre statements on rape.
Kailash Vijayvargiya, who is currently the serving national secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said in 2013 that rapes happen when women cross the limits of morality.
Babulal Gaur, Cabinet Minister for Madhya Pradesh from BJP said, "Rape is a social crime which depends on the man and the woman. It is sometimes right and sometimes wrong."
Ram Sewak Paikra, minister in the ruling BJP government in Chhattisgarh said, "rapes do not happen deliberately. These kind of incidents happen accidentally."
Among other parties, NCP leader and former Home Minister of Maharashtra, RR Patil, was quoted as saying in 2014: "Even if we provide one policeman per house we can't stop crimes against women...The rise in atrocities against women is due to obscene images used in advertisements."
After the rape of a 22-year-old BPO employee shook Bengaluru in October 2015, former Karnataka Home Minister KJ George from the ruling Congress party suggested that two men raping a woman could not be termed gangrape.
"Gangrape means four-five people," George had said.
Dharamveer Goyat, a senior Congress minister from Haryana said in 2014, "I have no hesitation in saying that about 90% of the girls consensually go with men and then they end up meeting criminal minds and become targets of rape."
Former chief minister of Haryana Om Prakash Chautala once backed a khap panchayat diktat which said the age-limit for marriage should be lowered to prevent rapes among women.
And it was not just the men, this was what some of our women leaders said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in October 2012 reasoned that rape cases were on a rise in the country because men and women interact with each other more freely now.
Mamata even blamed the media and said "Everyday rape incidents are being highlighted as if the entire state has become the land of rapists. Rape is sought to be glorified by these people. This will not be tolerated by people."
Her party MP Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar in December 2012 described Kolkata's Park Street rape case as a misunderstanding between the woman and her "client".
Chennai: If America gets its first ever woman president this November whom should it thank first? Tamil Nadu Chief minister Puratchi Thalaivi J Jayalalithaa, according to an AIADMK MLA.
The party's Coonoor MLA A Ramu claimed in the state assembly that Hillary Clinton decided to contest the US presidential elections after being inspired by - hold your breath - Jayalalithaa.
He said Clinton's decision was the outcome of a meeting between the two in July 11 when she as US Secretary of State visited the country.
"Today, the world is celebrating this meeting for its historical importance. Through this meeting, Hillary Clinton understood Amma's personality and was awestruck by her proficiency in English and her encouragement. Finally, accepting the assuring words of Respected Amma, an overwhelmed US Secretary of State went back to become the presidential candidate. I would like to record that the reason for this is Respected Amma," Ramu said.
The MLA stuck to his statement outside the Assembly as well. "When Hillary Clinton met Amma, she was influenced by her leadership qualities and achievements and that inspired her to contest US presidential polls. Only after the meeting, did Hillary Clinton decide to take a significant step forward," he told CNN-News18.
Ramu joined the AIADMK only as recently as 2014, which according to his political rivals was why he had to outdo other loyalists by trying to please Amma with such outlandish claims.
Those who have been following politics in Tamil Nadu over the years were not very surprised.
"This is not the first time that Tamil Nadu Assembly has heard such outlandish, untrue and cringe-worthy statements. As long as the political culture of Tamil Nadu centres around hero worship, and the leader has an iron grip over the party, airing of such sentiments will continue. I'm sure the Conoor MLA will be outdone in no time by someone else," said Radhakrishnan, a political analyst.
Taking the battle to Prime Minister Narendra Modis turf, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday launched her partys campaign for the 2017 UP Assembly elections in the constituency.
Her choice of starting the campaign from Varanasi for the Assembly elections scheduled in 2017 is significant given the fact that it sends a signal that Congress is daring Modi on his home turf.
Congress is out of power for 27 years in Uttar Pradesh and is projecting that the state has gone from bad to worse in last 27 years through a campaign called 27 saal UP behal.
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor has been roped in by Congress to help and assist the UPCC in the Assembly polls. Kishore was earlier strategist of Modi in Lok Sabha polls and Nitish Kumar in Bihar Assembly polls.
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New Delhi: Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today deplored violence against dalits in the name of cow protection but maintained that their getting converted would not end prejudices, days after his ministerial colleague Ramdas Athawale suggested that members of the community should embrace Buddhism.
Asserting that Hinduism does not sanction discrimination, the Minister said,"No person who discriminates against another human being could ever be called a Hindu."
"If you respect cow it is great, but other human beings also have the right to live, right to do their work. If you want to respect a cow respect it. Nothing wrong in this,but that doesn't mean that you can kill anybody on that pretext.
That is totally wrong," Naidu told reporters on the sidelines of an event to felicitate IAS topper Tina Dabi, a dalit. His remarks came in the backdrop of BJP facing flak over incidents of violence against dalits by cow vigilantes in various states including Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
He said some people have suggested that conversion can end this problem, but that has not happened. There have been cases where people came back saying they witnessed the same situation in other religions also, he said.
"See, some converted, then they came back and said we are witnessing same situation there. Now they are complaining that they are not getting reservation as Constitution does not provide reservation on the basis of religion," Naidu said. Naidu's comments came days after the statement by Athawale, a dalit leader from Maharashtra, that people from the community should embrace Buddhism to avoid pressure or violence against them.
There have also been reports of some dalit families, who have been protesting after being denied permission to attend a temple festival in Tamil Nadu's Karur region last week, threatening to convert to Islam.
Emphasising on equality, Naidu said, "Bharat Mata ki jai means glory of all those who live in this country", adding that those who live in this country are Indians and they are equal in all aspects.
: Attempting to resurrect a near moribund organisation in the Hindi heartland, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday stormed Prime Minister Narendra Modis Lok Sabha constituency accompanied by a feisty throng of 10,000 bikers.Sonias road show in Varanasi also alludes towards a tactical shift in Congress electoral strategy vis-a-vis Modi. The party has once again fallen back on its longest-serving President as against her son Rahul to shore up its dwindling political capital.High on symbolism, Sonias show started at the Circuit House. A Congress Seva Dal trope wearing inverted boat-shaped cap will present a formal guard of honour. It is another matter that this powerful motif of political mobilisation during British rule, ironically, is now associated more with the Aam Aadmi Party.Vande Mataram, Bankim Chandra's hymn in praise of the motherland, will be sung to its full glory. And winding through the narrow lanes of the temple town the procession will end at a park named after the former UP CM and son-of-the-soil Brahmin leader, Kamlapati Tripathi.Later in the evening, Congress President will visit and offer prayers at the Vishwanath temple before her departure to Delhi. That would be the end of Act I, Scene I.The larger narrative, however, in this script for Congress' revival is evident: that Congress in UP elections will be seeking to make a course-correction, attempting to regain its centrist position in the national polity. This refrain is likely to be heard in every speech, every political demonstration and program which the party plans in the run-up to the polls.For the Congress, its strength has always been the ability to take everyone along both the Left and Right of the spectrum. It's a tightrope walk, but then the party over the years mastered the art of spreading the arm wide to sweep along everything that comes its way. Barring few exceptions, the formula worked wonderfully well for the Grand Old Party (GOP) for many years. But the rise of the Right Wing force in the BJP disrupted this status quo.There is a section within, which has felt that in its effort to counter-balance the disruptive onslaught from the political Right, the Congress in public perception has moved too far to its Left. This drift has left very little scope for the GOP to manoeuvre past a highly polarised narrative a political cul-de-sac.A close look at the recent elections in Kerala and Assam exemplify Congress' current dilemma.In Assam, the Congress got sandwiched between the two Right Wing parties, the BJP and Badruddin Ajmal's All India United Democratic Front. One catering to the Hindu Right and other to the Muslim Right. Where does that leave the Congress? Nowhere, as was evident on the counting day.Kerala is even more interesting where Congress won just four seats more than its junior partner Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). The transfer of votes from IUML to the Congress, it seems, did not happen. Wherever the Muslim minorities felt the Left was in a better position to take on the BJP, they shifted base pretty fast.Evidently, in absence of a solid vote-base amongst the majority community, Congress's political capital has reduced to a level where even the minorities are fast losing trust in Congress' ability to fight the BJP. It happened in Delhi last year. It happened in West Bengal earlier this year.This Tuesday, when Sonia Gandhi makes a whirlwind tour of the PM's constituency, the effort at course-correction to regain its centrist position in the political landscape will be on display.
Saddened that due to my ill health, I had to cut my visit to Varanasi short. I couldn't visit the Kashi Viswanath temple either. I will come back very soon," the Congress president said.
After she complained of uneasiness and took a break, there was confusion for a couple of hours with some party leaders waiting for her at the final venue and others saying she would return to Delhi.
Heard about Sonia jis ill health during her Varanasi visit today. I pray for her quick recovery and good health. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 2, 2016
The march began with Sonia garlanding the statue of BR Ambedkar at the Circuit House and the marchers criss-crossed lanes and bylanes of the temple town.
: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said she was saddened as she had to cut short her big roadshow in Varanasi after she took ill owing to high fever.Sonia, however promised to come back soon to visit the Kashi Viswanath temple and also address the people of Varanasi.Sonia had developed high fever midway through her roadshow and was advised by doctors not to go ahead with the final leg which included an address to the public and a visit to the Kasi Viswanath temple.Thereafter, Sonia immediately returned to Babatpur airport to take a return flight to Delhi but was admitted to the VIP lounge inside the airport premises and administered intravenous fluids.Before she called off her road trip the Congress president stood in an SUV greeting party supporters who gathered on the streets as her cavalcade drove through.The final decision was conveyed around 7 pm after she drove to the airport to take a special flight to DelhiAfter news of her ill health was confirmed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted expressing concern and wishing her a speedy recovery.Earlier, thousands of Congress supporters and workers took part in the roadshow from the Circuit House to Englishiya Line, a distance of about eight kilometres.Gandhi, who was initially travelling in a car and later moved to a vehicle with open sunroof, waved at the crowd which cheered and raised slogans against the Modi government.She came out of her vehicle several times to accept the greetings of the cheering supporters, including groups of Muslim women.As the road show passed through several localities, rose petals were showered on Sonia and her cavalcade from adjoining buildings.Dozens of mini trucks prominently displayed posters saying '27 Saal, UP Behaal' (27 years of UP's distress), the Congress party's campaign line in the state.
London: GlaxoSmithKline and Google parent Alphabet's life sciences unit are creating a new company focused on fighting diseases by targeting electrical signals in the body, jump-starting a novel field of medicine called bioelectronics.
Verily Life Sciences - known as Google's life sciences unit until last year - and Britain's biggest drugmaker will together contribute 540 million pounds ($715 million) over seven years to Galvani Bioelectronics, they said on Monday.
The new company, owned 55 per cent by GSK and 45 per cent by Verily, will be based at GSK's Stevenage research centre north of London, with a second research hub in South San Francisco.
It is GSK's second notable investment in Britain since the country voted to leave the European Union in June. Last week it announced plans to spend 275 million pounds on drug manufacturing.
Galvani will develop miniaturised, implantable devices that can modify electrical nerve signals. The aim is to modulate irregular or altered impulses that occur in many illnesses.
GSK believes chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and asthma could be treated using these tiny devices, which consist of a electronic collar that wraps around nerves.
Kris Famm, GSK's head of bioelectronics research and president of Galvani, said the first bioelectronic medicines using these implants to stimulate nerves could be submitted for regulatory approval by around 2023.
"We have had really promising results in animal tests, where we've shown we can address some chronic diseases with this mechanism, and now we are bringing that work into the clinic," he told Reuters.
"Our goal is to have our first medicines ready for regulatory approval in seven years."
GSK first unveiled its ambitions in bioelectronics in a paper in the journal Nature three years ago and believes it is ahead of Big Pharma rivals in developing medicines that use electrical impulses rather than traditional chemicals or proteins.
The tie-up shows the growing convergence of healthcare and technology. Verily already has several other medical projects in the works, including the development of a smart contact lens in partnership with the Swiss drugmaker Novartis that has an embedded glucose sensor to help monitor diabetes.
Grain of Rice
Famm said the first generation of implants coming to market would be around the size of a medical pill but the aim eventually was to make them as small or smaller than a grain of rice, using the latest advances in nanotechnology.
Patients will be treated with keyhole surgery and the hope is that bioelectronic medicine could provide a one-off treatment, potentially lasting decades.
Major challenges including making the devices ultra low-power so that they function reliably deep inside the body.
The idea of treating serious disease with electrical impulses is not completely new.
Large-scale electrical devices have been used for years as heart pacemakers and, more recently, deep brain stimulation has been applied to treat Parkinson's disease and severe depression, while EnteroMedics last year won U.S. approval for a device to help obese people control their appetite.
Galvani, however, is taking electrical interventions to the micro level, using tiny implants to coax insulin from cells to treat diabetes, for example, or correct muscle imbalances in lung diseases.
Galvani will initially employ around 30 scientists, engineers and clinicians.
The company will be chaired by Moncef Slaoui, GSK's vaccines head, who pioneered the drugmaker's drive into the bioelectronics field. Slaoui is retiring from GSK next March but will continue to steer Galvani after that date, a spokesman said.
Galvani will be fully consolidated in GSK's financial statements, following the model of the group's majority-owned ViiV Healthcare business, which sells HIV medicines.
The wait for Galaxy Note lovers is over as Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note 7 at Unpacked 2016 in New York.The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will come with a curved 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The display has a resolution of 2560 x 1440 and a pixel density of 518ppi. The device weighs just 169 gms.As expected the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will come with biometric authentication for security that will include a fingerprint scanner and an iris scanning technology . The company claims that the iris scanner on the phone allows you to unlock it with a blink of an eye.There is also a new S Pen with a 0.7mm tip and improved pressure sensitivity. The phone is powered by a 64-bit Octa-core processor with four cores clocked at 2.3 GHz and the other four at 1.6 GHz. The phone will run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system and will be an IP68 water-and-dust resistant device.The Galaxy Note 7 has 4GB LPDDR4 RAM with 64GB internal storage that is expandable up to 256 GB.The device will also include a 3500mAh non-removable battery and will get a USB-C port for charging and data transfer. Just like the Galaxy Note 5 the new Note also supports wireless charging. And yes, it will also get a 3.5mm dedicated audio jack for headphones.The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 gets a similar Dual-Pixel camera seen on the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge . The rear camera has a 12 megapixel, f1.7 camera with optical image stabalisation and for selfies you get a 5 megapixel, f1.7 front camera.The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will be available starting on August 19; though the India launch date has not yet been specified by the company. The device will come in Blue Coral, Gold Platinum, Silver Titanium and Black Onyx colours. The company has not disclosed the price details for Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
Vatican City: Pope Francis on Tuesday appointed a commission to study the issue of female Church deacons in a move seen as a potential first step towards women entering the Catholic clergy.
The 13-member commission, made up of seven men and six women, will examine the question with a particular focus on the history of women having played this role in the early years of the Church, the Vatican said in a statement revealing the commission members.
The panel will be chaired by Spanish Archbishop Luis Ladaria, the secretary of the Vatican's theological watchdog, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
A Jesuit, Ladaria is seen as a neutral figure without strong ties to either the progressive or conservative wings of the Vatican hierarchy.
The establishment of the commission follows a pledge made by Francis in May during a question-and-answer session with members of female religious orders.
That was warmly welcomed by Catholic feminist groups such as the US-based Women's Ordination Conference (WOC). But Francis subsequently complained that the media had blown his comments out of proportion, saying he had not raised the possibility of women serving as deacons.
Advocates of such a move have long argued that women are pitifully under-represented in the Church's hierarchy and decision-making processes, despite the number of women in religious orders far outweighing the total of priests and monks combined.
Allowing women to enter the clergy at a rank just below a priest would represent a first step towards correcting this imbalance, they argue. They also insist there is no theological obstacle to the move because of the precedent established by women performing the role in the early centuries of Christianity.
Francis said in May that he was unclear about the history and that it "would do good for the Church to clarify this point." He made it clear that he did not see women becoming priests. That option was examined and categorically rejected by one of his predecessors, Pope John Paul II, in 1994.
In 2001, a commission charged with looking into the term "deaconess" concluded there was no basis for ordaining women to the role.
The Vatican did not set a deadline for the commission to reach conclusions on what is a vexed issue. Although deacons cannot celebrate mass on their own or hear confessions, they are ordained and can carry out many tasks in place of a priest, while remaining free to marry and have a family.
Their tasks can include presiding over baptisms, weddings, funerals and prayer services. They often help with parish management and offer pastoral guidance to believers.
Why Marvel Comics' Daredevil: Born Again may be difficult to adapt to the MCU
Frank Miller's original comic book storyline will likely see significant changes for Marvel Studios Disney Plus version
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Zhu Dajian: Green is an important target for future Shanghai
By:Ding Yulan | From:english.eastday.com | 2016-07-28 18:33
Shanghai, July 28 Invest in Green FutureCSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and Innovation 2016 Shanghai Summit was held on July 27. Expert panel leader Dr. Zhu Dajian told Eastday reporter that Shanghai was endeavoring to be World City and Green is an important target for future Shanghai.
Shanghai is going to step on a new level in 2040-2050 and we are going to realize the Four Centers and the target of the establishment of international modern metropolis. We always say that great cities need great enterprises. When we talk about Seattle, we will think of Bill Gates. Vise verse, great enterprises also make great cities, so CSR is very important to the development of Shanghai. Zhu Dajian said.
Zhu Dajian used graphs to demonstrate two curves of the economic development of future Shanghai. There were two curves in the graph: one was the social and economical development of Shanghai; the other was the environmental consumption of Shanghai. In the past decades, the two curves increased simultaneously. Nowadays, we need to reduce the environmental consumption while maintaining the healthy social and economical development. said Zhu Dajian.
Zhu Dajian said that the green policies were very important for the development of Shanghai in the future 30 years. Shanghai had four policy base lines: population base line, resource base line, land base line, environment base line, adding safety base line. Regarding the result of CSR, foreign owned enterprises did best in environment protection and state-owned enterprises were better than private enterprises. Zhu expressed some regrets. We hope more and more native enterprises will do better in the future.
Zhu Dajian said the traditional enterprises will also do a lot of environment protection works, but that often had nothing to do with their main business. Now we are looking for innovative enter-prises that can make profit from environment protection. We should find the needs of the society in green development.Zhu Dajian said.
Midday outpatient service for white-collars provided
By:Jiang Wenran | From:english.eastday.com | 2016-07-29 16:03
Shanghai, July 28- Difficulty getting medical service and time-consuming formalities were rather serious in large cities these days. Shanghai Changzheng Hospital today signed cooperative agreement with Middle Huaihai Road Subdistrict, Huangpu District, jointly providing midday outpatient service for nearby white-collars.
Middle Huaihai Road Subdistrict is the first cooperation partner of Shanghai Changzheng Hospitals Elite Express Program, providing a green channel of out-patient medical treatment for white-collars during 11:00 ~14:00 each Tuesday and Thursday, including one-stop service such as registration, treatment, examination and prescription-making.
The population of permanent residents in central city is declining with the old district reconstruction, while white-collars are gathering due to more and more office buildings. Middle Huaihai Road Subdistrict, for example, has gathered over 2600 enterprises with more than 70,000 white-collar workers, according to Tang Hong, party committee secretary of the subdistrict.
Tang introduced that surveys around white-collars demand were conducted last year in order to provide better service and found out that nearly 60% of them have strong demand for medical treatment and health care service.
So we decided to initiate the midday outpatient service for white-collars program, Head of Shanghai Changzheng Hospital Zheng Xingdong told reporter from Eastday.com that the program has attracted numerous nearby white-collars since June and has provided medical service for 223 patients.
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Departments and ministries under the State Council, Chinas Cabinet, have responded to a series of public concerns in the past week, including on food safety, abnormal price fluctuations and healthcare reform.
The National Development and Reform Commission, the countrys top pricing regulator, has issued fines of 2 million yuan ($301,700) apiece to six companies for raising prices since May, after the nation rolled out value-added tax reforms that cover construction, property service and other related industries. The companies include the Ritz Carlton and Crowne Plaza hotels in Beijing, New World Development, China World Trade Center in Shanghai and Heng Long Properties in Shenyang, Liaoning province.
In response to concerns over food safety problems revealed by recent media coverage, the Food and Drug Administration said that China will enhance regulations, supervision, and cooperation with local governments in an effort to crack down on food safety violations. The local authorities in Yingkou, of Chinas northeast Liaoning province, shut down seven food factories for illegally adding toxic gelatin and sodium nitrite to food products such as sausages, according to recent media reports. The local police seized six tons of poisonous food products and 3.6 tons of illegal additives.
In response to concerns over abnormal price fluctuations due to the recent floods, Gao Hucheng, minister of commerce, said last week that in the event of natural disasters, enterprises are allowed to limit prices for sale. Gao stressed that it is important to maintain a sufficient supply of emergency food relief and other materials in disaster-prone regions.
In response to concerns over disaster relief in light of the recent heavy floods in the southern parts of China, Yang Xiaodong, deputy director of the Ministry of Civil Affairs disaster relief division, said they were working with the National Disaster Reduction Center to enhance real-time statistical analysis, disaster warning and emergency response systems, which operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The ministry will send out teams to carry out inspections on the local disaster relief process if serious natural disasters occur, Yang said.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said that China is stepping up efforts to improve the public healthcare system. Beijing, the Xinjiang Uygur and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions and Hebei, Jiangxi, Hunan and Guangxi provinces have submitted plans to reduce healthcare service disparities between urban and rural residents. So far, a total of 17 provinces and cities have either submitted plans for, or have adopted unified management of, the basic medical insurance system that allows both urban and rural residents to equally benefit from public healthcare. A unified system to manage the healthcare service helps reduce inequality caused by the household registration system, known as hukou, that prevents unregistered rural citizens benefiting from the urban healthcare service and social welfare, the ministry said.
(Newser) For six years, a small team of Norwegians has worked tirelessly to recover a famous shipwreck in the remote hamlet of Cambridge Bay in Nunavut, a northern territory of Canadaand as of Saturday, they were finally able to lift it off the ocean floor thanks in large part to giant sausage-shaped balloons. "This is a milestone," Jan Wanggaard, project manager for the Norway-based organization Maud Returns Home, tells the CBC. "To actually see her releasing from the seabedit's a great experience." He says he was in the water inflating one of the balloons when it first lifted off the seabed and the water became dusty. "I thought, 'Ah, that's a bit strange,'" he says. "I came to the surface and I saw my friend with a big smile."
The Maud belonged to Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen, who failed to cross the North Pole between 1918 and 1920, then went bankrupt and sold the ship to the Hudson Bay Company. From there, it was put to use as a floating warehouse before sinking off Cambridge Bay in 1930. Wanggaard hopes to return the Maud to Norway, where Amundsen remains a national hero, before cleaning it up and putting it on display, reports Nunatsiaq Online. For now, the team plans to fully lift the nearly 600,000-pound vessel by sinking a barge beneath the Maud, draining the barge's water tanks to make it float, and bringing it safely to the surface on the barge, giving it a chance to dry out over the winter before a return trip home. "If you were a kid, Im sure you would love [the challenge]," Wanggaard says. (Check out this summer's South Pole rescue attempt.)
(Newser) Norway wants to get rid of gasoline-fueled cars, plans to become carbon neutral by 2030 and spends billions on helping poor countries reduce their carbon footprints. Meanwhile, it's pushing ever farther into the Arctic Ocean in search of more oil and gas, the AP reports. "We know there is a paradox," admits Vidar Helgesen, Norway's climate and energy minister. "We have been living well from oil and gas. But there is no country in the world that has done more to undermine the oil and gas industry than Norway." The Scandinavian country of 5 million people is torn between its ambition to be a global leader on climate change and the awareness that its wealth is linked to the world's dependence on fossil fuels.
Norway is accused of environmental hypocrisy, grandstanding overseas with environmental projects while allowing its domestic oil and gas industry to pump ever-larger quantities of carbon into the atmosphere. Plans for carbon neutrality involve buying credits for helping reduce emissions abroad. "The plan has always been to buy carbon credits to allow us to continue polluting as a country," says Lars Haltbrekken, chairman of the Norwegian chapter of Friends of the Earth. Environmental activists bristle at exploration permits handed out to 13 oil companies in May to drill in a new area of the Norwegian Arctic. In June, Norway became one of the first countries to ratify last year's Paris Agreement on climate change. Haltbrekken says that any Norwegian contribution to this target that does not involve a reduction in oil and gas is empty. Helgesen disagrees: "Norway has the cleanest hydrocarbons anywhere in the world. And as long as the world needs oil and gas, we will provide it." (Read more Norway stories.)
(Newser) Depending on where you live, you may have a new after-school option for your youngster this coming school year: the After School Satan Club. A group called the Satanic Temple has started a push to establish the clubs at public elementary schools as an alternative to Christian Good News Clubs found on thousands of campuses, the Washington Post reports. Its important that children be given an opportunity to realize that the evangelical materials now creeping into their schools are representative of but one religious opinion amongst many," Satanic Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves says in a press release. But the curriculum won't include donning a hooded robe and chanting in an attempt to conjure demonic forces. Greaves tells the Post that Satan is merely a "metaphorical construct." The group's actual focuses include scientific rationality and the separation of church and state.
A monthly meeting of an After School Satan Club chapter will include a nutritious snack, puzzle solving, art, and other activities. "We're not the boogeymen, we are here to help, here to discuss and help learn," Boston Satanic Temple chapter founder Travis LeSaffre tells WFXT. Greaves tells USA Today that the group has already contacted school districts in nine states. A rep from the Good News Club, which has been around since 1937, calls the After School Satan Club a "stunt," adding that "schools and parents should not overreact. ... If you leave them alone, they'll go home." Ironically, the Satanic Temple is using a 2001 Supreme Court decision that found that excluding an after-school club, such as the Good News Club, from public campuses based on religion violates freedom of speech. (Read more Satanic Temple stories.)
(Newser) Sweden is the land of meticulous recordkeeping that dates back to 1749, which makes it the perfect place to pull off large scientific studies. (The country recently discovered that for the first time in those nearly 300 years it has more men than women.) Now the Swedish government has decided to investigate the sex lives of its citizens in an attempt to get a more complete picture of the country's sexual health, reports the BBC. Health Minister Gabriel Wikstrom, who is 31 and an outspoken proponent of loud sex, says that studying only negative aspects of sex risks "distorting health policy." "Sex is an area that strongly influences peoples health, so we cant just talk about things like, for example, venereal disease, but also things that are positive and lust-filled about sex."
To be conducted by the Swedish Public Health Agency, the three-year study will span social, cultural, and biological aspects of sex, reports the Digital Journal. In an opinion piece for Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, Wikstrom says the study is in part a response to tabloid newspaper surveys suggesting that Swedes are having less sex than they used to, reports the Guardian: "Its important to investigate whether that is the case and, if so, what the reason is." Too much stress, or some other factor that would lead people to get it on less frequently, "is also a political problem," he adds, saying it is "paradoxical that, while our whole society seems permeated by sex, in everything from advertising and social media to much of daily life, the topic is still shrouded by shame ... and absent from the political debate." (More on Wikstrom here.)
(Newser) Authorities say three people died after attending a weekend rave in Fontana, Calif., the AP reports. San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Jodi Miller said Monday that nine people were transported from the HARD Summer Music Festival, and three were pronounced dead at local hospitals. Two deaths occurred Saturday and one on Sunday. Miller says the cause of each death remains unknown. Authorities identified the dead as 22-year-old Derek Lee of San Francisco, 21-year-old Alyssa Dominguez of San Diego, and 22-year-old Roxanne Ngo of Chino Hills. The electronic dance music festival was held at an outdoor venue about 50 miles east of Los Angeles. (This college student who died at a rave allegedly went without medical attention for half an hour.)
(Newser) A beauty queen who had her sash and crown stripped from her last month is seeking $15 million in damages, People reports. Genesis Davila was named Miss Florida USA 2017 on July 16. Her reign lasted all of six days. Pageant executive director Grant Gravitt tells the Miami Herald he stripped Davila of her title after receiving "30 to 40 complaints" from other contestants. At issue is Davila possibly using her own professional hair and makeup team instead of the one provided by the pageant. Gravitt claims to have photographic proof of Davila breaking the rules.
By losing her crown, Davila also loses the chance to compete in the Miss USA 2017 pageant and at least $100,000 in "endorsements and appearances." Now she's suing Gravitt and the other organizers of Miss Florida 2017 for defamation. Her lawyer says that Gravitt's photographic evidence comes from a week before the pageant and that he "acted maliciously and intentionally to defame and hurt my client." Davila, who is from Puerto Rico, also claims Gravitt accused her of not being a US citizen, the Sun-Sentinel reports. "I am innocent," People quotes Davila as saying. "I have faced many challenges in my life, but nothing like this." (Six runners-up sued a beauty pageant in Texas over the winner.)
Premier Li Keqiang sent a congratulation letter to those attending the opening of the 9th China-ASEAN Education Exchanges Week in Guiyang, capital of Southwest Chinas Guizhou province, on Aug 1, 2016.
China and ASEAN countries are good neighbors and partners, and both sides have conducted all-round and multi-layer cooperation in the past 25 years since they set up dialogue relations, the Premier said.
He said the people-to-people and cultural exchanges, including the education communication, have become the new pillar of bilateral relations with a bright development prospect.
Premier Li pointed out in the letter that education is the fundamental way for humans to inherit civilization and knowledge, cultivate the younger generation, and create a better life.
Nearly 300 activities will be held in major cities in China and ASEAN countries during the 2016 exchange year, the Premier said.
China is glad to share learning and support with the ASEAN countries, and provide more talent support for the development of bilateral relations to build a more closer China-ASEAN community of common destiny, the Premier said.
Vice-Premier Liu Yandong attended the exchange weeks opening ceremony in Guiyang.
(Newser) A coalition of more than 60 groups, including Black Lives Matter, is demanding slavery reparationsencompassing free tuition to public universities, among other thingsin its first policy platform released Monday, reports the Los Angeles Times. The platform is the result of a years work and touches on everything from safe drinking water to military spending. It also calls for criminal justice reforms, the "demilitarization" of police, decriminalization of drug offenses and prostitution, the release of individuals convicted of those crimes, an end to capital punishment, investments in education and jobs for black Americans, and a reconstruction of the economy to ensure Black communities have collective ownership, not merely access, report Reuters and CBS News.
"We seek radical transformation, not reactionary reform," says an activist. The goal is to stop "increasingly visible violence against Black communities," the Movement for Black Lives adds in a statement. "Neither mainstream political party has our interests at heart." the coalition says. Even some of the most progressive politicians are against slavery reparations, for example. But the platform is seen as a response to the racial justice movement's lack of specific policy proposals, for which it had been criticized by the likes of Hillary Clinton, who last year said "I don't believe you change hearts. I believe you change laws." While "we recognize that not all of our collective needs and visions can be translated into policy," says one activist, "we understand that policy change is one of many tactics necessary to move us towards the world we envision, a world where freedom and justice is the reality." (Read more Black Lives Matter stories.)
(Newser) If Alfred "Skip" Nichols had been a commercial airplane pilot, he probably would have been grounded long ago. Nichols, the pilot of a hot air balloon that crashed over the weekend in Texas, killing 16, was able to keep flying despite having at least four convictions for drunk driving and twice spending time in prisonpointing to gaps in oversight of hot air balloon pilots, the AP reports. Whether the pilot's drinking habits had anything to do with the crash is unclear. A former girlfriend described Nichols as a recovering alcoholic and said he had been sober for at least four years and never piloted a balloon after drinking. The Federal Aviation Administration might allow a recovering alcoholic to fly commercial jets if the pilot was being successfully treated, says an aviation safety expert. But the agency is unlikely to accept an airline pilot with convictions for driving under the influence, he adds.
Nichols, 49, got his commercial license to pilot hot air balloons in Missouri in July 1996. His first drunk-driving conviction came in 1990, followed by two more convictions in 2002 and a fourth in 2010, according to online court records. He was also convicted of a drug crime in 2000 and spent about a year and a half in prison before being paroled. He was returned to prison in April 2010 after his parole was revoked because of his drunk-driving conviction that year. He was paroled again in January 2012. Nichols also had a long history of customer complaints against his balloon-ride companies in Missouri and Illinois dating back to 1997. Customers reported to the Better Business Bureau that their rides would get canceled at the last minute and their fees never refunded. Investigators say they do not yet know why the balloon hit high-tension power lines before crashing early Saturday. (The victims included a newlywed couple celebrating a birthday.)
(Newser) Defense attorneys say they will challenge the Justice Department's decision to pursue the death penalty for Dylann Roof, accused of killing nine people at a black church in Charleston, SC. "The facts of this case are indisputably grave," they say, per CNN. "But if, as we contend here, the [Federal Death Penalty Act] is unconstitutional, no one can be lawfully sentenced to death or executed under it, no matter what his crimes." Calling the death penalty "arbitrary, cruel and unusual punishment," the lawyers say Roof has offered to plead guilty and "accept multiple sentences of life imprisonment without possibility of release" if the capital punishment is taken off the table. He faces 33 federal charges, including hate crimes; South Carolina, which has charged Roof with murder, is also seeking the death penalty in the state's case, which will go to trial in January.
"The federal death penalty constitutes a legally prohibited, arbitrary, cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by both the Fifth and Eighth Amendments," Roofs defense team says, per BuzzFeed. "The results of jurors' good-faith grappling with the lawarbitrary, biased, and erroneous death verdictsare intolerable as a matter of due process and proportional punishment." CNN notes only three people on federal death row have been executed since 1988. The defense team is also challenging the death qualification in jury selection, which allows only those willing to impose the death penalty to serve. Roof's lawyers say it "has no constitutional or statutory underpinnings, distorts the jury function, introduces arbitrariness into capital sentencing, and increases the influence of racism and sexism on the death determination." (Roof doesn't want a jury at all.)
(Newser) As of Tuesday, there are 98 days to go until the electionbut perhaps not too much lower for the level of discourse to sink. Donald Trump took what the BBC calls an "unprecedented step" Monday when he came straight out and called Hillary Clinton the devil. Bernie Sanders "made a deal with the devil. She's the devil," Trump told a rally in Mechanicsburg, Pa., slamming Sanders for endorsing Clinton when he could have just stayed home and been a "hero." At an earlier rally in Ohio, he said he's "afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest."
Trump has likened Clinton to the horned one in the past, saying Sanders had "done a deal with the devil," but this is the first time he has directly said she is Satan, NBC News notes. But he's not alone: The San Francisco Chronicle reports that, according to the latest Public Policy Polling survey, some 18% of voters are certain that Clinton has "ties to Lucifer" and another 21% have their suspicions but aren't sure. "Against that set of findings, it's simply not very likely that many Trump voters will be moving into the Clinton column," PPP notes. The poll did, however, put her ahead of Trump 46% to 41%, and Politico reports that other polls have put Clinton as much as 9 points ahead after the Democratic convention. (Warren Buffett issued a challenge to Trump on Monday night.)
(Newser) The US government is $100 million richer after the latest ruling in a strange case involving some long-lost gold coins. In 2003, Pennsylvania's Joan Langbord says she found 10 "Double Eagle" coins from 1933 in a safe-deposit box that once belonged to her father, jeweler Israel Switt. The rare coins are worth up to $10 million each, per the Washington Post, but there was one big problem: They'd allegedly been smuggled out of the Philadelphia Mint decades earlier. After Langbord sent the coins for authentication in 2004, the government refused to return them, claiming the coins as its rightful property. In a 9-3 decision on Monday, a federal appeals court sided with the government. "Switt knew that the 1933 Double Eagles were embezzled or stolen and that it was illegal to possess them," a judge said, per Courthouse News.
Some 445,500 Double Eagleswith Lady Liberty on the front and an eagle on the backwere struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1933 with a face value of $20, but most were melted into gold bars when Franklin Roosevelt abandoned the gold standard. Two were sent to the Smithsonian, but a rare few found their way to collectors, allegedly with the help of a cashier at the Mint. Monday's ruling "properly establishes that the United States is the lawful owner of the 1933 Double Eagle gold coins," says a US attorney. The decision backs up a 2012 court ruling, overturned in 2015 when an appeals court found the government missed a deadline to respond to Langbord's claim. The panel on Monday found that deadline didn't apply. A lawyer says Langbord will appeal to the Supreme Court, per Reuters. (A hiker found this incredibly rare coin.)
(Newser) Apple has swapped out an emoji in what the Guardian describes as a reflection of "growing despair in America and worldwide" over gun violence. Starting in September, a neon-green water gun will replace the company's black-and-silver revolver, part of an iPhone and iPad iOS 10 update that "adds beautiful redesigns of popular emoji," Apple says in a release. Although Apple didn't specifically note in the release that the water pistol would send the revolver into obscurity, sources tell the Guardian that is indeed the case. More than 100 new or revamped emoji characters are part of the update, in which Apple worked with the nonprofit Unicode Consortium to "reflect the diversity of people everywhere." Other new emojis in the group include a rainbow flag, single-parent families, and new female athletes.
Per sources that spoke to BuzzFeed in June, resistance from Apple and other companies, including Microsoft, helped Unicode make its decision to drop a rifle from a list of new emoji candidates for 2016. And CNNMoney notes the New Yorkers Against Gun Violence group has been lobbying Apple since last year with its #DisarmTheiPhone campaign, designed to convince the company to drop the gun emoji. The decision to dump the revolver may even help keep some people out of trouble, as the use of weapon emojis in threatening messages and online posts has led to arrests. But some complain that cartoon representations of guns aren't the problem. "I'm so glad they did this now ALL THE CRIME IS GONE," tweeted conservative radio host Dana Loesch. (Some new Google-designed emojis aim to empower women.)
(Newser) An FBI electronics technician with top security clearance pleaded guilty on Monday to funneling photographs of FBI documents and other sensitive information to China, the AP reports. Prosecutors in Manhattan federal court charged Kun Shan Chuna naturalized US citizen who goes by "Joey Chun"with making false statements in connection with his security clearance to cover up his connections to Chinese associates, which included at least one unnamed government official. Chun, 46, threatened American security by acting as an unauthorized foreign agent, US Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. Because he was an FBI employee, the threat "was all the more serious and the betrayal all the more duplicitous," the prosecutor added. There was no immediate response from the Chinese Embassy in Washington to a request for comment on the case.
Court papers allege that after beginning work for the FBI's Computerized Central Monitoring Facility, Chun cultivated a relationship with Chinese associates seeking technological data and other info. In 2013, Chun downloaded an FBI organizational chart from his FBI computer in NYC and later turned it over to an unnamed Chinese official. About two years later, he "took photographs of documents displayed in a restricted area of the FBI's New York Field Office, which summarized sensitive details regarding multiple surveillance technologies used by the FBI," the papers say. He later used his personal cellphone to send the photos to China, they add. Authorities say Chun was rewarded with cash, free travel, and other favors for himself and his family; he told an undercover investigator that his associates sometimes paid for prostitutes for him, per the court docs. Chun declined to speak to reporters as he left the courthouse after his plea. His defense attorney said in a statement his client "deeply regrets" what he did and "loves the United States and never intended to cause it any harm." (Read more espionage stories.)
(Newser) A charter bus veered off a central California freeway before dawn Tuesday and struck a pole head-on, killing five people and sending at least five others to hospitals, authorities say. The pole of a highway exit sign sliced the unmarked white bus nearly in half lengthwise, reports the AP. "The pole went through the center of the bus, and that's where the injuries were sustained," California Highway Patrol Officer Moi Onsurez says.
Emergency workers climbed in through the windows to pull passengers out; about 30 were aboard. The five injured were airlifted to hospitals, Onsurez says. The bus was heading from Southern California to Sacramento on State Route 99 when it crashed around 3:30am between the cities of Atwater and Livingston, approximately 65 miles northwest of Fresno, Onsurez says. It isn't clear what caused the crash. (Read more bus crash stories.)
(Newser) Once again, Patton Oswalt has offered a devastatingly honest peek into his mind following the sudden death of his wife, Michelle McNamara, in April. It's been 102 days, he wrote on Facebook Monday night, and he has nothing to show for it except "solid knowledge of fear, exhaustion, and a new appreciation for the randomness and horror of the universe." Well, that and the kindness he's been shown by family, friends, and even strangers who have sent him letters he reads again and again because of "how helpful they are." After weeks of being "face-down and frozen," now he's crawling, and maybe in another 102 days "I'll be walking," he writes.
McNamara left behind "an amazing unfinished book, about a horrific series of murders that everyoneincluding the retired homicide detectives she worked withwas sure she'd solve," Oswalt writes. "The Golden State Killer. She gave him that name, in an article for Los Angeles Magazine. She was going to figure out the real name behind it." Instead, Oswalt is finishing the book, with help from others, and he assures fans it will be published. "It's all her," he writes. "We're just taking what's there and letting it tell us how to shape it. It's amazing." Read his full note, in which he promises to "start being funny again soon" because "what other choice do I have," here. (Read more Patton Oswalt stories.)
(Newser) A third cop at the scene of a fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen in Chicago last week was relieved of his policing powers after an autopsy found 18-year-old Paul O'Neal had been shot in the back and the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide, the AP reports. But another puzzling question is now emerging regarding the Thursday night shooting, per the Chicago Tribune: why, despite the gathering of police body cameras and squad car dashcams, the shooting wasn't captured on camera. O'Neal was behind the wheel of a supposedly stolen Jaguar when he's said to have crashed the car into two police vehicles. Police sources say two officers fired at him while he was still in the Jaguar (a dashcam reportedly captured one of the cops during that shooting), but O'Neal soon took off running, with a third officer fast behind him. It was that officer who shot O'Neal, killing him, but his bodycam did not capture the shooting.
Police don't think the officer who shot O'Neal failed to activate the camera purposely, saying the lack of recording could have been due to officer distraction, damage from the car crash, or the officer's own unfamiliarity with the camera. The three officers had only started using their body cameras about a week before the shooting, and the head of the Fraternal Order of Police union says the "learning curve" for the equipment and "heavy-stress situation[s]" may cause an officer to neglect to turn the camera on. The attorney for O'Neal's family, which Monday filed a civil suit against the officers involved, scoffs at those explanations. "How convenient that they don't work," the attorney told reporters, per the Chicago Sun-Times. "If there is not a cover-up, I don't know where there is one." Bodycam use in Chicago has been given higher priority since the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald, who was shot 16 times by a Chicago cop. (Read more police shooting stories.)
(Newser) Some of the world's last remaining woolly mammoths literally died of thirst, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The ancient animals were still living on a small island off the coast of Alaska until about 5,600 years agoor 5,000 or so years after most woolly mammoths had died off, the Alaska Dispatch News reports. The study concludes it was a lack of fresh water that finally did in the holdouts on St. Paul Island. According to the BBC, rising ocean levels at the end of the Ice Age not only shrank the woolly mammoths' island home, but inundated freshwater reservoirs with seawater.
The study's author, Russ Graham, tells the Guardian there were probably only two watering holes left for the mammoths at the end, and those were shallower and saltier than before. The problem was exacerbated by more mammoths crowding around fewer water sources, trampling vegetation and eroding sediment into the water. Modern elephants can drink more than 50 gallons of water per day; woolly mammoths would likely have needed even more to keep their hairy bodies cool in a warming climate. With little fresh water left, the St. Paul mammoths were likely killed off by heat stress and dehydration. A professor at the Swedish Museum of Natural History says the study likely makes the mammoths' demise the "most well-described and best understood prehistoric extinction event." (A Michigan farmer was shocked to discover a giant mammoth on his property.)
(Newser) More than 30 people were sickened Monday when a helicopter dropped toxic gas onto a Syrian town near where a Russian helicopter had been shot down hours earlier, NBC News reports. That information comes from Syrian Civil Defence, which claims 18 women and 10 children were showing "signs of severe respiratory distress" after the chemical attack in the rebel-held town of Saraqeb. The gas dropped in two barrels from a helicopter is believed to be chlorine, according to the BBC. "We know it's chlorine because we were hit by it in the past and we are familiar with its odor and symptoms," a local doctor says.
The Syrian National Coalition claims President Bashar al-Assad is responsible for the attack, Reuters reports. But a state-run news agency later claimed the rebels were firing rockets armed with poisonous gas. Both the Syrian government and rebels have denied using chemical weapons. A Russian military helicopter was shot down near Saraqeb hours earlier Monday, killing five people on board. It's unclear who is responsible. Russia has sided with al-Assad against Syrian rebels. (Read more Syria stories.)
(Newser) Chelsea Manning, currently three years into a 35-year prison sentence for passing information to WikiLeaks, gave an interview to Amnesty International in which she discusses the power of the government, her life in a military prison, and more. The Guardian has an exclusive excerpt from that interview, which will later be published in a book. In the interview, Manning says she is scared of the government, which is incredibly powerful, especially when compared to individuals. "I am always afraid," she says. "It is very terrifying to face the government alone."
Manning tells Amnesty International she's no longer sure any good will come out of what she did, but she is "hopeful that, perhaps, the next time a democratic government thinks about committing military forces to the occupation of a country which is likely to lead to an insurgency, we can try and look back, and learn from the last time." As for her life in prison: "I try to stay as active and productive as possible," Manning says. "I dont have access to the internet, but I read books and newspapers a lot. I work hard at the job that I have in prisonwork with wood. I am also always trying to learn more, working on my education." Read the rest of the interview here. (Read more Chelsea Manning stories.)
New Delhi:
Home Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to bluntly ask Pakistan to stop sponsoring terror in India and to rein in groups like LeT and JeM during the SAARC Interior/Home Ministers conference to be held in Islamabad on August 4.
Official sources said Singh is unlikely to meet his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan separately as top echelons of the government feel that time is not conducive for a bilateral meeting.
However, the Home Minister, in his speech at the SAARC meeting, is expected to raise the issue of Pakistans support to terror groups operating in India and ask Islamabad to check Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and other groups based in that country.
Singhs visit comes in the backdrop of growing strain in Indo-Pak ties after Pakistan and its Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made provocative statements on the Kashmir situation in the wake of Burhan Wanis killing on July 8. Wani was a wanted terrorist of banned Hizbul Mujahideen.
Not only did Sharif praise Wani but he also remarked that Kashmir will one day become Pakistan, a comment which evoked a sharp reaction from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who said his dream of the state becoming a part of his country will not be realised even at the end of eternity.
Singh is also likely to raise the issue of fake Indian currency notes being circulated at the behest of Pakistani agencies, sources said.
Apart from terrorism, other key issues to be discussed include liberalisation of visa, illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and small arms and how to make coordinated and concerted efforts to combat such menace.
The three-tier meeting will begin at the joint secretary-level and then move on to Secretary and Home Minister-level meetings.
The meeting will also focus on strengthening networking among police authorities of SAARC member-countries and also enhance information-sharing among law enforcement agencies.
The last meeting of SAARC Interior/Home Ministers conference was held in Kathmandu in 2014 when the Home Minister had said that member nations of the group were facing common challenges and they should cooperate with each other to address them.
The Home Minister had also voiced concern over the new threats of terrorism and violence to South Asia and asked SAARC countries to chalk out strategies to check radical groups and extremist ideologies.
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New Delhi:
The Centre on Monday sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh government on alleged gangrape of a woman and her teenage daughter in Bulandshahr that created huge uproar.
In a communication, the Home Ministry asked the state government to provide details of the incident and steps taken to nab all those involved in it, official sources said. The Uttar Pradesh government has been told to send the report as early as possible, sources said.
A gang of dacoits had brutally raped a woman and her 13-year-old daughter at gunpoint after dragging them out of a car in Bulandshahr on NH-91 when they were travelling with their family from Noida to Shahjahanpur on Friday night.
Uttar Pradesh Police had yesterday arrested the three accusedNaresh (25), Bablu (22) and Rais (28) -- and detained a dozen others after launching a massive hunt for the dacoits suspected to be behind the highway crime.
Facing flak from opposition, the state government had suspended five officers, including district SSP Vaibhav Krishna.
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New Delhi:
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal has claimed the credit for Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patels offer to resign, saying the partys soaring popularity in Prime Minister Narendra Modis home state was the reason behind her move to relinquish the post.
Kejriwal, the Delhi chief minister who has set his eyes on the western state, said it was the triumph of AAPs fight against corruption in Gujarat.
AAP spokesperson Ashutosh said Patels offer to resign was a mere drama and that she was actually being sacked.
Anandibens resignation is the outcome of AAPs soaring popularity in Gujarat. BJP is badly scared in Gujarat. Her resignation is also the triumph of AAPs fight against corruption in Gujarat, Kejriwal said in a series of tweets.
The AAP national convenor has visited Gujarat twice in the recent past. He had met the dalit men who were flogged for skinning a dead cow.
In another tweet, he took a swipe at the prime minister, saying people were dying to hear him on a host of contentious issues. Sir, pl speak on dalit atrocities, gau rakshks, kashmir, akhlak, farmer suicides, daal price. Ppl dying to hear u on these (sic).
Ashutosh said BJP was forced to change Patel as chief minister and that it was looking for a new leader as a scared Modi knows he is losing in his home turf.
Anandi Ben is not resigning. It is drama. She is being sacked, Ashutosh said. He also put out a series of tweets saying Modi is rewarding Patel with governorship.
BJP has to answer why Hardik (Patel) was in jail for treason? Why thousands of Patel women/kids were beaten in homes? BJP has to answer why dalits were beaten in Una, Rajula so brutally? Why Gau Rakshak Dal is roaming free? Why false cases against dalits? he said in a series of tweets.
Patel has offered to resign requesting the BJP leadership to relieve her from the post as she is soon going to be 75.
BJP for the first time is facing a tough challenge from opponents in Gujarat since Narendra Modi moved to the Centre.
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Mumbai:
Actor Akshay Kumar has said copntrary to media reports he is not doing sequels to his films, Hera Pheri 2, Awara Pagal Deewana and Baby.
Akshay tickled the funny bone of audience with Hera Pheri and Phir Hera Pheri as funny Raju. He even entertained the audience as the lovable don in Awara Pagal Deewana. And in Baby he played an intelligence officer.
Gossip mills have been abuzz that the Khiladi Kumar would be part of upcoming sequels to these three films.
The 48-year-old actor, rubbishing the rumours, said in an interview, I am not doing Hera Pheri 3, Awara Pagal Deewana 2 or Baby 2.
There were reports that the Airlift actor will also be doing Nikhil Advanis Bazaar and a film with Divya Khosla Kumar but he denied that too.
Now, Akshay is looking forward to the release of Rustom, Robot 2 and Jolly LLB 2.
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New Delhi :
Heavy floods in Assam wreak havoc as about 250 animals have died at Kaziranga National Park which has been badly hit by the floods. At least 20 one-horned rhinos have perished in the floods. Although forest officials managed to rescue over 200 animals, including nine rhino calves, officials said on Monday.
Mobile Veternary Units of Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) has so far rescued 62 hog deer, three eastern swamp deer, 10 Asian one-horned rhinoceros and eight rhinos calves separated from their mothers, according to a Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) release.
CWRC is wildlife rescue, care and rehabilitation facility run jointly by WTI, International Fund for Animal Welfare and the Assam Forest Department (AFD).
The death toll in the World Heritage Site, after river Brahmaputra unleashed its flood fury, was said to be 242 on Monday.
Among the dead rhinos, most were calves. Forest teams managed to rescue at least nine rhinos, 90 Hog Deer, one Jungle Owlet, three Swamp deer, one Fishing Cat and one python, Subhasis Das, Divisional Forest Officer, Kaziranga told a news agency.
Das added that the animals were rescued using boats, some manually and some with the help of tranquilisers. Besides, an official told a news agency that, No tiger deaths have been reported so far, nor have we found any tiger carcasses. Some tigers have reportedly moved towards human habitations.
The dead animals included 20 rhinos, nine Swamp Deer, 185 Hog Deer, four Wild Buffalo, 12 Wild Boar, two Hog Badger, a Pelican, six Sambar deer, two porcupines and a python. However, officials said it was not only the floods that accounted for the death of animals. They said fourteen Hog Deer died after being hit by vehicles on National Highway-37, while eight animals, including four rhinos and a Hog Badger, are said to have died due to natural causes.
Of those rescued, many, including one rhino and 60 Hog Deer, have been released back in the wild, officials added. Over 70 elevated platforms, or man-made highlands, in the park also helped save many animals. However, not all the elevated platforms could withstand this year's floods. We are planning to get more of these highlands in the park, Das told the agency.
Besides, officials said the floods had begun to abate now, but their next fear is fodder scarcity that would push the animals to southern Kaziranga in search of food. The floods are followed by fodder scarcity for some time, then animals start moving towards the Karbi-Anglong Hills situated at the southern part of the forest, Das said.
He added that since the southern boundary of the national highway is at a height, animals often move to take shelter there during floods. This also invites poachers.
We have our teams there, we have many camps there and our guards will continue monitoring to keep poachers away, an official said.
Every year, floods take over Kaziranga, but this year they have been aggressive, O.P. Pandey, former Wildlife Warden of Assam, told the news agency.
Kaziranga National Park is home to 35 species of mammals and has 2400 one-horned rhinoceros, 20,000 hog deer, 100 tigers, 1000 elephants, 1500 wild buffaloes, 1000 swarm dear.
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Mumbai:
26/11 Mumbai attacks key plotter and Lashkar-e-Toiba operative Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal was among seven persons sentenced to life imprisonment today by a special MCOCA court in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case. Besides Jundal, six other convictsMohammed Aamir Sheikh, Billal Ahmed, Sayed Akif, Afroz Khan, Mohammed Aslam Kashmiri and Faizal Ataur Rehman (who is on death row in the July 11, 2006 Mumbai train bombings case)-- were handed out life by designated Judge Shrikant Anekar.
Prounoucing the sentence, the court said that all the seven convicts will serve imprisonment till their (natural) life. Also, two other convictsMohammed Mujaffar Tanvir and Dr Mohammed Sharifwere handed out 14 years of imprisonment while three othersMushtaq Ahmed, Javed Ahmed and Afzal Khan were awarded eight years imprisonment.
The court while sentencing all the 12 convicted, today observed that it has taken into consideration the gravity of offence, lack of remorse (of the accused) and potential effect on common man in the case.
On July 28, ten years after ATS recovered a huge haul of arms near Aurangabad, the special court had convicted 12 persons and acquitted eight others in the case but had dropped the stringent MCOCA charge against them.
Out of total 22 accused in the case, the court last week acquitted eight others while trial of two accused was separated as one of them was declared hostile after he turned approver, while another accused is absconding.
On May 8, 2006, a Maharashtra ATS team chased a Tata Sumo and an Indica car on Chandwad-Manmad Highway near Aurangabad and arrested three terror suspects and seized 30kg of RDX, 10 AK-47 assault rifles and 3,200 bullets.
Jundal, allegedly driving the Indica, managed to give police the slip. The court had observed that the accused had a common thought process and wanted to wage jihad.
The judge had also accepted prosecutions case that the accused wanted to strike terror in the minds of the people and wanted to eliminate public figures like (the then) Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi and Hindu leader Praveen Togadia (of VHP).
The judge had also said that the accused wanted to avenge developments that unfolded after the 2002 Godhra riots. According to police, after the ATS intercepted the vehicles, Jundal, who hails from Beed district, drove to Malegaon and a few days later he escaped to Bangladesh from where he fled to Pakistan.
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New Delhi:
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has called Anandiben Patel, who offered to quit as Gujarat Chief Minister, a scapegoat. He has also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, holding him responsible for all Gujarat ills. Here are the top 5 stories at 1 PM on August 2:
1. Anandiben a 'scapegoat', Modi responsible for Gujarat ills, says Rahul Gandhi
A day after Anandiben Patel decided to step down as Chief Minister, Rahul Gandhi today said making her a scapegoat would not save the BJP in Gujarat as the 13-year Narendra Modi rule in the state was responsible for its burning.
2. GST Bill: BJP, Congress issue whip asking MPs to be present in Rajya Sabha tomorrow
With the GST bill set to be tabled in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, the Congress on Tuesday issed a three-line whip asking its members to be present in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Earlier on Monday, the BJP issued a whip to its members asking them to be present in the House for the next three days during which the party expects the legislation to be passed.
3. Arms haul case: Abu Jundal, 6 others get life imprisonment
Lashkar-e-Taiba operative and 26/11 Mumbai attack plotter Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal and six others have been sentenced for life in the 2006 Aurangabad Arms Haul case. The special MCOCA court pronounced the quantum of sentence on Tuesday.
4. Bulandshahr gangrape: Punish them or three of us will commit suicide, says family
Three days after a woman and her daughter were brutally gangraped in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr after being dragged out of their car, the family has threatened to commit suicide if the accused arew not punished.
5. Narsingh Yadav meets PM Modi, says will go for Rio Olympics and win medal for India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met Wrestler Narsingh Yadav and asked him to participate in the Olympics without any tension and win laurels for the country.
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Lucknow:
Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan backtracked from his Uttar Pradesh remark, saying he was misinterpreted. He was embroiled in another controversy after his remarks over Bulandshahr gangrape case. "Didn't say virodhiyon ki shaazish, said that UP polls are close and so many such incidents are happening, needs to be investigated," said Azam Khan.
Earlier, Azam Khan took a jibe at various BJP ministers visiting Bulandshahr to meet victim. "We need to investigate whether this is a conspiracy by opponents who want to defame the government," said Mr Khan, who is known to invite trouble with his loose talk.
"For votes, people can stoop to any level. There can be a Muzaffarnagar, a Shamli and Kairana...why not this? For power, politicians can murder people, trigger riots, kill innocent people, so the truth has to be found out," he remarked.
While, BJP retorted strongly to it and said, "If you have an ounce of humanity, then try and catch the accused." The party has demanded CBI enquiry in the matter. Ever since the matter came into light, there have been demands for Akhilesh Yadav's resignation from several political leaders.
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Sydney:
Apple iPhone 6 exploded in a man's back pocket. He has been identified as Gareth Clear, a management consultant from Sydney, Australia.
Gareth suffered minor injuries in the incident. According to a report in newspaper, Clears phone in back pocket caught fire after he met with a bike accident, landing on his iPhone 6.
"Seconds later he noticed smoke and a searing heat, before hearing an explosion as the phone he'd had for just six months ignited, melting through his shorts and two layers of skin on his upper right thigh," says the news report.
The man then shared a picture of him in the social media and tagged Apple CEO Tim Cook in it saying he would now require a skin graft surgery.
According to the report, Apple has assured serious investigations into the matter.
In June 2015 too, a person called Kishan Yadav had claimed that his iPhone 6 exploded during a hands-free phone call. He is said to have survived unscathed after he threw his device out of his car's window.
New Delhi :
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill, a comprehensive indirect tax on manufacturing, sale and consumption at a national level, is currently running its last leg. It has been long pending issue to streamline all the different types of indirect taxes and implement a single taxation system.
GST bill is set to be tabled in Rajya Sabha on August 3 and the Congress issued a three-line whip asking its members to be present in Upper House. The BJP-led NDA lacks a majority in the Upper House but has managed to get support of several regional parties on the GST bill.
The NDA government couldn't get the GST Bill converted into a law during the Budget Session. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced in his budget speech that the government is keen on implementing the GST by April 1, 2016 and hoped that the bill will be cleared by Parliament.
Let us take a look at the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bills journey so far:
1. Finance minister P. Chidambaram, in his 2006 budget speech, suggested the idea of moving towards a goods and services tax (GST) and set a deadline of 1 April 2010 for its implementation. He asked the empowered committee of state finance ministers to come up with a framework.
2. The empowered committee, headed by West Bengal Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta, released its first discussion paper on GST in November 2009 after consultations with the central government and within the states.
3. The thirteenth finance commission backed a consumption-based taxation approach with no exclusions and a low tax rate.
4. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government introduced the constitution amendment bill in the Lok Sabha in March 2011.
5. Parliament refered the GST bill to the standing committee for finance.
6. Sushil Kumar Modi was appointed as the new chairman of the empowered committee of state finance ministers in June 2012 to replace Asim Dasgupta, whose party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), was voted out of power in West Bengal.
7. Finance minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Abdul Rahim Rather, took over from Sushil Kumar Modi after the latters resignation.
8. The standing committee submitted its recommendations in August 2013 after extensive talks with the centre and the states. It recommended that exclusions under GST be kept at a minimum to avoid distortions.
9. The central government and the states continued to hold deliberations but a trust deficit continued over the federal governments reluctance to pay compensation to states for losses from phasing out of central sales tax.
10. The constitutional amendment bill lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha in May 2014.
11. The new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at New Delhi renewed efforts to strike a consensus with states and promises to pay central sales tax compensation to states.
12. After extensive talks with states, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced the revised constitution amendment bill in the Lok Sabha in December 2014.
13. Subsequently in March 2015, Kerala Finance Minister K.M. Mani was appointed as chairman of empowered committee, replacing Abdul Rahim Rather.
14. In May 2015, Lok Sabha passed GST bill.
15. The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution to introduce a goods and services tax (GST) which will include various Central indirect taxes, including the Central Excise Duty, Countervailing Duty, Service Tax, etc. It also subsumes State value added tax (VAT), octroi and entry tax, luxury tax, etc.
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Varanasi:
Congress president Sonia Gandhi today launched her partys campaign for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election with a massive roadshow in PM Narendra Modi's-bastion Varanasi.
Thousands of Congress supporters and workers took part in the roadshow from the Circuit House to Englishiya Line, a distance of about eight kilometers. The march began with Gandhi garlanding the statue of B R Ambedkar at the Circuit House and the marchers crisscrossed lanes and by lanes of the temple town.
Gandhi, who was initially travelling in a car and later, moved to a vehicle with open sunroof, waved at the crowd which cheered and raised slogans against the Modi government. She came out of her vehicle several times to accept the greetings of the cheering supporters, including groups of Muslim women. As the road show passed through several localities, rose petals were showered on Gandhi and her cavalcade from adjoining buildings.
Dozens of mini trucks prominently displayed posters with 27 Saal, UP Behaal (27 years of UPs distress) written on them. Placards carried by hundreds of workers also had the same slogan written on them. Besides the partys chief ministerial candidate Sheila Dikshit, AICC General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad, state party chief Raj Babbar and senior leaders Pramod Tiwari and Sanjay Singh accompanied Gandhi.
Earlier, Gandhi flew in here for a day-long programme in Modis constituency and was led by hundreds of bikers, waving party flags from the airport to the heart of the city.This is Gandhis first visit to Varanasi after Modi became Prime Minister. Gandhi is scheduled to visit the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in the evening to offer prayers. Congress has launched a campaign dard-e-Banaras to highlight lack of development in Varanasi, which Modi is representing for over two years in the Lok Sabha.
Congress has been out of power for 27 years in Uttar Pradesh and is projecting that the state has gone from bad to worse in these years through a campaign, called 27 Saal, UP Behaal.Varanasi is a key place in eastern Uttar Pradesh having some 160 of the 403 Assembly constituencies in the state. Congress had only won two seatsAmethi and Rae Bareli
In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, while BJP and its ally Apna Dal secured 73 seats out of total 80. The UP Assembly elections outcome will also have ramifications for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Poll strategist Prashant Kishor has been roped in by Congress to assist the UPCC in the Assembly polls. Kishor had planned the campaign strategy of Modi in Lok Sabha polls and Nitish Kumar in the Bihar Assembly polls.
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Kathmandu:
Nepal Maoist chief Prachanda today filed his nomination for the election to the post of prime minister tomorrow that could bring political stability to the country. Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba proposed the 61-year-old CPN-Maoist Centre president as the candidate for new Prime Minister, while Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara seconded it. The crucial development comes a day after Nepals President Bidya Devi Bhandari gave a fresh call to all political parties to form a majority government when the deadline given to them for forging consensus expired without yielding any results.
It is learnt that the Parliament has started preparation for beginning the procedure of electing the premier tomorrow. Speaker Onsari Gharti has called a meeting of the 596-member Parliament for 11 am to elect the new Prime Minister after embattled premier K P Oli resigned on July 24, triggering a fresh political turmoil in Nepal.
Oli tendered his resignation after two key ruling alliance partners - Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum-Democratic and Rastriya Prajatantra Party - decided to support the no-confidence motion tabled against him by the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-Maoist Centre led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda.
The Maoist chief and former premier known for his anti-India stance is expected to become Nepals 39th Prime Minister with the support of largest party Nepali Congress, the Madhesis and other fringe parties if there is no dramatic development.
Three Madhesi leaders - Upendra Yadav of Social Forum-Nepal, Sarvendra Nath Shukla of Tarai Madhesh Democratic Party and Laxman Lal Karna of Sadbhawana Party - have supported Prachandas candidacy.
The Madhesi alliance decided to support Prachandas candidacy after a 3-point agreement with the Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN (Maoist Centre) but will not join the government, Karna said.
With the support of the alliance, which has 39 lawmakers, Prachandas election as the new prime minister has become almost certain.
Meanwhile, the CPN-UML has decided not to field any candidate in the prime ministerial election but vote against Prachanda. The party of outgoing Prime Minister Oli decided to remain as the main opposition party.
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New Delhi:
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who was taken ill during a roadshow in Varanasi and forced to return to the national capital, was today stable and has been shifted to Ganga Ram Hospital in west Delhi. Gandhi was admitted to the Armys Research and Referral Hospital here late last night due to high fever.
The 69-year-old Congress chief returned here by a chartered flight close to midnight after she had to abandon the 8-km roadshow in Varanasi midway due to illness.
Gandhi has been shifted to Gangaram Hospital as she had earlier also undergone treatment there, sources said. Earlier in the day, AICC media cell in-charge Randeep Surjewala had said that she is stable and is recovering under medical supervision.
Yesterday itself, she had said that she would return to Varanasi to meet the people and to have darshan of the historical temple of Kashi Vishwanath Ji. On return, she was admitted to hospital in Delhi, is stable and is recovering under medical supervision, he had said in a statement.
The Congress President is overwhelmed by the concern and affection of fellow countrymen and crores of Congressmen and has thanked everyone for their good wishes, he had said. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, were by her side. Her son-in-law Robert Vadra also visited her.
Senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had yesterday said that her condition was stable after she suffered a bout of dehydration, vomited and had fever in Varanasi.
PM Narendra Modi also offered to send a doctor and an aircraft to bring the Congress president back to Delhi, sources said. Congress sources said Sonia was running fever but decided to go ahead with the roadshow in Varanasi, where her condition worsened, as she was not inclined to cancel it at the last moment.
In a statement, Sonia Gandhi regretted that she could not complete her visit to Varanasi due to illness but said she would come back soon for darshan of Kashi Vishwanath in the temple town.
Due to illness, I could not complete my visit for which I regret. I could not seek the blessings of Kashi Vishwanth in the holy month of Savan. I will come back soon. I am thankful to all citizens of Varanasi and Congress workers for the love and affection, she said.
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New Delhi :
India is all set to celebrate its 70th year of Independence on 15th August this year, the Centre has planned an initiative to instill the spirit of patriotism among citizens. Cabinet ministers under PM Narendra Modi will help the citizens to recall the sacrifices made by our freedom fighters.
PM Narendra Modi discussed the blue-print of the programme in the parliamentary board meeting and it is named as 'Azadi 70 Saal-Yaad Karo Qurbani'. Around 75 ministers of the Union cabinet will be the flag bearers of this programme.
They will recount the sacrifices made by our freedom fighters and the turning point events that led to India's independence...From the Quit India movement to the Dandi March to Kakori Kand many moments of history will be recalled to inspire the younger generation.
Following this, Ministers will fan out across the country visiting historical places and memorials associated with the struggle for Independence and will pay tributes to the great lives associated with this movement.
BJP has announced it will launch Tiranga yatras on 15th August. I&B minister Venkaiah Naidu said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the campaign on 9th August, on the occasion of 75th anniversary of Quit India Movement.
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Lahore:
A Jamaat-ud-Dawah caravan led by Talha Saeed, the son of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, today staged a sit-in at the Line of Control at Chakothi, saying they will not leave unless India receives relief materials brought by them for Kashmiris. We will not leave from the LoC till India agrees to receive the relief goods and medicines we have brought for Kashmiris of Srinagar, said Hafiz Abdur Rauf, chairman of the Falayh-i-Insaniat Foundation, a sister organisation of JuD. Talking to PTI over phone from Chakothi, Rauf said the Pakistani army and police had stopped them near the LoC at Chakothi.
We have requested the Pakistani authorities to speak to the Indian army to receive the relief goods, dry food and medicines we have brought here in more than 10 trucks for our injured Kashmiri brethren who are in dire need of it, he said. The JuD caravan left from Muzaffarabad for Chakothi this afternoon and reached its destination after getting a welcome at Ghari Habibullah, Natian Wala.
According to Ahmad Nadeem, a JuD member who is also part of the caravan, all business activities remained closed in Chakothi and the people gave a warm welcome to them.
He said it has been decided in principle that not a single participant will leave till our just demand is met.
Tomorrow more people will join this sit-in to put pressure on the authorities concerned to persuade India to accept the relief goods, he said, adding that the FIF and JuD just want handing over the relief goods to the Kashmiris as no politics was involved in it.
Talha read out the message of his father Hafiz Saeed to the participants of the rally expressing the resolve that Kashmir will become (part of) Pakistan.
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DANBURY Problems getting assistance to a police officer who was assaulted Saturday are typical of Danburys 911 dispatch center and could impact the publics safety, union officials claimed on Tuesday.
Officer Bryan Reed, vice president of the Danbury Police Union, said that while wrong information is often sent to officers in the field by the dispatch center, it couldnt get much worse than the response on Saturday when officer Joe Pooler, who was the departments officer of the year in 2015, was assaulted near Jimmies Market.
Employees with the center, which was outsourced by Mayor Mark Boughton last year to a private company, New Jersey-based IXP Corp., first dispatched Pooler to his own assault, according to the union. And then they sent backup officers to the wrong location three times before police are able to arrive on scene, Reed said, adding that it took about a minute and a half before officers were able to respond to the downtown location.
Obviously we are not happy with IXPs performance on Saturday night, Reed said. It was a mess, and we cant let this happen again, but it keeps happening. Weve had a number of problems with IXP for some time and we are looking at this point for a solution to the problems.
More News Danbury man arrested after assault on police officer
IXP officially took over the dispatch center in February 2015. For years, Boughton had pushed for the privatization of the center in an effort to both save taxpayer dollars and get more police officers on the streets. Prior to IXP, the dispatch center was manned by police officers.
A one and a half minute response time to a call in the city is pretty good, Boughton said Tuesday in response to the unions concerns.
He added, however, that there were several issues with the call on Saturday, including that the GPS system in Poolers cruiser and three other cruisers in the city that night werent working.
Pooler was dispatched to his own assault, Boughton said. Because of the issue with the GPS system, the dispatcher wasnt able to see that Pooler was the one being assaulted, and that was part of the problem.
He added that former police Chief Al Baker, who retired earlier this year, had instituted a policy that prevented dispatchers and officers from issuing a signal five, which indicates an officer is in distress and all units should respond. Baker, Boughton said, preferred direct radio communications for officers in distress.
Chief Patrick Ridenhour, who was sworn into the office earlier this month, has since rescinded that policy, Boughton noted.
Union officials, however, say the problems on Saturday are characteristic of ongoing issues within the dispatch center that is impacting the safety of both the public and responding officers. Problems, he said, including the wrong addresses being provided and calls being mislabeled, such as a suspicious person complaint being dispatched as a motor vehicle accident.
Its been a recurring problem, he said. IXP also has a high turnover rate and we see this as a big public safety issue. It could have easily been a citizen that this happened to on Saturday.
Larry Consalvos, president and chief operating officer for IXP, said there will always be turnover at any job and that there is a full-time training officer assigned to each shift.
Weve handled millions of calls throughout the country and we always meet our performance metrics, Consalvos said. I dont think anyone could have handled that call on Saturday better than our folks did.
Consalvos said he reviewed the call in question and determined that it was 32 seconds before the dispatcher was able to send backup units to assist Pooler. Because of the GPS issues, he said, we had no way of knowing where the unit was.
The officer had not called in to report that he was exiting his vehicle, he said. If we had that information it would have expedited the call even quicker. We got help to the officer as quickly as humanly possible.
Ridenhour said that Saturdays attack could have been much worse, and that emotions are running high inside the department after the assault.
This was a very serious incident and our thoughts go out to Pooler for a speedy recovery, he said. We will review both this incident and the operation as a whole to see what problems may need to be addressed, and well do that. There is no reason to believe that IXP would be resistant to any changes that might need to be made. Obviously nobody wants to compromise an officers safety and, more importantly, the publics safety.
Reed said the new chief has been supportive of their efforts to have the matter addressed.
The chief has been incredibly supportive and is working with us to help resolve these problems, he said.
Police said officer Pooler was sitting in his patrol car on July 30 when city resident Pierre Elhayek, 20, approached the vehicle and began banging and kicking the car. Pooler, believing the assailant needed assistance, got of out of the car and was immediately attacked by Elhayek, police said.
A violent struggle ensued, and Pooler, who had lost his Taser during the dispute, was not immediately able to get back into the cruiser or reach his radio to call for help. It was a witness to the attack who made the 911 call alerting authorities to the attack.
Nearly $1 million in federal funding coming to Connecticut to combat Zika has local health officials relieved that the state will be better prepared to combat the virus.
The state announced Tuesday that it will receive an additional $400,000, on top of $580,000 reported on Monday, from the Centers for Disease Control to support the states efforts to protect residents from the Zika virus and to monitor Zika-related birth defects.
The state Department of Public Health will use the money to fund its Zika testing program for the next year and to enhance mosquito surveillance being done by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. The funding will also be used to establish a monitoring program through DPHs Birth Registry that will track infants born with Zika-related birth defects.
Without surveillance, we wont know what we are dealing with, said Laurie Brentlinger, a nurse and director of infection control and protection at the Western Connecticut Health Network. Without the ability to test, we wont be able to determine any individuals exposure to Zika.
Supporting that, it is first and foremost at this point, Brentlinger continued. The health network includes Danbury, Norwalk and New Milford hospitals.
Dr. Zane Saul, chief of infectious diseases at Bridgeport Hospital, agreed, and hopes the federal funding will mean more testing for those living in the state.
This is going to help us ... the state really has been dictating our laboratory evaluation of Zika and they have been limiting it appropriately because there werent a lot of resources, Saul said. We need to stay on it proactively.
The Zika virus is widespread in South and Central America and a few dozen U.S. territories. It has infected more than 1,650 U.S. residents, most of whom got the illness while traveling, though there have been some sexually transmitted cases.
This additional aid for Connecticut is welcome and needed, but Congress must return to Washington to approve the full aid needed nationwide to combat the growing Zika epidemic, said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, in a statement. Mosquitoes do not know red states from blue, and there should be nothing partisan about fighting this devastating disease.
In Connecticut, 45 patients have tested positive for Zika all occurring because of travel to Zika-affected areas in the Caribbean and Central and South America. The virus commonly causes fever, rash, or other mild symptoms and, rarely, a paralyzing neurological illness called Guillain-Barre syndrome. In pregnant women, however, it has been linked to the birth defect microcephaly, in which the babys head is smaller than average.
This grant will continue to help Connecticut in our preparation efforts and ensure that our states residents are protected to the fullest extent possible. We are doing everything we can at the state level to prepare, said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in a statement.
The state has not seen any local transmission of the disease, but 14 people are believed to have become infected with the virus in Miami the first mosquito-transmitted cases on record in the mainland U.S. The CDC has added this area to its travel warning for Zika-affected areas.
I encourage Connecticut women who are or plan to become pregnant and their partners to avoid this neighborhood, should they be traveling to Miami. While Zika virus causes only mild symptoms in most people, it can have devastating, lifelong consequences for unborn children, said Connecticut DPH Commissioner Dr. Raul Pino in a statement.
Pino added that the type of mosquito suspected of transmitting Zika in Miami is not found in Connecticut. But another mosquito capable of transmitting Zika, the Asian tiger mosquito, has been trapped in several Connecticut municipalities this summer Bridgeport, Darien, Fairfield, Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford, West Haven and South Windsor.
Even with these findings, Theodore Andreadis, the director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, said there is no immediate concern in the state, and that Connecticut will more likely see the disease transmitted sexually, rather than through mosquitoes.
Andreadis said, out of the approximately 117,000 mosquitoes trapped, only 175 were Asian tiger mosquitoes which can transmit the virus, but arent as effective as spreading Zika as the other mosquito found in Florida and other tropical areas.
In addition to the testing and surveillance being done now, Dr. James Sabetta, director of infectious diseases at Greenwich Hospital, said more needs to done to determine how frequently the virus causes complications.
If you know what the true incidences are, you can make more intelligent recommendations, he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Nearly all marketers agree on the importance of social media marketing for business growth. And considering that 33 percent of millennials today say social media is one of their preferred channels for communicating with businesses, I expect it will become even more important over time.
That said, a lot of brands still dont know how to use social media to engage audiences and help their own bottom line. There is, however, a right -- and wrong -- way businesses can share their content on social media.
Right: Selecting the right channels.
The average social media user maintains five accounts, but that doesnt mean you should also. Businesses should share their content on the platforms where their target audience spends the most time. I recommend you do some research into the demographics of different platforms to make this decision.
Related: 5 Trends Reshaping Social Media
You may use several social platforms to promote your content, but dont stretch yourself too thin. One or two active social accounts will look better to your audience than six abandoned brand accounts.
Wrong: Not optimizing for platforms.
Even if you have the same end-goal for your content across social media, you should optimize it for each platforms characteristics and strengths.
For example: Videos tend to outperform images on Facebook. Twitter posts, while no more than 140 characters, should be even shorter if youre including an image. (Luckily, that should be changing soon.) LinkedIn doesnt support hashtags, so dont use them. For Twitter and Instagram, hashtags are a necessity.
Each platform also has ideal image dimensions, as this graphic shows:
Take the time to format your posts elements to each social platform you share on. In my experience, it has a big impact.
Right: Using visuals.
Visuals can help your social posts on any platform, so theres no reason not to use them. Sixty-five percent of senior marketing executives believe that visual assets (photos, video, illustrations and infographics) are core to how their brand story is communicated. Moreover, visual content is more than 40 times more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content.
Related: 5 Tips for Running Your Best Social Media Campaign Ever
Many marketers fail to take advantage of all the different visual assets available on social media, especially Twitter cards. There are five types of Twitter cards that allow you to include unique visual assets with your tweets: Summary Card, Summary Card with Large Image, App Card, Player Card and Lead Generation Card.
Use them to drive more engagement for your organic posts, and be on the lookout for other unique visual assets you can use (e.g. Carousel ads on Facebook and Instagram).
Wrong: Not varying your content.
Consumers say the three most important characteristics of a brands social posts are (in order): the brand shares new content; the content is relevant to the brand; and the brand engages with followers.
And they mean it. Fifty-six percent of people unfollow brands on social media because their content is boring.
Here are some best practices to vary your content and avoid being boring:
Follow the 70/20/10 rule: 70 percent informative, 20 percent other peoples posts, 10 percent sales
Show a personable side to your business
Offer value with helpful how to posts
Run social contests and giveaways
Be a comedian
Take a stand on polarizing issues (seriously)
If you need some inspiration on how to vary your content and keep followers engaged, I recommend checking out General Electric, Cisco, Oracle, or Siemens on social media. They are all traditionally boring brands sharing great social content.
Right: Sharing at optimum times.
With the rise of paid social options, its no surprise that organic reach has become more difficult for brands. But you can still get the most out of your organic posts by sharing them at optimum times, which tend to vary by platform.
Dont make the mistake of just sticking with the optimum times your social media automation tool sets for you. Those are often based on when most of your followers are online, but research has shown that for Facebook, at least, thats actually the worst time to post.
Pay attention to the latest studies on which post times get businesses the most reach and engagement, and use that information to optimize your sharing times.
Related: New Study Details Who Is Using Social Media and When
Wrong: Spamming news feeds.
Back in 2014, Facebook announced a crackdown on what it considered to be spammy content from brands. If they see you making the following mistakes, they may deliberately decrease your organic reach even more.
Like-baiting are posts that include a request for likes, responses or other actions. This sample post says it all.
Frequently circulated content breeds repetition. KissMetrics research found that sharing content at least three times on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ increases shares by more than 100%, but thats no reason to reshare the same content over and over.
Spammy links are posts containing language and formatting designed to trick people into clicking links that arent related. A bad idea all around.
Related:
Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
The office of Probate Judge requires an individual with impeccable character and competence. That is true simply because judgments impact individuals personally in matters of finance, family, and property. Often judgments determine the life course for the most innocent and vulnerable among us the children. The job of Probate Judge is not just about wills and estates!
Therefore, I am writing in favor of Daniel OGrady for the office of Probate Judge for Ridgefield, Bethel, Newtown, and Redding.
RZESZOW, Poland, LONDON and HONG KONG, Aug. 1, 2016 /CNW/ - G2A.COM the world's fastest growing digital marketplace, has played a key role in the first Forum Polonii Amerykanskiej (Polish-American Congress) convened outside of the United States.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160731/394393)
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160731/394394)
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160731/394395)
Bartosz Skwarczek, the CEO and co-founder of G2A.COM, represented the company at the Congress Exhibition Centre in Rzeszow, Poland, on Tuesday and impressed the participants with the G2A story, detailing the company's journey from humble beginnings to becoming an award-winning international brand, as well as outlining G2A's goals, plans for the future, opportunities for further development, and the company's policy to always have an "open door" for collaboration with partners and developers.
Top US business decision-makers learned about the top worldwide brands that work with G2A today and that over a million transactions are made on the G2A Marketplace every month. There was also keen interest in the story of the company which in five years has transformed from just a handful of employees to one which now employs over 640 professionals from 31 countries.
This is the first time that the Polish-American Forum has taken part in this event in Poland. Participants of the congress included the Polish-American Contractor Builders Association and the Polish-American Chamber of Commerce. G2A presented their 3D printing solution G2A 3D+ and their Virtual Reality project called G2A Land which features a thrilling roller coaster experience, shooting range, cinema and an underwater world. The experience is enhanced through wearing the Oculus Glasses for a 3D impact.
The final part of the event - the Open Discussion Panel: "How to make Poles leaders in the digital revolution". CEO, Bartosz Skwarczek, stated: "If we consider the near future, especially through the perspective of digitalization, we are not able to foresee what will happen in the next five or 10 years. This is because the internet is expanding rapidly and exponentially. The only thing we can do is to open our minds and interact with technology, embrace it and try it out."
"G2A sees great potential in the Polish-American Congress, especially concerning its reach to people. When we started six years ago, we had to carve our own path. Now there is an amazing source of help and support for Polish people who want to start a global business, whether in the US, or any other country where there is a Polish community present."
Emphasising the size and popularity of the digital gaming marketplace, The Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York - Ms Sabina Klimek added: "The video game, The Witcher makes up five percent of Polish exports to the US."
G2A's involvement with Polish-American initiatives is expansive and includes youth, with the success of young scientists from a local Subcarpathian, Polish school - Franciszek Leja State School- who came in the top ten in an edition of "BotBall" - an educational robotics program sponsored by NASA. This talented team from Grodzisko Gorne (Poland), sponsored and supported by G2A.COM, were recognised in two categories: Outstanding Engineering and Outstanding Robot Collaboration/Synchronisation.
The final stage of the competition took place in Florida, US, and one of the biggest challenges for them was to fund the costs of traveling to the US. With this in mind, G2A seized the opportunity to support the initiative, as Bartosz Skwarczek said, "Money should never stand in the way of achieving goals".
G2A.COM is the world's fastest growing digital gaming marketplace and a multi-award winning international company, scooping seven international awards so far in 2016.
http://www.gbeawards.com http://www.stevieawards.com http://f-x-a.co.uk
SOURCE G2A.com
For further information: Jacqueline Purcell, [email protected]
MONTREAL, Aug. 2, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - The Horatio Alger Association of Canada announced today the opening of its online scholarship application process for students across Canada beginning their post-secondary studies in the fall of 2017.
A total of 85 need-based scholarships will be awarded:
80 Horatio Alger Canadian Scholarships, valued at $5,000 each, to high school students in every province and territory, as well as CEGEP students in Quebec with plans to attend university, and;
each, to high school students in every province and territory, as well as CEGEP students in with plans to attend university, and; 5 Horatio Alger National Entrepreneurial Scholarships, worth $10,000 each, targeted at outstanding applicants nation-wide who intend to pursue a business-related degree or have expressed a commitment to following an entrepreneurial career.
Students are encouraged to file their applications before the October 25, 2016 deadline. The application form can be found on the Horatio Alger Association of Canada's website at http://www.horatioalger.ca.
Horatio Alger scholarships are awarded to deserving students in financial need who have overcome significant adversity while demonstrating strength of character, strong academics, a commitment to pursuing higher education, as well as a desire to contribute to society. Funds can be used for both university or career and technical studies. Since 2012, more than $1.5 million in scholarships have been awarded to more than 300 deserving young Canadians.
"We are thrilled to offer deserving students across this great country the opportunity to earn a post-secondary education," said Prem Watsa, President of the Horatio Alger Association of Canada and a Member since 2012. "Education is the key to prosperity, and as an Association, we believe these scholarships to be an investment in Canada's future."
"This scholarship is a can't-miss opportunity," said Solomiya Salo, a fourth-year Ryerson University student who was awarded a Horatio Alger scholarship in 2012. "In my last year of high school, I had nobody left to rely on financially and I worried about how I would pay for my university studies. The Horatio Alger Association gave me the resources I needed to successfully continue my education and pursue my ambitions."
About the Horatio Alger Association of Canada
The Horatio Alger Association of Canada, the Canadian affiliate of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc., is a charitable organization dedicated to the simple but powerful belief that hard work, honesty and determination can conquer all obstacles. The Association honours the achievements of outstanding individuals who have succeeded in spite of adversity by bestowing to them the Horatio Alger Award and granting them lifetime membership into the Association. Through the generosity of Horatio Alger Members, the Horatio Alger Association of Canada awards scholarships annually to deserving young people in every province and territory. Members of the Association include Dominic D'Alessandro, Murray Edwards, David Foster, Serge Godin, Wayne Gretzky, Rebecca MacDonald, the late G. Wallace F. McCain, the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, Jim Pattison, Gerald W. Schwartz, Isadore Sharp, Prem Watsa and Rick Waugh. For more information, visit www.horatioalger.ca. The Association can also be found on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
SOURCE Horatio Alger Association of Canada
For further information: Tom Kott, HATLEY Strategy Advisors, 514.316.7082, [email protected]
CALGARY, Aug. 2, 2016 /CNW/ - Oryx Petroleum Corporation Limited ("Oryx Petroleum" or the "Corporation") will announce its financial and operating results for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2016 on Wednesday, August 3, 2016 after the close of trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Mr. Vance Querio, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Scott Lewis, Head of Corporate Finance & Planning will host a conference call to discuss the Corporation's financial and operating results on Thursday, August 4, 2016 at 17:00 CEST (16:00 BST, 11:00 EDT).
Conference Call details:
Date: Thursday August 4, 2016 Time: 17:00 CEST (16:00 BST, 11:00 EDT)
Participant Access:
Canada +1 514 841 2154 United States +1 212 444 0895 United Kingdom +44 (0) 20 3427 1907 France +33 (0) 1 76 77 22 22 Switzerland / Other +41 (0) 44 580 7216
Access code to join conference: 4170629
Playback will be available up to 14 days after the live call on:
United States / Canada: +1 347 366 9565 United Kingdom: +44 (0) 20 3427 0598 France: +33 (0) 1 74 20 28 00 Switzerland / Other: +41 (0) 22 592 7553
Access code: 4170629
Playback will also be available on the Oryx Petroleum Website.
This recording is the property of Oryx Petroleum. Any reproduction or distribution is strictly prohibited without prior written approval from Oryx Petroleum. Please contact our Investor Relations with any questions.
ABOUT ORYX PETROLEUM CORPORATION LIMITED
Oryx Petroleum is an international oil exploration company focused in Africa and the Middle East. The Corporation's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "OXC". The Oryx Petroleum group of companies was founded in 2010 by The Addax and Oryx Group P.L.C. and key members of the former senior management team of Addax Petroleum Corporation. Oryx Petroleum has interests in seven license areas, two of which have yielded oil discoveries. The Corporation is the operator or technical partner in five of the seven license areas. Two license areas are located in the Kurdistan Region and the Wasit governorate (province) of Iraq and five license areas are located in West Africa in Nigeria, the AGC administrative area offshore Senegal and Guinea Bissau, and Congo (Brazzaville). Further information about Oryx Petroleum is available at www.oryxpetroleum.com or under Oryx Petroleum's profile at www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Oryx Petroleum Corporation Limited
For further information: Scott Lewis, Head of Corporate Finance & Planning, Tel.: +41 (0) 58 702 93 52, [email protected]
TORONTO, Aug. 2, 2016 /CNW/ -- UL, a global safety science organization, announces an alliance with Marex Canada Limited to deliver field evaluation services for gas-fired equipment in the Province of Alberta. As an accredited Standards Council of Canada (SCC) Certification Body (CB), UL Canada will now work with Marex Canada Limited and industry owners and operators to help confirm their gas-fired equipment is in compliance with Provincial Regulatory requirements before the January 1, 2020 compliance requirement date.
The collaboration between UL Canada and Marex will benefit the oil and gas industry in Alberta as the two organizations will offer enhanced local services by combining their engineering expertise and inspection capabilities. UL Canada's mission is to work for a safer world and for more than 95 years has been pioneering progress in safety science with the aim of providing comprehensive services to certify, validate, test, inspect, audit, advise and educate. As a Safety Codes agency accredited by the Alberta Safety Codes Council in accordance with the Safety Codes Act, Marex Canada Limited started out by specializing in the provision of regulatory compliance monitoring services for accredited organizations in accordance with their safety codes policies.
"This new alliance, formed with the customer needs in mind, demonstrates both organizations' commitment to supporting the most important industry in the country," said Joe Hosey, General Manager of UL Canada. "We are very pleased that UL Canada and Marex will now be able to bring more value added services to the local market in a more timely manner, benefiting the fast growing oil & gas industry in Alberta."
Marex Canada has been serving the oil and gas industry since 2002 by providing effective interpretation of codes and standards, seeking out and promoting innovative products, ideas and technologies, and identifying alternative design and installation solutions.
"At Marex Canada Limited our mission of 'providing leadership in safety, by integrating our expertise to provide practical, value added solutions and by identifying, evaluating and promoting new practices, applications and technology' is very much in keeping with the mission of UL. This collaboration of services and expertise between Marex and UL gives the oil and gas industry more choices in meeting their safety needs and regulatory obligations," said Rene Leduc, President of Marex Canada Limited. "Teaming up with UL to give industry more options for meeting their Safety Codes regulatory obligations is a natural extension of what we do at Marex. We are looking forward to this new relationship with UL, one that will better serve our clients and industry as a whole."
About UL
UL is a premier global independent safety science company that has championed progress for more than 120 years. Its nearly 11,000 professionals are guided by the UL mission to promote safe working and living environments for all people. UL uses research and standards to continually advance and meet ever-evolving safety needs. We partner with businesses, manufacturers, trade associations and international regulatory authorities to bring solutions to a more complex global supply chain. For more information about our certification, testing, inspection, advisory and education services, visit http://www.UL.com.
About Marex Canada Limited
Since our incorporation in 2002, Marex Canada Limited (Marex) has earned a reputation as the premier safety codes services provider for accredited corporations, engaging highly qualified and competent safety codes officers with industry specific experience and knowledge in the disciplines of Building, Electrical, Plumbing, and Gas. Marex continues to seek opportunities to share its knowledge and experience in new business areas or create partnerships with likeminded organizations who share our "Commitment to Excellence." For more information about Marex Canada Limited's services view our website at http://www.marexcanada.net or contact us at [email protected].
CONTACT: Mr. Kevin Wu
Marketing Manager
UL Canada
O: (416) 288-2269 C: (416) 427-4847, [email protected]
CONTACT: Mr. Rene Leduc
President
Marex Canada Limited
O: (403) 216-2543 C: (403) 815-9373, [email protected]
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140721/129100
SOURCE UL LLC
TORONTO, LONDON and ERBIL, Aug. 2, 2016 /CNW/ - UNICEF Ambassador Ewan McGregor travelled to northern Iraq last week to see how the conflicts sweeping across Iraq and Syria are devastating children's lives. Tens of thousands of children have been killed, injured, separated from their parents, forced to work, tortured and recruited into fighting.
During his visit McGregor travelled to Debaga camp where he met with families that have escaped brutal violence currently taking place in areas surrounding Mosul in the north of the country. He also spent time with Syrian refugees and displaced Iraqi families in camps and communities around Erbil.
The situation for children in Iraq is becoming increasingly desperate. Around 3.6 million children one in five are at serious risk of death, injury, sexual violence, abduction and recruitment into armed groups. Many are being ripped from their families and forced to flee on their own, often making dangerous journeys and falling into the hands of traffickers.
"Children uprooted by conflict can find themselves alone, without family and in grave danger. No child should be alone. Many of the children I've met in Iraq have been forced to flee their homes, risking their lives on dangerous journeys and have been exposed to unimaginable horrors," said UNICEF Ambassador Ewan McGregor.
"The world is facing an unprecedented refugee crisis and we must do more to protect the extraordinary number of children who have been torn from their homes by violent conflict."
"One girl I met called Mirna told me how her family slept in a disused, half-constructed shopping mall for over a year. The community donated food, clothes and supplies to her family and really came together to welcome displaced people. This act of humanity should be replicated everywhere, especially on our own doorsteps. It's up to us to tell our friends, our neighbours and our governments that refugees are welcome."
This September world leaders will meet to discuss the global refugee crisis at two crucial summits in New York. UNICEF is urging leaders to be strong, compassionate and bold in their commitments to protect children on the move.
McGregor witnessed how UNICEF is reaching families fleeing the Mosul area with lifesaving food and water, child protection services and healthcare. Many of the people he met, who had been previously trapped, had not had access to healthcare, education or basic services for over two years.
UNICEF is working to protect children across Iraq and Syria, delivering life-saving food, clean water and vaccines, as well as providing education and psychological support. However humanitarian aid cannot keep pace with the tremendous needs of children.
Note to editors
Multimedia assets can be downloaded here: http://uni.cf/2aIxf9J
About UNICEF
UNICEF has saved more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization. We work tirelessly to help children and their families, doing whatever it takes to ensure children survive. We provide children with healthcare and immunization, clean water, nutrition and food security, education, emergency relief and more.
UNICEF is supported entirely by voluntary donations and helps children regardless of race, religion or politics. As part of the UN, we are active in over 190 countries - more than any other organization. Our determination and our reach are unparalleled. Because nowhere is too far to go to help a child survive. For more information about UNICEF, please visit www.unicef.ca.
SOURCE UNICEF Canada
Image with caption: "UNICEF Ambassador Ewan McGregor walks with Mirna, 10, inside an abandoned mall that she and her family used to live in, in Erbil, northern Iraq on July 29, 2016. McGregor travelled to northern Iraq to see how the conflicts sweeping Iraq and Syria are devastating the lives of children, tearing them from their homes and destroying their futures. UNICEF/UN026964/Modola (CNW Group/UNICEF Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160802_C2454_PHOTO_EN_746008.jpg
For further information: To arrange interviews or for more information please contact: Stefanie Carmichael, UNICEF Canada, 416-482-6552 ext. 8866; 647-500-4230 (mobile), [email protected]
Leaders and activists of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee thronged the ceremony to bid adieu to one of the party's staunch leaders.
Donald Trump
Donald Trump, shown speaking last week in Denver, will start getting top-secret intelligence briefings this week from the national intelligence directorate's office. This week, his campaign canceled a trip to Plattsburgh, N.Y.
(AP file / Evan Vucci)
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- Donald Trump's campaign on Monday canceled his trip to Plattsburgh, the mayor told the Press Republican.
The decision came just before the campaign was ready to sign a contract to rent a city facility.
Story about Trump canceling Plattsburgh stop now online at https://t.co/XRdXckDL8E. Lois Clermont (@EditorLois) August 2, 2016
Trump's public schedule says he'll be in Maine at 2 p.m. Thursday. That was the time the campaign had previously said the Republican presidential candidate would be in Plattsburgh.
Eddie Braun is going to jump that Snake River canyon in a rocket bike an almost perfect replica of the one Evel rode 42 years ago.
The new bike, the Evel Spirit, has been built according to Bob Truaxs original blueprints; an emotional journey for Scott, who spent many hours working with his fathers original sketches, notes and calculations, as well as visiting the Evel Knievel museum in Canada where he measured every nut, bolt and rivet on the original test rocket. Building the Evel Spirit has been very much an exercise in walking in his fathers footprints, and Truax hopes to prove his fathers original design would have done the job if the chute didnt let go.
Its a steam-powered rocket, slated to produce 6,000 pounds of thrust and some 10,000 horsepower as it blasts Braun upwards to 400 mph (644 km/h) in about 5 seconds
The jump is scheduled for September 17 at the original launch spot near Twin Falls, Idaho, theres a Kickstarter in effect to help defray the costs
Three former militants have graduated with first class degrees from universities in the United Kingdom.
Three former militants have graduated with first class degrees from universities in the United Kingdom.The Nigerian high commission in the UK on Friday hosted the militants, who were sponsored by the Nigerian government under the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme.Nicholas Goodness and Terubein Fawei graduated from the University of Bedfordshire with first class honours in public relations, telecommunication and networking engineering respectively, while Lucky Azibanagein graduated with first class in mechanical engineering and Robotic system from the University of Liverpool.Eighteen other students graduated with second class upper degrees in various UK universities.Paul Boroh, coordinator of the presidential amnesty programme, congratulated the ex-militants and reiterated the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensuring the sustenance of the amnesty programme.President Buhari is ever ready to implement the blueprint upon which the amnesty programme was established. The era of impunity and phoney contracts are gone for good, Boroh said, urging other militants, including the Niger Delta Avengers, to sheathe their swords and embrace education.
Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has been pictured smoking a cigarette while on holiday in Italy just a fortnight ahead of the new Premier League campaign.The Italian was dining at the Strainer Restaurant on the Italian Riviera after enjoying a boating trip around the region on the coast of Portofino after being informed by manager Jurgen Klopp he had no role to play ahead of the upcoming season.Despite that, however, the images, published by the Daily Mail on Tuesday morning, will do the former Manchester City forwards chances of finding a new club no good at all with just under a month to complete a deal away before the transfer window closes.Balotelli has been spotted smoking cigarettes before, lighting up during a trip to Miami two years ago, before re-joining former club AC Milan on loan last summer.The report adds that Milan insisted on a good behaviour clause being inserted into the 25-year-olds loan agreement. Balotelli was banned from extravagant haircuts and smoking while all of his posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter were monitored.Elmar Neveling, Klopps biographer, tells the tale of how Klopp apparently used Balotellis behaviour as an example to his Borussia Dortmund players in the past.Image credit: Splash news
Abdulmumin Jibrin, former chairman of the house committee on appropriation, has been summoned by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Abdulmumin Jibrin, former chairman of the house committee on appropriation, has been summoned by the All Progressives Congress (APC).Jibrin is expected to appear at the national secretariat of the party on Tuesday, to explain his allegations of budget padding made against Yakubu Dogara, and 12 other lawmakers.In the letter written to Jibrin, the national leadership of the APC on Monday, asserted that Jibrin has brought dishonour to the party, owing to the public nature of his allegations.The letter of invitation to the lawmaker representing Kiru-Bebeji federal constituency, in Kano state, was signed by Lawal Shuaibu, the partys deputy national chairman for the north.As a disciplined party, the constitution of our party has made adequate provisions on ways of resolving any issue among our members.It behoves on the party to take all necessary steps in order to ensure that no member of the family brings dishonour to the party.To say the least, it is absolutely unacceptable to resort to media war as a means of settling scores without recourse to and/or exhausting the partys internal dispute resolution mechanism.You are, therefore, by this invitation, expected to appear before the undersigned at the APC National Secretariat on Tuesday, 2nd August, 2016, at 2 p.m.Kindly note that failure to and/or refusal to honour this invitation will amount to a decision you have made not to submit to the party.
iStock/Thinkstock(ALEPPO, Syria) -- A Russian military helicopter was shot down in Syria Monday after returning from delivering humanitarian aid to Aleppo, according to Russia's defence ministry.
All on board the Mi-8 transporter, including three crew and two officers, were killed.
It was not immediately clear whether rebels shot down the helicopter as Russia claimed, but pictures on social media purported to show armed men around the burning wreckage and bodies, according to BBC.
The incident marked Russia's deadliest single loss of life since launching its air campaign in Syria last September, according to BBC.
The news comes after Russian and Syrian forces set up "humanitarian corridors" for citizens to exit out of the rebel-held eastern Aleppo. Russia said that 160 civilians left the area, a claim that opposition activists denied. They said few people had left because of fears of being targeted, according to BBC.
According to the United Nations, 300,000 people are trapped in eastern Aleppo and food supplies could run out in a few weeks.
Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will be paying former Niger Delta militants directly, as the President Muhammadu Buhari resumes amnesty ...
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will be paying former Niger Delta militants directly, as the President Muhammadu Buhari resumes amnesty payments.Piriye Kiyaramo, the amnesty programmes media officer, made the disclosure on Monday in Abuja, stating that the government will also be paying tuition for the ex-militants.Payments of stipends to the ex-militants resumed this Monday. The payments are done directly from the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) to their bank accounts, Reuters quoted Kiyaramo to have said.The payment also includes tuition for those studying abroad. Their last payment was in February this year. Now we are clearing all outstanding and the payments.In February, Nigeria stopped the payments for former militants who agreed under a 2009 amnesty to stop blowing up crude pipelines in exchange for cash, Kiyaramo added.Since the halt in the amnesty programme, Nigeria has recorded over 4,000 pipeline vandalisation activities, crippling the countrys production capacity.Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum, says the federal government has been holding talks with Niger Delta Avengers and other militants blowing up pipelines in the region.According to Kachikwu, they militants behind the new attacks on pipelines, are seen as costing Nigeria between 700,000 to 800,000 barrels of crude per day.Each of the former militant is entitled, under the amnesty deal, to N65,000 naira monthly (over three times the countrys minimum wage), in addition to a job training, while those schooling get more money for their tuition.Buhari had initially insisted on cutting the amnesty by two-thirds and limit cash payments in the face of dwindling revenues.On Monday, news broke that three ex-militants being sponsored by the amnesty programme bagged first class degrees from UK universities.
Oil prices fell nearly four percent on Monday as marketers worry over oil glut, following the emergence of fresh data showing that the Org...
Oil prices fell nearly four percent on Monday as marketers worry over oil glut, following the emergence of fresh data showing that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Corporation (OPEC) output peaked in July, 2016.West Texas intermediate (WTI) crude fell to $39.86 per barrel, its lowest since April 20, while Brent crude was down $1.43, representing 3.3 percent, at $42.10, after a session low at $41.87.According to OPEC secretariat, daily basket price stood at $38.97 a barrel Friday, July, 29 2016, compared with $39.79 the previous dayA Reuters survey on Friday found that output from the OPEC likely rose in July to its highest in recent history as Iraq pumped more and Nigeria squeezed out additional crude exports despite militant attacks on oil installations.Data on Friday also showed the US added 44 new oil drilling rigs in July, the most for a month in two years, intensifying concerns that global production could once again get to unmanageable levels like in 2014-2015.Morgan Stanley, an American financial services firm, projected on Sunday, that falling oil prices could possibly hit $35 a barrel before the end of 2016.Morgan Stanley blamed the drop in prices on a stronger dollar, oversupply of refined crude oil products, and new oil data.Nigerias budget 2016 is benchmarked against $38 oil, and projected at $42.5 for 2017 fiscal year.
Mother of a rescued Chibok girl, Binta Ali, has expressed fear over her daughter, Aminas, welfare and future.
Mother of a rescued Chibok girl, Binta Ali, has expressed fear over her daughter, Aminas, welfare and future.Binta said she is worried that her daughters life may never be like it used to.Recall that Amina, one of the over 200 girls abducted from a school in Chibok in April 2014, was found in the Sambisa Forest close to Nigerias border with Cameroon in May.She was found while breastfeeding her four-month-old baby and was rescued by soldiers working together with a civilian vigilante group.Upon her rescue, she met with President Muhammadu Buhari and has since been reportedly held for months by the Nigerian government and confined to a house in Abuja for a restoration process.But Binta, who has spent the last two months in the house with her daughter, told Reuters, Before she was kidnapped, she wanted to further her education, but now she is afraid of schooling, and she wants to be close to me at home. She wants a sewing machine so that she can start a business making clothes.The victims mother further noted that she was worried that her daughter was being pressured into following Islam, having been forced to convert from Christianity to Islam by Boko Haram terrorists during her captivity.She said, Amina herself does not want to remain a Muslim.An Islamic teacher once visited the house several times and told my daughter to maintain her new faith but she did not want to see him, although the teacher stopped visiting after she complained about him.Binta said she was shocked to hear about the hardships faced by her daughter as a captive of the Islamist group.She used to be very afraid. She would talk to herself during the night prior to her kidnap, but now she sleeps soundly. She is no longer afraid, Binta added.We learnt that Amina and the other girls, starving and with nothing to cook with, resorted to eating an entire bag of beans and maize raw. I cannot imagine how a human being can eat raw maize and beans like a goat. Other parents have been coming to visit me since I returned, but I have not told them anything, even though I know some of those whose daughters have died.Although Im worried about Aminas religion and education and uncertainty over when she will be allowed to return home, I still have reasons to be positive about my daughter, she added.Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buharis spokesman, Garba Shehu, according to the news wire, clarified that Aminas confinement in the house had nothing to do with religion.
President Muhammadu Buhari has relieved Dibu Ojerinde, a professor, of his appointment as the registrar of the Joint Admission and Matricu...
President Muhammadu Buhari has relieved Dibu Ojerinde, a professor, of his appointment as the registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB).Bem Goong, deputy director of press at the ministry of education, disclosed this in a statement, saying Ishaq Oloyede, a former vice-chancellor (VC) of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), had been appointed the new registrar of the board.Goong said 16 chief executive officers of parastatals and agencies under the ministry of education had also been replaced.He listed the new CEOs and their agencies as:Abubakar Rasheed, National Universities Commission (NUC)Lilian Salami, Nigerian Institute For Educational Planning and AdministrationHameed Bobboyi, Universal Basic Education BoardLanre Aina, National Library of Nigeria.Charles Uwakwe, National Examination Council (NECO)Abba Haladu, National Commission For Mass Literacy, Adult And Non-Formal EducationBashir Usman, Nomadic Education CommissionIfeoma Isiugo-Abanihe, National Business and Technical Examination BoardSunday Ajiboye, Teachers Registration Council of NigeriaAfolabi Aderinto, Computer Registration Council of NigeriaBappah Aliyu, National Commission For Colleges of EducationAbdullahi Baffa, Tertiary Education Tax Fund.Garba Azare, National Teachers InstituteMichael Afolabi, Librarian Registration Council of NigeriaSteven Onah, Chinyere Ohiri-Aniche, National Institute of Nigerian LanguagesGoong said the appointments were with immediate effect, adding that the new chief executives ere expected at the office of the minister of education at 12 noon on Tuesday.
The Federal Government has sacked the Registrar, Joint Admission Matriculation Board, JAMB, Professor Dibu Ojerinde and 16 other chief exe...
The Federal Government has sacked the Registrar, Joint Admission Matriculation Board, JAMB, Professor Dibu Ojerinde and 16 other chief executive officers in Ministry of Education that were appointed during former President Goodluck Jonathan administration .In the statement signed by the Deputy Director (Press), of the ministry, Mr. Benjamin Bem Goong, in Abuja announcing the sack, the government gave no reason for the action.Ojerinde whose tenure was suppose to end April 2017, might have been sacked over the 2016 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations, UTME, irregularities from bordering on result multiplicity, centre relocation and system failure.Many people protested that the irregularities of the exercise underscored their their gaining admission this year, that the board was unprepared for the CBT it adopted three years ago.Not only were the 17 CEOS sacked by the Federal Government, they were immediately replaced.The appointments were for: the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed; Nigerian Institute For Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) Prof. Mrs. Lilian Salami; Universal Basic Education Board (UBEC), Dr. Hameed Bobboyi; National Library of Nigeria (NLN), Prof. Lanre O. Aina; and National Examinations Council (NECO), Prof. Charles Uwakwe. Others were:National Commission For Mass Literacy, Adult And Non-Formal Education (NCMLA&NE) , Prof. Abba Haladu; Nomadic Education Commission (NEC). Prof. Bashir H. Usman; National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB), Prof. Ifeoma Isiugo-Abanihe; Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Prof. Sunday Josiah Ajiboye; Computer Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN), Afolabi N. Aderinto; National Commission For Colleges of Education (NCCE), Prof. Bappah Aliyu; and Tertiary Education Tax Fund (TETFund), Dr. Abdullahi Bichi Baffa. The rest were: National Teachers Institute (NTI), Prof. Garba Dahuwa Azare; Librarian Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN), Prof. Michael Afolabi; National Mathematical Centre, Sheda (NMC), Prof. Steven Ejugwu Onah; Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Olarenwaju Oloyode; and National Institute of Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), Prof. Chinyere Ohiri-Aniche.The following four Chief Executive Officers retained their positions. They are : Prof Samaila Junaidu of Nigeria Educational Research & Development Council (NERDC); Prof Raauf Adebisi, Nigerian French Language Village Badagry, (NFLV) ; Dr Masud A. Kazaure , National Board For Technical Education (NBTE) ; and Prof Muhammad Muaz of the National Arabic Language Village, Maiduguri, Borno State (NALV).
Former Arsenal midfielder, Alex Song, has joined Russian side Rubin Kazan from Barcelona on a free transfer.The Cameroon international spent two seasons on loan at West Ham United after failing to establish himself in the Barcelona side he joined in the summer of 2012.He went on to win the 2012/2013 Spanish La Liga with Barcelona before going on loan to West Ham.The Spanish champions confirmed they and Song had reached an agreement for the 28-year-old to join Rubin Kazan.A statement on the club's website said: "FC Barcelona wishes the Cameroonian luck and much success in what follows of his professional career."
The presidency has accused the UK Telegraph of strengthening Boko Haram insurgency in the country.
The presidency has accused the UK Telegraph of strengthening Boko Haram insurgency in the country.The accusation of the presidency followed a report of the newspaper on the condition of internally displaced children in the northeast of the country.In the report, the London-based newspaper said 50,000 children in the northeast faced death by starvation as a result of the Nigerian governments faltering campaign to defeat Boko Haram Islamist militants.But in a statement on Monday titled Again, London Telegraph is strengthening Boko Haram terrorism, Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, described the report as incorrect.Shehu invited Telegraph to visit Nigeria to witness firsthand the challenges of the government, so that it could stop writing stories that are untrue.The London Telegraphs article Children Face Death by Starvation in Northern Nigeria (30th July) repeats a claim from an earlier piece Nigeria Using UK Aid to Persecute Presidents Political Foes (12th April) that Nigeria is diverting UK aid monies away from defeating the Islamist terror group Boko Haram towards those the newspaper identifies as political opponents of the administration. This is as incorrect as it is unhelpful, he said.These claims in both articles are attributed to an unnamed source in the United States, and Western officials. Yet when the first article was published it drew the condemnation of the US embassy in Abuja as having drawn conclusions directly opposite to the position of the US government.To state the facts: the UK government does not give development aid to the Nigerian administration for use in military operations against Boko Haram. Where British military support such as intelligence is provided, it is precisely and only given for operations directly against Boko Haram.Similarly, the Nigerian government is in no position to divert aid monies used for emergency relief for refugees or IDP camps for any other purpose, as these are dispensed directly by DFID, USAID, the United Nations, the International Red Cross, Doctors without Borders and many other organisations with which we enjoy excellent relations.However, the presidential spokesman admitted that the humanitarian situation at the IDP camps is real.He said that the Buhari administration remained deeply concerned about the medical, health and nutrition challenges of the children, and that it was doing everything possible to improve their situation.However, the blame for the plight of refugees lies with Boko Haram. They are its cause, not the Nigerian government, Shehu said.In the light of ongoing efforts, we regret the recent attack on the UN humanitarian convoy in the Northeastern region and are encouraged by the world bodys determination to continue rendering assistance to the displaced victims. That the attack was repelled by Nigerian troops escorting the convoy shows precisely how the Government and humanitarian agencies are working together.As for claims that the administration is targeting Christians and the opposition, these are without foundation. Since assuming office, President Buhari has treated all Nigerians without bias for ethnicity or religion as the composition of his cabinet and the policies and programmes of his administration demonstrate.To suggest his government as deepening Muslim-Christian division is not only untrue, but plays into the hands of Boko Haram who wish to divide Nigerians along religious lines. Fighting this group is key priority of President Buharis Administration. Indeed the international community has widely acknowledged his determination to defeat terrorism in Nigeria and the entire Lake Chad Basin.There is nothing to gain by attempting to mould public opinion against these facts. Therefore we invite The Telegraph to visit Nigeria: to witness first hand not only the challenges we face, but the Administrations determination to confront them.
ATLANTIC CITY -- A driver pulled on to the curb and was then nearly dragged from her car during a dispute earlier this month on South Carolina and Adriatic avenues, the Press of Atlantic City reported.
Security footage shows a damaged red car go onto the curb on the morning of July 11 as two men on bicycles ride by. The footage also shows one of the men trying to pull the driver from the car. The footage came from a surveillance camera belonging to a private citizen.
The driver, Shauna Simpson, a 26-year-old city resident, struck several vehicles and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police are also searching for another city resident, Mikal Williams, 33, who allegedly assaulted Simpson before hitting the vehicles.
Anyone with information on Williams is being asked to call the Atlantic City Police Department Detective Bureau at 609-347-5766.
Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
UPDATE: Man who saved boy: "I wish i could have done more"
DOWNE TWP. -- A Lawrence Township man drowned Sunday afternoon jumping into the Delaware Bay to rescue his 12-year-old grandson.
A bystander rescued a boy from the Delaware Bay in Fortescue on Sunday, July 31, 2016. His grandfather drowned attempting to rescue the boy. (Photo courtesy of Cliff Higbee)
A nearby good Samaritan was able to jump in the water to rescue the boy but was not able to save his grandfather, 54-year-old John Hearn. Downe Township Rescue Dive Team was called Sunday around 4:20 p.m. to Forestescue Creek -- where it opens up into Delaware Bay -- for the drowning, according to Chief Cliff Higbee.
Hearn and his grandson, who was either 12 or 13, spent the afternoon playing at the beach in Fortescue and, when Hearn went to go back to the car, his grandson went into the water and got caught in a current. The current dragged the boy 50 feet out from shore into the bay. Hearn went into the water to help the boy, Higbee said.
While the grandfather and grandson were in the water, fishermen were at a nearby marina and heard the screams. One of the fishermen, Raymond Gallagher, of Williamstown, dived in and pulled the boy to shore. The boy was scraped from rocks at the nearby jetty but otherwise unharmed.
When Hearn was pulled from the water, he was lying facedown and not responding. The fishermen attempted CPR on Hearn and rescue crews attempted to further resuscitate Hearn, going so far as to use a defibrillator.
In addition to Downe Township Rescue Dive Team, responders included Millville Rescue Squad, New Jersey State Police, Lawrence Township EMS and Inspira Life Support.
"Without the selfless efforts of Raymond Gallagher and his friends, there is no doubt two people would have drowned and the dive team would have spent a long time recovering the bodies," Higbee said. "So from the members of Downe Township Dive Team, thank you for acting, not watching."
Don E. Woods may be reached at dwoods@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @donewoods1. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
TRENTON -- New Jersey made gains in both PARCC participation and overall test scores in 2016, but the majority of students still failed to make the grade on each of the high school exams in math and English, the state announced Tuesday.
Statewide, scores improved on every exam in the second year of testing with the exception of 11th-grade English.
The best scores came on the seventh-grade English test, on which 56 percent of students performed well enough to meet expectations for college and career readiness.
Students scored the lowest on the Algebra II test with just 25 percent earning the targeted score.
Parents should receive score reports around the beginning of the school year.
"Overall we are encouraged by the positive progress made by New Jersey students," Gov. Chris Christie said. "We still have a lot of work to do to make sure that all students are on the right path."
While the improved scores are a positive for students, the state's largest teachers union still considers PARCC a flawed test that can't truly measure whether students are prepared for college and careers, said Steve Baker, spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association.
"The time and resources that are invested into PARCC really should be invested into providing greater education opportunities and better support for our students," Baker said.
The computerized PARCC tests -- short for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers -- first debuted in 2015 and were administered in six states and the District of Columbia this spring.
The tests stress critical thinking, problem solving and analytical writing, and New Jersey students in grades 3-11 participated.
Students are scored on a scale of 1-5. Those who score a 4 or higher are considered to be meeting their grade level expectations for college and career readiness.
Students who score a 3 are approaching those expectations and those with a 2 or lower are not.
Education Commissioner David Hespe said he was especially pleased to see that fewer students scored a 2 or lower on every exam in the second year of testing.
He also clarified that the overall scores for 11th-grade English likely dropped because the state excused high school juniors from taking the exam if they were enrolled in advanced-level English course.
As with any new test, PARCC scores will be lower in the first few years and gradually improve, Hespe said.
"Thanks to the tremendous job done by school administrators and teachers, these results are exactly what we would expect," Hespe said.
High school scores, however, remain a concern, Hespe said.
The state is expected to approve new high school graduation requirements tied to PARCC on Wednesday. Only 41 percent of students would have met the threshold for graduation in math and 44 percent in English.
"Those are areas we know we have to work to do," Hespe said.
State officials also announced an increase in students taking the exam following a major opt-out movement in 2015.
An additional 56,000 students took the math exam over the previous year, Christie said. Participation in the English test grew by more than 60,000 students.
NJ Advance Media Reporter Stephen Stirling contributed to this report
Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
The tiki bar is alive and well and serving plastic umbrella drinks and pu-pu platters all over New Jersey.
This news may surprise those who thought the tiki bar went the way of the hula hoop and transistor radio.
"Are there real tiki bars in New Jersey?'' someone asked me on Twitter.
Yes!
First off, a qualifier. "Tiki bar'' can mean two different things -- either the outdoor, thatched-roof variety, often overlooking a lake, river or ocean and usually down the Shore, or the 50s-style tiki bars, those timeless relics of kooky kitsch, featuring tiki god statues and drinks afire. The world's first tiki bar, Don the Beachcomber, opened in Los Angeles in 1934; America was in a tizzy over tiki in the 40s and 50s.
My list of the state's best tiki bars includes both varieties -- thatched roofs, tiki gods, and everything in between. Have a favorite tiki bar? Tell me about it in the comments section. For behind-the-scenes photos of each bar, check out the gallery above.
The list is in alphabetical order.
Chan's Dragon Inn, Ridgefield. "Tacky fun decorations, workers who date back to ancient times and potent cocktails to wash down the food you are eating,'' Alyssa G. said on Facebook. "The one thing this place is HIGHLY known for are their Zombies! They are THE BEST. . . mysterious, unique and sinfully strong. They should come with a warning label.'' Consider yourself warned. 630 Broad Ave., Ridgefield; (201) 943-1276.
Crabby Jack's, Somers Point. Located behind the immensely popular Crab Trap restaurant, Crabby Jack's offers a waterfront setting (that's Ocean City in the shimmering distance) and a scaled-down menu from the Crab Trap. Avoid the epic lines at the latter and kick back with a cold one and the awesome open-air views. 2 Broadway, Somers Point; (609) 927-7377.
Donovan's Reef, Sea Bright. Shore legend was destroyed in Hurricane Sandy, but it's now up and running, great news to its legions of sun-loving fans. 1165 Ocean Ave., Sea Bright.
Jakeabob's Bay, Union Beach. Another casualty of Sandy, Jakeabob's has re-opened in its original bayfront location, and town residents couldn't be happier. Owner Angelita Liguano-Dorr used doors from homes destroyed by Sandy and turned them into tables and chairs, creating a touching, inspiring display. 525 Front St., Union Beach; (732) 264-3730.
King Bennie's Tiki Lounge at Nagoya, Berkeley Heights. Japanese restaurant/sushi bar downstairs, tiki lounge upstairs. "Best local bar, not a chain, can relax, not the ridiculous upscale vibe some local places push for and charge for,'' said a Facebook fan. 538 Springfield Ave., Berkeley Heights; (908) 898-1188.
Lake Mohawk Tiki Bar, Lake Mohawk. The Lake Mohawk Country Club was created in 1927 as "an ideal place to develop healthy growth for the children amid the beauties of nature and congenial surroundings,'' according to owner Arthur D. Crane. Not sure how a tiki bar fits into that picture, but the one here features an idyllic setting, sandy beach, and live music. 21 The Boardwalk, Sparta; (973) 729-6156.
Latitudes on the River, Forked River. Come by car or boat; you can tie up your pleasure yacht at the marina here. Indoor restaurant features steak, prime rib, seafood, and Italian fare, but the best spot is the outdoor Beach Bar, overlooking the river, with live music most nights. 361 Lacey Road, Forked River; (609) 242-2648.
Lee's Hawaiian Islander, Lyndhurst. The gloriously tacky monument to tiki culture has all the essentials - tiki god statues, mini-tiki huts, and a renowned pu-pu platter (pu-pu is an assortment of Chinese or Hawaiian appetizers). One of many effusive testimonials on Facebook: "Turn back the clock 50 or 60 years to the days when Tiki culture was popular and throw in some authentic Hawaiian food, decorations and music you'd expect to see at a Luau on the Big Island, and you have Lee's Hawaiian Islander.'' 768 Stuyvesant Ave., Lyndhurst: (201) 939-3777.
Little Buddy Hideaway, Asbury Park. The newest and coolest addition to the state's tiki bar scene, Little Buddy is a dizzy den decorated with tropical-themed chairs, thatched roof bar, banquettes and enough throw pillows to furnish a harem. Frozen mojitos, frozen Irish coffees, rum chuggies, even "tiki gummies,'' in Hurricane, Zombi and Mai Tai variations. 550 Cookman Ave., Asbury Park.
Lun Wah Restaurant & Tiki Bar, Roselle. A tiki bar in Roselle? Why not? The eerie-red neon glow from the outside sign beckons you into a world awash in tiki touches: carved tiki heads, palm trees, blowfish-shaped lights, and don't forget the Volcano, a drink with light and dark rum and fruit juice in a big bowl set afire in front of you. 587 Raritan Road, Roselle; (908) 245-0656.
Martell's Tiki Bar, Point Pleasant Beach. Only one bar in the world owns the tikibar.com domain, and it's Martell's. A sprawling complex of bars, decks and dining space, Martell's is far from cozy or intimate but it sure is fun, with tons of drink and food options, plus bands and a dance floor. Best place to eat: Martell's Shrimp Bar, just inside the entrance. 308 Boardwalk, Point Pleasant Beach; (732) 892-0131.
Racks Pub & Grill, Atco. Popular restaurant/sports bar with outdoor tiki bar. 286 White Horse Pike, Atco: (856) 719-1500.
Rusty Nail, Cape May. Famed surf bar dating to the 70s now a family-friendly oasis with sand, umbrella-topped tables and fire pits. Kids' meals are served on a souvenir Beach Shack Frisbee you can toss around later. Cape May was named the state's best beach in our recent competition. 205 Beach Ave., Cape May; (609) 884-0017.
The Seashell Resort & Beach Club, Beach Haven. Anyone down the Shore with his/her TV on for more than ten minutes in the summer will come across a commercial for the "Shell,'' a two-acre playground with beach, palm trees, hotel, pool parties, bands, and nonstop fun and frivolity. It's even more enjoyable in person. 10 S. Atlantic Ave., Beach Haven; (609) 492-4611.
Villari's Lakeside, Sicklerville. Many know it as a popular Italian restaurant and banquet facility. Not as many know there's also an outdoor tiki bar, with the requisite thatched roof, plus live music five nights a week. 2375 Sicklerville Road, Sicklerville; (856) 228-5244.
Peter Genovese may be reached at pgenovese@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PeteGenovese or via The Munchmobile @NJ_Munchmobile. Find the Munchmobile on Facebook and Instagram.
NEWARK -- When Evelyn Ababio found out a woman was running for president in America, she knew she had to apply for citizenship.
"I'm excited to vote. I knew we had a lady coming up," the 39-year-old mother of three from Ghana said.
Ababio was one of 71 people from 32 different countries who took an oath of citizenship in the Rodino Federal Building on Tuesday.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the nation welcomes nearly 680,000 citizens during naturalization ceremonies each year. In 2014, the top countries of origin for naturalization were Mexico, India and the Philippines, USCIS said.
In 2014, New York, Newark and Jersey City topped the list of metropolitan areas of residence for naturalized citizens.
Friends and families filled the room, which looked out at the New York skyline and parts of New Jersey. They held American flag balloons, and took photos on their phones. The naturalized citizens waved tiny American flags while they sang the National Anthem.
Congressman Donald M. Payne Jr., who represents the 10th Congressional District in New Jersey, addressed the crowd as his "fellow Americans."
"Until today, you were Americans in every way, except on paper," he said.
The crowd also received words of congratulations from President Barack Obama.
"This is now officially your country," he said on a recording. "You've travelled a long path to get here."
To be eligible for naturalization, applicants must fulfill a number of requirements, according to the US. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Those include being a green card holder, "be a person of good moral character" and have knowledge of national history and government.
51-year-old Jeffrey Ruttner's 11-year-old son helped him study.
"He's a history buff," Ruttner said.
Ruttner hails from Montreal, Canada, but he's lived in America since 2000. He says he's already involved in his community and works at an Essex County public school. Now, he wants his citizenship to be official.
Like Ababio, he's also excited to vote in November's presidential elections.
"It's important," he said.
Kate Mishkin may be reached at kmishkin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KateMishkin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NEWARK -- A 19-year-old Bloomfield man charged last week in connection with a fatal crash in May pleaded not guilty to the charge during his initial court appearance on Tuesday.
Alan Faynzilberg is charged with vehicular homicide and aggravated assault in a May 27 crash that claimed the life of a 33-year-old Belleville man.
On Tuesday, Judge Ronald Wigler of State Superior Court in Newark ordered Faynzilberg held at the Essex County Detention Center in Newark on $350,000 bail, with a bond or 10% cash option to apply.
During the brief appearance, the teen appeared in orange prison garb, with his hands bound behind his back.
The 8:30 p.m. crash on May 27 killed Luis Davila, who was driving in the opposite direction on Belleville Avenue when prosecutors say Faynzilberg crossed the divider and struck Davila's car head-on.
A passenger in Faynzilberg's car, his 21-year-old girlfriend, was injured in the crash, which was the basis for the assault charge, said Tara Creegan, the assistant Essex County prosecutor handling the case.
Authorities said Davila was pronounced dead around 9:40 p.m. at Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville.
Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NEWARK -- Calling it "one of the most heinous" crimes he had ever encountered, a judge on Tuesday sentenced an East Orange pair to years behind bars for their roles in the stabbing death and dismemberment of a 46-year-old woman who had taken them into her home.
"This is one of the most heinous -- I would go so far as to say barbaric -- crimes I have ever seen," Judge Ronald Wigler of State Superior Court in Newark said during the first of back-to-back sentencing hearings for the pair. "I don't know how one goes about even doing such a thing."
Danielle Small and Sherief Sims were renting rooms from Dana Jinks at her apartment in East Orange in March 2014, when an argument over rent broke out between Small and Jinks, Wigler told the courtroom, recounting a confession prosecutors say Small made as part of her guilty plea to manslaughter, weapons and desecration charges.
The judge said Small admitted stabbing Jinks multiple times with a knife, then leaving her body in the bathtub of the apartment for three days. During that time, the judge said, Small enlisted Sims' aid in cutting off Jinks' feet and hand with a hatchet.
The feet and hand were never found, after prosecutors say Sims admitted throwing them in the trash. However, Jinks' body was discovered shortly after prosecutors say the pair left it on the side of the building in garbage bags on March 10. Sims and Small were arrested on March 19, 2014, and have been held ever since.
Sims, who prosecutors say cleaned the bathroom with bleach, pleaded guilty in January to desecration of a human body and hindering apprehension, while Small later pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, desecration and weapons charges.
In separate but back-to-back sentencing hearings on Tuesday, Wigler first sentenced Sims to a term of 10 years in prison on the desecration charge and another 5 years for hindering, to run consecutively, for a total of 15 years in prison.
He then sentenced Small to a 20-year term for manslaughter, with terms for the other charges to run concurrently. Under state guidelines, Small will serve a minimum of 17 years behind bars, plus 5 years probation upon her release.
The 2-hour dual process was fraught with emotion, as family members and friends of both the defendants and the victim made statements before the judge, sometimes unable to heed his warning not to address the defendants directly.
In a bizarre twist, when it came time for Small to speak, she shocked the courtroom by uttering in a barely intelligible voice that she had not committed the crime she had pleaded guilty to only months before, then remained silent when the judge asked her to clarify.
"Are you trying to say that you did not commit this crime?" Wigler asked her, incredulous.
However, Small did not elaborate, and instead remained silent, with the same steely expression she had worn throughout the ordeal.
Wigler, who later expressed shock at what he termed Small's "lack of remorse," then invited Jinks' family to tell him how her death had affected them.
The victim's youngest son, Darian Jinks, 24, a Navy veteran and reservist, told the judge he harbored "a lot of anger," which was only amplified by Small's lack of emotion.
"To me, her whole demeanor seems to say she doesn't even care," Jinks said.
Another son, Michael Jinks, 32, a Marine Corps staff sergeant, said he learned of his mother's death while stationed on the Pacific island of Okinawa.
"My mother, like my brother said, wasn't a perfect person, but she was my mother," Michael Jinks said. "The only reason my mother is not here now is because she took in someone no one else would."
The victim's sister, Shelley Jinks, who cried as she addressed the judge, said she could not grasp the callousness of someone who had lived in her sister's home for two years before the killing.
"She left her in the tub for three days, Your Honor," she said. "What kind of a person does that?"
Small's mother, Diane Everett, was also in tears as she addressed the judge and the Jinks family.
"Whatever took place on that dark day, I can't imagine," Everett said. "I'm truly sorry. I'm truly sorry."
Turning to her daughter, Everett said through sobs, "I love you with all my heart."
Sims' mother was not present. Neither was his father. Both were crack addicts, his lawyer, Robert Guido, told the judge. Guido and Sims' grandmother, Sharon Jones, appealed to the judge for leniency based on Sims' difficult childhood, which led to an adulthood plagued by grief and homelessness. Even Jinks' sons expressed some sympathy for him.
The judge was also sympathetic to Sims, but not enough to ignore the sentencing recommendation that was a part of his plea agreement with the Essex County Prosecutor's office, which was represented at the hearing by Assistant Prosecutor Naanzeen Khan.
But Wigler expressed as little sympathy for Small as she had for the Jinks family.
"What could motivate somebody to do this type of crime is unfathomable," Wigler said. "The fact that you showed zero remorse is also staggering, that you could just stand there fore the last hour and a half is just remarkable."
"There are no smiles today in this courtroom," Wigler said. "This is a tragedy on both sides."
Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
CAMDEN -- A former TD Bank official pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges that she stole more than $600,000 from customers' dormant accounts and used it to pay for home renovations, lavish trips, two luxury BMW sedans and other items, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
Telisha Trent, 43, of Williamstown pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Renee M. Bumb to one count of bank fraud and one count of money laundering, Fishman's office said.
According to a court records, Trent, a financial services representative for TD Bank, used her position to identify dormant checking and savings accounts held primarily by elderly customers, it said.
Trent researched the account holders to assess the risk of whether they would notice that the funds in the account were removed, it said. She transferred the funds into her account or had a cashier's check from the account issued in her name, it said.
Trent allegedly transferred the funds through a series of accounts that she controlled, it said, and then she closed the dormant accounts.
In pleading guilty, Trent admitted that she stole a total of $608,482 from eight accounts belonging to customers from New Jersey, Connecticut and Ohio over a 12-month period beginning in August, 2014, court records said.
After discovering the fraud, TD Bank reimbursed the victims, Fishman's office said.
The bank fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million, and the money laundering charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, it said.
Trent is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 7, Fishman's office said.
Tim Darragh may be reached at tdarragh@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @timdarragh. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
FRANKLIN TWP. -- A South Jersey man has been indicted on charges that he held his ex-wife at knifepoint before cutting his own wrists in an April incident at Malaga Trailer Park.
Michael W. Doyle, 50, was charged with various offenses after police say he forced his way into his ex-wife's trailer and held her at knifepoint. (Salem County Correctional Facility)
Michael W. Doyle, 50, was arrested after police said he forced his way into the woman's trailer and argued with her before pulling out the knife.
Doyle threatened to harm her and held the victim against her will, authorities reported.
The woman then fled to another room and called police.
When officers arrived on the scene, they said Doyle "caused several self-inflicted knife wounds in both wrists."
Before he was taken into custody, Doyle was treated at the scene and taken to Cooper University Hospital for treatment.
The woman was not injured.
Doyle was indicted last week on charges including second-degree burglary, third-degree terroristic threats, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal restraint and third-degree violating the conditions of a special sentence.
He remains in Salem County Correctional Facility, where he was jailed on $50,000 full cash bail following his arrest.
Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
William Canada Jr. of Luling was arrested Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, and booked with three counts of attempted murder in connection with shooting into the house of his estranged wife's parents. St. Charles Parish authorities say the woman's father-in-law was shot in the chest. (St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Off)
Man wanted for 2013 burglary in Algiers turns himself in, NOPD says
The federal government plans to pour $125 million into the fight against a mysterious disease that has ravaged corals in Florida and much of the Caribbean, and now poses a dire threat to the treasured reefs off the Louisiana and Texas coasts.
Welcome to non league daily news now - your number one spot for all things relating to the National League System. Our dedicated reporters have come straight from the sidelines to bring you news fresh from the dugout - but not before theyve stopped off at the burger van first!
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Come rain or shine, well be out reporting on the latest non league fixtures. Well also be scouring the news, refreshing social media, and sourcing information from team websites in the hopes of finding the latest breaking non league daily news for our readers.
As youll soon see, weve got exclusive match reports on the Vanarama National League, weve got transfer speculation thatll affect the National League South, weve found great stories thatll spice up the National League North, and weve even got news on the latest giant killers of the FA Cup.
We may not be able to agree on who is going up this year, but we can all agree that any news on the NLS worth knowing will be published here, at Non League Daily.
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A semi driver involved in a fatal crash on Interstate 80 was formally charged Tuesday with five counts of felony motor vehicle homicide and one count of misdemeanor reckless driving.
Tony A. Weekly, 53, of Baker, Florida, appeared in Keith County Court. Weekly's bail was set at 10 percent of $1 million.
Six people now have died as a result of the multiple-vehicle crash in Keith County on Sunday.
A Minnesota couple and their three children died Sunday, and a sixth man was declared dead on Monday afternoon.
The Jefferson County Colorado Coroners Office notified the Nebraska State Patrol that Terry Sullivan, 56, of Denver was declared dead Monday at 1:02 p.m. MDT. He remains on life support to facilitate donation of organs, the patrol said.
Weekly was "inattentive and distracted by outside influences" when he rammed into a minivan ahead of him "at a high rate of speed," Nebraska State Patrol Trooper Darrell Crawford of Ogallala said in an arrest affidavit filed Monday in Keith County Court.
Witnesses said Weekly's truck "did not slow down until hitting the first vehicle," Crawford said.
The Minnesota couple killed in the crash had completed 14 days of missionary training and were heading into five more weeks of classes.
Jamison and Kathryne Pals, both 29, and their children, Ezra, 3, Violet, almost 2, and 2-month-old Calvin were killed on Interstate 80 west of Brule when their westbound minivan was struck from behind by a semitrailer truck. The force of the collision pushed the two vehicles into three other westbound vehicles. The semi and van both became engulfed in flames.
Weekly was driving for Bohren Logistics Inc. of Garrett, Indiana.
A statement from the company said, "Those of us at Bohren Logistics are heartbroken by this tragic accident. We extend our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the relatives and friends of the Pals family for this devastating loss. We also wish the best and a speedy recovery for those injured in the accident. Bohren Logistics is committed to cooperating with law enforcement authorities investigating this accident."
The Palses intended to serve as long-term missionaries in Nagoya, Japan. They were headed to Palmer Lake, Colorado, for a five-week session on learning a language and assimilating into another culture, said Dennis Vogan, an official with the ministry organization WorldVenture. After moving to Japan and becoming fluent in Japanese, they would work full-time with 13 other missionaries, he said.
"The Palses fit perfectly within our organization," said Vogan, vice president of personnel development with WorldVenture. The missionaries in Japan "were thrilled and looking so forward to their coming," he said. "It's not just been devastating here, it's been devastating in Japan."
The Palses previously completed a 10-day program on WorldVenture's operation and another four-day training session about how to raise financial support, Vogan said.
The Palses had raised enough money to fund their mission work, which was to start in October, Vogan said.
Rick Pals, Jamison's father, said Tuesday that funeral services will be held at Jamison and Kathryne's church Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. Arrangements have not yet been finalized. He said the families of Jamison and Kathryne "have been very touched" by the "outpouring of sincere support" they have received.
"We've heard from people from all over the country and all around the world," he said. "The president of Christ Bible Institute in (Nagoya) Japan is trying to make arrangements to be here for the funeral."
Eventually, Rick Pals said, a foundation will be established to continue the missionary work that Jamison and Kathryne envisioned for themselves. For now, people can donate to www.gofundme.com/joyofjapan. As of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, $12,650 had been raised toward the $15,000 goal.
"The generosity has been wonderful," Rick Pals said. "Those donations and prayer are really what people can do to help us right now."
Bethlehem Baptist Church posted a statement on its website addressing the deaths of the family.
"We weep and mourn and ache together as their church family in a very specific way," the statement reads. "Some look at death and see a tragedy the tragic end of all their hopes and dreams. As Christians, we look death in the face and see ultimate victory, not tragedy, because Jesus defeated sin and death for all of his people. Facing death without Jesus is an eternal tragedy weeping that never ends.
"And so, while we grieve, we rise up with resurrection faith as we embrace together our blessed hope that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. And so, we celebrate the fact that the Pals family is not dead, but more alive than ever because of the grace of God that is ours in Jesus Christ."
Jamison Pals worked for just over three years as a grant writer for Feed My Starving Children. The Christian nonprofit out of Eagan, Minnesota, sends meals specially formulated for malnourished children to orphanages, schools, clinics and feeding programs around the world.
Andy Carr, the group's vice president of marketing and development, said Jamison and Kathryne Pals were "amazing people" and good friends.
"They were the most humble and selfless people that you could ever meet," Carr said. "In today's world where it's so much about me, me, me, it was never about them. It was always about others."
Carr estimated that Jamison was responsible for writing grants that brought in "well over $1 million" to the organization. But his work didn't stop there.
"We work with many small organizations that can't afford to have grant writers and whenever they had questions about how to proceed, we'd point them to Jamison," Carr said. "He would gladly assist them, and his impact went far beyond Feed My Starving Children."
This report includes material from the World-Herald News Service.
ArcelorMittal, the global behemoth that swooped in and took over many of Northwest Indianas big steel mills after the domestic steelmaking industry collapsed, marked its 10-year anniversary Monday.
Steelmaking is our passion and it is this passion that will continue to drive ArcelorMittal for many years to come, ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal said in a statement.
Mittal founded Mittal Steel in 1976, and it became the largest steelmaking company in the world when it merged with Belgium-based Arcelor in 2006.
Mittal had swallowed up the former Inland Steel, LTV Steel and Bethlehem Steel mills in Northwest Indiana before that, creating a North-American steel colossus. Today ArcelorMittal remains one of the largest employers in the Region with more than 9,500 workers.
Over the last decade, ArcelorMittal has made 890 million tons of steel thats been used in 160 countries around the world. The company estimated it has contributed more than $700 billion to the global economy.
Much has changed since that time and many of the past ten years have been tough for commodity and industrial companies, including steel companies. But the logic of the merger is as sound today as it was in 2006 and I am convinced it helped us to navigate this highly challenging environment and remain the worlds leading steel and mining company, Mittal said.
ArcelorMittal has invented more than 250 grades of steel after investing $2.5 billion in research and development, including the creation of new automotive steels at ArcelorMittal Global R&D in East Chicago.
We have faced tough market conditions but in many ways we are a stronger company, better positioned for the future with world-class assets and a clear strategy that will enable us to outperform in all market conditions, Mittall said.
ArcelorMittal is now the leading supplier of steel in all the major markets such as automotive, construction, appliances and packaging.
MERRILLVILLE A local manufacturer of plastic containers has announced plans to invest $15 million to expand its operations, creating up to 100 new jobs by the end of 2017.
Polycon Industries plans to construct and equip a 150,000-square-foot addition to its plant on Colorado Street, which it shares with its parent company, Crown Packaging, according to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
The project, which began last month, will bring the facility to 325,000 square feet and enable Polycon to increase production of blow-molded, high-density polyethylene plastic containers.
Operations in the new wing are scheduled to begin in February 2017.
Polycon, which currently has more than 130 employees, plans to begin hiring skilled machine operators, processors and experienced mechanics this month. Applications and upcoming job fair information will be posted to Polycons website, www.crownpolycon.com, soon.
Polycon Industries was founded in 1969 in Chicago and moved to Merrillville in 2000. The company manufactures plastic bottles used by the chemical, food and health care industries.
With the help of a strong business climate at the state and local levels, we have the support we need to grow our business on an even larger scale, said David Blitstein, vice president and general manager of Polycon.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Polycon up to $635,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $30,000 in training grants based on the companys job creation plans. The company can claim the incentives as it hires new workers.
The Lake County IN Economic Alliance helped facilitate the deal between Polycon, the Town of Merrillville, and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
The town of Merrillville approved a property tax abatement for the project.
When quality companies like Polycon look to hire more employees at a good wage and make a significant investment in our community, we step up to help them prosper, Town Councilman Shawn Pettit said.
HAMMOND A Calumet City man is expected to plead guilty in a crack cocaine case, federal court records show.
Musonza "Moe" Musoni, 35, faces five to 40 years in prison, but the U.S. attorney's office has agreed to recommend a minimum sentence in exchange for his plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine.
Musoni also would be placed on four years of supervised release, according to a plea agreement. He is scheduled to enter his plea Friday.
A court affidavit alleged an unidentified government source purchased crack cocaine from either Bobby "Cuz" Dejohnette, of Lockport, Illinois, Brandy K. Hero or Musoni during three separate transactions Nov. 18, Nov. 20 and Dec. 3 in Hammond. The government source paid between $400 and $1,200 for the drugs during each transaction, an indictment said.
Hero pleaded guilty in March to dealing crack cocaine and transporting a person between Illinois and Indiana to engage in prostitution.
Dejohnette has pleaded not guilty.
VALPARAISO A jury was out for 11 minutes Tuesday before returning to find a Crown Point man guilty of a felony count of illegally voting in Hebron during last years primary election.
Scott Crawley, of the 13000 block of Gibson Street, had moved from Hebron to Crown Point in 2012, yet signed when receiving his ballot on May 5, 2015 that he was still living at his Hebron address, according to Ethan Lowe, attorney for the Porter County Election Board.
The Hebron house, located in the 100 block of Park Place, was awarded to his former wife and has since been sold to a third party, according to the charging information.
Crawley is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 19 before Porter Superior Court Judge Bill Alexa.
The charge carries a potential penalty of between six months and two and a half years behind bars.
The trial started Monday.
GRIFFITH No serious injuries were suffered during a domestic disturbance that resulted in a stabbing.
Police said they responded at about 1:54 a.m. Monday to the 700 block of North Indiana Street for a domestic disturbance between three people who live at the residence.
According to police, the incident involved a man, his wife and her new boyfriend all of whom live at the address.
Police said the investigation is ongoing due to conflicting stories and possible self-defense issues. The boyfriend went to a hospital, but was later released, police said.
GARY Police are investigating an attempted robbery and stabbing and a robbery that occurred Friday about a mile apart.
Police were dispatched about 8:15 p.m. to the 3600 block of Delaware Street, on the east side of Glen Park, after a 56-year-old Gary man was stabbed in the back while fighting off a would-be robber, Lt. Dawn Westerfield said.
He told police a man wearing all black and a face mask approached him as he got out of his vehicle, and he told the masked man, "Get the h--- out of here."
As the victim walked away, the suspect moved closer and he felt a pain to his back. They fought, and the masked man ran to a white vehicle parked in an alley, Westerfield said.
The man was taken to a hospital for treatment of a stab wound to his back, she said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sgt. Dan Callahan at (219) 881-1210.
About an hour later, at 9:15 p.m., police responded to the west side of Glen Park after a 19-year-old Gary man reported he was robbed near 36th Avenue and Pierce Street.
The man said he was walking in that area when five people got out of a dark-colored sedan parked in an alley, walked up to him with guns and told him to "give it up," police said.
The five took the man's wallet and cellphone, got back into the sedan and drove off. The man ran to a nearby location to call police. No injuries were reported.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sgt. William Fazekas at (219) 881-1210.
Gary's anonymous crime tip line is (866) CRIME-GP.
HAMMOND A member of the Imperial Gangsters street gang in East Chicago has lost his bid to overturn his convictions for murder and racketeering.
A federal judge last week denied a motion filed on behalf of Richard Reyes, 44, of East Chicago, for a judgment of acquittal, arrest of judgment or new trial.
U.S. District Chief Judge Philip Simon said in an opinion filed July 27 new evidence that came to light after Reyes was convicted in January 2014 likely would not produce a different verdict if the case were retried.
Evidence at Reyes trial proved he was a large-scale marijuana and cocaine dealer who participated in a series of robberies and burglaries to further the interests of the Imperial Gangsters, the judge wrote.
At issue was Reyes conviction in the murder of Rene Alonzo on Sept. 16, 2007, outside the U.S. Bar in East Chicago, Simon wrote.
Several witnesses at Reyes trial testified that Reyes drove his maroon minivan near the front of the bar, a rival gang member threw a gang sign and Reyes opened fire, killing Alonzo and wounding one of the witnesses.
Reyes son, Vincent Garza, told federal prosecutors in an interview eight months after the trial that Alfredo Cooch Alvarez told Garza in 2013 that Alvarez killed Alonzo, not Reyes, according to court records.
During two evidentiary hearings Dec. 1 and Feb. 18, Garza further testified Alvarez claimed he killed Alonozo and Reyes took the fall for him.
Alvarez, who could not be located by the U.S. attorneys office to testify at Reyes 2014 trial, was subsequently located and appeared at one of the evidentiary hearings.
Instead of agreeing with Garza, he flatly denied both that he had any role in the shooting of Alonzo and that he ever made such a statement to Garza, the opinion said. In fact, Alvarez testified in a manner consistent with the governments theory at trial namely that Alvarez was not present for the shooting and that the shots were fired from Reyes maroon minivan, driven by Reyes, with Armando Ortega in the passenger seat and Pedro Ramirez seated behind them.
Garzas other testimony about picking up Reyes van the day after the murder and Reyes visit to a Santeria priest is consistent with Ortegas testimony and tends to favor the prosecution, Simon wrote.
The judge set Reyes sentencing for Nov. 28.
MICHIGAN CITY Michigan City police were busy Monday relocating to a new $13 million facility with twice the space as the old station.
Plans call for the old single-story police station near the lakefront to be torn down and possibly used for a hotel or some other private investment as part of the ongoing north end revitalization.
One of the hopes is the new facility on U.S. 35, with features like a fitness center and virtual shooting range, acts as a crime deterrent along an economically challenged main entrance way. The city has spent millions beautifying it over the past several years to try and spur new investment.
City Councilman Chris Schwanke said the new police station along with a $20 million assisted living facility that could start going up on the east side of U.S 35 late in the year should draw more prospective investors.
People are going to really start noticing that corridor has become something, said Schwanke, whos hoping work will begin soon on demolishing some of the dilapidated buildings along U.S 35 to further the momentum.
The new two-story facility containing more than 43,000 square feet is an upgrade over the former cramped police station designed more than a half century ago for a department with about half of the 90 officers presently on staff.
Sgt. Chris Yagelski said no more will officers have to share office space and other quarters.
We actually had guys working out of closets over there. Fortunately, this is very adequate for what we need, Yagelski said.
Schwanke said the technology also is first-class.
We have the finest, most state of the art police facility probably in Northwest Indiana, if not, all of Indiana, Schwanke said.
Mayor Ron Meer said a new police station had been talked about for more than 20 years. It finally materialized after making public safety a priority of his since taking office in 2011 and sticking to a commitment to building a first-class facility at the lowest cost possible, he said.
HAMMOND A Portage man accused of conspiring with several alleged members of the Two Six Nation street gang won a bid Monday to be tried separately from several co-defendants.
Anthony C. P-Nut Aguilera, 39, of Portage, is now scheduled to stand trail beginning Sept. 6 on federal charges he participated in a racketeering and drug trafficking conspiracy from January 1992 to August 2014 that involved murder, robbery, kidnapping and drug trafficking.
Co-defendant Frank Pumpkin Perez, 35, of Verona, Pa., is charged in the alleged racketeering and drug trafficking conspiracy and two additional counts related to the July 1999 murder of Jose Pena outside an arcade in Whiting. Perez recently sought to delay his trial, which is now set for April 10.
Aguileras defense is that he withdrew from the alleged conspiracy in 2003 and a statute of limitations precludes his prosecution, U.S. District Chief Judge Philip Simon wrote in an opinion filed Monday.
Aguilera previously was charged and pleaded guilty in state court for his involvement in the Pena homicide. He confessed to police in 2003 that he drove the getaway car after his fellow gang member, Perez, killed Pena, the opinion said.
Federal criminal court rules say joint trials for defendants charged together are preferred because they promote efficiency and avoid the scandal and inequity of inconsistent verdicts.
In this case, there is tension between Perezs right to cross-examine witnesses against him such as Aguilera, and Aguileras ability to fully present his defense while exercising his right against self-incrimination, the judge wrote
In this case, the defendant wishes to offer his own out-of-court statements to show withdrawal from the conspiracy, and the more the statement is watered down, the less persuasive it will be, the judge wrote. The fact that Aguilera names as opposed to merely telling the authorities that some other gang member committed the Pena murder makes his defense much more potent. Aguilera cannot fully present his withdrawal defense with a diluted version of the story.
Limiting Aguileras defense by redacting names or withholding details from his statement could jeopardize his right to due process, the opinion said.
Under the unique circumstances of this case, the concern about judicial resources (does) not trump Aguileras right to fully present his defense theory to the jury, Simon wrote.
Co-defendant Anthony Laviena, who was indicted in the case in December, is scheduled to stand trial with Perez next year. Laviena faces charges in the October 1999 slaying of rival gang member Alberto Greeny Guzman in East Chicago.
VALPARAISO Krystal Tapia told jurors Tuesday morning she was on the telephone with a 911 operator when she watched her husband suffer a fatal gunshot wound outside their Portage home.
She said her husband, Alexius Tapia, 36, hobbled back up to the front door of the house where he said, Babe, he shot me, before collapsing in front of her and the couples three young children.
The testimony conflicted with a claim from the defense just a day earlier that Thomas Reichler, who was 18 at the time of the Dec. 12, 2014 shooting, had shot Alexius Tapia out of self defense because he feared for his life after Tapia caught him breaking into cars.
Defense attorney Larry Rogers said Tapia hit Reichler with his gun, threatened to shoot him and dragged him back toward the house for an uncertain fate.
Reichler, who is being held without bond, is on trial this week on felony counts of murder, two counts of theft and one count of attempted theft. The theft charges involve two handguns stolen from the Chesterton area, including the one used to shoot Tapia.
Krystal Tapia said her husband was not dragging Reichler toward the house and she never saw him hitting Reichler. She said her husband was holding on to Reichler until police arrived.
I heard my husband tell him to freeze, she said, as well as telling her to call 911.
She then heard Reichler say, I dont want any trouble, which was followed by three sparks that turned out to be gunshots.
Rogers told jurors during opening arguments Monday afternoon that Reichler fired his handgun during the scuffle in hopes of scaring off Tapia so he could flee.
He shot Tapia once in the upper abdomen and Tapia shot Reichler in both arms before Reichler fled and was later found at a Michigan City hospital seeking treatment.
Jurors have been told they will see the shooting, which was captured on Tapias home surveillance system installed a few months earlier after one of their childrens bicycles was stolen.
Rogers portrayed Alexius Tapia as laying in wait for Reichler after seeing him on the home surveillance system more than an hour before the fatal shooting.
Krystal Tapia testified that her husband did not want to call police when Reichler and two other young men were first spotted earlier that morning.
I wanted to call, she said. It was my first instinct to call. But I trusted his judgement.
When the young men were spotted outside the home a second time at about 5:30 a.m., Alexius Tapia ran outside with his gun to confront them, Krystal Tapia said.
One of the other two men accused in the case, Nathaniel Sipe of Westville, faces charges of theft and assisting a criminal who committed a murder, according to court records. He is scheduled for trial Oct. 3. The third man, Korey Izynski of Clarksville, Indiana, pleaded guilty in May 2015 to two felony counts of theft and has since been charged with an unrelated count of felony burglary, according to court records.
EAST CHICAGO City Councilman Juda Parks is resigning rather than fight a state law forbidding him to hold multiple municipal jobs.
The Lake County clerks office said it received Parks official resignation letter Monday.
Parks is forfeiting his third four-year term on the citys nine-member legislative body where he had served since 2007.
The resignation permits him, under the new job restrictions, to retain his more lucrative city job as a master police officer on the East Chicago Police Department. It pays an annual salary of $59,971.
He also was listed in 2015 as a security guard for the School City of East Chicago at a salary of $20,000, according to Indianas public employee compensation datebase.
Democratic Party committeemen in the citys 31 precincts will name Parks replacement in the next 30 days. Parks departure could spark a run of candidates seeking his at-large council seat and its salary of more than $42,000.
A 2015 Times survey of local government elected officials found East Chicago paid its council members the highest salary in the state more than five times the average salary of council members in 75 community governments surveyed by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns.
Parks becomes the second to leave the City Council this year.
Robert Battle lost his seat May 16 when fellow council members decided Battle was unable to remain in office while incarcerated in jail where he is awaiting trial Nov. 29 in U.S. District Court on drug and homicide charges.
Parks, former Hammond City Councilman Michael Opinker, Hammond City Councilman Scott Rakos, former Hobart City Councilman Matthew D. Claussen and former New Chicago Town Councilwoman Susan Pelfrey filed suit 17 months ago challenging the new prohibition on holding both elective offices and second jobs on their communities police, fire and municipal water departments.
They argued the law violated their constitutional right to involvement in elective politics.
Nevertheless, Lake Superior Court Judge William E. Davis ruled Wednesday the Indiana General Assembly had the authority to ban elected officials from having two paychecks from the same municipality and policy-making authority over their fellow employees.
Opinker, Claussen and Pelfrey resigned last month. Rakos resigned last year as an assistant Hammond Fire Department chief prior to his successful run for the 6th District seat on the Hammond City Council.
A federal judge in Hammond and the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled against the five earlier.
Griffith Clerk-Treasurer George Jerome is resigning his office at the end of this month. Jerome didnt challenge the conflicts law. He is leaving to become director of finance and operations for the Griffith Public Schools at an annual salary of $105,000.
CALUMET CITY The City Council adopted a budget last week after several finance meetings combing over the details.
This years appropriated expenditures for all funds included in the appropriation ordinance total $59,796,152. Thats about $3.7 million less than last year.
The corporate fund represents the budget set for Calumet City governments day-to-day spending and revenue.
The citys corporate fund estimates $35,965,233 in revenue, a 3.3 percent increase over the estimate last year. Finance Director John Kasperek said the unaudited actual revenue received for the 2015-2016 fiscal year was $36,149,043, about $1.3 million more than estimated.
Kasperek attributes the difference to unanticipated sale of land owned by the city, insurance claim reimbursements and real estate tax collections.
Treasurer (Gerry Tarka) has always been very close to estimating revenues, including two years ago within 0.5 percent, Kasperek said. I feel his estimated revenues for the new fiscal year are reasonable.
Corporate expenditures were set about 0.4 percent higher than a year ago at $36,456,409. The total increase is $146,384.
While there was a $900,000 reduction in the budget due to the fire training station being nearly complete, there were other budgeted line items that had fairly large increases, Kasperek said.
Those increases included police salary raises of about $320,000, health insurance costs of $330,000, telephone expenses of $160,000 costs and private scavenger costs of about $180,000.
With corporate revenues and spending totaled and including a $470,000 transfer from the fire training center budget, the city is looking at a deficit of about $21,000.
With expenditures appropriated at $36 million, the amount of the deficit is very minimal, Kasperek said. So from a practical standpoint, the city has a balanced budget for the corporate fund.
The water and sewer budget is not included in the corporate fund. Tarka and Kasperek estimated the revenue this year at about $8.95 million with expenditures just a bit higher. Expected spending last year was about $4 million more, but bonds were issued to cover the cost of a water meter replacement program in 2015.
In the past, the water fund has borrowed from the corporate fund. Kasperek said he doesnt expect that to be needed this year.
The rest of the budget includes $1.5 million for the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund which Kasperek expects to have no cash flow problems $2.9 million for police and fire pensions, just under $1 million for the fire and paramedic fund and $600,000 for the capital projects fund.
Pence quieted a crowd that was booing a woman who asked Pence at a town hall meeting in Carson City Monday how he could tolerate Trump's disrespect for American servicemen.
"Capt. Khan is an American hero," Pence told a crowd at a Reno hotel-casino later that evening, emphasizing that Trump shares his view. "Capt. Khan and his family, like all Gold Star families, should be cherished by all the people of the United States."
The Republican nominee implied last week that Ghazala Khan, mother of Capt. Humayun Khan, stood silently alongside her husband at the Democratic National Convention because, as a Muslim, she was restricted her from speaking. That comment and others Trump made about the family prompted criticism from fellow Republicans and demands for an apology from the families of fallen soldiers.
During his speech at last week's DNC, Humayun Khan's father, Khizr Khan, questioned whether Trump has read the Constitution, and said the billionaire businessman has "sacrificed nothing and no one," leading Trump to respond.
Pence said he understands and appreciates the attention given to Khan's family. But he doesn't understand "why the media maligned and continues to ignore the moving mother of fallen Air Force veteran and diplomat Sean Smith."
Pence said much of the same media criticizing Trump earlier condemned Patricia Smith's speech at the GOP convention about the U.S. information officer killed in the 2012 attack in Benghazi.
"Let's demand the media listen to and honor all of the families of the fallen in this country," he said.
On Tuesday, Trump's son, Eric Trump, said his father's comments have been "blown out of proportion." Speaking Tuesday to CBS This Morning, Eric Trump said his father is "a great patriot," who "doesn't want to see more Americans dead."
MOSCOW Rebels in Syria shot down a Russian combat helicopter Monday amid fierce fighting around Aleppo, killing all five people on board in the deadliest single incident for the Russian military since it became embroiled in Syrias civil war 10 months ago.
The helicopter downing came as the Syrian army, under Russian air cover, fought to repel a rebel attempt to break the governments siege of Aleppo, killing more than 800 militants, according to the Russian military.
The Mi-8 helicopter was shot down in Idlib province while returning to Hemeimeem air base on Syrias coast after delivering humanitarian goods to Aleppo, the Russian Defense Ministry said. It said all three crewmembers and two military officers on board died.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Videos uploaded online by Syrian opposition activists showed the burning wreckage of a Russian helicopter in footage seemingly taken in the first moments after it crashed.
In one video, men, some of them armed, were shown standing near the wreckage taking cellphone photos, some cheering and shouting Allahu Akbar, or God is great in Arabic. The body of one Russian soldier was seen being dragged by the legs while a man jumped on the half-naked body of another soldier.
The helicopter appeared to have broken up as it crashed: Its tail could be seen lying separately from the aircrafts body in flames. A rocket pod was visible amid the wreckage, standard equipment for the Mi-8, a workhorse of the Russian air force which can be used for carrying troops and cargo and attacking ground targets.
International human rights groups have repeatedly accused Russia of hitting civilians and using cluster munitions since it began its aerial campaign in Syria. The Russian military has denied hitting civilians, and also rejected claims that its aircraft targeted moderate elements of the Syrian opposition along with its declared targets, the Islamic State group and al-Qaidas branch in Syria, the Nusra Front.
Idlib province has a strong presence of fighters from both the Nusra Front and other groups fighting Syrian President Bashar Assads forces. The Nusra Front announced last week that it was changing its name and relinquishing ties with al-Qaida in an attempt to undermine a potential U.S. and Russian air campaign against its fighters.
The group is part of a coalition of insurgent groups called Jaish al-Fateh, or Army of Conquest, which has captured most of Idlib.
Russias air campaign in Syria, launched in September, has shored up Assads regime, which was on the verge of collapse after a series of military defeats last year, and helped it gain key ground around Aleppo and elsewhere.
On Monday, Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian militarys General Staff announced that the Syrian army, relying on Russian air cover, had fended off a massive militant attack intended to break the governments blockade of the rebel-held part of Aleppo.
The offensive, launched late Sunday, involved some 5,000 militants, Rudskoi said, adding that the rebels lost more than 800 fighters, as well as 14 tanks, 10 other armored vehicles and over 60 gun trucks.
His claims could not be independently confirmed. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of militants and government troops were killed in the fighting, but didnt provide exact numbers.
Syrian opposition activists said intense fighting was still ongoing in Aleppo on Monday.
Rudskoi said 324 civilians had fled the militant-controlled part of Aleppo through corridors opened by the Syrian government on Thursday. He said 82 militants had also laid down their weapons.
The U.N. estimates some 300,000 people are still trapped in the rebel-held section of Aleppo, with dwindling food and medical supplies. Its Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, warned last week that basic supplies in eastern Aleppo could run out in three weeks.
The fierce fighting around Aleppo coincided with the passing of an Aug. 1 deadline for a U.N.-supported process to start a political transition in Syria. De Mistura is struggling to restart peace talks among the warring parties in Syria, even as the Syria war has increasingly been handled by diplomacy between the U.S. and Russia.
De Mistura said last week that he aims to call a new round of talks between government and opposition envoys in Geneva toward the end of August, but added he wants to see the outcome of steps agreed upon in Moscow last week between the United States and Russia before setting a precise date.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. is focusing on efforts to get a cessation of hostilities in place that is meaningful.
It is critical, obviously, that Russia restrain both itself and the Assad regime from conducting offensive operations, just as it is our responsibility to get the opposition to refrain from engaging in those operations, he said.
Mondays helicopter downing marks the deadliest single incident for the Russian military in the Syria campaign. It has brought the official Russian casualty toll to 19, 16 of whom were killed in enemy fire.
Last month, two Russian airmen were killed in central Homs province when their Mi-25 helicopter was shot down by what the Defense Ministry said were Islamic State fighters.
A Mi-28N helicopter gunship crashed near Homs in April, killing both crew members, but the Russian military said there was no evidence it came under fire.
A Russian warplane was shot down by Turkey along the Syrian border in November, and one of the two pilots was shot and killed from the ground after ejecting. Russia also lost a helicopter in a mission to rescue the planes second pilot, when a Russian marine was killed.
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Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Lynn Berry in Moscow, Zeina Karam and Philip Issa in Beirut and Bradley Klapper in Washington contributed to this report.
Donald Trump's exchange with the father of an Army captain killed in Iraq is still dominating political headlines, and it's causing more Republicans to distance themselves from their party's nominee. Josh Robin filed the following report.
It was one of the dramatic moments of a presidential campaign already filled with drama: the parents of Humayun Khan, the Muslim U.S. army captain killed protecting fellow soldiers from a suicide bomber in Iraq, speaking at the Democratic National Convention.
Sunday, Trump was asked about their appearance.
"His wife, if you look at his wife, she was standing there. she had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me. But plenty of people have written that," he said.
In fact, Ghazala Khan says she was too distraught to speak about her killed son.
Trump found himself on the receiving end of bipartisan condemnation, from a protest outside his offices to outrage from Brian Duffy, the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
"Election year or not, the VFW will not tolerate anyone berating a Gold Star family member for exercising his or her right of speech or expression," Duffy said in a statement.
Fellow Republican John McCain, a decorated former prisoner of war, also denounced Trump, along with other GOP senators, though none withdrew their endorsement.
And President Barack Obama, speaking before disabled veterans in Atlanta, also spoke of Gold Star families, those who lost children in battle.
"Our Gold Star families have made a sacrifice that most of us can not even begin to imagine," Obama said. "They represent the very best of our country."
Hillary Clinton stumped with Warren Buffett in Omaha. He referenced the Red Scare of the 1950s.
"I ask Donald Trump, 'Have you no sense of decency, Sir?'" Buffett said.
Trump appeared in Ohio. He did not mention the Khan family. Instead, he predicted a disputed outcome in November.
"And I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," he said.
When it comes to the Khans, Trump tweeted:
This story is not about Mr. Khan, who is all over the place doing interviews, but rather RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM and the U.S. Get smart! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2016
But some question whether politically, at least, it is smart for Trump to attack the family of a solider killed in war.
Veterans and Muslim-American leaders upset by Donald Trumps comments about the family of a Muslim-American soldier killed in Iraq rallied outside Trump Tower in Manhattan Monday.
Trump is facing bipartisan criticism for his ongoing feud with the parents of a Muslim-American army captain killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq.
Khizr Khan told his son's story last week during the Democratic National Convention, where he blasted Trump for his proposed ban on Muslims entering the country.
Trump later implied Khan's wife was not allowed to speak because of their religion, which the family strongly refutes.
At the rally, members of the group Veterans Against Hate said Trump consistently disrespects veterans and their families.
"He has sacrificed absolutely nothing," said Katherine Scheirman, a retired Air Force colonel. "Ive seen the sacrifices that our troops made. We heard from Mrs. Khan the sacrifices that military families make."
"They continue to say why Ms. Khan did not speak, and her silence spoke louder than any words," said Linda Sarsour, the executive director of the Arab American Association of New York. "We tell Donald Trump today, start running on a platform and stop running on hate."
Trump Tower is Trumps base of operations.
Trump left Trump Tower shortly after the rally ended, but he did not address the protesters.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan released statements condemning any criticism of Muslim-Americans, though neither denounced Trump by name.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, described their failure to drop endorsements of Trump as "cowardice."
Police say a man who was shot by NYPD officers Monday in Queens has now been charged with burglary.
Felix Perez, 37, is also charged with criminal possession of stolen property and resisting arrest.
It happened Monday afternoon near 66th Street and Hull Avenue in Maspeth, when police say a woman called 911 when she spotted a man on a nanny camera inside her apartment.
Police say a struggle broke out when officers found Perez.
He was shot once in the groin and ran off, but was caught about a block away, according to police.
Police say Perez, who's recovering from his injuries, has been arrested for burglary in the past.
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced Police Commissioner Bill Bratton is stepping down and will be replaced by Chief of Department James O'Neill. Dean Meminger filed the following report.
After weeks of speculation and denials that William Bratton would be leaving as police commissioner imminently, he made it official Tuesday, standing with Mayor Bill de Blasio.
"I made it quite clear that I would leave when I thought the time was right," Bratton said.
Bratton is resigning after two-and-a-half years.
"I worked very hard over the last couple years with the mayor to recognized that there would become a point in time, whether it is now or a year from now, that I would leave. Police is never done. It is always unfinished business."
There was speculation Bratton is stepping down for multiple reasons, from the mayor firing him, to poor health, to federal investigations into the NYPD or because of community activists.
"I've never had a concern about being fired by this mayor because effectively, we work so well together," Bratton said.
Bratton has never been shy about saying he lost money to become police commissioner the second time around and was always going back to the private sector for financial reasons. This time he'll be working for a CEO advisory firm called Teneo.
"I'm going into a related world where I'll be able to use the expertise that was developed, particularly over the past several years, dealing with cybercrime and terrorism and take that into the private sector," he said.
Bratton will officially leave in September. The top bosses in the department will basically stay the same. Chief of Department James O'Neill will be bumped up to police commissioner. Carlos Gomez will be chief of department, and Ben Tucker will stay on as first deputy commissioner.
"Better to leave at this juncture where there is a team that is capable, energetic and is creative and wants to engage, and you've met them and you know them," Bratton said.
"We've all been a team together," de Blasio said. "This is something, again, that I cannot say enough about Bill Bratton's understanding of teamwork."
Bratton leaves as overall crime remains at historic lows and additional officers are being added to the department with upgraded equipment.
Although Bratton says the police department has accomplished a lot over the last two-and-a-half years, he admits there are still plenty of challenges ahead for the NYPD, especially with community-police relations.
Activists cheered his departure as he left City Hall. But unlike when he was forced out as commissioner in the 90's by then mayor Giuliani, he says this time was on his terms and at the right time.
"I'm leaving with reluctance," he said. "I wish I had more time chronologically to stay around for three or four years to work on the issues that are going to take that long to straighten out. I don't have that time."
Bratton says he'll be staying in New York City but doesn't plan to meddle in police matters once his out the door.
Members of the police union followed Mayor Bill de Blasio through Brooklyn Tuesday morning to protest a lack of pay raises.
The Patrolman's Benevolent Association demonstrated outside a coffee shop in Park Slope where the mayor ate breakfast, and then followed him down the block to the Prospect Park YMCA, where he often goes to exercise.
PBA President Pat Lynch says the Mayor has refused to hear officers out.
"Usually we'd sit at a table and have him hear the message in negotiations. He hasn't heard it. So if he's gonna be here at the gym running city government from the gym, that's where we come. We want to go where we can solve problems. If this is the spot, this is where we'll be," Lynch said.
The union is demanding higher pay and better equipment for officers, along with more legislative support from City Hall.
A statement from the mayor's office said, "Our door has always been and continues to be open to the PBA to negotiate a long-term contract, as weve done with nearly the entire City workforce to date."
No one had a radio. Our cellphones didnt work. And it was clear that no bikes would be coming back to get us.
Image Suzanne Daley Credit... Lars Klove for The New York Times
I was in one of the most beautiful settings on earth. But that fact intruded on my thoughts only occasionally. We walked for nine and a half hours, mostly in water. The poncho turned out to be porous. The new boots, soaking wet, were heavy and began to kill my toes. I had expected heat. But the water was cold. I was shivering. As with every other time I have ended up in a dangerous situation while reporting, my mind went over and over where I had made the stupid mistake that had landed me in such a spot.
Eventually, some of the rangers who had gone ahead on bikes waded back to help us out of there. Perhaps because I was old enough to be their mother, the soldiers and rangers seemed unsure of how to deal with me. But one finally offered me his hand. I wondered later whether he regretted it. I did not let go of him for at least two hours as he inched forward first, trying to guide me to solid footing.
Over the next two days (yes, one night turned into two) I watched these young men work so hard to do their job right. Some showed a deep knowledge and love of the rain forest they were trying to protect. But it was a shock to see how poorly equipped and vastly outmanned they were.
Most spoke not a word of English. But even so, as I slipped down the 15-foot muddy embankment to get into a motorized canoe or got my boots stuck in the quicksand-like beach along the river, one of them always seemed there to hold my hand.
My Fitbit didnt survive the soaking. The clothes I wore and slept in were so stained with gooey muck that they would go straight into the garbage. I am in the process of losing one of my toe nails.
But as we headed for a different path home, I knew I had gotten what I wanted for my story. Going up the river away from the miners, we were in a still-pristine area. There, at dawn, we spotted a jaguar in the water swimming from shore to shore. The men turned off the boat engine to watch as the animal climbed out on a pebbly stretch.
Then they burst out laughing. Our jaguar was fat. In this area of the reserve, at least for now, all was well.
Yes, Mr. Ackman has lost a ton of money for his investors on his bet against Herbalife. But with the F.T.C. settlement, he has won a moral victory that could very well help hundreds of thousands of Herbalifes defrauded customers, who are mainly low-income immigrants who would most likely not have had any legal recourse had Mr. Ackman not loudly called the company into question.
I have to admit I didnt fully appreciate the magnitude of Mr. Ackmans accomplishment until I watched a new documentary about his battle with Herbalife: Betting on Zero. The movie premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April; its title is drawn from Mr. Ackmans prediction that the companys stock would one day be worth nothing.
The film, directed by Theodore Braun, is remarkably poignant and is in negotiations for a distributor; it is being screened this Saturday in East Hampton. At the end of the movie, during the credits, Mr. Braun shows Edith Ramirez, head of the F.T.C., at a news conference last month announcing the settlement.
Herbalife, she said, was responsible for deceiving hundreds of thousands of hopeful people. She described the dream portrayed by Herbalife as an illusion. She went on to say that the vast majority of Herbalife distributors found they could make little or no money selling Herbalife products.
Worse still, Ms. Ramirez said, her agency had determined that people who leased space and opened a nutrition club and worked long hours made no money or lost money. And, she concluded: The small minority of Herbalife distributors who did make a lot of money were paid by Herbalife not for selling the companys products, but for buying the products themselves and then successfully recruiting large networks of others to do the same.
WILMINGTON, Del. For decades, many of the nations biggest companies staked their futures far from the fraying downtowns of aging East Coast and Midwestern cities. One after another, they decamped for sprawling campuses in the suburbs and exurbs.
Now, corporate America is moving in the other direction.
In June, McDonalds joined a long list of companies that are returning to downtown Chicago from suburbs like Oak Brook, Northfield and Schaumburg.
Later this month, the top executive team at General Electric whose 70-acre wooded campus in Fairfield, Conn., has embodied the quintessential suburban corporate office park since it opened in 1974 will move to downtown Boston. When the move is completed in 2018, the renovated red brick warehouses that will form part of G.E.s new headquarters wont even have a parking lot, let alone a spot reserved for the chief executive.
But even as they establish new urban beachheads, business giants like G.E. are also changing the nature of their headquarters, staffing them with a few top white-collar employees and a smattering of digital talent, rather than recreating the endless Dilbert-like pods they once built in the burbs.
PHILADELPHIA Elizabeth Holmes tried to salvage the reputation of her embattled blood-testing company here on Monday, discussing its technology and data at a scientific meeting for the first time. Instead of focusing on sins of the past, she made promises for the future.
Ms. Holmes said that Theranos, the company she started, was developing a new version of its technology that she called the mini-laboratory, or miniLab. She said the technology would be able to perform multiple types of medical tests in a box that could be placed on a table in a doctors office. She said the company was seeking approval of a test to detect infection by the Zika virus.
The presentation suggested that Theranos was shifting its business model toward selling medical testing machines, rather than strictly being a laboratory that performs tests by itself.
This is an inflection point for our company and a new chapter as we introduce our technologies to the world, Ms. Holmes said, in addressing the annual meeting of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.
Elio Guaitolini, whose namesake restaurant on the Upper East Side, Elios, has served as an informal clubhouse for Manhattans social and media elite since opening in 1981, died on Sunday at his home in Manhattan. He was 83.
The cause was complications of pneumonia, his wife, Colleen Croft, said.
Mr. Guaitolini served apprenticeships at two celebrity hot spots, Portofino in Greenwich Village and Elaines on the Upper East Side, before striking out on his own in 1977 with Parma, a successful venture that he abandoned when relations with his partner, John Piscina, became rocky.
Then came Elios, on Second Avenue near 84th Street, created in partnership with Anne Isaak, a former sous-chef at Chez Panisse. The concept was simple: classic Italian dishes served in warm, clubby surroundings, with a come-as-you-are atmosphere that Manhattans power players found congenial.
From the day it opened, despite a dismissive review by Mimi Sheraton in The New York Times, Elios attracted an A-list following of writers, actors, producers and political heavyweights. It soon established itself as a lower-profile and tastier alternative to Elaines, just a few blocks away.
Two former officials of Venezuelas federal antidrug agency have been charged in New York with taking part in an international narcotics ring that worked with traffickers to ship cocaine into the United States, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said.
In a five-page indictment unsealed on Monday, prosecutors accused the two officials, Nestor Luis Reverol and Edylberto Jose Molina, of taking payments from drug lords to move their shipments out of Venezuela even while helping to run the countrys equivalent of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Mr. Reverol was a former general director of the antidrug agency, La Oficina Nacional Antidrogas, and a onetime commander in Venezuelas National Guard. Mr. Molina, who is currently Venezuelas military attache in Germany, had once served as the subdirector of the agency, prosecutors said.
From the beginning of 2008 to the end of 2010, prosecutors said, Mr. Reverol and Mr. Molina helped alert the traffickers to pending raids and to locations where Venezuelan law-enforcement officers were planning drug interdiction operations. They also stopped or hindered antidrug investigations, allowing vehicles loaded with cocaine to leave the country, prosecutors said.
On at least one occasion, the indictment says, the two men freed people who had been detained on suspicion of drug trafficking and arranged for the release of seized narcotics and drug-trafficking profits. They also prevented the arrest or deportation of a number of suspects who were being sought for prosecution in other countries, including the United States, the indictment says.
Memos went unread. The mayor said he was in the dark. But one person understood how New Yorks bureaucracy could allow for a Manhattan nursing home to be sold to luxury condominium developers: Joel Landau, the man whose company flipped it for a $72 million profit.
Mr. Landaus savviness in pulling the levers of city government on behalf of Allure Group, an owner of the for-profit nursing home company, was outlined in the greatest detail yet in a report on the transactions by the city comptroller, Scott M. Stringer, that was released on Monday. Allure Group successfully lobbied for the city last year to remove a deed restriction on the property several months after buying it for $28 million; the company paid the city $16.15 million and then sold the property, known as Rivington House, to developers in February.
The 28-page report faulted City Hall for breakdowns in communication between top mayoral aides and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which oversees the removal of deed restrictions, despite at least 48 meetings on the subject among various city officials, including the first deputy mayor, Anthony E. Shorris.
What went down here was a failure of management on multiple layers of government, both in City Hall and at D.C.A.S., Mr. Stringer said at a news conference on Monday.
Utility customers in New York State will pay nearly $500 million a year in subsidies aimed at keeping some upstate nuclear power plants operating, regulators in Albany decided on Monday.
The subsidies were included in an order from the Public Service Commission to establish new rules on how power consumed in the state is generated. The policy, championed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, calls for half of the states electricity to come from renewable sources, such as solar or wind, by 2030.
Mr. Cuomos ambition to have New York seen as a national leader in reducing pollution from power generation has been complicated by the declining fortunes of the operators of nuclear plants. A long slump in the price of natural gas, a fuel for other generators, has hurt the profits of many nuclear plants, prompting plans to shut down some in New York.
Exelon has said it may have to close its R. E. Ginna and Nine Mile Point nuclear plants unless it receives financial help from the state. Another company, Entergy, had said that it would close the James A. FitzPatrick plant, which neighbors Nine Mile Point on the shore of Lake Ontario in Oswego County, by early next year.
Back Story
With one month until Labor Day weekend, time for a summer road trip is winding down. And your relaxation time will be even shorter if you get lost.
That still happens in this age of GPS. Sometimes its even because of the technology.
Image Hand-held GPS receivers became available in the 1980s. Credit... Stacey Cramp for The New York Times
The most famous example might be the woman who drove 900 miles across several countries over two days, even though her destination was just 90 miles away in her own country, Belgium.
The most tragic cases, when a device guides drivers down abandoned roads or uses outdated data, for example, can end in death, whether in a rural area like Death Valley National Park, or not far from Chicago. (Learn about GPS mishaps here and here.)
A precursor to GPS, the Jones Live Map, had similar troubles keeping up with changes 100 years ago, though, it offered over 500 routes across the country.
GPS, which stands for global positioning system, got its start in the U.S. military, which was trying to track Sputnik, the first artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. Scientists learned they could figure out its orbit by measuring the changes in the frequency of its radio signal.
Today, satellites controlled from Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado transmit a constant signal emitted by their atomic clocks. Billions of devices, including your smartphone, carry a receiver that locks onto the signals to calculate your location.
The CeaseFire and Safe Neighborhoods programs have brought down crime, in the neighborhoods using them, and Safe Neighborhoods have been shown to lower recidivism among its participants. But only very rarely can any such program show a citywide effect.
In many departments, procedural justice risks becoming one more in a series of halfhearted reform efforts; the police force institutes training and some rule changes, but makes no real attempt to integrate the programs into broader practices.
And even if a force did employ it fully, crime rates would be unlikely to fall quickly.
Meares compares it to fighting obesity. Imagine a successful, proven strategy to get people to lose weight by eating more fruits and vegetables. Now imagine that two years after that strategy began, many people using it were still obese. We wouldnt declare it a failure. We would recognize that obesity is a complex and long-term problem with multiple causes that requires many successful strategies at once. So we might even see a need to expand its use.
Thats even more true of crime. Many things affect crime rates, and there is no agreement among experts about which factors have been most important in the two-decade drop in crime we are still enjoying. Common sense and decency tell us that procedural justice is a step in the right direction. We cant go back to treating entire communities as felonious.
Police abuses are a different matter. Forces that use procedural justice well teach it to their entire force, integrate it into rules, consider it in evaluations and promotions can expect to see less everyday mistreatment.
But other department policies also affect police behavior and community trust. Few are as harmful as widespread stop-and-frisk. In 2011 the New York Police Department carried out 650,000 such stops. More than 90 percent of those stopped were nonwhite. And a vast majority of stops were a waste of time: In 88 percent, the police found nothing. They found guns in just one of every 500 stops, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union.
That was the peak, a decade into the mayoralty of Michael R. Bloomberg; but then it began a decline that accelerated in 2013 after a federal judge found such stops discriminatory. The judge ordered changes that included oversight by a federal monitor. Last year, instances of stop-and-frisk in the city dropped to 23,000 less than 4 percent of the 2011 number. And major crime hit another historic low, even though the most serious crimes, such as homicide, rape and robbery, rose slightly. (Homicides and shootings have resumed dropping this year.)
Studio City, Calif. Has the tide against restrictive voting laws turned?
In the last few weeks, voting rights groups, in some instances working with the Department of Justice, have posted a series of victories that seemed unlikely when their cases against these laws were first brought. The rights of hundreds of thousands of voters are at stake.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, perhaps the most conservative federal appeals court, ruled 9-6 last month that Texas strict voter identification law had a racially discriminatory effect on African-American and Latino voters. Not only did the Fifth Circuit send the case back to the trial court to establish a procedure to make it easier for those who lacked one of the narrow forms of identification to be able to vote, but also to decide if Texas had acted with racially discriminatory intent. Such a finding could lead the courts to put Texas back under direct federal supervision.
Last Friday, a Fourth Circuit panel ruled that a North Carolina voting law, possibly the largest rollback of voting rights since the 1965 Voting Rights Act, was enacted with racially discriminatory intent. The court threw out not only the states strict voter ID law, but also other voting restrictions that could make it especially hard for minorities to vote.
In the Seventh Circuit, a panel of conservative judges gave a trial court permission to soften Wisconsins strict voter identification law. In response, the trial court recently issued an order giving people who lacked one of the few IDs accepted for voting in Wisconsin the chance to vote by filling out an affidavit of identity. Then last week another federal court threw out more of Wisconsins strict voting laws. On Monday, a federal court told North Dakota to soften its ID law, which adversely affected Native Americans.
Another day, another investigation into Mayor Bill de Blasios administration. While the mayor likes to boast that his administration is competent, transparent and accountable, the facts occasionally suggest an entirely different set of adjectives.
A report released Monday by the office of Comptroller Scott Stringer examines the saga of Rivington House, a building on the Lower East Side that the city sold in 1992 to a nonprofit that ran it as a nursing home for people with H.I.V. and AIDS. The city recognized at the time that this was a valuable use of the property. It put a restriction on the deed requiring that the building be used as a nonprofit residential health care facility forever.
But forever lasted only until 2015. Last year a developer paid the city to have the deed restriction lifted, before flipping it early this year to a builder of luxury condominiums for $116 million, netting a $72 million profit.
My name is Destini, Destini spelled with an I, and I want to tell you my story. Every time I turn on the TV, I skip over the National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and Animal Planet, any channel that shows another animal being targeted. Somebody is always talking in the background, usually a white man with, yah know, green outfits and shorts on, and the boots. He would probably have an Australian voice. Thats usually what they sound like. We always see lions, jaguars, wild boars, and hyenas. Sometimes they show snakes, always the big ones, the most dangerous...... anacondas. It seems like on TV, danger is the only thing that exists in Africa. Probably because they never show nice animals living peacefully. - the giraffe, elephant, African deer. You know the ones. I cant think of the name. It starts with an A... antelopes. This is what I think of when I watch the news. My brothers not a lion. Hes a giraffe. Hes peaceful. Not all black men are lions, just as not all white men are Australians wearing oversized funny green outfits. I like to think there are two Durhams. One thats wealthy privileged, and the other where regular people work to get by. Half of the people in my class only talk about regional golf courses. The other half just look at them like, Really? I guess all they want to do is sound like their parents, talk about politics, even though they dont notice what is happening around them. They always have answers, dont ask any questions, and its like were living totally different lives. If they knew the stuff I would do on my weekends, they probably wouldnt talk to me, like Ide eat them, because theyre not exposed to real things. They havent experienced this. When my brother walks down a street, theres always heavy eyes on him. Plain T-shirts and jeans are always accused of either committing an offense or matching a description. Every person who put in prison comes from a family, but you never think of this when you see young people arrested on TV. Its kind of like youre tricked into believing that because somebody doesnt come from a fancy home, that theyre up to no good. Its like the light from the news reflects into their skin. Theres no light for people to grow, its fluorescent. Its hard and doesnt show your whole face. Everyone looks blue. In the holes, you see pain, worries, thoughts, but its like its in a different language and I cant understand it. I can never read whats missing. There are all types of people but I remember one man more than the others. He looked like an old man just sitting there. When we got home, I learned that it was my brothers uncle. I was afraid that my brother would turn into him. That his face would turn a little like his. The sad part about all of this is the longer my brother is in prison, the more I forget. Sometimes I cant even remember what he looks like. All my dad does is worry. It makes his nose bleed once or twice a week. I guess its a symptom of my dads love. He tries not to worry us but we still do. Cause if he cant control his high blood pressure from stressing, hell lose his job. My other brother Darius tries to cut everything out with music and video games. He builds a virtual world in his mind cause its the only place he can solve serious problems. My mom doesnt have time for her self anymore. Its like she has been running forever. She tries to be a cheerleader for everyone, and tries to make everything seem normal. She wants me to feel like a kid, but thats difficult. Grandma tries to find peace by going to church, or watching it on TV. The preacher is flashy with all his fancy California stuff. He asks for money. She sends. Shes trying to pray for a miracle. When were in court we constantly try to figure out whats going on. Its like reading a different language and the words dont fit into my ears. When you try to catch a word, some always falls out. After the courts, the prison visits, the meeting, the rallies, we have to go home. We just fix ourselves something to eat and look for what we lost. Were like that one puzzle in the back of the closet that has the missing piece... and were trying to find it.
Just when it seems that Donald Trump could not display more ignorance and bad judgment or less of a moral compass, he comes up with another ignominy or two. This weekend he denigrated the parents of a fallen American military hero and suggested that if elected he might recognize Russias claims to Ukraine and end sanctions.
Mr. Trumps divisive views helped him capture the Republican presidential nomination. And even as he creates a political whirlwind with each utterance, leading members of his own party havent the spine to rescind their support. Sure, some have come out with strong criticisms, but none have gone far enough. Repudiation of his candidacy is the only principled response.
On Sunday on ABC, Mr. Trumps comments on Ukraine demonstrated even less knowledge about world affairs than suspected. His remarks also reinforced suspicions that he is sympathetic toward Vladimir Putin, Russias authoritarian, anti-Western president.
Mr. Trump seemed confused about Russias 2014 annexation of Crimea and its efforts to wrest other parts of the country from Ukraines control. Hes not going into Ukraine, O.K., just so you understand, Mr. Trump said, apparently unaware that Mr. Putin sent troops there two years ago and that the international community still considers Crimea to be part of Ukraine. Russian troops have been seen, and sometimes killed, in Russian-speaking parts of Ukraine where an insurgency is fighting the Ukrainian government.
FRONT PAGE
Because of an editing error, an article on July 2 about the annulment of Austrias presidential runoff over procedural irregularities a decision that gave a far-right, anti-immigrant party a second chance to win used an erroneous standard of measurement to compare the 90,000 migrants who have applied for asylum in Austria with those who have applied in Germany. The proportion of asylum applicants in each country relative to the population is similar about 1 percent but the total numbers are different; Germany, with 10 times the population of Austria, has about a million asylum seekers.
NATIONAL
A picture caption on Monday with an article about the hazards of oil trains in the Northwest described imprecisely the train route shown. While the line is a route for oil trains, the rail cars shown are hopper cars, typically used to carry grain or coal not tank cars.
Because of an editing error, an article on Sunday about a hot-air balloon crash in Texas that killed 16 misidentified a survivor of 2013 balloon accident in Egypt that killed 19. The survivor was the husband not wife of one of the 19 who died.
NEW YORK
A picture caption in some editions on Wednesday with an article about the arrest of a landlord accused of harassing his tenants in East Harlem reversed the identities of two of the three men shown seated during arraignment proceedings. The landlord, Ephraim Vashovsky, is in the center and Shaoul Ohana, also charged, is at the left. (The caption correctly identified Adam Cohen, at right, who was also indicted.)
That has left us with a divide: Today, there is the Chinese internet, and there is the internet of the rest of the world. A network seen in its early days as a tool to foster financial and political unity across a fragmented planet has irrevocably cleaved into two completely separate spheres.
Mr. Kalanick, a famously competitive and aggressive entrepreneur, had apparently studied these risks and seemed determined to bridge that gulf. He would try to take on China not as an afterthought, but as a central mission of his fledgling company. He would risk billions and spend a great deal of time in China to figure out the secrets of winning there. The goal seemed lofty, but the opportunity, after all, was eye-popping: Amazon has a market value of $365 billion, and Alibaba is worth about $200 billion. The ride-hailing business might one day grow to be as valuable as e-commerce, if not larger and wouldnt it be fantastic if you could own it all, everywhere?
Well, you cant. The announcement on Monday that Uber will sell its Chinese operations to its rival Didi Chuxing, effectively ceding China to the homegrown favorite, cements an emerging global state of play: A kind of Chinese-American Cold War over the internet.
Entrepreneurs across the globe can choose to win in China or the rest of the world. You can be Alibaba or you can be Amazon. You can be Uber or you can be Didi. But you cant be both. Given the rising Chinese market and increasing tension over the role of American tech firms in the rest of the globe, the gulf between the two sides promises to become one of the most important factors in determining the shape of global tech innovation.
How exactly might the war play out? In some ways, being at the mercy of two poles of internet leadership could be good for citizens of planet Earth. In emerging markets like India, the Middle East and parts of Africa and South America, the giants of China and the United States are increasingly investing billions to compete for local customers in e-commerce, social networking, ride sharing and other markets.
ATLANTA A Mississippi grand jury found on Monday that a white police officer had committed no crime when he fatally shot a black man he had been chasing after the man was pulled over in Tupelo.
The shooting on June 18 brought the emotionally charged issue of the polices treatment of African-Americans, already roiling other parts of the United States, to a normally sleepy corner of northeastern Mississippi.
John Weddle, the district attorney for Mississippis First Circuit Court District, said Monday that his office had presented the grand jury with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations findings on the shooting of Antwun Shumpert. Mr. Weddle said he could not discuss details of the bureaus investigation, its findings or the grand jurys deliberations. He said the police officer, Tyler Cook, had faced a potential charge of murder or manslaughter.
As far as my office is concerned, the case is closed, Mr. Weddle said in a phone interview Monday.
CHICAGO A Chicago officer whose police powers were suspended after the officer shot an African-American teenager in the back last week was wearing a body camera, but the device was not operating and did not record the fatal encounter, officials said on Monday.
Advocates for the family of Paul ONeal, the 18-year-old who was killed on Thursday, reacted skeptically to claims of the faulty body camera, wondering aloud why the department had invested in the technology if it did not work.
If there is not a cover-up here, I dont know where there is one, said Michael Oppenheimer, a lawyer who on Monday filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the family.
A federal judge on Monday barred North Dakota from enforcing the states strict voter identification-card law, adding to several recent federal court rulings that such laws may disenfranchise minority voters.
Judge Daniel L. Hovland of the United States District Court for North Dakota issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which he said had made it difficult and sometimes impossible for some Native Americans on rural reservations to cast ballots.
Judge Hovlands injunction did not strike down the law. But North Dakotas secretary of state, Alvin Jaeger, indicated in an interview that the state would not appeal the decision and that Novembers election would revert to using less restrictive identification rules that were in force before the 2013 law was enacted.
After the election we have a legislative session coming up, and well see how we can address the issues then, he said.
Many of New Yorks public figures remember the first time they incurred the wrath of Christine C. Quinn, the former City Council speaker known for her unapologetically forceful style.
For Corey Lewandowski, that first time happened to occur on live national television.
Mr. Lewandowski, the former campaign manager for Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee for president, was visibly startled on Monday when Ms. Quinn cut him off during a heated exchange on the CNN show New Day.
Ms. Quinn and Mr. Lewandowski, both paid contributors for the network who regularly appear together on the program, were discussing Mr. Trumps controversial remarks about the Khan family, the Muslim parents of an Army captain who was killed in Iraq more than a decade ago. Khizr Khan, the father, denounced Mr. Trump at the Democratic National Convention last week as his wife, Ghazala Khan, stood silently by his side.
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. Donald J. Trump unabashedly trumpeted his support for warmer relations with Russia at a campaign rally here on Monday night, acidly mocking opponents who say he is too friendly to Vladimir V. Putin, the countrys strongman president.
Mr. Trump, who has been under fire from Democrats and some conservative national security leaders for his accommodating stance toward Mr. Putin, cast his supportive remarks as a matter of practical necessity. By aligning itself with Russia, he said, the United States could more easily take on the Islamic State and other terrorist groups.
That rising populism comes as a surprise to those in charge lends credence to populisms intuition: Elites arent listening; we need to shout louder.
There were signs of growing dissatisfaction with the ruling class long before Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont ran an improbably strong socialist campaign in this seemingly socialism-proof country. There were signs of it before the billionaire developer Donald J. Trump called a senator Pocahontas, impugned a federal judge because of the judges Mexican ancestry, threatened to bar Muslims from the United States and otherwise regularly invoked race, ethnicity and gender in provocative and often disturbing ways. There were signs of it before he used a fervent antiglobalization message and America First language to stir nationalist sentiment.
Among those signs were two books. One, Coming Apart, published in 2012 and written by Charles Murray, addressed the authors friends on the right. It warned of Americas once-solid middle class starting to struggle like its lower class, even as the countrys educated upper class sequestered itself in enclaves and formed a private arugula-and-lacrosse culture that leaves them ignorant about how much of the rest of the population lives. The other book, Our Kids, published in 2015 and written by Robert D. Putnam, addressed his friends on the left. It warned of the cursed course of our society, stressing especially the problem of social mobility that seems poised to plunge in the years ahead, shattering the American Dream.
The books each made a splash. Then things went on as usual. And then the populist backlash began, and elites acted as though they had been taken by surprise.
UNITED NATIONS More people are forcibly displaced from their homes today than at any time since the end of the Second World War.
But the plight of these people is so politically contentious that after days of intense negotiations over a draft international agreement, the nations of the world have come up with virtually no concrete commitments to make their journeys any better or safer.
Western European countries, along with Russia, resisted what many had hoped would be a pledge to resettle one-tenth of all the people fleeing war and persecution. And the United States balked at language that would have committed all countries to not detaining undocumented children who arrive at their borders.
At issue is a 22-page draft outcome document that the 193 countries of the United Nations are trying to agree on before the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in September. It is not legally binding. Still, the negotiations are so difficult that a draft text that had been expected to be adopted on Monday, after being postponed at least once before, was postponed again.
WASHINGTON Donald J. Trumps statements on Russia tend to follow a pattern. He will say something in support of the country, praising its leader or promising to realign some aspect of American policy to its benefit. Foreign policy experts will express outrage, and Mr. Trump, ever defiant, will refuse to budge.
But on Monday, he found a Russian policy he could not support: the countrys aggression against Ukraine, including its 2014 annexation of Crimea.
It began on Sunday, when Mr. Trump said of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Hes not going into Ukraine, O.K., just so you understand.
When pressed, he added: O.K., well, hes there in a certain way. But Im not there.
The muddled comments left analysts to guess at Mr. Trumps meaning. Given his record of defending Russia, it seemed possible he was toeing the Kremlin line on Ukraine.
ST.-ETIENNE-DU-ROUVRAY, France It was the first time since a childhood school trip that Anissa Latroche had set foot in a church.
Ms. Latroche, a sociology student who is Muslim, came to Mass in the Rouen Cathedral on Sunday to pay tribute to the Rev. Jacques Hamel, the priest who was killed last week by two young men acting in the name of the Islamic State.
They welcomed us very nicely, me and my friend, said Ms. Latroche, who was wearing a pale blue veil as she entered the church with a mixture of respect and shyness.
She said she was shocked about what had happened to the priest, and even more so by the age of one of the killers, Adel Kermiche: 19, just like her.
ROME Marta Marzotto, a fashion and jewelry designer, former model, countess and hostess to the famous, died on Friday in Milan. She was 85.
Her family announced the death but did not specify the cause.
Ms. Marzotto, a buoyant personality in Italy, both designed and wore sumptuous, boldly colorful garments and eye-catching accessories and costume jewelry. In the 1990s she designed a clothing line for the Standa department store.
But she was probably best known for the glittering parties that she and her husband, Count Umberto Marzotto, the heir to a textile fortune, hosted, initially at their sprawling palazzo in Portogruaro, in northeast Italy. (She also had homes over the years in Cortina dAmpezzo, in the Italian Alps, as well as in Rome, Milan, Sardinia and Marrakesh, Morocco.)
Dinner and party guests variously included Italian nobility and political leaders from around the world, including Richard M. Nixon and the Kennedys. The designers Giorgio Armani and Roberto Cavalli were friends. So was the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, with whom the Marzottos went hunting. Ms. Marzotto later attended the lavish wedding of Aisha el-Qaddafi, the daughter of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
Irans top leader distanced himself on Monday from the nuclear agreement reached with major powers a year ago, accusing the United States of failing to honor pledges in the accord and citing the futility of negotiations with the Americans.
In blunt remarks prominently featured in Irans state news media, the senior leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the talks that led to the nuclear agreement in July 2015 should be regarded as an instructive lesson on the dangers posed by interactions with governments he regards as enemies.
Ayatollah Khamenei, who has the final word on Irans national security and other vital issues, did not suggest that he wanted to abandon the agreement, which took effect in January and sharply limited Irans nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of many Western economic sanctions.
But his remarks indicated that he was hedging against any unraveling of the agreement. He had endorsed the accord despite many of his own public warnings of interactions with the United States.
When it comes to art plundered in Europe during World War II, Ronald S. Lauder, chairman of the Commission for Art Recovery, has been very much the face, and soul, of the restitution movement.
In June, he was center stage at a Senate hearing on a bill to ease the way for the return of art looted by the Nazis, testifying alongside the actress Helen Mirren, who last year starred in Woman in Gold, a film about a Jewish heirs struggle to retrieve her familys stolen possessions.
Away from the spotlight, though, Mr. Lauder has been criticized for more than a decade by other restitution advocates and scholars. They say his own practices in detailing the provenance of works within a Manhattan museum he co-founded, the nonprofit Neue Galerie, and his private collection have not been as transparent as they should be.
Now there are signs Mr. Lauder has heard the criticism. To elevate their research, he and his staff have hired additional experts, are overhauling the museums website to ensure that provenances are more detailed and soon plan to announce a surprising byproduct of their labors: One of the Neue Galeries major works has a clouded history and may be returned to people who say they are the rightful owners.
SALZBURG, Austria Thousands of refugees are fleeing conflicts in the Middle East that once felt far away. Politicians making strident nationalist arguments are surging in polls. The problems coursing through Europe right now could hardly be more real. So it at first seems curious, even irresponsibly escapist, that the theme of this summers Salzburg Festival is the nature and power of dreams.
But Helga Rabl-Stadler and Sven-Eric Bechtolf, the festivals organizers, write in the program that dreams can offer not just escape and consolation, but also idealized visions of how things could be upon waking. Could this theme be a way of professing political relevance without distressing Salzburgs gala audience? I think thats too cynical: From creative artists to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., dreams have long been the language inspiring communal goals and more equitable policies.
The festival tries to invest dreams with ethical and political weight in three opera productions this summer, especially in an enchanting new staging of Richard Strausss mythological romance Die Liebe der Danae, as well as in an exhilarating concert by the Vienna Philharmonic.
The Philharmonic program opened with the premiere of an engrossing 55-minute oratorio by the Hungarian composer Peter Eotvos, conducted dynamically by Daniel Harding. Titled Halleluja, Oratorium Balbulum (Stammering Oratorio), the surreal text is by the eminent Hungarian writer Peter Esterhazy, who died of cancer on July 14 at 66.
LENOX, Mass. Late on Thursday afternoon, the strains of a trumpeter rehearsing the opening bars of Mahlers Fifth Symphony drifted across the Tanglewood lawns here. It didnt sound quite confident enough to be the Boston Symphony Orchestras principal, Thomas Rolfs. And it wasnt it was the orchestras music director Andris Nelsons.
Mr. Nelsons has picked up the instrument of his youth again, after receiving a trumpetas a gift from the leading virtuoso Hakan Hardenberger. I hadnt played a note for 15 years, Mr. Nelsons said in an interview. I started practicing a little, and got some lessons with Hakan and Tom. Its like yoga. Perhaps he could take a solo turn? Oh, but its a disaster. At least I can join in at trumpet parties.
Mr. Nelsons suddenly has time on his hands, after a dramatic withdrawal from the Bayreuth Festivals new production of Wagners Parsifal at the end of June cleared much of his summer schedule. He went home to Latvia for a beach vacation with his family. If his superb weekend of concerts at Tanglewood, including an optimistic Mahler Ninth Symphony and a buoyant Beethoven Seventh, was originally planned as an in-and-out visit between Wagner performances in Germany, it could now unfold more leisurely.
Why that withdrawal, though? Was Mr. Nelsons, who sees Parsifal as a fundamentally Christian drama, disturbed by the Islamic imagery in Uwe Eric Laufenbergs staging, as some suggested? Was he angry at the Bayreuth music director Christian Thielemanns interference in his rehearsals? What was the differing approach in various matters that led to an uncomfortable atmosphere, as his terse statement put it?
At both the Democratic and Republican conventions, the nations biggest banks were again cast as the bad guys, criticized as being too big and too risky.
This week, as the Olympic Games begin in Brazil, one of the big banks, Citigroup, is offering a rebuttal with a series of prime-time television and digital ads featuring images of sweaty athletes, the Space Shuttle and an early A.T.M.
Our business is helping Americans make progress, the ads narrator says, as a runner with a prosthetic leg sprints down a track.
Since the 2008 financial crisis, American banks have spent millions of dollars on advertising, consultants and social media initiatives, seeking to portray themselves as something other than greedy risk-takers. And yet, eight years later, anger and resentment persists.
The fight over Viacom is digging in for years of litigation as each side holds on to its own self-righteous claim to the poorly performing media company.
That was made clear by two court rulings last week in Massachusetts and Delaware.
In both cases, the courts ruled against Viacoms controlling shareholder National Amusements as well as Sumner M. Redstone and his daughter, Shari. Both courts found that the issues raised required a trial to examine whether Mr. Redstone, 93, was competent to remove Philippe P. Dauman and George Abrams from the trust that will control Viacom and CBS on Mr. Redstones death or incapacity. Also at issue is the removal of Mr. Dauman, Mr. Abrams and three others as directors of Viacom.
The trial will open up something of a Pandoras box. For years, the trust that controls Viacom and CBS its workings and operations was shrouded in mystery. This failure of disclosure suited all the parties in the current mess, at the expense of the minority shareholders.
Now, the legal proceedings promise years of wrangling and messy outcomes.
In the Massachusetts case, the Redstone familys best hope was that the case would be dismissed in light of proceedings in California, where Mr. Redstones choice of his daughter as his health care proxy had been approved. But the Massachusetts judge said that because the trust had been formed and was administered in Massachusetts, and some of the trustees, including Ms. Redstone, had ties to the state, the case could be heard there.
It may be hard to remember, but Americans once appreciated the government that serves them. Thats long gone.
Over the last six years, according to the Pew Research Center, four out of every five or more have said the government makes them feel either angry or frustrated. Last March, the ranks of the incensed included 78 percent of Bernie Sanderss supporters and a whopping 98 percent of those backing Donald J. Trump.
More than half of voters including 61 percent of Mr. Trumps supporters feel they are not keeping up with the rising cost of living. Three-quarters of Mr. Trumps supporters feel that life for people like them is worse than it was 50 years ago.
Some of this is caused by irreversible forces. The days when white men kept an uncontested hold on political power, when young adults without a college degree could easily find a well-paid job, are not coming back.
Rush Limbaugh, the king of conservative talk radio, has renewed his contract with the distributor iHeartMedia, the company announced on Tuesday.
In a statement, iHeartMedia declined to disclose specifics of the deal, calling it only a long-term, multiplatform agreement.
During his program on Tuesday, Mr. Limbaugh said he wanted to keep the financial terms secret, but said he would be staying on four more years.
I dont do this for any reason other than I love it, he said.
He said his father had taught him to be discreet about pay.
Vice Media announced on Tuesday that it will begin broadcasting its daily HBO half-hour newscast on Sept. 26.
The show, called Vice News Tonight, will run weeknights for 48 weeks a year. Josh Tyrangiel, who was previously the editor of Bloomberg Businessweek and chief content officer for Bloomberg Media, was hired by Vice last October to oversee the show.
The daily show is part of Vices broader ambitions to make its programming available across the media spectrum. The company, which started as a free punk magazine in Montreal in 1994, introduced its own cable channel, called Viceland, this year. It is not clear what size audience the channel attracts, but Vice plans to release ratings for it next month.
Calvin Klein named its first chief creative officer on Tuesday as the fashion industrys extraordinary game of musical chairs at the top of major houses continues this season.
The Belgian designer Raf Simons, formerly of Christian Dior, will take responsibility for all Calvin Klein lines, including runway, underwear and home goods. His appointment consolidates creative control for the company, which has not had just one such vision since its founder sold the brand in 2002. At a time when the New York fashion scene lacks direction, Mr. Simonss appointment at the top level of one of Americas most resonant brands is a potential game-changer for the industry.
Rafs exceptional contributions have shaped and modernized fashion as we see it today, and, under his direction, Calvin Klein will further solidify its position as a leading global lifestyle brand, Steve Shiffman, the companys chief executive, said in a statement first published on Facebook.
Though widely expected by the fashion world since Mr. Simons resigned as creative director at Dior in October, the appointment heralds a major strategy shift at Calvin Klein, which is owned by PVH.
Mr. Bratton used the unit to hone his image within the department, producing videos for the rank and file, and producing commercials and public service messages for the public.
When Mr. Bratton returned and was reunited with Mr. ONeill, it was a reunion of mutual benefit.
After languishing for nearly a decade as a deputy chief under Raymond W. Kelly, the commissioner at the time, Chief ONeill was promoted twice in short order by Mr. Bratton, first to chief of patrol and then to chief of department.
It was a remarkable career turn for Chief ONeill, who had been pushed out of his post as the commander of the departments narcotics operations after an internal sting operation found officers paying informants with drugs. Chief ONeill was one of several commanders transferred amid the scandal, which led prosecutors to dismiss many cases involving the officers implicated.
The last two years have been quite different. Commissioner Bratton and Chief ONeill have enjoyed a warm relationship, with Mr. Bratton occasionally teasing Chief ONeill at news conferences.
Those lighter moments including on Tuesday when Mr. Bratton ribbed Chief ONeill about his baldness elicit the friendlier side of a chief who can seem, with his starched uniform and military bearing, to be distant and cool.
Some elected officials have said that they worked well with Chief ONeill as chief of department.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, an advocate of criminal justice reform, described the chief as very qualified, personable and open-minded.
Chief ONeill is a good man, who has always had an open-door relationship with leaders of diverse backgrounds throughout the city, Mr. Jeffries, a Brooklyn Democrat, said on Tuesday.
To the Editor:
Re Worthy of Our Contempt (column, Aug. 1):
Paul Krugman said what I have been telling people here in West Michigan since May.
I am a Republican surrounded by other Republicans in this largely conservative area. Most of those people could never imagine themselves voting for a Democrat, let alone one as distrusted as Hillary Clinton.
But because I share Mr. Krugmans assessment of the risks associated with a Donald Trump presidency, I have done something I have never done before: reached out to my fellow Republicans to persuade them to vote not for their own partys candidate but for the opposing partys, even if that opposing-party candidate is herself no saint.
While I trust that this will be the only time in the lives of todays Republican voters that we find ourselves in this position, integrity and conscience compel us not to place the countrys future in the hands of a candidate whose demonstrated values contradict in many important ways those that Republicans have long embraced.
PAUL T. SORENSEN
Grand Rapids, Mich.
To the Editor:
The question for rational Republicans and their leaders: Is your loyalty to your party or to your country?
Video Title: How China Is Changing Your Internet Video Description: In China, a sheltered internet has given rise to a new breed of app, and American companies are taking notice. What was once known as the land of cheap rip-offs may now offer a glimpse at the future. PART I: Intro 1. If you are sitting in the United States or Europe right now, youve probably never used a Chinese app, but the reality is, if you want to know how the internet will develop, China, the land once known for its cheap rip-offs, has actually become a guide to the future. PART II: The creation of the Chinese Swamp Monster 2.1 You know, the internet is the internet, but for China the internet is more like an intranet. Its largely walled off from the Western world by this incredible complex system of filters and blocks that we call the Great Firewall. And basically the Great Firewall blocks any foreign site the Communist Party doesnt think it can control. 2.2 So that means there is no Facebook, no Twitter, no Google. Instead, what filled the internet vacuum was a generation of Chinese copycats that have grown into huge companies. 2.3 So for Google, you had Baidu; for YouTube, you had Youku; for Twitter, you had Sina Weibo, and the list goes on and on. 2.4 Its almost as if the Chinese internet is a lagoon as an aside to the greater ocean of the internet, and in that lagoon there are these swamp monster apps that bear some resemblance to the creatures in the ocean but are mutated in some ways because they evolved in a different kind of environment. PART III: The Chinese Swamp Monster Leaves the Pond 3.1 But things have started to shift, in the sense that before, no one outside of the lagoon really cared about the swamp monsters. But now all of a sudden, some of the features theyve developed are so amazing that Western apps are trying to copy them. And the greatest example of this is WeChat. 3.2 WeChat is an example of, for lack of a better word, a super-app. Its a Swiss Army knife that basically does everything for you. 3.3 Its your WhatsApp, Facebook, Skype and Uber. Its your Amazon, Instagram, Venmo and Tinder. But its other things we dont even have apps for. There are hospitals that have built out whole appointment booking systems. There are investment services. There are even heat maps that show how crowded a place is, be it your favorite shopping mall or a popular tourist site. The list of services goes on basically forever. 3.4 But its not the variety of things you can do on WeChat that makes it so powerful, its the fact that theyre all in one app. So why does that matter? PART IV: The Power of the Super-App 4.0 These are real people. Using the app in real ways. (We just made up the story.) 4.1 Hypothetically, imagine youre sitting at home and one day you notice your corgi is dirty. You open WeChat, hit a few buttons and a few hours later a man shows up at your door with some shampoo and a big vacuum. Your dog gets cleaned, and he looks great. You take a photo. You share it with your friends and tag the dog cleaning business. You havent left the app. 4.2 Your friend who likes Hello Kitty and works a boring office job is slacking off at work and looking at WeChat. She sees the photo of your clean corgi. She decides she wants her poodle cleaned. She clicks the tag on your photo and orders the same service. Within seconds the man with the big vacuum is on his way to her house. She pays him, and hes happy because he got paid instantly on WeChat. She starts chatting with you to thank you. Neither of you have left the app. 4.3 While chatting, she tells you about a new, hip noodle joint. She says, You have to come. Its a shlep, but you accept. She orders food while still at her desk. You order a taxi. She pays for the food. On the way to her house, the man with the big vacuum invests the money he earned from both of you into a wealth management product thats probably a little too risky. Neither of you, nor the man with the big vacuum, have left the app. 4.4 Both of you arrive, and the app tells the kitchen youre there. Your WeChat profile photo pops up on the wall. Its an old photo from that year you had that weird part in your hair. Of course, she makes a comment. Your food is served. You notice your meat is a bit overcooked, so you snap a photo and post a disparaging restaurant review. Youre already on your phone, and you remember you still owe your friend money because she paid. You transfer her money. Neither of you, the man with the big vacuum, nor the restaurant, have left the app. 4.5 At the restaurant: There are no menus. There are no waiters. There is no cashier. There is only WeChat. 4.6 By rolling so many functions into one single app, its altered the concept of virality. Its no longer just videos or images or tweets that can go viral its a dog washer, noodles, all sorts of companies and products that get the push of a social network. 4.7 Here in China, that network is 700 million people. Part V: The Costs of the Super-App 5.1 Sounds great, right? Well it is, but using a single app to find a date, schedule an oil change or notarize a document also enables WeChat to collect a staggering volume of personal data. 5.2 They know what you talk about, who you talk about it with, what you read, where you go, why youre going there, whos there, how you spend money when youre online, how you spend money when youre offline. The list goes on indefinitely. 5.3 For advertisers, this is miracle: Its the combined data of Facebook, Amazon, Google and PayPal, all in one place. The problem is, all of the data is information Chinese companies are forced to share with the Chinese government, which has a long record of human rights violations and isnt exactly shy about stalking its citizens. Part VI: Outro 6.1 So if youre not in China, why does this matter? It matters because were starting to see a number of Western tech companies attempt to replicate super-apps like WeChat. 6.2 For the companies, its incredibly powerful, and for you and me its a convenient and even transformative technology. 6.3 But of course, it could also be problematic. Concentrating so much data in so few hands could lay the groundwork for an Orwellian world where companies and governments can track every single movement you make.
To get a good sense of tech in China, its useful to think about the last 5,000 years, particularly as they relate to a big event this week.
China has 50 centuries of history, which along with its huge population can make the rest of us seem like something of a rounding error. Thats one of several things that often makes Chinas market unique in the world, along with a strong nationalist streak, local innovation and good old-fashioned protectionism.
Whichever of these you consider paramount, they create a strangely familiar outcome in Ubers decision to sell its China operations to Didi Chuxing, the local version of Ubers ride-hailing service.
As Paul Mozur and Mike Isaac write, Ubers $2 billion investment in China will yield a stake in the new Chinese company worth $7 billion.
Its looking like a Bunuel bonanza in New York: The American musical-theater composer Stephen Sondheim and the British opera composer Thomas Ades have both written adaptations of the Surrealist Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuels 1962 dark comedy The Exterminating Angel, and both are hoping for productions in New York in late 2017.
The Ades opera, also called The Exterminating Angel, had its premiere last week at the Salzburg Festival in Austria to strongly positive reviews, and it will travel to the Metropolitan Opera in the fall of 2017.
Mr. Sondheim has been working for several years with the playwright David Ives (Venus in Fur) on a musical based on two Bunuel films, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Exterminating Angel. In remarks on Saturday at the Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, N.Y., he said he now hopes to finish the work so it can be presented at the Public Theater, an Off Broadway nonprofit, at the same time as the work by Mr. Ades.
I called Ades and we talked about it, and I said, You know, for the five people in the world who really care about this sort of thing, itll be really interesting if the musical and the opera are done in the same year, which they are going to be, Mr. Sondheim said, according to a transcript of his remarks provided by Glimmerglass. Toms piece will be done at the Met next year and, if I can finish the score in time, our show will be done simultaneously at the Public Theater. And for people who are interested in the difference between operas and musicals, it ought to be an enlightening and provocative study.
It was a theme seized on by Hillary Clinton, who said in her nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention last week that the increase in applicants to the Dallas force showed how Americans answer when the call for help goes out.
The reaction comes at a particularly tense time for the police. Killings of police officers are 8 percent higher than a year ago, with a 78 percent increase in firearms-related officer fatalities, including ambush-style killings like those in Dallas. In his speech last month at the Republican National Convention, Donald J. Trump said that America was shocked to its core over the shootings in Dallas and a half-dozen other states.
Some of the applicants said they were signing up because they wanted to help the police. Others said they wanted to serve in neighborhoods where police shootings of unarmed black men have hardened years of anger and distrust. They admitted they were stepping into policing at an anguished moment.
A lot of people said: I dont want you to go into policing. Cant you find something else to do? said Jamile Owens, 29, who is African-American and had applied to the Dallas department about a month before the shooting.
The increase in applications was prompted by a call to the public from Chief David O. Brown, who stepped in front of the microphones four days after the shooting and spoke candidly about the challenges of police work and the departments needs.
Were hiring, Chief Brown said. Get off that protest line and put an application in. And well put you in your neighborhood, and we will help you resolve some of the problems youre protesting about.
Lawyers representing Dylann Roof, the white man accused of killing nine black members of a historic Charleston, S.C., church last year, filed a motion challenging the constitutionality of the death penalty after federal prosecutors declined his offer to serve life without parole.
In the 34-page motion filed late Monday in Federal District Court in Charleston, Mr. Roofs lawyers acknowledged that the facts of this case are indisputably grave. But they argued that the death penalty itself is unconstitutional, and that therefore no one can be lawfully sentenced to death or executed under it, no matter what his crimes.
The challenge to the system stemmed from the governments refusal to accept guilty pleas from Mr. Roof in exchange for multiple sentences of life in prison without a possibility of parole, the filing said.
Should the governments death notice be withdrawn at any point in the future, the filing said, Mr. Roof will withdraw this motion and plead guilty as charged to all counts in the indictment.
In interviews, Muslim soldiers said they had all encountered at one time or another what one called knucklehead comments equating them with terrorists. Things got worse after 13 people were killed at Fort Hood in 2009 by a Muslim Army psychiatrist who said the United States wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were wars against all Muslims.
Other problems come from the cultural barriers, like a ban on facial hair, and dealing with military food that is often rife with pork, forbidden by Islam. Few bases have Muslim prayer services, and only five of the Armys roughly 2,900 chaplains are imams.
It can be challenging, said Mr. Rashid, whose family moved from Pakistan when he was 10. The nature of military service is not very conducive to practicing your faith, but Islam is flexible.
I am here as an American, he added. I benefit from the liberty and opportunity of this country, and it is my obligation to serve this nation in some way.
Thousands of Muslims have served in the military since at least the Civil War, but they make up a disproportionately small portion of the force. Just 3,939 troops currently list their faith as Islam, according to Pentagon data. They make up just 0.3 percent of the military; Muslims are estimated to make up about 1 percent of the civilian population.
The shake-up at the Democratic National Committee after an embarrassing breach of its email system continued on Tuesday with the departure of three senior officials.
Amy Dacey, the committees chief executive; Luis Miranda, its communications director; and Brad Marshall, its chief financial officer, will leave amid a reshuffling of leadership positions, said Donna Brazile, the interim chairwoman.
The departures came more than a week after WikiLeaks posted almost 20,000 of the committees emails, a number of which revealed officials showing favoritism toward Hillary Clinton in her primary campaign against Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The messages confirmed the concerns expressed by Mr. Sanders throughout the campaign, cast a cloud over the start of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last week and led to the resignation of Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida as the committees chairwoman.
Ms. Brazile praised the outgoing staff members and made no mention of the controversy.
Thanks in part to the hard work of Amy, Luis, and Brad, the Democratic Party has adopted the most progressive platform in history, has put itself in financial position to win in November, and has begun the important work of investing in state party partnerships, she said in a statement. Im so grateful for their commitment to this cause, and I wish them continued success in the next chapter of their career.
Representative Richard Hanna, Republican of New York, broke ranks with his party to endorse Hillary Clinton for president on Tuesday, denouncing Donald J. Trumps attacks on the Muslim parents of a soldier killed in Iraq and calling Mr. Trump unfit to serve.
Mr. Hanna has long said he would not support Mr. Trump in the general election. By throwing his support to Mrs. Clinton, he becomes the first Republican member of Congress to go beyond disavowing Mr. Trump, and join forces with the Democrats against him.
Mr. Hanna announced his plans in an interview and opinion column on Syracuse.com. He cited Mr. Trumps disrespectful comments about the soldiers parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, among the reasons for his defection.
I was stunned by the callousness of his comments, Mr. Hanna said. I think Trump is a national embarrassment. Is he really the guy you want to have the nuclear codes?
Wyatt Gillette was only 4 when doctors told his family that he had Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome, a disease that affects the brain, immune system and skin.
When it became clear that the condition of his little warrior was worsening, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Gillette, his father, reached out to fellow Marines through Facebook last month and asked for their prayers and support.
They took that support further than anyone expected. On Saturday, after backing was gathered all the way to the Marines top officer, the terminally ill boy received the rare title of honorary Marine in a quickly assembled ceremony at the Marine Corps Base Camp in Pendleton, Calif.
The Lakeland Police Department announced the charges on Friday after the medical examiner ruled that Mr. Wisham had died of mechanical asphyxia, or choking, from being restrained, and that he had 15 broken ribs.
Image Kenneth Edgar Wisham Credit... Polk County Sheriff's Office
Facing one manslaughter charge each were Nathan Allen Higgins, 35, a manager; Crucelis Nunez, 23, a customer service manager; and Randall Eugene Tomko, 58, a loss prevention officer, according to the police affidavits.
The three appeared before a county judge on Friday after their arrest the day before. Mr. Higgins posted a $2,500 bond and was released on Saturday, his lawyer, James Franklin, said on Tuesday. An arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 30, but Mr. Franklin said a written plea of not guilty was entered.
Lawyers for the other defendants could not be reached Tuesday afternoon for comment.
A Walmart spokesman, Charles Crowson, said on Tuesday that the workers had been suspended and their job status was under review. He did not have immediate replies to questions about the companys policy and training on how workers should stop shoplifters, and whether this was the first time Walmart employees have been charged in such cases.
Attempts to stop shoplifting suspects have come under scrutiny in cases where force is used or employees or bystanders have stepped in. In two separate cases in Indiana and Michigan last year, customers with guns saw store employees chasing shoplifters and tried to help by opening fire as the suspects drove off.
DHAKA, Bangladesh The authorities in Bangladesh have offered cash bounties for two men believed to have planned recent Islamist attacks there, reflecting a sense of urgency as terror alert levels remain high.
The first, Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, is believed to have planned the July 1 attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery, according to Shahidur Rahman, a police spokesman.
In the attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State, a team of gunmen raided a restaurant in Dhaka heavily frequented by foreigners, killing 22.
BEIJING A Chinese court on Tuesday sentenced a human rights activist who had criticized the government to a suspended three-year term in prison, in the first of several trials apparently intended to showcase the Communist Partys hard-line attitude toward dissent.
The activist, Zhai Yanmin, was arrested last year as part of a sweeping crackdown on human rights lawyers and their associates. He pleaded guilty on Tuesday to subverting state power, according to state news media, reportedly telling the courtroom that he had organized protests and exaggerated grievances with the aim of undermining the government.
Mr. Zhais supporters denounced the trial, saying it was scripted and inordinately secretive. Mr. Zhais wife was barred from attending the proceedings, and the government permitted only news outlets it had approved to observe the three-hour trial.
If Chinese authorities are so confident in their cases against these human rights lawyers, why try them in secret? said Maya Wang, a researcher for Human Rights Watch in Hong Kong. Those lawyers allies around the world already know the case is a sham.
MANILA Since Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines just over a month ago, promising to get tough on crime by having the police and the military kill drug suspects, 420 people have been killed in the campaign, according to tallies of police reports by the local news media.
Most were killed in confrontations with the police, while 154 were killed by unidentified vigilantes. This has prompted 114,833 people to turn themselves in, as either drug addicts or dealers, since Mr. Duterte took office, according to national police logs.
Addressing Congress last week in his first State of the Nation address, Mr. Duterte reiterated his take-no-prisoners approach, ordering the police to triple their efforts against crime.
We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier and the last pusher have surrendered or been put behind bars or below the ground, if they so wish, he said.
1. Various exteriors of Salekhard regional hospital YAMALO-NENETS GOVERNMENT HANDOUT - AP CLIENTS ONLY Salekhard - 2 August 2016 2. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Irina Shestakova, senior specialist of infectious diseases at the Russian ministry of health: Anthrax, as with any disease, can develop abruptly. And doctors arent to blame (for this). A patient could be ill with it (anthrax), and this disease has such a clinical course that the fatality could be within three to four hours from the manifestation (of the symptoms). AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Salekhard - 2 August 2016 3. Various city scenes 4. Various of the emergency hall of the Salekhard regional hospital YAMALO-NENETS GOVERNMENT HANDOUT - AP CLIENTS ONLY Salekhard - 2 August 2016 5. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Lyudmila Volova, senior epidemiologist at the healthcare department of the Yamalo-Nenets government: We see here (in some patients), that there is no (case of) anthrax; but we take patients in with any marks on the skin, with minimal enlargement of the lymph nodes and a body temperature of 37.1 degrees (Celsius, 98.8 Fahrenheit). We take everybody away from the epicentre of the infection. AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Salekhard - 2 August 2016 6. Various of people on the streets 7. SOUNDBITE (Russian) name not given, local resident: Thats frightening to be infected. I heard the city is planned to be closed for quarantine. 8. SOUNDBITE (Russian) name not given, local resident: Reindeers died, a child died. 9. SOUNDBITE (Russian) name not given, local resident: There are worries about myself and about kids. I dont know how to act in this kind of situation. 10. Wide of pharmacy 11. Various of the emergency hall of the Salekhard regional hospital 12. SOUNDBITE (Russian) name not given, local resident: (Answering a question about symptoms and vaccination) A fever, high temperature. This vaccination is hard to carry out. It makes sense to be vaccinated in extreme cases. So cook meat and dont drink raw blood. 13. SOUNDBITE (Russian) name not given, local resident: We remain calm. (Reporter (Russian): No panic?) Woman: No. 14. People on the street
A 25-year-old mechanic and loner from a small Czech town, who tried to travel to Syria in January, was charged on Tuesday with attempted terrorism, in what the authorities said was the first known case of a Czech citizen trying to join the Islamic State.
This is the first time a Czech citizen has been charged with this crime, said David Unger, a spokesman for the regional court in Plzen, in the western Czech Republic, which will rule on the next steps of the mans detention on Thursday. The case has stirred anxieties that homegrown Islamic radicalism may have migrated to Eastern and Central Europe.
The regional prosecutors office in Plzen, which is handling the case, declined to provide further details. But Respekt, an influential Czech weekly that reported on the arrest this week, said that the man identified by the Czech news media as Jan S. had been arrested at an international airport in Turkey after the authorities there found him carrying a plane ticket to a Turkish town near the Syrian border.
The magazine reported that the man had told the police that he planned to enter Syria and join the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL. After Turkish authorities sent him back to the Czech Republic, he was repeatedly questioned by police officers before being arrested two weeks ago. He was initially charged with participation in an armed criminal group.
WARSAW Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, who succeeded John Paul II as archbishop of Krakow and was known for his work with the poor over his 27 years in the post, died on Monday in Krakow. He was 89.
The archdiocese announced his death. He had been in a coma for a month after falling down stairs in his apartment. Pope Francis visited him shortly before his death.
John Paul II put great trust in him when he chose him as his own successor in Krakow, the Rev. Pawel Rytel-Andrianik, a spokesman for the Conference of the Polish Episcopate, said in an interview. John Paul II died at 9:37 p.m.; Cardinal Macharski died at 9:37 a.m. He was following in his footsteps to the very end.
Franciszek Macharski was born into a Krakow merchant family on May 20, 1927. During World War II, with the city under German occupation, he worked as a laborer. After the war he enrolled in a seminary and was ordained a priest in 1950.
ISTANBUL A Turkish newspaper reported that an American academic and former State Department official had helped orchestrate a violent conspiracy to topple the Turkish government from a fancy hotel on an island in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul. The same newspaper, in a front-page headline, flat-out said the United States had tried to assassinate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the night of the failed coup.
When another pro-government newspaper asked Turks in a recent poll conducted on Twitter which part of the United States government had supported the coup plotters, the C.I.A. came in first, with 69 percent, and the White House was a distant second, with 20 percent.
These conspiracy theories are not the product of a few cranks on the fringes of Turkish society. Turkey may be a deeply polarized country, but one thing Turks across all segments of society Islamists, secular people, liberals, nationalists seem to have come together on is that the United States was somehow wrapped up in the failed coup, either directly or simply because the man widely suspected to be the leader of the conspiracy, the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, lives in self-exile in the United States.
Phyllis Zagano, a professor of religion at Hofstra University and the author of many books on women in the Catholic Church, was appointed by Francis to the commission. Ms. Zagano spoke with Laurie Goodstein, the national religion correspondent for The New York Times.
Image Phyllis Zagano Credit... Hofstra University
Q: Why is this an important issue for the Catholic Church now?
A: Pope Francis has said repeatedly that he wants to see more women in more positions of authority, and there are certain offices that women cannot fully obtain because theyre not clerics. The ordinary means of entering the clerical state is by ordination to the diaconate. So its a simple way to have women who are trained, ordained and given faculties by their bishops to minister on behalf of the church.
Q: What do you expect the commission to accomplish?
A: I dont know that the commission itself would make any conclusion. It would make a recommendation to the Holy Father on what history has demonstrated. And history clearly demonstrates that women served in the diaconate. The pressing question is whether women can be admitted to sacramental ordination as deacons, and that is a deep theological question that should be undertaken.
Q: What are your hopes for the commission?
A: I hope to participate in a serious discussion about not only the history of women in the ordained diaconate in Christianity, but also the possibilities for the future.
Since it made peace with Israel in 1979, Egypt has served as the fulcrum of American influence in the Arab world. The Egyptian and American militaries have cooperated closely for decades, and Egypt went to war against Saddam Hussein alongside United States forces in 1991. Cairo long served as an important mediator between Israel and the Palestinians (and among Palestinian factions), though it began to abdicate that role by backing Israel against Hamas in 2014.
But Egypts withdrawal from regional matters has diminished its value to the United States, which has provided it with over $76 billion in foreign aid since 1948.
Egypt is primarily seen in Washington as a problem and not as a source of solutions, said Issandr El Amrani, the North Africa project director for the International Crisis Group. If it wasnt for the military relationship and the Pentagons preference for having things like fast access through the Suez Canal, its clear there are elements of the Obama administration that dont care much for Sisi and his regime and its domestic pattern of repression and human rights abuses.
Egypts influence was long a product of both its military and cultural might. It was a beacon of Arab unity after the tide of European colonialism ebbed in the 20th century, helping build up its neighbors and founding the Arab League, a pioneering effort at regional cooperation that today is seldom effective. Its writers, artists and filmmakers became iconic in the region. Its judges and clerics decided important matters of Islamic law.
Amr Moussa, a former foreign minister and Arab League chief who ran for president in 2012, said he doubted there would be any more foreign adventures, given the major problems we are facing.
That has to change, he added. The role of Egypt is a must, he said. It is a necessity in order to build a balance with Iran and with Turkey. But the only way to do that, he said, is the reform of Egypt itself and rebuilding its soft power.
Joan Mussa, the director of public engagement at the organization, said donors sponsored 4.1 million children last year, to the tune of about $1.2 billion. The current roster includes about 40,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Ibrahim Baraghit, who used to work for World Vision in the West Bank, said the organization spent about $1.5 million in Husan from 1996 to 2006, helping to dig wells, build greenhouses, fix roads, prepare land for planting and repair fences. The group built a community center and outfitted the four-story building that houses the village council.
It was not difficult to find Othman in the village, whose residents mostly come from four extended families. I called a council member to ask if there was an Othman born in 1998, and quickly got the phone number of Naser Sabateen, whose nephew by that name was about the right age.
But Mr. Sabateen, a 53-year-old butcher, was suspicious. Who had sent me? What did I really want? The notion of a police officers being behind the inquiry hardly helped. Eventually, we met at his shop, where a lump of meat was drying on a board as he and his nephew peered at the sponsorship card.
The names did not quite match Othmans first middle name is Mohammad, while the card said Naser. But they had the same birthday, Aug. 1, and Othman recognized the cardigan. He rushed home to fetch a photo showing his childhood self in the same sweater.
What had become of the boy Brendan sponsored?
He liked playing Call of Duty, a popular video game. He flunked math on his final school exam, but was determined to retake it this summer so he could go to a university. He wanted a job involving cars.
Marseille soap, or Savon de Marseille, is as French as wine and cheese, with a history that dates from the Middle Ages. Frenchwomen swear by the crude square blocks, which they use as a natural skin cleanser and, in a pinch, as anything from a toothpaste substitute to a moth repellent.
In recent years, though, cheap Chinese and Turkish knockoffs have been flooding the market, and the soapmakers of Marseille are rallying to protect their products reputation. They banded together recently to ask the French government to grant them a label of authenticity, to distinguish the genuine stuff from the imitators.
And that is where the trouble really began.
The original Marseille soap had a specific olive-oil-based recipe that was considered so sacred that Louis XIV protected it with a royal edict. But a battle has erupted between two soapmaking factions over exactly what the modern rules should be for what constitutes a true Marseille soap.
On one side are the soapmasters, based mainly in the Mediterranean port that gave the soap its name. They say that the label of authenticity should go only to products made strictly by the original Louis XIV-approved recipe. Its quite a process, involving heating a mix of soda ash, seawater and olive oil in large caldrons for several days, and then cooling it in open pits. The finished soap is dun-green and odorless.
The cats in Cats are a diverse group. Victoria, the most elegant of the Jellicle tribe, wears white from head to paw, symbolizing purity and innocence. For Georgina Pazcoguin, the New York City Ballet soloist who plays Victoria in the current Broadway revival of that Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, the role fulfills a childhood dream. She grew up obsessed with a videotape of the Broadway production. Catholic school ended at 2 p.m., and my dance classes started at 4:30 or 5 p.m., she said. In between, she watched Cats.
Now 31, Ms. Pazcoguin had some musical-theater experience before Cats. Along with playing Miss Turnstiles in the recent Broadway production of On the Town, she is admired for her portrayal of Anita in West Side Story Suite at City Ballet. But with Victoria, she is performing against her usual type: strong and spirited. Ms. Pazcoguin, on leave from City Ballet, recently spoke about opening night, Sunday, at the Neil Simon Theater (the nerves!), the differences between ballet and Broadway, and what it is like to become Victoria. What follows are excerpts from that interview.
How did your first opening night on Broadway measure up?
I kept telling myself: Gina, youve done a lot of things. Take it down a notch. Pull yourself together. So Im not going to lie. I was really nervous. It was also a weird buildup.
How so?
On gala days at City Ballet, you get to expend some energy we run the ballet the day of. On Sunday, we had the whole day off [before the Cats opening night]. There are these traditions that happen like the Gypsy Robe ceremony an hour before we go onstage. For a quote-unquote mildly O.C.D. ballerina, my schedule for getting ready for the show is all messed up.
Im honored by the response to the novel, but I was like, Can we just talk about the book? he said. Im not a representative of blackness, and Im not a healer.
Still, he describes The Underground Railroad, which he began in earnest in the spring of 2014, as responding to a kind of inner pull. He was about to start another book with another existential black dude narrator, as he put it, but the Underground Railroad idea kept coming to mind.
I thought, why not write the book that really scares you? he said.
Mr. Whitehead dived into the subject, reading classic 19th-century slave narratives like Harriet Jacobss Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and oral histories of former slaves gathered by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s.
Above his desk, next to an old-fashioned menu board with snap-on letters reading Next The Underground Railroad, is a mini-research library with scholarly works by Eric Foner and Edward Baptist, Toni Morrisons Beloved, a historical dictionary of African-American slang and Michelle Alexanders The New Jim Crow.
After hed written 100 or so pages of the novel, he let himself watch the movie 12 Years a Slave, but turned it off in the middle. Seeing the movie really devastated me, he said. I could read about slave atrocities for days and days, but watching actors go through it was almost too much. I felt really messed up about what I was writing.
Where books like John Henry Days, which centers on a cheesy festival celebrating a new John Henry postage stamp, have looked at the past through a distancing ironic lens, The Underground Railroad goes right into the heart of the African-American historical experience.
Reading the book, I thought, hes written his Beloved, said the poet and critic Kevin Young, who has been close with Mr. Whitehead since their undergraduate days at Harvard. He really conjures up the ghost of slavery and embodies it in a way that is deeply historically accurate. But the book also has these amazing leaps of imagination that help us think about slavery not just in the past, but in the present.
The internet did little to disrupt it. Globalization could not shut it down. But while the McCall Pattern Company, the home-sewing brand founded in 1863, may seem like a business that time forgot, it finds itself newly fashionable.
The companys headquarters have the look of a corporate environment in the days before digital culture banished clutter. There on the 34th floor of the Equitable Building, a 1915 skyscraper in Manhattans financial district, you will find rooms filled with buttons and zippers, bolts of fabric on work tables and metal file drawers stuffed with paper pattern packets.
There is a patternmaking room, where muslin is fitted to dress forms; a dressmaking room, where women at sewing machines make sample garments; and a photo studio, where models pose for simple shoots that emphasize the clothes, rather than sex or sizzle.
For the 80 or so employees, home sewing is not so much a retro thing as it is a timeless pursuit.
Ive done this long enough to know that people have it in their hearts, said Carolyne Cafaro, the creative director. There could be one pattern company left in the world, but I do think people will always sew.
Jo Galvis was 15 years old when she got a tattoo on the center of her lower back. She had been fighting with her family and living at a friends house. What better way to infuriate her parents?
Ms. Galvis, who now is 29 and lives in Queens, grew up in Colombia, where she just walked into a tattoo parlor in Bogota and glanced at a sheet of paper crammed with popular design choices that hung on the wall.
She liked one design of a Japanese character (the meaning of which she did not know) and a tribal tattoo with a black curvy design (the cultural meaning of which she did not know). She chose the latter and had it placed at the center of her lower back. I didnt think very much about what I was getting, Ms. Galvis said.
The novels landscape is both barren and lush: the Spanish coastal city of Almeria, where the sea, oily and rife with stinging jellyfish, and the land, wind-beaten and sun-baked, . . . cracked and dry, are equally inhospitable. Sofia has shucked her listless existence in London in order to accompany her mother, Rose, who suffers from undiagnosed and suspiciously evanescent ailments, to the Gomez Clinic, which is highly thought of, highly costly and under investigation by government health officials.
Chilly, capricious Rose, who alternates between maintaining she is paralyzed and evincing the ability to walk, is not the only unreliable one in the family. Sofia, having spent the bulk of her 25 years in thrall to her mothers needs at times ministering to her, at times succumbing to sympathy pains is as unreliable as they come. She has trouble distinguishing men from women, the word beloved from the word beheaded, and the past from the present from the future. Indeed, she narrates with little regard for consistency of verb tense. She has trouble remembering to dress herself properly. She claims to be confused, then confesses: It wasnt clarity I was after. I wanted things to be less clear. She insists, I am not very good at studying myself. . . . I havent a clue about my own logic, yet she proves an obsessive self-studier, continually extracting (or concocting) meaning from every little thing. Worried she is insufficiently bold, she steals a fish, frees a dog, smashes a vase, takes a lover, then takes another. Repeatedly throughout the book she gets stung by jellyfish. In Spain these are called medusas, and much is made of their linguistic link to the monstrous, snake-haired Medusa of Greek mythology; of the fact that Sofias wayward father is Greek; of the fact that Sofia has wayward black curls; and of her fears that she is herself a kind of monster who could turn her own mother to stone.
In Hot Milk think of mothers milk, the milk of human kindness, spoiled milk, long-life milk processed to last in hot climates and the breast-shaped marble dome of the Gomez Clinic Levy has spun a web of violent beauty and poetical ennui. As a series of images, the book exerts a seductive, arcane power, rather like a deck of tarot cards, every page seething with lavish, cryptic innuendo. Yet, as a narrative it is wanting. A symbol, wrote Victor Turner, another key figure in symbolic anthropology, is something that connects the unknown with the known. The symbols here, although entrancing individually, feel at once overdetermined and underpurposed. They never fully cohere into a satisfying web.
At 42, David Muir is the youngest person to anchor a network evening newscast since Peter Jennings in the 1960s. In nearly two years in the chair at ABCs World News Tonight, Mr. Muir has overseen a ratings rise and scored high-profile sit-downs with President Obama, Tim Cook of Apple and Pope Francis. But it all began at the Roy H. Park School of Communication at Ithaca College in upstate New York, where Mr. Muir, class of 95, landed an anchor seat on the student newscast as a freshman.
START EARLY Ive wanted to be a journalist since I was 12. I began writing to local journalists, and started interning at the TV station in Syracuse when I was 13. Id find myself carrying the equipment, sitting in the back seat, and going out in the field with reporters and photographers. The station was in between news directors. I believe to this day that the reason I was able to stick around was because there was no one there to tell me I couldnt.
You dont have to know what it is you want to do at 12 or 13. But I did have a passion, and I always tell people to try to follow at least one of their passions, to turn an interest into a career.
JPMorgan Chase, the nations largest bank, has shrunk since 2014, but it entered 2016 with 50 percent more assets than it had in 2007, in great part because of its acquisition (on the cheap) of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual in 2008. Early this spring, the top banking regulators announced that because of their size and complexity, five of the eight largest banks, including JPMorgan, still didnt have workable plans to avoid going out of business without taking the economy down with them suggesting that they would probably need to be bailed out if they began to collapse again.
So are they headed toward failure? To judge the likelihood of that, the first thing to consider is what types of risk theyre taking on. And on that front, at least, the changes have been far more notable than most Americans realize. For starters, Dodd-Franks Volcker Rule forced the banks to get rid of the trading desks where they made enormous speculative bets for their own profit. There was some talk that the banks would find a way around the rule, but almost every bank has disbanded these trading teams or sold them to hedge funds. And this is just one of the risky businesses that the big banks have jettisoned in recent years. The most risky and profitable units at all the banks before the crisis were the so-called fixed-income divisions, where the banks created and traded bonds and derivatives. In 2006, these departments were the single largest sources of revenue at banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Today, by contrast, the amount of money the big banks make from their fixed-income divisions is less than half of what it was at the peak in 2009, and it continues to fall.
There are multiple reasons for this evolution, including global economic shocks like the Greek debt crisis and the new trading rules in Dodd-Frank. But the greatest engine of change has been some rather arcane accounting rules, known as capital requirements, set by the central banks of governments around the world. Put most simply, capital requirements force banks to raise a specific amount of money (usually from investors) for every dollar they lend or trade. In 2010, central banks agreed that the large commercial banks needed to double or even triple their capital buffers. Riskier ventures require even more capital.
The most immediate impact of these rules has been to serve as a sort of brake on business activity, given the hassle and cost of raising more capital. And indeed, when banks today explain why they are moving into or abandoning certain businesses, they almost always cite capital requirements as their main motivation. The Federal Reserve official in charge of these regulations, Daniel Tarullo, was recently called the most powerful man in banking by The Wall Street Journal. Tarullo is now pushing to raise the capital requirements even higher for the very largest banks, like JPMorgan and Citigroup, and there are signs that this could do what Bernie Sanders could not: force the biggest banks to split themselves up.
Obviously, events still bring us together, even if only bickeringly. The fighting over an all-female Ghostbusters and the rubbernecking to behold the never-ending feud between the West-Kardashians and Taylor Swift are topics of national conversation as much as the renewed prominence of global terrorism is not. But theyre just not fit for national conversation.
Im as guilty of romanticizing the import of conversation as anyone small-bore personal confession writ large, writ national. I miss Donahue and Oprah. I miss everyday Americans opening up on daytime television. I miss the national listening that it both entailed and engendered. Oprah Winfrey found her power as the public switchboard operator of our private fears, assumptions, wishes and curiosities. Her show coaxed a little betterment from our worst selves. To the extent that we ever had a regular, Clinton-style national conversation on anything, the daytime talk show was its forum. But those kinds of civilized, delegated, televised festivals of catharsis and confession have moved to the internet, which empowers more people to do more clashing and defending than discoursing. It fosters a debate society, on the one hand, and a war zone on the other thousands of national conversations shrouded behind screen names and encased in Twitter eggs. And few subjects start more internet wars than gender and race. The aspiration of national conversation makes no sense in the age of Reddit.
In 2013, after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the murder of Trayvon Martin, President Obama held an impromptu news conference on the atmosphere after the verdict, in which he declined a so-called national conversation on race:
And then, finally, I think its going to be important for all of us to do some soul-searching. You know, theres been talk about, Should we convene a conversation on race? I havent seen that be particularly productive when, you know, politicians try to organize conversations. They end up being stilted and politicized, and folks are locked into the positions they already have. On the other hand, in families and churches and workplaces, theres a possibility that people are a little bit more honest and at least you ask yourself your own questions about, Am I wringing as much bias out of myself as I can? Am I judging people as much as I can based on not the color of their skin, but the content of their character? That would, I think, be an appropriate exercise in the wake of this tragedy.
In the presidents formulation, national conversation is a kind of hollow imperative. (And yet, in 2016, the term is so permanent that he finds himself headlining them anyway.) Its now a doctors prescription for every societal ill, the take two aspirin and call me in the morning of compassion the sugar pill, maybe. The phrase substitutes rhetoric for actual discourse and urges placation over protest. For one thing, the country is so far apart on race that an actual conversation, even in the well-meaning, optimistic Clinton mold, feels impossible. For another, a conversation, under these circumstances, is an intimate act that calls for more delicacy than be blunt. In 1997, Clinton, as a white liberal, was promoting the luxurious dream of racial healing. Nineteen years later, Obama, as a black liberal, is fully awake to the limits of that luxury.
Alabama Republicans nominated Rep. Mac McCutcheon, R-Madison, as Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives.
The nomination all but ensures McCutcheon will be elected as Alabama Speaker when the Legislature meets for a special session on Aug. 15 to consider Medicaid funding and a state lottery.
McCutcheon was selected at a House Republican Caucus held today in Montgomery. His nomination was unanimous, according to a House Republican press release.
McCutcheon was elected to his House District 25 seat in 2006. His leadership positions in the Legislature are as chairman of the House Rules Committee and his vice-chairman position on the Joint Transportation Committee, according to the Alabama Legislature website.
"I'm humbled by the faith and confidence that my fellow Republicans have placed in me, and, if elected as Speaker, I pledge to preside in a manner that treats all members of both parties in a fair and honorable manner," McCutcheon said in a press release. "Our state faces many challenges ranging from education to ethics to ensuring adequate funding for even the most basic government services, and finding needed solutions will require all of us to work together."
McCutcheon will fill the position vacated by former Speaker Mike Hubbard after his conviction on 12 felony ethics violations.
Hubbard said he plans to appeal the conviction.
McCutcheon supported Hubbard at a 2014 press conference held in Auburn after Hubbard was indicted.
Before becoming a legislator, McCutcheon was a police officer with the Huntsville Police Department for 25 years.
McCutcheon will oversee the Alabama House of Representatives as the House Judiciary Committee is investigating Gov. Robert Bentley for potential impeachment after 23 representatives signed an impeachment position. Meanwhile, Bentley is proposing a state lottery to pay for essential service such as Medicaid.
A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit against Fletcher Jones Motorcars in a which a woman accused the Newport Beach dealership of allowing a mechanic, who entered her home and attempted to rape her, to have access to her address through its computer system.
The parties reached the agreement Friday as the 11th day of the trial was underway, prompting Orange County Superior Court Judge Andrew P. Banks to dismiss the case, according to court records. The settlements terms were not released.
Attorneys for both parties were not available for comment Tuesday.
In the trial, attorney Christopher Rudd said his client, then a 40-year-old nurse practitioner, was attacked by an intruder in her Newport Beach home on the night of May 20, 2005. It is the Registers policy to not name sexual assault victims.
The woman fought off the intruder before he could rape her and the man fled with a broken hand, Rudd said.
In 2011, police arrested Travis Dewayne Batten after he was linked to the attack through DNA. Batten was convicted and sentenced to 107 years in prison in 2014.
Rudd said the woman had purchased a Mercedes-Benz at the Fletcher Jones dealership in 2003 and had it serviced there frequently. He alleged the dealerships computer system was carelessly designed to give employees access to customers personal information.
The dealership maintained it took various precautions and was not responsible for the attack.
The settlement was reached after Banks announced a tentative decision granting Fletcher Jones motion to have the judge direct the jury to reach a verdict in favor of the dealership, according to court documents.
Contact the writer: 713-834-3773 or kpuente@ocregister.com
TV highlights for this week:
DONT MISS
Summer Olympics opening ceremony Are you ready for some pomp and pageantry? Athletes from more than 200 countries are expected to compete over 17 days (Friday-Aug. 21) in the Rio games. But first comes what is expected to be a very festive celebration and the lighting of the cauldron. Ushering viewers through it all will be Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira and Hoda Kotb. 7:30 p.m. Friday, NBC.
TONIGHT
Its off to Mexico for Season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise, or as TV Guide calls it: Summer camp for scantily clad hotties. 8 p.m., ABC.
Inspired by Daniel James Browns best-seller, American Experience: The Boys of 36 is a documentary that recalls the story of nine scrappy, working-class young men from the University of Washington who captured the gold medal in rowing at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. 9 p.m., PBS.
WEDNESDAY
Brett Eldredge and Thomas Rhett share hosting duties for CMA Music Festival: Countrys Night to Rock. The annual gala in Nashville features performances by Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton and more. 8 p.m., ABC.
THURSDAY
Killing the Colorado is an eye-opening new documentary that examines how drought conditions along with shortsighted policies and poor planning have greatly diminished the once-mighty Colorado River. Is this a water crisis that can be fixed? 9 p.m., Discovery.
FRIDAY
Heres a purr-fect viewing option: While human athletes prepare to compete in Rio, little felines will go at it in the Kitten Summer Games, which include gymnastics, volleyball and wrestling. No, really. 8 p.m., Hallmark.
SATURDAY
Pop open a cold one (or two) and check out The Bandit. Its an entertaining documentary about 1970s film superstar Burt Reynolds, his best pal Hal Needham and how they combined to make their unlikely smash hit Smokey & the Bandit. 10 p.m., CMT.
LAGUNA BEACH Max McKoane couldnt contain himself when he saw the service dogs get up on the stage. He ran over to join them, struggling to pull himself up. Then he cuddled in.
The 1-year-old wanted to be as close as he could to the dogs that sat around Sean Hanrahan, who was getting ready to read Raising a Hero, a book about a puppy that grows up to be a service dog.
The book by New York Times best-selling author Laura Numeroff was featured Monday during Art and Story Time, new this year at the Festival of Arts grounds. The program combines book reading with an art project. Children colored after learning about service dogs.
Putting together our Art and Story Time program seemed like a natural fit for engaging an age group at the festival that had not really been touched before and also exposing our community to art at an early age, said Ron Morrissette, the festivals exhibit director.
Morrissette, who developed the program, selected the stories and authors to relate to art and the community.
Raising a Hero ($17.95) will be available in stores next spring. It features dogs from Canine Companions for Independence, an Oceanside group that has raised and trained service dogs for 40 years.
Numeroff and Hanrahan, the books editor and producer, researched raising service dogs with the group for technical accuracy. Fifteen percent of the books proceeds will go to the group.
On Monday, Max and his sister, Mackenzie McKoane, 3, and their mom, Lynette Fabrizio of Dana Point, were among about 30 children and 20 adults from around Orange County eager to hear the story and watch it come alive by meeting the pups.
But before they did, Denise Quinn, who is raising 7-month-old Saturn, her eighth service dog, explained what a service dog is and how it can change the life of a disabled child or adult.
Quinn, of Irvine, explained that most dogs trained by Canine Companions are golden retrievers and yellow Labradors. In some cases, the females are a mix of the two breeds. Males are mostly purebred.
The puppies are nurtured by volunteer caretakers until they are 8 weeks old. They spend the next 13 to 18 months with volunteer puppy raisers like Quinn, who care for them and provide basic obedience training and socialization.
Quinn said she has taken dogs to Disneyland, SeaWorld and Angels games. She teaches her pups basic commands such as sit, stay, no jump and no bark.
Then the dogs are sent to college for six to nine months of training with professional instructors in facilities such as the Dean, Gerda and Trixie Koontz Campus in Oceanside. They learn 40 specialized commands before being matched with an adult or child with a disability.
Service dogs are really smart they can open doors, turn on lights and pick things up off the ground, Quinn said. It helps children who may feel a little different make new friends, too, when other children come up and want to meet the dog.
Quinn asked the kids what happens when they meet a service dog wearing a vest. You always have to ask if you can pet it, she reminded them.
Tyler ORourke, 9, from Rancho Santa Margarita was at the event with his little brother, Jayden, 4.
He loves dogs, he said, smiling, as Jayden raced over to pet a dog.
I did a report on service dogs last year, he said. We also learned how they help the military. I think there should be more service dog breeds to help people. That way they can pick out the dog they like.
The boys mother, Tammi ORourke, is a fourth-grade teacher at Arovista Elementary School in Brea. She found out about the Festival of Arts program on social media and thought the pairing of art and reading would be a perfect learning opportunity. She didnt know the dogs would be there and loved that Tyler could relate his school project to the real thing.
It really brings the book to life like this, she said. Its so important to keep kids learning through summer. And learning sometimes comes in all different forms.
Contact the writer: eritchie@ocregister.com or on Twitter:@lagunaini
The good news is that both political conventions are now behind us. The bad news is that the election is ahead of us.
No one knows how this election will turn out, but given the awful presidential candidates in both parties the worst case scenario may be only marginally worse than the best case scenario. National polls may suggest a close election ahead, but presidential elections are not decided by who has a majority of the popular vote. In a country already divided, if not polarized, one candidate could win the popular vote and the other candidate win the Electoral College vote, which is what decides who goes to the White House. That could polarize us more than ever.
Everything may depend on what happens in the battleground states where neither party has a decisive advantage. Until recently, Hillary Clinton seemed to have a clear lead in those states. But that difference has narrowed to within the margin of error in some state polls.
Turnout is the wild card, in this election more than in most. There was booing in both conventions and there are other signs that those who lost are not taking it kindly. How the losers vote, or stay home on Election Day, may determine who the winner will be.
If the Democrats lose this election and Trump beats Hillary, it may not be anything more than losing a given election, as happens regularly and Democrats can just regroup for the next election.
But if the Republicans lose, it could be much more serious for them and for the country. If Clinton inspires distrust, Donald Trump inspires disgust, even among many Republicans. If Trump goes down to defeat, he could taint the whole Republican party, costing them the Senate now and future elections later.
Even if Trump disappears from the political scene after defeat, his reckless, ugly and childish words will live on in innumerable videos that can be used for years to come to taint Republicans as the party that chose such a shallow egomaniac as its candidate for president.
A President Trump could create a longer-lasting stigma. He might possibly be sobered up by the responsibilities of the presidency. But someone who has not matured in 70 years seems unlikely to grow up in the next four years.
With Clinton as president and Democrats in control of the Senate, she can appoint Supreme Court justices with as much contempt for the law as she has demonstrated herself, and Senate Democrats would rubber-stamp her choices.
Democrats have already shown their desire to stifle the free-speech rights of people who disagree with them on global warming and other issues. Clinton has made no secret of her desire to have the Supreme Court reverse its decision that corporations and labor unions both have free speech rights.
The Obama Department of Justice has already been looking into ways that anti-racketeering laws can be used to threaten individuals and organizations that challenge the global warming scenario that has been used to promote more government control over what fuels can be used.
The Second Amendment right to have a gun is at least as threatened as the First Amendment right to free speech would be if Clinton gets to pick Supreme Court justices. The lifetime tenure of federal judges means that whoever is in the White House for the next four years can change the course of American law for decades to come, putting us at risk of losing our freedoms irretrievably.
Much has been made of Hillarys experience in politics. But is an experience of having proved to be wrong, time and time again. As a Senator she opposed the military surge in Iraq that rescued that country and defeated the terrorists.
As secretary of state, Clinton carried out foreign policy decisions that led to major setbacks for American interests as far as the eye can see whether in Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Iran, Ukraine, North Korea or China. This is the kind of experience we dont need to see repeated in the White House.
Voting for an out-of-control egomaniac like Trump would be like playing Russian roulette with the future of this country. Voting for someone with a track record like Clintons is like putting a shotgun to your head and pulling the trigger. And not voting at all is just giving up.
Nobody said that being a good citizen would be easy.
RIO DE JANEIRO Popole Misenga broke down crying for the family in Congo that he hasnt seen in 15 years, and for all the worlds refugees who havent been as lucky as hes been.
Competing in judo, Misenga is one of 10 refugee athletes who will march as a team behind the white Olympic flag when the Rio de Janeiro Games open on Friday at the opening ceremony, a first for any Olympics.
Misenga began to cry Saturday as he told his story, which provided a rare upbeat moment in the difficult run-up to South Americas first games.
I have two brothers and I havent seen them, explained Misenga, who has settled in Brazil. I dont know how they look anymore because we were separated since we were small. So I send hugs and kisses to my brothers.
Rubbing tears from his eyes, the 24-year-old athlete delivered a message for his family: If you can see me on television now, you can see that your brother is here in Brazil and alive and well.
Misenga, who hopes one day to afford to buy airplane tickets so his family can visit Brazil, said being on the refugee team means hes representing something bigger than his native country or national flag.
Were fighting for all the refugees in the world, he said. Im not sad that Im not going to carry the flag of my country. I will carry a flag of many countries.
Yolande Mabika also fled Congo, and is also a judo athlete. But shes in grief over losing her country.
I will raise the Olympic flag, but Im a little bit sad in my heart and mind because I cannot march under the flag of my country, she said.
She also cried as she described refugees as forgotten people.
Everybody in the world talks about the refugees having no major importance, she said. We are going to show that the refugee is capable of doing everything that other people around the world do.
The Olympic refugees are superb athletes, but no one expects a medal from them. But thats beside the point.
Their country was broken, but they have the spirit of humanity, the spirit of athletes, said Tegla Loroupe, the head of the delegation and a three-time Olympian from Kenya.
Yusra Mardini was a competitive swimmer in Syria until she left Damascus with her sister a year ago and settled in Berlin. She said she still dreams of representing Syria, but also recognizes a bigger mission of representing the biggest flag which is all countries.
Were going to represent you guys in a really good way, she said, speaking to other anonymous refugees. I hope youre going to learn from our story: That you have to move on, because life will never stop for your problems.
Fellow swimmer Rami Anis fled Syria five years to avoid being drafted into the army. He still talks of competing for his country of birth maybe at the next Olympics.
I am representing people who lost their rights, who suffered injustice, he said. I hope in Tokyo in 2020 there will be no refugees and we will able to compete under our own flag.
Misenga was even more upbeat.
We are not sad anymore, we are very happy, he said. Now its different.
Here are the athletes, with their country of origin and sport:
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Yolande Bukasa Mabika (judo 70kg); Popole Misenga (judo 90kg)
Ethiopa: Yonas Kinde (track marathon)
South Sudan: Yiech Pur Biel (track 800m); James Nyang Chiengjiek (track 400m); Anjelina Nada Lohalith (track 1500m); Rose Nathike Lokonyen (track 800m); Paulo Amotun Lokoro (track 1500m)
Syria: Rami Anis (swimming); Yusra Mardini (swimming).
IRVINE Irvine apartment residents and businesses will likely be the first in Southern California to enjoy Google Fiber, a high-speed network provided by tech giant Google.
Google announced Tuesday that it has teamed up with Irvine Co. to bring the gigabit network to apartment, commercial and retail properties in Irvine. The two companies are deciding which properties will receive the service, said Pete Albers, Google Fibers head of real estate partnerships.
Were planning to begin work installing our infrastructure in buildings in the next month with the goal of delivering Google Fiber service in the coming months, Albers said in an email. This work does take time, but well move as quickly as were able, and the infrastructure investments Irvine Co. has made allow us to significantly speed up our time-to-deployment.
Irvine Co. has been installing empty conduit between and in its properties since the mid-1980s, so the master planner could one day deliver future technology, according to its news release. This infrastructure was a key to bringing Google Fiber to Irvine, the release stated.
We werent sure exactly what the future would hold, but we wanted to be ready for it, Timothy McClain, Irvine Co. vice president of technology and innovation, said in the release.
Google is also working with the city and other real estate owners and developers to bring the service to other types of buildings, such as single-family homes, Albers said.
The companys Google Fiber division announced in September that it added Irvine, a city known for its tech industry and educated and affluent residents, to its list of possible expansion cities.
Google Fiber offers broadband speeds up to 1 gigabit, or 1000 megabits, per second. That means downloading a movie in seconds, rather than minutes (or longer).
The average internet connection speed in the United States is about 15 megabits, according to Akamai Technologies State of the Internet report.
Google Fiber is currently available in Atlanta, Austin in Texas, Kansas City in Missouri and Kansas, Provo and Salt Lake City in Utah, Charlotte, N.C., and Nashville, Tenn. Prices are $50 per month for 100 megabits internet, $70 for 1 gigabit internet and $130 for internet and cable TV.
Google already has a presence in Irvine with an office at 19510 Jamboree Road. The office houses Googles engineering and sales teams working on Google Analytics, as well as a suite of revenue and reporting projects that underpin the AdWords platform, according to the company website.
Irvine residents can visit fiber.google.com/cities/irvine to get the latest information on Google Fiber.
Contact the writer: 949-445-6397 or tshimura@ocregister.com
SAN FRANCISCO Police who dismissed a California womans kidnapping as a hoax found her boyfriends account of the abduction doubtful and grew more skeptical when the woman refused to reunite with her family soon after she reappeared days later, attorneys for police said.
The explanation by lawyers for the city of Vallejo and two city police officers came in a court document filed last month seeking to dismiss parts of a lawsuit filed by the kidnapping victim, Denise Huskins, and her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn.
Their lawsuit, filed in March, accuses police of damaging their reputations by dismissing the 2015 kidnapping as a hoax akin to the Hollywood movie, Gone Girl.
Federal prosecutors have since charged a disbarred Harvard University-trained attorney, Matthew Muller, with Huskins kidnapping from her Vallejo home, and the city has apologized to Huskins and Quinn. Muller has pleaded not guilty.
Kevin Clune, an attorney for Huskins and Quinn, said the court filing showed the city was continuing its misguided approach of blaming the victim.
Denise and Aaron have already experienced unimaginable horror at the hands of Vallejo, he said. We have complete faith that the court will hold Vallejo accountable for its outrageous tactics.
Huskins turned up safe in her hometown of Huntington Beach, where she says she was dropped off, two days after Quinn reported her abduction.
Laguna Beach As a young girl growing up in Massachusetts, public service was looked upon as something positive, said Planning Commissioner Anne Johnson.
She started young and carried the mission throughout her life.
Recently, Johnson was honored as Woman of the Year by the Womans Club of Laguna Beach. Since 1995, the Womans Club has annually honored a local woman for her consistent community volunteer service.
We live in a beautiful place down here, Johnson said. We have a responsibility to take care of it.
Johnson is in her 16th year on the Planning Commission. She started in the citys Recreation Committee and then moved moved on to the Vision Laguna 2030 Steering Committee.
Eight years ago she started the Open For Business program to help new business owners navigate the city processes. The programs seminars are held four to five times a year.
She also advocates for seniors as the commissions representative on the Senior Housing Task Force.
For Johnson, the honor came as a surprise.
She had nominated Rita Conn, who recently created the Secure Nuclear Waste Coalition and is chairwoman of Let Laguna Vote, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to government transparency.
When they called me and said my nominee hadnt won, I wasnt happy, Johnson said. Then they told me I had been selected and I was embarrassed. I had not expected it and was deeply honored.
During the awards ceremony, Johnson was honored by several members of the community and by her three granddaughters, Ariel Heyman, 29, Emma Williamson, 15, and Jana Heyman, 26 .
There wasnt a dry eye in the clubhouse as Anne Johnsons granddaughters spoke of their admiration of their grandmother, said Womans Club president Barbara Crane. They shared how they adored her and how she taught them how to be women. They expressed how Anne shared with them the appreciation to the arts. Her granddaughters credited their completion of a college education to Annes confidence and being there for them.
What has impressed me the most about Anne is her intellect and her ability to see the big-picture when it comes to meeting the challenges of, and opportunities for, the city, said Elizabeth Pearson, former Laguna Beach mayor and City Councilwoman. Those attributes, coupled with her can-do energy and her ability to persuade have truly made her a powerhouse during her years of service to our community.
Councilman Bob Whalen said Johnson is passionate, smart, practical, persistent and always willing to speak her mind.
She is devoted to preserving what is best in Laguna but also continually focused on making it better, he said. She is a tremendous asset to our city. We all owe her a huge thank you for countless hours dedicated to important city issues over many years.
Contact the writer: 714-796-2254 or eritchie@ocregister.com or on Twitter:@lagunaini
This is an odd election year, one where voters fear Hillary Clinton is lying about what she will do and are afraid Donald Trump is not.
The only third party on the ballot in all 50 states this year will be the Libertarian ticket of former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. Libertarians are polling at about 10 percent; if we can get to 15 percent, our guys can get into the debates with Hillary and The Donald. That would be a game changer.
The #NeverTrump-eteers and the #NeverHillary folks now have a legitimate third party choice: an appealing Libertarian option occupying the middle of the huge gulf between these two flawed candidates ideologies. You can now #FeelTheJohnson.
In a year when 40 percent of voters say they are independent, and both Republican and Democrat candidates are at historic unfavorable numbers, it might be time to consider Libertarians. Why must you choose between a left nut and a right nut, when you can have the Johnson?
Johnson is a proven leader who was called Americas boldest governor by The Economist because he actually tried to do something about school choice. He vetoed more than 700 spending and regulatory bills and left New Mexico with a $1 billion budget surplus.
The policies of minimal government, individual responsibility and fiscal responsibility of the Libertarians appealed to me. We have historically been housed uncomfortably within the GOP. Think of Reps. Ron Paul and Justin Amash and Sen. Rand Paul. Sadly, we Libertarians have about as much power in the GOP as the Log Cabin Republicans (but not nearly as fabulous Oscar parties).
With his anti-immigration and protectionist populist leanings, Trump isnt very Libertarian. Actually, the Libertarian Party should appeal more to disenfranchised Bernie Sanders supporters. We have long been pro-gay marriage (we do not care what consenting folks do as long as they dont try to do it to us), pro-choice, against the wars of choice in Iraq and Afghanistan, against Gitmo, and against the failed federal War on Drugs, which means pro-prison reform. We also did not want to bail out the big banks, another leftist chant.
If you think about it, we have been correct on pretty much everything, but being right in politics gets you nowhere. If disaffected Democrats are true to their main ideals, they should vote Libertarian. But Democrats today seldom vote with intellectual honesty. Most are party operatives who are takers, not makers; they want others to pay their way, and a leftist, nanny-state government is just their means to do so.
We differ from Democrats in other areas: We like lower taxes, balanced budgets and the Second Amendment. We know that government is not the answer to every problem. To explain Libertarianism, I always say, Smoke all the crack you want, but dont expect us to pay for your rehab or not shoot you if you try to steal our lawnmowers.
The closest thing Democrats had to authenticity was Bernie Sanders, the revolutionary who, like every great revolutionary when defeated, immediately endorsed his opponent and told his followers to be quiet and do what Hillary says. Democrats destroy their opponents personally; they do not win on workable or better ideas. They ascribe evil to those who disagree, all under the pretense of being tolerant.
The place where Republicans get it wrong is that they espouse minimal government and maximal personal freedoms, except in the areas of your personal life, where they like to legislate what you can do. Once elected, Republicans seem like those mayors who want to outlaw dirty dancing in their towns on their first day in office.
We Libertarians believe: Be as socially conservative as you want to be, just dont force it on me. Lets agree that you do not know what is right for me and I dont know what is right for you. Freedom to choose is the key.
The hypocrisy of the GOP astounds me. At the family values RNC, you had Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh and Rudi Giuliani, all of whom I like, but they had about a bakers dozen of ex-wives among them. The RNC must be a great place to meet your fourth wife. Most of the Trump familys tributes to their dad were about his intense loyalty to all three wives.
Libertarians should really appeal to #FeelTheBern liberals who were cheated by the DNC, or to anyone else wronged by Democrats people like Monica Lewinsky, for example. Shes been treated badly by a Democrat, and she might be predisposed to #FeelTheJohnson.
Ron Hart is a libertarian op-ed humorist and award-winning author, Ron is a frequent guest on CNN. He can be contacted at Ron@RonaldHart.com or @RonaldHart on Twitter.
Law enforcement officials from across Southern California and the nation will come together with their communities Tuesday night to share crime tips, eat barbecue, watch K-9 units practice their maneuvers and generally celebrate police.
And, perhaps, have some tough conversations.
As police agencies and residents convene at parks and neighborhood block parties for the annual National Night Out, they will do so amid a tense national conversation about the role of policing and the use of force in communities and recent law enforcement concerns about the targeting of police in the aftermath of shootings in Baton Rouge, La., and Dallas.
The mission of National Night Out, in its 32nd year, has always been about humanizing police officers.
But this year, law enforcement insiders say, provides a poignant opportunity for police and the community to engage in difficult conversations about their relationships, about how to decrease crime without making some members of the public feel unsafe and about how to create an environment where law enforcement officials feel respected and not targeted for wearing a badge.
Whenever you begin to listen, thats where real growth comes in, said retired Redlands Police Chief Jim Bueermann, president of the Police Foundation, a national organization that aims to improve law-enforcement strategies.
I think police departments dont realize they have relationships with the community similar to all of our interpersonal relationships, Bueermann said. Both sides have to listen and try to make the world a better place.
Police officials typically look forward to National Night Out, held the first Tuesday of August.
It began in 1984, with folks encouraged to light their porches in blue as a vigil for police. The evening evolved into neighborhood hangouts where law-enforcement officials could show their lighter sides.
Today, National Night Out is also an opportunity for police to give a sales pitch about how to stay safe: Officials discuss Neighborhood Watch programs, fire departments set up booths and the police try to recruit cadets all with the goal of building trust.
Community policing is at the forefront of the majority of what we do, said Sgt. Jon Radus of the Fullerton Police Department. It is a chance for us to get feedback and build better relationships with the community.
For a civilian such as San Pedro resident Danny Farr, National Night Out is also a way to appreciate the improvements to community policing and to thank law enforcement.
Theyre not robots, said Farr, a houseman for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Theyre people just like us, they have families to go home to, houses like you and me. I just feel like theyre really underappreciated.
But 2016 along with 2015 and 2014 has frayed some peoples trust in police.
Theres a different kind of energy out there than in past years because of whats gone on, said Mike Peskin, national project coordinator for the National Association of Town Watch, the organization that founded National Night Out.
Peskin added, though, that he thinks relationships are generally better than high-profile police shootings lead people to believe.
Weve made a lot of progress, he said. Its a lot better than it was 40 years ago.
But Gaby Hernandez of Costa Mesa, an activist with Chicanos United, said she doesnt think events such as National Night Out will help build trust until police hold themselves more accountable.
National Night Out is just a PR event for them.
Staff writer Donna Littlejohn contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: 714-796-6979 or chaire@scng.com
SAN FRANCISCO Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to cut nearly all of a potential $562 million fine against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in a criminal case alleging pipeline safety violations before a deadly explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The U.S. Attorneys Office made the request Tuesday in a court filing.
Under the proposal, PG&E would face a maximum fine of $6 million if convicted of obstructing investigators in the wake of the 2010 blast in the city of San Bruno and 11 pipeline safety violations.
The government did not provide an explanation in the filing for its request to lower the penalty.
Abraham Simmons, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in San Francisco, said the office would have no comment.
Mark in the Morning, the morning radio show that brought popular DJ Mark Thompson back on the air in Los Angeles in February 2015, will end on Wednesday after the Sound (KSWD-FM/100.3) decided it needed more music and less talk and comedy during its weekday mornings.
As breakups go, this one seems to have gone down as amicably, if nonetheless teary, as one could hope. As described by Thompson and station officials on Tuesday, they love and respect each other but it was just time for a change.
And so Thompson, who for 27 years until August 2012 co-hosted The Mark and Brian Show with Brian Phelps on KLOS-FM/95.5, will leave morning radio in L.A. for a second time. His influence on the Sound will continue,whether through talent he hired who will stay on including Gina Grad, a co-host in the morning, and his daughter Katie Thompson or possibly special programming he might do for the Sound in the future.
Thompson, who frequently did the broadcast from his home in North Carolina, said he learned of the shows fate last week in a meeting with station general manager Peter W. Burton and program director Dave Beasing.
Last week I was in L.A. and Peter and Dave and I had a meeting, Thompson said. And Peter goes, Im going to say something and youre not going to like it.
I have learned when a conversation begins with that whatever is behind it is just not good.
Thompson said that his bosses explained that their research showed they needed to play a lot more music in the morning than they were doing during Mark in the Morning, which as Thompson had done with the Mark and Brian Show, included interviews with celebrities, comedy bits, in-studio banter, and Katie Thompsons offbeat reports from out and about in Los Angeles.
To which I replied, Well, you dont need me, which was the point of the conversation, Thompson said. There were tears. Not from Peter, hes a soulless pig to which everyone in the studio, including Burton, laughed.
I will be stepping away, he continued, his voice choking up as he fought to control his emotions. Tomorrow is our last show. We did this right, hired all the best people. As I reflect back, what Im going to be proud of is how well we did.
What I dont know is Thursday, when I get up, what am I gonna do? My heart hurts. Ive never had a job where there wasnt some (jerk) that I hated. I love every one of you.
Thompson mentioned a few projects he might do, including Cool Stories In Music, a syndicated weekend show hell soon launch to dive deep into the stories behind a song, an album or a band, and which the Sound intends to pick up, according to a statement released by the station.
Thank you for the last year and half, Burton told Thompson. Youre an incredible talent. You have an incredible family. Its been awesome getting to know you, and I hope this for us is not goodbye. I want very badly for you to still be involved here with us.
Added Beasing: It gets said sometimes in business, Were family, were family. This station is family and you are forever a member of the Sound family.
Thompson thanked them, and thanked them for letting him say goodbye before disappearing from the air, too.
I will tell you, when you fire a guy you dont let him back in the control room, you dont let him near a mic because you dont know what he will say, Thompson noted.
The final Mark In The Morning airs from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Wednesday. Andy & Gina in the Morning will fill that the morning time slot starting Thursday, with Gina Grad and Andy Chanley, both of them former co-hosts of Mark in the Morning, playing a lot more music while retaining some of the elements from the previous show.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7787 or plarsen@ocregister.com
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama will use a visit from the prime minister of Singapore on Tuesday to launch a final public campaign for a landmark Asia Pacific trade accord, but proponents are losing hope that deal can survive the strong, anti-trade rancor among fellow Democrats.
Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton forcefully reiterated her opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership at the Democratic National Convention last week, a move intended to quell unrest among party liberals but an outcome that White House allies saw as a setback for the administration.
Administration officials said that Obama intends to reassure Singapores Lee Hsien Loong during a White House meeting that Congress will ratify the TPP before the president leaves office in January. But the chances are increasingly grim.
The White House is eying what is expected to be a brief lame duck session of Congress after the Nov. 8 elections as the final window, and even then the politics will be fraught. Last month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called chances for the deal pretty slim this year.
With time running out, Obama on Monday reaffirmed his commitment to the 12-nation deal and declared that he remains optimistic that Congress will ultimately support it.
I know that the politics around trade can be very difficult, especially in an election year, Obama said in a written interview with the Straits Times of Singapore.
Acknowledging the changes wrought by globalization for American workers, the president added: The answer isnt to turn inward and embrace protectionism. We cant just walk away from trade. In a global economy where our economies and supply chains are deeply integrated, its not even possible.
Obamas campaign for TPP over the next few months, including making the case on a trip to Asia in September, puts him squarely at odds with Clinton. Her campaign moved last week to squelch a furor over remarks from a surrogate, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat who suggested Clinton would drop her opposition to the deal after the election. Clinton supported the TPP while serving as secretary of state in Obamas first term.
I can be definitive. She is against it before the election and after the election, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said last week.
The unambiguous denunciation alarmed proponents who had hoped that Clintons move to the left on trade during a hard-fought primary campaign against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders would soften during the general election.
Instead, Clinton has reaffirmed her opposition as she moves to consolidate Sanders supporters and protect against attacks from Republican nominee Donald Trump, who has bucked GOP orthodoxy on trade and also opposes the TPP.
The administration outwardly remains optimistic, said Miriam Sapiro, who served as the acting U.S. trade representative in 2013. But I sense more realism is creeping in. My view is that its getting harder each day.
White House aides suggested the widespread anti-TPP rhetoric at the Democratic convention did not reflect the partys overall views on trade. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll in July found that 60 percent of Democrats and 51 percent of Republicans support free trade and believe opening foreign markets is good for the U.S. economy.
Administration officials also have said the small but important Democratic coalition in Congress that helped pass a bill last summer granting Obama greater trade powers remains committed to the TPP.
But the White House has struggled to convince the public of the economic benefits of the trade pact, which is composed of nations that make up 36 percent of the worlds gross domestic product, including Japan, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Malaysia and Vietnam. The sprawling pact addresses tariff reductions for agriculture and automobiles, as well as intellectual-property rights for movies and pharmaceutical drugs, the free flow of information on the Internet, wildlife conservation, online commerce and dispute settlement practices for multinational corporations.
A study by the U.S. International Trade Commission said the TPP would have a marginal impact on the U.S. economy, adding $43 billion in 15 years and creating an estimated 128,000 jobs.
Obamas meeting with Lee, which will feature a White House state dinner, offers an opportunity for the president to tout the geopolitical benefits of the TPP. Singapore, a tiny island nation, is an economic hub of Southeast Asia whose economy is largely built around free trade.
Singapore was one of four countries with New Zealand, Chile and Brunei that began talks in 2005 for a regional free trade pact that ultimately grew into the TPP. Obama announced in 2011, during an Asia Pacific economic summit in Hawaii, that his administration would take a leading role in the accord.
The White House has said the trade deal offers a bulwark against Chinas expanding influence in the region. China is pitching its own regional trade pact in Asia that U.S. officials said does not address labor, environmental and human rights protections that are included in the TPP.
Retired Adm. Michael Mullen, who supports the TPP, said the trade accord is a crucial strategic initiative to build partnerships in Asia that could reduce conflicts and maintain national security. In an interview, Mullen added that if lawmakers fail to ratify the deal, it could be another decade before the United States musters the political will to get it done.
The TPP involves parts of the world that Ive said for a decade are at the center of the economic universe for the 21st century, said Mullen, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
During his tenure, Obama has tried to shift attention and resources to Southeast Asia to try to maintain U.S. competitiveness in the face of Chinas rise.
But Democratic opponents of the TPP, including Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have characterized the accord as a boon for corporations at the expense of American workers. Dozens of Sanders supporters carried anti-TPP signs inside the Wells Fargo Center during the Democratic convention in Philadelphia last week.
Maybe someone in the White House saw it coming, but many people who have followed this closely are surprised by how explicit the anti-TPP sentiment has been, said David Adelman, a proponent of the pact and partner in the law firm Reed Smith who served as the U.S. ambassador to Singapore from 2010 to 2013.
People are still talking about the lame-duck session, Adelman said. But, the politics on the presidential campaign trail would seem to make it very difficult for there to be enough votes. Theres so much heat, much more than anyone predicted.
(c) 2016, The Washington Post.
A closer look at the three players the Angels acquired in a pair of trades with the Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs on Monday
Acquired from the Twins
RHP RICKY NOLASCO
Age: 33
Background: The Rialto High product was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the fourth round of 2001. He was traded to the Florida Marlins and spent the bulk of his career there. He has a career 4.58 ERA, starting 268 games in the majors.
Scouting report: Nolasco throws a fastball around 91 mph and a slider and a curve. He rarely throws changeups. Nolasco is a fly ball pitcher.
RHP ALEX MEYER
Age: 26
Background: Meyer was the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 draft, out of the University of Kentucky. He was traded by the Nationals to the Twins for Denard Span in 2012. He has pitched just 6-1/3 innings in the majors, but has a 3.40 ERA and 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings in the majors. He has missed much of this season with shoulder inflammation.
Scouting report: Meyer throws 96 mph and has a big curveball, which is why the Angels scouts like him. His problem has been his control, which is why the Twins tried him in the bullpen. The Angels will give him a crack to be a starter, but at worst think he could be a late-inning reliever.
Acquired from the Cubs
RHP JESUS CASTILLO
Age: 20
Background: Castillo was signed out of Venezuela by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and then traded to the Cubs for Tony Campana. He spent the past three seasons pitching in short-season leagues in the U.S., after spending two years in Carribbean complex leagues.
Scouting report: Castillo has a fastball that sits around 91 and touches 94, along with a good breaking ball. So far in his pro career he has issued too many walks, but he has stuff that misses bats.
Contact the writer: jlfletcher@scng.com
In another time, or another place, Wang Yus reappearance would have been good news.
Wang, who is one of Chinas most respected human rights lawyers, was detained more than a year ago as part of a sweeping crackdown on the legal community. For more than a year, shes been kept from her son. For more than a year, shes been denied independent legal counsel.
But a report published Monday that Wang is now free on bail is being treated with skepticism rather than relief because it came alongside what appears to be another tightly scripted public confession that her supporters believe was likely coerced.
Recent examples include a missing Hong Kong booksellers absurd account of how he voluntarily smuggled himself to China to stand trial for a decades-old crime, a confession by a Swedish human rights worker broadcast on state television, and a highly suspect interview-slash-confession given by a legal assistant, Zhao Wei, who was reported free on bail but may still be in custody.
The news that Wang has been released on bail was reported Monday by Hong Kongs Oriental Daily. In an exclusive interview, Wang, a skilled lawyer, delivers what is essentially the governments case against her using the governments favorite turns of phrase.
Wang told Oriental Daily she and her colleagues were trained by unspecified foreign forces to attack and smear the Chinese government. The training sought to instill Western universal values and notions of democracy and human rights.
Wang, who has been held without trial for a year, then goes on to accuse these forces, not Chinese authorities, of holding her hostage. They used my family and I, taking us hostage to smear the party and attack the Chinese government, she says.
Denounces her human rights award?
One of the strangest sections of the interview is when Wang, who has devoted much of her career to human rights, denounces a European human rights award she won.
Wang told Oriental Daily she wont acknowledge, wont recognize and wont accept the award, a word-for-word echo of Chinas terse and much-repeated promise they wont acknowledge, wont recognize and wont accept the recent ruling on the South China Sea.
I am Chinese, I only accept the leadership of the Chinese government. I dont accept the award now and wont accept it in the future, the lawyer said.
William Nee, a China researcher at Amnesty International in Hong Kong, said news that Wang is free should be viewed with suspicion until the circumstances surrounding the interview, and the terms of her release, are clear.
It makes you wonder: What happened to her in detention and what kind of pressure did they put on her and her family to get to the point where shes willing to say these phrases, these talking points, that almost everyone agrees she would never say? Nee asked.
This fits a pattern of abusive tactics that the government is using to silence critics: forced confessions with compliant media after long detentions, as well as pressure on family and friends.
Re: Let Gary Johnson debate [Opinion, July 31]: As an independent and a former registered Republican, I am intrigued by the Gary Johnson-Weld Libertarian presidential candidacy. They seem to offer a sane grown-up policy alternative to the Trump-Clinton duo.
The country will be better served if Gary Johnson is included in the upcoming presidential debate. Otherwise, I am seriously consider not voting in the up-coming election.
How do we independents get them over the 15 percent threshold? I, for one, havent and wont get myself into the polling telemarketing loop.
Robin Suan
Santa Ana
Blame Reid for nuke waste
Re: Residents ask for safe nuclear waste removal and storage [Opinion, Aug. 1]: Nuclear waste continues to pile up around the U.S., thanks to Nevada Sen. Harry Reid.
The U.S. has spent billions of dollars to research and build the safest nuclear waste repository possible under the Nevada desert. Reid has successfully used his political power to kill the project. Now all these thousands of tons of waste are kept in far less secure, less safe locations all around the country. Harry Reid is symptomatic of what is wrong with America political agenda over common sense and decency.
John Jaeger
Irvine
Not for the children
Re: The battle to combat youth smoking is not over [Opinion, July 29]: I started smoking when I was 12, and there was no Marlboro Man or Joe Camel selling smokes at that time that influenced me. I stopped on my own 34 years later cold turkey, and again, it was no ones business but my own.
It is not our job to protect the children. That is the job of parents. To discover the real reason for tobacco use taxes, gasoline taxes, or any other kind of special use tax, one needs only to follow the money trail. These taxes fund all types of special projects favored by politicians to influence voters and the recipients of the tax money, and there will never be an end to this.
If the state really cared about youth smoking, it would not have made the possession of tobacco legal by youths when it changed the smoking age to 21. Now only the sellers will get fined, providing more money to the politicians for their pet projects.
James David Jacobs
Whittier
Panic! at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie doesnt even pretend to hide his excitement about being on tour with Weezer. Though the 29-year-old vocalist has shared the bill with the L.A.-based rock band numerous times at festivals and radio-hosted events, Urie said he had to muster up his courage to suggest the possibility of their own tour.
As a fan boy, I had mentioned it to Rivers Cuomo a few times, Urie said of carefully approaching Weezers frontman. Id be like, Hey man, it would be cool if we toured. Then Id just walk away. It was all about planting that seed, but in my mind I felt like Rivers would be like, Yeah, I bet it would be cool for you.
The tour kicked off June 10 in Texas and will wrap up locally with stops at Sleep Train Amphitheatre in Chula Vista tonight and Santa Barbara Bowl on Friday and a sold-out evening at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on Saturday.
The stars began to align for the jaunt last year as the acts were separately in the studio working on new material. Both Panic! and Weezer had tapped producer Jake Sinclair to work on their respective albums, Weezers self-titled 10th release, also known as The White Album, which came out April 1; and Panic!s fifth studio effort, Death of a Bachelor, which dropped in January.
When I found out they were on my same management team, I was like, I have to make this happen, Urie said, taking a swig of his bottled 805 blond ale backstage at KROQs Weenie Roast at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre back in May. Weezer was also on the bill that day, and with its dressing room/trailer just a few feet away, Urie lowered his voice and added, Im not a stalker or anything. I think Im just having my Waynes World moment right now. Im definitely not worthy.
I told management that I would be willing to be the first of five acts to go on just to tour with Weezer because it would be amazing and the fans would love it. When it worked out, I was like, Oh my God. Im nervous about it and its weird, but Im kind of freaking out and thats exciting.
When they were in the studio together, Sinclair played Urie a few samples of Weezers then-unreleased album and he was immediately smitten. As Urie sang a few lines from the single Do You Wanna Get High? he noted that the track took him back to the first time he heard the bands 1996 sophomore release, Pinkerton.
It felt like El Scorcho, it felt like Pink Triangle. It really felt like that old Ric Ocasek production style and it just reminded me of why I fell in love with Weezer in the first place, he said. Even the songs on that album that sound nothing like old Weezer, I loved and Im happy to hear.
Uries own material is also going over well with fans. Leading up to the release of the album, Panic! at the Disco put out a series of stunning music videos to accompany songs like Victorious, Emperors New Clothes, Death of a Bachelor and the lead single, Hallelujah. When performing those songs, Urie said, he gets inspired by the rabid fan reaction.
It can change the way I perform something, he said. When I see them singing back the lyrics, I start putting in different dance moves and interpretive dances. I end up doing some weird stuff, but it makes every show a little different and it makes it fun. Their reaction, that just pushes me to try something new and to try to do even better production for that song.
Contact the writer: 714-796-3570 or kfadroski@ocregister.com
41-year-old Peter Cirk, from Holland, was recently hospitalized after spending 10 days at Changsha Airport, China, hoping to meet a Chinese girl he had met online.
Cirk had met his 26-year-old love interest known only as Zhang on a social network, 2 months ago. The two apparently hit it off, and sick of having 4,500 miles between them, the Dutchman decided to apply for a Chinese visa and go meet Zhang for the first time. He told her he was coming, and even sent her a photo of his travel papers, but when he arrived at Changsha airport, she was nowhere to be seen.
Convinced something was holding Zhang off, but that she would eventually arrive to meet him, Cirk decided to wait for her in the airport. Photos gone viral on Chinese social media show the Dutchman patiently waiting on one of the benches, barefoot and with his baggage by his side. With each passing day, his hopes of meeting his Chinese sweetheart deteriorated, and so did his health. After 10 days spent in Changsha airport, Peter Cirk was exhausted and had to be hospitalized. One photo shows him being taken away in a wheelchair with an IV drip in his arm.
After this failed loved story went viral, Chinese reporters quickly tracken down Zhang and asked her why she didnt show up to meet her online boyfriend. She admitted that Cirk had told her he was coming to see her, but she thought he was only kidding. We had advanced our romantic relationship but later he seemed a little callous toward me. One day he sent me a photo of air tickets abruptly and I thought it was a joke, she claimed. He didnt contact me later.
Only it turns out Peter had left her messages online, only he didnt know that she had traveled to another city for plastic surgery. She added that she still wanted to continue their romance, and would meet the Dutchman when she recovers from her operation.
Meanwhile, Peter has already flown back to his native Netherlands and its unclear if he is willing to take a chance on Zhang again.
via CCTV News
Pedro Luca, a 79-year-old man from Argentina is what you would call a 21st century caveman. He has been living in a grotto high up in the mountains of Tucuman Province for the last 4 decades.
Pedro says he had always wanted to live isolated in the middle of nature, even as a young boy. He was born and raised in San Pedro de Colalao, a small town about three-hours walking distance from his current home, but left home at 14 to make a living by transporting coal to Bolivia. When he cam back, 40 years ago, he decided to go through with his childhood dream, and set up camp in a mountain grotto, where he has been living ever since.
Alcohol and violence can ruin a man, Pedro says, remembering his days spent in civilization. I prefer the wild. Now my only family are the animals. He shares his cave home with 11 chickens and 2 goats who roam the mountainside all day long and return to the cave at nigh, seeking shelter from mountain lions and other predators living in the area.
Photo: La Gaceta
The hermits day always begins at 3 a.m., when he wakes up to the crows of his roosters. The first thing he does is light the fire, and after eating his all-organic breakfast, he either picks up his rifle to go hunting through the mountains, or embarks on a three-hour trek to San Pedro de Colalao. For the small tourist town, Pedro Luca is a living legend and an inspiration. Every town he comes down from his cave, people welcome him with open arms, his nephew, Juan Carlos, says. He has never troubled anyone, he is a good man.
After picking up his pension of around $100, Pedro buys supplies for himself and his animal companions, and mingles with the locals and tourists before heading back up to his mountain home. Its a long walk, but he enjoys it very much.
Photo: La Gaceta
While most people claim they couldnt survive without modern technology, Pedro Luca does it without basic amenities like electricity, gas, running water or telephone. His only gadget is an old battery-powered radio, which mostly serves a decorative purpose, as he can rarely catch a signal in the mountains.
Ironically, even though he has always wanted to live in isolation, Pedro Luca gets plenty of visitors. His nephew told The Associated Press that people from all around the world travel to Tucuman just to see famous legendary modern-day caveman, and children from the local school go on organized trips to see him and gift him supplies. Their reaction is always the same: the legend is real.
I never asked myself why I chose to live here, there was another cave nearby but I liked this one better, Pedro jokingly told AP reporters. Sometimes, I think that I would have liked to travel the world, see Europe. But theres a lot of sea in the middle of it all and you have to have the time to cross that sea.
Pedro Luca isnt the first cave dweller weve featured on Oddity Central, although hes definitely doing it for longer than most. In 2012 we wrote about Daniel Suelo, who gave up money to live in the caves of the Utah Desert, and last year we posted the story of Du Meiying, a Chinese woman who had been living in a cave for two years. And then theres the 30 million Chinese living in cave homes known as yaodong.
Sources: La Gaceta, The Associated Press
Some 15 men line up, bags with their few belongings slung over their shoulders. Word is given and they troop out of the building in the afternoon heat to board a bus. The next stage of their journey has begun.
But for the rest of the people at the Pozzallo closed registration centre in Sicily, it will most likely be another day of waiting to learn where they will be sent next in the migrant reception system by the Italian authorities.
We were told by officials that they work very fast to ensure adults are transferred out in 48 hours, but many adults stay for much longer periods than that, and for unaccompanied children it is even more difficult as appropriate places to house them are in short supply, said Imma Guerras-Delgado, who was part of a UN Human Rights Office monitoring mission to Italy to assess the human rights situation of refugees and migrants.
The Pozzallo centre is one of four so-called hotspots in southern Italy, where people rescued at sea are initially held while EU and Italian officials try to establish their age, nationality, identity and their reasons for migrating as part of evaluating what should happen to them.
Some 207 guests, as officials referred to the migrants, were at the centre when Guerras-Delgado and seven colleagues from the UN Human Rights Office visited.
Rows of bunk beds and mattresses on the floor took up about half of the large hangar-like building, with no clear division between sleeping areas for men, women and unaccompanied children. A TV high on the wall was on but few people were watching, preferring to rest on their bed or just stand around in groups. Several young Bangladeshi men sat in a circle and started singing and clapping to pass the time.
At Pozzallo, some of the migrants can request day passes so they can go out. By contrast, migrants on the island of Lampedusa are not allowed to leave the hotspot a compound of several buildings with separate shelters for men, women, girls and boys. Adult migrants spend on average eight days at Lampedusa before being transferred.
The difference in conditions and the lack of a clear legal framework for the operation of the hotspots were raised several times during the UN Human Rights Offices mission to Italy from 27 June to 1 July.
The UN team heard concerns that the hotspots are currently being operated more as detention centres rather than registration centres. Immigration detention should be imposed only as a measure of last resort, but there are no mechanisms in place to assess the necessity of detaining migrants who arrive. The lack of clarity regarding the length of time migrants can be held and to what degree force can be used should a migrant refuse to be fingerprinted was particularly worrying, the UN team heard from international and national NGOs in Italy.
Italy is currently not able to ensure equal standards for the protection of human rights across the migrant reception system. This is due to a combination of factors, including the migration policies the EU has imposed on Italy and the Italian governments contracting out of services without clear rules and regulations, said Pia Oberoi, the UN Human Rights Offices Migration Advisor.
Italy, which has seen more than 90,000 people arrive by sea so far this year, increased the number of places it has in the migrant reception system, from some 22,118 available in 2013 to 120,000 by the end of 2015. Although the Ministry of Interior has the main responsibility for organising and coordinating the overall system, the running of the centres is outsourced, including to private businesses and charities. It is then up to those running the centres to decide how and on what they spend the government funds.
We know that work is under way by the Italian Ministry of Interior and its international partners to improve and harmonise the way the hotspots are run. We think this is a good step. What we would urge is greater co-operation and agreements with UN agencies and civil society to provide additional medical and psycho-social services and recreational activities, and to allow them to monitor the hotspots to ensure greater emphasis on protection of the rights of migrants, including children, Oberoi said.
At Pozzallo, a 16-year-old girl from Nigeria, was keeping herself occupied by doing a boys hair, wielding a plastic fork as a comb and expertly braiding his locks. The boy, also 16 and from Guinea, did his best not to cry in pain as she tugged his hair. Neither was much in the mood for talking.
The UN team was preparing to leave Pozzallo when a young man approached Guerras-Delgado to ask if she would give him her watch.
I didnt understand why he wanted it, its so cheap. Only later did I realise. There is no clock there, despite the efforts of a colleague from the UN Refugee Agency. So its hard for people to know the time, which must hang heavy, said Guerras-Delgado. I wish now I had given him my watch.
This is the third article in a four-part series about the mission to Italy by UN Human Rights Office team from 27 June to 1 July. Read the other stories here:
2 August 2016
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NORTH PLATTE, Neb. Donna Eckhoff isnt ready to give up.
In 2013, her fears were confirmed after she struggled to heal from a surgery and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The disease took her mother when Eckhoff was just a teen.
Eckhoffs cancer was discovered when she was slow to recover after an unrelated surgery. It had gone undetected despite yearly checkups. A doctor later told Eckhoff that she would have needed a CT scan to detect the cancer.
It totally uproots your life, she said.
Cancer was no stranger to Eckhoff. Leukemia took her husband in 1999, and she lost a number of other relatives to the disease.
But Eckhoff stayed positive that she would beat the cancer. And in 2014, she did.
It was just like a great big weight lifted off my shoulder, she said.
Then last September, Eckhoff had stomach problems and was told the cancer had come back. After chemotherapy only made her sick, she was given a year to live and told to go enjoy her life.
I have nieces and nephews that are my pride and joy, she said. Realizing Im not going to see them grow up is really hard to do.
Today, Eckhoff awaits a new drug that she says has a good chance of either eliminating the cancer or keeping it at bay. Meanwhile, she is often tired, with occasional stomach pains and limited appetite.
At 52, Eckhoff is two years younger than her mother was when she lost her battle. She remembers those around her saying her mother would be OK, but seeing a different pain in her mothers eyes. Eckhoff said the pain that the person who suffers cancer feels is unimaginable until youre the one suffering.
You have days you are positive, she said. Then you have days youre angry at everybody. The whole world. Why me? Why do I have to do this?
Eckhoff remembers caring for her husband, who was angered after his cancer hit out of the blue he had no family history of cancer. She knows her family supports her; many of them have traveled with her around Nebraska, South Dakota and Missouri, visiting waterfalls, caves and taking motorcycle rides. Still, Eckhoff feels like a burden when she must ask for help. She hated having to stop work, she said.
Im not a whole person anymore, she said. Because I have to depend on everybody.
Eckhoff tries to stay busy and has a hopeful outlook as Relay for Life nears.
For three years, Eckhoff has walked with a team of mostly family, even the little kids. The event holds a place in her heart, because you can make a difference in peoples lives, and see the difference people have made, she said.
Outside of the event itself, the American Cancer Society helps those with cancer travel, pay for wigs and make other living expenses less of a burden.
Otherwise, youre wondering, what am I going to do? she said.
Today, Eckhoff prepares to be reconfirmed at her church and isnt afraid of death. She believes that everything happens for a reason.
But as she prepares for Aug. 13, were working toward a future where cancer doesnt exist anymore, she said.
The semitrailer truck driver involved in a crash that claimed six lives on Interstate 80 was inattentive and distracted by outside influences when he rammed into a minivan at a high rate of speed, a Nebraska State Patrol trooper said in an arrest affidavit.
The driver, Tony Weekly Jr., 53, of Baker, Florida, was charged in Keith County Court on Tuesday with five counts of felony motor vehicle homicide one for each member of the St. Paul, Minnesota, family who died Sunday in the fiery crash four miles west of Brules I-80 interchange and a single misdemeanor count of reckless driving.
The sixth person, Terry Sullivan, 56, was declared dead Monday but was still on life support Tuesday.
Weekly, clad in an orange jail jumpsuit, kept his head down as he entered the courtroom Tuesday. When Keith County Judge Edward Steenburg informed him of his right to hire an attorney and asked whether he had any assets, Weekly responded: Sir, I am a month away from losing my house and my car.
The judge set an Aug. 29 preliminary hearing on whether he should face trial in Keith County District Court. Steenburg continued Weeklys bail at $1 million of which he must post 10 percent to be released pending a determination of whether he could afford a lesser bail.
The crash occurred just before 11:30 a.m. MDT Sunday in a head-to-head crossover construction zone on Interstate 80. All of the vehicles involved were westbound on the Interstate. The construction zone has a posted temporary speed limit of 65 miles per hour. The normal speed limit is 75 mph.
Witnesses said Weeklys truck did not slow down until hitting the first vehicle, Trooper Darrell Crawford said in the arrest affidavit.
That vehicle was the minivan carrying the Pals family of Minnesota. Jamison and Kathryne Pals and their three children died as a direct result of the initial impact, Crawford said. Before coming to rest, the vehicles forward momentum pushed them into a Plymouth minivan driven by Sullivan, then a Nissan sport utility vehicle and finally a Ford van.
Killed Sunday were: Jamison and Kathryne Pals, both 29, and their children, Ezra, 3; Violet, almost 2; and 2-month-old Calvin.
Weekly had minor injuries and was taken to Sedgwick County Hospital in Julesburg, Colorado. Authorities drew blood from him but have declined to comment on what the results might reveal.
Weekly was driving for Bohren Logistics Inc. of Garrett, Indiana.
A statement from the company said: Those of us at Bohren Logistics are heartbroken by this tragic accident. We extend our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the relatives and friends of the Pals family for this devastating loss. We also wish the best and a speedy recovery for those injured in the accident. Bohren Logistics is committed to cooperating with law enforcement authorities investigating this accident.
Fred Zwonechek of the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety said the Sunday crash was the worst in Nebraska since at least Nov. 6, 2006, when five people died in a two-vehicle, head-on crash on Interstate 80 just west of Shelton, between Grand Island and Kearney.
The most fatalities from one crash on record in Nebraska occurred Aug. 8, 1976, when 11 people died, Zwonechek said. A train hit a church bus near Stratton, which is west of McCook.
The Palses intended to serve as long-term missionaries in Nagoya, Japan. They were headed to Palmer Lake, Colorado, for a five-week session on learning a language and assimilating into another culture, said Dennis Vogan, vice president of personnel development of the ministry organization WorldVenture.
The Palses fit perfectly within our organization, Vogan said. The missionaries in Japan were thrilled and looking so forward to their coming, he said.
The Palses had raised enough money to fund their mission work, which was to start in October, he said.
Rick Pals, Jamisons father, said Tuesday that funeral services would be held at Jamison and Kathrynes church, Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. He said the families of Jamison and Kathryne have been very touched by the outpouring of sincere support they have received.
Weve heard from people from all over the country and all around the world, he said. The president of Christ Bible Institute in (Nagoya) Japan is trying to make arrangements to be here for the funeral.
Eventually, Rick Pals said, a foundation will be established to continue the missionary work that Jamison and Kathryne envisioned for themselves. For now, people can donate to www.gofundme.com/joyofjapan. As of Tuesday night, $16,500 had been raised toward the $20,000 goal.
The generosity has been wonderful, Rick Pals said. Those donations and prayer are really what people can do to help us right now.
Jamison Pals worked for just over three years as a grant writer for Feed My Starving Children. The Christian nonprofit based in Eagan, Minnesota, sends meals specially formulated for malnourished children to orphanages, schools, clinics and feeding programs around the world.
Andy Carr, the groups vice president of marketing and development, said Jamison and Kathryne Pals were amazing people and good friends.
They were the most humble and selfless people that you could ever meet, he said. In todays world where its so much about me, me, me, it was never about them. It was always about others.
Carr estimated that Jamison was responsible for writing grants that brought in well over $1 million to the organization. But his work didnt stop there.
We work with many small organizations that cant afford to have grant writers and whenever they had questions about how to proceed, wed point them to Jamison, he said. He would gladly assist them, and his impact went far beyond Feed My Starving Children.
This report contains material from the World-Herald News Service.
Contact the writer: 402-444-1272, kevin.cole@owh.com
Warren Buffett stepped away from his usual low-key approach to politics Monday to sharply criticize Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for comments about the family of a Muslim-American soldier, for not making his tax returns public and for what Buffett said were Trumps failures in business.
The Omaha billionaire has supported Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintons political ambitions and those of other Democrats over the years but had rarely criticized their opponents until now.
Trumps campaign did not return an email seeking comment about Buffetts remarks.
The final straw, Buffett told several thousand people while introducing Clinton at a campaign rally in the gymnasium at North High School, was Trumps comments about the family of U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan.
Khan was killed on duty in Iraq 12 years ago. At the Democratic National Convention last week, Khans parents criticized Trumps call for a ban on Muslims, and Trumps responses to the familys criticism included his claim that he had made sacrifices during his working career.
Buffett said Trump was wrong to say that working hard, creating jobs and constructing some great structures represented sacrifices.
I have made no sacrifices, Buffett said. No member of the Buffett family has gone to Iraq or Afghanistan. No member of the Trump family has gone to Iraq or Afghanistan. Donald Trump and I havent sacrificed anything.
So how in the world could you stand up to a couple of parents whove lost a son and talk about sacrificing because you were building a bunch of buildings?
Buffett said Trumps comments about the Khans and their Gold Star son reminded him of the excesses of the anti-communist campaign waged by Sen. Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s, which prompted Army attorney Joseph Welch to say to McCarthy during a congressional hearing, Have you no sense of decency, sir?
And I ask Donald Trump, Have you no sense of decency, sir? Buffett said, adding that McCarthys political career went straight downhill after that.
Buffett became the third well-known billionaire to criticize Trump in recent days, following former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg during the Democratic Convention and investor Mark Cuban in Pittsburgh over the weekend.
On Monday, Buffett called on Trump to release his tax returns. Trump has said he wouldnt make them public in part because they are being audited. Buffett said his returns are being audited, too, but thats no reason for a presidential candidate not to make tax returns public.
He said he would meet with Trump any time and place before the election to make both of their tax returns public and answer questions about the documents.
You will learn a whole lot more about Donald Trump if he releases his income tax returns, Buffett said. Youre only afraid if youve got something to be afraid about. And hes not afraid because of the IRS. Hes afraid because of you.
The audience cheered and applauded, one of many times they interrupted Buffetts introduction with cheers.
Buffett mocked Trumps claims of business success, noting that Trump has declared bankruptcy six times with businesses financed with borrowed money. The only time he sold stock directly to the public was in 1995, when he formed Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, Buffett said.
Buffett is chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., an Omaha-based conglomerate whose stock has been publicly traded for about 50 years.
Over 10 years, Buffett said, Trumps casino company lost money every year and Trump received $44 million in compensation.
If a monkey had thrown a dart at the stock pages, the monkey, on average, would have made 150 percent during those 10 years, Buffett said. The people that believed in (Trump), who listened to his siren song, came away losing well over 90 cents on the dollar. They got back less than a dime.
Buffett also said that he violently disagreed with Trumps assessment that the United States is in trouble, saying instead that the countrys future is bright and that the same factors that have made the country a success over the past 240 years are still present today.
He quoted Trump as saying, No one knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it.
Well, la-di-da, you know, Buffett said. I didnt really realize we were in such grave danger.
Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska joined other Republicans Monday in condemning Donald Trumps criticism of the parents of a Muslim-American soldier killed in Iraq.
Uncalled for, said Fisher, a member of the Armed Services Committee. We show our military personnel respect, we honor our fallen military heroes, and we certainly show respect and gratitude, forever, to their families.
Words between the family and Trump have escalated since the family spoke out against the Republican presidential nominee during last weeks Democratic National Convention.
Fischers criticism of Trumps words follows that of numerous leading Republicans, among them Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, John McCain, Jeb Bush and John Kasich.
During a wide-ranging interview in Omaha on Monday, Fischer also said she was bothered by Trump statements that suggest hes not fully committed to the NATO alliance.
Nonetheless, she made it clear she supports the Republican nominee and believes its important that he defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in November.
Just before accepting the GOP presidential nomination two weeks ago, Trump suggested he wouldnt automatically defend a NATO ally if it was attacked, saying he would first look at that nations financial contributions to the alliance.
Fischer noted that the United States does expect financial contributions from NATO partners but also said the alliance is crucial to deterring aggression. She said the United States must stand firm in its commitment to NATOs Article 5, which states that an attack on one of the allies is an attack on them all.
Fischer noted that on a visit to Eastern Europe a year ago, she met with the president of Estonia, a NATO member with real fears that Russian tanks are going to cross their border.
Fischer is convinced that Russian President Vladimir Putins ultimate goal is to rebuild the former Soviet empire.
We cannot waver on Article 5, she said. Thats an opening for the Russians.
Trumps relationship with Putin and Russias seizure of Crimea from the Ukraine have also become issues in the presidential campaign.
At the behest of Trumps campaign, language in the GOP platform that called for sending defensive arms to Ukraine was watered down, though Trump now says it was done so without his knowledge.
The platform move fueled Democrats claims that Trump has a cozy relationship with the Russians.
Fischer said she thinks reports of a close relationship between Putin and Trump are based more on rumor than fact. But whoever was behind the platform language change, she said, it was a mistake.
Fischer criticized the Obama administration for not doing more than send meals and blankets to Ukraine as the Russians seized and annexed Crimea. That inaction and the concern it has raised with U.S. allies in Eastern Europe has only served to exacerbate Trumps comments about NATO, she said.
Theres unrest in that area not due to Donald Trumps comments, but due to the current situation and this administration, she said.
Fischer also said she was disappointed with both presidential candidates for their opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which she said is crucial to Nebraska agriculture. She said she had been hopeful that it could be passed by Congress after the election, but now shes not so sure.
If we dont get a good, fair agreement, then the economy of Nebraska is going to suffer, she said. As a whole, people in the state understand that if ag doesnt do well, you arent going to do well in Omaha or Lincoln.
For her own part, Fischer passed on a chance to speak at the GOP convention, saying shes more interested in policy than politics. Her overall comments on her partys nominee Monday were muted she said Trump has hit a chord and has a lot of Nebraskans who are supporting him.
But she made it clear shes no fan of Clinton. She said Clinton was on talk shows Sunday morning misleading voters about her use of a private email server while secretary of state.
I will do what I can to defeat Hillary Clinton, Fischer said.
Contact the writer: 402-444-1130, henry.cordes@owh.com
The first task of any political campaign is to frame the question it wants voters to answer. Donald Trump wants this election to be a referendum on change: Are you happy with the way things are going in America? Hillary Clinton wants the election to be a referendum on Trump: Are you ready to hand the nuclear codes to an authoritarian with a hair-trigger temper?
Theres more to the campaign, of course: conflicting worldviews, competing policies. But the battle to frame the question was a significant part of what the conventions in Cleveland and Philadelphia were about. Trumps message was that the United States is in crisis and that he alone can change its course; Clintons was that the countrys problems are solvable, but Trump doesnt have the temperament to be commander in chief.
Both questions are potentially effective.
The desire for Big Change is broad and deep; in the most recent Pew Research Center poll, 71 percent of Americans said they are unsatisfied with the countrys direction. Thats what has propelled Trumps candidacy.
From the beginning, Trump has cast himself as an iconoclastic indeed, gleefully disruptive change-maker: a nonpolitician who denounced the establishments of both parties and promised to scrap traditional policies on everything from the federal debt to trade.
The Pew poll found that 77 percent of voters were convinced that he would bring about real change although most of them thought the change would be for the worse.
When it comes to change, Trump can fairly claim to own the brand.
Democratic pollster Geoff Garin, who works for Clintons Super PAC, Priorities USA, says satisfying the thirst for change is probably his candidates biggest challenge. He pointed to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll in which 56 percent of voters said they preferred a candidate who will bring major changes to the way government operates, even if the changes are unpredictable; only 41 percent said they preferred a steady approach with fewer changes. Clintons task, he said, is to persuade voters that she will make (voters) lives better as president.
That was, of course, a theme in Philadelphia but only one of many; its not clear that it broke through the clutter.
Its an important pitch for two kinds of voters: white working-class men and women who have felt neglected by the Obama administration, and Bernie Sanders voters, especially young people, who arent enthusiastic about turning out for Clinton.
But some are skeptical that she can get there at all. I dont think she can plausibly campaign as the candidate of change, David Axelrod, Barack Obamas chief strategist in 2008, told me. She has been a fixture in American politics for such a long time.
Instead of change, Clinton wants to focus on Trumps temperament, his biggest flaw in voters eyes. In the NBC-Wall Street Journal poll, voters said that was their top concern about the Republican; 65 percent called him too volatile, slightly ahead of the percentage who called him offensive and intolerant. (Clintons biggest flaw was dishonest, at 69 percent, followed by wont make needed changes.)
This issue of temperament is central to the whole debate, Axelrod said.
He cited a line from Clintons speech: A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man you can trust with nuclear weapons.
I really think the race comes down to this, Axelrod said. This is the critique I think that has the power to move the most people.
Indeed, Clinton devoted more than twice as much time in her speech to lambasting Trump as to outlining her plans for the economy.
Trump doesnt seem to notice that his bull-in-a-china-shop style makes voters worry that hed be a bad fit for the White House. His own wife has beseeched him to be more presidential, but hes ignored the advice. Instead, he has frequently disrupted his own campaign for instance, suggesting that Russia should hack into Clintons private email server. (He later said he was joking.)
So it shouldnt be hard for Clinton and her surrogates to keep the question of his temperament alive.
But that hasnt knocked him out of the race; far from it. Judging from the head-to-head polls, change is narrowly beating temperament as the top question on voters minds. As long as thats true, Trump for all his gargantuan flaws has a real chance to win. Contact the writer: doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com
It wasnt always like this
I envy todays young women who find the nomination of a woman for president of the United States to be no big deal. They are so very fortunate to have never had doors shut because they are female.
In 1960, I graduated from high school and wished to major in music with the goal of becoming a high school band director. The University of Nebraska was out because there were no women in their marching band. My high school adviser informed me that the then-Kearney State College would accept women as music majors but only in choral, not instrumental, music.
At that point, I changed my goals and went on with my life. What is upsetting now is that I just accepted the policies and did not even question them. It was just the way things were.
Later, I was told I could not have a credit card in my name, only my husbands. This time I did question that policy and received a card in my own name. There were local organizations who would not accept women. To my husbands credit, he would not join those groups. Now gender is not an issue in most local organizations.
Young women, be grateful for the almost limitless opportunities that you have. But please do not believe that it has always been this way.
Kay Dalstrom, Omaha
U.S. must honor NATO commitments
I am a Republican with no love for Hillary Clinton. However, I am dismayed that GOP leaders, including Nebraskas congressional delegation, have chosen not to condemn Donald Trumps outrageous call for Russian interference in the presidential election.
This appears to be far more than just Trump speaking off the cuff or being sarcastic. In his July 28 More Commentary (Russias finger on the campaign scale), Max Boot connected the dots between Russian hacking, Vladimir Putins desires to return Russia to its Soviet glory and Trumps business interests in Russia.
Trump has praised Putin numerous times. He recently said he wont necessarily honor the NATO commitment to protect the Baltic nations from Russian aggression. Now hes in effect suggesting that Russian spies help him win.
At best, he is under the thrall of a power-hungry Russian strongman who may be Americas most dangerous opponent. At worst, he is a creating a potential foreign policy that would seriously destabilize Europe and risk war to protect his own interests.
Kirk Winkler, Omaha
Another Kintner embarrassment
After years of embarrassing our state, Sen. Bill Kintner of Papillion has done it again (Gov. Ricketts says senator should resign if explicit content was in fact kept on his state-issued device, July 29 World-Herald).
Kintners past makes these revelations no real surprise. He has done everything from using racial slurs during a floor debate, to throwing a pen during legislative proceedings, to claiming the pro-life high ground while opposing the expansion of Medicaid that would save the lives of 500 Nebraskans annually.
What is surprising is that Gov. Pete Ricketts knew about Kintners alleged personal sex video for a year and did nothing.
Kintner should publicly apologize to Nebraskans, officially apologize to the Legislature and resign from state office immediately. Then Ricketts should follow suit.
Nancy Meyer, Cedar Bluffs, Neb.
Ready for convention-free TV
Since the television networks and the cable news channels have treated us to two weeks of reality comedy shows, do you think they might develop some family shows for us to watch? The American public might be ready for some wholesome viewing. I sure am.
Joseph R. Dixon, Omaha
Trump supporters love this country
Donald Trump supporters appreciate straight, blunt, honest talk. They love America and have common sense. They believe in the Constitution and appreciate our military and law enforcement. They recognize the world is becoming a more dangerous place and want a survivable world for their children. We also realize an excellent businessman and born leader is perfect for the times.
From my observations of Hillary Clinton, her recurrent difficulties with the truth, her real agenda and goals, she is simply not the person to rebuild what has been broken.
Is Trump perfect in every way? Maybe not. Are you? Vote Trump and lets save America.
Mark Jorgensen, Omaha
Helping others to contribute to community
I went to the Hy-Vee on Cass Street last Sunday, and there was a man on the median curb begging for money, for whatever his cause was. As I entered the store, there was a young blind man who was working passing out ads.
Bravo to Hy-Vee for letting a person with disabilities to improve his life. This young man was increasing his awareness, esteem, pride and being a part of the regular workforce. Thanks, Hy-Vee, for giving this person an opportunity to be part of our community.
Leo Yrkoski Jr., Omaha
Gujarat: Will Vijay Rupani get his birthday gift today?
Ahmedabad
oi-Vicky
Ahmedabad, Aug 2: In the wake of Anandiben Patel resigning as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, the big question is who will replace her? There are four names doing the rounds, but the front runner for the post appears to be Vijay Rupani. Several BJP leaders that OneIndia spoke indicated that Rupani is the frontrunner for the post.
Some BJP leaders said in lighter vein that it is Rupani's birthday today and the Parliamentary Board may give him his best birthday gift. The board is scheduled to meet on Tuesday and make an announcement.
Rupani is a trusted aide of both Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. He also shares a very good rapport with the RSS. The MLA from Rajkot has a good track record and is known to take all along while making decisions.
Who will be Gujarat CM?
The name of the other leader making the rounds is that of Parsottam Rupala. His oratory skills are an advantage and moreover he is a mass leader, a factor that is likely to help the BJP during the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha elections.
The names of Nitin Patel and Bikhubhai Dalsania too are making the rounds. Patel the senior most minister in Gujarat enjoys the trust of both Shah and Modi. He belongs to the Patel community and had said that he was ready to be the CM after Modi became the PM.
Dalsania is in the running for the post, but chances appear to be grim. He is the general secretary of the BJP in Gujarat. He too is from the Patel community. However, what may go against him is his lack of administrative experience.
OneIndia News
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Story first published: Tuesday, August 2, 2016, 9:55 [IST]
#Justice Party Former Justice Party leader Lee Jeong-mi elected for 2nd term Lee Jeong-mi, a former chief of the minor progressive Justice Party (JP), was elected Friday for a second term to lead a major reform of the party reeling from recent election rout...
#KBO Heroes reach Korean Series after eliminating Twins in KBO postseason For the first time in three years, the Kiwoom Heroes will be playing in the South Korean baseball championship series. Former big leaguer Yasiel Puig homered and knocked in two ...
Suspended IAS officer Pradeep Sharma sent to 7-day ED custody
Ahmedabad
oi-PTI
Ahmedabad, Aug 2: The special PMLA court here today remanded suspended IAS officer Pradeep Sharma in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate for seven days.
ED had yesterday arrested Sharma under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). It had demanded his custody for 14 days, but PMLA court judge A C Joshi granted the agency his custody for seven days.
Sharma was arrested after the Supreme Court vacated an interim stay on his arrest. The ED lawyer contended that he was not cooperating with the investigators so his custodial interrogation was necessary.
Sharma was summoned to the ED office yesterday to record his statement and later arrested after the central agency claimed he gave "evasive replies" regarding his and his relatives' overseas bank accounts and transactions.
The case pertains to allotment of government land in Bhuj for industrial use to Welspun India and its subsidiaries Welspun Power and Steel and Welspun Gujarat Style Roharan.
Sharma sanctioned the allotment in 2004 when he was the collector of Kutch district and chairman of District Land Evaluation and Pricing Committee. The allotment was at a low price and it caused a loss of Rs 1.2 crore to the exchequer, ED has alleged.
In return, he received around Rs 22 lakh in the name of his wife Shyamal P Sharma, it alleged. Sharma had crossed swords with the Gujarat government when Narendra Modi was the chief minister.
He had claimed that he was being victimised by the BJP government for his knowledge of illegal surveillance on a woman by the state government agencies.
PTI
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Story first published: Tuesday, August 2, 2016, 12:48 [IST]
33 complaints received against Patanjali ads
Business
oi-IANS
By Ians English
New Delhi, Aug 1: Over 30 complaints against advertisements of yoga guru Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved Ltd were received between April 2015 and July 2016, parliament was told on Monday.
In total there were 33 complaints received during last one year against Patanjali for self regulation of advertising content as per the findings of Consumer Complaints Council (CCC), Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
The Department of Consumer Affairs has informed that 17 out of 21 advertisements complained against were considered to be in violation of Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) code, he said.
"Six product packaging communications were also considered to be in violation of ASCI code for self regulation of advertising content," the minister said.
IANS
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Story first published: Tuesday, August 2, 2016, 8:17 [IST]
Video: Why Chinas former president was escorted out from stage
China's Didi acquires Uber in USD 35 billion deal
Business
oi-PTI
Beijing, Aug 2: Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi will take over Uber's China business, in a deal worth USD 35 billion as the US car-hailing firm gave in after fierce competition from its rival in the world's second largest economy.
Uber will take a 5.89 per cent stake in Didi. Didi did not disclose the stake it will take in Uber. Uber China's on-demand mobility (ODM) service will continue to operate independently. The deal follows China's legalistion of ODM services.
Uber's founder Travis Kalanick and Didi founder Cheng Wei will sit on each other's company boards.
The two companies have been locked in a bitter battle for customers in China marked by huge customer discounts since last year.
Post the merger of its Chinese business, Uber is expected to focus more aggressively on the Indian market, its third biggest market after the US and China, at present.
Interestingly in India, Uber is locked in an intense battle with market leader Ola which counts Didi as an investor.
Didi had picked up a stake in Bengaluru-based Ola last year as a part of the USD 500 million funding round.
Last December, Didi Chuxing, along with Ola, US-based Lyft and GrabTaxi had also formed a global pact to share customers and technology across countries to compete with Uber.
Uber has been pumping in substantial funds to fuel its growth in India. In July last year, Uber had announced an investment of USD 1 billion in India to expand its services here. It has also set up a response and support centre in Hyderabad with an investment of USD 50 million.
India is also expected to be a major beneficiary of the USD 3.5-billion fund raised by Uber earlier this year as the US-based firm looks to overtake local rival Ola.
There were also reports suggesting that Uber may buy Ola, though the Indian company rubbished those saying it has "no intentions of selling to Uber".
Uber is one of very few foreign tech firms that has been able to compete with domestic rivals head-on in China.
While Didi holds a majority share in China's ODM services, Uber has managed to establish a foothold, and has made inroads into lower-tier cities this year to further threaten Didi's dominance.
The competition has seen the two companies locked in a discount war in an attempt to poach riders away from each other's platforms.
In June, Didi announced it had secured USD 7.3 billion in equity and debt financing, including USD 1 billion from Apple which valued the start-up at around USD 28 billion.
Uber has secured over USD 6 billion in its latest funding.
Liu Zhen, Uber China head of strategy, said in June that most of the money raised will fund Uber's operations in China.
While Uber has generated over USD 1 billion in profit from its top 30 cities worldwide, the company has not yet turned a profit in any Chinese city, even though it provides more trips in China than any other country, Kalanick said.
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Story first published: Tuesday, August 2, 2016, 13:04 [IST]
IndiGo Q1 profit slides, mulls slower induction of A320 neos
Business
oi-PTI
New Delhi, Aug 2: Hit by "competitive" airfares, IndiGo's parent InterGlobe Aviation on Monday posted over 7 per cent fall in net profit at Rs 591.77 crore in June quarter and plans to go slow on inducting A320 neos -- a move that is likely to adversely impact its ambitious growth plans.
Admitting that A320 neos continue to pose "operational challenges", IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh said the airline is working with Airbus and engine maker Pratt & Whitney to resolve the issues.
The largest carrier by domestic market share saw its quarterly net profit decline in the latest June quarter compared with Rs 638.89 crore posted in the year-ago period despite higher revenues. Total revenue during the April-June quarter rose 9.7 per cent to Rs 4,741.45 crore from Rs 4,211.54 crore in the same period a year ago.
"Profitability was lower than last year primarily because of competitive fare pressures. We have reduced our debt by Rs 458.9 crore during the quarter," Ghosh said in a release. The drop in average fares does not change our view on the potential of Indian market, Ghosh said, adding "we are committed to add on profitable capacity in the market," he said during the post earnings analysts call.
IndiGo's likely move to go slow on inducting the fuel-efficient A320 neos could have a significant negative fallout on the airline, whose ambitious future plans are majorly dependent on these new planes.
"Operationally A320 neo continues to be a challenge. We are currently looking at a scenario where we would slow down the delivery of our A320 neo aircraft to allow (engine maker) Pratt & Whitney catch up with the production of updated engine," Ghosh said.
Pratt & Whitney and Airbus remain focussed on fixing various technical issues that have been identified and "we are counting on them to stay focussed on resolving technical issue on a highest priority (basis)," he added.
At present, IndiGo -- which operates five A320 neos -- plans to have a total of 24 such planes by March 2017. "We have seen a 14.3 per cent saving with neos compared to the classic A320s (in the latest June quarter)," he noted.
Further, he emphasised that drop in average fares does not change its view on the potential of Indian market. Reflecting intense competition, IndiGo's average fare declined nearly 11 per cent to Rs 4,032 in the three months ended June. The same stood at Rs 4,524 in the year-ago period.
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Story first published: Tuesday, August 2, 2016, 8:50 [IST]
AI Bhopal-Raipur-Pune flight resumes tomorrow
India
oi-PTI
Bhopal, Aug 2: Air India will re-start its Bhopal-Raipur-Pune flight from tomorrow after Defence authorities in Pune granted permission for the same.
Operations of the flight, launched on May 23, were stopped within four days after Ministry of Defence, which controls operations at the Pune Airport, discontinued the permission granted to AI for some reasons.
"The Defence authorities have now granted permission to Air India to restart the flights to Pune w.e.f. August 3," an AI release said today. According to AI's Area Manager (MP-CG), Vishrut Acharya, the ATR-72 (70-seater) plane will be deployed on the route to provide much needed connectivity to Raipur and Pune thrice a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) from Bhopal.
The aircraft, AI 9865 will leave from Bhopal at 9.30 AM and reach Raipur at 11 AM. From Raipur, it will depart at 11.30 AM and reach Pune at 14.00 PM. From Pune, the flight AI 9866 will take off at 14.30 PM and arrive at Raipur at 17.00 PM, and from there it will fly at 17.30 PM and arrive Bhopal at 19.00 PM, the release said.
Acharya said the response to the flight from the IT sector and students was overwhelming. Based on the response of passengers of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Air India would be adding more flights on new sectors in the near future as part of the "Regional Connectivity" plan, he said.
PTI
Aurangabad arms haul: Lashkar-e-Taiba's Abu Jundal gets life term
India
oi-Vicky
New Delhi, Aug 2: The special MCOCA court on Tuesday sentenced Abu Jundal, the Lashkar-e-Taiba operative to life imprisonment in the Aurangabad arms haul case. Six others too were handed out life imprisonments by the court.
Two convicts were awarded a 14-year sentence while, 3 will have to do 8 years in jail. The counsel for the accused will prefer an appeal in the High Court against the verdict. In this case 8 people had been acquitted while one is absconding.
The court had last week convicted all these persons under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the Explosive Substances Act, the Explosives Act and ndian Penal Code.
The ATS on May 8, 2005 intercepted the vehicle and seized the arms. However, Jundal managed to escape under mysterious circumstances.
The prosecution had submitted that the weapons seized during the raid at Aurangabad were procured from Pakistan. The entire plot was being hatched to eliminate Modi and Hindu leader, Praveen Togadia, the court observed.
The accused wanted to shake and reduce the faith of the common man in an elected democratic government by undertaking large scale violence, the court further held.
They also wanted to exploit the communal sentiments of the Muslims and provoke them in the name of religion, the judge also observed.
After the plan was hatched it was decided to move the consignment into Gujarat. They had loaded the ammunition into a Tata Sumo and a Tata Indica. Jundal was driving the Indica.
The ATS howeve, on May 8 2005 intercepted the vehicle and seized the arms. However Jundal managed to escape under mysterious circumstances.
OneIndia News
Gone Viral! Goa CM Laxmikant Parsekar goes shirtless in the pool
Most ministers in Goa shown the door by voters
No 'matka' gambling centre operating in Goa, says CM
India
oi-IANS
By Ians English
Panaji, August 2: There is no 'matka' gambling centre operating in Goa, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar told the assembly on Tuesday against the backdrop of an ongoing police investigation into the matter.
"There is no 'matka' booking centre in the state. However, whenever 'matka' gambling activities are noticed or upon receipt of reliable information, cases are registered by the police," Parsekar said in reply to a question by Francisco Pacheco, Goa Vikas Party legislator from Nuvem.
The Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court is currently overseeing a Crime Branch probe into the nexus between matka gambling lobby, the politicians and the police.
Matka is an illegal form of gambling that has gained immense popularity in Mumbai and Konkan region since the 1970s. It functions six days a week, virtually like a lottery, where lucky numbers are generated thrice every day.
Matka's popularity stems from the fact that one can wager as small an amount as one rupee.
The matka industry in Goa alone is pegged at several thousand crore of rupees. Several legislators and ministers in successive state governments have demanded its legalisation.
IANS
Parliament passes bill for setting up NIT in Andhra
India
oi-PTI
Andhra Pradesh/New Delhi, Aug 1: The Parliament today passed a bill for establishing the prestigious National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Andhra Pradesh, on a day MPs of the ruling TDP from the state staged a protest to demand special category status.
The National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by Rajya Sabha by voice vote. The bill was passed in Lok Sabha on July 21. The bill aims at establishing the NIT in Andhra Pradesh as an institute of national importance. Replying to a debate on the Bill, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar assured the House that there would be no dearth of funds for establishing the NIT in Andhra Pradesh.
"It is really a fulfilment (of promise)," he said against the backdrop of demands by TDP, an ally of ruling NDA, and some other parties for grant of special category status to Andhra Pradesh.
"Let me remind my good friend Jairam Ramesh that it is not after two years we are starting, the second batch is already there. So the institute was formed but the bill, we are passing today," Javadekar said.
"So the action has already started and as far as funding is concerned there will be no dearth of funding," he added. Stating that Rs 40 crore has been provided in the Budget for this NIT in AP as token, he said the DPR (detailed project report) would be ready in two months.
"As soon it is there, the funds will be immediatly released and granted. So there will be no dearth of funding let me tell you," the minister said. On concern raised by some members over inadequate number of faculties, Javadekar said the government is making efforts to fill vacancies in all top institutes like IITs and NITs.
"It is true that in even in country's premier institutes there is no 100 per cent faculty that is the truth and its a national mission...Still in NITs 75 per cent faculty is working and rest 25 per cent is not there. We are taking as a drive in IITs, NITs and all top institutes even in primary schools. Vacancy is a big problem and we should try to get trained faculties. There is good tendency that people want to become teachers aand we will also come with a concrete plan to so as to have trained faculty," Javadekar said.
The minister informed the House that funding for NITs is increasing every year from Rs 2,100 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 2,645 crore this year. "So its rising and I want to ensure that there will be no dearth of funds as far as projects, teaching, research is concerned. "For all top isntitutes there is requirement of large amount of funding. In natural course of action you cant provide it..so we are working on a new initiative FM has already announed in the Budget," Javadekar said.
PTI
Patna lady's arrest in ISIS case gives Kerala police vital clues
India
oi-Vicky
Patna, Aug 2: The arrest of Yasmeen Mohammad, a lady from Patna has thrown up vital clues regarding the 21 missing persons from Kerala suspected to have joined the ISIS. The 28-year-old woman from Patna, Bihar was detained by the Delhi Police on the ground that she was attempting to join the ISIS.
As per investigations, the woman was planning on flying to Kabul to meet with Kerala based Abdul Rashid who is said to have facilitated the departure of the 21 persons who had wanted to join the ISIS.
Investigations have shown that she was working at school in Kollam and Kottakkal. The institution has been under the scanner of the Intelligence agencies for radical preachings. Further it was also ascertained that she was in touch with Rashid over phone. Rashid who is said to be in Afghanistan conversed with her and these intercepts were tracked which finally led to her arrest.
On being questioned she said that she had wanted to leave India because should not practise Islam properly. "I wanted to live the life as per the Quran and that was not possible here," she also told the police.
She landed at the Delhi airport along with her five year old child. The police say that she is linked one Abdul Rashid of Kerala who is believed to have facilitated the departure of 21 from Kerala last month.
The Kerala police had issued a look out circular against her. The police say that she was to leave along with the 21 others. However, due to some hold up in her documents she was unable to do so. Upon landing at the Delhi airport, she was whisked away by immigration officials.
Later on she was handed over to the Delhi police who in turn alerted their counterparts in Kerala. She was then produced before a court in Kasargod, Kerala and charged under the provisions of the Unlawaful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA.
OneIndia News
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Story first published: Tuesday, August 2, 2016, 16:06 [IST]
Woman, her two children mowed down by train; Suicide not ruled out
Rajasthan Minister's son among 6 named in FIR in murder case
India
oi-PTI
Jaipur, Aug 2: A Rajasthan Minister's son is among six persons named in an FIR lodged in a murder case of a 45-year-old man here in Hanumangarh court.
Harish Sindhi was shot dead yesterday by two accused Sukhbeer and Dharmendra in the court premises when he had gone for hearing of a murder case in which he was a witness.
While the duo was arrested yesterday, police today named Water Resources Minister Rampratap's son Amit Sahu and three others, including Som Muni, Soma and Shrawan, in the FIR under various sections of IPC, including murder, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and 27 of Arms Act, police said.
Heavy rain lashes several parts in Rajasthan
The FIR was lodged by Monu Singh who was present with Sindhi in the court. Sahu, however, denied any link with the murder and alleged he was being dragged in the case for "political reasons". "I have no link with the matter.
I am being falsely implicated. The allegations against me are baseless," Sahu said, adding he has not been approached by the police.
"I was present in the court premises. I had gone to the office of the collector which is located near the court. My presence there had nothing to do with the case," he said.
Rampratap could not be contacted as he was in the cabinet meeting. Meanwhile, Sindhi's funeral was performed today. Some of his relatives held a demonstration demanding arrest of all the accused.
PTI
BJP MP scolds official for cleaning Yamuna with 'poisonous chemical' ahead of Chhath
News Flash: I pray for Sonia Gandhi quick recovery and good health, says PM Narendra Modi
India
oi-Oneindia
By Oneindia Staff Writer
Bengaluru, Aug 2: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on August 9 launch a programme called '70 Saal Azadi -- Zara Yaad Karo Kurbani' (70 years of independence: Do recall the sacrifices).
Get all the latest national and international news updates of Tuesday, August 2 here.
7.25 pm: Kerala CM says CPM not ready for political alliance with Cong. In Bengal alliance is for protection of democracy. Both are different.
7.18 pm: Congress President Sonia Gandhi leaves Varanasi (UP) for Delhi.
7.13 pm: Heard about Sonia's ill health during her Varanasi visit today. I pray for her quick recovery and good health, says PM Narendra Modi's tweet.
7.12 pm: She (Sonia Gandhi) will be completely fine and will see Modi Govt's eradication to its end, says Pramod Tiwari, Congress.
7.11 pm: Rhino strays out to NH37 after Kaziranga National Park faced deluge after heavy rainfall in Golaghat (Assam).
7.10 pm: Sonia Gandhi cuts short her Varanasi visit and returns to Delhi after being advised by the doctor to do so.
7.00 pm: 60 RR, CRPF and district police Chassana in Reasi (Jammu) in joint op in Kalaban forest today recovered cache of arms.
6.45 pm: Committee decided that a panel headed by a Rtd. Judge of SC assisted by three eminent counsels including the counsel of BCCI be formed.
6.35 pm: BCCI Working Committee deliberated the judgement delivered by SC in matter BCCI vs Cricket Association of Bihar and others.
6.30 pm: Negotiations with the Govt helped bring clarity, understanding and a near consensus on issues, says Anand Sharma, Congress on GST.
6.10 pm: During negotiations with the Govt, it is clear what we were saying had merit and justification, says Anand Sharma, Congress.
5.45 pm: We are the original authors, if the nation gets on GST, Congress would have made a notable contribution, says Anand Sharma, Congress.
5.25 pm: BCCI Working Committee approved the two T20 International matches against the West Indies on 27th & 28th August.
5.00 pm: Moving car in Dehradun (Uttarakhand) caught fire reportedly due to a short circuit, 3 people who were in car rescued.
4.44 pm: Investigation is underway but there seem to be 6-7 accused in Bulandshahr incident: Anees Ansari, SSP Bulandshahr.
4.30 pm: "Welcome the name change,but name should not be bongo, that is a musical instrument", says Babul Supriyo, Union Minister.
4.00 pm: Sensex falls 21.41 points to end at 27,981.71
3.25 pm: Delhi's Saket Court reserved it's order for 4th August on quantum of sentence for Director Mahmood Farooqui in rape case of American lady.
3.00 pm: Cabinet decided to change name of West Bengal, will be either Bangla or Bongo. In English it will be Bengal:Partha Chatterjee,WB Minister
2.35 pm: UP BJP President Keshav Maurya led-party delegation arrives in Noida to meet Bulandshahr rape victims and their family members.
2.30 pm: Do not be overawed by hierarchy. Be frank & fearless in your interaction with senior officers, says PM to Assistant Secretaries.
2.20 pm: PM addresses Assistant Secretaries, says "you should remain sensitive to circumstances/surroundings, in order to better connect with people".
Sonia Gandhi led Congress roadshow begins in Varanasi (UP) pic.twitter.com/5q9dmJimpL ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 2, 2016
2.10 pm: UP CM Akhilesh Yadav to meet Bulandshahr gang rape victim's family on 4th August in Ghaziabad.
2.05 pm: "MoS General VK Singh is leaving for Jeddah tonight via Dubai. His on ground assessment will determine future course of action", says Vikas Swarup.
1:52 pm: Indian Embassy in Riyadh convened meeting of community social workers & volunteers yesterday: Vikas Swarup, MEA on situation in Saudi Arabia.
1:35 pm: 33 differently abled children of Sukhjeet Ashram, Kapurthala, Punjab suspected to consume adulterated food. 2 out of all have died: ANI.
1:30 pm: 6015 cases of loot and dacoity have been reported in Akhilesh regime, says Shrikant Sharma, BJP on law and order situation in UP.
1.26 pm: Punjab: Children have been hospitalised in Civil Hospital, three are in critical condition.
1.13 pm: Posters that were put up at Cong office building in Bhopal were later removed by the Municipal corporation and police.
1.11 pm: Posters put up at Congress office in Bhopal, alleging corruption during Simhastha kumbh in Madhya Pradesh.
1.08 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2pm.
12.57 pm: Difference of opinion in committee is on degree of punishment-reprimand or reprimand with debarring from Parliament session for specific time, says Sources.
12.56 pm: There is unanimity in the 9 member committee that action must be taken against Bhagwant Mann, say sources on Parliament security breach video.
12.30 pm: abu jundal gets life term. 2 convicts sentenced to 14 years of jail, 3 sentenced to 8 years of jail in Aurangabad arms haul case.
12.27 pm: 7 out of 12 convicts including Abu Jundal sentenced to life imprisonment in Aurangabad arms haul case.
12.12 pm: Lok Sabha adjourned till 12:30PM following TDP protest demanding special status to Andhra Pradesh.
12.00 noon: Spanish Talgo Train's final phase of trial run between Delhi & Mumbai: Train arrives in Mumbai.
11.48 am: Congress President Sonia Gandhi arrives in Varanasi, will lead party's road show here
UP: Congress President Sonia Gandhi arrives in Varanasi, will lead party's road show here. pic.twitter.com/yk9h74Zj4s ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 2, 2016
11.20 am: Supreme Court directs Odisha Govt to give additional compensation to 2008 Kandhamal communal riot victims.
10.53 am: Congress gives adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha on Bulandshahr (UP) rape case.
10.35 am: Petrol bombs thrown at J&K Education minister Naeem Akhtar's house in Srinagar. He was not present in his house when the incident happened.
10.07 am: Vijay Mallya's assets worth Rs 7000 crores under hammer. Mallya's villa, jet and KFA logo to be auctioned.
10.00 am: Narsingh Yadav to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, report ANI.
9.40 am: BJP Parliamentary party meeting begins in Parliament.
9.35 am: State-wide bandh call given by YSRCP in Andhra over special status issue, supported by Left parties.
YSRCP calls state-wide shutdown in Andhra Pradesh over special status issue,protest by YSRCP & Left parties in Vizag pic.twitter.com/2i2gpHJ2gs ANI (@ANI_news) August 2, 2016
9.10 am: Long distance trains from Mumbai Central and Bandra Terminus rescheduled due to heavy rains and water on tracks between Vapi-Udwada.
8.45 am: Two dead after building collapse in Secunderabad. Police claim that the building collapsed due to heavy rain.
8.30 am: Rahul Gandhi lashes out at PM on Twitter, says 13 years of Modi rule responsible for Gujarat burning.
13 years of Modi rule, not 2 years of Anandiben are responsible for Gujarat burning. Sacrificing the scapegoat won't save the BJP Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) August 2, 2016
7.57 am: Locals in flood-hit Tura area of Meghalaya in distress & agitated over delay in relief operations
Locals in flood-hit Tura area of Meghalaya in distress & agitated over delay in relief operations pic.twitter.com/9WS5GBu4YJ ANI (@ANI_news) August 2, 2016
7.55 am: Congress President Sonia Gandhi to lead party's roadshow in Varanasi (UP) today.
OneIndia News
Court holds writ by Hindu petitioners in Gyanvapi case maintainable: What does this mean
On camera: Varanasi folks in panic as 'ghost in white' goes for a walk on rooftops
Sonia Gandhi to lead Congress roadshow in Varanasi today
India
oi-PTI
Varanasi, Aug 2: Congress president Sonia Gandhi will offer prayers at Kashi Vishwanath temple after leading a roadshow organised by the party today.
The party's chief ministerial candidate for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, Sheila Dikshit, said this at a press conference o Monday, adding that UP Congress chief Raj Babbar and senior leaders such as Ghulam Nabi Azad, Salman Khurshid, Sriprakash Jaiswal, Pramod Tiwari, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Zafar Ali, Sanjay Singh, Rana Goswami, Rajesh Mishra, Ajay Rai, Rajeshpati Tripathi etc. will take part in it.
The roadshow will begin from Kachahari at 12 noon after party leaders garland the statue of BR Ambedkar and will cover a distance of around eight kilometers in three hours.
It will conclude at Englishiyaline where Sonia is expected to deliver a short speech and garland the statue of former Union Minister and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister late Kamlapati Tripathi.
Maintaining that the roadshow is a part of the party's '27 saal, UP Behaal' campaign, Dikshit launched an attack on the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) in the state for the recent Bulandshahr gangrape incident.
"Law and order in the state under the SP has worsened and the recent incident of Bulandshahr was highly condemnable," she said, adding that the Congress wants to rid the state of "SP, BSP and BJP misrule of the last 27 years" and put it on the path towards development.
Replying to a query, Dikshit, who claimed herself to be a "UP wallah", said her age was not an issue till the time she had the "will to work in public interest".
"I became the Delhi Chief Minister at the age of 60. Even then, people used to talk about my age but I served for almost 15 years.
"I will be fortunate to get a chance to serve my own state, Uttar Pradesh. I will put in my best efforts for its betterment. I am 78 but my age is not an issue till the time I am willing to work," she said.
Dikshit claimed the development of Uttar Pradesh was visible 27 years ago when the Congress was in power in the state but subsequent governments led by the SP, BSP and BJP "misruled by playing out religion and caste-based politics".
Lamenting the lack of job opportunities for the youth in the state, she claimed that her party would change the scenario by setting up industries if voted to power. Newly appointed Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Babbar claimed the party was confident of forming the government in the state in 2017.
Defending Dikshit's selection as the party's chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh, he attacked the BJP saying, "The Congress gives respect to its elder members, unlike another party that sidelines them."
UP: Congress President Sonia Gandhi arrives in Varanasi, will lead party's road show here. pic.twitter.com/yk9h74Zj4s ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 2, 2016
PTI
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Story first published: Tuesday, August 2, 2016, 12:55 [IST]
Special status: TDP MPs protest in Parliament
India
oi-IANS
By Ians English
Amaravati/Chennai, Aug 2: Unhappy over the Centre's stand on special status to Andhra Pradesh, TDP, a partner in NDA government, on Monday staged protests both inside and outside Parliament.
Seeking immediate announcement for special status, the MPs of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) tried to disrupt the proceedings in the Lok Sabha.
Holding placards and raising slogans in support of their demands, the TDP members in the Lok Sabha began the protest as soon as the house met for the day. They rushed to the speaker's podium, demanding that the government fulfill its commitments under Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan repeatedly appealed to members to return to their seats but they continued the protest. The Speaker conducted the proceedings amid the uproar before adjourning the proceedings till 2 p.m.
Earlier, the TDP members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha staged a protest at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament complex. They held placards and raised slogan 'We want justice'.
"We want justice for Andhra Pradesh. Save Andhra Pradesh," read one of the placards.
Galla Jayadev, one of the Lok Sabha members, said they had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking special status and adequate help to the state. He said the Centre should fulfill the promises and assurances.
"We are ready to whatever it takes. Leaving government or leaving our positions, it doesn't matter," the MP from Guntur said.
TDP, a constituent of the NDA, has two ministers in the Union ministry.
TDP President and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was monitoring the developments in Delhi over television at his office in Vijayawada. He was also issuing direction to the party MPs.
The TDP decided to launch protest to bring pressure on the BJP-led government after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely told the Rajya Sabha last week that Andhra Pradesh can't be granted special status but the Centre would handhold the state until it became economically stable.
Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, who hails from Andhra Pradesh, on Monday met the Prime Minister to brief him on the developments in the state. The senior BJP leader is believed to have conveyed to Modi that growing distance with an ally would not be good for the coalition.
Later, Venkaiah Naidu along with TDP leader and central minister Y.S. Chowdary called on Jaitely to discuss the developments in the wake of TDP's protest in Parliament.
In another development, Union Minister of State for Planning Rao Inderjit Singh told the Rajya Sabha that Andhra Pradesh was so far given a central assistance of Rs 6,403 crore. This includes Rs 2,803 crore for bridging the revenue deficit.
In reply to a question, he said seven backward districts of the state were provided Rs 700 crore while Rs 2,050 crore was given for the development of new state capital and Rs 850 crore for Polavaram project.
IANS
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Story first published: Tuesday, August 2, 2016, 10:04 [IST]
BJP MP scolds official for cleaning Yamuna with 'poisonous chemical' ahead of Chhath
VK Singh to leave for Saudi Arabia to help stuck Indian nationals
India
oi-IANS
By Ians English
New Delhi, Aug 2: In the wake of the food crisis facing Indian workers laid off by Saudi companies, Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh will leave for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night.
He will reach Jeddah early on August 3 and return to India two days later, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.
On Saturday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said India was making all efforts to bring back the over 10,000 Indian workers rendered jobless in Saudi Arabia and was providing them food in camps.
My colleagues @Gen_VKSingh will go to Saudi Arabia to sort out these matters and @MJakbar will take up with Kuwait and Saudi authorities./5 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 30, 2016
She said the companies concerned had shut their factories and left. "We can't leave our workers there... We have asked the foreign office to authorise us to bring them (back) from Saudi Arabia," she said.
IANS
BJP MP scolds official for cleaning Yamuna with 'poisonous chemical' ahead of Chhath
When a Baby Shark was spotted on Delhis road
India
oi-Oneindia
By Oneindia Staff Writer
New Delhi, Aug 2: A baby shark was spotted right besides the road in Delhi's R K Puram area on Tuesday. The shark was found swimming in the water-filled pothole, as per a media report.
Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President Ajay Maken himself made a tweet, saying that a baby shark appeared in pothole near RK Puram, please don't Panick.
It was later discovered that Congress was playing a prank by putting a toy(shark) in the pothole. Apparently, Congress is trying to highlight the fact that AAP govt is not doing enough to mend Delhi roads which are full of potholes. Earlier, similar attempts were made in Bengaluru to highlight such issues.
A baby shark appeared in water filled pot hole near RK Puram!
Please don't Panick-
WakeUp Kejriwal-#JaagoYaBhaago pic.twitter.com/ablCM4zI5L Ajay Maken (@ajaymaken) August 2, 2016
Taking a dig at AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Maken also said that Kejriwal was hoodwinking Delhites by saying that his government saved money on flyovers.
The Congress saved Rs 495 crore while AAP govt spents extra rs 35 crore on flyovers, tweeted Maken.
Delhi Flyovers-
How Kejriwal is hoodwinking through Ad?
Congress Regime Money Saved; Rs495cr
AAP Extra Spent: Rs34cr pic.twitter.com/G1Knwu27m7 Ajay Maken (@ajaymaken) July 23, 2016
On Saturday, a 45-year-old biker was trapped in a pothole near Square mall on Mehrauli-Mahipalpur road. He was crushed by a tanker truck while he was still stuck, killing him on the spot.
OneIndia News
Explained: Why did the ECI freeze the symbol of the Shiv Sena
Not just future of Sena but democracy at stake, says Uddhav
Will Maha BJP govt survive if it thinks of Vidarbha, asks Sena
India
oi-PTI
Mumbai, Aug 1: Amplifying its opposition to any move aimed at carving out Vidarbha from Maharashtra, Shiv Sena today questioned if the BJP-led government in state would survive if separate statehood was even thought of.
"...Why is the BJP thinking of bringing this misfortune to Maharashtra? Will your government survive if you think of a separate statehood for Vidarbha?" senior Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut told reporters here.
Earlier in the day, Sena, a junior ally in the BJP-led dispensations at Centre and in Maharashtra, tried to corner government on the issue in the Legislative Assembly and asked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to clarify his government's stand.
Raut said, "the Chief Minister is from Vidharbha, half of the Cabinet is from Vidharbha...then why you want separate Vidharbha?..For the last 60 years, the Sena has pinned people to the mat."
Sena, a staunch votary of united Maharashtra, has renewed its aggression in the wake of a BJP MP moving a resolution in the Lok Sabha last week seeking formation of Vidarbha state.
Meanwhile, a senior Sena leader said the issue of separate Vidarbha is purposefully brought on the anvil with an aim to divert attention from the allegations of corruption levelled against some BJP ministers.
Taking a dig at Fadnavis, Yuva Sena president Aditya Thackeray in a series of tweets said, "a bill on division of Maharashtra by someone who is part of the government both at Centre-State, doubts the capacity of Governments to govern well.
"The people of the state gave this government its strength to rule for development of all regions equally, not to dissect the state. I hope the Chief Minister reassures the people of this State that elected his government, on the unity of Maharashtra for development."
PTI
Cornered over Ukraine remark, Trump says what he meant to say
International
oi-Oneindia
By Oneindia Staff Writer
New York, Aug 2: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who is facing a double trouble both in the domestic (read his locking horns with the Khan family) and foreign (Ukraine remark) affairs, tried to explain his position on the latter issue. [Hillary slams Trump for "absolute allegiance" to Russia]
On Monday (Aug 1), Trump tweeted that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not go to Ukraine if he became the president of the US. In another tweet, the real-estate tycoon said: ""with all of the Obama tough talk on Russia and the Ukraine, they have already taken Crimea and continue to push. That's what I said!" [Russia prefers Trump as next US president: Survey]
Political observers felt Trump's explanation suggested that he wasn't aware of the fact that Russian troops were already in Ukraine while making his controversial remark on Sunday (July 31).
When I said in an interview that Putin is "not going into Ukraine, you can mark it down," I am saying if I am President. Already in Crimea! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2016
"Putin won't go to Ukraine"
On that occasion, he told in an interview to ABC that Putin would not make any military adventure into Ukraine while the reality is that he has already done that and took control of the country's Crimean Peninsula and earning condemnation from the western world.
"He's not going into Ukraine, OK, just so you understand. He's not going to go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down. You can put it down. You can take it anywhere you want," Trump said in the interview on "This Week."
When the interviewer, George Stephanopoulos pointed out the fact that the Russians have already entered into Ukraine, Trump turned the gun towards President Barack Obama. He said: "OK -- well, he's there in a certain way. But I'm not there. You have Obama there. And frankly, that whole part of the world is a mess under Obama with all the strength that you're talking about and all of the power of NATO and all of this. In the meantime, he's going away. He takes Crimea."
Also when facing criticism for his soft approach towards Putin, Trump asked whether it wouldn't be great if the US went along with Russia.
Oneindia News
Indian consulate in Saudi distributes over 15k kg food among crisis-hit workers
International
oi-Oneindia
By Oneindia Staff Writer
Jeddah, Aug 2: The Indian consulate here reportedly distributed over 15,000 kilograms of food items among the crisis-affected Indians over the weekend with help of local Indian nationals.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said several Indians lost jobs in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and were yet to get the wages from their employers. [India to bring back 10,000 workers from Saudi Arabia: Sushma Swaraj]
She also assured on Twitter that not a single Indian worker would be left to starve and sent one of her deputy ministers VK Singh to the West Asian country. [Saudi Arabia's dreaded Kafala system which plagues Indian workers]
Low oil prices have hit the economy forcing the Saudi Arabian government to cut down on spending as a result of which thousands of Indian workers employed in services, manufacturing and construction sectors lost their jobs.
Around 3 million Indians are employed in the three abovementioned sectors in Saudi Arabia.
Oneindia News
Musharraf owning more properties than known: Report
International
oi-PTI
Karachi, Aug 2: Former Pakistani dictator General Pervez Musharraf owned more properties under defence housing schemes than previously thought, a media report said today, days after a top court ordered authorities to confiscate his bank accounts and property.
The Defence Housing Authority (DHA) confirmed three bungalows were named after the 72-year-old former President, who is currently said to be in Dubai for purported medical treatment.
The DHA wrote a letter to the district and session court confirming their presence, Geo News reported today. According to details in the letter, Musharraf has a 2000- yard bungalow in Phase 8, Defence. He also owns two plots in DHA phase 8, DHA stated.
However DHA has remained silent over a bungalow in Army Housing Scheme which is considered one of the main properties of the former military dictator.
Quoting sources in DHA, the report said that Musharraf in fact has two properties in Army Housing Scheme, something that even the court was unaware of. District Judge South (Karachi) Nazir Amin Memon had initiated action based on the Special Court judge's ruling on July 19, in which the court had ordered freezing of Musharraf's assets and properties.
The district judge had ordered seizing of four bungalows belonging to the former president for not appearing before it during proceedings of a high treason case despite repeated notices.
The district judge in a letter had asked the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) to take action and submit a response in three days over the matter.
Musharraf flew to Dubai in March for purported medical treatment after the Supreme Court lifted the ban on his foreign trips and it is believed that he may never return to face a slew of several high-profile cases against him.
The Special Court in one of its previous rulings had declared ex-president Musharraf a 'proclaimed offender'.
In March 2014, Musharraf was formally indicted over treason charges for imposing emergency and the Provisional Constitutional Order on November 3, 2007. Musharraf came to power in a bloodless coup in 1999, deposing then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Facing impeachment following elections in 2008, he resigned as president and went into self-imposed exile in Dubai. He returned in 2013 to contest elections but was implicated in several high-profile cases.
He is facing trial in illegal detention of judges in 2007. Musharraf has also been charged in connection with the 2007 assassination of prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
PTI
Accept mistake thats the only way: Prachanda faction to Oli
My party-BJP have different ideologies but common aim of uplifting poor: Nepal ex-PM Prachanda
Nepal's Prachanda files candidature for prime minister
International
oi-IANS
By Ians English
Kathmandu, Aug 2: Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda on Tuesday filed his candidature for the Prime Minister's post as the country is all set to vote for its new premier on Wednesday.
He filed his candidature papers at Parliamentary Secretariat backed by Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum Nepal Chairman Upendra Yadav, a prominent Madhesi leader.
Maoist chief Prachanda set to become Nepal PM again
However, Prachanda is the sole candidate for the post.
Earlier, the second largest party in parliament, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) had decided to field a candidate but later the party decided not to.
Likewise, the agitating Sanghiya Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha has also supported Prachanda's candidature. Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party leader Sarbendra Nath Sukla and Sadbhawana Party leader Laxman Lal Karna have supported Prachanda's bid for the Prime Minister's post.
This will be his second come-back as Prime Minister. Earlier, Prachanda became the premier in 2008 and resigned after he failed in his attempt to sack the then Chief of the Army Staff Rukmangud Kutwal.
In the 595-member parliament, Prachanda will require 298 votes to win the election. The Maoist Centre, the third largest party with 82 seats in parliament, has the backing of the Nepali Congress, the largest party with 207 seats.
As per the time table for the election of the new premier set by the Parliament Secretariat, nominations should be filed between 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the final list to be published at 4.30 p.m. on Tuesday.
The final election, if any, will begin at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
IANS
Pak committing atrocities against people in PoK, will have to bear consequences: Rajnath Singh
Why is 'Mr. Bean controversy trending on Twitter after Zimbabwe beat Pakistan?
Pakistan police stops JuD caravan for Kashmir
International
oi-IANS
By Ians English
Lahore, Aug 2: A caravan of relief material mobilized by the JuD in Pakistan for distribution in the Kashmir Valley was halted on Tuesday (Aug 2) near the Line of Control (LoC), triggering protests, officials said.
The caravan of dozens of trucks and ambulances left Muzzafarabad in Pakistani Kashmir early on Tuesday for Srinagar and was stopped by police in Chakothi village near the LoC. [Hafiz Saeed warns of countrywide protest if Rajnath Singh visits Pak]
The vehicles are loaded with essential supplies like rice, oil, fresh and dry vegetables, clarified butter, baby food and medicines. There were also ambulances with doctors and para-medics.
The relief materials and ambulances were put together by Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF), charity wing of the proscribed Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) Islamist group.
The group is headed by Hafeez Saeed, the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack for whose capture the US has announced a bounty of $10 million.
Although the JuD is outlawed in Pakistan, it is known to operate more or less freely through its various fronts. Sayeed frequently addressed public rallies.
People in the caravan staged a noisy demonstration in Chakothi, insisting that they be allowed to proceed to the Kashmir Valley in India, the FIF said.
"The caravan will not leave this place till the material is sent to the Kashmiri people who are suffering from over three weeks due to the Indian atrocities," it said.
Hafiz Abdul Rouf of FIF said markets in the Kashmir Valley were shut due to curfew and restrictions and that Kashmiris were suffering badly.
"If the two countries can use this route for trade, why can't it be used for humanitarian relief?" he asked.
The widespread protests in the Kashmir Valley following the killing of militant Burhan Wani has claimed over 50 lives and injured more than 3,000 people.
IANS
What does the US actually want in Syria?
Syria: Rebels launch attack to break govt seige in Aleppo; 30 civilians killed in shelling
International
oi-IANS
By Ians English
Damascus, Aug 2: At least 30 civilians were killed and 210 others were wounded in rebel shelling on government-controlled areas in Syria's Aleppo city, the local media said on Monday (Aug 1).
The rebels have been conducting an intensified shelling by rockets and mortar shells against government-held areas in the western part of Aleppo since Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.
The shelling came in tandem with a wide-scale offensive by the rebels -- mainly the Jaish al-Fateh and the Jabhet Fateh al-Sham, previously known as the Nusra Front -- to break a government-imposed siege in the eastern part of Aleppo city.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor group said the Syrian Army on Monday recaptured several points the rebels had taken during their offensive on Sunday in Aleppo.
On Sunday (July 31), the al-Fateh Army announced in a video message the beginning of a big offensive to break the Syrian army's recent advance in Aleppo.
Late last week, the Syrian Army stormed the Bani Zaid area, a main rebel stronghold in eastern Aleppo.
The progress came a week after the army severed the last rebel-supply route connecting rebel-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo with rebel-controlled parts in the eastern part of the city.
Army asks rebels to surrender
With the progress made, the Syrian Army has fully besieged eastern Aleppo, urging the rebels to surrender themselves and the civilians to cooperate.
President Assad announces amnesty for rebels
Moreover, Syria President Bashar al-Assad announced an amnesty for the rebels who surrender with their weapons to the authorities.
The Syrian authorities in cooperation with the Russians also opened three safe passages for civilians to leave eastern Aleppo. They also opened a fourth one for the rebels who would want to surrender.
On Saturday (July 30), the local media said dozens of families evacuated eastern districts in Aleppo, amid reports that the rebels prevented many civilians from leaving.
IANS
Turkey backs Pak's stance of sending an OIC team to Kashmir
International
oi-PTI
Islamabad, Aug 2: Turkey, a close ally of Pakistan, on Tuesday (Aug 2) hoped that the Kashmir issue would be resolved through dialogue while backing Islamabad's stance to send an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) team to the Valley to probe the alleged human rights violations.
"Turkey fully supports Pakistan's position on Jammu and Kashmir," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a joint press conference here with Pakistan Prime Minister's advisor on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz.
Cavusoglu said Turkey is an active member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group of Kashmir and attends its meeting. Hopefully its next meeting would be held in September, he said.
"I would like to ask the Secretary General of the OIC to mobilise the Contact Group and send an observer mission. We believe this issue (Kashmir) can be solved through dialogue," he said.
Pakistan has raised the Kashmir issue at the UN and demanded sending a fact finding team to the Valley to probe the alleged human rights violations there. Forty-nine people have been killed in Kashmir in clashes since security forces killed Hizbul commander Burhan Wani on July 8.
Cavusoglu, who is in Pakistan on an important visit after a failed military coup, thanked Islamabad for being the first country to denounce the coup attempt. He said Turkey was taking steps against those involved in the coup staged by supporters of US-based influential Turkish cleric Fetullah Gulen. He said Gulen's organisations pose a risk or threat to the security and stability of every country.
"This terrorist organisation has a global network of schools, business associations and cultural organisations. In the past, we supported them but we didn't know they had a hidden agenda, that they were trying to take over power in Turkey through such attempts," he said.
He said that Pakistan and Turkey supported each other against terrorism. On his part, Aziz pledged Pakistan's unequivocal support for a democratic, peaceful and stable Turkey under the dynamic leadership of President Tayyip Erdogan.
He noted with satisfaction that both sides have agreed to continue to tackle the menace of terrorism and defeat the scourge. The two sides also exchanged views on situation in Afghanistan and the need for a lasting political solution.
Aziz said the two countries share similar views on migration crisis and the plight of Syrian refugees. He said Pakistan and Turkey host the largest refugee population in the world.
PTI
International news brief: Series of earthquakes rattle Hawaii and more
Turkey issues arrest warrants for 100 staff members at Ankara hospital
International
oi-PTI
Istanbul, Aug 2: Turkey today issued arrest warrants for 100 staff members, including doctors, at the main military hospital in Ankara as part of an investigation into last month's failed coup, a Turkish official and reports said.
Police were searching the Gulhane Military Medical Academy (GATA) hospital in the capital, the private NTV television reported. It was not immediately clear if any suspects had been detained.
The Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that detention warrants had been issued without giving any number.
Turkey blames the coup attempt on the organisation of US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara accuses of running a group called Fethullah Terror Organisation (FETO), charges he denied.
The official said that staff at the hospital were suspected of helping fast-track Gulen supporters into the military by giving them favourable medical reports.
"GATA is crucial because this is where fitness and health reports are issued," the official said.
"There is strong evidence suggesting FETO members infiltrated this institution to slow down the career progress of their rivals within the military and fast-track their supporters."
Similar claims have also been made about military schools where officials have said exams were rigged. Almost half of Turkey's generals were fired in the wake of the coup.
Turkey has declared a state of emergency in the wake of the July 15 power grab attempt and launched a crackdown that has seen some 18,000 people detained.
This is believed to be the first time a medical establishment has been targeted in the clampdown, which has also hit journalists and academics. Under a previous decree, GATA and other military hospitals have been transferred to the control of the health ministry.
AFP
Warren Buffet tears into Trump, asks: "Have you no sense of decency?"
International
oi-Oneindia
By Oneindia Staff Writer
Omaha, Aug 2: Billionaire investor Warren Buffet on Monday (Aug 1) launched a scathing attack on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally for the latter's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton here in Nebraska. [CNN is Clinton News Network, says Trump]
US presidential election 2016 primary results
Buffet, 85, tore into Trump over the latter's recent remarks against the parents of a fallen American-Muslim soldier and asked how he could say about sacrificing to them just because he built some buildings [see video below]. Buffet said though Trump told the slain soldier's parents that he sacrificed a lot, actually he and his family have sacrificed nothing. [Khizr Khan talks peace; Obama, McCain join chorus against Trump]
"Building buildings is not sacrifice," said the billionaire investor. He asked Trump: "Have you no sense of decency, sir?", comparing the latest incident with the malicious anti-communist McCarthy hearings during the Cold War period of the 1950s. [Hillary regains lead over Trump in post-convention poll]
Buffet's I-T googly at Trump
Buffet, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, also used the occasion to ask Trump, also a super-rich real-estate businessman, to release his tax returns like all major presidential candidates in the US have done since 1980. Trump has refused to do it saying he is being audited by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). [Trump's "excesses" make one "want to retch", says French President Hollande]
To this, Buffet said he is also under the IRS's audit and proposed a meeting with Trump at any time and place to go together over each other's tax returns.
Buffet also added that Trump is not afraid because of the IRS but the people.
Oneindia News
Aircel-Maxis: Maran's likely to tamper evidence, says ED
New Delhi
oi-Vicky
New Delhi, Aug 2: The hampering and tampering of evidence in the Aircel-Maxis case by the Maran brothers cannot be ruled out. This was one of the many submissions made by the Enforcement Directorate which is opposing the bail pleas of former Union Minister, Dayanidhi Maran and his brother Kalanidhi Maran.
The matter will now come up for hearing on August 27. The case on hand pertains to a complaint lodged by the CBI.
It is alleged that Rs. 742.85 crore was paid to Dayanidhi Maran by two Mauritius-based companies through Sun Direct TV Pvt. Ltd (SDTPL) and South Asia FM Ltd (SAFL). It was also alleged that the two companies are owned by Kalanidhi Maran and the money was used for their businesses.
Can't rule out tampering with evidence
The Maran brothers had moved the court seeking bail in this case. The ED however, opposed the same saying that the chance of them hampering the probe or tampering with the evidence cannot be ruled out.
The grounds cited by them have no relevance and hence the bail needs to be rejected the ED also contended.
Meanwhile, the CBI moved the special court seeking to issue arrest warrants against Ananda Krishnan, owner of Axis a Malaysian company and Augustus Ralph Marshall, a senior executive in the company. The warrants were sought after the CBI stated that the summons on the two could not be served.
OneIndia News
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Story first published: Tuesday, August 2, 2016, 10:43 [IST]
Rajnath Singh will raise cross border terror at SAARC meet
New Delhi
oi-Vicky
New Delhi, Aug 2: The visit by Home Minister Rajnath Singh to Islamabad to attend the SAARC ministerial conference is on track. At the meet there would be no bi-lateral with Pakistan, but Singh would raise issues such as cross border terrorism and the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir being caused by Islamabad.
In the backdrop of Singh's visit, the Hizbul Mujahideen chief had threatened violence. The chief of the Lashkar-e-Taiba too had said that there would be nation wide protests against Singh's visit.
Home Ministry officials however, pointed out that the visit is on track and a host of issues would be raised during the meet.
On the security aspect, the minister of state for Home, Kiren Rijiju had said that it is for Pakistan to deal with the security issue is anything arises. He also said that the meeting would be multilateral and not bilateral.
On the agenda
Although there would be no bilateral with Pakistan, the Home Ministry has worked out on an agenda paper. At the meet India would emphasise on the need for Pakistan to clean up their act in order to have a stable region. Issues such as cross border terror and infiltrations will be raised by Singh in a bid to convey a direct message to Pakistan.
On the sidelines of the meet, Singh would raise with Pakistan the Pathankot probe. He would also raise the issue pertaining to the NIA's visit to that country. The NIA was supposed to visit Pakistan in connection with the probe, but no date has been fixed as yet.
OneIndia News
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Story first published: Tuesday, August 2, 2016, 11:33 [IST]
A couple has alleged that their two daughters are held captive by Coimbatore-based Isha Yoga centre and had been made sanyasins. He has now sought the help of the District Collector to set them free. A retired professor has filed a petition to the collector alleging his two daughters, aged 33 and 31, who had gone to the centre to learn yoga some time ago, were "brain washed" and forced to stay there.
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Kasek Galgal, a Physics tutor at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) and band member of music group, Barefoot, departed Port Moresby on July 30 to represent Papua New Guinea at the Youth Excellence on Stage Academy ASEAN in Jakarta, Indonesia.He will participate in a two-week program alongside participants from the ten associations of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Hip Hop Lyricism, Performance and Music Production camp, as an observer nation representative.This program, supported by U.S. Embassy Port Moresby, is co-hosted by U.S. Embassy Jakarta, American Voices, and the Jakarta Institute of the Arts.Mr. Galgal, who was selected from a pool of strong applicants from Papua New Guinea, will be mentored by world-renowned artist and activist Fabian Farbeon Saucedo.Farbeon brings a community-based approach to the creative process that has inspired the young and old globally. His performance range includes the use of loop stations, effects pedals and live computer production.Farbeon also mentored Allan Aufamau, famously known as Sprigga Mek in Papua New Guinea. Allan was last years participant at the camp hosted in Bangkok, Thailand.The Youth Excellence on Stage (YES) Academy program serves as American Voices flagship cultural engagement program. The program was launched in 2007 to connect and inspire youth in areas of the world that lack opportunities for cultural exchange and dialogue with the United States.The YES Academy program provides high-quality professional training and performances in some of Americas great cultural genres, including Broadway, Jazz, Hip-Hop & Breakdance and Classical Orchestra to work to inspire and motivate youth artistically, and train future teachers and leaders.Read more on >> PNG Education News Online
Casexe Unveiled as Bronze Sponsor of CEEGC 2016
Published August 2, 2016 by Florin P
Casexe sponsors the first edition of the Central and Eastern European Gaming Conference.
The first edition of the Central and Eastern European Gaming Conference is scheduled for September 20, 2016. The event is expected to bring together industry leaders and provide participants with excellent networking opportunities. This conference is intended to encourage dialogue across Europe and bring the brightest minds together for the greater good. Major players in this line of work have announced their intention to support the event and Casexe was recently unveiled as the first bronze sponsor.
A European Hotspot for the Gambling Market
CEEGC 2016 will take place in Budapest, but will be attended by influential industry representatives from all over Europe. Central, Eastern and Northern European markets will enjoy special coverage. The emphasis is also on shedding more light on the Balkans gambling market and the legislative hurdles.
Casexe was among the first to offer financial support to the Central and Eastern European Gaming Conference 2016. Its CEO, Ivan Kondilenko confirmed the importance that the company he represents plays to the upcoming CEEGC 2016. They regard the convention as one of the most important gambling industry events in Europe in the second half of 2016.
A Promising Start for the CEEGC
An impressive lineup of speakers was announced for the first edition of the Central and Eastern European Gaming Conference. Zoltan Tundik, the head of business of the organizers of the event diligently worked towards making the confession a must-attend. In addition to bringing together specialists and expert speakers, they also tried to broaden the spectrum of sponsors.
By having Casexe as of the first bronze sponsors of the CEEGC 2016 they hit two birds with one stone. On one hand, they have a reliable partner to support the event, on the other, participants will get the chance to hear Mr. Ivan Kodilenko speak. The Casexe CEO is expected to shed some light on the importance of Bitcoin in the online gambling industry and the future of the crypto currency in general.
Reprinted from Paul Craig Roberts Website
Torture - America's Shame
(Image by mariopiperni) Details DMCA
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has just released its report, "Extreme Measures: Abused Children Detained As National Security Threats."
From my reading of the report, Israel and the US are the two worst abusers. Boko Haram is a distant third.
Which country is the worst abuser, Israel or the US? Taking into account that the US is responsible for the violence in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria that has resulted in torture and detention, if we include these victims in the American total, then the US is the Number One torturer of children. As it is unlikely that Israel could get away with abuse of Palestinian children without Washington's support, we can add Israel's abuses to Washington's total.
Guantanamo Bay is a great distance away from Washington's wars against Muslims in Afghanistan, North Africa and the Middle East. Yet even at Guantanamo, where the only violence is the violence that the US military inflicts on detainees, the US government tortured children, according to the Human Rights Watch report.
What kind of military tortures children? The only answer that I can come up with is a military that has no self-respect.
What kind of US government would pay two US psychologists $81 million to help the CIA devise torture techniques? Only a lawless government with no respect for US law and international law.
Think back to the torture memos written by US Department of Justice (sic) officials John C. Yoo and Jay S. Bybee. These memos justifying the US government's torture of detainees despite the prohibition of torture by both US statutory law and international law to which the US is a signatory have been denounced by civil libertarians as the work of legal incompetents or criminals or both. Yet, John Yoo is a professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley, and for his service to the White House torturers Jay Bybee was appointed a US federal judge to the second highest court. If Hitlery becomes president, Bybee and Yoo could end up on the Supreme Court.
The positions held by Yoo and Bybee tell the world all that is needed to know that the United States is a lawless entity and that this lawlessness is accepted by America's legal, political, and educational institutions and by the American people.
What self-respecting parent would send a son or daughter to study law at a university that hosts a "legal scholar" who discounts law in behalf of torture?
If you were a judge on the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals and a torturer was appointed to the court, would you welcome the criminal or resign in protest against a government that has no respect for its own laws?
How many NSA officials have resigned over illegal spying on the American people?
How many FBI officials have resigned over false flag frame-ups of "terrorists?"
When the Democratic National Committee can hire Americans for $50 per night to fill up the empty seats at the Democratic convention, what does that tell you about the price of American integrity?
Do you remember the 775 Guantanamo detainees described by the US Secretary of Defense and the Vice President of the US as the most dangerous, most violent men on earth? We will never know how many of these detainees were tortured in an effort to elicit a confession in support of the government's unfounded claims, but nine of them died in custody. We do know that despite torture and the assurances from the highest officials that the detainees were dangerous and violent, as of July 12, 2016, 90 percent of the detainees have been released without charges. Only 76 remain, and apparently there is no evidence that can be used to charge them. Apparently, they are being held only in order to save the US government from being 100 percent wrong. Being 90 percent wrong is close enough for government work. See: here and here.
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Reprinted from The National
Was it meant as an epic parody or an insult to his audience's intelligence? It was hard to tell.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to social media to apologize for last year's notorious election-day comment, when he warned that "the Arabs are coming out to vote in droves" -- a reference to the fifth of Israel's population who are Palestinian.
In videos released last week in English and Hebrew, Mr Netanyahu urged Palestinian citizens to become more active in public life. They needed to "work in droves, study in droves, thrive in droves," he said. "I am proud of the role Arabs play in Israel's success."
Pointedly, Ayman Odeh, head of the Palestinian-dominated Joint List party, noted that 100,000 Bedouin citizens could not watch the video because Israel denies their communities electricity, internet connections and all other services.
Swiftly and predictably, the reality of life for Israel's 1.7 million Palestinians upstaged Mr Netanyahu's fine words. In a radio interview, Moti Dotan, the head of the Lower Galilee regional council, sent a message to his Palestinian neighbors: "I don't want them at my [swimming] pools." Sounding like a mayor in the southern United States during the Jim Crow-era, he added: "Their culture of cleanliness isn't the same as ours. Why is that racist?"
Dotan was no extremist, observed the liberal newspaper Haaretz. He represents the Israeli mainstream. Notably, Mr Netanyahu did not distance himself from Mr Dotan's remarks. At the same time, Samar Qupty, star of a new film on Palestinians in Israel called Junction 48, was questioned for two hours and then strip searched at Ben Gurion airport and denied her hand luggage before being allowed to fly to an international film festival.
Stories of state-sponsored humiliation at the airport are routine for Israel's Palestinian academics, journalists, actors and community leaders -- in fact, for any Palestinian active in the public sphere.
The list of restrictions on Palestinian citizens is long and growing. A database by the legal group Adalah shows that some 60 Israeli laws explicitly discriminate against non-Jews, with another 18 in the pipeline.
Two laws passed last month intensify the repression of dissent. An Expulsion Law is designed to empower Israeli MPs to oust Palestinian lawmakers whose views offend them, while a Transparency Law stigmatises human rights groups working to protect Palestinian rights.
Recently leaked protocols reveal that the police have secretly awarded themselves powers to use live fire against Palestinian protesters in Israel, even if they pose no danger. Yet another law threatens jail for any Palestinian citizen who tries to dissuade another from volunteering in the Israeli army.
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Asian Icons of Real Estate felicitated by BERG Singapore
Icons of Real Estate Industry from Asia
Singapore-based Business Excellence & Research Group (BERG), hosted its signature award - Icons of Spaces the 3rd BERG Real Estate Awards on July 22, 2016 at the Raffles Town Club in Singapore. The Awards, in its third year, reached out to professionals in the real estate & construction sector across South Asia, South East Asia & Middle East.The Gala Awards Nite provided an ideal platform for developers, architects, interior designers to come together and offer critical insights from a different perspective.In his welcome address, Mr. Prashant Sutaria, a leading Architect and Founder of the Centre of Living and Planning for Tomorrow (CLPT) highlighted the importance of integrating design aspects at the project level itself and not as an after-thought. He stated that world is moving towards newer design concepts that factor in sustainability, safety and security at all levels. Mr. Prashant is also part of the Expert Group at Icons of Spaces and has supported the initiative since its inception.The Gala Awards Night also featured a power-packed panel discussion around Urbanisation & Sustainability in Construction and the keynote speech from the nodal building and construction players in Singapore. Some well known industry stalwarts from Singapore and other countries shared their views. Eminent panellists - Ms. Hemanti Sutaria Architect Mumbai, Ms. Uma Srinivasan Vice President, SNN Builders, Bangalore, Mr. Gordon Falconer, Director - Smart City Solutions, Schneider Electric and Mr. Bibhor Srivastava Publisher, ITP Publishing, India dwelt on the challenges around Urbanisation and Sustainability in the construction industry.While announcing the theme for the third edition of the premier event, Managing Partner of BERG, Mr Vishwesh Iyer said that this year the focus was on the booming international real estate sector. This time, the nomination process attracted a lot of interest from India and other countries in Asia as well, he stated.Icons of Spaces provided a unique platform for not just recognising the great work, but also knowledge sharing and business networking opportunities. Based on a selection process that encompasses integrity, transparency, consistency and fairness, the aim is to provide global benchmark and recognition, Mr. Iyer added.The BERG Real Estate Awards were introduced by Singapore-based organisation Business Excellence & Research Group Pte Ltd in 2014. The Awards, now called the ICONS OF SPACES, trans the spotlight on the high calibre work within the real estate industry, encompassing construction, architecture and interior design. With a professionally run evaluation system, they also bring the real estate industry of the participating countries to the world stage.Methods (India) was the Platinum Sponsor, while Construction Week, BrokersADDA, Architect & Interiors India, AsiaBizToday were among the other supporting partners to the awards.Business Excellence & Research Group Pte Ltd (BERG), is a Singapore-based entity committed to nurturing and promoting business excellence across diverse sectors. In this quest, BERG has gone on to establish thought leadership platforms in a host of domains since its inception in 2013. BERGs Advisory Board and Executive Team brings together people with diverse international experience. BERG has a presence across key emerging markets of Singapore, Malaysia, India, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and Middle East.For further details write to contact@bizexcellence.com.sgBusiness Excellence & Research Group Pte Ltd (BERG), is a Singapore-based entity committed to nurturing and promoting business excellence across diverse sectors. In this quest, BERG has gone on to establish thought leadership platforms in a host of domains since its inception in 2013. BERGs Advisory Board and Executive Team brings together people with diverse international experience. BERG has a presence across key emerging markets of Singapore, Malaysia, India, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and Middle East.Business Excellence & Research Group756 Upper Serangoon Road, Upp Serangoon Shopping Centre, Singapore 534626+6591018587contact@bizexcellence.com.sg
Freight Trucking Market - Global Industry Analysis, Growth, Trends, Forecast 2024
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Freight Trucking Market: OverviewFreight trucking is an extremely important activity in the supply chain market and transportation business. Effective working of freight trucks ensures proper communication between different business processes and brings them together. Freight trucks forms the nerve center of any manufacturing or industrial activities as freight trucks carries raw materials required for business from one place to another. Moreover, freight trucks also help in transportation of finished goods to the respective markets. The efficient movement of freight is acting as a driving factor in the growth of Freight Trucking Market. Freight trucking service is providing more advanced freight solution for the industry due to increased use of modern technology and effective communication.Get Free Sample Report Copy :Quality of service, reliability and timely delivery of goods along with proper freight management and logistics handling are the key factors on which the service of the freight trucks depends. There is a substantial growth in demand for heavy vehicles including trucks and trailers which acts as a driver for the freight trucking market. Moreover, adoption of latest technology in trucks such as use of hydraulics lifters and GPS navigation systems also drives the market for freight trucking. Moreover, safety in freight operations, reduction in cost and operational efficiency also increase the demand for freight trucks and thus drive the market.Freight Trucking Market: Region-wise InsightAsia-Pacific is the most attractive region for freight trucking market. Increase in infrastructural activities in the Asia-pacific region is mainly driving the freight trucking market as infrastructural development and construction activities requires transportation of equipments and goods from one place to another. In addition, the adoption of latest technology i.e. hydraulics lifters and automated doors used in freight trucks further also drives the freight trucking market in this region. Hydraulics lifters facilitate easy loading of goods in the freight trucks with less human effort. Automated doors act as a vacuum lock ensuring safety of goods and prevent unauthorized access to the valuable items in the trucks.Thus, increase in productivity and less time consumption without compromising on cost drives the market. Escalating demand of HCV (heavy commercial vehicle) in the emerging countries like India and China is also driving the freight trucking market. The North America and Europe market for freight trucking is expected to grow at a steady pace over the forecast period. Steady recovery from the recent economic meltdown is responsible for the growth of business activities and manufacturing operations in North America which is driving the market for freight trucking in the region.Presence of premium truck manufacturers such as Mercedes Benz, DAF, Volvo and Renault is driving the freight trucking market in Europe. The freight trucking market in Europe is mainly driven by quality of service and timely delivery. Thus the market is expected to continue its growth at a steady pace over the forecast period. Europe market faced steep challenge in the recent economic meltdown and is recovering at a steady pace which also in turn increased the demand for freight trucking market due to increase in industrial activities.Freight Trucking Market: Key PlayersGlobal key participants in the industry include UPS, Descartes System Group, DSV, DHL, CEVA Logistics, JDA Software, SNCF Geodis, Manhattan Associates, Kuehne+Nagel Inc, and DB Schenkerand.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth insights, understanding market evolution by tracking historical developments, and analyzing the present scenario and future projections based on optimistic and likely scenarios. Each research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology developments, types, applications, and the competitive landscapeAbout 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.Contact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email:sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Wafer Level Package Dielectrics Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024
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Wafer Level Package (WLP) is a type of packaging used in the semiconductor industry for the packaging of Integrated Circuits (ICs) as it is very fragile in nature and highly susceptible to contamination, which can lead to improper working of the IC. WLP finds application in the ICs used in portable consumer electronic devices; for instance, smart phones. Increasing consumer demand for technologically advanced mobile devices that are capable of performing an array of functions in a single small-end product is a major factor propelling demand for wafer level packaging technology as compared to the conventional mode of packaging in case of semiconductors, thus boosting growth of the market for wafer level package dielectrics further. Comparatively, the low cost associated with the wafer level packaging as compared to the conventional packaging technology used in case of semiconductor packaging is also a major factor expected to boost growth of the market for wafer level package dielectrics over the forecast period.The wafer level package dielectrics market is expected to expand at a healthy CAGR over the forecast period, and the major driving factor responsible for growth of the wafer level package dielectrics market is the rising demand for compact electronic devices with high performance and cost effective packaging in the semiconductor packaging industry. In case of conventional packaging, such as die level packaging, with the variation in size of the ICs, the cost of packaging becomes more as compared to the production cost of the ICs. On the contrary, wafer level packaging is much more cost-efficient as compared to the conventional packaging or the production cost of the ICs. The technological advancements in IC design & production are also, to an extent, propelling growth of the wafer level package dielectrics market currently. The wafer level packaging technology has certain perks over the traditional packaging technology, such as minimized electricity consumption and long battery life in case of mobile phones, and its compactness helps manufacturers design and develop ultra-thin mobile phones. However, fluctuations in some of the physical properties of the technology, such as the coefficient of thermal expansion of the materials of wafer with respect to the material of ICs, are considered as a drawback of the wafer packaging technology, which in turn might restraint growth of the market for wafer level package dielectrics.Get Free Sample Report Copy :The global wafer level package dielectrics market is segmented on the basis of type of wafer level packaging, application, and region. On the basis of type, the global market for wafer level package dielectrics is segmented into FOWLP (Fan-Out Wafer Level Package), FIWLP (Fan-in Wafer Level Package), FIWLCSP (Fan-in Wafer Level Chip Scale Package), flip chip, and 3DFOWLP. On the basis of applications, the global market for wafer level package is segmented into consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace, defense, and healthcare.On the basis of geography, the global rigid plastic packaging market is segmented into seven key regions, namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and the Middle East & Africa. Among the aforementioned regions, the Asia-Pacific market is projected to grow at a promising CAGR, which is attributed to the increase in demand for smart phones globally. For instance, recently, India become the second largest user of smart phones globally, beating the U.S. This is turn is expected to drive growth of the wafer level package dielectrics market in the country. Moreover, the presence of leading semiconductor manufacturers, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, among others, is expected to have a positive effect on growth of the wafer level package dielectrics market in APEJ over the forecast period.Some of the major players identified in the global wafer level package dielectrics market include ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES INC., STATS ChipPAC Ltd., IQE PLC, Amkor Technology Inc., TriQuint Semiconductor Inc., Deca Technologies, KLA-Tencor Corporation, Siliconware Precision Industries Co. Ltd., China Wafer Level CSP Co. Ltd., and Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology Co. Ltd.About TMRTMR 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.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Whitening Ingredients Market - Global Industry Analysis, Growth, Trends, Forecast 2023
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Most personal care products with skin whitening ingredients available in the market for unalterable skin lightening are formulated with synthetic ingredients. The global Whitening Ingredients Market is primarily driven by increasing expectations to possess a lightened, blemish free and radiant skin tone. Moreover, consumers in the Western countries are aware of the effectiveness of ingredients formulated in personal care products; hence, products with added features are expected to boost growth of the market. Consumers are now more health and environment conscious, and products with all-natural ingredients are supposed to be more effective; hence, more growth is expected from natural specialty ingredients. In addition, innovations in formulating products with different types of plant extracts with added features are expected to drive the market growth. Furthermore, robust growth of retail products is anticipated to drive future market potential. The growth of plant extracts and developing opportunities in the West are projected to drive the market. Additionally, the quest to improve efficiency through research and development is expected to continue to meet the consumers need.Get Free Sample Report Copy :Healthy skin radiance and glow can be maintained by choosing herbal, plant extracts and various other natural ingredients. In developed markets such as Western Europe and North America, consumers prefer premium products, and this preference drives the growth of the natural whitening ingredients market. Furthermore, Consumers' higher earning potential helps to provide additional revenue for expenses on premium products such as face cream and face masks among others. Phenolic-based ingredients are expected to hold major market share as a result of increasing and stable demand from the Asia-Pacific region. Moreover, phenolic compounds are the ingredients predominantly used in skin whitening personal care products as they are cheaper in cost and are easily absorbed into the skin. Non-phenolic compounds used in personal care products are arbutin, kojic acid, vitamin E, vitamin C, and niacinamide.Global whitening ingredients market is segmented into chemistry type, end-product type and geography. Different types of ingredients are used in formulating personal care products, and each ingredient is functionally unique in action. The ingredients are majorly applied target skin whitening, skin lightening, and improved skin radiance Whitening ingredients are used in personal care products such as creams, lotions, gels, serums, face masks, bathing bar soaps, and bathing liquids. On the basis of end product type, the whitening ingredients market is bifurcated into skin whitening, teeth whitening among others.Asia Pacific is the largest market for whitening ingredients and products, followed by Europe and North America. China is expected to experience highest growth rate in the coming years. Rising disposable income of middle class people and increasing consumer awareness towards ingredients in developing countries such as India, China is boosting the demand of personal care products with whitening ingredients market worldwide. Moreover growing inspiration to charming and look young among aging population of western countries is keeping the growth rate steady in North American and Europe market. Huge demand from regional markets such as India, China, the Middle East and Brazil are expected to drive the total demand for whitening ingredients over the forecast period. Huge investments towards research, innovation and technology have resulted in development of many new whitening ingredient based personnel care product in recent years.Some of the Key Players operating in the whitening ingredients market are Beiersdorf AG (Germany), E. T. Browne Drug Company, Inc. (U.S.), Dabur India Limited (India), Company Limited (Japan), Clarins SA (France), CavinKare Pvt. Ltd. (India), Elder Health Care Ltd. (India), Jolen, Inc. (U.S.), Hindustan Unilever Ltd (India), Emami Limited (India), Kao Corporation (Japan), Shiseido Kanebo Cosmetics, Inc. (Japan), and the Procter & Gamble Company (U.S.) among others.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.Contact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email:sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Veterinary Examination Tables Market - Global Industry Analysis, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2023
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Veterinary care or animal care has experienced increased demand in the past few years. Animal health, especially farm animals has gained key focus after human invasion of animal viruses. Increased food safety and related government policies have fueled veterinary healthcare market globally. In addition, there is also a surge in regular check up of pets in the developed countries. According to American Veterinary Medical Association, in 2012, over 36% households owned dogs while 30% owned cats in the U.S. To meet these demands, it is expected that there would be an increase in veterinary practitioners.Get Free Sample Report Copy :Global Veterinary Examination Tables Market is anticipated to grow at a faster rate owing to worldwide increasing number of veterinary clinics. Various types of veterinary examination tables are available in the market which includes wall-mount, pedestal base exam table, fold-up exam table, hydraulic lift table and electric lift table. Wall-mount and fold-up examination tables are beneficial to manage clinic space. They provide flexibility and also avoid any accidents caused by animals. The market for veterinary examination tables has a wide product portfolio, thus providing most suitable options to veterinary doctors. Fragmented market with low product differentiation and easy availability of raw materials has reduced the barriers to entry. Currently the market is dominated by large number of local layers. In spite of such lucrative opportunities in the future, the market would suffer from low profit margins due to constant increasing competition. Low volume sales and numerous options to choose from, makes the market even competitive.North America leads the veterinary examination tables market. According to statistics published by American Pet Products Association (APPA), total United States pet industry expenditure increased from USD 32 billion in 2003 to over USD 55 billion in 2013. Of the total expenditure in 2013, approximately USD 27 billion was spent on supplies, OTC medicines and vet care. Another contributing factor is regular annual check-ups due to increasing awareness about animal diseases and their threat to human health. International Federation for Animal Health Europe published data suggesting that Europes animal health industry in 2012 was over 3% of the European human pharmaceutical industry. The data also mentions that in the EU there are more than 200 million pets of which 66 million are cats while 60 million are dogs. Thus a huge market opportunity exists for veterinary examination tables in these regions. Asia Pacific is expected to witness faster growth rate owing to changing life style and growing per capita income. Rising disposable income and increasing fear of acquiring animal diseases has also added to the market surge. A survey conducted in 2012, by the Pet Food Institute of Japan, reveals that over 25% of domestic households have a pet cat or dog. Various publications suggest that the pet industry in Japan is on the rise and has created lucrative opportunities for global veterinary medical care providers. Being the second largest healthcare market globally, Japan has been on the main focus for veterinary care market.Some of the Key Players in the global veterinary examination table market include Paragon Medical Supply, Inc., DRE Medical, Inc., VSSI, Inc., Olympic Veterinary, Midmark Corp., Alvo Medical, Shor-Line, Technik Technology, McDonald Veterinary Equipment and Diagnostic Imaging Systems.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.Contact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email:sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Ebola and Marburg Infections Market: Factsheet for Health Professional Ebola and Marburg Infections Market: Overview
Ebola and Marburg infection is a type of hemorrhagic fever that affects multiple organs of the body and leads to severe illness. These two viruses are native to Africa where intermittent outbreaks of these infections have occurred for decades. Ebola and Marburg viruses live in animal hosts and humans get affected when they come in contact with that infected animal. After this initial transmission the viruses can spread from person to person through contact with contaminated needles and body fluids.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), Marburg and Ebola viruses are the two members of Filoviridae family (filovirus). Though caused by different viruses, the two diseases are clinically similar. Both diseases are rare and have the capacity to cause dramatic outbreaks with high fatality rates. The early sign and symptoms of these infections include fever, joint and muscle aches, severe headache, chills, weakness and sore throat. While in severe conditions major symptoms observed are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chest pain and cough, stomach pain and excessive bleeding from the mouth, nose, ears, rectum and eye. The transmission of these viruses from animals was observed due to exposure of humans to infected animals body fluids. Transmission can happen through blood i.e. butchering or consuming infected animals can spread the virus while some of the veterinarians and scientists have also acquired this virus while operating any infected animal. Transmission through waste products of infected animals was observed in tourists visiting some African caves and also in mine workers that work underground possibly gets affected with Marburg virus. The high prevalence of Ebola and Marburg infection transmission from human to human was observed mostly in family members and doctors providing assistance especially witnessed in remote parts of Africa.
The diagnosis of Ebola and Marburg infections is complex as the initial symptoms observed in patients are same as for other infections such as typhoid and malaria. In infected individuals high concentration of Ebola and Marburg virus is found in the blood which is analyzed in laboratories by carrying out enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR). There is currently no drug treatment for Ebola and Marburg infections hence the treatment consists of supportive hospital care including fluids, adequate blood pressure maintenance, replacing blood loss and treating any other infections that develop.
Ebola and Marburg Infections Market: Key Growth Enablers
The major drivers of Ebola and Marburg infections are high awareness and initiated government program in Africa, high research and development investments in diagnostic and treatment studies and government and NGOs support for the market players to research effective treatment. The major restraint of this market is, infections are geography specific and are found in North-East Africa and Philippines very rare cases were observed apart from these regions. The regions those are more prone to Ebola and Marburg infections from Africa are Gabon, Congo, South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Angola.
The drugs under pipeline are RC-EBODNA023-00-VP Vaccine + VRC-MARDNA025-00-VP Vaccine (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases), ST-383 (SIGA Technologies Inc), Vaccine for Filovirus (Crucell N.V), Polyvalent DNA Vaccine (Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), MVA-BN-Filoviruses Vaccine (Bavarian Nordic A/S), Monoclonal Antibody to Inhibit Glycoprotein for Marburg Virus Infection, TKM-Ebola (Tekmira Pharmaceuticals) are among others.
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Ebola and Marburg Infections Market: Key Players
Most of the players of this market that are investing currently in R&D to come up with an effective treatment against Ebola and Marburg infections such as SIGA Technologies Inc., Bavarian Nordic A/S, NanoViricides, Inc., AlphaVax, Inc., Crucell N.V., Functional Genetics, Inc., Okairos AG, Immunovaccine, Inc., Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Mapp Biopharmaceutical, Inc.
The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth insights, understanding market evolution by tracking historical developments, and analyzing the present scenario and future projections based on optimistic and likely scenarios. Each research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology developments, types, applications, and the competitive landscape.
Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.
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Dele Alimi heads up new Clarion Events West Africa office in Lagos
Clarion Events is very excited to expand its footprint in West Africa
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Dele Alimi has been appointed Managing Director of the new Clarion Events West Africa office (CEWA) that has opened in Lagos, Nigeria. Until recently Mr Alimi was the Director, Trade Promotion & International Relations, at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Lagos. Clarion Events is a global events and media company, headquartered in the UK.Joining an international brand like Clarion Events presents an opportunity to lead Nigerias foray into excellence in hosting of business events and exhibitions, which will help reposition the Nigerian economy and provide the much needed international investments by organising shows that will expose the deep potential of Africas largest economy says Dele Alimi.He continues: I believe the synergy between Clarions vast international experience and my tremendous knowledge of the Nigerian economy will break new ground and establish the brand as the number one show organiser in Africa.Vast experienceThe new CEWA MD has over two decades cognate professional experience which has seen him holding key positions in various organisations in sectors such as media, finance, marketing communication, manufacturing, trade promotion and the service industry before his present position as MD of Clarion Events West Africa.A journalist, marketer, communicator and administrator by training and vocation, Dele has vast experience in business event organisation, including being the arrow head of the hosting of West Africa largest and best organised trade fair, the annual Lagos International Trade Fair, for the last seven years.Expecting great things from CEWAClarions Group Director for Africa, David Ashdown, says Clarion Events West Africa will focus exclusively on quality trade exhibitions in the local market and region. We are very excited to realise this opportunity in Lagos where the market will rapidly develop in time with the local and regional economic growth. We are thrilled that Dele is joining us as he will be a great asset to the team and the group. We are expecting great things from CEWA.Lisa Hannant, Group Managing Director at Clarion Events agrees: Clarion Events is very excited to expand its footprint in West Africa. I believe our timing is perfect. Nigeria presents huge business potential for any investor and trade exhibitions have an important role to play in providing access to this market and creating networking business opportunities. With so much untapped potential, the Nigerian market is still wide open to investors.Nigerias economy was valued at $510billion in 2014 (The Economist) and is considered the largest economy in Africa. The country has an estimated population of 160million people and a landmass of 910,970km (2014).Upcoming events by Clarion Events West Africa: Multimodal West Africa, January 30 - February 1, 2017 (Landmark Centre, Lagos)- Focused on transport & logistics solutions. Nigeria Manufacturing and Equipment Expo feat. mPAD, March 14-16, 2017 (Landmark Centre, Lagos)- The inaugural Nigeria Manufacturing Expo in March this year welcomed more than 2600 manufacturing experts over three days. Kenya Manufacturing and Equipment Expo feat. mPAD, September 26-28, 2017 (KICC, Nairobi)Clarion Events employs more than 500 people based in ten offices worldwide and specialises in delivering first class marketing, networking, and information solutions in high value sectors, both in mature and emerging geographies.Clarion Events range of exhibitions, conferences, tradeshows, publications and websites enable its clients to target new business, demonstrate their products, build deeper relationships with their clients and identify new opportunities for performance improvement. The group operates in stable, long term vertical industries with significant international growth potential. Some of our most important core markets include energy, defence and security, telecoms, payments, retail, infrastructure, and resources.Senior Communications Manager: Annemarie RoodbolTelephone: +27 21 700 3558Mobile: +27 82 562 7844Email: annemarie.roodbol@spintelligent.comWebsite:Postal address: PO Box 321, Steenberg, 7947, South Africa
Meet current trends with Bell Flavors & Fragrances range of innovative flavours for burger sauces
www.bell-europe.com
Leipzig, August 2016. Theres no end to the current burger hype! Whether classic smoky BBQ burgers, healthier alternatives with avocado and turkey patties or hip veggie burgers the heart of a burger is an exceptional and delicate sauce creation. With its theme A true Burger Lovestory Bell Flavors & Fragrances has created a concept inspired by current market and consumer trends to serve the growing burger market with fresh ideas for aromatic sauces.The market for burgers showed strong growth in the last three years and can be seen as the most popular menu section in restaurants. While the average American consumer eats about 150 burgers per year (which means three burgers per week), the average German consumer eats almost 100 burgers per year. In 57% of the cases the popular fast food item makes its way onto the plates of consumers at least once a week however the offerings should be anything else but boring. Statistically, nine out of ten burgers are made of beef, but the trend towards varieties such as veggie patties, premium Wagyu-Beef or low-fat turkey patties is growing rapidly. This development is perfectly in line with the growing interest in innovative toppings and limited-time-offers.Just like in the Craft-Beer segment, burgers get upgraded by a huge variety of new and exciting taste varieties, fueling up the burger boom even more. Burger customisation with build-your-own varieties is one of the main facets of this hype. Sauces play an important role in this context they can be easily adapted to existing menus and reflect major trends by the use of innovative and creative flavours and ingredients, making the whole burger even more authentic and craveable.A taste for varietyIts important to keep burger offerings current to entice adventurous eaters whether in the restaurant sector or with convenience and frozen products. Bell Flavors & Fragrances is fully prepared for this trend and presents unique and authentically aromatic flavour creations for innovative burger sauces based on mayonnaise or ketchup. As taste takes priority at Bell the portfolio consists of entirely natural flavours and has been developed to define burger sauces with an individual top-note or to simply round off the overall taste impression. Next to an Oriental Baharat sauce with notes of cloves, coriander, garlic and various exotic spices, Bell offers varieties such as its own flavoured Clubhouse sauce with notes of gherkins and aromatic smoke or the legendary Baconnaise an authentic, smoky taste experience that can be claimed as natural flavouring instead of smoke flavouring. Even sweet and savoury enthusiasts will be pleasantly surprised. Bell combines sweet maple sirup with hearty bacon in its Maple Bacon variety and invigorates the market place with creations such as Craft Beer Sauce and Sriracha Sauce both megatrends that shouldnt be missed.About Bell Flavors & Fragrances EMEA:Bell Flavors & Fragrances is a leading supplier of flavours, fragrances, botanical extracts and ingredient specialities to the beverage and food industries, as well as the household care and personal care industries. As a private enter-prise with an effective corporate structure, we are in the position to render excellent service and to supply our extensive product portfolio. Bells affiliated companies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and China give us greater flexibility in the world market place and enable us to bring new trends quickly to customers attention. Our goal is to help our customers to place successful products on the market.Bell Flavors & Fragrances - your competitive advantage!Bell Flavors & FragrancesSchimmelstrasse 104205 LeipzigGermanyPress Contact:Antje WittichTel: +49.341.9451.1057E-mail: a.wittich@bell-europe.comWebsite:
EMI ANALYST Software Adds Tape Wrapped Shields
EMI Analyst
http://www.emisoftware.com/
New analysis models add cable shields wrapped with conductive tape.Sedona, Arizona, USA, July 29, 2016. The latest release of EMI Analyst electromagnetic interference analysis software adds capability to model cable shields wrapped with conductive tape. Shields fabricated with metal foil tape or metalized fabric tape are used extensively in spacecraft and other applications where lightweight cable shielding is critical and must be added after cables are fabricated.The new tape wrapped shield models accommodate metal and fabric tapes, with or without adhesive backing. Adhesives may be conductive or non-conductive. Tape wrapped shields round out shield models for EMI Analyst which already provides braid, solid, and custom transfer impedance models for electrical cable shields.Shields fabricated with conductive tape are commonplace in spacecraft and other critical applications, says Steve Newson, EMC Consultant to EMI Software LLC. Having the ability to model shield transfer impedance of tape shields compliments EMI Analyst capabilities perfectly.EMI Analyst is an electromagnetic interference analysis software suite from EMI Software LLC, Sedona, Arizona. Since 1993 EMI Software has been providing circuit designers, packaging engineers, and EMC professionals with intuitive analysis tools that accurately predict electromagnetic interference.# # #If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Maria Flannigan at +1 (928) 592-5219 or email at mflannigan@emisoftware.com.Visit us at7000 AZ-179Sedona, AZ 86351USA
SAP Business One at Be One Solutions by ProAxia Consultants
SAP Business One has been designed to conform to the small and medium-sized businesses, and the requirements of large companies of the subsidiary, are integrated, and are reasonable business management applications.SAP Business One is designed exclusively to meet the needs of small and midsize businesses and for subsidiaries of large enterprises. SAP Business One is an integrated, affordable business management application.SAP Business One is designed exclusively to meet the needs of small and midsize businesses and for subsidiaries of large enterprises is an integrated, affordable business management application. Its a single system that can automate critical business operations, such as sales, finance, purchasing, inventory, and manufacturing. And it provides accurate, up-to-the-minute views of business data. SAP Business One is easy to buy, quick to install, and easy to use.With over 20,000 client implementations SAP Business One is the leading SME global business management system and the optimum solution for subsidiaries of large enterprises using mySAP. With significant built-in content and process based functions customers in over 40 countries are benefiting from a fully automated and integrated solution which delivers a real time unified view of their business.proaxia consulting provides open platform consulting services including development service on cutting edge technology and environment, and system design and development using .NET, JAVA, and other languages. Working with our SAP consultants, we also approach systems that have functions to support core system and support our customers at higher dimentions.Umeda East Bldg. 5F, Taiyuji-cho, Kita-ku, Osaka 530-0051
Why Most of Time Tracker Implementations Fail Within The First 3 Months?
http://crocotime.com/en/
Time tracking is a useful solution for a many projects. It gives to project managers, CEOs and employees an opportunity to put their work in order, work more effectively, plan forward, finish work on time and within a budget. However most of time trackers implementation attempts fail within the first few months and while the companies and projects where time trackers are implemented are very different, the reasons why a time tracker doesn't work are more or less the same.Time trackers have developed a great deal from original timesheets that were used to calculate staffs payroll. While a time tracker is still used in that manner, many extra features like project time calculation, project costing, and employees productivity monitoring have been added. Despite all the advantages that a time tracker gives to a work team, there are still problems that administrators face when trying to implement it and the main problem they usually come upon is the human factor.Let's talk about itAs with every modern technology, your employees have to be ready to use a time tracker in daily work. And if a new time tracking solution and advantages that it is going to bring to work process are not correctly introduced to a company's team, they will likely not be on board with the idea.What happens in cases like that is that all of a sudden employees feel as if they are being constantly monitored. Not understanding why they must track their work time, employees think that their productivity is being measured and an employer puts them under a magnifying glass. Just as some members of staff can strive under pressure, others may crumble. Because of it before installing any time tracker, your employees have to be introduced to the idea and the reasoning behind it. This way the whole team will be on the same page and the misconceptions will be avoided.Use the automatic time trackerMost of the problems in the time trackers implementation do not stop here, another big issue arises from the method of time tracking. Usually, an extra tool is installed in order to track work time. But having yet another tool is not easy for the team and most of the time what happens is they forget to use it at all. And if staff does not track time, the tool will be of no use. Therefore, project managers should seek the time tracker that is or can be integrated with the solutions employees already use. The automatic time tracker (such as CrocoTime) allows it. Your team will adopt CrocoTime in no time.Another big potential problem that arises from using a specific time tracker is a need for the team to manually enter work time. It may seem not a big deal at first but the reality is quite different. After 2-4 weeks most companies find out that the information entered in the system manually does not match the reality. The reason for it is the freedom that employees get. Instead of actually tracking the work time they spend on the tasks, they guess the approximate values and enter it in the time tracker. It defies the reason of implementing a time tracker in the first place. The time tracker of CrocoTime is free from such issues as it monitors computer usage automatically and provides this data along with the data manually entered by employees. It also reminds employees of the tasks they did on computers, during meetings, and phone calls fast and easy.Try to UnderstandAnother problem of manual data entry is repetitiveness. What happens is that employees have to update the time tracking tool from time to time and they find this so boring. In turn, employees try to do it as rarely as it possible and do not enjoy the process. In that situation, a time tracker that allows quick and easy or even automatic time tracking is really your best choice! If you choose CrocoTime, make sure that all work time at the end of the day is relevant for specific projects.If the chosen time tracker does not fit the company's needs, it will be useless. For instance, a project that is all about completing individual tasks and the time spent on each of them will not benefit from a time tracker that just monitors hours that a user has been active on a computer in bulk. Instead, the time tracker of CrocoTime that tracks each of the tasks separately and in correspondence with projects, should be used.Well, in order to avoid errors when choosing and installing a time tracker in your office, it is very important to prepare your team for the change, to understand what information is important to get out of it and guarantee that the way this data is collected does not interrupt the work processes.Infomaximum was founded by Alexander Bochkin in 2008. Prior to founding the company and launching time tracking software CrocoTime Alexander ran a students scientific circle. It gave to the members of the team a valuable experience in creating fast and powerful code as well as several successful software projects.We aimed to create the software to track time, optimize workload of organizations and increase productivity of employees. We wanted the software to be useful, feature-rich, but at the same time fast, responsive, and intuitive.Today CrocoTime is approved by more than 500 of customers ranging from small companies to enterprises of different spheres of business: production companies, project companies, trading, and service companies have been using CrocoTime to become more productive and efficient.Our teams vast experience in fields of productivity, getting things done, time management, as well as close cooperation with customers, and attention to their needs allows us to constantly improve CrocoTime.3, Severo-Vostochnoy Ave., Saransk, Mordovia, Russia, 430000
Permanent Representatives to the International Organizations in Vienna visited Beloyarsk NPP and Ural Electrochemical Integrated Plant
On July 19-20, 2016, a delegation of the Permanent Representatives of foreign countries to the International Organizations in Vienna visited Russian nuclear industry enterprises -Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Plant and Ural Electrochemical Integrated Plant.The list of the visit participants included 18 senior diplomats representing Argentina, Belgium, China, Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Sudan, Switzerland, The Netherlands, The State of Israel and two international organizations - the European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency.Within the first day of the program the foreign diplomats visited Ural Electrochemical Integrated Plant, the world's largest enterprise on uranium enrichment (UEIP is part of Rosatoms TVEL fuel company). The participants saw the entire production chain of uranium enrichment being one of the most important parts of the nuclear fuel cycle of Rosatom.During the round table held at UEIP, Russia's Permanent Representative to the IAEA Vladimir Voronkov, said that that it is a record-breaking delegation of foreign diplomats in Russia, which means that interest to the Russian nuclear industry is increasing in the world each year.According to Rafael Mariano Grossi, Argentinas Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna, the participants within the visit to the UEIP "have seen an outstanding facility for uranium enrichment, which I think is rather unique in the world"." What is really interesting is to see the excellent facilities that you have, the technological degree of excellence that Russia and Rosatom has acquired through the years and now it is open to international cooperation", said the diplomat.On July 20, 2016, the foreign delegation visited the Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Plant, where participants could learn about Russian operational experience of fast breeder reactors. The guests visited the new, innovative 4th unit 4th unit of Beloyarsk NPP - BN-800 - the most powerful sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor in the world.During the NPP visit, the foreign representatives participated at the round-table. They were informed about nuclear power technologies of the Unit on the basis of closed nuclear fuel cycle and advantages of "fast" energy in the future. Power units on fast neutrons will allow to close nuclear fuel cycle, and, with enlarged reproduction of the nuclear "fuel", substantially expand the fuel base of nuclear energy, as well as to reduce the volume of nuclear waste by burning up hazardous radionuclides.The diplomats also visited the 3rd Unit of Beloyarsk NPP with BN-600 reactor, predecessor of BN-800 reactor, successfully operated for more than 30 yearsThe members of the delegation noted the high level of reliability and safety of the innovative and high-tech Russian technologies applied at UEIP and Beloyarsk NPP. Hendrik Koets, the European Union's Permanent Representative to the IAEA noted that the members of the delegation "got a very good idea about the technologies." The diplomat also said: "I should say and I have said it earlier, that Russia, among other countries has a good record in the field of in safety security and safeguards, at least at the international arena. As a representative of the European Union, and representing Euratom as ex, I think that the way Russia is great defender of it. I think it is a good idea that together we have this platform".Juan Carlos Lentijo, IAEA Deputy Director General, Head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, commented his own impressions: "What I have seen here is very high-level professionals who are really very-very committed to technology development, but also to development of a very good framework of safety and security (which is very important for me). I have seen also a very good interaction with the surrounding environment, especially with society close to these facilities. What impressed me more is this very close interaction between the company, the facility and society".Following the visit Olga Algaerova, Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the International Organizations in Vienna expressed gratitude to Beloyarsk nuclear power plant employees. "I would like to express my gratitude for the professionalism of Beloyarsk NPP staff. None of the questions that we asked them, including the accident prevention systems, were left unanswered. Therefore, we are convinced that fast breeder reactor technologies are safe, she said.Visits of Permanent Representatives of foreign countries to the International Organizations in Vienna to Russian nuclear facilities is arranged by the invitation of the Russian Federation annually since 2013. In particular, in July 2015, the delegation visited Rostov NPP and Atommash.ROSATOM is the Russian Federation national nuclear corporation bringing together circa 400 nuclear companies and R&D institutions that operate in the civilian and defense sectors. With 70 years' expertise in the nuclear field, we are a global leader in technologies and competencies offering cutting-edge industry solutions. We work on a global scale to provide comprehensive nuclear services that range from uranium enrichment to nuclear waste treatment.One Raffles Place, Tower 2 #19-61Singapore 048616
QYResearch Market Report:Japan Laboratory Chemical Reagents Industry Market Research Report 2016
http://www.qyresearchjapan.com
http://www.qyresearchjapan.com
Report SummaryThe Japan Laboratory Chemical Reagents Industry Market Research Report 2016 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Laboratory Chemical Reagents industry.The report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Laboratory Chemical Reagents market analysis is provided for the Japan markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and Bill of Materials cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.The report focuses on Japan major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Laboratory Chemical Reagents industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.Key Topics Covered:Chapter One Industry OverviewChapter Two Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Laboratory Chemical ReagentsChapter Three Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants AnalysisChapter Four Sales Analysis of Laboratory Chemical Reagents by Regions, Product Type, and ApplicationsChapter Five Sales Revenue Analysis of Laboratory Chemical Reagents by Regions,Product Type, and ApplicationsChapter Six Analysis of Laboratory Chemical Reagents Production, Supply, Sales and Demand Market Status 2010-2016Chapter Seven Analysis of Laboratory Chemical Reagents Industry Key ManufacturersChapter Eight Price and Gross Margin AnalysisChapter Nine Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of Laboratory Chemical ReagentsChapter Ten Analysis of Laboratory Chemical Reagents Production, Supply, Sales and Demand Development Forecast 2016-2020Chapter Eleven Industry Chain Suppliers of Laboratory Chemical Reagents with Contact InformationChapter Twelve New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Laboratory Chemical ReagentsChapter Thirteen Conclusion of the Japan Laboratory Chemical Reagents Industry Report 2016This report studies sales (consumption) of Laboratory Chemical Reagents in Japan market, focuses on top players, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player in Japan, coveringMerckThermoTCIAmerican ElementSinopharmXilongchemicalABCRBOC SciencesWako-chemKantoScientific OEMGlentham Life SciencesJHDSRL ChemicalApplichemJUNSEIEuroasia Trans ContinentalAladdinJkchemicalRelated Reports:Global Industry Market Research Report 2016China Laboratory Chemical Reagents Industry Market Research Report 2016Europe Laboratory Chemical Reagents Industry Market Research Report 2016United States Laboratory Chemical Reagents Industry Market Research Report 2016India Laboratory Chemical Reagents Industry Market Research Report 2016Note:We also offerGermany/Korea/Australia/Brazil/Russia/India/Indonesia/ Malaysia/Saudi Arabia/Middle East/Europe/Asia/Asia-Pacific/Southeast Asia/North America/ Latin America/South America/AMER/EMEA/Africa etc Countries/Regions and Sales/Industry Versions RespectivelyWoul like to place an order or have any question, please feel free to contact me~O(_)O~Contact : LemonEmail: lemon@qyresearchglobal.comPhone: 0081-345-704-342 or +86-20-8665 5165Web:About QYResearch LtdQYResearch Focus on Market Survey and ResearchQYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, data base and seminar services. the company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience). Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team).Contact : LemonApt 1408 1785 Riverside Drive Ottawa, ON, K1G 3T7 CanadaEmail: lemon@qyresearchglobal.comPhone: 0081-345-704-342 or +86-20-8665 5165Web:
Bournemouth branding agency put Secondary1st with fundraising website for new breast cancer charity
Secondary1st Founder, Elliot Choeuka
www.secondary1st.org.uk
www.cucocreative.co.uk
An award-winning Bournemouth branding agency plays its part in launching new breast cancer charity, with the gift of a new website.In the UK alone, one thousand women die from secondary breast cancer every month. But under the patronage of Doctor Who's Peter Capaldi, Secondary1st is a new charity focused on raising funds to help find a cure for secondary breast cancer sooner.The charity was founded by Elliot Choeuka, in honour of his beloved wife Rosie a loving mother and a highly-talented lawyer who passed away from the terminal disease, at just 38 years of age, in June 2015.Christian Cutler, Creative Director of CuCo said, Once we heard about the set-up of Secondary1st, CuCo were eager to be involved and preserve Rosie's legacy whilst prolonging others lives.As a result, CuCo designed and built a fully responsive CMS website, coded and populated all in one month, as an extremely quick turnaround was needed to ensure the site was live for the July launch. We are proud to also be named a Corporate Patron of the charity.As the charity becomes established and begins to flourish, the site will expand to meet the charity's growing needs. Over time, the amount of content such as articles and fundraising stories will grow and in particular, more personal stories will be shared of people currently living with secondary breast cancer.Tony Cook said: It is our hope that the website will also serve as a platform to raise much needed funds towards finding a cure for secondary breast cancer, whilst also keeping Rosies memory alive.Find out more about Secondary1st -Find out more about CuCo -CuCo are an award-winning, independent strategic branding and digital agency based in the Silicon South of Bournemouth, Dorset. We are a brand-focused, strategy-driven and design-led marketing consultancy.CuCo Creative72 Gild HouseBournemouthBH2 6AWEmma Farrowhello@cucocreative.co.uk
QYResearch:China Lauryl Alcohol Industry Market Research Report 2016
http://qyresearchglobal.com/
http://qyresearchglobal.com/
Report SummaryThe China Lauryl Alcohol Industry Market Research Report 2016 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Lauryl Alcohol industry.The report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Lauryl Alcohol market analysis is provided for the China markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and Bill of Materials cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.The report focuses on China major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Lauryl Alcohol industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.Ask a sample or any question, please email to:lemon@qyresearchglobal.com or lemon@qyresearch.comKey Topics Covered:Chapter One Industry OverviewChapter Two Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Lauryl AlcoholChapter Three Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants AnalysisChapter Four Sales Analysis of Lauryl Alcohol by Regions, Product Type, and ApplicationsChapter Five Sales Revenue Analysis of Lauryl Alcohol by Regions,Product Type, and ApplicationsChapter Six Analysis of Lauryl Alcohol Production, Supply, Sales and Demand Market Status 2010-2016Chapter Seven Analysis of Lauryl Alcohol Industry Key ManufacturersChapter Eight Price and Gross Margin AnalysisChapter Nine Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of Lauryl AlcoholChapter Ten Analysis of Lauryl Alcohol Production, Supply, Sales and Demand Development Forecast 2016-2020Chapter Eleven Industry Chain Suppliers of Lauryl Alcohol with Contact InformationChapter Twelve New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Lauryl AlcoholChapter Thirteen Conclusion of the China Lauryl Alcohol Industry Report 2016The players list(Partly, Players you are interested in can also be added)Hangzhou Dayangchem Co., Ltd.Wuhan Fortuna Chemical Co., LtdSpectrum Chemical Mfg. Corp.Ecogreen GroupHUBEI XINMINGTAI PHARM CO.,LTDSHANGHAI BANGCHENG CHEMICAL CO.,LTD.SHAGNHAI KANGTUO CHEMICAL CO,.LTD.SHANGHAI RONGLI CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD.Related Reports:Global Lauryl Alcohol Industry Market Research Report 2016United States Lauryl Alcohol Industry Market Research Report 2016Europe Lauryl Alcohol Industry Market Research Report 2016Japan Lauryl Alcohol Industry Market Research Report 2016India Lauryl Alcohol Industry Market Research Report 2016Woul like to place an order or any question, please feel free to contact me~O(_)O~Contact : LemonEmail: lemon@qyresearchglobal.comMoblie No: 8613660469419Web:About QYResearch LtdQYResearch Focus on Market Survey and ResearchQYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, data base and seminar services. the company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience). Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team).Contact : LemonApt 1408 1785 Riverside Drive Ottawa, ON, K1G 3T7 CanadaEmail: lemon@qyresearchglobal.comMoblie No: 8613660469419Web:
Protective Film Solutions chairman appointed to university leadership role
Protective Film Solutions (PFS) chairman Mark Williams has been appointed to a leadership role at the University of East Anglia (UEA).Mark has been unveiled as the universitys new treasurer and brings with him a wealth of experience to the position following his work at the company.The Wakefield firm are a leading supplier and installer of protective and anti-solar gain and glare window films and are one of the worlds foremost experts in the use of window film and anchoring systems for blast protection.With more than 33 years experience in the industry, the company specialise in complex multi-site projects across Europe and provide detailed energy efficient surveys to a number of customers.After studying History and French between 1981 and 1985, Mark has a developed longstanding relationship with the university.Speaking on his appointment, Mark said: I am delighted to have accepted the role of treasurer at UEA.Giving something back to the institution which shaped me as a young undergraduate is both rewarding and exciting, especially at a time when UEA embarks on an ambitious growth and estate development plan over the next few years.Mark has also been joined at the university by Cafe Rouge founder Karen Jones CBE as UEAs new chancellor and former chair of Ford Britain, Joe Greenwell CBE who has become the new chair of UEA Council.About Protective Film Solutions:PFS are one of the worlds leading experts in the use of window film and anchoring systems for blast protection with more than 33 years experience in the industry.Head office: Suite 5, Evans Business CentreMonckton Road, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF2 7AS
In Vitro Fertilization Market worth 756.7 Million USD by 2021
http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/in-vitro-fertilization-market-89198891.html
http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsample.asp?id=89198891
http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=89198891
The report "In Vitro Fertilization Market by Product (Incubators, Cryosystem, Sperm Seperation System, Cryopreservation Media, Embryo Culture Media), Technology (Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis, Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection) & End Users - Forecast to 2021", This report studies the global in vitro fertilization market for the forecast period of 2016 to 2021. This market is expected to reach USD 756.7 Million by 2021 from USD 468.3 Million in 2016, at a CAGR of 10.1%.Browse 100 market data Tables and 41 Figures spread through 159 Pages and in-depth TOC on "In Vitro Fertilization Market"Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.The In Vitro Fertilization Market analyzes and studies the major market drivers, restraints/challenges, opportunities, key players, competitive landscape, and geographical markets.Growth in the global in vitro fertilization market is mainly driven by declining fertility rates, growth in the media age of first-time motherhood, growing cases of male infertility, growth in healthcare expenditure, rise in consumption of alcohol and cigarettes, implementation of government initiatives and introduction of new and advanced products.Read More | Get the Sample Pages:The global in vitro fertilization market is segmented on the basis of technology, product, end user, and region. By technology, the in vitro fertilization market is categorized into intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, frozen embryo transplantation and others (assisted hatching, intrauterine insemination, donor insemination and in vitro maturation).On the basis of product, the market is segmented into reagents and equipment. Reagent is further categorized into cryopreservation media, sperm processing media, ovum processing media and embryo culture media. Equipment is further categorized into incubators, imaging systems, cabinets (workstation), ovum aspiration pump, sperm separation systems, micromanipulator systems, cryosystems, gas analyzers, laser systems, anti-vibration table and accessories.Download the PDF Brochure:On the basis of end users, the market is segmented into fertility and surgical centers, hospitals and research laboratories and cryobanks.On the basis of region, the market is divided into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World. Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest share of the in vitro fertilization market in 2016, followed by Europe and North America. The large share of the Asia-Pacific in vitro fertilization market can primarily be attributed to the high maternal age in Japan, abolishment of Chinas one child policy, rising fertility tourism in India and Thailand, growing surrogacy and high prevalence of PCOS in India and growing number of ART procedures in Australia and New Zealand. In addition, the Asia-Pacific region is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.Some of the key players in the health information exchange market are CooperSurgical, Inc. (U.S.), Vitrolife AB (Sweden), Cook Medical, Inc. (U.S.), Irvine Scientific (U.S.), Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (U.S.), ESCO Micro Pte. Limited (Singapore), Genea Limited (Australia), The Baker Company (U.S.), IVFtech ApS (Denmark) and EMD Serono, Inc. (U.S.).About MarketsandMarketsMarketsandMarkets is the largest market research firm worldwide 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 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.
United States Lifting Column Market 2016 - Industry Trends and Forecast to 2021
Lifting Column
http://goo.gl/Qp9wIF
http://goo.gl/UldjzO
United States Lifting Column Industry 2016The report provides a basic overview of Lifting Column industry including definitions, applications and industry chain structure. United States market analysis and Chinese domestic market analysis are provided with a focus on history, developments, trends and competitive landscape of the market. A comparison between the international and Chinese situation is also offered.United States Lifting Column Industry Research Report 2016 also focuses on development policies and plans for the industry as well as a consideration of a cost structure analysis. Capacity production, market share analysis, import and export consumption and price cost production value gross margins are discussed.Browse Full Report With TOC @A key feature of this report is it focus on major industry players, providing an overview, product specification, product capacity, production price and contact information for United States Top15 companies. This enables end users to gain a comprehensive insight into the structure of the international and Chinese Lifting Column industry. Development proposals and the feasibility of new investments are also analyzed. Companies and individuals interested in the structure and value of the Lifting Column industry should consult this report for guidance and direction.The report begins with a brief overview of the United States Lifting Column market and then moves on to evaluate the key trends of the market. The key trends shaping the dynamics of the United States Lifting Column market have been scrutinized along with the related current events, which is impacting the market. Drivers, restraints, opportunities, and threats of the United States Lifting Column market have been analyzed in the report. Moreover, the key segments and the sub-segments that constitutes the market is also explained in the report.Get Free Sample @Table of ContentsChapter One Lifting Column Industry Overview1.1 Lifting Column Definition(Product Picture and Specifications)1.2 Lifting Column Classification and Application1.3 Lifting Column Industry Chain Structure1.4 Lifting Column Industry Overview1.5 Lifting Column Industry History1.6 Lifting Column Industry Competitive Landscape1.7 Lifting Column Industry International and China Development ComparisonChapter Two Lifting Column Market Data Analysis2.1 2016 United States Key Manufacturers Lifting Column Price List2.2 2016 United States Key Manufacturers Lifting Column Gross Margin List2.3 2016 United States Key Manufacturers Lifting Column Capacity and Market Share List2.4 2016 United States Key Manufacturers Lifting Column Production and Market Share List2.5 2016 United States Key Manufacturers Lifting Column Production Value and Market Share ListChapter Three Lifting Column Technical Data Analysis3.1 2016 United States Key Manufacturers Lifting Column Product Quality List3.2 2016 United States Key Manufacturers Lifting Column Product Line Capacity and Commercial Production Date3.3 2016 Manufacturing Base(Factory) United States Regional Distribution3.4 2016 United States Key Manufacturers Lifting Column R&D Status and Technology Sources3.5 2016 United States Key Manufacturers Lifting Column Equipment Investment and Performance3.6 2016 United States Key Manufacturers Lifting Column Raw Materials Sources AnalysisChapter Four Lifting Column Government Policy and News4.1 Government Related Policy Analysis4.2 Industry News Analysis4.3 Lifting Column Industry Development TrendAbout Us:MarketResearchStore.com is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations.Contact US:Joel JohnSuite #8138, 3422 SW 15 Street,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803
5 Star Rated Romantic Fiction Novel, 'Willow's Walk' Available Soon, Romantic Fiction Based On Social Media Relationships
Romantic Fiction Author Rusty Blackwood
http://www.rusty-blackwood.com
After a short hiatus, the award-winning romantic fiction novel, 'Willow's Walk' by Indie author Rusty Blackwood is now available in a modified form. The novel features a protagonist named Willow who gets involved in a relationship via social media. That relationship goes awry and leads to circumstances that put her in real danger.Social media sites can be great places to form relationships. On the other hand, they can be fraught with danger for the unsuspecting. Nearly every day the media presents us with stories about relationships that innocently began on a social media site but ended in tragedy.In 'Willow's Walk' a mature woman / younger man relationship that begins in an Internet chat room leads to real trouble for the protagonist of the story. Romantic fiction novels based in fantasy can be interesting of course. However Blackwood chose to blend engaging romantic fiction story elements with events pulled from today's headlines. This approach brings a sense of realism to the novel and allows readers to relate to the story in ways that would not be possible in other forms of romantic fiction."From the time I began writing I set a standard of quality in every piece I released, whether it was a short story, poem, or a full length novel," stated Rusty Blackwood. "When I release my work, it must be presented properly. By this I mean all aspects surrounding the piece, and this very much includes copy-edit. Though authors strive for perfection it sometimes falls short of the intended goal, and this is what happened with Willow. I was not satisfied with the finished edit, which is why I pulled it back, and had it redone. It is my hope that when the new version returns, it will be welcomed back with acceptance and applause. An author, regardless of genre, should be proud of the work they produce, and I can honestly say that Willow's Walk now carries my name proudly."'Willow's Walk', follows the release of 'Passions in Paris: Revelations Of A Lost Diary'. Her first romantic fiction book is a sweeping saga written in the tradition of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' and 'What Dreams May Come'. It has been compared to Erich Segal's 'Love Story' and Nicholas Sparks' 'The Notebook'.'Willow's Walk' is a gripping new tale, certain to hold readers captive from the very first page. Set in the beautiful city of Ottawa, Canada in 2003, this touching story centers on the life and times of a woman determined to prevail at all costs, regardless of what is set before her, the result of which is certain to leave the reader reeling in its wake.The path each person walks is entirely their own. The pitfalls along that path, as well as the way in which they are dealt with are entirely up to the individual. But Willow Sutherland Crosby walks a far-different path, and with her own agenda.Abuse, deception, intrigue, and a never ending quest for happiness and love - will she find these, or will her blind determination be her downfall?'Willow's Walk' has received a number of 5 star reviews from professional reviewers. Maria Beltran stated, "I highly recommend this book." Gisela Dixon said, ". . . I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the life of a person presented in such a wonderful manner." Another said, "I was touched by the bittersweet conclusion that sometimes purpose and happiness are only found through great tragedy ..."'Passions In Paris' has also received rave reviews. Linkk Kula Kane said, "Passions in Paris I think stands its ground with these other powerful romantic stories like 'The Notebook' by Nicolas Sparks." Reader Fred Pifer stated that 'Passions', " . . .is a fascinating book of a love story that seemed to be written with me in mind. In the book 'Love Story' by Erich Segal, he told of a deep abiding love story that reminds me of Cullen and Joys in Ms. Blackwoods book, but the twists of intrigue and mystery that she adds keeps the reader on edge throughout."Information on the new romantic fiction release, including a new book trailer, is available at Blackwood's site on the 'Willow' page. Readers can download paperback and Kindle versions of both books at Amazon sites worldwide, including Amazon.ca.Rusty Blackwood is available for interview in the Toronto and Niagara areas and can be reached using the information below or by email at writerrusty@hotmail.ca. More information is available at her website.Rusty Blackwood is a prolific Indie author of romantic fiction, short story comedies, contemporary and traditional poetry and children's books. Her first love is romantic fiction, but she crosses genres with ease.PO Box 1613Shallotte, NC 28459
Businesses Get Their Own Apps with MTOAG
www.mtoag.com
Mtoag, Stands for Moving Technology On a Go, is a leader in providing web and app based solutions to a plethora of companies. As a services company, we love to provide the following solutions:1. Mobile App Development2. Web Development3. E-commerce Development4. Website DesignWe are of the idea that the world is going digital now. From a small company to a well-known one, everyone needs to make their presence felt on the WWW. Everyone has a smartphone in his or her hand and they want it to be able to provide them with every damn thing right there. This is the reason why mobile applications (or apps- as we generally refer to them) came to inception. Apps give the brand or store a chance to connect to a wide range of customers who would otherwise find it hard to locate you as a business.But then just doing away with the thing and doing it in a nice professional way are two completely different things that make or break the image of the business. We at Mtoag understand the fine line between the two and try to offer you the best solutions for the same. Our professional approach and use of latest technologies help us deliver the world-class web and app solutions to you.The good thing is that we are experts in providing Mobile Apps Development Technology and have developed apps for the following industries-Taxi Mobile Apps Development- Booking a Cab or taxi over an app on your phone or tablet, when and where you like, has never been easier. We develop the app for the same Making life easy!Wearable Devices Apps Development- The arrival of the smartphone carried us the era of mobility and has already taken the world by storm. Leveraging this experience, were now extending our app development solutions to iOS and Android powered wearable devices.Grocery Shopping Apps Development- Why cares about going out just for grocery shopping? Simply pick your smartphone and get going Our apps make grocery shopping easy, all for you!So far we have been successful in delivering mobile apps to numerous known online grocery stores, taxi based services, and clothing stores. Delivering unique business solutions is our forte and we strive on the same. Outsourcing the projects to us means timely delivery, professional approach, workable solutions, and no burn in the pocket. So you could now easily grow your business by connecting with us. If your business needs a website re-do or a mobile based application, we are happy to help. Send us the details and query at info@mtoag.com and we will eagerly listen to all your details and come up with a solution you will surely love.Mtoag, established in 2009, a professional full service web development company specializes in rich internet applications, custom web development, truly interactive website design, ecommerce, mobile apps and product design and development.41, Mtoag House, Goverdhan Colony, NewSanganer Road Sodala, Jaipur 302019 INEmail: info@mtoag.comWebsite:
Machine Condition Monitoring Market Bolsters by Demand for Predictive Maintenance across Industries
http://bit.ly/29898hk
http://bit.ly/28X54yo
http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com
The transition from preventive to predictive maintenance in the process industry has proven extremely crucial to the growth witnessed by the global machine condition monitoring market. A new analysis by Transparency Market Research, titled Machine Condition Monitoring Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 2024 is aimed at studying the various factors influencing the markets growth trajectory. The report is intended to update the market stakeholders about the prevailing dynamics. It also presents insights into the growth drivers and restraints that the global machine condition monitoring market could witness during the forecast period from 2016 to 2024.Machine condition monitoring, also called machine health monitoring, is the process of monitoring parameters such as humidity, pressure, temperature, and others that determine an equipments performance. Functions of machine condition monitoring are considered indispensable for detecting changes or faults in any machine. Vibration, temperature, and noise measurements are the key indicators of the state of an equipment.Machine conditioning is therefore considered imperative for industries interested in evading loss incurred on capital invested on purchase of machines. It allows companies to enjoy the benefits of predictive maintenance.Free PDF For More Full Details and Technological breakthroughs is @In the last couple of years, the global machine monitoring market has been witnessing robust growth in demand from industries such as aerospace, automotive, defense, chemicals, automotive, oil and gas, energy and power, metal and mining, and others. Of these, the energy and power industry has been exhibiting the highest demand for machine condition monitoring, followed by the oil and gas segment.The most common services covered by machine condition monitoring include vibration monitoring, thermography, corrosion monitoring, ultrasound emission, motor current signature analysis, and lubricating oil analysis. Various components included in machine condition monitoring are vibration sensors, infrared sensors, spectrometers, corrosion probes, spectrum analyzers, and others.The report will present an in-depth analysis of the market, identifying the most lucrative opportunities for the aforementioned service segments. It will also provide detailed insights into the components that are in high demand in the market.Market Insight of Machine Condition Monitoring can be Viewed @The demand for machine condition monitoring has been gaining significantly from the increase use of wireless technology and remote monitoring. The rising demand for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning across smaller factories will also bolster demand from the global machine condition monitoring market.Despite witnessing growth at an impressive rate, the unpredictability of maintenance periods may restrain the market to an extent. Nevertheless, with the introduction of cloud technology across industries, the global machine condition monitoring market is expected to gain significant impetus in the near future.Regionally, North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Rest of the World constitute the major segments of the global machine condition monitoring market. Among these regions, Europe and North America are expected to exhibit considerably rising demand for machine condition monitoring services during the forecast period. The factors influencing the markets growth across these regional segments have been evaluated in the report in detail.It also presents a holistic analysis on the prevailing competitive landscape. Some of the leading companies operating in the market include Azima DLI Corp. (U.S.), Parker Hannifin (U.S.), General Electric Company (U.S.), Rockwell Automation, Inc. (U.S.), and others.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global 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 makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Transparency Market Research90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
At A CAGR Of 34.03% Global Solar Pumps Market Will Grow During The Period 2016-2020
http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=668392
http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=668392
http://www.researchmoz.us/
http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG
Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Solar Pumps Market 2016-2020" to its huge collection of research reports.A solar pump runs on electricity generated by a solar PV array. The overall pump set is attached to the water source; the solar panel converts the solar energy into electricity, thereby operating the motor to pump water. These pumps eliminate the use of conventional fuel sources such as diesel. Also, they prove to be a cost-effective option for pumping water, especially in areas that face water scarcity and electricity shortage. Some of the major types of solar pumps are surface, submersible, and floating. These pumps are becoming more viable as their prices decline with increasing competition in the market. In addition, subsidies offered in various countries have also aided in lowering the costs of these pumps.Technavios analysts forecast the global solar pumps market to grow at a CAGR of 34.03% during the period 2016-2020.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global solar pumps market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the the demand for solar pumps from different end-users.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEANew report, Global Solar Pumps 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.Key vendorsBright SolarLORENTZShakti PumpsSunEdisonTata Power SolarOther prominent vendorsConergyCRI GroupDankoff SolarFlowserveGreenmax TechnologyGrundfosJain Irrigation SystemsUSLMarket driverInsufficient power supply in developing countriesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeHigh initial investmentFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendDemand for automated pump systemsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat 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?Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
ECG Market to Reach US$822.1 Million in 2016 due to Growing Prevalence of Cardiovascular Diseases
http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=740
http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ecg-monitoring-systems-market.html
We can expect to see a growth in the overall shipment of ECG monitoring systems to 374.8 thousand units in 2016, from its 2011 figure of 262.1 thousand units, said a TMR analyst, This is a potential CAGR of 7.4% from 2011 to 2016.He also said that of the various types of ECG monitoring systems used, rest ECG monitoring systems dominated the market in 2011 in terms of revenue. Stress ECG monitoring systems, on the other hand, had the highest selling price.The report says that the growing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases around the world is the biggest driving factor of the global ECG monitoring systems market. It emphasizes the fact that cardiovascular diseases are the largest cause of deaths globally.Recieve ECG Market Report Brochure Include Table of Contents:Enhanced Precision, Lowered Workload Drive Demand for Digital Pathology SystemsThe prime driver for the global digital pathology systems market is the increased sophistication and efficiency it brings about it pathology processes. Digitization of labwork reduces the chances of manual error, making the process highly accurate. Digital pathology systems are also much faster at analyzing samples than human technicians, which results in an easier workload for pathologists. The shortage of skilled pathologists is thus a key driver for the digital pathology systems market.The increasing prevalence of cancer across the world has also encouraged the adoption of digital pathology systems. Digital pathology systems are used for the detection/diagnosis of several types of cancer, including breast, esophageal, and non-small-cell lung cancer. The high precision of digital pathology systems is crucial in dealing with progressive diseases such as cancer, since early diagnosis can significantly improve the chances of survival.While developed parts of the world house widespread digital pathology infrastructure, developing regions such as Asia Pacific are still lagging behind. This presents a crucial opportunity for manufacturers of digital pathology systems, as the incidence of cancer is increasing rapidly in countries such as China, Japan, and India. The steady economic development of such countries has also made it easier for healthcare agencies to introduce advanced solutions such as digital pathology systems.Virtual Microscopy to Exhibit Rapid Growth in Demand 2014-2020By technology, digital pathology systems are segmented into virtual microscopy and telepathology. While the latter is likely to retain its dominance in the market over the coming years, the virtual microscopy is expected to exhibit a higher growth rate in the 2014-2020 forecast period.Among the various applications of digital pathology systems, drug discovery/development and disease diagnosis were the leading contributors to the global market in 2013. While these two segments are likely to remain in the lead in the market, the application of digital pathology systems in academic research is likely to increase at a rapid 14% CAGR from 2014 to 2020.Geographically, North America is likely to remain the leading contributor to the global digital pathology systems market in the coming years, with the regional markets revenue expected to reach US$212.4 mn by 2020. The extensive drug development activities and presence of key players in the region are responsible for the regions dominant share in the global market. Europes contribution to the global digital pathology systems market is expected to be overtaken by Asia Pacific in the coming years, with the lucrative opportunities in India, China, Japan, and some ASEAN countries convincing many companies to expand their operations in Asia Pacific.Browse Full Report@About Us:-Transparency Market Research 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.Contact Us:-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com
Marval accepted as G-Cloud 8 supplier for its service management software
https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/
www.marval.co.uk
Marval's IT Service Management (ITSM) Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, MSM, is listed on the United Kingdom's Governments Crown Commercial Service latest procurement framework, G-Cloud 8.Greg Pritchett, Managing Director of Marval explains, Marval MSM a powerful 100% web enabled ITSM software, available as either a cloud-based (SaaS) or an on-premise solution, provides the ultimate combination of value, ITSM process automation, ease of use, performance functionality and flexibility. With underpinning professional services and support, MSM has long been the choice of public sector organisations to deliver quality services with successful business outcomes.Marval MSM, is certified as ITIL process compliant to gold level under the AXELOS ITIL Software Scheme and assessed by PinkVERIFY - to 15 processes. The product has been designed to support ITSM good practice frameworks and standards and newer methodologies and reference architecture such as DevOps and IT4IT.G-Cloud, part of the UK government's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) strategy, is a cross government programme that encourages the adoption of ICT Cloud Services into government departments, local authorities and the wider public sector. Its remit is to simplify how the public sector procures and delivers services by creating a digital marketplace of 'pay-as-you-go', subscription-based services that can be easily scaled up or down, based on the changing needs of an organisation and its users.Marval MSM can be purchased through digital marketplace at--ENDS--For more information please contact:T: +44 (0)1536 711999 E-mail: info@marval.co.uk W:About The Crown Commercial ServiceThe Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has brought together Governments central commercial capability into a single organisation, amalgamating Government Procurement Service with other commercial teams from the Cabinet Office and central government departments.CCS is an executive agency of the Cabinet Office and operates as a trading fund under the Government Trading Funds Act 1973. Their remit is to work with both departments and organisations across the whole of the public sector to ensure maximum value is extracted fromevery commercial relationship and improve the quality of service delivery.The CCS goal is to become the go-to place for expert commercial and procurement services.With both service delivery and advisory capability, services include contract management and supplier performance management to ensure that the Government acts as a true, single customer; freeing up individual organisations to focus their procurement expertise on what is unique to them.About MarvalMarval is committed to the ongoing development of integrated ITSM software, backed by a mature implementation approach, finely honed after more than 26 years of delivering solutions worldwide. It is a single-source supplier for all ITSM needs, designed to improve service quality, productivity, customer satisfaction and reduce costs. The MSM solution is used by internal and external support teams, plus outsourcing and managed service providers.Marval is a major practitioner, innovator, thought leader and contributor to good practice and standards in ITSM and is co-author of ITIL and ISO/IEC 20000. It has been helping customers deliver service excellence since 1989 and understands what it takes to become a world-class service team.Marval is an ISO/IEC 20000 registered company supporting internal and external customers to international standards.Marval SoftwareStone Lodge, Rothwell Grange, Rothwell Road, Kettering, Northants, England, NN16 8XF
eMachineShop accepted into Etsy Manufacturing Program
eMachineShop Logo
www.eMachineShop.com
Mahwah, New Jersey - August , 2016 - eMachineShop has been officially accepted into Etsys Manufacturing program, and is now offering manufacturing services directly to Etsy sellers.Having been in the custom parts manufacturing business since 2003, and offering a free, easy-to-learn CAD software application to custom design parts, applying to be an Etsy approved manufacturer was an easy decision according to eMachineShop CEO Jim Lewis.Jim went on to say eMachineShop has supplied countless parts to artists and creative makers to help complete projects and grow businesses. Joining Etsy Manufacturing is part of eMachineShops natural progression and commitment to serving makers, creators, and designers.eMachineShop really is the perfect match for sellers using Etsy. Offering a wide range of materials to choose from, and the ability to have parts manufactured using processes such as water jet cutting, CNC machining, and 3D Printing, users can acquire a wide variety of custom parts.eMachineShop is a Mahwah, NJ based machine shop with a focus on making the process of designing and ordering parts as easy as possible for customers ranging from hobbyists and micropreneurs to large corporations.Nick Walker, Marketing SpecialisteMachineShop31 Industrial AveMahwah, NJ 07420United States(201) 962-7511
Global Automotive Head-up Display (HUD) Market Share, Size, Forecast and Trends 2016
Global Automotive Head-up Display (HUD) Market 2016
http://www.marketintelreports.com/report/QYR11821/global-automotive-headup-display-hud-industry-2015-market-research-report
http://www.marketintelreports.com/pdfdownload.php?id=qyr11821
www.marketintelreports.com
The Global Automotive Head-up Display (HUD) Industry 2015 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Automotive Head-up Display (HUD) industry.The report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Automotive Head-up Display (HUD) market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.Check Complete Report @Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.Get Sample Brochure of the Report @the report focuses on global major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Automotive Head-up Display (HUD) industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.With 214 tables and figures the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.About us:MarketIntelReports (MIR) aim to empower our clients to successfully manage and outperform in their business decisions, we do this by providing Premium Market Intelligence, Strategic Insights and Databases from a range of Global Publishers.A group of industry veterans who are well experienced in reputed international consulting firms after identifying the sourcing needs of MNCs for market intelligence, have together started this business savior MarketIntelReports.MIR intends to be a one-stop shop with an intuitive design, exhaustive database, expert assistance, secure cart checkout and data privacy integrated. It curates the list of reports, publishers and studies to ensure that the database is constantly updated to dynamically meet the targeted, specific needs of our clients.MarketIntelReports currently has more than 10,000 plus titles and 35+ publishers on our platform and growing consistently to fill the Global Intelligence Demand Supply Gap. We cover more than 15 industry verticals being: Automotive, Electronics, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare, Chemicals, Building & Construction, Agriculture, Food & Beverages, Banking & Finance, Media and Government, Public Sector Studies.Contact us:Mayur SSales Manager2711 Centerville Road, Suite 400,Wilmington,Delaware,19808United Statessales@marketintelreports.comTelephone: 1-302-261-5343
What are the Must Haves in a Makerspace?
Makerspace built by Formaspace
https://formaspace.com/articles/education/must-haves-in-a-makerspace/?utm_source=openpr&utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=article-080116
Those of you old enough may remember the satisfaction of building a ham radio or an FM tuner using those well-documented do-it-yourself kits from Heathkit or electronic parts from RadioShack. For a decade or two, it seemed like building things yourself was out of fashion. Today the trend is 100% reversed creating your own"things" is more popular than ever and collective makerspaces have popped all over the world to help people discover the joy of invention.For many Americans, the long tradition of tinkering with mechanical and electronic parts seemed to die out during the 1970s. The venerable Heathkit company which sold incredibly well-documented 'do-it-yourself' kits was purchased by Zenith and then later a French conglomerate. Heathkit's hobby kits never a focus of the acquiring organizations fell victim to the increasingly globalized electronics marketplace, which drove the cost of new products down to the point they were actually cheaper to buy fully assembled than in kit form.Good-bye, kits.No longer did America make much in the way of electronics; the vast majority of TV and radio receiver production moved to Asia.Fortunately, the flame of do-it-yourself experimentation didn't die out entirely.Just like Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard had done decades earlier, Gordon French started something important in a Silicon Valley garage.In the spring of 1975, French organized the first meeting of the Homebrew Computer Club. Some of the biggest names in computing today were members of the club that started in French's garage, including the two Steves (Jobs and Wozniak, founders of Apple). A year later, Wozniak had built the Apple I, their first commercial product.As the PC revolution took off into the 1980s, software development stepped into the spotlight. Do-it-yourselfers and entrepreneurs created thousands if not millions of different kinds of programs for personal computers.As the maturing PC business morphed into the Internet revolution, the spirit of do-it-yourself collaboration spurred the open software movement. Once dismissed by commercial software vendors as bad for business, the open software movement has helped create the new business models, and foundational software infrastructure has fueled the rapid growth of the Internet as we know it today.How Did Makerspaces Come into Existence?During these 'go go' boom times in software development, there was a relative lack of interest by Americans in building "things" after all, just about everything hardware-wise was made overseas in Asia.Compared to software, there didn't seem to be that much money in it.Times have changed. Products like the iPhone and NEST have shown that software controlling mechanical objects makes hardware more interesting than ever before and connecting them to the Internet makes them even more interesting. This so-called Internet of Things (IoT) is inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs and experimenters like never before.As a result, makerspaces, also commonly known as sheds in the UK and Australia and hacker spaces in Germany and Austria, have become a worldwide phenomenon. They allow the public to have access to relatively expensive equipment that can be used to experiment and make prototype products and more.Some trace the roots of the modern makerspace back to the facility started in Berlin back in 1995. Known as C-Base, this collaborative facility was an offshoot of the German Chaos Computer Club (CCC).A decade later, Paul Baum got the ball rolling in a major way: Baum opened Metalab in Vienna, Austria in 2006, then promoted the concept widely through a website Hackerspaces.org. Now there are over 1,000 active makerspaces around the world. Check out this interactive map (themakermap.com) to find out which ones are located near you.Have You Visited Your Local Makerspace Lately?As you can see from the map, there are makerspaces all across the world sponsored by different types of organizations ranging from for-profit businesses to public libraries.Foundation-based MakerspacesProfessor Neil Gershenfeld from MIT's Media Lab created the Fab Lab Foundation to promote widespread access to modern tools used for invention in each of their member Fab Labs.For Profit MakerspacesTechShop, in contrast, is a chain of maker shops organized as a for-profit enterprise; it's supported by its members through a monthly fee.Business Accelerator Makerspacesmakerspaces also take the form of Business Accelerators, often organized by universities that want to leverage their research programs by bringing in investors interested in providing angel funding to budding entrepreneurs.School STEM/STEAM MakerspacesSchools that are interested in promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula in schools (commonly known as STEM) are kitting out makerspaces to promote hands-on learning. STEAM is a related acronym: it adds "Art" to the educational program.Public Library MakerspacesBack in a time when individual books were often beyond the means of ordinary members of the public, libraries were founded to share information and make it available to everyone. Similarly today, public libraries are purchasing expensive tools like 3-D printers to make them available to their patrons in newly constructed makerspaces.Ad Hoc MakerspacesThe advent of social media sites like MeetUp, software development sharing tools like Github, and crowdfunding tools like Kickstarter, have made it possible for people to gather at short notice at different locations to collaborate together on various initiatives, such as on software development projects (commonly called hackathons).What are You Likely to Find in a Makerspace?Because makerspaces serve so many different audiences, the equipment at any individual makerspace can vary quite a lot. Here are some typical types of equipment commonly found in many makerspaces:Read more...Formaspace advances the spirit of discovery and creation through the design and manufacture of custom business furniture. Our furniture marries form to function with flexible solutions for clients in the laboratory, industrial, and office environments.design.consultant@formaspace.com800.251.15051100 E. Howard Lane, Suite 400 Austin, TX 78753
Go Baby Go Oregon
Portland State students are raising money to help disabled children in Brazil. The students hope to build toy cars like this one that help disabled kids move around.
(Courtesy of PSU)
Portland State students hope to ship modified toy cars to Brazil to help disabled children affected by the Zika virus.
Graduate students in a PSU special education class are raising money this month to build specially modified toy cars designed to help children with Microcephaly in Brazil. The birth defect is being linked to the mosquito-borne Zika virus in South America.
The PSU effort comes as the Summer Olympics begin in Rio de Janeiro later this month.
According to a press release, PSU students learned how to adapt the cars for children at an event in June hosted by an Oregon Health & Science University physical therapist. The "Go Baby Go" movement began in Delaware, where vehicles were altered to help children with disabilities, and has since expanded to Oregon and other states. The state's program is housed in Corvallis at Oregon State University, where it began in 2014.
The toy cars cost roughly $200 to assemble, significantly less expensive than motorized wheelchairs or other devices that can cost thousands of dollars. Children as young as six months can fit in the vehicles.
Sam Sennott, the PSU professor and director of the school's Universal Design Lab in the Graduate School of Education, said the Brazilian children face a challenging disability. "But let's look at what's possible and what else they can do through therapy," he said in a statement. The vehicles, "let kids be kids," he said.
Hannah Wilson, a PSU student with family in Brazil, is helping the school raise money. In a statement, Wilson said it's cheaper to modify the cars in the United States, and that electronics are more expensive in Brazil, making it a huge barrier for families.
A PSU spokeswoman said the school hadn't shipped any car to Brazil yet, but had made connections in the country.
Here's a link to the PSU fundraising campaign. As of Tuesday, the class had raised $440.
-- Andrew Theen
atheen@oregonian.com
503-294-4026
@andrewtheen
The Society of Chemical Industry, America Section, will award the 13th annual SCI Gordon E. Moore Medal to Abhishek Roy, Ph.d. from The Dow Chemical Co.
Abhishek is the lead product research and development manager and technical platform leader for the reverse osmosis membrane chemistry platform of Dow Energy and Water Solutions.
He is credited as the primary inventor of Dow FILMTEC ECO Reverse Osmosis Elements. The solution fights water scarcity by delivering 40 percent better purification with 30 percent less energy and has the potential to impact millions of lives. Elements require less energy to pump water through the membrane and less chemicals for cleaning. These combined benefits result in significant operational savings for customers, ranging from 16 to 19 percent.
Besides water-energy nexus, Abhishek and his team have contributed toward addressing two of the most critical emerging needs: increasing availability of fresh drinking water in developing countries and taking steps toward making water reuse economical and practical. Introduction of the breakthrough residential tankless product has reduced the footprint cost and Dow FILMTEC XFRLE product is enabling low-energy operation under challenging water in water reuse applications. These technologies have enabled more than 10 new products over the last five years.
The availability of clean water is one of the most difficult challenges Dow is helping to solve. Abhishek is the talented scientist behind the breakthrough innovation that will deliver a more sustainable water supply to the world, said A.N. Sreeram, Dow senior vice president and chief technology officer. We are proud that Abhisheks outstanding contributions have been honored with the Gordon E. Moore Medal. It is a fitting recognition for work that will improve the lives of people around the world.
Abhishek was honored with the prestigious Dow Sustainability Innovator Award in 2014. The Dow FILMTEC ECO Reverse Osmosis element is a Breakthrough to World Challenges under Dows 2015 Sustainability Goals, recognition that the innovation played a significant role in the Company attaining these goals and that the product is both an ecological and commercial success. The Dow FILMTEC ECO Reverse Osmosis element is also a 2014 Edison Award winner in the Energy and Sustainability category.
The SCI established the Gordon E. Moore Medal to recognize early-career success in innovation, as reflected both in market impact and improvement to quality of life. Abhishek will receive the award September 13, during a luncheon at the Chemical Heritage Foundation headquarters in Philadelphia as part of Innovation Day 2016. This event will be jointly hosted by SCI and CHF, bringing together more than 150 leading researchers from industrial laboratories to discuss current trends and issues in chemical research.
Abhishek earned his PhD from Virginia Tech under the guidance of James E. McGrath in the macromolecular science and engineering program. He has authored 30 peer reviewed journal articles and holds 10 issued patents, with many pending on his RO work. Abhishek was recognized with numerous awards including Dows prestigious Sustainability Innovator Award and Virginia Techs outstanding recent alumnus award from the College of Science.
He is the fourth Dow researcher to win the medal over the 13 years of its existence. He joins Jerzy Klosin (2013), Edmund M. Ted Carnahan (2008) and George Barclay (2004) as Moore medalists from Dow.
At this time of the year I am often asked for recipes that contain no meat.
As soon as the period known as Lent begins, there are people who abstain from meat on Fridays and other holy days. It is indeed an old tradition of fasting and preparing for the celebration of Easter. For some, the idea of a meal without meat seems unthinkable. But I have often been in places where dishes prepared with other ingredients are simply delicious. And the country that probably comes to mind first is Spain.
The first time I traveled to Spain was in the late 70s when I was still a teenager. I had a wonderful time discovering the capital, Madrid, on my own and certainly enjoyed the many dishes I had during my short stay there. Back then, my budget meant I had to find very inexpensive places to eat. So I ate lots of rice, fried eggs and vegetable dishes All were tasty.
Years later, my Danish wife Susanne and I participated in an overseas study program through Central Michigan University and spent a summer studying in Alicante. The city is located on the Mediterranean Sea and is the perfect size for me. It is big enough so that there is lots to see and discover but not overwhelming. Since Susanne and I were there for several weeks, we were both able to discover much about local culture including the culinary traditions. Both of us still remember the local markets full of all sorts of cured meats and sausages, fish and cheeses. But we also were amazed at the seemingly unending variety of fruits and vegetables.
While in Alicante, we lived at the home of a very friendly Spanish lady named Ester. Once she found out I was interested in local cuisine she was more than happy to provide advice and cooking lessons. One of the most popular and typical dishes of the region is paella. Ester had several pans for preparing paella that she referred to using the same word although they can also be called pallero or pallera. The pan is rather flat and shallow, allowing for a thin layer of rice topped with all sorts ingredients. The first time she prepared rice for me she used rabbit and chicken (the latter because Susanne didnt particularly enjoy the idea of eating rabbit). After sauteeing vegetables, she added the medium grain rice and then bouillon and saffron. The sauteed rabbit and chicken pieces were added last. It was great. Ester told me that there we unending recipes using fish and vegetables and following the same basic method.
On a trip to the same area years later during Lent, I discovered exactly what Ester meant. In one restaurant, I enjoyed a very delicious and almost creamy plate of rice with fresh tuna fish. The rice had been prepared following the same method Ester had used. And the rice and the nice chunks of freshly sauteed tuna fish were indeed very tasty. In another small restaurant I noticed rice with seasonal vegetables on the menu. Although I was wondering what seasonal vegetables could be during the cold months of the year I had to remember that the weather in that part of Spain does not get as cold as it does in Michigan. And the rice dish contained what I had seen in many local vegetable markets - carrots, onions, green and red bell peppers. It was wonderful and very filling.
During that stay in Alicante, I also came across a dish that is very typical along much of the Mediterranean coast and the Balearic Islands. It is called coca. It can best be described as similar to a thin crust pizza with all sorts of toppings but usually not cheese. And coca can also be prepared using sweet ingredients. I fell in love with coca because it is fairly easy to prepare and can be made with so many fresh products. The first slice of coca I ever ate was prepared with tomatoes, red bell peppers, onions and zucchini. It was actually served cold and was a wonderful accompaniment to a glass of local wine. I noticed cocas in all sorts of restaurants prepared with all sorts of vegetables they were all good.
We may not be in Alicante and there are certainly no native palm trees growing outside. But one can still enjoy some very traditional foods from the area of Alicante here at home. If you dont have a traditional pan for preparing paella many local stores carry large, flat skillets made of stainless steel and with a handle on each side. Be sure to get one that has a lid. Such pans will do the job. And for the coca you simply need a large baking sheet.
There is no reason why meatless foods cant be delicious. Enjoy the challenge and the cultural experience!
Greg Lopez is a Midlander who loves food and travel. He combines both in a monthly column for the Daily News.
Arroz con verduras - Rice with vegetables
3 tablespoons Spanish olive oil
1 tomato, skin removed and diced
1 red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed and diced
1 small onion, skin removed and finely diced
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 1/2 cups fresh cauliflower, cut into small pieces and washed and drained
1 carrot, peeled and cut into thin slices
1 tablespoon sweet Spanish paprika
2 cups medium grain rice
4 1/2 cups warm vegetable bouillon
1/2 teaspoon ground saffron
Pour the olive oil in the skillet and heat over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, red bell pepper, onion and garlic clove. Sautee for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is transparent. Add the cauliflower pieces and the carrots. Saute 15 seconds and the add the paprika. Pour in the rice and stir about 20 seconds. Add the bouillon and saffron and stir once and do not stir again. Cook over medium heat until the rice is completely cooked. This should take about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and place the lid on the pan and allow to sit for 20 minutes before serving.
Coca de verduras - Vegetable coca
1 portion homemade pizza dough or bread dough
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 green bell pepper, stem and seeds removed and finely diced
1 red bell pepper, stem removed and finely diced
1 zucchini, stems removed, cut in half lengthwise and cut in thin slices
1 tablespoon sweet Spanish paprika
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
5-6 tablespoons Spanish olive oil
Vegetable oil spray for the baking pan
Spray a large baking sheet with a thin layer of oil. Roll out dough as thinly as possible and cover the baking sheet with dough. Put all of the vegetables, the paprika and oregano in a large salad bowl. Sprinkle with salt (about 1 1/2 teaspoons) and pepper and mix well. Sprinkle with oil and spread evenly over the dough. Bake in a preheated 380 degrees Fahrenheit oven in the middle of the oven about 30-35 minutes or until the vegetables are completely cooked. Note: This is usually eaten cold but also tastes nice served warm. It is cut into slices like a pizza.
The Dow Chemical Co. has named Melanie Kalmar as chief information officer, with responsibilities ranging from cyber security to chairing an executive steering team for information technology efforts.
According to a company press release, Kalmar was previously the global director of Information Systems at Dow. As the new chief information officer, Kalmar will be in charge of developing and implementing information technology strategies, business process solutions and analytics for Dow. Her responsibilities will include Cyber Security and Risk Management, Reporting and Advanced Analytics, Facilities Management, and the Dow Services Business.
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ATLANTA Officials still are trying to determine what led to a multiple-vehicle crash Sunday afternoon on Interstate 55 in Logan County that killed two children and left a third child in critical condition at a Peoria hospital.
The names of the children, ages 2 and 4, have not been released, but police confirmed the driver of the silver Honda van in which they were riding was David Roock, 40, from Chicago.
The accident occurred about 3:02 p.m. Sunday in a construction zone at mile post 138 between Atlanta and McLean.
Police said a semitrailer truck was traveling north when it struck the van, causing it to strike a sport utility vehicle, two cars and a pickup truck.
Two children, who were passengers in the van, were pronounced dead at the scene, said Illinois State Police. A third was transported to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria and remains in critical condition, police said.
Charges are pending against the semi driver, Taven Webster, 24, of Purcell, Mo., said state police.
All drivers were wearing seat belts and the children were in child safety seats.
The drivers of the other vehicles were Gwendolyn Fizer, 35, of Lansing; Jeffrey Phelan, 48, of Shorewood; Chad Stoner, 43, of Manhatten; and Donald Seibert, 71, of Ransom.
Police said one other person was airlifted to an area hospital, but the name and condition was not available.
The semi and four of the five other vehicles had extensive damage and had to be towed from the scene. The car driven by Seibert was able to drive from the scene, said ISP.
The northbound lanes of I-55 were closed for several hours after the crash.
The Atlanta Fire Department responded to the scene and was assisted by Lincoln Rural, city of Lincoln, Mount Hope/Funks Grove and Armington fire departments, the Logan County Paramedics Association and two Lifeflight helicopters.
BLOOMINGTON A 25-year-old man accused of fatally stabbing his parents in their home on Sunday will be examined by a psychiatrist to determine if he is mentally fit to stand trial.
Brian Petersen appeared disoriented at a hearing on Monday, when his bond was set at $600,035 on four counts of murder in the death of his mother, Nancy Petersen, and his father, Bruce Petersen.
Nancy Petersen, 63, was stabbed three times in the chest as she sat in a chair in the couple's rural home west of Bloomington, according to a statement from McLean County State's Attorney Jason Chambers.
Bruce Petersen, 68, was stabbed in the back, but managed to call 911 and speak with officers, identifying his son as the alleged assailant, said Chambers. Bruce Petersen died Sunday afternoon at a Peoria hospital where he had been airlifted from Advocate BroMenn Medical Center.
Springfield psychiatrist Dr. Terry Killian was appointed to evaluate Brian Petersen, whose behavior during the bond hearing raised questions about his mental condition.
Three correctional officers monitored Petersen as he waved his arms and rocked in a chair, seemingly unable to control himself, or respond appropriately to questions from Associate Judge Bill Yoder.
During his arrest on Sunday, Petersen initially laid down on the ground as directed and was restrained by sheriff's deputies, but became aggressive as they attempted to transport him to jail, according to Sheriff Jon Sandage.
If he is deemed unfit to stand trial, Petersen will be sent to a state facility for treatment. The state will determine if or when he is restored to fitness, meaning he understands the charges against him and is able to assist with his defense.
Petersen lived with his parents in a home in the Lara Trace subdivision off of Illinois 9, west of Bloomington.
A 2009 graduate of Olympia High School, he attended Augustana College in Rock Island where he was a member of the cross country team. He attended Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville from August 2010 to December 2011, according to the university.
Most recently, Petersen worked at Linco Precision LLC in El Paso, but quit his job as a body shop painter last week. A staff member at the business declined to answer questions Tuesday about Petersen's employment.
He is due back in court on Aug. 12 for an arraignment.
BLOOMINGTON Three people were injured in shootings early Monday in the area of Washington and Howard streets on Bloomington's west side.
At 12:48 a.m. Monday, Bloomington police responded to Washington and Howard streets after receiving multiple reports of shots fired.
When they arrived, officers found a 43-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the arm and a 16-year-old male with a gunshot wound to a leg. Bloomington Fire Department Rescue transported the victims to hospitals.
A third victim, a 19-year-old male with a gunshot wound to the arm, had been taken to a hospital before police arrived, BPD said.
None of the shooting victims were identified on Monday and no arrests had been made. There was no description of who fired the shots.
A woman who lives in the neighborhood said she's concerned about violence in the area.
"I live about a block away and ride the bus to my job every day," said Markeisha Young. "I have kids who like to play outside. But there is a point where it gets too dangerous."
Circumstances surrounding the shootings remain under investigation, police said.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact detective Tim Power at 309-434-2579 or tpower@cityblm.org.
If you want to remain anonymous, call McLean County Crime Stoppers at 309-828-1111. If your call leads to the arrest and indictment of a suspect or suspects, you may be eligible for a reward of as much as $1,000.
In response to the letter that argues that politicians should use English only to represent all legal Americans, I ask if the link between citizenship and language has any historical substance? When Louisiana and the Western territories became part of the U.S., was citizenship linked to the English language? No. What was more important was what these residents would contribute to the nation.
The same was asked of the Germans that rebuilt Chicago after the fire, the Swedes that created farming communities, the Italians and Eastern Europeans that worked the coal mines. What would they contribute? There are also those immigrants that served their adopted country in the Armed Forces. Most of the veterans that hailed from Hero Street in the Quad Cities are of Mexican ancestry. They earned their rights as citizens every day with their service. Citizenship was not reduced to language only.
The letter concludes by suggesting that there is an inherent unfairness with politicians that speak to only one minority group at a time, and therefore, they should speak English only to address everyone. The logical fallacy at work here is all or nothing thinking. If you cant speak every single other language, speak English only. The problem here is that politicians represent local populations, and the speaker creates hypothetical minorities to prevent politician from addressing a real group of constituents. In effect, this erases the reality of politics as real communication between people and denies participation to a group of U.S. citizens.
James J. Pancrazio, Normal
Glatfelter Reports Second-Quarter 2016 Earnings Aug. 2, 2016 - Glatfelter (GLT) today reported second-quarter 2016 net income of $2.0 million, or $0.04 per diluted share compared with $2.8 million, or $0.06 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2015. Adjusted earnings for the second quarter of 2016 were $2.8 million, or $0.06 per diluted share compared with $1.8 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, for the same period a year ago. Adjusted earnings is a non-GAAP measure for which a reconciliation is provided within this release. Consolidated net sales totaled $406.4 million and $410.8 million in the second quarters of 2016 and 2015, respectively. Currency translation adjustments favorably impacted the year-over-year comparison by $0.7 million. Glatfelter's second-quarter performance was in line with our expectations and reflects higher shipments in all three of our business units, said Dante C. Parrini, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Advanced Airlaid Materials' operating profit more than doubled driven by our continued ability to improve efficiencies to meet growing demand in key market segments. In Composite Fibers, shipments improved 3 percent, and 10 percent on a sequential quarter basis as we continued to see signs of stability in the wallcover markets. Our Specialty Papers business unit effectively executed its annual maintenance outages and continued to outperform the broader uncoated freesheet market. Mr. Parrini continued, Overall, Glatfelter delivered a solid first half of 2016 with adjusted earnings increasing 25 percent. We remain focused on continuous improvement and achieving operational excellence to support our growth as a leading global engineered materials business. I am pleased with the progress towards completing the significant investment we are making in a new airlaid facility to meet growing demand in key specialty wipes and hygiene markets. The strength of our balance sheet and consistent cash flow profile provide the flexibility to make targeted investments to support the business and pursue our growth strategy. Composite Fibers' net sales declined $4.0 million, or 2.9 percent, primarily due to $1.6 million from lower selling prices. Shipping volumes were higher in the comparison primarily due to improved demand for wallcover. Composite Fibers' second-quarter 2016 operating income totaled $15.3 million, a decrease of $1.4 million compared to the year-ago period. Operating results were adversely impacted by lower selling prices and a $1.0 million negative impact from currency exchange rates. Improved shipping volumes and lower raw material and energy prices benefited operating results by $1.5 million. Advanced Airlaid Materials' net sales increased $3.3 million in the year-over-year comparison as shipping volumes increased 7.8 percent primarily due to higher shipments of hygiene products. Lower selling prices impacted the comparison by $1.8 million. Second-quarter 2016 operating income totaled $6.8 million, more than double the same quarter a year ago. Operating income benefited by $2.3 million from lower raw material and energy costs partially offset by lower selling prices reflecting the impact of cost pass through arrangements. In addition, improved operational efficiency, largely due to lower downtime, and foreign currency translation favorably impacted the comparison by $2.2 million and $0.3 million, respectively. Specialty Papers' net sales decreased $3.7 million, or 1.7 percent, due to a $3.7 million impact from lower selling prices. Specialty Papers' operating loss narrowed by $4.2 million in the year-over-year comparison and totaled $5.8 million in the second quarter of 2016. Operating results for both quarters reflect the cost of annual maintenance outages at the Company's Chillicothe, OH and Spring Grove, PA facilities. The outages adversely impacted second-quarter 2016 results by $26.3 million, which was $7.1 million less than the cost of the outages in 2015. In addition, operating results were favorably impacted by $5.2 million of lower raw material and energy costs. These favorable factors were partially offset by lower average selling prices, lower pulp production and an increase in incentive compensation and other costs. Other Financial Information Pension expense totaled $1.6 million in the second quarter of 2016 and 2015. For 2016, full year pension expense is expected to be $5.5 million. Because the Company's qualified plan remains overfunded, a cash contribution is not expected for the foreseeable future. The Company's effective tax rate on adjusted earnings was 14.7 percent in the second quarter of 2016. In the second quarter of 2015, the Company recorded an income tax benefit of $1.5 million on adjusted pre-tax earnings of $0.3 million, primarily reflecting the release of reserves related to the completion of tax audits. Outlook Composite Fibers' shipping volumes in the third quarter are expected to be slightly higher than the second quarter. Selling prices and raw material and energy prices are expected to be in-line with the second quarter. Advanced Airlaid Materials' shipping volumes are expected to increase slightly in the third quarter. Customer selling prices and raw material and energy prices are expected to be in-line with the second quarter. For Specialty Papers, the Company expects shipping volumes in the third quarter to increase by approximately five percent compared with the second quarter. Selling prices are expected to be slightly higher while increases in raw material and energy prices are expected to slightly outpace selling price increases. The Company also expects maintenance spending to decrease by approximately $23 million reflecting normal patterns of maintenance expense. Corporate costs are expected to be approximately $1 million to $2 million lower in the third quarter than in the second quarter. Headquartered in York, Pennsylvania, Glatfelter is a global supplier of specialty papers and fiber-based engineered materials. To learn more, please visit: www.glatfelter.com. SOURCE: Glatfelter
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has criticized the European Union for supporting anti-Israel groups. Speaking at the beginning of a cabinet meeting on Sunday (31 July), he said that the government was looking into the support of some EU Member States for, what he described, anti-Israel activities.
Mr Netanyahu said that some European countries support organizations that are in favor of the activities of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS Movement) a global campaign attempting to increase economic and political pressure on Israel to comply with the stated goals of the movement, such as the end of Israels occupation and colonization of Palestinian land and the Golan Heights, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and respect for the right of return of Palestinian refugees.
The Israeli government has regularly condemned support given by foreign governments to those non-profits that criticize Israels policies towards the Palestinians. Last month, the Knesset adopted a law that requires all non-profits to declare aid they get from foreign governments. The move is seen as targeting left-wing groups. Mr Netanyahu also made a reference to the recent announcement by France that it would consider a temporary ban on foreign financing of mosques out of security concerns. We are also disturbed by such donations to organizations that deny the state of Israels right to exist, he said.
Israel has recently experienced a series of attacks involving knives and guns, which claimed the lives of more than 250 people. Analysts say that the resurgence of violence from the Palestinian side is a result of a lack of progress in peace negotiations coupled with their own fractured leadership and the Israeli settlements being built in the West Bank. The BDS campaign was started in 2005 by more than 170 Palestinian NGOs and is organized and coordinated by the Palestinian BDS National Committee. The scope, efficacy, and morality of the BDS movement is widely debated and criticized for being anti-Semitic and for promoting the de-legitimization of Israel, including its right to exist.
The "Game Of Thrones" Season 7 premiere will come in the wake of a "GoT" 20th anniversary book release by "A Song Of Ice and Fire" (ASOIF) saga author George R.R. Martin. And well should "Game Of Thrones" be celebrated as fans are still uncovering secrets in both "ASOIF" and the HBO "GoT" series including that on Meera Reed (Ellie Kendrick) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington).
According to The BBC, "GoT," which is the first book published by George R.R. Martin in his "A Song Of Ice and Fire" saga is celebrating with a "Game Of Thrones" 20th anniversary illustrated book release. The "Game Of Thrones" 20th anniversary book is a collaboration between George R.R. Martin and Bantam books.
The Long Game... of Thrones https://t.co/bmXPmu9ARS George RR Martin (@GRRMspeaking) August 1, 2016
Of his journey that began with "Game Of Thrones," George R.R. Martin wrote a blog entry. George R.R. Martin released the "Game Of Thrones" novel in 1996, "A Clash Of Kings" in 1998, "A Storm Of Swords" in 2000, "A Feast For Crows" in 2005 and "A Dance With Dragons" in 2011.
HBO picked up "A Song Of Ice And Fire" naming the series "Game Of Thrones" in 2011. "I had no idea when this all started where it would lead... or how long the road would be," George R.R. Martin wrote of his "Game Of Thrones" journey.
The success of George R.R. Martin with his "A Song Of Ice And Fire" saga and his "Game Of Thrones" series owes much to strong fanbases that don't mind digging into the massive "GoT" and "ASOIF" lore that "GRRM" designed. Digital Spy cites one such digging that Ellie Kendrick, who plays Meera Reed in "Game Of Thrones," explained away for Jon Snow fans. After the "Game Of Thrones" Season 6 finale all but confirmed the R+L=J theory revealed where Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen were the real parents of Jon Snow, other "GoT" theories say that Jon Snow has a secret sister - Meera Reed.
Citizens of the realm, its time to choose your alliances. Cast your vote for #GoT2016: https://t.co/y0A8HaCaVPhttps://t.co/szJKUtRpaj Game Of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) August 1, 2016
According to Ellie Kendrick Meera Reed is not the sister of Jon Snow and no such revelation will com through in "Game Of Thrones" Season 7. Ellie Kendrick further says that the dark, curly locks that Meera Reed and Jon Snow share onscreen in the "Game Of Thrones" series is not the same in the "ASOIF" books.
New York Times reports that HBO will air the "Game Of Thrones" Season 7 premiere in the summer of 2017. Meanwhile George R.R. Martin and Bantam will see a "Game Of Thrones" 20th anniversary book release date for this October 2016.
Today, most women come to know of their pregnancy through the use of home pregnancy tests bought from stores. Through the efforts of a woman working in a pharmaceutical company, women have the convenience of learning if they are pregnant at home without having to go through doctors to find out.
Margaret Crane worked at Organon Pharmaceuticals. In 1967, she saw test tubes, which were actually pregnancy tests, in their company. Back then, women had to send their urine to doctors, which would then be sent to laboratories for analysis, the results of which would be sent back to doctors who would then relay the results to patients, according to an article in the New York Times about Crane's invention
Uproxx also reported on the article on Crane's journey in inventing the home pregnancy test to make it easier for women to know if they are pregnant. According to the report which quoted The Times' article, Crane made the model for the home pregnancy test using a clear plastic box that used to be a container for paper clips.
The box held an eyedropper, a test tube and an eyedropper inside it. Women would reportedly have to squeeze urine in the test tube then look at the mirror to see the bottom of the test tube to see if after two hours, a red circle appeared which would mean she was pregnant.
Crane showed her home pregnancy model to her bosses and they rejected it. Jezebel reported on the Crane article in The Times as well, quoting that Crane's home pregnancy test would not sit well with the doctors, the company's clients. They also had more scary consequences in mind, such as women committing suicide if they found out that they were pregnant.
Unknown to Crane, her idea was presented to their parent company in the Netherlands and it was approved. Crane' model was eventually used and Crane was named inventor. The home pregnancy test was called Predictor and sold in Canada in 1971. It was sold in the United States in 1977 after much fear was raised such as use of teenagers and women's capability of using the home pregnancy test.
"Hawaii Five-O" fans are alarmed with the reports claiming that season 7 is the last in the series make waves. In view of this, showrunner Peter M. Lenkov speaks up to clear the rumors and teases that "Hawaii Five-O" Season 7 will not culminate the series yet because they are still far from wrapping up the police procedural drama TV series.
According to Christian Times, Jimmy Buffet is concerned with his character, Frank Bama in "Hawaii Five-O" following the rumors that the series is ending. Per the reports, some sources claimed that "Hawaii Five-O" Season 7 is the final season.
To end the rumors claiming that "Hawaii Five-O" is canceled, showrunner Peter M. Lenkov addressed Jimmy Buffet's concern. "Hey @jimmybuffett - whoever gave you that info is wrong. Bama is alive and well... For many many MORE seasons. Good luck on the tour," Lenkov tweeted.
Hey @jimmybuffett - whoever gave you that info is wrong. Bama is alive and well... For many many MORE seasons. Good luck on the tour. Peter M. Lenkov (@PLenkov) July 29, 2016
So there it is, "Hawaii Five-O" fans should not worry about the future of their favorite series because it is far from leaving the small screens. "Hawaii Five-O" Season 7 is not final season because there is more to come in the procedural drama series.
Meanwhile, CarterMatt reported that McGarrett's mom (Christine Lahti) will make a comeback in "Hawaii Five-O" Season 7 for its special 150th episode. Aside from Lahti, the production will also have Catherine Rollins (Michelle Borth), McGarrett's former girlfriend and almost-fiance.
Lenkov teases that there's a potential reconciliation for Catherine and McGarrett. "We're going to bring McGarrett's mom back to wrap up the mom/Wo Fat/father mythology, and then start some new storylines in the episode that follows," he told TV Line.
Aside from the returning cast, "Hawaii Five-O" Season 7 will include a new cast. Per TV Line, the new cast in the series includes Rosalind Chao as the new governor of Hawaii. The "American Crime" and "Dallas" alum Faraan Tahir will also appear in the upcoming season as a suave and wealthy Egyptian-born businessman.
Are you happy that Christine Lahti and Michelle Borth will return in "Hawaii Five-O" Season 7? What else do you expect in the upcoming season? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
"Hawaii Five-O" Season 7 premieres on Friday, Sept. 23 at 9 p.m. EST on CBS.
Fans can agree that "Criminal Minds" season 12 without Shemar Moore will be very different. Could the actor possibly return to the long-running show after his exit last season?
In an interview, Moore explained his decision to leave "Criminal Minds" after 11 long years. The actor has been on the show since it started in 2005.
"My mother sends me these great cards. ... She gave me this one card and I'm looking at it right now and it says, 'Leap and the net will appear,'" he told TV Guide. "That's what she did her whole life. She thought outside of the box and she never got too comfortable because she wanted to continue to grow. There's been other people in my life who are like that too. I don't want to be ordinary. I don't want to follow. I want to be bold and I want to see what I'm capable of. So yes, it was my decision."
As for his rumored returned to the "Criminal Minds" set, Moore has not closed his doors on the possibility. In fact, he said that he would love to come back should his character be needed again.
"Erica Messer refused to kill Derek Morgan," he said. "Those elevator doors closed. Am I going to sign a long-term contract? Probably not. But if they ask me to come back and dance, yes, I would be willing to do that. [But] not right away."
Meanwhile, previous reports have already confirmed the return of a former regular. Fox News reported that actress Paget Brewster, who plays Prentiss on the show, will be guest-starring in a few episodes of "Criminal Minds" season 12.
"We're excited to have Paget Brewster back for multiple episodes in our 12th season," showrunner and executive producer Erica Messer said, Fox noted. "The BAU can use more help this year since they've got a lot of known and unknown subjects to catch."
"Criminal Minds" season 12 will see the return of other mainstays- Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson), Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), Jennifer Jareau (A.J. Cook), and Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness). The upcoming run is slated to return to the small screens on September 28, 2016.
Stay tuned for more "Criminal Minds" season 12 news and updates here!
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised pregnant women and their partners to avoid traveling to a small community in Miami, Florida. The CDC said the area is currently experiencing a Zika virus outbreak, with more than ten people affected with the disease at the moment.
The 150-square-meter area, which is located north of downtown Miami, has an "actively circulating" Zika virus outbreak, CNN reported. A total of 14 people have been infected with Zika after getting bitten by the Aedes aegypti mosquito carrying the virus.
CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said Miami's "aggressive control measures" against Zika virus do not have successful results yet. They think it's because the mosquitoes have grown resistant to pesticides, or the insects could be hiding in breeding places that are hard to locate such as small amounts of standing water.
Frieden said that Zika transmission occurs when travellers head to the U.S. after visiting countries with full-blown virus outbreaks including Brazil. These people might feel fine and are unaware that they're carrying Zika, but the virus could be living in their blood.
When a mosquito bites them, the individuals can transfer Zika to the insects -- jumpstarting a cycle of transmission. The CDC advised people who travelled to countries affected with Zika to use insect repellent for at least three weeks after they return to the U.S.
For those living within the Miami outbreak, the CDC advised pregnant women to get tested for Zika in the first and second trimesters even though they don't feel any symptoms of the virus. They also urged partners who travelled to countries affected by the Zika outbreak to wait for eight weeks before attempting to conceive.
For pregnant women and their partners living in the affected area, the CDC advised them to prevent mosquito bites by applying insect repellent to uncovered skin, wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, use air-conditioning and screens on doors and windows, and by removing standing water where mosquitoes can lay eggs. The CDC also advised them to use proper sexual protection for the entire pregnancy or to abstain from sex altogether so the likelihood of acquiring Zika would be lessened.
Miami's Zika outbreak was the virus' first local transmission in the country, The Guardian reported. The affected area has temporarily suspended blood donations until all current samples underwent testing.
As of late, there's no treatment or preventive vaccine for Zika. Other southern coastal U.S. states including Louisiana and Texas are also vulnerable to a Zika virus outbreak especially now that it's the middle of summer.
"Rick and Morty" Season 3 is still in the middle of production, but the Adult Swim series recently released the official trailer for the new season. While the trailer is enough to excite a lot of fans and viewers, many were left wondering when the show would return on TV.
This article contains spoilers. Read on if you want to learn more about the details of this story.
"Rick and Morty" Season 3 return date appears to be in late 2016. TV Over Mind reports that series creator Dan Harmon has been teasing on the show's release in the later half of this year on Adult Swim.
Harmon previously addressed rumors that "Rick and Morty" Season 3 will premiere in August. According to the creator, they are nowhere close to airing new episodes of the show in August; however, an earlier statement from Harmon seemingly confirms rumors that the series will premiere in late 2016.
The publication also spoke with voice actor Chris Parnell who shared his thoughts on some of the most interesting parts of starring on "Rick and Morty" Season 3. The entire cast and crew also shared some interesting details during the San Diego Comic Con (2016), including the possible airing of an "Interdimensional Cable 3."
As the "Rick and Morty" Season 3 release date is believed to come out in just a few months, iDigitalTimes notes that Adult Swim appears to be stepping up its marketing plans for the series. According to the publication, the network may team up with KungFuDork Studios to promote new episodes of the series.
Rumors of Adult Swim and KungFuDork Studios' collaboration began after the series retweeted a sneak peek for "Rick and Morty" Season 3 on their official Twitter account. This led to speculations that new episodes for the series will drop anytime between November or December 2016.
Robert Pattinson and FKA Twigs have been engaged for over a year now but the couple remains quiet on the status of their relationship. This led to speculations that the couple has called it quits, but a recent report suggests that Kristen Stewart's recent announcement of her feelings for her girlfriend, Alicia Cargile, has strengthened Pattinson and FKA Twigs.
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson will always have a place in the hearts of their fans, especially the "Twihard" fans. However, it is a reality that these two have already moved on with their lives and with their new respective partners.
A recent report from Hollywood Life suggests that the 30-year-old actor is allegedly happy and "proud" when Stewart finally spoke about her feelings for her girlfriend, Alicia Cargile. The "Twilight" actor has reportedly known about the details of the interview before it even made rounds online.
"Kristen gave Rob a heads up about the interview and he was very supportive," an insider told the publication.
The publication also notes that everything seems to be well between Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart despite their controversial breakup in 2013 after a scandal with Rupert Sanders. Pattinson is also happily engaged to FKA Twigs and it is believed that it is only a matter of time before the couple makes it to the altar.
Stewart's recent interview with Elle UK, wherein she openly talked about her girlfriend, Cargile, has reportedly strengthened Pattinson and Twigs' relationship. Prior to the 26-year-old actress' interview, there have been reports claiming that Stewart and Pattinson are back together.
Rumors about Pattinson and Stewart's reunion began after the two were allegedly spotted dating. However, no photos were provided to prove the claimed romantic reunion between the former lovers.
Do you think Robert Pattinson and FKA Twigs will make it to the altar after Kristen Stewart opened up about her girlfriend Alicia Cargile? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Turkeys Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that his country would step down from its deal with the European Union on the return of migrants if Brussels does not deliver on its promise of visa-free travel for Turkish nationals. The visa-free travel has been the main enticement and motivation for Turkey to sign the deal but the legislation has been delayed on the EUs side due to disputes over Turkeys anti-terrorism legislation and in light of the recent failed coup.
Mr Cavusoglu said that the deal that was choking off the influx of asylum seekers has only been working thanks to a series of difficult measures undertaken by the Turkish government. But all that is dependent on the cancellation of the visa requirement for our citizens, which is also an item in the agreement of 18 March, he said and added that if visa liberalization does not follow, we will be forced to back away from the deal on taking back (refugees) and the agreement of 18 March. He emphasized that Ankara was awaiting a precise date for the visa liberalization. It could be the beginning or middle of October but we are waiting for a firm date, he said.
The European Commission commented that a smooth continuation and full implementation of the mutual deal is the priority. We expect the same from our Turkish partners. For our part, the Commission has continued to respect and accelerate the implementation of our commitments under the Statement over the past months. With the special measures adopted last week for example, we have already mobilized 2 out of 3 billion from the Facility for Refugees in Turkey, a Commissions spokesman said. The EU executive also reaffirmed that the EU continues to provide support for Turkey to accelerate the reforms to fulfill the remaining requirements.
On August 1st, 1944, the single largest military resistance during World War II began in Warsaw, Poland. As World Youth Day concludes, an event filled with great joy and hope, today marks the seventy-second anniversary of a glorious uprising that ended tragically. Todays anniversary, as well as the events of World War II, remind us that evil is present in the world, and that evil can quickly and effectively take away our joy and hope (if we allow it to do so).
The Warsaw Uprising lasted sixty-three days and resulted in the destruction of the city and the death of over 200,000 civilians. The Polish resistance fought bravely. The Soviet Army, which was encamped right outside Warsaw, never came to the aid of its supposed ally. Despite pleas presented to the the British by the Polish government in London, no assistance arrived. The Polish resistance would have to fight the Germans alone and eventually surrender. After the uprising, eighty-five percent of the city would be destroyed.
In 1983, the statue of a young soldier was placed in downtown Warsaw commemorating the many child soldiers who fought during the Uprising. Today, I visited this statue and had lunch at a restaurant across the street from it. During the hour that I was there, people constantly visited the statue, especially groups of children and families with small children. Some left flowers, others lit candles to recall the memory of the many valiant men and women who resisted the Nazi regime.
The joy and hope of World Youth Day seem to lessen when the recent history of Poland is considered. The Popes silent visit to Auschwitz was a somber reminder of the atrocities committed in this beautiful land. Only 3,ooo of 63,000 Jews who lived in Krakow in 1939 were alive in 1945. Of the 165 Jesuits who lived in Krakow, only six survived Nazi rule, all others were executed. The Nazis not only murdered the Jewish population, but wished to eradicate Polish culture as Poland became part of the German Fatherland. From the beginning, the Nazis executed Polish scholars, teachers, and clergy, as well as anyone who opposed their regime.
In 1939, Warsaw had the largest Jewish population of the world with about 400,000. In 1945, there were 5,000 left, almost all having been killed in death camps.
After World War II, the Soviets entered and until 1989, the Polish people endured the hardships of communist rule. Anyone familiar with the life of Saint John Paul II understands these difficult times. The Germans left, but the Soviets continued a brutal and totalitarian rule that committed innumerable injustices and took the lives of thousands.
There has been great evil and suffering in these lands. It is a reminder that the wheat and the chaff do coexist: evil and goodness are both present in the world. The joy and hope of World Youth Day coexists with the deep suffering of the past. However, they do not just have to coexist, but Gods grace produces the joy and hope necessary to bring healing.
Perhaps the best advice when confronted with this reality is the advice from Saint Paul who wrote, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko, a Polish priest murdered by the government in 1984 (whose tomb I visited today), understood and lived out this advice, and made it his own by preaching often these words, fight evil with good. Living this way cost him his earthly life.
May the souls of all those who died due to injustice, prejudice and hatred rest in peace.
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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.
Tehran rejects non-nuclear negotiations with Washington
08/02/16
Source: Tehran Times
TEHRAN - Tehran has stressed it has had no dialogue with Washington on issues other than those related to Iran's nuclear program. CIA Director John Brennan had said in a session at the Aspen Institute that Washington and Tehran keep exchanging ideas on a wide range of issues.
"The CIA director is not in the position to make irrelevant remarks about Iran's domestic affairs," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahran Qassemi on Monday.
The spokesman branded such comments as "psycho war" which are aimed at "breeding division and bipolarity within the Iranian society."
"We reject and condemn this," he added.
Late July, Qassemi told the Kyodo news agency that while "there may have been some convergence on regional issues, but negotiations have been solely on the nuclear issue."
He also put the prospect of an all-out diplomatic thaw between Washington and Tehran too distant, citing numerous hurdles on the path to normalization.
Also, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei emphasized in a meeting with people from all walks of life that Iran has learnt from the nuclear deal that further negotiations with the U.S. on other issues are futile, citing the Americans' lack of commitment to their promises.
Though Iran and the U.S. both fight Daesh and other terrorist groups, they hold divergent views on the Syrian conflict.
Iran's Sayeh Theater Troupe to perform "The Door" in New York and Chicago
08/02/16
Source: Tehran Times
The Sayeh Theater Troupe led by Iranian director Mehdi Mashhur will be performing the play "The Door" in the United States during August. The play will first go on stage at the New York International Fringe Festival (Fringe NYC), running from August 12 to 28, Mashhur told the Persian service of Honaronline on Monday.
The Door at the New York International Fringe Festival (Fringe NYC) (buy tickets)
(Sayeh Theater Group's facebook )
"We will have seven performances during the festival, in which over 1,000 performances from different countries will take place within 16 days," he added.
"The troupe will later have performances for ten nights in Chicago," he remarked, adding that their next destination will be Sweden.
Mashhur also said that the play will be performed in English, "I have made slight changes in the play and have shortened the dialogues."
"How do you deal with this? You plan to travel, but your suitcase throws out everything... like there is anyone else... whatever you put in, she takes out. You want to leave, she wants to stay. Do you want to experience a dilemma?" reads the synopsis of the play.
The play was staged in Iran last year under the title "It Was in Departures, Where Reyhaneh Was Lost".
Opinion: Thanks to Trump, We Will Remember Humayun Khan
08/02/16
By Barbara Slavin, VOA
Captain Humayun Saqib Muazzam Khan
(September 9, 1976 - June 8, 2004)
In the year since he announced his candidacy for U.S. president, Donald Trump has insulted Mexicans, war heroes, women, disabled people, the children of immigrants and Muslims. So perhaps no one should have been surprised when he denigrated the parents of an immigrant Muslim American war hero, Army Capt. Humayun Khan, killed by a suicide car bomb in Iraq in 2004 while he was protecting those under his command.
Just a week after accepting the Republican Partys nomination for president, Trump suggested that Khans mother was forced to stand by silently while her husband spoke at the Democratic National Convention.
His wife, if you look at his wife, she was standing there, Trump told ABCs George Stephanopoulos in an interview broadcast on Sunday. She had nothing to say. She probably - maybe she wasnt allowed to have anything to say.
From This Week ABC News Interview with Donald Trump responding to criticism from Gold Star Father Khizr Khan
Trumps implication was that the Khans Muslim faith or Pakistani origin obliged Ghalaza Khan to remain quiet.
Mrs. Khan proved Trump wrong, appearing on television and writing a moving op-ed for The Washington Post.
Trumps anger at the Khans eclipsed empathy for their loss. Incredibly, the 70-year-old real estate magnate, in the interview with Stephanopoulos, compared the sacrifices he said he had made as a businessman to that of the Khans in losing their 27-year-old son.
Once again, it was clear that while Trump is quick to dish out criticism, he sure cant take it - not the most reassuring quality in someone seeking the most important and heavily scrutinized political office in the world.
Predictably, Trumps comments blew up the internet and dominated social media for days.
In a manner reminiscent of his inability - after clinching the necessary votes for the Republican nomination - to stopcomplaining about a judge, Gonzalo Curiel, who Trump alleged was incapable of ruling fairly because of his Mexican parentage, the GOP nominee unleashed a steady stream of statements and tweets about the Khans that only served to underline his thin skin and shaky grasp of democratic rights.
Gold Star father Khizr Khan addresses the Democratic National Convention about Donald Trump July 28, 2016
Khizr Khan, Humayuns father, had asked at the Democratic convention whether Trump had read the U.S. Constitution and offered to lend him a copy; Trumps campaign replied in a statement that Khan has no right to stand in front of millions of people and claim I have never read the Constitution, thereby proving Khans point. The first amendment to the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, as well as religion, the press and the right to peaceful protest. There are 10 such amendments, collectively known as the Bill of Rights. The Constitution also has seven articles; Trump once referred to a 12th article.
When Khan pressed his critique of Trump in interviews on Sunday, Trump replied in a tweet:
I was viciously attacked by Mr. Khan at the Democratic Convention. Am I not allowed to respond? Hillary voted for the Iraq war, not me! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2016
There is a legitimate debate that could be had in this campaign about national security. Clintons support for the Iraq war and apparent greater readiness to intervene in foreign conflicts than Trump is a topic that needs to be addressed.
When it comes to immigration and a U.S. plan to accept 10,000 refugees this year from Syria - a quota that is unlikely to be met but Clinton has said she would increase fivefold - it is reasonable to review the extensive vetting system already in place and ask if more can be done to weed out potential terrorists.
Strained U.S. relations with Russia are also an important topic that should be raised if and when the Trump and Clinton campaigns can agree on dates for televised debates this fall.
Trump has made no secret of his admiration for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, which appears to stem, in part, from the Trumps belief that Putin has said that he likes the brash New Yorker. Or as Trump put it to Stephanopoulos, just so you understand, he [Putin] said very nice things about me.
In the interview, Trump appeared not to know that Russia has intervened in the Ukraine to support ethnic separatists in the eastern part of the country. Trump also professed a lack of involvement in changing the platform of the Republican Party to exclude a call for sending weapons to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russian aggression.
Trump, who has had business ties with Russians for years, has already unnerved U.S. allies in Europe by demanding that many spend more on defense or risk the United States walking away from its historic commitments under the NATO treaty.
The fury over Trumps comments about the Khans eclipsed a previous kerfuffle last week over his call on Russian intelligence to find 33,000 emails deleted from Clintons private server after she completed her term as secretary of state. Coming on the heels of the release by Wikileaks of emails apparently hacked by Russia from the Democratic National Committee, those remarks raised new concerns about Trumps credentials among both Republican and Democratic members of the national security and intelligence community.
One hundred days out from the US elections, what bizarre new statements will Trump make and will they determine the fate of his iconoclastic candidacy? Are Americans experiencing so much pain and anxiety that many would vote for such a man?
Barbara Slavin is is Acting Director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council in Washington. Follow her on Twitter@barbaraslavin1
Today, a new Titan enters the next-gen graphics war. But while Nvidias new Titan X Pascal is no doubt the most potent gaming hardware ever releasedthe Titan X page on GeForce.com is plastered with lofty gaming performance claimsyou wont find too many reviews of the graphics card hitting the streets today. Instead, Nvidias focusing more on the graphics cards use for professional deep-learning AI applications.
The Titan series has always been designed to bridge the gap between the consumer-centric GeForce lineup and pricier Quadro professional cards. The new Titan X Pascal, which gets its name from Nvidias cutting-edge 16nm Pascal graphics architecture, delivers 11 teraflops for single-precision floating-point performance. But Nvidias decision to surprise launch this card during an AI meetup in San Francisco, combined with its touted 44 TOPS INT8 performancea new deep learning inferencing instructionshows that the company expects the new Titan X to be used to bolster neural networks and machine learning.
Make no mistake: Nvidia is pushing this new Titan as a compute card first and foremost. But most people reading PCWorld arent data scientists. Most people want to know how much ass the Titan X Pascal kicks in games.
Titan X specs and gaming performance
Sadly, Nvidia didnt send us a review unit. But we actually just received a Titan X-based system from Falcon Northwest and hope to post a review of that, including high-end gaming results, soon.
UPDATE: Gordon Mah Ung burned the midnight oil to deliver 4K and 5K gaming performance results, which youll find in our decadent Titan X performance preview. Heres a sneak peek comparing a system with two new-look Titan Xs against another with a pair of liquid-cooled GTX 1080s:
Far Cry Primal run at 5K resolution
Be sure to read that article! But in this one, lets talk specs. The new Titan X Pascal packs in a lot more hardware than its predecessor, as you can see in the comparison chart below.
The Titan X Pascal packs in 3,584 CUDA cores with a 1,417MHz base and 1,531 boost clock. Thats a face-melting half a gigahertz faster than the older Maxwell GPU-based Titan X, roughly speaking, and more than 1,000 CUDA cores greater than the ferocious new GeForce GTX 1080, which also uses Nvidias Pascal architecture.
The new Titan X is no slouch in the memory department either, with 12GB of next-gen GDDR5X memory clocked at 10Gbps. Its connected to the GPU over a 384-bit bus, delivering a blistering 480GBps memory bandwidth aided by the new delta color compression system created for Pascal. You read that correctly; it doesnt have the super-fast high-bandwidth memory first featured in AMDs Fury cards. Some people expected the new Titan X to come equipped with it after HBM2 made its debut in Nvidias powerful P100 supercomputing card. But first-gen HBM is limited to 4GB, and second-gen HBM with higher capacities isnt expected to be ready until sometime around the end of the year. Fear not, though: 12GB of newer, faster GDDR5X memory definitely wont be a gaming bottleneck any time soon.
Nvidias not providing any additional architectural details about the new GP102 processor beating at the heart of the Titan X. ROP and texture-unit counts arent being disclosed.
So what does that mean in terms of pure performance? Nvidia says the Titan X Pascal will offer 60 percent greater performance than the previous Titan X. Considering that the GTX 1080 offered 25 to 30 percent greater performance than the last-gen Titan X, the new Titan X will likely offer about 30 percent higher frame rates than the GTX 1080. While we wont know for sure until we get our grubby paws on the card, theres a pretty decent chance that the Titan X Pascal will be able to play many of todays top games at damned near 60fps with high settings at 4K resolution.
If that winds up being true, itll be a major milestone. While the original Titan X, GTX 980 Ti, and Radeon Fury X can all play games at 4K, doing so often requires graphical compromise and a FreeSync or G-Sync monitor to smooth out a sub-60fps frame rate. And get this: You can run two Titan X Pascal cards in a single system with Nvidias new SLI HB bridgethe hard bridge pictured below. That was a necessity for our Titan X SLI performance preview.
Gordon Mah Ung
Despite pushing far more pixels, the Titan X Pascal still draws the same 250 watts of power as the original Titan X, sipping the juice through 8-pin and 6-pin power connectors. The two-slot card measures 10.5-inches long by 4.376-inches wide, and features the same connections as the GTX 1080: DVI-D, an HDMI 2.0b port, and three DisplayPort 1.4 connections. The new Titan features the same vapor chamber cooling with a blower-style fan as the GTX 1080, along with a similarly angular metal shroudthough the Titan X Pascals is all black, rather than silver.
The Titan X Pascal also packs all the various new features rolled out with Pascal, including simultaneous multi-projection, asynchronous compute enhancements, the Ansel super-screenshot tool, Fast Sync, GPU Boost 3.0, and more. You can read about all of the Pascal GPUs fresh goods in detail in our GTX 1080 review.
Price and availability
Though its pretty safe to say that the Titan X Pascal will be a beast of a gaming card, Id recommendas alwaysholding off on buying one until youre able to read in-depth reviews of its performance.
If you do decide to pick one up, Nvidia will be the only manufacturer, so consumers in North America and Europe will have to buy the Titan X Pascal from GeForce.com, or get it as part of a custom system via a handful of boutique system builders (like Falcon Northwest and Origin PC). Itll roll out in Asia soon. In countries where you cant buy from Nvidia directly, the card will be offered by its partners, but theyll still be made by Nvidia.
There are two points worth noting. First, the price: The Titan X Pascal is $1,200, or $200 more than the original Titan Xs MSRP. That continues the GTX 10-series trend of being priced higher than their Maxwell GPU-based predecessors. You have to wonder how much the inevitable GTX 1080 Tiwhich will likely be more gamer-focusedwill cost at launch.
Second, availability is a question. The high-end GTX 1080 hasnt stayed in stock reliably since its launch, which in turn has resulted in inflated street prices. (The GTX 1070 and GTX 1060 have had more stock, but are still in high demand.) Dont expect Titan X Pascal prices to go sky-high since theyre being sold only by Nvidia, but stocks may very well be limited in the near term. Or not! Well have to see. The demand for a $1,200 card will no doubt be lower than for even a $600-plus card like the GTX 1080.
Regardless, this thing looks like an utter monster. Theres a new Titan in town, and itll be the proverbial 800-pound gorilla for a whileAMDs enthusiast-class Vega cards with HBM2 arent expected until at least the end of the year, or possibly 2017.
Microsoft has opened up sales of the HoloLens development kit to anyone with $3,000 to spare, a move that could significantly expand the community of developers building apps for the augmented reality headset.
Until now, HoloLens was available only to developers and companies through Microsoft sales reps, but from Tuesday, anyone in the U.S. or Canada can buy up to five headsets online through the Microsoft Store. There was no word about availability in other countries.
Technically, Microsoft has only made the HoloLens available to developers and business customers. But Microsoft has now also waived the requirement to submit an application, basically making the HoloLens freely available.
HoloLens can overlay three-dimensional images onto the real world. By tracking the users movements, the 3D images can be continually redrawn to match the users perspective, making them appear like objects in real space.
One such application was demonstrated at last months Worldwide Developer Conference in Toronto. Japan Airlines showed a HoloLens app that lets engineers get up close with a full scale, computerized model of a jet engine. The app can highlight engine parts and show how different components work together in a way not possible with a real engine.
Yahoo users might want to reset their passwords. A hacker claims to have stolen the login information for 200 million Yahoo accounts and is selling them on the black market.
The stolen records are up for sale on TheRealDeal, a darknet marketplace that offers illegal goods. For 3 bitcoins, or US$1,824, anyone can buy them.
The hacker, known as peace_of_mind, has claimed to have previously sold login credentials for LinkedIn and Tumblr users.
In a brief message, peace_of_mind said the Yahoo database came from a Russian group that breached LinkedIn and Tumblr, in addition to MySpace.
In the case of the Yahoo accounts, the database most likely comes from 2012, the hacker said. Copies of the stolen Yahoo database have already been bought, peace_of_mind added.
On Monday, Yahoo said it was aware that the stolen database was on sale, but it neither confirmed nor denied that the records were real.
Our security team is working to determine the facts, the company said in an email.
Back in 2012, Yahoo reported a breach, but of only 450,000 accounts. A hacking group called D33ds Company had claimed responsibility, but Yahoo said that most of the stolen passwords were invalid.
Its unclear if that hack is connected with this sale of 200 million accounts. Other security researchers have also noticed a Russian hacker known as the Collector selling tens of millions of email logins from Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail.
Peace_of_mind has posted a sample of the stolen Yahoo database, which includes user email addresses, along with passwords that have been hashed using the MD5 algorithm.
Those passwords could easily be cracked using a MD5 decrypter available online. The database also contains backup email addresses, as well as the users birth dates.
IDG News Service tried several email addresses from the stolen records and noticed that Yahoos login page recognized them and then asked for a password. However, other emails addresses were no longer valid.
Although Yahoo hasnt confirmed the breach, users should still change their passwords, said Adam Levin, chairman of security firm IDT911, in an email.
In addition, users should make sure they arent using the same passwords across Internet accounts, he added.
Hard on the heels of its Demandware acquisition in June, Salesforce confirmed on Monday that its acquiring cloud collaboration software maker Quip.
The purchase price is $582 million, plus the value of Salesforces previous investments in the company, according to a regulatory filing late last week. According to one estimate, the total value amounts to roughly $750 million.
We can confirm Salesforce has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Quip, the company said via email, but declined to provide further details.
Founded in 2012, Quip makes cloud-based software designed to make team collaboration easier through capabilities such as chat-enabled documents and spreadsheets.
As part of Salesforce, we will be able to expand our service more quickly and reach millions of people all over the world, Bret Taylor, Quips cofounder and CEO, said in a blog post. And, well be able to extend the Salesforce Customer Success Platform in powerful new ways with our next-generation productivity capabilities. The possibilities of mixing data, content and communication are amazing.
As part of Salesforce, Quip will continue to serve its existing customers, he added.
Taylor was a co-creator of Google Maps and also worked as CTO at Facebook, where he created the Like button. Cofounder Kevin Gibbs also hails from Google, where he created Google Suggest. He is now Quips head of engineering.
The move is one more indication that Salesforce has yuge plans for its customer relationship management (CRM) software platform, said Denis Pombriant, managing principal at Beagle Research Group.
A platform has to be universal and all-encompassing, because its mission is to be a complete one-stop shop for customers, Pombriant said. Competitors Microsoft and Google both have similar products, so Salesforce had to be able to check off that box.
While Microsoft Word is fine for shorter documents, its tough to wrestle with when you want to do more, Pombriant said. I am betting they think Word is long in the tooth and document creation needs to be reimagined.
Salesforce also went head-to-head with Microsoft recently in bidding wars over LinkedIn. Microsoft ultimately won that contest, but now Salesforce is dropping solidly into Office territory with a word processor, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst with Enderle Group.
This would imply a much stronger Office competitor in Salesforces future, he said.
The head of Hewlett-Packard Enterprises cloud team is leaving the company in a reorg that will also see the creation of a new cloud division.
Two other top executives are also departing: Manish Goel, the head of HPEs storage business, and Robert Vrij, managing director of sales for the Americas.
The changes, announced in a blog post Monday, follow the news last month that Martin Fink, HPEs CTO and the head of HP Labs, will retire at the end of the year.
HPE was formed last year when the old Hewlett-Packard split in two, with HP Inc. now selling its PCs and printers, and HPE its data center products and services.
LIke its rival IBM, HP struggled to adapt to the new model of cloud computing, and its business was declining alongside sales of traditional on premises hardware and software.
Eight months after the split, HPEs cloud business is a still work in progress. In January, it pulled the plug on its Helion public cloud services, to focus instead on selling private and managed cloud capabilities.
And now Bill Hilf, whod been in charge of those cloud efforts, will be leaving HPE to pursue other opportunities, HPE said on Monday.
The company will move its Helion OpenStack and Helion CloudSystem teams into a new division called the Software-Defined & Cloud Group, to be led by Ric Lewis, it said.
By bringing these assets together, we create a single organization tasked with a common mission to provide best-in-class solutions that enable developers and operators to deploy their applications across traditional and cloud infrastructures, simply and effortlessly, HPE said.
It positioned the news as a continuation of its announcement in May, when it said it would spin off its enterprise services business and merge it with CSC to create an IT services giant with US$26 billion in annual revenue.
The U.S. Department of Commerce is not just rubber-stamping applications to join the new Privacy Shield data protection program: 24 hours after companies began certifying their compliance, the administrations website still listed no approvals.
Microsoft was among the first businesses to certify that it complied with the new rules for transferring European Union citizens personal information to the U.S. when the Commerce Departments International Trade Administration began accepting applications on Monday.
We expect it to be approved in the coming days, Microsoft Vice President for EU Government Affairs John Frank wrote on a company blog.
The company isnt waiting for official approval to begin applying the new rules, he said. Going forward, any data which we will transfer from Europe to the U.S. will be protected by the Privacy Shields safeguards.
Workday, a provider of cloud-based HR and finance services, also submitted its self-certification Monday, it said.
The ITA will have its work cut out if all the organizations that self-certified under Privacy Shields predecessor, the Safe Harbor Framework, choose to re-register. Some 5,534 organizations signed up to Safe Harbor during its 16-year lifespan, with the certification status still listed as current for 3,375 of them.
Safe Harbor was ruled inadequate by the Court of Justice of the EU last October, forcing EU and U.S. officials to come up with replacement rules to allow the transatlantic flow of personal information to continue legally. Many multinational businesses are reliant on such transfers for internal functions, such as payroll processing, or for processing customer information.
EU and U.S. officials agreed the new rules on July 12, and the Commerce Department said it would begin accepting certifications from Aug. 1. It set out a five-point plan for organizations to ensure their self-certifications can be accepted.
First up, they must be sure they are eligible to participate: Banks and telecommunications operators, for example, arent covered by the program. Next, they must develop a clear, concise privacy policy that meets all the Privacy Shield Principles. The policy must identify the independent recourse mechanism an organization will use in case of dispute, typically either a U.S.-based arbitration service or an agreement to work with European data protection authorities. Self-certifiers must also set out how they plan to verify they are in compliance. Finally, they must designate a Privacy Shield contact someone who will be able to respond to complaints within 45 days.
Although businesses self-certify their compliance with the Privacy Shield rules, the process isnt free.
The Commerce Department charges a fee for processing their annual applications and adding them to the register. The processing fee ranges from $250 for organizations with revenue under US$5 million up to $3,250 for those with revenue over $5 billion.
On top of that, organizations will have to pay to join an arbitration service or to cover the costs of data protection authorities dealing with complaints.
Remembering passwords can be a headache; instead, why not log into your computer with a scan of your eye?
The hardware and software to make iris scanning a key feature is now reaching smartphones and PCs. The process is simple: An infrared scanner on a device will scan your iris, and verify its authenticity against encrypted information stored on the device.
Its a notable feature in Samsungs Galaxy Note7 smartphone, which was announced on Tuesday. The smartphone has an iris scanner used to log in on top of its screen.
Theres an uneasy feeling about the flash of light projected into your eye, but experts believe iris scanning is a more secure form of biometric authentication than fingerprints.
The Galaxy Note7 isnt the first smartphone with the capability. Fujitsus Arrows NX F-04G and Microsofts Lumia 950 XL were both released last year. Iris scanners will likely reach Apples phones in 2018, said Asem Othman, a biometric scientist at Hoyos Labs.
Microsoft is moving toward iris scanning as a way to log into Windows 10 PCs and smartphones as part of its Windows Hello biometric authentication system. Microsofts goal is to kill passwords with Windows Hello, which also offers fingerprint scanning and pattern authentication.
Iris scanning has been used for years to verify identities, most notably at airports. But it has shortcomings. For example, bad lighting, or interference from things like eyelashes, could lead to wrong results, according to the SANS Institute.
The iris is behind the eyes cornea and in front of the lens, and responsible for controlling the amount of light reaching the retina. It is the only internal organ readily visible from the outside of a person, Othman said.
Unlike fingerprints, capturing the iris biometric is like taking a picture, and facial expressions and aging effects cannot easily alter its pattern, Othman said.
Iris scanning is first appearing in premium smartphones. It could be expensive to put the NIR (near-infrared) lighting and sensors needed for iris scanning in budget smartphones, partly because the technology is new. A smartphone with the feature also requires a powerful processor.
I think due to size and price limitation, adding this sensor to phones requires time, Othman said. Sensor manufacturers will need to build more suitable ones for smaller budget phones, he added.
Acceptance of the technology is also a matter of making eye scanning palatable for regular users. Apple made fingerprint readers a trend with Touch ID, which can be used to log into an iPhone or make payments.
Samsung is working with companies like Bank of America to integrate iris scanning into the mobile banking experience via Note7. It remains to be seen if iris scanning integrates effectively into other mobile applications, and whether it improves security.
It will take a lot of effort to hack an iris scan, but its possible, said Andrew Zonenberg, a senior security consultant at IOActive.
It will be difficult for common thieves to break into an iris locked device, he said. If youre a state-level adversary who can stalk the target for a while, its unlikely to pose a major barrier but at this point, you [the phone owner] probably have bigger problems to worry about, Zonenberg said.
The iris is better than fingerprints because you dont leave its imprint on everything you look at, unlike fingerprint traces left behind, Zonenberg said.
But research has shown that eye-scanning techniques can be cheated. Spoofing techniques can be used for systems to accept iris scans. To counter that, IARPA (the U.S. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity) will start funding the development of foolproof biometric authentication systems that can detect anyone trying to disguise their biometric identity.
The health issues related to iris scanning are still unknown. But for Samsung executives, theyd rather have the iris scanning feature in Note7 than not, especially in a world where security is becoming a larger concern every day.
Google parent company Alphabet will begin testing a drone delivery service in the U.S. in a bid to overcome any hurdles to rolling out the technology, the White House said Tuesday.
Alphabet will kick off a research study for Project Wing at a Federal Aviation Administration test site to help regulators answer critical safety and human factors questions for drone deliveries, the White House said in a statement.
Alphabet first tested its delivery drones in Queensland, Australia, in 2014, where the company delivered a first aid kit, candy bars, dog treats, and water to farmers.
Google and Amazon are both developing drone delivery systems, but lots of questions remain about how the services will actually work, including how and where packages will be dropped off.
The tests at the FAA site could help assuage the U.S. governments concerns about the safety of such systems and how they will operate.
The Project Wing announcement was one of several made during a White House workshop on drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs.
The National Science Foundation said it would invest US$35 million in drone research over the next five years. The research is aimed at designing and controlling drones to be used for infrastructure inspection, disaster response, agricultural monitoring, and studying severe storms.
The U.S. must avoid crippling the drone industry through slow-moving regulatory processes, FAA administrator Michael Huerta said during the White House workshop.
This is an industry thats moving at the speed of Silicon Valley, he said. We at the FAA know that we cant respond at the speed of government.
Updated 09-15-16: The Consumer Product Safety Commission has officially recalled the Samsung Galaxy Note7. For more information, including details on reimbursement, please read the language on the commissions website. Our original article proceeds below.
Theres a lot to like in Samsungs new Galaxy Note 7, which will ship on Aug. 19.
The sharp screen is accentuated by a slight curve on the edges that makes the device easy to handle. It has a snappy, 64-bit processor, and it can rock games and virtual reality with the companion Gear VR headset. Samsungs attention to smaller details makes it a fine device. Here are seven things you need to know about Note7:
Many similarities with Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge
The Galaxy Note7 is a large-screen version of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, with a 5.7-inch 2560 x 1440-pixel display. The USB-C port is an improvement over S7s micro-USB 2.0 ports. Common features include a 12-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth and wireless charging. The Note 7 is pre-loaded with Android 6.0.1, weighs 169 grams and is 7.9 millimeters thick. It has 64GB of internal storage and an SD card slot.
The iris scanner has its own camera
A unique Note 7 security feature is the ability to scan the iris as a way to log users into the device. Heres how it works: Place your eyes in front of the iris scanneran IR camera located on top of the screenwhich will scan your eyes. It will match up the scan against encrypted iris information stored in a secure hardware layer on the phone. Iris scanner works in multiple light settings, but it wont work with sunglasses, Samsung said.
What chip does your Note 7 have?
In U.S., China, and Japan, the Galaxy Note 7 will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset; in other places, itll be Samsungs Exynos 8 Octa 8890 chip. The Snapdragon 820 has been modulated for cellular networks and spectrum bands in those countries, and U.S. carriers like Verizon prefer Qualcomms chips for backward compatibility of CDMA networks. The Samsung Exynos chip works on cellular networks in Asia and Europe.
What chip is better?
Qualcomms Snapdragon has a better modem and a slight edge in graphics over Samsungs Exynos. Regardless, the Note 7 delivers booming graphics and runs applications much faster than its predecessors. The LTE data download speeds could reach up to 600Mbps (bits per second) and upload speeds up to 150Mbps. Snapdragon is more versatile with support for LTE-U, which allows for faster data transfers over licensed and unlicensed spectrum.
Old peripherals will work with the USB-C port in Note 7
The Note 7 has a USB-C port, a first in Samsung smartphones. The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge have micro-USB 2.0 ports, and many peripheralslike portable mobile phone chargers and storage devicesare designed to plug into that port. Those peripherals can be used with Note7 with a micro-USB 2.0 to USB-C connector that Samsung provides with the new handset.
Note 7 will log you into your Samsung-based Windows PC
Like Apple, Samsung wants its hardware devices to work seamlessly. Thats been difficult because Samsungs devices run on three OSes: Windows in most PCs, Android in mobile devices, and Tizen in wearables. The Note 7 shows some results of Samsungs effort to bridge that gap between devices. Users can swipe a finger on the Note 7 fingerprint reader to log into a Windows-based Galaxy TabPro S 2-in-1 tablet/laptop hybrid. Users can also login into a TabPro S by pattern authenticationby drawing specific shapeson a Note 7.
Samsung Flow is different from Windows Hello, a Microsoft feature for biometric authentication to log into laptops, but a Samsung spokesman said the companies are working together to see how the features could be used together.
No clarity if Note 7 will support Googles DayDream
A great add-on to the Note 7 is the new Gear VR headset, in which the phablet can be fitted to virtually roam cities, play games, or ski down a mountain slope. Samsung declined to comment if Note 7 would work with Googles emerging DayDream VR platform, which will be available in specific handsets by the end of the year. Rather, it runs the same Oculus store and software as the Gear VR for current Samsung phones. The Gear VR headset and Note 7 could be combined for DayDream, which has minimum hardware requirements of a high-resolution screen, specific sensors, and strong graphics capabilities. Samsung said announcements on DayDream-compatible devices will come at a later date.
Inland Regional Center executive director Lavinia Johnsons eyes beamed as she talked about the outpouring of support from the public, but there were times during a recent hourlong discussion when she became a bit reserved.
Associate director Kevin Urtz was much more guarded, especially when it came to discussing the events of eight months ago, Dec. 2.
In fact, both said they made an effort to avoid interviews because of concerns that sharing the littlest detail will cause their 600 employees to relive that day.
Half a year later, the duo broke from their self-imposed silence to express appreciation for the cards, banners, stuffed toys, homemade cookies and all the sentiments of sympathies and well wishes that came with them.
They have binders full of handwritten notes and colorful childrens drawings from complete strangers, as nearby as Patton State Hospital and the Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce, and as far away as the Connecticut-based Newton Action Alliance.
We started receiving them in January, she said as she looked at a long conference table partially covered in mementos.
The students from the Western Reserve School (in Ohio) would like to extend our banner of support for your recovery of the terrorist attack on Dec. 2. As Americans we must unite, thrive and triumph over the dreadful acts of terrorism. You are in our thoughts and prayers, she read aloud from a banner.
The regional center provides services to people with developmental disabilities. The Dec. 2 attack killing 14 and wounding 22 was carried out in a conference room that had been rented by the San Bernardino County Department of Environmental Health for a training session followed by a holiday party. Federal authorities say the culprits, health inspector Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, were radicalized Muslims inspired by the Islamic State.
Immediately after the regional center reopened in January, it drew attention for a different reason. It was now the site where hundreds of items were delivered, each one letting the victims know the nation grieved with them.
Were the location where it happened, but its really not about us. If it was directed toward us, then we kept it here, Urtz said. But if the correspondence was for the county employees at Environmental Health, it was sent on.
That aside, the biggest message he took from the care packages is, San Bernardino is not alone in this.
The staff took that to heart. They were very happy to know people are thinking of them, Johnson said.
The tragedy took the life of Larry Daniel Kaufman, who worked with clients of the regional center, but the majority of the victims were county employees. Coping is different for Inland Regional Center employees, Johnson said.
Healing is about not really dwelling on things, she said. June 2, the six-month anniversary, was just an ordinary day, which is what the staff wants. It helps them know that were OK and that were going to be OK.
Urtz added: What were trying to focus on is providing services to our clients and trying to get back to as normal as possible.
Working through tragedy
Both Johnson and Urtz briefly recounted that December morning. They were talking to each other outside of the very conference room where the mementos now collect when alarms went off.
We thought it was a drill. We looked at each other, Urtz said as his voice trailed off. The staff had recently gone through active-shooter training at the regional center.
But we came in here and we could see the SWAT team and the helicopters, so we knew it was an active shooter, Johnson said.
While most of the nation was glued to television screens, Johnson and Urtz said they initially had no clue that what was unfolding in a building just south of them was an act of terrorism.
As SWAT escorted them out of the building, Urtz for a brief moment thought to himself there was no way the building would be opening the next day. In fact, it would be 32 days before they would be allowed to work there again.
Although the building was shuttered all of December, it didnt mean the Inland Regional Center could cease to function. The center has clients in San Bernardino and Riverside counties who rely on their services almost year-round its closed only for major holidays.
By Dec. 7, the duo had worked with their IT department to convert a much smaller case management office in Riverside which housed about 100 employees into the business operations for the regional center. It also became the temporary headquarters for operations, and the conference room was turned into a makeshift station for the IT department, which used the space to set up 350 iPads for employees.
Our staff work with our clients in their homes, in their jobs. For us to be there with them is normal day-to-day business, he said.
But they would return to the main San Bernardino center to file the necessary paperwork. With the building inaccessible, the regional center was forced to quickly deploy iPads so they could input their notes. Luckily, about 150 employees were already participating in the pilot program to work remotely, Urtz said.
That meant bringing together small groups at time to the Norton Regional Events Center in San Bernardino to train them how to use the system, which allowed them to continue to do their fieldwork, he said.
On Dec. 10, only eight days after the horrific attacks, staff were allowed to return to the regional center in groups to retrieve their personal belongings. Most pressing on Urtzs mind was how the staff would handle that first visit.
They were apprehensive that day, he said.
Protecting staff and clients
On the day the regional center reopened, Jan. 4, the duo conducted media interviews outside a chain-link fence covered in green mesh as employees and clients were greeted by a new security checkpoint.
We provide services to people with developmental disabilities, and we dont want to have a lot of people watching, Urtz said. Theyre anxious enough not having to be dealing with photographers.
In the beginning, the site became a place where national media outlets set up and some members of the public came to gawk, while others paid tribute.
We were kind of hoping the news would go away, he said, with nervous laughter.
Both Johnson and Urtz compared that initial visit in December to that first day.
When they came back on the 4th, their expressions were much happier, he said. Many voiced to him and Johnson how happy they were to see their co-workers.
But there were noticeable differences, the most obvious the fence and new security measures.
Some of those procedures have since been scaled back and will continue to change as the directors see fit. Johnson said they are not going to put a deadline on anything just yet.
Were just being patient with all of this, because everybody is adjusting at a different time frame, we dont want to rush things, Urtz said.
Even the neighbors feelings are considered now when the center practices drills.
On the day of the shooting, the fire alarms were very loud, a destructive noise, as Urtz described it, followed by strobe lights.
The center has conducted two fire drills since returning seven months ago. They waited about two to three months to even conduct a drill.
But now it is their practice to warn the neighboring businesses and homes and law enforcement.
We wanted to make sure the next time that happened the people were ready for it, he said.
Healing wounds
Counseling was made available on site for the first few months when employees returned. It was also available in December but off-site. It wasnt mandatory, but Urtz estimates 200 employees took them up on the offer.
That was scaled back in April, Johnson and Urtz said.
Other services included three pet therapy sessions, one as recent as late May, which included a visit from miniature horses.
Wed love to go back to normal, and were heading in the direction, but were talking to see if everyone has adjusted. They seem to have adjusted very well, Urtz said.
Contact the writer: lmarquez@scng.com Twitter: @JournaLiset
A pair of Riverside-area churches gathered parishioners, pastors and a police chief recently to confront racial tension sweeping the nation in the wake of shootings in Texas, Louisiana and Minnesota.
And more meetings are planned.
Several pastors said they either organized or participated in discussions because they believe churches have a role to play in breaking down walls between people of different ethnicities.
Racial reconciliation is the business of the church, said Pastor Matt Brown of Sandals Church, in introducing a panel discussion July 17.
Racism is not a skin problem, its a sin problem, Brown said.
The panel featured Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz, Hemet Councilman Robert Youssef and five pastors from diverse backgrounds. Brown moderated the discussion.
Justin Pardee, Sandals Church communications director, said close to 2,000 people attended the event titled, A Real Conversation About Race and the Church.
ROOT OF PROBLEM
Four days earlier, about 200 took part in an open-forum-style meeting titled, State of Emergency, at Mt. Rubidoux Seventh-day Adventist Church. Lead Pastor Michael B. Kelly II directed that July 13 discussion.
Attendees included a Loma Linda University official, local member of Black Lives Matter and a branch president of the NAACP, Kelly said.
Kelly said he believes the unrest is a symptom of an underlying problem.
The root of the problem is much deeper than what were seeing: racism, inequality, lack of economic opportunity for minorities, he said. And when you have those things, the Fergusons and the Minnesotas and the Louisianas are more likely to take place.
At the meeting, he said, speakers suggested an array of solutions, including urging people to register to vote, building a positive relationship between police and minority communities, boosting opportunities for minorities to attend college and drafting new laws.
Kelly scheduled a follow-up meeting for Aug. 17, at 7 p.m., to develop a plan of action.
RACIAL PROFILING
L. Kirk Sykes Jr., lead pastor/teacher at Cross Word Christian Church in Moreno Valley and a panelist at the Sandals Church event, said follow-up is key. He said his church has planned a town hall for 7 p.m., Aug. 15 at the Moreno Valley Conference and Recreation Center.
Sykes said hes concerned the unrest could boil over.
We need to realize that were at a tipping point, he said. Weve seen it, of course, already in Dallas and Baton Rouge. And its terrible.
At the same time, Sykes said he supports the police.
They need to be protected. They have a job to do, he said in a phone interview. But we need to address racial profiling.
Diaz, the chief, indicated during the panel discussion that California police departments generally recruit officers whom they believe will treat people of different ethnic backgrounds fairly.
LOOKING FOR BIAS
When we hire people and we do backgrounds on them, were looking specifically for evidence of bias and cruelty towards others, Diaz said.
And when bias surfaces in policing, he said, departments confront the problem.
We hire good people and we employ largely good people, Diaz said. And when we find out that theyre not good I know that theres an opinion to the contrary but we try to weed them out.
The chief had a request.
Lets not forget, as we discuss this issue and analyze it and try to find solutions for it, we the police dont get to judge individuals based on collective guilt, Diaz said. And we would ask that the same courtesy be extended to us.
Both July meetings received high marks.
It was a good first step, Sykes said of the Sandals Church panel.
CHURCH AT ITS BEST
Matthew Young, an organizer for Black Lives Matter Inland Empire who attended the Mt. Rubidoux event, said he hadnt planned to talk until this question was asked: What does justice look like? After listening to a few answers, he jumped in.
I felt they were beating around an obvious bush, Young said.
No one mentioned what was on his mind, so he did: Hold police officers accountable for wrongdoing just as we are.
Still, he characterized the meeting as thorough and productive.
Gerald Winslow, professor of religion at Loma Linda University, gave a thumbs up for that meeting.
I think this is the church at its best, when it tries to be a source of peacemaking in the community, Winslow said.
Contact the writer: 951-368-9699 or ddowney@scng.com
The California Supreme Court on Monday upheld the death sentence of a Riverside man convicted of abducting and killing an 81-year-old woman and torturing and raping an 84-year-old woman in 2001.
Bailey Lamar Jackson, 45, has been on death row for first-degree murder since October 2005. Jackson also was convicted of other crimes, including attempted murder, torture, rape, burglary and robbery, and was sentenced to 212 years to life for those offenses.
While state Supreme Court justices upheld the death penalty, they called for a new jury trial to recalculate the noncapital portion of Jacksons sentence.
Thats because the trial court imposed consecutive sentences for the sex crimes against the 84-year-old woman. A 2001 ruling in a separate case called for sentencing for sex crimes on a single victim during a single occasion to result in a single sentence.
Geraldine Myers, 81, who lived near Riverside Plaza, disappeared May 13, 2001 Mothers Day.
The following month, in the same neighborhood, the 84-year-old woman was robbed, tortured, raped and left for dead.
The woman was severely injured but survived and called 911. Police found her purse a few houses away, inside a trash container near where Jackson was staying, and her stolen television in his room, according to trial testimony.
The rape victim suffered a stroke and died in 2004.
Myers body has never been found. Police did find her car the day after she disappeared a teenager admitted seeing it in a parking lot, key in the ignition, stealing it and driving it to North Las Vegas. A Macys bag with Myers blood on it was inside.
Authorities linked Jackson to Myers disappearance by using scent evidence left on a crumpled envelope the victim kept money in.
A bloodhound sniffed the envelope, then led her handler to Jackson, sitting in the police station a few days after his arrest.
In December 2004, a jury convicted Jackson of all charges and the special circumstances that made him eligible for the death penalty.
But those jurors deadlocked on Jacksons punishment, causing a mistrial in the penalty phase and prompting the Riverside County District Attorneys Office to retry that portion.
While California has the death penalty, the state has not executed anyone in 10 years.
Of the 747 people on death row, 89 about 12 percent were sent there from Riverside County, which has about 6 percent of the states population.
Contact the writer: 951-368-9284 or atadayon@scng.comTwitter: @PE_alitadayon
Amid a severe drought and dam reconstruction, Lake Perris is about as low as its been in its 43-year history, state officials say.
On the bright side, the drinking water reservoir will not likely get any lower and, theres still plenty of room to make a splash, whether it be in a boat, on a board or taking a dip.
Its still a very popular reservoir and weve got our numbers back up as far as attendance, said Superintendent John Rowe of the state Department of Parks and Recreation, which owns the lake.
About 650,000 visited last year, up from 500,000 the year before, Rowe said.
This last Fourth of July, I dont think weve ever been this packed, Rowe said. We had around 12,000 to 13,000 people here, which is probably a record.
Still, the annual numbers are about half of what the lake abutting the cities of Perris and Moreno Valley used to draw. That was before 2005, when the state lowered it by 25 feet as a precaution against the possibility that its dam could collapse during a powerful earthquake. The reservoir, which typically covers about 2,000 acres, is situated near the San Andreas fault.
See a larger version of this graphic here.
To eventually regain full use of the reservoir, the southernmost basin of the State Water Project system, the dam is being rebuilt to withstand earthquakes. The $141-million Lake Perris Dam Remediation Project commenced a year and a half ago and is targeted for completion by mid- to late 2017.
It consists of strengthening a 5,000-foot-long section by mixing cement into the existing soil, placing a stability berm on top and excavating and extending the dams drainage system.
So far so good, Royer said of the progress. (Contractors) are still estimating completing the project on time.
In addition to the drawdown for seismic safety, the lake has been down an additional 14 to 17 feet over the last couple of years because of potable water demands during the drought. The state has allocated less water, while the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has drawn upon its allocation.
State officials, however, have agreed to maintain the lake at its current elevation of about 1,546 feet above sea level, with a depth reaching up to about 70 feet.
Were taking a minimal amount currently to deliver to a portion of our area, but the Water Resources Department is refilling it at the same (amount) were taking out, so the level is not changing, said Brent Yamasaki, the districts operations planning unit manager.
When the dam is finished, Rowe anticipates the reservoir will be refilled close to its normal volume of 100,000 acre feet, more than double its current volume.
Then, the park will recover full use of its fishing docks and boat launch ramps. Only one of four six-lane launches is in operation, and boat use is limited to about 200 at a time. As many as 500 could be on the lake before the water level dropped, Rowe said.
Once the construction project is done, there will be a series of fill-ups because they have to test the work as well, he said.
As a result of dam construction, a section of the lake that was popular among hikers the Bernasconi Day Use Area has been shut down. Also parts of the lake are not accessible to boaters because of its low level.
Yet, because it is replenished with clean water and is deep, Lake Perris is not as susceptible to damaging algae blooms, like the ones plaguing Lake Elsinore. The latter has been temporarily shut down to recreation and some of its patrons are now heading to Lake Perris.
Rowe said he is looking at ways to broaden the lakes recreational appeal. In addition to expanded hours, officials recently installed a water park. A $10 fee in addition to the $10 per vehicle day use fee entitles customers to a full day of fun on the weekends.
Its one of the best kept secrets, Rowe said of Lake Perris.
Contact the writer: 951-368-9690 or michaelwilliams@pressenterprise.com
After striking a tentative plea deal, a San Bernardino Superior Court judge Monday rescinded his offer to the man who drove a tour bus that crashed and killed eight people three years ago on Highway 38 in Yucaipa.
Before the case went to trial July 1, the attorney for Norberto Perez, 56, of Tijuana and the court came to a plea agreement.
Under the original terms, 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.
Umscheid said his office did not agree with the deal.
On Monday, the agreement was voided when Judge Harold T. Wilson decided not to accept the deal.
Wilson said the defendant had pleaded guilty to the charges July 1 in order to get the deal. However, the probation report came back with new information that made the judge change his mind. He did not elaborate on what the new information was.
I dont understand what happened, said Perezs wife, Guadalupe Bravo, who attended court Monday with her youngest son. She has attended all the hearings throughout her husbands case. My husband said he was culpable and I heard the judge say he could go home today.
Perez is now scheduled to return to court Sept. 9 for trial readiness, and a trial could begin Sept. 12.
We look forward to proceeding with the case and seeking justice on behalf of the victims, said District Attorney Mike Ramos.
On Feb. 3, 2013, Perez was driving a tour bus from the Big Bear area back to Tijuana for Scapadas Magicas (Magical Escapes), a company based in National City.
Thirty-eight 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 on Highway 38 near Bryant Street close to Yucaipa.
Perez was arrested in 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 he determined the brake system had many issues, including two brake drums in the vehicles front axle that were cracked 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.
Bravo argued the owner of Scapadas Magicas, Ramon Ramirez Garcia, should be held criminally responsible, not her husband.
According to a report, 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.
Five days after the crash, the federal government ordered the owners to shut down the company.
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.
Contact the writer: bvalenzuela@scng.comTwitter: @BeatrizVNews
You dont connect safety with Slayer, the legendary heavy metal band with album titles like Reign in Blood and God Hates Us All.
But Slayer guitarist and Riverside-area resident Kerry King described Hillary Clinton as the safe, correct choice in explaining why hell vote for the Democratic presidential nominee this November.
In a recent Rolling Stone interview, King, 52, called Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump a sideshow, adding Im not even going to apologize to all the Trump followers.
(Trump is) the biggest liar Ive ever seen in politics, King was quoted as saying. I mean, most of them are liars, but he just outright in-your-face lies.
King added that his opinion shouldnt matter to Slayers conservative fans.
People just have to make up their minds and not be into things because their friends are into it or because their girlfriend or their spouse or whoever is into it, King told Rolling Stone. People have to be individuals. Sounds like Im talking about religion, doesnt it?
State officials will continue closely watching water conservation efforts around California this summer after statewide savings dropped in June although some still praised the nearly 22 percent savings.
State Water Resources Control Board leaders said Tuesday they are keeping an eye on water suppliers whose cutbacks have taken a hit after statewide residential water conservation reached only 21.5 percent savings in June compared with 27.5 percent a year ago and 28 percent in May.
Felicia Marcus, who heads the board, questioned whether Californians will be able to save enough water without state-imposed conservation requirements, which were no longer required as of June.
She said 21.5 percent savings is pretty darn good in the absence of a mandate yet added that officials must see how much water is conserved in July and August. One months savings levels dont tell the whole story, she added.
Is the drop a trend and its going to keep on dropping, or is it an appropriate readjustment given where we find ourselves? she said. Relaxation is OK. Were just worried about it plummeting.
The state saved 46.6 billion gallons of water, compared with 60.6 billion gallons in June 2015, according to figures released by the board in Sacramento.
Since June 2015 when mandatory conservation began, Californians saved 71.2 billion gallons an amount that could provide enough water for 8.8 million people for a year. Cumulative average savings for the 13-month period was 24.2 percent.
Effective June 1, state officials ended emergency drought restrictions requiring suppliers to save 25 percent statewide. Water suppliers were required to set their own conservation goals, based on their assessments of what their three-year water supply will be if the drought continues.
State water officials said they will scrutinize suppliers data and claims about expected water supplies for accuracy.
June conservation was all over the board throughout the state, although some savings were quite extraordinary, Marcus said.
In the Inland region, customers of at least nine water suppliers saved more than previous state-required targets including Big Bear Community Services District, whose savings were 11.6 percentage points higher than it had been mandated, and East Valley Water District in Highland, whose savings were 9.4 percentage points higher.
There were far more suppliers in Riverside and San Bernardino counties that fell short of former state targets. The worst among them: Yucaipa Valley Water District, which saved 7.9 percent in June after the state had previously required the district to save 34 percent.
Seven others fell at least 10 percentage points below what their state targets had been. Norco saved 21.3 percent compared with June 2013, yet still fell 14.7 percentage points below its state goal, and Rancho California Water District in Temecula, at 18.7 percent savings, fell 13.3 percentage points below its goal.
Following the emergency conservation efforts during the ongoing drought, state officials are working on longer-term water efficiency standards for indoor and outdoor use.
As droughts become more common, efficient use of water through recycling waste water, desalination plants and other means isnt just good for the environment. Its also good for communities and the state because it saves so much money, Marcus said.
Being more efficient just makes common sense for folks. Efficiency is cheaper than anything, she said.
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It has emerged that the suspended National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Paul Afoko made a whopping over half a million dollars for fronting as a nominee director for an offshore company involved in the building of the five-star luxury Kempinski hotel in Accra.
Leaked confidential documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca show how the Kufuor administration committed Ghana to an agreement with a foreign company for the development and operation of a five-star luxury hotel in Accra before seeking parliamentary approval.
According to the leaked files, documents show that on 15 February 2006, the government of Ghana entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of the 300 000m decommissioned Accra Racecourse site. Under former president John Kufuor, the Ghanaian government committed Cascade Development Company and its affiliates, the firm that constructed the Kempinski Hotel, to a preliminary outline plan to develop the site into a user complex. The site, once inhabited by squatters, would see development of a five-star hotel, along with an office building, residential buildings and a shopping mall.
Former chief of staff under the Kufuor administration, Kojo Mpiani, says he signed the MoU because the developers showed serious intent. The supporting agreement between the government and Cascade Development Company was given executive approval afterwards. Mpiani explains that the deal didnt go through cabinet approval because the president had the power to approve such agreements if he was satisfied with the details after review, which explains why the support agreement sent to Parliament for approval was given executive approval.
The leaked confidential document from the office of the president dated 21 October 2008 says:
I refer to your request for executive approval on the above subject matter dated 14 October, 2008. His Excellency the President has given Executive approval for the support agreement between Government of Ghana and Cascade Development Company for the development of a five-star hotel at the Accra Race Course.
50-YEAR SUBLEASE
In the agreement, the government committed to sublease the land for 50 years. The agreement also required Cascade Development Company to manage the Accra International Conference Centre. The final agreement was signed on 11 January 2007. Article 181(5) of the Ghanaian Constitution says that parliamentary approval is required in respect of international business transactions which the state of Ghana is a party to. The parliamentary approval, however, was sought a year after the government signed an agreement with the Cascade Development Company. Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Finance, James Avedzi, whose party was in opposition during the period, says the government erred in signing the agreement before seeking parliamentary approval.
In the supporting agreement approved by Parliament, the government indemnified the Cascade Development Company and Gold Coast Resort International from any liability to pay any tax on the income, profits, whether actual or accrued, earned or made by Cascade Development Company and its affiliates in respect of each sub-phase for a period of five years from the completion of such relevant sub-phase. Avedzi says these exemptions were granted in line with governments vision of making Ghana a preferred tourist destination.
Two months after the government of Ghana signed the MoU with the developers, Gold Coast Resorts International was incorporated, on 19 April 2006. It appointed Cascade Development Company. through its Ghana subsidiary, to develop the five-star hotel complex. Gold Coast Resorts is a web of offshore entities, with the largest shareholder of the company (45%) being Zakhem International SA, an entity registered in the tax haven of Luxembourg. At least two other shareholders of the Gold Coast Resorts Bethana Investments Inc and Uridor Investments SA were registered in Panama, another known tax haven. The government of Ghana, through the Ghana Tourist Board, owns 10% of Gold Coast Resorts.
The Panama Papers confirm that Afoko, a leading member of the NPP and close friend of Kufuor was a shareholder in Gold Coast Resorts International. However, he transferred his shares to Zakhem International on 15 July, 2009. The transfer value of the shares was $640,000. The reason for the transfer is unclear, but Mr. Afoko is believed to have played a lead role in negotiations on behalf of an offshore company and the government during the period the NPP was in power. Afoko declined to comment on the story. Panama Papers
HOTEL MANAGER
The extent of the relationship between Afoko and Marwan Zakhem, a manager at Kempinski Hotel, are unclear, but Mossack Fonsecas records show that Zakhems name appears on the register of directors and officers of Afokos oil firm, the West African Petroleum Company.
Afoko and Zakhem are shown in the documents as registered members of the company, which was registered in the British Virgin Islands. Zakhem had 250 shares, which were received on 13 January 2005. However he ceased to be a member of the company on 12 August 2010 and transferred his shares on the same date. Curiously, the Z2 Group Limited, which Zakhem is a director of, entered the register as member on 12 August 2010. In the leaked files, Zakhem is listed as a director GCC Resorts Limited, Zakhem Construction (Ghana) Limited and Cascade Development Company, the entity that constructed the five-star luxurious hotel. When officials of Kempinski Hotel were contacted, they too declined to comment, saying they only offer technical expertise to owners of the facility.
On 15 July 2009, two months after Afoko was allocated his shares, he transferred them to Zakhem International SA for $640,000. Files show, however, that Afoko is still a shareholder in the company. When the company files were updated by on 26 November, 2012 by Bryan Scatliffe, the assistant secretary for and on behalf of Mossack Fonseca, Afokos name was still on the list with 576,000 shares. Panama Papers
Source: kasapafmonline.com
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Ghana plans to sell Eurobonds of up to $1 billion by next week to fund the 2016 budget and refinance debt repayments due next year, government sources said yesterday.
The country is expected to launch the bond, after meetings with investors in London and New York this week, three sources, including one at the Bank of Ghana and another in the Finance Ministry said, according to a Reuters report,
The (Finance) Minister and the Central Bank governor are already in London as part of the road show and there could be a deal this week or next week, depending on market conditions, one of the sources said.
Finance Minister Seth Terkper said last month that the government appointed Standard Chartered PLC, Citigroup Inc., and Bank of America Corp as advisors for this latest Eurobond transaction.
The launch of the bond will be Ghanas fifth since a 2007 debut.
Ghana exports cocoa, gold, and oil. It is currently under a three-year $918 million assistance programme from the International Monetary Fund to fix fiscal problems triggered by a fall in commodity prices and overspending by government in 2012, during an election year.
The country issued a 15-year $1 billion Eurobond last October with a yield of 10.75 per cent, after having first targeted a $1.5 billion bond at 9.5 per cent.
Source: The Ghanaian Times
Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.
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Morocco never left Africa, even when it was no longer a member of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the Ambassador of the Royal Kingdom of Morocco to Ghana, Madam Nezha Alaoui Mhammdi, stated on the occasion of the commemoration of the 17th anniversary of the accession to the Throne of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
The country is an African nation and will always be, and all of us Moroccans shall remain at the service of Africa. We shall be at the forefront of actions to preserve the dignity of African citizens and ensure respect for our Continent, the ambassador assured.
By returning to the African family, the ambassador said Morocco sought to keep up its commitment to Africa and strengthen its involvement in all matters it feels strongly about.
From within, Morocco will contribute to make the AU a more robust organisation; one that is both proud of its credibility and relieved of the trappings of an obsolete era.
Madam Mhammdi stressed that the time of ideology was over and our people needed concrete and tangible actions. One can neither change geography, nor can one escape the burden of history.
Morocco should not remain outside its African institutional family and should regain its natural and rightful place within the AU, she noted.
She said cooperation, which is already intense with more than 40 African countries at the bilateral level, will be further expanded and revitalised.
Moroccan know-how could, therefore be offered on an even broader scale and in a more streamlined framework.
This is particularly true, she noted, regarding issues relating to security and the fight against terrorism.
The Moroccan expertise, which was widely recognised at the international level and sought by many countries, including European states, would be leveraged to promote security and stability in all African countries, particularly those in West and Central Africa, Ambassador Mhammdi stated.
The ambassador recalled the words of His Majesty King Hassan II in his message to the 20th OAU Summit on November 12, 1984 announcing Moroccos withdrawal. She said those words by the late king proved prophetic and the conclusion today was obvious, as Morocco had kept its promise.
Three decades later, Africa has never been so much at the heart of Moroccos foreign policy and its international action as it is today, she pointed out.
South-South cooperation
Madam Mhammdi announced at the function, also known as The Feast of Throne, that the Kingdom had forged a unique, authentic and tangible south-south cooperation model which had made it possible not only to consolidate cooperation in the traditional areas of training and technical assistance, but also to engage in new, strategic sectors such as food security and infrastructural development.
She said, This process will not be ending any time soon. And like it or not-- it is irreversible.
Source: Daily Graphic
Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.
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The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt. Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Martey has described whoever is condemning the sentencing of the three persons in the Montie 3 saga, as nation wreckers.
Salifu Maase aka Mugabe, a presenter on NDC affiliated radio station Montie FM and two panelists Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn, who recently appeared on the Pampaso show, were found guilty of scandalizing the court, defying and lowering the authority of the Supreme Court and bringing it into disrepute.
The two on June 29, warned judges of Ghanas highest court to be wary of their conduct in the case involving the Electoral Commission and Mr Abu Ramadan if they did not want to suffer the fate of the three members of the bench who were shot to death and burnt on June 30, 1982 in the era of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).
The Supreme Court last week handed a four months jail term each to the three men. They were additionally fined GHC 10,000 each.
The NDC has described the sentencing as harsh with party supporters mounting pressure on leaders of the party and President John Mahama to use his executive powers as enshrined in Article 72 of the constitution to grant the three jailed persons pardon.
Supporters of the NDC who believe the sentencing is harsh have mounted pressure on leaders of the party and President John Mahama to use his executive powers as enshrined in Article 72 of the constitution to grant the three jailed persons pardon. The supporters besieged the party Headquarters in Adabraka on Thursday, demanding the immediate release of the three, during which some supporters defaced President Mahamas posters in anger.
National Chairman of the NDC, Dr Kofi Portuphy has admitted to Kasapa FM that there is huge pressure on the National Executives to ensure the release of the trio.
Several Ministers and high ranking government officials have signed a book opened to gather signatures to be presented to the President in this regard.
But speaking at the 50th anniversary celebration service of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Logos Congregation at Achimota College, Rt. Rev. Prof. Martey stated that the court was right in exacting the four-month jail term to the trio, adding that the rule of law must work at all times.
A nation is an entity, a people ruled by law; so if there are any people who are a lawless society then they are doomed. A country like America, when you break the law even if you are the President or a Presidential candidate and they get you, youll go to jail. I hear some people are saying what the Judges did was not right. Look, threatening to kill a Judge, it has happened before in Ghana, whoever has issues with the sentence of these three people are nation wreckers who must be condemned and not entertained.
Source: kasapafmonline.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.
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A comment by a former president of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Mr Sam Okudzeto, that the president would be planning his own funeral if he gave in to the pressure mounting on him to grant presidential pardon to the three Montie FM contemnors Godwin Ako Gunn, Alistair Nelson, and Salifu Maase is a threat to Ghanas democracy, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, General Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), has said.
Mr Okudzeto had told Class News: They [contemnors] threatened judges, which is a criminal offence, the [Attorney General] refused to prosecute the people and, now, should he [Mr Mahama] free them, that is going to be his own funeral. What lesson will he be telling the people of Ghana? That if people commit a criminal offence, because they are his party people, therefore, he should go and pardon them. Is that a proper way to administer the pardon? That is my view. If he wants to do it, he should go ahead and do it, but they forget we are all in Ghana; it is not just me.
He stressed: People have threatened to kill judges, which is a criminal offence, which is there in the criminal code and the Attorney General has not prosecuted them and he [President Mahama] wants to go and pardon? He should go ahead and pardon them because his party people want it, his party chairman said it, but as for me, I will not be a party to it.
But Mr Asiedu Nketiah, in a statement, said: The NDC considers this statement from Mr Okudzeto not only as a threat to President Mahamas life but also a danger to the very foundation of the countrys Constitution, the people, and democracy, especially when such baseless and dangerous pronouncement is coming from a supposed seasoned and experienced legal practitioner of no mean repute.
While condemning this unfortunate statement in no uncertain terms, the NDC also calls on the Police and the security agencies to invite Mr Okudzeto to answer for such reckless and irresponsible statement since it is pregnant with unimaginable provocation to lawlessness and chaos.
Source: classfmonline.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.
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Presidential Staffer and former MP for Adentan constituency, Kojo Adu Asare has condemned the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt, Rev. Professor Emmanuel Martey for stoking his nose into issues without reference to Biblical principles.
The outspoken former MP expressed disappointment at the speed with which Reverend Professor Martey condemns any wrong thing associated with government and the ruling party without recourse to due diligence to find out what the real issues are.
Kojo Adu Asare was speaking on Accra-based Starr FM to a statement attributed to the Presby Church Moderator in which he reportedly condemned government appointees and all those appealing to the President to grant pardon to the three persons jailed for contempt by the Supreme Court.
A nation is an entity, a people ruled by law; so if there are any people who are a lawless society then they are doomed. A country like America, when you break the law even if you are the President or a Presidential candidate and they get you, youll go to jail. I hear some people are saying what the Judges did was not right.
"Look, threatening to kill a Judge, it has happened before in Ghana, whoever has issues with the sentence of these three people are nation wreckers who must be condemned and not entertained, Reverend Martey was quoted as saying.
But the use of harsh comments and reference to threats to kill the Judges which was not the reason for the sentencing has surprised Mr. Adu Asare.
I can only refer Reverend Martey to the scripture in the Bible, Luke Chapter 23:39-43 which reads, he said;
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: Arent you the Messiah? Save yourself and us! But the other criminal rebuked him. Dont you fear God, he said, since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.
Then he said Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise
On the use of the phrase nation wreckers, Mr Adu Asare responded that sometimes the position of Reverend Martey on issues like these leaves much to desire and asked him to be mindful of his utterances.
Nation Wreckers are supposed to be converted as they also need Christ in their lives. Christ never condemned anybody.
"He condemned the acts of such people and not the individuals involved. Christ hates sin. He doesnt hate sinners, he counseled.
He cautioned Reverend Professor Martey to be wary of his comments especially about government and the NDC when the same Presby Moderator goes silent on other very disturbing comments or threatening remarks by people on the other side of the political divide.
Mr Adu Asare, unceremoniously decided to end the interview with Nii Ardey Clegg, Host of Starr FMs Morning show to avoid the temptation of using harsh comments against the Reverend Minister.
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.
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Melbourne graffiti artist Lushsux has now edited their contentious Hillary Clinton mural to depict a beautiful Muslim woman in a full-length niqab.
The Footscray mural, which showed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in a revealing one-piece bathing suit emblazoned with the American flag, made international press due to its controversial nature. It gained wide negative criticism, including from the local Maribyrnong Council.
We believe it is offensive because of the depiction of a near-naked woman, not on the basis of disrespect to Hillary Clinton, in accordance with the Graffiti Prevention Act 2007, said Council chief executive Stephen Wall. He told ABC that the business owner had been asked to remove the mural.
The graf artist has branded the calls for the mural to be removed as pathetic.
Instead, they have now painted over Clintons body with a niqab, leaving only the politicians eyes visible, as well as the following message:
IF THIS MUSLIM WOMAN OFFENDS U, U R A BIGOT, RACIST, SEXIST, ISLAMOPHOBE.
The artist posted an image of the newly updated mural on Instagram with the caption:
This is no longer a wall of a supposed offensive and near naked Hillary Clinton, it is now a depiction of a beautiful Muslim woman. No reasonable person would consider this offensive. If you do consider it offensive you are a sexist, racist, islamophobic, xenophobic, uncultured and ignorant bigot.
The graffiti artists Instagram has now been fully reinstated (but is now set to private), after it was deleted recently.
Lushsux told multiple media outlets that they believed it was censorship due to the Hillary mural, despite having recently gained infamy by painting a mural of Taylor Swift, who is notorious for issuing cease and desist letters for copyright breaches her image and name.
And it looks like the artist has no plans to slow down with the current narrative. Mere hours ago, the artist posted an image to Instagram requesting mirror selfies from Muslim women:
Looking for Muslim women to submit self shot [sic] mirror selfies while wearing a niqab, hijab, burka [sic] or any traditional dress for a huge mural wall painting
So, were sure well see another of piece of recognisably Lushsux art up and around Melbs very shortly.
Source: ABC / Instagram.
Photo: @lushsux / Instagram.
By now, you might have heard about the devastating death of 22-year-old Sydney woman Tanami Nayler, who was killed in a hit and run by a stolen car in Melbourne over the weekend.
The young woman was using a pedestrian crossing in West Melbourne at around 2:15am on Friday night/Saturday morning, when a Corolla stolen from a nearby rental depot hit her and dragged her at least 70 metres. It has been reported that the car was doing 100km/h in a 60km/h zone.
The driver, 21-year-old Nicholas Davison, ran away from the scene but was later found and charged with culpable driving, dangerous driving, fail to stop at the scene of an accident, fail to render assistance, burglary and theft.
The story of Naylers death has been widely reported in relation to the fact that the young woman had been playing Pokemon Go, with headlines boldly proclaiming Pokemon Go death (Sunshine Coast Daily), Sydney woman died after playing Pokemon GO following -hit-and-run (Daily Mail) and Woman in Melbourne allegedly playing Pokemon Go dead after hit by stolen car and dragged 70 metres (International Business Times).
Some headlines implied and led many to believe that if Nayler hadnt been focussing on the mobile game, she could have avoided the incident.
They were misleading Naylers tragic death had nothing to do with her playing Pokemon Go, despite original police statements, and none of the onus should be placed on the young woman. In fact, she wasnt even holding her phone at the time.
Its been confirmed that she had previously been playing it that night, but her phone was in her pocket when she was hit by the car.
Her cousin gave a statement, saying,
Its one of those senseless things, you cant predict something like that.
Tanamis friends and family have paid tribute to the young woman on social media, stating that she was perfect and very loved:
Source: Newscorp.
Photo: Facebook.
Kanye West wants to work with IKEA.
Out of all the ridiculous, unreal, plethora of flotsam & jetsam permeating the news cycle today, that has been the one sentence that Ive been unable to shake from my considerably-sized scone since reading it earlier this morning.
Kanye West. That man. He wants to work with IKEA.
For those of you who somehow missed it earlier on, West appeared on BBC Radio 1 to discuss a typically large amount of different topics in rapid succession. But it was his desire to collaborate with the Swedish blood pressure-raiser that caught the most attention, with Ye suggesting that students would froth on the minimalist-style designs he would create for the brand.
I have to work with Ikea make furniture for interior design, for architecture. [Students would be saying] Yo Ikea, allow Kanye to create, allow him to make this thing because you know what, I want a bed that he makes, I want a chair that he makes.'
Kanyes desire to build a bed isnt necessarily new. The artist formally known as Ye has posted a pair of his uh designs for a bed to Twitter earlier in the year.
Ive been trying to figure out the bed design for the master bedroom at our Hidden Hills compound pic.twitter.com/aEPqoBGY4b KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) April 2, 2016
Royere doesnt make a Polar bear bed but the Polar bear couch is my favorite piece of furniture we own pic.twitter.com/tSJgikAUmT KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) April 2, 2016
And look, I dont claim to be around the thought processes of West any more than anyone else.
But thats a Malm, m8. IKEA already has plenty of em. Students already froth on them, too. Theyre sturdy as shit, reasonably affordable, can be pulled apart in under half an hour, and are hella easy on the eyes. Outside of meatballs, the Malms probably the leading cause of people actually visiting an IKEA.
Anyway, because the internet never let a joke setup slip it by, particularly when brand awareness is job number one, IKEA Australia have now fired back at Yeezy with a tasty little bit of content of their own.
Whilst its probably not gonna put any IKEA Hackers minds to work, would ya just look at all them Malms?
My god. Three in a row. Bolted together, too! Glorious. So sturdy. So moveable. So many spare allen keys.
Life-sized nude wax figures of celebrities and subsequent Snapchat scandal sold separately, for obvious reasons.
Source: IKEA Australia.
Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty.
Make no bones about it: were heading very rapidly toward a world of driverless cars.
Driving cars is a nasty business, when it comes down to it. According to the World Health Organisation, 1.25 million people died in road traffic accidents in 2015, and progress toward reducing that number has been excruciatingly slow. A renewed focus on public transport is one obvious solution but the world decided collectively in the 20th century that we were going to build a helluva lot of roads, and spread our cities out like giant spiderwebs. Now we have to live with that infrastructure decision and work around it somehow.
Driverless cars often bubble up as a solution here. Maybe we should cut out that pesky human element and just have our roads run with algorithms. Maybe then everything will look like that insane intersection in Ethiopia, which seems to work fine:
what the hell is this
But people are skittish about the concept of handing over the autonomy of their vehicle to a computer. Maybe rightfully so, too. Tesla Motors announced recently that one of its cars, operating in autopilot mode, had been involved in a crash which killed its driver. Its important to note that Teslas autopilot isnt a true self-driving mode: its an an assisted driving mode which is very much in beta and requires you to keep your hands on the wheel at all times.
But its still a concern, and it feels a bit icky. When a person dies in a regular car accident, theres usually something to blame. Either one or both drivers made an error, or there was a failure in the vehicle, or the traffic design was inadequate. When we inevitably begin seeing fatal car accidents caused by an software error, well have to ask whether the software provider is culpable, or if this is just a margin of error were willing to accept as a society.
It wont just be errors, either. An article by The Guardians science editor Ian Sample asks a pretty startling question: should a driverless car be willing to cause the deaths of other people to save its occupant? If it would save your life to have your car plow through a gaggle of pedestrians, what should the car do?
Or think about it the other way: if your car could save the lives of ten pedestrians by steering directly into a wall and killing you, should it do that? Thats even thornier, but these are absolutely the moral questions that designers of self-driving cars are thinking about right bloody now. Would people even buy a car that would do that?
buckled up for some moral philosophy
Jean-Francois Bonnefon at the Toulouse School of Economics reckons that its even more complex than that, and demands info that a self-driving car may not be able to accurately collect:
Is it acceptable for an autonomous vehicle to avoid a motorcycle by swerving into a wall, considering that the probability of survival is greater for the passenger of the car, than for the rider of the motorcycle? Should different decisions be made when children are on board, since they both have a longer time ahead of them than adults, and had less agency in being in the car in the first place? If a manufacturer offers different versions of its moral algorithm, and a buyer knowingly chose one of them, is the buyer to blame for the harmful consequences of the algorithms decisions?
Wild stuff.
My take: nobody should be keen on some libertarian hell dystopia where self-driving cars only seek to preserve to life of the person who paid for it. Thats kinda not how society works. Besides, wed certainly be morally troubled if a person made that decision, let alone an algorithm. Are we just too skittish about technology?
But at the end of the day, when accidents happen when a car is in autopilot, we need to decide if someone is morally and legally culpable. Tesla made a statement via its blog to the effect that accidents are essentially inevitable, but that its autopilot mode are still massively safer:
That given its nature as a driver assistance system, a collision on Autopilot was a statistical inevitability, though by this point, not one that would alter the conclusion already borne out over millions of miles that the system provided a net safety benefit to society.
Theres definitely a question to be asked as to whether Tesla should be beta-testing its autopilot software on customers. Even if they did consent to it via the terms and conditions, its still a tiny bit questionable. If this kinda thing was in a lab environment, itd be subject to a shitload of ethics oversight. These tests most certainly are not.
As we move forward with driverless cars, were going to have to decide on solid principles as to who is responsible when cars crash. Do we assume someone is at fault, like we do in a regular accident with human drivers?
Or do we accept Tesla and Googles assertion that self-driving cars are extremely safe, and accidents are just an unfortunate statistical necessity?
Photo: Minority Report.
Dauphin County Coroner Graham Hetrick talks about recent homicides in Harrisburg
Dauphin County Coroner, Graham Hetrick holds a press conference Oct. 29, 2015, to discuss two homicides in Harrisburg. (Sean Simmers | PennLive.com)
The second suspect in the 1996 murder of Kevin Beam and Linda Arnold was never charged, but Dauphin County coroner Graham Hetrick said he was "convicted by life itself."
The most recent episode of "The Coroner: I Speak for the Dead" detailed the couple's murder March 6, 1996, at their home in the 1000 block of North Mountain Road in Linglestown. Firefighters initially responded to a report of a fire at the property and later discovered them dead, according to the television program.
Linda, 38, was found with a gunshot wound to the head in the back bedroom, and Kevin, 40, was found beaten to death in an adjacent room, according to previous reporting by PennLive.com. Police believed then that someone started the fire in the bedroom to conceal evidence.
Norman Cadmus, 53, of Upper Allen Twp., pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to two life sentences March 21, 2002. Norman is a New Jersey native and Vietnam veteran who has a history of drug and psychiatric problems, his public defender Paul Muller said in a previous report by PennLive.com.
Norman named a second suspect, who went by the alias William Lightfeather, in the slaying; but police did not have enough evidence to charge him. William later died of a heart attack Dec. 19, 2005.
William knew the couple because he lived with Phyllis George, Linda's mother, according to previous reporting by PennLive.com. Phyllis also knew Norman because she used to do his taxes.
An affidavit of probable cause read that they went to Linda and Kevin's house to collect money that was owed to William, according to previous reporting by PennLive.com. Norman waited outside while William used a key to enter the house, which was only occupied by Linda at the time.
After Kevin returned home, Norman said he heard arguing. When he entered the house, he saw William fighting Kevin. Court documents later read that Norman struck Kevin with a liquor bottle and William shot Linda "because she was a witness."
They failed to find what Norman called "strong boxes" and later decided to set the house on fire.
"Killers think fire is their friend," Hetrick said at the beginning of the episode. "A way of covering up their crimes, but they're wrong."
The third episode of "The Coroner" touched on some of the science used in the investigation, such as the carboxyhemoglobin test that Hetrick used to determine how much carbon monoxide Linda or Kevin had breathed in. Hetrick was able to tell that Linda died before the fire started because of her normal carboxyhemoglobin levels. Kevin, on the other hand, was possibly unconscious when the house was being torched.
Family members also appeared on the show to talk about what Kevin and Linda were like.
"Kevin was well-liked," his brother Sam Beam said. "If he was your friend, you had a good friend."
The couple mostly kept to themselves, neighbors told PennLive.com. Linda ran her own accounting business Arnold Financial Services out of the house. She had to use a wheelchair and walker to get around, but Kevin was there to take care of her, according to the television series.
Even though police said there wasn't enough evidence to charge William, Sam said he got justice.
"If it wasn't with the courts of Pennsylvania, then it was with God," he said.
"The Coroner: I Speak for the Dead" will look at another one of Hetrick's cases next week, which will involve decades-old missing persons cases and several unidentified victims. The episode, titled "Unburying the Truth," will air at 10 p.m. Monday on Investigation Discovery.
pipeline.jpg
This map shows the route through the proposed Mariner East II pipeline will take through Pennsylvania.
(Sunoco Logistics)
Will a liquid natural-gas pipeline run under the farmland of three Upper Frankford Township property owners?
A recent Cumberland County Court ruling gave Sunoco Pipeline the go ahead to exercise the power of eminent domain to take a portion of that land for the Mariner East II pipeline project.
But it's not a sure thing yet. On Friday, the landowners' attorney filed a notice that he is appealing that decision to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.
Property owners Rolfe Blume, John Perry and Alan Waters were in court in February, arguing through their attorney, Mike Faherty, that Sunoco Pipeline does not have the authority to take a piece of their land for the pipeline.
Faherty told the court that under state law, eminent domain cannot be used for private enterprise, even if there is an element of public use, which he said is the situation here.
The pipeline will move liquid natural gas from Ohio through Pennsylvania to the Delaware River for shipment overseas, making it subject to federal regulations and not the state regulations that allow for eminent domain, he said.
But judges in Huntingdon and Washington counties, as well in another Cumberland County case with different property owners, have sided with Sunoco Pipeline and ruled it is indeed a public utility with the power to exercise eminent domain.
And a divided Commonwealth Court last month backed the Cumberland County ruling in that earlier case.
In the current case, Cumberland County Judge M.L. Ebert on July 18 overruled the preliminary objections filed by the property owners, and on Friday, Fahrety filed notice of his intent to appeal the ruling.
Pipeline officials earlier said the current Mariner East pipeline does not have the necessary capacity to ship the current need for liquid natural gas, making the proposed pipeline running alongside it a public need that benefits the people of Pennsylvania.
Sunoco Pipeline vice president of business development Aaron Alexander testified in February that pipelines are safer and cheaper than shipping by highway or railroad. It would take 500 trucks daily to ship the proposed pipeline's capacity of 275,000 barrels per day at a cost of 20 to 30 cents per barrel, compared to 7 cents per barrel via pipeline.
And though some of the liquid natural-gas could be shipped overseas, much of it will be used by Pennsylvania customers, he testified.
Fahrety and pipeline officials could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
Donald Trump has received a lot of flak in the media regarding his comments on Khizr Khan.
Khan, whose son died while serving in Iraq, offered to lend Trump his copy of the U.S. Constitution after criticizing the Republican presidential candidate's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
Trump had responded by implying Khan's wife, Ghazala Khan, was not permitted to speak. Ghazala Khan has since written an op-ed in the Washington Post, stating she chose not to speak because of the amount of emotion she has about her son.
Trump has been criticized for his response, including by Sen. John McCain.
"It is time for Donald Trump to set the example for our country and the future of the Republican Party," McCain said in a statement. "While our Party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us."
Trump fans at a rally in Mechanicsburg on Aug. 1, however, were not deterred from support for their candidate.
"The media is spinning everything around," said Dana Robinson of New Kensington.
Congressman Tom Marino (U.S. Rep. for Pa. 10th district) criticized the Hillary Clinton campaign for using Khan.
"The Clinton machine ... they don't care who they use, they just use them," he said.
Watch more of the responses in the video above.
FEASTERVILLE -- The 18-year-old who police say was "gifted" to a much older man by her ex-Amish parents at the age of 14, testified in a preliminary hearing here for all 3 adults on Tuesday, saying her parents knew she had gotten pregnant by 51-year-old Lee Kaplan and had given birth to two children by him.
The 18-year-old said her parents -- Daniel and Savilla Stoltzfus of Quarryville, Lancaster County -- knew the nature of her relationship with Kaplan. Her mother even helped deliver one of the two children she had with him, the teen testified. The children were born in a bedroom of Kaplan's Old Street Road home in Feasterville, she added.
It was there in that home that the teen, her two children, her mother and nearly 10 female siblings, all under the age of 18, were found living in June by police officers responding to complaints and calls from concerned neighbors.
PennLive does not identify the victims of sexual abuse.
In her testimony Tuesday, the 18-year-old spoke softly in describing her time spent living at Kaplan's home, beginning when she was 14 and when he was 47 or 48. She had waist-length hair and a plain-style floral sundress, and struggled occasionally to comprehend the questions posed to her by prosecutors and defense attorneys.
On direct examination by the prosecution, which called on her to testify, the teen said she lived at Kaplan's home for nearly 4 years, and shared a bed with him, even though, she said, they were not legally married.
On cross examination by the defense attorneys representing Kaplan and her parents, the teen said she often helped with housework at Kaplan's home and does not recall ever having been locked inside the home. She said Kaplan was trusting and that she knew she was free to go at anytime.
"And you still trust him?" Kaplan's attorney Ryan Hyde asked.
"Yes," the teen answered.
"And do you still care for Mr. Kaplan?" Hyde followed up.
"Yes," the teen responded, glancing across the courtroom to where Kaplan sat with her parents in shackles and prison issue jumpsuits.
The defense also sought to challenge the teen's ability to assess her marital status or age, saying because of her birth into a religious order, like the Amish church, standard documentation does not exist. Her parents split with the Amish church around the time her father first met Kaplan, previously published reports indicate.
The attorneys also challenged the prosecution's claims that the Stoltzfuses "gifted" their daughter to Kaplan, saying they may have intended for her to marry him, but not to begin a sexual relationship at the age of 14. Once they found out she was pregnant by Kaplan, the defense said, the parents did what any others would: help in any way possible.
But beyond that, they said, there is no proof they ever intended for a sexual relationship with Kaplan to take place before then. The teen ultimately gave birth to two children by Kaplan, one now six months old and the other 3 years.
"We're not here to decide if that was a great decision for a parent to make," Daniel Stoltzfus's attorney, Timothy Barton, said of his client's decision to encourage a relationship between his underage daughter and an older man.
"What you didn't hear, though, was that he [Daniel Stoltzfus] was giving his daughter to Kaplan in order for Kaplan to have sex with her."
Daniel Stoltzfus has previously told police he thought the arrangement was legal and said it involved "gifting" his daughter to Kaplan in exchange for or following Kaplan's financial assistance to the Stoltzfus family. Now, defense attorneys are looking to parse those words, saying what Stoltzfus meant by "gifting" or "giving" his daughter to Kaplan wasn't necessarily what ended up happening.
Barton added that Daniel Stoltzfus remained on the family's Lancaster County farm even after his daughters and wife had gone to live with Kaplan, leaving him somewhat disconnected from the situation.
Savilla Stoltzfus's attorney, William Craig Penglase, said Savilla moved in with Kaplan after learning that her daughter was pregnant by him.
But Detective Gerald Scott of the Lower Souhtampton Police said when he first interviewed Daniel after the June raid at Kaplan's home, Daniel admitted he had "given" his daughter to Kaplan, by that point his business partner, for the purposes of a "relationship."
Scott said Stoltzfus told him he had met Kaplan 13 years earlier and that Kaplan had come to know his now 18-year-old daughter as she grew up.
"Daniel said in his 13-year relationship with Kaplan, [his daughter] established a relationship with Kaplan and had grown up with Kaplan nearby," Scott testified.
"He and Savilla noticed [the bond] and decided together they would give their daughter to him [Kaplan]."
The detective admitted he had not asked Stoltzfus what exactly he meant by "give," but said it was implied, and that Stoltzfus told him he allowed his daughter to go with Kaplan at the age of 14 and was aware of her pregnancy by him and aware of the child births once they had occurred.
For prosecutors, the issue at hand is that Daniel Stoltzfus and his wife, whatever their intentions may have been, eventually discovered evidence of Kaplan's sexual relationship with their underage daughter and failed to contact authorities.
Another Lower Southampton detective, Shane Hearn, said when he interviewed Kaplan after his June arrest, Kaplan admitted to a relationship with one of the Stoltzfus girls, but claimed she was 16 when their relationship began, not 14.
When confronted with evidence to the contrary, Hearn said of Kaplan, "His head dropped and he had a look on his face of resignation. That's when he finally started telling me the truth."
Hearn said Kaplan was also still married to his first wife at the time and therefore could not have been legally married to the Stoltzfus girl. Issues of marital status and age are crucial components of the statutory sexual assault charges against Kaplan, and a related conspiracy count against Daniel Stoltzfus.
Hearn also said Savilla Stoltzfus was evasive during their interviews with her after the June police raid. Hearn said she lied about how many children were in the Kaplan home and claimed her grandchildren -- the two fathered by Kaplan - were her own children.
"She appeared to be hiding something," Hearn said.
"She was also evasive about the ages of the children."
Tuesday's hearing ended with all criminal charges against the Stoltzfus parents and Kaplan being upheld by district judge John Waltman.
This includes felony charges of statutory sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault against Kaplan, felony charges of conspiracy to commit statutory sexual assault and child endangerment against Daniel Stoltzfus, and a single felony count of endangering the welfare of a minor against his wife.
All 3 defendants have been ordered to appear for arraignment in a Bucks County Court of Common Pleas at noon on Sept. 2.
Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine Campaign Stop in Pittsburgh
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign rally with democratic vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen Tim Kaine (D-VA) at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on July 30, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Justin Berl, For PennLive.com
(Justin Berl)
A former Pennsylvania lawmaker turned conservative evangelical pastor is invoking the Bible to argue that a woman is unfit to be president.
Sam Rohrer, president of the American Pastors Network, is making the argument that Hillary Clinton is unfit to be the 45th president of the U.S. based on a biblical verse that, he believes suggests a woman should not be commander-in-chief.
"President Barack Obama has said that he's had a front-row seat to see Hillary Clinton's honesty, truth and integrity and how those qualities qualify her to be President," said Rohrer in a recent edition of the group's daily radio show "Stand in the Gap Today."
"That statement alone calls into question his own judgment, but beyond that, Christians must ask themselves what the Bible says about a nation's leaders," Rohrer said. He quoted Isaiah 3:12, which, he said, in the King James Bible notes that:
"As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths."
Said Rohrer: "This verse has been used by many as a scriptural condemnation of women serving in places of leadership. There are obviously a number of interpretations of this verse, but the real question remains: Is that verse specifically a condemnation that a woman should never be in a place of political leadership, especially president of the United States?"
Sam Rohrer, president of the American Pastors Network, is making a Biblical case for why Hillary Clinton is unfit to be president because she is a woman. This file photo was taken in the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2008.
Clinton's campaign declined to comment.
Rohrer, a former nine-term Republican representative in the General Assembly, in 2009 threw his name in for candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor. As a lawmaker, Rohrer was a fiscal conservative, and in recent years has become increasingly vocally ultra-conservative as the head of the evangelical pastors group. He has pushed for repeal of abortion and gay marriage rights.
Speaking on the radio show along with other guests, Rohrer noted that in the context of that verse from Isaiah, God's judgement was "being brought upon Jerusalem and the nation."
"Whether that was the cause for women leading them or that itself brought on the wickedness within the nation is to be debated, but it certainly does at least imply that maybe women should not be in high political positions, particularly when you compare scripture with scripture," said Gary Dull, executive director of the Pennsylvania Pastors Network.
The Rev. Kelly Wiant, of Market Square Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg, dismissed Rohrer's claims.
"People have misinterpreted scripture from time immemorial," she said. "Any smart reading of scriptures shows that that line of thinking is ridiculous."
Wiant pointed out how the Bible - including both the Old and New Testaments - abounded with examples of women in leadership roles.
"Jesus himself lifted up women in leadership," she said.
Wiant said that scriptures as the word of God is a "living and active" document.
"This is the 21st century. We read scriptures as a living document not one that is static but one that speaks to our time," she said. "We need to take scriptures seriously not literally."
Wiant chided Rohrer for offering an irresponsible interpretation of a Biblical verse, for "making it say what you want" instead of "engaging in the complexity of scriptures."
"I don't think it's a careful reading of scriptures," she said. "To take a passage and throw it out as if that is all of scriptures is not authentic or helpful. Scriptures is much more than just the verse that he picked out."
Said Rohrer of the passage:
"It's not that women don't have the ability. It's a matter of order and structure that is the key point. Isaiah 3:12 is not a condemnation of women being in a places of leadership, but rather, of men rising up to be the kind of leaders God intended."
According to a PennLive analysis, 46 people died in Pennsylvania nursing homes in care-related incidents investigated by the state Department of Health between 2013 to 2015.
Those deaths include a diabetic resident who wasn't given insulin, a resident with Down's syndrome who died after his ventilator became disconnected and staff didn't respond to the alarm for nearly an hour, residents with swallowing problems who choked after being given the wrong foods, and unsupervised residents with dementia who wandered out of nursing homes and fatally injured themselves.
How did PennLive find those deaths?
It wasn't easy.
Scouring inspection reports
Nursing homes are required to report to the health department when residents die from incidents like malnutrition or medication errors. The department calls these events "adverse incidents" and it is required to investigate the nursing home to determine whether it caused the resident's death.
To help assess the quality of Pennsylvania nursing homes, PennLive asked the department in April how many death-related adverse incident reports it had received in recent years. But the department told PennLive that the contents of those reports were confidential and that it couldn't provide numbers.
"At this time we do not collect the information you are requesting in a way to provide that in bulk," Wesley Culp, a spokesman, wrote in a statement.
Without that data, PennLive had to take a different approach to track down avoidable nursing home deaths: its reporters pored over state inspection reports.
The department publishes more than a thousand inspection reports online each year on Pennsylvania's 699 nursing homes. Those reports are written after annual inspections or complaint inspections. The problems identified in the average report can run the gamut from minor paperwork problems to serious health and safety violations.
Unfortunately, there's no easy way to isolate inspection reports where residents have died due to abuse or neglect. The reports on the state website are organized by individual nursing homes, aren't searchable, and are often difficult to read. Those reports also are posted on the website of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where they are equally difficult to sift through.
To help find fatal incidents, PennLive used a tool created by ProPublica, a non-profit journalism outlet, which allows users to search nursing home inspection reports in individual states based on keywords.
PennLive used that tool to search Pennsylvania nursing home reports from 2013 to 2015 for death-related keywords like "deceased," "death," "die," "died," "dead" and "expire." Those queries helped narrowed PennLive's search for death-related citations from thousands to hundreds.
PennLive reporters then read through those death-related reports to find incidents involving fatal errors (e.g., a ventilator that was wrongly disconnected) and filtered out reports that weren't (e.g., a citation to a nursing home for failing to close a resident's bank account after they died from natural causes).
PennLive ultimately found 46 deaths that appeared, based on the findings of state inspectors, to be partly or wholly the result of failures by individual nursing homes. You can view a full list of those deaths here.
With those deaths identified, PennLive reporters were then able to identify trends and patterns that became key findings for its stories. For instance, it found that the majority of deaths - 32 of the 46 - took place in for-profit nursing homes.
Breathing life into the data
As with all stories, PennLive's reporters wanted to provide readers with more than just statistics. They wanted to tell readers about each of the people who died and what their death meant to their family.
But here, too, PennLive faced a major obstacle: the names of residents are redacted from inspection reports.
Reporters tried contacting county coroner offices to find more information about the deceased. In some cases, with the limited details PennLive had, coroners were able to provide names. In other cases, however, deaths weren't reported to the coroner or PennLive didn't have enough information for coroners to match deaths to names.
To track down more information, PennLive again took a different approach: Reporters isolated the death dates of residents in each report and then searched newspaper obituaries for people who died on those dates. Reporters then filtered those obituaries by city and gender..
When reporters found a likely match, they searched for contact details of the family and then called to ask whether their loved one had died from the circumstances described in the inspection report.
The process was slow-going. In some cases, reporters struggled to find recent contact information for families. In many other cases, families didn't wish to speak or didn't return calls.
Attorneys and senior care advocates interviewed during the course of PennLive's reporting said that families might be unwilling to speak because they have reached legal settlements with nursing homes that include confidentiality provisions. Additionally, they said, others might have pending lawsuits that they fear could be compromised by discussing their case.
After several weeks of cold calls, PennLive found two families who were willing to speak on the record about the death of their loved ones. Those deceased residents, DeWitt Whittaker, a 92-year-old with dementia who died after he was left unsupervised and wandered out of his nursing home, and Emelene Gabel, an 86-year-old who died after staff failed to notice and react to her rapidly deteriorating health, became central figures in PennLive's series.
A discrepancy between state death data
Once PennLive had tallied care-related deaths from state inspection reports it was faced with a new question: Were there other avoidable deaths that were overlooked by state inspectors?
While PennLive was never able to clearly answer that question, it found evidence that suggested its tally of 46 avoidable deaths might have only scratched the surface.
In July, following subsequent requests for information about resident deaths, the health department finally released statistics to PennLive on death-related adverse incidents. Those were the same statistics that PennLive requested in April that the department told PennLive it couldn't provide.
The department's data showed it received 259 death-related adverse incident reports from 2013 to 2015. Those deaths were grouped under three different categories: deaths due to medication errors or because of an adverse reaction to medication (7); deaths due to injury, suicide, or unusual circumstances (177); and deaths due to malnutrition, dehydration or sepsis (75).
The department added that it might have received more than 259 death-related reports, but because of the way it categorizes certain adverse incidents it couldn't determine how many additional deaths that might include.
To determine whether nursing homes contributed to those deaths, PennLive asked the department for more details about each incident. But the department said state regulations barred it from releasing the contents of individual reports.
PennLive also asked for a breakdown of deaths in each of its three categories (e.g., the number of suicides, the number of deaths due to injuries), but the department said it wasn't able to provide those numbers either.
Without details about each death, PennLive reporters couldn't determine how many incidents were caused by facility failures and how many were caused by unavoidable circumstances. Although deaths from malnutrition, for instance, are often associated with negligence, that isn't always the case. A resident with a terminal illness who becomes incommunicable might die of malnutrition because he or she has a living will that says he or she wants the nursing home to withhold food.
But experts interviewed by PennLive - including attorneys, advocates and researchers - said they would expect those unavoidable deaths to be a rarity among the types of deaths that homes are required to report under state regulations.
Deaths by incidents like malnutrition, dehydration and injuries, they said, are far more commonly associated with abuse or negligence. Even deaths by causes like suicide, they said, are frequently avoidable because most residents are too frail to take their lives easily. In addition, suicidal residents typically exhibit symptoms that should have led to interventions.
Responding to follow-up questions, the department confirmed to PennLive that it investigated all 259 death-related adverse incidents. That means, based on PennLive's tally of 46 care-related deaths from state inspection reports, the department didn't find homes at fault in 213 of 259 cases where residents died due to circumstances typically associated with abuse or negligence.
Some advocates believe that discrepancy is improbably large. They believe it suggests that the department has failed to properly investigate or cite deadly failures by nursing homes.
Matching sanction data
Regardless of whether avoidable deaths might have been overlooked by the state, PennLive wanted to know how the department was penalizing nursing homes for the errors it did catch.
But figuring that out also wasn't as easy as it sounds.
In Pennsylvania, as with about half of all states, penalties consist of two parts: First, a federal penalty, issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services but recommended by the health department and, second, a state penalty issued by the health department itself.
Data on federal penalties are kept in a separate dataset from citations. To figure out what federal penalties were issued for particular citations, PennLive had to match the datasets together using nursing home names and inspection dates.
Meanwhile, state-issued penalties are unavailable on the website of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or the state health department's website. To get that data, PennLive had to specifically request it from the health department and then, like the federal data, match nursing home names and inspection dates with its citation data.
By combining that information together, PennLive was able to see that the health department rarely issued penalties against nursing homes for contributing to resident deaths. Additionally, it rarely recommended that the federal government issue its own penalties.
Checking our data
Finally, to ensure the accuracy of our data, PennLive sent its list of care-related deaths with their accompanying penalties to the health department.
PennLive asked the department whether it had missed any citations for deaths due to negligence. The department didn't dispute PennLive's findings.
However, the department highlighted four cases where penalty information was missing from PennLive's data. That information were absent due to inconsistencies in state and federal datasets. Those incidents involved the following nursing homes: Hearthside Rehabilitation and Nursing Center; Golden LivingCenter-Waynesburg; Golden LivingCenter-Rosemont, and Harrison Senior Living of Christiana.
PennLive updated its data accordingly before conducting its final analyses.
China said to create two State steel giants Updated: 2016-08-02 07:26 (China Daily)
A worker in a steel plant in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
China is considering a sweeping overhaul of its steel industry that would consolidate major steel producers into two giants, with one located in the north and the other in the south, according to people familiar with the plan.
Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp and Wuhan Iron & Steel Group Corp will be merged into Southern China Steel Group, while Shougang Group and Hebei Iron & Steel Group will combine into Northern China Steel Group, said the people, who declined to be identified because the information is confidential. The combinations will give Chinese steel mills the scale to rival global giants such as ArcelorMittal SA.
The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration didn't respond to a request for comment, while a Baosteel Group spokesman declined to comment when reached by Bloomberg.
The mergers would enhance government efforts to reduce capacity in the world's biggest producer as part of its drive to overhaul an inefficient sector and bolster an economy growing at its slowest in decades. China's crude steel-producing capacity reached a record of 1.2 billion tons at the end of 2015, according to the China Iron & Steel Association.
The plan "will help accelerate eliminating excess steel capacities as the companies will remove duplicated products," Helen Lau, an analyst at Argonaut Securities Asia Ltd, said from Hong Kong.
Bloomberg
Though the Carlisle attorney who pleaded guilty to bilking numerous clients to feed a gambling addiction won't be sentenced until Thursday, more than $500,000 has already been reimbursed to his victims.
That makes up most of the client funds that Karl Rominger, 43, was charged with misusing. The reimbursed funds have come from a state program that protects clients from such thefts.
Rominger is set for sentencing at 9 a.m. Thursday in Cumberland County Court on one count of theft by deception and 18 counts of misappropriation of entrusted funds.
Rominger also pleaded guilty last month in federal court to tax-evasion charges.
Meanwhile, Carlisle-based attorney and president of the Cumberland County Bar Association Hubert Gilroy said the Pennsylvania Lawyers Fund for Client Security has reimbursed much of the $767,000-plus that Rominger owes in restitution.
And some local attorneys, including Gilroy, have been working to make sure the victims get the money they are owed in this complex case that took intense forensic-accounting to unravel.
"A number of attorneys in Cumberland County have stepped up and worked with a number of these victims to help them make applications to the client security fund, and we're doing that on a pro bono basis. We're not charging them anything," Gilroy said. "We police our own profession and take care of these victims as soon as possible."
So far, the fund has paid out $573,783.06 to Rominger's victims, said the fund's executive director, Kathryn Peifer Morgan.
The organization is funded through a portion of the annual licensing fee attorneys pay, she explained. Disbarred or suspended attorneys whose former clients are paid back through the fund must reimburse the fund - plus 10 percent interest - before they can be considered for reinstatement, she added.
And getting one's law license back is no easy feat.
Elaine Bixler of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania said attorneys who have been disbarred must wait a minimum of five years before applying for reinstatement.
Even then, they have at least a year to go through the reinstatement process, and that petition has to go through a hearing committee, which, in turn, will give a recommendation to the disciplinary board.
The state Supreme Court ultimately has the final say, she said.
A number of factors are taken into account when considering whether or not to allow a disbarred attorney to practice law again. Much of it has to do with the egregiousness of the conduct that led to them losing their license in the first place and whether or not restitution has been paid.
Rominger could face a maximum sentence of 56 years in prison. When Rominger pleaded guilty in May, Cumberland County First Assistant District Attorney Jaime Keating said he wasn't yet sure what range of a sentence he would recommend to Adams County Judge Michael George, who was brought in to hear the case.
The federal case could net Rominger 6 years in prison on top of his forthcoming Cumberland County sentence.
Rominger was a prominent area attorney who took on many high-profile cases, including being part of the defense team in the Jerry Sandusky child-sex case.
do not use
Jessica Watsula and daughter, Sarah
(submitted)
A celebration of life service for the 35-year-old Lebanon woman who was swept away in a flash flood Saturday in Ellicott City, Md. will be held Friday.
Jessica Watsula had been spending an evening with relatives when she was washed away in floodwaters Saturday in Ellicott City, Md.
A celebration of life service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Andrew T. Scheid Funeral Home, 121 S. Prince St., Lancaster. Viewings will be held at the home between 6-8 p.m. Thursday and from 10-11 a.m. Friday.
Watsula had driven to Maryland to meet her mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law for dinner and a painting class in the historic downtown, her brother, Curtis Brubaker Jr., told the Baltimore Sun.
As they left a restaurant on Main Street, floodwaters began to sweep the car down the street, said the report. Three of them were able to hold onto a telephone pole as waist-high water washed down the street, but Watsula was swept away, he said.
Brubaker said he drove to Maryland and helped search for his sister, who was found around 2:20 a.m. Sunday on banks of the Patapsco River on the Baltimore County side, near the Ilchester Road bridge, said the report.
She was one of two people who died in Saturday's flooding. The other person who died was Joseph Anthony Blevins, 38, of Windsor Mill, Md.
Watsula, formerly Jessica Brubaker, was born and raised in Lancaster County. Formerly of Marticville, she is a 1999 graduate of Penn Manor High School, and worked at Famous Footwear in Lebanon.
Brubaker described her as "all-around sweet girl with a big heart," and said she was a hard worker who loved animals and the outdoors.
"Jessica was a very upbeat, very bubbly person who had a smile that was contagious that you could see coming a mile away," said the Rev. Dean Cover of Living Waters Chapel in Lebanon, where Watsula was a member for eight years.
"She was devoted to her daughter - her life was her daughter," he added, regarding Watsula's daughter Sarah Grace, 10.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made to a college fund for her daughter, for which details will be announced later.
Cover said Watsula lived in the Lebanon area, and worked at Famous Footwear.
Truck bomb kills 4 in Kabul Updated: 2016-08-02 00:44 (Xinhua)
KABUL -- At least four people including a policeman and three attackers were killed, and three policemen were injured in a truck bomb targeting a foreign guest house in Kabul, police said on Monday.
The attack took place in Pul-e-Charkhi locality in the eastern edge of Kabul city, Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said.
One militant exploded his explosive-laden truck next to North Gate Hotel, a foreign guest house, at 01:30 a.m. local time, Rahimi told reporters at the site of the blast.
A police personnel and an attacker were killed in the blast and three others injured. The police also gunned down two more terrorists who took position at a nearby building, Rahimi said.
According to Rahimi no civilians were injured. The guest house next to the bombing site was frequented by foreigners.
Taliban militants claimed responsibility for the attack.
Zabihullah Majahid, who claimed to speak for the Taliban outfit in contact with media outlets, said the attack killed several foreigners.
He said the bombing, followed by gunshots, was targeting North Gate Hotel which was frequented by U.S. citizens.
Locals at the site, however, reported higher number of casualties than announced by Kabul police chief.
Dozens of houses and shops around the blast site were also destroyed or badly damaged.
What would you do with Prince Harrys phone number? Call him to read Shakespeares sonnets? Text him daily marriage proposals? Sell it to the highest bidder?
If youre Margot Robbie, its none of the above. In fact, the Suicide Squad star takes days sometimes weeks to text the royal back.
Robbie revealed her very important phone contact in an interview with E! News. She was first introduced to the prince by her Suicide Squad co-star (and royal pal) Cara Delevingne.
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Theyve know each other for years, and we met through friends, Robbie said.
Although, when they first met, at Suki Waterhouses housewarming party, Robbie didnt recognize Harry, and thought he was another famous ginger-haired Brit instead: Ed Sheeran.
He got really offended, she told Jimmy Fallon back in March. She tried to defend herself, saying: He wasnt wearing a crown though! Like, I dont know its a prince!
Clearly, Harry didnt hold it against her, nor does he begrudge her delayed responses to his messages.
WATCH: Is Margot Robbie a Perfect Match for Prince Harry?
Hes pretty quick on text actually, Robbie told Extra. Unlike me I write back four days later, weeks later sometimes.
And no, shes not playing hard to get: Robbie lives with her boyfriend Tom Ackerley in London.
And if shes going to keep living in the city, she might want to brush up on her royal knowledge mixing up Harry is one thing, but she wouldnt want to run into the Queen and mistake her for Helen Mirren!
5 feared dead as Russian helicopter shot down Updated: 2016-08-02 01:34 (AGENCIES)
The wreckage of a Russian helicopter lies smoldering in Syria's Idlib province after it was shot down on Monday. [Photo/Agencies]
All five people on board a Russian military helicopter that was shot down over Syria on Monday are believed to have died, the Kremlin said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the helicopter was shot down over the Syrian province of Idlib.
"A Russian Mi-8 military transport helicopter was shot down from the ground in Idlib province after delivering humanitarian aid to Aleppo," the ministry said in a statement.
"There were three crew members and two officers from the Russian reconciliation center in Syria on board," it said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed condolences over the deaths of the five soldiers.
"As far as we know from the information we've had from the Defense Ministry, those in the helicopter died. They died heroically, because they were trying to move the aircraft away to minimize victims on the ground," he said.
Photos shared widely on social networks by Syrian opposition activists on Monday purported to depict the smoking aircraft in the desert and personal belongings of those inside, including Russian driver's licenses, passports and insurance cards, as well as Orthodox Christian icons.
The authenticity of the pictures could not be independently confirmed.
It was the third Russian helicopter lost in action in Syria this year. In July, an Mi-25 attack helicopter was shot down near Palmyra, killing two Russian pilots. The aircraft had been engaging advancing Islamic State militants at the Syrian Army's request when it was taken down, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
In April, an Mi-28N attack helicopter crashed while flying near the city of Homs, with the Defense Ministry stressing it was not shot down. The crash killed both pilots, with technical failure cited by Moscow as the likely cause of the accident.
Monday's helicopter downing was the deadliest for the Russians since Moscow began carrying out airstrikes in Syria last September.
Director of U.S. Office of Indian Education visits East Jordan schools
Julian Guerrero Jr. visited the district to discuss their Title VI policies and see their Native American education opportunities.
China influence can soften blow of Brexit Updated: 2016-08-02 07:54 By Sophie He in Hong Kong(HK Edition)
David Dodwell (left), executive director of Hong Kong-APEC Trade Policy Study Group, believes that China is a stabilizing force for the global economy in the aftermath of Brexit.
The outcome of Brexit is expected to be catastrophic for Britain, and the price paid will be substantial for a very long time, David Dodwell, executive director of Hong Kong-APEC Trade Policy Study Group, told a roundtable forum on Friday in Hong Kong.
Dodwell told China Daily that it is not the phenomenon of Brexit that will worry investors, it is that Brexit is the product of a rather disturbing political and social development that is occurring across a large number of economies. If the malaise continues to get worse, it will hurt all of us, Dodwell warned.
Brexit is a setback for a lot of aspects of the British economy, Dodwell said.
He mentioned that the UK will have to face the substantial challenge of renegotiating trading agreements with other countries and regions; meanwhile, the situation will make it very difficult for labor to move around Europe. "People moving around is positive to the economy, as labor can match their skills against needs," he explained.
But Dodwell pointed out that China is a stabilizing force for the world, and he believes that the British government as well as British companies are hoping that despite the difficult situation they have created, still the buoyant companies from China can create jobs and help stabilize things in the UK.
"From a bilateral point of view, I see China beneficially impacting the UK to help them in a rather difficult situation. I don't see the UK has such powerful influence over China, since China is a much bigger economy."
He said that going forward, the best thing that the Chinese mainland can do is to continue to grow, focusing on stimulus economic growth. As a large economy like the Chinese mainland grows steadily, small and specialized economies like Hong Kong will continue to benefit from it.
Dodwell warned that it is irrational to talk about shutting the doors to the Chinese mainland due to the anxiety and depression that people have been feeling from economic setbacks, as a free flow of business can only be beneficial to Hong Kong people.
He suggested that there are some things that the central government can do to help Hong Kong, such as inclusion of more mainland cities into the Individual Visit Scheme.
Mainland residents who are not eligible to apply for the endorsement under the visiting program have to come to Hong Kong in groups, Dodwell said.
"Think about it, when tourists have to move in groups, they are very noticeable and will attract a lot of attention," he said, adding that if they come as couples or families they will be less noticeable and likely to spend more, which will help tourism and the retail industry in the city.
sophiehe@chinadailyhk.com
The thin air and long fast tracks demanded the absolute best of the riders physical abilities with the challenge of Colorado, very different to the last round in the Italian Alps. Richard Cunynghame guides you through the two days of racing.
Poker in Lima, Peru: Reviews of the Fiesta, Majestic, and Atlantic City
August 02, 2016 Ashley Adams
If you're headed to Peru any time soon, we've got good news for you. There's legal poker in Peru. Yep! You can still get your poker fix when in Peru. Phew! It is spread in three poker rooms in Lima, the nation's capital. All three rooms are conveniently located within an easy walk of one another, in the upscale neighborhood of Miraflores. Two are less than a block apart, making it possible to sample them all during even a brief stay in the city.
Peru uses the sol for currency. Currently the conversion rate is a little over 3 soles to $1 USD. Even so, some of the poker that's spread is spread in dollars. Following Peruvian usage, I will use "S/." to indicate soles (and "$" for dollars).
Changing dollars into soles and back again is very easy, and with little to no risk of getting a bad rate. The casinos all offer the official bank rate when you buy your soles (provided you are planning on using the currency in the casino). They also give you the bank rate when you buy back your dollars, even without a receipt for the original transaction. That's exactly what I did. In other words, unlike in other casinos around the world, no money was lost as a result of changing money from one currency into the other.
The three rooms in Lima are the Fiesta, the Majestic, and the Atlantic City. I visited them all during a recent three-day stay in the city, and here's my report on each of them.
The Fiesta Hotel & Casino
509 Benavides Avenue
Miraflores, Lima
+51 (511) 610-4150
The Fiesta is the least appealing of the rooms, though not for reasons of ambience. It's a nicely appointed, small segregated room up on the second floor to the right as you enter the casino. The problem at the Fiesta is that they may not have a game going.
Though the announced official opening hour of the poker room was listed as 6 p.m., and though the poker room manager said that poker would be definitely be underway by 8 p.m. on Saturday night, I waited until 9:30 p.m. and they had nothing, just a dealer and a room manager.
They did offer me a free beverage and even a meal, but alas, not a game. When they do have a game, it's S/.5/5 no limit with a S/.200 minimum and no maximum, with a 4% rake up to S/.70 maximum per hand. They do not offer tournaments at this time.
Casino Majestic
615 Malecon De la Reserva
Miraflores, Lima
+51 (511) 217-7000
The Majestic, nicely located right by the water, offers an active poker room. They start their action at 7:30 p.m. or so, with the last game tending to end around 2-3 a.m. although officially the room is open for play from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. They have five tables altogether, two of which were in action on the Saturday night I visited.
They spread S/.5/5 no limit with a S/.300 minimum and no maximum. About half the players had at or near the minimum in our game, while a few players had many thousands of soles. I'd guess that the average stack was between S./500 and S./600 (or about $150-$180 USD). Their rake is a seemingly modest 4%, but they rake the pot up to a maximum of S./70.
Straddles of any amount are allowed from any position, including a Mississippi straddle from the button. Typically, players straddle for S/.10 on the button, though I saw a S/.20 and S/.50 straddle while I watched.
There are twice-weekly tournaments, modestly priced at S/.50 but just "for the ladies." The room offers active players a free full plate of food and unlimited complimentary beverages, served at the table.
Atlantic City Casino
430 Benavides Avenue
Miraflores, Lima
+51 (511) 705-4400
The Atlantic City is, without question, the most active poker room of the three in Lima. This is where PokerStars' Latin American Poker Tour has made frequent visits in the past.
Their games always go off as scheduled at 6 p.m. They always have cash games, put on daily tournaments, and feature a large base of players. The night I visited, at six o'clock they had three satellites going for their 8 p.m. tournament, and a S/.5/5 cash game going.
Later in the evening they had two S/.5/5 games running, and I was told they sometimes have three or four such games going later in the evening, once the tournament is over. I was also told they occasionally spread a $25/$50 cash game, with a $5,000 minimum buy-in, but that wasn't going on the Sunday I played.
The 8 p.m. tourney ended up with four full tables. That didn't put a dent in the cash game which had a few players on a waiting list even as the tournament got started. The Atlantic City claims to have "the lowest rake in all of South America." I can't verify that, not having checked on all the rooms on the continent, but it surely is the lowest rake in Lima, at 3% with a S/.52 maximum.
I played in both the $110 tournament ($100 into the prize pool; $10 to the house) and in the cash game three hours in the former and four hours in the latter.
I found the play to be roughly the same in both games. Both tournament and the cash game had one or two strong, tight-aggressive, hard-to-read players at the table who regularly bombarded the pot with raises. Meanwhile the rest of the players were moderately tight, timid, easy to read, and easy to manipulate. If it wasn't the easiest casino game I've seen in the last ten years, it was surely at the very top of the list. It reminded me of no-limit cash games when they first started to be spread online that is, before so many people learned what no-limit hold'em was all about.
Even with the large total amount of rake coming out of large pots, I think a solid player would have a very good chance of winning money in this room surely in the cash game, and maybe even in the tournaments. They also had a very nice perk. They spread a modest buffet of chicken fried rice, vegetables, and flan for dessert that was free to any players in the room.
All three of the casinos, including their poker rooms, are non-smoking as a matter of Peruvian law. Though the casinos operate on a 24/7 basis, the poker rooms and other table games are only allowed to be open from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Though I wouldn't put Lima on my list of places to visit strictly for poker, it's nice to know there is some really good poker in the city if you happen to be there for other purposes.
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A Springville, AL, police officer was rushed to the hospital Sunday night after his car was hit while he was working on Interstate 59, reports AL.com.
Springville Fire Chief Richard Harvey said the officer, whose name hasn't been released, was working traffic control for firefighters who were battling a car blaze. The location of the scene was on I-59 at mile marker 155 between the two Springville exits, and the crash happened about 5:30 p.m. in the northbound lanes.
An oncoming motorist topped the hill and crashed into the officer's vehicle from behind, Harvey said. The officer was taken to UAB Hospital. The fire chief said the injuries aren't believed to be life-threatening.
The motorist who struck the officer was taken to St. Vincent's. Senior Trooper Chuck Daniel said three other vehicles crashed following that accident, but no additional injuries were reported.
A former police officer killed himself Saturday night after a highway chase with New Jersey State police, who later discovered the body of the man's wife in the vehicle's trunk, reports the Associated Press.
Franklin Osgood, 61, a former police officer in Providence, RI, was pronounced dead at about 11:30 p.m. at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. His wife, Mary Jo Osgood, was pronounced dead at the scene about two hours later.
New Jersey State Troopers located the car Osgood was driving Saturday night. Osgood refused to pull over and eventually ran off the road, hit a guardrail, and struck a car driven by a trooper.
Troopers found Osgood with a self-inflicted gunshot wound when they approached the car. Mary Jo Osgood's body was discovered in the trunk.
K-9 Hyde was stabbed twice. (Photo: Lakeland PD)
A man suspected of aggravated assault is being charged with stabbing a Lakeland (FL) Police Department K-9 while fleeing police.
Lakeland police responded to a report of an aggravated assault at the Crestwood Hotel Friday night. Upon arrival, officers interviewed a female victim, 24-year-old Raquel Rios, that had been strangled with a dog leash. The suspect, 42-year-old Reuben B. Smith, had already fled the scene in a vehicle headed to Hillsborough County, armed with a knife.
At approximately 3:00 a.m., Smith had returned to Lakeland and was spotted driving eastbound on George Jenkins Boulevard. After seeing officers, Smith sped off and a vehicle pursuit began. During the pursuit, Smith intentionally drove off the roadway on Swindell Road at the Interstate 4 overpass. He rammed the barrier fence attempting to drive onto the interstate but disabled his vehicle upon hitting the ditch. Smith then fled on foot, running eastbound along the shoulder of the interstate for several hundred yards before ducking into a wooded area.
Canine Officer Jeremy Williams and his K-9 partner Hyde responded to the area and began tracking Smith. Officer Williams briefly lost sight of Hyde in the wooded area and attempted to call him back, but Hyde did not return. Moments later Officer Williams found Smith holding the K-9 down. Hyde had been stabbed twice, once in the left front leg and once in the left side chest.
Both injuries required sutures but appeared to be non-life threatening. K-9 Hyde was released after treatment.
Smith continued resisting arrest, but was taken into custody.
Trentan Nace, 18, and Marquell Rentas, 17, are being charged with attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer.
A 17-year-old has been charged with attempting to shoot and kill four police officers in Columbia in Lancaster County, PA, early Friday morning.
After he was found and taken into custody, Marquell Rentas, 17, of Columbia, told police, "I was shooting at you; F-you, police," Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said during a news conference Saturday morning.
Stedman said the incident was "senseless" and "the facts are chilling," reports the Patriot-News.
A second man, Trenton Nace, 18, of Columbia, has been charged with helping Rentas carry out the shootings. Stedman said Nace was handing bullets to Rentas and picking up the spent shell casings.
Officers were called to the area just before 3:30 a.m. after receiving a call about shots fired. More than a half-dozen shots were fired at officers responding to the scene. The shooting stopped at about 4:10 a.m. No injuries were reported.
"What's clear is, as the police officers arrived, they are the intended targets," Stedman said.
Both Rentas and Nace have been charged with four counts of attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, assault of a law-enforcement officer, conspiracy, and reckless endangerment.
Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca withdrew his guilty plea Monday to a charge of lying during an FBI investigation into the county's jails, opting instead for a trial, reports the Los Angeles Times.
In deciding to walk away from the agreement he struck with federal prosecutors, Baca opened the door to the government bringing a broader and more serious case against him that could include charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy in addition to the lying allegation.
Michael Zweiback, one of Baca's attorneys, said he expected prosecutors to level the more serious charges, which mirror those brought against Baca's former second-in-command, Paul Tanaka, who was convicted earlier this year in an obstruction-of-justice case stemming from the same FBI investigation.
Baca's decision came after U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson said last month that he would reject the plea deal, which had limited the former sheriff's prison time to a maximum of six months. Anderson had sentenced Tanaka to five years in prison.
After withdrawing his plea, Baca told a horde of reporters on the steps of the downtown courthouse that he had done so because of "untruthful statements" made by the judge and prosecutors about his involvement in a scheme by sheriff's officials to thwart the FBI's jail probe.
He did not specify what was untruthful. Instead, reading from a prepared statement, Baca referenced his recent diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease and said the inevitable progression of the illness had injected an element of urgency into the case.
"I need to set the record straight about me and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on the misleading aspects of the federal investigation while I am capable of doing so," said Baca, who retired in 2014.
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Hillary Clinton held a rally in Omaha, Nebraska on Monday. No, thats not a typo she really campaigned in the deeply red state.
Now, dont get too carried away: Nebraska is a safe Republican state and thats not likely to change in 2016. John McCain won it by 15 points in 2008 and Romney beat President Obama there by a whopping 22 percentage points in 2012.
So why is Clinton rallying voters in the Cornhusker State?
Well, according to The Washington Post:
Nebraska is one of only two states that awards part of its electoral votes based on outcomes in congressional districts. The other is Maine.
In Nebraskas case, two of the states five electoral votes go to the statewide winner. That is almost certain to be Trump. The other three are distributed on the basis of performance in Nebraskas three congressional districts.
One of those districts the 2nd is more moderate than the rest of the state, giving Clinton an opening to steal an electoral vote from Trump. Obama was able to win the district over McCain in 2008, despite losing the state overall.
Joining the Democratic nominee in Omaha was billionaire Warren Buffet who skewered Trump, particularly on the issue of his tax returns.
Video:
Warren Buffet challenges Donald Trump to show his tax returns, says he's 'afraid.' https://t.co/QJShktYKothttps://t.co/xyoB4UUSvG ABC News (@ABC) August 1, 2016
Buffet challenged Trump to release his tax returns: I would be delighted to meet him any place, anytime between now and election. Ill bring my tax return, he can bring his tax return. Nobodys gonna arrest us.
The billionaire accused the Republican nominee of being afraid to release the documents, saying, Youre only afraid if youve got something to be afraid about.
Clintons appearance in Nebraska is the latest example that the Democrats hope to put in play traditionally conservative areas of the country, and that she is fighting for every last electoral vote.
Just today, in fact, a Landmark/Rosetta Stone poll of Georgia shows Clinton and Trump tied in the state, 45-45. With the minority population in the Peach State topping 40 percent and Trumps numbers underwater with all non-white voting groups, this is another state where the Democratic nominee could possibly pick off in November.
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Donald Trump fuming like a child who had a toy taken from him continued to spiral out of control on Monday night at a rally in Pennsylvania, where he called Hillary Clinton the devil. Yes, he actually said that.
Video:
.@realDonaldTrump says @BernieSanders made "a deal with the devil" in Hillary Clinton: "She's the devil" https://t.co/8F9I4kLbHo ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) August 2, 2016
Referring to Bernie Sanders throwing his full support behind the Democratic nominee, Trump said the Vermont senator made a deal with the devil.
Shes the devil, the spray-tanned buffoon added, much to the delight of the torch-wielding mob in attendance.
Though its become difficult to be shocked by anything Trump says at this point, his harsh and disgusting attack on Clinton was still surprising.
This tweet from NBC News reporter Ali Vitali sums is up quite well:
A few of us here just had to check. Yes, Trump just called Hillary Clinton the devil. Ali Vitali (@alivitali) August 2, 2016
The Republican nominees increasingly hateful campaign rhetoric comes as he continues to double down on his attacks on Gold Star parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan.
Whats clear by the last several days is that Trump is making no effort to appeal to anyone outside of his angry, white, low-information base of supporters. They eat this disgusting rhetoric up, but it does nothing to appeal to sane, middle-of-the-road Americans who want a president that doesnt act out like a child.
Its those voters who will be central to choosing the next president not those foolishly shouting lock her up.
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It looks like Donald Trump is already generating excuses for his probable loss to Hillary Clinton this fall.
During a speech in Columbus, Ohio, Trump expressed his fear that the November election is going to be rigged, essentially giving his supporters permission to question the legitimacy of the results if Clinton ends up winning something likely to happen if the current odds are any indicator.
Video:
.@realDonaldTrump on general election: Im afraid the elections going to be rigged. https://t.co/kWyyUU03lX ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) August 1, 2016
Trump said, Im afraid the elections going to be rigged. I have to be honest.
Why start being honest now, Don?
The truth is that Donald Trump and the GOP are increasingly worried that they are headed for a loss to Hillary Clinton this fall.
According to The New York Times:
Even as Mr. Trump has ticked up in national polls in recent weeks, senior Republicans say his path to the 270 Electoral College votes needed for election has remained narrow and may have grown even more precarious. It now looks exceedingly difficult for him to assemble even the barest Electoral College majority without beating Hillary Clinton in a trifecta of the biggest swing states: Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. President Obama won all three states in 2008 and 2012, and no Republican has won Pennsylvania in nearly three decades.
Most folks understand that the odds of a Donald Trump presidency are slim (although still possible), and the Republican nominee is just planning ahead.
His hateful rhetoric, lack of policy knowledge, and childish temperament have nothing to do with why he would lose to Clinton its all the result of a rigged election system.
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Donald Trumps bad day keeps getting worse as the Republican nominee released a statement throwing a fit on Facebook after President Obama called him unfit for the White House.
The Trump campaign didnt apologize for kicking a baby out of a rally. Instead, they pulled the Republican version of, hey, look at this instead, by releasing a statement on Facebook about Clinton and Obamas failed leadership:
Obama-Clinton have single-handedly destabilized the Middle East, handed Iraq, Libya and Syria to ISIS, and allowed our personnel to be slaughtered at Benghazi. Then they put Iran on the path to nuclear weapons. Then they allowed dozens of veterans to die waiting for medical care that never came.
Hillary Clinton put the whole country at risk with her illegal email server, deleted evidence of her crime, and lied repeatedly about her conduct which endangered us all. They released criminal aliens into our country who killed one innocent American after another like Sarah Root and Kate Steinle and have repeatedly admitted migrants later implicated in terrorism. They have produced the worst recovery since the Great Depression. They have shipped millions of our best jobs overseas to appease their global special interests. They have betrayed our security and our workers, and Hillary Clinton has proven herself unfit to serve in any government office.
She is reckless with her emails, reckless with regime change, and reckless with American lives. Our nation has been humiliated abroad and compromised by radical Islam brought onto our shores. We need change now.
Trump KICKED A CRYING BABY OUT OF A RALLY, and he has the nerve to claim that President Obama is a failed president, and Hillary Clinton unfit for the White House.
The Trump campaign is being overwhelmed. They cant keep up with the scandals their own candidate is generating, and the Democratic campaign for the White House.
Donald Trump is micromanager of the highest degree, so it clear that the I know you are, but what am I type of statement put out by the Trump campaign after President Obamas comments came at the direction of the candidate.
Trump had a horrible weekend after he attacked the Gold Star Khan family, but he has found a way to make the situation even worse. The Republican nominee is losing the presidential election, and he is throwing tantrums in every direction as his White House dream is being ground into dust.
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*The following is an opinion column by R Muse*
Nearly every four years Americans hear a phrase, elections can be dirty affairs. Its a phrase that should never be applicable in a representative democracy, and not just regarding nasty candidates resorting to mudslinging to demean their opponents character. Likely one of defining moments elucidating that phrases veracity was the Nixon-era Watergate scandal that brought a sitting president so low he was forced to resign in shame. Today that could never happen because regardless the treasonous scandal, Republicans are incapable of having any shame.
America is in the midst of a dirtier affair in 2016 than the Watergate scandal because today a political candidate received, and is openly seeking more, campaign assistance from a hostile foreign government with little response or condemnation from the Republican Partys leaders. Now it appears there is a good reason why the RNC or congressional Republicans have not condemned Donald Trumps allegiance to Russia, or his willingness to assist Vladimir Putting neuter American or NATO resistance to Russian aggression and imperialism.
There is every reason to believe, based on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trumps own statements, that the campaign aid rolling in from Russia is an investment to assure Vladimir Putin that America will allow Russia unrestricted access to rebuild the dreaded former Soviet Union. There is a world of noise about Donald Trumps embrace of Vladimir Putin, particularly his obvious eagerness to help Russia annex NATO members, including a nation aspiring to NATO membership, Ukraine.
It has been curious, and a mystery really, that none of the Republicans in Congress clamoring for the Obama Administration to engage Russia with militarily aid to assist in the defense of Ukraine a couple of years ago, and Georgia for that matter, have not condemned Trumps cozy Russian relationship. It is not a mystery any longer.
A damning article in the Guardian revealed that not only is Donald Trump in bed with Russia, a key figure at the Republican national convention has strong business ties with Ukraine, and that the official RNC party platform astonishingly removed references to arming Ukraine in its fight against pro-Russia rebels; rebels who are and have been receiving material support from the Vladimir Putin.
The article states:
Analysts suggest[a] primary motivation for the WikiLeaks email dump [is] doing harm to Clinton; and boosting Trump who broke from Republican policy by suggesting the US would not automatically come to the aid of NATO allies [under attack].
Also, it is very important to remember that Trump said that if elected he would recognize that part of Ukraine, Crimea, is Russian territory.
The reason a pro-Russian policy was included in the official RNC platform is because the coordinator of the Washington diplomatic corps for the Republicans in Cleveland was Frank Mermoud, a former state department official involved in various business ventures in Ukraine. Not surprising, pro-Russia Mermoud has longstanding ties to Trumps campaign chairman, Paul Manafort who worked as a campaign adviser to a former disgraced pro-Russia Ukrainian president and Vladimir Putin ally who now lives in exile in Russia.
The Guardian report noted that Manafort was brought in to oversee the convention operations and that his pro-Russian cohort Frank Mermoud was a key figure at the Republican convention; most likely because he has strong business ties with Ukraine, to which others in Trumps orbit have been linked. This business-tie link to pro-Russia Ukrainians is particularly damning as questions of Donald Trumps patriotism and loyalty to Russia and its president continue to grow. The question about why no Republican has come out and condemned Trump for his allegiance to Russia and apparent willingness to lead an American role in Russian aggression and annexation crusade is now abundantly clear; it is the official foreign policy position of the RNC.
The harshest criticism of the RNCs no aid to Ukraine policy came not from any Republican, but from Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook. Mook said,
It was concerning that Donald Trump changed the Republican platform to become what some experts would regard as pro-Russian.
One veteran Republican Party operative and lobbyist, Charlie Black, said that the new position in the platform doesnt have much support from Republicans and he added that the sudden shift in GOP foreign policy was unusual. The official RNC aid Russias annexation of Ukraine policy is a stunning reversal, and it was said to be condemned by some Republicans, but only Ohio Senator Rob Portman spoke out and described it as deeply troubling. Still, it was not troubling enough to purge it from the partys official foreign policy agenda and not troubling enough for typically pro-defend our allies Republicans to condemn.
It is abundantly clear now that no leading Republican is going to criticize Trumps embrace of Russia, or his pledge that if elected he will bow to the will of Vladimir Putin. How can they? It is written into the official RNC platform to aid Putins annexation of Ukraine by refusing to assist the nation in defending itself from Russian aggression. This is a shocking reversal for the Republican Party, but an indication that Donald Trump and his pro-Putin operatives now control the GOPs foreign policy agenda.
If Trump was not the undisputed leader of the party, Republicans who are typically strong on aiding Americas allies like John McCain, Lindsey Graham, or even Tom Cotton would have banned the inclusion of a blatant pro-Russian policy in the official party platform; but they didnt.
And they didnt because now that Trump and his pro-Russia operatives have seized control of the party, coupled with the tacit approval of the establishment, it is clear that the official RNC is as much in bed with Russia as its pro-Putin leader Donald Trump, and if they arent, why is there no outrage from leading Republicans in Congress?
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Every presidential election has defining moments, and when Donald Trump kicked a baby out of his rally in Virginia, he may have defined this election in a clear way that will lead to Hillary Clinton being elected president.
At first, Donald Trump said all the right things about a mom who was trying to get her crying baby to settle down, but as the baby continued to cry, Trump couldnt help himself and let his real character show.
Video:
Baby cries Trump: "I hear that baby crying, I like it! MOMENTS LATER Trump: "you can get the baby outta here"
https://t.co/hygTDAakzO Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) August 2, 2016
When Trump told the woman with the baby to leave his rally, it was Mitt Romneys 47% moment. It was John McCain saying the fundamentals of our economy are strong as the economy melted down around him. Trumps behavior was a confirmation of what most voters long suspected about the Republican nominee.
In less than two minutes, perception became reality.
Donald Trump confirmed that the only person on this planet that he cares about is Donald Trump. If this was an isolated gaffe, Trump might be given a break, but the coldness he showed towards to a baby is part of an ongoing long-term pattern of behavior. Trump objectifies women, treats minorities like they are criminals, mocks people with disabilities, attacks families who lost their children in combat, and now has kicked a baby out of his rally.
Hillary Clinton talks with joy about being a grandmother anytime she is asked, while Donald Trump tosses crying babies out of his rallies.
If Trump will toss a baby out of his event, it is easy to imagine what he would do as president to other vulnerable members of American society. If Trump cant treat a baby with compassion, he cant be expected to show any compassion to our veterans, elder Americans, the disabled, the poor, the uninsured, the underpaid, immigrants, or anyone in American society who is not a rich white man like Donald Trump.
Trump turned perception into reality when he kicked out the baby, and in the process may have just gotten Hillary Clinton elected president.
WASHINGTON American factories expanded for a fifth straight month in July, another sign that U.S. manufacturers are recovering from damage caused by a strong dollar. But a measure of factory employment fell.
The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its manufacturing index last month read 52.6. That's down from 53.2 in June, but anything higher than 50 signals growth.
Production grew faster. New orders grew at a slightly slower pace.
But the ISM, a trade group of purchasing managers, said employment contracted in July after having risen modestly in June. It has now dropped in seven of the past eight months. A separate report by the Labor Department shows that U.S. factories have shed 29,000 jobs over the past year.
"Things are solid now but not robust," said Brad Holcomb, chair of the ISM's manufacturing survey committee. "You just don't want to add permanent employees until have to and until you see that things are even stronger."
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Still, U.S. factory activity overall has recovered after being pounded by economic weakness overseas and a strong dollar, which made their goods costlier in foreign markets. The ISM index stayed below 50 from October through February before turning positive in March.
"Overall, this suggests that the manufacturing sector is continuing to gradually recover," Andrew Hunter, U.S. economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a research note. But he added that continuing global economic weakness means that "a strong recovery in manufacturing activity remains unlikely in the near term."
Britain's June 23 vote to leave the European Union has created a major uncertainty for American manufacturers. A separate ISM survey last month found that 38 percent of manufacturers expect the so-called Brexit vote to hurt their business. The decision raises doubts about the future of trade between Britain and the EU.
The Commerce Department reported last week that orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods fell in June by the largest amount in nearly two years. But the details were a bit better. The figure was dragged down by a big drop in the volatile commercial aircraft category. And a category viewed as a proxy for business investment plans rose in June after two months of declines.
The government reported Friday that the U.S. economy expanded at a disappointing 1.2 percent annual rate in the second quarter after growing just 0.8 percent the first three months of the year. Business investment fell for the third straight quarter from April through June.
MASON CITY, Iowa A former Iowa State Patrol supervisor has pleaded not guilty to accusations that he stole prescription medications seized during criminal investigations.
Online court records say 31-year-old Michael Haugen, of Forest City, entered the plea Monday in Cerro Gordo County. A trial starting date has not been set.
A court affidavit says Haugen has acknowledged removing pills from evidence bags about 18 times in up to eight different cases between late 2014 and April. An investigation by the Division of Criminal Investigation found that he stole roughly 150 pills.
Haugen acknowledged that he developed an addiction to painkillers while battling intestinal problems.
Seniors and others who check their Social Security information online now are required to use "a text-enabled cell phone" to access their personal information.
The more than 26 million Social Security account holders were notified of this new rule, which took effect Monday, by email late last week. A detailed statement about the change was posted on the Social Security website on Saturday.
"Now, all new and current my Social Security account holders will need to provide a cell phone number able to receive text messages. People will not be able to access their personal my Social Security account if they do not have a cell phone or do not wish to provide the cell phone number," according to the announcement.
This new rule is frustrating for people like Mary Pat Adams of Rochester.
"I don't do text messaging, though I do have a cell phone. This means I can't log in online to see my account," she said Friday. "This is going to be a problem for a lot of people."
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The new "multifactor authentication" has users login into their "My Social Security" with their username and password, as before. However, it adds an additional step.
Once a user logs into their account, a unique, one-time code is automatically sent to their cell phone via text. Then user must then enter that code within 10 minutes to access their personal information. The code expires after 10 minutes.
The change is described as being necessary "to comply with Executive Order 13681, which requires federal agencies to provide more secure authentication for their online services."
The abruptness of the change has caught more than just Adams by surprise. Local Social Security employees were not aware of the rule on Friday, even though it went into effect three days later.
When called, one Rochester Social Security staffer struggled to find any reference to the new rule. He checked the administration's web site, which had no mention of the rule. Eventually, he came across a message about it on his office's intranet system.
The worker, who did not want his name used, said there had been no mention of the change at any of the Rochester office's weekly employee briefings. The manager of the Rochester office referred all questions the Social Security office in Chicago.
Doug Nguyen, Social Security's regional communications director, did not respond to questions on Friday. On Saturday afternoon, he sent an email with a link to a new statement posted on Social Security's website explaining the change.
The abruptness of the change plus the lack of knowledge by staff made Adams suspicious.
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On Friday, she called a number on the email. The phone system required her to give personal information to reach to a person. Once she reached a live person, the woman did not know anything about the change. Adams became worried that she was being tricked and hung up.
Her next step was to pack up the four visiting grandchildren staying with her and drive to Rochester's Social Security officer to ask about the new cell phone requirement.
"When I finally saw someone, they were chagrined about the whole thing," she said.
It turned out the staff had not been informed yet, but the Social Security worker talking to Adams had received the same email and was worried about how it wouaffect his mother.
The 73-year-old Adams says many of her friends do not have cell phones or don't text with them. She feels this change is going to be "a real challenge" for many and will limit their access to information about their accounts.
The Social Security statement acknowledges that this might cause problems for some people.
"We are limited to text messages for the initial MFA implementation due to technical and resource constraints, but we expect to provide additional options in the future," according to the statement. "We understand that not everyone may have a cell phone or cell service. However, research shows that an overwhelming majority of American adults have cell phones and use them for texting."
A 2015 Pew Research Center study found that 78 percent of U.S. adults ages 65 and older own a cellphone. The same study found that only 20 percent of U.S. adults ages 65 and older owned smartphones in 2015.
Lower than expected project costs and new funding sources could give Rochester International Airport the lift it needs to get a needed project off the ground.
The airport's current customs facility no longer meets the requirements of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to maintain its status as an international point of entry. Plans to increase the airport's customs facility from its current 450 square feet to a 20,000-square-foot facility in the main terminal hit a wall in June when the Minnesota Legislature left $5 million in requested project funding wrapped up in bonding bill that stalled at the end of the session.
Airport Executive Director John Reed in June applied for funding assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration, though the project lacked the needed matching funds.
That application returned a preliminary commitment for $7.3 million in federal discretionary funds, Reed said at a Monday night Rochester City Council meeting.
Recent construction bids also came back with positive news for the airport: the project was estimated at a cost of about $15 million but the low bid for construction, from Kraus-Anderson, came in under $11.2 million. The total project cost is just over $12 million.
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The city of Rochester increased its commitment to the project at a Monday night meeting, from about $2.8 million to $3.8 million to bridge the funding gap.
A final piece of funding came from the Minnesota Department of Transportation Office of Aeronautics a preliminary commitment for $790,000.
Reed said Monday the project had been scaled back to the bare minimum to keep the airport's international status.
"We've pared this back down to what is absolutely necessary for us to continue to operate as an international facility," he said.
The airport serves about 1,300 people annually in international flights; those travelers stay in Rochester an average of four days and spend about $625 a day in the city for non-medical expenses, Reed said. That comes out to about $3.25 million in annual spending in the city. International flights also purchased about 1.5 million gallons in fuel, Reed added.
Council member Sandra Means said the project was "so essential" to Rochester to continue serving international guests.
The city also hopes the state legislature is able to pass its bonding bill in a special session. If it does, the city would stand to recoup the additional $1 million it added in funding to the project.
With the council's actions Monday evening, Reed said the federal and state funding sources could come through by late this month or early September, and the improvements would take place as quickly as possible.
After a year holding the red ribbon, Mayo Clinic has reclaimed the coveted top spot in U.S. News & World Reports Best Hospitals rankings.
The new rankings, released today, recognized the Rochester-based health care facility for its "breadth of excellence." Mayo finished No. 1 in eight of the 12 specialties, while also claiming the top spot for such categories as reputation, mortality index, patient safety, nurse staffing and Magnet status, patient services and technology.
Massachusetts General Hospital earned the top spot in last year's rankings, while Mayo finished second. Massachusetts General is third in this year's rankings. Cleveland Clinic is ranked No. 2. Johns Hopkins Hospital is No. 4.
Mayo received 418 points in U.S. News' scoring system. Cleveland Clinic had 378 points, Massachusetts General 371 points, and Johns Hopkins 349 points.
Mayo CEO John Noseworthy says the new ranking "affirms the Mayo care model."
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"This basically demonstrates why Mayo has the most trusted name in health care globally," Noseworthy said. "That's why patients come from 140 countries and 50 states."
Mayo sits atop the rankings thanks to its stellar performance in the individual specialties that were measured by the magazine. It ranked first in more specialties than any other hospital in the country, including diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and GI surgery, geriatrics, gynecology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, pulmonology, and urology.
Additionally, Mayo ranked second in orthopedics, cardiology and heart surgery, and ear, nose, and throat care. It finished third in cancer care.
Noseworthy says he's most proud of Mayo's team-based care model, rather than the work of any specific discipline.
"What we're really really good at is this physician-led team where all these experts work together," Noseworthy said. "That's the system we've engineered over the past (150) years. That's really our sweet spot.
"You don't have to beg from favors from your colleagues because you're all working toward the same goal. That's really the secret sauce for our success."
U.S. News & World Report has been compiling its list of best hospitals for 27 years, but didn't actually declare an overall No. 1 until 2014. Mayo has claimed top honors in two of the three years since then.
Mayo was ranked as the top health care facility in three different states: Minnesota, Arizona and Florida. While the main Minnesota campus is in the midst of an ambitious $6 billion, 20-year expansion project dubbed Destination Medical Center, Noseworthy specifically cited Mayo's Florida campus as a site that's made major strides in recent years.
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Thanks largely to an aggressive recruiting effort for highly trained specialists made at the Jacksonville site, Mayo's ranking in Florida has risen from fifth in 2014 to fourth in 2015, to No. 1 in the latest analysis.
"We've been steadily working on (working) together across the disciplines across the sites," Noseworthy said. "There's been a strong refocus in Florida and Arizona to establish them as regional, national and international care centers."
Noseworthy said that the new rankings will be shared with Mayo staff right away, and banners will be hung at some facilities to mark the occasion. He says Mayo's top rankings are critical to attracting new patients from across the globe, many of whom consult the U.S. News & World Report rankings before deciding where to seek treatment.
However, the news won't change anything from the initial vision and mission of the Mayo brothers.
"We've been the most trusted name in health care for a very long time, according to market research," Noseworthy said. "This ranking, it's wonderful to have achieved it and earned it, but it's not going to change anything we do."
Brian Conner
Age: 58
Education: Graduated from Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis., with two degrees
Occupation: Benchmark Electronics Inc., senior supplier development engineer
Political experience: None
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Community involvement: Active church member, DNR youth gun safety instructor, 4-H leader.
Website: None
Top three priorities:
1. Ensuring the health, safety and welfare of county residents.
2. Maintain a safe infrastructure throughout Winona County.
3. Protect the environment for future generations.
What is your position on the frac sand issue?
The state of Minnesota does not endorse a ban; the Winona Township Officers do not endorse a ban; nor does the Winona Planning Committee. I support the compromise set forth by the Winona Planning Committee. It is fair for both sides, and it mirrors what Goodhue County has established. That being said, I do not expect any more frac sand mines in Winona, other than the two we currently have. It is not economically feasible.
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What should be done, if anything, to upgrade the Winona County Detention Facility?
This is a challenge that I will have to look into when I become the District 4 commissioner. Upgrading is an option, but there is limited space to conform to the newest MN DOC requirements. In my opinion, Winona County will have to look at building a new jail in the near future or transport more inmates to surrounding county jails. It will come down to the cost associated with upgrading; new jail or increased transportation of inmates.
How should road and bridge repairs be paid for in Winona County?
Although the county commissioners recently passed a half-cent sales tax geared to providing funds for the infrastructure of the county, it is only a stopgap between the lack of funds from the Minnesota Legislature. With escalating costs associated with infrastructure maintenance, the county needs to push back on the Legislature as to the need for long-term revenue requirements.
Greg Olson
Age: 52
Education: Minnesota State College Southeast Technical
Occupation: Facilities foreman, Houston County
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Political experience: Winona County Commissioner since 2009
Community involvement: WSU Neighborhood mentor, adopt a block committee, volunteer firefighter, annual spring cleanup, flood volunteer, Semcac board, workforce investment board, neighborhood watch.
Website: None
What are your top three priorities?
1. Effective and efficient government operations.
2. Bluff protection.
3. Health safety and welfare of county residents.
What is your position on the frac sand issue?
I worked on the introduction of the industrial silica sand ban proposal at the county board level. The public hearing process and public input process have been overwhelmingly in favor of a ban. The public has a clear message: Winona County should not compromise on the protection of our bluffs, groundwater, air or roads. The health, safety and welfare of the public should be our No. 1 priority.
What should be done, if anything, to upgrade the Winona County Detention Facility?
I believe a plan that utilizes our current facility along with any needed upgrades or additions would best serve both our current and future needs. We have received input via a facility analysis and report from the National Institute of Corrections, and we will continue to work with our CJCC to identify specific goals and trends that will best serve our citizens and our responsibility.
How should road and bridge repairs be paid for in Winona County?
I did not support the half-cent sales tax motion or language for funding of our infrastructure needs. The funding mechanisms of the state gas tax allocations and local levy are the traditional methods. The state Legislature needs to address this mandate via the gas tax and transportation funding. We need to keep applying pressure at the state level for necessary funding of our public road and bridge infrastructure.
Soil and Water Supervisor, District 3
Bill Rowekamp
Soil and Water Supervisor, District 5
Andy Kronebusch
Terry Lane
Now that the presidential race is truly on, anyone who cares about America's foreign policy and national security has no option but to vote for Hillary Clinton.
The most urgent reason is the need to prevent a mercurial, ill-informed hot head from ever having his hand on the nuclear button. The second reason is that Clinton has a particular skill set that is vital for these unstable times.
Donald Trump has demonstrated over and over again that he doesn't have the temperament to be commander-in-chief. He flies off the handle at criticism and shoots off his mouth with reckless abandon (like his call for Russia to hack and release Clinton's emails).
Many Trump supporters appear to believe he can compensate for his flaws by surrounding himself with foreign policy heavy hitters. But he's failed to do so. Whereas Ronald Reagan, to whom Trump compares himself, had a vast array of foreign policy advisers and a clear ideology when he ran for president, Trump has neither.
Trump has already terrified America's allies and thrilled our adversaries with his talk of dismantling our key alliances with NATO, Japan and South Korea, and his praise for authoritarian regimes like Russia and China. He has suggested ditching an array of treaties that would undercut important international institutions.
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Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, speaking last week at the Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania, tried to imagine the situation if Trump were elected, and could hardly get the words out. "To think that someone like Donald Trump could become president," Panetta said, "and could back off our alliances, could say troops ought to torture, and that we ought to spread nuclear weapons and ban all Muslims this is crazy.
"He has already jeopardized our national security, has already raised questions about where the United States is and will be."
Which brings us to Clinton. No one can contest the breadth of her foreign experience, as first lady, senator and secretary of state. She understands the critical need for the United States to maintain its role as a global leader at a time when Western democracies are in turmoil. She grasps as Trump doesn't that "Americanism" and "globalism" can't be separated. Prosperity at home requires stability abroad.
Moreover, Clinton recognizes that the global challenge to democracies from Moscow, Beijing, and the Islamic State requires that alliances be solidified, not broken.
Yes, she has made mistakes (who wouldn't have in decades of public service). Her staffing choices have not always been wise. Her use of a public email server was clearly unwise (although only a few dozen of 30,000 emails examined by the FBI had classified information). The Libya intervention ended poorly (although the options were all bad).
And the closely held White House foreign policy team left her little space to shape policy during her years as secretary of state. But what came through during her tenure was her toughness when confronting adversaries. In summer 2012, she along with Panetta, CIA chief David Petraeus and top army brass, wanted to arm moderate Syrian rebels (when they truly existed) as leverage to force Damascus to the bargaining table a move that might have ended the Syrian conflict. The Obama team refused.
Clinton has taken a firmer stand than Obama toward Russia's hybrid warfare in Ukraine. She has advocated a more forceful effort to end the Islamic State caliphate (without sending U.S. ground troops). Yet her stance is far different from the reckless Trump rhetoric, which promises to defeat the Islamic State overnight but gives no details. As Clinton ruefully admitted at the Democratic convention, she is a stickler for details.
Of course, this is a bizarre election year when the isolationist Trump has pulled GOP foreign policy to the left of Obama, and Democrats have taken on the mantle of patriotism. Clinton has the support of retired Gen. John Allen, and other retired brass, and clearly is comfortable dealing with the military. Yet some Americans may fear an activist Clinton foreign policy will pull the country into another conflict.
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But the Democratic candidate has made clear that, whenever possible, she prefers tough diplomacy to force. She showed her chops when she maneuvered Europe, Russia, and China into supporting tough sanctions against Iran. The final Iran deal was negotiated after she left office, but she has pledged to hold Iran to every detail.
Trump, on the other hand, wants to junk the deal, which would lead either to an Iranian nuke or another Mideast war.
Indeed, the irony of this election year is that the GOP, which was once the party dedicated to keeping America safe, has put forward a candidate whose temperament would gravely endanger U.S. security. That's why whether or not you like Clinton it's so essential that she be elected to the job.
Trudy Rubin is a columnist and editorial board member for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a news conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, March 26, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood/File Photo
Amazon disclosed in its latest quarterly filing that it discovered an additional sales of products worth $120,000 to Iranian government officials.
Some of those transactions were covered by US regulations that prohibit transactions with people or entities connected with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism, Amazon acknowledged in the filing.
The company said it will stop selling to the accounts that made those purchases. The new amount is separate from the Iranian embassies' $110,000 in purchases disclosed by Amazon last quarter for similar reasons.
The filing states that these accounts purchased consumer products including books, music, apparel, jewelry, software, and automotive products.
Approximately $96,000 worth of products were sold to Iranian government officials located outside the country, while another $1,600 worth of purchases were made by "two entities considered to be owned or controlled by the Iranian government."
Roughly $23,000 worth of consumer products were sold to accounts "designated under Executive Order 13382 or Executive Order 13224 and owned or controlled by the Iranian government."
According to the State Department, Executive Order 13382 is "aimed at freezing the assets of proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters, and isolating them financially," while Executive Order 13224 is designed to prohibit "transactions with persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism."
Amazon declined to comment.
Here's the full text of the disclosure:
"We recently determined that, between January 2012 and June 2016, we processed and delivered orders of consumer products for certain individuals and entities located outside Iran covered by the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act ('ITRA'), in addition to those we have previously disclosed, as follows: consumer products valued at approximately $96,000 for individuals who may have been acting on behalf of Iranian embassies and diplomatic organizations located in countries other than Iran; consumer products valued at approximately $1,600 for two entities considered to be owned or controlled by the Iranian government; and consumer products valued at approximately $23,000 for one individual and three entities designated under Executive Order 13382 or Executive Order 13224 and owned or controlled by the Iranian government.
Story continues
"The consumer products included books, music, other media, apparel, home and kitchen, health and beauty, jewelry, office, consumer electronics, software, lawn and patio, grocery, and automotive products. We are unable accurately to calculate the net profit attributable to these transactions. We do not plan to continue selling to these accounts in the future. Our review is ongoing and we are enhancing our processes designed to identify transactions associated with individuals and entities covered by the ITRA."
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Recent polls show that Hillary Clinton clearly in the lead over Donald Trump. Shes ahead in all four polls in the RCP list that were taken since the end of the Democratic convention. Here are the results:
PPP (7/29-30) Clinton +5 (1,267 LV)
CBS (7/29-31) Clinton +6 (1,131 RV)
CNN (7/29-31) Clinton +9 (894 RV)
YouGov (7/30-8/1) Clinton +3 (933 RV)
(Note that three of the four polls are of registered voters as opposed to likely ones. Conventional wisdom still holds, I think, that when registered voters are polled the results tend to favor the Democrats. However, Trumps supporters claim that he will attract vast numbers of folks who typically dont vote. If one believes this, then polling registered voters shouldnt favor Clinton.)
These four polls suggest that Clinton is 6 points ahead of Trump. The RCP average, which includes four polls taken during the Democratic convention, gives Clinton a 4.4 point lead.
Based on the latest polls, Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight gives Clinton a 66 percent chance of winning the election. For what its worth, I see Clintons prospects as somewhat better than that.
It looks from the poll numbers like Clinton got a bigger bounce from the Democratic convention than Trump got from the Republican one. However, Clinton may also be benefiting from Trumps comments over the weekend about the parents of Cpt. Humayun Khan, the Muslim soldier who died heroically fighting for the U.S. in Iraq (and perhaps also from Trumps joke about Russia finding Clintons deleted emails).
Clinton may continue to benefit from Trumps remarks about Khans parents. Polls taken during the weekend probably do not fully account for the negative effect of this error on Trumps campaign.
Id like to say Trumps error was unforced. In reality, though, it was forced by Trumps horrible personality, which was on full display during the primary season. Something like this was inevitable, and it wont be his last such manifestation.
We all know that Hillary Clinton isnt a good candidate; far from it. But in politics its often better to be lucky than good. With Donald Trump as her opponent, Clinton could hardly be luckier.
Donald Trump induced some kind of a nervous breakdown in the Democrat/Media Complex last week with his invitation that Russia release its putative trove of deleted Clinton emails. The Democrats hysteria constituted an exercise in bad faith, the Medias hysteria an exercise in servile stupidity. Thats just the way it is.
They have moved on. They now seek to exploit Donald Trumps refusal to abide by the first law of holes in the case of Khizr Khan. In Trumps view, the first law of holes doesnt apply to him.
Gordon Crovitz writes the weekly Information Age column for the Wall Street Journal. Writing on a weekly schedule, Crovitz hasnt moved on yet. This week he devoted his column to Putins infowar on America (accessible via Google here). Crovitz makes several interesting points in his conclusion:
Liberals who long treated Edward Snowden and Julian Assange as heroes are now offended that WikiLeaks distributed the Russian hacks of the DNC. Journalist Franklin Foer complained in Slate last week that the breathtaking transgression of privacy of Democratic Party officials will have a chilling effect undermining the ability to communicate honestly. That was the exact purpose of the hacks of hundreds of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables distributed by WikiLeaks in 2011 through the New York Times and Londons Guardian. It is not our goal to achieve a more transparent society, Mr. Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, told Time in 2010. Instead, the objective is to force U.S. officials to lock down internally and to balkanize so they will cease to be as efficient as they were. What can be done about infowar? Donald Trump was criticized last week for encouraging Russia to disclose Mrs. Clintons emails, but making them public would be the best way to deprive Mr. Putin of the advantage he gains by holding them. A U.S. ally that spies on Washington as much as Washington spies on it, such as Israel or France, would do Americans a favor by making public its copy of Mrs. Clintons emails. Otherwise, Moscow can drip the emails out on its schedule with its spinor hold them back as blackmail against Mrs. Clinton should she reach the White House. American voters should know what Mr. Putin knows. The Obama administration has been passive in response to Russias infowareven reluctant to admit its existence officially. Washingtons best deterrence would be to reply in kind. The U.S. could hack and release Mr. Putins bank accounts detailing how rich he has become in office. U.S. prosecutors could use hacked information to indict Putin business cronies and deny visas to their associates and relatives. Despite Russias audacious hacking, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper last week would only go as far as to concede: Its fair to say Vladimir Putin feels like he is fighting a low-level, asymmetric war with the U.S. Because of the Obama administrations failure to fight back, Mr. Putin is enjoying many victories.
Whole thing accessible here.
Carly Hoilman of the Blaze says Fox News Trace Gallagher is reporting that leaked text messages between one of Marilyn Mosbys deputies and the lead investigator in the Freddie Gray case raise new concerns about Mosbys honesty and good faith in deciding to charge six officers with Grays death. The leaked messages reportedly suggest that the prosecutors planned to charge the officers regardless of what the evidence showed.
Detective Dawnyell Taylor reportedly revealed in case notes that she was handed a narrative by the prosecution to read to the grand jury. She wrote that the narrative had several things that I found to be inconsistent with our investigation. Taylor added, I thought the statements in the narrative were misquoted.
In one of the leaked text messages, Taylor also reportedly told the lead investigator she didnt feel comfortable reading the script provided to her. Im fine with finding the facts but between us I believe we omitted key things from their combined statements, she explained.
In a related development, Fox News reports that George Washington University law professor John Banzhaf has filed complaints against Marilyn Mosby with the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland. He alleges that Mosby and two deputies committed ethics violations, used fraudulent or misleading tactics, withheld evidence from the defense, and brought charges without probable cause against the six Baltimore police officers.
Banzhaf is a long time critic of prosecutors. He started out as a man of the left and may still be for all I know. However, he has attacked prosecutors of all political stripes including, perhaps most notably, the infamous Mike Nifong, who was disbarred for the way he handled the 2006 Duke lacrosse case.
The leaked text messages discussed above, if accurately reported, figure to bolster Banzhafs complaints.
Finally, in yet another Freddy Gray related development, the Baltimore Sun reports that Lisa Phelps, a 15-year veteran prosecutor who objected to continuing the prosecution of one of the six officers involved with Gray, has resigned. Phelps was assigned to prosecute Officer Garrett Miller and to handle the retrial of Officer William Porter. She reportedly raised concerns over whether the trial of Miller, which was set to begin last week, should proceed.
It didnt. Mosby dropped all charges against Miller, Porter, and Sgt. Alicia White. Phelps resigned anyway, just two days after Mosby dropped the charges.
Phelps declined to say why she resigned. Michael Schatzow, Mosbys chief deputy, wouldnt answer directly the question of whether Phelps had expressed reservations about the cases. He did say:
Everybody has moments where they question the witness, they question the legal theory, question something else. For us to start talking about work product conversations thats not conducive. Its not how we run this office.
Exactly how Mosby does run her office is a question that likely will receive plenty of scrutiny in the coming weeks.
Back at the end of June, I shared the insights of French political philosopher Pierre Manent about the significance of Brexit (which he was for). Yesterday, the good folks at First Things posted a translation of a recent interview Manent gave to the Italian newspaper Il Foglio about the lessons of the recent Islamist attack on the French church.
Theres one especially arresting question and answer that sounds like it could apply with equal measure to the United States. As you read this, simply swap out America for every mention of France or Europe, and see if you dont agree:
Il Foglio: France looks exhausted. What are Frances mistakes, especially those of the elite media and intellectuals, and what is the nature of its malaise?
Pierre Manent: The French are exhausted, but they are first of all perplexed, lost. Things were not supposed to happen this way. We had supposedly entered into the final stage of democracy where human rights would reign, ever more rights ever more rigorously observed. We had left behind the age of nations as well as that of religions, and we would henceforth be free individuals moving frictionless over the surface of the planet. And now we see that religious affiliations and other collective attachments not only survive but return with a particular intensity. Everyone can see and feel this, but how can it be expressed when the only authorized language is that of individual rights? We have become supremely incapable of seeing what is right before our eyes. Meanwhile the ruling class, which is not a political but an ideological class, one that commands not what must be done but what must be said, goes on indefinitely about values, the values of the republic, the values of democracy, the values of Europe. This class has been largely discredited in the eyes of citizens, but it occupies all the positions of institutional responsibility, especially in the media, and nowhere does one find groups or individuals who give the impression of understanding what is happening or of being able to stand up to it. We have no more confidence in those who lead us than in ourselves. It is neither an excuse nor a consolation to say it, but the faults of the French are those of Europeans in general. . .
We invite catastrophe by falling for an ideological representation of the world such as the one that is ours today. We invite catastrophe by sincerely believing that the religious affiliation of a citizen has no political bearing or effect. We invite catastrophe by excluding from authorized debate on Turkeys possible joining the European Union the fact that Turkey is a massively Muslim country. We invite catastrophe when we confuse the obligation to rescue a person who is drowning with that persons right to become a citizen of our country. We invite catastrophe when, in the name of charity or mercy, we require old Christian nations to open their borders to all who wish to enter. (Emphasis added.)
Rohini Sethi is the student body Vice President at the University of Houston. After the assassination of five Dallas police officers at a Black Lives Matter inspired rally, she wrote on Facebook: Forget #BlackLivesMatter; more like #AllLivesMatter.
Sethi quickly deleted the comment, but it nonetheless generated outrage. In response, Sethi issued a statement in which she called her comment inappropriate. She said it was an emotional response to the tragic killings in Dallas. She ended with the message: #LetsTalkUnity. You can read her full statement here. Theres no reason to think it is insincere.
Sethis statement wasnt enough to avoid punishment. Student body president Shane Smith suspended her for 50 days and ordered her to take a diversity seminar as condition of being reinstated.
In addition, Smith ordered Sethi to:
Attend three UH cultural events each month from September through March, excluding December. Write a letter of reflection about how her harmful actions have impacted SGA and the UH student body. Put on a public presentation Sept. 28 detailing the knowledge she has gained about cultural issues facing our society.
In effect, Smith has, in the Stalinist tradition, ordered Sethi to submit to reeducation and public self-criticism. All for expressing a political opinion he and some others disagree with.
In an understatement, Smith declared that First Amendment considerations didnt enter into his decision. He explained:
The first amendment prevents a person from being jailed by the government for what they say. But [it] does not prevent people from receiving other consequences for what they say.
Actually, the First Amendment does much more than prevent people from being jailed. Smith doesnt know what hes talking about.
More importantly, he has begged the question of what consequences people ought to receive for what they say. Surely Smith, student Stalinist though he is, would agree that Sethi should not be shot for making her statement; that would be an unacceptable other consequence.
So is forced indoctrination/public self criticism. It is unacceptable in a free society to condition holding a student government position on adherence (in this case slavish adherence that doesnt permit a moments deviation even in exceptional circumstances) to a particular political position or slogan. And it is even more objectionable to condition student office on political reeducation and public humiliation.
Smith defended his decision this way:
I have not felt that [Sethi] has understood or respected how her actions have affected the people around her, as well as the reputation of SGA and the university.
A commissar in Prague circa 1950 wouldnt have said it much differently.
Sethi has expressed her disagreement with her surreal punishment in posts on Facebook, but says she will abide by Smiths decision. Thats understandable. She feels bad about her original statement and would like to stay on as student body vice president.
However, I hope she will reconsider sometime between now and, say, late September when she must deliver in public a presentation detailing the knowledge she has gained about cultural issues facing our society.
Surely, serving as vice president under Commissar Smith isnt worth the price. And its important that someone stand up to the Stalinists and fledgling fascists who increasingly call the shots on college campuses.
PR-Inside.com: 2016-08-03 00:17:01
Software Industry Veteran Glenn Aspden Tapped to Oversee APAC Operations
MapAnything Opens New Office in Sydney, Australia
MapAnything, Inc.
Cindy Akus, 704-271-1125
cakus@mapanything.com
MapAnything, Inc., a mapping, geo-analytics and location intelligence solution provider for users of Salesforce, today announced the opening of a new office in Sydney, Australia. Software industry veteran Glenn Aspden has joined MapAnything as Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand and will lead Asia-Pacific (APAC) operations.
This is the fourth office for MapAnything, which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and has offices in Atlanta, Georgia and London, United Kingdom. The Sydney office is located at 201 Sussex Street, Darling Park Tower 2, Level 20.
The company's product, MapAnything, provides mapping, schedule planning, route optimization, real time geo-location, territory management, geo-analytics and gives Salesforce users an interactive Map-Centric experience.
With an existing customer base and interest in our product growing rapidly throughout APAC, it made perfect sense to open an office in Sydney. Glenn understands the marketplace and the unique needs of the region and has a track record of launching growing software companies in the APAC market, said MapAnything CEO, John Stewart.
Prior to joining MapAnything, Aspden was at NewVoiceMedia, a leading telephony solution for Salesforce users. As Vice President of Services APAC, he successfully grew business throughout the region. Prior to that, he was Operations Manager, Contact Centre Technologies at the National Bank of Australia.
MapAnything is a fast growing company with strong brand recognition in the Salesforce ecosystem. Having an office in Sydney enables me to play a pivotal role in landing new business and ultimately expanding their footprint throughout APAC, shared Glenn Aspden, MapAnything Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand.
About MapAnything, Inc.
Founded in 2009, MapAnything, Inc. is a Gold Salesforce ISV Partner. The company has been included on the Inc. 500 the annual list of the fastest growing private companies. With more than 1,000 customers globally, ranging in all sizes and industries from small businesses to international enterprises, the company offers its mapping and geo-analytics solution to Salesforce users through the Salesforce AppExchange. It has been named a Customers Choice Highly Reviewed App by Salesforce users. To learn more, visit www.mapanything.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201608020070
The concessionaire of the Nigerian Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO), Global Steel Holdings Limited, is to submit its business plan for governments approval within the next 105 days.
The agreement came following Mondays signing of the modified NIOMCO agreement between the company and the Nigerian government.
The submission and approval of the business plan is to come after the release of claims by GSHL.
Under the new arrangement, the concessionaire is to implement the business plan as approved by the government.
The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, had, while presiding over the signing ceremony on Monday, urged both parties to keep to the various deadlines contained in the agreement in the spirit of mediation.
According to the timeline released by the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, GSHL would within 48 hours of the signing of the agreement gain access to NIOMCO plant at Itakpe, Kogi State, for due diligence.
Also, an independent audit of the Joint Audit Report is to be carried out within the next 65 days. The terms of reference of the auditors of the audit would be to cross check and verify the report and not to re-do the audit all over again.
The ratification of the Joint Audit Report by the Attorney General of the Federation and GSHL is to be carried out shortly after, specifically within 80 days of the agreement signing.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Kayode Fayemi, said getting NIOMCO and Ajaokuta working would move Nigeria from just being a mineral-rich country to a mining nation.
Once the first phase of the agreement is accomplished, it is the intention of the federal government to quickly move into accomplishing the objectives of concessioning the Ajaokuta Steel Plant to the most competent operator, said Mr. Fayemi.
Through this, we would be able to process, beneficiate and add value to what we have.
The All Progressives Congress on Monday fired a letter to Abdulmumuni Jibrin, a former chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation and member of the party, summoning him to appear before a disciplinary committee at the partys national secretariat in Abuja not later than Tuesday afternoon.
In the letter, a copy of which PREMIUM TIMES exclusively obtained, the ruling party said all attempts to reach Mr. Jibrin (who has remained underground for almost two weeks) by telephone calls and text messages were unsuccessful, leaving the party with no choice than to write to him.
In the letter, dated August 1, 2016, and signed by the partys Deputy National Chairman for the Northern Zone, Lawal Shuaibu, the APC expressed cautioned Mr. Jibrins over his media campaign against the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, and other principal officers over allegation of budget fraud.
To say the least, it is absolutely unacceptable to resort to media war as a means of settling scores without recourse to and/or exhausting the partys internal dispute resolution mechanism, the party said.
Mr. Jibrin was removed as chairman of the Appropriation Committee in controversial circumstances on July 20 on allegations of betrayal of trust.
The lawmaker fought back, embarking on a vicious media campaign to have Mr. Dogara; his deputy, Yusuf Lasun; House Whip, Alhassan Doguwa and Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, removed from office. (Mr. Ogor is the only PDP member of the four.)
Mr. Jibrins campaign has seen him release details of how the passage of the 2016 budget was handled by lawmakers in a way that portrayed them as fraudulent.
On July 29, he disclosed that he had dispatched incriminating documents to the anti-graft agencies, who immediately swung into action.
By July 30, the State Security Service sealed the Appropriation Committee Secretariat in the White House Building of the National Assembly.
On Monday afternoon, Mr. Jibrin posted on his Twitter page that he had visited the EFCC, the ICPC, the SSS and police headquarters to personally submit petitions against Mr. Dogara and his colleagues.
In the APCs letter to Mr. Jibrin, the party said the Kano lawmakers action underscored a blatant disregard for party supremacy and its existing dispute resolution mechanism, adding that it would work to ensure that it instilled discipline on all members.
As a disciplined party, the constitution of our party has made adequate provisions on ways of resolving any issue among our members, Mr. Shuaibu said. It behoves on the party to take all necessary steps in order to ensure that no member of the Family brings dishonour to the party.
The APC, therefore, reiterated its notice for Mr. Jibrin to appear before the party tomorrow, urging him to be guided accordingly as he digested the content of the letter.
You are, therefore, by this invitation, expected to appear before the undersigned at the APC National Secretariat on Tuesday, 2nd August, 2016, at 2 p.m. Kindly note that failure to and/or refusal to honour this invitation will amount to a decision you have made not to submit to the party.
Shortly after Mr. Jibrin announced his visits to law enforcement agencies offices where he submitted petitions, Mr. Ogor immediately welcomed the move.
Its a welcome development, Mr. Ogor told PREMIUM TIMES. Now that he has pushed the matter to the EFCC, then Nigerians should exercise patience to see what the truth of the matter is.
Another lawmaker, Adams Jagaba, on Monday said Mr. Jibrin should desist from further defaming him and other lawmakers with the budget padding mess.
Mr. Jagaba said the warning became necessary after he learnt that Mr. Jibrin had named him alongside others who he accused of attempting to fraudulently inflate the 2016 budget figures, saying he had been a long time proponent of selflessness in public service.
Mr. Jagaba, chairman of House Committee on Interior, said he lived a modest life, unlike Mr. Jibrin who allegedly occupied posh personal apartment at the highbrow Maitama District of Abuja with very expensive automobiles.
Mr. Jagaba said Mr. Jibrins car fleet included Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs and Range Rover vehicles, adding that he moved around with a very long convoy of expensive cars with host of security guards armed to the teeth.
Mr. Jagaba said his distaste for corruption dated back to his days as the chairman of teh House Committee on Anti-Corruption, saying he was amongst those who championed the course for a total rejection of bribes allegedly given to lawmakers by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, a tenet he said he had continued to uphold ever since.
Ordinarily, I would have ignored the said publication, but I am compelled to respond for posterity sake. Without sounding immodest, my anti-corruption crusade dates back to my first term between 1999 and 2003, when I exposed the plot of the Presidency which attempted to bribe Honourable Members for the purposes of effecting a leadership change in the House of Representatives.
As Chairman, House Committee on Anti-Corruption then, I exhibited the money meant for that plot on the floor of the House at plenary. Again, in 2012, during the scandal that was referred to as FAROUKGATE, my name was mentioned. However, after thorough investigation by the Police and other relevant agencies, I was exonerated and given a clean bill of health, Mr. Jagaba said.
Mr. Jagaba said he had continued to maintain a 2013 Toyota RAV4 mid-size SUV, saying Mr. Jibrin is the one who allegedly had cause to be afraid of facing consequences of his action.
It amazes me, therefore, for Hon. Abdulmumini to petition the EFCC to investigate me for living above my means without giving any proof. As a third term member of the House of Representatives, I live in a rented three-bedroom apartment that has no Boys Quarters. Amongst the cars I drive, the most expensive one is a 2013 Toyota RAV4 2.2 litre engine.
I do not move around with a convoy of expensive cars. If as a third termer and at fifty-six (56) years of age this is a summary of my life-style as stated above, I have nothing to fear. Can this be said of Hon. Abdulmumini who is less than forty (40) years old and only a second termer? Certainly not, Mr. Jagaba said
Hon. Abdulmumini may claim that he has been into business for a long time. But the question remains, what type of business? Before his election in 2011, he was a lecturer. It is a known fact that he was arraigned by the EFCC in 2012 for some shady deals he got involved.
It is characters like him who should tremble in fear at the mention of the name of EFCC. I hope I should not have cause to pick up my pen on this issue again, as Hon. Abdulmumini may not find it palatable. My counsel to him, therefore, is: Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
Mr. Jibrin could not be reached for comment for this story.
Mr. Jibrin has repeatedly rejected calls for him to back down on his campaign, saying he wont retreat.
The Nigerian military says it deployed troops and equipment in Bayelsa State on Monday to forestall the threat of secession.
A group known as the Adaka Boro Avengers had threatened to declare independence on Monday, but said it shelved the plan after the intervention of leaders including former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The joint military force responsible for security in the Niger Delta, Operation Delta Safe, said on Tuesday that it would however remain professional and civil in dealing with security threats by militant groups in the area.
Joseph Okojie, a Rear Admiral and commander of the joint operation, who said this in Yenagoa, added that the deployment of troops and equipment noticed on Monday at Kaiama in Bayelsa was part of normal operations to keep the region safe.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that troops and military hardware were deployed to Kaiama in Bayelsa following threats by a militant group to take control of the area.
Mr. Okojie, who briefed journalists after a meeting with unit commanders within Operation Delta Safe in Yenagoa, said the military had the freedom to be in any part of the country.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria belongs to all of us and the armed forces have the freedom to be at any part of Nigeria at any time, we are merely doing our normal duty within our mandate.
We were in Kaiama to show that Operation Delta Safe was on ground to ensure that the report by some faceless organisations about creating a territory to themselves is not allowed to happen.
The heavy presence being noticed in parts of the Niger Delta is part of our routine duties to guarantee the safety of law abiding that people of Niger Delta and ensure atmosphere conducive for economic activities.
I am sure that we did not molest or intimidate anyone, we shall be professional and civil in the discharge of our duties.
Our presence is part of our normal duty to reassure the people that there is no cause for alarm, Mr. Okojie said.
Mr. Okojie said the meeting with Component Commanders of Operation Delta Safe was to review the achievements of the operation to ensure that they were mission-oriented.
(NAN)
President Muhammadu Buharis Economic Management Team met with top economists and financial experts in Abuja on Tuesday in continuation of its consultations towards tackling the countrys economic recession.
The meeting, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, had in attendance Bismarck Rewane, Akpan Ekpo, Ayo Teriba, Badeye Sani and Bode Augusto.
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, told State House Correspondents after the meeting that the economic team was in the middle of consultations to develop a mid-term economic framework.
He said the experts made presentations to the Economic Management Team on their response to the draft Medium Term Economic Framework (MTEF), which was still a consultative document.
It is part of a comprehensive consultation process that we are embarking on to make sure that we reach out to a wide spectrum of Nigerians to get a feed back in terms of how best to make sure that we come out of this recession.
That we get the best possible MTEF (Medium Term Economic Framework).
The Fiscal Responsibility Act requires us to do so.
On Thursday, we will be meeting in Lagos with private sector to continue with the consultations, Mr. Udoma said.
He acknowledged that the Economic Team had met with some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) last week and would hold similar consultations with members of the organised private sector.
The Minister said that at the end of the consultations the Federal Government would come out with a programme which had received the buy-in of many Nigerians.
That was what this process was about, he added.
(NAN)
Access to Justice, an advocacy group that promotes integrity and accountability in legal and judicial institutions, has slammed the Kaduna State government for its failure to prosecute army officers involved in the killing of members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria.
In a statement issued Monday, the group said the government had gone ahead to commence prosecution of over 200 members of the Shiite group way before a judicial panel it instituted submitted its final report.
It is extremely disquieting that the Kaduna government would rather arrest and prosecute over 200 persons for the death of one soldier, than charge one soldier for the death of well over 348 residents of Kaduna State, Access to Justice said in the statement issued by its Executive Director, Joseph Otteh.
The lives of hundreds of IMN members who were brutally killed by Nigerian soldiers are worth protecting the same way the life of one soldier is worth protecting.
A democratic, constitutional government means that the government is not at liberty to prefer one life above another, or to make judgments on the value of each persons life based on ethnicity, faith, status or institutional affiliations, but must offer equal protection to Nigerian citizens.
It means that the government must provide equal protection of the law to all citizens and, therefore, hold accountable in equal measure, any persons who have caused or contributed to the loss of any life.
A deadly clash between and army convoy and members of the IMN left hundreds of the sect members dead.
A judicial panel set up by the Kaduna State governmemt following the incident submitted its findings on July 15th, stating that the General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Armys 1st Division, Adeniyi Oyebade, a major general, authorized a military operation that massacred at least 347 members of the Shia Muslim group.
According to details of the panels report published exclusively by PREMIUM TIMES, the commission recommended that Mr. Oyebade, A.K Ibraheem, a colonel, and other military officers be brought to trial before a court of competent jurisdiction.
Already, the Kaduna State government has arraigned 81 members of the Islamic sect before a High Court in the state over charges of culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, disturbance of public peace, and wrongful restrain punishable under the Penal Code Law and Laws of Kaduna State, 1999.
The trial began amidst concerns by the sect over the deteriorating health of their leader, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, who has been held by the government since December last year.
Access to Justice said the government must begin the prosecution of indicted military officers with the same vigour it had done members of the Shiite movement.
The government cannot determine which life is worthy of protection and whose is not, the group said.
It means the government is not at liberty to let some citizens live above the law and outside of it, and compel others to live under it. It means that there are no second class citizens of Nigeria.
It means that justice must be equally and evenly rationed to all citizens alike, whether they are soldiers or civilians.
Unfortunately, the Kaduna State government, by prosecuting only members of the Shiite movement for the death of one soldier and remaining taciturn over the countervailing claims of justice for the deaths of hundreds of Shiite members shows it has taken sides, not only in the conflict, but in how to account for the horrendous loss of lives in that conflict.
The group also said using the criminal justice system to express and reflect bias is deeply unfortunate.
The Kaduna State government must now bring criminal charges for unlawful killing against the General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army 1st Division in Kaduna, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade, and Colonel A.K. Ibraheem as well as others who the Justice Garba Panel implicated in the deaths of hundreds of IMN members.
This is the only path to justice following from this
unfortunate incident.
A failure to prosecute Military Officers Implicated in Shiite Killings will be grave, atrocious injustice. Nigeria cannot adopt an apartheid system of justice in a constitutional democracy.
A former chairman of House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, on Tuesday said he will appear before his partys disciplinary panel after being summoned on Monday over the unfolding budget padding scandal.
Mr. Jibrin was summoned by the ruling All Progressives Congress to appear at the partys national secretariat in Abuja no later than 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
The lawmaker, who represents Kano in the House, has been locked in media and political battle with the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, and other lawmakers he accuses of manipulating the 2016 budget.
In the letter, which was exclusively obtained and published by PREMIUM TIMES Monday night, the APC said the writ became necessary after Mr. Jibrin frustrated all efforts to reach him by telephone or text messages.
The letter was signed Lawal Shuaibu, the partys Deputy National Chairman, North, and it appeared a clear warning to Mr. Jibrin that the APC would not tolerate indiscipline within its ranks.
In an emailed statement to PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday morning, Mr. Jibrin acknowledged receipt of the letter and said he would honour the summons.
He, however, denied that he deliberately ignored party leaders attempts to reach him.
Mr. Jibrin also denied that the partys committee was of a disciplinary nature.
The letter did not in anyway indicate it is a disciplinary committee, Mr. Jibrin said.
For two weeks running, Mr. Jibrin has placed the House on the defensive after he was removed as chair of the Appropriation Committee on allegations of betrayal of trust, a charge he had repeatedly declined.
A sex tape saga that affected Turkeys opposition parties several years back has returned to the headlines, as detention orders were issued Tuesday for 120 people in connection with the video.
A media report in Istanbul said that sex tape engulfed the centre-left Peoples Republican Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on the right and has been linked to the same movement of an Islamic cleric that the government blames for the failed coup attempt on July 15.
It said that so far, authorities detained 34 members of the police force and two others in what is known as the cassette case.
Deniz Baykal, who was the leader of the CHP, was forced to resign as party chair in 2010 over a video leaked online which showed him having sex with a female party member. MHP politicians had similar problems.
The government and both of these opposition parties blame Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric living in the U.S. for the July 15 failed putsch.
They also blame his followers for a series of wiretappings and leaks which have wreaked havoc on the Turkish political scene for years, including the sex tapes targeting the opposition and, three years later, leaks purporting to show corruption in government circles.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Gulen were long-time allies and government critics blame the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for letting Gulens followers infiltrate the state structures over the years.
At the time, some members of the opposition accused the AKP of being behind or at least complacent in the sex tapes leak. (dpa/NAN)
The United Nations has raised alarm over the illicit proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in Nigeria with over 350 million or 70 per cent of an estimated 500 million of such weapons said to be circulating in West Africa be in the country.
The director of United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC), Olatokunbo Ige, gave this statistics at the ongoing National Consultation on Physical Security and Stockpile Management (PSSM) in Abuja, organised by the Agency and Presidential Committee on Smalls Arms and Light Weapons (PRESCOM).
Ms. Ige said the country is awash with illicit weapons, which have found its way into unauthorised hands on non-state actors that are threatening the existence of the country, as well lives and properties of the people.
The illicit proliferation of SALW has had a dramatic impact on peace and security in Africa, threatening not only the existence of the state, but also the livelihoods of millions of people across the continent, she said.
Nigeria is one of the countries that is experiencing some of the most devastating effects of the proliferation of SALW as a result of spillover effect of the recent crises in Libya, and Mali as well as unresolved internal conflicts in different parts of the country especially in the North East, Niger Delta and Southern regions.
While reliable data on the numbers of these weapons circulating freely in the country is unavailable, analysts have in recent times estimated that of the about 500 million weapons that may be circulating in West Africa in 2010, some 70 per cent of these could be found in Nigeria, she added.
She warned that as alarming as these figures seem, it is very clear that if left unchecked, this scourge will not only jeopardise the developmental gains achieved over the last 50 years, but will also impede the nations capacity to achieve its developmental targets and therefore, negatively impact on the future generations.
According to Ms. Ige, this has highlighted, more than ever before the critical need not only to control the flow of arms in the non-state sector, but also the state owned actors through the effective management of the armoury and weapon stockpiles.
It is widely acknowledged that one of the major factors contributing to the illicit proliferation of arms is the ineffective stockpile management, she noted.
The UNREC boss stressed that unsecured stocks and ineffectively managed stockpiles are a major contributing factor to the trafficking and diversion of arms into the illicit market and their subsequent flow to the terrorists and other criminal groups like Boko Haram and Niger Delta militants.
She said that part of the activities programmed under the PSSM in the Sahel project in the context of the UN and European Union (EU) is to support security and stability in the region.
Ms. Ige explained that the project, which is funded by the EU, has been developed jointly by the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) for the benefit of the six Sahel countries of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria.
This project aims to support states in the region to prevent diversion and trafficking of SALW and their ammunition, by improving the PSSM of national stockpiles, she stated.
Also speaking, the Chairman of PRESCOM, Emmanuel Imohe, said Nigerias Firearms law was obsolete and ineffective in the face of the 21st century security challenges.
Imohe said that PRESCOM has to generate a new document in collaboration with relevant agencies for over six months to come out with a repeal of the firearms bill that is yet to be attended at the National Assembly.
The 1959 Firearms Act is obsolete and using the 1959 law to tackle the 21st century security challenges is ineffective, he said.
In the same vein, the Resident Coordinator of the UN Systems in Nigeria, Jean Gough, said the elaboration of laws and procedures which are adapted to the current reality, aiming to provide the necessary framework to better prevent the occurrence of eventual theft, loss, diversion and explosions in national weapons and ammunition storage has become an essential requirement.
Through the provision of technical assistance and the necessary resources to this effect, technical and financial partners have committed to support the beneficiary member states of this project in this endeavour.
Ms. Gough however noted that the major challenges in the fight against the illegal and abusive use of SALW remains the issue of the illicit transfer of such weapons to non-state actors, including among others, armed groups, terrorists and criminals.
The Nigerian Army on Monday announced that its troops blocked an attempt by the extremist Boko Haram sect to attack a village in the North Eastern state of Borno.
The spokesperson for the Army, Sani Usman, said in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES, Today, Monday 1st August 2016, at about 8.00pm, troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE accompanied by Civilian JTF successfully thwarted an attempt by Boko Haram terrorists on Yauri Community at the outskirts of Maiduguri city, Borno State.
In the encounter, the troops killed five of the attackers and recovered 2 AK-47 rifles, 1 General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), one 60mm Mortar Tube, 1 Fabrique Nationale (FN) rifle, 2 Dane Guns, 2 AK-47 rifle magazines, 2 FN rifle magazines, 131 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition, 31 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunitions, a 60mm Bomb and the sum of N31,275.00 from the terrorists.
We are glad to inform the public that the general area is calm, while troops have deployed to maintain security in the village and environs.
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.
DUBLIN, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Cambodia Garment Manufacturing Industry Overview, 2011-2020" report to their offering.
Cambodia, situated in the core area of south-east Asia, is one of the least developing countries in the world. It is experiencing a relatively rapid growth in recent years. From 2010, the economy remained an annual growth rate of over 6% in Cambodia. From 2013, the economic annual growth rate remained above 7%. The Cambodian government claimed to maintain an annual growth rate of above 7% by 2018 in the newly developed 2015-2025 Industry Development Plan.
Under the context of free economic system, Cambodia is one of the most open economies in Asia. Products manufactured by Cambodia can be exported with generalized system of preference (GSP) and most favored nations (MFN) treatment in many countries such as the U.S.A., Europe and Japan. Particularly, with regards to textile and garment products imported by Cambodia, the U.S.A. gives looser quotas and cuts raised import tariffs, the European Nations have no barriers and Canada provides preferential measures such as granting the exemption of import duties.
Garment manufacturing industry is one of the mainstay industries in Cambodia. By the end of 2015, garment manufacturing enterprises registered in Cambodia reached over 1,400. According to the report, about 1,100 enterprises among them are in normal operation. Garment manufacturing enterprises in Cambodia mainly operate with foreign capital from areas such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. They mainly concentrate in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville with convenient traffic. Most raw materials of garments and foot-wears in Cambodia are mainly imported from Asian countries, especially from China, Japan and South Korea. At present, Cambodia garment factories can manufacture garments with technics of washing, tie-dyeing and embroidering, but still lack dyeing and finishing skills.
In 2015, the minimum wage of garment manufacturing industry is USD 140 per month, increased by USD 12 per month, but is still at a relatively low level in the world. Garment manufacturing industry provides over 700 thousand jobs for Cambodia, and creates plentiful indirect job offers as the primary pillar industry of Cambodia. In Cambodia, there are many newly established garment manufacturing enterprises as well as dozens of bankrupting ones each year mainly for weak competitiveness, strike issues and rising costs.
In 2015, the product export value of garments in Cambodia reaches USD 6 billion, accounting for approximately 70% in the total export value. The major export markets of Cambodia textile garments and foot-wears include Europe, the U.S.A. and Canada. Cambodia is ready to join TPP in the future. It is estimated that the Cambodia garment manufacturing industry will be confronted with more development plans in the next few years.
Key Topics Covered:
1 Relevant Concepts of Garment Manufacturing Industry
2 Analysis on Garment Manufacturing Industry in Cambodia, 2011-2015
3 Competition Status of Garment Manufacturing Industry in Cambodia, 2013-2015
4 Analysis on Top 5 Garment Manufacturers in Cambodia, 2013-2015
5 Analysis on the Cost and Garment Price in Garment Manufacturing Industry in Cambodia, 2013-2015
6 Prediction on the Development of Garment Industry in Cambodia, 2016-2020
Companies Mentioned
- Grand Twin International (Cambodia) Plc.
- M & V International Manufacturing Ltd.
- Shen Zhou (Cambodia) Co., Ltd.
- T Y Fashion (Cambodia) Plc.
- Tak Fook (Cambodia) Garment Ltd.
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/bdgzfw/cambodia_garment
Media Contact:
Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
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SOURCE Research and Markets
PEORIA, Illinois, August 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT/Euronext: CATR) informs its stockholders that today, in accordance with Section 16(a) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, 1 Form 4 (the report on Form 4 being a statement of beneficial ownership of its officers, directors and 10% owners) was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").
Caterpillar files electronically with the SEC required reports on Form 8-K, Form 10-Q, Form 10-K and Form 11-K; proxy materials; ownership reports for insiders as required by Section 16(a) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and registration statements on Forms S-3 and S-8, as necessary; and other forms or reports, as required. All of the forms and reports filed electronically with the SEC are available on the SEC Internet site (http://www.sec.gov ).
Caterpillar also maintains an Internet site (www.Caterpillar.com) and copies of its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to these reports filed or furnished with the SEC are available free of charge through Caterpillar's Internet site (http://www.Caterpillar.com/secfilings ) as soon as reasonably practicable after the relevant document has been filed with the SEC.
CONTACT: Rachel Potts, Corporate Public Affairs, +1-309-675-6892
This is a disclosure announcement from PR Newswire.
SOURCE Caterpillar Inc.
Rapid deployment & frictionless integration bring new payment methods to market quickly, enabling airlines to capture passenger revenues from the mobile-first travel marketplace
SINGAPORE, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CellPoint Mobile (www.cellpointmobile.com), a provider of comprehensive and powerful commerce and payment solutions for global airlines, is offering a new product called Velocity, the payment industry's first Mobile PSP-as-a-Service (MPaaS) solution to help airlines deploy popular mobile payment solutions, payment apps, and alternative payment methods (APMs) quickly, profitably, securely and without friction to existing financial systems.
Created specifically for airlines and travel operators, CellPoint Mobile's Velocity turns Payment Service Provider (PSP) functionality into a plug-and-play business service, enabling airlines to leverage the revenue potential that arises from the unparalleled growth and promotion of mobile payment technologies, while meeting rising passenger demand for secure and very convenient shopping on payment-enabled smartphones, wearables and mobile devices.
Velocity's three scalable service options Engage, Accelerate and Advance let airlines align mobile payment functionality with their immediate business needs, markets and revenue goals. Engage, for example, supports the rapid roll-out of two popular global consumer wallets or payment apps, Accelerate supports three more APMs and added payment functionality, and Advance integrates up to 10 payment methods per market and full reporting capabilities for airlines interested in robust mobile payment strategies.
Built-for-mobile solutions, deployable in weeks
"Bolting mobile-centric payment capabilities onto legacy commerce systems is not a viable or profitable strategy in a marketplace that is rapidly shifting toward a mobile-first, mobile-only airline passenger," says Kristian Gjerding, CEO of CellPoint Mobile. "Our solutions and platform have been built specifically for the mobile environment, making it both easy and quick for us to offer PSP functionality and APM support to airlines - regardless of a passenger's device, channel, preferred payment method or currency. With Velocity, airlines can stay current with the speed of innovation by such industry players as Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, PayPal and device manufacturers."
CellPoint Mobile rolled out Apple Pay functionality with an international carrier in August 2015 and it was also the first provider to integrate the Android Pay in-app solution in a major airlines app with Emirates in May 2016.
"Integrating Android Pay with CellPoint Mobile will make it easier for even more businesses of all sizes to further streamline their checkout experience by offering their customers a simpler, faster in-app payment experience," said Spencer Spinnell, Director of Business Development for Google.
Turn "lookers" into "bookers," capture mobile revenues
Immediate benefits of a Velocity engagement, Gjerding says, are increased conversions from the mobile channel by turning "lookers into bookers;" reduced implementation costs and quicker time to market from months to weeks for some of the world's most popular wallets, apps and payment methods; and near-immediate access to new mobile revenue streams from direct-channel sales and ancillary products.
Key features of Velocity include:
Immediate access to multiple PSPs, acquirers, payment apps and value-added services
A PCI DSS Level 1 certified card vault and an APM aggregator solution to support and roll out APMs quickly and easily
A central, self-service platform for payment configuration, reconciliation, customer service and reporting across all business and sales channels
Flexibility around choosing, editing and updating the right mix of PSPs and acquirers to take advantage of best rates and direct-channel sales.
"Airline finance executives know they need to leverage the mobile marketplace in order to protect existing revenues and create new revenue streams from passengers who want to pay from their smartphones as they travel," Gjerding acknowledges. "Until now, they have not been able to achieve or maintain parity with a marketplace in which devices, technologies, consumer behaviors and new payments methods evolve rapidly. Velocity delivers the parity and flexibility airlines seek, and it positions them for success in a rapidly changing, moving-to-mobile marketplace."
CellPoint Mobile also supports MasterPass, Mobile Pay, Samsung Pay and Visa Checkout; it can add dozens of other APMs as needed by airlines.
About CellPoint Mobile
CellPoint Mobile (www.cellpointmobile.com) provides comprehensive and powerful commerce and payment solutions for global airlines, supporting all payment methods, all channels, all currencies and all devices. Since 2007, it has helped clients in transportation, retail and financial service sectors achieve an average 4.5% increase in incremental, direct-channel revenues. CellPoint Mobile has offices in London, Dubai, Pune, Miami and Copenhagen.
Related Links
http://www.cellpoint.com
SOURCE CellPoint Mobile
NEW YORK, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
According to market research "Global Cleanroom Consumables Market Size, Share, Development, Growth and Demand Forecast to 2022 - Industry Insights by Type (Apparel, Cleaning Products, Stationary, Wipers, Gloves, and Adhesive Mats), and by End-User (Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology Industry, Medical Device Industry, Electronic Industry, and Laboratories)" by P&S Market Research, the global cleanroom consumables market was valued at $7,938.7 million in 2015, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.7% during the period 2016 - 2022.
The cleanroom consumables market is growing due to increasing utilization of cleanroom consumables in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industry, medical device industry, and electronics industry. In addition, the increasing utilization of cleanroom consumables in nanotechnology industry is also driving the growth of global cleanroom consumables market. Among the different type, the gloves segment is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. Among the various end-user, the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industry held the largest share in the global market in 2015, and it is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period.
Request to Access Full Report at: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/cleanroom-consumables-market
Cleanroom consumables are required during handling, assembly and manufacturing of different products. The utilization of cleanroom consumables assist in maintaing the quality of products and increasing process yield. As a result, the demand for cleanroom consumables, such as cleanroom apparel, cleaning products, stationary, wipers, gloves, and adhesive mats is expected to increase. They are also being used across various industries, such as optical industry, aerospace industry, defence and food industry leading to growth of global cleanroom consumables market. As a result, the demand for cleanroom consumables is expected to increase leading to growth of the global cleanroom consumables market.
Request for Sample Pages: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/cleanroom-consumables-market/report-sample
In addition, the growth of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industry in various countries across the globe are increasing the demand for cleanroom consumables. Nanotechnology deals with miniscule components, which are susceptible to contamination by particulate material. In addition to nanotechnology industry, the electronic industry requires development of small sized high efficiency components, thus necessitating contaminant free environment. Medical device industry requires contamination free environment as these products may be implanted in the body leading to infection or loss of funcntion. Thus, the necessity to maintain high quality of products is expected to increase the demand for cleanroom consumables across the globe.
Explore Related Research: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/industry-report/healthcare
Some of the key companies operating in the global cleanroom consumable market include Micronova Manufacturing Inc., Kimberly-Clark Corporation, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Berkshire Corporation, Valutek, ITW Texwipe, Nitritex Ltd., KM Corporation, Contec Inc., and Cantel Medical Corporation.
GLOBAL CLEANROOM CONSUMABLES MARKET SEGMENTATION
By Type
- Apparel Market
> Coverall
> Lab Coats
> Boot Cover
> Shoe Cover
> Bouffant
> Sleeves
- Cleaning Products Market
> Cleanroom Mops
> Buckets, Wringers, Squeegees
> Cleanroom Swabs
> Cleaning Chemicals
- Stationary Market
> Paper
> Notebook and Adhesive Pads
> Binders and Clipboards
> Labels
- Wipers Market
> Dry Wipers
> Wet Wipers
- Gloves Market
- Adhesive Mats Market
- By End-User
> Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology Industry
> Medical Device Industry
> Electronic Industry
> Laboratories
- By Geography
> North America- U.S. and Rest of North America
> Europe- U.K., Germany, France and Rest of Europe
> Asia-Pacific - China, Japan, India and Rest of Asia-Pacific
> Rest of the World (RoW)- Brazil and Rest of Rest of the World
Other Published Report by P&S Market Research
Global Cleanroom Technology Market - https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/cleanroom-technology-market
Global Digital Health Market - https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/digital-health-market
Global Telemedicine Market - https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/telemedicine-market
About P&S Market Research
P&S Market Research is a market research company, which offers market research and consulting services for various geographies around the globe. We provide market research reports, industry forecasting reports, business intelligence, and research based consulting services across different industry/business verticals.
As one of the top growing market research agency, we're keen upon providing market landscape and accurate forecasting. Our analysts and consultants are proficient with business intelligence and market analysis, through their interaction with leading companies of the concerned domain. We help our clients with B2B market research and assist them in identifying various windows of opportunity, and framing informed and customized business expansion strategies in different regions.
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SOURCE P&S Market Research
PUNE, India, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
The global connected health market 2016-2020 research report says development of virtual nurses will be a key trend for market growth as these groups of relational agents act as a stand-in for front-line staff in hospitals. Their responsibility includes guiding patients on medication and other precautions necessary for their conditions. The virtual nurse created by Northeastern University, named Elizabeth, is being trialed at the Boston Medical Center. A San Francisco-based start-up will undertake its commercialization following the successful completion of trials. Virtual nurses will become an integral part of medical infrastructure in the future. Patients can interact with virtual nurses through on-screen options and contact real-life nurses in case of any doubts.
Complete report on connected health market spread across 70 pages, analyzing 5 major companies and providing 24 data exhibits now available at http://www.sandlerresearch.org/global-connected-health-market-2016-2020.html .
The analysts forecast global connected health market to grow at a CAGR of 26.54% during the period 2016-2020. According to the 2016 global connected health market report, growth in older population is a one of the major drivers in market growth. Older people are more likely to develop age-related diseases or chronic diseases due to their low immunity levels. The top three causes of death among people aged 65 and over are cardiac arrest, cancer, and strokes. In the Americas, four out of five older people are diagnosed with at least one chronic condition. Over 40% of the older population in North America has high blood pressure, more than one in four have high cholesterol, 20% have some form of mental disorder, and 15% have diabetes.
The growth of global connected health market can be accredited to the increased support from governments across the world. Many governments are encouraging the idea of connected health through various incentives and policies. Such healthcare regulations encourage hospitals and clinics to convert traditional medical records into electronic ones. During 2015, North America dominated the global connected health market with a market share of more than 36%. The market in this region is anticipated to showcase substantial growth during the forecast period owing to growing awareness, expanding mobile coverage, and rising incidence of chronic diseases.
By 2020, the global connected health market will continue to be dominated by the monitoring devices segment with a share of almost 62%. Monitoring devices are used to display, measure, and document physiological information that is obtained at regular intervals from sensors attached to the patient or other input devices. Increased public knowledge and awareness of the advantages of using self-care devices such as glucose monitors and insulin pumps coupled with awareness programs organized by various medical associations are factors contributing to the growth of this segment over the next four years.
The following companies are the key players in the global connected health market: Allscripts, Apple, athenahealth, Cerner, GE Healthcare, and Philips Healthcare. Other prominent vendors in the market are: AeroScout (Stanley Healthcare Solutions), Abbott, Agfa-Gevaert, Alcatel-Lucent, Cardio Net, Epic Systems, Evolent Health, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Google, Honeywell Life Care Solutions, HP, Huawei, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Microsoft, Misfit, OMRON, Proteus Digital Health, Qualcomm, Skyscape, Voxiva, Warby Parker, WellDoc, and Zebra Technologies. Order a copy of Global Connected Health Market 2016-2020 report @ http://www.sandlerresearch.org/purchase?rname=58443 .
Global Connected Health 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. The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global connected health market for 2016-2020.
Another related report is Global Healthcare IT Market 2016-2020, a key growth driver is the changing government regulations as they pertain to the healthcare industry. Governments of many countries revise their regulations to make the healthcare sector more customer-oriented. WHO introduced guidelines for international classification of diseases (ICD), a standard diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management, and for clinical purposes. Browse complete report @ http://www.sandlerresearch.org/global-healthcare-it-market-2016-2020.html .
Explore other new reports on Healthcare Market @ http://www.sandlerresearch.org/market-research/pharmaceutical/pharmaceuticals-and-healthcare .
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SOURCE Sandler Research
SANTA CLARA, California, Aug. 2, 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, announced the milestone of completing 110 client projects on blood cancer treatments using models from their HuKemia collection.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160405/351602LOGO
"We are very proud to announce this accomplishment," says Dr. Henry Li, Vice President of Translational Oncology. "CrownBio's ALL and AML patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models of different leukemia subtypes are unique in the commercial world, in that they are validated, stable models with typical leukemia symptoms and eventual mortality, and are truly representative of the human condition. Other commercially available models are transient, non-transferable through passages (not renewable) and without disease symptom and mortality. While they can provide a gross measure of response, they have a finite banked leukemia source from patients. Thanks to the high quality of our models we keep registering a consistent growth in demand, which we are happy to meet with the highest standard of data quality," said Li.
CrownBio's permanent HuKemia models allow clients to follow disease recurrence after initial treatment challenge to test the efficacy of novel agents against drug resistance. "Transient models simply provide a one-shot study, whereas we have the ability to study both efficacy against primary and relapsed disease," commented Li.
CrownBio plans to publish further papers on the latest results from the HuKemia collection in the near future. In the meantime, clients can access published data on all HuKemia models via HuBase, CrownBio's proprietary database of PDX models.
For more information on CrownBio's commitment to furthering the field of oncology and metabolic disease drug discovery, 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
LONDON, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Energy Boardroom today releases a new report on the Oil and Gas sector in Tanzania, 'Inside Oil & Gas Tanzania'.
Huge 55tcf gas discoveries have turned Tanzania from what was once an oft overlooked backwater in terms of hydrocarbons investment into one of the hottest properties in global energy. Multinationals are now jostling for position to capitalize on the wealth of opportunities in the country.
The report is an authoritative and up-to-date assessment of the major sector in this strategically important oil and gas producing country. Themes covered include
Tanzania in East Africa
Neighboring Mozambique and Kenya also possess the potential to develop into regional energy heavyweights. We assess Tanzania's strengths and weaknesses compared to its East African neighbors and the importance of the contract to transport landlocked Uganda's oil to the coast.
LNG: A Game Changer?
After years of bureaucratic delays, Tanzania is finally poised to build an LNG plant in the Southern port of Lindi and begin to capitalize on its gas reserves through export to international markets. We take a detailed look at this project and its potential to transform Tanzania.
Regulatory Reform
2015 was a big year for Tanzanian oil and gas, with the election of President John Magufuli and the roll-out of the Tanzania Petroleum Act. We assess the impact of Magufuli's early tenure on the industry and introduce the reformed constellation of actors created by the new legislation.
The Big Scramble
Our in-depth cover story, 'Braced for the Big Scramble' examines the international oil and gas operators, large and small, making moves in Tanzanian oil and gas. We look at their respective strategies, successes, and failures, to paint a detailed picture of the opportunities in Tanzania.
Energy Boardroom's Tanzania Oil & Gas Report features in-depth interviews with:
James Mataragio, TPDC
Jamidu Katima, EWURA
ystein Michelsen, Statoil
Neil Ritson , Solo Oil
, Solo Oil Salim Bashir , KPMG
Quotes
"We have, to date, barely explored half of the country, yet from what we have witnessed so far, the potential is absolutely enormous"
James Mataragio, TPDC
"We are witnessing the dawn of a brave new economic trajectory for our country. There is much to be optimistic about. The future of the Tanzanian oil and gas industry is unquestionably bright!"
Jamidu Katima, EWURA
"[The LNG plant project in Lindi] is emblematic of the dawning of a new era in East African gas and of the resolve to make Tanzania an important player in the gas space."
ystein Michelsen, Statoil
"There's a real race underway to become Africa's newest LNG exporter and each side is on the lookout for any possible advantage they can gain."
Ronke Luke , Oilprice
Download
Download the report at http://www.energyboardroom.com/oil_and_gas_report/tanzania-inside-oil-gas-report and visit energyboardroom.com for up-to-date reports, news, articles, interviews, and facts and figures from a wide range of global oil and gas markets.
SOURCE Energyboardroom
DUBLIN, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Research and Markets has announced the addition of Wintergreen Research, Inc's new report "Hip and Knee Orthopedic Surgical Robots: Market Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2016-2022" to their offering.
The complete report provides a comprehensive analysis including procedure numbers, units sold, market value, forecasts, as well as a detailed competitive market shares and analysis of major players' success, challenges, and strategies in each segment and sub-segment. The reports cover markets for knee and hip robotic orthopedic surgery medical specialties and sub-specialties.
Worldwide Hip and Knee Orthopedic surgical robot markets are poised to achieve significant growth. The accuracy provided by the robot is not reproducible by the human surgeon, so ultimately all surgeons will want to perform the orthopedic implants using this technology.
Robot assisted medial knee arthroplasty: orthopedic surgical robots are poised to take knee and hip surgery quality far beyond what has previously been available. The quality of knee arthroplasty is improved with robotic capability. All the advantages of surgical robots carry into the Stryker Mako orthopedic reconstruction surgical products.
When the knee and hip surgical robots are used, patients have less bleeding, reduction of post-operative pain, fewer re-admissions to hospital and faster recovery. Robots support high-precision surgery. A clinic in Switzerland, La Source, has reported a reduction in the average days of hospitalization from 10 to 6.
Knee and hip surgical robots provide consistent reproducible precision. This capability is so significant for implant surgery that the robots are positioned to become the defacto standard of care for knee and hip surgery within five years. Any one getting a knee or hip replaced will demand attention to quality of life, to maintenance of lifestyle provided by a robot when they have a joint replacement.
As next generation systems, hip and knee robotic units provide a way to improve traditional orthopedic hip and knee replacement surgery. Total hip replacement surgery has evolved dramatically as advances in technology have brought improved surgical techniques. Surgical robots are a significany part of that advance.
Once, the penetration achieves this 35% level, all orthopedic surgeons will demand that hospitals offer robotic orthopedic surgical capability because the outcomes are more predictable and better. If the hospital does not offer the robot, the surgeon will move to a more modern facility.
Knee and Hip Surgical Robots have been impacted by the reduction in insurance payments. Payment reductions have forced hospitals to start acting as businesses. The cost of delivering care has become as much a factor as providing quality care when making decisions about patient improvement in condition. Cost-cutting has been made in the supply chain. Suppliers were examined closely for quality and cost.
The number of suppliers is reduced to put pressure on the ones that remain. Those remaining are pressured to improve prices and efficiencies. Hospitals, physicians, and care providers have been financially incentivized to create accountable care organizations (ACOs). Coordinated patient care plans and value-based purchasing were rewarded. The med device buyer shifted from physicians to the ACOs and smart buying groups.
Key Topics Covered:
1. Knee and Hip Surgical Robots Market Description and Market Dynamics
2. Knee and Hip Surgical Robots Market Shares and Market Forecasts
3. Knee and Hip Surgical Robot Products
4. Knee and Hip Surgery Company Descriptions
5. Knee and Hip Surgical Company Descriptions
Companies Mentioned
- Johnson & Johnson / DePuy - Shenzhen Advanced Institute - Smith & Nephew - Spinal Surgical Robot - Stryker / Mako - Synthes - THINK Surgical - Wright Medical Technology - Zimmer Biomet
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/xg9wkk/hip_and_knee
Source: Wintergreen Research, Inc
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
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Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716
Related Links
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SOURCE Research and Markets
DUBLIN, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global IT Spending in Railways Market 2016-2020" report to their offering.
The report forecasts the global IT spending on railways market to grow at a CAGR of 15.93% during the period 2016-2020.
Railways worldwide use cloud computing and big data analysis to evaluate customer requirements. Through these technologies, railway operators get a broader view of the freight, passenger, and logistics operations. For example, Slovenian Railways uses IBM's SmartCloud solution to build smarter railway systems. Hitachi is another major vendor that provides cloud computing and big data services to the railways sector.
According to the report, the global railways passenger and freight traffic are growing due to plummeting oil prices and increase in industrial activities. Latest offerings (such as mobile ticketing) coupled with the rise in the use of personal computing devices (like smartphones and tablets) are boosting the railway passenger volume.
Further, the report states that the costs involved in implementing IT in railways include licensing fees and expenses for system design and customization, implementation, training, maintenance, and upgrade. After purchasing the license, railway authorities need to hire experts for the proper implementation of the software. Moreover, the integration of these applications with the existing operational processes of the railway network can be quite challenging at times.
Key vendors:
Accenture plc
ALTEN SA
Altran Technologies SA
IBM Corp.
SAP SE
Key Topics Covered:
PART 01: Executive summary
PART 02: Scope of the report
PART 03: Market research methodology
PART 04: Introduction
PART 05: Economic overview
PART 06: Market landscape
PART 07: Market segmentation by category
PART 08: Geographical segmentation
PART 09: Market drivers
PART 10: Impact of drivers
PART 11: Market challenges
PART 12: Impact of drivers and challenges
PART 13: Market trends
PART 14: Vendor landscape
PART 15: Key vendor analysis
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/9bwmdj/global_it
Media Contact:
Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470
For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630
For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900
U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907
Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716
Related Links
http://www.researchandmarkets.com
SOURCE Research and Markets
LONDON, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Inline Policy, the consultancy for innovative and fast-growing businesses looking to engage with Government has launched a specialist Brexit Advisory Unit following the result of the recent referendum.
The Brexit Advisory Unit will work with organisations to advise them on how the impact of Brexit will affect their business, including policy and regulatory implications. The 10 strong team will work with clients to engage with the Government and relevant policymakers, ensuring that their voice is heard to help shape the negotiation and transition process.
The unit will be headed up by William Bain: EU expert, former shadow minister, and Parliamentarian. William brings extensive knowledge of key economic, strategic, and regulatory matters having been a member of the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, with particular interests in industrial and financial services policies. The team has considerable experience across Government, business and commercial activity in the UK and EU with specialised regulatory expertise in London and Brussels.
William Bain, said: "The next few years will see significant change in how UK businesses trade, operate, invest, employ people, and use data, as the UK prepares to depart from the EU and build new relationships in Europe and around the world.
"The process of leaving the EU could mean that the future of passporting for UK financial services businesses across the Single Market area will be on the table for debate. We also wait to see what the climate for jobs, trade and investment will be in the UK once the new journey outside of EU membership begins."
Shomik Panda, Inline's Managing Director, said: "Inline's Brexit Advisory Unit will work with businesses to help steer them through this time of significant change in our economy. UK businesses now have a unique opportunity to help shape a post-Brexit regulatory environment that will promote innovation, jobs and growth. We will work alongside our clients to ensure they are in the best possible position to be part of the conversation with the key decision makers."
About Inline Policy
Inline Policy (@InlinePolicy) based in London and Brussels is a political consultancy for innovative and fast-growing businesses. Based in London and Brussels, it advises clients on policy and regulatory issues across global markets, with expertise at local, national and international levels.
The Brexit Advisory Unit works with organisations to advise on policy and regulatory implications of the EU withdrawal process. The team has experience across Government, business and commercial activity in the UK and EU with specialised regulatory expertise in London and Brussels. Working alongside its clients, Inline Policy provides advice on the impact of Brexit, helping to execute effective engagement campaigns with Government to ensure opinions are heard by policymakers.
William Bain joined Inline Policy in March 2016 having spent five and a half years serving as Member of Parliament for Glasgow North East. He was also a member of the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, with particular interests in economic, industrial, and financial services policies. Prior to this, he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State, Sadiq Khan, at the Department for Transport in 2010, and served as Shadow Minister for Transport; Food, Farming and Fisheries; and Scotland, after the 2010 General Election. Before entering Parliament he was a senior lecturer in Public and EU Law at London South Bank University and also taught at other institutions in the higher education sector.
Contact: Lianne Robinson, lianne@commscrowd.com
SOURCE Inline Policy
THE HEMORRWEDGE is a radical, non-invasive new treatment for the painful and debilitating condition of hemorrhoids.
HEMORRWEDGE is a specially-designed, ergonomic, silicone covered gel ice-pack that provides fast relief from the irritation and discomfort of hemorrhoids.
Doctors have long recommended the benefits of icing the affected area as the most effective way to reduce the uncomfortable swelling of the veins. But using bagged ice cubes to apply to the hemorrhoids can, in itself, be uncomfortable and messy as they melt.
HEMORRWEDGE'S inventor (patent pending) took the idea of the silicone-gel ice-pack used to treat sporting or other swelling injuries and created this special and unique product.
Ointments and suppositories alone used to treat hemorrhoids invariably are only a means of easing the pain and discomfort, in the hope the condition will resolve itself. The HEMORRWEDGE, which has secured Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certification, could be used to complement other treatments.
Because of its convenient and discreet design, the HEMORRWEDGE will allow sufferers to go about their daily lives almost unhindered.
Primarily aimed at external hemorrhoids though it can be used externally on internal hemorrhoids the HEMORRWEDGE shrinks swelling within three to seven days, while providing relief from the irritation. Applied early enough on internal hemorrhoids, the HEMORRWEDGE can prevent painful prolapsing.
HEMORRWEDGE comes in a set of two so that one which should be washed in warm soapy water after each use can be cooling in the freezer in its hygienic, sealed case.
It is recommended that the HEMORRWEDGE, which emerges from the freezer solid, is applied to the affected area for just 20 minutes. The sufferer should then find relief for at least an hour before the other HEMORRWEDGE gel pack is placed on the affected area.
HEMORRWEDGE can also provide effective relief for mothers suffering from postpartum pain after giving birth.
HEMORRWEDGE'S inventor hit on the idea after suffering painful and long-lasting hemorrhoids caused by lifting heavy boxes, though the condition can just as easily be brought on by straining during a bowel movement or in child-birth for women. He eventually found that icing the hemorrhoids was by far the most effective treatment, but discovered it inconvenient to apply ice cubes. He set about designing and having manufactured samples, eventually arriving at the durable, hygienic and effective HEMORRWEDGE.
Hemorrhoid signs and symptoms include:
Painless bleeding during bowel movements you might notice small amounts of bright red blood
Itching or irritation in your anal region
Pain or discomfort
Swelling around your anus
A lump near your anus, which may be sensitive or painful
Leakage of feces
Hemorrhoid causes include:
Straining during bowel movements
Sitting for long periods of time
Chronic diarrhea or constipation
Obesity
Pregnancy and child birth
Heavy lifting
Anal intercourse
Low-fiber diet
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND PURCHASE:
Amazon USA - https://goo.gl/1Ach24
Amazon UK https://goo.gl/ycKBCm
Website - http://www.hemorrwedge.com/
Video - https://youtu.be/CW9ru3vejxs
Related Links
http://www.hemorrwedge.com
SOURCE HEMORRWEDGE
PUNE, India, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
The report "Plastic Additives Market by Type (Plasticizers, Stabilizers, Flame Retardants, Impact Modifiers), Plastic (Commodity, Engineering, and High Performance Plastic), and by Application (Packaging, Construction, Consumer Goods, Automotive) - Global Trends & Forecasts to 2021", published by MarketsandMarkets, The market size is projected to reach USD 50.86 Billion by 2021, registering a CAGR of 4.9% between 2016 and 2021.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302)
Browse 87 market data Tables and 55 Figures spread through 188 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Plastic Additives Market"
http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/plastic-additives-market-722.html
Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.
The growth of the plastic additives market is triggered by the rising demand from the packaging industry. Plastic additives are widely used for industrial and household purposes. Change in lifestyle and globalization have triggered the growth of the packaging industry which drives the plastic additives market.
Plasticizers segment to account for major share of the plastic additives market
The plastic additives market is segmented on the basis of type as plasticizers, stabilizers, flame retardants, impact modifiers, and others. Plasticizers account for a major share of the plastic additives market as it is extensively used to process polymers and are less expensive than other additives. They are usually combined with PVC or other polymers to impart unique physical properties for use in various applications such as cable jacketing, floor & wall coverings, and coating fabrics.
Commodity plastic dominating the plastic additives market
Plastic additives are widely used in commodity plastic for various end-use products. Some of the commodity plastics are polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polymethyl methacrylate, and others. These are used to impart specific resin properties to processed polymers. Polyethylene products are mostly used in various end-use applications such as packaging bags, general plastic films, medical packaging, mulch films, green house & tunnel films, and pipes.
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Packaging industry is the largest consumer of plastic additives
The packaging sector is the dominating application segment of the Plastic Additives Market. Packaging is widely used for industrial and household purposes. Change in lifestyle and globalization have triggered the demand plastic additives from the packaging industry. Increasing use of plastics in consumer goods is also expected to drive the growth of the plastic additives market.
Asia-Pacific to be the largest market during forecast period
The plastic additives market is broadly segmented into five regions, namely, Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and South America. Asia-Pacific is the largest market of plastic additives, in terms of volume. The growing packaging industry coupled with the increasing demand from the retail industry drives the market of plastic additives in the region. Polymer industries are witnessing high growth in developing countries such as India and Brazil
Currently, the global plastic additives market is dominated by various market players, such as Songwon Industrial Co. Ltd. (South Korea), Albemarle Corporation (U.S.), Clariant AG (Switzerland), BASF SE (Germany), and The Dow Chemical Company (U.S.), among others. The leading players mainly concentrate on new product development to enhance their market reach and make innovative products available to a large number of customers.
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LIVERPOOL, England, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Pure Gleam Ltd, the leading window cleaning service in Liverpool and the Merseyside area, has announced its complete transition to an innovative water fed pole system which benefits from the latest pure filtration technology.
The commercial window cleaning and residential window cleaning specialists will now do away with ladders and other traditional window cleaning apparatus entirely to focus on servicing clients using exclusively telescopic fed water poles. The decision to switch to a water fed pole system has been made due to a number of business and ethical factors, Pure Gleam Ltd has confirmed.
By avoiding the minerals and sediments typically associated with standard tap water, and using only purified water, the 'streaking' that sometimes occurs when water is left to dry does not occur. That means Pure Gleam personnel will not spend time manually drying and squeegeeing, and will be able to offer clients an even more efficient service. Using natural reverse osmosis processes, Pure Gleam Ltd passes water through several resins and filters to purify it, before it is ready for storage and use by the company's on-site teams.
The time saving capabilities of water fed pole systems are expected by Pure Gleam Ltd to translate into a more budget-friendly service for clients with less disruption to on site activities. In terms of its own business, Pure Gleam Ltd are now happy to be able to make more appointments available to new and existing clients, such is the added speed with which the new system will provide to its service operators.
An unmatched level of thoroughness is achieved through cleaning thanks to telescopic poles and brushes that can reach as high as 65 feet, making them suitable for multi storey commercial and domestic premises. Scrubbing and rinsing with the purified water leads to a sparkling, glimmering finish that is unattainable using the more traditional window cleaning techniques.
On the environmental front, the pure water means less chance of damaging a property and its surroundings with the use of detergents and chemicals. Pure Gleam Ltd is also satisfied that its work force will be at less risk of the injuries that is posed by the use of ladders at height. With water fed pole cleaning, the feet of the operator stay firmly on the ground, providing a solid base while working. There is also the potential of repetitive strain injuries from the continued execution of manual cleaning techniques associated with traditional methods. This will be eliminated thanks to the enhanced cleaning process afforded by the telescopic system that will now be used by Pure Gleam.
When it comes to accessibility, Pure Gleam Ltd will now be able to service properties with windows and other features which were previously unreachable using ladders, such as roof lights, as well as clean frames, better than ever before. The superb service standards achieved by Pure Gleam teams for window cleaning will also be applied to solar panels, gutter cleaning, conservatory roofs, signage and other features of buildings using the water fed pole system.
Heralding the decision to go water fed, a spokesperson for Pure Gleam Ltd said the company were proud at leading the way for modern window cleaning: "we are part of the new wave of window cleaning services that are committed to offering clients an environmentally friendly, efficient and effective option for building exterior cleaning. We believe this significant investment in the latest pure water filtering and telescopic cleaning techniques will prove justified over the coming months and years, as more businesses and homeowners switch onto the benefits of water fed pole systems, which are certainly the future of our trade."
Contact: Pure Gleam Ltd
4 Podium Road
Liverpool
L13 6SB
+44-(0)7585976153
contact@puregleamltd.co.uk
http://puregleamltd.co.uk
SOURCE Pure Gleam Ltd
HATFIELD, England, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
People with radioiodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RAI-R DTC) are overlooked as Lenvima (lenvatinib) is not scheduled for evaluation by NICE or the new Cancer Drugs Fund
People with an advanced form of thyroid cancer have to wait up to two to three years before being able to access Lenvima (lenvatinib) in England, due to failures in the new Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) procedure launched on 29 July. Lenvatinib can significantly slow the progression of disease; in its pivotal trial, the treatment provided a significant median progression free survival benefit of 18.3 months versus 3.6 months for placebo (p<0.0001) in radioiodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.[1] Further, nearly two-thirds of patients responded (ORR measure) to the treatment with a significant objective response rate (ORR) of 64.8% versus placebo 1.5% (p<0.0001). The treatment also demonstrated a rapid response, with a median time to first objective response of only two months. Adverse events were seen in nearly all lenvatinib patients (97.3% on lenvatinib versus 59.5% on placebo) and the most common were hypertension, diarrhoea, fatigue, decreased appetite, decreased weight and nausea.[1]
Lenvatinib is indicated for the treatment of adults with progressive locally advanced or metastatic, differentiated (papillary, follicular, Hurthle cell) thyroid carcinoma (DTC), refractory to radioactive iodine (RAI-R)[2] and was granted an accelerated assessment and approved by the European Commission in May 2015. It is available in many countries in Europe already, including Germany where it has been available from May 2015.
Lenvatinib is not listed on the relaunched CDF and NICE has indicated it will not be able to issue final guidance on the treatment until around June 2018. Lenvatinib has been in limbo ever since 2015, when it was refused entry to the CDF as it was closed to new medicines and was not scheduled for assessment by NICE due to its low budget impact. To compound this situation, Eisai is aware of at least twenty individual funding requests made by clinicians in England for the use of lenvatinib in eligible patients, and no patient has yet received the treatment.
Eisai calls for a flexible solution in the form of urgent transitional arrangements that would ensure patients can access lenvatinib through the CDF. Eisai has met with NHS England and NICE but despite extensive dialogue, to date no agreement has been made.
"As a clinician I am now in the difficult position of having to explain to my patients why I cannot prescribe a drug that is available in other European countries. This is obviously very disappointing given the significant progression free survival benefit demonstrated by lenvatinib for patients with radioiodine refractory DTC and my colleagues and I will not be able to do so in the immediate foreseeable future," comments Dr Nick Reed, Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Beatson Oncology Centre, Glasgow, UK.
"On behalf of patients with advanced thyroid cancer, we have no option but to fight this inequitable situation. For once this is not about cost as we have not been asked to be evaluated for clinical or cost effectiveness but we would welcome the opportunity to do so but also the new CDF is underwritten by the pharmaceutical industry where we take 100% of the financial risk associated with the Fund. This situation would indicate that England is turning the clock back and fast becoming the sick child of Europe in terms of access to innovative cancer drugs. Eisai will therefore fight aggressively for the rights of patients, which may include taking legal action.
"Lenvatinib was developed in the UK and is now manufactured in Hertfordshire in our state of the art facility. With no access to lenvatinib for people with advanced thyroid cancer in the UK for possibly three years, we may be forced to reconsider our future investments here, The NHS is one of the best healthcare systems in the world and so there simply must be a solution for patients," comments Gary Hendler, Chairman and CEO Eisai EMEA.
Notes to Editors
About Thyroid Cancer
2,800 people are diagnosed with thyroid cancer each year in England,[3] and approximately 250 will not respond to radioiodine treatment and develop RAI-R DTC.[2],[4]People with RAI-R DTC and distant metastases have a median survival of 2.5-3.5 years[3] and few treatment options are currently available on the NHS in England
Thyroid cancer refers to cancer that forms in the tissues of the thyroid gland, located at the base of the throat near the trachea.[5] The incidence of thyroid cancer has increased significantly in the last decade by 69% and 65% in men and women, respectively.[6] The most common types of thyroid cancer, papillary and follicular (including Hurthle cell), are classified as differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) and account for approximately 90% of all cases.[6] The remaining cases are classified as either medullary (5-7% of cases) or anaplastic (1-2% of cases).[7]
About SELECT[1]
The decision by the EC was based on the results of a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III study (the SELECT study) on progressive RAI refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.[1] The study's primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS).
About Eisai Co., Ltd.
Eisai Co., Ltd. is a leading global research and development-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan. We define our corporate mission as "giving first thought to patients and their families and to increasing the benefits health care provides," which we call our human health care (hhc) philosophy. With over 10,000 employees working across our global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, we strive to realise our hhc philosophy by delivering innovative products in multiple therapeutic areas with high unmet medical needs, including Oncology and Neurology.
As a global pharmaceutical company, our mission extends to patients around the world through our investment and participation in partnership-based initiatives to improve access to medicines in developing and emerging countries.
For more information about Eisai Co., Ltd., please visit http://www.eisai.com.
References
1. Schlumberger M et al. Lenvatinib versus placebo in radioiodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer. NEJM 2015; 372: 621-630. Available at http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1406470 Accessed: August 2016
2. Summary of Product Characteristics Lenvima. 2015.
3. Cancer Research UK. Thyroid Cancer Incidence Statistics. Available at: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/types/thyroid/incidence/uk-thyroid-cancer-incidence-statistics Accessed: August 2016
4. Durante 2006. J. Clin. Endo & Met. 91(8):2892-2899
5. National Cancer Institute at the National Institute of Health. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/thyroid/Patient/page1/AllPages#1 . Accessed: August 2016
6. Cabanillas ME., Dadu R. Optimizing therapy for radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer: Current state of the art and future directions. Minerva Endocrinol 2012 Dec; 37(4): 335-356.
7. Thyroid Cancer Basics. 2011. Available at: http://www.thyca.org . Accessed: August 2016
SOURCE Eisai
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (OTCQB: RQHTF) (TSXV: RHT) ("Reliq" or the "Company"), a technology company focused on developing innovative mobile health (mHealth) and telemedicine solutions for Community-Based Healthcare, is pleased to announce that it has been accepted into the National Health Service (NHS) United Kingdom's (UK's) Test Beds program and will begin piloting its virtual care technology with a London-area hospital in Q4 2016.
"We are very excited to be piloting Reliq's community care platform in the UK. Our technology is strongly aligned with NHS England's ongoing initiative to improve the management of long term conditions in the community." said Dr. Lisa Crossley, CEO of Reliq Health. "Our platform uses a high tech, low touch approach to provide high quality healthcare in the home, reducing exacerbations and disease-related complications, decreasing healthcare costs and enhancing patient and family satisfaction. We look forward to participating in the NHS Test Beds program to demonstrate the value of Reliq Health's technology to patients, caregivers and the health system in the UK."
The pilot will focus on two of the most common chronic conditions in the UK, congestive heart failure (CHF) and diabetes. Currently there are over 15 million people in England living with at least one long-term health condition. In addition to the impact on people's lives, long-term condition management accounts for half of all General Practitioner appointments and 70% of hospital bed days in the UK. Reliq Health's proprietary hardware and software supports patients and their caregivers in the home, providing remote vitals monitoring with alerts to clinicians as needed, audible reminders to improve patient compliance with prescribed medication regimens and lifestyle changes, tailored patient education and secure communication with the entire care team.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"Dr. Lisa Crossley"
CEO and Director
For further information: CORE Capital Partners at +1-604-566-9233 or investors@ccpartnersinc.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information
Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, are "forward-looking statements".
We caution you that such "forward-looking statements" involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual and future events to differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to commercial operations, including technology development, anticipated revenues, projected size of market, and other information that is based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management.
Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (the "Company") does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties relating to, among other things, technology development and marketing activities, the Company's historical experience with technology development, uninsured risks. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Reliq Health Technologies Inc.
#1128 - 789 West Pender Street
Vancouver, B.C., V6C 1H2
Phone: +1-778-707-6673
Fax: +1-604-608-3906
SOURCE Reliq Health Technologies Inc.
TOKYO, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ricksoft Inc. announced on August 2 that it has launched "Alfresco connector for JIRA," an add-on product by bringing together Alfresco, an enterprise contents management product, and JIRA Software, an Atlassian tool used worldwide for project management, process management and bug tracking.
For the full news release, please visit our website: https://en.ricksoft.jp/products/alfresco.php
Ricksoft is an authorized Atlassian Platinum Partner and Enterprise Expert. Ricksoft not only installs Atlassian products but also provides a host of expert services to help customers take advantage of Atlassian's tools, including training, help desk, and introduction support.
1. Outline
"Alfresco connector for JIRA" is an add-on product which makes it possible to manage contents generated at work, such as deliverable products, reports and files, according to processes, such as when, who and what. The product puts together Atlassian's JIRA Software team planning and project management around the world and Alfresco's namesake ECM product.
The product is capable of associating tasks executed in various processes with relevant deliverables and tracking down the contents to see the timing of their generation.
2. Features of the services
Please visit our website (https://en.ricksoft.jp/products/alfresco.php) to find out more about "Alfresco connector for JIRA" aligning Atlassian's JIRA Software with Alfresco.
About Ricksoft Inc.
Ricksoft is a major software company very active in the Asia-Pacific region, handling products ranging from "Atlassian Confluence," a knowledge sharing and management tool, to Atlassian products such as project management tool "JIRA Software." Authorized as an Atlassian Platinum Expert, Ricksoft employs dedicated engineers to provide a range of services from Atlassian product installation to add-on development and cloud services. The company provides wide-ranging services and support, including Atlassian product installation and plug-in development, for customers in manufacturing, finance and insurance, Internet services and communications, and public sector. Its head office is in Tokyo and Chief Executive Officer is Hiroshi Ohnuki.
Ricksoft website: https://en.ricksoft.jp/
Company names and product names which are herein indicated are the registered trademarks or trademarks of each company.
Related Links
https://en.ricksoft.jp/
SOURCE Ricksoft Inc.
NEW YORK, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Expanding vehicle fleet coupled with anticipated increase in vehicle sales to boost tire sales in Switzerland through 2021
According to TechSci Research report, "Switzerland Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2021", tire market in Switzerland is forecast to grow at a CAGR of more than 6% during 2016 - 2021 on account of expanding automotive fleet, especially of the passenger car segment in the country. In 2015, the country's tire market was majorly dominated by the passenger car tire segment, followed by two wheeler and commercial vehicle tire segments. Key reason for continuously rising sales of passenger cars in the country can be attributed to high per capita disposable income. Anticipated increase in small, medium & heavy commercial vehicles is also expected to boost tire sales in the country over the next five years.
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"Switzerland Tire Market "
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Continental, Michelin, Goodyear, Bridgestone and Pirelli are the largest tire players operating in Switzerland, accounting for a cumulative share of over 90% in the country's tire market. Over the next five years, these five tire majors are expected to continue their dominance in Switzerland. Espace Mittelland and Lake Geneva Region are the two largest regional tire markets in the country, followed by Zurich, Eastern Switzerland and Northwestern Switzerland. In 2015, Espace Mittelland and Lake Geneva Region, cumulatively grabbed a market share of around 45% in the country's tire market.
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"Continuing growth in winter tire market in Switzerland on account of harsh climatic conditions and increasing consumer awareness, has been positively influencing the country's tire market over the last few years. Winter tires or Snow tires are specially designed tires, that use modern silicon compound technology and improved tread pattern design offering hassle-free and safe driving experience on icy, wet surfaces and snow laden roads. Moreover, tire demand in Switzerland is solely met through imports, owing to absence of tire manufacturing plants in the country. Also, tire demand in the country is completely replacement driven as there are no automobile production units in the country as of now.", said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm.
"Switzerland Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2021" has evaluated the future growth potential of tire market in Switzerland, and provides statistics and information on market size, consumer behavior and trends. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes the emerging trends along with essential drivers, challenges and opportunities in Switzerland tire market.
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Global OTR Tire Market By Vehicle Type (Mining, Construction and Industrial Equipment, Agriculture Vehicles, and Others), By Demand Category (OEM Vs. Replacement), By Region, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021
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https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/united-kingdom-tire-market-forecast-and-opportunities-2021/624.html
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SOURCE TechSci Research
CASTLEFORD, England, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Acquisition Reinforces Teva's Strategy and Opens New Possibilities for the Company in Generics and Specialty; Serving 250 Million People, Every Day
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., (NYSE and TASE: TEVA) and Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN) today announced that Teva has completed its acquisition of Allergan's generics business ("Actavis Generics").
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This strategic acquisition brings together two leading generics businesses with complementary strengths, R&D capabilities, product pipelines and portfolios, geographical footprints, operational networks and cultures. The result is a stronger, more competitive Teva, well positioned to thrive in an evolving global marketplace to realise the opportunities the very attractive global and US generics markets offer, and to deliver the highest-quality generic medicines at the most competitive prices, unlocking value to patients, healthcare systems and investors around the world.
"The acquisition of Actavis Generics comes at a time when Teva is stronger than ever - in both our generics and specialty businesses," said Erez Vigodman, President and CEO, Teva. "Through our acquisition of Actavis Generics, we are creating a new Teva with a strong foundation, significantly enhanced financial profile and more diversified revenue source and profit streams backed by strong product development engines in both generics and specialty. This is a platform that is expected to generate multi-year top-line and bottom-line growth as well as significant cash flow."
As part of the approval from the European Commission, and in order to guarantee continuity of competition in the UK and Irish markets, the Commission instructed Teva to divest a viable standalone business operation based around Actavis' assets. This includes a portfolio of generic molecules, Actavis' Barnstaple manufacturing plant, and the management and people to run this business unit in the UK and Ireland. This standalone operation will be sold in the near future. The remainder of Allergan's generics business in the UK and Ireland is to be integrated with Teva's operation in line with the global transaction.
Richard Daniell, UK General Manager and Chief Integration Officer, said: "We are really pleased to have reached Day One of this acquisition and are delighted to be welcoming so many talented individuals to our expanded organisation. Our job now is to embrace the new opportunities available to us and continue to work to deliver positive outcomes for both patients and the NHS."
In the UK, 33 roles are transitioning from Actavis into the Teva UK business, as well as several generic lines, medicines to treat cystic fibrosis and some over-the-counter products. We now employ over 1,300 people in the UK across multiple locations focussing on the research and development, manufacturing, production, packaging and marketing of devices used in the UK and across the world.
For the Global press release, please visit http://www.tevapharm.com/news
About Teva UK Limited
Teva UK Limited is one of the UK's leading pharmaceutical manufacturers, with a presence in the generics, branded respiratory, CNS and hospitals markets. It has the widest range of any UK generic pharmaceutical company and markets solid and liquid dose, injectable and respiratory medicines to healthcare professionals. The company is part of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. For more information, visit http://www.tevauk.com.
About Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA) is a leading global pharmaceutical company that delivers high-quality, patient-centric healthcare solutions used by millions of patients every day. Headquartered in Israel, Teva is the world's largest generic medicines producer, leveraging its portfolio of more than 1,000 molecules to produce a wide range of generic products in nearly every therapeutic area. In specialty medicines, Teva has a world-leading position in innovative treatments for disorders of the central nervous system, including pain, as well as a strong portfolio of respiratory products. Teva integrates its generics and specialty capabilities in its global research and development division to create new ways of addressing unmet patient needs by combining drug development capabilities with devices, services and technologies. Teva's net revenues in 2015 amounted to $19.7 billion. For more information, visit http://www.tevapharm.com.
Teva's Safe Harbor Statement under the U. S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
This release contains forward-looking statements, which are based on management's current beliefs and expectations and involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause our future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include risks relating to: our ability to develop and commercialize additional pharmaceutical products; competition for our specialty products, especially Copaxone (which faces competition from orally-administered alternatives and a generic version); our ability to consummate the acquisition of Allergan plc's worldwide generic pharmaceuticals business ("Actavis Generics") and to realize the anticipated benefits of such acquisition (and the timing of realizing such benefits); the fact that following the consummation of the Actavis Generics acquisition, we will be dependent to a much larger extent than previously on our generic pharmaceutical business; potential restrictions on our ability to engage in additional transactions or incur additional indebtedness as a result of the substantial amount of debt we will incur to finance the Actavis Generics acquisition; the fact that for a period of time following the consummation of the Actavis Generics acquisition, we will have significantly less cash on hand than previously, which could adversely affect our ability to grow; the possibility of material fines, penalties and other sanctions and other adverse consequences arising out of our ongoing FCPA investigations and related matters; our ability to achieve expected results from investments in our pipeline of specialty and other products; our ability to identify and successfully bid for suitable acquisition targets or licensing opportunities, or to consummate and integrate acquisitions; the extent to which any manufacturing or quality control problems damage our reputation for quality production and require costly remediation; increased government scrutiny in both the U.S. and Europe of our patent settlement agreements; our exposure to currency fluctuations and restrictions as well as credit risks; the effectiveness of our patents, confidentiality agreements and other measures to protect the intellectual property rights of our specialty medicines; the effects of reforms in healthcare regulation and pharmaceutical pricing, reimbursement and coverage; competition for our generic products, both from other pharmaceutical companies and as a result of increased governmental pricing pressures; governmental investigations into sales and marketing practices, particularly for our specialty pharmaceutical products; adverse effects of political or economic instability, major hostilities or acts of terrorism on our significant worldwide operations; interruptions in our supply chain or problems with internal or third-party information technology systems that adversely affect our complex manufacturing processes; significant disruptions of our information technology systems or breaches of our data security; competition for our specialty pharmaceutical businesses from companies with greater resources and capabilities; the impact of continuing consolidation of our distributors and customers; decreased opportunities to obtain U.S. market exclusivity for significant new generic products; potential liability in the U.S., Europe and other markets for sales of generic products prior to a final resolution of outstanding patent litigation; our potential exposure to product liability claims that are not covered by insurance; any failure to recruit or retain key personnel, or to attract additional executive and managerial talent; any failures to comply with complex Medicare and Medicaid reporting and payment obligations; significant impairment charges relating to intangible assets, goodwill and property, plant and equipment; the effects of increased leverage and our resulting reliance on access to the capital markets; potentially significant increases in tax liabilities; the effect on our overall effective tax rate of the termination or expiration of governmental programs or tax benefits, or of a change in our business; variations in patent laws that may adversely affect our ability to manufacture our products in the most efficient manner; environmental risks; and other factors that are discussed in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2015 and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or other information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE Teva UK Limited
DUBLIN, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the " Worldwide IoT Managed Services Market - Managed Services Types (Managed Security Services, Managed Networks, Managed Devices, Managed Infrastructure Services), Verticals, Regions - Drivers, Opportunities, Trends, and Forecasts, 2016-2022" report to their offering.
Globally, the rising adoption rate of smart technologies in various industries has led the demand for the IoT technologies. Most of the businesses today are spending on smart technologies to improve their customer satisfaction, reduce the operational costs, and increase the ROI. Within few years, billions of devices will be connecting to the internet from various industries. The increase in the number of connected devices will lead to high demand for the managed services. To run the IoT technologies successfully, a properly managed service in each layer of IoT ecosystem is required. The IoT consists of devices, connectivity, security, applications and a properly managed service is required to manage these in an effective way. Hence managed services will play a major role in the IoT market.
The increasing adoption of digital technologies, changing business models, government initiatives, increasing IT spending on security services, significantly growing mobile subscriber base and rising adoption of connected devices in consumers and business landscape are expected to drive the IoT managed services market growth in the next 6-7 years. The IoT managed services market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.3% during the forecast period 2016-2022.
The IoT managed services market is analysed based on three segments: managed services types, regions, and verticals. The managed services types segment consists of managed devices, managed security services, managed networks, and managed infrastructures. The managed security services are expected to play a key role in the IoT managed services market.
The IoT managed services are analysed by verticals that include Manufacturing, BFSI, Retail & Consumer Electronics, Education, Healthcare, Transportation, IT & Telecom, Energy & Utilities and others. The manufacturing industry is set to be the leading vertical for IoT managed services market and healthcare and education industries are set to be the emerging verticals for the market growth. The region segment covers North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Central Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. North America is expected to outperform in the IoT managed services market growth and Asia Pacific is set to hold huge business opportunities in IoT managed services market.
The report also helps in getting the complete picture (vertical market opportunity, regional market opportunity, challenges, current market trends, future market trends, evolution, technology roadmap, etc.) of the IoT managed services.
The key players covered in this report are IBM, Google, Apple, Intel, HP, AT&T, Accenture, Microsoft.
Key Topics Covered:
1 Industry Outlook
2 Report Outline
3 Market Snapshot
4 Market Outlook
5 Market Characteristics
6 Managed Services Types: Market Size and Analysis
7 Verticals: Market Size and Analysis
8 Regions: Market Size and Analysis
9 Vendor Profiles
10 Global Generalist
11 Competitive Landscape
12 Expert's Views
Companies Mentioned
- Accenture Plc. - Apple Inc. - AT & T Inc. - Cisco System Inc. - Google Inc. - HP Inc - Intel Corporation - International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) - Microsoft Corporation - Qualcomm Inc.
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/88rxl4/_worldwide_iot
Media Contact:
Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
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Related Links
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SOURCE Research and Markets
LONDON, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
As a leading and innovative broker in the binary options industry, 23Traders has made it a key part of its strategy to be available to their traders, regardless of their history or experience in binary options trading. This is because the broker understands that if a trader does not work within a defined strategy, they will flounder and continuously suffer from poor trading results. In addition, a logical and workable strategy that can be applied profitably to the underlying markets in binary options trading can only be devised through effective trader training.
For these reasons, 23Traders has decided to increase its trader education focus by partnering with GoToWebinar, a leader in live webinar software development, to offer educational sessions on its website. The webinars provide the broker's clients with an amazing audiovisual experience, where they can view their trainers' trading screens, talk to them in one-on-one sessions and share documents in a collaborative environment.
The webinars consist of a large variety of courses and live lessons for traders who will receive tips from the broker's highly experienced team as well as valuable insights on market trends. The webinar sessions prepare traders for effective trading, regardless of the asset classes they choose from the extensive range offered by 23Traders, whether stocks, indices, currencies or commodities.
23Traders hosts at least one webinar each week that is open to everyone who is registered with the broker. All that a trader needs to do is log in to the trading platform and select the webinar that is of interest to them. The team of specialists in the finance and investment fields, led by Mr. Beri Norman, will provide live training covering all aspects of trading, including an introduction to 23Traders' trading platform as well as technical analysis techniques.
There are also special live trading sessions offered by 23Traders to selected clients and VIPs. Traders can get in touch with the broker's support if they would like to gain access to these live sessions. There is also training on live trading signals, which helps traders to identify and manage the real-time market information they receive at 23Traders to maximum advantage. Live access to trainers via the webinars also offers an opportunity for traders to take part in in-depth discussions regarding any of the educational materials provided by the broker.
Daniel Diehl, the lead analyst at 23Traders, explains why it was so important for the broker to launch webinars as part of their services to its clients: "When a trader is educated, they trade smarter, and as a result, they are more successful. The basis of all trading success is having the required knowledge of the platform and markets. By offering a vast array of education and training tools that include eBooks, videos and now webinars that offer one-on-one training from our experts, we empower our traders to achieve much more success when trading online."
About 23Traders
Since its launch in 2013, 23Traders has quickly established itself as one of the best providers of online financial trading services. The broker offers a large selection of tradable assets within a flexible, powerful and user-friendly platform that makes it easy for both new and experienced traders to manage their investments and trade easily. The 23Traders brand is owned and managed by Hermes Ventures Limited which is authorized and regulated by the Vanuatu International Financial Services Commission. For more information on 23Traders and its training features, please visit http://www.23Traders.com
SOURCE 23Traders
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Two-year-old Abigail Belzi will never know her mother. Plantation General Hospital accepted responsibility for the untimely death of twenty-four year old Patricia Belzi, who was 33 weeks pregnant when she came to the hospital in August of 2014 with nothing more than shortness of breath.
As a result Florida's tort-reformed medical malpractice laws, the Belzi family had no real choice other than to forego their constitutional right to a jury trial, and accept the hospital's offer to enter into binding arbitration. Pursuant to Florida law, Abigail's non-economic claim in the arbitration for the lifetime loss of her mother's companionship, instruction and guidance was severely capped by Florida Statutes at only $250,000.00.
"Given the unfair cap on non-economic damages, our primary goal in this case," said Bonnie Navin, attorney for the family, "was to creatively build a credible and legal case for the amount of the family's economic losses as a result of Patricia's death." This was difficult, said Navin, because of Patricia's young age, and the fact that she had not yet completed her education in the field - ironically of nursing.
The arbitration panel consisted of Administrative Judge June McKinney from Tallahassee, retired Circuit Judge, Israel Reyes, from Coral Gables, and attorney, David Prather, from Jupiter. The arbitration, which took place in Fort Lauderdale, lasted for three days, according to Kimberly Wald who assisted Navin in the arbitration. "I think Bonnie did a great job in helping the arbitrators understand and appreciate the immense economic value a woman has as both a mother and a wife," said Wald, "and the expert testimony offered by the plaintiffs on that issue was both compelling and convincing."
On August 8, 2014, Patricia Belzi, presented to Plantation General Hospital with shortness of breath. Eight hours later, she suffered a loss of oxygen and was later diagnosed with a brain injury leaving her in a vegetative state for nearly three months. Doctors failed to recognize her increasing loss of oxygen for so long her brain lacked oxygen leading to a brain injury. Abigail was born by "slash and dash" in the emergency room with no sterility or anesthesia all in an effort to save the baby before losing Patricia. Patricia remained in a vegetative state from August 8, 2014 until she passed on November 18, 2014. Abigail is being raised by her father, Pastor Bernard Belzi, of Fort Lauderdale.
"Although we are satisfied with the award," said Robert W. Kelley, whose firm represented the family, "this unjust one-sided law capping the family's non-economic damages is outdated and just plain wrong." Kelley said he has advised the hospital's attorneys that if the hospital appeals the arbitrators' award, his firm will cross-appeal and ask the appellate court to toss out the cap on non-economic damages as unconstitutional. "On a level playing field," said Kelley, "this would be a ten million dollar case, or more. The hospital better be careful what it asks for."
The arbitration panel unanimously awarded $4,290,622.72 in damages to the family last Friday, July 29, 2016.
Kelley/Uustal is a leading personal injury and medical malpractice law firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The firm handles the full range of personal injury and wrongful death cases, and is backed by more than 200 years of experience and a proven track record of success. To learn more about the types of cases the firm handles, please visit www.justiceforall.com.
SOURCE Kelley/Uustal
Related Links
http://www.justiceforall.com
"We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Alain to the Optime Team. He is a proven leader with an outstanding track record of achieving breakthrough results in highly competitive business environments within Fortune 100 companies," said Gibeault. "Alain has been a valued client, a true Champion for sales capability, and is one of the very best customer-driven business leaders I have had the opportunity to interact with. To have him join Optime is a testament to the momentum and results we have achieved with our clients, and our outstanding colleagues," Gibeault continued. Alain will assume his duties effective September 1st, and will operate out of Optime's Montreal and Toronto offices.
Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Champagne said: "I have been so impressed with the Optime team and their ability to drive results with my sales teams over the past 18 years ... that I decided to join the company." "I'm thrilled with the unique opportunity to bring my expertise to the company, and the potential of contributing to our clients' revenue acceleration."
Until recently, Alain Champagne held the position of President of McKesson Canada. In this capacity, Mr. Champagne was responsible for leading the development and execution of the Company's overall strategy. Supported by his Executive Team, he oversaw McKesson's operations in Canada, which included the following divisions: Pharmaceutical Distribution, Retail Banner Management and Technology Solutions. Prior to joining McKesson Canada in 2010 as SVP Pharmaceutical Distribution and Operations, he held various executive roles with Frito Lay Canada and Procter & Gamble.
Mr. Champagne holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Universite du Quebec a Montreal (UQAM). Mr. Champagne is actively involved in charitable organizations, including Board roles with the United Way/Centraide and Leucan.
About Optime
Optime was co-founded in 1994 by Tom Blake and Hugues Gibeault. The company is a sales training and development leader with a proven track record of helping Fortune 500 companies improve sales performance and business results. Over the past two decades, forward-thinking companies like AT&T, Procter & Gamble, TD Bank, PepsiCo, Finning/CAT, Great-West Life and McKesson have called on Optime to build sales capability and effectiveness, and win with their customers.
SOURCE Optime
"This contract announcement reinforces AM General's position as the global leader in Light Tactical Vehicles. Our international partners continue to rely on us to meet the most diverse range of mission capabilities offered by the most adaptable, affordable Light Tactical Vehicles on the planet," said AM General President and CEO Andy Hove. "We pride ourselves on developing and delivering these solutions to our customers with the speed, efficiency, and reliability only our company can offer."
As the U.S. Government and foreign countries engage in more rapid, dispersed and challenging missions around the globe, deployability and readiness are key determinants of success. AM General's HMMWV platform has been the answer for more than three decades, delivering the modular design with unmatched reliability and innovation to achieve the mission.
Global demand for new production and remanufactured Light Tactical Vehicles, automotive kits, spare parts and training services is as strong today as ever. AM General's robust pipeline of international sales is testament to its best in class workforce, manufacturing processes, and management team.
About AM General
AM General designs, engineers, manufactures, supplies and supports specialized vehicles for military and commercial customers worldwide. Through its military business, the company is widely recognized as the world leader in design, engineer, manufacture and support of Light Tactical Vehicles, having produced and sustained more than 300,000 vehicles in over 60 countries. Its growing Commercial business includes its wholly owned subsidiary, Mobility Ventures, designer and manufacturer of the acclaimed MV-1, the only American made vehicle specifically engineered from the ground up in support of wheelchair users and people with disabilities. AM General is also proud to have been selected by Mercedes-Benz to be its only contract manufacturer in the United States, producing the R-Class vehicle in Mishawaka, Indiana. AM General has more than five decades of experience meeting the changing needs of the defense and automotive industries, supported by its employees at major facilities in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, and a strong supplier base that stretches across 43 states. Please see more information about AM General at www.amgeneral.com.
Media Contact: Jeff Adams
Global Communications & Marketing / AM General
Phone: 703-347-2276
E-mail: [email protected]
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160801/394554
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SOURCE AM General
Related Links
http://www.amgeneral.com
AGOURA HILLS, Calif., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH), a leading provider of high quality single-family homes for rent, today announced that the Board of Trustees elected Tamara Hughes Gustavson to the Board, effective August 2, 2016.
Ms. Gustavson, the daughter of our Chairman of the Board, is a real estate investor and philanthropist and, together with her family, currently owns approximately 25% of the American Homes 4 Rent outstanding common shares and units of its operating partnership. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Public Storage, the Board of Trustees of the University of Southern California and the Board of Trustees of the William Lawrence and Blanche Hughes Foundation. During the past five years, in addition to her board responsibilities, Ms. Gustavson has been managing her real estate investments and engaging in charitable activities.
"We welcome Tamara Gustavson to the American Homes 4 Rent Board of Trustees," said David P. Singelyn, Chief Exective Officer of American Homes 4 Rent. "We expect to benefit from Tamara's ongoing investment and charitable board experience. She will also provide a shareholder's perspective in Board discussions about our operations and strategic direction."
About American Homes 4 Rent
American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) is a leader in the single-family home rental industry and "American Homes 4 Rent" is fast becoming a nationally recognized brand for rental homes, known for high quality, good value and tenant satisfaction. We are an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on acquiring, renovating, leasing, and operating attractive, single-family homes as rental properties. As of March 31, 2016, we owned 47,955 single-family properties in selected submarkets in 22 states.
Additional information about American Homes 4 Rent is available on our website at www.americanhomes4rent.com.
Contact:
American Homes 4 Rent
Investor Relations
Phone: (855) 794-2447
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE American Homes 4 Rent
Related Links
http://www.americanhomes4rent.com
APPLETON, Wis., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Appvion, Inc. will report its second quarter 2016 financial results after market close on August 9. Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gilligan and Chief Financial Officer Tom Ferree will host a teleconference to discuss those results with the investment community on August 10 at 11:00 a.m. ET.
The call will be broadcast live over the Internet. A webcast link and presentation slides will be available in the investor section/events & presentations of the Appvion website at www.appvion.com. The broadcast will also be archived on that same page of the company website. A playback of the teleconference will also be available by telephone from approximately 1:00 p.m. ET August 10 through August 16. To access the playback, please dial 855-859-2056 and use the access code 45142629.
About Appvion
Appvion creates product solutions through its development and use of coating formulations and applications. The company produces thermal, carbonless, security, inkjet, digital specialty, and colored papers. Appvion, headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, has manufacturing operations in Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania, employs approximately 1,400 people and is 100 percent employee-owned. For more information, visit www.appvion.com.
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SOURCE Appvion, Inc.
Related Links
http://www.appvion.com
WARREN, Mich., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Art Van Furniture is celebrating one of the Motor City's favorite traditions with an Art Van Pit Stop during the Woodward Dream Cruise! The annual classic car event draws about 1.5 million people each year, with more than 40,000 cars driving past the Art Van Furniture showroom located at 32301 Woodward Avenue in Royal Oakat the epicenter of the Dream Cruise. The Midwest's number one furniture and mattress retailer will host an all-day cruise bash for spectators to join in the fun on Saturday, Aug. 20.
The Art Van Pit Stop is open to the public and will display a Trans AM SE Bandit Edition, an updated version of the 1977 Pontiac Firebird Tran Am made famous by Burt Reynolds in the cult classic Smokey and the Bandit. The car is one of only 77 Bandit Editions built and will be shown courtesy of media sponsor 94.7 WCSX radio, which will be broadcasting live on-site all day playing classic rock favorites.
"The Woodward Dream Cruise is one of the highlights of a Detroit summer," said Kim Yost, CEO of Art Van Furniture. "We are proud to be a community partner and support this great annual event. Our team is looking forward to welcoming members of the public to a fun event at a fantastic location, and watching thousands of incredible classic cars cruise by!"
The Art Van Pit Stop will also feature games, giveaways, a relaxation station, and refreshments from Detroit Water Icethe popular philanthropic dessert company founded by bestselling author and journalist Mitch Albom. Art Van PureSleep will also give away a free souvenir gift to guests who take the exclusive five-minute sleep diagnostic test.
For more information, visit artvan.com.
About Art Van Furniture
Art Van Furniture is the Midwest's largest furniture retailer and America's largest independent furniture retailer. The company operates 100 stores throughout Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana, including freestanding Art Van PureSleep mattress stores, Art Van Flooring stores, and Art Van Furniture franchise locations as well as a full service e-commerce website. Founded in 1959, the company is family-owned and headquartered in Warren, Michigan. Visit artvan.com for more information.
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SOURCE Art Van Furniture
Related Links
http://www.artvan.com
ITASCA, Ill., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG) today announced the acquisition of Victory Insurance Agency, Inc. based in Pearland, Texas. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1983, Victory Insurance Agency (Victory) is a retail insurance broker providing commercial property/casualty, employee benefits, risk management consulting and personal lines insurance services to clients throughout the south central United States. They specialize in coverages for public entities and school districts as well as the real estate, manufacturing, distribution, energy, marine, technology, transportation and construction industries. Roger Montemayor and his associates will continue to operate from their Pearland and Lake Jackson, Texas locations under the direction of Bret VanderVoort, head of Gallagher's South Central retail property/casualty brokerage operations, and John Neumaier, head of Gallagher's South Central employee benefits consulting and brokerage operations.
"Victory has a great reputation for its level of expertise, outstanding client service and middle-market client focus," said J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO. "Their Houston-area presence and strong carrier relationships will help expand our Texas footprint. Victory will be a terrific addition to our South Central region, and we are extremely pleased to welcome Roger and his team to our growing Gallagher family of professionals."
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an international insurance brokerage and risk management services firm, is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, has operations in 33 countries and offers client-service capabilities in more than 150 countries around the world through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants.
Investors: Marsha J. Akin Media: Linda J. Collins Director Investor Relations VP Corporate Communications 630-285-3501/ [email protected] 630-285-4009/ [email protected]
SOURCE Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Related Links
http://www.ajg.com
TUCSON, Ariz., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AudioEye, Inc. (OTCQB: AEYE) ("AudioEye" or the "Company") surpassed $1M ($1,153,572 YTD) in unaudited cash contract sales bookings for year-to-date 2016. Complete with a new management team and a fully productized set of service offerings for all sectors, the Company expanded its footprint in the federal government space and achieved significant traction in mid-to-large corporate entities in several key target market verticals across the U.S., including, but not limited to: Education, Retail, Restaurant/Food & Beverage, Banking & Finance, and Healthcare. "We have created a service offering with credible pricing that provides digital accessibility and inclusion solutions for businesses and organizations looking to conform with ADA-related initiatives, policies and mandates," stated Chief Executive Officer, Todd Bankofier. "Equally significant and core to our corporate mission, we provide our customer's users with adaptive web enhancement tools that make the user experience personalized, universal, and much more inclusive for a much broader audience of people, including the ever-growing population of individuals with disabilities."
Settlement of Shareholder Litigation
AudioEye also announced today that it reached an agreement in principle to settle the consolidated securities class action lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, titled In re AudioEye, Inc. Sec. Litig. The consolidated case was brought against the Company and two former officers following the restatement of the Company's 2015 quarterly financial statements. The agreement was reached in connection with a voluntary mediation led by Bob Meyer, a mediator with JAMS in Los Angeles.
The settlement agreement is subject to definitive documentation, shareholder notice, and court approval. The terms of the agreement include a settlement payment to the class from the Company's insurer, with no admission of liability by any party.
"We are pleased to reach a settlement agreement on the securities class action and believe it is in the best interests of the Company and our shareholders," said Dr. Carr Bettis, Executive Chairman of AudioEye.
About AudioEye, Inc.
Incorporated in 2005, AudioEye provides enhanced web access and usability for its clients' customers through AudioEye's Ally platform. The Ally+ product allows AudioEye's clients to reach more customers , build more brand loyalty , retain more customers and secure more repeat business .
AudioEye's common stock trades on the OTCQB under the symbol "AEYE". The Company maintains offices in Tucson and Atlanta.
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about AudioEye's expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, prospects, financial condition, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and are "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined under the federal securities laws. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "believe", "anticipate", "should", "intend", "plan", "will", "expects", "estimates", "projects", "positioned", "strategy", "outlook" and similar words. You should read the statements that contain these types of words carefully. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. There may be events in the future that AudioEye is not able to predict accurately or over which AudioEye has no control. Other risks are described more fully in AudioEye's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements reflect management's analysis as of the date of this press release and AudioEye urges you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. AudioEye does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to such forward-looking statements to reflect events or uncertainties after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
AudioEye has provided in this release information related to bookings that has not been prepared in accordance with GAAP. AudioEye uses this non-GAAP financial measure internally in analyzing its financial results and believes it is useful to investors, as a supplement to GAAP measures, in evaluating our ongoing operational performance.
Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Our use of non-GAAP financial measures may not be consistent with the presentations by similar companies in our industry.
Bookings are comprised of the total value of new customer contracts closed during a specified period, including license, maintenance, services, term license and subscription renewals, that we believe to be firm commitments to provide our software solutions and related services. Bookings by their nature are significantly based on estimates and judgments that we make regarding total contract values, and our bookings growth projections are not meant as a substitute measure for revenue in accordance with GAAP. We believe our annual bookings growth projection is useful to investors as an additional means to reflect our annual business performance.
These non-GAAP estimates are not measurements of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP, and we are unable to reconcile these forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to their directly comparable GAAP financial measures because the information described above which is needed to complete a reconciliation is unavailable at this time without unreasonable effort.
For further information, please contact:
David Kovacs
Strategic Consultant
AudioEye, Inc.
(866) 331-5324
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SOURCE AudioEye, Inc.
Related Links
http://www.audioeye.com
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AVG Technologies N.V. (NYSE: AVG), the online security company for devices, data and people, today announced the availability of AVG Family Graph to Tigo mobile customers in Latin America, released as Ubicame por AVG in Guatemala. Announced at Futurecom 2015, AVG Family Graph lets subscribers locate family members' phones, even if each is with a different mobile operator, effectively creating a family plan by connecting all phones on one Family Graph account. With Family Graph, Tigo Guatemala can better attract, serve and retain valuable family customers.
AVG Family Graph is built by Location Labs by AVG, the leading provider of mobile family locator software in the US, with mobile operator partners including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless. The de facto family plan behavior Family Graph creates leads to longer subscriber lifetimes and higher user engagement. In the US, where more than two-thirds of consumer lines are on family plans, evidence suggests subscribers who increase from 1 to 4 lines stay with their mobile operator as much as 4 times longer.
"By partnering with us to launch AVG Family Graph, Tigo Guatemala proves their commitment to attracting and retaining families by offering products that help customers keep loved ones more secure," said Todd Simpson, Chief Strategy Officer, AVG Technologies. "We look forward to helping Tigo Guatemala bring vital mobile experiences to millions more families and increase their own value by acquiring entire families of mobile subscribers."
"We want our mobile services to help subscribers stay connected with the most important people in their lives adopting a digital lifestyle," said Jorge Matamoros, Digital Business Manager from Tigo Guatemala. Launching Family Graph with AVG means we are making it easier than ever for families, no matter their mobile operator, to communicate more easily, locate each other and keep each other safer."
AVG Family Graph is available first to Tigo subscribers in Guatemala, a significant local market in the valuable Latin American region, where the mobile market in South America alone is expected to reach $275 billion USD by 2020.
About AVG Technologies (NYSE: AVG)
AVG is the leading provider of software services to secure devices, data and people. AVG's award-winning consumer portfolio includes internet security, performance optimization, location services, data controls and insights, and privacy and identity protection, for mobile devices and desktops. The award-winning AVG Business portfolio, delivered through a global partner network, provides cloud security and remote monitoring and management (RMM) solutions that protect small and medium businesses around the world. For more information visit www.avg.com.
About Comunicaciones Celulares, S.A.
Comunicaciones Celulares, S.A., is a leading telecommunications and media company dedicated to emerging markets in Guatemala. Comunicaciones Celulares, S.A. operates in Guatemala using the Tigo brand, serving almost 9 million customers. In 1992 Tigo was the first company to offer mobile services in Guatemala, and now Tigo is the market leader providing mobile, Internet, fixed broadband, and cable TV to its customers.
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SOURCE AVG Technologies N.V.
Related Links
http://www.avg.com
DAVIE, Fla., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Bankers Healthcare Group, a leading provider of financial solutions for healthcare professionals, has once again been recognized on the annual Top 100 South Florida Private Companies list published by the South Florida Business Journal. The company ranked no. 37 on the 2016 list, rising from no. 43 last year.
"Bankers Healthcare Group is proud to be recognized among the top private companies of South Florida," said Bankers Healthcare Group President Bob Castro. "The organizations on this year's list have done so much to enrich our regional economy. We're delighted to be a part of it."
Bankers Healthcare Group works with healthcare professionals exclusively, offering them financial solutions including working capital loans, credit cards and insurance services. The company has funded over $2 billion dollars to healthcare professionals and will celebrate its 15th anniversary this October.
Earlier this year, Bankers Healthcare Group was recognized as a winner in South Florida Business Journal's Business of the Year and Best Places to Work programs.
South Florida Business Journal Research Director Gilberto Medina conducts the research and ranks companies by 2015 South Florida revenue. For more information about the list, please refer to the South Florida Business Journal.
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
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SOURCE Bankers Healthcare Group
Related Links
http://www.bhg-inc.com
"We're honored to receive this award and I'm humbled by our hardworking team at our 27 stores," said Lisa Senafe, CEO and co-founder of Bentley's Pet Stuff. "We hand select all of the items in our stores through thorough research and testing."
Each year, Pet Product News awards a Retailer of the Year, sponsored by World Pet Association. Senafe started Bentley's Pet Stuff in 2008 after struggling to find a nearby store that offered the quality products her dog Bentley needed. She opened her first storefront in downtown Arlington Heights, Ill., with a simple goal: To help pets (and their pet parents) achieve great lives.
More about Bentley's Pet Stuff
Bentley's Pet Stuff is a family-owned business with 27 store locations in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Colorado, with 100 projected stores by March, 2017. In November 2015, Bentley's Corner Barkery acquired Pet Stuff and the newly formed company, Bentley's Pet Stuff, now features 19 locations across Chicagoland. Bentley's is one of the largest independent natural pet supply retailers. It opened in 2008 with a mission to feed animal lovers' pets genuine high quality ingredients. Started from a single retail store, Bentley's Pet Stuff offers natural pet food, a variety of treats, toys, and more.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160801/394821
SOURCE Bentleys Pet Stuff
Related Links
https://www.petstuff.com
ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bloomberg BNA today announced the availability of the Environmental & Safety Practice Center on Bloomberg Law. Designed specifically for environmental attorneys and in-house compliance departments, Bloomberg Law's eleventh practice center integrates in-depth legal analysis, commentary and news with key primary sources to provide practitioners with a comprehensive understanding of current and emerging environmental and safety issues.
"At Bloomberg Law, we are committed to listening to our customers and investing in the platform to ensure that it continues to evolve and expand along with their needs," said David Perla, President of Bloomberg Law. "Environmental practice groups have been expanding and Bloomberg Law now offers these groups and in-house compliance departments a dedicated resource that addresses their specific needs, all in a centralized location."
The Environmental & Safety Practice Center incorporates Bloomberg BNA's environment and safety news, laws and regulations, agency and guidance documents, environmental opinions and dockets, and books and treatises. For more information on the Environmental and Safety Practice Center on Bloomberg Law and to request a trial, visit http://on.bna.com/7wzh302NWs4.
About Bloomberg BNA
Bloomberg BNA provides legal, tax and compliance professionals with critical information, practical guidance and workflow solutions. We leverage leading technology and a global network of experts to deliver a unique combination of news and authoritative analysis, comprehensive research solutions, innovative practice tools, and proprietary business data and analytics. Bloomberg BNA is wholly-owned by Bloomberg L.P., the global business, financial information and news leader. For more information, visit www.bna.com.
About Bloomberg Law
Bloomberg Law helps legal professionals provide world-class counsel with access to actionable legal intelligence in a business context. Bloomberg Law delivers a unique combination of practical guidance, comprehensive primary and secondary source material, trusted content from Bloomberg BNA, news, time-saving practice tools, market data and business intelligence. For more information, visit www.bna.com/bloomberglaw.
SOURCE Bloomberg BNA
Related Links
http://www.bna.com
BUFFALO, N.Y., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Buffalo Computer Graphics (BCG), developer of DisasterLAN (DLAN) Incident Management Software, has appointed Brian Carrier as the new Director of Client Services in their Incident Management Division.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160801/394642
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160801/394643LOGO
Since joining BCG five years ago, Carrier has played an instrumental role in the growth and expansion of DLAN as a Program Manager. In this role, he was on site for several DLAN deployments including Hurricane Sandy at the Albany Emergency Management Operations Center, multiple FEMA Indian Point deployments, Erie County Storm Activations, and multiple Ride for Roswell deployments. In addition to these tasks, Carrier has offered both customer and in house support for all major and minor software versions, and has overseen the development and implementation of Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) GPS tracking devices for all DLAN customers.
Carrier's established experience and in-depth knowledge of DLAN will be essential in his new role as the Director of Client Services, where he will be responsible for maintaining effective support for all BCG DLAN customers. Carrier will develop and implement all policies and procedures for customer service, manage the client services team and the 24/7 after hours support team, and oversee all customer issues to ensure effective and long-term problem resolution. As Director, Carrier will manage all employees within the department and will be responsible for performance management and hiring. He will also play a major role in scheduling and implementing DLAN installations for new and existing customers.
"My main goal as the new Director of Client Services is to make customers happy," he says. "In the field of emergency management, when a major incident occurs, 24/7 support is critical to protect lives and property. That is what we do."
About DisasterLAN:
DisasterLAN is a web-based incident management system designed for use in emergency operations centers to manage both planned events and disasters using ICS and NIMS standards.
About Buffalo Computer Graphics:
BCG is a global provider of Incident Management Software, Mass Notification Systems, Maritime Training Solutions, and Custom Hardware & Software Engineering.
Contact :
Nancy Kensy
Director of Marketing
Buffalo Computer Graphics
(716) 822-8668
Email
www.disasterlan.com
SOURCE Buffalo Computer Graphics
BANGKOK, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers throughout the world are drinking more coffee, with demand projected by the International Coffee Organization to soar in the next few years.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160724/392380
This trend is evident as cafes pop up in major cities throughout the world, with wide range of new coffee machines launched so that consumers can get their caffeine fix at home, in the office, at coffee shops or on the move.
This encouraged Bangkok-based FUSE Coffee Company, a start-up by two young engineers to kick-start a radical approach with the launch of their coffee-gadget FUSE Modular Coffee Press system. FUSE Coffee Press relies on a series of twist-on modules that currently includes a ceramic burr for grinding roasted beans right before the brew, and a milk frother for that latte or cappuccino.
This new technology is the brainchild of coffee lover and CEO Kenneth Chai, who took his search for a caffeine fix to a new level.
While working as a petroleum field engineer in rural Asia, the creator of FUSE realised how difficult it was to get a good cup of coffee on-the-go, having tried a myriad of ways including bringing his own coffee machines across international borders.
"I consider myself an average coffee drinker, but I don't just want your typical instant powder from a pack. I love a good grind and brew to start my day off."
"One day, my work found me in the middle of the Mongolian desert and I had woken up every morning with no access to clean water or electricity -- but all I wanted was a hot cup of good coffee!"
"It was then and there that this idea came to me."
Nothing quite cuts the fact of grinding fresh beans on the spot and brewing it right away for that good cuppa joe -- thus, Chai embarked on his quest to create a fully robust, easy to clean, portable and modular system that let users grind, brew and froth milk on the move.
The result is the FUSE portable system: fully modular, the core of the system is a 1-lb (450-g), 4.8 x 3.1-in (122 x 80-mm) chamber and plunger. The hand-held plunger presses down hot water into a stainless steel coffee chamber at 5 to 6 bar (73 to 87 psi) of pressure before coffee escapes into a cup. Coffee strength can also be adjusted with a twist of the chamber.
"With FUSE, all you have to do is add your beans, screw on the plunger, add hot water and press. The rest is you and your instant mental clarity."
"It is sort of like LEGO. You want to grind your beans, get the Grinder. You like Latte? Get the Frother. You don't feel like moving a muscle? Get the PowerPress and PowerGrinder. Camping? Don't forget the PowerCore."
The company is currently crowd-funding this project on Indiegogo with 48 days to go. Interested buyers are encouraged to check out the limited offer packages and deals on the site. The main unit can now be pre-ordered at $49, limited runs of the FUSE plus Grinder package is also available for avid coffee lovers at a combined discounted price of $119.
The team hopes to ship out their first unit before Christmas.
Other twist-on modules in development are:
Battery operated PowerGrinder and PowerPress that grinds the bean and pushes the hot water with a press of a button.
and that grinds the bean and pushes the hot water with a press of a button. TimeGrip , an add-on grip that features a timer for those who brew their coffee by the mili-seconds.
, an add-on grip that features a timer for those who brew their coffee by the mili-seconds. PowerCore, a powered thermo-flask that fits in a bicycle bottle cage, perfect for the outdoor enthusiasts or cyclists.
All the modules are still in early development and part of their crowd-funding stretch goals.
For more information and latest update please like FUSE's Facebook page or follow them on Twitter or subscribe to their mailing list at the official FUSE website.
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SOURCE FUSE Coffee Co., Ltd.
Related Links
http://fuse.coffee
From August 1 st until August 31 st , Calypso will place specially-marked "Entry Bottles" of its Original Lemonade in retail locations around the country. Lucky consumers who find a special Entry Bottle will find an entry code on the bottle label that will unlock a treasure chest on the Island of Treasure page of the Calypso website . After unlocking the treasure chest with the special bottle code, customers will have a chance to win an item from the variety of prizes contained in the chest. Treasure chest prizes include a PlayStation 4, Bose Headphones, GoPro Hero 4, Hoverboard, VR Headset, $10-$250 gift cards, and a wide variety of Calypso merchandise.
Calypso's Island of Treasure Sweepstakes is part of Calypso Lemonade Month (#CalypsoLemonadeMonth), in which the Company is featuring a different Calypso lemonade flavor every day on social media and is holding daily giveaways with trivia, games and other contests. The month-long celebration culminates on National Lemonade Day Saturday, August 20th - when the brand will giveaway a Year Supply of Calypso Lemonades to one lucky person and surprise other lemonade fans with prizes on social media. Fans of Calypso Lemonade can enter the Year Supply Sweepstakes HERE.
"National Lemonade Day is a fun celebration of lemonade in America, and with so many different and unique Calypso lemonade flavors in our product line, we enjoy devoting an entire month to lemonade with Calypso Lemonade Month," said Calypso Brands President, Jeff Outlaw. "Our Island of Treasure Sweepstakes is a great way to give back to our customers and highlights our 'Taste of the Islands' identity. In addition, Calypso Lemonade Month allows us to feature and have fun interactions with consumers around each of Calypso's lemonade flavors, including our newest addition, Paradise Punch Lemonade. It's all a great way to join in together around our shared love of lemonade."
For more information on Calypso's Island of Treasure Sweepstakes and other activities surrounding National Lemonade Day and Calypso Lemonade Month, please visit DrinkCalypso.com.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160726/393193
SOURCE Calypso Lemonades
Related Links
http://www.drinkcalypso.com
Dobbs comes to Camp Southern Ground with over 25 years of leadership experience with companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 and has a broad background in marketing, sales, development, real estate, architecture, construction and general management. He has also enjoyed board and committee roles in working with non-profits such as Skyland Trail, The Westminster Schools, Metro Atlanta YMCA, Zoo Atlanta and Young Life. His passion is in transforming visions into reality and serving others.
Located on over 400 acres in Fayetteville, GA, Camp Southern Ground is the passion-project of GRAMMY Award-winning artist Zac Brown and his wife, Shelly. Inspired by his own experience as a camp counselor, Zac's vision is to create a state-of-the-art facility that is more than the typical camp experience.
"I am honored to be able to share this vision with Zac and Shelly and be a part of building something that is unique and will positively impact the lives of children for generations to come," commented Dobbs.
Camp Southern Ground will focus on children with neurobehavioral challenges - specifically Autism, Dyslexia, Asperger's and Attention Deficit Disorder. Camp will also act as a respite center for military families struggling with post-deployment issues, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
"Mike is a proven, connected and passionate leader. He embraces the mission and is a key player to help Camp Southern Ground exceed all expectations. We are proud to have him," stated Zac.
Dobbs is originally from Mobile, Alabama and has resided in Atlanta for over 30 years with his wife Jenifer and their two children. He is a graduate of Auburn University and holds degrees in both Architecture and Building Sciences.
ABOUT CAMP SOUTHERN GROUND
Mission-driven, Camp Southern Ground offers children a world-class campus in a beautiful natural setting, with groundbreaking programs that inspire children to magnify their gifts, enhance their perspectives of self, empower them to overcome limitations, and spread love to impact their world. With state-of-the-art buildings and outdoor spaces, Camp Southern Ground is a one-of-a-kind place of learning and growth designed with children of diverse abilities and skill sets in mind, and will become a timeless institution that is the cornerstone of research and innovation. Camp Southern Ground is registered non-profit, 501(c)(3).
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160801/394509
SOURCE Southern Ground
AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Catapult, a leading IT consulting firm, announced today that it has placed as a finalist in the 2016 Greater Austin Business Awards in the Executive Leadership category. Organized by the Austin Chamber of Commerce, the award recognizes the leadership efforts of Catapult's Chief Executive Officer, David Fuess.
This award comes at a time when information technology is fundamentally changing, making it difficult for a company's IT department to keep up with new trends that ultimately transform them to a digital workplace. At Catapult's helm, Mr. Fuess formed a new vision for the organization, transforming the way Catapult provides technology services. At the onset of this transformation, Mr. Fuess met with every employee, challenging each of them to think of new ways to contribute.
"We believe in our employees and look to them to influence how Catapult grows as a company," said David Fuess, Chief Executive Officer of Catapult. "This means that each employee is a key stakeholder on our transformation journey, and is encouraged to take part in the generation of new ideas that propel Catapult. I am incredibly honored to not only be nominated, but to be chosen as a finalist by the Austin Chamber of Commerce."
The final ranking of the Greater Austin Business Awards list will be announced at a ceremony that is being organized by the Austin Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, September 1 at the Hyatt Regency downtown. At the event, the Austin Chamber of Commerce will share the winning characteristics including organizational achievements, community contributions, and milestones. The largest event of its kind in Central Texas, the Greater Austin Business Awards brings over 1,000 business leaders, entrepreneurs, organizations and government officials.
ABOUT CATAPULT
Catapult is a full-service consulting firm that uses technology to solve complex business challenges, delivering exceptional value to our clients based on their priorities and timeframes. Recognized as the 2016 Microsoft Partner of the Year (U.S.), Catapult specializes in digital transformation and cloud-based technologies. We work on behalf of our clients to imagine, build, and sustain IT-enabled business solutions that people love to use. Catapult has offices in Austin, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, Tampa and Washington, D.C.
Press Contact:
Jessica Cowan
Marketing Communications Manager
Catapult Systems
512-605-3903
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SOURCE Catapult
Related Links
http://www.catapultsystems.com
BEIJING, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cheetah Mobile Inc. (NYSE: CMCM) ("Cheetah Mobile" or the "Company"), a leading mobile Internet company that provides mission critical applications to help make the Internet and mobile experience speedier, simpler, and safer for users worldwide, today announced that it plans to release its second quarter 2016 financial results on Friday, August 19, 2016 before market opens. The Company will hold a conference call on Friday, August 19, 2016 at 8:00 am Eastern Time or 8:00 pm Beijing Time to discuss the financial results. Listeners may access the call by dialing the following numbers:
International: +1-412-902-4272 United States Toll Free: +1-888-346-8982 China Toll Free: 4001-201203 Hong Kong Toll Free: 800-905945 Conference ID: Cheetah Mobile
The replay will be accessible through August 26, 2016 by dialing the following numbers:
United States Toll Free: +1-877-344-7529 International: +1-412-317-0088 Access Code: 10090648
A live and archived webcast of the conference call will also be available at the Company's investor relations website at http://ir.cmcm.com.
About Cheetah Mobile Inc.
Cheetah Mobile is a leading mobile internet company. It aims to provide the best apps for mobile users worldwide, while building a leading global mobile ad platform for advertisers.
Cheetah Mobile had approximately 651 million global mobile monthly active users in March 2016. Its mission critical applications, including Clean Master, CM Security, Battery Doctor and Duba Anti-virus, help make the internet and mobile experience speedier, simpler, and safer for users worldwide. The Company also provides multiple user traffic entry points and global content promotional channels capable of delivering targeted content to hundreds of millions of users. Its customers include direct advertisers and mobile advertising networks through which advertisers place their advertisements.
Investor Relations Contact
Cheetah Mobile Inc.
Helen Jing Zhu
Tel: +8610 6292 7779 ext. 1600
Email: [email protected]
ICR, Inc.
Vera Tang
Tel: +1 (646) 417-5395
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE Cheetah Mobile
Related Links
http://ir.cmcm.com
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Chegg, Inc. (NYSE: CHGG), the Student Hub, today reported financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2016.
"Chegg had an excellent Q2, led by 41% year over year subscriber growth in Chegg Services. We have over 40 million unique visitors annually who come to Chegg to save time, save money and get smarter and we believe we are on track for a great second half," said Dan Rosensweig, CEO of Chegg. "We have become one of the largest direct-to-student education companies with more than 10 million monthly unique visitors as students increasingly seek high quality, affordable, online, on-demand help and Chegg meets those needs."
An updated investor video and presentation and an investor data sheet can be found on Chegg's Investor Relations website http://investor.chegg.com.
Over 40 million annual unique visitors is based on comScore U.S. Annual Unique Visitors (Custom Analytics), April 2015 March 2016. Over 10 million monthly unique visitors is based on comScore U.S. Monthly Unique Visitors (Custom Analytics), March 2016.
Q2 2016 Financial Highlights:
Total Net Revenues of $53.0 million, a decrease of 21% compared to Q2 2015;
Non-GAAP Total Net Revenues of $40.7 million, an increase of 16% compared to Q2 2015;
Chegg Services Revenues grew 33% year-over-year to $29.9 million, or 56% of total net revenues compared to 34% in Q2 2015;
Required Materials Revenues of $23.1 million compared to $44.5 million in Q2 2015;
Gross Profit was $31.6 million;
Non-GAAP Gross Profit was $31.7 million;
Net Loss was $9.0 million;
Non-GAAP Net Income was $4.2 million; and
Adjusted EBITDA was $7.2 million.
Non-GAAP total net revenues and the related year-over-year percentage increase presents total net revenues as if the transition of textbook inventory investment and textbook logistics and fulfillment functions for Chegg's print textbook business to Ingram Content Group (Ingram) was complete and the revenues from print textbook business was entirely commission-based. For more information about Non-GAAP total net revenues and a reconciliation of Non-GAAP total net revenues to total net revenues, see the sections of the press release titled "Use of Non-GAAP Measures" and "Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
Q2 2016 Business Highlights:
760,000: number of Chegg Services subscribers in Q2;
78%: renewal rate for Chegg Study subscribers in Q2;
Over 3.6 million: questions viewed in Chegg Study in Q2;
Over 70%: growth in tutoring minutes from Q2 2015; and
$11.8 million: remaining Chegg textbook library.
Business Outlook:
Our revenues are comprised of two revenue streams: Required Materials revenues, which includes print textbooks, eTextbooks, and Ingram commission revenues; and Chegg Services revenues, which includes Chegg Study, Chegg Tutors, Enrollment Marketing, Brand Partnerships, Writing Tools and Careers.
Third Quarter 2016
Total Net Revenues in the range of $65 million and $70 million;
Non-GAAP Total Net Revenues in the range of $48 million and $52 million;
Chegg Services Revenues in the range of $28 million and $30 million;
Gross Margin between 38% and 40%; and
Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $(2) million and breakeven.
Adjusted EBITDA guidance for the third quarter includes approximately $1.9 million for textbook depreciation and excludes approximately $10.5 million for stock-based compensation expense, $1.4 million for amortization of intangible assets; and $1.5 million for acquisition-related compensation costs. It assumes, among other things, that no additional business acquisitions, investments, restructuring actions, or legal settlements are concluded and that there are no further revisions to share-based compensation estimates.
Fiscal Year 2016
Total Net Revenues in the range of $240 million and $255 million;
Non-GAAP Total Net Revenues in the range of $182 million and $192 million;
Chegg Services Revenues in the range of $124 million and $132 million;
Gross Margin between 49% and 51%; and
Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $16 million and $21 million.
Adjusted EBITDA guidance for fiscal year 2016 includes approximately $10.5 million for textbook depreciation and excludes approximately $43 million for stock-based compensation expense; $4.6 million for amortization of intangible assets; $(0.2) million for restructuring charges; and $5.0 million for acquisition-related compensation costs. It assumes, among other things, that no additional business acquisitions, investments, restructuring actions, or legal settlements are concluded and that there are no further revisions to share-based compensation estimates.
Prepared Remarks Dan Rosensweig, CEO Chegg Inc.
Thanks Dave and good afternoon everyone! We had an excellent Q2 and a great first half overall. We enter the second half of the year excited as we believe we are on track to meet our full year revenue, subscriber and adjusted EBITDA expectations. And after two years of hard work, this is the semester in which we expect to complete our textbook transition as planned and exit the year as a 100% digital business.
It's a very exciting time in the education industry and for Chegg.
On today's call we will cover:
The macro trends in education that we believe favor Chegg's direct-to-student model for affordable, high quality, on-demand services;
Walk you through some of our key business drivers to help you better understand the business;
Provide an update on our two newest businesses Imagine Easy's writing tools and Chegg Test Prep;
Give an overview of our textbook business and the back-to-school season; and
As always, Andy will take you through our Q2 financials and guidance for Q3 and the rest of the year.
To appreciate how big the opportunity is for Chegg, it is important to understand the size of the market, how influential Chegg has become, how dramatically the industry is changing, and how these changes uniquely advantage Chegg.
In the United States today, about 15% of the population is a student in middle school, high school or higher education, and as a nation we will spend in excess of $1 trillion this year on the sector, or more than 5% of total GDP.
According to comScore, Chegg now reaches more than 40 million unique visitors annually, 10 million visitors monthly, and we are growing in part because the current education system which is not built to serve today's modern learner. From mastering basic writing and math skills, to navigating a college landscape decimated by budget cuts and bureaucratic resistance, students today face higher costs, fewer teachers, and less support from their schools, both in and out of the classroom.
And while colleges seem unable to keep pace, the fact is that the rate of change driven by technology and by students is accelerating. Consider the incoming class of 2020: born the same year as Google, raised on the Internet and services like Spotify, Uber, and the iPhone. Their experiences growing up and learning are very different than our own, and faced with rising costs and diminishing resources in higher ed, today's student has an entirely different view of what they need to learn, how they can learn it, where they can learn it, how long it should take, and how much it should cost.
To serve their evolving needs, Chegg reaches students starting in middle school, and we stay with them into their early careers. Our direct-to-student services include writing help, test prep, college matching, required materials for less, online homework help, on-demand live tutoring, internship search and soon careers.
We believe our strategy of putting the student first and making all of our services affordable, online, and on-demand is positively impacting our business.
In Q2, Chegg Services subscribers grew faster than it did in Q1 reaching 760,000 active subscribers in the quarter, setting a record for subscribers. As students return to their studies this fall, we expect to see similar growth in the second half of the year, further demonstrating the strength of Chegg Services.
Our largest Chegg Service, Chegg Study, is considered indispensable by students because they know it helps them master their subjects, pass their classes, and ultimately graduate. We base this on monthly renewal rate that hovers around 80% and from the direct feedback students give us in social posts and on surveys where 90% of students' report that Chegg Study helped them get a better grade. Chegg Study today has a massive audience and a fast growing reach and fast growing engagement, with students continuing to access it about once per week on average while consuming more than 80 expert answers and textbook solutions per student in each quarter. For a little color on how rapidly we are becoming core to the learning experience, in the first half of this year, students asked and accessed more questions and answers than they did for all of 2015.
And when students prefer or need the help of a live human being, they are increasingly turning to Chegg Tutors, where we continue to see growth in students, tutors, and overall tutoring minutes, which grew over 65% in Q2 alone. We believe these numbers reflect the increasing popularity of online, on-demand human help for learning at the college and high school levels. As a result, we anticipate Chegg Tutors will be our fastest growing business over the next few years as students become more familiar with the service and we are able to offer even more tutors across even more subjects while keeping it incredibly affordable for students, who pay as little as $0.40 a minute. Right now, a student can find a tutor on Chegg for everything from Astronomy to Zoology and believe it or not, one of our most popular subjects is Computer Science, where we are proud of the fact that we tutored nearly three times as many students in Computer Science in the first half of this year than Caltech's entire student population. And we are just getting started.
As I mentioned earlier, writing continues to be one of the most challenging areas for students in high school and college and with Imagine Easy we now offer a service that we believe is already indispensable to tens of millions of students. We are very pleased with the integration thus far and continue to be excited about the potential upside this business has to offer. Although many of you may not have heard of these services, ask a student about EasyBib for example, and are likely to hear that they not only know it, but they rely on it, with the average user sessions lasting more than eight minutes.
It's clear given the popularity and time spent with Imagine Easy that students value Chegg's writing tools, so let me articulate what they mean for Chegg shareholders. The acquisition of Imagine Easy nearly doubles Chegg's reach to 40 million unique visitors annually, and expanding our brand into junior high and high school, therefore extending the duration of the relationship we can have with students. As a result, Chegg now has the opportunity to acquire customers even more efficiently, continue to scale our brand, and cross-promote the Chegg Services that students use to improve their outcomes.
And we continue to see great success cross-promoting Chegg Services on our network. To highlight just a couple of examples: the attach rate for Chegg Study from our print customers grew by nearly 30% year over year in Q2 and we continue to see about 50% of Chegg Tutors' customers coming directly from Chegg Study, again showing what we believe is the power of the Chegg connected learning network and how these services complement each other.
Test Prep, which we launched earlier this year, is another excellent example of a service that will benefit from our increased reach into middle school and high school students, allowing us to acquire customers faster and at a lower cost.
On July 5th we moved our ACT test prep product from out of beta to a paid service. We launched this service in the middle of the summer to ensure that it is ready for students before the big test taking season which occurs in the fall. As we've noted before, this is a brand new service so we have not assigned any near-term financial expectations. We are investing in the service this year with the expectation that that it can build scale in 2017 and become a meaningful revenue and profit contributor in 2018.
Finally, we are just a few weeks away from our next textbook rush, which we expect will be the last rush where we actually own a physical textbook. It's been a long and challenging road, but we continue to see our textbook business as a cost-effective way to build our brand, acquire customers, own the direct-to-student relationship, and add to our data platform. On top of that, the bright orange boxes in which we ship textbooks are a great branding vehicle for Chegg and have proven to be a very valuable channel for brand partners to reach our coveted demographic. This fall, we are proud to be partnered with Tide, Ulta, Zipcar, and Shutterfly just to name a few of the brands who are helping us deliver the little extra surprise and delight that students love and look forward to from Chegg.
We are very excited as we complete our transition to an all-digital business by the end of this year, we believe that the growth we've seen in the size of our network which now reaches 40 million unique visitors annually, the more than 30% growth we are seeing in Chegg Services, and the substantial growth we have seen in our adjusted EBITDA reflect that our strategy of putting the student first and going all digital is paying off. We believe the academic and economic trends favor Chegg's approach of offering affordably priced, high quality, on-demand digital services directly to the students. Our brand, our reach and the power of our network are already driving high growth and high margins within Chegg Services and we expect and look forward to even better results moving forward.
And with that, I will turn it over to Andy to take you through our financial performance in more detail. Andy.
Prepared Remarks Andy Brown, CFO Chegg Inc.
Thanks Dan and good afternoon everyone.
Today I will discuss our financial performance for the second quarter and our outlook for the third quarter and the full year 2016. I will also be discussing certain items that can be viewed on the investor presentation that is posted on our IR website.
The momentum that we saw in the first quarter continued into Q2, and it seems clear that the investments we are making in brand, reach, on-demand services and our data platform, along with the important transition to a pure commission-based textbook model are paying off. As a result, revenue and adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter came in at the higher end of our expectations. For Q2 non-GAAP revenue of $40.7 million was primarily driven by growth of Chegg Services revenue of 33% to $29.9 million. We continue to see strong subscriber growth and engagement, particularly in Chegg Study, with growth rates similar to fiscal 2015, but on top of a much larger user base.
For those investors new to the Chegg story, when we entered 2016 we said we would be modeling our revenue on a non-GAAP basis. This is due to the transition from owning print textbooks, where we record 100% of the transaction value, to a new revenue model where our partner Ingram will own the print textbook inventory and we will record an approximate 20% commission from each transaction. We expect that this textbook ownership transition, which started in 2014, will be completed by the end of this year, at which time both revenue and non-GAAP revenue will be the same. We did this to make it easier for investors to monitor the underlying growth of the business under the new model. This demonstrates the real growth of our business despite declining GAAP revenues. We believe that the financial benefits of this transition have been meaningful for Chegg, freeing up capital once used to purchase print textbooks and allowing us to invest in future growth opportunities. At the same time, we reap all the benefits of delivering millions of textbooks to students, including low-cost customer acquisition and building the Chegg brand, while improving gross margins.
In fact, our gross margins were higher than expected at 59.7% in Q2, resulting from increased benefits and synergies from our learning services with much of the incremental revenue going straight to the gross margin line as services like Chegg Study have relatively fixed cost structure. In other words, as the services grow and get to scale, our margins should continue to increase.
As a result of the strong revenue and gross margin performance, our adjusted EBITDA came in at $7.2 million, more than double the prior year and another proof point that our new business model is working.
Looking at the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with cash and investments of $50 million; down from $64 million in Q1, primarily as a result of the $25 million we used to purchase Imagine Easy Solutions. In addition, the receivables balance with our partner Ingram was $36 million, much of which will convert into cash in early 2017 per the contract terms.
As expected, Chegg's legacy print textbook inventory declined to $12 million from $21 million in Q1, and we expect the balance to be substantially liquidated by year-end.
Overall it's been a great first half, Chegg Services continue to drive our revenue and profitability growth, the transition to an all-digital model is almost complete and we enter the second half of the year with great momentum as the new school year starts later this month.
As we look to the remainder of 2016, we feel confident that the success we have achieved in the first half will continue for the remainder of the year.
Specifically, for Q3, we expect,
Total revenue between $65 and $70 million,
Non-GAAP revenue between $48 and $52 million with
Chegg Services revenue between $28 and $30 million
Gross margin between 38% and 40%
And adjusted EBITDA between a loss of $2 million to breakeven.
For fiscal 2016 we expect:
Total revenue between $240 and $255 million,
Non-GAAP revenue between $182 and $192 million, with
Chegg Services revenue between $124 and $132 million
Gross margin between 49% and 51%
And adjusted EBITDA between $16 and $21 million, more than tripling what we achieved in 2015.
In closing, I'd like to reiterate Dan's comments. It's a great time to be part of the Chegg story. Already millions of students are realizing our unique value proposition of delivering high quality, low cost, on-demand services that are improving their outcomes. As a result, we are seeing continued growth for Chegg Services and believe we are just at the beginning of what Chegg can offer students. We are changing the educational paradigm as each new class of students are able to access our services anytime, anywhere. We believe all of this supports our long-term financial model of greater than 30% Chegg Services revenue growth, greater than 60% gross margins and at least 25% adjusted EBITDA margins.
With that, I'll turn the call over to the operator for your questions.
Conference Call and Webcast Information
To access the call, please dial (877) 407-4018, or outside the U.S. +1 (201) 689-8471, five minutes prior to 1:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (or 4:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time) on August 1, 2016. A live webcast of the call will also be available at http://investor.chegg.com under the Events & Presentations menu. An audio replay will be available beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time August 1, 2016, until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time August 8, 2016, by calling (877) 870-5176 or +1 (858) 384-5517, with Conference ID 13640791. An audio archive of the call will also be available at http://investor.chegg.com.
Use of Investor Relations Website for Regulation FD Purposes
Chegg also uses its media center website, http://www.chegg.com/mediacenter, as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor http://www.chegg.com/mediacenter, in addition to following press releases, Securities and Exchange Commission filings and public conference calls and webcasts.
About Chegg
Chegg puts students first. As the leading student-first connected learning platform, Chegg makes higher education more affordable, more accessible, and more successful for students. Chegg is a publicly-held company based in Santa Clara, California and trades on the NYSE under the symbol CHGG. For more information, visit www.chegg.com.
Use of Non-GAAP Measures
To supplement Chegg's financial results presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this press release and the accompanying tables and the related earnings conference call contain non-GAAP financial measures, including Non-GAAP total net revenues, adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP gross profit and margin, non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP net loss and non-GAAP net loss per share. For reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, please see the section of the accompanying tables titled, "Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures" and "Reconciliation of Net Loss to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA."
The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation from, as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, and may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. Chegg defines (1) non-GAAP total net revenues as total net revenues as if it had already transitioned to a fully commission-based revenue model with Ingram for its print textbook business, (2) adjusted EBITDA as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, adjusted to include textbook depreciation and to exclude stock-based compensation expense, acquisition-related compensation costs, restructuring (credits) charges, transitional logistic charges and other (expense) income, net, (3) non-GAAP gross profit as gross profit excluding share-based compensation and transitional logistic charges, (4) non-GAAP gross margin as non-GAAP gross profit divided by total net revenues, (5) non-GAAP net loss as net loss excluding share-based compensation expense, amortization of intangible assets, acquisition related compensation costs, restructuring (credits) charges and transitional logistic charges and (6) non-GAAP net loss per share is defined as non-GAAP net loss divided by weighted-average shares outstanding. To the extent additional significant non-recurring items arise in the future, Chegg may consider whether to exclude such items in calculating the non-GAAP financial measures it uses.
Chegg believes that these non-GAAP financial measures, when taken together with the corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide meaningful supplemental information regarding Chegg's performance by excluding items that may not be indicative of Chegg's core business, operating results or future outlook. Chegg management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing Chegg's operating results, as well as when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods and believes that such measures enhance investors' overall understanding of our current financial performance. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate comparisons of Chegg's performance to prior periods.
As presented in the "Reconciliation of Net Loss to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA" and "Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures" tables below, each of the non-GAAP financial measures excludes one or more of the following items:
Non-GAAP total net revenues adjustments.
Chegg is in the process of transitioning ownership of the print textbook library, print textbook logistics and fulfillment functions for its required materials business to Ingram. Upon completion of that transition, all revenues from its print textbook business will be digital revenues representing an approximately 20% commission from each such transaction. During the transition, Chegg reports print textbook revenues for orders that are fulfilled with textbooks owned by Chegg and commission-based revenues for orders that are fulfilled with textbooks owned by Ingram. Chegg expects the transition to a fully commission-based model with Ingram to be complete in 2017. The non-GAAP revenue adjustments present total net revenues "as if" Ingram already owned all textbooks and managed all logistics and order fulfillment. Management believes that presenting revenues as if Chegg had already fully transitioned to the commission-based model with Ingram provides investors with a better understanding of Chegg's results of operations in light of the ongoing changes to its business model by facilitating period over period revenue comparisons during the transition period. The adjustments to total net revenues provided below reflect a number of estimates, assumptions and other uncertainties, and are approximate in nature.
Share-based compensation expense.
Share-based compensation is a non-cash expense that varies in amount from period to period and is dependent on market forces that are often beyond Chegg's control. As a result, management excludes this item from Chegg's internal operating forecasts and models. Management believes that non-GAAP measures adjusted for share-based compensation provide investors with a basis to measure Chegg's core performance against the performance of other companies without the variability created by share-based compensation as a result of the variety of equity awards used by other companies and the varying methodologies and assumptions used.
Restructuring (credits) charges.
Restructuring (credits) charges primarily relate to expenses incurred in making infrastructure-related changes as a result of transitioning Chegg's fulfillment obligations for the print textbook business to Ingram, as well as expenses related to the exit of Chegg's print coupon business. These restructuring (credits) charges are excluded from non-GAAP financial measures because they are the result of discrete events that are not considered core-operating activities. Chegg believes that it is appropriate to exclude restructuring (credits) charges from non-GAAP financial measures because it enables the comparison of period-over-period operating results from continuing operations.
Transitional logistic charges.
Transitional logistic charges related primarily to the closure of our warehouse and as we transitioned to Ingram's distribution centers, which resulted in duplicative logistic charges. The duplicative logistic charges were incurred throughout 2015 until the completion of our transition of our logistics and fulfillment obligations for our print textbook business to Ingram. Chegg believes that it is appropriate to exclude transitional logistic charges from non-GAAP financial measures because it enables the comparison of period-over-period operating results from continuing operations.
Acquisition-related compensation costs.
Acquisition-related compensation costs include: (1) compensation expense resulting from the employment retention of certain key employees established in accordance with the terms of the Imagine Easy and InstaEDU acquisitions, (2) the remaining pay-out related to the Bookstep acquisition and (3) adjustments to previously recognized earn-out liability on contingent compensation expense related to acquisitions. In most cases, these acquisition-related compensation costs are not factored into management's evaluation of potential acquisitions or Chegg's performance after completion of acquisitions, because they are not related to Chegg's core operating performance. In addition, the frequency and amount of such charges can vary significantly based on the size and timing of acquisitions and the maturities of the businesses being acquired. Excluding acquisition-related compensation costs from non-GAAP measures provides investors with a basis to compare Chegg's results against those of other companies without the variability caused by purchase accounting.
Amortization of intangible assets.
Chegg amortizes intangible assets that it acquires in conjunction with business combinations, which results in noncash operating expenses that would not otherwise have been incurred had Chegg internally developed such intangible assets. Chegg believes excluding the accounting expense associated with acquired intangible asset from non-GAAP measures allows for a more accurate assessment of its ongoing operations.
In addition, this press release includes forward-looking third quarter and fiscal year 2016 non-GAAP total revenues and adjusted EBITDA. Reconciliations of forward-looking non-GAAP total net revenues to total net revenues and adjusted EBITDA to net loss, respectively, are not available without unreasonable effort due to the unavailability of certain information needed to calculate certain reconciling items, including the split of print textbook rentals between Chegg and Ingram and the gain (loss) on liquidation of textbooks as we exit owning a textbook library due to the variability, complexity and limited visibility of the adjusting items that would be excluded from the non-GAAP measures in future periods.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which include, without limitation those included in the investor presentation referenced above, and all statements about Chegg's outlook under "Business Outlook." The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "project," "endeavor," "will," "should," "future," "transition," "outlook" and similar expressions, as they relate to Chegg, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, and are based on management's expectations as of the date of this press release and assumptions that are inherently subject to uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements include the following: Chegg's anticipated complete transition to a fully commission-based model with Ingram by 2017; the impact of Chegg's acquisition of Imagine Easy Solutions and Chegg's expectation that such acquisition will be accretive to Chegg's fiscal year 2016 revenues and earnings and benefit students; Chegg's ability to attract new students, increase engagement and increase monetization; competitive developments, including pricing pressures; Chegg's anticipated growth of Chegg Services; Chegg's ability to build and expand its services offerings; Chegg's ability to develop new products and services on a cost-effective basis and to integrate acquired businesses and assets; the impact of seasonality on the business; Chegg's partnership with Ingram and the parties' ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of the partnership, including the potential impact of the economic risk-sharing arrangements between Chegg and Ingram on Chegg's results of operations; Chegg's ability to effectively control operating costs; changes in Chegg's addressable market; changes in the education market; and general economic and industry conditions. All information provided in this release and in the conference call is as of the date hereof and Chegg undertakes no duty to update this information except as required by law. These and other important risk factors are described more fully in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Chegg's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 3, 2016, and could cause actual results to vary from expectations.
CHEGG, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (in thousands, except for number of shares and par value)
June 30, 2016
December 31, 2015
(unaudited)
* Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 49,679
$ 67,029 Short-term investments
17,800 Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $287 and $378 at June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively 12,919
13,157 Prepaid expenses 5,608
3,117 Other current assets 40,224
31,732 Total current assets 108,430
132,835 Long-term investments
4,229 Textbook library, net 11,834
29,728 Property and equipment, net 29,356
19,971 Goodwill 114,980
91,301 Intangible assets, net 23,061
8,865 Other assets 5,227
4,427 Total assets $ 292,888
$ 291,356 Liabilities and stockholders' equity
Current liabilities
Accounts payable $ 6,260
$ 5,860 Deferred revenue 14,458
14,971 Accrued liabilities 46,427
35,280 Total current liabilities 67,145
56,111 Long-term liabilities
Total other long-term liabilities 4,010
4,170 Total liabilities 71,155
60,281 Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value 10,000,000 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding
Common stock, $0.001 par value 400,000,000 shares authorized; 90,893,175 and 88,099,983 shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively 91
88 Additional paid-in capital 575,601
560,242 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (183)
(172) Accumulated deficit (353,776)
(329,083) Total stockholders' equity 221,733
231,075 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 292,888
$ 291,356
* Derived from audited consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2015.
CHEGG, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (in thousands, except per share amounts) (unaudited)
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30,
2016
2015
2016
2015 Net revenues:
Rental $ 12,006
$ 32,782
$ 26,570
$ 70,496 Services 37,668
29,276
77,030
60,643 Sales 3,362
5,003
16,090
20,794 Total net revenues 53,036
67,061
119,690
151,933 Cost of revenues(1):
Rental 5,346
21,238
18,859
59,793 Services 12,332
9,975
25,807
21,812 Sales 3,729
5,043
15,664
20,144 Total cost of revenues 21,407
36,256
60,330
101,749 Gross profit 31,629
30,805
59,360
50,184 Operating expenses:
Technology and development (1) 16,033
13,268
32,991
29,412 Sales and marketing (1) 11,747
12,382
26,193
33,774 General and administrative (1) 14,569
11,943
27,235
23,720 Restructuring (credits) charges (154)
464
(198)
2,978 (Gain) loss on liquidation of textbooks (2,191)
2,445
(3,196)
(1,740) Total operating expenses 40,004
40,502
83,025
88,144 Loss from operations (8,375)
(9,697)
(23,665)
(37,960) Interest expense and other (expense) income, net:
Interest expense, net (61)
(60)
(121)
(121) Other (expense) income, net (63)
56
2
132 Total interest expense and other (expense) income, net (124)
(4)
(119)
11 Loss before provision for income taxes (8,499)
(9,701)
(23,784)
(37,949) Provision for income taxes 509
430
909
724 Net loss $ (9,008)
$ (10,131)
$ (24,693)
$ (38,673) Net loss per share, basic and diluted $ (0.10)
$ (0.12)
$ (0.28)
$ (0.45) Weighted average shares used to compute net loss per share, basic and diluted 90,416
86,741
89,767
85,771
(1) Includes share-based compensation expense as follows:
Cost of revenues $ 41
$ 81
$ 69
$ 215 Technology and development 3,632
1,273
7,758
5,980 Sales and marketing 1,958
1,034
3,851
6,088 General and administrative 5,590
5,443
10,813
10,568 Total share-based compensation expense $ 11,221
$ 7,831
$ 22,491
$ 22,851
CHEGG, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (in thousands) (unaudited)
Six Months Ended June 30,
2016
2015 Cash flows from operating activities
Net loss $ (24,693)
$ (38,673) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Textbook library depreciation expense 7,220
27,476 Other depreciation and amortization expense 6,068
6,413 Share-based compensation expense 22,491
22,851 Gain on liquidation of textbooks (3,196)
(1,740) Loss from write-offs of textbooks 473
3,611 Other non-cash items (18)
719 Change in assets and liabilities, net of acquisition of business:
Accounts receivable 2,607
116 Prepaid expenses and other current assets (10,908)
(17,405) Other assets (398)
(253) Accounts payable 1,016
(6,150) Deferred revenue (650)
(4,839) Accrued liabilities (6,942)
(5,574) Other liabilities (193)
389 Net cash used in operating activities (7,123)
(13,059) Cash flows from investing activities
Purchases of textbooks (551)
(31,275) Proceeds from liquidations of textbooks 14,794
22,693 Purchases of marketable securities (7,633)
(17,127) Proceeds from sale of marketable securities 22,830
Maturities of marketable securities 6,844
19,690 Purchases of property and equipment (14,217)
(4,146) Acquisition of business, net of cash acquired (25,164)
Net cash used in investing activities (3,097)
(10,165) Cash flows from financing activities
Common stock issued under stock plans, net 1,110
11,929 Payment of taxes related to the net share settlement of RSUs (8,240)
(7,472) Repurchase of common stock
(2,263) Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities (7,130)
2,194 Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (17,350)
(21,030) Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 67,029
56,117 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 49,679
$ 35,087
Supplemental cash flow data
Cash paid during the period for:
Interest $ 19
$ 50 Income taxes $ 252
$ 571 Non-cash investing and financing activities:
Accrued purchases of long-lived assets $ 1,193
$ 3,805 Issuance of common stock related to prior acquisition $ -
$ 825 Accrued deferred cash consideration related to acquisition $ 16,484
$ -
CHEGG, INC. RECONCILIATION OF NET LOSS TO EBITDA AND ADJUSTED EBITDA (in thousands) (unaudited)
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30,
2016
2015
2016
2015 Net loss $ (9,008)
$ (10,131)
$ (24,693)
$ (38,673) Interest expense, net 61
60
121
121 Provision for income taxes 509
430
909
724 Textbook library depreciation expense 2,724
12,802
7,220
27,476 Other depreciation and amortization expense 3,491
3,241
6,068
6,413 EBITDA (2,223)
6,402
(10,375)
(3,939) Textbook library depreciation expense (2,724)
(12,802)
(7,220)
(27,476) Share-based compensation expense 11,221
7,831
22,491
22,851 Other expense (income), net 63
(56)
(2)
(132) Restructuring (credits) charges (154)
464
(198)
2,978 Transitional logistic charges
707
3,190 Acquisition related compensation costs 1,000
660
1,988
1,455 Adjusted EBITDA $ 7,183
$ 3,206
$ 6,684
$ (1,073)
CHEGG, INC. RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (in thousands, except percentages) (unaudited)
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30,
2016
2015
2016
2015 Total net revenues $ 53,036
$ 67,061
$ 119,690
$ 151,933 Adjustment as if transition to Ingram is complete (12,333)
(33,257)
(32,188)
(72,337) Non-GAAP total net revenues $ 40,703
$ 33,804
$ 87,502
$ 79,596
Gross profit $ 31,629
$ 30,805
$ 59,360
$ 50,184 Share-based compensation expense 41
81
69
215 Transitional logistic charges
707
3,190 Non-GAAP gross profit $ 31,670
$ 31,593
$ 59,429
$ 53,589
Gross margin % 59.6%
45.9%
49.6%
33.0% Non-GAAP gross margin % 59.7%
47.1%
49.7%
35.3%
Operating expenses $ 40,004
$ 40,502
$ 83,025
$ 88,144 Share-based compensation expense (11,180)
(7,750)
(22,422)
(22,636) Amortization of intangible assets (1,186)
(1,437)
(1,814)
(2,997) Restructuring credits (charges) 154
(464)
198
(2,978) Acquisition related compensation costs (1,000)
(660)
(1,988)
(1,455) Non-GAAP operating expenses $ 26,792
$ 30,191
$ 56,999
$ 58,078
Operating expenses as a percent of total net revenues 75.4%
60.4%
69.4%
58.0% Non-GAAP operating expenses as a percent of total net revenues 50.5%
45.0%
47.6%
38.2%
Operating loss $ (8,375)
$ (9,697)
$ (23,665)
$ (37,960) Share-based compensation expense 11,221
7,831
22,491
22,851 Amortization of intangible assets 1,186
1,437
1,814
2,997 Restructuring (credits) charges (154)
464
(198)
2,978 Transitional logistic charges
707
3,190 Acquisition related compensation costs 1,000
660
1,988
1,455 Non-GAAP operating income (loss) $ 4,878
$ 1,402
$ 2,430
$ (4,489)
Net loss $ (9,008)
$ (10,131)
$ (24,693)
$ (38,673) Share-based compensation expense 11,221
7,831
22,491
22,851 Amortization of intangible assets 1,186
1,437
1,814
2,997 Restructuring (credits) charges (154)
464
(198)
2,978 Transitional logistic charges
707
3,190 Acquisition related compensation costs 1,000
660
1,988
1,455 Non-GAAP net income (loss) $ 4,245
$ 968
$ 1,402
$ (5,202)
Weighted average shares used to compute net loss per share 90,416
86,741
89,767
85,771 Effect of dilutive options, restricted stock units and warrants 2,468
5,863
3,291
Non-GAAP weighted average shares used to compute non-GAAP net income (loss) per share 92,884
92,604
93,058
85,771
Net loss per share $ (0.10)
$ (0.12)
$ (0.28)
$ (0.45) Adjustments 0.15
0.13
$ 0.30
$ 0.39 Non-GAAP net income (loss) per share $ 0.05
$ 0.01
$ 0.02
$ (0.06)
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SOURCE Chegg
Related Links
http://www.chegg.com
"We are pleased with our results for the second quarter, which were highlighted by a 15 percent increase in adjusted diluted earnings per share," said Stephen P. Joyce, chief executive officer, Choice Hotels. "In addition, we delivered strong RevPAR gains to our domestic franchise system which continue to exceed the growth levels experienced by the overall industry and primary chain scale segments in which we compete. Demand for our brands remains strong and we will continue to invest in programs designed to drive more reservations through our central channels, improve guest loyalty and improve the value of our brands in an effort to drive incremental business to our franchisees."
Special Item
During the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, the company recorded an executive termination benefit charge of approximately $2.2 million. This special item impacted diluted EPS by $0.03 and $0.02 per share for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, respectively. The company evaluates certain non-GAAP measures that exclude executive termination benefits because those non-GAAP measures allow for period-over-period comparison of on-going core operations before the impact of these charges. These non-GAAP measures, which are reconciled to the comparable GAAP measures in Exhibit 8, include adjusted net income, adjusted diluted EPS, adjusted hotel franchising selling, general and administrative expenses, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted hotel franchising margins.
Adoption of New Accounting Standard
On April 1, 2016, the company adopted Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") CompensationStock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting ("ASU No. 2016-09"), which requires that excess tax benefits and deficiencies related to stock compensation be recognized as income tax expense or benefit in the company's income statement. Adoption of the standard required that the company retrospectively apply the requirement to the beginning of the year of adoption, January 1, 2016. As a result, the company has reduced is previously reported income tax expense for the first quarter of 2016 by $1.6 million.
Use of Cash Flows
Dividends
During the six months ended June 30, 2016, the company paid cash dividends totaling approximately $23 million. Based on the current quarterly dividend rate of $0.205 per common share, the company expects to pay dividends of approximately $46 million during 2016.
Share Repurchases
The company repurchased 0.5 million shares of common stock under its share repurchase program during the six months ended June 30, 2016, at a total cost of approximately $23 million. The company currently has authorization to purchase up to 1.1 million additional shares under this program.
Hotel Development & Financing
Pursuant to its program to encourage acceleration of the growth of our upscale select-service Cambria hotels & suites brand, the company advanced approximately $67 million in support of the Cambria brand during the six months ended June 30, 2016. The company also recycled approximately $18 million of investments in support of Cambria resulting in net advances of $49 million for the current year. These advances are primarily in the form of joint venture investments, forgivable key money loans, senior and mezzanine lending and site acquisitions. At June 30, 2016, the company had approximately $176 million reflected in its consolidated balance sheet pursuant to these financial support activities. With respect to lending and joint venture investments, the company generally expects to recycle these loans and investments within a five year period.
Outlook
The company's consolidated 2016 outlook reflects the following assumptions:
Hotel Franchising
Adjusted EBITDA from franchising activities for full-year 2016 are expected to range between $270 million and $274 million ;
; Net domestic unit growth for 2016 is expected to be between 2% and 3%;
RevPAR is expected to increase between 3.5% and 4.0% for third quarter and range between 3.5% and 4.0% for full-year 2016; and
The effective royalty rate is expected to increase between 7 and 9 basis points for full-year 2016 as compared to full-year 2015.
Non-Hotel Franchising Activities
Net reductions in full-year 2016 EBITDA relating to our non-hotel franchising operations, which primarily relate to SkyTouch and vacation rental activities are expected to range between approximately $16 million and $19 million .
Other Items
The effective tax rate is expected to be approximately 32.5% and 31.7% for the third quarter and full-year 2016.
Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS estimates exclude executive termination benefits incurred in the second quarter of 2016 as discussed above under Special Item.
Diluted EPS estimates are based on the current number of shares outstanding and thus do not factor in any changes that may occur due to new equity grants or any further repurchases of common stock under the company's share repurchase program.
Consolidated Outlook
The company's third quarter 2016 diluted EPS is expected to be at least $0.78. The company expects full-year 2016 adjusted diluted EPS to range between $2.38 and $2.43 and full year 2016 adjusted EBITDA to range between $252 million and $256 million. The adjusted EPS and adjusted consolidated EBITDA estimates assume that we incur net reductions in EBITDA related to non-hotel franchising activities at the midpoint of the range for these investments.
Conference Call
Choice will conduct a conference call on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. EDT to discuss the company's second quarter 2016 results. The dial-in number to listen to the call domestically is 1-855-638-5678 and the number for international participants is 1-404-537-3406. The conference call also will be webcast simultaneously via the company's website, www.choicehotels.com. Interested investors and other parties wishing to access the call via the webcast should go to the website and click on the Investor Info link. The Investor page will feature a conference call microphone icon to access the call.
The call will be recorded and available for replay beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 by calling 1-855-859-2056 (domestic) or 1-404-537-3406 (international) and entering access code 50406350. In addition, the call will be archived and available on choicehotels.com via the Investor Info link.
About Choice Hotels
Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) is one of the world's largest lodging companies. With more than 6,400 hotels franchised in more than 40 countries and territories, Choice Hotels International represents more than 500,000 rooms around the globe. As of June 30, 2016, 673 hotels were in our development pipeline. Our company's Ascend Hotel Collection, Cambria hotels & suites, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, Quality, Clarion, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, and Vacation Rentals by Choice Hotels brands provide a spectrum of lodging choices to meet guests' needs. With more than 27 million members and counting, our Choice Privileges rewards program enhances every trip a guest takes, with benefits ranging from instant, every day rewards to exceptional experiences, starting right when they join. All hotels and vacation rentals are independently owned and operated. Visit us at www.choicehotels.com for more information.
SkyTouch Technology is a business division of Choice Hotels that develops and markets cloud-based technology products, including inventory management, pricing and connectivity to third party channels, to hoteliers not under franchise agreements with the company.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain matters discussed in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally, our use of words such as "expect," "estimate," "believe," "anticipate," "should," "will," "forecast," "plan," "project," "assume" or similar words of futurity identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current beliefs, assumptions and expectations regarding future events, which in turn are based on information currently available to management. Such statements may relate to projections of the company's revenue, earnings and other financial and operational measures, company debt levels, ability to repay outstanding indebtedness, payment of dividends, repurchases of common stock and future operations, among other matters. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors.
Several factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements of the company to differ materially from those expressed in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Such risks include, but are not limited to, changes to general, domestic and foreign economic conditions; foreign currency fluctuations; operating risks common in the lodging and franchising industries; changes to the desirability of our brands as viewed by hotel operators and customers; changes to the terms or termination of our contracts with franchisees; our ability to keep pace with improvements in technology utilized for marketing and reservations systems and other operating systems; our ability to grow our franchise system; exposure to risks related to development activities; fluctuations in the supply and demand for hotels rooms; our ability to realize anticipated benefits from acquired businesses; the level of acceptance of alternative growth strategies we may implement; operating risks associated with our international operations; the outcome of litigation; and our ability to manage our indebtedness. These and other risk factors are discussed in detail in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including our annual reports on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Statement Concerning Non-GAAP Financial Measurements Presented in this Press Release
Adjusted EBITDA, franchising revenues, adjusted hotel franchising SG&A, Adjusted EBITDA from hotel franchising activities and adjusted hotel franchising margins are non-GAAP financial measurements. These measures should not be considered as an alternative to any measure of performance or liquidity as promulgated under or authorized by generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"), such as net income, total revenues and operating margins. The company's calculation of these measurements may be different from the calculations used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited. The company has included an exhibit accompanying this release that reconciles these items to the most comparable GAAP financial measures. We discuss management's reasons for reporting these non-GAAP measures below.
Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization: Adjusted EBITDA reflects net income excluding the impact of interest expense, interest income, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, other (gains) and losses, equity in net income of unconsolidated affiliates and executive termination benefits. We consider adjusted EBITDA to be an indicator of operating performance because we use it to measure our ability to service debt, fund capital expenditures, and expand our business. We also use adjusted EBITDA, as do analysts, lenders, investors and others, to evaluate companies because it excludes certain items that can vary widely across different industries or among companies within the same industry. For example, interest expense can be dependent on a company's capital structure, debt levels and credit ratings. Accordingly, the impact of interest expense on earnings can vary significantly among companies. The tax positions of companies can also vary because of their differing abilities to take advantage of tax benefits and because of the tax policies of the jurisdictions in which they operate. As a result, effective tax rates and provision for income taxes can vary considerably among companies. Adjusted EBITDA also excludes depreciation and amortization because companies utilize productive assets of different ages and use different methods of both acquiring and depreciating productive assets. These differences can result in considerable variability in the relative costs of productive assets and the depreciation and amortization expense among companies.
Franchising Revenues, Adjusted Hotel Franchising EBITDA, Adjusted Hotel Franchising SG&A and Margins: The company reports franchising revenues, adjusted hotel franchising EBITDA, adjusted franchising hotel SG&A and margins which exclude marketing and reservation revenues; the SkyTouch Technology division; recently acquired operations that provide Software as a Service ("SaaS") technology solutions to vacation rental management companies; revenue generated from the ownership of an office building that is leased to a third-party and executive termination benefits. These non-GAAP measures are a commonly used measure of performance in our industry and facilitate comparisons between the company and its competitors. Marketing and reservation activities are excluded since the company is required by its franchise agreements to use the fees collected for marketing and reservation activities; as such, no income or loss to the company is generated. Cumulative marketing and reservation system fees not expended are recorded as a liability in the company's financial statements and are carried over to the next year and expended in accordance with the franchise agreements. Cumulative marketing and reservation expenditures in excess of fees collected for marketing and reservation activities are deferred and recorded as an asset in the company's financial statements and recovered in future periods. SkyTouch Technology is a division of the company that develops and markets cloud-based technology products, including inventory management, pricing and connectivity to third party channels, to hoteliers not under franchise agreements with the company. The operations for SkyTouch Technology and our vacation rental technology solutions provider are excluded since they do not reflect the company's core franchising business but are adjacent, complementary lines of business.
2016 Choice Hotels International, Inc. All rights reserved.
Choice Hotels International, Inc. Exhibit 1 Consolidated Statements of Income
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30,
Variance
Variance
2016
2015
$
%
2016*
2015
$
% (In thousands, except per share amounts)
REVENUES:
Royalty fees
$ 86,195
$ 81,183
$ 5,012
6%
$ 151,054
$ 143,614
$ 7,440
5% Initial franchise and relicensing fees
5,706
5,816
(110)
(2%)
10,862
11,533
(671)
(6%) Procurement services
10,308
8,589
1,719
20%
16,104
13,396
2,708
20% Marketing and reservation system
133,814
133,122
692
1%
260,175
231,835
28,340
12% Other
5,728
3,446
2,282
66%
10,674
7,023
3,651
52% Total revenues
241,751
232,156
9,595
4%
448,869
407,401
41,468
10%
OPERATING EXPENSES:
Selling, general and administrative
40,039
33,122
6,917
21%
75,158
65,560
9,598
15% Depreciation and amortization
2,956
2,995
(39)
(1%)
5,721
5,685
36
1% Marketing and reservation system
133,814
133,122
692
1%
260,175
231,835
28,340
12% Total operating expenses
176,809
169,239
7,570
4%
341,054
303,080
37,974
13%
Operating income
64,942
62,917
2,025
3%
107,815
104,321
3,494
3%
OTHER INCOME AND EXPENSES, NET:
Interest expense
11,224
11,057
167
2%
22,316
21,236
1,080
5% Interest income
(827)
(277)
(550)
199%
(1,666)
(623)
(1,043)
167% Other gains
(321)
(1,173)
852
(73%)
(259)
(1,641)
1,382
(84%) Equity in net (income) loss of affiliates
(744)
431
(1,175)
(273%)
1,436
1,436
-
0% Total other income and expenses, net
9,332
10,038
(706)
(7%)
21,827
20,408
1,419
7%
Income before income taxes
55,610
52,879
2,731
5%
85,988
83,913
2,075
2% Income taxes
16,788
17,066
(278)
(2%)
26,003
26,506
(503)
(2%) Net income
$ 38,822
$ 35,813
$ 3,009
8%
$ 59,985
$ 57,407
$ 2,578
4%
Basic earnings per share
$ 0.69
$ 0.62
$ 0.07
11%
$ 1.06
$ 1.00
$ 0.06
6%
Diluted earnings per share
$ 0.68
$ 0.62
$ 0.06
10%
$ 1.06
$ 0.99
$ 0.07
7%
* Year to date results for June 30, 2016 reflect the adoption of Accounting Standards Update Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting ("ASU No. 2016-09"), which requires companies to recognize excess tax benefits and deficiencies as income tax expense or benefit in the income statement. Adoption of the standard required that the company retrospectively apply the requirement to the beginning of the year of adoption, January 1, 2016. As a result, the company has reduced its previously reported income tax expense for the first quarter of 2016 by $1.6 million.
Choice Hotels International, Inc. Exhibit 2 Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands, except per share amounts) June 30,
December 31,
2016
2015
(Unaudited)
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 207,888
$ 193,441 Accounts receivable, net
126,689
89,352 Other current assets
43,466
28,160
Total current assets
378,043
310,953
Fixed assets and intangibles, net
178,089
179,433 Notes receivable, net of allowances
92,195
82,572 Investments in unconsolidated entities
78,801
67,037 Investments, employee benefit plans, at fair value
16,516
17,674 Other assets
99,746
59,341
Total assets
$ 843,390
$ 717,010
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT
Accounts payable
$ 74,925
$ 64,431 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
69,776
70,807 Deferred revenue
113,763
71,587 Current portion of long-term debt
833
1,191
Total current liabilities
259,297
208,016
Long-term debt
901,352
812,945 Deferred compensation & retirement plan obligations
20,873
22,859 Other liabilities
35,696
69,089
Total liabilities
1,217,218
1,112,909
Total shareholders' deficit
(373,828)
(395,899)
Total liabilities and shareholders' deficit
$ 843,390
$ 717,010
Choice Hotels International, Inc. Exhibit 3 Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)
(In thousands) Six Months Ended June 30,
2016
2015* CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net income $ 59,985
$ 57,407
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided
by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 5,721
5,685 (Gain) loss on sale of assets 7
(1,595) Provision for bad debts, net 962
1,197 Non-cash stock compensation and other charges 7,966
5,399 Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation 1,404
4,613 Non-cash interest and other (income) loss 958
1,340 Deferred income taxes 4,030
(2,095) Equity (earnings) losses from unconsolidated joint ventures, net of distributions received 2,193
2,781
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Receivables (39,058)
(28,856) Advances to/from marketing and reservation activities, net (42,671)
3,724 Forgivable notes receivable, net (13,174)
(19,186) Accounts payable 10,567
16,990 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities (8,842)
(6,969) Income taxes payable/receivable 9,059
2,450 Deferred revenue 42,164
4,041 Other assets (10,834)
(5,152) Other liabilities (2,576)
769
NET CASH PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES 27,861
42,543
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Investment in property and equipment (10,912)
(14,554) Proceeds from sales of assets 1,700
6,283 Acquisitions of real estate (25,389)
- Contributions to equity method investments (19,688)
(2,446) Distributions from equity method investments 3,619
270 Purchases of investments, employee benefit plans (1,140)
(1,736) Proceeds from sales of investments, employee benefit plans 1,136
1,087 Issuance of mezzanine and other notes receivable (13,048)
(1,500) Collections of mezzanine and other notes receivable 10,158
3,567 Other items, net (311)
(261)
NET CASH USED BY INVESTING ACTIVITIES (53,875)
(9,290)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Net borrowings pursuant to revolving credit facilities 87,950
13,000 Principal payments on long-term debt (623)
(6,169) Purchases of treasury stock (28,278)
(6,244) Dividends paid (23,193)
(22,940) Proceeds from exercise of stock options 4,234
5,696
NET CASH PROVIDED (USED) BY FINANCING ACTIVITIES 40,090
(16,657)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents 14,076
16,596 Effect of foreign exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents 371
(825) Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 193,441
214,879
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT END OF PERIOD $ 207,888
$ 230,650
* Year to date results for June 30, 2015 reflect the adoption of ASU No. 2016-09, which requires companies to recognize excess tax benefits related to the exercise of share based awards as operating activities in the statement of cash flows. The company has elected to apply the ASU retrospectively and as a result excess tax benefits totaling $4.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 have been reclassified from cash flows from financing activities to cash flows from operating activities.
CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, INC. Exhibit 4 SUPPLEMENTAL OPERATING INFORMATION
DOMESTIC HOTEL SYSTEM
(UNAUDITED)
For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2016
For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2015
Change
Average Daily
Average Daily
Average Daily
Rate
Occupancy
RevPAR
Rate
Occupancy
RevPAR
Rate
Occupancy
RevPAR
Comfort Inn
$ 90.11
64.0%
$ 57.67
$ 87.35
63.5%
$ 55.48
3.2%
50 bps
3.9% Comfort Suites
95.51
68.9%
65.80
93.06
68.2%
63.43
2.6%
70 bps
3.7% Sleep
81.13
64.2%
52.08
79.60
64.0%
50.93
1.9%
20 bps
2.3% Quality
75.79
57.9%
43.88
73.16
57.5%
42.05
3.6%
40 bps
4.4% Clarion
80.52
56.3%
45.35
78.25
56.3%
44.07
2.9%
- bps
2.9% Econo Lodge
59.24
52.4%
31.03
57.47
52.4%
30.13
3.1%
- bps
3.0% Rodeway
60.72
54.6%
33.15
57.22
55.8%
31.90
6.1%
(120) bps
3.9% MainStay
75.80
63.4%
48.02
76.24
68.5%
52.23
(0.6%)
(510) bps
(8.1%) Suburban
49.67
74.9%
37.21
47.25
76.5%
36.15
5.1%
(160) bps
2.9% Ascend Hotel Collection
125.21
56.9%
71.28
122.78
59.8%
73.45
2.0%
(290) bps
(3.0%)
Total
$ 80.26
60.3%
$ 48.43
$ 78.08
60.4%
$ 47.15
2.8%
(10) bps
2.7%
For the Three Months Ended June 30, 2016
For the Three Months Ended June 30, 2015
Change
Average Daily
Average Daily
Average Daily
Rate
Occupancy
RevPAR
Rate
Occupancy
RevPAR
Rate
Occupancy
RevPAR
Comfort Inn
$ 93.87
70.1%
$ 65.84
$ 90.92
69.5%
$ 63.16
3.2%
60 bps
4.2% Comfort Suites
98.19
73.6%
72.24
95.59
71.8%
68.64
2.7%
180 bps
5.2% Sleep
83.93
69.5%
58.35
82.23
68.3%
56.11
2.1%
120 bps
4.0% Quality
78.61
63.3%
49.79
75.52
62.0%
46.83
4.1%
130 bps
6.3% Clarion
84.14
62.3%
52.46
80.54
60.8%
48.95
4.5%
150 bps
7.2% Econo Lodge
61.84
57.3%
35.46
59.86
56.6%
33.87
3.3%
70 bps
4.7% Rodeway
63.13
57.9%
36.56
59.92
58.4%
35.01
5.4%
(50) bps
4.4% MainStay
78.07
68.4%
53.40
78.53
70.4%
55.32
(0.6%)
(200) bps
(3.5%) Suburban
51.07
76.9%
39.27
47.96
78.9%
37.86
6.5%
(200) bps
3.7% Ascend Hotel Collection
133.28
60.0%
79.94
129.04
59.2%
76.41
3.3%
80 bps
4.6%
Total
$ 83.35
65.5%
$ 54.61
$ 80.89
64.7%
$ 52.36
3.0%
80 bps
4.3%
For the Quarter Ended
For the Six Months Ended
6/30/2016
6/30/2015
6/30/2016
6/30/2015
System-wide effective royalty rate
4.40%
4.28%
4.39%
4.29%
CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Exhibit 5 SUPPLEMENTAL HOTEL AND ROOM SUPPLY DATA
(UNAUDITED)
June 30, 2016
June 30, 2015
Variance
Hotels
Rooms
Hotels
Rooms
Hotels
Rooms
%
%
Comfort Inn
1,138
88,085
1,215
93,904
(77)
(5,819)
(6.3%)
(6.2%) Comfort Suites
564
43,522
575
44,447
(11)
(925)
(1.9%)
(2.1%) Sleep
380
27,188
377
27,207
3
(19)
0.8%
(0.1%) Quality
1,395
110,952
1,311
105,761
84
5,191
6.4%
4.9% Clarion
168
23,033
175
24,587
(7)
(1,554)
(4.0%)
(6.3%) Econo Lodge
847
52,385
853
52,835
(6)
(450)
(0.7%)
(0.9%) Rodeway
528
29,771
481
26,544
47
3,227
9.8%
12.2% MainStay
54
4,020
47
3,629
7
391
14.9%
10.8% Suburban
58
6,471
62
6,959
(4)
(488)
(6.5%)
(7.0%) Ascend Hotel Collection
116
9,650
110
9,408
6
242
5.5%
2.6% Cambria hotel & suites
25
3,113
24
2,917
1
196
4.2%
6.7%
Domestic Franchises
5,273
398,190
5,230
398,198
43
(8)
0.8%
(0.0%)
International Franchises
1,156
111,366
1,146
106,763
10
4,603
0.9%
4.3%
Total Franchises
6,429
509,556
6,376
504,961
53
4,595
0.8%
0.9%
Exhibit 6 CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, INC. SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION BY BRAND DEVELOPMENT RESULTS -- DOMESTIC NEW HOTEL CONTRACTS (UNAUDITED)
For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2016
For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2015
% Change
New
New
New
Construction
Conversion
Total
Construction
Conversion
Total
Construction
Conversion
Total
Comfort Inn
12
14
26
13
20
33
(8%)
(30%)
(21%)
Comfort Suites
8
1
9
13
2
15
(38%)
(50%)
(40%)
Sleep
14
-
14
9
-
9
56%
NM
56%
Quality
-
73
73
3
75
78
(100%)
(3%)
(6%)
Clarion
3
9
12
-
6
6
NM
50%
100%
Econo Lodge
1
29
30
-
28
28
NM
4%
7%
Rodeway
-
27
27
-
35
35
NM
(23%)
(23%)
MainStay
6
-
6
6
-
6
0%
NM
0%
Suburban
-
1
1
1
3
4
(100%)
(67%)
(75%)
Ascend Hotel Collection
2
6
8
1
16
17
100%
(63%)
(53%)
Cambria hotel & suites
11
-
11
7
-
7
57%
NM
57%
Total Domestic System
57
160
217
53
185
238
8%
(14%)
(9%)
For the Three Months Ended June 30, 2016
For the Three Months Ended June 30, 2015
% Change
New
New
New
Construction
Conversion
Total
Construction
Conversion
Total
Construction
Conversion
Total
Comfort Inn
6
10
16
9
13
22
(33%)
(23%)
(27%)
Comfort Suites
6
1
7
8
-
8
(25%)
NM
(13%)
Sleep
12
-
12
4
-
4
200%
NM
200%
Quality
-
50
50
1
46
47
(100%)
9%
6%
Clarion
2
6
8
-
3
3
NM
100%
167%
Econo Lodge
1
15
16
-
19
19
NM
(21%)
(16%)
Rodeway
-
17
17
-
21
21
NM
(19%)
(19%)
MainStay
5
-
5
2
-
2
150%
NM
150%
Suburban
-
1
1
1
1
2
(100%)
0%
(50%)
Ascend Hotel Collection
1
5
6
-
6
6
NM
(17%)
0%
Cambria hotel & suites
9
-
9
5
-
5
80%
NM
80%
Total Domestic System
42
105
147
30
109
139
40%
(4%)
6%
Exhibit 7 CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, INC. DOMESTIC PIPELINE OF HOTELS UNDER CONSTRUCTION, AWAITING CONVERSION OR APPROVED FOR DEVELOPMENT (UNAUDITED)
A hotel in the domestic pipeline does not always result in an open and operating hotel due to various factors.
Variance
June 30, 2016
June 30, 2015
Units
Units
Conversion
New Construction
Total
Conversion
New Construction
Total
Conversion
New Construction
Total
Units
%
Units
%
Units
%
Comfort Inn
34
80
114
38
64
102
(4)
(11%)
16
25%
12
12% Comfort Suites
4
95
99
3
76
79
1
33%
19
25%
20
25% Sleep Inn
-
83
83
1
65
66
(1)
(100%)
18
28%
17
26% Quality
47
5
52
54
5
59
(7)
(13%)
-
0%
(7)
(12%) Clarion
9
5
14
11
2
13
(2)
(18%)
3
150%
1
8% Econo Lodge
26
3
29
24
4
28
2
8%
(1)
(25%)
1
4% Rodeway
29
2
31
34
3
37
(5)
(15%)
(1)
(33%)
(6)
(16%) MainStay
-
57
57
1
47
48
(1)
(100%)
10
21%
9
19% Suburban
5
6
11
6
12
18
(1)
(17%)
(6)
(50%)
(7)
(39%) Ascend Hotel Collection
29
19
48
25
18
43
4
16%
1
6%
5
12% Cambria hotel & suites
5
48
53
-
25
25
5
NM
23
92%
28
112%
188
403
591
197
321
518
(9)
(5%)
82
26%
73
14%
CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Exhibit 8 SUPPLEMENTAL NON-GAAP FINANCIAL INFORMATION
(UNAUDITED)
HOTEL FRANCHISING REVENUES AND ADJUSTED HOTEL FRANCHISING MARGINS
(dollar amounts in thousands)
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30,
2016
2015
2016
2015
Hotel Franchising Revenues:
Total Revenues
$ 241,751
$ 232,156
$ 448,869
$ 407,401
Adjustments:
Marketing and reservation system revenues
(133,814)
(133,122)
(260,175)
(231,835)
Non-hotel franchising activities
(2,068)
(411)
(4,097)
(1,014)
Hotel Franchising Revenues
$ 105,869
$ 98,623
$ 184,597
$ 174,552
Adjusted Hotel Franchising Margins:
Operating Margin:
Total Revenues
$ 241,751
$ 232,156
$ 448,869
$ 407,401
Operating Income
$ 64,942
$ 62,917
$ 107,815
$ 104,321
Operating Margin
26.9%
27.1%
24.0%
25.6%
Adjusted Hotel Franchising Margin:
Hotel Franchising Revenues
$ 105,869
$ 98,623
$ 184,597
$ 174,552
Operating Income
$ 64,942
$ 62,917
$ 107,815
$ 104,321
Executive termination benefits
2,206
-
2,206
-
Non-hotel franchising activities operating loss
6,084
4,699
11,740
10,000
$ 73,232
$ 67,616
$ 121,761
$ 114,321
Adjusted Hotel Franchising Margins
69.2%
68.6%
66.0%
65.5%
ADJUSTED HOTEL FRANCHISING SELLING, GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATION EXPENSES
(dollar amounts in thousands)
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30,
2016
2015
2016
2015
Total Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
$ 40,039
$ 33,122
$ 75,158
$ 65,560
Executive termination benefits
(2,206)
-
(2,206)
-
Non-hotel franchising activities
(7,045)
(4,638)
(13,715)
(10,133)
Adjusted Hotel Franchising Selling, General and Administration Expenses
$ 30,788
$ 28,484
$ 59,237
$ 55,427
ADJUSTED EARNINGS BEFORE INTEREST, TAXES, DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION ("EBITDA")
(dollar amounts in thousands)
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30,
2016
2015
2016
2015
Net income
$ 38,822
$ 35,813
$ 59,985
$ 57,407
Income taxes
16,788
17,066
26,003
26,506
Interest expense
11,224
11,057
22,316
21,236
Interest income
(827)
(277)
(1,666)
(623)
Other gains
(321)
(1,173)
(259)
(1,641)
Equity in net (income) loss of affiliates
(744)
431
1,436
1,436
Depreciation and amortization
2,956
2,995
5,721
5,685
Executive termination benefits
2,206
-
2,206
- Adjusted EBITDA
$ 70,104
$ 65,912
$ 115,742
$ 110,006
Hotel franchising
$ 75,082
$ 70,138
$ 125,361
$ 119,124 Non-hotel franchising activities
(4,978)
(4,226)
(9,619)
(9,118)
$ 70,104
$ 65,912
$ 115,742
$ 110,006
ADJUSTED NET INCOME AND ADJUSTED DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE (EPS)
(dollar amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30,
2016
2015
2016
2015
Net Income
$ 38,822
$ 35,813
$ 59,985
$ 57,407 Adjustments:
Executive termination benefits
1,394
-
1,394
- Adjusted Net Income
$ 40,216
$ 35,813
$ 61,379
$ 57,407
Diluted Earnings Per Share
$ 0.68
$ 0.62
$ 1.06
$ 0.99 Adjustments:
Executive termination benefits
0.03
-
0.02
- Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS)
$ 0.71
$ 0.62
$ 1.08
$ 0.99
ADJUSTED EBITDA AND DILUTED EPS FULL YEAR FORECAST
(dollar amounts in thousands)
Range
Estimated Adjusted EBITDA
Fiscal Year 2016
Net income
$ 133,500
$ 136,300
Income taxes
62,000
63,200
Interest expense
45,600
45,600
Interest income
(3,200)
(3,200)
Other gains
(600)
(600)
Equity in net loss of affiliates
500
500
Depreciation and amortization
12,000
12,000
Executive termination benefits
2,200
2,200
Adjusted EBITDA
$ 252,000
$ 256,000
Hotel franchising
$ 269,500
$ 273,500
Non-hotel franchising activities
(17,500)
(17,500)
$ 252,000
$ 256,000
Range
Estimated Adjusted Diluted EPS
Fiscal Year 2016
Diluted EPS
$ 2.36
$ 2.41
Adjustments:
Executive termination benefits
0.02
0.02
Adjusted Diluted EPS
$ 2.38
$ 2.43
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140807/134515
SOURCE Choice Hotels International, Inc.
Related Links
http://www.choicehotels.com
NEW YORK, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
According to market research "Global Cleanroom Consumables Market Size, Share, Development, Growth and Demand Forecast to 2022 - Industry Insights by Type (Apparel, Cleaning Products, Stationary, Wipers, Gloves, and Adhesive Mats), and by End-User (Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology Industry, Medical Device Industry, Electronic Industry, and Laboratories)" by P&S Market Research, the global cleanroom consumables market was valued at $7,938.7 million in 2015, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.7% during the period 2016 - 2022.
The cleanroom consumables market is growing due to increasing utilization of cleanroom consumables in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industry, medical device industry, and electronics industry. In addition, the increasing utilization of cleanroom consumables in nanotechnology industry is also driving the growth of global cleanroom consumables market. Among the different type, the gloves segment is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. Among the various end-user, the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industry held the largest share in the global market in 2015, and it is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period.
Request to Access Full Report at: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/cleanroom-consumables-market
Cleanroom consumables are required during handling, assembly and manufacturing of different products. The utilization of cleanroom consumables assist in maintaing the quality of products and increasing process yield. As a result, the demand for cleanroom consumables, such as cleanroom apparel, cleaning products, stationary, wipers, gloves, and adhesive mats is expected to increase. They are also being used across various industries, such as optical industry, aerospace industry, defence and food industry leading to growth of global cleanroom consumables market. As a result, the demand for cleanroom consumables is expected to increase leading to growth of the global cleanroom consumables market.
Request for Sample Pages: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/cleanroom-consumables-market/report-sample
In addition, the growth of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industry in various countries across the globe are increasing the demand for cleanroom consumables. Nanotechnology deals with miniscule components, which are susceptible to contamination by particulate material. In addition to nanotechnology industry, the electronic industry requires development of small sized high efficiency components, thus necessitating contaminant free environment. Medical device industry requires contamination free environment as these products may be implanted in the body leading to infection or loss of funcntion. Thus, the necessity to maintain high quality of products is expected to increase the demand for cleanroom consumables across the globe.
Explore Related Research: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/industry-report/healthcare
Some of the key companies operating in the global cleanroom consumable market include Micronova Manufacturing Inc., Kimberly-Clark Corporation, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Berkshire Corporation, Valutek, ITW Texwipe, Nitritex Ltd., KM Corporation, Contec Inc., and Cantel Medical Corporation.
GLOBAL CLEANROOM CONSUMABLES MARKET SEGMENTATION
By Type
- Apparel Market
> Coverall
> Lab Coats
> Boot Cover
> Shoe Cover
> Bouffant
> Sleeves
- Cleaning Products Market
> Cleanroom Mops
> Buckets, Wringers, Squeegees
> Cleanroom Swabs
> Cleaning Chemicals
- Stationary Market
> Paper
> Notebook and Adhesive Pads
> Binders and Clipboards
> Labels
- Wipers Market
> Dry Wipers
> Wet Wipers
- Gloves Market
- Adhesive Mats Market
- By End-User
> Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology Industry
> Medical Device Industry
> Electronic Industry
> Laboratories
- By Geography
> North America- U.S. and Rest of North America
> Europe- U.K., Germany, France and Rest of Europe
> Asia-Pacific - China, Japan, India and Rest of Asia-Pacific
> Rest of the World (RoW)- Brazil and Rest of Rest of the World
Other Published Report by P&S Market Research
Global Cleanroom Technology Market - https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/cleanroom-technology-market
Global Digital Health Market - https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/digital-health-market
Global Telemedicine Market - https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/telemedicine-market
About P&S Market Research
P&S Market Research is a market research company, which offers market research and consulting services for various geographies around the globe. We provide market research reports, industry forecasting reports, business intelligence, and research based consulting services across different industry/business verticals.
As one of the top growing market research agency, we're keen upon providing market landscape and accurate forecasting. Our analysts and consultants are proficient with business intelligence and market analysis, through their interaction with leading companies of the concerned domain. We help our clients with B2B market research and assist them in identifying various windows of opportunity, and framing informed and customized business expansion strategies in different regions.
Contact:
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Email: [email protected]
Web: https://www.psmarketresearch.com
SOURCE P&S Market Research
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Point6 and Cocona announced today an exclusive partnership for wool socks powered by 37.5 technology. Merino wool is one of the top performance fabrics in the outdoor industry, so combining wool with 37.5 nylon creates a higher level of performance sock that delays the onset of sweat, dries faster, increases comfort, and helps control odor.
"Wool is Mother Nature's miracle fiber, thanks to moisture, temperature, and odor controlling properties," says Peter Duke, Point6 CEO. "Bringing 37.5 technology fiber into the mix elevates wool's benefits to a whole new level."
Managing the microclimate next to the foot extends the user's comfort range and improves cooling. An in-depth study conducted by the Department of Physiology at the University of Colorado, Boulder reported that by changing from a wicking shirt to a 37.5 shirt athletes extended their performance and reduced their core temperature build up. This same technology can now be found in socks.
The team at Point6 worked with scientists from Cocona to perfect the combination of 37.5 particles with nylon. By layering the 37.5 nylon between 100% compact spun New Zealand Merino wool, Point6 can make a sock that maintains a comfortable level of humidity by delaying the onset of sweat and drying faster, even during high-intensity exercise.
"Peter Duke has had a long and successful history as an innovator with merino wool, so it was exciting to partner with Point 6 on this development," said Jeff Bowman, CEO of Cocona Inc. "The product they've created is fantastic; 37.5 fibers pair very well with natural fibers, turbocharging the inherent properties of merino."
The active particles in patented 37.5 fiber are permanently embedded in the nylon fabric of the socks and won't wash out. These active particles provide 800% more surface area to the fiber, while providing a unique driving force to remove moisture vapor unlike any other technology. The particles, naturally derived from coconut shells and volcanic sand, capture heat from the body's infrared energy to speed evaporation and significantly reduce dry-time.
"Adding 37.5 technology to our socks makes Point6 a far superior product to all other wool socks," says Duke. "Period!"
Point6 will introduce nine styles powered by 37.5 technology for Spring 2017, plus several tactical styles that are being developed for the military.
About Point6 (www.point6.com)
Point6 is a wool innovator, committed to bringing moisture controlling comfort and style to the lives of customers so they can enjoy escaping to their playground. Point6 is focused on manufacturing the best wool products on the market. Point6 is headquartered in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
About 37.5 (www.thirtysevenfive.com)
37.5 technology was created by Cocona Inc., a world leader in active particle technologies currently used to enhance the technical performance of clothing, footwear and sleep systems. The Company is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.
SOURCE Cocona Inc.
"Our cognitive cloud software pairs man and machine so they can achieve something new and exponentially valuable together: intelligent user engagement and business processes that get smarter and more useful with time," said Manoj Saxena, Executive Chairman of CognitiveScale. "This funding will accelerate our mission to bring scalable, practical AI to the enterprise."
Since emerging from stealth mode in October 2014, CognitiveScale has successfully deployed its products with Fortune 100 companies in financial services, healthcare, and commerce. With more than 60 patents filed around its Deep Cognition Engine, CognitiveScale's industry specific artificial intelligence algorithms understand and adapt to changing user and market conditions while continuously reprogramming themselves to improve the quality of the insights they produce.
"CognitiveScale is reimagining enterprise engagement with machine intelligence and its tailored solutions are serving as the linchpin for engagement and productivity," said Promod Haque, senior managing partner at Norwest Venture Partners. "Not only is CognitiveScale's technology helping solve core problems for the enterprise, but its executive team is top notch, and we have complete confidence that they'll continue to innovate and move the AI industry forward."
The CognitiveScale team combines management expertise in key industry verticals as well as deep experience in both enterprise software and machine learning. The firm is led by industry leaders and serial entrepreneurs, including Saxena, CognitiveScale's Executive Chairman who was the first general manager of the IBM Watson division; Chief Executive Officer Akshay Sabhikhi, who was previously the global leader for IBM's Smarter Care; and Matt Sanchez, who led Watson Labs before becoming CognitiveScale's Founder and Chief Technology Officer. They were inspired by Watson's potential and wanted to innovate and scale a new class of industry-specific AI that could address critical problems in industries such as financial services, retail, and healthcare.
"The impact of artificial intelligence continues to grow as we improve a machine's ability to learn and predict using large amounts of data," said Michael Greene, corporate vice president, Intel Software and Services Group and general manager of System Technologies and Optimization. "Machine intelligence systems that actively discover, act and learn from multi-structured data, like the one from CognitiveScale, will bring new innovations to the marketplace and complement technology initiatives such as the optimization of Spark analytics for Intel-based platforms."
CognitiveScale is the sixth investment from the Intel Capital Diversity Fund.
Two Industry-Specific AI Products Power User Engagement and Process Intelligence
CognitiveScale provides two flagship products called ENGAGE and AMPLIFY that interpret multi-structured big data and weave knowledge and learning across the enterprisefrom the front office to back office to mission critical core functions.
ENGAGE focuses on transforming customer experience at the edge of the business through any digital touch point. It interprets user goals, preferences, and context and delivers individualized insights by reasoning across billions of curated industry data points while learning continuously. While ENGAGE works at the edge, AMPLIFY works at the core of an organization. It helps augment knowledge workers with contextual insights and helps deploy self-learning autonomous processes modeled after human cognitive architecture.
Both products learn from new data and customer interactions and deliver future insights and advice that accounts for dynamic changes in goals, preferences, and the business environment. They are deployed through CognitiveScale's secure and hybrid cognitive cloud foundation which can be implemented and scaled over IBM, Amazon, and Microsoft cloud infrastructures.
For further reading:
About CognitiveScale
CognitiveScale enables businesses to win with machine intelligence. The company's productsCognitiveScale ENGAGE and CognitiveScale AMPLIFY help enterprises transform customer engagement, improve decision-making, and deploy self-learning business processes. CognitiveScale has successfully deployed its industry cognitive clouds with Global 500 companies in financial services, healthcare, and commerce.
CognitiveScale was founded in 2013 by highly successful serial entrepreneurs and senior executives with deep expertise in vertical enterprise software, cloud computing, and machine learning. The company has won numerous awards and featured in prominent research and publications. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with offices in the United Kingdom and India, and has strategic partnerships with IBM and Deloitte. To learn more, please visit www.cognitivescale.com or follow @cognitivescale.
About Norwest Venture Partners
Norwest Venture Partners is a global venture capital and growth equity investment firm that manages more than $6 billion in capital. The firm targets early to late stage venture and growth equity investments across a wide range of sectors including: technology, information services, business services, financial services, consumer products/services and healthcare. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., Norwest has offices in San Francisco and New York, and subsidiaries in Mumbai and Bengaluru, India and Herzelia, Israel. The firm has funded more than 575 companies since inception. For more information, please visit www.nvp.com. Follow Norwest on Twitter @NorwestVP.
About Intel Capital
Intel Capital, Intel's strategic investment and M&A organization, backs innovative startups targeting computing and smart devices, cloud, datacenter, security, the Internet of Things, wearable and robotic technologies and semiconductor manufacturing. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested US$11.7 billion in 1,447 companies in 57 countries; in that timeframe, 605 portfolio companies have gone public or been acquired. Through its business development programs, Intel Capital curates thousands of introductions each year between its portfolio executives and Intel's customers and partners in the Global 2000. For more information on what makes Intel Capital one of the world's most powerful venture capital firms, visit www.intelcapital.com or follow @Intelcapital.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160802/394856-INFO
SOURCE CognitiveScale
Related Links
http://www.cognitivescale.com
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and BALTIMORE, Md., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cure Forward and Personal Genome Diagnostics Inc. (PGDx), a provider of advanced cancer genome testing products and services, today announced an agreement that will enable cancer patients using the Cure Forward Patient Activation platform to select PGDx as their genomic testing service provider. Under the terms of the agreement, PGDx will make its genomic testing results directly available to cancer patients through the Cure Forward platform. The data will be provided in interoperable formats, so that it can be directly applied by patients to further their own care. Further details of the non-exclusive agreement were not disclosed.
At Cure Forward, patients and their families can retrieve and use molecular profiling data to understand their disease, connect with others who share their specific diagnosis and treatment history, and connect to clinical trials. The centerpiece of the Cure Forward platform is its Clinical Trial Exchange, where patients can post relevant information about themselves. Clinical trial recruiters can then view patients' anonymized profiles and invite them to apply for inclusion in relevant trials. The mechanism is designed to facilitate the process by presenting patient data in a format that can be compared against the inclusion and exclusion criteria provided by trial recruiters in their searches, including DNA biomarker criteria.
"PGDx was established by cancer researchers at Johns Hopkins in response to requests from patients and their physicians for access to advanced genomic testing. We are committed to working with other innovative companies to expand that access, and it is accordingly fitting for us to join forces with Cure Forward, whose innovative platform is designed to empower patients with the DNA biomarker data that is essential for optimizing their cancer treatment," said Douglas Ward, Chief Executive Officer at PGDx. "Cure Forward believes that adoption of precision medicine is enhanced when patients are able to participate directly, and we welcome the opportunity to support their efforts."
Results from PGDx tests will be reported to ordering physicians through diagnostic reports and patients will then be able to use information from the reports to request and receive their data through the Cure Forward platform. Receiving one's data is a legal right of all patients in the US through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). This collaboration makes it easier for patients to access and use their genomic data quickly while keeping their physicians involved in the process.
"At Cure Forward, we want every patient to be able to address their disease with the best possible science. We believe that clinical trials are an important consideration at every stage of a person's care, and we want to make it easy for people to identify trial options," said Martin Naley, Cure Forward's Founder and Chief Strategy Officer. "PGDx is a well-known cancer genomic testing pioneer who is committed to providing the most advanced services to patients and their physicians. This collaboration with PGDx further ensures that patients using our platform will have rapid access to their data from the highest quality genomic testing services. This can help individual patients find the best options for their care and could also accelerate research toward improved treatments and cures."
PGDx offers a complete range of cancer genome analysis tools, including exome and targeted approaches for tissue specimens, targeted approaches for plasma samples and a variety of custom tissue and plasma-based options designed to address the specific research needs of cancer researchers and drug developers. It was established in 2010 by researchers from Johns Hopkins University who are pioneers in cancer genome sequencing and liquid biopsy technologies. Under the leadership of founders Drs. Luis Diaz and Victor Velculescu, the company has achieved consistent growth by successfully commercializing novel clinical and investigational products and services for researchers, drug developers, molecular testing laboratories and physicians and patients. PGDx's service offerings for researchers and testing labs are complemented by the clinical services it provides through its CLIA-certified laboratory.
About Personal Genome Diagnostics
Personal Genome Diagnostics (PGDx) advances the frontiers of cancer medicine through innovative genomic technologies for oncology researchers, drug developers, clinicians and patients. The expert team at PGDx draws on a deep understanding of cancer biology, extensive experience in cancer genomics and clinical oncology, and the company's distinctive technologies. These novel technologies precisely identify and characterize unique genomic alterations in tumors. PGDx is working toward broad patient access to its genomic approaches, through a CLIA-certified facility providing comprehensive genomic services, as well as a technology transfer solution enabling other molecular laboratories to easily internalize testing. For additional information, visit personalgenome.com.
About Cure Forward
Cure Forward is the first online matching service that connects cancer patients with precision medicine so they can access the targeted therapies and advanced treatments that may be best suited for their care. Our Clinical Trial Exchange connects patients to trials they might never have found and solves critical business needs for diagnostic laboratories, health care providers and clinical trial recruiters. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cure Forward was incubated and launched by Apple Tree Partners, New York City. The company's platform is in beta release at cureforward.com. If you or someone you love has cancer you need to know all of your options.
PGDx Contacts
PGDx Corporate: Media:
Melody Gretz Barbara Lindheim
973 598-5515 BLL Partners LLC [email protected] 212 584-2276 [email protected]
Cure Forward Contacts
Cure Forward Corporate: Media:
Stacey Santo Jennifer Webb
617 863-3818 Coltrin &Associates [email protected] 212 221-1616
[email protected]
SOURCE Personal Genome Diagnostics Inc.
Related Links
http://personalgenome.com
Net revenues increased 17.6% to $43.7 billion
GAAP operating profit increased 3.9% to $2.4 billion ; operating profit excluding acquisition-related transaction and integration costs increased 6.5%
GAAP diluted EPS decreased from $1.12 to $0.86 , primarily driven by a loss on early extinguishment of debt and acquisition-related integration costs
Adjusted EPS increased 8.3% to $1.32
Year-to-date Highlights:
Cash flow from operations of $4.0 billion
Generated free cash flow of $2.9 billion
2016 Guidance:
Full year GAAP diluted EPS revised to $4.92 to $5.00 from $5.24 to $5.39 , to reflect the impact of the loss on early extinguishment of debt and second quarter acquisition-related integration costs
Full year Adjusted EPS raised and narrowed to $5.81 to $5.89 from $5.73 to $5.88
Provided third quarter GAAP diluted EPS of $1.38 to $1.41 , including a loss on early extinguishment of debt and excluding acquisition-related integration costs
Provided third quarter Adjusted EPS of $1.55 to $1.58
Raised full year cash flow from operations to $8.8 to $9.1 billion from $7.6 to $7.9 billion ; free cash flow raised to $6.3 to $6.6 billion from $5.3 to $5.6 billion
CVS Health Corporation (NYSE: CVS) today announced operating results for the three months ended June 30, 2016.
Revenues
Net revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2016 increased 17.6%, or $6.6 billion, to $43.7 billion, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2015. Revenues in the Pharmacy Services Segment increased 20.7%, or $5.1 billion, to $29.5 billion in the three months ended June 30, 2016. The increase was primarily driven by increased pharmacy network claim volume and growth in specialty pharmacy. Pharmacy network claims processed during the three months ended June 30, 2016 increased 22.6% to 280.5 million, compared to 228.8 million in the prior year. The increase in pharmacy network claim volume was primarily due to the growth in net new business. Mail choice claims processed during the three months ended June 30, 2016, increased 3.9%, to 22.2 million, compared to 21.3 million in the prior year. The increase in mail choice claims was primarily driven by the continued adoption of our Maintenance Choice offerings.
Revenues in the Retail/LTC Segment increased 16.0%, or $2.8 billion, to approximately $20.0 billion, in the three months ended June 30, 2016. The increase was primarily driven by the addition of the long-term care ("LTC") pharmacy operations acquired as part of the acquisition of Omnicare, Inc. ("Omnicare") in August 2015, the addition of the pharmacies and clinics of Target Corporation ("Target") acquired in December 2015 and pharmacy same store sales growth. Same store sales increased 2.1% versus the second quarter of 2015. Pharmacy same store sales rose 3.9% and pharmacy same store prescription volumes rose 3.5% on a 30-day equivalent basis. Pharmacy same store sales were negatively affected by approximately 355 basis points from recent generic drug introductions. Front store same store sales decreased 2.5%, including the effect of the shift of Easter from April in 2015 to March in 2016, which resulted in a decrease in front store same store sales of approximately 80 basis points. Front store same store sales were also negatively affected by softer customer traffic, partially offset by an increase in basket size.
For the three months ended June 30, 2016, the generic dispensing rate increased approximately 155 basis points to 85.4% in the Pharmacy Services Segment and increased approximately 110 basis points to 86.1% in the Retail/LTC Segment.
Operating Profit
For the three months ended June 30, 2016, consolidated operating profit increased $88 million, or 3.9%. Excluding acquisition-related integration costs of $81 million in 2016 and acquisition-related transaction costs of $21 million in 2015, consolidated operating profit increased $148 million, or 6.5%, from $2,283 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 to $2,431 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016. For the three months ended June 30, 2016, operating profit increased by $98 million, or 10.4%, in the Pharmacy Services Segment and by $24 million, or 1.4%, in the Retail/LTC Segment. Excluding acquisition-related integration costs of $81 million, the Retail/LTC Segment operating profit grew $105 million, or 6.2%, from $1,681 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 to $1,786 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016. Both segments benefited from the Omnicare acquisition and increased generic drugs dispensed. The Pharmacy Services Segment was also positively affected by growth in specialty pharmacy, growth in Medicare Part D lives and favorable purchasing economics. The Retail/LTC Segment was also positively affected by the acquisition of the pharmacies and clinics of Target and an improved front store margin rate. These positive factors for both segments were partially offset by continued pricing and reimbursement pressure.
Net Income and Earnings Per Share
Net income for the three months ended June 30, 2016 was $0.9 billion, a decrease of $348 million or 27.3%. The decrease was primarily driven by a loss on early extinguishment of debt of $542 million, an increase in interest expense of $114 million and $81 million of acquisition-related integration costs, partially offset by an increase in operating profit. The increase in interest expense is primarily due to the issuance of $15 billion of long-term debt in July 2015 that was used to acquire Omnicare and the pharmacies and clinics of Target, as well as the debt assumed through the acquisition of Omnicare in August 2015.
GAAP earnings per diluted share ("GAAP diluted EPS") for the three months ended June 30, 2016 was $0.86, compared to $1.12 in the prior year. Adjusted earnings per share ("Adjusted EPS") for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, was $1.32 and $1.22, respectively. Adjusted EPS excludes $197 million and $131 million of intangible asset amortization for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Adjusted EPS for the three months ended June 30, 2016 also excludes $81 million of acquisition-related integration costs and the loss on early extinguishment of debt of $542 million. Adjusted EPS for the three months ended June 30, 2015 also excludes $21 million of acquisition-related transaction costs and $36 million of acquisition-related bridge financing costs. Further detail is shown in the Adjusted Earnings Per Share reconciliation later in this release.
President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Merlo stated, "I'm very pleased with our solid second quarter results across the enterprise. Operating profit in the Retail/LTC Segment was in line with expectations while operating profit in the Pharmacy Services Segment exceeded expectations. At the same time, we have generated substantial free cash flow year-to-date and continued to return significant value to our shareholders through dividends and share repurchases."
Mr. Merlo continued, "With our differentiated value proposition, we see 2017 shaping up to be another very successful PBM selling season, with substantial gross and net new business to date. Given our outperformance in the second quarter and confidence in our expectations for the back half of this year, we are raising and narrowing our Adjusted EPS guidance and also raising our free cash flow guidance for 2016."
Guidance
The Company revised full year GAAP diluted EPS to $4.92 to $5.00 from $5.24 to $5.39 to reflect the impact of the loss on early extinguishment of debt and second quarter acquisition-related integration costs. When the Company reports subsequent quarters, full-year 2016 GAAP diluted EPS is expected to be revised downward to reflect the impact from future acquisition-related integration costs that are not currently included in guidance. The Company raised and narrowed full year Adjusted EPS to $5.81 to $5.89 from $5.73 to $5.88, which excludes the loss on early extinguishment of debt and acquisition-related integration costs. Further detail is shown in the Adjusted Earnings Per Share Guidance reconciliation later in this release.
In the third quarter of 2016, the Company expects to deliver GAAP diluted EPS of $1.38 to $1.41, including a loss on early extinguishment of debt from a debt redemption that was completed in July 2016 and excluding acquisition-related integration costs. The Company expects to deliver Adjusted EPS of $1.55 to $1.58, which excludes the loss on early extinguishment of debt and acquisition-related integration costs. Further detail is shown in the Adjusted Earnings Per Share Guidance reconciliation later in this release.
The Company raised cash flow guidance for 2016 and now expects to deliver cash flow from operations of $8.8 billion to $9.1 billion, up from $7.6 billion to $7.9 billion, and 2016 free cash flow of $6.3 billion to $6.6 billion, up from $5.3 billion to $5.6 billion. Further detail is shown in the Free Cash Flow Guidance reconciliation later in this release.
Real Estate Program
During the three months ended June 30, 2016, the Company opened 20 new retail stores, two onsite pharmacies and closed 10 retail stores. In addition, the Company relocated 9 retail stores. As of June 30, 2016, the Company operated 9,652 retail stores, including pharmacies in Target stores, in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Brazil.
Teleconference and Webcast
The Company will be holding a conference call today for the investment community at 8:30 am (ET) to discuss its quarterly results. An audio webcast of the call will be broadcast simultaneously for all interested parties through the Investor Relations section of the CVS Health website at http://investors.cvshealth.com . This webcast will be archived and available on the website for a one-year period following the conference call.
About the Company
CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their path to better health. Through its more than 9,600 retail pharmacies, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with nearly 80 million plan members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more than one million patients per year, and expanding specialty pharmacy services, the Company enables people, businesses and communities to manage health in more affordable and effective ways. This unique integrated model increases access to quality care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs. Find more information about how CVS Health is shaping the future of health at https://www.cvshealth.com .
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. By their nature, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements for a number of reasons as described in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section and under the section entitled "Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements" in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Tables Follow
CVS HEALTH CORPORATION Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited)
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30, In millions, except per share amounts 2016
2015
2016
2015
Net revenues $ 43,725
$ 37,169
$ 86,940
$ 73,501
Cost of revenues 36,710
30,767
73,181
60,935
Gross profit 7,015
6,402
13,759
12,566
Operating expenses 4,665
4,140
9,233
8,172
Operating profit 2,350
2,262
4,526
4,394
Interest expense, net 280
166
563
300
Loss on early extinguishment of debt 542
542
Income before income tax provision 1,528
2,096
3,421
4,094
Income tax provision 604
824
1,350
1,601
Net income 924
1,272
2,071
2,493
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest
(1)
Net income attributable to CVS Health $ 924
$ 1,272
$ 2,070
$ 2,493
Net income per share attributable to CVS Health:
Basic $ 0.86
$ 1.13
$ 1.91
$ 2.20
Diluted $ 0.86
$ 1.12
$ 1.90
$ 2.19
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic 1,070
1,124
1,081
1,126
Diluted 1,075
1,132
1,087
1,134
Dividends declared per share $ 0.425
$ 0.350
$ 0.850
$ 0.700
CVS HEALTH CORPORATION Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)
June 30,
December 31, In millions, except per share amounts
2016
2015 Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 1,127
$ 2,459
Short-term investments
80
88
Accounts receivable, net
13,183
11,888
Inventories
14,177
14,001
Other current assets
881
722
Total current assets
29,448
29,158
Property and equipment, net
9,981
9,855
Goodwill
38,190
38,106
Intangible assets, net
13,639
13,878
Other assets
1,490
1,440
Total assets
$ 92,748
$ 92,437
Liabilities:
Accounts payable
$ 7,351
$ 7,490
Claims and discounts payable
8,938
7,653
Accrued expenses
7,244
6,829
Short-term debt
745
Current portion of long-term debt
2,291
1,197
Total current liabilities
26,569
23,169
Long-term debt
25,600
26,267
Deferred income taxes
4,260
4,217
Other long-term liabilities
1,553
1,542
Commitments and contingencies
Redeemable noncontrolling interest
39
Shareholders' equity:
CVS Health shareholders' equity:
Preferred stock, par value $0.01: 0.1 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding
Common stock, par value $0.01: 3,200 shares authorized; 1,704 shares issued and 1,065
shares outstanding at June 30, 2016 and 1,699 shares issued and 1,101 shares
outstanding at December 31, 2015
17
17
Treasury stock, at cost: 638 shares at June 30, 2016 and 597 shares at December 31,
2015
(33,010)
(28,886)
Shares held in trust: 1 share at June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015
(31)
(31)
Capital surplus
31,454
30,948
Retained earnings
36,647
35,506
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)
(317)
(358)
Total CVS Health shareholders' equity
34,760
37,196
Noncontrolling interest
6
7
Total shareholders' equity
34,766
37,203
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity
$ 92,748
$ 92,437
CVS HEALTH CORPORATION Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)
Six Months Ended June 30, In millions
2016
2015 Cash flows from operating activities:
Cash receipts from customers
$ 84,324
$ 71,014
Cash paid for inventory and prescriptions dispensed by retail network pharmacies
(70,851)
(58,129)
Cash paid to other suppliers and employees
(7,082)
(7,935)
Interest received
9
9
Interest paid
(615)
(311)
Income taxes paid
(1,762)
(1,627)
Net cash provided by operating activities
4,023
3,021
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment
(1,102)
(942)
Proceeds from sale-leaseback transactions
34
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment and other assets
11
14
Acquisitions (net of cash acquired) and other investments
(168)
(112)
Purchase of available-for-sale investments
(39)
(124)
Sale or maturity of available-for-sale investments
67
40
Net cash used in investing activities
(1,231)
(1,090)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Increase in short-term debt
745
803
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt
3,455
Repayments of long-term debt
(3,579)
(550)
Purchase of noncontrolling interest in subsidiary
(39)
Dividends paid
(929)
(794)
Proceeds from exercise of stock options
122
211
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation
63
97
Repurchase of common stock
(3,960)
(2,934)
Other
(4)
Net cash used in financing activities
(4,126)
(3,167)
Effect of exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents
2
(1)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents
(1,332)
(1,237)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period
2,459
2,481
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period
$ 1,127
$ 1,244
Reconciliation of net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Net income
$ 2,071
$ 2,493
Adjustments required to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization
1,236
978
Stock-based compensation
107
88
Loss on early extinguishment of debt
542
Deferred income taxes and other non-cash items
75
6
Change in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions:
Accounts receivable, net
(1,279)
(1,211)
Inventories
(167)
(465)
Other current assets
(170)
131
Other assets
(53)
(48)
Accounts payable and claims and discounts payable
1,164
1,383
Accrued expenses
492
(241)
Other long-term liabilities
5
(93)
Net cash provided by operating activities
$ 4,023
$ 3,021
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The following provides reconciliations of certain non-GAAP financial measures presented in this press release to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company uses the non-GAAP measures "Adjusted EPS" and "Free Cash Flow" to assess and analyze underlying business performance and trends. Management believes that providing these non-GAAP measures enhances investors' understanding of the Company's performance.
Adjusted Earnings per Share, or Adjusted EPS, is net income excluding the impact of the amortization of intangible assets, acquisition-related transaction and integration costs, acquisition-related bridge financing costs, charge related to a disputed 1999 legal settlement and loss on early extinguishment of debt divided by the Company's weighted average diluted shares outstanding. The Company believes that this measure enhances investors' ability to compare the Company's past financial performance with its current performance.
The Company defines Free Cash Flow as net cash provided by operating activities less net additions to properties and equipment (i.e., additions to property and equipment plus proceeds from sale-leaseback transactions). Management uses this non-GAAP financial measure for internal comparisons and finds it useful in assessing year-over-year cash flow performance.
These non-GAAP financial measures are provided as supplemental information to the financial measures presented in this press release that are calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted EPS should be considered in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, income before income tax provision as a measure of our performance. Free Cash Flow should be considered in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, net cash provided by operating activities as a measure of our liquidity. The Company's definitions of Adjusted EPS and Free Cash Flow may not be comparable to similarly titled measurements reported by other companies.
Adjusted Earnings Per Share (Unaudited)
The following is a reconciliation of income before income tax provision to Adjusted EPS:
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30, In millions, except per share amounts
2016
2015
2016
2015 Income before income tax provision
$ 1,528
$ 2,096
$ 3,421
$ 4,094
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Amortization of intangible assets
197
131
396
260
Acquisition-related transaction and integration costs(1)
81
21
142
21
Acquisition-related bridge financing costs(1)
36
36
Charge related to a disputed 1999 legal settlement
3
Loss on early extinguishment of debt
542
542
Adjusted income before income tax provision
2,348
2,284
4,504
4,411
Adjusted income tax provision
923
897
1,770
1,724
Adjusted net income
1,425
1,387
2,734
2,687
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest
(1)
Income allocable to participating securities
(6)
(7)
(13)
(12)
Adjusted net income attributable to CVS Health
$ 1,419
$ 1,380
$ 2,720
$ 2,675
Weighted average diluted shares outstanding
1,075
1,132
1,087
1,134
Adjusted EPS
$ 1.32
$ 1.22
$ 2.50
$ 2.36
(1) Costs associated with the acquisitions of Omnicare and the pharmacies and clinics of Target.
Free Cash Flow (Unaudited)
The following is a reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow:
Six Months Ended June 30, In millions
2016
2015
Net cash provided by operating activities
$ 4,023
$ 3,021
Subtract: Additions to property and equipment
(1,102)
(942)
Add: Proceeds from sale-leaseback transactions
34
Free cash flow
$ 2,921
$ 2,113
Supplemental Information (Unaudited)
The Company evaluates its Pharmacy Services Segment and Retail/LTC Segment performance based on net revenue, gross profit and operating profit before the effect of nonrecurring charges and gains and certain intersegment activities. The Company evaluates the performance of its Corporate Segment based on operating expenses before the effect of nonrecurring charges and gains and certain intersegment activities. The following is a reconciliation of the Company's segments to the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements:
In millions
Pharmacy Services Segment(1)
Retail/LTC Segment
Corporate Segment
Intersegment Eliminations(2)
Consolidated Totals Three Months Ended
June 30, 2016:
Net revenues
$ 29,510
$ 19,998
$
$ (5,783)
$ 43,725
Gross profit(3)
1,367
5,837
(189)
7,015
Operating profit (loss)(3)
1,038
1,705
(220)
(173)
2,350
June 30, 2015:
Net revenues
24,442
17,242
(4,515)
37,169
Gross profit
1,241
5,322
(161)
6,402
Operating profit (loss)(4)
940
1,681
(215)
(144)
2,262
Six Months Ended
June 30, 2016:
Net revenues
58,275
40,110
(11,445)
86,940
Gross profit(3)
2,469
11,667
(377)
13,759
Operating profit (loss)(3)
1,820
3,482
(432)
(344)
4,526
June 30, 2015:
Net revenues
48,321
34,193
(9,013)
73,501
Gross profit
2,267
10,617
(318)
12,566
Operating profit (loss)(4)
1,675
3,408
(404)
(285)
4,394
(1) Net revenues of the Pharmacy Services Segment include approximately $2.6 billion and $2.2 billion of retail co-payments for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively, as well as $5.6 billion and $4.7 billion of retail co-payments for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
(2) Intersegment eliminations relate to intersegment revenue generating activities that occur between the Pharmacy Services Segment and the Retail/LTC Segment. These occur in the following ways: when members of Pharmacy Services Segment clients ("members") fill prescriptions at our retail stores to purchase covered products, when members enrolled in programs such as Maintenance Choice elect to pick up maintenance prescriptions at one of our retail stores instead of receiving them through the mail, or when members have prescriptions filled at our long-term care pharmacies. When these occur, both the Pharmacy Services and Retail/LTC segments record the revenues, gross profit and operating profit on a standalone basis.
(3) The Retail/LTC Segment gross profit and operating profit for the three months ended June 30, 2016 includes $6 million and $81 million, respectively, of acquisition-related integration costs. The Retail/LTC Segment gross profit and operating profit for the six months ended June 30, 2016 includes $10 million and $142 million, respectively, of acquisition-related integration costs. The integration costs are related to the acquisitions of Omnicare and the pharmacies and clinics of Target.
(4) The Corporate Segment operating loss for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 includes $21 million of acquisition-related transaction costs.
Supplemental Information (Unaudited)
Pharmacy Services Segment
The following table summarizes the Pharmacy Services Segment's performance for the respective periods:
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30, In millions
2016
2015
2016
2015
Net revenues
$ 29,510
$ 24,442
$ 58,275
$ 48,321
Gross profit
1,367
1,241
2,469
2,267
Gross profit % of net revenues
4.6 %
5.1 %
4.2 %
4.7 % Operating expenses
329
301
649
592
Operating expense % of net revenues
1.1 %
1.2 %
1.1 %
1.2 % Operating profit
1,038
940
1,820
1,675
Operating profit % of net revenues
3.5 %
3.8 %
3.1 %
3.5 % Net revenues:
Mail choice(1)
$ 10,646
$ 9,107
$ 20,796
$ 17,857
Pharmacy network(2)
18,778
15,267
37,314
30,326
Other
86
68
165
138
Pharmacy claims processed:
Total
302.7
250.1
607.4
501.3
Mail choice(1)
22.2
21.3
43.8
41.7
Pharmacy network(2)
280.5
228.8
563.6
459.6
Generic dispensing rate:
Total
85.4 %
83.9 %
85.3 %
83.7 % Mail choice(1)
78.0 %
76.3 %
77.7 %
76.2 % Pharmacy network(2)
86.0 %
84.6 %
85.9 %
84.4 % Mail choice penetration rate
18.1 %
20.7 %
17.9 %
20.2 %
(1) Mail choice is defined as claims filled at a Pharmacy Services mail facility, which include specialty mail claims inclusive of Specialty Connect claims filled at our retail stores, as well as prescriptions filled at our retail stores under the Maintenance Choice program.
(2) Pharmacy network net revenues, claims processed and generic dispensing rates do not include Maintenance Choice, which are included within the mail choice category. Pharmacy network is defined as claims filled at retail stores and specialty retail pharmacies, including our retail stores and long-term care pharmacies, but excluding Maintenance Choice activity.
Supplemental Information (Unaudited)
Retail/LTC Segment
The following table summarizes the Retail/LTC Segment's performance for the respective periods:
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30, In millions
2016
2015
2016
2015
Net revenues
$ 19,998
$ 17,242
$ 40,110
$ 34,193
Gross profit(1)
5,837
5,322
11,667
10,617
Gross profit % of net revenues
29.2 %
30.9 %
29.1 %
31.0 % Operating expenses(1)
4,132
3,641
8,185
7,209
Operating expense % of net revenues
20.7 %
21.1 %
20.4 %
21.1 % Operating profit
1,705
1,681
3,482
3,408
Operating profit % of net revenues
8.5 %
9.7 %
8.7 %
10.0 % Prescriptions filled (90 Day = 3 Rx)(2)
300.9
244.1
606.0
485.5
Net revenue increase (decrease):
Total
16.0 %
2.2 %
17.3 %
2.5 % Pharmacy
21.2 %
5.2 %
22.4 %
5.2 % Front store
(0.6) %
(5.1) %
1.0 %
(4.4) % Total prescription volume (90 Day = 3 Rx)(2)
23.2 %
6.0 %
24.8 %
6.1 % Same store increase (decrease)(3):
Total sales
2.1 %
0.5 %
3.1 %
0.8 % Pharmacy sales
3.9 %
4.1 %
4.7 %
4.2 % Front store sales
(2.5) %
(7.8) %
(0.9) %
(7.0) % Prescription volume (90 Day = 3 Rx)(2)
3.5 %
4.8 %
4.7 %
4.9 % Generic dispensing rate
86.1 %
85.0 %
85.9 %
84.7 % Pharmacy % of total revenues
74.8 %
71.6 %
74.7 %
71.6 %
(1) Gross profit and operating expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2016 include $6 million and $75 million, respectively, of acquisition-related integration costs related to the acquisitions of Omnicare and the pharmacies and clinics of Target. Gross profit and operating expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2016 include $10 million and $132 million, respectively, of acquisition-related integration costs related to the acquisitions of Omnicare and the pharmacies and clinics of Target.
(2) Includes the adjustment to convert 90-day, non-specialty prescriptions to the equivalent of three 30-day prescriptions. This adjustment reflects the fact that these prescriptions include approximately three times the amount of product days supplied compared to a normal prescription.
(3) Same store sales and prescriptions exclude revenues from MinuteClinic, and revenue and prescriptions from stores in Brazil, long-term care operations and from commercialization services.
Adjusted Earnings Per Share Guidance (Unaudited)
The following reconciliation of estimated income before income tax provision to estimated adjusted earnings per share contains forward-looking information. All forward-looking information involves risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking information for a number of reasons as described in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section and under the section entitled "Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements" in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. See also "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" above for more information on how we calculate Adjusted EPS.
In millions, except per share amounts
Year Ending December 31, 2016
Income before income tax provision(1)
$ 8,746
$ 8,921
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Amortization of intangible assets
795
795
Acquisition-related integration costs(1)
142
142
Charge related to a disputed 1999 legal settlement
3
3
Loss on early extinguishment of debt(2)
644
644
Adjusted income before income tax provision
10,330
10,505
Adjusted income tax provision
4,017
4,103
Adjusted net income
6,313
6,402
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest
(2)
(2)
Income allocable to participating securities
(33)
(33)
Adjusted net income attributable to CVS Health
$ 6,278
$ 6,367
Weighted average diluted shares outstanding
1,081
1,081
Adjusted earnings per share
$ 5.81
$ 5.89
In millions, except per share amounts
Three Months Ending September 30, 2016
Income before income tax provision(1)
$ 2,459
$ 2,526
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Amortization of intangible assets
195
195
Loss on early extinguishment of debt(3)
102
102
Adjusted income before income tax provision
2,756
2,823
Adjusted income tax provision
1,087
1,115
Adjusted net income
1,669
1,708
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest
(1)
(1)
Income allocable to participating securities
(8)
(9)
Adjusted net income attributable to CVS Health
$ 1,660
$ 1,698
Weighted average diluted shares outstanding
1,075
1,075
Adjusted earnings per share
$ 1.55
$ 1.58
(1) Excludes anticipated acquisition-related integration costs for the acquisitions of Omnicare and the pharmacies and clinics of Target for the period from July 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016.
(2) Includes $542 million loss on early extinguishment of debt from the tender offers that closed in June 2016, as well as the approximately $102 million loss on early extinguishment of debt from the redemption of certain senior notes in June 2016 that closed in July 2016. See Note 5, "Borrowings" in the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 for further information.
(3) Includes approximately $102 million loss on early extinguishment of debt from the redemption of certain senior notes in June 2016 that closed in July 2016. See Note 5, "Borrowings" in the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 for further information.
Free Cash Flow Guidance (Unaudited)
The following reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow contains forward-looking information. All forward-looking information involves risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking information for a number of reasons as described in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section and under the section entitled "Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements" in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. See also "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" above for more information on how we calculate Free Cash Flow.
In millions
Year Ending December 31, 2016
Net cash provided by operating activities
$ 8,775
$ 9,075
Subtract: Additions to property and equipment
(2,750)
(2,650)
Add: Proceeds from sale-leaseback transactions
275
175
Free cash flow
$ 6,300
$ 6,600
Investor
Nancy Christal
Media
Carolyn Castel Contact:
Senior Vice President
Contact:
Vice President
Investor Relations
Corporate Communications
(914) 722-4704
(401) 770-5717
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140905/143455
SOURCE CVS Health Corporation
Related Links
https://www.cvshealth.com
BOSTON, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
CyberX, the leading provider of cybersecurity solutions for the Industrial IoT, announced today the completion of a $9M USD funding round. The round was led by Flint Capital, including existing investors Glilot Capital Partners, Swarth Group, GlenRock, newly joined ff Venture Capital (ffVC) and additional angel investors. CyberX was founded by Omer Schneider and Nir Giller, both veterans of the Israeli Elite Cyber Security Unit.
CyberX has experienced rapid growth since its founding, with dozens of major deployments and a worldwide customer base in North America, EMEA and APAC. The company's technology is currently being successfully used in dozens of industrial and production environments worldwide. This rapid growth is attributed to the company's ability to deliver its unprecedented Industrial Finite State Machine (IFSM) technology, while preserving and providing immediate cyber and operational value to its customers.
"Along with our long list of satisfied customers, this round further validates our innovative solution and execution to date," said Omer Schneider, CEO & Co-Founder of CyberX. "We are excited to have Flint Capital onboard and look forward to working together as we continue expanding our operations worldwide and in particular in North America."
With the rise of the Industrial Internet revolution, increased Machine-to-Machine connectivity and the appearance of new IIoT business models, the security challenges are growing rapidly, making the deployment of cyber security solutions a much higher priority among C-level decision makers at the world's largest manufacturers.
"I'm excited to support the growth of CyberX in North America and worldwide," said Sergey Gribov, partner at Flint Capital. "I believe that the combination of management focus in the US, along with the company's choice to set its HQ in Boston - the business center for cyber security and IIoT - will significantly help CyberX's growth trajectory."
"CyberX's core technology has been achieving unparalleled detection results within industrial environments," said Nir Giller, CTO & Co-founder of CyberX. "Using our dedicated Industrial IoT detection technology, IFSM, we have discovered multiple attacks, as well as critical zero-day vulnerabilities in industrial equipment. At times, this was accomplished within hours. More specifically, IIoT vendors can harness our technology to execute their go-to-market strategy without worrying about getting caught off-guard."
With its field-proven technology being adopted across verticals, ranging from Manufacturing and Energy to IIoT environments, CyberX is positioned as the leader in the Industrial IoT security revolution.
"XSense IFSM technology provided us unique insights regarding our industrial environment," said Frits van Rooij, Senior Instrumentation & Control Engineer for IDE Americas. "We believe it is a must-have technology for every industrial network.
About CyberX
CyberX leads the way in securing the Industrial Internet by providing complete visibility into the IIoT environment as well as real-time detection and alerts of operational incidents, cyber threats and system tampering, thus minimizing disruption to operations and downtime. Seamlessly connecting to any IIoT environment, our flagship platform XSense, which harnesses IFSM technology, provides immediate results by collecting data across the IIoT environment and utilizing Big Data and Machine Learning to optimize the detection of anomalous behaviors.
Serving customers worldwide, CyberX is a member of the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and ICS-ISAC and was recognized by Gartner as a 2015 Cool Vendor in Security for Technology and Service Providers. Named "Best Product in ICS/SCADA Security Solution of 2016" by Cyber Defense Magazine at RSA, its research is considered cutting edge, contributing zero-day vulnerability discoveries to both the US Department of Homeland Security and industrial vendors. CyberX is also a member of the Israeli national consortium chosen to provide cyber solutions for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, which is supported by Foreign Trade Administration of the Ministry of Economy and Industry and the Israel's National Cyber Bureau of the Prime Minister's Office.
Media Contact:
Romit Barratson Sagi
Director of Marketing
CyberX
[email protected]
+972-54-4483476
SOURCE CyberX
SHANGHAI, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Dana Incorporated's (NYSE: DAN) Spicer Rui Ma brand of drivetrain solutions has received the 2016 Shanghai CSR Excellence Award, which was presented today during the CSR and Innovation 2016 Shanghai Summit. The honor recognizes outstanding corporate social responsibility (CSR) and successes in green innovation.
This is the second-consecutive year that the Spicer Rui Ma brand has been recognized for its achievements in CSR and for its creation and implementation of environmentally friendly business practices. In 2015, Spicer Rui Ma received the Xuhui District Corporate Social Responsibility Award.
"We are truly honored to receive this award, which reflects our company's core values and strong commitment to people, the environment, and innovation," said Aziz Aghili, president, Dana Off-highway Driveline Technologies. "Our team has excelled in manufacturing technologically advanced products and providing outstanding service for customers within the region. We have also been highly successful in nurturing local engineering talent and implementing eco-friendly business practices, making Dana a great place to work."
The CSR Excellence Awards program, a municipal-level recognition, is guided by Shanghai Information Office, Shanghai Commission of Commerce, and Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau. It is supported by the Shanghai Daily Multinational Companies Club, Jiefang Daily Enterprise Innovation and Development Research Center, Shanghai Association of Foreign Investment and Shanghai Association of International Economic and Technological Cooperation.
Spicer Rui Ma is a class of transmissions and axles designed and manufactured in China for off-highway vehicles. The brand provides an optimized blend of product features, performance, dependability, and cost, while reducing the industry's impact on the environment. Dana serves more than 100 vehicle manufacturers in China, including BMW, Daimler, Deere, Dongfeng Motor, Ford, GM, Jeep, Jinbei, Nissan, SAIC, Sany, VW Group, XCMG, and Zoomlion.
About Dana Incorporated
Dana is a world leader in the supply of highly engineered drivetrain, sealing, and thermal-management technologies that improve the efficiency and performance of vehicles with both conventional and alternative-energy powertrains. Serving three primary markets passenger vehicle, commercial truck, and off-highway equipment Dana provides the world's original-equipment manufacturers and the aftermarket with local product and service support through a network of nearly 100 engineering, manufacturing, and distribution facilities. Founded in 1904 and based in Maumee, Ohio, the company employs more than 23,000 people in 25 countries on six continents. In 2015, Dana generated sales of nearly $6.1 billion. Forbes Magazine has again selected Dana as one of America's 100 Most Trustworthy Companies for 2016. For more information, please visit dana.com.
SOURCE Dana Incorporated
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PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Delphic Digital, a leading full-service digital agency, announced today that it is the recipient of the Sitecore North America Experience Award for Best Use of Contextual Intelligence, for their partnership with Sunrise Senior Living.
Organized by Sitecore, the global leader in customer experience management software, the Experience Awards is an annual international competition honoring Sitecore customers and their partners. Winners are selected in several categories within each region based on how they are using Sitecore to create incredible user experiences that feel personal to every customer and create a powerful and comprehensive brand halo that delivers real business results.
Sunrise Senior Living conducted a study that found that potential clients were unsure of the type of care that is appropriate for their loved one. Working with Sitecore partner Delphic Digital, Sunrise set out to improve the process of selecting a care type. The solution was a Care Questionnaire that is today the centerpiece of Sunrise's digital presence. By presenting a short survey and leveraging Sitecore's experience platform, Sunrise helps people focus their research towards the appropriate type of senior care. This, in turn, gives the Sunrise sales team a valuable starting point in what can be a delicate sales cycle, allowing them to personalize conversations at the beginning of the caring process.
"As a Sitecore Marketing Agency, we strive to partner with our clients to guide them to leverage the best marketing technology to support dynamic, personalized user experiences and data-driven strategies that help them reach their business goals. The great success of our close partnership with Sunrise is a shining example of that goal in action," shared Delphic Digital's Managing Partner, Mark Patten.
"This award also signifies the strength of another great partnership, between Delphic and Sitecore. From being the first Certified Partner headquartered in the Philadelphia metro area eight years ago, to our recognition as a Gold Implementation Partner last year, to today's award for Contextual Intelligence, each new accolade marks the increase in depth and breadth of both our offerings within Sitecore and our partnership with the team."
About Delphic Digital:
Founded in 2004, Delphic is a full-service digital agency that serves an impressive roster of middle market to enterprise clients in the hospitality, consumers goods, healthcare and financial services verticals. Delphic solutions fuse data, storytelling and technology to build digital bridges between our client's brand and their customers.
For more information, press only:
Mark Patten, Delphic Digital, (215) 508-1800 x105, [email protected], www.delphicdigital.com
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SOURCE Delphic Digital
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CORAL SPRINGS, Florida, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Experts forecast mobile applications and telemedicine to become one of the paramount factions of the healthcare industry as convenience and efficiency improve with enhanced technologies. The Telemedicine market alone is forecasted to double in size within next five years as mobile health applications & technologies become more user friend in the Community-Based Healthcare Sector. HealthCare companies in the sector today to watch are Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (OTC: RQHTF) (TSXV: RHT), Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI), Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) & UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH).
Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (OTCQB:RQHTF) (RHT.V), a technology company focused on developing innovative mobile health (mHealth) and telemedicine solutions for Community-Based Healthcare, is pleased to announce that it has been accepted into the National Health Service (NHS) United Kingdom's (UK's) Test Beds program and will begin piloting its virtual care technology with a London-area hospital in Q4 2016. "We are very excited to be piloting Reliq's community care platform in the UK. Our technology is strongly aligned with the NHS England's ongoing initiative to improve the management of long term conditions in the community." said Dr. Lisa Crossley, CEO of Reliq Health. "Our platform uses a high tech, low touch approach to provide high quality healthcare in the home, reducing exacerbations and disease-related complications, decreasing healthcare costs and enhancing patient and family satisfaction. We look forward to participating in the NHS Test Beds program to demonstrate the value of Reliq Health's technology to patients, caregivers and the health system in the UK".
Read the full Reliq Health (RQHTF) (RHT.V) Press Release at: http://financialnewsmedia.com/profiles/rqhtf.html
The pilot will focus on two of the most common chronic conditions in the UK, congestive heart failure (CHF) and diabetes. Currently there are over 15 million people in England living with at least one long-term health condition. In addition to the impact on people's lives, long-term condition management accounts for half of all General Practitioner appointments and 70% of hospital bed days in the UK. Reliq Health's proprietary hardware and software supports patients and their caregivers in the home, providing remote vitals monitoring with alerts to clinicians as needed, audible reminders to improve patient compliance with prescribed medication regimens and lifestyle changes, tailored patient education and secure communication with the entire care team.
In other HealthCare News and developments of importance in the markets: Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI) unveiled its first ever regional brand campaign for key international markets, designed to showcase the company's capabilities and the solutions it delivers for customers. The campaign, themed "All The Way, Means All The Way," builds on Cigna's global wellness mission to improve customers' health, well-being and sense of security and is being rolled out in an integrated digital marketing format across multiple markets internationally.
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) was informed last month by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) that it has been awarded the contract for the TRICARE East Region. TRICARE is the military health care program that provides benefits to military service members, retirees and their families. Under the terms of the award, Humana's service area would cover approximately 6 million beneficiaries in a 30-state region. In further developments: Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) and Humana Inc. recently announced plans to vigorously defend the companies' pending merger in response to a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit seeking to block the transaction. A combined company is in the best interest of consumers, particularly seniors seeking affordable, high-quality Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH) News: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) School of Medicine and United Health Foundation introduced "Unimovil" recently at a dedication ceremony. UTRGV Provost and Executive Vice President Dr. Havidan Rodriguez; UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas CEO Don Langer; and other UTRGV, United Health Foundation and community leaders unveiled the new mobile health clinic, which medical professionals will use to serve community residents.
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SOURCE FN Media Group LLC
"I am thrilled to receive this tremendous honor from PR Week, and excited to see my name on such a prestigious list alongside some of the industry's greatest talents," said Morgan. "I've experienced remarkable personal and professional growth since I entered the industry more than thirteen years ago, and I am thankful to all of my colleagues and clients who throughout the years have taught me countless lessons, and have helped me evolve as a professional."
In her previous roles, Morgan supervised global and regional beauty and wellness brands, including development of end-to-end strategies. She directs team collaboration with clients and partners in NA, GC, AAIJK, EMEA/IMEA to ensure cultural relevance and big-idea co-creation with a variety of influencers including media, v/bloggers, celebrities, fashion designers, make-up artists and more. Morgan also manages Samsung Mobile's global lifestyle positioning strategy to drive relevancy outside of the tech category. Over the course of her career, Morgan has worked with a diverse range of consumer lifestyle clients, from ePhillips Consumer Electronics and Jo Malone to Kao Brands.
"Laura is a true global leader with universal perspective, in-depth understanding of the international media landscape and keen eye for identifying relevant cultural insights that drive breakthrough campaigns," said Heidi Hovland, Chief Executive Officer, DeVries Global. "Time and time again she has shown that she can meet any challenge and execute at the highest level while fueling our curiously creative culture. I'm delighted she's being recognized by PR Week for her accomplishments and future potential."
Prior to joining DeVries Global, Laura held positions at Medical Dynamics, where she launched Merz aesthetic fillers to global trade and lifestyle media, and at public relations firm, MS&L, in London. Outside of public relations, Morgan is passionate about raising money and awareness for Multiple Sclerosis research, due to a close friend living with the disease.
About DeVries Global
DeVries Global, headquartered in New York City, is an international communications micro-network with additional offices in London (DeVries SLAM), Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Singapore and Mumbai. The company's longstanding heritage of excellence in consumer marketing and communication includes winning work with respected brands across beauty, fashion and wellness as well as consumer packaged goods (CPG), travel and tourism, wine and spirits, and food and beverage. DeVries Global offers seamless global capabilities, while maintaining a boutique sensibility and Curiously Creative culture that preserve the ability to move quickly, nimbly, and with high-impact precision. DeVries Global is part of Interpublic Group (IPG).
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SOURCE DeVries Global
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SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Tuesday August 2, 2016 in Shenzhen, China, DHgate.com and the APEC Business Advisory Council co-hosted the APEC Luncheon for Women's Entrepreneurship in the Digital Economy. Key speakers at the luncheon included Facebook's Head of Public Policy in Asia Ms. Elizabeth Hernandez; former CEO of the ZESPRI Group Mr. Tony Nowell; Mr. Robert Milliner Senior Advisor of International Affairs at Wesfarmers Limited; and a female entrepreneur who sells on DHgate.com, the CEO of Baby Online Ms. Shen Lin.
These mainly female executives and entrepreneurs shared their experiences and insights, on the challenges they've faced and how they were able to leverage the digital economy to overcome them. The resounding message these speakers conveyed to attendees was: women are just as capable as men, and we are all working toward a world where in the future there will be no "female leaders" or "women executives," just leaders and executives.
'TESTIMONIALS'
Ms. Shen Lin explained how her life has been changed thanks to DHgate.com, which allowed her to start a small business when she was only in her 20's, and then scaled it up in size until she became a top seller, without having to sacrifice time with her children. In just four years of development, her company's annual sales are over 1.4 million US dollars, her business covers over 200 markets, has its own factory, and needs only 70 employees to operate. 60% of her orders come from the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Speakers then participated in a panel discussion where they highlighted the obstacles to enabling more women to leverage the digital economy to become entrepreneurs. Stories were told about a diverse group of females from all over the APEC region, who leveraged technology, either to upgrade their traditional businesses, or embraced the trend of globalization through digitalization to reach global markets, especially through digital platforms like DHgate.com, where half of the 1.4 million active sellers are women.
'CALL TO ACTION'
Co-Chair of the APEC Women Leadership Forum and DHgate.com CEO Diane Wang said,
"The answer to empower more women to succeed in business starts with (1) promoting the stories of role model female entrepreneurs to help women break through inhibiting mental barriers to develop the mindset that they too can succeed in business, (2) providing capacity building programs to teach women relevant skill sets for today's digital economy, and (3) motivating women with incentives and effective award mechanisms, especially small scale-entrepreneurs in developing countries: to participate in capacity building programs; to start their own businesses; and to not give up."
ABOUT DHgate.com
DHgate.com is the first to market and the biggest transactional cross-border B2B e-commerce marketplace in China, aiming to provide global buyers with quality products at competitive prices. Founded in 2004, DHgate.com has approximately 10 million global buyers from 230 countries and regions, with 1.2 million global sellers offering 33 million products. DHgate.com's business enables buyers to directly access global manufacturers of the world's top brands with rich product selections. DHgate.com is an all-in-one platform with integrated services for international logistics, cross-border payments, internet financing, etc. DHgate.com's US product distribution warehouses allow for 24 hour delivery and convenient product returns & refunds, bringing great convenience to buyers at http://www.dhgate.com.
SOURCE DHgate.com
Related Links
http://www.dhgate.com
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion Virginia Power, the Department of the Navy and the Commonwealth of Virginia today reached an agreement to construct a 21-megawatt direct current (18- megawatt alternating current) solar energy facility at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va.
"Solar is an integral part of Dominion's commitment to renewable energy," said Thomas F. Farrell II, Dominion chairman, president and CEO. "The Oceana solar facility, along with four other large solar facilities we have announced in Virginia, will bring clean energy to the state, new jobs and other economic benefits. Partnerships like the ones highlighted with the Department of Navy and the Commonwealth help to make our state a more attractive place to live, work and do business. We are very proud of what we have collectively accomplished today."
Dominion filed a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity permit with the State Corporation Commission on Aug. 1, 2016. The facility is expected to be completed and operational in late 2017. In exchange for the nearly 100 acres that will house the 179,000 solar panels, the Navy will receive an alternative electric feed, which will increase energy resiliency on the base. The facility will produce enough electricity at peak to power about 4,400 homes.
This is the second solar project Dominion has collaborated on with the Navy. In December 2015, construction was completed at Morgans Corner, a fixed-tilt 25-megawatt direct current (20-megawatt alternating current) facility spanning 110 acres and consisting of 81,054 solar panels located in Pasquotank County, N.C. The project is under a power purchase agreement.
"Not only did we meet the one gigawatt (GW) goal ashore five years early, we surpassed it reaching 1.1 GW by the end of last year. In doing so we've achieved $90 million in nominal energy cost savings, $62 million in energy security hardware upgrades to bases, 170 megawatts of access to power during outages and 22 million tons of CO2 abated. And we are just getting started," said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. "Today, the State of Virginia, the Hampton Roads community, Dominion Virginia Power and our Navy and Marine Corps are joining together to add to our success, to protect the future of NS Norfolk and NAS Oceana, and to enhance national security for the American people."
"Today marks a historic day for both the Commonwealth and the Navy," said Gov. Terry McAuliffe. "This announcement shows that the Commonwealth is leading by example in driving the clean energy economy forward in Virginia and working to combat climate change. It also highlights the importance my administration places on working with our most important economic partners like the U.S. Department of the Navy."
Dominion will retire, on the Commonwealth's behalf, renewable energy certificates in an amount equivalent to the amount of RECs generated by the Oceana solar facility.
Dominion Virginia Power is a subsidiary of Dominion (NYSE: D), one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy. Dominion provides energy or products and services to more than 5 million customers in 14 states. It has a portfolio of approximately 25,700 megawatts of generation, including more than 1,100 megawatts of renewable generation, and 6,500 miles of electric transmission lines. Dominion also operates one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems with 933 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.
SOURCE Dominion Virginia Power
Related Links
http://www.dom.com
COLLEGE PARK, Md., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dystopian fiction has taken off among young adult readers, and Hollywood has responded with film versions of "The Giver," "Hunger Games," "Divergent" and "Maze Runner." High school English teachers will draw upon the same genre this fall to spark conversations on enterprise and markets, using lesson plans developed July 26-29 at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business.
"High school students think a lot in terms of right and wrong," said Smith School professor Rajshree Agarwal, director of the Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets. "They think philosophically about what kind of world they live in, and what kind of world they want to live in."
Young adults confront these questions when they see fictional protagonists controlled by do-gooders who impose their values on others. "Dystopian novels provide a compelling way to teach important life lessons to kids," Agarwal said.
Rather than going to high schools to impart these lessons herself, Agarwal and her team bring master teachers to College Park for Enterprise Through Literature, a Snider Center workshop launched in 2015. "The teachers are our channels to future leaders," Agarwal said.
During the program's most recent iteration, 25 high school educators from 17 states and Canada collaborated on lesson plans aligned with the theme, "Individual Identity in Utopia and Dystopia." By the time the teachers returned home, they had material stockpiled for teaching "Anthem" by Ayn Rand, "1984" by George Orwell, "The Giver" by Lois Lowry, "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury, along with books by other authors.
"It's good for me to see literature from a business perspective because I don't normally think that way," said workshop participant Narci Drossos, an International Baccalaureate teacher at Valdosta High School in Valdosta, Ga. "Anytime I can broaden my own perspectives, I can broaden the perspectives of my students."
Participants also welcomed the chance to network with secondary education colleagues. "I could actually have conversations with people who knew exactly what I was talking about," said Bianca Rodriguez, an English teacher at Harlingen School of Health Professions in Harlingen, Texas.
Gina Licciardi, a languages teacher at Archimedean Middle Conservatory in Miami, benefited in two ways. "I gained personally and professionally," she said.
Rather than shying away from difficult topics, the teachers designed lessons that will force students to confront competing values. Many teenagers resent being told what to do by authority figures, for example, yet they support rules and regulations for other people. "They're facing all kinds of conflicting ideologies that pit the self against the society," Agarwal said.
She said the themes align with the Snider Center's focus on the philosophical underpinnings of enterprise and markets. "How do you drive upward mobility? How do you create entrepreneurial individuals? It fits right in there," Agarwal said.
About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and part-time MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, specialty masters, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.
Media Contact
Greg Muraski
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301-892-0973
SOURCE University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business
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NEW YORK, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Increasing urbanization, growing demand for high rise buildings and rising government initiatives such as smart cities and AMRUT cites to drive elevators and escalators market in India
New Age TechSci Research Logo (PRNewsFoto/New Age TechSci Research)
According to TechSci Research report, "India Elevators and Escalators Market By Type of Carriage, By Elevator Door Type, By End Use Sector, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2011 - 2021", elevators market in India is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 8% during 2016 - 2021, due to increasing urbanization, rising construction of high rise buildings, growing real estate sector coupled with rising investments on improvement of public infrastructure across various major cities in the country. Increasing government focus towards building high class infrastructure coupled with rising government initiatives such as 'Smart City' and AMRUT is also expected to driving demand for elevators in the country. Further, Government of India is also focusing towards modernization of airports and railway stations, and this is also projected to drive elevators and escalators market in the country during forecast period.
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India Phase Wise Total Number of Cities under 'Housing for All by 2022' Scheme
Phase Total Cities Time Duration April 2015 - March Phase 1 100 2017 April 2017 - March Phase 2 200 2019 April 2019 - March Phase 3 - 2022
Source: Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation
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"India Elevators Market"
https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/india-elevators-and-escalators-market-by-type-of-carriage-passenger-freight-others-by-elevator-door-type-manual-automatic-by-end-use-sector-residential-commercial-government-institutions-industrial-competition-forecast-opportunities-2011-2021/747.html
By 2015, passenger elevator segment dominated India elevators market, followed by freight elevators. Increasing number of high rise buildings is driving demand for passenger elevators across different end user segment including residential, commercial, industrial and government institutions. Major companies operating in India elevators market include Kone India, Otis, Schindler India, Johnson Lifts, ThyssenKrupp, etc. South region dominated India elevators market on account of increasing infrastructure projects in the region and growing focus on real estate construction. Cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai are the major demand generators for elevators and escalators in the country.
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"Growing number of high rise buildings is driving demand for high speed and energy efficient elevators. This is in turn boosting demand for traction machine elevators over hydraulic machine elevators. Further, changing lifestyles and government policies, and growing need to reduce accidents associated with manual door elevators is propelling demand for auto-door enabled elevators. In addition, companies involved in manufacturing elevators are increasingly focusing on smart and energy efficient elevators in order to attract consumer attention across various end use segments.", said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm.
"India Elevators and Escalators Market By Type of Carriage, By Elevator Door Type, By End Use Sector, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2011 - 2021" has evaluated the future growth potential of India elevator and escalators market and provides statistics and information on market size, structure and future market growth. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes the emerging trends along with essential drivers, challenges and opportunities in India elevators and escalators market.
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Global Biochemical Sensors Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2020
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SANTIAGO, Chile, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Empresa Nacional del Petroleo ("ENAP" or the "Issuer") and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (the "Offeror" or "Dealer Manager") today announced the results of the early tenders under the previously announced offer by the Offeror to purchase for cash (the "Tender Offer") up to a maximum amount of U.S.$600,000,000 (the "Aggregate Maximum Tender Consideration") (including the Early Tender Payment, if applicable, and accrued and unpaid interest) of the outstanding 6.25% Notes due 2019 (the "2019 Notes"), 5.25% Notes due 2020 (the "2020 Notes") and 4.75% Notes due 2021 (the "2021 Notes", and together with the 2019 Notes and the 2020 Notes, the "Notes" and each, a "series" of Notes) issued by ENAP. The Tender Offer is subject to the priority set forth in the table below (and proration) and is subject to the terms and conditions as described in the offer to purchase dated July 19, 2016 (the "Offer to Purchase"). Capitalized terms used but not defined in this press release shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Offer to Purchase.
The Tender Offer was fully subscribed as of 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on August 1, 2016 (the "Early Tender Date"). Accordingly, the Offeror will not accept for purchase any additional Notes tendered after the Early Tender Date. The Tender Offer was oversubscribed and, accordingly, Notes tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Date were accepted in accordance with the Acceptance Priority Level (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) and proration (in respect of the 2021 Notes), in the amounts set forth in the table below.
The Offeror also announced that it has increased the Aggregate Maximum Tender Consideration from U.S.$600,000,000 to U.S.$679,085,207.
The principal amount of each series of Notes that were validly tendered and not validly withdrawn in the Tender Offer as of the Early Tender Date and the principal amount of each series of Notes that have been accepted for purchase by the Offeror are set forth in the table below.
Title of Security CUSIP/
ISIN Nos. Outstanding
Principal Amount Acceptance Priority Level Principal Amount Tendered Principal Amount Accepted 6.25% Notes due 2019 P37110AD8 / USP37110AD80
29245JAD4 / US29245JAD46 U.S.$300,000,000 1 U.S.$184,692,000 U.S.$184,692,000 5.25% Notes due 2020 P37110AF3 / USP37110AF39
29245JAE2 / US29245JAE29 U.S.$500,000,000 2 U.S.$325,589,000 U.S.$325,589,000 4.75% Notes due 2021 P37110AG1 / USP37110AG12
29245JAF9 / US29245JAF93 U.S.$500,000,000 3 U.S.$318,471,000 U.S.$89,719,000
The Tender Offer is subject to, and conditioned upon, the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions as set forth in the Offer to Purchase. In particular, the Financing Condition (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) has been met and the New Offering is expected to close on the business day after the early settlement date for the Tender Offer.
Holders that validly tendered prior to the Early Tender Date, and whose Notes were accepted for purchase, will be entitled to receive total consideration (the "Total Consideration") of (i) U.S.$1,130.00 for each U.S.$1,000 principal amount of the 2019 Notes, (ii) U.S.$1,115.00 for each U.S.$1,000 principal amount of the 2020 Notes, and (iii) U.S.$1,087.50 for each U.S.$1,000 principal amount of the 2021 Notes, which includes, in each case, an early tender payment (the "Early Tender Payment") of U.S.$30.00 per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of the Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest up to, but not including the early settlement date for the Tender Offer, which is expected to be on August 4, 2016.
The Tender Offer will expire at 11:59 P.M., New York City time, on August 15, 2016, unless extended or earlier terminated. The withdrawal deadline for the Tender Offer was 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on August 1, 2016, and so has passed. Accordingly, Notes tendered (in the past or future) in the Tender Offer may no longer be withdrawn, except if required by applicable law.
The Information and Tender Agent for the Tender Offer is Global Bondholder Services Corporation. To contact the Information and Tender Agent, banks and brokers may call (212) 430-3774, and others may call U.S. toll-free: (866) 470-4200.
The sole Dealer Manager for the Tender Offer is Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Any questions or requests for assistance may be directed to the Dealer Manager at Collect: (212) 723-6106 or U.S. Toll-Free: (800) 558-3745. In addition, holders may contact their broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee for assistance concerning the Tender Offer.
This notice does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to purchase, or any solicitation of any offer to sell, the Notes or any other securities in the United States or any other country, nor shall it or any part of it, or the fact of its release, form the basis of, or be relied on or in connection with, any contract therefor. The Tender Offer is made only by and pursuant to the terms of the Offer to Purchase and the information in this notice is qualified by reference to the Offer to Purchase. None of the Offeror, ENAP or the Information and Tender Agent make any recommendations as to whether holders should tender their Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer.
This notice to the market does not represent an offer to sell securities or a solicitation to buy securities in the United States or in any other country. The New Offering was not and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act"), as amended. Consequently, the notes issued in the New Offering are prohibited from being offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. citizens without the applicable registration or exemption from registration required under the Securities Act or applicable laws of other jurisdictions.
This notice to the market is released for disclosure purposes only, in accordance with applicable legislation. It not does not constitute marketing material, and should not be interpreted as advertising an offer to sell or soliciting any offer to buy securities issued by the Issuer. This notice to the market is not for distribution in or into or to any person located or resident in the United States, its territories and possessions, any state of the United States or the District of Columbia or in any jurisdiction where it is unlawful to release, publish or distribute this announcement, other than any exemption thereunder.
Forward-Looking Statements
This notice includes and references "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may relate to, among other things, the Issuer's business strategy, goals and expectations concerning its market position, future operations, margins and profitability.
Although ENAP believes the assumptions upon which these forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, any of these assumptions could prove to be inaccurate and the forward-looking statements based on these assumptions could be incorrect.
The matters discussed in these forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results and trends to differ materially from those made, projected, or implied in or by the forward-looking statements depending on a variety of uncertainties or other factors.
ENAP undertakes no obligation to update any of its forward-looking statements.
About Empresa Nacional del Petroleo
Empresa Nacional del Petroleo is a Chilean state-owned enterprise of the Republic of Chile, engaged in a broad range of petroleum-related activities, including the exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas, the transportation and storage of crude oil, refined petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") and natural gas, petroleum refining and the wholesale marketing of refined petroleum products, petroleum derivatives, LPG, crude oil and natural gas. ENAP also participates in the energy generation sector. ENAP's principal source of revenue is the sale of refined petroleum products in Chile.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160719/391229LOGO
SOURCE Empresa Nacional del Petroleo
Related Links
http://www.enap.cl
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ENAVATE, a leading Microsoft Dynamics AX and CRM provider, recently achieved a place in the 2016 President's Club for Microsoft Dynamics. "It is an honor to receive this type of recognition after forming ENAVATE less than two years ago," said ENAVATE Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Ajspur. "Being awarded to be part of such an esteemed group of Microsoft partners is proof that our Vision 2020 is valid and we are heading in the right direction."
This prestigious recognition came during the recent Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2016, in Toronto. The President's Club for Microsoft Dynamics represents the top 5 percent of Microsoft Dynamics partners worldwide who achieve strategic business milestones while maintaining a consistently strong commitment to high levels of customer satisfaction and an active pursuit of technologically advancing their solutions and services.
"Each year we recognize and honor Microsoft Dynamics partners from around the world for exemplary performance," said Frank Holland, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Business Solutions Sales & Partners. "The award-winning partners clearly demonstrate their dedication to their customers' business success through their exceptional commitment and expertise. Microsoft is honored to recognize ENAVATE for their achievements this past year and for their dedication and support of Microsoft Dynamics applications."
ENAVATE works closely with Microsoft to maintain a comprehensive understanding of the Microsoft Dynamics AX and CRM platforms. This knowledge, combined with a deep understanding of customers' business needs in the Global Distribution industry, enables ENAVATE to help customers leverage the full value of their Microsoft investments and achieve the enhanced customer service, productivity and operational efficiency that promote growth and competitive advantage.
About ENAVATE
ENAVATE provides business consulting and industry-focused enterprise software solutions based on the Microsoft Dynamics AX and CRM platforms, with a full range of services including professional services, maintenance and support. Through ENAVATE Global Services, the company also provides consulting and software development services to Microsoft Dynamics enterprise clients, ISVs and VARs worldwide.
For additional information contact:
Mike Frauenhoffer
VP, Sales & Marketing
[email protected]
+1 480-294-3116
SOURCE ENAVATE
The bi-coastal experts joined together to address entanglements, one of the greatest human-caused threats to seals and sea lions. Entanglements, often caused by fishing gear or human sources of marine debris, cause life-threatening constrictions around the necks and bodies of these marine mammals. As seal populations re-establish in New England; there is risk of an increased number of seals becoming entangled.
"In 2001, reports of seal entanglements started to become common," said Kristen Patchett, Stranding Coordinator for IFAW. "Since then, we have been working to develop a safe and effective method of capturing and disentangling seals. While we've had some successes, more reliable techniques will allow us to save more entangled seals."
Working in cooperation with the local fishing community and seal watch operators, the IFAW team has made several attempts to capture and disentangle seals with life threatening entanglements, but without reliably repeatable success.
"Our innovative darting technique increases the effectiveness of sedation, tracking, and rescue of seals and sea lions entangled by fishing gear," said Dr. Shawn Johnson, Director of Veterinary Science at The Marine Mammal Center. "The success of this acoustic tracking dart will have a significant impact on future rescue operations."
The new method of using remote sedation shows the most promise. It involves darting a seal from a distance of approximately 60 feet and then tracking the seal as it flushes into the water. In order to track the seal, the Center has devised a novel method of incorporating a small acoustic transmitter in the dart to allow responders to track the seal while waiting for the sedative drugs to take effect.
In addition to tracking, another major challenge is that properly sedating seals can be difficult. Field conditions make it even more risky. To ensure best practices, the team has been consulting with additional experts to determine the safest, most effective drugs and dosages for these captures. Last week's successful sedation, capture, disentanglement, and release is a significant step forward in responding to entangled seals locally, but also has national and international implications in addressing entanglements. The information gathered on drug efficacy, capture tools and techniques may even be used in the future for seals from threatened or endangered populations in other parts of the world.
Prior to release, the disentangled gray seal was affixed with a small, temporary satellite tag that will allow IFAW staff the opportunity to track the seal over the coming months to monitor its recovery and document the healing of the deep lacerations caused by the entanglement.
This work was made possible by IFAW, the Center and a federal John H. Prescott grant issued to IFAW. The team was joined by responders from the Center for Coastal Studies, National Marine Life Center and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
About International Fund for Animal Welfare
Founded in 1969, IFAW rescues and protects animals around the world. With projects in more than 40 countries, IFAW rescues individual animals, works to prevent cruelty to animals, and advocates for the protection of wildlife and habitats. For more information, visit www.ifaw.org. Follow us on Facebook/IFAW and Twitter @action4ifaw
About The Marine Mammal Center
The Marine Mammal Center is a nonprofit veterinary hospital, research and educational center dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of sick and injured marine mammals and to the study of their health. Since 1975, the Center has been headquartered in the Marin Headlands, Sausalito, Calif., within the Golden Gate National Parks and has rescued and treated more than 20,000 marine mammals. In 2014, the Center opened Ke Kai Ola, a hospital for the rehabilitation of the critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. For more information, please visit www.marinemammalcenter.org. Follow us on Facebook/themarinemammalcenter and Twitter @TMMC
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160802/395078
SOURCE International Fund for Animal Welfare
Related Links
http://www.ifaw.org
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. and NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Envestnet | Yodlee (NYSE: ENV), a leading data aggregation and data analytics platform powering dynamic, cloud-based innovation for digital financial services, today announced a strategic partnership with United Capital, one of the fastest-growing and most innovative registered investment advisory (RIA) firms in the nation, to power United Capital's FlexScore solution with Envestnet | Yodlee's industry-leading data aggregation offering.
The strategic partnership between Envestnet | Yodlee and United Capital comes at a transformational time. Earlier this year, United Capital acquired FlexScore, a patented digitized financial planning solution. To power the FlexScore solution and further accelerate business growth, United Capital's need to partner with a data aggregation provider led to the selection of Envestnet | Yodlee as FlexScore's primary account data aggregation solution.
"Envestnet | Yodlee is pleased to be joining forces with United Capital to become its primary account data aggregation partner for the FlexScore solution," said Julie Solomon, Vice President of Financial Institution Solutions, the Americas at Envestnet | Yodlee. "By delivering innovative financial planning solutions and new data-driven insights, our partnership will empower FlexScore users to take control of their financial destiny."
Under this partnership, the fully RESTful Envestnet | Yodlee API with FastLink will enhance the FlexScore user experience by securely linking accounts from financial institutions in a seamless onboarding process and aggregating data to generate a numerical score of an individual's financial health. United Capital will begin offering FlexScore as part of FinLife Partners, a white labeled advice and planning platform that allows independent advisers access to the firm's proprietary Financial Life Management system, in the very near future. Envestnet | Yodlee will serve as the primary data aggregator for these solutions.
"Our business has helped transform the traditional wealth management industry. For us to continue innovating and benefiting customers, we needed a proven data-aggregation partner that could provide the tools our customers need to take control of their financial lives," said Mike Capelle, Head of Platform at United Capital. "Together with Envestnet | Yodlee, we are confident that we can provide consumers with the data they need to make informed decisions regarding their financial health."
About Envestnet
Envestnet, Inc. (NYSE: ENV) is a leading provider of unified wealth management technology and services to investment advisors. Our open-architecture platforms unify and fortify the wealth management process, delivering unparalleled flexibility, accuracy, performance, and value. Envestnet solutions enable the transformation of wealth management into a transparent, independent, objective, and fully-aligned standard of care, and empower advisors to deliver better outcomes.
Envestnet | Yodlee is a leading data aggregation and data analytics platform powering dynamic, cloud-based innovation for digital financial services. More than 1,000 companies, including 11 of the 20 largest U.S. banks and hundreds of Internet services companies, subscribe to the Envestnet | Yodlee platform to power personalized financial apps and services for millions of consumers. Envestnet | Yodlee solutions help transform the speed and delivery of financial innovation, improve digital customer experiences, and drive better outcomes for our clients and their customers.
Envestnet | Yodlee is headquartered in Redwood City, CA with global offices in London and Bangalore. For more information, visit www.yodlee.com.
About United Capital Financial Advisers, LLC
United Capital Financial Advisers, LLC ("United Capital") is an independent financial life management firm. United Capital is a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) offering clients objective advice and an open architecture platform that enables a wide array of investment management solutions tailored specifically to client needs. Today, United Capital has approximately $16 billion in assets under management and 81 offices nationwide. For more information, please visit www.unitedcp.com or www.joinuc.com.
FinLife Partners is a dba of United Capital Financial Advisers, LLC.
SOURCE Envestnet | Yodlee
Related Links
http://www.yodlee.com
NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- "Environmental testing market projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.9%"
The environmental testing market is projected to reach USD 11.82 billion by 2021 at a CAGR of 6.9% from 2016 to 2021. The market is driven by factors such as deteriorating environment, privatization of environmental testing services, and increasing regulations regarding environment protection. The high growth potential in emerging markets and untapped regions provides new opportunities for market players.
"Organic contaminant segment expected to be the largest contaminant type in the environmental testing market through 2021"
The organic contaminant type was the largest market in 2015. Testing for organic compounds basically includes tests of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The risk of health problems is most likely to increase by breathing low levels of VOCs for a long period of time. Several studies have suggested that exposure to VOCs may worsen the symptoms in people who are asthmatic or are sensitive to chemicals. The effect of every chemical is different and is attributed to its toxicity. The rising concerns over health issues due to organic contaminants are expected to drive its testing services market.
"Rapid technology led the market with the largest share in 2015"
On the basis of technology, the environmental testing market was led by the rapid technology segment in 2015. The market is growing due to the requirement of quick, accurate, easy-to-use, and reduced total cost method of testing.
"North America led the market with the largest share in 2015"
North America was the largest environmental testing market in 2015. Governing organizations are present in the market and have enforced various environment protection policies. The North American environmental testing market addresses various environmental issues such as climate change, acid rain reduction, and greenhouse gas emissions. The Asia-Pacific market is projected to be the fastest-growing market during the forecast period.
The breakdown of the primaries on the basis of company, designation, and region, conducted during the research study, is as mentioned below.
By Company Type: Tier 1 35%, Tier 2 45%, and Tier 3 20%
By Designation: C Level 35%, Director Level 25%, and Others 40%
By Region: North America 45%, Europe 30%, Asia-Pacific 20%, and RoW 05%
Major players include:
- Eurofins Scientific S.E (Luxembourg)
- AB Sciex LLC (U.S.)
- SGS S.A. (Switzerland)
- Bureau Veritas S.A. (France)
- Agilent Technologies Inc. (U.S.)
The above-mentioned companies have collectively accounted for the largest portion of the environmental testing market in 2015. Other players also have a strong presence in this market. These include:
- Intertek Group PLC (U.K.)
- ALS Limited (U.S.),
- AssureQuality (New Zealand)
- Romer Labs (U.S.)
- R.J Hill Laboratories Ltd. (New Zealand)
Reasons to buy this report:
From an insight perspective, this research report has focused on various levels of analysesindustry analysis (industry trends), market share analysis of top players, supply chain analysis, and company profiles, which together comprise and discuss the basic views on the competitive landscape; emerging and high-growth segments of the global environmental testing market; high-growth regions; and market drivers, restraints, and opportunities.
The report provides insights on the following pointers:
- Market Penetration: Comprehensive information on agricultural fumigants offered by the top players in the global market
- Product Development/Innovation: Detailed insights on upcoming technologies, research & development activities, and new product launches in the environmental testing market
- Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative emerging marketsthe report analyzes the markets for environmental testing across regions
- Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the global environmental testing market
- Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market share, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players in the global environmental testing market
Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03992172-summary/view-report.html
About Reportlinker
ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.
http://www.reportlinker.com
__________________________
Contact Clare: [email protected]
US: (339)-368-6001
Intl: +1 339-368-6001
SOURCE Reportlinker
Related Links
http://www.reportlinker.com
SAN FRANCISCO and PETALUMA, Calif., Aug. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants (EPIC), a retail property, casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, announced today the sale of their Petaluma branch office and its book of business to Sacramento-based InterWest Insurance Services. Both EPIC and InterWest are anticipating a seamless, "business as usual" transition, maintaining the same Petaluma location as well as existing employees who will continue to serve and support their current North Bay clients. The transaction closed on July 31, 2016. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Said InterWest President & CEO Keith Schuler, "While the name on the building may be changing from EPIC to InterWest, we have approached this change very carefully and collaboratively with EPIC leadership, respecting EPIC's 'people first' values and putting the needs and best interests of their clients who are now our clients - at the forefront. All of these clients can expect to continue receiving the same exceptional service from the same terrific team of people, now supported by the InterWest team in Santa Rosa and elsewhere across Northern and Central California."
Founded in 1992 with the merger of three large, successful Northern California Insurance Brokerage firms, InterWest has grown to 8 offices in the North Bay, San Francisco Bay Area and Central California. The new Petaluma office acquired from EPIC will be their 9th, extending and complementing existing North Bay operations in Santa Rosa.
EPIC West Region President Tom O'Neil noted, "This was very much a mutual decision with our North Bay leadership team. EPIC has been evolving toward national specialty practices and resource teams, supporting larger regional operations here in the West and across the country. InterWest has built a very successful business by focusing on smaller niche regional markets like the North Bay. We have known Keith Schuler and the InterWest organization for many years and recognized a unique opportunity to create a 'win/win' outcome for all parties, particularly our clients in the North Bay, whose needs have always been our top priority."
About EPIC:
EPIC is a unique and innovative retail property & casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm. EPIC has created a values-based, client-focused culture that attracts and retains top talent, fosters employee satisfaction and loyalty and sustains a high level of customer service excellence. EPIC team members have consistently recognized their company as a "Best Place to Work" in multiple regions and as a "Best Place to Work in the Insurance Industry" nationally.
EPIC now has more than 850 team members operating from offices across the U.S., providing Property Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs and Private Client solutions to more than 13,000 clients.
With more than $200 Million in revenues, EPIC ranks among the top 20 retail insurance brokers in the United States. Backed by the Carlyle Group, the company continues to expand organically and through strategic acquisitions across the country. For additional information, please visit www.epicbrokers.com.
About InterWest Insurance Services:
InterWest Insurance Services was founded in 1992 as a result of the merger of three large successful insurance brokerage firms located in Northern California. Our aggressive marketing and acquisition efforts have extended our influence into Central California and the San Francisco Bay Area. During the past 25 years, we have successfully unified into a single seamlessly integrated organization with 8 offices throughout California. We've grown in size from $10 Million in annual revenue in 1992 to over roughly $60 Million in revenue.
InterWest was recognized as one of 35 Elite Agencies in the U.S. for 2015 by Insurance Business America. Elite Agencies are distinguished by their Best Practices, knowledgeable professional staff, exemplary customer service, quality technology, inward focus on education & mentorship and an unwavering commitment to serving their communities. We were identified as an Elite leader from approximately 39,000 independent agencies across the U.S.
InterWest was awarded "Best Practices" designation for 2013, 2014 and 2015, which is a recognition of our being one of the top-performing agencies in the U.S. To be considered, we were nominated by one of our carrier partners and then qualified based on our actual outstanding client retention, growth, stability and financial management results. Of the 1,100 agencies nominated, InterWest was one of only 35 in our class who scored high enough on the performance factors to receive the Best Practices status.
For additional information, please visit http://www.iwins.com/.
*LOGO for media: Send2Press.com/mediaboom/16-0308-epic-insurance-300dpi.jpg
MEDIA CONTACTS:
David Hock, of EPIC
650-295-4608
[email protected]
Nicole Conley
650-422-3156
[email protected]
This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com
SOURCE EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants
Related Links
http://www.epicbrokers.com
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- An exclusive 10-week digital series, SOUTHERN HALO, will launch today across Radio Disney Country digital platforms. Fans of the cutting-edge Country sibling trio Southern Halo will be able to view Episode 1 today on the Radio Disney app, RadioDisneyCountry.com, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook pages. A new episode will be available every Monday at 12 noon PDT. Phil Guerini, Vice President, Music Strategy, Disney Channels Worldwide and General Manager, Radio Disney Networks, said, "Having been early supporters of their music, we're excited for our audiences to get to know this talented group even better and are glad to have them as part of the Radio Disney Country family." The series was produced by Nashville's Artist Integration.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160801/394738LOGO
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160801/394739
"SOUTHERN HALO is sort of like a back-stage pass to our lives," notes the group's spokesperson, Natalia. "Episode 1 covers everything surrounding a radio promo trip to Nashville we made in support of our debut single, 'Little White Dress.' It includes everything from discussions on what to pack, to hair and makeup, the travel, clips of interviews we did with various media outlets, and even our appearance at the Radio Disney Country Stage at CMA Fest Fan Fair X. The whole series is an in-depth look at who we are as individuals, sisters, musicians and music fans."
With their newest single, "Rewind," currently rising on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart (#64) and a well-received debut performance at CMA Music Festival last month, Southern Halo is bringing a new energy and a new sound to Country.
WATCH SOUTHERN HALO SERIES:
RadioDisneyCountry.com: http://radiodisneycountry.com/
RDC Facebook: http://Facebook.com/RadioDisneyCountry
Radio Disney APP: http://radiodisneyapp.com
RDC Twitter: https://twitter.com/rdcountry
RDC YouTube: https://youtu.be/2o4qDYWOa5M
ABOUT SOUTHERN HALO
This soulful sister trio hails from the small town of Cleveland, Mississippi and features Natalia, Christina and Hannah Morris. Natalia, 19 years old, is the principal songwriter, guitarist and lead vocalist, while 17-year-old Christina plays drums. Younger sister Hannah, 16, is the group's bassist. Since landing in the National finals of the 2014 Texaco Country Showdown, these Mississippi Delta natives have worked hard honing their craft. They recorded their first EP with Alabama's Jeff Cook, and their fall 2015 CD, SOUTHERN HALO, with SESAC's 2012 Writer of the Year Catt Gravitt (Kelly Clarkson, Jake Owen) and Gerald O'Brien (writer of hits for Martina McBride, Trace Adkins) at the helm. They headlined Sara Evans' Rock The South Festival in Cullman, Alabama, performed at an elite pre-GRAMMY Awards show on the rooftop terrace of the GRAMMY Museum at LA Live in Los Angeles and launched Townsquare Media's "Say It With Pepsi" Concert Series in Illinois.
Stay Social with Southern Halo:
Website: www.southernhalo.net
FB: https://www.facebook.com/SouthernHalo
Twitter: @3halos https://twitter.com/3halos
Instagram: officialsouthernhalo
YouTube: southernhalorocks
SOUTHERN HALO Contact:
Martha Moore / Email / 615-202-1313
SOURCE Southern Halo
Related Links
http://www.southernhalo.net
COSTA MESA, Calif., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Experian, the leading global information services company, today released Contact Monitor to help businesses reduce wrong-party contact that supports compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This new product provides an efficient process for verifying contact lists; keeping them up to date by monitoring and sending daily notifications of phone ownership and carrier changes; and porting from landline to mobile and voice over IP (VoIP).
"With the significant changes and uncertainty brought forth by the TCPA and the Federal Communications Commission's order, it's important to understand the critical nature of increasing the accuracy of right-party contact for customer communications," said Paul DeSaulniers, Experian's senior director for risk scoring and trended data solutions. "Contact Monitor is a leading product in the market that can match customer contact details with the correct consumer and monitor for phone ownership changes within hours. That is invaluable data that can reduce the risk of TCPA liability."
Experian's technology streamlines data aggregation by allowing organizations to verify their current contact information against 5,000 Local Exchange Carriers, supplemented by Experian's core File OneSM credit database and exclusive data sources. In addition, Contact Monitor uses a sophisticated algorithm to provide a match score, delivering an A to F rating on the quality of the contact's phone number, increasing confidence in the data's accuracy.
"Express consent is now required to send a text message or use an auto-dialer to call a wireless phone number. This means all businesses should re-evaluate how they are communicating to their customer base, as these rulings are not being limited to debt collections," said DeSaulniers.
With Contact Monitor, businesses can take a strategic approach to ensuring customer contact details are updated and accurate, mitigating the risk of hefty fines. Contact Monitor delivers:
Phone owner returns the phone owner name as reported by the current carrier
Current carrier name provides the phone carrier name and the date of the last change
Match score gives a detailed, easy-to-interpret numeric score to support your contact strategy
Current phone type identifies the current phone type (landline, cell, VoIP, etc.)
Time stamp provides the time of the scrub or update
Daily monitoring - gives the user the ability to select which verified contacts to monitor for daily changes in ownership, carriers and/or line type
To learn more about Contact Monitor, as well as Experian's other portfolio management products, visit http://www.experian.com/tcpa.
About Experian
We are the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to our clients around the world. We help businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. We also help people to check their credit report and credit score and protect against identity theft. In 2015, we were named one of the "World's Most Innovative Companies" by Forbes magazine.
We employ approximately 17,000 people in 37 countries and our corporate headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended March 31, 2016, was US$4.6 billion.
To find out more about our company, please visit http://www.experianplc.com or watch our documentary, "Inside Experian."
Experian and the Experian marks used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
Contact:
Kristine Snyder
Experian Public Relations
1 714 830 5192
[email protected]
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130131/LA51658LOGO
SOURCE Experian
Related Links
http://www.experian.com
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Last month Extraordinary Conceptions, which is considered a leading international surrogacy and egg donor agency headquartered in Southern California, received an overwhelming response to its Christmas in July Double Signing Bonus for new surrogates. After such a response, its executive team members agreed to extend the double signing bonus, as well as adding another extraordinary incentive.
"Our 'Double Surrogate Signing Bonus,' enables our qualified applicants from the United States and Canada to receive $750 once medical clearance is issued and another $750 once legal clearance is issued," said Mario Caballero, chief executive officer of Extraordinary Conceptions. "In addition to the Double Surrogate Signing Bonus, during the month of August we are offering repeat surrogates who re-interview and/or apply, even if they were with a different agency than Extraordinary Conceptions with a $3,000 Signing Bonus. These repeat surrogates must be ready to start the process immediately, in order to qualify for the $3,000 signing bonus. The monies from this particular incentive will be dispersed after all screenings and legal contracts are signed."
In addition to a signing bonus incentive, complete benefit packages for surrogates start at $40,000 and above.
Caballero noted that the positive feedback their agency received from their Christmas in July Double Signing Bonus was both heartwarming and exceptional. Women are stepping forward to help individuals and couples build a family that they could not have without the help of a compassionate surrogate.
"As the need for more surrogates rise with each passing day, more women are answering this kindhearted call. We want to continue this wonderful momentum with our bonus incentives so intending parents who have yearned to have a child of their own can experience the love of a child through surrogacy," Caballero said.
Women who are interested in becoming a surrogate have already completed their own families.
"While new surrogates help make parenthood dreams come true, the memories of a surrogacy journey is rife with indelible memories," Caballero said.
Bonus Incentives Eligibility
To qualify for these August Bonus Incentives, applicants must complete the application/registration by August 31, 2016. Qualified applicants will receive their particular bonuses per agency guidelines. Applicants are encouraged to provide a referral's name, if applicable. To begin the application process, please visit our surrogate application page at www.extraconceptions.com or call 760-438-2265.
Contact:
Erica Hawkesworth
[email protected]
SOURCE Extraordinary Conceptions
Related Links
http://www.extraconceptions.com
BOSTON, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- G2 Capital Advisors announced today that Jack Shields has joined the firm as Managing Director and Practice Lead for Industrials and Manufacturing. He will be based in Virginia, and will focus on the manufacturing/distribution, flooring, plastics/packaging, consumer products and metals sectors.
Jack has held C-level and Board positions, including Chairmanships, with 11 different companies with domestic and international operations. Jack has a strong operational background across a broad variety of industries, with a focus on the industrial and consumer product sectors.
Jack most recently held a role as an Operating Principal within American Capital, Ltd. a private equity company that has invested over $37B in over 730 portfolio companies. He had responsibility for a total of 14 different investments over the course of his tenure with the firm, including serving as Chairman for two of the top five largest portfolio companies. Jack worked side-by-side with management to build value for both the management teams and shareholders.
Prior to American Capital, Jack served as President of Webster Industries, a manufacturer of store brand private label plastic food storage solutions generating $200 million in annual revenue. Prior to Webster Industries, Jack worked at Nutramax, a Massachusetts based OTC Pharmaceutical company,
"We are thrilled we have attracted such a unique and talented senior leader to our team," said Jeffrey Unger, CEO of G2. "His extensive background of industrial sector leadership positions, coupled with his capital markets experience make for an ideal Practice Leader for G2."
Jack began his career as a Mechanical Engineer with The Union Carbide Corporation. Jack held various manufacturing leadership positions within Union Carbide, which later became known as First Brands Corporation. Jack later left The Clorox Company, and partnered with six former Union Carbide Executives to acquire six independent companies that were then operated under one corporate umbrella.
Jack has served on the Board of Directors for the Virginia Governors' School for Science and Technology, the Board of Directors for Christmas in April, and was elected to two Boards of Education in the state of Connecticut.
SOURCE G2 Capital Advisors
Related Links
http://www.g2cap.com
DUBLIN, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Belt Drives - Global Strategic Business Report" report to their offering.
This report analyzes the worldwide markets for Belt Drives in US$ Million. The US market is further analyzed by the following Product Segments: Industrial Belts (V-Belts, Timing Belts, Flat Belts, & Variable Speed Belts), and Industrial Pulleys. The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America.
Annual estimates and forecasts are provided for the period 2015 through 2022. Also, a six-year historic analysis is provided for these markets. Market data and analytics are derived from primary and secondary research.
The report profiles 89 companies including many key and niche players such as
Arntz Optibelt GmbH ( Germany )
) Colmant-Cuvelier ( France )
) ContiTech AG ( Germany )
) Dayco Products, LLC (US)
DESCH Antriebstechnik GmbH & Co. KG ( Germany )
) Federal-Mogul Holdings Corporation (US)
Fenner PLC (UK)
Gates Corporation (US)
Regina Industria SpA ( Italy )
) The Timken Company (US)
Tsubakimoto UK Ltd. (UK)
Key Topics Covered:
1. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
Belt Drives
A Preview
Soft Recovery in Global Manufacturing PMI to Encourage Sales Growth
Outlook
Export Import Statistics
2. GROWTH DRIVERS, TRENDS AND ISSUES
Heavy Industrial Equipment/Machinery Manufacturing Industry Sets the Stage for Demand
Stable Outlook for Oil & Gas Bodes Well for Drilling Equipment
Supports Prospects for Belt Drive
Steady Growth in Global Power Generation Activity Spurs Demand
Strong Demand for Conveyor Equipment Promotes Market for Belt Drives
Factors Influencing Demand for Conveyors
Robust Demand for Construction Equipment Offers Growth Opportunities
Mechanization of Agriculture Spurs Growth
Technology Advances to Spur Growth Opportunities
Metal Belts on the Rise
New Materials to Drive Opportunities for Timing Belts
Timing Belts Emerge as Ideal Solution for Food Industry
Optibelt Designs Award Winning Multi-Rib V-Belt Featuring Replacement Indicator
Focus on Easy Maintenance Promotes Belt Drives over Chain Drives in Food Manufacturing
Improving Energy Efficiency
A Vital Goal for Belt Drives
Strong Demand for CVT Technology Spurs Opportunity for Belt Drives in the Automotive Sector
Component Manufacturers Lead Drive Belt Innovations to Comply with Changing Automotive Manufacturing Requirements
Focus on Fuel Efficiency Promotes Interest in Belt Drives
Growing Focus on Hybrid Vehicles Spurs Improvements in Belt Drives
Primped as the Future of Automotive Technology, Drive by Wire Poses a Threat to Belt Drive
Belt Drive
The Future of eBikes/Bicycles
3. AN OVERVIEW OF BELT DRIVES
Belt Drive
Definition
Factors Determining Drive Type
Advantages of Belt Drives
Disadvantages of Belt Drives
Types of Belt Drives
Belt
Type of Belts
V-Belts
Timing Belts
Advantages of Timing Belts
Flat Belts
Variable Speed Belts
Other Belts Available in the Market
Poly-Vee Belts
Vee Link Belts
Film Belts
Round Belt
Common Belt Materials
Pulley
Flat Belt Pulleys
V-Belt Pulleys
Synchronous Pulleys
4. RECENT INDUSTRY ACTIVITY
Timken Takes over Carlstar Belts Business
Carlisle Belts and TSL Enter Distribution Partnership
Dayco Secures 3-Year Deal as Official Belt Partner for CSRA
ContiTech Acquires Taizhou Fuju Rubber Belt Manufacture Co.
ContiTech Joins Forces with Benchmark Drive to Design New Drive Systems
5. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTS/ INTRODUCTIONS
Continental Unveils Belt Drives for e-Cargo Bikes
Gates to Unveil Cost-Effective Belt Drive
ACDelco Rolls Out V-Ribbed Aramid Belts
Gates Corporation Unveils Micro V Aramid Belt
Jason Industries Introduces Accu-Link V-Belt
MISUMI Rolls Out MSA Line of Belt Drive Actuators
Carlisle Unveils New Hypermax Line of ATV Belts
6. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS
7. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE
Total Companies Profiled: 89 (including Divisions/Subsidiaries 104)
The United States (34)
(34) Canada (1)
(1) Japan (4)
(4) Europe (44)
(44) - France (5)
(5) - Germany (11)
(11) - The United Kingdom (15)
(15) - Italy (5)
(5) - Spain (2)
(2) - Rest of Europe (6)
(6) Asia-Pacific (Excluding Japan) (20)
(Excluding Japan) (20) Africa (1)
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/vhlbjq/belt_drives
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
DUBLIN, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Lithium-ion Battery Market By Type (Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt (Li-NMC), Lithium Iron Phosphate (Li-IP), Lithium Cobalt Oxide (Li-CO), etc.), By End User, By Region, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011-2021" report to their offering.
"Global Lithium-ion Battery Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 17% during 2016-2021.
Globally, demand for energy registered a y-o-y growth of 2.3% in 2014. Moreover, the energy demand is expected to increase from 12928.4 Million Ton Oil Equivalent (MTOE) in 2014 to 17,000 MTOE by 2020. Consequently, adoption of lithium-ion battery is expected to witness robust growth due to its various advantages such as cost efficiency, high energy density, high response time, better safety and long life cycle.
Reviving global economic conditions, rising disposable income, growing levels of pollution and surging demand for quality & uninterrupted power are few of the major factors anticipated to boost demand for lithium-ion battery during 2016-2021. Moreover, increasing portable and stationary energy storage demand and escalating number of solar & wind projects are some other factors expected to impart growth in lithium-ion battery market over the next five years.
On the basis of material used as the cathode, global lithium-ion battery market has been segmented into five categories, Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide, Lithium Iron Phosphate, Lithium Cobalt Oxide, Lithium Titanate Oxide and Others. Among these categories, Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt (Li-NMC) dominated the global lithium-ion battery market in 2015.
The segment is anticipated to maintain its dominance over the next five years as well owing to surging demand for Li-NMC batteries in automobile industry. In 2015, Asia-Pacific dominated the global lithium-ion battery market, followed by North America, Europe, Middle East & Africa and South America.
Global Lithium-ion Battery Market discusses the following aspects of the global lithium-ion battery market:
New Lithium Battery Technologies
Transparent Lithium-ion Batteries
Increasing Energy Density of Lithium-ion Batteries
Increasing Penetration of Electric Vehicles
Government Subsidies
Booming Building Energy Management Solutions Market
Investor Confidence
Portable Battery Demand
Key Topics Covered:
1. Product Overview
2. Research Methodology
3. Analyst View
4. Global Lithium-ion Battery Market Outlook
5. Asia Pacific Lithium-ion Battery Market Outlook
6. North America Lithium-ion Battery Market Outlook
7. Europe Lithium-ion Battery Market Outlook
8. South America Lithium-ion Battery Market Overview
9. Middle East and Africa Lithium-ion Battery Market Outlook
10. Global Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt (Li-NMC) Battery Market Outlook
11. Global Lithium Iron Phosphate (Li-IP) Battery Market Outlook
12. Global Lithium Cobalt Oxide (Li-CO) Battery Market Outlook
13. Global Lithium Titanate Battery Market Outlook
14. Industry Stakeholder Analysis
15. Value Chain Analysis
16. Market Attractiveness Index
17. Market Dynamics
18. Markets Trends & Developments
19. Competitive Landscape
20. Strategic Recommendations
Companies Mentioned
- A123 Systems LLC
- Advanced Battery Technologies Inc.
- Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc.
- Amperex Technology Limited
- Automotive Energy Supply Corporation
- BYD Company Limited
- China BAK Battery, Inc.
- Daimler AG
- GS Yuasa Corp
- Hitachi Ltd
- Johnson Controls Inc.
- LG Chem Ltd
- Panasonic Corporation
- Saft Groupe SA
- Samsung SDI
- Siemens Energy Management
- Sony Corp
- Tesla Motors, Inc.
- Toshiba Corp
- Valence Technology Inc.
- XALT Energy LLC
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/3qnbnb/global
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
WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Globalization Partners International (GPI), a leading provider of document, software and website translation services, announced today it will be presenting a Sitecore Summer School Webinar entitled "Adopting the Right Approach to Website Translation". The webinar will run sessions on August 17th at 10 a.m. GMT (6 a.m. EST) and 3 p.m. GMT (11 a.m. EST).
Digital marketing and content management system professionals can sign up at: http://www.sitecoresummerschool.com/.
"The Sitecore Experience Platform is ideal for authoring and publishing multi-language websites that allow customers around the world to engage in their native languages," says Natalie Williams, Global Digital Marketing Manager, GPI. "The GPI webinar will discuss several different approaches when managing multi-language websites within Sitecore, so viewers can understand the process, implications and alternatives and compare the relative trade-offs of various website localization workflows using Sitecore."
GPI's Sitecore Summer School Webinar will cover:
Overview of website localization process
Import/export processes for Sitecore content translation workflows
Pros and cons of each website translation workflow
Using a translation connector plug-in for Sitecore
"The Sitecore Summer School will host over 80 webinars on a range of topics including commerce, content management, context marketing, contextual intelligence, email marketing, mobile experience, optimization, personalization, social and managing content at scale," says West Gass, Senior Director, North American Marketing, Sitecore. "The GPI webinar is geared toward any professional who is part of a Sitecore website localization project team including both digital marketing and CMS technical staff."
About Globalization Partners International (GPI)
Globalization Partners International, LLC provides document, software and website translation services into over 100 languages including Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. GPI specializes in helping clients launch and manage multilingual websites, configure web content management systems (WCMS), deploy Translation Services Connectors and Plug-ins, as well as provides website localization and global search engine marketing services. For more information please visit www.translationplugin.com or www.globalizationpartners.com.
About Sitecore
Sitecore is the global leader in experience management software that enables context marketing. The Sitecore Experience Platform manages content, supplies contextual intelligence, and automates communications, at scale. It empowers marketers to deliver content in context of how customers have engaged with their brand, across every channel, in real time. More than 4,600 customersincluding American Express, Carnival Cruise Lines, easyJet, and L'Orealtrust Sitecore for context marketing to deliver the personalized interactions that delight audiences, build loyalty, and drive revenue. For more information, follow us at @sitecore or visit: sitecore.net.
Contact:
Natalie Williams
[email protected]
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SOURCE Globalization Partners International
Related Links
http://www.globalizationpartners.com
The Buick Y-Job was created under the direction of GM's legendary design chief, Harley J. Earl. The car was described at the time as a "convertible coupe" hand-built on a custom Buick chassis and powered by a Buick Series 50 engine with special experimental features. The Y-Job foreshadowed many design features that were adopted over the next several decades. The low and wider design eliminated the need for running boards and improved stability. The car incorporated 13" wheels and brakes with features used on airplanes at the time. The body was beautifully streamlined and extended front fenders into doors. The rear of the car featured a fully concealed convertible top, boat tail design, and the hint of the tailfins that became iconic design elements of cars in the 1950s. The grill was far lower and wider than what was typical of the period and included novel retractable headlamps. The hood was described as "alligator-type" of one piece that was a departure from the two piece hoods from the time.
"Harley Earl and the Buick Y-Job expanded the boundaries of car design and drew the blueprint for concept vehicle design and execution," said GM Global Design Vice President Michael Simcoe. "We thank the HVA for ensuring the world's first concept car is documented and preserved for future generations."
The Buick Y-Job was documented during the grand opening of the HVA National Laboratory in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The laboratory is a pristine, purpose-built, state-of-the art facility for automotive photography, photogrammetry, 3D scanning, videography and the HVA's growing physical and digital archives. The laboratory was built to standardize and streamline the expansion of the National Historic Vehicle Register program.
The laboratory environment includes a large 40 ft. x 40 ft. white room with infinity walls on all sides and turntable integrated into the floor to efficiently rotate historic automobiles during photography. The facility is believed to be the only facility of its kind in the world. The work done here will provide current and future generations a highly detailed, accurate and consistent record of some of the nation's most significant automotive treasures.
"The Buick Y-Job is a true American design treasure and an incredibly appropriate vehicle to document during our National Laboratory grand opening," said HVA President Mark Gessler.
The HVA National Laboratory is located adjacent to the 27 Acre NB Center for American Automotive Heritage that includes a half-mile circular track, conference facilities and full-time staff dedicated to automotive restoration, preservation and collection curation. The HVA recently used the track facility to record movement and sounds of the first Camaro built and Thomas Flyer that won the New York to Paris Round the World Race in 1908.
The design, development, construction and ongoing maintenance of the HVA National Laboratory have been underwritten through the generous support of the NB Center for American Automotive Heritage.
The documentation of the Buick Y-Job on the National Historic Vehicle Register is being organized by the Historic Vehicle Association and underwritten by the GM Design Center, Hagerty, and Shell (including their Pennzoil and Quaker State brands).
For additional images, click here
About the Historic Vehicle Association
The HVA is dedicated to preserving and sharing America's automotive heritage. In 2014, the HVA established the National Historic Vehicle Register. Working with the U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Heritage Documentation Programs and Library of Congress, their aim is to document historically significant automobiles in America's past. The HVA is supported by over 400,000 individual historic vehicle owners, key stakeholders and corporations such as Shell (including their Pennzoil and Quaker State brands), Hagerty, American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, as well as individual benefactors. Please visit: historicvehicle.org
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SOURCE Historic Vehicle Association
Related Links
https://www.historicvehicle.org
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Aug. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Last week, the Venezuelan government seized control of Guardian's operations in Venezuela by military force.
Guardian has operated proudly in Venezuela for decades. We have been fully committed to ensuring the safety of our employees, and have acted in compliance with all applicable laws and with respect for the community.
The safety of the employees and management of Guardian de Venezuela's operations are now in the control of the Venezuelan government.
About Guardian Industries Corp.:
Guardian Industries Corp. is a privately held, diversified, global company headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Guardian, and its family of companies, employ 17,000 people and operate facilities throughout North America, Europe, South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, with a vision to create value for customers and society through constant innovation using fewer resources. Guardian Glass is a leading international manufacturer of float, value-added, and fabricated glass products and solutions for architectural, residential, interior, transportation and technical glass applications. SRG Global is one of the world's largest manufacturers of advanced, high value coatings on plastics for the automotive, commercial truck and consumer goods industries, providing solutions for greater surface durability, structural integrity, functionality, vehicle efficiency and design flexibility. Guardian Building Products is a leading U.S. based distributor of specialty building products. Visit www.guardian.com.
SOURCE Guardian Industries Corp.
Related Links
http://www.guardian.com
PARSIPPANY, N.J., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Guidemark Health, a full-service, healthcare communications agency, announced today its Chief Behavioral and Engagement Officer, Fred Petito, has been named to the prestigious PharmaVOICE 100 list of the most inspiring leaders in the healthcare sector.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160801/394666
Selected from among hundreds of colleague- and client-submitted nominees, Petito was recognized for his positive contributions to the life-sciences industry, most notably his innovations in integrating behavioral insights, analytics, and emerging media into brand experiences.
In 2015, under Fred Petito's guidance, Guidemark Health launched Praedicis, a proprietary methodology that draws on decades of research from the social, cognitive, and decision sciences to more deeply understand the factors influencing the decisions and behaviors of all healthcare constituents.
A recent presenter at the Cannes Lions Health Festival, Fred Petito is a seasoned digital and multichannel marketer with nearly 20 years' experience planning and implementing communications programs for clients in a range of industries and at leading agencies such as Ogilvy, Grey, R/GA, and Young & Rubicam.
Petito is the third Guidemark Health leader to be honored as a PharmaVOICE 100. Both CEO, Matt Brown, and CCO, Tina Fascetti, were honorees in 2014. Petito's award was announced in the July/August 2016 issue of PharmaVOICE magazine.
Guidemark Health is a midsize, full-service, healthcare communications agency headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, with multiple offices strategically located along the pharmaceutical corridor from Stamford, Connecticut, to Princeton, New Jersey. With decades of experience, knowledge, and passion for healthcare communications, our mission is to guide our clients through the challenges of building lasting connections with customers. Through innovative, inspiring, and creative engagement strategies combined with extraordinary content, we deliver meaningful healthcare experiences that change lives for the better.
Contact Matt Brown (201-740-6160/Email) or Vic Zambrotta (201-740-6104) for more information. Visit Guidemark Health online, www.guidemarkhealth.com.
SOURCE Guidemark Health
Related Links
http://www.guidemarkhealth.com
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hankook Tire participated in DAV's (Disabled American Veterans) 95th National Convention in Atlanta yesterday, demonstrating its continued partnership with DAV and commitment to supporting the veteran community. At the Convention, Hankook Tire Vice Chairman and CEO Seung Hwa Suh met with President Barack Obama at an exclusive meet and greet prior to President Obama's keynote speech at the convention. President Obama's keynote speech underscored the obligation to ensure America's veterans receive the benefits they've earned through military service, and Hankook is proud to support DAV's mission to fulfill this promise.
Hankook, one of the fastest growing tire companies in the world, continues to build its U.S. presence and increase its support for America's veterans ahead of the impending opening of Hankook's first U.S. plant in Clarksville, Tenn. To further recognize the men and women who have served our country, Hankook hosts the Hankook Heroes recognition program through Aug. 7, where anyone can share a photo and brief story about their military hero to the online gallery at HankookHeroes.com, which also enters the hero for a chance to receive a set of Hankook tires.
"Hankook is dedicated to honoring veterans and helping provide them with access to the benefits and services they deserve," said Seung Hwa Suh, vice chairman and CEO, Hankook Tire. "Now in the second year of our partnership with DAV, we're honored to have been able to participate in DAV's National Convention, and recognize veterans for their service and the sacrifices they have made."
As part of Hankook's partnership with DAV, Hankook will utilize mobility to help bring free services to veterans of all generations where they live, by hosting four of this year's DAV Mobile Service Office (MSO) stops. The DAV MSO vehicle will be at the following locations this fall: Discount Tire in Phoenix on Sept. 14; Gateway Tire in Gallatin, Tenn. on Sept. 15; Gateway Tire in Clarksville, Tenn. on Sept. 16; and CJ's Tire in Philadelphia on Oct. 12. Additionally, Hankook is sponsoring 10 of DAV's RecruitMilitary veteran job fairs, as well as the DAV 5K Atlanta on Nov. 5.
"We're so appreciative of Hankook's growing partnership with DAV and value their involvement in this year's convention," said Marc Burgess, DAV National Adjutant and CEO. "With Hankook's continued partnership, we're able to better serve more and more veterans every year."
For more information on Hankook and DAV's continued partnership visit dav.org/hankook.
About Hankook Tire America Corp.
Hankook Tire America Corp. is a growing leader in the U.S. tire market, leveraging investments in technology, manufacturing and marketing to deliver high quality, reliable products that are safer for consumers and the environment. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Hankook Tire markets and distributes a complete line of high performance and ultra-high performance passenger tires, light truck, SUV tires, as well as medium truck and bus tires in the United States.
About DAV
DAV is a nonprofit charity that provides a lifetime of support for veterans of all generations and their families, helping more than 1 million veterans in positive, life-changing ways each year. It provides more than 700,000 rides for veterans attending medical appointments annually, assists veterans with more than 300,000 claims for benefits and helped them attain more than $4 billion in new and retroactive benefits in 2015 so they can care for their families. DAV is also a leader in connecting veterans with meaningful employment, hosting job fairs and providing resources to ensure they have the opportunity to participate in the American Dream their sacrifices made possible. With 1.3 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters, DAV empowers our nation's heroes, their families and survivors with the resources they need and ensures our nation keeps the promises made to them. For more information, please visit www.DAV.org.
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SOURCE Hankook Tire America Corp.
LONDON, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Helen Doron, the Leader in English as a Second Language Franchising, Readies to Meet Global Growth in the Educational Franchising Sector
When the last shipment of Helen Doron English supplies for the 2016-2017 school year has been sent, over one million back-to-school supplies will reach Helen Doron English students from 36 countries across 5 continents. More than 150,000 student learning sets, filled with backpacks, books and CDs will have been wrapped, sorted, packaged and labelled to meet the demand. The company forecasts a 10% growth in student numbers since last summer's shipments.
"What began in 1985 as a small business stocked with home-made materials has grown to a full-scale warehouse operation that meets the pedagogic needs of the company's 90 Master Franchisors, 900 franchisees and 4000 active teachers," Judith Pelli, Chief Operations Officer, remarks. "The warehouse accommodates all the educational items used in Helen Doron English's extensive curriculum including books and workbooks filled with original augmented reality that supplement our exclusive apps."
The warehouse's broad inventory contains props, dolls, flashcards, CDs and DVDs filled with original and innovative songs and stories to supplement a rich and varied educational curriculum for students, ages 3 months to 19 years. The home-based business has grown into a global leader with a reputation for innovation and excellence.
"Helen Doron has added France to its list of franchised countries and continues to expand throughout Asia," adds Anne Gordon, Vice President of Customer Business Development. "The growing demand for high quality English courses for children to supplement existing school English programmes, as well as pre-schoolers looking to become bilingual, continue to fuel Helen Doron English's impressive growth."
Find out more about Helen Doron English at http://www.HelenDoron.com
About the Helen Doron Educational Group
The Helen Doron Educational Group stands at the forefront of innovative educational systems, providing exclusive learning programmes and quality educational materials for babies, children and adolescents the world over since 1985. The company's flagship franchise, Helen Doron English, along with Helen Doron Kindergarten, MathRiders, Ready Steady Move! franchises today encompass almost 900 learning centres in over 36 countries in Europe, Asia and South America. Today, more than two million children have learnt with the unique Helen Doron methodology.
The Helen Doron Educational Group invites entrepreneurs to join a successful business operation that benefits children around the world. Visit us at http://www.helendorongroup.com
Contact
Marilyn Glazier
Social Media Manager
+972-523858518
[email protected]
SOURCE Helen Doron Educational Group
"The careful selection of artists and works for our anniversary exhibit reflect the gallery's distinct philosophical and aesthetic approach as well as key values that have guided us since inception," said Todd Hosfelt "This includes a fearless commitment to artists whose work may be challenging or beyond current trends. We also look for artists who understand history be it artistic, literary, social, political or intellectual and from that place, make work that is entirely original. Through their understanding of the past, they shed light on the present and open a window onto the future."
The exhibition will open on Saturday, September 10, 2016 with a public reception from 4 to 6 pm, and can be seen at Hosfelt Gallery through October 8, 2016. The gallery is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10 am-5:30 pm, and Thursday 11 am-7 pm. Private appointments are also available by calling 415-495-5454. For more information, including photos and a description of the exhibition, visit www.hosfeltgallery.com.
About Hosfelt Gallery
Founded 20 years ago -- in September of 1996 -- Hosfelt Gallery has distinguished itself as a pioneer, both in its consistent introductions of exceptional new artists from around the world, and its unconventional exhibition spaces. Hosfelt Gallery's trailblazing move to its current location established the nucleus of what is now San Francisco's newest and most vibrant arts district, DoReMi. With 9,000 square feet of sky-lit exhibition space in a former door factory, the gallery's integration of distinctive contemporary design with unaltered remnants of the building's prior function mirrors its programmatic emphasis on innovative expression born out of a deep understanding of social, political, and/or cultural history. In 2015, Hosfelt Gallery founded the first Digital Media Conservation Lab to address the growing need for the preservation of digital and electronic art. Hosfelt Gallery is a member of the Art Dealers Association of America. For information on current and upcoming exhibitions and artists represented, visit www.hosfeltgallery.com.
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SOURCE Hosfelt Gallery
Related Links
http://www.hosfeltgallery.com
Donald Trump
Donald Trump took to Twitter on Monday in an attempt to clear up a statement he made on ABC's "This Week" that Russia was "not going to go into Ukraine."
"When I said in an interview that Putin is 'not going into Ukraine, you can mark it down,' I am saying if I am President," the Republican nominee tweeted. "Already in Crimea!"
"So with all of the Obama tough talk on Russia and the Ukraine, they have already taken Crimea and continue to push," he added. "That's what I said!"
The Manhattan billionaire's comments, which appeared to mean Russia would not advance farther into Ukraine under a Trump administration, came after ABC host George Stephanopoulos corrected Trump mid-interview after he made an incorrect assertion about Russian involvement in Ukraine.
Trump asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not going to invade Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels and some Russian special forces have been operating for several years, despite Putin's reluctance to acknowledge any role.
"He's not going into Ukraine, just so you understand. He's not going to go to Ukraine," Trump said.
"Well, he's already there, isn't he?" Stephanopoulos replied.
Trump responded by both criticizing the US' decision not to intervene to stop the annexation of Crimea, a former Ukrainian territory seized by Russia in 2014, and noting that many citizens of Crimea were allegedly supportive of Russia's decision to invade.
"Well, he's there in a certain way, but I'm not there. You have Obama there," Trump said. "And frankly that part of the world is mess, under Obama. With all the strength that you're talking about, and with all the power of NATO, and all of this, in the mean time, [Putin] takes Crimea."
"You know, the people of Crimea, from what I've heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were, and you have to look at that also," he added.
Earlier in the interview, he shrugged off his campaign's influence in removing a provision of the Republican Party platform that would've advocated providing arms to Ukraine to defend itself from Russian aggression.
Story continues
"I was not involved in that," he said. "I'd have to take a look at it, but I was not involved in that."
Trump has come under scrutiny this past week for his relationship with Russia following his suggestion that Russian hackers find emails that Hillary Clinton deleted after serving as secretary of state. He claimed he was just being sarcastic.
Maxwell Tani contributed to this report.
NOW WATCH: Trump now says he never met Putin here's footage of when he said the opposite
More From Business Insider
NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM will be a Founding Global Sponsor of Out Leadership's initiative OutWOMEN, which convenes LGBT women in business, for 2016, the companies announced today.
"We estimate that only about 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs, and fewer than 1% of FTSE 250 CEOs are women," said Out Leadership Managing Director Stephanie Sandberg. "Of the Financial Times' 2015 list of global leading LGBT executives, only 24% were women. But we know that diversity in senior leadership improves corporate performance and market opportunities. OutWOMEN seeks to give leading LGBT women a platform to champion their accomplishments, as well as to foster future generations of female leadership who will drive both equality and business results."
OutWOMEN launched in March 2016 in response to a perceived desire for connection and role models among LGBT women in business. The initiative hosts private dinners for senior-level executive women to convene in cities around the globe, including New York, Hong Kong, and London. OutWOMEN also hosts breakfasts and lunch panels at Out Leadership global summits, which are open to women with less executive seniority.
"At IBM, we support the business case for executive diversity and LGBT representation," said Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, IBM Chief Diversity Officer. "The company has been committed to gender equality and LGBT-inclusivity for decades, and we look forward to working with OutWOMEN and furthering our position as a global leader in workplace diversity and inclusion."
ABOUT OUT LEADERSHIP
Out Leadership is a global LGBT business advisory that partners with the world's most influential companies to build business opportunities, cultivate talent, and drive LGBT equality forward. We believe that LGBT inclusion positively impacts business results, and that including LGBT people at the most senior level of executive leadership builds business. We call this idea Return on Equality.
Comprised of 72 member firms from the financial services, technology, legal and insurance industries, and dedicated to cross-industry collaboration, Out Leadership is a certified B Corporation. Out Leadership operates two industry-specific business initiatives: Out on the Street and Out in Law, and three talent initiatives: Quorum, which aims to increase LGBT representation on corporate boards; OutNEXT, the first global talent development program for emerging LGBT leaders; and OutWOMEN, connecting senior level LGBT women in business.
For more information, please visit www.outleadership.com
For more information about IBM, go to IBM.com/diversity
SOURCE Out Leadership
NEW YORK, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Rising construction and infrastructure development activities coupled with growing urbanization and commercialization to drive India naphthalene and polycarboxylate (PCE) admixtures market through 2021
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According to TechSci Research report, "Ind ia Naphthalene and PCE based Admixtures Market By Type, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2011 - 2021", naphthalene and polycarboxylate (PCE) admixtures market in India is projected to reach US$ 683 million by 2021. Strong growth in construction sector, increasing government emphasis on infrastructure development and implementation of stringent regulatory norms is expected to continue boosting demand for naphthalene and polycarboxylate (PCE) based admixtures in India over the next five years. Government of India announced plans to invest US$14.7 billion for development of 100 smart cities and 500 cities under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) program. Additionally, under "Housing for All by 2022" scheme, government plans to construct houses in rural areas of the country. This is projected to drive demand for concrete admixtures in India through 2021. Few of the major naphthalene and PCE based admixtures manufacturers operating in the country include BASF, SIKA and Fosroc, among others.
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Real estate sector in India stood at US$113.4 billion and is expected to reach US$158 billion by 2017, on account of increasing construction of multi-storey residential buildings as well as non-residential buildings including hospitals, educational institutions and offices. Easing FDI norms in the construction sector is also positively influencing demand for naphthalene and PCE based admixtures in India. In 2015, infrastructure sector in India was valued at around US$ 93 billion and the sector is expected to grow further on account of increasing government investments. In the Union Budget, 2016-2017, Government of India has planned an outlay of US$ 14.5 billion for the road sector. On account of large investments being made on infrastructural developments, demand for construction material as well as concrete admixtures is expected to increase through 2021.
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"India concrete admixture market is dominated by PCE based admixtures due to their ability to provide relatively higher strength to concrete, durability to structures and reduce water consumption in construction materials as compared to naphthalene based concrete admixtures. PCE based concrete admixtures are preferred over naphthalene based as they can be used with various grades of concrete. Additionally, increasing shortage of residential facilities in metropolitan cities has propelled construction of multi-storey residential buildings and this is accelerating consumption of PCE based admixtures in the country.", said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm.
"India Naphthalene and PCE based Admixtures Market By Type, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2011 - 2021" has evaluated the future growth potential of India naphthalene and polycarboxylate (PCE) admixtures market and provides statistics and information on market size, structure and future market growth. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes the emerging trends along with essential drivers, challenges and opportunities in India naphthalene and polycarboxylate (PCE) admixtures market.
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SOURCE TechSci Research
LONDON, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Inline Policy, the consultancy for innovative and fast-growing businesses looking to engage with Government has launched a specialist Brexit Advisory Unit following the result of the recent referendum.
The Brexit Advisory Unit will work with organisations to advise them on how the impact of Brexit will affect their business, including policy and regulatory implications. The 10 strong team will work with clients to engage with the Government and relevant policymakers, ensuring that their voice is heard to help shape the negotiation and transition process.
The unit will be headed up by William Bain: EU expert, former shadow minister, and Parliamentarian. William brings extensive knowledge of key economic, strategic, and regulatory matters having been a member of the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, with particular interests in industrial and financial services policies. The team has considerable experience across Government, business and commercial activity in the UK and EU with specialised regulatory expertise in London and Brussels.
William Bain, said: "The next few years will see significant change in how UK businesses trade, operate, invest, employ people, and use data, as the UK prepares to depart from the EU and build new relationships in Europe and around the world.
"The process of leaving the EU could mean that the future of passporting for UK financial services businesses across the Single Market area will be on the table for debate. We also wait to see what the climate for jobs, trade and investment will be in the UK once the new journey outside of EU membership begins."
Shomik Panda, Inline's Managing Director, said: "Inline's Brexit Advisory Unit will work with businesses to help steer them through this time of significant change in our economy. UK businesses now have a unique opportunity to help shape a post-Brexit regulatory environment that will promote innovation, jobs and growth. We will work alongside our clients to ensure they are in the best possible position to be part of the conversation with the key decision makers."
About Inline Policy
Inline Policy (@InlinePolicy) based in London and Brussels is a political consultancy for innovative and fast-growing businesses. Based in London and Brussels, it advises clients on policy and regulatory issues across global markets, with expertise at local, national and international levels.
The Brexit Advisory Unit works with organisations to advise on policy and regulatory implications of the EU withdrawal process. The team has experience across Government, business and commercial activity in the UK and EU with specialised regulatory expertise in London and Brussels. Working alongside its clients, Inline Policy provides advice on the impact of Brexit, helping to execute effective engagement campaigns with Government to ensure opinions are heard by policymakers.
William Bain joined Inline Policy in March 2016 having spent five and a half years serving as Member of Parliament for Glasgow North East. He was also a member of the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, with particular interests in economic, industrial, and financial services policies. Prior to this, he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State, Sadiq Khan, at the Department for Transport in 2010, and served as Shadow Minister for Transport; Food, Farming and Fisheries; and Scotland, after the 2010 General Election. Before entering Parliament he was a senior lecturer in Public and EU Law at London South Bank University and also taught at other institutions in the higher education sector.
Contact: Lianne Robinson, [email protected]
SOURCE Inline Policy
ST. PAUL, Minn. and NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Innovative Blood Resources (IBR) and New York Blood Center (NYBC) announced today that they are combining their operations to create one of the nation's leading blood centers, serving patients and hospitals in the Northeast, Midwest and nationally.
The combination of the strengths of IBR and NYBC provides the opportunity for greater breadth of services, efficiency and financial stability. The goal is to continue to provide the highest level of blood and hematology related products and services in a fast-changing environment for community blood centers nationwide.
The new partnership with IBR comes on the heels of NYBC's highly successful 2014 alliance with Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City (CBC).
IBR is one of the leading blood centers in the Midwest. IBR was formed in 2012 through the combination of two strong, nationally recognized, community-based nonprofit blood centers: Minnesota-based Memorial Blood Centers and Nebraska Community Blood Bank. With a combined 100 years of blood industry experience, IBR provides comprehensive product and service capabilities focusing on value-driven solutions for patients, hospitals, physicians, researchers, and other health care partners.
Andrew Detlefsen, Chair of IBR's Board of Directors, said: "We are very pleased with the partnership with New York Blood Center and what it means for Innovative Blood Resources' donors, partners, hospitals, volunteers, staff, and supporters. The depth and strength of the NYBC organization will enhance IBR's service offerings, and lead to future growth for the combined organization."
"The clinical and research strength of New York Blood Center is unparalleled, and I look forward to working with their incredible team of professionals," Donald C. Berglund, M.H.A., Chief Executive Officer of Innovative Blood Resources, said. "Our combined organization will benefit IBR in many ways, and I look forward to developing the next chapter in serving our communities with a safe and reliable blood supply."
New York Blood Center Chairman Howard P. Milstein said: "IBR is an ideal partner for our Center, and we welcome them to the NYBC family. As the market for blood services and products evolves, we believe this combination will be of great benefit to both organizations as we continue to provide the highest quality blood products, services and cutting-edge research and development."
Christopher D. Hillyer, M.D., President and CEO of NYBC, said: "We're extremely pleased to be partnering with such an excellent blood center. NYBC and IBR have a remarkable alignment of mission, vision and talent. We look forward to working together to ensure the finest customer-focused service for our hospitals and patients."
Mark Schmidtlein, NYBC board member and former Chairman of CBC, said: "We in Kansas City are excited to have our Midwest neighbors join our family. Based on our very successful partnership with NYBC, we know that our combined organizations will bring great benefit to patients in all the communities we serve."
IBR's donors and volunteers will continue to receive the excellent service they've come to expect from the organization. Moreover, hospital customers will have access to an even broader range of blood products and services as a result of the partnership. The long-term goal of both organizations will be to maximize the operational synergies between the two organizations to the benefit of all members of the community.
In an exciting expansion of IBR offerings, NYBC's cutting-edge medical, laboratory and testing services are expected to become part of the organization's offering to current and future customers.
About Innovative Blood Resources
Innovative Blood Resources is a non-profit community blood center that was formed in 2012 through the combination of two strong, nationally-recognized, community-based nonprofit blood centers: Minnesota-based Memorial Blood Centers, and Nebraska Community Blood Bank. With a combined 100 years of blood industry experience, IBR provides comprehensive product and service capabilities focusing on value-driven solutions for patients, hospitals, physicians, researchers, and other health care partners.
IBR is also home to IBR Biomedical Services, which grew from the nationally recognized research and clinical trial contributions of Memorial Blood Centers' physicians and clinicians in blood banking and transfusion services. IBR Biomedical Services offers expertise in the areas of cellular therapy, clinical trial support, as well as regulatory and quality systems consulting.
Website: www.innovativebloodresources.org
About New York Blood Center
Now more than 50 years old, New York Blood Center (NYBC) is one of the largest independent, nonprofit community-based blood centers in the country, serving the more than 25 million people who live in the New York metropolitan area. Each year, NYBC provides approximately one million blood products to nearly 200 hospitals in the Northeast. In addition, Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City (CBC) serves hospitals in the Kansas City metropolitan area, as well as eastern Kansas and western Missouri. CBC provides nearly 200,000 blood products per year to approximately 70 area hospitals.
NYBC also provides a wide array of transfusion-related medical services. NYBC is also home to the world's largest public cord blood bank, which provides stem cells for transplant in many countries, and a renowned research institute, which-among other milestones-developed the Hepatitis B vaccine and innovative blood purification technology.
Website: www.nybloodcenter.org
SOURCE New York Blood Center
Related Links
http://www.nybloodcenter.org
Ekhteraei, who created a program to teach English to low-income students in her native Iran, recently graduated from the George School, a private school in Newtown, Pennsylvania. She will soon enter the University of Southern California.
Park created a nonprofit organization that has sent e-readers and more than 33,000 e-books to low-income children in six countries, along with schools and youth crisis centers in the U.S. He recently completed 8th grade at Harris Road Middle School in Concord, North Carolina. He will enroll in the Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, for the fall semester.
"At an age when many young people are preparing for future accomplishments, Olya Yarychkivska, Setareh Ekhteraei and Samuel Park have already accomplished great things and changed lives for the better with their dedication to helping others," Levy said. "We're proud of them and proud that the Cooke Foundation's investment in their educations has benefited so many others. And I'm confident they will accomplish many more great things in the future."
The Matthew J. Quinn Prize, named to honor the Cooke Foundation's founding executive director, is given annually to one or more Cooke Scholars currently in college or graduate school, or to Cooke alumni. The Matthew J. Quinn Youth Leadership Award is given annually to one or more current Cooke Young Scholars.
Here is more information on the Cooke Scholars honored this year:
Olya Yarychkivska has received both a Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship and a Cooke Graduate Scholarship. She holds an associate degree in biological sciences from Manor College near Philadelphia, a bachelor's degree in biological sciences from Drexel University in Philadelphia, two master's degrees in genetics and development from Columbia University, and expects to receive her doctorate in genetics and development from Columbia later this year. She hopes to devote her career to saving lives by finding cures for devastating diseases.
In 2014 Yarychkivska helped found the non-profit organization Razom (meaning "together" in Ukrainian), which organized an international network of more than 200 volunteers to work to rebuild democracy and civil society in Ukraine. The group led rallies outside the U.N. and met with diplomats at the U.N. from many countries to discuss the Russian annexation of Crimea and human rights issues. It has also provided food assistance to families displaced by fighting and to families of soldiers who have died.
Yarychkivska said she became an activist because she was inspired by the example of other Cooke Scholars "to do something to change the world and help people."
Setareh Ekhteraei teaches English during summers in her native country of Iran to low-income students and has collected school supplies to bring to the children, working with the SoLook Charity. In addition, she designed a curriculum and created educational booklets for her students and keeps in touch with them during the school year by phone. She has also tutored students in Spanish at the George School.
Samuel Park founded 1KL, an organization "that strives to make a change in the world by giving e-books and educational software on e-readers and PCs to kids in need." He has also volunteered and raised funds for a number of charitable causes, including schools and orphanages in Africa, as well as charities in North Carolina.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. It offers the largest scholarships in the U.S., comprehensive counseling and other support services to students from 8th grade to graduate school. Since 2000 it has awarded about $147 million in scholarships to more than 2,000 students and $90 million in grants to organizations that serve outstanding low-income students. www.jkcf.org
Media Contact: David Egner
202-779-1743
[email protected]
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei3L_eg6Tdw
SOURCE Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
Related Links
http://www.jkcf.org
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Researchers have successfully tested a new method for the early diagnosis in children and teenagers of diabetic nephropathy, a serious complication of diabetes that can increase risk of death. This new method, unveiled today at the 68th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo, would help pediatric patients get necessary treatment in a more timely manner.
Diabetic nephropathy affects 2040% of type 1 and 2 diabetic patients. In type 1 diabetic patients who have progressed to the final stages of nephropathy, kidney failure eventually develops in 50% of individuals within 10 years after the onset of overt nephropathy and in >75% by the 20 year mark. Currently, this condition is diagnosed through the detection of increased urinary albumin excretion, but a growing body of evidence suggests that the risk for developing diabetic nephropathy starts when urinary albumin excretion levels are still within the normal range. If the onset of nephropathy could be detected before urinary albumin rises, patients could potentially be placed on treatment to prevent its development.
A team of researchers led by Ioannis Papassotiriou, PhD, of Aghia Sophia Children's Hospital in Athens, Greece, has determined that two proteinsgrowth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) and chitinase-3-like protein 1 (YKL-40)could be used to detect diabetic nephropathy early. In 56 type 1 diabetes patients ages 915 and 49 healthy controls ages 619, the researchers tested for GDF-15 and YKL-40 at time of enrollment in the study and after 1215 months. Also at these two time points, they evaluated subjects' kidney function by measuring cystatin C to determine estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and measuring neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL).
After 1215 months, the researchers found that GDF-15 levels in diabetes patients were significantly higher (366.7 pg/mL) than in healthy controls (278.6 pg/mL). Initially, no significant difference in YKL-40 measurements was observed between diabetes patients and controls at time of enrollment, but over the course of the study, mean YKL-40 levels in diabetes patients proceeded to increase (from 17.4 ng/mL to 20.5 ng/mL). GDF-15 levels also correlated negatively with eGFR values, while YKL-40 levels correlated positively with NGAL and GDF-15, indicating that rises in both proteins reflect a decline in kidney function.
"This is the first study to demonstrate a predictive role for serum GDF-15 and YKL-40 as early markers of diabetic nephropathy in children and adolescents with [type 1 diabetes] before severe overt nephropathy occurs," said Papassotiriou. "Defining new predictors as supplementary tests to urinary albumin excretion for the early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy could accelerate effective management and treatment approaches needed to minimize the rates of severe renal morbidity and mortality in young patients with [type 1 diabetes]."
In addition to this study, researchers will present the latest in diabetes testing at the AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo, including:
Preliminary findings that circular RNAs could potentially predict the development of metabolic disease during pregnancywhich primarily includes gestational diabetes and hypertensive disease of pregnancybefore its onset. " CircRNAs in metabolic disease during pregnancy " (A-138)
Research showing that changes in the criteria used to diagnose gestational diabetes in pregnant women could eliminate unnecessary confirmatory glucose tolerance testing in 198 patients annually. " Modified fasting glucose cutpoints reduce unnecessary tolerance testing in pregnant women from a large urban and rural population " (A-155)
A new study investigating how five testing systems for hemoglobin A1c (a biochemical marker used for the management of diabetes) perform in patients who are missing hemoglobin A, the precursor to hemoglobin A1c. "Do samples without HbA have detected HbA1c?" (A-129)
Session Information
AACC Annual Scientific Meeting registration is free for members of the media. Reporters can register online here: https://www.xpressreg.net/register/aacc0716/media/landing.asp
Abstract B-220: Evaluation of GDF-15 and YKL-40 as early markers of subclinical diabetic nephropathy and cardiovascular morbidity in young patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus will be presented during Session 33101: Breakthroughs in Maternal, Fetal, and Pediatric Medicine
Tuesday, August 2
10:30 a.m. Noon
Room 105AB
Scientific Posters A-129, A-138, and A-155
Tuesday, August 2
9:30 a.m. 5 p.m. (presenting authors in attendance from 12:301:30 p.m.)
Terrace Ballroom
All sessions and scientific posters will be presented at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.
About the 68th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo
The AACC Annual Scientific Meeting offers 5 days packed with opportunities to learn about exciting science from July 31August 4. Plenary sessions feature the latest research on the use of and testing for cannabis, combating premature death due to preventable causes such as tobacco and alcohol, the development of an "intelligent" surgical knife, programmable bio-nano-chips, and the epigenetic causes of disease.
At the AACC Clinical Lab Expo, more than 750 exhibitors will fill the show floor of Philadelphia's Pennsylvania Convention Center, with displays of the latest diagnostic technology, including but not limited to mobile health, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry, point-of-care, and automation.
About AACC
Dedicated to achieving better health through laboratory medicine, AACC brings together more than 50,000 clinical laboratory professionals, physicians, research scientists, and business leaders from around the world focused on clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry, translational medicine, lab management, and other areas of progressing laboratory science. Since 1948, AACC has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing programs that advance scientific collaboration, knowledge, expertise, and innovation. For more information, visit www.aacc.org.
Christine DeLong
AACC
Manager, Communications & PR
(p) 202.835.8722
[email protected]
Molly Polen
AACC
Director, Communications & PR
(p) 202.420.7612
(c) 703.598.0472
[email protected]
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SOURCE AACC
Related Links
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DENVER, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - (TSX: IMP) Intermap Technologies Corporation ("Intermap" or the "Company"), a leading provider of location-based solutions, today announces that Patrick A. Blott has been elected Chairman of the Board and Michael A. Hoehn has been elected as Chairman of the Audit Committee. John C. Curlander has resigned as a director of the Company effective July 29, 2016.
The Board of Directors of Intermap wishes to thank Mr. Curlander for his contributions on behalf of the Company.
"John has been a trusted advisor to the Intermap leadership team and every member of the board for nearly five years," said Todd Oseth, president and chief executive officer of Intermap. "We wish John the very best."
About Intermap Technologies
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Intermap is a leading provider of geospatial solutions on demand with its secure, cloud-based Orion Platform. Through its powerful suite of software applications and proprietary development of contiguous databases that fuse volumes of geospatial data into a single source, the Orion Platform is able to provide location-based solutions for customers in diverse markets around the world. For additional information, please visit www.intermap.com.
SOURCE Intermap Technologies Corporation
VANCOUVER, B.C., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Whether you are an entrepreneur or seasoned business professional, Steven Simonyi-Gindele's lifetime of experience provides new insight into the world of risk taking in business. In his upcoming book, he lays out the core principles that have guided his decision making through strategic partnerships, creative financing, and diverse business ventures.
Steven shares pragmatic information on:
- How to partner with the big players who initially don't wish to partner with you.
- How to cut out the middleman and be among the first to learn about new opportunities.
- Little known laws that open doors and how to find them.
- Secrets of Micro Investor Meet-Ups for learning critical information.
- How to publicize your successes so that investors flock to you.
- Why we are on the verge of a new oil boom and how to be an instant insider.
As a co-founder and director of early stage ventures from The Capitalist Reporter, Free Enterprise Magazine, Glamis Gold, Petrohunter Energy to CIS Technologies and Amswiss Scientific, Steven has spent his career taking calculated risks to become an expert in raising capital and team building. With the success of his most recent venture, iD Security Experts Inc., Steven has reflected on his career and feels it is time to pass along what he has learned about successful risk taking which could not be more applicable than it is today.
More about the Author
Born in Hungary, Steven Simonyi-Gindele escaped during the revolution and immigrated to Canada. Starting in his late teens, he launched a number of successful businesses and ventures in the U.S. and Canada. By age 26, he was a publisher and later an oil lease explorer in addition to launching numerous businesses in a variety of industries. Looking back on a half century of successes, Steven has great advice to share.
For more information on Steven's upcoming book, "Intelligent Risk", please visit www.intelligentrisktaker.com.
To interview Steven, contact:
Richard Berman
914-572-2707
Email
SOURCE Steven Simonyi-Gindele
NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- While the majority of advisory firms have seen their revenue levels stall, a group of "Elite" registered investment advisers have experienced significant growth as the result of superior and strategic management, according to the 2016 Elite RIA Study from InvestmentNews Research and BlackRock.
The 2016 study finds that the industry's largest and most productive RIAs increased their revenues by 23% over the last year, while the typical independent firm's business remained flat.
This year's study specifically highlights the primary drivers of this exceptional growth for industry's Elite RIAs, and also looks ahead at strategies that will likely drive future success in the business.
"While the regulatory environment and markets have created headwinds for most firms, the truly Elite RIAs are starting to pull away from the pack," said Mark Bruno, associate publisher of InvestmentNews. "They see an opportunity to differentiate their business right now whether it's through the services they deliver, or their internal operations and they are making aggressive moves to increase their market share."
In particular, the study notes that Elite RIAs are highly focused on going upstream with their client base, placing a clear emphasis on pursuing ultra-high-net-worth and institutional clients. At the same time, they are also strategically leveraging technology, and employing unique and scalable organizational structures that allow for superior client service and support as well as the potential to absorb new advisers and clients through mergers and acquisitions.
Key findings from the 2016 Elite RIA Study include:
Over the last year, the percentage of Elite RIAs that rely on teaming increased from 44% to 56%.
Elite RIAs are investing in dedicated operations and compliance specialists: Nearly twice as many Elite RIAs support a dedicated compliance role compared with all other firms (58% vs. 34%).
73% of Elite RIAs build and manage custom investment portfolios for each client, compared with 54% of all other firms a core part of their value proposition and competitive differentiators.
"Effective use of technology" (57% reporting) and "Growth and retention of existing clients" (51%) are the two factors most cited by Elite RIAs as the drivers of future success over the next 12-24 months.
One in four Elite RIAs are considering an acquisition in the next 12-18 months.
48% of advisers view robo technology as an opportunity, up from 39% just a year ago.
"The 2016 data is particularly noteworthy with regard to the deployment of technology and compliance," said Hollie Fagan, head of BlackRock's dedicated Registered Investment Advisor and Retail Investor Platforms. "Elite advisers have paid attention to an important lesson implicit in the continued emergence of robo-advisory: that technology, thoughtfully configured and deployed, can enhance the client experience and provide a critical tool with which to segment and scale a book of business."
"At the same time, Elite RIAs view the renewed focus on compliance resulting from the DOL's fiduciary rule-making as a significant opportunity, understanding that working with greater transparency and alignment is good for both their clients and the growth and vitality of their business," Fagan said.
Additionally, the 2016 Elite RIA Study provides both short- and long-term strategies for advisers to activate and take their businesses to "elite" levels. For more information and to download the study, visit InvestmentNews.com/2016elite
To support this research, a survey was distributed to InvestmentNews' audience between March 10 and May 10, 2016. We received responses from 401 firms. RIA-affiliated firms with (a) more than $250 million in assets under management and (b) that ranked in the 50th or higher percentile in a blended score of firm productivity metrics were deemed Elite RIAs.
About InvestmentNews Research
The mission of InvestmentNews Research is to provide financial advisers with the industry's most informative practice management studies and benchmarking reports. Our benchmarking studies are a leading source of market intelligence for advisory firms and industry partners, such as custodians, broker-dealers, service providers and professional organizations. In 2009, InvestmentNews acquired two bellwether benchmarking studies from Moss Adams LLP the Adviser Compensation & Staffing Study and the Financial Performance Study of Advisory Firms. We continue to improve and expand these two critical industry studies, while we have also introduced new studies, such as this study on Elite RIAs, that support the growth and development of financial advisory firms.
About BlackRock
BlackRock is a global leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients. At June 30, 2016, BlackRock's AUM was $4.890 trillion. BlackRock helps clients around the world meet their goals and overcome challenges with a range of products that include separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares (exchange-traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions. As of June 30, 2016, the firm had approximately 12,700 employees in more than 30 countries and a major presence in global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.blackrock.com | Twitter: @blackrock_news | Blog: www.blackrockblog.com | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock
Contact:
Mark Bruno
InvestmentNews
[email protected]
212-210-0116
SOURCE InvestmentNews
HOUSTON, Aug. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced that it will release its second quarter 2016 financial results on Wednesday, August 3, 2016 after the market closes. In conjunction with the release, ION has scheduled a conference call, which will be broadcast live over the Internet, for Thursday, August 4 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (9:00 a.m. Central Time).
What: ION Second Quarter 2016 Earnings Conference Call
When: Thursday, August 4, 2016 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time
How: Live via phone - By dialing (877) 407-0672 and asking for the ION call a few minutes prior to the start time.
Live over the Internet - by logging on to the web at the address below.
Where: http://investorrelations.i-o.com. The webcast, which will be accompanied by a slide presentation, can be accessed from the ION home page or by clicking on the link listed above.
For those who cannot listen to the live call, a telephonic replay will be available through August 18, 2016 and may be accessed by calling (877) 660-6853 using pass code 13640095#. Also, an archive of the webcast will be available shortly after the call on the company's website at http://investorrelations.i-o.com for approximately 12 months.
About ION
ION is a leading provider of technology-driven solutions to the global oil & gas industry. ION's offerings are designed to help companies reduce risk and optimize assets throughout the E&P lifecycle. For more information, visit www.iongeo.com.
Contact
Steve A. Bate
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
+1.281.552-3011
SOURCE ION Geophysical Corporation
Related Links
http://www.iongeo.com
Cloudride's e-juice flavors are developed by Jason Stevens who won the America's Classic James Beard Award in 2011 for his work as Executive Chef of Watts Tea Shop in Milwaukee. The James Beard Awards are the highest honor in the culinary space and commonly referred to as 'the Oscars for food'. Mr. Stevens has taken his passion for unique flavor combinations in an entirely new direction and injected a level of sophistication and quality heretofore unseen in the vape juice industry.
"Being a longtime smoker and chef, I was instantly intrigued at the possibilities provided by e-liquids," says Mr. Stevens. "I've always loved experimenting with different flavors and tastes, and I immediately gravitated towards making my own vape juice when I decided to switch from cigarettes to using a vaporizer. With Cloudride I feel like I'm giving people the opportunity to combine an exciting tasting experience with a better life choice and it has truly taken my creativity to new heights."
Available in 18 flavors between 2 distinct collections, Cloudride offers something for nearly every palate and budget. The C9 Collection is a premium offering of 6 one of a kind vape juice flavors like Tabac Elope, a cured Virginia tobacco mixed with cantaloupe and butterscotch, and Tale of Taro which blends the taro root with creme fraiche and strawberries. The Classic Collection offers a more economical choice of e-liquid with 12 crowd pleasing flavors like Chocolate Cake, Raspberry Lemonade, and Watermelon Menthol. All Cloudride flavors are free from diacetyl, acetoin, acetyl propionyl, and other diketones, and the company has pledged to comply with all FDA regulations both now and in the future.
Cloudride is now available to consumers directly at www.cloudridevapor.com and to interested retailers and distributors. The company has already secured numerous distribution deals and expects to be widely available in vape shops, convenience stores, and other retailers nationwide within the next few months.
ABOUT CLOUDRIDE
Cloudride is the first line of vape juice developed by a James Beard Award winning chef. We strive to make the best tasting and safest e-liquid available. Based in NJ, Cloudride e-liquid is 100% made in the USA and follows cGMP standards. With 18 flavors across 2 lines Cloudride has a taste for nearly every e-juice fan. Experience Cloudride for yourself at www.cloudridevapor.com.
Created by chefs. Tested by scientists. Loved by vapors.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160729/394118
SOURCE Cloudride
Related Links
http://www.cloudridevapor.com
HARRISON, N.Y., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- MGT Capital Investments, Inc. (NYSE MKT: MGT) today announced that representatives of its management team will be presenting at DEF CON 24 in Las Vegas on Thursday, August 4 - 7, 2016. MGT Capital will also celebrate the release of Demonsaw 3.0 on Friday, August 5th, 2016.
"DEF CON is the premier hacker convention in the world. Once every year the greatest hacking, programming, and maker minds come together for four days of camaraderie, competition, and an open willingness to share information. All ages attend DEF CON, bringing together a unique and timeless blend of creativity, curiosity and free and open dialogue about the subjects that matter most to us. There is no judgment, and very few rules. It is within these walls that issues like privacy, warrantless wiretapping, personal liberties, and freedom of digital expression are discussed. Some of the greatest minds living today will wander the halls of this convention, some dressed in shorts and a t-shirt and others in business casual. But make no mistake, we are all here to learn," stated Eric "Eijah" Anderson, founder of Demonsaw and proposed Chief Technology Officer of MGT Capital.
"MGT represents the future of cyber-security as much as the DEF CON audience. We are taking the lead and are forever in the debt of the staff, volunteers, and "Goons" at DEF CON for uniting such an incredible group of thinkers and tinkerers. We invite you all to an exclusive Demonsaw 3.0 event that will welcome the best and brightest of the DEF CON community to an evening of celebration," concluded Eijah.
To register for Eric "Eijah" Anderson's Thursday workshops, DEF CON participants should arrive at the 3rd floor of the Bally's Jubilee Tower to register on site. Workshops will begin at 10:00 a.m. in the Las Vegas Ballrooms 1-7. For further details and to register for the Demonsaw 3.0 celebration, attendees can visit: https://demonsaw.splashthat.com/
In its 24th year, DEF CON is one of the world's largest annual hacker conventions. Attendees include anyone with a general interest in software, computer architecture, phone phreaking, hardware modification, and anything else that can be "cracked." DEF CON consists of several tracks of well-known hackers speakers about computer and cracking-related subjects, as well as social events and contests. This year's event is being hosted at the Paris & Bally's in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tickets are available at the door, and there is no pre-registration.
About MGT Capital Investments, Inc.
MGT Capital Investments, Inc. (NYSE MKT: MGT) is in the process of acquiring a diverse portfolio of cyber security technologies. With cyber security industry pioneer, John McAfee, at its helm, MGT Capital is positioned to address various cyber threats through advanced protection technologies for mobile and personal tech devices, including tablets and smart phones. The Company is currently in the process of acquiring D-Vasive, a provider of leading edge anti-spy software, and Demonsaw, a provider of a secure and anonymous file sharing software platform.
MGT Capital intends to change its corporate name to "John McAfee Global Technologies, Inc." upon closing of the D-Vasive transaction.
For more information on the Company, please visit http://ir.stockpr.com/mgtci.
Forwardlooking Statements
This press release contains forwardlooking statements. The words or phrases "would be," "will allow," "intends to," "will likely result," "are expected to," "will continue," "is anticipated," "estimate," "project," or similar expressions are intended to identify "forwardlooking statements." MGT's financial and operational results reflected above should not be construed by any means as representative of the current or future value of its common stock. All information set forth in this news release, except historical and factual information, represents forwardlooking statements. This includes all statements about the Company's plans, beliefs, estimates and expectations. These statements are based on current estimates and projections, which involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include issues related to: rapidly changing technology and evolving standards in the industries in which the Company and its subsidiaries operate; the ability to obtain sufficient funding to continue operations, maintain adequate cash flow, profitably exploit new business, license and sign new agreements; the unpredictable nature of consumer preferences; and other factors set forth in the Company's most recently filed annual report and registration statement. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forwardlooking statements, which reflect management's analysis only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forwardlooking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof. Readers should carefully review the risks and uncertainties described in other documents that the Company files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Investor Contact
Garth Russell
Managing Director
KCSA Strategic Communications
[email protected]
212.896.1250
Media Contact
Tiffany Madison
Director of Corporate Communications
MGT Capital Investments, Inc.
[email protected]
469.236.9569
SOURCE MGT Capital Investments, Inc.
Related Links
http://www.mgtci.com
SAO PAOLO, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- J.P. Morgan Asset Management Global Real Assets today announced the appointment of Rossano Nonino as Chief Investment Officer and Head of Real Estate Brazil. In this newly created role, Nonino will be based in the Sao Paolo office of J.P. Morgan Asset Management and responsible for leading the firm's Brazil-based real estate investment team that includes eight professionals. He will report to Kevin Faxon, Head of Real Estate Americas, and locally to Vital Menezes, CEO of Global Investment Management LATAM. J.P. Morgan Asset Management Global Real Assets has more than 400 professionals in 19 offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.
"Brazil's political and economic structural upheaval has contributed to a 50% decline in real estate values in local currency terms since the market peak in 2011," said Joe Azelby, Head of Global Real Assets, J.P. Morgan Asset Management. "As the dominant economy in Latin America, we see opportunity in this market. With more than 16 years of experience and a proven track record of success in Brazil, Rossano will help our clients access local investment opportunities, while growing our regional presence."
Rossano founded Gavea Real Estate, the real estate investment arm of Gavea Investimentos, in 2012. At Gavea, Rossano oversaw more than BRL 1 billion real estate investments in properties, development projects and real estate securities. From 2002 to 2012, Rossano was managing director at Brazilian Capital and responsible for the management of over BRL 3 billion in real estate investment funds in Brazil for international and domestic institutional investors. Earlier in his career, Rossano was a managing director and partner at Rio Bravo Investimentos Group responsible for the structuring of Brazilian real estate investment funds and mortgage backed securities. Rossano received a BA in business administration from EAESP- Fundacao Getulio Vargas in Sao Paulo and a MBA from INSEAD in France.
About J.P. Morgan Asset Management Global Real Assets
J.P. Morgan Asset Management Global Real Assets has more than $90 billion in assets under management and more than 400 professionals in the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific, as of March 31, 2016. With a 45-plus year history of successful investing, J.P. Morgan Asset Management Global Real Assets' broad capabilities provide many of the world's most sophisticated investors with a global platform of real estate, infrastructure and transportation strategies driven by local investment talent with disciplined investment processes consistently implemented across asset types and regions. For more information: www.jpmorgan.com/institutional/global_real_assets.
About J.P. Morgan Asset Management
J.P. Morgan Asset Management, with assets under management of $1.7 trillion, is a global leader in investment management. J.P. Morgan Asset Management's clients include institutions, retail investors and high net worth individuals in every major market throughout the world. J.P. Morgan Asset Management offers global investment management in equities, fixed income, real estate, hedge funds, private equity and liquidity. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), the parent company of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, is a leading global asset management firm with assets of approximately $2.4 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management is the marketing name for the asset management businesses of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates worldwide.
SOURCE J.P. Morgan Asset Management
Related Links
http://www.jpmorganchase.com
NEW YORK and LONDON, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ketchum, one of the world's leading communications consultancies, today announced that Mark Hume has been appointed chief operating officer in Europe, effective immediately. In his new position, Hume will partner with Ketchum Chairman and CEO Rob Flaherty to oversee the agency's European operations, which includes some of the largest markets in the agency's portfolio. In addition, Hume continues as CFO for the region. He moved into the regional CFO role in 2009, working side-by-side with then-CEO of Europe David Gallagher to manage the business. Earlier today, it was announced that Gallagher has been named president, growth and development, international at Omnicom Public Relations Group.
"Mark Hume is a trusted and respected leader, a multi-faceted finance and operations executive with a keen understanding of the communications industry and a proven track record of growth; he has been instrumental in the acquisition and development of each of our European businesses," said Flaherty. "Ketchum's European network is one of the industry's largest, which is a direct result of Mark and David's leadership and partnership with regional and local leaders to drive business, producing exceptional results. In fact, we have had one of our strongest new business starts this year, with dozens of new clients and projects already won. I look forward to partnering with Mark to continue to focus on our clients and also drive the business forward."
This news is the latest in a series of leadership announcements at Ketchum, including the appointment of Barri Rafferty to worldwide president, and the creation of the agency's new Global Leadership Council, to which Hume was named when it launched in June.
"I have enjoyed partnering with David and our European leadership team for more than 15 years to grow Ketchum's business and reach in Europe, and I'm looking forward to continuing to best meet our clients' needs and attract and develop the region's top talent," Hume said.
Hume joined Ketchum in 1996 as finance director, U.K., through Ketchum's acquisition of Scope Communications. He was named chief operating officer, U.K. in 2001, and was appointed European commercial director in 2004, managing all aspects of commercial and operational development for Ketchum's offices and affiliates across the region. Hume was named a Ketchum partner in 2005.
"Mark has been an exceptional partner to me and to Ketchum's European and worldwide leadership teams as we have worked to grow Ketchum's reputation and deliver solid performance," said Gallagher. "Mark played a critical role in the Ketchum Pleon merger, the Brandzeichen acquisition and the recently announced alignment of our brands in Germany, and I am pleased we will continue to work together in our new positions."
Gallagher was named partner and CEO, Europe, for Ketchum in 2011. Prior to that, he was head of Ketchum's U.K. office and led the agency's European healthcare practice. Gallagher joined Ketchum in 1994 and served as head of the healthcare group in Washington, D.C., and a member of that office's leadership team prior to relocating to London in 2000.
"David has been an exceptional leader, helping to grow and develop our business in tandem with our people and working in partnership with Mark for more than 15 years to ensure our many successes in Europe," Flaherty said. "We are grateful to David for his stewardship of our brand and our profession, and I look forward to continuing to work with him in his new OPRG role."
About Ketchum
Ketchum is a leading global communications firm with operations in more than 70 countries across six continents. The winner of 19 Cannes Lions and an unprecedented five PRWeek Campaign of the Year Awards, Ketchum partners with clients to deliver strategic programming, game-changing creative and measurable results that build brands and reputations. For more information on Ketchum, a part of the DAS Group of Companies, visit www.ketchum.com.
About Omnicom Public Relations Group
Omnicom Public Relations Group is a global collective of three of the top global public relations agencies worldwide and specialist agencies in areas including public affairs, marketing to women, fashion, public health and corporate social responsibility. It encompasses more than 6,000 public relations professionals in more than 330 offices worldwide who provide their expertise to companies, government agencies, NGOs and nonprofits across a wide range of industries. Omnicom Public Relations Group delivers for clients through a relentless focus on talent, continuous pursuit of innovation and a culture steeped in collaboration. Omnicom Public Relations Group is part of the DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. that includes more than 200 companies in a wide range of marketing disciplines including advertising, public relations, healthcare, customer relationship management, events, promotional marketing, branding and research.
SOURCE Ketchum
Related Links
http://www.ketchum.com
CINCINNATI, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) today announced that it will hold open interviews in its stores nationwide on Tuesday, August 9. To make applying online even easier, Kroger launched "mobile apply" which allows job-seekers to submit applications through their smartphones or tablet devices.
Interested candidates may apply at jobs.kroger.com and simply return to a store on August 9 between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., no appointment necessary.
"Our growth continues to create job openings across the country for friendly, hard-working associates to join our team, including many roles on our new ClickList teams," said Tim Massa, Kroger's group vice president of human resources and labor relations. "Our stores are filled with incredible opportunities to advance and a variety of career paths. If you love people and love food, Kroger just might be the place for you. Applying to work at our family of stores is easier than ever with open interviews and the ability to apply from anywhere."
This is the second one-day hiring event Kroger is hosting this year. The company hired more than 11,496 new associates during its May 14 event. Kroger plans a third hiring event, open exclusively to military veterans and their family members, in November.
Over the last eight years, Kroger has created more than 74,000 permanent, new jobs. This figure does not include jobs created as a result of capital investment, such as temporary construction jobs, nor does it include increases due to the company's mergers.
Kroger's total active workforce grew by more than 9,000 during 2015. More than 90 percent of the new jobs are in the company's supermarket divisions, ranging from full-time department heads and assistant store managers to part-time courtesy clerks and cashiers. The company hired more than 7,000 veterans in 2015, and has hired more than 35,000 veterans since 2009.
Every day, the Kroger Family of Companies makes a difference in the lives of eight and a half million customers and 431,000 associates who shop or serve in 2,778 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Kroger and its subsidiaries operate an expanding ClickList offering a personalized, order online, pick up at the store service in addition to 2,230 pharmacies, 785 convenience stores, 323 fine jewelry stores, 1,400 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food production plants in the United States. Kroger is recognized as one of America's most generous companies for its support of more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners, breast cancer research and awareness, the military and their families, and more than 145,000 community organizations including schools. A leader in supplier diversity, Kroger is a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150408/197347LOGO
SOURCE The Kroger Co.
Related Links
http://www.kroger.com
SAN ANTONIO, Aug. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Kuper Sotheby's International Realty is committed to positively impacting the communities we call home through our Kuper Impact program. Kuper Impact is a yearly charitable program that allows our exceptional real estate agents, and the company as a whole, to support local organizations.
Each of Kuper Sotheby's International Realty's nine offices across Austin and San Antonio has picked a specific group to contribute to, spanning a variety of noteworthy causes. For the duration of one year, Kuper Sotheby's International Realty will set aside $5 from every completed transaction with the opportunity for agents to match that or donate a different amount. At the end of the year, the funds collected from each office will be donated to their selected organization! To date Kuper Impact has raised over $4,000.
For 2016, Kuper Impact is supporting Child Advocates of San Antonio, Dominion Animal Advocates Group, Foundation Communities, Helping Hand Home for Children, Kendall County Womens Shelter, Lake Travis Crisis Ministries, Mobile Loaves & Fishes, and Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Antonio.
Whether it's through Kuper Impact or any other philanthropic initiative, Kuper Sotheby's International Realty is determined to make a positive impact on the world!
For more information on Kuper Impact and to learn about the 2016 charities visit http://www.kuperimpact.com.
About Kuper Sotheby's International Realty: Kuper Sotheby's International Realty is the leading real estate brokerage firm for Central and South Texas. Since its affiliation with Sotheby's International Realty, Kuper Sotheby's International Realty is part of an international collection of real estate companies expressly chosen for their history and reputation for providing high levels of integrity, service and client satisfaction. Whether it be residential, farm & ranch, lake or urban living, the company and its agents are attuned to the local real estate markets and are positioned to serve any and all of our client's needs.
SOURCE Kuper Sotheby's International Realty
Related Links
http://www.kuperimpact.com
ATLANTA, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Lalabu, the family-owned business that created the Lalabu Soothe Shirt, launched a crowdfunding campaign today to support the new Lalabu Dad Shirt. The first babywearing shirt designed exclusively for men, the Lalabu Dad Shirt will be available to ship this fall.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160801/394538
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160801/394539
In 2013 Lalabu created the Soothe Shirt, an innovative babywearing shirt that's both a nursing tank for moms and a cozy carrying pouch for newborns. Unique because it requires no wrapping, adjusting, or tying, the Lalabu Soothe Shirt makes babywearing simple for new moms. Since 2013, Lalabu has sold over 15,000 Soothe Shirts and donated to over 600 women entrepreneurs in Africa through their 2% for moms giving model (http://www.lalabu.com/2-percent-for-moms).
Now, the Lalabu Dad Shirt brings the babywearing experience to dads. Designed specifically for men, the Dad Shirt has an integrated pouch that helps dads bond with and calm their newborn. "I felt left out when my babies were newborns, because there weren't babywearing products designed for me," says Brian Fosse, Lalabu co-founder and father of two. "The Lalabu Dad Shirt makes it easy to win as a new dad."
The Lalabu Dad Shirt is currently available for discounted pre-order through the crowdfunding campaign on the Lalabu website, http://www.lalabu.com. The crowdfunding launch coincides with World Breastfeeding Week and also includes a new updated version of the Lalabu Soothe Shirt for moms. Both shirts will retail for $75 and will begin shipping October 2016.
For more information, visit the crowdfunding campaign at http://www.lalabu.com/launch.
Contact:
Lisa Baker
678-632-4111
Email
655 North Highland Ave NE #12
Atlanta, Georgia 30312
SOURCE Lalabu
Related Links
http://www.lalabu.com
BOSTON, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Clear Ballot announced today that Lane County, Oregon has signed a contract to implement the ClearVote voting system for all future elections. Clear Ballot uses commercially available hardware paired with modern software to provide a more affordable and scalable solution to all counties.
Lane County will be the eighth county in Oregon to implement ClearVote, increasing the percent of registered voters that will be using the new technology in the state to 52 percent. The seven other counties using ClearVote in the state include Multnomah, Josephine, Linn, Harney, Washington, Klamath and Coos County. All seven counties successfully conducted the 2016 Primary Election using ClearVote.
"Lane County is excited to begin using the ClearVote system," said County Clerk Cheryl Betschart. "We continuously look for ways to improve voter engagement, provide a high level of service in an efficient manner and strengthen our own processes. We are confident that ClearVote can help us do just that."
Clear Ballot began working with Oregon counties in 2015 by winning the bid with Multnomah (Portland) County as part of a competitive procurement process. Shortly thereafter ClearVote was certified in Oregon and several other counties quickly adopted the technology as clerks began hearing of the vast improvements ClearVote brings to the election process.
Clear Ballot is dedicated to continuous innovation. Since the initial ClearVote certification enhancements to the voting system were subsequently certified in September 2015, and a third version was certified in March 2016 providing Oregon counties with constant upgrades by incorporating customer feedback into product development.
"Clear Ballot is very pleased to have Lane County join the Oregon counties that now represent over half of the Oregon electorate," said CEO Larry Moore. "They join their sister counties that have already taken advantage of the transparency and cost-saving efficiencies of ClearVote. Many of these counties have discovered how much money can be saved on ballot printing based on how easy and quick it is to design their own ballots with real-time, fully secure online support from Clear Ballot's staff. With the unprecedented interest in this Presidential Election and the possibility of numerous close contests, Clear Ballot's customers are fully prepared to provide the most timely and transparent election results in the country."
About Clear Ballot:
Clear Ballot is an emerging leader in election management innovation. Clear Ballot has introduced modern software solutions with the speed, accuracy and transparency that has been lacking in the industry. Designed for low cost and ease-of-use, Clear Ballot's browser-based software, used with commercially available scanning hardware, scales to election jurisdictions of all sizes, responding directly to the budgetary realities of America's counties and municipalities. For more information about Clear Ballot, please visit: www.clearballot.com.
Contact
Hillary Lincoln
Clear Ballot
[email protected]
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150518/216827LOGO
SOURCE Clear Ballot
Related Links
http://www.clearballot.com
LONDON, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Next generation law enforcement robots are being implemented as platforms. Platforms are useful for accepting a range of components quickly to repurpose units on the fly. Law enforcement robots leverage better
materials, more sophisticated designs, software technology, and tablet remote controls. They are communication devices that support high quality data gathering. Communications are implemented in difficult situations. The study has 649 pages and 327 tables and figures. Law enforcement robotics are slated to increase in value to cities and local communities providing low cost protection and high value capabilities. With the active threat of terrorists attacking civilian populations in every country, law enforcement has become the new military. As terrorists operate outside nationalistic borders and infiltrate into the community, robot systems are needed by local police forces, not just the military. The national priority in every country is to increase the budgets for regional and local law enforcement robotic response. Response to emergency situations with robots include response to natural disasters, hostage taking, barricaded law breakers, and terrorists. These situations have not been a problem inside local communities, previously dealt with by national authorities.
With the rise of international terrorism, experienced through the news media in most local communities and cities, the threat of local terrorism is becoming more real and unfortunately more common. The robots
offer al level of protection to the human by letting the police officers do some of their job remotely. Law enforcement robots are mobile automated process platforms that are responsive to homeland security needs. They are emerging in the context of globalization and smart phone devices that provide connectedness in every aspect of people and things worldwide. Law enforcement robots are evolving in the context of the smart phone apps that support the systems of engagement. This global aspect of the law enforcement robots means that the devices have a presence in every part of the world. Law enforcement robots are inherently local, they are used locally, they are needed by security personnel in particularly dangerous local situations. Systems of engagement apps are evolving as specially designed ground robot networks used to address terrorism and local law enforcement and fire department needs to support community and cities safety patrol.
Bomb squads need robots, they need robot technology, more flexibility, better maneuverability. The robots can be tuned to the specific activity in which they are being used. Modular systems represent platform technology of choice for robots. Modules can be highly targeted to specific situations. Robots make police organizations more functional. Robots improve performance, they work remotely. According to Susan Eustis, leader of the team that prepared the study, "Robots for law enforcement rely on maneuverability. Security technology is becoming mobile, changing the old security camera approach to allowing a more proactive approach to security. The robot can go out and look around." The aim of using law enforcement robots is to secure the safety of the officers in the field. Robots are pretty good at this as it turns out. Police are forced to function in dangerous situations. Law enforcement robots make a manned police force able to function more effectively. Robots can carry video cameras. Video facilitates communicating with a dangerous criminal. Law enforcement robots have become more affordable. Market growth comes from economies of scale that bring the lower costs for more functionality. Law enforcement robot markets at $1 billion in 2015 are anticipated to reach $5.7 billion by 2022. Market growth comes as every law enforcement agency faces the prospect of dealing with terrorists. With technology maturity and economies of scale, price points decline rapidly and affordability continues to drive significant market growth. The companies that have achieved measurable market share early in the evolution of the market are likely to maintain a strong presence in markets.
Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4002079/
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Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers
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For more information:
Sarah Smith
Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +44 208 816 85 48
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SOURCE ReportBuyer
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NEW YORK and DALLAS and WICHITA, Kan., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Liberty Hall Capital Partners ("Liberty Hall"), a private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in businesses serving the global aerospace and defense industry, announced today the acquisition of ZTM, Inc. ("ZTM"), a Tier II supplier of large, complex metallic parts and assemblies for the global aerospace industry. ZTM will be integrated into Accurus Aerospace Corporation ("Accurus"), a leading Tier II supplier of highly engineered machined parts, kits and assemblies and processing services, focused on the highest value aircraft platforms. Liberty Hall's investment partners in Accurus are Hamilton Lane and other leading institutional investors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
"ZTM not only expands Accurus's content on the key 737 and 787 platforms, reinforces our strong relationships with our largest customers and extends Accurus's geographic presence into Wichita, but also, importantly, provides Accurus with proven capabilities for delivery of large complex assemblies," said Rowan Taylor, Liberty Hall's founding Partner. "In its 27-year history, ZTM has built a reputation for providing customers with large complex machined parts and assemblies while achieving impeccable quality and delivery standards. The addition of ZTM marks the fifth acquisition for Accurus and a critical step forward as we execute our strategy to build a leading, fully capable, diversified Tier II aerostructures supplier."
Founded in 1989, and owned by Brad Julius, Wichita-based ZTM supplies several of the highest value Boeing commercial aerospace platforms, including the 737 and 787. ZTM's largest customers are The Boeing Company and Spirit AeroSystems. In addition to expanding Accurus's content on these key aircraft platforms, ZTM further diversifies Accurus's customer mix and expands Accurus's geographic presence in the central U.S. to Wichita, one of the key aerospace supply regions in the United States.
Accurus was formed by Liberty Hall in 2013 and, since its formation, has completed four strategic acquisitions: Precise Machining & Manufacturing (2013), McCann Aerospace Machining (2014), LaCroix Industries (2015) and J&M Machine (2016).
Jim Gibson, President and CEO of Accurus, said: "ZTM is a world class supplier of large complex metallic machined parts and assemblies in the central U.S. that has been recognized for superior performance through industry recognitions, such Spirit AeroSystem's Platinum Supplier of the Year Award. We are pleased to be able to substantively expand the Accurus platform in this important region and, with the addition of ZTM's strong, proven assembly capabilities, allow Accurus to extend our now broadened machining and assembly capabilities to our global base of customers."
Financing for the acquisition was provided by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citizens Bank. Legal advice to Liberty Hall and Accurus was provided by Schulte Roth & Zabel and Pillsbury. ZTM was advised by Koch Siedhoff Hand & Dunn and Stinson Leonard Street.
About Liberty Hall Capital Partners
Liberty Hall Capital Partners is a private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in businesses serving the global aerospace and defense industry. Liberty Hall's principals have led the investment of $2.3 billion in equity capital in businesses serving multiple segments of the aerospace and defense industry and complementary industrial markets. Liberty Hall develops actionable investment strategies for attractive segments of the aerospace and defense industry and then partners with entrepreneurs and management teams to acquire leading businesses serving these segments and, together with them, develops sound, long-term strategic plans to build these businesses through a combination of strategic investments and strategic acquisitions. For more information, please visit http://www.libertyhallcapital.com/.
About Accurus Aerospace Corporation
Accurus Aerospace Corporation is a leading Tier II supplier of highly engineered machined parts, kits and assemblies and processing services to the global aerospace and defense industry focused on the highest value aircraft platforms. Accurus was formed in November 2013 to acquire the business of Precise Machining & Manufacturing, and then acquired McCann Aerospace Machining in March 2014, LaCroix Industries in July 2015 and J&M Machine in May 2016. The company possesses highly complementary capabilities that allow Accurus to deliver its products to its customers with optimal cost, quality and delivery. Accurus is currently executing a strategic plan to build its business through strategic investments. For more information, please visit http://www.accurusaero.com/.
SOURCE Liberty Hall Capital Partners
Related Links
http://www.libertyhallcapital.com
SAN DIEGO, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
SourcingLink.net Inc. (OTC Pink: SNET) Tesla recently accelerated production of their $5B "Gigafactory" in anticipation of increased demand for lithium, ahead of the release of their new Model 3 sedan, as discussed in this recent Wall Street Journal article:
http://www.wsj.com/article_email/tesla-races-to-finish-gigafactory-in-time-for-model-3-rollout-1469404142-lMyQjAxMTA2MTI2OTUyOTk4Wj
This article not only demonstrates the increase in lithium demand, but also represents a major push to bring lithium battery production to the United States. All of this could be good news for SNET, which may be well positioned with is recent acquisition of the Lac Fire Lithium property in Quebec, Canada.
About The Eldor Project:
SourcingLink.net, Inc. acquired 8 new lithium-tantalum claims in James Bay, Quebec, Canada. The block of 8 new claims share a 12 km boundary which is on three sides with the Rose Lithium Tantalum Property of Critical Elements Corp. The new Lac Fire property was staked to strategically cover ground that may be on strike and have similar geology to the Rose Lithium Tantalum Resource.
The company has signed an agreement to acquire 100% interest in the Eldor Rare Earth Property Claims (The Eldor Project) located in Northern Quebec, Canada (one of the most favorable mining jurisdictions in the world). The Eldor Project consists of 34 mineral claims covering approximately 3951 acres and is located in Northern Quebec which is considered one of the most favorable mining jurisdictions in the world.
About SourcingLink.net, Inc.:
SourcingLink.net is a U.S. based publicly traded exploration and development company. Their focus in on rare metals and rare earth elements which are among the primary input materials for the 21st Century technology.
Forward-looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements, which contain words such as "expect," "believe" or "plan," by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. These uncertainties may cause actual future events to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
Contact:
SourcingLink.net
12526 High Bluff Drive, Ste 300
San Diego, CA 92130
Phone +1-855-726-RARE (7273)
Website: http://www.sourcinglink.org
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE SourcingLink.net, Inc.
LONDON, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- This report examines a decade of lithium-ion batteries and beyond. It analyses needs, applications, technology, future winners, losers, alternatives, competition and profit with 10 year sales forecasts and 400+ suppliers' technology and applications listed. Their cost, safety and performance tradeoff is unchallenged in an increasing number of large new applications including wearable electronics, land, water, airborne vehicles, buildings, off-grid power. Understand how flexible, stretchable, transparent and load-bearing versions will succeed.
This report has over 170 detailed slide-format pages of new forecasts, analysis and infographics seeing the future with depth on technology trends, needs and market forecasts. The emphasis is almost entirely on the present and the future such as how parameters will improve and lower costs, new shapes and mechanical properties, improved safety and non-flammable non-toxic versions will open up new markets. Over 450 manufacturers are compared in chemistry, assembly and sales thrust. There is depth on the next technology breakthroughs such as silicon anodes. The key parts of recent presentations by all the key players are embedded in this work, almost entirely researched in 2016 by award winning PhD level IDTechEx analysts travelling worldwide. Interviews, IDTechEx databases, web searches and conference attendance were extensively used.
The structure of the report is a comprehensive Executive Summary and Conclusions with forecasts, issues, roadmaps etc. then Introduction looking at battery basics and lithium-ion in particular. An Applications chapter maps parameters and solutions with detail on the largest market of the coming decade - the trillion dollar electric vehicle business in 2026.
Subsequent chapters delve into the new characteristics needed and the technology to achieve them, notably "Li-ion for high energy density, low cost, long life" then "Li-ion becomes thin, flexible, stretchable". After that we look closely at, "Li-ion becomes non-flammable, non-toxic, structural" with some extra achievements such as transparency. Finally, the report has a unique new listing of over 450 manufacturers of Li-ion cells by country, anode, cathode, electrolyte, structure and application where data are established.
Some of the key findings that are detailed and explained are:
The main market value has recently changed to large versions and electric vehicles and this will continue. This creates a paradox where the number of manufacturers is proliferating past 450 but only a few can make relatively safe, acceptable, affordable large versions - the main market demand. This is because it is easy to make small versions of limited life using primitive factory conditions.
The Japanese and Koreans are named that control the key technology and, with the Chinese, the production. The Tesla Gigafactory using Japanese Panasonic Technology will exceed all this capacity but our calculations show that many gigafactories will be needed in the decade. We say who will build others. We explain why competitive advantage in Li-ion batteries will primarily be based on energy density, safety record, cost, production capacity and being in the protected large market of China. Competitive disadvantages are detailed. We explain which alternatives to Li-ion are strongest. We detail a feeding frenzy building up with purchasers coming from more widely afield in both territory and interest. We identify how successful niche players are proliferating and attracting bidders.
Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3961623/
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
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In a world where terrorist attacks, police killings, killing of police, military coups, political unrest and divorce are at an all time high, it is time we slow down and help the world get back into "Harmony." Recent scientific studies have made a miraculous discovery - an audio frequency of 528 Hz exists as the scientific "sound of love"...a specific sound wave that literally spreads love around the world.
JP Vance
Now, for the first time ever, a song has been created that rides this love wave. "Love is 528", written and produced by up and coming producer Jesse Pacheco and sung by young pop artist JP Vance, uses the 528 Hz frequency as the base for the song. It is a song that addresses the measurable power of love and hope that brings the world together at all levels. The core of the song is romantic love, family love and self love as Jesse and JP believe it is these elements that drive world love and world peace. They believe that all love starts at home and then can be multiplied to positively influence all things in the universe.
Jesse and JP dream that "Love is 528" will be a force that will make the world take a moment to realize its imbalances, and bring everyone back into a peaceful equilibrium and harmony. The hope is that the song will cause people to rethink what is really important in life. Jesse and JP go as far as to guarantee every time you listen to Love is 528 that you will experience positive changes in your life. Something as simple and powerful as the proof that love has real scientific backing, can spawn an evolution of understanding that love is what unites us all as human beings. JP and Jesse hope that Love is 528 can help cure world problems, and cause people to fall in love and stay in love.
Jesse and JP's mission is to make "Love is 528" a world anthem for love. JP Vance is a 15-year-old international artist who grew up in both Beijing and America. He is an American kid who speaks, reads and writes Chinese just as fluently as he does English. He is of Asian and Caucasian descent, appealing to both the American and Chinese markets. JP's Chinese name is Jiang Zi Long. At the age of 12, he had a number one song in China.
The music duo has created a 10-point doctrine for "Love is 528" to achieve several missions for all of humanity, wherever it is heard:
- - To bring people together to find lasting love.
- - To make a strong relationship even stronger for couples already in love.
- - To help reduce divorce and to once again enjoy a loving relationship with your family and friends.
- - To help people relax, heal old wounds and better love themselves so they can spread that love to others.
- - To have romantic love that enjoys good communication, caring, commitment and forgiveness.
- - For people to consciously be thankful and appreciative for what they already have before reaching for more.
- - To make people see past the color of skin and other differences.
- - To stop terrorists from using terror to convey their message.
- - To be empathetic by listening better and taking the time to see the other person's point of view.
- - To understand that love is the base of all things in life.
This song is all these things and so much more. The 528 Hz frequency is used throughout "Love is 528" as its base. JP and Jesse dream that whoever listens to the song will make changes in their life, and go on to spread those same changes in others, one person at a time. This domino effect is setting off a new wave of harmony that will make every day Valentine's Day - a world of romance, love and appreciation year round.
"Love is 528" is set to drop on the heels of the upcoming 2016 Summer Games. The song's core values go hand-in-hand with what the Summer Games represent: World Unity. To emulate this sentiment, JP and Jesse will be launching the song's debut primarily on YouTube so that people around the world may have access to it. They also hope that radio stations will play the song to change the world for the better. The song can be found online by searching "Love is 528" or "JP Vance" on YouTube.com & YouKu.com. The song can also be purchased on ITunes and CdBaby.
Contact: John Michael Pense
Email
747-477-9258, Instagram: jpvancemusic
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160801/394677
SOURCE Jesse Pacheco and JP Vance
" All around the globe, consumers are shifting away from long, large meals, and towards quick small bites, resulting in the snacking boom. Snacking is not only big business, but a fast growing one. Based on a Nielsen report, global snacks sales grossed almost $4 billion annually, " said Aihui Ong, Founder and CEO of Love With Food. " Hence, the decision for us to go global was more of a ' when ' rather than an ' if ' . We ' ve received tens of thousands of requests asking for Love With Food from all over the world, so meeting this demand from our international fans has been a major priority for us. We ' re very excited to finally offer Love With Food to people around the world who want to discover new all-natural snacks. "
International consumers will now have the opportunity to try mostly North American snacks and brands previously unavailable in their local markets in the comfort of their homes. This expansion will also allow North American food companies to reach new international consumers effortlessly.
"Our mission is to help consumers discover the latest and greatest healthier snack options easily and this expansion will establish Love With Food as a global trusted brand beyond the U.S," Ong said.
Love With Food's international customers will have the option to order The Deluxe Box, a sampling of 16-20 new surprise snacks starting at $16.50 USD/month, or The Gluten-Free Box, a sampling of 10-12 surprise celiac-safe and mostly dairy-free snacks starting at $19.99 USD/month. In addition, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to international food banks to help fight world hunger.
Love With Food is offering an introductory shipping cost of $3.99 for the first 5,000 international customers to sign up. International shipping will begin with over 25 select countries, but the company plans to expand around the rest of the world shortly after. To subscribe and learn more about this tasty discovery service, visit www.lovewithfood.com.
About Love With Food:
Founded in 2012, Love With Food is the leading direct-to-consumer channel that connects food brands with health conscious consumers. It's a monthly delivery service of personalized products that helps healthy conscious consumers discover and try new, organic, natural or gluten-free snacks in their homes. This channel benefits brands by helping them reach the right target audience and tap into valuable customer intelligence data. Love With Food is headquartered in Foster City, CA and operates in 27 countries. Love With Food donates meals to fight world hunger. To date, it has donated more than ONE MILLION meals to food banks. To learn more, visit LoveWithFood.com.
For further information contact: Melody O'Flaherty, [email protected], (646) 669-9585
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160730/394374
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160730/394375LOGO
SOURCE Love With Food
Related Links
http://www.lovewithfood.com
CHESTERFIELD, United Kingdom, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Mallinckrodt plc (NYSE: MNK), a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company, today reported results for the third quarter of fiscal 20161. Unless otherwise noted, all comparisons of fiscal 2016 third quarter or year-to-date performance are to the comparable periods of fiscal 2015.
Total Mallinckrodt net sales were $970.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2016, up 10.6%, or 10.8% on a constant-currency basis. Specialty Brands segment revenue was up 32.1% and was the primary component of overall net sales acceleration. Results were led by solid volume growth in H.P. Acthar Gel (repository corticosteroid injection), unusually strong net sales results for INOMAX (nitric oxide) gas, for inhalation, and incremental volume growth for OFIRMEV (acetaminophen) injection and for the Therakos immunotherapy platform. Specialty Brands results were partially offset by decreased net sales within the Specialty Generics and Nuclear Imaging segments.
GAAP2 net income from continuing operations for the quarter was $195.7 million, or $1.79 per diluted share, compared with $55.6 million, or $0.47 per diluted share. The increase principally reflects higher net sales and profits from acquired assets in the Specialty Brands segment and strong net sales and profit contribution from Acthar. In addition, selling, general and administrative (SG&A) costs decreased due to 2015 charges that did not recur in fiscal 2016. These factors were partially offset by higher interest expense resulting primarily from the debt associated with the acquisitions of INOMAX and Therakos. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $2.20, up 8.9% from $2.02.
"Mallinckrodt's strong performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2016 reflects an ongoing focus on execution in Specialty Brands -- particularly in our commercial and scientific organizations. We continue to generate compelling new data and clinical evidence for key brands, and are working to bring this data to new physicians and patients - clear evidence that our Acquire to Invest strategy is creating performance momentum," said Mark Trudeau, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are particularly pleased with the results in the quarter from Acthar - driven solely by volume gains - and INOMAX, with OFIRMEV and Therakos continuing to contribute notable advances. By following our strategy and focusing on execution, we are making steady progress in building a leading specialty pharmaceutical company and are creating near- and long-term value for patients and shareholders."
GAAP gross profit was $541.3 million for the quarter, up 7.4% over $503.8 million. This growth resulted from the performance of Acthar, the full quarter inclusion and performance of INOMAX, the performance of OFIRMEV, and the inclusion and performance of Therakos, partially offset by decreased gross profit from the Specialty Generics segment. Gross profit as a percentage of sales was 55.8% compared with 57.4%, reflecting increased amortization expense. Adjusted gross profit was $718.5 million for the quarter, up 9.7% over $654.9 million. Adjusted gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 74.0% versus 74.6%.
GAAP SG&A expenses for the quarter were $248.4 million, compared with $295.0 million, representing 25.6% and 33.6% of net sales, respectively. The decrease in absolute SG&A expenses is due to fiscal 2015 legal and stock compensation costs that did not recur in fiscal 2016, and lower transaction costs in the current year. Adjusted SG&A expenses for the quarter were $250.1 million, compared with $234.5 million, principally driven by the additions of INOMAX and Therakos. Adjusted SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales for the quarter were 25.8%, an improvement of 90 basis points.
Income tax benefit in the third quarter was $89.3 million, versus a benefit of $1.2 million, resulting in GAAP effective rates of negative 83.9% and 2.2%, respectively. The adjusted effective tax rate was 18.6% compared with 16.8%. The variance between the GAAP and non-GAAP effective tax rate relates to the tax effect on pre-tax non-GAAP adjustments and deferred tax benefits recognized upon pay down of intercompany installment notes created by internal sales of acquired intangible assets.
Nine-Month Fiscal 2016 Results
Net sales were $2.803 billion, up 13.8% compared with $2.465 billion. The increase came primarily through continued volume-driven net sales performance for Acthar, the inclusion and performance of INOMAX, performance for OFIRMEV, and the inclusion and performance of Therakos. Specialty Brands results were partially offset by decreased net sales within the Specialty Generics segment.
Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were $3.84 compared with $1.85, an increase of 107.6%. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $6.29, compared with $5.52, an increase of 13.9%.
Liquidity
During the fiscal third quarter, the company repurchased 1.7 million ordinary shares under its share repurchase program for $100.3 million and repaid $150.0 million of the company's revolving credit facility.
In the first nine months of fiscal 2016, Mallinckrodt generated $994.4 million in operating cash flow and $860.9 million in free cash flow, with $412.2 million in free cash flow in the third quarter alone. The company used a portion of this strong nine-month cash generation and the cash received from the divestiture of the CMDS business to repurchase $600.2 million of ordinary shares under our authorized program, reduce debt by $208.8 million, and acquire the Hemostasis products for $173.5 million.
Mallinckrodt's cash balance at the end of the fiscal third quarter was $521.9 million. In July, after the close of the fiscal third quarter, the company paid off the remaining balance of $250.0 million on its revolving credit facility, which is now undrawn. The company's liquidity position remains quite strong and management remains focused primarily on allocating capital to share repurchases, further debt reduction and additional business development.
BUSINESS SEGMENT RESULTS
Specialty Brands Segment
The segment benefited from strong commercial execution throughout the third quarter with net sales increasing to $589.3 million, compared with $446.2 million, an increase of 32.1%, or 32.3% on a constant-currency basis.
Acthar net sales were $298.3 million in the quarter, an 11.0% increase over $268.7 million. Mallinckrodt's second largest product, INOMAX, generated net sales of $121.1 million, up 48.6% over $81.5 million, with constant-currency pro forma basis growth of 23.5%. OFIRMEV net sales were $70.7 million compared with $62.1 million, an increase of 13.8%. Net sales of the Therakos immunotherapy product line were $52.5 million, with constant-currency pro forma basis growth of 15.7%.
Specialty Generics Segment
Net sales for the segment in the third quarter decreased 14.5% to $263.4 million, compared with $307.9 million, driven principally by net sales declines in various product categories due to increased competition negatively impacting both volume and price. On a constant-currency basis, segment net sales declined 14.3%. Management continues to expect decreased net sales in this segment in coming quarters.
Nuclear Imaging Segment
Net sales for the third quarter fiscal 2016 for the Nuclear Imaging segment were $104.0 million, compared with $108.8 million, a 4.4% decline, or 4.7% on a constant-currency basis.
GUIDANCE UPDATE
Management provided an adjusted diluted earnings guidance range for calendar year 2016 (the 53-week period ending December 30, 2016) of $8.50 to $8.80 per share. Management also noted they now expect results from fiscal year 2016 (the period ending September 30, 2016) to come in above the high end of the previously provided range of $8.15 to $8.50 per share.
Mallinckrodt does not provide guidance on GAAP diluted earnings per share because it is unable to predict with reasonable certainty the following items without unreasonable effort: intangible asset amortization, restructuring and related charges, inventory step-up expense, non-restructuring impairment charges, changes in contingent consideration fair value, acquisition-related expenses, and legal and environmental charges. These items are uncertain, depend on various factors and could be material to Mallinckrodt's GAAP diluted earnings per share.
CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST
Mallinckrodt will hold a conference call for investors on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, beginning at 8:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time. This call can be accessed in three ways:
At the Mallinckrodt website: http://www.mallinckrodt.com/investors.
website: http://www.mallinckrodt.com/investors.
By telephone: For both listen-only participants and those who wish to take part in the question-and-answer portion of the call, the telephone dial-in number in the U.S. is (877) 359-9508. For participants outside the U.S., the dial-in number is (224) 357-2393. Callers will need to provide the Conference ID of 34055287.
Through an audio replay: A replay of the call will be available beginning at 11:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern time on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016 , and ending at 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Tuesday, Aug.16, 2016. Dial-in numbers for U.S.-based participants are (855) 859-2056 or (800) 585-8367. Participants outside the U.S. should use the replay dial-in number (404) 537-3406. All callers will be required to provide the Conference ID of 34055287.
ABOUT MALLINCKRODT
Mallinckrodt is a global business that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes specialty pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products and therapies, as well as nuclear imaging products. Areas of focus include autoimmune and rare diseases in specialty areas like neurology, rheumatology, nephrology, pulmonology and ophthalmology; immunotherapy and neonatal respiratory critical care therapies; analgesics and hemostasis products; and central nervous system drugs. The company's core strengths include the acquisition and management of highly regulated raw materials and specialized chemistry, formulation and manufacturing capabilities. The company's Specialty Brands segment includes branded medicines; its Specialty Generics segment includes specialty generic drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients and external manufacturing; and the Nuclear Imaging segment includes nuclear imaging agents. To learn more about Mallinckrodt, visit www.mallinckrodt.com .
Mallinckrodt uses its website as a channel of distribution of important company information, such as press releases, investor presentations and other financial information. It also uses its website to expedite public access to time-critical information regarding the company in advance of or in lieu of distributing a press release or a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosing the same information. Therefore, investors should look to the Investor Relations page of the website for important and time-critical information. Visitors to the website can also register to receive automatic e-mail and other notifications alerting them when new information is made available on the Investor Relations page of the website.
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
This press release contains financial measures, including adjusted net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share, adjusted gross profit, adjusted SG&A, net sales growth on a constant-currency basis, adjusted effective tax rate, pro forma third quarter fiscal 2015 INOMAX net sales, pro forma third quarter fiscal 2015 Therakos net sales, and free cash flow, which are considered "non-GAAP" financial measures under applicable SEC rules and regulations.
Adjusted net income, adjusted gross profit and adjusted SG&A represent amounts prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (GAAP) and adjusted for certain items that management believes are not reflective of the operational performance of the business. The adjustments for these items are on a pre-tax basis for adjusted gross profit and adjusted SG&A and on an after-tax basis for adjusted net income. Adjustments to GAAP amounts include, as applicable to each measure, restructuring and related charges, net; amortization and impairment charges; discontinued operations; acquisition-related expenses; changes in fair value of contingent consideration obligations; inventory step-up expenses; significant legal and environmental charges; recurrent cash tax payments to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service associated with internal installment sales transactions; and other items identified by the company. Adjusted diluted earnings per share represent adjusted net income divided by the number of diluted shares.
The adjusted effective tax rate is calculated as the income tax effects on continuing and discontinued operations plus the income tax impact included in Mallinckrodt's reconciliation of net income, divided by income from continuing and discontinued operations plus the pre-tax, non-income, tax-related adjustments included in its reconciliation of adjusted net income (excluding dilutive share impact). The income tax impact item included in its reconciliation of adjusted net income primarily represents the tax impact of adjustments between net income and adjusted net income as well as U.S. tax payments associated with internal installment sale transactions.
Net sales growth on a constant-currency basis measures the change in net sales between current- and prior-year periods using a constant currency, the exchange rate in effect during the applicable prior-year period.
Pro forma third quarter fiscal 2015 INOMAX net sales represent $98.1 million of INOMAX net sales, which represents $16.6 million under its prior ownership and $81.5 million under Mallinckrodt subsequent to the Apr. 16, 2015 acquisition. INOMAX growth in the third quarter fiscal 2016 represented 23.4% over pro forma third quarter fiscal 2015. The growth was negatively impacted by 0.1% due to currency impacts.
Pro forma third quarter fiscal 2015 Therakos net sales represent $46.2 million of its net sales under prior ownership. Therakos growth in the third quarter fiscal 2016 was 13.6% over pro forma third quarter fiscal 2015. The growth was negatively offset by 2.1% due to currency impacts.
Free cash flow for the first nine months of fiscal 2016 represents net cash provided by operating activities of $994.4 million less capital expenditures of $133.5 million, each as prepared in accordance with GAAP. For the third quarter, the company generated $454.3 million in net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures of $42.1 million.
The company has provided these adjusted financial measures because they are used by management, along with financial measures in accordance with GAAP, to evaluate the company's operating performance. In addition, the company believes that they will be used by certain investors to measure Mallinckrodt's operating results. Management believes that presenting these adjusted measures provides useful information about the company's performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding items that the company does not believe are indicative of its core operating performance.
These adjusted measures should be considered supplemental to and not a substitute for financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. The company's definition of these adjusted measures may differ from similarly titled measures used by others.
Because adjusted financial measures exclude the effect of items that will increase or decrease the company's reported results of operations, management strongly encourages investors to review the company's consolidated financial statements and publicly filed reports in their entirety. A reconciliation of certain of these historical adjusted financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is included in the tables accompanying this release.
Further information regarding non-GAAP financial measures can be found on the Investor Relations page of the company's website.
Cautionary Statements Related to Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this document that are not strictly historical, including statements regarding future financial condition and operating results, economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory factors affecting Mallinckrodt's businesses and any other statements regarding events or developments that we believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, may be "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and involve a number of risks and uncertainties.
There are a number of important factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those suggested or indicated by such forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. These factors include risks and uncertainties related to, among other things; general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which Mallinckrodt operates; the commercial success of Mallinckrodt's products; Mallinckrodt's ability to realize anticipated growth, synergies and cost savings from acquisitions; conditions that could necessitate an evaluation of Mallinckrodt's goodwill and/or intangible assets for possible impairment; changes in laws and regulations; Mallinckrodt's ability to successfully integrate acquisitions of operations, technology, products and businesses generally and to realize anticipated growth, synergies and cost savings; Mallinckrodt's ability to successfully develop or commercialize new products; Mallinckrodt's ability to protect intellectual property rights; Mallinckrodt's ability to receive procurement and production quotas granted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; customer concentration; Mallinckrodt's reliance on certain individual products that are material to its financial performance; cost containment efforts of customers, purchasing groups, third-party payers and governmental organizations; the reimbursement practices of a small number of public or private insurers; pricing pressure on certain of Mallinckrodt's products due to legal changes or changes in insurers' reimbursement practices resulting from recent increased public scrutiny of healthcare and pharmaceutical costs; limited clinical trial data for H.P. Acthar Gel; complex reporting and payment obligations under healthcare rebate programs; Mallinckrodt's ability to navigate price fluctuations; future changes to U.S. and foreign tax laws; Mallinckrodt's ability to achieve expected benefits from restructuring activities; complex manufacturing processes; competition; product liability losses and other litigation liability; ongoing governmental investigations; material health, safety and environmental liabilities; retention of key personnel; conducting business internationally; and the effectiveness of information technology infrastructure.
These and other factors are identified and described in more detail in the "Risk Factors" sections of Mallinckrodt's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 25, 2015 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 25, 2016. The forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date hereof and Mallinckrodt does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and developments or otherwise, except as required by law.
CONTACTS
Investor Relations
Coleman N. Lannum, CFA
Senior Vice President, Investor Strategy and IRO
314-654-6649
[email protected]
Daniel J. Speciale, CPA
Director, Investor Relations
314-654-3638
[email protected]
Media
Rhonda Sciarra
Senior Communications Manager
314-654-8618
[email protected]
Meredith Fischer
Senior Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs
314-654-3318
[email protected]
MALLINCKRODT PLC CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (unaudited, in millions, except per share data)
Three Months Ended
June 24,
2016 Percent of Net sales
June 26,
2015 Percent of Net sales Net sales $ 970.6
100.0 %
$ 877.3
100.0 % Cost of sales 429.3
44.2
373.5
42.6
Gross profit 541.3
55.8
503.8
57.4
Selling, general and administrative expenses 248.4
25.6
295.0
33.6
Research and development expenses 76.1
7.8
59.9
6.8
Restructuring charges, net 14.1
1.5
22.7
2.6
Gains on divestiture and license (0.2)
(0.9)
(0.1)
Operating income 202.9
20.9
127.1
14.5
Interest expense (95.6)
(9.8)
(72.5)
(8.3)
Interest income 0.4
0.2
Other income (loss), net (1.3)
(0.1)
(0.4)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes 106.4
11.0
54.4
6.2
Income tax benefit (89.3)
(9.2)
(1.2)
(0.1)
Income from continuing operations 195.7
20.2
55.6
6.3
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes 3.6
0.4
2.4
0.3
Net income $ 199.3
20.5 %
$ 58.0
6.6 %
Basic earnings per share:
Income from continuing operations $ 1.80
$ 0.47
Income (loss) from discontinued operations 0.03
0.02
Net income 1.84
0.50
Diluted earnings per share:
Income from continuing operations $ 1.79
$ 0.47
Income (loss) from discontinued operations 0.03
0.02
Net income 1.82
0.49
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding:
Basic 108.6
116.3
Diluted 109.4
117.8
MALLINCKRODT PLC NON-GAAP MEASURES (unaudited, in millions except per share data)
Three Months Ended
June 24, 2016
June 26, 2015
Gross
profit Selling,
general
and
administrative
expenses Net
income
Diluted net
income per share
Gross
profit Selling,
general
and
administrative
expenses Net
income
Diluted
net
income
per share GAAP $ 541.3
$ 248.4
$ 199.3
$ 1.82
$ 503.8
$ 295.0
$ 58.0
$ 0.49
Adjustments:
Intangible asset amortization 174.0
(1.8)
175.8
1.61
147.1
(1.9)
149.0
1.26
Restructuring and related charges, net (1) 0.6
(0.7)
15.3
0.14
22.7
0.19
Inventory step-up expense 2.6
2.6
0.02
4.0
4.0
0.03
Incremental equity conversion costs
(19.6)
19.6
0.17
Loss (income) from discontinued operations
(3.6)
(0.03)
(2.4)
(0.02)
Change in contingent consideration fair value
4.3
(4.3)
(0.04)
Acquisition related expenses
(0.1)
0.1
(23.5)
23.5
0.20
Significant legal and environmental changes
(15.5)
15.5
0.13
Income taxes (2)
(144.4)
(1.32)
(49.6)
(0.42)
Dilutive share impact (3)
(1.8)
(0.01)
As adjusted $ 718.5
$ 250.1
$ 240.8
$ 2.20
$ 654.9
$ 234.5
$ 238.5
$ 2.02
Percent of net sales 74.0 % 25.8 % 24.8 %
74.6 % 26.7 % 27.2 %
(1) Includes pre-tax accelerated depreciation.
(2) Includes tax effects of above adjustments as well as the elimination of deferred tax benefits recognized upon pay downof intercompany installment notes created by internal sales of acquired intangible assets.
(3) For the three months ended June 26, 2015, the diluted net income per share on a GAAP basis was required to be calculated using the two-class method of calculating net income per share. This method required $0.4 million of net income be allocated to participating securities for the three months ended June 26, 2015. This adjustment reflects this allocation and a similar allocation of the above adjustments. Using the two-class method, the weighted-average number of shares were 117.8 million for the three months ended June 26, 2015. Due to the fiscal 2015 vesting of equity awards that qualified as participating securities, the Company is no longer required to use the two-class method, and therefore applied the treasury stock method for the three months ended June 26, 2016.
MALLINCKRODT PLC SEGMENT NET SALES AND CONSTANT-CURRENCY GROWTH (unaudited, in millions)
Three Months Ended
June 24,
2016
June 26,
2015
Percent change
Currency
impact
Constant-
currency
growth Specialty Brands $ 589.3
$ 446.2
32.1 %
(0.2) %
32.3 % Specialty Generics 263.4
307.9
(14.5)
(0.2)
(14.3)
Nuclear Imaging 104.0
108.8
(4.4)
0.3
(4.7)
956.7
862.9
10.9
(0.2)
11.1
Other(1) 13.9
14.4
(3.5)
(3.5)
Net sales $ 970.6
$ 877.3
10.6 %
(0.2) %
10.8 %
(1) Represents net sales from an ongoing, post-divestiture supply agreement with the acquirer of the CMDS business. Amounts for periods prior to the divestiture represent the reclassification of intercompany sales to third-party sales to conform with the expected presentation of the ongoing supply agreement.
MALLINCKRODT PLC SELECT PRODUCT LINE NET SALES (unaudited, in millions)
Three Months Ended
June 24,
2016
June 26,
2015
Percent change
Currency
impact
Constant-
currency
growth Specialty Brands
Acthar $ 298.3
$ 268.7
11.0 %
%
11.0 % Inomax 121.1
81.5
48.6
(0.1)
48.7 % Ofirmev 70.7
62.1
13.8
13.8 % Therakos immunotherapy 52.5
% Hemostasis 13.9
% Other 32.8
33.9
(3.2)
0.2
(3.4) % Specialty Brands Total $ 589.3
$ 446.2
32.1 %
(0.2) %
32.3 %
Specialty Generics
Hydrocodone (API) and hydrocodone-containing tablets $ 38.2
$ 37.4
2.1 %
%
2.1 % Oxycodone (API) and oxycodone-containing tablets 30.6
31.6
(3.2)
(3.2)
Methylphenidate ER 24.3
30.0
(19.0)
(19.0)
Other controlled substances 124.7
157.4
(20.8)
(20.8)
Other 45.6
51.5
(11.5)
(1.3)
(10.2)
Specialty Generics Total $ 263.4
$ 307.9
(14.5) %
(0.2) %
(14.3) %
Nuclear Imaging Total $ 104.0
$ 108.8
(4.4) %
0.3 %
(4.7) %
MALLINCKRODT PLC CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (unaudited, in millions, except per share data)
Nine Months Ended
June 24,
2016 Percent of Net sales
June 26,
2015 Percent of Net sales Net sales $ 2,803.4
100.0 %
$ 2,464.5
100.0 % Cost of sales 1,290.8
46.0
1,093.0
44.3
Gross profit 1,512.6
54.0
1,371.5
55.7
Selling, general and administrative expenses 722.1
25.8
827.5
33.6
Research and development expenses 198.3
7.1
170.6
6.9
Restructuring charges, net 29.1
1.0
33.4
1.4
Non-restructuring impairment charges 16.9
0.6
Gains on divestiture and license (0.5)
(2.6)
(0.1)
Operating income 546.7
19.5
342.6
13.9
Interest expense (290.6)
(10.4)
(178.7)
(7.3)
Interest income 0.8
0.7
Other income, net
8.0
0.3
Income from continuing operations before income taxes 256.9
9.2
172.6
7.0
Income tax benefit (175.0)
(6.2)
(45.6)
(1.9)
Income from continuing operations 431.9
15.4
218.2
8.9
Income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes 96.8
3.5
31.3
1.3
Net income $ 528.7
18.9 %
$ 249.5
10.1 %
Basic earnings per share:
Income from continuing operations $ 3.87
$ 1.87
Income from discontinued operations 0.87
0.27
Net income 4.73
2.14
Diluted earnings per share:
Income from continuing operations $ 3.84
$ 1.85
Income from discontinued operations 0.86
0.26
Net income 4.70
2.11
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding:
Basic 111.7
115.5
Diluted 112.6
117.1
MALLINCKRODT PLC NON-GAAP MEASURES (unaudited, in millions except per share data)
Nine Months Ended
June 24, 2016
June 26, 2015
Gross
profit Selling,
general
and
administrative
expenses Net
income
Diluted net
income per share
Gross
profit Selling,
general
and
administrative
expenses Net
income
Diluted
net
income
per share GAAP $ 1,512.6
$ 722.1
$ 528.7
$ 4.70
$ 1,371.5
$ 827.5
$ 249.5
$ 2.11
Adjustments:
Intangible asset amortization 518.8
(5.4)
524.2
4.66
392.4
(4.3)
396.7
3.39
Restructuring and related charges, net (1) 1.2
(1.8)
32.1
0.29
33.6
0.29
Inventory step-up expense 20.9
20.9
0.19
39.2
39.2
0.33
Incremental equity conversion costs
(65.0)
65.0
0.56
Income from discontinued operations
(96.8)
(0.86)
(31.3)
(0.27)
Non-restructuring impairment charges
16.9
0.15
Change in contingent consideration fair value
10.6
(10.6)
(0.09)
Acquisition related expenses
(3.1)
3.1
0.03
(30.6)
30.6
0.26
Significant legal and environmental changes
(11.5)
11.5
0.10
(66.8)
66.8
0.57
Income taxes (2)
(321.7)
(2.86)
(197.9)
(1.69)
Dilutive share impact (3)
(5.9)
(0.02)
As adjusted $ 2,053.5
$ 710.9
$ 708.3
$ 6.29
$ 1,803.1
$ 660.8
$ 646.3
$ 5.52
Percent of net sales 73.3 % 25.4 % 25.3 %
73.2 % 26.8 % 26.2 %
(1) Includes pre-tax accelerated depreciation.
(2) Includes tax effects of above adjustments as well as the elimination of deferred tax benefits recognized upon pay downof intercompany installment notes created by internal sales of acquired intangible assets.
(3) For the nine months ended June 26, 2015, the diluted net income per share on a GAAP basis was required to be calculated using the two-class method of calculating net income per share. This method required $2.3 million of net income be allocated to participating securities for the nine months ended June 26, 2015. This adjustment reflects this allocation and a similar allocation of the above adjustments. Using the two-class method, the weighted-average number of shares were 117.1 million for the nine months ended June 26, 2015. Due to the fiscal 2015 vesting of equity awards that qualified as participating securities, the Company is no longer required to use the two-class method, and therefore applied the treasury stock method for the nine months ended June 26, 2015.
MALLINCKRODT PLC SEGMENT NET SALES AND CONSTANT-CURRENCY GROWTH (unaudited, in millions)
Nine Months Ended
June 24,
2016
June 26,
2015
Percent change
Currency
impact
Constant-
currency
growth Specialty Brands $ 1,667.5
$ 1,154.1
44.5 %
(0.3) %
44.8 % Specialty Generics 785.4
954.9
(17.8)
(0.6)
(17.2)
Nuclear Imaging 309.8
320.2
(3.2)
(1.8)
(1.4)
2,762.7
2,429.2
13.7
(0.6)
14.3
Other(1) 40.7
35.3
15.3
15.3
Net sales $ 2,803.4
$ 2,464.5
13.8 %
(0.6) %
14.4 %
(1) Represents net sales from an ongoing, post-divestiture supply agreement with the acquirer of the CMDS business. Amounts for periods prior to the divestiture represent the reclassification of intercompany sales to third-party sales to conform with the expected presentation of the ongoing supply agreement.
MALLINCKRODT PLC SELECT PRODUCT LINE NET SALES (unaudited, in millions)
Nine Months Ended
June 24,
2016
June 26,
2015
Percent change
Currency
impact
Constant-
currency
growth Specialty Brands
Acthar $ 833.4
$ 763.1
9.2 %
%
9.2 % Inomax 347.4
81.5
326.3
(0.6)
326.9 % Ofirmev 208.7
201.6
3.5
3.5 % Therakos immunotherapy 153.1
% Hemostasis 25.3
% Other 99.6
107.9
(7.7)
(0.2)
(7.5) % Specialty Brands Total $ 1,667.5
$ 1,154.1
44.5 %
(0.3) %
44.8 %
Specialty Generics
Hydrocodone (API) and hydrocodone-containing tablets $ 115.7
$ 138.0
(16.2) %
%
(16.2) % Oxycodone (API) and oxycodone-containing tablets 97.4
127.2
(23.4)
(23.4)
Methylphenidate ER 80.1
112.6
(28.9)
(28.9)
Other controlled substances 356.3
414.7
(14.1)
(14.1)
Other 135.9
162.4
(16.3)
(3.7)
(12.6)
Specialty Generics Total $ 785.4
$ 954.9
(17.8) %
(0.6) %
(17.2) %
Nuclear Imaging Total $ 309.8
$ 320.2
(3.2) %
(1.8) %
(1.4) %
MALLINCKRODT PLC CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited, in millions)
June 24,
2016
September 25,
2015 Assets
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 521.9
$ 365.9
Accounts receivable, net 500.0
548.5
Inventories 357.7
281.8
Deferred income taxes 115.7
142.7
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 131.0
207.3
Current assets held for sale
299.9
Total current assets 1,626.3
1,846.1
Property, plant and equipment, net 1,012.0
991.3
Goodwill 3,645.5
3,649.4
Intangible assets, net 9,258.5
9,666.3
Other assets 290.9
251.0
Total Assets $ 15,833.2
$ 16,404.1
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt $ 21.7
$ 22.3
Accounts payable 125.4
133.0
Accrued payroll and payroll-related costs 110.5
103.7
Accrued interest 69.9
80.2
Accrued and other current liabilities 642.0
517.4
Current liabilities held for sale
72.8
Total current liabilities 969.5
929.4
Long-term debt 6,279.0
6,474.3
Pension and postretirement benefits 136.4
116.7
Environmental liabilities 73.2
73.3
Deferred income taxes 2,772.5
3,132.4
Other income tax liabilities 95.3
121.3
Other liabilities 298.5
245.5
Total Liabilities 10,624.4
11,092.9
Shareholders' Equity:
Preferred shares
Ordinary shares 23.6
23.5
Ordinary shares held in treasury at cost (711.7)
(109.7)
Additional paid-in capital 5,395.0
5,357.6
Retained earnings 567.6
38.9
Accumulated other comprehensive income (65.7)
0.9
Total Shareholders' Equity 5,208.8
5,311.2
Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity $ 15,833.2
$ 16,404.1
MALLINCKRODT PLC CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED AND COMBINED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (unaudited, in millions)
Nine Months Ended
June 24,
2016
June 26,
2015 Cash Flows From Operating Activities:
Net income $ 528.7
$ 249.5
Adjustments to reconcile net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 625.0
481.2
Share-based compensation 30.6
93.9
Deferred income taxes (324.3)
(135.2)
Non-cash impairment charges 16.9
Gain on disposal of discontinued operations (99.1)
Other non-cash items 22.7
(61.2)
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of the effects of acquisitions:
Accounts receivable, net 51.2
(22.9)
Inventories (6.5)
36.9
Accounts payable (8.6)
16.5
Income taxes 140.7
61.6
Other 17.1
(161.1)
Net cash provided by operating activities 994.4
559.2
Cash Flows From Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures (133.5)
(92.5)
Acquisitions and intangibles, net of cash acquired (169.5)
(1,176.3)
Proceeds from disposal of discontinued operations, net of cash 267.0
Restricted cash 47.1
(21.9)
Other 5.3
2.6
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities 16.4
(1,288.1)
Cash Flows From Financing Activities:
Issuance of external debt 98.3
1,720.0
Repayment of external debt and capital leases (307.1)
(1,457.8)
Debt financing costs (0.1)
(25.3)
Excess tax benefit from share-based compensation
30.4
Proceeds from exercise of share options 8.5
29.7
Repurchase of shares (602.0)
(15.4)
Other (53.0)
(28.1)
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities (855.4)
253.5
Effect of currency rate changes on cash 0.6
(7.1)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 156.0
(482.5)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 365.9
707.8
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 521.9
$ 225.3
1 Amounts reported reflect presentation of the company's former contrast media and delivery systems (CMDS) business as a discontinued operation.
2 Generally accepted accounting principles
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SOURCE Mallinckrodt plc
Related Links
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TORONTO, ON and SAN DIEGO, CA, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife's Lab of Forward Thinking (LOFT) is collaborating with Nervana Systems, a company that is building the next generation of intelligent applications. Manulife's LOFT will use these applications to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning tool to analyze the high volume of online information, financial news, emails and documents that portfolio managers receive each day when researching investments.
"The complexity of the financial markets and vast amount of data generated make deep learning an ideal fit for financial services companies," said Naveen Rao, CEO, Nervana Systems. "Nervana Cloud will help Manulife's portfolio managers quickly organize, search and analyze new and historical financial data to make faster and more accurate investment decisions."
Manulife's LOFT is using deep learning to train a computer system so it can decipher natural language. By analyzing information, the computer then processes terms and words to infer meaning. It then has the capability to learn from that information, continuously improving itself. The Manulife LOFT project will utilize a deep learning-based natural language processing engine.
Using deep learning, Manulife will be able to analyze data and present recommendations that could help investment advisors and other professionals make informed decisions faster than ever before.
Manulife - and under its John Hancock brand in the United States has established a global network of LOFTs in Boston, Toronto and Singapore. The Toronto LOFT located in the C-Suite (fintech cluster) at MaRS Discovery District in Toronto will be leading the project.
"This partnership with Nervana accelerates our development efforts and our understanding of this new technology," said Greg Framke, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Manulife. "Deep learning and artificial intelligence technologies have the potential to enhance research efforts in virtually all areas of the company."
About Nervana Systems
Based in Palo Alto and San Diego, CA, Nervana Systems has developed a full-stack deep learning solution that enables organizations of all sizes to quickly build and deploy state-of-the-art deep learning-based AI solutions. Founded by experts in machine learning, neuroscience, and computer engineering, Nervana has assembled experienced data scientists, engineers, and business professionals from the best institutions, research labs, and high-growth technology companies in the world including Brown, Caltech, Duke, Harvard, UC Berkeley, Qualcomm, and Goldman Sachs. The company is backed by leading VC firms including DFJ, DCVC, Allen & Co, AME Cloud Ventures, Playground Global, CME Group, Fuel Capital, Lux Capital, and Omidyar Network. To learn more about the Nervana Cloud, please email us at [email protected].
About the Lab of Forward Thinking
Manulife and John Hancock's Lab of Forward Thinking (LOFT) explores emerging technologies, new business processes and consumer needs to deliver innovative solutions. Through LOFT labs in Boston, Singapore and Toronto, teams discover, incubate and accelerate new technologies, products, services and processes. The fail-fast culture gives every idea a fighting chance to succeed. Follow the LOFT on Facebook, as well as on Twitter and Instagram at @InnovateForward.
About Manulife
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group providing forward-thinking solutions to help people with their big financial decisions. We operate as John Hancock in the United States, and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2015, we had approximately 34,000 employees, 63,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving 20 million customers. At the end of March 2016, we had $904 billion (US$697 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made more than $24.9 billion in benefits, interest and other payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 100 years. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong. Follow Manulife on Twitter @ManulifeNews or visit www.manulife.com or www.johnhancock.com.
SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation
Related Links
http://www.manulife.com
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- McClatchy (NYSE: MNI) today announced the appointment of Maria Thomas to its board of directors, effective August 15, 2016. Thomas replaces Kathleen Foley Feldstein, a long-standing member of the board, who retired at McClatchy's annual meeting on May 18, 2016.
Thomas was an early product leader at Amazon.com and has been building innovative digital business models and lasting consumer brands ever since. She spent seven years leading NPR Digital and most recently served as the interim CEO and strategic advisor to Glamsquad, a NYC-based startup offering beauty services on demand. Thomas has held executive roles with other successful startups like Etsy and SmartThings, as well as with more established brands like American Express.
"I am thrilled to welcome Maria to McClatchy's board of directors," said Kevin McClatchy. "Maria has a talent for taking companies from startup to success. I look forward to the impact she can make in helping the company develop its digital strategies further and continuing its strong digital execution."
Thomas was the first non-founder CEO at Etsy from 2008 to 2010. She led the young company through a period of extraordinary growth and into profitability. Under her leadership, Etsy became a trusted global brand embraced by seven million customers and a trusted e-commerce platform serving hundreds of thousands of sellers with gross merchandise sales of more than $300 million. Subsequently, Thomas served as Chief Marketing and Consumer Officer for SmartThings, a pioneer in the consumer Internet of Things arena. She helped SmartThings navigate its two year journey from launch on Kickstarter to a $200 million sale to Samsung.
Thomas broke similar ground in the news industry where, from 2001-2008, she was SVP and GM of NPR Digital. She was a driving force behind NPR's successful transformation from a radio-only company to a best-in-class, multimedia enterprise.
Thomas currently serves on the board of the privately held digital textile printing and e-commerce company, Spoonflower. She served three years on the board of online grocery company Relay Foods before its merger with Door-to-Door Organics. Thomas is also an angel investor in several start-ups.
"I am excited to join the McClatchy board at such a transformative juncture for the company," Thomas said. "They are tackling the challenges of our digital world head-on while staying true to their 159-year record of community service journalism."
McClatchy president and CEO Pat Talamantes said, "Maria's deep digital management and product experience, her work with investors and venture capitalists, and background in media make her uniquely suited to helping McClatchy develop new business models for public service journalism. She will be a tremendous addition to the board and a great resource for the management team."
Thomas holds an undergraduate degree in accounting from Boston University and earned her MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management.
She started her career on Wall Street as a financial analyst and spent seven years with World Bank Group as an Investment Officer with the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank's private sector arm.
With the appointment of Thomas, McClatchy's board of directors now consists of 11 members including 3 Class A directors and 8 Class B directors.
About McClatchy :
McClatchy is a 21st century news and information leader, publisher of iconic brands such as the Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star, The Sacramento Bee, The Charlotte Observer, The (Raleigh) News and Observer, and the (Fort Worth) Star-Telegram. McClatchy operates media companies in 28 U.S. markets in 14 states, providing each of its communities with high-quality news and advertising services in a wide array of digital and print formats. McClatchy is headquartered in Sacramento, Calif., and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MNI.
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SOURCE McClatchy
Related Links
http://www.mcclatchy.com
Grieve, who started his journalism career as a reporter at The Sacramento Bee , returned to McClatchy last year to lead the company's digital readership efforts. A graduate of Stanford University and the Georgetown University Law Center, Grieve, 52, was previously editor-in-chief of National Journal and served in multiple leadership roles at POLITICO, including Congressional bureau chief, managing editor and founding editor of POLITICO Pro.
Gyllenhaal, 64, has been McClatchy's vice president, news, and Washington editor since 2010. He will leave the vice president position in October in accordance with retirement policies for corporate officers. After a brief hiatus, he will return in a new role as senior editor and director of leadership and development. Grieve will move into the vice president role on October 4, 2016.
President and CEO Patrick Talamantes said the company is delighted to have found a leader with a deep knowledge of both digital publishing and the McClatchy tradition.
"Tim has a reputation for being aggressively transformative while sticking to his journalistic guns," he said. "His initiatives have continued to grow our digital audience and his arrival provided the company with some much needed and strategic bench strength."
Grieve, who has been working in Washington, D.C., for the past decade, will return to live and work in Sacramento.
"This is a homecoming for me, but it's not about nostalgia," said Grieve. "McClatchy is in the midst of a massive digital transformation, and I'm thrilled to play a role in it -- not just in building readership, but in the daily quest to produce powerful public-service journalism that holds our leaders accountable and makes our communities better."
Talamantes said that the new role for Gyllenhaal will take advantage of his extensive experience and knowledge of both the industry and media leadership. Among his duties will be expanding the company's leadership development programs, establishing an ambitious recruiting operation and taking on special projects.
"There is no one better suited in the country than Anders to help us build the kind of leaders and culture we will need for the future," said Talamantes. "Anders is a great developer of talent and is well respected throughout the industry."
Prior to becoming vice president, news and Washington editor, Gyllenhaal was the senior vice president and executive editor of the Miami Herald from 2007 to 2010. He led two other McClatchy newsrooms over his career: from 2002 to 2007 he was editor and senior vice president of the Star Tribune in Minneapolis and from 1997 to 2002 he was executive editor of The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina. Before that, he held a series of reporting and editing jobs at The Herald, The Press of Atlantic City and the Daily News Record.
A graduate of George Washington University, Gyllenhaal is chair of the Poynter Institute's National Advisory Board and is on the board of the American Society of News Editors and the Inter American Press Association, and has chaired and served on the boards of the Pulitzer Prize, the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism and several journalism schools. He has been a long-time advocate for press freedom and government openness.
"It's been a true honor to help lead our editors and these terrific newsrooms at a time when so much is at stake,'' said Gyllenhaal. "Tim will be a superb leader and I very much look forward to working with him.''
About McClatchy
McClatchy is a 21st century news and information leader, publisher of iconic brands such as the Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star, The Sacramento Bee, The Charlotte Observer, The (Raleigh) News & Observer, and the (Fort Worth) Star-Telegram. McClatchy operates media companies in 28 U.S. markets in 14 states, providing each of its communities with high-quality news and advertising services in a wide array of digital and print formats. McClatchy is headquartered in Sacramento, Calif., and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MNI.
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SOURCE McClatchy
Related Links
http://www.mcclatchy.com
"The world of rehabilitation is always changing and, through that, TIRR Memorial Hermann has continued to set the standard for high-quality, evidence-based rehabilitation and cutting-edge research," said Carl Josehart, Senior Vice President and CEO, TIRR Memorial Hermann . "Our staff is dedicated to changing lives for the better and providing the highest level of care to each patient who comes through our doors. Receiving this acknowledgement from such a reputable organization reaffirms that commitment."
In addition to TIRR Memorial Hermann's recognition, Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center ranked No. 2 overall hospital in Texas, which is an honor given only to hospitals that were high-performing across multiple areas of care.
Specific Memorial Hermann service lines honored by U.S. News and World Report with national rankings included the following:
The recognition of Memorial Hermann's complete neuroscience program, which includes acute care services for pediatric and adult patients, in addition to the rehabilitation services at TIRR Memorial Hermann is indicative of the System's commitment to the full continuum of care.
"Since joining Memorial Hermann, I continue to be impressed with the passionate staff, exemplary care and commitment to overall safety and quality," said Dr. Benjamin K. Chu, President and CEO, Memorial Hermann Health System. "I am incredibly proud of the patient-centered work I have witnessed throughout the entire system and congratulate our employees and affiliated physicians for receiving such well-deserved recognition."
The annual U.S. News Best Hospitals rankings, now in their 27th year, help guide patients to hospitals that deliver outstanding care across 25 specialties, procedures and conditions. The Best Hospitals methodologies include objective measures such as patient survival, the number of times a given procedure is performed, infection rates, adequacy of nurse staffing and more.
"U.S. News evaluates nearly 5,000 hospitals nationwide," said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis at U.S. News. "A hospital that emerged from our analysis as one of the best has much to be proud of."
For 2016-2017, 153 hospitals were nationally ranked in at least one specialty, while 1,628 received a high performing rating in one or more specialties, procedures or conditions. In rankings by state and metro area, U.S. News recognized hospitals that were high-performing across multiple areas of care. Best Hospitals was produced by U.S. News with RTI International, a leading research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
Media Contact:
Glenn Willey
713.242.2581 (Office)
919.622.0623 (Mobile)
[email protected]
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SOURCE Memorial Hermann Health System
Related Links
http://www.memorialhermann.org/
HAMILTON, Bermuda, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Nabors Industries Ltd. ("Nabors") (NYSE: NBR) today reported second quarter 2016 operating revenues of $571.6 million, compared to operating revenues of $597.6 million in the first quarter. Net income from continuing operations for the quarter was a loss of $186.6 million, or ($0.65) per diluted share, compared to a loss of $396.6 million, or ($1.41) per diluted share, last quarter. Net income from continuing operations for the second quarter includes a loss of $0.39 per share due to impairments and losses related to disposed businesses and assets. The largest component, totaling $0.34 per share, is comprised of an impairment to the carrying value of the Company's investment in C&J Energy Services Ltd. ("C&J") and its proportionate share of C&J losses from the prior quarter. In addition, the second quarter benefitted from the renegotiation of two contracts, as well as early termination revenue that improved reported net income by $24.1 million or $0.09 per share.
Anthony Petrello, Nabors' Chairman, President, and CEO, commented, "Thanks to our global market position, stringent cost management and incremental revenue from two contract renegotiations, we were able to achieve a sequential increase in adjusted EBITDA, despite lower activity and pricing. Additionally, continued focus on capital expenditures and expense control has led to a reduction in net debt of nearly $140 million year-to-date.
"Operating income for the Company remained flat quarter over quarter, largely attributable to favorable results in the Gulf of Mexico and our international business, offset by declines in Rig Services, Alaska and Canada. Our Gulf of Mexico results reflect amended contract terms for the MODS 400 deepwater platform rig, which include partial recovery of standby revenue for past quarters.
"We completed two of our three recently introduced PACE-M800 AC rigs under construction, with completion of the third expected by the end of September. We have executed a contract for the first rig and are finalizing contracts for the other two. Our pad-optimized PACE-X rig also continues to set new performance records.
"We remain diligent in managing the current cycle, particularly in light of the recent pullback in oil prices, while maintaining our flexibility to capitalize on opportunities."
Segment Results
Adjusted operating income for the second quarter was a loss of $53.4 million, essentially flat from the first quarter. During the second quarter the Company concluded negotiations on a contract amendment to the MODS 400 platform rig in the Gulf of Mexico and resolved a contract dispute in Angola. In addition, early termination revenue totaled approximately $14.3 million. These items had a combined favorable impact on results of $29.7 million, as compared to $3.6 million for early termination revenue in the first quarter.
Drilling and Rig Services adjusted operating income was a loss of $25.0 million compared to a loss of $18.6 million in the first quarter. Quarterly adjusted EBITDA in these business lines decreased sequentially to $193.4 million, a 3% decline from the previous quarter. For the quarter, the Company averaged 159.1 rigs operating at an average gross margin of $15,850 per rig day, compared to 187.9 rigs at $13,407 per rig day in the first quarter. The Company expects additional declines in near-term volume and pricing, as term contracts expire and adjust to spot market rates in the lower 48, and international markets continue to adjust to commodity prices.
International adjusted operating income increased by 15% sequentially to $53.9 million due to several beneficial revenue items and cost improvements. Quarterly adjusted EBITDA in this segment increased by 2% sequentially to $150.6 million. Compared to the second quarter, the Company expects decreasing quarterly income in the near term, reflecting activity declines and the absence of specific revenue events of the second quarter. Increased bidding activity in the Middle East and planned 2017 budget increases by certain Latin American customers imply an upturn is possible in the first half of next year. In Canada, the usual sequential decrease in results due to the annual second quarter break up was minimized by the historically low first quarter rig counts. Subsequent quarterly results should reflect a modest improvement.
The U.S. Drilling segment posted an adjusted operating loss of $48.3 million for the quarter, reflecting further activity declines and margin erosion offset by the additional standby revenue agreed with our customer for the delayed startup of the MODS 400 platform rig. The Lower 48 operation saw 18% fewer rigs working compared to the first quarter, with an average rig count of 44. A rig count improvement late in the quarter implies a bottoming in activity. Provided oil prices stabilize into the $50 per barrel range, the Company expects the near-term rig count to increase gradually, albeit at lower average margins, as legacy contracts renew at current spot day rates. Subsequent to quarter end, the Company commenced mobilization of its second arctic coiled tubing drilling rig to the North Slope of Alaska with startup anticipated to occur in late third quarter.
Rig Services, which consists of the Company's manufacturing, directional drilling, and complementary services, reported an adjusted operating loss of $19.7 million. While the broader market continues to struggle in these segments, the Company is encouraged by customers' adoption of its technologies and interest in its comprehensive offerings.
William Restrepo, Nabors' Chief Financial Officer, stated, "Our company's strategy and preparation continue to contain the damage inflicted by the severity and length of the current downturn. Capital allocation over the past five years to international markets with lower cost reservoirs, as well as intense focus on developing advanced drilling technologies, have helped us continue to perform well nearly two years into this downturn. Early actions to control cost and capital expenditures have also contributed to the positive free cash flow that we had anticipated. Finally, the steps taken to strengthen our liquidity position before the start of this downturn have proven extremely valuable and have prevented the need for onerous capital market transactions in a very unfavorable environment. In addition to our current cash balances, our $2.25 billion revolver remains undrawn. And although we see signs of improvement in both international and U.S. markets, we remain committed to maintaining liquidity and financial discipline, while targeting positive free cash flow during the remainder of the year."
Mr. Petrello concluded, "I am pleased with our results this quarter in light of historically low rig counts and the most challenging drilling market in decades. Since this downturn began in 2014, Nabors' unique best-in-class global footprint and technological innovations have allowed us to mitigate the impact of the implosion in North American activity, preserve our sizeable liquidity, and position the Company for further growth."
About Nabors
Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR) owns and operates the world's largest land-based drilling rig fleet and is a leading provider of offshore platform rigs in the United States and multiple international markets. Nabors also provides directional drilling services, performance tools, and innovative technologies throughout the world's most significant oil and gas markets. Leveraging our advanced drilling automation capabilities, Nabors' highly skilled workforce continues to set new standards for operational excellence and transform our industry.
Forward-looking Statements
The information above includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, as disclosed by Nabors from time to time in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result of these factors, Nabors' actual results may differ materially from those indicated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect management's estimates and beliefs as of the date of this press release. Nabors does not undertake to update these forward-looking statements.
Non-GAAP Disclaimer
This press release presents certain "non-GAAP" financial measures. The components of these non-GAAP measures are computed by using amounts that are determined in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"). Adjusted EBITDA is computed by subtracting the sum of direct costs, general and administrative expenses and research and engineering expenses from operating revenues. Adjusted operating income (loss) is computed similarly, but also subtracts depreciation and amortization expenses from operating revenues. Net debt is computed by subtracting the sum of cash and short-term investments from total debt. None of these measures should be used in isolation or as a substitute for the amounts reported in accordance with GAAP. However, management evaluates the performance of our operating segments and the consolidated company based on several criteria, including adjusted EBITDA, adjusted operating income (loss), and net debt, because it believes that these financial measures accurately reflect our ongoing profitability and performance. In addition, securities analysts and investors use these measures as some of the metrics on which they analyze the company's performance. Other companies in our industry may compute these measures differently. A reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted operating income (loss) to income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes and net debt to total debt, which are their nearest comparable GAAP financial measures, are included elsewhere in this press release.
Media Contact: Dennis A. Smith, Vice President of Corporate Development & Investor Relations, +1 281-775-8038. To request investor materials, contact Nabors' corporate headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda at +441-292-1510 or via e-mail at [email protected]
NABORS INDUSTRIES LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (LOSS) (Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
Six Months Ended
June 30,
March 31,
June 30,
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
2016
2015
2016
2016
2015
Revenues and other income:
Operating revenues
$ 571,591
$ 863,305
$ 597,571
$ 1,169,162
$ 2,278,012 Earnings (losses) from unconsolidated affiliates
(54,769)
(1,116)
(167,151)
(221,920)
5,386 Investment income (loss)
270
1,181
343
613
2,150 Total revenues and other income
517,092
863,370
430,763
947,855
2,285,548
Costs and other deductions:
Direct costs
341,279
488,522
365,023
706,302
1,408,132 General and administrative expenses
56,624
75,810
62,334
118,958
191,240 Research and engineering
8,180
10,480
8,162
16,342
22,183 Depreciation and amortization
218,913
218,196
215,818
434,731
499,215 Interest expense
45,237
44,469
45,730
90,967
91,070 Other, net
74,607
1,338
182,404
257,011
(54,504) Total costs and other deductions
744,840
838,815
879,471
1,624,311
2,157,336
Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes
(227,748)
24,555
(448,708)
(676,456)
128,212
Income tax expense (benefit)
(41,183)
66,445
(52,064)
(93,247)
45,740
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of tax
(186,565)
(41,890)
(396,644)
(583,209)
82,472 Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax
(984)
5,025
(926)
(1,910)
4,208
Net income (loss)
(187,549)
(36,865)
(397,570)
(585,119)
86,680 Less: Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interest
2,899
44
(724)
2,175
133 Net income (loss) attributable to Nabors
$(184,650)
$ (36,821)
$(398,294)
$ (582,944)
$ 86,813
Earnings (losses) per share:
Basic from continuing operations
$ (.65)
$ (.14)
$ (1.41)
$ (2.06)
$ .28 Basic from discontinued operations
-
.01
-
(.01)
.02 Basic
$ (.65)
$ (.13)
$ (1.41)
$ (2.07)
$ .30
Diluted from continuing operations
$ (.65)
$ (.14)
$ (1.41)
$ (2.06)
$ .28 Diluted from discontinued operations
-
.01
-
(.01)
.02 Diluted
$ (.65)
$ (.13)
$ (1.41)
$ (2.07)
$ .30
Weighted-average number
of common shares outstanding:
Basic
276,550
286,085
275,851
276,201
285,723 Diluted
276,550
286,085
275,851
276,201
286,701
Adjusted EBITDA (1)
$ 165,508
$ 288,493
$ 162,052
$ 327,560
$ 656,457
Adjusted operating income (loss) (2)
$ (53,405)
$ 70,297
$ (53,766)
$ (107,171)
$ 157,242
(1) Adjusted EBITDA is computed by subtracting the sum of direct costs, general and administrative expenses and research and engineering expenses from operating revenues. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure and should not be used in isolation or as a substitute for the amounts reported in accordance with GAAP. However, management evaluates the performance of our operating segments and the consolidated company based on several criteria, including adjusted EBITDA and adjusted operating income (loss), because it believes that these financial measures accurately reflect our ongoing profitability and performance. In addition, securities analysts and investors use this measure as one of the metrics on which they analyze our performance. Other companies in our industry may compute these measures differently. A reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure to income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes, which is a GAAP measure, is provided in the table set forth immediately following the heading "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to Income (loss) from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes".
(2) Adjusted operating income (loss) is computed by subtracting the sum of direct costs, general and administrative expenses, research and engineering expenses and depreciation and amortization from operating revenues. Adjusted operating income (loss) is a non-GAAP measure and should not be used in isolation or as a substitute for the amounts reported in accordance with GAAP. However, management evaluates the performance of our operating segments and the consolidated company based on several criteria, including adjusted EBITDA and adjusted operating income (loss), because it believes that these financial measures accurately reflect our ongoing profitability and performance. In addition, securities analysts and investors use this measure as one of the metrics on which they analyze our performance. Other companies in our industry may compute these measures differently. A reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure to income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes, which is a GAAP measure, is provided in the table set forth immediately following the heading "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to Income (loss) from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes".
NABORS INDUSTRIES LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
June 30,
March 31,
December 31, (In thousands)
2016
2016
2015
(Unaudited)
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and short-term investments
$ 255,856
$ 221,501
$ 274,589 Accounts receivable, net
504,099
594,506
784,671 Assets held for sale
86,608
80,100
75,678 Other current assets
344,680
363,280
340,959 Total current assets
1,191,243
1,259,387
1,475,897 Property, plant and equipment, net
6,765,257
6,942,315
7,027,802 Goodwill
167,275
167,217
166,659 Investment in unconsolidated affiliates
888
94,657
415,177 Other long-term assets
531,642
486,755
452,305 Total assets
$ 8,656,305
$ 8,950,331
$ 9,537,840
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Current debt
$ 175
$ 5,880
$ 6,508 Other current liabilities
868,000
865,388
999,991 Total current liabilities
868,175
871,268
1,006,499 Long-term debt
3,503,172
3,584,402
3,655,200 Other long-term liabilities
562,260
578,464
582,273 Total liabilities
4,933,607
5,034,134
5,243,972
Equity:
Shareholders' equity
3,715,850
3,904,320
4,282,710 Noncontrolling interest
6,848
11,877
11,158 Total equity
3,722,698
3,916,197
4,293,868 Total liabilities and equity
$ 8,656,305
$ 8,950,331
$ 9,537,840
NABORS INDUSTRIES LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES SEGMENT REPORTING (Unaudited)
The following tables set forth certain information with respect to our reportable segments and rig activity:
Three Months Ended
Six Months Ended
June 30,
March 31,
June 30,
(In thousands, except rig activity)
2016
2015
2016
2016
2015
Operating revenues:
Drilling & Rig Services:
U.S.
$ 140,342
$ 321,169
$ 148,676
$ 289,018
$ 774,990 Canada
6,617
21,413
17,494
24,111
79,253 International
401,024
458,545
401,055
802,079
897,706 Rig Services (1)
39,248
100,599
53,853
93,101
244,683 Subtotal Drilling & Rig Services
587,231
901,726
621,078
1,208,309
1,996,632
Completion & Production Services:
Completion Services
-
-
-
-
207,860 Production Services
-
-
-
-
158,512 Subtotal Completion & Production Services
-
-
-
-
366,372
Other reconciling items (2)
(15,640)
(38,421)
(23,507)
(39,147)
(84,992) Total operating revenues
$ 571,591
$ 863,305
$ 597,571
$ 1,169,162
$ 2,278,012
Adjusted EBITDA: (3)
Drilling & Rig Services:
U.S.
$ 52,878
$ 136,499
$ 51,235
$ 104,113
$ 324,244 Canada
360
3,732
2,122
2,482
22,200 International
150,618
177,310
148,309
298,927
372,099 Rig Services (1)
(10,433)
6,341
(1,481)
(11,914)
27,924 Subtotal Drilling & Rig Services
193,423
323,882
200,185
393,608
746,467
Completion & Production Services:
Completion Services
-
-
-
-
(28,110) Production Services
-
-
-
-
23,043 Subtotal Completion & Production Services
-
-
-
-
(5,067)
Other reconciling items (4)
(27,915)
(35,389)
(38,133)
(66,048)
(84,943) Total adjusted EBITDA
$ 165,508
$ 288,493
$ 162,052
$ 327,560
$ 656,457
Adjusted operating income (loss): (5)
Drilling & Rig Services:
U.S.
$ (48,328)
$ 31,445
$ (47,559)
$ (95,887)
$ 108,483 Canada
(10,831)
(8,268)
(7,278)
(18,109)
(1,910) International
53,859
83,571
46,872
100,731
182,373 Rig Services (1)
(19,657)
(1,575)
(10,644)
(30,301)
11,298 Subtotal Drilling & Rig Services
(24,957)
105,173
(18,609)
(43,566)
300,244
Completion & Production Services:
Completion Services
-
-
-
-
(55,243) Production Services
-
-
-
-
(3,559) Subtotal Completion & Production Services
-
-
-
-
(58,802)
Other reconciling items (4)
(28,448)
(34,876)
(35,157)
(63,605)
(84,200) Total adjusted operating income (loss)
$ (53,405)
$ 70,297
$ (53,766)
$ (107,171)
$ 157,242
Earnings (losses) from unconsolidated affiliates (6)
$ (54,769)
$ (1,116)
$(167,151)
$ (221,920)
$ 5,386
Rig activity:
Rig years: (7)
U.S.
53.7
119.5
64.9
59.3
143.4 Canada
4.2
9.7
12.5
8.3
17.6 International (8)
101.2
127.1
110.5
105.9
128.6 Total rig years
159.1
256.3
187.9
173.5
289.6 Rig hours: (9)
U.S. Production Services
-
-
-
-
129,652 Canada Production Services
-
-
-
-
23,947 Total rig hours
-
-
-
-
153,599
(1) Includes our other services comprised of our drilling technology and top drive manufacturing, directional drilling, rig instrumentation and software services.
(2) Represents the elimination of inter-segment transactions.
(3) Adjusted EBITDA is computed by subtracting the sum of direct costs, general and administrative expenses and research and engineering expenses from operating revenues. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure and should not be used in isolation or as a substitute for the amounts reported in accordance with GAAP. However, management evaluates the performance of our operating segments and the consolidated company based on several criteria, including adjusted EBITDA and adjusted operating income (loss), because it believes that these financial measures accurately reflect our ongoing profitability and performance. In addition, securities analysts and investors use this measure as one of the metrics on which they analyze our performance. Other companies in our industry may compute these measures differently. A reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure to income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes, which is a GAAP measure, is provided in the table set forth immediately following the heading "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to Income (loss) from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes".
(4) Represents the elimination of inter-segment transactions and unallocated corporate expenses.
(5) Adjusted operating income (loss) is computed by subtracting the sum of direct costs, general and administrative expenses, research and engineering expenses and depreciation and amortization from operating revenues. Adjusted operating income (loss) is a non-GAAP measure and should not be used in isolation or as a substitute for the amounts reported in accordance with GAAP. However, management evaluates the performance of our operating segments and the consolidated company based on several criteria, including adjusted EBITDA and adjusted operating income (loss), because it believes that these financial measures accurately reflect our ongoing profitability and performance. In addition, securities analysts and investors use this measure as one of the metrics on which they analyze our performance. Other companies in our industry may compute these measures differently. A reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure to income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes, which is a GAAP measure, is provided in the table set forth immediately following the heading "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to Income (loss) from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes".
(6) Represents our share of the net income (loss), as adjusted for our basis difference, of our unconsolidated affiliates accounted for by the equity method, including losses of $54.8 million, $.8 million and $167.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively, and $221.9 million and $.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 related to our share of the net loss of C&J, which we report on a quarter lag.
(7) Excludes well-servicing rigs, which are measured in rig hours. Includes our equivalent percentage ownership of rigs owned by unconsolidated affiliates. Rig years represent a measure of the number of equivalent rigs operating during a given period. For example, one rig operating 182.5 days during a 365-day period represents 0.5 rig years.
(8) International rig years includes our equivalent percentage ownership of rigs owned by unconsolidated affiliates, which totaled 2.5 years during the three months ended March 31, 2015. As of May 24, 2015, this was no longer an unconsolidated affiliate.
(9) Rig hours represents the number of hours that our well-servicing rig fleet operated during the period. This fleet was included in the Completion & Production Services business that was merged with C&J Energy Services, Inc. in March 2015 and we will therefore no longer report this performance metric.
NABORS INDUSTRIES LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES TO INCOME (LOSS) FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE INCOME TAXES (Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
Six Months Ended
June 30,
March 31,
June 30,
(In thousands)
2016
2015
2016
2016
2015
Adjusted EBITDA
$ 165,508
$ 288,493
$ 162,052
$ 327,560
$ 656,457 Depreciation and amortization
(218,913)
(218,196)
(215,818)
(434,731)
(499,215) Adjusted operating income (loss)
(53,405)
70,297
(53,766)
(107,171)
157,242
Earnings (losses) from unconsolidated affiliates
(54,769)
(1,116)
(167,151)
(221,920)
5,386 Investment income (loss)
270
1,181
343
613
2,150 Interest expense
(45,237)
(44,469)
(45,730)
(90,967)
(91,070) Other, net
(74,607)
(1,338)
(182,404)
(257,011)
54,504 Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes
$(227,748)
$ 24,555
$(448,708)
$(676,456)
$ 128,212
NABORS INDUSTRIES LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES RECONCILIATION OF NET DEBT TO TOTAL DEBT
June 30,
March 31,
December 31, (In thousands)
2016
2016
2015
(Unaudited)
Current debt
$ 175
$ 5,880
$ 6,508 Long-term debt
3,503,172
3,584,402
3,655,200 Total Debt
3,503,347
3,590,282
3,661,708 Less: Cash and short-term investments
255,856
221,501
274,589 Net Debt
$ 3,247,491
$ 3,368,781
$ 3,387,119
NABORS INDUSTRIES LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (LOSS) ITEMS EXCLUDING CERTAIN NON-CASH CHARGES
AND OTHER NON-OPERATIONAL ITEMS (NON-GAAP) (Unaudited)
Charges and Non-Operational
As adjusted (In thousands, except per share amounts)
Actuals
Items
(Non-GAAP)
Three Months Ended June 30, 2016
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of tax
$ (186,565)
$ (111,561)
$ (75,004) Diluted earnings (losses) per share from continuing operations
$ (0.65)
$ (0.39)
$ (0.26)
NABORS INDUSTRIES LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES SCHEDULE OF NON-CASH CHARGES AND OTHER NON-OPERATIONAL ITEMS (NON-GAAP) (Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
June 30,
Per Diluted (In thousands, except per share amounts)
2016 Share
Equity-method investment impairments and losses (1)
$ 95,784 $ .34 Other impairments and losses (2)
$ 15,777 $ .05
Total Adjustments, net of tax
$ 111,561 $ .39
(1) Represents impairments to the carrying value of our C&J holdings and earnings (losses) from unconsolidated affiliates, which represents our proportionate share of C&J's losses from the prior quarter, net of tax of $1.9 million.
(2) Represents impairments and losses related to disposed businesses and assets, net of tax of $7.7 million.
SOURCE Nabors Industries Ltd.
"Sixty percent of eligible voters do not vote," asserts Becky Kip, Founder of Hear My Voice. "That's not democracy. That's not making our voices heard. Registering to vote and accessing nonpartisan political information should be as simple as ordering a coffee on your phone. The Hear My Voice app puts democracy back in the hands of the people literally."
Kip realized the need for an unbiased civic engagement platform after years as a media executive in television and radio. "I witnessed firsthand how political news stories are pieced together," continues Kip. "We're only given one side of a story. We're disillusioned by this bias, so we tend to disengage from politics altogether. There needs to be a convenient alternative to mainstream news media."
Designed to be an inclusive platform for political and voter information, Hear My Voice educates users on upcoming bills and political issues with side-by-side comparisons in a neutral, nonpartisan space. Further, the app makes it easy to take meaningful action by emailing or calling your representatives, securely donating to organizations and, of course, registering to vote.
Hear My Voice is available for free download on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
About Hear My Voice
Hear My Voice is a civic engagement platform that puts democracy back in the hands of the people. With its smartphone app and website, Hear My Voice makes issue voting easy by presenting side-by-side comparisons in a nonpartisan space. Hear My Voice wants to educate and inspire meaningful actions. Contact your representatives, donate to organizations and register to vote all in one place. No extensive Google searches required. The company was built on the belief that everyone's voice should be heard. Follow @hearmyvoiceapp on Twitter and use #VoteToVoice to tell us the issues that matter to you! For more information, please visit http://www.hearmyvoice.com.
Contact:
Adam Singleton
Digital Public Relations Director
[email protected]
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160729/394198
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160729/394199LOGO
SOURCE Hear My Voice
Related Links
https://www.hearmyvoice.com
To help Kubala and others like her, the American Heart Association has launched a new educational campaign aimed at reducing the number of repeat or recurrent heart attacks. The plan is to arm survivors with a few simple, but effective action steps that can lower their risk of having another heart attack.
"Our message is simple: don't wait for a second heart attack," said Alice Jacobs, M.D., former AHA president and chair of the advisory group overseeing the new initiative. "Research shows there are some very clear things you can do to lower your chances of having another event."
Take medication as directed More than a third of heart disease patients don't follow their medication treatment plans; more than a third of medication-related hospital readmissions are caused by people not taking their medicine as they should.
More than a third of heart disease patients don't follow their medication treatment plans; more than a third of medication-related hospital readmissions are caused by people not taking their medicine as they should. Have a follow-up doctor's appointment Heart attack survivors who don't have a timely follow-up with their doctor may be up to 10 times more likely to be rehospitalized.
Heart attack survivors who don't have a timely follow-up with their doctor may be up to 10 times more likely to be rehospitalized. Complete a cardiac rehabilitation program One study found that heart patients who completed cardiac rehab were 42 percent less likely to die than those who did not.
One study found that heart patients who completed cardiac rehab were 42 percent less likely to die than those who did not. Manage risk factors Reducing risk factors like physical inactivity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, and obesity lowers the chance of having a heart attack or needing heart surgery.
Reducing risk factors like physical inactivity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, and obesity lowers the chance of having a heart attack or needing heart surgery. Develop a strong support system People with low perceived social support have worse outcomes after a heart attack, including higher likelihood of death or other cardiac events.
Kubala, 48, of Superior, Wisconsin, is only four months out from her heart attack. She goes to cardiac rehab and is learning the importance of being proactive to take control of her health.
"I knew my family history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes. What hadn't really hit me was our family history of heart disease, or how all of that can be related," she said. "I couldn't see the forest for the trees. Now I'm determined to do all I can to get healthy and to stay healthy, but it's not easy to keep on top of everything."
Jacobs, Professor of Medicine and Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Medicine at Boston University Medical Center, said making it easier for patients and their healthcare providers to know, understand and follow research-based clinical guidelines is a key element of the association's Guidelines Transformation and Optimization initiative, under which the new heart attack campaign falls.
"Having a heart attack can obviously be very traumatic, and afterwards patients and families can have a difficult time processing all that has happened, and all that needs to happen to get better," Jacobs said. "All the questions to answer, the instructions to remember and the medical terms to understand can be overwhelming. We want to help by providing simple, easy to follow steps, easy to use tools and trackers that can help people not just recover fully from this heart attack, but prevent a future one."
Information and tools for patients, their families and their healthcare teams will be developed and rolled out over the next year at Heart.org/HeartAttackRecovery.
The American Heart Association's Guideline Transformation and Optimization initiative is a comprehensive, coordinated approach to accelerate guidelines into clinical practice. By activating medical professionals to leverage science faster and measure clinical effectiveness, while empowering patients and caregivers to better manage health and participate in care coordination, the American Heart Association will help to drive better health outcomes and patient satisfaction. The initiative is supported by an educational grant from AstraZeneca.
The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association receives funding mostly from individuals. Foundations and corporations donate as well, and fund specific programs and events. Strict policies are enforced to prevent these relationships from influencing the association's science content. Financial information for the American Heart Association, including a list of contributions from pharmaceutical companies and device manufacturers, is available at www.heart.org/corporatefunding.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160802/394999
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160802/395000
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151216/296712LOGO
SOURCE American Heart Association
Related Links
http://www.heart.org
NEW YORK and LONDON, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Omnicom Public Relations Group today announced the appointment of David Gallagher to president, growth and development, international. In this new position, Gallagher will lead initiatives to deliver enhanced connection amongst the group's agency brands internationally. He will be focused on areas including building integrated client teams, talent development, new business development and new client service propositions, working closely with agency leadership teams to optimize the group's performance. Gallagher will report to Omnicom Public Relations Group CEO Karen van Bergen, and will be based in London.
"David brings a global mindset and proven success facilitating connection and collaboration amongst a diverse set of agencies, leading to expansion and growth," said van Bergen. "His experience and expertise will be instrumental as we bring heightened focus to our international presence across all Omnicom PR Group agencies. We're thrilled to welcome him to the team."
Gallagher joins Omnicom Public Relations Group from Ketchum, where he has served as a partner and European CEO since 2011. Under his leadership, Ketchum's network in Europe has grown and developed into one of the region's largest and most awarded, including being named Large Agency of the Year by the Holmes Report in 2010, and EMEA network of the year for 2013 by the same publication.
Prior to leading Ketchum in Europe, Gallagher ran the agency's London office and served as head of its European healthcare practice. He joined Ketchum in Europe in 2000, after running the agency's healthcare group in Washington, DC since 1994.
"David has been a driving force in Ketchum's European region for more than 16 years, and within our global network since 1994," said Rob Flaherty, CEO and chairman, Ketchum. "We have been fortunate to benefit from his steadfast leadership over that time, and couldn't be more proud to see him bring his talents to the larger group within Omnicom Public Relations Group, where we will no doubt continue to benefit from his smart, progressive vision for this business. I'm confident he'll accomplish a great deal in this new role and I look forward to working with him for years to come."
Gallagher is recognized as an industry thought-leader, championing innovation, collaboration and social responsibility within Ketchum and the wider marketing services community. He chaired the UK Public Relations Consultants Association from 2008-10 and currently chairs that organization's board of fellows. He was president of the global PR agency trade body, the International Communications Consultancy Organization from 2013-15, and currently serves as vice president. He was PR jury president at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2013, and helped establish Creative For Good, a digital initiative to showcase public education initiatives in partnership with the World Economic Forum and the Advertising Council. He received the Atlas Award for Lifetime Achievement in International PR in 2014, the Mark Mellor Medal from the UK PRCA for industry leadership 2014 and the SABRE Individual Achievement Award from the Holmes Report earlier this year.
"Omnicom Public Relations Group has the scale and assets in its brands to transform the public relations business around the world, and I am delighted to be offered this opportunity to play a role," Gallagher said. "This is a new chapter for me but happily one that continues long lines of friendship and collaboration with so many brilliant people in the group, and I'm looking forward to charting new territory with them all."
About Omnicom Public Relations Group
Omnicom Public Relations Group is a global collective of three of the top global public relations agencies worldwide and specialist agencies in areas including public affairs, marketing to women, fashion, public health and corporate social responsibility. It encompasses more than 6,000 public relations professionals in more than 330 offices worldwide who provide their expertise to companies, government agencies, NGOs and nonprofits across a wide range of industries. Omnicom Public Relations Group delivers for clients through a relentless focus on talent, continuous pursuit of innovation and a culture steeped in collaboration. Omnicom Public Relations Group is part of the DAS Group of Companies.
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.
SOURCE Omnicom Public Relations Group
Related Links
http://www.omnicomgroup.com
HOUSTON, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Parker Drilling Company (NYSE: PKD) today announced results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016, including a reported net loss of $39.8 million, or a $0.32 loss per share, on revenues of $105.3 million.
Second quarter adjusted EBITDA was $8.1 million, compared with $12.6 million for the preceding quarter.
"The current business environment continues to be very challenging despite signs that industry fundamentals are beginning to improve," said Gary Rich, the Company's Chairman, President and CEO. "As a result, our second quarter results were lower than the first quarter, as expected.
"However, during the second quarter we secured important contract successes. In our Sakhalin Island, Russia operations, we extended an operations and maintenance (O&M) contract for three customer-owned rigs from June 2017 to June 2019 while adding a fourth, newly constructed, customer-owned rig to the contract. In Canada, we signed a new 7-year O&M contract for the offshore customer-owned Hibernia rig. As a result of the new contracts, our contracted backlog increased from $228 million at the end of the first quarter to $446 million as of June 30.
"Finally, we amended our credit facility and secured significant covenant relief that provides us good runway and flexibility. We currently have nearly $200 million in liquidity with $109 million in cash and an undrawn revolver," concluded Rich.
Second Quarter Review
Parker Drilling's revenues for the 2016 second quarter, compared with the 2016 first quarter, decreased 19.3 percent to $105.3 million from $130.5 million, operating gross margin excluding depreciation and amortization expense (gross margin) decreased 28.1 percent to $16.1 million from $22.4 million and gross margin as a percentage of revenues was 15.3 percent, compared with 17.2 percent for the prior period.
Drilling Services
For the Company's Drilling Services business, which is comprised of the U.S. (Lower 48) Drilling and International & Alaska Drilling segments, second quarter revenues decreased 19.5 percent to $73.0 million from $90.7 million, gross margin decreased 10.9 percent to $13.9 million from $15.6 million, and gross margin as a percentage of revenues was 19.0 percent, compared with 17.2 percent for the first quarter of 2016.
U.S. (Lower 48) Drilling
U.S. (Lower 48) Drilling segment revenues were $1.1 million compared to $2.1 million in the 2016 first quarter. Gross margin was a $3.9 million loss as compared with a 2016 first quarter loss of $3.3 million. The declines in revenues and gross margin were primarily the result of lower utilization.
International & Alaska Drilling
International & Alaska Drilling segment revenues were $71.9 million, an 18.8 percent decrease from 2016 first quarter revenues of $88.6 million. Gross margin was $17.8 million, a 5.8 percent decrease from 2016 first quarter gross margin of $18.9 million. Gross margin as a percentage of revenues was 24.8 percent as compared with 21.3 percent in the 2016 first quarter. The decrease in revenues and gross margin were attributable to lower rig utilization, increased standby days, and reduced project services activity, partially offset by a rig contract early termination fee and the release of accruals related to the wind down of operations in certain locations.
Rental Tools Services
Rental Tools segment revenues were $32.3 million, an 18.8 percent decrease from 2016 first quarter revenues of $39.8 million. Gross margin was $2.2 million, a 67.6 percent decrease from 2016 first quarter gross margin of $6.8 million. Gross margin as a percentage of revenues was 6.8 percent as compared with 17.1 percent in the 2016 first quarter. Reduced revenues and gross margin were primarily due to price competition, lower utilization, and work that was either delayed or canceled in both our U.S. and international locations.
Consolidated
General and Administrative expenses were $8.0 million for the 2016 second quarter, down from $9.8 million for the 2016 first quarter. The decrease was primarily due to lower professional fees and incentive plan adjustments.
Capital expenditures in the second quarter were $8.4 million, and year-to-date through June 30, 2016 were $16.3 million.
Conference Call
Parker Drilling has scheduled a conference call for 10:00 a.m. Central Time (11:00 a.m. Eastern Time) on Wednesday, August 3, 2016, to review second quarter results. The call will be available by telephone by dialing +1 (412) 902-0003 and asking for the Parker Drilling Second Quarter Conference Call. The call can also be accessed through the Investor Relations section of the Company's website. A replay of the call can be accessed on the Company's website for 12 months and will be available by telephone through August 10, 2016 at +1 (201) 612-7415, conference ID 13640306.
Cautionary Statement
This press release contains certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements in this press release other than statements of historical facts addressing activities, events or developments the Company expects, projects, believes, or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about anticipated future financial or operational results; the outlook for rental tools utilization and rig utilization and dayrates; the results of past capital expenditures; scheduled start-ups of rigs; general industry conditions such as the demand for drilling and the factors affecting demand; competitive advantages such as technological innovation; future operating results of the Company's rigs, rental tools operations and projects under management; future capital expenditures; expansion and growth opportunities; acquisitions or joint ventures; asset purchases and sales; successful negotiation and execution of contracts; scheduled delivery of drilling rigs or rental equipment for operation; the Company's financial position; changes in utilization or market share; outcomes of legal proceedings; compliance with credit facility and indenture covenants; and similar matters. These statements are based on certain assumptions made by the Company based on management's experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, anticipated future developments and other factors believed to be appropriate. Although the Company believes its expectations stated in this press release are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those implied or expressed by the forward-looking statements. These include risks relating to changes in worldwide economic and business conditions, fluctuations in oil and natural gas prices, compliance with existing laws and changes in laws or government regulations, the failure to realize the benefits of, and other risks relating to, acquisitions, the risk of cost overruns, our ability to refinance our debt and other important factors, many of which could adversely affect market conditions, demand for our services, and costs, and all or any one of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. For more information, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report filed on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other public filings and press releases. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Company Description
Parker Drilling provides drilling services and rental tools to the energy industry. The Company's Drilling Services business serves operators in the inland waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico utilizing Parker Drilling's barge rig fleet and in select international markets and harsh-environment regions utilizing Parker-owned and customer-owned equipment. The Company's Rental Tools Services business supplies premium equipment and well services to operators on land and offshore in the U.S. and international markets. More information about Parker Drilling can be found on the Company's website at www.parkerdrilling.com.
CONTACT: Jason Geach, Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Development, (+1) (281) 406-2310, [email protected].
PARKER DRILLING COMPANY Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets (Dollars in Thousands)
June 30, 2016
December 31, 2015
(Unaudited)
Assets
Current Assets
Cash and Cash Equivalents $ 109,034
$ 134,294
Accounts and Notes Receivable, net 153,189
175,105
Rig Materials and Supplies 32,615
34,937
Other Current Assets 26,805
22,405
Total Current Assets 321,643
366,741
Property, Plant and Equipment, net 747,017
805,841
Other Assets
Deferred Income Taxes 87,311
139,282
Other Assets 56,800
54,838
Total Other Assets 144,111
194,120
Total Assets $ 1,212,771
$ 1,366,702
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Current Liabilities
Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities $ 114,868
$ 136,121
Total Current Liabilities 114,868
136,121
Long-Term Debt, net of debt issuance costs 575,548
574,798
Long-Term Deferred Tax Liability 76,475
68,654
Other Long-Term Liabilities 15,049
18,617
Total Stockholders' Equity 430,831
568,512
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity $ 1,212,771
$ 1,366,702
PARKER DRILLING COMPANY Consolidated Statement Of Operations (Dollars in Thousands, Except Per Share Data) (Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
Three Months Ended June 30,
March 31,
2016
2015
2016
Revenues $ 105,287
$ 185,941
$ 130,503
Expenses:
Operating Expenses 89,195
143,569
108,117
Depreciation and Amortization 36,317
38,351
35,814
125,512
181,920
143,931
Total Operating Gross Margin (20,225)
4,021
(13,428)
General and Administrative Expense (7,995)
(9,511)
(9,781)
Provision for Reduction in Carrying Value of Certain Assets
(2,316)
Loss on Disposition of Assets, net (2)
(138)
(60)
Total Operating Loss (28,222)
(7,944)
(23,269)
Other Income and (Expense)
Interest Expense (12,187)
(11,396)
(11,562)
Interest Income 32
19
7
Other (358)
(1,529)
2,485
Total Other Expense (12,513)
(12,906)
(9,070)
Loss before Income Taxes (40,735)
(20,850)
(32,339)
Income Tax Expense (Benefit) (913)
(6,916)
63,496
Net Loss (39,822)
(13,934)
(95,835)
Less: Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest
95
Net Loss Attributable to Controlling Interest $ (39,822)
$ (14,029)
$ (95,835)
Loss per Share - Basic
Net Loss $ (0.32)
$ (0.11)
$ (0.78)
Loss per Share - Diluted
Net Loss $ (0.32)
$ (0.11)
$ (0.78)
Number of common shares used in computing earnings per share:
Basic 124,101,349
122,481,425
123,090,238
Diluted 124,101,349
122,481,425
123,090,238
PARKER DRILLING COMPANY Consolidated Statement Of Operations (Dollars in Thousands, Except Per Share Data) (Unaudited)
Six Months Ended June 30,
2016
2015
Revenues $ 235,790
$ 390,017
Expenses:
Operating Expenses 197,312
282,839
Depreciation and Amortization 72,131
78,890
269,443
361,729
Total Operating Gross Margin (33,653)
28,288
General and Administrative Expense (17,776)
(20,348)
Provision for Reduction in Carrying Value of Certain Assets
(2,316)
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Assets, net (62)
2,303
Total Operating Income (Loss) (51,491)
7,927
Other Income and (Expense)
Interest Expense (23,749)
(22,474)
Interest Income 39
202
Other 2,127
(2,909)
Total Other Expense (21,583)
(25,181)
Loss before Income Taxes (73,074)
(17,254)
Income Tax Expense (Benefit) 62,583
(7,098)
Net Loss (135,657)
(10,156)
Less: Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest
651
Net Loss Attributable to Controlling Interest $ (135,657)
$ (10,807)
Loss per Share - Basic
Net Loss $ (1.10)
$ (0.09)
Loss per Share - Diluted
Net Loss $ (1.10)
$ (0.09)
Number of common shares used in computing earnings per share:
Basic 123,595,793
122,175,511
Diluted 123,595,793
122,175,511
PARKER DRILLING COMPANY Selected Financial Data (Dollars in Thousands) (Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
June 30,
March 31,
2016
2015
2016
Revenues:
Drilling Services:
U.S. (Lower 48) Drilling
$ 1,065
$ 6,848
$ 2,085
International & Alaska Drilling
71,926
114,969
88,619
Total Drilling Services
72,991
121,817
90,704
Rental Tools
32,296
64,124
39,799
Total Revenues
$ 105,287
$ 185,941
$ 130,503
Operating Expenses:
Drilling Services:
U.S. (Lower 48) Drilling
$ 4,967
$ 8,829
$ 5,422
International & Alaska Drilling
54,110
92,329
69,725
Total Drilling Services
59,077
101,158
75,147
Rental Tools
30,118
42,411
32,970
Total Operating Expenses
$ 89,195
$ 143,569
$ 108,117
Operating Gross Margin:
Drilling Services:
U.S. (Lower 48) Drilling
$ (3,902)
$ (1,981)
$ (3,337)
International & Alaska Drilling
17,816
22,640
18,894
Total Drilling Services
13,914
20,659
15,557
Rental Tools
2,178
21,713
6,829
Depreciation and Amortization
(36,317)
(38,351)
(35,814)
Total Operating Gross Margin
$ (20,225)
$ 4,021
$ (13,428)
PARKER DRILLING COMPANY Adjusted EBITDA (1) (Dollars in Thousands) (Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
June 30,
2016
March 31,
2016
December
31, 2015
September
30, 2015
June 30,
2015
Net Loss Attributable to Controlling Interest
$ (39,822)
$ (95,835)
$ (35,646)
$ (48,620)
$ (14,029)
Interest Expense
12,187
11,562
11,388
11,293
11,396
Income Tax (Benefit) Expense
(913)
63,496
(2,519)
31,930
(6,916)
Depreciation and Amortization
36,317
35,814
37,720
39,584
38,351
EBITDA
7,769
15,037
10,943
34,187
28,802
Adjustments:
Other Income and Expense
326
(2,492)
6,059
712
1,510
(Gain) Loss on Disposition of Assets, net
2
60
1,043
(383)
138
Provision for Reduction in Carrying Value of Certain Assets
9,268
906
2,316
Special items (2)
1,265
Adjusted EBITDA
$ 8,097
$ 12,605
$ 28,578
$ 35,422
$ 32,766
(1) We believe Adjusted EBITDA is an important measure of operating performance because it allows management, investors and others to evaluate and compare our core operating results from period to period by removing the impact of our capital structure (interest expense from our outstanding debt), asset base (depreciation and amortization), remeasurement of foreign currency transactions, tax consequences, impairment and other special items. Special items include items impacting operating expenses that management believes detract from an understanding of normal operating performance. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure to review current period operating performance and period to period comparisons. Our Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure of another company because other entities may not calculate EBITDA in the same manner. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measures of financial performance under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to operating income or loss, net income or loss, cash flows provided by or used in operating, investing and financing activities, or other income or cash flow statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP.
(2) For the three months ended December 31, 2015, special items include a $1.3 million write-off of inventory associated with our decision to no longer provide drilling services in Colombia.
PARKER DRILLING COMPANY Reconciliation of Adjusted Earnings Per Share (Dollars in Thousands, Except Per Share Data) (Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
June 30,
March 31,
2016
2015
2016
Net Loss Attributable to Controlling Interest
$ (39,822)
$ (14,029)
$ (95,835)
Loss per Diluted Share
$ (0.32)
$ (0.11)
$ (0.78)
Adjustments:
Provision for Reduction in Carrying Value of Certain Assets
2,316
Valuation Allowance
73,125
Total adjustments
2,316
73,125
Tax effect of adjustments
(443)
Net adjustments
1,873
73,125
Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to Controlling Interest (1)
$ (39,822)
$ (12,156)
$ (22,710)
Adjusted Loss per Diluted Share (1)
$ (0.32)
$ (0.10)
$ (0.18)
(1) We believe Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to Controlling Interest and Adjusted Loss per Diluted Share are useful financial measures for investors to assess and understand operating performance for period to period comparisons. Management views the adjustments to Net Loss Attributable to Controlling Interest and Loss per Diluted Share to be items outside of the Company's normal operating results. Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to Controlling Interest and Adjusted Loss per Diluted Share are not measures of financial performance under GAAP, and should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to Net Loss or Loss per Diluted Share.
SOURCE Parker Drilling Company
Related Links
http://www.parkerdrilling.com
HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Wolf announced today that state agencies saved over $156 million through the Governor's Office of Transformation, Innovation, Management and Efficiency (GO-TIME), exceeding the $150 million savings goal for the 15-16 fiscal year.
"Across our departments, leaders and employees are working together and sharing ideas to be more efficient, provide better service, and reduce costs," said Wolf. "Many of these improvements will continue to generate savings and other benefits for years to come."
"There is more that we can do. That is why I am now challenging GO-TIME to save $500 million by 2020."
The Governor was joined today by state employees who worked on projects that contributed to the $156 million savings total. The employees were recognized for their efforts at a ceremony earlier in the day.
"I want to thank our state employees for all of their work to achieve this milestone for taxpayers," said Wolf. "From clerks to cabinet secretaries, all of us have a role to play in making government work better for the people of Pennsylvania."
Some examples of projects contributing to the $150 million in savings goal include:
Improving Procurement Strategies. The Department of General Services (DGS) saved state agencies over $68 million in 15/16 on purchases of goods and services through negotiated price reductions, contract renewals and reverse auctions.
The Department of General Services (DGS) saved state agencies over in 15/16 on purchases of goods and services through negotiated price reductions, contract renewals and reverse auctions. Consolidating Mailrooms and Services. The consolidation of outgoing mail services by DGS will save $2.5 million annually through presorting, volume discounts, reductions in staffing and equipment and repurposing space previously used for mail activities. Changes to mail routes and equipment reductions will further reduce operating costs by over $1 million .
The consolidation of outgoing mail services by DGS will save annually through presorting, volume discounts, reductions in staffing and equipment and repurposing space previously used for mail activities. Changes to mail routes and equipment reductions will further reduce operating costs by over . Updating the Online Park Reservation System. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources updated the online state park reservation system to be more user-friendly and lower its transaction costs, saving the department over $100,000 per year while increasing online reservations by 5 percent.
The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources updated the online state park reservation system to be more user-friendly and lower its transaction costs, saving the department over per year while increasing online reservations by 5 percent. Reducing Inmate Transportation Costs. The Department of Corrections is saving more than $500,000 a year in transportation costs by temporarily relocating inmates receiving radiation treatment to a single facility.
The Department of Corrections is saving more than a year in transportation costs by temporarily relocating inmates receiving radiation treatment to a single facility. Online Voter Registration. This new system launched by the Department of State allows eligible citizens to register to vote and update their voter information online, providing added convenience for citizens, greater engagement in the democratic process, as well as improved data accuracy and reduced costs for counties.
This new system launched by the Department of State allows eligible citizens to register to vote and update their voter information online, providing added convenience for citizens, greater engagement in the democratic process, as well as improved data accuracy and reduced costs for counties. Providing Mobile Technology to Construction Inspectors. PennDOT deployed mobile applications to its 380 construction inspectors, increasing productivity by $11 million by eliminating the need to travel back to the office to input data and access project documents and enabling them to spend more time engaged in valuable inspection and quality assurance.
PennDOT deployed mobile applications to its 380 construction inspectors, increasing productivity by by eliminating the need to travel back to the office to input data and access project documents and enabling them to spend more time engaged in valuable inspection and quality assurance. Using Technology to Improve Public Safety. PennDOT outfitted over 700 of its plow trucks with vehicle location devices in order to respond more quickly to changing winter storm conditions and reduce salt usage, saving an expected $1.4 million over the next four to six years. The public can also monitor plow truck locations using the 511PA traveler information website.
To date, GO-TIME has identified over 200 initiatives by departments to modernize operations through process improvements, using technology and identifying opportunities to collaborate and share resources.
To learn more about GO-TIME, visit www.governor.pa.gov/go-time.
Media contact: Dan Egan (OA), 717-772-4237
SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor
Related Links
http://www.governor.state.pa.us
LAFAYETTE, La., Aug. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- PetroQuest Energy, Inc. (the "Company") today announced a loss available to common stockholders for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 of $24,143,000, or $1.38 per share, compared to second quarter 2015 loss available to common stockholders of $61,083,000, or $3.77 per share. For the first six months of 2016, the Company reported a loss available to common stockholders of $63,280,000, or $3.67 per share, compared to a loss available to common stockholders of $183,323,000, or $11.31 per share, for the 2015 period. The losses during the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2016 and June 30, 2015 included non-cash ceiling test write-downs totaling $12,782,000 and $31,639,000, respectively, and $65,495,000 and $174,406,000, respectively.
Discretionary cash flow for the second quarter of 2016 was $(991,000), as compared to $7,257,000 for the comparable 2015 period. For the first six months of 2016, discretionary cash flow was $(3,201,000), as compared to $17,863,000, for the first six months of 2015. See the attached schedule for a reconciliation of net cash flow provided by operating activities to discretionary cash flow.
Production for the second quarter of 2016 was 6.0 Bcfe, compared to 9.7 Bcfe for the comparable period of 2015. For the first six months of 2016, production was 13.6 Bcfe, compared to 20.0 Bcfe for the comparable period of 2015. The reduction in production volumes during the 2016 periods is primarily attributable to the sale of the Company's Arkoma assets in June of 2015 and April of 2016 as well as substantially reduced capital spending as compared to 2015.
Stated on an Mcfe basis, unit prices including the effects of hedges for the second quarter of 2016 were $2.64 per Mcfe, as compared to $3.37 per Mcfe in the second quarter of 2015. For the first six months of 2016, unit prices including the effects of hedges, were $2.43 per Mcfe, as compared to $3.29 per Mcfe for the first six months of 2015.
Oil and gas sales during the second quarter of 2016 were $15,824,000, as compared to $32,550,000 in the second quarter of 2015. For the first six months of 2016, oil and gas sales were $33,144,000 as compared to oil and gas sales of $66,001,000 for the first six months of 2015.
Lease operating expenses ("LOE") for the second quarter of 2016 decreased to $6,864,000, as compared to $11,191,000 in the second quarter of 2015. Lease operating expenses decreased during the three months ended June 30, 2016 primarily as result of the Company's 2015 Oklahoma divestiture. LOE per Mcfe was $1.14 for the second quarter of 2016, as compared to $1.16 in the second quarter of 2015. For the first six months of 2016, lease operating expenses were $1.10 per Mcfe compared to $1.10 per Mcfe in the first six months of 2015.
Depreciation, depletion and amortization ("DD&A") on oil and gas properties for the second quarter of 2016 was $1.17 per Mcfe, as compared to $1.86 per Mcfe in the second quarter of 2015. For the first six months of 2016, DD&A on oil and gas properties was $1.24 per Mcfe compared to $1.91 per Mcfe for the comparable period of 2015. The decrease in the per unit DD&A rate during the 2016 periods is primarily the result of ceiling test write-downs during the second half of 2015 totaling $92,156,000.
Interest expense for the second quarter of 2016 decreased to $6,503,000, as compared to $8,596,000 in the second quarter of 2015. During the three month period ended June 30, 2016, capitalized interest totaled $247,000, as compared to $1,379,000 during the 2015 period. For the first six months of 2016, interest expense was $14,760,000, compared to $16,470,000 for the comparable period of 2015. During the six month period ended June 30, 2016, capitalized interest totaled $555,000, as compared to $3,376,000 during the 2015 period. The decrease in interest expense during the 2016 periods is primarily attributable a lower debt balance after the completion of the Company's debt exchange in February 2016 as well as the repayment of the Company's bank debt in June 2015.
General and administrative expenses during the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2016 totaled $3,871,000 and $12,470,000, respectively, as compared to $6,519,000 and $11,858,000 during the comparable 2015 periods. Capitalized general and administrative costs during the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2016 totaled $1,634,000, and $3,188,000, respectively, as compared to costs of $2,357,000 and $4,597,000 during the comparable 2015 periods. The decrease in general and administrative expenses during the quarter ended June 30, 2016 is primarily due to lower employee related costs. General and administrative expenses for the six month 2016 period included $4.8 million in costs related to the Company's debt exchange in February 2016.
The following table sets forth certain information with respect to the oil and gas operations of the Company for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2016 and 2015:
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30,
2016
2015
2016
2015 Production:
Oil (Bbls) 114,319
151,223
254,308
298,437 Gas (Mcf) 4,272,820
7,167,270
9,820,297
15,082,774 Ngl (Mcfe) 1,045,858
1,584,284
2,292,490
3,160,826 Total Production (Mcfe) 6,004,592
9,658,892
13,638,635
20,034,222 Avg. Daily Production (MMcfe/d) 66.0
106.1
74.9
110.7 Sales:
Total oil sales $ 4,936,757
$ 8,587,332
$ 9,295,501
$ 15,540,233 Total gas sales 8,853,527
19,927,230
19,571,735
41,577,325 Total ngl sales 2,034,342
4,035,571
4,277,104
8,883,616 Total oil and gas sales $ 15,824,626
$ 32,550,133
$ 33,144,340
$ 66,001,174 Average sales prices:
Oil (per Bbl) $ 43.18
$ 56.79
$ 36.55
$ 52.07 Gas (per Mcf) 2.07
2.78
1.99
2.76 Ngl (per Mcfe) 1.95
2.55
1.87
2.81 Per Mcfe 2.64
3.37
2.43
3.29
The above sales and average sales prices include increases (decreases) to revenues related to the settlement of gas hedges of $1,155,000 and $4,181,000, oil hedges of zero and ($288,000) and Ngl hedges of zero and $136,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The above sales and average sales prices include increase (decreases) to revenues related to the settlement of gas hedges of $2,187,000 and $6,505,000, oil hedges of zero and ($261,000), and Ngl hedges of zero and $157,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
The following provides guidance for the third quarter of 2016:
Guidance for Description 3rd Quarter 2016
Production volumes (MMcfe/d) 52-56
Percent Gas 70 % Percent Oil 13 % Percent NGL 17 %
Expenses:
Lease operating expenses (per Mcfe) $1.25 - $1.35 Production taxes (per Mcfe) $0.04 - $0.07 Depreciation, depletion and amortization (per Mcfe) $1.20 - $1.30 General and administrative (in millions)* $3.5 - $3.9 Interest expense (in millions) $6.3 - $6.7
* Includes non-cash stock compensation estimate of approximately $0.5 million
Balance Sheet/Liquidity Update
The Company continues to analyze a variety of options to address its liquidity needs, to extend the maturity on its 2017 Notes, and to reduce its overall financial leverage while maintaining a focus on reducing costs and preserving liquidity. To assist the Board of Directors and management team in evaluating these options, the Company has retained Jefferies LLC and Seaport Global as its financial advisors and Porter Hedges LLP as its legal advisor.
Management's Comment
"Our second quarter 2016 results reflect the impact of our cost cutting efforts. When compared to the second quarter of 2015, we realized an approximately 36% reduction in cash costs, or nearly $11 million," said Charles T. Goodson, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President. "We continue to work on capturing additional cost savings throughout our organization. In addition, we have retained advisors to assist us in evaluating certain high-priority projects, most notably extending the maturity on our remaining 2017 Notes."
About the Company
PetroQuest Energy, Inc. is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, acquisition and production of oil and natural gas reserves in the Texas, Louisiana and the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico. PetroQuest's common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PQ.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news 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. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this news release are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements are based upon assumptions and anticipated results that are subject to numerous uncertainties and risks. Actual results may vary significantly from those anticipated due to many factors, including the volatility of oil and natural gas prices and significantly depressed oil prices since the end of 2014; our indebtedness and the significant amount of cash required to service our indebtedness; our ability to improve our liquidity position and refinance or restructure our indebtedness, including our remaining 2017 Notes; the potential need to sell assets or seek bankruptcy protection; our estimate of the sufficiency of our existing capital sources, including availability under our bank credit facility and the result of any borrowing base redetermination; our ability to post additional collateral to satisfy our offshore decommissioning obligations; our ability to hedge future production to reduce our exposure to price volatility in the current commodity pricing market; ceiling test write-downs resulting, and that could result in the future, from lower oil and natural gas prices; our ability to raise additional capital to fund cash requirements for future operations; limits on our growth and our ability to finance our operations, fund our capital needs and respond to changing conditions imposed by our bank credit facility and restrictive debt covenants; our ability to find, develop and produce oil and natural gas reserves that are economically recoverable and to replace reserves and sustain production; approximately 50% of our production being exposed to the additional risk of severe weather, including hurricanes, tropical storms and flooding, and natural disasters; losses and liabilities from uninsured or underinsured drilling and operating activities; changes in laws and governmental regulations as they relate to our operations; the operating hazards attendant to the oil and gas business; the volatility of our stock price; and our ability to meet the continued listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange with respect to our common stock or to cure any deficiency with respect thereto. In particular, careful consideration should be given to cautionary statements made in the various reports the Company has filed with the SEC. The Company undertakes no duty to update or revise these forward-looking statements.
PETROQUEST ENERGY, INC. Consolidated Balance Sheets (Amounts in Thousands)
June 30,
2016
December 31,
2015 ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 68,896
$ 148,013 Revenue receivable 6,452
6,476 Joint interest billing receivable 18,560
49,374 Derivative asset
1,508 Other current assets 5,219
3,874 Total current assets 99,127
209,245 Property and equipment:
Oil and gas properties:
Oil and gas properties, full cost method 1,318,737
1,310,891 Unevaluated oil and gas properties 6,000
12,516 Accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization (1,223,051)
(1,157,455) Oil and gas properties, net 101,686
165,952 Other property and equipment 11,257
11,229 Accumulated depreciation of other property and equipment (10,020)
(8,737) Total property and equipment 102,923
168,444 Other assets, net of accumulated amortization of $4,005 and $3,842, respectively 6,674
1,630 Total assets $ 208,724
$ 379,319 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable to vendors $ 54,379
$ 97,999 Advances from co-owners 577
16,118 Oil and gas revenue payable 29,386
18,911 Accrued interest and preferred stock dividend 9,938
12,795 Asset retirement obligation 1,496
6,015 Derivative liability 473
Accrued acquisition cost
4,409 Other accrued liabilities 3,131
2,537 Total current liabilities 99,380
158,784 10% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2017 134,766
347,008 10% Senior Secured Notes due 2021 156,524
Asset retirement obligation 39,986
36,541 Other long-term liabilities 2,670
53 Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock, $.001 par value; authorized 5,000 shares; issued and outstanding 1,495 shares 1
1 Common stock, $.001 par value; authorized 150,000 shares; issued and outstanding 17,548 and 16,411 shares, respectively 18
16 Paid-in capital 293,595
290,432 Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income (473)
947 Accumulated deficit (517,743)
(454,463) Total stockholders' equity (224,602)
(163,067) Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 208,724
$ 379,319
PETROQUEST ENERGY, INC. Consolidated Statements of Operations (Amounts in Thousands, Except Per Share Data)
Three Months Ended
Six Months Ended
June 30,
June 30,
2016
2015
2016
2015 Revenues:
Oil and gas sales $ 15,824
$ 32,550
$ 33,144
$ 66,001 Expenses:
Lease operating expenses 6,864
11,191
15,041
22,093 Production taxes (48)
948
290
1,904 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 7,193
18,345
17,331
38,999 Ceiling test write-down 12,782
65,495
31,639
174,406 General and administrative 3,871
6,519
12,470
11,858 Accretion of asset retirement obligation 618
823
1,226
1,682 Interest expense 6,503
8,596
14,760
16,470
37,783
111,917
92,757
267,412
Other income (expense):
Gain on sale of oil and gas properties
21,531
21,531 Other income (424)
40
(327)
197
(424)
21,571
(327)
21,728
Loss from operations (22,383)
(57,796)
(59,940)
(179,683) Income tax expense 475
2,000
561
1,073 Net loss (22,858)
(59,796)
(60,501)
(180,756) Preferred stock dividend 1,285
1,287
2,779
2,567 Loss available to common stockholders $ (24,143)
$ (61,083)
$ (63,280)
$ (183,323) Loss per common share:
Basic
Net loss per share $ (1.38)
$ (3.77)
$ (3.67)
$ (11.31) Diluted
Net loss per share $ (1.38)
$ (3.77)
$ (3.67)
$ (11.31) Weighted average number of common shares:
Basic 17,539
16,223
17,248
16,208 Diluted 17,539
16,223
17,248
16,208
PETROQUEST ENERGY, INC. Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Amounts in Thousands)
Six Months Ended
June 30,
2016
2015 Cash flows from operating activities:
Net loss $ (60,501)
$ (180,756) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash (used in) provided by operating activities:
Deferred tax expense 561
1,073 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 17,331
38,999 Ceiling test writedown 31,639
174,406 Accretion of asset retirement obligation 1,226
1,682 Share-based compensation expense 925
2,828 Amortization costs and other 810
1,162 Payments to settle asset retirement obligations (2,515)
(1,186) Gain on sale of oil and gas properties
(21,531) Costs incurred to issue 2021 Notes 4,808
Changes in working capital accounts:
Revenue receivable 24
8,735 Joint interest billing receivable 30,814
(1,171) Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (31,260)
(36,051) Advances from co-owners (15,541)
17,846 Other (4,387)
(410) Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities (26,066)
5,626 Cash flows provided by investing activities:
Investment in oil and gas properties (18,166)
(62,451) Investment in other property and equipment (28)
(134) Sale of oil and gas properties 24,909
257,698 Net cash provided by investing activities 6,715
195,113 Cash flows used in financing activities:
Net proceeds for share based compensation 52
432 Deferred financing costs (100)
(829) Payment of preferred stock dividend (1,284)
(2,569) Redemption of 2017 Notes (53,626)
Costs incurred to issue 2021 Notes (4,808)
Proceeds from bank borrowings
70,000 Repayment of bank borrowings
(145,000) Net cash used in financing activities (59,766)
(77,966) Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents (79,117)
122,773 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 148,013
18,243 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 68,896
$ 141,016 Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Cash paid during the period for:
Interest $ 16,783
$ 18,626 Income taxes $
$ (26)
PETROQUEST ENERGY, INC. Non-GAAP Disclosure Reconciliation (Amounts In Thousands)
Three Months Ended
Six Months Ended
June 30,
June 30,
2016
2015
2016
2015 Net loss $ (22,858)
$ (59,796)
$ (60,501)
$ (180,756) Reconciling items:
Deferred tax expense 475
2,000
561
1,073 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 7,193
18,345
17,331
38,999 Ceiling test writedown 12,782
65,495
31,639
174,406 Gain on Asset Sale
(21,531)
(21,531) Accretion of asset retirement obligation 618
823
1,226
1,682 Non-cash share based compensation expense 483
1,350
925
2,828 Amortization costs and other 248
571
810
1,162 Costs incurred to issue 2021 Notes 68
4,808
Discretionary cash flow (991)
7,257
(3,201)
17,863 Changes in working capital accounts 3,166
(24,570)
(20,350)
(11,051) Settlement of asset retirement obligations (2,051)
(292)
(2,515)
(1,186) Net cash flow provided by (used in) operating activities $ 124
$ (17,605)
$ (26,066)
$ 5,626
Note: Management believes that discretionary cash flow is relevant and useful information, which is commonly used by analysts, investors and other interested parties in the oil and gas industry as a financial indicator of an oil and gas company's ability to generate cash used to internally fund exploration and development activities and to service debt. Discretionary cash flow is not a measure of financial performance prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net cash flow provided by operating activities. In addition, since discretionary cash flow is not a term defined by GAAP, it might not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.
SOURCE PetroQuest Energy, Inc.
Related Links
http://www.petroquest.com
WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, August 2, 2016, eight groups representing a broad spectrum of biologic prescribers Alliance for Patient Access, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American College of Rheumatology, American Gastroenterological Association, Biologics Prescribers Collaborative, Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations, Endocrine Society, and North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition commented on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) draft guidance "Labeling for Biosimilar Products; Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability", commending the agency on acknowledging the distinctions between the labeling needed for a biosimilar and a generic drug, especially for adding in a statement of biosimilarity.
Dr. David Charles, chairman of the Alliance for Patient Access and co-convener of the Biologics Prescribers Collaborative, shares the physician perspective on proper and transparent biologic and biosimilar labeling. Graphic depicting transparent biosimilar labeling.
The comment letter states that "the label of a biosimilar product should be transparent and facilitate access to data used in support of the biosimilar application." As such, the physician groups urge FDA to consider additional provisions in its final guidance to enhance transparency and patient safety. Requested enhanced provisions include:
The label should include a statement of whether the biosimilar is interchangeable with the reference product and/or other biosimilars on the market.
The label should provide either a summary of the full clinical data submitted in support of biosimilar approval or a hyperlink to the FDA's summary basis of approval.
The label should ensure that all mentions of either the reference biologic or the biosimilar should include both the proprietary name (if available) and the non-proprietary name.
The final guidance should indicate how FDA plans to address labeling for biologic and biosimilar transitional products, originally approved as drugs under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), that will be replaced as a licensed biologic under section 351(a) or 351(k) of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) by March 23 , 2020.
As biosimilars continue to emerge on the market, providing additional therapeutic options to patients, and due to the product label being a critical tool for physicians to make the best prescribing decisions, the groups call for FDA to give full consideration to the needs of physicians when considering future labels.
As such, the groups urge for FDA to consider these provisions that will "build prescriber confidence in this new class of medicine" by providing all needed data for physicians to make appropriate prescribing decisions for their patients.
The comment can be found below.
RELATED LINK: http://biologicsprescribers.org
August 2, 2016
Robert M. Califf, M.D.
Commissioner
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20993
RE: Comment on Food and Drug Administration Draft Guidance "Labeling for Biosimilar Products; Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability" [Docket ID FDA-2016-D-0643-0003]
Dear Commissioner Califf:
As members of the Biologics Prescribers Collaborative (BPC) and professional organizations with biologics prescribers, we welcome the availability of biosimilars in the U.S. Biosimilars will provide greater access to more therapeutic options for the thousands of patient who rely on biologic medicines.
We thank the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its thoughtful draft guidance "Labeling for Biosimilar Products" that makes important distinctions between the labeling needed for a biosimilar and a generic drug, especially for adding in a statement of biosimilarity. We believe the label of a biosimilar product should be transparent and facilitate access to data used in support of the biosimilar application. Doing so will build prescriber confidence in this new class of medicine which is paramount to a successful biosimilars market.
To that end, we ask FDA to consider these additional provisions in its final guidance, which promote transparency and, ultimately, are essential to upholding patient safety:
The label should include a statement of whether the biosimilar is interchangeable with the reference product and/or other biosimilars on the market . We know that many health care providers will confuse a finding of biosimilarity with a finding of interchangeability. Explicit labeling and transparent communications are needed to ensure the appropriate use of biosimilars in accordance with the statute.
. We know that many health care providers will confuse a finding of biosimilarity with a finding of interchangeability. Explicit labeling and transparent communications are needed to ensure the appropriate use of biosimilars in accordance with the statute. The label should provide either a summary of the full clinical data submitted in support of biosimilar approval or a hyperlink to the FDA's summary basis of approval . As prescribers, we know physicians will have questions about the data used to support a biosimilar's approval. This becomes especially important regarding the indications for which the biosimilar is approved to treat and/or immunogenic effects.
. As prescribers, we know physicians will have questions about the data used to support a biosimilar's approval. This becomes especially important regarding the indications for which the biosimilar is approved to treat and/or immunogenic effects. The label should ensure that all mentions of either the reference biologic or the biosimilar should include both the proprietary name (if available) and the non-proprietary name. As prescribers, we believe that pharmacovigilance is best achieved through the use of memorable and distinguishable non-proprietary names for all biologics. In contrast, FDA's decision to use a four letter randomized suffix when approving the second biosimilar (infliximab-dyyb) raises concerns and we would like FDA to consider and prioritize patient safety by requiring meaningful and distinguishable names, such as the manufacturer's name.
As prescribers, we believe that pharmacovigilance is best achieved through the use of memorable and distinguishable non-proprietary names for all biologics. In contrast, FDA's decision to use a four letter randomized suffix when approving the second biosimilar (infliximab-dyyb) raises concerns and we would like FDA to consider and prioritize patient safety by requiring meaningful and distinguishable names, such as the manufacturer's name. The final guidance should indicate how FDA plans to address labeling for biologic and biosimilar transitional products, originally approved as drugs under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), that will be replaced as a licensed biologic under section 351(a) or 351(k) of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) by March 23, 2020 . Currently, it is unclear how the agency will address discrepancies between the labeling requirements under FDCA and PHSA. As this transition occurs, we believe that the labeling for these products should be clear, consistent and contain complete information to ensure prescribers are able to make the best treatment decisions for their patients.
The product label is a critical tool for physicians to make the best prescribing decisions and we commend FDA for its careful consideration of the guidance needed to optimize the biosimilar label. We request the Agency finalize its guidance to support fully transparent and clear labels for biosimilars.
Respectfully,
Alliance for Patient Access
American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
American College of Rheumatology
American Gastroenterological Association
Biologics Prescribers Collaborative
Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations
Endocrine Society
North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
CC:
Dr. Janet Woodcock, Director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
Dr. John Jenkins, Director, Office of New Drugs, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
Dr. Leah Christl, Associate Director, Therapeutic Biologics
Dr. Steven Kozlowski, Director, Office of Biotechnology Products, Office of Pharmaceutical Quality, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
Video - http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/PRNA/ENR/EDEL16001.mp4
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160802/395080
SOURCE Biologics Prescribers Collaborative
LONDON, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- This report provides forecast and analysis of the plastic bags & sacks market on the global and regional levels. It provides historical data of 2015 along with forecast from 2016 to 2024 in terms of revenue (US$ Mn) and volume ('000 metric tons). The report also includes macroeconomic indicators along with an outlook on plastics consumption globally. It includes drivers and restraints of the plastic bags & sacks market and their impact on each region during the forecast period. The report also comprises the study of current issues with end users and opportunities for plastic bags & sacks manufacturers. It also includes detailed pricing analysis by material type and value chain analysis with a list of vendors/suppliers and industry stakeholders at each node in the value chain.
In order to provide users of this report with comprehensive view of the market, we have included detailed competitiveness analysis and company players with unique selling propositions. The dashboard provides detailed comparison of plastic bag manufacturers on parameters such as operating margin, unique selling propositions, collective market share, and geographic concentration. The study encompasses market attractiveness analysis, by material type, product type, application type, and region.
The report includes consumption of plastic bags & sacks and the revenue generated from sales of plastic bags & sacks in all regions and important countries in these regions. By material, the global plastic bags & sacks market has been segmented into biodegradable and non-biodegradable. Biodegradable segment is further sub-segmented into polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), starch blend, and others. Non-biodegradable segment is sub-segmented into high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and others. By product type, the market is segmented into T-shirt bags, gusseted bags, lay flat bags, trash bags, rubble sacks, woven sacks, and other bags. On the basis of application, the global plastic bags & sacks market is segmented into retail & consumer, institutional, and industrial. Retail & consumer segment is further sub-segmented into grocery products, food & beverage, clothing & apparel, and others. Retail & consumer application segment is further sub-segmented into grocery products, food & beverage, clothing & apparel and others. Furthermore, institutional segment is sub-segmented into hospitality, hospitals & healthcare, and others.
Market numbers have been estimated based on average consumption and weighted average pricing of plastic bags & sacks by material type and the revenue is derived through regional pricing trends. Market size and forecast for each segment have been provided in the context of global and regional markets. The plastic bags & sacks market has been analyzed based on expected demand. Prices considered for the calculation of revenue are average regional prices obtained through primary quotes from numerous regional plastic bags & sacks manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors. All key end users have been considered and potential applications have been estimated on the basis of secondary sources and feedback from primary respondents. Regional demand patterns have been considered while estimating the market for various end users of plastic bags & sacks in different regions. Top-down approach has been used to estimate the plastic bags & sacks market by regions. Market numbers for global material type, product type, and application segments have been derived using the bottom-up approach, which is cumulative of each region's demand. Company-level market share has been derived on the basis of revenues reported by key manufacturers. The market has been forecast based on constant currency rates.
A number of primary and secondary sources were consulted during the course of the study. Secondary sources include Factiva, World Bank, Packaging Digest, Plastic Manufacturers Association, Society of the Plastics Industry, Plastics Europe, and Hoover's, and company annual reports and publications.
The report provides detailed competitive and company profiles of key participants operating in the global market. Key players in the global plastic bags & sacks market include AEP Industries Inc, Mondi Group, Berry Plastics Inc, Alpha Poly, Novolex, Ampac Holdings LLC, Bischof & Klein GmbH & Co, Interplast Group, Starlinger & Co, Gesellschaft GmbH, Da Nang Plastic Joint Stock Company, Hanoi Plastic Bag JSC, Arihant Packaging, Goglio Group, and Schur Flexibles Group
The market has been segmented as below:
Global Plastic Bags & Sacks Market By Material
Non-biodegradable
HDPE
LDPE
LLDPE
PP
PS
Others
Biodegradable
PLA
PHA
Starch Blends
Others
Global Plastic bags & sacks Market By Product Type
T-shirt Bags
Gusseted Bags
Lay Flat Bags
Trash Bags
Rubble Sacks
Woven Sacks
Others
Global Plastic bags & sacks Market By Application
Retail & Consumer
Grocery Products
Food & Beverage
Clothing & Apparel
Others
Institutional
Hospitality
Hospitals & Healthcare Facility
Others
Industrial
Global Plastic bags & sacks Market By Region
North America
U.S.
Canada
Latin America
Brazil
Argentina
Rest of Latin America
Europe
EU-5
Russia
Nordic
Benelux
Poland
Rest of Europe
Asia Pacific (APAC)
China
India
Japan
ASEAN
Oceania
Rest of Asia Pacific
Middle East and Africa (MEA)
GCC Countries
South Africa
North Africa
Rest of MEA
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MONONA, Wis., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Phoenix Nuclear Labs (PNL) announced today that it has been awarded multiple contracts by the U.S. Army totaling $3.6 million. Under these contracts, PNL will build an advanced neutron radiography system to detect defective munitions and demonstrate the ability to use their neutron generators to detect and identify concealed explosive threats.
The company will deliver an upgraded, pilot production neutron radiography system that will be the first such system to be installed in a munitions production facility. The new system is expected to produce 10 times higher neutron yield, enabling faster performance and higher resolution. It will be capable of producing digital images that will improve the system's ability to analyze and store data.
In parallel, the Neutron-Emitting Mobile Explosives Sensing and Identification System (NEMESIS) will utilize PNL's commercial neutron generator technology to demonstrate active neutron interrogation for explosive threat detection. The strong, compact neutron generator developed by PNL over the last 11 years is the enabling technology for mobile explosive threat detection from large standoff distances, greatly enhancing existing warfighter capabilities.
"The Army's support for PNL's technology over the last 8 years has been tremendous," said Evan Sengbusch, PNL's vice president of business development. "Beginning to deploy our technology in the field to save warfighter lives is very rewarding."
Ross Radel, PNL's president, credited the Wisconsin congressional delegation with providing strong support for these mission-critical technologies. "Advocacy from Sen. Tammy Baldwin, DWis., and Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., has been vitally important in getting a small company like PNL in front of big customers like the Army," he said.
Sen. Baldwin said, "I'm proud to be a strong supporter of made in Wisconsin innovation that is strengthening our national security."
Neutron radiography is a nondestructive inspection technique similar to X-rays. However, neutrons, unlike X-rays, are able to deeply penetrate high-density materials such as shell casings and other metallic objects and visualize lower-density materials such as carbon or hydrogen. The Army has been seeking neutron radiography capabilities for decades, but until now only nuclear reactors could produce enough neutrons to take images in practical time periods. PNL's technical innovations have led to a 100-fold increases in neutron yield compared to existing off-the-shelf technologies without the safety risks associated with nuclear reactors.
The PNL neutron radiography platform is the first system capable of bringing neutron radiography out of an R&D environment and into a production setting, similar to industrial X-ray systems. This technology has the potential to greatly improve the safety and effectiveness of defense and aerospace components such as munitions, aircraft components, and composite materials.
Similarly, neutron-based explosives detection has been studied for decades, and the technique has been shown to be, in principle, a very powerful method suitable for rapid explosives detection and identification. However, attempts to field neutron-based interrogation systems have had limited success due to the low neutron yield of existing sources. The much higher neutron yield provided by the PNL generator offers a significant leap in explosives detection speed and standoff distance.
About Phoenix Nuclear Labs
Founded in 2005 in Middleton, Wis., Phoenix Nuclear Labs has developed a proprietary, particle accelerator-driven, nuclear fusion technology that has applications ranging from medicine to national defense. The company is focused on commercializing its core accelerator technology for near-term applications, including neutron radiography imaging for the nondestructive evaluation and quality control of military and aerospace components, medical isotope production, semiconductor processing, and the detection of explosive devices. For more information, visit: http://phoenixnuclearlabs.com.
CONTACT: Evan Sengbusch, PhD, MBA
VP of Business Development
[email protected]
(608) 210-3060
SOURCE Phoenix Nuclear Labs
Related Links
http://phoenixnuclearlabs.com
TORONTO, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a letter of greeting to the Knights of Columbus (K of C), Pope Francis praised the organization for its charity, especially on behalf of Christian refugees, for its missionary spirit and for its commitment to strengthening the faith of its members.
In reference to the Knights' efforts on behalf of persecuted and marginalized Christians in the Middle East, the letter stated: "especially close to the Holy Father's heart in these days are the afflictions of our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world suffering from poverty, injustice, exile and, increasingly, violent persecution."
The letter noted the "strenuous efforts being made" by the Knights "to defend their human rights and legitimate aspirations in the public forum and to provide for their needs, particularly through the [K of C] Christian Refugee Relief Fund and numerous other initiatives of practical support and solidarity."
It asked "the Knights and their families to pray in a particular way for an outpouring of God's mercy and the grace of conversion upon all those whose hearts have been darkened by hatred, brutality and ruthless disregard for human life and dignity."
The convention's theme, "A Light to all Nations," was a missionary one, and the papal greeting noted that: "In fidelity to the vision of Venerable Michael McGivney, the Knights have consistently sought to embody the missionary dimension of our Christian faith, which finds its highest expression in service to the Lord in the least of his brothers and sisters."
The letter also thanked the Knights for their work on behalf of the family, noting: "At every level, the Knights of Columbus has always been concerned to accompany men in their Christian vocation, especially as husbands and fathers, and to support the Church's efforts to build strong Catholic families."
Thanking the K of C for the support of the World Meeting of Families and the Synod of Bishops on the Family, the letter continued: "At a time when the natural institution of marriage is gravely threatened, not least by legislative proposals that disregard its specific character, this witness is essential for the defense of the family and the strengthening of its indispensable role in fostering the growth of individuals in maturity, the cultivation of community values and the moral progress of society as a whole."
The letter also applauded a new K of C-initiative, stating that Pope Francis "trusts that the Knights' new initiative Building the Domestic Church While Strengthening Our Parish will assist parents in their efforts to foster an environment of prayer and closeness to the Lord at home and to participate actively as a family in the liturgical and apostolic life of the local Church."
The pope's message was conveyed in a letter from Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Nearly 100 bishops including almost a dozen cardinals were present along with more than 2000 attendees at the convention as the letter was read at the opening business session on Tuesday.
SOURCE Knights of Columbus
Mr. Fior brings more than 30 years of public and private company experience. He will be responsible for all finance and information technology functions at Quotient, including accounting, capital structure, and tax and treasury reporting. He will report to Steven Boal, founder and CEO. Most recently, Mr. Fior was CFO of Good Technology, a mobile security software company that was acquired by BlackBerry Inc. in 2015.
"Ron is a seasoned executive, and I'm thrilled to welcome him to Quotient," said Steven Boal, Founder and CEO of Quotient. "His operational, international and deep finance experience will be instrumental as we continue to expand our business."
"This is an exciting time for Quotient," said Mr. Fior. "The company is changing the way brands and retailers reach shoppers in the digital age and it's a privilege to join the team."
Prior to Good Technology, Mr. Fior spent a decade as CFO at Callidus Software, doing business as CallidusCloud. During his tenure, the company went public and also transitioned from a perpetual license model to a software as a service (SaaS) recurring revenue model.
Mr. Fior has held additional CFO positions at various technology companies, including at Remedy Corporation. He also spent 13 years at the Thomson Corporation, now Thomson Reuters, as a Vice President and group CFO of several companies and divisions.
Mr. Fior holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. He serves on the board of the YMCA of Silicon Valley and is a Chartered Accountant.
About Quotient Technology Inc.
Quotient Technology Inc. (NYSE: QUOT), formerly Coupons.com Incorporated, is a leading digital promotion and media company that connects brands, retailers and consumers. We distribute digital coupons and media through a variety of products, including: digital printable coupons, digital paperless coupons, coupon codes and card linked offers. We operate Retailer iQ, a real-time digital coupon platform that connects into a retailer's point-of-sale system and provides targeting and analytics for manufacturers and retailers. We also power digital coupon initiatives in online marketing campaigns, including display and video advertising. Our distribution network includes our flagship site, Coupons.com, our mobile applications, Coupons.com, Grocery iQ, Shopmium, and the more than 30,000 publisher partners that have registered with us. Clients include hundreds of consumer packaged goods companies, such as Clorox, Procter & Gamble, General Mills and Kellogg's, as well as top retailers like Albertsons-Safeway, CVS, Dollar General, Kroger, and Walgreens. Founded in 1998, Quotient is based in Mountain View, Calif., and is bringing the multi-billion dollar offline promotions industry into the digital world. Learn more about the company at http://quotient.com or follow us on Twitter @Quotient.
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SOURCE Quotient Technology Inc.
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http://www.couponsinc.com
CRESSKILL, N.J., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The RD Companies announced today that hedge fund industry veteran Amy B. Hirsch, has been hired to fill the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160801/394570LOGO
Expanding the build-out of its New York office, and further strengthening the infrastructure, Mr. Phillip H. Kwon has been hired as General Counsel, and Ms. Linda Zheng, CPA as Chief Financial Officer.
Ms. Hirsch, CEO and CIO of Paradigm Consulting Services, LLC. brings 35 years of experience in Alternative Investments & Hedge Funds including due diligence, operations, and asset management. She has been responsible for managing in excess of one billion dollars of hedge fund-of-funds products and has conducted operational and investment due diligence on innumerable alternative investment firms. She started her career at Merrill Lynch Commodities where she was Vice President of Trading Services for ML Futures Investment Partners before becoming Senior Vice President at Smith Barney in their Managed Futures Group. She was Chief Operating Officer at Link Strategic Investments prior to becoming one of the four partners that launched Paradigm LDC. Ms. Hirsch has been the sole owner of Paradigm Consulting Services, LLC. since 1996.
Mr. Kwon brings twenty-two years of legal experience, most recently and notably federal- and state government litigation and regulatory practice. He was, most recently, First Assistant Attorney General of the Office of the Attorney General for the State of New Jersey, and held the positions of Assistant U.S. Attorney, Criminal Division and Special Prosecutions Division, Chief of the Violent Crimes Division, and Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office, District of New Jersey. Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Kwon was awarded the FBI, Newark Division Award for Outstanding Prosecution Skills.
Ms. Zheng joins the RD Companies from Premium Point Investments L.P. where she was the Director of Finance. Prior to Premium Point, she spent nine and a half years at Fortress Investment Group LLC, most recently as Deputy Chief Financial officer and Managing Director with responsibility for the Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund. Prior to Fortress, Ms. Zheng was Manager, Financial Services Industry at Ernst & Young LLP, and started her career at Siguler Guff and Company, LLC where she was a Senior Accountant.
About the RD Companies
The RD Companies are comprised of RD Legal Funding, LLC, RD Legal Capital, LLC and RD Legal Group, LLC. The RD Companies together are in the business of originating legal receivables and managing investment vehicles that invest in these assets.
Media contact:
Roni Dersovitz
Email
201-568-9007
SOURCE RD Legal Companies
DENVER, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On August 3rd, 2016, a coalition of business and community leaders from across Colorado will come together to launch the Reason for Reform campaign. The press conference event, hosted by the Partnership for a New American Economy (NAE) and the Colorado Business Roundtable, will highlight the need for immigration reform and present new Colorado-specific data on the contributions of immigrants.
The Reason for Reform campaign will kick off with the release of 51 new reports (one for every state + Washington DC) and more than 55 events in all 50 states urging Congress to take action on immigration reform.
WHO: Brad Feld, Colorado Business Roundtable
Congressman Jared Polis
WHAT: Reason for Reform Colorado Day of Action Press Conference
WHEN: August 3rd, 2016 at 3:00 PM MT
WHERE: Colorado Business Roundtable
4100 Jackson Street
Denver, CO 80216
About the Partnership for a New American Economy
The Partnership for a New American Economy brings together more than 500 Republican, Democratic and Independent mayors and business leaders who support immigration reforms that will help create jobs for Americans today. The Partnership's members include mayors of more than 35 million people nationwide and business leaders of companies that generate more than $1.5 trillion and employ more than 4 million people across all sectors of the economy, from Agriculture to Aerospace, Hospitality to High Tech and Media to Manufacturing. Partnership members understand that immigration is essential to maintaining the productive, diverse and flexible workforce that America needs to ensure prosperity over the coming generations. Learn more at www.RenewOurEconomy.org.
SOURCE Partnership for a New American Economy
Related Links
http://www.RenewOurEconomy.org
DUBLIN, August 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "India Industrial Gases Market By Type (Oxygen, Argon, Nitrogen), By End User (Metallurgy, Medical, Petrochemicals, Welding, etc.), Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011-2021" report to their offering.
The market for industrial gases in India is projected to reach US $ 2.2 billion by 2021
Nitrogen, Oxygen and Argon are the most commonly used industrial gases. They are used in a wide range of industries, which include oil & gas, petrochemicals, chemicals, power, mining, steelmaking, metals, environmental protection, medicine, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, food, water, fertilizers, nuclear power, electronics and aerospace.
With increasing government initiatives towards developing India's manufacturing sector, coupled with rapid industrialization, demand for industrial gases is anticipated to grow at a robust pace over the next five years. Petrochemical sector, which is one of the major end users of industrial gases, is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 13% during 2015-2020, thereby boosting demand for industrial gases in India over the next five years.
Owing to increasing demand and rising competition, an increasing number of industrial gases companies in India are investing heavily on capacity additions at existing as well as new end user facilities.
Additionally, an increasing number of large-scale end users are also installing industrial gas production units within their premises for ensuring continuous supply of industrial gases. Few major end use consumers of industrial gases in India include Tata Steel, JSW, Bhusan Steel and Vedanta.
India Industrial Gases Market Report discusses the following aspects of industrial gases market in India:
Expansion by Steel Companies
Growing Demand for Packaged Food
Oil & Gas Sector to Drive Growth
Growth in Healthcare Sector
Rising Demand for Industrial Gases from Human Blood Preservation Applications
Key Topics Covered:
1. Product Overview
2. Research Methodology
3. Analyst View
4. Global Industrial Gases Market Overview
5. India Industrial Gases Market Outlook
6. List of Air Separation Units with Capacity
7. India Oxygen Industrial Gas Market Outlook
8. India Nitrogen Industrial Gas Market Outlook
9. India Argon Industrial Gas Market Outlook
10. Import-Export Analysis
11. Market Dynamics
12. Market Trends & Developments
13. Voice of Customers
14. Channel Partner Analysis
15. Policy & Regulatory Landscape
16. India Economic Profile
17. Competitive Landscape
- Air Liquide India
- Bhagirathi industrial gases Pvt. Ltd.
- Bhagwati Oxygen Company
- Bhoruka Gases
- Bombay Oxygen Corporation Ltd.
- Ellenbarrie Industrial Gases Ltd.
- Inox Air Products
- K Air Speciality Gases Pvt. Ltd.
- Linde India Limited
- Praxair India
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2z9q93/india_industrial
Media Contact:
Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
[email protected]
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SOURCE Research and Markets
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"The CFP certification represents the highest standard in ethical and competent financial planning and more Americans need access to this valuable service," said Salmen, who has been a CFP professional since 2000. "I look forward to working with my Board colleagues, CFP Board staff and our CFP professional community to help develop the next generation of CFP professionals who will help secure American's financial future."
Before becoming CEO of Northern Financial Advisors, Salmen spent nearly 16 years at BOK Financial, overseeing the firm's financial planning practice. Salmen also served in the Army and Army Reserve, retiring at the rank of Captain. For nearly 25 years, Salmen was also an air traffic controller in Kansas until his retirement in 2013. Salmen has an MBA from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
"We are very fortunate to have Richard serving as our 2017 Chair-elect. He brings to the position a great amount of knowledge, wisdom and passion for the financial planning profession," said current Board of Directors Chair Mike Greene, CFP.
The Board of Directors elected Salmen to the new role at its July 2016 meeting. Current Chair-elect Blaine Aikin, CFP will serve as Chair of the Board of Directors in 2017 and Salmen will become Chair of the Board in 2018.
ABOUT CFP BOARD
The mission of Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. is to benefit the public by granting the CFP certification and upholding it as the recognized standard of excellence for personal financial planning. The Board of Directors, in furthering CFP Board's mission, acts on behalf of the public, CFP professionals and other stakeholders. CFP Board owns the certification marks CFP, Certified Financial Planner, and the federally registered CFP (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements. CFP Board currently authorizes more than 74,000 individuals to use these marks in the U.S.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160802/394928
SOURCE Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.
Related Links
http://www.cfp.net
In the context of California's End-of-Life Option Act and similar legislation through which society has given its approval of physician-assisted suicide and amid the current unmet needs of terminally ill people and well-recognized barriers to high quality palliative and hospice care, the exhibit also challenges us to reflect on our mortality and basic responsibilities to one another.
"'Right, before I die' creates the space for us to explore the possibility of well-being even as we are dying," said Ira Byock, M.D., chief medical officer at the Institute for Human Caring, "and illuminates the potential to reclaim a rich part of living through the twilight of our lives."
The six-week exhibit will feature special events, including:
An evening with TED Talk megastar Dr. BJ Miller, Sept. 13 . Miller will explore healthcare's dysfunctional relationship with death. Miller's passion for palliative care stems from personal experience a near-fatal injury suffered while a Princeton undergraduate that cost him three limbs.
. Miller will explore healthcare's dysfunctional relationship with death. Miller's passion for palliative care stems from personal experience a near-fatal injury suffered while a undergraduate that cost him three limbs. Interfaith symposium creating a culture of compassion, Sept. 28 . This event will feature leaders from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles , as well as national figures from the Islamic, Jewish and Buddhist faiths.
. This event will feature leaders from the Archdiocese of , as well as national figures from the Islamic, Jewish and Buddhist faiths. This Is Your Life win an iPad mini and healthy-living prizes during the Institute for Human Caring's social media event. Details will be announced Aug. 15 .
Most of the people in the collection were patients of Marwa Kilani, M.D., medical director of palliative care at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center.
The work "has presented us with the challenge to examine our own lives and re-evaluate our priorities in hopes of minimizing regrets," Dr. Kilani said.
@Human_Caring #RBID2016
About the Museum of Tolerance:
The Museum of Tolerance (MOT) is the educational arm of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an internationally renowned Jewish human rights organization. The only museum of its kind in the world, the MOT is dedicated to challenging visitors to understand the Holocaust in both historic and contemporary contexts and confront all forms of prejudice and discrimination in our world today. Established in 1993, the MOT has welcomed more than five million visitors, mostly middle and high school students. Visitors become witnesses to history and explore the dynamics of bigotry and discrimination that are still embedded in society today. Through interactive exhibits, special events, and customized programs for youths and adults, the MOT engages visitors' hearts and minds, while challenging them to assume personal responsibility for positive change.
About the Providence Institute for Human Caring:
The Providence Institute for Human Caring seeks to transform health care and strengthen ties to the communities Providence Health & Services serves. We are clinicians, educators, and health systems experts who believe everyone deserves the best care possible for physical health as well as for emotional, social and spiritual well-being. The Institute's goal: change health care culture to make caring for whole persons and their families the new normal. Serious illness not only affects people physically, it frequently robs them of their sense of security. People living with life-threatening medical conditions often say they feel lonely, frightened, confused and depressed. Whole person care melds state-of-the-art diagnostics and treatment with expertise and services to address their emotional, social and spiritual needs.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160729/394316
SOURCE Providence Institute for Human Caring
Related Links
http://www.providence.org
BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE: BFS), an equity real estate investment trust ("REIT"), announced its operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 ("2016 Quarter"). Total revenue for the 2016 Quarter increased to $52.7 million from $51.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 ("2015 Quarter"). Operating income, which is net income before the impact of change in fair value of derivatives, loss on early extinguishment of debt and gains on sales of property and casualty settlements, if any, increased to $13.3 million for the 2016 Quarter from $12.9 million for the 2015 Quarter.
The Park Van Ness mixed-use development opened in May, and as of July 31, 2016, 130 apartment leases have been executed (48.0%). Concurrent with the opening in May, interest, real estate taxes and all other costs associated with the property, including depreciation, began to be charged to expense while revenue continues to grow as occupancy increases. As a result, net income for the 2016 Quarter was adversely impacted by $1.1 million.
Net income attributable to common stockholders increased to $7.5 million ($0.35 per diluted share) for the 2016 Quarter compared to $7.3 million ($0.35 per diluted share) for the 2015 Quarter.
Same property revenue increased $1.0 million (1.9%) and same property operating income increased $1.3 million (3.3%) for the 2016 Quarter compared to the 2015 Quarter. Same property operating income equals property revenue minus the sum of (a) property operating expenses, (b) provision for credit losses and (c) real estate taxes and the comparisons exclude the results of properties not in operation for the entirety of the comparable reporting periods. Shopping center same property operating income increased $0.5 million (1.6%) primarily due to increased base rent. Mixed-use same property operating income increased $0.8 million (8.9%) primarily due to (a) higher other income ($0.3 million) and (b) lower provision for credit losses ($0.2 million).
As of June 30, 2016, 94.9% of the commercial portfolio was leased (not including the apartments at Clarendon Center and Park Van Ness), compared to 95.0% at June 30, 2015. On a same property basis, 95.1% of the portfolio was leased as of June 30, 2016, compared to 95.0% at June 30, 2015. The apartments at Clarendon Center were 97.1% leased as of June 30, 2016 compared to 98.8% as of June 30, 2015. The apartments at Park Van Ness were 34.7% leased as of June 30, 2016.
For the six months ended June 30, 2016 ("2016 Period"), total revenue increased to $109.6 million from $103.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 ("2015 Period"). Operating income increased to $29.6 million for the 2016 Period from $25.6 million for the 2015 Period. The increase in operating income was primarily due to (a) the net impact of a lease termination at 11503 Rockville Pike ($2.4 million) and (b) higher property operating income, exclusive of the above lease termination ($2.8 million), partially offset by (c) higher depreciation and amortization of deferred leasing costs ($0.6 million) and (d) higher general and administrative expense ($0.6 million).
Net income attributable to common stockholders increased to $17.4 million ($0.81 per diluted share) for the 2016 Period compared to $14.4 million ($0.68 per diluted share) for the 2015 Period. The increase in net income attributable to common stockholders was primarily due to (a) the net impact of a lease termination at 11503 Rockville Pike ($2.4 million) and (b) higher property operating income, exclusive of the above lease termination ($2.8 million), partially offset by (c) higher noncontrolling interests ($1.0 million), (d) higher depreciation and amortization of deferred leasing costs ($0.6 million) and (e) higher general and administrative expense ($0.6 million).
Same property revenue increased 5.6% and same property operating income increased 7.2% for the 2016 Period compared to the 2015 Period. Shopping center same property operating income increased 6.6% and mixed-use same property operating income increased 9.3%. Shopping center operating income increased primarily due to (a) the net impact of a lease termination at 11503 Rockville Pike ($2.4 million) and (b) higher base rent throughout the remainder of the portfolio ($1.6 million). Avenel Business Park was the primary contributor to improved mixed-use property operating income.
Funds from operations ("FFO") available to common stockholders and noncontrolling interests (after deducting preferred stock dividends) increased 1.6% to $21.0 million ($0.73 per diluted share) in the 2016 Quarter from $20.6 million ($0.73 per diluted share) in the 2015 Quarter. Concurrent with the opening of Park Van Ness in May, interest, real estate taxes and all other costs associated with the property began to be charged to expense while revenue continues to grow as occupancy increases. As a result, FFO for the 2016 Quarter was adversely impacted by $0.7 million. FFO, a widely accepted non-GAAP financial measure of operating performance for REITs, is defined as net income plus real estate depreciation and amortization, and excluding gains and losses from property dispositions, impairment charges on depreciable real estate assets and extraordinary items.
FFO available to common stockholders and noncontrolling interests (after deducting preferred stock dividends and the impact of preferred stock redemptions) increased 11.4% to $45.3 million ($1.57 per diluted share) in the 2016 Period from $40.7 million ($1.43 per diluted share) in the 2015 Period. FFO available to common shareholders increased primarily due to (a) the net impact of a lease termination at 11503 Rockville Pike ($2.4 million) and (b) higher property operating income, exclusive of the above lease termination ($2.8 million), partially offset by (c) higher general and administrative expenses ($0.6 million).
Saul Centers is a self-managed, self-administered equity REIT headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, which currently operates and manages a real estate portfolio of 59 properties which includes (a) 50 community and neighborhood shopping centers and seven mixed-use properties with approximately 9.6 million square feet of leasable area and (b) two land and development properties. Approximately 85% of the Saul Centers' property operating income is generated by properties in the metropolitan Washington, DC/Baltimore area.
Saul Centers, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (In thousands)
June 30,
2016
December 31,
2015
(Unaudited)
Assets
Real estate investments
Land $ 427,112
$ 424,837
Buildings and equipment 1,206,307
1,114,357
Construction in progress 7,327
83,516
1,640,746
1,622,710
Accumulated depreciation (440,499)
(425,370)
1,200,247
1,197,340
Cash and cash equivalents 10,981
10,003
Accounts receivable and accrued income, net 48,508
51,076
Deferred leasing costs, net 26,371
26,919
Prepaid expenses, net 1,892
4,663
Other assets 7,456
5,407
Total assets $ 1,295,455
$ 1,295,408
Liabilities
Notes payable $ 784,402
$ 796,169
Revolving credit facility payable 10,956
26,695
Construction loan payable 61,460
43,641
Dividends and distributions payable 16,684
15,380
Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities 25,865
27,687
Deferred income 29,658
32,109
Total liabilities 929,025
941,681
Stockholders' equity
Preferred stock 180,000
180,000
Common stock 215
213
Additional paid-in capital 318,778
305,008
Accumulated deficit and other comprehensive loss (185,262)
(181,893)
Total Saul Centers, Inc. stockholders' equity 313,731
303,328
Noncontrolling interests 52,699
50,399
Total stockholders' equity 366,430
353,727
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 1,295,455
$ 1,295,408
Saul Centers, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (In thousands, except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30,
2016
2015
2016
2015 Revenue (unaudited)
(unaudited) Base rent $ 42,580
$ 41,876
$ 85,187
$ 83,355
Expense recoveries 7,892
7,797
17,450
16,529
Percentage rent 596
558
959
996
Other 1,642
1,480
6,040
2,919
Total revenue 52,710
51,711
109,636
103,799
Operating expenses
Property operating expenses 6,060
6,196
14,055
13,812
Provision for credit losses 384
414
816
660
Real estate taxes 6,137
5,876
12,071
11,777
Interest expense and amortization of deferred debt costs 11,655
11,353
22,744
22,759
Depreciation and amortization of deferred leasing costs 10,817
10,811
21,852
21,251
General and administrative 4,407
4,139
8,467
7,910
Acquisition related costs
21
Total operating expenses 39,460
38,789
80,005
78,190
Operating income 13,250
12,922
29,631
25,609
Change in fair value of derivatives (3)
(10)
(6)
Gain on sale of property
11
11
Net Income 13,247
12,933
29,621
25,614
Income attributable to noncontrolling interests (2,620)
(2,537)
(6,046)
(5,011)
Net income attributable to Saul Centers, Inc. 10,627
10,396
23,575
20,603
Preferred stock dividends (3,094)
(3,094)
(6,188)
(6,188)
Net income attributable to common stockholders $ 7,533
$ 7,302
$ 17,387
$ 14,415
Per share net income attributable to common stockholders
Basic and diluted $ 0.35
$ 0.35
$ 0.81
$ 0.68
Weighted Average Common Stock:
Common stock 21,443
21,098
21,374
21,058
Effect of dilutive options 73
45
52
82
Diluted weighted average common stock 21,516
21,143
21,426
21,140
Reconciliation of net income to FFO attributable to common stockholders and noncontrolling interests (1)
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30,
(In thousands, except per share amounts) 2016
2015
2016
2015
(unaudited)
(unaudited)
Net income $ 13,247
$ 12,933
$ 29,621
$ 25,614
Subtract:
Gain on sale of property
(11)
(11)
Add:
Real estate depreciation and amortization 10,817
10,811
21,852
21,251
FFO 24,064
23,733
51,473
46,854
Subtract:
Preferred stock dividends (3,094)
(3,094)
(6,188)
(6,188)
FFO available to common stockholders and noncontrolling interests $ 20,970
$ 20,639
$ 45,285
$ 40,666
Weighted average shares:
Diluted weighted average common stock 21,516
21,143
21,426
21,140
Convertible limited partnership units 7,361
7,237
7,345
7,225
Average shares and units used to compute FFO per share 28,877
28,380
28,771
28,365
FFO per share available to common stockholders and noncontrolling interests $ 0.73
$ 0.73
$ 1.57
$ 1.43
(1) The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT) developed FFO as a relative non-GAAP financial measure of performance of an equity REIT in order to recognize that income-producing real estate historically has not depreciated on the basis determined under GAAP. FFO is defined by NAREIT as net income, computed in accordance with GAAP, plus real estate depreciation and amortization, and excluding extraordinary items, impairment charges on depreciable real estate assets and gains or losses from property dispositions. FFO does not represent cash generated from operating activities in accordance with GAAP and is not necessarily indicative of cash available to fund cash needs, which is disclosed in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the applicable periods. There are no material legal or functional restrictions on the use of FFO. FFO should not be considered as an alternative to net income, its most directly comparable GAAP measure, as an indicator of the Company's operating performance, or as an alternative to cash flows as a measure of liquidity. Management considers FFO a meaningful supplemental measure of operating performance because it primarily excludes the assumption that the value of the real estate assets diminishes predictably over time (i.e. depreciation), which is contrary to what the Company believes occurs with its assets, and because industry analysts have accepted it as a performance measure. FFO may not be comparable to similarly titled measures employed by other REITs.
Reconciliation of net income to same property operating income
Three Months Ended June 30,
Six Months Ended June 30,
(In thousands) 2016
2015
2016
2015
(unaudited)
(unaudited)
Net income $ 13,247
$ 12,933
$ 29,621
$ 25,614
Add: Interest expense and amortization of deferred debt costs 11,655
11,353
22,744
22,759
Add: Depreciation and amortization of deferred leasing costs 10,817
10,811
21,852
21,251
Add: General and administrative 4,407
4,139
8,467
7,910
Add: Acquisition related costs
21
Add: Change in fair value of derivatives 3
10
6
Less: Gains on sale of property
(11)
(11)
Less: Interest income (12)
(13)
(25)
(26)
Property operating income 40,117
39,212
82,669
77,524
(Add) Less: Acquisitions, dispositions and development property (51)
327
121
509
Total same property operating income $ 40,168
$ 38,885
$ 82,548
$ 77,015
Shopping centers $ 30,509
$ 30,019
$ 63,584
$ 59,665
Mixed-Use properties 9,659
8,866
18,964
17,350
Total same property operating income $ 40,168
$ 38,885
$ 82,548
$ 77,015
SOURCE Saul Centers, Inc.
Related Links
http://www.saulcenters.com
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Meet Dr. Z. He hates ED. He hates Peyronie's Disease. He hates pretty much any form of sexual dysfunction, and has dedicated his practice and his life to helping patients regain their confidence through biologic therapies.
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This fall at the annual Scientific Meeting of the Sexual Medical Society of North America, Dr. Zahalsky will present findings from his work the past few years on biologics therapy for erectile dysfunction and Peyronie's Disease. Dr. Zahalsky has put together a world renowned team of Urologists to assist in the research and education of biological products in Urology. Dr. Rafael Carrion, part of Dr. Zahalsky's respected team of UroCellZ Researchers, is currently leading an IRB-approved study.
"As I personally continue to see the success of our biologics research and treatment for sexual dysfunction, I want to shout from the rooftops how exciting this news is for a very large segment of our population," says Dr. Zahalsky. "When we get to share our studies with other medical experts from around the world, it's especially gratifying, educating peers and potentially changing the lives of patients."
Previously, Dr. Zahalsky has presented his results at the American Urological Association Annual meeting and at the World Congress of Medical Sexology.
But Dr. Z also realizes action is just as important as information dissemination. That is why UroCellZ Research has teamed up with Atlanta, Georgia-based Vivex Biomedical, an authority on biological products and owner of the University of Miami Tissue Bank, the oldest civilian tissue bank in the country. Previously, Vivex's products have been used to treat orthopedic, spine, wound, and soft tissue injuries. UroCellZ Research, believes that these same products and techniques can be used to help millions of people suffering from Urological conditions, especially male and female sexual dysfunction, but need to be studied appropriately first.
About Dr. Zahalsky & UroCellZ Research
Dr. Zahalsky is a respected Urologist, dual fellowship trained at Boston University and MIT in Male and Female Sexual Dysfunction. Prior, he obtained his medical degree and a Masters in Epidemiology from Brown University.
He currently runs a large Urology practice in South Florida, Z Urology, lectures regularly on the applications of Biologics for Sexual Dysfunction and all of Urology, and has authored Peer Reviewed articles and is a reviewer for multiple medical journals.
UroCellZ Research is a clinical research group of 20 Sexual Dysfunction experts from around the United States who focus on advancing research and education in the rapidly growing field of Regenerative Medicine and Urology.
About Vivex Biomedical
Vivex Biomedical is a privately held company based out of Atlanta, Georgia focused on biologically active tissue forms that treat orthopedic, spine, wound and soft tissue indications. Vivex and its wholly owned subsidiary, UMTB Biomedical, Inc., own and hold exclusive rights to proprietary technologies in the field of biomedicine, stem cells, and orthopedic implant surface modification.
Contact:
Michael Zahalsky, MD
954-714-8200
Email
SOURCE UroCellZ
NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. ("Keryx" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: KERX). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980.
[Click here to join a class action]
The investigation concerns whether Keryx and certain of its officers and/or directors have violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
On August 1, 2016, Keryx announced that a "production-related issue" at the Company's contract manufacturer will cause an interruption in the supply of the Company's Auryxia tablets. Keryx acknowledged that "current inventories of Auryxia are not sufficient to ensure uninterrupted patient access." Keryx also withdrew its guidance for the year.
On this news, Keryx's share price fell $2.63, or 35.78%, to close at $4.72 on August 1, 2016.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com
CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
[email protected]
SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
Related Links
http://www.pomerantzlaw.com
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On Aug 1, 2016 SimpleTire changes the tire buying industry forever.
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NEW TIRES. EVERY VEHICLE. BEST PRICES. Free Shipping on Popular Brands!
The last barrier to buying tires on the Internet has come down! The cost of shipping is no longer an issue. SimpleTire now ships popular brand tires to an installer or home, WITHOUT a delivery charge.
More than 5,000 SKUs from the most popular tires brands qualify for FREE SHIPPING. They include BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Continental, Cooper, Falken, Firestone, Fuzion, General, Goodyear, Hankook, Kelly Tires, Kumho, Michelin, Nitto, Pirelli, Toyo, and Yokohama.
Customers get the best prices and free shipping on popular brands because of a unique low-cost, high-volume business model. Instead of buying and reselling tires like other retailers, SimpleTire uses data and technology to aggregate tire inventory, for every type of vehicle, from more than 500 suppliers across the country.
As COO Josh Chalofsky says, "We're often referred to as the 'Expedia of the tire industry' because of the way we source tires and the effort we've put into building relationships with suppliers."
The suppliers, that SimpleTire has partnered with, compete with each other on price and selection so that SimpleTire customers get the best deals.
Mr. Chalofsky adds, "Our mission is to provide people with the best prices on new tires and take the hassle out of the buying & installation process. Now with free shipping, we have made enormous progress in achieving that."
With other tire retailers having a limited tire selection and the expense of maintaining inventory, they are at a significant disadvantage when compared to SimpleTire's business model.
In the $38 billion market, currently 5% of tires are purchased online. That share is now poised to grow quickly thanks to the ease of price comparison shopping and convenient delivery.
About SimpleTire
SimpleTire gets people new tires for every vehicle at the best price, and with free shipping.
www.SimpleTire.com
Contact:
Kevin Burke
SimpleTire.com
Email
888-410-0604
SOURCE SimpleTire.com
Related Links
http://www.simpletire.com
HANGZHOU, China, Aug. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- China is a big country in the area of foreign trade, with 600,000 registered import and export companies according to the customs record. How do Chinese foreign traders do business with overseas buyers? How do suppliers and buyers find each other? For many Chinese foreign traders there was no such a thing as marketing or online marketing, especially before 2008. They just attended Canton Fair and other big fairs of their own industries, waiting for buyers. This stage can be thought of as phase 1.0 of Chinese foreign trade.
But since the big economic crisis in Europe and the Americas, the case became totally different, waiting at fairs no longer worked that well. And then Alibaba.com saved many small and medium-sized foreign traders followed by made-in-china.com and other B2B platforms. Suppliers and buyers were able to meet together and discuss every detail without any geographic or cultural barriers, saving time and communicating efficiently. Most importantly, foreign traders got their customers and orders, maybe not so easily but they survived. This is Phase 2.0 of Chinese foreign trade, during which internet began to play a big part.
As more and more suppliers and manufacturers swarmed to the platforms and the volume of purchasing grew slowly or stopped growing, the competition between suppliers on B2B platforms thus became more and more fierce. To win more customers and orders, foreign traders needed to renew their mindset and marketing strategies as online marketing includes more than B2B platforms, They began to do email marketing, content marketing, big data marketing, search engine PPC, social media marketing, and so on. This is Phase 3.0 of Chinese foreign trade, during which the internet is fully used and online marketing also plays a big part.
We are currently in Phase 3.0 of Chinese foreign trade, it's the time of online marketing. There are many ways you can be visible online. But the thing is what would your potential buyers see you online? Your B2B platform profiles and your Facebook profiles? Yes they are working well for you and in good hands, but they are not in your own hands, what if the rules of B2B platforms and social media change? You have to have something in your own hands! And that something is your own official website!
In China there is an online marketing service provider named Siyiou (www.seo.com.cn) founded by Mr. HE Xumin and his partners. According to Mr. HE, online marketing system based on foreign traders' official websites is Phase 4.0 of Chinese foreign trade. "As a leading online marketing service provider for Chinese exporting companies, we are supposed to see the trend before foreign traders do", Mr. HE said. "It is our responsibility to picture Phase 4.0 for them and help them to grow out of the old phase and face the future."
Siyiou is short for Siyiou Network Technology Co., Ltd. With its headquarters in Hangzhou, China, Siyiou has been providing SEO (short for Search Engine Optimization) service to all kinds of industries and Chinese companies of any scale since 2003. As one of the initial SEO service providers of China, Siyiou still commits itself to the SEO industry, and in order to serve this industry better, it keeps a technology team of 500 senior IT engineers and SEO experts.
Mr. HE Xumin is a creative person, and so his team is creative and innovative and always sees and acts along with the trend. In this new time, SEO service by itself cannot help Chinese foreign traders to go far, they need new tools. In December 2013, Siyiou successfully developed Foreign Trade Express, and in early 2014, Foreign Trade Express was put into China market with Hangzhou as a start.
Foreign Trade Express is a one-stop smart network marketing system, which is developed on the basis of advanced SEO technology and online marketing skills and especially for Chinese foreign traders. Using Foreign Trade Express, foreign traders can develop their own official English website and websites in 47 other languages, and for each PC website there is a mobile version that was developed in accordance with a Google Mobile-friendly algorithm.
Before website development, foreign traders only have to define and make a list of keywords and terms according to product features and potential customers searching possibilities, and provide content of high relevance. When websites are ready, SEO begins automatically. With 1 to 3 months after that, as Siyiou guaranteed, the website will rank in the top 10 in Google SERPs for 50 to 1000 keywords and terms.
Not only helping with Google SEO, Foreign Trade Express also helps Chinese foreign traders share their products information with hundreds of B2B and B2C platforms, and social media like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and so on. And, with other marketing tools within the same system, foreign traders can easily find where the potential customers are and what they prefer, and with the detailed information, foreign traders can do email marketing and content marketing accordingly. Thus, Foreign Trade Express is called a smart online marketing system.
With the help of Foreign Trade Express, nearly 10,000 small and medium-sized Chinese foreign traders established their own online marketing system based on their own official websites. They are now not only focusing on the traditional English-speaking market, but are also develop their non-English speaking market. With the big picture of traditional market and emerging market, small and medium-sized Chinese foreign traders can also go global, not only in business but also in mindset and marketing strategies. They are ready for Phase 4.0 of Chinese foreign trade.
Siyiou is a company which never stops surprising customers with amazing services and products. Visit their website at www.seo.com.cn. To find out more about Foreign Trade Express, an amazing product which never stops updating with more amazing features, visit kc.seo.com.cn.
SOURCE Siyiou
NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- EY announces that the team from Society Consulting, a US-based market-leading analytics and big data consulting firm in Seattle, Washington, has joined Ernst & Young LLP in the US.
Society Consulting is known for aggregating, organizing and visualizing companies' data to improve the customer experience for its clients across a variety of media channels, and creating scalable, actionable analytics solutions that span all customer touch points. Its services include web development, dynamic content strategy, content management, personalization, segmentation and campaign execution.
The Society Consulting team brings new depth to EY's market-leading offerings in digital analytics, analytics managed services and big data services. EY will leverage the Society Consulting team's experience to help clients design, build and deploy a complete set of experiences for customers, employees, providers and other stakeholders.
Saj Usman, EY Americas Advisory Data and Analytics Leader, says:
"Our clients want to become more data-driven and often ask for the best way to leverage all their data, how to make sense of it, and what capabilities they need to transform their company and drive consistent, sustained value by becoming a more data-driven business. With the Society Consulting team as part of EY, we can enhance clients' digital experiences by harnessing world class technology delivery, data science and data architecture capabilities."
Chad Richeson, formerly CEO of Society Consulting, says:
"In today's market, it's not good enough to have a digital strategy or merely act like a digital company. It's about having a business strategy that's built to operate in a digital world. By joining EY, we can reach out to more clients, helping them to reach knowledge-based, insight-driven decisions and make the most of their troves of data to improve experiences across the board."
Steve Watson, EY Global Performance Improvement Leader, Advisory Services, says:
"With the Society Consulting team joining EY, we further enhance our ability to help clients maximize the value of their data for knowledge-based, insight-driven decisions that enable them to deliver exceptional experiences to their customers, employees, suppliers and business partners. Through other highly synergistic combinations including with Seren, NorthPoint Digital, Intuitive Company, Bedrock Consultants, Bluestone Consulting, C3 and others EY has developed a wide breadth of services in the digital space."
Notes to editors
About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.
EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.
This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a member of the global EY organization that also provides services to clients in the US.
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SOURCE EY
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CHICAGO, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Stout Risius Ross, Inc. (SRR), a global advisory firm specializing in Investment Banking, Valuation & Financial Opinions, and Dispute Advisory & Forensic Services is proud to announce that Mr. Carsten Hoffmann has joined the firm as a Managing Director, co-head of the Trust & Estate Valuation Services practice, and head of its new Irvine, California office.
Mr. Hoffmann has more than two decades of valuation expertise and is a highly regarded expert on a range of complex valuation issues related to estate and gift tax, income tax, litigation support and dispute resolution including the quantification of discounts for lack of control and lack of marketability pertaining to business and real property interests. As a leader in the valuation industry, Mr. Hoffmann has testified in U.S. Tax Court as a valuation expert, has authored numerous articles, and regularly presents on valuation issues nationally.
"We are thrilled to welcome Carsten to our firm," said Craige Stout, Chairman and CEO of SRR. "He is highly regarded in the trust and estate community and has a proven track record of building lasting relationships with clients. His expertise will be an invaluable asset to our clients and his leadership will help us continue to grow our Trust & Estate Valuation practice."
Prior to joining SRR, Mr. Hoffmann was a Managing Director of FMV Opinions, where he managed the national valuation group, as well as the operations of the Irvine, California office.
Mr. Hoffmann received his Master's degree in Business Administration and his Bachelor of Arts degree in German and English from the University of California, Irvine. Mr. Hoffmann is a Senior Appraiser of the American Society of Appraisers and a Trust and Estate Practitioner. He holds active memberships in Young Presidents' Organization and the Orange County Estate Planning Council. Mr. Hoffmann is a Series 63 and 79 Registered Securities Representative.
About SRR's Trust & Estate Valuation Services practice
SRR has built the premier Trust & Estate valuation services practice in the United States providing the following services: valuation of closely held business and real estate interests, FLP/LLC valuation discount studies, carried interest valuation, complex security valuation, restricted stock and blockage discount opinions, promissory note valuation, valuation of undivided interests in real estate, valuation of intellectual property, tax controversy consulting and expert testimony. Our clients and their advisors rely on our premier expertise, deep industry knowledge, and unparalleled responsiveness on complex financial matters. For more information, visit www.SRR.com, follow us on Twitter @StoutRisiusRoss and/or connect with us on LinkedIn.
SRR is a trade name for Stout Risius Ross, Inc. and Stout Risius Ross Advisors, LLC, a FINRA registered broker-dealer and SIPC member firm.
SOURCE Stout Risius Ross, Inc.
Related Links
http://www.srr.com
TOPEKA, Kan., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Orion Health announced today that Stormont Vail Health (SVH) has selected Orion Health's Rhapsody Integration Engine to replace a legacy engine that could no longer meet their integration and interoperability needs. Rhapsody achieves rapid interoperability between healthcare IT systems, which enables connected solutions in less time and at a lower cost. Rhapsody can support all healthcare message formats and standards, which include HL7 (v2 and v3), HL7 FHIR, CCDA, NCPDP, X12, IHE, DICOM, XML, binary, delimited and legacy formats.
Based in Topeka, Kansas, SVH is made up of providers, primary care and specialty physician clinics, a 586-bed acute care hospital and other services. In January 2016, the IT team at SVH undertook a rigorous selection process in which they reviewed the top vendors listed by KLAS and then narrowed it down to their top two. After running parallel Proof of Concept (POC) projects and in-depth due diligence into the shortlisted candidates, Rhapsody was selected as the Integration Engine to which SVH will migrate over all of their interfaces.
"I wanted a product that my team would enjoy using every day," said Judy Corzine, administrative director and CIO of SVH. "My team was much more comfortable with Rhapsody's Integrated Development Environment (IDE) than anything else they had seen and they were very confident that they would be able to migrate all of the interfaces to Rhapsody without the need to hire any additional IT staff." Corzine added that Rhapsody gives SVH the ability to expand functionalities and components without incurring additional capital expenses.
SVH also felt more assured with Orion Health's migration strategy, which includes a conversion tool that will help convert its legacy interfaces (written in Monk) into new Rhapsody interfaces with minimal changes.
Orion Health's training plan includes both in-person and online (certification) programs, with simple to understand and engaging self-paced learning. Further, Rhapsody gives users an online wiki (called "Doki") where users can quickly and easily access documentation and answers, rather than having to search an index-based help file.
SVH's vision is to be a national leader in providing compassionate, high-quality and efficient integrated care through collaboration that results in a healthier community. SVH leaders recognized that leveraging the right technology is a critical factor in achieving effective and efficient coordinated care, which helped drive their decision to choose Rhapsody.
"The pricingwhich includes an unlimited licensemet my expectations," said Corzine. "I was very happy with the contracting process and feel that we have chosen a stable, long-term partner."
"We are privileged to be selected by SVH to help fulfill their vision with the right technology to meet their integration and interoperability needs," said Baz Patel, sales director at Orion Health. "Rhapsody provides a comprehensive set of tools that will help SVH with their current requirements to get off their legacy engine with zero risk, and the same platform will accommodate any new and future requirements."
About Stormont Vail Health
Stormont Vail Health is a not-for-profit integrated healthcare system based in Topeka, Kansas. It is comprised of Stormont Vail Hospital, a 586-bed acute care center, and Cotton O'Neil, a multi-specialty physician group with 230 primary care and specialty care physicians. More than 4,500 employees provide care and support services for patients in the hospital and 27 other locations, including the Cotton O'Neil Heart Center, Cancer Center, Diabetes & Endocrinology Center, Digestive Health Center and multiple primary care clinics throughout northeast Kansas. Stormont Vail Health has achieved and maintained Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Stormont Vail Hospital has the region's only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care and only verified trauma center.
About Orion Health
Orion Health is a technology company that provides solutions that enable healthcare to over 100 million patients in more than 25 countries. Its open technology platform seamlessly integrates all forms of relevant data to deliver population health and precision medicine solutions across the entire health community. Orion Health makes healthcare information available anywhere by providing healthcare IT connectivity in every U.S. state and in over 30 countries worldwide. With an inherent ability to interconnect a wide variety of healthcare information systems, Orion Health's Amadeus, with the Rhapsody Integration Engine, facilitates data acquisition and aggregation within and among payer and provider organizations, accountable care organizations, governments and health information exchanges. The company employs more than 1,250 people globally and is committed to continual innovation, investing over 30 percent of total operating revenue year to date in research and development, to cement its position at the forefront of precision medicine. For more information, visit www.orionhealth.com/us and connect on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Media Contact
Marcia Rhodes
Amendola Communications for Orion Health
480.664.8412 ext. 15
[email protected]
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SOURCE Orion Health
Related Links
http://www.orionhealth.com/
CHICAGO, Aug. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- James Hardie Building Products Inc., the leader in fiber cement siding, today announced 10 years of earning the nationally-recognized "A,A" Partners of Choice Award for outstanding Quality and Service from David Weekley Homes, the nation's largest privately-held home builder.
Each year, David Weekley Homes recognizes the best-of-breed companies that provide an exemplary combination of quality and service, according to the results of a rigorous supplier evaluation platform. A large component of this process is the National Trading Partner Survey, a quarterly survey that is used to impact change, which includes reducing channel costs and improving customer service with the end goal of achieving the highest level of homeowner satisfaction.
Companies ranked the highest are presented with the nationally-acclaimed Partners of Choice Award. Award winners are divided into two categories: "A,A" for excellence in both quality and service or "A" for excellence in either category. James Hardie stands out among the 200 participating companies as only one of 14 to earn the highly coveted "A,A" Award, achieving excellence in both quality and service, and one of only three companies to earn this distinction for 10 or more years.
"When homeowners choose David Weekley Homes with James Hardie siding, they receive an exceptionally beautiful, durable and authentic exterior," said Sean Gadd, chief marketing officer for James Hardie Building Products. "We're honored to earn this award for the 10th year and we look forward to delivering David Weekley Homes with high-quality products and first class service for many more years."
Gadd also noted that the "A" award for service is a testament to the dedication and superior customer support consistently delivered by the company's valued channel partners.
"The National Trading Partner Survey is an end-to-end process in which we not only evaluate the performance of our suppliers, but also their ability to influence the supply chain," said Bill Justus, vice president of supply chain for David Weekley Homes and primary driver of the world class evaluation platform. "At David Weekley Homes, we set the highest expectations for our team members and expect the very same from our trading partners. For 10 years, James Hardie has undoubtedly demonstrated world-class excellence and fully embraces our goal of delivering outstanding customer satisfaction to our home buyers."
For more information about the award, visit: davidweekleyhomes.com. To learn more about James Hardie, visit jameshardie.com.
About James Hardie Building Products Inc.
James Hardie is the global leader in fiber cement technology, and has been furthering founder James Hardie's innovative, entrepreneurial legacy around the world for more than 125 years. It invented fiber cement siding products in the early 1980s as a durable, lower-maintenance alternative to wood and vinyl. Its products combine innovation and versatility to offer a variety of design possibilities, matched with specific performance attributes relative to the climate where the product is being used. Currently installed on more than 5.5 million homes in North America, James Hardie has earned a favorable reputation within the industry and has been specified in some of the country's most prestigious projects. For more information about James Hardie visit www.jameshardie.com.
About David Weekley Homes
David Weekley Homes, the nation's largest privately-held home builder, is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2016. Headquartered in Houston, the company operates in 24 cities and 13 states across the United States. David Weekley Homes was the first builder in the United States to be awarded the Triple Crown of American Home Building, an honor which includes "America's Best Builder," "National Housing Quality Award" and "National Builder of the Year." David Weekley Homes has also appeared 10 times on FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list. Since 1976, the company has closed more than 80,000 homes. For more information, visit www.davidweekleyhomes.com.
Contact:
Sarah Flagg
CBD Marketing
Office: 312-661-1050
Email: [email protected]
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150805/255667LOGO
SOURCE James Hardie Building Products Inc.
Related Links
http://www.jameshardie.com
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Systemax Inc. (NYSE: SYX) today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016.
Performance Summary*
(U.S. dollars in millions, except per share data) Highlights Quarter Ended
June 30, Six Months Ended
June 30, GAAP Results 2016 2015 2016 2015 Net sales $420.8 $454.1 $850.6 $966.2 Gross profit $81.5 $86.5 $164.9 $173.6 Gross margin 19.4% 19.0% 19.4% 18.0% Operating income (loss) $1.1 $(16.7) $0.6 $(28.8) Operating margin 0.3% (3.7)% 0.1% (3.0)% Net income (loss) from continuing operations $(2.0) $(16.7) $(3.1) $(38.5) Net income (loss) per share from continuing operations $(0.05) $(0.45) $(0.08) $(1.04) Net income (loss) from discontinued operations $(5.4) $(11.7) $(21.6) $(18.5) Net income (loss) per share from discontinued operations $(0.15) $(0.32) $(0.58) $(0.50) Non-GAAP Results**
Net sales $420.8 $434.9 $850.6 $867.9 Gross profit $81.5 $85.1 $164.9 $163.6 Gross margin 19.4% 19.6% 19.4% 18.9% Operating income $2.3 $7.3 $4.2 $8.9 Operating margin 0.5% 1.7% 0.5% 1.0% Net income (loss) from continuing operations $0.8 $5.5 $2.9 $1.8 Net income (loss) per share from continuing operations $0.02 $0.15 $0.08 $0.05 Net income (loss) from discontinued operations $(6.0) $(36.3) $(24.0) $(55.2) Net income (loss) per share from discontinued operations $(0.16) $(0.98) $(0.65) $(1.49)
* The actual fiscal quarter ended on July 2, 2016. The second quarters of both 2016 and 2015 included 13 weeks, respectively.
** On December 1, 2015 the Company closed on the sale of certain assets of its North American Technology Group ("NATG"). Pursuant to this transaction, the Company is winding down the remaining operations of NATG during 2016. Recently revised United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") prevent the Company from presenting the entire NATG segment as a "discontinued operation" despite the entire NATG segment being discontinued. In the GAAP presentation, the retail operations which were discontinued by the Company prior to the transaction, along with allocations of common distribution and back office costs, are presented as part of the Company's continuing operations for all periods; other NATG operations that were sold as well as the remaining retail operations that existed at the time of the transaction (and were subsequently discontinued by the Company) are presented as discontinued operations for all periods. The Company believes that the non-GAAP presentation conveys additional meaningful information to investors. The non-GAAP results reflect the entire NATG segment as a discontinued operation for all periods presented as well as adjustments for non-recurring items, intangible amortization, equity compensation and a normalized effective tax rate in recurring operations. See accompanying GAAP reconciliation tables.
GAAP Second Quarter 2016 Financial Summary:
Consolidated sales decreased 7.3% to $420.8 million in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales decreased 7.2%.
in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales decreased 7.2%. Industrial Products Group sales grew 0.5% to $181.8 million in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales grew 0.8%.
in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales grew 0.8%. EMEA Technology Products Group sales decreased 5.7% to $238.1 million in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales decreased 5.6%.
in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales decreased 5.6%. Consolidated operating income was $1.1 million compared to a loss of $16.7 million last year.
compared to a loss of last year. Diluted net loss per share from continuing operations was $0.05 .
Non-GAAP Second Quarter 2016 Continuing Operations Financial Summary:
Consolidated sales decreased 3.2% to $420.8 million in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales decreased 3.1%.
in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales decreased 3.1%. Industrial Products Group sales grew 0.5% to $181.8 million in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales grew 0.8%.
in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales grew 0.8%. EMEA Technology Products Group sales decreased 5.7% to $238.1 million in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales decreased 5.6%.
in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales decreased 5.6%. Consolidated operating income was $2.3 million compared to $7.3 million last year.
compared to last year. Diluted net income per share was $0.02 .
GAAP Six Months 2016 Financial Summary:
Consolidated sales decreased 12.0% to $850.6 million in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis and excluding the January 2015 acquisition of the Plant Equipment Group (P.E.G.) in North America , sales decreased 11.6%.
in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis and excluding the acquisition of the Plant Equipment Group (P.E.G.) in , sales decreased 11.6%. Industrial Products Group sales grew 3.7% to $352.4 million in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis and excluding the January 2015 acquisition of P.E.G., sales grew 2.1%.
in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis and excluding the acquisition of P.E.G., sales grew 2.1%. EMEA Technology Products Group sales decreased 5.5% to $496.3 million in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales decreased 3.9%.
in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales decreased 3.9%. Consolidated operating income was $0.6 million compared to a loss of $28.8 million last year.
compared to a loss of last year. Diluted net loss per share was $0.08 .
Non-GAAP Six Months 2016 Continuing Operations Financial Summary:
Consolidated sales decreased 2.0% to $850.6 million in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis and excluding the January 2015 acquisition of P.E.G., sales decreased 1.6%.
in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis and excluding the acquisition of P.E.G., sales decreased 1.6%. Industrial Products Group sales grew 3.7% to $352.4 million in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis and excluding P.E.G., sales grew 2.1%.
in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis and excluding P.E.G., sales grew 2.1%. EMEA Technology Products Group sales decreased 5.5% to $496.3 million in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales decreased 3.9%.
in U.S. dollars. On a constant currency basis, sales decreased 3.9%. Consolidated operating income was $4.2 million compared to $8.9 million last year.
compared to last year. Diluted net income per share was $0.08 .
Larry Reinhold, Chief Executive Officer, said, "In the quarter we continued to streamline our business, optimize our operations and took additional steps to improve our long-term profitability. Industrial extended its revenue growth streak to 26 consecutive quarters despite a soft North American MRO market, improved efficiencies in its distribution network, and implemented a cost reduction initiative which will lower its annual cost structure by approximately $4 million. Quarterly results include approximately $2.9 million in one-time costs associated with the cost reduction initiative and an inventory adjustment the Company gained visibility into during an IT system conversion."
"In Europe, our largest market France delivered its 10th consecutive quarter of double digit growth despite a soft IT market, and our Netherlands Solutions business generated double digit growth for the second consecutive quarter, which were offset by declines in other markets. In the U.K., turnaround efforts are moving forward and we successfully established a new sales office in north London, which included the recruitment of several senior sales executives. In Netherlands we completed the consolidation of our offices to a new shared facility in Amstelveen which houses our employees from both the Solutions as well as the reseller business. During the quarter we also initiated a strategic review of our German business which concluded successfully with the recently announced sale."
"During the quarter, we made additional progress in winding down the former North American Technology Group business which included vacating the Miami office. Remaining shut down activities relate primarily to collecting accounts receivable and settling leases and other contingencies."
"As a result of the strategic initiatives we have accomplished in the past year, the Company has significantly simplified its structure, reported non-gaap operating profits and maintained a strong balance sheet. Accordingly, our board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.05 per share of common stock to shareholders of record at the close of August 19, 2016, payable on August 29, 2016. We anticipate continuing a regular quarterly dividend in the future. With a strong balance sheet we have the flexibility to return capital to shareholders, execute on our business plans and continue investing in our growth opportunities."
"At June 30, 2016, the Company had total working capital of $199.3 million, cash and cash equivalents of $165.2 million and excess availability under its credit facility of approximately $39.0 million," Reinhold concluded.
Earnings Conference Call Details
Systemax Inc. will provide pre-recorded remarks on its second quarter 2016 results today, August 2, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. A live webcast of the remarks will be available on the Company's website at www.systemax.com in the investor relations section. The webcast will also be archived on www.systemax.com for approximately 90 days.
About Systemax Inc.
Systemax Inc. (www.systemax.com), a Fortune 1000 company, sells industrial and technology products through a system of branded e-Commerce websites and relationship marketers in North America and Europe. The primary brands are Global Industrial, C&H, MISCO and Inmac Wstore.
Forward Looking Statements.
This press release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of that term in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). Additional written or oral forward looking statements may be made by the Company from time to time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission or otherwise. Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are based on management's estimates, assumptions and projections and are not guarantees of future performance. The Company assumes no obligation to update these statements. Forward looking statements may include, but are not limited to, projections or estimates of revenue, income or loss, exit costs, cash flow needs and capital expenditures, statements regarding future operations, expansion or restructuring plans, including our recent exit from and winding down of our NATG operations, financing needs, compliance with financial covenants in loan agreements, the implementation or performance of technology systems discussed below, the turnaround plans for our UK operations, the performance of our shared service center in Hungary, fluctuations in economic conditions and exchange rates, including factors impacting our substantial international operations, plans for acquisition or sale of assets or businesses, consolidation and integration of operations of recently acquired businesses, plans relating to products or services of the Company, assessments of materiality, predictions of future events and the effects of pending and possible litigation, as well as assumptions relating to the foregoing. In addition, when used in this release, the words "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," and "plans" and variations thereof and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements.
Other factors that may affect our future results of operations and financial condition include, but are not limited to, unanticipated developments in any one or more of the following areas, as well as other factors which may be detailed from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings: risks involved with e-commerce, including possible loss of business and customer dissatisfaction if outages or other computer-related problems should preclude customer access to our products and services; our ability to timely and efficiently exit and wind down our discontinued NATG business; our ability to timely and efficiently integrate recently acquired businesses, the Company's management information systems and other technology platforms supporting our sales, procurement and other operations are critical to our operations and disruptions or delays, particularly as we continue to transition certain functions from our existing platforms to a new platform specifically developed for our needs, have occurred and could occur in the future, and if not timely addressed would have a material adverse effect on us; general economic conditions, will continue to impact our business; technological change, such as the effect of mobile devices on sales of PCs and laptop computers, have had and can continue to have a material effect on our product mix and results of operations; sales tax laws or government enforcement priorities may be changed which could result in ecommerce and direct mail retailers having to collect sales taxes in states where the current laws and interpretations do not require us to do so; our substantial international operations are subject to risks such as fluctuations in currency rates, foreign regulatory requirements, political uncertainty and the management of our expanding international operations infrastructure including our ability to timely and effectively operate our shared services center in Hungary; and managing various inventory risks, such as being unable to profitably resell excess or obsolete inventory and/or the loss of product return rights and price protection from our vendors.
Investor/Media Contacts:
Mike Smargiassi / Nancy Zakhary
Brainerd Communicators, Inc.
212-986-6667
[email protected]
[email protected]
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations GAAP - Unaudited (In millions, except per share amounts)
Quarter Ended
Six Months Ended
June 30,
June 30,
2016
2015
2016
2015
Net sales $420.8
$454.1
$850.6
$966.2
Cost of sales 339.3
367.6
$685.7
$792.6
Gross profit $81.5
$86.5
$164.9
$173.6
Gross margin 19.4%
19.0%
19.4%
18.0%
Selling, general and administrative expenses 80.1
82.7
$162.4
$176.6
Special charges 0.3
20.5
$1.9
$25.8
Operating income (loss) from continuing operations $1.1
$(16.7)
$0.6
($28.8)
Operating margin 0.3%
(3.7)%
0.1%
(3.0)%
Interest and other (income) expense, net 1.0
(1.2)
($0.3)
$7.0
Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes $0.1
($15.5)
$0.9
$(35.8)
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes 2.1
1.2
$4.0
$2.7
Net income (loss) from continuing operations $(2.0)
($16.7)
$(3.1)
($38.5)
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations ($5.4)
($11.7)
($21.6)
($18.5)
Net income (loss) ($7.4)
($28.4)
($24.7)
($57.0)
Net income (loss) per common share from continuing operations:
Basic $(0.05)
$(0.45)
$(0.08)
$(1.04)
Diluted $(0.05)
$(0.45)
$(0.08)
$(1.04)
Net income (loss) per common share from discontinued operations:
Basic $(0.15)
$(0.32)
$(0.58)
$(0.50)
Diluted $(0.15)
$(0.32)
$(0.58)
$(0.50)
Weighted average common and common equivalent shares:
Basic 37.2
37.1
37.2
37.1
Diluted 37.2
37.1
37.2
37.1
SYSTEMAX INC. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets GAAP - Unaudited (In millions)
June 30,
December 31,
2016
2015 Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $165.2
$215.1 Accounts receivable, net 228.0
266.3 Inventories 126.4
144.4 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 9.9
14.5 Total current assets 529.5
640.3 Property, plant and equipment, net 34.4
38.3 Goodwill, intangibles and other assets 29.3
31.5 Total assets $593.2
$710.1
Current liabilities:
Short-term debt $0.2
$0.6 Accounts payable and accrued expenses 330.0
425.5 Total current liabilities 330.2
426.1 Long-term debt 0.1
0.4 Other liabilities 33.9
29.7 Shareholders' equity 229.0
253.9 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $593.2
$710.1
* Systemax manages its business and reports using a 52-53 week fiscal year that ends at midnight on the Saturday closest to December 31. For clarity of presentation, fiscal years and quarters are described as if they ended on the last day of the respective calendar month. The actual fiscal quarter ended on July 2, 2016. The second quarters of both 2016 and 2015 included 13 weeks. Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation.
SYSTEMAX INC.
Supplemental Non-GAAP Continuing Operation Business Unit Summary Results** - Unaudited Industrial Products Group
Quarter Ended June 30,* Six Months Ended June 30,* 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 Change Sales $ 181.8 $ 180.9 0.5% $ 352.4 $ 339.8 3.7% Gross profit $ 49.8 $ 51.7 (3.7)% $ 98.5 $ 97.2 1.3% Gross margin 27.4% 28.6%
28.0% 28.6%
Operating income $ 8.8 $ 13.3 (33.8)% $ 16.9 $ 23.7 (28.7)% Operating margin 4.8% 7.4%
4.8% 7.0%
EMEA Technology Products Group
Quarter Ended June 30,* Six Months Ended June 30,* 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 Change Sales $ 238.1 $ 252.6 (5.7)% $ 496.3 $ 525.2 (5.5)% Gross profit $ 31.3 $ 32.5 (3.7)% $ 65.4 $ 64.4 1.6% Gross margin 13.1% 12.9%
13.2% 12.3%
Operating loss $ (2.2) $ (0.8) (175.0)% $ (2.9) $ (5.2) 44.2% Operating margin (0.9)% (0.3)%
(0.6)% (1.0)%
Corporate & Other
Quarter Ended June 30,* Six Months Ended June 30,* 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 Change Sales $ 0.9 $ 1.4 (35.7)% $ 1.9 $ 2.9 (34.5)% Gross profit $ 0.4 $ 0.9 (55.6)% $ 1.0 $ 2.0 (50.0)% Gross margin 44.4% 64.3%
52.6% 69.0%
Operating loss $ (4.3) $ (5.2) 17.3% $ (9.8) $ (9.6) (2.1)% Consolidated
Quarter Ended June 30,* Six Months Ended June 30,* 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 Change Sales $ 420.8 $ 434.9 (3.2)% $ 850.6 $ 867.9 (2.0)% Gross profit $ 81.5 $ 85.1 (4.2)% $ 164.9 $ 163.6 0.8% Gross margin 19.4% 19.6%
19.4% 18.9%
Operating income $ 2.3 $ 7.3 (68.5)% $ 4.2 $ 8.9 (52.8)% Operating margin 0.5% 1.7%
0.5% 1.0%
* Systemax manages its business and reports using a 52-53 week fiscal year that ends at midnight on the Saturday closest to December 31. For clarity of presentation, fiscal years and quarters are described as if they ended on the last day of the respective calendar month. The actual fiscal quarter ended on July 2, 2016. The second quarters of both 2016 and 2015 included 13 weeks. Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation.
** On December 1, 2015 the Company closed on the sale of certain assets of its North American Technology Group ("NATG"). Pursuant to this transaction, the Company is winding down the remaining operations of NATG during 2016. Recently revised United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") prevent the Company from presenting the entire NATG segment as a "discontinued operation" despite the entire NATG segment being discontinued. In the GAAP presentation, the retail operations which were discontinued by the Company prior to the transaction, along with allocations of common distribution and back office costs, are presented as part of the Company's continuing operations for all periods; other NATG operations that were sold as well as the remaining retail operations that existed at the time of the transaction (and were subsequently discontinued by the Company) are presented as discontinued operations for all periods. The Company believes that the non-GAAP presentation conveys additional meaningful information to investors. The non-GAAP results reflect the entire NATG segment as a discontinued operation for all periods presented as well as adjustments for non-recurring items, intangible amortization, equity compensation and a normalized effective tax rate in recurring operations. See accompanying GAAP reconciliation tables.
SYSTEMAX INC. Reconciliation of Segment GAAP Operating Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations to Non-GAAP Operating Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations Unaudited (In millions)
Quarter Ended
Six Months Ended
June 30,
June 30,
2016
2015
2016
2015 Industrial Products $8.6
$14.0
$16.5
$23.7 Technology Products - EMEA (2.4)
(1.6)
(3.2)
(6.4) Technology Products - NATG (0.6)
(23.8)
(2.4)
(36.1) Corporate and Other (4.5)
(5.3)
(10.3)
(10.0) GAAP operating income (loss) 1.1
(16.7)
0.6
(28.8) Non-GAAP adjustments:
Industrial Products:
Integration Costs 0.0
0.0
0.0
0.4 Intangible asset amortization 0.1
0.1
0.2
0.1 Stock based and other special compensation 0.1
(0.8)
0.2
(0.5) Total Non-GAAP Adjustments Industrial Products 0.2
(0.7)
0.4
0.0
Technology Products - EMEA:
Severance and other reorganization charges 0.0
0.7
0.0
0.7 Asset Impairment Charges 0.0
0.0
0.0
0.3 Intangible asset amortization 0.1
0.1
0.2
0.2 Stock based compensation 0.1
0.0
0.1
0.0 Total Non-GAAP Adjustments: Technology Products EMEA 0.2
0.8
0.3
1.2
Technology Products - NA:
Reverse results of NATG included in GAAP continuing operations 0.6
23.8
2.4
36.1 Total Non-GAAP Adjustments : Technology Products NA 0.6
23.8
2.4
36.1
Corporate and Other:
Stock based compensation 0.2
0.1
0.5
0.4 Total Non-GAAP Adjustments: Corporate and Other 0.2
0.1
0.5
0.4
Industrial Products 8.8
13.3
16.9
23.7 Technology Products- EMEA (2.2)
(0.8)
(2.9)
(5.2) Technology Products- NA 0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0 Corporate and Other (4.3)
(5.2)
(9.8)
(9.6) Non-GAAP operating income (loss) $2.3
$7.3
$4.2
$8.9
SYSTEMAX INC. Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations to Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations Unaudited (In millions)
Quarter Ended
Six Months Ended
June 30,
June 30,
2016
2015
2016
2015 GAAP
Net income (loss) from continuing operations $(2.0)
$(16.7)
$(3.1)
$(38.5) Provision for (benefit from) income taxes from continuing operations 2.1
1.2
4.0
2.7 Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes 0.1
(15.5)
0.9
(35.8) Interest and other (income) expense from continuing operations, net 1.0
(1.2)
(0.3)
7.0 Operating income (loss) from continuing operations 1.1
(16.7)
0.6
(28.8)
Non-GAAP
Reverse results of NATG included in GAAP operating income from continuing operations 0.6
23.8
2.4
36.1 Non-recurring adjustments 0.0
0.7
0.0
1.4 Recurring adjustments 0.6
(0.5)
1.2
0.2 Adjusted operating income (loss) 2.3
7.3
4.2
8.9 Interest and other expense (income), net 1.0
(1.2)
(0.3)
7.0 Reverse results of NATG included in GAAP interest and other expense (income), net 0.0
0.0.
0.0
(0.8) Income before income taxes 1.3
8.5
4.5
2.7 Normalized provision for (benefit from) income taxes 0.5
3.0
1.6
0.9 Normalized effective tax rate(1) 35.0%
35.0%
35.0%
35.0% Non-GAAP net income from continuing operations $0.8
$5.5
$2.9
$1.8
GAAP net income (loss) per diluted share from continuing operations $(0.05)
$(0.45)
$(0.08)
$(1.04) Non-GAAP net income (loss) per diluted share from continuing operations $0.02
$0.15
$0.08
$0.05
(1) Effective tax rate of 35% used in all periods.
SYSTEMAX INC. Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations to Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations Unaudited (In millions)
Quarter Ended
Six Months Ended
June 30,
June 30,
2016
2015
2016
2015 GAAP
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations $(5.4)
$(11.7)
$(21.6)
$(18.5)
Non-GAAP
Results of NATG included in GAAP operating income from continuing operations (0.6)
(23.8)
(2.4)
(36.1) NATG net tax adjustments 0.0
(0.8)
0.0
0.2 Reverse NATG interest and other expense (income), net from continuing operations 0.0
0.0
0.0
(0.8) Total Non-GAAP adjustments (0.6)
(24.6)
(2.4)
(36.7) Non-GAAP net income (loss) from discontinued operations $(6.0)
$(36.3)
$(24.0)
$(55.2)
GAAP net income (loss) per diluted share from discontinued operations $(0.15)
$(0.32)
$(0.58)
$(0.50) Non-GAAP net income (loss) per diluted share from discontinued operations $(0.16)
$(0.98)
$(0.65)
$(1.49)
SOURCE Systemax Inc.
Related Links
http://www.systemax.com
"When we created the jcoco brand, giving back to local American communities was and still is at the heart of the brand's mission," said Seattle Chocolate Company owner and CEO Jean (the "j" in jcoco) Thompson. "We've been very fortunate to have amazing food bank partners coast to coast, and sincerely thank everyone who has purchased jcoco bars and participated in #chocolategives to help give back and fight hunger in America. Of course, we're not stopping here, and we're already setting our sights on reaching ten million servings donated!"
In an effort to further raise awareness for food instability in America, the company also hosts an annual #chocolategives campaign during the holiday months when food bank demand is the greatest. This season's campaign extends the fresh food donation to include purchases of the Seattle Chocolates new "Comfort & Joy" truffle bar holiday line during November and December, offering true "gifts that give back." Additional food serving donations are also made for each use of #chocolategives on social media channels during the holiday season.
In 2014, 48 million Americans lived in food insecure households. Seattle Chocolate Company created a video, available at http://www.seattlechocolates.com, to showcase its commitment to helping hungry Americans, in association with its food bank partners across the country. "We depend greatly on generous partners like Seattle Chocolate Company, who both donate and help raise awareness, through campaigns like chocolate gives," said Margarette Purvis, CEO of the Food Bank for New York City. "We are thrilled to collaborate with them."
jcoco chocolates are curated with meticulous attention to every detail from the globally sourced inclusions in each bar to the vibrant shades and velvety texture of the exterior packaging. The line incorporates intriguing ingredients to create distinctive flavors that complement the extraordinary chocolate, and is available in the following varieties: NEW bali sea salt toffee, vanuatu coconut pecan, black fig pistachio, edamame sea salt, agave quinoa sesame, sea salt toffee (in perfectly proportioned 1oz. servings), noble dark (featuring the finest Belgian 72-percent cacao couverture dark chocolate) and cayenne veracruz orange.
Earlier this year, the company also launched a new, waste-free chocolate bar infused with CoffeeFlour, the nutrient-dense super-ingredient made from dried coffee cherry pulp and ground coffee beans - jcoco arabica cherry espresso in dark chocolate.
To learn more about Seattle Chocolates and jcoco, along with the brand's dedication to fighting hunger in America, please visit www.seattlechocolates.com and www.jcocochocolate.com.
About Seattle Chocolate Company
Creating our first chocolate in 1991, Seattle Chocolate Company celebrates the innovation and local flavors the Pacific Northwest is known for. Available at retailers nationwide, Seattle Chocolate Company offers a full line of premium chocolates that includes Seattle Chocolates truffle bars, award-winning Seattle Chocolates truffles, jcoco chocolate bars, and a selection of seasonal and special occasion products. Using only the finest all-natural ingredients, many inspired by our Northwest heritage and artisanal spirit, to create fresh, approachable flavor-combinations, our small and mighty company is owned and led by CEO Jean Thompson, a seasoned and self-taught chocolatier. Our entire chocolate line is certified Kosher, and many varieties are also gluten-free and vegan. Coast to coast, we support neighborhood food banks and non-profit organizations focused on bettering the lives of women and their families, specifically in the fight against hunger. To learn more about our company, our chocolates and our giving philosophy, visit http://www.seattlechocolates.com and http://www.jcocochocolate.com.
Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=OyxoslVG_1M
SOURCE Seattle Chocolate Company
Related Links
http://www.seattlechocolates.com
MONTREAL, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Telesta Therapeutics Inc. (TSX: TST)(PNK: BNHLF) Telesta Therapeutics today announced concrete actions and decisions stemming from its ongoing strategic review process focussed on preserving shareholder capital and growing shareholder value. These decisions and actions can be summarized as follows:
Termination of future expenditures on MCNA 1 ;
; Significant streamlining of the Company's workforce;
Additional cost reductions and ongoing efforts to maximize asset sale proceeds;
Continuing evaluation of strategic options.
MCNA Program
Telesta today announced that it has executed a Termination Agreement with its European partner, Ipsen, which provides for the return of all of the former rights granted to Ipsen for the MCNA program in Europe and some other jurisdictions. Since Telesta's End of Review Type A meeting with the FDA in April, Telesta has determined that there is no reasonable assurance that a development partner in any region of the world can be found for MCNA in the short term. As such, Telesta will cease to expend any significant effort or funds to find a partner or further develop this asset and Telesta will close its Montreal-based manufacturing facility, seeking a buyer for this facility while reducing ongoing intellectual property expenditures to a minimum.
Workforce Reduction
Telesta has implemented a significant workforce reduction that will decrease its operational workforce, to 15 full time employees from 50 people at March 31, 2016 and 32 as at June 30th. Another 4 employees will be maintained at the Company's two manufacturing facilities during the time required to monetize these facilities.
Cost Reductions/Asset Sales
In addition to the workforce reductions discussed above, Telesta has implemented significant expenditure controls to ensure that all spending is directed to contractual obligations, the costs of operating a public company and the costs required to continue the ongoing evaluation of strategic options. Additional information on the magnitude of these efforts and the estimated ongoing monthly operational burn will be provided in the press release accompanying the release of our 4th quarter and annual results, which is projected to be during the 3rd week of September.
Telesta is seeking to monetize two former manufacturing assets, the Belleville Ontario-based "Vaccine Manufacturing Centre" (VMC) and the Montreal MCNA manufacturing site. There has been renewed interest in the Belleville facility, where Telesta will continue to work with its broker, Pharmabiosource, to identify a pharmaceutical buyer. Telesta has recently renewed its lease with a 3rd party for a portion of the VMC through April 2018, and the continued operation of this facility remains cash neutral for Telesta. As such, it is rational to work to find the right buyer, even though the sales process had taken longer than originally envisaged. Telesta is interviewing brokers for the smaller Montreal facility, and will take the time necessary to ensure that an optimal sales price is achieved.
______________
1 Mycobacterium phlei cell wall-nucleic acid complex
Strategic Review Process
Over the last 120 days, Telesta's management team and Board of Directors have carefully evaluated multiple strategic options, in parallel with their efforts to determine the ongoing value of the MCNA program and to optimize the sales proceeds from the disposition of non-core assets. While Telesta will continue to evaluate all of its strategic options, Telesta's Board of Directors has determined that selling Telesta for its net cash and public listing or liquidating the company for the distributable cash, does not provide Telesta's shareholders with a return that is meaningfully different from current price levels, after accounting for related fees, severances and uncertainty concerning the value to be received from non-monetized assets.
To that end, Telesta will:
Continue to identify opportunities to reduce monthly operating expenditures to conserve cash balances;
Conduct a process to optimize proceeds from the sale of non-core assets to increase cash balances;
Seek to in-license or acquire clinical or near clinical therapeutic assets that can be driven to significant valuation enhancement points;
Continue to review acquisition/merger opportunities that could provide significant upside for Telesta shareholders.
About Telesta Therapeutics Inc.
Telesta is a Montreal-based biotechnology company focused on the licensing/acquisition and development of transformational therapeutics for the treatment of serious human diseases such as cancer, immune diseases and targeted rare diseases. We are agile, pragmatic, efficient, and driven by a passion for breakthrough science, drug development and making a difference in the lives of patients and their families. Through our strong convictions, work ethics, and collaboration-driven approach, we are leveraging our deep expertise and skillsets to bring transformational medicines to patients and their physicians.
Except for historical information, this news release may contain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws that reflect the Company's current expectation regarding future events. Forward-looking statements and information are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while, considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees and there can be no assurance that such statements and information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements and information. These forward-looking statements and information involve risk and uncertainties, which may cause, but are not limited to, changing market conditions, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the establishment of corporate alliances, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's ongoing quarterly and annual reporting. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements and information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All written and oral forward-looking statements and information attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements.
SOURCE Telesta Therapeutics Inc.
Related Links
http://www.telestatherapeutics.com/
"We are so pleased to present the Addario Lectureship Award this year to Dr. Scagliotti for his incredible leadership, research, and long-term dedication to the treatment of lung cancer," said Bonnie J. Addario, 10-year lung cancer survivor and founder of the ALCF.
Each year the ALCF recognizes one special leader who is making great strides to eradicate lung cancer and fight for the lives affected by this disease. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 228,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed this year with lung cancer, and nearly 160,000 lung cancer patients will die. Cancer UK estimates that worldwide, nearly two million people are diagnosed with lung cancer each year.
Dr. Scagliotti earned his medical degree and completed postgraduate training in respiratory medicine, internal medicine, and medical oncology at the University of Torino. Dr. Scagliotti is a member of several scientific societies, including the Italian Society of Respiratory Medicine, The Italian Association of Medical Oncology, the European Respiratory Society, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.
From 2002 to 2005 he was member of the International Affair Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and from 2003-07 Executive Board member of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. He is currently serving on the Publication Committee and he served in Program Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in the period 2005-07.
Dr. Scagliotti is a manuscript reviewer for several scientific journals. He currently serves on the editorial boards of Critical Review in Oncology and Hematology, and Oncology News. He is Associate Editor for Journal of Thoracic Oncology and International Editor for Clinical Lung Cancer. He is the author or co-author of more than 150 publications in peer-reviewed journals.
"Dr. Scagliotti's work to bring together the international world of lung cancer research is inspiring to us all and we are so pleased to recognize and elevate his work through the Addario Lectureship Award," said Addario.
Past Addario Lectureship Award recipients include:
2015 Recipient: , Fred R. Hirsch , M.D., Ph.D, CEO of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (ISLAC)
, , M.D., Ph.D, CEO of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (ISLAC) 2014 Recipient: Roy S. Herbst, M.D., Ph.D., Ensign Professor of Medicine and Chief of Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center
Roy S. Herbst, M.D., Ph.D., Ensign Professor of Medicine and Chief of Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center 2013 Recipient: Tony Mok, M.D., Professor in the Department of Clinical Oncology, Chinese University of Hong Kong in Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong
Tony Mok, M.D., Professor in the Department of Clinical Oncology, in Prince of Wales Hospital in 2012 Recipient: D. Ross Camidge , M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Thoracic Oncology Clinical Program and Associate Director for Clinical Research, Colorado University Cancer Center
, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Thoracic Oncology Clinical Program and Associate Director for Clinical Research, Cancer Center 2011 Recipient: William Pao , M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research, Director, Personalized Cancer Medicine, Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center
William Pao , M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research, Director, Personalized Cancer Medicine, Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center 2010 Recipient: David R. Gandara , M.D., Associate Director, Clinical Research, UC Davis Cancer Center
David R. Gandara , M.D., Associate Director, Clinical Research, UC Davis Cancer Center 2009 Recipient: Harvey Pass , M.D., B.A., Director of the Division of Thoracic Surgery and Chief of Thoracic Surgery, New York University Medical Center
Harvey Pass , M.D., B.A., Director of the Division of Thoracic Surgery and Chief of Thoracic Surgery, Medical Center 2008 Recipient: Paul A. Bunn, Jr. M.D., Principal Investigator and Director, University of Colorado Cancer Center
"Giorgio Scagliotti is a modern day man for all seasons, a truly remarkable depth and breadth of expertise," said Dr. Gandra, 2010 award recipient.
The ALCF has supported the Lung Cancer Congress for the past nine years and serves as a co-sponsor along with the IASLC. The annual three-day event provides physicians with practical information about the clinical implications of lung cancer screening, the latest clinical data impacting the treatment of lung cancer and novel agents and strategies that are changing the future of lung cancer therapy.
About the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation
The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) is one of the largest international philanthropies (patient-founded, patient-focused and patient-driven) devoted exclusively to eradicating lung cancer through research, early detection, education and treatment. The Foundation's goal is to work with a diverse group of physicians, organizations, industry partners, individuals, patients, survivors and their families to identify solutions and make timely and meaningful change and turn lung cancer into a chronically managed disease by 2023. The ALCF was established on March 1, 2006, as a 501c(3) non-profit organization and has raised more than $30 million for lung cancer research and related programs.
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SOURCE Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation
WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Chemours is announcing that it will locate its global headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.
"While we like to think of ourselves as a 200-year-old start-up, we've been an independent, publicly traded company for only just over a year now," said President and CEO Mark Vergnano. "We've accomplished a good deal in a short time, standing up Chemours and making a host of decisions that ensure a sound and prosperous future. We have considered a number of locations for our world headquarters, but in the end it came down to what locale makes the most financial sense, offers our current workforce the right combination of amenities and conveniences, and allows us to attract great talent. Wilmington is that place, and we look forward to being part of its future growth."
Chemours began evaluating headquarters location options more than 6 months ago with Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania all under active consideration. The company followed a disciplined evaluation process against a range of criteria, including quality of life for employees, access to a strong talent pool, and a positive, long-term financial case for the company.
"Chemours has a first-rate workforce, and the state of Delaware has a rich talent pool, so we believe Delaware's a great place for maintaining our superb employee base. That's a competitive advantage for us," Vergnano added.
Recent changes to the state's corporate tax structure brought about by the Delaware Competes Act, which was approved earlier this year with overwhelming, bi-partisan support of the Delaware legislature, were key components in Chemours' decision.
"Today's announcement is the result of strong support from Delaware's elected officials at the federal, state and local levels, notably Governor Jack Markell, who spearheaded passage of the Delaware Competes Act along with Senate President Pro-Tem Patricia Blevins and House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst. Solid relationships with Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams, United States Senators Tom Carper, and Chris Coons, as well as Congressman John Carney also helped drive our decision. Chemours has enjoyed substantive dialogue with these leaders about issues of importance to our company, employees and future," said Vergnano.
About The Chemours Company
The Chemours Company (NYSE: CC) helps create a colorful, capable and cleaner world through the power of chemistry. Chemours is a global leader in titanium technologies, fluoroproducts and chemical solutions, providing its customers with solutions in a wide range of industries with market-defining products, application expertise and chemistry-based innovations. Chemours ingredients are found in plastics and coatings, refrigeration and air conditioning, mining and oil refining operations and general industrial manufacturing. Our flagship products include prominent brands such as Teflon, Ti-Pure, Krytox, Viton, Opteon and Nafion. Chemours has approximately 8,000 employees across 35 manufacturing sites serving more than 5,000 customers in North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Chemours is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware and is listed on the NYSE under the symbol CC. For more information please visit chemours.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which often may be identified by their use of words like "plans," "expects," "will," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "anticipates" or other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements address, among other things, our anticipated future operating and financial performance, business plans and prospects, transformation plans, resolution of environmental liabilities, litigation and other contingencies, plans to increase profitability, our ability to pay or the amount of any dividend, and target leverage that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events which may not be realized. The matters discussed in these forward-looking statements also are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements, as further described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015. Chemours undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements.
CONTACT:
MEDIA:
Alvenia Scarborough
Director of Brand and Communications
+1.302.773.4507
[email protected]
INVESTORS:
Alisha Bellezza
Director of Investor Relations
+1.302.773.2263
[email protected]
SOURCE The Chemours Company
Three research grants of $10,000 each are available for REI fellows whose work reflects the mission and goals of the SAB of Vivere to bring young people to thought leaders by support of residents/fellows in scientific research and knowledge.
Fellows who will be presenting (oral or poster presentations) at this year's 2016 American Society of Reproductive Medicine annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, are also eligible to apply for one of 10 $1,500 grants. The grants were designed to help with the cost of registration, travel arrangements and hotel accommodations at the conference. Special consideration will be given to grant applicants that contain business or economic models to improve REI business practices.
"I am so grateful to Vivere's Scientific Advisory Board of Vivere for awarding me a fellowship research grant," said Molly Quinn, M.D., University of California, San Francisco, who received a grant last year. "With this funding, I was able to initiate a research project investigating the association between Bisphenol A levels and ovarian aging. I am honored to be presenting preliminary findings at the ASRM annual meeting this fall."
Jennifer F. Knudtson, M.D., University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, agreed that the SAB of Vivere grant she received last year granted her a unique opportunity to pursue her research goals. "From this research experience, I was able to further my career through presentations, publications and increased my research support. Thank you SAB of Vivere!" she said.
To apply for the grants, please visit our website at www.sabgrants.com and choose "Awards and Grants". Online application submissions will be accepted until late August. Grant recipients will be announced at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine's annual meeting in October.
About The Scientific Advisory Board of Vivere
The Scientific Advisory Board of Vivere is a five-member group of independent fertility and reproductive health experts. These clinical advisors are nationally distinguished specialists dedicated to shaping the future of women's health and reproductive medicine. Vivere is the group's founding sponsor. The group's founding sponsor is Vivere, a fertility management and equity partner that turns growing practices into successful businesses.
The Scientific Advisory Board of Vivere's mission is to support residents and fellows in their education and scientific research, so that they may become thought leaders in their fields. The goals of the board include supporting residents/fellow attendance at national meetings/programs, supporting education programs, supporting scientific research and promoting business aspects of Reproductive Endocrinology Infertility.
Media Contact:
Jera Sangworn (615-550-7354)
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SOURCE The Scientific Advisory Board of Vivere
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http://www.viverepartner.com
ATLANTA, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The smart fortwo is rolling into San Diego this weekend to give city dwellers a few 'smart' options for their travels around the 905. At the Fashion Valley Shopping Center on Saturday, August 6th and Sunday, August 7th from 10 a.m 6 p.m., participants will be able to see firsthand how the smart fortwo could be the answer to their transportation needs.
This summer, a selection of smart fortwo coupes and cabrios will road trip across the U.S., stopping in a different city every weekend to allow residents to take the smart 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.
San Diego holds a special place in the smart fortwo's heartbetter known as a 3-cylinder turbocharged engineas it is one of the key cities in the U.S. supporting car2go, a Daimler subsidiary that provides carsharing services in select cities around the globe utilizing smart fortwos. For city dwellers, car2go offers smart fortwo owners perks of convenient parking and ride sharing.
The new smart fortwo cabriolet allows passengers to fully experience the fresh California air as they drive along the Pacific Coastline. Participants can enjoy the convenience of convertible life at the touch of a button as the smart fortwo cabriolet top opens up like a large sliding canvas sunroof. If the canvas sunroof leaves participants asking for more, they can experience the full-fledged top-down experience with the soft top completely open and roof rails completely removed.
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 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 mobile app, standard Bluetooth audio streaming and hands-free calling, a multifunction steering wheel, cruise control, automatic climate control, 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 and the all-new smart cabrio starts at $18,900.
Take a break from trying to park your truck into compact parking spots and learn how to better fit into city life with with the smart fortwo.
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.
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SOURCE Mercedes-Benz USA
Related Links
http://www.mbusa.com
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- TMP Worldwide, a global leader in talent acquisition technologies, today announced the appointment of Matt Shields as Director of Business Development, Southwest. Matt is based in Glendale and responsible for growing new business for TMP across all of the Southwest Region.
Prior to joining TMP, Shields was the Head of Business Development for the Southwest for several SaaS companies in the Talent Acquisition space over the course of 10 years including SmartRecruiters, Bullhorn and Cornerstone onDemand. In each of these roles, Matt was responsible for developing new business relationships and identifying solutions to solve customer challenges.
During this period, he also served for nearly 3 years as a Senior Associate with Signal Peak Ventures, a $500M early technology VC firm based in Salt Lake City, UT.
"Matt brings a wealth of Recruitment Technology experience to our team and a consultative approach to understanding client needs, building relationships, and solving challenges that will further enhance TMP's position in the Southwest," said Fred Pratt, Vice President of Enterprise Sales, North America for TMP.
"Top companies today compete on ideas more than anything else. Look at Google, Apple, and Nike. These brands win because they know how to consistently attract and retain the most talented people in the market. Recruiting is a competition," said Matt Shields. "With 80 million millennials entering the job market in the years ahead, companies that put strategy and technology in place and recognize that their biggest opportunity to differentiate is with their people, will be the biggest winners of this competition of tomorrow."
About TMP Worldwide
TMP Worldwide is a global leader in talent acquisition technologies, committed to finding new ways to leverage software, strategy and creative to build talent and enhance our clients' employer brands across every connection point. Over the past 10 years from healthcare to government to retail to technology and everything in between we've revolutionized the way companies and candidates connect.
Note to editors: Trademarks and registered trademarks referenced herein remain the property of their respective owners.
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SOURCE TMP Worldwide
Related Links
http://www.tmp.com
IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Telecommunication Systems Division today announced Clarify Call Recording for Toshiba's unified communications platforms IPedge and Strata CIX with IPedge App Server. Clarify is a powerful yet easy-to-use call recording solution that helps ensure call quality and compliance in any business, including contact centers or sales desks concerned with customer relations as well as financial, medical, emergency or other service companies that must comply with legal regulations.
"Maintaining an edge in today's competitive business environment requires a high level of customer service. With Clarify Call Recording, organizations can easily monitor staff-customer conversations, evaluate staff performance on calls, verify transactions made during a call and demonstrate call compliance with regulatory guidelines," said Mark Carpenter, vice president of Technology & Product Management for Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Telecommunication Systems Division.
"Call recording functions make employees more productive, improve customer service, minimize legal risk and, ultimately, help any business operation thrive and grow," added David Ansehl, director of Sales for Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Telecommunication Systems Division.
Now available from Authorized Toshiba Dealers, Clarify offers innovative features that let users securely record, archive, search, play and share telephone calls.* This includes support for agents and agent groups in a contact center environment through a tight integration with Toshiba IPedge systems and Strata CIX systems that have an IPedge Application Server.
Clarify's easy-to-use Web-based Graphical User Interface (GUI) provides a powerful tool for simple system configuration and automatic imports of agent and extension information. Users can configure Clarify to record (or not record) particular calls based on Agent, Extension, Caller ID or other criteria from a drop-down menu. The dashboard displays a list of ongoing calls being recorded, allowing users to easily select a call to start monitoring.
In addition to trunk and station-side recording, remote users and agents will also be able to start, stop and forward recordings via Toshiba's UCedge client software 2.6 that runs on iOS and Android mobile devices, Windows PCs and Mac computers.**
Encrypted recordings along with tight security measures ensure compliance with industry regulatory requirements, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). An SDK (Software Development Kit) allows system integrators to tie in external databases or popular CRM programs for development of customized applications to meet a variety of business needs.
For a full list of Clarify features and specifications, visit http://www.telecom.toshiba.com/Telephone_Systems_Resources/Product_Brochures/pdf/Call-Recording-Data-Sheet.pdf.
*Review local law regarding recording of calls prior to use of this feature.
**Clarify will integrate with Toshiba's UCedge 2.6 or higher client software, coming soon, which runs on Android and iOS mobile devices, Windows PCs and Mac computers, as well as the Call Manager client running on a Windows PC.
About Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.
Telecommunication Systems Division (TSD)
Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Telecommunication Systems Division is one of the six business units of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (TAIS) and offers business communication solutions for SMB enterprises and enterprises with multi-site or regional locations. Toshiba's VIPedge cloud-based business telephone solution supports up to 500 users, and the IPedge and Strata CIX systems support from 8 to 1,000 users and offer Voice over IP, voice mail and unified messaging, conferencing and collaboration, unified communications applications, networking, mobility and more. Together with Toshiba's PCs, tablets, copiers, and surveillance video cameras/recorders, Toshiba's Telecommunication Systems Division helps enterprises maximize business efficiency in communications and mobility. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., TAIS is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation. For more information, visit www.Telecom.Toshiba.com.
About Toshiba
Toshiba Corporation, a Fortune Global 500 company, channels world-class capabilities in advanced electronic and electrical product and systems into three focus business fields: Energy that sustains everyday life, that is cleaner and safer; Infrastructure that sustains quality of life; and Storage that sustains the advanced information society. Guided by the principles of The Basic Commitment of the Toshiba Group, "Committed to People, Committed to the Future," Toshiba promotes global operations and is contributing to the realization of a world where generations to come can live better lives.
Founded in Tokyo in 1875, today's Toshiba is at the heart of a global network of 550 consolidated companies employing 188,000 people worldwide, with annual sales surpassing 5.6 trillion yen (US$50 billion) (as of March 31, 2016).
To find out more about Toshiba, visit www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm.
For additional information, or to purchase Toshiba telecommunication products, visit http://www.telecom.toshiba.com for an Authorized Toshiba Dealer.
Follow us on Facebook (ToshibaPhoneSystems), Twitter (toshibaphonesys) and LinkedIn (Toshiba-telecommunication-systems-division).
2016 Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. All product, service and company names are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Information including, without limitation, product prices, specifications, availability, content of services, and contact information is subject to change without notice.
Toshiba PR Contact:
Teri Sawyer, T&Co.
714-801-1687
[email protected]
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SOURCE Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Telecommunication Systems Division
Related Links
http://www.Telecom.Toshiba.com
The 27th annual rankings and ratings, considered to provide an objective assessment of hospital care excellence, are based on evaluation of the nearly 5,000 medical centers nationwide. This study is intended to help guide patients to hospitals that deliver outstanding care across 25 specialties, procedures and conditions. Best Hospitals uses objective measures such as patient survival, the number of times a given procedure is performed, infection rates, adequacy of nurse staffing and more.
Five Kaiser Permanente hospitals in California are among the state's Top 50 for overall care: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Santa Clara and Fontana. Additionally, Kaiser Permanente in Clackamas is ranked the fourth-best hospital in Oregon.
While choosing the right hospital for the right procedure is a complex decision, Kaiser Permanente stands out for several specialties, procedures and conditions, including cardiac care. Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center, for the second year in a row, is among the Top 50 in the nation for the specialty of "cardiac care and heart surgery." In addition, 26 Kaiser Permanente hospitals are "high-performing," the highest rating given, for congestive heart failure treatment, four are "high-performing" for heart bypass graft, and three are "high-performing" for aortic valve replacement.
"Kaiser Permanente's commitment to world-class quality care is supported by this latest report from U.S. News & World Report," said Patrick Courneya, MD, executive vice president and chief medical officer for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals. "This recognition of our specialty care is directly attributable to Kaiser Permanente's culture of continuous improvement, evidence-based practices and personalized service."
"High-Performing" across 18 of the 25 specialties, procedures and conditions
In all, Kaiser Permanente facilities are rated "high-performing" in 18 of the 25 different specialties, procedures and conditions.
"We're gratified to hear the latest report from U.S. News & World Report places us within the top tier of hospitals nationwide," said Michael Kanter, MD, executive vice president and chief quality officer, The Permanente Federation, the national umbrella organization for nearly 18,000 physicians who provide care to Kaiser Permanente's more than 10.6 million members. "Our tens of thousands of dedicated physicians, nurses, clinicians and care teams strive to put our patients at the center of everything we do, and these results validate that our quality care is working."
In addition to the 28 Kaiser Permanente hospitals named in the report, four others in California (Richmond, Manteca, Irvine and Ontario) are included in the U.S. News calculations as a result of shared licenses and combined data (see accompanying chart).
For more information and complete rankings, visit U.S. News.
Hospital High Performing Designations Anaheim/Irvine (CA) Orthopedics, Heart Failure, Colon Cancer Surgery, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Hip Replacement, Knee Replacement Antioch (CA) Heart Failure, Hip Replacement Baldwin Park (CA) Heart Failure Downey (CA) Heart Failure Fontana/Ontario (CA) Heart Failure, Colon Cancer Surgery, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Hip Replacement Fresno (CA) Heart Failure Los Angeles (CA) Diabetes and Endocrinology, Geriatrics, Neurology and Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Urology, Aortic Valve Surgery, Heart Failure, Heart Bypass Surgery, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Lung Cancer Surgery Manteca/Modesto (CA) Heart Failure Moreno Valley (CA) Heart Failure Oakland/Richmond (CA) Heart Failure, Hip Replacement Panorama City (CA) Heart Failure Riverside (CA) Orthopedics, Heart Failure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Roseville (CA) Heart Failure, Hip Replacement Sacramento (CA) Cancer, Gynecology San Diego (CA) Heart Failure, Colon Cancer Surgery, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) San Francisco (CA) Cardiology and Heart Surgery, Cancer, Gastroenterology and GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Aortic Valve Surgery, Heart Bypass Surgery, Heart Failure, Hip Replacement, Knee Replacement San Jose (CA) Heart Failure San Rafael (CA) Urology Santa Clara (CA) Heart Bypass Surgery, Heart Failure, Hip Replacement, Knee Replacement South Bay (CA) Heart Failure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) South Sacramento (CA) Heart Failure, Colon Cancer Surgery South San Francisco (CA) Heart Failure Vallejo (CA) Heart Failure Walnut Creek (CA) Heart Failure West Los Angeles (CA) Heart Failure, Colon Cancer Surgery, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Woodland Hills (CA) Heart Failure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Hip Replacement Moanalua (HI) Heart Failure, Colon Cancer Surgery, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Sunnyside (OR) Orthopedics, Pulmonology, Aortic Valve Surgery, Heart Bypass Surgery, Heart Failure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Colon Cancer Surgery, Hip Replacement, Knee Replacement
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 10.6 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to kp.org/share.
For more information, contact:
Margot Hardy: [email protected] 510-271-6688
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SOURCE Kaiser Permanente
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COLLEGE PARK, Md., Aug 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Maryland announces the appointment of Dr. Keith Marzullo as Dean of the College of Information Studies (iSchool). Dr. Marzullo officially begins his position on August 1, 2016.
As Dean, Dr. Marzullo will build upon his extensive background in computer science and cybersecurity to elevate the iSchool's leadership in information management, libraries and archives, and human-computer interaction.
"Dr. Marzullo is an impressive addition to the University of Maryland family," says Mary Ann Rankin, UMD's senior vice president and provost. "His deep expertise and innovative vision for the iSchool are a tremendous asset to the College of Information Studies and to the greater University."
Dr. Marzullo will join the university from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he served as the Director of the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program. Prior to that, Dr. Marzullo was at the National Science Foundation (NSF) for five years, where he served as Director of the Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS) in the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate. In this role, he provided leadership in cybersecurity, networking, computer systems, and cyber physical systems.
"It is a great honor, privilege, and pleasure to join the ranks of the University of Maryland's iSchool, and to have the opportunity to build upon the college's recent successes and increasingly stellar reputation," says Dr. Marzullo. "I look forward to bringing my technological and administrative aptitudes to a college that is helping to meet the world's burgeoning needs for library and information science, information management, and human-computer interaction advancements."
Dr. Marzullo previously held faculty positions at the University of California, San Diego, the University of Troms, Norway, and at Cornell University.
Dr. Marzullo received an A.B. in physics from Occidental College, Los Angeles, and a M.S. in applied physics and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, both from Stanford University. His dissertation research involved development of the Xerox Research Internet Clock Synchronization protocol, one of the first practical fault-tolerant protocols addressing this problem. His more recent research, prior to his administrative service, focused on issues in the foundations of distributed systems and cybersecurity.
About the University of Maryland
The University of Maryland is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 37,000 students, 9,000 faculty and staff, and 250 academic programs. Its faculty includes three Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners, 56 members of the national academies and scores of Fulbright scholars. The institution has a $1.8 billion operating budget and secures $500 million annually in external research funding. For more information about the University of Maryland, visit www.umd.edu.
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SOURCE University of Maryland
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FREDERICK, Md., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SLCA) today announced a net loss of $12.0 million or $(0.19) per basic and diluted share for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016 compared with net income of $10.0 million or $0.19 per basic share and $0.18 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2015. The second quarter results were negatively impacted by $1.1 million in restructuring costs for actions designed to help bring the business more in line with current market conditions and $0.9 million of business development-related expense. Excluding these expenses, EPS was $(0.17) per basic share for the quarter.
"I'm very pleased with our overall performance in the quarter, especially given the continued headwinds we are facing in our oil and gas business,'' said Bryan Shinn, president and chief executive officer. "Our industrial business had one of the best quarters in its 116-year history, we generated positive operating cash flow and subsequent to the end of the quarter used our best-in-class balance sheet to facilitate an accretive acquisition that enables us to profitably increase our market share in oil and gas.''
Second Quarter 2016 Highlights
Total Company
Revenue totaled $117.0 million compared with $147.5 million for the same period last year, a decrease of 21% on a year-over-year basis and a decrease of 5% sequentially from the first quarter of 2016.
compared with for the same period last year, a decrease of 21% on a year-over-year basis and a decrease of 5% sequentially from the first quarter of 2016. Overall tons sold totaled 2.2 million, down 1% compared with the 2.3 million tons sold in the second quarter of 2015 and a decrease of 2% sequentially from the first quarter of 2016.
Contribution margin for the quarter was $15.5 million , down 53% compared with $32.8 million in the same period of the prior year and down 13% sequentially from the first quarter of 2016.
, down 53% compared with in the same period of the prior year and down 13% sequentially from the first quarter of 2016. Adjusted EBITDA was $5.4 million compared with Adjusted EBITDA of $23.4 million for the same period last year, a decrease of 77% on a year-over-year basis and an increase of 2% sequentially compared with the first quarter of 2016.
Oil and Gas
Revenue for the quarter totaled $64.9 million compared with $90.9 million in the same period in 2015, a decrease of 29% on a year-over-year basis and a decrease of 12% sequentially from the first quarter of 2016.
compared with in the same period in 2015, a decrease of 29% on a year-over-year basis and a decrease of 12% sequentially from the first quarter of 2016. Tons sold totaled 1.3 million, an increase of 9% compared with 1.2 million tons sold in the second quarter of 2015 and a decrease of 6% sequentially compared with the tons sold in the first quarter of 2016.
55% of tons were sold in basin compared with 62% sold in basin in the second quarter of 2015, and 49% for the first quarter of 2016
Segment contribution margin was a loss of $6.0 million versus a profit of $13.3 million in the second quarter of 2015, a decrease of 145% on a year-over-year basis.
Industrial and Specialty Products
Revenue for the quarter totaled $52.1 million compared with $56.7 million for the same period in 2015, a decrease of 8% on a year-over-year basis and an increase of 7% on a sequential basis from the first quarter of 2016.
compared with for the same period in 2015, a decrease of 8% on a year-over-year basis and an increase of 7% on a sequential basis from the first quarter of 2016. Tons sold totaled 0.9 million, a decrease of 13% on a year-over-year basis and an increase of 5% on a sequential basis compared with the first quarter of 2016.
Segment contribution margin was $21.5 million compared with $19.5 million in the second quarter of 2015, an increase of 10% on a year-over-year basis and up 27% sequentially compared with the first quarter of 2016.
Capital Update
As of June 30, 2016, the Company had $454.2 million in cash and cash equivalents and $46.7 million available under its credit facilities. Total debt at June 30, 2016 was $490 million. Capital expenditures in the second quarter totaled $17.3 million and were associated largely with the Company's purchase of reserves adjacent to its Ottawa, Illinois, facility and investments in various maintenance, expansion and cost improvement projects.
On July 15, 2016, the Company entered into an agreement and plan of merger to acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of New Birmingham, Inc., a low cost, regional frac sand producer with more than 20 years of quality reserves located near Tyler, Texas, for approximately $210 million, subject to customary adjustments at closing. The transaction is expected to close in August 2016.
Outlook and Guidance
Due to the current lack of visibility in its Oil and Gas business, the Company will continue to refrain from providing guidance for Adjusted EBITDA until such time as it can gain more clarity around our customers' business activity levels and the associated demand for our products. Based on current market conditions, the Company anticipates that its capital expenditures for 2016, including the aforementioned reserves purchase, will be in the range of $28 million to $33 million.
Conference Call
U.S. Silica will host a conference call for investors tomorrow, Aug. 3, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss these results. Hosting the call will be Bryan Shinn, president and chief executive officer and Don Merril, vice president and chief financial officer. Investors are invited to listen to a live webcast of the conference call by visiting the "Investor Resources" section of the Company's website at www.ussilica.com. The webcast will be archived for one year. The call can also be accessed live over the telephone by dialing (877) 869-3847 or for international callers, (201) 689-8261. A replay will be available shortly after the call and can be accessed by dialing (877) 660-6853 or for international callers (201) 612-7415. The conference ID number for the replay is 13640925. The replay of the call will be available through Sept. 2, 2016.
About U.S. Silica
U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc., a member of the Russell 2000, is a leading producer of commercial silica used in the oil and gas industry, and in a wide range of industrial applications. Over its 116-year history, U.S. Silica has developed core competencies in mining, processing, logistics and materials science that enable it to produce and cost-effectively deliver over 260 products to customers across our end markets. The Company currently operates nine industrial sand production plants and eight oil and gas sand production plants. The Company is headquartered in Frederick, Maryland and also has offices located in Chicago, Illinois, and Houston, Texas.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and speak only as of this date. Forward-looking statements made include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact and may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding U.S. Silica's growth opportunities, strategy, future financial results, forecasts, projections, plans and capital expenditures, and the commercial silica industry. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions, which may not prove to be accurate. These statements are not guarantees and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from these forward-looking statements. Among these factors are: (1) fluctuations in demand for commercial silica; (2) the cyclical nature of our customers' businesses; (3) operating risks that are beyond our control; (4) federal, state and local legislative and regulatory initiatives relating to hydraulic fracturing; (5) our ability to implement our capacity expansion plans within our current timetable and budget; (6) loss of, or reduction in, business from our largest customers or failure of our customers to pay amounts due to us; (7) increasing costs or a lack of dependability or availability of transportation services or infrastructure; (8) our substantial indebtedness and pension obligations; (9) our ability to attract and retain key personnel; (10) silica-related health issues and corresponding litigation; (11) seasonal and severe weather conditions; and (12) extensive and evolving environmental, mining, health and safety, licensing, reclamation and other regulation (and changes in their enforcement or interpretation). Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in U.S. Silica's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.
U.S. SILICA HOLDINGS, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited; dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended June 30,
2016
2015
Sales $ 116,994
$ 147,511 Cost of goods sold (excluding depreciation, depletion and amortization) 102,707
117,200 Operating expenses
Selling, general and administrative 14,585
6,575 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 15,209
13,695
29,794
20,270 Operating income (loss) (15,507)
10,041 Other income (expense)
Interest expense (6,647)
(6,928) Other income, net, including interest income 608
498
(6,039)
(6,430) Income (loss) before income taxes (21,546)
3,611 Income tax benefit 9,555
6,342 Net income (loss) $ (11,991)
$ 9,953
Earnings (loss) per share:
Basic ($0.19)
$0.19 Diluted ($0.19)
$0.18 Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic 63,417
53,303 Diluted 63,417
53,857 Dividends declared per share $0.06
$0.13
U.S. SILICA HOLDINGS, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (dollars in thousands)
June 30,
2016
December 31,
2015
(unaudited)
(audited) ASSETS Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 454,208
$ 277,077 Short-term investments
21,849 Accounts receivable, net 54,293
58,706 Inventories, net 67,158
65,004 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 8,899
9,921 Income tax deposits 1,145
6,583 Total current assets 585,703
439,140 Property, plant and mine development, net 555,487
561,196 Goodwill 68,647
68,647 Trade names 14,474
14,474 Customer relationships, net 6,205
6,453 Deferred income taxes, net 1,314
Other assets 17,323
18,709 Total assets $ 1,249,153
$ 1,108,619
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 48,217
$ 49,631 Dividends payable 4,080
3,453 Accrued liabilities 11,538
11,708 Accrued interest 57
58 Current portion of long-term debt 3,336
3,330 Deferred revenue 4,622
15,738 Total current liabilities 71,850
83,918 Long-term debt 486,705
488,375 Deferred revenue 67,537
59,676 Liability for pension and other post-retirement benefits 63,887
55,893 Deferred income taxes, net
19,513 Other long-term obligations 17,828
17,077 Total liabilities 707,807
724,452 Stockholders' Equity:
Preferred stock
Common stock 639
539 Additional paid-in capital 381,349
194,670 Retained earnings 190,964
220,974 Treasury stock, at cost (10,850)
(15,845) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (20,756)
(16,171) Total stockholders' equity 541,346
384,167 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 1,249,153
$ 1,108,619
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Segment Contribution Margin
Segment contribution margin is a key metric that management uses to evaluate our operating performance and to determine resource allocation between segments. Segment contribution margin excludes certain corporate costs not associated with the operations of the segment. These unallocated costs include costs related to corporate functional areas such as sales, production and engineering, corporate purchasing, accounting, treasury, information technology, legal and human resources.
The following table sets forth a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, to segment contribution margin.
For the Three Months Ended June 30,
2016
2015
(unaudited; in thousands) Sales:
Oil & Gas Proppants $ 64,926
$ 90,855 Industrial & Specialty Products 52,068
56,656 Total Sales 116,994
147,511 Segment contribution margin:
Oil & Gas Proppants (5,995)
13,257 Industrial & Specialty Products 21,486
19,531 Total segment contribution margin 15,491
32,788 Operating activities excluded from segment cost of goods sold (1,204)
(2,477) Selling, general and administrative (14,585)
(6,575) Depreciation, depletion and amortization (15,209)
(13,695) Interest expense (6,647)
(6,928) Other income, net, including interest income 608
498 Income tax benefit 9,555
6,342 Net income (loss) $ (11,991)
$ 9,953
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of our financial performance or liquidity under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) as a measure of operating performance, cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity or any other performance measure derived in accordance with GAAP. Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to be a measure of free cash flow for management's discretionary use, as it does not consider certain cash requirements such as interest payments, tax payments and debt service requirements. Adjusted EBITDA contains certain other limitations, including the failure to reflect our cash expenditures, cash requirements for working capital needs and cash costs to replace assets being depreciated and amortized, and excludes certain non-recurring charges that may recur in the future. Management compensates for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and by using Adjusted EBITDA only supplementally. Our measure of Adjusted EBITDA is not necessarily comparable to other similarly titled captions of other companies due to potential inconsistencies in the methods of calculation.
The following table sets forth a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, to Adjusted EBITDA:
For the Three Months Ended June 30,
2016
2015
(unaudited; in thousands)
Net income (loss) $ (11,991)
$ 9,953
Total interest expense, net of interest income 6,150
6,537
Provision for taxes (9,555)
(6,342)
Total depreciation, depletion and amortization expenses 15,209
13,695
EBITDA (187)
23,843
Non-cash incentive compensation (1) 3,449
(2,179)
Post-employment expenses (excluding service costs) (2) 199
868
Business development related expenses (3) 861
(375)
Other adjustments allowable under our existing credit agreement (4) 1,051
1,286
Adjusted EBITDA $ 5,373
$ 23,443
(1) Reflects equity-based compensation expense. (2) Includes net pension cost and net post-retirement cost relating to pension and other post-retirement benefit obligations during the applicable period, but in each case excluding the service cost relating to benefits earned during such period. See Note K - Pension and Post-retirement Benefits to our Financial Statements in Part 1, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. (3) Reflects expenses related to business development activities in connection with our growth and expansion initiatives. (4) Reflects miscellaneous adjustments permitted under our existing credit agreement, including such items as restructuring costs for actions that will provide future cost savings. Restructuring costs were $1.1 million and $0.8 million, respectively, for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015.
U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc.
Michael Lawson
Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
(301) 682-0304
[email protected]
SOURCE U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc.
Related Links
http://www.ussilica.com
FREDERICK, Md., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SLCA) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Sandbox Enterprises LLC, a leading provider of innovative logistics solutions and technology for the transportation of proppant used in hydraulic fracturing in the oil and gas industry. The transaction will be financed using a combination of $75 million of cash on hand and approximately 4.2 million U.S. Silica common shares. Based on the U.S. Silica closing price on Aug. 2, 2016 the transaction is valued at $218.3 million.
The acquisition is expected to be modestly accretive to 2016 EPS and generate EPS accretion of $0.20 to $0.30 in 2017. The transaction is expected to close later this month, subject to receiving certain regulatory approvals.
''This transformative acquisition enables us to offer customers significantly improved transportation and operating efficiencies, a safer work environment and significant cost savings relative to current proppant delivery systems,'' said Bryan Shinn, U.S. Silica president and chief executive officer. "Sandbox's proprietary delivery solution is critical to addressing the growing logistical challenges our customers face as E&P operators continue to increase the amount of proppant they use per well.''
Sandbox utilizes specially designed, patent-protected equipment and processes to service wellsite operations. In addition, the company provides field personnel for installation, training and operation as required. The typical Sandbox system includes:
Steel, weatherproof Sandbox containers , which can hold up to 22.5 tons of sand and are gravity fed to reduce silica dust. They can be stacked nine high empty or two high full, offering a reduced footprint relative to competing products and can be easily stacked at nearby locations to provide additional storage for remote wellsite operations. Sandbox containers can also serve as mobile transloading facilities.
, which can hold up to 22.5 tons of sand and are gravity fed to reduce silica dust. They can be stacked nine high empty or two high full, offering a reduced footprint relative to competing products and can be easily stacked at nearby locations to provide additional storage for remote wellsite operations. Sandbox containers can also serve as mobile transloading facilities. Specially designed truck chassis , which offer highly efficient delivery and represent a 60% lower investment than pneumatic equipment. Each chassis holds one full or two empty Sandbox containers, allowing efficient transportation of mass quantities of sand. The chassis are an effective replacement for pneumatic trailers, which require expensive power take-off units, blowers and related equipment and cause congestion at the wellsite due to long unloading times.
, which offer highly efficient delivery and represent a 60% lower investment than pneumatic equipment. Each chassis holds one full or two empty Sandbox containers, allowing efficient transportation of mass quantities of sand. The chassis are an effective replacement for pneumatic trailers, which require expensive power take-off units, blowers and related equipment and cause congestion at the wellsite due to long unloading times. Customized conveyor cradles, which deliver proppant directly into the blender hopper. Each conveyor can hold four Sandbox containers. The containers are lifted by forklift onto the conveyor cradle, which has a maximum throughput of 25,000 lbs. per minute. The ability to continuously feed proppant to the conveyor enables maximum sand volumes to be pumped downhole.
U.S. Silica Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Brad Casper said, ''The acquisition of Sandbox aligns with our strategy of managing the entire supply chain of frac sand from the mine to the well site. Containerized delivery increases transportation efficiency and lowers delivered costs through faster truck turns and reduced jobsite congestion.''
Casper added, "We believe Sandbox has significant runway to grow its existing markets through partnerships with leading service companies, while at the same time making U.S. Silica's logistics network even more efficient with capabilities for mobile transloading and in-basin proppant staging."
The Company also noted it expects to achieve other potential synergies through direct loading of sand into containers from the Company's Oklahoma and Texas-based regional sand mines for truck distribution to the wells and the ability to transload from any rail spur in the country.
The Company will discuss the Sandbox acquisition tomorrow on its second quarter 2016 earnings call at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Investors are invited to listen to a live webcast of the conference call by visiting the "Investor Resources" section of the Company's website at www.ussilica.com. The webcast will be archived for one year. The call can also be accessed live over the telephone by dialing (877) 869-3847 or for international callers, (201) 689-8261. A replay will be available shortly after the call and can be accessed by dialing (877) 660-6853 or for international callers, (201) 612-7415. The conference ID for the replay is 13640925. The replay will be available through Sept. 2, 2016.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. Piper Jaffray & Co., through its Simmons & Company International division, acted as exclusive financial advisor to Sandbox Enterprises, LLC in this transaction.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and speak only as of this date. Forward-looking statements made include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact and may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding U.S. Silica's growth opportunities, strategy, future financial results, forecasts, projections, plans and capital expenditures, and the commercial silica industry. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions, which may not prove to be accurate. These statements are not guarantees and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from these forward-looking statements. Among these factors are: (1) fluctuations in demand for commercial silica; (2) the cyclical nature of our customers' businesses; (3) operating risks that are beyond our control; (4) federal, state and local legislative and regulatory initiatives relating to hydraulic fracturing; (5) our ability to integrate the acquired business; (6) loss of, or reduction in, business from our largest customers; (7) increasing costs or a lack of dependability or availability of transportation services or infrastructure; (8) our substantial indebtedness and pension obligations; (9) our ability to attract and retain key personnel; (10) silica-related health issues and corresponding litigation; (11) seasonal and severe weather conditions; and (12) extensive and evolving environmental, mining, health and safety, licensing, reclamation and other regulation (and changes in their enforcement or interpretation). Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in U.S. Silica's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.
About U.S. Silica
U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc., a member of the Russell 2000, is a leading producer of commercial silica used in the oil and gas industry, and in a wide range of industrial applications. Over its 116-year history, U.S. Silica has developed core competencies in mining, processing, logistics and materials science that enable it to produce and cost-effectively deliver over 260 products to customers across our end markets. The Company currently operates nine industrial sand production plants and eight oil and gas sand production plants. The Company is headquartered in Frederick, Maryland and also has offices located in Chicago, Illinois, and Houston, Texas.
U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc.
Michael Lawson
Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
(301) 682-0304
[email protected]
About Sandbox
Sandbox was founded in 2012. The privately-held company employees approximately 300 people at its six locations in the U.S. The company is active in all of the major shale plays including the Permian, the Eagle Ford, the Bakken, the DJ and the Marcellus basins. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas. For more information about Sandbox, please visit their website at www.sandboxlogistics.com
SOURCE U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc.
Related Links
http://www.ussilica.com
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Valpak, a leader in local print and digital coupons, announced today it is looking to further expand its brand footprint in Madison, Wisconsin. The company is seeking a sales-driven entrepreneur to invest in this franchise opportunity and continue to strengthen its market presence. There are more than 130,000 households in Madison that are currently receiving the consumer savings Valpak brings to the area.
The expansion comes at an opportune time of growth for the Madison market. In fact, The Bureau of Labor Statistics released preliminary state job totals and claimed a 1.85 percent growth for the area, which ranked 20th in the country. The report boasts Wisconsin's highest ranking in annual job growth since November 2010 and showcases its progressive business strides.
"Fostering entrepreneurial success is a key component of our franchise development strategy as we look to grow our brand across the country," said Shak Turner, Valpak's director of franchise sales. "While Valpak is most widely known for its array of print coupons, we are also looking to attract the millennial market in Madison with our impressive mobile offerings. Currently, studies show that 42 percent of millennials use coupons sent via email so, we definitely want to capitalize on this opportunity."
With more than 25 million Americans using couponing apps each month, Valpak's digital offerings have been a big draw for new franchisees. Digital coupon use is on the rise, and ample gains are projected in 2016. In the past year, Valpak's print offerings have also expanded with on-envelope advertising and circulars.
A leader in cooperative direct mail, Valpak mails coupons to nearly 39 million demographically targeted households per month in 45 states and four Canadian provinces. Today, in addition to its flagship Blue Envelope, Valpak offers its advertisers an impressive portfolio of digital advertising products including valpak.com, Smartphone apps, Google partnerships, website development, mobile web optimization and reputation management.
Ideal candidates for Valpak franchise ownership should possess a desire to join a trusted, industry-leading brand, work within a proven franchise system, develop relationships with local businesses and have a comfort level with selling new, digital technologies. Franchisees should also possess a minimum liquidity of $75,000, and a minimum net worth of $150,000.
For more information on Valpak franchise opportunities, please contact Shak Turner at [email protected] or 727-399-3091 or visit www.valpakfranchising.com.
About Valpak
Based in St. Petersburg, FL, Valpak is one of the leading direct marketing companies in the U.S. and Canada. We provide print and digital advertising through a network of 160 local franchises. From mailbox to mobile phone, Valpak brings exciting local business offers and opportunities to millions of consumers. Each month, our well-known Blue Envelope of savings is mailed to about 39 million demographically targeted households in 45 states and in four Canadian provinces. Our digital suite of products, including valpak.com, reaches more than 110 million users. Founded in 1968, Valpak is owned by Cox Target Media, a subsidiary of Cox Media Group in Atlanta.
CONTACT: Samantha Rego
Valpak
727-399-3139
[email protected]
Sloane Fistel
Fish Consulting
(954) 893-9150
[email protected]
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SOURCE Valpak
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QUEEN CREEK, Ariz., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Vendors from across the nation of all things vintage are invited to apply for one of only 87 exclusive booth spaces and sell their wares when The Salvage Company brings its Vintage Roadshow to Queen Creek's Horseshoe Park and Equestrian Center (HPEC) on the three busiest shopping days of the year: November 25, 26, and 27. Whether it's furniture and home decor, clothing and accessories, jewelry, antiques and collectibles, musical instruments, motorcycles, or anything else that falls under the broad umbrella of vintage, interested vendors who want to take advantage of this unique opportunity may apply here http://www.vintageroadshows.com/. To date, vendors from CA, AZ, CO, and KS have already been accepted, but spaces are still available.
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VIDEO - Vintage Roadshow 2016 Vendor Registration (Official Commercial) https://youtu.be/CLIhMW47EWI
When asked why only 87 vendors, Salvage Company founder and event presenter Patricia Dickenson noted, "We're not trying to produce the biggest show, we just want it to be the best, with a never before seen mix of one-of-a-kind offerings." Regarding site selection for the show, Dickenson said, "Whenever I'm picking in Southern Arizona or New Mexico, I always end up stopping in Queen Creek and just love it, especially HPEC. It's the perfect venue for Vintage Roadshow." Holding the event inside their main arena means vendors won't have to deal with the logistics of tents or unpredictable weather during the holiday season. There will also be plenty of RV parking spaces along with full hook-ups for those who want that option.
Beginning at 8 AM on Friday, November 25 with a 2-hour VIP-only shopping experience and concluding on Sunday, November 27 at 4 PM, Vintage Roadshow will offer shoppers three big days of excitement. The event will be open to the general public from 10 AM to 4 PM daily. Lovers of all things vintage can stay up to date on the latest news and special offers, including information on how to purchase VIP tickets here http://www.vintageroadshows.com/email-sign-up
Dickenson got into shabby chic, architectural salvage, French country home furnishings, and home decor created from authentic found vintage materials more than 25 years ago, long before it became all the rage it is today. She operates The Salvage Co. with daughter-in-law, Jodi Helmer and both are thankful that business is booming. In addition to retail locations in Phoenix and historic Superior, Ariz., the company also offers complete design and makeover services. Learn more at their website http://www.thesalvageco.com/.
Media Contact:
Patricia Dickenson
602-418-6037
Email
SOURCE Vintage Roadshow
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"I'm excited to be part of this important initiative to drive innovation and adoption of telehealth programs," said Miller, who in addition to overseeing overall plan operations in Florida is a certified registered nurse practitioner. "Telehealth can increase access and convenience of care for Floridians, especially those living in rural areas. It can also mitigate the impact of physician shortages by extending the reach of individual practitioners."
As part of the company's efforts to increase telehealth options for its members, WellCare of Florida offers a behavioral health telehealth program for its Medicaid members. This program allows members to video conference with their clinicians using a computer or tablet from the comfort of their homes. This convenient option eliminates the time and cost associated with traveling to appointments and missed work or school. The program can also lead to increased income for providers by decreasing the number of patients who don't show up for appointments, a problem common in the industry, and by extending their geographical reach.
"I want to congratulate all of the members selected to serve on the Telehealth Advisory Council," said Elizabeth Dudek, secretary of the Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA). "The members of the council have a proven track record of innovation in the field of medicine, and I look forward to working with them over the next year to examine the best uses of telemedicine to provide healthcare for Floridians."
The council was created as part of House Bill 7087, which was designed to set the stage for commercial insurance coverage in the state, and will present its findings to the governor, senate president and house speaker by Oct. 31, 2017.
As of March 31, 2016, WellCare serves approximately 772,000 Medicaid members, 57,000 Florida Healthy Kids members, 92,000 Medicare Advantage members, and 31,000 Medicare Prescription Drug Plan members in Florida.
About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) focuses exclusively on providing government-sponsored managed care services, primarily through Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, to families, children, seniors and individuals with complex medical needs. The company serves approximately 3.7 million members nationwide as of March 31, 2016. For more information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at www.wellcare.com or view the company's videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/WellCareHealthPlan.
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SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
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CHICAGO, Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Data from Technomic's Digital Resource Library shows that some of the fastest-growing limited-service chains are chicken brands. Year-over-year sales in 2015 for the chicken industry rose 8%, and Technomic predicts the chicken industry to sustain that rate of growth for 2016. Consumers are flocking to these chicken restaurants for better-for-you takes on an American favorite, whether that's never-frozen chicken tenders or marinated grilled chicken.
Three prime examples of fast-growing chicken concepts are Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, PDQ and Nando's. Each brand has its own unique approach, from innovative menu offerings to eclectic ambiance.
Key takeaways from these findings include:
-Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers has a simple, approachable menu of fresh food combined with a family-friendly, pop culture-themed setting has propelled Raising Cane's growth, with 2015 year-over-year sales number of units up 26% and 18%, respectively.
-PDQ operates primarily in the south but is expanding to the north and west, leading to a 2015 year-over-year growth in sales and units of 61% and 52%, respectively.
-Nando's has been expanding in the U.S., with year-over-year U.S. sales and unit growths of 33% and 40%, respectively, specializing in peri peri chicken in a range of spice levels.
With a database of 1,500 commercial operator profiles, as well as 1,500+ noncommercial profiles, the Digital Resource Library serves as a guide for foodservice operators and suppliers to leverage industry intelligence and stay competitive in the foodservice landscape.
To learn more, please visit Technomic.com or contact one of the individuals listed below.
Contacts:
Press Inquiries: Please call (312) 506-4060, or [email protected]
Purchasing Details: Patrick Noone, (312) 506-3852, or [email protected]
About Technomic
Only Technomic, a Winsight company, delivers a 360-degree view of the food industry. We impact growth and profitability for our clients by providing consumer-grounded vision and channel-relevant strategic insights. Our services range from major research studies and management consulting solutions to online databases and simple fact-finding assignments. Our clients include food manufacturers and distributors, restaurants and retailers, other foodservice organizations, and various institutions aligned with the food industry. Visit us at technomic.com.
About Winsight, LLC
Winsight, LLC is a business-to-business media and information services company specializing in the convenience-retailing, restaurant and noncommercial foodservice industries. Winsight has an extensive media portfolio including four publications, CSP, Restaurant Business, FoodService Director and Convenience Store Products, a suite of digital products including websites, e-newsletters (Restaurant Business Daily and CSP Daily News) and webinars, plus video products, mobile and tablet apps, custom marketing solutions and the convenience-retailer intelligence tool, CSPedia. The Winsight Events group produces six exclusive, large-scale executive-level conferencesRestaurant Leadership Conference, FARE Conference, Outlook Leadership, Convenience Retailing University, FSTEC and MenuDirectionsin addition to more than 12 major EduNetworking conferences and advisory meetings. Winsight recently acquired Technomic, Inc., a food industry provider of primary and secondary market information and advisory services. Winsight is a recognized leader in the markets it serves.
For more information on Winsight and its brands, go to WinsightMedia.com.
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SOURCE Technomic
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BROOKLYN, N.Y., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The world's largest student-run cyber security event, founded 13 years ago by the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, will expand this year to NYU Abu Dhabi and the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, where finalists from India, the Middle East, North Africa, and the United States will compete simultaneously in November 2016.
The schools also announced they are accepting registrations for the Cyber Security Awareness Week (CSAW) elimination rounds in August and September, which last year pitted nearly 20,000 students from high schools through doctoral programs against global competitors, all working from their own computers. The competitions will challenge their knowledge of virtually every aspect of information security, from hardware and software penetration testing and protection to digital forensics and government policy.
This year the best students from India, the Middle East, North Africa, and the United States will earn travel awards to participate in the final rounds, which will be held November 10-12, 2016 at IIT Kanpur, NYU Abu Dhabi, and NYU Tandon. At the regional CSAW campuses, students will network with top professionals who serve as judges, hear experts address emerging issues, meet recruiters eager to fill what is expected to be a shortfall of 1.5 million cyber security professionals by 2020, and face tough competition from teams from other schools.
The CSAW games were founded by Professor Nasir Memon, now chair of the NYU Tandon Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and his students. Students continue to design the contests under the mentorship of information security professionals and faculty and run them from NYU Tandon's student-led Offensive Security, Incident Response and Internet Security (OSIRIS) lab, home also to weekly Hack Nights.
"Data security is a critical global issue. Attackers know no national boundaries, and neither should those who protect our personal privacy and institutions," Memon said. "We are pleased that IIT Kanpur, a world-leading engineering school, recognized the ability of CSAW to engage and educate information security students and decided to introduce the contests to students throughout India. I am equally excited about the role that NYU Abu Dhabi will play this year. In the past CSAW brought high school teams to New York. This year, thanks to the leadership of students and faculty, it will expand its reach to high school and university students across the Middle East and North Africa." Memon heads NYU Abu Dhabi's cyber security program, as well as NYU Tandon's.
"With hobby hackers, foreign state actors, terrorist organizations and other adversaries abounding, cyber security is not just a computer science issue but a national security issue. IIT Kanpur is delighted to join hands with the New York University Tandon School of Engineering to bring the cyber security awareness competitions to India. We hope that Indian institutes and universities will participate in large numbers and show their competitiveness against the teams from all over the world," said Manindra Agrawal, the N. Rama Rao Professor in the IIT Kanpur's Department of Computer Science and Engineering.
Each of the regional finalist competitions will vary slightly in the content. Winners of the final rounds can walk away with cash prizes, scholarships, and more. Bragging rights are often the biggest motivator CSAW has become a boldface line for recruiters and university admissions officers.
This year, CSAW will include:
Capture the Flag (CTF) hacking competition This cornerstone challenge attracts upwards of 10,000 remote players each year and provides entry- and mid-level problems to solve at the preliminary stage. Students find themselves competing against professionals and amateurs of all ages in the September remote round, but only the best undergraduate teams qualify for the 30-hour-long marathon of the final round, which is notoriously difficult.
High School Forensics The entryway into cyber security, this competition attracts students who enjoy solving puzzles, in this case a fictional murder mystery. To encourage newcomers, NYU Tandon students and their mentors developed an online, self-taught curriculum and offer digital workshops.
Embedded Security Challenge In the world's oldest hardware hacking contest, a Blue Team from NYU Tandon designs a target system. Everyone else Red Teams will hack it, to mimic real-world attacks. The finalists will present their findings to security experts in this challenging, research-oriented contest.
Applied Research Competition To participate in what is recognized as the most prestigious Best Paper Award for young researchers, doctoral students must submit papers that have already been published in peer-reviewed journals or presented at conferences.
Policy Competition Challenging contestants to think about the big picture of law, policy, economics, and governance, this competition requires students to develop a policy paper proposing how to overcome market failures in cyber security and better protect consumer privacy and critical infrastructure.
Department of Homeland Security Quiz Held during the finals, this trivia contest challenges students on technical knowledge as well as history and current events. This year players can use their own smartphones thanks to an app written by former CSAW student team leader Kevin Chung .
. Security: Open Source This new, one-day workshop for professionals, organized by NYU Tandon Computer Science and Engineering Assistant Professor Brendan Dolan-Gavitt, will bring open-source software authors to NYU Tandon and NYU Abu Dhabi to explain their tools.
Entrepreneurial Pitch Competition Competitors will be invited to pitch commercially viable ideas for real-world security problems to potential funders.
The 2016 CSAW is supported by Gold Sponsors Palo Alto Networks and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Silver Sponsor IBM; Bronze Sponsors Navy Civilian Careers-U.S. Navy,
NCC Group and Raytheon; and Supporting Sponsors Bloomberg, Cubic Corporation, and Intel.
For more information and to register, visit https://csaw.engineering.nyu.edu. Follow @CSAW_NYUTandon. Preliminary rounds for the Embedded Security Challenge will be held in August; the other preliminary challenges will be in September.
About the NYU Tandon School of Engineering
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. For more information, visit http://engineering.nyu.edu.
About IIT Kanpur
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, is one of the premier institutions set up by the Government of India. Registered in 1959, the institute was assisted by nine leading institutions of U.S.A in the setting up of its academic programs and laboratories during the period 1962-72. With its record of path-breaking innovations and cutting edge research, the institute is known the world over as a learning centre of repute in engineering, science and several inter-disciplinary areas. In addition to formal undergraduate and postgraduate courses, the institute has been active in research and development in areas of value to both industry and government. For more information, visit www.iitk.ac.in.
About NYU Abu Dhabi
NYU Abu Dhabi consists of a highly selective liberal arts and science college (including engineering), and a world center for advanced research and scholarship all fully integrated with each other and connected to NYU in New York. Together, NYU New York, NYU Abu Dhabi, and NYU Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global network university, with faculty and students from each campus spending "semesters away" at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents. For more information, visit http://nyuad.nyu.edu/en.
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SOURCE NYU Tandon School of Engineering
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REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Recent Xtime data has revealed that transparent cost estimates are the most critical concern for today's automotive customers when setting service appointments. In a 2016 study of 668 respondents, more than 70 percent considered cost estimates "extremely important" or "very important" when setting appointments.1 This outranked all other factors surveyed, including the ability to choose the time or day of the appointment, the availability of transportation options and the option of choosing among different service advisors.
By aligning their service strategy with this research, dealers can position themselves to win more business and retain more customers in the service department. Today, only 30 percent of service visits take place in dealerships,2 partly because customers believe dealership service departments are more expensive than independent repair shops. The reality is that the average cost of routine maintenance at a dealership is comparable to third-party providers.3 Therefore, by providing cost estimates during the scheduling process, dealers can alleviate the misconception of having higher costs, create a transparent and trustworthy ownership experience for customers, and increase their odds of winning more service appointments.
"This research shows price transparency is a big way for dealers to deliver a high-quality ownership experience that keeps customers coming back to the service drive," said Jim Roche, senior vice president of marketing and managed services at Xtime. "Spectrum, Xtime's cloud-based service experience platform, already allows dealers to act on these new findings. Since 94 percent of dealers state that the ownership experience is more important than the service itself,4 dealers must look to technology in order to deliver that superior experience. With Spectrum, customers can conveniently schedule their appointments online and know how much they'll pay before they arrive. This improves convenience and trust, enhances the ownership experience, and increases service retention by an average of 7.5 percent."5
To learn more about how Xtime's solutions help dealers deliver a higher-quality ownership experience, visit Xtime.com.
About Xtime
Xtime delivers retention solutions for the automotive retail industry. Xtime, headquartered in Silicon Valley, is the exclusive or preferred provider for 24 major global automotive manufacturers in the United States, Canada and Australia, as well as leading dealership groups, and services 7,000 dealerships. Xtime is a Cox Automotive brand. For more information, visit Xtime.com.
About Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive Inc. is transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns cars with industry-leading digital marketing, software, financial, wholesale and e-commerce solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem worldwide. Committed to open choice and dedicated to strong partnerships, the Cox Automotive family includes Autotrader, Dealer.com, Dealertrack, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim, NextGear Capital, vAuto, Xtime and a host of other brands. The global company has 33,000 team members in more than 200 locations and is partner to more than 40,000 auto dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, while engaging U.S. consumer car buyers with the most recognized media brands in the industry. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues of $18 billion and approximately 55,000 employees. Cox Enterprises' other major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Media Group. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit www.coxautoinc.com.
1. Xtime Market Research: 2016 2. Cox Automotive Maintenance & Repair Study: March 2016 3. Ibid. 4. Xtime Market Research: February 2016 5. Xtime Market Research: 2016
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SOURCE Xtime
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Mumbai, July 28 : A special MCOCA Court is expected to pronounce its verdict later Thursday in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case in which one of the 22 accused is Lashkar-Taiba operative Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal.
The trial, which had resumed in 2013 after Abu Jundal's arrest, had concluded in March this year before the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) Special Court here.
It pertains to the May 8, 2006 operation by Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad in which three terror suspects travelling in a car were nabbed on the Chandwad-Manmad highway near Aurangabad.
The ATS recovered from them 30 kg RDX, 10 AK-47 army assault rifles, 3,200 rounds of ammuniton and other things, which were reportedly intended for carrying out terror strikes in the country.
Another suspect vehicle managed to give the slip to the ATS. It was believed to have been driven by Abu Jundal who escaped to Pakistan.
After Abu Jundal was nabbed in 2013, he revealed to the ATS another hideout from where they recovered 13 kg RDX, 1200 cartridges, 50 hand grenades, 22 magazine rounds.
A total of 22 accused were arrested, including Abu Jundal who is accused plotting the 26/11 terror attacks.
Earlier, the trial had been stayed by Supreme Court after one of the accused had challenged the constitutional validity of certain provisions in the MCOCA invoked on the accused. The stay was lifted in 2009.
In 2013 the ATS filed a charge-sheet against all the accused for plotting various terror strikes since 2006.
Dhaka, July 28 : Death sentences awarded to six militants were upheld on Thursday over the deadly bombings in 2005 at a Bangladeshi court that killed eight people including four lawyers.
The High Court Division bench delivered the verdict. The six militants, Enayet Ullah, Arifur Rahman, Saidur Rahman Munsi, Abdullah Al Sohain, Nizam Uddin Reza and Taibur Rahman Hassan, were affiliated with the banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Xinhua news agency reported.
The bench also ordered life imprisonment to two others and acquitted two.
According to case details, the gang detonated bombs at a Bar Association office at the Gazipur court premises on November 29, 2005.
The blasts killed the association's General Secretary Amzad Hossain, lawyers Golam Faruque, Nurul Huda and Anwarul Azim as well as four clients.
A speedy trial tribunal in June 2013 sentenced 10 JMB operatives to death.
The JMB, which seeks Islamic rule in Bangladesh, carried out a series of bomb attacks in 63 of the country's 64 districts, including Dhaka, on August 17, 2005.
United Nations, July 28 : India's hopes for a permanent seat on the Security Council were dampened as the General Assembly decided to push further negotiations on reforms to the next session after discussions this year failed to make headway.
The Assembly on Wednesday unanimously approved the decision to roll over further action and to set up an "open-ended working group" on Council reforms.
"It is unfortunate that the 70th anniversary of the United Nations was not able to build up momentum with a view to reaching an agreement on this important item of the agenda of the General Assembly," India and its reforms allies, Brazil, Japan and Germany, said in a joint statement.
Speaking on behalf of the four nations, Brazil's Permanent Antonio Patriota told the Assembly: "The longer we postpone a decision on the reform of the Security Council, the greater discredit brought upon the United Nations in its core function of promoting peace and security."
The four countries jointly work for expanding the Council's permanent membership and mutually support each other for permanent seats and are known as G4.
After more than 20 years of stalling, the Council reform process gained momentum last year when a negotiating text was adopted by the General Assembly overcoming sustained opposition to it from a determined small group of countries like Pakistan and Italy.
The adoption of the text was a breakthrough as meaningful negotiations could not be held without such a document.
It had been expected that the momentum would continue and the reforms would be adopted in the current year, which marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the world body.
The negotiating text was created on the basis of a survey carried out by Courtenay Rattray of Jamaica, the previous chair of the Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) on Council reform, and it was adopted by the Assembly due to the insistence of Sam Kutesa, the president of the last session of the Assembly.
Luxembourg's Permanent Representative Sylvie Lucas, who heads the IGN now, said the discussions held this year produced elements of convergence on two of the five issues -- the relationship between the Council and the General Assembly and the size of an enlarged Council and its working methods.
Most members supported increasing the total number of Council members from 15 to the mid-20s and for making the Council's working more transparent and involving non-member countries in its activities.
Patriota contested Lucas's contention that there was no "convergence" on the other three issues, the most crucial of which is expanding the permanent membership.
"We regret, however, that other important patterns on the remaining three clusters were not reflected as leading towards convergence," he said. "It is obvious to any observer that a growing majority of Member-States supports expansion of the Security Council in both categories (of permanent and non-permanent). Yet we failed to register such an evident and quantifiable convergence in writing.
"Member-States also argued that the issue of under-representation of developing countries in the current format of the Security Council should be addressed. Such a suggestion was not captured either," he added.
"We would have preferred to see Elements that reflected the positions of participants in a comprehensive manner."
In May, India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin told the negotiations that of the 122 countries that made written submissions for Rattray's survey, 113 - or more than 90 percent - supported expanding both categories of Council membership.
They include the 54 members of the African Union, 42 from the L.69, which is a group supporting reforms, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) members, the G4 and 21 others, in addition to two permanent members, Britain and France, he said.
The 13-member group known as Uniting for Consensus (UfC), which included Pakistan and is led by Italy, is opposed to adding permanent members.
The current 15-member Council has five permanent members with veto powers and none of them are from Africa or Latin America.
The UN began in 1945 with five permanent and six elected members on Security Council when the world population was 2.35 billion and the organisation had 51 member nations.
Four more non-permanent members were added in 1965 and there has been no further changes, except for replacing Taiwan with China as a permanent member in 1971.
Meanwhile, the wave of independence that followed the collapse of colonialism took UN's membership to 193 countries. The global population is now more than 7.3 billion.
Washington, July 28 : Despite all the controversy surrounding Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, she has one secret weapon -- her husband, former US President Bill Clinton.
Bill Clinton, one of the country's most popular presidents, spoke on her behalf on Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia and experts said that will help Hillary in the race for the White House, Xinhua news agency reports.
"Bill Clinton did a terrific job presenting the human side of his wife. He showed how she is a change agent and has a demonstrated record of impact throughout her life," said Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution.
The folksy Bill Clinton is an asset to Hillary in that he is comfortable and at ease in front of an audience and has thrived on connecting with large audiences during his nearly 40-year career in politics.
While Hillary is often criticized as stiff and robotic in public, Bill is relaxed and adept at reading audiences and understanding what resonates with them.
In a bid to humanize Hillary, he spoke at length about how the two met 40 years ago, both being students at Yale law school.
Cracking jokes from time to time in the self-deprecating style he's known for, Bill Clinton told the enthusiastic crowd how he pursued and eventually married Hillary.
The speech resonated with the crowd, and experts said it will help Hillary in her bid to capture the country's highest political office.
"Bill provides an unparalleled amount of expertise and political charisma to the campaign -- if he remains disciplined and on message," Dan Mahaffee, an analyst with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua.
Bill could also help Hillary peel off some of the white working-class voters on whom Trump is depending to whisk him into the White House.
Analysts said Trump needs around 92 percent or 93 percent of rank-and-file Republican voters -- many of whom are white blue collar males -- in order to clinch the White House.
If Bill Clinton could make more inroads with this group, who supported him while he was president, that could bode well for Hillary.
Moreover, Bill Clinton's White House oversaw one of the largest economic expansions in US history although critics argued that the invisible hand of the market -- particularly the rise of the Internet and technology -- was responsible, not the government.
But whatever the case, many voters over age 40 hold fond memories of the Bill Clinton years and feel the idea of Bill being back in the White House -- this time as first husband -- is appealing.
Bill Clinton is also one of Washington's most talented fundraisers, and could be of enormous help in that area.
"He will help on the fundraising front. A former president brings star talent to an event and helps to raise cash for the campaign," West said.
New Delhi, July 28 : At least four unidentified persons robbed around Rs 80 lakh from two staff members of a rice trader who were returning to their shop after collecting the money from a market in west Delhi's Punjabi Bagh area on Thursday, police said.
The robbery took place near an underpass at Shakur Basti in west Delhi's Punjabi Bagh area around 10.40 a.m. when the two staffers were coming back from the market after collecting the money from traders, a senior police officer told IANS.
"About four unidentified persons intercepted the vehicle of the staff and snatched the bag with the cash," the officer said.
The police was informed around 12.30 p.m., the police officer said.
According to the police, the trader's staffers had about Rs 80 lakh in cash with them in the bag.
The staff members were identified as Aman and Sonu, both in their 20s. They are the relatives of rice trader Ved Prakash.
The police also said that they are investigating the robbery and questioning both the staff members of the shop.
New Delhi, July 31 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday cautioned citizens against falling victim to frauds perpetrated through the use of mobile phones and internet.
"People receive tempting offers of gift prizes and other swindling schemes over their mobile phones or via internet," Modi said in his monthly 'Mann Ki Baat' address over the radio, referring to reports of a women committing suicide after being duped in this manner.
"These are new ways thrown up by technology to loot the public. I know of a retired person with a daughter to marry off and a home to build, who received such a gift offer from abroad, asking that he first deposit Rs 2 lakh in a bank as customs duty for receiving the item," he said.
"A new way of digital crime is where criminals falsely get your bank, credit card details and soon find their accounts emptied of money. People should become aware and not fall into the trap of such tempting offers," the Prime Minister added.
Mumbai, Aug 1 : Profit booking, along with lower crude oil prices and upcoming global events risks, dragged the Indian equity markets lower during the mid-afternoon trade session on Monday.
The key indices receded after touching their new intra-day highs in almost a year, as heavy selling pressure was witnessed in capital goods and banking stocks.
The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) slipped by 3.10 points or 0.04 per cent to 8,635.40 points.
The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 28,083.08 points, traded at 28,017.35 points (at 2.00 p.m.) -- down 34.51 points or 0.12 per cent from the previous close at 28,051.86 points.
The Sensex has so far touched a high of 28,284.85 points and a low of 27,873.53 points during the intra-day trade.
The BSE market breadth was tilted in favour of the bears -- with 1,545 declines and 1,067 advances.
On Friday, the benchmark indices closed the day's trade in the negative territory due to profit booking, negative global cues and foreign fund outflows.
The barometer index plunged 156.76 points or 0.56 per cent, while the Nifty slipped by 27.80 points or 0.32 per cent.
Initially on Monday, the benchmark indices opened on a higher note, in sync with their Asian peers.
The upward trajectory also got a boost from the increased chances of the GST (Goods and Services Tax) Bill getting passed during parliament's ongoing monsoon session.
Investors are hopeful about the bill's passage after the Union Cabinet last week approved key changes in the proposed legislation.
The pan-India tax reform has been passed by the Lok Sabha but is stuck in the Rajya Sabha, where the government lacks a majority.
Besides, positive macro economic data -- the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) -- which showed an acceleration in manufacturing sector's growth, unleashed fresh buying spree.
However, profit booking, lower crude oil prices and anxiety over upcoming macro-economic data dragged the equity markets lower.
In addition, depreciation in rupee's value and caution ahead of major global events risks such as Bank of England's (BoE) monetary policy review and US jobs data subdued investors' sentiments.
"Profit booking and a steep decline in banking sector stocks dragged the equity markets lower," Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, told IANS.
"However, the key indices opened on a higher note, aided by positive Asian markets, strong closing from last week and expectations of GST bill getting through."
According to Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, CNX Nifty faced profit booking at higher levels.
"Bank Nifty and most pharma stocks traded down due to profit booking, while IT sector stocks held the initial gains on back of fresh buying support," Desai noted.
"Sugar and aviation stocks traded with mixed sentiments due to profit booking. However, lower USD/INR prices are likely to limit the downside."
Mumbai, Aug 1 : Both houses of Maharashtra legislature were adjourned on Monday over the issue of a separate state of Vidarbha even as Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis categorically denied any such moves were on.
"There is no such proposal by the state or the Centre. Carving out smaller states is a subject handled by the Centre," Fadnavis asserted amidst noisy scenes and slogan-shouting by legislators of all opposition parties, besides Bharatiya Janata Party's ruling coalition partner Shiv Sena.
"It is the Centre's prerogative to decide on this and the state has no role. The state government is not considering this (Vidarbha) issue nor has any such proposal been sent to the Centre," Fadnavis said.
The Chief Minister came on the firing line of the Shiv Sena, the opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party besides other parties for the second time since Friday when the issue first rocked the legislature during the ongoing monsoon session.
Opposition leaders Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil (in the assembly) and Dhananjay Munde (in the council), and former Chief Ministers Narayan Rane and Prithviraj Chavan were among those who lashed out at the BJP-led government for not making its stance on the separate Vidarbha state issue clear and demanded Fadnavis's resignation.
"The Chief Minister says there is no plan for it (Vidarbha state). Then let's bring in a resolution for a unified Maharashtra. If he has any problem, we can do it, the Shiv Sena can do it," Chavan said -- a demand later voiced by Vikhe-Patil.
Shiv Sena's member of legislative council Neelam Gorhe and other party legislators shouted that they would not allow carving out a separate Vidarbha and waved a banner terming BJP's parliament member Nana Patole as "Shaikhchilli" for moving a resolution in the Lok Sabha last week, demanding Vidarbha state.
While Sena's member of assembly Prakash Abitkar asked Fadnavis to clarify his stand, Vikhe-Patil claimed it was a "fix" between the two ruling allies as the issue hotted up again after Friday.
Vikhe-Patil said Maharashtra was formed after the sacrifices of 105 martyrs in the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement and "the BJP has insulted the people of the state by making and backing the demands for a separate Vidarbha".
Bulandshahr (Uttar Pradesh), Aug 1 : Three suspects, arrested in the sensational Bulandshahr gang rape case, were produced before a court here which sent them to 14 days judicial custody and a hunt was on for the other accused, police said on Monday, even as the victims narrated their night of horror and the "unhelpful attitude" of police.
The three suspects were identified as Shawed, a resident of Dehpa, Hapur, Rahees, a resident of Sutari, Bulandshahr and Jabar Singh, a resident of Noida.
"We are in hunt of other criminals whom the criminals, during interrogation, revealed their role," said Deputy Inspector General of Police, Meerut, Laxmi Singh.
The sensational crime, that has sparked off attacks on the state's Akhilesh Yadav government on the law and order situation, occurred near Dastampur village on National Highway-91 (Delhi-Kanpur) on Saturday night, when a gang of eight criminals stopped the car in which a family from Ghaziabad's Khoda locality to their village for some rituals following a death, robbed them and raped a woman and her daughter.
The criminals employed a unique ruse to stop the car, creating an obstacle that made it seem the car had a defect, and when the driver stopped to check, the gang members burst out and held the family at gun-point.
While one of the eight criminals put the pistol at the driver's head and took the all male members to a sugarcane field where they were kept restrained, the other accomplices took the two women - a 39-year-old and her 13-year-old daughter - to the other side and gang raped them.
The distraught father said his daughter kept crying out for help and repeating his name but he could do nothing, since he was being held at gun point.
They victims saw a police patrol vehicle pass through the highway but could not shout for help due to the presence of the armed criminals.
The victims phoned police on the 100 number four times but got no response, and finally phoned their friend in Noida who contacted Bulandshahr's Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna and provided his number to them. They got through to him and told him the sordid story, but it still took half-an-hour before a police team reached the spot.
The victims told this reporter they walked to the police station after covering over 5 to 6 km but police's response remained apathetic. The women were not given a proper medical treatment and there was no provision of counsellors.
Police remained unhelpful throughout the entire process of legal formalities, added one of victims.
Next day when the news was flashed in the media, Director General of Police Javed Ahmad and Principal Secretary, Home Devashish Panda rushed the crime spot and started a damage control measures.
Subsequently, police had face the wrath of the public which tried to assault the criminals.
Patna, Aug 1 : The Bihar assembly on Monday passed a new Prohibition and Excise Bill, 2016, which has stringent provisions for ensuring a total ban on consumption of liquor in the state.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party dubbed it a "black law" and a "draconian" measure. The party legislators introduced a series of amendments but all were defeated by a voice vote in the assembly during discussion.
In the face of the BJP opposition, the ruling Grand Alliance of the Janata Dal-United, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress supported the bill.
Earlier, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appealed to the BJP and its allies to support the draft legislation in the assembly as they had backed total prohibition in the budget session in early April. But the BJP and its allies opposed the bill in the assembly on Monday.
Nitish Kumar, during his reply to the discussion on the new bill in the assembly, said the new legislation was not draconian but framed after much deliberations to effectively implement the liquor ban in Bihar.
The Chief Minister said the new legislation was required to plug gaping holes in the previous act that facilitated the liquor ban in the state with effect from from April 1.
Aizawl, Aug 2 : The Mizoram government has taken preventive measures to thwart the outbreak of Japanese encephalitis following reports of the disease in neighbouring Mnaipur, officials said here on Tuesday.
"Senior health department officials met here on Monday and decided to take rapid preventive measure across the state," an official of the health department said.
He said that as part of the measures, Aizawl Civil hospital was designated as sentinel site hospital. Necessary equipments and trained health workers have been posted in the hospital.
Expert groups were sent to Manipur to conduct in-depth study on the disease.
The official said that anti-larval spray is being done in and around residential houses along with animal rearing areas.
There has been no report of any Japanese encephalitis case in Mizoram so far.
Japanese encephalitis has claimed two lives in Manipur last week while over 25 persons were hospitalised.
Los Angeles, Aug 2 : "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" actress Ellie Kemper and her writer-producer husband Michael Koman have welcomed their first child.
No further details surrounding the child's birth and gender have been released, reports people.com. Kemper and Koman got married in 2012.
In April, Kemper announced her pregnancy on "The Tonight Show". Kemper, 36, is also known for playing receptionist Erin Hannon in "The Office" and appearing in "Bridesmaids".
New Delhi, Aug 2 : The Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday that the central government at present has no proposal to impose liquor prohibition across the country.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir was replying to a supplementary by Janata Dal-United member Kaushelendra Kumar, who wanted to know whether the centre will emulate the steps taken by the Bihar government and bringing about liquor prohibition across the country.
The minister, however, agreed that ever since the prohibition was imposed in Bihar, the number of casualties due to consumption of hooch liquor has definitely declined.
"We have no proposal to impose countrywide prohibition. But this is essentially a state subject and so states have the liberty to impose prohibition laws according to their requirements. For instance, Gujarat state already has prohibition," Ahir said.
The minister assured that once various state governments decide to bring in prohibition laws, the central government will extend cooperation to them.
Among others, Biju Janata Dal member from Sambhalpur, Nagendra Kumar Pradhan demanded prohibition in the country and recalled that prior to country's independence even Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi had once said that his first priority would be liquor prohibition and then the liberation of the country.
"So we have the opinion of the Father of the nation in favour of the prohibition," Pradhan said.
BJP member Kirit Solanki also expressed concerned on the dying number of people across the country due to consumption of hooch liquor.
New York, Aug 2 : Taking a cue from the mechanism that trees use to convert carbon dioxide into sugars, researchers have found a similar way to turn the gas produced by the burning of fossil fuels in power plants and car engines into a usable energy source using sunlight.
As scientists and policymakers around the world try to combat the increasing rate of climate change, they have focused on the chief culprit -- carbon dioxide.
"In photosynthesis, trees need energy from light, water and carbon dioxide in order to make their fuel; in our experiment, the ingredients are the same, but the product is different," said one of the study authors Larry Curtiss from US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.
While plants use their catalysts to make sugar, the researchers used theirs to convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide.
Although carbon monoxide is also a greenhouse gas, it is much more reactive than carbon dioxide and scientists already have ways of converting carbon monoxide into usable fuel, such as methanol.
Although the reaction to transform carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide is different from anything found in nature, it requires the same basic inputs as photosynthesis, showed the study published in the journal Science.
One of the chief challenges of sequestering carbon dioxide is that it is relatively chemically unreactive.
"On its own, it is quite difficult to convert carbon dioxide into something else," Curtiss said.
To make carbon dioxide into something that could be a usable fuel, Curtiss and his colleagues from University of Illinois at Chicago needed to find a catalyst - a particular compound that could make carbon dioxide react more readily.
When converting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into a sugar, plants use an organic catalyst called an enzyme.
The researchers used a metal compound called tungsten diselenide, which they fashioned into nanosized flakes to maximise the surface area and to expose its reactive edges and ultimately create carbon monoxide.
Italy's Renzi vows to win referendum seen as crucial for future of Europe
Despite facing what is effectively a vote of confidence in his leadership come October when a referendum on constitutional reform is due to take place, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told CNBC that he was sure of a win.
"I am sure we (will) win," Renzi told CNBC in an exclusive interview in Rome on Monday.
"This referendum is about the future of the country and I am sure the Italian people, if (they) read the question in the ballot in the electoral place, will vote for change," he said.
Voters will go to the polls in October to make the final decision on whether they approve constitutional reforms long championed by Renzi, including a plan to strip the upper chamber of parliament, the Senate, of most of its power and radically cuts its numbers.
The vote is potentially very destabilizing as Renzi has pledged to resign if the public votes "no." The prime minister was keen to distance the vote from being about his leadership, however.
"Our strategy in the next weeks will be (to promote the fact that) this is not Renzi's referendum. This is a referendum," he said.
Asked if he would resign if he lost the vote, Renzi would not answer the question directly and was adamant of victory, repeating "I will win."
Renzi might appear confident but as recent history has proved in the U.K., public opinion and referendum results can be hard to predict. As with the U.K.'s referendum on membership of the European Union (EU) that was held in June, Italy's referendum is also seen as close run with many voters undecided.
Political risk consultancy Eurasia Group puts a 60 percent probability on the Italian referendum passing. However, it says polls have narrowed sharply since April, making a no vote more likely as the government's popularity wanes.
A no vote would likely cause the Renzi government to collapse, according to Eurasia.
"A debilitated Renzi would come under intense pressure to resign; he may himself not wish to cling on to power," analysts Federico Santi and Mujtaba Rahman said on Friday in a report.
Story continues
Aside from the referendum, Renzi is facing another serious challenge on the political front with the rise in popularity of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement.
The Five Star Movement is critical of EU institutions as are many of the populist parties propagating across Europe and poses a challenge to Renzi's Democratic Party, scoring a major victory Party in June when it won mayoral elections in Rome and Turin results which Renzi played down.
"I am really confident for the future of my country and let me be very clear, also of my party. Because the Democratic Party at this moment in Europe is the only party in the Socialist field who really gives a very strong message of radical change," he told CNBC.
Rather than worrying over the threat to political stability within his own country, Renzi told CNBC that Europe's leaders had to learn from the U.K.'s recent vote to quit the European Union (EU) or risk placing the bloc in further jeopardy.
"There are (will be) a lot of problems around Europe, if Europe doesn't consider Brexit an incredible wake up."
The U.K.'s referendum has raised questions about the long-term sustainability of the 28-country union and how its politicians engage with voters.
"I think the priority is to really change the relation between Europe and citizens. If we don't change, the risk will be Europe becomes responsible (in the eyes of citizens) for every problem in this continent," he later added.
Most important, in Renzi's opinion, was shaking off the "religion of austerity" and embracing public and private investment.
No names were mentioned, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been a strong advocate of fiscal austerity since the euro zones economic crisis in 2010.
"If Europe continues to only discuss (economic) technocrats, the role of technicians, Europe is finished. So the question is how everyone could help their respective countries to consider Europe as a great place for the future for democracy and ideals," Renzi said.
In order to overhaul the euro zone economies, countries embarked on a program of strict austerity: raising and reforming taxes and cutting public investment significantly from 2010 onward. The so-called peripheral economies Italy, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain state spending declined by around 7-10 percent in real terms per year between 2010 and 2015, according to research firm Oxford Economics.
These austerity programs also had a dampening effect on growth with some international organizations, like the International Monetary Fund, are arguing for more expansionary fiscal policies.
"I am totally sure if we choose a different Europe in which there is not only austerity, but investment I think with every effort we can change this direction (of countries considering leaving the EU)," Renzi said.
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Barcelona, Aug 2 : Barcelona's full-back Martin Montoya has joined Valencia on a four-year deal, the two clubs have confirmed.
"Valencia CF and Martin Montoya have reached an agreement with the player, who joins the club for the next four seasons," Valencia said in a statement on Monday, reports Xinhua.
Montoya entered the first team at the Camp Nou in 2011, but only made 45 La Liga appearances for Barca in five seasons.
The 25-year-old Spaniard was loaned to Inter Milan and Real Betis last season.
Valencia got a disappointing finish of 12th place in La Liga last season.
New Delhi, Aug 2 : The government might have launched a Skill India mission with much fanfare but a defence ministry scheme to train ex-servicemen for a second career has failed to fulfill its objectives with no new initiatives introduced in the last 10 years, an audit report says.
A report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) tabled in parliament last week "observed" that the Director General Resettlement (DGR) was not able to meet its objectives in ensuring the re-employment of or rehabilitating the ex-servicemen.
"...thereby expectations of nearly 60,000 service personnel retiring each year could not be fully met," the CAG report said.
"After incurring an expenditure of Rs. 90.98 crore on training during last five years, there was no mechanism in place to ensure that the trained personnel could eventually find re-employment. The existing employment and self-employment schemes being run by DGR were more than 10 years old and had therefore lost their effectiveness in the changing work environment," the CAG report said.
"We found no fresh employment or self-employment schemes were introduced in the last 10 years," it said.
The DGR is an inter-services organization functioning under the Defence Ministry's Department of Ex-Servicemen's Welfare. It was formed to empower retired service personnel with additional skills so that they could find a second career.
The report also pointed out that most of those retiring were in the comparatively younger age bracket of 35 to 45 years and 50 to 55 years on the higher side and require a second career.
Referring to the ongoing schemes, the report said that except the one related to the Mother Dairy started in 1974 for running booths to sell milk and related products, the others have not proved encouraging.
As for a scheme for the allotment of surplus vehicle, the CAG found a steep decline in registrations from 1,082 in 2010 to a mere 67 in 2014, showing the ex-servicemen's lack of interest.
In certain cases, the waiting time for the vehicles ranged from 10 to 20 years, forcing applicants to cancel their requests.
There is also an ESM (ex-servicemen) Coal Loading and Transportation Companies scheme launched by the erstwhile Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Defence in 1979. The scheme was to operate in six Subsidiaries of Coal India Limited (CIL) for operation of ESM Coal Loading and Transport Companies.
The CAG report pointed out that only three subsidiaries are making demands on these companies.
A scheme for allotting cooking agencies and outlets for products of oil companies, the report said, is not effective as the eight per cent reservation for defence personnel had been diluted by extending it to paramilitary personnel and employees of the central and state governments and central and state public sector undertakings (PSUs).
(Anjali Ojha can be contacted at anjali.o@ians.in)
New Delhi : The Indian economy is heading for interesting times. With the government trying to push key legislation like GST -- possibly on Aug 3 -- the future of the Indian economy is a topic on which a lot of consideration is presently being given. A recent World Bank report titled 'India Development Update-June 2016' sheds light on some of the pertinent aspects of the Indian economy.
First, it puts into perspective the present growth. The Indian economy has seen an acceleration of growth up to 7.6 per cent y/y in FY2016, up from an average of 6.5 percent from FY13-15. For continuing the momentum, the report stresses on the need to tackle four risks.
These include what may arise out of a deficient monsoon (which seems unlikely at present -- given the flood like situation in several parts of India including the northeast and Assam). Second, even if the monsoon is normal, boosting rural consumption, especially after two years of deficient rainfall, seems a little difficult. Third, given the waning oil dividend, the government may find it difficult to meet the fiscal consolidation target to which it has stuck in the past. Finally, the export demand may continue to deteriorate amidst a tepid recovery in global economy.
These four risks will have to be tackled effectively to be able to grow and exceed the present growth rate that India is witnessing.
Second, the update focuses on the financial sector and its capability to finance double-digit growth. This includes looking at two related issues: a structural transformation of the financial sector into a more market-oriented and competitive one and addressing the issues of public sector banks (PSBs), most notably that of non-performing assets (NPAs) in the coming months.
Both these issues are important, especially considering the fact that the Indian financial sector, in spite of liberalisation, is still largely in the hands of the public sector. The problem of bad debt is one of the most pressing problems in the sector and will need solutions before it can look to finance double-digit growth.
The update also focusses on the impact of the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC) on the state budgets and expenditure. The update has analysed the budgets of 20 states which account for more than 90 per cent of India's GDP. The analysis tells us that total transfers to the states increased from 5.5 per cent of GDP (actuals) to 6.2 percent (budgeted estimates) in 2016-17.
The exercise also looked at three effects of implementing the FFC's recommendations. These included the overall devolution effect (ODE), share effect (SE) and grant effect (GE). The analysis shows that all states gained but the extent of this varied significantly: from 0.06 percent of the GSDP in the case of Andhra Pradesh to 5.34 percent in the case of Mizoram.
Also, health and education expenditure increased in 13 of the 14 states for which data was available. This is in contrast to what has been a general perception on decreasing allocations to health and education. Rajasthan and Kerala stand out as spending the equivalent of 70 percent of additional resources on health, education and infrastructure.
The update also has some key suggestions. These include accelerating the development of capital markets in India, along with resolving the issues of road and power sector, which have resulted in the problems of accumulated NPAs in the past. Also, there is need is to look at increasing the commercial orientation of the banking sector.
Over the next few years, Indian policymakers should incorporate some of the key suggestions and aim at increasing India's growth rate while addressing its imminent risks and challenges.
(02.08.2016. The article is co-authored with Sankalp Sharma, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Competitiveness, India. Amit Kapoor is Chair, Institute for Competitiveness & Editor of Thinkers. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at amit@amitkapoor.com and tweets @kautiliya)
New Delhi, Aug 2 : A court here on Tuesday fixed August 4 for pronouncing the quantum of punishment for movie director Mahmood Farooqui, convicted for the rape of an American woman, after her counsel said his act had damaged the country's image.
Additional Sessions Judge Sanjiv Jain reserved his order on Farooqui -- the co-director of the 2010 Hindi film 'Peepli Live' -- after the defence and prosecution concluded their arguments on the quantum of punishment.
Farooqui, 44, was convicted of rape on July 30.
The prosecution demanded maximum punishment, saying he had committed a grave offence.
The complainant's counsel also told the court that Farooqui must be awarded the maximum punishment as he had raped a foreign woman he had invited to dinner and thus had "betrayed the friendship and trust of the woman".
Farooqui has raped an American scholar, who had come to India for research, at his house and his act had damaged the country's image, the complainant's counsel Vrinda Grover told the court.
The counsel said Farooqui is a prominent figure in academic and cultural fields and of high social standing and therefore must not be shown leniency while handing of the sentence.
On the other hand, Farooqui's counsel Nitya Ramakrishnan sought leniency, saying the convict had maintained good conduct during the trial and also not tried to intimidate the victim.
Farooqui's counsel also apprised the court that he is not facing any other criminal charge and cited his clean antecedents.
She said the complainant's version of the rape deserved no sympathy and added that the judiciary must consider his character.
Farooqui was charged with the rape of the 35-year-old woman from Columbia University who was in India for research on her doctoral thesis.
The woman moved to Delhi in June 2014 and was looking for contacts for her work in Gorakhpur. She came in contact with Farooqui through a common friend.
The crime dates back to March 28, 2015, when Farooqui invited her for dinner at his house.
Police said in its chargesheet that she reached the director's house at 9 p.m. on that date and found him very intoxicated. He asked her to go to his office in the other room.
He later forced himself on her, the prosecution said, adding the woman was scared after the incident.
During the trial, the American researcher stood by her complaint and reiterated that Farooqui raped her. He denied the charge and claimed he was falsely implicated.
Ankara, Aug 2 : Turkey has sent a second request to the US for the extradition of US-based cleric Fetullah Gulen, who is blamed for the failed July 15 coup attempt, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Tuesday.
Bozdag said the relations between Washington and Ankara would be affected if Gulen was not extradited, Xinhua news agency reported.
Turkey on July 19 sent four dossiers to Washington demanding Gulen's extradition.
The minister said that Gulen could not go abroad without a US permit.
Gulen, who -- according to the Turkish government -- heads the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO), has been residing in Pennsylvania since 1999.
The Turkish government has repeatedly said the coup attempt was organised by the followers of Gulen.
New Delhi, Aug 2 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the Delhi government to soon ban Chinese kite string and permit string made only of cotton or other natural fibre.
A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal sought to know the status of the Aam Aadmi Party government's notification to ban the Chinese string made of nylon.
Noting that the kite-flying festival, celebrated in Delhi on August 15, was around the corner, the court asked the government to inform it by when the notification will be issued.
The government told the bench that the notification was pending before Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung for approval.
On Monday, the government told the high court that it will soon issue a notification to ban the Chinese 'manja' (string) and allow the use of string made only of cotton or other natural fibre.
The government said it was conscious of the injuries caused by kite-flying thread made of nylon.
The government's response came on a public interest litigation to demand immediate a ban on Chinese kite string.
The petitioner had called for a ban on the manufacture, sale, use and purchase of the nylon 'manja', alleging it is "razor sharp" and has caused several deaths across the country and can slice through human skin.
Petitioner Zulfiqar Hussain said earlier that the victims of the synthetic thread were mostly birds "but now humans are also under threat".
New Delhi, Aug 2 : The Lok Sabha panel constituted by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to probe Bhagwant Mann's alleged breach of parliament security is of unanimous view that the Aam Aadmi Party MP is "misusing the issue" but the panel has not yet decided that what action should it recommend.
The nine-member panel, headed by BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, has been asked by Speaker Mahajan to submit its report by August 3.
Sources said that no decision has been taken yet in this regard but there is unanimity in the panel that Mann is "misusing the issue" and is now "politicising" it by deliberately dragging Prime Minister Narendra Modi into the controversy.
The panel has also taken cognizance of the letter written by three Lok Sabha members -- Mahesh Girri of the BJP, Prem Singh Chandumajra of the Akali Dal and suspended AAP lawmaker Harinder Singh Khalsa -- demanding Mann to be sent to rehabilitation centre for de-addiction.
"The panel may take notice of the letter also before presenting its report to the Lok Sabha Speaker. We will again sit tomorrow morning before submitting the report," an informed source said.
The panel has earlier expressed its displeasure over Mann's response, saying the AAP leader had mixed up his unconditional apology with references to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the terror attack on the IAF base in Pathankot.
In a five-page letter to the panel, Mann said if the committee felt he had made a mistake, he was ready to tender unconditional apology.
But Mann insisted that Prime Minister Modi should also be summoned by the committee as he had allowed Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI to visit the Pathankot airbase after the terror attack.
The Speaker, who on Monday set up the panel, "advised" Mann not to attend the house till the issue is resolved, saying his act had put "security of parliament in peril".
Mann is an Aam Aadmi Party's member of the Lok Sabha from Sangrur, Punjab.
The inquiry committee will inquire into the security implications and related aspects arising out of Mann making the audio-visual recording of his entry into Parliament House.
Beirut, Aug 2 : Rival political leaders in Lebanon on Tuesday gathered in Ain al-Tineh for a three-day dialogue aimed at breaking the deadlock in the government.
At the beginning of the session, Speaker Nabih Berri urged all rivals to agree on an all-inclusive solution starting with electing a new president, the media reported.
"It is a chance to reach consensus, and might be our last," Xinhua news agency quoted Berri as saying.
He warned that the sessions presented the "last of a very important opportunity to break the current deadlock and revive the state's paralysed institutions".
But the Lebanese Forces, the only party that boycotts the dialogue, dismissed it as "a waste of time".
Nevertheless, Centrist Progressive Socialist Party's leader Walid Jumblatt described the meeting as positive.
"Iran supports Lebanon's unity and dialogue and we are ready for any measure that fortifies ties between the two countries," top Iranian policy official Alaeddin Boroujerdi said.
However, expectations for feuding parties to reach understanding were low, as they have failed to elect a President and endorse an electoral law since 2014.
Lebanon has been without a president since May 25, 2014 the day former President Michel Suleiman ended his tenure.
New Delhi, Aug 2 : A CBI court here on Tuesday granted bail to Tarun Sharma, the former Assistant Director of Value Added Tax Department, in a corruption case involving the Delhi Chief Minister's former Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar.
Granting bail to Sharma, CBI Special Judge Arvind Kumar directed him not to leave Delhi without permission, not to tamper with evidence or try to influence witnesses in the case and also to join the investigations whenever required.
The court asked the accused to furnish a personal bond and surety of Rs one lakh.
Rajendra Kumar, who was arrested on July 4 on the charge of involvement in the corruption case, was granted bail by the court on July 26.
R.S. Kaushik, who is the Managing Director of Intelligent Communication System India Ltd, and Ashok Kumar, who is an aide of Rajendra Kumar, were granted bail on Monday.
Kumar, a 1989-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory cadre, was accused of abusing his official position in awarding Delhi government contracts totalling Rs 9.5 crore to private firm Endeavour Systems Private Ltd.
Former Managing Director of Intelligent Communication G.K. Nanda, Directors of Endeavour Systems Pvt. Ltd. Sandeep Kumar and Dinesh Kumar Gupta are other accused in the case. Their bail pleas will be decided on Wednesday.
New Delhi, Aug 2 : The much delayed bill to amend the constitution and introduce a Goods and Services Tax is scheduled to be moved by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, with the government hoping it will sail through after the additional levy of 1 percent proposed earlier was scrapped.
The bill, technically called the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Second Amendment) Bill, 2014, will make provision for introduction of Goods and Services Tax in the Constitution.
The government on Tuesday appeared confident of getting the bill through the upper house, where it is in minority, saying it was positive that all parties will support the bill.
"There is a consensus among all parties regarding the importance and requirement for the GST bill. The bill is coming after much deliberation and we are positive about the outcome. We are confident all parties will come together to get the bill passed," said Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.N. Ananth Kumar.
A slew of amendments have been proposed in the existing bill, with a key one deleting Clause 18 that intended to compensate the manufacturing states with one per cent additional duty for a period of two years or more for revenue losses.
The additional levy was also among the main objections of the opposition Congress party, whose support is necessary for the bill's passage since the National Democratic Alliance government lacks a clear majority in the upper house of parliament.
Also Clause 19 dealing with compensation to states for a period of five years or more towards the losses they may suffer due to a shift to the new regime, has been made more specific. It now says parliament by law "shall" compensate states, as opposed to the word "may" that was used earlier.
Clause 12, which deals with dispute resolution between and among the Centre and states, and again was a bone of contention since the original bill left this to the GST Council has been reinforced, with the amendment calling for a standing mechanism to adjudicate disputes.
However, another Congress demand, to specify the GST rate in the statute, has not been accepted. Last week, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra chaired a GST panel meet in which all states agreed to keep the GST rate out of the bill.
On Tuesday, Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the party would be in favour of passing the bill if there are no "obstacles".
"If there isn't any obstacle, the GST Bill will be approved tomorrow (Wednesday)," he told reporters outside the Parliament House, but did not elaborate what the "obstacles" could be.
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury, meanwhile, said the bill that was coming on Wednesday was just to make a provision for introducing GST and they will wait for the GST bill, while Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav came out in support of the bill.
The GST bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 19, 2014, and was passed by the Lok Sabha five months later on May 6. It was then referred to a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha which submitted its report on July 22.
These amendments will need to get the nod of the Lok Sabha again, following which at least 50 per cent of the states need to ratify the bill for it to become a law. This again could be a long-drawn process, since the states will have their own sets of issues and queries.
The new regime, termed as the most radical tax reform since Independence, seeks to subsume all central indirect taxes like excise duty, countervailing duty and service tax, as also the state levies like VAT, entry tax and luxury tax, to create a single, pan-India market.
Ranchi, Aug 2 : Unidentified armed criminals looted Rs 6.84 lakh from a State Bank of India branch in Jharkhand's Giridih at gun point on Tuesday, police said.
According to police, eight men entered the SBI bank situated at Pachamba in Giridih, pretending to be customers before flashing guns at the staff and escaping with the money.
Police have launched an operation to arrest the criminals.
On Monday, Rs 2 lakh was looted from a bank in Bokaro district.
New Delhi, Aug 2 : The government has planned an elaborate fortnight-long programme to commemorate the country's 70th Independence Day, Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the programme '70 Saal Azadi -- Zara Yaad Karo Qurbani' (70 years of Independence -- Let's recall the sacrifices) on August 9, that will continue till August 23.
Naidu said the 15-day event will showcase the plurality and diversity of India through various modes and platforms and incorporating the voices and sentiments of the people.
As part of the campaign, cultural programmes based on the biographies of our national icons and stories of freedom struggle will be organised all over the country.
The celebrations will also infuse patriotic fervour in the hearts and minds of the youth and children of the country, he said.
Briefing the media here, Naidu said Union ministers will visit the birthplaces of the national icons and places of historical importance related to India's independence movement, such as Jallianwala Bagh (Punjab), Chauri Chaura (Uttar Pradesh), Cellular Jail (Andaman islands), Sabarmati Ashram and Dandi (both in Gujarat) etc.
"It is the 75th year of 'Quit India' movement. All ministers will visit places associated with our freedom struggle, such as the Jallianwala Bagh, Cellular Jail, Sabarmati Ashram and Dandi etc. Each minister will visit at least two places," he said.
The minister said the campaign is also aimed at developing the feeling of "nation first".
"The visiting ministers will highlight various initiatives of the Narendra Modi government in the last two years. Independence means from 'swaraj' (self-rule) to 'suraaj' (good governance)," Naidu said.
Giving details of various activities that aim to capture the festive spirit on the occasion, Naidu said all important monuments in the country will be illuminated in tricolour, the use of 'khadi' (handspun cotton cloth) will be promoted in a big way, and Independence Day fairs and exhibitions held to enable local artisans to display their products.
Naidu said the participation of sport icons and celebrities in India was being solicited to capture the popular sentiment of the country.
A week-long 'Tiranga Yatra' to evoke feelings of nationalism and patriotism will also be undertaken from the Independence Day on August 15, he said.
Members of parliament and state legislatures have been asked to participate in the Yatra carrying the Tricolour and visit their constituencies.
Naidu said that the social media will be used extensively to promote the spirit of participation and position interactive campaigns.
Kolkata, Aug 2 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday issued strict instructions to police to take stern steps against promoters and all others filling up water bodies in the state, and said no one should not be spared even if they took her name.
"If anybody fills up a water body, police will deal with it. Police have been told to control the miscreants strictly. Often promoters fill up water bodies in the darkness of the night," Banerjee said after a high level meeting attended by ministers and top police officers at the state secretariat Nabanna.
"We have told the police if the allegations are correct, strong action has to be taken. Even if the accused take my name, they shouldn't be spared," she said.
Responding to media criticism faced by the government and the ruling Trinamool Congress regarding extortion demands faced by those endeavouring to construct houses or extend their residences, Banerjee said: "It is not my job to find out who is extorting. The administration is there for this."
She said if a "genuine wrong" has been committed, the media should bring it to the knowledge of the police, but warned against false reports being published in the media to protect the interests of unscrupulous promoters.
"There are some people who for the sake of politics are organising demonstrations. That is also not right."
Refering to her party Trinamool, she said: "If even one or two people commit wrongs, we take strong action. Police also have been taking strong action, and will continue to do so in future."
Conceding that some people are expanding their business by taking the name of Trinamool, she said: "We won't allow that also."
Banerjee said the municipal corporations, municipalities, the Urban Development Department and police have been told to come down with a heavy hand to stop illegal promoting.
Alleged some unscrupulous promoters try to give a communal colour to protect their interests, she asserted that no such attempts will be allowed.
The state's opposition parties had made extortion and activities of syndicates (cartels said to force promoters and contractors to buy construction materials often of inferior quality at high prices) a major issue during the assembly polls earlier this years.
After her party returned to power, Banerjee expressed her displeasure over law and order and asked police to curb the illegal syndicate business.
Last month, Trinamool councillor of Bidhannagar municipality, Anindya Chatterjee, was arrested and remanded to custody on charges of extortion in North 24 Parganas district.
New Delhi, Aug 2 : Thirteen rounds of talks have been held between India and Pakistan on the issue of withdrawing troops from Siachen and New Delhi has made it clear that it is part of the larger issue of Islamabad supporting terrorism in India, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
"Thirteen rounds of talks to resolve the Siachen issue have already taken place between government of the two countries, led by the respective defence secretaries.
"Indian Government has made it clear to Pakistan that the solution to Siachen Glacier is a part of the larger issue to include Pakistan's support to terrorism in India," Parrikar said in written reply.
The minister said that on December 9, 2015, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swraj met the Pakistani leadership in Islamabad on the side-lines of the Heart of Asia process for regional cooperation on Afghanistan.
"These discussions directed the foreign secretaries of both countries to work out the modalities and schedule of the meetings under the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue on various issues including Siachen," Parrikar said.
The minister said soldiers are deployed in extremely harsh terrain and weather conditions but are fully equipped and properly trained to undertake the operational challenges and carry out their mandated tasks.
"The soldiers deployed at Siachen Glacier are provided with quality winter clothing including 'Extreme Cold Climate' clothing. Besides, they are provided with prefabricated insulated shelters and wherever it is not possible to construct such shelters due to technical difficulties, insulated tents are provided which can withstand low temperatures," said the minister.
He said the units are self-sufficient for a period of 240 days of supplies.
New Delhi, Aug 2 : President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday received a copy of the book 'Grassroots Innovation' and said the "government should provide institutional support to the grassroots innovators".
The book is authored by Anil K. Gupta of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. He is also Vice-Chairman of National Innovation Foundation at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Mukherjee also conveyed his best wishes to Gupta and his team "to continue their march in adding value to the ideas and innovations of communities at grassroots level".
Congratulating Gupta, Mukherjee said he was deeply appreciative of his efforts and painstaking work about the innate creativity and innovative potential of people.
"Dr. Gupta's book was about stories of extraordinary men and women who are silently contributing in the innovation movement for the economic development and advancement of society," said Mukherjee.
"The Government should provide institutional support to the grass root innovators. Their efforts will not be appreciated if necessary linkages between the relevant stakeholders are not established," he added.
The Festival of Innovations which is organised by Rashtrapati Bhavan in collaboration with National Innovation Foundation has helped to bring together creative energy from different domains, further added Mukherjee.
New Delhi, Aug 2 : Eight members of an international drug syndicate have been arrested and 14.2 kg of party drug Mephedrone, popularly known as "Meow Meow", worth Rs 25 crore seized from them, Delhi Police said on Tuesday.
Those arrested are Mohammad Faizan Ahmed Supariwala, 36, a resident of Mumbai, Surender Singh aka Sunny, 34, Rishi Koli, 35, Manoj Sengar, 46, Sanjay Khanna, 43, Guddu Yadav, 33, Deepak Parashar, 38, and Mahender Singh Rana, 53, all residents of Delhi.
'Meow Meow' drug is commonly used as a substitute for cocaine, especially at rave parties in Delhi, Mumbai and other metros. Cost of one gram varies from Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000, police said.
"Faizan was arrested on July 23, when he arrived in the city to receive the consignment of drugs from his gang members," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav told reporters.
Two kilograms of 'Meow Meow' was recovered from his possession. He was arrested from Greater Kailash area of south Delhi.
The remaining members of the syndicate were arrested from different areas of Delhi after interrogation of Faizan.
According to police, the gang was involved in the business for long time but seizure of a big consignment in Mumbai gave the police some clue of the drug ring, police said.
The officer also said that the gang was helped by an Inspector-rank officer in the Customs Department in Delhi.
"We seized nine kilograms of narcotics from Mahender Singh Rana. During interrogation he said that he received the drugs through a customs officer," Yadav said.
"Rana had received 21 kg of drugs from the officer, of which he had sold around 12 kg and the remaining nine kg were left with him," the DCP added.
According to police, the customs department officer has not reported for duty for the past two days and his house was also found locked.
"We have informed his office, and we are waiting for details," the DCP added.
Explaining the international connection of the syndicate, Yadav said: "The gang was operated by one of its masterminds named Kailash, who is settled in Dubai."
"He used to control the entire operation of drugs from Dubai," Yadav said, adding, "He is also wanted in a case of drugs in Mumbai."
Kailash's brother is currently lodged in jail in Mumbai in a drug smuggling case.
Yadav said that the drugs were sent to European and Gulf countries through courier and cargo.
A senior police officer related to the probe requesting anonymity told IANS: "We will soon conduct a raid in Mumbai to find out the details of Arif, whose name appeared during investigation."
According to police, Arif is a close associate of Kailash, who used to supply the drugs to European and Gulf countries through his contacts.
Chandigarh, Aug 2 : The Haryana government will start work to set up an Integrated Aviation Hub at Hisar town to coincide with the 'Swaran Jayanti' (golden jubilee) celebrations of creation of the state.
Haryana will mark 50 years of its creation on November 1.
The aviation hub would be developed over an area of over 3,000 acres, Haryana Civil Aviation minister Narbir Singh said on Tuesday.
"A series of activities to be undertaken in first phase of this project include expansion of the existing runway from 4,000 feet to 7,000 feet, provision of night landing facility, construction of additional hangers for Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) activities and renovation of the terminal building," the minister said.
"A budget provision of Rs 50 crore has been made in the current financial year for this purpose," he said.
At present, Haryana does not have any regular airport of its own. The state's needs are catered by the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport at Delhi, adjoining Gurgaon in Haryana and the Chandigarh international airport.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has demanded that the Hisar aerodrome should be elevated as an international airport Singh said that the Haryana Government has already engaged M/s Frost and Sullivan India Private Limited, Chennai, as consultant for development of Hisar aerodrome as an Integrated Aviation Hub.
Islamabad, Aug 2 : Turkey on Tuesday voiced support for Pakistan's demand to send an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) team to Jammu and Kashmir to probe "human rights violations".
Visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, addressing a joint presser with Pakistan's foreign affairs advisor Sartaj Aziz, also hoped that the Kashmir issue would be resolved through dialogue.
"Turkey fully supports Pakistan's position on Jammu and Kashmir," Cavusoglu said.
Cavusoglu said Turkey is an active member of the OIC Contact Group of Kashmir and attends its meeting.
"I would like to ask the Secretary General of the OIC to mobilise the Contact Group and send an observer mission. We believe this issue (Kashmir) can be solved through dialogue," he said.
Widespread protests in Jammu and Kashmir following the July 8 killing of militant commander Burhan Wani has claimed over 50 lives and injured more than 3,000 people.
Rome, Aug 2 : Italy's banks are solid, Premier Matteo Renzi claimed on Tuesday, saying he wanted to avoid a European Union bail-in or the use of creditors' or depositors' money to restructure lenders.
"My view is that Italian banks are good," Renzi told US broadcaster CNBC.
His comments came as trading in shares in several banks was halted during the second day of turmoil on the Milan stock following results of European stress tests last week which have spooked investors.
"For me Italy is totally fighting to avoid bail-in because even a soft bail-in could be a disaster for credibility and of course for confidence," Renzi said.
Using the EU bail-in rules now could expose Renzi to political risk ahead of a crucial referendum later to create more stable government and streamline lawmaking. He has staked his job on the vote.
Renzi told CNBC he was satisfied with a privately-funded bail-out plan announced on Friday by Italy's most troubled bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, just hours after it came bottom of 51 lenders tested by the European Banking Authority.
"If now, without bad loans, with a clear strategy, I think this bank could be a very good bank for the future," said Renzi.
He called MPS - the world's oldest lender which was founded in 1472 - "a brand".
Italy's largest lender Unicredit was ranked as one of the five weakest European banks in the stress tests and was especially badly hit by share sell-offs this week. It scraped through Friday's stress tests and needs fresh funds, either through recapitalisation or the sell-off of assets.
Italian banks are weighed down by bad loans, the legacy of Italy's longest post-war recession and poor management decisions, according to analysts.
Varanasi/New Delhi, Aug 2 : Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said that Uttar Pradesh, facing years of exploitation, needs experienced leadership to improve the condition of people which can only be provided by her party's chief ministerial candidate Sheila Dikshit.
In her concluding remarks after her roadshow in Varanasi, which she had to discontinue midway due to ill-health, she expressed hope that Congress will form a government in Uttar Pradesh after the next assembly polls due early next year.
"Our party will fight the polls to end exploitation in the state of 27 years and to improve conditions of people. Each worker will put in his best," she said. The concluding remarks were released by the Congress office in New Delhi late Tuesday evening.
Gandhi regretted that due to ill health, she could not complete her engagements in Varanasi, which included a visit to the historic Kashi Vishwanath temple and promised that she would return "very soon" to visit the temple.
"Uttar Pradesh has seen governments of several parties in the last 27 years, which garnered votes through the politics of caste and communalism. The state which used to be a well-developed state once has been left far behind in development due to such politics.
"Uttar Pradesh needs a government of development, of experience which only Congress and Sheila Dikshit can provide," Gandhi said.
She branded the Narendra Modi government as the "government for a select few, rich industrialists" which was constantly neglecting the poor, the marginalised and the minorities.
"A large section of population today is feeling deprived and left out and is worried about their future. The house built on the foundation of lies and deceit would not last long," she said.
Bengaluru, Aug 2 : Farmers' associations in Karnataka on Tuesday threatened to launch a mass agitation if protestors were not released and senior police officers not suspended for the assault on women and children in Dharwad district during the July 30 shutdown.
"As part of the mass stir, we will first stage a demonstration on August 5 at the residence of the home minister (G. Parameshwara) here if our demands are not met by Thursday," Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (state farmers body) Kodhihalli Chandrashekar told reporters at Dharwad, about 430km from here.
About 160 protesters, including farmers and traders, were arrested from Nargund and Navalgund towns in the district for allegedly attacking government offices and damaging public property during the shutdown.
The shutdown was observed in protest against an inter-state tribunal's rejection of the state's interim plea for releasing 7.6 tmc (thousand million cubic) feet of water from Mahadayi river to four drought-prone districts in the state's northern region.
"False cases of arson and rioting were booked against the protestors after they were caned and arrested. They are jailed in neighbouring districts. They are poor people who cannot afford to pay for bail," said Chandrashekar, an independent lawmaker from Hassan assembly segment.
If the demands are not met after the demonstration on August 5 here, the associations have decided to organise a mass rally on foot from Tiptur in Tumakuru district to Bengaluru on August 10, covering 150 km in five days to mark the Independence Day as a "black day".
Tiptur is the hometown of Parameshwara, who is also the state unit president of the ruling Congress party.
Pro-Kannada organisations, including Kannada Rakshana Vedike (KRV), which led the shutdown, will join the agitation if their demands are not met.
"Suspending nine constables and sub-inspectors is not enough for the brutal attack on women, children and aged farmers in Yamanur and Alagawadi villages in the district. We want the district police superintendent and senior officers who ordered caning the victims also be suspended and a judicial inquiry by a high court judge," KRV president Narayana Gowda told reporters.
Parameshwara apologised on July 31 for the alleged police brutality, ordered a departmental inquiry, transferred the district's deputy police superintendent and suspended Navalgund circle inspector after video footage and pictures of the assault went viral in social media and were aired by news channels.
New Delhi, Aug 3 : Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who had to break off her road show in Varanasi on Tuesday after she fell ill, returned to the national capital late night and was taken to Army Research And Referral Hospital for a check-up, party leaders said.
Congress General Secretary and UP in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters at the airport that she was suffering from dehydration.
Gandhi, who reached Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier on Tuesday to a rousing reception, took ill midway through her road show and had to abort it.
She was taken to a lodge where doctors attended on her and advised her rest. Ghanshyam Srivastava, a doctor who attended on her, said she was feeling dehydrated and running high blood pressure (88-172) as well as fever.
Washington, Aug 3 : US President Barack Obama on Tuesday declared Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump "unfit" to serve as President and lambasted Republicans for sticking with the businessman-turned-politician.
The strong rebuke came after Trump's criticism of the family of a slain Muslim US soldier, along with comments that displayed apparent confusion related to the Russian incursion into Ukraine, CNN reported.
"The Republican nominee is unfit to serve as President," Obama said at a White House news conference with the Prime Minister of Singapore. "He keeps on proving it."
The Trump campaign responded by going after the Democratic nominee as well as the President.
"Hillary Clinton has proven herself unfit to serve in any government office," a Trump statement said, listing a number of policy concerns. "Obama-Clinton have single-handedly destabilised the Middle East, handed Iraq, Libya and Syria to ISIS, and allowed our personnel to be slaughtered at Benghazi."
Obama on Tuesday described his feelings about Trump as unprecedented, recalling disagreements with previous GOP presidential nominees Senator John McCain and Mitt Romney -- but never an outright sense they were unfit to serve.
"The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family that made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he doesn't appear to have basic knowledge of critical issues in Europe, the Middle East, in Asia, means that he's woefully unprepared to do this job," CNN quoted Obama as saying.
Speaking alongside Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the White House East Room, Obama said there are now weekly episodes in which even Republican party leaders distance themselves from Trump.
"There has to be a point at which you say, 'Enough'," Obama said.
Obama placed responsibility for Trump's statements squarely on his fellow Republicans, many of whom denounced his statements on the slain soldier's family but didn't withdraw their support.
Obama asked of GOP leaders, "What does this say about your party that this is your standard-bearer?"
"This isn't a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. This is daily and weekly where they are distancing themselves from statements he's making. There has to be a point at which you say, 'This is not somebody I can support for President of the United States, even if he purports to be a member of my party'."
Obama said that denunciations from Republicans of Trump's remarks "ring hollow" without an accompanying withdrawal of support.
"I don't doubt their sincerity. I don't doubt they were outraged by some of the statements that Mr. Trump and his supporters made about the Khan family," Obama said.
"But there has to come a point in which you say, 'Somebody who makes those kinds of statements doesn't have the judgment, the temperament, the understanding to occupy the most powerful position in the world'," CNN quoted Obama as saying.
Trump and the family of the slain soldier have been locked in an increasingly bitter dispute over Muslims in America and the nature of patriotic sacrifice.
After Khizir Khan, who lost his son in a suicide bombing in Iraq, declared at last week's Democratic National Convention that Trump had "sacrificed nothing", the Republican nominee claimed he'd been "viciously attacked" and questioned why Khan's wife, Ghazala, didn't make her own remarks.
Trump has also taken flak for appearing unaware that Russian forces had annexed Crimea in early 2014, saying on ABC's "This Week" Sunday that President Vladimir Putin is "not going into Ukraine". Later, he argued that the people of Crimea "would rather be with Russia than where they were" -- an argument that Putin himself has made in justifying his annexation of the disputed Ukrainian territory.
Timon LeDain, Director Internet of Things, Macadamian We are grateful for NRC-IRAPs support and are excited to work with clients across key sectors of the economy as they leverage the Internet of Things to transform their businesses." said Timon LeDain, Director, Internet of Things, Macadamian.
This contribution represents up to $766,028 in NRC-IRAP funding to date. The additional funding will be used for further research and development on Macadamians feature rich IoT platform that will accelerate the development of custom IoT applications. The platform facilitates end-to-end connectivity to send and receive data from the Cloud from a range of devices connected over WiFi, BLE, and cellular communications. It will help to uniquely position Macadamian as a leading solutions provider of complex Internet of Things applications in the Healthcare, Cleantech and Industrial markets.
We are grateful for NRC-IRAPs continued support and are excited to be working with clients across key sectors of the economy as they leverage the Internet of Things to transform their businesses. NRC-IRAP is instrumental in building this capacity in Canada, said Timon LeDain, Director, Internet of Things, Macadamian.
This investment is in addition to the $370,000 previously provided in support of the Macadamian Mobile Office, a framework for the development of mobile applications across multiple platforms, which was followed by the development of the HealthConnect platform, the Alexa skills development platform, and an IoT JumpStart kit for the rapid development of proof of concepts.
Securing a second round of NRC-IRAP funding of this magnitude has been driven by the successful launch of Macadamians HealthConnect platform which provides a core user management model and auditing capability needed by healthcare applications that deal with patient data. The user management model maps the relationships between patients and their care team, and the security features ensure regulatory compliance right out of the box. Once the framework is in place, Macadamians application developers can focus on custom feature development and not on developing the complex underlying framework, saving clients money while accelerating their path to commercialization.
About Macadamian
Macadamian is a full service software design and development firm. From product ideation to market ready and everything in between, they provide a complete range of usability, design and engineering services. From big consumer brands to enterprise, telecom, and healthcare; our solutions are founded in research-informed design first while leveraging the cloud, big data, and Internet of Things to deliver context-aware and adaptive experiences. Macadamian is headquartered in Gatineau, Canada, and also has offices in the United States, Armenia, and Romania.
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SOURCE MACADAMIAN TECHNOLOGIES
For further information:
Macadamian
Vani Edwardson
Vice President, Marketing
Tel: +1 819 772 0300
Email: vedwardson(at)macadamian(dot)com
The Groom's Room at Hotel Viking's Kay Chapel in Newport, Rhode Island The Groom's Room is a place to relax before the wedding and makes a unique backdrop for pre-ceremony photos of the groom and his friends.
The waiting is the hardest part. Thats especially true when youre the groom and its your wedding day.
With that in mind, Hotel Viking in Newport, R.I. created the Grooms Room. A comfortable salon located in the hotels on-site non-ecumenical chapel, the Grooms Room is a wedding-day man cave outfitted with comfortable seating, a 55-inch flat-screen television, XBOX with over 15 games and wireless controllers; a poker set and playing cards; and an indoor putting green. Groomsmen can pre-order snacks and stock the mini-fridge and bar with the grooms favorite beverages. Its a private hangout where the groom and his groomsmen can kick back while they await the brides arrival.
No one else in the area offers this kind of space designed specifically for the groom, said Keith Chouinard, director of sales and marketing, Hotel Viking. Its a place to relax before the wedding and makes a unique backdrop for pre-ceremony photos of the groom and his friends.
Its fun to watch the grooms reactions when were showing the space, said Nancy Rusiloski, catering sales manager, Hotel Viking. Their eyes light up when they realize the Grooms Room is designed specifically for them.
Having the Grooms Room on site definitely tilts venue selection in our favor, agreed Linda Ferguson, catering sales manager, Hotel Viking.
Dating to 1869, Kay Chapel is a historic Newport landmark. After it was officially closed in the 1970s, Hotel Viking purchased and restored the non-ecumenical chapel. Today, its one of Newports most unique private settings for intimate weddings.
Located adjacent to Hotel Viking at One Bellevue Avenue in Newport, R.I., Kay Chapel accommodates in excess of 200 guests. In addition to weddings, the space is available for retreats, concerts and seminars. For information, contact Hotel Vikings catering sales managers at 401-847-3300.
Follow @HotelViking on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates, photos, contests and to keep up to date on events and more.
About Hotel Viking:
Hotel Viking, a member of the Historic Hotels of America, is located at One Bellevue Avenue in Newport, RI. Hotel Viking offers 208 elegantly appointed guest rooms and suites. Hotel Viking is a 30-minute drive from TF Green Airport (27 miles) and Amtraks Providence station. The hotel is an easy drive from Boston (70 miles) and New York City (170 miles). For information, contact Hotel Viking at 401-847-3300 or visit http://www.hotelviking.com. Be social with #HotelViking at http://www.facebook.com/HotelViking, http://www.instagram.com/hotelviking and http://www.twitter.com/HotelViking.
About Pyramid Hotel Group
Boston-based Pyramid Hotel Group is one of the predominant hotel management companies in the U.S., managing and asset managing a diverse portfolio of more than 80 hotels and resorts in destinations throughout the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. For additional information, visit http://www.pyramidhotelgroup.com.
Photo credit: WeWork / Lauren Kallen Boston will be a prime business location for us.
Custom mobile app development company Zco Corporation, headquartered in Nashua, NH, is announcing an expansion to Boston, MA. Its new satellite office is in the WeWork South Station community at 745 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA 02111.
In order to better serve its growing client base, Zco Corporation has opened the new space about 40 miles southeast of its headquarters. The new office will give its clients and prospects south of Boston more convenient face-to-face time.
Zco Corporation chose the WeWork co-working space because it is an innovative, creative community where Zco can network with other entrepreneurial companies and learn more about the latest and greatest in technology. The WeWork space is located in Bostons historic Leather District across from South Station. It includes ample conference space, lounges, and stunning interior design.
Boston will be a prime business location for us, says Zco Corporations Chief Financial Officer Linda Reilly. Being part of the Boston hub will allow us to take advantage of the flourishing economic industry Boston has to offer. By hosting networking events and launch parties for our customers we will quickly become an integral part of the Boston community. This is a wonderful expansion opportunity for Zco and a direct reflection of our continued growth and success!
The space has great energy and will be a perfect place to network and meet clients from Boston, says Zcos Territory Sales Account Executive, George Markwell.
The new office will be convenient for Zco employees, who will be able to take the bus from its headquarters in Nashua right to South Station where the office is located. As a mobile app technology company, Zco will be one of many technology companies growing in Bostons technology/start up hub. To learn more about Zco Corporation, visit: http://www.zco.com.
ABOUT ZCO CORPORATION
Founded in 1989, Zco Corporation is a custom software development company specializing in mobile app development. It has been top ranked by several industry guides as one of the best app development companies in Boston and the USA. More information about Zco Corporation can be found at http://www.zco.com.
... I'm excited and honored to help Boot Campaign shape the ReBOOT initiative that will provide a more comprehensive program veterans can count on. -- Morgan Luttrell
Boot Campaign is unveiling a ground-breaking new veteran assistance program ReBOOT designed to provide a comprehensive, individualized, multi-disciplined approach to increasing mental and physical well-being for America's valued military heroes, it was announced today by Boot Campaign CEO Robyn Payne. Whether combating traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress (PTS), depression or other transitional issues, ReBOOT tackles the root cause of the struggles affecting so many of our brave servicemen and women. Lieutenant (Ret.) Morgan Luttrell, U.S. Navy, a cognitive neuroscientist and Boot Campaigns new director of development, will guide the ReBOOT initiative.
This pioneering new Boot Campaign program brings together world class mental and physical treatment partners thorough diagnostic evaluations, so each veteran gets specific care needed to live a fulfilling life. The program includes, but is not limited to, ReBOOT brain treatment partner's Brain Treatment Center, Center For Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas, Brian Performance Institute, University of Texas, Southwestern and ReBOOT nutrition and fitness partners Virginia High Performance and EXOS and ReBOOT brain treatment coalition partners Infinite Hero Foundation, Team Never Quit, 22 Kill and Airpower Foundation.
"We're proud to launch the ReBOOT assistance program, which is a new focus for Boot Campaign that was determined through careful consideration and months researching where the donations of our many generous supporters can be best utilized in accordance with our mission," says Payne. "The commitment to our veterans and this program by our treatment partners is extremely gratifying and gets us off to a great start, and we welcome the support of the public and private sectors to make this important initiative a resounding success."
Veteran advocate Luttrell, who completed more than 14 years of military service, including nine tours to Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations, helped design a program to foster a confluence of partners to address the current needs of our veterans. Since retiring from service in 2014, Luttrell joined the Brain Performance Institute and the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he currently serves as a research scientist while pursuing an advanced degree in cognitive neuroscience.
"Since retiring from the Navy, it's been a passion of mine to pursue opportunities of finding a better way to treat veterans and first responders in traumatic brain injury," says Luttrell, and Im excited and honored to help Boot Campaign shape the ReBOOT initiative that will provide a more comprehensive program veterans can count on.
Fundamentally, ReBOOT is an innovative pipeline to "reboot" and remove all financial barriers related to treatment and conditioning for overall mental and physical health and well-being for veterans. The ReBOOT protocol is a multi-discipline approach to treating veterans with TBI and other combat-related issues. Because brain injuries are so complex and different for each person, an Omni directional approach is necessary. To date there are no known cures for TBI, PTS and other brain disease, but there are a number of veteran-run institutes, centers and facilities that are moving the needle in the right direction to decrease the various issues plaguing America's service member and give them and their families back what they lost during their service to this great nation.
The ReBOOT protocol brings forward the best TBI facilities in the country that offer a veteran-based treatment program and strategically aligns them with the veteran's needs. The program begins with a pre-cognitive assessment so the candidate has a baseline to build on. The candidate will visit the appropriate center for valuable treatment and training protocols for their particular issues. Additionally, the candidates will have the opportunity to visit a high performance institutes to balance out their nutrition and get their bodies back into physical shape. The last stop in the pipeline is to conduct a post-cognitive assessment in order to measure how far the candidate has come. The amazing part about this concept is the science and treatment is there, the ReBOOT program is connecting the dots.
"The pipeline is a living, breathing, ever-changing design that ebbs and flows with the times," explains Luttrell. "If one particular treatment is not working any longer we replace it with the latest and greatest cutting-edge science. ReBOOT is all about the veterans and bringing them back!"
Donations in support of ReBOOT go to veteran grants for everything they need to regain positive mental health, including treatment at an innovative brain treatment center, travel costs, living expenses and lost income replacement. Approximately 22 percent of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom combat wounds are brain injuries, and Boot Campaign believes financial concerns should NOT be the barrier between a warrior and necessary treatment. The average cost for a veteran to receive individual health and wellness care can run from up to $100,000.
For more information on Boot Campaigns ReBOOT assistance program, please visit the website at: http://www.bootcampaign.org/reboot/.
About Boot Campaign
Established in 2009, Boot Campaign is a national 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to promoting patriotism for America and our military community; raising awareness of the unique challenges service members face during and post-service; and providing assistance to military personnel, past and present, and their families. Retail sales of combat boots, apparel and mission-focused merchandise, general public donations and corporate sponsorships fund programs that support military families. Learn more at BootCampaign.org and join the #BootsOn community on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @Bootcampaign.
Atlanta, Georgia: Visionary Legal Technologies is pleased to announce a partnership with Amplify, to offer Visionary clients access to the Amplify cost savings platform.
Amplify works exclusively with organizations and associations to deliver cost savings on every day back office items, all with no minimum spending levels and no fees. Access to the platform is complimentary for clients of Visionary. In particular, the offerings from Amplify most applicable to Visionary clients are:
Discounts of up to 40% on overnight shipping (together with international and other discounts),
Discounts on office supplies, an of average 50% on the top 100 items purchased by firms in the legal space, together with discounts across all categories of spend,
Discounts on conference rooms of 5% with Davinci Meeting Rooms, including waived cancellation fees up to 24 hours before the reservation time.
Amplifys CEO and Founder, Andrew Sims, said: I am excited to be working with Visionary and their client base. For years Jim McCranie and Visionary have led the legal industry in providing high quality and cost effective technology solutions to both law firms and court reporting agencies two of the groups that Amplify works closely with. Amplify sees this partnership as an exciting new avenue to continue to support the Visionary solution.
Visionarys CEO, Jim McCranie, said: Visionary has been testing the Amplify platform for the last 6 months and found not just significant savings but also incredible value in Amplifys easy to use and implement solutions. With no minimums or membership fees, with the use of Visionary products, we believe this is an offering all our clients should be taking advantage of and benefiting from".
For more information, please visit: https://www.amplifysavings.com/visionary/
Kaufman Hall, a leading provider of strategic, capital and financial advisory services and software tools to healthcare organizations, today announced that East Jefferson General Hospital (EJGH), a not-for-profit community hospital in Louisiana, has expanded its partnership with the company. A longtime consulting customer, EJGH recently implemented Kaufman Halls Axiom Software solutions for Budgeting, Long-Range Planning, Capital Planning and Performance Reporting all delivered on a single, integrated platform.
Axiom Software will empower EJGH to analyze results, model the future and optimize organizational decision-making. EJGH selected Kaufman Halls solutions based on the companys proven track record of superior customer service, as demonstrated by the highest satisfaction ratings in three categories in Gartners annual corporate performance management report for the past two consecutive years.
Kaufman Hall has demonstrated time and again its competence in providing us with solid, strategic advice, firmly establishing itself as trusted partner, said James Revels, Director of Financial Planning and Analysis at EJGH. Our experience, coupled with the companys reputation for a high level of personalized customer attention, has made us very confident in its ability to further support our evolving financial management needs with its software.
With Kaufman Halls Axiom budgeting solution, EJGH can drive efficient, accurate, and transparent budget development and deliver results that management can trust. Further, with the companys capital planning solution, EJGH has a more structured and disciplined approach to the allocation and management of capital, allowing the organization to decipher which requests for capital warrant funding and provide the strongest business benefits.
Our partnership with EJGH has grown significantly since our initial engagement, which we view as a testament to our unwavering commitment to quality and service, said Kaufman Halls Executive Vice President, James Bodan. With our software solutions, EJGH is better equipped than ever to address a wide range of strategic and financial concerns associated with the shift to value-based care.
About East Jefferson General Hospital
East Jefferson General Hospital is a publicly-owned, not-for-profit community hospital. This service district hospital, formed in 1965, receives no tax support from Jefferson Parish. The 420-bed hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and is Louisiana's first Nurse Magnet hospital. For more information on East Jefferson General Hospital, visit online at http://www.ejgh.org.
About Kaufman Hall
Leveraging 30 years of experience, Kaufman Hall helps hospitals and health systems implement best practices in management that integrate strategy, finances, and operations to empower organizations to reach their full potential. Management consulting services and enterprise performance management software enable data-driven analysis and quantify the financial impact of plans, scenarios, and actions to improve organizational decision making. Kaufman Halls Axiom Healthcare Suite provides sophisticated, integrated, and intuitive solutions for budgeting and forecasting, long-range planning, capital planning & management, performance reporting, and decision support and analytics delivered via the cloud or on premise. To learn more, visit http://www.kaufmanhall.com.
The Lung Institute will host a seminar at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on August 9 to inform people with chronic lung diseases on the benefits of stem cell therapy for lung disease. Jack Coleman, Jr., M.D., will lead the presentation, explaining how autologous stem cell therapy helps people with lung disease, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema. After the presentation, seminar participants can receive a free consultation with Dr. Coleman to discuss their candidacy for stem cell therapy for lung diseases.
Dr. Coleman is the medical director of the Lung Institute clinic in Nashville, Tenn. The Lung Institute celebrated its three-year anniversary in May. With five clinics in Nashville, Tampa, Scottsdale, Dallas and Pittsburgh, the Lung Institute has treated over 2,500 patients.
According to a recent white paper, 82 percent of Lung Institute patients who participated in a study reported an improvement in their quality of life after receiving stem cell therapy from the Lung Institute. A portion of those patients received a pulmonary function test, and of those tested, 48 percent saw an improvement of 10 percent or higher in their pulmonary function scores.
COPD is the third-leading cause of death in the United States, claiming around 120,000 lives annually. People who have been diagnosed with COPD often feel stigmatized, and, according to a publication in the Western Journal of Nursing Research, COPD patients, in addition to suffering from a sense of guilt, often feel that they are held responsible for their own illness by others, including healthcare providers. Some believe the stigma associated with COPD has slowed the progress of research for a cure. Traditional treatment options had remained unchanged for several decades, until now. Stem cell therapy for lung disease is perhaps the greatest advancement since the advent of the lung transplant.
If youre in the Knoxville area, https://lunginstitute.com/event/knoxville/08-09-16/ to register for the seminar on August 9 at 2:00 pm. The seminar is held at the UT Conference Center, located at 600 Henley Street, Knoxville, TN 37902.
About the Lung Institute
The Lung Institute is a leading medical provider of regenerative cellular therapy for lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial lung disease in the United States. To date the organization has treated over 2,500 patients, 82 percent of which report an improved quality of life. Founded in 2013 in Tampa, Fla., the Lung Institute currently has clinics in Nashville, Tenn., Scottsdale, Ariz., and Pittsburgh, Pa., and Dallas, Texas. For more information, please visit http://www.lunginstitute.com or call (800) 382-8095.
The Data Mining Group is proud to announce the release of PMML v4.3. PMML is an application and system independent XML interchange format for statistical and data mining models. The goal of the PMML standard is to encapsulate a model independent of applications or systems using an XML configuration file so that two different applications (the PMML Producer and Consumer) can use it.
"The PMML standard delivers true interoperability, enabling machine learning and predictive models to be deployed across IT platforms, says Michael Zeller, CEO of Zementis, Inc. A common standard ensures efficiency and fosters collaboration across organizational boundaries which is essential for data science to scale beyond its current use cases. With its latest release, PMML has matured to the point where it not only has extensive vendor support but also has become the backbone of many big data and streaming analytics applications."
As predictive analytics and data mining continue to gain momentum in industry and business applications across the internet of things, industrial internet, and instrumented environments, open standards like PMML provide a key platform to operationalize analytic models. Though the surge of interest in predictive analytics is relatively new, the Data Mining Group and the PMML standard have been supporting the data science community nearly 20 years. PMML v0.7 was first introduced in 1997. DMG members active in the PMML working group that developed v4.3 include IBM, SAS, Zementis, Salford Systems, and NIST.
We at IBM are very happy to see PMML 4.3 release adding significant new model classes for Bayesian Networks, says Jean-Francois Puget, PhD, a Distinguished Engineer and Chief Architect at IBM Analytics Solutions. Those new features will help us to further improve client experience. IBM has provided continued support for PMML since its inception. We use it both as an internal model and transformation representation, and as a way to import/export models between our products and to third party platforms.
Jonathan Wexler, Principal Product Manager of SAS Analytics Product Management says, Time to value is critical for analytical applications. Using SAS Enterprise Miner, users can not only generate PMML, but consume PMML as part of a governed, automated system. SAS Model Manager enables users to both consume and manage PMML models, in addition to other Open Source models. We are excited about the latest release of PMML.
"NIST is pleased to have contributed to this new version of the already adopted PMML standard. We are particularly excited about the two new probabilistic models that appear in PMML v4.3: Gaussian Process Regression and Bayesian Networks. These new models provide two critical pieces of information never available before - confidence bounds and distribution for the predictive estimations. Both are needed to provide the foundation for uncertainty quantification analysis. We believe that the two models expressed in PMML will aid predictive modeling and improve decision-making in engineering, manufacturing, and other industries," says Tina Lee, Project Leader of the Data Analytics for Smart Manufacturing Systems Project in National Institute of Standards and Technologys (NIST) Smart Manufacturing Systems Design and Analysis Program.
Salford Systems is proud to have been a contributing member of the PMML community since 2001, serving actively on the development team for many of the last 15 years, says Dr. Dan Steinberg, Founder and CEO of Salford Systems. Much of our work has involved enhancing the representation of decision trees, and ensembles, to include the Transformations specification, which facilitates such things as linear combination splits in decision trees, and the basis functions used by MARS. We applaud the contributing members of the DMG for their superb work in the construction of this important set of standards and look forward to implementing the latest versions in our own software.
Some of the elements that are new to PMML v4.3 include:
Improved support for post-processing, model types, and model elements
New models for Gaussian Process and Bayesian Networks
New built-in functions for multiple probability distributions
A full list of updates can be found at: http://dmg.org/pmml/v4-3/Changes.html
The DMG has actively partnered with ACM SIGKDD to promote awareness of available standards for predictive analytics as part . There will be a Special Session on Standards in Predictive Analytics on Tuesday, Aug 16th during the KDD 2016 conference in San Francisco, CA.
About the Special Session at KDD2016:
This special applied data science session on Standards for Predictive Analytics will cover available standards, discuss their adoption, and explore any needs unmet by existing standards. This event forms part of a broader SIGKDD Standards Initiative and will be of particular interest to KDD attendees focused on the operational application of data mining.
For more information, visit: http://dmg.org/kdd2016.html
About DMG:
The Data Mining Group (DMG) is an independent, vendor led consortium that develops data mining standards, such as the Predictive Model Markup Language (PMML) and Portable Format for Analytics (PFA).
The NC-5000 line is the perfect solution for businesses, hotels and similar organizations wanting to offer complimentary charging as an amenity
NovaCharge LLC, a leading provider of electric vehicle charging solutions, today announced the general availability of the NovaCharger NC-5000 series of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
The NC-5000 series boasts a sophisticated, compact design, and features a customizable front panel enabling businesses to showcase their brand to its customers and employees. This level-2 EV charger features a rugged housing and a hardened rubber charging gun making the unit ideal for all weather environments. The NC-5000 line is built for heavy usage, and is available in both wall and pole mount configurations.
This product launch serves as a tremendous milestone for NovaCharge, said Helda Rodriguez, President of NovaCharge. The NC-5000 line is the perfect solution for businesses, hotels and similar organizations wanting to offer complimentary charging as an amenity to their customers and employees. It is also a differentiator, allowing businesses to brand these chargers, while promoting their commitment to environmental sustainability.
These high performance stations rival competitive models, at a fraction of the cost. The NC-5000 line has been installed at a wide variety of customer locations throughout the U.S. over the past year.
Most recently, Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) selected the NC-5000 charging stations, installing four units in their short term parking lot allowing customers and travelers with EVs to easily recharge their cars. The EV charging stations are complimentary for SRQ customers parking an electric vehicle in the short term lot.
We selected the NC-5000 due its compact design and the ability to customize it to include SRQ branding, said Rick Piccolo, SRQs President and Chief Executive Officer. Providing these charging stations further supports our initiatives in integrating sustainability throughout the airport while offering our customers a stress free travel experience.
About NovaCharge, LLC:
NovaCharge, LLC was founded in 2008 to address the need for a next-generation electric vehicle (E/V) charging infrastructure. As a leading provider of E/V networked and non-networked charging solutions, NovaCharge is dedicated to enabling a better environment for future generations by supporting a zero-emission transportation infrastructure, offering convenient, affordable, grid-friendly charging stations that enable access across both public and private locations. NovaCharge is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and is a Certified Minority/Woman owned business.
For more information, please visit http://www.NovaCharge.net
Ascert has released a new version of its VersaTest Driver for China UnionPay (CUP) to support the latest mandates for the protocol. The driver supports both functional and performance testing and is available for standalone use with VersaTest Simulator, or with VersaTest Automator, for more complex, integrated testing environments.
Weve had a large number of new subscribers to the new version of the Union Pay Host Driver over the last several months, said Mike Wainwright, Business Development Director in Ascerts EMEA operation. Its continued growth worldwide with an emphasis in Southeast Asia has been a driving demand factor for testing.
Union Pay continues it exponential growth in 2016 with over 58 million cards issued in 40 countries outside of mainland China. The advent of Apple Pay and Samsung Pay utilizing UnionPays QuickPass technology in China has enabled the company to recapture market share and has contributed to the increased popularity of the brand. The new UnionPay Driver from Ascert has been included in the rapidly expanding VersaTest library of drivers for use on-premise and in the Ascertified cloud based testing service. The new driver assists merchants and service providers to test transactions in preparation for certification.
To find out more about the VersaTest China UnionPay Simulator, visit http://www.ascert.com or contact one of the Ascert offices.
About Ascert:
Ascert is recognized as a leading provider of premier testing software solutions. Ascert was founded in 1992 to provide automated software testing solutions that help companies measure the performance, reliability and scalability of their mission-critical back-end servers and applications. With over 100 clients worldwide, Ascert's products and services are used at some of the world's most successful companies.
Off-the-shelf simulators include solutions for EFT testing, POS testing, stress testing, ATM testing, Fraud testing, IFX testing, EMV/chip card testing, ISO8583 testing and 3270 & 6530 terminal testing. Ascerts custom simulators have been used for testing air traffic control systems and biometric payment systems. Ascert delivers flexible solutions that are either customer site installed or accessed via Ascerts Remote Testing Services. Ascert's products assist testing professionals across industry segments to better manage their testing processes and environments through an end-to-end tool set.
For inquiries in the Americas and Asia-Pacific:
Richard B. Greene
Ascert, LLC
759 Bridgeway
Sausalito, CA 94965, USA
Telephone: 1-415-339-8500
Toll Free:1-877-ASCERT-IT
Fax: 1-415-339-8501
E-mail: info(at)ascert(dot)com
http://www.ascert.com
For inquiries in Europe, Middle East, and Africa:
Mike Wainwright
Ascert Limited
3rd Floor Signet House
49 - 51 Farringdon Road
London EC1M 3JP England
Telephone: +44 (20) 7488 3470
Fax: +44 (20) 7488 3477
E-mail: ukinfo(at)ascert(dot)com
http://www.ascert.com
Alki-Drinks-Night Year after year, Dukes is filling plates with delectable dishes and filling minds with the importance of seafood conservation, ocean preservation, and sustainable sourcing.
The Greater Seattle area is Ready Anytime for Seafood from Dukes Chowder House.
Just this last week, The Seattle Times shined a spotlight on Duke Moscrip, Seattles unsung hero for fish and foodies alike. Duke caught onto the idea of serving only the highest-quality, sustainable wild seafood about 30 years ago and has spun quite the restaurateur legacy in Puget Sound ever since. But Duke doesnt only search for the best seafood, (already a difficult task). The Dukes Chowder House brand strives to be the best and then, challenges itself to become better still.
Just last year, Dukes was voted Best Seafood Restaurant in Seattle by KING5s The Best of Western Washington viewers. In addition, and more recently, Dukes grabbed a trifecta of titles from 425 Magazine for Best Restaurant, Best Lunch, and Best Happy Hour.
Hungry guests seeking a room with a view need look no further than the Tacoma waterfront where Dukes Chowder House sits comfortably as one of the Top 10 Waterside Restaurants in Washington State, according to The Culture Trip. And the list continues to grow.
Dukes Tacoma Chowder House takes the cake again for outdoor dining highlighted in Travel Tacoma, a travel blog for Pierce County, Washington.
Dukes Green Lake Chowder House hosts a Happy Hour on a higher level, recognized by Ville Magazines article, Raise the Roof: Best of Seattle Rooftops.
Dukes Alki Chowder House was featured in Sunset, a resource that celebrates Western Washington lifestyle, for a tasty take on a seafood staple: fish and chips. Sunset also mentioned that Dukes Alki has a birds-eye view over Elliott Bay and a delightful summer salad.
Food Writer, Rebekah Denn's news story in The Seattle Times, Seattle Writer Chronicles Top Picks for Northwest Seafood, outlined an email exchange with Former Seattle Times writer Karen Gaudette Brewer about her book, Seafood Lovers Pacific Northwest. Karen commenting on Dukes on Alki wrote theres nothing more summery than to sit on their upstairs deck, cocktail in hand, with whatever wild salmon special is cooking, and watch the crowds cavort and the ferries lumber past as the sun sets behind the Olympics.
Dukes Lake Union Chowder House left hungry customers happier with Halibut they werent afraid to express their satisfaction on Foursquare, a popular app that unites geography and experience.
OpenTable, a popular online restaurant reservation service ranked Dukes Tacoma Chowder House among its Top 100 of 10 Washington restaurants and one of two local restaurants among America's 'most scenic', July 27, 2016.
All six Dukes Chowder House locations reported as Top Sustainable Restaurant Group in the U.S., according to fish2fork.com in "Fall Flavors Found" in South Sound Talk.
all of which are favorite seafood spots for dining local around the Puget Sound.
Since 1976, Duke Moscrip has worked hard to craft a seafood legacy that will sustain itself so that his grandchildren and his grandchildrens grandchildren will also experience Sustainable Seafood forevermore.
About Dukes Chowder House
Dukes Chowder House is a family owned and operated enterprise with six different locations throughout the Puget Sound region. Renowned for its Award Winning Clam Chowder, Dukes menu is filled with delectable seafood dishes crafted by Duke and Dukes very own Executive Chef Wild Bill Rannigera proclaimed culinary genius in the region. Founder and Owner Duke Moscrip together with his son and partner John Moscrip continue their passionate journey to source wild, natural, healthy and fresh tasting ingredients that are free of hormones, antibiotics and harmful chemicals. Guests sum up their favorable assessment of what Dukes Chowder House has to offer with three words: Its sooo good! Dukes is honored to have received the highest seafood restaurant rating in the State of Washington by Fish2Fork, a leading evaluator of worldwide seafood restaurants, garnering a 4.5 out of 5 (no higher rating in the world). Duke's is equally honored to be among the first restaurants in Seattle to be recognized with a 100 percent volume compliance sustainable seafood rating from Smart Catch, a program designed to promote sustainability and raise consumer awareness regarding sustainable seafood options. For more information, visit http://www.dukeschowderhouse.com/.
Centers of Excellence Centers of Excellence raise the bar for all nursing programs by serving as role models of visionary leadership and inclusive excellence that nurture the next generation of nurses. NLN CEO Dr. Beverly Malone
Fifteen nursing programs in schools and in hospitals, have been chosen NLN Centers of Excellence, the National League for Nursing has announced. These programs will be formally recognized at the NLNs 2016 Education Summit in Orlando, Florida, part of a special honors convocation that precedes the gala Presidents Reception Farewell to Summit 2016 on Friday evening, September 23. The annual Summit draws a capacity crowd of nurse faculty, deans, and administrators, and professionals from allied health organizations. The COE presentation is followed by the induction of new fellows into the NLNs Academy of Nursing Education, and the bestowal of the prestigious NLN Awards.
"I eagerly anticipate the occasion to publicly applaud the 2016 COE designees, celebrating their contributions to excellence in nursing education and highlighting the outstanding faculty, deans, and health care professionals who make achieving this coveted status possible, said NLN president Anne R. Bavier, PhD, RN, FAAN, who is dean and professor at the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, University of Texas at Arlington. Added CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN: Centers of Excellence raise the bar for all nursing programs by serving as role models of visionary leadership and inclusive excellence that nurture the next generation of nurses.
More than half of the previously named COE institutions have again earned designations: Community College of Philadelphia, Excelsior College, and New York University for Enhancing Student Learning and Professional Development; Indiana University School of Nursing-Indianapolis for Advancing the Science of Nursing Education); Duke University Health System, Trinitas Regional Medical Center, and the University of Kansas Hospital for Promoting Academic Progression of Nurses; and for the fourth time, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro for Promoting the Pedagogical Expertise of Faculty.
First-time COEs are: Chamberlain College of Nursing and Francis Marion University, both for Promoting the Pedagogical Expertise of Faculty; and St. Josephs College of Nursing, Texas A&M University, University of North Carolina-Charlotte, University of Scranton, and Wallace State Community College, all in the category, Enhancing Student Learning and Professional Development.
A research brief (online in advance of print) in the September-October edition of Nursing Education Perspectives, Intersection of Quality and Excellence: Characteristics of Redesignated NLN Centers of Excellence (Deborah Merriman, et al), examines strategies and resources utilized by six schools that have had repeated success. The article demonstrates how these COEs have sustained environments that enhance student learning and professional development.
NLN Centers of Excellence are expected to exemplify the Leagues core values: caring, integrity, diversity, and excellence. COE faculty bear a responsibility to share their experience, knowledge, and wisdom for the benefit of everyone in nursing education. They are expected to provide guidance and be available as sounding boards to other nursing programs that aim to achieve COE status.
Each year, students enrolled in COE schools have an opportunity to express their thoughts on what it means to them to be part of a COE-designated nursing program and why. The 2016 winner of the Student Excellence Paper Competition, Laura Knepper from Saint Xavier University in Chicago will be acknowledged at the COE presentation. Excellence in Compassion: What It Means to Me to Attend a Center of Excellence School will be published in the fall issue of the NLN Report.
>Applications for 2017 COE designation..
About the NLN
Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. The NLN offers faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its more than 40,000 individual and more than 1,200 institutional members, comprising nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education and health care organizations.
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For professional breeders, there should be no more important business practice than ensuring the health and well-being of their dogs, said Dr. Candace Croney, director of Purdues Center for Animal Welfare Science.
Recognized animal health and well-being experts and animal scientists from academia, along with leaders representing the pet industry, veterinary medicine and animal welfare organizations, today joined together to introduce a new national certification program for the care of dogs and puppies by professional breeders. Canine Care Certified, a national, voluntary program that sets rigorous standards for professional breeders, was developed after three years of research at Purdue Universitys Center for Animal Welfare Science and was peer-reviewed by animal scientists and canine welfare experts from major academic institutions.
This is a program with expansive reach, deep substance, and pilot testing to ensure it works. For professional breeders, there should be no more important business practice than ensuring the health and well-being of their dogs, said Dr. Candace Croney, director of Purdues Center for Animal Welfare Science. We took a hard, thorough look at public expectations, the relationship of breeders with their dogs and what those mean for dogs long-term physical and behavioral health. Then, we framed that relationship in the context of a comprehensive and truly unprecedented program that can be continuously improved and strengthened. The fact that participation is voluntary indicates the level to which participating breeders are committed to doing right by their dogs and the public.
The certification program standards address five pillars of care, which include physical health; environment; behavioral health; breeding life and retirement; and caretaker expectations.
While a number of other canine welfare programs address basic physical needs and genetic health, Canine Care Certified goes above and beyond those programs by also providing detailed standards in critically important areas of animal behavior, including socialization. Further, the certification program also addresses challenging issues of professional breeding, including breeding ages, litter limits, and transparency. Unlike most programs that exist today, the standards are based on current scientific research by Purdue University and will incorporate ongoing and new canine welfare research findings.
No other program sets standards that are as rigorous or as comprehensive as those provided by Canine Care Certified. Regulatory programs often provide a one-size-fits-all minimum level of standards as required by law, none of which fully address areas such as behavior or socialization. Other voluntary programs do not have substantive measurement and evaluation provisions. In addition, the Canine Care Certified program is available to any breeder, regardless of size, that commits to meeting the standards, potentially expanding the scope of the program beyond just licensed breeders. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) licensing only applies to breeders with a certain number of dogs.
Research conducted by the Center for Animal Welfare Science at Purdue University acknowledges consumer concern about breeding practices and the need for transparency in breeder operations.
The certification program has been pilot tested with 16 professional breeders since early 2015. The confidential research project provided additional learnings for the standards development process. There are more than 1,500 USDA-licensed breeders in the United States.
To request certification, breeders complete a pre-certification application and, upon approval, undergo an audit by an independent auditing firm. Breeders who meet the criteria for certification and successfully pass the third-party audit will be designated as Canine Care Certified. While a full team of auditors still must be trained in the specific program standards, the goal is to audit breeders no less than bi-annually.
The Canine Care Certified professional breeder program will have a corresponding consumer-facing campaign to reinforce the need for breeder certification. The consumer campaign will launch at a later date as initial certified breeder participants have animals available for sale that are raised under the new standards.
The campaign will raise awareness that dogs and puppies from certified breeders have been raised in a manner that focuses on care of the animals physical, psychological and behavioral needs. While the animals will still display typical puppy and dog behaviors (potty training needs, chewing, etc.), the unique standards for behavior and socialization of puppies and dogs raised by a Canine Care Certified breeder should ease the animals adjustment to home and family life.
It is anticipated that the voluntary nature of the Canine Care Certified program, combined with consumer demand for dogs raised in this manner, will lead to high motivation for participation and compliance by breeders. The Canine Care Certified designation will only be available for use by breeders and by retail locations that sell dogs from certified breeders.
The Canine Care Certified program is administered by the Center for Canine Welfare, a newly established non-profit organization. The program is supported by major pet and breeder organizations, including The World Pet Association, the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council and Pet Food Institute; however, these organizations had no direct or indirect involvement in research or standards development. Ongoing program operational costs will be addressed by funders and by certification fees from breeders.
Breeders that wish to learn more about the program, or those seeking to request certification of a professional breeder business, can visit CanineCareCertified.org to register.
By partnering with BookingPal, we are very glad to expand our distribution network to millions of travelers and add more services to help save precious time while providing a better service." said Sebastien Grosjean, CEO and Founder of BookingSync
BookingPal, one of the leading global vacation rental distribution networks, would like to announce a new partnership with BookingSync. BookingSync is a cloud based vacation rental management platform centered around simplicity and ease of use.
This new partnership will allow vacation rental and holiday letting managers that utilize the BookingSync platform to have their inventory displayed on and distributed via BookingPals global network of online channel partners and offline travel agents that specialize in vacation rental properties. This expanded distribution capability enables the BookingSync clients to increase their propertys exposure and drive more occupancy, bookings and revenue while reaching new guests.
"BookingSync keeps delivering solutions for vacation rentals managers to save time and book more. By partnering with BookingPal, we are very glad to expand our distribution network to millions of travelers and add more services to help save precious time while providing a better service." said Sebastien Grosjean, CEO and Founder of BookingSync
We are excited to partner with BookingSync, said Brian Brown, Vice President of Sales. The partnership and integration between BookingPal and BookingSync will leverage the power of the BookingPal distribution network on European and American consumer travel websites with the diverse and unique inventory on the BookingSync platform.
About BookingPal
BookingPal is a cloud-based travel technology company providing the vacation rental and holiday letting industry with a global distribution platform that features real-time connectivity between the leading property management software systems and top consumer travel websites in the world.
The BookingPal platform offers Vacation Rental Managers and Property Owners superior revenue opportunities by utilizing proprietary products to optimize distribution capabilities including myOptimize which calculates listing quality and provides key feedback to achieve optimal channel placement and conversion and myInquiry which provides a qualified team of reservation agents to handle guest reservation communications.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Irvine, California, BookingPal seamlessly connects over 180,000 rentals located on 5 continents, from 10 different property management software systems to over 35 online global consumer travel websites and the travel agent industry.
About BookingSync
BookingSync is a French startup and cloud-based vacation rental management platform. Our goal is to make the lives of vacation rental owners, managers and agencies easier. Whether its managing your booking, generating an invoice, accepting a payment, or issuing a contract, BookingSync can handle it. Centered around simplicity and ease of use, weve developed an intuitive software that is a friend to owners and managers during each step of the vacation rental management process.
BookingSync disrupted the space with portal synchronization functionality which allows users to maintain a centralized calendar that automatically updates websites and supported portals like Airbnb, FlipKey, HomeAway, VRBO, among others. Weve also built a developer API, and with it, a flexible and versatile product. Developers can easily add extra services on top of the software so that BookingSync works best for you. At heart, we provide a product that is simple, reliable, fast, and fun.
Website: http://www.mybookingpal.com
CCS congratulates the Archdiocese of Toronto on the completion of its $105 million Family of Faith campaign, an effort to support new parishes, the restoration of St. Michaels Cathedral, Catholic formation and leadership, youth and young adult ministry, and campus chaplaincy in addition to local parish projects.
CCS supported the planning and management of this important campaign that has raised over $164 million in cash and pledges, or 156% of its original goal. The Family of Faith campaign now bears the distinction of the most funds raised by any faith-based fundraising initiative in Canadian history.
All together more than 3,000 volunteers from among 225 parishes were recruited, all of whom helped solicit a total of 41,821 gifts. Campaign materials translated into 15 languages ensured that this culturally diverse faith community had the opportunity to dedicate their time and treasure to the campaign. Notable campaign highlights include two $5 million gifts and six $1 million gifts.
It has been a pleasure to partner with CCS for our Family of Faith campaign, said His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins. We are grateful for the expertise, organization, and strategic leadership CCS has brought to our diverse faith community, paving the way for a tremendous fundraising effort.
The campaign was truly a team effort driven by the Archdiocese of Torontos distinctive Pastoral Plan that seeks to engage the family, especially youth; celebrate their cultural diversity; and enhance the collective voice of the Catholic community. The Archdiocese has already disbursed funds to key campaign projects such as the restoration of the Cathedral, upgrades to Ryerson Universitys Hogan House for the campus chaplaincy, and parish repairs.
For the past five years, it has been our honour and privilege to partner with the Archdiocese on this exceptional campaign, said Tom Kissane, Principal and Managing Director, CCS. The communitys generosity and faithful commitment helped it realize an inspiring and ambitious vision.
The Archdiocese of Toronto is home to a diverse community of faith and has experienced tremendous growth in the past quarter century. During this period, the Archdiocese's Catholic population doubled to nearly two million parishioners faithfully served by 800 diocesan and religious priests, more than 110 permanent deacons, and over 500 religious sisters and brothers. Mass is celebrated in more than 30 languages each week in the most multicultural region in Canada.
About CCS
Established in 1947, CCS is a strategic fundraising firm that partners with non-profits to raise funds today and strengthen organizations for the future. With a perspective and presence that spans philanthropic sectors and the globe, CCS works closely with clients to effectively plan, manage, and implement programs that achieve fundraising goals and mission impact. Members of the CCS team are experts in strategic planning, research, development, planned giving, and on-the-ground campaign support. Headquartered in New York, the firm has over 250 professionals and 12 offices throughout the United States and Europe.
Learn more at ccsfundraising.com.
BVoIP today announced it is exhibiting at CompTIA ChannelCon 2016 Breaking Boundaries, the premier collaboration, education and networking event for IT vendors, distributors and channel partners, August 1-3 at The Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, Fla.
Hosted annually by CompTIA, ChannelCon is attended by technology vendors, distributors and solution providers, as well as industry influencers, press and analysts from across the IT channel. More event details, including registration, are available here. Follow BVoIP and CompTIA ChannelCon via Twitter using hashtag #ChannelCon16.
Throughout CompTIA ChannelCon 2016, BVoIP will engage with hundreds of IT professionals and highlight its MSP Communications Platform, which is available to channel partners worldwide. To secure an appointment with BVoIPs CEO, George Bardissi, at ChannelCon, please email cdow(at)bvoip(dot)com or call 215-402-7200 ext 654/ Event attendees are encouraged to visit BVoIP at booth number 318 during the Technology Vendor Fair.
We are thrilled to be attending our first ChannelCon this year, said George Bardissi, President & CEO, BVoIP, LLC. Being involved in such a far reaching event in the IT industry gives you real insight into the heart beat of the industry. CompTIA is great at creating an atmosphere where our colleagues from around the tech world can connect and collaborate. We are honored to be a part of the story and work together to advance the IT industry.
CompTIA ChannelCon attracts the industrys best and brightest minds, delivering exceptional business value through high-impact training, educational sessions, industry panels, keynotes, networking opportunities and working groups on the most important topics and trends affecting the technology industry, said Kelly Ricker, senior vice president, events and education, CompTIA. Were delighted to have BVoIP demonstrate its success and share market perspective with this years ChannelCon attendees.
For more information about BVoIP, please visit http://www.bvoip.com or on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and Google+.
More information on the complete CompTIA ChannelCon 2016 program, including keynotes, panels and educational sessions, is included in the event agenda available here. Registration for CompTIA ChannelCon and the ChannelCon Vendor Summit is open and available online.
Media and IT industry analysts are encouraged to attend the conference. Highlights from CompTIA ChannelCon will be available on Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag #ChannelCon16.
About CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a non-profit trade association serving as the voice of the information technology industry. With approximately 2,000 member companies, 3,000 academic and training partners, 80,000 registered users and more than two million IT certifications issued, CompTIA is dedicated to advancing industry growth through educational programs, market research, networking events, professional certifications and public policy advocacy. To learn more, visit CompTIA online, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
About BVoIP
BVoIP helps IT and Managed Service Providers attack voice and unified communications worldwide. Having come out of the MSP space, BVoIP designed its program to not only automate how MSPs interact with their existing systems and tools but to also assist MSPs with an offering to standardize their Unified Communications offering to their customers. BVoIP has built integration with MSP industry solutions from Autotask, ConnectWise, ConnectBooster, DeskDirector, BrightGauge, JoomConnect, and others. BVoIP is currently available in North America, Europe, and the Australian / New Zealand Regions.
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Press contacts:
Chris Dow
BVoIP
215-402-2700 ext 654
cdow(at)bvoip(dot)com
Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
630-678-8468
sostrowski(at)comptia(dot)org
Marie Rourke
WhiteFox Marketing (for CompTIA)
Marie(at)whitefoxpr(dot)com
714-292-2199
Courtroom Insight, the leading litigation knowledge management solution for sharing critical information about experts, arbitrators, judges and attorneys, is proud to announce Sheppard Mullin as its newest law firm client.
Sheppard Mullins Chief Knowledge Officer, Dora Tynes, is a long-time supporter of improving knowledge sharing methods within the firm. Ms. Tynes explains that by signing up our library staff, I am able to provide a central repository of key information about experts and other litigation professionals. I particularly like the way expanded research and expert witness search services are made available directly from the product interface.
Ms. Tynes works closely with the Firms Director of Research & Library Services, Martin Korn, to ensure the Firm is leveraging solutions that help the team provide the right information at the right time. Mr. Korn states Im excited to add Courtroom Insight to our arsenal of resources and expect it to enhance the background reports we regularly deliver to our attorneys. This is yet another way in which we can add value to the services we provide our clients.
Courtroom Insight Chief Executive Officer Mark Torchiana notes that this partnership with Sheppard Mullin enhances the librarys ability to provide current and relevant information to their attorneys, which benefits both the firm and their clients. We are excited to welcome Sheppard Mullin as a client.
About Courtroom Insight
Courtroom Insight is the largest online directory featuring attorney and peer reviews of expert witnesses, mediators, arbitrators, judges and attorneys. In addition to public listings, the company offers private knowledge management solutions to law firms and corporate counsel. Courtroom Insight was founded in 2009, and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. For more information, visit http://www.courtroominsight.com.
About Sheppard Mullin
Sheppard Mullin is a full service Global 100 firm handling corporate and technology matters, high stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. From 15 offices in North America, Europe and Asia, the firm offers global solutions to clients around the world, providing seamless representation in multiple jurisdictions. For more information, visit http://www.sheppardmullin.com.
MadgeTech President to Attend TAMP Convention
At the show, MadgeTech will be showcasing several data logging devices and systems specifically designed for meat processing applications and help them comply with HACCP regulations and USDA standards. MadgeTech offers a selection of wireless monitoring solutions, to continuously measure and record cooking, cooling and storage processes. The rugged line of stainless steel, submersible data loggers can withstand high temperature exposure and offer a multitude of probe options and styles.
An industry favorite is MadgeTechs RFOT wireless meat temperature data logger. The RFOT is designed to hang alongside of meat in temperatures as high as 100 C (212 F) and as low as -20 C (-4 F). The RFOT is equipped with a built in piecing probe for measuring internal product temperatures, making it the perfect solution for the constant monitoring throughout the entire production process. Accessing data has never been easier than with the RFOT. Two-way wireless communication allows users to access real-time data without ever having to connect the logger to a computer.
Used in conjunction with the RFOT, MadgeTechs RFC1000 Cloud Relay transmits data instantly to the MadgeTech Cloud, giving users the power to view data instantly and remotely from any internet enabled device, anywhere in the world. Not only does the MadgeTech Cloud make it easy to keep a close eye on the product 24/7, but it also allows users set up email alerts and text notifications to fit the needs or each process!
For cooking cycles that require extremely high temperatures, meat processors turn to the HiTemp140 data logger series. Stop by the booth to see the rugged quality of these data loggers made of food-grade stainless steel, and able to withstand and record in temperatures up to 284 F (140 C). The HiTemp140 data loggers are completely submersible and are available with seven custom probe lengths to choose from.
Meat industry professionals rely upon the powerful features included with the MadgeTech 4 Software. The software streamlines the data, giving users the ability to create, charts, graphs and reports required for regulatory compliance. Meat processors benefit greatly from the cooling flag feature, which visually specifies when certain temperature requirements are met during cooling cycles, and can alert the user if the temperature fluctuates outside of the acceptable range during the period, preventing product loss or damage.
To get a feel for the data loggers and how they can make a difference in regulatory compliance and record keeping, stop by the TAMP Convention, Norman will be on hand to answer all data logging questions and help find the perfect solution based on your needs. We hope to see you at the show!
For more information on data loggers and MadgeTech Cloud Services for meat processors, please call MadgeTech at (603) 456-2011, or email info@madgetech.com.
Our connected platform of job boards, learning management systems and association management software helps nearly half of all bar associations nationwide to gain knowledge and experience, match talent with opportunity, and grow association revenue.
YourMembership (YM), a leading cloud-based software provider for associations and member-based organizations worldwide, today announced that it is attending, exhibiting and engaging legal profession leaders at the 2016 NABE Annual Meeting. This marks the sixth consecutive year YourMembership is participating at the National Association of Bar Executives (NABE) and National Conference of Bar Presidents (NCBP) prestigious event, which takes place August 2 - 6, 2016 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square in San Francisco.
We are proud to be a sponsor and supporter of the NABE mission to enhance the skills and enrich the careers of bar association members and professionals, said JP Guilbault, CEO of YourMembership. Our connected platform of job boards, learning management systems and association management software helps nearly half of all bar associations nationwide, including the ABA, to gain knowledge and experience, match talent with opportunity, and grow association revenue.
The NABE organization has utilized YourMemberships association management and website services during the past three years, said John Bo Landrum, 2016-17 NABE Sponsorship Chair. In that time, YM has been a valuable partner supporting NABE.
Landrum added: With YM, our website is easier for members to use and register for events, and has increased collaboration within the online communities, while giving our staff insight from data and the ability to efficiently make changes and decisions quickly.
To date, YourMembership is partnering with nearly half of the more than 250 local, state and national bar associations across the country, while touching hundreds of thousands of judges, attorneys and legal professionals. Among YMs partners is the American Bar Association (ABA), for which YM powers the ABAs Legal Career Central job board, including outsourced recruitment advertising and additional non-dues revenue generating services.
At the annual meeting, YMa gold sponsor of NCBP and a silver sponsor of NABEwill:
Address bar executives and presidents during a breakfast about YMs support for their industry and enlighten them on what new technology is coming to grow their profession.
Hold one-on-one onsite chats to promote training and the significance of leveraging not only membership management and career center solutions, but also learning management software and programmatic advertising products to help them deliver more value to their members, drive non-dues revenue and increase their relevance using ground-breaking engagement tools.
For more information about YourMembership and its portfolio of products for membership management, career centers, learning programs and advertising solutions, visit us at YourMembership.com.
About YourMembership
YourMembership, established in 1998, empowers associations, organizations, nonprofits and other companies worldwide to deliver more value to their users, drive non-dues revenue through innovative career centers and buyers guides, increase their relevance using ground-breaking engagement tools, and enhance overall operational efficiencies. YourMembership's cloud-based membership management solution enables associations to effectively brand their organizations, engage their customer bases, and streamline their administrative processes. As the worlds largest provider of membership and company management software, YourMembership provides comprehensive membership solutions to more than 5,000 customers in 32 countries.
For more information, visit YourMembership.com. To learn more now, call 1-727-827-0046. To get the latest industry updates, read our blog at yourmembership.com/resource-library/blog/. Get social with YM on Facebook at facebook.com/yourmembership/, on Twitter at twitter.com/yourmembership, on Google+ at plus.google.com/u/0/+Yourmembership/posts and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/yourmembership-com.
About the National Association of Bar Executives
The National Association of Bar Executives (NABE) was founded in 1941 to serve the management staff of bar associations and law-related organizations. NABE is an affiliate of the American Bar Association and has received administrative services through the ABA since 1953. The mission of the National Association of Bar Executives is to enhance the skills and enrich the professional lives of bar association executives. For more information, visit its website at http://www.nabenet.org.
This partnership with MCCC is a win-win for both institutions. Our students gain access to classrooms and computer labs, and MCCCs students will have a chance to complete their education without having to relocate." -Josh Wymore, exec. director, Toledo
Spring Arbor University (SAU), a faith-based, top-tier academic university with its campus located in Spring Arbor, Mich., has relocated its Metro-Toledo site to Monroe County Community Colleges Whitman Center location in Temperance, Mich.
The move was made to improve the quality and size of facilities available to SAU students. The shift also will provide MCCC students who attend classes at Whitman Center and the Bedford community with convenient and affordable access to bachelor and master degree programs on-site.
We couldnt be more excited about this move, said Josh Wymore, executive director of Spring Arbors Metro-Toledo site. This partnership with MCCC is a win-win for both institutions. Our students gain access to classrooms and computer labs that are twice as nice as those currently used, and MCCCs students will have a chance to complete their education without having to relocate. Everybody benefits.
We are thrilled to partner with Spring Arbor University to provide such a wide range of higher educational offerings and services to the Bedford community and beyond conveniently under one roof, said Joe Verkennes, director of marketing and communications at MCCC. With this move, the Whitman Center location will not only provide opportunities for area students to complete course work at the associate-degree level through MCCC, but also at the bachelors- and masters-degree levels through SAU.
To commemorate this partnership between SAU and MCCC, a grand opening celebration will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3. Formal remarks will be made by SAU President Brent Ellis and Monroe County Community College President Kojo A. Quartey, followed by refreshments and an open house that members of the community are invited to attend.
The Whitman Center location has seen less activity in recent years as enrollment at MCCC has ebbed. By hosting SAU in its facility, the community college can offset its overhead costs while also attracting SAU students, who need to build credit before starting their degree completion programs. Likewise, Spring Arbor University gains a natural pipeline of community college students who want to pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees.
The Christian liberal arts university will offer five degrees at the Whitman Center in the next academic year: bachelor degrees in social work, nursing and business, as well as master degrees in social work, counseling and nursing. Other options, such as management, family life education and business administration, are also on the horizon.
Spring Arbor University has been a mainstay in the Toledo area since the university first offered classes at its Secor Road location in the early 1990s. The university quickly outgrew the small facility and began offering overflow classes at Owens Community College, Davis College, Smith Road Elementary and Terra Community College. By moving into the Whitman Center, the university now can house a majority of its cohorts in a single place. Spring Arbor University plans to continue offering programs at Owens Community College and Davis College to better serve the south side of the Metro-Toledo area.
The accelerated format and convenience of Spring Arbor Universitys programs has contributed to its rapid growth. Each of the bachelor and master degrees offered at the Metro-Toledo site can be completed by attending classes one night a week. This design has allowed thousands of working adults across the state to pursue their education while continuing to live their lives.
Coupled with the caring Christian faculty and the strong sense of community that students gain from their cohorts, this convenient format has made SAU the university of choice for hundreds of students in the Toledo area.
MCCCs 210-acre Main Campus is located in Monroe. The college, which serves more than 3,000 credit students annually, opened the Whitman Center in 1991 near the Ohio-Michigan border in Temperance.
For more information about Spring Arbor University, visit http://www.Arbor.Edu. For more information about Monroe County Community College, please go to http://www.monroeccc.edu.
Founded in 1873, Spring Arbor University (SAU) is a Christian liberal arts university located in Spring Arbor, Michigan. SAU offers more than 70 majors and programs to undergraduate students. As a leader in adult and professional studies, SAU continues to reach out to working adults who wish to complete associate, bachelor or master degrees. With programs offered throughout locations in Michigan, Ohio and online, the University continues to meet the growing needs of its students. For more information visit arbor.edu.
Founded in 1964, Monroe County Community College is a public, two-year institution supported by tax monies from Monroe County, educational funds from the State of Michigan and student tuition.
The colleges mission is to enrich and transform lives by providing opportunities and excellence in higher education. The Main Campus is located at 1555 South Raisinville Road, Monroe, Mich., 48161, with easy access to Toledo and Detroit. The Whitman Center is located in Temperance, Mich., 48182, near the Ohio-Michigan Border. Detailed information about MCCC is available at http://www.monroeccc.edu.
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FixtHub CEO Brian Lane announces that the New York-based technology company has closed a Series A financing transaction with Cerium Technology, a leading venture capital firm. The investment will accelerate FixtHubs plans to develop a new generation of fixed income technology specifically designed to decrease information fragmentation and improve data flow to market participants. "We are very excited to receive funding from Cerium Technology. They see the same potential for dramatic growth in the market that we do. They have a strong commitment to innovative technology, and their knowledge and experience in growing startups swiftly into major companies is going to be invaluable to our success."
FixtHub is developing their debut product, which will take advantage of data issues in fixed income markets. Data has increasingly become problematic in fixed income, which has been exacerbated by the effects of balance sheet decline, increased regulation, reduced margins and market illiquidity. FixtHub utilizes data analytics technology to connect users across the market. FixtHub uses data to understand users interests, and then translates that data into user-specific, actionable streams of intelligence," said Lane.
Further, Lane says, "Information in fixed income markets has become so fragmented that participants are unable to have any real insight. Every market participant, whether a dealer, buyside firm, ATS or data provider has either side of one fundamental issue: How do we drive more traffic to our valuable content, or how do we find the right content amongst the noise? The market suffers from a lack of liquidity, but the truth is that there are innumerable liquidity opportunities that exist and are never found. With technology, we can solve that..
FixtHub has developed a truly unique approach using big data analytics to improve fixed income liquidity. We believe that FixtHub is well positioned to become the market leader and we are committed to providing resources to make the company highly successful said Eldon Klaassen, Managing Director at Cerium Technology, who has been appointed Chairman of the Board. Klaassen has more than 35 years experience as a successful entrepreneur, innovator, and investor in financial technology.
About FixtHub
FixtHub is an enterprise software firm focused on aggregating and providing intelligence on the many disparate sources of information in fixed income markets. Its proprietary SaaS technology addresses the needs of buy side and sell side participants in institutional fixed income markets. FixtHub is based in New York City. For additional information, visit http://www.fixthub.com
About Cerium Technology
Cerium Technology is a venture capital firm that invests in early stage companies providing technology for energy or capital markets. With an investment focus on seed and early stage financing, Cerium enables entrepreneurs to execute on their vision. Based in New York and Dallas, the firm brings decades of experience building technology companies, and provides the operational expertise to transform great concepts into the successful enterprises of the future. For additional information, visit http://www.cerium-technology.com.